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The attorney for a Baraboo murder defendant says a judge should step in and force prosecutors to drop the homicide charge against his client.

The district attorney has clearly abused his discretion in this matter by filing a charge that has no legal or factual support in the record, Mauston attorney Daniel Berkos wrote in a legal brief filed Tuesday.

Berkos client, 31-year-old Matthew T. Harvey, is one of four people charged with being a party to the crime of first-degree homicide involving an Oct. 6 after-hours fight at the corner of Lynn and Walnut streets in Baraboo.

Authorities say the fight resulted in the stabbing death of 36-year-old Anthony Inman, of North Freedom, and the serious injury of 33-year-old Anthony Peterson, of Mauston.

Although prosecutors only have alleged that one man, 28-year-old Jae M. Robinson of North Freedom, carried out the repeated stabbing of Inman, they have charged all four that fled the scene that night with being a party to the crime of homicide. Each of the four also has been charged with being a party to the substantial battery of Peterson.

Berkos brief states that prosecutors have attempted to create links that do not exist in any of the evidence in charging his client, Harvey, with homicide.

Judge asks for clarity

Days after Harvey, Robinson, and two others  37-year-old Christopher L. Nash of Baraboo and 24-year-old Amanda N. Rotar of Baraboo  were arrested, a preliminary hearing was held to determine whether there was sufficient evidence to believe they had committed felonies.

After prosecutors and defense attorneys questioned a detective that investigated the case, a judge ruled that there was sufficient evidence to believe that all four defendants had committed felonies. At that time, prosecutors opted to proceed with homicide charges against each of them.

In February, Berkos filed a motion to dismiss the murder charge against Harvey, saying evidence produced at the hearing did not implicate his client in Inmans death.

In July, Sauk County Circuit Court Judge Michael Screnock wrote in a legal brief that although prosecutors may decide which charges to pursue following a preliminary hearing, judges have the authority to determine whether a district attorney has abused his discretion in that regard. He requested the attorneys file written arguments regarding the possible dismissal of the homicide charge.

Berkos: Charge unwarranted

The Wisconsin Supreme Court has found that it would be improper for a district attorney to file charges against a defendant that are wholly unrelated to the evidence presented at a preliminary hearing. Such hearings often are held at the outset of a criminal case to determine whether there is sufficient evidence to believe a crime has been committed.

Berkos wrote in a legal brief filed Tuesday that the homicide charge against his client is unwarranted. He said the prosecutions main witness, Baraboo Police Det. George Bonham, never implicated Harvey in the stabbing during the Oct. 14 preliminary hearing.

The testimony of Det. Bonham was uncontroverted that the deceased was attacked by Jae Robinson, Berkos wrote. The other victim, Anthony Peterson, was approached by the defendant and Christopher Nash, was struck on the side of his head with a blow by a hammer, fell to the ground, and was stomped on by an unknown person.

Berkos also argues that there was no evidence that Harvey knew he was about to participate in a fight that could result in a death.

The alleged getaway driver, Rotar, told the detective that she was with Harvey in Wisconsin Dells when Nash and Robinson called him to come pick them up. She said there was no discussion of a fight, and the brawl already had begun when they arrived.

Berkos states the detective did not hear from any witnesses that said Harvey ever engaged Inman during the fight. Witnesses said Harvey only engaged with Peterson. He said evidence presented at the October hearing failed to connect Harvey to the death of Inman.

Prosecutors have yet to file a brief in opposition to Berkos motion. Harvey remains incarcerated at the Sauk County jail on a $100,000 cash bond.
A Brooklyn man has been tentatively charged in a Friday morning hit-and-run crash that killed a bicyclist in the town of Oregon.

Kevin D. Meister, 35, failed to stop after he struck the 33-year-old man from the town of Oregon with his pickup truck, the Dane County Sheriffs Office said.

Authorities had not released the name of the man killed.

The crash happened just before 6:30 a.m. on Lincoln Road at the intersection with Hillcrest Lane, the Sheriffs Office said.

The Sheriffs Office said tips called in by citizens led deputies to the vehicle.

After being interviewed by detectives, Meister was taken to the Dane County Jail and faces a tentative charge of hit and run causing death. Meisters vehicle is also being examined for evidence.

The bicyclist was going west on Lincoln Road when he was hit by the truck. He died at the scene.
Two men were indicted by a federal grand jury on Thursday for allegedly robbing a Jefferson liquor store in February.

James Mizener, 48, of Palmyra, and Nicholas Wosinski, 26, of Whitewater, were each charged with robbing Pitz Stop Liquor, while Mizener also was charged with brandishing a firearm during a crime of violence and being a felon in possession of a firearm.

The indictments came from the federal grand jury sitting in Madison. The U.S. Attorney's Office said federal charges were filed because the business engages in interstate commerce.

According to an article in the Jefferson Daily Union, Mizener entered the store, displayed a handgun, took cash from the register and the clerk's cellphone and fled to a car driven by Wosinski. They were arrested shortly afterward, the article said.

If convicted, both face a maximum 20 years in federal prison, while Mizener also faces a mandatory minimum of seven years and a maximum of life on the brandishing a firearm during a crime of violence charge and 10 years on the felon in possession of a firearm charge, the release said.
Here are the raises coming for Mishawaka teachers and administrators

From teachers and administrators to bus drivers and substitutes, increased pay is coming to staff across the School City of Mishawaka.
Court records unsealed this week provide new insights into the unsolved, gang-related slayings of Martez Moore and Darius Haynes in Madison this spring, with details included about many aspects of the ongoing police investigations of the linked fatal shootings.

New facts revealed include that Madison police were told by at least one person that it was 25-year-old William D. Flowers Jr., who allegedly killed Moore, 30, of Madison, and why it happened, later on the same day that Moore was gunned down outside OGradys Irish Pub, 7436 Mineral Point Road on the citys Far West Side at about 1 a.m. April 19. Flowers, whom police have called a person of interest in the homicide, has not been charged in it.

One woman interviewed by police at about 6 p.m. April 19 said Flowers girlfriend came to her apartment on Greenway Cross and told her about the shooting shortly after it happened, leading the women to believe Flowers was the shooter. The State Journal is not identifying either woman because they have not been charged with a crime.

The woman approached by Flowers girlfriend also said Moore was shot over a beef between gang elements on the South and West sides of Madison over someone snitching, according to a search warrant return filed July 25 by Madison police detective Mindy Winter. The disagreement was said to have started at Penn Park the day before the shooting in the early evening on April 18, when Moore reportedly jumped on a park table where Flowers was gambling with some men he knew from Chicago, and then guns came out, a witness said. The warrant doesnt say if shots were fired.

Another unsealed search warrant, this one filed June 15 by Madison detective Lindsey Ludden, reveals that the victim in the second slaying  Darius M. Haynes, 38, of Madison, who was a close friend of Moores  had told police a week after Moores death that more people would likely be shot as a consequence of Moores being killed.

Haynes was fatally shot two weeks later, on May 10, through the drivers side window of his vehicle as it idled at a pump at a Verona Road gas station. Haynes relatives, on May 11, told police that Haynes had said he was being followed for the past week and a half by members of a group he called the Block Boys, and in particular, (by) William Flowers and Christopher Curry, according to Luddens search warrant affidavit.

The search warrants ordered Sprint and T-Mobile to turn over call records and other data from cellphones collected from the fatal shooting victims and potential suspects.

A third linked slaying occurred the day after Haynes was shot, when Elijah J. Washington III, 28, of Madison was shot and killed May 11 outside Capitol Petro Mart, 2570 Rimrock Road, in the town of Madison. Kortney D. Moore, 28, of Chicago, who is the brother of first slaying victim, Martez Moore, turned himself in May 15 after the town of Madison police publicly said he killed Washington.

Flowers, who also goes by the nickname Lil Head, was arrested May 14 at a Fitchburg address on an outstanding warrant for an alleged robbery and battery with three alleged accomplices on April 4 at Legends bar, 439 Grand Canyon Drive, about a mile east of OGradys.

Described by police as a person of interest in Moores death, Flowers was arrested on the alleged robbery/battery with Michael J. Collins, 26, who also had been sought for questioning in the Moore shooting; Collins was arrested on an alleged probation violation. Lordie J. Cole, one of Flowers alleged accomplices in the April 4 battery/robbery, and Travis G. Smith, Jr., also have been called persons of interest by police in the homicide.

Flowers remains in the Dane County Jail on $16,000 cash bond for the robbery/battery case, set for a court hearing Sept. 23. He hasnt been charged in connection with either the Moore or Haynes slayings, nor has anyone else.

Madison police Capt. James Wheeler said Thursday that detectives in the Violent Crime Unit continue to work both killings as active cases. He noted neither Flowers nor anyone else whom police may have received tips about could be arrested just on the basis of someones say-so.

You still have to put a case together ... physical evidence and corroborating evidence, to even make that criminal complaint so the (district attorney) will charge, Wheeler told the State Journal.

Flowers, Cole, Smith and Collins were among those identified by Madison police gang officers on a bar security video from inside OGradys the night of Moores shooting.

Also seen on the video were Devonta and Damien Spraggins, who are brothers, and Kendrick Bridges. Shortly after Martez was shot, a Dane County Sheriffs deputy pulled over a white Jeep Cherokee in the 700 block of Struck Street that a witness had reported speeding away from OGradys shortly after the shooting. Bridges was the driver and the Spraggins brothers were passengers, according to the search warrant affidavit.

Devonta Spraggins, 20, seated in the Jeeps back seat, had a bleeding wound from a gunshot graze under his right ear, according to Winters search warrant affidavit, and he was taken to UW Hospital for treatment. He told police he was shot while he stood outside of OGradys and then ran away to call his brother to come and pick him up.

Kortney Moore, the alleged killer of Washington, remains in jail on a charge of first-degree intentional homicide, with a final pre-trial hearing Aug. 25.
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The Islamic calendar is tied to observations of the moon  the new month starts when a new moon is observed. John Nelson took this image of a thin crescent moon on May 31 using a Canon 60D camera attached to an Explore Scientific 127mm telescope.

Slooh Community Observatory will give viewers a rare sight of the new moon today (Aug. 5) from its telescope in the Canary Islands in a broadcast that will also discuss the importance of the new moon in the Islamic calendar.

The broadcast starts at 2 p.m. EDT (6 p.m. GMT) and is available at live.slooh.com. You can also watch it here on Space.com, courtesy of Slooh.

"During the live broadcast, Slooh host Paul Cox will be joined by Shaykh Abdulbary Yahya to explore the importance of the moon, specifically the new moon, to the Muslim faith," Slooh representatives wrote in a statement. "Theyll discuss the practice of moon sighting, and explore use by Muslims worldwide of a lunar calendar to determine dates of religious holidays, etc., rather than a solar one." [Moon's Phases Are a Lunar Delight for Stargazers]

The Islamic calendar is different from the Gregorian calendar, which we are familiar with in the United States. New Gregorian months happen at predictable intervals that are the same every year (except for leap years, which add an extra day to February every four years). In the Islamic calendar, new months can only begin once the new moon arrives (on the 29th or 30th day of each lunar cycle).

How the new month begins also varies by different Islamic schools, according to Slooh. Some allow for astronomical calculation, while others require a physical sighting by a member of the faith. How the moon is seen also depends on what school you belong to. Some allow for sightings with binoculars or telescopes, while others require naked-eye observations only.

The new moon is called the Hilal in Islamic culture. "This month, Slooh will be adding its own group of telescopes in the Canary Islands to assist in the sighting of the Hilal," Slooh said in the same statement.

Joining Cox and Yahya will be Slooh astronomer Bob Berman, who will discuss why the new moon is so difficult to see through a telescope. The new moon happens when the moon moves approximately between the Earth and the sun. The moon is completely dark when it's situated right in between, but a crescent is visible again as the moon begins to move out of the way.

Viewers can take part in the discussion on the Slooh website or on Twitter (by tweeting @Slooh).

Follow Elizabeth Howell @howellspace, or Space.com @Spacedotcom. We're also on Facebook and Google+. Original article on Space.com.
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Delta Force is a mighty secretive unit of the Army, which is considered one of the worlds best special operations forces units. Among all the assets delegated to special operations of the US military, the Delta Force is undoubtedly covered by the strictest confidence. It is the leading basic military counter-terrorism unit of the United States acting on foreign soil.

Unit names

The operational name is 1st Special Forces Operational Detachment  Delta or just 1st SFOD-D. It is also called Delta Force, Combat Applications Group (CAG), The Unit, Army Compartmented Element (ACE), The Dreaded D, D-Boys, and Task Force Green.

It is a Tier 1 unit under the direct supervision of the Department of Defense along with SEAL Team 6, 24th Special Tactics Squadron, and Intelligence Support Activity. The unit is placed directly under the Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC). The unit is a Special Missions Unit (SMU) tasked with missions primarily involving counter-terrorism, hostage rescue, direct action, and special reconnaissance, often against high-value targets.

History

Like many other similar units, the Delta Force was formed in the dawn of numerous well-publicized terrorist incidents in the 1970s. With the increase in terrorist activities around the world, the U.S. government decided to create a full-time counter-terrorism unit.

The US Armys Delta Forceone of Washingtons premier specialized unitsis still largely hidden from public view despite more than three decades since it was formed and dozens of Hollywood movies. The Pentagon never really confirmed the existence of The Unit. So far, they offered very few details about the group, its organization, or even how many Delta operators there are in total. They operated strictly in secret. The Army would not even speak the word Delta. If you had to refer to them, they were operators or the Dreaded D.

It all started with Charles Charlie Beckwith, a Green Beret and Vietnam War veteran who served as an exchange officer with the famous British Armys Special Air Service (22nd SAS Regiment). After he finished his time with SAS, Beckwith returned to the United States and presented a detailed report highlighting the U.S. Armys vulnerability in not having a SAS-type unit.

A Delta Force operator wields a CAR-15 while serving on Gen. Norman Schwarzkopfs protective detail during the Persian Gulf War. (Photo: DoD)

U.S. Army Special Forces were up-to-date with world trends but focused on unconventional warfare. It was crucial when Charlie Beckwith recognized and pointed out the need for not only teachers but doers. He envisioned highly adaptable and autonomous small teams with a broad array of special skills for direct action (DA) and counter-terrorism (CT) missions that can strike without warning and with maximum efficiency. He briefed military and government figures who were resistant to creating a new unit outside of Special Forces or changing existing methods.

But Beckwith keeps pushing it. He wanted such unit and men as tough or tougher than the members of Deltas inspiration, the British Special Air Service.

In the mid-1970s, Beckwith got the green light from the Pentagon and Army senior leadership. Beckwiths estimated time for a new unit to be mission-ready was 24 months. Beckwiths estimate came from a conversation he had had earlier with Brigadier John Watts in England in 1976. Watts had made it clear to Beckwith that it would take eighteen months to build a squadron but advised him to tell the Army leadership that it would take two years and not to let anyone talk (him) out of this.

The United States Army originally planned Delta Force as an organization which can be deployed worldwide and has the capability to provide an appropriate response to highly sensitive situations including acts of international terrorism, explains a 1977 analysis of the proposed unit held by the Armys Center of Military History.

Delta Force was then established on Nov. 19, 1977, by Colonel Charles Beckwith and Colonel Thomas Henry. The HQ was set in the former prison of Fort Bragg (North Carolina). In early 1978, the US Army Special Forces volunteers were put through a four-phased specialized selection/assessment process dubbed the Robert Redford Paper.

The first phase requirements were a minimum age of twenty-two years, four years and two months of active service, a minimum grade of Staff Sergeant, having scored a minimum of 100 points in the aptitude test of the U.S. Army, no problem disciplinary applicant, and no condemnation to court-martial.

Delta Force: A mighty, secretive, and elite group of warriors (Photo: XY)

The next phases involved a series of land navigation problems in mountainous terrain while carrying increasing weight. The purpose was to test candidates endurance, stamina, willingness to endure, and mental resolve.

The first Delta Force training course lasted from April to September 1978. Delta Force was certified as full mission capable in Fall 1979, right before the Iran hostage crisis. The name Delta probably comes from Beckwiths previous engagement in the Project Delta during the Vietnam War. Project Delta had the objective to carry out covert operations against the Vietcong.

Selection and training

Recruitment in Delta Force

The Army has never released an official fact sheet for the Delta Force. The only official statement referring to the Delta Force was the mention in Fort Braggs newspaper, Paraglide; the author referred to Delta Force by name and labeled it as the US Armys special operations unit organized for the conduct of missions requiring rapid response with surgical application of a wide variety of unique special operations skills.

The Unit didnt allow officers below the rank of captainwho outrank all lieutenantsinto the unit. The minimum acceptable rank would be staff sergeant, three full grades above a humble private first class.

The recruitment notice from the same source stated that applicants must be male, in the grade of E-4 through E-8, have at least two and a half years of service remaining in their enlistment, be 21 years or older, and score high enough on the Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery to attend a briefing to be considered for admission.

Candidates must be airborne qualified or volunteer for airborne training. Officer candidates need to be O-3 or O-4. All candidates must be eligible for a security clearance level of Secret and have not been convicted by court-martial or have disciplinary action noted in their official military personnel file under Article 15 of the Uniform Code of Military Justice.

All publicly available information regarding the training and selection comes from the units former operators, most notably from Eric L. Haney, author of the book Inside Delta Force.

Selection

According to Haynes, the Delta Forces selection course consists of standard tests, including push-ups, sit-ups, a 2-mile (3.2 km) run, an inverted crawl, and a 100-meter swim fully dressed. The candidates are then put through a series of land navigation courses, including an 18-mile (29 km) all-night land navigation course while carrying a 40-pound (18 kg) rucksack.

Delta Force Team at an undisclosed location (Photo: Pinterest)

The rucksacks weight and the distance of the courses are increased, and the time standards to complete the task are shortened with every march. The physical testing ended with a 40-mile (64 km) march with a 45-pound (20 kg) rucksack over rough terrain that had to be completed in an unknown amount of time. Haney wrote that only the senior officer and NCO in charge of selection could see the set time limits, but the Delta training cadre set all assessment and selection tasks and conditions.

The washout rate in the Delta Force Selection Course is somewhere 10%. According to the former Delta operator Paul Howe, there were two classes of 120 applicants each at his selection time, and only 12 to 14 completed the selection.

Basic Training

According to Haney, Delta Forces Operator Training Course (OTC) is approximately six months long. While the course is constantly changing, the skills taught broadly to include the following:

Marksmanship

Demolitions and Breaching

Combined skills  The FBI, FAA, and other agencies were used to advise the training of this portion of OTC.

 The FBI, FAA, and other agencies were used to advise the training of this portion of OTC. Tradecraft  During the first OTCs and creation of Delta, CIA personnel were used to teach this portion.

 During the first OTCs and creation of Delta, CIA personnel were used to teach this portion. Executive Protection  During the first OTCs and creation of Delta, the U.S. State Departments Diplomatic Security Service and the United States Secret Service advised Delta.

During the first OTCs and creation of Delta, the U.S. State Departments Diplomatic Security Service and the United States Secret Service advised Delta. Culmination Exercise

During the training, future operators spent hours and days forging their skills. They undergo numerous psychological exams while they have limited and minimal contact with friends and family for the duration of OTC. The operators are often forced to work alone during the course, which can be an obstacle for those accustomed to acting instead of in a group. Training includes a lot of firearm accuracy and various other weapons training.

Organization

Delta Forces commanding officer is in the rank of the Colonel. All information regarding this unit are highly classified. The details about specific missions or operations generally are not available publicly. Delta Force is stationed at Fort Bragg, North Carolina.

Delta Forces personnel goes around 2,000, of which approximately 300 to 400 are trained to conduct direct action (DA) and hostage rescue operations. At the same time, the rest of them are highly specialized support personnel who are among the very best in their fields. There are many females among the personnel, often used for undercover operations.

The units structure is similar to the British 22nd Special Air Service Regiment, the unit that inspired Deltas formation.

Delta Force operators in Afghanistan, their faces censored to protect their privacy. (Photo: Dalton Fury)

Delta Force (1st SFOD-D) has eight operational sabre squadrons:

A Squadron (Assault)

B Squadron (Assault)

C Squadron (Assault)

D Squadron (Assault)

E Squadron (Aviation, formerly known as SEASPRAY)

G Squadron (Clandestine Operations Group)

Combat Support Squadron (contains WMD experts, EOD personnel, medical personnel, SIGINT specialists, and other specialists)

H Squadron (Nuclear Disposal)

There are three troops within each sabre squadron: two assault troops specializing in direct action and reconnaissance and surveillance, or recce, troop for penetrating enemy lines unseen, watching enemy positions, and sniping.

Operations

The majority of the operations assigned to Delta Force are highly classified and may never be known to the public. However, details of some operations have been publicly disclosed. Delta Force was awarded the Joint Meritorious Unit Award for service during Operation Urgent Fury. The unit was awarded the Valorous Unit Award for extraordinary heroism during the Modelo Prison Hostage Rescue Mission and the capture of Manuel Noriega in December 1989 during Operation Just Cause in Panama.

Delta Force operators from C Squadron were also involved in Operation Gothic Serpent in Somalia. During Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom, the Delta Force was awarded the Presidential Unit Citation for combat operations in Afghanistan from Oct. 4, 2001, to Mar. 15, 2002, and in Iraq from Mar. 19 2003 to Dec. 13, 2003. On Oct. 26, 2019, Delta operators and Army Rangers raided ISIS leader Abu Bakr alBaghdadis compound, leading to his death.

Since its creation, 1st SFOD-D (Delta Force) was deployed around the world:

Operation Eagle Claw

Operation Urgent Fury

Operation Just Cause

Operation Acid Gambit

Persian Gulf War

Colombian Drug War

Somali Civil War

Operation Restore Hope

Operation Gothic Serpent

Operation Uphold Democracy

Yugoslav Wars

NATO intervention in Bosnia

Kosovo War

Global War on Terrorism

Operation Enduring Freedom

Insurgency in Jammu and Kashmir

Iraq War

Operation Juniper Shield

Operation Inherent Resolve

Operation Kayla Mueller

Mexican Drug War

Operation Black Swan

Campaign in Syria

Delta Force has been used in Syria since the Islamic State set up its would-be caliphate in 2015. Generally, it does well. For instance, in May 2015, it killed Abu Sayaf, the ISIS Minister for Oil, in eastern Syria after a fierce gunfight. Sometimes it flops. Like when it moved in August 2014 to rescue American hostages James Foley and Kayla Mueller from Islamic militants. The hostages were not where they were believed to be and were soon after put to death by their captors.

This image from a video released by the Department of Defense on Wednesday, Oct. 30, 2019, and displayed at a Pentagon briefing, shows U.S. Special Operations Forces (1st SFOD-D and Army Rangers), figures at lower right, moving toward the compound of Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi on Saturday, Oct. 26, 2019. (Department of Defense via AP)

Weaponry

In the armory of the Delta Force are present all weapons systems produced in the world. This means that every operator is comfortable making his setup.

That weaponry is not limited; its only the primary weapons and gear used by Delta operators (according to the books written by former operators and rare videos and pictures available online). The unit uses a wide range of specialized equipment like the optics (Aimpoint Comp M, M68, M28, AN/PQ2 Target Pointer / Illuminator / Aiming Light (TPIAL)), NVG equipment.

The vehicles used by Delta operators, but not limited to, are Land Rover Defender 110 SOV, Hummer, Quad ATV, Harley Davidson Bike Track, and various light attack vehicles. Some of these vehicles are armed with Mk 19 grenade launchers, machine guns, General Electric mini-gun, 20mm cannons, and Browning M2. Regarding mobility, the Delta is directly supported by 160th SOAR.
In the case of the other attack in Ansbach, committed by Mohammed Daleel of Syria, the authorities believe the perpetrator's death on July 24 was likely an accident. They think his intention had been to deposit a backpack carrying homemade explosives within a crowd at a music festival in the city before detonating it remotely.

Shortly before the attack, his chat contact had called on him to film the detonation and the ensuing inferno and to send the video to IS. But it appears the explosive detonated prematurely, killing Daleel and injuring 15 others. There is discussion in the chats of Daleel perpetrating further attacks. Daleel's face is concealed behind a veil in the video in which he claims responsibility for the attacks, which investigators view as a sign that he may have been planning further ones. Investigators also found further bomb-making materials in the apartment where he was staying.
SPIEGEL ONLINE: Ms. Thomas, if I'm looking to take a sustainable vacation, I'm probably best advised to stay at home on my balcony, right?

Thomas: Pretty much. You don't produce many CO2 emissions on your balcony. But we don't want to discourage anyone from traveling -- we just want to sharpen their awareness of what responsible vacations are.

SPIEGEL ONLINE: Most Germans prefer to spend their time off in Germany .

Thomas: That doesn't necessarily mean they're adhering to a certain way of life, but nearby travel destinations that can be reached quickly are generally fairly sustainable. Much of that has to do with the fact that they are accessible by public transportation, such as trains.

SPIEGEL ONLINE: What is important to consider when planning a sustainable holiday?

Thomas: First of all, everyone should ask themselves: Why am I traveling? Am I looking for a cultural experience or to go to a spa? Then think about which places meet those criteria. You don't need to travel halfway around the world to find a spa -- it's enough to just go up to the Baltic Sea. And when you're packing, it's good to keep in mind that not all countries recycle their trash, so it's best to leave any packaging at home.

SPIEGEL ONLINE: And what about once you've reached your destination?

Thomas: It's best to frequent locally owned or family-run lodgings rather than international hotel chains. Additionally, you can eat at small restaurants, shop at markets and take three-wheeled rickshaw taxis whenever possible. That way you're supporting the local economy.

SPIEGEL ONLINE: Your website offers long-distance travel bookings. When is it OK to fly places?

Thomas: Taking ground transportation from Germany to India, for instance, is unrealistic. If there's no way to avoid flying, you should always try to book a direct flight. Every takeoff and landing causes additional emissions. Also, one long trip beats three short ones. The ratio of travel distance to holiday duration is an important factor. When it comes to CO2 emissions, a weekend trip to New York doesn't make a lot of sense. After such a long-haul flight, you should plan to stay at your destination for at least two weeks.

SPIEGEL ONLINE: But I could buy green airline miles for my New York trip at Atmosfair. Wouldn't that be enough of an indulgence?

Thomas: I don't like the word "indulgence." In its original Catholic meaning, that was how sinners bought their salvation, and that's not at all what Atmosfair is about. The money is invested in regional climate protection projects that use new technology to improve people's lives. The principle is comparable to a customary tourist tax, thanks to which beaches are kept clean, for instance. It's remarkable that such a thing hasn't been implemented yet for air travel.

SPIEGEL ONLINE: You run Forum Anders Reisen, which bundles together 130 tour operators and travel agents that have committed themselves to sustainability. Your list of criteria is 12 pages long. What does an operator have to fulfill in order to become a member?

Thomas: Is the journey to get there eco-friendly? Are room and board in the destination country provided by locals, so that the money supports the local economy? Are the local culture and nature respected? And most importantly, we're part of the service industry, so there are many people involved who should be able to live from the work they do and, ideally, also have a say in decisions.

SPIEGEL ONLINE: A number of countries that rely on tourism, such as states in the Maghreb region or Egypt, have become politically unstable. What do you recommend: Should people avoid these countries or support them?

Thomas: There's no general answer to that. First of all, no one should travel to any country where their safety is at risk. But the question of whether your money is going to support dictators is one that we should all be asking ourselves. North Korea, for instance, wouldn't be an option because there's no private infrastructure. It's worth looking into whether human rights, protection of endangered species or child labor are issues in a certain country. And not being able to move around freely is a problem, too. However, boycotting a country tends to adversely affect the wrong people. Burma is a good counter-example: Tourism contributed massively to the country opening itself to the outside world.

SPIEGEL ONLINE: Vacations where people can work on social or environmental projects -- so-called voluntourism -- are becoming increasingly trendy. It sounds sustainable, but in fact it's controversial. How do you deal with that?

Thomas: We had to expand our criteria to encompass this new kind of travel. We're very critical of stays at orphanages, where children are briefly looked after by people who lack any educational training and then left again. On the other hand, there's nothing wrong with voluntourism projects in the Black Forest, where you can help collect dead wood after severe storms.

SPIEGEL ONLINE: How cheap is too cheap for a vacation if you want to be sustainable?

Thomas: When you look at the price of a trip, it's easy to calculate whether the cost is realistic. Take, for instance, 1,000 euros ($1,119) for an all-inclusive vacation in the Dominican Republic in a four-star hotel. You can safely assume that the hotel personnel are not being fairly compensated. At a price like that, a company is probably skimping on working conditions.

SPIEGEL ONLINE: According to the tourism research association FUR, at least two out of three Germans say that sustainability is important to them while on vacation -- but their bookings suggest otherwise. How can this be?

Thomas: We're very conscientious in our daily lives when it comes to using renewable energy or buying organic food, but sustainable vacations are going to take some time to catch on. One reason for this could be that the package tour market in Germany is dominated by seven corporations that account for 70 percent of sales. It's tough to find sustainable offers.

SPIEGEL ONLINE: Have you taken a vacation yet this year?

Thomas: No, but I'm leaving soon. I'm going hiking in South Tyrol -- and I'm taking the train to get there.
This is rather unusual; Rep. Mike Coffman has unveiled an anti-Donald Trump ad. Yes, you have read correctly, a Republican is blasting the nominee of his party in a political ad.

Additionally, the spot will be translated in Spanish. It is an understatement to say that this presidential election is bizarre.

Coffman, a four-term Republican Congressman from Colorado, who is fighting for his political life against former state Senate President Morgan Carroll, will start airing the 30-second ad on Friday.

In the ad, the conservative politician looked straight at the camera and told his voters that he plans to go to Washington and stand up to Mr. Trump if he is the winner of the presidential election in the fall. The congressman stated:

People ask me, What do you think about Trump? Honestly, I dont care for him much. Im a Marine. My duty is always to you. So if Donald Trump is the president, Ill stand up to him. Plain and simple. And if Hillary (Clinton) wins, Ill hold her accountable every step of the way.

He explained that he might not even vote for Trump in November. The spot comes just days after Coffman slammed Trump for bashing Khizr and Ghazala Kahn  the parents of a Muslim-American soldier killed in Iraq.

Some experts say that the ad might not be enough to save his seat.
Also, adding structure to the ration and promoting rumen activity and hence the digestion in ruminants, short straw is becoming a popular feed ingredient.

The new VariCut multi-blade cutting system was developed by Krone to offer farmers an additional option to the Krone PreChop system which allows users to adapt their machine to regional conditions. Developed for the BiG Pack 1270 VC and Big Pack 1290 HDP VC models, the new VariCut system has 51 blades and impresses by exceptionally easy operation. Operating by default in sets of 51/26/25/12/5/0, the 51 blades can also be customized to any configuration to suit individual user needs. The individual sets are selected by turning a shaft. The cams on this shaft are merely pushed into their holes and can be quickly refitted to reconfigure the number of blades. This way operators can respond flexibly to varying conditions and individual customer demands.

The new VariCut cutting system also stands out with respect to cleaning and maintenance, which is made easy by an extra cover that protects the blades from straw and debris. As the operator opens this cover, all debris drop to the ground  an easy and quick solution that ensures the blades are quickly ready for use as well as swift cleaning and changeovers. An additional and integral air cleaning system keeps the area around the blade protecting springs clean. Also, any blockage is quickly removed as the blade cassette and the floor lower to the ground.

The entire blade cassette pulls out within a minute and can be stored on a pallet truck for convenient service and maintenance at the workshop. In addition to offering high operator comfort VariCut also scores on a fully updated rotor cutter which was given a fourth row of tines. Operating at a higher speed and feeding smaller portions of material, this rotor not only achieves higher throughputs but also provides a smoother crop flow to the VFS variable feeding system. The feed tines continue to be made from high-quality Hardox steel.
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STAMFORD  A longtime Pitney Bowes assembly-line worker and party-endorsed candidate for a state House of Representatives seat is hoping voters consider his bill promoting pedestrian safety and commitment to senior housing when deciding whether he should have a spot on the ballot in the general election.

Terry Adams, the Democrat incumbent, is being challenged in the 146th District primary this week by petition candidate Dan Dauplaise. Adams was first elected to state office in 2014, beating Republican Kieran Ryan, a Board of Representatives member from the 1st District, by fewer than 400 votes.

Im surprised Im being primaried, said Adams, 58. Normally, as Democrats, we dont run against each other  we run as a team.

Adams is also a Board of Representatives member from the 3rd District and president of the South End Neighborhood Revitalization Zone. The Democrat has been a Stamford resident for 41 years, spending all but two years working for the Stamford-based global manufacturer Pitney Bowes on their assembly line.

According to city tax records, Adams owns eight properties throughout the district, many of them multifamily dwellings in the South End.

Meeting with a photographer and reporter last week at the former Sacred Heart Academy on Strawberry Hill Road  which is set to open as a magnet elementary school in the fall  Adams said his priorities are helping seniors, creating jobs and funding education.

More Information Stamford has one of 10 Democratic primaries happening in the state on Tuesday. Incumbent Terry Adams, the state representative from the 146th District, is being challenged by petition candidate Dan Dauplaise for a spot on the ballot in the Nov. 3 general election. The 146th District has about 22,000 residents - 4,570 of them registered Democrats as of Friday, according to city registrars. Residents in the district, which encompasses parts of the downtown, Shippan and the South End, can register to vote in person at the registrars' office until noon Monday. Polls are open from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m. at Our Lady Star of the Sea, 1200 Shippan Ave., and St. Bridget's Church, 274 Strawberry Hill Ave. See More Collapse

It relieves the overcrowding that is happening in Stamford, he said of the new school. As the population grows, I think the schools are going to get even more crowded.

You see BLT and everyone who can afford to build are choosing Stamford, he continued. Kids are going to want to go to public schools and magnet schools.

For the other end of the age spectrum, Adams affirmed his commitment to preserving affordable housing for city seniors.

If we all live long enough, were going to go down that same road, so weve got to take care of them, he said.

Adams is a member of House of Representatives committees for banking, housing and public safety. He said he is most proud of his work sponsoring a 2016 bill that stiffen penalties for failing to yield to a pedestrian in a crosswalk. The bill was passed by the House and Senate and signed by the governor in May.

Curbing pedestrian fatalities is a priority for Adams. More people are getting killed with cars than guns in Stamford, he said.

Adams is both a state and city representative, having served on the Board of Representatives for 12 years. He said if re-elected to the Assembly he would resign his city seat, which isnt up for re-election until next year.

Adams characterizes himself as a blue-collar worker who moved to Stamford from South Carolina in search of work. He does not have a college degree, but said he has taken courses, when time permits, at Norwalk Community College.

He was recently endorsed by Planned Parenthoods political action committee for Connecticut and a local chapter of the Service Employees International Union.

I work in manufacturing. You work your way up, he said. You want to be able to work and feed your family, and just survive.

The South End resident said his campaign team will be knocking on doors and trying to connect with voters before Tuesday.

All Im asking is for you to look at my record and my accomplishments, he said.
After more than 10 days spent in Poland for World Youth Day, all our pilgrims and chaperones from the Diocese of Bridgeport have returned home safely, transformed by this remarkable experience shared with almost 2 million young from close to 190 countries across the globe.

To see the rich diversity of the group, to participate in the joyful song of our music leaders, to witness the dance of praise that accompanied each days morning prayer was to see the beauty of our Catholic Church at its best. Every young pilgrim who attended could not but be touched by the majesty, diversity and strength of our Catholic family spread all throughout the world. It is this lesson of community that I hope is learned by every pilgrim who has come to Krakow.

Our pilgrimage was not without its challenges  just as it should be. Every pilgrimage is an opportunity to step on unfamiliar ground, to put aside our comfortable routines and certainties, and to make ourselves vulnerable in order to learn and grow.

As our Holy Father reminded young people in his World Youth Day homily, When it comes to Jesus, we cannot sit around waiting with arms folded; he offers us life  we cant respond by thinking about it or texting a few words!

This year I was privileged to be asked to celebrate Mass and deliver the homily to all the American pilgrims who traveled to Krakow. In reflecting on the lives of Blessed Mother Theresa, Saint Maximilian Kolbe and St. Pope John Paul II, I told the young people that faith has the power to make we who are ordinary people into extraordinary ministers of mercy through lives of service and love. Our faith can take us where no one dares to go, and gives us the strength to reach out in love and respect.

Through the eyes of faith we can see what other people are blind to: the suffering and disenfranchised, those who are despised and neglected; that, as our Holy Father has spoken, people in need our not problems to be solved but our brothers and sisters to be loved in their hour of suffering.

Indeed the words of Pope Francis at the Closing Mass of World Youth Day are a clarion call to young people around the world. He urged them not to give in to fear or divisiveness or to retreat from the world because the challenges are daunting and at times overwhelming. The popes challenge speaks to youth of all faiths and of no faith  taking the easy way in life is not a path toward greatness or fulfillment.

Thinking that in this world, in our cities and our communities, there is no longer any room to grow, to dream, to create, to gaze at new horizons  in a word to live  is one of the worst things that can happen to us in life. When we are paralyzed, we miss the magic of encountering others, making friends, sharing dreams, walking at the side of others, said Pope Francis.

He continued, God expects something from you. God wants something from you. God hopes in you. God comes to break down all our fences. He comes to open the doors of our lives, our dreams, our ways of seeing things. God comes to break open everything that keeps you closed in. He is encouraging you to dream. He wants to make you see that, with you, the world can be different. For the fact is, unless you offer the best of yourselves, the world will never be different.

Spending time with your young people from Fairfield County and others across the globe has made me more optimistic than ever about our future. Their longing for spiritual wholeness, their acceptance of diversity and instinctive readiness to serve are helping to lead us forward.

Though we may be going through a time of division and uncertainty both locally and internationally, our young people give us hope. Let us pray that in the words of Pope Francis they become true bridge builders, that they continue to reach out to one another in faith and mercy, and have the courage to change the world.

My thanks go out to all the generous donors who made this pilgrimage possible by subsidizing the cost of travel, to all those who planned, organized and chaperoned the trip, and most of all to our young people themselves who can do extraordinary thing in their faith. Our young are not the future; they are here now and their leadership is renewing our church and our society.

The Most Rev. Frank J. Caggiano is the spiritual leader of 400,000 Catholics throughout Fairfield County. Follow Bishop Caggiano on Facebook and on twitter: @bishopcaggiano.
Rehabilitating the Connecticut Department of Motor Vehicles brand is not an enviable task.

Recovery from scandal and reinvention of a tainted product is not impossible (just ask Robert Downey Jr. or look up Apples rocky years on your iPhone). But waiting in line at the DMV has always had about the same appeal as visiting the emergency room or waiting to board a flight at the airport. Its hard to avoid, and impossible to embrace.

The state DMV managed to earn an even more tarnished reputation. During the transition to a long-overdue computer upgrade last year, branches temporarily closed, wait times tripled and drivers around Connecticut were shocked to be served with undeserved fines from police resulting from backlogged insurance verifications.

The new team of Commissioner Michael R. Bzdyra and Deputy Commissioner Judeen Wrinn are currently on what could be billed as The Give Us a Chance Tour, visiting editorial boards to explain what theyre doing to chip away at wait times that were stretching to 2  hours.

It may take a while before people stop burning personal days from work to visit the DMV, but things seem to be moving in a better direction. Bzdyra says wait times have been reduced to an average of about an hour, and he and his team are determined to keep chipping away at that figure.

Were not good enough today. I dont want anyone to think we dont get it, Wrinn insists.

Wrinn has a 40-year career in the private sector, with substantial work in customer service for major employers. She clearly understands that damage control starts with getting face time with critics, which resulted in a meeting with the Hearst Connecticut Media Editorial Board Wednesday.

But what mattered to us was that they kept their rhetoric focused on what Wrinn described as looking at the process from the perspective of the customer.

They have a lot of work to do, and collecting input from frustrated employees is a promising start. Wrinn described battle weary and wounded workers who demanded of leadership that you have to listen to us.

The people in line need to listen as well. If the data the DMV recently collected is correct, theres a lot that state residents can do to collectively shave wait times.

Many people resist renewing licenses at AAA offices, which seldom have waits. Other customers have neglected to prepare for a visit by checking out the DMVs website to download documents or to ensure they are bringing the correct paperwork. The DMV also offers a helpful mobile app.

This is not a matter of spinning a bad reputation. The DMV has an obligation to create a brand of trust. Regardless of any progress they make in months to come, reducing wait times must remain an eternal goal. If ever DMV leaders feel their attention straying from the perspective of customers, we encourage them to get in line.
Its members call it the best kept secret.

Each Monday night, 38 students from around Fairfield County and the surrounding areas gather in a building in Stamford, tucked behind the citys animal control center. But this isnt the meeting of a secret society. Instead, its a meeting of the U.S. Naval Sea Cadets, specifically the Dealey Division.

The Dealey Division includes students from around Connecticut and New York, including several from New Canaan. The students spend their Monday nights throughout the year learning about military traditions, participating in fitness training and receiving training in a range of skills. Though the group may be small and little known in the area, it is impactful. The program isnt just teaching students about the military, but instilling them with skills theyll use throughout their lives.

Out of all the things Ive done  and Ive done a lot of stuff  this has had the greatest impact, said Jennifer Stannard, the commanding officer of the Dealey Division. [The Cadets] develop a sense of respect, self discipline and the knowledge they can do more than they thought they could.

Stannard got involved in the Sea Cadets when she and her son heard about the group from the welcome wagon when they moved to Stamford. Stannard got hired on as staff and now commands the group. Her son, now 36, graduated from the program, served 13 years in the U.S. Navy and now works in radio. Stennard saw firsthand how the program changes its members, which is why shes chosen to stay on so many years. She said it was seeing a formerly shy, young cadet speak in front of a crowd on the programs Presentation Day that made her realize how much of a difference the cadets can make.

The goal of Sea Cadets is not necessarily to prepare students for the Navy, but to teach them about the military and its practices, as well as instill leadership, medical and seafaring skills. The program, for students ages 11 through 18, is modeled on training in the Navy and provides students with opportunities to do things like international exchanges or spend a week on a Navy fleet.

Despite the rigor of the program, the students dont consider it work.

I want to stay through [graduation] to show that its not hard, said Shelomi Soljour, of New Canaan. Its really fun.

Shelomis twin sister, Evania echoed the sentiment.

Dont look at it as you do a bunch of pushups, the 12-year-old said. It helps boost your confidence and it helps boost your courage.

Shelomi and Evania joined Sea Cadets when their father found out about the program. Neither girl wants to go into the military but like how Sea Cadets allows them to meet other people.

I want to meet different people, Evania said. You make a lot of friends and meet people from all over and they tell you about their life.

Evania said the program has allowed her to meet students from all over the country so far. Through one external program, she said she was able to meet a Sea Cadet who was in foster care, for example, which gave her a glimpse of a situation different from her own.

For some cadets, the group actually gives them further insight into a lifestyle that theyve grown up around. Peter Jenkins, a rising sophomore at New Canaan High School, plans to go into the military like his father, Ted Jenkins, who served in the Navy. The 14-year-old said Sea Cadets has further reinforced his decision to eventually enlist.

[Sea Cadets] teaches you all the values of the Navy and its a good steppingstone to the military, Peter said. Youre treated as enlisted and you know what to expect when you enlist.

Peters father, Ted, said Sea Cadets has made a notable change in his son, noting how the cadets and the knowledge he wants to go into the military has given his son a sense of purpose and direction that many high schoolers lack.

Peter has matured and grown. Hes three or four years older than what a 14-year-old should be, Jenkins said. Now he knows what he wants to do with his life. Theres not many programs for young kids like that.

The elder Jenkins is a member of the board of the Western Connecticut Council of the U.S. Navy League, which sponsors the Sea Cadets. He said, that right now, the Sea Cadets mostly raise money through their membership. However, the council recently adopted a ship, the USS Connecticut, which he hopes will help bring more funding and sponsorship to the Navy League and, eventually, the Sea Cadets.

Its a lot of moving parts, but theyre related in spirit and comradery, Jenkins said. Its inexpensive, but the money does help the program.

The program, in turn, helps the students become confident and mature young adults.

A visitor to the center can see this proven true. After fire safety and CPR training classes let out on a particular Monday night, older and younger cadets intermingled with each other effortlessly, Italian ices in hand. They drifted out of the facility and into the civilian world again where they had their military training to make a difference.

ekayata@hearstmediact.com; @erin_kayata
The price dairy farmers receive for their milk has fallen so low that even the best farmers can barely break even. The squeeze threatens to tighten, and the consequences risk spreading, even though a federal program is supposed to provide a safety net preventing such calamity.

The situation calls on Congress and the next presidential administration to work on improvements to the federal dairy program for its renewal in a new farm bill to be debated in 2018.

What the administration and Congress should avoid is throwing more federal money at the dairy economy in an election-year, knee-jerk reaction advocated by some politicians.

At stake is the health of one of the chief engines of the economy in Wisconsin, known as Americas Dairyland. Wisconsin is home to 9,900 dairy farms raising nearly 1.3 million cows and producing about 14 percent of the nations milk. The state also is home to more than 200 plants that make dairy products. That includes nearly 140 cheese plants, which produce 26 percent of U.S. cheese.

The dairy industry contributes $43 billion a year to Wisconsins economy.

The problem is the price farmers receive for their milk has dropped about 40 percent in the past two years as too much production and too little demand turned the market down. The nation was supposed to cushion such a collapse with a plan called the Dairy Margin Protection Program, adopted as part of the 2014 federal farm bill.

Governments worldwide commonly try to provide stable, affordable food for their populations by protecting farmers from boom and bust cycles. The current U.S. dairy program allows farmers to buy subsidized insurance that pays if the difference between the price for milk and the cost of feeding cows drops too low.

But the program has paid out only a trickle even though farmers are near the break-even point or below it. A chief complaint is the formula used to determine the protected margin for farmers is inadequate.

In fact, only an estimated 80 percent of milk production is enrolled in the program  much of it in only minimum coverage  in part because of farmers concerns about the program.

Nonetheless, patience is warranted. The signup for 2017 has begun, and the program has been tweaked to be more farmer-friendly. The coming years data should indicate what further changes to make when the program expires in 2018.

But patience might be in short supply. Last month more than 60 lawmakers, including U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin, D-Madison, and U.S. Rep. Ron Kind, D-La Crosse, asked Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack to take any and all actions available ... to make an immediate market injection and offer financial assistance to farmers. The intent was to pressure the Agriculture Department to take extraordinary measures.

Dairy farmers are in a financial squeeze. But the Agriculture Departments experts should be allowed to make the decisions they see as cost-effective for taxpayers. The underlying problem lies with a Dairy Margin Protection Program that deserves scrutiny, aimed at improving it in the next farm bill.
Stamford police / Contributed

STAMFORD  A city man who pleaded guilty this spring to having sex with a 12-year old girl will spend five years in jail and will likely be deported.

Judge Richard Comerford also ordered Christopher Hernandez-Lucero, 22, kept on the sex offender registry for his entire life, even though he will likely be deported to his native Guatemala.
STAMFORD  Amid the backdrop of the new waterfront skyscrapers, the sounds of the old South End rang out once again Thursday night.

Sgt. Sean McGowan said police rushed to the corner of Woodland Place and Pacific Street about 10:20 p.m. Thursday for a report of shots fired.

Officers searched the area and found five shell casings on the sidewalk at the intersection, which is just south of where William Buttons James was fatally shot in June 2014 at Pacific and Woodland Avenue.

The area is just a few blocks away from where two crane towers are stretched to the sky. Over the past 20 years, the neighborhood, historically one of the citys toughest, has undergone a tremendous make-over.

While block after block of the South End consists of boarded-up homes, crumbling buildings and enough trash to fill a dump truck, other streets gleam of new steel.

The area is near the Harbor Point development, a $3.5 billion, 80-acre mixed-use waterfront development that now features modern apartment buildings along with waterfront restaurants and bars, and plenty of foot traffic next to the new amenities.

No one was reported injured Thursday night and police said area hospitals did not treat anyone with a gunshot wound.

A witness saw a white Jeep leaving the intersection right after hearing the shots, but the woman did not see anyone in the SUV fire a weapon, McGowan said.

Lt. Diedrich Hohn said no other witnesses saw shots being fired and surveillance-camera footage from the area has not yet revealed any clues.

We have very little to go on at this point, Hohn said.

Police are concerned that South End disputes are reaching a boiling point as the attention has recently been focused on the citys West Side violence.

Gun violence on the West Side has increased in recent months  which police have attributed to an ongoing feud between rival residents on Connecticut Avenue and Spruce Street  and Thursdays shooting was the 19th in the city overall since early March.

In addition to Thursday nights incident, there have been at least two other shootings in the South End over the past two weeks.

A 24-year-old Florida man, who also lived in Pound Ridge, N.Y., was critically injured during the early-morning hours of July 22 during a shootout with two other people near the corner of Cedar and Henry streets and the surrounding blocks. Police believe the incident is connected to a shooting that occurred earlier that night on South Pacific Street.

A group of young men hanging out near the corner of Woodland Avenue and Pacific Street on Friday afternoon had nothing to say when asked about the shots fired the previous night.

Police have referred to the lack of cooperation from witnesses and even victims as the street code of silence. Its created a barrier that has slowed police investigations and resulted in only a few arrests in the nearly 20 incidents.

jnickerson@scni.com;
ICHABOD, THE GLORY HAS DEPARTED - explores the Age of Apostasy, predicted in 2 Thessalonians 2:3, with an emphasis on UOJ, Church Growth, and Emergent Church heresies. The antidote to these poisons is trusting the efficacious Word in the Means of Grace. John 16:8. Most readers are WELS, LCMS, ELS, or ELCA. This blog also covers the Roman Catholic Church, Eastern Orthodoxy, and the mainline denominations.
W hen I suggest to Avril Palmer-Baunack that I might describe her as the diminutive dominatrix, she throws back her head and roars with laughter. She laughs a lot, does the executive chairman of BCA Marketplace, owner of British Car Auctions and a great deal else to do with shifting new and second-hand cars around the UK and Europe.

Perhaps its something to do with having worked for decades in one of the most male-dominated industries in the country. Perhaps its surviving death threats. Perhaps its linked to her having a hard-core base of fund managers that has followed her public-company career loyally. Or maybe its just the fact she has a cracking sense of humour.

Palmer-Baunack chairs a seven-strong board, and is the only woman on it. Not only does her position as executive chairman breach corporate governance best practice but she also has no intention of stuffing the board with token women.

Ive never been asked to join any of those womens clubs, like the 30% Club, and I wouldnt if they did, she says. Im very cynical about women and glass ceilings because all Ive ever had is men who saw me work hard and then promoted me. If you get up and do a good days work, youre respected for it.

Warming to her theme, she tells the tale of how she was sitting on the sofa at home one weekend, watching a re-run of Inspector Morse and dipping into a box of Quality Street.

I was flicking through the Sunday supplements and came across this profile of a well-known woman chief executive. She was photographed in what looked her gym-wear, talked about her lifestyle guru and personal trainer, and drank green tea. I chucked the paper on the floor, had a glass of wine and took another Quality Street.

"Ive never once come across sexism. Oh, Ive been wolf-whistled at, but thats a compliment."

So she doesnt admire Harriet Green, the one-time chief of Thomas Cook and now something big at IBM? Out comes that laugh again. Ive never once come across sexism in what is a male-dominated industry, she declares. Oh, Ive been wolf-whistled at, but thats a compliment and I do it back.

BCA Marketplace is the countrys largest seller of used cars by a long way. Its also the biggest buyer through its website WeBuyAnyCar.com. It sells one used car every 60 seconds across its 23 UK auction sites, and a great many more in the 28 sites spread across nine other European countries. There are about 45,000 cars on its premises at any one time but they dont sit there long, with an average stock turnover of only 28 days.

But its not just buying and selling cars. BCA has the largest fleet of transporters in the country, shifting vehicles for manufacturers from ports and factories to fleet managers and dealers. It inspects and services cars, reconditions them when they come out of fleets, offers financing to more than 1000 dealers and sells an awful lot of cups of teas and burgers to the thousands who turn up to its sales.

Yes, we are the Amazon of cars, says Palmer-Baunack. We do it all. People can buy physically or digitally, pick the cars up or have them delivered. And we have a huge database, unrivalled by anyone.

She was born in Edinburgh and educated at the local state school. Her father drove his own salvage truck around the streets of the Scottish capital and her mother ran the family. She learned how to deal scrap metal with her father and left school at 18. I just wanted to work, she says in an accent that is more Portobello than Morningside.

Id had Saturday jobs at M&S and worked in a newsagent but my first full-time job was behind a car rental desk at Kennington Car and Van Rentals. I understood selling and how it was all about up-selling everything. Somebody moved me up to sales manager and I had a great time travelling around selling van rentals to clients like the MoD, Amec, Sky and Royal Mail.

She moved around and upwards from Kennington to Northgate, Europcar, FMG and Cauldwell. Marriage to Uwe, a senior executive with Volkswagen, saw her spend a couple of years in Germany. Then her first job at a public company came in 2005 as chief executive of Universal Salvage, where she won fans when she turned it around and it was taken over by an American firm.

Next came Autologic and her battle with the unions. The car-transporter business was riddled with old-fashioned practices. There were 37 different agreements with the drivers, she says. One was that they raffled a car off for the benefit of the person who had been off sick the most.

She offered the drivers 2000 to sign new contracts. They refused but she entered into secret talks with the then assistant general secretary of Unite, Len McCluskey. Thats when the death threats came and she had private security guarding her.

But she and McCluskey, who are definitely not political bedfellows, thrashed out an agreement the drivers accepted. We had a lot of issues to deal with to save the company, she recalls. He was a very reasoned negotiator and made me believe even more strongly that unions are ultimately there for the right reasons. When McCluskey became general secretary of Unite in 2010, she sent him a postcard saying well done  the picture on the front was of Che Guevara.

Reasoned negotiator: Len McCluskey (Getty Images) / Oli Scarff/Getty Images

Autologic was sold to Stobart Group, of green trucks fame, in 2012. A year and two profit warnings later, Palmer-Baunack was brought in to run Stobart by investors, notably Neil Woodford.

She lasted just 10 weeks, and is uncharacteristically coy about it: Im used to running businesses in the way I run them. Stobart was more, er, entrepreneurial. There was a clash of styles. She had, of course, insisted on a two-year contract and walked away with 1.2 million.

Last year, BCA paid her 7.2 million including a 6 million completion bonus for the 1.2 billion acquisition of BCA. Thats a one-off and agreed by shareholders, who have seen the original share price of 120p rise to 186p.

Anyone who says they dont want money is talking bollocks, she says. We all want to earn money for our family. In her case, thats a grown-up son and daughter. Stobart left its mark and she admitted she needed a rest. It was a good life check for me. Time to stand back. Maybe take some non-exec positions. But then a few fund managers got in touch, started pushing me and rebuilt my confidence.

John Roddan of Moore Capital led the campaign to woo her back. With Marwyn Capital and Cenkos, he devised a plan that was backed by fund managers from Aviva, Artemis, Invesco and Schroders. The venture, called Haversham Holdings after the village she lives in near Milton Keynes, raised just 30 million on AIM in late 2014 with the intention of buying a substantial automotive business.

That came the following March with the purchase of BCA from its private-equity owners. There has since been a string of deals, including Scottish Motor Auctions and Stobart Automotive  which, of course, included Autologic. It was all part of her strategy to drive growth along the automotive value chain.

Being in the business, Palmer-Baunack quite likes motors. Her company car is a Range Rover. Her personal one is a Porsche 911 50  produced for the marques 50th birthday, which happened to coincide with her celebration of the same age. I love Porsches, she almost whispers. And then theres the classic E-Type Jaguar in one of the garages.

Her unlikely hero is Sir Alex Ferguson. Ive read all the books, been to the lectures. His message is clear; you have to be part of the team and one of the do-ers. And prima donnas are disastrous for any business. I get pissed off with gurus in newspapers telling you how to run things. They dont know a thing and have never run anything real in their lives.

Who am I to argue with this five-foot-something Amazon?
H ouse prices sank by 1% in July, but experts have deemed it too soon to tell by how much Brexit has dampened the residential market.

Mortgage lender Halifax revealed that average UK prices dropped to 214,678 last month in the wake of Britains decision to leave the European Union.

That fall reversed a 1.2% gain in June. Compared with a year earlier, prices in the three months to July were up by 8.4%.

Halifax housing economist Martin Ellis admitted there were signs that house-price growth is slowing but added that it remains too early to determine if there has been any impact from the result of the referendum.

Housebuilder Bellways boss Ted Ayres also said it was too early to assess the impact from Brexit, but plans to be more cautious on purchasing new sites.

However, Ayres added that trading in recent weeks had been encouraging.

The firm expects to report a revenue rise of 27% to 2.2 billion for the year to July 31.

Bellway shares earlier jumped 109p to 2138p.
T he new chief of Hugo Boss has unveiled a series of painful decisions to help the embattled design house return to growth.

However, he cheered investors with a fashionable performance in the UK.

Mark Langer said the brand would close another 20 shops worldwide in the next 18 months, adding to 20 closures revealed in March.

It also plans to cut down on discounting in the United States.

Langer, who was promoted to the role three months ago, said: To return to profitable growth again in the medium term, we have made decisions that are painful to begin with.

Hugo Boss is one of a raft of luxury goods companies which are battling weaker demand, and sales dropped by 1% in the second quarter.

But it said sales in the UK rose by a double-digit rate.

The shares increased by 6.5%, or 3.4, to 55.65.
T housands of miles away in Rio de Janeiro, the biggest show on Earth is getting under way. The pay-off for the years of training and sacrifice, the early starts and the hard yards is just days away.

Six weeks on from the EU referendum, it hardly needs saying that Britains businesses face an Olympic challenge of their own over the months and years ahead.

But if the message of the overwhelming majority of British companies was spurned by the electorate, its now up to corporate leaders to ensure that their businesses are honed for the struggles ahead.

The early mood music from Theresa May has been mistrustful of corporate Britain, tapping into the anger of a public outraged by the most egregious examples of inflated boardroom pay.

Deals since the vote, such as SoftBanks 24 billion takeover of chip designer ARM Holdings, have been greeted with as much despair over the fall of a British success story as a celebration of its rise in the first place.

Of course, the next two years will be uncertain while we negotiate our exit. As the Bank of England said yesterday, the second half of this year will be tough. But this has to be about attitude. The UK is the worlds fifth-biggest economy, and we cant just shut up shop.

Companies need to be thinking about how they can still invest and improve, rather than coming up with reasons why they cant.

So now is the time for British business to show the best of itself; smart and innovative at home, improving productivity, but with an eye to the wider world and new markets, using the advantage of the weaker pound.

Bank Governor Mark Carney is no miracle worker but his broad package of support should offset at least some of the uncertainty, leaning against the headwinds.

New Chancellor Philip Hammond, meanwhile, should be stepping it up in his Autumn Statement. If hes got any sense, Hammond will already be working on an extensive package of measures to support business investment through the tax system; he might also make a pledge to stop the constant tinkering with rates that drives chief executives and finance directors potty. Infrastructure spending  on a new runway and at Hinkley Point  would also be a welcome boost.

So now its up to businesses to show their mettle, and take the Olympic motto  Faster, Higher, Stronger  to heart. That way well still be on the medal podium, Brexit or no Brexit.
E ven in death, David Bowie continues to confound us. When he passed away in January, the outpouring of grief was unprecedented, and the bittersweet joy of seeing Brian Duffys cover image of Bowies 1973 Aladdin Sane on so many newspaper front pages was confirmation, if any were needed, that he remains the pre-eminent pop star of our age.

And now it has been announced that he has received a posthumous nomination for the Mercury Prize for his Blackstar album, along with Radioheads A Moon Shaped Pool, Skeptas Konnichiwa and Kanos Made in the Manor, as well as nine others. Not only is it the favourite to win but its the one all the other nominees would like to win too. Blackstar, which contains the line Look up here, Im in heaven on the track Lazarus, has been called Bowies parting gift, as it was released just two days before his death (immediately going to No 1 on both sides of the Atlantic). However, although he knew he was dying of cancer, Bowie had actually finished the album in October, while its release was only held up because one of its accompanying videos had yet to be edited.

Regardless, Blackstar has already become one of Bowies most important records, as groundbreaking and intoxicating as Station to Station, Low, 1.Outside or The Next Day. The tradition remains in the record industry that with albums from some of the bigger artists they are usually played to a select group of journalists a month or so before their intended release. And so it was with Blackstar  only one overly excited music journalist decided to share the albums secrets with his newspapers readers, thus breaking the embargo and meaning the word spread about it earlier than intended. It was actually going to be released in secret, as its predecessor The Next Day had been.

All that ceased to matter when it was announced that Bowie had succumbed to cancer, and the record started to be judged on its own merits rather than the way in which it had been birthed. And what we were left with was a record of extraordinary depth, with Bowie experimenting with jazz motifs, layering the album with lyrics of such pathos that at times it was difficult to listen to.

Since then the album has grown in stature, making its inclusion on the Mercury list a cultural imperative rather than an exercise in sentimentality. I love the record but then I know so few people who feel otherwise. For the past nine months I have been working on a mammoth oral biography of Bowie for Random House, interviewing more than 150 people, including friends, family, musicians, artists and journalists. Many themes have arisen from these interviews, which I hope will shed new light on a man who meant so much to all of us. I knew Bowie reasonably well and interviewed him formally seven times in 30 years, and many of the things I have found have caused me to re-evaluate much of what I know of him.

One thing that doesnt need re-evaluating is the importance of Blackstar. Its a record as good as anything he produced in his pomp, in his golden years (in many peoples eyes, still the Seventies). When the album was first released many reviewers tried to sift through the lyrics in order to produce theories and assumptions about the finality of the record. Which missed the point. Blackstar wasnt a summation of Bowies career, it wasnt a legacy project. It is a record that simply reflects how Bowie felt when he made it.

It was recorded under extreme circumstances, too. The whole thing was done in secrecy, and  like on Low and Heroes, for example  many musicians who played on the record had no idea how their contributions might be used.

Obviously what was most unusual about Blackstar was the fact that some of the people working on it knew Bowie was seriously ill. Some of those who saw him in those final weeks were ungraciously indiscreet after his passing, describing the way he looked and acted during the recording sessions. Nobody needed to know that. He had terminal cancer, and the fact that he was embarking on what he knew to be his last record, one that he knew would stand as one of his best, is a formidable thing. Blackstar is a great record, and I hope it wins the Mercury Prize when it is announced on September 15.

When he died in January, as I read the avalanche of tributes  almost all of which were glowing in their appreciation  I wondered what Bowie himself would have made of it. What few people know is that he read everything about himself. Every newspaper review, every little blog. I know for a fact that he read every review of The Next Day, and I would be surprised if he didnt try to read all the reviews of Blackstar, too. And what would he have made of the obituaries that followed his death? He would have enjoyed it, as he always liked to be appreciated. And he would have taken issue with some of the more popular assumptions (to wit: he was rubbish in the Sixties, great in the Seventies, too populist in the Eighties, regaining his credibility in the Nineties and Noughties). Most importantly, he would have chuckled to himself and said: Ha! They still didnt get that! Bowie was a deliberate bundle of contradictions, and he enjoyed it that way.

A few years ago I wrote a book about Bowies appearance on Top of the Pops in 1972, a book that tried to explain how influential his performance was (he premiered Starman that night), while trying to put his success in the Seventies into context. I needed various permissions from Bowie for some of the pictures in the book, so I sent it to him before publication. I also included some wildly inaccurate descriptions I knew to be wrong, in the hope that he would contradict me and give me more material. I even pointed them out to him.

But the book simply came back with tacit approval and an agreement that I could use the pictures I needed.

Print the myth, he seemed to be saying. And so it remains.

Dylan Jones is the editor-in-chief of GQ and the author of Ziggy Played Guitar: David Bowie and Four Minutes That Shook the World (Random House) 19.99
N eed an excuse to enjoy a cold pint on an August evening? If the warm weather and the fact its Friday arent reason enough to persuade you, perhaps the fact that today marks International Beer Day will.

The day first originated in 2007, and since its inception, International Beer Day has grown from a small localised event in the western United States to a worldwide celebration spanning 207 cities, 50 countries and 6 continents.

And while joining in with the celebrations couldnt be easier enough - simply head down to your local pub and pitch up at a bar - why not use the event as an excuse to try something a little bit different in your pint glass tonight?

Whether youre a lager lover or youre more likely to sup on a stout, Jethro Holman, a beer sommelier from Meantime, has rounded up five lesser-known beer styles that you may not yet have tried, and where you can buy them in the capital.

Bottle openers at the ready, Londoners.

Saisons

Originating in French-speaking Belgium, Saisons are typified as refreshing summer ales with flavours of fruit and floral aromas. A lot of Saisons are cloudy due to the use of pale malts and many are bottle conditioned, so be careful when pouring into a glass or you may end up with sediment floating in your drink. A personal favourite is Saison A La Provision by Burning Sky brewery.

Available from The Bottle Shop in Bermondsey

Red ales

Red ales have exploded in the past couple of years and most major craft brewers have one in their range, but you still have to seek them out hidden amongst the pale ales and craft lagers. Red Ales fall somewhere between dark and pale ales and the focus is often more on the malts than the hops, resulting in a balanced beer with toasted characters and a light fruitiness. Hook Island Red from Five Points Brewery is a delicious red rye at a hefty 6% - well worth getting hold of.

Available from Kris Wines in Camden

Best beers - in pictures 1 /9 Best beers - in pictures Our pick of the best beers to relax with... Shutterstock Staropramen The number one Prague beer in the world, Staropramen has the hoppy, fruity aroma of a traditional Czech pilsner. First brewed in 1869, the recipe hasnt changed much since then; remaining true to its roots. The brewery will also be unveiling an exclusive range of beers at the Spirit of Prague Beer Festival in London this weekend. 1.99, Tesco, Buy it now Alhambra Reserva 1925 This full-bodied Spanish lager, a winner from the 2009 World Beer Awards, offers subtle caramel notes, herbal hops and a crisp finish. Made with pure water from the Sierra Nevada Mountains, it has been brewed for 35 days and is dark amber in colour. 1.79, The Pip Stop, Buy it now BrewDog Hardcore IPA With helpings of three of major North American hops, this no-frills IPA from the Scotland craft brewer packs a hearty punch. It has a malty backbone with aromas of citrus fruit, spiced rum and whisky to cover all taste buds. This bad-boy received a Gold medal at the 2010 World Beer Cup. 3.99, Prestige Drinks, Buy it now Thornbridge Lukas The Imperial version of Britains iconic India Pale Ale is a hoppy affair. Its flavours of orange and melon lead up to an intense bitter finish. The 10-percent Jaipur X was crafted to celebrate the tenth anniversary of Derbyshire-based brewery, Thornbridge. A boozy beer for sipping slowly. 2.20, Beer Merchants, Buy it now Bosteels Kwak A Belgian strong ale with a spicy body, hints of banana  which come from yeast  and a late bitterness. Famed for its iconic beer glass that sits upright in a wooden stand, Kwak was first created at the Bosteels brewery in Buggenhout in 1791. The well-balanced beverage is easily drinkable and tastes great paired with dark chocolate. 2.99, Beer Hawk, Buy it now Fuller's London Porter This British offering is widely recognised as the worlds finest porter, with a huge number of awards under its belt. Its brewed from a blend of Pale, Crystal and Brown malts and balanced by traditional Fuggles hops. Notes of coffee and chocolate create a deeply rich mouthful that lingers on your palate. Best paired with rich meats or oysters. 1.80, Sainsburys, Buy it now

Black beer

2016 has been the year of the black beer, but theres still a lot of beer-lovers who havent got to grips yet. Essentially, when brewing a black beer the malts used are very dark or roasted darker, which gives the distinctive colour. The result is a roasty flavour complementing or contrasting with the style. Meantime Brewing in Greenwich currently has a Black Ale on offer, Maison Hop, which features some cognac-barrel ageing for an amazingly unique flavour.

Available from the Brewery Shop at Meantime Brewery, Greenwich

Barrel-aged

Not strictly a style, but barrel-ageing is becoming more prominent in the beer industry  taking cues from the prevalence in spirits production. Using barrels such as cognac, port, sherry and whisky or bourbon barrels can add a wonderful after-taste to an already delicious beer. Siren Craft Brews Life is a Peach is a peaches and cream IPA aged in Chardonnay barrels coming in at a whopping 8% ABV. You wont find anything else like it in the world.

Available from Clapton Craft, Hackney

Sours

Sour beer is still surprisingly difficult to find despite most drinkers having heard of the most famous sour beer, Berliner Weisse. Made by introducing wild yeast into the brewing process, the results are beers with acidic, sour and tart flavour profiles, often well matched to beery flavours. The Kernel Brewery recently release a low ABV (2.9%) Sour Raspberry which is deliciously summery.

Available from Hop Burns & Black in Dulwich

Follow us on Twitter: @eslifeandstyle
S kinny-dipping is so passe. This month its all about bare-all paddle-boarding. Thats the naked truth, according to Orlando Bloom, who sent Twitter into meltdown on Wednesday when he was photographed starkers on a paddleboard in Italy with his somewhat more clothed girlfriend Katy Perry. But rather than ogling Blooms oar we should be studying his technique. Because the paddleboard has achieved cult status  this summer youre going nowhere unless you get there standing on a surfboard using a paddle to propel yourself through the water.

The sport was developed by surfers in Hawaii but its been making waves in the celebrity world for a while, thanks to Jennifer Aniston and Cindy Crawford. The pair spent most of 2010 paddling around LA in the guise of discreet exercise, prompting hundreds of articles about the miraculous fitness benefits: believe it or not, rowing through the water is really good for your arms.

Since then, any model worth their Victorias Secret wings has posted Instagram pictures of themselves dipping their blade into the ocean in a string bikini. We Brits looked on  then tucked into another Mars bar.

But what started as a smug celeb hashtag is now trickling down to the British holidaymaker. You dont have to be a sun-kissed movie star to stick your oar in. In fact, it turns out that Londons slow-moving canals and lakes are much better for a bit of gentle boarding than the Pacific. Who needs the dazzling beaches of LA or the Med when youve got Paddington Basin anyway? The swampy bit of canal around the train station has just welcomed water-sport specialist Active360s SUPcity, which hosts not only paddleboarding classes but also paddleboarding races, in which you and your fellow boarders thrust your way up to Little Venice through the canal boats and beer cans and discarded trolleys.

Close your eyes and its almost like youre in the Med. Wait, quick, open them before you  oops.

Actually, standing up on your paddleboard is a bit old hat, too. Look closely at the footage of Bloom  yep, thats a pretty big shadow hes casting  and youll see hes actually kneeling for stability. What an amateur.

Perry is far more impressive in her lotus position and fixed grimace (although perhaps we should be glad Blooms not doing a downward dog). It turns out that yoga mats on dry land are also totally last year  all the cool yogis are now sun-saluting on paddleboards.

Festival fitness 1 /9 Festival fitness Congo at Bestival Stevie Gedge Green Man Caitlin Mogrdige Tree climbing at Womad High jump at Wilderness Wonky races at Secret Garden Party Swimming lessons at Latitude Kennerdeigh Scott Boardmasters Crowd at Fistral

If you fancy mimicking Perry, get to Wilderness in Oxfordshire this weekend, where food-lovers seeking respite from the next round of Michelin-starred grub can have a bash at paddleboard yoga on a lake. Because paddleboard yoga is a great workout, apparently. The instability of being in the middle of a massive body of water means your core muscles work even harder when doing a cobra. Plus theres the exercise involved in hauling yourself back onto your board after belly-flopping in for the seventh time. SUPworld magazine (the international Standing Up Paddling magazine, obvs) says you can burn 540 calories an hour.

At this rate, its only a matter of time before we see David Cameron up on a paddleboard while hes on his hols in Corsica. But please,Sam, make him keep his shorts on.

Follow Frankie McCoy on Twitter: @franklymccoy
T he family of a Scottish aristocrat charged with trafficking cocaine worth 4.5 million into Kenya today insisted he was innocent.

Jack Marrian, 31, was arrested after Kenyan police and US Drug Enforcement Agency officials in Mombasa found 100kg of the drug in containers that had arrived from Brazil.

Marrian, who attended Marlborough College, where the Duchess of Cambridge studied, is managing director of Mshale Commodities, the Kenyan importer the prosecution says would have received the drugs.

He is the son of Lady Campbell of Cawdor, daughter of the late Hugh Campbell, the sixth Earl Cawdor. The family estate is the 14th-century Cawdor castle near Nairn in Scotland.

Marrians aunt Liza Campbell today told the Standard: Jack is a hard-working, loyal employee of a large, respectable sugar company.

"He has been thrown into a nightmarish situation by a perfectly normal consignment getting contaminated by smugglers during international transit.

"He is completely innocent and we are confident that the Kenyan police will exonerate him soon.

The class A narcotics, with a street value of about 4.5 million, were allegedly shipped in containers labelled as carrying sugar destined for Uganda.

Police said Marrian and his co-accused, a Kenyan, had placed calls to the people processing the cargo at the port before it was impounded.

Marrian was remanded in custody after being described as a flight risk when he appeared in court in Nairobi yesterday to deny the charges.
A man was Tasered by police this morning after he was found in a Brixton street armed with a knife and a hammer.

Police were called at 5.50am after they received reports that a man had been attacked in Brixton Hill.

Police raced to the scene, close to the junction with Jebb Avenue, and found a man armed with the two weapons.

An officer discharged a Taser and the man was then detained and arrested.

Police did not find anyone injured at the scene, which is close to Brixton Prison.

A Scotland Yard spokeswoman said that no officers were injured during the incident, which is not believed to be terror-related.

She said: "Enquiries are being carried out into the circumstances of the incident by officers from Lambeth."

A London Ambulance Service spokesman said: We were called at 5.51am today to reports of an incident on Brixton Hill.

We sent an ambulance crew and a single responder in a car to the scene.

We treated a patient and took them to a hospital in south London.
A 14-year-old boy has been arrested after a teenager was knifed in the stomach in south-east London.

Met Police rushed to Pleasance Road, St Paul's Cray, just before 11pm last night after reports that a man had been stabbed.

A 17-year-old boy was taken to a south London hospital where he remains a serious but stable condition.

The younger teen is currently being held at a south London police station.

A Met Police spokesman said: A 14-year-old boy has been arrested in connection with the investigation.

He currently remains in custody at a south London police station.

Enquires into the incident continue.
A fraudster who tried to claim 5,000 for injuries was exposed after CCTV footage showed he wasnt even in his car at the time of the accident.

The carer, aged in his 50s, claimed he had suffered injuries to his neck, back and arm after a woman reversed into his car in a Halfords car park.

But video footage of the incident shows he was standing next to his car at the time.

City of London Polices Insurance Fraud Enforcement Department were called in to investigate the incident after the womans insurance company received a claim from the man.

After the collision, which happened in a Slough car park last November, the female drivers insurance company was notified and a claim for damage to the mans vehicle amounting to 2,000 was paid.

But he went on to submit a false personal injury claim that he had received injuries to his neck, back and arm as a result of the collision and was seeking up to 5,000 in compensation.

When investigated by police, the man tried to maintain his story but eventually admitted to making it up after being shown the CCTV.

He was subsequently given a police caution earlier this week.

Detective constable Mohammed Darr, from the Insurance Fraud Enforcement Department said: This was one of the most blatant cases Ive dealt with and he was clearly lying to try and get a compensation payout for injuries he never received.

He now has this on his criminal record and he also has to declare the fact he was involved in fraudulent activity to his employer as he is in a notifiable occupation.

As well as being criminal, this kind of behaviour also drives up insurance premiums for honest customers and we all end up footing the bill.

"It may be tempting to submit exaggerated or dishonest claims to try and increase an insurance claim, but it is fraud and where cases are identified they can be passed to police and you could end up with a criminal record, a conviction, or even end up in prison.
A teenager died after being ambushed and stabbed by a knife-wielding gang less than 50 yards from his family home.

Andrew Oteng, 19, staggered, with blood pouring from a leg wound, to the first-floor flat in Bermondsey where he lived with his mother Tina.

He hammered on the front door before collapsing on the doorstep saying: I cant breathe.

Neighbours rushed to give him first aid before he was taken to Kings College Hospital at 11.40pm on Wednesday. He was given emergency surgery but died 12 hours later.

The death of the former pupil of St Thomas the Apostle Catholic College in Peckham has shocked friends and neighbours in the close-knit estate near Millwalls Den stadium.

They said the kind, polite boy was dedicated to caring for his sick mother and had ambitions to study at university.

Close friend Kirsty Anderson, 18, said: We saw him come past and my mate shouted Are you alright?.

He said Im bleeding and we saw all the blood down his leg. Thats when we called the ambulance.

At first he didnt look in pain but then he collapsed outside his door. When the ambulance came the last thing I heard him say was I cant breathe.

Im still shocked. I cant imagine how his mum is feeling. He was a really lovely boy, always polite and never mixed up in any trouble.

It is understood Andrew was ambushed and stabbed multiple times near an underpass on Lovelinch Close, some 50 yards from his home.

He is the fourth teenager stabbed to death in the capital this year.

Louise Owabie held the dying boys hand as he lay on the balcony outside the flat.

She said: I was talking to him, holding his hand. I had to keep him talking. He kept saying he couldnt breathe. I thought he would pull through. I bawled when I found out hed died.

Why target him? All he did was care for his mum and look out for himself. He was a likeable, well-known kid.

Courtney Stearn said she saw Andrew an hour before the attack.

She said: He was happy and laughing like always. Its shocking, I cant get over it. He was so friendly, everyone knew him.

Another friend said: Hed applied to university and had a good head on him. His mum must be crushed. The estate will never be the same.

Detectives have launched an investigation, and an incident room has been opened at Lewisham police station.

No arrests have been made and enquiries continue.

Anyone with information is asked to call police on 020 8721 4961 or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.
A teenager alleged to have stabbed the wife of an American professor to death in Russell Square had made three attempts to take his own life in the past six months, family friends said today.

Zak Bulhan, 19, was today being questioned over the spontaneous six-minute rampage at 10.30pm on Wednesday which left five other people suffering stab wounds.

More than 30 police officers searched the council flat where Somali-born Bulhan lives with his mother and two siblings next to St Georges Hospital in Tooting at 6.30am yesterday.

The IT student, who moved to the UK aged five in 2002 after his family claimed asylum in Norway, had just completed his first year studying for a B-Tech at South Thames Colleges Morden campus.

Zakaria Bulhan: Pictured as a Tooting school pupil / Barney Davis

Friends were today in shock that the Chelsea fan and teachers pet had been arrested in connection with the bloody attack.

He was today being questioned on suspicion of murder as tributes were paid to victim Darlene Horton, 64.

The forensic tent at the scene in Russell Square where the woman died / Alex Lentati

The retired teacher was in London with her husband, psychology professor Richard Wagner, as part of Florida State Universitys summer study programme.

The couple had been due to return to their home in Tallahassee last night.

Armed police officers patrol past the scene of the knife attack in Russell Square / Reuters

Mrs Horton was stabbed in the back with a kitchen knife. Her last words were hes still here, hes still here as she tried to warn others of the danger.

Armed police took six minutes to reach the scene and detain the knifeman with a Taser.

He spent the night in hospital before being transferred to police custody where he was today being questioned on suspicion of murder.

Scotland Yard said it no longer believes the mass stabbing was terror-related, and detectives are instead focusing inquiries on whether the suspect had mental health issues.

Police at the scene in the aftermath of the attack

A close family friend told The Times that Bulhan had called an ambulance three times in the past six months.

She added: He has been very unwell. He wanted to kill himself. I saw his mother with an ambulance outside their flat and she said Zac had called it because he wanted to hurt himself.

Hes called the ambulance about two more times because he was feeling unwell. His mother was very afraid.

One dead and five injured in stabbing in Russell Square

Former friends at Graveney School in Tooting, described Bulhan as a teachers pet who was occasionally bullied during his his early years.

A former school friend said: I cant believe it, Im just telling myself it must be a mistake.

A close-up of a knife on the ground after the attack in Russell Square / EPA

We used to get really competitive over grades in maths and debate religion all the time.

He was a devout Muslim and he would passionately defend it, but he respected my opinion too. Unless he was somehow brainwashed I dont know how it could be the same guy.

He was a bit socially awkward but as far as I knew he didnt have mental health problems.

He wasnt the jock but he wasnt the kid who ate glue at the back of the class. He just flew under the radar.

Forensic officers at the scene (AFP/Getty Images) / Justin Tallis/AFP/Getty Images

Another student from his school year said: He was picked on a bit when we were younger, people used to bully him about the shape of his head and silly things that kids do. I remember him getting really down about it at first but he got over it.

He seemed to have a good life with his mother. He didnt get into drugs or petty crimes like the some of the other kids.

We all split up going to different colleges and he was never big on social media so we lost touch.

His friends told me he once said he wanted to stab them all. When they called him up on it he backed down saying he was only joking, but it was an odd thing to say.

This is the first I have heard of him having mental health problems.

The victim's body is removed from the scene / PA

Neighbour Jennifer Ocampo, 31, a carer, said the family were best neighbours you could hope to have.

She said: He was the quiet type and he wouldnt make eye contact if he passed you on the stairs, but his mother is really nice.

She always wore a full black burka but her sons wore Western clothes.

As well as killing Ms Horton, the knifeman also injured five others including Israeli holidaymaker Yovel Levkowki, 18, who was slashed across the hand as she approached him to offer help after believing he was a victim.

She said she was lucky to be alive after watching the attacker go on to slaughter Ms Horton in front of her eyes.

I dont know if its luck or fate but its a miracle, she said. The woman who was standing next to me died before my eyes.

Police said the other victims include a British man who remains in a serious but stable condition after being stabbed in the stomach.

An American man, who suffered chest wounds, an Australian woman who was stabbed in the back and an Australian man who was stabbed in the chest, were all discharged from hospital yesterday.

Paying tribute to Mrs Horton, FSU President John Thrasher said: There are no words to express our heartache over this terrible tragedy.

We are shocked that such senseless violence has touched our own FSU family, and we will do all we can to assist Professor Wagner and his loved ones, as well as his friends and colleagues in the psychology department, as they mourn.

Mark Rowley, the Mets assistant commissioner in charge of counter-terrorism, said: Whilst the investigation is not yet complete, all of the work we have done so far increasingly points to this tragic incident as having been triggered by mental health issues.

At this time, we believe this was a spontaneous attack and that the victims were selected at random.
A man has been rushed to hospital with serious injuries after he was repeatedly knifed at a house in south-east London.

Scotland Yard said a man was found with multiple stab wounds in Birkhall Road, Catford, at around 7am this morning.

He was taken to a hospital in south London where he remains in a serious condition.

A man was arrested nearby on suspicion of attempted murder and is being treated at a hospital for minor injuries.

A Met Police spokesman said: It is believed that the two men are known to each other.

We are not looking for anyone else in connection with the incident.

A number of crime scenes are in place while officers deal with the incident.
A n officer jailed for 16 years for repeatedly raping a woman has been banned from ever working in the police again.

PC Michael Graham, 49, was dubbed a monster when he was convicted of violently raping and abusing a woman.

He tied his victim up and choked her until she struggled to breath and brutally attacked her at least a dozen times, ignoring her pleas for him to stop.

Graham has now been dismissed from the Metropolitan Police after a misconduct hearing held on Thursday.

The panel concluded that Graham, who is to remain on the Sexual Offenders Register for life, had breached the standards of professional behaviour after being found guilty of seven counts of rape and one count of sexual assault.

Assistant Commissioner Helen King said his case was "so serious that dismissal is the only option".

She added: At a time when much work has been done to improve the confidence of victims to report sexual offences to the police, the negative impact of an officer being convicted of rape and sexual assault in these circumstances is very obvious.

"His actions have very clearly brought the police service into disrepute.

"It is immensely to the victim's credit that she had the courage and resilience to report these matters and see them through the traumatic process of a trial to achieve PC Graham's conviction.

These convictions are so serious, as is the impact on the victim and on public confidence more broadly, that there is only one appropriate outcome in this case. That is for PC Graham to be dismissed without notice."

Graham had claimed the sex was consensual, but some of the attacks were recorded on the womans iPhone on an app designed to capture sleep-talking or snoring.

The phone, which was sat on the bedside, was automatically activated by her cries for help and kept a recording of what happened.
D etectives were today in contact with mental health authorities in London as they continued to question the 19-year-old suspect in the Russell Square stabbings.

Zakaria Bulhan is under arrest on suspicion of fatally stabbing Darlene Horton, the wife of an American professor, following the spontaneous six-minute rampage at 10.30pm on Wednesday which left five other people with knife wounds.

More than 30 police officers later searched the council flat where Bulhan, a Norwegian of Somali background, lives with his mother and two siblings next to St Georges Hospital in Tooting.

Today the South West London and St George's Mental Health NHS trust said it was working with officers from Scotland Yard but declined to comment further.

Attack suspect: Zakaria Bulhan

It came amid a report that Bulhan had recently tried to harm himself, as neighbours and friends told how he was a quiet type who had been socially awkward but a teachers pet at the same time.

A family friend told The Times that Bulhan had called an ambulance three times in the past six months. She said: He has been very unwell.

He wanted to kill himself. I saw his mother with an ambulance outside their flat and she said Zac had called it because he wanted to hurt himself. Hes called the ambulance about two more times because he was feeling unwell. His mother was very afraid.

Armed police officers patrol past the scene of the knife attack in Russell Square / Reuters

Former friends at Graveney School in Tooting described Bulhan as a teachers pet who was occasionally bullied during his early years.

One said: I cant believe it, Im just telling myself it must be a mistake.

We used to get really competitive over grades in maths and debate religion all the time.

Forensic police at the scene in Russell Square (AFP/Getty Images) / Justin Tallis/AFP/Getty Images

He was a devout Muslim and he would passionately defend it, but he respected my opinion too.

He was a bit socially awkward but as far as I knew he didnt have mental health problems.

He wasnt the jock but he wasnt the kid who ate glue at the back of the class. He just flew under the radar.

Another student from his school year said: He was picked on a bit when we were younger  people used to bully him about the shape of his head and silly things that kids do. I remember him getting really down about it at first but he got over it.

The afterman of the stabbing

He seemed to have a good life with his mother. He didnt get into drugs or petty crimes like the some of the other kids. We all split up going to different colleges and he was never big on social media so we lost touch.

Neighbour Jennifer Ocampo, 31, a carer, said the family were best neighbours you could hope to have. She said: He was the quiet type and he wouldnt make eye contact if he passed you on the stairs, but his mother is really nice. She always wore a full black burka but her sons wore Western clothes.

Bulhan is understood to have moved to Britain aged five in 2002 from Norway, where his family had been given asylum. He had just completed his first year studying for a B-Tech in IT at South Thames Colleges Morden campus.

The victim's body is removed from the scene / PA

Mrs Horton, 64, who died despite efforts by a Spanish family to revive her, was the husband of Florida State University psychology professor Richard Wagner, who was said today to be absolutely devastated by her death.

They had decided to stay on in London for an extra day after he spent the summer teaching with the colleges study abroad programme.

The five others injured included Israeli holidaymaker Yovel Levkowki, 18, who said she was slashed across the hand as she approached the knifeman, believing he was a victim. She said she was lucky to be alive after watching the attacker go on to slaughter Ms Horton in front of her.

I dont know if its luck or fate but its a miracle, she said. The woman who was standing next to me died before my eyes.

The other victims include a Briton who remains in a serious but stable condition after being stabbed in the stomach. An American man and an Australian man and woman were discharged from hospital yesterday.
L oudmouth columnist Katie Hopkins provoked fresh outrage today after calling for water cannon to be used against Black Lives Matter protesters at Heathrow.

Ms Hopkins branded the group "utter dullards" after they chained themselves to the tarmac on an approach road from the M4, causing hours of travel chaos for holiday-makers.

Ten people were arrested at the protest and taken to a west London police station, while officers had to cut loose protesters who tied themselves to one another.

The road was not able to open fully until around 12.30pm, some four hours after the demonstration started.

Ms Hopkins, who appeared to be hinting she would be going to the airport to fly out for a holiday this weekend, ranted on Twitter: "Sod that you utter dullards.

"At Heathrow, holiday-makers matter more. If you're still there tomorrowstand by."

She later addressed the Mayor of London, tweeting: "Sadiq....you still selling Boris' water cannons. "Because they are needed. NOW. At Heathrow."

One Twitter user responded: "What a lovely example this woman is to my daughters.

"However you grow up girls, be the opposite of this awful woman."

And @BostonGorgina asked: "Why would you turn to violence against peaceful activists?"

The firebrand radio host previously stoked up controversy after blaming Black Lives Matter protesters in America for the shooting of police officers because they "made people pick a side".

Black Lives Matter protests across the UK

Writing for Huck Magazine today, Heathrow protester Wail Qasim wrote that he wanted to highlight problems which dont get discussed in the UK.

He said: "The everyday disruption that is suffered by those who experience racism in Britain is as much an inconvenience as not being able to get to your flight on time.

"That black people are 37 times more likely to be stopped and searched, three times more likely to be arrested and 44 times more likely to be detained under the Mental Health Act in this country is the sort of disruption that doesnt make headlines or get denounced wholesale."

He wrote: "Black Lives Matter as a movement in the UK is just beginning. Whilst we build on the work of those in the US our own conversation needs to urgently begin here.

"Our goals are nothing short of justice for those killed and a future where black lives are not full of grief. I know that the #Shutdown has got us closer to this."
B lack Lives Matter protesters have gathered in east London tonight in the latest of a series of demonstrations aimed to shutdown Britain.

Hundreds of demonstrators congregated in Aftab Ali Park, off Adler Street in Whitechapel, on a day the group sparked travel chaos across the country.

Protests have taken place to mark the fifth anniversary of the death of Mark Duggan, whose death sparked the London riots when she was shot by police.

Earlier today, 10 people were arrested after protesters blocked a key route to Heathrow airport when they chained themselves to tarmac, sparking fury from holidaymakers.

The campaign group said demos were also being held in Manchester, Nottingham and Birmingham as part of an orchestrated nationwide shutdown.

Black Lives Matter protests across the UK

The Black Lives Matter movement began in the US, aiming to enable the African-American community to campaign against violence towards black people.

The group has campaigned regularly following the deaths of black people killed by law enforcement officers.

The UK Black Lives Matter group released the following statement: "This morning UKBLM have #Shutdown roads in London, Birmingham, Manchester and Nottingham to mourn those who have died in custody and to protest the ongoing racist violence of the police, border enforcement, structural inequalities and the everyday indignity of street racism.

"We have chosen today for our action to commemorate the fifth anniversary of Mark Duggans death at the hands of the Metropolitan Police.

We stand in solidarity with the families and friends of all who have died at the hands of the British state.

We take action because justice has not been delivered through conventional means: the police, the IPCC, the courts or the legislature.

"UKBLM is a network of anti-racist activists from across the UK who believe deeply that #BlackLivesMatter.

"We believe the time is now for a Black Lives Matter movement in the UK to #Shutdown a nationwide crisis of racism."
A Tube worker has been hailed a "hero" by London mums for helping pregnant women find seats on trains jam-packed with commuters.

The man, known only as Pip, has won praise by women across the capital for helping expectant mothers "every day" while working on the Northern line platform at London Bridge station.

Mother Lee Turner-Conn, 41, from Hither Green, wrote a glowing tribute to Pip on the Mummy's Gin Fund Facebook page after she witnessed him help one woman which reminded her of her own pregnancy.

She told the BBC: "It was a flashback to my own difficult pregnancy five years ago when he had helped me.

pip / MGF

"If he sees a pregnant women, he walks into the carriage and says 'pregnant lady. Someone give her a seat' - and everyone gets up.

"There were people who knew about him for 10 years. He must have been doing this a long time."

Ms Turner-Conn launched a social media campaign calling for Pip to be recognised for his achievements using the hashtag #BeLikePip.

She wrote: The northbound Northern Line in rush hour can be pretty hellish. It's packed, it's hot, everyone is in a rush, there are bags, briefcases, suitcases, delays, overcrowding.

Every single morning Pip finds seats for pregnant women on the station and tube.

Pregnant women get hot, dizzy, sick, tired, swollen, in pain and have a greater sense of personal space.

The hustle and bustle of the tube isn't always a great thing! Pip takes the time to make things better for us.

Pip, if you're reading this, we salute you. Thank you for making our lives easier. Thank you for your care and attention. Thank you for making a difference.

Hundreds of people have shared the post, which has also received nearly 2,000 likes.

One wrote: I haven't been a commuter for over two years but I remember this lovely lovely man! He was so sweet to me even before I was pregnant. Hope lovely things are coming his way.

Another said: I commuted for nine years through London Bridge and saw him help so many people in that time.

While another post described Pip as an "absolute legend".
A pair of demonstrators scaled Jeremy Corbyns house to protest about not being able to see their children.

Two members from the New Fathers 4 Justice group have staged the protest after accusing Mr Corbyn of failing to hold the Government to account.

Police cordoned off the road in Islington while negotiators took steps to make the duo come down.

Father of two Bobby Smith told the Standard they managed to get on Mr Corbyns roof around 10am this morning with a set of ladders after narrowly avoiding two police officers.

Justice: Mr Smith believes Jeremy Corbyn has failed to hold the Government to account / Bobby Smith

The 34 year-old told the Standard: For a while weve been thinking that Jeremy Corbyn needs to be held to account about his role in blocking shared parenting in 2011.

If youve seen the news he seems to be flying around the country talking to the same 2,000 people when he should be fighting issues.

"It's simple because father's rights is the same issue it's always been, when separation happens both parents should get equal rights to see their children."

Shutdown: Police closed the road to traffic while the incident is being dealt with / Bobby Smith

A police helicopter was said to be at the scene.

Negotiators remain on the scene / Bobby Smith

Mr Smith added: Theres people on the ground taking pictures and sticking their thumbs up at us.

Its a shame the police are having to do this again and are making such a big deal about this.

Mr Smith is refusing to come down / Bobby Smith

Were staying up here until weve got our message across, were not going to be intimidated by them and hopefully Jeremy Corbyn will get the message.

A Met Police spokesman said: Police are currently in attendance at a protest in Islington.

We were called at 10.30 this morning to reports of two men protesting on the roof of a residential address.

Officers are in attendance and the road is currently closed to traffic.
S outhwark Council has come under fire for spending more than 15,000 to redesign its logo - with the new design looking almost identical to the old one.

The south London local authority has spent 15,400 on the rebrand, which has seen the colour of the slightly more compact logo changed from blue to grey, and a dot removed.

A freedom of information request by revealed the council had spent 6,819 on the logo's design, as well as a further 8,581 on implementation.

In its "Branding Refresh" report, the council claims the logo has been "redrawn" to "improve its quality, reduce the size of the letter S, to make it more legible", and to remove a full stop.

Use the slider on the image below to compare the old and new logos

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The rebrand has been heavily criticised, coming at a time when the council has cut jobs and slashed funding to public services to meet mounting budget pressures.

Slamming the rebrand as "vanity spending", Harry Davis, Campaign Manager at the TaxPayers' Alliance said: "This level of vanity spending on a logo is a slap in the face to all local residents who stump up their council tax each year.

"Barely a week goes by without one council or another complaining about cuts to their budgets, claiming there are no more savings to be made but this just goes to prove that it is not always the case.

Old logo: the letter S is now smaller

"Councils should be focusing on frontline services and helping hard-pressed families by keeping council tax down, not giving themselves makeovers."

However, Southwark Council defended the move, saying the old corporate identity was created back in 1998 before the digital age, and refreshed in 2009, and was no longer meeting the council's needs, especially in terms of online and digital use.

The local authority claims that the redesign will also save money in the long term.

Leader of Southwark Council, Cllr Peter John, said: We have saved 156m over the last five years by making efficiency savings and doing more with less, and we have managed to continue protecting services, keeping council tax low and delivering on our manifesto commitments, such as free swimming and gyms.

Sometimes you have to invest to save particularly when trying to move services online and this piece of work is part of that.

"The new designs are already saving staff time and money and will help us to provide more information online, which is what our residents want.

"We are absolutely committed to delivering value for money and it is completely wrong to suggest otherwise."
A merican tourists escaped unhurt after a Jeep they hired after landing at Heathrow burst into flames just 20 minutes later on a busy west London road.

Police in Hounslow were called to a vehicle fire on the A312 The Parkway near Cranford on Sunday after the car caught alight.

Officers stationed at a festival at Cranford Community School attended the blaze and helped the family who had escaped unharmed.

PC Lou Roberts, from Hounslow Police, told the Standard the family had collected the car 20 minutes before the fire broke out after they had flown in from the US.

Blaze: The fire broke out on the A312 The Parkway near Cranford / Lou Roberts

London Fire Brigade were called to the scene and extinguished the flames, which had spread to a nearby footbridge.

No injuries were reported.
T he row over David Cameron handing out gongs and peerages escalated today after three of his allies attacked his former policy guru Steve Hilton who condemned corruption in the honours system.

Former Foreign Office minister Hugo Swire, who yesterday was awarded a KCMG, and former environment minister Richard Benyon and ex-energy minister Lord Barker hit out at Mr Hilton after he took to the airwaves to criticise how peers are appointed.

Mr Hilton, who was Mr Camerons strategy director before moving to America, also claimed honours could be bought by political donations.

But he came under fire on Twitter, with Mr Benyon messaging: Oh joy. I thought we had heard last of @SteveHiltonx but hes back from his Californian think yurt to patronise and amuse us #pompousa**e.

Mr Swire tweeted: Am I alone in never being able to work out which way up @SteveHiltonx is?

Mr Barker added: Would love to know where @SteveHiltonx pays #Taxation while lecturing us all on UK #Representation

Mr Hilton responded: Cant people disagree on a policy matter w/out it being personal?

But the former Prime Minister was at the centre of a storm after using his final honours list to create 13 Tory life peers, bringing the Conservative total in the Lords to 207, one more than Labour, and dished out gongs for allies, No 10 aides and Remain supporters.

Former Chancellor George Osborne becomes a Companion of Honour. Ex-Liberty chief Shami Chakrabarti was nominated by Labour for a peerage.
J eremy Corbyn's allies were accused of sticking their heads in the sand after Diane Abbott blamed Labours dismal poll ratings on the partys MPs not backing him.

Shadow health secretary Ms Abbott claimed there were hourly attacks on Mr Corbyn by Labour MPs seeking to oust him.

Insisting he was still the best person for the top job, she said: The new Tory leader has had a bounce, the combination of that and those relentless attacks by Labour MPs are damaging the party  there is no question.

She urged MPs, many of whom have backed a motion of no confidence in Mr Corbyn, to unite behind the leader at the end of the bitterly fought contest, whoever wins in September.

But Ilford North Labour MP Wes Streeting, a strong critic of the current leader, said: The ostrich strategy of sticking their heads in the sand does not change the fact that under Jeremy Corbyn, Labour cant win a general election.

However Diane Abbott and other Jeremy supporters want to dress it up, they cant escape the fact that a significant majority of voters, including Labour voters, prefer Theresa May as Prime Minister to Jeremy Corbyn.

The latest YouGov survey put the Tories on 42 per cent, Labour on 28, Ukip on 12 and the Lib-Dems on eight per cent.

Mr Corbyn, who is favourite to remain leader, had a heated debate with challenger Owen Smith in Cardiff last night. The Pontypridd MP accused Mr Corbyn of failing to provide a powerful, credible opposition to the Conservatives.

But the Islington North MP hit back, blaming former shadow work and pensions secretary Mr Smith and other MPs for undermining party unity when they quit the shadow cabinet in protest at his leadership.

They also clashed over replacing Trident nuclear weapons, but agreed on many problems facing Britain. Mr Smith was booed and heckled by Corbyn supporters at the televised debate as he denied being part of a coup to oust the veteran Left-winger.

He accused Mr Corbyn of presiding over an increasingly fractious Labour Party and sloganising rather than developing effective policies that would return them to power.@nicholascecil
C omputers can now recognise when a social media user is being sarcastic, thanks to a new artificial intelligence system.

Twitter in particular is harvested by marketing firms, stock traders and intelligence services.

But because computer programmes cannot tell when a tweet is saying the opposite of what it actually means, sarcasm has thrown data systems.

That is now set to change, after Silvio Amir from the University of Lisbon created a machine learning technique to overcome the problem.

He began work in 2014 when the US Secret Service listed sarcasm detection as a much-needed feature in its social media analytics service.

His system works by combing through a users previous tweets to build up a picture of their character. It has an apparent accuracy level of 87 per cent, but that would improve over time.

Amir told the New Scientist: "It intuitively makes sense. Tell me what you talk about and I can tell you who you are.

"We can get away without looking at all this external information."

He added that the system could be adapted for any social media site where a users previous posts are visible.

In January this year, a programme called TrueRatr was developed which screens app reviews for sarcasm in order to create its own more accurate rating.
T his is the shocking moment a man launched a volley of punches at a windscreen on a moving car during a fit of rage in front of stunned witnesses.

Video shows the man, dressed in a black tank top and shorts, clamber onto the car bonnet in Leicester city centre before he shouts at the driver and repeatedly strikes the windscreen.

As the man continues his barrage of punches, the motorist continues to drive through the city before the man aims his head at the screen.

Onlookers reported the man jumped off the car and started attacking other vehicles before he was arrested.

Shocking: The man dressed in running gear aims several punches at a car windscreen / Amy Woodfield/BBC

The disturbing footage captured by BBC reporter Amy Woodfield who was a passenger in another car.

She told the BBC: I don't know what caused the drama. He was furious.

Dramatic incident: The man then aims his head at the windscreen as the car is being driven along the road / Amy Woodfield/BBC

"He was possibly a pedestrian or running because he was in running gear.

"He started approaching other cars as well and I started to get a bit scared that he might jump on our car.

"You could see the blood dripping from his hand and knee and he was grinning as he was walking around."

The dramatic incident unfolded along Burleys Way shortly before 6pm on Thursday.

Leicestershire Police said the man had been held for criminal damage and assault and was taken to hospital to be treated for injuries.
A Halal supermarket has been told to start selling pork and alcohol or face closure.

Good Price discount mini-market in a north-west Paris suburb has breached the conditions of its lease by not acting as a general food store, the local housing authority has claimed.

It has argued that members of the local community in Colombes are not being served properly by the shop if there are no pork or alcohol products sold there.

Colombes Mayor Nicole Goueta has visited the store personally and asked the owner to start selling non-halal meats and alcohol, according to her chief of staff, Jerome Besnard.

Mr Besnard told the Telegraph: We want a social mix. We dont want any area that is only Muslim or any area where there are no Muslims.

The authority argued that the shop was prioritising a certain group within society which breached republican principles.

It is now taking legal action to end the shops lease, which was scheduled to run until 2019.

Shop manager Soulemane Yalcin is taking legal action in at attempted to keep his shop, arguing that they catered to the demands of local customers.
R ingo Starr has spoken out about his decision to vote for Brexit in the EU Referendum.

The Beatles drummer has said that he didnt see the European Union going anywhere and believes that Britain is better out.

In a new interview with Bloomberg BusinessWeek, the 76-year-old also said that he felt that America was his town.

He said: I voted for Brexit, because I thought the European Union was a great idea, but I didnt see it going anywhere lately.

Its in shambles, and were all stuck with people who want to make arrangements for their own country and dont think for the other countries.

Britain should be out and get back on its own feet.

He added: And now Scotland wants to leave and Wales wants to leave. Then it will be Devon. God knows where it will end.

When asked where he had the biggest fan base outside the US and UK, he simply responded: The US is my town. America is my town.

The Beatles - In pictures 1 /66 The Beatles - In pictures 1963 The Beatles on stage at the London Palladium Getty Images 1963 A group shot of the Beatles, Ringo Starr (in the background), George Harrison (1943 - 2001), Paul McCartney and John Lennon (1940 - 1980), pictured during a performance on Granada TV's Late Scene Extra television show filmed in Manchester, England on November 25, 1963 Getty Images 1962 John Lennon, Paul McCartney and George Harrison of The Beatles live on stage circa May 1962 at the Star-Club in Hamburg, GermanY Redferns 1963 British pop group The Beatles holding their silver disc in 1963 Getty Images 1963 The Beatles rehearse for that night's Royal Variety Performance at the Prince of Wales Theatre, 4th November 1963 Getty Images 1963 The Beatles with their Variety Club award for Showbiz personalities of the Year in 1963 PA 1963 Princess Margaret meeting pop group The Beatles at the 1963 Royal Variety Performance at the Prince of Wales Theatre PA 1963 Liverpudlian beat combo The Beatles, from left to right Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr, John Lennon (1940 - 1980), and George Harrison (1943 - 2001), performing in front of a camera-shaped drum kit on Granada TV's Late Scene Extra television show filmed in Manchester, England on November 25, 1963 Getty Images 1964 The Beatles at a press conference at London Airport, 2nd July 1964, following a tour of Australia. Getty Images 1964 The Beatles soon after their arrival in Washington, USA, playing in the snow outside the Coliseum Getty Images 1964 John Lennon plays his guitar while the other Beatles and manager Brian Epstein relax in a hotel room in Paris. Getty Images 1964 The Beatles take a fake blow from Muhammad Ali while visiting the heavyweight contender's training camp in Miami Beach Rex 1964 Drummer Ringo Starr performing with The Beatles on the television pop show Ready, Steady, Go in 1964 PA 1964 The Beatles wearing Eskimo outfits for their Christmas Show at the Odeon, Hammersmith, London in 1964 PA 1964 The Beatles, home after their successful American tour, when they were welcomed by 4,000 screaming teenagers at London Airport in 1964 PA 1964 The Beatles performing live in the USA Getty Images 1964 The Beatles, from left to right: Paul McCartney, George Harrison (1943 - 2001) and John Lennon (1940 - 1980), in concert in America Getty Images 1964 Pop group The Beatles George Harrison, Paul McCartney and John Lennon with fans, circa 1964. Getty Images 1964 The Beatles set sail from Miami Beach, Florida Getty Images 1965 British pop group The Beatles, from left to right; Ringo Starr, John Lennon (1940 - 1980), Paul McCartney and George Harrison (1943 - 2001), outside Buckingham Palace, London, after receiving their MBE's (Member of the Order of the British Empire) from the Queen Getty Images 1965 Beatles fans try to break through a police line at Buckingham Palace in London AFP/Getty Images 1965 Strolling hand-in-hand are Ringo Starr, the Beatles drummer, and his bride, the former Maureen Cox on their wedding day in 1965 PA 1965 John Lennon, Ringo Starr, Paul McCartney and George Harrison of The Beatles on Salisbury Plain during the filming of 'Help' in 1965 PA 1966 British rock group The Beatles perform live on stage in front of a circular lit backdrop at the BBC TV Centre, June 1966 Getty Images 1966 Portrait of British pop group The Beatles (L-R) Paul McCartney, George Harrison (1943 - 2001), Ringo Starr and John Lennon (1940 - 1980) at the BBC Television Studios in London before the start of their world tour, June 17, 1966 Getty Images 1967 At the EMI studios in Abbey Road, as they prepare for 'Our World', a world-wide live television show broadcasting to 24 countries with a potential audience of 400 million Getty Images 1967 The Beatles celebrate the completion of their new album, 'Sgt Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band' Getty Images 1967 The Beatles at a recording session in London in 1967 PA 1968 Three Beatles; from left to right John Lennon (1940 - 1980), George Harrison (1943 - 2001) and Paul McCartney, record voices in a studio for their new cartoon film 'Yellow Submarine'. Getty Images 1968 Beatle Paul McCartney gives the thumbs up during production of the new Beatles film, a feature length cartoon called 'Yellow Submarine'. Getty Images 1968 Celebrity devotees of the Mahareshi Mahesh Yogi and friends, at his academy in India, high up in the Himalayas, where they are studying transcendental meditation, March 1968. From left to right, Patti Boyd, John Lennon (1940 - 1980), Mike Love of The Beach Boys, Mahareshi Mahesh Yogi, George Harrison (1943 - 2001), Mia Farrow, John Farrow, Donovan, Paul McCartney, Jane Asher, Cynthia Lennon. Getty Images 1968 John Lennon and Paul McCartney, of The Beatles, arriving at London Airport, 16th May 1968. They are both dressed in white and carrying apples to promote their new company Apple Corps. Getty Images 1968 English drummer Ringo Starr with his wife Maureen Cox (1946 - 1994) and English guitarist George Harrison (1943 - 2001) with his wife Pattie Boyd at Heathrow Airport, London Getty Images 1968 Beatles members Ringo Starr and George Harrison (1943 - 2001) pose with a model of a Blue Meanie, a character from the group's animated film 'Yellow Submarine', at a press review at Bowater House, Knightsbridge. Getty Images 1968 Beatle John Lennon (1940 - 1980) and his Japanese girlfriend Yoko Ono with Beatle Paul McCartney, right, at the premiere of the new Beatles film 'Yellow Submarine' at the London Pavilion. John and Paul hold apples, the symbol of their newly formed company, Apple Corps. Thousands of Beatle fans brought traffic to a standstill in Piccadilly Circus as they waited to see the group arrive at the premiere. Getty Images 1968 Crowds outside the Apple boutique, run by the Beatles' Apple Corps, on the day of its closing, when all its remaining stock was given away, London, 31st July 1968. The shop, on the corner of Baker Street and Paddington Street, was opened the previous December. Getty Images 1968 Beatles singer, songwriter and guitarist John Lennon (1940 - 1980) and his partner artist Yoko Ono, leaving court surrounded by police. Getty Images 1969 Beatles star Paul McCartney weds American photographer Linda Eastman (1941 - 1998). With them is daughter Heather. Getty Images 1969 British rock group the Beatles performing their last live public concert on the rooftop of the Apple Organization building for director Michael Lindsey-Hogg's film documentary, 'Let It Be,' on Savile Row, London, UK, 30th January 1969; singer-songwriters Paul McCartney and John Lennon (1940 - 1980) perform at their microphones, and guitarist George Harrison (1943 - 2001) on the right. Lennon's wife Yoko Ono sits at right. Getty Images 1969 British rock group the Beatles performing their last live public concert on the rooftop of the Apple Organization building for director Michael Lindsey-Hogg's film documentary, 'Let It Be,' on Savile Row, London, UK, 30th January 1969; drummer Ringo Starr sits behind his kit, singer-songwriters Paul McCartney and John Lennon (1940 - 1980) perform at their microphones, and guitarist George Harrison (1943 - 2001) stands behind them. Lennon's wife Yoko Ono sits at right. Getty Images 1969 British singer-songwriter John Lennon (1940 - 1980) of Beatles fame sings a song, while his wife Yoko Ono lies in bed beside him. The couple are staying in bed in a hotel in Canada, receiving the press and media, as part of a peace protest. Getty Images 1969 Beatle Paul McCartney puts a protective arm around his wife Linda (1941 - 1998), as they struggle through the crowds gathered outside Marylebone Register Office, where they have just married. Getty Images 1969 Beatle John Lennon (1940 A 1980) and his wife of a week Yoko Ono in their bed in the Presidential Suite of the Hilton Hotel, Amsterdam, 25th March 1969. The couple are staging a 'bed-in for peace' and intend to stay in bed for seven days 'as a protest against war and violence in the world'. Getty Images beatlesfabfourextra171121 Reuters beatlesfabfourextra171121 Reuters beatlesfabfourextra171121 Reuters beatlesfabfourextra171121 Reuters beatlesfabfourextra171121 Reuters

Talking about the Beatles decision to make their back catalogue available on streaming services, Starr said:

Were just moving with the times. When we started with vinyl, and then CDs came out, that was good for us financially, because it wasnt in the contract. We had to go to CDs in the end.

We were pretty late there. We were late to iTunes, too, but went there so you could buy the tracks. Streaming is huge now, so were moving on.

He added: Who knows whats going to be next? Whats Kanye West going to think of?
V iola Beach have claimed this weeks number one spot with their posthumous debut album.

The self-titled debut, released following their tragic death back in February, has shot straight to the top of the charts.

Released in the bands memory by friends and family, Viola Beach features nine tracks including single Swings and Waterslides.

Vocalist Kris Leonard, guitarist River Reeves, bassist Tomas Lowe, drummer Jack Dakin and their manager Craig Tarry all lost their lives in a car crash in Sweden on their way back from a festival.

A statement released by their family read: The tragedy that ended Craig, Jack, Kris, River & Tom's lives in Sweden and the pain and sense of loss will never leave us.

By sending the Viola Beach album to number 1 the public have sent out an important message to the world.

The tragic circumstance that met Viola Beach and their manager Craig that fateful night in Sweden will not now define their lives.

It continued: What will now define their lives and what they will be remembered for, forever, is the music they were so passionate about making together.

For that, we will be eternally humbled and ever thankful to every single person who by buying this glorious album has invested in their lasting musical legacy.

The pain will never leave us but neither will the affection shown by every fan. Maybe one day that affection will live longer in the memory than the pain. So from us all, a simple but heartfelt 'thank you.

Martin Talbot, Chief Executive, Official Charts Company, said: It is hard to think of an album which more people were rooting for than the Viola Beach release  nor a success which has felt so bitter-sweet.

Viola Beach has knocked Elos All Over the World into second position, while Christine and the Queenss Chaleur Humaine is at number three.
There are days when grabbing a stack of books and heading for a cabin in the woods to hide out sounds pretty nice. Escape the ignorance, intolerance and divisiveness thats become our modern political discourse. Unplug with the hope that time will restore your faith in humanity.

Im not going to do that. Theres too much at stake in 2016 America to not pay attention. But if I was going to go off the grid, I might take the list of books provided by the Nebraska Literary Heritage Association as part of their Nebraska 150 Reading Challenge.

The challenge is a little like Pizza Huts Book-It program that we had as kids. In elementary and middle school we would get star stickers to put on a button and when we filled up the button we took it to Pizza Hut for a free personal pan pizza. Nothing motivates a kid to read like free pizza.

With the Nebraska 150 Reading challenge, inspired by Nebraskas sesquicentennial, you could win a lot more than a small pie. Reading all 42 books on the Featured List by Feb. 28, 2017 will qualify you to win $300 from the University of Nebraska Press. Finishing 12 books by the deadline qualifies you for a $25 gift card and six books will enter you in the drawing for a book bundle.

According to the associations official website, The goal of the Nebraska 150 Reading Challenge is to draw attention to the best literature produced from Nebraska and to highlight the varied cultures, historical time periods and locations that are featured in the selected books.

Pat Leach, library director for Lincoln City Libraries, said what may surprise some participants is the wide variety of literature theyll find that is associated with Nebraska.

The committee wanted to reflect that its not just all one thing, Leach said.

She pointed to Going North by Janice Harrington, a childrens book about an African-American family who moves to Nebraska from Alabama, as an example of the diversity of writing we have in our state.

There are a lot of books that are awfully good, Leach said.

The fiction list ranges from contemporary work like that of Timothy Schaffert, a wildly creative writer who teaches at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, to traditional giants of Nebraska literature Willa Cather and Mari Sandoz.

There are some absolute classics, Leach said, adding that if someone wants to feel as though theyve read the best in Nebraska literature, they want to read the classics on this list.

Another perfect example of contemporary Nebraska writers is the work of poet laureate Ted Kooser. He has non-fiction, poetry and a childrens book on the featured list.

Leach also encouraged interested Nebraskans to reread some of the books they were taught in school. Rereading My Antonia or O Pioneers! as an adult will lend the books a different perspective and have a fresh impact on the reader.

Both the Scottsbluff and Gering public libraries can get you a copy of the list, though they might have to order some of the books for you.

I picked up A Different Plain: Contemporary Nebraska Fiction Writers from the Scottsbluff library and have found it to be as diverse and wide-ranging as Leach asserted about the entire body of Nebraska literature. The stories in that book span the country, by writers with voices that are as diverse as this nation built by immigrants.

I look forward to further attempting to complete the featured list. You can learn a lot about a place by reading its literature. Reading, especially reading fiction, develops empathy in the reader. You are exposed to new ideas, to new perspectives, new ways of thinking. And if Americans in 2016 could use more of anything, its empathy.

Beyond the featured list of 42, there is a long list of 150 books that would take a lot more time to complete. You might just have to find that cabin the woods if you want to make it to the end of that one.

For more information, visit www.nebraska150books.org
2015, drama/fantasy, 1hr 40min, France French and Persian with English subtitles Directed by Clement Cogitore Starring Jeremie Renier, Swann Arlaud, Christophe Ted, Hamid Reza Javdan, Seyed Jafar Mirhosseini, Yashar Vah, Kevin Azais Produced by Jean-Christophe Reymond Cinematography by Sylvain Verdet Music by Eric Bentz and Francois-Eudes Chanfrault

Neither Heaven Nor Earth (2015) is a French-Belgian film focusing on NATO troops in Afghanistan, with more than a nod to the ancient history of this part of the world, and to the vagaries of war. It is a first-rate psychological thriller, and I recommend it highly.

Captain Bonassieu and his French troops are in Afghanistan as part of a NATO mission to provide effective security across the country (2003 to 2014). The film opens as Bonassieus men are on routine patrol in 2014 from their base camp and barebones outposts overlooking a remote valley.

Occasional gunfire expedites efforts to locate the enemy, snipers almost invisible on rocky hillsides. Bonassieu is concerned about one young soldier, William Denis, whose wife Sarah is expecting their first child. We see troops staying in touch with their families via telephone, similar to American troops in 1993 Somalia in Black Hawk Down (2001). The terrain is lean and unforgiving to mistakes, but the troops are well trained and disciplined.

And then Denis goes missing. All procedures and safety checks are reviewed. Bonassieu meets with the village chief to see if local civilians know anything, and their evasiveness puts him on alert. When another soldier goes missing, fear and suspicion increase.

Experiencing how the captain handles this growing crisis is at the heart of the film, and the character study is fascinating. Bonassieu is career military, a man who knows his troops, knows the terrain and knows his job. Men must not go missing. He is accountable to High Command. He is accountable to pregnant wives. He is accountable to his men, who believe in him completely.

A combination psychological thriller and ghost story, Neither Heaven Nor Earth reminds us that this is a part of the world where early conquerors have failed since the time of Alexander of Macedonia. This terrain may hold mysteries older than time itself.

A chance encounter with the enemy reveals stunning information. The language skills of the captains interpreter, as well as the Talibans willingness to start a dialogue, lead to a sharing of information. The Taliban have lost men as well, men whose bodies cannot be found either. Still suspicious of each other, both sides look at the villagers with narrowed eyes.

This is a film with relatively little violence but with topnotch suspense. Soldiers are trained to contend with waiting for battle and with battle itself, but not the quiet disappearance of their military brothers without a trace. Did men desert from both sides? Have the French and the Taliban been too lenient with the villagers?

Sylvain Verdets cinematography combines with the use of digital video and night-vision cameras to emphasize the tension of having a tightly disciplined environment invaded by unknown forces. Colors fade into each other  equipment, outposts, hills, valleys, rocks, fog, human faces. The strangeness of objects under night lights. Four men have disappeared. Taliban forces have lost more. The captains demeanor changes; doubts creep in. Discipline starts to unravel.

In a powerful sequence, one of the soldiers connects speakers to the base camps sound system and plays pulsating house music. Stripped to the waist, he dances in trance, seeking relief  wisdom  comfort.

Bonassieu uses his laptop to ask High Command to send a chaplain, who arrives by helicopter. Sparks fly immediately. The captains idea of what a chaplain is supposed to do conflicts with the pastors concept of what men on the front lines need. They spar with words.

This film reminds us that this is a part of the world where early conquerors have failed since the time of Alexander of Macedonia.

As the men listen, the chaplain reads: While the men were in a deep slumber, a voice came unto me. It whispered and said Mans life on earth is that of a soldier, his days, those of a hireling. I was at ease but he has shaken me His troops mobilize and encamp around my tent

Not exactly words the captain wants to hear. The next morning Bonassieu sends the chaplain back to Command via helicopter. NATO troops redouble security measures and hunker down in their outposts, using all available technology to prevent further occurrences. Tension mounts with each subsequent revelation.

A brilliant performance by Jeremie Renier as Captain Bonassieu in a harrowing situation, as he balances what he knows with what is happening. Thoughtful, haunting, not to be missed.

Film stills courtesy Film Movement.
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New motor vehicle registrations (excluding agricultural vehicles) in Brazil totaled 181,408 units in July this year, up 5.6 percent compared to June and decreasing by 20.3 percent year on year. 13.5 percent of this figure consisted of imported new vehicles. In the first seven months, the country's new motor vehicle registrations (excluding agricultural vehicles) decreased by 24.7 percent year on year to 1,164,944 units. 14.1 percent of this figure consisted of imported new vehicles.
Friday, 05 August 2016 23:08:02 (GMT+3) | San Diego

According to Statistics Canada Canada 's imports increased 0.8 percent to $45.0 billion in June. Import volumes were up 0.7 percent and prices rose 0.2 percent. Exports increased 0.6 percent to $41.4 billion, as prices were up 2.0 percent, while volumes fell 1.4 percent. As a result, Canada 's merchandise trade deficit with the world widened from $3.5 billion in May to a record $3.6 billion in June.





In the second quarter, imports decreased 1.4 percent to $134.7 billion. Exports dropped 4.7 percent to $124.0 billion, the largest decline since the second quarter of 2009. Consequently, Canada 's quarterly trade deficit with the world widened from $6.4 billion in the first quarter of 2016 to a record $10.7 billion in the second quarter.





Imports from the United States were up 1.5 percent to $29.8 billion and exports were down 1.2 percent to $31.6 billion. As a result, Canada 's trade surplus with the United States narrowed from $2.6 billion in May to $1.8 billion in June.




Friday, 05 August 2016 17:20:38 (GMT+3) | Istanbul

Regarding the news of Chinese miners seeking an antidumping probe against iron ore imports, Lei Pingxi, vice chairman of the Metallurgical Miners' Association of China (MMAC), has told local media that it was not an official request, rather a suggestion.

The vice president pointed out that this suggestion from the miners was published on the MMAC website by mistake.

Last week, MMAC had published a statement to the effect that they were demanding an antidumping duty investigation against the huge volume of low-priced iron ore imports from Brazil and Australia.




Friday, 05 August 2016 09:47:54 (GMT+3) | Shanghai

China s National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) has announced that in June this year coal shipments by Chinese railways amounted to 140 million mt, down 12 percent year on year.





In the first half of the current year, coal shipments by Chinese railways totaled 910 million mt, down 11.2 percent year on year.
According to the statistics released by the French Ministry of Economy, Finance and Industry, in the first half of this year France 's basic steel product and ferroalloy exports amounted to a value of 4.17 billion, falling by 13.7 percent year on year.

During the period in question, France exported 777.43 million of steel pipes and tubes - down 26.4 percent, 281.31 million of cold rolled steel strip - up 10.1 percent, 181.96 million of cold drawn wire - down by 5.4 percent, 167.86 million of cold rolled steel bars - down 1.7 percent, and 347.95 million of metal structures and parts - down by 11 percent, all compared to the same period of 2015.
Friday, 05 August 2016 22:49:48 (GMT+3) | Sao Paulo

Peruvian iron ore export prices declined 40.8 percent in June, year-on-year, according to data released on Friday by the nations central bank, BCRP.





According to government data, Peruvian iron ore export prices reached $22.7/mt in the sixth month of the year, down from $30.2/mt in May, and $38.4/mt in June 2015.





Peruvian iron ore export prices were on a increasing trend from January to April this year, rising month after month and reach the years peak in April at $34.6/mt.





Junes export prices levels indicate the countrys first export price decline in the year.





BCRP said Peruvian iron ore exports totaled 600,000 mt in June, down from 1.6 million mt in May and from 1 million mt in June 2015.








Friday, 05 August 2016 03:03:36 (GMT+3) | San Diego

Theft of steel products in Mexico totaled 3,000 mt in H1 2016, local newspaper El Universal said on Friday, citing data from the countrys steel association, Canacero.





According to the media report, the 3,000 mt total reflects a decline of 19 percent from the total of stolen tons in H1 2015.





The media report said rebar made up a majority of the total, as it is easy to resell. Other steel products frequently stolen include wire rod and steel coils.





Mexican steelmaker AHMSA said theft of steel in Nuevo Leon state declined considerably in the past few years.








Friday, 05 August 2016 11:58:28 (GMT+3) | Istanbul

The Turkish Steel Exporters' Association (CIB) has stated that in July this year Turkey s steel exports showed a downward trend. In the January-July period of the current year, Turkey 's steel exports decreased by 0.2 percent year on year to 9.4 million mt, while the value of these exports totaled $5.1 billion, down 17.6 percent on year-on-year basis, according to the data released by the Turkish Steel Exporters' Association (CIB).

In the January-July period, Turkey 's main steel export destination was the Middle East, which received 3.3 million mt of steel products from Turkey . The Middle East was followed by the EU and North Africa, which imported 1.8 million mt and 1.4 million mt of Turkish steel products respectively. In the given period, Egypt, Israel and the Netherlands recorded the highest year-on-year increases in steel product imports from Turkey . In the first seven months, Turkey s steel exports to Egypt rose 77 percent year on year to 884,000 mt.

Meanwhile, in the January-July period this year, Turkey 's main exported steel product was rebar with total exports amounting to 4.3 million mt. Rebar was followed by welded pipe exports totaling one million mt, hot rolled flat steel exports amounting to 982,000 mt, and steel section exports reaching 842,000 mt. In the given period, wire rod exports amounted to 557,000 mt, up 102,000 mt compared to the same period of 2015.
Friday, 05 August 2016 23:08:44 (GMT+3) | San Diego

The US International Trade Commission (ITC) has voted to expedite its five-year (sunset) review concerning the antidumping duty order on hot-rolled flat-rolled carbon-quality steel products from Russia





As a result of the vote, the Commission will conduct an expedited review to determine whether revocation of the order would be likely to lead to continuation or recurrence of material injury within a reasonably foreseeable time.





Chairman Irving A. Williamson and Commissioners Dean A. Pinkert, David S. Johanson, Meredith M. Broadbent, F. Scott Kieff, and Rhonda K. Schmidtlein concluded that the domestic group response for this review was adequate and the respondent group response was inadequate and voted for an expedited review.


Friday, 05 August 2016 22:24:02 (GMT+3) | Sao Paulo

Brazil imported in July 2,600 of rebar at $426/mt, FOB conditions, half of which from Turkey at $437/mt, while the other half was imported from Peru at $415/mt FOB.





The volume was slightly increased from June, remaining at low levels, chiefly when compared with the average 14,000 mt Brazil imported per month in 2015 or with the 24,000 mt imported per month in 2014.





The decline reflects the drastic reduction of demand from the local civil construction sector, related to the poor performance of the local economy. The most optimistic analysts expect a recovery of the local civil construction sector during the second half of 2017.




Farmers of soybeans and other crops in southeast Missouri, western Tennessee and northeastern Arkansas are facing widespread crop damage believed to be the result of illegal spraying of dicamba, an older herbicide that is finding new life as a tool to battle glyphosate-resistant weeds.

In four Missouri Bootheel counties alone, more than 100 complaints of pesticide drift have been reported since June 22, according to a representative from the Missouri Department of Agriculture. For comparison, the department typically receives 75 to 80 complaints statewide in an entire year. Experts say that all signs point to dicamba as the culprit behind the surge.

The symptoms match what we would expect coming out of dicamba, said Kevin Bradley, an associate professor in the University of Missouris division of plant sciences, and a lead scientist for the universitys agricultural extension. Possible exposure to the herbicide has been officially reported on 40,000 acres of soybeans in the state, causing the plants leaves to pucker and potentially hurting yields across the region.

State investigations into each complaint are ongoing, but many suspect the problem stems from farmers who have planted Roundup Ready 2 Xtend soybeans  a dicamba-resistant crop variety released this year by Creve Coeur-based Monsanto Co. But, the dicamba-based herbicide meant to be applied to Xtend seeds has not yet been approved by the Environmental Protection Agency, leaving farmers without the tool intended to fight increasingly stubborn weeds that have developed resistance to other herbicides, like Roundup, which has glyphosate as its active ingredient.

Even without the corresponding herbicide, Monsanto began releasing the seeds because the company says they offered farmers attributes  such as improved yields  beyond dicamba tolerance. Monsanto officials reported that seeds for 1 million acres of soybeans have been sold with the technology this year, along with 3 million acres of cotton, introduced in 2015.

Some farmers, it appears, have taken matters into their own hands, spraying other forms of dicamba that are unauthorized for use with Xtend crops. This alleged off-label use of the herbicide leaves dicamba-resistant plants unharmed, but can drift into neighboring fields, either when blown by wind or when liquid particles turn to gas and spread as vapor.

It basically boils down to the fact that you have a very sensitive crop in soybeans planted in close proximity to crops that are a GMO (genetically modified organism) that is able to withstand dicamba, Bradley said. And some people made dicamba applications, allegedly, and hurt peoples crops.

Even low dicamba concentrations measuring in parts per million can damage non-GMO varieties of soybeans. That sensitivity has led companies like Monsanto to seek less volatile forms of the herbicide that do not vaporize as easily.

Monsanto says the Xtend-compatible dicamba still seeking approval offers that lower volatility than dicamba alternatives currently on the market. But in its absence, drift from suspected bad actors knowingly using unapproved substitutes is taking its toll.

Although dicamba damage can be seen visually, its ultimate effect on yields wont be known until harvest. Whatever its impact, insurance companies have indicated that they will not compensate farmers for losses related to wrongful dicamba usage.

That still doesnt keep a person from suing personally and Im afraid thats whats going to happen, said Terry Weaver, a farmer near Holcomb, speculating on how some victims may resort to litigation to recover losses. But linking diminished yields directly to dicamba  and to a specific wrongdoer on top of that  could be difficult.

The problem with dicamba is it travels so easily and so far that its hard to pinpoint where it actually came from, said Kade McBroom, a farmer and the operator of Malden Specialty Soy, a processing facility for non-GMO soybeans in the area. That burden of proof can get kind of tricky.

Many farmers have said that there are not sufficient penalties in place to deter illegal use of herbicides, likening the current $1,000 fine  enforced by the state Department of Agriculture  to a slap on the wrist.

If the speeding tickets $5, why worry about it, Weaver said. If they get a clean field, thats a whole lot cheaper than getting it clean with hand-hoeing.

While calling the behavior selfish, Weaver said that illegal dicamba application was a predictable outcome when farmers can spray a field for a fraction of the cost that it would take to manually remove Roundup-resistant nuisances like pigweed.

State Rep. Don Rone, R-Portageville, said he will introduce legislation that would give more teeth to penalties for off-label herbicide use. But some worry that harsher fines  which would require legislative approval in 2017  will not emerge soon enough.

(Farmers) feel like theres not going to be very much repercussion for the damage done this year, so theyre expecting to see it again next year, said McBroom, who has had suppliers to his non-GMO soy business say that they may switch to Xtend seeds just to ensure that they have a crop next year.

If enough growers feel pressured to follow suit, McBroom says that the diversity of agriculture in the Bootheel could be severely compromised, noting that other local crops like peaches, melons and tomatoes have also been affected.

Anytime you take away options, you take away opportunities, McBroom said. If we dont do anything to stop this, its going to happen year after year until everyones planting dicamba-resistant crops or theyre not planting anything at all. ... That seems to be the path were on.

He believes stamping out illegal spraying could be difficult  even with steeper fines and when the less-volatile dicamba hits the market. If just one farmer elects for an off-label but cheaper form of dicamba, then a wide radius of non-resistant plantings are at risk.

I think its a little naive to think that 10 out of 10 farmers are going to do this properly every time, McBroom said.

Dicamba, however, is here to stay as a key tool in modern agribusiness. The herbicide itself is not new, but the recent development of dicamba-resistant seeds is giving it newfound popularity.

Monsanto is ramping up its investment in dicamba, pouring $975 million into the expansion of a Louisiana facility that will produce it and aiming to supply 15 million acres of Xtend soybeans in the coming fiscal year. And with weeds strengthening their resistance to Roundup, some farmers see dicamba as a necessity.

Were using other chemicals but its not working very good, because (weeds) are immune to the Roundup and the old chemistry, said Weaver, who added that having just one pigweed plant for every 2 feet of row crop can slash yields by 30 percent.

For the American farmer to survive in this part of the country, we have got to have that technology and that herbicide.
The nations top cancer researcher visited Washington University on Friday as part of the moonshot project to speed up progress for disease treatments and prevention.

Douglas Lowy, acting director of the National Cancer Institute, told a roomful of faculty and staff at the Siteman Cancer Center about the current opportunities and challenges for research.

As much as we have learned, theres still more that we dont understand than we do, he said.

The National Cancer Moonshot Initiative led by Vice President Joe Biden launched earlier this year to streamline government, academic and business efforts toward cancer research and treatments. Bidens son Beau died of brain cancer last year.

Scientists Robert Schreiber and Graham Colditz of Washington University serve on advisory committees for the project and are studying ways of using the immune system to fight cancer and educating the general public about the disease. Lowy met with both researchers Friday to discuss their plans.

A report from the projects blue ribbon panel is due in September, along with its recommendations for new federal funding opportunities in 2017.

Lowy emphasized that the project is a monumental task, because cancer includes at least 200 types of the disease plus genetic mutations in each patient. Lowy helped develop the vaccine for human papillomavirus (HPV), which can cause cervical and oral cancers.

One out of every two men and one in three women are expected to develop cancer at some point in their lives. The disease kills nearly 600,000 Americans each year as the second leading cause of death after heart disease.

Two main obstacles to cancer research are funding and a lack of information sharing among cancer research centers. The results of most cancer research projects are never reported to a federal clinical trials database.

And as gene sequencing of cancer tumors to plot a personalized course of treatment becomes more common, that information is not generally shared to look for patterns among patients. Biden has threatened to pull funding for studies that fail to publicly disclose their results.

Medicare and private insurance companies dont reimburse for genetic testing, so major cancer centers own their data and can use it as a marketing tool. The moonshot project will explore new ways to fund the testing that would allow for more sharing.

The current lack of collaboration is less about competition than about coming up with ways to make the data searchable and usable to a broader audience, said Sheila Stewart, assistant director for basic science at Siteman.

Most scientists really love their results to be out there right away, she said.

While federal funding for cancer research has fluctuated in recent years, Lowy said there is hope that the moonshot project will inspire Congress to expand the National Cancer Institutes budget. President Barack Obama has asked for $1 billion over two years to fund the project.

The institute provides about one-third of Washington Universitys $148 million funding for cancer research. Most recently, the federal agency granted $10.4 million to the university to lead research on more effective treatments for pancreatic cancer.

Some researchers expressed concern about whether the next administration would follow through on the moonshot projects recommendations.

Im excited that the vice president has taken this initiative and it will be incredible if the funds follow it, Stewart said. One would hope that disease has no political bias. Everybody gets sick.
BRIDGETON  A man who killed his wife, two of their adult children and himself at home here last weekend suffered from paranoia and depression, a relative told police.

Police said Thomas P. Comer, 73, committed suicide after fatally shooting his wife, Carole Comer, 71; their son John M. Comer, 50; and their daughter Rebecca Kelleher, 45. All four lived in the house in the 3600 block of Harmann Estates Court. The bodies were discovered July 30.

Thomas Comer had gone to a doctor just the day before, to have his medication adjusted, according to a police report made public Friday.

That information was provided to police by a daughter from Ohio, who was here for a visit and had been at the home July 29. No one answered the door or cellphones when she returned the next morning.

Relatives used a crowbar to open a door and police went inside. They found a dead woman on the kitchen floor and a dead man kneeling next to a chair. Downstairs were the bodies of a man in a bed and a woman on the floor. All had been shot in the head. The report did not say which person was where.

In a statement Monday, Bridgeton police said an investigation revealed that Thomas Comer was responsible. He and Carole Comer had celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary about 14 months ago. They had five children and seven grandchildren.

Obituaries said Thomas Comer was a brilliant engineer who designed aircraft for NASA, McDonnell Douglas, and Boeing, and that Carole Comer never complained and always remained positive during her health issues.

A longtime family friend said Carole Comer had been battling lung cancer.

John Comer enjoyed movies and trivia and was a member of St. Louis Family Church, his obituary said.

Kelleher, the mother of one son, was said to be an artist passionate about social justice and animal rights.

A combined memorial service is set for 2 p.m. Saturday at St. Louis Family Church, 17458 Chesterfield Airport Road in Chesterfield.

Memorial contributions for Thomas, Carole and John Comer can be made to the church. Memorials for Kelleher can be made to Stray Rescue.
ST. LOUIS  An East St. Louis man was extradited to St. Louis from an Illinois prison last week to face murder charges filed more than a year ago.

Tony Ross, 20, was charged April 2015 with second-degree murder, among other things, for a botched carjacking turned murder of Bobby Christman, a DeSmet Jesuit High School graduate and student at Southeast Missouri State University.

Ross was brought to St. Louis July 29, and arraigned on Monday. Prosecutors are asking for a speedy trial.

The circuit attorney's office said Thursday that Ross had to go through the legal process in Illinois for separate charges filed the day after Christman's murder before he could be brought back to Missouri.

Christman was killed around 12:45 a.m. Jan. 11, 2015 as he sat in a parked car with his brother and girlfriend at Lucas Avenue and North 15th Street. Hours later, police said, Ross and two other men exchanged gunfire with St. Louis and East St. Louis police in Washington Park. The men were sought for their suspected involvement in Christman's murder.

Ross was arrested two days later.

He pleaded guilty in a St. Clair County court in April of possession of a stolen vehicle. Back in St. Louis he faces multiple charges of armed criminal action, robbery and unlawful use of a weapon, in addition to second-degree murder.
BELLEFONTAINE NEIGHBORS  The owner of a beauty shop here says she hasnt forgiven herself for asking her father for a hand last month so she could take a day off with her two kids.

I was working every day, Monday through Saturday, 9 a.m. to 9 p.m., and then my kids summer break is almost over and I felt sorry, she said Thursday. I asked my dad to work one day before summer break was over. He said yes. He just went there that day for me, and it happened. It makes me so guilty.

On that day, a robber shot the owners parents as they watched over Kings Beauty Supply, 10073 Lewis and Clark Boulevard. The shop owner asked to not be identified out of fear for her familys safety. Her parents, who remain hospitalized and paralyzed, also havent been identified.

The owner said she was motivated to speak because she hopes the suspect, a 13-year-old girl, who is in St. Louis County Family Court, will be tried as an adult. She said that because she spends her days at the hospital with her phone off, she has not been able to talk with a representative from Family Court who contacted her.

I have opinions about this because I have a 9-year-old son, but he knows whats right and wrong, and he knows this was wrong, the woman said.

She understands the NAACP is hoping the girl is not charged as an adult, and she said she doesnt understand why. I just dont know why they would want to keep her in a juvenile court after this.

Adolphus Pruitt, head of the St. Louis NAACP, said the girl had exposure to alternative education and counseling, but that exposure to those things did not outweigh her exposure to the wrong crowd.

We are confident that the parents did the right thing to reach out and help her along the way, Pruitt said.

The 13-year-old, flanked by family members, surrendered the day after the July 19 shooting. Police say she was in the store twice on that day before she came in a third time with a gun and shot the man and woman, both in their 70s.

The store owner said the girl changed her outfit and pretended she hadnt been in the store earlier. When the womans mother told the girl to leave the third time, the girl pulled out the gun.

The store owner said her mother turned to run and was shot in the back. When the shop owners father went to help his wife, the girl shot him in the abdomen.

The girl then held the couple at gunpoint and demanded they help her open the cash register, the shop owner said, but they couldnt get up. The girl eventually opened the cash register by throwing it on the floor. Along with the cash, she stole hair extensions.

Neither victim has been able to move their legs since the day of the shooting, and theres a chance theyre permanently paralyzed, the store owner said.

She said her father was in a coma until earlier this week and has been unable to speak. Her mother was out of the intensive care unit but is now back, although its unclear why she is doing worse. Both are still considered to be in critical condition.

The owner cant think about when Kings Beauty Supply will reopen. She said she has a difficult time even going into the store.

For now, the family is receiving help from her church in St. Ann. She said her 17-year-old son takes care of her 9-year-old during the day, and at night people from her church bring the kids food. A friend from church started a GoFundMe page for the familys medical costs and the cost of closing the store. It had raised more than $6,500 as of Thursday afternoon.

When my mom finished with surgery, she grabbed my hand and said, Im so happy because its not you. If it happened to you, what about your kids? she said. Everybody thinks that theyre OK and everything is all right because some time has passed, but its not.
Malaysia has acknowledged for the first time that one of the pilots of Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 had plotted a course on his home flight simulator to the southern Indian Ocean, where the missing jet is believed to have crashed.

Australian officials overseeing the search for the plane last month said data recovered from Capt. Zaharie Ahmad Shah's simulator included a flight path to the southern Indian Ocean. Malaysian officials at the time refused to confirm the findings.

On Thursday, Transport Minister Liow Tiong Lai told local journalists that the flight path was found on the simulator. He also cautioned there were "thousands" of destinations on the simulator and no evidence that Zaharie flew the plane in that area or deliberately crashed it.

The search for the plane, which was carrying 239 people when it vanished on March 8, 2014, will be suspended once the current search area has been completely scoured.

New York Magazine reported last month that an FBI analysis of the device showed Zaharie had conducted a simulated flight to the southern Indian Ocean less than a month before the plane vanished along a similar route. The magazine cited the discovery as strong evidence that the disappearance was a premeditated act of mass murder-suicide at the hands of the captain.

"Until today, this theory is still under investigation. There is no evidence to prove that Captain Zaharie flew the plane into the southern Indian Ocean," Liow said. "Yes, there is the simulator but the (route) was one of thousands to many parts of the world. We cannot just base on that to confirm (he did it)."

Liow didn't say when the Indian Ocean path was flown on the simulator. He stressed that international experts and Australian officials have agreed that the most likely scenario was "uncontrolled ditching" of the plane.

The latest development in the saga of the world's biggest aviation mystery unnerved families of the victims, who blame Malaysia for a cover-up and incompetence.

"It is sheer nonsense! I don't believe it at all. We were told in the past that both the plane and the pilots had no problem and now we are told there was something wrong with the pilot," said Li Xinmao, whose daughter Li Yan and son-in-law Luo Wei were among the many Chinese passengers on the flight.
Can we be assured that the plant will not pollute our land or water supply so that we are not discovering something decades later like so many areas in Missouri?
LONDON MARKET CLOSE: FTSE makes weekly gain but banks weigh on Friday

Friday, October 28, 2022 - 17:08

The FTSE 100 managed a weekly gain, despite underperforming peers on Friday, while strong results from oil majors lifted the mood in New York, shaking off poor numbers from Amazon.

Central banks move into focus again next week. The Federal Reserve announces its rate decision on Wednesday, with the Bank of England following on Thursday.

The FTSE 100 index closed down 26.02 points, or 0.4% at 7,047.67 on Friday, but finished the week 1.1% higher.

The FTSE 250 ended down 165.25 points, or 0.9%, at 17,916.67 - closing the week up 4.1%. The AIM All-Share closed down 4.09 points, or 0.5%, at 805.37, finishing 2.7% higher over the past five days

The Cboe UK 100 ended down 0.5% at 703.81, the Cboe UK 250 closed down 1.0% at 15,378.84, and the Cboe Small Companies ended down 0.5% at 12,320.39.

The pound was quoted at $1.1595 at the London equities close Friday, up slightly from $1.1573 at the close on Thursday. Though sterling's marked rise tempered slightly on Friday, the currency has gained 3.2% over the past week.

Markets have so far taken confidence from the new UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak.

In the FTSE 100, Centrica added 5.2% after it announced the reopening of the Rough natural gas storage facility off the east coast of England.

Centrica, which owns British Gas, said the facility is operational for winter. The facility increases the UK's storage capacity by 50% despite it operating at just 20% of its previous capacity.

GSK closed up 2.3% after it said its majority owned ViiV Healthcare venture has received the European Medicines Agency's validation for its marketing authorisation application for HIV prevention, and said its MAA for respiratory syncytial virus adult vaccine has also been accepted.

NatWest was the worst performer. It plunged 8.3% as it reported strong income growth in the third quarter, boosted by both increased lending and higher interest rates, but the bank warned it is keeping a close on eye on any change in behaviour from its customers.

In the three months to September 30, operating profit before tax rose to 1.09 billion from 976 million a year before.

Putting a cap on the bank's profit, NatWest set aside 247 million in the quarter to cover an expected increase in bad loans, which is reversed from a 221 million gain the year prior.

Lloyds fell 3.3% in negative read across.

Glencore fell 1.0% as it trimmed annual guidance for some of its commodities after a disappointing third-quarter performance dominated by supply chain disruptions in Kazakhstan, extreme weather in Australia, and strikes in Canada and Norway.

In the FTSE 250, ASOS tumbled 11%.

The stock was rocked by a Telegraph report which stated some hedge funds have shorted the stock, just days after retailer Frasers bought a stake.

Elsewhere in London, China-focused investment trusts fell.

JPMorgan China Growth & Income fell 2.9% and abrdn China Investment dropped 3.5%.

Investor sentiment turned sour as Chinese cities doubled down on Covid-19 lockdown restrictions.

Stocks in New York were firmly in the green at the London equities close, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average up 2.0%, the S&P 500 index up 1.7% and the Nasdaq Composite up 1.8%.

After disappointment from tech stocks, oil majors put some shine on this week's US corporate earnings calendar.

Exxon Mobil revenue in the third quarter of 2022 jumped 52% to $112.07 billion from $73.79 billion a year prior. Attributable net income soared to $19.66 billion from $6.75 billion. The oil major's bottom line rose 10% from $17.85 billion in the second quarter.

Chevron posted pretax earnings of $14.80 billion, up from $8.06 billion the year before. Revenue increased to $66.64 billion from $44.71 billion the year before.

Exxon shares rose 1.8%, while Chevron was up 0.3%. Amazon slid 10%, after its poor numbers overnight.

Wall Street also shook off a higher inflation reading for the US on Friday.

According to the Bureau of Economic Analysis, the Fed's preferred inflationary measure, the core personal consumption expenditures index, which excludes food and energy, shot up 5.1% year-on-year in September, quickening from a 4.9% hike in August.

"The Fed's favoured measure of inflation is heading higher, rather than lower, while employment costs continue to rise at double the rate experienced over the past 15 years. The market is probably right to expect the Fed to slow the pace of rate hikes from December, but this is by no means guaranteed," analysts at ING commented.

On Thursday, the European Central Bank on Thursday lifted its benchmark interest rates by 75 basis points, as expected.

In European equities on Friday, the CAC 40 in Paris ended up 0.5%, while the DAX 40 in Frankfurt ended up 0.2%.

The euro stood at $0.9943 at the European equities close Friday, lower against $0.9984 at the same time on Thursday.

Against the yen, the dollar was trading at JP147.54 late Friday, higher compared to JP145.90 late Thursday.

Gold was quoted at $1,640.91 an ounce at the London equities close Friday, down sharply against $1,662.60 at the close on Thursday. The precious metal has an inverse relationship with the greenback, weakening as the dollar strengthens.

Brent oil was quoted at $93.34 a barrel at the London equities close Friday, down from $94.75 late Thursday.

In Monday's UK corporate calendar, there are full year results from self storage company Lok'n Store and kidney disease-focused diagnostics firm Renalytix.

In the economic calendar, the EU will publish its latest GDP and CPI readings.

Copyright 2022 Alliance News Limited. All Rights Reserved.
As we have since July 2006, each Friday well post a mixed bag of quick cigar news and other items of interest. Below is our latest Friday Sampler.

1) The just-concluded IPCPR Trade Show in Las Vegas will probably go down as one of the industrys most important conventions in history. Cigar makers introduced new cigars at what seemed like a record pace, as blends introduced after August 8 will have to wait for FDA pre-approval before being marketed or sold in the United States, while those on the market before that date can be sold for two years without needing pre-approval. Many of those new blends will be shipped to retailers within days to make the FDAs deadline. With that in mind, its appropriate to mention a few notable trendstrends that are sure to make themselves apparent at a tobacconist near you within the coming weeks. New Candela-wrapped cigars, for example, debuted in large numbers from manufacturers like Drew Estate, Nomad, and (as hinted on Facebook by Steve Saka) Dunbarton Tobacco & Trust. Also, more than a few companies reached back into their archives to re-release old lines, likely in part because older lines may fair better in the FDA approval process.

2) Cigar Insider has released its 2016 Retailer Survey, a poll of over 100 shop owners who represent over 140 tobacconist locations. According to the respondents, the best-selling cigar brands are, in order, Arturo Fuente, Padron, Rocky Patel, Ashton, and Romeo y Julieta (Perdomo and My Father both finished just outside the top five). Over 70% of shops saw an increase in sales over the previous year, although many also expressed concern and uncertainty about the year ahead in light of the new FDA regulations.

3) Inside the Industry: Traditionally, Illusione has limited its new offerings at IPCPR Trade Shows. Whether due to the upcoming FDA regulations or some other reason, though, this year numerous new Illusione offerings were announced. Garagiste is a new medium- to full-bodied cigar concentrating on the combination of two tobaccos, Viso Corojo and Viso Criollo, from a specific farm, finished with an Ecuador Habano wrapper that has been put through final fermentation techniques at TABSA. Also made at TABSA is Cigares Prive, which was originally a store exclusive; its now a full line in three sizes, each available in a San Andres Maduro or Corojo wrapper. Another new offering is the Illusione HAUT 10, which celebrates the companys tenth year in business and combines Nicaraguan Criollo 98 and Corojo 99 fillers finished with an AAA grade Cafe Claro Corojo wrapper (5.5 x 52, $15.95). Illusione is adding to the Rothchildes and Gigantes blends with an Ecuador Connecticut Shade wrapper version of each. Finally, Illusione is also reaching back into its archives to make past Singulare blends (Anunnaki, Misrerre, Phantom, plus the new Kadosh) into regular offerings.

4) From the Archives: Want to get serious about aging cigars? The place to start is making sure you know how old the cigar you are smoking is. Read this tip for some suggestions on how to keep track of aged cigars.

5) Deal of the Week: Want to check out some of the hottest new cigars of 2016? Check out this sampler. Included are ten high-end cigars ($90) like the Padron Family Reserve No. 50 Natural, Caldwell Blind Mans Bluff, Avo Syncro Nicaragua Fogata, and Illusione Epernay.

The Stogie Guys

photo credit: IPCPR
Billionaire activist-investor Carl Icahn gives an interview on FOX Business Network's Neil Cavuto show in New York February 11, 2014. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid

By Jennifer Ablan

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Billionaire investor Carl Icahn turned down an invitation to join Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump's economic advisory council because Icahn is considering funding a Super PAC focused on regulatory reform, Icahn's general counsel told Reuters on Friday.

This would be his second Super PAC. Technically known as independent expenditure-only committees, Super PACs may raise unlimited sums of money from corporations, unions, associations and individuals, then spend unlimited sums to advocate for or against political candidates.

The first Super PAC Icahn formed had an initial commitment of $150 million and was targeted at "tax inversions," which occur when a company moves its headquarters outside the United States to take advantage of lower tax rates elsewhere.

"Mr. Icahn declined the opportunity to join the Trump economic advisory council because at this time, we're still considering whether to fund and manage our own Super PAC focused on regulatory reform," Jesse Lynn, general counsel to Icahn, said by telephone.

"FEC (Federal Election Commission) rules would limit that activity if Mr. Icahn were to become directly involved in the campaign by joining the council," Lynn said.

There was no immediate comment from the Trump campaign.

Trump announced his economic advisory team on Friday, and said he would release his plan to boost the U.S. economy in a speech on Monday.

Trump has floated Icahn's name for U.S. Treasury secretary if he was elected president. Icahn, 80, has repeatedly rejected the notion of accepting such an offer.

Lynn did not give any details on what kind of regulatory reforms a new Super PAC may target.

In September, Icahn released a video titled "Danger Ahead," in which he endorsed Trump for president and criticized the Federal Reserve for creating a new bubble in the corporate bond market.

He said the rich paid too little in taxes and called for an end to the loophole that allows private equity firms and some hedge fund managers to pay low tax rates on their investments by classifying them as "carried interest."

The activist investor has recently been a vocal critic of the dangers of retail investors buying junk bonds, debt sold by highly leveraged companies. Much of this debt is sold to "Mom and Pop" investors via exchange-traded funds, a popular vehicle for trading baskets of bonds and stocks.

In October, Icahn announced his first Super PAC, which was the biggest one-time injection of money in the history of such political action committees. Icahn said the incentive for companies to leave the United States via inversion deals could be eliminated by legislation allowing big companies to repatriate funds held offshore at a discounted tax rate - an approach also favored by Trump.

A Wall Street veteran, Icahn made his fortune buying stakes in companies such as RJR Nabisco, Texaco, Phillips Petroleum, Lions Gate Entertainment Corp, Netflix Inc, Apple Inc and eBay Inc and pushing their management to change their strategies.

(Reporting by Jennifer Ablan; Editing by Jonathan Oatis and Tiffany Wu)
PITTSBURGH, Aug. 5, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- ForAllSecure, a Carnegie Mellon University spinoff startup, just took home $2 million in prize money as the winners of the DARPA Cyber Grand Challenge (CGC), a first-of-its-kind hacking contest in which all participants are autonomous computer systems. ForAllSecure was one of seven finalist teams in the contest, which took place on Thursday, August 4th, in Las Vegas, Nevada.

"Our vision is to check the world's software for exploitable bugs so they can be fixed before attackers use them to hack computers," says David Brumley, who wears several hats as CEO of ForAllSecure, director of Carnegie Mellon's CyLab Security and Privacy Institute, and professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering. "We believe our technology can make the world's computers safe and secure."

ForAllSecure's system, dubbed "MAYHEM" by the team, scans software for bugs, generates exploits, and fixes vulnerabilities. The system performs every task completely autonomously.

"This is a shining moment for a startup born at Carnegie Mellon," says Jim Garrett, Dean of Carnegie Mellon University's College of Engineering. "We couldn't be more proud of ForAllSecure for applying its vision to the development of cutting-edge technology that addresses the global issue of security."

DARPA launched the CGC in response to the recent increase in software bugs, due in large part to the explosion of the Internet of Thingsbillions of connected devices like smart thermostats or fitness trackers that are built with little regard to cybersecurity. The challenge aimed to identify state-of-the-art technology to find these bugs quickly, and at scale.

ForAllSecure was co-founded in 2012 by Brumley and two Carnegie Mellon graduate students, Thanassis Avgerinos and Alex Rebert. The startup currently has nine employees and is based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

About Carnegie Mellon University: Carnegie Mellon (www.cmu.edu) is a private, internationally ranked university with programs in areas ranging from science, technology and business to public policy, the humanities and the arts. More than 13,000 students in the university's seven schools and colleges benefit from a small faculty-to-student ratio and an education characterized by its focus on creating and implementing solutions for real world problems, interdisciplinary collaboration and innovation.

About Carnegie Mellon University CyLab: Carnegie Mellon University CyLab (www.cylab.cmu.edu) is a University-wide, multi-disciplinary cybersecurity and privacy research institute. With over 50 core faculty, CyLab partners with industry and government to develop and test systems that lead to a world in which people can trust technology. CyLab stretches across five colleges encompassing the fields of engineering, computer science, business, public policy, information systems, humanities and social sciences.

Contact: Daniel Tkacik, [email protected], 770-256-0469

Photo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160805/396049

To view the original version on PR Newswire, visit:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/cmu-spinoff-forallsecure-wins-2-million-top-prize-at-the-darpa-cyber-grand-challenge-300309993.html

SOURCE CyLab at Carnegie Mellon University
COLUMBIA, Md., Aug. 5, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Cenveo Publisher Services, a division of Cenveo, Inc., announces the election of Evan Owens, VP of Publishing Technologies, to a three-year term on the board of directors at NISO. Owens is a returning board member whose insight, technical knowledge, and contributions have made a significant impact on NISO's success over the past three years.

Logo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160805/395997LOGO

NISO, based in Baltimore, Maryland, fosters the development and maintenance of standards that facilitate the creation, persistent management, and effective interchange of information so that it can be trusted for use in research and learning. To fulfill this mission, NISO engages libraries, publishers, information aggregators, and other organizations that support learning, research, and scholarship through the creation, organization, management, and curation of knowledge.

NISO Executive Director Todd Carpenter states, "The whole board is deep in work that will affect information technology and its users for decades to come. NISO is fortunate to have our ideas and work guided by such talented individuals."

Owens is a recognized leader serving the scholarly publishing community with editorial, production, and technology solutions. He has been working in academic publishing for 30 years and is a frequent speaker at events in the publishing and library communities since the 1990s. Owens explains, "I've dedicated my career to standards and technologies that support the scholarly publishing community. My leadership role in NISO and participation in NISO standards working groups enables Cenveo to be a pioneer in implementing new standards and technologies so that customers are serviced with cutting-edge knowledge and solutions."

Cenveo Publisher Services is a supporting member of NISO, voting on all standards and keeping apprised of standards as they evolve. To learn more about how we work with scholarly publishers and streamline the implementation of standards into production workflows, please visit www.CenveoPublisherServices.com.

About Cenveo Publisher ServicesCenveo Publisher Services, a Cadmus Journal services company, is the industry leader in transformative publishing solutions. Cenveo Publisher Services provides expert content services and innovative technology solutions that drive revenue growth, streamline operations, and ensure editorial excellence. With The Publisher's Office and The Design Studio, Cenveo provides full-service editorial, management, production, and art & design support for print and digital products across the publishing spectrum. For more information, please visit www.cenveopublisherservices.com

About CenveoCenveo, world headquartered in Stamford, Connecticut, is a leading global provider of print and related resources, offering world-class solutions in the areas of custom labels, envelopes, commercial print, content management and publisher solutions. The company provides a one-stop offering through services ranging from design and content management to fulfillment and distribution. With a worldwide distribution platform, we pride ourselves on delivering quality solutions and service every day to our customers. For more information please visit us at www.cenveo.com.

Marianne CalilhannaDirector of MarketingCenveo Publisher Services267-640-9158[email protected]

This release was issued through WebWire(R). For more information visit http://www.webwire.com.

To view the original version on PR Newswire, visit:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/evan-owens-vp-of-publishing-technologies-at-cenveo-publisher-services-elected-to-board-of-directors-at-niso-national-information-standards-organization-300309938.html

SOURCE Cenveo Publisher Services
LOS ANGELES, Aug. 5, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Today at VRLA, the world's largest virtual reality expo, the team at Vive announced VIVEPORT, the destination for VR content and experiences. Viveport will be available to customers later this fall and will launch a developer beta soon. Building on the fast growth and success of great VR games, Viveport features immersive experiences across additional categories and introduces an update to Vive Home, a personal and customizable virtual environment. Viveport will soon invite both the creator community and customers to discover, create, connect, watch, and shop for the things they love and need in life.

"Our mission is to unleash human imagination from the limitations of reality, and Viveport will be an important cornerstone in democratizing access to the world's most diverse selection of immersive experiences," said Cher Wang, CEO of HTC.

Viveport will feature a wide range of VR experiences across education, design, art, social, video, music, sports, health, fashion, travel, news, shopping, creativity tools, and more. The Viveport store will be available in Vive headsets, web browsers, and as a PC and mobile app. Together with the global community of content creators and developers, Viveport will provide all customers with a unique and fast-growing selection of apps and experiences.

"We believe equal access to virtual reality experiences will make the world a better place; enhancing our daily lives and the way we connect with everything. An important goal for the Viveport team is to enable developers to reach a global audience and grow their business," said Rikard Steiber, Senior Vice President of Viveport.

Viveport is built to be responsive to content creators and developers, empowering them to drive long-term engagement and monetization. Viveport will feature pay-to-download, in-app-purchases, subscriptions, and more revenue generating opportunities. In addition, Viveport will continue to roll out new platform features supporting content creation, distribution, and customer engagement.

We now welcome new content creators and developers to join the Viveport community, and register on http://developer.vive.com, joining the thousands of developers who have already started their journey with us. Also follow our blog on http://blog.htcvive.com for more information.

About VIVEVive is a first-of-its-kind virtual reality platform designed by HTC and Valve. Uniting passion, talent and innovation, Vive delivers on the promise of VR with game-changing technology and best-in-class content. Unveiled during HTC's Mobile World Congress keynote in March 2015, Vive has since been recognized with over 30 awards, including best of CES 2016.

About HTCHTC Corporation aims to bring brilliance to life. As a global innovator in smart mobile devices and technology, HTC has produced award-winning products and industry firsts since its inception in 1997, including the critically acclaimed HTC One and HTC Desire lines of smartphones. The pursuit of brilliance is at the heart of everything we do, inspiring best-in-class design and game-changing mobile and virtual reality experiences for consumers around the world. HTC is listed on the Taiwan Stock Exchange (TWSE: 2498). www.htc.com

HTC, the HTC logo, and the Vive logo are the trademarks of HTC Corporation. All other names of companies and products mentioned herein may be the trademarks of their respective owners.

Photo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160804/395879 Photo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160804/395880

To view the original version on PR Newswire, visit:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/viveport-the-app-store-for-virtual-reality-rolling-out-globally-300309735.html

SOURCE HTC
COPENHAGEN (Reuters) - Danish warplanes bombed Syria for the first time, its military said on Friday, as Denmark extended its fight against Islamic State from neighboring Iraq.

Four F-16 jets bombed the militants' stronghold city of Raqqa, targeting command and control facilities, weapons stocks and enemy personnel, Defence Command Denmark said.

NATO member Denmark is part of the U.S.-led operation "Inherent Resolve" against Islamic State, which has declared a caliphate in parts of Iraq and Syria.

Denmark's Chief of International Air Force Missions Jan Dam told Danish media the bombings had been an "important contribution" to the coalition's work.

Denmark has flown 67 missions and dropped 93 bombs in the two countries since deployment in mid-June, the military said.

(Reporting by Nikolaj Skydsgaard)
The office building of health insurer Anthem is seen in Los Angeles, California February 5, 2015. REUTERS/Gus Ruelas/File Photo

By Diane Bartz

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The judge overseeing the U.S. government's bid to stop health insurer Anthem Inc (NYSE: ANTM) from buying Cigna Corp (NYSE: CI), who had been seen as favorable for the deal, has relinquished the case.

Judge Amy Berman Jackson of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia was named to hear the case after Judge John Bates asked that it be reassigned. Jackson was nominated to the bench in 2011 by President Barack Obama, a Democrat.

Bates will hear the U.S. Justice Department's challenge to Aetna Inc's (NYSE: AET) purchase of Humana Inc (NYSE: HUM). He was originally assigned to both cases.

President George W. Bush, a Republican, had named Bates to the court in 2001. The judge had ruled against antitrust enforcers in 2004 when he allowed Arch Coal Inc to buy Triton Coal.

Jackson also said in an order on Friday that she wanted to know what dates lawyers for the case were not available in December or January, indicating that she was contemplating a trial at that time.

This would be bad news for Anthem, which has stressed that it needs a decision by Dec. 31 to wrap up final approval from state regulators by April 30, 2017.

Christopher Curran, Anthem's lawyer, said at a hearing on Thursday that the failure to get approvals on time would doom the deal because Cigna would not agree to an extension. He called the April 30 deadline "real and hard and fixed."

Anthem said it did not matter which judge heard the case. "Anthem is extremely pleased that Judge Bates recognizes in his order Anthem's need for an expedited hearing regarding our acquisition of Cigna and we look forward to an expeditious resolution of the matter," the company said in a statement.

The change in court assignment came shortly after Bates said in a pretrial hearing on Thursday that it would be difficult for him to decide the Anthem case and Aetna's merger with Humana by the end of the year.

Aetna's stock was up 2.5 percent while Humana rose 2.6 percent. Anthem's stock was up less than 1 percent and Cigna's shares were down less than 1 percent.

The U.S. Department of Justice filed lawsuits in July to block the multibillion-dollar mergers, both of which were announced in July 2015. Anthem's planned purchase of Cigna is valued at $45 billion, while Aetna would pay about $33 billion for Humana.

If the mergers go through, No. 1 U.S. insurer UnitedHealth Group Inc (NYSE: UNH) would rank second after Anthem. Aetna would be No. 3.

(Reporting by Diane Bartz; Editing by JS Benkoe, Lisa Von Ahn and Bernard Orr)
UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

Form 6-K

Report of Foreign Issuer

Pursuant to Rule 13a-16 or 15d-16 under

the Securities Exchange Act of 1934

For the Month of August 2016

Commission File Number: 001-32294

TATA MOTORS LIMITED

(Translation of registrants name into English)

BOMBAY HOUSE

24, HOMI MODY STREET,

MUMBAI 400 001, MAHARASHTRA, INDIA

Telephone # 91 22 6665 8282 Fax # 91 22 6665 7799

(Address of principal executive office)

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant files or will file annual reports under cover Form 20-F or Form 40-F.

Form 20-F x Form 40-F 

Indicate by check mark if the registrant is submitting the Form 6-K in paper as permitted by Regulation S-T Rule 101(b)(1):

Yes  No x

Indicate by check mark if the registrant is submitting the Form 6-K in paper as permitted by Regulation S-T Rule 101(b)(7):

Yes  No x

TABLE OF CONTENTS

SIGNATURE

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorised.

Tata Motors Limited By: /s/ Hoshang K Sethna Name: Hoshang K Sethna Title: Company Secretary Dated: August 5, 2016

Item 1

TATA MOTORS LIMITED

Bombay House

24, Homi Mody Street,

Mumbai 400 001, Maharashtra, India

JAGUAR LAND ROVER ACHIEVES BEST EVER JULY SALES RESULTS

August 5, 2016, Whitley, UK: Jaguar Land Rover, the UKs leading manufacturer of premium luxury vehicles, today reported its best ever July retail sales of 44,486 vehicles, up 34% compared to July 2015. The months record performance has been driven by strong sales of the Land Rover Discovery Sport, the Jaguar XE and the F-PACE. Jaguar Land Rover sold 336,052 vehicles in the first seven months of 2016, up 23% on the same period in the prior year.

In July, Jaguar Land Rover has delivered a particularly solid performance in China and North America with retail sales increasing by 64% and 51% respectively compared to the previous year. Retail sales were up year-on-year across all other regions: 38% in the UK, 24% in Europe and 2% in other overseas markets.

Commenting on the performance, Andy Goss, Jaguar Land Rover Group Sales Operations Director said: This has been another record month for Jaguar Land Rover with impressive sales across both of our brands. The Discovery Sport and the Jaguar XE have delivered record July sales performances and the Jaguar F-PACE is in popular demand with our customers, reflecting the global appeal of our strongest ever vehicle line up.

Land Rover strengthened its position as a world-leading manufacturer of all-terrain SUVs, with record July sales of 31,288 vehicles, up 19% year-on-year. The best-seller for the month was the Discovery Sport, retailing an impressive 8,392 vehicles, closely followed by the Evoque with sales of 8,208 vehicles. Calendar year-to-date sales for Land Rover reached 261,194 vehicles, 15% up on the prior year.

Jaguar recorded its best July ever, delivering 13,198 vehicles, up 91% on the previous year, reflecting the strong launch of the F-PACE as well as continued solid sales of the XE. This month, Jaguar performed very strongly across all regions, notably in North America, where thanks to the brands expanded line up in showrooms, sales more than doubled year-on-year. In China, sales more than tripled versus July 2015. Calendar year-to-date sales for Jaguar were 74,858 up 69% year-on-year.

July %

increase

YOY Jan -July %

increase

YOY 15/16

Financial

Year %

increase

YOY Jaguar Land Rover 44,486 34 % 336,052 23 % 521,571 13 % Jaguar 13,198 91 % 74,858 69 % 94,449 23 % Land Rover 31,288 19 % 261,194 15 % 427,122 11 %

ENDS.

Notes to editors:

 Jaguar Land Rover is the largest automotive manufacturer in Britain;

 In January Jaguar Land Rover was named Best UK Employer 2016 by Bloomberg;

 Over the past five years, Jaguar Land Rover has doubled sales and employment, more than tripled turnover, and invested over 12 billion in new product creation and capital expenditure;

 With a balanced regional distribution of sales, in 2015, Jaguar Land Rover sold 487,065, up 5% year-on-year. Of that, Jaguar sold 83,986 vehicles and Land Rover sold 403,079 vehicles;

 Jaguar Land Rover will invest over 3.75 billion in its products and facilities in Fiscal 2015 /16;

 Jaguar Land Rover is one of the UKs largest exporters and generates over 80% of its revenue from exports.

For more information, please visit www.newsroom.jaguarlandrover.com or contact:

Lisa Palmer M: +44 (0) 7557 540611 E: [email protected] Kelly Mundee M: +44 (0) 7880 182287 E: [email protected]

About Tata Motors

Tata Motors Limited is Indias largest automobile company, with consolidated revenues of INR 2,75,561 crores (USD 41.6 billion) in 2015-16. Through subsidiaries and associate companies, Tata Motors has operations in the UK, South Korea, Thailand, South Africa and Indonesia. Among them is Jaguar Land Rover, the business comprising the two iconic British brands. It also has an industrial joint venture with Fiat in India. With over 9 million Tata vehicles plying in India, Tata Motors is the countrys market leader in commercial vehicles and among the top in passenger vehicles. Tata cars, buses and trucks are being marketed in several countries in Europe, Africa, the Middle East, South Asia, South East Asia, South America, Australia, CIS and Russia.

(www.tatamotors.com ; also follow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/TataMotors)

Safe Harbor: Statements included herein may constitute forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are based on expectations, forecasts and assumptions by management and involve risks, uncertainties, and other factors that may cause our actual results, performance or achievements to materially differ from those stated. We cannot be certain that any expectation, forecast or assumption made by management in preparing these forward-looking statements will prove accurate, or that any projection will be realized. More detailed information about these and other factors that could affect future results is contained in our annual reports and filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Our forward-looking statements pertain to the date of their initial issuance, and we do not undertake to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.
UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

FORM 8-K

CURRENT REPORT

Pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d)

of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934

Date of Report (Date of earliest event reported): August 5, 2016

Nuveen California AMT-Free Municipal Income Fund

(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)

Massachusetts 811-21212 03-0487017 (State or other jurisdiction of incorporation) (Commission File Number) (I.R.S. Employer Identification No.) 333 West Wacker Drive Chicago, Illinois 60606 (Address of principal executive offices) (Zip Code)

Registrants telephone number, including area code: (800) 257-8787

(Former name or former address, if changed since last report)

Check the appropriate box below if the Form 8-K filing is intended to simultaneously satisfy the filing obligation of the registrant under any of the following provisions:

 Written communications pursuant to Rule 425 under the Securities Act (17 CFR 230.425)

 Soliciting material pursuant to Rule 14a-12 under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.14a-12)

 Pre-commencement communications pursuant to Rule 14d-2(b) under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.14d-2(b))

 Pre-commencement communications pursuant to Rule 20e-4(c) under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.20e-4(c))

Item 8.01. Other Events.

Investment Policy Revision

Effective August 5, 2016, a number of Nuveen AMT-Free and non-AMT municipal closed-end funds have approved changes to their investment policies altering the limits on exposure to securities subject to the federal alternative minimum tax applicable to individuals (AMT).

AMT FREE MUNICIPAL FUNDS

The two AMT-Free funds listed below adopted a new investment policy to require the funds to invest 100% of its managed assets in securities the income from which is exempt from AMT at the time of purchase. While the funds were previously being managed as such, the new AMT policy will be in addition to the current policy which requires that only 80% of the funds assets be invested in securities exempt from the AMT. The 80% policy was adopted to meet the Names Rule under the Investment Company Act of 1940 and is subject to change by the board upon 60 days notice to shareholders. The new 100% AMT policy is subject to change by the funds board without shareholder notice. The new AMT policy is consistent with Nuveens other AMT-Free funds. The new policy was adopted for the following funds:

Ticker Nuveen Fund Name NRK Nuveen New York AMT-Free Municipal Income Fund NKX Nuveen California AMT-Free Municipal Income Fund

MUNICIPAL FUNDS THAT ARE NOT AMT-FREE

All of the Nuveen municipal closed-end funds listed below have adopted an investment policy to limit the amount securities subject to AMT to no more than 20% of a funds managed assets. As set forth below the vast majority of these funds previously did not have a limit on AMT securities while six funds had a 30% limit on AMT securities. The new AMT investment policy will replace each funds old investment policy. Together with a number of other Nuveen funds, these changes will create a uniform 20% limit on AMT securities across Nuveens municipal complex. The following is a list of the funds adopting the new 20% limit and each funds previous investment policy with respect to AMT securities.

Ticker Nuveen Fund Name Prior AMT Exposure Limit New AMT Policy

Limit NAZ Nuveen Arizona Premium Income Municipal Fund 30% 20% NEV Nuveen Enhanced Municipal Value Fund 30% 20% NHA Nuveen Municipal 2021 Target Term Fund 30% 20% NID Nuveen Intermediate Duration Municipal Term Fund 30% 20% NIQ Nuveen Intermediate Duration Quality Municipal Term Fund 30% 20% NMZ Nuveen Municipal High Income Opportunity Fund 30% 20% NAC Nuveen California Dividend Advantage Municipal Fund No Limit 20% NAD Nuveen Dividend Advantage Municipal Fund No Limit 20% NAN Nuveen New York Dividend Advantage Municipal Fund No Limit 20% NCA Nuveen California Municipal Value Fund, Inc. No Limit 20% NIM Nuveen Select Maturities Municipal Fund No Limit 20% NKG Nuveen Georgia Dividend Advantage Municipal Fund 2 No Limit 20% NMI Nuveen Municipal Income Fund, Inc. No Limit 20%

Ticker Nuveen Fund Name Prior AMT Exposure Limit New AMT Policy

Limit NMS Nuveen Minnesota Municipal Income Fund No Limit 20% NMT Nuveen Massachusetts Premium Income Municipal Fund No Limit 20% NMY Nuveen Maryland Premium Income Municipal Fund No Limit 20% NNC Nuveen North Carolina Premium Income Municipal Fund No Limit 20% NNY Nuveen New York Municipal Value Fund, Inc. No Limit 20% NOM Nuveen Missouri Premium Income Municipal Fund No Limit 20% NPV Nuveen Virginia Premium Income Municipal Fund No Limit 20% NQP Nuveen Pennsylvania Investment Quality Municipal Fund No Limit 20% NTC Nuveen Connecticut Premium Income Municipal Fund No Limit 20% NTX Nuveen Texas Quality Income Municipal Fund No Limit 20% NUM Nuveen Michigan Quality Income Municipal Fund No Limit 20% NUO Nuveen Ohio Quality Income Municipal Fund No Limit 20% NUV Nuveen Municipal Value Fund, Inc. No Limit 20% NVX Nuveen California Dividend Advantage Municipal Fund 2 No Limit 20% NXJ Nuveen New Jersey Dividend Advantage Municipal Fund No Limit 20% NZF Nuveen Enhanced Municipal Credit Opportunities Fund No Limit 20% NZH Nuveen California Dividend Advantage Municipal Fund 3 No Limit 20%

SIGNATURES

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned hereunto duly authorized.
Simon Bridges

National MP

simonbridges.co.nz

More and more people are choosing to move to Tauranga and as the citys population grows it is important people have the opportunities to own their own home.

We know Tauranga is a great place to live, work and raise a family, which is why our population is growing and our local economy is booming.

As more people move here, the housing market has changed, with the median house price increasing, which is why the Government has made important changes to its KiwiSaver HomeStart scheme as part of its comprehensive plan to address housing.

We want to give all New Zealanders a helping hand to be able to attain the dream to owning their own home, giving families greater security and building stronger communities.

Thats why we launched our KiwiSaver HomeStart package in April 2015. In the schemes first year 12,000 people throughout the country were helped into their first home  449 of those buyers were in Tauranga, and received grants worth $2,397,000.

This week we increased the income and house price caps of the scheme to ensure it meets its objectives of helping New Zealanders buy their first home. The scheme is about helping first-home buyers pull together a deposit with a grant of up to $10,000 for an existing house and $20,000 for a new home.

The income caps have increased from $80,000 to $85,000 for a single person and from $120,000 to $130,000 for a couple. The house price caps in Tauranga have increased from $450,000 to $500,000 for an existing house and from $500,000 to $550,000 for a new build.

This reflects the $50,000 increase in the national median house price since the scheme began. Were deliberately increasing the cap for new homes by an additional $50,000 to help drive growth in new residential construction.

This is great for Taurangas construction industry, which is set to go from strength to strength. Last week it was revealed the number of residential building consents issued in Tauranga in June this year was 35 per cent higher than the same month last year and 107 per cent higher than June 2014.

This reflects the current demand for new houses in our city. Were actively supporting the building industry to train more skilled workers to meet the demand for new housing and construction, with more funding for apprentices and trades training.

This will help young people into employment and a lifelong career and also help ease the pressure of finding workers in those high-demand industries.
Brian Rogers

Rogers Rabbits

www.sunlive.co.nz

A new gaming sensation has been created in Omokoroa. Unlike Pokemon Go, POTHOLE GO does not require an App download, your car is already programmed for this exciting new game, and your taxes have already paid for it. Simply jump in your car anywhere in Omokoroa and you are good to go.





Game inventor Kevin Molloy tells us the objective is to reach State Highway 2 with your vehicle intact.



Points are removed from your predetermined estimate of repair costs to your vehicle. For example, blown tyre nets 20 points; wheel alignment 15 points; shock absorber replacement 50 points etc.



Anyone reaching SH2 with the vehicle still drive able is deemed grand master and

should turn right toward Katikati, says Kevin.



Here, a new and even more challenging course has been carefully designed for the more discerning gamer. He reckons the potholes incorporated in the new overtaking lane offer breathtaking, adrenlin-pumping excitement!



Strategically placed POTHOLE GO targets stretch for almost a kilometre offering unlimited chances for vehicle damage and avoidance skills in both directions!



To their credit, the contractors have installed a special shredding device along the lanes so that panel and paint damage can be deducted from your scoreline when vehicle bounces from the desired destination.



Special features to watch for are road cones haphazardly placed to disorientate gamers, and speed restriction signs with moss growing on them where there is no evidence of activity.



Anyone completing this section with credits left on their damage estimate qualifies for a draw for guessing the budget overrun for this special POTHOLE GO stage and ongoing costs to keep it operative.



Taped, tied, died



News coming out of Alabama: A 68-year-old mobile homeowner caught a burglar, tied and taped him to a tree, where he died.



Nathaniel Johnson was tired of being burgled, so lay in wait for the culprit, Mr Cleveland Gully. The old man wrestled Mr Gully to the ground, bound and gagged him with duct tape and electrical wire and tied the burglar upright to a tree.



Nathaniel is reported to have then gone to a neighbour to call Police. In the meantime the 31-year-old intruder expired.



The story is notable. Firstly, because someone died in the United States other than by shooting. Secondly, it supports our view that the world needs more trees, duct tape, and guys like Nathaniel.



More PC madness



A primary school in Australia has banned clapping. Instead, pupils are expected to display approval by silent cheering and wriggling about because the school believes that is more acceptable to noise sensitive pupils.



I kid you not. Elanora Heights Public School  the name alone is cause for concern  is re-ported to have assemblies of pupils pulling excited faces or punching the air.



The latest scourge of political correctness inflicted on Aussie learning establishments adds to a growing list of nonsense, including a ban on hugging, Christmas carols, celebration of Australia Day and outlawing of Baa Baa Black Sheep.



Youd think schools would have more useful things to teach their students. Such as how to gag a burglar and bind him to a tree till he expires.



Playing with fire



Its no wonder, then, that todays PC-plagued children are breaking out in their teen years, trying to find to something exciting to do. All those years of suppressed affection from lack of hugging and suppressed emotion from not cheering and clappingtheyre losing the plot.



And playing with fire. The Fire Service is rightly concerned at the latest fad amongst some teenagers: setting fire to themselves.



And you thought planking was silly?



Now theyre spraying flammable liquid over themselves, self-igniting and sharing the pain on video. Cans of deodorant have become lethal weapons in this bizarre pastime.



What the kids dont see in those videos is that at some point, it does damage. People just dont walk away from it, according to a Christchurch fire officer Shane OBrien.



The Stuff report says the deodorant is also being inhaled, then a cigarette lit. Fire officers are working on stopping the habit and stopping youths from going on to more threatening fire-lighting antics.



Shame that streaking went out of vogue. It might have been colder than setting oneself on fire. But ultimately the worst youd get would be goosebumps; not scarred for life.



Parting thought:



With the US presidential race becoming more bizarre by the minute, astute reader Mike makes a valid comment about Mr Trumps plan to wall off Mexico:



Who says building a border wall wont work? Historical fact: The Chinese built one more than 2000 years ago, and they still dont have any Mexicans.



brian@thesun.co.nz



Feed your Rabbit Habit, see more on Facebook: Rogers Rabbits


Art Beat

with Rosalie Crawford

The idea for basing a story line off a series of books that so many of us as children fell in love with, came from Angus Stewart and Isabella Perkins, two drama students at Bethlehem College. Lemony Snicketts The Series Of Unfortunate Events are short novels that are unique, funny and interesting and as Angus says we had hoped from the beginning that we could bring these stories to life on stage.

Violet Baudelaire (Lana Reid), her intelligent brother Klaus (Flynn Harris), and their baby sister Sunny (Zoe Smith) are orphaned when a mysterious fire destroys their house and kills their parents. Mrs. Poe (Brooke Maddison), in charge of the Baudelaire fortune, entrusts them to their closest relative, Count Olaf (Angus Stewart), who only wants their money and makes them do harsh chores. They spend time with their Uncle Monty, played by Louie Grant. In total there is a cast of twenty-one with the play co-written and directed by Angus Stewart, Anika John and Isabella Perkins.

Angus goes on further to say that when we started this production we sat down as directors and made a goal for what we wanted to achieve. As year 13s we wanted to leave a legacy and encourage drama students to write, make and act in productions. We also wanted to thank our drama teacher and house dean, Mrs. Anderson for the passion she puts into everything she does for her students.

The directors plan that some of the profits made from these two performances will go towards a budget for future students that want to direct their own production. The remaining profits will be going towards three missions projects of their choosing.

The opening night is 5th of August at 7:00pm at the Bethlehem College Performing Arts Centre and there is a second night on the 6th of August at 7:00pm.
When the police came banging on the door it looked bad, and it was bad.

Certainly not the positive experience the Pond family from Mapua on the western shores of Tasman Bay had come seeking when they moved to Tauranga.
Hundreds of Kaitkati locals packed out the Memorial Hall on Thursday night to send a clear message to Transport Minister Simon Bridges and the New Zealand Transport Agency.

Katikati needs a bypass  and needs it now.

With seating for 350 people, an estimated 400+ locals turned out for the public meeting which was also attended by NZTAs regional highways manager Niclas Johansson, senior project manager Chris Farnsworth and principal transport planner Mark Haseley.

Given the fact the community has been demanding the $42 million bypass be constructed for several decades now, you could bet safe money the meeting would get rowdy. One senior NZTA official was booed off the microphone by the crowd, while the Transport Minister wasnt immune either.

Fuelling passions even further were the deaths of five Tongan kiwifruit workers on State Highway 2 in Aongatete on Tuesday night. Though the meeting had been organised before the crash occurred, the tragedy has surely added more weight to locals concerns.

Simon says ahead of Thursday nights meeting he expected it would be very robust and a lot of strong views would be expressed.

People have a right to their views, and look, theres a lot in what was said last night, he says.

However, its not only a matter of taking it into account, because we cant ignore that meeting, but also coolly and calmly making the best decisions for the entire sub-region.

This is a complex and potentially treacherous road. While millions of dollars are being invested, its important were spending it to be best effect where we can have the most difference on more reliable journeys and safety and that work will show where the moneys best spent.

During the meeting the Transport Minister explained $85m worth of safety improvements designed to reduce death and serious injury crashes would be invested into the area as part of the $520m roading package announced in April.

While Simon appreciates the bypass has been a long-running issue for Katikati, he says its not a straight forward issue.

The concern is that a very highly specified bypass could lead to even more trucks on SH2 and therefore undermine that long term plan.

Consultations are still going on and my expectation is that the NZTA officials will go away and test themselves and their views on the package before making a decision in several months.

The thing is this, the NZTA and myself certainly were listening last night. We couldnt have got a stronger message, says Simon.



Western Bay of Plenty District councillor Peter Mackay. File Photo.

Western Bay of Plenty District councillor Peter Mackay gives credit where credits due and believes the way the minister dealt with the meeting and some unruly people was polished and professional.

But at the end of the day, Peter says no assurances were made by the minister that he would do anything other than look at the situation.

The history of the Katikati problem goes back way before Simons tenure as Transport Minister, earlier ministers had given what the Katikati community believed were commitments which havent been acted upon, says Peter.

The people of Katikati feel theyve been neglected by the NZTA. The traffic volumes, congestion, environmental pollution, these problems are making the town centre a very unpleasant place to be during the day and its all adding up to an environment of great unhappiness.

Another sore point Peter says is his allegation that Katikati is being used as a speed bump.

Hes gone on record previously saying the NZTA was using Katikati as a choke-point in order to deter motorists from using SH2 in a bid to encourage them to travelling south via the Waikato Expressway/SH1.

Yesterday, NZTA regional highways manager Niclas Johansson told SunLive the agency has no desire to turn any part of SH2 into a choke point.

While Simon wouldnt be drawn on that argument, he says the Waikato Expressway/SH1 is seen by the Government as a nationally strategic freight route which it wants to see more trucks use.

The Waikato Express is a $2 billion, four lane highway that is much better purposed for heavy vehicles and light vehicles too. Work is being done to look at how we may improve things even further down closer to Tauranga.

Theres a number of reasons why trucks travel the routes they do, but in truth, were never going to see the end of trucks on SH2. But the argument is we want to do what we can to ensure more travel to Tauranga, which is home to the biggest export port in the country, via SH1 and SH29, says Simon.
Zespri is today making no reference to a scramble of activity at the Port of Tauranga last night as port workers worked to unload 50 containers of China-bound kiwifruit from the container ship NYK Futago.

Port workers who contacted SunLive say the cargo was discharged on instructions from China. The ship sailed for Tokyo at 8.30am today without the kiwifruit on board.
Bay of Plenty dairy farmers battling very wet conditions are encouraged to not only protect their pasture growth for this spring, but also take care of their own welfare.

DairyNZ Bay of Plenty regional leader Sharon Morrell says calving is a challenging, busy time on-farm and both people and pasture need to be cared for.
Syracuse, N.Y.  City officials said Thursday that a developer improperly allowed tenants to move into the former Syracuse Savings Bank building before apartments built on the historic building's upper floors received a certificate of occupancy.

Alex Marion, a spokesman for Mayor Stephanie Miner, said the city's codes department has ordered that the approximately six tenants who are living in One Clinton Square Apartments move out until the building's fire alarm system meets the city's requirements.

Marion said the codes department has refused to issue a certificate of occupancy because the building's alarm system is not tied together so that a fire in one part of the building will set off alarms in all other parts of the building.

John Funiciello, president of JF Real Estate and co-owner of the building, said the fire alarm system installed in the building meets state requirements and was initially approved by the city. He said the city later decided to require a system that went "above and beyond" the state code.

Funiciello said workers have begun installing a new alarm system that will meet the city's new requirements. He said he planned to meet with city officials on Friday and hoped to have the matter cleared up quickly so that tenants will not have to move out.

"We're going to work it all out," he said.

He declined to respond when asked why tenants were allowed to move into the apartments before the city issued a certificate of occupancy.

Funiciello and co-owner Anthony Fiorito have built 21 upscale apartments on the top three floors of the six-story building. The Gothic Revival-style structure was built in 1875 for the Syracuse Savings Bank at the northeast corner of South Salina Street and what was then the Erie Canal (and which is now Erie Boulevard East).

A branch of the Bank of America, successor to the Syracuse Savings Bank, occupies the building's first floor.

Contact Rick Moriarty anytime: Email | Twitter | Facebook | 315-470-3148
Matthew Lattimer at Staten.JPG

Matthew Lattimer, far right, at a race relations summit in Staten Island, N.Y., in 2008. He was working as a conciliation specialist for the U.S. Justice Department.

(Staten Island Advance)

SYRACUSE, N.Y. -- A U.S. Justice Department specialist assigned to try to smooth police-community relations in Syracuse has some high-profile experience to draw from.

Matthew Lattimer, 43, was one of the agency's conciliation specialists who worked in Ferguson, Mo., in the aftermath of a fatal police shooting and riots there over the past three years, according to a federal prosecutor.

Lattimer has attended five or six meetings in Syracuse in response to a Father's Day riot near Skiddy Park two months ago, Assistant U.S. Attorney Richard Southwick said. A Syracuse police officer fatally shot an armed man and was then assaulted by a crowd of people at that event.

Lattimer has met with Black Lives Matter organizers, Police Chief Frank Fowler, District Attorney William Fitzpatrick, Mayor Stephanie Miner and others over the past two months, Southwick said.

One meeting was the day before a Black Lives Matter protest march through the city last month. Lattimer met with Fowler and the organizers of the march, said Southwick, who was also at the meeting.

Lattimer was at a news conference today when Fitzpatrick revealed details about the Father's Day riot and shooting.

"You want to save your community?" Fitzpatrick asked. "I hope Mr. Lattimer can get us on that path."

Fowler said he's met with Lattimer many times over the past few years. The first time involved a dispute over the student suspension policies in the Syracuse school district in 2013. They had many followup meetings after that, Fowler said.

"He's a pretty decent guy," the chief said. "A very reasonable guy."

Lattimer, who is African-American, could not be reached for comment. Justice Department officials did not respond to a request for an interview.

Lattimer is a lawyer, but not a prosecutor, with the Justice Department, Southwick said.

In 2012, Lattimer met with town officials in Cato, Cayuga County, and members of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People over the town highway superintendent's use of the N-word.

Before that, Lattimer mediated race relations in Staten Island, N.Y., following a race-motivated rampage in response to President Barack Obama's election night victory in 2008.

That night, four young Staten Island men vented their anger over the election by beating a random African-American man with a metal pipe and a police baton. They pleaded guilty to federal hate crimes.

Lattimer worked behind the scenes in Staten Island to monitor police responses and help ease racial tensions, according to the Staten Island Advance.

Contact John O'Brien anytime | email | Twitter | 315-470-2187
ROME, N.Y. -- A man was seriously injured Thursday afternoon after two vehicles crashed in Oneida County.

A Toyota pickup truck and a MINI Cooper collided at 2:22 p.m. on Rome-Westernville Road in the City of Rome, said the New York State Police. The crash happened just north of Elmer Hill Road.

Rick D. Reed, 60, of Rome, was driving the pickup truck, troopers said. He was airlifted by helicopter to Upstate University Hospital in Syracuse with serious injuries.

Reed is listed in critical condition, troopers said.

The driver of the MINI Cooper was not injured, troopers said. The driver's name was not provided.

The investigation into what caused the crash remains open.
suspension artists.PNG

The first Upstate NY Tattoo Convention in Syracuse will feature performances by suspension artists, who hang from hooks pierced into their skin.

(Skindicate Suspension)

SYRACUSE, N.Y. -- Carmelo Silva has been hard at work for many late nights since January, planning for the area's first-ever Upstate New York Tattoo Convention, taking place August 12-14.

Silva has attended dozens of tattoo conventions all around the country and overseas, from Florida and California to Germany and Australia.

Now, he wants to bring the skills of more than 100 tattoo artists to CNY, all from out of state. Silva says there will be two artists from Hawaii, five from Canada, six from California, etc., each bringing the diverse tattoo styles of their cities to Syracuse.

"We want to give Syracuse something, with a different quality of artists," said Silva, owner of Carmelo's Ink City in Syracuse.

Syracuse has also hosted the popular Am-Jam Tattoo Expo for 30 years. Silva says his convention will be different because of its "sideshows," such as fire-eaters, knife jugglers and magicians.

There will also be suspension artists, who Silva described as "elite piercers" from New York City.

"They're ladies and gentlemen who swing in the air by fishhooks pierced to their bodies," he said. "They know exactly where in the body to be hung to support their body weight. You can do the back, knee caps and chest." Ouch.

Silva has never run a convention before, but he says he's been talking to convention directors for years about how to organize one. His convention will feature piercing vendors, tattoo removal companies and contests for the best and weirdest tattoos. There will also be tattoo seminars for artists to share new techniques.

The convention is family-friendly, and kids can enjoy face-painting, balloons and temporary tattoos while their parents get inked.

Upstate New York Tattoo Convention

Where:

Oncenter Convention Center at 800 South State St., Syracuse.

When:

August 12-14. Hours are Friday from 3 to 11 p.m., Saturday from noon to 11 p.m. and Sunday from noon to 8 p.m.

How much:

$20 admission for one day or $40 for a three-day pass.

Katrina Tulloch writes music and culture stories for Syracuse.com and The Post-Standard. Contact her: Email | Twitter | Facebook
A world-record holder pens poems and quotes to inspire the differently-abled, the Auburn Fire Department receives special attention from a local family, and the history of the Finger Lakes comes to life in three books by a local historian.

Messages of hope

This past July, Oswego resident, Robert M. Hensel published a writing collection meant to inspire those living with physical limitations, but also anyone who is looking to find their own positive path in life. "Writings on the Wall: Inspirational Poems & Quotes" is Hensel's message of hope, sharing his joys and triumphs within the context of being someone whose mobility is dependent on a wheelchair.

Born with Spina Bifida, Hensel has worked hard to defy the idea that his life would be "mundane" or that his enjoyment of the world be limited just because his mobility is. Beyond his talents for literary inspiration, Hensel inspires in action as well. Hensel says, "I hold the official world record (Guinness & Ripley's) for the longest nonstop wheelie in a wheelchair, covering a total distance of 6.178 miles. It just goes to show that people with disabilities can achieve anything they want to; we just have to go about it a little differently than our able-bodied friends." The purpose of the record-breaking wheelie was to raise money in order to provide more wheelchair ramps in Hensel's community.

One of Hensel's quotes is "It takes an open minded individual to look beyond disability and see that ability has so much more to offer than the limitations society tries to place on them."

You can learn more about Hensel's writing, awards, advocacy work, and more, by visiting his website. "Writings on the Wall" is available on Amazon.

Auburn's blazing history

Downtown Books and Coffee published a new book last month, "Hometown Heroes: The History of the Auburn Fire Department" by sister and brother authors Kathy DeJoy-Genkos and Scott DeJoy. The Auburn fire department has been near and dear to the DeJoy family, with Kathy and Scott's father, Frank DeJoy serving as a firefighter in the Auburn department for 31 years, and Scott for 20 years. Scott DeJoy had made his way up the (fire)ladder to Assistant Chief at the time of his retirement last year.

Looking at more than just a family devotion, the book explores the long history of the department, beginning with its volunteer staff roots in the early 1800s. DeJoy-Genkos says, "My brother and I conducted extensive research and compiled data in order to present as much information about all aspects of the Fire Department." Among these many aspects included in the book are topics like the facilities throughout the years, the apparatuses used, charitable and community-orientated events, and individual firefighter stories.

Downtown Books and Coffee is hosting a book signing event with the authors on Saturday August 6 at 1:00 PM. The book is also available on Amazon.

Historical essays

For the past three years historian Richard MacAlpine has published a book each year about the Finger Lakes region. MacAlpine taught European and American history at Oneida High School for thirty-three years, during which time he became interested in his own family's history and began personal research. The personal gave way to the professional as he discovered more about the treasure trove of stories and memories about local events, leading him to write over 130 articles for the History Center's bimonthly publication "Yates Past".

In his 2014 publication, "Yates County Chronicles:: Stories from Penn Yan, Keuka Lake and the Heart of the Finger Lakes" twenty-two of the articles were complied together to highlight things like suffragettes, a wine tycoon, and a terrible fire. Another forty of the articles have been collected in this year's publication, "Stories From Yates Past", which continues to delve in the history of the area on a local and national level, seeking to expose forgotten people and events to a new audience.

in 2015 MacAlpine worked with Charles R. Mitchell, curator of the Oliver House Museum to publish "Steamboats on Keuka Lake: Penn Yan, Hammondsport and the Heart of the Finger Lakes" detailing the important steamboat era of 1835 through 1915. Readers can learn about both the glamour of those who rode the steamboats for leisure and those who worked them, helping the thriving wine business in the area.

All three of MacAlpine's books are available on Amazon and Barnes and Noble.

Have a book to share?

Are you a local author or have you come across a book set in Central New York? Tell us about it. Send a brief description of the book and the author and we'll add it as a candidate for coverage. Write us at

.
DeFranciscso

Sen. John DeFrancisco, right, speaks with New York State GOP Chair Ed Cox during an event at the Onondaga County GOP Headquarters, Aug. 5, 2016.

(Chris Baker | cbaker@syracuse.com)

SYRACUSE, N.Y. -- Sen. John DeFrancisco offered some advice to his fellow Republicans today on how to handle criticism of their presidential candidate, Donald Trump.

In front of a room of about 60 GOP supporters and politicians Friday, DeFrancisco said he would rather have a candidate who is sometimes offensive than someone who will continue the policies of the last eight years.

"Obviously Donald Trump has said things that maybe shouldn't have been said," DeFrancisco said. "People are offended because of things he says. But here's your choice: Do you select a candidate that's going to change the course of what's been going on in this country, who's offensive at times? Or do you choose someone to keep this society going downhill?"

DeFrancisco said "all hell broke loose" following Trump's nomination at the GOP Convention in Cleveland last month. He said television media has criticized Trump for "inane" comments while lobbing softballs at his rival, Hillary Clinton.

Since the convention, reports have surfaced saying some Republicans want to "intervene" with Trump. The real estate mogul has been harshly criticized for his feud with the parents of a fallen U.S. soldier, among other things.

Locally, U.S. Rep. Richard Hanna became the first House Republican to openly endorse Hillary Clinton for president this week. Other local Republicans, including U.S. Rep. John Katko, have been reluctant to endorse Trump.

DeFrancisco urged those in the room to engage with people who make "silly comments" and try to change their minds about this election.

"I've had a business person tell me 'I can't vote for him.' No kidding? You're a business person. Do you like the economy now?" DeFrancisco said. "I said, 'You're offended? Too bad.'"

DeFrancisco added that he hoped Trump would "choose his words more carefully" going forward. But that the important message from his campaign was one of change.

DeFrancisco spoke following remarks by New York State GOP Chairman Ed Cox, who is on a tour of Upstate New York to rally Trump supporters.

DeFrancisco attended the GOP Convention in Cleveland last month as a delegate from Central New York. Though initially a supporter of Ohio Gov. John Kasich, he said at the convention that he would support the party's nominee, Trump.
2016-08-05-Otisco-plaqu_2.JPG

Boulder with bronze plaque honoring Dr. Willis M. Munson. The 95-year-old plaque honoring the beloved doctor was stolen from Otisco.

(Provided photo)

Otisco, NY - Growing up David Mickelson heard the stories about his great-great grandfather, Dr. Willis W. Munson, a physician so beloved by his community that they placed a plaque honoring him on a boulder in the middle of town.

Mickelson jokes he had bragging rights in elementary school whenever the teacher mentioned the plaque as part of local history.

About a week and a half ago, someone notified the Otisco town clerk that the plaque was missing from the boulder, said town Supervisor Wayne Amato. The theft was reported to the New York State Police.

The members of the Mickelson family, who continue to live in Otisco and Tully, would like the plaque returned to its rightful place of honor in Otisco.

"It's 95-years-old and nobody's touched it until now," said David Mickelson, who lives on Otisco Lake. "They don't realize it actually touches people. He was my grandfather's grandfather."

Mickelson is related to Dr. Munson through his mother, Paula Mickelson of Tully.

The bronze plaque was attached to a large boulder that was on private property on Route 80, she said. "I can't imagine how they got it off. The stone is mammoth," Paula Mickelson said.

Dr. Willis W. Munson's plaque was stolen from a boulder in Otisco.

Dr. Munson was born on Aug. 13, 1841. When the Civil War broke out he was teaching in Marcellus Falls and joined the 44th New York Volunteers. He served from 1862 to 1865. He was serving in Washington D.C. and was detailed to the house where President Abraham Lincoln died.

Paula's husband Richard Mickelson said his wife's relative served as a "runner" carrying news from the president's bedside to waiting newspaper reporters.

After the war, Munson attended Columbia University's medical department graduating in 1869. He returned to Otisco, and served as the community's doctor for the next 40 years.

Munson was a botanist who was likely to stop and pick flowers on his way to someone's home to deliver a baby or make a medical call, Paula Mickelson said. "He was kind of a character I guess," she said.

The year after he died on Feb. 28, 1920, the community held a ceremony and dedicated the plaque recognizing his service. There were bugles, the Otisco Brass Band, Boy Scouts and the Veterans of Foreign Wars. Someone sang the "Star Spangled Banner" and "La Marseillaise." There was a community sing.

The plaque calls Munson a "scholar, patriot, physician, scientist."

The Mickelson family fears that thieves stole the plaque for scrap. They hope by getting the word out scrap dealers will recognize it for the historic relic it is, and not as a hunk of metal, and return it.
Noah Feldman, a Bloomberg View columnist, is a professor of constitutional and international law at Harvard.

By Noah Feldman | Bloomberg

There's no constitutional right to sex toys -- yet. That's according to a federal appeals court, which declined to strike down a Georgia city's ordinance that prohibits selling sexual aids. But the three-judge panel invited the full court to rehear the case and strike down the law, stating that it was "sympathetic" to the claim but constrained by precedent.

Eventually, the right to sex toys is likely to be accepted in all jurisdictions, as it already is in some. The basis will be the right to sexual intimacy recognized by the U.S. Supreme Court in the landmark 2003 case Lawrence v. Texas. And that raises a question about the evolving nature of constitutional rights: How did we get here? How does a decision framed around the autonomous right of two people to create an intimate sexual relationship come to cover access to toys? And should it?

The idea that the U.S. Constitution would apply to sex toys at all may seem a little silly. Certainly the Framers would have found the idea absurd. They recognized an inchoate right to privacy from search and seizure. But they didn't think the right protected all conduct that was no one else's business.

That broader conception of privacy first emerged in 1965, when the Supreme Court found a right to purchase and use contraception in Griswold v. Connecticut. In his opinion for the court, Justice William O. Douglas emphasized the sanctity of marriage, a favorite judicial theme of his. (In his private life, Douglas loved marriage so much that he did it four times.)

When Justice Anthony Kennedy wrote the opinion striking down the Texas anti-sodomy law in 2003, he followed Douglas's lead by focusing on the right of all people to form human relationships. As he put it, "when sexuality finds overt expression in intimate conduct with another person, the conduct can be but one element in a personal bond that is more enduring."

There's no mention of sex toys there. Kennedy, in lifting the decision beyond the narrow question of particular sex acts, sought to shape a broader right of human intimacy.

From that premise, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit actually did find a constitutional right to sex toys in 2008.

But the 11th Circuit did not. In 2004, the year after the Lawrence decision, it held that Lawrence did not recognize a fundamental right to sex toys. It reasoned that, in expanding constitutional due-process rights, the courts should consider those rights at their lowest degree of generality -- a point the late Justice Antonin Scalia loved to make. And it observed that there was no well-established American tradition of regarding sex toys as fundamental to human sexuality.

On Tuesday, a panel of the 11th Circuit reaffirmed its 2004 holding. Notably, there was a way it could have done otherwise. A panel of an appeals court can't overturn the decision of an earlier panel -- only the full court sitting en banc can do that. But this panel could have said that the Supreme Court's two recent gay-marriage decisions modified the meaning of the 2003 Lawrence precedent. Specifically, those decisions describe the Lawrence case as having established the right to sexual intimacy.

If there's a right to sexual intimacy that includes gay sex, then arguably it should include all the consensual sexual practices that people use to create that intimacy -- including the use of sex toys.

Of course, sex toys aren't invariably used in the formation of intimate relations. One of the plaintiffs in the Georgia case testified that she intended to use the sex toys alone. The other, an artist, testified that he uses sex toys as part of his art -- a fact that his lawyers used to try to make a First Amendment free-expression argument.

This is why the expansion of constitutional rights is so complicated and controversial.

Sure, it's logically possible to treat sex toys as part of the right to sexual intimacy that has expanded from the "marital precincts" of 1965 to all consenting adults. In fact, it's hard to avoid the conclusion that the right to sexual intimacy includes the right to create that intimacy using sex toys.

But it's also faintly ridiculous to treat any object that people use in conjunction with sex as dignified with the constitutional status of intimacy.

That's surely the reason the Supreme Court never took up the sex-toys question, even though there has been a split between the appeals courts for years.

The ultimate answer, surely, is that a law banning the sale of sex toys is idiotic, especially in the era of the internet. The idiocy of the law isn't necessarily grounds to strike it down as unconstitutional. But a lot of idiotic laws do turn out to violate some right or other.

Soon enough, I would expect, sex toys will be constitutionally protected across the land. But with any luck, laws against them will be repealed before that has to happen.
Capital Product Partners hit by HMM problems

Capital Product Partners net income for the second quarter of 2016 was $14.9 mill.

Operating surplus prior to Class B Units distributions for the quarter amounted to $36.6 mill, an increase of 15% compared to $31.7 mill during 2Q15 and an increase of 12% to the $32.8 mill recorded during 1Q16, the company said. The Partnership has put aside $14.6 mill in capital reserves for the quarter, as it intends to maintain this capital reserve for the foreseeable future to fully provide for the debt repayments coming due in the next three years, until the end of 2018. Operating surplus after the capital reserve and distributions to the Class B Unitholders was $19.2 mill for 2Q16. Total revenues for 2Q16 reached $60.9 mill, an increase of 12% compared to $54.5 mill during 2Q15. This rise was primarily as a result of the increase in the size of the fleet. As of 30th June, 2016, the total capital was $921.2 mill, a decrease of $16.6 mill compared to $937.8 mill as of 31st December, 2015. The decrease was primarily due to distributions declared and paid during the first half of 2016, partially offset by net income for the period. The Partnerships total debt increased by $26.3 mill to $597.9 mill, compared to $571.6 mill as at the end of last year. The increase was due to a $35 mill drawdown under the senior secured credit facility with ING Bank to fund the acquisition of a containership, which was delivered in February 2016, partially offset by $8.7 mill of scheduled loan principal payments under the same credit facility during the first half of 2016. As previously announced, HMM, the charterer of five of the Partnerships containerships, each under timecharters expiring in 2024 or 2025, has experienced financial difficulties and is keen to restructure with various creditors and vessel owners. As part of this, the owning companies of the HMM vessels entered into a charter restructuring agreement on 15th July, 2016, which provides for a 20% reduction in the charter rate payable under the respective charter parties. The total charter rate reduction for the charter reduction period for the HMM vessels is about $37 mill. In exchange for the reduction, the Partnership will receive 4.4 mill common shares in HMM that are expected to be freely tradeable on the Stock Market Division of the Korean Exchange (at a share price reflecting a discount and subject to a floor under a pre-agreed formula), in an aggregate amount initially equal to the reduction amount. Meanwhile the Ice Class Suezmax Miltiadis M II has been chartered to Capital Maritime & Trading for 10-12 months at a gross daily rate of $25,000. The vessel was previously employed under a seven-month time charter to Capital Maritime at a gross daily rate of $35,000. Another Suezmax Amore Mio II was also chartered to the sponsor for the same period at a gross daily rate of $21,000. The vessel was previously employed under an eight-month timecharter to Shell at a gross daily rate of $33,750. The Handysize Agisilaos , previously employed with Capital Maritime, has replaced her near sister Arionas under the charter to Flopec at a gross daily rate of $19,000, as the Arionas is expected to undergo her scheduled special survey. Agisilaos was previously employed with CMTC at a gross daily rate of $14,500 with earliest charter expiration in August, 2016. Jerry Kalogiratos, CEO and CFO of the Partnerships General Partner, commented: We are pleased to see that the out-of-court restructuring of HMMone of the largest charterers of the Partnership in terms of revenueshas been successfully concluded. While the impact of the HMM Vessels charter rate reduction will adversely affect our cash flows until the end of 2019, when the charter rate under the respective charter parties is expected to be restored to the original rate, we believe that the reduced charter rate and the Charter Reduction Compensation that we expect to receive, represent a more favourable outcome given the alternative employment opportunities in the current weak container charter market. Regarding recent market developments, we note that while the demand fundamentals for tankers, and especially product tankers, remain solid on the back of refinery capacity relocation, increased tonne/miles and the low oil price environment, the increased supply of tankers has recently weighed on spot earnings, as well as on the tanker period market. However, the limited number of new tanker ordering thus far this year and the rationalisation of excess shipyard capacity combined with solid industry fundamentals are positive trends for the tanker markets in the medium- to long-run. Finally, I would like to reiterate that we intend to revisit our annual distribution guidance from time to time, as we pursue accretive transactions and expand our asset base and are successful in refinancing our debt under favourable terms in the coming years, thus increasing the long term distributable cash flow of the Partnership, he said.




Teekay suffers increased loss - shores up finances

Teekay Corp reported a loss of $77.8 mill for the second quarter of this year under GAAP reporting rules.

This compares with a loss of $48.8 mill in 1Q16 and a profit of $65.9 mill in 2Q15. Revenues were also down at $587.6 mill for 2Q16, compared to $641 mill in 1Q16 and $592.8 mill in 2Q15. These results included the company's three publicly-listed subsidiaries - Teekay Offshore Partners, Teekay LNG Partners and Teekay Tankers (collectively, known as the Daughter Entities), all of which are consolidated in the company's financial statements, and all remaining subsidiaries of the company, which are referred to as Teekay Parent. "On a consolidated basis, Teekay generated slightly lower cash flow from vessel operations, compared to the same period of the prior year; however, our results exceeded our expectations mostly due to higher shuttle tanker fleet utilisation, higher tanker rates and lower operating expenses mainly in our FPSO segment," explained Peter Evensen, Teekay Corps president and CEO. "With strong support from our financial stakeholders, Teekay Parent completed all of its previously announced financing initiatives in June, 2016, including $350 mill in extended bank facilities and $100 mill in equity capital. With the completion of these financing initiatives, we have reduced our financial leverage and enhanced our liquidity position, which we believe strengthens the entire Teekay Group of companies. In addition, we reached an agreement to sell Teekay Parent's remaining conventional tanker, the Shoshone Spirit VLCC, which is expected to further reduce our financial leverage. "At our Daughter Entities, Teekay Offshore completed all its previously announced financing initiatives in June, 2016. These initiatives, together with expected operating cash flow and previously arranged debt facilities, are expected to cover all its medium-term liquidity requirements and fully finance all of Teekay Offshore's $1.6 bill of committed growth projects. Executing on Teekay LNG's robust pipeline of growth projects delivering through 2020 has also been a major focus area and Teekay LNG continues to make good progress on the financing for these projects. Since May, 2016, Teekay LNG has secured lender credit approvals on over $900 mill of new debt financings, including three MEGI LNG carrier newbuildings, the first two Yamal LNG Arc7 newbuildings and the majority of its remaining LPG carrier newbuildings. Once Teekay Offshore's and Teekay LNG's projects are delivered, these growth projects are expected to add significantly to their annual cash flow from vessel operations," he concluded. Teekay Corp said that its consolidated results decreased in 2Q16, compared to the same period in 2105, primarily due to lower revenues from Teekay Parent related to the lay-up of the LNGCs Polar Spirit and Arctic Spirit; lower income and cash flows in Teekay LNG as a result of the sales of two conventional tankers in April and May, 2016; lower income and cash flows in Teekay Offshore, due to off-hire during the second quarter of 2016 related to damage to the gangway of the Arendal Spirit UMS (which has been repaired and returned to operations in early-July, 2016), the redelivery of the Varg FPSO and a provision made with respect to retroactive claims from the charterer of the Piranema Spirit FPSO; and lower income and cash flows in Teekay Tankers, due to lower spot tanker rates. Consolidated income from vessel operations was also reduced in the period, due to asset impairment charges associated with Teekay Offshore's cancellation of two UMS newbuildings and two conventional tankers to be sold by Teekay Parent and Teekay Tankers, respectively. These decreases were partially offset by higher income and cash flows, as a result of Teekay Tankers' acquisition of 19 conventional tankers during 2015 and higher income and cash flows from vessel operations from Teekay LNG as a result of the delivery of MEGI LNGC Creole Spirit and the favourable settlement of a disputed charter contract termination related to one of the vessels in Teekay LNG's 52%-owned MALT LNG joint venture with Marubeni Corporation. Teekay Parent s cash flow, which includes distributions and dividends paid to Teekay Parent from Teekay's publicly-listed subsidiaries in the following quarter, less Teekay Parent's corporate general and administrative expenses, was $7.6 mill for 2Q16, compared to $41.2 mill for the same period in the previous year. As for the subsidiaries, Teekay Offshore's results decreased in 2Q16, compared to 2Q15, primarily due to the off-hire of the Arendal Spirit UMS, mentioned above, the redelivery of the Varg FPSO (which left its field at the end of July, 2016), a provision made with respect to retroactive claims from the charterer of the Piranema Spirit FPSO, shuttle tanker contract expirations on a long-term contract of affreightment and a timecharter out contract over the past year, and the sale of two conventional tankers and sale-leaseback on two additional conventional tankers in 2015 and 2016. These decreases were partially offset by the acquisition of the Knarr FPSO in July, 2015 and the commencement of the East Coast Canada shuttle tanker contracts in June, 2015. Teekay LNG's results increased during the quarter, compared to 2Q15, primarily due to the favourable settlement of a disputed charter contract termination related to one of the vessels in the Teekay LNG's 52%-owned MALT LNG joint venture with Marubeni Corp, of which Teekay LNG's share was $20.3 mill, and the delivery of the Creole Spirit. These increases were partially offset by lower revenues for two other vessels in the MALT LNG joint venture, lower revenues from two Suezmaxes upon the charterer exercising its one-year extension options between September, 2015 and January, 2016, and the sales of two conventional tankers in April and May, 2016. Teekay Tankers' results decreased during the period, primarily due to lower average spot tanker rates in 2Q16, partially offset by an increase in fleet size as a result of the acquisition of 19 modern, mid-size tankers during 2015. In addition to a series of financing initiatives at Teekay Offshore, in May and June, 2016, Teekay Parent completed various initiatives to increase its financial strength and flexibility, including:  Refinancing three existing debt facilities, including $150 mill relating to Teekay Parent's equity margin revolving credit facility, $150 mill of an existing revolving credit facility relating to Teekay Parent's three directly-owned FPSOs, and $50 mill of an existing debt facility relating to the VLCC Shoshone Spirit.  Selling Teekay Parent's 50% interest in three support vessels for Shell's FLNG Prelude.  Issuing $100 mill of common shares at a price of $8.32 per share to a group of institutional investors and two entities established by Teekay Corp's founder, including Resolute Investments, Teekay Corp's largest shareholder. In June, 2016, Teekay Parent signed an agreement to sell the 2011-built VLCC Shoshone Spirit for gross proceeds of around $63 mill, which is expected to continue operating under its existing timecharter contract earning $49,000 per day until its delivery to the buyer between September and October, this year. Between April and June 2016, Teekay Offshore also completed a series of financing initiatives to fund its unfunded capital expenditures and upcoming debt maturities. including: In June, 2016, Teekay Tankers agreed to sell one of its non-core MRs, the 2004-built Teesta Spirit, to a third party for gross proceeds of about $14 mill. The vessel is expected to be delivered in mid-August, 2016. Since May 2016, Teekay Tankers has entered into time charter-out contracts for one Suezmax tanker and two Aframax tankers and a time-charter swap agreement, which effectively provides a fixed charter rate on one Aframax vessel-equivalent. These contracts have an average rate of around $24,800 per day with firm contract periods ranging from 11- 24 months. Three contracts commenced in June and July, 2016 and the remaining contract is expected to commence in the third quarter of this year. As at 30th June, 2016, Teekay Parent had total liquidity of $341.6 mill (consisting of $223.5 mill cash and cash equivalents and $118.1 mill of undrawn revolving credit facilities) and, on a consolidated basis, Teekay Corp had total liquidity of around $1.1 bill (consisting of $789.7 mill cash and cash equivalents and $327 mill of undrawn revolving credit facilities).




SHARE

FRIDAY'S SPECIAL EVENTS

Fitness Boot Camp: 6 a.m. July 19-Aug. 11. Tues. & Thurs. Sebastian Karate a Fitness & Self Defense Center, 13248 U.S. 1, Sebastian. Ages: 17+. $100. Register: 772-538-1753.

Cat Adoption Event: July 23-Aug. 7. Humane Society of Vero Beach and Indian River County, 6230 77th St., Vero Beach. Ages: 18+. 772-388-3331.

Hair Cuttery Back-to-School Share-A-Haircut Program: HC will donate haircuts to a child in need. 9 a.m. Aug. 1-15. All Hair Cuttery locations, 12th St. Plaza, Vero Beach.

Humane Society Thrift Shops Tax-Exempt Holiday: Stores carry a wide assortment of school-related items including clothing, shoes, handbags, backpacks, classroom supplies and including the "Young and Trendy" area which has a variety of contemporary clothing and accessories. 9 a.m.-3 p.m. Aug. 5; 9 a.m.-4 p.m. Aug. 6; noon-4 p.m.; Aug. 7. Humane Society Thrift Shops, 4425 20th St., Vero Beach and 441 Sebastian Blvd. (County Road 512), Sebastian. 772-567-2044; www.hsvb.org.

Adult Dance Masterclasses at Riverside Theatre: Intermediate classes with professional dancers from the Wylliams/Henry Contemporary Dance Company. 10-11:30 a.m. Aug. 5. $50 both classes/$30 for one class. Riverside Children's Theatre: 772-234-8052.

Mr. Harley: 10:30 a.m. Aug. 5. IRC Main Library, 1600 21st Street, Vero Beach. 772-538-7558; www.irclibrary.org.

Adult Dance Masterclasses at Riverside Theatre: Advanced classes with professional dancers from the Wylliams/Henry Contemporary Dance Company. 11:30 a.m.-1 p.m. Aug. 5. $50 both classes/$30 for one class. Riverside Children's Theatre: 772-234-8052.

FRIDAY'S RECURRING EVENTS

CHILDREN/TEENS

Story Time: 1:30 p.m. Brackett Library, 6155 College Lane, Vero Beach. Ages: 2-5 years old. 772-226-3080; www.irclibrary.org.

Yoga Story Time: 10:30 a.m. Sept. 16-Dec. 9. Brackett Library, 6155 College Lane, Vero Beach. Ages: 3-6 year olds. 772-226-3080; www.irclibrary.org.

CLUBS

Indian River Model Sailing Club: Remote control model sailboat racing. 1-3 p.m. Hobart Lake, 77th St., between 58th Ave. and Dixie Highway, Vero Beach. 772-581-8300.

DANCE

Youth Ballroom & Latin Dance Classes: Ballroom Latin Dance Classes for middle and high school youth. 5-5:45 p.m. Royal Ballroom, 713 U.S. 1, Vero Beach. $80 per student/$120 for 2 family members, per month. Register: 772-299-5772; royalballroomdance@gmail.com.

EXERCISE/HEALTH

AM Yoga: Balance, Toning, Flexibility, Focus, Stress Relief, Relaxation, Meditation, Refreshing, Strength-Building. 10:30 a.m. IRC Main Library, 1600 21st St., Vero Beach. Adults 16+. Donation. 772-770-5060 ext. 4121; mgoodman@irclibrary.org.

The Cloudwalker Place: Breathing and Movements to stretch and massage the body. 9 a.m. and 10:30 a.m. The Cloudwalker Place, 703 17th St., Vero Beach. All ages. $10 per class. 772-217-2887; www.thecloudwalker.com.

Lymphedema Therapy Consultations: 9 a.m.-4 p.m. Advanced Motion Therapeutic, 2965 20th St., Vero Beach. Reservation: 772-567-8585; Info@amtvero.com.

Massage Therapy Consultation: 9 a.m.-4 p.m. Advanced Motion Therapeutic, 2965 20th St., Vero Beach. Reservation: 772-567-8585; Info@amtvero.com.

Senior Strength Training: Group class using basic strength building exercises. 7:30 a.m., 8:40 a.m. Leisure Square, 3705 16th St., Vero Beach. Ages: 50+. $5. Reservation: 772-321-6003; jasfitness.com.

GAMES

Duplicate Bridge: ACBL stratified duplicate bridge games. 1 p.m. First Presbyterian Church of Sebastian, 1405 Louisiana Ave., Sebastian. $6. 772-581-0539; jcalley620@comcast.net.

Duplicate Bridge Game: ACBL Sanctioned 0-299 Pairs Game and Student game. 9 a.m. Vero Beach Bridge Center, 1520 14th Ave., Vero Beach. $7-$9. 772-562-3008; verobridge.com.

Duplicate Bridge: ACBL Sanctioned Duplicate Bridge Stratified Open game. 1 p.m. Vero Beach Bridge Center, 1520 14th Ave., Vero Beach. $7-$9. 772-562-3008; verobridge.com.

Jackpot Bingo: 11 a.m. Sebastian Eagles Aerie 4067, 9606 Trade Center Drive, Sebastian. Adult. $1 per card. 772-589-6573; empresslp234@gmail.com.

MEALS

Dinner Dance: 6:30 p.m. Italian American Club, 1600 25th St., Vero Beach. Open to the public. $15. Reservation: 772-778-1522; barbara270@bellsouth.net.

Friday Eve with Hamburgers and/or Fish: 6 p.m. Vero Beach Veterans Club, 2500 15th Ave., Vero Beach. 772-778-1299; verobeachveterns.com.

NATURE

Adventure Kayaking: Naturalist guided kayak/ paddleboard tour on the Indian River Lagoon. 9 a.m.-Noon. Round Island Park South Highway A1A, Vero Beach. $25-$50. Reservation: 772-567-0522: paddleflorida.com.

Motorized Kayak Adventures: A relaxing evening on the lagoon in a motorized kayak. 1 hour before sunset, Daily. Round Island Park, 2201 Highway A1A, Vero Beach. All ages. $35. Reservation: 772-380-6815; www.motorizedkayakadventures.com.

Eco Tours through the Mangrove Forests: Guided Motorized Kayak Adventures. Varies based on tides, daily. Stan Blum Boat Launch, 613 North Causeway Drive, Fort Pierce. $48-60; Group discounts offered. Reservation: 772-380-6815; motorizedkayakadventures.com.

OTHER

Debbie Brown Murphy: Entertainer. 5-8:30 p.m. C.J. Cannon's, 3414 Cherokee Drive, Vero Beach.

LaPorte Farms: Self guided tours, pony rides. 8 a.m.-2 p.m. daily. LaPorte Farms, 7700 129th St., Sebastian. Donations. 772-633-0813; laportefarms1@aol.com.

Karaoke with Wanda Johnson: 7-11 p.m. Vero Beach Veterans Club, 2500 15th Ave., Vero Beach. 772-778-1299; verobeachveterans.com.

Sebastian Eagles Aerie: Live music. 6:30-9 p.m. Sebastian Eagles Aerie 4067, 9606 Trade Center Drive, Sebastian. 772-589-6573.

SATURDAY'S SPECIAL EVENTS

The Well Armed Women Indian River County Chapter: Grand Opening. 1st Meeting National Organization of The Well Armed Women IRC. 9 a.m. Aug. 6. Indian River County Shooting Range, 10455 102nd Terrace, Sebastian. Ages: 21+. RSVP: 772-473-1800; www.twawshootingchapters.org.

RT Star's Back To School Party: A free community event at Riverside Theatre. 10 a.m. Aug. 6. Riverside Theatre, 3250 Riverside Park Drive, Vero Beach. 772-231-6990; www.riversidetheatre.com.

Back to School Physicals, Immunizations Backpack Brigade: 10 a.m.-2 p.m. Aug. 6. Whole Family Health Center, 981 37th Place, Vero Beach. 772-257-5785.

One Pulse Extravaganza: Benefits the One Pulse Fund; live music from Collins and Company, DJ music, a cash bar. 7-11 p.m. Aug. 6. Heritage Center, 2140 14th Ave., Vero Beach. $20. 772-713-5520.

SATURDAY'S RECURRING EVENTS

CHILDREN/TEENS

Karate and Qigong for Children: Japanese Go-Ju Karate and Chinese Qigong and Kung fu. Noon. The Cloudwalker Place, 703 17th St., Vero Beach. Ages: 5-15 years old. $80 per month, Scholarships available. 772-217-2887; www.thecloudwalker.com.

Monthly Art Workshop: 10:30 a.m. Oct. 1-Dec. 3. IRC Main Library, 1600 21 St., Vero Beach. 1st-5th graders. Reservation: 772-770-5060; www.irclibrary.org.

CLUBS

The Well Armed Women Indian River County Chapter: 9 a.m. Indian River County Shooting Range, 10455 102nd Terrace, Sebastian. Ages: 21+. RSVP: 772-473-1800; www.twawshootingchapters.org.

EXERCISE/HEALTH

Bikram Yoga Room: Yoga classes for first time students. 9-10:30 a.m. Yoga Room, 676 U.S. 1, Vero Beach. 772-713-6538; info@yogaroomvero.com.

Martial Arts for Executives: Japanese and Chinese internal arts training for therapeutic benefits. Noon. The Cloudwalker Place, 703 17th St., Vero Beach. Ages: 15+. $90 per month. 772-217-2887; www.thecloudwalker.com.

Pickleball University Open Play: 8:30 a.m. Pocahontas Park, 2140 14th Ave, Vero Beach. All ages and Levels. $2/annual membership $24. 772-50-15685; vbpickle@gmail.com Facebook: Pickleball University.

Pilates Reformer Group Class: Reform your body, strengthen your core. Joseph Pilates Techniques. 9 a.m. The Club at Spine and Sport, 1345 36th Street, Vero Beach. Adults. $90 for 6 weeks. Reservation: 772-559-0866; namaste5@yahoo.com.

Qigong Self Healing Class with Joane: Spend one hour practicing highly beneficial health enhancing techniques. 10:30 a.m. The Club at Spine and Sport Institute, 1345 36th St., Vero Beach. All ages. $9-$12. Reservation: 772-559-0866; namaste5@yahoo.com.

NATURE

Adventure Kayaking: Naturalist guided kayak/paddleboard tour on the Indian River Lagoon. 9 a.m.-noon, every day. Round Island Park, South Highway A1A, Vero Beach. $50 adult, $25 child. Reservation: 772-567-0522; paddleflorida.com.

Canoe Trip on the Lagoon: Guided canoe excursion on the Lagoon. 9-11:30 a.m. Environmental Learning Center, 255 Live Oak Drive, Vero Beach. Ages: 8+. $7-$15. Reservation: 772-589-5050; DiscoverELC.org.

Evenings on the Lagoon: Motorized Kayak Adventures. Every Day 1 hour before sunset. Round Island Riverside Park, 2200 South Highway A1A, South Vero Beach. One hour before sunset, every evening. $35 per seat. Reservation: 772-380-6815; motorizedkayakadventures.com.

Tours through the Mangrove Forests: Motorized Kayak Adventures. Varies based on tides, daily. Stan Blum Boat Launch, 613 North Causeway Drive, Fort Pierce. $48-60; Group discounts offered. Reservation: 772-380-6815; motorizedkayakadventures.com.

OTHER

Bobby and the Blisters: 8-11 p.m. June 11. Osceola Bistro, 2045 13th Ave, Vero Beach. Reservation: 772-569-1299; osceolabistro.com.

Dog Obedience Training: Registration required with instructor Shelly Ferger. 9 a.m. Dogs For Life, Inc. Off-Leash Dog Park, 1230 16th Avenue, Vero Beach. Ages: 7 months+. $120. Reservation: 772-567-8969; dogsforlifevb@bellsouth.net.

LaPorte Farms: Self guided tours, pony rides. 8 a.m.-2 p.m. daily. LaPorte Farms, 7700 129th St., Sebastian. Donations. 772-633-0813; laportefarms1@aol.com.

LOOKING AHEAD

Theatre-Go-Round Dinner Theatre: "From Sea to Shining Sea". 4:30 p.m. Aug. 7, 21, Sept. 18. Quilted Giraffe Restaurant, 500 South U.S. 1, Vero Beach. Reservation: 772-252-9341; theatregorounddinnertheatre.com.

Think Pink Art Show and Raffle Event: Benefits Treasure Coast 'Friends in Pink'. 5-8 p.m. Aug. 7. Gallery 14, 1911 14th Ave., Vero Beach. 772-562-5525; www.gallery14verobeach.com.

Video Bible Study: Do You Believe. 6 p.m. Aug. 7, 14, 21, 28. First Baptist Church of Wabasso, 4720 86th St., Wabasso. 772-589-5256; firstbaptistwabasso.org.

VNA Blood Pressure Screenings: 11 a.m.-noon Aug. 8. Harvest Food, 1360 28th, Vero Beach.

Friends After Diagnosis: Speaker: Allison Snowden  acupuncture, integrative medicine for breast cancer survivors. 2 p.m. Aug. 8. First Presbyterian Church, 520 Royal Palm Blvd., Vero Beach. 772-978-9392; www.FriendsAfterDiagnosis.com.

Canine Games-My Dog Can Do That: This fun filled board games provides fun for all dogs. 5:30 p.m. Aug. 8, 15, 22, 29. Humane Society of Vero Beach. 6230 77th St., Vero Beach. $75. Register: 772-978-7863; www.hsvb.org.

American Legion Auxiliary Quarter Auction: 6 p.m. Aug. 8. American Legion, 807 Louisiana Ave., Sebastian. Ages: 18+. 772-882-7352; avondaisy44@aol.com.

VNA Blood Pressure and Blood Sugar Screenings: 9-11 a.m. Aug. 9. VNA Hidden Treasures, 656 21st St., Vero Beach.

VNA Blood Pressure and Blood Sugar Screenings: 10-11:30 a.m. Aug. 9. Vincent de Paul Thrift Shop, 5480 85th, Wabasso.

VNA Blood Pressure and Blood Sugar Screenings: 9-10:30 a.m. Aug. 10. VNA Hidden Treasures Sebastian, 11646 U.S. 1, Sebastian.

Feisty Fido: Instructor approval required to help your socially challenged dog. 5:30 p.m. Aug. 10, 17, 24. Humane Society of Vero Beach, 6230 77th St., Vero Beach. $75. Register: 772-978-7863; www.bestbehaviordogtraining.org.

VNA Blood Pressure Screenings: 10:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m. Aug. 11. VNA Hidden Treasures Vero, 656 21st, Vero Beach.

Family Dog Manners: Teach your dog to be a great companion. 1 p.m. Aug. 11, 18, 25. Humane Society of Vero Beach, 6230 77th St., Vero Beach. $75. Register: 772-571-6409; www.hsvb.org.

Transcendental Meditation: Introductory presentation on the Transcendental Meditation technique  all questions answered. 7 p.m. Aug. 12. The Center for Spiritual Care, 1550 24th St., Vero Beach. 772-480-0047; www.tm.org.

V.B.E. PTA Indoor Sale: 8 a.m.-noon Aug. 13. Cafeteria, 1770 12th St., Vero Beach. Rent a table $15 call 564-4611. RSVP: 772-564-4611; james.batory@indianriverschools.org.

Family Dog Manners: Teach your dog to be a great companion. 1 p.m. Aug. 13, 20, 27, Sept. 10, 17. Humane Society of Vero Beach, 6230 77th St., Vero Beach. $75. Register: 772-978-7863; www.hsvb.org.

High Tea for Ladies: Chum Bucket founders speak at Christ the King Ladies Tea. 4 p.m. Aug. 14. Christ the King Lutheran, 1301 Sebastian Blvd., Sebastian. Ages: Teens+. $5. Reservation: 772-589-7117; ctklutheran3@gmail.com.

VNA Blood Pressure and Blood Sugar Screenings: 9-10 a.m. Aug. 15. River Park Place, 700 3rd Circle, Vero Beach.

VNA Blood Pressure Screenings: 11 a.m.-1 p.m. Aug. 15. VNA Hidden Treasures Vero, 656 21st, Vero Beach.

Family Dog Manners: Learn how to make your dog a great companion. 6:30 p.m. Aug. 15, 22, 29, Sept. 12, 19. Humane Society of Vero Beach, 6230 77th St., Vero Beach. $75. Register: 772-571-6409; www.hsvb.org.

VNA Blood Pressure and Blood Sugar Screenings: 8:30-9:30 a.m. Aug. 16. Christi's Family Fitness, 1250 Old Dixie Highway, Vero Beach.

Sebastian Area Widows/Widowers: Noon Aug. 16. Ruby Tuesdays, 13675 U.S. 1, Sebastian. Ages: 55+. Reservation: 772-388-5914; mollyann0128@yahoo.com.

VNA Blood Pressure and Blood Sugar Screenings: 9-10:30 a.m. Aug. 17. VNA Hidden Treasures Sebastian, 11646 U.S. 1, Sebastian.

VNA Blood Pressure Screenings: 11 a.m.-12:30 p.m. Aug. 17. Second Chance Thrift Store & Training Center, 490 Old Dixie Highway, Vero Beach.

VNA Blood Pressure and Blood Sugar Screenings: 8:30-10 a.m. Aug. 18. Gifford Youth Activity Center, 4875 43rd, Vero Beach.

VNA Blood Pressure and Blood Sugar Screenings: 9-11 a.m. Aug. 18. VNA Hidden Treasures, 656 21st St., Vero Beach.

VNA Blood Pressure Screenings: Noon-1 p.m. Aug. 18. South Mainland Library, 7921 Ron Beatty Blvd., Sebastian.

VNA Blood Pressure Screenings: Noon-1 p.m. Aug. 18. Our Father's Table Soup Kitchen 4221 28th, Vero Beach.

VNA Blood Pressure and Blood Sugar Screenings: 9-11 a.m. Aug. 19. VNA Hidden Treasures Sebastian, 11646 U.S. 1, Sebastian.

VNA Blood Pressure and Blood Sugar Screenings: 9-10 a.m. Aug. 20. Allen AME Church, 6425 85th St., Wabasso.

VNA Blood Pressure and Blood Sugar Screenings: 8:30-10 a.m. Aug. 20. Sebastian Gym & Fitness, 345 Sebastian Blvd., Sebastian.

VNA Blood Pressure and Blood Sugar Screenings: 9-10:30 a.m. Aug. 22. VNA Hidden Treasures, 656 21st St., Vero Beach.

Candidate Forum: August Primary election for School Board and County Commission races. 6 p.m. Aug. 22. Heritage Center, 14th Ave., Vero Beach.

American Legion Auxiliary North County Quarter Auction: 6 p.m. Aug. 22. American Legion, 807 Louisiana Ave., Sebastian. Ages: 18+. 772-882-7352; avondaisy44@aol.com.

VNA Blood Pressure and Blood Sugar Screenings: 9-11 a.m. Aug. 24. VNA Hidden Treasures, 656 21st St., Vero Beach.

VNA Blood Pressure and Blood Sugar Screenings: 9-11 a.m. VNA Hidden Treasures Sebastian, 11646 U.S. 1, Sebastian.

School Supply Drive for Feed the Lambs: Bring supplies to Vero Beach Christian Business Association luncheon. 11:30 a.m. Aug. 25. The Plaza, 884 17th St., Vero Beach. www.vbcba.org.

School Supply Drive for Feed the Lambs: Bring supplies to August Vero Beach Christian Business Association luncheon. 11:30 a.m. Aug. 25. The Plaza, 884 17th St., Vero Beach. www.vbcba.org.

VNA Blood Pressure and Blood Sugar Screenings: 8:45-9:45 a.m. Aug. 28. St. Elizabeth Episcopal Church, 901 Clearmont St., Sebastian.

SEPT.

Art in the Park: Application Deadline. Sept. 1. 3001 Riverside Park Drive, Vero Beach.

Bankruptcy and Fair Debt Collections  Know Your Rights: Clinics on Bankruptcy and Fair Debt Collections. 2:30 p.m. Sept. 6, Oct. 4, Nov. 7, Dec. 5. Indian River Courthouse, Jury Assembly Room, 2000 16th Avenue, Vero Beach. Register: 772-466-4766; www.FRLS.org.

Roseland Women's Club: Business meeting with guest speaker. New residents of community welcome. 1:30 p.m. Sept. 7. Roseland Community Building, 12973 83rd Ave. (Bay Street), Roseland. Adults. 772-913-2182.

American Legion Auxiliary LUAU Party: LUAU Party with pork dinner. 4 p.m. Sept. 10. American Legion Post 189, 807 Louisiana Ave., Sebastian. $12. 772-882-7352; avondaisy44@aol.com.

AARP Smart Driver Course: 9 a.m. Sept. 14. Brookdale, 2425 20th St., Vero Beach. $15 Member/$20 Non-Member. Reservation: 301-518-5852.

Parachute Play: 10-11 a.m. Sept. 15-Dec. 15. IRC Main Library, 1600 21st, Vero Beach. 772-770-5060; www.irclibrary.org.

Open Studio: Portrait, Vero Beach Art Club. 9:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m. Sept. 30, Oct. 7, 14, 21, 28, Nov. 4, 11, 18, 25, Dec. 2, 9, Jan. 20, 27, Feb. 3, 10, 17, 24, March 3, 10, 17, 24, 31. Vero Beach Museum Of Art, Education Wing/Studio 1, 3001 Riverside Park Drive, Vero Beach. 772-532-8829; info@verobeachartclub.org.

Vero Beach Christian Business Association: Ministry spotlight on Dasie Bridgewater Hope Center. 11:30 a.m. Sept. 22. The Plaza, 884 17th St., Vero Beach. $15-$20. RSVP: lunch@vbcba.org.
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FRIDAY'S SPECIAL EVENTS

Writing Artist Statements, Bios and More: Part of Arts Council Summer Series for Artists. 9:30 a.m.-noon Aug. 5. Court House Cultural Center, 80 S.E. Ocean Blvd., Stuart. $20 for Arts Council members; $25 for nonmembers. Reservation: 772-287-6676; www.martinarts.org.

Dinner/Dance Fundraiser: Dinner/Dance Fundraiser for Adult Day Program. 5-7 p.m. Aug. 5. Kane Center, 900 S.E. Salerno Road, Stuart. $12. Ticket: 772-223-7800; www.kanecenter.org.

FRIDAY'S RECURRING EVENTS

ART

Alizarin Crimson Art Studio: Over 30 years of Fine Art Instruction Painting Classes-All Levels. 9:30 a.m.-4 p.m. Cedar Point Plaza, 2611 S.E. Ocean Blvd., Stuart. All ages. 772-287-7030; Alizarincrimsonstudio.net. Professional Teaching Staff: Georgia Abood, Kate Wood & Jennifer Pollack.

CHILDREN/TEEN

"Music & Movement": Parent/child classes designed to enhance child's growth and development. Ages: 27-60 months. 9-10 a.m. Florida Arts & Dance Studio, 938 S.E. Central Parkway, Stuart. 772-288-4150.

"Music & Movement": Parent/child classes designed to enhance child's growth and development. Ages: 12-18 months. 10:15-11:15 a.m. Florida Arts & Dance Studio, 938 S.E. Central Parkway, Stuart. 772-288-4150.

"Music & Movement": Parent/child classes designed to enhance child's growth and development. Ages: 19-26 months. 11:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m. Florida Arts & Dance Studio, 938 S.E. Central Parkway, Stuart. 772-288-4150.

"Music & Movement": Parent/child classes designed to enhance child's growth and development. Ages: 3-11 months. 12:45-1:45 p.m. Florida Arts & Dance Studio, 938 S.E. Central Parkway, Stuart. 772-288-4150.

CLUBS

HSPS Rotary: Rotary and Prospective Members Invited to attend weekly breakfast meeting. 7:45 a.m. Champions Club at Summerfield, 3400 S.E. Summerfield Way, Stuart. Ages: 18+. $15 for breakfast. RSVP: 772-263-0529; www.hsprotary.com.

Treasure Coast Scotch & Cigar Club: Scotch (or whatever) & Cigar aficionados coming together for fun. 7-10 p.m. Smokin' Premiums, 2293 S.W. Martin Highway, Palm City. Ages: 21+. RSVP: 772-370-3131; info@scotchandcigarclub.com.

DANCE

Adult Summer Dance Camp: Classes and Social Parties for Ballroom, Latin, Swing, Country Dance. 4-10 p.m. Jensen Beach Ballroom, 881 Jensen Beach Blvd., Jensen Beach. Ages: 18+. $100 to $300 per month per person. Register: 609-356-2973; gloriana@jensenbeachballroom.com.

Broadway Style Tap Dance Classes: 9 a.m., 10 a.m. and 11 a.m. Dance Academy of Stuart, 333 Tressler Drive, Stuart. 772-286-9671; rbetteboo@aol.com.

Dance Classes: Ballroom, Latin, Swing, Country and Club group and private classes. 1-9 p.m. Jensen Beach Ballroom, 881 N.E. Jensen Beach Blvd., Jensen Beach. Discounts available. Register: 609-356-2973; www.JensenBeachBallroom.com.

Friday Dance Party: Music mix is Smooth, Latin, Swing and Country. 7-10 p.m. Jensen Beach Ballroom, 881 N.E. Jensen Beach Blvd., Jensen Beach. $12 per person. Reservation: 609-356-2973; www.JensenBeachBallroom.com.

USA Dance Martin-St. Lucie Chapter # 6047: 3-6 p.m. Jensen Beach Ballroom, 881 N.E. Jensen Beach Blvd., Jensen Beach. Public $11/members $8. 914-589-5500; usadancemartin-stlucie.org.

EXERCISE/health

Aerobic Sitting Exercises: 9-10 a.m. MCP& R Log Cabin Senior Center, Langford Park, 2369 N.E. Dixie Highway, Jensen Beach. Ages: 50+. $2. 772-334-2926; zcarter@martin.fl.us.

Zumba Gold: 9-10 a.m. Kane Center, 900 S.E Salerno Road, Stuart. Ages: 50+. $4/$6. 772-223-7800; www.kanecenter.org.

GAMES

Bingo: St. Luke's Friday Bingo always prizes. 10:30 a.m. St. Luke's Parish Hall, 5150 S.E. Railway Ave., Port Salerno. 772-286-5455.

OTHER

Piano Instruction: Beginners to concert level. 11 a.m.-5 p.m. daily. Shirley Heifetz, Jensen Beach. Ages: 8+. Registration: 772-934-6812.

Ladies Night with DJ Turn UP and DJ Beatnox: 8 p.m. 360 Tiki Bar and Lounge, 1200 Southeast U.S. 1, Stuart. 772-287-6917; Kathleenickes@gmail.com.

Reggae with the Floridan Band with Steel Drums: 6-9 p.m. Mulligans Beach House, 2019 N.E. Jensen Beach Blvd., Jensen Beach. www.thefloridianband.com.

Seniors Vs. Crime: Group to assist senior citizens. 9 a.m.-noon. St. Lucie West Courthouse Annex, 250 Country Club Drive, Port St. Lucie. 772-871-5350; SeniorsVsCrimePSL@gmail.com.

Social Bridge: Very friendly group for rubber bridge. 1 p.m. PSL Community Center, Airoso Blvd. & PSL Blvd., Port St. Lucie. All ages. $2. 772-332-8200; PSLSocialBridge@gmail.com.

SATURDAY'S SPECIAL EVENTS

Back to School Bash: The festivities will include video game demos, a dance performance, goody bags with samples and offers, giveaways, and a variety of vendors providing service. Noon-4 p.m. Aug. 6. Treasure Coast Square, J.C. Penney Courtyard, 3174 U.S. 1, Jensen Beach.

Great Back Pack Give Away: Free fully stocked back packs for children K-8. 8-11 a.m. Aug. 6. St. Luke's Episcopal Church, 5150 S.E. Railway Ave. Cove Road A1A, Port Salerno.

Back To School Fair: 400 free Backpacks, Lunch, Kid's Haircuts, Eye Exams, Clothing, etc. 11:30 a.m.-2 p.m. Aug. 6. Trinity United Methodist Church, 2221 N.E. Savannah Road, Jensen Beach. 772-334-3404; www.trinityjb.org.

2nd Annual Pup Crawl: Pup Crawl to benefit HSTC Shelter Pets. 5:30-10 p.m. Aug. 6. Downtown Stuart starting at Spoto's Oyster Bar, 131 S.W. Flagler Ave., Stuart. Ages: 21+. $20 per person. Ticket: 772-600-3211; czanetti@hstc1.org.

SATURDAY'S RECURRING EVENTS

ARTS

Alizarin Crimson Art Studio: Over 30 years of Fine Art Instruction Painting Classes-All Levels. 10 a.m.-1 p.m. Cedar Pointe Plaza, 2611 S.E. Ocean Blvd., Stuart. All ages. 772-287-7030; Alizarincrimsonstudio.net. Professional Teaching Staff: Georgia Abood, Kate Wood & Jennifer Pollack.

DANCE

Adult Summer Dance Camp: Classes and Social Parties for Ballroom, Latin, Swing, Country Dance. 4-10 p.m. Jensen Beach Ballroom, 881 Jensen Beach Blvd., Jensen Beach. Ages: 18+. $100 to $300 per month per person. Register: 609-356-2973; gloriana@jensenbeachballroom.com.

Dance Classes: Ballroom, Latin, Swing, Country and Club group and private classes. 1-9 p.m. Jensen Beach Ballroom, 881 N.E. Jensen Beach Blvd., Jensen Beach. Discounts available. Register: 609-356-2973; www.JensenBeachBallroom.com.

Group Dance Lessons: Ballroom, Latin, Swing, Country. 6 p.m. Jensen Beach Ballroom, 881 N.E. Jensen Beach Blvd., Jensen Beach. $10 per person. 609-356-2973; jensenbeachballroom.com.

Rio Ballroom: All levels new trio dancing; social dancing after group class. 6 p.m. July 30. Crystal Ballroom, 2051 N.E. Dixie, Jensen Beach. Adults. $10-$15 with dinner. Reservation: 772-485-8200; josephmorley1@gmail.com.

OTHER

Hike Through History: 8:30-10:30 a.m. Jupiter Inlet Lighthouse and Museum, 500 Captain Armour's Way, Jupiter. Ages: 5+. RSVP required: 561-747-8380; www.jupiterlighthouse.org.

Ladies Night with DJ Turn UP and DJ Beatnox: 8 p.m. 360 Tiki Bar and Lounge, 1200 Southeast U.S. 1, Stuart. 772-287-6917; Kathleenickes@gmail.com.

MC Genealogical Society: Research assistance by DAR. 10 a.m.-noon Blake Library, 2351 S.E. Monterey Road, Stuart. Ages: 12+. 772-220-1638; mcgensociety.org.

Palm City Green Market: Fresh produce, arts and crafts, Ethnic foods and spices. 9 a.m.-2-p.m. Immanuel Lutheran Church, 2655 Immanuel Drive, Palm City. 772-345-3797; palmcitygreenmarket.com.

Port Salerno Green Market Arts & Crafts: 9 a.m.-2 p.m. St. Luke's Episcopal Church, 5150 Railway Ave, Port Salerno. 828-699-1727; communitygreenmarket@gmail.com.

Reggae with the Floridan Band with Steel Drums: 6-9 p.m. Mulligans Beach House, 2019 N.E. Jensen Beach Blvd., Jensen Beach. www.thefloridianband.com.

Vine & Barley Palm City: Live music. 8:30-11:30 p.m. Vine & Barley Palm City, 2951 S.W. High Meadow Ave., Palm City. 772-781-1717; VineAndBarleyPalmCity.com.

LOOKING AHEAD

Barn Theatre Auditions: Barn Theatre Auditions for "The Haunting of Hill House". 7 p.m. Aug. 7, 8, 9. The Barn Theatre, 2400 S.E. Ocean Blvd., Stuart. www.barn-theatre.com.

Biologist Beach Walk: Public insight into LMC's research department. 6:45-8:30 a.m. Aug. 8.-Sept. 30. Loggerhead Marinelife Center, 14200 U.S. 1 Juno Beach. Ages: 8+. $12. Ticket: 561-627-8280; www.marinelife.org/beachwalk.

Backpack & School Supplies Distribution: Free Backpacks and School Supplies. Noon-2 p.m. Aug. 10. The Salvation Army of Martin County, 821 S.E. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd., Stuart. Grades: K-8. 772-288-1471; Maria.McGowan@uss.salvationarmy.org.

Jazz Dance Class: 1-2 p.m. Aug. 10. Kane Center, 900 S.E. Salerno Road, Stuart. Ages: 50+. $30/$35. Register: 772-223-7800; www.kanecenter.org.

Kick off to Kindergarten: The event will give the children the chance to hop on a school bus, make healthy food choices, play with their new friends at recess and much more. 5-7 p.m. Aug. 10. The Children's Museum of the Treasure Coast, 1707 N.E. Indian River Drive, Jensen Beach. Space is limited space, please register: 772-225-7575 or visit www.ChildrensMuseumTC.org.

Coffee With A Cop: McDonald's and the Martin County Sheriff's Office are hosting. 8-10 a.m. Aug. 11. McDonald's, 3600 S.W. U.S. 1, Wedgewood Commons, Stuart.

Sailfish Splash Waterpark: Free admission day to Martin County residents. 10:30 a.m.-5 p.m. Aug. 11. Sailfish Splash Waterpark, 931 S.E. Ruhnke St., Stuart.

An Evening of Contemporary Dance: 7 p.m. Aug. 13. St. Luke's Episcopal Church, Cove Road, Port Salerno. $15 in advance/$20 at door. Ticket: 772-286-5455; stlukes@stlukesfl.org.

Required Minimum Distribution Workshop: What you need to know about RMD's if approaching 70. 2-3 p.m. Aug. 16, 18. Indian River State College  Wolf High Tech Center, 2400 Salerno Road, Building C, Room C102, Stuart. Adult. RSVP: 888-710-1002; www.peakcapital.fixedincomecounsel.com.

Tales from the Archives: Learn historical research & new findings from our Museum's collection. 6:30-7:30 p.m. Aug. 17. Jupiter Inlet Lighthouse and Museum, 500 Captain Armour's Way, Jupiter. RSVP: 561-7478380; www.jupiterlighthouse.org.

Estate & Long-Term Care Planning: Estate & Long-Term Care Planning. 3 p.m. Aug. 18. Kane Center, 900 S.E. Salerno Road, Stuart. Ages: 60+. RSVP: 772-223-7800; www.kanecenter.org.

Furry Friends Adoption, Clinic & Ranch: Hang 20 Surf Dog Classic Pre-party and fundraiser. 5 p.m. Aug. 18. Guanabanas Waterfront Restaurant, 60 N. Highway A1A, Jupiter. Donation. RSVP: 561-737-5311; www.furryfriendsadoption.org.

Lighthouse Moonrise Tour: View the Full Moon from atop the Jupiter Inlet Lighthouse. 7:15 p.m. Aug. 18. Jupiter Inlet Lighthouse and Museum, 500 Captain Armour's Way, Jupiter. Children must be at least 48" to climb tower. $20 or $15 for Members. Reservation: 561-747-8380; www.jupiterlighthouse.org.

Beach 2 Beach 5k: Run/walk to benefit South Fork High's cross country team. 6:45 p.m. Aug. 19. Jensen Sea Turtle Beach, 4191 N.E. Ocean Blvd., Jensen Beach. $18-$25. Register: 772-521-3548; www.active.com/jensen-beach-fl/running/distance-running-races/beach-to-beach-5k-2016? int.

Parent University: 9 a.m.-Noon. Aug. 20. Martin County High School, 2801 Kanner Highway, Stuart. martinschools.org.

Volunteer Open House: Noon-4 p.m. Aug. 20. Maltz Jupiter Theatre, 1001 East Indiantown Road, Jupiter. 561-972-6105; brafkin@jupitertheatre.org.

Hearts at Home: Hearts at Home, Congestive Heart Failure-Focused Care. 10:30 a.m. Aug. 22. Kane Center, 900 S.E. Salerno Road, Stuart. Ages: 60+. RSVP: 772-223-7800; www.kanecenter.org.

Hearing Health Event: Get your free hearing checked out by an expert. 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Aug. 23 & 25. Professional Audiology Associates, 1045 Southeast Ocean Blvd., Ste. #4, Stuart. Reservation: 772-220-8354; www.hearinghealthusa.com/event/free-hearing-health-event-stuart-fl/.

Human Trafficking Coalition of the Treasure Coast and Okeechobee: Guest Speaker: Representative Gayle Harrell. 10-11 a.m. Aug. 23. Martin County Sheriff's Office, 800 S.E. Monterey Road, Stuart.

Brain Boosting Workshop: Four Week Brain Boosting Workshop. 3-4 p.m. Aug. 24. Kane Center, 900 S.E. Salerno Road, Stuart. Ages: 60+. RSVP: 772-223-7800; www.kanecenter.org.

The Florida Chamber Foundation/Town Hall Meeting: Will roll out their 2030 plan. 8:30 a.m. Aug. 25. Indian River State College, 2400 S.E. Salerno Road, Stuart. Register: floridaflcoc.wliinc25.com/cwt/external/wcpages/wcevents/eventregistration.aspx?LK=BD8P5F7I704R1Q4L7Y4W4C2R48&EventID=674F5P.

Summer Beach Party: Social Dance Party and Dinner. 7-10 p.m. Aug. 26. Jensen Beach Ballroom, 881 N.E. Jensen Beach Blvd., Jensen Beach. Ages: 18+. $12 per person. 772-444-7003; JensenBeachBallroom.com.

Club Scrub River Paddle II & The End of Summer: Fundraiser that will benefit JDSP Camp Murphy Mountain Bike Trails. 8 a.m. Aug. 27. Jonathan Dickinson State Park, Swim Beach River Area, S.E. U.S. 1, Hobe Sound. Clubscrub.org.

Treasure Coast Yard Sale: Community yard sale & auction. 8 a.m.-5 p.m. Aug. 27. Martin County Fairgrounds, 2616 S.E. Dixie Highway, Stuart. All Ages. $0-50. Register: TreasureCoastYardSale.com.

SEPTEMBER

Bankruptcy and Fair Debt Collections  Know Your Rights: Clinics on Bankruptcy and Fair Debt Collections. 6 p.m. Sept. 6, Oct. 4, Nov. 7, Dec. 5. Port St. Lucie Civic Center, 9221 S.E. Civic Center Place, Port St. Lucie. Register: 772-466-4766; www.FRLS.org.

Crary Buchanan Sept. 11 memorial Blood Drive: 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Sept. 10. Crary Buchanan Law, 759 S. U.S. 1, Stuart and Jetson Appliance and Electronics, 4145 S. U.S. 1, Fort Pierce.

Lighthouse Moonrise Tour: View the Full Moon from atop the Jupiter Inlet Lighthouse. 6:15 p.m. Sept. 16. Jupiter Inlet Lighthouse and Museum, 500 Captain Armour's Way, Jupiter. Children must be at least 48" to climb tower. $20 or $15 for Members. Reservation: 561-747-8380; www.jupiterlighthouse.org.

Club Havana, Molly's House 20th Anniversary: 6-10 p.m. Sept. 17. Sailfish Point Clubhouse, 2201 S.E. Sailfish Point Blvd., Stuart. Ages: 21+. $100 each until August 17; then $125 each. Ticket: 772-223-6659; www.eventbrite.com/e/club-havana-mollys-house-20th-anniversary-tickets-25598112644? ref=ebtnebtckt.

Road to Victory Military Museum: Meet the veterans say thank you military trade event. 10 a.m.-2 p.m. Sept. 24. Road to Victory Museum, 319 Stypmann Ave., Stuart. All ages. Donations appreciated. Register: 703-835-4166; www.roadtovictorymilitarymuseum.org.
Vincent Definis

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By Jan Lindsey, Special to Treasure Coast Newspapers

PORT ST. LUCIE  A Port St. Lucie man was charged with burglary and grand theft Thursday after he allegedly stole cash and electronics from the safe of a business where he used to work.

Vincent Definis, 27, of the 1000 block of Northwest Bayshore Boulevard, remained held at the St. Lucie County Jail on Friday in lieu of $35,000 in bond.

A security camera captured images on two people entering Superplay USA in the 1600 block of Northwest Courtyard Circle about 3:20 a.m. July 27, according to a Port St. Lucie Police arrest affidavit.

Definis worked at the store last year and employees recognized him in the images, the affidavit states.

Definis told police he used some of the money to pay bills, it states. Police recovered some of the cash and the electronics.
SHARE Anderson Perouse

By Will Greenlee of TCPalm

PORT ST. LUCIE  A 25-year-old man was arrested this week as part of an investigation into heroin sales that began last year and involves at least two other men, according to records.

Anderson Perouse, of the 1300 block of Southeast Belcrest Street in Port St. Lucie, was arrested Aug. 2 on 19 charges related to heroin and unlawful use of a two-way communication device.

Records show he sold heroin on eight occasions to at least one undercover investigator between December and June in amounts ranging from $300 to $1,500.

Heroin is a highly addictive opiate that can be injected, smoked or snorted.

The drug deals, at least partially arranged via text message, happened at locations including fast food restaurants, a home improvement store and Sportsman's Park.

The term "Perouse drug trafficking organization" is used in 30 pages of records supporting the arrest of Perouse, but police said they could not yet speak about the case.

In June and July, police used court-authorized wire intercepts of a phone used by Perouse as part of the investigation, which identified two other men.

One of those other men is accused of supplying heroin to Perouse, and the other of buying heroin from him. It's not immediately clear whether these two men have been arrested.

Records show Perouse used his cell phone for negotiating heroin sales while traveling in counties including Palm Beach, Monroe and Miami-Dade.

In one incident, an investigator arranged to buy 75 capsules of heroin for $1,500. That would weigh about 7.5 grams.

Investigators say Perouse texted another man and asked for what they believe was 4 grams of heroin. Investigators believe Perouse bought the 4 grams and doubled its weight with additives for resale. This allows the seller to get a better return on their investment.

Investigators sent the approximately 75 capsules to a U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration laboratory without testing them in the field, noting the possible "presence of fentanyl and the dangers the fentanyl would pose to law enforcement if accidentally ingested."

Investigators in records reported fentanyl is commonly added to heroin. Fentanyl "has been the cause of recent drug-related overdose deaths in St. Lucie County."

Fentanyl is as much as 100 times more potent than morphine and as much as 50 times more potent than heroin, according to the DEA.

"Fentanyl is potentially lethal, even at very low levels," a DEA release states. "Ingestion of small doses as small as 0.25 mg can be fatal."

Perouse has a minor arrest history beginning in July 2011 with an arrest by Miami-Dade Police in connection with driving while license suspended with knowledge, according to Florida Department of Law Enforcement records.

His second, and only other arrest before the most recent one, was in March 2013 by the Martin County Sheriff's Office.
Oct. 29 is the last day to request mail ballot to vote Nov. 8. Here's how.

2022 election: Oct. 29 is the last day you can request a mail ballot from your elections office in Martin, St. Lucie or Indian River counties.
Isaac Abramowitz (center) of Boynton Beach talks with Kelly Nigro, assistant principal of Windmill Point Elementary school, during a St. Lucie County Public Schools teacher career fair June 28 at West Gate K-8 School in Port St. Lucie. Abramowitz has been substitute teaching in Palm Beach County and is searching for a full-time position in St. Lucie County. To see more photos, go to TCPalm.com. (MOLLY BARTELS/TREASURE COAST NEWSPAPERS)

SHARE Ayesha Boria (center left), assistant principal at Fort Pierce Central, interviews Patrick Simon (center right) during a St. Lucie County Public Schools teacher career fair June 28 at West Gate K-8 School in Port St. Lucie. "I have five certifications and have worked in Palm Beach, Martin and St. Lucie counties," said Simon. "But this is my home county and it's the perfect size for me. It's not so big that you get lost in the shuffle and not so tiny that you are constrained by small budgets." (MOLLY BARTELS/TREASURE COAST NEWSPAPERS) Rosette Lynch (center) of Port St. Lucie participates in a pre-screening interview during a St. Lucie County Public Schools teacher career fair June 28 at West Gate K-8 School in Port St. Lucie. Lynch currently teaches seventh-grade and is seeking an elementary school position. (MOLLY BARTELS/TREASURE COAST NEWSPAPERS) Related Coverage Teacher vacancies higher at Martin County low-income schools

Teacher vacancies nearly filled at IRC schools

By Andrew Atterbury of TCPalm

Editor's Note: This story was updated to reflect updated vacancy numbers.

ST. LUCIE COUNTY  The School District is working through the waning summer to fill the last of 16 teaching jobs at Samuel S. Gaines Academy, a Title 1  or low-income  K-8 school of 1,271 students. Yet by comparison, the 2,616-student Treasure Coast High School had only eight openings.

High-needs schools generally experience high educator turnover, experts say, and as the candidate pool dries up, vacancies become more difficult to fill at schools with high populations of economically disadvantaged students.

As a result, more courses often are taught by educators outside of their certifications at low-income schools such as Samuel S. Gaines, where the out-of-field rate exceeded 14 percent last during the 2014-15 school year, according to the most recent data available from the Florida Department of Education.

"There's a lot of stress for folks in those situations," said David Allsopp, director of the David C. Anchin Center College of Education at the University of South Florida.

"The reality is that there are fewer teachers who are interested in working with kids who are experiencing difficulties socially."

Each Treasure Coast school district began the summer with more than 100 teacher vacancies. Most of those positions were and will be filled by teachers who are certified to teach that subject, but some openings are filled by educators who studied a different field or are pursuing credentials for the subjects they've been hired to teach.

In early June, the St. Lucie County School District reported 179 vacancies, according to school officials. Most of these positions were the result of attrition and retirements, school officials said.

Of those openings, 133 were spread among the district's 31 Title 1 schools, including 13 at Port St. Lucie High School, 10 at Fort Pierce Westwood High School and 11 at both Lawnwood Elementary and Oak Hammock K-8.

As of Friday, the district had 27 open positions to fill before school begins Aug. 15, according to school officials. Title 1 schools such as Dan McCarty Middle School and St. Lucie Elementary are fully staffed, and others are looking to hire one more teacher, school officials said.

School officials have been visiting colleges, hosting recruitment fairs  including one June 28 at West Gate K-8 School in Port St. Lucie  and recruiting year-round, said Patricia Galloway, director of recruitment and retention.

This year the district began "farming" teachers through a program guaranteeing jobs to high school seniors who promise to declare as education majors, Galloway said. The district hopes to employ the 75 students who have signed up four years from now, she said.

"Rather than having a recruiting and hiring season, we've devoted an entire year to recruiting activities," Galloway said.

Statewide, school districts have reported shortages of educators specializing in Exceptional Student Education, reading, math, science and visually and hearing-impaired education, according to the U.S. Department of Education.

It's especially tough finding qualified applicants for these positions at high-needs schools, said Lina Burklew, partnership coordinator with the University of Florida School of Teaching and Learning.

This can lead to more educators teaching courses outside of field. That includes teachers who aren't yet certified, are teaching a subject outside their certifications or minor field of study, or a field where they have insufficient subject area expertise, according to the Department of Education.

Teachers also can be deemed as highly qualified if they have passed professional and subject area tests in addition to having at least a bachelor's degree and being certified for each core subject he or she teaches, according to the Department of Education.

More than 8 percent of courses in St. Lucie County were taught by instructors out of their field during the 2014-15 school year compared to the state mark of 5.6 percent, according to the most recent data available from the Florida Department of Education.

The highest total was 21 percent at Chester A. Moore Elementary, a Title 1 school that scored F's in 2015 and 2016. The rate was about 14 percent for Samuel S. Gaines, a D school in 2015 and C school this year, and Fort Pierce Westwood High School, a Title 1 school graded as a C in 2015, according to Florida Department of Education. Westwood received an incomplete this year for not testing 95 percent of students.

Additionally, about 11 percent of classes districtwide were taught by teachers who weren't highly-qualified in 2014-15, below the 5.5 percent state mark.

Chester A. Moore had the highest rate of these teachers  about 25 percent, according to the Department of Education. The rate was about 22 percent at St. Lucie Elementary, a Title 1 school that scored F's in 2015 and 2016, according to the Department of Education.

Out-of-field teachers typically have undergraduate degrees and are sometimes hired under the condition that they pursue certification, Allsopp said.

In other cases, teachers can be certified in one field yet are hired to teach another, Burklew said.

For example, a certified elementary teacher could fill an opening for a gifted class without gifted credentials, Burklew said. In that case, the district is required to notify parents, explaining the teacher is working on coursework to receive an endorsement from the state in that field, she said.

This could be an increasingly common trend if the education landscape doesn't change, Burklew said.

School officials are tasked with hiring the best applicants available against the constricts such as state funding, mandates and high-stakes testing, Burklew said. That's easier said than done when there's a noticeable decline in the amount of students interested in teaching, she said.

"I would think all principals are trying to find the most qualified person that's going to be the right fit for their school," Burklew said. "Often times you just can't find (teachers who are highly qualified)."
A fisherman takes out his boat on the St. Johns River. A report from the Florida Department of Environmental Protection found increasing trends of nitrogen from human activities in Florida surface waters such as Lake Washington and the St. Johns River. The two nutrients can trigger toxic algae blooms that foul water supplies and kill fish. (MALCOLM DENEMARK/FLORIDA TODAY)

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By Jim Waymer, USA TODAY NETWORK | FLORIDA TODAY

Florida waters are growing greener, saltier and more toxic in some parts, according to a new report.

The report from the Florida Department of Environmental Protection shows a mixed bag for the state's waters, with many trending toward more-frequent toxic algae blooms, fueled by rising nitrates from farm and residential fertilizers, sewage, pet waste and other human-related sources.

While the state has made some progress reducing nitrogen and phosphorus into state waters, conservationists say the reductions haven't been fast enough to stop recent algae explosions. And as Florida's population grows, so does the challenge of keeping the state's waters clean, they say.

"What's happening in the state of Florida today should be a wake-up call for us all," said Lisa Rinaman, the St. Johns Riverkeeper, the chief public advocate for the river. "It's not just an environmental issue, it's an economic issue. It's much more cost-effective to stop pollution at its source."

This week, tests commissioned by Rinaman's nonprofit group found microcystin  the same blue-green algae toxin recently fouling coastal waters on the Treasure Coast  at more than 120 times health guidelines off a dock in Doctors Lake, an outcropping of the St. Johns River, just south of Jacksonville.

Sometimes, Willie Lorton of Melbourne sees fishing in Lake Washington as pointless. He used to fish on Lake Washington all the time. Now he might go out once or twice a month just to keep his boat motor running.

"This lake isn't what it used to be, used to be good fishing," he said as he pulled his boat up on a trailer at the lake's dock Thursday morning.

This day, he only caught two little bass.

WHY ALGAE BLOOMS KEEP HAPPENING

DEP's new report, called the 2016 Integrated Water Quality Assessment for Florida, spells out why these kinds of toxic algae blooms keep happening, and why some Florida well water is turning saltier and less healthy to drink. The report outlines the overall condition of Florida's surface water and groundwater from 2012 to 2014. The Clean Water Act requires states to submit the reports to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency every two years, including which waters don't meet pollution limits.

Key findings of Florida's 2016 integrated report include:

One hallmark of algae is elevated in 50 percent of the state's lake area.

Nitrates remain the biggest issue in surface waters that get significant inputs of groundwater, especially springs.

Increasing trends in saltwater intrusion and nitrate and nitrite in groundwater.

Almost 70 percent of the 2.9 million acres of Florida's lakes and estuaries DEP assessed were "impaired."

"As far as water quality, much of it looks the same as it has in previous years," said Julie Espy, program administrator for DEP's water quality assessment program.

But the rise in nitrogen and phosphorus continues to worsen in many Florida waters, DEP's report found, especially in some of the smaller lakes that get less attention than Lake Okeechobee and other larger waterbodies.

Median levels of nitrate in Florida's groundwater have increased to more than 1 milligram per liter, five times the levels before the 1970s, causing many to clog up with plants. As late as the 1980s, median nitrate levels in the state's groundwater were only .05 milligrams per liter.

Farm and residential fertilizers, sewage and population growth have fed those increases.

CHLOROPHYLL A

This year's report is the first to use recently approved criteria to estimate percentages of surface waters that are impaired. Those criteria show "nutrient enrichment is extensive" for nitrogen and phosphorus in the state's surface waters.

That helped set the stage for severe algae blooms in the Indian River Lagoon, the St. Lucie River and elsewhere in Florida.

DEP's report showed roughly 50 percent of Florida's lake area might have elevated levels of chlorophyll a, indicating algae fed by nitrogen and phosphorus from human activities.

The report found that 70 percent of the state's 27,561 miles of rivers and streams "can sustain healthy aquatic life," based on the levels of nitrogen in the water, and 80 percent can based on the phosphorus levels.

"Certainly, certain areas of the St. Johns are getting better," Espy said. "We're not seeing wide change, but we are seeing some improvements in nutrients and dissolved oxygen."

But those improvements haven't been enough to prevent recent algae outbreaks. Recently, St. Johns Riverkeeper's tests in Doctors Lake  an outcrop of the St. Johns River just south of Jacksonville  found a toxin called microcystin at 120 times the limit in health guidelines. A blue-green algae toxin, microcystin is linked with short and long-term health risks. It's toxic to fish, plants, invertebrates and mammals, including humans, and can magnify in mussels, crayfish, fish and crops irrigated with contaminated water.

The World Health Organization recommends drinking water not exceed 1 part per billion and 20 parts per billion for swimming and other recreation. Riverkeepers' four tests came in at an average of 2,473 parts per billion.

GROUNDWATER

Overall, DEP's report found the water quality of potable aquifers was good for the contaminants evaluated by the its monitoring networks. But from 2012 to 2014, total coliform bacteria and sodium met standards less frequently (85 percent and 86 percent of the samples statewide, respectively). Metals and nitrate met standards in almost all samples.

For groundwater, wells that showed trends indicated increasing trends for saltwater intrusion.

"We are seeing some encroachment from saltwater indicators along the coastline, but other than that, the groundwater is in good shape," Espy said.

Nitrate remains the biggest issue in surface waters that get significant inputs of groundwater, because the excessive algae growth it can cause can impair clear waters, especially springs.

"I think what it really points out is that we need to do more restoration," Espy said.

Among other actions, the report cites DEP plans to take the following actions:

Continue to monitor and investigate increased nitrate levels in springs that can result in the overgrowth of toxic blue-green algae and other aquatic plants, as well as saltwater and freshwater harmful algal blooms;

Promote low-impact development and practices such as green roofs, pervious pavements and stormwater harvesting;

Implement numeric nutrient criteria to address excess nitrogen and phosphorus in surface water from sources such as septic tanks, runoff, livestock waste, and increased fertilizer use on farm and urban landscapes.

But government does not regulate many of the actions that cause runoff pollution. So the report also calls for more "public education, cultural change and personal stewardship."

"A simple example is controlling pet wastes, which can add nutrients and fecal bacteria to the landscape that are washed off with each rainstorm. Picking up and properly disposing of pet waste is essential to preventing this source of 'pointless personal pollution.' "

WATER BY THE NUMBERS

Florida encompasses an area of more than 45 million acres that includes:

27,561 linear miles of rivers and streams

47,708 linear miles of canals and ditches

1.6 million acres of lakes, reservoirs and ponds

1.7 million acres of estuaries and coastal waters

More than 1,000 springs

Florida's 2016 Integrated Water Quality Assessment identified the following waters too polluted to meet designated uses for drinking supply, shellfish harvest or swimming:

9,642 miles of rivers and streams

33,655 miles of canals

1 million acres of lakes

993,581 acres of estuaries

589 miles of coastal waters

620 springs

87 beaches

GROWING WATER DEMAND

In 1950, Florida's 2.8 million residents used about 1.5 billion gallons per day of fresh groundwater and surface water. By 2005, that grew to almost 7 billion gallons per day (62 percent groundwater; 38 percent surface water), the report said, and water consumption is projected to increase to 9.3 billion gallons per day by 2020.

Source: Florida Department of Environmental Protection's Final 2016 Integrated Water Quality Assessment for Florida, June 2016

Contact Waymer at 321-242-3663 or jwaymer@floridatoday.com Follow him on Twitter@JWayEnviro and at facebook.com/jim.waymer


Patrick Murphy, left, and Marco Rubio (FILE PHOTOS)

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By Ledyard King, USA TODAY

WASHINGTON  If you liked the drama of this year's presidential nomination battles, check out Florida's Senate race.

The state's Aug. 30 Republican and Democratic Senate primaries share some of the story line and sharp edges that played out across the country during the outsider-vs.-establishment races for the parties' presidential tickets.

On the GOP side, Manatee County developer Carlos Beruff is playing the role of outsider Donald Trump in challenging Sen. Marco Rubio for that party's nomination. On the Democratic side, Rep. Alan Grayson is channeling iconoclast Sen. Bernie Sanders in his primary race against Rep. Patrick Murphy, who's been endorsed by President Obama.

Beruff, a self-funding millionaire real-estate mogul like Trump, has unrelentingly attacked Rubio for his chronic absence from the Senate during his presidential campaign, for his past support of immigration reform and for his past criticisms of Trump.

Grayson, an unapologetic liberal firebrand like Sanders, has slammed Murphy, a centrist, for inflating his resume, for asking state officials to delay an announcement about the opening of a center to assist businesses affected by a toxic algae bloom and for voting with Republicans on key issues.

The stakes are high. Florida is considered one of a handful of states that will determine control of the Senate, now held by Republicans.

RUBIO RETURNS

Just several weeks ago, the Senate race was assumed to be an open-seat contest.

Rubio, who rode a tea party wave into office in 2010, had pledged to forego re-election while he concentrated on a presidential bid. But after losing Florida's presidential primary to Trump on March 15, he changed his mind. On June 22, two days before the filing deadline, he declared for a second term.

That decision followed determined lobbying by Republican leaders to persuade Rubio to reconsider his pledge not to run. They told him he represented the best shot at keeping the Senate seat  and possibly the Senate itself  in GOP hands. His re-entry  and subsequent polls showing him dominating the GOP field  prompted several Republicans to exit the race, leaving Beruff as the only major obstacle left to deny Rubio the nomination.

Beruff has called Rubio a "liar" and a "no-show," among other insults. He's also derided him as a "status quo" candidate, ironic given that Rubio was the anti-establishment candidate when he beat then-Gov. Charlies Crist for the Senate seat six years ago.

Beruff, who has echoed Trump's call for a broad immigration crackdown, also has said he won't endorse Rubio in November if he loses to the senator.

"I can't support a person who doesn't stand for anything," he said when he attended the Republican National Convention in Cleveland last month.

Rubio hasn't spent much energy responding to Beruff. Instead, he seems to be making up for the months of time he spent away from Florida and Washington while he ran for president.

Rubio missed dozens of floor votes and a number of committee hearings and intelligence briefings while he campaigned for the White House. He said he was frustrated with the Senate's pace and inability to move quickly on issues. At one point during the campaign, he told CNN many of the missed votes "won't mean anything."

Since his return to Capitol Hill, Rubio has engaged on myriad issues. He's called out his own party for not moving fast enough on Zika relief and vowed to reclaim a $400 million "ransom" payment the Obama administration made to Iran.

And, trying to counter a perception he cares little about issues that don't affect South Florida, Rubio's been traipsing across the state to meet with local constituents on a host of issues, including moldy courthouses, algae blooms and slumlords.

Beruff dismisses Rubio as an establishment pawn positioning himself for a 2020 presidential run. But polls indicate most Florida Republicans are poised to renominate Rubio.

NASTINESS ON BOTH SIDES

It's gotten even nastier on the Democratic side.

Grayson, who represents the Orlando area, has heaped scorn on Murphy, a former Republican who switched parties after becoming disillusioned with the GOP's direction in recent years. Grayson has called Murphy a GOP "sock puppet" and tool of the Democratic establishment.

He's taken aim at Murphy's voting record, which is among the most moderate for a House Democrat and has allowed Murphy to win re-election in a GOP-leaning Treasure Coast district. Grayson lambasted Murphy for siding with the GOP to approve the Keystone XL pipeline, increase the vetting of Syrian refugees coming to the U.S., and create the special committee that investigated the 2012 Benghazi attacks.

In June, Grayson's camp called Murphy "dishonest" after a Miami television report raised questions about the Jupiter congressman's resume and work history as a small businessman and certified public accountant. Murphy campaign manager Josh Wolf issued a point-by-point rebuttal, calling the report "deeply false."

In mid-July, Grayson aides called for an investigation after emails were published showing that Murphy's office had asked state officials to delay announcing the opening of a center to help small businesses affected by a toxic algae bloom in his district.

Murphy's campaign said he merely wanted to unveil the program himself at a news conference the following day that focused on the environmental disaster.

Grayson has had to do some explaining of his own.

His acid tongue and confrontational manner have repelled Democrats and Republicans alike.

In 2009, he drew national criticism for saying, during debate on the Affordable Care Act, that Republicans "want you to die quickly if you get sick."

He faces a House Ethics Committee probe over allegations that he violated House rules by operating hedge funds that bore his name, using his congressional office to support both the hedge funds and his Senate race and failing to disclose income and assets on his annual financial disclosure forms.

Grayson's Senate campaign has called the allegations "politically motivated (and) utterly frivolous."

During a congressional meeting In May, news reports publicized a sharp exchange between Grayson and Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid, a Murphy backer who recommended Grayson get out of the race over the ethics flap.

More recently, Grayson has had to deal with fallout from a Politico story detailing allegations that he physically abused his first wife, Lolita. Grayson's lawyer, Mark NeJame, condemned the allegations as "discredited and utterly false."

But the report prompted at least two progressive groups to pull their endorsements of the liberal congressman. And it prompted Murphy to bow out of the one planned TV debate with Grayson, saying Grayson's "continued presence in this race is an insult to the countless Floridians whose lives have been affected by this kind of violence."

RUBIO'S LEAD QUESTIONABLE

A Suffolk University poll suggests it won't really matter which Democrat emerges to face Rubio.

The incumbent holds double-digit leads over both Democrats in hypothetical general-election matchups. And there's a prevailing sense among analysts that momentum is on Rubio's side.

But Rubio lost the presidential primary to Trump by nearly 19 points. And presidential elections tend to fire up the constituencies that favor Democrats. Florida also is notorious for hosting closely contested federal races, no matter who has the advantage.

Nathan L. Gonzales, editor and publisher of the nonpartisan Rothenberg and Gonzales Political Report, expects any edge Rubio enjoys will be softened by Trump's presence at the top of the ticket.

"Rubio's decision to run for re-election gives Republicans a better chance to hold Florida," he said. "But Rubio is still a Republican senator seeking re-election in a competitive presidential state where Donald Trump could be an anvil around his neck."

Contact Ledyard King at lking@gannett.com; Twitter: @ledgeking
By Will Greenlee of TCPalm

ST. LUCIE COUNTY  With less than a month before voters choose St. Lucie County's next sheriff, four-term incumbent Ken Mascara said he stands by his record, saying crime is at a low but noting a need to focus on drug addiction.

Mascara, 58, said he has the same passion he did when he was sworn in after first winning election in 2000.

"If they re-elect me, they get what they see  hardworking, honest, at the forefront of issues not only with law enforcement but our county," he said.

Challenging Mascara is Rich Williams, 39, a technical support representative in the information technology field. He said the community lacks trust in the Sheriff's Office.

With no Republicans running, the victor in the Aug. 30 primary between the two Democrats will be the next sheriff.

"My vision is to make the department be more proactive in such a manner that the crime is down to a level we can bring businesses in across the entire county," Williams said. "I think the citizens of St. Lucie County deserve better. We don't deserve a career politician."

Crimes investigated by the Sheriff's Office have decreased under Mascara's administration, according to Florida Department of Law Enforcement statistics. Comparing statistics from 2001 (Mascara's first year in office) to those from 2006, 2010 and 2015 (the most recent available), the crime rate per 100,000 people trended down. In 2001, the figure was 3,408, and last year it was 2,324. The seven crimes measured include murder, burglary, motor vehicle theft and larceny.

Mascara said should he be re-elected, he hopes to secure additional money for some deputies who did not get raises for five years. He said pay for deputies in St. Lucie County, which starts at almost $38,000, lags behind that in Martin and Palm Beach counties.

"We are continuing to lose good, tenured, quality deputies to those agencies," he said. "In today's day and age law enforcement is very challenging and I think they should be paid what they're worth."

DRUGS, TASERS

In the community, a big challenge is drug addiction, Mascara said. During his first term, crack cocaine was a problem, then pain pills, then synthetic drugs, such as spice.

"Now we're into heroin," he said.

Mascara detailed a three-part strategy to deal with addiction that includes education and prevention, treatment and law enforcement activities targeting drug sources.

Williams said he would work to modernize the agency, saying it does not use Tasers, an electric shocking device used by other law enforcement agencies on the Treasure Coast. He'd also equip deputies with body cameras.

The Sheriff's Office has other training and equipment, such as pepper spray and nonlethal munitions, that are superior to Tasers, Mascara said, and he already has plans for body cameras.

"We are presently researching best practices, looking to our partner and similar-sized agencies to determine what has worked for them, what hasn't and how we can best implement this program in our community," he said in an email.

TRUST, COMMUNITY

Mascara said he'd "put his 16 years of service against any elected official, let alone my opponent who has six years as a trooper and who had to resign under investigation."

Williams worked for the FHP from 2002 until 2009. He was investigated after an incident in which a person complained he engaged in sexual activity while on duty.

The investigation concluded Williams "did engage in sexual activity while on duty, harassed and stalked the complainant, and inappropriately used state equipment for personal use," FHP records state. He "resigned in lieu of dismissal."

Williams denied the allegations, saying "the past is the past," and noted a long record of service with the Army. Williams said he graduated from Fort Pierce Central High School in 1996 and joined the Army, going from active duty to Reserves in 2002. He said he returned from Afghanistan in 2014 after about eight months and was involved in overseeing the managing of moving military equipment out of Afghanistan.

"I can't change anything regardless of how right or wrong somebody may seem," he said. "If I can go to serve my country  up to giving my life for the country, imagine what I'll do for the county."

Williams was involved in a second incident that was investigated within the Florida Highway Patrol. The allegation involved not obeying a sergeant's order "and misleading the lieutenant who had to intervene after the employee became defiant." The investigation found Williams was insubordinate. He denied misleading anyone.

"In law enforcement a lot of times when you go against the grain for what's right, you pay a price and I've paid that price," he said in an email.

Williams said he wants to return trust to the Sheriff's Office, noting he would put in place a "community policing philosophy which would include deputies being in their zones for a significant period of time.

"We would encourage deputies to be proactive in building relationships and preventing crime from occurring," he said. "Community policing would also involve the establishment of a Citizens Review Board which will meet with me and Internal Affairs on a regular basis to discuss issues facing the community and serve as a way to brainstorm with the citizens to take the smartest and most efficient approach in crime prevention and detection."

Mascara said he implemented community policing his first day in office. He said after he was elected, every deputy went through community policing training, and all new deputies are trained in it. He does not have a Citizens Review Board.

"We rely on outside law enforcement experts to review our policies and procedures," he said.

CAMPAIGN FINANCE

Ken Mascara has collected $128,677 in monetary contributions and $999 in in-kind contributions for his campaign and has spent $73,300 between February 2015 and July 2016. Notable donors include Martin County Sheriff William Snyder, Indian River County Sheriff Deryl Loar and Indian River State College President Edwin Massey who each donated $250. Mascara got a $200 check from Seddique Mateen, the father of Orlando nightclub shooter Omar Mateen. The check came in about 11 months before the June 2016 shooting rampage.

Rich Williams has collected $6,045 in monetary contributions and $2,378 in in-kind contributions for his campaign and has spent $5,840 between March 2015 and July 2016.

Notable donors include a pilot in Jupiter who gave $1,000 and $500 from Madd House Music, listed as a music business in Georgia.

Source: St. Lucie County Supervisor of Elections

CAMPAIGN FINANCE

Ken Mascara has collected $128,677 in monetary contributions and $999 in in-kind contributions for his campaign and has spent $73,300 between February 2015 and July 2016.

Notable donors include Martin County Sheriff William Snyder, Indian River County Sheriff Deryl Loar and Indian River State College President Edwin Massey who each donated $250. Mascara got a $200 check from Seddique Mateen, the father of Orlando nightclub shooter Omar Mateen. The check came in about 11 months before the June 2016 shooting rampage.

Rich Williams has collected $6,045 in monetary contributions and $2,378 in in-kind contributions for his campaign and has spent $5,840 between March 2015 and July 2016.

Notable donors include a pilot in Jupiter who gave $1,000 and $500 from Madd House Music, listed as a music business in Georgia.

Source: St. Lucie County Supervisor of Elections
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By Nicholas Samuel of TCPalm

FORT PIERCE  A man and woman are displaced after their home sustained heavy damage from a fire, said Jim Hall, district chief for the St. Lucie County Fire District.

Fire crews were dispatched to the fire about 4:54 p.m. Friday and saw flames coming from the back of the home in the 900 block of Gopher Ridge Road.

A man and woman who live at the home were already outside when fire crews arrived.

The fire started in the kitchen and spread to two bedrooms, leaving all three with heavy damage and heavy smoke throughout the home, Hall said.

The fire was contained in 10 minutes and completely extinguished in 30 minutes, but it left the house uninhabitable.

Red Cross South Florida Region will assist the man and woman in finding a new home, Hall said.
A St. Lucie County Mosquito Control truck turns on its sprayer as it heads out from the compound in Fort Pierce on an evening run in St. Lucie County in 2002. (FILE PHOTO)

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By Nicholas Samuel of TCPalm

St. Lucie County has identified its third travel-related case of Zika, raising to four the number on the Treasure Coast, state health officials confirmed Friday.

Martin County was the first county on the Treasure Coast to have a Zika case, identified in early May. So far, no mosquitoes have been found locally with Zika.

St. Lucie County Mosquito Control Director Glenn Henderson could not be reached for comment, but he has said as soon as the agency hears of a possible case, a mosquito spray truck fogs the neighborhood where the person lives. The agency also inspects the area and distributes educational materials.

The locations and the names of the people who contracted the virus aren't being disclosed.

There were 13 new travel-related cases announced Friday, including St. Lucie County's. The others are: five in Orange County, three in Seminole County, two in Brevard County, and two in Palm Beach County.

A new case not related to travel was identified in Miami-Dade County in the same area as 15 other previously identified cases.

Florida now has 422 Zika cases, including 55 pregnant women. Most of them are in Miami-Dade, Broward and Orange counties.

Symptoms can include a fever, aching joints and rash. The main concern about Zika is that it can cause severe birth defects in unborn children, federal reports state.
By Elliott Jones of TCPalm

State tests of 19,000 mosquitoes from St. Lucie and 28 other Florida counties, including Miami-Dade, show no signs of Zika, health officials said.

St. Lucie County Mosquito Control Director Terrell Mincey cautions the public not to relax its guard.

Similar trapping in Brazil, where Zika is present, rarely found mosquitoes with Zika, he said. For his agency, the traps' immediate benefit is helping find congregations of the mosquitoes.

"We're constantly finding hot spots that need treatment," Mincey said.

Earlier this year, the state Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services distributed 120 mosquito collecting traps to the state's 67 counties to help monitor for Zika, said spokeswoman Jennifer Meale.

Along the Treasure Coast, only St. Lucie County returned mosquitoes for testing from its eight traps, she said. That was among 1,200 samples turned in to the state's newly equipped lab in Kissimmee.

In St. Lucie County, the traps are scattered in parks, near homes and elsewhere, Mincey said.

According to the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta, only 1 in 5 people show symptoms of Zika, and mosquitoes could be biting them, possibly passing the disease along without detection. Of special concern are pregnant women. Zika can cause serious birth defects, according to the CDC.

So far, only in a small north Miami neighborhood is there confirmation of local transmission of Zika, according to state health officials. Until that was confirmed, all the known Zika cases in Florida were found to be in people who got the disease while traveling overseas.

Miami-Dade County has 104 Zika cases out of 408 statewide including 55 pregnant women. Broward County has 55 cases and Orange County 40.

The Treasure Coast has had three travel-related cases: two in St. Lucie and one in Martin, according to the Florida Department of Health. The latest, in St. Lucie County, was announced this week. The locations of where the people live aren't disclosed.

Mincey said his agency has been spraying around homes in his county and educating neighbors.

Because of the outbreak in Miami-Dade, the CDC called for blood donor centers to test for Zika. So far, the recently started testing isn't showing any Zika, said Pat Michaels, spokesman for OneBlood, which operates along the Treasure Coast.

According to Mincey, just about everyone's yard is a place where mosquitoes can breed.

"People need to check around their homes. They need to be a part of" controlling the mosquito populations," he said.
SHARE Kersti Stalquist, killed in car crash Per Stalquist, owner of ScanDvik Marine hardware in vero beach killed in a car accident Anthony Baines, left, reads through a jurors questionnaire during jury selection for his trial at the Indian River County Courthouse on Wednesday afternoon as his attorney, Russell Akins, sits at right. Baines faces 11 charges, including two first-degree murder charges.

By Elliott Jones of TCPalm

Expectant mother Petra Blackman and her parents were just about home during a late-night drive back from decorating a condo in North Carolina.

But, according to police reports, Anthony Baines, 38, was speeding away from allegedly having shot a man at Lenny's Lounge on State Road 60.

Their accidental meeting  in a 100-mph collision at the Interstate 95 and S.R. 60 interchange in 2005  was fatal for Blackman's parents, Per E. and Kersti Stalquist, and her unborn child, whom she already had named Emilia.

Now Blackman is watching in a Circuit Court room as prosecutors begin their case against Baines for 11 criminal offenses, including killing her parents and her unborn child during the early morning of Nov. 23, 2005. Jury selection began Wednesday before Circuit Judge Robert Pegg.

Seventy potential jurors were brought in. A dozen are to be picked to hear the case.

Opening arguments could begin at noon today, according to prosecutors. Up to 40 witnesses may be called.

The charges includes the rarely used offense of killing an unborn child because of injury to the mother. Her 7-month-old baby was pronounced dead upon her arrival at Holmes Regional Medical Center in 2005. Conviction of that offense alone is punishable by life in prison, said Assistant State Attorney Chris Taylor.

"For us to not to be here would be crazy," said Blackman, who is attending the trial with her husband, Sebastian, her mother's sister, Ann-Katherine Stalquist and other relatives.

Her unborn child's name, Emilia, is the female version of Emil, a name used by her father and grandfather.

The family's Vero Beach-based marine supply business, Scandvik Inc., is 26 years old.

"We were very close as a family," she said. "We did everything together"  a tight-knit family circle broken by a stranger she didn't know, she said.

"No matter how much times goes by, it seems like yesterday" that the accident occurred. "It is such an emotional tragedy.

"I just want to see justice done," she said. "I want to see it through my own eyes. I hope it gives us closure."

As a result of the crash, Baines is charged with two counts of first-degree murder, one count attempted felony murder and three counts of vehicular homicide and reckless driving causing serious bodily injury.

His car speedometer stopped at 105 mph, court records show. And he is alleged to have run a stop sign before crashing into the Stalquist's Mercedes Benz as it turned onto S.R. 60 from I-95.

In connection with the earlier bar shooting, the defendant is charged with the attempted first-degree murder of Oliver Delacruz, 34, of Vero Beach, aggravated assault with a firearm and shooting a deadly missile, bullets.

Baines' defense attorney, Rusty Akins, contends his client is innocent in the bar incident and that the prosecution is trying to use it "to criminalize the accident," he said.

From what Baines told police, he was leaving Lenny's Lounge when he was attacked from behind and was hit in head. Then, he said, he went to his car to get a gun to make his assailant back off, but didn't fire it.

"There was a tragedy at the interstate," Akins said. "But to convict someone of crimes he is not guilty of (the bar incident) is wrong."

Anthony Baines, 38, of the 8700 block of 20th Street, Vero Beach, is charged with multiple counts of murder and vehicular homicide in connection with a two-car crash early Nov. 23, 2005.

The accident led to him being charged with killing the driver and front passenger, Vero Beach residents Per Stalquist, 62, and his wife, Kersti, 63. Also, their pregnant daughter, Petra Blackman, 38, was critically injured and her unborn child died as a result of injuries suffered in the accident. Blackman was seven months pregnant and had already picked out a name, Emilia, for her child.

The State Attorney's office alleges Baines was fleeing an armed confrontation in which a man was shot in the shoulder, arm and abdomen. Police allege they found a .45-caliber handgun in Baines' wrecked Infiniti car.

Indian River County Court records

'
SHARE Tim Zorc

RACE: Indian River County Commission, District 3

TERM: Four years

CANDIDATES:

Joseph Earman, Vero Beach

Charles Kirby, Vero Beach

Mark Rodolico, Vero Beach

Tim Zorc, Vero Beach (incumbent)

WHO CAN VOTE: All Indian River County voters can vote in this universal Republican primary

KEY ISSUES: Indian River Lagoon, spending, future development, transportation

RECOMMENDATION: Has Zorc done such a poor job in his first term that he merits three opponents? Doubtful. Zorc has been an active and attentive commissioner, if not its most outside-the-box thinker.

Kirby and Earman, proven public-service leaders, both are capable of getting up to speed quickly if elected as commissioner. Kirby has served 25-plus years with the Indian River County Sheriff's Office, currently as lieutenant. Earman retired as a captain in December after more than 35 years with the county's fire-rescue division.

Kirby is the top challenger, displaying firsthand experience dealing with lagoon problems, from serving in the Coast Guard and sheriff's marine patrol to removing derelict vessels and saving endangered dolphins. Earman has been on the lagoon his whole life and remembers when it was clean. Rodolico's hair salon is on the lagoon.

Zorc, however, has worked hard the past four years to protect the lagoon. He's brought experts together, even founding a nonprofit in 2013 to seek solutions. He unsuccessfully tried to get the commission to reconsider its 2015 decision not to join the Indian River Lagoon Council, a collaborative of local governments focused on cleaning the waterway. In 2014, Zorc got the commission to reconsider building the Oslo Boat Ramp, which environmentalists said would harm sea grass in the lagoon.

Kirby was the only candidate to firmly state it's past time for the commission to stop paying lawyers to fight All Aboard Florida. For months, he has been vocal and accessible to voters online  often making specific proposals  on TCPalm's Ask the Candidates site and on Facebook.

Earman, while often criticizing Zorc, wants a commission more collaborative with Vero Beach  as does Kirby. But, as is the case with Rodolico, Earman's proposed solutions often lack specificity.

Zorc has become well-versed on county issues and listening to his constituents. He deserves a second term.

WE ENDORSE: Tim Zorc
Weather overview for east-central Florida on Friday. (NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE)

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By Staff Report

AFTERNOON FORECAST

This afternoon, there's a 30 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. It's partly sunny, with a high around 90 and a southeast wind around 15 mph.

A few strong thunderstorms could produce frequent cloud-to-ground lightning, brief heavy downpours of 1 to around 3 inches and wind gusts up to around 40 mph.

Tonight, there will be a 30 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms, mainly before 8 p.m. It will be mostly cloudy, with a low around 74 and a southeast wind around 5 mph becoming calm in the evening.

Keep an eye on conditions with our live weather radar.

Sunrise was at 6:47 a.m. Sunset will be at 8:07 p.m.

EXTENDED FORECAST

Source: National Weather Service

Saturday: Scattered showers and thunderstorms after 11 a.m. Partly sunny, with a high near 91. South wind 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain is 30 percent.

Saturday Night: Scattered showers and thunderstorms before 1 a.m. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 74. South wind around 5 mph. Chance of rain is 30 percent.

Sunday: Scattered showers and thunderstorms, mainly after 11 a.m. Partly sunny, with a high near 91. South southwest wind 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain is 50 percent.

Sunday Night: Isolated showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 75. South wind around 5 mph. Chance of rain is 20 percent.

Monday: Scattered showers and thunderstorms after 11 a.m. Partly sunny, with a high near 89. South wind 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain is 50 percent.

Monday Night: A 30 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms, mainly before 11 p.m. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 75. South southwest wind around 5 mph.

Tuesday: Scattered showers and thunderstorms, mainly after noon. Partly sunny, with a high near 91. South wind 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain is 40 percent.

Tuesday Night: A 30 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms, mainly before 11 p.m. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 75. South wind around 5 mph.

Wednesday: A 30 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Partly sunny, with a high near 91. South southeast wind around 5 mph.

Wednesday Night: A 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 75. South southeast wind around 5 mph.

Thursday: A 40 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Partly sunny, with a high near 92. Light south southeast wind becoming southeast 5 to 10 mph in the morning.

TROPICS

Source: National Hurricane Center

Atlantic:

1. At 1 p.m. CDT, Tropical Storm Earl was about 115 miles east-southeast of Vera Cruz, Mexico. Maximum sustained winds were at 40 mph and it was moving west at 10 mph.

2. An area of cloudiness and thunderstorms associated with a trough of low pressure is over the northeastern Gulf of Mexico. Some slow development of this system is possible while it meanders near the coast of the Florida during the next few days.

Formation chance through 48 hours: 10 percent

Formation chance through 5 days: 20 percent

Pacific:

1. Tropical Storm Ivette was about 1,465 miles west-southwest of Baja California. Maximum sustained winds were at 50 mph and it was moving west at 13 mph.

2. An area of cloudiness and disorganized thunderstorms is located near the Gulf of Tehuantepec. This disturbance is expected to move west-northwest and merge with the remnants of Atlantic Tropical Storm Earl to form a low pressure area near the southwestern coast of Mexico over the weekend. Conditions appear conducive for development, and a tropical depression is forecast to form early next week.

Formation chance through 48 hours: 50 percent.

Formation chance through 5 days: 80 percent.

TODAY'S TIDE FORECAST

Source: National Weather Service

Sebastian Inlet Bridge

High tides: 10:20 a.m. and 10:42 p.m.

Low tides: 4:32 p.m. and 4:57 a.m. Saturday

Fort Pierce Inlet, South Jetty

High tides: 10:37 a.m. and 10:59 p.m.

Low tides: 4:38 p.m. and 5:03 a.m. Saturday

MARINE FORECAST

Source: National Weather Service

The Atlantic high pressure ridge over South Florida will produce a gentle to moderate south to southwest breeze through the upcoming weekend. The increased offshore flow will allow for more afternoon thunderstorms to impact the intracoastal and nearshore waters of east Central Florida.

Today: South winds 5 to 10 knots becoming southeast 10 to 15 knots late in the afternoon. Seas 1 to 2 feet with a dominant period 8 seconds. A moderate chop on the intracoastal waters. Slight chance of showers and thunderstorms.

Tonight: South winds 10 to 15 knots diminishing to 5 to 10 knots after midnight. Seas 1 to 2 feet with a dominant period 8 seconds. A light chop on the intracoastal waters. Slight chance of showers and thunderstorms.

Saturday: South winds 5 to 10 knots increasing to 10 to 15 knots in the afternoon. Seas 2 feet with a dominant period 8 seconds. A moderate chop on the intracoastal waters. Isolated showers and thunderstorms.

Saturday Night: South winds 10 to 15 knots. Seas 2 to 3 feet. A light chop on the intracoastal waters. Scattered showers and thunderstorms in the evening, then slight chance of showers and thunderstorms after midnight.

Sunday: South winds 5 to 10 knots. Seas 2 to 3 feet. A light chop on the intracoastal waters. Scattered showers and thunderstorms.

Sunday Night: South winds 5 to 10 knots. Seas 2 to 3 feet. Slight chance of showers and thunderstorms.

Monday: South winds 5 to 10 knots. Seas 2 to 3 feet. Scattered showers and thunderstorms.

Monday Night: Southwest winds 5 to 10 knots. Seas 2 feet. Chance of showers and thunderstorms.

Tuesday: South winds 5 to 10 knots. Seas 1 to 2 feet. Scattered showers and thunderstorms.
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By Staff Report

At 1 p.m. CDT, the center of Tropical Storm Earl was about 115 miles east-southeast of Vera Cruz, Mexico. Earl has top winds of 40 mph and is moving to the west at 10 mph.

On the forecast track, Earl will move inland into the Mexican state of Veracruz later today or tonight. No significant change in strength is anticipated before landfall.

HAZARDS AFFECTING LAND

Wind: Tropical storm conditions will spread westward across the warning area today and tonight.

Rainfall: Earl is expected to produce total rainfall accumulations of 8 to 12 inches over portions of the Mexican states of Chiapas, Oaxaca, Puebla, Tabasco and Veracruz through Saturday morning with possible isolated maximum amounts of 18 inches. These rains could result in life-threatening flash floods and mudslides.

WATCHES/WARNINGS

A tropical storm warning is in effect for Puerto Dos Bocas westward to Laguna Verde, Mexico.
The Kennedy private plane named 'Caroline'.

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By Alice L. And Greg E. Luckhardt

Stuart's airport, even from its earliest beginnings, has always been highly rated. Countless multimillionaire businessmen, professionals, executives as well as other very notable people have used the facility, a few by fate, most by choice.

Perhaps a little known fact, however, is that Attorney General Robert Kennedy landed at the Stuart airfield in 1963, less than a week after the assassination of JFK, en route to Jupiter Island for a short and much needed rest and vacation.

The entire nation was in shock and mourning, some in fear, after Robert's brother John was murdered in Dallas that tragic Friday, Nov. 22, and certainly secrecy and privacy were issues in the choice of a suitable airport.

There was little hint of what was about to take place at Witham Field, which was fairly quiet other than a few more cars than normal that moonlit evening, Thursday, Nov 28, 1963, as a white with blue trim aircraft landed and taxied to the hangar.

It was a Pratt & Whitney twin-engine Convair 240-440 with registration identification N240K visible on the tail and the name 'Caroline' written near the nose of the craft.

The small door of the Kennedy family-owned private plane opened and in the shadowy evening light several passengers emerged. They hastily descended the steps, engaged in somewhat muted conversation and proceeded to waiting cars, which would transport them to their destination, the home of a friend on the Island.

Accompanying Mr. and Mrs. Kennedy aboard the flight were White House Press Secretary Pierre Salinger, David Hacket, executive secretary of the President's Commission on Juvenile Delinquency and Dean Markham, a White House aide, all associates and personal friends of the family. No official statement was made by Kennedy, nor did any cameras record the event and no questions were asked concerning the details of the secretive flight that warm November evening.

On Friday morning, the pilot of the 'Caroline' who had been greatly impressed with the lighting and safety of the airfield, graciously gave a few select individuals including County Commission Chairman Frank Wacha, County Attorney Dean Tooker and County Engineer Frederick Bell, a tour of the plane. He also made the complimentary statement that Martin County should be proud of its facility.

In the spring of 1965, Witham Field was the scene of another Kennedy family arrival aboard that private plane. Jacqueline and her young children, John and Caroline, along with Jackie's sister Lee Radziwell and her children, Anna Christina, 4, and Anthony, 5, landed in Stuart on a Thursday afternoon at 3:48 p.m.

The Secret Service, who had been waiting since 1 p.m. and Martin County Sheriff Roy C. Baker were at the field to ensure the safety of the former First Lady and all the plane's occupants. The children, no doubt restless from the flight, scrambled down the steps, excited and anxious to start playing once they were off the plane and on the ground. The families, accompanied by Secret Service cars soon departed for Jupiter Island where they hoped to enjoy a relaxing vacation while staying with a friend there.

The 'Caroline' did not remain at Witham Field however and shortly thereafter took off, but no destination was disclosed. Senator John F. Kennedy was the first person to use a private airplane during his presidential campaign, it having been purchased by his father, Joseph P. primarily for that purpose.

The plane manufactured in 1948, was originally operated by American Airlines as a commercial aircraft. Named after JFK's daughter, the 'Caroline' was donated to the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum by the Kennedy family in November 1967 and as of 2002, kept in storage at its Maryland facility.
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Millions of customers using Amazons Alexa voice assistant technology now can add locks that can be controlled remotely to the growing ecosystem of smart home capabilities.

August Home last week announced that Amazons line of voice-assisted products, including the best-selling Echo, now support its smart products, allowing users to lock and unlock their front doors and other points of access using simple voice commands.

August product line includes the August Smart Lock, the August Smart Keypad and the August Smart Doorbell Cam, which allow customers to secure and keep track of home security using a smartphone app.

Connected home devices are gaining wider acceptance due to the increased use of smartphones, Internet availability, and connected devices that solve real consumer problems and needs, said Lisa Auslen, spokesperson for August.

Consumers are definitely adopting voice-enabled devices, often because voice commands bring added convenience to the products they may already have at home, she told TechNewsWorld.

August Smart Lock customers using the first- or second-generation locks can use the service by enabling the August Smart Lock skill located in the Alexa app. The service also requires the August Connection WiFi bridge to connect the Bluetooth lock.

August officials said the companys product work with a number of different partners, including Airbnb, Apple, Nest, Logitech and Xfinity Home.

Growing Ecosystem

The ability to remotely control home security marks the latest series of capabilities for Alexa voice-command products, which now have about 1,900 third-party skills from a range of companies, including Kayak, Lyft, Honeywell and others.

Customers are using Alexa-enabled devices to listen to music, set alarms, get news, shop online, order pizza, and perform a variety of household talks including controlling lights and window blinds.

One of the biggest issues for accelerating adoption of smart home products is the ability to integrate all the various capabilities that communicate seamlessly with each other.

The smart home market has been and will continue to be hobbled by a lack of comprehensive and simple methods to integrate the various smart home devices from different manufacturers, said Kevin Krewell, principal analyst at Tirias Research.

Amazon Alexa integration is one step towards making the integration easy for users, but it still competes with Apple HomeKit, Nest and other home automation solutions, he told TechNewsWorld.

Security Concerns

Voice command is the most compelling feature of home automation systems using the Alexa platform, said Rob Enderle, principal analyst at the Enderle Group. However, controlling automated locks presents a unique set of challenges.

The concern is that someone either accidentally issues an unlock command or someone outside the house gets heard by Alexa, which then opens the lock, Enderle said. The problem with scripts is they too can include locks, and up until now this capability was disabled.

The demand for smart home lock devices took off several years ago, when August and rival Weiss announced early versions of smartphone-controlled door locks, observed Konkana Khaund, principal consultant at Frost & Sullivan.

While demand clearly is growing, there are still concerns about the security of connected home devices from hacker intrusions.

Most of these systems have confirmed threat potential, Khaund told TechNewsWorld.

Securing them will require commitments to device hardening on the part of solution providers, she said, as well as more vigilance in terms of device protection and authentication on the part of the consumer.
Linux-operated botnet Distributed Denial of Service attacks surged in this years second quarter, due to growing interest in targeting Chinese servers, according to a Kaspersky Lab report released this week.

South Korea kept its top ranking for having the most command-and-control servers. Brazil, Italy and Israel ranked among the leaders behind South Korea for hosting C&C servers, according to Kaspersky Lab.

DDoS attacks affected resources in 70 countries, with targets in China absorbing 77 percent of all attacks. Germany and Canada dropped out of the top 10 most-targeted countries, replaced by France and the Netherlands.

The Linux server is the go-to platform for orchestrating DDoS attacks because of its latent vulnerabilities, said Charles King, principal analyst at Pund-IT. A common problem is that they are not protected by reliable security solutions.

That makes them prime targets for hackers, especially those that leverage C&C servers to centrally manage and carry out DDoS attacks, he told LinuxInsider. Deploying leading security solutions, as well as utilizing and updating established Linux distros, can go a long way to protecting against these issues.

Hardware to Protect

All devices are vulnerable  servers and desktops running any flavor of Linux, along with switches, routers, ADSL modems, wireless devices and cars.

Internet of Things devices running embedded Linux also are vulnerable, said Oleg Kupreev, lead malware analyst at Kaspersky Lab.

The main reason is in most cases it is hard to update or reconfigure vulnerable software ASAP  especially on highly loaded, critical servers  or to update outdated software that is not supported by manufacturer devices, he told LinuxInsider.

Companies that rely on Linux servers must protect them against this growing threat. For Linux servers, it is very important to harden, or tweak, the security of the system, Kupreev said.

Its important to understand and implement SELinux, keep the software and the kernel up to date, and adopt a strong password policy, he explained.

Attack Vectors

It appears that nothing much is new about the methods hackers used in their recently stepped-up activities.

We dont see any changes in tactics. Brute-forcing passwords, exploiting common vulnerabilities in Web applications, hijacking or sniffing wireless communications  these are old and well-known threats, said Kupreev. Of course, each year we see some new threats, like remote-controlled cars  but its not a trend, its just a reality.

SYN DDoS, TCP DDoS and HTTP DDoS remained the most common attack scenarios in the second quarter, according to Kasperkys report.

The share of attacks from Linux botnets almost doubled, to 70 percent.

The proportion of attacks using the SYN DDoS method increased 1.4 times, compared with the previous quarter, accounting for 76 percent.

For the first time, there was an imbalance between the activities of Linux-based and Windows-based DDoS bots, based on the reports findings. Linux bots are the most effective tool for SYN-DDoS.

Linux is becoming more commonplace and is used in most embedded systems, noted John McCarty, CISSP and senior security consultant at AsTech Consulting.

These implementations often are not hardened or patched and upgraded regularly, which has led to these systems being compromised and becoming a part of a botnet, he told LinuxInsider.

Time Matters Too

The duration of the DDoS attacks has increased, Kasperskys report shows. For instance, the proportion of attacks that lasted for up to four hours fell from 68 percent in the first quarter of this year to 60 percent in the second quarter.

The proportion of longer attacks grew considerably. Those lasting 20-49 hours accounted for 9 percent (4 percent in Q1) and those lasting 50-99 hours accounted for 4 percent (1 percent in Q1).

The longest DDoS attack in Q2 2016 lasted 291 hours (12 days), a significant increase from Q1s longest attack, which was eight days.

Contributing Factors

Linux can be an extremely secure operating system, according to AsTechs McCarty. When it is properly configured and locked down, Linux can be hardened to withstand many of the current exploits and attacks.

However, this reputation can lead to some administrators feeling that these systems are inherently secure and do not need the level of configuration and attention necessary to protect the systems from attack, he said.

Another factor that encourages hackers to exploit Linux loopholes is the lack of security professionals and security software to maintain systems properly, said Dodi Glenn, vice president of cybersecurity at PC Pitstop.

These systems usually host services, which can be used to reflect malicious activities, he told LinuxInsider.

Linux is not inherently insecure, and it has become ubiquitous, observed Weston Henry, website security research analyst at SiteLock.

The number of cloud servers and devices running Linux/BusyBox online with security as an afterthought may lead to insecure devices and services, he told LinuxInsider.

Treating the Cause

Companies must ensure they are hiring the right people to maintain the Linux systems, said PC Pitstops Glenn, and proactive security is key.

When securing these systems, create a baseline of the system or a profile of the system, noting its usage of resources in normal operation modes, he advised.

Organizations using Linux should ensure the systems are patched, securely configured and hardened, so that unnecessary services and applications are not running or even installed on them. It would help to toss in an intrusion prevention system and next-generation firewall as well.

This will help minimize the overall attack surface of these systems, limiting the ability of a hacker to take over the system and use it within a botnet or for any other purpose, said McCarty.

DDoS attacks still seem to be about quashing competition  from online gaming and gold farming sites in the past to bitcoin sites now, noted SiteLocks Henry. The uptick in Linux botnets stems partly from the stated router and set-top box compromises.

A decreased barrier to entry into cloud servers and services may also add to the vulnerable pool, he said. Consider security during system design. That is, design security into the system instead of adding it on after deployment.

Other steps to take prior to launch, according to Henry, include assessing network and hosting services for DDoS robustness; beginning a relationship with a DDoS mitigation service; having a DDoS mitigation plan in place; and using a robust content delivery network to take any initial brunt.
Tinder on Thursday announced the launch of Tinder Social, a new platform that helps users plan group nights out.

The new platform will help users plan double dates or larger group events, creating new opportunities for people to make connections, the company said.

Tinder took the platform for a test drive in Australia and found that users wanted a better way to add friends to their night out in real time. That led to a feature that lets users see who else in the Tinder community is headed out the same night.

Users can invite friends to join their group and match up with other groups that are going out on the same evening. Users need to act fast, though, because the newly created groups and matchups expire by noon on the following day.

Tinder Social has to be unlocked before members can use it. A user who has unlocked the platform can see friends who have unlocked Tinder Social as well.

This is just the first step in building the new social platform, which has launched in the U.S. and some other countries that Tinder did not specify.

Features Tapped

The new platform could have some unintended consequences.

Tinder has been innovating with new social features for a while, as it looks to broaden its appeal and drive engagement among different parts of its audience, said Jack Kent, director of operators and mobile media at IHS Markit.

However, providing these additional platforms next to the core dating platform could risk confusion about the purpose of the new feature, he cautioned.

Tinder has an audience of tens of millions of users, and so it has a strong user base with which to test the appeal of new features, even if they cater to more niche segments of its base, Kent told TechNewsWorld.

Its doubtful the new social tool will do much to grow Tinders overall membership base, said Rob Enderle, principal analyst at the Enderle Group.

I dont think its a big enough feature to do that, he told TechNewsWorld. However, it will increase the services utility, potentially making it more useful to its existing customer base.

Tinder earlier this year began testing a feature that allows users to play matchmaker. By tapping a share icon on a profile, users can send a temporary link to a friend, who then will have 72 hours or five clicks to swipe on the shared profile.

No More Stigma

A growing number of Americans are using social media apps to meet people, as online dating has lost much of the stigma that once was associated with it, according to the Pew Research Center.

Since Pew first began to study online dating in 2005, attitudes towards using social media for social life have changed. Fifteen percent of U.S. adult participants in a study released earlier this year said they had used online or mobile dating apps.

The use of online dating sites or mobile apps by young adults has nearly tripled just since 2013, sitting at 27 percent today. Online dating also has surged among older adults, with 12 percent of 55-to 64-year-olds reporting they had used an online or mobile dating app, compared with 5 percent in 2013.

Tinder swipes have reached 1.4 billion per day and matches have reached 26 million per day, according to Tinder. The app is used in 196 countries worldwide.
Now that the Windows 10 Anniversary Update has been released to the public, Microsoft is getting to work on two more feature updates for the OS, both of which will launch in 2017.

The two updates are reportedly codenamed 'Redstone 2' and 'Redstone 3', continuing Microsoft's use of their "Redstone" naming scheme that began with the update now known as the Anniversary Update. According to information from Windows Central, Redstone 2 will launch in early 2017, while Microsoft is targeting a summer 2017 launch for Redstone 3.

Considering there might only be 4-6 months between Redstone 2 and 3, the latter release will most likely be a smaller update than Redstone 2.

Current reports suggest Microsoft is already in the process of developing Redstone 2, and will release the first preview build of the updated OS to Insiders shortly. The first builds of Redstone 2 probably won't have too many new or interesting features, but it will set the ball rolling and get valuable feedback in the hands of Microsoft.

The release schedule for Windows 10 in 2017 fits right in with Microsoft's plans to deliver Windows as a service to its users. Rather than bundling a ton of new features into a brand new operating system every couple of years, Microsoft wants to deliver new functionality to users as soon as possible. More frequent updates, such as biannual Redstone releases, is one way to do this.
It seems that as long as Samsung and Apple continue to be two of the biggest producers of consumer tech products, legal battles between the pair over alleged copyright infringements will rage on. Now, the Korean giant looks set to face more claims of plagiarism from the iPhone maker, after its latest patent included images of what appears to be the Apple Watch.

Samsung's patent for the "wearable device," which was filed back in January and published yesterday, contains numerous images showing different watches and fitness bands. But as noted by Patently Apple, some figures are clearly Apple Watch designs with its digital crown and backside charging array. They even show the watch in the same positions as the photos found on Apple's website.

The patent says the device "may be coupled with the band for fixing through a structure, such as a separated buckle or a continuous integral buckle, through a magnetic attracting force, or through a hooked ring or hooked member."

Despite IDC figures that show the global smartwatch market has shrunk 32 percent in the last year and Apple's market share declining from 72 percent to 47 percent, the Cupertino firm has sold a million more smartwatches than Samsung in 2016, though the gap between the two is quickly closing.

It will be interesting to see what comes of Samsung's smartwatch patent. The company may claim it is merely offering up the images as examples of how other smartwatches use the bands - though Apple proabably won't see it this way.

"Other aspects, advantages and salient features of the disclosure will become apparent to those skilled in the art from the following detailed description which, taken in conjunction with the annexed drawings, discloses various embodiments of the present disclosure," reads the patent.

Neither Samsung nor Apple have commented.
Remember the Jeep hackers? Continuing on their work from last year, Charlie Miller and Chris Valasek have found a new exploit for the SUV, allowing them to take over the vehicle even while it is moving at high speeds.

Last year, Miller and Valasek discovered a vulnerability in the Jeep's Uconnect infotainment system, allowing them to tap into the IP address of the SUV and remotely access the vehicle's controls. Through the exploit, the hackers were able to blast cold air through the Jeep's vents, play hip-hop music through its speakers and then disable the SUV to leave it stranded on the side of a highway.

The hack unveiled last year, however, can only be carried out while the Jeep is moving slower than 5 miles per hour. The new exploit that the hackers presented at the Black Hat hacker conference, which focuses on the same 2014 Jeep Cherokee that was the subject of their hack in the previous year, can allow them to gain control of the SUV even while it is moving at speeds of as high as 30 miles per hour.

To carry out the hack, Miller and Valasek had to do some reverse engineering, as the safety systems of the Jeep blocked attempts for remote access at speeds of over 5 miles per hour. They discovered a way to send false messages to the Jeep's internal networks that replaced the correct ones by plugging in to the Jeep's USB port, allowing them to order the SUV to perform more actions compared with last year's exploit. Among the things that the hackers did were remotely controlling the Jeep to make a sharp turn and increasing its speed.

Miller and Valasek made it clear that the hack they demonstrated was time-consuming and difficult, and it was not going to be widely possible over the coming years. The hackers, however, insisted that by revealing the vulnerability now, automobile manufacturers could be alerted to the issue and could create systems that will be much safer.

"Let's make this harder to do. Any technology system can be leveraged by attackers," Miller said.

However, in a statement, Fiat Chrysler, the manufacturer of the Jeep Cherokee, said that while the company admires the creativity of Miller and Valasek, the SUV that the hackers used appeared to have had its software altered into an older version.

The company believes that the exploit would not have been possible to carry out if the software of the vehicle was upgraded to the newest version.

After Miller and Valasek revealed the hack that they discovered last year, Fiat Chrysler promptly recalled 1.4 million vehicles to carry out a software update to prevent such attacks.

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Scientists have known for a while that many birds, including the buoyant frigate bird, can fly non-stop for weeks without having to rest on the ground.

In fact, songbirds, swifts, seabirds and sandpipers are also known to fly without stopping to rest for several days, weeks and even months as they travel across the world.

For humans, sleep deprivation can have adverse effects, so it has been assumed that these birds must fulfill their need for sleep on the wing.

As it turns out, these birds can sleep while flying mid-air thanks to some kind of special process in their brain, a new study revealed.

When a team of international researchers measured the brain activity of frigate birds, they found that the animals can sleep in flight either with both hemispheres at the same time or just one cerebral hemisphere.

Researchers say the findings offer insight on the concept and nature of sleep for birds compared to other animals.

Determining An Answer

In order to find out whether and how these birds sleep while flying, researchers recorded the brain activity changes that distinguish wakefulness from the two types of sleep in birds: the rapid eye movement (REM) and the slow wave sleep (SWS).

The team examined great frigate birds from the Galapagos Island and temporarily attached a small flight data recorder to the head of female frigate birds.

These animals then carried the flight data recorder as they traveled through non-stop foraging flights that lasted up to 10 days and covered a distance of 3,000 kilometers (1,864 miles).

As soon as the birds went back on land and had time to recover, researchers re-caught them and the flight data recorders were removed.

The study's first co-author Bryson Voirin said the frigate birds were remarkably calm and had even slept when he approached to catch them again for the second time.

In the end, data from the long flight revealed that frigate birds sleep in expected and unexpected ways. The birds remained awake during the day to actively search for hunting opportunities.

At sunset, the pattern switched to an SWS pattern for several minutes while the frigate birds were flying. The SWS could even occur in one hemisphere at a time or both hemispheres at the same time, researchers found.

This meant that sleeping with one hemisphere is not needed to maintain aerodynamic control, but that the birds were watching where they were going.

Niels Rattenborg, one of the researchers of the new study and an expert from Max Planck Institute for Ornithology, says the birds may be keeping an eye out for predators and other birds to avoid collisions.

Auto-Pilot Mode?

Birds sleeping in flight might face the danger of colliding with other objects or falling from the sky. But researchers demonstrated that this does not necessarily happen.

Rattenborg found that when mallard ducks sleep at the edge of a group, the birds keep one brain hemisphere active and the corresponding eye open.

This open eye is directed away from other birds and toward a possible threat. Based on this data, scientists assume that birds depend on this autopilot process to navigate and keep aerodynamic control.

Still, it may also mean that the birds have evolved in a way that they can cheat sleep. Researchers discovered that male pectoral sandpipers that compete for mates can perform adaptively for weeks even with little sleep.

This raised the likelihood that the birds simply forego sleeping when up in the air, they said.

Meanwhile, although the birds can engage in all types of sleep while flying, they only sleep less than one hour every day  a small fraction of the time they spend sleeping on land, researchers say.

The reason as to why this happens still remains a mystery. Rattenborg and colleagues plan to investigate how frigate birds are able to sustain adaptive performance despite having little sleep.

The findings of the new study are published in the journal Nature Communications.

 2022 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
The Samsung Galaxy Note 7 may be available with 6 GB of RAM and 128 GB on-board storage  but only in China.

The Korean smartphone maker officially announced the phablet on Aug. 3. Many smartphone fans were expecting to see the Galaxy Note 7 with 6 GB of RAM. But the company left many customers disappointed, as the phablet apparently runs on 4 GB of RAM.

However, it seems that Samsung has another Galaxy Note 7 model in the works, and it will have 6 GB of RAM and 128 GB internal storage. This model was spotted on the GeekBench website, which hints that it may head to China.

The demand for devices running on 6 GB of RAM has increased in the last few months. Chinese smartphone maker OnePlus announced the OnePlus 3 with 6 GB of RAM in June this year. Reports suggest that the company is also working on a smaller version of the phone dubbed OnePlus 3 mini, which will also include 6 GB of RAM.

ZTE's Nubia Z11, as well as the Axon 7, also packs in 6 GB of RAM, including LeEco Le Max 2 and ZUK Z2 Pro are some other smartphones out there. Taiwanese company Asus launched the ZenFone 3 in May that has 6 GB of RAM.

A mobile phone with 4 GB of RAM is significantly quick in itself, and users should not face problems multi-tasking on the device. However, it seems that higher capacity RAM on top-end phones has become a norm, especially in China.

All devices in the Galaxy Note series have been welcomed well in the tech space, but it is likely that Samsung may lose some customers due to the absence of 6 GB of RAM in the Galaxy Note 7. Simply put it, Samsung's latest flagship may face competition from rivals that offer smartphones with 6 GB of RAM.

In 2015, the handset maker launched the Galaxy Note 5 with 64 GB of storage capacity. Samsung launched a 128 GB model  but exclusivey for South Korean customers.

A 128 GB Galaxy Note 7 may not be big news for customers as the phablet comes with a microSD card slot (absent in the Galaxy Note 5), which can be used for expanding the storage capacity up to 256 GB.

As exciting as it sounds, though, Samsung has not confirmed any detail about the 6 GB RAM model of the Galaxy Note 7. It is also likely that the handset may not be launched at all.

Samsung will hope that the absence of 6 GB of RAM in the Galaxy Note 7 will be overshadowed by the presence of other top-end specs and new features.

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Verizon will carry two upcoming Nexus smartphones, but the carrier may rename the handsets.

Google is said to be working on a couple of Nexus devices: codenamed Marlin with 5.5-inch screen and Sailfish with either 5-inch or 5.2-inch display. There's a possibility that HTC will manufacture both of the phones.

A slew of mobile phones have been launched in 2016, but the next-gen Nexus devices remain among the most-anticipated devices of this year. Marlin and Sailfish are expected to be widely available in the U.S. and other regions, but the Verizon version may have a different name.

A tweet from well-known leakster Evan Blass, more commonly known by his Twitter handle @evleaks, hints that Verizon may either rename the next Nexus devices or even remove the brand name Nexus from the device versions for its network.

Verizon is going to carry the two "Nexus" handsets (note the quotation marks).  Evan Blass (@evleaks) 5 August 2016

This is not the first time Verizon has renamed a smartphone. The carrier's Moto Droids phones are known by other names in the market.

Normally, Nexus devices are released with stock Android. As Blass' tweet is not very clear, it may also happen that the Verizon version of the Nexus devices will include carrier's bloatware.

New Nexus devices are the first to come running on Google's latest mobile operating system. The Marlin and the Sailfish will be the first to run on Android 7.0 Nougat. A Tech Times report suggests that the upcoming Nexus devices will also rock a new launcher, which will not include an App Drawer icon.

Google unveiled two smartphones in September 2015: the Nexus 6P and the Nexus 5X. Although Google has not confirmed any details of the next-gen Nexus devices, they should be launched sometime in September.

Previous rumors suggest that the Marlin and the Sailfish will run on Qualcomm Snapdragon 820 or Snapdragon 821 processor.

Marlin, which will have better specs than the Sailfish, is speculated to have a metal body. In 2016, many smartphones including the OnePlus 3, ZTE Axon 7 and more have been launched with 6 GB of RAM. Nexus fans will hope that Marlin will include 6 GB of RAM to boost performance. The Nexus phone is also expected to feature a 3,450 mAh battery.

The Sailfish is said to have a plastic body and a smaller 2,770 mAh battery. Rumors regarding the two Nexus handsets should be taken with a pinch of salt.

It remains to be seen if Verizon will tweak any hardware specs for the Nexus devices to be launched on the carrier this year.

Photo: Karlis Dambrans | Flickr

 2022 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
Goldman Sachs will cash out $36.3 million in fines to settle an allegation that it used illegally leaked materials from the Federal Reserve.

The civil settlement was unveiled on Aug. 3 by the Fed, which claims that a Goldman Sachs executive orchestrated a system to get regulatory secrets and make use of them inside the bank.

According to the charges, the executive tapped into confidential Fed information between 2012 and September 2014. According to the Fed, Goldman's business directly benefited from the leaked confidential data.

Goldman fired the culprit Joseph Jiampietro in 2014, soon after the leak reached the media.

Jiampietro is accused of taking, using and distributing confidential regulatory information such as confidential documents, forthcoming enforcement actions and ratings. The Fed wants the former executive to pay a solid $337,500 fine and to ban him forever from working in the banking industry.

The leak that caused the settlement to take place started with a staffer at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, Jason Gross. He repeatedly sent out secret info to a former Fed colleague, Rohit Bansal, who was with Goldman Sachs at the time. Bansal was in the same work group with Jiampietro. Both Jiampietro and Bansal were let go in October 2014.

Jiampietro, who began working with Goldman in January 2011, is suing the bank for legal fees in connection with the Fed's case.

Bansal took a guilty plea on account of stealing government property, and can no longer work in the banking industry. The Fed charged him with a $5,000 fine. Gross also pleaded guilty, but his fine was only $2,000.

Goldman pointed out that it is happy to see the issue resolved. According to the bank, as soon as it found out about the leak, it notified the Fed and started to boost its internal checkups and compliance training. The bank deployed its own investigation, which revealed that Bansal was not authorized to receive the materials and Jiampietro should have reported about the leak immediately to his superiors.

"We have no tolerance for the improper handling of confidential supervisory information," a spokesman for Goldman says.

Goldman's financial agreement with the Fed lands after the bank shelled out $50 million last year, in order to settle with the New York State Department of Financial Services (NYDFS). Benjamin Lawsky, the head of NYDFS, warned banks in 2015 against the perils of having sensitive information leaked.

Goldman Sachs acknowledges that it failed to deliver appropriate supervision and training to its employees. As per the settlement, the bank promised to craft an improved program to meet compliance expectations concerning the use and dissemination of confidential supervisory information.

 2022 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
ZTE To Unveil Crowdsourced Smartphone At CES Next Year | TechTree.com

Who doesn't know about 'Project CSX', an initiative by ZTE where the company actually crowdsources ideas and suggestions for a new mobile device.

However, taking this initiative a step ahead, the company has now launched a new website to collect ideas from different users. The company has also announced that the crowdsourced smartphone would be unveiled at the Consumer Electronics Show, next year.

Speaking about crowdsourcing ideas, it definitely is not an easy task for the company, as we all know that, the crowd can sometimes come up with some of the most wackiest suggestions which may be practically impossible (at least, at the moment).

One user believes the phone should include a "desktop mode" that turns it into a rudimentary PC, while another says ZTE should build a phone dedicated entirely to Pokemon Go, reports BBC in a recently published post on its website.

However, ZTE has put in a couple of rules so that it can restrict users from coming up with vague and impractical ideas.

According to The Verge, Lixin Cheng, CEO of ZTE USA has said, "The company would be crowdsourcing something entirely new, from start to finish, but that doesnt mean, of course, that it wont pick and choose that suggestions that best suit its current plans."

Having said that, the company seems to be actually looking to come up with a product that is basically a smartphone, which should be technically possible by 2017, satisfy the needs of most of its users, and also be affordable to the common man.

So, you can now head to the Z Community by ZTE and submit your practical ideas, and you may stand a chance to win small cash prices too.

TAGS: zte, Crowdsourced Smartphone
Just as we published about rumours and reports regarding Xiaomi diving into the VR headset market, the company officially launches the Mi VR headset in China.

Weighing around 208.7 grams, the Mi VR headset comes with two-way zipper design with dual front openings so that smartphones with screen size ranging from 4.7 inch to 5.7 inch can be easily adjusted.

Xiaomi has used the Lycra fabric material for the Mi VR headset which it claims to be friendly with your skin.

While the company was expected to launch the VR headset supporting Google's Daydream, it seems that the company has instead, announced a very basic headset. However, it seems to work with Mi VR companion app which is an open platform and has contents from various publishers including CondeNast, reports The Indian Express.

Though the company has been testing the VR headset for a while now, the company has announced that users can actually register for the beta reservation which is expected to start at 1 Yuan.

Speaking about the compatibility, the Xiaomi Mi VR headset is said to support both iPhone and Android devices.

However, we still have no clue when the Mi VR headset will actually be available for purchase.. and probably it is not coming to India anytime sooner!
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To decipher government finance for citizens, localities are turning to a new budget app thats proving digital transparency doesnt have to mean high costs.The solution, popping up in Massachusetts, Virginia and North Carolina cities and counties, comes from civic tech consultancy VisGov , which has seen an increase in adoption rates of its open source budget visualization app Visual Budget for the past year and a half.Similar to popular paid solutions from companies like OpenGov and Socrata, VisGovs free budget visualization tool helps users understand budget figures with interactive and color-coded diagrams. Citizens can see an overview of expenditures and revenues, then dive deeper for insights into specific funding categories.VisGov Co-founders Alan Jones and Annie LaCourt said the app is in 15 localities now, and a handful of jurisdictions are preparing to deploy it soon. The state of Massachusetts has also awarded the two a $40,000 grant to develop the tool into interactive visuals that  with a snippet of code  can be placed in any website. Arlington-based design firm Involution Studios also supports the app by serving as its technical partner.Prior to creating the Visual Budget app, LaCourt  a longtime private-sector IT consultant  had served eight years on Arlingtons Board of Selectmen (essentially the city council) and Jones  a former IT business and product manager  served as the vice-chair on Arlingtons Finance Committee, a position he still holds.With their experience, the two said the concept for the app was inspired by a desire to educate Arlingtons citizens with hard data, assist city staff with budget communication, and aid other cities hunting for low-cost transparency tools.For smaller communities I think its a big deal because they cant always afford the big vendors, LaCourt said, and it allows them to prove value, both to themselves and to taxpayers.Jones said with the code on GitHub, the app, minus minor deployment and maintenance costs, is essentially free. With a little bit of internal or external IT support, cities can launch the app on their sites. Updating financials is fairly straightforward and can be done via a spreadsheet, without coding. And since users often represent a minority of interested citizens, there is typically a low volume of visitors. This means no paid subscription plans to enterprise-level cloud hosting companies like Amazon Web Services.The host we use is something like a $100 per year, registering a domain is about $10 to $12 per year, so were really talking peanuts of cash outlay, Jones said. Its really just about the time [to deploy the Web app].Among VisGovs first adopters are Virginia's Charlottesville and Albemarle County. The civic tech nonprofit Smart Cville (Smart Charlottesville) spearheaded an effort for the localities to create customized versions tailored to their specific budget terminology and funding.Charlottesville released the app in 2015 under the leadership of former Mayor Satyendra Huja, and this July, Albemarle County followed suit with the support of County Supervisor Brad Sheffield and direction from Lori Allshouse, Albemarles director of budget and performance management.Our leadership is really excited about these projects, so theres no hesitation, only encouragement, Allshouse said, adding that although the tool arrived after the county's fiscal 2017 budget process, the hope is that it will be a starting point for collaborative decision-making in the future  and especially for budgeting conversations next year.Any way you can get the data out for folks is great. Some people want to read more of the narrative [in traditional documents], some people want to use this type of a tool, said Allshouse. To me, its just another way to reach out to different parts of your community and hope that theyll have enough information to ask a question that becomes part of the dialog.Smart Cville Chairman Lucas Ames said that while fine-tuning the contextual language, descriptions and terminology took some time, the technology portion of the job was rather simple, and is something other cities and counties could easily replicate.In terms of coding time, it really is a pretty out-of-the-box solution that the guys at VizGov have created," Ames said, "and thats why anyone whos interested in doing it, were looking forward to helping them.
Elecciones presidenciales

El pais mas grande de la region elige este domingo a su proximo mandatario. Tras no lograr hacerse con la mayoria de los votos en los comicios del 2 de octubre, Luis Inacio "Lula" Da Silva y Jair Bolsonaro se disputan la Presidencia en una balotaje que enfrenta tendencias y valores contrapuestas. Con equipos en el terreno, Telam presenta una cobertura exclusiva con noticias, anailisis, opinion, fotos y mas.
Limiting temperature rise to 1.5 degrees Celsius as set out in the Paris Accord could be a mirage, as nations fall short of their greenhouse gas emission reduction targets. | Read More
A group of foreign businesses are in talks with the operator of a US$2-billion expressway recently opened to traffic in the north to buy its operating rights, media reports said Tuesday.

VIDIFI, which built and operates the Hanoi - Hai Phong expressway, expects to finish the unprecedented negotiations by the end of the first quarter next year, news website Bao Dau Tu quoted a company representative as saying.

They plan to establish a joint-venture to operate the highway, according to the website. VIDIFI, a joint-venture between state construction firm Vinaconex and some local banks, will retain a 30 percent stake and the foreign investors, led by India-owned IL&FS Transportation Networks Limited, will buy the rest.

After that the foreign investors -- the Philippines' Strategic Alliance Holdings and Hong Kong's Tung Shing Group being the others -- will buy out VIDIFI's stake, it said.

Though it is unclear how much the deal will be worth, the foreign businesses have reportedly deposited $2 million as security.

Designed for a maximum speed of 120 kilometers per hour, the six-lane, 106 km expressway reduces travel time between Hanoi and Hai Phong by more than half and to an hour.

Meanwhile, the country's biggest transport infrastructure developer, the state-owned Vietnam Expressway Corporation, has wrapped up plans to sell toll booths on five major expressways around the country to private investors, Bao Dau Tu reported.

The highways, including Noi Bai - Lao Cai in the north and Ho Chi Minh City - Long Thanh - Dau Giay in the south, together cost over VND125.57 trillion ($5.58 billion), with over half coming from public funds.

The plans are part of the government's efforts to throw open the transport sector to private investors to ease the burden on itself, the corporation's CEO, Mai Tuan Anh, told the website.
Vinci Concessions, which operates many infrastructure projects around the world, is reportedly looking to acquire rights to operate highways in Vietnam, where the government plans to increase private participation in the sector.

Company executives met with officials from the Ministry of Transport earlier this week to discuss the possibility of buying operational rights to existing projects from the state-owned Vietnam Expressway Corporation (VEC), news website Saigon Times Online reported Thursday, quoting the ministry.

Vinci also hopes to partner with the corporation for new projects, it said.

The French company is the latest foreign investor to express interest in operating highways in Vietnam, but no deal has been struck so far, an unnamed source from the ministry was quoted as saying.

Under a plan announced nearly two years ago, VEC will privatize five expressways around the country: Cau Gie  Ninh Binh; Noi Bai  Lao Cai; Ho Chi Minh City  Long Thanh  Dau Giay; Da Nang  Quang Ngai; and Ben Luc  Long Thanh.

The roads, including three in operation, have a total length of 540 kilometers (335 miles) and cost nearly VND125.6 trillion (US$5.6 billion) in total.

VEC said the move was part of efforts to raise capital for future projects and reduce pressure on public funds.

Mai Tuan Anh, its CEO, told Saigon Times Online the corporation plans to establish companies to operate the expressways and private investors can buy stakes in the companies.

VEC is also open to selling out the companies, he said, stressing that the government would not hold a controlling stake.
A section of a 55-km expressway connecting HCMC and Dong Nai Province, which is among four roads to be put up for auction this year end. Photo: Mai Vong The Ministry of Transport has approved a plan to sell the rights to operate four major expressways to foreign investors to defray some of the high costs, Tuoi Tre newspaper reported on Friday.

The four transport projects cost a total of US$5.8 billion and the ministry hopes that, over the next five years, it will be able to find the right investors for them.

Two of the roads have been recently opened to traffic -- the country's most modern expressway between Ho Chi Minh City and Dong Nai Province, and a 245-km road running from Hanoi and through several northern provinces before ending in Lao Cai.

The other two are still under construction -- one connecting Da Nang City and Quang Ngai in the central region, and one running through HCMC, Long An and Dong Nai in the south.

The four projects are mostly funded by ODA loans from Japan, the Asian Development Bank, and the World Bank.

Mai Anh Tuan, CEO of Vietnam Expressway Corporation, which manages the expressways, was quoted as saying that his company will complete procedures for putting their operating rights up for auction later this year.

He said many EU investors have showed their interest in operating expressways in Vietnam.

Early this year, the transport ministry announced a plan to sell the operating rights for several airports around the country like the sole airport of Phu Quoc Island, and Hanoi's Noi Bai Airport. Its target investors were local businesses only.

Last month the ministry said it will need around VND288 trillion ($13.03 billion) for transport infrastructure projects till 2020.
Three years after state-owned shipbuilding giant Vinashin was restructured amid corruption scandals, Vietnam's government still struggles to deal with a string of its dormant projects around the country.

In the latest case, the Ministry of Transport has asked the government to order "suitable" businesses under the Ministry of Industry and Trade to take over a complex of steel mill and power plant in the northern province of Quang Ninh.

The move came after Vinashin, or Shipbuilding Industry Corporation (SBIC) as it is now known, attempted in vain to resurrect the Cai Lan complex.

The project has cost over VND2.43 trillion (US$107.08 million).

Since a short test run in 2010, the steel plant, with a designed capacity of 500,000 tons, has been left inactive. About 95 percent of construction work has been completed.

The project's 39-MW power plant was completed in 2007. It was halted in 2009 also due to financial trouble, after managing to sell some of its output to Electricity of Vietnam.

Hoang Viet Van, director of Cai Lan, told Thanh Nien that after failing to strike a deal with foreign and local companies in operating the complex, SBIC tried to sell it but no one was interested.

Vinashin was restructured in October 2013, about one year after nine executives were jailed for mishandling five business deals that caused losses of over VND980 billion (US$43.52 million).

Vietnamese authorities are still investigating into even more wrongdoings at Vinashin, which had piled up debts of $4.5 billion by 2010.
National attention is focused on Russian eavesdroppers possible targeting of U.S. presidential candidates and the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee. Yet, leaked top-secret National Security Agency documents show that the Obama administration has long been involved in major bugging operations against the election campaigns -- and the presidents -- of even its closest allies.

The United States is, by far, the worlds most aggressive nation when it comes to cyberspying and cyberwarfare. The National Security Agency has been eavesdropping on foreign cities, politicians, elections and entire countries since it first turned on its receivers in 1952. Just as other countries, including Russia, attempt to do to the United States. What is new is a country leaking the intercepts back to the public of the target nation through a middleperson.

There is a strange irony in this. Russia, if it is actually involved in the hacking of the computers of the Democratic National Committee, could be attempting to influence a U.S. election by leaking to the American public the falsehoods of its leaders. This is a tactic Washington used against the Soviet Union and other countries during the Cold War.

In the 1950s, for example, President Harry S Truman created the Campaign of Truth to reveal to the Russian people the Big Lies of their government. Washington had often discovered these lies through eavesdropping and other espionage.

Today, the United States has morphed from a Cold War, and in some cases a hot war, into a cyberwar, with computer coding replacing bullets and bombs. Yet the American public manages to be shocked, shocked that a foreign country would attempt to conduct cyberespionage on the United States.

NSA operations have, for example, recently delved into elections in Mexico, targeting its last presidential campaign. According to a top-secret PowerPoint presentation leaked by former NSA contract employee Edward Snowden, the operation involved a surge effort against one of Mexicos leading presidential candidates, Enrique Pena Nieto, and nine of his close associates. Pena won that election and is now Mexicos president.

The NSA identified Penas cellphone and those of his associates using advanced software that can filter out specific phones from the swarm around the candidate. These lines were then targeted. The technology, one NSA analyst noted, might find a needle in a haystack. The analyst described it as "a repeatable and efficient" process.

The eavesdroppers also succeeded in intercepting 85,489 text messages, a Der Spiegel article noted.

Another NSA operation, begun in May 2010 and codenamed FLATLIQUID, targeted Penas predecessor, President Felipe Calderon. The NSA, the documents revealed, was able to gain first-ever access to President Felipe Calderon's public email account.

At the same time, members of a highly secret joint NSA/CIA organization, called the Special Collection Service, are based in the U.S. embassy in Mexico City and other U.S. embassies around the world. It targets local government communications, as well as foreign embassies nearby. For Mexico, additional eavesdropping, and much of the analysis, is conducted by NSA Texas, a large listening post in San Antonio that focuses on the Caribbean, Central America and South America.

Unlike the Defense Departments Pentagon, the headquarters of the cyberspies fills an entire secret city. Located in Fort Meade, Maryland, halfway between Washington and Baltimore, Maryland, NSAs headquarters consists of scores of heavily guarded buildings. The site even boasts its own police force and post office.

And it is about to grow considerably bigger, now that the NSA cyberspies have merged with the cyberwarriors of U.S. Cyber Command, which controls its own Cyber Army, Cyber Navy, Cyber Air Force and Cyber Marine Corps, all armed with state-of-the-art cyberweapons. In charge of it all is a four-star admiral, Michael S. Rogers.

Now under construction inside NSAs secret city, Cyber Commands new $3.2- billion headquarters is to include 14 buildings, 11 parking garages and an enormous cyberbrain  a 600,000-square-foot, $896.5-million supercomputer facility that will eat up an enormous amount of power, about 60 megawatts. This is enough electricity to power a city of more than 40,000 homes.

In 2014, for a cover story in Wired and a PBS documentary, I spent three days in Moscow with Snowden, whose last NSA job was as a contract cyberwarrior. I was also granted rare access to his archive of documents. Cyber Command itself has always been branded in a sort of misleading way from its very inception, Snowden told me. Its an attack agency.  Its all about computer-network attack and computer-network exploitation at Cyber Command.

The idea is to turn the Internet from a worldwide web of information into a global battlefield for war. "The next major conflict will start in cyberspace," says one of the secret NSA documents. One key phrase within Cyber Command documents is Information Dominance.

The Cyber Navy, for example, calls itself the Information Dominance Corps. The Cyber Army is providing frontline troops with the option of requesting cyberfire support from Cyber Command, in much the same way it requests air and artillery support. And the Cyber Air Force is pledged to dominate cyberspace just as today we dominate air and space.

Among the tools at their disposal is one called Passionatepolka, designed to remotely brick network cards. Bricking a computer means destroying it  turning it into a brick.

One such situation took place in war-torn Syria in 2012, according to Snowden, when the NSA attempted to remotely and secretly install an exploit, or bug, into the computer system of a major Internet provider. This was expected to provide access to email and other Internet traffic across much of Syria. But something went wrong. Instead, the computers were bricked. It took down the Internet across the country for a period of time.

While Cyber Command executes attacks, the National Security Agency seems more interested in tracking virtually everyone connected to the Internet, according to the documents.

One top-secret operation, code-named TreasureMap, is designed to have a capability for building a near real-time interactive map of the global Internet.  Any device, anywhere, all the time. Another operation, codenamed Turbine, involves secretly placing millions of implants  malware  in computer systems worldwide for either spying or cyberattacks.

Yet, even as the U.S. government continues building robust eavesdropping and attack systems, it looks like there has been far less focus on security at home. One benefit of the cyber-theft of the Democratic National Committee emails might be that it helps open a public dialogue about the dangerous potential of cyberwarfare. This is long overdue. The possible security problems for the U.S. presidential election in November are already being discussed.

Yet there can never be a useful discussion on the topic if the Obama administration continues to point fingers at other countries without admitting that Washington is engaged heavily in cyberspying and cyberwarfare.

In fact, the United States is the only country ever to launch an actual cyberwar -- when the Obama administration used a cyberattack to destroy thousands of centrifuges, used for nuclear enrichment, in Iran. This was an illegal act of war, according to the Defense Departments own definition.

Given the news reports that many more DNC emails are waiting to be leaked as the presidential election draws closer, there will likely be many more reminders of the need for a public dialogue on cybersecurity and cyberwarfare before November.

James Bamford is the author of The Shadow Factory: The Ultra-Secret NSA From 9/11 to the Eavesdropping on America. He is a columnist for Foreign Policy magazine.

The opinion expressed is his
Doctors at Tu Du Hospital in Ho Chi Minh City on Thursday removed a surgical sponge they had mistakenly left inside a woman's abdomen in surgery two months ago, local media reported.

The 34-year-old woman had a tubal ligation during a C-section in Tu Du, the largest maternal hospital in Vietnam, two months ago, according to VnExpress.

She had often suffered from abdominal pain after that.

According to the hospital's representatives, a surgical team had "mistakenly" left a sponge (gauze pad) measuring 5cm by 10 cm was left in the woman's abdomen.

The woman is recovering well and will be discharged on Aug. 8, they said.

The hospital director board apologized to the woman and her family for the "rare" incident and promised to review surgical procedures and the responsibility of those involved.

Doctors at Tu Du Hospital said the proper procedures require a surgical team to count sponges at least twice before closing the incision.
Vietnamese Foreign Ministry Spokesman Le Hai Binh reacted sharply Thursday to Chinese Defense Minister Chang Wanquans incitement of the military, police, and general population to prepare for a people's war at sea.

Officials need to speak and act in accordance with official statements as well as their countries obligations, Binh said.

Chang's remark came in the wake of an international tribunal ruling there is no legal basis for China to claim historic rights over the waters falling within the nine-dash line.

China has rejected the ruling.

Binh said: Peace and stability in the East Sea (also known as South China Sea) is the interest and aspiration of all countries within and outside of the region. Disputes in the waters must be resolved peacefully on the basis of international law, and without use of or threat to use force.

Officials of countries need to speak and act in accordance with official statements as well as their nations obligations, which are respecting international law, not using or threatening to use force, and actively contributing to peace and stability in the region and the world.

Asked about a statement by Chinas Supreme Peoples Court that China will actively exercise its jurisdiction to protect its territorial sovereignty and navigation interests, including jailing illegal fishermen, the spokesman said, The treatment of fishermen working in the East Sea must comply with international law and agreements reached between countries, and [based on a] humanitarian spirit.

Vietnam reserves the necessary measures for protecting its fishermens legitimate interests in line with international law and practice.

Asked about Chinas construction of a cemetery in Hoang Sa (Paracel) archipelago, Binh reiterated that Vietnam has sufficient legal foundation and historical evidence for its sovereignty over the archipelago.

All activities of other parties in areas within Hoang Sa, regardless of intentions, are illegal and do not change Vietnams sovereignty over this archipelago.
Two miners were killed and two others injured when they were hit by a loose minecart in an underground coal mine in Quang Ninh province on Friday.

According to initial reports, two minecarts were being hauled along a slope tunnel towards the main entry of the mine at around 2 p.m. when the coupling that connected them broke.

The loose minecart ran back and hit the four workers below.

Two miners Tran Van Yeu, 40, and Nguyen Van Dong, 27, died at the scene. Dinh Van Trung, 27, and Le Hai Ngoc, 24, were rescued and rushed to Quang Ninh General Hospital with injuries.

It was the second mining accident in Quang Ninh, home to Vietnam's coal industry, this week.

On Aug. 2, one miner died and two others were injured in an explosion in another underground mine.

Initial investigation showed that the workers had accidentally put their picks into an unspent dynamite left in the mind.
The Ho Chi Minh City police Thursday handed over three Iranian men to their Ninh Thuan counterparts for questioning as about their involvement in two robberies, including one in the central province.

Preliminary investigation found the trio, who have not been identified, had driven a car from HCMC to Ninh Thuan on August 3 and robbed some money from a grocery store.

They then abandoned the car and hired a 16-seater to return to HCMC the same day.

The driver, identified only as P, said that when he reached Dong Nai Province, the Ninh Thuan police informed him about the trio and ordered him to secretly take them to any police station en route.

The robbers were suspicious and began to force me not to stop midway, the driver said without elaborating about how the police informed him.

At around 8 p.m., P suddenly stopped at a traffic police checkpoint on the Hanoi Highway, jumped out and sought the officers help.

The three men were arrested when they jumped out and tried to flee.

Investigators said the car was also a stolen one.
An African wildlife enforcement team arrested a group of business executives for trafficking at least 1.5 tons of elephant tusks to Southeast Asia, including Vietnam, according to counter-trafficking organization Freeland.

According to Bangkok-based NGO, multiple arrests made between July 28 and August 2 have concluded with the first court hearing for two of the accused in Pointe-Noire, Republic of Congo.

Four men were originally arrested, while two were released after questioning over the past weekend.

The other two detainees own shipping companies based in the Republic of the Congo that are allegedly responsible for secretly moving large consignments of elephant tusks out of West Africa to Asia, including 1,493 kilograms seized in Vietnam in 2014.

The accused are also linked to a Chinese business interest suspected of placing the order, who may also be responsible for similarly massive shipments of elephant tusks seized by Thai, Vietnamese, and Singaporean authorities last year.

Effective fighting of ivory smuggling on the African continent by bridging source, transit and destination countries, is our common responsibility, said Bonaventure Ebayi, Director of the Lusaka Agreement Task Force (LATF), a regional wildlife enforcement body for Africa.

No one is above the law and should face the full force of justice anytime or anywhere he was involved in a crime.

Experts calculate that up to 50,000 elephants, or one every 10 minutes, was poached for their tusks in Africa last year alone to feed the commercial trade in ivory.

One tusk can fetch more than US$2,000 per kilo, after which a professional carver can increase a single tusks worth to more than $100,000 with his handiwork.

The poachers, according to ongoing investigations, are sponsored by organized crime syndicates based in Africa and Asia.
The Ho Chi Minh City Market Management Agency Thursday raided Ben Thanh Market, a popular tourist shopping place in the downtown area, and found a large number of counterfeit and smuggled products.

They seized more than 2,000 products without invoices, including many knockoffs of well-known watch brands like Rolex, Omega and Casio.

Some stalls, including those selling watches, eyeglasses and bags, had all their products seized after the owners were unable to produce papers for their origin.

The market watchdog said many stall owners had signed commitments not to sell products with unclear origins.

The market management washed its hands off the issue saying it is not authorized to check the origin of the products.

The Market Management Agency is considering measures against the violators.
A court in Ho Chi Minh City on Thursday handed down prison terms for two former officials of a state-owned finance company for embezzling more than VND39 billion (US$1.8 million).

The HCMC People's Court sentenced Luu Trung Hieu, former chief executive officer of Vinashin Finance Company, HCMC branch (VFC.HCM), to 14 years' imprisonment and Duong Anh Tu, former director of VFC.HCM Credit and Investment Department, to 8 years' imprisonment.

They were convicted of abuse of position of authority.

VFC is a finance subsidiary of Vinashin, the scandal-plague state-owned shipbuilding firm which had to restructure and renamed Shipbuilding Industry Corporation (SBIC) in late 2013.

Hieu and Tu were found to have granted loans worth VND39.1 billion to eight companies between Aug. 2012 and Aug. 2013.

All eight companies were nominally owned by Hieu's and Tu's relatives and friends, who did not benefit from the loans.

After the loans were disbursed to the companies, Hieu and Tu used them to invest in other personal businesses.

By the time police launched a criminal investigation in Sep. 2014, the duo had lost all the money in a string of failed investments.

Hieu also told investigators that he had used VND1 billion to bribe SBIC Chairman Nguyen Ngoc Su in an attempt to secure the post of vice general director of VFC.
Two more old trees on one of Ho Chi Minh City's most beautiful streets will be felled to make way for urban development.

The cIty authorities have approved the cutting down of two African mahogany trees on Ton Duc Thang St. to give space to the countrys first metro line, officials said at a press conference on Thursday.

They are the tallest of the 16 African mahogany trees affected by the project, measuring 16 meters and 17 meters in height and 1 meter and 1.3 meters in diameter.

Workers at the city's Tree and Park Company have succeeded in moving and replanting the other 14 trees to Gia Dinh park in Go Vap Dist.

However, moving the two tallest trees would inevitably require repositioning of not only underground cables near their roots but also overhead power lines and cables along the transport route to Gia Dinh park, representatives of the urban metro management board said at the conference.

Hunks of mahogany trees felled on Ton Duc Thang St. in 2014.

The felling of the trees will take 2-3 days, and timber will be used to make public chairs and tables, they said.

Ton Duc Thang is considered one of the most beautiful streets in Vietnams southern metropolis thanks to its massive canopy of trees.

Experts said most African mahogany trees on this street are more than 60 years old.

Several were cut down in late 2014, also as part of the metro line construction.

The city authorities said in March that they planned to move or cut down even more trees on Ton Duc Thang St. to make space for a bridge connecting districts 1 and 2.
Actor Clint Eastwood addresses an empty chair and questions it as if it is U.S. President Obama, as he endorses Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney during the final session of the Republican National Convention in Tampa, Florida, August 30, 2012.

Clint Eastwood, the 86-year-old four-time Oscar winner, excoriated the current generation of Americans as weak and overly sensitive while backing Donald Trump even though the Republican presidential hopeful has "said a lot of dumb things."

Eastwood, a prominent celebrity supporter of the Republican Party who appeared at its 2012 U.S. presidential nominating convention, offered a harsh assessment of Americans in an interview with Esquire magazine published on Wednesday.

"He's onto something because secretly everybody's getting tired of political correctness, kissing up," the acclaimed actor and director said of Trump. "That's the kiss-ass generation we're in right now. We're really in a pussy generation. Everybody's walking on eggshells."

"We see people accusing people of being racist and all kinds of stuff. When I grew up, those things weren't called racist," Eastwood added.

Given the choice between Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton and Trump in the Nov. 8 election, the celebrated star of "The Good, the Bad and the Ugly" said, "That's a tough one, isn't it? I'd have to go for Trump ... you know, 'cause she's declared that she's gonna follow in Obama's footsteps."

In one of the most unusual speeches at a major U.S. party convention, Eastwood four years ago addressed an empty chair used to symbolically represent President Barack Obama on stage at the Republican convention in Tampa, Florida, in a rambling denunciation of Obama.

Asked by Esquire what troubled him most, Eastwood referred to his chair speech.

"What troubles me ... I guess when I did that silly thing at the Republican convention, talking to the chair," Eastwood said.

Director Clint Eastwood arrives for the National Board of Review gala in the Manhattan borough of New York January 6, 2015.

In the interview, Eastwood made reference to the uproar in May that followed Trump's comments accusing the judge overseeing a fraud lawsuit involving Trump University real-estate seminars of being biased against him because of Trump's pledge to build a wall along the U.S.-Mexican border to block illegal immigrants. U.S. District Judge Gonzalo Curiel is an American of Mexican descent.

Eastwood told Esquire that Trump was portrayed as "a racist now because he's talked about this judge."

"And yeah, it's a dumb thing to say. I mean, to predicate your opinion on the fact that the guy was born to Mexican parents or something," Eastwood said. "He's said a lot of dumb things. So have all of them. Both sides. But everybody - the press and everybody's going, 'Oh, well, that's racist,' and they're making a big hoodoo out of it. Just fucking get over it. It's a sad time in history."

There were more than 100 tweets per minute about Eastwood on Twitter by Thursday afternoon. More than half of the tweets mentioning the Hollywood star were of negative sentiment, according to social media analytics firm Zoomph.

"Clint Eastwood was born in 1930. Let's start a list of things that weren't considered racist when he was growing up," tweeted Sarah McBride, the national press secretary of the Human Rights Campaign gay rights group.

Others praised Eastwood, who rose to fame playing surly cowboys and cops. "Thank you Clint Eastwood. You've always been a personal hero. You said what needed to be said," tweeted a person named Ruari.
President Barack Obama on Thursday touted progress he said the United States and its allies had made in the military campaign against Islamic State, but warned that the militant group still can direct and inspire attacks.

The United States is leading a military coalition conducting air strikes against Islamic State in Iraq and Syria, where the group seized broad swathes of territory in 2014. It has succeeded in breaking Islamic State's grip on some towns, although it still controls its two de facto capitals, Mosul in Iraq and Raqqa in Syria.

The president, criticized for suggesting Islamic State was made up of amateurs, presented a more measured assessment on Thursday.

He said the last two years of the U.S.-led air and ground campaign have proved that the extremist group can be beaten in conventional military fights but that it has shown the ability to carry out damaging, small-scale attacks.

"I am pleased with the progress that we've made on the ground in Iraq and Syria," Obama told a news conference at the Pentagon after meeting with officials directing the campaign, but added: "We're far from freeing Mosul and Raqqa.

"While the campaign against Islamic State in Iraq, Syria and now Libya is making significant gains, the group is adapting, reverting to high-profile attacks and using the internet to recruit and train, and to encourage "lone wolf" attacks.

"They've seen the degree of attention they can get with smaller-scale attacks using small arms or assault rifles," Obama said. "The possibility of either a lone actor or a small cell carrying out an attack that kills people is real."

The United States must do a better job of disrupting Islamic State networks that can carry out attacks far from the group's bases in the Middle East, Obama said.

"Those networks are more active in Europe than they are here, but we don't know what we don't know, and so it's conceivable that there are some networks here that could be activated," he said, while warning against over-reacting to such attacks.

"How we react to this is as important as the efforts we take to destroy ISIL, prevent these networks from penetrating," he said, using an acronym for the group. "When societies get scared they can react in ways that undermine the fabric of our society."

Coordinating with Russia



In Syria, where the United States is exploring options to cooperate with Russia militarily to defeat Islamic State, Obama said Russia's and Syria's most recent actions have raised doubts about their commitment to a pause in the conflict.

U.S. President Barack Obama and Defense Secretary Ash Carter sit down to a meeting of the National Security Council at the Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia, U.S. August 4, 2016.

This week, a Syrian rescue service operating in rebel-held territory said a helicopter dropped containers of toxic gas overnight on a town close to where a Russian military helicopter had been shot down hours earlier.

The opposition Syrian National Coalition accused President Bashar al-Assad of being behind the attack. Assad has denied previous accusations of using chemical weapons.

The twin U.S. goals in Syria have been to end the violence that has claimed some 400,000 lives, according to United Nations estimates, and to seek a political process to replace Assad, whom Obama has said "must go."

Proposals for the United States and Russia to cooperate in Syria would have them share intelligence to coordinate air strikes and prohibit the Syrian air force from attacking rebel groups considered moderate.

But U.S. military and intelligence officials have called the plan naive and said U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry risks falling into a trap that Russian President Vladimir Putin has laid to discredit the United States with moderate rebel groups and drive some of their fighters into the arms of Islamic State and other extremist groups.

"The U.S. remains prepared to work with Russia to try to reduce the violence and strengthen our efforts against ISIL and al Qaeda in Syria, but so far Russia has failed to take the necessary steps," Obama said, adding that he was not confident Russia or Putin could be trusted.
Men inspect the wreckage of a Russian helicopter that had been shot down in the north of Syria's rebel-held Idlib province, Syria August 1, 2016.

A Syrian group said on Thursday it had the bodies of five people shot down in a Russian helicopter and demanded the release of prisoners in exchange for the corpses.

The Russian military helicopter was downed in Syria's rebel-held Idlib province on Monday, killing all five people on board in the biggest officially acknowledged loss of life for Russian forces since they started operations in Syria.

The demand was made in a statement seen by Reuters, signed off by a group calling itself the General Foundation for Prisoners' Affairs.

It wanted the release of prisoners held in Syrian government jails and by Damascus's Lebanese Shi'ite ally Hezbollah in Lebanon. It did not say who those prisoners were, or how many it wanted released.

It also demanded an end to the siege of areas blockaded by the Syrian army and its allies, and for the delivery of significant amounts of humanitarian aid to people living in besieged areas.

Men inspect the wreckage of a Russian helicopter that had been shot down in the north of Syria's rebel-held Idlib province, Syria August 1, 2016.

The statement showed what appeared to be identity cards belonging to those killed in the crash.

Russia's defense ministry said on Monday the Mi-8 military transport helicopter had been shot down after delivering humanitarian aid to the city of Aleppo as it made its way back to Russia's main air base in the western province of Latakia.

No group immediately claimed responsibility for shooting down the helicopter. Islamic State fighters are not active in the area, but there are other Islamist rebel groups there, as well as moderates backed by the United States and its allies.

Russia has supported Syrian President Bashar al-Assad with an air campaign against insurgents since September.

Russia and Syria did not make any immediate comment on the demand.
U.S. based cleric Fethullah Gulen at his home in Saylorsburg, Pennsylvania, U.S. July 29, 2016.

The United States is evaluating new documents sent by Turkey to push for the extradition of U.S.-based cleric Fethullah Gulen, the alleged mastermind of the country's recent failed coup, a State Department spokesman said on Thursday.

"The Turkish authorities (made) several deliveries of documents to us and we're in the process of going through those documents," spokesman Mark Toner told a daily news briefing.

Toner said the first batch "did not, we believe, constitute a formal extradition request."

He added: "We subsequently received more documents. We're looking through them ... and I don't think they've reached that determination yet."

The U.S. Justice Department is the main agency poring over the documents to see whether they amount to a formal extradition request for Gulen, who has lived in self-imposed exile in Pennsylvania since 1999.

Turkish officials, including Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu, have warned that ties with the United States will be affected if it fails to extradite Gulen.

The NATO member plays an important role in the U.S-led fight against Islamic State. But Washington has said Ankara must provide clear evidence of Gulen's involvement in the failed military coup before any extradition process can move forward.

Gulen has denied plotting against Turkey and has condemned the coup attempt.

Toner said the United States had offered to help Turkey with investigating the coup. He did not say whether Turkey had responded to the offer.

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan accuses Gulen of orchestrating the failed putsch and harnessing an extensive network of schools, charities and businesses in Turkey and abroad to infiltrate state institutions.

Erdogan vowed on Thursday to choke off the businesses, while an Istanbul court issued an arrest warrant for Gulen for "giving the instructions" for the coup attempt, in which more than 230 people were killed.

In New York, Kamil Aydin, a Turkish member of parliament from Erzurum, said the U.S. Justice Department had received 85 boxes of documents from Turkey related to Gulen so far.

"They are in the process of evaluating these documents," he said, without giving any details on the files.
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Although other school districts made up some ground, Zachary once again led the way in the state in standardized testing this past spring with nearly six out of 10 children mastering English and math on the latest version of the LEAP test.

Just as with last year, 59 percent of Zachary students in grades three to eight were rated as achieving mastery, fourth of five achievement levels. Mastery is replacing the third achievement level, basic, which has long been the yardstick schools in Louisiana have used to judge how they do.

Zachary was trailed most closely by St. Charles and Plaquemine parishes. In fourth place were Central schools, where rates of mastery improved from 45 to 51 percent.

Zachary school system stays No. 1 in state Zacharys school system maintained its status as the No. 1 district in Louisiana in the 2014

Central Superintendent Michael Faulk said his school district looks to neighboring Zachary and other high performing districts as pacesetters and focused heavily on getting more of its students into those high achieving categories.

The improvement was most pronounced in eighth-grade, where Central Middle and Northwestern Middle are neck and neck in math and English. In science, which is rated separately, Zachary students still well outpace Central kids.

Faulk also pointed to another factor in Centrals improvement.

We only had three students opt out this year. We had 183 opt out last year. So thats a big difference, Faulk said.

The opt out movement, which reached a fever pitch in spring 2015, was driven by widespread discontent with Louisianas 2010 adoption of Common Core educational standards. The warring factions worked out a compromise later that year.

So a new set of Louisiana standards were developed, mostly different than Common Core standards. Also the state could no longer contract the Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers, the former source of questions. On top of that, no more than 49.9 percent of the questions could be like those crafted by PARCC. The new test was named LEAP, the name Louisiana has used for years for its elementary grade standardized tests.

In a news conference Thursday, State Superintendent of Education John White said the new test allows for general comparisons with past tests Louisiana has administered as well as with other states using similar assessments, but said such comparisons should be made with caution.

East Baton Rouge Parish, the states second largest school district, saw 34 percent of its eighth-graders achieve mastery in math and English, up from 28 percent last year. That brought East Baton Rouge even with the largest district, Jefferson Parish, and slightly ahead of Caddo Parish, the third biggest school district, but behind the 38 percent mastery posted by the state as a whole. East Baton Rouge, however, improved at a slightly faster pace than the state.

East Baton Rouge Parish officials also released a more detailed report focusing on how the school district performed under the old yardstick  basic and above, or proficiency. In English, in four out of six grades, students improved, mostly outpacing the state; the exceptions were third and fourth-grades where Baton Rouge students declined by 2 and 4 percent. In Math, East Baton Rouge students in all six grades tested, outpacing the state in all but fourth grade.

Revised Common Core tests spark little debate, no widespread boycotts this year: 'It's a lot quieter' In a radical change from last year, about 300,000 public schools students Monday begin takin

In the upper grades at public schools in the Baton Rouge metro area, English performance outpaced math.

For instance, in eighth grade, Sherwood Middle Academic Magnet in Baton Rouge was at the top. Ninety-five percent of its students achieved mastery in English and 88 percent doing the same in math. LSU Lab School was right with them with 93 percent mastery in English and 89 percent in math.

Alternative schools, many focusing on children years behind their peers academically, hugged the bottom of the school rankings in eighth grade. The lowest performing non-alternative school was Baker Middle School where only 4 percent of students showed mastery in English and only 2 percent did the same in math.

Math was a particularly tough subject for the lowest performing schools. Only 2 percent of eighth graders in St. Helena Parish were able to master the subject this spring. Three more non-alternative schools  Gonzales Middle, J.K. Haynes Charter Middle School and Upper Pointe Coupee Elementary School  could muster only 4 percent mastery in math.

One year after first Common Core exams, this years tests sparking little heat Nearly one year after Common Core tests sparked statewide controversy, this years version i

In third grade, math sometimes outpaced English. For instance, both Westdale Heights Academic Magnet and LSU Lab School both had 97 percent of their students show mastery in math. In English, the highest achieving school was the foreign immersion school, BR FLAIM, which had 90 percent of its students showing mastery.
As Louisiana residents look east to the Zika outbreak in Florida, local health and mosquito abatement officials say they are preparing for the worst by throwing everything they can at preventing a similar situation here.

No mosquito that has been tested in Louisiana has carried the disease yet, though as of Friday 19 people in the state have been diagnosed with Zika after having traveled to other areas. If a certain type of mosquito bites someone with Zika, the mosquito can undergo a days-long transformation and start carrying the virus and infecting others they bite.

"We are acutely aware that we have all the ingredients in Louisiana, particularly in that southern part  with the very next step possibly being local transmission," said Dr. Frank Welch, the Louisiana Department of Health community preparedness medical director leading the agency's Zika prevention efforts.

So far, Baton Rouge is at a somewhat reduced risk in relation to New Orleans for the virus. Experts are most worried the Aedes aegypti, or "yellow fever mosquito," which has not been located in East Baton Rouge Parish in three years, said Baton Rouge Mosquito Abatement and Rodent Control Director Todd Walker.

The yellow fever mosquito is, however, prevalent around Lake Pontchartrain and Orleans and Jefferson parishes. And another type of mosquito that has been located around Baton Rouge and New Orleans, the Aedes albopictus or "Asian tiger mosquito," is also believed to be able to carry and transmit the disease.

People across the state should remain vigilant, Welch said.

"You shouldn't live in Baton Rouge and say, 'oh we're totally fine,'" he said.

Researchers are still determining the effects of Zika, about which little was known before stories of birth defects in babies born to women carrying the disease in South American countries caused concerns worldwide.

Walker and Welch said Louisiana has been well-served by robust local mosquito abatement programs already trained to fight mosquitoes that can carry dangerous viruses, like West Nile. They said Louisiana has more mosquito abatement programs just in the southern region than many other places have statewide, and that mosquito abatement programs already have the chemicals and traps on hand they need.

"That treatment and the mosquitoes that we are directing those applications to are the mosquitoes that can potentially transmit the Zika virus," Walker said.

Welch said the fear is that one of the yellow fever mosquitoes will bite someone who has Zika, and then the local mosquito will start carrying it and spreading it across the state.

"When the mosquito bites a person with Zika, the Zika actually has to go through a transformative process within the mosquito," Welch said. "It kind of cooks within the mosquito for seven days and then the mosquito can go and spread it."

He said the 19 people in Louisiana who had their diagnoses of Zika confirmed after traveling to other places are just the tip of the iceberg. Four out of five people infected with the virus have no side effects, meaning the 19 people tested were the minority who did not feel well and whose doctors suspected that they could have Zika, Welch said.

Though the side effects are similar to hay fever for most people with Zika, the real worry is for pregnant women whose babies could develop birth defects from the virus, Welch said. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention awarded the state $400,000 earlier this week to locate, monitor and follow up with pregnant women who may have been exposed to Zika.

The CDC also awarded the state $2 million a few weeks ago to ramp up epidemiology and laboratory capacity to help detect and monitor people with Zika, and the agency gave the state $400,000 a few months ago for general emergency preparedness and planning.

But the money still has not been enough. Welch said Louisiana would have been better served by having federal money six months ago to begin proactively preventing the transmission of Zika.

Congress recessed in July without approving money to fight Zika after President Barack Obama's administration requested $1.9 billion in emergency funding earlier this year to fight the disease.

Welch said the state needs extra money to fight Zika as soon as possible. He said the state Department of Health has shifted money from other health threats  like Ebola  toward Zika, but the department still needs more funds to communicate to the public about the risks of the disease and how to prevent infection.

In New Orleans, Mayor Mitch Landrieu's administration set aside $500,000 this week for the Zika threat. In Baton Rouge, Mayor-President Kip Holden's administration has not yet set aside any money for Zika, but Chief Administrative Officer William Daniel said local government maintains fund balances the city could dip into to fight Zika if needed.

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Welch expects Zika to be a problem for years ahead, but said federal money could help researchers produce a vaccine, thereby lowering the most immediate risk for pregnant women.

But he and Walker agreed that people can take steps to prevent mosquitoes that may carry Zika from biting them: at least once a week drain any water that has pooled outside in containers ranging in size from tires and wheelbarrows to eggshells and bottle caps. And they agreed anyone going outside should wear insect repellent and long sleeves.

Pregnant women should also avoid sexual contact with anyone who has spent time in one of the areas where Zika has been spreading, including most of South America, Latin America, the Caribbean, Mexico and the Pacific Islands.

Walker said people should spend time inside, with their air conditioners running and their windows closed. And he said Baton Rouge's mosquito abatement and rodent control is one of the few agencies that will visit residences and do mosquito treatments if people call and ask for them.

Mosquito abatement agencies statewide also routinely put out traps to monitor what kinds of mosquitoes are in the area and what diseases they carry.

"Really, the most effective thing is protecting your own radius," Welch said. "And what is unique about this situation is there's something people can do."
Metro Councilwoman Chauna Banks-Daniel and more than 50 supporters laid out a game plan Thursday for the vote at next week's council meeting for a proposal that would require all future Baton Rouge Police Department hires to live in the parish.

Banks-Daniel has resurrected the proposed residency requirement ordinance after the Metro Council refused to introduce it at the July 27 meeting. The proposal would limit the police department, starting in 2017, to hiring only those qualified applicants who live within the parish.

Supporters say residency requirements would ease tensions between the police and the black community in particular, because officers would become neighbors of those whom they are policing. But the proposed ordinance has also drawn a number of critics both on and off the Metro Council who say it would hurt the ability to recruit police officers and that residency requirements have been shown to be ineffective in the past in Baton Rouge, New Orleans and other cities.

Forty-five percent of Baton Rouge Police officers live outside of the parish, while 20 percent live in the city of Baton Rouge, 20 percent in unincorporated areas, 7 percent in Central, 6 percent in Zachary and 2 percent in Baker.

Banks-Daniel and publisher Gary Chambers, who has backed the proposal, both told a packed room Thursday at the Jewel J. Newman Center that they should be prepared to encounter hostility at the Metro Council meeting.

"You know when I faced racism? When I joined the Metropolitan Council," said Banks-Daniel, who is black, after saying she lived most of her life in Scotlandville and rarely encountered racism. Most of those in attendance Thursday were black as well.

Only five Metro Council members have said they support the proposed residency requirements, but the proposal needs seven votes to pass through the Metro Council. Chambers, Banks-Daniel and Metro Councilwoman Tara Wicker  who also attended the meeting  called for those at the meeting to mobilize many speakers to try to persuade the remainder of the Metro Council to vote in their favor.

+5 Push to make BRPD officers live in city limits fails at Metro Council A controversial push that would force future Baton Rouge Police Department hires to live wit

Some of those in attendance Thursday spoke of organizing recall petition drives aimed at Metro Council members who vote against the residency requirements, and others spoke of working to campaign in upcoming elections against those members who vote against residency requirements. Some said the community needs continued protests for Alton Sterling, whose death by a Baton Rouge police officer July 5 outside of a convenience store sparked protests in Baton Rouge and across the country.

A few weeks after Sterling was killed, Gavin Long on July 17 ambushed and killed Baton Rouge Police officer Matthew Gerald and Cpl. Montrell Jackson, along with Sheriff's Deputy Brad Garafola. The gunman also shot three others, and Deputy Nicholas Tullier remains in critical condition, while the other two officers sustained non-life threatening injuries.

When Banks-Daniel first brought up the residency requirements during a Metro Council meeting two days after Jackson's funeral, other council members chided her as being tactless for trying to change the police department so soon after a fallen officer had been buried. But Banks-Daniel countered that the Metro Council voted on dozens of other items at the meeting two days after Jackson's funeral, including introductions of tax proposals, none of which they considered insensitive.

Nobody at Thursday's meeting said they opposed the proposed residency requirements, nor did anyone from the Baton Rouge Police Department speak at the meeting. Nobody from BRPD has officially commented yet on residency requirements. Chambers said he expects a large police presence at the meeting next Wednesday.

"There are two things people understand," Chambers said. "Fear and money. We already know they're scared of us," he said, referencing the arrests of Alton Sterling protesters.

Chambers said he is not ready to reveal what would happen if the Metro Council rejects the residency requirement proposal. But he did hint at business boycotts, saying people should boycott businesses that do not support the residency requirements.

Cleve Dunn Jr., also a backer of the residency requirements, said they could chip away at the distrust between police and the community. He said the Metro Council would lose trust if they refuse to hold a public hearing on the ordinance proposal next Wednesday and instead choose to delete it from the agenda.

A number of speakers at Thursday's meeting questioned the integrity of the way the police department is run, and wondered what kind of top-down orders officers are receiving. In particular, some speakers complained about militarized police tactics and whether police with military backgrounds have the competence to do their jobs if they suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder.

"Sometimes you've got vigilantes who've still got that and you couple that with post-traumatic stress and you see injustice right here," Banks-Daniels said about police officers who still act as though they are in the military and are ready to kill enemies.

BRPD gives all of their hires psychological evaluations.

Some attendees also worried that those who oppose the proposed residency requirements would hold their own counter protests, or that the police department voice would outweigh theirs.

"We want the other side to come and be foolish," Chambers said.
Trademark Property Co. has acquired a minority stake in the mixed-use Perkins Rowe development and will provide leasing and management services.

Terry Montesi, Trademark's CEO, said in a statement that the company plans to better tailor Perkins Rowe to the surrounding community through strategic leasing, property improvements and amenity enhancements.

Trademark, based in Fort Worth, Texas, has a portfolio of 16 retail, lifestyle and mixed-use centers across the U.S., including Market Street Flowood in Flowood, Mississippi, Victory Park in downtown Dallas and Rice Village in Houston. The companys real estate portfolio totals more than 6.8 million square feet of property in operations or development/redevelopment. Its tenants include Apple, Best Buy, Whole Foods, REI and House of Blues.

Perkins Rowe, which opened in 2007, has 375,000 square feet of retail space, with tenants such as Barnes & Noble, Cinemark, Starbucks and The Fresh Market; 135,000 square feet of office space; and more than 225 apartments and condominium units.

While Perkins Rowe is the home for popular retailers and restaurants, the development has been controversial.

Developer Tommy Spinosa pitched Perkins Rowe as a $350 million development that would eventually include more than 800 condominiums and apartment units, offices, a hotel and trendy national retailers, including a department store. But the development was stifled by the recession, which saw retail chains dramatically cut back on their expansion plans and credit markets tighten up.

Several dozen lawsuits were filed against Spinosa and his Echelon Construction Services LLC by contractors and subcontractors, who said they were not paid for their work and services.

In 2009, KeyBank led a group of nine lenders that filed suit against Spinosa, claiming he had not made interest payments for several months on $170 million in loans. A court battle dragged on for several years before U.S. District Judge James J. Brady awarded a $201.9 million judgment to the lenders in September 2012.

TPG Capital acquired Perkins Rowe in early 2014 for an undisclosed sum from KeyBank National Association, which took over the mixed-use development at a foreclosure sale a few months earlier.

In May 2015, TPG put Perkins Rowe up for sale, but the property has not changed hands.
DONALDSONVILLE  Without directly addressing the bribery allegations leveled against him this week, Ascension Parish President Kenny Matassa said Thursday night that the "controversy we're facing" is a "time that tests all of us" but said he will continue do his job.

Facing the Parish Council and reporters for the first time since the allegations emerged, Matassa said, "Our government is not crippled or broken. I will continue to listen to your suggestions about parish government. I will continue to give to my employees what they need to serve the people."

He also told the council he will hand over all contracts for council review, effectively relinquishing his power to sign contracts worth less than $25,000 without the council's OK. Bigger contracts already require council approval.

Matassa made the offer as some on the council have already called for his resignation and were pressing for a vote to remove his financial authority over contracts as a sign of their lack of confidence in him.

Matassa was caught in a secret recording speaking last week with a candidate for Gonzales city council, discussing job opportunities for him in the parish, repairs to the candidate's trailer and Matassa's wish the candidate drop out of the Nov. 8 race.

The candidate, Wayne Lawson, has said he was recording what he believed was a bribe from Matassa and Gonzales businessman Olin Berthelot to leave the Division E race. Lawson's departure would have ensured the re-election of Gonzales City Councilman Neal Bourque.

The purported bribe allegedly involved the promise of a parish job and $1,200 in cash.

District Attorney Ricky Babin has opened an investigation and brought in the parish Sheriff's Office and the Louisiana State Attorney General's Office.

Matassa and his attorney, Lance Unglesby, have since said the parish president had no intention of bribing Lawson but was trying to help a friend down on his luck with a cash loan and political advice.

Unglesby has said the loan and parish job offer were not connected to Matassa and Berthelot's advice that Lawson should leave the race.

Berthelot's attorney said no comments would be offered on the allegations at this time.

We are not going to make any comment or any official statement," Baton Rouge defense attorney Steven Moore said in an interview Thursday morning. "That's just not a good idea, never is.

Matassa, who was a five-term Gonzales city councilman before his election as parish president last year, made his comments to the council Thursday night after none of the Parish Council members moved to amend the agenda for what some members have been calling a "no-confidence vote." Such a motion was not on the council agenda.

Though the parish's home rule charter and ordinances do not specifically provide for no-confidence measures, Councilman Daniel "Doc" Satterlee had announced on Facebook late Thursday morning he would push for a measure to take away Matassa's financial authority in light of the bribery allegations.

The council does not have the power to remove Matassa, an elected official, but does control the public fisc.

Parish Attorney O'Neil Parenton Jr. informed the council in the opening minutes of the meeting that the council must give 24 hours notice of a closed-door, executive session if it is going to discuss the character, professional competence or physical or mental health of an employee. The law allows employees to have those sessions held in public.

No executive session was on the council's advertised agenda.

The council could still have amended the agenda to take away Matassa's contract power, but the parish president ended up relinquishing it anyway.

After the meeting, Satterlee said Parenton's warning was enough for him not to push for the vote.

"Doc Satterlee doesn't break the law," Satterlee said. "If legal counsel is sitting here in the courtroom, telling me that if I do this, we're breaking the law because it wasn't advertised for 24 hours, etc., well, we're not going to do it."

Satterlee promised he will push to put on the Aug. 18 council agenda a proposed resolution expressing no confidence in Matassa, though Satterlee noted he doesn't have the final say on setting the agenda.

Satterlee is not alone in his wish to express the council's dissatisfaction over the allegations against Matassa. Two other council members, Teri Casso and Aaron Lawler, said earlier Thursday they would have voted on the no-confidence matter if there had been a motion and second. But they also said they would like to wait to give time for the investigation. Casso also said she wants Matassa to have more time to consider his position about staying in office.

Casso and Lawler said Thursday morning, however, that they think Matassa should resign. Casso said the job demands 110 percent of his attention.

"I do not believe that Mr. Matassa can give 110 percent to the office of parish president while attempting to defend himself against these allegations that are serious and might even result in incarceration," Casso said in an interview.

But Matassa, who has said he has no plans to resign, reiterated his view Thursday with a gaggle of reporters after the council meeting ended. He was asked what he would tell his constituents about the allegations.

"I'm going to do my job like they voted me to do, and I have due process and that's what I'm going to do. Thank you," Matassa said.

Matassa started to, but did not answer other questions from the press surrounding him, but moved to the rear of the council chambers to confer with other officials before he went into a rear antechamber.

After the meeting, Councilman Randy Clouatre, who as council chairman has the power to set the agenda, declined to comment on whether he will put Satterlee's proposed no-confidence resolution on the next agenda. Clouatre said he had not yet seen Satterlee's proposal.

When asked if Matassa's offer to surrender his contract power was a compromise to avoid a no-confidence vote, Clouatre said it seemed to him, instead, that Matassa offered it up himself.

"It seemed like humility to me, like he humbled himself, and he understands the light that's being shed (on him)," Clouatre said.

He said he expects the council will ratify Matassa's move at some point.

The allegations of bribery against Matassa and Berthelot, as well as the audio recordings of their conversations, were first aired Monday by the online news site Pelican Post, which has been frequently critical of Matassa and his administration.

Wade Petite, editor and publisher of the Pelican Post, said he helped orchestrate the secret recordings taken July 27 to 29 as part of a news investigation with Lawson after he called Petite July 25.

Unglesby and Matassa have charged that Petite has a political agenda against and unhealthy obsession with Matassa. But the audio recordings were enough, Babin said, to open an investigation.
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Vintage watermelon variety makes a comeback, and a visit to New Orleans

Sweetest in the South? Vintage watermelon variety makes a comeback, and a visit to New Orleans
Hell will freeze before today's opposition defence spokesperson Stephen Conroy beavers away in his office at a similar project and then shows it off to an appreciative Minister for Defence, Marise Payne.

Mr Gray personally designed a model of a new kind of heavy army contraption (part tank, part tank transport). Then as part of his pitch he showed it off (perhaps on the steps of what's now Old Parliament House) to the Holt government's Minister for the Army, Malcolm Fraser.

On Tuesday at Bruce Mr Gray's son Donald Gray, the custodian of this sturdy heirloom, shared this reporter's amazement at what had happened, then, in those olden days. Today the design of weapons systems is always thought of as a highly specialised task undertaken by sophisticated corporations (just think of our submarines, to be built by France's DCNS for $50 billion) not enthusiasts with zeal and spare time.

"Yes, it seems eccentric now, but that's looking at it with 21st century eyes. Things were much slower-paced in 1966," Donald Gray mused as we gathered in front of the contraption that starred, 50 years ago almost to the day, in front of Parliament House.

The Canberra Times quite rightly found it all newsworthy then and ran a story with a picture of the proud designer. With the model George Gray MP (an army veteran) provided a substantial essay of the invention's specifications and sterling qualities. He was convinced that Australia should brace itself for wars fought on Australian soil. He portrayed the made-in-Australia tank and its transport as a nimble system. It would be able to beetle from Alice Springs to our vulnerable far north, enabled to cover immense distances (up to 2350 miles) by virtue of having so much room aboard for 44-gallon drums of fuel.

The truly unique model vehicle (this is of course the only one ever made) has had severe tests of its sturdiness over the years. As a child Don Gray's little brother had been allowed to play with the heirloom, "as a toy", so that when Don Gray decided to restore it there was lots to do. Some parts were sourced "at great expense" from overseas.

The vehicle was never produced (Don Gray suspects that even if the government had found the design awesome, sheer partisanship would have prevented its adoption). But George Gray may, for ideological reasons, have knocked back a mighty customer for it.
Not that the adults in the play always behave like it. Simon is unemployed and at the beginning of the play is diagnosed with progressive, irreversible hearing loss.

Tasmanian playwright Finegan Kruckemeyer is a prolific writer who has had 65 commissioned plays performed on five continents. Guy Hooper, who plays the title role in the touring production of Kruckemeyer's play Simon's Final Sound, says that although Kruckemeyer usually writes for young people, this time, working with Tasmania's Blue Cow Theatre Inc, he decided to write an adult comedy.

Andrew Casey, left, Guy Hooper, Mel King and John Xintavelonis in Simon's Last Sound.

"He's going to lose his hearing in a very short period of time," Hooper says. "He forms a plan to find a place where he can hear his last sound."

And not just any place. Simon recalls a childhood story told to him by his aunt about an island in the Pacific Ocean that runs entirely on sound, where all communication is through music and singing and decides to go find it. But to do that, he needs a boat.

Simon goes to a bank to try to get a loan and is interviewed by Michael (John Xintavelonis), who has his own problems including a bored wife, Ginny (Mel King). Hoping to rekindle the spark in their marriage, he agrees to lend the highly unsuitable Simon the money if he and Ginny can come on the voyage. They're overheard by Claude (Andrew Casey), Michael's obnoxious and friendless superior, who adds a touch of blackmail into the mix: he threatens to expose Michael for bank fraud, since Simon is such an unsuitable candidate for a loan, unless he is also allowed to come. Luckily, Claude has a boat they can use.

"The second half of the play is the boat trip and how events transpire for them," Hooper says. He's an actor with almost 30 years experience and has been based in Tasmania for nearly a decade. He remembers coming to Canberra as part of the troupe Death Defying Theatre in the 1980s.
Three Victorian Supreme Court judges will travel to Canberra to hear an appeal that could prevent David Eastman facing a retrial for the shooting death of ACT police chief Colin Winchester.

Mr Eastman is set to face a second jury after a stay application to permanently halt a retrial over Mr Winchester's January 1989 killing was thrown out of court in April.

David Eastman is arrested in December 1992 in relation to the murder of Colin Winchester. Credit:Graham Tidy

His appeal against the decision not to stay his retrial is currently before the ACT Supreme Court.

The case had previously been set down before the three interstate judges for five days from October 24.
When the fully clothed body of financial adviser Steve Halgryn, 52, washed up on a Sunshine Coast beach in April 19, the initial focus was on solving the mystery of how he died.

Yet months later, as his grieving family still await a coroner's report, it is his business activities that have caught the attention of the corporate watchdog, the police and the local community.

Police at the Warana beach where Steve Halgryn was found. Credit:Facebook/Hot 91

About 600 investors in Australia and offshore mostly in Halgryn's native Zimbabwe are now trying to track down the millions they have ploughed into an alleged Ponzi scheme that had sucked up to $96 million in client funds into an unregistered scheme, SFS Global Trading Syndicate, that promised 24 per cent annual returns.

Accusations have already been levelled at the Australian Securities and Investments Commission over how an unregistered scheme run out of Buderim on the Sunshine Coast could operate for so many years without raising the suspicions of the corporate cop.
An obscure back-office function intended to bring more stability to trading has emerged as a pawn in the post-Brexit battle for London's financial services industry.

There are signs the UK is readying its defences now that French and German officials have already targeted the industry. Clearing, which acts as a firewall against defaulting traders, has boomed since the 2008 financial crisis.

Britain's vote to leave the European Union could endanger the thousands of jobs at London clearing houses. Credit:Bloomberg

Britain's vote to leave the European Union could endanger the thousands of jobs at the clearing houses and their member banks if other countries follow through on threats to repatriate euro clearing after Brexit.

Clearing, along with bank access to the EU, are key pillars supporting the 2 million workers in Britain's financial industry, says Davis Polk & Wardwell's Michael Sholem.
Malcolm Turnbull appears determined to maintain his silence on whether he contributed more than $2 million to the Liberal Party to help his re-election effort. Significantly, he hasn't denied it.

But due to the archaic laws governing political donations at the federal level, we must wait until February next year before the Australian Electoral Commission publishes the disclosures of political parties and candidates.

There is absolutely nothing wrong  or maybe even surprising  with the decision to inject a large amount of cash into a campaign in which you are seeking to be re-elected as prime minister.

The Prime Minister is enormously wealthy  worth an estimated $200 million  and it's all perfectly legal, of course. But therein lies quite a big problem.
The dataset available from a national census would make the social data, call logs, and other vast swathes of information that we know government agencies are scooping up, that much more dangerous. It was over a decade ago that the US Department of Homeland Security admitted accessing US Census data on Arab Americans, and the data-mining, automation and ease in cross-populating of data sets has only improved since then.

Those arguing for a public boycott of the census point out that the choice has been taken away. If you choose to fill out the census online, the fields for name and address are mandatory. Those who attempt to request a physical paper form are finding phones and emails at the ABS go unanswered, and the $180 per day fine for not completing the census provides a pretty convincing stick.

While I share the deep concerns of many for our individual privacy, the main incentive that drives me to complete the census in full is a belief in the bigger picture. I'm simply not willing to jeopardise or sacrifice the collective benefit of such a wealth of statistical information that is so vital to an understanding of our own populace.

We must put into perspective that we have one of the best statistics departments in the world, and the insights gleaned from our census go towards making strong, well-informed policy. To entirely discard our contribution in this due to (well-founded) privacy concerns would damage us as a society more in the long term than it would progress the privacy debate right now.

This isn't a choice we should have to make. The ABS should act immediately to address the main privacy concerns, before census day. At the bare minimum, the ABS should inform the public that if they have privacy concerns related to the census, they will not be fined if they choose to leave name and address data blank. This will go a long way to restoring the trust in the 2016 census.
Only half of Queensland's successful Senate attended the Australian Electoral Commissions formal declaration of results on Friday, but it was the absence of two future One Nation senators  Pauline Hanson and Malcolm Roberts  that loomed large over the proceedings.

Natural Resources Minister Matthew Canavan said the return of One Nation showed the public's trust in its politicians was at one of its lowest ebbs.

One Nation senator-elect Malcolm Roberts was not present for the AEC's formal declaration of results. Credit:Robert Shakespeare

Senator Canavan said that was a cause for introspection for the major parties, including his own Liberal National Party.

"I'm not sure if people in Brisbane quite understand how tough places like Townsville are doing right now and that economic upheaval, that economic uncertainty, I believe has fed an opportunity for parties like One Nation," he said.
An Abbott-era push to remove racial discrimination protections could be back on the table in the new Parliament, with several incoming senators determined to strike off section 18c of the Racial Discrimination Act.

Derryn Hinch, Senator-elect for Victoria, said he supported unwinding the law "1000 per cent" and had discussed the issue with Liberal Senator Cory Bernardi and re-elected Family First Senator Bob Day.

"Watch out for 18c because that is going to be really right back on the table," he told ABC radio on Friday. "I want to scrap it. I'm offended and insulted by any legislation that says 'offend and insult' anybody."

The team of four One Nation senators will also push to have section 18c repealed. Malcolm Roberts, who was elected alongside Pauline Hanson to represent Queensland, raised the issue at his debut press conference on Thursday.
Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull has pledged $230 million over four years under the Cyber Security Strategy. Credit:Fairfax Media "The internet gives great scope to nation-states, trouble-makers and various threat actors to do things from their lounge room that otherwise they would have had to do face to face. It's been a great enabler. It knocks down geography and a whole lot of other things that previously would have got in the way." Canberra has admitted to two major cyber breaches in recent years, one on federal Parliament's email system and the other on the Bureau of Meteorology, which is plugged into other agencies including Defence. Both are suspected of coming from Chinese government hackers. Hackers struck a blow to the Democratic National Committee when information embarrassing to Hillary Clinton, pictured with Bernie Sanders, was released by WikiLeaks. Credit:AP Concerns over the security of government information hit the headlines again this week as Australians began filling out the census largely online, with personal details being held on government systems for four years.

Serious cyber attacks are designed for warfare situations  the first shots in a conflict between major powers would be digital, attempting to take out the other side's ability to command and control their forces. But the same capabilities can be used in scenarios well short of war to coerce, intimidate and influence, just as traditional military hardware can be used in the way it is now in the South China Sea. Russian hackers are suspected to have struck to help Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump. Credit:New York Times "The internet gives great scope to nation-states, trouble-makers and various threat actors to do things from their lounge room that otherwise they would have had to do face to face. Alastair MacGibbon, cyber security adviser Tobias Feakin, a cyber expert with the Australian Strategic Policy Institute and an independent adviser on the government's classified Cyber Security Review, said Russia was already suspected of having used cyber for "political destabilisation and interference in its near region" in the form of attacks on Ukraine and Estonia that weren't wartime operations. Feakin is one of those who believes the Democratic National Committee case was a "quite dangerous" watershed moment, assuming it was indeed Russia as reported.

The use of hackers may be one of a 'long list' of differences between Russia and the US. Credit:AP "It is crossing the boundary around non-interference in a state political process  almost to weaponising that information and making it harmful to another government without having to confront it." One veteran security insider told Fairfax Media such state-on-state attempts at cyber coercion are likely being done "on a much wider scale than you would think and  certainly than is reported". The Australian Cyber Security Centre in Canberra reports a growing range of cybersecurity threats. Credit:Bryan Doherty He said there was "potential for this to go seriously astray" with sabotage, manipulation of information and even blackmail of political leaders all becoming possible.

"We've created a new monster that will allow people to manipulate information for political gain," the insider said. China, along with Russia, is considered one of the major culprits for cyber attacks on countries such as Australia. Credit:Reuters In a similar vein, MacGibbon noted everyone has information they wouldn't want to be made public. "I can guarantee you I've got some of that stuff. I'm suspecting you do as well, whether it's about my personal life, or my personal finances. Could people release that for the purposes of embarrassment and causing resignation? Absolutely. Would it be nation-states or just malicious people who do it? Yes, it could be anyone." A spokesman for the Australian Cyber Security Centre, housed in ASIO's headquarters in Canberra, said the centre was seeing a "variety of intrusion activity based on a growing range of cybersecurity threats".

"Foreign state-sponsored adversaries are targeting the networks of the Australian government (including state and territory), industry and individuals to satisfy requirements for economic, foreign policy, defence and security information, to gain advantage over Australia," he said. He declined to say where the attacks came from, saying that would "jeopardise ongoing investigations, monitoring of incidents and the ability to protect information and networks". "The more that is disclosed about cyber incidents, the more that the perpetrators will know about our capability and the methods we have for detecting cyber threats." Everyone in the business knows China and Russia are considered the major culprits in attacks on countries such as Australia. Feakin said Russia was known for the quality of its hacking, China for the quantity. Both use proxies, hackers who are outside the countries' intelligence agencies but do their bidding.

Where Russia is more about political destabilisation, China has a tradition of economic espionage. There isn't any obvious looming scenario in which another country such as China might try to influence or destabilise Australia politically, Feakin said. But he said that amid the great strategic change going on in our region and as a major US ally, there would be strong interest "in how powerful players are thinking, what future actions might be taken". "The political cycle is always of interest for countries that might be non-aligned with us strategically." The Turnbull government has pledged $230 million over four years under its Cyber Security Strategy for new staff and resources. The Defence White Paper put a heavy focus on cyber with a further $400 million over 10 years, noting there were more than 1200 attacks on government agencies and nationally critical sectors such as defence industry in 2015  a steady rise on previous years.

MacGibbon said in the 15 years he's been working in cybersecurity, as a federal police officer, a consultant and a government adviser, there's been a "progressive realisation by agencies" in government that they are vulnerable. "I would not be so churlish as to say to you that we've reached Nirvana in terms of agencies accepting that they need to mitigate those risks really aggressively," he said. "We have a way to go, there's no doubt. But I would tell you that in 2016, we are better placed than we were in 2006." But he adds that no security will ever be perfect. Foreign cyber operations will get through. This means countries including Australia need to figure out ways to respond, Feakin said. Hitting back needn't necessarily be done digitally. The US for instance has considered economic sanctions against Chinese hackers. Diplomatic responses are also an option.

But eye-for-an-eye responses are unlikely when it's hard to prove who was behind the hack without exposing one's own classified capabilities. China and Russia are "some of the worst offenders" when it comes to using criminal and hacktivist groups as proxies to carry out attacks, Feakin said. "Without the categorical, 100 per cent proof, it becomes almost impossible to take action." Turnbull said on revealing the ASD's offensive capability in April that by finally going public on a capability whose existence had long been assumed, he was adding "a level of deterrence". So why don't we just surreptitiously hit back in kind whenever we are attacked? Turnbull noted that Australia would only use offensive cyber lawfully and consistent with "the international rules-based order". In other words, we have better standards. The Inspector-General of Intelligence and Security  a watchdog on spy agencies  Margaret Stone addressed this question to an audience of intelligence officials and experts this week. In short, she said Australia is not Russia. But this raised a looming problem  do we have to lower our standards to keep up? Stone said she didn't think so but acknowledged it was a challenge.
One of Australia's new senators, One Nation's Malcolm Roberts, sent a bizarre affidavit to then prime minister Julia Gillard in 2011 demanding to be exempt from the carbon tax and using language consistent with the "sovereign citizen" movement.

Mr Roberts has also written numerous reports claiming climate change is an international conspiracy fostered by the United Nations and international banks to impose a socialist world order. At least one report cites several anti-Semitic conspiracy theorists, including notorious Holocaust denier Eustace Mullins among its "primary references".

Anti-government, self-identified "sovereign citizens" claim to exist outside the country's legal and taxation systems and frequently believe the government uses grammar to enslave its citizens.

NSW Police say such people "should be considered a potential terrorist threat".
At least 13 people currently serving jail time for high-level terrorism related convictions could be held indefinitely under legislation supported by federal and state attorneys-general in Canberra on Friday.

The Turnbull government is moving ahead with planned new national laws to allow the continued detention of jailed terrorists who still pose a risk after their prison terms expire.

The laws, criticised by some legal experts, could affect nine prisoners being held in NSW and four in Victoria, while a further 46 people facing charges or trial could also be affected, including 23 in NSW, 11 in Victoria and two in Queensland.

The plan, first announced in April, would see high-risk terrorists held in prison in the same way some convicted paedophiles and extreme violent offenders remain behind bars after their sentence under preventative measures.
Malcolm Turnbull calls Julia Gillard for advice. Credit:Jason South M: It's about.... J: DON'T MENTION HIS NAME! Sorry, Prime Minister. I've got an aversion to it. I don't want to ruin the mood of this happy, happy morn. Tim and I have been bouncing around and having a jolly pillow fight after reading that wonderful front page concerning he-who-won't-be-named in my presence EVER AGAIN. Tea and toast and feathers everywhere. Get the shovel and the little broom, Tim. And the mop. There's a dear. Editorial cartoon for Monday, August 1, 2016. Credit:Cathy Wilcox M: It's just that you've had a bit of experience with this nameless fellow, Julia, and I'm not at all sure how to deal with him. He keeps popping his head up. Like Banquo's ghost! Avaunt! and quit my sight! let the earth hide thee! Thy blood is marrowless; thy blood is cold!

J: Get a grip, Malcolm. Shakespeare's so wet. Was it you who was always calling me Lady Macbeth? Or was it that unfortunate fellow you took the sword to, Tony.... M: DON'T MENTION HIS NAME! Aversion. Comes with the territory. Out damned spot! Can't seem to wash some things away. You'd understand, Julia. Anyway, this...um...person who's shouting to the world that I wouldn't nominate him to run it. How can I shut him up? J: You're asking me? M: Yes, yes, I know you didn't have a lot of success on that front. But you've had a bit of time to think about what you might have done differently. If you'd give me just a hint I'd be deeply in your debt. How do you feel about Paris, by the way?

J: Guillotine. M: Well, quite. A while ago now. Spectre of it wouldn't bother you on a little ramble around the Place de la Concorde these days, of course. J: I mean, Malcolm, the only thing that would guarantee the spectre-that-can't-be-named would clam up and disappear is if you dropped the blade of a guillotine on him. And you couldn't be perfectly sure he'd quit his haunting even then. M: Bit drastic, Julia. Still. Errr. While you were cogitating about this, I suppose you didn't figure out exactly how you'd create the circumstances where some nameless person could be subjected to a guillotine in the 21st century, did you? For the sake of argument? J: Diplomatic post.
Barack Obama has penned a letter on feminism, admitting he often let childcare responsibilities fall "disproportionately and unfairly" on his wife, Michelle.

The US president, who has voiced his support for Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton  the first woman to receive a major party nomination  in the upcoming presidential election, wrote exclusively for Glamour magazine about gender equality in the US, reflecting on both the important women in his life and how society can do more to achieve gender equality.

US President Barack Obama with daughters Sasha [left] and Malia. Credit:Getty

After joking that one of the best things about being president is "living above the store", Obama, 55, admitted his family had operated under an inequitable distribution of domestic labour during his time as an Illinois senator and law professor, while his wife was also working at the University of Chicago.

"Like many working mothers, she worried about the expectations and judgments of how she should handle the trade-offs, knowing that few people would question my choices," he wrote.
My super power is finding four-leaf clovers. I found my first one at age 11 and consistently ever since.

Some estimates say there are 10,000 three-leaf clovers for every one four-leaf clover. That's much better odds than winning Lotto or playing pokies but it doesn't explain why I can find them without really looking.

Hillary Clinton, with her daughter Chelsea, says "no one gets through life alone". Credit:AP

I'll often glance down and instantly spot the four-leaf clover in the middle of the patch, and I've even found clovers with five, six and seven leaves.

As far as super powers go, it's not as useful as my friend's ability to always find a killer parking space. But my clover power is quirky and it suits my optimistic personality, because of course it's supposed to be lucky.
Former NSW Labor minister Eddie Obeid, who is facing a potential jail sentence for misconduct in public office, has suffered a mild stroke.

Fairfax Media understands Obeid was admitted to the emergency department at St Vincent's Hospital on Thursday night.

Eddie Obeid leaves Darlinghurst Court in June. Credit:Ben Rushton

The 72-year-old former ALP powerbroker was discharged from hospital on Friday morning.

Obeid is awaiting sentencing after being found guilty in June of misconduct in public office over his family's business dealings at Circular Quay.
A man has been taken to hospital in a critical condition after he was shot in Sydney's south-west on Friday afternoon.

Emergency services were called to North Liverpool Road in Heckenberg at around 5.15pm after reports that shots were fired.

A 20-year-old man was found injured outside a home on the street.

NSW Ambulance said the man suffered several gunshot wounds, with the most serious to his hip.
Social Housing Minister Brad Hazzard, responsible for a public housing waiting list of about 60,000, is firmly in the latter camp. Located on Cumberland Street in The Rocks, the Sirius building's brutalist concrete box architecture has divided public opinion for almost 40 years. Credit:Wolter Peeters "My only interest is to try and get the maximum dollars to build more social housing," Hazzard says. Hazzard is familiar with the numbers. Since the government announced its Rocks and Millers Point sales on March 19, 2014, it has raised over $260 million. The funds have been used to pay for 600 new social housing dwellings, mostly in Western Sydney. For instance  134 homes in Bankstown, 80 in Fairfield and 50 in Penrith. The Sirius building has 79 apartments, which can house up to 200 people. Only 12 residents, living in eight apartments, remain. Credit:Louis Douvis

The Sirius sale is expected to net at least another $100 million. Had the building been heritage listed, this figure may have been reduced by as much as $70 million, the government says. In one sense, however, this controversy reflects a debate that has been raging from the time of the Sirius' construction in the 1970s, and its opening in March 1980. Environment Minister Mark Speakman rejected a bid to have the Sirius building preserved on the state heritage register. Credit:Louis Douvis The National Trust, which now laments the impending destruction of the Sirius as another attack on the city's physical history, then derided the building as "the lump on the Rocks". Its architect, Tao Gofers, never accepted the criticism, declaring at the time that people would come to accept the building "in three or four years". At best, however, the building has gathered a cult-like affection for its unique hideous beauty, and its status as a quasi-monument to the Australian egalitarian spirit.

It was these elements that underscored the Heritage Council's bid, late last year, to preserve the Sirius. In its unanimous recommendation that the building be heritage listed, the council focused on two grounds: its integrity as an example of brutalist architecture; and its history as a response to the Green Bans movement of the 1960s and 1970s. It is notable that in rejecting their submission this week, Environment Minister Mark Speakman did not reject outright their arguments. Rather, in sealing Sirius' date with a wrecking ball, he said that "even if it reached a threshold for State heritage significance" the cost of that listing would be unjustifiable. Speakman insisted this decision did not indicate an ethos of "money trumps heritage". And Hazzard, meanwhile, says the government is not assessing for sale any of its other housing assets in inner Sydney. "There is no proposal whatsoever to go repeating Millers Point," he says. Nor, he says in response to the inevitable question, does the sell off of Millers Point to fund social housing in Sydney's west amount to social cleansing. All of the Millers Point residents, Hazzard says, have been given priority access to accommodation "in the immediate area", with many of them relocated close to central Sydney.

However, to many, Speakman's prerogative speaks to a broader concern about the Baird government's unapologetically commercial outlook. "They don't think people like me should have these views," is how Sirius' oldest resident, Myra Demetriou, 89 puts it. The National Trust president, Clive Lucas, says: "This is the most recent in a series of decisions damaging Sydneysiders' 'sense of place' in pursuit of money." And renowned unionist Jack Mundey, who led the historic Green Ban movement as head of the Builders' Labourers Federation, says the government is effectively scrubbing the inner city of its social history. "The whole history of The Rocks is the working class," says Mundey, now in his 80s. "That is being eroded."

Mundey's movement, which is widely credited with saving The Rocks from high rise development and protecting the low-income neighbourhood from eviction, formed a key part of the National Trust's submission to have the apartment block heritage listed. But that historical interpretation is also contested, according to one of the consultants who briefed the Heritage Council on the merits of the building's Heritage application. "This building has been very divisive within the profession about whether or not it is significant and why it is significant," Maclaren North, the NSW director of consultancy firm Extent Heritage, says. Dr North, who was hired by FACS to evaluate the building's historical connection to the Green Ban movement, concluded that over the years "a mythology had built up around the building". He says his position is grounded in primary documents from the time, which he said could support "a general era connection" between the Sirius building and the Green Ban movement but a direct connection was "a lot more tangential".

"I am a firm believer in the heritage listing process, but I believe if it's going to be credible, it's got to be robust," says North. "A lot of the claims simply did not stack up." But for the remaining 12 residents, the heritage listing debate was largely academic. "I feel like I belong here," Ruby Martin said on Wednesday. "These people are my family." Residents have been given the option of relocating to one of the remaining public housing units in Millers Point, that were quarantined from the sell-off and have since been refurbished. But with some of her neighbours digging in, an unedifying showdown is brewing for the government. And Hazzard did not rule out the possibility the building would be sold out from under them.
State and federal authorities are investigating a cyber attack on the Queensland government.

The email account of Annastacia Palaszczuk's director-general, David Stewart, has been hacked and used to circulate bogus emails in his name, News Corp reports.

Hackers have targeted the premier's director-general, David Stewart.

A government spokesman told AAP on Friday morning malicious emails had been circulating and Queensland's chief information officer had called in the police.

"The Queensland government is also working with the Australian Cyber Security Centre," the spokesman said.
A taskforce set up to investigate a string of violent armed robberies around Brisbane has claimed its first win.

Detectives from Taskforce Islands arrested a 27-year-old Riverview man on Thursday night in relation to three armed robberies they believe to be linked.

Police are searching for 26-year-old Luke Sullivan in relation to a string of armed robberies throughout Brisbane. Credit:Queensland Police

The man was charged with one count of armed robbery, one count of grievous bodily harm, three counts of assault occasioning bodily harm and three counts of deprivation of liberty in relation to the armed robbery of a jewellery store at Albion on July 15.

He appeared in Brisbane Magistrates Court on Friday and was remanded in custody until his next appearance on August 29.
A diplomatic stoush has erupted after a school in Melbourne's inner north axed the teaching of Greek and Italian  the languages commonly spoken in its community.

Parents have accused Northcote High School of trying to rebadge itself as an elite state school after it announced it would phase out the languages, but retain French and Chinese.

The Greek and Italian consuls-general have now intervened, urging the school to reconsider its decision.

In an unusual move, the officials are organising meetings with Education Minister James Merlino to express their concerns about the curriculum changes.
A working smoke alarm saved the occupants of a house in Melbourne's north east that was set ablaze overnight.

Emergency services were called to a house fire in Amiet Street, Greensborough just before 2am on Saturday morning.

A smoke alarm alerted the man and woman sleeping inside the house to the blaze about 1.53am.

Metropolitan Fire Brigade's fire service communication control officer Bruce Weaver said the single storey weatherboard house was "all involved".
Police have attempted to hose down concerns that organised crime syndicates are using young people to do their "dirty work" in widespread crime sprees that include car-jackings, home invasions and commercial burglaries.

Assistant Commissioner Stephen Fontana said on Friday that police had arrested more than 120 people since the launch of Operation Cosmas, a campaign designed to tackle a spate of aggravated thefts across Melbourne's suburbs.

Assistant Police Commissioner Stephen Fontana says young people can be lured into organised crime with the promise of cash. Credit:Penny Stephens

"We are making a dent," the Assistant Commissioner said.

"It is still safe to live in Melbourne. Yes, we do have this type of offending from time to time, but we are getting on top of it and we will continue our focus to target these offenders."
Behind the Post towards Barrack Street is the COMO Treasury Lounge Bar. True to its name, it does feel a bit like a lounge room (albeit a very classy one), with couches, open gas fires and original artworks adorning the walls. If you're looking for somewhere a little quieter to have a chat, then this is a comfortable place to do it. On the other side of the Postal Hall is the first of the Petition outlets (there's three of them). The Petition name is a historical shout-out to the petitioners who would gather over 100 years ago at the State Buildings to lobby for various causes. When you enter the Petition outlets, you'll notice a distinct change in architecture, from the classic to the industrial. Petition Wine Bar and Merchant has an extensive wine list and a selection of delicious cheeses to go with it. In the colder months, there's a delightful little pop-up bar serving mulled wine, and musicians take to the upper balcony, their melodies sprinkling down over the Postal Hall like a light dusting of snow. Petition also doubles as a wine merchant with many labels you won't find in your average bottle shop. Behind the wine bar is Petition Beer Corner (also accessible via Barrack street). It has a completely different feel to the sophistication and elegance of the Postal Hall, with an industrial vibe, exposed brick and pipework and a slightly rowdier atmosphere. They take their craft beers pretty seriously, and there are 18 beers on tap that are constantly changing. The Beer Corner also has its own menu, stocked with food suited to a good ale. At the other end of the Beer Corner is Petition Kitchen, a sit-down restaurant with high chairs and tables in the centre and an open kitchen where you can watch the chefs ply their craft. The food is rustic, colourful and tasty. There's heaps of options for sharing, as well as several substantial mains. They have a decent wine list to match the food, or you can order a beer from the adjoining Beer Corner to go with your meal.

If you'd rather a caffeine hit than an alcoholic beverage, try Telegram coffee, which is just off the main Postal Hall. The tiny shop is built in what appears to be an old restored sea container, which unfolds like a pop up book in the mornings, and is packed neatly back up at night. One of the crank wheels that facilitates this amazing feat once maneuvered one of the dumbwaiters in the original buildings 135 years ago. Telegram has a unique way of closing and opening shop at the State Buildings. Next to Telegram are the stairs that will lead you down to Long Chim, a casual restaurant serving spectacular Thai street food. Owner David Thompson is known all over the world, and Long Chim is his first Australian offering. The food is rich and fragrant and the flavours are explosive. The restaurant has a distinctly urban feel, with street art on the walls, exposed brickwork and corrugated iron ceilings. And if you're in a hurry at lunchtime, Long Chim has also opened a Tuck Shop in the courtyard, which serves delicious curries and rice on the spot. Also underground, with its hole-in-the-wall entrance opposite the new Perth Library, is the Halford bar. Walking down the stairs will make you feel like you've stepped back in time as you're greeted by 1960s decor with a few modern twists. Halford feels like two bars in one, with the slightly blokier public bar at the front opening up to a more feminine, dimly lit, velvet-filled lounge bar. Leading even further down a small set of stairs, and behind a mysterious curtain, is the tiny 'strong room,' which was once where all the important land titles and documents were held. But the most important document there these days is the extensive cocktail and wine list, which also features a range of easy to eat food options available till late.

COMO the Treasury has recently won Gourmet Traveller's awards for Australia's best hotel and best new hotel, and as soon as you step into the elegant, understated arrivals lounge, you can see why. Instead of walking up to a formal, unsightly reception desk, stepping into the Como is like entering someone's lounge room (well, someone's exceptionally luxurious lounge room). Everything at the Como has been hand selected, and doing a tour of the property is like a tour around the world, with chairs from Italy, rugs from Nepal and tiles from Turkey.

The Como has only 48 rooms, each beautifully and elegantly decorated, perfect down to the last detail. The decor is neutral without being plain, and everything in the rooms look like it belongs exactly where it's been placed. The bathrooms are enormous, featuring huge stone baths and monsoon shower heads recessed into the ceiling. The blinds are all electric with blackout options, which allow you to shut the world out with the touch of a button. Each hotel room at COMO The Treasury at the State Buildings is immaculately designed. The building is a fascinating juxtaposition of the old and the new, and architect Kerry Hill has created a modern space, while paying the ultimate respect to its history. Much of the flooring in the hotel has been salvaged from the original buildings, with hundreds of restored jarrah floorboards lining the corridors, and the original concrete still flowing down the stairways. When you walk down them, you know there's 140 years of history beneath your feet. One of the modern additions to the building is the glass-encased pool area, which looks directly over the roof of the adjacent Town Hall (you can time your laps by the giant clock). One wall of this glass box is made entirely of louvered windows, which open and close automatically to ensure the air temperature is kept at a pleasant 25 degrees.

Deep in the underbelly of the State Buildings, behind the thick iron doors that used to protect some of the government's most important documents, you'll uncover the COMO Shambhala Urban Escape spa. You don't need to be a hotel guest to make an appointment, and I would absolutely recommend treating yourself if you need a place to unwind completely. The Como signature massage is a one way ticket to relaxation heaven, and the massage beds are the most comfortable I can remember ever having the pleasure to lay on. The massage uses the perfectly comforting combination of hot oils and hot towels, which will send you off to sleep faster than a warm glass of milk.

Postal Hall at the State Buildings maintains many incarnations from 140 years ago. On St Georges Terrace, down an unobtrusive-looking set of stairs, lay a few more of the hidden delights of the State Buildings. At one end is a small yoga and pilates studio, which offers several public classes a day, including the stress-busting roll and release class. The space is light and warm, paying homage to its original purpose of containing the boilers that used to heat the whole building. If you need to satisfy an after-yoga sugar craving, pop next door and you'll discover all sorts of amazing treats. There's sweetness galore at the colourful Sugarplum Sweets, which includes handmade lollies, cakes, macaroons and heaps of other treats. For something a little darker, there's delicious handmade chocolates at Sue Lewis Chocolatier, and you can even learn to make them for yourself at one of the weekly classes. But if you'd like someone else to do the hard work, pop into The Honeycake for one of the most scrumptious, yet delicate cakes you'll ever try.

If you can't possibly fit another thing in, there are several non-edible shopping options at the State Buildings. Ginger B sells beautifully assembled gift hampers featuring all sorts of high quality goodies, from olive oils to bath salts. Aurelio Costarella has all the latest in high end fashion, Clean Slate offers pure and natural skin care products and candles, while Rohan Jewellery has all sorts of sparkly gems that could be a girl's best friend. Loading
A man who was left a paraplegic and partially blind after police shot him during a siege is reminded every day about his crime and should be spared jail, his lawyer says.

Daniel John Ashley, 27, burst into his ex-girlfriend's Perth home in June last year, armed with weapons including a replica gun and baton, taking her and four other people hostage for three hours before he was shot twice.

Daniel Ashley has pleaded guilty to a number of offences. Credit:Facebook

While Ashley's actions seemed frightening, terrorising and unpredictable, he could not actually have shot anyone, defence counsel Linda Black told the West Australian District Court on Friday

"Mr Ashley did not go out that night to cause harm to anyone except himself," she said.
Rome: More than 100 migrants broke through police barriers at the Italian border town of Ventimiglia and made their way into France, the local Italian police chief says.

They stopped on rocks near the port at the French Riviera town of Menton after breaking through in the afternoon and were still there on Friday evening under the surveillance of French police, said Ventimiglia police commander Giorgio Marenco.

"Both the Italian and French forces at the border were taken by surprise," Marenco told Reuters.

The French Interior Ministry and representatives of the Alpes-Maritimes region around Menton were not available for comment.
Washington: Donald Trump unveiled an economic team that's a mirror image of the candidate and his campaign: They're mostly outside the Republican, Wall Street and academic establishments, and they're all men.

The lineup is heavy on aging billionaires who run their own enterprises - just like Trump - and includes financiers John Paulson, Andy Beal and Stephen Feinberg. Economists David Malpass, Peter Navarro and Stephen Moore are also listed as advisers to the Republican presidential candidate.

"There's been this divide between the establishment Republicans and the Trump candidacy," said Douglas Holtz-Eakin, president of the Washington-based American Action Forum and a former adviser to Republican John McCain's 2008 presidential campaign. "It's reflected in the advisers. You don't have the standard list of establishment conservatives."

None of the big Wall Street banks, such as Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and JPMorgan Chase & Co., are represented. Such prominent Republican academic advisers as Glenn Hubbard of the Columbia Business School and Gregory Mankiw of Harvard University also aren't included.
Join Auto Lab Live 7-9 AM (EDT) August 6, 2016; Car Comment or Concern? Call 888-692-7234







August 6, 2016

Car Question or Concern? Call Toll Free 888-692-7234

Auto Lab is a 27 year old interactive automotive-focused New York area radio call-in show hosted by Professor Harold Wolchok. Each week a cadre of experienced hands-on automotive experts are in-studio with advice for the New York area's 12 million people, providing listeners with honest, practical and street-smart car repair and buying advice.

Auto Lab is also about the automotive industry, its history, and its culture, presenting the ideas and advice of leading college faculty, authors, and automotive practitioners in a relaxed, conversational interactive format.

Listeners can hear the past 18 years of archived Auto Lab shows as simulcast on www.theautochannel.com.

Listen - Auto Lab Page (Includes Audio-on-Demand Archives, Auto Programs at Community College Database, Guests Pictures

August 6, 2016 - Car Question? Straight Answers From These Auto Lab In-Studio Experts

Harold Bendell- Major Auto

Audra Fordin-Great Bear Auto Repairs & "What Women Auto Know"

David Goldsmith - Urban Classics Auto Repairs

Joseph Guarino-Joe Guarino's Auto Repairs

Jerry Pastore-D & J Diagnostic

Johanna Pastore-D & J Diagnostic

Joan Porcelli, Esq

Michael Porcelli - Central Avenue Auto Repairs & I-CAR

Nicholas Prague- MTA and Rockland Community College, SUNY

Jose Ramirez - Ramirez and Sons AAA Auto Repair

August 6, 2016 - Correspondent Reports: Auto News, Car Reviews, Opinion and Latest Auto World Information

Robert Erskine, Senior European Correspondent, Suffolk England

MORE THAN THE SUM OF IT'S PARTS

John Russell Senior Correspondent

KIA K900 LUXURY SEDAN

Russ Rader, Vice President Insurance Institute for Highway Safety

TURNING OFF RED LIGHT CAMERAS COSTS LIVES, NEW RESEARCH SHOWS

Dr. William Sharfman, Automotive Journalist and Consultant

"DISCUSSION OF TOYOTA'S MANUFACTURING IN THE UNITED STATES
Ahead Of Its Time: The Visionary Budd-E Concept Van Is Honored Once Again







 The all-electric van is named Concept Truck of the Year at the North American Concept Vehicle of the Year Awards



 Jury says BUDD-e meets vehicle requirements of the 21st century



 Latest award is one of many that the BUDD-e has picked up

WOLFSBURG - August 5, 2016: The BUDD-e has been honoured for its forward-looking overall concept at the North American Concept Vehicle of the Year Awards in Plymouth, Michigan. The awards jury pointed out that the BUDD-e is an environmentally compatible model that also meets the vehicle-utility requirements of the 21st century.

Established in 2002, the North American Concept Vehicle of the Year Awards honours concept vehicles that make the biggest impression in terms of design, styling, materials, technologies and marketability. The BUDD-e received its award in the Concept Truck category for light commercial vehicles.

This additional award for the model proves once again that Volkswagen is on the right track with its next generation of electrically powered vehicles. The BUDD-e has actually received several awards over the last few months. Aside from winning its category in the Automotive Brand Contest for outstanding product design and receiving the Plus X Award seal of approval for Innovation & Design, the avant-garde trendsetter also captured two other awards in the USA, one of them for Best Innovation from the online technology magazine "Engadget".

The concept vehicle's innovative and forward-looking interior also won the award for "Interior Design of the Year  Concept Vehicle" at the Automotive Interiors Expo 2016 in Stuttgart (D).

In line with philosophy that "If you want to be ahead of the times, you have to adopt new approaches", Volkswagen presented a cutting-edge concept vehicle at this year's Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in the form of the BUDD-e. The all-electric drive system with a range of up to 533 km isn't the only fascinating thing about the BUDD-e, as the vehicle also features a new type of operation system, information via voice, touch and gesture control, and large displays.
Authorities warn about rainbow fentanyl Victims often arent aware theyre taking it

The Ventura County Office of Education and state health officials have issued a warning to schools and families about rainbow fentanyl, a form of the potentially fatal synthetic opioid that comes in bright colors. Rainbow fentanyl can be found in...

Cancer support community to host remembrance event Cancer Support Community Valley/Ventura/Santa Barbara invites family members and friends of those who have died from cancer to attend the second annual Evening of Remembrance from 5:30 to 7 p.m. Thurs., Nov. 3 at Cancer Support Communitys Garden of Hope,...

Grant advances CSUCI research Cal State Channel Islands assistant professor of computer science Scott Feister and assistant professor of mathematics Alona Kryshchenko recently received $112,480 from the National Science Foundation to continue a grant to support their research project, Enhancing Laser Based Ion Sources...

Healthcare agency recommends flu shots The Ventura County Health Care Agency offers options for the community to receive flu shots through its Ambulatory Care Clinic system, public health clinics and pop-up clinics. Although seasonal influenza viruses are detected year-round in the United States, they are...
Days before an ISIS sympathizer attacked a cartoon contest in Garland, Texas , he received a text from an undercover FBI agent.

Tear up Texas, the agent messaged Elton Simpson days before he opened fire at the Draw Muhammad event, according to an affidavit (pdf) filed in federal court Thursday.

U know what happened in Paris, Simpson responded. So that goes without saying No need to be direct.

That revelation comes amidst a national debate about the use of undercover officers and human sources in terrorism cases. Undercover sources are used in more than half of ISIS-related terror cases, according to statistics kept by the George Washington University Program on Extremism, and civil-liberties advocates say some of those charged might not have escalated their behavior without those interventions.

It would certainly be inappropriate for an FBI undercover agent or cooperating witness to provoke or inspire or urge a person to commit an act of violence, Michael German, a former FBI agent now at the Brennan Center for Justice, told The Daily Beast. I could imagine an undercover agent thinking it was just the hyperbolic rhetoric they are participating in, and it wasnt an intent to go to Texas and do harm.

The affidavit raises a lot more questions than it answers, and I would hope that overseers within Congress and the Justice Department would want to take a hard look at the scope of this investigation, he added.

The texts were included in the indictment, released Thursday, of Erick Jamal Hendricks of Charlotte, North Carolina. He was charged with conspiring to provide material support to ISIS. The 35-year-old tried to recruit other Americans to form an ISIS cell on secret compounds and introduced an undercover agent to one of the Draw Muhammad attackers, according to the FBI.

But Hendricks did more than make a connection. According to the court papers, he asked the undercover officer about the Draw Muhammad events security, size, and police presence, during the event, according to an affidavit filed in court.

The affidavit does not specify what the undercover responded to questions about size and security.

If you see that pig [Pamela Geller] make your voice heard against her, Hendricks allegedly told the undercover agent, referring to a notorious Islamophobe.

Press officers for the U.S. Attorneys Office for the Northern District of Ohio, the Cleveland FBI Office, and the Department of Justice declined to comment beyond the affidavit. FBI spokeswoman Carol Cratty hung up on The Daily Beast after being asked about the tear up Texas text.

But shortly after that exchange, Simpson and his accomplice, Nadir Soofi, drove up to the contest and opened fire on police officers, injuring one of them slightly. Both men were killed in the altercation, but Hendricks would remain free for another year.

Hendrickss arrest means that every major U.S. attack was linked to FBI investigation before it happened, Seamus Hughes, deputy director of the Program on Extremism at George Washington University, told The Daily Beast.

The fact that they had an undercover employee already, and had him there, that tells me thats something they were concerned about, he said.

A cooperating witness, arrested in June 2015 on terrorism charges in Ohio, helped build the case against Hendricks. Though he is not identified in the affidavit by name, the only person who matches the description in the documents is Amir Said Abdul Rahman Al-Ghazi, previously known as Robert McCollum. Like the cooperating witness mentioned in the affidavit, Al-Ghazi was arrested on terrorism, weapons, and drug charges in June of that year. And, like the cooperating witness, Al-Ghazi pleaded guilty to material support for a terrorist organization and two charges of being a felon in possession of firearms.

Though Hendricks was charged on Thursday, the allegations against him focus on March 1, 2015 to May 31, 2015, just before McCollums arrest.

Hendricks also went by Mustafa and Abu Harb (Father of War), according to the affidavitaliases he used in the process of allegedly trying to recruit McCollum for his ISIS cell.

When McCollum was arrested, agents asked him whether he knew anyone who had been talking about the Garland attack.

Fuck. I didnt know about Garland before it happened but a brother had contacted me, McCollum said. His name on [the messaging app] was Abu Harb.

Then, McCollum said, Hendricks admonished him for selling pot.

Despite his paranoia of government surveillance, Hendricks ended up interacting with a number of FBI informants and staff through their investigation of McCollum. Among the tips he allegedly gave them was to split Islamic references to throw off the feds.

[T]he moo ja hid guide, Hendricks wrote to one informant, in an apparent effort to avoid writing out the term mujahid, or holy warrior.

Hendricks allegedly claimed that ISIS asked him to stay and plan attacks in America, and that he had 10 men and women in his group.

Hij rah is not what senior people requested me, he allegedly texted an undercover agent, splitting the Arabic word for migration.

Instead, Hendricks allegedly planned to build a secure compound for training and to steal weapons from military compounds and recruiting stations in the middle of the night. What he didnt realize was that some of the men he thought were his fellow jihadists had a very different mission in mindone on Washingtons behalf.
On March 30, 1985, friends found the bodies of Derek and Nancy Haysom in their home in Bedford County, Virginia. Derek was 72 and Nancy was 53. Their throats were slit from ear to ear. The double murder terrified their small, central Virginia community. And it could have political repercussions to this day.

At issue is Tim Kaines decision to extradite the Haysoms killer, Jens Soering, to Germany. The move would have substantially reduced his prison sentence if Kaines successor hadnt blocked it. Kaines allies say he made the right decision for the right reasons. But Virginia Republicans say Kaines efforts to extradite Soering could hurt his vice presidential bidespecially given the tough-on-crime focus of Donald Trumps campaign.

The Haysoms were retirees living outside Lynchburg, Virginia, when the crime occurred. They disapproved of their daughter, Elizabeth Haysom, dating Soering. Soering was a German national, and the two met while attending the University of Virginia. One night, Soering came to their home, had an altercation with them, and then stabbed them both to deathleaving their mangled bodies nearly decapitated.

Investigators initially had trouble finding their killer and didnt immediately suspect that Elizabeth and Soering were involved. As the investigation proceeded, the pair fled the country, ultimately ending up under arrest in the United Kingdom a year later on check-fraud charges, as The Roanoke Times detailed in a retrospective piece looking at the crime and its fallout.

Soering eventually confessed to murdering the Haysoms and later said he thought diplomatic immunity would give him some protection from the law (his father was a low-level German diplomat stationed in Atlanta and Detroit). Both were convicted and given lengthy sentences; Soering for first-degree murder and Elizabeth for accessory to murder before the fact. A judge sentenced Soering to serve two consecutive life sentences. Hes currently incarcerated in Virginias Buckingham Correctional Center.

Since his conviction, Soering has converted to Catholicism and written extensively about criminal justice issues. He says he is innocent and that he only confessed to try to protect Elizabeth. He has tried to get extradited to Germany, where he would serve two years in prison and then be eligible for parole. And he became a cause celebre in some circles. The late Walter Sullivan, then the retired Catholic bishop of Richmond, backed his extradition and discussed it with Kaine, according to the AP.

And in the final days of his governorship, in January 2010, Kaine moved to extradite Soering. Immediately after being inaugurated, his Republican successor, Bob McDonnell, blocked the move.

Kaines effort angered some close to the case, including Ricky Gardner. Gardner is a major in the Bedford County sheriffs office, and he worked on the team that investigated the Haysoms killing. Gardner said Kaine didnt notify law enforcement or the Haysoms family before moving to extradite Soering. (Family members could not be reached for comment; at least one who Gardner said disapproved of Kaines move is now deceased.)

Gardner said Soerings extradition would have resulted in his serving less time than Elizabeth Haysomeven though Elizabeth didnt actually kill anyone and Soering did.

If the parole board in their wisdom paroled Elizabeth next week and then Jens Soering the following week, thats just the way the system works, Gardner said. But for her to serve one day longer sentence or stay in jail one day longer than him is a complete travesty of justice. And if Kaine had gotten his way, thats what would have happened.

To this day, Kaines decision still disturbs Gardner. Kaine publicly defended the move by saying he didnt want Virginia to carry the expense of Soerings incarceration.

He is not a sympathetic character, thats true, Kaine told the AP in an interview that ran May 5, 2011. I would never grant him clemency. But I did feel like Virginians have paid for his incarceration for a very long time. Let the Germans pay to keep this guy.

Gardner said he doesnt find that answer satisfactory.

Thats a bunch of crap, he said. Now think about it: If that was the truth, why didnt he come out and say that back then?

Kaine didnt defend his decision at the time he made it. As the AP reported, Virginians only learned of it when The Roanoke Times broke the news just a few hours before his term as governor ended.

Larry Roberts, who was his chief of staff at the Democratic National Committee at the time, said Kaines calculation involved more than just questions of cost-cutting.

My understanding was that he had had a lot of inquiries about it from the German government, including the German ambassador, and at the end of the day, he felt that it would promote the security of U.S. nationals abroad who run into trouble with the law if the U.S. was willing to engage in the international transfer process, he said.

It wasnt the most popular decision that Gov. Kaine made, Roberts added.

Amy Dudley, a spokesperson for Kaine, said he made a careful decision about supporting the extradition process.

After receiving assurances from the German government that Jens Soering had been convicted to a life sentence in Germany, and would never be allowed to enter the U.S. again, then-Governor Kaine recommended the Department of Justice consider transferring him into the German penal system where his own country could pay for his life imprisonment rather than Virginia taxpayers, she said. He has had no involvement in the case since January 2010.

Internal emails from Kaines gubernatorial administrationwhich the Library of Virginia has made publicly availableindicate his communications director, Lynda Tran, saw the move as a way to earn the U.S. a favor from Germany.

OFF THE RECORD and not for attribution you can say that the DOJ looks upon these types of transfers with other nations favorably because it puts us in a good position should there be American citizens held abroad that we wish transferred home in the future, she wrote to spokesman Gordon Hickey. Were essentially logging a favor for the US.

Virginia Republicans dont see that as reason enough to justify Soerings extradition, and they criticized Kaine for it during his 2012 Senate contest. That year was a Democratic wave, and Kaine won the race (as he has every other election hes ever run in). But Republicans say this year, it could be more of a liability for him because it fits into Trumps law-and-order narrative.

We have a lot of things from Tim Kaines past, being that hes been around for a while, said John Whitbeck, the chairman of the Republican Party of Virginia. Obviously its not the only issue, but its one that we plan to highlight.

Tim Kaine, one heartbeat away from the presidency, has a serious deficiency when it comes to protecting the citizens of the commonwealthand, in turn, the American peoplefrom what ought to be a slam dunk for him in terms of decision-making with these types of criminals, he added.

And Clintons top ally in the Old Dominion hasnt helped Kaine on the issue. Terry McAuliffe, a longtime Clinton confidant and the states current governor, decided late last year not to extradite Soering.

For his part, Soering wont appreciate being politicized. When Republicans brought the case up during Kaines Senate campaign, he wrote a Washington Post op-ed saying they were trying to make him the Willie Horton of 2012.

Theres a big difference, of course; Horton was black, and Soering is white. Still, using the release of a criminal to hit a political opponent worked quite successfully for George H.W. Bushs campaign in 1988, when the notorious Willie Horton ad ran.

The Republican strategist behind that move? Lee Atwater, whose old business partnerPaul Manafortnow runs Donald Trumps campaign.
On Friday night, President Obama is reportedly set to attend a top-secret dance party at the White House. The lavish event, organized by First Lady Michelle Obama, marks the presidents 55th birthday, and the last one he will enjoy as a resident of the White House.

According to Page Six, the guest list includes Usher, Kendrick Lamar (Obamas favorite rapper), Ellen DeGeneres, Portia de Rossi, Magic Johnson, Sarah Jessica Parker, Stevie Wonder, Jennifer Hudson, and John Legend. (The Washington Post also floated the names of Oprah Winfrey, Will Ferrell, and Fantasia.)

But the two names that received top billing were none other than Jay Z and Beyonce.

All the preparations and the guest list are being kept top-secret, a source told Page Six. The plan is to throw a party for the president to really let his hair down. There will be performances and a dance party that will go late into the night. Social media will be banned.

The White House did not respond to a request for comment, and The Daily Beast was not able to independently confirm the guest list for Obamas dance party. But the inclusion of Jay Z and Beyonce would be no surprise: The president, first lady and musics reigning power couple have been friendsnot to mention political alliesfor years.

Ive gotten to know these guys over the first several years, Obama told radio host Colby Colb in late 2012, shortly before his re-election. Theyre good people. Beyonce could not be sweeter to Michelle and the girls. So theyre good friends. We talk about the same things I talk about with all my friends.

On the eve of election night 2008, Jay Z spoke at a GOTV rally in Virginia urging young voters to cast their ballots. It was one of several pro-Obama events during that cycle that Jay Z headlined.

I cant tell you who to vote forall I can do is tell you to vote on Nov. 4, the most important election that will happen probably in your lifetime, the rapper said. Rosa Parks sat so that Martin Luther King could walk. Martin Luther King walked so that Obama could run. Obamas running so that we all can fly  I cant wait until Nov. 5 and Im going to say, Hello, Brother President.

Their relationship continued into the presidents first term, which included Beyonce and Jay Z stopping for a tour at the White House in 2010. The couple, along with a small entourage, were treated to a special visit to the White House Situation Room.

During Obamas 2012 campaign, the couple was there for Team Obama at basically every turn. When the president finally came out in support of gay marriage, Jay Z was there to back him up.

Its no different than discriminating against blacks, the recording artist said. Its discrimination plain and simple  I think [announcing support of gay marriage is] the right thing to do, so whether it costs [Obama] votes or notagain, its not about votes. Its about people. Its the right thing to do as a human being.

In September 2012, Beyonce and Jay Z threw a high-profile fundraiser at Jay Zs 40/40 Club in New York City. The private event ending up bringing in $4 million for the presidents campaign war chest.

Beyonce couldnt be a better role model for our daughters because she carries herself with such class and poise and has so much talent, the president said at the club. [Jay Z and I] both have daughters and our wives are more popular than we are. So, you know, weve got a little bond there. Its hard but its OK.

The two couples maintain close ties to this day. (Jay Z has even claimed that he texts with President Obama, a claim the commander in chief has denied.) For Michelle Obamas similarly celeb-packed 50th birthday celebration in 2014, Beyonce attended and performed. At the time, The Washington Post reported that she was quickly becoming a fixture at all major Obama milestones. And earlier this year, Beyonce, Jay Z, and Blue Ivy made a surprise appearance at the White Houses annual Easter Egg Roll.

As for the woman who might be the countrys next Democratic president, Beyonce and Jay Z have already shown their support, and donated money, for Hillary Clinton. However, it is unlikely that any friendship forged between the Clintons and the Carters could be as strong as the one the musicians currently enjoy with the first family.

I cant tell you how proud we are to host tonights [fundraiser] with President Obama, Beyonce said back in 2012. We believe in his vision.
His convention was called one of the worst ever. Chris Matthews deemed him dangerous and scary, Ellen DeGeneres said If youre a woman, you should be very, very scared. His opponent ran an ad against him portraying him as uniquely dangerous for women. Ive never felt this way before, but its a scary time to be a woman, said a woman in the ad.

He was frequently called a bully, anti-immigrant, racist, stupid, and unfit to be president.

Im referring, obviously, to the terrifying Mitt Romney.

A New Republic article proclaimed Yes, Romneys Vision for America Really Is That Scary and the Huffington Post headline read The Severe Danger of a Romney Presidency. Rolling Stone explained Why President Romney Would Be a Disaster for Women and Nick Kristof in The New York Times pontificated on How Romney Would Treat Women (spoiler alert: not well).

Mitt Romney was, of course, far from the first Republican presidential candidate to get this treatment. George W. Bush, John McCain, and any Republican who has the audacity to challenge a Democrat for the presidency are treated to ever more alarmist rhetoric. Every gaffe, every uncorroborated story is blown up by a media seemingly unaware of its extreme bias.

Lest you imagine all presidential candidates get this kind of media treatment, well, not quite. Barack Obama wasnt stupid when he said there were 57 states. He wasnt racist when he listened to Pastor Jeremiah Wrights sermons for 20 years. He wasnt insane when he said he would lower the oceans. He wasnt unfit when he said he would end the Iraq war on the very day he took office. He continually got the benefit of the doubt that Republicans never get from the press.

So in 2016 when there is a Republican candidate who might be, actually, dangerous, its unsurprising that many mainstream Republicans dont care. Its too late for the media to say no, no, we really mean it this time. Republican Never Trumpers, like myself, find that when we call Donald Trump scary or unfit, voters have heard it so often beforeand about people like mild-mannered, decent, knowledgeable Mitt Romneythat it doesnt resonate at all.

Take Paul Krugman in The New York Times. In Tuesdays column he wondered how any rational Republicans justify supporting Mr. Trump. He concludes its about feelings, a dismissal of legitimate arguments many people, both Republicans and not, have against Hillary Clinton. But no one is more feelings-based than Krugman when it comes to Republicans. If he wants to know how people can take Donald Trump seriously, he should take a hard look at himself.

In 2012, Krugman called Mitt Romney a charlatan, pathologically dishonest, and untrustworthy. He said Romney doesnt even pretend to care about poor people and wants people to die so that the rich could get richer. Romney is completely amoral, a dangerous fool, ignorant as well as uncaring.

In March, Krugman had a column called Clash of Republican Con Artists. In it, he called Trumps foreign policy more reasonable than that of Marco Rubio or Ted Cruz and said hes just as terrified of either of those men in the White House as he is of Trump. He wrote: In fact, you have to wonder why, exactly, the Republican establishment is really so horrified by Mr. Trump. Yes, hes a con man, but they all are. So why is this con job different from any other?

Yet a few weeks ago Krugman wondered how Republicans could rally around Trump just as if he were a normal candidate. It was exactly Krugman who normalized him! What makes Donald Trump normal to so many is that theyve heard all the hysteria from people like Krugman before. If you use the most vile language available on a good man like Romney, or on real candidates like Rubio and Cruz, you find you have none left for the Donald Trumps of the worldand no one is listening to you anyway.

If every Republican is always unfit for the presidency then Trump is no different and it shouldnt be surprising that rank-and-file Republican voters are lining up behind him. They know there arent actually any Republicans of which the media approves. Theres a joke among Republicans that the only GOP candidate the media likes is one who has no chance of winning. John McCain was a media darling when he lost in the 2000 primary to George W. Bush but not when he was actually running against a Democrat in 2008.

The media bear a lot of responsibility for the creation of Trump, and treating all Republican presidential candidates as if theyre a danger to American society is just one way theyve done it. Its unlikely that the media are going to en-masse recognize their bias, but perhaps if the Trump campaign has taught the media anything, its to ratchet down the rhetoric so that words mean something again.
It is spring 1966, and the Beatles are ensconced in Londons EMI Studios, where they have embarked upon their latest manipulation of time. The Christmas season just passed had seen the release of the bands sixth album, Rubber Soul, a game-changer of a disc that wedded American rhythm and blues to English folk music, as if the two genres were meant to go together all along. The Beatles, as the popsmiths-cum-pied pipers for teenyboppers, the lovable lads behind A Hard Days Night, were no more. Their middle-career era of high-toned, big boy art had commenced.

Rubber Soul continued to dominate the charts that spring. It featured organic sounds sourced from the streets of the city and countryside fields where one might have pictured John Clare wandering, but the Beatles, being the Beatles, were now moving entirely beyond Rubber Souls rustic-tinged soundscapes, as if such a masterwork were a mere digression in their journey towards something bigger, something better, something more next, if you will.

In this case, that would be the finest album of their career, and conceivably the finest rock and roll record ever made: a 14 song affair clocking in at under 35 minutes with a bad pun serving as a title: Revolver. For what do records do? Revolve. And this one was going to feel like it did so more than any that had come before.

People tend to forget how short the Beatles career was as a record-making collective: a mere seven years, from Please Please Me in 1963 to Abbey Road in 1969. Their pace was extraordinary, with single calendar years featuring the completion and release of two LPs and three singles, the latter rarely sourced from the former.

Mix in tours, spates of recording sessions for the BBC, film work, all manner of personal appearances, and you start to wonder how on earth four men were able to leap about from style to style, inventing some in the process, serving as the definitive version of one kind of band in June, say, and then another in July.

Revolver, though, which would be released in August, was the ultimate shape-shifter document, for having just infused the ears of the world with an album that was all green and brown tones, with a wafting air of cannabis throughout, the Beatles went interplanetary.

There is no record that sounds remotely like Revolver, and certainly no Beatles record. John Lennon had just reached a compositional career high point on Rubber Soul with songs like Girl, In My Life, and Norwegian Wood (This Bird Has Flown), and now it would his partner Paul McCartneys turn to hit the apogee-mark.

Lennon was writing on the guitar at the time, as he always had, but with a greater penchant for distortion and overdubbed layers of guitars that came at you in metallic waves, as if borne in from an Arthur Clarke novel. McCartney, meanwhile, had become quite the aesthete in London, living in town and taking in the theater, films, anything, as the Jefferson Airplane would later sing, with which he could feed his head. He was also, for the first time, writing on the piano, and it is from this yin and yang of two geniuses composing about as well as ever, on somewhat oppositional instruments, that those spring 1966 sessions were setting Revolver up as something of, well, an absolute mother of an album.

George Harrison, too, was excelling as a writer, and it was his Taxman that was granted the prize position as album starter. The Beatles didnt muck about with what they chose to begin and, more important, conclude their LPs. As with I Saw Her Standing There, the song that launched their first record, Taxman features a cod count-in, with Harrison, in a sardonic, almost glib voice, intoning a flat One, Two, Three, Four, as the real count-in is shouted out beneath him, and away we go into Future Rock.

The lyric is a diatribe against the English taxation system, but its almost immaterial, given what is at play sonically, as the Beatles, clearly, have a new weapon they hadnt before. McCartney takes a guitar solo where normally Harrison would, a fury of virtuosic playing to make Jimi Hendrix sit up and take notice, and few, if any bands, have ever been tighter. As players, these guys are all coming into their own. But there is no more important instrument on Revolver than the studio itself.

This was a first. You hear it right away in the texture of McCartneys bass. A bass is not meant to sound this rounded, as if it were an instrument you could isolate in any given track, and study as a composition unto itself. Producer George Martin, always a man willing to try an idea, is now clearly abetting two songwriters who were coming up with a ton of them in terms of the new sounds theyd like to try and get, thus bestowing each of their songs with an extra kick towards places no one had gone before.

For McCartney, that involved working with engineer Geoff Emerick on making his bass sound like a rumble of low-toned, especially melodic guitars, knitted together in the soundscape. Lennon, meanwhile, was talking of being tied to cables and maneuvered around the room so that his vocals would sound preternatural, and tasked Martin with some requests that would have required drilling holes in his neck and inserting electrodes. The Beatles-go-Frankensteinian.

Lennon is always considered the bands maven avant-gardist, but thats misleading, and the point of no return moment in the Beatles career, as far as advancing on the realm of psychedelia goes, comes with the second number, McCartneys Eleanor Rigby.

The tale of a lonely spinster, and the lonely people in her life, such as it was, is seen wearing a face that she keeps in a glass by the door. Well then. You didnt get this on Rubber Soul, or anywhere else. Here the sound is clean, string-laden, the stuff of Edwardian minstrels leaving the band back home and tending to a respectful threnody.

McCartney explores more iterations of this sonic mood, though with more joy, throughout Revolver. Here, There and Everywhere is the finest love song of his career, a quiet, sunlit number, with degrees of affection becoming more pronounced in charming modulations. For No One, a piano track with a French horn solo by Alan Civil, is the emotional flipside of Here, There and Everywhere, and yet strangely uplifting as a song lamenting what ifs. McCartney is commanding melodic possibilities at the loftiest of levels, and you sense that there is nothing he cant do with it. Including, even, making you look forward to a bit of heartache.

Lennon, meanwhile, is in guitar overdrive, and having fun with it, like on the electric guitar concerto grosso, And Your Bird Can Sing. A rehearsal version on the second Anthology finds Lennon and his buddy Macca unable to control their giggles as they sing along. The Beatles wouldnt have this much fun on a session again, and they needed that work-friendly affability in some regards, as this music was going to some dark placesdark, in many ways, because of the uncertainty they represented for a person like Lennon.

His home recording of He Said He Saidwhich would grow up to become the Revolver track She Said, She Said, about a bad LSD experience and contemplating ones inevitable demiseis like a musical version of venturing into the previously unknown, half expecting something fearful, half expecting a kind of deliverance. A toe in psychotropic waters. In moments of self-doubt, Lennon always turned to the guitar, and the She Said riff is an angular, snaking thing, with Ringo Starrs drums pawing at the song.

Starr gives a masterclass in drumming throughout, and you get the sense that his flexibility as a player helped free up what the band was willing to try. Hes in a proto-funk groove on McCartneys Got to Get You Into My Life, which features a Harrison guitar fill, lasting only a couple bars, but counting among the four or five best things he ever played.

Lennons Im Only Sleeping is its own proto affair, a somnambulistic mini-dry run for Strawberry Fields Forever. Childhood mattered much to Lennon, and as an adult his best songs were written through a process of courage to trust and submit to that capacity of wonder from more innocent times. On that score, there is McCartneys Yellow Submarine, rounded out with Lennons hilarious off-mic mischief-making, a childrens song of sorts, but one so teeming with imagination that its akin to something Narnia-esquein other words, both for the kiddies, and for the most adult of the adults.

McCartneys Good Day Sunshine is another instance of piano-centric brilliance. Whatever the man wished to turn his hand to during this period was whatever he was shortly going to master. We think of him now as all cuddly and belting out the latest chorus of Hey Jude on the northern side of seventy, but this McCartney was a fiery innovator. And yet, for all of those new compositional approaches by the eventual Sir Paul, it is Lennons Tomorrow Never Knows that is Revolvers essence encapsulated in a single track.

There were, of course, no electrodes, but George Martin and crew came up with something dubbed ADTautomatic double tracking. And it is that that makes Lennons voice sound, to paraphrase his own words, like hes a thousand monks chanting on a hill.

The song was alleged to originally be titled The Void, and on the first take of it, also available on Anthology II, Lennon might as well be singing from inside a chambered nautilus as the Reaper beats time on the outside of the shell.

This is a death work, in a sense, but theres something uplifting for all of the freaked out, full-on LSD madness, with those crazy cries like crows loosed from an overheated Shakespearean dream sounding again and again. You might think of it more like a transposition from one place that was quite good, to another that might be better yet, if youre game for the leap. As the Beatles themselves were, of course, when they deemed it time to go revolving.
As I commit these words to screen, Nate Silver has Hillary Clinton at 77 percent likely to win the White House. Shes cruising toward 330-plus electoral votes. And as for Donald Trump, they havent invented a word for how bad his week has been. And that was before we learned hes married to an illegal immigrant.

Its a good week to gloat if youre a liberal, but gloat weeks are exactly the weeks that make me a little nervous. Three reasons:

First, every week isnt going to be like this week. Life just doesnt work that way. Trump will have weeks when hell calm down a little. Hell always be obnoxious, of course, but he wont always launch gratuitous attacks on the infant-American community. I know we all agree now that Trump cant help himself. But I continue to suspect that there may come a time when he can help himself, and hell spend October comporting himself like Atticus Finch. In addition to this, Clinton will surely have her own bad weeks. Shell say something off-key, make a big blunder. Maybe someone will find an email from her saying, Hey, heres an idea, lets pay Iran ransom money! (More seriously, given her generally tough-minded foreign-policy posture, it seems to me just as likely that theyll find an email in which she raised concerns about paying Iran this 40-year-old debt.) And finally, who knows what Putin is holding back for an October Surprise? Im not really joking about that, alas.

Second, even with Clintons convention bounce and Khan bounce, this thing is still closer than it should be, reflecting the reality that one-third of America thinks she belongs behind bars and a significant portion of the middle third kinda-sorta agrees (the third third, of course, is in Clintons corner). And there isnt much Clinton can do to change that unless she rescues a falling baby or something. In addition, Clinton hatred will really rev up by October, and I assume that the TV ads from the anti-Clinton PACs will be numerous and brutal.

Third, theres one way at least in which the Trump campaign has finally normalized. It raised more than $80 million in July, almost as much as Clinton. Now, the question is, what in the world is he going to spend it on? He doesnt really need to buy television ads. He gets 50 of those every day for free.

He should invest it in a ground game, but as Trump would tell us, he knows far more than those get-out-the-vote people, folks, believe me, theyre a disaster. But at least hes raising it, and it give his campaign one glancing aspect of legitimacy.

No, its closer than it ought to be, and it will remain so. So if the Clinton team cant bust this thing open, which I doubt they can, the fallback question becomes, how do they try to make sure they keep this seven-or-so point lead steady? As the old saying goes, timing is everything.

Timing always matters in politics, obviouslywhen you trot out a big endorsement, say. But it matters even more against Trump because he is a complete and total creature of the news cycle. He cleared the field in the GOP primary by owning every news cycle. None of them could do anything to take him off his game, get under his skin. Marco Rubio did a little, once he became a stand-up comedian, but he cut and ran shortly thereafter.

I think weve learned now, though, that thats how to beat Trump: get under his skin. Tick him off. Unnerve him. Bait him, goad him, see what hell say. Right now, Ill be watching with interest to see what the Clinton people do with this Melania-immigration story (if you havent read it, the gist is that she may have been here in 1995 performing work as a model on a visa that didnt allow her to work). Hillary should not get into this herself, of course, but some well-chosen surrogate might raise some questions to which Donald feels he just has to respond.

That might be riskya man defending his wifes honor is usually a sympathetic figure. But the point is the need to keep Trump off balance. Trump starts talking about national security? Perfect time for Clinton to schedule that Colin Powell endorsement. Trump starts banging on about NAFTA? She should head to upstate New York and have an event at some factory she helped keep from moving to Mexico. The news cycle is this leechs blood. Remove the blood supply and he perishes.

We like to think campaigns are battles of ideas, and they usually are to a surprising extent. This one isnt that, since one candidate doesnt actually have any ideas. He has grudges and resentments and a constant need to be seen as dominating. The ways to beat that candidate are 1) to feed his grudges in the hope that hell say something offensive, and 2) just prevent him from dominating. Clinton may never shake completely loose of Trump, but if her team is on the ball, they can try to make sure he never gets up a head of steam.
Its been seven days since Hillary Clinton accepted the Democratic Partys nomination for president, but all anyone has been able to talk about for the past week is how truly terrible things have been going for her rival, Donald Trump.

In fact, as Seth Meyers reported on Thursdays edition of Late Night, Trumps refusal to endorse House Speaker Paul Ryan might be the final straw in his war with the GOP. This is the final straw? Meyers asked incredulously. Not the racism, or the misogyny, or the wall?

Now, word is coming in that there is an intervention in the works for Trump. Im not sure its all that comforting when the biggest promise you can make about your candidate is, hell have adults around and well lock him out of his Twitter account, Meyers said. Thats how you handle Bieber and it barely works with him.

Meanwhile, the host explained, Trump himself has continued to undermine his own campaign by, among other things, pretending to like crying babies. That is a huge gaffe for a Republican, because the GOP platform does not allow you to change your mind about a baby, the host joked.

Then there was Joe Scarboroughs anecdote about Trump asking three times during an hour-long foreign policy briefing, why, if we have nuclear weapons, we cant use them. He wont even rule out nuking Europe, Meyers said, breaking into his Trump impression. And if Paul Ryan doesnt get in line, Im not ruling out Wisconsin, either. Enjoy your cheese while you can, you sons of bitches!
Millennials are not some vast unsolvable mystery. According to a report from the U.S. Census Bureau (PDF), they earn $2,000 less than their parents did at a comparable age, they are more likely to live in poverty, and they are more likely to live at home.

But Baby Boomers and Gen Xers still seem to find it hard to believe that basic economic math can explain much of the younger generations behavior.

After several news outlets, including The Daily Beast, reported that rates of millennial sexual inactivity in early adulthood are surprisingly high, armchair social theorists came out in force to blame it on everything but the fact that nearly one-third of young adults are still living at home.
Republican VP candidate Mike Pence had a cringeworthy moment Thursday when a child pointed out his obvious role as Donald Trumps damage control.

Ive been watching the news lately, and Ive been noticing that youve been kind of softening up on Mr. Trumps policies and words, Matthew Stricker, 11, told Pence at a town hall in North Carolina. Is this going to be your role in the administration?

Pence did his best to turn the awkward moment into kids say the darndest things-style amusement.

Whats your name, son? Pence asked Matthew, bending down at the waist to face him. Let me tell you what, I couldnt be more proud to stand with Donald Trump and we are shoulder to shoulder in this campaign, my friend.

Then he did more softening up.

What Ive learned, Matthewand youll learn it when youre governor of North Carolina, Pence said as the crowd giggled, is sometimes things dont always come out like you mean, right? And Donald Trump and I are absolutely determined to work together.

This is not the first time a child has humiliated a vice presidential candidate. In 1992, Dan Quayle infamously attempted to correct a sixth-graders spelling of the word potato, urging him to spell it potatoe.
1

Donald Trump Defends Baby Incident

LET IT GO
The clandestine group's goal was clear: Obtain the building blocks of a radioactive "dirty bomb" -- capable of poisoning a major city for a year or more -- by openly purchasing the raw ingredients from authorized sellers inside the United States.

It should have been hard. The purchase of lethal radioactive materials -- even modestly dangerous ones -- requires a license from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, a measure meant to keep them away from terrorists. Applicants must demonstrate they have a legitimate need and understand the NRC's safety standards, and pass an on-site inspection of their equipment and storage.

But this secret group of fewer than 10 people -- formed in April 2014 in North Dakota, Texas and Michigan -- discovered that getting a license and then ordering enough materials to make a dirty bomb was strikingly simple in one of their three tries. Sellers were preparing shipments that together were enough to poison a city center when the operation was shut down.

The team's members could have been anyone -- a terrorist outfit, emissaries of a rival government, domestic extremists. In fact, they were undercover bureaucrats with the investigative arm of Congress. And they had pulled off the same stunt nine years before. Their fresh success has set off new alarms among some lawmakers and officials in Washington about risks that terrorists inside the United States could undertake a dirty bomb attack.

Here's how they did it: In Dallas, they incorporated a shell company they never intended to run and rented office space in a nondescript industrial park, merely to create an address for the license application. In a spot on the form where they were supposed to identify their safety officer, they made up a name and attached a fake resume. They claimed to need the material to power an industrial gauge used in oil and gas exploration.

Last year, their application was sent not to Washington but to Texas regulators, who had been deputized by the NRC to grant licenses without federal review. When the state's inspector visited the fake office, he saw it was empty and had no security precautions. But members of the group assured him that once they had a license, they would be able to make the security and safety improvements.

So the inspector, who always carried licenses with him, handed them one on the spot.

The two-page Texas document authorized the company to buy the sealed radioactive material in an amount smaller than needed for any nefarious purpose. But no copies were required to be kept in a readily-accessible, government database. So after using the license to place one order, the team simply made a digital copy and changed the permitted quantities, enabling it to place a new order with another seller for twice the original amount.

"I wouldn't call what we did very sophisticated," Ned Woodward, the mastermind of the Government Accountability Office's plot, said in a phone interview with the Center for Public Integrity. "There was nothing we had done to improve that site to make it appear as if it were an ongoing business."

In 2007, Woodward's colleagues in the GAO similarly set up fake businesses, got licenses to purchase low-level radioactive material and altered them to buy larger quantities. The NRC promised "immediate action to address the weaknesses we identified," according to the GAO's report on that incident.The auditors' aim this time around was to see whether the government had cleaned up its act and taken steps to close some simple gateways to obtaining the ingredients for a dirty bomb.

It turns out, the government had not.

While the purchases that Woodward's team set in motion were never completed, if they had been, his group would have had enough radioactive material to create the type of dangerous dirty bomb that terrorists may seek, according to David Trimble, director of Natural Resources and Environment at the GAO and Woodward's boss. It would have been within the group's reach to spread cancer-causing americium and beryllium dust over many blocks, threatening the health of anyone who breathed it.

The quantity each seller could have sent was dangerous, and together the quantity was "significantly dangerous," Trimble said, speaking on a GAO podcast. He said he is confident his investigators could have altered the license again and again, allowing them to amass an even larger quantity. "It's a back door," he said in an interview. "We walked through it and we showed the door was still open. We could have kept doing it. If you can forge [a license] once, there's no reason you can't forge it again and again."

Texas nuclear regulatory officials have responded by quietly firing two managers and organizing new training efforts. NRC Commissioner Jeff Baran, a lawyer and former House staff member, wrote a swift letter to the two other current NRC commissioners (two positions are vacant) stating that even if Texas changed its procedures, "GAO's covert testing identified a regulatory gap." He urged his colleagues to consider creating a system for tracking licenses and sales of low-level radioactive materials -- an idea that its members rejected seven years ago under heavy state and industry pressure.

The GAO's July 15 report on the episode, which described the bare bones of its scam without naming any of the states involved or identifying the precise materials that were improperly ordered, similarly said that the NRC and state regulators aren't doing enough to keep such materials out of terrorists' hands. It criticized the state regulator for granting the licenses, but also said the commission needs to act to block license alterations and track sales and shipments of lower-level radiological materials, using measures like those already in place for the sale of more hazardous fissile materials.

The Center for Public Integrity is a nonprofit, nonpartisan investigative media organization in Washington. This article was also published in The Washington Post, the Tribune's content partner. national@washpost.com
The fault lines that will define efforts to improve the state's system of funding education came into sharp focus Wednesday as a Senate panel began studying how to improve the "efficiency" of public schools in Texas.

The 11-member Senate Education Committee and a hearing room full of education professionals, lobbyists and school and minority advocates generally agreed that the Legislature should scrap the way it divvies up the more than $40 billion of state money now spent on public schools.

"You've basically gotta blow it up," said Ray Freeman, deputy executive director of the Equity Center, which represents property-poor school districts.

There was little such agreement, however, on what to do instead.

Conservative lawmakers, expressing exasperation with suggestions that the state isn't spending enough on schools, have begun searching for a system of benchmarks that would tie state funds to how schools perform, not primarily how many students they enroll.

Educators and advocates from small schools and poor districts fear the stage is being set to sacrifice struggling schools on the altar of "efficiency" and argue lawmakers should close the wide gaps between districts before using money to reward or punish districts.

"Looking at the numbers, you know, 2015 was the most money that the state of Texas has ever spent in the history of the state on a per-student basis and we still have people coming and complaining we're not spending enough, and it's just so frustrating," said state Sen. Van Taylor, a Plano Republican. "When's enough enough?"

Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick instructed the panel to re-examine school finance before a May state Supreme Court decision that upheld the school finance system as constitutional but urged lawmakers to overhaul a process it described as flawed and byzantine.

In what could be the only hearing on the issue, Wednesday's meeting gravitated toward the points of friction that have long bedeviled such explorations.

School officials, Latino groups and some Democrats on the panel questioned the GOP focus on efficiency, saying ranking schools by academic and financial performance is fraught with inaccuracy and inequity unless the state first closes vast funding gaps among districts or increases funding for schools.

"I believe it would be very difficult to fairly and accurately create and maintain a system in which all districts would be adequately measured, compared and grouped, and I believe previous attempts to create these comparison groups have been unreliable at best," said Johnny Hill, assistant superintendent for business, financial and auxiliary services for Lake Travis schools who testified on behalf of the Fast Growth Schools Coalition and the Texas Association of School Business Officials.

But the panel's Republican members said finding a way to tie funding to performance needs to be explored now.

"It's all about productivity," said state Sen. Larry Taylor, the Friendswood Republican who chairs the panel. "And I don't think we're looking at cutting any spending, but we've got to do as well as we can with the money we have."

Officials from several companies, and one university researcher, testified about ranking systems they have developed to compare the money schools spend to student academic performance. They argued that public education overall would improve if lower-performing school districts were required to mimic the best practices of the most efficient school districts.

Some lawmakers and educators pushed back, saying it would be unfair to place the same expectations for academic and financial performance on smaller, poorer districts with needier students than larger, wealthier ones with less poverty.

State Sen. Jose Rodriguez, D-El Paso, said he wasn't sure how lawmakers could feasibly require a tiny district like Fort Davis in West Texas to mimic the practices of a larger, better-funded district. It has had to cut its UIL program because of lack of funding, he said.

The education panel will publish official recommendations ahead of the 2017 legislative session.
Vote for the left's candidate and kiss Americanism goodbye

Walter Buenger's diatribe (Eagle, Aug. 3) railing not only against Trump, but also the "bigotry and hatred" spewing citizens of America who choose to support him, is typical of the left's tactics. The Democratic candidate has no redeeming qualities to extol, so they must attack the competition and berate anyone who dares not to support the liberal in the race.

If you vote for Buenger's candidate you can expect at least four more years of what we have seen since January 2009:

 Unmitigated national debt -- more debt than all previous administrations combined total.

 The lowest labor participation rate in 40 years.

 A dismal economy with projected growth of only 1.2 percent for 2016.

 A tuck tail and run response when Syria defied President Barack Obama's "red line" and used chemical weapons on its people.

 An administration that plays marionette to the puppeteer mullahs of Iran, assuring they will have nuclear weapons in the near future.

 A continued porous southern border that allows drugs and violent offenders to flow into this country.

The list could go on for pages.

So, if you like the past seven and a half years, then vote for Buenger's candidate and kiss real Americanism goodbye.

DON CONNEALY

Bryan

Native Americans were here before European ancestors

Michael Kraft (Eagle, July 23) presented an epoch tale about his ancestors coming to Texas in the 1800s with their slaves and took thousands of acres and fenced it in.

My Native America ancestors were here long before Kraft's and never fences anything. They followed the buffalo until white people slaughtered them all. Even though I admired Davy Crockett as a child, I have grown up to the reality of the "haves" and the "have nots."

I wouldn't brag if my ancestors had slaves and whipped up on Mexicans. In case Kraft hasn't noticed, white Americans are going to be in the minority very soon -- and it would be better for Texas if Europeans and Africans took their prejudices back to their misbegotten and crooked roots.

We never needed any of you introducing disease and greed into our "new world." You only came for gold, rubies, emeralds and silver.

Religious freedom is a laugh, I've never been allowed to practice my religion freely without interference from the federal government.

I can't believe Kraft brags about LBJ, the most corrupt senator we ever had. He always stuffed the ballot boxes to win his elections -- not to mention his lies about Vietnam.

How in the world do you turn away the poor and the elderly in this state when they are living off the state? Surely at the time they sign up for Supplemental Social Security and food stamps, those offices can issue them picture IDs to vote.

Surely all you white people won't mind the added expense to the taxpayers!

QUANNAH YOUNG

Brenham
Despite that, wildlife champions fought for their protection. But in 1971 something happened that took badgers back to square one. The first badger was found with bovine TB. A woman who had worked for a vet during the early 1970s said that she couldn't understand why farmers were suddenly coming in with dead badgers and other wild animals, demanding that the vet tested them for bTB.

All the measures that had almost eradicated TB in our herds during the 1950s-60s had just been dropped and over the years incidents of bTB started to rise again. But now farmers had something to blame - the badgers themselves.

So the badger was not only a commonly persecuted animal, it was now a scapegoat for a problem that had arisen among cattle. And despite modern science and various studies, it is still the first thing mentioned in any discussion about bTB.

Consider the RBCT. The final report is titled:

Bovine TB: the Scientific Evidence

A Science Base for a Sustainable Policy to Control TB in Cattle

An Epidemiological Investigation into Bovine Tuberculosis

Then why is the whole exercise known as the Randomised Badger Culling Trials?

Professor Bourne makes the point that a lot of their work concerned cattle rather than badgers; that their conclusion was that culling badgers would make no meaningful contribution to controlling TB in cattle'; and that cattle-based measures were the way to go. He supports a determined focus' on such measures. However, the only cattle-based measures he mentions are vaccination and risk-based trading.

When asked why scientists and the Government weren't, for example, pushing for the enforcement of biosecurity measures on farms, his reply was: "It would cost the farmers too much." But bTB is costing the farmers. Wouldn't it be more cost-effective to install measures that prevent cattle-to-cattle transmission, by far the greatest provable source of bTB in cattle?

It was Professor Woodroffe's PowerPoint presentation on the perturbation of badgers that highlighted a problem with this whole debate.

The starting point is that culling a significant percentage of badgers will cause the remaining members of any sett/clan to flee their territory and integrate with other badger groups. However, Irish research has shown that the borders of sett territories can be fairly fluid, and that badgers visit other groups in order to mate. How else would they avoid inbreeding? So perturbation' of some kind already exists among badgers.

The PowerPoint images Woodroffe uses make the assumption that the badgers which are fleeing their territories are, without exception, infected with TB. The next images go on to assume that the fleeing badger will infect all the badgers in the new group. It is this kind of thinking which allows a study headed by Woodroffe to find that only around 6% of infected cattle catch bTB from badgers, yet the badgers are then judged to be ultimately responsible for around half of cattle infection.

She has now produced another study in which they collared and tracked badgers' interaction with cattle. Not surprisingly, they found that badgers tend to avoid close contact with cattle (already proven in the Irish study) and cattle also tend to avoid grazing near badger latrines, so there must be some other way that badgers infect cattle. And there is the bias.

Woodroffe is reported as saying "There is strong evidence that badgers transmit bTB to cattle, as well as for cattle to cattle transmission and for livestock to give the disease to badgers." Again, badgers are put first as the cause of TB in cattle and where, might one ask is this strong' evidence?

Most wildlife people would agree with Woodroffe's conclusion that the infection can lie in the environment', but talking about possibly infected badger urine and latrines while ignoring the many thousands of acres of pasture covered with cattle slurry every year from herds containing infected cattle, not to mention the possibly infected faeces from cattle grazing in fields, is scientific nonsense.

Whether cattle defecate or slurry is spread, earthworms rise to the surface to feast on the result. During dry periods when the ground is hard and worms are not close to the surface, digging through cow pats is the badger's best opportunity to access its favourite food. The worms may carry the TB bacillus. Or the badger may ingest some of an infected cow pat. That is one sure way a badger can become infected.

But what about the cattle?

They slobber and lick, and breathe heavily over their companions. They graze on grass that has been fertilised by spreading cattle slurry, and a walk over any field with cattle turned out in it will demonstrate how closely they graze to their own droppings.

They eat silage made from grass fertilised with slurry, and in her interview with BBC Radio 4's Today programme, Woodroffe stressed how very long ("...weeks, even months...") the TB bacillus can last in the environment. One of the ignored findings of the RBCT was that farms that made pasture silage showed a higher incidence of bTB.

Dominic Dyer welcomed the new research "as it adds more weight to previous research that proves cattle and badgers largely avoid each other." He outlined his summing-up of the research but said that the message being put out to the media yet again blamed the badgers. And he added: "I think this now largely comes down to the fact that leading scientists and academics in the field of bovine TB research do not want to admit they got it wrong and that badgers cannot easily pass TB to cattle."

As he suggested at the Westminster meeting, the assumptions about badgers and bTB, like those fabled and non-existent Weapons of Mass Destruction that led us to invade Iraq, have become an accepted truth' on which to build government policies. Defra always claims it is using every tool in the box' to defeat bovine TB, but badger culling is the only tool that hits the news.

No science properly addresses how badgers could really infect cattle, and science certainly has not produced the hard evidence to support what are at the moment only assumptions. Nor will scientists or Defra seriously address the various ways in which TB in cattle is not only constantly re-infecting the cattle, but is also infecting wildlife. For the sake of our farmers, their cattle and the wildlife, it really is time they did.

And for those of us trying to protect the badger and, incidentally, also wanting to see farms with healthy TB-free cattle, our lobbying must be directed at forcing the government into ending the badger culls and enforcing effective cattle-based measures.

Yes, it may cost the farmers but surely, dealing with bovine TB in their cattle in the current fashion is costing them and the country far more.

This Author:

Lesley Docksey is a freelance writer who writes for The Ecologist and other media on the badger cull and other environmental topics, and on political issues for UK and international websites.

Dominic Dyer's book Badgered to Death (Canbury Press), tearing apart the case for blaming the badger for spreading TB to cattle, has now been published.
I spent a couple of hours with Ben and Jonathon, our two, outstanding animal control officers one day last week, and after hearing some of the sad situations they face every day, I am, to say the least, disheartened; certainly not in their efforts, but in those who are supposed to be responsible animal owners.

People dontas a general rulelet their children run loose to be run over, fall down wells (septic tanks) or kidnapped; however, that is not my place on which to comment. It is my place, however, to rant and rave as much as I see fit about the treatment of animals at the hands of uncaring or even incompetent owners.

Inhumanity is rampant. All one has to do is turn on the TV for five minutes to see someone spewing vitriol, or someone else blowing anothers brains all over the street, to mass killings for religious, racial, or for just no reason at all.

That is mans inhumanity of man, so I guess in the scheme of things, mans inhumane treatment of animals takes a back seat. Not on my watch! However, all I can do is carp and continue to rant, until someone listens. If they dont, then Ill just continue until I drop.

Over the eons that dogs have been living among us, they have become less and less the predators they once were. There are wild dogs, even today, that since puppy-hood have been left to their own devices, so I guess their ancient DNA kicks into overdrive, instructing them to run in packs, the way of their ancestors, in a survival of the fittest mode. But generally speaking, dogs have become increasingly dependent upon us for their well being. And it breaks my heart to see dogs that are starving, mange-eaten, and those that are indescribably matted and filthy being brought into the shelter, day, after day, after day. Dogs have been bred to have curly locks, long locks and even dreadlocks, as in the Puli and Komondor. People pay major bucks for such breeds because they are cute, but they are extremely high maintenance. So when it comes grooming time, they are often left to their own devices.

I recall one incidence, not too long ago, when a sad, little wad of matted fur came into the shelter. I didnt see the dog in person, but I did see pictures, and they enraged me. That poor animal was in such a state, it was impossible to even determine its gender. Nothing could be done except to send the poor little thing to the vet to be shaved. One cannot call it grooming, because its coat resembled nothing like hair or fur. After the sweet thing was shaved and bathed, it was determined it was a Shih Tzu. I did see the plastic bag full of what looked like glued together brush bristles that had once covered that poor puppys body. It was being held for a court case against the ownerone who can certainly not be classified as a responsible pet parent.

Sometimes I get so discouraged I feel like throwing in the proverbial towel, but that might well be some poor animals bedding, so I plod ever onward.

What I have tried to make clear over the years is the fact that when a stray animal finds him/herself at the shelter, it will find love and kindness, something many have never before experienced. Lack of loving care on the part of the owner is usually, but not always, the case. Calls do come in from folks who are desperately looking for their lost animals, but for the most part, that is just wishful thinking. However, once in a while, Katie gets to make that happy call that a lost pet may have been recovered.

The very, low cost Angels of Assisi spay and neuter clinic, held in conjunction with the Franklin County Animal Shelter, continues once a month for the remainder of the year. Cats will be altered free of charge, and dogs for $20. The service is for animals belonging to residents of Franklin County only. Call Katie at 540-483-7440 for further information, or to make an appointment.

I simply cannot emphasize, strongly enough, the importance of having dogs and cats spayed or neutered. Of course, the primary reason, being the obvious, is to avoid unwanted litters of kittens and puppies. Secondarily, the general, health of the animal is greatly enhanced. Certain cancers may well be avoided. If we take animals into our lives, we must be responsible for their health and welfare. If we cant, or wont, then we should leave pet ownership to those who will.

Following a week of back-to-back rescues in Ohio and Tennessee, the ASPCA deployed to Hoke County, North Carolina, on Friday, to assist in the removal and care of 92 dogs, 15 cats and more than a dozen farm animals and birds from an unlicensed animal rescue in Raeford.

The investigation began when local law enforcement received a report concerning the welfare of horses on the property. On Thursday, local authorities discovered the dogs, horses, cats, goats and birds in unacceptable conditions on the property. Many animals were kept in filthy kennels with no access to food or water, and appeared to be suffering from untreated medical issues. The owner of the property was arrested on one count of felony animal cruelty, with additional charges pending.

The ASPCA worked with local veterinarians to provide medical attention to animals on the property that were in critical condition, and transported nearly 60 dogs to a temporary shelter in an undisclosed location where they are receiving medical exams and behavioral assessments. The remaining animals have been placed with a local veterinarian who is providing medical care and sheltering.

This is the second animal cruelty case in Hoke County that the ASPCA has assisted with this year.

I continue to wonder at the overall, human condition.

The assumption that animals are without rights, and illusion that our treatment of them has no moral significance, is a positively, outrageous example of Western crudity and barbarity. Universal compassion is the only guarantee of morality. -- Arthur Schopenhaur
We were surprised Wednesday to learn that the U.S. Supreme Court blocked a lower court ruling that would have allowed a transgender boy to use the high school restroom that fits his "gender identity."

In the unusual 5-3 order, the justices granted an emergency appeal from a Virginia school board that said it is fighting to protect the basic expectations of bodily privacy of Gloucester County students, according to David G. Savage with the Tribune Washington Bureau.

The ruling probably wont last for long, as Justice Stephen Breyer signaled he did not support the schools emergency appeal, but said he joined the courts four conservatives as a courtesy to put the issue on hold until the justices can review the matter when they return in the fall.

Gloucester County schools were seeking to be exempted from the Obama administrations position that schools nationwide are required to allow transgender students to use the bathroom they prefer.

My question is quite simple. How will the Obama administrations position, and now these court cases, actually affect all the other students?

It just doesnt appear that the powers that be have thought this through logically. The logistics involved in allowing students to use the restroom of their choice has the potential to create havoc in schools, not to mention the possibility of children lying in order to gain access to the restroom of the opposite sex. And how could we expect teachers to know the difference? Dont they have enough to do already?

In Franklin County schools, few students meet the criteria for transgender identification, according to Dr. Mark Church, superintendent. Transgender teens are encouraged to use single, unisex bathrooms for now.

However, the school board will have to re-examine that directive if the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals decision is upheld.

How many lawsuits could be filed on the part of irate parents when little Susie comes home and tells her parents she saw something she didnt understand in the school bathroom? What about little Susies right to privacy in the restroom?

Psychiatrists are talking about the adverse effects of bias on transgender children, but what about the psychological discomfort (at the very least) the other students will feel from being forced to use the restroom with a member of the opposite sex? After all, using a public restroom is not a comfortable experience for anyone.

The most prevalent danger is that unisex restrooms, which are the likely result of this argument, could easily open the door for more sexual assaults and more sexual harassment.

We can only hope common sense will prevail and lawmakers and courts consider what is best for the children, overall.
Parents and teachers will be able to save money on school supplies, clothes and footwear  in addition to preparing for this winter and other emergencies  starting Friday as Virginia begins its annual Tax Free Weekend

During the three-day period, shoppers will be able to purchase qualifying school supplies, clothing and footwear, Energy Star products and emergency supplies without paying sales tax. The exemption also includes items purchased online, by mail and over the phone.

Anyone who buys an approved item on the list will get the tax break, even if theyre not a school student.

Families also are expected to spend even more on back-to-school shopping than in 2015, according to the National Retail Foundation. Total spending on school supplies is expected to reach $75.8 billion, up from $68 billion in 2015.

Families are still looking for bargains, but there are signs that they are less worried about the economy than in the past, NRF President and CEO Matthew Shay said in a news release. Heading into the second half of the year, we are optimistic that overall economic growth and consumer spending will continue to improve as they did in the first two quarters of the year.

Virginias tax free holidays were consolidated into a single weekend by the General Assembly in 2015.

Whats tax-free?

Sales tax-exempt items this weekend include:

*Qualifying school supplies $20 or less per item

*Qualifying clothing or footwear $100 or less per item

*Portable generators $1,000 or less

*Gas-powered chainsaws $350 or less

*Chainsaw accessories $60 or less

*Energy Star and Watersense items priced less than $2,500, such as dishwashers, washers and dryers, lights, toilets and refrigerators.

Detailed lists of tax-exempt items can be found on the Virginia Department of Taxation website at www.tax.virginia.gov.
SHARE Darrin Phegley / The Gleaner Webster County schools superintendent Rachel Yarbrough. Shot 072914

By Gleaner Staff

Webster County Schools Superintendent Rachel Yarbrough is the 2016-17 President of the Kentucky Association of School Superintendents.

She was officially installed as president at the annual KASA conference held in Louisville on July 20. She replaces Floyd County Superintendent Harry Webb.

Yarbrough has also been selected to serve on the Kentucky Commissioner of Education's Accountability Steering Committee, which helps advise Commissioner Stephen Pruitt on the development of a new education accountability system for Kentucky.

Yarbrough is beginning her third year as superintendent of Webster County Schools. Classes start Tuesday for students in Webster County.
SHARE Danny Sizemore

By Beth Smith of The Gleaner

A Henderson County Sheriff's Deputy was arrested Thursday on charges related to incidents of alleged sexual abuse.

Danny Sizemore, 45, Corydon, an 11-year-veteran of the HCSO, was indicted Tuesday by a Henderson County grand jury on one count of first-degree sexual abuse, a Class D felony, and three counts of second-degree sexual abuse, a Class A misdemeanor.

According to the Kentucky State Police, the investigation began in October 2015 after the agency received reports of sexual misconduct between Sizemore and a woman "who is over the age of 18, and has an intellectual disability which is incapable of providing consent." The alleged offenses occurred between August 2015 and October 2015.

The state police investigators said none of the alleged incidents occurred while Sizemore was on duty or while performing any "official tasks."

Sizemore turned himself in to law enforcement and was lodged at the Henderson County Detention Center. He then bonded out on $5,000 full cash bond.

The Henderson County Sheriff's Office said Sizemore was suspended without pay indefinitely.
SHARE

By Laura Acchiardo, laura.acchiardo@thegleaner.com

A voice is a powerful tool. When heard, it can break barriers and rattle walls.

Local voices of all ages spoke up on Thursday night at the Hear My Voice Forum, which was held to discuss issues of race and violence as portrayed in the media and seen in communities across the United States.

"From the police and the citizen's standpoint, we need a better rapport," said Sabrina Dixon, who helped organize the event. "We don't have that here and we don't want something that happened in Baltimore to happen here. The youth need somewhere where they can be heard."

The Henderson Police Department and the group Hear My Voice partnered together to host the youth forum at Greater Norris Chapel Baptist Church, 937 Washington St.

Organizers saw a need for the forum after Shani Sprinkles posted a conversation between her and her daughter Aaliyah on Facebook.

"What happens if I have a son one day, and he doesn't come back home," Sprinkles' 13-year-old daughter wrote in a text. "I'm scared to be black because people are getting shot at. People are killing people because of their skin  something we have no power over. I want to do something about all of this, but I'm black, I'm a woman and I'm 13."

Along with their parents, young people of all ethnicities and backgrounds between the ages of 5 and 21 were invited to attend and participate in the forum. Participants were separated into three groups: elementary, junior high to college and adult. In each group there were leaders who led the discussion and listeners who took notes to present later, along with a police officer who participated in the discussion.

Several parents who attended the forum wanted to ensure their children's safety would not be based on their skin color, and foster a positive relationship between their children and law enforcement.

"I have a 14-year-old daughter," said Nai Jackson. "My concern is I believe it takes a village to raise a child. That's one of the reasons I returned to this area because it takes all hands on. But all of those hands have to be clean. My concern is when she's with her friends who don't look like her and an instant occurs, who is going to be reprimanded more so?"

The different groups covered topics such as police relationships, race discrimination and under representation in education and government during the discussions.

"We had someone who asked why other African-American males look at him and say to him, 'You act so white,' " Bill Dixon, a listener for the young adult group, read from his notes. "It was put in its place because this individual speaks intelligently, uses proper words and it is not about his color but his education. It's the education you hear, not the color that you see."

In the three different groups, participants were encouraged to ask the representing officers questions and express concerns. When asked if there were any police officers on HPD who have racist tendencies, Chip Stauffer, HPD's chief, was able to answer no.

"I'm not saying (our department) is immune from it," said Stauffer. "What we hope is that it's identified in training. We collect a lot of data and stats, and it's easier to identify in a department of my size."

Hear My Voice hopes to keep lines of communication open in the community and host similar events in the future, while the Justice Coalition meets every month to represent the marginalized and voiceless people in the community.

"We need to come together not only during a time of trouble," said Gayle Johnson during the adult discussion. "We need to do this all the time, all year round."
SHARE

The following information is based on public records from local and area law enforcement agencies and/or court systems:

GRAND JURY

A Henderson County grand jury on Tuesday indicted 37 people, dismissed three cases, remanded cases back to district court and referred cases to the next session of the grand jury.

Dismissed

Those whose cases were dismissed, their ages and addresses (where available) and charges are as follows:

Darwin J. Zeron, 22, address unavailable, custodial interference.

Joseph Zirkelbach, 31, address unavailable, first-degree possession of a controlled substance.

Stephanie M. Yates, 32, 1600 block of South Green Street, first-degree possession of a controlled substance.

Indicted

Those who were indicted, their ages and addresses (where available) and charges are as follows:

Kristopher DePriest, 19, 800 block of Clay Street, second-degree burglary.

Andrew Filkins, 20, 2000 block of Poplar Avenue, three counts of first-degree trafficking in a controlled substance, one count of first-degree possession of a controlled substance, possession of drug paraphernalia and possession of marijuana.

Deshawn Johnson, 41, address unavailable, four counts of first-degree trafficking in a controlled substance, one count of being a felon in possession of a handgun and being a first-degree persistent felony offender.

Elizabeth John, 28, 1700 block of South Green Street, two counts of second-degree forgery.

Connie J. Gibbs, 45, 500 block of Gabe Street, being a felon in possession of a firearm.

Matthew Householder, 21, 900 block of Kingsway Court, first-degree possession of a controlled substance.

Clare Osburn, 30, 1700 block of Franklin Street, second-degree burglary.

Tiffany Bausiner, 24, Lawndale Apartments, second-degree burglary, resisting arrest and second-degree disorderly conduct. Charges of second-degree robbery and second-degree criminal abuse were dismissed.

Zohn T. McLaughlin, 44, Mount Vernon, Illinois, two counts of first-degree wanton endangerment, one count of no operator's license and driving under the influence.

Justin K. Green, 26, 500 block of Fair Street, first-degree possession of a controlled substance, possession of drug paraphernalia and trafficking in marijuana less than 8 ounces.

Timothy Nunn, 36, Robards, two counts of first-degree wanton endangerment, one count of first-degree unlawful imprisonment, fourth-degree assault and third-degree criminal mischief.

Anthony Rhodes, 41, Beechmont, Kentucky, first-degree fleeing/evading police, license to be in possession, reckless driving, improper equipment, failure to produce insurance card, no/expired registration, speeding, no/expired registration receipt and being a second-degree persistent felony offender.

James F. Wallace, 49, 100 block of Hoover Court, first-degree possession of a controlled substance, possession of drug paraphernalia and driving on a suspended/revoked operator's license.

Michael Meredith, 38, Corydon, three counts of first-degree wanton endangerment, two counts of first-degree fleeing/evading police, one count of leaving the scene of an accident, reckless driving, speeding and being a second-degree persistent felony offender. Charges of careless driving, two counts of disregarding a traffic control device, five counts of improper signal, one count of improper passing and disregarding a stop sign were dismissed.

Hubert L. Grounds, 26, address unavailable, first-degree possession of a controlled substance.

Robert L. Mitchell, 32, Owensboro, first-degree trafficking in a controlled substance, possession of drug paraphernalia, carrying a concealed deadly weapon, driving on an expired license, license to be in possession, possession of marijuana and driving under the influence. Charges of first-degree possession of a controlled substance and failure to produce insurance cards were dismissed.

Edward K. Adamic, 45, Lanesville, Indiana, first-degree possession of a controlled substance, driving under the influence and possession of an open alcohol container in a vehicle. A charge of prescription not in original container was dismissed.

Norman Coomes-Utley, 32, 700 block of Lieber Street, first-degree assault, first-degree fleeing/evading police, leaving the scene of an accident, third-degree terroristic threatening and being a second-degree persistent felony offender.

Steven R. Whitaker, 28, 1700 block of Washington Street, tampering with physical evidence, first-degree possession of a controlled substance, operating on a suspended/revoked license, failure to maintain insurance, failure to wear seat belt and being a second-degree persistent felony offender.

Aleshia Smith, 34, 2400 block of Wood Drive, first-degree possession of a controlled substance, carrying a concealed deadly weapon and theft under $500.

Kasie Tingle, 34, Uniontown, first-degree possession of a controlled substance, possession of drug paraphernalia, possession of a controlled substance, theft under $500, illegal possession of a legend drug and public intoxication. A charge of a prescription drug not in original container was dismissed.

Bradley Page, 30, 400 block of Meadow Street, second-degree assault.

Richard Evans, 33, address unavailable, first-degree trafficking in a controlled substance, possession of drug paraphernalia, operating on a suspended/revoked license, illegal possession of a legend drug, possession of marijuana, driving under the influence and improper signal. A charge of a prescription drug not in original container was dismissed.

Fred McGuire, 33, 1100 block of Atkinson Street, two counts of first-degree trafficking in a controlled substance (second offense), one count of tampering with physical evidence, second-degree fleeing/evading police, second-degree disorderly conduct and possession of marijuana.

Jamie Slygh, 33, 1700 block of South Green Street, theft of identity, first-degree possession of a controlled substance, theft under $500 and prescription not in original container. A charge of giving a police officer a false name was dismissed.

Daijah R. Green, 19, Evansville, retaliating against a participant in a legal process and fourth-degree assault.

Menelik Brank, 35, 900 block of Village Brook Drive, tampering with physical evidence and being a first-degree persistent felony offender.

Anthony Groves, 30, Evansville, first-degree fleeing/evading police, failure to maintain insurance, driving under the influence, reckless driving and possession of an open alcohol beverage container in a vehicle.

Michelle L. Outlaw, 35, 2800 block of U.S. 60-East, manufacturing methamphetamine and/or complicity and possession of drug paraphernalia.

Steven Allen, 28, 500 block of Powell Street, manufacturing methamphetamine and/or complicity and being a first-degree persistent felony offender.

Angela K. Shelton, 53, 1700 block of Turnagain Drive, first-degree wanton endangerment, first-degree criminal mischief, first-degree possession of a controlled substance and possession of drug paraphernalia.

James G. Casey, 42, 2300 block of Sunset Lane, first-degree trafficking in a controlled substance, tampering with physical evidence, giving a police officer a false name and being a first-degree persistent felony offender.

Joshua W. Powell, 25, 800 block of Kingsway Court, fourth-degree assault (third offense in five years), violation of a Kentucky EPO/DVO and being a second-degree persistent felony offender.

Crystal M. Hardy, 34, Owensboro, first-degree possession of a controlled substance, possession of drug paraphernalia and giving a police officer a false name.

Poniard D. Sutton, 48, Owensboro, first-degree possession of a controlled substance, possession of drug paraphernalia, illegal possession of a legend drug and alcohol intoxication.

Joshua Downey, 38, 100 block of Rankin Avenue, receiving stolen property under $10,000.

Jefraye Warfield, 31, Franklin, Kentucky, first-degree promoting contraband, second-degree promoting contraband and being a first-degree persistent felony offender. Charges of possession of drug paraphernalia and possession of marijuana were dismissed.

Mark Fambrough Jr., 37, 3900 section of U.S. 41-Alternate, first-degree possession of a controlled substance and possession of drug paraphernalia.

Remanded

Those whose cases were remanded back to district court, their ages and addresses (where available) and charges are as follows:

A'Davion Cansler, 19, address unavailable, third-degree terroristic threatening, amended from intimidating a participant.

Robin Almestica, 20, address unavailable, trafficking in marijuana (less than 8 ounces) and possession of drug paraphernalia. A charge of theft under $10,000 was dismissed.

Courtney Page, 27, address unavailable, second-degree hindering prosecution or apprehension and failure to report child neglect or abuse. A charge of tampering with a witness was dismissed.

REFERRED

Several cases were referred to the September session of the grand jury.

Timothy Daugherty, 31, address unavailable, being a felon in possession of a handgun and theft of a firearm.

Jose Roberto Saravia, 40, address unavailable, second-degree robbery, carrying a concealed deadly weapon and violation of a Kentucky EPO/DVO.

Kristin L. Langston, 31, Clay, four counts of first-degree trafficking in a controlled substance.

Joshua L. Denton, 28, 1300 block of Washington Street, being a felon in possession of a handgun.

EDITOR'S NOTE: Those charged with crimes are considered innocent until they are found guilty in a court of law. Every effort is made by this newspaper to report the final disposition of each case. In the event we fail to do so, a call to our newsroom, 827-2000, will prompt a background check on those cases and, if necessary, a published report on the final disposition.
SHARE Hannah Watkins

By Gleaner Staff

Hannah Watkins of Henderson has won the national title of Miss Teen U.S.

Watkins, 15, is the daughter of Scott and Anita Watkins. She is a sophomore at Henderson County High School.

She was crowned July 17 at the Amerifest U.S. National Pageant held at Gaylord Opryland in Nashville. She competed against girls all over the country, according to a news release.

She won a $1,500 savings bond, custom photo modeling session and will be represented by Advantage Talent Management of Nashville.

Over the next year she will make appearances, volunteer, and work to promote the national stroke awareness platform with the AmeriFest pageants motto "It's More Than Just" a crown, but a chance to make a difference.

Watkins won her bid to nationals through the Miss Kentucky Festival Pageant, held each November in Lexington. She was also crowned Miss Teen Henderson County at the Henderson County Fair last month.
SHARE Rand Paul Tom Lovett / The Gleaner U.S. Sen. Rand Paul speaks to a crowd of about 65 people Thursday at Republican Party headquarters in downtown Henderson. Tom Lovett / The Gleaner U.S. Sen Rand Paul autographs a copy of the Constitution for 16-year-old Logan Dodson during a campaign stop Thursday in Henderson. Dodson is vice president of the Henderson County Young Republicans. "We're trying to get all of the politicians that we meet to sign our copy of the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution and the Bill of Rights  important American documents  as a promise to us and the state of Kentucky that they will do their best to preserve it in Washington," he said. Tom Lovett / The Gleaner Logan Dodson, 16, of Henderson shows off a photo of him and Sen. Rand Paul taken when Dodson was 11. " I've been a big fan of Sen. Paul since he was first in the Senate. ... I've been a dedicated Republican since I was about 10," he said.

By Tom Lovett of The Gleaner

U.S. Sen. Rand Paul's stop in Henderson took on an air of a church revival, with women fanning themselves and calls of "Amen!" and "Yes, brother!" coming from the audience as he spoke.

Paul spoke to a hot crowd of about 65 people at Republican Party headquarters, where the air conditioning had failed Thursday in downtown Henderson.

Sipping from a bottle of water, Paul spoke and answered questions for about 30 minutes with topics ranging from foreign aid to the Veteran's Administration to the future of coal.

"The federal government has just about killed it all," Paul said. "They've made it explicit, they haven't tried to trick us. Obama said he would bankrupt coal. He didn't say he was going to help the health and safety of miners; he said he was going to bankrupt coal. Hillary Clinton said it on national TV several months ago. She said 'We will put your miners out of business.' You can't be a friend to Hillary Clinton and a friend to Kentucky."

Paul called for cutting corporate income tax and federal regulations to make American more competitive.

We have to be competitive in the world," Paul said. "We have the highest corporate income tax in the world  35 percent. Canada is 15 percent. I'm embarrassed to tell people that I have to compliment Canada."

Paul said he's fought to limit federal regulation on business.

"Maybe they ought to have to repeal two for every one they add," he said, which drew applause and an "Amen" from several listeners.

Among those in the crowd was 16-year-old Logan Dodson, vice president of the Young Republicans at Henderson County High School.

Dodson said he's been a dedicated Republican since he was 10 and has supported Paul since he was first elected to the Senate.

(Paul is) the embodiment of a true conservative," the teen said. "He does his best to represent what the Founding Fathers had in mind. He uses common sense conservative principles to make our state of Kentucky better. I find that other GOP are hesitant to work in a bipartisan way on certain issues and I feel like he has an open mind and would work with Democrats if need be  that's something I admire about him."

Paul said he's introduced legislation to prevent federal aid going to countries that persecute Christians, which again drew applause.

"Any country that has the death penalty for marrying a Christian any country that has the death penalty for conversion to Christianity, or the death penalty for criticizing the state religion ... we shouldn't be subsidizing that. We may not be able to change what they believe or their laws, but we certainly shouldn't be subsidizing things that are hateful to us."

One attendee asked Paul when we were going to start taking better care of veterans than welfare recipients, which again drew applause and "Amens" from the crowd.

"Absolutely," Paul said. "We have an obligation when we send people to war and we have an obligation when they come home."

The senator said he helped to pass a bill allowing poor employees at the VA to be fired and the Veterans Choice Act, which he said he also supported.

"It's supposed to help people who live a long way from the VA  more than 40 miles away, they're supposed to be able to see a local doctor. It's not prefect, but it is better. ... I think it still needs to be tweaked, but it is an improvement."

After Paul's talk, John Berrong of Henderson said he would have voted for Paul for president and supports his re-election to the Senate.

"I think he's down-to-Earth. I think he understands the normal person's issues. I think he's willing to go to Washington and help us."

Berrong said he would have supported Paul for president, but is now a Trump supporter.

"I think right now the Republican Party has got to start backing Trump because if they don't, crooked Hillary is going to be in and I think that's mistake."

Dodson said he's also support Paul if the senator made another run a the presidency in four years.

"I stand with Rand."
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By Special To The Gleaner

Gov. Matt Bevin has announced the Sturgis Municipal Airport will receive $1.325 million to fund overdue airport pavement renovations.

"Maintaining and preserving airport infrastructure is critical to the economic viability of our Commonwealth," Bevin said in a statement. "These funds will provide needed financial capital to Sturgis Municipal Airport. This will allow for a variety of infrastructure enhancements such as repairing and improving runways and runway lighting and also for conducting obstruction surveys to ensure passenger safety aboard aircraft flying in and out of Kentucky. I appreciate the General Assembly for their support of this economically important funding during the past legislative session."

The Sturgis Municipal Airport will be one of the first to benefit from a larger initiative in which $20 million will be dedicated to pavement projects at general-aviation airports over the next two years. The earmarked funds will only pay for the restoration and maintenance of pavements in poor condition.

"The Sturgis Municipal Airport is a very important resource to our region of Western Kentucky," said Rep. Suzanne Miles, R-Owensboro, who represents Kentucky's 7th House District. "The airport serves a wide variety of private and corporate aircraft, and enables citizens and businesses air access to many surrounding communities. The investment of $1.325 million secured by Gov. Bevin is much appreciated, and vital to the long-term health of this important facility."

The Sturgis project includes a paving the airport's parallel taxiway, removing approximately 135,000 square feet of unusable pavement, taxiway striping and lighting relocation where needed.

Funding is only available for the design work of the project, which is set to be completed by December 2016. A timetable for actual construction will be determined once additional funding becomes available. Officials anticipate completion as early as June 2017.

This project is administered through the Kentucky Department of Aviation. Funding was made possible by the 2016 General Assembly and Gov. Bevin.
Winter is coming. Here's what you can do to prepare.
Not every television show has a huge marketing budget, but that doesn't mean it isn't as good as its competitors.

When it comes to what's popular on Netflix, it's not just the shows you know. Some of these programs that you've probably never heard score major points with viewers, including "The Last Kingdom." Akin to "Game of Thrones," this show follows an outcast who is out to claim the throne - and his birthright.
NORWALK  Police are offering a $50,000 reward for information that leads to an arrest in connection with an unsolved double murder in 2011.

Saturday marks the five-year anniversary of the murder of Iroquois Alston and Rickita Smalls, who were gunned down inside their vehicle on a quiet side street near Taylor Avenue in South Norwalk.

To date the killings remain unsolved and police are reminding the public that the state of Connecticut has offered a $50,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the person or persons responsible for deaths of Alston and Smalls.

Smalls, 22, and Alston, 27, were found shot dead inside a black Honda sedan on Avenue B in the early morning hours of Aug. 6, 2011.

Both victims died of gunshot wounds to the head, and the persons responsible for the killing remain at large.

Smalls and Alston, who went by the nicknames "Iraq" and "Coy," became the first and second homicide victims of 2011 when an Avenue B resident discovered them dead shortly before 8 a.m. in a parked car near his home. The resident found Smalls slumped forward and unresponsive and the passenger's side window of the vehicle had been shattered.

Anyone with any information is asked to contact the Norwalk Police Department Detective Bureau at 203-854-3111 or the Connecticut Cold Case Hotline at 866-623-8058.

Anonymous internet tips can be submitted via the Norwalk Police Departments website at norwalkpd.com. Tips can also be submitted via text by dialing CRIMES (274637) and adding keyword NPD to the body of the message, followed by the tip.

llake@hearstmediact.com
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WESTPORT  Oscars Delicatessen, one of the last small businesses in downtown Westport and a cornerstone of Main Street, shut down Monday after 42 years of service. Owner Lee Papageorge is battling lung cancer in a New Haven hospital and was forced to close.

The closure marks the loss of a community hub  a place where Westport residents could get a quality pastrami sandwich and gather in a friendly environment.

Sunday, hundreds of loyal customers, friends and members of the community came out to show support for their beloved deli on its last day of operation. In a Facebook post following the farewell event, Oscars said, Our family would like to thank all of our supportive customers. You held us up today, and we want to thank you for that.

Papageorges brother, Luke, said Lee really didnt want to close Oscars and that Nobody else can keep it going. This was his domain.

First Selectman Jim Marpe, who is partial to Oscars chicken noodle soup, would routinely grab breakfast at the deli while he waited for his daughter to finish her swim lessons at the old YMCA.

Oscars was important to Westport because it was the embodiment of the small-town character that we all want to maintain for our community. Moreover, Lee Papageorge is a great example of the small business owner who is willing to go that extra mile to benefit the community, Marpe said.

More Information Oscar's Sandwichs Corned Beef Hot Pastrami Tongue Turkey Smoked Turkey Roast Beef Baked Ham Imported Ham & Swiss Cheese Liverwurst Imported Swiss Cheese American Cheese Muenster Cheese Tuna Fish Salad Chicken Salad Lobster Salad Egg Salad German Bologna Chopped Liver Hebrew National Salami Hard Italian Salami Genoa Salami Hebrew National Hot Dog Hebrew National Knockwurst See More Collapse

All of us who experienced the welcoming sense of community of Oscars as well as the great deli food will truly miss it. And our prayers and encouragement go out to Lee as he battles cancer in the coming weeks and months, Marpe said.

Joe Canicatti, owner of Joes Pizza & Italian Restaurant on Main Street, was dismayed to hear of Oscars closing.

Its really sad. Oscars has been there for a long time. He had a nice business there; really nice man and I feel really bad about his health problems, Canicatti said. He had a great business; it was really a landmark of Westport. He was loved by a lot of people.

I used to love the pastrami. The best, Canicatti added.

Luke Papageorge said his brother has a large support system and is prepared to fight the illness.

He was here for 42 years and he has a lot of friends in this town and theyre all pulling for him, Papageorge said.

@chrismmarquette/ cmarquette@bcnnew.com
WILTON  Local empty nesters may soon get their wish for age-restricted housing as the Planning and Zoning (P&Z) Commission formally opened up debate last week on a proposed regulation that would permit the housing developments.

In establishing his argument in favor of age-restricted housing, Director of Planning and Land Use Management Bob Nerney pointed to the success of other such developments in parts of Connecticut, such as Ridgefield, Old Saybrook and Salem.

Housing developments like these tend to be revenue-positive, and there certainly is a strong demand in the area, Nerney said.

Nerney also highlighted indicators in Wilton, such as the success the River Ridge establishment, as a reason why age-restricted housing would benefit the community.

River Ridge, while it isnt an age-restricted community, it is populated largely by empty nesters, said Nerney.

The River Ridge houses were in such high demand that they sold out almost immediately after hitting the market.

Nerney said that he hoped to model any actual age-restricted developments after River Ridge with a single-family or duplex housing arrangement. However, this suggestion raised some concern from Commissioner Joe Fiteni.

You cite River Ridge  well I dont think many people in this room or elsewhere could afford to buy places like those for downsizing purposes or to stay in the community, Fiteni said. Our role is to provide housing for people who want to stay in town when they retire and they want to downsize, but a lot of the things here will prevent that.

Fiteni implored Nerney to explore a way to make these homes more affordable and of a broader appeal to residents, perhaps by adding some multi-family housing throughout the complex.

ptomlinson@hearstmediact.com; 203-354-1046; Tomlinson_PE
LINCOLN  State Sen. Bill Kintner will pay a $1,000 fine for misuse of public resources for using a state computer to engage in cybersex.

The fine, announced Friday, was part of a settlement with the Nebraska Accountability and Disclosure Commission.

In a statement Friday, Kintner said that he "caved to ... temptation to engage in cybersex" via Skype. He said the woman involved then informed him she was extorting money from him, and he then contacted the Nebraska State Patrol.

On Friday, Gov. Pete Ricketts called for Kintners resignation now that hes admitted to having cybersex using a state computer.

In light of the Nebraska Accountability and Disclosure Commissions decision, Senator Kintner should resign his office immediately. Period," the governor said in a statement.

Ricketts has previously said Kintner should resign, should allegations he had a sexually explicit video of himself on a state computer be substantiated. Ricketts has known about the investigation since last year, but never asked whether the allegations were true.

Kintner, 55, says he will not be resigning. "I think Im where I should be right now."

By law, state resources, including state computers and networks, must be used for state business. The acceptable-use policy allows use of state resources for "essential personal business," such as contacting children at home, teachers, doctors, day care centers and family members.

Kintner reached a settlement agreement with Frank Daley, who is executive director of the commission. Discussion of the settlement took place in closed session Friday; commission members voted unanimously to approve it. The commission found that he had violated state law concerning use of public resources and assessed the civil penalty.

J.L. Spray, an attorney, represented Kintner in the matter. Neither Spray nor Kintner attended Friday's meeting.

Kintner contacted authorities in July 2015 about problems with his computer. The Nebraska State Patrol began investigating when Kintner contacted the agency about what he believed to be a potential Internet scam that occurred while the senator was in Massachusetts using his state computer.

Later, another senator was solicited online by someone offering to sell the senator an explicit video involving Kintner.

In an interview in his office after the commission's meeting Friday, Kintner told The World-Herald that the State Patrol determined the woman was part of a small crime syndicate out of the Ivory Coast. The scammer was using Russian computer servers, he said.

"It wasnt just some woman," he said. "She was just a threat."

While Kintner said a video of the act never existed, he acknowledged the scammer sent a 3 to 4 second clip or gif, which is a short image or video, to his state computer.

He said he immediately deleted the gif and was never in possession of it on his computer.

Kintner said his wife, Lauren, has forgiven him. He said the incident happened right before she was diagnosed with cancer.

"My wife has shown absolutely incredible grace and forgiveness, more-so than any man deserves," he said.

Asked how he's doing, Kintner said he's "never been happier."

"I go home to a loving wife. I've got a great marriage. My walk with Christ is stronger than it's ever been," he said. "This was a wake-up call. This is a real wake-up call. If it can happen to a guy who's a Christian who goes to church, I mean, this is something that all men need to understand  that sexual sin is the way Satan gets to us."

The State Patrol completed its investigation in October 2015 and provided investigative information to the Attorney Generals Office. After a review of that information, the matter in November was referred to the accountability commission.

In his statement Friday, Kintner said, "Just so it is clear  there has never been any videos of an adult nature on any computer that I own or that I use."

Omaha Sen. Ernie Chambers, who drafted resolutions to impeach former University of Nebraska Regent David Hergert and former Attorney General Paul Douglas, has started drafting a resolution to impeach Kintner.

Both he and Speaker of the Legislature Galen Hadley attended the commission meeting.

Chambers said he would introduce the resolution in January if Kintner has not resigned by then. If the impeachment motion fails, Chambers said he would seek to expel Kintner from the body.

Impeachment requires 25 votes before it goes before the Nebraska Supreme Court for a trial. Expulsion takes 30 votes, but does not prohibit the expelled member from running for office.

Hadley has said that he planned to meet with Omaha Sen. Bob Krist, chairman of the Legislatures Executive Board, and Clerk of the Legislature Patrick ODonnell about possible options, pending the outcome of the accountability commissions meeting.

Kintner is a Republican who represents a district that includes Cass County and parts of Otoe and Sarpy Counties. He was elected to the seat in 2012 and 2014.

Lauren Kintner leads Ricketts policy research office.

World-Herald staff writer Martha Stoddard contributed to this report.
Libertarian presidential nominee Gary Johnson, the former New Mexico governor, and his running mate, Bill Weld, a former Massachusetts governor, bill themselves as the credible alternative to ClinTrump. The two former GOP governors, who won re-election in bluish states, have a bounce in their step on the campaign trail. Give us one term, America, and if after four years you decide you dont like peace, prosperity and freedom, you can always vote a Trump or a Hillary back into office again, Johnson mugs in a campaign video.

Theres trouble in paradise, alas. Many Libertarian-leaning conservatives disillusioned with Donald Trump  I am one  are looking at the Johnson-Weld ticket and wondering, as Cato Institute Senior Fellow Ilya Shapiro blogged Saturday, Is Johnson-Weld a Libertarian ticket?

Shapiro was particularly troubled on two fronts  the courts and religious freedom. Reason.TV host Nick Gillespie recently asked Johnson and Weld whom theyd nominate for the U.S. Supreme Court. Johnson answered that he would look for good people who focus on the original intent of the Constitution  a good, old-school Libertarian answer. Then Weld threw out two names  Justice Stephen Breyer, a Bill Clinton nominee who believes the Second Amendment does not protect the right to self-defense, and Judge Merrick Garland, whom President Obama nominated to fill the Antonin Scalia vacancy. Shapiro told me Garland defers to the government more than anyone Ive studied in depth. It especially troubles Shapiro that Johnson didnt correct Weld.

Campaign spokesman Joe Hunter told me that if the ticket should win, top-guy Johnson  not Weld  would pick justices. Weld, I should note, is no natural Libertarian. He endorsed Barack Obama in 2008.

Shapiro also is concerned that Johnson supports government actions that infringe on religious liberty: Johnson is OK with fining a wedding photographer for not working a gay wedding  a case from New Mexico where Cato and every libertarian I know supported the photographer  and forcing the Little Sisters of the Poor to pay for contraceptives (where again Cato and libertarians supported religious liberty). Johnson told the Washington Examiner that he doesnt believe social conservatives should be able to force their views on others. So he supports laws that force contrary views on social conservatives. To savvy Libertarians, thats an overuse of government power.

At times, it feels as if Johnson gets distracted by shiny ideas. During an interview, Johnson was checking all the right boxes until he told me he thought a city might prevent overdose deaths by opening a satellite office that you could come in and test your heroin before you took it. You mean private companies could do the testing? I interjected. Yes, he answered. Too bad we didnt get into the dubious advisability  as in: utter insanity  of clinics telling junkies they can use a certain batch of heroin.

Shapiro is not out to enforce Libertarian purity. I think hed like to see what I want to see  a smart focus on more freedom and less government. That means Weld moving closer to Johnson, not vice versa. That means more talk from both men about cutting government spending by 10 to 20 percent and more of Johnson urging Bernie Sanders supporters to focus on opportunity equality in lieu of income inequality, and more shout-outs for the sharing economy.

When I asked Johnson to name three regulations he would eliminate if elected, he had no short list. The campaign needs an issues audit, pronto. Hunter reminded me that as governors, both Republicans reflected libertarian values. True, but its been more than a decade since Johnson was a governor, and almost two decades for Weld. The trenches have moved since 2003. This is the year of political disruption. Its great Johnson and Weld are buddies, but how sharp are their knives?
Grand Islands city code on sidewalk repairs has been enforced solely on a complaint basis, but Councilman Mitch Nickerson raised some very good questions recently after a complaint was filed about a sidewalk at 823 W. 17th St. in the 4th Ward that he represents on the city council.

The code is vague about what constitutes a sidewalk problem. It says the Public Works Department will order home or business owners to construct or repair sidewalks that are of defective construction, or are in a state of disrepair, or are obstructed so as to make such sidewalks unsafe, dangerous or hazardous for public use ...

Cracks, weeds and missing concrete can all be problems, Public Works Director John Collins said. If a sidewalk slab is raised a half-inch higher than the adjacent slab, its a trip hazard, according to federal Americans With Disabilities Act standards, so it must be repaired.

But Nickerson said, There are hundreds of sidewalks like that in Grand Island. He said he even owns some properties with sidewalks that have those issues.

Complaints about sidewalks can be made anonymously by phone, by mail or on the citys website. Its only when a complaint is made that public works staff checks the condition of the sidewalk.

Nickerson said that policy encourages situations where someone with a grudge against somebody reports a problem with that persons sidewalk, even though there are similar sidewalks throughout the neighborhood.

The city also may have been vague in its notices to people whose sidewalks need to be repaired. Nickerson cited the example of La Azteca Market on Pine Street, which spent $7,000 on a new sidewalk when an $800 repair may have been all that was necessary.

The basic issue seems to be in how the city can enforce its ordinances. It would be impossible for city staff to monitor the condition of the sidewalks throughout Grand Island on a regular basis. But relying solely on complaints is troublesome. The ordinance was adopted because cracked sidewalks are nuisances and can be dangerous. So the city needs to have a way to enforce it throughout the city.

The same issues can be raised about the city code on weeds and grass. It says that weeds and grass over 12 inches tall are a violation and the property must be cleared of weeds and/or the grass mowed within five days after the property owner is notified of the problem.

Photos of the sidewalk in question in the 4th Ward that were in Wednesdays Independent show that weeds are a big part of the problem with that sidewalk.

The Public Works Department and the city council need to determine a way to fairly enforce the city code with regard to sidewalks, weeds and grass. A change in the code may be needed, too, to be more specific about what sidewalk defects require repairs.

Its good that the code requires that all sidewalk repair orders be approved by the city council before theyre sent to the property owner. In the 4th Ward sidewalks case, action on that complaint was delayed because of Nickersons questions.

But even if the council decides this specific sidewalk needs to be repaired, its a good impetus for change in city policy.

Collins is scheduled to review the sidewalk policy and provide more specific information on the repairs needed with the sidewalk on 17th Street when the council meets Tuesday.
A resolution approving an easement agreement with Philip Schlemer the installation of a city entry sign was recommended for approval to City Council at last week's Administrative and Community Services Committee.

Public Works and the Edwardsville Beautification and Tree Commission have been trying to get entrance signs installed at different locations in Edwardsville; however, given the restrictions of state property regulations, this sign will have to be placed on private property. Edwardsville Mayor Hal Patton said this particular sign will be a part of the I-55 Corridor and it hasnt been easy to get its approval.

The reason for these challenges, as most of you know, is that weve looked at entry signs; most of them are state property and they will not allow any permanent signs to be erected in state right-of-way. Youll see Glen Carbon entry signs  theyre wood post signs. Since we are putting more time, money, and effort into these, we wanted to get them out of that state right-of-way and its very difficult to find locations that are privately held that will allow us to do that, Patton said.

The first welcome sign was placed on Troy Road, north of Goshen Road. The proposed sign will be placed along Route 143, east of Governors' Parkway. Schlemer has agreed to the terms associated with the agreement, as the sign will reside on his property. Alderman Barb Stamer said this sign is a good asset to the community.

I think this a good thing. I know weve been talking about signs for a long time, Stamer said. I also want to thank our property owners that are allowing us to move forward; its very appreciated. The signs are very nice.

The resolution was passed and recommended for approval by City Council.

In other business, an ordinance adopting the 2006 edition of the International Existing Building Code was recommended for approval to City Council. After being passed by the Public Services Committee, ACS agreed to move it forward.

All aldermen present were in favor.

Next was an ordinance restricting parking on the south side of Shell Lane at all times. After being approved by the Public Services Committee and the Public Safety Committee, ACS followed suit. The ordinance was recommended for approval and sent to City Council. All were in favor.

The next ACS meeting will be at 5 p.m., Thursday, Aug. 11 at City Hall. All meetings are open to the public.
With all of the chaos surrounding our nations police officers, Sammi Reifsteck, 8, and her parents Charlie and Lisa Reifsteck, are partnering with Docs Smokehouse to raise funds for the Feed the Force Campaign.

Donations will supply free meals to any of the Madison County police officers at Docs Smokehouse in Edwardsville. With a goal of $5,000 and an estimated $1,500 raised so far, the project has been nothing short of successful.

Lisa Reifsteck said the idea all started when Sammi got her motivation from a film about a boy who set out to help the homeless using only his wagon.

We watched a movie and it was called, The Little Red Wagon. That movie inspired Sammi to want to do something for our community. Basically, she heard about the police officers who were getting killed and shot and it really touched her heart. She asked if we could do something nice for them or buy them dinner. The answer was, Well, thats a lot of mouths to feed. We probably couldnt do that, but it got us thinking that maybe we could do something bigger. Charlie, myself, and Sammi all talked about getting together and being able to keep an open tab somewhere and feed a bunch of police officers. Charlie reached out to Docs Smokehouse and (Doc) wholeheartedly loved the idea and started to work with us and it just took off, Lisa said.

The campaign donations are being collected at Docs Smokehouse, and personally by the Reifsteck family. There is also a GoFundMe page and a 501(c)(3) plan in the works. Lisa said the project is expanding and there is no set deadline to close the donations.

Depending on how things go, we want to keep it going for at least a year. We actually started up a 501-C3 corporation to try and get this going so companies could do donations as well and keep it an ongoing thing if people can contribute to it, Lisa said.

Charlie Reifsteck said as the campaign progresses, they hope to expand it even more.

We really hope that this becomes a bigger cause than just Madison County that we can take this at a larger scale and get people to participate throughout the region and even the country. Again, there is no end date; itll end if we run out of funds. But, every dollar that we raise is being put to feed the force. Literally, Charlie said.

Co-owner of Docs Smokehouse Susan Richardson said the restaurant already offers a 10 percent discount to all public service workers, including EMTs, military, police, fire, etc. and when this offer hit the table, they couldnt refuse.

Sammi actually came to us, her family likes eating here, and her family asked us to partner with them. We said sure; we always have offered a discount for any public service: EMTs, Fire, all of them. So, it was right up our alley and we said yes, Richardson said.

All donations are going toward meal tickets for Docs Smokehouse, and the officers can get anything on the menu without restrictions. Richardson said since the campaign started, it has expanded significantly.

Its growing certainly. Its not full-fledged yet because we are still in the process of getting the behind-the-scenes stuff done; getting tickets printed to give to the officers at each precinct, and thats kicking off. Right away they were getting 501 status. Also, trying to get their website up for donations, that kind of thing. A lot of the logistics are being determined and were actually at a good point right now to start full force. Right now weve got this coming week, weve got a couple spots left: one with Channel 2 and one with Channel 5. Were going to be getting more media and hopefully its going to keep growing, Richardson said. I was talking with Sammi this morning and she was excited. She told me in her mind, she didnt see it getting this big, so its been really exciting for her I think to see it grow. Shes nervous to be on TV, but shes an 8-year-old girl with a vision. Once you have this idea, you can have a dream and it takes off.

Despite all of the violence that has been occurring throughout the nation toward police officers, Richardson said she thinks Docs Smokehouse and Edwardsville as a whole are on good terms with the police department.

I really think weve always had a good relationship with the police department. They come in here, they know they get a discount. Certainly if it gets better, thats not going to upset me at all. I dont think weve ever not had a great relationship. Edwardsville is a great community anyway and is very supportive of local business and just in general. Its not common in most communities, so I think Edwardsville is very unique in how supportive the public is in general here, Richardson.

The primary reason for the Feed the Force campaign is to assure police officers that the community supports them, and Charlie Reifsteck said he hopes participants in the campaign realize that every little bit helps.

We want them to take away that theyve helped the morale of the police force and they are making a difference. Thats really the biggest thing is that we come together as a community to live lawful lives that are purposeful and meaningful and that this is a part of life that we want to show. Its important to our children and the whole community, Charlie said.

To make a donation, visit the GoFundMe page or make a donation at Docs Smokehouse. You can also reach the Reifsteck family at 618-304-3740 to make a donation and Lisa and Sammi will personally collect it. Docs Smokehouse can be reached at 618-656-6060.
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Linkedin Usep Abdul Matin (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Fri, August 5, 2016

Regardless whether or not the fake vaccines are dangerous (The Jakarta Post, July 18), their distribution by hospitals in Indonesia indicates that hospitals hospitality in this country has declined.



Throughout this case, I wanted to answer a question: Why has this tragedy occurred while the words hospital and hospitality come from the same root-word hospes (Latin), meaning guest?



I answer this question by saying that these fake vaccines suggest that hospitals in Indonesia tend to overlook the role of medicine as a form of social hospitality, or as a charitable work.



Hospitals are increasingly becoming commercial realms that emphasize professionalism. I consider this overwhelming emphasis to be impersonal. I support this thought by referring to some books on medicine.



In the first three chapters of Guenter B. Risses Mending Bodies, Saving Souls: A History of Hospitals ( 1999 ), I found this impersonal characteristic of hospitals has been in place since 1226 when religious staffers in hospitals bartered their meager care giving and letters of indulgence for more alms and bribes.



This abuse had become well-known by the early 1300s. By that time, hospitals were also known as impersonal institutions in way that, throughout Europe, hospitals did not allow too many poor people to stay for long periods of time because the poor prevented others who had a better chance to recover from being admitted.



Risse finds that the hospitals from 391 (AD), when Christianity became an official religion, to the year 1226, had social hospitality.



During this period of time, hospital staffers implemented early Christian theology by equating their sufferings to the vicissitudes of Christs brief sojourn on earth.



Furthermore, Risse says that this vision taught Christians a mutual love between God and humans, and energized all actions aimed at assisting others.



Here, Risse illustrates that Christians during that period of time (391 to 1226) created establishments to shelter and feed the poor and slaves, to care for the sick, to assist widows and aged people and to raise orphans.



Some examples of these establishments are hostels, special shelters orvaletudinaria for civilians and soldiers, monasteries, infirmaries (special rooms for sick monks in monasteries), and nosokomeia (sick houses).



Late in that period, the term hospital began to be used openly after the Christians succeeded in capturing Jerusalem in the first crusade in 1099.



There, they built up St. Johns Hospital, which signified their destiny and Christs own good works for all mankind.



This hospital was primarily devoted to Christian pilgrims, but Jews and Muslims were also being treated at this hospital.



Hospitals social activities from 391 to 1226 were different not only from the hospitals impersonal activities, as I stated earlier, but also from the personal character of healing during the ancient Greek period.



Among the Greeks, the healer only provided health advice, not direct contact with the sick. Risse finds that this period went on from the 5th century BC to 391 AD Risse calls traditional healing during this period temple culture that became prominent from the 9th century BC onwards.



He explains these terms by giving us an example of a temple of Asclepius, a Greek healing god in the 5th century BC Visitors asked this god for health, through a priest as a mediator, in some form of ritual, such as worshipping him while giving him an offering.



In turn, Asclepius gave them his personal hospitality.



Risses chronological explanation of the origins and evolution of the hospital clarifies two other books that I read: Shumans and Meadors Heal Thyself ( 2004 ) and Glucklichs Sacred Pain ( 2001 ).



Risse found the early Christian theology and connected it historically to the social hospitality in the early Christian hospitals.



This connection helps me understand a suggestion by Shuman and Meador. They recommend maintaining a Thomas Aquinas misericordia in medicine.



This term refers to an axiomatic notion of Gods particular self-revelation in history.



This means that in every aspect of life, including health and sickness, we should belong to God and to one another. This was evident in the social hospitality of early Christianity described by Risse: caring rather than emphasizing money.



Risses explanation of suffering has helped me better understand Glucklichs notion of self-hurting. Glucklich said that as long as medicine was attached to religious belief, the believer tolerated the pain.



After reading Risses historical explanation, I understood this principle as applied to the ancient Greeks and early Christians.



Under this principle, suffering was considered to be good treatment not only for the body, but also for the soul.



In sum, Risses historical explanation of hospitals in the West has led me to arrive at two points.



First, during the period of social hospitals from 391 to 1226, early Christians tolerated the pain and liberated the poor people.



Second, during the period of impersonal hospitals from 1226 to the present, Christians could not take the pain and disregarded the poor.



This second point prevails in the fake vaccine case in Indonesia. Hospitals in Indonesia should adopt the Christian theology of social hospitality in treating their patients.

***

The writer, who obtained his PhD in religious studies from the School of Anthropology/Social Sciences at Monash University, Australia, is a lecturer at the State Islamic University (UIN), South Tangerang, Banten.

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Linkedin Saskia E. Wieringa (The Jakarta Post) Amsterdam  Fri, August 5, 2016

To this day victims and survivors of the mass killings and other crimes against humanity committed by the military and the militias associated with them after Oct. 1, 1965, still suffer from stigma.



They are seen as being responsible for plotting a coup, and the women in particular are associated with alleged sexual orgies, in which the bodies of generals were mutilated.



In actual fact the generals were murdered by soldiers under the command of two colonels, in a plot to abduct them and bring them before then president Sukarno.



Indonesian Communist Party (PKI) leader DN Aidit and a very small group of his closest associates were involved in this plot.



However, subsequently the whole party, which was operating legally and counted some 3 million members, as well as thousands of other unarmed and innocent supporters of president Sukarno, were blamed for this coup by Gen. Soeharto.



To dehumanize them, as a precursor to the mass killings, mass detentions, torture, enslavement and sexual violence that followed, a campaign of hate propaganda was engineered, spread by the media that was totally controlled by the military.

(Read also: 1965 Tribunal: State vs international law)



This propaganda campaign has been exceedingly successful, lasting longer than the Nazi propaganda against the Jews.



Other elements of this campaign held that the PKI was against religion, against the Pancasila state ideology and must be held responsible for the killings of religious leaders since the 1948 Madiun affair in East Java.



The panel of judges of the International Peoples Tribunal on the 1965 crimes against humanity in Indonesia (IPT 1965), held last November in The Hague, considered two elements of this campaign.



The prosecution focused on two central charges of the decades-long campaign.



First, that the PKI was the mastermind behind the failed coup of Sept. 30 to Oct. 1 1965.



And second, that during the coup the young women present at Lubang Buaya (where the officers who were not yet dead were murdered and their bodies thrown into a disused well in East Jakarta) were encouraged by the PKI to engage in immoral behavior, seeking to seduce the generals in a lurid, naked dance, and then castrating the generals and killing them after gouging out their eyes.



However the post-mortem examinations of the bodies ordered by both president Sukarno and Soeharto showed no signs of castration or mutilation.



The autopsies demonstrated that six of the seven officers died as a result of gunshot wounds, and the seventh as the result of a wound to the abdomen, perhaps caused by a bayonet.



The non-gunshot wounds recorded on their bodies were consistent with being beaten by rifle butts or as a result of being thrown down a 36-foot well.



Most significantly, the doctors carrying out the post mortems did not record any damage to the officers genitals, which were apparently intact (they were able to observe in all seven cases whether or not the victim was circumcised).



After considering the evidence brought before them, the judges, led by veteran South African justice Zak Yacoob, concluded that the false propaganda campaign was indeed essential to the widespread systematic attacks against the PKI and all those deemed to be connected with it.



It was the first significant step in the attacks and is therefore a crime against humanity.



The propaganda version of the events of Sept. 30 to Oct. 1, 1965 had a significant dehumanizing impact, helping to justify the extralegal persecution, detention and killing of alleged suspects and particularly to legitimize the use of sexual violence against women.



This propaganda also contributed to the denial of survivors civil rights and the absence of any attempt to remedy the injustices against them.



The results of the autopsy were known to later president Soeharto but they were never released to the public.



The documents were only published much later, when professor Benedict Anderson discovered them.



In the early 1980s I had carried out research on the lurid stories of Lubang Buaya, interviewing a few of the girls who had been present there on that fearful night and who had survived the heavy sexual torture they had been subjected to.



All of them consistently denied that any dancing let alone castrating had taken place.



I wrote about this story in my novel entitled The Crocodile Hole, the launch of which was prohibited in the Ubud Literary Festival last year, as were all events related to 1965.



The accusation that the Indonesian Communist Party was the mastermind of the coup are also not supported by the available literature on the topic.



Although there are still many questions to be answered (e.g., who ordered the killing of the generals when the original plan was just to abduct them?) the judges of the international peoples tribunal found that the lies constituted the basis of a sustained campaign, lasting for many years and even to the present day, based upon allegations which were known to be untrue, and that it was intended to discriminate, as well as to dehumanize, the target group and laid down the basis for the mass atrocities committed against them.



The target group was said to be not only PKI members and sympathizers, but all those who were allegedly members of organizations affiliated with the PKI, and that this amounted to a significant part of the civilian population of Indonesia.



The conclusions of the judges of the IPT 1965 refute two elements of the hate propaganda spread against the PKI and supporters of Sukarno. It is critical that other elements of this campaign are subjected to similar scrutiny. Only then can Indonesias history books be rewritten and the rehabilitation of the many thousands of innocent victims begin.

***

The writer, a sociologist and feminist at the University of Amsterdam, is chairperson of the Foundation IPT 1965, and among others authored the novel The Crocodile Hole ( 2015 ) and Sexual Politics in Indonesia ( 2002 ).

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Linkedin Nicholas Koumjian (The Jakarta Post) Phnom Penh  Fri, August 5, 2016

The Jakarta Post reported last Friday that Gen. (ret.) Wiranto, the newly appointed coordinating political, legal and security affairs minister, had denied accusations of his involvement in past human rights abuses.



He also said of the controversy over his appointment: I want them to clearly point out when and where exactly my involvement was. Only then will I explain, one by one.



As a former deputy general prosecutor for serious crimes in East Timor, I am happy to point out to Wiranto why we sought his arrest for crimes against humanity.

(Read also: Don't worry about Wiranto)



Under the well-established international law doctrine of superior responsibility, a commander who has reason to know that crimes are about to occur, or have occurred, is obligated to take all reasonable measures to prevent the crimes from occurring and/or to punish those who perpetrated the crimes. Commanders who fail to take such measures are criminally responsible for the crimes.



Wiranto was indicted for crimes against humanity committed in East Timor in 1999. His indictment and the brief I filed in support of the arrest warrant are public documents. These outline in detail the evidence showing Wirantos clear criminal responsibility or failure to fulfill his obligation to prevent these crimes and to punish those responsible despite reports in the media and from international organizations, including the United Nations, and personal appeals to Wiranto to stop the violence.



Wiranto was commander of the then Indonesian Armed Forces (ABRI) and defense minister in 1999 when the East Timorese voted for independence. Under Indonesias agreement with the UN, ABRI, now the Indonesian Military (TNI), was responsible for providing security throughout the referendum process and had almost 18,000 troops stationed in the territory.



Yet over 1,400 persons were killed, 70 percent of the countrys buildings destroyed and hundreds of thousands forced to flee their homes in the period before and immediately after the vote.



A judge at the Special Panels for Serious Crimes in East Timor, an institution created and staffed by the UN, issued an arrest warrant for Wiranto in 2004, charging him with the crimes against humanity of murder, forcible transfer and persecution (including illegal detention, assaults and arson).



The indictment and arrest warrant alleged that these crimes were committed by forces under Wirantos effective control  pro-Indonesia Timorese militias armed and organized by the Indonesian armed forces  or by the Indonesian forces themselves, and that Wiranto is criminally responsible because he was aware of the crimes but failed to take measures to prevent the carnage or to investigate and punish those responsible.



A similar conclusion has been reached by Indonesias National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM), which found on the basis of its investigations that Wiranto was aware of widespread and organized crimes at the time of the independence referendum but failed in his duty to ensure security.



Does Wiranto now deny that the violence occurred, deny he was commander of the armed forces at the time, deny that he knew what was going on in a territory whose security he was responsible for, or deny that he did nothing to stop the violence or punish the perpetrators? Over the last 17 years, Wiranto has failed to answer any of these points, and undoubtedly will fail to do so now, hoping that what happened almost two decades ago will simply be forgotten.



It is difficult to understand why, when Indonesia has so many talented and courageous legal and security experts, the President chose to appoint to the position of coordinating political, legal and security affairs minister a man with a notorious record of sanctioning serious human rights abuses.



The principle victims of this selection are the people of Indonesia, who deserve to live in a secure environment where the rule of law protects and provides justice for all of its citizens.



Moreover, the term crimes against humanity recognizes that mass crimes inflicted on innocent peoples must be the concern of all of people and governments, not just those from the jurisdiction involved.



Efforts to combat terrorism, narcotics and human trafficking require sharing intelligence and coordinating enforcement efforts across borders. A successful strategy requires that these battles are fought under the rule of law, respecting individual freedoms and holding police and military forces accountable for any abuse of their positions.



Wirantos selection sends the message that military forces are above the law and will not be held to account for past or future crimes. This casts doubt on the sincerity of this governments commitment to law and human rights.



Future international cooperation with Indonesia has been jeopardized. Regrettably, Wirantos appointment damages the countrys efforts to achieve the very security and justice that his position is meant to promote.

***

The writer was chief prosecutor for the Serious Crimes Unit in Timor Leste from 2003-2005 and has handled war crime cases in the former Yugoslavia, Sierra Leone, Darfur and Cambodia. The views expressed are his own.

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Linkedin Ni Nyoman Wira (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Fri, August 5, 2016

Following its success last year, Bandung-based dance collective, Sasikirana Dance Camp is making its return to the stage this month. The Sasikirana KoreoLAB & Dance Camp (SKDC) running from Aug. 1-9 includes a dance camp and intensive workshops for contemporary dance choreographers. The event will culminate in the site-specific-performance, Dance City, Density! which will be held on Aug. 9 at the NuArt Sculpture Park (NSP) in Bandung, West Java.

The Dance City, Density! performance, which is open to the public, has a unique concept in which the audience must follow the performance to different locations. There will also be exhibitions at 15 art spaces in Bandung on the same day.

Coming from 16 cities from five countries, six choreographers and 25 dancers passed the audition to participate in the intensive nine-day workshop and dance camp. Throughout the program, the choreographers and dancers remain on site and are mentored by several international artists, namely Arco Renz from Belgia, Fathurrahman bin Said from Singapore, as well as Hartati and Eko from Indonesia.

SKDC is an opportunity for dancers to sharpen their skills, build their references, expand their networks, and receive sustainable guidance from our choreographer friends, Sasikirana founder and head of production, Keni K. Soeriaatmadja told The Jakarta Post via telephone.

An afternoon session at NuArt's amphitheatre. It is one of the activities at the Sasikirana KoreoLAB & Dance Camp held from August 1 to 9 at NuArt Sculpture Park, Bandung.(facebook.com/sasikiranadancecamp/-)

Both Arco and Fathurrahman said the diversity of the participants was impressive, with students coming from Singapore, Thailand, USA, Malaysia and Indonesia. Some students already have experience and formal dance education, while others are self-taught dancers, said Arco. Fathurrahman said the workshop was an opportunity to learn from each other, as every student brings different stories that are just waiting to be told.

(Read also: NuArt Lab: Making Bandung an art collaboration center)

Regarding this years theme of tradition-based contemporary dance, choreographer Hartati explained that Contemporary was selected because it is the most important [dance style] to represent the current state of the world. She added that developing contemporary performing arts was a way to improve public awareness of the nation's identity problem.

We hope Sasikirana Dance Camp can be an annual event, says Keni about Sasikirana's future projects. The collective has Dance Lab, a three-day program that is usually held every three to four months at the NuArt Sculpture Park. Compared to the dance camp, Dance Lab is easier in terms of its curriculum. Moreover, she hopes to create several small showcases in the future. (asw)
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Linkedin Ina Parlina and Margareth S. Aritonang (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Thu, August 4 2016

Never a big fan of theatrics, President Joko Jokowi Widodo has apparently responded to the demands from people of the Kendeng mountains, especially the women who recently staged a protest by symbolically planting their feet into cement to resist the planned construction of cement factories in the area.



Many have applauded Jokowis decision to temporarily halt karst mining in the area, pending the result of a fresh environmental analysis expected to wrap up in one year.



But as Jokowi decided to respond to demands of the people from Kendeng, an area in his home turf of Central Java, which is a must-win place for a candidate running for president, many groups that have persisted in staging protests on a number of issues have continued to be sidelined by the political establishment.



Jokowis willingness to engage in a dialogue with the Kendeng people, in the Javanese language no less, has made his refusal to talk with other protesters appear all the more jarring.



In the last few years, a number of groups that have engaged in peaceful rallies across from the State Palace in hope of finding justice, including the Kamisan group  a number of families of victims of human rights abuses who staged rallies on Thursdays  and the beleaguered Indonesian Christian Church (GKI) Yasmin in Bogor, have yet to get a chance to meet directly with the President, although they have frequently made requests.



They were largely ignored by then president Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono when he was still in office and the election of Jokowi in 2014 had brought hope that the new leader would allow a breakthrough.



Although his approval rating in his second year in office has improved from his first year, as showed in the recent survey by Saiful Mujani Research and Consulting (SMRC), and he is on solid political ground, which will allow him to make bold decisions, Jokowi has continued to drag his feet on human rights issues.



Just like the Kendeng people, some of the protesters met first with Presidential Chief of Staff Teten Masduki, but thats where the similarities end.



GKI Yasmin, along with representatives from human rights groups that support the congregation, met with Teten a few days before Easter this year. However, no follow-through took place, prompting them to continue performing Sunday services only yards away from the State Palace.



Actually, it is okay not to meet with Jokowi, but please, we want action from the President in stopping the six-year-long discrimination against us, Bona Sigalingging of GKI Yasmin said on Wednesday, demanding the government allow access to their church before this years Christmas.



Maria Catarina Sumarsih, the mother of Bernardius Realino Norma Irawan, who was shot dead in the Semanggi tragedy of 1998, said she had yet to personally meet Jokowi to talk about the unresolved killing, although she has returned to the grounds right across from the State Palace to campaign every Thursday for years.



Sumarsih said no officials from the palace had ever approached her or other participants who regularly conducted the Kamisan rally.



In fact, she had made several attempts to reach out to the President by sending him letters requesting an audience.



Sumarsih said that she and other victims of historic human rights abuses had written Jokowi three times since he took office, but they had received no word back.



I have also requested a meeting with the presidential chief of staff, but nothing has happened so far, said Sumarsih, referring to Teten, who was once known for being an antigraft activist.



I have only one message to tell the President if I actually meet him. I want him to remember his promise to solve past human rights abuses. The commitment to do so is included in his grand Nawacita program, she said.



Tuesday was not the first time Jokowi tried to mediate disagreements between people and industries or the interests of the government. He once invited a number of fishermen from Brebes in Central Java and Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Minister Susi Pudjiastuti, who is known for her tough stance on maritime issues, to have them discuss one of Susis policies that limits the use of non-environmentally friendly seine nets by small-scale fishers.

_________________________________

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Linkedin Margareth S. Aritonang (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Thu, August 4 2016

As one of the countrys most outspoken human rights defenders, Haris Azhar, has long been a gadfly to the nations security apparatus.

His recent Facebook post in which he publishes a statement from drug convict Freddy Budiman, who was executed last Friday, has strongly offended institutions mentioned in the post: the Indonesian Military (TNI), the National Police and the National Narcotics Agency (BNN).

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Linkedin Ina Parlina, Haeril Halim and Tama Salim (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta/Bali  Thu, August 4 2016

Countries around the Sulu Sea still have to work on a number of technicalities following a trilateral framework of arrangement (FoA) that was agreed upon on Tuesday by the defense ministers of Indonesia, Malaysia and the Philippines.

For now, the three defense ministers have agreed to implement a coordinated patrol scheme with additional provisions to secure their respective borders, Defense Minister Ryamizard Ryacudu told The Jakarta Post.

Joint patrols would by definition be led by a unified entity and allow for the traversing of national borders, whereas coordinated patrols would imply that each state would conduct patrols in concert to provide the maximum security coverage required without impinging on another states sovereignty.

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Linkedin Callistasia Anggun Wijaya (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Fri, August 5, 2016

Jakarta Governor Basuki "Ahok" Tjahaja Purnama has vowed to fire any civil servant found guilty of raping an intern at the Central Jakarta municipality office in Tanah Abang.

Ahok said Friday he had yet to receive a detailed report on the matter.

Accompanied by her family, a 17-year-old intern reported on Wednesday three civil servants to the Central Jakarta Police for allegedly raping her while she was working in the mayors office.

"We will surely any dismiss civil servants proven guilty of rape," Ahok said at City Hall on Friday.

He also said those on internships should work in a group, not individually, to reduce the potential of sexual assault.

If youre an intern, you should not be alone. There are a lot of interns, dont ask for a room only for yourself because people can get the wrong idea. Interns should not work alone, should not work behind closed doors, everything should be open, Ahok said.

All activities at the office are monitored by closed-circuit television (CCTV), he said.
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Linkedin Callistasia Anggun Wijaya (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Fri, August 5, 2016

Jakarta Governor Basuki "Ahok" Tjahaja Purnama says he welcomes Surabaya mayor Tri Rismaharini as a possible rival in the 2017 Jakarta gubernatorial election following mounting support for the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) politician to join the race.

Ahok said he would not pay too much attention to the other candidates. He welcomed all capable regional leaders to run in next year's election for the betterment of the capital.

"If residents can find a person better than me, but they still choose me that means they are stupid. You have to choose someone who is better than me, especially someone who has a more transparent system so the Jakarta can have fast development," he told journalists at City Hall on Friday.

(Read also : Regional Elections Law holding me hostage: Ahok)

Despite saying multiple times that she would stay in Surabaya, there has been rising support for Risma to compete in the Jakarta election.

Many have interpreted comments Risma made on Thursday, in which she publicly apologized for her administrations mistakes and said that these were her last days, as a hint of her plans to contest the Jakarta election. However, Surabaya administration spokesman Muhammad Fikser refuted this interpretation, say that the apology was related to the approaching end of the month of Syawal in the Islamic calendar, as reported by kompas.com. (rin)
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Linkedin (Associated Press) Canberra  Fri, August 5, 2016

Australia's prime minister says he vetoed a predecessor's bid for the top United Nations job because Kevin Rudd lacks the interpersonal skills and temperament to be a candidate.

Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull has previously declined to explain his reasons for rejecting Rudd's bid to succeed UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon beyond saying that he was not "well suited for that role."

Turnbull confirmed the reasons Rudd gave The Australian newspaper in an interview published on Friday.

Rudd also told the newspaper Turnbull had initially supported his bid as Rudd spent two years unofficially lobbying governments around the world to support his campaign.

The decision has been interpreted as evidence of Turnbull's diminished influence within his government after recent elections.

Rudd did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
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Linkedin (The Jakarta Post)  Fri, August 5, 2016

Established in 2003 as the sole interpreter of the Constitution and an arbiter of election disputes, the Constitutional Court has played a crucial role in stabilizing Indonesias democracy after the downfall of Soehartos authoritarian regime. The court has issued landmark rulings that have defined the nations stance on important but divisive issues, ranging from religious freedom and death penalty to economic equality. The court is now reviewing the Criminal Code (KUHP) to decide if same-sex relationships and sex out of wedlock should be outlawed. Court chief Arief Hidayat shared with The Jakarta Posts Ina Parlina and Ary Hermawan his views on executions and the 1945 Constitution and their relation to the ongoing culture war in Indonesia. Below is an excerpt of the interview.

Questions: The court has ruled that executions should not be carried out if a death row inmate has filed for clemency and the President has not rejected it. What is your opinion on the recent executions, which the Attorney Generals Office (AGO) insisted on pressing ahead with, although some of the death row inmates had filed for clemency?

Answer: Well, first, the courts ruling shows there was [initially] a problem with clemency procedures since the provision in the [2010] Clemency Law only allowed a convict or their family to file a clemency appeal within a year after the case reached a final and binding verdict. For instance, Suud Rusli, received his final verdict more than a year [after the verdict was issued]. This means his constitutional rights were neglected.

Therefore, the court ruled a clemency appeal could not be put into such a time frame. Whats important is to give an opportunity for a convict or the family to ask for clemency from the President if the convict admits to the crimes. However, once a clemency appeal has been rejected, there is no other chance for filing another clemency request.

In the consideration of the ruling, we also say that clemency does not hinder prosecutors from carrying out executions, in a sense that the prosecutors must ask the convict or the family whether they will use such rights. It is done for humanitys sake. If they do not want clemency, the prosecutors can go ahead with the execution.

What if a death row inmate requests clemency a day before their execution?

Well, [the execution] should be postponed.

If the law enforcers press ahead with the executions, does it mean they violate the courts ruling?

Well, if the clemency request has already been filed, just wait until the President grants or rejects it.

I just want to clarify, were the AGOs recent executions in line with the courts rulings?

Well, they were because clemency cannot hinder executions.

But the convicts had filed for clemency?

Well, a chance to seek clemency is given for humanitarian reasons and the courts ruling does not carry retroactive principle, but prospective. It is applicable for future cases [after the ruling is read out].

The clemency appeals in the recent executions were filed after the court issued the ruling.

Well, in that case, it is debatable.

The country has recently seen heated debate over issues related to lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people and sexuality. How do you see our Constitution in the context of a culture war between liberal values and Eastern or Islamic values?

Our Constitution is different from the constitutions of other countries. Our Constitution clearly states in its introduction that our independence is not merely about the struggle of the people, but also reaches through the noble desire [of the people] and by Gods grace. So, Id say, it was God who gave us our independence. At the same time, the people of Indonesia also wanted to achieve independence.

It also stipulates the goals of the country, which are based on the state ideology of Pancasila.

Therefore, all provisions in the Constitution cover all aspects of life: politics, economy, social, culture and religious life. Unlike the Constitutions of liberal countries, which cover only politics, or of the communist, socialist countries, which cover only politics and economy.

Id say Indonesias Constitution is incredibly comprehensive.

The first principle of Pancasila, adopted in the Constitution, is what illuminates all aspects of life in Indonesia. So if the Constitution of other countries is placed in a secular context, our Constitution is put in a place [where] the nation is showered by divine light. Therefore, our Constitution is a religious one. All implementing laws under the Constitution are also religious laws.

Lawmaking [in Indonesia] is shone by divine light. Do read the laws, there must be the statement: in the name of the all-powerful God.

If there are external factors that want to influence Indonesias culture or economy and if they are not appropriate, then the court has to confine them and cancel them. If there are foreign regulations we want to import but they are contradictory to our Constitution, then they have to be rejected.

What Im saying here is in the general context. I cant comment on specific cases, including the ongoing judicial review at the court.

A judicial review against the 1965 Blasphemy Law was already rejected by the court. Is there any possibility for the public to file another petition against the law?

Without mentioning a specific case, basically a provision [in any law] cannot be re-challenged if its previous judicial review had been rejected. It is called ne bis in idem [[no legal action can be instituted twice for the same cause of action]. But it is allowed to challenge the same provision only if they use different arguments and grounds.
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Linkedin (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Fri, August 5 2016

JAKARTA: State-owned lender Bank Mandiri announced on Wednesday it would soon pay 100 million ringgit (US$24.6 million) to Malaysias central bank, Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM), to operate in Malaysia with full rights.

Bank Mandiri corporate secretary Rohan Hafas said the lender had opened one branch office in Malaysia. However, it had not yet operated as a full bank but only been providing remittance services for Indonesian migrants working in the country, he went on.

We will meet the capital requirement of 300 million ringgit by the end of this year, so that we can operate soon after the permit is issued by BNM, Rohan told reporters.

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Linkedin Dewanti A. Wardhani (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Fri, August 5 2016

While the authorities are pulling out all the stops to deal with the skyrocketing price of beef, including by importing buffalo meat as substitute, players in the poultry industry have been quietly suffering from an oversupply that has dragged down prices and severely hurt small farmers.



The oversupply in the poultry industry was reportedly caused by the high volume of grandparent stock (GPS) imports in 2013 and 2014 as a result of an overestimation of demand by the government. Over 1.1 million GPS were imported during the two-year period.



In livestock breeding, grandparent stock refers to the livestock that will produce the parent of the final stock for human consumption.



The Agriculture Ministry estimates that parent stocks number 30 million chickens, outstripping national demand by 50 percent.



Indonesian Poultryman Association executive Hartono said the oversupply had led independent farmers to experience losses from the beginning of the year.



The basic production cost, which includes food and cage maintenance, among other things, currently remains at Rp 18,500 (US$1.4) per kilogram of live bird, Hartono said.



A broiler chicken, he added, is ready to be harvested after reaching 6 to 7 months old.



Over the past few months, the price of live birds from farms has been fluctuating, dropping to Rp 12,000 per kilogram at one point, according to data from the association.



Meanwhile, the governments official price watch website hargapangan.id reported on Thursday that chicken meat was sold at prices ranging from Rp 25,000 to Rp 50,000 per kg across the archipelago.



Hartono further said the governments existing policies were not in favor of independent poultry farmers. Farmers have repeatedly demanded government support, but to no avail, he said.



The poultry industry should be an economic driver in rural areas, but the government has not shown support for independent poultry farmers, he said in a public discussion on Thursday.



For example, the 2009 Animal Husbandry and Animal Health Law, he said, does not differentiate between independent farmers and large poultry producers, meaning large firms are allowed to operate in markets.



As a result, independent farmers are facing difficulties to compete with their giant competitors, particularly in beating the latters pricing strategies.



Earlier this year, the Agriculture Ministry issued a regulation on the supply, distribution and monitoring of chicken. The regulation includes the establishment of a team to monitor the industry, not only to determine the supply and demand but also to supervise the players.



The regulation also gave certainty of supply to independent poultry farmers.



However, no progress has been made, Hartono claimed.



Indonesian Poultry Breeders Association chairman Antonius J. Supit, meanwhile, claimed that large firms had also suffered from the oversupply, though not to the extent of independent poultry farmers.



If we keep chickens alive even for a day longer than the determined time, we need to spend more on chicken feed, Antonius said during the same discussion.



However, Anton quickly dismissed Hartonos suggestion for the government to give a greater supply portion to small farmers than to large firms. Instead, he suggested the two parties cooperate.



This issue is not a matter of small farmers versus big firms; its a matter of providing enough food for the people. We need to adapt and use cutting-edge technology to fulfill demand, he said.



Agriculture Ministry secretary-general Hari Priyono, meanwhile, said that the ministry was still working on formulating a win-win solution, not only for farmers and breeders but also for consumers.



Its difficult for us to provide immediate solution for all stakeholders as the issue is very complicated, he said.

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Linkedin Nurul Fitri Ramadhani (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Fri, August 5 2016

Having cost millions of dollars and the lives of dozens of security officers, the government is considering bringing an end to its security operation in Poso, Central Sulawesi, and offering a pardon to the 16 terrorists still at large in the local forests.



Operation Tinombala, set up to hunt for the countrys most wanted terrorist, Santoso, and his followers, has cost around Rp 60 billion (US$4.6 million), while dozens of police and military personnel have been killed in gunfights in the testing terrain of Poso.



The operation, led by the police, has been going on for seven months in three parts. The very first part ran from January to March, before being extended to May; having caught only a handful of Santosos followers by that point, the authorities extended the operation for a further 90 days.



As of June, the House of Representatives had approved more Rp 25 billion in additional funds proposed by the police for the extension of the operation. The money was spent on daily needs and procurement.



The proposal to terminate the mission is currently being discussed at the House of Representatives.



There was an additional allocation. [We accepted it] in June, said United Development Party (PPP) lawmaker Arsul Sani, a member of House Commission III overseeing human rights, security and legal affairs.



The proposal to grant amnesty to the remaining partisans emerged after Santoso was shot dead on July 18. Days later, his wife, Jumiatun Muslim, aka Umi Delima, surrendered to security personnel.



The hunt for Santoso has been the most expensive counterterrorism operation in the nations history, having dragged on since 2007. Tinombala was also the first such operation to see military involvement.



The National Intelligence Agency (BIN) said that the agency supported the plan to provide an amnesty.



We support the plan and we will fight to grant an amnesty. Tinombala has cost so much  it would be better to use the money to support [infrastructure] development, said Muhammad Thamrin Muzakir, State Intelligence Agency (BIN) assistant for domestic intelligence.



There are thousands of personnel on duty in Poso and we have to pay for their meals and other needs. That all uses state money, he added.



Criminal Law expert Muzakir from the Indonesia Islamic University (UII) said that an amnesty was feasible because the government had the right to grant clemency to forestall further violence.



In the Santoso case, the government may suffer more losses if it doesnt grant clemency. This where the government must show its wisdom in decision-making, he said.



However, University of Indonesia (UI) terrorism expert Ridwan Habib said that an amnesty was not a solution, as Santosos followers had acted on ideological grounds; he added that given their extensive crimes, they merited no clemency.



Theyre not afraid to be put in prison or die. Glory for them is to kill law enforcers. The offer would be useless, Ridwan said.



As a solution, Ridwan suggested that the government continue with Operation Tinombala. They should not stop the operation, but instead involve more personnel until they all surrender. If needed, shoot-outs should be continued.

__________________________________________

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Linkedin Marguerite Afra Sapiie (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Fri, August 5, 2016

Legal experts are calling for the government to give protection to prominent human rights activist Haris Azhar in light of recent charges made against him after his claims about the alleged involvement of top officials in drug trafficking.

Rights activists have slammed the defamation charges brought by the National Police, Indonesian Military (TNI) and the National Narcotics Agency (BNN) against Haris, who is the coordinator of the human rights watchdog Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence (Kontras).

Haris posting of the article, which was based on a statement made by executed drug lord Freddy Budiman, could not be considered a criminal offense as there were no names mentioned in a post, said Miko Ginting from the Center for Policy and Law Studies.

(Read also : Legal basis to sue Haris Azhar weak, expert says)

"The country should be giving individual or legal protection to Haris who has revealed information about the alleged support of officials in the war against the narcotics mafia," Miko said on Thursday.

Arif Maulana, a lawyer from Jakarta Legal Aid Institute (LBH Jakarta), agreed, saying that as a whistleblower Haris was entitled to receive protection from the country's Witness and Victim Protection Agency (LPSK).

"By criminalizing Haris, the officials are distorting the purpose of law enforcement," Arif said.

The three institutions reported Haris to the National Police's Criminal Investigation Department (Bareskrim) on Tuesday, accusing him of violating defamation provisions in the 2008 Electronic Information and Transactions Law. Haris released the viral post just hours before the drug kingpin was executed on Nusakambangan prison island. In it, he quotes Freddy as saying that he had a lot of help from top officials at law enforcement institutions throughout the years he ran his international drug network. (rin)
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Linkedin (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Fri, August 5 2016

JAKARTA: Actress Wulan Guritno is facing a dilemma, her eldest daughter, Shaloom Syach Razade, having been accepted in a marketing program at Oregon University in the US.

When I heard she had been accepted, I was actually quite sad because there was a part of me that wanted her to just continue her studies here, she said as quoted by kompas.com.

Wulan is particularly concerned about the high tuition fees and living costs in the US.

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Linkedin Ayomi Amindoni (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Fri, August 5, 2016

Indonesia and Ukraine agreed on Friday to strengthen their relationship, particularly in the economic, defense and diplomatic sectors.

Indonesian President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo hosted a meeting with Ukrainian President Petro Porshenko, who was flanked by Foreign Minister Pavlo Klimkin, Agrarian Policy and Food Minister Taras Kutovyi as well as a group of Ukrainian businesspeople, at Merdeka Palace.

During a joint press conference, Jokowi stated that both countries also wanted to enhance trade and investment, such as improving crude palm oil (CPO) market access and expanding Indonesia's pharmaceutical products in the country.

"We also discussed the possibility of power plant turbine construction and cocoa plantations in Indonesia," Jokowi said.

After the bilateral meeting, the two leaders signed agreements on agriculture, defense, diplomatic training as well as a free-visa policy for diplomatic and service passport holders.

According to Trade Ministry data, both countries recorded a total trade value of US$526.9 million in 2015, with Indonesia's exports reaching $328.47 million. For Indonesia, Ukraine is its second largest trading partner in central-eastern Europe. Ukraine is also a substantial market for Indonesia for crude palm oil, coconut oil and paper. (dmr)
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Linkedin (The Jakarta Post) Bandung  Fri, August 5 2016

Twelve fishermen were still missing in Pangandaran waters, West Java, after sailing from Cilacap, Central Java, last week, on board the MV Pisang VI, which was found upside down off the Pangandaran Peninsula on Wednesday.

Navy security post officer Second Lt. Agus said a team consisting of personnel from the search and rescue, the water police and the Air Force was still searching for the boats crew.

No sign of the crew has been seen so far, Agus said on the phone on Thursday.

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Linkedin Tama Salim (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Fri, August 5 2016

Indonesia is expected to forge stronger ties with a prominent long-distance partner, as Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko prepares to embark on a three-day mission to Indonesia, starting with an official visit to the Presidential Palace.

President Joko Jokowi Widodo, accompanied by Foreign Minister Retno LP Marsudi, will on Friday host a small Ukrainian business delegation led by Poroshenko that includes Foreign Minister Pavlo Klimkin and Agrarian Policy and Food Minister Taras Kutovyi.

The two countries are expected to sign a number of agreements on agriculture, defense and diplomatic training, as well as expanding the visa-free policy for diplomatic and service passport holders, ministry spokesperson Arrmanatha Nasir revealed.

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Linkedin Marguerite Afra Sapiie (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Fri, August 5, 2016

The agreement to conduct a joint military exercise made by the Indonesian, Malaysian and Philippine defense ministers should be followed up by the military commanders of the three countries drafting standard operating procedures (SOP).

"We will work on it [the SOP] with Malaysia and the Philippines, together, and when it is agreed we will conduct [military exercises] in accordance with the rules," Indonesian Military (TNI) commander Gen. Gatot Nurmantyo said on Thursday.

Gatot said the trilateral agreement, reached by the three defense ministers during a two-day meeting in Bali, should first be ratified by the legislatures of the three countries before the coordinated joint military exercise could be carried out in the Philippine's territory.

During the trilateral meeting, Indonesia had proposed coordinated land-based operations to pursue militants who took both Indonesian and Malaysian sailors hostage into Filipino land territory.

However, the trilateral agreement had yet to authorize the country's proposal due to a constitutional matter from the Filipino side, Defense Minister Ryamizard Ryacudu said previously, following the two-day ministerial meeting in Bali.

The minister said the three countries had instead agreed during Tuesdays meeting to conduct joint military exercises to prepare the defense forces for land operations should a deal be struck in the future.

The push to step up security cooperation has come on the heels of the abduction of three Indonesian sailors in Malaysias Sabah waters in early July, less than a month after the kidnapping of seven Indonesian crew members by Abu Sayyaf militants in the waters off the southern Philippines. The July incident marked the fourth abduction of its kind this year (bbn)
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Linkedin (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Fri, August 5 2016

Vice President Jusuf Kalla has urged mosque managers to use loudspeakers accordingly in the wake of the anti-Chinese riot in Tanjung Balai, North Sumatra.

The problem that we always talk about revolves around loudspeakers, Kalla said as quoted by tempo.co on Thursday.

The riot, which resulted in the torching of several Buddhists and Confucian temples and pagodas, in Tanjung Balai has been blamed on social media messages following an argument over the volume of a mosque loudspeaker. Kalla said mosque authorities often turned up the volume of Quranic recitations prior to the adzan (call to prayer).

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Linkedin Anton Hermansyah (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Fri, August 5, 2016

Activists of various NGOs have urged ASEAN governments to eliminate investor-state dispute settlement (ISDS) from the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) draft, saying it weakened the position of states against foreign investors.



Indonesia for Global Justice executive director Rachmi Hertanti said on Thursday that ISDS enables foreign investors to sue a country in an international arbitration body, such as the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID), if they find the country's rules hamper their operations.

The RCEP, which involves 10 ASEAN member countries and China, South Korea, Japan, India, Australia and New Zealand, will be discussed in Vietnam from Aug. 15 to 19.

Indonesia has found itself engaged in disputes with global enterprises at the ICSID several times in the past. In 2011, British national Rafat Ali Rizvi sued Indonesia over the Bank Century case despite being a suspect in the infamous bailout corruption case. In 2012 Churchill Mining and Planet Mining sued Kutai Timur regency in East Kalimantan over a mining license, and in 2014 Newmont Mining Corporation sued the Indonesian government over the Batu Hijau mining site in West Nusa Tenggara.

Indonesian AIDS Coalition (IAC) spokeswoman Sindi Putri said that through the ICSID mechanism, pharmaceutical companies could sue governments that used their patents to produce generic medicines. "A lot of patients will lose access to cheap medicine," she told The Jakarta Post.

Indonesian Forum for the Environment (Walhi) executive director Nur Hidayati added that mining companies could avoid conservation obligations by suing the authorities through ICSID. "For example, a US$301 billion arbitration case was filed by Canadian gold mining company OceanaGold against the government of El Salvador in 2009 for revoking its mining license, as the company failed to fulfill environmental impact analysis requirements," she said.
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Linkedin Josh Lederman and Matthew Lee (Associated Press) Washington  Fri, August 5, 2016

President Barack Obama vigorously denied on Thursday that a US$400 million cash payment to Iran was ransom to secure the release of four Americans jailed in Tehran. He defended the transaction as evidence that the nuclear accord with Iran has allowed for progress on other matters.

"This wasn't some nefarious deal," Obama said during a news conference at the Pentagon.

The money was delivered to the Iranian government in January, at the same time the nuclear deal was settled and the Americans were released. The payment was part of a decades-old dispute over a failed military equipment deal dating to the 1970s, before the Islamic revolution in 1979.

Obama also answered political questions at the news conference, pushing back at Republican nominee Donald Trump's suggestions that the November election might be rigged, calling the assertion "ridiculous." He said his advice to Trump, a candidate he has declared "unfit" for the presidency, was to "go out there and try to win the election."

Also, in regard to the presidential race. Trump and Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton will soon be receiving classified briefings, giving them access to sensitive information about national security and America's military posture. Asked whether he was worried about Trump having access to such material, Obama said simply that those who want to be president need to start acting like it.

"That means being able to receive these briefings and not spread them around," he said.

The president's appearance before reporters followed an hours-long meeting with military leaders at the Pentagon on the fight against the Islamic State group.

Obama said there have been gains in weakening IS in Iraq and Syria, but he conceded the extremist group still poses a threat to the United States as it shifts its tactics to carrying out attacks elsewhere around the world. While those attacks may result in less carnage, Obama said IS knows they still create "the kinds of fear and concern that elevates their profile."

The rise of the Islamic State has kept Obama tied to the Middle East in a way he had hoped to avoid in his eighth and final year in office. While the US has far fewer troops in the region than when he took office in 2009, Republicans argue that the drawdown of troops from Iraq created a vacuum that allowed the Islamic State to thrive.

Asked whether he feels any personal disappointment about not being able to do more to stop the Islamic State, Obama said "I haven't gotten numb to it. It bugs me."

On Syria, the president criticized Russia's support of government attacks against opposition forces and its sieges of cities such as Aleppo. He accused Russia of failing to take steps to reduce violence in Syria  where a civil war has raged for much of Obama's presidency  but said the US would continue trying to push Moscow to focus on the fight against IS and other extremists.

On Iran, Obama expressed surprise at criticism of his administration's cash payment to settle a longstanding legal claim, adamantly rejecting claims that it was a ransom paid for the release of the four Americans.

He pointed out that the payment, along with an additional $1.3 billion in interest to be paid later, was announced by the administration when it was concluded in January, a day after the implementation of a landmark nuclear agreement with Iran. "It wasn't a secret. We were completely open about it," he said.

Obama allowed that the one piece of new information, first reported this week by The Wall Street Journal, was that the $400 million was paid in cash. It was delivered to Iran on palettes aboard an unmarked plane.

"The only bit of news is that we paid cash," he said. "The reason is because we couldn't send them a check and we couldn't wire the money. We don't have a banking relationship with Iran which is part of the pressure we applied on them."

The payment has revived allegations from Trump and other critics of the Iran nuclear deal.

The president's session at the Pentagon occurred as the US was bombing targets in and around the Libyan city of Sirte, a notable expansion of the US-led coalition's military mission against IS. At the urging of the Pentagon, Obama authorized the strikes that started this week and include precision attacks against IS tanks, rocket launchers and fighting positions.

Mired in chaos following the ouster of strongman Moammar Gadhafi in 2011, Libya became a target for IS extremists hoping to build a safe haven outside its initial territory in Iraq and Syria. Though the number of IS fighters in Libya has dwindled, the US is hoping to help Libya's fledgling UN-backed unity government finish the job.
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Linkedin Dylan Amirio (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Fri, August 5 2016

Indonesias peer-to-peer lending startup Modalku and its sister company, Singapore-based Funding Societies, have been given Rp 110 billion (US$8.37 million) by venture capitalist Sequoia India and Bank Sinarmas to help finance small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in the two countries.



The first round of funding for the burgeoning financial technology firm came from Sequoia India, which invested a whopping Rp 100 billion to fund Modalku and Funding Societies operations.



Sequoia Indias investment in the service is reportedly the greatest amount of funding ever raised for such a lending platform in Southeast Asia, and was secured through Modalkus existing investor Alpha JWC Ventures and experts from Harvard University, where Modalkus founders received their education.



Explaining the firms decision to invest in Modalku, Sequoia noted that it was impressed by Modalkus team and ability to effectively disburse funds to SMEs across Indonesia.



Since launching in Indonesia in January, Modalku has facilitated up to Rp 10.2 billion in short-term lending to 42 borrowers with a 0 percent default rate. In Singapore, Funding Societies has crowd-funded S$8.7 million in loans with a 2.32 percent default rate.



We are very proud to partner with Sequoia to continue serving SMEs in the quickest and most efficient way possible. We are currently approving loans in as little as 24 hours to online merchants and are close to finalizing other partnerships to help benefit SMEs, Modalku COO and cofounder Iwan Kurniawan said on Thursday.



Modalku and Funding Societies facilitate lenders and borrowers with financing worth Rp 50 million to Rp 500 million, considered the missing middle segment that is untouched by formal banks, with a tenure of three to twelve months.



The global marketplace lending industry has grown by 51 percent on average every year and is predicted to reach $290 billion in 2020, according to Morgan Stanley.



On Thursday, Modalku also announced its second source of funding from local lender Bank Sinarmas, which pledged Rp 10 billion to help finance SME entrepreneurs through the services platform. Sinarmas is currently Modalkus escrow agent during the lending process, and will also allow lenders using Modalku to open a virtual account at Sinarmas.



Bank Sinarmas president director Freenyan K. Liwang said that his bank had identified the benefits of having an effective digital lending solution in Indonesia, saying that it would definitely help disburse funds across the country, thereby spreading SME growth.



Through this kind of technology, Bank Sinarmas will also benefits from the potential of new customers, especially in rural areas. Digital disbursement options can be very useful to help rural areas understand the technology behind the process too, he said.



The Financial Services Authority (OJK) has officially identified 51 financial technology firms operating in Indonesia and is preparing regulations to better supervise the fintech industry.

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Linkedin JIM GOMEZ (Associated Press)  Fri, August 5, 2016

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte acknowledged abuses have occurred in his war on illegal drugs, which has left more than 400 people dead in a month and alarmed rights activists, but refused to back down from a shoot-to-kill order for drug suspects.

Duterte said in a speech late Thursday that most drug dealers and addicts slain in gunbattles with police had put up a fight, but added that he was sure some were "salvaged," a local slang for extrajudicial killings usually by law enforcers.

In the case of illegal killings, Duterte said the government will investigate.

"They really fight back, I know that," Duterte said in a speech in southern Davao city, where he built a name as a mayor for his extra tough approach to crime before becoming president. "I'm sure there are some who were salvaged, I am also sure of that."

Early Friday, he told reporters that he gave "shoot-to-kill" orders against drug dealers, including politicians involved in the illicit trade.

"I'll really have you killed. Look at what you're doing to the Philippines and I'll forgive you?" Duterte told reporters, apparently enraged after visiting a town police chief who was shot in the chest by a suspected drug dealer and rushed to a Davao hospital.

"My order is shoot to kill you. I don't care about human rights, you better believe me," he said.

Duterte's centerpiece anti-crime drive, focused on an ambitious campaign promise to end the widespread drugs problem in six months, has left more than 400 drug suspects dead, many of them either in firefights with police or under suspect circumstances. More than 4,400 have been arrested, police said.

The unprecedented killings have scared more than half a million drug users and dealers who gave themselves up to police, officials said. An overwhelmed Duterte has said he was considering setting aside areas in military camps nationwide to build rehabilitation centers for those who surrender.

A legal expert, Jose Manuel Diokno, said Duterte's latest shoot-to-kill order is, at the least, legally questionable.

Adequate safeguards exist in the legal system, including requirements for court warrants for arrests, to protect the public and ensure law enforcers are not given "unbridled discretion" that can lead to abuses, Diokno said.

The government's Commission on Human Rights could seek to stop the anti-crime drive through a court petition, said Diokno, who heads the Free Legal Assistance Group, which provides legal help to the poor.

Sen. Leila de Lima, who led the commission previously, has sought a Senate investigation of the killings but has faced opposition from Duterte's political allies.

"There must be a way other than this method that brings us to our collective descent into impunity, fear, and ultimately, utter and complete inhumanity. We cannot wage the war against drugs with blood," de Lima said in a Senate speech this week.

She said the dead included those who were innocent and "the proportion is rising."

In recent days, eight suspected drug dealers were gunned down in separate clashes with police in the provinces of Bulacan and Rizal and in southern Dipolog city, police said, adding most of the suspects drew firearms and opened fire when they sensed men who were buying drugs from them were policemen in disguise.

Three town mayors and a former mayor linked to drug syndicates surrendered Friday to national police chief Director General Ronald de la Rosa, fearing they may be gunned down by authorities.

The mayors, mostly from the southern province of Maguindanao, would be investigated, de la Rosa said.

"I will not hesitate to kill you ... don't think that you're a governor or a mayor," Duterte said, repeating the warning he made in Davao. "You'll be the first to go before the civilians."
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Linkedin Fadli (The Jakarta Post) Batam  Fri, August 5, 2016

Police have arrested six alleged terrorists, who are suspected to have links with Bahrun Naim, the Islamic State (IS) movement member accused of planning the Sarinah shopping center bomb attack in Central Jakarta in January, a police officer has said.

Members of the National Polices counterterrorism squad Densus 88 and local police officers carried out an operation early on Friday in various locations in Batam, Riau Islands Police chief Brig. Gen. Sambudi Gusdian told The Jakarta Post.

The suspects are mostly workers at electronics factories in Batam, he said, adding that the arrests were the result of a one-year investigation by Densus 88.

The operation started at 5 a.m. in different locations. Densus 88 members are currently doing their job. They have seven days to interrogate them, said Sambudi on Friday.

Gigih Rahmat Dewa, the alleged leader of the group, was arrested at his house at 8:30 a.m. His was the final arrest after Eka Syahputra, 35; Trio Syafrido, 46; Tarmidzi, 21; Hadi Gusti Yanda, 20; and Muhammad Tegar Sucianto, 19, were seized, said Sambudi

The group is accused of accommodating alleged Uighur terrorists from China and facilitating their journey to Syria. They are also accused of receiving funds from Bahrun Naim, who now lives in Syria.

They are also suspected of having links to last months bomb attack at the Surakarta police office in Central Java, and are accused of planning a terror attack in Marina Bay, Singapore.

On July 1, police received a letter from Singapore informing them of a group on the Batam and Bintan islands planning an attack.

However, Sambudi denied that cooperation between Indonesia and Singapore was behind the arrests. It is purely the result of an investigation by Densus 88, not the result of Singapores assistance, said Sambudi, adding that several items of evidence were seized during the operation. (bbn)
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Linkedin Stefani Ribka (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Fri, August 5 2016

Sari Roti, roti, Sari Roti. The jingle of Sari Roti bread recognized by many on the streets across Indonesia may soon be heard in the Philippines.

Publicly listed bread maker Nippon Indosari Corpindo, which sells Sari Roti bread, is looking to build a new factory in the Philippines.

The move puts the firm on the list of many Indonesian companies that have begun tapping into the Philippines foreign direct investment (FDI).

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Linkedin Grace D. Amianti (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Fri, August 5 2016

Indonesias major lenders have expressed reluctance to expand their operation in Malaysia in the immediate future despite new business opportunities arising from a recent agreement between the two countries banking authorities.



A recent bilateral agreement between Indonesias Financial Services Authority (OJK) and Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM), Malaysias central bank, is intended to open opportunities from local banks to establish subsidiaries in the neighboring country and receive domestic privileges.



However, major banks, which typically own hefty capital to push overseas expansion, have shown lukewarm responses to the idea.



Publicly listed Bank Central Asia (BCA), the countrys largest private lender, for example, sees maintaining its strong domestic presence as more valuable than taking a risky move to expand overseas, including in Malaysia.



BCA once had four remittance services outlets in Malaysia but closed them down in 2012 owing to their low profitability, which made it difficult to immediately reach breakeven point.



BCA president director Jahja Setiaatmadja said the bank would focus on domestic expansion as a large part of the local market was still untapped, yet offered far higher profitability than overseas markets.



It is better to recruit domestic workers to expand our business here, rather than hiring foreigners to work in their own countries, he said recently.



Jahja said competition in the foreign market, particularly in the banking industry, was too tight  even for a bank the size of BCA and could exhaust the lender, as overseas investment consumes a large amount of time and resources, he added.



Perhaps Im wrong, but such is our strategy and so shall it stay, he said.



State-owned lender Bank Rakyat Indonesia (BRI), which has several offices abroad, meanwhile, is mulling over an idea to benefit from the OJK and BNM agreement, but not until next year, bank finance director Haru Koesmahargyo said.



We will conduct an internal review of our strategy [of international expansion] starting next year. For this year, we want to focus on Timor Leste, he said.



Publicly listed BRI, which has the largest microloan portfolio in the country, expects that the permit to open four branch offices in Timor Leste  with investment worth Rp 30 billion (US$2.28 million)  will be obtained this year.



When Timor Leste was still part of Indonesia, the bank operated at least 12 branches in the neighboring country, but they were closed after Indonesias 27th province voted for independence in a UN-backed referendum in 1999.



The agreement between the OJK and BNM, signed earlier this week and witnessed by President Joko Jokowi Widodo and Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak, is expected to pave the way for financial services integration within ASEAN and make overseas expansion easier within the region.



Indonesian banks have historically had a difficult time penetrating Malaysias market given the latters strict regulations regarding foreign banks. However, the new agreement will allow Indonesian banks to enjoy similar domestic privileges to those bestowed upon their Malaysian counterparts.



One of the privileges is low fees for admission and ATM transactions for Indonesian banks, at half of what local Malaysian banks are required to pay. However, there are some prerequisites for Indonesian banks to be able to enjoy the benefits, such as a capital requirement of 300 million ringgit (US$74 million), though negotiations are possible if they cannot fulfill the requirement within five years.



State-owned lender Bank Mandiri, the countrys largest lender by assets, is the only Indonesian bank currently operating in Malaysia, despite offering limited banking services. Mandiri is still unable to operate as a full branch, as it cannot meet the capital requirements imposed by the Malaysian central bank.



Mandiri corporate secretary Rohan Hafas, however, said on Wednesday that the bank was planning to immediately apply for a license to operate fully in Malaysia. The bank, he added, expects to inject more funds to meet BNMs capital requirements by the end of the year.



Previously, Mandiri president director Kartika Tiko Wirjoatmodjo said strict regulations for expansion in Malaysia had led the bank to look at opportunities in other ASEAN countries, such as Vietnam, Myanmar and the Philippines, particularly in the field of automotive and micro loans.

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Linkedin Tama Salim (The Jakarta Post)  Fri, August 5 2016

Indonesia has conveyed its deep concerns after North Koreas recent launch of a ballistic missile that landed in Japanese-controlled waters on Wednesday, the latest in a string of acts carried out by the isolated nation in defiance of UN resolutions.

Foreign Ministry spokesperson Arrmanatha Nasir singled out North Koreas actions as going against comprehensive nuclear-free agreements and various UN Security Council resolutions, while calling on all countries to exercise self-restraint.

We ask all countries in the region not to be provoked and continue efforts to dampen the tensions, or refrain from those that may lead to escalation, Arrmanatha said on Thursday.

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Linkedin Severianus Endi (The Jakarta Post) Pontianak  Fri, August 5, 2016

Forty-seven people, including children, stayed the night in the National Commission on Human Rights office in Pontianak in West Kalimantan on Thursday because they were afraid of being arrested by the police after a land dispute with a company.

Most of the residents were from Olak-Olak village in Kubu district, Kubu Raya regency. They left their village after a prolonged land dispute with oil palm plantation company PT Sintang Raya.

The head of the Komnas HAM West Kalimantan office, Kasful Anwar, told thejakartapost.com Friday that about 50 residents had talked to him at the Komnas HAM office on Monday, about the conflict, in which the police went to their village and arrested four residents.

Scared, almost 300 residents of the village left their homes and stayed in the provincial capital Pontianak and other places last week.

Kasful said the police had promised the residents that they would be safe and asked them to return to their village. But many are still worried and scared of being arrested by the police, Kasful said.

West Kalimantan Police spokesperson, Adj. Sr. Comr. Suhadi SW said the police had followed procedure and had arrested people accused of stealing palm fruit bunches on the PT Sintang Raya concession recently.

We sent summonses to the suspects with regard to the fruit bunches, but they failed to heed the summons, so we arrested them according to procedure, Suhadi said.

The residents have been in a prolonged land dispute with the company. The companys legal officer, Harlen Sitorus, said the residents wanted the company to return 11,000 hectares of concession land to them while he claimed the Supreme Court had ordered the company to return only 5 hectares. (evi)
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Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Fri, August 5, 2016

A high school student working as an intern at the Central Jakarta municipality office reported three staff members at the office for allegedly sexually assaulting her while she was working in a room at the office, the police said on Friday.

Central Jakarta Police deputy chief Adj. Sr. Comr. Roma Hutajulu said that before the assault on Wednesday, the three men, identified only as H, Y, and Z, smothered the victim until she fell unconscious.

When she woke up she found herself totally naked. She said the three civil servants sexually assaulted her, Roma said on Friday as quoted by tribunnews.com.

He said the police had questioned the three men and were holding her high school uniform as evidence.
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Linkedin Stefani Ribka (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Fri, August 5 2016

Publicly listed construction firm Pembangunan Perumahan (PP) aims to have as a subsidiary an ASEAN class company in the next three years by integrating and strengthening its current subsidiaries, which operate in sectors ranging from power plants and property to pre-cast concrete and construction equipment.



The state-owned enterprise will next year issue new shares in publicly listed subsidiary PP Properti and plan initial public offering (IPO) for pre-cast concrete maker PP Precast and equipment provider PP Peralatan, PP president director Tumiyana announced Wednesday.



PP will also create a new business division for energy to strengthen its assets in the field, he added.



With such changes, PP will be an integrated construction firm in the ASEAN standard class in the next two to three years, he told a press conference during an event to mark annual Investor Day at the Indonesia Stock Exchange (IDX) building.



Following the corporate actions, PP expects its equity to rise significantly to Rp 34 trillion (US$2.5 billion) in 2019, from Rp 5.1 trillion at present, said Tumiyana, adding that by then the company would be able to compete with the top regional infrastructure firm, Malaysias Gamuda Berhad, which has 7.04 billion ringgit (US$1.7 billion) in equity.



To strengthen its subsidiaries, PP will get state capital injection (PMN) from the state budget worth Rp 2.25 trillion through a rights issuance projected in November or December this year. The right issue also aims to collect another Rp 2.15 trillion from the public.



Tumiyana lists PP Properti as the first priority to prepare, with new shares set to be issued shares for the subsidiary early next year. The apartment builder, operating in Java, Riau and East Kalimantan, has seen positive revenue growth  up 35.2 percent in January-June year-on-year to Rp 973.7 billion  thanks to its focus on the middle- and lower-income target segment, while its net profits rose by 11 percent to Rp 157.2 billion.



This rights issue is compulsory as our housing backlog still stands around 13.5 million units, 80 percent of which is in middle- and low-income residential, Tumiyana said.



To support plans for PP Properti to focus on high-resolution buildings, PP Precast will focus on providing concretes for this type of buildings, using proceeds from a planned IPO next year. Meanwhile, construction equipment and bored pipe provider PP Peralatan will focus on building its foundation before it goes public.



Aside from the developer business, PP also plans to branch out into the energy sector by possibly creating a separate firm dealing strictly with energy-related business, such as power plant investment.



PP usually submits bids to tenders held by state electricity operator PLN to build power plant as an independent constructor, among other alternatives. After the plant is built and owned, the constructor can sell the electricity to PLN.



Tumiyana said the firm aimed to have power plants with a capacity of 4,000 megawatts in total for the next three years, with projects totaling 1,200 MW projects already pocketed.



PP director Abdul Haris Tatang explained that major power plant projects ongoing included a 3 x 25 MW gas-based plant in Bangka; a power plant in Pontianak, West Kalimantan; and a bid for a 2 x 200 MW coal-based plant in Meulaboh, Aceh.



From January to March this year, PP booked a 31.5 percent revenue increase to Rp 2.5 trillion, while its profits rose by 4.9 percent to Rp 98.1 billion, having worked on state projects from toll road and dams to power plants.



Tumiyana said the time was right to issue new shares and go public, This nation has never seen an environment as conducive as now for infrastructure industry to grow. Its now or never.

----------------

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Linkedin Ina Parlina and Margareth S. Aritonang (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Fri, August 5, 2016

Support is growing for a rights activist, Haris Azhar, coordinator of the Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence (KontraS), who was reported to the police for defamation after he posted a statement on Facebook claiming personnel within the Indonesian Military (TNI), the National Police and the National Narcotics Agency (BNN) were involved in illicit drug trafficking.



A coalition of several groups calling itself the Advocacy Team against the Drug Mafia demanded those three institutions withdraw their report against Haris, who got his information from the subsequently executed drug convict Freddy Budiman.



The coalition slammed the defensive move by the three institutions, which decided to report Haris rather than investigate the alleged involvement of their personnel in drug trafficking.



We regret that Haris efforts have been perceived as an attempt to discredit the aforementioned institutions. They should have taken them as assistance because we believe that criticism is another form of care, said Dahnil Anzar Simanjuntak, the chairman of Muhammadiyahs youth organization, on Thursday.



Aside from Muhammadiyahs youth organization, the coalition also consists of the Indonesian Forum of the Environment (Walhi), the Jakarta Legal Aid Institute (LBH Jakarta), Indonesia Corruption Watch (ICW), the Indonesian Labor Union (KSPI), the Setara Institute and some other civic organizations.



If he [Haris] is to be prosecuted, we are all ready to share his condition because basically we are now voicing the same thing, Dahnil said.



The coalition argued that what Haris had posted online was actually general truth and public knowledge. The information contained in his post should have been taken as a first step toward revealing the illicit practices and reforming the institutions in order for them to regain public trust, which is now believed to have hit a new low.



Moreover, the coalition also set up a dedicated post for the public to report any wrongdoing committed by personnel of the three institutions, particularly related to drug trafficking.



They also demanded the government establish an independent team to investigate, one authorized to evaluate and oversee the performance of law-enforcing institutions in handling drug cartels and also to process the information gathered from the emergency posts.



President Joko Jokowi Widodo always says that the country is in a state of drug emergency. This is the moment to prove that he is serious in combating the problem, he said.



Another rights activist, Usman Hamid, said that treating Haris like a criminal did not reflect the countrys commitment to curbing drug trafficking.



He added that being resistant to input from outside parties and not gathering facts and obtaining information could be perceived as an attempt to hide the flaws of the organizations.



LBH Jakarta lawyer Arief Maulana said that Haris should not be prosecuted because he did not mention any names in his alleged defamation and he also spoke for the greater public good.



It now becomes the polices job to launch an investigation. Demanding Haris provide proof is not acceptable because he is just a common citizen who holds little power or authority, he said.



Meanwhile, jumping onto the TNI, police and BNN bandwagon, Pemuda Panca Marga  an organization linked to the military  reported Haris for the very same reason. This group even demanded the police arrest Haris.



National Police spokesperson Sr. Com. Martinus Sitompul told a press briefing on Thursday that the police would summon Haris.



We are preparing for everything, from appointing investigators in charge of the case, to collecting evidence and identifying witnesses, said Martinus.



Martinus added that the police would question Haris as soon as all preparations were made.



Meanwhile, BNN chief Comr. Budi Waseso said his office would investigate its members who were allegedly involved in drug trafficking. Budi was summoned to the State Palace on Thursday, but he said President Jokowi did not give him any specific directives on the issue. (fac)

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Linkedin Haeril Halim (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Fri, August 5 2016

Prosecutors demanded on Thursday 13 years imprisonment for Andri Tristianto, a Supreme Court official accused of delaying the delivery of cassation verdicts.

Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) prosecutors said Andri had accepted Rp 400 million to delay the transfer of a cassation dossier for graft convict Ichsan Suaidi to the Mataram District Court.

It was also claimed that Andri had also worked with recently resigned Supreme Court secretary Nurhadis son-in-law, Taufik, who allegedly acted as a middleman to safeguard a number of cases, including an appeal pertaining to a Golkar Party leadership dispute.

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Linkedin Haeril Halim (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Fri, August 5 2016

The decision of a panel of judges in Sidoarjo, East Java, to sentence a teacher to three months in jail for pinching a student will not only send fear to teachers across the country but will also damage the teachers reputation as a convict in a case that many see as a miscarriage of justice.

The Sidoarjo District Court handed down a guilty verdict on Thursday to Samhudi for violating Article 80 of the Child Protection Law, despite the fact that Samhudi and the childs parent, who reported him to the police on Feb. 8, had earlier agreed to settle the case amicably on July 3.

The court, which moved to continue hearing the case after the mediation took place, gave Samhudi, a physical education teacher at Raden Rahmat Junior High School, a three-month jail term with a suspended six-month jail term for the offense.

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Linkedin Ni Komang Erviani (The Jakarta Post) Badung, Bali  Fri, August 5, 2016

Immigration officers arrested three Chinese nationals, allegedly caught begging in tourist areas in Bali, for violating their tourist visas, an official said on Friday.

The three Chinese men identified as Chen Kexin (59), Xuanhai (54) and Huang Jingzhong (55) were arrested separately last week in Legian and Kuta. The three men dressed as Buddhist monks as they begged, Ngurah Rai International Airport immigration office chief Yosep HA Renung Widodo said in a press conference on Friday, adding that the three men knew each other and plotted to act as beggars for money.

"Apparently, they have wives. We know that monks would not have wives. So, it means that they are only acting," Yosep said adding that one of the wives had also been arrested without giving further details.

From their passports, officials found that the three men entered Indonesia through Soekarno-Hatta International Airport in Tangerang, Banten, in July.

"They entered Indonesia using tourist visas that were issued upon their arrival. So they have violated the Immigration Law," he added.

The officers also found counterfeit Chinese currency on one of the men. The officers seized 700 RMB (US$ 105) in fake currency from Huang, which might have been used during their stay in Indonesia.

The immigration office has reported the alleged counterfeit money to police for further legal processing. Meanwhile, the two other men would be charged with visa violations and would soon be deported back to their home country and blacklisted from entering Indonesia again.

The three men were among the 41 foreign nationals from China, Ghana, India, the UK, South Korea and Poland arrested by Ngurah Rai immigration officials for various offenses during 15 days of monitoring foreigners, Yosep said. (rin)
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Linkedin Bareksa (thejakartapost.com) Jakarta  Fri, August 5, 2016

Multiple billions of US dollars are expected to flow into Indonesia and state-owned enterprises (SOEs) are to play two roles to channel it into real projects.

The government is aiming to attract home Rp 1 quadrillion of assets held by Indonesians offshore, but the central bank has estimated the repatriated funds would amount to about Rp 560 trillion.

Regardless of the target, any million- or billion-dollar inflow is valuable as it would help boost development.

As of the end July, the government recorded Rp 3.7 trillion (US$281.48 million) of declared assets and Rp 579 billion of it is going to be repatriated.

However, the inflow may end up as a burden and create an over-liquidity problem if it is jammed into banks as deposits. Therefore, SOE Minister Rini Soemarno recently underlined the vital role of SOEs as the states agents to utilize the funds.

Here are two potential channels:

Corporate bonds

State-owned energy firm PT Pertamina has announced a plan to issue Rp 19.5 trillion ($1.5 billion) worth of bonds. The proceeds will be used to enlarge the capacity of its oil refinery, increase the upstream production through mergers and acquisitions and optimize production in existing blocks.

Our assessment showed that the company is financially healthy and has enough leverage to issue new bonds. In 2015, it had total debts of $3.9 billion, plus $8.6 billion in bonds. Compared to its equity, which stood at $19.2 million, its debt to equity ratio (DER) was 0.65.

PT Waskita Karya has also declared a plan to issue bonds worth Rp 5 trillion as part of its financing to build toll roads in Pemalang, Batang and Semarang. As the company pocketed Rp 5.3 trillion from a rights issue last year, the additional debts from the bonds has limited risk to its financial profile.

Rights issues

Rini has also sent a signal about opening a possibility for share purchases using the repatriated assets. The government has obtained permission from the House of Representatives to buy shares in SOEs through state capital injections (PMN).

A rights issue allows shareholders of listed SOEs to inject more capital into companies with equal rights and in equal portions to those of the state. Thus, it will attract other investors to inject capital. This is another way out for the government to allocate the repatriated assets into real work.

=============

Projection of the changes in SOEs capital structure post-rights issue.(Bareksa/-)

=============

Several SOEs among the PMN recipients next year are PT Wijaya Karya, PT Pembangunan Perumahan, PT Jasa Marga and PT Krakatau Steel. The four SOEs are expected to draw Rp 7.4 trillion in public funds.

The rights issues will strengthen their financing capacities and give them more room to expand. (ags)
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Linkedin (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Fri, August 5 2016

In the wake of a weak financial performance in the first half of the year, United Tractors (UNTR), the countrys biggest heavy equipment distributor, is looking to find its fortune in increasing demand for trucks and buses across the archipelago.



United Tractors, a subsidiary of diversified conglomerate Astra Internasional, suffered a major blow in the first half of this year, seeing its net profit drop by 46 percent year-on-year (yoy) to Rp 1.9 trillion (US$144.5 million). The company claimed that the nosedive was mainly triggered by a stronger rupiah against the US dollar, as most of the companys financial assets are recorded in greenbacks.



The economic growth in the first quarter of this year stood at 4.92 percent after growing at a six-year low level of 4.79 percent throughout 2015. The sluggish trend was driven by weak global demand that hampered exports and commodity prices.



As such, United Tractors aims to boost its on-road business, projecting it to contribute up to 15 percent of the companys total revenue within the next two years, against 7 percent currently.



To meet the target, the company expects to sell more units of Scania, the eco-friendly buses produced in Sweden, for interprovincial transportation (AKAP) and the Jakarta-owned Transjakarta busway service.



Lots of AKAP bus operators have shifted to Scania, including those serving the Medan-Banda Aceh route and the Central Java-Jakarta route, United Tractors director Edhie Sarwono said in Jakarta on Thursday.



Edhie said the company was also expecting to see rising demand for buses as the government was speeding up the completion of a number of toll road projects in Java and Sumatra, the countrys most and second-most populated islands, respectively.



Scania claims to offer advantages including efficient fuel consumption, large capacity, comfort and international standard-security. Some of the bus types are Scania Aerobus, which is designed to accommodate 90 passengers, and Scania Euro 6, an articulated bus with a capacity of 140 passengers.



In April, United Tractors handed over 56 new Scania Euro 6 buses to PT Mayasari Bakti, a Transjakarta bus operator, meaning there are now 106 Scania buses used by Transjakarta.



Meanwhile, the company also provides trucks for logistics businesses, particularly in Java and Sumatra. With a maximum capacity of 20 tons, each truck is expected to transport mineral resources from various sites.



The Indonesian Logistics Association (ALI) recently stated that the logistics industry could still expand by 10 percent to 12 percent this year after a solid 18.8 percent annual growth in 2015. The increase may be triggered by higher domestic consumption, with the government aiming to boost infrastructure projects nationwide.



Last year, the domestic logistics industry was worth an estimated Rp 2.15 quadrillion, a double-digit increase from the estimated Rp 1.81 quadrillion the previous year, based on a study conducted by ALI partner, Frost and Sullivan.



United Tractors runs businesses in four major sectors, namely heavy equipment, mining contracting, mining and construction.



The former recorded a 6 percent yoy decrease in net income to Rp 6.9 trillion in the first half of this year. Meanwhile, the mining contracting sector, managed by subsidiary PT Pamapersada Nusantara, saw a 22 percent plunge in net profits to Rp 11.6 trillion.



The firms mining operation, run by subsidiary PT Tuah Turangga Agung, recorded a 35 percent increase in revenue to Rp 3.2 trillion during the same period while its construction business, handled by subsidiary PT Acset Indonusa, booked Rp 944 billion in net income. (vps)

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Linkedin Hyung-Jin Kim and Kim Tong-Hyun (Associated Press) Seoul  Fri, August 5, 2016

North Korea has fired a barrage of missiles, artillery pieces and rockets into the waters off its east coast, including a medium-range ballistic missile that fell near Japan's territorial waters this week.

The launches are meant to test its weapons systems, express anger in times of standoffs with South Korea and the United States, or prove it has the capability to attack its archrivals.

But little is known about what happens to those weapons. Do they cause any environmental problems in the ocean? Are some countries trying to retrieve the missile parts to study them?

Here is what we know about the likely fate of the weapons in the sea, which in some places is 3,000 meters (1.9 miles) deep or possibly deeper.

WHERE ARE THE MISSILES NOW?

North Korea's Rodong missiles are 15 meters (49 feet) long and most other weapons it has fired are shorter. The parts are scattered in the deep ocean, and Professor Roh Taeseong at South Korea's Inha University says "it's like throwing grains of sand into Seoul's Han River."

North Korea often launches its missiles from different sites and fires them for different distances depending on what it wants from each launch. This means there is little chance of missiles landing in the same area. North Korean missiles are also known for poor accuracy, so it's highly unlikely that many pieces would end up near each other, even if North Korea is aiming at the same area.

When missiles hit the ocean, they face a huge impact that can break them into multiple pieces. "It's like hitting a concrete floor," said analyst Chae Yeon-seok at South Korea's state-run Korea Aerospace Research Institute. He said the Rodong missile fired Wednesday must have shattered into more than 10 pieces.

Some other experts say the amount of damage can depend on the angle of impact, with missiles entering at straighter angles suffering less damage.

RETRIEVING MISSILE PARTS

In the case of a launch of a new or particularly threatening design, South Korea, the US and Japan are likely to search for fragments and salvage what they can. Some parts from those rockets, particularly their first stages, can be fairly large. The three-stage Unha-3 rocket which North Korea used to send a satellite into space in 2012 was 30 meters (98 feet) long.

But it's virtually impossible to recover meaningful fragments of smaller missiles once they sink into the sea.

Even if South Korea or other countries were to successfully recover parts of a Rodong missile, it's unlikely they would learn anything new about the Soviet Scud-based weapon they have already analyzed for decades.

After Wednesday's launch, Japan still dispatched destroyers and P-3C Orion surveillance aircraft to search for any debris. Roh described the move as a "political show" by the conservative government of Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, which wants to build a stronger military by stressing to its people how dangerous North Korean missiles are.

CAN SHIPS BE HIT BY NORTH KOREAN MISSILES?

It's likely that North Korea uses dummy warheads when it test-launches missiles. They won't explode on impact, and the missiles are statistically highly unlikely to hit a ship, so that danger is negligible.

North Korea has announced danger zones in accordance with international rules when it launched rockets to place satellites into orbit, but generally doesn't do so when it fires missiles.

Washington, Seoul and Tokyo call the satellite launches a prohibited test of long-range missile technology.

CAN MISSILES CAUSE ENVIROMENTAL HARM?

Probably not. Most North Korean missiles use toxic liquid propellants, but experts in South Korea say most recent missiles appeared to have crashed into the ocean after burning all their fuel. The huge ocean would dilute any remaining fuel.

North Korean state media said some recent missiles contained trigger devices for warheads to practice possible atomic attacks on South Korea. But outside analysts say they likely used dummy warheads without any plutonium or uranium.

HOW DOES NORTH KOREA ASSESS ITS LAUNCHES?

It's not known how North Korea monitors and tracks its missiles. Analysts in South Korea say it must use radars to determine whether missiles land in targeted areas.

The best way would be to send ships near the impact zone to see the results of launches, but it's unknown if North Korea does so.

WHY DO NORTH KOREAN MISSILE TESTS MATTER?

Any country with a military conducts weapons tests. North Korea's tests make news because it is openly developing nuclear weapons and wants to place them on missiles capable of reaching faraway targets such as the mainland United States.

Under young leader Kim Jong Un, who took power in late 2011, North Korea has fired weapons more frequently than in the past.

It previously often deployed new missiles without flight-testing them to save costs. It may have felt that flight-tests weren't necessary when its missiles were slight redesigns of already-proven Chinese and Russian models, according to Kim Seung Jo, a professor at Seoul National University.

Earlier this year, North Korea suffered a series of failures before sending a new intermediate-range Musudan missile more than 1,400 kilometers (870 miles) high. It also fell into the ocean.

___

Associated Press writers Eric Talmadge and Mari Yamaguchi in Tokyo contributed to this report.
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Linkedin Nursyahbani Katjasungkana (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Fri, August 5 2016

On July 20, a video of presiding judge Zak Yacoob reading out the major conclusions of the International Peoples Tribunal on the 1965 Crimes Against Humanity in Indonesia (IPT 1965) was released simultaneously in Jakarta, Amsterdam, Melbourne in Australia, Frankfurt in Germany, Phnom Penh and Stockholm. The judges of the tribunal, which is not a criminal court but a court of inquiry, found Indonesia guilty of crimes against humanity in the systematic killing of at least 400,000 people.

These victims were not only leaders and members of the Indonesian Communist Party (PKI) in 1965, but also members of affiliated associations or committed supporters of then president Sukarno. The tribunal also found that Indonesia was guilty of other crimes against humanity including slavery, involuntary disappearances, sexual violence and a campaign of hate propaganda inciting such crimes. These crimes are not only punishable under international customary law and other conventions, but also under Indonesias domestic laws, including those on human rights.

The prosecutors of the IPT 1965, led by renowned human rights lawyer Todung Mulya Lubis, put forward enough evidence during the hearings last November to persuade the judges unanimously to agree that crimes against humanity had indeed taken place in Indonesia following the actions of the so-called G30S group, which ended in the murder of six generals and one lieutenant. But the judges went one step further than the prosecution.

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Linkedin Nestor Corrales (Inquirer.net) Manila  Fri, August 5, 2016

President Rodrigo Duterte on Friday repeated his shoot-to-kill order against those involved in the illegal drugs trade who would resist arrest.

In an interview in Davao City, Duterte guaranteed to answer for state forces involved in shooting incidents related to their duty in his administrations war against drugs.

For as long as it is done in the performance of the duty by the police and soldiers, akin yan [that is my responsibility], that is my official and personal guarantee, he said.

Basta may police diyan na nag engkwentro, huwag na ninyo imbestigahan yan, order ko yan [If there are police involved in an encounter, do not investigate them anymore, that is my order], he added.

Asked to clarify his shoot-to-kill order, he said Shoot to kill is to shoot and kill him. Kasi wag kang magsayang ng bala [I dont want the police wasting bullets].

Duterte earlier issued made a shoot on sight order against Albuera, Leyte Mayor Rolando Espinosa Sr. and his son Kerwin on grounds of their alleged drug ties.

The elder Espinosa has already surrendered, while Kerwin remains at large.

Duterte is reportedly set to announce the names of local executives involved in the illegal drugs trade anytime Friday.

In a statement, Presidential Spokesperson Ernesto Abella said Dutertes statement on narco-politicians is congruent with government policy on maintaining and protecting peace and order in the nation.

He has given due and ample notice that the clear and present danger of drugs engulfing the nation will be addressed and law enforcers will neutralize those who resist or endanger the lives of arresting officers, he said.
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Linkedin Joseph Kaos JR (The Star/ANN) Putrajaya  Fri, August 5, 2016

Capt Zaharie Ahmad Shahs flight path into the Indian Ocean is just one of thousands of other routes on his home simulator, said Malaysia Transport Minister Liow Tiong Lai.

He said the Indian Ocean flight path simulation did not confirm that the pilot of Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 had deliberately flown the plane into the sea.

Until today, this theory is still under investigation. There is still no evidence to confirm that Capt Zaharie deliberately flew the plane into the Indian Ocean.

Yes, he had simulated the flight path, but it is one of thousands of simulations to many parts of the world.

We cannot, just based on this, confirm he did it, said Liow at a press conference after his ministrys monthly assembly here yesterday.

Liow also said the Australian Transport Safety Bureaus (ATSB) stance was that the crash was an uncontrolled ditching.

The ATSB has already come up with a theory that it was an uncontrolled ditching. And this is based on views and opinions of experts. The ATSB is the leader of the team of international experts that came up with the 120,000sq km search area.

Their theory should negate the controlled ditching theory that has been widely reported recently, said Liow.

He urged the people not to speculate as it could hamper investigations.

It is not wise to speculate or come up with unfounded theories that do not help the investigation.

If you have evidence, please hand it over to the investigation team, he said.

Recently, foreign press reports had suggested that Capt Zaharie had piloted the Boeing 777 in its final moments, which contradicts the common official stance that the jet was uncontrolled when it crashed.

The reports also pointed out that the flaperon, a section of the planes wings which was found on Reunion Island last year, bore details that indicated a controlled ditching.

The flaperon, however, is still being withheld by French authorities ever since its discovery on the French island in the Indian Ocean.

The French authorities exercised their right to hold on to the flaperon, as they need it as court evidence.

They are still investigating the flaperon pending some documentary information from authorities, including Boeing.

We have already requested to have it returned to us as soon as they have finished, said Liow.

MH370 vanished on March 8, 2014, while on its way to Beijing from Kuala Lumpur. There were 239 people on board.

A joint search by Malaysia, Australia and China was made in the Indian Ocean, and after 110,000sq km had been scoured in two years, the aircraft had yet to be found.

A recent tripartite meeting involving the three countries agreed to suspend the ocean search if the plane is still not found in the search area.

discussions are not transparent and not involved public participation yet. The next discussions will be in Vietnam on August 15-19. The final decision is scheduled to be reached on 2017.
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Linkedin Arlina Arshad (The Straits Times/ANN) Singapore  Fri, August 5, 2016

Indonesian police arrested on Friday six suspected militants from a terror cell in Batam, Riau Islands, including the group leader who is believed to have had a plan to attack Singapore.

The group, whom the police have identified only as KGR @ Katibah GR is accused of harboring two Uighurs, National Police spokesman Boy Rafli Amar said in a text message.

Ali, one of the Uighurs, has been linked to the suicide bomber who tried to attack a police station in the city of Solo in Central Java on July 5.

The bomber, Nur Rohman, a 30- year-old local from Sangkrah village in Solo, had fetched Ali from Batam to Bogor and then to Bekasi, both in West Java, where he was left with an Indonesian militant named Arif Hidayatullah, alias Abu Musab, Boy said.

The second Uighur, identified as Doni, has since been deported.

Boy said that the groups leader, Gigih Rahmat Dewa, 31, and Bahrun Naim, an Indonesian militant believed to have been fighting alongside the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) militant group, "previously planned to launch a rocket from Batam to Marina Bay Singapore. He did not provide details.

Gigih is suspected to have received and channeled funds for radical activities sourced from Bahrun, he added.

He also helped to facilitate Indonesian Muslim "brothers" to make the trip to Syria to fight ISIS. The journey would be through Turkey, with the assistance of Indonesians in Turkey, Boy said.
City Council member Rosie Mendez is encouraging locals to show up next week at a City Council hearing on a proposed zoning change along a two-and-a-half block stretch of East Houston Street. Mendez, the Manhattan Borough President and Community Board 3 are all opposed the change, which is being pushed by property owner Samy Mahfar.

Mahfar is planning a 13-story residential building with ground floor commercial space at 255 East Houston St. (near Suffolk Street). Hes preparing to demolish a building that once housed a low-income daycare center, which was displaced in 2010 after construction on a neighboring lot damaged the property.

A community facility is the only use allowed under current zoning. But Mahfar says attempts to find a tenant have been unsuccessful. So he wants to map a C2-5 commercial overlay in the R8 district (the change would impact parcels he controls, plus 18 other lots on the south side of the street). This alteration would allow a restaurant to occupy the commercial space.

The community board approved a resolution in May opposing the change. It stated that Mahfar has, a well- documented history of illegal construction and construction harassment in other buildings throughout the Lower East Side. The board also told the City Planning Commission, The daycare (center) was forced to be vacated due to the open violations and the applicants failure to address them. Most significantly, CB3 argued that the neighborhood lacks adequate community facilities and has lost a number of daycare and nursing facilities in recent years (Rivington House, for example).

The planning commission, however, approved the application July 13 (see below). Heres part of the citys rationale as explained by the planning board:

There is an existing C2-5 commercial overlay on the north side of East Houston Street between First Avenue and Avenue B, and the proposed action will create consistency in the permitted commercial uses along each side of East Houston Street, which includes a wide range commercial uses from retail shopping, grocery stores, and restaurants. Together, these commercial amenities provide much needed services to Lower East Side residents. The Commission believes that the proposed C2-5 commercial overlay on the blocks and lots on the south side of East Houston Street between the east side of Norfolk Street and the centerline of the block between Clinton Street and Attorney Street is in context with the surrounding zoning and reflective of existing uses.

The matter will be taken up by the Councils zoning and franchises committee next Tuesday morning at 9:30 (in the committee room at City Hall). In a newsletter published yesterday, Mendezs office wrote, Council Woman Mendez does not support zoning changes at this time and would like to encourage the Community Board and constituents to testify at the City Councils hearing on the application.

During an earlier public hearing, CB3s chairperson and Mahfar were quizzed by planning commissioners about the application. Mahfar, of course, disagrees with the community boards assertion that he was responsible for displacing the daycare. You can watch the videotape of the June 8 meeting here. [The East Houston Street discussion begins at approximately 15:45).
A 26-year-old man is in a serious condition after driving himself about five miles to hospital after being stabbed in the head, arm and torso in Merseyside.

The man, who was reportedly attacked with a machete, made the 20-minute journey from Netherton Way in Bootle to the Royal Liverpool University Hospital, despite his injuries.

Police said officers were called to the hospital at around 2:25pm and are appealing for information. They have described his injuries as non life-threatening.

(@harps_83/PA)

A statement from Merseyside Police said: It is believed unknown offenders assaulted the man in Netherton Way, Bootle. The victim then drove to the hospital. The man is now at the hospital where his condition is described as serious.

A full investigation has been launched. CCTV is being explored and a cordon has been set up outside the hospital for forensic examinations to take place.

Anyone with information can call officers on 0151 777 4060 or Crimestoppers, anonymously, on 0800 555111.
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Adoption by saving in all sizes

Rescued strays looking to bring their different life stories to forever homes

Friday 5 August 2016, 06:12PM

by Mike Pullen

Soi Dog Foundation gets called upon to rescue dogs and cats that have fallen on hard times for all kinds of reasons, all with their own individual stories of love lost, hardships endured, and hope for a miracle that somebody out there will somehow hear of their plight, take them into their home and give them the unconditional love that they deserve and will return with interest.

I will share the stories of three of the deserving dogs currently looking for their forever homes at the Soi Dog shelter with you, so that you have an insight into what these wonderful animals have endured. Yet, they still wag their tails with happiness when meeting and going for walks with the kind people that help out at the shelter.

The smallest mite is a Chihuahua boy just over 3 years of age. Oktem once had an owner but he didnt want the little dog in his life anymore. When the owner moved houses, he left the little frightened dog behind to fend for himself. To add to his woes, Oktem also broke his leg and was in a lot of pain when he was picked up by Soi Dog rescue officers and brought to the safety of the shelter in Phuket. Oktems leg healed and his soul healed too.

Oktem is extremely friendly and enormously cute, loves his walks and behaves like a gentleman on the lead and towards other dogs. He would make an ideal pet and would enjoy having some canine brothers or sisters in his new forever home to play with.

Our lady in the middle is a female pit bull named Peewee who absolutely turns herself inside out with pleasure when she meets a new human friend. She was dumped at a temple in Phuket by her previous owner where the other dogs mistook her exuberance and joy as a threat and kept on attacking her. She did not have any food or water, and did not have any other place to go, so the kind head monk at the temple contacted Soi Dog to pick her up and care for her.

Peewee enjoys every minute whilst out on her walks, and people are always amazed how happy, loving and kind she is. As some countries do not allow pit bulls, finding her a forever home has been difficult, but we are sure that there is a strong and confident person in Thailand that will be able to handle a strong and energetic dog like her. She would be best suited in a home with no young children or other pets.

Pacifica is a smart Thai Bangkaew girl who is 3 years and 6 months old. Bangkaew dogs are known as fighting dogs and can be aggressive towards other dogs they dont know. It is unknown what hardships she endured before being found abandoned near a temple and being brought by a kind animal lover to Soi Dog to be treated and cared for. She is a very independent soul and she does not trust other dogs or people easily. She can be affectionate once she gets to know you, but it will take time and patience.

Even though she has not had an easy life she is very confident. She is looking for an owner who has lots of time to walk with her, and who is willing to challenge her intelligence with formal training. Her new owner should be someone with a strong, loving personality and has had a lot of experience with dogs. She would be best suited in a home with no young children or other pets. Pacifica does not want to live in a shelter for the rest of her life, as she is bright, loving and playful, and cant wait to find a forever home where she can spend time running and playing with her new family!

These are the stories of some of the stray dogs that have been lucky enough to end up being rescued by Soi Dog in Phuket, and have now been treated, sterilised and fully vaccinated. Adopting a companion animal in need is so much more rewarding than buying a puppy or kitten from a pet shop that possibly comes from an uncaring puppy mill farm. Interested persons can also contact Khun Kwan at 093 709 9622 or email thaiadoptions@soidog-foundation.com.

Soi Dog Foundation, a not-for-profit organisation established in 2003, is a legally registered charity in Thailand, the United States, Australia, the UK, France and Holland. Our mission statement is to improve the welfare of dogs and cats in Asia, resulting in better lives for both the animal and human communities, to create a society without homeless animals, and to ultimately end animal cruelty. John Dalley, co-founder and vice president, is available for interview.

For more information please visit www.soidog.org or www.facebook.com/SoiDogPageInEnglish.
Chinese tour company money-laundering raid hits Bangkok

BANGKOK: Tourist police raided a Chinese tour company on Rama IV Road in Bangkok Thursday (Aug 4) and found a Chinese operator using a fake Thai identity card to run his business in Thailand.

Chinesetourismcrimepolice

By Bangkok Post

Friday 5 August 2016, 08:48AM

Thursdays Bangkok raid followed similar raids in Phuket on the large Tranlee Travel Co (above) where they turned up Chinese executives using ID cards of dead Thais.

Surachet Hakphan, commander of the Tourist Police Division, said he led the Thursday raid conducted by a group of 50 police and tax officials at the Xinyuan Travel Co.

Police seized a pile of business documents and travel promotion brochures, Pol Maj Gen Surachet said.

Police are checking whether Ms Thanwan was involved in providing fake ID cards for executives of Ufun Store, a transnational Ponzi scam which conned about 120,000 people out of more than B20 billion.

Pol Maj Gen Surachet said the company had caused financial damage to the tourism industry.

He said authorities were collecting evidence and tracking the money trail of Xinyuan Travel Co to see whether it was connected to money laundering activities.

The raid Thursday followed a police investigation into a group of tourism business operators suspected of being an illegal nominee tour firm for foreign interests, said a senior officer.

Meanwhile, another firm, Tranlee Travel Co, is one of the targets in a stepped-up crackdown on foreigners using Thai nominees to run businesses in Phuket. The aim is to make sure foreign investment complies with the Foreign Business Act.

Earlier, deputy provincial police chief Pol Col Saman Chainarong said the investigation into the alleged use of nominees by Tranlee Travel Co was expected to be wrapped up in a couple of months.

The authorities said there were 17 companies in Tranlees network, operating tourism-related businesses such as hotels, tour buses, ferries, restaurants and souvenir shops.

In June and again last month, authorities raided and then confiscated 29 boats and 53 buses belonging to companies operating under the Tranlee Travel network.

Authorities found Kotchakorn Rungmongkolnam and Weerachai Khampaiprapankul were registered as co-owners of Tranlee.

Both men face arrest warrants for allegedly posing as Thai citizens and illegally securing Thai citizenship cards used for registering the company five years ago. They were accused of stealing the identity of two dead people in Mae Sai district of Chiang Rai.

Police also discovered Tranlee was still operating despite a closure order. The company said it needed to remain open to cater to customers who had booked a tour before the crackdown.

Read original story here.
Navy rescues missing speedboat crew off Koh Libong

PHUKET: The Royal Thai Navy has rescued the captain and his one crewman of the lost speedboat Chamnina, reported missing off Koh Rok south of Phuket.

marineaccidentsmilitaryweather

By The Phuket News

Friday 5 August 2016, 06:03PM

Capt Wijit Ngankhang and crewman Yothee Sandee (left and right) were rescued off Koh Libong. Photo: Royal Thai Navy

Capt Wijit Ngankhang and crewman Yothee Sandee (left and right) were rescued off Koh Libong. Photo: Royal Thai Navy

Capt Wijit Ngankhang and crewman Yothee Sandee (left and right) were rescued off Koh Libong. Photo: Royal Thai Navy

The Chamnina left Phi Phi Island and was heading to Koh Lanta with Capt Wijit Ngankhang and one crewman, Yothee Sandee, 37, when it went missing near Koh Rok from about 6pm on Wednesday (Aug 3).

The boat had run out of fuel near Koh Rok, but the two managed to acquire some fuel at the island, but went missing after again after leaving the area. (See story here.)

Search efforts by sea to locate the boat and its missing complement of two were called off due to heavy seas and strong winds, Capt Pongjak Uraiman, commanding officer of the Naval Air Squadron at the Royal Thai Navy Third Area Command, based at Cape Panwa, said today (Aug 5).

We took out a helicopter to search for them near Koh Rok at around noon today and expanded the search area, and our team found them near Koh Libong at 4:30pm, Capt Pongjak said.

Capt Wijit said they ran out of gas a second time and were left drifting at sea. The strong winds pushed them into the location where they were found, he added.

Both Capt Wijit and Mr Yothee were safe and had no injury when they rescued, Capt Pongjak confirmed.
Phuket Poll: Opinion divided on Thai work permit

PHUKET: Opinion on whether or not to keep work permits is divided, with those calling for Thailands little blue book to be discontinued edging ahead, according to the results of a recent online poll by The Phuket News.

immigrationpoliceeconomicscrime

By The Phuket News

Friday 5 August 2016, 12:49PM

It's a close call, but more people say the Thai work permit is not necessary. Graph: The Phuket News

The poll, which ran online for two weeks, asked: Is the Thai work permit necessary?

That question was prompted by the news last month that a work permit is not required in order to receive income from renting out a condo, an announcement that brought much relief to expat condo owners across the island.

However, the disparity of that decision (see story here) compared with the need for a work permit for any other income-creating activities by foreigners threw the proverbial cat amongst the pigeons in a country where work permits are required by any foreigner even doing free volunteer work.

For decades the concept of whether or not money is received has been irrelevant as the definition of work in Thailand remains engaging in work by exerting energy or using knowledge whether or not in consideration of wages or other benefits (see Ministry of Labour website here).

In defence of the work permit, 39 per cent of those who took part in the poll voted, Yes, the work permit is a valuable form of identification and should be upgraded to a photo ID card.

A further 5% of respondents voted, Yes, the work permit is a valuable form of identification and should be kept in the booklet form as is.

Interestingly, 6% of respondents in the poll supported the Thai work permit in its current format while noting that it performed no essential function on its own, voting, No, the work permit not necessary but there is no harm in keeping it.

To all this support, a neat 50% of all respondents in the poll voted, No, the work permit is pointless and should be discontinued immediately.

To see the poll results, click here.

To see the results of our previous poll, which asked, Should the United Kingdom remain a member of the European Union or leave the European Union? click here.

To suggest a poll, email execeditor@classactmedia.co.th with Poll Suggestion in the Subject line.
Phuket task force set up to probe migrant worker extortion by officials, police

PHUKET: A provincial-level task force has been established and tasked with investigating allegations of systemic collection of payments by Phuket officials, including police, from employers to allow their migrant workers to keep working.

corruptionpolicecrime

By Tanyaluk Sakoot

Friday 5 August 2016, 06:09PM

The special investigative committee was set up two days ago, Phuket Provincial Chief Administration Officer (Palad) Pakpoom Intarasuwan told the press at Provincial hall today (Aug 5).

A special investigative committee was set up two days ago, and was given 15 days to present its findings, Phuket Provincial Chief Administration Officer (Palad) Pakpoom Intarasuwan told the press gathered at Provincial hall today (Aug 5).

The committee is to present its recommendations for any legal action against any officials deemed guilty of corruption, he added.

The announcement follows a list of persons listed by nickname and mobile phone number  and the government agency the person allegedly works for  going viral on Thai social media websites.

The list includes payments allegedly collected by those people on the 10th of each month. (see story here.)

Phuket Police Chief Maj Gen Teerapol Thipjaroen yesterday (Aug 4) denied any involvement in any such scheme, and vowed to investigate the origins of the list.

He also called for victims of extortion by corrupt officials in Phuket to come forward with any evidence.

Phuket Governor Chamroen Tipayapongtada noted that corrupt officials in Phuket was not new, and urged people to contact him directly if they felt the need to report corruption.

If you think you are being harassed, come see me, he said.
Police hunting for gun-flashing teens in Cherng Talay

PHUKET: Police are checking CCTV for two teenagers on a black Honda Wave who allegedly flashed a gun at motorists in Cherng Talay yesterday (Aug 4).

transportcrimepolice

By Eakkapop Thongtub

Friday 5 August 2016, 11:59AM

Satja Kongrat, 20, and Ekkachai Chaidam,19, said they had no idea why they were threatened by the two teenagers with a gun. Photo: Eakkapop Thongtub

Satja Kongrat, 20, and his passenger, Ekkachai Chaidam,19, told police that they were travelling on Srisoonthorn Rd heading home to Baan Bangtao at about 6pm when two young men, estimated to be 17-19 years old, flashed a gun at them.

The victims said that when they neared the Cherng Talay Municipal fresh market (opposite the Lim Sai Su Chinese Shrine), two teenagers on a Honda Wave drove beside them and looked at them before cutting in front of them, reported Lt Peerasit Noopayan of the Cherng Talay Police.

The two teens made a quick u-turn and the passenger pulled out a gun and placed it on his leg while pointing it at the victims. They then signalled for Satja and Ekkachai to follow them, but the two decided to report the incident to police, he added.

Satja and Ekkachai said they never had any problems with anyone and did not know the two teenagers, Lt Peerasit said.

They described the driver as wearing a red T-shirt and his gun-toting passenger as wearing black T-shirt, he added.

We are checking CCTV to find the two teenagers and bring them in, Lt Peerasit added.
Rents in Phuket now open: Get the most from your rental property

Property in Phuket has launched its new dedicated property rentals services arm, Rents in Phuket, now open in the south of the island.

landproperty

By Sponsored

Friday 5 August 2016, 02:30PM

Property in Phuket has launched its new dedicated property rentals services arm, Rents in Phuket, now open in the south of the island.

Dear Valued Property Owners,

We have some great news to share with you! From 2016, Property In Phuket Co. Ltd is growing, expanding and providing new services for our clients.

We have opened a new rental department in the south of Phuket, which can help you to rent out your villas and apartments and get a good steady income.

We have now developed and grown a new brand with focus on Property Management and Rentals: Rents in Phuket (www.RentsInPhuket.com).

Why choose us?

We look after your home or property as if it were our own. We care with passion and service in our mind. We find you the rental guests and take care of them just as we would with our own family.

Our teams vision and duty is to provide you with easy communication, high-level of management, positive cash flow on your investment  but most of all we provide understanding, service and happiness.

At the same time, we offer the highest achievable service for rental guests through our wide marketing channels whereby we work with all agencies in Thailand and our own number 1 homepage  and we make sure to find the right tenants and provide you with high occupancy.

We can offer a Whole Package Solution! Maintaining the highest level of management for property owners, we will provide you with your request and needs, and we can provide all your future property management requirements.

Here is a comprehensive list of our services:

 Rentals / Management

 Property Evaluation

 Repair and Maintenance

 Enquiries and Reservations

 Garden & Pool, Aircon Service

 Rental Agreements

 Pest Control

 Preparing the property

 Property Insurance

 Marketing

 Payment of utilities and other bills

 Rent collection and monthly statements

 Tenant Relations

 Housekeeping, regular cleaning of the property

 Laundry

 Exit inspection, check the condition of your home. This includes of full inventory list before the new tenant arrives.

We have different options to offer depending on what services you prefer:

 Exclusive Option: Full management of your property. Property Care Service and Rental Management.

 Premium Option: PartProperty Care Service, Follow up with client, Check-in/Out, Inventory, reply to clients.

 Standard Option / Broker Service: We provide you tenants for your property, signing contracts.

Exclusive Option

We ask the exclusive right to represent your property. We take your property as our priority listing, with highest level of occupancy rate.

We market your property through all our channels and our office, all online pages, to all other agencies both in Thailand and worldwide.

Premium & Standard Option.

We are not the sole agent, you can rent and market your property through other channels and agencies.

Henceforth you will deal with our new Management and Rental Department, named Rents In Phuket.

We can now offer you more services and more profitability thanks to our enlarged team. Contact us today to sign up with our new company so we can bring success to you in renting your property.

Please feel free to contact us if you need further information, regarding a draft contract evaluation for your property, both for property management and rental prices, we would be pleased and honoured to help you.

Warm Regards,

Rents In Phuket Team.

Please visit our website at www.RentsInPhuket.com to download our e-brochure.
On Demand

We have a new story every day on the front page of thephuketnews.com. Also like us on our Facebook page (facebook.com/thephuketnews) and be the first to watch all the new stories. Finally you can watch any segment, any time by going to thephuketnews.com/tv where all the stories are listed for you to enjoy. All our programs can be enjoyed in High Definition when watching on the internet.

In-Room VDO
Tulsi Gabbard to campaign for Noem in Sioux Falls, Rapid City

Former Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard will campaign for Gov. Noem on Nov. 2 in Sioux Falls and Rapid City, according to Noem's re-election campaign.
By PTI: From K J M Varma

Beijing, Aug 5 (PTI) At least 14 people have been killed and 27 others injured in two separate accidents in China.

Nine people were killed and 27 others injured when a bus collided with a truck in east Chinas Shandong Province today, police said.

Following a tyre blow-out, the truck hit a barrier and crashed into a bus, causing it to overturn on the Jinan- Liaocheng expressway, state-run Xinhua news agency reported.

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The 49-seater bus had 48 passengers on board when the collision took place.

Five persons were declared dead at the site of the accident while four more died on the way to the hospital. All the injured are in a stable condition.

In a separate incident, five people were killed when a taxi plunged into a river in northwest Chinas Shaanxi Province.

The taxi, run by a company in Yanchang County, veered off the road and plunged into the Yanhe River yesterday.

The taxi driver and all the four passengers in the car were killed. PTI KJV ASK ASK

--- ENDS ---
By PTI: custody

Kanpur, Aug 5 (PTI) A station in charge and two other police officials were today suspended, a day after a 26-year-old dalit man was found dead under suspicious circumstances at Ahirwan police station lockup.

Kamal Valmiki, a resident of Shiv Katra village, was found dead at Ahirwan police station yesterday afternoon after he was picked up along with another man, Raju Mistri

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, in a case of loot.

While twelve police personnel were suspended yesterday, three officials were suspended today for allegedly beating Kamal to death. Meanwhile, Raju Mistry was held today by the police from his relatives home.

The family members of the deceased had earlier filed an FIR against the station in charge and other police personnel for allegedly beating Kamal to death. Another FIR was lodged against unidentified people after Mistry was reported missing yesterday.

District administration has directed the magistrate to investigate the matter and pay compensation to the victims family.

"Three officers, including station in charge Jiwanram Yadav has been suspended in this connection and now the number of suspended police personnel have climbed to 15," SP, Mathura, Shalabh Mathur said.

Police contingent have been deployed in the area due to tense situation in the wake of protests by the members of Valmiki community, who blocked the Kanpur-Lucknow highway and threw stones at the police station yesterday. PTI ZIR AYP RG AYP

--- ENDS ---
With more than 50 people killed and over 3,000 injured, the state government is facing severe backlash over its failure to tackle the Kashmir crisis.

By Shuja-ul-Haq : Protests and clashes continue in Kashmir even a month after Hizbul Mujahideen commander Burhan Wani was killed by security forces in an encounter on July 8. With more than 50 people killed and over 3,000 injured, the state government is facing severe backlash over its failure to tackle the crisis.

"There are several restrictions and we are facing a lot of trouble. I think the government needs to hold talks with the people of Kashmir else the situation will only aggravate. The more Kashmir will be suppressed, the more it will resurface. There has to be a resolution which first needs to be acceptable to the Kashmiris and then India and Pakistan," Shabir Ahmad, a resident of Srinagar, said.

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Civilians in the Valley are blaming both the state and the Centre for failing to maintain peace in the region.

Tension continues to mount in the Valley with separatist parties extending the shutdown till August 12. Separatist leaders have urged civilians to hold rallies and marches across the region.



EVIDENCE AGAINST PAKISTAN

Security forces in Kashmir say that there is sufficient evidence to prove Pakistan's role in fomenting trouble in the region.

"We appeal to the youth to not resort to arms and instead engage in peaceful talks. For those who have picked up the guns, we urge you to come back," Lt. Gen DS Hooda, Northern Commander, Army, said.



NO POLITICAL OUTREACH

While the Centre and the state continue to blame one another, opposition parties are trying to make the most out of it. "Mehbooba ji is representative of Delhi rather and not the representative of the Kashmiris. They should have brought a resolution in the Assembly urging the government to hold talks with Hurriyat leaders," Engineer Rasheed, Independent MLA, said.



INCHING TOWARDS THE 2010 SITUATION?

The ongoing crisis in Kashmir reminded people of the 2010 Macchil fake encounter in which few locals were killed by the Army on the LoC followed by chaos for the next six months. As many as 112 people lost their lives and the crisis came to a halt only after the Centre announced few political measures aimed at defusing the tension in the state.

However, the government is yet to adopt similar measures, to restore peace and normalcy in the region.

"We will wait for peace and normalcy to be restored. We will speak to the chief minister and then adopt measures to initiate talks," Home Minister Rajnath Singh said during his visit to the Valley.

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Student Council of Pondicherry Central University has alleged that BJP and ABVP group in the campus have attacked them for propagating ideologies through their magazine.

The magazine, Widerstand, which means "resistance" in German is facing a lot of resistance now. The 4,000 copies which have been published are sealed in the room used by the student council.

By Akshaya Nath: Though the Pondicherry Central University maintains that the situation in the campus following the controversy over the college magazine is calm, the ground reality seems to be different. The underlying currents seem to run strong and the student council has alleged that the BJP and ABVP units in the campus have attacked them. The dean of students welfare who was the Chief Editor of the magazine has been removed from his post by the university.

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WHAT CAUSED THE PROTESTS?



Less than a week after the release of the college magazine - Widerstand - protest began in the campus against the contents of the magazine which is also seen to have three critical pieces about the central government.

"We will not allow the magazine to be distributed in the campus. It is the college fund that is involved in publishing the content and it is not a forum to propagate your ideologies," said Ram Kishore Singh, an ABVP member in the university.

On August 3, the student of the editorial team, and members of Student Federation of India, the student wing of the left parties, and Ambedkar student Association (ASA), had staged a rally in the campus. The participants of the rally have alleged that they were intimidated and attacked by the members of ABVP. "I was beaten up by them. They even attacked a few girls who were in the rally. We have filed an official complaint with the police here," said Shiva, a member of ASA.

"The allegation by ABVP is without any evidence. Everyone has freedom of speech and expression and students were asked to contribute and we have used every article that we received. There is no anti-national content in the magazine and we are sure about it," said Anjali Ganga, the Editor of the magazine.

MAGAZINE SEALED IN A ROOM



The magazine, Widerstand, which means "resistance" in German is facing a lot of resistance now. The 4,000 copies which have been published are sealed in the room used by the student council. The students had approached the registrar of the college even today requesting for the release of the magazine. Though the decision has been postponed to August 8, protest in the campus will take place for certain.

"Why did the editorial team have to use Lal Salam as their finishing note? Why are they using the Palestine and Jews issue on their cover image? Why are they calling students who have committed suicide as martyrs? The university money should not be used for their propaganda," said Manish Mahapatra of the ABVP.

Also read: Police baton charge Dalit students protesting reduction in scholarship money



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In this March 6, 2016, file photo, well wishes are written on a wall of hope during a remembrance event for the ill fated Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Malaysia has confirmed one of the pilots of Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 had plotted a course on his home flight simulator to the southern Indian Ocean, where the missing jet is believed to have crashed. It's the first time Malaysia has acknowledged the route was on Captain Zaharie Ahmad Shah's simulator. Australian officials overseeing the search for the plane last month said data recovered from the simulator included a flight path to the southern Indian Ocean. (AP Photo/Joshua Paul, File)
By Indrajit Kundu: The West Bengal government has decided to re-open the investigation in Rabindranath Tagore's stolen Nobel medallion from Shantiniketan's Rabindra Bhawan museum in 2004. The state government is in the process of writing to the central government asking the Prime Minister's office to handover the probe to the state government from the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). The state government will also seek details of the case and progress made by the central agency.

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The decision comes after Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee announced her government's eagerness to proactively investigate the matter and reclaim the medallion that disappeared from Shantiniketan during the Left regime in 2004.

Mamata visited the Visva Bharati campus of Thursday and spoke out on the CBI's failure to retrieve the stolen medallion. The Nobel medallion was stolen along with other memorabilia. Now a replica has replaced it. This is a matter of shame for me. The CBI is investigating the matter and so far has had no success. If they cant, then we might give it a try if given a chance. A lot of my emotions are attached to it,?? she said.

In Birbhum to conduct a district administration meeting, Mamata assured Visva-Bharati officials that the state will do everything to get the medal back. In March 2004, a host of Tagores memorabilia, including the priceless medallion, disappeared from the universitys Rabindra Bhavan museum.

At that time, Mamata had been vocal about a CBI probe into the matter. However, despite a three year old attempt, the central agency failed to crack the case. Following which the case was closed in August 2007. It was re-opened in September 2008 owning to political pressure only to be closed again a year later.

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President Barack Obama talks about the war on terrorism and efforts to degrade and destroy the Islamic State group, during a news conference at the Pentagon in Washington, Thursday, Aug. 4, 2016. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)
Police guard the scene of a knife attack near Russell Square in London, Thursday, Aug. 4, 2016. Terrorism is being examined as a potential motive for a knife rampage at Russell Square, central London, that left one woman dead and five others injured. (AP Photo/Frank Augstein)
But the tribe has a long way to go
By India Today Web Desk: Like watching TV series, but wish they didn't drag for a long period of time? Well, a miniseries called Angels in America is your answer.

The show is an adaptation of writer Tony Kushner's Pulitzer Prize award winning play and is directed by Academy Award Nominee Mike Nichols.

Also read:Priyanka Chopra posts fresh picture from the sets of Quantico Season 2



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The storyline of the show revolves around religious, social, and sexual issues. Based in the 1980s, when the nation was gripped by the AIDS crisis, the series prods, probes, and provides insights into what the nation was going through at that point of time.

A still from the show

The show has a number of important characters played by Hollywood stars like Al Pacino, Emma Thompson, and Meryl Streep. Although at the start of the show, the characters seem like that they have nothing to do with each other, but slowly the circumstances around them force them to face each other.

Al Pacino in a still from the show

The show has won 61 prestigious awards and several nominations including The Emmys and Golden Globes. The nomination categories include Outstanding miniseries, Lead Actor, Lead Actress, Supporting Actor, and Supporting Actress.

The show will premiere on Star World Premiere HD on August 6 at 7pm. It will be aired on weekends every 7 pm.





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With the Rajya Sabha passing the Amendment bill to GST, India takes a major leap towards 'one nation, one tax' system. Retracing the path of struggle for the most comprehensive tax change since independence:

2000: Initiating discussions on GST, Vajpayee government appoints an Empowered Committee headed by the then finance minister of West Bengal Asim Gupta.

2004: Vijya Kelkar, then advisor to the Finance Ministry, recommends GST to replace the existing tax regime.

Feb 28, 2006: GST appears in the Budget speech for the first time. Finance Minister Chidambaram sets an ambitious task of implementing GST by April 1, 2010.

Feb 28, 2007: Chidambaram said in his Budget speech that the Empowered Committee of finance ministers will prepare a road map for GST.

April 30, 2008: The Empowered Committee submits a report titled 'A Model and Roadmap Goods and Services Tax (GST) in India' to the government

Nov 10, 2009: Empowered Committee submits a discussion paper in the public domain on GST welcoming debate.

Feb 2010: Government launches project for computerisation of commercial taxes. Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee defers GST to April 1, 2011.

March 22, 2011: Constitution Amendment Bill (115th) to GST introduced in the Lok Sabha

March 29, 2011: Bill referred to Standing Committee on Finance.

Nov 2012: Finance minister and state ministers decide to resolve all issues by Dec 31, 2012.

Feb 2013: Declaring governments resolve to introduce GST, the finance minister makes provisions for compensation to states in the Budget.

Aug, 2013: The standing committee submits report to Parliament suggesting improvements. But the bill lapsed as the 15th Lok Sabha was dissolved.

Dec 18, 2014: Cabinet approval for the Constitution Amendment Bill (122nd) to GST

Dec 19, 2014: The Amendment Bill (122nd) in the Lok Sabha

May 6, 2015: The Amendment Bill (122nd) passed by the Lok Sabha

May 12, 2015: The Amendment Bill presented in the Rajya Sabha

May14, 2015: The Bill forwarded to joint committee of Rajya Sabha and Lok Sabha

Aug 2015: Government fails to win the support of Opposition to pass the bill in the Rajya Sabha where it lacks sufficient number.

Aug 3, 2016: Rajya Sabha passes the Constitution Amendment Bill by two-thirds majority.
Controversial Punjab Police officer Salwinder Singh was booked on Thursday for allegedly sexually harassing five women personnel of the force, police said.

Police teams have been dispatched to various places to nab Singh, who is on the run, they said.

Earlier, the sexual harassment committee of Punjab Police had summoned him to respond to the allegations levelled against him by five policewomen, police said.

Singh, a Superintendent of Police rank officer, has been asked to appear on Friday before Inspector General Gurpreet Deo, who heads the committee, police said.

He was summoned after the alleged victims, who deposed before the committee last month and submitted a signed statement listing their allegations, stood by their complaint, police said.

The policewomen posted at Gurdaspur police headquarters had accused Singh of harassing them, a charge rejected by him.

Police said a written copy of the statement of the alleged victims was given to the SP, asking him to respond to it.

Singh was mired in a controversy over the terrorist attack at Pathankot air base. He and two others were claimed to have been abducted by the Pakistani terrorists, who used their mobile phones to contact their families and handlers in that country. They had also snatched the vehicle Singh was travelling in.
Gujarat state president of the Bharatiya Janata Party, Vijay Rupani has been appointed new chief minister of the state on Friday while the number 2 in the cabinet Nitin Patel will be his deputy. The swearing-in ceremony is likely to be held on August 7.

The change in leadership came after Anandiben Patel quit the CM post on August 1 citing the 75-year age bar set by the party.

However, the announcements of new chief minister and his deputy were not as simple as they appear.

Until a few days ago, Rupani, considered close to party's national president Amit Shah, was the frontrunner for the CM post. But sources said that Anandiben had put her foot down and favoured Nitin Patel. This was so evident that even before Anandiben submitted her resignation to Governor O.P. Kohli, Rupani had told media that he was not in the race for chief ministership and that he would stick to partys organisation work.

No sooner did he say this, the entire focus shifted to Nitin Patel. For the last two days, media continuously followed Patels all moves. So much so that on Friday, television channels interviewed his wife on the presumption that the announcement of his name was only a formality. In north Gujarat, from where he hails, people started celebrating even before his name was announced.

Though the meeting of party MLAs was slated to begin at 4 pm in Ahmedabad, it was delayed by more than one and a half hours. Sources said that before the meeting began, Shah and party observer Nitin Gadkari had gone into a huddle. Despite strong objections from Anandiben, Rupani was declared the chief minister and Patel was named the deputy CM.

Interestingly, this is for the second time that Patel has lost out in the race for chief ministership. When Narendra Modi became the prime minister, Patel was the senior most to occupy the post of Gujarat chief minister. However, Anandiben, a trusted lieutenant of Modi, was picked up for the job.

Despite being the right and left hands of Modi, Anandiben and Shah do not share a cordial relationship. The prime minister, however, did succeed in striking a balance by naming one as the chief minister and appointing another as party's national president.

While Shah had favoured Rupani, Patel was Anandibens choice. Sources said senior leader V. Satish had to telephone Modi and the RSS headquarters in Nagpur to diffuse the tension as Anandiben Patel was so adamant against Rupani's appointment as chief minister.

With Rupani declared the chief minister, it is loud and clear that Shah has prevailed in the selection of the candidate. Rupani will be the 16th chief minister of Gujarat.

Theories have started floating in the political circles that the appointment is a temporary announcement and that ultimately Shah would either become the chief minister after Uttar Pradesh election is over early next year or would be projected as the BJPs chief ministerial face in the next election. Gujarat goes to polls by the end of 2017.

In naming Rupani from the Jain community as CM and Patel from Kadva Patel community as his deputy, the BJP may well have tried to strike a balance, but the Patidar community is not happy. Patidar Anamat Andolan Samiti convener Hardik Patel has alleged that it would be Shah who would remote control the functioning of the government.

The BJP would require sincere and smart efforts to quell the Patel agitation and the new Dalit uprising in the state. The Gujarat High Court on August 4 had rejected 10 per cent reservation under EBC.
When you cant convince them, confuse them. That is the takeaway from Home Minister Rajnath Singhs recent visit to Islamabad to attend a SAARC multilateral meeting of home ministers. Only, the confusion is home grown, as two important ministrieshome and external affairspass the buck.

The media entourage that accompanied Singh was not allowed entry to the SAARC session, neither was Singhs speech broadcast by the Pakistani media. This development snowballed into a controversy with reports that Pakistan media was blanking out India. MEA spokesperson Vikas Swarup rushed to justify that according to the SAARC protocol, only the inaugural speech is broadcast, not the other sessions, which are closed door ones. This would have been the same process if India had hosted the event.

Meanwhile Singh himself, in Parliament, said that the Doordarshan, ANI and PTI teams were not allowed entry to the venue. I was giving my speech. I did not see whether it was being telecast live or not. He added that he had no clue about what the protocol of covering the event was. whether the speech was covered, or whether there is no tradition of covering it, or whether it was a deliberate blackout, it is difficult to say at this moment

He later said that hed need to consult the MEA on the protocol regarding reporting the event, since he had no knowledge of it.

Swarup insisted that these statements were in tune with the MEAs declaration of the protocol for covering the event. He was, however, unable to explain why a functionary as senior as home minister was not briefed about it, specially when he was accompanied by officials of the MEA. Also, why the media was not briefed in advance about what events it could cover and where it was allowed entry. These are standard operating procedures at all international events, when some sessions are open and others closed-door. Sharad Yadav had on Thursday said in the Rajya Sabha that MEA and MHA were not on the same page.

But while in a sense absolving Pakistan of that particular charge of blackout, Swarup added this rider: The point at issue is that the media that accompanied the home minister was not in the room and a number of you (reporters) who had applied for visas did not get visas. Naturally this restrictive approach by Pakistan even for a multilateral event is not useful in promoting close ties between SAARC. When asked to explain that if protocol didnt allow it and why he called the move restrictive, Swarup said, we are talking about the events on the sidelines of the meet.

It isnt as if there were too many events on the sidelines. The lunch which was to be hosted by Pakistans home minister is another area of confusion. Singh left without attending of the lunch. This led to talk that he was peeved at the media blackout of his speech. MEA says that Singh had already intimated to all that his flight was scheduled for departure immediately after the meet. Was it not bad diplomacy to rush out so quickly, without even breaking bread with the host? India, of course, is absolved of answering this particular charge, given that the host himself was inexplicably absent from the lunch.

Pakistan is an important country both from the perspective of the home ministry as well as the external affairs. Given the sticky relation with this particular neighbour, every development needs careful handling. But it certainly seems that the two ministries have their own approaches, and are not particularly interested in sharing these with each other.
At least 42 people were missing as the British-era Mahad bridge on Mumbai-Goa highway collapsed on the raging Savitri River on Wednesday. The latest man-made tragedy is a grim-reminder of the pathetic state of the country's infrastructure, and the shocking depths of apathy of the civic officials.

Data complied by the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) say about 13,178 people were killed between 2010 and 2014 in various incidents of structural collapse. A data-journalism portal, Factly.in, after analysing such deaths between 2010 and 2014, reported that an average of seven structures collapsed every day in the country.

The NCRB has listed deaths due to collapse of structures as one of the 'unnatural causes' in its annual report, Accidental Deaths & Suicides in India. This category also includes, the deaths caused by collapse of residential buildings, house, dams, bridges and others.

According to the data, 2,682 people lost their lives to collapse of various structures in 2010, in 2011 the death toll in such incidents rose to 3,161, in 2012, it was 2,682, in 2013 it was 2,832 and in 2014 it was 1,821, which was the lowest of the five years.

According to the report, most of the deaths due to collapse of structures took place in major cities, with Uttar Pradesh leading the country in this category.

According to IndiaSpend, between 2010 and 2014, Uttar Pradesh recorded 2,065 deaths, 1,343 people were killed in Maharashtra, 1,330 in Andhra Pradesh, 1,176 in Madhya Pradesh, 1,154 in Tamil Nadu and 1,067 in Gujarat.

Does these statistics mean anything to our civic authorities? Do they even understand that if they had delivered their sworn duties, incidents like Mahad bridge failure could have been prevented?

Following the Mahad bridge collapse, the authorities were quick to blame it on the heavy rainfall. But, the real accountability lies in the functioning of the government agencies, who are responsible for building new structures and maintaining the old ones.

Until the tragedy struck, according to reports, some experts were of the opinion that Mahad bridge, made of lime and surki, was safe for motorists.

It was the duty of civic authorities to carry out regular audits and warn the unsuspecting motorists of the possible perils of using a bridge that was built around 100 years ago.

In the race of starting largest infrastructure projects in the country, the consecutive governments have constantly failed to ensure the durability and longevity of our existing structures resulting in the loss of tens of thousands of lives.

Our top cities come to a standstill during heavy rains. Our pothole-ridden roads claim thousands of lives. The collapse of the residential complexes, under-construction buildings and bridges have seemingly become a daily occurrence.

Now the questions: how many more such structural failures will it take for the authorities concerned to wake up from their deep slumber? How many more deaths will it take for the governments to take proactive efforts in preventing such man-made tragedies?
After his tryst with the Aam Admi Party experiment in alternative politics, Yogendra Yadav, along with Prashant Bhushan, is hoping to float a new political party on October 2. In an exclusive interview to THE WEEK, Yadav, who was expelled from the AAP last year, redefines the idea of Swaraj (self rule) in the 21st century, the lessons he learnt from the AAP experiment and how his new party will do things differently to once again change the political discourse in the country.

Whats the trigger for a thinktank like Swaraj Abhiyan to float a political party?

I dont think we have only been a thinktank organisation, though some of our leaders like Prashant ji and Anand ji are seen as thinktanks. The point is to bring ideas and political energy together, which was the case during the freedom struggle. Our freedom fighters were men of ideas and many of them wrote books. This combination was what generated new direction in Indian politics. Otherwise, politics would remain a mere school. Our founding document too states that our aim is to establish alternative political force.

Over the last two years, we have been into ground level action. We held a tractor march (in Barnala in August 2015) to support farmers, a Samvedana Yatra from Karnataka to Haryana in response to drought (October 2015) and a Sankalpa Yatra (May 2015). We had an anti-corruption activists' meet (February 2016) where we made major exposes on corruption. Our Shiksha Swaraj brought education activists from across the country together.

A political party needs a support base. Where do you start from?

First, we had to create an organisational structure and have a critical mass. So, we duly elected 144 district committees. We have more than 1/3rd representation in seven states of Delhi, Haryana, UP, Uttarakhand, Bihar, Maharashtra and Karnataka. Our next priority is to have a structure for transparency and accountability which we demand from others. Our Lokpal has Kamini Jaisawal, Sumit Chakravarthy and Noor Mohammad. Now, we want to focus on mass mobilisation.

Will you contest all seven states?

One thing we are very clear on is that we will not jump into every election that comes our way. We have to be selective and careful. We have to realise what we can and cannot do. In October, we should be able to say where our focus lies. We need to think hard about it. We dont want to be ticket distribution machine, which other parties have become.

Haryana is an ideal state for white politicswas your comment in 2013. Do you still stand by it?

Yes. BJP is very unpopular in Haryana already. Congress is nowhere. And Chautalas are in jail and their party is disintegrating. Its time for change.

How will you expand your base? AAP had to take in disgruntled leaders from other parties.

Over the last 30 years, the country has witnessed several social movements  related to protecting natural resources, corruption, right to information and right to food. I would imagine our volunteers would be drawn from these movements. And the idealist youths would also seek our party as they want to change the future of India. But we are determined not to become a party where five top leaders decide. We will evolve a system like the primaries where the potential candidtes will compete with each other and their selection will come from below and not from top leadership. We will go step by step.

Whats your vision for the party?

The idea of Swaraj is not limited to just British left India or we being against anybody ruling us. It is the legacy of the evolutionary politics of the 20th century and provides a vision of radical transformative politics of the 21st century. Swaraj is not a negative idea saying no one else will rule over me. It is positive, a self realisation that I have the capacity to direct and shape my own life. This is not just in politics but at the level of self, society and country. We call it Swaraj 2.0, the new version. A draft document in English and Hindi is now in the public domain.

After the Aam Admi party experiment, how hopeful are you about your prospects? How are you different from AAP?

People will compare us to AAP because it has been the most visible experiment in alternative politics. And I must say it succeeded to some extent as it got young, idealist volunteers and also popular support. But it failed on many counts. So, naturally we will be scrutinised more by the people. It is fair that we are scrutinised and we are prepared for it.

We are different as we dont believe in personality cult. In fact, Swaraj Abhiyan publicity material does not carry any photographs. We have institutionalised decision-making. Even the decision to form the party was not taken by the national steering committee, the highest body. But it was decided by a convention of all district level delegates and the decision was ratified by all ordinary members. We are creating a system, where everyone can vote either through sms or email. We want the leadership to respect every opinion.

Given the disparity in our society, your system (of everyone getting to vote) seems impractical. Each member is expected to understand every issue he/she is voting on.

Absolutely. As a political organisation, if you cannot educate and empower your own workers, how will you change the society? The Aam Admi Partys biggest failure was that it gave zero attention to training and education of political workers. We have scheduled a system of training. Another problem with previous experiment (AAP) was, it failed to take a stand on the larger ideological questions of our times  resulting in knee-jerk reaction. We were clueless as to were we stand on key issues like economy, environment, caste issue, foreign policy or national security. Now, our Swaraj 2.0, a policy document, makes our position on every policy clear  agriculture to national security.

You talk of decentralisation of power. But parties thrive on Supremo culture. Is it possible to run a political party without a nerve centre?

Every organisation needs a nerve centre, where it is a form of collective leadership rather than one person holding control. Often, we see people who occupy the top positions become insecure and overlook others opinion. Decentralisation is the direction that India has been taking for the last 20 years. The regional parties are a case in point. They dont want to be dictated by Delhi. Unfortunately the national parties have not understood this.

Your Swaraj Abhiyan and the political party are to remain as two different entities. It reminds me of the RSS-BJP combo formula.

I certainly dont want them to be compared with the BJP or the RSS. But, all over the world, we have seen political parties making a distinction of party organisation and electoral wing. For instance, Pramod Dasgupta was party chief in West Bengal and he never became the chief minister. It was always Jyoti Basu (who was the CM). This distinction is needed if you want to save yourself from becoming an election machine. Checks and balances coming from outside the electoral wing are important.

I have not criticised RSS-BJP formula. Every political party has every right to consult on ideology as long as it is done openly. If RSS is guiding the BJP, the voters have a choice to vote or not vote for BJP. What we need is a model where electoral wing is accountable to the non-electoral wing. It is a fact that some dub it as extra-constitutional. It happened to Sonia Gandhi too when she announced the NAC.

Caste is a big factor in Indian politics. How will you wean people of it?

Caste politics is default of Indian politics. When there is nothing big or exciting happening, people fall back on caste. We have seen that people have voted on national issues in every major election, be it corruption or Babri Masjid. When there are no big issues, people tend to vote on caste lines. They withdraw into their caste shell. The challenge is to raise the real issues and give people an option.

Will your party end up as an urban-centric one like AAP?

Unlike AAP, our most visible and energetic campaign has been in rural India over the last one year. Be it corruption, land acquisition or farmers' issues. But we are aware that to engage farmers takes a lot of effort. Farmers politics takes long-term investments with no quick political returns. But its returns are actually huge and enduring. We want to transform India, so we will take the tougher and lasting route.

Name of your party? Last time, the Aam Admi Party sounded very north Indian.

In fact, I had reservations about the name (AAP) because it sounded very north Indian and excluded women. But I was proven wrong as most women were happy with it. Now, we are having discussions and invite people to propose names.

Your approach to Dalit and minorities politics?

Sadly, dalit politics is fossilised in the Congress era of Harijan variety, where symbolic concessions were given to them. I hear the political protest in Gujarat is going beyond the BSP model too (so writes Devanur Mahadev). We wish to align with them. Muslims politics are hostages of secular politics. Today, the community has two ways to go. Either to follow openly the Muslim communal politics being practised by AIMIM or to reimagine secular politics that can address their real life issues. We hope to move beyond symbolism or uniform civil code. Today, they dont take everyone on face value. That is the challenge for us.
Bobbie H. Kalra, the CEO of Bengaluru based company Magnasoft, was surprised when he was approached by Abu Dhabis police department to install its transit safety platform 'Northstar' across schools and their school buses across Abu Dhabi. After the death of a child due to excessive heat and exhaustion in a school bus during the commute from house to school, the authorities were concerned about the safety of schoolchildren. They wanted a system that could help them track the movement of children during transit in school buses. They approached Kalra and installed Northstar which has gone live in Abu Dhabi.

Northstar is an integrated platform that protects children while they commute to and from school. A web application, it is designed specifically for schools and empowers the school authorities to manage their transport related information, monitor their fleet and children in real time and take immediate action in case of any incidents. Northstar also has an app for parents to locate and view their childs journey in real time.

The Northstar safety platform integrates GPS and non-GPS locationing, video surveillance and RFID technologies to facilitate school bus and child monitoring, school bus video surveillance, student attendance management, driver behaviour analysis among others. The company provides the school management with a web application and dashboard to manage all their transport information, so that they can keep a watchful eye on their children.

The parents on the other hand have to download the Northstar Parent App, available on both the iOS and Android. The system gives them real time information on the movement of their childs school bus and its location. In case of a delay, the parent immediately gets a real time alert.

"We are running a dedicated command centre in Bengaluru that ensures constant monitoring of bus fleets in case of exigencies across our implementations at schools in the country. Over 500 schools and 4, 00,000 parents across India are already using our platform. The potential for such a solution in India is immense as currently there are around 45,000 private schools in the country and around 30 million children use school buses to commute. The cloud based system can even store data which can be reproduced on demand at a later stage.

In one instance, a parent complained about harassment of her child during the school bus journey. "Later on, when we retrieved the data and saw the footage of the commute we found that the child was crying due to stomach ache and not due to any harassment," explained Kalra.

The system also has an in built analytics system to rate the safety record of the driver with regard to his driving and the speed with which he drives. This helps in having a sophisticated driver merit system to measure and incentivise good drivers and also detect rash drivers. Besides, the Northstar platform also has an attendance management system that can also track each child's presence and location within the school such as near the swimming pool or the playground.

"We have been successful in capturing millions of events across dozens of parameters to monitor, analyse and report in real-time, children and bus status, route adherence, transportation safety, driver behaviour and aggregate reports. We aim to create a safe ecosystem for children," said Shyam Ramamurthy, the chief technology officer of Magnasoft, who has been instrumental in developing this platform.

Harvest International School in Bengaluru was one of the first schools to adopt the Northstar platform. It was followed by hundreds of schools across the country such as G.D. Goenka International School in Delhi, Indus International School in Pune, Sahibzada Ajit Singhji School in Jalandhar and the Orchid International Kurla, Mumbai and others.
The ACB conducted raids on the premises of A. Santosh Venu, Assistant City Planner of Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) and recovered documents related to his assets.

By Ashish Pandey: The Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) in Telangana seized property worth Rs 10 Crores from a municipal employee in Hyderabad today.

The ACB conducted raids on the premises of A. Santosh Venu, Assistant City Planner of Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) and recovered documents related to assets from his possession.

This came after the ACB unit received a tip-off about the disproportionate assets acquired by the government servant. A case of disproportionate assets was registered against the GHMC town planner, posted at Town Planning SectSect of GHMC, Hyderabad.

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The ACB conducted similar searches at residences of Venu's relatives and associates in Hyderabad and other places in Telangana.

During the searches, documents related to seven flats, one 3-BHK house, one G+3 house, one house at city suburb GudiMalkapur, another flat at Himayathnagar and one more at Erragadda were found.

ACB also seized a Maruti Swift Dzire car, Maruti SX4 car and Suzuki Access bike during the raids.

Rs 3.5 lakhs cash, 70 tolas of gold jewellery and bank balances of Rs 4 lakhs were also recovered.

The market value of all the properties were found to be close to Rs 10 crores.

Police have launched a probe into the incident and will produced the accused before the ACB court in Hyderabad.

--- ENDS ---
Israel Police has begun testing bodycams, joining a growing number of police forces around the world. Police officials are hopeful the program will serve to increase the trust in the department, which is not known to be as high as they would like. The program is part of the departments investment in technology to improve all-around performance.

In stage one, five units will test the bodycams, which will then be tested in units around the country. According to Police Commissioner Roni Alsheich, in stage one, 150 patrol officers and five teams of the traffic enforcement unit will be using the bodycams.

Alsheich points out that the only one not filming today is police, confident the cameras will serve to assist both police and citizens as the bodycams document situations involving a police response.

Public Security Minister Gilad Erdan is confident that among other things, the bodycams will moderate police behavior which he cites as a plus. The ministry is investing NIS 40 million into the project.

(YWN  Israel Desk, Jerusalem)
Once again Bchasdei Hashem, an Arab male armed with a knife was taken into custody before he could perpetrate a terror attack at the Jerusalem light rail.

This latest incident occurred on Thursday, 29 Tammuz at a Herzl Boulevard stop of the light rail when a security officer detected a suspicious 17-year-old Arab male. The male was found to be concealing a knife.

Authorities report the suspect is a PA (Palestinian Authority) resident inside Green Line Israel illegally.

Earlier this week, a criminal indictment was filed against Ali Abu Hassan, the 21-year-old Hebron man who planned a bombing attack against the light rail. In this case too, Bchasdei Hashem, alert security officials detected the terrorists presence before he could strike.

(YWN  Israel Desk, Jerusalem)
The heads of chareidi factions in Knesset are planning to meet next week to discuss the modified draft law. This includes Aryeh Deri (Shas), Moshe Gafne (Degel Hatorah) and Yaakov Litzman (Agudas Yisrael).

The three will be meeting with the head of the Vaad Yeshivos ahead of the states response to the High Court of Justice regarding a petition on the matter.

The forum was planning to meet a number of times but it never materialized. The meeting is now set for Monday, 4 Menachem Av, in Deris office. The meeting precedes the committee of director-generals which if formulating a response pertaining to the induction and service of chareidim in the IDF.

The elected chareidi officials are remaining tight-lipped as they fear too much public chatter on the matter would not serve the tziburs interests.

(YWN  Israel Desk, Jerusalem)
The question is once again, what is taking place on Har Habayis pertaining to the Waqf Authority, which is suspected of illegal activities pertaining to digging and violating antiquities laws.

Acting on orders from Jerusalem Police Chief Yoram Halevy, a Waqf construction engineer was detained for questioning by police along with five workers, all suspected of taking part in antiquities law-breaking.

This began with the assembly of scaffolding around al-Aqsa, reportedly for renovations which were not cleared with Israeli authorities as required, including the Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA). Police announce following questioning; the engineer will be distanced from Har Habayis for five days.

Despite the actions of police, viewed by some as significant, it is well-documented that the Waqf Authority has been doing as it pleases on Har Habayis for years, including carting off and dumping literally thousands and thousands of trucks containing dirt and artifacts from the First and Second Beis Hamikdash.

Har Habayis activists report that to date, the Waqf has carried out no less than 21 renovation projects without permits while Israeli governments and authorities sit by and observe RL.

(YWN  Israel Desk, Jerusalem)
Chareidi Rishon LTzion Councilman Meir Akiva has requested the city arrange separate beach areas for Arabs who come to the city from PA (Palestinian Authority) areas. The city council unanimously voted down his request.

In his request filed over a month ago, Akiva cited money should be allocated to provide separate beach areas for PA residents for security reasons in light of the many terror attack during recent months. We must not abandon our children with the Arabs in this matter as they do not have sentiments for anyone he wrote in his letter.

This week he turned to the mayor, explaining I know some will accuse me of being a racist but others will state I am sane. I do not have a problem with them saying I am generalizing for I think in this case it is justified. We are still licking the wounds from the murder of Hallel [Ariel in Kiryat Arba HYD] and those murdered in Tel Aviv. I am willing to take the blows and insults accusing me of racism but my bottom line is to be concerned for the entire community.

He added that the reality is PA residents arrive at the beaches and force themselves onto the local scene. We are not thirty years following the struggle but in the midst of it he adds.

There was much anger directed towards him by Mayor Dov Tzur and other council members. You should be embarrassed! You are not worthy of serving on the council. Has something happened to you in recent years? You are an embarrassment to your position they mayor shouted at Akiva.

(YWN  Israel Desk, Jerusalem)
[PHOTOS IN EXTENDED ARTICLE]

The head of the Kfar Etzion Field School was astounded to learn that during the past week, IDF Civil Administration personnel have been cutting down many trees in the Gush Etzion district. This is too sad to believe, the damage done will take decades to undo.

Field School Director Yoram Rosenthal accuses the Civil Administration of destroying Gush Etzion forests  and what is the reason given  to prevent arson attacks!

Rosenthal posted to his Facebook page on Wednesday night 28 Tammuz Today we discovered that in the last week, the Civil Administration has cut down thousands of trees in Gush Etzion, in some areas, 80% of the forestry! These trees were planted by the pioneers of Gush Etzion fifty years ago and we as children played in these areas and as young adults, we had picnics and parties in these areas. Today, the bike path passes through the forest (or now, that which remains of it).

What was even more shocking for Rosenthal was the response he received from the head of the area Civil Administration. When I asked the head of the Civil Administration why the trees were cut down, he explained it will prevent arson for if there are no trees it will be most difficult to start a forest fire.

Rosenthal explains the damage is far more severe than many perceive for the actions of the Civil Administration will have a profound impact the area and its wildlife. He warned tomorrow they plan to continue, to cut down the remaining trees and then move to the forest between Givot Masuot Yitzchak and Wadi Sajima and continue from there.

Rosenthal laments While I am not an expert in preventing forest arson attacks, I believe arson is prevented by arresting the arsonists and not by destroying the forests. He calls on authorities to stop this immediately and to hold the responsible persons accountable for their actions and to being immediately planting so that grandchildren will at least be able to benefit from the new forest.

(YWN  Israel Desk, Jerusalem/Photos: Yaron Rosenthal Facebook page)
A request filed with President Reuven Rivlin to pardon Rabbi Yoshiyahu Pinto has been declined. The rabbi is serving a one-year prison term as per the plea bargain agreement signed with the prosecution. The President announced he is acting in line with the recommendation of the Ministry of Justice, not to grant the pardon.

The request was filed two months after Rabbi Pinto entered prison, citing his medical condition and need for chemotherapy. The Israel Prison Authority has stated it is capable of meeting Rabbi Pintos medical needs however, the rabbis chassidim insist his condition continues to deteriorate due to his imprisonment.

(YWN  Israel Desk, Jerusalem)
The following has been cleared for publication:

Mohammed El-Halabi (from the village of Jabalya, b. 1978), director of the Gaza branch of the international humanitarian aid organization World Vision, was arrested at the Erez Crossing between Israel and the Gaza Strip on 15 June 2016, in a joint Shin Bet (ISA), IDF and Israel Police operation. During the investigation, it was learned that he had been active  inside World Vision  on behalf of the military wing of Hamas and that he had exploited the organizations budget and resources for Hamas.

World Vision is an American NGO, one of the largest charitable and humanitarian aid organizations in the world. It receives support primarily from the UN and from Western governments.

The ISA has learned that El-Halabi is actually a major figure in the terrorist/military arm of Hamas. El-Halabi has been taking advantage of his position to divert the humanitarian organizations funds and resources from the needy to benefit of Hamas terrorist and military activities.

During the investigation, El-Halabi revealed that he has been a Hamas member since his youth and had undergone organizational and military training in the early 2000s. In 2005, Hamas dispatched El-Halabi to infiltrate World Vision. Shortly after being employed by World Vision, El-Halabi began to use his position to benefit the Islamist terrorist organization, primarily by diverting funds meant as aid to strengthen Hamas terrorist arm.

Over the years, El-Halabi advanced in the charitys hierarchy until he was appointed director of the Gaza branch. In this capacity, he controlled the budget, equipment and aid packages which amounted to tens of millions of dollars.

El-Halabi related that Hamas believed that he had a good chance of infiltrating the humanitarian aid organization because his father works for the UN and he himself had worked in UNDP. In the latter capacity, he had employed farmers in areas close to Gazas border with Israel who in fact acted as lookouts for Hamas.

El-Halabi employed a sophisticated and systematic apparatus for transferring World Vision funds [60% of the charitys annual budget, according to El-Halabi] to Hamas. He established and promoted humanitarian projects and fictitious agricultural associations that acted as cover for the transfer of monies to Hamas. Examples of these projects and associations include: greenhouse construction; restoration of agricultural lands; psychological and public health projects for Gaza residents; aid to fishermen; a treatment center for the physically and mentally disabled; and farmers associations. All of these projects and associations were used to transfer funds to Hamas.

The money allocated by World Vision for projects and farmers associations reached Hamas in various ways, such as the falsely registration of Hamas terrorists as employees in charity-sponsored projects; issuing fictitious receipts and inflated invoices in which the difference paid by the charity was transferred in cash to Hamas; transfer of the charitys checks to Hamas terrorists, etc.

The investigation revealed that the main method used to divert money to Hamas was to put out fictitious tenders for World Vision-sponsored projects in the Gaza Strip. The winning company was made aware that 60% of the projects monies were to be designated for Hamas. In this way, El-Halabi ensured a steady flow of cash into Hamas coffers.

According to El-Halabi, the funds he diverted to Hamas were intended mainly to strengthen the terrorist arm. As such, they were utilized to finance the digging of terror tunnels [not meant for smuggling but for attacks on communities in southern Israel and on Israeli security forces)], the building of military bases such as one code-named Palestine [built in 2015 entirely from British aid money] and the purchase of weapons.

Some of the money went to pay the salaries of Hamas terrorists and, in some cases, senior Hamas terrorists took large sums of money for their own personal use.

El-Halabi also used World Vision resources to provide logistical aid to the terrorist arm of Hamas. This, too, was the result of a sophisticated, well-oiled system that succeeded in transferring 60% of the humanitarian organizations resources in Gaza to Hamas.

El-Halabi regularly transferred to Hamas equipment that he had ordered on behalf of World Vision, supposedly for agricultural aid. The equipment included, inter alia, iron rods, digging equipment, pipes, building materials, and was used in fact to construct Hamas military outposts and to dig terror tunnels.

Just as El-Halabi exploited the humanitarian projects that he initiated in order to divert funds to Hamas, he also arranged for the provision of logistical support to Hamas. For instance, he initiated a greenhouse project in order to use the greenhouses to hide the sites where terror tunnels were being dug. In addition, a project for the rehabilitation of [fictitious] fishermen was actually used to provide motor boats and diving suits for Hamas military marine unit. Another regular method of acquiring equipment for Hamas was to disguise Hamas warehouses as World Vision warehouses. Trucks bringing supplies to the Kerem Shalom Crossing between Israel and Gaza would then unload their goods at Hamas warehouses instead of legitimate World Vision warehouses. Hamas operatives would pick up the supplies in the dead of night.

According to El-Halabi, the humanitarian aid donated for the residents of the Gaza Strip was in actual fact given almost exclusively to Hamas terrorists and their families. Non-Hamas members almost never received any benefit from the aid, despite their relative level of need. Needless to say, this is in contradiction to the accepted practice of the humanitarian aid organizations. Every month, El-Halabi distributed thousands of packages of food, basic commodities and medical supplies to Hamas terrorists and their families, commodities that World Vision had intended to go to the needy.

The investigation revealed much information concerning additional figures in the Gaza Strip who exploited their work in organizations, including humanitarian aid organizations and UN institutions, on behalf of Hamas.

This important and significant investigation illustrates, above all else, Hamas cynical exploitation of international humanitarian aid and resources donated by Western nations, that are intended to aid needy residents of the Gaza Strip but which, in fact, are being diverted to Hamas for use in strengthening its terrorist and military capabilities.

The State Attorneys Office (Southern District) indicted El-Halabi on Thursday, 29 Tammuz.

How Hamas exploited World Vision in Gaza to support its terrorist activities

World Vision

 World Vision is a respected global humanitarian aid organization operating in over 100 countries, with a budget of $2.6 billion (USD) and 46,000 employees.

 World Vision is one of the largest aid organizations in the world and operates in collaboration with the UN.

 World Vision has operated in Israel, the West Bank (Judea and Samaria) and the Gaza Strip since 1975.

The extent of World Vision funds channeled to the terrorist/military arm of Hamas

 60% of World Visions annual budget for the Gaza Strip was diverted by Hamas operative Mohammed El-Halabi to Hamas (approximately $7.2 million/year).

 40% of the funds designated for civilian projects ($1.5 million/year) were given in cash to Hamas combat units.

 Monies designated for the needy in Gaza ($4 million/year) were diverted to Hamas for the construction of terror tunnels and the purchase of weapons.

Terrorist/military projects build with World Vision funds

 A Hamas military base (code-named Palestine) was built using the aid organizations money. $80,000 received from the United Kingdom went to construction costs of the base, paid in cash, while salaries were paid to terrorists who worked in the construction of the base.

 The aid organizations funds were diverted to finance the digging of terror tunnels leading from the Gaza Strip into Israel. [Note: These are not smuggling tunnels; they are designed to carry out attacks on civilian communities in Israel and Israeli security forces.]

 Hamas received building materials from the aid organization that it used for its military facilities and terror tunnels, including iron rods, fences, greenhouse covers [used for camouflage purposes] and pipes.

 During the Morsi regime in Egypt, El-Halabi diverted tens of thousands of dollars of the aid organizations funds to purchase weapons in the Sinai, for Hamas.

Food designated for the needy was transferred directly to Hamas military units in northern Gaza

 2,500 food packages worth $100 each went to terrorists [total value $250,000].

3,300 packages of cleaning supplies and personal hygiene products worth $80 each were also given to Hamas units [total value $264,000].

How the money was transferred to Hamas

 Some of the money raised to support injured children in Gaza was diverted to the families of Hamas terrorists, by fraudulently listing their children as wounded.

 Money designated for psychological support, education and health in Gaza ($2 million/year) was used to pay the families of Hamas terrorists.

 Part of the aid organizations donations was transferred in cash and recorded fraudulently as aid to needy children.

 Monies were paid out as salaries to Hamas terrorists and activists, who were registered as employees of the aid organization when in fact they never worked for World Vision.

 Costs for legitimate infrastructure projects were inflated, with the difference going to Hamas.

 Straw companies  two farmers associations and a fake charity for the benefit of the injured  were established with false registers to launder money.

 Unemployment payments were diverted to Hamas terrorists. El-Halabi arranged for one-third of the allowances World Vision transfers to Gaza for the unemployed to go to members of the Izzadin al-Kassam Brigades. The terrorists also received a larger allowance (NIS 1500 instead of NIS 1250, or $300).

 Using lists of fictitious beneficiaries, $2 million/year designated as aid for farmers was diverted to Hamas activists. El-Halabi reported a larger sum than that actually transferred to the farmers to World Vision. The difference was diverted to Hamas.

 Project costs were inflated. For example, World Vision invests in many agricultural projects in northern Gaza, one of which involves the construction of 500 greenhouses and the preparation of land (495 acres) for agriculture. El-Halabi reported to the charity that the cost was $1,000 per quarter acre, while the real cost was $700. The difference  $300 per quarter acre  was transferred to Hamas.

(YWN  Israel Desk, Jerusalem/Photo: Shin Bet spokesman unit)
At least 13 people have been killed and nearly 18 injured as suspected Bodo militants opened fire at a market place in Assam's Kokrajhar district today. Reports say security forces have killed one of the attackers.

By India Today Web Desk: At least 13 people have been killed and nearly 18 injured as suspected Bodo militants opened fire at a market place in Assam's Kokrajhar district today. While one attacker has been killed, police forces are on the look out for the remaining two.

Bodo outfit NDFB denies it is behind the Kokrajhar attack and says police is trying to create communal disturbance.



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"There were definitely three to four attackers. One of them has been neutralised," Mukesh Sahay, DGP Assam told India Today.

AK-56 and 47 series rifles along with grenades were recovered from the attack site.

Photo: Suman Bhadra

The attack took place at a crowded market place 3-4 kms away from Kokrajhar town. Reports say that there were intelligence inputs about militants planning to target Kokrajhar.

The DGP and top police officials of the region have rushed to the attack site.

Assam: The next tinderbox



According to locals, five to seven gunmen, in a stolen tempo AS-16C / 6340, opened indiscriminate firing at a weekly market at Balajan Tinali area. The terrorists also lobbed a grenade, damaging several shops in the area.

Photo: Suman Bhadra

REACTIONS



Home Minister Rajnath Singh tweeted, "Spoke to Assam CM Shri @sarbanandsonwal who apprised me of the situation in Kokrajhar. MHA is closely monitoring the situation."



"This attack in Kokrajhar is unfortunate. We have to ascertain that who are the people behind this attack. It is very unfortunate that so many lives have been lost. Peace had prevailed on border line. With the joint efforts of state and central government, peace had prevailed there," Minister of State for Home Affairs Kiren Rijiju told reporters in New Delhi.

"Saddened by the attack in Kokrajhar. We strongly condemn it. Thoughts and prayers with the bereaved families and those injured. The Home Ministry is in touch with the Assam Government and is monitoring the situation closely," Prime Minister Narendra Modi tweeted to condemn the attack in Kokrajhar.



Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal has condemned the killings and directed the district authorities to provide medical aid to the injured.

Photo: Suman Bhadra

He has also directed Finance, Education and Health minister Himanta Biswa Sarma to rush to the spot and review the situation in the area, where more security personnel have been deployed.

Sonowal, who was sworn in as the first BJP chief minister of Assam on May 24, said his government is committed to ensure the safety of life and property of the people of Assam.

"Our government is committed to take stern action against extremists outfit to ensure the safety of civilians," he said.

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"We will not tolerate any threat from any group. The government will not bow to any pressure while tackling terrorist groups," he said, adding all deputy commissioners and superintendents of police across the state have been directed to be on high alert following the attack and in view of the upcoming Independence Day.

The CM said Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Rajnath Singh have spoken to him and conveyed their condolences. The Assam government has decided to grant an ex-gratia of Rs 5 lakh to the kin of the deceased and Rs 1 lakh to those injured, he said.

He hoped that the people of Assam will maintain peace during this critical period. "I am sure people of Assam will definitely maintain peace and harmony. This is our sincere appeal to everyone," Sonowal said.

Watch the video here:





Also Read: Extortion bid sparked Assam riots

--- ENDS ---
MK Uri Maklev feels a new proposed law to tax a third apartment is unnecessary and will harm the chareidi community. He is calling on officials to give the bill a second thought before pushing it forward.

Maklev explains that he has spoken with many families and he has learned they prefer to invest their money in another apartment rather than rely on foreign banks or other investments. Using apartments as an investment permits them to eventually marry off their children in a respectful fashion. Maklev explains the families explain that even if an additional apartment does not generate income, it is as sure as an investment as one can find and they are seeking the stability factor.

Maklev explains the additional tax will not compel these apartment owners to sell while the amount that will be generated in levied taxes will not be significant. However, he feels it will have an unwanted impact, increasing the price of apartments even more and this will be passed on to tenants, who will be compelled to pay higher rent.

Maklev feels the true solution is to sharply increase the supply of apartment rather than seeking the small money among citizens who are simply drying to live with dignity.

(YWN  Israel Desk, Jerusalem)
Har Nof residents are fighting the planned opening of the Kan Broadcasting Corporation studio in Givat Shaul, near the entrance to their community fearing it will be accompanied by increased Chilul Shabbos.

Residents explain the proximity of the planned studio is the entrance to their community and the Chilul Shabbos will be felt. Jerusalem Deputy Mayor (Bnei Torah) Chaim Epstein has become involved and he has already sent a letter to the studio heads, calling upon them to seek an alternative venue that will not compromise the religious sensibilities of the community.

(YWN  Israel Desk, Jerusalem)
Back on the defensive, Donald Trumps campaign chief acknowledged conflict inside Trump Tower on Thursday as anxious Republicans struggled to shift voters attention to Hillary Clintons record on foreign policy.

The feud between the GOPs presidential nominee and House Speaker Paul Ryan continued to overshadow the attacks on Clinton, underscoring the rising concerns from party leaders over the New York billionaires unorthodox candidacy and its impact on the future of the Republican Party.

Trump refused for another day to endorse the Republican speaker.

Ryan, meanwhile, publicly declared his support for Trump, but said such endorsements arent blank checks and pledged to speak out against the businessmans divisive positions if necessary. Most recently, that means Trumps sustained criticism of an American Muslim family whose son, U.S. Army Capt. Humayun Khan, was killed in Iraq.

I dont like doing this, Ryan told a Wisconsin radio station. I dont want to do this, but I will do this because I feel I have to in order to defend Republicans, and our principles, so that people dont make the mistake of thinking we think like that.

Campaign chairman Paul Manafort insisted Trump would work with Ryan if elected, but he conceded the endorsement question had sparked tension inside Trumps New York campaign headquarters. The day before, vice presidential nominee Mike Pence broke with Trump and endorsed Ryan.

Theres a conflict within the Trump campaign, Manafort told ABCs Good Morning America. Weve sort of had a rule of not getting involved in primaries because its usually not a good situation for the presidential candidate.

As Republican infighting dominated the 2016 presidential race for another day, Trump and his Republican allies lashed out at the Democratic presidential nominees foreign policy record.

Specifically, they contended that Clinton was responsible for negotiations that led to a $400 million U.S. payment to Iran earlier in the year. Trump has described the money as a ransom payment for four Americans detained in Iran, although the $400 million payment  plus $1.3 billion in interest to be paid later  is a separate issue from the Iran nuclear deal that Clinton initiated.

As Trump used the issue to assail Clinton, he faced new questions about his Wednesday description of a military tape he suggested was taken by Iranian forces removing bags of money from a plane.

Its unclear what footage Trump was referring to.

Several senior U.S. officials involved in the Iran negotiations said they werent aware of any such video. Trumps campaign said the GOP nominee had not seen a tape as part of any security briefing.

In an email, a campaign spokeswoman said Trump was simply referring to video aired on television this week, although no such footage of payment to Iranians was shown.

At the same time, Clinton criticized Trump for outsourcing at his companies the very jobs hes promising to create back home.

Everything hes made hes made somewhere else, Clinton said as she toured a Las Vegas electric manufacturer Thursday afternoon. Ive met people who were destroyed by Donald Trump, so take a look at what hes done, not what he says.

Meanwhile, Trumps missteps have caused widening ripples of anxiety among Republican officials with the election just three months away.

Concerned congressional Republicans are asking about Trump hourly and daily, said Rep. Duncan Hunter, R-Calif., a leading Trump emissary on Capitol Hill.

What the hecks going on? Why arent we focused here?  Why are we caught up in these sideshows? Hunter asked, describing the questions raised by his colleagues.

Hunter said hes not concerned: It is what it is. Theres no reassuring. Trump is Trump.

Former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani on Thursday dismissed reports that he was planning an intervention with top Trump allies, including GOP Chairman Reince Priebus and former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, to urge Trump to abandon tactics that have triggered sinking poll numbers and low morale.

I meet with Donald Trump all the time, Giuliani told the Fox Business Network, suggesting that Gingrich used the word, intervention, in a recent memo.

He is a new candidate, Giuliani said of Trump. That adds a little bit of  more of a learning curve, than would normally be the case.

(AP)
President Barack Obama vigorously denied on Thursday that a $400 million cash payment to Iran was ransom to secure the release of four Americans jailed in Tehran. He defended the transaction as evidence that the nuclear accord with Iran has allowed for progress on other matters.

This wasnt some nefarious deal, Obama said during a news conference at the Pentagon.

The money was delivered to the Iranian government in January, at the same time the nuclear deal was settled and the Americans were released. The payment was part of a decades-old dispute over a failed military equipment deal dating to the 1970s, before the Islamic revolution in 1979.

Obama also answered political questions at the news conference, pushing back at Republican presidential nominee Donald Trumps suggestions that the November election might be rigged, calling the assertion ridiculous. He said his advice to Trump, a candidate he has declared unfit for the presidency, was to go out there and try to win the election.

Trump and Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton will soon be receiving classified briefings, giving them access to sensitive information about national security and Americas military posture. Asked whether he was worried about Trump having access to such material, Obama said simply that those who want to be president need to start acting like it.

That means being able to receive these briefings and not spread them around, he said.

The presidents appearance before reporters followed an hours-long meeting with military leaders at the Pentagon on the fight against the Islamic State group.

Obama said there have been gains in weakening IS in Iraq and Syria, but he conceded the extremist group still poses a threat to the United States as it shifts its tactics to carrying out attacks elsewhere around the world. While those attacks may result in less carnage, Obama said IS knows they still create the kinds of fear and concern that elevates their profile.

The rise of the Islamic State has kept Obama tied to the Middle East in a way he had hoped to avoid in his eighth and final year in office. While the U.S. has far fewer troops in the region than when he took office in 2009, Republicans argue that the drawdown of troops from Iraq created a vacuum that allowed the Islamic State to thrive.

Asked whether he feels any personal disappointment about not being able to do more to stop the Islamic State, Obama said I havent gotten numb to it. It bugs me.

On Syria, the president criticized Russias support of government attacks against opposition forces and its sieges of cities such as Aleppo. He accused Russia of failing to take steps to reduce violence in Syria  where a civil war has raged for much of Obamas presidency  but said the U.S. would continue trying to push Moscow to focus on the fight against IS and other extremists.

On Iran, Obama expressed surprise at criticism of his administrations cash payment to settle a longstanding legal claim, adamantly rejecting claims that it was a ransom paid for the release of the four Americans.

He pointed out that the payment, along with an additional $1.3 billion in interest to be paid later, was announced by the administration when it was concluded in January, a day after the implementation of a landmark nuclear agreement with Iran. It wasnt a secret. We were completely open about it, he said.

Obama allowed that the one piece of new information, first reported this week by The Wall Street Journal, was that the $400 million was paid in cash. It was delivered to Iran on palettes aboard an unmarked plane.

The only bit of news is that we paid cash, he said. The reason is because we couldnt send them a check and we couldnt wire the money. We dont have a banking relationship with Iran which is part of the pressure we applied on them.

The payment has revived allegations from Trump and other critics of the Iran nuclear deal. Trumps campaign released a statement Thursday night accusing the administration of a cover-up and slamming Obamas refusal to acknowledge that these funds will end up being used to subsidize terror.

The presidents session at the Pentagon occurred as the U.S. was bombing targets in and around the Libyan city of Sirte, a notable expansion of the U.S.-led coalitions military mission against IS. At the urging of the Pentagon, Obama authorized the strikes that started this week and include precision attacks against IS tanks, rocket launchers and fighting positions.

Mired in chaos following the ouster of strongman Moammar Gadhafi in 2011, Libya became a target for IS extremists hoping to build a safe haven outside its initial territory in Iraq and Syria. Though the number of IS fighters in Libya has dwindled, the U.S. is hoping to help Libyas fledgling U.N.-backed unity government finish the job.

(AP)
By Rabbi Yair Hoffman for the Five Towns Jewish Times

EATING MEAT AND DRINKING WINE

The Gemara forbids eating meat as part of the last meal before Tishah BAv. Nonetheless, it is the custom of all Israel not to eat meat from Rosh Chodesh Av until chatzos (halachic noon) on the 10th of Av (SA OC 551:9 citing the Rashba). One may eat meat and drink wine at a celebration of a siyum (the completion of a tractate of Talmud or an order of the Mishnah).

One may have meat and wine on Shabbos of the Nine Days.

According to Rav Elyashiv, ztl (Halichos vHanhagos p. 11), the Havdalah wine during the Nine Days should be consumed as follows:

 By a boy age 6 or 7 (even less if he has reached the age of berachos) but not one who understands mourning (78 but more if he does not understand the concept of mourning). If there is not one available, then

 By a boy who is not yet bar mitzvah. If there is not one available, then

 The man himself may drink the wine.

 Some people use a beverage other than wine for havdalah, but Rav Elyashiv rules against this.

Meat or wine may not be consumed for melaveh malkah (Igros Moshe OC IV 21:4).

LAUNDERING CLOTHING

During the Nine Days it is forbidden to launder clothing, even if they will not be worn until after the Nine Days (SA OC 551:3). This includes clothing, sheets and towels.

Removing a stain with water is permitted if the article of clothing may get ruined if not treated. Sheitels cannot be washed and set, either (Rav Elyashiv, Halichos vHanhagos, p. 66). Rav Scheinberg, ztl, however, permitted it when absolutely necessary (cited in Rivevos Ephraim VI 291:3).

New or laundered clothing may not be worn during the Nine Days either (SA OC 551:3). They must therefore be pre-worn. How long must they be worn? Rav Binyomin Forst has the practice of putting on five shirts simultaneously and wearing them for 30 minutes. The Daas Kedoshim, however, states that one minute will suffice. Perhaps this ruling was written in a pre air-conditioned society. An alternative method of removing the freshness is to lie down on the clothing for a significant period of time. There is also a prohibition in wearing Shabbos clothing during this time as well. There are certain exceptions for someone making a Bris or Pidyon HaBen.

One may make a bed for a guest with freshly laundered linen.

SHOWERING AND BATHING

It is the general custom not to shower or bathe even in cold water from Rosh Chodesh Av until midday of the 10th of Av. This custom is codified in the Shulchan Aruch (OC 551:16). One may wash his or her hands, face, and feet but only in cold water. This is the general rule, but there are some exceptions.

The Aruch HaShulchan (OC 551:37) rules that one may bathe in order to remove dirt. This means that one mayshower and bathe even in warmer water to remove dirt if one got dirty. This seems to be well accepted by all Poskim. The reason is that Minhag is to prohibit rechitza shel taanug  pleasurable bathing.

Some Poskim, such as Rav Moshe Feinstein ztl (Igros Moshe EH Vol. IV #84) rule that if it is a particularly hot day, one may shower to remove sweat. Rav Moshe Shternbuch (Tshuvos vHanhagos Vol. II #260) rules similarly. Other Poskim, however, are quite stringent and do not allow showers simply to remove sweat (Rav Shlomo Zalman Auerbach ztl, Chazon Ish ztl, and iblct Rav Chaim Kanievsky.

For medical purposes it is also permitted to bathe (Shaar haTziyun 551:94). This includes pregnant women or a woman who just gave birth as well.

An istanis, someone who is by nature extremely particular, may also bathe in cold water during the Nine Days as well. (See Tsuvos vHanhagos IV #129). Somewhat warm is also considered cold by the Poskim.

On Erev Shabbos Chazon, one may also wash in somewhat warm water lkavod Shabbos.

THE EIGHTH OF AV

Pleasure trips are forbidden on Erev Tishah BAv after chatzos (halachic noon) (Vilna Gaon on Rema, end of 553).

The custom is not to learn Torah after halachic noon on the eighth of Av. The reason is that Torah causes the heart to rejoice (see Tehillim 19:9). Some, however, are lenient in regard to learning Torah.

THE SEUDAH HAMAFSEKES

On the eighth, before Tishah BAv begins, we eat a mourners meal called the seudah hamafsekes. The custom is to eat one cooked item such as a cold hard-boiled egg, bread and ashes. We eat it while lying on the floor and we do not eat the meal in a group. We may wear leather shoes while eating the meal, although the mood during this meal should be somber.

THE NINTH OF AV

Because the loss of the Beis HaMikdash was such a national tragedy, the halachos of Tishah BAv combine the laws of Yom Kippur and the laws of mourning.

Thus, we apply the five inuyim of Yom Kippur:

1) No eating or drinking

2) No washing

3) No anointing

4) No wearing leather shoes

5) No marital relations

In addition to the Yom Kippur inuyim:

1) We are not permitted to study Torah except for the passages that bring on sadness.

2) We do not extend greetings to others.

3) We do not work.

4) We do not sit on a chair.

The latter two, however, may be performed after chatzos (halachic noon).

When one does need to wash hands, such as after going to the restroom, one washes just until the knuckles.

When sleeping at nighttime, one should be less comfortable than one is accustomed to being (SA 555:2). Thus, if one generally sleeps with two pillows, one pillow should be removed. A pregnant woman, however, does not have to do this if she will be uncomfortable.

CUSTOMS IN SHUL

In shul the custom is to dim the lights, based upon the verse in Eichah (3:6): He placed me in darkness. We also remove the curtain from the ark that covers the sefer Torah. This is on account of the Midrash that interprets the verse in Eichah (2:17): He tore His royal garments. After Maariv, Eichah is read and then a number of Kinos are recited.

On the next day, a number of Kinos are recited. It is the custom to recite them until halachic noon, so that one will not come to do work before then (SA OC 559:3 MB 13)

Men do not put on the Tallis and Tefillin for Shacharis in the morning, but do put them on for Mincha. This is based upon the Midrash(Vayikra Rabbah 6) that states:

betza imraso  He carried out His words (Aicha 2:17)  He threw out His precious cloth, this refers to Talis - hishlich mishamayaim eretz tiferes yisroel,  He threw earthward from Heaven the glory of Israel (Aich 2:1)  this refers to Tefillin.

Most of these Kinos were written during the Crusades. After the Holocaust, a number of Kinos were added. It is the custom of many shuls to recite the new ones as well.

THE TENTH OF AV UNTIL CHATZOS

Since the burning of the Beis HaMikdash continued until the 10th of Av (indeed, most of it burned then), we refrain from eating meat and drinking wine until halachic noon on the 10th (SA OC 558). Most authorities do not allow the recital of the blessing of Shehecheyanu on Motzaei Tisha BAv.

The Mishnah Berurah rules that we refrain from bathing, cutting our hair, listening to music and washing our clothes until halachic noon on the 10th. Nor do we drink wine, unless one normally does so on bentsching.

Rav Chaim Kanievsky (cited in Kuntrus Toras Moadim p. 13) permits cold showers, the cutting of nails, and doing childrens laundry on Motzaei Tisha BAv.

If the 10th of Av falls on a Friday, then we may launder immediately after Tishah BAv is over.

Haircuts and bathing, however, should wait until Friday morning (Eliyahu Rabbah 559:31). Music is only permitted at halachic noon. If necessary, bathing and hair cutting can be done on Motzaei Tishah BAv if one will be unable to do them on Friday. Dayan Fisher ztl (Even Yisroel Vol. VII #27) allowed bathing and haircuts on Thursday evenings. One should consult a Posek as to whether one can be lenient.

The Shulchan Aruch states:

Whoever mourns over Yerushalayim will merit to see her in her joy (OC 554:25)

The author can be reached at [email protected]

Attention Readers: The seventh volume of Not Your Usual Halacha has just been released. The authors books can be purchased at amazon.com
By Rabbi Yair Hoffman for the Five Towns Jewish Times

On Thursday, President Barack Obama dismissed all suggestions that a $400 million payment to Iran amounted to a ransom paid in return for the release of four American hostages.

According to US Code 18:1202:

a) Whoever receives, possesses, or disposes of any money or other property, or any portion thereof, which has at any time been delivered as ransom or reward in connection with a violation of section 1201 of this title, knowing the same to be money or property which has been at any time delivered as such ransom or reward, shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than ten years, or both.

(b) A person who transports, transmits, or transfers in interstate or foreign commerce any proceeds of a kidnapping punishable under State law by imprisonment for more than 1 year, or receives, possesses, conceals, or disposes of any such proceeds after they have crossed a State or United States boundary, knowing the proceeds to have been unlawfully obtained, shall be imprisoned not more than 10 years, fined under this title, or both.

Confirming the US offered the payment in cash, Obama nevertheless downplayed the deliverys significance, saying it was not a nefarious deal.

The Obama administration has repeatedly rejected accusations that the cash  part of a $1.7 billion agreement to settle a decades-old arms deal dispute  was meant to grease the release of four US prisoners. These prisoners were freed in January when Tehran implemented a landmark nuclear deal. A fifth US prisoner was released separately.

Secretary of State John Kerry also insisted on Thursday that the United States never pays ransoms for hostages, rejecting accusations that a $400 million payment to Iran was a quid pro quo for the release of American prisoners.

First of all, the United States of America does not pay ransom and does not negotiate ransoms with any country, Kerry said at a news conference in Argentina. We never have and were not doing that now. It is not our policy.

The president is refusing to call it a ransom. John Kerry is refusing to call it a ranson.

But everyone knows that it was.

THE HALACHIC SOURCES

Of course the government of the United States is not obligated to follow halacha, but lets look at the halachic sources and also delve a bit into the underlying issues with this ransom that wasnt a ransom.

The Mishna in Gittin 45b tells us that we do not redeem captives for more than their value. The meaning of course is to their value on the market as slaves. The Mishna tells us that it is mipnei tikkun olam  which means as public policy.

The general implication of this term is that it is a public policy enactment. In other words, in order to stop a situation where evil people kidnap people for a ransom, a special enactment was made that prohibited paying substantially more for our fellow people who are now captives.

Had this enactment not been promulgated, life would have been endangered. The enactment served to remove the incentive to kidnap our fellow man specifically. We will be halachically constrained from having to pay a premium to redeem others. By the same token, the US government created a law to discourage kidnappings with the passage of 18:1202.

The enactment of Chazal, of course, would not prevent kidnappings. It would merely prevent a situation where our fellow brethren would be specifically targeted.

But the essential point is that there was a specific time and circumstance when this enactment was promulgated. Prior to the enactment, from a historical perspective, it would seem that halacha would have dictated that the ransom be paid. The Rabbis took it upon themselves to create legislation forbidding it in order to better benefit the public. It was an enactment that created a new rubric  without negative consequence.

Should an enactment be made like that of Gittin 45b? It seems that it would save lives.

Should congress have passed this legislation limiting the governments ability to facilitate such exchanges? Does it apply to foreign governments as well as criminals? Should Obama circumvent the law?

Another interesting issue is that there are a number of Rishonim and Achronim who rule that the entire enactment is only when there is no danger to life. These opinions are cited in Pishchei Teshuvah YD (252:4). He states that if there is a danger to life the enactment does not apply. Among those who rule thus are the Meiri. Even though the majority of Achronim disagree with this point, this is a significant point of halachic debate.

Perhaps the president felt that he should circumvent the law, or re-interpret it not to apply to governments, or just dissemble about it in order to save the four American lives.

SAVING LIFE NOW BY PAYING OR SAVE MORE LIFE LATER BY NOT PAYING

The issue comes down to a definite saving of life now versus possibly saving many more lives in the future. Although one can perhaps argue that it is not a possible but a definite, as experience has shown  even still the exchange may be halachically necessary. Why? We are not sure which ones they may be and it has not been directly established who it will be  the saving of life now may outweigh the future saving of even more life. This exact rationale is presented by Rav Vosner in Shaivet HaLevi Vol. V #137.

There are two additional issues that are pertinent as well. The first issue is that Islamist Iranians are, and have always been motivated to kidnap. One could perhaps argue that they are maxed out in this regard.

This ransom payment may in fact create more terrorism into what can be called a Safaik Rodef. Rav Chaim Ozer Grodzinsky (Achiezer Vol. III 72:3) address the issue of a safaik rodaif and concludes that one does not kill certain life because of the possibility of a safaik rodaif. Although the situation is not completely analogous, the difference between a certain rodaif and a possible rodaif is clearly made.

Rav Feinstein zatzal also shares a similar view (see Igros Moshe CM II 69:4).

The conclusion? It is certainly not an easy decision. May G-d Al-mighty safeguard all of us and all those who seek and love peace.

The author can be reached at [email protected]

Attention Readers: The seventh volume of Not Your Usual Halacha has just been released. The authors books can be purchased at amazon.com
SS Rajamouli's Baahubali: The Conclusion, which is on the verge of completion, is all set for a grand release on April 28, 2017.

By India Today Web Desk: Last year, the world witnessed SS Rajamouli's epic fantasy film Baahubali, whose visual experience made even some Hollywood films pale in comparison.

In fact, ever since Baahubali's release last year, the fans can't stop asking the question, "Why did Kattappa kill Baahubali?" And Rajamouli will now return with the answers on April 28, 2017.

ALSO READ: Baahubali 2: Tamil Nadu shells out Rs 45 crore for the theatrical rights of the sequel



SEE PICS: Team Baahubali fights climate change



Earlier, rumours were rife that the film would be releasing on April 17 next year, Rubbishing all the rumours, filmmaker Karan Johar has officially announced the release date of the film.



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Notably, Karan Johar's Dharma Productions, who acquired the distribution rights of the Hindi version, will distribute Baahubali: The Conclusion as well. About the association with the makers of Baahubali, Karan wrote on Twitter saying, "Dharma Productions and AA films are honored and proud to associate once again with the genius @ssrajamouli's vision."

Dharma Productions and AA films are honored and proud to associate once again with the genius @ssrajamouli 's vision Karan Johar (@karanjohar) August 5, 2016

Reportedly, the makers have lavishly spent Rs 30 crore just for the climax sequence.



"The climax features an awe-inspiring battle sequence which will last for about half hour in the film. It's going to be even more grand and dramatic than the battle scene in the first part," the source added.

The film starring Prabhas, Rana Daggubati, Tamannaah Bhatia and Anushka Shetty is the sequel to 2015's highly successful Baahubali: The Beginning which grossed over Rs 600 crore worldwide.

--- ENDS ---
Ordinary investors must be wondering how and why shares in Avanti Communications are continuing to defy gravity.

They were top of the AIM leader board Friday with a 40 per cent rise and have almost doubled in value over the last five trading days. Yet the movement appears at odds with the news flow of late.

Less than a month ago the satellite communications firm said it would need to raise around $50million as part of a broader refinancing of the business.

Four days later it effectively hoisted up the 'for sale' sign.

Flying high: Avanti shares have been soaring but there has been no fresh offers for the company

Then on Monday Inmarsat, a potential buyer of the business, ruled itself out of the running to purchase the company, which is currently valued at 73million.

Yet traders are nibbling away, with volumes increasing significantly towards the end of this week.

Does this suggest there is another potential bidder waiting in the wings? Time will tell.

There was a report on the FT's Alphaville market blog that perhaps provides a clue to what might be driving the share buying flurry.

It suggests that before withdrawing from the Avanti auction, Inmarsat had, after making a low ball offer, wanted to table a bid of 140p a share for the business.

At that point the stock was trading below 30p. Today it is changing hands for 48p.

A spokesman for Avanti said he had no comment on the price movement, adding there was 'no announcement due'.

Inmarsat added: 'We have nothing to add to the statement we put out to the market on Monday.'

Turning to the broader market, the FTSE AIM All Share had a solid, if unspectacular week as it posted a 1.5 per cent gain. It did, however, outperform the FTSE 100, which was more or less flat.

Zambeef received a $65million bail-out from CDC Group, a development finance house owned by the UK government

Another notable small-cap riser was Zambeef, which is one of Zambia's largest agri-businesses.

The shares advanced 37 per cent this week after it emerged that it had secured a $65million bail-out from CDC Group, a development finance house owned by the UK government.

Ecuador mining exploration firm SolGold's fortunes were similarly transformed with the promise of a $36.5milllion funding package.

The cash from Maxit Capital will allow SolGold to continue with the development of the potentially world-class Cascabel copper-gold project. The shares are up 32 per cent.

Turning to the oil sector where stock in Petro Matad gushed 86 per cent higher on Friday.

The movement was prompted by news that an affiliate of Shell has agreed to pay Petro Matad $10million to exit production sharing contracts in west and central Mongolia.

Flying low: Shares in the listed drone company Strat Aero continued to lose altitude this week as they fell a further 11 per cent

Also on the up was TechFinancials, which makes the software that drives trading platforms.

The 32 per cent rise followed an update on Wednesday that revealed the promised turnaround (after a difficult start to life on AIM) was well and truly underway.

Currently changing hands for 10.3p, the shares are worth 27p, according to broker Northland.

Shares in ECR Minerals haven't enjoyed the best of weeks following the announcement that chief executive Stephen Clayson is headed for the exit at the end of the month.

Under new management, ECR will continue to focus on extracting the best value from its Australia assets, while it has also taken steps to conserve cash until such times as it is able to raise additional working capital.

It's been another ropey week for NetDimensions, the software company. It follows a less than stellar trading update on July 25 which has seen the stock almost halve in value since.

Shares in the listed drone company Strat Aero continued to lose altitude this week as they fell a further 11 per cent. They are down 90 per cent in the year to date.

The market is yet to warm to the latest transaction (completed last month), which was the acquisition of Geocurve, the specialist surveying business.

The shares are now changing hands for 0.54p (last October they were above 9p) and the business is valued at a micro, micro 1.5mln.

Investors have had a bumpy ride in the last year as the good news (March's$375,000 software contract) have been outweighed by the bad (the acquisition of Aero-Kinetics and subsequent litigation).
Falling star? Neil Woodford's Patient Capital Trust lost 10.8% of its value in the first half

Star fund manager Neil Woodford's investment trust has lost 10.8 per cent of its value in the first half of the year.

The Patient Capital Trust has been hit by poor performance from healthcare stocks, which account for some 67 per cent of its investments.

Eight of the ten biggest investments in the 733.3million trust are in the healthcare sector, which Woodford said had been a victim of negative sentiment.

Woodford said: 'I understand that some investors will be disappointed with the performance so far, but it is early days for a strategy that is looking to exploit very long-term opportunities.

'As I have said before, not everything we invest in will succeed and some will encounter problems. I remain absolutely confident that we will deliver very attractive long-term returns.'

In the half-year report to June 30, Woodford said some of the smaller and unlisted companies in which the trust invests could be very volatile.

The team also said the EU referendum result had affected performance, though it should not have a long-term impact.

He added that progress was being delivered by some of the companies, including Prothena, Immunocore and 4D Pharma.
In a first 10 police station house officers in Bihar were suspended for not implementing prohibition law effectively.

By Rohit Kumar Singh: Cracking down on errant police officers who have failed to impose the prohibition law effectively in their areas even after four months since when the law came into force in Bihar, the police headquarter has suspended 10 Station House Officers.

The police headquarters acting further on these police officers has also announced that they will not given posting as station in-charge for next ten years.

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The police crackdown has taken place on SHO's of Masaurhi (Patna), Makhdumpur (Jahanabad), Chand (Kaimur), Dihri (Rohtas), Maranga (Purnea), Rupauli (Purnea), Sultanganj (Bhagalpur), Mufassil (Motihari ), Runni Saidpur (Sitamarhi ) and Bairganiya ( Sitamarhi ).



SUSPENDED FOR INACTION

The top cops of Bihar police maintained that despite prohibition law in place for the last four months, these police officers did not take any step to crack down on manufacturing of illegal and country made liquor in their area. However, Excise officials' repeatedly unearthed machines and liquor manufacturing unit.

"Police headquarter has now suspended 10 SHO's for not implementing prohibition laws effectively. We found that in these areas machines were found to manufacture country made liquor and the police did not destroy it. All these 10 SHO's will not be given charge of any police station for next ten years," said Sunil Kumar, ADG Headquarter.

MASSIVE CRACKDOWN ON LIQUOR DENS



ADG, Headquarter also informed that in the last four months, police have arrested 4,736 persons for violating the prohibition law. He also said that police have seized 96,878 litres of illegal country made liquor, and 52,530 litres of foreign made liquor. More than 4700 people have also been sent to jail in for flouting prohibition laws.

The police headquarter has also sacked 6 trainee constable in connection with violating the prohibition laws in last four months.

Bihar CM Nitish Kumar has last week passed the new Bihar Prohibition and Excise Bill, 2016 and provided more teeth to the already existing law to ensure that the prohibition law is strictly enforced in the state.

Also read:

Bihar a dry state from today, declares CM Nitish Kumar

Prohibition has failed to check crime in Bihar, says Sushil Modi





--- ENDS ---
Hats off to the women who braved opposition and fought social prejudice to build a toilet in their house.

By India Today Web Desk: The lack of toilets poses a serious problem in rural India regardless of the gender, but men manage for obvious reasons. Nearly half of India's 1.2 billion population have no toilets at home and hence defecate in the open.

In a bid to collect more money to build a toilet in her husband's house, Phool Kumari from Bihar mortgaged her 'mangalsutra'. The incident took place in Barahkhanna village in Bihar's Rohtas district.

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The practice of open defecation wreaked havoc in her village with instances of snake bites, rape and spread of diseases in the area went up due to lack of sanitation. This forced Phool Kumari to take action despite her tight financial situation and she did not hesitate to sacrifice her 'mangalsutra' to build a toilet at her marital home.

She even fought opposition from her family members when she took this step, but went ahead with the construction of the toilet in her house.

Picture for representation:Facebook/Operation School Toilets

People opposing construction of toilets is a reality in India.



Impressed with Phool Kumari's firm stance, the Rohtas district administration made her the brand ambassador of total sanitation programme in the district.

On August 16, 2014, six newly-wed women, from both Hindu and Muslim communities, protested against their in-laws in Kushinagar district of Uttar Pradesh over lack of toilets in their respective houses. The women made it a point not to return to their in-law's place before a toilet was constructed. Neelam Sharma, Sakina, Seeta, Nazrum Nisa and Kalavati left their marital homes in protest.

Sulabh International, the social organization which focuses on public sanitation facilities, backed their case and constructed the toilets.

In a similar incident back in 2012, 21-year-old Priyanka Bharti from Maharajganj district of UP, refused to meekly bow down to her in-law's insults, she pledged that unless a toilet is constructed she wouldn't return, all this defying conventions and setting a new example.

Sulabh International helped her with the construction and felicitated her with an award of Rs 2 lakh for her grit and determination.

Picture:Facebook/Gn Jha

--- ENDS ---
BJP MP Babulal's village in Agra has showed poor infrastructure and no functional Public Health Centre to cater to the medical needs of the students despite receiving sufficient funds under Adarsh Gram Yojana.

By Siraj Qureshi: When Prime Minister Narendra Modi conceived the 'Adarsh Gram Yojna', it was a far-reaching vision that saw each and every village of India getting developed by virtue of their local MPs adopting two villages each year, bringing basic amenities within reach of every resident.

However, as happens with most ideal government schemes, the Adarsh Gram Yojna too appears to have become the victim of the laid back attitude of our legislators, with most of the villages becoming 'Adarsh' only on papers. Solar lanterns and 'Adarsh Gram' slogans are the extent of development that has taken place in most of the villages. India Today found this information in a sample survey of village Pusainta in Agra, which has been adopted by the Agra (Rural) MP from BJP, Choudhary Babulal.

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A VILLAGE WITH ALL THE FUNDING BUT NO ROADS



Upon entering the village, India Today found the Adarsh Gram slogans written on walls throughout the village, although the road into the village was waterlogged and full of potholes. Moreover, when we entered the village and reached the Primary Health Center (PHC), it appeared to be in a far from functional condition. The rooms were filled with junk and no doctor was present to attend to patients. The villagers confirmed that doctors rarely visited the Public Health Centre.

The Tank Type Stand Posts (TTSP) water tanks were standing as mere show-pieces as there was no water in the tanks and water pipelines had either not been laid or were dysfunctional. A local senior citizen raised a question on the actual existence of Adarsh Gram, claiming that a village could not become 'Adarsh' merely by writing a few slogans on the walls. There has been negligible work done in the village since the village was adopted by Babulal, who has himself lived in a village all his life.

FUNDS DIVERTED?



He said that the approach road has completely broken up, there is water-logging everywhere in the village and the money being given to the Panchayat for spending on the welfare of the village was simply disappearing into the pockets of the concerned people. He said that a project to supply water in the village had been made with the approved funding of Rs 3.58 crores, but the money was never allotted and work could not be started on the project. Even the MP has visited the village once or twice in the past 2 years, he said.

STATE GOVT NOT COOPERATING, SAYS MP



Talking to India Today, MP Choudhary Babulal said that the development of Adarsh Grams was stuck due to the non-cooperation of state government departments. Many proposals were stuck with these departments. He said that it was his effort that the adopted villages could really become 'Adarsh'. He said that Pusainta lacked a post office and it has now been opened with the help of the Post Master General of Agra. Telephone services are now available in the village and 46 women have been trained on sewing machines and are now self-employed.

Also read: PM Modi at Saansad Adarsh Gram Yojana launch: Let's be proud of our villages



--- ENDS ---

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By India Today Web Desk: Amidst the war of words between state government and opposition and a series of allegations on the inaction by Uttar Pradesh police, the state government today announced compensation for the 35-year-old mother and her teenaged daughter who were gangraped on the Delhi-Kanpur highway on July 30.

Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav today announced Rs 3 lakh compensation and a flat each to both the victims. The compensation comes a day after the family stated that they were not looking forward to any form of compensation and were pleading for justice.

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NO COMPENSATION ONLY JUSTICE



The 35-year-old mother had earlier sad that the she did not expect anything from politicians or the government. However, she stated that she was deeply concerned about her teenaged daughter as she is not keeping well ever since the incident. She even said that she wanted to punish the perpetrators with her own hands.

The family also said that they were upset with the overt politicisation of their predicament. Meanwhile, the police have sent the three accused in judicial custody while the rest of the gang is still at large.

Also read:

Bulandshahr gangrape: I don't expect monetary help, I want justice, says 35-year-old victim

Grossly understaffed, living off chowkis, Bulandshahr cops are bound to doze off









--- ENDS ---
By PTI: New Delhi, Aug 5 (PTI) The Centre has issued an advisory to all states to cap the the cost of dengue diagnostic tests in private hospitals at Rs 600, the Lok Sabha was told today.

The move comes in the wake of media reports that some private laboratories and hospitals were overcharging from patients for dengue tests.

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"To regulate the cost of diagnosis of dengue by the private laboratories and some hospitals, government has taken action by issuing advisory to all states and UTs on July 5, 2016...for capping the cost of dengue diagnostic tests in the private sector/hospitals to not more than Rs 600 per test," Minister of State for Health Faggan Singh Kulaste said in a written reply.

Union Health Minister J P Nadda had earlier said in Parliament that there were 21 dengue deaths in the country till July 24 this year.

Nadda had earlier said eight advisories were issued to states since January while three review meetings through video conferencing took place to review the training, update of laboratory facilities and bed strength.

At least 50 cases of dengue have been reported in the national capital this season with 22 of these recorded this month, according to a municipal report released recently. PTI TDS BSA DV BSA

--- ENDS ---
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By Gina Martinez

Leaders and community members gathered to remember Flushing resident Vincent Chun Man Tse, 68, who died following a brutal attack last week.

State Assemblyman Ron Kim (D-Flushing), Councilman Peter Koo (D-Flushing) and state Sen. Toby Ann Stavisky (D-Flushing) held a news conference Tuesday in front of the Rosenthal Selfhelp senior center in Flushing, where Tse volunteered for years, and demanded the people responsible for his death be brought to justice.

According to a criminal complaint filed by the Queens district attorney, video surveillance shows Cleaman Anderson, 44, approaching Tse and striking him in the head, causing him to fall on the ground. When police arrived on the scene, they found Tse on the ground bleeding from the mouth, unable to communicate and with a swollen eye, according to prosecutors.

Tse was taken to New York Presbyterian Hospital where he was in critical condition for over a week, police said.

He sustained a fractured skull, frontal and temporal contusions as well as swelling and bleeding from the brain, prosecutors said.

Anderson admitted to prosecutors that he was involved in a collision with Tses car, according to the criminal complaint. He claimed Tse grabbed his sisters arm and when she pulled away and Anderson approached Tse, he made a fake maneuver and fell to the ground on his own, according to the complaint.

Kim met with Tses family while he was in the hospital. Doctors told Tses family that recovery was doubtful and as his condition worsened his family made the choice to take him off life support July 30, according to Kim

I had a chance to visit Mr. Tse and his family in the hospital, and I saw his condition as he lay motionless in life support, Kim said. Words cant describe what Im feeling. Vincent was one of our communitys unsung heroes. A devout Christian, he spent his time cooking and serving food at the local senior center to hundreds in need, especially other seniors. We are here to support his family in any way possible and make sure justice is served.

Tse was remembered fondly by seniors at the center. He volunteered there for six years and seniors were obviously emotional throughout the press conference, some crying and some chanting justice. At one point a man interrupted the press conference and yelled, How can he throw a punch with so much force to kill an old man? I want to know what are the consequences!

Jane Qiu, program director at Rosenthal Self Help Senior Center, remembers Tsu, who volunteered at the center just a few days before the attack that left him hospitalized. Vincent was a kind, warm and generous man who enjoyed serving others. she said. Everyone at the senior center is still shocked and upset about this incident, and we express our sincerest condolences to Mr. Tses family. I join our elected officials in calling for full justice for the assailant and in sending a strong message that we will not tolerate any attacks against older adults.
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By Patrick Donachie

Stunned family and community members mourned the murder of a 30-year-old woman at vigil in Howard Beach Wednesday evening. She was killed while in the middle of a jog along the marshes of Spring Creek Park. Police have now offered a $10,000 reward for information leading to her killer.

Karina Vetrano left her home in Howard Beach at about 5 p.m. on Tuesday afternoon for a jog in the vicinity of Gateway National Park. Police responded to a report about two hours later when she had not returned home.

Police searched the area, and found Vetrano in the marshland area near the vicinity of 161st Avenue and 78th Street, and she was pronounced dead at the scene. Her death was later ruled a homicide and police later said there was evidence of strangulation and that they were investigating the possibility she was sexually assaulted.

Vetrano was a 2004 graduate of Archbishop Molloy High School. According to a message on the schools Facebook page, she was the daughter of Molloy alumni Phil Vetrano, a retired firefighter. The father and daughter often jogged together near the area where Karina Vetrano was found, and he was the one who found her, according to the New York Post. State Senator Joseph Addabbo (D-Howard Beach) tweeted his condolences on Wednesday evening.

My prayers go out to family and friends of young Howard Beach resident murdered last night, he wrote. Cant even imagine pain family is experiencing.

Hundreds also gathered for an impromptu vigil in the parking lot of Vetro Restaurant and Wine Bar on Wednesday evening. Vetrano worked there as a caterer.

At a press conference on Wednesday, NYPD Chief of Detectives Robert Boyce said that the police were raising the reward to $10,000 for any information leading to Vetranos killer. He was hoping that someone saw something happening in the park during the attack and said that police were already uncovering forensic evidence.

We plan to chop down just about every weed in that location until we are satisfied that we have gotten the evidence, he said.

Mayor Bill de Blasio also said it was incumbent upon the public to offer information if it would help in the investigation.

This is a real tragedy and as a parent my heart goes out to the father, he said. All of us have to help this family. Anyone who knows something needs to call it into the police right away.
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By Patrick Donachie

On the corner of 200th and Hollis avenues in St. Albans, a group of artists worked in the blistering sun last week on a mural celebrating the music, message and legacy of the hip-hop group A Tribe Called Quest. Jocelyn Goode, the founder of the Founder of CultureCocoa ArtHouse, designed the mural, and it is the second one in a series that began with a mural in honor of Run DMC two blocks away.

The idea is to keep it going, to highlight the hip-hop legacy in the area, Goode said. The idea is to put the artwork in proximity, so people can go from one to the next.

The mural celebrating A Tribe Called Quest consists of five different illustrations, designed to appear as consecutive frames on vintage film strip. In September 2015, the owner of the Fine Fare Supermarket approached Goode about creating a mural on the vacant side of his storefront, and work on the mural began July 1. Goode is working with two teaching artists as well as five apprentices whom she recruited after working on a mural at the Cornerstone Community Center.

Goode secured grants from the Queens Council on the Arts and the Citizens Committee for New York City to fund the creation of the mural. She walked along the completed frames, detailing the contents of each. The first frame featured a portrait of Malik Phife Dawg Taylor, who died earlier this year, surrounded by imagery of the Zulu Nation. Goode said she had planned the mural prior to his death.

My thinking is why wait until people die to honor them? she said. It just made it more pressing. It validated the need for the project.

The second slide was a portrait of a different mural that is situated beneath the St. Albans Long Island Rail Road station on Linden Boulevard. Goode said the frame was a dual act of homage for famous musicians from southeast Queens, as well as the previous artists of murals in the area. Goode said the St. Albans mural was an inspiration for her from a young age.

I would drive past it, she said, and it made me want to paint murals.

Another slide showed a young girl playing a drum surrounded by portraits of seminal books by black authors, including I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou and The Autobiography of Malcolm X. HAllAMODA, one of the two teaching artists, said the mural would honor the authors by highlighting their prominence in history.

They were very controversial when they came out, he said, and pointed out the center image. The girl in the middle is tying it all together with music.

Goode said she hoped to fund a Salt-n-Pepa mural after the completion of the mural celebrating A Tribe Called Quest. She offered a photo of the original four members of the group that would be the basis for the final frame in the mural. She said she hoped the mural would embolden artists and other members of the community.

Even in being displaced, how do you find who you are? Public artwork can validate you, even when society says you dont matter, she said. Art is a reminder that you matter, that youre here.
The Centre informed the Supreme Court that the situation is under control in the Kashmir Valley.

By Anusha Soni: In the status report submitted before the Supreme Court, the Centre informed that the situation is under control in the Kashmir Valley.

Solicitor General Ranjit Kumar responding to a public interest litigation submitted by Bhim Singh, Centre said the essential medical, food and other commodities are being continuously supplied in the region.

The government also says there is sufficient supply of LPG, petrol and other fuels.

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The Centre has further elaborated that during 872 violent incidents 2656 civilians and 3783 security men were injured in Kashmir. 240 cases of eyes injuries have been reported with 58 major eye surgeries done.

42 civilians and 2 security personnels have been killed in post Wani encounter unrest. Four people with serious eye injury admitted in AIIMS.

--- ENDS ---
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By Patrick Donachie

Community members and elected officials celebrated the unveiling of a row of seven new storefront facades along Sutphin Boulevard in Jamaica between Hillside and 88th avenues. The plan is the first step toward renovating more facades along Sutphin Boulevard.

The Sutphin Boulevard Business Improvement District received $95,000 in a Neighborhood Challenge Grant from the New York City Small Business Services to upgrade the facades. Council members I. Daneek Miller (D-Jamaica) and Rory Lancman (D-Hillcrest) were on hand to celebrate the unveiling of the new construction during a ribbon-cutting ceremony on July 27.

Our area is lucky to have unique stores filled with hard-working business owners, and I look forward to continuing to work with our local leaders to see how to best serve our small businesses, Lancman said about the event.

In addition to the upgrading of the facades, the BID worked with interested store owners on improving awnings, security gates, signs, lighting and windows of the stores. The Neighborhood Challenge Grant for the SBS helped the Sutphin BID procure a $300,000 New York State grant to use for renovations of mixed-use buildings in downtown Jamaica. The SBS also granted the Sutphin BID an additional $30,000 for use in revitalizing the boulevard through the 2016 Avenue NYC program.

These improvements to the storefronts along Sutphin Boulevard will help support the entrepreneurs who have invested in the community, while also attracting other businesses to one of the busiest corridors in the city, Miller said during the ribbon-cutting. These upgrades will also give residents quality stores to enhance our quality of life.

The Sutphin Boulevard BID, which was founded in 2004, has also been awarded a New York Main Street Grant to fund additional renovations of facades along the Sutphin corridor in the coming year. The BID represents 134 different businesses, 56 properties and 39 property owners and services the area of Sutphin Boulevard from the north side of Hillside Avenue to the south side of 94th Avenue.

The BID plans to use the Main Street Grant on storefront facades either on the same block or across the street from the new facades and is currently reaching out to interested property owners.
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A rising number of Turkish nationals have sought asylum in Germany, official data showed Friday, as tensions rise in Turkey over an intensifying crackdown by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

Germany recorded 1,719 Turkish asylum applications in the first half of this year, almost the same number as for the whole of last year, when 1,767 sought refuge, Tagesspiegel daily reported, citing data from the Federal Office for Migration and Refugees.

The office said it did not yet have any indication of how the failed coup of July 15 and the resulting massive crackdown had impacted on numbers.

But even before the coup, activists and the West have been alarmed by the deteriorating human rights situation in Turkey, with spiralling numbers of journalists, bloggers and ordinary people being taken to court on an array of charges, including insulting Erdogan.

Most of the Turkish refugees came from the Kurdish regions, with 1,510 applications filed by Kurds so far this year, according to the data.

Last summer, Erdogan\s government launched military operations against the outlawed Kurdistan Workers\ Party (PKK) following the collapse of a two-year ceasefire.

Thousands of militants have been killed in the clashes, but activists claim that innocent civilians have also been killed in the offensive.

Nevertheless, the rate of successful asylum applications in Germany by Kurds  at 5.2 percent  was lower than the average of 6.7 percent for the whole of Turkey.

SOURCE: AFP
Aine OMahony, Elodie Pichon

Following the recent abduction of five Hong Kong publishers, alleged to have edited books disclosing inconvenient truths about the Chinese government, thousands of people took to the streets of Hong Kong to protest and fight for their right to have Freedom of Expression, which had already been enshrined in the Fundamental Law of Hong Kong. The post 80 generation wants to defend civil liberties and young people are concerned by the fact that the Chinese grip on the media could be the potential starting point for the end of the 1 country, 2 system policy, agreed on between China and Great Britain for the transfer of sovereignty over this territory. Is it reasonable to believe that this territory could become a simple reproduction of China, as feared by the younger generation?

On the first of July, 1997, China resumed control of Hong Kong after 156 years of British colonial rule. The two countries had already agreed on the terms for the transfer of power back in 1984. Britain acquired Hong Kong Island in 1842, following the Opium Wars of the 19th century. It took possession of Kowloon Peninsula in 1886 and obtained a lease on The New Territories for a period of 99 years beginning in 1898. Lawmakers, appointed by Beijing, took over power in 1997, but promised to honor Chinas pledge to maintain the Hong Kong way of life for at least another fifty years.

However, today idealism is being replaced very quickly by pragmatism in Hong Kong where official statistics show that this special administrative region is becoming more and more politically and economically dependent on China. The Closer Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) set up in 2003 aims at facilitating commercial exchanges between the partners, thus forcing Hong Kong to become more politically integrated into China. Beijing has managed to achieve its goal, because the volume of trade between Hong Kong and mainland China has multiplied by three over the last ten years. In addition, in order to influence the elite of Hong Kong, China has invested extensively there, particularly in finance and real estate. Kai Dai of the United Front of the University of San Yat, of Canton stated that the CEPA could enable China to use its economy as an axe to reinforce political communication on the two sides and to reconquer the population of Hong Kong. Beijing relies on Hong Kongs economic dependence on China to tighten its control over the territory, indicating that the one country, two systems principle is more theoretical than real.

Back in 2012, in his luminary and farsighted policy paper What China Wants for Asia? professor Anis H. Bajrektarevic accurately diagnoses:  To sustain itself as a single socio-political and formidably performing economic entity, the Peoples Republic requires more energy and less external dependency. Domestically, the demographic-migratory pressures are huge, regional demands are high, and expectations are brewing In effect, the forthcoming Chinese military buildup will only strengthen the existing, and open up new, bilateral security deals of neighboring countries, primarily with the US  as nowadays in Asia, no one wants to be a passive downloader. Ultimately, it may create a politico-military isolation (and financial burden) for China that would consequently justify and (politically and financially) cheapen the bolder reinforced American military presence in the Asia-Pacific, especially in the South and the East China Sea. It perfectly adds up to the intensified demonization of China in parts of influential Western media.

When speaking with some of residents of Hong Kong during our recent visit there, we realized that many had adopted a fatalistic attitude towards their situation because of their economic dependence on China and their fear of the political powers of Beijing. People feel that China has reneged on its promises and freedom of expression is becoming severely jeopardized. The principle of the two systems framework, regards Beijing as being responsible for the citys defense and foreign affairs while Hong Kong should be able to enjoy limited self-governance and avail of civil liberties, including an independent judiciary and freedom of the press. China promised that Hong Kong could elect its leaders through universal suffrage, but this is far from reality today when China is slowly but systematically tightening its grip over the territory. The peoples hope for a change in the political system, which would allow democratic elections and civil liberties, is quickly vanishing. Ben, a very pragmatic businessman whom we met, acknowledges that Hong Kong does not have the economic capacity to count without China, but China is not willing to make any concessions. Hong Kong is in a deadlock situation and seems to be doomed under the influence of China. According to Ling, a young activist of the Umbrella Movement, the Hong Kong population will only protest in the case of a mass violation of the freedom of expression.

Shortly after the transfer of power from Great Britain to Beijing, the post 80 generation could foresee that freedom of expression was going to be threatened. According to Mai Hai, a woman in her fifties, who is politically involved and very concerned about the lack of civil liberties in Hong Kong, 1997 was the beginning of a head-on confrontation with the CCP and resistance to the government of Beijing has strengthened in Hong Kong. In 2005 Citizen Radio was launched in order to bravely speak out and defend the freedom of expression. However, the authorities of Hong Kong, under the command of Beijing, began acts of repression against the radio station. Szeto Wah, and seven of his colleagues were prosecuted for having dared to speak about the Tianamen Square protests on his radio program.

Over recent years the situation regarding universal rights has not improved in Hong Kong. In 2014, the journalist, King Lau, was prosecuted for having sharply criticized Beijing. This created public indignation and outraged the newly politicized generation who began protests in Hong Kong to defend the freedom of the press and demand true universal suffrage. The Umbrella Revolution, a pro-democratic movement, began in 2014 when students boycotted class in order to protest outside city government headquarters in favor of the restoration of civil liberties. More and more Hong Kongers of all ages and backgrounds joined in these peaceful street protests, eventually paralyzing the citys central business district for weeks and even months. The humble umbrella became the key symbol of this protest as it was used not only to protect demonstrators from the tear gas and pepper spray used by the police and as a shelter for the night but it was also a symbol of resistance. Unfortunately, it would be naive to think that these protests, filmed by the cameras of the entire world would have been enough to frighten and threaten the Chinese government. Beijing went from strength to strength in its relentless repression and opposition to the movement. The Umbrella Revolution was no exception to Chinese severe censorship procedure. Lok Yee, one of the remaining protestors who still slept outside under his yellow umbrella several months later, explained how information was controlled and falsified by the authorities in Beijing. At first any inconvenient truths related to the Umbrella Movement were either deleted or modified. When this became impossible due to the huge influx of information the government decided to lie by saying that Hong Kongers were only showing support for the CPC. When these first strategies failed they always found new methods of covering over, such as falsifying videos by cutting scenes where policemen launched tear gas. They even paid both Chinese and Hong Kong people to help boost the governments popularity. These soft warriors also known as 50 cents were paid fifty cents for each positive comment twitted about the government or for each comment against the demonstrators. They even received more money if they demonstrated against the Umbrella Movement.

The ten-year judicial sentencing of Yiu Manting, a Hong Kong editor and the recent disappearance of five staff members of the Mighty Current Publishing House (known for frequently criticizing China) shows that Xi Jinping is more determined than ever. Opposing the government and defying censorship is becoming more and more dangerous in Hong Kong. Freedom of expression is severely jeopardized and journalists have no option but to rely on self-censorship in order to avoid retaliation.

All types of communication including the state media and social media are strictly controlled on the mainland of China. A lot of information is censored or falsified or in many cases completely deleted if certain words such as democracy are detected. The aim of the government is to try to hide information concerning its political policies and its methods of dealing with political dissidents or those who do not yield to the power of censorship. Baidu, the most popular search engine in China, has very limited resources on any subjects which are considered as sensitive by the Chinese authorities. Lence, a twenty-year-old student studying in Hong Kong, explained this to us and showed us that with a Chinese search engine it is impossible to find any facts about Liu Xiabo, the imprisoned human rights activist and Nobel Prize winner, who was absent from Oslo and unable to receive his award because he was kidnapped by the Chinese government.

According to Lence, the Chinese government is more and more concerned about the fact that Hong Kong students could bring their dangerous ideas to the mainland of China. On his recent visit there, his newspapers and all his academic papers were confiscated at the Chinese border. However this severe treatment is nothing compared to that of some of the leaders of the movement. During demonstrations secret agents are sometimes sent by the Chinese government to follow and list the names of those who are prone to upset the stability of the communist regime. These activists are blacklisted and not allowed reach mainland China.

There seems to be no hope today for a better future in Hong Kong, a sensation felt even among the younger generation. What will the implications be for the people who are being progressively denied their civil liberties? Will Hong Kong find democracy? Probably not, because Beijing fears that the election of any pro-democracy candidate could destabilize communist ideology and bring down the regime. A group of students from the University of Hong Kong, that we had the opportunity of speaking to, confessed that they did not think Beijing would change its attitude towards the people of Hong Kong nor loosen its control over the press.

Is this fatalism definitive or could the situation in Taiwan bring hope to the people of Hong Kong? Thanks to Taiwanese activists the Umbrella Movement influenced the election of the pro-independent president, Tsai Ing-Wen. Could this in turn bring new energy to Hong Kong in its battle to continue its fight for fundamental rights?

 Aine O\Mahony has a bachelor in Law and Political Science at the Catholic Institute of Paris and is currently a master\s student of Leiden University in the International Studies programme.

 Elodie Pichon has a bachelor in Law and Political Science at the Catholic Institute of Paris and is currently doing a MA in Geopolitics, territory and Security at King\s College London.

The views expressed in this article are the author\s own and do not necessarily reflect The Times Of Earth\s editorial policy.
These real PA creatures could become cryptids if we don't save them
One person was killed in Naagam and another person was killed in Khansaheb areas of Badgaum. Another protestor was later killed in Sopore.

Protests and clashes continue in Kashmir even a month after Hizbul Mujahideen commander Burhan Wani was killed.(File photo)

By India Today Web Desk: Three people were killed in protests across parts of Kashmir today.

This came after a mob attacked the office of a Sub-Divisional Police Officer (SDPO).

One person was killed in Naagam and another person was killed in Khansaheb areas of Badgaum. Another protestor was later killed in Sopore.

Protests and clashes continue in Kashmir even a month after Hizbul Mujahideen commander Burhan Wani was killed by security forces in an encounter on July 8. With more than 50 people killed and over 3,000 injured, the state government is facing severe backlash over its failure to tackle the crisis.

--- ENDS ---

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Richard Carter/Special to the Times Record News Backdoor Theatre will bring Jeff Daniels' hunting comedy "Escanaba in da Moonlight" to the stage. The play follows a Yooper who is aiming to bag his first buck. Starring in the play are, from left, Keith Maxwell, Bill Painter, Mark Finn, Corey Rauscher and Sheldon Clinton.

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By Richard Carter, Special to the Times Record News

Somewhere between playing a clueless dog groomer in "Dumb and Dumber" and a sanctimonious newscaster in "The Newsroom," actor Jeff Daniels wrote the play "Escanaba in da Moonlight" (1995) and starred in the 2001 movie.

Set in the upper Michigan Peninsula known as the UP, this humorous play revolves around the Soady clan and explores eldest son Reuben's desperate attempt to bag his first buck.

"Escanaba in da Moonlight" opens at 7:30 p.m. Aug. 12-13 on the Backdoor Theatre dinner stage and then runs on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays through Aug. 27.

When director and Backdoor Artistic Director Michael Sherry first opened the Daniels' script, he said, "What are we getting ourselves into? It's all written in a northern Michigan, upper peninsula dialect  all the 'you betcha's' and 'don't cha know's' of the Yoopers."

Sherry said it was hard enough for a Jersey boy like himself to read Texas dialects, but the play reads as if it's from outer space.

"There's a character named Jimmer Negamanee from Menomonee (Corey Rauscher) who has been abducted by aliens and struck by lightning. His lines are jibberish, kind of a mix of Yosemite Sam and Daffy Duck," he said with a laugh.

But, Sherry soon realized the play is more than its crazy dialect

"It's a great show that focuses on the heart of a family, and like any family, they have their ups and downs. There are dramatic moments, but it's really the comedy of what happens when a father and his sons get together to go on a hunting trip."

It turns out that everyone in the Soady family has shot a deer except for 35-year-old Reuben (Sheldon Clanton).

The family patriarch, Albert (Bill Painter), and younger brother, Remnar (Mark Finn), believe he's cursed.

The family friend who joins them on the hunt, Jimmer, believes their camp site is surrounded by UFOs, while Ranger Tom (Keith Maxwell), who stumbles onto the campers, believes those lights may be something far different.

Thankfully Reuben has the love and support of his Native American wife, Wolf Moon Dance Soady (Brandi Walker) of the Chippewa tribe.

"She tells him if it's a buck he wants, she will make it happen," Sherry said. "She also gives him, for good luck on the trip, a very unusual concoction."

There is a sort of magic that happens in the camp, Sherry said. As one character suggests at the beginning of the story, the audience will have to put themselves in the position to believe the unexpected.

Bill Painter, who plays Albert, is performing his first role at Backdoor in a while, after returning from Memphis.

"I am a voice actor by trade, but I've never done an Upper Michigan accent. I am enjoying it.

"We found so many amusing things in the script. Hunters will definitely enjoy it, and they, ironically, might be the ones convincing their wives to come to the theater, as opposed to the other way around," Painter said.

Clanton is enjoying his lead role.

"A lot of people, I know, are in the same position (as my character) with their families. I am the lovable loser," he said with a laugh. "I hope the audience will be rooting for me."

Rauscher gets to play what he calls "a ridiculous character who was abducted by aliens, and my character believes it happens."

What Rauscher enjoys the most is that he is able to go as far as he wants to with the role. "Almost everything I say, I tack on a 'sh.' "

The actors admitted they had to keep working on the dialect and their accents, until they got them right.

Escanaba is a town in the upper peninsula in Michigan, near the Canadian border. The residents and the dialect are referred to as Yoopers.

"It's a PG-13 play," said Sherry. "It's family friendly, very clean. The dialect may lose audiences under 15 or so. There are guns present, because it's a hunting story, but there's no shooting."

Backdoor board member Beau Dameron suggested the play, from when he lived in Midland, Texas, and the theater group had great success with it. Daniels, who is from Michigan, wrote it to perform in his Purple Rose Theatre in Chelsea, Michigan.

The bottom line in "Escanaba in da Moonlight," according to Sherry, is that audiences can really see what love can do.
SHARE Contributed photo Becky Nogle and William Warren star in "Tumbleweeds," playing 7:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday and Aug. 12-13 at the Royal Theater in Archer City.

THIS WEEKEND

DISNEY'S "THE LITTLE MERMAID": 7:30 p.m. Fridays and 2 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. Saturdays through Aug. 20, Wichita Theatre, 10th and Indiana. Ariel seeks the help of sea witch Ursula to win the heart of Prince Eric. $21 to $24 for adults; $11 and $12 for children 12 and younger. Discounts for students and military with ID. 723-9037 or wichitatheatre.com.

"TUMBLEWEEDS": 7:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday and Aug. 12-13, Royal Theater, Archer City. A musical comedy based on the comic strip. $10. 940-574-2489.

KEMP CAMPS EXHIBIT: Through Aug. 20, What's Up Downstairs Gallery, Kemp Center for the Arts, 1300 Lamar St., downtown. Free admission. 767-2787 or kempcenter.org.

CASTAWAY COVE DIVE-IN MOVIE, 'STAR WARS, THE FORCE AWAKENS': 8-10 p.m. Friday, Castaway Cove Waterpark. 322-5500.

DOWNTOWN FARMERS MARKET SEASON: 7:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Saturdays, Tuesdays and Thursdays through October, Eighth and Ohio. 322-4525.

PROJECT BACK TO SCHOOL BURKBURNETT RALLY: 9-11 a.m. Saturday, Burkburnett Community Center, 735 Davey Drive. http://www.burkburnettpbts.org/.

CRUISE KEMP CAR SHOW: Noon to 6 p.m. Saturday, Sikes Senter's east parking lot. Followed by an escorted cruise at 7 p.m. Presented by the Museum of North Texas History. www.museumofnorthtexashistory.org.

WRESTLER RIC FLAIR: 7-10 p.m. Saturday, Comanche Red River Casino, Devol, Oklahoma.

WICHITA FALLS GUN & KNIFE SHOW: Saturday and Sunday, MPEC's Ray Clymer Exhibit Hall. $5 for adults; free for those 13 and younger. 692-3766.

BURKBURNETT MOVIES IN THE PARK FEATURES 'MINIONS': 7 p.m. Saturday, Friendship Park, Burkburnett. To be screened: "Avengers 2," Aug. 20; "Goosebumps," Sept. 10; "The Peanuts Movie," Sept. 24. Movies begin at 7 p.m.

FLAPJACK FUNDRAISER: 8-10 a.m. Saturday, Applebee's. Benefits FC Dallas '05. Tickets: $7 in advance or at the door. For tickets, message fcdt05g@gmail.com. 632-7322.

ANTIQUES ROUNDUP: 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, Wichita Falls Museum of Art at MSU, 2 Eureka Circle. Bring in your treasures and meet with experts from Heritage Auctions. Tickets sold in advance at the door. $25 for one item; $40 for two items; $60 for three items. 397-8900.

FIVE-STAR BARREL RACING: 2-5 p.m. Sunday, J.S. Bridwell Agricultural Center. Free to spectators. 781-2414.

DURING THE WEEK

FREE DANCE WEEK: Monday to Aug. 11, Wichita Falls Youth Ballet. Check out the ballet's classes for free this week. 733-3325.

CINEMARK'S SUMMER MOVIE CLUBHOUSE: 10 a.m. Tuesdays and Wednesdays through Aug. 10, Cinemark 14, Parker Square. $5 for 10 movies or $1 per show. G- or PG-rated. To be screened: "Max," Aug. 9-10. 716-9933 or www.cinemark.com.

SOUNDS OF SPEEDWAY CONCERTS FEATURES UPTOWN DRIVE: 7 p.m. Thursday, Kemp at the Forum, 2120 Speedway. Wonderland will perform variety/dance. BYOB (beer and wine only). $20. 766-3347 or artscouncilwf.org.

LIVE AT THE LAKE FEATURES HELLEN BACH: 6:30-8:30 p.m. Thursday, Wichita Falls Museum of Art, 2 Eureka Circle. Free outdoor concert on the museum grounds.

CONTINUING EVENTS

DYLAN CAVIN EXHIBIT: Through Aug. 13, West End Studio, Kemp Center for the Arts, 1300 Lamar St., downtown. Cavin's artwork reflects his Native American heritage. Free admission. 767-2787 or kempcenter.org.

J.R. "RUSTY" COOK EXHIBIT: Through Sept. 24, NorthLight Gallery, Kemp Center for the Arts, 1300 Lamar St., downtown. Free admission. 767-2787 or kempcenter.org.

MARY KIMBELL EXHIBIT: Through Sept. 17, Galleria at the Forum at the Kemp at the Forum, 2120 Speedway Ave. Free admission. 766-3347.
Detroit

Auto safety regulators in two countries are investigating another deadly air bag problem that could affect up to 8 million vehicles.

Investigators in the U.S. and Canada are looking into a crash in the Canadian province of Newfoundland in which a woman was killed by an exploding air bag inflator made by ARC Automotive Inc. of Knoxville, Tennessee.

As many as 8 million ARC inflators are under scrutiny in the U.S., mainly in older cars, although it hasn't been determined how many of those are defective. Although the results are similar, the ARC problem is different from one that resulted in the recall of 69 million inflators in the U.S. made by Takata Corp.

Authorities say the Canadian woman was killed July 8 when the ARC inflator ruptured and sent metal shrapnel into the passenger compartment of 2009 Hyundai Elantra she was driving. Without the shrapnel injuries, the driver likely would have survived the low-speed crash, Canadian officials said. Now, investigators from both countries are trying to figure out what caused the inflator to blow apart.

The death raises more questions about the safety of air bags, which rely on explosions to fill bags that protect people in crashes. It also brought new urgency to a probe opened last year by the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration after an Ohio woman was injured by an ARC inflator. The U.S. safety agency on Thursday upgraded its investigation to an engineering analysis, a step closer to a recall.

Messages were left seeking comment from ARC. NHTSA's Canadian counterpart, Transport Canada, said ARC is cooperating.

NHTSA said it is focusing on determining the entire population of ARC inflators in the U.S., which it estimates at 8 million mainly in older vehicles made by General Motors, Fiat Chrysler, Hyundai and Kia.

"Should a safety defect be found, owners will be notified," Transport Canada said in a statement.
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Albany

Jazz legend Ellis Marsalis will headline the city's 15th Annual Jazz Festival on Saturday, Sept. 10.

With construction at the traditional riverfront location, this year's all-day free concerts will be at the Washington Park Parade Grounds. In case of rain, the festival will move to the Corning Preserve Boat Launch at Water and Colonie streets.

For more information, call 434-2032 or visit www.albanyevents.org.

Here's the lineup:

The Ellis Marsalis Quintet 7-8:30 p.m. New Orleans modern jazz pianist.

Lucky Chops, 5:30-6:30 p.m. Redefining what it means to be a brass band.

KJ Denhert, 4-5 p.m. Urban folk and jazz.

Jazz Caravan, 2:30-3:30 p.m. Guitar-based Capital Region trio

Cliff Brucker & Full Circle, 1-2 p.m. Classic jazz standards and original compositions.

The city is accepting applications for food, art, craft, retail and public information vendors. Visit www.albanyevents.org/vendor_information. Sign up to volunteer at www.albanyevents.org/volunteer, call 518.434.5411 or email volunteer@albanyny.gov.
COLONIE  The annual Cops on Top event to raise awareness and funds for Special Olympics New York found police at participating Dunkin' Donuts restaurants in the Capital Region on Friday.

The sit-in with the officers allows patrons to visit with Special Olympics athletes and their families, and make donations to Special Olympics New York.
Schenectady

Bucolic pastures, a red barn and a white-pillared house  the Beekman 1802 farm's serenity is a far cry from State Street.

But that didn't stop the Sharon Springs-based lifestyle brand from moving its headquarters from a goat farm to downtown Schenectady.

Beekman 1802, which sells beauty products, food and clothing, now occupies 2,000 square feet of the office space vacated by Quirky. It expects to expand to fill 11,000 square feet as it hires managers, videographers, magazine and book contributors and employees to build out the e-commerce platform, co-founder Brent Ridge said Thursday.

Ridge said he hopes to hire five employees this year and 25 in the next several years. The company will retain its farm and merchandise store in the Schoharie County town about 40 miles west of Schenectady.

Led by Ridge and his husband Josh Kilmer-Purcell, the company's reputation grew through the reality show "The Fabulous Beekman Boys," which aired on the Cooking Channel. Ridge and Kilmer-Purcell won "The Amazing Race" in 2012.

Beekman 1802 will initially operate tax-free through the state Start-Up NY program, an economic development program that says it has created 408 jobs over three years.

The city heard the farm sought corporate offices, and it pitched Schenectady as a good fit, as partner companies like Casa Visco and Gatherer's Granola are nearby, Metroplex Executive Director Ray Gillen said.

Five employees will initially work full time from the Schenectady office, Ridge said. Ridge and Kilmer-Purcell will commute to the city about once a week this summer, and once autumn slows farm operations, they will travel to Schenectady more frequently.

"We really needed a location that could expand with us, one that also had the modern facilities that we need," Ridge said.

Beekman 1802 first seeks to hire a chief of staff and a chief executive officer, he said. It will then recruit a chief marketing officer and a food division leader.

A consultant is helping the company prepare for a first round of financing, Ridge said, a duty that a CEO would absorb. He declined to specify how much Beekman 1802 seeks to raise.

The business has been profitable since 2008, its first year operating, Ridge said.

Ridge and Kilmer-Purcell bought the Sharon Springs farm in 2007 as a weekend home, when each worked in New York City. But both men lost their jobs, and to pay off the mortgage, they moved out to the farm full-time to "make the place sustain itself," Ridge said.

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"At the time we launched, our story was so familiar to what so many Americans were going through at the time," he said. "People had lost their jobs, they were starting over. They were in the same transitional period in their lives."

As the economy improved, he said, those who knew of their product became customers.

Ridge describes the company as "lean" and says it makes "judicious decisions."

Now, he said, moving to Schenectady is "a good fit for us."

"I don't think we could have found that same level of vigor and excitement if we had to move out of the state," he said.

lellis@timesunion.com  518-454-5018  @lindsayaellis
By India Today Web Desk: The Punjab Police has formed several teams to apprehend controversial superintendent of police (SP) Salwinder Singh who is on the run. Manhunt for Singh was launched after the Gurdaspur police registered a case of rape against the controversial SP.

The victim's husband had filed a complaint through the chief minister's web portal Sangat Darshan. The rape case was filed against Singh after a probe found out that he demanded sexual favours from the wife of a rape accused.

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CONTROVERSIAL PAST

Singh was mired in a controversy over the terrorist attack at Pathankot air base. He and two others were claimed to have been abducted by the Pakistani terrorists, who used their mobile phones to contact their families and handlers in that country. They had also snatched the vehicle Singh was travelling in.

Police sources said the SP frequented his house and sought sexual favours from his wife and also demanded a sum of Rs 50,000 to exonerate him from the rape charge. The victim's husband told the police that even after handing over the money, Singh continued to harass them.

SINGH ACCUSED OF RAPE, BRIBERY

Singh has been booked under section 376 C of the Indian Penal Code. Singh had earlier made headlines after five policewomen filed a complaint of sexual harassment against him.

The SP has been asked to appear before Inspector General Gurpreet Deo, who heads the committee, today, the police said.

Also read:

Controversial Punjab SP booked for sexual harassment



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Cambridge

When the nuns and monks of New Skete celebrate 50 years of monastic life in their idyllic country retreat on Saturday, they will offer prayers of gratitude for the friendship of neighbors and the sustaining income from cheesecakes and German shepherds.

After the liturgy, evening vigil and healing service have concluded and guests have left Washington County, four nuns and eight monks in the Eastern Orthodox sect will hold a crucial meeting to discuss the future for their dwindling and aging community.

"We're getting into our 70s and 80s now and it's getting harder and harder to make enough money to keep it going as we grow get older," said Brother Mark, 74, a native of Pittsburgh who was one of the founders.

More Information Saturday celebration What: New Skete Monasteries annual pilgrimage and 50th anniversary celebration. When: Saturday. Divine liturgy at 9 a.m. led by Metropolitan Tikhon, similar to the archbishop of the Orthodox Church in America. There will be talks and tours throughout the day. Where: New Skete Monasteries, 273 New Skete Lane, Cambridge. Info: 677-3928 or www.newskete.org See More Collapse

"We need to have deep talks about what's in our hearts and where we want to go as a community as we enter this different phase of our lives," he said. "The monastic life is a beautiful life. We don't understand why more people are not coming to join us."

The monks have a novice in his late 30s, a computer programmer from California, who is expected to arrive in coming months. That's still far short of the 14 monks who lived and worked at New Skete in the 1980s. They took their name from a small ancient Christian settlement in Egypt. Their chapels and buildings are filled with Russian icons and their rituals are similar to those of the Russian Orthodox Church.

The founders were in their mid-20s when they bought the remote, rocky and hilly land for $50 an acre in 1966, cobbled together a few small structures and failed at a succession of farming ventures intended to support their contemplative life of prayer.

Five nuns who had been part of the cloistered Roman Catholic Order of Poor Clares left the Midwest in 1969, joined the Eastern Orthodox sect and lived in a house near the monks. They later purchased their own property 4 miles away and built a commercial bakery to produce their popular cheesecakes.

Only three still live in the community and the fourth nun is in a nearby nursing home. They have no new recruits and had to hire five employees to maintain daily production of 200 cheesecakes. That's far below the 20,000 cheesecakes they baked annually in the 1980s when they had 14 nuns.

"We had a few novices who came for a year or two, but none of them stuck around for long," said Sister Cecelia, 74, of Indianapolis, one of the original founders.

"I'm happy and content with the monastic life, but it gets more difficult to keep it going as we get older," she said. "I tell people it's a good life if you can stay disciplined."

A group of lay people, called the Companions, lived communally in a nearby house for years. Several died and the last couple grew too infirm to remain, forcing the program and its revenue stream to end a few years ago.

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"We've got rising medical expenses and we just can't do as much work as we used to do," said Brother Stavros, 73, a native of Washington, D.C., and a founding member.

"It's hard to believe we've been here for 50 years. It seems like yesterday we were struggling as dairy farmers, chicken farmers and sheep farmers," he said. "We tried everything before the dogs finally saved us."

Their highly prized purebred German shepherds sell for thousands of dollars. They have international clients and a long waiting list. The monks' dog training books and videos are very popular. A new dog training center opened this year, named for benefactor Maurice Sendak, the late children's author and illustrator of "Where the Wild Things Are." Sendak had a summer home nearby and purchased German shepherds from the monks, whom he befriended.

German shepherds roam the grounds with the monks and nuns, who cherish them as pets. In fact, dogs nearly outnumber people at the monasteries and reversing that trend has proven difficult. "This lifestyle is countercultural and it's hard to get people to give up their mobility," said Brother Stavros who, like the others, took a vow of poverty, chastity, obedience and stability. That means he must remain rooted in Cambridge.

"The cemetery is my next destination," he said, as he walked through rows of simple wooden crosses in a field next to the chapel, where he passed the graves of his mother and many monks and nuns he once toiled alongside.

pgrondahl@timesunion.com  518-454-5623  @PaulGrondahl
Super Guppy lands at Tinker

The Super Guppy made a very rare stop at Tinker Air Force Base today for some gas on its way to Florida. The NASA aircraft was delivering an Orion Heatshield for a mission expected a few years from now. The transportation of oversized cargo has always been a tremendous problem for logistics

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Clonmel World Music will proudly presents 'The New York Sessions' at Raheen House Hotel on Wednesday, August 17th - the night will feature New York's Spirit Family Reunion supported by Twain.

Following a summer break Clonmel World Music returns with this exciting double bill - the event organisers are delighted to welcome back Spirit Family Reunion to Tipperary. This US group previously featured in September 2012 and such was the reaction that Clonmel World Music had to get them back again.

It's taken us four years to get them to come back to Ireland, but it will be worth the wait, explained Gerry Lawless of Clonmel World Music.

In 2012 we had the pleasure of organising a full Irish tour for them. This time they are coming over to Europe to play at the famous Tondor Festival in Denmark and will be touring in Germany, Holland, Spain and the UK as well. They are coming over to Ireland to play two festivals and Clonmel is the only date in the Republic outside of these.

Spirit Family Reunion is a six-piece touring band based in New York which delivers a raw, high-energy and honest performance. Spirit Family Reunion consists of Nick Panken (guitar & vocals), Mat Davidson (fiddle & vocals), Or Zubalsky (drums), Ken Woodward (bass & vocals), Maggie Carson (banjo & vocals) and Stephen Weinheimer (washboard & vocals).

Spirit Family Reunion play home grown American music to stomp, clap, shake, and holler with. Ever since they started singing together on the street corners, farmer's markets and subway stations of New York City, their songs have rung-out in a pure and timeless way.

Spirit Family Reunion isnt from Appalachia or the plains; the band is from Brooklyn. Its music, though clearly Americana-based, casts a wide enough net to elude classification.

Spirit Family Reunion have shared the stage with the late Levon Helm and the Del McCoury Band. This band have also made numerous Newport Folk Festival appearances and they have toured with Alabama Shakes, Trampled By Turtles and the Felice Brothers.

They have self-produced and self-released two full-length albums as well as multiple songbooks and other collections of recordings.

Support act Twain is Mat Davidson, a former member of The Low Anthem and a member of Annie & The Beekeepers and Spirit Family Reunion. On his own he creates beautiful and sincere tunes that blend folk, Americana and country. Twain has released an album, 'Life Labors in the Choir', which came out in 2014.

Doors for the gig will open at 7.30pm with running order as follows: Twain will open the show at 8.15pm with Spirit Family Reunion taking to the stage at 9pm.

Tickets for this great double-header gig are priced at just 15 and are available from the Premier Music Centre, Clonmel. Phone 052 612 9811 or 086 338 9619.
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[August 05, 2016] K-Mobile To Hire 100 Syrian Refugees to Work in 250 New Stores

TORONTO, Aug. 5, 2016 /CNW/ - Today the founder and Chief Executive Officer of K-Mobile, Shami Munir, joined with Ontario's Premier Kathleen Wynne at the grand opening of Canada's first K-Mobile store, to announce that 100 Syrian refugees will be hired as employees once the company expands to 250 stores across the Greater Toronto Area. Along with the store opening, they also celebrated the launch of Canada's first ever Android smartphone. "After working in mobile industry for almost two decades and listening to customers, I knew that they wanted a better one-stop shop experience when mobile shopping. I'm proud that we will be expanding our stores as well as hiring and training 1,000 employees including 100 Syrian refugees," said Munir. "I believe these newomers will be some of the hardworking employees we will have, and meaningful employment is essential for their settlement success."



The K-Mobile flagship store is now open in East York Town Centre with many more locations set to open in the Greater Toronto Area in the coming months. K-Mobile is a one-stop experience, offering service plans, smartphones, accessories with no pressure or gimmicks. K-Mobile's guiding philosophy is to make sure our customers are happy from the moment they walk into the store, to choosing the latest phone and package. "I was heartened to learn that Shami has proactively reached out to Syrian refugees offering them training and jobs," said Premier Wynne. "And I am excited to see all the great work going into making the K-Mobile stores a success, as well as the launch of this great new smartphone."

In addition to opening the first of 250 K-Mobile stores, K-Mobile announced the launch a first-ever Canadian Android "K2" smartphone, available in store or on-line at www.K-Mobile.ca. K-Mobile has signed up with Koodo and Virgin Mobile as a multi-carrier. "My dream has always been to develop an astonishing smart phone without a heavy price tag," said Munir. "I'm proud to announce the K2 has fulfilled that dream. It is Canada's first Android phone, with a 2-sim card capability, exclusive apps, unlocked and fully customizable for all the customers' needs." SOURCE K-Mobile

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An senior police official was mowed down by alleged cattle smugglers in the Jaunpur district of Poorvanchal region of Uttar Pradesh in the wee hours of Friday.

By Rajat Rai: An senior police official was mowed down by alleged cattle smugglers in the Jaunpur district of Poorvanchal region of Uttar Pradesh in the wee hours of Friday.

Triloki Tiwari, posted as head constable, sustained serious injuries after he was crushed by the van carrying cattle at Badlapur check point in the wee hours, police said.

Tiwari was rushed to the district hospital and later reffered to Varanasi, where doctors declared him brought dead, they said.

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Superintendent of Police Atul Saxena said Tiwari, hailing from Kaimur district in Bihar, was posted at Saraipokhta outpost for several years.

He said that a wireless message was received this morning around 3 AM that smugglers were transporting cattle in two vehicles.

The SP said the smugglers escaped from the spot after the incident.

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[August 05, 2016] RingByName Provides Marketplace Solution For Telekom Malaysia

RingByName, a Miami company offering cloud communications services in 70 countries, has entered into an agreement with Telekom Malaysia to participate in the company's VADS Marketplace. Joining such brands as Microsoft Office365, Skype, and EMC's (News - Alert) Mozy, RingByName will help Telekom Malaysia business clients better acquire, retain, and communicate with their customers. This is part of a larger trend that reflects the globalization of cloud-based services to enhance existing infrastructure. RingByName is at the forefront of delivering this kind of innovation. "We are pleased to partner with Telekom Malaysia (News - Alert) on this important initiative," said Kooi Lim, CEO of RingByName. "Our services have been in demand from small businesses throughout the world. We believe they will be equally valuable for Malaysian and other regional businesses that want to use sophisticated technology to communicate better and reach revenue goals." RingByName has built and perfected a highly-scalable communications platform using proprietary and open-source software. The company has hundreds of thousands of customers using its services globally.



About RingByName

RingByName is a cloud-based communications platform for small businesses. It helps companies build and retain relationships with their customers while running more smoothly. RingByName offers innovative features including a free web and mobile app so that companies can stay in touch anytime, anywhere. RingByName is headquartered in Miami, Florida and boasts hundreds of thousands of customers in 70 countries worldwide. For more information visit http://www.ringbyname.com About Telekom Malaysia Telekom Malaysia is Malaysia's leading converged telecommunications company. Founded in 1946, TM is transforming the way people connect, communicate, and collaborate. The company offers a range of product offerings including fixed line and mobile telephony; television and network services and high-speed broadband. Telekom Malaysia has more than 28,000 employees and a market capitalization in excess of US $6 Billion. It trades on the KLSE under the symbol TM. For more information visit https://marketplace.vads.com View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20160805005546/en/

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[August 05, 2016] Technavio Announces Top Nine Vendors in the Global School Furniture Market from 2016 to 2020

Technavio has announced the top nine leading vendors in their recent global school furniture market report until 2020. To calculate the market size, the report considers the revenue generated from seating, storage, and lab equipment. Competitive vendor landscape According to the report, the global school furniture market is highly fragmented with the presence of many global and regional players. Based on product differentiation and pricing, the competition among the market vendors is intense. The competition is expected to intensify further owing to increased product offerings. Meanwhile, emergence of online retailers exerting pricing pressure on the players owing to wide range of products available across price ranges. Vendors are catering to users through packaged deals. For instance, Sebel offers bundled products for both primary and secondary schools. "Vendors are trying to innovate with designs, materials, and technologies, and are involved in promoting their products extensively to survive in the competitive market. The market is opening a wide range of options for vendors offering various kinds of products and services. Besides adaptability and flexibility, vendors are recognizing the technology penetration in classrooms and are adopting multiple hardware to manufacture the appropriate furniture models," says Jhansi Mary, lead school and college essentials analyst from Technavio. Request sample report: http://goo.gl/Fd1MBw Top nine school furniture market vendors Herman Miller (News - Alert) Herman Miller was established in 1905 and is headquartered in Michigan, US. It provides interior furnishings for office, healthcare, educational, and residential settings. As of May 2015, the company employed 7,510 people and is supported by an operational network in the US, the UK, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Australia, Singapore, China, Hong Kong, India, and the Netherlands. Herman Miller offers a wide range of furniture and solutions for the education industry, which includes Swoop lounge furniture, Everywhere Tables, Caper Chairs, Meridian Storage, Setu Chairs, and Thrive Portfolio. The company has taken several initiatives to increase its market presence. In October 2015, the company inaugurated its new facility in Bengaluru, India as part of its expansion plans in Asia. With the establishment of this facility, the company aims to accomplish sales revenue of USD 60 million in the next four years. HNI HNI was incorporated in 1944 and is headquartered at Iowa, US. The company is a provider of office furniture and hearth products. It has its operational presence in the US, Canada, China, Hong Kong, India, and Taiwan. The copany markets its school furniture products under two brands: The HON Company and Artco-Bell. It offers a broad range of products and accessories, including chairs, desks, tables, and storage facilities.



KI KI was founded in 1941 and is headquartered at Wisconsin, US. The company is a manufacturer of furniture and architectural wall system solutions. It serves education, healthcare, government, and corporations. It operates its manufacturing facilities and sales offices in the US, Latin America, Canada, Europe, and Asia.

KI offers a wide range of products and solutions related to the furniture market. It offers its products for administrative offices, cafeterias, classrooms, computer labs, conference rooms, lecture halls, school libraries, and training rooms. Steelcase Steelcase was founded in 1912 and is headquartered in Michigan, US. It is a provider of office furniture, interior architecture, and space solutions for offices, hospitals, and classrooms. It markets its products through various brands Steelcase, Coalesse, Designtex, PolyVision, and Turnstone. Steelcase has initiated several strategies for schools, colleges, and universities to create rewarding, effective, and inspiring active learning environments and meet the evolving needs of students and educators. It markets its products through PolyVision and manufactures ceramic steel surfaces for various applications, and includes static whiteboards and chalkboards sold in the primary and secondary education markets worldwide. Ballen Panels Ballen Panels provides furniture solutions to different industries. The company is based in London, UK. It has products under the categories of teaching walls, classrooms, libraries, wet benches, bespoke furnishing, cloakrooms, and office suites. It offers IT furnishing facility to support technology-aided classroom. The company also provides services such as consulting, designing, and project management. EDUMAX EDUMAX supplies furniture to multiple industries. The company was formed in 1963 and is headquartered in Doha, Qatar. It offers a wide range of products that includes school uniform, stationery items, and hardware such as IWB. It provides a suite of products such as classroom furniture, writing board and accessories, library furniture, computer tables, and laboratory furniture in the global schools furniture market. Fleetwood Group Fleetwood Group deals with the manufacturing of electronics and furniture. The company was incorporated in 1955 and is headquartered in Michigan, US. It offers furniture solutions for the education industry such as learning wall, library, science, computer lab, mobile cabinets, and tables. It has a strong presence in the domestic market with offices across the US. It offers customization services to its customers by working closely with architects and schools. Hertz Furniture Hertz Furniture is a manufacturer of school and office furniture. The company is headquartered in New Jersey, US. It offers a wide variety of products ranging from boards, bookcases, and chairs to library furniture. It caters to various industries such as healthcare, education, and corporate. It provides services in the areas of logistics, project planning, designing, delivery, and installation. Knoll Knoll designs and manufactures furniture, textiles, and fine leathers for office, school, and home. The company was founded in 1938 and is based in Pennsylvania, US. It has a wide geographical presence in Europe, the US, and Canada. It serves its customers through independent retailers, direct sales representatives, and independent dealers. It markets its furniture products by categories, rooms, and designers. It provides customers seating, tables, ergonomic desk and chairs, kids' furniture, and accessories in the school furniture market. Browse Related Reports: Global Office Furniture Market 2016-2020

Global Furniture Logistics Market 2016-2020

Global Furniture Wood Coatings Market 2015-2019 Do you need a report on a market in a specific geographical cluster or country but can't find what you're looking for? Don't worry, Technavio also takes client requests. Please contact [email protected] with your requirements and our analysts will be happy to create a customized report just for you. About Technavio Technavio is a leading global technology research and advisory company. The company develops over 2000 pieces of research every year, covering more than 500 technologies across 80 countries. Technavio has about 300 analysts globally who specialize in customized consulting and business research assignments across the latest leading edge technologies. Technavio analysts employ primary as well as secondary research techniques to ascertain the size and vendor landscape in a range of markets. Analysts obtain information using a combination of bottom-up and top-down approaches, besides using in-house market modeling tools and proprietary databases. They corroborate this data with the data obtained from various market participants and stakeholders across the value chain, including vendors, service providers, distributors, re-sellers, and end-users. If you are interested in more information, please contact our media team at [email protected]. View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20160805005010/en/

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[August 05, 2016] Wirecard Partners with O2 to Offer Mobile Point-of-Sale Solutions in the Czech Republic

MUNICH, August 5, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Wirecard manages the technical integration and acquiring processing Wirecard, one of the leading payment service providers, is now working together with O2 Czech Republic to offer a unified solution to all retailers in the Czech Republic. Thanks to the new cooperation, O2 as the largest telecommunication provider in the Czech Republic will offer their merchants a product named eKasa which is a fully online, tablet based fiscal till system together with credit card payment transaction services. With this, every retailer is in the position to comply with the new government standards in a beneficial way. "It's a pleasure to work with Wirecard on this project to really draw an advantage for retailers out of this situation. For us, Wirecard is a reliable partner that quickly responds to innovations," said Lubos Lukasik, Director, SMB segment and indirect sales at O2. Within this cooperation, Wirecard will act as the acquirer that processes all payment transactions, as well as the technical service provider which enables O2 to use Wirecard's mPOS Software Developing Kit (SDK). Subsequently, O2 will offer its customers the solution eKasa that includes a card reader which provides merchants with secure chip and PIN mobile card acceptance. This practical alternative to fixed till systems is suitable for merchants, companies and self-employed people from all industries who are now affected by this new government directive. Roland Toch, Managing Director at Wirecard CEE, said: "We are delighted to work with O2 on this large volume project. The new combination that includes services from both parties enables retailers to benefit from powerful paymnt management features as they can simply repurpose a tablet to a new checkout device. That optimizes the processes and reduces costs at the same time."



This year, a new till system law has been implemented in the Czech Republic requiring retailers to conclude payment transactions online. Payment details are then forwarded to the national tax office where they are reviewed in order to avoid tax fraud.

About Wirecard:

Wirecard AG is a global technology group that supports companies in accepting electronic payments from all sales channels. As a leading independent supplier, the Wirecard Group offers outsourcing and white label solutions for electronic payments. A global platform bundles international payment acceptances and methods with supplementary fraud prevention solutions. With regard to issuing own payment instruments in the form of cards or mobile payment solutions, the Wirecard Group provides companies with an end-to-end infrastructure, including the requisite licences for card and account products. Wirecard AG is listed on the Frankfurt Securities Exchange (TecDAX, ISIN DE0007472060, WDI). For further information about Wirecard, please visit http://www.wirecard.com or follow us on twitter @wirecard. About Wirecard CEE: Wirecard CEE is part of the Wirecard Group as well as being the competence centre for Austria and the CEE (Central and Eastern European) markets. As the leading payment service provider (PSP) in Austria, Wirecard CEE has been supporting merchants for the past 16 years in successfully implementing international multi-channel strategies in the payment sector. http://www.wirecard.at

Wirecard media contact:



Wirecard AG

Jana Tilz

Tel.: +49-(0)-89-4424-1363

E-Mail: [email protected]



Wirecard Central Eastern Europe GmbH

Kerstin Papst

Tel.: +43-(0)-316 / 81-36-81-1500

Email: [email protected]

About O2 Czech Republic: O2 is the largest integrated telecommunications provider in the Czech market. At present we operate close to eight million mobile and fixed accesses, which ranks us among the market leaders in fully converged services in Europe. To users of mobile services in the Czech Republic we offer state-of-the-art HSPA+ and LTE technology. We have the most comprehensive proposition of voice and data services in the Czech Republic, and we actively exploit the growth potential of the various business lines, especially ICT. Our data centres, with total floor area of 7,300 square metres, rank us among the leaders in hosting, cloud and managed services. O2 data centres belong to the few commercial ones in Central Europe to have TIER III certification. With our O2 TV we are also the largest IPTV service provider in the Czech Republic. O2 Czech Republic media contact:



Lucie Pechackova

Spokesperson

[email protected]



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[August 04, 2016] Zotec Partners Supports Kenyan Clean Water Initiative in the Jubilee Village Project's "Walk For Water"

Zotec Partners (Zotec), an industry leading revenue and practice management services provider for hospitals and hospital-based physicians, served as a corporate gold sponsor of the Jubilee Village Project's 2016 Walk For Water in downtown Indianapolis. The event featured a three-mile walk in which participants carry a five-gallon water bucket to experience the daily trek that women and children around the world make each day to collect water for their families. On July 30, Jubilee Village Project, Zotec and other Indianapolis businesses sponsored the event on the Indianapolis Water Canal with more than 150 walkers participating, where they raised more than $17,000 to bring safe water to 3,000 people in the village of Ngulu in western Kenya. "Through the generosity of corporate sponsors like Zotec Partners, it is possible that every single dollar raised through the Walk For Water event is directed to the safe water project in western Kenya. Jubilee Village Project is grateful for this type of corporate philanthropy to help charity organizations in our city," shares Mike Peduto, Walk For Water event chairman. T. Scott Law, founder and CEO of Zotec, an advocate for the betterment of impoverished global communities, notes the importance of philanthropic support and commitment to causes like these, stating, "Our organization has a passion to make a positive impact in the lives of others, and we believe it is our social responsibility to help people in emerging nations in any way we can." He goes on to say that businesses like Zotec would not be able to assist these nations without organizations like the JubileeVillage Project, adding, "We are very thankful to these local organizations for serving as the conduit that allows us to make a difference in peoples' lives."



Individuals wishing to support the cause of bringing safe water to the village of Ngulu in western Kenya can still make donations on Zotec's Walk for Water team page at https://indy.walk-for-water.org/teamzotec. Zotec serves thousands of physicians and its proprietary processes and technology manage in excess of 70 million medical encounters across all 50 states.

About Zotec Partners Founded in 1998 by CEO T. Scott Law, Zotec Partners is the Indianapolis-based industry leader in specialized medical billing and practice management services for the hospital-based specialty market. Zotec Partners is committed to the continual pursuit of excellence in the physician revenue cycle management industry by delivering effective solutions through its proprietary technology, personalized service and measurable client results. Currently, the company serves more than 8,000 physicians in all 50 states. For media inquiries, contact Tara Rowland at [email protected]. For more information about Zotec Partners, visit http://www.zotecpartners.com. About Jubilee Village Project The Jubilee Village Project is a grass roots, volunteer-based charity based in Indianapolis and Colorado. Founded in 2009 and centered in the loving ministry of Jesus, the vision of the Jubilee Village Project is to provide hope, opportunity and liberty to villages around the world to end extreme poverty. The Jubilee Village Project collaborates with villages in rural western Kenya to build capacities and deploy sustainable solutions to meet the physical, social, economic and spiritual needs of others. For more information about the Jubilee Village Project, visit http://jubileevillage.org. View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20160804006564/en/

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[August 04, 2016] Collaborative Robots Market Worth 3.3 Billion USD by 2022

PUNE, India, August 5, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- The report "Collaborative Robots Market by Payload (Up to 5 Kg, Up to 10 Kg, & Above 10 Kg), Application, Industry and Geography - Global Forecast to 2022", published by MarketsandMarkets, the global market is expected to grow at a CAGR of 60.04% between 2016 and 2022 from USD 110.0 Million in 2015 and is expected to reach USD 3.3 Billion by 2022. (Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160303/792302 )

Browse 65 market data Tables and 51 Figures spread through 189 Pages and in-depth TOC on "Collaborative Robots Market" http://www.marketsandmarkets.com/Market-Reports/collaborative-robot-market-194541294.html

Early buyers will receive 10% customization on this report. The market is expected to be driven by factors such as higher return on investment and low price of collaborative robots are attracting the small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) and the increase in investments for automation in industries. The collaborative robots market is application driven; the application in the automotive sector accounted for the largest share in 2015 The global Collaborative Robots Market is driven by application in industries such as automotive, metal and machining, furniture and equipment, food and beverages, plastic and polymers, and others. Collaborative robots used in the automotive sector accounted for the largest share of the global collaborative robots market in 2015; this market is expected to grow at a significant rate between 2016 and 2022, driven by the growing focus of consumers on safety features provided by collaborative robots in the field of manufacturing and automation. In developed regions, such as North America and Europe, growth in the collaborative robots market in the automotive sector is expected to be driven by rise in safety rated manufacturing and the growing trend of precision which were not possible due to the common human errors, while, in developing regions, such as Asia-Pacific and RoW, it is likely to be driven by the rise in industrial automation during the forecast period. Collaborative robots are used in the furniture and equipment industry and this market is expected to witness rapid growth during the forecast period An acceptance and installation rate of collaborative robots in furniture and equipment industry is increasing and is expected to cntinue to grow rapidly during the forecast period. This growth is expected to be significant in RoW region for new fleet of applications.



Asia-Pacific is expected to hold a large share of the collaborative robots market by 2022 Europe was the largest market in 2015, followed by Asia-Pacific and North America. Regulations have driven the market for collaborative robots to reduce the need for safety fences between human and robots and mitigate the effects of imminent collisions (accidents). Europe was the early adopter which has resulted in a large market for collaborative robots in 2015. However, with the expected increase in regulations related to safety standards in collaborative technology, regions such as North America, Asia-Pacific, and RoW, coupled with a growing focus on safety sensors, these regions are expected to develop potential growth opportunities for this market during the forecast period. The collaborative robots market in Asia-Pacific is expected to surpass that of Europe by 2018 and hold a large market share through 2022.

Inquiry Before Buying: http://www.marketsandmarkets.com/Enquiry_Before_Buying.asp?id=194541294 The major companies in the global collaborative robots market that have been included in this report are ABB Ltd. (Switzerland), KUKA AG (Germany), FANUC Corporation (Japan), Robert Bosch GmbH (Germany), Universal Robots (Denmark), Rethink Robotics (U.S.), Energid Technologies (U.S.), and MRK-Systeme GmbH (Germany), among others. Browse Related Reports Industrial Robotics Market by Type (Articulated, Cartesian, SCARA, Cylindrical, Parallel, Collaborative Robots), Component (Controller, Robotic Arm, End Effector, Sensors, Drive), Vertical and Geography - Analysis & Forecast to 2022

http://www.marketsandmarkets.com/Market-Reports/Industrial-Robotics-Market-643.html Mobile Robots Market by Environment (Aerial, Ground, and Marine), Component (Hardware and Software), Application (Professional Service and Personal Service), and Geography (North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, and the RoW) - Global Forecast to 2020

http://www.marketsandmarkets.com/Market-Reports/mobile-robots-market-43703276.html Know More About our Knowledge Store @ http://www.marketsandmarkets.com/Knowledgestore.asp About MarketsandMarkets MarketsandMarkets is the largest market research firm worldwide in terms of annually published premium market research reports. Serving 1700 global fortune enterprises with more than 1200 premium studies in a year, M&M is catering to a multitude of clients across 8 different industrial verticals. We specialize in consulting assignments and business research across high growth markets, cutting edge technologies and newer applications. Our 850 fulltime analyst and SMEs at MarketsandMarkets are tracking global high growth markets following the "Growth Engagement Model - GEM". The GEM aims at proactive collaboration with the clients to identify new opportunities, identify most important customers, write "Attack, avoid and defend" strategies, identify sources of incremental revenues for both the company and its competitors. M&M's flagship competitive intelligence and market research platform, "RT" connects over 200,000 markets and entire value chains for deeper understanding of the unmet insights along with market sizing and forecasts of niche markets. The new included chapters on Methodology and Benchmarking presented with high quality analytical info graphics in our reports gives complete visibility of how the numbers have been arrived and defend the accuracy of the numbers. We at MarketsandMarkets are inspired to help our clients grow by providing apt business insight with our huge market intelligence repository.

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[August 04, 2016] Bidsopt Launches Mobile Video Capabilities to Its Mobile DSP

SINGAPORE, Aug. 4, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Bidsopt, a mobile advertising platform recently launched its Mobile Video Ad Platform; In addition to the existing conventional banner Ads, Native Ads and Rich Media Ads capabilities which promise high level user engagements. This is in line with the start-up's constant endeavor to enable advertisers to maximize ROI through advanced technological tools, Real-Time Bidding capabilities, algorithm based advertisings through machine learning and superior optimization techniques. Photo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160804/395667LOGO The Video Ad feature in Bidsopt DSP is the industry's leading scalable solution for advertisers. This feature in addition to the standard banner, rich media and native ads will allow Bidsopt's affiliated advertisers to take advantage of video inventory across various exchanges. Bidsopt is connected with all major RTB exchanges and several direct video traffic sources across the globe. Prior to video launch, Bidsopt's focus was primarily on mobile anner, rich media and native ads. However, Bidsopt now have a bundled offering for advertisers bringing them access to both native and video supply partners. In turn, hundreds of direct publishers, SSPs and Exchanges will now have access to mobile video ad demand programmatically through Bidsopt.



The research firm eMarketer forecasts that the Mobile video ad spend more than doubled in 2014, making it the fastest growing sector in the digital advertising space. By 2018, eMarketer projects that mobile video will account for half of all online video ad spend. Bidsopt is well positioned to be part of this growth forecast and moreover is well equipped to aid its advertisers to drive this growth. About Bidsopt:

Bidsopt is a Mobile Advertising platform found in the year 2014 and offices in Singapore and India. The team has rich experience and technical expertise in building and managing campaigns, engaging with advertisers and constantly exceeding their expectations. The company provides 24/7 support to its clients and currently has its presence in Chennai, Bangalore and Singapore. For more information, visit www.bidsopt.com For new Business, contact Sales at [email protected] or mail us at [email protected] for general queries. Related Links Bidsopt Site This content was issued through the press release distribution service at Newswire.com. For more info visit: http://www.newswire.com To view the original version on PR Newswire, visit:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/bidsopt-launches-mobile-video-capabilities-to-its-mobile-dsp-300309243.html SOURCE Bidsopt

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[August 04, 2016] JinkoSolar Powers the Miami Science Barge

SHANGHAI, Aug. 5, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- JinkoSolar Holding Co., Ltd. ("JinkoSolar" or the "Company") (NYSE: JKS), a global leader in the solar PV industry, today announced that it has donated 16.9 kilowatts (kW) of PV modules for the construction of the Miami Science Barge ("Barge"), a floating marine lab and environmental education center in Miami, Florida. The Miami Science Barge, a 3,600 square foot barge docked in the Museum Park in Biscayne Bay, was designed to focus on STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) education and sustainability initiatives. It features three interconnecting zones which will educate visitors on a number of topics including living ecosystems, marine experiments, and renewable energy. JinkoSolar's high-efficiency modules will be powering the Barge, allowing it to function completely off the grid. Aboard the Barge there will be around 75 kWh of storage, enough for a total of 3 days' worth of stored energy. There will be a cost savings of over $1,000 per year, which will be used toards ensuring that the Barge's programs can be provided free to those with limited financial means.



Sonnedix USA Services Limited, a member of the Sonnedix Group of Companies (collectively, "Sonnedix"), donated the solar inverters, provided engineering support, and coordinated the donation of energy storage equipment from Pittsburgh, PA based Aquion Energy. Andreas Mustad, Director and CEO of the Sonnedix Group of companies, said: "Spurring an interest in Miami's youth regarding how easily a self-sustaining platform can be implemented on even a limited footprint such as the science barge leaving ample room for the activities aboard is something we are extremely proud to be a part of and one of several corporate social responsibility initiatives we are committed to supporting globally."

"The Miami Science Barge embodies sustainability and solar panels are a critical part of our identity. We are one of the few places in South Florida where the public are able to see solar energy at work and learn about how the Sunshine State should be a leader in harvesting this amazing renewable resource." said Nathalie Manzano, Director of the Miami Science Barge, "The Miami Science Barge team is thankful to JinkoSolar, Sonnedix, and Aquion Energy for donating the solar energy system which we depend on to provide reliable, constant energy to keep our plants and animals alive." "JinkoSolar is proud to be involved in this unique project where innovation meets education," said Nigel Cockroft, General Manager of JinkoSolar (U.S.) Inc., "ensuring a more sustainable future begins with education; the Science Barge embodies this statement. We commend Nathalie Manzano-Smith and her team for championing a project that teaches individuals the importance of going green, while simultaneously promoting the sustainable growth of the city of Miami."

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[August 05, 2016] TalentSprint Expands its Leadership Team

HYDERABAD, India, August 5, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Adds Senior Executives for Channel Development, Delivery Operations, and Finance TalentSprint, India's leading Youth Career Accelerator, has announced the appointment of three senior executives to augment its leadership team as it prepares for rapid growth. The new senior executives will contribute to the company's vision of accelerating the careers of one million youth in sectors such as information technology, banking, and education. The newly appointed leadership members include Praveen Kumar (Director, Partner Development), Rupesh Sinha (General Manager, Delivery Operations), and CA Shuba C Reddy (Director, Finance). Speaking on the appointments, Dr Santanu Paul, MD & CEO, TalentSprint said, "I am delighted to welcome Praveen, Rupesh and Shuba to the team. They bring with them diverse experiences, skill sets, and critical knowledge that are key to our current growth plans. These appointments are in line with our strategy to continuously enhance and upgrade our leadership pipeline to take on new challenges." Praveen Kumar has seventeen years of rich experience in partner and channel development. With his prior experience with Usha International, TATA Tele Services, NIIT, Future Tree Learing, Everonn and MAGS Rural Education, he is expected to play a key role in building out a channel distribution strategy.



Rupesh Sinha has twenty years of experience in academic operations and has worked at IMS Learning and various educational start-ups. He will oversee delivery operations for the company's growing network of contact and experience centers. CA. Shuba C Reddy is a qualified chartered accountant with ten years of experience handling financial controls, audit, accounting and legal compliance functions. In her earlier assignments at Denty's, Global Health City, and Trivitron, she was responsible for formulating and implementing financial and operational procedures and management information systems.

All three positions will be based out of the company's headquarters in Hyderabad. About TalentSprint TalentSprint is India's leading Youth Career Accelerator. Its digitally-intelligent platform empowers every young person to pursue an exciting career of their choice. Funded by Nexus Venture Partners and the National Skill Development Corporation, TalentSprint aims to empower one million young job seekers to pursue careers in information technology, banking and financial services, and education. The platform delivers technology-enabled experiential learning through a mix of cloud, contact, and colleges. It leverages digital and social media for youth outreach and forward integrates with a high quality employer network. TalentSprint has enabled 100,000+ youth and 400+ employers since inception. It is the recipient of several national and international awards including the TV5 Business leader Award 2015, Excellence in Education Award 2015, World HRD Congress HR Tech Leader Award 2014, CIO Review Company of the Year Award 2014, Silicon India Industry Performer of the Year Award 2014, Deloitte Fast 500 APAC Award 2014, Deloitte Fast 50 India Award 2014, NSDC Best Performing Partner Award 2013, RED Herring Top 100 Asia 2012, FICCI LeapVault Skills Champion Roll of Honor 2012, NSDC Best Non-Corporate Partner 2012, NASSCOM Emerge 50 2011 and SKOCH Digital Inclusion 2011. For more information, please visit http://www.talentsprint.com Media contact:

Deepa Medhi

[email protected]

+91-98450 59457

Candour Communications



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[August 05, 2016] Redline Awarded Contract for Wireless Network in Jordan

TORONTO, Aug. 5, 2016 /CNW/ - Redline Communications (www.rdlcom.com) Group Inc. (TSX: RDL), a leading provider of wide-area wireless networks for the most challenging applications and locations, today announced that it has been selected by the turnkey system integrator Waseela, (www.waseela.com), to supply the networking equipment for a high speed wireless network that will provide connectivity between the Ministry of Education, local offices in the directorates and approximately 3,000 schools in Jordan, an Arab Kingdom located at the crossroads of Asia, Africa and Europe. The network is part of a major program funded by the Jordanian government that includes other Information Communications Technology (ICT) systems. The Redline network, integrated and delivered by Waseela, will benefit nearly 1.5 million students and 80,000 teachers, by providing them with video conferencing capabilities and the infrastructure to support on-line exams. It will also reduce costs with an internal voice network using Voice over IP (VoIP) and by replacing the need to travel with on-line meetings. Lastly, the network will also support an electronic monitoring and protection system to monitor facilities. Redline's RDL-3000-based network solution will bring wireless connectivity across a geographic area that spans the entire Kingdom, giving schools and local offices high-speed access to each other, to government services, and to the internet at speeds of up to 50 megabytes. "We're pleased to be working with our partner Waseela on this important project," stated Jeff Gould, Redline's senior vice president of global sales and marketing. "Seeing our products used to advance education is especially rewarding and we're happy that our commitment to delivering the most rugged, reliale and powerful wireless products on the market has resulted in this great opportunity."



Redline provides high-quality wireless networks that operate over wide areas and in the most challenging locations. Powerful enough to support high-speed data, voice and video, Redline's rugged design ensures secure continuous operation for decades, minimizing ongoing support costs. Redline has been providing wireless network solutions since 1999 and has significant experience implementing education, government and public safety networks, most recently in Mexico. This network order is expected to be fully delivered to Waseela by the end of the third quarter of 2016.

About Redline Communications

Redline Communications (www.rdlcom.com) is the creator of powerful wide-area wireless networks for the most challenging applications and locations. Used by oil and gas companies to manage their assets, militaries for secure battlefield communications, municipalities to remotely monitor highways, utilities and other infrastructures, and telecom service providers to deliver premium services, Redline's powerful and versatile networks reliably and securely deliver voice, data, M2M and video communications for mission-critical applications. For more information visit www.rdlcom.com. About Waseela

Waseela (www.waseela.com) is a regional ICT System Integrator and Managed Services provider offering its services in the MENA region and has strong partnerships with leading international ICT and Telecom vendors. Waseela offers its solutions and services to customers in the segments of Telecom Operators, Public Safety, Smart Buildings, Oil & Gas, Transportation and Large Enterprises. Waseela is headquartered in Amman - Jordan with regional offices in Dubai - UAE, Abu Dhabi  UAE, Riyadh - KSA, Dammam  KSA, Jeddah  KSA and Doha - Qatar. Waseela is a subsidiary of Dar Al Hai for General Trading and Investment, a strong regional general trading and investment group. Forward Looking Statements

Certain statements in this release may constitute forward--looking statements or forward--looking information within the meaning of applicable securities laws. In some cases, forward--looking statements can be identified by terms such as "could", "expect", "may", "will", "anticipate", "believe", "intend", "estimate", "plan", "potential", "project" or other expressions concerning matters that are not historical facts. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance upon any such forward--looking statements. Such forward-looking statements are not promises or guarantees of future performance and involve both known and unknown risks and uncertainties that may cause the actual results, performance, achievements or developments of Redline to differ materially from the results, performance, achievements or developments expressed or implied by such forward--looking statements. Forward--looking statements, by their nature, are based on certain assumptions regarding expected growth, management's current plans, estimates, projections, beliefs, opinions and business prospects and opportunities (collectively, the "Assumptions"). While the Company considers these Assumptions to be reasonable, based on the information currently available, they may prove to be incorrect. SOURCE Redline Communications Group Inc.

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[August 05, 2016] Spreadtrum Communications Joins with Brazil's Rockcel to Launch a Smartphone for Ordinary Consumers

SHANGHAI, Aug. 5, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Spreadtrum Communications ("Spreadtrum"), a leading fabless semiconductor company in China with advanced technology in 2G, 3G, and 4G wireless communication standards, today announced that its WCDMA/HSPA (+) chipset SC7731G has been adopted by Brazilian mobile manufacturer Rockcel in its newly released Quartzo smartphone. The mobile phone was designed for ordinary consumers, and has been favored by local dealers and end users due to its superior cost performance ratio. The mobile phones have been selling well through both online and offline channels in Brazil, with demand outstripping supply. Rockcel's Quartzo smartphone is based on Spreadtrum's 1.3GHz ARM Cortex-A7 WCDMA/HSPA(+) /GSM/GPRS/EDGE SoC platform SC7731G, supporting the dual-card-two-standby feature. It features a 4-inch 800x480 touch screen, 512M RAM and 4GB storage, a micro SD slot up to 32GB. Quartzo supports a 5 mega-pixel main camera, and is pre-installed with the Android 5.1 operating system, which can effortlessly handle Facebook, Twitter and Instagram applications through a WiFi or 3G connection. With its established and high-performance product solutions, Spreadtrum Communications will provide users in Brazil with high-speed Iternet connections, HD audio and video calls and a seamless multimode switching experience, assuring an optimum viewing experience when following in real time the Summer Games in Rio.



Rockcel is seen as one of the up and coming handset makers with the most potential in Brazil, with Votorantim, one of the largest business conglomerates in South America, as its lead investor. The company has built established smartphone assembly lines locally in Brazil, and its SMT production line will be also put into operation soon. Rockcel's smartphones have all adopted Spreadtrum's chip solutions, and, looking forward, the company intends to expand the partnership with Spreadtrum with a planned launch of two entry-level LTE smartphones based on Spreadtrum's quad-core LTE SoC platform SC9832. "We are very proud to work with Rockcel and provide support for their newly released Quartzo, an affordable smartphone for ordinary consumers, with our WCDMA/HSPA(+) chip platform," said Dr. Leo Li, Chairman and CEO of Spreadtrum Communications. "As the growth of the Brazilian smartphone market continues on its fast track and with the Summer Games now taking place there, mobile terminals with optimized cost performance are sure to do well. Spreadtrum will continue to work closely with its customers and to provide emerging markets all around the world with affordable product solutions that deliver a better user experience."

About Spreadtrum Communications Spreadtrum Communications is a fabless semiconductor company that develops mobile chipset platforms for smartphones, feature phones and other consumer electronics products, supporting 2G, 3G and 4G wireless communications standards. Spreadtrum's solutions combine its highly integrated, power-efficient chipsets with customizable software and reference designs in a complete turnkey platform, enabling customers to achieve faster design cycles with a lower development cost. Spreadtrum's customers include global and China-based manufacturers developing mobile products for consumers in China and emerging markets around the world. Spreadtrum is a privately held company headquartered in Shanghai and an affiliate of Tsinghua Unigroup, Ltd. For more information, visit www.spreadtrum.com.

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Kalaiselvi, who recently completed her 10th standard, was found with strangulation marks and her clothes torn near her residence in Saliyamangalam in Thanjavur district of Tamil Nadu.

By Pramod Madhav: A 20-year-old Dalit woman was found murdered near her residence in Saliyamangalam in Thanjavur district of Tamil Nadu. Two people have been arrested in connection with the case.

Kalaiselvi, who recently completed her 10th standard, was found with strangulation marks and her clothes torn on August 1.

According to sources, P Raja aka Arangarajan (32) had befriended Kalaiselvi and promised to marry her despite belonging to a different caste. On Sunday evening, Raja along with her friend R Kumar (30) visited the woman. Raja wanted physical favours from the woman but she refused. Furious over the refusal, the two overpowered the woman and raped and then killed her.

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Preliminary investigations revealed that Kalaiselvi's hands and legs were tied and her head was smashed with a brick after the incident. The accused belonged to the upper caste.

A case under sections 302 (offence of murder), Section 376 (committing rape) and Prevention of Atrocities against SC, ST Act have been registered against the accused.

Meanwhile, human rights activists claimed that atrocities against the women in the region were often ignored by the administration.

"Several people work in farms owned by the those belonging to the upper caste. So even though we are under constant threats of sexual abuse, we keep it to ourselves. Police often do not take our complaints seriously," a Dalit woman said, on the condition of anonymity.

--- ENDS ---
[August 05, 2016] /OFF HOLD OFF HOLD OFF HOLD -- Mobile TeleSystems (MTS)/

MOSCOW, August 5, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- /OFF HOLD OFF HOLD OFF HOLD -- Mobile TeleSystems (MTS), PIV817710 The following release: "MTS Announces Sale of Shares in UMS LLC in Uzbekistan" is now OFF HOLD. Distribution time: 5 Aug 2016 16:00 GMT PJSC MTS (NYSE: MBT, MOEX: MTSS), the leading telecommunications provider in Russia, announced today that it has sold its 50.01% stake in the telecommunications operator Universal Mobile Systems (UMS) to the State Unitary Enterprise Centre of Radio Communication, Radio Broadcasting and Television of The Ministry of Development of Information Technologies and Communications of the Republic of Uzbekistan. (Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20121115/AQ14468LOGO )

"Due to a variety of business reasons and other circumstances, MTS decided to sell its stake in the joint venture UMS LLC," said MTS vice president, and director of the Foreign Subsidiaries business unit, Andrei Smelkov. Due to the sale of its stake in UMS, MTS expects to record a write-off in respect of assets of approximately RUB 3 bln in Q3 2016. The precise amount of the write-off will be specified afterwards. On September 23, 2014, MTS received 50.01% of the share capital of UMS at no cost. The remaining 49.99% of UMS was owned by the State Unitary Enterprise Centre of Radio Communication, Radio Broadcasting and Television of The Ministry of Development of Information Technologies and Communications of the Republic of Uzbekistan[1]. The mobile communications network began commercial operations on December 1, 2014. * * * For further information, please contact in Moscow:



span >Joshua B. Tulgan







Mobile TeleSystems PJSC

Tel: +7 495 223 2025

E-mail: [email protected]



Learn more about MTS. Visit the official blog of the Investor Relations Department at http://www.mtsgsm.com/blog/





* * *

Mobile TeleSystems PJSC ("MTS" - NYSE:MBT; MOEX:MTSS) is the leading telecommunications group in Russia, Central and Eastern Europe. We provide wireless Internet access and fixed voice, broadband and pay-TV to over 100 million customers who value high quality of service at a competitive price. Our wireless and fixed-line networks deliver best-in-class speeds and coverage throughout Russia, Ukraine, Armenia, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and Belarus. To keep pace with evolving customer demand, we continue to grow through innovative products, investments in our market-leading retail platform, mobile payment services, e-commerce and IT solutions. For more information, please visit: http://www.mtsgsm.com.



* * *



Some of the information in this press release may contain projections or other forward-looking statements regarding future events or the future financial performance of MTS, as defined in the safe harbor provisions of the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. You can identify forward looking statements by terms such as "expect," "believe," "anticipate," "estimate," "intend," "will," "could," "may" or "might," and the negative of such terms or other similar expressions. We wish to caution you that these statements are only predictions and that actual events or results may differ materially. We do not undertake or intend to update these statements to reflect events and circumstances occurring after the date hereof or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events. We refer you to the documents MTS files from time to time with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, specifically the Company's most recent Form 20-F. These documents contain and identify important factors, including those contained in the section captioned "Risk Factors" that could cause the actual results to differ materially from those contained in our projections or forward-looking statements, including, among others, the severity and duration of current economic and financial conditions, including volatility in interest and exchange rates, commodity and equity prices and the value of financial assets; the impact of Russian, U.S. and other foreign government programs to restore liquidity and stimulate national and global economies, our ability to maintain our current credit rating and the impact on our funding costs and competitive position if we do not do so, strategic actions, including acquisitions and dispositions and our success in integrating acquired businesses, potential fluctuations in quarterly results, our competitive environment, dependence on new service development and tariff structures, rapid technological and market change, acquisition strategy, risks associated with telecommunications infrastructure, governmental regulation of the telecommunications industries and other risks associated with operating in Russia and the CIS, volatility of stock price, financial risk management and future growth subject to risks.



* * *



-------------------------------------------------- [1] Subsequently renamed as The Ministry of Development of Information Technologies and Communications of the Republic of Uzbekistan

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JD England reflects on time as Mayor of Mitchell before stepping down

JD England reflects on his time on the Mitchell police force, his first term election by just four votes and his accomplishments in office.
Melania Trump, wife of Donald Trump, is in the middle of a controversy over her immigration history. Her modelling agent has said that he got Melania Trump's visa, and that Melania was not doing paid work when she got the H-1B visa.

Melania Trump, wife of Donald Trump, is in the middle of a controversy over her immigration history. Photo: Melania Trump's Twitter

By AP: Melania Trump's former modelling agent says Trump obtained a work visa before she modeled professionally in the United States in the mid-1990s. Those comments came on Thursday in response to questions about Melania Trump's own remarks that appeared inconsistent with US immigration rules.

In an interview with the Associated Press, Paolo Zampolli offered the most detailed description of how the wife of the Republican presidential nominee came into the country.

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Donald Trump's presidential campaign repeatedly declined to clarify her comments. The campaign also declined to discuss her immigration history in detail or provide copies of any paperwork that would put the issue to rest.

Donald Trump has made illegal immigration a signature plank in his campaign platform, and his wife has often cited her path to US citizenship in defense of his hard line, saying she came to the US legally and other aspiring Americans should follow her example.

Read: Melania Trump's nude images in New York Post spark online outrage



'MELANIA TRUMP WASN'T WORKING A PAID JOB BEFORE SHE GOT H-1B'

Zampolli said that while he was a partner at modeling agency Metropolitan Models, he secured a work visa for Melania Trump, who in the mid-1990s was named Melania Knauss.

"I know she was not working a paid job before she got the H-1B," Zampolli said, referring to the type of work visa that US companies can obtain for "fashion models of distinguished merit and ability." H-1B visas generally allow a person to work and live in the US for three years with the opportunity to renew the visas for another three years.

Zampolli said he based the H-1B application on Melania Trump's previous modeling work in Paris and Milan. "We used whatever she did before to get her a visa," he said. "She had enough tear sheets to qualify."

MELANIA TRUMP LYING?

In interviews earlier this year with MSNBC and for a profile in Harper's Bazaar, Melania Trump's comments appeared to be inconsistent with holding a work visa.

"I never thought to stay here without papers. I had a visa. I traveled every few months back to the country to Slovenia to stamp the visa," she said during the MSNBC interview.

US immigration law did not require such trips that Melania Trump describes for work-visa holders at the time. People who hold visitor visas would be required to leave the country on or before the end date of their authorized stay. US law does not allow someone to use a visitor visa to regularly live and work in the country.

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Melania Trump published a statement on Twitter on Thursday, disputing that she violated immigration laws.

"I have at all times been in full compliance with the immigration laws of this country. Period. Any allegation to the contrary is simply untrue," she wrote.

Melania Trump has said she came to the US in 1996 on a visa, got her green card in 2001 and became a US citizen in 2006, the year after she married Donald Trump.

In her statement, Melania Trump did not specify which visa she held during the early part of her modeling career in New York.

Zampolli said on Thursday he believes Melania Trump was confused about her visa requirements, noting that she traveled to Slovenia to visit her family multiple times.

Zampolli said he was not aware whether Melania Trump ever held a different visa. He said it was possible she came to the US on a visitor visa to check out the modeling agency, a practice he said was common when foreign models were considering making the jump to New York.

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"They come to meet the client to see if they really should come to New York," he said, noting that the process often includes taking photos to build a portfolio to attract bigger-name modeling contracts.

In her statement, Melania Trump did not address reports in Bloomberg News, Politico and The Washington Post speculating whether nude photos taken of her in New York in 1995 were evidence that she had worked illegally in the US before securing the appropriate visa.

US law allows a person to use a visitor visa to conduct temporary business for a foreign company or explore a future career opportunities such as visiting modeling agencies or meeting with potential clients.

Zampolli, who didn't book the shoot, said the photos, which appeared in the French magazine Max, were likely a "free shoot to build the book of the model. She needed to get her tear sheets."

The AP left a phone message on Thursday with the photographer who took the photos, but it was not immediately returned. The photographer, Jarl Ale de Basseville, told The Washington Post that Trump was not paid for the photo shoot.

Also Read:

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Bring back my speech: Internet's funniest responses to Melania Trump's plagiarism

Melania Trump's convention speech plagiarised from Michelle Obama's 2008 address?



--- ENDS ---
LAS VEGAS  Are you an Airbnb customer? Are you an owner who rents out property using Airbnb, or any other short-term rental service? If so, you're at risk of being hacked if there's a Wi-Fi router in the rental unit, a security researcher said at the Black Hat 2016 conference here today (Aug. 4).

(Image credit: Ditty_about_summer/Shutterstock)

Jeremy Galloway, a researcher with Atlassian, said that too few homeowners keep the Wi-Fi router behind lock and key. If they don't, he said, any short-term tenant can get physical access to the router and then reset or modify it, with possibly disastrous results.

"When an attacker can touch your hardware," Galloway said, "you don't just have bad network security  you have no network security."

MORE: Your Router's Security Stinks: Here's How to Fix It

The scope of the danger became apparent to Galloway during a ski trip in Colorado, he said. Taking a break from the slopes, he figured he'd prank his friends by tweaking their Airbnb rental's Wi-Fi router to redirect network traffic to unexpected locations.

"I expected it would take me a couple of hours," he told the conference audience. "Instead, I found that I could just pick up the router and turn it over. Getting into it took me five minutes."

Security experts know that most home Wi-Fi routers have pretty poor security, especially because many users never change a given model's default administrator name and password. But even if the admin credentials are changed, Galloway said, there's a often built-in backdoor  the paperclip-activated reset button.

"I call this the Average Paperclip Threat," he joked, a nod to the advanced persistent threats, or APTs, about which information-security consultants warn corporations. "My APT is all that it takes to wipe out an entire layer of security."

With a paperclip, Galloway said, any kid with a laptop can reprogram the rental unit's Wi-Fi router to enable remote administration (to access it later), change the network name or password, block specific websites, turn on parental controls or, perhaps most dangerously, change the Domain Name Server (DNS) settings so that the router gets its Web addressing information from a malicious source.

Malicious DNS servers could send someone logging into Gmail, for example, to a completely different site that only looks like the Gmail login page. The site could capture the user's Gmail address and password, then send the user to the real Gmail login page, none the wiser.

"If a bored teenager can hack your network, you're in trouble," Galloway said.

He cautioned one- or two-night renters against using a rental unit's Wi-Fi network, and suggested they instead use their smartphones to get online.

"Think twice before having an unprotected 'one-network stand,'" Galloway joked.

Because of the grave potential for harm, he said, both homeowners and renters need to take precautions with rental-unit Wi-Fi. First and foremost, homeowners need to make routers inaccessible to tenants.

"Lock it in a closet, or in a locked room," Galloway said. "Or put it in an electronics enclosure," a locked box transparent to radio signals.

Homeowners should periodically factory-reset their routers, he added, just to clear out anything that might have accumulated. They should never share their personal Wi-Fi networks, if their own living quarters are next to the rental unit. They might also consider not offering Wi-Fi access at all.

Renters should manually set their DNS settings on all devices they travel with, Galloway said, such as to Google's dependable "8.8.8.8" DNS server. That way, a malicious router can't redirect Web traffic.

He also suggested that renters enable two-factor authentication on all online accounts that permit it, minimizing the chances of an account hijack, and to use commercial virtual-private-network services such as TunnelBear.

To see what kinds of attacks upon your devices might be possible, "watch Mr. Robot," Galloway said. "If you watch that show, you're exposing yourself to more security knowledge than 99 percent of the population."

But, he added, unsecured routers and sloppy Wi-Fi security in short-term rental units will be with us for some time.

"This problem is not going away anytime soon," Galloway said. "There's no patch, update or easy fix."
Why you can trust Tom's Guide Our expert reviewers spend hours testing and comparing products and services so you can choose the best for you. Find out more about how we test .

Kaspersky Internet Security for Mac: Specs Malware protection: Excellent

System impact, background: Moderate

System impact, scans: Light

macOS compatibility: macOS 10.12 Sierra or later

Browser extensions: Yes

Firewall: No

Hardened/secure browser: Yes

Parental controls: Yes, but limited

Password manager: Yes, but limited

Ransomware file protection: No

Scan scheduling: Yes

Webcam protection: Yes

VPN: Yes, but limited to 300MB per day

Support options: 24/7 phone, chat or email support; FAQs and documents

At first glance, Kaspersky Internet Security for Mac feels like it will be an easy recommendation, thanks to its perfect malware performance, extensive features and affordable pricing. But as you dig deeper, you start to uncover some flaws.

The extensive feature set is filled out with some extremely limited extras, such as a built-in VPN, password manager and parental controls, the latter two being trial versions that aren't worth your time. All these features are jammed into a user interface that gets confusing to navigate at times.

The good still outweighs the bad, so if you are a fan of Kaspersky, I wouldn't specifically tell you to avoid this app. But other options, like Bitdefender Antivirus for Mac or Norton 360 Standard , offer better overall packages among the best Mac antivirus programs.

Read on for the rest of our Kaspersky Internet Security for Mac review.

Kaspersky Internet Security for Mac: Costs and what's covered

Kaspersky Internet Security for Mac offers basic antivirus protection, phishing protection, privacy features and encrypted browsing for online purchases. It starts at $40 for a single device for one year; you can also cover up to three Macs for $60 per year. Unlike most of its competitors, Kaspersky does not offer discount for purchasing multiple years of service. (Most of these plans give you a big discount for the first year of a subscription.)

If you need to cover a wider variety of devices, Kaspersky Internet Security adds support for Windows and mobile devices but otherwise offers identical features. That package starts at $80 per year for three devices or $90 per year for five devices.

(Image credit: Tom's Guide)

Kaspersky Total Security adds the full versions of Kaspersky Safe Kids and Kaspersky Password Manager along with file backup for Windows users. These plans start at $100 per year for up to five devices or $150 per year for up to 10 devices.

Kaspersky Internet Security for Mac will run on any Mac with macOS 10.12 (Sierra) or later.

Kaspersky Internet Security for Mac: Antivirus protection

Kaspersky offers excellent real-time protection against malware. Like most of its competitors, it relies on both machine learning as well as its network of more than 400 million computers running Kaspersky antivirus software to detect both known and new malware.

(Image credit: Tom's Guide)

Customers can choose whether to upload anything detected as potentially dangerous to the Kaspersky Security Network, but regardless of whether or not you participate, you benefit from the malware database, which is updated daily.

Kaspersky Internet Security for Mac: Antivirus performance

In order to determine the overall efficacy of Kaspersky Internet Security for Mac's malware scanning, we relied on the Germany-based AV-Test lab and Austria-based AV-Comparatives lab, which conduct regular evaluations of major antivirus apps and services.

During the May-June 2020 round of testing by AV-Test, the most recent time it was evaluated, Kaspersky Internet Security for Mac detected 100% of Mac malware as well as more than 99% of potentially unwanted programs for Mac and more than 99% of Windows malware, which sometimes lurks on Macs.

During that same round of testing, Avast Free Mac Security (100%), Bitdefender Antivirus for Mac (98.8%), Norton 360 Standard (100%) and Trend Micro Antivirus for Mac (100%) at best matched Kaspersky's perfect performance.

Intego Mac Internet Security X9 was not tested at that time but achieved a Mac malware-detection rate of 98.5% in AV-Test's November-December 2020 round. Avast, Bitdefender, Norton and Trend Micro all scored 100% in AV-Test's March-April 2021 evaluations.

AV-Test, most recent AV-Test, previous AV-Comparatives, most recent AV-Comparatives, previous Avast 100% 100% 100% 100% Bitdefender 100% 97.3% 100% 100% Intego 98.5% 100% 100% 100% Kaspersky 100% 100% 100% 100% Norton 100% 100% Not tested Not tested Trend Micro 100% 100% 99.6% 100%

Kaspersky Internet Security for Mac avoid registering any false positives, meaning all its malware detections were accurate, but this was true of its competitors as well.

This was not a shocking result for Kaspersky Internet Security for Mac, which has managed a perfect 100% detection rate each time it has been part of AV-Test's evaluations since April of 2017.

Turning to the AV-Comparatives testing, Kaspersky Internet Security for Mac identified 100% of the Mac malware threats, 96% of the Mac potentially unwanted programs, and 100% of the Windows malware.

It has had perfect Mac-malware detection rates on each of the annual AV-Comparatives tests going back through July 2017. Avast, Bitdefender, Intego and Trend Micro were all part of the June 2021 test as well; the first three also received perfect 100% detection rates, while Trend Micro detected 99.6% of Mac malware. Norton was not tested.

Kaspersky Internet Security for Mac: Security and privacy features

Kaspersky Internet Security for Mac has an extensive feature set, but as you'll see, in some cases you just get access to the free limited versions of some of Kasperky's apps, which aren't necessarily worth your time or drive space.

(Image credit: Tom's Guide)

Kaspersky offers its web protection via browser extensions that are available for Google Chrome, Safari and Firefox. This provides a variety of protections including basic monitoring for malicious content, tracking blockers and a URL advisor to help you steer clear of dangerous sites before you visit them.

Kaspersky also has one fairly unique tool as part of its browser extensions. Safe Money defaults you to HTTPS securely encrypted sites when possible, blocks other extensions, will detect when you are going to make a payment online and gives you an onscreen keyboard to enter your payment information to avoid keyloggers.

Kaspersky Internet Security for Mac also allows you to block your webcam at a software level to ensure it can't be accessed by another application. With our increased reliance on video conferencing, it's particularly nice to have additional reassurance that you aren't being spied on.

(Image credit: Tom's Guide)

Kaspersky Password Manager is included, but it is merely the free version, which is limited to just 15 passwords, and the link to the password manager just serves as a launcher for the standalone app. You can unlock the full version of the password manager for $15 a year, but you are going to be much better served by one of the best password managers .

(Image credit: Tom's Guide)

Kaspersky's Secure Connection VPN is somewhat similar in that it is merely a launcher for the standalone app and is restricted to 300MB of data traffic per day. If you are just looking for something to use when banking or performing some other very minimally data-intensive task, then that small amount of data might work.

But otherwise, you would need to pay an extra $30 per year to unlock the unlimited version of Kaspersky Secure Connection, which also gives you the option to select different server locations. That is pretty reasonable pricing and on par with our value choice for the best VPN , Surfshark.

(Image credit: Tom's Guide)

The last of these add-on apps is the Safe Kids parental controls. Once again, this is a free version of that service, which limits you to monitoring a single child device and lacks premium features such as location tracking and real-time alerts. The paid version is just $15 a year, so if you are in the market for an affordable parental-control app, you can take a look at our review of Kaspersky Safe Kids to see if it's right for you.

Kaspersky Internet Security for Mac: Performance and system impact

In order to measure the performance impact of Kaspersky Internet Security for Mac, we ran the Geekbench 5 benchmarking test prior to installing the app and then ran a series of tests with the tool after installation. The 2016 MacBook Pro 13-inch laptop that we used for the review had a 2.9Ghz Intel Core i5-6267U processor, 8GB of LPDDR3 RAM and a 256GB SSD with 42.18GB of files installed.

Before we installed Kaspersky Internet Security for Mac, the MacBook Pro achieved a Geekbench 5 score of 1,868, which dropped to 1,816 following the installation of the app.

While not terribly significant by Windows antivirus standards, this was the largest performance hit we saw after installation of any Mac antivirus program, with Trend Micro (1%) the only other Mac antivirus app that generated any perceptible background slowdown.

Post-installation Full scan Quick scan Avast 0% 27% 3% Bitdefender 0% 19% 1% Intego 0% 34% 3% Kaspersky 3% 12% 4% Norton 0% 12% 0% Trend Micro 1% 46% 1%

The full scan went much better for Kaspersky's performance impact, with a mere 12% drop-off, tied with Norton for the most minimal slowdown during a full scan. Bitdefender (19%) wasn't too far behind, but from there Avast (27%), Intego (34%) and Trend Micro (46%) were all far from challenging Kaspersky.

A quick scan saw a return to the bottom of the pile with a 4% drop, which was just behind Avast (3%) and Intego (3%). Bitdefender (1%) and Trend Micro (1%) were almost perfect on this test, with Norton (0%) crowned the champ.

Kaspersky Internet Security for Mac's first full scan took 39 minutes and 5 seconds and scanned 808,142 files. This was easily the slowest full scan of any Mac antivirus app that I reviewed, with Bitdefender (27:55) next up. The rest of the group was notably faster with Trend Micro (12:03), Norton (11:45) and Avast (10:25) in a cluster and Intego (6:22) in a commanding first place position. Fortunately, Kaspersky's full-scan system impact is so light that you probably won't notice any slowdown.

Kaspersky's quick scan looks at the most common areas for viruses or malware. For my system, this scanned 13,339 files in 53 seconds. It avoided another last-place finish here with Trend Micro (1:06) sparing it. The rest barely crossed into double digits, including Avast (00:18), Bitdefender (00:16), Norton (00:13) and Intego (00:11).

Kaspersky Internet Security for Mac: Interface

In the battle for the most stripped-down and streamlined dashboard interface, Kaspersky almost unquestionably comes out on top, particularly when you consider the number of features it actually offers. This holds true throughout the app with a very minimal look to every screen. However, as you'll see, things can still get a little confusing as you try to navigate its full feature set.

(Image credit: Tom's Guide)

That main dashboard includes an image of a MacBook with a green screen and a check alongside the text "Your Mac is protected," assuming everything is running as expected. Immediately below that is a button to "Open Protection Center," but despite its prominent placement and important-sounding name, this isn't something you'll regularly use. That screen just confirms whether your virus databases are up to date, shows your recommendations and displays app news.

Recommendations are indeed important, but if you have any, they will show up in the center of the dashboard with a link taking you to the recommendations screen anyway.

Across the bottom of the dashboard are four additional icons that take you to the other major features of Kaspersky Internet Security: Scan, Update, Privacy and Safe Kids.

(Image credit: Tom's Guide)

Scan gives you a pretty typical array of virus scans, and this feature specifically is one of the clearest and well laid out implementations of any Mac antivirus app that I reviewed.

If you have a specific folder or set of files you want to scan, you can just drag and drop them into the box at the top of the Kaspersky scan screen. Or you can browse for them using the "Choose" button and it will immediately scan them. Below the drop box is a trio of buttons to run a full scan, quick scan or set up scheduled full or quick scans to run as frequently as daily or just once a week.

(Image credit: Tom's Guide)

Update confirms that your virus databases are up-to-date. This happens automatically in the background, but you can force it to check for an update manually as well. Privacy houses a few features including webcam blocking, web-tracker blocking and a launcher for both Kaspersky Password Manager and Kaspersky Secure Connection VPN. Finally, the Safe Kids icon naturally will take you to the parental-control app, although you need to click on the launcher on the next screen to get there.

Kaspersky Internet Security for Mac: Installation and support

Kaspersky Internet Security for Mac can be downloaded directly from the Kaspersky website. The beachhead installation file is a small 4.1MB, but that simply connects you to download the full 480MB installer app. After you accept Kaspersky's privacy policies, the installer app will be downloaded and run. This part of the process took approximately 5 minutes as Kaspersky's download speeds were relatively slow.

(Image credit: Tom's Guide)

Setup with Kaspersky was the best that I encountered doing this round of Mac antivirus reviews. It gave a very specific, guided view of what you need to do to grant the appropriate permissions for the Kaspersky antivirus software and its components to run properly.

(Image credit: Tom's Guide)

The only thing that took a bit longer was installing the separate standalone apps for the password manager, VPN and parental controls. All three are bundled with Kaspersky Internet Security for Mac but aren't integrated into the app If you dont plan on using any or all of them, you can skip the installation. The App Store has iOS versions of all three, and Mac apps for the password manager and the VPN; you can also find them on Kaspersky's website.

Kaspersky offers 24/7 technical support via telephone, online chat or email. The online knowledge base and articles prepared by the Kaspersky team are excellent resources as well.

Kaspersky Internet Security for Mac review: Bottom line

Kaspersky Internet Security for Mac is a solid antivirus app that is slightly held back by its bloatware, slow scans and relatively confusing user interface.

With that said, while I don't consider it the best choice, Kaspersky Internet Security isn't a bad option, particularly for those who are willing to pay the extra $30 to unlock the premium VPN. Seventy dollars a year for both your malware protection and your VPN needs is a good value.
Though the audio quality is good, the extremely poor wireless connection of the VerveOnes+ makes these earbuds virtually unusable.

The Motorola VerveOnes+ ($249) represent the latest in wireless headphone technology. These cool-looking earbuds don't have a wire connecting them to each other, which is incredibly freeing, even for people who have used Bluetooth earbuds. However, a very poor wireless connection makes these buds a pair to avoid.

Editor's Note (9/13/16): We erroneously gave this review a rating of 6 stars initially, when in fact it should have been 3 stars. We have changed the rating to reflect this.

Design and Fit

Each VerveOnes+ bud is black with orange accents. They're just large and showy enough to be visible but not too obnoxious. Each has a button on its face that's used to turn them on and off, make phone calls, and play/pause music.

(Image credit: Verve.Life)

The earbuds come in an equally cool-looking cylindrical case that also doubles as a charger. The case itself has a small battery that can provide up to 9 hours of additional juice.

Included with the buds are two extra silicone tips; I found the medium size to be the best fit for my ears, and the VerveOnes+ fit snugly and comfortably.

Performance

Because the VerveOnes+ are sweat-resistant and designed for physical activity, I initially planned to test them in two scenarios: paired with an iPhone while I walked, and paired with a Samsung Gear Fit2 while I ran. However, the headphones failed the first test so horribly that I didn't bother with the second.

With my iPhone 6s in my left pants pocket  as Motorola recommended  I walked while streaming music to the headphones. Even in this simple task, the VerveOnes+ struggled. Not only did they constantly drop their connection to my phone, but they often lost contact with each other. Even when I was sitting at my desk, the two earbuds would occasionally disconnect from each other. No other pair of Bluetooth headphones I've tested has cut out with such regularity.

It was incredibly frustrating. A Motorola representative said an upcoming update would improve connectivity; we'll revisit this review after we've had a chance to evaluate it.

MORE: Best Headphones and Earbuds for Enjoying Music

Audio

One feature I like about the VerveOnes+ is that a pleasant female voice tells you how much battery life remains in each bud when you put them on.

When the buds worked, I was pleased with the audio quality. When I listened to the music from "Wicked," "Defying Gravity" sounded a bit underwater in both Rhythm and Balanced modes; I had to switch to Brilliant for Idina Menzel's and Kristin Chenoweth's voices to truly soar. The same thing happened with Rihanna's vocals in "We Found Love"  the audio shined only in those modes.

After trying all of the EQ settings, I found that Rhythm and Balanced were the best; all of the others, such as Bass and Moto Sound, just made everything sound muddy, rather than boosting lower tones. Annoyingly, you can't change the equalizer settings if the buds aren't in the case.

MORE: 9 Odd Ways Your Tech Devices May Injure You

App

The Verve app shows the battery life of each earbud, the equalizer setting (which can be changed to one of six presets) and even the location of the buds, which relies on your phone's GPS. They're handy features, but nothing revolutionary.

Bottom Line

Like Pinocchio, the Motorola VerveOnes+ can boast that they've "got no strings" on them, but just like the marionette, these earbuds are far from the real thing. If they worked properly, then these $249 buds might be worth the investment, but if you can't even hear what you're trying to listen to, then they're worthless.
Dulquer Salmaan's Malayalam film Love in Anjengo, which was supposed to be directed by Pratap Pothen and written by Anjali Menon got shelved. Pothen slammed Anjali Menon for botching the script.

By India Today Web Desk: Actor Dulquer Salmaan, who is still basking in the success of his Malayalam film Kammatipadam, is currently busy shooting for an yet-untitled film with director Amal Neerad.

Last year, director Pratap Pothen had announced a project titled Love in Anjengo with Dulquer Salmaan, which was to be written by director Anjali Menon and shot by Rajeev Menon. His project with Dulquer was supposed to mark his comeback film as a director in the Malayalam industry after 21 years.

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ALSO READ: Is Gautham Menon directing Lalettan's next?

ALSO READ: Kammatipaadam- Arjun Kapoor to step into Dulquer Salmaan's shoes for the Hindi remake?

According to reports, Pratap Pothen slammed Anjali Menon saying she had botched the script. He wanted an intense love story but the script given to him was not very impressive.

Pratap shared a news article on Facebook and wrote, "I missed a chance to work with an actor who i was dying to work with...I missed working with his dad ....well sometimes one is just unlucky."

In response to a friend's comment, Pratap Pothen said, "I am not doing Anjengo..because i didn't like the script...and i walked out...i will direct only if am going to enjoy the process and not because some genius has written crap (sic)."

Reacting to the rant, Anjali Menon was quoted by Sify as saying, "I don't think I should dignify slander with a response".

Ever since its announcement, the project raised many eyebrows in the industry mainly because it was Pothen's first collaboration with Dulquer and above all, it was written by Anjali Menon, who shot to fame after churning out critically acclaimed films like Manjadikuru and Ustad Hotel.



--- ENDS ---
A Melbourne venue is under investigation following two deaths from suspected overdoses. Police are investigating Room 680 in Hawthorn after several punters were found to be under the influence of illicit drugs last weekend.

As ABC News reports, police were called to Room 680 after two men and two women were taken to hospital following drug overdoses. They follow the death of a 17-year-old St Albans resident in July and a 19-year-old Deer Park woman who died in May last year.

Both died on site at the venue and police are now investigating whether the deaths were the result of overdoses as well as trying to uncover the source of the drugs. Insp Kerin Moloney told ABC News police have begun cracking down on venues in the area.

The news comes as police in Victoria continue their ongoing crackdown on clubland, which just last month nabbed two Melbourne music promoters accused of trafficking $275 million worth of ice.

Back in April, The Railway Hotel in Brunswick and Two Floors Up on Lonsdale Street were subject to unrelated raids, with three men involved in the management and operation of the venues charged on trafficking offences.

Drug task force detectives reportedly seized thousands of ecstasy pills, methamphetamine, and cash. Police charged 47-year-old Chris Lytras, believed to be the owner of The Railway Hotel, and venue manager Paul Polito, 37, with trafficking offences.

Police later told Melbourne Magistrates Court that Railway Hotel manager Lytras, and Polito, who allegedly acted as a concierge for drug buyers, sold large quantities of drugs out of the upstairs office of the popular venue.

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Drug trafficking at the venue was reportedly so commonplace that an undercover operative was at one point forced to line up outside Lytras and Politos office with other drug buyers. Melbourne DJ Jason Kolbeck, co-owner of Two Floors Up, was also brought up on charges.

Then in May, another local DJ and another nightclub promoter were arrested, accused of attempting to smuggle a kilo of ketamine into Australia. DJ Kasey Roy Taylor and promoter Robert Charles Oung allegedly ingested about 500 grams of the drug each and attempted to smuggle it in from Asia.

Taylor and Oung were examined under the Customs Act and charged with importing a marketable quantity of an illegal substance, before being taken to the Alfred Hospital where police waited for the drugs to pass through their systems.
LIKE IT OR NOT, THE MOST POPULAR STORY IN KANSAS CITY THIS WEEK WAS A COMPLAINT AGAINST POLICE FOR SHOOTING A CHARGING DOGGIE!!!

AOL News: Woman says police shot her dog for no reason

Just a brief midday reality check is in order amid so much local debate, increased violence and the horrible election season . . .The news found its way across the ocean even if the Kansas City print media ignored it:And all the horrible online news sites, even worse than this one:The story that started the tumult . . .This is important because it puts cowtown life in perspective along with the rage of so many Conservatives and Social Justice Warriors . . .From homeless without food, to police rage and then a local robbery spree . . . For better or worse and maybe it's a redeeming middle-class characteristic:You decide . . .
KANSAS CITY INSIDERS RAGE OVER FORMER JAXCO LEGISLATOR THERESA GARZA EARNING RECOMMENDATIONS FOR A HIGHLY COVETED ELECTIONS BOARD GIG!!!

Recently, the Democratic Director of the Kansas City Board of Elections Shelly McThomasand her absence from the voting scene is creating quite a bit of speculation and hard feelings among the local political world.To wit . . .Let's not forget that Ms. Garza wasfrom her effort to claim residency and a council spot in Kansas City's 5th District amid a contest that proved exceptionally divisive and threatened to disenfranchise voters.Accordingly, the prospect of Ms. Garza moving toward election board work given her previous problems with the rules and regs of the campaign process has many KC Insiders rankled. We don't wanna pick on her but this is Kansas City's Democracy we're talking about and any name circulating for this gig deserves scrutiny.Right now, the former JaxCo politico works as a Community Engagement, Government Relations and Public Affairs Consultant and quite a few insiders hope to keep it that way as they fear Ms. Garza's influence over elections given her very recent political involvement and disputes with competing factions throughout Kansas City.Developing . . .
Greek law stipulates that a business leasing beach space is required to leave 50 percent of the area unoccupied in order to allow access to those who do not wish to pay for special beach services

On many of Greeces beaches where music blares out of big speakers at full blast, you might think youd wandered into a daytime dance club if it werent for the rows of cheek-by-jowl sunloungers, ekathimerini.com reports.

The law stipulates that a business leasing beach space is required to leave 50 percent of the area unoccupied in order to allow access to those who do not wish to pay for special beach services. The business is also required to leave a 5-meter gap between its amenities and the sea, as well as maintain a distance of 100 meters from similar seaside ventures. At the same time, Greek legislation does not allow for the placement of sound systems or music at volumes in excess of the 50-decibel mark. Of course thats all a far cry from the reality at many of the countrys beaches.

According to Kathimerini sources, by law, Kalamaki Beach on the Ionian island of Zakynthos, for example, is not allowed to have more than 150 beach umbrellas and 300 sunloungers, although in practice there are currently 500 recliners spread across the beach. On the islands Geraki Beach, where the law allows for 120 sunloungers, there are 250. Similar failures to observe the law have become the rule along Greeces coastline.

During summer weekends it is estimated that some 120,000 Athenians visit beaches in the Municipality of Spata-Artemida, an area with a population of 35,000. Out of the 46 seasonal businesses (including canteens and beach services) that operated in the area last year, only 10 were licensed to do so.

This year, out of the 46 businesses, only eight do not have a permit, noted Spata-Artemida Mayor Dimitris Markou, who has gone some way toward restoring order in the area.

However, just because a business has made the effort to get a permit to operate does not mean it will continue to obey the rules. Municipal police officers are carrying out daily inspections and have already issued 25 500-euro fines, Markou added.

Frequent transgressions

The most frequent transgressions are not maintaining the required distance from the sea, occupying more beach space than permitted, as well as failing to maintain a distance of 100 meters from the next beach business.

It appears that the owners of beach businesses are will to risk being busted by inspectors due to the fact that they only have the summer season to maximize their profits; however, the Municipality of Spata-Artemida has upped its own game in a bid to collect more for its own coffers with certain changes.

Up until last year, beach businesses that had signed contracts with us were obliged to pay the leasing fee in three installments, with the final payment made at the end of August. In practice, some left the final payment unpaid before changing their tax registration number and then going on to sign a new contract for the following year, said Markou. This summer, businesses had to pay up by July 15.

This year, for the first time, the Ministry of Environment issued a comprehensive recommendation for the use of beaches that fall under a special protection regime, for them to be used by the municipalities, which, in turn, signed agreements with the entrepreneurs, said Panayiota Theodorou, who is in charge of environmental planning at Archelon, the Sea Turtle Protection Society of Greece. The organization has sent a letter of protest, which has also been signed by other organizations. I attribute this decision to fears of permit delays due to being short-staffed, while at the same time what is coming to the forefront is making sure that the municipalities receive their income, she added.

Meanwhile, violations are rampant at several Greek beaches that are part of the Natura 2000 network  a European Union environmental initiative intended to ensure the survival of threatened species and habitats across all 28 member-states (Greece has an estimated 500 Natura 2000 beaches). A case in point is the coastline of northern Crete.

About 9,000 sunloungers have been placed on the 10 km stretch of Hania Bay, while 8,000 beach recliners have been recorded along the shore of Rethymno Bay, Theodorou added. There is a similar situation at Laganas Bay on Zakynthos, as well as Kyparissia Bay in the Peloponnese, a key nesting site of the loggerhead sea turtle.

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
Greek Data Protection Authority approved on Wednesday the opening of about 2,500 personal files of dissidents or ordinary civilians kept by Greek authorities after the civil war and until 1974

Greek Data Protection Authority approved on Wednesday the opening of about 2,500 personal files of dissidents or ordinary civilians kept by Greek authorities after the civil war and until 1974, unless they concern national security or particularly serious crimes.

In a press release on the issue, the body said that people involved in political and social struggles or important, high-profile trials from 1945 until the fall of the Junta in 1974 can access their files which are kept in the Interior ministry.

However, the authority blocked complete or partial access to files pertaining to national security or serious crimes. Researchers and journalists will require a special permit from the data authority for access to personal files of people who are still alive.

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
Greece is among 30 destinations where tourists outnumber locals, according to figures for 2014, the latest available on the World Bank website

Greece is among 30 destinations where tourists outnumber locals, according to figures for 2014, the latest available on the World Bank website, published by telegraph.co.uk.

The world's most popular country is France, with just shy of 84 million overseas visitors.

Second is the US, on 75m, third is Spain on 65m, while the UK comes eighth at 32.6m.

The world's most visited countries

France - 83,767,000 annual visitors United States - 75,011,000 Spain - 64,995,000 China - 55,622,000 Italy - 48,576,000 Turkey - 39,811,000 Germany - 32,999,000 United Kingdom - 32,613,000 Russian Federation - 32,421,000 Mexico - 29,346,000

Given the sheer size of France, the US, Spain, China, and others in the top 10, it's not suprising they lure so many travellers. But what happens when if take visitor numbers and divide them by a destination's population, to give the number of tourists per resident?

The tiny principality of Andorra tops the charts. It welcomed 2.36m tourists in 2014, but just 70,000 people call it home. That works out at 33.5 tourists per resident.

Macau, the gambling hub, comes second - with 24.8 tourists per resident, followed by a pair of Caribbean gems - the British Virgin Islands (12.8) and the Turks and Caicos Islands (10.4). In total, there are 51 destinations where tourists outnumber locals - and we've gone to the trouble of listing them all below.

The 51 destinations where tourists outnumber locals

Andorra - 33.53057199 annual tourists per resident Macao - 24.78871897 British Virgin Islands - 12.81668161 Turks and Caicos Islands - 10.42546376 Aruba - 10.31870554 Monaco - 8.719620471 Northern Mariana Islands - 8.353005266 Guam - 7.905347735 Bahrain - 7.589107757 Saint Maarten - 7.142857143 Palau - 6.622516556 Cayman Islands - 6.386846099 US Virgin Islands - 5.812269488 Malta - 3.91808649 Hong Kong - 3.801141574 The Bahamas - 3.67765496 Bermuda - 3.433739557 Iceland - 3.01671891 Maldives - 2.945036575 Austria - 2.937027237 Curacao - 2.860035434 Croatia - 2.751394043 Antigua and Barbuda - 2.711886558 Seychelles - 2.508073197 San Marino - 2.35990057 Estonia - 2.224088756 Montenegro - 2.169064956 Singapore - 2.143449993 Cyprus - 2.094739552 Greece - 2.035619507 St. Kitts and Nevis - 2.033398114 Ireland - 1.899065723 Barbados - 1.833119293 St. Lucia - 1.827036903 Luxembourg - 1.822088345 Denmark - 1.808843619 Georgia - 1.499320468 Liechtenstein - 1.438810583 Spain - 1.400203011 Qatar - 1.264228724 Grenada - 1.254388018 France - 1.253839619 Hungary - 1.233152586 Slovenia - 1.16825147 Albania - 1.156388675 Slovak Republic - 1.149510052 Dominica - 1.114474408 Switzerland - 1.105107581 United Arab Emirates - 1.090973066 Bulgaria - 1.018530115 Czech Republic - 1.006234446

One country is glaringly absent, however. The Vatican City does not appear on The World Bank's database, but it attracts around five million people each year and has a resident population of just 842. That's almost 6,000 tourists per citizen - putting it way out in front.

The UK, for the record, has a population of 65.14 million - almost exactly double the 32.61 million foreign travellers it welcomed in 2014.

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
Turkish authorities must explain how Turkish people embraced democracy and resisted the July 15 coup plotters in global promotional campaigns to counter the negative image of the country

Turkish authorities must explain how Turkish people embraced democracy and resisted the July 15 coup plotters in global promotional campaigns to counter the negative image of the country, Turkish tourism representatives have said.

Representatives of the tourism sector, which has already been struggling for the last two years due to the Russian crisis, escalating security concerns and rising risks in the region, are now asking authorities for a comprehensive promotional campaign abroad in a bid to minimize further expected losses after the failed coup attempt and the resulting three-month state of emergency.

Turkey has seen the worst problems for the last two years almost since the establishment of the republic. Although the Turkish people embraced democracy after the coup attempt, many foreign media outlets have told a quite different story. We need to emphasize how the Turkish people and cabinet have embraced the democratic rule in our global promotional campaigns. We need to show that the state of emergency was declared to secure the freedoms of people rather than limiting them, said the head of the Hoteliers Federation of Turkey (TUROFED), Osman Ayk.

The drops in the number of foreign tourists visiting the country and the sector revenue are not surprising despite the collaborative works between the state and the sector to recover losses, according to Ayk.

It is all in our hands to recover these losses. While almost all tour operators which make business with us have backed our country, many foreign politicians have adopted a negative attitude against us. We need to destroy this perception and reconstruct a fresh and positive one, he added.

The head of the Travel Agencies Association of Turkey (TURSAB), Basaran Ulusoy, noted that Turkey had passed a difficult exam.

Turkey will pass this with success. Some circles which work against Turkey have also hit our sector, jeopardizing our bread and butter. They cannot touch our democracy and freedom, though. It is now the time for us to take back our life. We will do this by relating the spectacular resistance by the Turkish people against the coup attempt, he said.

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
An NRI spoke up against a racist post that described Indian passengers aboard the Emirates plane that crash landed yesterday as "f***ing rats".

By India Today Web Desk: "F***ing rats". That was the term a person used to describe Indian passengers aboard the Emirates plane that crash-landed Wednesday at the Dubai airport.

Here's what happened:

After Emirates Flight 521, which was flying from Thiruvananthapuram, crash landed and caught fire, passengers were made to deplane in a hurried evacuation.

During this process, a passenger filmed a video inside the plane showing people screaming and rushing to get their luggage.

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This video was shared by a flight attendant from a different airline company on Facebook with a caption that referred to the Indian passengers as "f***ing rats" and "stupid" for trying to get to their baggage instead of evacuating.

The racist post. Source: Mohit Dantre/ Facebook

This person was further backed by others on the comment section, where they discussed -- with colourful cuss words -- about all things wrong with Indians on flights.

Comments on the post. Source: Mohit Dantre/ Facebook



And then, someone spoke up:

Upon coming across this post, a non-resident Indian chose to speak up against such blatant xenophobia and stereotyping.

UAE-based RJ and TV host Mohit Dantre uploaded screenshots of this flight attendant's post and its comment section on his Facebook page, calling out the abusive remarks against Indians.

"There is no set behavior pattern that is taught in case your plane explodes into a fireball, is it? And you know why? Because people don't live to tell the tale!" writes Dantre, pointing out that it is called "a panic situation because people panic!".

Dantre's defense does not come with blind support. He writes, "Are some Indians generally in a hurry to get out of the plane as soon as it lands? Yes. Are some of us stupid enough to find seat belts restrictive, yes no denying that.

Nonetheless, he makes one thing clear: "But don't label an entire country 'untamable' because of some traits of certain people you find annoying."

Dantre's post makes another point: "This isn't the first time I have heard such generalized degrading comments about Indians/South Asians by airline crew in the UAE and this definitely won't be the last time."

Read the whole post here:

Turns out that Facebook has decided to take down Dantre's original post because it did not meet Community Standards. Nonetheless, here's an excerpt of the post we had with us:

"I don't think he realizes that a situation is called a panic situation because people panic! There is no set behavior pattern that is taught in case your plane explodes into a fireball, is it? And you know why? Because people don't live to tell the tale! Could people have reacted better? I don't know! Would people from another country react any different or better? I certainly don't think so! How does one react to a situation where you see your life is about to end in the next few seconds. And got to love how he has colored his racist rant into a status update full of 'shock,anger and fear'.

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This isn't the first time I have heard such generalized degrading comments about Indians/South Asians by airline crew in the UAE and this definitely won't be the last time. I hope this post eventually makes it to the bosses at Etihad to give them a glimpse into what some of their staff is making the company look like - Racist and insensitive. And that too towards one of their most money making sectors."



Then came the 'sorry'

The flight attendant messaged Dantre separately to ask him why he was making "such a drama" of the post, and to clarify that "rats is a term I use for anyone who behaves like an idiot".

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The message finally ended with an apology addressed to Dantre for offending him. There was no 'sorry' for the racist remarks, however.

The apology. Source: Mohit Dantre/ Facebook

Read more:

Emirates flight from India crash-lands, catches fire at Dubai airport as landing gear fails



Watch: Dramatic video shows Keralites grabbing baggage before Emirates flight blows up

Pakistan's MI-17 helicopter crash-lands in Afghanistan



Why missing IAF aircraft AN-32 had little chance of being found in case of crash



--- ENDS ---
When Egypt announced plans to develop renewable power in 2014, investors piled in, drawn by year-round sunshine and chronic electricity shortages. Two years on, many projects have stalled, hitting confidence among foreign investors Egypt sorely needs.



Developers who prequalified for solar and wind projects under attractive feed-in-tariff (FiT) schemes say they face delays and currency risks while wrangling with the government over contract terms has complicated efforts to secure financing.



Some foreign firms now say they will shelve projects at a time when Egypt is seeking to boost foreign investment to ease a hard currency shortage that is choking the economy and to diversify after gas shortages caused blackouts in 2013 and 2014.



One such company is Italy's Enel Green Power, which prequalified in 2015 for one solar and two wind projects under Egypt's FiT schemes and entered a build-own-operate tender for a 250 megawatt wind project.



"Continuous uncertainty from the local authority in managing the process as well as delays in assigning contracts, have lead EGP to freeze its business development operations in the country," an Enel spokeswoman said.



A source from another consortium of foreign investors that prequalified for a solar FiT project said Egypt's insistence on domestic arbitration in any dispute had prompted a multilateral lender that was co-financing the project to withdraw.



"I can't believe they would do this to foreign investors and big lenders when Egypt needs them," said the source. "The feed-in-tarrifs were high, but the whole thing has turned into an Egyptian soap opera. No one knows what's going on and they don't seem to care."



Egypt's New and Renewable Energy Authority did not respond to Reuters requests for comment. Its chairman Salah El-Sobky was quoted in Al Shorouk newspaper this week as saying the Electricity Ministry was taking the developers' concerns into consideration but was not responsible for their funding.



Egypt announced in 2014 ambitious plans to develop renewable energy, originally targeting 4.3 gigawatts of wind and solar projects to be installed over three years.



The International Finance Corporation, an arm of the World Bank, said last year Egypt's renewable energy projects could require $8 billion in capital investment over the next four years, a significant opportunity for investors and lenders.



Egypt had aimed to meet 20 per cent of its energy needs from renewable sources by 2020, but has pushed that back to 2022.



FEED-IN FLAP



Government plans included a 1.8 gigawatt solar park in Benban, Upper Egypt, to be developed for $3 billion and operated under a FiT arrangement.



In 2014, Egypt said it would pay $0.13 per kilowatthour (kWh) to plants with 500 kilowatts to 20 megawatts capacity and $0.14/kWh to those with 20 to 50 MW capacity during phase one.



The competitive rates piqued investor interest. The scheme was hailed as an investment bright-spot for Egypt, which has suffered a shortfall in foreign currency since the 2011 uprising which ousted Hosni Mubarak but scared off foreign investors and tourists, sources of hard currency it needs to finance imports.



But the euphoria faded as capital controls imposed in early 2015 made it harder for foreign firms -- which would invest in dollars but be paid in Egyptian pounds -- to repatriate profit.



Developers said they were willing to accept currency risks as Egypt's FiT was higher than others in the region. A dispute over the seat of arbitration has proven harder to overcome.



International arbitration is a standard requirement for many international lenders and has caused some to freeze funding for phase one, sources at four such institutions said.



At least two developers who were set to receive IFC funding told Reuters it had pulled out. An IFC source confirmed it could not proceed for now due to the arbitration issue.



The IFC told Reuters it was "supportive of the government's agenda of promoting private-led renewable energy projects in Egypt" and would invest "next fiscal year".



Atter Hannoura, head of public-private partnerships at the Finance Ministry, said Egypt wants arbitration to be held at the Cairo Regional Center for International Commercial Arbitration.



"This is still international arbitration as this is an independent body," he told Reuters. "When people prequalified this was the government position already. When the international financial institutions got involved it became an issue."



Developers and lenders said they suspected the government was dragging out the process because it now judged the FiT as too high and was hoping to offer lower rates in round two.



The cost of solar components has plummeted since Egypt set its current tariff, which applies only if companies close a deal by Oct. 28. Many look likely to miss the deadline.



Since announcing its renewable plans, Egypt has also commissioned megaprojects from firms like Siemens, which dwarf FiT schemes and, analysts say, have sapped the urgency to push through. Sobky has told local media phase one would go ahead.



Industry experts say no more than 12 firms would go through. Some developers say they will not return but others, along with international lenders, are now looking to phase two. - Reuters
As the US Treasury Department decides whether to license sales of Boeing and Airbus commercial aircraft to Iran, opponents of last year's nuclear pact with the Islamic republic have launched a lobbying campaign against the deals.



The international agreement to curb Iran's nuclear program made such sales possible by easing sanctions on Tehran, but some members of the U.S. Congress who oppose it want to block proposed sales of some 200 jetliners, worth about $50 billion at list prices, to renew Iran Air's aging fleet.



While the lawmakers oppose any action that could boost the Tehran government, they also argue that Iran could use passenger aircraft for military purposes such as transporting fighters to battle US troops or allies in Syria or elsewhere.



Boeing and Airbus, the world's two largest planemakers, struck provisional agreements with the Iranian carrier earlier this year.



The Republican-majority Congress could pass legislation to block the sales even if the Treasury Department approved them. The House of Representatives last month passed two amendments that would have stopped the sales, although to become law they would have to be approved by the Senate and signed by President Barack Obama, a Democrat.



This week, the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, a Washington foreign policy research group, which has criticised the nuclear pact and advocated tougher sanctions on Iran, organised letters signed by dozens of national security figures expressing concern about the aircraft sales and promising to increase pressure on Congress.



"This deal ... represents a legitimisation of a State Sponsor of Terror and a direct benefit for a ruling regime responsible for gross human rights abuses, support for terrorism including threats against the US and its allies," said the letters to Dennis Muilenburg, Boeing's chairman, and Fabrice Bregier, chief executive of Airbus' plane manufacturing unit.



The 42 signers included former Secretary of State George Shultz, former CIA director Michael Hayden and former US Senator Joseph Lieberman.



HEATED POLITICS



Aviation industry experts said Treasury likely would not approve the sales until after the November 8 US presidential election, although the companies would like to move more quickly.



The campaign season "is not the time to push it," said Adam Pilarski, a senior vice president at the Avitas aviation consultancy in Virginia. "Once we have a resolution of who the president is, calmer heads will prevail. It is business that is good for the US"



Democratic Party candidate Hillary Clinton, a former secretary of state under Obama, supports the nuclear deal. Republican candidate Donald Trump opposes it.



Treasury said it would not address its engagement with specific companies.



Airbus spokesman Stefan Schaffrath declined comment on the lobbying campaign, saying the company was working with US authorities to ensure that all its activities complied with applicable laws and regulations.



John Dern, a Boeing spokesman, said the company is continuing to talk with approved Iranian airlines, that all its actions to date have been licensed by the US government and that any final agreements also would need approval.



Since it is based in Chicago, Boeing must obtain a license from Treasury before the sale can go through. France-based Airbus must also obtain a license, as would virtually any aircraft maker, because its planes contain more than 10 percent US content.



Supporters of the Boeing sale say American firms will lose out to foreign competitors if the US government bars sales to Iran. Although the nuclear pact eased sanctions connected to Iran's nuclear program, restrictions related to concerns such as terrorism support and human rights abuses remain. - Reuters
Jitan Ram Manjhi has come out in support of the Naxals in Bihar and has extended his support to their cause for which they have picked up arms.

By Rohit Kumar Singh: Former Bihar CM Jitan Ram Manjhi has come out in support of the Naxals in the state and has extended his support to their cause for which they have picked up arms. Manjhi who was reacting to a poster that was pasted by Naxals in Imamganj, the assembly constituency of Manjhi in Gaya district, where the red forces threatened him for undermining them, extended his support to their cause and said that that he too was a "Naxalite".

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"In 1984 when I was a minister, there were allegation leveled against me that I was a supporter of Naxals. Time and again I have been saying, to save the honor of women and daughters belonging from poor society and to protect them from various kinds of atrocities, if someone supports them and is called a Naxalite, then yes I am the first Naxalite", declared Manjhi.

READ: Maoists threaten former CM Jitan Ram Manjhi for undermining them



In June this year, 10 COBRA commandos of CRPF were martyred in an encounter with Naxals in Aurangabad district of Bihar following which Manjhi had dismissed the involvement of Naxals in the killings and asserted that the killings could be a handiwork of local criminals and not Naxals. This had infuriated the red army and they threatened the former CM for undermining them by pasting a poster in his constituency. Defending the Naxals as savior of the poor and downtrodden, Manjhi said that he supported them as they were protecting the poor people from being exploited by the rich and affluent.

"Naxals whether in Bihar or in any part of the country are fighting a battle for attaining their political goal. Their struggle is right keeping in mind the atrocities that take place on the poor people. If Naxals use force to protect the poor, there is nothing wrong in this," said the former Bihar CM.

Manjhi also termed the act of Naxals to extort levy as not wrong. Defending crores of money extorted by red forces in the name of levy from construction companies and builders, Manjhi said that contractors make a lot of money by over estimating the project cost and there was no harm if Naxals took levy from them.

"There is an estimate scam that is going on in the state and a work that can be done for Rs. 1 crore is being done at Rs. 5 crore. Contractors are not doing their work honestly and say that they have to pay money to public representatives and officers. If Naxals extort levy money from such contractors, what wrong is he doing?," Manjhi said.

Manjhi defined Naxals as a group that wants to attain political goal based on their ideology and that fights against any kind of atrocity taking place on the poor.

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READ: Pakistani flag row: Nitish should resign, says former CM Jitan Ram Manjhi





--- ENDS ---
The jewel of the Adriatic Sea is home to medieval architecture, island-hopping boats and some of the freshest seafood in the world. In Dubrovnik, Croatia, a seaside restaurant called Dubravka offers guests a memorable dining experience just outside the walls of the Old City.

With views looking over the cove that leads out to the Adriatic, Dubravka opened in 1836 and has been serving locals and visitors delectable Mediterranean dishes ever since. Located in Dubrovniks Brsalje Square, diners have incomparable views of the Bokar and Lovrijenac fortresses, as kayaks and pirate ships meander in and out of the ancient port. The site is also the setting for Kings Landing on the popular television show Game of Thrones.

The seafood-heavy menu also features more than 36 varieties of pizza, cold vegetable salads and risottos and pastas. The seafood risotto with shrimp and clams pairs nicely with a refreshing glass of Croatian white wine. Croatian specialties also are available including Dalmatian-style mussels and Adriatic tuna. Prices for entrees range from $12 to $25, and bottles of wine priced between $19 and $51.

As the sun sets over the Adriatic, there is simply no better place to end a day of exploring Dubrovnik than to rest on Dubravkas patio with a dish of Croatian cuisine.

Dubravka Restaurant

20000 Brsalje ul. 1

Dubrovnik, Croatia

385 20 426 319
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France President Francois Hollande gave a strong statement saying that France wont back out of the 2024 Olympics bid due to recent terrorist activities.

By Reuters: The militant attacks that have convulsed France in the past 18 months should not weaken France's bid to host the 2024 Olympics, President Francois Hollande said.

He has warned previously of a long "war" against Islamist militants both at home and abroad, while Prime Minister Manuel Valls has said more attacks on French soil are inevitable.

Several summer festivals have been cancelled because they cannot meet security standards and on Friday police in Paris arrested an Afghan migrant suspected of plotting an attack on the capital, a police source said. (RIO 2016 FULL COVERAGE)



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"Every candidate city faces the question of terrorism," Hollande said in Friday's edition of Le Parisien.

"No country is immune."

Hollande arrived in Rio de Janeiro on Thursday to promote France's bid on the eve of the opening ceremony for the 2016 games in the Brazilian city, just weeks after two deadly attacks by Islamic State loyalists in the cities of Nice and Rouen.

Hollande's Conservative opponents have been stinging in their criticism of the president's security track record, calling him soft on suspected militants. More than 200 people have been killed in attacks in France since January 2015.

"Indeed the threat is there, but our country is ready to face up to it. And who knows what the world will look like in 2024," Hollande said.

France has not hosted the summer Olympics since 1924 and narrowly missed out on holding the 2012 games to London.

Traffic police in northern Paris on Friday detained an Afghan migrant a day after security services circulated his photo on suspicion he may be preparing an attack. (Also read: Rio 2016: Riot police use grenades to deter protesters during torch event)



The city of Lille said on Friday it was cancelling the annual Lille Braderie, or flea market, because of security risks. The market dates back to the 12th century and organisers claim it is one of the largest such events in Europe.

Special security has been arranged for more than 50 such events and summer festivals this year.

--- ENDS ---
Our cover story, written by Deputy Editor and Gujarat expert Uday Mahurkar, looks at why Anandiben had to go, the road ahead for the BJP, and the impact on national politics, now that fingers are being pointed directly at Modi. We also have a special report on GST, explaining everything you wanted to know about the new tax reform but were too bored to ask.

The quality of a leader is revealed not only by what he has done during his tenure but also by what happens when he moves on. The question is, is good performance dependent on the individual or have practices been institutionalised so that the good work continues? In the corporate world, one of the key responsibilities of a boss is succession planning. In politics, it seems to be a rare talent, largely because leaders are insecure about being toppled and, of course, because some believe in their immortality. Power is a potent aphrodisiac. The rise and fall of Anandiben Patel as the CM of Gujarat has a lesson for her predecessor and anointer Narendra Modi. Along with that, her departure has political implications that go far beyond the state.

Our April 2014 cover

Over the past decade-and-a-half, I have had the chance to watch Modi closely over several trips to the state. I was once invited to Ahmedabad to speak on Rurbanisation-the idea that urban infrastructure and industrial employment opportunities should be made available in rural areas to prevent mass migration. As is the case with most other schemes in Modi's Gujarat, it was a pathbreaking initiative, ahead of its time. When he fixed the Narmada canal system, Modi came up with the idea of putting solar panels to generate energy, kicking off the ambitious Canal Solar Power Project. When he wanted to attract investors, he launched the biennial Vibrant Gujarat summit, which became a benchmark for other states. Right through Modi's regime, Gujarat's growth figures were exceptional in both industry and agriculture. Though there were some question marks on social indicators, the success of the Gujarat model became Modi's springboard for national prominence. In the 2014 Lok Sabha elections, it virtually served as his resume. It was such a matter of debate in the last general election that we ran a cover on the Gujarat Model in April 2014, asking, 'Will it work for India?'

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But with Modi's departure from Gujarat, the state has witnessed a rapid slide. There is a perception that, under Anandiben, corruption was rising, that she had failed to build bridges with her ministerial colleagues and keep bureaucrats in check. The erosion of her authority, aggravated by corruption allegations against her daughter, coincided with the social connection between her government and some key communities reaching breaking point. If the pro-reservation agitation by the affluent Patels in 2015 had brought parts of the state to a standstill, a Dalit uprising following the violence against four members of the community in Una exposed political chinks in the BJP's armour for the Opposition to exploit.

These incidents have damaged Gujarat's image and put the party on the back foot. Little wonder then that they lost in 23 out of 31 district panchayats in the 2015 civic elections. This flaring up of caste divisions could have a huge impact on the BJP's prospects in Uttar Pradesh and Punjab, which go to polls in early 2017, followed by the Gujarat assembly elections later the same year, and eventually on the 2019 general election when Modi seeks re-election.

Our cover story, written by Deputy Editor and Gujarat expert Uday Mahurkar, looks at why Anandiben had to go, the road ahead for the BJP, and the impact on national politics, now that fingers are being pointed directly at Modi. We also have a special report on GST, explaining everything you wanted to know about the new tax reform but were too bored to ask.

Modi's hallmark as a chief minister was running an individualistic, personality-driven government that worked effectively. This is a style that he has brought with him to the Centre as prime minister. But Gujarat's decline shows grooming and relying on second-rung leaders will serve him better in the long run, especially while governing a complex country like India. Gujarat was Modi's badge of honour. He cannot allow it to fail without serious consequences to his political standing. Hopefully he will learn from the crisis, as all good leaders do.

--- ENDS ---
Vijay C Roy

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, August 5

Grappling with obsolete technology, the Rs 28,000-crore Indian forging industry has demanded Technology Upgradation Fund (TUF) on the lines of textile industry for the modernisation of plant and machinery. Catering to the defence, automotive, solar, aerospace, railways and wind sectors, the industry is of the view that the proposed move will not only help in increasing quality production but it would also help in reducing the input cost, making them competitive in the global market.

The technology in the forging industry is obsolete. The industry is dependent on foreign manufacturers to import the latest technology which is highly capital intensive. Since the industry is contributing a lot in Make in India initiative of the Central government, we request the Union government to introduce Technology Upgradation Fund on the lines of textile industry. The proposed move will help the manufacturers become competitive in the global market besides increasing efficiency and reducing input costs, said Ranbir Singh, president, Association of Indian Forging Industry (AIFI).

He said the government should also launch interest subvention scheme for the industry opting for modernisation.

The Indian forging industry is one of the key players in the auto component manufacturing sector as it caters to 60% of the sectors demand. The forging industry in the country is highly fragmented. The northern region forging hub concentrates around Ludhiana, Ghaziabad, Faridabad and Gurgaon with a majority of them in the SME and tiny forging space.

As per the survey conducted by the Association of Indian Forging Industry in 2016, the estimated turnover of the 384 forging units operating in FY 2014-15 was Rs 27,835 crore, providing employment to approximately 100,000 people in the country. Overall, production of forgings increased from 21.1 lakh MT to 22.5 lakh MT in 2014-15 and the production figure for 2015-16 is estimated around 24.5 lakh MT.

The industry is of the view that this year with a favourable monsoon season coupled with the governments thrust on infrastructure, including on mining, the industry is likely to witness a growth of 8-10% this year.

Further, to commemorate the 50 years of the forging association, the AIFI is organising the biggest biennial conference-cum-exhibition, Forgetech India 2016 in Delhi on December 3-4 to discuss and share knowledge, insights, environment and economic trends and best practices to uplift and upgrade the facilities and productivity.
S Nihal Singh

THANKS to Turkeys key position in a turbulent region and help to stem the flow of refugees to Europe for a price, the worlds capitals are responding cautiously to President Recep Tayip Erdogans moves to detain thousands and propose giving himself all powers over the military and civilian fields. He has publicly declared that it is an opportunity given by God and he is exploiting it to the hilt.

The coup of July 15 initiated by a section of the armed forces, which fizzled out quickly with political parties and the public condemning it, has culminated in a wholesale cleansing of the armed forces, including many generals and admirals, and the civilian and judicial power structures. The states enemies now are the Gulenists, followers of Fetullah Gulen, a self-exiled cleric living in America being charged with instigating the coup.

Here we must explain the peculiarities of the Turkish legacy. Ataturk, the builder of modern Turkey on the ruins of the Ottoman Empire, left a transformed country, abolishing the symbols of religious beliefs and practices to the extent of changing the written script to Roman characters. But he left behind a tradition of the army assuming state power and Turkish history is littered with a succession of coups carried out in recent times by the armed forces underlining the military being the main power centre.

Mr Erdogan entered the political arena as a religion-flaunting mayor of Istanbul. He was imprisoned briefly for flaunting his religious card. But he and his colleagues were mining the religious constituency for his Justice and Development Party (AKP) and as his partys fortunes progressed, he sought the help of Gulen and his service movement to create conditions in which the military could no longer pose a threat to the civilian dispensation.

In his earlier avatar as prime minister, Mr Erdogan had presented himself as a moderniser making determined moves to seek membership of the EU and undertook legislative measures to comply with its norms and started negotiations with the militant Kurdish party, the PKK, to try to end the longstanding insurgency.

There was resistance in the EU (the European Economic Community as it then was) to absorbing millions of Muslims into the community. It is still not clear what made Mr Erdogan change direction. But the demands of his main community, the upworldly mobile religiously-observant new middle class in Anatolia, were very different. Even as the Gulenists helped Mr Erdogan in making the country safe from coups, it came at the cost of Gulenists becoming a force by infiltrating the ranks of the armed forces and the civil and judicial services. The marriage between the AKP and the Gulenists lasted till Mr Gulen discovered that Mr Erdogan had his own agenda of assuming total power. He had sought exile in the US earlier. In 2013, Gulenists named senior members of the Turkish cabinet and Erdogans family members in serious corruption charges. The war between the two sides was on, with Ankara now demanding Mr Gulens extradition from the US.

Mr Erdogans own ambitions grew exponentially. After being elected and re-elected prime minister, he declared his intention to change the constitution to convert the system into an executive presidency. While in search of a two-thirds majority in Parliament, despite relatively poor showing in two elections, he resigned to run for presidency through an election he won. Although Mr Erdogan has still to secure a constitutional amendment, he runs the country in practice having appointed a more pliant prime minister.

The present situation is full of ironies. His hero Ataturk pulled the country out of its fall by confining religious practices to the dustbin. By contrast, Mr Erdogan is seeking to re-emphasise religion, giving primacy to headscarves for women and observing other Muslim conventions to please his main domestic constituency and remain in power.

Yet Turkey remains a key player in the Middle East because of its location, its military strength and the state of other countries in the region. Until recently, it was the main conduit for an army of jihadists fighting in the Syrian civil war. Its stricter control of borders came after American and Western pleading, as was its belated decision to let the US and allied aircraft use the Incirlik air base for bombing IS targets. A number of bombing incidents in Turkey are believed to be expressions of IS anger over Ankaras policy change.

Turkey has resumed its war with the Kurdish PKK in the south-east of the country in particular. The picture is further complicated by the Syrian Kurds being the best ground fighters in the American effort to get the better of the IS. And Russian intervention in the Syrian civil war through supporting the Assad regime mainly by air power gives a further loop to something of an East-West struggle.

The most serious consequence of recent developments in Turkey is that a country that was supposed to be a stabiliser in a maddeningly disturbed area has itself become a cause for concern as Mr Erdogan seeks total supremacy over all his combined political foes. His goal is nothing short of constructing a new Ottoman dispensation even as he subverts the essence of the Ataturk revolution.

Turkey is hosting millions of Syrian refugees, as are its neighbours. Americans, and the worlds, attempts to end the Syrian civil war have stumbled, with Russia now a new party to be consulted, as the US realises, despite the Obama administrations antipathy to Moscow. How Ankara can help this process remains doubtful, apart from Mr Erdogans efforts to unseat Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. Clearly, the Turkish rulers attention will be devoted in a greater measure to his domestic problems.

Americas contest with the IS will continue, with bombing runs now extended to Libya with its different armed centres of power fighting the recognised coalition. The Obama administration is leaving it to the next President to frame a new policy for the Middle East and the world.
Arun Mitra

DURING a visit to the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park as a part of the delegation of Indian Doctors for Peace and Development (IDPD), to attend the 20th World Congress of International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War (IPPNW), one wondered how with the knowledge of the destructive power of weapons, could man build and use nuclear arms on human population.

To watch the pictures of the destruction while going around the memorial and to read the account of the loss that took place as a result of the atomic bombing was a nightmarish experience. The tiny atomic bombs (as per the standards of the present-day nuclear weapons) killed around 140,000 people in Hiroshima and nearly 70,000 in Nagasaki. Roughly half of the deaths in each city occurred on the first day. Out of 300 doctors 272 died and 42 of 45 hospitals were destroyed. There was complete lack of medical care and high dose of radiations added to the chaos.

During the IPPNW Congress, the Hibakusha (survivors of the atomic bombing) shared their horrific experience of those dreadful moments Some of them could not control their emotions while narrating the incidents. It is difficult to imagine how it must have been to watch their near and dear ones melt in a matter of seconds as a result of intense heat produced by the detonation. It is to the credit of the Japanese to have overcome that devastation to progress to the present level. Today, Hiroshima is like any other modern city. However, the building which was the epicentre of the explosion has been preserved in the same form as it was after the explosion on August 6, 1945 so that generations to come remember the devastation that was caused.

With the surrender of Germany, World War II had nearly ended on May 9, 1945. The surrender of Japan was imminent in a few weeks. It was expected that long-lasting peace would prevail after the Potsdam Agreement between the three heads of the state  Joseph Stalin, Harry Truman and Winston Churchill (replaced by Clement Attlee)  in July 1945. But it was within a few days of this conference that Hiroshima was bombarded with the atom bomb, followed by Nagasaki after three days. While lakhs were crying in despair in the two cities, the American administration rejoiced over this barbarous act. The use of atomic weapons on the human population by the US was a show of muscle power that unleashed the nuclear arms race.

From the devastation caused at Hiroshima and Nagasaki, it was expected that wisdom would prevail and these weapons would be immediately banned. It is assumed that there are nearly 17,000 nuclear weapons on earth today. Not only has the number of weapons increased but the number of countries which posses these weapons also increased from one to nine that is: USA, Russia, Britain, France, China, North Korea, India, Pakistan and Israel. If we add Ukraine, the number becomes 10. At one time, South Africa also had nuclear weapons but it disbanded them unilaterally. Nuclear weapons are a threat not only to mankind but also to the flora and fauna. The very presence of these weapons is fraught with the danger of their use.

It is an irony that the world has not learnt much from the past. Many civil society organisations have been raising their voice from time to time for total nuclear disarmament. The World Peace Council at one time highlighted the issue internationally. Medical professionals have been taking the initiative under the umbrella of IPPNW, since 1980. The organisation was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1985 for its efforts in this direction.

Making and maintenance of these weapons costs huge sums of money. Unfortunately, India and Pakistan with a very low human development index have fallen into this trap and this is adversely affecting their economy. Ira Helfand, co-President of IPPNW, in a study on Climate Consequences of Regional Nuclear War has pointed out that even a limited nuclear war could put over two billion people at risk. Based on a hypothetical study as an example, a war between India and Pakistan involving 100 Hiroshima-sized bombs, would kill up to 20 million people outright as the great cities of the subcontinent were destroyed and it would blanket much of South Asia with radioactive fallout.

The global consequences are even more alarming. Peer-reviewed studies by climate experts show clearly that even this limited nuclear conflict would affect weather patterns throughout the world. Soot and debris injected into the atmosphere from the explosions and resulting fires would block sunlight from reaching the earth, producing an average surface cooling of -1.25C, that would last for several years. Even 10 years out, there would be a persistent average surface cooling of -0.5C. This would lead to crop failure and affect the size of available food stocks. If the soot injected into the atmosphere in a nuclear war caused significant ozone depletion, that could cause a further major decline in actual food production.

If a regional war resulted in significant radioactive contamination of one or more major food-producing countries, large quantities of food might need to be destroyed and significant areas of crop land might need to be taken out of production. The combination of failed harvests and a collapsed distribution system would prevent essential foods from reaching African countries and many others around the world. The whole scenario will affect the poor countries more and the poor people in these countries even worse.

The humanitarian impact of the nuclear weapons has to be viewed seriously by all the nuclear weapon states (NWS). The non-nuclear weapon states (NNWS) are already raising a strong voice for the nuclear abolition. A powerful voice was raised by International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN) Civil Society Forum, in 2014, in Vienna.

It is being slowly realised that complete abolition of nuclear weapons is, in fact, the only solution to overcome the potential consequences of nuclear weapons for humanity. Without the complete elimination of nuclear weapons, the element of risk that nuclear weapons will be used continues to exist. India has been the harbinger of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM), which strongly stood for total nuclear disarmament. It gave a proposal for a comprehensive nuclear weapons convention on the pattern of biological and chemical weapons convention. It is time India takes the lead in reaching out to all those who are for complete nuclear disarmament, organise them and help to raise a collective voice.

The writer is Senior Vice-President, Indian Doctors for Peace & Development.
Tribune News Service

Hisar, August 5

While the banks are forcibly insuring the crops of loanee farmers, a non-loanee farmer of the districts Daulatpur village alleged he had been running from pillar to post to get his crop insured, but to no avail.

Bhoop Singh, the farmer, owns seven acres on which he has sown paddy and cotton in three acres each and bajra in one acre.

He said: When I went to a local branch of the Punjab National Bank, they directed me to get the crops verified from the patwari. The patwari, on the other hand, told me that I dont need any verification.

I then approached a senior agriculture official on July 30 who maintained that it is the duty of the bank to insure the crops, but verification from the patwari is not required.

He asked me to file a complaint with the Deputy Commissioner against the bank.

Since it was the last day of insurance (extended later), it seemed a futile exercise.

Bhoop Singh said after the extension of the date, he went to the bank which again turned down his request.

The bank reportedly told Bhoop Singh that he was the sole applicant, so it would add to the workload, he said.

Vinod Kumar Phogat, Deputy Director, Agriculture, said the banks could not turn down an application for insurance.

If anybody had been denied the benefit, the affected farmer could approach the administration, the Deputy Director of the Department of Agriculture said.

INLD slams govt on crop insurance scheme

Jind: The INLD has slammed the BJP-led Centre over the Prime Minister Crop Insurance scheme and called it a financial burden on farmers. At a press conference held here today, Parminder Singh Dhull, INLD MLA from Julana, said, There are many loopholes in the scheme. The government is hiding the real facts from the farmers. He said, The governments criterion for giving relief is surprising. It will give relief after assessing the crop damage at village level and not on the basis of the individual loss. The government is benefitting private insurance companies through crop insurance and state BJP ministers are acting as insurance agents, said INLD MLA Parminder Singh Dhull.
Looted from their ancient temples, bought and sold in illicit antiquity markets, showcased in museums across the world, India's missing gods are returning where they belong. And thanks, in no small measure, to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's diplomatic bonhomie.
Tribune News Service

Shimla, August 5

A New Zealand delegation led by its Deputy High Commissioner at New Delhi, Sussane called on Horticulture Minister Vidya Stokes here today assuring her that the country would assist the Himachal Pradesh government in the World Bank-funded horticulture project that aims at modernising horticulture.

According to the release, the delegation consisted of experts from horticulture. The World Bank has funded the Rs 1143-crore project to modernise the horticultural industry in the state.

Present in the interaction were the vice -chairman HP MC Prakash Thakur and Principal Secretary, Horticulture, JC Sharma and Director Horticulture, DP Bhangalia.
Lalit Mohan

Tribune News Service

Dharamsala, August 5

Short of space in temporary campus, the Central University Himachal Pradesh (CUHP) has demanded buildings from the state government at Dharamsala.

The CUHP authorities have written to the Principal Secretary, Education, and Deputy Commissioner Kangra, requesting building for temporary campus or the institute at Dharamsala. The university authorities have demanded the newly developed B.Ed college campus and the old buildings of the Regional Centre of Himachal Pradesh University in Government College Dharamsala should be temporarily handed over to them for starting new courses of the CUHP.

At present, the temporary campus of the CUHP in located in new building of Government College, Shahpur. While the entire academic operations are being carried out at Shahpur campus, the office of Vice Chancellor is in the Writers Home building at Dharamsala.

The CUHP has been functioning from that campus since 2010. However, the college campus is proving inadequate for the CUHP. The university is not in a position to start new courses in the institute due to shortage of space. The students also do not have proper hostels. Many of them are residing in private buildings around the university in Shahpur. Some have been housed in hostels rented out by the university in Dharamsala or Kangra.

VC of the CUHP Kuldeep Agnihotri, when contacted, said the university had written to the state government to hand over the building in Dharamsala so that the university could start its new academic programs. He said that in case the state government fails to provide them the said building the university would have to look for alternatives.

Minister for Urban Development and Congress MLA from Dharamsala Sudhir Sharma said the state government would try to provide the buildings to the CUHP for starting its courses here.

Since it took over, the present Congress government has been trying to house the CUHP campus at Dharamsala. However, since no land was available near Dharamsala the state government has proposed land in Jadrangal, about 15 km from Dharamsala, for the CUHP campus.

However, the Union HRD Ministry is yet to send a committee to inspect the land proposed by the state government at Jadrangal.

The BJP leaders, including Anurag Thakur the party MP from Hamirpur, have been lobbying hard to ensure that at least 70 per cent campus of the CUHP should come up at Dehra.

The sources here said the fact that CUHP had demanded building at Dharamsala for its temporary campus illustrates that most of teachers of the institutes are in favour of residing at the district headquarters. Many teachers have left the institute citing lack of amenities at Shahpur. The university is also finding it difficult to attract senior faculty at the level of associate professors and professors due to the remote location of the institute.
Azhar Qadri

Tribune News Service

Srinagar, August 5

With Kashmir unrest continuing for the fifth consecutive week without even a days break, the private sector employees are under increasing pressure to work or face repercussion which include cuts in salary or even getting fired from the service.

The private sector in Kashmir is largely limited to sales sector, mostly involving banking, insurance, telecom, and pharmaceutical companies. The sector has remained in a state of paralysis in the region since July 8 when the killing of militant commander Burhan Wani triggered widespread protests across all districts of the Kashmir valley.

Several residents working in the different private sector companies said there was an intense pressure on them from the higher-ups to show proper results, which they said were impossible in the ongoing situation. In some instances, the companies have released only half of the monthly salary to their employees in Kashmir and in other instances the companies are paying salary to employees for only those days for which they have worked.

The pressure is being felt by employees across the private sector, who claimed the cuts were a violation of contract. Some managerial staff has been transferred and there is still wait and watch for the ground staff. The telecom sector might not bear it for one or two more months because prepaid connections are still not working, an official of a telecom company here said.

The official, requesting not to be named because he was not authorised to speak, said the ban on prepaid phone connections had badly hit the telecom sector as it generated the maximum revenue. The mobile phone services have remained suspended for more than two weeks and were only partially restored with outgoing calls from prepaid connection and mobile Internet services were still barred.

An employee of New Delhi-based pharmaceutical company said he had been give the salary for only a few days as higher-ups informed him that pay will be released for only those days on which he was present at work.

The businesses in the Valley have been shut for the past four week as shutdowns called by separatists and curfew imposed by the government have continued for all days since July 8.

Many entrepreneurial ventures, which were started in recent years, have also been incurring losses as unrest shows no sign of an immediate end.
Tribune News Service

Jammu, August 5

The Congress today asked the BJP to come clear on the statement of Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti in which she had asked the police to apologise for the killing of Hizbul Mujahideen commander Burhan Wani.

A section of the media had reportedly quoted a senior police officer as saying that the Chief Minister had instructed the police to apologise to the Kashmiri youth for the killing of Burhan Wani.

Such reports were published two days ago and the government has yet not contradicted the same which substantiates the authenticity of the report, said Jammu and Kashmir Pradesh Congress Committee (JKPCC) spokesman Ravinder Sharma.

It appears that the decision to direct the police to tender an apology for the killing of Burhan Wani was a policy decision of the government with the consent of the BJP, which is a partner in the coalition, Sharma observed, adding that, none of the BJP ministers in the coalition has contradicted the report which is an indication that the decision was taken after taking them on board.

Reacting to Union Home Minister Rajnath Singhs message at the SAARC Summit wherein he condemned the attempts to make a martyr out of a terrorist, Sharma said the Home Minister should also take notice of such attempts by the elements in the state, especially in the ruling dispensation.

He also questioned the silence of the government, especially the ruling BJP, over the media reports suggesting instructions to the forces to slow down any action despite terrorists openly holding public rallies and protests these days for the first time on such a scale.

Meanwhile, the Raipur Domana Congress unit held a protest at Main Chowk of Muthi and torched an effigy of Deputy Chief Minister Nirmal Singh. The demonstration was held under the leadership of Raman Sharma.

Protesters raised slogans against the state government, especially the Deputy Chief Minister, over his controversial statement that Burhan Wanis killing was an accident.

Raman Sharma alleged that the Deputy Chief Minister had given a wrong statement which was against the national interest and its integrity. He further said that Nirmal Singh and his team had been toeing the line of the separatists and supporting militancy in Kashmir as the violence graph had increased from the day the coalition had come into being in Jammu and Kashmir.
Ehsan Fazili

Tribune News Service

Srinagar, August 5

Curfew was imposed on Friday in all the major towns of central and south Kashmir to prevent the separatists march to Hazratbal shrine today, while restrictions continue in other areas on day 28 of the ongoing unrest in the Valley.

In south Kashmir, curfew continues to remain imposed in Anantnag, Kulgam, Shopian and Awantipora areas so as to foil the march to Hazratbal.

The police here said curfew had been imposed in Srinagar, Budgam and Ganderbal districts of central Kashmir in view of the separatists Dargah Chalo call.

All the areas falling under the five police stations of downtown Srinagar have been under curfew since the trouble started in the Valley early last month. These areas were rocked by protests when relaxation was given on July 26, prompting the authorities to re-impose strict restrictions.

Heavy deployment of Police and CRPF has been made on the Srinagar roads, with the raising of blockades on all the intersections to prevent the movement of public and vehicles. The roads and streets are deserted as an eerie silence prevails in the city.

The march to Srinagars main mosque, Jamia Masjid in downtown, was also foiled with curfew and restrictions last Friday

The leaders of both factions of the separatist Hurriyat Conference  Syed Ali Geelani and Mirwaiz Umar Farooq  and JKLF Chairman Mohammad Yasin Malik had jointly called for the march to Hazratbal at the end of a five-day protest programme. The separatists have jointly issued the protest calendar up to Friday next week, with a call to the mainstream politicians and panchayat members to resign from their positions.

These programmes are being issued to protest against the civilian killings as the toll has crossed 50. Violent protests in the Valley erupted following the killing of militant Burhan Wani in south Kashmir on July 8.
Rifat Mohidin

Tribune News Service

Srinagar, August 5

The curfew and shutdown in the Valley will mark a month on August 7. With no end in sight to the unrest, residents are bracing up for uncertain days ahead.

Most of the households in cities and towns are now running short of essentials as the government clampdown continues. Srinagar, the city of 1.5 million people, continues to be under curfew except for a few calm uptown localities.

There is curfew in place most of the times. When protests break out, the police fire pepper gas and teargas shells, making our lives miserable. Even LPG is not available. We do not know what will happen. There is shortage of medicines as well, said Naseema Begum, a resident of the Daresh Kadal area of Srinagar.

Residents of the volatile old Srinagar city, which was under curfew today also, are having sleepless nights. As essentials such as milk have not been available to many for the last three days, the difficulties have especially doubled for the aged and children.

We are getting milk supply from south Kashmir but after the killing of a youth in Lethpora, Pulwama, the supply has stopped. We have not had tea for the last three days. There is curfew and everything is deserted. We are caged inside our homes, said Shariq Khan, a resident of the Khanyar locality in Srinagar.

With reports of the traders of Fruit Mandi, Parimpora, being threatened by an unknown group to stop working during night hours, there is a fear among residents that it might lead to a large-scale crisis in the coming days.

There are reports that the milk plants in south Kashmir have stopped operating after threats. And, now the vegetable mandi is also apprehensive about continuing work. It seems it is leading towards a big crisis. We feel the coming days will not be any better, said a civil society member from Srinagar.

The unrest has not only doubled the economic woes of the people but it has also deprived many of the routine medical care.

As the shutdown and restrictions will continue till August 12, according to a new protest programme by separatists, there is no hope of any improvement in the situation in the coming days.

There is fear. Vehicles are being attacked. My surgery was scheduled in the last week of July but I am not able to leave home. We fear for our lives. The people are suffering and nobody knows what lies ahead, said Rubeena Jan, a resident of Kakpora in Pulwama.

The trouble began in the Valley on July 9 after the killing of Hizbul Mujahideen commander Burhan Wani. His death triggered protests in the Valley, leading to 50 civilian deaths so far.
Samaan Lateef

Tribune News Service

Srinagar, August 5

Shabir Ahmad Bhat, an ambulance driver, is unwilling to ferry patients to south Kashmir. Bhat was beaten up allegedly by the police at volatile Lethpora village in Pulwama district on the Jammu-Srinagar national highway today.

He was carrying a pregnant woman to Kashmirs premier maternity hospital  Lalla Ded in Srinagar  when policemen stopped him and assaulted him with sticks and gun butts.

Doctors said Bhat had received multiple injuries on neck, ribs, and other parts of the body. When I reached Lethpora, policemen stopped me and assaulted me with bamboos and gun butts, Bhat said.

Fearing attack from protesters, Bhat had refused to ferry two policemen from Lethpora to Srinagar on Wednesday. It is difficult to drive ambulances in hostile atmosphere. You can become victim of both security forces as well as protesters, he said.

Bhat is working on monthly wages of Rs 3,000 for the Directorate of Health Services Kashmir. He has been working without a break since July 8, following the killing of militant commander Burhan Wani.

Like Bhat, several other ambulance drivers too fear attacks.

Ambulance driver Manzoor Ahmad was beaten up by CRPF men at Kakpora in Pulwama when he was carrying a woman patient to Lalla Ded Hospital. I was stopped at Kakpora and beaten up ruthlessly for unknown reasons by CRPF men, he said.

The ambulance drivers said they were dealing with a double-edged sword. It is difficult to negotiate both with security forces and protesters to carry patients uninterruptedly, they said.

The assault on drivers and damage to ambulances has created a crisis in the Health Department as they are refusing to work now.

Health officials have taken up the matter with security agencies but as of now no concrete measure has been taken to stop attacks on them.

Almost all secondary and tertiary care hospitals in Kashmir have issued public statements requesting security forces and protesters not to attack ambulances.

At least 120 ambulances have been damaged and 15 ambulance drivers of the Health Department have been beaten up by security forces since July 8, said a health official in civil secretariat.

However, he said the protesters were also creating hurdles in carrying the patients from different parts of Kashmir. If protesters find a policeman or an employee in the ambulances, they beat up the driver and also damage the ambulance, he said.

Attacks of protesters on ambulances and their drivers have been reported from different parts of the Valley in the past 27 days.

Last week, protesters stopped an ambulance at Safa-Kadal locality of Srinagar and beat up doctors.

The highest number of ambulances  38  have been damaged in Anantnag district, followed by Kulgam (19), Pulwama (16) and Kupwara (12) districts.

Our ambulances are in a very bad shape. The windscreens, side and rear windows, and lights are damaged, officials said. Due to tense situation, security officials didnt respond to repeated phone calls.
Ehsan Fazli

Tribune News Service

Srinagar, August 5

With three more deaths today, the toll in cycle of violence that erupted following the killing of militant commander on July 8 has reached 55, including two policemen.

Protests demonstrations were held in the Hazratbal area here when people from the adjoining Lal Bazaar and Naseem Bagh areas marched in processions towards the Hazratbal shrine after Friday prayers.

The police and CRPF lobbed teargas shells to disperse the demonstrators. Protests were going on in many parts of the capital city till the last reports came in.

The situation took a violent turn amid curfew and restrictions imposed to foil the separatist march to Hazratbal shrine as people took to the streets after Friday prayers, leading to clashes between protesters and the police forces in different areas across the Valley.

Curfew was imposed in view of the Friday march in all the three districts of Srinagar, Budgam and Ganderbal districts in central Kashmir and Anantnag, Kulgam, Shopian and Awantipora in south Kashmir.

In south Kashmir, at least 50 persons were injured, two of them seriously, during clashes at different places. Protests, including all-woman rallies, were also organised across the four districts.

Clashes continued throughout the day in parts of Shopian district, including Meemandar and Imam Sahib areas, where local youth fought pitched battles with police and CRPF men.

Security forces used teargas shells and pellet guns to disperse the protesting youth, injuring 30 in Memmandar area and 10 in Imam Sahib area. Most of the injuries were from either pellet guns or teargas shells, a doctor at the Shopian district hospital said, adding that two seriously injured were referred to Srinagar.
Our Correspondent

Ludhiana, August 4

To mark the World Breastfeeding Week, the Department of Paediatrics at the Dayanand Medical College and Hospital (DMCH) today organised a declamation contest for postgraduate residents of paediatrics, obstetrics and gynecology.

Dr Puneet A Pooni, Professor and Head of Paediatrics, said World Breastfeeding Week is observed every year in the first week of August to commemorate the declaration signed in August 1990 by government policymakers, WHO, UNICEF and other international organisations to protect, promote and support breastfeeding. The slogan and theme for the World Breastfeeding Week this year is Breastfeeding: A Key to Sustainable Development. Dr Pooni said breastfeeding was not only safe, hygienic and cheap, but also prevented malnutrition and reduced infant mortality.

In their presentations, other doctors stressed that breast milk was the ideal food for an infant and IQ of a breastfed child was found to be higher than a baby that was not breastfed. They said under normal conditions, no other food was required by the baby until six months from the birth.

During the declamation contest, the participants highlighted various advantages of breastfeeding. It was maintained that the composition of mothers milk was ideal for babys intestines and so it was easily digestible. Mothers milk also contained antibodies which help protect children against illness such as gastroenteritis, cold, urinary infections and ear infections. It also reduced the risk of baby getting allergic reactions such as asthma and eczema, they added.
Beijing, August 5

India will be more appealing to Chinese firms after the clearance of much-awaited Goods and Services Tax Bill in the upper house of Parliament, a state-run daily said on Friday.

An op-ed piece in Global Times said China was willing to work with India to make GST Bill a reality.

(Follow The Tribune on Facebook; and Twitter @thetribunechd)

It said the passage of the bill could boost Prime Minister Narendra Modis political legacy and give him a better chance for a second term.

(Also read: GST Bill likely to be tabled in Lok Sabha on Aug 8; BJP issues whip)

This (GST) could certainly boost Indias appeal to multinationals, including Chinese firms, as a myriad of existing federal, state and inter-state levies in the country had previously increased their tax burdens and barred them from further exploring potentials in the worlds fastest-growing major economy.

(Also read: Shah to meet CMs of BJP ruled states on Aug 27)

China is more likely to see this reform, which aims to make India a better destination for investment, as an opportunity rather than a threat, the daily said.

However, the Global Times lamented that Chinese companies still faced complicated and cumbersome tax system in India.

Chinese companies are certainly welcoming the move. Along with other restrictions, the countrys complicated and cumbersome taxation system as well as bureaucracy related to tax-collection remains a hurdle for the firms doing business in India.

China will be happy to see the reforms go through as it sees this improved investment environment as an opportunity rather than a threat and will be willing to work with India to make it a reality, the write-up said.

The move is both politically and economically significant. Politically, it showed that the Modi government can compromise to get reforms made in the national interest. It could add momentum to the worlds already fastest growing economy, it said. IANS
Where does the taxpayer stand in this debate?

After a decade of negotiations, hectic parleys, many climbdowns and heartburn, India is ready to bring in what has been touted as Independent India's most celebrated tax reform, the Goods and Services Tax.

Click here to Enlarge Graphic by Anirban ghosh, Sanjay Piplani and Tanmoy Chakraborty

Click here to Enlarge Graphic by Anirban ghosh, Sanjay Piplani and Tanmoy Chakraborty

Click here to Enlarge Graphic by Anirban ghosh, Sanjay Piplani and Tanmoy Chakraborty

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Bijay Sankar Bora

Tribune News Service

Guwahati, August 5

At least 14 persons, one of them a militant, were killed and 20 injured when militants allegedly belonging to the banned National Democratic Front of Bodoland (Songbijit faction) opened fire and hurled grenades at a weekly market near Kokrajhar town in the Bodoland Territorial Council (BTC) in western Assam today.

Five militants, armed to the teeth and attired in black (agency reports said they were in Army uniform), arrived at the market in an autorickshaw shortly after 11 am, hurled grenades and opened indiscriminate fire.

Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal, who was in New Delhi, asked his senior minister Dr Himanta Biswa Sarma and state DGP Mukesh Sahay to rush to Kokrajhar.

The DGP claimed at least one militant belonging to the NDFB (S) was killed in retaliatory firing by the security forces and indicated the involvement of NDFB (S) militants. Hagrama Mohilary, Chief Executive Member of the Bodoland Territorial Council, hinted at the involvement of a suicide squad of NDFB (S).

The NDFB (S) has been on the run since December 2014 after the security forces launched an operation against it for killing 70 Adivasi villagers.
Tribune News Service

Jaipur, August 5

Three children and their grandmother were injured in a minor explosion, reportedly caused by scrap that the children were carrying in their backpacks, at their home in Muhi village of Dausa district on Friday.



The three children, who are 6-8 years old, were rushed to the government hospital in Dausa while the woman, who got some bruises, was given first aid, SP Dausa Yogesh Yadav said.



It was probably explosion of scrap material carried in the bags, including school bags of the children, he said.

Forensic experts have been called to collect samples and find out the exact cause of the blast. The incident occurred in courtyard of the house at around 10.30 am.
New Delhi, August 5

The Delhi High Court on Friday refused to interfere with the ban on a controversial BBC documentary, Indias Daughter on the December 16 gangrape case, saying the issue of its telecast was pending before the trial court which was competent to deal with it.

A Bench of Chief Justice G. Rohini and Justice Jayant Nath also did not go into the validity of an advisory issued by the Centre against telecast of the short film, saying that it was only an advice to private TV channels and the documentary was not shown because of the restraint order of the trial court.

So far as the judicial orders of March 3 and March 4, 2015 (banning telecast of the documentary) are concerned, since the matter is pending before the competent court of law and more particularly the investigation is still in progress, the interference by this court either under Article 226 or under Article 227 of the Constitution is not warranted, the Bench said.

The court also said, It is apparent from facts borne out from the record that the advisory dated March 3, 2015, was a mere advice to the private TV channels. It appears to us that the documentary in question has not been telecast on account of the restraint order passed by the competent court of law.

We, therefore, decline to enter into the various contentions advanced by the petitioners regarding the validity of the advisory issued by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting.

The decision came on the PILs by three law students seeking lifting of the ban on the documentary, which was shot inside Tihar Jail, on the ground that it was a look at the mindset of one of the convicted rapists.

The Bench disposed of the petitions while leaving it open to the trial court to proceed with the matter by following the due process of law and also granted liberty to the law students or any other aggrieved party to work out other remedies under the law.

On the night of December 16, 2012, Ram Singh, Vinay Sharma, Akshay Thakur, Pawan Gupta, Mukesh and a juvenile had gangraped a girl in a bus and beaten up her 28-year-old male friend, who was with her.

While the girl succumbed to her injuries on December 29, 2012, at a Singapore hospital, the victims friend suffered grievous injuries in the incident.

The juvenile accused was on August 31, 2013, convicted and sentenced to three years in a reformation home, while four others were handed down death penalty.

The counsel for Delhi Government had earlier told the bench that video of the documentary was available on the Internet and no ones fundamental right was affected due to this.

The documentary was made by Leslee Udwin and was broadcast by British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC). It was banned by the government after its contents, including the interview of one of the rapists who showed no remorse, triggered outrage.

Udwin had claimed that she took permission from the then Director General of Tihar Jail Vimla Mehra to interview Mukesh in prison for BBC. Police said it is probing the matter.

The Information and Broadcasting ministry had on March 3 advised all news channels not to carry the story related to the interview of one of the convicts in the gangrape case.

The trial court had restrained airing or broadcasting the documentary in March last year.

The police, in its application filed before the trial court, had said that Mukesh Singh, the driver of the bus in which the girl was gangraped, has made insulting, malicious and derogatory statements about women.

They had said if the interview is telecast, it might lead to widespread public outcry and serious law and order problem as had happened in the aftermath of the gangrape case.

The police had registered an FIR in the matter and thereafter obtained an order from the court restraining the media from broadcasting, publishing or transmitting the interview.  PTI
Kokrajhar (Assam), August 5

Fourteen civilians and an ultra were on Friday killed while more than 20 others were injured when suspected NDFB(S) militants opened fire in a crowded marketplace in Assams Kokrajhar district.

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A group of heavily-armed militants, wearing Army fatigues, came to the crowded weekly Balajan Tiniali market, about 12 km from here, in a van around noon and fired indiscriminately killing 12 persons on the spot and injuring more than 20 others, the police said.

Two other persons succumbed to their injuries on the way to hospital, it added.

#WATCH Assam CM Sarbananda Sonowal speaks on Kokrajhar attack, announces ex-gratia & stern action against terroristshttps://t.co/Ot5dVuckb9  ANI (@ANI_news) August 5, 2016

Prime Minister Narendra Modi strongly condemned the attack and said the Home Ministry is in touch with the Assam government.

Saddened by the attack in Kokrajhar. We strongly condemn it. Thoughts & prayers with the bereaved families & those injured, he tweeted.

The Home Ministry is in touch with the Assam Government & is monitoring the situation closely, Modi added.

The dead included a woman who was yet to be identified, while six others have been identified as Mazhar Ali, Salam Ali, Danda Basumatary, Moniram Basumatary, Parmeswar Basumatary and Tapan Chakraborty.

Assam Director-General of Police Mukesh Sahay said the attack was suspected to be the handiwork of the National Democratic Front of Bodoland (NDFB-S) and the operation was still continuing in the area. AK-56 and 47 series rifles along with grenades were also recovered from the spot.

Manik Debnath, a 30-year-old shop-keeper who was a witness to the mayhem, said about five militants, wearing Army uniforms and covering their faces arrived in a van and fired continuously, which continued for 15 to 20 minutes.

A grenade was also lobbed by the militants which set on fire eight shops, and screaming people began to run helter-skelter in a bid to escape, he said.

Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal denounced the attack and said the militants would be dealt with very sternly.

Sonowal, who is in Delhi, said the militants would be dealt with very sternly, a statement from the CMO said.

We will not tolerate any threat from any group. The government will not bow to any pressure while tackling terrorist groups, he said, adding all deputy commissioners and superintendents of police across the state have been directed to be on high alert following the attack and in view of the Independence Day.

He announced an ex-gratia payment of Rs 5 lakh to the next of kin of the dead, Rs 1 lakh to the seriously injured and Rs 20,000 to those who sustained minor injuries in the attack.

Describing the incident as very unfortunate, Union Minister of State for Home Kiren Rijiju said in New Delhi, We have to ascertain who are exactly behind this dastardly act.

He said, Peace had returned to the Bodoland area and this incident has given us shock. We will ensure that the victims families are taken care of.

Home Minister Rajnath Singh was briefed about the attack by National Security Adviser A.K. Doval.  PTI
Simran Sodhi

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, August 5

While the Home Minister today passed the buck to the Ministry of External Affairs on whether his speech in Pakistan was blacked out, sources say it was indeed censored.

The Ministry of External Affairs stuck to its initial reaction by passing the buck to the SAARC protocol, but it remains a fact that the inaugural session of the Summit, which is open to the media, was this time closed for the Indian media. Sources point out that Pakistans state media, PTV, was allowed to cover even the closed sessions of the SAARC ministerial meeting.

The official spokesperson for the Ministry of External Affairs had yesterday said: As per SAARC protocol, the opening statement by the host country is public and open to the media, while the rest of the proceedings are in camera, which allows for a full and frank discussion of issues.

He also asserted that there was full coordination between the Home Ministry and the Ministry of External Affairs on Rajnaths Islamabad visit.

Speaking in the Rajya Sabha today, Home Minister Rajnath Singh said: Indian DD (Doordarshan), PTI and ANI (news agencies) reporters were not allowed to cover my speech.

I am hesitant to say if they (Pakistanti authorities) had behaved as per the norms and protocol, he said, adding the foreign ministry would be the best authority to answer on the past precedence about such meetings.

Sources say Rajnath was not too keen on travelling to Pakistan for the Summit in the first place. He skipped the lunch by the Pakistan Home Minister, thus driving home his unhappiness over the entire visit and the treatment meted out to him by Pakistan. I do want to say that the Pakistan Home Minister invited me for lunch but then he went away in a car. I also did what was necessary to maintain the prestige of India. I dont have any grudge. I didnt go there for lunch, he said.

The official spokesperson of the MEA denied any contradictions, saying: As far as the practice regarding the live coverage of such SAARC meetings is concerned, this was clarified yesterday and we would naturally refer to the SAARC Secretariat in such matters.
Peshawar, August 5

A 31-year-old Indian prisoner, sentenced by a military court for possessing a fake Pakistani identity card, was attacked at least thrice by inmates in recent months in a Peshawar jail, his lawyer told a court.

Hamid Nehal Ansari, a Mumbai resident arrested in 2012 for illegally entering Pakistan from Afghanistan reportedly to meet a girl he had befriended online, suffered injuries after he was attacked by inmates in the Peshawar Central Prison.

His lawyer Qazi Mohammad Anwar told a Peshawar High Court bench on Thursday that his client had been kept in a death cell with a hardened criminal awaiting execution for a murder.

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Ansari was attacked and injured three times over the last couple of months and shifted to the hospital for treatment, the counsel added.

He said even the head warden would subject him to brutality and slap him on a daily basis without any reason.

Anwar said Ansari lodged a complaint about this with the superintendent.

Superintendent of the prison Masoodur Rehman confirmed the incidents but insisted theyre of minor nature and that such incidents did happen in prisons, the Dawn reported.

Rehman also told the bench that Ansari, who was serving three years jail term, had been kept in the death cell.

He (Ansari) cant be kept in a normal barrack along with other prisoners for the sake of his security, he said.

The superintendent also pointed out that the facility had a capacity for 350 inmates, but was housing 3,000.

Ansaris lawyer said the superintendent should give an undertaking to the court that attacks wouldnt happen against his client in future. The jailer, however, said he couldnt give a written assurance, the paper said.

The counsel requested the bench to order the superintendent to shift Ansari to a safer part of the jail where there were no threats to his life.

After hearing the arguments, the court asked authorities to provide protection to Ansari and asked the superintendent to sit down with social activist Rakhshanda Naz and Ansari himself to come up with steps for the inmates protection.

It is your duty to maintain law and order. As a jailer, you are responsible for protecting the lives and property of inmates, the bench told the superintendent.

The bench also ordered Ansari to decide himself over steps for his protection, the Express Tribune reported. A copy of the recommendations is to be submitted before the court.

Ansari had gone missing after he was taken into custody by intelligence agencies and local police in Kohat in 2012 and finally in reply to a habeas corpus petition filed by his mother, Fauzia Ansari, the high court was informed on January 13 that he was in custody of the Pakistan Army and was being tried by a military court.

He was convicted by the military court for possessing a fake Pakistani identity card and sentenced to three years imprisonment. PTI
R Sedhuraman

Legal Correspondent

New Delhi, August 5

The Supreme Court today said people found guilty of adulterating milk with chemicals and synthetics deserved to be put behind bars for life.

A three-member Bench, headed by Chief Justice TS Thakur, suggested the Centre to consider amending the Food Safety and Standards (FSS) Act, 2006 to raise the penalty for selling synthetic milk to life sentence as had already been done by Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal and Odisha. At present, the Act provides for a maximum punishment of life sentence only if the unsafe food results in death. The minimum sentence is seven years.

The Bench issued 10 directives and guidelines to the Centre and the states on a PIL pleading for apex courts intervention to stop the sale of such milk, particularly in Haryana, Uttarakhand, UP, Rajasthan and Delhi.

The Centre and the states shall take appropriate steps to implement FSS Act, 2006 in a more effective manner, the Bench said.

The states should set up committees at the state and district levels to review steps taken to curb adulteration as was being done in Maharashtra. A complaint mechanism must be evolved for checking corruption and other unethical practices of the food authorities and their officers, it said.

State food safety authorities should identify high-risk areas and ensure adequate lab-testing infrastructure for sampling of milk and milk products.

The court noted that contaminated water in adulterated milk caused stomach ailments, while the presence of chemicals could damage vital body organs.
Mumbai, August 5

Three more bodies were on Friday spotted in the Savitri river even as incessant rains hampered the search operations launched after two buses and some private vehicles were swept away following collapse of a British-era bridge near Mahad in Raigad district.

With this, the total number of deceased in the mishap has gone up to 17.

Till Thursday night we had fished out 14 bodies. The search teams on Friday morning have spotted three more bodies, Raigad Additional Superintendent of Police Sanjay Patil said.

Efforts were on to fish out the three bodies, he said.

Whenever our team gets the bodies out from the river, they are sent to local hospital for post-mortem and then we hand over them to the kin after following the laid-down procedure, Patil said.

He said apart from 20 boats and nearly 160 personnel from Coast Guard, NDRF and Navy roped in the search operation, the district administration was also taking help of local fishermen who had knowledge of the rivers topography.

The local police were providing all logistical and technical support to the jawans in the search, he said.

Another senior police official, who was present at the spot, said some of the bodies traced so far were recovered as far as about 120 km from the mishap site.

He said the search operation would continue till the remains of buses and other four-wheelers were found.

That is why we have extended the area of search operation and alerted local residents who live alongside the Savitri river and appealed them to inform us, if they spot anything afloat in the water, he said.

He, however, said the incessant rains were hampering the pace of search operation.

Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis had said in the Legislative Assembly on Thursday that eight bodies had been recovered so far and 42 people were missing.

He said the government had decided to give Rs 5 lakh to kin of the deceased in the tragedy.

The government has already announced that the kin of the deceased staff members of two state-run buses would either be given job or compensation of Rs 10 lakh each.

Fadnavis said that apart from two state-run buses, a Tavera and a Honda City car had also fallen into the river after the bridge crumbled on Tuesday night.

The British-era bridge is located on the Mumbai-Goa highway near Mahad, about 170 km from Mumbai.

The river, which turned torrent due to heavy downpour in its catchment area in Mahabaleshwar, weakened the foundations of the century-old bridge, which ultimately gave way on Tuesday night. PTI
Mumbai, August 5

Gangster Chhota Rajan had journalist Jyotirmoy Dey murdered because his articles and planned book showed Rajan in bad light, the Central Bureau of Investigations (CBI) claimed on Friday.

The agencys 300-page supplementary charge sheet, filed at a special court, said the journalist  a veteran crime reporter  had planned to write 'Chindi  Rags to Riches', a book that was to have stories of 20 gangsters with humble origins.

"Dey was going to expose the fake patriotic mask used by him (Rajan) to secure himself and to accumulate wealth for his family. The book was show that Rajan had no concern for those who made him big," the charge sheet claimed.

Dey was also supposed to show how Rajans once mentor turned nemesis Dawood Ibrahim  one of Indias most wanted gangsters and the suspected mastermind of the 13 serial blasts in Mumbai in 1993 that killed more than 250 people  was superior of the two.

Dey was planning to write two other books before he left journalism, and even met several people and visited various countries for the books.

Rajan  reportedly hiding in Malaysia then  asked Dey to meet him, only to have the invitation tuned down, CBI claimed

In an intercepted conversation after Dey's death, shows that Rajan called Dey a traitor and named his rival journalist Jigna Vora  another suspect in the case who is current out on bail  as the one who instigated the murder, CBI says.

Rajan's henchmen who killed Dey would contact the gangster using international SIM cards that were activated only after midnight.

The charge sheet has statements of 41 witnesses and names Ravi Ram Rattesar  earlier a witness  an accused for having been the key link between Rajan and other suspect. He is suspected to have supplied some 20 SIM cards at Rajan's instructions, said a CBI officer.

Rajan  who faces 70 criminal cases in Maharashtra  was arrested at Bali airport in Indonesia on October 25 2015 and deported.

CBI is now investigating the cases.

Dey was shot dead in suburban Powai on June 11, 2011.

The first charge sheet filed in 2011 named 10 people, all of who were arrested.

A second charge sheet claimed Vora was part of the murder plan. She and Dey were rivals.  PTI
On a Monday afternoon on May 16 this year, as the mercury touched 44 degrees in New Delhi, Gujarat Chief Minister Anandiben Patel called on Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The venue was the PM's official 7, Race Course Road residence. Anandiben Patel, 74, had fought a battle for survival ever since the violent Patel agitation for reservation rocked Gujarat last July. The clamour for her exit mounted within the party after her mishandling of the situation. BJP president Amit Shah, one of her most bitter critics within the party, stepped up demands for her replacement. His concerns had risen after a fact-finding mission to the state in April had found the party's electoral support base diminishing rapidly. The study also put a question mark on the CM's leadership. It was, therefore, not a matter of if but when Anandiben would go.

Anandiben Patel. Photo: Shailesh Raval

Her half-hour-long meeting with the PM ended with her requesting a graceful exit from office. Anandiben offered to quit on her 75th birthday, on November 21. It was a wish Modi granted. Anandiben, like Amit Shah, was one of his most trusted aides within the party.

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Dalits erupt in protest after the UNA incident. Photo: Reuters

Come July, and Una exploded. A video of Shiv Sainiks stripping and flogging Dalits for alleged cow slaughter went viral, triggering statewide protests by the community. As opposition leaders poured into Una and Dalit protests refused to die, Modi took a call on July 28. He was withdrawing the lifeline he had extended to Anandiben.

The PM had to be seen taking action after the Dalit agitation, a messenger personally informed Anandiben. He would very much appreciate it if she could step down. It was a request the CM could not refuse.

Patels agitating for reservation for the community. Photo: Shailesh Raval

Over the next three days, Anandiben announced a series of rapidfire people-friendly measures to leave behind as her legacy. In a public function on July 30, she announced the abolition of all toll taxes on state roads; on July 31, she announced the adoption of the seventh pay commission report by the state for its employees; later, 391 of the 430 police cases against Patel agitators last year were withdrawn. On August 1, she made education in medical and dental colleges free for girls from families below the poverty line and then, in possibly a first for an Indian CM, she posted her resignation on Facebook as a note and a video post. "After the chief ministership of Shri Narendrabhai for over 12 years, I was chosen to take his place, which is naturally as difficult as counting stars in the sky, but I am proud of the fact that nowhere have I lagged behind in maintaining the pace in taking Gujarat forward on the course of development charted by him," she signed off.

CHINKS IN THE ARMOUR

Anandiben's departure solves only one of the many problems for the BJP. It heads off a possible anti-incumbency and gives her successor a clean slate to start with. The trouble is, the Gujarat assembly elections are a little over a year away.

Even until last year, Mission 2017 for the BJP seemed to be the challenge in Uttar Pradesh, its assembly elections in January. Now, there's another. Prime Minister Modi's home turf is under threat. This is where he forged his political reputation, built up the Gujarat model-decisive governance leading to economic growth-and created a record for the longest-ruling BJP chief minister, for 12 years and seven months (broken only now by Chhattisgarh CM Raman Singh, who completed 12 years and 230 days in power on July 25).

The consequences of a defeat in Gujarat could be debilitating for the party and the PM. For starters, it will severely dent his aura, diminishing his chances of winning the 2019 polls.

The return of Congress, out of power since 1995, could have other consequences. It could mean the revival of old cases still in the courts, including the controversial 2004 killing of alleged LeT terrorist Ishrat Jahan in an encounter, to target Modi and Amit Shah.

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The estrangement of Dalits from the BJP in Gujarat, brought on more by a keen opposition strategy than Sangh Parivar high-handedness, is more worrisome. It risks rupturing years of work put in by the RSS and Sangh Parivar.

There are signs that Dalit ire against the BJP could spread across the country, proving electorally lethal nationwide. It could especially impact the party's fortunes in UP where it has been assiduously wooing the backward castes.

The political turbulence in Gujarat has unsettled the party. "The oxygen for 2019 has to come from Gujarat and UP," explains one senior BJP leader. "We have to win UP and Gujarat, come what may."

That seems like an uphill task at the moment. The Patels, Gujarat's most powerful community which comprises close to 15 per cent of the electorate, have been on the warpath for over a year.

The opposition has been quick to sense this chink in Modi's armour. Last June, Congress poll strategist Prashant Kishor advised party leaders in the state to redirect their attack towards Modi and Amit Shah and away from chief minister Anandiben. The longer she continued as CM, Kishor reasoned, the greater the chances of victory. Kishor had similar advice for aides of pro-reservation leader Hardik Patel when they met him for a strategy meeting.

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"The Gujarat CM's resignation is an indication of the BJP's sure defeat in 2017 elections," says Congress Rajya Sabha member Ahmed Patel, who has famously dubbed the Gujarat model of development '13 years of false publicity'. Gujarat BJP spokesperson Bharat Pandya dismisses any such pronouncement. "We are going to return to Gujarat with a thumping majority in 2017,"he said. "A few political ups and downs don't affect the Gujarat model. Before every assembly poll, the Congress dreams of defeating us, but each time it is proved wrong."

Anandiben's departure does not alter ground realities. Alarm bells had been ringing in the BJP's Ashoka Road headquarters in New Delhi in April this year. Party general secretary Om Mathur and secretary V. Satish had travelled through the state last March-April to conduct an opinion poll for the party after the Patel community's estrangement. They found that the party's popularity had hit a perilous low under Anandiben. Various factors pointed to her lack of leadership. Mathur placed the report before the prime minister and Amit Shah in April and hinted at a leadership change as the only solution.

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Two months earlier, in February, allegations surfaced that the state government had favoured Anandiben's daughter Anar Jayesh Patel in 2009, giving her partner's company 400 acres of land near the Gir forest at dirt cheap rates. It's a different matter that Anandiben was not the chief minister then.

Anandiben with her daughter Anar. Photo: Shailesh Raval

A hard worker, Anandiben had, in just two years, travelled 60,000 km within the state, visiting each of its 33 districts five times, a record of sorts. She improved the state's indices in areas such as malnutrition, women's empowerment and took a lead in building toilets in the state as part of the Swachh Bharat campaign. Farmer suicides too came down under her, from 45 in 2014 to just 3 in 2015.

But her disconnect with the bureaucracy and the party overshadowed her initiatives. The Mahila Samitis her government floated at taluka level for empowering women against liquor addiction and domestic violence failed to take off because their scope wasn't defined clearly. Consequently, Thakore Sena, an OBC organisation floated by OBC leader Alpesh Thakore, started the concept of 'People's Raids' as part of a deaddiction programme, wresting the initiative away from the women committees. Modi's favourite video link grievance redressal programme, Swagat Online, weakened under her.

As Gaurang Jani, a social scientist teaching in Gujarat University, observes, "Right from law and order to core governance, most sectors suffered under her. She got a great opportunity, but she couldn't leave an impression behind as she lacked charisma."

She also had a communication problem. Her ties with present BJP state president Vijay Rupani and his predecessor R.C. Faldu were frosty. The connect between the party leadership and the government as well as the party workers too had weakened.

Allegations of corruption started getting louder one year after she became chief minister. The most recent instance was an unauthenticated audio clip in which a senior BJP leader tells a party MLA that the CM had facilitated a land deal where a lot of money had changed hands. As personal allegations mounted, the goodwill she had earned through innovative schemes evaporated.

These schemes included 50 per cent reservation for women in civic body elections, 33 per cent in police appointments, building the largest number of toilets in Gujarat as part of the Swachh Bharat campaign, bringing transparency in the revenue sector and tackling corruption in the appointments of primary teachers.

Narendra Modi and Anandiben Patel. Photo: Shailesh Raval

However, with the erosion in her authority came a massive jump in bureaucratic corruption. In public perception, it reached intolerable levels in some quarters. Senior political analyst Vidyut Thakar says that Anandiben had unwittingly become a recruiting agent for the Congress. "This is because her fading image and repeated political blunders threatened to bring the Congress back into power.

Hardik Patel's statement after her resignation seemed to echo the opposition's apparent despondency over her departure: "She has taken the people of the state for a ride and created a mess. Why is she now running away from discharging her responsibility?" Gujarat Congress chief Bharat Solanki says she was forced to step down because of "allegations of corruption against her family members". Amit Shah tried to make a virtue of her exit: "She has set a good precedent by choosing to step down on the 75-year-age principle.

THE ROAD TO 2017

What does Modi need to do to rebuild the BJP's battered bastion in Gujarat? The priority would be to bring back the Patels, the BJP's main vote bank in the state. Anandiben's strong-arm tactics-multiple court cases and slapping of sedition charges against Hardik Patel, which kept him in jail for nine months-had turned the community against the state. Her dropping of a majority of those cases will certainly bring down frayed tempers within the community. Bringing them back into the BJP fold, though, would be an uphill task, given the nature of their unreasonable demand for reservations, and the personal ambitions of Hardik Patel, now firmly aligned with a spectrum of Modi's political rivals, from the Congress to Arvind Kejriwal.

Modi will need a consummate negotiator to deal with the Patels, armed with a strategy which isolates Hardik and wins the Patel community back. But in the November 2015 district and taluka panchayat elections, the entire rural Patel vote had deserted them, resulting in the party losing almost two dozen district panchayats and resurrecting a weak Gujarat Congress. It will, therefore, require a huge effort in the rural areas to win back the Patel vote.

Hardik Patel's arrest has queered the pitch for BJP. Photo: Shailesh Raval

The Dalit vote, nurtured by the local BJP and RSS machinery in the state, is in danger of getting fragmented after the Dalit protests following the July 11 incident in Una. The state recorded a five-fold jump in the number of atrocities against Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes. The state has the highest rates of atrocities against Dalits, rising from 1,130 in 2014 to 6,655 last year.

Again, a deft negotiator and some strong measures alone can assuage Dalits in Gujarat and send a signal across the country. Land allotted to Dalits under the 'land to the tiller' law in Gujarat continues to be tilled by the original upper caste owners in many villages. If the government acts sternly, the Dalits can be restored as the legitimate owners of their allotted land. However, that would be tantamount to antagonising upper caste farmers and also raises the spectre of Dalit-upper caste clashes. Either way, it is a stark choice for Modi.

Governance in Gujarat, marked by bureaucratic corruption, needs fixing. This essentially means a new state government to cleanse the system by posting clean and dynamic IAS and police officers in key posts.

Gujarat's GSDP dropped to 6.7 per cent in 2015-2016, its lowest in 10 years, from 7.7 per cent in 2014-2015 and 10.8 per cent in 2013-2014 (see graphic: Sorry Figures). Says Thakar: "It will be an uphill task for Modi to put Gujarat back on track in the next one year, given the deep damage that has already been done at all levels. He will have to rely on Congress weaknesses more than anything else to get results."

Elections in Gujarat are just 16 months away. Narendra Modi had begun a gruelling four-month election campaign ahead of the December 2012 elections. He won 115 out of the 182 seats in the assembly polls. It was a spectacular singular effort marked by ceaseless campaigning for an unbroken four months, the most intense campaign of Modi's political career, overshadowed only by his 2014 campaign. Many are wondering whether the prime minister will be able to mount such an intensive campaign for 2017. People in the state BJP are very confident that one year is long enough for the party, and especially Modi, to undo the damage. Says former minister and senior BJP leader Indravijaysinh Jadeja: "His message of good governance and the fact that not a single scam has hit the Union government have added to his aura. His increased charisma will make up for his absence in the state. Plus, let's not forget that BJP has a dedicated machinery of party workers right to the booth level, something the Congress does not have."

Besides, confidence levels in the Congress are not as high as they might be given the dents to the BJP vote banks. Says a Congress leader, "We have to tread carefully. We can ill afford to ignore our own problems. The party isn't exactly homogeneous. At the mere scent of power, the party could see a damaging internal race between leaders to safeguard their own interests. Plus, all will depend on how tickets are distributed." Corruption in the distribution of tickets had been the Congress's undoing in the 2012 state election. Yet again, it could snatch defeat from the jaws of victory.

with Kaushik Deka

Follow the writer on Twitter @UdayMahurkar

--- ENDS ---
Our Correspondent

Jaipur, August 1

More than 500 cows have died at Jaipurs gaushala in the BJP-ruled Rajasthan in the past 10 days amid a raging debate in the country on cow protection and the growing number of attacks by right-wing vigilantes.

Doctors at Jaipur's Hingonia Gaushala  Asias best cowshed  on the Tonk Road in the states capital claim starvation was a likely cause. Fifty have died every day in the past week alone.

Dr Harendra Singh, the Chief Veterinary Officer at the shed, claims that the shed sees 35-38 cows  most of which are stray or abandoned  die every day on an average.

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Ill health and injuries suffered from accidents outside the shelter are the main causes. The deaths may also have occurred because these cows were sick and weak and did not take regular feeds, Singh says.

The shed is run by the Jaipur Municipal Corporation (JMC).

The state government however denies negligence, claiming the cows that died were probably already sick. The state department of animal husbandry claims the government has spent Rs 10.78 crore on the shed in 2015-16.

Fourteen veterinary doctors and 24 livestock assistants work at the shed around the clock. The budget for maintaining the shed is increased every year. There are over 8,000 cows in the shelter. The shed also has 200 other people on payroll. There was no lapse, KL Meena, Principal Secretary of Animal Husbandry, said.

Director of State Veterinary Department Dr AK Gupta blamed heavy rain for the deaths.

Authorities have brought in 50 tractor trolleys to remove the carcasses.

Opposition Congress however blames the deaths on negligence and has begun demanding action. Rajasthan Congress president Sachin Pilot, state Leader of Opposition Rameshwar Dudi, and Jaipur District Congress President PS Khachariwas have visited the cowshed.

Rajasthan is the only state with a ministry for cow protection.

The country has recently seen a rise in the number of attacks by right-wing vigilantes over cow protection.

In the most recent case that sparked protests, some Dalits were beaten in public by some vigilantes for having skinned a cow in Prime Minister Narendra Modi's home state, Gujarat. The Dalits claimed the animal was dead.
Legal Correspondent

New Delhi, August 5

The Supreme Court today directed the Centre to pay Rs 450 crore to Himachal Pradesh in a weeks time towards compensation for the land acquired for the Rs 5,242-crore Renuka Dam and also consider waiving Rs 1,090 crore meant for forest clearance in the second stage.

A Bench headed by Chief Justice TS Thakur told senior counsel V Mohana to take instructions on the waiver proposal by August 12, the next date of hearing on a petition filed by the state government.

Justices AM Khanwilkar and DY Chandrachud said the Centre was to pay 90 per cent of the construction cost as it had declared the proposed dam a national project in 2009. The project was cleared by a panel, set up by the National Green Tribunal, in February this year.

Appearing for the state, senior advocate JS Attri and Additional Advocate General Suryanarayana Singh pleaded that the project was getting delayed as the Centre had not paid the land acquisition cost. The CJ asked Mohana if the Centre was playing politics because Delhi and Himachal were ruled by other parties. Attri said this was the reason.

Not in a position to pay further compensation, as ordered by the state High Court in 2014, Himachal had approached the apex court.
Ravi S Singh

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, August 5

Asserting that a terrorist in one nation cannot be a martyr in another, India has asked Saarc nations to take effective steps against state and non-state actors supporting terrorism and extradite persons involved in it.

In a suo motu statement on his visit to Islamabad to attend the Saarc Home Ministers meeting in Parliament, Home Minister Rajnath Singh said he had urged the members not to glorify terrorism or give patronage to it.

A terrorist in one nation cannot be a martyr or freedom fighter for anyone, he said.

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They should not make the mistake of distinguishing between good terrorism and bad terrorism, he said. It is necessary to take all effective steps against state or non-state actors encouraging or supporting terrorism.

To ensure that terrorism is not encouraged, it is necessary that stringent action is initiated not only against terrorists but also against persons, organisations, institutions and states supporting them, Singh said.

He said he had suggested to the Saarc ministers that sanctions and bans imposed against terrorists by the global community had to be honoured.

Stringent action should also be taken against persons involved in terrorism and their extradition should be ensured so that they could face the law, the Home Minister said.

It is important for nations that have not ratified Saarc Convention on Mutual Assistance on Criminal Matters to do it, he said, adding that Pakistan had so far not ratified this convention as well as Saarc Terrorist Offences Monitoring Desk (STOMD) and Saarc Drug Offences Monitoring Desk (SDOMD).

I was told on behalf of Pakistan that they would soon act on ratifying these. And I hope that soon is actually soon, he said.

The agenda of the meeting was terrorism, smuggling of narcotic drugs, cyber crime and human trafficking. Almost all countries condemned terrorism in strongest possible terms, Singh said.

India placed special emphasis on terrorism as it posed the single biggest threat to peace and prosperity of South Asia, he said. I called upon them to firmly resolve to uproot terrorism.

Also, New Delhi urged all Saarc nations not to glorify or give patronage to terrorism.

The Home Minister said dark clouds of terrorism had engulfed not just South Asia but the entire world. The entire world community is concerned about this serious threat. This was clear not just from the clear message India gave on the threat it poses to humanity, but also from the fact that most nations also expressed concern over it.

Indias message is for humanity and human rights because terrorism is the biggest threat to human rights, he said.

At the meeting, Singh said the initiatives announced by India included offering technical assistance to make STOMD and SDOMD more effective.

India has also offered to host a meeting of experts on Saarc Anti-Terrorism Mechanism on September 22-23, he said, adding he offered provision of training to Saarc member nations on preventing narcotics trade.

New Delhi also said it was ready to hold the first meeting of member states on Computer Emergency Response Teams (CERTs), the Home Minister said.

Singh said he informed the Saarc ministers about recent initiatives by government for women and child safety as also about financial inclusion schemes of Jandhan and Aadhaar to provide honest, transparent and accountable governance. With PTI
Sanjeev Sharma

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, August 5

While the sense of the Rajya Sabha was inclined towards the government adopting a tough stance with Pakistan, Home Minister Rajnath Singh said: Though successive governments have tried to improve relations with the country, ye padosi hai ki manta hi nahi hai (its a neighbour that refuses to mend ways).

Replying to the debate on his statement in the Rajya Sabha on his recent visit to Pakistan at the 7th SAARC Home Ministers meeting, Rajnath thanked all political parties for their unanimous stand against terrorism and his tough stand during the visit. I hope that good sense will prevail upon all to come together in the fight against terrorism, he said.

The Home Minister said all former Prime Ministers, including Atal Bihari Vajpayee and Manmohan Singh, had tried their best to improve relations with Pakistan.

Earlier in his statement, Rajnath had said: Insofar as our neighbour is concerned, Pakistan is yet to ratify the SAARC convention on Mutual Assistance on Criminal Matters. Pakistan is also yet to convey its concurrence on setting up of SAARC Terrorist Offenses Monitoring Desk (STOMD) and SAARC Drug Offenses Monitoring Desk (SDOMD). Pakistan mentioned that it would act soon on these issues. I only hope and wish that the soon would actually be soon.

Congress Anand Sharma condemned demonstrations by banned terrorist outfits and leaders, who were hostile when the Home Minister was in Pakistan.

Responding to Opposition queries on the blackout of his speech, the Home Minister said he was not aware of the protocol and convention but did say that representatives of the Indian media were not allowed inside the premises of the conclave.

Congress Abhishek Singhvi said: The Home Minister says Indian media was blacked out but the External Affairs Ministry instead of staying silent jumps the gun to say what happened was protocol. The right hand doesnt know what the left is doing.

Singhvi attacked the governments Pakistan policy for what he described as Rajnaths insult on foreign soil. This governments Pakistan policy is in tatters which is why we have seen zigzags and U-turns insofar as our relations with Pakistan go. The final event in that saga of U-turns was Home Ministers insult in Pakistan yesterday. What a sea change we have seen from the SAARC moment of PM Narendra Modis swearing-in and the SAARC meeting yesterday, he said.
Manas Dasgupta

Gandhinagar, August 5

The BJP today sprung a surprise by picking Vijay Rupani, partys state unit president, as the new Chief Minister of Gujarat. Nitin Patel, senior-most minister in the Anandiben Patel Cabinet, who till the last moment remained the frontrunner in the race for the top post, was made Rupanis deputy.

Rupani (60), also a minister in the Anandiben Cabinet, is expected to take oath as the 16th Chief Minister next week.

Rupani, who had yesterday counted himself out of the race saying he would prefer to remain as the organisational head, suddenly emerged as partys final choice at the meeting of the BJP legislature party held this evening.

The meeting was chaired by partys national president Amit Shah and attended by Union Minister Nitin Gadkari and Saroj Pandey as the partys central observers.

Patel had emerged as the first choice over the past two days and his name was also believed to have been finalised at a meeting of party leaders that concluded minutes before the legislature party meeting. He had even started giving interviews to local news channels on his plans to handle the Patidar and Dalit agitations.

Party sources indicated that outgoing CM Anandiben Patel favoured Rupani over Patel. At the legislature party meeting, she proposed Rupanis name with Nitin as his deputy and was unanimously approved by the legislators.

Patels supporters took to the streets in Mehsana, his home district, to register their protest over the last-minute switch. Party workers had in fact made preparations to celebrate Patels expected elevation by bursting firecrackers. Instead they raised slogans against Shah, who had the last say in the selection process.

Patel quota stir leader Hardik Patel said if Nitin Patel valued the prestige of the community, he should tender his resignation and refuse to stay in the Rupani Cabinet. Rupani was born in Rangoon, Burma (now Myanmar), but his family moved to Rajkot when he was four. At 24, he joined the BJP and held various posts. He served as Rajya Sabha member from 2006 to 2012.
Gandhinagar, August 5

In a surprise decision, BJP state unit chief Vijay Rupani, a Amit Shah loyalist, was on Friday chosen as the new Chief Minister of Gujarat to succeed Anandiben Patel, pipping Nitin Patel who was considered a sure pick for the top job in the poll-bound state.

Nitin Patel, seen as the front-runner for the top slot after Anandiben offered to resign, was made deputy Chief Minister. It is for the first time that Gujarat will have a Deputy Chief Minister.

The announcement was made by Union Minister Nitin Gadkari, who was assigned as the partys observer, after the BJP legislature party meeting which elected 61-year-old Rupani as its leader. The names of Rupani and Nitin Patel were proposed by Anandiben Patel and seconded by several MLAs.

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The decision to make Rupani as Chief Minister and Nitin Patel, the incumbent Health Minister, as his deputy was taken at hectic parleys involving BJP president Amit Shah and Gadkari.

The BJP legislature party meeting, which was to start at 4 pm began two hours late, apparently due to parleys involving top leaders.

Earlier in the day, Nitin Patels office had claimed that his name has been finalised by the BJP to fill the position that fell vacant by Anandibens resignation.

Patel had given a series of interviews to national television channels listing how he intends to take the state forward when it is facing the challenges like the Patel quota agitation and Dalit unrest. Even sweets were distributed at his residence and a pooja was also organised.

However, in the two hours after BJP national president Amit Shah reached the party office at 4 pm, followed by observers Gadkari and Saroj Pandey, the top leaders of the state remained in a huddle in one of the conference rooms of BJP state headquarters at Koba village on the outskirts of Gandhinagar.

Shah, Gadkari, Pandey, Anandiben, Nitin Patel, Vijay Rupani and BJP joint general secretary (organisation) V. Satish were present in the meeting, besides some other leaders.

However, there is no word on what transpired at the meeting.

Rupani, who belongs to Jain Baniya community, is considered to be close to Amit Shah, while Patel is said to be close to Anandiben.

Rupani, who represents Rajkot West seat, joined the Jan Sangh in 1971 and has been associated with the BJP since its formation.

He currently holds Transport, Water Supply, Labour and Employment portfolios.

Rupanis candidature is being seen as a way to pre-empt any conflict between the Dalit and Patidar communities, the latter on warpath with the government over its demand for reservation on par with the OBCs.

He is being assigned the task of leading the BJP in the high-stake Assembly poll as the party is struggling to retain its political base and lacking in leaders who have the charisma of Narendra Modi, who had a tight hold on its affairs as Chief Minister before moving to the Centre.

The BJP, which has been on a winning spree for over last two decades, seems to have sensed a political setback in continuation of Anandiben, who took charge in 2014 as successor to her high-profile predecessor.

Anandiben, who turns 75 this November, had handed over her resignation to Governor O.P. Kohli on Wednesday.

Under her leadership, the BJP had suffered reversal in the civic poll held last year, with the opposition Congress making handsome gains at the expense of its saffron rival.

In the last two years, the BJP was also at loggerheads with its loyal vote bank of Patidars who have been demanding OBC quota and launched violent protests.

Of late, flogging of Dalits at Una also caused a massive unrest, further denting the partys image.  PTI
Lucknow, August 5

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav on Friday announced Rs 3 lakh in compensation and a flat each to the Bulandshahr gang-rape victims.

Drawing criticism from all quarters in the wake of the incident, Yadav on Thursday slammed the Opposition and accused them of tutoring the victims to serve their political motives.

The incident is unfortunate. Action will be taken against those responsible. But the BJP and other parties are tutoring the victims, he said.

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The three men, who have been arrested, have been sent to judicial custody. However, the police are yet to arrest gang leader Saleem Bawariya and other accused, who are absconding.

The incident took place last Friday when a 35-year-old woman and her 14-year-old daughter were allegedly gang-raped by a group of robbers in Bulandshahr district.

The victims were on their way from Noida to Shahjahanpur with other family members when their vehicle was stopped near a cycle repairing shop in Dostpur village on NH-9, which connects Noida and Bulandshahr. ANI
Shivani Bhakoo

Tribune News Service

Ludhiana, August 5

The fund-starved Punjab Government will pay a whopping Rs 53 crore to AECOM Asia Limited/Price Waterhouse Coopers (Consultants) that it has hired for the Smart City (Ludhiana) project.

A sum of Rs 45 crore will go towards salaries of the consultants and the remaining Rs 8 crore will go into reimbursable expenses  office rent, vehicles etc.

The management consultants have been hired by the Punjab Municipal Infrastructure Development Company (PMIDC). An agreement between AECOM Asia Limited/PWC vice-president Pawan Gupta and Ludhiana Smart City Limited Interim CEO Ghanshyam Thori was signed in Chandigarh today.

A member on the Board of Directors (Smart City) expressed shock over the hefty fee. He claimed the government had not bothered to hold a meeting to discuss the matter. Even as they are paying such a hefty sum, they should ask the consultant about the scope of work in the first year and the subsequent years. The fee could have been paid annually after assessing the progress made on the ground. This is purely a political move and is uncalled for, the member said.

An official of the Ludhiana Municipal Corporation said work under the Smart City mission was likely to kick off shortly. There is a feeling that the consultants have been hired on an exorbitant fee even though we have plenty of technical hands. The money could have instead been used for citys development, he said. Thori, Municipal Corporation Ludhiana (MCL) Commissioner, said the consultants would prepare a detailed project report but before that brain-storming sessions would be held with all stakeholders. The process could take up to four months after which work on the project would begin.

Interestingly, the MCL has already celebrated the Smart City anniversary though the project is yet to take off.
Chandigarh, August 5

Aam Aadmi Party state convener Sucha Singh Chhotepur has said party workers have "strong objection over one or two names" a day after AAP announced its first list of candidates for the 2017 Punjab Assembly Elections.

"There are one or two names to which workers have strong objections. Interest of workers who have worked hard should be kept in mind. I have spoken to the party about this," Chhotepur said on Friday, without elaborating what those names were.

He dismissed reports that claimed he was upset over inclusion of some names on the candidates list and that he was quitting the party.

He said he would take up the objections with partys national convener Arvind Kejriwal when he came back from a meditation course he was taking at Dharamsala.

"It is the right of the Political Affairs Committee (PAC) to announce candidates and everybody will agree on it. If the party says they can be changed, they will be changed," he said. "Whatever the PAC has decided is final."

It is democracy and everybody has the right to talk within the party. I have not taken names of seats or of their seats. It is an internal matter (of the party)," he said, adding names of candidates for seven seats of 26 seats have been withheld.

To a question on why he was not present at Thursdays press conference, he claimed he was in Delhi for some personal work.

"I had informed Sanjay Singh (AAP leader) that I would not attend the press conference. It is not necessary that I attend all press conferences," Chhotepur said.

AAP released first list of 19 candidates on Thursday. The list included senior lawyer HS Phoolka and Himmat Singh Shergill.

Former IFS officer HS Kingra  considered close to Chhotepur  has resigned from the party after he was denied a ticket to contest election from Ferozepur and is even reported to have dubbed AAP a party of sycophants.

Chottepur was reported by some in the press to have quit the party. He later said in a tweet that the stories were "false".  PTI
By PTI: From Lalit K Jha

Washington, Aug 5 (PTI) In a major blow to Donald Trump, the prestigious Harvard Republican Club today announced that it will not support the Republican presidential nominee in the November general elections.

Citing his recent rhetoric, in particular the statement against the parents of Muslim-American soldier who was killed in a terrorist attack in Iraq, the Harvard Republican Club in a statement asked party leaders to withdraw their support from Trump.

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"For the first time in 128 years, we, the oldest College Republicans chapter in the nation, will not be endorsing the Republican nominee," the club said in a statement.

Trump, they alleged, holds views that are antithetical to values not only as Republicans, but as Americans as well.

"The rhetoric he espouses ? from racist slander to misogynistic taunts ? is not consistent with our conservative principles, and his repeated mocking of the disabled and belittling of the sacrifices made by prisoners of war, Gold Star families, and Purple Heart recipients is not only bad politics, but absurdly cruel," the statement said.

"If enacted, Trumps platform would endanger our security both at home and abroad. Domestically, his protectionist trade policies and draconian immigration restrictions would enlarge our federal deficit, raise prices for consumers, and throw our economy back into recession," the young Republicans feared.

Trumps global outlook, steeped in isolationism, is considerably out-of-step with the traditional Republican stance as well, they argued.

In a strongly worded statement, the Harvard Republican Club said: "Trump is a threat to the survival of the Republic".

"His authoritarian tendencies and flirtations with fascism are unparallelled in the history of our democracy. He hopes to divide us by race, by class, and by religion, instilling enough fear and anxiety to propel himself to the White House.

"He is looking to pit neighbour against neighbour, friend against friend, American against American. We will not stand for this vitriolic rhetoric that is poisoning our country and our children," the club said.

The Harvard Republican Club said the former US President Ronald Reagan would have been ashamed of Trump.

"We call on our partys elected leaders to renounce their support of Trump, and urge our fellow College Republicans to join us in condemning and withholding their endorsement from this dangerous man. The conservative movement in America should not and will not go quietly into the night," the statement said. PTI LKJ SUA SUA

--- ENDS ---
While many local bodies in the province are becoming more and more alive to their duty in the matter of establishing and maintaining libraries and reading rooms, the Kasur Municipal Committee has been induced to take a retrograde step, in the face of strenuous opposition from some of the intelligent and public-spirited members. It is easy for a majority of members to divest themselves of their responsibility towards the public in this manner. But what is even more surprising is that such a retrograde proposal should have received any support or countenance from the official President. The matter, we trust, will receive early sympathetic treatment from the Deputy Commissioner, Lahore, who knows the value people attach to reading rooms.
The patriotic call which His Highness the Maharaja Sahib of Patiala made to Sikhs in particular and all Indians in general deserves to be taken to heart by every subject of the British throne. With regard to the Sikhs the Maharaja no doubt occupies a special position. He is not only a Sikh but the representative of the house which the Guru himself blessed and called his own. The blessing to the house of which His Highness is the scion and representative was by a happy coincidence given by same Guru Sahib who foretold the advent of the British to India. That constitutes another sacred the which binds the Patiala house to the British throne and government. We are glad that His Highness, while giving his message more especially to the Sikhs has not confined it to them, but has addressed all Indians who will listen to the noble call with interest.
Tribune News Service

Dehradun, August 4

Union Minister of State for Environment, Forest and Climate Change (Independent Charge) Anil Madhav Dave met the 2015 batch of the Indian Forest Service Probationers of Indira Gandhi National Forest Academy, Dehradun, in Delhi today.

In his interaction with probationers, Dave emphasised the co-existence between forests, tribals and flora and fauna.

He said conservation of trees and species of birds and animals and their co-existence was inherent to our civilisation. He urged the trainee officers to strive to become good forest officers and make it a habit to get immersed in their field of work. The quality of training imparted by the faculty at various Institutes should be the best, he said.

Director General, Forest and Special Secretary Dr SS Negi said the Indian Forest Service (IFS) provided an opportunity to officers to live in the midst of nature. The young officers should strive to work for poor people of forest-dependent communities.

The 2015 batch of probationers comprise 61 officers, including four women and two foreign trainees from Bhutan. Additional Director General of Forest Dr Anil Kumar and Indira Gandhi National Forest Academys Director Dr Shashi Kumar were also present on the occasion.
Our Correspondent

Pithoragarh, August 5

With the Independence Day celebrations round the corner, the police have stepped up vigil at the bridges near the border and other entry points of Nepal in Pithoragarh and Champawat districts. The move is aimed at checking the entry of anti-social elements.

Pithoragarh SP Roshan Lal Sharma said, The police, along with the Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB), have beefed up security at the bridges of Jhoolaghat, Dharchula, Baluakot and Sitapul near the border to ensure that no anti-national element crosses over to India from Nepal.

The SSB personnel are checking the identity of people entering from Nepal near the Banbasa bridge in Champawat. SP DS Kunwar said, We seek identity proof from people to establish that they are Nepal citizens. Through such practices, anti-national elements can be identified.

KC Rana, an officer of the SSB at Banabasa, said, The special patrolling by the teams, constituted to guard the border, will continue till August 15.
Neena Sharma

Tribune News Service

Dehradun, August 5

The Central Government has launched a Digital Lockers scheme.

These lockers are proving to be a boon for residents keen to ensure safety and security of their documents. In Uttarakhand, where natural disasters are frequent, the digital lockers can prove handy for people for the safety of important documents.

The Department of Information Technology, besides encouraging residents to go for digital lockers, has asked the Department of Education to put all its records pertaining to examination results in these lockers.

Following in the footsteps of the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE), which has opted for a digital locker for safekeeping the results released this year of class X and XII, the state government too has asked the Department of Education to take a lead.

It will be another step in the direction of going paperless. People will be provided 1 GB space for keeping their scanned documents in the digital locker, said Deepak Kumar, Secretary, Information Technology.

Besides offering secure storage, digital lockers allow one to access their documents irrespective of their physical location. In these lockers, the data is secured under Indian bylaws. The government is also planning to make it a repository of all government documents, which means it may become a one-stop locker for all important government-issued documents, among others.

Besides giving the facility to people at a personal level by providing personal space, the RTO and other public utility departments too can use the digital recorders for keeping licences safely.

Whenever other departments require to access the documents, such as for making licences etc, people can give the URL link, Deepak said.

In the coming days, as more departments opt for the Digi lockers, more information is expected to be available online, revolutionising the functioning of governments that were resisting computerisation.
Tribune News Service

Haridwar, August 5

BJP district womens wing activists organised a protest at suburban Jwalapur here today against the alleged attempts by Chief Minister Harish Rawat to pressure a woman to accuse former minister Harak Singh Rawat of rape. They said the Chief Minister was trying to settle political scores with Harak Rawat, who rebelled against his government and joined the BJP, by getting false rape charge levelled against him.

The party workers, led by district party president Rita Chamoli and state womens wing secretary Anjana Chaddha, raised slogans against the Chief Minister and accused him of misusing power to pressure a woman to level false rape charge against Harak Rawat.

Now, the woman, who made the rape charge against Harak Rawat, has revealed that Congress leaders pressured her to make false accusations. It is unfortunate that they forced her to make false rape allegation against Harak Rawat, said Rita.

District vice-president Anamika Sharma said party women activists would campaign door to door to expose the wrongdoings of the state government. District general secretary Rajani Verma, vice-president Renu Sharma, Poonam Chauhan, Manu Rawat, Anita Dayal, Lovely, Mithilesh, Santosh Saini, Reema Gupta, Kamla Joshi, Kusum Gandhi, Rashmi Chauhan, Sanotsh, Gauri, Anita, Maya and Madhu took part in the protest.
Seattle: Seattle-based Amazon is unveiling its first branded cargo plane, one of 40 jetliners that will make up the e-commerce giants own air transportation network as it takes more control of its delivery process. Amazons parcel volume was an estimated one billion packages in 2015, the same number that FedEx delivered three years earlier. Amazon has had issues with the reliability of air freight services and analysts say it makes sense for Amazon to use an air fleet it controls. AP

Drones to paint outdoor murals soon

Toronto: Already being used for delivering packages and monitoring wild life, unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) may soon be used for painting murals outdoors. A team led by Paul Kry from McGill University programmed tiny drones to create dot drawings  an artistic technique known as stippling, which is the creation of a pattern simulating varying degrees of solidity or shading by using small dots. The drones are so small that they fit in the palm of a hand and so light that even very slight air currents can toss the drones off course. IANS

Largest torrent search engine shuts down

London: Weeks after search engine Kickass Torrents was shut down following the arrest of alleged founder Artem Vaulin in Poland, another major player Torrentz.eu shut its portals on Friday. Torrentz.eu announced "farewell" to its millions of users after The Pirate Bay decided to cease its operation. Founded in 2003, Torrentz had millions of visitors per day and the site grew out to become one of the most visited torrent sites. IANS
Dhaka, August 5

An Islamist extremist, accused of murdering a Hindu priest earlier this year and carrying a deadly attack on Bangladeshs biggest Eid gathering, in a gun fight when terrorists attacked a police van transporting him, police said today.

Shafiul Islam (22) was being driven to a police station yesterday when the Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) vehicle was attacked by terrorists.

A second person, an associate of Shafiul and was among those who attacked the RAB convoy, was also killed in the attack. Shafiul, suspect in the Sholakia Eid congregation attack in Kishoreganj, detained by the RAB with a bullet wound soon after the attack. He was one of the three motorcycle-borne assailants who killed priest Jagneshwar Roy (50) with sharp weapons in the early hours of February 21, Daily Star reported. Roy headed the Santo Gaurio temple at Panchagarhs Debiganj.

A RAB official said Shafiul had been undergoing treatment at Mymensingh Medical College Hospital (MMCH) under RAB custody since he was arrested.

After doctors discharged him yesterday, he was being taken to Kishoreganj to be handed over to the police, he said.  PTI
Dhaka, August 5

A Bangladeshi madrassa student, who had murdered a Hindu priest earlier this year and was behind a terror attack on Eid in Dhaka, was killed in a gunfight with security forces, media reported on Friday.

Shafiul Islam and an associate, whose identity was not immediately known, were killed in a gunfight with the Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) in Mymensinghs district.

Shafiul, also known as Saiful, had been undergoing treatment at Mymensingh Medical College Hospital (MMCH) under RAB custody after he was caught following the attack on an Eid congregation in Sholakia in Kishoreganj on July 7.

Doctors released Shafiul on Thursday and he was being taken to Kishoreganj to be handed over to the police.

However, the team came under attack at a place in Nandail when the attackers tried to snatch away Shafiul by hurling bombs and opening fire, a RAB official said, Daily Star reported.

A gun battle ensued when RAB fired back, in which the two militants were hit by bullets and died.

Two motorcycles, several bombs and arms as well as some ammunition were recovered from the spot.

Three RAB members suffered splinter injuries during the encounter, RAB said.

The police also said the gunfight happened at 11.00 p.m. near a brickfield at Dangrigoshpala area, some three to four km east of Nandail upazila headquarters.

On July 7, a police check-post near the Sholakia Eidgah ground, which hosts the countrys largest Eid congregation, came under a terrorist attack. During the attack, Shafiul was injured in an hour-long gun battle with police and later taken into custody.

Two policemen were killed in the Sholakia attack while a woman from a nearby house died after being hit by stray bullets. Police later shot one suspected attacker dead.

Shafiul was one of the three motorcycle-riding assailants who slit the throat of a Hindu priest Jagneshwar Roy, 50, after hacking him with sharp weapons in the early hours of February 21.

He also goes by the aliases Shariful Islam, Abu Mokaddel, and Sohan.

Shafiul was allegedly involved in at least two other targeted killings in Kurigram and Panchagarh.  IANS
London, August 5

David Cameron was accused on Friday of cronyism that would embarrass a medieval court after he rewarded a long list of his political aides and allies with some of Britains highest honours to mark his resignation as prime minister.

Cameron stepped down last month after he failed to persuade voters to back staying in the European Union in a referendum, and many of those on his Resignation Honours list were prominent in the campaign to remain in the bloc.

Outgoing prime ministers can put forward a list of people to receive honours, ranging from peerages and knighthoods to lesser honours such as membership of the Order of the British Empire.

Among the most prominent names on the list are cabinet ministers Michael Fallon, Patrick McLoughlin and David Lidington, all of whom favoured remaining in the EU.

George Osborne, who resigned as finance minister after the Brexit referendum, is made a Companion of Honour.

Also honoured is Isabel Spearman, former fashion public relations executive who worked for Camerons wife Samantha as a stylist and assistant, and Thea Rogers, an adviser credited with smartening up Osbornes public image.

Camerons former spin doctor, Craig Oliver, was given a knighthood. Three prominent donors to the Conservative Party were also either made lords or knights.

Camerons list was attacked by opposition politicians and those who had successfully backed leaving the EU, who argued that he was rewarding the failed Remain campaign.

Leave.EU, a group that backed Brexit, said Cameron had used his final losers list to lavish titles and social status on personal friends, party donors and failed Remain campaigners.

Tom Watson, deputy leader of the opposition Labour Party said Theresa May, who succeeded Cameron as prime minister, should have vetoed the list.

The fact she has allowed this cronyism to go ahead shows that the Tories will always put their own interests first, Watson said.

Tim Farron, leader of the Liberal Democrats, said the list was so full of cronies it would embarrass a medieval court.

Cameron, who has been on holiday with his family in Corsica, has not commented. Media attention has focused instead on his striking swimming trunks, said to have cost 225 pounds ($300).

Downing Street declined to comment.  Reuters
Students at Bengaluru's Christ University staged a protest against not one but a plethora of stringent rules that have been crippling them for a long time. Here's a look at the chain of events that triggered the protest.

By KC Archana: On July 29, 250 students at the Bannerghatta Road campus of Christ University, Bengaluru staged a silent protest at the quadrangle inside the campus. The issues of discontent were things that students had been facing for a while, stringent 85% attendance requirement and strict dress code, which include a ban on growing a beard, or rolling up shirt sleeves for instance.



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The problems at the university initially came to light as many students started to anonymously share their accounts about the University's autocratic rules and regulations.

The new campus in Bannerghatta Road University is an extension of the main campus on Hosur Road, also known as School of Business Studies and Social Sciences. According to an anonymous report by a student, "An uncomfortable vibe of superiority always existed where the students of social sciences were forced to follow rules that were exclusive to the business studies students. And no one dared to retaliate."

Another student who spoke about the issue said in an anonymous blog post, "As this campus contains a majority of business studies students and staff and is headed by a professor who used to belong to the business studies department in the main campus, we social sciences students are being subjected to their norms and regulations, which we didn't sign up for. We were told there would only be a shift in campuses. We weren't informed that humanities students would be treated like business studies students."



Reason for so much anonymity?

The student openly writes in the blog, "Anonymity is the only tool we have now, as students who have exposed their identity while raising their voices have been punished unreasonably." This just goes to show the unwarranted fear the students have been living in because of the strict rules.



What triggered the protest?

A blog post by a student titled 'Dear Christ University, I cannot fly.' detailing the woes of local student was facing during strikes spread like wildfire on social media. "On Tuesday, or rather today, I had six hours of class which I had to happily bunk. I couldn't possibly ask my Dad to sacrifice another meeting. With auto drivers quoting outlandish prices which I can't possibly afford with my allowance and buses off the roads and my much dreaded horrible inability to fly, how was I to visit your fine campus on this very fine day?" -- thus goes a quote by a second-year BSc student named Sumedha Biswas in her personal blog.

The same week a bus strike declared by BMTC and KSRTC drivers demanding salary hike, crippled the entire city. This complicated things for many student's who had to travel from far off places, all because of the strict attendance rules. Sumedha listed four major issues in her blog, the main one being the university's harsh attendance requirements.

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Teacher who stood by students, abruptly fired

An assistant professor in Economics who lost his job for speaking up against the university's "unbending" rules. In a blog post by The Anonymous Reporter wrote, "The catalyst to the events that ensued later was the situation that happened with an Economics Professor in the Bannerghatta campus. This teacher felt deeply about the problems students are facing besides the difficulties during strikes, and raised his voice against the system and asked questions. As a result he was called to meet the management at the Main campus on Hosur road. He was unceremoniously asked to leave and was not even allowed to meet his students one last time as he was being whisked away by security."

The Bangalore Mirror quoted the distraught professor as saying, "This is supreme injustice. If they did not want to give me the space to voice the concerns of my students, then why did they even make me the class teacher."

Earlier, he was also admonished by faculty members for sharing a students blog post on the faculty's Whatsapp group. Students were furious after the professor who stood up for them was fired for no rhyme or reason.



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What transpired at the protest on Friday?

According to a blog post tilted 'The story of a united student body' a student details the chain of incidents that took place anoymously.

After the news of the professor being sacked spread among the students, all of them unanimously gathered to stage a protest. "All students in consensus decided to wear black the next day as an expression of solidarity, and protest against the disparity in the system between the main campus and here." the student writes.

"Close to 250 students assembled in the quadrangle wearing black the next day. The silent protest started at 12:40 PM and went on till the end of the lunch break at 1:30 PM. 10 minutes into the protest, admin managers, security guards and other staff tried in vain to disperse the crowd and within a couple of minutes the Associate Dean, Dr Jyothi Kumar also tried to help the staff to disperse the crowd but in vain again. A few students' ID cards were confiscated without any reasons given and the mob was being videographed by an admin staff."

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Some of the ridiculously stern rules and regulations of the University:

1. The dress code: No Lycra Leggings, Dupatta (Scraf) Mandatory. Many times security even frisk students to check the material. The college imposes a ban on growing a beard, or rolling up shirt sleeves.

2. Strict 85% attendance requirement to appear for an exam. Even if there is a strike, the university conducts classes. For students withing 3km of the campus attendance if compulsory. Late comers will b allowed to enter, but not given attendance.

3. Students cannot organise meetings in the campus without the Vice Chancellor's permission.

4. Student's council not elected by students, which is undemocratic.

5. They fine students for lack of attendance and the university has accumulated in lakhs with just fines.

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CAIRO, August 5

Egypt's former Grand Mufti Ali Gomaa, once one of the country's top religious authorities, survived an assassination attempt on Friday, security sources told Reuters and state television later reported.

Two men on a motorcycle fired guns on Gomaa as he entered a mosque, the sources said. He was unharmed and one of his bodyguards received a minor injury to the foot. The gunmen immediately fled the scene.

"If Ali Gomaa dies there are millions who will take his place," Gomaa told state television shortly after news of the attempt was made public. "I gave my sermon right after my survival."

Like many of the top religious figures in the Egyptian state, Gomaa is an adherent of a mystical school of Islam known as Sufism whose practices have sometimes set them at odds with more puritanical Muslims, including hardline Islamist groups.

Gomaa is an outspoken critic of Islamist groups  including the Muslim Brotherhood, which the military ousted from power in 2013 after mass protests against former President Mohamed Mursi.

He is also close to President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, who led the military's ouster of Mursi, and campaigned for his election.

"I tell Sisi Remember your God and pray to him and walk in his blessing. God will grant you victory. This proves you are on the right path," Gomaa said.

The grand mufti is in charge of issuing religious edicts as well as issuing a non-binding opinion on all capital sentences.

No group claimed the attempt on Gomaa's life.

Egypt is facing an Islamist insurgency led by Islamic State's local branch in North Sinai where hundreds of soldiers and police were killed. There have been attacks in Cairo and other cities as well.

The country's top prosecutor was assassinated by a car bomb in June last year.  Reuters
Kuala Lumpur, August 5

Malaysia has confirmed that one of the pilots of Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 had plotted a course on his home flight simulator to the southern Indian Ocean, where the missing jet is believed to have crashed.

Its the first time Malaysia has acknowledged the route was on Captain Zaharie Ahmad Shahs simulator. Australian officials overseeing the search for the plane last month said the data recovered from the simulator included a flight path to the southern Indian Ocean.

Transport Minister Liow Tiong Lai, who made the comments on Thursday, also cautioned that there were thousands of destinations on the simulator and no evidence to confirm that Zaharie flew the plane in that area.

A recording of the news conference for local media was made available to the Associated Press on Friday. AP
Kathmandu, August 5

Nepal's government has decided to give Rs 1 million to families of those who died in Madhesis' protest against the countrys Constitution last year.

Nepals new Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal Prachanda was sworn in on Friday and held a Cabinet meeting soon after. This is Prachandas second stint at the top position.

The Cabinet has decided to release those arrested during the protests and provide free medical treatment to those injured.

The decisions were part of a deal that the ruling alliance  the Nepali Congress and Prachandas CPN-Maoist Centre  had signed with the Madhesis before the Prime Minister was elected in Parliament.

Madhesis form more than 50 per cent of Nepals population and are widely believed to be having Indian roots. They protested the seven-province federal model enshrined in the Constitution, which they claimed would deprive them of their rights. At least 50 people were killed in protests that lasted six months in southern districts of Nepal.

The protests had cut off essential supplies to the Himalayan country and strained ties with its neighbour, India.  PTI
ISLAMABAD/PESHAWAR, August 5

Pakistan's Prime Minister said on Friday his government is using "formal and informal channels" to seek the return of seven passengers of a crashed helicopter Pakistani helicopter who were captured by the Taliban in Afghanistan.

A Taliban commander claimed the seven were "in safe hands" with the insurgents.

The Pakistani government helicopter, en route to Russia for a routine overhaul, crash-landed in the Taliban-held Logar province in eastern Afghanistan on Thursday.

"Formal and informal channels are being used to ensure safe recovery of the entire crew," Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif said in a statement from his office.

Pakistan's army chief, General Raheel Sharif, called Afghan President Ashraf Ghani on Friday to request his country's help.

"Afghan President Ashraf Ghani assured all possible assistance in this regard," tweeted General Asim Bajwa, the Pakistani military's spokesman on Friday.

Logar province has been increasingly lawless since the launch two years ago of a military operation in neighbouring Pakistani tribal areas pushed many Taliban and allied fighters into Afghanistan.

On Friday, a senior Afghan Taliban commander, speaking on condition of anonymity, confirmed that the passengers  six Pakistanis and a Russian technician  were in their custody and that negotiations for their release were ongoing.

"They are being looked after, being provided tea, food, everything," he said. "We are in touch with the Pakistani officials. We conveyed to them that they are in safe hands." He added that it was no use seeking help from the Afghan government or US military, because the Taliban are in full control of the district.

The Pakistani government and military did not directly confirm direct talks with the Taliban, but officials said they were doing everything possible.

"Efforts are in top gear for early recovery of the crew & pilots of the chopper... Prayers for my dear friends safe return," tweeted Shahbaz Sharif, the prime minister's brother and chief minister of the Punjab provincial government that operates the helicopter.

The aircraft had permission to fly over Afghan air space on its way to Uzbekistan further north, said Nafees Zakaria, the Pakistani Foreign Ministry spokesman, on Thursday.

Pakistan's army chief had previously contacted top US commander in Afghanistan General John Nicholson asking for his international military coalition's help in recovering the men, Bajwa said on Thursday.  Reuters
New York, August 5

For the first time in 128 years, the Harvard Republican Club will not endorse the party's presidential nominee Donald Trump for the top post, condemning his "racist and misogynistic rhetoric" and repeated "belittling" of sacrifices made by uniformed personnel.

In a scathing attack on the 70-year-old leader, the Club, the oldest College Republicans chapter in the nation, said its members are "ashamed" of Trump just as President Ronald Reagan would be. The club called on fellow Republicans to withdraw their support to the "dangerous" man, describing him a "threat to the survival of the Republic".

Lashing out at Trump, the club said he "simply" does not possess the "temperament and character" necessary to lead the US through an "increasingly perilous world" and in response to any "slight-perceived or real", he lashes out "viciously and irresponsibly". The club said it will not stand for his "vitriolic rhetoric" that "poisoning" the country and its children.

"We call on our party's elected leaders to renounce their support of Donald Trump, and urge our fellow College Republicans to join us in condemning and withholding their endorsement from this dangerous man. The conservative movement in America should not and will not go quietly into the night," the Club said in a post on Facebook. It said even as millions of people across the country are feeling despondent, their wages slashed, jobs shipped overseas, Trump does not have a plan to fix these problems but only to "exploit" them.

The Club said it will be for the first time in 128 years that it will not be endorsing the Republican nominee, strongly criticising Trump's views as "antithetical to our values not only as Republicans, but as Americans".

Alluding to Trump's remarks targeting the parents of Pakistani-origin US Army Captain Humayun Khan, who died while serving in Iraq in 2004, the Club slammed the billionaire tycoon for insulting the sacrifices made by veterans.

"The rhetoric he espouses -from racist slander to misogynistic taunts- is not consistent with our conservative principles, and his repeated mocking of the disabled and belittling of the sacrifices made by prisoners of war, Gold Star families, and Purple Heart recipients is not only bad politics, but absurdly cruel," it said.  PTI

Mike Pence: The damage control guy

If Mike Pence had any doubts about what life would be like on the 2016 Republican presidential ticket with Donald Trump, the past week will have erased them: He is the damage control guy

The Indiana governor who swore off political mudslinging years ago heard Trump call Democratic rival Hillary Clinton "the devil" and watched him fan the flames of a feud with the parents of a Muslim soldier who died saving US troops in Iraq

Unlike many vice presidential running mates, mild-mannered Pence was not tapped as the attack dog in the race

Pences job is harder: softening Trump's rough edges and limiting the fallout from what many Republicans see as the nominee's self-inflicted wounds

Clinton gets soaring 15-point national lead

Democratic Presidential nominee Hillary Clinton has gained a whopping 15 per cent national lead over her Republican rival Donald Trump, according to a latest poll.

Due to the recent gaffes made by Trump after the conclusion of two back-to-back conventions last week, Clinton now has the support of 48% of the potential voters as against Trump's 33%, a new poll said

The poll conducted by Marist Institute for Public Opinion in New York said last month Clinton's lead was 42-39 advantage over Trump

Obama warns Trump over security briefings
Washington, August 5

Trump campaign has alleged that the US Government is engaged in a cover-up of its Iranian cash deal, notwithstanding the rebuttal by Obama administration of paying any ransom to Iran for the release of American prisoners.

The Obama Administration is now engaged in a cover-up of their fly-by-night untraceable cash airlift to Iran, the worlds leading state sponsor of terrorism, Stephen Miller, senior policy adviser from the Trump Campaign alleged.

President Obamas refusal to acknowledge that these funds will end up being used to subsidise terror is shameful  and Hillary Clintons support for the Presidents actions are a national disgrace, he said.

The statement by Trumps campaign came after US President Barack Obama refuted allegation of paying any ransom amount to the Iranians.

The reason that we had to give them cash is precisely because we are so strict in maintaining sanctions, and we do not have a banking relationship with Iran, that we couldnt send them a cheque, and we could not wire the money, Obama told reporters at a Pentagon news conference.

Obama was responding to questions on a Wall Street Journal report that the US transferred a plane load of hard cash amounting to $400 million to Tehran at the same time when Iran released four American prisoners.

The Trump campaign did not appear to be convinced by Obamas statement.

The Obama-Clinton foreign policy gave rise to ISIS, made Iran flush with cash, and is now admitting vast numbers of refugees and migrants into the US from some of the most volatile regions in the world  including more than 1,00,000 migrants annually from the Middle East, plus theyre now on track to hit their target of 10,000 Syrian refugees this year through dangerously expediting their admission (which Hillary Clinton wants to increase by 550 per cent), Miller said.

But none of this is surprising from an Administration that allowed its Secretary of State to threaten the country with a private email server, delete her records, and lie about it to us all, he said.

The House Speaker Paul Ryan yesterday alleged that the Obama administration secretly paid a ransom of $400 million to the worlds foremost state sponsor of terror.

President Obama pushed through his dangerous Iran deal despite overwhelming opposition from the American people. He promised to hold them accountable. He hasnt. Iran is stronger than ever  and there is nothing to prevent its regime from using this cash infusion to strengthen its nuclear program or fund terrorist organisations like Hamas and Hezbollah, he said.

Thanks to President Obama, the US and every other free nation is threatened by this rogue, aspiring nuclear power.

This is unconscionable. Its time to hold Iran accountable.

Its time to hold this administration accountable, Ryan said.  PTI
As a part of the India-Africa Summit in 2015, the engagement of African countries in areas of health research is being planned.

The engagement of African countries in areas of health research is being planned.

By Astha Saxena: Medical students from African countries will soon be trained, offered fellowships and get a hands-on experience on the working of Indian hospitals strengthening India-Africa relations.

As a part of the India-Africa Summit in 2015, the engagement of African countries in areas of health research is being planned. The programme is a joint effort of Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), Ministry of Commerce, Ministry of Health and department of Science and Technology will be inaugurated in September.

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A meeting was held on Thursday to discuss the forthcoming engagement of African countries in the areas of health research. Various ambassadors from more than 35 African countries attended the meeting and expressed their interest in the program.

HEALTHY BOND

"The idea is to have a capacity building for all the medical students, experts and researchers. The programme is a collaboration of the countries in the field of health research. This is for the first time that four ministries have come together to work for a single program," Dr Soumya Swaminathan, director general, ICMR told MAIL TODAY.

"The meeting was quite productive. All the ambassadors came out with the areas where they want India to participate. Such collaborations are always helpful as they take the health research to another level," she added.

Dr Swaminathan added that the entire program will be planned soon and research fellowships to PhD students and other courses for medical students will be offered.

"The idea is to have an impact in Africa. The health sector is extremely important and we are hoping to build up a large program on India-Africa health fund," she said.

According to the experts, India's expertise in healthcare and affordable medicines can offer new hope in the fight against many diseases; and give a newborn a better chance to survive.

During his address at India-Africa Forum Summit last year, PM Modi outlined India's vision and desire to assist Africa with infrastructure building from "Cairo to Cape Town, Marrakesh to Mombassa".

He had announced credit at concessional rates of $10 billion over 5 years, in addition to about $7.4 billion that India has already pledged since 2008.

ALSO READ:



ICMR glucometer is still a dream, no sign of device in the market



--- ENDS ---
Top terror operative known for recruiting Indian youths for Pakistan-based terror groups has been reportedly detained by the Saudi Arabia police.

By Jitendra Bahadur Singh: Indian security agencies have learnt that Dr Sabeel Ahmed, allegedly a top terror operative has been detained in Saudi Arabia. Ahmed was known for his role in recruiting Indian youth for Pakistan -based groups including al Qaeda in the Indian Subcontinent (AQIS) and the Lashkar e Taiba (LeT).

Sources said discreet verification is currently being conducted with Saudi authorities to confirm his identity and bring him back. Ahmed was chargesheeted in June by Delhi police's Special Cell for his role as an AQIS member.

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A former Bangalore resident, Ahmed's elder brother Kafeel had earlier carried out a suicide attack at UK's Glasgow airport on June 29, 2007, in which he died.

Sabeel was later deported to India by the UK and had shifted to Saudi Arabia. There is a lookout circular pending against Ahmed, who is also wanted by the NIA in a terror recruitment case.

LOOKOUT CIRCULAR ISSUED IN AIRPORTS



According to sources, the arrest came soon after a lookout circular was issued across airports in India. Sources said that the Indian authorities are currently verifying the reports and are communicating with the Saudi intelligence. The Indian authorities have sought vital details about the identity of Ahmed to match it with the available database.

Sources even confirmed that once Ahmed's identity is confirmed the Indian government will seek his deportation. Police sources revealed that a non-bailable warrant against Ahmed is still pending.

Saudi Arabia has been instrumental in deporting several terror suspects to India in the past after confirming their identities.

Also read:

After ISIS, Al Qaeda urges Muslims in India to mount lone wolf attacks





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Being able to analyze the profitability of loads, lanes, customers and more has helped Kottke Trucking increase revenue. Photo: Kottke Trucking

While Kottke Trucking has been a going concern since 1938, the third-generation owners had to do some serious soul-searching after the financial meltdown of 2008. Their search for more insight into their operations eventually led them to TCGs Activity-Based Costing and Profitability Management Tools. Today, the fleet says its seen an increase in revenue per mile of 10.5% over the past 18 months by using TCGs Cost Information System to make better decisions.

Kyle Kottke, general manager at the Minnesota-based fleet, says with the software, which was an easy integration with its existing transportation management system, we can completely analyze our freight  and pick winners and losers within our freight basket.

Drilling down in the TCG data allows Kottke to analyze profitability by state, lane, load, customer and origin-destination pairs.

As a result, we have reorganized some freight lanes and focused on operations in eight specific metropolitan locations, and we are able to provide customers with justification for rate changes, Kottke says. TCG shows us where we can be the most profitable.

Kottke fully implemented TCGs activity-based costing and profitability management software for truckload operations in January 2015. Today, the combination of TCG for analytics and the carriers PowerPro Transportation Software enterprise management system is integrating data for analysis on more than 100 tractor-trailer combinations hauling approximately 1,200 loads per month.

It was eye-opening, Kottke says. My assumptions about what was winning and losing werent as accurate as I had assumed they would be. Particular lanes I assumed would prove to be merited as a cornerstone of our business got altered and changed.

He says how the fleet acts on the data varies. Sometimes the solution is to just wait because we think the market will correct it. Sometimes its approaching a customer about an alternation of a rate, a discontinuation of a lane, or a candid conversation about the fact that its just not fitting our portfolio well.

Kottke says some people think using such software could turn off customers. His company works very hard to use the information as part of the communication that takes place in that customer relationship, he explains  not just beating up shippers for better rates.

Sharing the data with customers has resulted in solutions such as Kottke getting a block of freight that would make an entire route or lane look more promising, or getting freight that goes to a different destination for the same rate, turning those loads from losers into winners.

While there is a great deal of data that can be accessed via TCGs software, Kottke says its all about how you use it. You can get drunk on data fast. I try to figure out what my end game is first and then figure out how the data can feed that.
Igor Petrovich learned a lot about helping people in one year.

Petrovich, Legal Aid of Oklahoma staff attorney, celebrated his first anniversary with the organization and in Tulsa on Tuesday.

Assigned to the Day Center for the Homeless, he initially had three cases. One year later that number increased to 50 open cases, and he handled more than 350 cases, helped more than 100 people get identification cards and assisted 85 families by either preventing evictions or getting them more time to find new housing before they were required to move.

Petrovich also is part of a team working on Zero 2016 to end veteran homelessness by the end of the year.

We are on schedule with that project, he said.

Stand Down for Veterans is the immediate project set from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. Sept. 1 at the First United Methodist Church. That is when organizations come together to help veterans with a variety of services, including clothing, food and shelter.

If any veteran calls 211, they can receive information about obtaining health insurance and housing or be connected with organizations that can help them, Petrovich said.

Legal Aid is working with a number of organizations, including Barracks, to help veterans get housing and health care. That service is available even if they arent homeless but are in danger of becoming homeless or are having difficulties related to homeless families.

Petrovichs high points during the past year came when he helped people through difficulties so they could move on with their lives.

One case involved helping a veteran who was discharged from the military because he was gay, get his discharge upgraded so he could access benefits for former service members.

Another high point was the opportunity to help families, especially those with young children, facing eviction. Some of these families were being wrongfully evicted, he said, and this gave them time to find new housing.

Some clients with multiple issues provided an extra challenge for the Legal Aid attorney.

These people had been cast aside from society for so long that it was hard to know where to start, Petrovich said. They had several issues, making it difficult to untangle the web of legal challenges they had woven for themselves.

In those cases, staff support and great co-workers helped because Petrovich was able to bounce ideas off his experienced colleagues.

Its not possible to solve all issues, he said. Missing identification is the most common issue he encounters at The Day Center for the Homeless.

Some have been robbed. Others, especially those with mental health challenges, have lost their identification, birth certificate or Social Security card.

Oklahoma law requires two forms of identification to receive services.

Petrovich starts by searching public records and tax records to get the birth certificate. Voter registration is another form of state identification.

When the client has an Oklahoma picture identification, everything is in place to resolve issues involving housing, income and, when qualified, disability benefits.

Petrovich admitted he didnt know what he was getting into when he was recruited by local attorney Adrienne Watt, who met him while visiting her alma mater, Georgetown University Law School.

I think it is a much different world than I expected, he said. But it has been an amazing experience in getting a chance to help so many people  and that has been wonderful. Helping people has broadened my world view. When you help somebody and at the end they want to give you a hug and say, Thank you, it makes you feel good about the work you are doing.

Many times the first words out of a persons mouth is I have been waiting to talk to an attorney for so long, he said.

Petrovich expressed his disappointment with being unable to do more for clients. Some clients do not follow up on services for unknown reasons  be it lack of resources, staff, number of hours in a day to help people or another limitation.

More than 2,500 people were helped at the Legal Aid Services of Oklahoma offices at 907 S. Detroit Ave. during 2015.

Legal Aid is working on a project to help low-income residents with court costs and fines avoid jail time for failure to pay. Programs in other states are being reviewed to see what works and doesnt work.

Petrovich spends about four hours each week at his office, completing reports and talking with clients in a neutral setting.

Otherwise he can be found at the Day Center for the Homeless from 8:30 a.m. to noon Monday through Thursday, at the Tulsa County Courthouse working on the eviction docket on Monday afternoons and at the Youth Services of Tulsa shelter helping homeless young adults from 16 to 24 years old on Thursday afternoons. He also makes monthly visits to Iron Gate and the Tulsa County Emergency Shelter.

Office paperwork is tedious but important, he said. That is the way to keep track of work being provided and let benefactors know how staff time is used and money is spent.

Petrovich, Alicia Shalon and Carol Beaty will be leading a discussion on legal issues the homeless community faces during the Zarrow Symposium in late September. Topics will include Oklahoma and the nation.
WAGONER  Former Wagoner County Sheriff Bob Colbert and former sheriffs Capt. Jeff Gragg will face trial on bribery charges, a judge ruled Friday.

Sequoyah County Special Judge Matt Orendorff ruled sufficient evidence was presented during a preliminary hearing that Colbert and Gragg received a bribe and conspired to receive a bribe when they released two people under arrest in exchange for their turning over money that was seized at a December 2014 traffic stop.

Orendorff dismissed a felony extortion charge, stating that the money was seized legally because there was probable cause that the funds were drug proceeds.

Torell Wallace, the subject of the bribery claims, testified Wednesday that Colbert advised him that he would be released from the Wagoner County Jail on Dec. 13, 2014, on the condition that he sign documents relinquishing $10,000 that Gragg had obtained from his vehicle during a traffic stop earlier that day.

Wallace was transported to the hearing from a Missouri prison, where he is incarcerated and awaiting sentencing on a drug charge.

During the three-day hearing, multiple law enforcement officers testified that they assisted in releasing Wallace and his teenage passenger under Colberts instruction.

Deputy Keylen Reed, who was called as backup during the traffic stop, testified Friday that Gragg told him at the time that Wallace could come back to retrieve the seized money.

Reed said he was uncomfortable with Graggs statement after reading that Wallace had signed paperwork saying he would not seek the cash in the future, according to testimony.

Reed told prosecutors he thought it was odd that Wallace was allowed to leave the jail that day.

We typically dont arrest and then un-arrest, he testified.

Law enforcement officers reportedly arrested Wallace on a complaint of possession of drug proceeds, but there is no arrest report because his booking process was never completed.

Deputy Brent Roberts, who was a detention officer at the time, testified that Colbert instructed him not to complete the booking process.

Barbara Bailey, Wallaces 17-year-old passenger during the traffic stop, testified Thursday that deputies also arrested her and were in the process of booking her into the jail before discovering she was a minor.

Former detention officer Debra Wheeler said Colbert then told her to retrieve Baileys clothes so she could change out of a jail uniform, according to testimony.

Andrew Rogers, a jail detention officer who was working in the control tower at the time, said he observed via video camera Colbert removing Wallaces handcuffs before he and Bailey exited. Rogers later deleted a security log of the incident.

Wallace and Bailey testified that after Wallace signed over the money, they were escorted out of the jail without being asked to post bond and without any notice of charges filed or citations issued.

Defense attorney Michon Hastings Hughes said the preliminary hearing revealed a lot of credibility issues for the state.

I really dont think this is going to survive a jury trial, she said after the hearing.

Colbert and Gragg will appear for arraignment Sept. 7.

Colbert is suspended from the Sheriffs Office with pay after a multicounty grand jury recommended his removal in March. Gragg was released from employment with the department in June.
By PTI: Peshawar, Aug 5 (PTI) A 31-year-old Indian prisoner, convicted by a military court this year for possessing a fake Pakistani identity card, was attacked twice by inmates in a Peshawar jail during the last two months, his lawyer has said.

Hamid Nehal Ansari, a Mumbai resident arrested in 2012 for illegally entering Pakistan from Afghanistan reportedly to meet a girl he had befriended online, suffered injuries after he was attacked by inmates in the Peshawar Central Prison.

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Ansaris lawyer Qazi Mohammad Anwar told a Peshawar High Court bench yesterday that his client had been kept in a death cell with a hardened criminal awaiting execution for a murder.

Superintendent of the prison Masoodur Rehman confirmed the incidents but insisted theyre of minor nature and that such incidents did happen in prisons, the Dawn reported today.

Rehman also told the bench that Ansari, who was serving three years jail term, had been kept in the death cell.

"He (Ansari) cant be kept in a normal barrack along with other prisoners for the sake of his security," he said.

Ansaris lawyer said the jail superintendent should give an undertaking to the court that attacks won?t happen against his client in future.

The superintendent, however, said he couldnt give a written guarantee in that regard, the paper said.

Ansari had gone missing after he was taken into custody by intelligence agencies and local police in Kohat in 2012 and finally in reply to a habeas corpus petition filed by his mother, Fauzia Ansari, the high court was informed on January 13 that he was in custody of the Pakistan Army and was being tried by a military court.

He was convicted by the military court for possessing a fake Pakistani identity card and sentenced to three years imprisonment. PTI AJR ZH

--- ENDS ---
During the Energy Chamber's Post AGM Event at the Hyatt Regency hotel Wednesday evening, the Finance Minister Colm Imbert offered an insight into how going to the supermarket has been for him since he announced the increase in the prices of gasoline and diesel in the 2023 Budget.
By PTI: New Delhi, Aug 5 (PTI) India today welcomed Moroccos initiative to re-join the African Union which it had left 32 years ago.

India hoped that Moroccos re-joining the African Union would strengthen Africas unity and allow the grouping to play a constructive role in the affairs of its member countries.

"India welcomes Moroccos initiative to re-join the African Union. India enjoys close relationship with all African nations, including Morocco," MEA spokesperson Vikas Swarup said.

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He said India has always stood for African unity and that Indias invitation to all 54 countries of the African continent to the third India-African Forum Summit was an affirmation of this policy.

Morocco left the African Union in 1984, after the organisation recognised the independence of Western Sahara.

Moroccans describe Western Sahara as their countrys "southern provinces". PTI SAP SMN

--- ENDS ---
Russian-backed militants launched 42 attacks on positions of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in Donbas over the past day.

This is reported by the ATO Headquarters press center.

In Donetsk area, the enemy used mortars and machine guns to shell Avdiyivka (18km north of Donetsk). Anti-tank missile system was used to fire at Opytne (11.5km north-west of Donetsk).

In Mariupol area, Ukrainian servicemen in Avdiyivka (18km north of Donetsk) came under mortar, heavy machine and grenade launcher fire. Militants also used grenade launchers to shell ATO troops in Krasnohorivka (29 km west of Donetsk), Hranitne (57km south of Donetsk) and Taramchuk (30km south-west of Donetsk)

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Ukraine and the Republic of Indonesia have signed the agreement on cooperation in the defence industry.

Spokesperson for Ukrainian President Sviatoslav Tseholko posted this on Twitter.

"Ukraine and Indonesia have signed the agreement on cooperation in the defence industry," Tseholko wrote.

At the same time, as reported on the official Twitter account of Ukrainian President, the Ukrainian experts discussed with Indonesian colleagues the prospects for cooperation in the aviation and space sectors.

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Recent comments by Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump about the Ukrainian peninsula of Crimea, occupied by Russia since March 2014, send wrong message to the world, says Ukraines Ambassador to the United States Valeriy Chaly in his article for The Hill.

This bloody war, which has already taken more than 10,000 Ukrainian lives and internally displaced almost 2 million, is a fight of a young democracy for independence and its choice to be part of the West and embrace Western values. Neglecting or trading the cause of a nation inspired by those values  cemented by Americans in their fight for independence and civil rights  would send a wrong message to the people of Ukraine and many others in the world who look to the U.S. as to a beacon of freedom and democracy, Chaly writes.

According to the Ukrainian ambassador, comments by Trump have raised serious concerns in Kyiv and beyond Ukraine, taking into account the U.S. strong support for Ukraine. Many in Ukraine are unsure what to think, since Trump's comments stand in sharp contrast to the Republican party platform. Since the Russian aggression, there has been bipartisan support for U.S. sanctions against Russia, and for such sanctions to remain in place until the territorial integrity of Ukraine is restored. Efforts to enhance Ukraine's defense capacity are supported across the aisle, as well, to ensure that Ukraine becomes strong enough to deter Russias aggression, Chaly stressed.

The Ukrainian ambassador says that statements by Trump contradict the U.S. position, a country seen by partners as a strong defender of democracy and international order.

Even if Trump's comments are only speculative, and do not really reflect a future foreign policy, they call for appeasement of an aggressor and support the violation of a sovereign country's territorial integrity and another's breach of international law, Chaly said.

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IndiGo is celebrating 10 years of flying the domestic skies, and they are going to let you travel for free. Here's how.

By India Today Web Desk: Travelling the world is a dream most of us share. But getting to travel even a part for free is a certainly a dream-come-true. And that is going to be made true by IndiGo airlines.

In a bid to celebrate a decade of its existence in the domestic aviation industry, IndiGo will show gratitude to its consumers by launching a new programme called The 6E Explorer.

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Going live on August 5 by 7pm, the initiative will call for entries to get passionate travellers on board as "6E Explorers". Shortlisted travellers will be interviewed by a panel including prominent names in the company, accompanied by external jury.

Also read: 5 tips to protect your ears from in-flight pain while taking off or landing



Selected candidates will be called Explorers and will be sent on an all-expenses-paid trip to at least 4 to 6 destinations within the country.

And in return, each of these Explorers will have to create content in the form of written blogs, videos and images on the basis of their travel experiences.

The curated content will be comprised of informative articles on lesser-known destinations, places to eat, party, things to do, travelling tips for families, backpackers and more. And all of this will be published on the airline's website under the IndiGo destinations section as "Travel advisory". The main aim of this section will be to provide IndiGo passengers useful information on the travel trends of destinations the airline flies to.

Speaking on the launch of this initiative, Stephen Tame, Chief Advisor IT, IndiGo said, "We whole-heartedly thank our customers that are the driving force behind our success. It has been our consistent endeavour to make travel a hassle-free and high quality experience for our customers, while keeping our promise of providing affordable fares. The new 6E Explorer programme is refreshing and unique and reinforces IndiGo's commitment of providing all our fliers with enhanced travel experience."



--- ENDS ---
Everyone loves beer, but not everyone knows enough about it. We get a brewmaster to answer some of the simplest questions we had but were embarrassed to ask.

By Geetika Sasan Bhandari: It's International Beer Day, and while we don't need that as an excuse to drink beer, we thought we'd use the opportunity to understand some basics about our favourite drink. We spoke to Sandeep Pundir, General Manager, and Dattatray Kachare, brewmaster, at Manhattan, The Craft Brewery in Gurgaon, and got them to sort out some beer basics for us.

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To start with, beer is made from wheat and barley malts. Hops (herbs; come from a plant) are added for aroma, for taste (they impart that particular bitter taste) and function as a natural preservative.

Q. What are the basic types of beer?

A. Beer is divided into ales and lagers. Ales are lighter in taste, and are made using a top fermentation process. Lagers have a heavy taste and are made using the top and bottom fermentation process. Beyond this, then there are many different brews and flavours that can be created.

Q. What's a good one to start with if you're new to beer?

A. Ale.

A. A 1-litre bottle of lager contains 143 calories and a 1-litre bottle of ale contains 166 calories. Wheat beers are sweeter in nature and hence have more sugar than barley based beers.

Q. So which is the healthiest brew?

A. Wheat beer.

Q. Does beer have any health benefits?

A. It is high in minerals and proteins and is beneficial in washing out kidney stones.

Also read: Thought drinking Gomutra was gross? Try some urine beer



Q. What makes it a good conditioner?

A. The high concentration of protein.

Q. Why do you get a headache after drinking beer?

A. That's usually because of the preservatives used (in bottled beer). Fresh and natural beers from a brewery won't give you a headache. They don't require preservatives because no bottling or transportation is required.

Q. Why does beer cause drowsiness?

A. Because of the alcohol in it and possibly because it is being had undiluted. Other alcohols are diluted with water, soda, or juices.

Manhattan, The Craft Brewery in Gurgaon, brews its own beer.

A. Beer is ideal at 4-6 degrees Celsius. When it's warmer, the sulphur in it gets oxidised and forms byproducts; this makes the beer taste and smell bad.

Q. So what constitutes a good beer?

A. A good beer should have proper body, aroma, a good head (the fizz), and feel good in the mouth.

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Q. What snacks pair best with beer?

A. Ideally, light snacks as beer is heavy.

Q. Any preferences Indians show towards certain kinds of beers?

A. Indians light wheat beer (it's sweeter than barley). Expats like dark lagers; it is higher in alcohol content. North Indians also prefer wheat whereas down South the preference is for dark lagers.

Watch how the process of brewing beer here:

--- ENDS ---
Jignesh Mevani, a lawyer and activist, led thousands of Dalits to protest against the atrocities by upper castes in Ahmedabad on Sunday.

By India Today Web Desk: Ever since the video of Dalit youths being flogged for skinning a dead cow went viral, Gujarat has been ringing with protests. Last Sunday, the state saw one of the most massive rallies by Dalits, protesting against atrocities by upper castes by refusing to remove cow carcasses.

This march was led by a 35-year-old activist named Jignesh Mevani, who is slowly becoming a known name of Gujarat's Dalit movement.

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Here's what you need to know about him: Jignesh Mevani, 35, is a lawyer and social activist. He is the convener of the Una Dalit Atyachar Ladat Samiti (Una Dalit Fight against Atrocities Committee) that is organising various Dalit protests in Gujarat. Mevani organised the massive rally on Sunday, in which Dalits pledged to give up removing cow carcasses and cleaning gutters. Mevani led a 20,000-strong rally demanding justice for Dalit youths publicly beaten for skinning a dead cow in Una, Gujarat. In an interview with HuffPost India, Mevani said while he is aware that it isn't easy keeping the momentum of a revolution going, he is determined to not let it "fizzle out" like Hardik Patil's Patidar agitation. Mevani said individuals like Hardik Patels are not wanted in the Dalit agitaition. "We want individuals who can keep the struggle going," he said. Calling the uprising a "socio-cultural movement", Mevani said, "Dalits need to understand that they can be industrial workers or even landowners. Dalits need to realize that they can be what anyone else can be." Mevani plans to start a 10-day-long padyatra (march) today with 101 activists from Ahmedabad to Una, to protest against the brutalities on Dalits The rally with be to demand at least five acres of land from the Gujarat government for each Dalit family in the state, and special courts for cases of atrocities against Dalits. He also plans to meet with Dalit families in villages during the march and "urge them to leave menial jobs" and demand the government for lands.



Read more:Dalit youths attempt suicide to protest Una incident

Police baton charge Dalit students protesting reduction in scholarship money

Una incident: Dalit writer from Gujarat to return his award



Gujarat Dalits continue to protest, refuse to pick cattle carcasses from roads



--- ENDS ---
Many students still aim to get a higher education even though the tuition rates continue to increase. Some are holding on to the short end of the stick because of the need for student loans and maintenance grants.

However, a recent study indicated that the percentage of young, disadvantaged students attending university and colleges this year have fallen for the first time ever. Independent has it that 22% of 19 year old kids who have been claiming free school meals since the age of 15 years old went to universities. This happened during 2013 and 2014. Last year, the rate was 23%. There was a one percent decrease.

On record, since 2005-2006, the number of disadvantaged students in the UK heading off to higher education has risen. It started from 13% and increased thereafter. According to data, the percentage of disadvantaged students not eligible for free school meals fell during the 2013 and 2014 academic year. The rate decreased from 40% to 39%. However, it is still above the 33% low that has been recorded back in 2006.

But this does not jive with the government's numbers which showed the number of young, poor students. Currently, the number is described to be at a "record high."

"We are seeing record numbers of disadvantaged young people going to university and benefiting from the real opportunities our world-class universities can offer," says Universities Minister, Jo Johnson.

No matter the struggle, Johnson promises that they will not stop until every youth has the chance to get a promised higher education.

"There is still more work to do to build a society that works for everyone," says Pam Tatlow, chief executive of university think-tank MillionPlus. Despite the decrease in number, there is an upward trend in the progression of these and other students.

Talking about school meals, watch this video of parents trying out school lunches:
The New Jersey Board of Education has adopted new and tougher graduation requirements. Now, students are expected to pass two standardized tests to be able to complete high school.

6ABC reported that the New Jersey Board of Education agreed to the new requirements last Wednesday. Students will now have to pass the Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers tests in Algebra 1 and 10th-grade English language arts to be eligible to graduate from high school.

The new requirement will take effect on students entering eighth grade this fall. These are the high school class of 2021.

This comes after the New Jersey Board of Education officials announced that a higher percentage of students were able to meet or exceed expectations on the tests. There are some, though, who opposed the new requirement. Others even boycotted the test.

According to The New York Times, 44 percent of students across the state were able to pass the English exam while 41 percent passed Algebra 1. With the new rules, those who are unable to pass can still graduate if a portfolio review of other work is approved.

"We believe Parcc is the best test out there and that it is aligned in the best way to the New Jersey Student Learning Standards in math and language arts," Mark W. Biedron, president of the New Jersey Board of Education, said. "It gives you a great measure of college and career readiness."

Education World noted that the New Jersey Board of Education officials are facing backlash for the addition of exit exams as a graduation requirement. Opponents of the new requirement believe that it's too much of a "one-size-fits-all" approach. There are concerns that many students and families would be left without other options.

There are several states that have chosen to get rid of test scores as graduation requirements. This is because of the negative impact on graduation rates. Currently, there are only 15 states that require students to pass tests in order to graduate.
For the past three years, Kepler telescope of NASA found another 4,000 new planets outside of the solar system. Scientists narrowed down the list and found those planets that have liquid water and habitable for alien life.

NASA identified 20 planets that are earth-like out of 216 planets orbiting the habitable zone. However, they said that these planets are too far for them to visit. In an e-mail to Huffington Post, Dr. Stephen Kane of San Francisco State University said, "Considering that the diameter of our galaxy is around 100,000 light years, that's still relatively close." Referred to as Goldilocks Zone, scientists are also calculating the size of these exoplanets and whether or not it is habitable.

The newly discovered planets are considered rocky and these include Kepler-186 f, Kepler 283-c, Kepler-62f and Kepler 296f, according to Daily Mail UK. The classification of these planets as habitable zone depends on the planet's distance from its star. Take for example, the planet Venus that experiences runaway greenhouse has due to its closeness from its star. Another is the planet Mars where the water freezes because it's too far.

Astronomer from other institutions like Dr. Seth Shostak of SETI Institute in Mountain View, California is optimistic of this newly discovery and told Huffington Post, "We know that approximately one in five stars could host a habitable planet. There are tens of billions of these life-friendly worlds in a typical galaxy." He said that they accepted this humbling, astounding and obvious challenge and that means they are up for it.

Meanwhile, what they can do is to focus their efforts on the planets that are possible for yielding evidence of an extraterrestrial life and hope that they could provide as much information whether or not an alien life exists in the newly discovered exoplanets together with the existence of life on earth.
The separatist camp has extended the shutdown call in Kashmir, calling for march to Dargah Hazratbal shrine.

Normal life remained affected for the 28th consecutive day in the Valley due to the curbs imposed by the authorities and separatist sponsored strike. (Photo: Reuters)

By Shuja-ul-Haq : Curfew and protest shutdown continued in Kashmir on Friday for the 28th consecutive day. The separatist camp has extended the shutdown call in the Valley, calling for march to Hazratbal shrine today.

The government has restricted the movement of people as well with the separatists giving a call. Section 144 CrPc (Criminal Procedure Code) has been invoked in Shopian, Kulgam, Pulwama, Anantnag, Baramulla and Srinagar.

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Mobile internet services have been temporarily suspended in Jammu's Doda, Banihal and Kishtwar districts.

Over 80 people , including four women protestors, sustained injuries due to pellets and tear-gas shelling in clashes on Thursday. Scores of rallies have been happening in south Kashmir. In some of the rallies held, militants were seen openly addressing the people.



READ: Tension erupts in Kashmir after deaths of civilians

Normal life remained affected for the 28th consecutive day in the Valley due to the curbs imposed by the authorities and separatist sponsored strike against the killing of civilians in security forces action during clashes which erupted in the wake of killing of Hizb-ul-Mujahideen commander Burhan Wani in an encounter on July 8, 2016.

So far, 54 people -- 52 civilians and two policemen -- have been killed in the present unrest in the Valley.

Pakistan observed a Black Day last month to protest the deaths in Jammu and Kashmir and also termed Wani as a "martyr".

Home Minister Rajnath Singh criticised the "glorification of terrorists as martyrs" in during the SAARC ministerial meet in Islamabad on Thursday as Pakistani Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan slammed the "use of excessive force".

Rajnath Singh called for "strongest action not only against terrorists or organisations but also against those individuals, organisations and nations which support terrorism."

Also Read:

CRPF jawans shot at by hidden terrorists in Kashmir, 1 injured

Kashmir tense as security guard's body found with 300 pellets

US concerned over Kashmir unrest, asks India and all sides to make effort

Kashmir unrest: MHA considering non-lethal riot control options

Kashmir unrest: Killing of Burhan Wani was an accident, says Deputy CM Nirmal Singh

--- ENDS ---
August 5 2016

Angus council have given their consent to an ambitious housebuilding programme in the region which could deliver as many as 4,620 homes by 2026.Development sites have been identified for hundreds of homes in Carnoustie, Turfbeg and Forfar by the Angus Local Development Plan with brownfield land classed as a priority; specifically Sunnyside Hospital, Hillside; Ashludie Hospital, Monifeith and Crudie Farm, Arbroath.At least a quarter homes in developments of 10 houses and more will be classified as affordable.Commercial land has also been identified for development at Montrose Airfield as well as an expansion of Brechin Business Park and Muirhead Industrial Estate, Arbroath.Scottish government ministers will now consider the plans before they can be given the final green light.
Oct. 26, 2022

U.S. AIR FORCE ACADEMY, Colo.  Cadets got the unique experience of interacting with and learning from the 12 Outstanding Airmen of the Year for 2022 at the U.S. Air Force Academy Sept. 27-29. The National Character and Leadership Symposium sponsored the visit and three days of activities.The 12
To meet Indian and global requirement American defence major Lockheed Martin today said that it has offered to move its lone production line of F 16-block 70 to India from Texas.

By Press Trust of India: American defence major Lockheed Martin today said it has offered to move its lone production line of the latest version of fighter aircraft F-16 Block 70 to India from Texas to meet Indian and global requirement.

However, the company made it clear the proposal is "conditional" to IAF choosing the worlds largest-sold fighter aircraft for its fleet.

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"The offer we have given to the Indian government is unmatched and from our side unprecedented," Randall L Howard, F-16 Business Development head at Lockheed Martin, said here.

Interacting with mediapersons here, Howard said the company wants to make F-16 Block 70 "for India, from India and export to the world".

However, he parried questions on whether the company is willing to give a commitment not to sell F16s to Pakistan saying it will be part of discussions between the Indian and American governments.

NEW AIRCRAFT TO BEEF UP DEPLETING STRENGTH



Asked if the offer to move the production line from Fort Worth to India is conditional to IAF picking up the aircraft for its fleet, Abhay Paranjape, National Executive, India said, "Yes".

He said it is conditional to assured orders from the Indian Air Force which is looking to acquire new aircraft to beef up its depleting strength.

Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar has said India will choose at least one more aircraft, besides the indigenous Tejas, for the IAF through the Make in India route.

Lockheed Martin, which has sold 4,588 F16s in the world, faces competition from its American rival Boeing (F/A-18E), Dassault Aviation of France (Rafale), Swedish plane Gripen by Saab and the Eurofighter. All the companies have offered to set up a production facility here.

F 16-BlOCK 70 THE BEST AIRCRAFT IN THE INDIAN REGION



"But we are offering not only moving the lone production line to India but also meeting the global requirement through the same unit here," Howard said, adding it is a "win-win situation".

Arguing the F-16 Block 70 will be the best fighter aircraft in the Indian region, he said, "It is critical for you to pick up a partner who will deliver on his promise".

Howard said the company is having multiple discussions with the government here besides the industry and "they have not been told to go away", indicating the discussions are on.

He added Lockheed believes the production in India will also bring down the cost of the aircraft which in turn will increase its global demand.



--- ENDS ---

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New UW Excellence Chair Savors Literacy Opportunities

Cindy Brock is one of the two Wyoming Excellence in Higher Education Endowed Chairs in Literacy Education. (UW Photo)

Opportunities to collaborate with others to enhance literacy education opportunities for Wyomings children are among the many reasons that Cindy Brock chose to spend the next chapter of her professional life as a scholar-leader at the University of Wyomings Literacy Research Center and Clinic (LRCC).

One thing that attracted me to this position is the collaboration with colleagues and the idea that were working together in this college to provide service to the state, says Brock, one of the two Wyoming Excellence in Higher Education Endowed Chairs in Literacy Education.

That collaborative spirit is exemplified by the full plate of research and service projects launched through the LRCC.

Im coming into a group of people who already work in the state and spend a lot of time in schools and districts, Brock says of initiatives focusing on community-informed research, literacy education services for children and professional development programming for their teachers.

She says collaborative professional development work in central Wyoming -- with fellow Excellence Chair Victoria Gillis -- exemplifies what is possible when stakeholders gather around common literacy goals.

The idea was to make professional development meaningful so that we were exploring disciplinary literacy -- what it is and what it means, she says of a recent initiative involving K-12 teachers from across Fremont County. They actually tried ideas in their classrooms, and then we came back together and talked about some of the work that they were doing.

At the center of that work -- and every LRCC initiative -- is starting with stakeholder-identified needs.

What we do want to do is work in dialogue with our partners and the people we serve around the state, to meet the literacy education needs of teacher and children, Brock says.

That mission is a familiar and comfortable one for Brock. So, too, is working with communities and cultures with unique needs and that are often isolated from others. Reaching out across Wyomings miles mirrors many of Brocks previous research and service experiences, most recently as a member of the University of South Australia faculty.

One component of her responsibilities there was working with pre-service teachers assigned to Aboriginal lands for their internship experience. Brock also is co-investigator of a three-year study in Fiji, still in process, exploring community approaches to fostering English language and literacy development for preschoolers who lack access to early childhood services.

Like the literacy work in Wyoming, attention to stakeholders unique needs drives that research -- reinforcing the value of collaboration with communities.

It is work from the ground up, Brock says. We didnt go into Fiji and say, This is how you provide literacy education. We are co-constructing what will work best in that context over a three-year period of time.

Themes from that project intersect with literacy education efforts in Wyoming, according to Brock.

We strive to understand what our collaborative partners are already doing and then work in dialogue with them to think about additional ways that they can work with their young children to prepare them to be ready for school, she says.

With a Wyoming Excellence Chair assignment comes significant leadership expectations, which Brock embraces. She and Gillis share responsibility for shaping UWs Ph.D. program in literacy education and mentoring a growing international cadre of doctoral students. Working with the programs students is one of the greater pleasures for Brock.

We work with one of the best groups of doctoral students imaginable, she says.

Brock and Gillis work closely with LRCC Director Dana Robertson, particularly for leadership and coordination of the centers research and service programs.

Stretching that impact beyond the LRCC walls, Brock also works with fellow endowed chairs (Gillis and Tim Slater) to create professional development opportunities for UW faculty.

For example, Brock and Gillis have a lead role in launching and administering the UW College of Education Research Grant Development Award Program, which supports faculty and doctoral students efforts to secure external funding for their research. As part of that effort, Brock played a pivotal role in bringing grant expert David Bauer to campus to work with program participants.
Wyoming Business Tips for Aug. 14-20

A weekly look at Wyoming business questions from the Wyoming Small Business Development Center (WSBDC), part of WyomingEntrepreneur.Biz, a collection of business assistance programs at the University of Wyoming.

By Susan Jerke, WSBDC regional director

Is an employee handbook a must-have for my business? Christine, Cody

Although there is no law that requires a company to have a personnel handbook, it can be a wonderful tool to communicate your workplace culture, expectations and policies.

You may think your business is too small or too informal but, as the business grows, be glad you implemented policies from the beginning. A handbook doesnt need to be lengthy, but it will serve as a tool to convey the at-will status of employees; give them a sense of their rights and responsibilities; set guidelines for workplace consistency; and create the tone of a professional work environment.

Some things to consider when crafting policies and topics that can be included: benefits and details (vacation, sick leave, family/bereavement leave, jury duty); holidays; background checks and/or drug testing; compensation/overtime pay; dress code; anti-harassment policy; social media/phone expectations; smoking (smoke-free or designated areas); meal/rest breaks; and lactation/breastfeeding accommodations.

Even the use of artificial or natural fragrances can be addressed in your handbook. It is impossible to plan for every contingency, but having a solid, easy-to-understand handbook is a step in the right direction for setting examples for employees to follow.

Before finalizing a document, you may wish to consult an attorney or human resource specialist, but templates are available from the Wyoming SBDC Network to help organize your thoughts when beginning the process of developing a handbook that is customized for an individual business.

A blog version of this article and an opportunity to post comments are available at http://wyen.biz/blog1/.

The WSBDC is a partnership of the U.S. Small Business Administration, the Wyoming Business Council and the University of Wyoming. To ask a question, call 1-800-348-5194, email wsbdc@uwyo.edu, or write 1000 E. University Ave., Dept. 3922, Laramie, WY, 82071-3922.
Justice PM Prakash of the Madras High Court invoked 'Loco Parentis' (in place of a parent) i.e. adopted 37-year-old disabled Manoj Rajan.

By Pramod Madhav: The Madras High Court adopted a 37-year-old disabled Manoj Rajan on Tuesday.

Justice P N Prakash, after reviewing the alleged threat on Manoj's life, an attempt to kidnap him and an alleged fake marriage conducted to him, invoked 'Loco Parentis' (in the place of a parent) over Manoj Rajan and his wealth, issuing a set of directives for Manoj's welfare.

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KNOW MANOJ

Manoj Rajan was born on 15th August, 1979 with congenital speech, hearing impairment and mental retardation. He lost his mother at the age of 14 and his father got him married to Priya Darshini when he was 29.

Priya Darshini allegedly divorced him on the ground of mental retardation after a year.

After Manoj's father's death, she tried to take custody of him. When that plan failed, she allegedly kidnapped him from a special home and married him before a pastor in Chennai. Incidentally, a property in Manoj's name was sold for for Rs 1.6 crore on the same day.

Justice Prakash, hearing the case decided that there has been a lot of discrepancies within it and ordered for a CBCID enquiry into Manoj abduction.

Manoj has been shifted to a home near Madurai with orders to Madurai Police to provide security to him.

Also Read:

Indian Railways not compassionate for differently abled travelers, reveals audit

Lawyers lay siege of Madras High Court

The curious case of renaming High Courts, Chennai and Kolkata in fix





--- ENDS ---
So far, 57 people have been rescued from villages of Western Maharashtra and medical camps have been organised by NDRF team for sick pilgrims.

By Jitendra Bahadur Singh: Massive search operation by NDRF with other agencies in Maharashtra's Raigad District is continuing on third consecutive day today. Four NDRF teams have been pressed into action to trace the missing victims in the Savitri River and its surroundings. So far, NDRF has retrieved one body. Rescue operation is still in progress.

Yesterday, NDRF team deployed at Aurangabad, Maharashtra for flood rescue and relief operation, rescued 57 persons from village Banzar Gaon and shifted them to safer places.

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NDRF team deployed at Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh organised medical camps at Dashasumev Ghat and provided medical attention to 64 sick and needy pilgrims. The team at Purnia organised medical camp at village - Simrahi, Block-Baisi and carried out health check-up for 60 persons. In addition, NDRF team also distributed medicines to needy persons.

A 24X7, NDRF control room in New Delhi is closely monitoring the situation and is in touch with other agencies. The flood rescue and relief operation by National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) in flood prone areas is still continuing.

Also read: Floods in western Maharashtra, Army and NDRF deployed for relief work

--- ENDS ---
Paul Heyman rightly has a reputation within the wrestling world for being one of the greatest mouth pieces to ever grace the business.

From his days in WCW as Paul E Dangerously to his revolution in ECW and his time in WWE he has been able to captivate each and every audience.

The 50-year-old recently returned to WWE television following an absence since WrestleMania 32 and there was continuous suggestion that the Advocate for Brock Lesnar was set to vacate his position.

Contract resolved

Heyman and the WWE recently went head-to-head regarding a new contract with his contract reportedly expiring despite him appearing on television.

The One Behind the One in 21-1 has put pen to paper on a contract but as of just two weeks ago he had failed to do so.

WWE refused to agree new and improved terms with Heyman who demanded an increase on his current salary.

The company refused to bow down to pressure and refused but it seems that after weeks of negotiation the two finally managed to agree a deal.

WWE were unhappy with Heyman

The company were reportedly unhappy with some of Heyman's projects outside of the WWE with the New Yorker recently returning from a UK tour.

This writer managed to attend his talk in Manchester and if WWE felt unhappy with his ventures it was easy to see why considering his 'open-ness' regarding various situations.

Brock Lesnar was reportedly the biggest factor in the Advocate receiving a new contract as The Beast went to bat for his former agent, although it is unclear over whether the contract was the one that Heyman was haggling for.

The Conqueror is one of the company's most prized assets and they may have been worried about him walking out, something he has done before.

With Lesnar still interested in a return to UFC despite his on-going drug dispute they were backed into a corner and with the heavyweight standing before them; they probably made the right decision.
Los Angeles City Fire Department Battalion Chief Robert MacMillan looks over the remains of an unoccupied house in the Sherman Oaks area of Los Angeles, Ca., Sunday, March 20, 1994. The house, which was partially knocked off its foundation in the Jan. 17 Northridge earthquake, fell off its foundation in the strong aftershock that hit the area Sunday. The aftershock registered 5.3 on the Richter scale. (AP Photo/Thom Elder)

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The Ventura County Star asked readers, "What would you like to share about your experience in the 1994 Northridge earthquake?" Below are their responses:

Gertrude Cole

I am a geologist and my father died of Valley Fever because the earthquake liberated and spread soil fungus. Our HS kids suffered from an epidemic.

John Reed

I remember staying at a friends house in Northridge and sleeping on the floor and all of a sudden the shaking was so intense, me and my buddies jumped up and as soon as I got up a television from the dresser fell right where I was laying. It was pitch black and we were not prepared for an earthquake we tried making our way down the stairs and shards of glass everywhere. All the neighbors were standing in front of the house and I remember feeling tons of aftershocks some bigger some smaller. My family and I lived in Reseda and after the sun finally came up which felt like an eternity I drove down Tampa heading to my house in Reseda and driving by the Northridge Mall and my heart and stomach sinking when I saw half of the mall crumbled parking structure completely leveled it was very scary. Finally getting closer to my house on victory in Tampa I look over and a three-story apartment building was one story and I remember I just couldn't wait to get back with my family. No water for days no electricity for days. I remember camping in our front yard in our tent trailer and my mom trying to make us dinners and boiling water for us and some of our neighbors. At the time of the quake I was in television cameraman school so I shot a lot of video of the aftermath and have very good footage of the devastation. That is one day I will always remember.

Ute Van Dam

We lived in North Hills at the time (a couple miles from the epicenter). My husband was working graveyard shift in Altadena and was home with a 16 month old and a four week week old baby. I was surprised at how calm I was during the quake (I guess all those drills at school paid off). The force of the quake was so strong I felt the house might collapse so I had the instinct to get outside. But I couldn't get up because the jolts kept me in bed. Once it stopped shaking, I got up and everything was pitch black due to no electricity. When the sun rose I noticed the destruction. Wires that held up paintings snapped, the floor to ceiling mirrored wardrobe doors jumped the tracks and smashed, all the food in the pantry fell to the floor and made a huge mess, the drawers in the dresser came out completely, the tv, curio cabinet, and dishes all fell and shattered, the water in the pool spilled out in the backyard, and all the cinder block walls surrounding the property were in a pile. Once I realized that the kids were fine, the dogs were fine, and my husband was fine, I checked on the neighbors who also were ok.

Diana Bodden

I lived on Sherman Way and White Oak which was about 2 mi or less from the epicenter. After it hit I remember driving down the streets looking at all the destruction. It looked like a war zone. There were cops everywhere and a few days later we had guards walking around trying to control all the people stealing from stores. I remember paying like $5 for a gallon of water because stores were so short. I will never forget that day and all the lives lost.

Aude Barragan

WORSE EARTHQUAKE EXPERIENCE EVER. YOU ALWAYS THINKS IT HAPPENS TO SOMEONE ELSE NOT YOU. WELL IT HAPPENED TO OUR FAMILY. MY COUSIN WAS ONE OF THE 50 KILLED IN THE EARTHQUAKE. I STILL REMEMBER GETTING THE PHONE CALL FROM MY COUSIN. SHE IS GONE! INCREDIBLE WHO IS GONE? AND THEN SHE TOLD THE STORY. SHE LEFT A 9 MONTH OLD BEHIND SO TRAGIC.

Deidre Parmenter

We were about 2 miles from the epicenter of the quake in Mission Hills. I remember during the quake that the sound completely filled my entire body. My husband and I both jumped out of bed - I know were were supposed to duck and cover, but the kids were in the other room. I was trying to yell over the sound of the quake and didn't think I was loud enough. We were all fine and didn't fully comprehend the impact until we looked around afterwards.

The things I remember most: There was a chair on TOP of a pile of books that had been shaken out of a bookcase. The chair had to fly up, books fall out, then chair landed. Flames from one of the fires that was right by my best friends house. The glasses inside the cabinet that were all broken. (They didn't fall out - just bashed together inside the cabinet) The smell of sesame oil was with us for weeks...

The community rallied like you wouldn't believe. The Miller Brewing company stopped filling beer and filled water to distribute (I still have a 6 pack). The corner gas station gave away food, water, etc. Neighbors all came together and shared what they had. We had hot water after a day or two, so shared our shower. Amgen sent home 5 gallon bottled water with my husband who worked there at the time. It was devastating to many people, but as is often the case with disasters, the sense of community lasted for a long time.

Laurie

I lived in Canyon Country when the Northridge earthquake hit. I remembering being woken up due to the shaking and running to the door to get out but my front door - which had been locked with a deadbolt - was already opened! Ran outside to sit with neighbors in the complex, most of which I had never met before. We ended up camping out in tents for the night sharing food from our regirgerators/freezers that we not working due to no electricity. My new cell phone I had just purchased was not working. There was no way to get to work as I took the 14 to the 5 so for a few days stayed home with most of the people living in Santa Clarita. After several days of no electricity etc I went to my moms house in Northridge as I felt safer there than at my place. Through the earthquake aftershocks I stayed there for almost a week. Still think of the earthquake on the 17th of January. Hard to believe it is coming up on 20 years. Met my husband shortly after the quake.

Tony

I was living with my Grandparents in Ventura CA and was 14 years old. My Grandparents home was built in the early 1900s and is located in the Historic "Simpson" track in the City's west side. I awoke to a loud pounding sound as I slept on the couch in the Living room that night. The living room had a large living room widow and I thought someone was pounding on the widow with their fist as I came to realize that the couch was shaking and something was terribly wrong! The sound was very loud like a roar and I could see through the window that transformers where popping outside and was causing large bands with flashes of bright light! I began to try to stand and seen my grandma stumble and fall in the kitchen and roll into the back washroom as she yelled for me to get away from the widow. I then noticed my grandfather standing in his room doorway (they slept in different rooms) and was fully dressed. I remember that very well, it stands out that he was fully dressed in my mind. He told me to hold on to something as I tried to gain control of my stance using the living room table dressed in only boxers shorts. He yelled to see if my grandma was ok as she had regained her ability to stand again and was making her way into the living room to check on me when all of a sudden everything was dead quiet and pitch black! I remember it was so black I couldn't see anything at all. My grandpa opened the front door and pulled the family truck out of the yard into the front drive way and began to load up the family dogs. He didn't say anything at first but he was concerned about the possible collapse of the Casitas Dam! I remember putting on some clothing as quickly as possible and turning on a police scanner and a portable radio and walking outside to see if anyone was hurt. I was amazed on what I remember seeing next. It is the one image that I will never forget about this night. I remember seeing millions of bright stars right above me! They were so close to me and very bright! I had never seen that before since I grew up in the city. It was a very beautiful sight that I can't say I have ever seen again in Ventura. We stayed awake and listened to the emergency radio traffic of many different types of incidents ranging from a broken gas line in Santa Paula to people having heart trouble from the experience. I remember the need of candles and batteries and food and water for the next 2-3 days. I even recall playing outside the next day and feeling the aftershock and running home. I tell the story to my kids who are now 8 and 14. A time to reflect on the reality of California life.

David Gruenberger

My personal story of my condo building cracking up, the stress afterwards and the rebuilding of the complex 2 3/4 years later.

Zizi Howell

I lived in Canoga Park at the time. As the neighborhood gathered outside following the quake, I was astonished when I looked up and saw a sky full of stars! Because of the power outage, the ensuing darkness provided for an incredible astronomical show! This was a small moment of fascination prior to the ordeal of repairing & cleaning up for weeks to follow.

Jason Genet

She turns 20?. It seems like yesterday. I was awoken from a deep sleep by my screaming wife. She was pregnant but it wasn't time yet. I figured I was in for another trip to the McDonalds that had her "special" Sprite. She is extremely panicked and all of a sudden you hear explosions. I am jolted out of be by the boom, initially thinking we were under some sort of military attack. The power goes out and the rumbles are still coming. My wife is having contractions and we need to go. She told me she was rocked out of bed by the initial tremor.

We peeked outside and while it was pretty dark out we could clearly see the cars have shifted in the parking lot, it was clear we were in the middle of a huge earthquake, my wife was right. We had no way of telling if the roads were safe enough to drive on but we did not have a lot of options. No phones were working so we got in our car to make the dark drive to the hospital.

The hospital was like a lighthouse, powered by generators waiting for the potential victims from mother natures wrath. It seemed like we had found a little slice of safety in the midst of chaos. That was until the aftershocks started and they sent my wife's bed rolling across the floor. The Camarillo hospital was new so it was built to deal with powerful earthquakes, what that means is it was designed to roll with the tremors. Here we are in labor, expecting our first child on a rolling hospital floor.

It wasn't long before my wife was in full blown labor and Ashley was born. A beautiful gift of life on a day that would change so many lives forever. Ashley Elizabeth Genet was born. For the last 20 years she has served as a reminder that even during toughest of times great things can happen. Thanks to The Star we have a photo of the day.

Lore Yonker

At the time of the Northridge Quake, I was living in Port Hueneme, and I was also 9 months pregnant. My due date was Jan 18th, & I was so ready to have my baby. I remember being restless and very uncomfortable all through that night until finally, around 2 am, I fell asleep. A couple of hours passed, and I remember being suddenly thrown from the bed and hearing things falling and crashing to the floor. I could hear a siren going off in the distance, I thought maybe something crazy had happened at the Navy base. I ran outside and saw the sidewalk literally come up about a foot off the ground and slam back down. I was more scared than I ever remember being. There was no power and no working phone, so I couldn't call my parents. I ended up driving to their house in Ventura and stayed for a few days while I cleaned up my apartment. On Jan 29th, 1994, my son was born, and during my labor we were still having aftershocks. It will always be such a vivid memory for me because it happened at a time when so many weird things were going on all at once.

Deborah Ibbott

The sound is what woke me up that morning. It sounded like a train heading toward my house. When going to my child, the doors were opening and closing, hitting my husband. We huddled in the hall waiting for the shaking to stop. I was worried about my mother and other daughter who were about a mile away and my dogs who were in the garage. All turned out to be ok. Every dish and glass in our house was broken, the piano was thrown across the living room and we cleaned up using a shovel.

Paul Salmonsen

I remember the morning like it was yesterday I got up from bed after hearing what sounded like a freight train coming through the house I walked carefully to my son's crib and picked him up. The shaking stopped maybe a few moments after I pick him up out of his bed. He didn't wake up I put him in bed with my wife and got ready for work

Jim

I remember waking up to dogs barking, and how loud the quake was.

Bill Beames

The first jolt almost threw me out of bed and then it just continued without let up. It might have gotten worse but I don't recall that and then silence when it stopped. I should have gotten out of the house which is located in Newbury Park but leaving my bed did not occur to me at the time.

My first thought was to try and contact my friends daughter in Camarillo but the phone was dead. Residents of lucas Court gathered in the street and to be frank, we were all very quite, as if awaiting another jolt to announce itself. Without power I was able to lift the garage door and get the car out to drive to Camarillo.

What amazed me was the debris on 101 as I drove north. Most of what appeared to be concrete from the overpasses. After picking up my friends daughter we returned to Newbury Park and while attempting to make something to drink an aftershock knocked the glass from the counter and it shattered.

My pets were traumatized and took an hour to calm down. All they wanted to do was stay close to me. It was a night to remember and hopefully will not have to experience that again.

Glenda Jackson

We lived in Montalvo at the time and I remember the bed shaking so much it woke me up. I initially thought it was one of the kids shaking it only to realize in a panic it was an earthquake. I believe I did my usual run around the house yelling "earthquake." No electricity but I had battery operated radio so listened to accounts of the fires in Fillmore. My kids and I walked to Green Thumb and they were allowing people to come in the front area only and buy batteries for flashlights and radios. Then we walked all the way to Von's for water and the store had put out pallets of bottled water for free, limiting it to about three gallons per person. I recall later hearing people were driving around looking for coffee and gasoline. I owned a stovetop percolator so was able to make coffee. My neighbors pulled out their BBQ and we had a BBQ in the driveway. I learned to always have bottled water on hand and a tank full of gas.

Gregory Morales

That was one scary morning...We thought we were doomed! It felt like an A-Bomb dropped and all of the transformers were exploding while the earth was rocking and rolling. We had no power and the gas was shut off. Every 2 to 3 minutes we had aftershocks and the damage was done. I will never forget when the earthquake hit and it will be haunting me for years to come! I also, remember The Sylmar quake in 1971, I was 6 years old that hit and The Northridge earthquake is a big reminder, that we live in earthquake country.

Laura Hernandez

I was the Emergency Services Coordinator for the City of Santa Monica at the time of the Northridge EQ and living on Hollywood Beach. I was suppose to report to work immediately yet did not know how bad the city was hit. It took some time to get in due to power outages, a thick layer of fog and dust near the coast made driving difficult, not to mention dangerous. Information on road closures was sketchy and phones were down. I worked in the City of Santa Monica EOC for two weeks before I was able to come home.

Carlita Mead

I' m sure there are far mor interesting stories than mine but I remember that night like it was yesterday. I was living in Simi Valley and was momentarily knocked out when a tall dresser by our bed fell on my head. My husband John got me down the stairs and out of the house. We and our neighbors waited at the park across the street till daybreak listening to sirens and seeing fires breaking out everywhere. By daughter and her fish in a large pot joined us there while my son went to my parents who lived in a senior mobile home park. My mother, an invalid, was on the floor while my father was crawling on the floor looking for matches to have some light. Later we found out that the home was off it's foundation and the gas line has broken. Thank goodness we got to him before he found his matches. The family was safe. When daybreak came I had to go to the Northridge Mall where my store was located. The mall had collapsed and I could not get in. The National Guard accompanied me into the mall and to my store 2 days later. I will never forget the stench. My front windows had exploded and the glass lay shattered covering the floor. The debris made it very difficult to get to the back office where my safe was. The officers held on to me as I lowered myself in a hole to reach my safe. We got the money out but it would be about a month before we were allowed back in to get out what was left of our inventory. The mall was closed for a very long time but my store was never reopened. We were very relieved to get financial aid from FEMA to repair our home and my parents mobile home. It was at least a year before life got back to normal. Well almost.

Andy Hall

I was a loss prevention manager at the sears store in Northridge. I was living in Thousand Oaks. I got to the store around 6:00am. I got a flat tire from debris from the down parking structure. I went inside the store and couldn't believe what I saw. I watched the man get rescued from the parking structure. The whole thing didn't start sinking in until I starting driving home 15 hours later.

Charlotte

I was working at Ralphs on Moorpark Rd. in Thousand Oaks - My shift was 3am to 11:30am. When earthquake hit at 4:31am, I left the aisle and headed toward front of the store. After the quake stopped shaking, our night manager unlocked the doors and everyone went to the parking lot. One of our day Managers that live near the store came by and asked if the generator were on. Nobody seem to know about it! After 6, our store manager came and we all store cleaning products of the floors that is still good. Smell of liquor through the store. Three large windows broke and was freezing!

Police came buy after 5am to see if anyone is alright. He had witness explosion by Thousand Oaks shortly before earthquake shook. Police had told us if anyone starts to riot, to call 911.

Jerry

I was in my bed in Fillmore when the earthquake occurred and it shook me out my bed and onto the floor. I stumbled through my dark house (power was out) and walked outside and saw a red flickering glow toward the east side of Fillmore and later found out that it was a ruptured gas line burning in the middle of highway 126 near El Dorado mobile home park.

Linda Sieger

A week before my son was born, my husband and I couldn't decide if our son's middle name would be Sebastian or Samson. I laid the argument to rest by saying God would give us a sign. I gave birth to my son on Jan. 17, 1994, at 12:30AM in the Kaiser of Woodland Hills. My husband went home to catch a little sleep before returning to us later in day. The quake hit at about 4AM. When my husband and I were reunited, the first thing I said, "I'm never asking God for a sign again." Almost 20 years later, I still haven't asked for a sign and yes, my son's middle name is Samson! We were impacted severely by the quake. Our apartment was uninhabitable for about a week, so we were homeless with a newborn and back then they had you leave the hospital less than 24 hours after a birth. I can tell you that the hospital was not prepared for the quake. I have other stories to tell about that time, but I like this one best.

Mary K Bush

I lived in Encino, but my nephew Brian Lee was given special honors for his resue of homeowners out of a home in Sherman Oaks after the Northridge Earthquake. He now pilots the rescue helicopter for LA City Fire Department.

Jaime Moreno

I was a junior at Cal State Northridge, getting ready to start the Spring semester. I was working at Blockbuster Video in Northridge on Sunday the 16th and a co-worker and I had just finished getting the store extra clean in prepartion of a corporate visit the next day. We clocked out around 2 am on the 17th and I went home to my apartment in Sylmar. At 4:31 am it felt like someone had just lifted our apartment and shook it. I ran to the doorway and felt and heard everything break and fall around me. I was convinced that "this was it!" After what seemed to be 10 minutes, the shaking stopped and there was an errie quiet, then an explosion of noise, breaking glass, car alarms, gas leaking, water gushing and babies and people crying. It was also pitch black. I couldn't see anything around me. I started to walk around feeling for shoes, since I had been woken up by the quake. My feet were getting cut by all of the broken glass. I was living with family so I went arouund with my uncle making sure everyone was ok. After we took care of everyone, we went outside and checked on neighbors. Our street was lit up by the gas line that had caught fire. Nobody around us was injured, but the aftershocks would freak us out. It took a few hours for me to get a hold of my parents in Oxnard and my girlfriend in Orange county, but they were relieved to know I was ok.

The earthquake changed my life. Classes were delayed at Cal State Northridge and when the classes finally reopened, we were in portables. I was a journalism major and on the first day of classes after the quake, news crews were everywhere. I got interviewed by a local news crew and after the interview, I asked the reporter for some advice on how I can become a TV reporter. He looked at me and said, "Do something else, unless you like getting coffee for people."

I changed my major and decided to become a teacher. I graduated, got my credential, and have been teaching for the past 16 years. The earthquake also showed me how much I loved my girlfriend. I proposed to her a few months after the quake and now we are happily married with 2 great kids.

Malissa Leonard

My roommates and I lived in the Tarzana area. Our apartment complex had two parking structures. One of them collapsed. Luckily my car was parked on the street. I worked as a manager at one of the stores in the Northridge mall and the day before I was promoted to the Ventura location. I was very lucky to still have a job and car.

Diane Robertson

I remember the shock waking me up and my husband screaming at me. We were living in the Santa Susana Knolls. We were both running for the baby's room. I remember trying to run, being bounced off the wall. I was terrified. Had to run through the kitchen to get out the back door. I stepped on broken glass, but felt no pain. There was no light. We went outside and huddled in the car as we turned on the radio.

Wendy Jensen

I remember myself and my husband and two young daughters being shaken of bed. When I learned it was centered in Northridge I drove over the hill to check on my recently widowed mother. As I entered (the development) before sunrise the were no lights only red light from the fires. When I arrived at my mother's home I unlocked the door, there was not a piece of furniture still standing. I was afraid I was going around searching the house, climbing over rubble and not finding her. I went outside and found a neighbor who told me another neighbor took her to their house. I found her there unhurt and took her home to Simi Valley.
SHARE CONTRIBUTED PHOTO/VENTURA COUNTY SHERIFF'S OFFICE Daniell Sutton, 26, of Los Angeles. CONTRIBUTED PHOTO/VENTURA COUNTY SHERIFF'S OFFICE Ezkieh Gamboa, 29, of Los Angeles. CONTRIBUTED PHOTO/VENTURA COUNTY SHERIFF'S OFFICE Haroutyoun Khardalyan, 28, of Los Angeles. CONTRIBUTED PHOTO/VENTURA COUNTY SHERIFF'S OFFICE

By Staff Reports

Ventura County sheriff's officials said Thursday that three men suspected of dealing drugs in the county were arrested in Los Angeles.

The arrests occurred about 3:30 p.m. Wednesday while the three men were allegedly on their way to a drug deal, authorities said. The county's interagency pharmaceutical crimes unit began investigating in July when authorities learned Daniell Sutton, Ezkieh Gamboa and Haroutyoun Khardalyan were suspected of selling pharmaceutical drugs and cocaine in Ventura and Los Angeles counties, officials said.

The suspects' vehicle was stopped and authorities recovered prescription pills, several ounces of cocaine, a handgun and more than $35,000 in suspected drug sale proceeds, authorities said.

A search of Sutton's home in the 7200 block of Hazeltine Avenue in Van Nuys found several hundred pills and doses of prescription drugs, authorities said. Another handgun was found, as well as more than $5,000 in suspected drug money, authorities said.

Sutton, 26, Gamboa, 29, and Khardalyan, 28, were arrested in connection with felony narcotics sales violations and conspiracy to commit a crime, authorities said.

All three Los Angeles men were booked into county jail with bail set at $200,000, authorities said.
CONTRIBUTED PHOTO/GOFUNDME Robert "Bobby" Sarles, 19, of Oxnard.

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By Staff Reports

Oxnard police on Thursday asked for the public's help solving a year-old homicide.

Robert "Bobby" Sarles, 19, was fatally shot about 9:45 p.m. July 15, 2015, in Lemonwood Park on San Mateo Place, Oxnard police said. Sarles was walking through the park when he was shot multiple times, authorities said.

Investigators said they have yet to determine a motive.

Authorities said they have followed several leads and contacted numerous witnesses but believe people in the community have more information about the shooting.

The city of Oxnard offers a $10,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of suspects in homicide cases, police said. Anyone with information about the homicide can contact Detective Steven Ramirez II at steven.ramirez@oxnardpd.org or 385-7760 or can call Ventura County Crimes Stoppers anonymously at 800-222-8477.
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Calabasas

Public can celebrate film's anniversary

The public can celebrate the 60th anniversary of the film "Love Me Tender" with an outdoor screening of the film at 8 p.m. Aug. 19 at Malibu Creek State Park, 1925 Las Virgenes Road.

Guests are asked to bring their own seating and a flashlight is recommended. Parking costs $3 per hour or $12 all day.

For more information, email mcdeventsmcsp@gmail.com.

Simi Valley

Council on Aging hosts dance

The Simi Valley Council on Aging will offer its Second Friday Dance from 7:30-10 p.m. Friday at the Simi Valley Senior Center, 3900 Avenida Simi.

Steve Meyers will provide a dance lesson from 6:30-7:30 p.m. There will be dance hosts and hostesses, door prizes and raffle and more. The dance has a Hawaiian theme.

Cost is $7. For more information, call 583-6363.

Ventura

Hub will discuss carbon dioxide

Ventura County Climate Hub will meet from 7-9 p.m. Thursday in Fellowship Hall at Unitarian Universalist Church of Ventura, 5654 Ralston St.

Guests can learn methods of capturing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and how community goals can be incorporated into the climate action plans of local governments.

For more information, contact Ron Whitehurst at bugnet@rinconvitova.com or 746-5368.

Westlake Village

Public can enjoy concert, fall festival

The public can enjoy an evening of Dixieland Jazz from 6-8 p.m. Sept. 10 in the sanctuary of The United Methodist Church of Westlake Village, 1049 S. Westlake Blvd.

The Night Blooming Jazzmen, also known as "Nightbloomers," will perform.

Pre-sale tickets are available through Sept. 9 at the church office for $15. Tickets at the door will cost $20. The church office is open Monday through Friday between 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.

There will be a fall festival from 3-5 p.m. Sept. 10 featuring a petting zoo, pony rides, a bounce house, games, a dunk tank and silent auction. Dinner will be offered from 5-6 p.m. with a pulled pork meal costing $8 and a hot dog meal costing $5.

For more information, visit www.umcwv.org.
SHARE Martin Hernandez

By Claudia Boyd-Barrett, Special to The Star

Two seats on the Santa Paula City Council will be up for grabs this November, although only one candidate  incumbent Mayor Martin Hernandez  so far has filed papers to run in the election.

Hernandez, who lost a bid in June to succeed Kathy Long as Ventura County's District 3 supervisor, said he will run for a second term on Santa Paula's council. The mayor recently retired after many years serving as Long's aide, a move he said will give him more time to dedicate to the residents of Santa Paula.

"My passion for public service and helping others really is a guiding principle for me and has been for a long time," Hernandez said. "Being that this is my first elected position as a policymaker, I found it very fulfilling to try to make a difference for my fellow Santa Paulans. I think that over the last four years, I've been involved in some decisions that have made things better for the community."

If he wins another term, Hernandez said, he wants to ensure the city is running as efficiently as possible, recouping the cost of services it provides. He'd like to see the downtown revitalized, and he said he's excited about the prospect of new money for the city if a proposed 1 percent sales tax measure passes in November.

Incumbent Councilman Jim Tovias, meanwhile, declined to comment on whether he will run for a third term in November. The councilman, a State Farm Insurance agent first elected to the council in 2008, has pulled nomination papers but so far has not submitted them, Deputy City Clerk Lucy Blanco said.

Candidates must turn in their nomination forms by Aug. 12. If Tovias does not file his papers by then, the deadline could be extended to Aug. 17, allowing more time for other candidates to step forward.

Three other people have pulled papers to run for Santa Paula City Council: restaurant owner Clint Garman, former Santa Paula Mayor and Chamber of Commerce President Fred Robinson, and resident Micah Harris Chapman.

Robinson, who served on the council from 2009 until losing a re-election bid in 2012, said he's still deciding whether to run for the position again.

"I'm still mulling it over a little bit, but I probably will throw my hat in the ring," he said. "I've been around Santa Paula my whole life, and I know the town well and have been active in the chamber. ... I have a lot of ideas about what it takes to make the city better."

Robinson said if he runs for council, his No. 1 priority will be improving public safety, including getting more police officers on the streets. He said he'd also like to see more money dedicated to fixing the city's aging infrastructure. Growing Santa Paula's tax base through development and making sure the city's children are well taken care of is also important, he said.

Garman, who owns Garman's Restaurant and Irish Pub in downtown Santa Paula, said in an email he has not yet decided whether to move forward with running for council.

Harris Chapman could not be reached at the phone number or email address on record with the county. However, he said via a Facebook message that he does intend to run.

Also open for election in Santa Paula this November are the city clerk and city treasurer positions, each with a four-year term. Deputy Clerk Blanco said she will be running to succeed retiring City Clerk Judy Rice.

City Treasurer Sandy Easley, also the city's finance director, is expected to run. Resident Rod Baltazar has pulled nomination papers to run against her.
JOSEPH A. GARCIA/THE STAR Assemblyman Das Williams, D-Carpinteria, and Sen. Hannah-Beth Jackson, D-Santa Barbara, are greeted by people holding a rally before the start of joint oversight hearing regarding the June 23 Ventura oil spill. The public meeting was held at the Bell Arts Factory on Thursday.

SHARE JOSEPH A. GARCIA/THE STAR Francisco Ferreyra (left), with Ventura County Climate Hub, and others hold a rally before the start of a joint oversight hearing regarding the June 23 Ventura oil spill. The public meeting was held at the Bell Arts Factory on Thursday. JOSEPH A. GARCIA/THE STAR Assemblyman Das Williams, D-Carpinteria, greets people who were holding a rally before the start of joint oversight hearing regarding the June 23 Ventura oil spill. The public meeting was held at the Bell Arts Factory on Thursday. JOSEPH A. GARCIA/THE STAR Francisco Ferreyra (left), with Ventura County Climate Hub, and others hold a rally before the start of Thursday's hearing on the June 23 Ventura oil spill.

By Arlene Martinez, amartinez@vcstar.com

For more than two hours Thursday, a pair of state lawmakers, followed by members of the community, pressed for answers on the June 23 Ventura oil spill that sent 45,000 gallons of crude into Prince Barranca and Hall Canyon just east of Ventura High.

Sen. Hannah-Beth Jackson, D-Santa Barbara, and Assemblyman Das Williams, D-Carpinteria, asked about the cleanup and how things went down after a pipeline leaked the oil. Jackson chairs the Senate Select Committee on the Refugio Oil Spill and Williams chairs of the Assembly Natural Resources Committee.

On the spot during the joint oversight hearing at the Bell Arts Factory were acting state Fire Marshal Mike Richwine, state Fish and Wildlife Office of Spill Prevention and Response administrator Thomas Cullen, Ventura Fire Chief David Endaya and Larry Alexander, president of Crimson Pipeline, owner of the facility that leaked the oil.

What caused the spill?

Although it's still under investigation, the valve where the spill had originated had been replaced the day before. Crimson and the state Fire Marshal's Office, ultimately responsible for determining the cause, aren't releasing details until the investigation is complete.

When will the investigation be complete?

Richwine is estimating four months from now.

Why did it take a resident to notice the spill? Doesn't Crimson have a detection system?

As the "boots on the ground," residents are often in the best position to detect a spill, Alexander said. Crimson does have a detection system monitored by "state-of-the-art" technology but in this case, the line wasn't at full capacity, he said. There was no sudden drop in pressure, then, that would have triggered an alert, Alexander said.

When was the last inspection?

The last inspection was in July 2015, Richwine said. It was an inline inspection done by Crimson and overseen by a third-party inspector.

What was the process for reopening the line?

Crimson had to submit a startup plan, which is reviewed by the state Fire Marshal's Office. The company then had to implement the plan, a process monitored by the Fire Marshal's Office. Under the office's supervision, Crimson conducted a pressure test. The office gave the thumbs-up to restart the line.

Why wasn't the public notified the line had reopened?

Crimson isn't required to, and the state Fire Marshal's Office must alert "emergency responders," Richwine said. It did so via a phone call the night of June 30 to the battalion chief saying something along the lines of "plans have been submitted and the line might be restarted," Endaya said. He said the Ventura Fire Department, which has no authority or regulatory over oil companies, took it as a courtesy update. The city later learned the plan had been submitted June 27, Endaya said.

Why didn't the Office of Spill Prevention and Response, as the lead agency in the Unified Command, the group of official stakeholders responsible for responding to the spill (it includes Crimson), notify residents the line had reopened?

It didn't know.

"We understand that we need better communication and we're working toward that," Cullen said.

Did the state mandate Crimson reopen the line when it did?

No. Crimson said the Public Utilities Commission mandated the pipeline to reopen, but that was incorrect. Crimson later said it had contracts to fulfill and needed to reopen the pipeline to meet those obligations.

Jackson said less than 20,000 gallons had been collected. What's the status on all that oil?

The Office of Spill Prevention and Response said much more oil has been collected and sits in containers.

"It's very difficult to imagine" there still remain anywhere near 25,000 gallons in the barranca, Cullen said. But no one will know for sure how much was collected until the investigation is complete.

What is the status of the city's subpoena of the documents related to the spill and subsequent reopening?

The city received some of the pertinent documents earlier this week, City Attorney Gregory Diaz told The Star. Crimson is claiming the release is privileged, meaning they can't be made public. In his review, Diaz didn't see why they were privileged and let Crimson know the city's position. Diaz noted he is not an expert in this area of law.

What's next?

Jackson and Williams stressed the need to tighten rules and regulations around oil spills. Jackson noted the need for better communication requirements and said the public needs to remain informed about the spill's impact on waterways. Williams noted the seeming "blind spot" in guarding against spills following repairs or other work. Both stressed the need to end the country's dependence on fossil fuels and increase the use of renewable energy sources.

"We do need that oil while we're trying to get off that oil," Jackson said, "but oil companies are doing everything they can to keep us on that oil."
SHARE STAR FILE PHOTO Ventura Councilman Neal Andrews

By Wendy Leung of the Ventura County Star

A longtime member of the Ventura County Republican Central Committee, unhappy with what he calls the lack of leadership during Donald Trump's rise to be the party's presidential nominee, has stepped down.

Ventura City Councilman Neal Andrews, who has been a central committee member since December 2008, said Republican leadership not only failed to endorse an alternative candidate to Trump, but also has embraced fear, meanness and other qualities he associates with the candidate.

Committee Chairman Mike Osborn said Andrews didn't mention any of that when he called to resign last week. Andrews hasn't been actively involved in years, Osborn said.

"He really has never contributed anything," he said, adding Andrews mostly showed up to get support for his re-election campaigns.

Andrews called that untrue but since falling and injuring himself a year and a half ago had not been as involved.

"Under the bylaws, if you're not participating, you automatically vacate your seat. My seat was not vacated," Andrews said.

Andrews said he strongly disagrees with the line of thinking that the election of Trump was the will of the people and conservatives should stand by the nominee.

"It's incumbent in my mind for people in leadership to not just put their finger up in the wind to see which way it's blowing," Andrews said.

Osborn said he didn't think Andrews understood the role of the committee.

"The party executes the will of the voters," he said.

In this case, following primaries in states across the country, they chose Trump, he said.

Andrews said he knows others think Trump is an unfit candidate but none have made meaningful moves as leaders.

"I believe, for example, that (House Speaker Paul) Ryan and (Sen. John) McCain have agreed with me but they still endorse him," Andrews said.

What the Republican party needed to do, Andrews believes, is to reach out and build relationships with Latino, African American and other groups.

Osborn said if Andrews had shown up more often, he might have seen the inroads the party was making with those groups.

Trump, Andrews believes, has "sewn dissension and exacerbated divisions."

"(Trump) is a man that does not exhibit the poise, the stature and the leadership skills as someone who aspires to be the leader of the free world," he said.

A John Kasich supporter, Andrews now doesn't know whom he'll vote for. He doesn't rule out not voting for any presidential candidate.

He finds few reasons to be optimistic for the Republican Party.

"If there are no steps taken to correct the mistakes of this campaign year ... I think the party has entered a death spiral," Andrews said.

Arlene Martinez contributed to this report.
A Malaysian man raped a 14-year-old and married her three months later to get out of his jail sentence.

There are about 16,000 girls in Malaysia who were married before their 15th birthday, according to Human Rights Watch. (Reuters file photo)

By India Today Web Desk: A Malaysian man charged with raping a 14-year-old girl (now 15) has avoided prison after he married her in a case that has sparked anger from rights groups.

Ahmad Syukri Yusuf, 22, was charged with statutory rape of the girl late last year and faced up to 30 years in jail and whipping for the offence, but he married the teenager under Islamic law, according to prosecutor Ahmad Fariz Abdul Hamid.

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A Malaysian court ruled there was no need to proceed with the case after Yusuf submitted a marriage certificate and the girl withdrew her complaint.



HOW IS THIS POSSIBLE?

Under Malaysia's civil laws, the legal minimum age for marriage is 18, but Muslim girls who are under 16 can obtain permission to marry from Islamic courts.

There are about 16,000 girls in Malaysia who were married before their 15th birthday, according to Human Rights Watch citing the latest available government statistics in 2010.

Ethnic Malays, who are Muslim, make up about 60 per cent of the country's 30 million population. Critics say in the conservative Muslim-majority, sometimes victims' families would rather marry the girl to her rapist instead of her name being tarnished in court.

Malaysian laws have also been criticised for not recognising marital rape.

GOVERNMENT INTERVENES

Malaysia's government, meanwhile, has called for a review of the case.

"The ministry through the social welfare department will intervene to prevent such marriages," said Malaysia's Women, Family and Community Development Minister Rohani Abdul Karim.

She said the deputy public prosecutor will ask the high court to review the case, saying, "A rape case is still a rape case, the offender must be sentenced if he is found guilty, the case cannot be dropped by marriage."

OUTRAGE OVER LOOPHOLES IN LAW

The court ruling - delivered last week - has prompted fury in the country.

"Rape is rape is rape is rape - no matter whether it was in a five star hotel, in a bush or done under a marriage certificate," read an article on theheatmalaysia.com.

Highlighting further victimisation of the rape-survivor, the article said, "Now, she has to allow herself to be raped everyday, because those around her have said it is okay for her rapist to do so."

Malaysian women's rights groups are angry too.

"It is very common for rapists to marry their survivors, especially when they are underage, to cover up their crime," Kuala Lumpur-based Women's Aid Organisation spokeswoman Tan Heang Lee told Thomson Reuters Foundation.

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"It sends a message a person will be freed from his charge if he enters into this kind of marriage of convenience with the girl," said Ann Teo, vice-president of the Kuching-based Sarawak Women for Women Society.

NOT A FIRST

Back in 2013, a similar case was reported where 40-year-old Riduan Masmud raped a 12-year-old in a parked car and married her three months later.

Married and the father of four at the time, Masmud claimed to take her as his second wife "by mutual consent". Speaking to reporters, he said he would let his child-wife finish schooling and then get her to work with his first wife - a make-up artist.

His first wife, he said, had accepted the marriage and would look after the wife-victim.

Later, the victim's father alleged Masmud had paid him RM 5,000 as compensation under native laws, for permission to marry her. The following year, a high court sentenced him to 12 years in jail.

(With agency inputs)

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CONTRIBUTED IMAGE/NATIONAL PARK SERVICE Camera traps picked up the presence of a black bear in Malibu Creek State Park on July 26.

SHARE CONTRIBUTED IMAGE/NATIONAL PARK SERVICE Camera traps picked up the presence of a black bear in Malibu Creek State Park on July 26.

By Cheri Carlson of the Ventura County Star

Santa Monica Mountains are home to mountain lions, coyotes and bobcats. But bears?

The local mountains that wind along the coast have not had a resident bear population since the 1800s, when grizzlies were extirpated from California, officials said.

But last week, a black bear showed up in photos from camera traps set up in Malibu Creek State Park, part of the Santa Monica Mountains.

Researchers with the National Park Service, which studies wildlife in the area, were going through photos Tuesday when they saw images of the bear. The pictures taken at two camera traps set up to monitor wildlife movement and were dated July 26.

While black bears have settled in the nearby Santa Susana and San Gabriel mountains, officials said it is extremely rare for one to be found south of Highway 101.

Fenced in by highways and urban development, the Santa Monica Mountains are isolated from other open areas, which has led to low genetic diversity and other issues for wildlife living there.

In a 14-year study, researchers documented only one time when a mountain lion successfully crossed into the Santa Monica Mountains from the north.

Officials have proposed building a wildlife crossing for Highway 101 near Agoura Hills. Researchers plan to check camera traps in that area to see if that is where the bear may have crossed into the Santa Monicas.

"Malibu Creek State Park is over 8,000 acres of open space and is connected to a much larger network of habitat," said Craig Sap, district superintendent for the Angeles District of California State Parks.

"If this bear decides to stay, let's see what we can do to coexist with it."

Find tips on coexisting with bears at https://www.wildlife.ca.gov/Keep-Me-Wild/Bear.
Nguyen Dai Tri, deputy head of the General Department of Taxation (GDT), confirmed to VIR that Big C Vietnam, representing its new owner Central Group, has paid the first instalment of VND500 billion ($22.83 million) of its transfer tax arrears to the state budget.

According to the GDT, Big C declared its total tax bill to be VND2.034 trillion ($92.88 million), of which VND1.914 trillion ($85.84 million) is tax incurred from the transfer of Big C Vietnam chain to Thai Central Group last April. The remaining VND120 trillion ($5.48 million) is tax incurred from business activities in 2008.

Big C committed to finishing the payment of its outstanding tax debt (VND1.534 trillion or $70 million) by the end of this month, said Tri, noting that the grant period is acceptable due to the huge amount to be transferred from Thailand.

Upon the GDTs continuous requests, on June 13, Big C Vietnam submitted a document, informing the body that it has successfully notified the transferor Casino Group and the acquirer Central Group of the tax sum incurred.

The local tax authorities said that due to the unclear terms and conditions of the transfer deal, it took a while for Casino Group and Central Group to negotiate their tax obligations.

On April 29, Casino Group announced the transfer of the Big C Vietnam chain to the Thai conglomerate for approximately $1.1 billion.

Various measures were applied by the GDT to collect the aforementioned tax sum, with dedicated co-operation from other authorities.

For instance, on June 25, GDT requested 20 provincial tax agencies where Big C supermarkets operated, informed local departments of Industry and Trade and departments of Planning and Investment, to be vigilant in adjusting the retailers business information.

The move was to prevent Big C from having its business license modified, preventing an official change of ownership until it fulfilled its entire tax obligation.

Currently, the tax authorities are also inspecting the retailers compliance with tax laws, to check whether Big C illegally declared the lower tax bill. The inspection is scheduled to finish before August 31, 2016.

We can only announce Big Cs wrongdoings, if any, once we are finished with the inspection, said Tri.
(File photo: AFP/Brendan Smialowski)

The illness, with measles-like symptoms, has hit the far corner of Myanmar's northern Sagaing region, a remote and mountainous area which borders eastern India and is populated by people from the Naga tribes.

Adults and children have both been struck since the outbreak first emerged in June, a local MP said, but the illness appears to be particularly deadly to children under the age of five.

"Altogether 23 children were have been killed in Lahal township and 13 killed in Nan Yon township since June because of this unknown disease," Law Yon, a regional MP from Naga self-administrative region told AFP.

"Rashes came out on their bodies, they have a fever and difficulty breathing because of coughing. Blood also comes out while coughing," he said.

Some 200 people so far have come down with the disease, he said, adding that central authorities have been slow to react.

A health ministry official in the capital Naypyidaw confirmed the outbreak, including more than 30 deaths, and said tests were being carried out.

"We assume at an initial stage it's a measles outbreak or strong influenza. But we can definitely say only when we get the result from laboratory," the official said, requesting anonymity.

The outbreak highlights how vulnerable Myanmar's more remote populations are in a country where healthcare was never prioritised under decades of brutal and inept junta rule.

It is one of the many crippling legacies that the newly installed civilian government of Aung San Suu Kyi is trying to tackle.

Although budgets slightly increased in the last few years of outright army rule - which ended with last November's elections - Myanmar is still one of the lowest spenders on healthcare as a share of GDP.

According to the latest World Bank figures health spending increased from 0.2 per cent to just over 1 per cent of GDP from 2009 to 2013 despite being one of the world's fastest growing economies.

In contrast 4.3 per cent of GDP in 2014 went to the military, according to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute.
Tra fish being processed for export at Hung Ca Company Ltd in southern Dong Thap Province's Thanh Binh District. Falling prices of tra fish are worrying farmers. - VNA/VNS Photo Vu Sinh

Nguyen Ngoc Hai, chairman of Thoi An Tra Fish Co-operative in Can Tho City, said the price for fish meeting export criteria (0.7-0.9 kilo a fish) was VND18,500-19,000 a kilo, down VND1,500-2,000 compared to a fortnight ago.

At that price, farmers have suffered a loss of VND500-1,000 a kilo.

Tran Thi Lan in Can Tho City said her family had sold 100 tonnes of tra fish and lost VND100 million (US$4,500).

"Tra fish processing plants haven't bought my fish, so every day I had to sell a few tonnes to traders for VND16,000-17,000 a kilo," she said.

Other farmers have not been so lucky, as they have not been able to find a trader to sell their fish, she said.

In recent years, fish processing companies have spent funds setting up tra fish breeding areas, leaving fewer orders from farmers who raise tra fish.

When exports decline, processing companies usually give priority to process their own fish, so farmers without sale contracts face no sale outlets and price declines.

The recent decline of tra fish purchases from several large markets like the EU and China have also caused difficulties for Viet Nam's tra fish exports, according to the Viet Nam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP).

The quantity of tra fish that processing companies that breed themselves, under sales contracts with farmers, accounts for 70-80 per cent of fish used for the companies' production, according to Hai.

The processing companies now have enough fish, and as a result, will not have to increase the price paid to farmers without sales contracts when exports begin to rise.

The country's tra fish exports reached US$718 million as of mid-June, up 5.5 per cent against the same period last year, according to Viet Nam Customs.

Vo Thi Thu Huong, deputy general secretary of the Viet Nam Pangasius Association, said that it would promote sustainable development of tra fish by organising the Mekong Chef contest in Can Tho City in September.

The contest aims to promote domestic consumption of tra fish and raise awareness about the value of tra fish.

By the end of this quarter, the association will also hold a seminar on SUPERSEAS project (Supermarket Supported Area-based Management and Certification of Aquaculture in Southeast Asia), according to Huong.

During the first half of the year, the delta bred 4,341ha of tra fish, down 4.1 per cent year-on-year, according to the Directorate of Fisheries. More than 545,700 tonnes of tra fish were harvested, up 2.3 per cent against the same period last year.

The price of tra fish has fallen in recent years, resulting in fewer breeding areas.

In the first months of this year, the price of tra fish was VND22,000 a kilo as China imported a large quantity of tra fish from the delta.
An Afghan National Army (ANA) soldier stops a car at a security checkpoint in Herat on June 12, 2014. (Photo: AFP/Aref Karimi)

The nationality of the tourists, travelling from neighbouring provinces of Bamiyan and Ghor, was not immediately known and the Taliban have officially not claimed responsibility for the attack so far.

"The convoy was ambushed by the Taliban in Chesht-e-Sharif district in Herat," said Jilani Farhad, the spokesman for Herat's governor.

Military spokesman Najibullah Najibi said the ambush left at least five foreign tourists and their Afghan driver wounded, adding that the insurgents had been repelled and the foreigners were being escorted to Herat city.

The attack comes as Taliban militants intensify their annual summer offensive after a brief lull during the holy fasting month of Ramadan, which ended in early July.

Highways in Afghanistan passing through insurgency-prone areas have become exceedingly dangerous, with the Taliban and other armed groups frequently kidnapping or killing travellers.

The latest attack follows a Taliban truck bombing on Monday at a hotel for foreigners in Kabul, which triggered a seven-hour gun and grenade assault that highlighted growing insecurity in the city.

The guests and staff of the Northgate hotel escaped unharmed, but one policeman was killed after the suicide truck bomber paved the way for two other armed insurgents to enter the heavily guarded facility near Kabul airport.

The attack was a grim reminder of growing insecurity in Afghanistan since most foreign troops withdrew in 2014. The rising violence has resulted in large civilian casualties.

Foreigners are also increasingly being targeted as the conflict escalates.

The United States has warned its citizens in Afghanistan of a "very high" kidnapping risk after an American citizen narrowly escaped abduction in the heart of Kabul.

American journalist David Gilkey and his Afghan translator were killed in June while travelling with an Afghan army unit that came under fire in southern Helmand province.

Aid workers in particular have increasingly been casualties of a surge in militant violence in recent years.

Judith D'Souza, a 40-year-old Indian charity worker, was rescued in late July, more than a month after she was taken at gunpoint near her residence in the heart of Kabul.

D'Souza's abduction came after Katherine Jane Wilson, a well-known Australian NGO worker, was kidnapped on April 28 in the city of Jalalabad, close to the border with Pakistan.

In 2007, the Taliban seized 23 South Korean aid workers from a church group travelling through southern Afghanistan. The militants killed two men before releasing the rest, reportedly in return for ransom payments.
By PTI: Kolkata, Aug 5 (PTI) To provide all information related to the government and e-services, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee today launched a new portal Egiye Bangla.

The new portal will not only provide information of all departments to citizens, but will also provide opportunity for making financial transactions, officials said.

The portal will provide e-services of various kinds, tender information, contacts of state departments and their officials, citizens welfare initiatives, tourism etc. PTI NIK DKB

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Banh It Tower - photo khamphadisan.vn

A noodle soup for breakfast in HCMC costs between VND30,000 and VND50,000 but the same amount of money is enough to pay for breakfast for two or three persons in Quy Nhon. Banh beo (steamed rice cake), banh xeo (fried pancake) and rice porridge are among the dishes recommended for tourists to Quy Nhon. There are a couple of places of interest. In Ghenh Rang tourist site, around two kilometers from central Quy Nhon City, tourists can drop by the tomb of talented yet ill-fated Vietnamese poet Han Mac Tu.

In Dong Da Ward in the downtown, tourists can admire the twin towers with the unique Cham and Khmer architecture of the 11th and the 13th centuries.

A relic of Cham people which tourists can come to take a look at in Quy Nhon is Banh It Tower, also known as Silver Tower, in Tuy Phuoc District, Binh Dinh Province, 19 km north of Quy Nhon.

Another place worth visiting is Quang Trung Museum, Kien My Village, Binh Thanh Commune, Tay Son District, about 45 km from the center of Quy Nhon. The museum is home to relics and artifacts of the Tay Son Uprising against the Chinese invasion (1771-1789).

About ten minutes from the museum by bus is Ham Ho Stream, one of the main military bases of Tay Son troops.

Though seawater in Quy Nhon is not as clear and blue as in other parts of the central coast, its beaches are clean and tranquil. Those who love the sea are recommended to spend some time at Surf Bar, one of the most beautiful cafes in Quy Nhon.

With wooden tables and chairs put on the sand beach, Surf Bar allows guests to enjoy the true taste of a coastal land.
Accordingly, SBIC has proposed the Khanh Hoa Peoples Committee not to revoke the investment certificate of the long-delayed South Cam Ranh IZ, so that SBIC can carry out negotiations with HC Global Joint Stock Company (HCG) to join the solar power plant. According to SBICs design, the plant is to be implemented by a consortium of Taiwans Foxconn Technology Group, HCG, and Clean Energy JSC.

However, no further information on the solar power project has been disclosed for now.

South Cam Ranh IZ, invested by Nha Trang Shipbuilding Co., Ltd., was licensed in March 2009 with the total investment capital of VND980 billion ($43.9 million). However, the construction has yet to be implemented due to the investors financial troubles.

Khanh Hoa has been considering revoking the projects investment certificate since 2012, due to its long delay in construction.

In 2007, Foxconn announced that it would invest $5 billion in Vietnam to help draw the country into the global supply chain. At the time, the Taiwanese company signed a cooperation framework with the Ministry of Planning and Investment, pledging to invest in a series of projects in the hi-tech sector and supporting industries. Foxconn was also linked to investment agreements in Ho Chi Minh City, Haiphong, Bac Ninh, Bac Giang, Vinh Phuc, and Binh Dinh.

Foxconn kick-started its Vietnamese investments by opening two factories, worth $160 million in total, in Bac Ninhs Que Vo industrial park. In 2008, they were licensed to build a $200-million smart phone production facility in Vinh Phuc. It also built plans to construct facilities in Bac Giang. A $1-billion IP on the outskirts of Ho Chi Minh City was also on the menu. However, these ambitious investment plans seemed to fizzle out when Foxconns Vinh Phuc project had its investment licence revoked in 2015. Meanwhile, the hi-tech project in Bac Ninh went bankrupt, and the fate of Foxconns other investment commitments in Binh Dinh, Haiphong, and Ho Chi Minh City remain unclear.

In its latest move, Foxconn spent $22 million on acquiring Microsofts Bac Ninh phone plant where its going to produce feature phones and smartphones. The facility started operation in October 2013. It has area of 65,400 square metres and capacity of 15,000 units per day.
The association also released the results of the cooperation programme in 2015 and the results of the three researches on traffic safety in Ho Chi Minh City and Thai Nguyen that it funded.

The cooperation programme was first signed on February 4, 2015 with the aim to research motorbike usage behaviour, raise awareness, and train motorbike riders to improve traffic safety as well as share experience with government agencies on traffic management in a bid to decrease the number of motorbike-related traffic accidents.

In 2015 within the framework of the programme 1.2 million children of primary and middle schools were educated on traffic safety, as were 56,000 high school and college students. The programme also gave 65,000 helmets to people.

In the framework of the programme, VAMM funded three research projects on the topics of ownership and usage of motorbikes in Ho Chi Minh City, traffic accidents involving children in Ho Chi Minh City, and motorbike accidents in the northern province of Thai Nguyen, with a view to build proposals addressing root causes.

The results of the first research show that motorbikes are the main means of everyday transportation in Ho Chi Minh City. The average household in the city has 4.12 members, of which 2.29 are employed, and owns 2.33 motorbikes. The popularity of motorbikes is expected to remain unbroken because of their convenience and economic benefits compared to a largely unattractive public transportation system.

The second research found that in Ho Chi Minh City between 2013 and 2015 the number of traffic accidents involving people under 18 rose by 190 per cent. The casualty count rose 217 per cent, with high school students accounting for 70 per cent.

The percentage of passengers not wearing helmets is overwhelmingly high for younger generations: 80 per cent of kindergarten children, 50 per cent of primary school children, and 15 per cent of middle and high school children wear no helmets.

The ratio of high school students dying in traffic accidents rose from 10 in 2013 to 32.5 every 100,000 high school students by 2015. This is three to four times higher than death from traffic accidents in general (all age groups) in Ho Chi Minh City and eight to nine times higher than the ratio for high school students in developed countries.

The researchers proposed traffic safety education as a mandatory subject in school, holding parents and schools responsible for ensuring childrens safety and controlling the use of electric bikes among school students.

In Thai Nguyen, the majority of accidents are a result of traffic violations, while 13 per cent are due to bad road conditions and bad lighting at night. The research proposes improving the traffic infrastructure, raising the fine on violations, and improving training for vehicle users.

The results are a basis to propose solutions to increase road safety and policies to manage and orient the development of the motorbike manufacturing industry in Vietnam.

In 2015, the programme made important contributions to raising awareness and improving traffic safety in Vietnam. The results of these research projects will be used in crafting policies to make roads safer throughout the country, said Khuat Viet Hung, NTSCs deputy chairman.

We commit to a long-term cooperation with NTSC and are ready to intensify efforts to improve traffic safety and decrease the number of motorbike accidents. VAMM wants to give opinion when the government builds policies on urban planning and managing urban traffic in order to benefit the people, said chairman Yano Takeshi, adding that the association is also going to invite international traffic experts to propose practical and suitable solutions.

In 2016, VAMM is going to provide an additional VND1 billion ($47,000) for a research on high school students traffic in Hanoi. VAMM is going to continue research in order to provide products that are safer and more environmentally friendly.

VAMM was established in 2013. Members include Vietnamese subsidiaries of Honda, Piaggio, SYM, Suzuki, and Yamaha Motor.
Photo by ASSOCIATED PRESS

President Barack Obama discusses issues such as the Islamic State group and Syria during a news conference at the Pentagon on Thursday.
Photo by LOS ANGELES TIMES

In interviews, Melania Trump has said she first came to the United States in 1996, and that she periodically traveled back to Slovenia to stay in compliance with visa rules.
By India Today Web Desk: Actor Mohanlal-starrer Telugu film Manamantha, which hit the screens today (August 5), opened to positive reception from the audience and critics. With the positive word-of-mouth slowly surfacing online, Baahubali director SS Rajamouli has lauded the director and the entire unit calling the film as a textbook for every film student.



ALSO READ: Baahubali 2- SS Rajamouli will reveal 'Why did Kattappa kill Baahubali?' on April 28



ALSO READ: Manamantha teaser- SS Rajamouli is all praise for Mohanlal's upcoming Telugu flick

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In a Facebook post, he wrote, "Manamantha will remain a top class film in the career of Chandu and Vaaraahi Chalana Chitram. Chandu has a knack of extracting fantastic performances from his actors. From a seasoned actor like Mohanlal garu to a 4-year-old kid, everyone will make you smile laugh and cry and will remain in our hearts and thoughts for a very long time. The way the film began the way it was weaved and the way it ended is a textbook for every film student. Congratulations to the entire unit. Everyone who worked in the film can proudly say he/she is a member of Manamantha."

Now that Manamantha is getting rave reviews, Lalettan, who has a huge fan following in Kerala, is likely to earn the hearts of Telugu audience as well.

Manamantha, which is an anthology of four stories, is helmed by the National Award winning director Chandrasekhar Yeleti. The film marks Mohanlal's second Telugu film after a cameo appearance in Gandeevam (1994).

Manamantha, is a bilingual family drama which stars Mohanlal, veteran actor Gautami, Viswant Duddumpudi and Anisha Ambrose.

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Almost a month after the brazen murder of well-known Cambodian political analyst Kem Ley, people are calling for international involvement in the investigation.

I want the international [community] and America, as well as international and national human rights organizations, to monitor this investigation, Siem Reap resident Cheang Mony told VOA Khmer.

What I am very interested in is that after [Kem Ley] commented on Radio Free Asia and Voice of America, he was shot to death, Cheang Mony said.

Cheang Mony said he had tuned in to listen to Kem Ley being interviewed last month about a report, which claimed to expose a massive business empire built up by relatives of Prime Minister Hun Sen.

Kem Ley was gunned down days later at a busy gas station in the Cambodian capital Phnom Penh.

If the government wants to stay in government, and receives votes from the people I want them to find the real killer, the person behind [who gave the order], so that it saves the countrys image, Cheang Mony said.

On Monday, Hun Sen lodged lawsuits against opposition party leader Sam Rainsy and opposition Senator Thak Lany for allegedly making statement linking the prime minister to the killing of Kem Ley.

Sam Rainsy reiterated his claim of State involvement in the murder on Tuesday.

Only the government had the means and the capabilities to conduct such brazen attacks, to arrange for their cover-up and to ensure a total impunity for the perpetrators and their mastermind, Sam Rainsy wrote in an email to VOA Khmer.

Self-confessed killer Oeuth Ang, a troubled, former soldier with debts and a gambling problem, claimed he shot Kem Ley dead on the morning of July 10 over an unpaid loan.

Oeuth Angs wife and friends told VOA Khmer that he had no money to lend, and they were doubtful that he had ever crossed paths with the political analyst.

Oeuth Ang had, however, revealed to a friend that he had been re-employed as a soldier in Phnom Penh shortly before he killed Kem Ley.

Adding to the deep sense of unease among the Cambodian public that State actors were involved in the killing, a video was shared on social media on Sunday showing unexplained interaction between a man on a motorcycle who was wearing dark pants, a long-sleeved white shirt and a white helmet and Oeuth Ang, who was fleeing on foot, shortly before he was apprehended.

The government, and all parties, should hunt for those who killed [Kem Ley]. I want this to happen as soon as possible, said Yeah Tha, another Siem Reap villager who often listened to Kem Ley commentary on radio.

I did not want him to die he helped to broaden peoples knowledge. They shot him to death. Such a thing should not have happened, Yeah Tha said.

Sar Lao, a tuk-tuk taxi driver, also said he wanted international assistance in the murder investigation.

I dont believe [Oeuth Ang] did it on his own. Perhaps there is a commander, Sar Lao said.

Non-governmental organizations, [and countries] such as Europe, Australia and American, please help find justice for brother Kem Ley, he said.

Government officials say there is no need for international assistance in the murder investigation, citing the countys sovereignty and independence as a reason for not seeking outside expert help.

While many questions persist about the killing, few are in any doubt about the reason Kem Ley was killed: his bravery to speak out about issue affecting the country.

He dared to analyze all kinds of issues, said Niv, a Siem Reap resident who attended workshops in Phnom Penh organized by Kem Ley.

He was straight and talked directly without stumbling or hesitation, said Niv, who would only give his first name to protect his identity.

He was a courageous man.
The government is seeking to develop ways of increasing the benefit felt by Cambodia from economic corridors opened throughout the Greater Mekong Subregion as part of Asean integration, an official has said.

Sok Chenda Sophea, secretary general of the Council for the Development of Cambodia, told reporters after a meeting of ministers from countries in the region held on Thursday that the government had developed a strategy to remain competitive.

For instance, last year the royal government of Cambodia adopted an industrial development strategy 2015 to 2025. In that, we mention that we need to develop infrastructure; we need to encourage eco-agriculture; and support small and medium enterprises, he said.

But at the same time, we also pointed out that those efforts have to be done along the corridors which link  Phnom Penh to Bavet and Poipet, and along the corridors which link Phnom Penh and Preah Sihanouk province, he said.

Chan Sophal, president of the Cambodia-based Center for Policy Studies, said it would not be easy to effectively implement an industrial strategy in Cambodia due to overly convoluted bureaucratic systems.

There are many partners involved and it needs to be done quickly. [We] cant just wait and wait; wait from one institution to another institution, and when an institution is slow, all institutions will be slowed, he said.

The economic corridors are intended to spur economic integration in Asean and boost infrastructure development. There are three main economic corridors: one linking China and Asean; one linking the southern countries on mainland Southeast Asia; and another linking Vietnam with Myanmar via Laos.
About 70 villagers from Koh Kong province delivered petitions to the government and European Union on Thursday to lodge complaints about alleged land grabbing by two sugar plantation firms.

The protesters, representing 147 families from six villages in Koh Kongs Sre Ambel and Botum Sakor districts, claim that Koh Kong Sugar and Koh Kong Plantation, majority-owned by Thailands Khon Kaen Sugar Ltd, have over the past decade encroached on their farmland and not provided them with compensation.

Phav Nherng, one of the demonstrators, said the group had submitted the petitions to the National Assembly, European Union, Ministry of Agriculture and Ministry of Land Management.

When the companies do not pay for the compensation or do not cut the contested land [from the plantations] to give to us, we still continue to protest, because without protests we will die. I think we are dying every day because there is no land to grow rice, no rice to eat, and our cows have been sold, she said.

All the institutions received the petitions and said they would forward them to decision-makers.

Sin Sattha, a spokesman for Phnom Penh Sugar, denied claims made by the villagers that ruling Cambodian Peoples Party Senator Ly Yong Phat was involved with the companies.

Yong Phat reportedly sold his shares in the companies in 2010.

Representatives of Koh Kong Sugar could not be reached.

Bun Leut, the provincial governor, said that an inter-ministerial committee was studying the claims. Theyre handling it, he said.

The district governors in Botum Sakor and Sre Ambel, as well as agriculture ministry representatives, could not be reached.

In Kongchet, provincial coordinator for local rights group Licadho, said the villagers claims were credible and supported by the evidence.

Its time that the government, especially the Ministry of Agriculture, helped promote the livelihoods of farmers, he said.
Following a surge in Syrian refugee admissions in the last three months, the United States is on track to meet the Obama administration's goal of welcoming 10,000 Syrians by the end of September.

From Oct. 1, 2015, through Aug. 4 of this year, 8,004 Syrian refugees who fled violence and persecution in their home country have been resettled in the U.S.; half are under the age of 14, according to data from the State Departments Refugee Processing Center.

Juliane Ramic, senior director for refugee and community integration for the Nationalities Service Center in Philadelphia has worked increasingly with Syrian children in recent months.

We had these Little Debbie cookies and a seven year old boy motioned at me to put his hand out  I thought he was going to give me a high five, but he puts his cookie back in my hand and closes my fingers over it, Ramic told VOA. His mother said you are his first friend and he wants to thank you

Its so striking because when I look at their age and whats happened in Syria  all theyve known is war and flight.

Migration slow, but steady



With arrivals in the low hundreds every month, the target number was in doubt for much of the last seven months since U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry announced the new plan in September, calling into question whether the sixfold increase over the previous years total (1,682) could actually be met by the end of the current fiscal year.

In February, the State Department established what it called a refugee resettlement surge center in Amman, Jordan. While the paperwork, interviews, medical and security screenings for refugees usually take 18 to 24 months, American officials claimed the center could reduce the processing time to three months.

Beginning in May, refugee arrival data shows that the number of Syrians increased from the hundreds in previous months to 1,069 in May; it then topped 2,000 in June and July.

"What we know is that more resources have been put toward the processing of folks who have been pending," Stacie Blake, spokesperson for the U.S. Committee for Refugees and Immigrants told VOA. "More resources obviously meant that more folks were able to move through the system."

While processing centers abroad have more recently increased their capacity to resettle refugees, many affiliates in American cities have been preparing to receive them. Affiliates such as the Nationalities Service Center in Philadelphia have submitted yearly reports to the U.S. State Department on the number of refugees they are able to accommodate, as well as why their city would be a welcoming new home, Ramic told VOA.

"We proactively tell  the State Department that Philadelphia would be a welcoming community for Syrians and why," Ramic said. "There's a very small but existing Syrian community, and it's just over an hour from Allentown  the largest community of Syrians in the country."

The roughly 8,000 Syrian refugees who arrived this fiscal year were placed in 38 states: With 887 arrivals, Michigan was the top recipient, followed by California (783), Arizona (651), Texas (565) and Pennsylvania (481).

The U.S. is the largest recipient of third-country resettlement in the world; 60,921 refugees have arrived since last October.

Cap increased to 85,000



Last year, Kerry also announced that the administration was increasing the cap on the total number of refugees allowed into the U.S. in the current fiscal year from 70,000 to 85,000. That number, which the president sets based on State Department recommendations, will rise to 100,000 in the coming year.

But the surge in Syrian refugees to the U.S. still falls short of the demand. The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) estimates 4.8 million Syrians have fled to Turkey, Lebanon, Jordan, Egypt and Iraq. Another 6.6 million have been displaced inside Syria.

Not all of those refugees will need to be resettled in a third country, however. Refugees are eligible for third-country resettlement when they cannot return to their home country or settle permanently in the country where they first sought asylum, often neighboring countries like Jordan for the Syrians.

Early in the Syrian civil war, which began in 2011, the U.S. was accepting only dozens of Syrian refugees a year. Neighboring countries like Lebanon, Jordan and Turkey have taken in millions fleeing internal conflict and the rise of Islamic State violence across the country.

The Obama administrations call to accept more Syrian refugees was met with swift backlash from Republican governors across the country, and several state legislatures have introduced bills to curb the resettlement of some or all refugees from within their borders. Opponents to the increased refugee cap and additional Syrians argue that security screenings for refugees are inadequate, an allegation the administration has regularly refuted.

An Associated Press-GfK poll conducted in early July showed that 69 percent of Republicans say they favor a temporary ban on Muslim immigration. Overall, Americans opposed such a ban by a margin of 52 to 45 percent.

The U.N. General Assembly is holding a summit in September to address refugees and migrant issues, including nearly a million Syrians seeking asylum in Europe.
The World Health Organization has warned China that its coveted Silk Road program can result in the spread of disease, because movements of people and goods can transfer viruses, too.

"We have learned from many years of experience that with movement of people, goods and services, diseases also move around," Margaret Chan, WHO director-general, told journalists in Beijing after a recent meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping.

"For the first time, China has imported cases of yellow fever, Zika and Rift Valley fever," Chan said. She called on China to enhance its level of public health preparedness to counter any outbreaks.

The Silk Road program, formally called One Belt, One Road (OBOR), is an economic program aimed at helping Chinese construction companies win infrastructure contracts and assisting Chinese industries in transferring their operations to less developed countries in Asia where costs are lower.

Beijing would be most unlikely to reduce OBOR in light of WHO's advice, although the central government might act to check the spread of disease.

Selling cigarettes

It turns out that the Chinese government is playing two conflicting roles. It has taken some significant measures to ensure public health. At the same time, the government is engaged in activities that can result in increased health risks. The OBOR project is just one of them.

One example is the government's involvement in the sale of cigarettes to the 300 million Chinese who are smokers. Most of the major Chinese cigarette companies, which account for 41 percent of the entire world's production, are state-owned. Moreover, cigarettes are a major source of tax revenue  $30 billion a year.

"The Chinese state has a monopoly on cigarette sales. The government also depends heavily on tax income from tobacco. So it is difficult for authorities to drastically crack down on smoking," said Simon Lang, researcher at Mercator Institute of China Studies in Berlin.

At the other end of the scale, the government is investing heavily in hospitals for treatment of cancer and a range of other diseases that are either caused or exacerbated by tobacco use. It has no other choice but to address the issue, because cancer and cardiovascular diseases, which also are aggravated by smoking, are responsible for two-thirds of total mortality in China.

By some estimates, the number of people over 40 suffering from noncommunicable diseases will more than double in the next two years. Diabetes will be the most prevalent disease, while lung cancer cases are likely to increase fivefold, according to experts at advisory group China Policy.

Conflicting interests

Conflicts of interest do not end there.

The World Bank recently said that lifestyle and noninfectious diseases like diabetes and lung cancer have emerged as the biggest causes of death in China. Infectious illnesses play a smaller role.

WHO is asking the government to lessen the role of hospitals in health care and expand the role of preventive care and family physicians.

"I told President Xi that my Chinese dream is to have a good general practitioner looking after my health when I retire," said Chan, who is a resident of Hong Kong and is due to retire from WHO in a year. She was emphasizing the importance of general practitioners in preventing the spread of disease and creating better health awareness while reducing the dependence on hospitals.

The government has laid out an extensive program for building health infrastructure, mostly hospitals and related facilities, because Beijing sees such investment as a tool for shoring up the softening economy. It is unlikely to adhere to WHO's advice to shift its focus toward preventive medicine.

"This is really a problem of governance and institutional structures. It is hard for the system to establish reasonable incentive structures for GPs [general medical practitioners]. Specialists are what the system prefers to produce, and this ripples through to the way hospitals are structured," said David Kelly, research director of Beijing-based China Policy.

Pollution risks

WHO studies have shown that air pollution is a major cause of death around the world. Chan praised China's efforts to combat pollution by shifting industries away from heavily populated cities to areas of low pollution.

But as anyone living in Beijing will attest, the Chinese capital suffers heavily because it is downwind from highly polluting factories, even though many of them are far away from the city. This is another challenge the government must meet, at a precarious time. Falling economic numbers are making it difficult for authorities to close down polluting factories and mines, because that would result in lower production and higher unemployment.

The government fears laid-off workers can cause a lot more trouble than air pollution, observers said, which is why some of WHO's objectives conflict with those of the government in China.
Inside the secretive world of cybersecurity experts is a phrase that quickly determines the severity of a cyberattack: Is this mischief or calamity?



For the higher-ups at the Democratic National Committee, hit by a cyberattack that vacuumed up thousands of emails, which WikiLeaks then leaked, it sure felt like a calamity.



It was the night before the opening of the party convention, and the world had an up-close peek at the rough-and-tumble world of American politics: emails that showed party leaders were doing everything they could to ensure that former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, not Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders, would win the party's nomination for president.



The hack was quickly laid at Russias doorstep, which prompted some mudslinging by Donald Trump, who had just become the Republican presidential candidate at his party's convention the week before. Trump grabbed headlines again when he called on Russia to find the 30,000 missing emails that Clinton's staff said they had deleted because they were purely personal.

The DNC tried to ignore the controversy, but just hours into day one of the convention, the party's national committee chairwoman, Debbie Wasserman Schultz, stepped down.



For cyber experts, this was small stuff  mischief. No one died. No sovereign nation was violated. No infrastructure destroyed. Cyberattacks happen all the time, all over the world. The DNC was embarrassed, but thats nothing compared to a loss of life.



However, the connection with Russia hung around. Not because of Trump, but because of the implication that President Vladimir Putin was meddling in U.S. political affairs  a presidential election, no less.

President Barack Obama, hosting Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong of Singapore at the White House, was asked how the alleged Russian connection to the DNC hack might impact Americas already strained relations with Putin.



In terms of how it affects our relationship with Russia, look, I think weve already got a lot of differences with Russia on a whole bunch of issues," Obama said. If, in fact, Russia engaged in this activity, its just one on a long list of issues that me and Mr. Putin talk about and that Ive got a real problem with. And so I dont think that it wildly swings what is a tough, difficult relationship that we have with Russia right now.



He reiterated that the United States is ready to impose potentially certain proportional penalties. Obama gave no specifics, but said the FBI is still investigating.



That Russia was behind the DNC breach is widely accepted. Shocking as it may sound, China routinely hacks the United States and has done so successfully, said Fred Kaplan, a columnist for Slate.com and author of "Dark Territory: The Secret History of Cyber War."



The distinction between China and Russia when it comes to cyber activities is that China is kind of indiscriminate about it," Kaplan said Wednesday, during a radio appearance (Stand Up! with Pete Dominick on SiriusXM). Russia tends to be a bit cagier about it, and some of their hacks are much harder to trace. Theyre subtler and they cover their tracks well.



Scary? Yes, with scenarios of blacking out the power grids of entire countries swirling around ones head.



Kaplan says the United States employs some of the worlds brightest cybersecurity experts at the National Security Agency, the most secret of all U.S. intelligence services.



Those who are in charge of U.S. cybersecurity are focused on three key aspects of cyberwarfare: deterrence, detection and resilience. And Kaplans well-placed sources tell him we are the best at this.



That's good to know.
Americans agree on this much: They are disgusted with politics.



They look toward Washington and see a broken federal government, a place where politicians seem more interested in self-preservation than We the People. Things don't seem much better in state capitals, and, who knows? Lead-tainted water may be pouring out of their kitchen faucet next.



Yet Americans say they still believe in America, the experiment in democracy that the founders described as a place where the government should protect the rights of ordinary people to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. There's something at the core of America they long for, even if it's hard to define and seems distant in 2016.



Donald Trump proclaims he will "make America great again.'' Hillary Clinton counters that America "has never stopped being great.'' But what does that even mean? And who gets to define greatness? A billionaire businessman, a former secretary of state - or an aging musician in New Orleans?



What about the woman in Illinois who served in the U.S. military in Afghanistan?



Or the industrial worker worried about his job in Alabama?



The Associated Press interviewed a wide range of Americans to get a sense of what they think about the nation's greatness in the twilight of President Barrack Obama's eight years in office. The responses were as different as Americans themselves, yet a theme emerged: Compared to other nations, the United States is at least good, probably even great. But there's a lot of work to be done.

"Yes, America is great. It could be a lot better if the politicians weren't fighting each other all the time ...,'' said Rodney Kimball, a 74-year-old stove dealer in West Bethel, Maine. "The government needs to start doing what's right for the people.''



America is divided by political party, choice of media, income, gender, race or ethnic group, religious faith (or not), generation, geography and general outlook on the country's future. Pundits have proclaimed the electorate angry and wondered if the nation can ever recover the sense of unity experienced in the immediate aftermath of the al-Qaida attacks that took place 15 years ago this September.



The current dearth of confidence in the nation's politics and government is striking. Polling earlier this summer by the AP and the NORC Center for Public Affairs Research showed just 13 percent of Americans are proud of the 2016 election, and 55 percent felt helpless. Only 10 percent had a great deal of confidence in the overall political system, with 4 percent had a great deal of confidence in Congress, 15 percent in the executive branch, and 24 percent in the Supreme Court. Few Americans see either political party as responsive to ordinary voters.



Although their America is still a land of shining seas, spacious skies and majestic mountains, many express a deep sense of disenchantment and uncertainty in their own lives.

"I think that America as an idea is one of the most beautiful ideas that the world has ever known. I think that American opportunity and ingenuity has built some of the most incredible technologies and innovations today,'' said Allene Swanson, 22, of Chicago. "And still, when I look around, I see a country that seems like it's crumbling. I see people who are hungry and broke and who are struggling a lot.''



For some, real success has always seemed out of reach. The old textile mill across town is a reminder, dark and empty because labor was cheaper in Southeast Asia or Latin America; the manufacturing plant on the outskirts of the city uses steel imported from China.



Employment has rebounded since the great recession, but wages are stagnant. Forget saving for a home - millions work more than one job just to keep food on the table and the lights on. What happened to the American dream?

That's what is being asked in places like inner city St. Louis, home to 32-year-old Craig House. He's lives with his grandmother in a sea of burned-out buildings and abandoned schools not far from a hip, trendy part of town.



"America has always been great, just not for me and my people. For us it's been the worst ever,'' said House, shaking his head as he takes a long drag off his cigarette. "People come from all over the world, Arabs own this, that. Black man don't own nothing.''



Known as "Deacon'' in his native New Orleans, 74-year-old guitarist John Moore remembers a time when America was headed in the right direction, when everything seemed to be coming together. It was in the 1960s, when black people like Moore were seeing an end to racial segregation; when women were gaining equality; when politicians were taking a stand to end poverty despite the turmoil of protests over the Vietnam War.

"Those were the best years,'' said Moore, tears welling in his eyes in the living room-turned-recording studio of his shotgun house. "And then they were destroyed right before my very eyes when they assassinated all of our leaders. Robert Kennedy. John Kennedy. Martin Luther King. Malcom X. All of our leaders. And, you know, that was the end of hope. We had no more hope.''



Hope returned, at least for some, in 2008 when a mixed-race lawyer with a foreign-sounding name won the White House. The election of Barack Hussein Obama seemed to prove that anyone really could accomplish anything in America.



Yet the years that followed have seemed more unsettling than uplifting to many. Today, some people want more from their government. Others just want it to go away as much as possible.



"I expect less government, less regulation,'' said Russ Madson, 45, a steel industry worker looking for better opportunities in Birmingham, Alabama. "Our country was built by people like the Rockefellers, Edison, Henry Ford - pioneers. And today they couldn't do what they did because of regulation.''



But others expect more of government. Agriculture consultant and farmer Mike Poling of Delphos, Ohio, expects good governance and leadership "and nothing less.''

"That's what got us to this point and that's what made America great,'' said Poling, 58. "What made America great is its people. That's what built the country. Our forefathers had the foresight to draft the Constitution, the Bill of Rights that has laid the groundwork for [the] nation carrying on for 200 years and continues to guide us.''



Yet American greatness isn't just about words scrawled on yellowed paper and kept in a vault at the National Archives. A veteran of the war in Afghanistan, daughter of immigrants from Hong Kong, 29-year-old Kimberly Jung sees it as something deeper, a challenge to every citizen.

"I believe greatness is a responsibility,'' said Jung, of Chicago. "It's a dual state of mind in which you know your power or you know what resources you have but also your weaknesses. And you harness that set of strengths and weaknesses to work with a group and form a team and do great things.''



That striving for the common good is somehow AWOL in America right now, people say.



"If there was one thing I could change about this country it would be to sit here and get us focused back on the country itself and not on our own self-interest,'' said Poling, the Ohio farmer. "I think we've lost track of what built this country, and that is the fact we came together as a body of one to build it and make it great.''



In a sprawling country of 319 million people, it's easy for most anyone to tuck themselves away in suburbia, the rural heartland, an urban ghetto or a gentrified neighborhood and see only those things outside the front window or just down the street. People can turn on the echo chamber of cable TV or the internet and forget what high school student Dana Craig says America really is: A great place built on the idea that everyone should get an equal opportunity, a chance.

"Throughout history [I am] not sure we did the best job in keeping up with these principles and reaching those goals in the way that we want to, but I think what defines our greatness is our ability to continue working toward these goals even if we are not necessarily perfect in them,'' said Craig, 15, of River Falls, Wisconsin.



Whether they opt for Trump, Clinton or someone else this November, Americans say the state of the union isn't good enough. Amal Kassir sees her own future caught up with the chance the country has right now to make itself into something better.

Kassir, a 20-year-old college student in Colorado, was born in Denver to a father from Syria and a mother from America. A poet who also works in her family's Middle Eastern restaurant, Kassir describes her own life as being intertwined with that of the United States.

Is America great? Yes, she says. And it's also her best chance.



"No doubt whatever greatness I'm capable of comes from being in this place,'' she said.

EDITOR'S NOTE: This story is part of Divided America, AP's ongoing exploration of the economic, social and political divisions in American society.
Many Muslim women in Egypt wear the hijab by choice. For them, it represents piety - and in Egypt, religion is in fashion.



I wear it to get closer to God and make Him happy in whatever way I can, says Mai Hisham, a recent college graduate. But also it makes me feel more sophisticated and look more mature in public.



Other Egyptian women say their relationship with their headscarves is complex. What is simpler, they say, is their fight for the right to wear what they want, whatever it may be.



The government does not dictate what women wear, but women face social pressure to both wear and not wear the hijab. Some upscale restaurants ban veiled women, while those who forgo the scarf may be subjected to abuses from friends, family or even strangers.

Your clothes are sinful

The taxi driver seemed normal, says Azza Fadaly, an unveiled photo editor, examining pictures of student protests. She explains how people she has never met sometimes judge her for her lack of a headscarf, without even knowing for sure if she is Muslim. But then his language became violent, saying, Your clothes are sinful and you should not be in public without a hijab!



Her friends and family are more confused than angered by her choice, regularly asking if she plans to start covering her hair; but Fadaly says she has never worn a hijab outside a mosque because her family believes, like many, that religion does not specifically require hair covering.



Other families, however, have a difficult time accepting daughters who choose not to wear headscarves, says Aya Abdullah, a 28-year-old social media reporter who abandoned her hijab two years ago. Inspired by the 2011 uprising and the discourse of free expression and belief, she says she eventually decided she had to wear clothes she deemed fit, despite the hardship. I was so young when I started wearing the hijab, she says. It was never my decision.



When she started going out unveiled, she adds, her father was livid. He ordered her to stay in her room for 10 days, and then refused to speak with her for three months. During many fights that interrupted the silence, he told her that God would blame him for her sin if he allowed her to go out unveiled.



Eventually they consulted a cleric, who agreed that the veil should be worn, but told her father that since she is an adult, he is not responsible. My father now shares pictures of me on Facebook, she says.



Show of solidarity in Iran

In Iran, some men are posting pictures of themselves in hijabs as part of an Internet campaign to protest laws forcing women to be veiled. They say women should not have to cover their hair in public unless they want to do so. Some Egyptian women say they support this campaign because more than anything else, they feel their clothing should be their choice.





In Egypt, Saher Arabi says at some point I might think of taking off the hijab. She went on to say, but our problem in Egypt is our class system. Im not sure I should say this, but if you go to average peoples houses without a headscarf, they look at you like you are strange, and you feel awkward.



The hijab issue in Egypt isn't a new one - watch Egyptian leader Gamal Abdel Nasser on the subject more than 60 years ago:
By PTI: Dhaka, Aug 5 (PTI) An Islamist extremist, accused of murdering a Hindu priest earlier this year and carrying a deadly attack on Bangladeshs biggest Eid gathering, was killed in a gun fight when terrorists attacked a police van transporting him, police said today.

Shafiul Islam, 22, was being driven to a police station yesterday when the Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) vehicle was attacked by terrorists.

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A second person, who was an associate of Shafiul and was among those who attacked the RAB convoy, was also killed in the attack.

Shafiul, suspect in the Sholakia Eid congregation attack in Kishoreganj being held by law enforcers on Eid day.

RAB personnel had detained Shafiul with a bullet wound right after the attack. He was one of the three motorcycle- borne assailants who killed priest Jagneshwar Roy, 50, with sharp weapons in the early hours of February 21, Daily Star reported.

Roy headed the Santo Gaurio temple at Panchagarhs Debiganj.

A RAB official said Shafiul had been undergoing treatment at Mymensingh Medical College Hospital (MMCH) under RAB custody since he was arrested.

After doctors discharged him yesterday, he was being taken to Kishoreganj to be handed over to the police, he said.

Three security personnel were also injured in the clashes and two motorcycles, arms and bullets were recovered from the spot.

RAB claimed the gun battle took place while militants were trying to take Shafiul away.

Bombs exploded near an Eid prayer gathering in Sholakia in northern Kishoreganj district on July 7 where at least 200,000 people had gathered. Four persons, including two policemen and a Hindu woman, were also killed in the attack.

Shafiul was a member of Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen (JMB), which is accused of carrying out a wave of killings of foreigners and religious minorities. PTI UZM ZH NSA

--- ENDS ---
Lawyers representing U.S.-based Muslim cleric Fethullah Gulen said that Turkey has not provided evidence of his involvement in last month's failed military coup attempt, and he "should not and will not be extradited."

Speaking to reporters Friday in Washington, one of Gulen's attorneys, Reid Weingarten, said the "complexity and absurdity" of conspiracy allegations linking Gulen and the CIA to the attempted coup have intensified. This week, three Turkish ministers visited the U.S. to put pressure on the government to extradite Gulen.

"...[O]n top of the absurdity of the allegations, we see official acts by the Turkish government that cause us some concern, Weingarten said. We see that three ministers have come over, from our perspective, to try to put the arm on the United States to comply with this extradition request."

Washington has stated that Turkey must present evidence of the cleric's involvement in order for the extradition process to begin. Turkey, however, has not provided such evidence, Weingarten said.

WATCH: Gulen's Lawyer Discusses Extradition

"Extradition is fundamentally a legal process. We are lawyers and we deal with evidence and we deal with due process and  guess what?  in extradition proceedings, evidence matters and due process matters," he said.

In light of post-coup purges in Turkey, Weingarten questioned the possibility of a fair trial for Gulen in the country.

"Is there any chance in the world that Mr. Gulen would get a fair trial in Turkey if he is extradited? Weingarten said. How about those 70,000 people to date who have been detained and/or fired? And due process going on over there as far as anybody is concerned? It would be unprecedented and appalling if the United States took a frail, almost octogenarian [and] plopped him on a plane to go back into that kind of setting with the hideous things that are being said about him by the entire Turkish government.

Bottom line here is that the bluster, the conspiracy theories and the threats of [Turkish President] Mr. [Recep Tayyip] Erdogan are not strong enough to overwhelm the American legal system and, for that reason, we believe that Mr. Gulen should not and will not be extradited."

Erdogans warning

Turkey's ruling party ordered an "urgent cleanup in the party organization," expelling those linked to the so-called Fethullah Terrorist Organization (FETO).

Speaking alongside his Kazakh counterpart Friday in Ankara, Erdogan warned that followers of Gulen could threaten security in other countries.

Erdogan said he did not want them to experience the same "pain, betrayal and disappointment" as Turkey.

Speaking to leaders of chambers of commerce in Ankara earlier Thursday, Erdogan had said his government was "determined to totally cut off all business links of this organization, which has blood on its hands."

He also said "every cent" that goes to FETO is "a bullet placed in the barrel to be fired against this nation."

Gulen reacts to warrant

Gulen denounced the arrest warrant issued Thursday in Turkey that accused him of masterminding the failed coup.

"It is well-documented that the Turkish court system is without judicial independence, so this warrant is yet another example of President Erdogan's drive for authoritarianism and away from democracy," Gulen said in a statement.

"The issuance of an arrest warrant from a Turkish court changes nothing about my status or my views," Gulen said.

The Turkish government has said Gulen, a former ally of Erdogan, masterminded the coup by renegade officers in the military and has called on the U.S. to extradite him to Turkey. Ankara, however, has not filed a formal extradition request.

Gulen has denied any involvement in or prior knowledge of the military coup attempt and has condemned it.

Nearly 70,000 people in the military, judiciary, civil service and education system have been detained, suspended or placed under investigation following the July 15 coup attempt, prompting fears that Erdogan is using the event to crack down on dissent.

More than 270 people, not including coup plotters, died and thousands were wounded as mutinous soldiers commandeered fighter jets, helicopters and tanks in the failed attempt to topple the government.
The Young African Leaders Initiative (YALI) was started six years ago to support an emerging generation of young African entrepreneurs, activists and public officials.

Its flagship program, the Mandela Washington Fellowship, began two years ago with the goal of empowering young Africans through academic coursework, leadership training and networking.

More than 40,000 people applied to join the Mandela Washington Fellowship program this year -- the largest number yet, and more than double the size of previous years. Nearly 1,000 were chosen in 2016 as Mandela Washington Fellows.

The three-day summit, which began Monday in Washington, featured a congressional forum, an expo with more than 100 organizations engaged in Africa, and Wednesday's town-hall meeting with Obama.

The young African leaders convened in Washington after six weeks of academic study and leadership training at nearly 40 institutions of higher education across the United States.

Here are the stories of five of the young African leaders:

 Adele Boadzo, a South African native and electrical engineer, is the founder of the energy nonprofit Hope Rises Solar. She says she is driven by her grandmothers memory in the quest to bring solar electricity to her continent. Adele spent her summer at the University of California-Daviss Energy Institute.

 Raabia Hawa, a conservationist from Kenya, is a part of the initiative Walk with Rangers that works to fend off poachers throughout her continent. Hawa was part of the YALI program at the University of California-Berkeley.

 In Nigeria, the most populous African country, food safety often means protecting people from unsafe food. Balarabe Ismail, a food safety expert from Nigeria, wants to improve the lives of his countrymen and fellow Africans by making sure the food they eat is safe and healthy. Ismail spent his time at Ohio State University.

 Glad Mabele, from Johannesburg, is the founder of Bela Books Creative in South Africa. Mabele is revolutionizing the way children in many African communities read and write. He studied at Cambridge College in Boston.

 Rui Figueiredo Soares, from Cape Verde, has years of experience flying planes and is committed to the field of aviation. But after a few close calls, his life goal now is to make the skies of Africa safer for pilots. During his summer at Arizona State University he has focused on public policy, with an eye on influencing politicians back home.
Ghana's electoral commission will reopen the nation's voter registration list Friday so that tens of thousands of people whose names were deleted because of a problem with their identification documents can re-register in time to take part in December's general election.

The country's Supreme Court had ordered the electoral commission to delete from the registry anyone who applied to vote using a National Health Insurance Scheme card. The court said the health card was not a valid proof of identity for voting purposes.

So the electoral commission, which compiles the voter list, said anyone previously struck from the registry would have a week to re-register, beginning Friday. A separate period later this month has been set aside for registering those who have never voted before.

A commission spokesman, Eric Dzakpasu, told VOA that about 32,300 potential voters needed to re-register. He said the commission had met with the Interparty Advisory Committee to discuss registering the disqualified voters.

Anyone who has not registered to vote since 2014 will be able to register on August 19 or August 26, Dzakpasu said. After that, "we will compile a provisional register," to be made public in September, listing both new registrants and those who had used NHIS cards to prove their identity.

Transmission of results

Meanwhile, the acting chairman of the main opposition New Patriotic Party said his members were not happy with the plan for transmitting the results of December's presidential, parliamentary and local elections.

The NPP's Freddie Blay said the electoral commission had yet to explain fully how the proposed electronic system would operate.

Local media quoted Blay as saying: The election stakeholders must know the process, from polling stations to the regions. If the votes are going to be electronically transmitted, we have to know. Other than that, we cant be guaranteed that the elections will be free and fair.

Blay, addressing his remarks to the electoral commission, said stakeholders wanted to know when the transmission of results would occur, "so that we can follow it. If there is any mishap or mistake, either deliberate or otherwise, we will be in a position to draw the attention of the EC.

Dzakpasu, the spokesman for the electoral commission, said all political parties were informed about the decision to use an electronic system to transmit election results. He also said that Blay's NPP was a signatory to the proposals, endorsed by all political parties, for the use of the electronic system.

This, Dzakpasu added, is part of the effort to ensure transparency in the electoral process.

The substance of this reform is that after the elections, all polling station results would be brought to the collation center," he said. "When these results are entered into the collation sheets, it would be signed by all party agents together with the electoral commission. These collation sheets would be scanned and would be electronically transmitted to the national collation center at the capital, Accra, for the counting and declaration of the presidential results.

Alongside this, we will have the computers and the projectors, where the results which are transmitted electronically would be projected on large screens for the general public, for the media, political parties, candidates and for observers to observe," Dzakpasu added. "This was a proposal which has been affirmed by the political parties at the Interparty Advisory Committee.
U.S.-based Muslim cleric Fethullah Gulen has denounced the arrest warrant issued in Turkey accusing him of masterminding the failed coup in Turkey last month.

"It is well-documented that the Turkish court system is without judicial independence, so this warrant is yet another example of President Recep Erdogan's drive for authoritarianism and away from democracy," Gulen said (in a statement) late Thursday.

"The issuance of an arrest warrant from a Turkish court changes nothing about my status or my views," Gulen said.

The Turkish government has said Gulen, a former ally of Erdogan, masterminded the coup by renegade officers in the military and has called on the U.S. to extradite him to Turkey. Ankara, however, has not filed a formal extradition.

Gulen has denied any involvement or prior knowledge of the military coup attempt on July 15 and has condemned it.



WATCH: Gulen's lawyer Reid Weingarten on extradition process

Speaking to leaders of chambers of commerce in Ankara earlier Thursday, Erdogan said his government was determined to totally cut off all business links of this organization, which has blood on its hands.

He also said every cent that goes to the movement of Fethullah Gulen (FETO - Fetullah Terrorist Organization) is a bullet placed in the barrel to be fired against this nation.

More than 60,000 people in the military, judiciary, civil service and education have been detained, suspended or placed under investigation following the July 15 coup attempt, prompting fears that Erdogan is using the event to crack down on dissent.

More than 270 people, not including coup plotters, died and thousands were wounded as mutinous soldiers commandeered fighter jets, helicopters and tanks in the failed attempt to topple the government.
Officials in India say gunmen have opened fire on a busy marketplace in the restive northeastern state of Assam, killing at least 12 people.

Authorities say 15 people were wounded in the attack Friday in Kokrajhar, 220 kilometers west of the state commercial capital, Guwahati.

Several assailants were responsible for the attack. The Times of India says the shooters also lobbed a grenade that destroyed three shops.

Officials blame the attack on militants belonging to a Bodo group.

Authorities say one gunman was killed and security forces are searching for others.
U.S. B61 nuclear bombs are equipped with "permissive action links" or PALs, which prevent arming and using the weapon without an authorization code. They are kept on special racks, inside secure underground vaults, inside protected aircraft shelters, inside a heavily guarded area, surrounded by two layers of fencing, lighting, cameras and intrusion detection devices, on protected airbases.

But this particular airbase, Incirlik, is in southern Turkey. The Turkish commander of the base recently was frog-marched off in handcuffs after being accused of involvement in last month's failed coup against the government.

And that is the problem, says nonproliferation expert Jeffrey Lewis of the Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterrey, California.

"I think in the near term they are very safe," Lewis said of the bombs in an interview with VOA. "But there are no security measures that would be sufficient against a host state that is trying to seize them, so generally speaking, it is not a good idea to have nuclear weapons in a politically unstable country."

Although the July 15 military-led coup failed to unseat the government of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the authoritarian leader retaliated with a massive purge of the countrys military, judiciary, media and educational institutions.

World leaders have reacted with unease.

And so have experts in nuclear weapons policy.

"There are a lot of tough barriers, but incidents and accidents have a nasty way of happening," said Hans Kristensen, director of the Federation of American Scientists' nuclear information project.

Ensuring stability

According to Amy Woolf, a specialist in nuclear weapons policy at the Congressional Research Service, the U.S. has around 200 B61 bombs located around Europe.

"These serve not only to deter potential aggressors, but also as an important element in NATOs cohesion," she states.

Up to 50 of those bombs are believed to be in Incirlik.

But those bombs basically in storage, Woolf says, as Turkey neither maintains nuclear capable aircraft nor allows the U.S. to permanently deploy its own at the base. Woolf points out that the stockpile is there for NATO in case "the fundamental security of any of its members were to be threatened."

U.S. defense policy expert Kori Schake at the Hoover Institution told VOA that removing the weapons from Turkish soil would send the wrong signal to the American ally.

"Countries that feel protected by the U.S.  Japan, South Korea, Turkey  have not developed nuclear weapons of their own," Schake said. Without that guarantee, she says, "the risk is that they might develop nuclear weapons of their own."

The other potential negative consequence of pulling out the weapons is that Turkey  which feels highly exposed by the upheaval in Syria and the Middle East overall  would develop alliances with Russia or even Iran.

"Even if Turkey does not have a lot in common with Iran, it might not have a lot of good choices if the U.S. were not seen as [its] guarantor," Schake said.

Time to move them?

But Lewis argues that Turkeys Erdogan is much more concerned about political opposition than he is about having nuclear weapons on his soil.

"Its not something Erdogan is bringing up," Lewis said.

Kristensen told VOA he agrees that there would not be any serious political ramifications if the nuclear weapons were moved out of Incirlik.

"I would say that the Turks perception of our support of Turkey does not come down to nuclear weapons in a bunker. It has to do with NATO conventional force, and there is a very active program for that," Kristensen said.

Currently, some of the planes that rotate through Incirlik in the war against terrorism are nuclear capable, but they are not designated for any nuclear mission.

Nevertheless, Kristensen said, given the political situation in Turkey and the fact that the base is less than 100 miles from the war zone in Syria, it might be time to consider moving the weapons.

"You only get so many warnings before something goes terribly wrong, and there are plenty of warnings in the region now," Kristensen said.
Two soldiers in Ivory Coast have been sentenced to 10 years in prison in connection with a deadly al-Qaida attack in the beach resort town of Grand-Bassam last March.

Late Thursday  the same day the trial opened  a military court in Abidjan found Zanga Zoumana Coulibaly and Brice Toure guilty of criminal conspiracy and failing to report a suspected terrorist to police.

The charges against them stemmed from their meeting with Assane Barry, also known as Sam, who is suspected of having been the driver of the car that al-Qaida operatives used to carry out the terrorist attack in Grand-Bassam that left 19 people dead.

The soldiers argued they were innocent and said they didnt know that Barry was involved in terrorist activities. Barry is still awaiting his own trial.

The soldiers' attorney, Raoul Gohi Bi, denounced the sentencing of his clients as illogical, since Barry hasnt yet been convicted of terrorism activities.

Im going to appeal this decision because I want it overturned with the highest rigor by the Supreme Court, the attorney said.

Ivorian authorities have arrested more than 80 people in connection with terrorist attacks in Mali, Burkina Faso and Ivory Coast over the past year. Al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb has claimed responsibility for all three attacks.
Libyan Islamists opposed to the countrys struggling U.N.-backed unity government have condemned this weeks U.S. airstrikes targeting Islamic State fighters holed up in the coastal town of Sirte.



Influential Islamists say the airstrikes that started Monday are illegal  despite the fact they were requested by Libyas internationally recognized prime minister, Fayez al-Sarraj.



The countrys grand mufti, Sadek Al-Ghariani, who helped fan anti-GNA (Government of National Accord) protests in Tripoli in late July after the French government acknowledged it had commandos on the ground in Libya helping to battle IS, denounced Thursday the U.S. airstrikes as unacceptable.



And on a Libyan TV station he appeared to inch close to defending IS fighters, arguing that unlike in 2011 with the Wests assistance in the ouster of strongman Moammar Gadhafi, the Wests bombing raids this time were aimed at Muslims following the Sunna (the Way) of the Prophet.



In Libya the conflict now is between local people who are all Muslims, and the West should not get involved, he said. A GNA-loyal militia, Tripolis RADA (Deterrence) forces, claimed Thursday in response to Al-Gharianis remarks that there are links between hardline Islamists and the jihadists.

Growing split



The muftis intervention illustrates the widening rift between an alliance of hardline Islamists loyal to a GNA rival, the Government of National Salvation, also based in Tripoli, and a tenuous coalition of militias supporting the GNA. Western diplomats have recently expressed concerns that the mufti and his allies may be close to calling for the formation of a supreme revolutionaries council to replace the GNA - although so far they have not opposed the unity government militarily.



The dispute between hardline Islamists in the Libyan capital and the U.N.-backed government is adding to already bitter rivalries setting Libyas regions, towns and tribes against each other in a complicated patchwork of local divisions, and rivalries that emerged after the ouster of Gadhafi. Alliances can shift and are hard to plot as rivals recalibrate their loyalties depending on the short-term gains they calculate they can secure.



Some analysts worry that the current mainly covert military involvement of Western countries against IS in Libya is adding to the chaos in the strife-torn country because the U.S., Britain, France and Italy are assisting opposing political alliances.



Complicating the matter is that the U.S. is backing different forces than its French and Italian allies, according to Jason Pack of the consultancy Libya-Analysis.

In the U.S. case, the airstrikes targeting IS extremists in Sirte this week have been supporting militias mainly from the western Libyan town of Misrata currently loyal to the GNA. British commandos have also been assisting Misratan militiamen against IS.



But France and Italy, as well as Egypt, have been working with the forces of General Khalifa Haftar, the military commander of a government in the east, one of the two rival governments the GNA was meant to have replaced in December.



The eastern government based on the rump of a former parliament, the House of Representatives, has so far refused to recognize the U.N.-backed GNA.

Lack of coordination



Last month, GNA officials insisted the French had not coordinated the presence of commandos in eastern Libya with them. And, in the face of anti-Western protests fanned by the grand mufti and his allies, issued a diplomatic protest summoning the French ambassador for a meeting.



Anti-IS Western operations in Libya before the U.S. airstrikes this week had been an open secret for months and widely reported on by international and local media outlets. Misrata militiamen have described publicly the intelligence, logistical and even combat assistance they have been receiving from British special forces in skirmishes in Sirte against the jihadists.



The U.S. and British governments have provided little information publicly on the numbers and mission of any ground forces they have in Libya. In May, there were reports of British commandos thwarting an IS suicide mission near Misrata, but British Defense Secretary Michael Fallon told Britains lawmakers the government was not participating or even planning combat roles in Libya.



Western officials, though, say privately, the priority for them has to be the fight against IS and they need to collaborate with both the GNA and General Haftar, despite the fact they are bitter rivals.



The danger of that approach is one of lack of strategic clarity, cautions Olivier Guitta, a British geopolitical risk and security consultant, who worries the West has no long-term plan for stabilizing Libya. The U.S. has to be careful of the unintended consequences of a new military campaign in Libya, he says.

Guitta argues the political impasse in Libya is something IS is adept at exploiting and will feed off it even if the terror groups fighters are finally pushed out of the center of Sirte.



Before this weeks U.S. airstrikes, American lawmakers also questioned whether there is a grand strategy in place  not only to defeat IS in Libya but to try to glue the country back together again.



On June 21 during a hearing, Senator John McCain, chairman of the Senate Armed Forces Committee, queried whether the Obama administration has a strategy for Libya or are we just acting in an ad hoc fashion. Pressed by McCain, Marine Lieutenant General Thomas Waldhauser, the incoming commander of U.S. forces in Africa, conceded he didn't know of one. I am not aware of any grand strategy at this point, he said.
President Barack Obama on Thursday cast extreme doubt on whether the United States could trust Russia as a partner to end the Syrian civil war.

Im not confident that we can trust the Russians and Vladimir Putin, which is why we have to test whether or not we can get an actual cessation of hostilities, Obama told reporters at the Pentagon after meeting with members of his National Security Council to discuss the fight against Islamic State.

The president said Russia might not be able to help end the violence, either because they dont want to, or because they dont have sufficient influence over [Syrian President Bashar al-] Assad."

Thats what were going to test, Obama said, We go into this without any blinders on.



The Syrian government and its Russian allies are battling rebels for control of an area in and around Aleppo. Fighting has raged for more than two months, and monitors from the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights report at least 6,000 people have been killed or wounded in the past 80 days.

"We're very clear," Obama said, "that Russia has been willing to support a murderous regime and an individual, in Assad, who has destroyed his country just to cling on to power."

The president said any cessation of hostilities in Syria must include an end to aerial bombings and other methods used to kill civilians that have been carried out by the Syrian regime.

For nearly two years, the U.S. has been supporting local forces in Syria and neighboring Iraq as they work to push Islamic State terrorists out of their countries. The U.S. started launching strikes against IS in Afghanistan in January and began supporting local forces aligned with the government in Libya earlier this week as they fight to push IS out of its stronghold, Sirte.

"The finish line is in sight," Pentagon spokesman Jeff Davis told reporters this week, "and we are helping [the Libyan Government of National Accord] get there."

US threat?

The president held an hours-long meeting with military leaders at the Pentagon about the fight against Islamic State. He later told reporters there have been gains in weakening IS in Iraq and Syria, but he conceded the extremist group still poses a threat to the United States as it shifts its tactics to recruit members, train them and encourage "lone wolf" attacks.

While those attacks may result in less carnage, Obama said IS knows it still can create "the kinds of fear and concern that elevates their profile."

Libya air operation

A Pentagon official said the air operation in Libya, dubbed Operation Odyssey Lightning, probably will last weeks, rather than months.

The forces aligned with the U.N.-backed GNA have spent several months whittling down IS territory along the coastline of the Gulf of Sidra from Tripoli to near Benghazi. Davis said thanks to GNA-aligned fighters, IS control in Libya has essentially collapsed to the city center of Sirte.

The Pentagon estimates that IS fighter numbers have been reduced from thousands in the city to fewer than 1,000.

After Libyan strongman Moammar Gadhafi was ousted in 2011, IS extremists targeted Libya as a safe haven outside its initial strongholds in Iraq and Syria.
President Barack Obama said Thursday that his administration was required by law to give national security briefings, including classified information that is not disclosed to the public, to major presidential nominees.

This includes Republican Donald Trump, whom Obama has called unfit to serve as president.

During the past year of political campaigning, Trump has become known as a public speaker who often ignores prepared texts and relies instead on spontaneous remarks that are sometimes seen as unusually frank or critical of other American public figures. That has prompted concern in some quarters about how Trump would treat information gained from national security briefings.

"If they want to be president," Obama, speaking of party nominees, told reporters at the Pentagon, "they've got to start acting like a president, and that means being able to receive these briefings and not spread them around."

The main reason for the nominees' briefings, Obama said, is to ensure that a president-elect, whether a Democrat or a Republican, does not step into the job unprepared.

'Rigged' election

Trump, meanwhile, has told supporters at campaign rallies that he is concerned the U.S. election in November will be "rigged" against him. Obama dismissed that claim Thursday as "ridiculous."

In a separate development, a group of U.S. military veterans delivered petitions to Arizona Senator John McCain and other leading Republicans in Washington on Thursday, urging them to withdraw their public endorsements of Trump's candidacy.

Former Marine Alexander McCoy said he was shocked by Trump's "reckless ignorance about America's responsibilities in the world."

Navy veteran Nate Terani, who is a Muslim, decried what he called the Republican nominee's "hate speech, bigotry and unabashed incitement to violence against minorities," including Muslims.

Trump's seemingly lighthearted acceptance this week of a gift of a Purple Heart medal  awarded to wounded or dead service members  and his public feud with Khizir and Ghazala Khan, the parents of a Muslim American soldier killed in Iraq in 2004, have dismayed many American military veterans, who have complained they felt insulted and dishonored by the candidate's remarks.

Endorsement stands

McCain, a Vietnam War veteran and former prisoner of war, has said Trump's remarks about the Khans do not represent the Republican Party, but he has declined to rescind his endorsement of Trump as the party's chosen candidate for president.

Campaigning Thursday in Portland, Maine, Trump promised to take care of veterans who still endure long waits for government-provided medical care, and to strengthen what he called a "depleted military."

Trump said his main opponent, Democrat Hillary Clinton, could not be trusted with national security matters. He contends she put the country at risk by the way in which she handled classified information in email exchanges when she was secretary of state.

Clinton was in Las Vegas, Nevada, on Thursday, visiting an electrical parts plant. The Democratic candidate noted again that virtually all of the many Trump-branded products on sale in the U.S., such as shirts, ties and other garments, are manufactured abroad, not in the United States.

'Look at what he's done'

"Everything he's made, he's made somewhere else. He's not putting Americans to work," Clinton said. She added that Trump hires foreign workers to fill low-paid jobs at his country clubs and has frequently failed to pay contractors who worked on his projects.

"I've met people who were destroyed by Donald Trump," Clinton said, "so take a look at what he's done, not what he says."

On Friday, Trump is due to appear with his vice presidential running mate, Indiana Governor Mike Pence, in Des Moines, Iowa. Clinton is scheduled to campaign in New York and in McLean, Virginia, just outside the U.S. capital.

Recent surveys of American voters indicated Clinton was leading Trump by an average of 6 percentage points nationally. A poll released this week by Fox News estimated the Democratic candidate was ahead of Trump by an even wider margin, 49 percent to 39 percent; others taking part in the survey either were undecided or planned to vote for other candidates.
By PTI: Bhopal, Aug 5 (PTI) Madhya Pradesh government has geared up to make preparations for Prime Minister Narendra Modis proposed visit to revolutionary leader Chandrashekhar Azads birth place Bhabhra in the tribal-dominated Alirajpur district on August 9.

State Cooperatives, Gas Relief and Rehabilitation (Independent Charge) Minister Vishwas Sarang will be camping in Alirajpur district from today to review preparations for the Prime Ministers proposed visit to the birth place of Azad, a Public Relations department official said.

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Sarang will review preparations at Jothrada village of Bhabhra tehsil, which was rechristened as Chandrashekhar Azad Nagar in memory of the revolutionary leader.

A meeting was held in Mantralaya here yesterday to review preparations for the Prime Ministers proposed visit.

Additional Chief Secretary Deepak Khandekar reviewed preparations for the venue, transportation and parking arrangements and issued necessary instructions to the concerned officials in this regard. PTI MAS GK IKA BAS

--- ENDS ---
Pakistan again brushed aside U.S. skepticism of its anti-terror efforts Thursday, saying Pakistani security forces are attacking militant groups without distinguishing between "good and bad" terrorists.

The statement comes a day after the U.S. Defense Department announced it would not pay Islamabad $300 million in military reimbursements because of insufficient action by Pakistan against the Haqqani network of terrorists and the Afghan Taliban.

The funds come from the Pentagon's so-called Coalition Support Fund (CSF) program for allies that incurred costs in supporting the U.S.-led fight against terrorism and extremism.

Pakistan has received around $14 billion since 2002, making it one of the largest recipients.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Nafees Zakaria, in responding to the decision, told reporters in Islamabad that the CSF "serves shared interests" of both Pakistan and the United States, enabling them to build on the gains achieved over the past years that have improved security in areas near the Afghan border.

"We have taken decisive action against terrorists and extremists and also cooperate widely with other countries to defeat it. Our sincerity and resolve is unquestionable.  It is our firm resolve that we will take action against any terrorist in Pakistan, whatever color or shape it manifests itself in," he said.

Allegations against Pakistan

Recent tensions in bilateral relations mainly stem from Washington's frustration over Islamabad's alleged unwillingness to act against the Haqqani and Taliban insurgents.

U.S. and Afghan military commanders allege leaders and fighters of these groups use sanctuaries on Pakistani soil for plotting and staging attacks against local and foreign troops in Afghanistan.

They maintain that while Pakistani counterinsurgency operations are targeting anti-state militants, including the so-called Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan or TTP, they have spared insurgents linked to the Haqqani network and the Afghan Taliban and instead covertly support their violent campaign.

Pakistans response

Islamabad rejects the charges.

Zakaria said that over the past decade, Pakistan has concluded a large number of military operations that have "sequentially dismantled and destroyed terrorist infrastructure" on its side of the border with Afghanistan.

He said tens of thousands of Pakistanis, including security personnel, have lost their lives in the war against terrorism, in addition to the billions of dollars in losses to the national economy.

Zakaria welcomed a decision Wednesday by the U.S. Department of State to designate a TTP splinter faction, Jamaat-ul-Ahrar, as a global terrorist organization.

Pakistani officials say the extremist outfit operates out of Afghan border areas and has been behind deadly terrorist attacks on civilians  including religious minorities  and security forces.

Bilateral tensions between the United States and Pakistan were exacerbated after a U.S. drone strike in May killed the leader of the Afghan Taliban, Mullah Akhtar Mansoor, on Pakistani soil.
The Pentagon has withheld $300 million in military aid to Pakistan, according to U.S. military officials.

"The funds could not be released to the government of Pakistan at this time because the secretary has not yet certified that Pakistan has taken sufficient action against the Haqqani network," Pentagon spokesman Adam Stump said Thursday.

The Haqqani network, labeled a terrorist organization by the U.S., is a violent guerilla insurgent group operating on both sides of the Afghanistan-Pakistan border.

Congress had stipulated that $300 million of the $1 billion in U.S. military aid authorized to go to Pakistan in 2015 could only be transferred once Secretary of Defense Ash Carter decided that Pakistan had made satisfactory progress against the group.

The deadline for payment was June 30, and Carter let the deadline pass without authorizing the final funds.

The Washington Post first reported the decision late Wednesday. This was the first time that certification from the secretary of defense was required for military aid funding to Pakistan.

Congress has authorized $900 million in military aid to Pakistan for fiscal 2016, which runs through September 30. Of that, $350 million is subject to the defense secretary's certification that Pakistan has taken sufficient action against the Haqqani network.
President Barack Obama received a number of tweets Thursday for his 55th birthday.

Vice President Joe Biden tweeted a photograph of himself with his boss with them both wearing friendship bracelets. Biden wrote "A brother to me, a best friend forever."

Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton tweeted a picture of herself laughing with Obama.

Former president Bill Clinton tweeted he "would've sent real balloons, but we used them all last week," along with a photo of balloons at the Democratic Convention.

Obama celebrated his birthday with his family at a local Georgetown waterfront restaurant. Earlier in the day, his wife Michelle tweeted "55 years young and that smile still gets me every single day."

The Obamas go on vacation Saturday. Some of that time will be spent on Martha's Vineyard in Massachusetts where younger daughter Sasha has been working at a seafood restaurant.
Portugals former prime minister Antonio Guterres is holding on to his lead in the race to become the United Nations next secretary-general.



The U.N. Security Council held a second round of straw polls  informal ballots  on Friday, and diplomats with knowledge of the results said Guterres topped the pack of 11 contenders with 11 votes encouraging his candidacy, two discouraging it and two expressing no opinion on it.



Guterres has impressed many member states with his experience as the head of the U.N. refugee agency for a decade and as Portugals prime minister from 1995-2002.



In the first round of polling two weeks ago, former Slovenian president Danilo Turk had come in narrowly behind Guterres, but in the latest round he slipped to fourth place, diplomats said.



The rest of the results reflected a shuffling of the candidates from the first straw poll.



State of the race

Serbian former foreign minister Vuk Jeremic rose from fourth to take second place, with eight votes encouraging him, four discouraging and three expressing no opinion.



Argentinas foreign minister Susana Malcorra, who had been a popular U.N. official until recently, saw her fortunes rise, moving from a poor 7th place showing two weeks ago to third place on Friday. She also had eight encouraging votes, but six discourages and one no opinion.



Irina Bokova, who heads UNESCO, slipped from her original third place to fifth. While New Zealands former prime minister and the head of the U.N. Development Program Helen Clark remained in the middle of the pack in the number 7 slot, behind Srgjan Kerim of Macedonia.



On Thursday, Croatias deputy parliament speaker Vesna Pusic withdrew her candidacy, saying the selection has not gone in my direction. She finished last two weeks ago.

The council is likely to hold several more rounds of polls before making a final decision. No date has been announced for the next round. The winner will take over from Ban Ki-moon on January 1, 2017.



At this point in the process, voting is intended to be anonymous with all 15 council members filling out identical ballots with identical pens by an identical check mark in a box. They must then identically fold the ballot three times before submitting it for counting. Afterwards, ballots are shredded. The results of the polls are also not supposed to be made public, but are leaked widely to media and other diplomats.
The Russian embassy in Brazil denies that one of its diplomats shot and killed a would-be robber Thursday near the Olympic Park.

Rio police said the Russian vice consul disarmed the robber and shot him with his own gun, but the Russians denied the report, saying in a statement there must be a misunderstanding.

"No representative of the Russian consulate general in Rio de Janeiro was involved in an attempted assault ending with the death of the suspect," the consulate said in a statement.

The embassy said its representatives do not carry guns and denied one of its diplomats was involved in the fight because all consulate officials are Russian citizens with Russian names, which contradicts media reports that the diplomatic employee had a Brazilian-sounding name.

Rio police, though, said the Russian vice consul reacted to an attempted assault.

"The vice consul got into a physical struggle with the assailant and during the fight the aggressor's weapon fired shots, police said in a statement. The assailant died of his wounds on the spot."

According to local media reports, the vice consul is a native of Rio and a jiu-jitsu expert. The diplomat, the reports said, was driving with his wife and daughter when two men on motorcycles surrounded his car when he stopped in traffic.

When one of the robbers reached his gun into the car, a struggle ensued, and the robber was shot dead. His partner fled.

The incident took place in a city where 85,000 security personnel are on duty to protect the Olympic Games.
Russias actions against Ukraine and the potential threat it poses to other countries in its neighborhood has become an issue in the U.S. presidential race, thanks largely to comments made by Donald Trump.

The Republican candidate told a U.S. television interviewer late last month that the people of Crimea, which Russia annexed from Ukraine in 2014, would rather be with Russia and that, if elected, he would take a look at recognizing the Black Sea peninsula as Russian territory.

The United States and European Union imposed sanctions on Russia following its annexation of Crimea, and expanded them after Moscow began providing military assistance to separatists in eastern Ukraine.

Amid the controversy sparked by his comments, Trump stood by them, saying Crimea was annexed by Moscow during Obamas watch, and asking: Do you want to have World War III to get it back?

In an interview with VOAs Myroslava Gongadze, Michael Carpenter, U.S. Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense with responsibility for Russia, Ukraine, and Eurasia, said Russias actions in Crimea have violated a host of international norms and treaties, including the United Nations Charter.

Russia, in its invasion and illegal attempted occupation and annexation of Crimea, broke essentially every rule in the basic fundament of the international world order, from sovereignty, territorial integrity, the inviolability of borders.



On continued conflict in Ukraine

Carpenter noted that the fighting in eastern Ukraine, which has already claimed nearly 10,000 lives, has intensified in recent days.

Sadly, we see the violence today is at a very high level, as high as it's been since before the original Minsk agreement was signed in September a year ago. And so we continue to see this play out in front of our eyes, which is tragic.

Carpenter added that Ukraine is not the only country that has been the target of Russian military actions in recent years.

Russia displayed similar aggressive tendencies where it also violated international law, in terms of its invasion of Georgia in 2008, Carpenter said.



On NATO

Trump was recently asked by the New York Times newspaper whether NATO member countries  including new ones like the three Baltic states  can count on the United States to come to their military aid if they were attacked by Russia. The Republican presidential candidate answered yes, if they have fulfilled their obligations to us. In the same interview, Trump said that we have many NATO members that arent paying their bills.

Elsewhere, he has also called NATO obsolete.

U.S. Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense Carpenter said the Baltic states  Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia  and other NATO members can rely on the United States to come to their defense.

I think that the Baltic states and, in fact, all the other allies along the eastern flank of the alliance should feel that: a) we have got their back; b) that we are investing in the capabilities and the force posture to deter Russian aggression or, frankly, any other aggression against them.

Carpenter also noted that the United States is putting military forces into eastern Europe on a bilateral basis to help defend the NATO members there.
South African President Jacob Zuma, reeling from historic losses in local elections, said Saturday that voters "are sending out messages all around" and that his ruling African National Congress was "going to listen very, very carefully."

Zuma spoke as vote tallies showed the ANC losing control of the capital, Pretoria, and its majority in the country's largest city and economic center, Johannesburg.

The party of Nelson Mandela already had conceded defeat Friday in Port Elizabeth, losing the key battleground in Wednesday's municipal elections by nearly 7 percentage points.

In the metropolitan area that includes Pretoria, the opposition Democratic Alliance Party won 43.1 percent of the vote while the ANC finished with 41.2 percent.

Surveys showed the ANC still leading nationally with 54 percent of the vote. But that was scant comfort to ANC leaders as vote tallies Saturday in Johannesburg showed the ruling party falling below an outright majority and in need of political allies to retain control of the city.

Zuma has been plagued by political scandal since taking office seven years ago. In one instance, he was found to have used $500,000 of public money to renovate his private home. The country's Constitutional Court has ordered him to repay that sum.

During his rule, unemployment has risen to 27 percent, and economic analysts are predicting zero growth in the country's gross domestic product for 2016.

As Zuma spoke Saturday on national television, four women stood in front of him, carrying signs apparently referring to his acquittal on rape charges in 2006, three years before taking office. Zuma did not appear to respond to the silent protest.

The Democratic Alliance already runs South Africa's second-largest city, Cape Town. Party leader Mmusi Maimane told reporters that the ANC "for far too long had governed South Africa with absolute impunity."

He also warned that the campaign for the presidency in 2019 "starts now."
As European countries struggle to cope with over a million migrants who have escaped the ongoing violence in the Middle East, a relatively small number of Syrians have sought protection in South Korea.

But only a few have been officially recognized as refugees. Most receive so-called humanitarian visas that allow them to live in the country without financial support, housing or health care.

Government figures show that since 1994, 1,144 Syrians have requested asylum in South Korea, but refugee status has been granted to only three.

One of those Syrians whose application was rejected is 23-year-old Ahmed Lababidi, who lives on Jeju Island, an hour flight south of Seoul. He and his younger brother fled their hometown Aleppo in 2012 and later came to South Korea on temporary business visas.

But when Lababidi applied for asylum at a local immigration office, he says he was told that fleeing war is not grounds by itself for refugee status in South Korea.

"They just say you are not a refugee," he said the official told him. "Because it's just war, you can stay here, but not as a refugee."

Lababidi adds that the agent told him a condition for asylum is contingent on showing proof his life would be in danger if he returned to Syria.

"I had some activities on Facebook, anti-government, they know my name," he said he told the official, but to no avail.

UN treaty

Some observers accuse South Korea of not fulfilling its commitment as a signatory of the United Nations Convention relating to the Status of Refugees, a treaty that defines who is a refugee and what responsibilities a host nation has in providing for that individual.

"Clearly Seoul is reluctant to undertake those obligations except for in the most clear-cut cases," said Phil Robertson, deputy director of Human Rights Watch's Asia division.

Robertson said South Korea's humanitarian visas are an "artificial category" that "gives less rights" to asylum seekers, noting that Japan, too, has come under similar criticism in regard to its refugee policy.

"Both Japan and South Korea are relatively wealthy societies that could afford to provide resettlement assistance to refugees," he said. "There is a reluctance to have refugees become a part of that society."

Robertson points out that South Korea's policies toward Syrian or other asylum seekers stand in stark contrast to its generous resettlement program for North Korean defectors. He said it is hypocritical for Seoul to call on other nations to protect North Korean escapees when it does not offer the same treatment to refugees within its own borders.

Koreans vs. outsiders

The South Korean constitution grants North Koreans full citizenship once they step foot onto the country's soil because Seoul does not technically recognize the authority of the Pyongyang government.

Additionally, many South Koreans do not consider North Koreans as foreigners because they are "of the same race," said Chung Shin-young, an immigration lawyer in Seoul.

She said South Korea, a generally homogenous country, has difficulty accepting non-Korean refugees due to their "different skin color or culture." This prejudice is especially challenging for Muslim asylum seekers since some Korean politicians, media and law enforcement have tried to make a connection between these migrants and terrorism, Chung added.

An official at South Korea's Ministry of Justice, who asked not to be named per office rules, said all asylum applications are "evaluated fairly" and consideration is given based on the circumstances in their home country as well as evidence of persecution.

Syrian Ahmed Lababidi said the immigration office has not told him how many times or for how long he can renew his humanitarian visa. He said he's grown very comfortable in his new home on the island, but other options have crossed his mind.

If his parents, who are now in Turkey, get refugee status in Europe, "maybe I can go with them," Lababidi said. "But I just want to live on Jeju."
A South Sudanese opposition official says East African leaders meeting Friday should endorse a foreign intervention force for the war-torn country.

Tensions remain high in South Sudans capital, Juba, after clashes between rebels and government forces last month killed some 300 people and displaced tens of thousands.



President Salva Kiir has said more foreign troops to complement U.N. peacekeepers are not necessary; but Goi Yooyul Yol, the oppositions representative to Ethiopia and the African Union, says a buffer force is needed to separate government forces and those of the opposition, known as the SPLM-IO.



When we signed the agreement last year, we felt that a third force was not necessary, and we thought the two forces would manage the security in Juba; but what happened in Juba on July 8, 9 and 11 shows that the government of South Sudan, the president himself is not in control of his forces, Yooyul Yol said.

About 12,000 U.N. peacekeepers are currently stationed in South Sudan.



Leaders of the East African regional bloc IGAD are meeting in Ethiopias capital, Addis Ababa. President Kiir is not attending the talks.



The Machar question



The government and opposition blame each other for starting the fighting in Juba last month.



Opposition leader and former first vice president Riek Machar has been in hiding since the clashes. A breakaway faction of the SPLM-IO unseated Machar as its leader, and President Kiir appointed a new first vice president, Taban Deng Gai.



Yooyul Yol accuses President Kiir of having ordered his forces to kill Machar.



Every morning, you see helicopters taking off and soldiers moving toward the direction where they suspect Riek to be hiding, and guns are heard. Theres a lot of fighting. This thing is not something somebody can deny. There were directives to hunt for Dr. Machar, Yooyul Yol told VOA.



The SPLM-IO says President Kiir must reverse his decision to replace Machar as first vice president to get the implementation of the peace deal back on track.



He said the installation of Taban Deng Gai as first vice president was illegal.



They had said that they are replacing Dr. Machar temporarily because he was temporarily absent; but Article 6.5 of the [peace] agreement says that in the event of temporary absence of the first vice president, the first vice president may delegate a senior [South] Sudan-in-Opposition official to carry out functions or duties stipulated in the agreement, Yooyul Yol told VOA.



The Kiir government has defended its decision to appoint the new first vice president as being in accordance with the wishes of the SPLM-IO.
Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump has admitted that he was wrong in claiming to have seen video of a U.S. cash payment being delivered to Iran on the same day that Iran released four Americans it had detained.

Trump, who extensively uses social media, has been expressing outrage about the money, which some Republicans called a ransom following media reports this week.

The Obama administration has said it was money the U.S. legally owed Iran. Officials said it was partially to settle a decades-old dispute over an aborted arms deal in the 1970s, because of the Islamic Revolution.

But critics, especially those who oppose the Iran nuclear deal, have termed it a ransom payment.

Speaking at a news conference Thursday, President Barack Obama said that the payment was not ransom for the release of the U.S. hostages, pointing out that the transfer was announced in January, a day after implementation of the U.S. nuclear deal with Iran.

WATCH: Obama on Iran nuclear deal



"It wasn't a secret," he said. "We were completely open about it." He said the one new piece of information, reported by the Wall Street Journal on Tuesday, was that the payment was made in cash, in non-U.S. currencies, delivered in an unmarked plane.

"The reason that we had to give them cash is precisely because we are so strict in maintaining sanctions and we do not have a banking relationship with Iran, so that we could not send them a check and could not wire the money," the president said.

No ransom



Earlier Thursday, Secretary of State John Kerry said the U.S. "does not pay ransom," in response to criticism of the payment on the same day Tehran released four American hostages.

Florida Senator Marco Rubio tweeted this week that the deal was "just unreal."

U.S. House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Ed Royce said in a statement that "paying ransom only puts more American lives in jeopardy. We already know the Iran nuclear deal was a historic mistake. It keeps getting worse."

House of Representatives Majority Whip Steve Scalise cited Iranian media reports quoting senior defense officials as saying they considered the cash as a ransom payment.

"By paying Iran $1.7 billion in what Iranian officials themselves are calling a ransom, the Obama administration is showing us once again how horrible their nuclear deal is for Americas national security," he said in a statement. "It is an insult to American taxpayers that their hard-earned dollars are being literally airlifted by the hundreds of millions to the worlds leading state sponsor of terror."

Republican vice presidential nominee Mike Pence tweeted Thursday "The $400,000,000 ransom we gave to Iran that'll be used to sponsor terrorism could've provided 8,000 4-year scholarships to impoverished youths."

Kerry defends move



During a visit to Argentina Thursday, Secretary Kerry defended the move.

"The United States of America does not pay ransom and does not negotiate ransoms with any countrywe never have and were not doing that now.," Kerry said. "It is not our policy. Thats number one. Number two: this story is not a new story. This was announced by the president of the United States himself at the very time that this transaction and the nuclear deal was being put together.



The statement echoed one made by White House spokesman Josh Earnest earlier, who said that the only people arguing that the cash was a ransom payment are "right wingers in Iran and (U.S.) Republicans who don't like the (nuclear) deal."

The U.S. stacked the cash -- in euros, Swiss francs and other currencies -- on wooden pallets and flew it into Iran on an unmarked plane. It was the first installment on a $1.7 billion settlement stemming from the failed U.S. weapons pact with Iran in 1979 just before its last monarch, Shah Mohammed Reza Pahlavi, was toppled. The U.S. dispatched the cash in foreign currencies because any transaction with Iran in dollars is illegal under U.S. law.

Hostage release



On the same day, January 16, 2016, Iran released four Americans, including The Washington Post's Tehran bureau chief, Jason Rezaian; Marine veteran Amir Hekmati; Christian pastor Saeed Abedin; and a fourth man, Nosratollah Khosravi-Roodsari, whose disappearance had not been publicly known before he was freed.

The cash transfer and the release of the hostages came at the same time as Iran's deal with the United States and five other world powers restraining Tehran's development of nuclear weapons, along with the lifting of sanctions that had hobbled Iran's economy.

President Obama said at the time, "With the nuclear deal done, prisoners released, the time was right to resolve this dispute as well," referring to the 37-year-old arms deal that was never carried out. But Obama did not disclose the $400 million payment, a fact revealed by The Wall Street Journal in a Wednesday story.
The training centre and chocolaterie that opened in 2008, now has a new and delicious face.

By Indo-Asian News Service: Have you always drooled over chocolates, bars, ice creams, truffles, etc., and wondered how you can make some yourself? Here's some good news for all of you chocolate-obsessed foodies. One of the best places to get some jazzy chocolaterie skills, Mumbai's Callebaut Chocolate Academy, just got an upgrade that's made it the best place for you!

The Barry Callebaut Group, a manufacturer of high quality chocolate and cocoa products, on Thursday opened the door to its new, relocated Callebaut Chocolate Academy center which serves as a venue for the exchange of technical skills, training, dialogue and the sharing of love for everything related to chocolate.

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The center and sales office is a relocation from its previous home which opened in 2008.

It is one of 19 training centers managed by the company's gourmet division, around the world, and one of four in the Asia-Pacific, with other centers being located in Singapore, Shanghai (China) and Tokyo (Japan).

"Callebaut is proud to have been a part of the chef's community for over 10 years and we owe our customers in India for helping us build our business," Dhruv Bhatia, Barry Callebaut's Managing Director, India, said in a statement.

Also read: Did you know chocolate mousse can be created with JUST 2 ingredients?



"We want to provide locals and visitors with the best chocolate making experience we can and we look forward to serving them even better in this state-of-the-art Chocolate Academy center," he added.

This Chocolate Academy is the best place in India to get some awesome chocolaterie skills. Picture courtesy: Instagram/chocolate_academy_mumbai

Bhatia said the opening of their chocolate factory in Pune last year and now with the upgrading of the center in Mumbai, will enable them "to be in a better position to capitalise on growth opportunities in India".

The center's offerings include a wide range of workshops, courses and demonstrations for professional customers in all sectors: chocolatiers, pastry chefs, bakers and other chocolate experts as well as culinary professionals working in hotels, restaurants and the catering business.

They will be able to benefit from the modern kitchen and the equipment that the Academy is equipped with, to perfect their expertise in chocolate under the guidance of the brand's specially-trained and renowned chefs.

"The investment we've made into this new center reaffirms our commitment to the professional chocolatiers in this region," said Mikael Neglen, President, Chocolate Asia Pacific, Barry Callebaut.

--- ENDS ---
U.S. presidential candidate Donald Trump has stirred up controversy this year with comments about Muslims and Mexicans. On Thursday, it was the Somali communitys turn to be in Trumps line of fire.

Speaking at a campaign rally in Portland, Maine, the Republican Party nominee said the United States needed to stop admitting refugees from Somalia. He said that the U.S. was opening its doors to people from unstable countries and that the practice could be "the great Trojan horse of all time."

Trump cast doubt on the vetting processes for asylum-seekers and asserted that terrorists infiltrate the refugee system.

Theyre all talking about it. Maine. Somali refugees. We admit hundreds of thousands in Maine and into other places in the United States, he said. Hundreds of thousands of refugees and theyre coming from among the most dangerous territories and countries of anywhere in the world. A practice which has to be, it has to stop. It has to stop.

Citing an article in The Washington Times, Trump said efforts to resettle Somali refugees in Minnesota had created an enclave of immigrants with high unemployment that strains that states resources and creates a rich pool of potential recruiting targets for Islamist terrorist groups.

Its happening, its happening, you see it happening, you read about it, Trump told the crowd.

Copies of Constitution

During his speech, protesters held up copies of the U.S. Constitution, a reference to a similar gesture made at the Democratic National Convention by Khizr Khan, the father of a Muslim-American soldier who was killed in Iraq.

The candidates comments about Somali-Americans being targeted by terrorist groups were not without foundation. Dozens of Somali immigrants from the Minneapolis area have joined the Islamic State militant group in Syria and the Somalia-based militant group al-Shabab.

Trump also mentioned the case of a Somali immigrant who was sentenced to 30 years in prison for attempting to blow up a Christmas tree-lighting ceremony in Oregon in 2010.

Still, leaders of Somali communities in Maine and Minnesota were not happy with Trumps remarks.

Ahmed Shuayb, a Somali community leader in Portland, said, The way we see this speech is its unfortunate that someone who wants to lead America would want to speak like that. It is deplorable.

Shu'ayb said he worried that Trump's comments could provoke a backlash against Somali-Americans. "As Somalis, it creates a feeling that this could stir up tension and hatred by the communities we live in toward the Somalis, he said.

'Nonsense' about state, constituents

Keith Ellison, a Democratic congressman from Minnesota and the first Muslim elected to the U.S. Congress, tweeted a response to Trump.

"Hey, @realDonaldTrump. I want to talk to you about the nonsense you said about my state and my constituents," Ellison wrote. "Immigrant communities built this country. They make America great, no matter what demagogues like @realDonaldTrump say."

High level of integration

Hashi Shafi, a community leader in Minneapolis, is head of the Somali Action Alliance, which provides development services to Minnesota's African community. He rejected Trumps characterization of Somalis.

Somalis have proven that they can integrate faster than communities who came here 30 years prior; their level of integration is high, he said. If you look at it from other angles, they are participating in the society [in ways] such as security  Somalis have joined the Air Force, Navy, Army, Marines and the police. More than 20 Somalis are members of the local police.

To some extent, Shafi saw Thursdays comments as an example of Trump being Trump.

Donald Trumps speech is not that different from the speeches he made during his campaign. Even yesterday, he was [attacking] leadership in his party, he said. We, Somalis and Muslims, were not expecting him to praise us. Somalis are among those Muslims and black community [members] that he bad-mouthed. We are not different.
The World Health Organization and its partners shipped more than 6 million yellow fever vaccines to Angola in February to quash an emerging epidemic, yet when they asked country officials the following month what happened to the vaccines, they discovered that about 1 million doses had mysteriously disappeared.

Of the shipments that did make it to Angola, some vaccines were sent to regions with no yellow fever cases, while others arrived at infected areas without syringes. In neighboring Congo, some vaccines weren't always kept cold enough to guarantee they would be effective.



This lack of oversight and mismanagement has undermined control of the outbreak in Central Africa, the worst yellow fever epidemic in decades, an Associated Press investigation has found.



There is now a shortage of vaccines so severe that WHO has recommended doses be diluted by 80 percent to stretch the supply, even though there is limited evidence they will be effective in African populations.



"We have a major problem on our hands'' UNICEF's Robert Kezaala wrote in capital letters in a June email to his colleagues at WHO, Doctors Without Borders and other partners.



WHO vowed after its fumbled response to the 2014 Ebola epidemic in West Africa that it would adopt a ``no regrets'' policy to better manage future disease outbreaks with its partners in other health organizations and national governments. But according to hundreds of pages of internal emails and documents obtained by AP, the U.N. health agency is facing many of the same problems that compromised its handling of Ebola, an outbreak that killed 11,000 people in three West African countries.



Health officials now estimate they will be short millions of doses to fight an epidemic that has also spread to Congo. To date, yellow fever is estimated to have caused upward of 5,000 cases and at least 450 deaths. More than 18 million vaccines have been sent to the continent, far short of the 40 million doses some experts think are needed to contain the outbreak.



Some of the most vulnerable areas of Congo's sprawling capital have been vaccinated, but millions of people still are waiting for doses as fumigation teams spray crowded neighborhoods in an attempt to kill the mosquitoes that spread the disease.



"People are very afraid,'' says Dr. Ernest Mumakubwidi, who treats patients out of a tiny cement-block neighborhood clinic in Kinshasa. "They won't be able to vaccinate everyone, that is clear.''



Amanda McClelland, a senior emergency official at the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, or the IFRC, said the crisis is a repeat of WHO's mismanagement of the Ebola epidemic in 2014.



"It was the same people at WHO that made the initial calls during Ebola and it was the exact same response: We've got enough, we don't need any help and it's all under control.''



Dr. Bruce Aylward, who directed WHO's Ebola response, acknowledged that more changes are still needed to enable WHO to respond quicker to complex emergencies, even though he said the agency has made substantial reforms in the past two years.



"It would be a mistake to think that WHO is now ready,'' he said. "I think a lot of things are better but I don't think we're there yet.''



A disaster for this country and the region



Unlike Ebola, yellow fever is not highly contagious and is easily prevented with vaccines. The virus is transmitted by the Aedes aegypti mosquito, the same species that spreads Zika, dengue, and chikungunya. Once infected, people often fall ill with fever and muscle pain, but many recover after several days. Others, however, suffer a more toxic phase and can develop jaundice, as the virus attacks the liver and kidneys. In the worst cases, patients bleed internally in their digestive systems, becoming delirious before dying. According to WHO, the death rate for reported cases is between 15 to 50 percent.



Yellow fever has largely been eliminated in developed nations after vaccines were developed in the 1930s, but outbreaks continue in Africa and Latin America. For countries that cannot afford broad vaccination programs, a consortium was formed in 2001 by WHO, the International Federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, Doctors Without Borders and UNICEF. Their role is to dole out the global emergency stockpile of about 6 million vaccines, which cost less than $2 each. Until this outbreak, the consortium had never before used more than 4 million doses in any one country.



Four companies produce yellow fever vaccine for WHO and its partners, and as the outbreak worsened, officials pressed manufacturers to rush the production of more.



In early February, a senior U.N. official alerted other colleagues that cases were nearly tripling every week.



"We might [face] a disaster for this country and the region,'' Paolo Balladelli, the U.N. coordinator in Angola, warned in an email.



On February 12, WHO announced Angola had a yellow fever outbreak in its capital, and along with its partners, sent more than 6 million doses for a vaccination campaign targeting Luanda, more doses than are usually contained in the emergency stockpile.



To verify that the vaccines had reached those who needed them, health officials asked Angola for a detailed accounting of their use.



The answer: 1 million doses had disappeared, "evaporated,'' probably taken by "friend[s] and families of the local authorities,'' the "army'' or resold in the "private sector,'' according to a WHO email to its partners.



"How can this happen in a situation of (vaccine) shortage?'' asked WHO's Sergio Yactayo, a Geneva-based yellow fever expert, in a March 4 missive to his colleagues at UNICEF, the IFRC, Doctors Without Borders and WHO. He lamented that there was no transparency in what happened to the vaccines.



In a series of internal calls over the summer, health officials complained that shots approved for specific regions with documented yellow fever cases were sometimes used in areas that had no cases, without any explanation, according to sources familiar with the problem who were not authorized to discuss it. Experts complained that it was "pointless'' to approve vaccine plans for Angola since the country was completely disregarding them.



When asked about the million missing doses this week, WHO and partners described the loss as ``not unexpected.'' An emailed statement on behalf of WHO, IFRC, UNICEF and Doctors Without Borders said that ``typically there is an expected 10 percent reserve factored in for losses and wastage in mass vaccination campaigns for yellow fever.''



But Angolan officials disputed that any vaccines were missing at all.



"There has been no diversion [of the vaccines] whatsoever,'' said Luis Gomes Sambo, the country's health minister. He said the government has careful accounting of where and when the shots were administered and nothing has disappeared.



Back in March, Yactayo and his colleagues noted that the ``wastage rate'' in Angola was nearly double what officials would normally anticipate. He wrote that in the early phases of the outbreak, Angolan authorities had not paid enough attention to registering who was vaccinated.



"[I] agree it is not good, but [it's] the reality,'' he said, adding they had attempted to improve the situation, "but unhappily with little success.''



Though WHO and partners did not investigate what happened to the doses that disappeared, Yactayo reasoned that with an exploding outbreak in a crowded city, they had no choice but to send even more of the precious vaccines. "We cannot wait weeks [to] respond.''



By late March, neighboring Congo had also reported cases to WHO, making it critical that the limited stockpile be judiciously used.



"Vaccine is the only way to control a yellow fever epidemic,'' said Dr. Peter Piot, director of the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. "This is where WHO should insist on accountability...they have to know how the vaccine is being used to know they are making the right decisions.''



WHO's Aylward said tracing the vaccines' usage is an "incredibly important issue'' and that problems may have arisen because Angola was not accustomed to such epidemics.



"When you see something new, such as an outbreak in an urban area of Luanda where you've not seen this for a long time, then you're concerned, can they move fast enough, is the health system strong enough to actually use this?'' Aylward asked. He agreed it was problematic that not all of the vaccines sent to the country could be tracked.



In Congo, the vaccines did not come soon enough for 41-year-old boat operator Guillit Mbwanga.



In April, Mbwanga thought he had malaria and went to his local pharmacy over the weekend for medication to treat his fever and chills. Soon though, his eyes turned yellow from jaundice and by Monday, his whole body had a yellowish tone all the way down to his feet. By Wednesday, he was dead, leaving behind his wife Nadine and their 10 children. Mbwanga's medical file states that he likely died of yellow fever.



"Now there is no one to take care of the children financially,'' says his brother-in-law Mitterand Manzambi. "His oldest daughter planned to go to university but who will pay for the tuition now? And what about school fees for the others?''



Like having a car but not petrol



As yellow fever tore through Angola and Congo, U.N. officials made a series of other mistakes that stalled control efforts.



Ahead of a key vaccination campaign, WHO's country representative in Angola learned that vaccines had been shipped, but without any of the material needed to use them, including syringes.



"Sending the vaccines without the vaccination material is 'USELESS','' wrote Hernando Agudelo in a May 11 email to his colleagues, who said the situation was like ``having a car but not petrol!!''



In Congo, aid workers faced another problem: how to prevent the vaccines from spoiling in the heat.



"The situation encounter(ed) by the logistics team is quite alarming,'' wrote WHO logistician Guillaume Queyras. He described breaks in the "cold chain,'' that keeps vaccines between 2 and 8 degrees Celsius. Queyras said the set-up he found "will hardly guarantee the quality of the vaccine at the end of the chain.''



Health officials in Kinshasa have been keeping the vaccine vials at a central facility with a back-up generator. At other health centers, many keep the vaccines in solar-powered refrigerators of varying quality. From there, the vaccines are distributed to neighborhoods in plastic coolers provided by the health ministry with ice packets, though not all the packets appeared to be starting the day cold, at least one touched by an AP reporter at a vaccination site was warm.



On July 8, an internal memo to WHO's Director-General Dr. Margaret Chan relayed more disturbing news: the sole laboratory in Kinshasa responsible for testing all yellow fever cases in Congo had halted operations two weeks earlier. The lab was awaiting more diagnostic materials. Without a lab to test samples from suspected patients, officials had no way to accurately track where the virus was spreading and determine which regions most urgently needed the vaccine.



Facing pressure from aid groups including Doctors Without Borders, also known by its French acronym, MSF, Chan wrote directly to its international president, Dr. Joanne Liu, to assure her WHO was responding faster than its often cumbersome efforts during Ebola.



Liu told AP she was "outraged'' about the situation and had specifically pestered Chan about the unresolved lab problems.



"I'm self-controlling myself right now because I don't understand why we haven't learned the very basic lessons of Ebola.''



In a July 16 message tapped out on her iPhone, Chan listed five measures WHO had taken to restart the lab in Kinshasa, including sending supplies and experts to deal with the backlog of untested specimens. Keen to preserve WHO's credibility and keep the lab problems out of the public spotlight, Chan asked Liu, ``please do not circulate this email.''



By late last week, Congo's lab was still closed.



Dr. Jean-Jacques Muyembe Tamfum, the lab's director, said Monday there were more than 300 samples waiting to be tested because it ran out of diagnostic materials, blaming delivery complications.



"The shortage (of testing materials) was due simply to the fact that when Dakar sent the reagents by DHL, the plane stopped in Abidjan, Ivory Coast and they sent the package back to Dakar,'' he said. "They did not understand the urgency of the situation.''



For patients, the result was an uncertain wait as doctors attempted to diagnose the disease based on yellow fever symptoms alone, which are similar to those for many other diseases in the region.



At the Chinese-Congolese Friendship Hospital in Kinshasa, little Jonathan Kangu recently sat listless and ornery, on a soiled bedsheet while doctors struggled to say for sure whether he had the disease, despite his eyes turning a glowing shade of yellow beneath his long, thick lashes.



"We brought him to the hospital three times and they said it was malaria,'' said his mother, Joelle, who slept beside him in the ward for the last five nights as her 2-year-old battled high fevers. The toddler ultimately recovered and was discharged, but without knowing whether he had yellow fever, it was unclear if his family or neighborhood needed the vaccine.



Shooting ourselves in the foot



Confronted with an urgent demand for a limited supply of vaccines, WHO and partners are now turning to a largely untested theory to stretch the number of shots: fractional dosing, or using one fifth of the standard dose so that five people can be treated instead of just one.



A WHO draft document in May pointed out some noteworthy concerns: a lack of data on children and people with weakened immune systems, no research on African populations and uncertainty about how long immunity might last. The document warned that diluting the vaccine should be "forgotten because of the programmatic and safety concerns.''



At the conclusion of a WHO-organized meeting in June, experts bickered over the wording of the fractional dosing recommendation. In a draft press release, WHO immunization expert Philippe Duclos questioned whether there was enough proof to "demonstrate'' that using one fifth of a standard dose would be protective, arguing that description was "a bit strong.''



The draft release pointed out that fractional dosing would not work for mass preventive campaigns, but WHO staffer Roland Sutter argued that the operation was already planned. Not to proceed with the recommendation would be like "shooting ourselves in the foot!!''



In a final press statement, WHO concluded that partial doses could indeed be ``a safe and effective option.''



But persuading people to get a partial dose could prove difficult since a full dose typically provides protection for at least a decade. Even though the Angolan government has received 15 million doses so far, and exhausted the supply to the point where fractional dosing is being considered, it rejected the idea of using the weakened vaccines, leaving only the Congolese to use the diluted shots.



"The Congolese will not accept that, they know others are being protected for 10 years why should they accept any less?'' asked Gustav Ngwanza, 44, a nurse who helped vaccinate hundreds of people with the full dose during one of the first phases of the campaign in Kinshasa. "That's not going to work here.''
The U.N. refugee agency reports it has received the go-ahead from the de facto separatist rulers in eastern Ukraine to help repair thousands of homes damaged or destroyed during the military conflict there.

Pro-Russian separatists in the regions of Donetsk and Luhansk have been fighting the Ukrainian government since April 2014. The war has claimed 9,553 lives and wounded more than 22,100. It has left much devastation in its wake.

The U.N. refugee agency reports it has, for the first time in five months, been able to reach thousands of people in the Luhansk region of eastern Ukraine. It says it has been able to deliver vitally-needed construction materials to repair homes damaged or destroyed in the conflict.

Since the conflict began, more than 2 million people have been forced to flee their homes and seek refuge in other parts of the country or abroad. UNHCR spokesman William Spindler says life has been a nightmare for the many others who remained.

During an assessment mission in Luhansk in May, UNHCR officials met a 77-year-old former construction worker named Petro and his wife. They had lived in a tiny basement room - the only part of their shelled home that protected them from snow, rain and wind - for more than two years, Spindler said.

Enduring hardships



The UNHCR estimates some 10,000 houses in non-government controlled areas of Luhansk have been damaged. It says many homes damaged by shelling and mortar fire had their windows broken and roofs blown off.

Spindler says restrictions on freedom of movement are aggravating hardships for people like Petro. He told VOA people have to go to the government-controlled side of Luhansk to get benefits and entitlements, including pensions.



That poses a lot of difficulties for people with reduced mobility. And, even for fit people because of the long delays and the long time you have to wait at the checkpoints to cross. Whether you are driving or walking, you have to wait for hours because of the different bureaucratic procedures that you have to complete to do that, he said.

Spindler says a UNHCR team in Luhansk, working with a local construction company and volunteers, plans to have 1,500 homes rehabilitated by October. He says this is in addition to 1,500 other households that were repaired last year.
Seven percent of all screened Syrian refugees seeking to resettle in the United States this year have been denied approval, and 13 percent of the cases have been put on hold, government officials said Friday.

The screening process, which has faced domestic criticism, is rigorous and exhaustive, said Anne Richard, assistant secretary of state for population, refugees and migration.

Highly trained officers conduct the screening to ensure that applicants aren't terrorists, said Leon Rodriguez, director of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, an agency of the Department of Homeland Security.

Hundreds [from Syria] have been denied, Rodriguez told reporters in a conference call along with Richard and Robert Carey, director of refugee resettlement for the Department of Health and Human Services.

Goal within reach

The United States is on track to meet President Barack Obamas goal of allowing in 10,000 refugees from Syria for the fiscal year ending in September, the officials said.

We may exceed 10,000, and for next year we will continue to welcome large numbers of Syrians, but its too soon to have a target figure established, Richard said.

Nearly 80 percent of the Syrians accepted this year by the United States are women and children, officials said.

More than 10 percent of the refugees from Syria have headed to Michigan, which has a significant Arabic-speaking population, especially in Dearborn, the states eighth-largest city.

The U.S. Republican Party nominee for president, Donald Trump, has advocated halting immigration from Syria and has proposed a ban on Muslims entering the country. Governors of more than 30 U.S. states have tried to block such refugees from settling in their states, despite having no authority to do so, according to legal experts.

More than 99 percent of the Syrian refugees admitted to the United States this year are Muslims, according to the U.S. State Department, which in February moved to cut the processing time in Jordan to screen refugees to three months from a typical 18 to 24 months.

"What we know is that more resources have been put toward the processing of folks who have been pending," Stacie Blake, spokeswoman for the U.S. Committee for Refugees and Immigrants, told VOA. "More resources obviously meant that more folks were able to move through the system."

Kerry, Lavrov confer

Syria was a topic of a telephone call Friday between U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, according to officials in Moscow. The State Department confirmed the call had taken place but said it had no details on the content of the conversation.

Obama, following a visit to the Pentagon on Thursday, criticized Russias policy in Syria, saying he doubted President Vladimir Putin could be trusted to cooperate on ending the five-year civil war.

The United States is prepared to work with the Russians to try to reduce the violence in Syria and cooperate in the battle against the Islamic State group and al-Qaida. But Russia has failed to take the necessary steps, Obama said. Given the deteriorating situation, it is time for Russia to show it is serious about pursuing these objectives.

The civil war in Syria has displaced 5 million people. At the start of the war, in 2011, the United States was accepting only a handful of the refugees.

The U.N. General Assembly is to hold a conference next month to address the Syrian refugee and migration crisis.

The purpose of the summit is to recruit other countries to join with us and make a real difference in the worlds contribution toward helping refugees, Richard said.
As part of a major training exercise to hone the NATO forces ability to work together, the United States and British air forces have been flying joint missions over Estonia this week.

The U.S. is joining British, Estonian, Lithuanian and Latvian forces in the Operation Atlantic Resolve Training exercise, which began July 25 and ends August 8, according to the U.S. Air Force. The Air Force says the training also "demonstrates our continued commitment to both our allies and European security and stability."

In one flight, a U.S. KC135 refueling tanker jet and two A-10 Warthog fighters, flanked by a pair of British Royal Air Force Eurofighter Typhoon FGR4 jets, cruised over Tallinn, Estonia's capital.

The exercise comes after several incidents this year in which Russian aircraft and naval vessels have come very close to planes and ships belonging to the U.S. and several European nations. The U.S. has complained to Russian authorities about the incidents.
The latest Hong Kong summer blockbuster is not about kung fu fighters, triads or Canto-pop love interests. Instead The Menu, which opens today, is about online journalists.

Its dramatic trailer starts with a rather dire pronouncement "Print is almost dead"  followed by action shots of digital reporters fighting for stories and clicks.

The Menu, though fictional, reflects the growing interest young Hong Kongers have in both politics and the media.

This former British colony, with freedoms and a worldliness not found in the rest of China, has become fertile ground for online news starts-ups. According to the Hong Kong Journalists Association, at least five news websites have opened in the past 12 months.

Big ambitions

In only its first year, Initium (,) has attracted three million unique users a month; launched an app thats been downloaded 150,000 times; and hired 70 staff in Hong Kong, Taiwan, Europe and the United States.

Chief editor Annie Zhang, also known as Zhang Jieping (), says Initium is roughly based on the Chinese-language websites of the BBC or The New York Times. Their goal is to bring wide-ranging coverage  on topics from Taiwan elections to Syrian refugees  to "Chinese-speaking global citizens." (Zhang, 33, had previously written for the Times Chinese-language site).

"Theres no way we could be based on the Mainland," said Zhang, who is from Mainland China. "We produce normal news. We dont want to deal with censorship or fighting with the government."

Like other critical Hong Kong media, Initium is banned in Mainland China, although an estimated 10-15 percent of its visitors are mainlanders using a VPN to bypass the Great Firewall and read the site.

The English-language Hong Kong Free Press [https://www.hongkongfp.com] has also been banned, after launching about a year ago with $180,000 worth of online donations.

Those two website launches were followed in March by FactWire, a bilingual newswire and media watchdog. As of July, FactWire had raised $600,000 from 3,300 donors, in what is considered the citys largest-ever crowdsourcing campaign. Others outlets, like Stand News, dot the landscape.

Large and small

Initium is relatively better funded than its competitors thanks to its founder, Stanford-educated lawyer Will Cai (), and the WI Harper investment group. Bloomberg reported in April that Cai had raised $3.7 million in venture capital, though some of that may be used for other ventures, like video or film.

They are already pursuing luxury advertising  during the interview, Zhang pulled their app up on her cellphone, showing off a Bulgari watch ad.

The rise of new, independent media comes as traditional outlets face increased financial and political pressure  two issues that are often interlinked in Hong Kong.

April was a particularly worrying month. ATV, the worlds longest-running Chinese-language television station, went dark on April 1, the same day The Sun tabloid closed. Jack Ma, the tycoon behind Chinese Internet giant Alibaba, officially took over at The South China Morning Post, the citys only English-language broadsheet. The firing of a critical editor at the Ming Pao newspaper prompted the Chinese-language broadsheet to protest by printing blank rectangles in the next mornings paper.

Off to the races

Meanwhile, new online outlets have emerged.

Two weeks after opening, Initium sent reporters to the site of explosions that killed more than 100 people in the Chinese port city of Tianjin in August 2015.

"We were not the first to report the news, but we were the first to focus on problems with the firefighting system  the fact that first responders were teenagers with no training," Zhang said, adding that they wanted to find angles not explored by either the local Hong Kong media or the censored Chinese state media.

In November, Initium was among the first to interview relatives of some of the Hong Kong booksellers allegedly kidnapped by the Mainland authorities.

New challenges

Last August, when Initium was less than a month old, one of its photojournalists, Anthony Kwan Hok-chun (), was jailed in Bangkok after reporting on the Erawan Shrine terrorist bombing that left 20 dead.

The charge from the Thai authorities, that Kwan was wearing a bullet-proof vest without a license, was later dropped.

Zhang said she remained "worried" about how to cover problems like terrorism and war, but also did not want to pull her coverage. In December, Initium ran a series of photos of fleeing Syrian refugees by Nicole Tung, a young freelance photojournalist originally from Hong Kong.

"I was told that global news was expensive to produce and had a low hit-rate among local viewers," Zhang said. "But that turned out not to be true. Brexit, the German train attack, ISIS  local audiences are reading about these issues. They affect us all."

Local coverage

But their most important work is being done locally. Surprisingly, Hong Kong does not have easily accessible voting records for elected officials. So Initium undertook a Big Data project to make sense of 200,000 voting records  which will come in handy as Hong Kong heads into legislative elections in September.

FactWire, meanwhile, broke the news in July that Hong Kong officials had been warned in private about safety problems with Singapore subway trains, which had been "secretly recalled" by China.

Compared to its Chinese-language counterparts, Hong Kong Free Press is run on a shoestring. When Tom Grundy, a British resident in Hong Kong, initially aimed to raise $20,000, donors flooded him with far more cash, but also demands for original news, interviews, blogs and photography.

A year after it went live in June 2015, HKFP has logged 3.5 million unique visitors in total, 49,000 Facebook fans and 26,800 Twitter followers.

Grundy, 33, had previously been a popular blogger called Hong Wrong and a political activist. He had held protests for Edward Snowden, Tibet and Gaza  though he is still best-known for his failed citizens arrest of Tony Blair at the University of Hong Kong in 2012.

He says he does not see HKFP, a registered non-profit, as a competitor to for-profit mainstream media, but as an "alternative.

"The South China Morning Post is owned by a mainland company and people are skeptical," he said. He prefers to rely on microdonations. "Were hoping pennies will turn into pounds," he said. "We understand that producing good journalism is both hard and expensive."

Grundy works rent-free in a corner of the D100 internet radio station, thanks to a favor by Albert Cheng, (  traditional,   simplified), a 70-year-old media boss and government critic.

During mass democracy demonstrations on July 1, Grundy manned the news desk himself, producing rolling live coverage from 2 p.m. to 10 p.m. His whole staff  all four of them  were out reporting. "Theyre all trilingual  Im the only idiot here who only speaks English," Grundy said. "Everyone is a multimedia reporter. Theyre shooting short videos, doing vox pops, taking photos, posting on Twitter."

For a local website, HKFP gets a significant number of U.S. viewers. "People want to figure out how Hong Kong fits into the puzzle thats China," Grundy said.

HKFP also translates materials not fully available in the international media.

In a series called Ministry of Truth, it wrote English subtitles for the videos of "forced confessions" extracted by the Chinese authorities. These included testimony by kidnapped bookseller Gui Minghai, journalist Gao Yu, lawyer Huang Liqun, actor Ko Chen-tung, internet figure Guo Meimei, American investor Charles Xue and pharmaceutical executive Liang Hong.

Local journalists, frustrated by the pressures facing the mainstream media, have welcomed the new opportunities.

When FactWires first eight reporters  chosen from 280 applicants  showed up for work in February, they walked into an industrial-building space where the phones and computers were not yet set up.

"We had given up relatively stable jobs to join FactWire for an adventurous journey," Ng Hiu-tung, one of FactWires founders, wrote in the Hong Kong Journalists Associations magazine. "FactWire is not funded by a wealthy businessman, nor does it have a long legacy or big newsroom. The one thing we have are reporters who want to report things as they are."

"Residents of Hong Kong funded FactWire because they think good information is indispensable to survive as citizens," the U.S.-based Global Investigative Journalism Network wrote in March. "They know that if they support quality, well-verified stories, they will know what is really going on, and they will not be deceived with slanted or special-interest driven information."
The Movement for Democratic Change says preparations are in top gear for their planned protest set for Masvingo on Saturday, which will be led by the partys president Morgan Tsvangirai.

MDC-Ts Masvingo urban chairman, Muranganwa Chinyau, told Studio 7 that all is set for the street protest against the deteriorating social and economic situation in Zimbabwe, lack of jobs and governments failure to pay civil servants salaries on time.

The MDC-T family and other progressive forces are ready to join President Tsvangirai tomorrow for the march. We did a door to door campaign during mobilization. The Masvingo family is ready for the march to demand the missing $15 billion in diamond proceeds, to express our dismay over the proposed introduction of bond notes and the import ban on some basic commodities. We will also urge Zanu PF to step down.

Faustino Murambasvina, MDC-T secretary for the same district, said the march has been cleared by the police and they expect thousands of Masvingo residents take part in the protests.

As MDC we did not have any complexity in our application for clearance. So we want to thank the police for cooperation especially the superintendent, Ncube Phillip, who signed, in case of any disturbances by any one. We will not stand aloof and look, we will react in the same way and defend ourselves.

The MDC-Ts local youth leader Kingsley Sibanda also said they are expecting a huge turnout Saturday.

We are calling all youths across all divides to come Saturday as the group that is mostly affected. You are the ones who are not employed, you are the ones who are not getting salaries in time we are saying come and lets express ourselves and demand our rights from this government. We are calling Mugabe to step down he has failed us.

The MDC-T has been staging peaceful protests of late pressing for social and economic transformation and for President Robert Mugabe to step down.
Tajamuka-Sesijikile Campaign claims that it has filed a court application seeking an order to compel President Robert Mugabe to step down alleging that the 92 year-old Zimbabwean leader has failed to properly run the country.

Spokesperson Promise Mkwananzi of Tajamuka-Sesijikile Campaign, comprising 40 different organizations and thousands of individuals, filed the Constitutional Court application today.

Mkwananzi, who claimed that he personally filed the application, said Tajamuka-Sesijikile Campaign is arguing that at 92 the president is not capable of carrying out his work due to advanced age.

He said they are further claiming that the president is currently failing to properly execute some of his duties as stipulated in Zimbabwes constitution.

Studio 7 was unable to get details of the court application and court officials referred all questions to the Clerk of Court, who was not available for comment.

Indications are that Tajamuka-Sesijikile Campaign did not hire lawyers to file the application. Jacob Mafume, a Harare-based attorney and member of the Peoples Democratic Party led by Tendai Biti, said individuals have the right to file cases in the Constitutional Court.

Mafume contends that it will be a mammoth task to force the president to step down through such a constitutional challenge.

Denford Ngadziore, another member of Tajamuka-Sesijikile Campaign, told Studio 7 that the Constitutional Court is just one of the several options they are taking to ensure that the president steps down.

The campaign group and other activists have been holding a series of protests calling on President Mugabe to step down for allegedly ruining the economy, gross abuse of human rights and failure to address corruption gripping in the country.

Section 96 of Zimbabwes constitution clearly stipulates that the president may resign his or her office by written notice to the Speaker of Parliament. Section 97 of the countrys supreme law further stipulates that the president can be removed from office through a joint resolution passed by at least one-half of the total members of parliament.

The president can also be removed from office for serious misconduct, failure to obey, uphold or defend the Constitution; wilful violation of the Constitution; and or inability to perform the functions of the office because of physical or mental incapacity.
Marion Louise Dahlke, 86, died on October 23rd at Grace Pointe Crossing in Cambridge, MN. Visitation will be held from 5:00 to 7:00 PM on Friday, October 28th at Anderson Funeral Home.
Heavy rains have lashed out Mumbai once again. Waterlogged streets, heavy traffic jams and delayed flights- life has been virtually brought to a standstill.

The flooded Thane Railway Station following heavy rains in Mumbai. Photo: PTI

By India Today Web Desk: Mumbai is reeling under heavy rains and flooded streets, waterlogged roads and heavy traffic jams.



The government has asked Mumbaikars to keep safe and call 1916 in case of emergency.



The Indian Meteorological Department has issued a heavy rainfall alert to Thane and Navi Mumbai for the next 48 hours. Mumbai is expected to face heavy to very heavy rains in the next two days.

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The tehsildar office of Thane has asked these corporations to deploy rescue staff in troubled areas, particularly along the foothills and low lying areas.

TRAFFIC JAMS, FLIGHTS DELAYED, TRAINS LATE

Traffic crawled at a snail's pace on major thoroughfares like Eastern Express and Western Express highways and major north-south roads, delaying tens of thousands.



The heavy rains have not only caused huge traffic jams on roads, but have also delayed flights.

All flights arriving to and departing from Mumbai were delayed by 30 minutes. At least seven-eight flights faced go around and one flight got diverted due to less visibility in the sky.

Trains are also running late by almost 20-30 minutes on central and harbour lines. On the western routes, trains are running at least 15 minutes late. For sometime, due to waterlogging at Sion and Kurla railway station, trains were suspended for 30 minutes between Sion and CST.



Photo: Twitter/@PolicyPulse

Photo: Pooja Biraia @PBiraia

Photo: Kashif Ansari @ansarikashif7

Flooded street at Sion; Photo: Rathod @stup3ndo

Further, there was a high tide of 4.55 metres expected at 1.38 pm today. Reports also suggested that another high tide was to occur at 2.05 pm.

Mayor Sanjay More and civic Commissioner Sanjeev Jaiswal chaired a special meeting on Thursday to streamline a plan to mitigate issues at flooded spots in the city.

Aaditya Thackeray issued a warning and a 'help message' to Mumbaikars on Twitter.

Angry, concerned and troubled people took to micro-blogging site Twitter to vent out their anger.

Took me 2.5 hours to reach Bandra from Kandivali. The best 2.5 hour nap through the largest waterpark in the world; Western Express Highway.; Mihir Bijur (@MihirBijur) 5 August 2016

Wen ur cab driver starts watching movie in d middle of ever lasting traffic jam. #mumbaiRains #3hoursToReachOffice pic.twitter.com/sQlqKOg8IO; Charu Goyal (@MissHuh) 5 August 2016

Never seen this side flooded - chincholi signal #malad #mumbairains @RidlrMUM pic.twitter.com/UcW4LgzHE3

; Abeer (@wewantabeer) 5 August 2016









Besides Mumbai, the adjoining districts of Thane, Palghar and Raigad were also lashed by heavy rains, slowing traffic on all major routes linking Mumbai with Ahmedabad, Pune, Nashik and Goa.

High tide on Wadala bridge; Photo: KV Sridhar @kvpops High tide on Wadala bridge; Photo: KV Sridhar @kvpops

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As a precaution, all major services like the police, fire brigade, NDRF and others are in a state of high alert.

Also Read:

Heavy downpour turns Gurgaon roads into rivers, traffic comes to a standstill

Bengaluru does a Gurgaon: People seen fishing on roads, boats on streets, homes flooded

Rains lash north, east India; flood toll 31, lightning kills 27



--- ENDS ---
Photo: Mike Coppola/Getty Images

Black-ish creator Kenya Barris made an exasperated appearance at the shows TCA panel on Thursday, when talk turned towards a topic with which the cast and creative team is incredibly familiar: diversity. According to Deadline, frustration brewed when a reporter asked if Barris knew how much of Black-ishs audience was black and whether or not that data informed the show. Barris reportedly responded: I will be so happy when diversity is not a word  I have the best job in the world and Im constantly having to talk about diversity  I have the best actors. This is ridiculous.  It doesnt matter whos watching our show  The fact is that theyre watching it. According to Variety, Barris added: I get so tired of talking about diversity. These are amazing, talented actors and amazing writers who give their all and they dont have to do this. Its crowding the conversation.

Black-ish star Tracee Ellis Ross also jumped into the conversation, pointing out that shows that are actually doing the work of diverse representation are the ones who bear the brunt of concerns about the issue. Of the reporter who brought up the subject, Variety says Ross demanded: Is that a question that youve asked other shows that are not predominately of a certain color? When the reporter answered not really, Ross continued, Those questions continue the conversation in a direction that does not help the conversation.

Barris also noted that the narrow fixation on Black-ish as part of the diversity conversation has denied the show its more universal qualities. He said: We always have to box everything in  Isnt it just a good family show? Its specifically about a black family. Were not denying that. But dont you see yourself in it? Dont you see your family in it?  Why is that important, who watched the show? Why does it matter? Why do we keep having to have these conversations? Even if we keep having these conversations, its clearly time to rethink who we go to for answers.
Listen, you and I both know that its been a dire summer movie season, but trust me when I say that salvation can be found in the margins: Seek out the wonderful indie gem Little Men, opening this weekend, and drink it up like a restorative tonic. Directed by Ira Sachs (Love Is Strange), the movie follows two young boys  quiet Jake (Theo Taplitz) and mouthy Tony (Michael Barbieri)  whose friendship is threatened when Jakes father (Greg Kinnear) debates evicting Tonys mother (Paulina Garcia) from his Brooklyn building so he can maximize the income that her small dress shop does not provide. Parents just dont understand, but the watchful Sachs does, and he portrays an innocence to the two boys relationship that adults (and adulthood, for that matter) will surely muck up in time. Recently in Los Angeles, I sat down with Sachs to discuss the films themes, the sexuality of Taplitzs young character, and the fragmentation of new queer cinema.

If I knew you as a kid, and I saw the Theo Taplitz character in this film, would I say, Thats Ira?

Yeah, I would say a version of me. Its really that hes emotionally sensitive, and I was as well. I certainly identify with that character, but once I cast Theo, it was important to be open to what he brought to the story.



What was your own experience like at that age?

I basically went to an all-girls school until I was in seventh grade. It was a co-ed school, but it wasnt that co-ed, and all the teachers were women. And then, in seventh grade, I went to an all-boys school. And you know, so many things happen at 13, but theyre not what this movie is about. Theo was 12. I realized that when I started casting, I was interested in kids on that side of the equation in some ways.



To go from an all-girls school to an all-boys school  thats some real cognitive dissonance.

It was brutal, and yet I survived. I went to a school where I was called kike and had pennies thrown at me for being a Jewish kid. Memphis University School, giving it a shout-out for being a bastion of violence against children. [Laughs.] But I was not tormented by my femininity or my sexuality, in the way that other kids were.



Did you torment yourself about it?

Oh yeah, of course. And then I spent the next 20 years trying to get over that.



Im curious, did you conceive Theos character as gay? I assumed that he was, though its never explicitly stated.

Yes and then no.



It changed once you cast the actor?

Once I cast Theo, it was something that I could not project on him. Whenever I tried, it felt very imposed and external to the story.



In what way? Isnt the character still the character?

Well, actors are people. In the same way, Michael Barbieris character performed capoeira in the script, and that wasnt gonna work either once we cast him. You adjust to whats there. Theo, particularly, in that realm is very young. It felt not like I needed to be careful, but that it wouldnt feel real for me to make decisions for him about what was next. At the same time, Im a gay man who made the film, so theres a sensibility to the film which is queer. For me, its two things. One is that questions of love are multifaceted. Friendship can be a form of love without sexuality being central to that relationship. Secondly, one of the reasons why my relationships when I was that age were so easy and intimate  and Im just thinking this right now  is that my sexuality was playing out outside of those relationships. Some people have different histories, but my histories with my best friends were not sexual.



Friendships dont necessarily have to be sexual to have some sort of romantic component to them.

Im not saying there was no eros, but they really were not the site of desire for me. There were other sites. Were not talking about someone who was not aware of desire  I was, but it was very external from things that were close to me. I think, partially, thats why it took me 30 years to have a good relationship. I was looking outside of revealing myself.



Why?

I dont think I have a good answer to that. It was how my sexuality was constructed. Other friends had very different stories, even at that time. Some friends who were 12 or 13 were finding sexual adventures with each other, but that wasnt me.



Thats what is interesting about queer youth today  theres really been a sea change now where kids who are Theos age know themselves very well and are confident about their sexuality.

And I could have cast someone who was that, and I would have made a different movie. But that was not this kid. For the texture of my films, its really important for me to be open to who these people are, and that includes Greg Kinnear and Paulina Garcia. I dont rehearse my actors in advance for a reason: I really want them to bring themselves to the moment in which the camera photographs them. I want them not to think separately from who they are, while at the same time, I give them a script that provides them with a world to inhabit that is fictional.



How did you find Michael Barbieri? Hes so charismatic, and Marvel has already snapped him up to star in the next Spider-Man.

I organized an open call in New York and we put up signs on bulletin boards, including one at Lee Strasberg School on 15th Street. Michael grabbed the number and came in. Hed never acted professionally, but hed been studying at Lee Strasberg since he was 9. He came in on the day we cast Theo as Jake, and Michael had come to read for Jake. He had these big thick bottle glasses, and I was like, Take those glasses off and read the other part. It was a star moment, I have to say. He was so alive and so himself and so specific. I knew I had to cast kids that would be memorable, that would stick with you. And I found that with Michael and Theo, and cast them oppositional. I thought of Theo as out of Robert Bresson movies, and Michael out of Scorsese movies, and worked with them as such.



Its rare to find talented young guys who want to become actors, at least in America. We dont have that problem with girls, but theres been a young-actor drought for years.

I have to say, I was working on a film called The Goodbye People which never got made, and I went in to a small theater on 13th Street because Id heard about this kid from NYU who was really good. I immediately tried to cast him and it didnt happen, but it was Alden Ehrenreich.



What do you think is happening with queer cinema these days? It was having a real moment in the 1990s, but so few queer filmmakers continue telling gay stories nowadays.

To me, the problem is somewhat allegorized in Little Men. You could look at the dress shop as the site of personal cinema or queer cinema, in the sense that its value is not economic. All my films are really engaged in that question of where does one find value, and I think the drama about queer cinema is about sustainability, similarly to the shop. If youre 25 and you make your first good film thats not just subtextually gay but in content a queer film, how do you make your next and your next and your next? Wheres the Andre Techine of our country?



Increasingly, you dont make your next and your next at that level. To extend the real-estate metaphor, you cant afford to live in New York unless youre chasing the big-money gigs, and thats true now of so many independent filmmakers who segue to studio filmmaking as fast as possible.

I have to say, Im working on two projects now for television, both of which are very queer. One is a Montgomery Clift biopic with Matt Bomer for HBO, and another is adapting a Tim Murphy book into a mini-series thats set in the East Village from the 1980s to the present. There is an economy where these stories are somewhat more viable, but the give and take of that for me is that Im working within a system that is very different from being an independent filmmaker. Theres loss there.



Yes, although working for HBO is not like working for NBC.

Right, but youre working within a corporate structure, and that asks different things. What Im trying to preserve is the place where my instincts are most intimate in making things. With my films, theres no one above me, and thats very significant. I tend to be financed by a group of people, none of whom have leverage and all of whom have faith. All the decisions are mine, and I think that creates a different kind of work. Chantal Akerman would not have made the same kind of films if shed worked at HBO. Aesthetics have to be shifted. Thats fine, and thats the nature of a creative life, but its an interesting question: How do you keep a singular voice within a different structure?

This interview has been condensed and edited.
Photo: Pascal Le Segretain/2016 Getty Images

It looks like Joel Edgerton is punching his ticket to board the Jennifer Lawrence train: Hes currently in talks to co-star with her in the spy thriller Red Sparrow. The movie will be the fourth collaboration in as many years for J. Law and director Francis Lawrence, who helmed three of the four Hunger Games films. Red Sparrow is based on a book of the same name by Jason Matthews, which follows a young woman in modern-day Russia who is forced to serve as a sparrow in the countrys intelligence agency. Its the sparrows job to neutralize a green CIA operative, via seduction if necessary, but things naturally start to fall apart when the two become attracted to one another and she starts carrying on as a double agent. The movie is slated to premiere on November 10, 2017, and its being produced by Steve Zaillian, who is best known for writing historical dramas like Schindlers List, Gangs of New York, and American Gangster. If Edgerton ends up as the American CIA agent, his accent will likely sound great, but were really excited to hear J. Law have a go at Russian.
The co-star of the scene. Photo: Clay Enos/Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc.

Zack Snyders aesthetic choices are often blamed by fans for ruining Warner Bros. DC universe movies. Now they can claim his tainted touch may have been what cursed the abysmally reviewed Suicide Squad. The films writer-director, David Ayer, told Collider that the Batman v Superman helmer directed the brief flashback sequence in which we see Ezra Millers Flash capture Jai Courtneys Captain Boomerang. The whole thing lasts for a matter of seconds, but required the use of Miller and his elaborate costume, so he was borrowed from the in-production Justice League while Squad was in post. [W]e just got lucky, was Ayers assessment of the timing, though that may turn out to be one of the only lucky things about the picture.
Two members of the Russian contingent at the Rio Olympics said it was unfair for Narsingh Yadav to get a backdoor entry despite a failed dope test.

By India Today Web Desk: It is now Russia versus India. The Narsingh Yadav controversy seems to just go on and on and it is in fact becoming more global.



Speaking to India Today at the International Media Zone in the Village Plaza, two members of the Russian contingent (they were speaking through a local translator) were seriously agitated and said they were surprised how India could field a dope offender and how he could be let off by an anti-doping panel.

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They said while the entire Russian track team is banned, allowing Narsingh is an act of positive discrimination based on his skin colour.

Meanwhile, Narsingh's name was included in the 74kg freestyle for the Olympics by the United World Wrestling (UWW).



They also said it was seriously unfair that Russian wrestlers were barred based on past offences committed years earlier while Narsingh, a dope offender, gained a backdoor entry - sabotage or not.

The Russians could not speak on camera because these comments might be interpreted as challenging the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) and the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and hence they insisted on not being named.

They felt WADA should take a strong view of the matter and challenge the verdict immediately. One of them even called Narsingh a doped athlete and wondered how Indian officials could side with such a person.

The head of the Russian delegation, Alxendar Zhukov is already on record saying Russia is the most dope tested team in the Olympics and it's athletes, the 271 participating are the cleanest.

As many as 118 athletes from the original Russian contingent have been barred. In the 74 kg category in which Narsingh is expected to participate, Russia's Aniuar Geduev is a serious medal contender together with the favorite Jordan Burroughs from the United States of America, who won the gold in London four years earlier.

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By PTI: Jammu, Aug 5 (PTI) A cycle expedition, which commenced from Nepal a month ago to create awareness about environmental and gender-related issues, reached Jammu today.

Around 500 monks and nuns had started the journey on July 3 from Kathmandu towards Ladakh in Jammu and Kashmir. It will cover a distance of over 2,500 kms.

"The expedition commencing from one of the monasteries of Drukpa Lineage has become an annual feature aimed at spreading awareness about environmental and gender related issues in both the countries (India and Nepal)," Gyalwang Drukpa, spiritual head of Drukpa Lineage, told reporters.

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He said the expedition traversed through arduous routes in the Himalayan region amid adverse climatic conditions.

"It passed through quake-hit regions of Nepal to the monsoon-hit towns of Uttarakhand, Punjab, Haryana and Himachal Pradesh," he said, adding the expedition will culminate at Hemis Monastery in Ladakh.

He said a grand spiritual festival will be held in Ladakh to commemorate the 1000 birth anniversary of Indian saint Naropa, the patron of the Drukpa Lineage.

Drukpa, who is the founder of Druk Padma Karpo School in Ladakh, popularly known as Rancho School of 3 Idiots fame, said a lot more needs to be done to tackle environment and gender related issues in the country.

"It is good that the government has started Swach Bharat Mission and Beti Bachao and Beti Padhao Mission but a lot needs to be done on the ground to make these missions a success," he said.

While appealing the people of Kashmir to maintain peace and harmony, the spiritual leader said it was necessary for the development of the state.

"Peace has to be maintained from both the sides. It is not a one-way traffic. Bot the both parties need to sit and understand the importance of peace as nobody wants to be killed by gun," he stressed.

He also said people should stop fighting in the name of the religion.

Drukpa, who has been given the title of "Keeper of the Himalayas" by the United Nations, has given space to a large number of women in his monastery. PTI TSS AB DK AQS RG CPS

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China Spring Intermediate School fourth-grader Camden Kelly was declared the winner of the 2016 Chefs Choice Award with his breakfast, Tasty Toasty Rollers, at the eighth annual Kids Culinary Competition held in May.

Waco University High School hosted the competition, where the theme was My Favorite Healthy Breakfast Menu.

Attending the contest were four future chefs from China Spring Intermediate accompanied by their adult mentors.

Prior to the event, eight local school districts held their own preliminary recipe contests, and from those competitions, each school district selected four winners, plus an alternate, to advance to the live competition held at University High School.

Each contestant had to produce 121 servings of his or her own concept for the healthiest, most inviting breakfast.

There was a lot to get done, China Spring mentor Fay Hudgins said. Our day was really packed, and these kids worked really, really hard.

Camden said he had worked on his recipe for about three weeks, tweaking it on weekends and after school. He said he kept tasting and changing the recipe for his entry until he liked it and it was ready for the competition.

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China Spring ISD photo

Fourth-grader Camden Kelly is joined by his parents, Jessica and Mike Kelly, after winning the competition.
Following the footsteps of students from Osmania University, The Mysuru Dalit Welfare Trust is organising a beef eating festival to condemn the attacks on Dalits in Una and Chikmagalur.

In Mysuru, the beef fest has been organised on August 7 and it will be their way to voice their protest against attacks on Dalits in Una and Chikamagalur. Photo: PTI

By Rohini Swamy: It was in December 2015 that we saw several Dalit students at the Osmania university conducting a beef festival protesting against the attacks on Muslims and Dalits. Now another Dalit group from Mysuru has decided to organise a beef festival in Karnataka. This again in protest against the rising attacks on Dalits and Muslims across the country.

Beef-eating festivals keep the law enforcing agencies on tenterhooks as it has always shown the potential to create social tension and unleash violence between the pro and anti-beef activists. Now with dalits in Mysuru trying to make a point that they too want freedom to practice and eat without the right wing activists breathing down their neck, they have decided to hold a beef festival seeking this very freedom.

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"DALITS ARE TREATED LIKE BEASTS"



In Mysuru, the beef fest has been organised on August 7 and it will be their way to voice their protest against attacks on Dalits in Una and Chikamagalur. While speaking to India Today, the spokesperson of the Karnataka Dalit Welfare Trust, Shantaraju said "We have grown up eating beef, who are these activists to question what we eat? They attack us for even transporting meat and don't even check what kind of meat is there in the first place."

Shantaraju went on to say that there are expecting nearly 200 people to attend the function. "Did you see the video from Una incident? Is that how you treat us? Like beasts? We make shoes, belts and musical instruments as a part of our profession and these very people enjoy the fruit of our labour," Shantaraju said.

WHAT BEEF CONSUMPTION ALSO STANDS FOR



In the protests that erupted in Osmania university, Dalit groups demanded that beef be included in the food that was served at the campus hostel. It was their fight for the "freedom to eat".

In Kerala too, one of the biggest consumers of beef, the meat comes from both, cows and buffaloes. It has never had any religious overtones and some sections of Hindus too consume the meat.

The Mysuru Dalit welfare Trust has sought permission from the Mysuru police to hold this peaceful protest at the Town hall in the city.

Also read: Ready to kill, get killed to protect 'gau mata', says BJP MLA



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After serving five years at Midway High School, Principal Jeff Gasaway is leaving to take on a new role in Marble Falls.

His last day with the school will be Tuesday, according to an email sent to parents Friday. The Marble Falls ISD board of trustees approved Gasaway on Thursday night as the districts new assistant superintendent of administrative operations, the email states.

Jeff brings a wealth of experience to Marble Falls, Marble Falls Superintendent Chris Allen said in a press release. He is the 2016 PTA Secondary Principal of the Year, was the Region 12 Texas Association of Secondary School Principals Principal of Year and TASSP State finalist for the same award and served as an officer of the Texas Parent Teacher Association for Region 12 and the TASSP.

The news comes a little more than two weeks before the first day of school Aug. 23. Gasaway grew close to the students, parents and teachers and enjoyed watching the campus receive numerous awards and accolades during his leadership, he wrote in an email to parents.

Although the timing of this is not ideal, after prayer and thought, I have accepted a new position outside of the district, he stated. I look forward to this new challenge and the professional growth I will experience within this new position.

Until his replacement is found, Brent Merritt, the districts assistant superintendent for curriculum and instruction, will serve as the interim principal, Superintendent George Kazanas said in the email.

He will provide consistency and continuity with district and campus programs, policies and philosophies, Kazanas wrote of Merritt. He knows many of the staff, students and parents and has formed many positive relationships throughout his tenure in Midway ISD. He is excited about the opportunity to return to day-to-day campus operations as principal.

Kazanas went on to state Gasaway and his family will be missed, but hes proud to see Gasaway advance his career in education.

A great honor

It has been a great honor to serve as the principal for Midway High School, Gasaway wrote to parents. Thank you for your belief in me as the leader of this campus. Thank you for your support of the work we are doing. I know that we can all be proud of the success we have experienced. I want to wish the best to you and your students this upcoming year and look forward to hearing about the successes at Midway High School.

Marble Falls is a town about 50 miles northwest of Austin on the Colorado River. The school district is Class 5A and has more than 4,000 students, according to the districts website.
Engineers gave area residents an update Thursday on the sometimes tedious work that may one day prevent property damage and threats to human life caused by flooding along Flat Creek.

Midway graduate LaCharles Montgomery drowned after Flat Creek floodwaters swept his car off the road while he was driving home from work late at night in June 2014.

Mother Nature knows no jurisdictional boundaries, Walker Partners President George Jed Walker said. This really has to be a regional effort, because we need to bring the flood plain up to where it is today.

Officials and residents from Waco, Robinson, Woodway and Hewitt gathered at Midway High School on Thursday for the second public meeting on the Flat Creek Flood Protection Study to get public feedback and update residents of the Flood Protection Planning grant from the Texas Water Development Board concerning Flat Creek.

The municipalities received about $300,000 last fall to update a Federal Emergency Management Agency flood map so it includes up-to-date flood plains in the region, mainly for insurance purposes.

To the people living with it every day, they know where it is and so they say, Yeah, youre putting it on paper, but we have to do that to be able to come up with long-term solutions, Walker said. Part of what we are identifying are areas that we can generate computer models to determine where we believe the flood plain to be. Then we will go in and look at capital improvement plans with estimated costs so cities can figure out how to finance and approve projects.

The meeting focused on Flat Creek, which flows throughout the four cities and has been causing flooding damage for residents for more than 50 years. Robinson landowner Robert Pryor, who has owned property along Flat Creek for more than 20 years, said he was frustrated during the meeting because the planning process seems slow.

The water runs up on my property  not in Flat Creek, Pryor said. I asked a question about why someone doesnt just clean the creek out? Clean out the trash, the trees and everything that is backing it up, because then the creek might not flood so much.

Presenters highlighted regional flooding throughout McLennan County during the community presentation from floods in the past 100 years, including the flood that led to Montgomerys death.

HDR engineering firm project manager Curtis Beitel said up-to-date hydraulic mapping will give local cities a better guide to public safety risks and local zoning properties as the areas population continues to expand. Solutions will not come overnight, but the extensive mapping will guide future progress, Beitel said.

We didnt get in this situation overnight and we arent going to get out of it overnight either, so it will take a while, but we need to get the planning process going to get to future projects, Beitel said. (In 20 years), I think there will be less flood damage in the Flat Creek watershed because of this project.

A third public meeting will be planned for this fall, Walker said. He said engineers will continue to meet with local residents and map locations of concern for flooding.
A man was arrested Friday morning after he allegedly made arrangements with an undercover officer posing as a 16-year-old girl to have sex at a Hewitt residence, Hewitt Police Chief Jim Devlin said.

Donovan Hofacker, 27, was arrested at a rental property in the 500 block of Hewitt Drive after he began communication through social media with a supposed teenage girl, Devlin said. Hewitt police initially were made aware of suspected inappropriate activity through a separate investigation by the Bellmead Police Department, Devlin said.

On Thursday, we were contacted by another law enforcement agency, the Bellmead Police Department, in reference to some suspicious online activity, Devlin said. When they began to research it, they found out that the potential suspect has an address near Hewitt, so their agency reached out to us, wanting to find out if we had ever dealt with this individual, too, and to let us know of a potential issue going on.

In Hewitts investigation, a police detective posed as a 16-year-old girl as Hofacker, who turned 27 years old Thursday, began an online conversation with the detective. As their communication continued, Devlin said, the conversation turned sexual in nature.

The activity was of such a nature we felt like we had to deal with this immediately, Devlin said. Instantaneously, just like weve seen with the McLennan County Sheriffs Office investigations, communication began and they started talking back and forth before the conversation became sexual and he solicited the minor for sex.

Devlin credited McLennan County Sheriff Parnell McNamara and the work his department has done in the past 18 months in attempts to combat human trafficking in McLennan County. Devlin said Fridays arrest is proof that online solicitation, especially of minors, can happen anywhere.

This is a prevalent issue throughout the country, and there are plenty of examples here in Central Texas, he said. The sheriffs office has been doing operations like this, and they have arrested hundreds as far as human trafficking is concerned, and this right here lent itself to human trafficking. This was the beginning of human trafficking.

Hofacker was arrested at the rental property and was later booked into McLennan County Jail on a charge of online solicitation of a minor.

Bellmead police Sgt. Kory Martin said authorities began an investigation concerning Hofacker after he allegedly attempted to solicit sex from a woman who posted a request for help after she and another man were about to become homeless. Martin said Hofacker, who presented himself as strongly religious, told the woman he had an extra room and could help the down-and-out couple.

We found a post from the female on social media group . . . who made a post asking for help from anyone for a place to stay, Martin said. They did have several responses, but (Hofacker) posts that he has a room and basically that he is really religious and loves all people, so he would be willing to help.

Through private online communication between Hofacker and the woman, Martin said, the offer of assistance turned sexual and Hofacker began to solicit her for sex.

He was taking advantage of the circumstance, Martin said.

During Bellmeads investigation, Martin said it notified Hewitt of the suspicious behavior, which eventually led to the solicitation of a minor charge. Martin said Bellmead closed the case with Hofacker with no charges, but he said he is proud of the communication between agencies.

I think that we can get a lot more accomplished working together, instead of just brushing it off if we cant make a case on something, Martin said. We wanted to see where else we could go and see who else we could help so we can be a part of helping our area.
Bellmead police are searching for a masked man who reportedly robbed Motel 6 on Friday. The man may have ties to a Motel 6 robbery in Temple earlier in the day, Bellmead police Sgt. Kory Martin said.

Shortly after 10 a.m., police were called to Motel 6, 1509 Hogan Lane, after a masked man entered the lobby carrying a handgun. The man robbed the business of less than $200 in cash and fled the store shortly before police arrived.

Officers responded quickly to the scene, and further information was given that the suspect fled over a fence, entering a field behind the business, Martin said in a press release.

Police called on other nearby agencies, including a Texas State Technical College K-9 unit and McLennan County Sheriffs Office helicopter, to aid in the search, Martin said. The suspect was not located, and authorities believe he may have gotten into a vehicle before the perimeter was established.

We are not sure on this yet, but we believe this suspect may have been involved in a Motel 6 robbery in Temple earlier, Martin said. We are still working with Temple police but think there are a lot of similarities.

A suspect entered the Temple Motel 6 shortly before 9 a.m. and reportedly demanded money from the business, authorities said. The Temple suspect was also wearing a mask and displayed a weapon before fleeing the business.

No one was injured in either robbery. Police released surveillance videos in hopes of identifying the suspect.

Anyone with information on the Bellmead robbery is asked to contact the Bellmead Police Department at 799-0251.
The city is working to secure federal funding for a proposed $30 million in projects to prevent a catastrophic failure of the steep slope above Lake Shore Drive between Koehne Park and Mount Carmel Drive.

A consultant the city hired met with Rep. Bill Flores, R-Bryan, in May about getting funding from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers for the projects, the consultant told the city council Thursday.

The city would need $70,000 for the project in its fiscal year 2017 budget, $2.8 million in 2018 and $26.2 million during the next three years, which adds up to more than $29 million.

Tom Ray of Hicks-Ray Associates said he left the meeting with Flores feeling optimistic the city will get a line item in the corps budget.

If we can get a line item in that budget, no matter how meager, of some substance . . . every year we can add to that, he said.

The project would pay for perforated drainage pipes along the slope and hundreds of 35-feet long steel bars to nail the soil in place. The installation of pipes could begin in 2019, and the bars could be placed in the early 2020s.

The city is set to start work on a shorter-term project next year that would repave the stretch and bank its curve at a cost of $380,000. City officials have said the curve becomes dangerous in rain, even going as far as closing the stretch during storms to prevent wrecks. It stopped closing the road after it installed a speed indicator, which officials say has cut down on wrecks.

The new pavement will allow water to run through a permeable top layer and drain to the side without making the surface as slippery as standard pavement.

The city will pay up to $122,500 for the 2017 project, and the federal Highway Safety Improvement Program and the Texas Department of Transportation will pay for the rest.

A $510,000 engineering study identified the potential for the slope above the road to fail, potentially destroying the road below.

Remedying problems with the slopes stability will make up the bulk of the $30 million in longer-term projects.
ASHLAND  Larry Quigley will be the featured speaker at the Men in Mission breakfast meeting on Saturday, Aug. 6 at First Christian Church in Ashland.

Quigley is a board member of Christ For the City International, based in Omaha. He has traveled overseas for may mission trips through the years. A member of Emmanuel Fellowship Church in Omaha, he has been a Sunday School teacher, Bible study leader and elder and has been involved in jail ministry. He accepted Christ as his savior in 1957.

Born in Scranton, Iowa, Quigley has lived in Omaha since 1949. He worked in a packing house for 12 years before becoming an insurance agent. He retired in 2001.

The Men in Mission Romans Bible Study will be held Saturday, Aug. 20 at 7 a.m. at Ashland Baptist Church.
WAVERLY  Courtney Bower just wants to be able to enjoy going to the playground with her children.

But most days, a trip to the playground is difficult, as the effects of multiple sclerosis have taken their toll on the young Waverly mom. She suffers from foot drop, fatigue and cognitive impairment, among other side effects of the disease.

Leaving the house can be a significant hurdle.

Pretty much every day I dont feel like doing anything, Bower said. But Im a mom, so my work is never done.

Bower received the MS diagnosis nearly two years ago, in October 2014. She had been experiencing symptoms for nearly seven years before the issue was officially acknowledged.

The troubles began after the birth of her oldest son, Quin. During the pregnancy she started feeling better, but within a week the symptoms returned. Now, she knows that what she experienced was a relapse of MS-related symptoms, but doctors at the time told her that her vertigo and vision troubles were related to childbirth.

She wasnt too sure of their explanations.

I told them no something is wrong, she said. That kind of stuff doesnt affect your vision and make you feel like youre in the ocean.

The same process played out after the birth of her second son, Trase. Doctors again had the same response.

Once again, no one could really figure it out, she said.

After visiting a number of different doctors to no avail, Bower said she had more or less given up. That is until a fateful trip to Rider Chiropractic cleared things up.

She was just going to see if her spine was out of alignment, Bower said. After barely five minutes in the examination room, the chiropractor said she thought MS was the problem.

Bower was immediately referred to a specialist, where, lo and behold, she learned she had indeed been living with multiple sclerosis. It was a breakthrough moment for Bower and her family.

I was a little shocked and a little relieved, because that made sense, she said.

She and her new doctor pieced together her medical history, and Bower received more detailed information about the illness. Thats when it hit her that she was dealing with a monster of a disease.

It really sunk in thats that what it really was, she said.

She was immediately prescribed treatment, but the first drug, Plegridy, didnt work. Neither did the second method, Tecfidera. Both drugs left her wrestling with terrible side effects.

Like the worst flu youve ever had, she said about how she felt. I had high fevers, I couldnt eat  it was terrible.

Shes started a third drug now, Tysabri, though shes concerned about the possible side effects of that drug and worried it too will fail to provide relief.

I really dont want to be on this drug, because all of the stuff that can go wrong, she said.

While she had been struggling with coming to terms with her illness, Bower voraciously devoured any information she could about MS and made friends along the way. She soon found support from others afflicted with the disease, finding understanding with those who were dealing with the same fears.

Its a tight knit community, Bower said. Everyones really nice.

It was the same community that turned attention to a different treatment for MS, one still in its early stages and still being researched.

Hematopoietic Stem Cell Therapy, or HSCT, is a relatively new option for treating MS that attempts to reboot the immune system, according to the National Multiple Sclerosis Society. The treatment requires patients to receive chemotherapy to bring bone marrow stem cells into the bloodstream. Blood is then drawn and the stem cells are saved.

Following that, the patient is then hospitalized and given a significant dose of chemotherapies with the aim of killing the imune system. After that, the stem cells are then reintroduced to the bloodstream, and the patient is hospitalized while the immune system rebuilds itself. That process continues after the patient leaves the hospital, with the total process taking three to six months.

There is risk involved, as the powerful chemotherapies used make the body more vulnerable to infection. Some trials have reported fatalities, though that number is small.

Stem cell therapies are commonly used to treat cancer, but there have not been enough clinical trials to make it an FDA-approved treatment for MS in the United States. Many studies, however, show promising outcomes.

Stories shes heard firsthand from those whove undergone the treatment have convinced Bower that HSTC is worth it. She reached out to those she had met online and learned how the treatment had changed their lives. One individual in particular went from using a wheelchair to being able to go hiking.

If something like that is possible, I would love to take the chance, she said.

And, shes received that chance. She recently learned she made it on to the waitlist for treatment at Clinica Ruiz in Puebla, Mexico.

Theres one problem, though  a $75,000 price tag that must be paid up front.

Bower is currently studying respiratory therapy, and her husband, James, is the sole breadwinner of the home at the moment. Finding those kinds of funds is not a possibility on their own. So shes asking for help.

She recently created a GoFundMe page and a website (www.savecourtney.weebly.com) to ask for donations. Bower is shy by nature, but her online connections have encouraged her to get out into the world and tell her story.

The cognitive impairment in particular is rough. She has trouble recalling memories, and, with two young boys, she doesnt want to miss a single moment.

I feel like my life is going on without me, she said. I feel like Im not retaining it.

She estimated she has about a year to raise the required funds. Interested donors can visit gofundme.com/courtneybhsct and follow her updates along the way.

Getting out and talking to people is a tough hurdle for the young mom, but if it means more time with her sons, shes willing to do anything.

I want it bad enough I dont care what it takes, she said. They shouldnt have to know that mommys sick. It kills me. It breaks my heart.
In the crammed and complicated web of religions, temples and godmen, exist a handful of non-believers in India. The 2011 census listed 33,000 Indians who did not record their religion. Globally, there are 13 countries where a confession to atheism can attract capital punishment.

By India Today Web Desk: In a country packed with myriad religions, gods and goddess, there exists a handful who refuse to profess their allegiance to any. This is literally a microscopic minority. During the 2011 Census, merely 0.002 per cent of Indians declared themselves as atheists.

That is, out of the 1.21 billion Indians, just 33,000.

A Hindustan Times report says women constitute half the number and seven out of 10 atheists live in rural India. The report lists Maharashtra at the top, with 9,652 professed non-believers, followed by Meghalaya (9,089), Kerala (4,896) and Tamil Nadu (2,425). Lakshadweep has only one atheist and Dadra and Nagar Haveli four.

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No matter how big or small the number, India is secular when compared to other countries. People have a right to follow any religion and also have a right to not follow any and do so openly. But this can be a matter of life or death in certain other countries.

Of course, religious extremism is a glaring problem in India and in reality it isn't easy to be a 'non-believer' in vociferously vocal, theist society like ours.

Around the world, atheists and other religious skeptics face the wrath of persecution or discrimination, and in nearly 13 countries being a non-believer is punishable by law.

The Free Thought Report 2013, from the International Humanist and Ethical Union (IHEU) , points to policies against atheism in different countries:

The countries where death, often by public beheading, is the punishment for either blasphemy or apostasy (renouncing belief or switching to another) are Afghanistan, Iran, Malaysia, Maldives, Mauritania, Nigeria, Pakistan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, Sudan, United Arab Emirates, Yemen.

In countries like Bangladesh, Egypt, Indonesia, Kuwait and Jordan, publication of atheist or extremist views on religion are banned or strictly limited under laws prohibiting "blasphemy".

More recently, three atheist bloggers were stabbed to death in Bangladesh for advocating scientific facts against religion.

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By PTI: New Delhi, Aug 4 (PTI) State-owned ONGC and Oil India Ltd today paid Assam government Rs 1,450 crore in past royalty dues on crude oil produced in the state with Petroleum Minister Dharmendra Pradhan saying the previous Congress government had done great injustice to the state.

While OIL Chairman and Managing Director Utpal Bora handed over a cheque of Rs 1,149.24 crore to Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal, Oil and Natural Gas Corp (ONGC) CMD Dinesh K Sarraf presented a cheque of Rs 300.64 crore.

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Speaking on the occasion, Pradhan alleged that Congress President Sonia Gandhi in a bid to "punish people of Gujarat for re-electing Narendra Modi as Chief Minister in 2007" had changed the way royalty is paid to crude oil producing states.

In trying to target Gujarat, Assam too became a victim, he said.

Assam Finance Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma too said the methodology of charging royalty was changed to "curtail economic prosperity of Gujarat" but in the process "Assam too was weakened."

According to the Oil Field Act, ONGC/OIL are required to pay 20 per cent royalty on price of crude oil it extracts from onland oil blocks to the state governments.

But the government in 2004 order asking them to share a part of the subsidy on petrol, diesel and cooking fuels LPG and kerosene by way of giving discount of crude oil they sell to refiners. In 2008, the government asked them to pay royalty on the discounted price, thereby impact revenue of oil producing states like Gujarat and Assam.

Gujarat government in 2011 filed a petition before the High Court, stating that it should be paid royalty at market rate and the difference in royalty payment since 2008 at pre- discount rate (in comparison to market rate) was computed at Rs 9,000 crore to Rs 10,000 crore. The High Court ruled in its favour in November 2013.

ONGC challenged the decision in the Supreme Court which asked the company pay Gujarat at gross or pre-discount price during pendency of the petition.

While Gujarat was getting royalty at pre-discounted rates, Assam was paid the duty at discounted rate. The government last month ordered ONGC and OIL to pay Assam royalty at pre-discounted rates from back date of February 2014.

The royalty for the period since February 2014 was paid to Assam government today.

Pradhan said he had in April 2015 asked the then Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi to also take the Gujarat route and field petition in court but "they filed a petition but did not fight it."

"Gross injustice was done to Assam and today we are here to rectify that," he said.

Sarma blamed former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh for doing injustice to Assam by imposing an unfair royalty calculation formula despite representing the state in the Upper House.

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Sonowal said the former Prime Minister did not do anything to benefit the state due to his "non-commitment to Assam". PTI ANZ DG NN ABK

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Ashford Hospitality Trust is the culmination of decades of real estate experience dating back to the 1960s. Now based in Dallas, TX, the company was founded and went public in 2003. The company is geared to withstand the ups and downs of the hospitality and hotel cycles. The company is committed to disciplined capital market activities, has a successful transaction track record, and brings value-added asset management to the table.

Ashford Hospitality Trust is guided by five principles that best describe the company. These are Ethical, Innovative, Profitable, Engaging, and Tenacious and all key components of its reputation for integrity.

The companys portfolio is well-diversified across brands and includes but is not limited to Courtyard, Crown Plaza, Embassy Suites, Hampton Inn, Hilton, Marriot, Ritz-Carlton, and Sheraton. Properties are located in 25 of the 50 US states and Washington, D.C. targeting the top 25 markets in the nation. The company also owns a number of private and boutique names as well.

Ashford Hospitality Trust was founded by Monty J. Bennet who is the Chairman of the Board as well as Chairman, CEO, and President of Ashford, Inc which also trades on the NYSE. Mr. Bennet has more than 25 years of experience in the hospitality industry including owning and operating major hotels.
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At least 700 stray dogs have been poisoned in Pakistan's Karachi by officials to prevent attack on people. The dogs were culled using poison tablets hidden in chicken meat.

By India Today Web Desk: Officials estimate that at least 700 dogs have been poisoned and killed after the number of stray dog attacks in Karachi went up.



The dogs were culled using poison tablets hidden in chicken meat.

Bodies of dead dogs were lying in various areas of the city and municipal workers gathered them for disposal.

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"At least 700 dogs have been killed only in two areas of Karachi's south in the last couple of days," said Sattar Javed, a spokesman for the municipal authority reported Reuters.

This operation has been conducted in six city districts and officials have estimated that thousands of stray dogs have been killed. However, an official count was not declared.

Also read: How one guy on Twitter nailed the man who poisoned 15 stray dogs



Animal rights activists in Pakistan have criticised the operation which is being considered necessary as last year Jinnah Hospital in Karachi treated 6,500 people bitten by dogs. The count has reached to 3,700 cases this year.

Mass culling of stray dogs happened in 2015 as well. Following the killing, the dogs were laid out in the hot sun and dumped in a rubbish pile later.

Governing more than 23 million people as of 2013, Karachi government was promoted to launch the culling campaign after increasing dog biting incidents.

Also read: Humanity at its worst: Man throwing dog off the roof identified as medical student from Chennai



A similar practice takes in Lahore as well. But Pakistan is not the only country which kills dogs.

In 2014, Russian officials of the city of Sochi were accused of a campaign to exterminate street dogs using poison. The authorities hired a private company to kill as many stray dogs as possible before Winter Olympics.

Both the nations received flak from their country's animal rights group for killing stray dogs.

Also read: Waiting for the day Kashmir joins Pakistan: Nawaz Sharif needles India again







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Delek US Holdings, Inc. engages in the integrated downstream energy business in the United States. The company operates through three segments: Refining, Logistics, and Retail. The Refining segment processes crude oil and other feedstock for the manufacture of various grades of gasoline, diesel fuel, aviation fuel, asphalt, and other petroleum-based products that are distributed through owned and third-party product terminal. It owns and operates four independent refineries located in Tyler, Texas; El Dorado, Arkansas; Big Spring, Texas; and Krotz Springs, Louisiana, as well as three biodiesel facilities in Crossett, Arkansas, Cleburne, Texas, and New Albany. The Logistics segment gathers, transports, and stores crude oil, intermediate, and refined products; and markets, distributes, transports, and stores refined products for third parties. It owns or leases capacity on approximately 400 miles of crude oil transportation pipelines, approximately 450 miles of refined product pipelines, an approximately 900-mile crude oil gathering system, and associated crude oil storage tanks with an aggregate of approximately 10.2 million barrels of active shell capacity; and owns and operates ten light product distribution terminals, as well as markets light products using third-party terminals. The Retail segment owns and leases 248 convenience store sites located primarily in West Texas and New Mexico. Its convenience stores offer various grades of gasoline and diesel under the DK or Alon brand; and food products and service, tobacco products, non-alcoholic and alcoholic beverages, and general merchandise, as well as money orders to the public primarily under the 7-Eleven and DK or Alon brand names. It serves oil companies, independent refiners and marketers, jobbers, distributors, utility and transportation companies, the U.S. government, and independent retail fuel operators. Delek US Holdings, Inc. was founded in 2001 and is headquartered in Brentwood, Tennessee.
The following companies are subsidiares of Quanta Services: (De) Lazy Q Ranch LLC, 1 Diamond LLC, 1Diamond AS, 618232 Alberta Ltd., 8246408 Canada Inc., Advanced Electric Systems, Advanced Electric Systems LLC, Advanced Utility Testing & Maintenance LLC, Alexander Publications LLC, Allteck GP Ltd., Allteck Limited Partnership, Apprenticeship Programs Inc., Arby Construction, Arcanum Chemicals LLC, Arnett & Burgess Oil Field Construction Limited, Arnett & Burgess Pipeliners (Rockies) LLC, Arnett & Burgess Pipeliners Ltd., B&N Clearing and Environmental LLC, Banister Pipelines Constructors Corp., Banister Pipelines Constructors GP Ltd., Banister Pipelines Limited Partnership, Brent Woodward Inc., Brink Constructors Inc., Brink Constructors Inc. A Corporation Of South Dakota, Brown Engineering and Testing, CAT SPEC Ltd., CAT-SPEC Limited Partnership, CAT-SPEC Limited Partnership (Regd Name) CAT SPEC Ltd., CAT-Spec Limited Partnership, Canadian Utility Construction Corp., Cat Spec Limited LP, Cat Spec Ltd, Cat Spec Ltd. L.P., Cat Spec Ltd. LP, Cat Spec. Ltd. LP, Cat-Spec Ltd (A Domestic limited Partnership), Cat-Spec Ltd LP, Cat-Spec Ltd., Cat-Spec Ltd. L.P., Cat-Spec Ltd. LP, Cat-Spec Ltd. Limited Partnership, Catalyst Changers Inc., Chatham Electric, Citadel Industrial Services L.P., Citadel Industrial Services Ltd., Citadel Industrial Services Ltd. L.P., Citadel Industrial Services Ltd. Limited Partnership, Coe Drilling Pty Ltd., Computapole, Conam Construction Co., Consolidated Power Projects Australia Pty Ltd, Conti Communications Inc., Crux Subsurface Canada Ltd., Crux Subsurface Inc., Cutting Technology - 1 Diamond LLC, DB Utilities Inc., DE Lazy Q Ranch LLC, DNR Pressure Welding Ltd., Dacon Corporation, Dashiell (DE) Corporation (Dashiell Corporation), Dashiell Corporation, Dashiell Corporation DBA Dashiell (DE) Corporation, De Mears Group, De Mears Group Inc., Delaware Quanta Technology LLC, Delaware Underground Construction Co., Didado Utility Company Inc., Digco Utility Construction L.P. Digco Utility Construction Limited Partnership, Dorado Specialty Services L.P., Dorado Specialty Services Ltd., Dorado Specialty Services Ltd. L.P., Dorado Specialty Services Ltd. Limited Partnership, Dorado Specialty Services. Ltd. L.P., Driftwood Electrical Contractors, EHV Power ULC, ELITE PIPING & CIVIL L.P., ELITE TURNAROUND SPECIALISTS LTD, Elite Fabrication Ltd. Elite Fabrication LP, Elite Piping & Civil Limited Partnership, Elite Piping & Civil Limited Partnership, Elite Piping & Civil Lp, Elite Piping & Civil Ltd L.P., Elite Piping & Civil Ltd., Elite Piping & Civil Ltd. L.P., Elite Piping & Civil Ltd. Limited Partnership, Elite Piping and Civil L.P., Elite Turnaround Specialists L.p., Elite Turnaround Specialists Limited Lp, Elite Turnaround Specialists Limited Partnership, Elite Turnaround Specialists Limited Partnership, Elite Turnaround Specialists Ltd Lp, Elite Turnaround Specialists Ltd., Elite Turnaround Specialists Ltd. L.P., Elite Turnaround Specialists Ltd. LP, Elite Turnaround Specialists Ltd. Limited Partnership, Energy Consulting Group LLC, Enscope, Enscope Pty Ltd, FIC GP LLC, Field Personnel Services LLC, First Infrastructure Capital Advisors LLC, First Infrastructure Capital GP L.P., Five Points Construction Co., G-Tek, G-Vac, GEM Engineering Co., Grand Electric Inc., Great Lakes Line Builders, Grid Creative Inc., Grid Manufacturing Corporation, Grid Training Corporation, H.L. Chapman Pipeline Construction Inc., Haverfield Aviation, Haverfield Aviation Inc., Haverfield International Incorporated, Heritage Midstream LLC, IM Electric Inc., IUC ILLINOIS LLC, IUC Nebraska LLC, InfraSource Construction LLC, InfraSource Field Services LLC, InfraSource Services LLC, InfraSources Construction LLC, Infraestructura ETP de Mexico S. de R.L. de C.V, Infrasource Engineering Company PC, Infrasource Iowa Underground LLC, Infrasource Of Pa LLC, Integracion Tecnologica del Peru SAC, Intermountain Electric Inc., Intermountain Electric Inc. A Corporation of Colorado, IonEarth LLC, Irby Construction Company, Irby Construction Company Inc., Iron Mountain M.J. Electric LLC, Island Mechanical Corporation, J.C.R. Construction Co. Inc., J.C.R. Utility Construction Co., J.W. Didado Electric Inc., J.W. Didado Electric LLC, J.w. Didado Electric, JBT Electric LLC, Kingston Contracting Inc., Lazy Q Ranch LLC, Lazy Q Training Center LLC The Lazy Q Lineman School, Legend Foundation Services, Lex Engineering Ltd., Lindsey Electric L.P., Logical Link, Longfellow Drilling, M. G. Dyess Inc., M. J. ELECTRIC LLC IRON MOUNTAIN, M. J. Electric LLC, M. J. Electric LLC - Iron Mountain, M. J. Electric LLC DBA M. J. Electric Iron Mountain LLC, M.J. Electric LLC DBA M.J. Electric Iron Mountain, M.J. Electric LLC Iron Mountain, MTS Field Services, MTS Field Services (Richmond Co), MTS Quanta LLC, Manuel Bros. Inc., Marathon Construction Services, Mears Canada Corp., Mears Equipment Services LLC, Mears Group Inc., Mears Group Pty Ltd, Mears Installation LLC, Mearsmex S. de R.L. de C.V., Mejia Personnel Services LLC, Mercer Technical Services, Microline Technology Corporation, Mid America Energy Services Inc., NACAP Niugini Ltd., NC Northstar Energy Services Inc, NGI Construction, NGI Construction Inc., NGI Construction Inc. (FN), NLC CA. Inc., NLC FL. Inc. Northwest Lineman Center, NLC ID. Inc. Northwest Lineman College, NLC TX. Inc., NPC Energy Services LLC, Nacap Australia, Nacap PNG Limited, Network Communication Services, North Houston Pole Line L.P., North Houston Pole Line Limited Partnership, North Sky Communications, NorthStar Energy Services Inc., Northern Powerline Constructors Inc., Northstar Energy Solutions LLC, Northwest Lineman Center, Northwest Lineman College, Northwest Lineman Training Center, Northwest Lineman Training Center Inc., Nova Constructors LLC, Nova Constructors LTD, Nova Equipment Leasing LLC, Nova Group Inc, Nova Group Inc (CA), Nova Group Inc., Nova Group Inc. DBA NGI Construction, Nova NextGen Solutions LLC, O. J. Pipelines Canada Corporation, O. J. Pipelines Canada Limited Partnership, O.J. Industrial Maintenance, O.J. Pipelines Canada, One Call Locators Canada Ltd., P.D.G. Electric, PAR Electrical Contractors Inc., PDG Electric Co., Par Internacional S. de R.L. de C.V., Performance Energy Services Guyana Ltd., Performance Energy Services L.L.C., Phasor Engineering Inc., Phoenix North Constructors Inc., Phoenix Power Group Inc., Potelco Inc., Potelco Incorporated, Power Delivery Program Inc., Price Gregory International Inc., Price Gregory Services LLC, Probst Construction Inc., Probst Electric Inc., QEPC, QEPC Power Solutions LLC, QES GP LLC, QP Energy Services LLC, QPS Engineering LLC, QPS Engineering LTD., QPS Engineering PLLC, QPS Environmental, QPS Flint Construction, QPS Flint Tank Services, QPS Global, QPS Global Services, QPS Global Services (Richmond Ci), QPS Professional Services, QPSE, QS Mats, QSI Engineering Inc., QSI Finance (Australia) Pty Ltd., QSI Finance (Cayman) Pvt. Ltd., QSI Finance Canada ULC, QSI Finance GP (US) LLC, QSI Finance I (Singapore) Pte. Ltd., QSI Finance I (US) LP, QSI Finance II (Australia) Pty Ltd., QSI Finance II (Lux) S.a r.l, QSI Finance II (Singapore) Pte. Ltd., QSI Finance III (Canada) ULC, QSI Finance III (Lux) SARL, QSI Finance IV (Canada) ULC, QSI Finance IX (Canada) Limited Partnership, QSI Finance V (US) L.P., QSI Finance VI (Canada) ULC, QSI Finance VII (Canada) Limited Partnership, QSI Finance VIII (Canada) ULC, QSI Finance X (Canada) ULC, QSI Inc., QSN Lux Holdings I SCSp, QSN Lux Holdings II SCSp, QSN Lux Holdings III SCSp, QSN Lux Holdings IV SCSp, QTSL LLC, QUANTA FOUNDATION SERVICES, Quanta APL GP II Ltd., Quanta Asset Management LLC, Quanta Associates L.P., Quanta Aviation Services LLC, Quanta Canada GP ULC, Quanta Canada Holdings III Limited Partnership, Quanta Canada Holdings LP, Quanta Canada III GP Ltd., Quanta Capital GP LLC, Quanta Capital LP L.P., Quanta Capital Solutions Inc., Quanta Cares, Quanta EPC Services, Quanta Electric Power Construction LLC, Quanta Electric Power Construction Management Inc., Quanta Electric Power Services LLC, Quanta Electric Power Services West LLC, Quanta Energized Innovations Ltd., Quanta Energized Services U.S. LLC, Quanta Energized Services of Canada Ltd., Quanta Energy Services LLC, Quanta Environmental Solutions, Quanta Equipment Company LLC, Quanta Government Solutions Inc., Quanta Holdings I (Netherlands) B.V., Quanta Holdings II (Netherlands) B.V., Quanta Infraestructura de Chile SpA, Quanta Infrastructure Services LLC, Quanta Infrastructure Services S. de R.L. de C.V., Quanta Inline Devices LLC, Quanta Inspection Services, Quanta Insurance Company Inc., Quanta International Holdings (US) LLC, Quanta International Holdings II Ltd., Quanta International Holdings Ltd., Quanta International Limited, Quanta Kingsvale LP Ltd., Quanta Lines Pty Ltd., Quanta Maine Services LLC, Quanta Middle East LLC, Quanta Pipeline Services Inc., Quanta Power Australia Pty Ltd, Quanta Power Generation Inc., Quanta Power Inc., Quanta Power Solutions India Private Limited, Quanta Resource Development, Quanta Services Africa (PTY) Ltd., Quanta Services Australia Pty Ltd., Quanta Services Chile SpA, Quanta Services Colombia S.A.S., Quanta Services Costa Rica Ltda., Quanta Services Guatemala Ltda., Quanta Services International Holdings II LP, Quanta Services International Holdings LP, Quanta Services Management Partnership L.P., Quanta Services Netherlands B.V., Quanta Services Panama S. de R.L., Quanta Services Peru S.A.C., Quanta Services Puerto Rico LLC, Quanta Services of Canada Ltd., Quanta Subsurface Canada Ltd., Quanta Subsurface LLC, Quanta Tank Services, Quanta Technology Canada ULC, Quanta Technology LLC, Quanta Technology UK Ltd., Quanta Tecnologia do Brasil Ltda., Quanta Telecom, Quanta Telecom Services, Quanta Telecommunication Services, Quanta Telecommunication Services LLC, Quanta Telecommunications Services LLC, Quanta Underground Services, Quanta Underground Services (Culpeper Co), Quanta Underground Services (Spotsylvania Co), Quanta Underground Services Inc., Quanta Utility Engineering Services Inc., Quanta Utility Installation Company Inc., Quanta Utility Operation LLC, Quanta West LLC, Quantecua Cia. Ltda., R. R. Cassidy Inc., RMS Holdings LLC, RMS Holdings LLC (Delaware), RMS Welding Systems, RMS Welding Systems LLC, Ranger Directional, Realtime Engineers Inc., Realtime Utility Engineers Inc., Redes Andinas de Comunicaciones S.R.L., Riggin & Diggin Line Construction, Rms Welding LLC, Rms Welding Systems LLC, Road Bore Corporation, Ryan Company Inc. The, Ryan Company Inc. of Massachusetts, Ryan Company Inc.(The), Seaward, Seaward Corp, Seaward Corporation, Service EC (DE) Inc., Service Electric Company (DE), Service Electric Company Inc., Service Electric Company of Delaware, Servicios Par Electric S. de R.L. de C.V., Servicios de Infraestructura del Peru S.A.C., Southwest Trenching Company Inc., Specialty Tank Services L.P., Specialty Tank Services LP, Specialty Tank Services Limited Partnership, Specialty Tank Services Limited Partnership, Specialty Tank Services Ltd., Specialty Tank Services Ltd. (LP), Specialty Tank Services Ltd. L.P., Specialty Tank Services Ltd. LP, Specialty Tank Services Ltd. LP, Specialty Tank Services Ltd. Limited Partnership, Stronghold General LLC, Stronghold Holdings (BVI) Limited, Stronghold Inspection L.P., Stronghold Inspection Limited Partnership, Stronghold Inspection Limited Partnership, Stronghold Inspection Lp, Stronghold Inspection Ltd L.P., Stronghold Inspection Ltd., Stronghold Inspection Ltd. L.P., Stronghold Inspection Ltd. Limited Partnership, Stronghold Limited Partnership, Stronghold Ltd., Stronghold Ltd. Limited Partnership, Stronghold Management Holdings LP, Stronghold Specialty General LLC, Stronghold Specialty Ltd., Stronghold Specialty Ltd., Stronghold Specialty Ltd. Limited Partnership, Stronghold Tower Group LP, Stronghold Tower Group Ltd LP, Stronghold Tower Group Ltd., Stronghold Tower Group Ltd. LP, Stronghold VI LLC, Subterra Damage Prevention Specialists Ltd., Summit Line Construction, Sumter Utilities Inc., T. G. Mercer Consulting Services Inc., TA Construction, TC Infrastructure Services Ltd., Taylor Built, Texas Specialty Tank Services Ltd. LP, The Aspen Utility Company LLC, The ComTran Group Inc., The Hallen Construction Co. Inc., The Massachusetts Ryan Company Inc., The Ryan Company Inc Of Massachusetts, The Ryan Company Inc., The Ryan Company Inc. (Massachusetts), The Ryan Company Inc. of Massachusetts, The Ryan Company Incorporated of Massachusetts, The Ryan Company Of Massachusetts Inc., The Ryan Company of Massachusetts, The Ryan Company of Massachusetts (FN), Tom Allen Construction Company Inc., Tom Allen Construction Company of Delaware, Trans Tech Electric, TurnKey Automation Limited Partnership, TurnKey Automation Limited Partnership, TurnKey Automation Ltd., TurnKey Automation Ltd. Limited Partnership, TurnKey Automation Ltd. Limited Partnership, TurnKey I&E Ltd., Turnkey Automation Ltd. L.P., Turnkey Automation Ltd. LP., UCC Underground Construction Co. Inc., Ucc - Underground Construction Co., Underground Construction Co. Inc., Underground Construction Co. Inc. (Delaware), Underground Electric Construction Company LLC, Utilco Inc., Utility Fleet Services, Utility Line Management Services Inc., Utility Testing & Maintenance LLC, Utility Training Services Corporation, VALARD Polska sp. Z o.o., Valard, Valard, Valard Construction (Ontario) Ltd., Valard Construction (Quebec) Inc., Valard Construction 2008 Ltd., Valard Construction Australia Pty Ltd, Valard Construction LLC, Valard Equipment (AB) Ltd., Valard Equipment GP Ltd., Valard Equipment Limited Partnership, Valard Geomatics (Ontario) Ltd., Valard Geomatics BC Ltd., Valard Geomatics Ltd., Valard Mechanical Ltd., Valard Norway AS, Valard Sweden AB, Valard Zagreb d. o. o., Wade D. Taylor Inc., West Coast Communications, Winco Helicopters, Winco Inc., Winco Inc. an Oregon Based Corporation, Winco Powerline Services, Winco Powerline Services Inc., Winco Powerline Services Inc., Winco Services Inc., World Fiber Inc., and mmit Line Construction Inc..

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Kinder Morgan, Inc. operates as an energy infrastructure company in North America. The company operates through four segments: Natural Gas Pipelines, Products Pipelines, Terminals, and CO2. The Natural Gas Pipelines segment owns and operates interstate and intrastate natural gas pipeline, and underground storage systems; natural gas gathering systems and natural gas processing and treating facilities; natural gas liquids fractionation facilities and transportation systems; and liquefied natural gas liquefaction and storage facilities. The Products Pipelines segment owns and operates refined petroleum products, and crude oil and condensate pipelines; and associated product terminals and petroleum pipeline transmix facilities. The Terminals segment owns and/or operates liquids and bulk terminals that stores and handles various commodities, including gasoline, diesel fuel, chemicals, ethanol, metals, and petroleum coke; and owns tankers. The CO2 segment produces, transports, and markets CO2 to recovery and production crude oil from mature oil fields; owns interests in/or operates oil fields and gasoline processing plants; and operates a crude oil pipeline system in West Texas, as well as owns and operates RNG and LNG facilities. It owns and operates approximately 83,000 miles of pipelines and 143 terminals. The company was formerly known as Kinder Morgan Holdco LLC and changed its name to Kinder Morgan, Inc. in February 2011. Kinder Morgan, Inc. was founded in 1936 and is headquartered in Houston, Texas.
Qantas plans to unveil its first route using Boeing's 787 at the end of this year and is considering a direct London-Perth link that would rank among the world's longest flights.

The carrier, set to receive its first 787 next year, also still intends to defer deliveries of its remaining eight A380s on order from Airbus Group SE, Chief Executive Officer Alan Joyce said on Friday.

The first Qantas Dreamliner flights will take to the skies late next year. Credit:Louie Douvis

"We are continuing to push them out," he said at the CAPA aviation conference in Brisbane.

The range and fuel-economy of the 787, also known as the Dreamliner, has led Qantas to consider other possible connections such as Brisbane-US, Melbourne-Dallas and Sydney-Chicago, Joyce said.
Australia's supermarkets are at war and the battle is only beginning as more entrants start to eye off possible sites.

It comes as Woolworths is undertaking a review of some of its store locations, while Aldi is taking market share from Woolworths ad Coles.

However, the much-vaunted arrival of the German-based Lidl seems to have lost some momentum, with leasing agents saying the tough competition in Australia has been a deterrent for the group.

According to Michael Bate, head of retail at Colliers International, Lidl executives first came out to Australia 18 months ago to have a good look at the market.
Telstra will deepen its relationship with Telkom Indonesia, with plans to invest in start-up businesses around South-East Asia.

Telstra Ventures has signed a memorandum of understanding with the corporate venture arm of Telkom Indonesia. Under the agreement both companies will identify investment opportunities, including in Australia, and decide how much money to invest on a case by case basis.

Telstra Ventures managing director Mark Sherman.

"Our ventures investments are increasingly occurring in Asia and we are very excited to be collaborating with Telkom to identify the best new emerging technology companies in the region," head of Telstra's International and New Business, Cynthia Whelan, was quoted saying in a press release on Friday.

Telstra Ventures has put more than $200 million into at least 30 different companies since it was set up by former chief executive David Thodey in 2011, starting with a $20 million joint-investment in Kony Solutions.
Brett Peter Cowan is about to be transferred from the Royal Brisbane and Women's Hospital to the Princess Alexandra Hospital for ongoing treatment of injuries he sustained in prison.

It is understood another prisoner threw boiling water at Cowan, causing burns to his face, hands, head, chest and legs.

He was given initial treatment for the burns at the Royal Brisbane and Women's Hospital but will now be transferred to the Princess Alexandra Hospital for further treatment.
An Israeli soldier emerges from a tunnel built by Hamas militants leading from the Gaza Strip into southern Israel in August 2014. Credit:Getty Images The allegations could not be independently verified. The Shin Bet official said that officers raided the organisation's offices in Israeli-occupied East Jerusalem, emphasising that there was no evidence from the investigation and interrogation of Halabi that World Vision had been aware of the misuse of its funds. World Vision said in a statement on Thursday that "we have no reason to believe the allegations are true" based on the available information. Tim Costello, the chief executive of World Vision Australia, which has been deeply involved in the Gaza project, said his organisation was nevertheless "very worried" about the impact of the accusations on its ability to raise funds and work.

"We are profoundly shocked by these allegations," Costello said. "We want to get to the bottom of this, we want the truth." Costello said he did not think it was appropriate for Israeli authorities to publicly accuse Halabi and World Vision of the diversion before they had had a chance to review the evidence. He added that Halabi was prevented from consulting a lawyer for the first 25 days of his detention. "We just really want a fair process, where Mohammad, once charged, gets to present his side, because we want to know the truth about this," he said. "The truth comes out when you hear both sides." Costello said much of the organisation's work in Gaza was providing "safe places" for children to deal with the trauma of repeated war, as well as agricultural projects. The budgets came from World Vision's offices in the United States, Australia and Britain, and from contributions through the Australian and British government. In March, Australia's ambassador to Israel, Dave Sharma, was shown around some of the Gaza aid projects by a party that included Halabi (left):

Hamas representatives were quick to dismiss the Israeli accusations, saying they had no faith in confessions obtained by Israeli intelligence officials, while maintaining that Palestinians were legitimately allowed to use all means to defend themselves. "We do not trust the occupation, nor the information coming from the occupation," said Yehia Mousa, a Hamas legislator in Gaza, referring to Israel. "The occupation employs false stories and spreads them." Israel withdrew its forces and settlers from Gaza in 2005, but continues to strictly control movement in and out of the Palestinian enclave, with the help of Egypt. The Shin Bet official said that while the investigation did not implicate World Vision in the purported scheme to divert funds, it did reveal an abysmal lack of monitoring and supervision by the organisation of its donations and projects.

"Hamas stole tens of millions of dollars from disabled and poor Palestinian children to build a war machine," said David Keyes, a spokesman for the Israeli government. "That tells you everything you need to know about that terrorist organisation." Israeli officials have raised suspicions before about the Palestinian employees of aid organisations, saying some sympathised with Hamas. World Vision previously suspended a separate program in 2012 after an Israeli group accused the aid agency of supporting a Palestinian terrorist group, but an investigation by Australia's then aid agency, AusAID, found that the claims could not be substantiated. Shin Bet said its investigation of Halabi had pointed to additional figures in the Gaza Strip who exploited their work in humanitarian aid organisations and UN institutions on behalf of Hamas. But the agency had found nothing previously on the scale of the deception Halabi is accused of, which the Shin Bet official described as "extraordinary". Halabi appeared to command respect in the humanitarian aid world, who said he had dedicated his life to helping children after seeing the devastating impact of the conflicts in Gaza.

In an interview published on World Vision's website, Halabi said he found the most rewarding aspect of his work was when "we manage to restore the smiles of children who are severely traumatised by the devastating bombs which killed part or all of their families." In a separate piece, published in August 2014 by The Sydney Morning Herald, he said he himself had lost eight relatives to airstrikes during Israel's 2014 Operation Protective Edge. One of those relatives was pregnant, he said, and doctors aborted her child in a failed effort to save her life. World Vision said its Gaza programs were "subject to regular internal and independent audits, independent evaluations and a broad range of internal controls aimed at ensuring that assets reach their intended beneficiaries and are used in compliance with applicable laws and donor requirements". Others in Gaza expressed alarm over the allegations. Hamdi Shaqqura, the deputy director of programs at the Palestinian Centre for Human Rights, an independent organisation based in Gaza, said that the accusations against Halabi could have "serious implications" for non-governmental funding in the Gaza Strip, which is almost entirely dependent on international aid as a result of Israel's occupation and its subsequent blockade.
Former principal of Delhi's prestigious St Stephen's College Valson Thampu has described Rahul as a great human being but added that he was not made for the grind of Indian politics

By India Today Web Desk: News about Congress preparing for Rahul Gandhi's 'coronation' as party president has been doing rounds since long. We may ultimately see Rahul taking charge of the main opposition party sooner or later. Talks about Rahul being a reluctant leader is nothing new. Political parties have been targeting the Congress vice-president over his leadership skills. However, this is probably for the first time that one of his former tutors has questioned his political instincts.

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Former principal of Delhi's prestigious St Stephen's College Valson Thampu has described Rahul as a great human being but added that he was not made for the grind of Indian politics. Rahul joined the college in 1989 but moved to Harvard University soon after.

In an article for DailyO , Thampu said, "Rahul, like his father Rajiv, was unobtrusive by instinct."

"He is an exceptionally good human being. He means well. He wants to improve everything, including himself," Thampu said.

"To me, he seemed like a lamb among wolves. (By the way, this, for God's sake is a metaphor and not a literal statement.)" Thampu writes in the article.



RAHUL A RELUCTANT POLITICIAN?

For reasons best known to it, the Congress has always shied away from projecting Rahul Gandhi as party's main arsenal against opposition leaders like Narendra Modi. Rahul's leadership skills have been questioned on numerous occasions in the past by his political opponents primarily because he has failed to script any positive result for his party since the 2014 general election debacle.

From India Today magazine - Modi's new challenger: Rahul Gandhi

"Rahul Gandhi being elevated as Congress president means 'achhe din' for us (BJP)," Union Minister Smriti Irani, who contested against Rahul in 2014 from Amethi but lost, recently said.

Rahul's famous 56-day sabbatical in 2015 gave his detractors more fodder to label him as 'on' and 'off' politician.

Rahul Gandhi's leadership skills have been questioned by his opponents often. (Photo: Reuters)

WATCH: Exclusive - Here is where Rahul Gandhi went during his 56-day sabbatical

"He (Rahul) is confused. He does not know what he wants to do with his life, whether he wants to continue in politics. He has to answer to the people. Congress is confused because it does not know what it has to do with Rahul, whether to elevate him or marginalise him," BJP spokesperson Sambit Patra had then said.

Rahul's jibes, one-liners targeting Modi and his government have often made headlines but he as a leader has failed miserably to sustain the aggressive stance that one expects from a man who is seen (at least by his party Congress) as the future prime minister.

Also Read:

Congress terms Rahul Gandhi's marriage rumours baseless

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Congress has reduced Rahul Gandhi's elevation as president to a joke: Omar Abdullah

Rahul Gandhi's sense of value far superior to Narendra Modi: Jairam Ramesh to India Today



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The WCO - WACAM Project supports the WCA region in the development of a regional pool of HRM experts. In 2015, selected customs officers from the region have received training in HRM. Since 2016, these experts join the HRM lead expert on Capacity Building missions to member administrations in the region in order to gain practical experience. Therefore, from 18 - 22 July 2016, the WCO - WACAM project conducted a HRM modernization mission to the Liberia Revenue Authority (LRA), including a regional HRM expert from the Gambia Revenue Authority.

The mission was conducted following the request of the General Commissioner of the LRA for HRM support under the WACAM Project. The main objective of this mission was to conduct a diagnostic of the current status of HRM at the LRA using the WCO HR diagnostic tools as well as the development of HRM tools based on the competency approach. These tools will form the basis of the new HR system at the LRA.

At the end of the mission, it was agreed that the LRA will retain 31 December 2016 as the deadline for the finalization and validation of all the competency tools. Future support in the development of the tools and their eventual application will include experts from the regional pool of HRM experts.

The WCO  WACAM Project is financed by the government of Sweden. For further information, please contact Mr. Richard Chopra, WCO-WACAM Project Manager (richard.chopra@wcoomd.org)
"I don't want to be dragged into this case and will request you not to do so either," said Raj Thackeray while addressing a press conference.

By Vidya : Maharashtra Navnirman Sena chief Raj Thackeray has said that he does not come in the fight for property of the two Thackeray brothers.

Shiv Sena head Uddhav Thackeray's elder brother Jayadev Thackeray and his wife Anuradha had filed six affidavits on July 19 'in order to prove' certain documents. Jayadev had filed suit in Bombay High Court stating that it was just not possible that his father and Shiv Sena party supremo, late Bal Thackeray would have deprived him of any right to property.

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GAME OF PROPERTY

Thackeray senior in a will drawn before his death had bestowed most of the property worth crores to his youngest son and political heir Uddhav.

On Thursday Raj was in Nashik and addressing a press conference during which he told the journalists present there that, "proceedings in court were not something that were new" to him. However he said, "I don't want to be dragged into this case and will request you not to do so either."

Jayadev wanted court to consider a video clip of MNS leader Raj Thackeray addressing a public meeting some time in March 2014 as evidence. The YouTube video is said to have been uploaded on 2nd April 2014.

According to people involved in the case, Jayadev had brought the CD to claim his stand that Uddhav was not treating his father right. The other two documents are a print out of a photograph and its digital version on CD.

The Bombay High Court in its order on Wednesday rejected the photographs and CDs. "As to the video clip, it is inadmissible in evidence simply on production by the Defendant, for the Defendant is not the author or creator of that video clip. The fact that it was uploaded on YouTube does not mean its contents are true. Uploads and downloads do not establish the correctness of contents," the order said.

RAKING UP CONTROVERSY

After a brief hospitalization, Jayadev is back in the witness box at the Bombay High Court deposing against his brother. He raked up a controversy by stating that Aishwarya was not his son.

Aishwarya, born to Smita Thackeray his wife who he later divorced, had been given an entire floor at Matoshree, the Thackeray residence in the will drawn by Thackeray senior. Jayadev claims that the will is forged and thus has challenged it in the Bombay high court. His deposition will continue next week.

With inputs from Pravin Thackeray



--- ENDS ---
By India Today Web Desk: Home Minister Rajnath Singh has confirmed the two controversies that headlines his two-day trip to Pakistan : one, that he skipped an official lunch at the SAARC conference and came back to India; and two, Indian news agencies were blocked from covering the event.

Prodded by other Rajya Sabha members to comment on reports of him skipping lunch, Singh said, "Yes, the Pakistan Interior Minister invited everyone for lunch, but then he left in his car. I also left the place then. But I have no grudges as I wasn't there to have lunch."

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Asked if the Indian news agencies were also blocked from covering his speech at the SAARC conference, the Home Minister said, "It is true that ANI, PTI and Doordarshan who had come from India were not allowed inside the SAARC meet. But I will not comment on whether Pakistan was right or wrong in not allowing the coverage."

"I did not register any protest there. About the 'blackout', I will need to ask MEA about protocol of past occasions," he said.

Read: Pakistan says Rajnath left SAARC Summit in a huff, but India differs

The government on Thursday called reports of the blackout during the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) conference "misleading" and said it was a routine affair.



Singh appreciated that his visit to Pakistan and the tough talk on terror was appreciated by the opposition members. "I appreciate the unity of the House against terrorism. It reflects the country's determination to fight terrorism," he said.

Tension ran high between Singh and his Pakistani counterpart Nisar Ali Khan at the meeting of the SAARC interior ministers here. But both stopped short of naming each other's country.

In his speech at the SAARC meeting, Singh had obliquely asked Pakistan not to glorify terrorists while Islamabad, in a clear reference to Jammu and Kashmir, denounced the use of "excessive force" against civilians.



Also Read:

He didn't name us: After Rajnath's hard-hitting message on terror, comes Pak's barefaced response

Rajnath at SAARC meet in Pakistan: There is no good or bad terrorism. Terrorism is terrorism

Pakistan blacks out Rajnath Singh's tough talk on terror at SAARC meet



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Jadoo is all grown up and has especially come to meet his Rohit on The Kapil Sharma Show.

By India Today Web Desk: Hrithik Roshan fans need no introduction to Jadoo. The adorable alien is back to the planet, this time all grown up. Yes, you read that right.

13 years after the release of Koi Mil Gaya (2003), the movie that introduced Jadoo to 'Earth', he will once again be seen on screen, this time on The Kapil Sharma Show. Comedian Kiku Sharda will bring him back to the limelight as he'll portray the character in his own style.

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According to the act, Jadoo is not a kid anymore and has grown to become an adult; he has come to meet his favourite Rohit on the comedy show. No wonder, Hrithik couldn't resist himself from shaking a leg with his extraterrestrial friend on the show.

We must say, the act appears really interesting, and we are looking forward to watch it.

Hrithik shot for the episode--wherein he'll be seen promoting his upcoming film Mohenjo Daro--on Tuesday (August 2).

While Kiku will be seen in the disguise of grown-up Jadoo, Sunil Grover aka Dr. Mashoor Gulati will conduct a special test on Hrithik.

Here's another hilarious moment with Kapil:



The Kapil Sharma Show airs every Saturday and Sunday at 9pm on Sony TV.



--- ENDS ---
By West Kentucky Star Staff Aug. 05, 2016 | 12:29 PM | MAYFIELD, KY

Company officials and community members cut the ribbon on Mayfield's new Cracker Barrel Friday.

The restaurant hosted a preview breakfast for special guests Friday morning. Community and business leaders got a tour of the new restaurant and heard remarks from the store's general manager, Kim Gardner. Gardner said the very successful Bring Cracker Barrel to Mayfield Facebook page was directly responsible for Cracker Barrel being in Mayfield.

It was just crazy how that blew up, Gardner said. This was definitely going to be the community for Cracker Barrel. The support from this whole community has just been unbelievable.

The new restaurant provides approximately 215 jobs in the Mayfield area. The 10,000 square-foot store and front porch will seat 177 guests.

The new restaurant will open to the public on Monday at 6 am.
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By The Associated Press

Aug. 05, 2016 | LEXINGTON, KY

By The Associated Press Aug. 05, 2016 | 07:23 AM | LEXINGTON, KY

The Kentucky Cabinet for Health and Family Services is investigating after police say a child was left inside a van for over nine hours at a Lexington daycare.



News outlets report that Lexington police say a woman told officers that her 3-year-old son was missing when she came home from work late Wednesday night.



The woman said the Precious Jewels day care was supposed to drop the boy off at 5 pm.



Police contacted the day care owner who went to the business, which had been closed since 6 pm, and found the boy still strapped in a seat inside the van parked outside. Paramedics checked out the child, who wasn't hurt.



Authorities believe the child had been inside the van from around 4:30 pm Wednesday to 2 am Thursday.



No charges were immediately filed.




By PTI: New Delhi, Aug 5 (PTI) Saudi Arabia has set up a crisis management group to address difficulties being faced by thousands of laid-off Indian workers while a separate panel has been appointed to look into their claims relating to unpaid wages.

The "humanitarian issue" is being handled with "utmost care" and consideration by the Saudi Government which conveyed to India that it has speeded up the exit of workers who wish to return home, External Affairs Ministry Spokesperson Vikas Swarup said.

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He said a little more time will be required to have full clarity on how many Indians want to come home and how many would like to remain in Saudi Arabia to pursue employment with other companies etc.

Swarup categorised the problems being faced by Indian workers into four segments such as wage claims, relocation, repatriation and conditions of the Indians living in various labour camps.

Minister of State for External Affairs V K Singh had travelled to Saudi Arabia on Wednesday and held extensive talks with Saudi Labour Minister Mufrej Al Haqbani who promised urgent action to resolve the problems of around 7,000 Indians.

"Earlier, in accordance to Saudi Arabian law, individual complaints used to go to labour courts. Now, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabias Ministry of labour has set up a committee to look into the claims of the workers.

"A Crisis Management Goroup has also been set up by the Ministry of Labour to settle all issues related to Indian workers," Swarup said adding the Ministry of labour will now appoint a lawyer and we will know the exact procedure regarding this in the next 2-3 days.

On the issue of repatriation of the Indians, he said Saudi government has conveyed to India that they will make necessary arrangements for those who want to return to India.

The workers who want to leave Saudi Arabia can authorise the Indian consulate in Jeddah to follow up on their cases in labour courts and proceed on exit.

"Our Consulate has already given the list of workers willing to come back to India and those seeking transfer to Saudi authorities. As you can see, due to our excellent relationship with Saudi Arabia and efforts made at the highest level, things are in control and this humanitarian issue is being handled with utmost care and consideration," said Swarup.

The Saudi government also agreed to allow transfer of Indian employees, who have lost their jobs, to any other company within Saudi Arabia. MORE PTI PYK MPB RG

--- ENDS ---

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By PTI: From Shirish B Pradhan

Kathmandu, Aug 4 (PTI) A small aircraft crash landed in a river in Nepals mountainous Humla district today, leaving the pilot and co-pilot injured.

A major accident was averted when the single-engine Makalu aircraft was force-landed by its pilots in Karnali river bed after they witnessed a technical glitch in its engine during its flight to Surkhet from Simikot in western Nepal.

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The pilot and co-pilot suffered minor injuries when they jumped in the river. They were airlifted to Nepalgunj by a Simrik Air helicopter.

The wreckage of the plane has been swept away by the river, according to reports.

Nepal has a poor track record in aviation safety standards. In February, an Air Kasthamandap aircraft en route to Jumla from Nepalgunj, with 11 people on board had crashlanded in Kalikot district, leaving the pilot and co-pilot dead in the accident. PTI SBP SUA SUA

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By PTI: New Delhi, Aug 4 (PTI) Jharkhand Chief Minister Raghubar Das today said there are illegal mica mines due to which some deaths have happened and to check such practices in future the state government is planning to float tenders in a couple of months for e-auction these mines.

He said this in a response to a question on a report which alleged a "cover-up" on child deaths in mica mines in 4 states including Jharkhand.

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"The mica mines are illegal due to which some deaths have happened. We are in the process of issuing tenders in a couple of months so that mica is sold through e-auction to alleviate such malpractices," Das said at a press conference here.

Jharkhands Mines and Geology Secretary Sunil Kumar Barnwal said: "Mica has recently been categorised as a minor mineral, earlier it was a major mineral. Now, the state government can grant. State government is modifying its rule. These minerals will also be allotted through auction. Once that is there we will put these Mica mines on auction".

Referring to the issue, Barnwal said: "We will take care of that. The state government is very serious about it".

Das was here for a roadshow to invite investors to the Global Investor Summit being hosted by the state in February next year.

"There are opportunities in every sector in Jharkhand. We want investors to come to the state to explore these opportunities. I have come to invite investors to the Jharkhand Global Investor Summit to be held in February," Das said, adding that Jharkhand could play a decisive role in Make in India campaign..

The Chief Minister informed that the focus of the state government is on IT, agriculture, automobile sectors. PTI RSN KKS ABI

--- ENDS ---
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This article was published 05/08/2016 (2275 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A pack of misfits facing the prospect of lifetime imprisonment are offered a chance at freedom if they pull off a dangerous mission that will employ their murderous skills, but probably end in their deaths.

To see this story done right, youd have to go back to Robert Aldrichs The Dirty Dozen, a 1967 war movie in which such a mission is undertaken by 12 imprisoned, mostly psychopathic soldiers with nothing to lose.

While director David Ayer showed a facility for Second World War stories in the film Fury, he carries out his own treacherous assignment with Suicide Squad, grafting the Dirty Dozen premise onto a DC Comics movie in which the objective is to provide a screen introduction to seven super-villains hitherto unseen on the big screen.

WARNER BROS. Jay Hernandez as Diablo

Its a tough thing to balance the requirements of a satisfying action movie while meeting the logistical story demands of a billion-dollar franchise. This is, again, Warner Bros/DC Comics playing catch-up with the Marvel Universe. As with Batman v Superman, its a muddled affair, trying to cram too many characters and too much big-picture exposition in a small, two-hour hole.

The idea of employing dangerous super-criminals falls on cold-blooded government functionary Amanda Waller (Viola Davis), who reasons that the world got lucky with Superman, but a similarly-powered villain demands a strategic response consisting of bad guys compelled to do good. She forms her own team, consisting of assassin/super-marksman Deadshot (Will Smith), psycho-babe Harley Quinn (Margot Robbie), murderous Aussie thief Captain Boomerang (Jai Courtney), scaly cannibalistic mutant Killer Croc (Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje), fire-starting Latino ex-gangster Diablo (Jay Hernandez), a semi-possessed archeologist named June Moone who occasionally transforms into an ageless witch called Enchantress (Cara Delevingne) and a ropemaster called Slipknot (Adam Beach, criminally underused given that Slipknot is the closest thing DC Comics has to a Spider-Man character).

They all come under the command of can-do soldier Rick Flag (Joel Kinnaman), aided by samurai-woman Katana (Karen Fukuhara) armed with a sword that consumes human souls. Flag is somewhat compromised here because he happens to be desperately in love with June Moone, but not Enchantress. Got that?

The biggest stars are rewarded with the most back-story. Hence, we get to see that Deadshot, when hes not murdering people, is a devoted dad to his little girl. As far as the DC universe is concerned, the most important character is Robbies Harley Quinn, a psychiatrist who came under the spell of the Joker (Jared Leto) and subsequently served as his submissive in comic books most sadomasochistic relationship since Catwoman cracked her whip at Batman.

Anyway, before you can say self-fulfilling prophecy, one of Wallers team goes rogue and it falls on the rest to stop that members vaguely apocalyptic designs.

CLAY ENOS / WARNER BROTHERS Harley Quinn (Margot Robbie) makes a point with Deadshot (Will Smith) in a scene from Suicide Squad.

As a filmmaker, Ayer (End of Watch) is an interesting hire, holding the promise of bringing a little real-world gravity into a franchise that has suffered under the bombastic sturm und drang of Man of Steel/Batman v Superman director Zack Snyder.

But then, well youve got a character whos a witch. If the movie begins with a hardcore action premise along the lines of Escape From New York, it ends up resembling Ghostbusters, and that stuff falls out of Ayers wheelhouse.

Another problem: Jared Letos much-hyped performance as Joker is a major let-down. Required by Harley Quinns presence to imbue the character with a sexual dimension to his unhinged menace, Leto acts more more like a tweaking drag queen.

Still, Suicide Squad has its moments. Robbie is more up to the wild-card requirements of the role than Leto. Internet-troll punching bag Jai Courtney is actually quite funny as the beer-swilling Boomerang. Hernandez gives the character of Diablo more dimension that anyone had a right to expect. The movies circus-punk esthetic makes for a distinctive look.

Suicide isnt painless, but its not as bad as current buzz would have it.

WARNER BROS. Clockwise from left: Margot Robbie, Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje, Joel Kinnaman, Will Smith, Jai Courtney and Karen Fukuhara.

randall.king@freepress.mb.ca Twitter: @FreepKing

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Your contribution of $10, $25 or more will allow the Free Press to deepen our reporting on theatre, dance, music and galleries while also ensuring the broadest possible audience can access our arts journalism. BECOME AN ARTS JOURNALISM SUPPORTER Click here to learn more about the project.
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This article was published 05/08/2016 (2275 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

BRANDON  A three-year-old girl was rushed by air to the Winnipeg Childrens Hospital Thursday evening, after emergency offficials say she nearly drowned in a swimming pool at Elkhorn Resort, just outside of Riding Mountain National Park.

RCMP Sgt. Bert Paquet said the Mounties and EMS were called to the resort at about 5:30 p.m., for reports that the young girl was found unconscious in the pool. When responders arrived, the girl had received CPR and was conscious and breathing.

Paquet said a nurse who had been at the pool administered CPR, along with at least one other person.

An employee told The Sun on Friday morning that Elkhorn staff were advised not to speak to the press.

STARS Air Ambulance spokesperson Cam Heke said the girl was transported to the Minnedosa Health Centre by a ground ambulance.

The STARS helicopter completed the rendezvous at a designated temporary landing zone adjacent to the health centre at about 6:30 p.m, Heke said, and flew the child from Minnedosa to Winnipeg.

"Last we heard, she was conscious and breathing and the hospital was only going to call us if her condition deteriorated, which has not happen(ed)," Paquet said in an email.

The incident happened hours after Manitobas Sustainable Development Minister, Cathy Cox, announced a review of beach safety in the province will happen as soon as possible.

Coxs remarks come on the heels the drowning death of an 11- and 12-year old at Grand Beach, about 100 km north of Winnipeg, on Monday evening.
Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 05/08/2016 (2275 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Despite only experiencing a modest impact from the disruption in the U.K. market relative to the Brexit vote, Great-West Lifeco shares plummeted almost six per cent Thursday amid investor uncertainty about long-term earnings growth.

The Winnipeg-based global insurance and investment company missed analysts forecast earnings growth in the second quarter prompting the share-price decline, down $1.99 to $31.77 on very heavy trading.

Even still, the company posted earnings of $671 million, up 1.8 per cent from the same period last year and an eight per cent increase from the previous quarter.

MIKE DEAL / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS files Great West-Lifeco CEO Paul Mahon says the firm is diversified and prepared for surprises such as the Brexit vote.

Assets under administration at the end of the quarter, June 30, 2016, were $1.2 trillion, a decline of $28.7 billion from the same period last year.

Premiums and deposits in the quarter were up 28 per cent compared to the second quarter of 2015 to $28.2 billion.

In a conference call with analysts Thursday, Great-West Lifeco CEO Paul Mahon voiced strong confidence in the companys diversified asset mix in the U.K. and Europe despite the market volatility and uncertainty.

The Brexit results were a surprise for many, but we were well-prepared for any eventuality, Mahon said.

There was a range of scenarios we had considered, and even under extreme impacts we believed our capital position was very strong and our business model resilient. Its early days yet, but what has unfolded to date is a modest impact relative to the range of scenarios we tested.

In addition to its large individual life and group life and disability insurance and retirement savings businesses in Canada and the U.S., the company has significant operations in the U.K., Ireland and Germany.

Gabriel Dechaine, an analyst with Cannacord Genuity, said, There is lots of discussion around (GWLs business in) Europe. People are wondering if this is still a growth part of the business, and its 40 per cent of their business, so it is very important.

Dechaine said it is widely acknowledged Great-West Lifeco is a very well-run business, and he said he there is no big balance-sheet risk, including from its European assets.

They are fine from that perspective, he said.

The issue is how earnings will grow from that business.

Mahon said the mix of assets in the U.K., including real estate holdings, are performing well, with high-quality leases and low exposure to the office market in London.

Property-related exposure has been of particular focus, and we are well-positioned with long leases and low LTVs (loan-to-value), he said.

Our business continues to operate smoothly. Obviously, we need to remain diligent at this stage we are driving the business forward, and were seeing very sound results.

There was a sharp decline in GWLs share price after the June 23 vote, but Thursdays drop was a bit of a delayed reaction.

Brexit is just not a positive sentiment-builder, Dechaine said.

He believes the investor response has something to do with the fact that it is an expensive stock to begin with.

Any time there is any major macro-issue or overhang on a stock that up until then had a very rich multiple relative to its peer group, then its prime for a big correction like we are seeing today (Thursday), said Dechaine.

martin.cash@freepress.mb.ca
By PTI: Mumbai, Aug 5 (PTI) Maharashtra Assembly Speaker Haribhau Bagade today sought a clarification from state Housing Minister Prakash Mehta after the opposition flayed the minister for his alleged arrogant behaviour with a TV journalist.

Leader of Opposition Radhakrishna Vikhe Patil, who raised the issue in the Lower House, said the government should apologise for Mehtas alleged rude behaviour with the journalist.

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There should be a code of conduct for ministers, he said, condemning Mehtas behaviour in Mahad yesterday.

The Speaker asked Mehta to give a clarification over the allegations.

The minister, who was in Mahad to review rescue work after the bridge collapse, was asked by a Marathi TV channel reporter about the status of those missing in the tragedy.

Two state transport buses and some four-wheelers were washed away in the river when the bridge collapsed near Mahad in Raigad district on Tuesday night.

The Minister had, reportedly, also clicked a selfie at the sight of the incident which he visited 40 hours after the collapse.

When the TV reporter asked why state administration was treating the relatives of the victims in such a callous manner, the minister objected to the "pointless" question.

He alleged that the reporters were raising non-issues for the sake of TRPs and that he will solve his departments problems on his own. His supporters later also allegedly heckled the TV reporter. PTI VT GK IKA RYS

--- ENDS ---
Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 05/08/2016 (2275 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

OTTAWA  A Manitoba Liberal candidate in last years federal election was forced to seek permission to amend her electoral campaign return Friday after failing to pay for a flight on a private jet paid for by Omnitrax Inc., last September.

Rebecca Chartrand, who finished second behind NDP MP Niki Ashton in Churchill-Keewatinook Aski , was invited, along with her campaign manager, Noel Bernier, to attend a ceremony marking the first shipment of grain out of the Port of Churchill in 2015. Chartrand and Bernier, along with at least 18 other people, were flown from Winnipeg to Churchill on Sept. 10 as guests of Omnitrax Canada President Merv Tweed.

Canadian election law is clear: a candidate cannot accept gifts or donations of any type from corporations, so a flight such as this would have to be paid for by the campaign. It wasnt until Ashtons campaign brought it to the attention of Elections Canada this week.

DAVID LIPNOWSKI / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS FILES Liberal candidate for Churchill-Keewatinook Aski, Rebecca Chartrand, was forced to amend her electoral campaign return Friday.

On Tuesday, Ashtons campaign official agent, Gordon Landriault, wrote to Elections Canada asking for an investigation because there was no documentation for the flight included in Chartrands electoral return.

Chartrand referred questions about the matter to her official agent, Maeengan Linklater, who told the Free Press Bernier asked for and received an invoice for the $750 flights last fall. However that invoice was never given to Linklater and therefore it was neither paid, nor included in the election return.

I submitted all the things I had in front of me, Linklater said.

After being contacted by the Free Press, the invoice was located and Linklater has taken the steps to pay the bill.

He said a cheque was mailed to Omnitrax Friday and an amendment to the return is being filed with Elections Canada.

Ashton said the whole situation is troubling.

Its pretty cute by half, she said, noting the campaign officials fixed the problem only after they got caught.

Ashton said Chartrand did campaign in Churchill on the trip, pointing to Facebook photos posted on Sept. 10 showing her knocking on doors.

Ashton was also critical of Omnitrax interfering in an election, noting none of the other candidates were on the plane. She said she would have attended the ceremony had she been invited, but would not have accepted a flight on an Omnitrax charter.

Candidates are allowed to file amendments to returns but have to file a written request to the CEO of Elections Canada for permission to file an amended return.

The $750 will not push Chartrand over her spending limits. Her current expense claim is $86,446, well below the $233,135 expense limit. The limits were much higher during the 2015 election because the campaign was 11 weeks long; federal campaigns generally run about five weeks.

This is the second complaint filed from Ashtons campaign. In December, her campaign agent asked Elections Canada to explain a discrepancy in the number of votes cast compared to the number of people on the voters list, in Pinaymootang First Nation, near Fairford.

The investigation into that complaint is still underway.

mia.rabson@freepress.mb.ca
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This article was published 05/08/2016 (2275 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

BRANDON  Manitoba municipalities have the opportunity to tap into $144 million in provincial and federal infrastructure funding  if they apply by Aug. 26.

The difference this time around is the application process. The province announced Thursday it is accepting applications through a single window for all four grant programs in an effort to streamline the process.

This is an important step forward because it will reduce red tape, said provincial Indigenous and Municipal Relations Minister Eileen Clarke. Its going to allow more efficient access to funding and help the municipalities to advance their infrastructure priorities. It is a first step in our commitment to provide all municipalities with a fair say on how their infrastructure funds are invested in their communities.

The announcement was made at the City of Brandons civic services complex in front of two brand-new buses that were to hit the streets Thursday.

Each of these cost in excess of $500,000, said Mayor Rick Chrest. It certainly draws attention to the cost of running municipalities, for the benefit of our citizens and how difficult it would be if we did not have a partnership with the senior levels of government.

The 2016 Municipal Road and Bridge Program has a total of $16 million in provincial funding. The federal-provincial Small Communities Fund will provide up to $10.26 million in provincial funding. It is cost-shared with the federal government at up to one-third of total eligible costs. This fund supports projects in communities of fewer than 100,000 people.

The Clean Water and Wastewater Fund and Public Transit Infrastructure Fund are part of the federal governments 2016 Infrastructure Phase 1 Plan.

Up to $47.6 million in provincial funding will support projects that provide communities with clean drinking water or better waste-water treatment, said the province.

Manitoba will provide up to $41.4 million for public transit improvement projects such as new buses or upgrades to transit facilities.

Association of Manitoba Municipalities president Chris Goertzen said the new process, which can be done online, will simplify the intake for municipalities.

Having campaigned for a fair say for municipalities throughout the last election, it is really gratifying to see the new approach for infrastructure funding coming to fruition, Goertzen said.

 Brandon Sun
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This article was published 05/08/2016 (2275 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Manitoba midwifery students left in limbo by the cancellation of their program will be able to complete their studies thanks to an agreement signed with Ontarios McMaster University.

The University of Manitoba and Education and Training Minister Ian Wishart announced on Friday it had entered into a memorandum of understanding with McMaster to offer admission to midwifery students who had completed their first year of Manitobas Midwifery program. Some details of this new agreement were published in a Free Press article earlier this week.

This new partnership will ensure the midwifery students in Manitoba who have already invested significant time and effort toward their studies can complete their coursework uninterrupted, Wishart said in a statement.

PHIL HOSSACK / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS Beverly O'Connell, dean of the College of Nursing at the University of Manitoba, speaks Friday at a press conference announcing changes to the midwifery program.

We are proud to follow through on a commitment that was made and I commend our partners for their hard work in reaching this resolution, which will help meet the growing demand for midwives in our province.

Fourteen women entered the University College of the Norths midwifery degree program last year, but were left in limbo in June when the province announced the program was being discontinued. It had graduated nine students since 2006 at a cost of more than $8 million.

The students were supposed to transfer to the University of Manitoba in September, but the NDP government was voted out before funding was approved and the Conservative government wanted problems sorted out before it set up funding.

The students will now be taught in Manitoba by U of M midwifery instructors as McMaster transfer students and given a modified fall term so they can move into clinical midwifery placements afterwards.

Beverley OConnell, dean of the U of Ms college of nursing, said were very pleased with our homegrown solution, which will allow current midwifery students to continue to live, work and study in Winnipeg and, during clinical placements, serve patients in remote and rural communities across Manitoba.

Eileen Hutton, assistant dean of midwifery and professor of obstetrics and gynecology at McMaster, said this collaboration will build on McMasters expertise in midwifery education and support the growth of midwifery in Manitoba.

The Ontario Midwifery Education Program was established in 1993, and is the oldest of its type in the country.

kevin.rollason@freepress.mb.ca
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This article was published 05/08/2016 (2275 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The Pallister government hopes further consultations will melt away continued opposition to a polar bear provincial park in the north.

The plan for a designated, protected park along the coastline of the Hudson Bay near Churchill was first announced in the 2013 throne speech under the former NDP government. The park was seen not only as a way to boost tourism in the area, but as a means to protect the denning habitat of the polar bears and caribou habitat. At least 128 bird species also breed in the area.

Unlike many other decisions made under the Selinger government, a polar bear park is one the Progressive Conservatives wholeheartedly support.

JOE BRYKSA / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS files The provincial government supports the creation of a polar bear park along the coastline of Hudson Bay near Churchill.

The long term sustainability of polar bears is important to Manitobans and definitely important to all of us, so we want to move forward with it, in conjunction with First Nations people, Sustainable Development Minister Cathy Cox told the Free Press Thursday.

First Nations in the area were stunned when the announcement was made in 2013, as they had not been consulted, explained War Lake First Nation Chief Betsy Kennedy. Several First Nations, including War Lake, Fox Lake, Shamattawa and York Factory First Nations, are located in the area and had concerns over what the designation would mean for trappers and hunters.

Briefing materials on the park provided to Sustainable Development Minister Cathy Cox outline that to this day the department has had difficulties in engaging the First Nations in the process.

A 29,000 square-kilometre (7.2 million acres) area, south of Churchill, west of Wapusk National Park, and along the northwest shoreline of the Hudson Bay is currently being studied as a location for the proposed 1.4 million acre park. There are between 900 and 1,000 polar bears in the western Hudson Bay.

Kennedy told the Free Press hunters and trappers in the area provide food for the remote First Nation, located almost 1,000 kilometres north of Winnipeg. Kennedy is concerned that a designated, protected area could hinder their use of the land. It is a point echoed by the Manitoba Wildlife Federation, an organization dedicated to the sustainable use of fish and wildlife.

I think there really needs to be a study and also to have the aboriginal communities involved, to listen to what they have to say, Kennedy said. One of the reasons I am hesitant of a polar bear park is that at most parks there is no hunting allowed.

Hunting in provincial parks is subject to specific regulations and varies from park to park. Since the area is already protected as a wildlife management area, the Federation sees the designation as bringing additional restrictions on hunting and trapping, explained Rob Olson, the managing director.

A third round of consultation is set to begin shortly with First Nations, the town of Churchill and other stakeholders, but Cox says the government has no specific timeline for when they want the designation in place.

We realize that we need to move cautiously, and have those consultations with First Nations, they need to be part of these discussions, Cox said.

The Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society supports the protection of the region, provided there is full consultation with First Nations communities. Joshua Pearlman, a spokesman for the nationwide charity, notes there is significant value to the area that needs protection. The organization is dedicated to the protection of public land and water

The long-term sustainability of polar bears is important to Manitobans

On top of protecting polar bear dens, the study area contains the largest wetland on the continent and feeds rivers which flowing into parts of the Hudson Bay which is the summer habitat for the beluga whale population, Pearlman noted in an email statement.

The integrity of the landscape and wildlife populations on it are critical to the successful eco-tourism industry in northern Manitoba, Pearlman said. Of the tourism industry value in the province it is the incredible, unique opportunities for nature based experiences in the Hudson Bay region that garners the greatest global renown.

Mining or the development of oil, petroleum, natural gas or hydro-electric power is restricted under most categories of provincial park, which has drawn concern from the Mining Association of Manitoba.

The association argues the study area overlaps areas that have a strong potential for diamond development. The industry is calling for a balanced approach and the restoration of mineral rights to the area, which were withdrawn in December of 2013 when study began.

The interim withdrawal of mineral rights casts a huge uncertainty for the mining industry, said a spokeswoman in a prepared statement. Manitoba has the potential to unlock additional resource potential in the North East corner of Manitoba as well as set programs in place to ensure the vitality of Manitobas polar bear population.

Cox said once the location is chosen, the mineral rights will be restored to the area outside the parks boundaries.

kristin.annable@freepress.mb.ca
Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 05/08/2016 (2275 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Two of the biggest sources of urban effluent into Lake Winnipeg waters, Selkirk and Gimli, will soon have state-of-the-art sewage treatment plants, thanks to a government agreement announced Friday.

The City of Selkirk new sewage treatment plant will reduce its phosphorus discharge by 90 per cent, and its nitrogen by 32 per cent, the city said. The cost is $35 million. Selkirk discharges effluent into the Red River, which empties into Lake Winnipeg.

The RM of Gimli on Lake Winnipeg will see $18 million for expansion of its existing sewage treatment plant that already meets stringent new standards of one milligram per litre of phosphorus, and 15 milligrams per litre for nitrogen. The expansion will allow Gimli to include more residential as well as commercial and industrial development.

PHIL HOSSACK / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS Selkirk Mayor Larry Johannson applauds as Federal Minister Jim Carr and Premier Brian Pallister shake hands after announcing the City of Selkirk and RM of Gimli will get new wastewater treatment facilities, thanks to tripartite agreements with Ottawa and the province.

Each level of governmentfederal, provincial and municipalwill pay up to a third of the costs. The price tag for the two projects combined is $53 million.

The Manitoba government pledged back in 2013 to share the cost of a much-needed sewage treatment plant for Selkirk, but the city couldnt get a commitment from Ottawa, said Selkirk Mayor Larry Johannson.

Its been kind of a long process, said Johannson. The province was always on board but the federal government is now with us after the change of power in the last federal election. The new provincial government has continued support for the project.

Johannson said the new treatment plant, to be completed by early 2019, will be built to last 40 years and accommodate projected population growth. Its the largest capital project in Selkirks 134-year history, he said.

Both Premier Brian Pallister and Natural Resources Minister Jim Carr attended the news conference at Selkirks Waterfront park along the Red River, and each praised the other for their governments co-operation.

Carr said he attended the Italian Pavilion at Folklorama the night before and bumped into Pallister, so they had dinner together. It turned out they were both heading to the Israeli Pavilion next, so they broke bread there as well. Its vital that our citizens see their governments working together, said Carr.

Carr said the sewage treatment project is part of Ottawas first phase of spending to rebuild Canadian infrastructure. In the second phase, federal cost-sharing could go as high as 50 per cent for communities that arent able to put up a third of costs. We need to address the infrastructure deficit, said Carr.

Pallister seconded it. Were in a position of playing catch-up to upgrade infrastructure, Pallister said. But protecting Lake Winnipeg is a good start. It benefits the environment, tourism and quality of life in Manitoba, he said.

This province is a water province and sometimes thats great and sometimes its not so good, said Pallister, referring to Manitobas plethora of lakes and rivers, but also its flood problems.

Fridays announcement leaves just the City of Winnipeg among urban centres discharging effluent into the Red River thats not in compliance with modern standards. Winnipeg plans to upgrade its sewage treatment facilities to the tune of $1.2 billion but construction has run into delays. Neither is the city getting the same level of financial support as Gimli or Selkirk from other governments.

bill.redekop@freepress.mb.ca
Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 05/08/2016 (2275 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

STEINBACH  People once thought buying bottled water was a crazy idea and would never catch on.

So, is the market now ready for bagged water?

A company in Steinbach is betting so, and has begun selling bagged water the same way milk was once sold in bags, and still is in some places.

BILL REDEKOP / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS Bagged water at the Tres Pures plant in Steinbach.

Tres Pure (very pure) puts water into 1.3 litre bags. The initial customers are First Nations. There are 126 First Nations across Canada under boil water advisories, not including British Columbia.

I think bagged water is the future way to go. I dont think it will totally replace bottled water but its more convenient and cost effective, said Rene Lamoureux, the brainchild behind Tres Pure.

For starters, bagged water is cheaper than in jugs.

You can buy a gallon of jugged water for $2.49 to $3.29 right now. We can sell you a gallon directly for $1.50 to $1.60, said Lamoureux. A box of water is three bags, or 3.9 litres, for about $5.

As well, bags use about 50 per cent less plastic than bottled water, and are recyclable. The company uses spouts, like those on boxed wines, to puncture the bags and they are self-healing. Not a drop spilled when Lamoureux punctured a bag of water to demonstrate.

Ultimately, Lamoureux wants to sell the water purification and bagging systems, which fit inside a railway container car, to First Nations. Water from rivers, lakes or wells can be put through the fully automated system and come out the end in packaged bags.

The advantages are manifold. The cost is under $500,000 versus millions the federal government would have to spend per water treatment plant centre.

But perhaps the biggest advantage is distribution. Growing up in a Metis family in Pine Falls, Lamoureux knows the First Nation water situation. The problem in most First Nations is that housing is spaced too far apart to make piped water affordable. So many First Nations have a tanker truck go from home to home filling peoples various containers, including jugs, cisterns and pails.

That risks contamination. A fully-automated facility that produces bagged water guarantees sanitary distribution.

We can produce bags with up to 10 litres of water, Lamoureux said. Its treatment and bagging facility is the only one of its kind in Canada approved by the Canadian Standards Association, company officials say.

While the company is in its very early stages, these are not amateurs. Lamoureux, 64, is dubbed the grandfather of the water business in Manitoba.

In 1986, he teamed with Imre Lugzo of Middlebro, and Eugene Kostuchuk of Flin Flon, to form Manitobas first bottled water company. Lugzo had just won a Lotto 649, and Kostuchuk was selling his company, Arctic Beverages.

The three partners started Canadian Gold Beverages. They company changed hands in 2010.

BILL REDEKOP / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS Rene Lamoureux, manager of Tres Pure, shows his bagged water at the companys plant in Steinbach. August 4, 2016

The catalyst to Canadian Gold was Lugzos knowledge that southeast Manitoba had some of the best spring water in the world from an aquifer that enters the province via Warren, Minnesota. Canadian Gold has won numerous international awards for its high quality water.

People say water is water. It isnt. Water in southeast Manitoba is like velvet on the tongue, said Lamoureux.

Asked why he wanted to get back into the water business at age 64, Lamoureaux replied because Im an entrepreneur.

Waters in my blood. Ive been in the water business since 1986. Water is life. Its a commodity that will be much traded in the future, he said.

The retail market is part of the companys plan, too, said Tres Pure president Eva Luk. The company has also developed an adapter to allow office water coolers to be use its five-gallon bags of water.

We have some of the best-tasting water in the world in Manitoba, and that is one of the best-kept secrets, said Luk.

Tres Pures first sale is about 10,000 bags of water to a first nation. A non-disclosure agreement prevents the company from naming the community.

Tres Pure has also sent bagged water to Shoal Lake and Grassy Narrows first nations in Northwestern Ontario as a goodwill gesture, said Luk. Both are under boil water advisories.

Tres Pure has three staff.

bill.redekop@freepress.mb.ca
Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 04/08/2016 (2276 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

University of Manitoba professors arent sweating over warnings from their colleagues at the University of Winnipeg of looming government austerity.

I havent seen any signals that postsecondary education is on the chopping block in a significant way, U of M Faculty Association president Prof. Mark Hudson said in an interview.

Hudson said that UMFA does not share the concerns which led to the University of Winnipeg Faculty Association accepting a 7.5 per cent raise last week over 4.5 years, a deal running until September of 2020. Both schools saw their previous contracts expire this past March.

MIKE DEAL / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS The University of Manitoba

UWFA urged its membership to grab the money on the table  the union leadership warned that the Pallister government plans major spending cuts and predicted public sector workers will be offered nothing better than a wage freeze if they dont act fast. And, said the UWFA leadership, if professors go on strike, Premier Brian Pallister will just legislate them back to work.

We havent seen any signal to that effect, Hudson said.

Hudson said his union will not discuss the settlement at the U of W.

The University of Manitoba has its own distinct financial position, he said. Were looking at the comparatives the university uses, which is the U15, a formal organization of Canadas 15 largest universities.

Settlements at the large universities this year and last have ranged from 1.5 to 4.7 per cent annually, he said. I havent seen any freezes.

Weve been in full-scale negotiations since April, and continue to bargain two or three days a week through summer, Hudson said. Even so, neither side is talking money yet: We havent gotten into the specifics of salary proposals.

Meanwhile, U of M president David Barnard declared this week in a message to the campus on the university website: The University of Manitoba is in a healthy financial position.

Barnard acknowledged that the university has curtailed or reduced spending in some areas  budget projections for coming academic years called for four per cent spending cuts  but he credited employees and students with pulling it all together while allowing the university to focus on its priorities, including indigenous education and research.

I know that when we ask for faculties and units to make incremental budget adjustments it also impacts the work environment, including necessitating that some positions might remain vacant, or even be discontinued. And I recognize the difficulties that come with that, Barnard said.

He told the campus that employees deserve to be rewarded for their hard work, and noted that the U of M has been able to make competitive, albeit modest, increases to salaries and benefits.

Provincial legislation limits tuition increases to the cost of living.

Hudson said UMFA is aware that the Conservatives are considering whether to alter or remove that cap, but the union wants to ensure that any change to produce more revenue does not adversely affect students ability to afford to go to university.

We need to make sure that education is not rationed on the basis of income, the union leader said.

nick.martin@freepress.mb.ca
In a place where men can use cows as currency to buy multiple wives, women are choosing to marry each other under a local tradition. However, the reason is still not feminist. Know why.

By India Today Web Desk: In a remote village of Nyamongo in northern Tanzania, 27-year-old Anastasia Juma lives with her 49-year-old wife Mugosi Maningo and they are not the only married same-sex couple living in the region.

Increasing number of women in Nyamongo are choosing to marry other women under a local tradition called nyumba ntobhu (house of women).

Why?





They can preserve their livelihoods in the absence of husbands. It enables widows to keep their property. It reduces the risk of domestic abuse, child marriage, and female genital mutilation. Such an arrangement gives them more power and freedom. Women can choose male sexual partners on their own.

advertisement



Nyumba ntobhu, an alternative family structure, has been a part of Nyamongo's tradition for years now. But the tradition has been undergoing a "modern revival", according to a report by Marie Claire magazine .

Anastasia and Mugosi are members of the Kuria tribe, a cattle-herding community with a population of roughly 7,00,000 which has its own tribal law.

The couple's marriage under this law is similar to a heterosexual marriage as they live, cook, work, raise children and even share a bed together. The only difference they claim is that they do not indulge in sexual activities.

Empowering widows

This local tradition enables widows to keep their property.

When Mugosi's husband left her 10 years ago since she could not bear his children, he left their homestead and moved to regional capital. He did not formally divorce her and when he died 18 months ago, his property could have gone to a male relative. But it was this tradition of the same-sex marriage that saved Mugosi from losing six thatched huts and some land.

According to the tribal law, only men can inherit property but under nyumba ntobhu, if a woman does not have sons, is widowed or her husband leaves her, she can marry a younger woman who can engage with a male lover to give birth to heirs on her behalf.

Photo: Reuters

Not a homosexual union

The custom is unlike the concept of same-sex marriage in the West as homosexuality is strictly forbidden. Marie Claire magazine reported that most Kuria people do not even know of gay sex, especially between women, and that such a practice exists in other parts of the world.

Anastasia and Mugosi divide the work equally, they take care of their sons- Muita (11), Dominico (7) and Daudi (4) and hardly have any arguments. While Mugosi is no longer interested in romantic relationships, she does not interfere in Anastasia's independent love life and in fact is happy for her.

"I won't interfere with her choice of boyfriends. That is up to her", Mugosi said.

Polygamous, patriarchal and not feminist

Among the Kuria tribe, men use cows as currency to buy multiple wives. Anastasia's father forced her to marry a 50-year-old man when she was just 13. The man gave her father eight cows in exchange and treated her "like a slave".

advertisement

According to a 2013 Ministry of Health and Social Welfare survey, 45 per cent of women aged between 15 and 49 had experienced sexual or other physical violence at their homes in Tanzania.

Anastasia, in her late teens, gave birth to a baby boy and ran away with the child.

She got involved with two boyfriends and had two more sons but the men failed to stay with her. "I didn't trust men after that," said Anastasia. She then met Mugosi through neighbours and married her in June 2015.

Anastasia and Juma's match was perfect. While one was struggling to raise three sons, the other needed male heirs to sustain her property. They did not have a wedding ceremony but Mugosi paid Anastasia's original "bride price" of eight cows to the family of her first husband.

Marriages within the Kuria tribe, whether to a man or a woman, involves dowry or a price which is given to the younger woman's family.

Photo: Reuters





Tribal vs Tanzanian law

Marriages under this "house of women" system are not recognised in Tanzanian law so any man who fathers the children must agree to honour tradition. He has to give up all paternal rights and cannot later claim any right on the child.

advertisement



Here's a documentary about the nyumba ntobhu tradition:



--- ENDS ---
Opinion

Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 05/08/2016 (2275 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

OTTAWA  As the 2015 election got underway one year ago this week, the federal NDP was surfing an orange wave many hoped would land it in government.

The party was ahead in the polls, and donations were pouring in faster than the party had ever seen. There were giddy emails and phone calls from NDP staffers as Elections Canada released the second-quarter fundraising results for 2015  two days before the election began  showing the NDP ahead of the Liberals in money raised and ahead of everybody in the number of donors.

Fast-forward 12 months, and the release of the second-quarter fundraising results in 2016 produced no such excitement in NDP ranks. The NDP pulled in just $1.08 million in April, May and June from 15,906 people. It was its second-worst fundraising quarter in six years and was just one-fifth of what the Conservatives and Liberals each raised.

KEN GIGLIOTTI / FREE PRESS FILES

Granted, fundraising in the year after an election is typically more difficult than the year of an election. Regardless, NDP members are not thrilled with the finances.

Anxiety and stressful are some of the words party insiders used to describe the situation this week.

Many are looking to the upcoming leadership race to light a fire under the partys base, but thus far the interest in the race has been lacklustre. Nominations opened at the beginning of July, but the actual voting wont take place until October 2017. Several insiders say nobody expected anyone to officially join the contest this summer. Most think the first candidates wont emerge until at least October, when its one year out, or even not until after Christmas.

But even knowing that, there is a fear about whether the race will generate the high-calibre contest needed to put some wind in the partys sails heading into the next election.

In 2012, as the party enjoyed being official Opposition for the first time, the race was a tough one, with seven candidates including five sitting MPs and the partys former president. It took four ballots to declare a winner, and the contest generated excitement and money.

So far in this race, several of the biggest names have ruled it out. Megan Leslie, the extremely popular former Halifax MP who could win the race in a cakewalk, has gone back to Nova Scotia, saying she no longer has a fire in her belly for politics. B.C. MP Nathan Cullen, who finished a surprising third in the 2012 race, bowed out of contention in June and former president Brian Topp, who finished second in 2012, closed the door on a run in April. Avi Lewis, son of former Ontario NDP leader Stephen Lewis and one of the biggest backers of the Leap Manifesto, the divisive political proposal calling for sometimes radical policies on everything from the environment to infrastructure, said hes not interested.

There are several sitting MPs kicking the tires this summer, including Manitoban Niki Ashton, who finished seventh in the 2012 race, B.C.s Peter Julian, Quebec MPs Alexandre Boulerice and Guy Caron and Ontarios Charlie Angus.

The most excitement at this point seems to surround Jagmeet Singh, the 37-year-old Ontario NDP MPP who is a criminal defence lawyer by training. He ticks many of the boxes the party would want including being young, bright and multilingual. (He speaks English, French, Punjabi and Urdu.) He said in May he would consider a run if there was a grassroots movement to nominate him.

The sitting MPs likely wont want to jump in until they absolutely have to, in order to gain maximum face time in their critic roles. So nobody is panicking just yet, but even those trying to put a positive spin on the situation acknowledge there is a decent amount of hand-wringing going on.

Theres plenty that can be done behind the scene before launching, said one insider. That said, Im not pretending there isnt any concern within the party about what the field might look like.

Mia Rabson is the Free Press parliamentary bureau chief.

mia.rabson@freepress.mb.caTwitter: @mrabson
Opinion

Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 05/08/2016 (2275 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

In what may be a bid to ameliorate the embarrassment of the Marc Nadon nomination  Nadons 2013 appointment to the Supreme Court was ruled unconstitutional  the Liberal government announced an overhaul to the way appointments are made to the Supreme Court of Canada. But its not really an overhaul as much as a tweak. An op-ed written by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and published in the Globe and Mail Tuesday said: The appointment of a Supreme Court justice is one of the most important decisions a prime minister makes. It is time we made that decision together.

Lets be clear. Canadians wont actually have a say in who gets to sit on Canadas highest court; this is not a process that will be done in consultation with the public. Not that there is anything wrong with that.

Instead, a non-partisan advisory board made up of experts  members nominated by the legal community, as well as appointed by the government  will make the decision. Former Conservative prime minister Kim Campbell will chair the board, and it is expected to draw up a list of three to five names by September, with a new jurist named to replace retiring Justice Thomas Cromwell in the fall session of the Supreme Court. Throughout this process, the prime minister retains the power to appoint whomever he wants.

Former Canadian prime minister Kim Campbell

The government has committed to providing a question-and-answer session at which MPs and senators can speak to the nominee. This session will be chaired by a law professor, but dont expect much to come of that. In 2006, when the Harper government held public hearings to recommend that Justice Marshall Rothstein replace former justice John Major, the MPs were given just four days to prepare, hardly enough time to ask tough questions of any nominee. In total, Mr. Rothstein faced 60 questions in two rounds of questioning in three hours. No written report was provided, and the prime minister announced the final decision a couple of days later.

Subsequent appointments made by Mr. Harper did not involve the same level of openness. At the time, Mr. Cromwells appointment was originally supposed to be subject to a public hearing, but that didnt happen because the prime minister called a snap election in 2008 and then prorogued Parliament in 2009, cutting short any opportunity for scrutiny.

Then there came the appointment of Marc Nadon. Mr. Harper, acting against expert advice, announced in September 2013 the Federal Court of Appeal judge would be his nominee. However, the Supreme Court of Canada ruled Mr. Nadon was not eligible for the position as his membership with the Quebec bar was not current, a requirement the government unilaterally attempted to change. The system worked in that it stopped this type of political manoeuvring.

It is the Nadon debacle that is likely behind the Liberal governments bid to talk about transparency and accountability in the appointment process, but for the most part, with Mr. Nadon the one exception, the process has been remarkably uncontroversial. As legal scholar Peter Hogg points out, Canadian governments tend to believe it is good politics to make good appointments.

In other words, if it aint broke, dont fix it.
Winona

Thursday

2:25 p.m.  A purple mountain bike was reported missing from a residence on the 150 block of East Fourth Street.

11:33 p.m.  Roberto Catarino Reyes, 20 , Winona, was cited for underage drinking by officers responding to a reported fight.

near East Third and Franklin streets

Winona County

Thursday

9:19 a.m.  A window was smashed on a machine shed on Heyer Drive near Rushford. The building was entered, nothing was reported missing.
John Skalitzky is back for round three.

After runs in 2008 and 2012, receiving 53 and 38 votes respectively in the primaries, Skalitzky is back on the ballot against three other candidates.

He also ran in 2005 for mayor of La Crosse.

Skalitzky, 44, moved to Winona at age 6 and just a few years later set his sights on local politics.

My first big political goal was to be mayor of Winona, Skalitzky said. (Being mayor) allows ordinary people to do extraordinary things.

He says that as a candidate he is a progressive and would bring growth through job creation and encouraging students to stay in the area.

The main job creation component is what Skalitzky calls the 10,000 Jobs Plan, in which he hopes to bring a General Motors plant, a Mayo Hospital branch and a Treasure Island Resort and Casino location to Winona.

Skalitzky said he didnt know where GM could be located in the city, but said that could still be worked out as theyre updating and clarifying the zoning codes for the city. Likewise, he didnt have a set location for the casino and wasnt worried about the casino regulations.

According to the Minnesota Department of Public Safety, casinos and the majority of games in casinos are legal for Native American tribes based on a compact that the tribes negotiate with the state.

Regardless, Skalitzky is confident a deal could be made.

If its going to make money I think theyd do it, Skalitzky said.

To ensure that a Mayo Hospital doesnt compete with the current Winona Health, Skalitzky hopes that Winona Health would be motivated by altruism and improving health services, and sell their hospital to Mayo.

On sand, housing and growth

He said he is not particularly concerned with frac sand, if the topic returned to the city, and if they can do it responsibly  I think they should.

Unlike other candidates and city officials, Skalitzky sees no problem with developing housing and growing the city.

He believes developable land is readily available somewhere and the city could control the growth so it doesnt become too large.

I dont think they have to worry, Skalitzky said. We have the room to build and if they spread it out it will be fine.

Skalitzky attended Winona State University for 3 1/2 years and Rochester Community and Technical College before transferring to Western Technical College in La Crosse, where he got a degree in marketing.

If elected he said he would work willingly with the City Council and follow their lead to help improve the Winona.

I want to meet the challenges of this city head on, Skalitzky said. Im not running away.
The new science labs at the University of Wisconsin-Baraboo/Sauk County served as a focal point of this year's summer youth program on campus.

Now in its eighth year, the Middle School University program invites students in grades six through eight from all over the region to participate in a variety of academic activities.

For a registration fee of $89, kids can do anything from learn to create short films with stop motion animation to examining microscopic organisms under high-powered microscopes.

Director of Continuing Education Cindy McVenes said this years programs focused on the sciences to promote new labs at the university. This is the universitys first summer with the new facilities.

We expose these students to this and give them the benefit of the resources and the great professors we have here at UW-Baraboo, McVenes said. We have some great knowledge here and some people who have done a lot of great things in their fields.

Chemistry Professor Steve Swallen said teaching middle school students is different than college students because the kids are more excited.

You show them some cool stuff and they get so into everything we do  theyre full of enthusiasm, he said. Were all a little more jaded as we get older.

Biology Professor David Olson is teaching as part of the program for the first time and said he was surprised by the interactions hes had with his students.

When I pictured middle school kids, I pictured kids who might be a little more withdrawn or shy, Olson said. I was anticipating having challenges engaging with them, but its exactly the opposite.

Information technology specialist Mike Pullen facilitates a robotics course in which students work in teams to build functioning robots that can make their way through mazes and save the world from hypothetical asteroids. Pullen said he designed the activities to improve his students social skills in a team environment.

I intentionally made this scenario collaborative, he said. They have to work together.

The program will conclude Friday with a visit from professionals who will talk with students about the practical uses of science and possible career options in different scientific fields.

McVenes said her favorite part of the Middle School University program is the gratitude she receives from both students and parents.

I love the fact that I get kids who will come out and say things like, Im definitely coming to this again next year, or I had a six-year-old say to her mom once, This was the best day of my life, McVenes said.

This will be McVenes last summer facilitating the Middle School University program, but both Swallen and Olson expressed interest in continuing it next year.
Similar concerns about farmland and ease of access were voiced again during the fourth meeting between Wisconsin Department of Transportation representatives and Dodge County residents regarding the Highway 151 conversion study.

We certainly sympathize with property and land owners, said Brandon Lamers, major studies supervisor with WisDOT.

The plan is to convert Highway 151 from an expressway to a freeway between Highway 73 in Columbus and Highway 49 in Waupun. This conversion would not add or eliminate any traffic lanes, but it would only allow access to the freeway through an interchange and it does involve modification to some rural roads near the highway.

Highway 151 is an expressway, which means there are four lanes of traffic on two pieces of road with access points from county roads and private driveways.

Two years ago, farmers complained about loss of inherited land, speeding along the highway and ease of access to the potential freeway. Thursday night was no different.

Todd Frey a resident in between Columbus and Beaver Dam said at appears that his homestead would be impacted by the conversion. He said he would have to relocate if the plan progresses as it exists now.

Lamers said that the DOT is trying to create the most effective and safe option if this conversion is to go forward.

Project manager Mark Westerveld, along with other representatives from DOT, briefed visitors on what has been accomplished with the study and what still needs to be completed by 2021the project end date.

At the moment, no immediate construction is in the plans or funding, he emphasized.

The conversation study stretches 27 miles from the north side of Columbus to Waupun. Areas surrounding Columbus, Waupun and Beaver Dam already act as a freeway. The important pieces of the study affect the rural areas in between the cities.

Since the last meeting, the potential need to create alternative crossings for farmers, land division, new local roads, extend driveways, snowmobile trails, business access on Klatt Road and the possible relocation of buildings are all being taken into consideration.

A point of interest is Highway E that runs along the railroad tracks into Beaver Dam. According to the plans, the road's bridge would be demolished and the road would continue under a new overpass that crosses over Highway E and the railroad tracks.

Railroad tracks running south of Waupun would see an overpass as well.

According to the meeting handout, the study team is accommodating local fire, police and EMS.

Matt Barr told attendees that next will be the end of the second phase of this study. In 2019 the final phase of the study with begin, which involves DOT drafting an official map of the Highway 151 conversion.

The reason for the study is to address growth, development, safety, future land use and transportation.

The information provided at the meeting will be available online in coming weeks. Visit www.wisconsindot.gov/pages/projects/by-region/sw/151 for future updates.
The National Society of High School Scholars announced that Columbus High School students Brynn Hesselberg and Britta Hesselberg have been selected to become members of the organization. The society recognizes top scholars who have demonstrated outstanding leadership, scholarship and community commitment.

On behalf of NSHSS, I am honored to recognize the hard work, sacrifice and commitment that Brynn and Britta have demonstrated to achieve this exceptional level of academic excellence, said NSHSS founder and chairman Claes Nobel. They are now members of a unique community of scholars  a community that represents our very best hope for the future.

NSHSS president James W. Lewis said the organization supports young scholars growth and development by connecting them with unique learning experiences and resources to help prepare them for college and meaningful careers.
Trio will hike through Columbus to raise money for wounded vets

Three students from St. Norbert College in De Pere will spend the night at the Columbus Fire Department Sunday, Aug. 14 while on a six-day, 140-mile ruck march to raise funds to help wounded veterans and their families in Wisconsin.

Jeff Van Grinsven, Matt Gernetzke and Dan Burke will begin their march, which theyve named For Them 2016 at Camp Randall Stadium Aug. 14 and end it at Lambeau Field Aug. 19.

Their goal is to raise $15,000 in donations by the end of their march. The group is working with the 4th H.O.O.A.H. Inc., a non-profit organization that lends support to forward deployed servicemen and women, their stateside families and returning veterans.

During the march, the three men will be carrying rucksacks (large military backpacks) that weigh about 35 pounds.

For more information, visit http://hooahinc.org/event/madison-green-bay-ruck-march/.
After intriguing history buffs and beer enthusiasts with his foray into the roots of Maustons brewery background, local author Rich Rossin is back, exploring the once forgotten Elroy brewery.

In 2011, Rossin published his first booklet, The History of the Mauston Brewery 1858-1916. Through the process of chronicling the history of Maustons brewery, Rossin became intrigued with the states rich beer background, especially in central and western Wisconsin. In the past few years, Rossin discovered more hidden gems about the local brewery boom of the mid-to-late 1800s. The result was The History of Joseph Schorer and His Breweries in Sauk City & Elroy, Wisconsin.

After my first booklet, I jumped into the second project right away, Rossin said. Around 2008, I really started to get into research and genealogy. One day at the library in Mauston, I picked up a copy of Breweries of Wisconsin, by Jerry Apps and found out Mauston had a brewery. I thought, Where the heck was a brewery in Mauston? That sparked my interest and I had to find out.

Through extensive research, Rossin found out that the old Mauston brewery was in the neighborhood he grew up in. In his new booklet, Rossin writes about Shorer, an ambitious German immigrant who founded breweries in Elroy and Sauk City, and opened a saloon in Merrimac. Shorer also farmed for much of his life until his death in Elroy in 1887.

Most people in Elroy never knew the town once had a brewery, Rossin said. Almost nothing was known about his obscure business. It seemed to be open for a couple years in the 1880s.

As he dove into the project, Rossin learned of Sauk Citys beer boom as well. The village attracted many German immigrants in the middle of the 19th Century. Sauk City once had five breweries and even had the original Leinenkugel brewery, built in 1846.

Rossin said finding information about Schorer wasnt easy. He describes the Elroy brewer as a ghostly figure who wanted to live a low-profile life in America.

Information had to come from a wide-range of sources, such as land records, census and tax data, county histories and old news stories, Rossin said.

The author said there was very little advertising in local newspapers promoting Shorers breweries. In fact, most of the newspapers in the Sauk City area were German language publications, making it harder to translate information.

Rossin said Schorers story is similar to many German-Americans who came to the U.S. seeking a better life through business ventures.

In the future, Rossin plans to pen booklets on the history of Wisconsin Dells and Reedsburg breweries.

When I share some of this information with people, the reaction is like, Wow, this is awesome information, I didnt know this, Rossin said. This has gone from local research to having articles featured in national brewing publications.

Craft beer brewing has become increasingly popular nationally. Rossin describes the craft beer boom as a rebirth of a new golden age of brewing across America. However, few people know that small breweries were built all across the state prior to Prohibition. Rossins goal through his writing is to document the rich history and unique stories of Wisconsins first beer producers.

Rossins latest offering is currently available at the Boorman House Museum in Mauston and Dans Auto Center in Elroy. Rossin is also offering free home, by bicycle, delivery in the Mauston area. Price for each book is $10.

For more information, contact Rossin at 608-847-4039 or send an email to themaustonbrewery@yahoo.com.
By Tatsam Mukherjee: With such great actors, a fine director and no shortage of bling, Suicide Squad is shockingly an unremarkable bore-fest.



Cast: Viola Davis, Will Smith, Jared Leto, Margot Robbie, Joel Kinnaman, Cara Delevingne, Jay Courtney and others.

Direction: David Ayer

Ratings: (1.5/5)

The DC vs Marvel war is over. The studio executives at Warner Bros finished it when they asked director David Ayer to re-shoot portions to up the humour quotient in Suicide Squad. This was a direct consequence of the near-unanimous trashing of Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice. The Zack Snyder film had a recurring criticism that it was too dark and grim, and that it took itself too seriously, unlike the more successful Marvel movies. The Marvel Cinematic Universe (or the MCU) put in a lot of invisible work at the foundation of the empire they've built today. DC has been playing catch-up on building up a cinematic superhero universe and the panic of having arrived late to the party has led to some questionable decisions.

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ALSO READ: Why Zack Snyder is bad news for the DC franchise, fans and Warner Bros



Let's start at the beginning in 2008, when Christopher Nolan spoiled Warner Bros forever. He made The Dark Knight, and earned them a billion dollars. Marvel, on the other hand, was busy rolling out origin-films for what was supposed to be the first stage of their cinematic universe and preparing an out-of-rehab Robert Downey Jr to play Iron Man. Too happy with the reliable Christopher Nolan, the Warner Bros executives rolled back and relaxed while the third film of the Dark Knight trilogy grossed another billion dollars. Then, in the same year, Joss Whedon's The Avengers released and it was a roaring success. Nolan, on the other hand, distanced himself from superhero films, saying that he wouldn't direct the Superman reboot. In the confusion that followed, we got to see movies like Man of Steel, Batman v Superman and now this overcrowded, convoluted mess, which doesn't know what to do with its many interesting characters.

Will Smith as Deadshot, Margot Robbie as Harley Quinn

Suicide Squad is a big, bloated mess of a superhero film, with a bipolar screenplay. Known for his realistic, gritty films like End of Watch and Fury, you can see flashes of the old David Ayer in this film. Too few and far between though. The shifting tone confuses the audience as they never know what to feel. Also, the humour looks forced in a lot of places. The problem at the centre of all this are a few people trying to ape a 'successful formula' over and over again, even when said formula doesn't work in their narrative.

ALSO READ: People are gonna love Suicide Squad, says Will Smith

Jared Leto and Margot Robbie make a fine pair Jared Leto and Margot Robbie make a fine pair

One of the biggest flaws of Suicide Squad is how spectacularly it lets its brilliant cast down thanks to a plot thinner than a potato wafer. In a film with incredible actors like Viola Davis, Will Smith, Margot Robbie and yes, Academy Award winner Jared Leto playing The Joker - the film never really lets them reach their potential with all the buffoonery around them. And it is really frustrating because you see the actors give a lot to the film only to be abandoned in the end. Jared Leto's Joker was going to be one of the highlights of the film after the late Heath Ledger's portrayal of the same character. Unfortunately, he doesn't have the delicious lines Ledger did which is sad because Leto looks more than game to try and fill Ledger's gigantic boots.

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ALSO SEE: Suicide Squad director David Ayer shouts F-Marvel at premiere, apologises on Twitter



Cara Delevingne plays an underwhelming antagonist as the Enchantress

Margot Robbie's character Harley Quinn sinks her teeth into the pure craziness of the character and yet for some reason Ayer thought it was a good idea to have her cry for someone else's unfulfilled romance. Viola Davis is daunting as the badass Amanda Waller and yet the film undermines her acting cred with its lack of a well-conceived plot.

Will Smith as Deadshot oscillates between an assassin who never misses, and his role of a father in Pursuit of Happyness. Sorry, but that just doesn't work anymore.

Jared Leto tries, but does not have the resources to make this a memorable performance.

With the MCU churning out one good film after another, Warner Bros look far far behind in the race. And with their last two projects turning out to be underwhelming, you really have to hope they get their act together for their upcoming films which they proudly showed off at Comic Con 2016. They need someone who can deliver a good film first, let alone a good superhero film. The trick to the success of the MCU was that they knew exactly when to move on from one director to the other, purely based on merit. Whedon was taken off after an underwhelming Age of Ultron which is still Casablanca in comparison to the two DC films we've seen this year.

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All eyes now on the Wonder Woman film, and its director Patty Jenkins. In a world where most men have driven an entire comic universe to the ground, maybe it is a woman who might just save it from complete annihilation.

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A Cross Plains man says he needs a presidential pardon before hell give law enforcement officials key information that could help them arrest the leading suspect in the stabbing death of 21-year-old Brittany Zimmermann in her Madison apartment eight years ago.

Andrew J. Scoles, 38, said he wants two felony convictions expunged from his criminal record in exchange for giving Madison police more details about what his friend and former roommate David Kahl told him while allegedly confessing to killing Zimmermann, a UW student, in April 2008. One of the convictions is federal, which requires a president pardon.

I dont want to play games, but I dont see what choice I have, Scoles said after he made his initial appearance in a Dane County courtroom Thursday morning for a similar charge of possession of firearms by a felon. He said the new charge was the Dane County District Attorney Offices response to his continued request for a deal.

Zimmermanns mother, Jean Zimmermann, said Scoles asked her in an email he sent to her earlier this year to write to President Obama recommending a pardon for him. He told me (in the email) that hes a man of honor. I told him to be a man of honor and do the right thing, she said.

Jean Zimmermann said she doesnt understand how Scoles is refusing to help solve the case. He has a daughter himself. If what happened to Brittany happened to his daughter, hed be doing the same thing Im doing. ... But he refuses to do it and I dont understand why not.

Scoles, who is known as Mud by his friends, wants a 2010 marijuana possession conviction in Green County and a 2014 federal conviction for possession of firearms as a felon expunged so he doesnt have to give up his gun collection that was confiscated by police. The DA said if I keep trying to get my guns back they were going to press charges, Scoles said.

Kahl became a leading suspect after the state Crime Lab reported on Dec. 9, 2014, that a DNA profile taken from the right sleeve of a shirt worn by Zimmermann on April 2, 2008, had hit the DNA profile of Kahl. According to another search warrant filed on February 2015, Madison police learned about Kahls friendship with Scoles on the same day they received the Crime Lab report. The report didnt state what sort of material matched the DNA sample or how strong of a match it was between Kahl and the sample.

During an interview with police on Dec. 17, 2014, at the Gilmer Federal Correctional Institution in Glenville, West Virginia, Scoles said Kahl had told him what happened to Zimmermann. But the warrant said he refused to provide further details without getting some kind of deal in exchange.

I can tell you that Dave broke down in tears one morning and confessed to me what all happened, if I can remember right, Scoles told police, according to the warrant. Hypothetically, he broke down and told me what all happened.

Madison police spokesman David Dexheimer said the department would not comment since its an open case.

Scoles said not much has changed since he finished his 20-month federal sentence last October other than increased pressure from police to give up Kahl, who is in the Dodge Correctional Institution after he was arrested on March 31 for his seventh drunken driving offense.

The new gun possession charge Scoles faces in Dane County is from the same search warrant conducted in January, 2014 that led to his conviction in federal court. The federal charge focused on the ammunition he possessed and unlawfully transported while the Dane County charge is focusing on his guns. He represented himself at his initial appearance and has asked for a court-appointed attorney.

After he was released on a signature bond, Scoles said the case is solidifying his resolve to stand up to a court system that he believes has not been fair to him during many of his bouts with the law. He has numerous misdemeanor convictions for various drugs, weapons, disorderly conduct and operating while intoxicated charges and violating restraining orders dating back to 1996. Im not saying Im an angel. Im a rebel, Ill admit that. Ill admit Ive done some bad things. But Im not a bad guy, Im not a violent guy, said Scoles.

What bothers him the most is his marijuana possession conviction. A criminal complaint said he was busted on Nov. 21, 2010, for having just over one ounce of marijuana. Since it was his second possession conviction, the charge was bumped to a felony and that meant he could no longer own guns. Scoles said he has had assurances from some state officials that the conviction would be dropped in exchange for information against Kahl. But he still needs the presidential pardon.

Scoles was hoping the Zimmermann family, his federal parole officer and a Madison detective would write letters to Obama asking him for a pardon. Hes pardoned more people than any other president. Its not like Im asking for a pardon for a murder case or a carjacking or something else violent. I dont think Im asking for much, he said.

If he doesnt get a pardon and his felony conviction sticks and he loses his guns, Scoles said hed consider going to jail if convicted on the new firearms charge instead of giving up information on Kahl.

Its a matter of principle, he said. Why would I help a government that has completely screwed me? I dont think helping the government and getting nothing in return is doing what is right. Its certainly not what is right for me.

Jean Zimmermann said Scoles contacted her via email in February after the family issued a statement saying they were praying somebody would come forward with information that would lead to charges against Zimmermanns murderer. She said she already knew about Scoles when the statement was made.

I actually had sent him a video pleading for him to come forward and tell the police department what he knew, she said. I had found out he had information that they believe might help. We ended up contacting his parole officer and she was kind enough to give a video to him.
What often surprises people about Rayovac in Portage is learning just how long its been around, Steve Fraundorfer said. The plants first battery was made in downtown Portage in 1964  before the plant manager, Dave Young, was even born.

For one plant to be in town for that amount of time is pretty impressive, said Fraundorfer, senior vice president and general manager of Global Batteries and Appliances for Spectrum Brands. Rayovac is a division of Spectrum Brands, for which Fraundorfer has worked for 23 years. Young also has been with the company for 23 years  but thats just a coincidence, they said.

We probably bumped into each other, Young noted of their tenures. Fraundorfer and Young provided a tour of the Portage plant Thursday in honor of Rayovacs 110th anniversary this year. The company, headquartered in Middleton, began in Madison in 1906.

The Portage plant began operations 52 years ago making mercury cells and moved into its current location on Portage Road in 1977. Since 1982 the Portage plant has specialized in producing zinc air cell batteries used for hearing aids  batteries that today account for 98 percent of the plants production.

Recollection of that history led Fraundorfer to another surprising fact for residents: two-thirds of hearing aid batteries sold in North America come from Portage. Most people dont realize that unless they start working here, and then they take pride in it.

You dont realize the impact a hearing aid battery has on somebodys life unless you know somebody who has hearing loss, Young said. But now, having been here and seeing what impact it has on people, theres a real passion for it here.

Young and Fraundorfer estimated the plant has made more than 5 billion zinc air cell batteries since 1982. Soon, as competitors have exited the market, Fraundorfer said, Rayovac will be the only zinc air manufacturer in the U.S.

Other products include lithium coin cell batteries and, for Remington, which is another division of Spectrum Brands, the Portage plant produces foil razor blades.

The expertise of the plant, Fraundorfer said, is to make things well.

Homegrown talent

Spectrum Brands has six battery plants globally: two in Europe, two in Latin America and the others in Wisconsin  Portage and Fennimore.

The Portage Rayovac plant in its 110,000-square-foot facility has 225 employees, the majority of whom work on the production floor. The plant takes pride in providing a clean and comfortable work environment for its 185 operators, Young said. One employee, he noted, has been with the company for 48 years. Another longtime employees son began as an intern recently, perhaps one day linking many more decades of generational representation.

To get an idea for the opportunities available to Portage residents, Young estimated the plant is presently looking for about 10 new workers. Fraundorfer said he expects the number of employees in the plant to grow in coming years since the market is growing  though predicting how much would be impossible.

Young said its important to Rayovac to play a key role in keeping young workers in Portage.

Were very interested in local talent, he said, noting a variety of opportunities, whether on the floor or, after college, in engineering. Rayovac works with Madison College to attract people who know the benefits of the area, a partnership involving equipment and workforce training at Portage Business Enterprise Center.

They dont need to leave (Portage), Fraundorfer said. You can come to Rayovac, Spectrum Brands in Portage and have a great career moving through different jobs if youre interested in continuing to learn.

Contributors

Rayovacs success in Portage wouldnt be possible without the community and its employees, Fraundorfer said. The worlds best zinc air batteries doesnt just happen naturally. That takes skill. Without people contributing, Rayovac doesnt have the best.

Rayovacs impact in the community, Young said, involves its usage of local suppliers like Matrex Mold and Tooling and its various donations. Being a battery company we do donations of smoke detector batteries once a year, and weve partnered with the local police department to provide teddy bears that they use to comfort kids.

Rayovac says its environmental footprint in Portage involves a 70-percent recycle rate for scrapped materials; a 29 percent reduction in water consumption since last year; a 67 percent drop in hazardous waste; and a 24 percent decrease in carbon since 2009 (6 percent since last year).

Rayovacs economic footprint in Portage for the past 50-plus years shouldnt be underestimated either, Fraundorfer said.

We have a wide range of people employed here with different skills sets, and those people go out in the community and eat in restaurants and shop in stores  jobs, he said, that go beyond production and manufacturing, including supply chain, human resources, accounting and engineering.

We believe in this company. We believe in this state. We hope the community can see that.
Joey Van Dinter was named the Wisconsin Dells School Districts new board member in a special meeting Tuesday night, and his appointment by Board President Kathy Anderson concluded what had became a complicated task for the board.

Van Dinters appointment was preceded by an hours worth of discussion and debate and three separate motions, two defeated and one ending in a deadlock.

The outcomes of each of those votes meant that after an hour the board was no closer to naming a new board member  to replace departed member Holly Waterman, who resigned May 17  than it was on July 11 after reaching a 3-3 deadlock on whether to appoint Van Dinter or Maurice Delmore.

A couple of actions by the Board  or inactions, in the case of the Boards decision to table the appointment after the 3-3 vote on July 11  were at issue during the hour that led up to the appointment.

Also at issue was the boards decision, at the earlier meeting, to allow Delmore to stand for the open position even though he did not make the official deadline for submitting his name. Other candidates at the time also included Maggie Frasier and Cheryl Funmaker.

Joining the six remaining board members at the meeting Tuesday night was attorney Shana R. Lewis of the law firm Strang, Patteson, Renning, Lewis & Lacy. Lewis provided legal guidance and Wisconsin statute clarification to the board as it navigated the appointment.

By Tuesday, the 60-day deadline for a board vote on appointing a new member had passed since Watermans resignation, meaning Anderson had automatic authority to appoint a member of her choosing. Anderson decided to defer that authority in hopes that the board could arrive at a mutually agreeable solution, however.

After some debate, the Board voted 4-2 against a motion that would have allowed only the candidates who submitted their names by the deadline (Frasier, Funmaker and Van Dinter).

After further discussion and debate, the board then voted on and reached yet another 3-3 deadlock on a motion to fill the position by voting yet again for either of the finalists, Delmore or Van Dinter.

Following that vote, a motion to table the appointment yet again and restart the process of filling the seat was defeated 4-2.

At which point, Anderson declared: Now we have reached the impasse where you as a board have left me with no other choice but to appoint someone, and I will be appointing someone.

She appointed Dinter, called a 10-minute recess during which Dinter was sworn in by Clerk John Campbell, and the meeting resumed for regular business.

Following a closed session, the board announced the hiring of Jacob Nelson as fifth-grade teacher at Spring Hill Elementary, Eric Olson as eighth-grade social studies teacher and Jeffrey Hetcher as chemistry teacher at the high school.
A U.S. Senate seat and a Congressional district seat sought by a Dells-area dairy farmer, various county offices and a handful of state Assembly and state Senate posts are among the races on local ballots for Tuesdays 2016 partisan primary election.

Voters must choose a party in this primary election. Polls open at 7 a.m. and close at 8 p.m., and an acceptable photo identification is required for the primary election, in spite of a recent federal court ruling that parts of Wisconsins voter ID law is unconstitutional. (The ruling a week ago Friday, by U.S. District Court Judge James Peterson in Madison, will not take effect until the Nov. 8 general election unless overturned on appeal.)

Russ Feingold and Scott Harbach are squaring off for the Democratic spot on the ticket for the U.S. Senate seat presently held by Ron Johnson. Johnson is running unchallenged in the Republican primary, as is Libertarian Phillip Anderson.

Town of Newport resident and dairy farmer Sarah Lloyd faces fellow Democrat Michael Slattery of Maribel in the primary for the 6th Congressional District race.

Incumbent Glenn Grothman is running unopposed on the Republican side. Lloyd told Capital Newspapers that she hopes to unseat Grothman in part because she believes he is part of the obstructionism going on in Congress.

When I see neighbors and communities struggling, I think something should be done, Lloyd said. I do feel like people are wanting a change, and this is the cycle to see something move.

Lloyd has held elected office before. From 2004 to 2007, she represented what was then District 13 (including the villages of Cambria and Doylestown and parts of the towns of Courtland and Fountain Prairie) on the Columbia County Board of Supervisors.

In addition to working on the 400-cow Nelson dairy farm, Lloyd also works off-farm for the Wisconsin Farmers Union and the Wisconsin Food Hub Cooperative.

Dells-area residents should vote at the polling place within their respective municipality, and if you are not sure of that polling place location the quickest way to find it is via myvote.wi.gov. The handy website also can tell you what races are on the ballot.

Those races vary according to state and congressional districts as well as in which of the areas five counties (Adams, Columbia, Juneau, Marquette and Sauk) you reside.

All five counties elected offices are included in the primary, with most incumbents running unopposed except for in Juneau County, where both the clerk and district attorney seats have multiple candidates.

Other national primary races in the region include the 3rd Congressional District, with incumbent Rep. Ron Kind facing challenger Myron Buccholz in the Democratic primary.

Juneau County Clerk Kathleen Kobylski is retiring, and Renee Hazelton and Terri Wafle-Treptow are running for Kobylskis soon-to-be-vacant seat.

Incumbent Juneau County District Attorney Michael Solovey faces challengers Kenneth Hamm and Stacy Smith.

Because its a primary, each voter must choose the party for which he or she will vote.

State Assembly races on some local ballots include District 41, in which Republican Joan Ballweg, the incumbent, is running unopposed and no Democrat is running, and District 50, where Democrats Art Shrader and Tom Crofton are competing for that place on the ticket and Republican incumbent Ed Brooks is running unopposed.

Assembly Districts 2, 37, 42 and 81 all have primaries as well, with all candidates in both parties running unopposed. Meanwhile, the state senate primary for District 14 has Republican incumbent Luther Olsen and Democratic challenger Brian Smith both running unopposed.
Familicides  how apartheid killed its own

Family murder as a phenomenon was particular to the late apartheid era and developed when it did because it had meaning outside of itself.

In this extract from her book, The End of Whiteness: Satanism and Family Murder in Late Apartheid South Africa, the University of the Witwatersrands Nicky Falkof explores how during the height of apartheid family murders became what was termed a bloody epidemic.

The terms family murder/gesinsmoord only came into frequent use in South Africa in the early 1980s. Murders within families had, of course, happened before but had not been defined in this way. Those deaths were reported as individual tragic killings rather than as symptoms of a larger social problem.

By 1984, amid burgeoning cultural awareness of a national problem of family murder, the term was sufficiently entrenched to merit a three-page article in the popular Afrikaans magazine Huisgenoot, often a social barometer of white Afrikanerdom. This considered three recent murders, of Aurica Costin, Mirian Swanepoel and Talitha Hamman, all killed by estranged spouses who subsequently committed suicide.

These deaths, coming at the start of the panic, did not fit with ideas about family murder that became set as the decade progressed. Family murder was later characterised as something separate from domestic violence, an act that involved a family structure  always children, sometimes other relatives too  rather than just a couple, and almost always ended in the suicide of the killer.

Nonetheless at this early stage Huisgenoot referred to the Costin, Swanepoel and Hamman killings as gesinstragedies (family tragedies) and to the killers as family murderers. The magazine called the deaths a bloedige epidemie (bloody epidemic).

Paranoia at work

Huisgenoots article was part of an emergent repertoire of representation about family murder that included the exhortation for the public to watch out for the warning signs listed in the pages of popular publications. There was a certain paranoia at work here.

If the family murderer was always white, male and Afrikaans then it followed that each white, male and Afrikaans person could have the seeds of murder within him. The injunction to watch each other potentially accused all people who fitted into this mould. All white Afrikaans men could be marked with the possibility of this type of evil and it became everyones duty to observe them.

Huisgenoot also reported, [Family murder is] a sign of a sick society, say psychologists. Press responses to family murder turned to psychiatry and medicalisation early on. The notion of expanded blame  that society as a whole rather than just the killer was responsible for these deaths  also came to the forefront early in the coverage of these killings.

Similarly, family murder was understood as a sign of larger ills. In an article on South Africas new brutality, the right wing Aida Parker Newsletter, secretly sponsored by intelligence divisions within the South African Police, classified family murder alongside child abuse and other social ills as the consequence of a sick society.

That was a society newly filled with pornography, enlightened churches that preached politics instead of religious obedience, high divorce rates, trendy sex across the colour line and newly liberal attitudes towards abortion, homosexuality and lesbianism. All of these ills were contrary to the rights of the majority who wished to live in an ordered, humane, civilised society.

Death of a daughter

On November 4 1984 Gert Botha (38) shot and killed his ex-wife Maretha (35), their daughter Madaleen (15) and himself. Although there had been two similar cases the previous month, this one garnered far more press coverage, at least partly because of the idealisation of the murdered daughter.

Madaleen, 15, was the beauty of the family. She had already won one pageant  Next year she would be a prefect. That night the family was torn apart. Mrs Botha lay dead. Madaleen was shot in the stomach and the eye when she ran into the bedroom after the first bullets were fired. Gert Botha turned the gun on himself, reported Huisgenoot at the time.

Madaleens healthy normality was repeatedly emphasised in the press. Her gender and ethnicity were combined to depict her as a perfect white Afrikaans daughter. She was the model victim of a social plague. This was in contrast to parental dysfunction. Newspapers insisted that Gert and Marethas constant fighting should have alerted their community to the looming tragedy.

Saving families

Ideas about warning signs were part of the medicalisation of the family murder, the belief that there was a set of symptoms that could be spotted and avoided. This social-psychiatric narrative also implied that the unwary were to blame for disaster.

The Sunday Tribune, an English-language weekly newspaper published in what was then Natal province, went as far as to use the standfirst, Family ignored danger signs  and paid with their loved ones lives. Complacency and lack of communal care were blamed for the destruction of white South African youth. Society was failing to protect the young from dangers that could have been anticipated.

Jacana Books

An editorial in the Afrikaans daily Beeld, titled Kommerwekkend (Worrisome), speculated that deaths like the Bothas were part of a national crime problem, the result of a society that was too violent, with firearms too easily available.

The Weekend Argus in Cape Town called the deaths part of a frightening chronicle of killings and printed a list of possible causes agreed upon by several unnamed psychologists: unemployment, stress, sex, the availability of firearms, misplaced religious beliefs, immaturity, alcohol, fears about the future and hot weather.

This list avoided the most influential, volatile and unsettling factor that affected South African society. Save from fear of the future, apartheid was given no place in a consideration of why family murders happened, although notions of Afrikanerness and gendered cultural identity crept in in the form of religion, immaturity and sexual issues.

Later in the period other experts suggested a different causal model for family murder that implicated the violence of apartheid as a primary factor. The family murder panic was thus part of a cultural shift. It helped to inaugurate a public discussion of the fact that apartheid could be dangerously brutalising for white people, allowing them to be critical of the system without having to acknowledge the far more damaging consequences it had had for black South Africans.
By PTI: viscera samples

New Delhi, Aug 5 (PTI) A Delhi Police team investigating the mysterious death of Congress leader Shashi Tharoors wife Sunanda Pushkar, is likely to visit the US by the month end to bring back her viscera samples lying with the FBI for nearly an year.

Police sources said the step was being taken following a Ministry of Home Affairs letter reminding it to get the samples back as was asked by the FBI lab since samples were lying there despite a report by the US agency lab.

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51-year-old Sunanda was found dead at a suite in a five-star hotel in South Delhi on the night of January 17, 2014, a day after her spat with Pakistani journalist Mehr Tarar on Twitter over her alleged affair with Tharoor, the Congress MP from Thiruvananthapuram in Kerala.

In January 2015, Delhi Police had registered a case of murder in connection with the death of Sunanda. An AIIMS medical board had earlier found poisoning as reason for her death following which the police had sent her viscera samples to an FBI lab in US.

The FBI lab report, sent to Delhi Police in November 2015, endorsed the findings of the AIIMS forensic report. As police could not firm up about cause of the death based on the FBI report, they requested a medical board of AIIMS to analyse the contents of the report.

During the investigation, several persons including Shashi Tharoor have been questioned in connection with Sunandas death. The police have also conducted polygraph test on six persons, all prime witnesses in the case, including Tharoors domestic help Narayan Singh, driver Bajrangi and Sanjay Dewan, a close friend of the couple.

In February this year, Tarar was questioned about her relation with the Congress leader and his wife, her fight with Sunanda over Twitter, and other issues revolving around Sunandas mysterious death. PTI VIT IKA DV IKA

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Why breastfeeding in South Africa still needs champion

Despite all these benefits, only 38% of babies are exclusively breastfed across the world.

Breastfeeding has been proven to protect the health of mothers and babies. It naturally inoculates babies against disease because the mothers immune system kick starts the babys ability to resist illness. This applies in both low-income and high-income settings.

For mothers, breastfeeding is also good. It is a natural contraceptive because it interrupts the menstrual cycle, and it protects women against breast and ovarian cancer.

A number of initiatives have been put in place to turn this situation around. One of these is the Baby-Friendly Hospital Initiative, a UNICEF and World Health Organisation scheme launched in 1991. The idea was to make sure that all maternity wards, whether free standing or in a hospital, became centres of breastfeeding support.

Since its launch, more than 152 countries have signed up to the initiative. And by 2012 more than 21 300 facilities were designated baby friendly. This is close to 30% of all facilities worldwide and 31% of facilities in low and middle income countries.

But of the 152 countries, only 18 have reported setting up a government committee to direct and enforce the initiative.

South Africa, despite its bold commitments to improve breastfeeding, has not reported to the World Health Organisation. It still does not have national data to monitor breastfeeding rates to ensure that its policies are being effective.

And unless the country creates structures that ensure facilities become mother and baby friendly, breastfeeding rates in the country are unlikely to improve.

What it means to be baby friendly

The 10 Steps of the Baby-Friendly Hospital Initiative is a proven strategy to provide this support at the critical time of delivery and just after. It increases all aspects of breastfeeding  initiation of breastfeeding immediately after birth, exclusive breastfeeding in the first six months of life, and continued breastfeeding until the child is a toddler.

Its success is evident in countries like Cuba where, as a result of most of countrys 56 hospitals and maternity facilities being baby-friendly, the rate of exclusive breastfeeding at four months almost tripled in six years from 25% in 1990 to 72% in 1996. This success is related to government commitment and ongoing monitoring.

No official data has been released, but South Africas National Department of Health claims that the country has accredited 70% of its public hospital as baby friendly. The fact that 30% are not accredited indicates that there is no uniform system and no concerted push for accreditation.

There is also no information readily available on the accreditation of private facilities.

Hospitals and clinics are considered baby-friendly when they dont accept free or low-cost breastmilk substitutes, feeding bottles or teats, and implement 10 specific steps to support successful breastfeeding.

The ten steps include:

a written breastfeeding policy which all health care staff know about and are trained in

informing pregnant women of the benefits and management of breastfeeding

helping mothers initiate breastfeeding within one half-hour of birth and showing them how to breastfeed and maintain lactation

giving newborn infants no food or drink other than breastmilk, unless medically indicated.

not giving infants artificial teats or pacifiers.

All these steps help a new mother to breastfeed her baby. This in turn protects babies from respiratory infections and cuts diarrhoea episodes by half. As a result, breastfed babies are four times less likely to die in the first six months of life.

Breastfeeding also boosts babies' health and intelligence and reduces their rate of behavioural problems in childhood. Breastfed babies are less likely to be obese which means they are at lower risk of adult diabetes and cardiovascular disease.

No full commitment

The 10 steps initiative was adopted by South Africa in 1995. In 2012 it was renamed the Mother-Baby Friendly Initiative to stress support for mothers and babies and to assert the continued importance of exclusive breastfeeding by HIV positive women on antiretroviral treatment.

Roll out was initially slow. But by 2011 the Department of Health reported that 44% of public hospitals were accredited. This figure is alleged to have risen to 70% by 2014 but no official update report of the programme has been released by local health authorities.

New impetus was given to the initiative in August 2011 when participants at a national consultative meeting, including the Minister, Deputy Minister of Health and provincial health heads and managers, adopted the Tshwane Declaration of Support for Breastfeeding in South Africa.

The declaration committed South Africa to ensuring that all public and private hospitals and health facilities would be accredited as Baby-Friendly by 2015. Steps would be taken to ensure that once discharged, mothers would continue to receive support to breastfeed in their homes and communities.

But 2015 has come and gone and there is seemingly as yet no national system for requiring compliance, monitoring progress on accreditation or adherence to the 10 steps. South Africa also has few tools with which it can monitor whether breastfeeding rates increase in response to implementation. And little has been done to make communities more baby-friendly.

Although health authorities have pledged the best of intentions, they still have to put in place practical steps to ensure that the country can realise them.

What needs to be done

To follow up the bold commitments and ensure that they are implemented in South Africa, every hospital should be required to be mother and baby friendly. They should be inspected periodically to ensure compliance.

In addition, health authorities should collect national data to monitor breastfeeding rates to ensure that the policies are effective.

On top of this, South Africa needs to become more mother and baby friendly. More businesses and government departments must provide spaces for women to breastfeed.

And campaigns are needed to ensure that every women and her family know the value of breastfeeding, and how to breastfeed, before the baby is born. They must feel empowered to ask if the hospital theyre going to is accredited as baby and mother friendly.
Remo D'Souza was taken by surprise when artistes, mentors--Shakti Mohan, Punit Pathak, Dharmesh Yelande and host Raghav Juyal performed a flash mob on the sets of Dance Plus Season 2.

By Indo-Asian News Service: Ace choreographer and filmmaker Remo D'Souza was taken by surprise when artistes, including actor Faisal Khan, dancers Kunwar Amar and Siddhesh Pai, performed a flash mob on the sets of Dance Plus Season 2.

They were joined by the dance reality show's mentors Shakti Mohan, Punit J Pathak and Dharmesh Yelande.

All the artistes accompanied by the contestants and host Raghav Juyal showcased a flash mob on Remo's popular songs like Badtameez Dil and Dilli Wali Girlfriend.

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Also read: Remo D'Souza's wife is styling him for Dance Plus Season 2



"The makers of Dance Plus called me to discuss about the flash mob for Remo sir and it was an instant yes from my side. He has a special place in my heart and he is one person who has done a lot for dancers and choreographers in our country. This is the least I could do for him," Amar said in a statement.

Knowing nothing about the special performance, Remo, also the Super Judge on Dance Plus Season 2, was happy to see all of them paying a tribute to him.

"This surprise will always be remembered and cherished by me," Remo said.

"All these students are not just my students, they are my children, a part of my life. They say they are here at this level because of me, I say, I'm here because of them," he added.

The second season of Dance Plus is aired on Star Plus.

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During these three days, women pray to Goddess Parvati and Lord Shiva for a happy and successful married life.

By India Today Web Desk: If you started your morning wondering why so many women were dressed like newlyweds in bright hues such as red and green, it's because today is Hariyali Teej. The first day of the three-day Hindu festival, Teej is dedicated to Goddess Parvati, and commemorates her union with Lord Shiva. The festival is celebrated for sexual bliss, well-being of the spouse and children, and purification of one's own body and soul.



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The festival is celebrated in July or August annually (depending on India's monsoon season). The festival has three variants, namely Hariyali, Kajari and Hartalika Teej.

Photo courtesy: Reuters

Here are 5 things to know about the festival:

The festival is celebrated in states such as Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Bihar, Punjab, and Haryana. In Jaipur, Rajasthan's capital city, Teej is celebrated with great pomp. Women celebrate this day to the fullest. Women dress up like newlyweds in bright colours like red and green. They wear colourful bangles and apply henna/mehendi on their hands. Each day has its own significance, starting with the first that is called Dar Khane Din, on which ladies enjoy a feast prepared by men. The second day is for fasting while the third is for offering prayers to the deity. As far as food goes, Ghevar, Dal Bati Churma, Besan Laddu, Kaju Katli and Sattu form an essential part of the celebrations. Some women also observe a 'Nirjara Vrat'; they neither drink water nor eat anything for the entire day.

Photo courtesy: Reuters

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China News on Women





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By India Today Web Desk: Home Minister Rajnath Singh today repeated his message to Pakistan as he briefed Parliament on his trip to Islamabad for a SAARC conference which was overshadowed by the unrest in Jammu and Kashmir.



"A terrorist in one country cannot be a martyr in another," Singh said in Rajya Sabha, referring to the July 8 killing of Hizbul Mujahideen commander Burhan Wani which triggered massive protest in the Valley, resulting in more than 50 deaths so far.

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In a provocative note on the eve of the SAARC talks, Pakistan premier Nawaz Sharif had said Kashmir was witnessing a "new wave of freedom movement" and "not an internal matter" of India. He also praised Wani, calling him a martyr in the eyes of Pakistan.

"During the SAARC interior ministers meet, I urged all members that terrorists should not be glorified nor should be patronised. I said that there is a need to strongest action not just against the terrorists but also those who support terrorism," Singh said in Rajya Sabha, where he was congratulated for his stand on terror by all the political parties.

RAJNATH'S HIGH-VOLTAGE PAKISTAN TRIP

Reportedly, Singh left Pakistan in a huff at the mention of Kashmir by Pakistan. The hosts allegedly did not courtesy which forced Indian Home Minister to skip the lunch.

Read: Pakistan says Rajnath left SAARC Summit in a huff, but India differs

There was also a massive protest by Pakistan-based terror groups, led by Jamaat-ud-Dawa chief hafiz Saeed, opposing Singh's trip to Pakistan while he landed in Islamabad on Wednesday.

Rajnath, who returned from Islamabad on Thursday afternoon, met Prime Minister Narendra Modi as soon as he landed in New Delhi and briefed him about the trip.

There were also reports of Pakistan allegedly blacking out Singh's speech at the SAARC conference, which the Indian government later described as misleading.

"It is the standard SAARC practice that the opening statement by the host country is public and open to the media while the rest of the proceedings are in camera, which allows for a full and frank discussion of issues," a government source said.



Watch the video here:



Also Read:

He didn't name us: After Rajnath's hard-hitting message on terror, comes Pak's barefaced response

Rajnath at SAARC meet in Pakistan: There is no good or bad terrorism. Terrorism is terrorism

Pakistan blacks out Rajnath Singh's tough talk on terror at SAARC meet



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Budget blessing

Airlines Hotel

Airlines Hotel, with its open air cafe, takes you back to a different era. Established in 1968, it once used to be a family restaurant that attracted diners to its south Indian vegetarian fare of crisp dosas and strong foamy filter coffee. Over time, it turned into a brimming weekday hangout for college students in the vicinity and those from afar looking for a bit of green, both on and off their plate. The lush tree-lined grounds, casual seating and relaxed ambience have a lot to do with it, say several old and new college goers.

Photo courtesy: Sandesh Ravikumar

"We were best known for our South Indian vegetarian fare of dosa, idli and vada but over the years, we started introducing chaat and a few other north Indian favourites too. We also have a revenue-sharing franchise with Corner House ice-creams and Pizza Stop. One can enjoy a full tasty vegetarian meal here," says Diwakar Rao, 53, second-generation proprietor of Airlines Hotel."The popularity of the restaurant has a lot to do with the open space available, which makes the experience even more enjoyable," adds Rao.

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He is quick to talk about the good old days and the generations of students who have visited Airlines for a pocket-friendly meal. "When we opened shop, a dosa cost Re 1 and now it costs Rs 70," he says. In March 2014, the hotel shut shop for a while, leaving college-goers disappointed. However, services were soon restored and piping hot vadas were back in business.

AT 4, Madras Bank Road, Shanthala Nagar TEL 22273783 PRICE Rs 40 onwards

Gaming chronicles

The Living Room

When they're not tucking into the latest culinary offerings in the city or sipping on golden draught beer, students in Bangalore like to indulge in their passion for console games. A popular destination for many enthusiasts is the eight-year-old, laid-back space called The Living Room. Located in the heart of the city, it is true to its name-with several cosy living rooms set up under a single roof for various activities. The brick walls add to the ambience and so does a no-holds-barred policy.

Photo courtesy: Sandesh Ravikumar

So, while you pay by the hour, you are free to bring in your own food and drinks (non-alcoholic) and play a game (or two) on the Xbox, PS4 or Wii. "There isn't much to do in the city for students, besides drinking and hanging out in malls. Earlier, all gaming places in town were seedy and often located in basements. We wanted to change that and start a high-end gaming zone," says owner Mohan Mahadeviah, 38. Visitors spanning the age group of 8 to 40 can play against each other here. Large hard drive backups also ensure that you can save a game and return to it on your next visit.

"I see a lot of youngsters from Christ College, Bishop Cotton School, Vidyashilp Academy and Mallya Aditi International School stop by and they often throw birthday parties here too," says Mahadeviah. "For many, gaming is an escape from reality where you can travel to exotic locations and even play James Bond," he adds.

AT 45/7, Residency Cross Road, Next to Corner House TEL 4091 2024 PRICE Rs 300 per hour

Rock central

Wise Guy

Once a retail store for casual wear, Wise Guy has for nearly two decades been the go-to place for music fans across the city. Enter the curiously small store and you could well be in a metal head's paradise. Stacks and stacks of neatly folded black T-shirts cover nearly every inch of the shop. If you are lucky, you could also run into a guitarist or a drummer from one of many Indie bands in the city. They are all here to stock up on their latest favourites or more often T-shirts sporting their legendary idols.

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Photo courtesy: Nilotpal Baruah

Saleem, 46, who's been the shop manager for 20 years is busy folding Game of Thrones T-shirts, the 'new fad' he points out. "It was in 1999 when Bangalore was getting into Rock and Roll music. We started selling Rock and Metal music inspired T-shirts then. And the most popular bands at that time- like Iron Maiden, Metallica, Pink Floyd and AC/DC-are still some of the most sold merchandise here," he says. A regular here from his college days is Munz, 26, a musician with city-based Thrash Metal band, The Down Troddence, popularly known as TDT. "No other store in the city has a collection this vast that includes so many underground bands," says Munz.

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Besides being a haunt for regulars and those visiting town and looking for memorabilia, Wise Guy sees its largest crowds during the lead-up to a big concert. Over 2,000 T-shirts were sold from the store before the 2011 Metallica concert in town. "Saleem knows the bands, the trends and follows a method. When a big band is coming into town, he gets their itinerary and we often place orders for extra T-shirts before the show," explains Siddiqui, 55, owner, Wise Guy.

AT F-116 & F-117, 1st Floor, 5th A, Avenue Complex, Brigade Road TEL 25582919 PRICE Rs 450 onwards

Bakes of yore

Sweet Chariot

Ask any college student about the best Black Forest pastries in town and they will take one name, Sweet Chariot. Set up in 1981, with is first outlet on Brigade Road, this bakery has been synonymous with cakes and sweet treats in Bangalore for over three decades. It was in 1984 that students from colleges such as Mount Carmel and Jyoti Nivas began visiting Sweet Chariot. The pineapple fresh cream pastries, Black Forest cakes and lemon tarts soon became a part of life for college goers.

Photo courtesy: Sandesh Ravikumar

"And these still remain some of the favourites, though we later introduced blueberries, mango and mousse-based desserts as well," says Glen Williams, 60, owner, Sweet Chariot. The small basement bakery is now one of the 35 outlets in Bangalore and Pune and has moved closer to some of the city's school and colleges.

AT 11, Curzon Complex, Brigade Road TEL 25580729 PRICE Rs 45 onwards

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All things nice

Truffles

It has been 15 years since the tiny burger restaurant, Ice & Spice changed hands and came to be called Truffles. However, it continues to remain a favourite among students looking for a wholesome, budget-friendly bite. Four outlets, 15 years and a new menu later, Truffles is still packed on weekdays and weekends alike. "The idea was for it to be a food and dessert caf, hence the name Truffles. We retained the four burger varieties served at the old outlet and expanded the menu," says owner Avinash Bajaj, 45.

Photo courtesy: Nilotpal Baruah

"We don't want people to think about the budget and want them to have healthy portions," adds Bajaj. The original outlet is now managed by Harish B Lund, 44, who went to school with owner Bajaj. "We remember Ice & Spice from our own student days and now see many students who were regulars here return with their children," says Lund. It is with Bajaj's new ownership that Ice & Spice was re-branded as Truffles and saw several additions like submarines, steaks, more burger varieties and desserts crafted by Sudha Bajaj, baker and Avinash Bajaj's mother.

"The most popular items on the menu are the All American Burger, Truffle Rooster and Tandoori Burger. Our Ferrero Rocher cake is very popular too," says Lund. In addition to being budget-friendly, at Truffles, the price on the menu is the exact amount that appears on your bill. "We don't add service tax or VAT to our bills and absorb it ourselves. It has been this way for years," says Lund.

AT St Mark's Road, Koramangala and RMV 2nd Stage PRICE Rs 100 onwards

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Russia connects Novovoronezh 6 reactor to grid

05 August 2016

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Russia has connected its first VVER-1200 nuclear power unit to the grid. Unit 1 of the Novovoronezh II nuclear power plant in western Russia generated its first 240 MWe for the national grid after connection to the network at 3.35am local time yesterday, Rosatom announced today.

Novovoronezh control room operators witness grid connection of unit 6 (Image: Rosatom)

Also known as Novovoronezh 6, the unit is a VVER 1200/392M pressurised water reactor (PWR) unit with a design net capacity of 1114 MWe. It is the first of two units at Novovoronezh II - the lead project for the deployment of the AES-2006 design incorporating a Gidropress-designed PWR, an evolutionary development from the VVER-1000. Construction of Novovoronezh II units 1 and 2 - or Novovoronezh units 6 and 7 - began in June 2008 and July 2009, respectively. The original Novovoronezh site nearby already hosts three operating reactors and two that are being decommissioned.

Grid connection of Novovoronezh 6 followed "turbine start from rest", Rosatom said, and its trial operation in idle mode. The unit's operators completed "a large set of checks and tests at different power build up stages, as well as inspection of the various equipment", the state nuclear corporation added. "These measures were necessary to confirm the reliability and safety of the power unit in its further operation," it said.

Andrey Petrov, general director of Rosenergoatom, said the unit's connection to the grid was a "crowning moment" in the huge amount of work required for installation and adjustment of the unit's equipment, and the "complex process operations". Petrov said the work had been carried out "reliably and safely", with operating personnel "clearly understanding" the processes involved. Rosenergoatom is Rosatom's civilian nuclear power plant operator subsidiary.

Valery Limarenko, president of general contractor Nizhny Novgorod Engineering Company (NIAEP), said the launch of Novovoronezh 6 "opens up new opportunities for building up our presence in the global market".

Recently consolidated NIAEP-JSC ASE consists of more than 20 entities, with the major players being Atomstroyexport, which specialises in the construction of overseas nuclear power plants; NIAEP, which builds units in Russia; and general design company Moscow Atomenergoproekt. It also includes engineering company Spetzenergomontazh and Nikimt-Atomstroy, which designs and builds used nuclear fuel facilities. ASE Group consolidates the engineering know-how of Russian state nuclear corporation Rosatom through the ongoing merger of NIAEP, ASE and Atomenergoproekt.

Launch of the unit will increase the total capacity of the Novovoronezh plant 1.5 times, Rosatom said, and give "strong impetus" to the economic development of the Voronezh region.

"After commissioning, additional estate tax revenues are expected to be equal to RUB2 billion ($3 million) in the first year," the corporation said.

The new Novovoronezh units will have a passive heat removal system that, in the event of loss of on-site power supply, will provide long-term heat removal from the reactor core to the atmosphere using natural circulation.

Russian regulator Rostechnadzor issued the operating licence for Novovoronezh 6 on 23 March, thus permitting first criticality and eventual commercial operation of the unit. The first fuel assembly was loaded at the unit on 24 March, while the "active phase" of the loading process began the following day.

In June, Rosatom announced installation of the outer shell of the containment building dome at Novovoronezh 7. The dome, which was installed in November 2014, forms part of the unit's double-walled containment structure - a major component for protecting the reactor and preventing the release of radioactive materials into the environment in the event of a serious accident. It is a key feature of the AES-2006 design.

Researched and written

by World Nuclear News

Related topics
Prostitute (illustration)

By: Wayne Morin

An elderly man was arrested on a charge of soliciting a prostitute after allegedly having sex with a prostitute in his home, according to police in Massachusetts.

Dennis Port police said that they have arrested 90-year-old Nicholas Salerno, after being accused of paying a $100 in exchange for a sex act.

Salerno was charged with one count of soliciting a prostitute.

The prostitute, 48-year-old Karen Proia, was charged with larceny and prostitution after she stole a necklace from her customer before leaving his home.

Both pleaded not guilty, and were booked into jail.

According to police, Salerno called them to report that Proia stole his necklace while she was at his home to perform a sex act in exchange for $100.

Police warned Salerno that he was going to be arrested, but he replied: aI donat give a f*** because I am 90 years old.a Police managed to recover the stolen necklace.
Jeffrey with his mother

By: Feng Qian

(Scroll down for video) It was an emotional moment for a man when he was surprised with a visit from his mother after not seeing her for 10 years.

A video of the emotional reunion was uploaded to the Internet, and it brought tears to the eyes of many people who watched it.

The man named Jeffrey of Massachusetts, had not seen his mother, Madeline, in 10 years as she lives in Gabon, which is located in Africa.

Madeline wanted to visit her son earlier, but she was unable to do so because of a visa and financial reasons.

However, after a decade of being apart, Jeffreys brother finally got everything in place so that he and his mother can reunite with his older brother.

Jeffrey and his girlfriend, Shannon Slattery, had a baby boy earlier this year, so his mother also desperately wanted to meet her grandson.

The reunion was one that all of them will remember forever.

Jeffrey had no idea that his mother and brother were coming.

The video of the special moment shows Jeffrey arriving home and being overwhelmed by being confronted by his brother, whom he had not seen in four years.

After welcoming his brother, his mother, who has been hiding in another room, walked out. Jeffrey broke down and fell to the floor as soon as he saw his mother.

He then hugged his mother while he was still on the floor and he kept repeating the words amama, mama.a His overjoyed mother then helped him get up.
By PTI: From Lalit K Jha

Washington, Aug 5 (PTI) US President Barack Obama has asserted that America and its allies will continue to target the Islamic State "aggressively" across all fronts, as he vowed to be relentless in the fight against the terror group.

"As weve seen, it is still very difficult to detect and prevent lone actors or small cells of terrorists who are determined to kill the innocent and are willing to die. And thats why, as we discuss today, were going to keep going after ISIL (ISIS) aggressively across every front of this campaign," Obama told reporters after a meeting with his national security team at the Pentagon yesterday.

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He said the US and its coalition partners continue to be relentless in their fight against the Islamic State but the group still has the ability to direct and inspire attacks.

"In fact, the decline of ISIL in Syria and Iraq appears to be causing it to shift to tactics that weve seen before, an even greater emphasis on encouraging high profile terrorist attacks, including in the United States," he added.

"We continue to take out senior ISIL leaders and commanders. This includes ISILs deputy minister of war, Basim Muhammad al-Bajari, the top commander in Mosul Hatim Talib al-Hamduni and in yet another significant loss for ISIL is minister of war, Umar al-Shishani. None of ISILs leaders are safe and we are going to keep going after them," Obama said.

He said on ground in Iraq, the local forces keep pushing ISIS back and in a major success, Iraqi forces with coalition support finally liberated Fallujah.

"Now theyre clearing ISIL fighters from more areas up the Euphrates Valley and Iraqi forces retook the strategic airbase at Qayyarah, just 40 miles from Mosul, now the last major ISIL stronghold in Iraq," Obama said.

"Given the success, the additional 560 US support personnel that I ordered to Iraq last month will help turn this base into a logistical hub and launch bed for Iraqi forces as a push into Mosul," he said.

The US President said the terror groupss leaders know theyre going to keep losing and in their message to followers, theyre increasingly acknowledging that they may lose Mosul and Raqqah.

"They will lose them. And well keep hitting them and pushing them back and driving them out until they do," he said.

Obama said the ISIS turns out not to be invincible and they will inevitably be defeated, but the US also recognises at the same time that the situation is complex and it cannot be solved by military force alone.

"Thats why the United States and countries around the world pledged more than USD 2 billion in new funds to help Iraqis stabilise and rebuild their communities," he said. (MORE) PTI LKJ ASV

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The as yet unexplained killing on a central London street of a United States national Wednesday evening is being used to justify a massive build-up of armed police throughout the UK.

Londons Metropolitan Police named the victim as Darlene Horton, 64, who died at the scene. She was the wife of a university professor from Florida, who was within hours of flying home.

It is understood that Horton was attacked by a 19-year-old Norwegian national of Somali origin near the Imperial Hotel, Russell Square. The man stabbed two other women and three men in the incident. Those stabbed were taken to hospital. None had life threatening injuries and three were discharged Thursday. The injured are British, American, Australian and Israeli.

Shortly after the killing, the police arrested the man on suspicion of murder, after stunning him with a Taser. According to the police, the attack took place just after 10:30 p.m. After being called, the specialist firearms police officers who Tasered and apprehended the man were on the scene in six minutes.

Initially, the police stated that terrorism could have been factor in the attack. Assistant commissioner Mark Rowley said, Early indications suggest mental health is a significant factor in this case and that is one major line of inquiry. He added, But of course at this stage we should keep an open mind regarding motive and consequently terrorism as a motivation remains but one line of inquiry for us to explore.

As a precautionary measure, Londoners will wake up this morning to notice an increased presence on the streets of officers, including armed officers today, Rowley said. Later police said they would be on the streets for as long as we need.

Rowleys statement was changed later Thursday morning to omit any mention of terrorism as a motive. Metropolitan Police Commissioner Bernard Hogan-Howe did not reveal any further details about the arrested man or a possible motive, stating only, As we have already made clear, mental health remains a substantial focus for our investigation.

He too concluded his statement, Across our capital today you will see more police officers, armed and unarmed, to reassure the public after recent events overseas.

Around midday, after an initial investigation that included house searches, Rowley issued another statement saying, I emphasise that so far weve found no evidence of radicalisation that would suggest the man in our custody is in any way motivated by terrorism.

Despite this, armed police units continued to patrol many of the capitals busiest locations and tourist spots, brandishing weapons including semi-automatic carbines, Glock pistols, Taser stun guns, CS spray and batons. The Guardian noted, Around the British Museum in Bloomsbury, near the scene of Wednesday nights attack, patrols could be seen on almost every street, as well as in the courtyard in front of the museum.

The units have access to an array of other weapons, including shotguns.

The police blitzing of the capital came just one day after the Metropolitan Police announced Operation Hercules, under which 600 armed police officers, masked and clad in all black body armour resembling paramilitary squads, will flood Londons streets. This will bring the total number of armed police operating in the capital to 2,800.

The units have access to BMW F800GS motorbikes capable of speeds of 140 mph as well as vans. They will operate speedboats that will be deployed all over the Thames. Just hours before the attack Wednesday evening, some of the armed units were paraded before the media, with Sky News shadowing a high-speed boat full of masked police as it speeded down the Thames.

The mobilisation of this force is part of the Conservative governments plans to increase by 1,500 the number of armed police officers throughout the UK.

Operation Hercules was launched by Hogan-Howe, who said Sunday that the UKs threat level remained at severemeaning an attack was highly likely. Citing terrorist attacks that have occurred recently in several European cities, the commissioner said, You could say it is a case of when, not if ... as the police officer in charge of preventing such an attack, [I] know that you want me to reassure you. I am afraid I cannot do that entirely.

The launching of Operation Hercules was carried out with the full backing of Londons Labour Party Mayor, Sadiq Khan. It was then endorsed Thursday by Labours Shadow Chancellor John McDonnell, the main ally of the partys nominally left leader Jeremy Corbyn.

From the Mets statements, there is every indication that the London attacker is mentally ill. Yet without any public discussion, vast numbers of armed police have been placed on the capitals streets.

Due to the gutting of vital social services, many mentally ill people are being left to fend for themselves. The Guardian reported Thursday, Mental illness is a significant part of what Metropolitan Police officers deal with every day and they get 600,000 calls about it a year. They are called to far more incidents involving mental health problems than robbery or sexual offences, a report by the mental health charity Turning Point found in 2013.

Turning Points report cited a Metropolitan Police Service review that estimated that 15 to 25 percent of incidents are linked to mental health. Using this estimate the daily contact rises to a minimum of 1,626 calls per day 

As in London, incidents involving mentally disturbed people and actual terrorist attacks are both used to deploy armed police and the military in capital cities and towns across the continent.

In France, a state of emergency has been in place since terrorist attacks last November. Following subsequent attacks in Paris and the still unexplained killing of 84 people in Nice, more than 120,000 soldiers and armed police have been deployed nationwide.

Huge police mobilisations are ongoing in the Belgian capital, Brussels, and Amsterdam, the capital of the Netherlands. This week armed police flooded Schiphol airport, just five miles from the centre of Amsterdam and the fifth busiest airport in Europe. This was in response to an undefined threat. As part of the operation, military police searched every car entering the airport.

In Germany, the coalition government led by Chancellor Angela Merkel has responded to recent events in France and Germany with plans to place soldiers on the streets of the capital, Berlin.

Defence Minister Ursela von der Leyen announced that regional police forces and the Germany army (Bundeswehr) would begin practising co-ordinated exercises on the pretext of training for terrorist attacks. This is in defiance of Germanys constitution, which after the horrors of fascism, places restrictions on the use of troops on German soil. Since the Second World War, soldiers have only been deployed on German streets to deal with natural disasters such as flooding.

The routine deploying of masses of police armed to the teeth and of soldiers testifies to the extraordinary level of social and class tensions in Europe. No aspect of daily life is now exempt from intrusive policing by the state. In France, dozens of summer events have been banned in Paris, Nice, Marseilles and other towns and cities on the pretext that large crowds could serve as a magnet for terrorists. On Monday, France introduced sea patrols on passenger ferries to and from the UK. For the first of these operations, police officers were flown in by helicopter onto a ferry just as it entered French waters.

Justifying the resort to such repressive measures, Defence Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian stated, We are in a situation of war. Sometimes it is necessary to ban events if the security requirements are not respected. Everyone must understand this situation leads to constraints.

Accustoming the population to accept such constraints is a major, overarching concern for Europes ruling elites. Measures that will be used to target working class protests and strikes are being rolled out in the name of combating terrorism.
On Monday, August 1, a new Constitutional Protection Act came into force in the state of Bavaria. Protection of the constitution is the name given to Germanys post-war domestic intelligence services and the new Bavarian legislation is part of a massive upgrade of the countrys security services. It is a role model for the construction of a comprehensive police state on a federal basis.

The law creates a super authority, which operates secretly but has far-reaching police powers. The separation of the police from the secret services, embodied in Germanys post-war constitution based on drawing lessons from the crimes of Hitlers Gestapo, has been effectively wiped out.

Bavaria is now the only German state that permits its intelligence services to access massive amounts of data formally reserved for police authorities. Telephone companies must store all of their data for two and a half months and then hand data over to the secret services on request. Such data details which person has spoken to whom, for how long and from what location.

The state secret services can now also conduct online searches of computers and install spyware on private computerspowers also formally restricted to the police. To this end the Bavarian parliament has approved a supplementary budget for 2016 to fund nearly 100 new secret service jobs.

The state secret services will have virtually unlimited powers. Existing rules for the protection of professional secrecy for journalists, lawyers and clergy have been undermined. Even small children now may be spied on, although they cannot be prosecuted under German law. Radicalization is not a question of age, declared Bavarian Interior Minister Joachim Herrmann (Christian Social Union, CSU). In reality the state government is seeking to force children to spy on their parents, as was practiced by both the Nazis and the East German Stalinist police.

For the first time a legal framework for the selection and the use of undercover agents has been created. Undercover agents may now officially be used against groups with no record of violent activity.

In order to infiltrate such nonviolent groups the secret services can use the services of virtually anyone. According to the new law, even criminals convicted for serious offences, such as manslaughter, can be recruited as undercover agents. Only murderers are excluded.

While the powers of the secret services have been greatly expanded, parliamentary oversight of their activities has been cut back. The appropriate parliamentary control committee for telephone surveillance must now meet only once a year, instead of meeting every six months, as formerly.

The new law is part of the general trend towards a police state. At the start of June the federal cabinet agreed an enormous expansion of the powers of the police and intelligence services, allowing telephone calls to be intercepted without a court order. On July 28, Chancellor Angela Merkel then announced a nine-point plan for internal security involving new drastic powers for state forces. The latest Bavarian law now goes even further.

Justifying the state build-up, Interior Minister Hermann stressed the dangers posed by extremism and terrorism at a press conference on Monday. According to Herrmann, the greatest threat were radical Islamists, both so-called lone wolves and controlled and active terrorist cells, which were seeking to destroy our freedom.

Herrmann referred to the first Islamist suicide bombing in Ansbach on July 24, and the attack carried out by a 17-year-old Afghan on July 18 on a commuter train near Wurzburg. These attacks, both attributed to the Islamic State group, involved severe injuries but no mortalities.

Notably the Interior Minister made no mention of the terror rampage conducted by an 18-year-old in Munich on July 22, in which nine people were killed. The attack was the pretext for an unprecedented police state exercise in Munich.

The reason is very simple: the attacker in Munich was a German-Iranian who sympathized with the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD). The youth praised Adolf Hitler and most of his victims were foreign-looking youth. The content of his computer made clear that his role model was the Swedish fascist Anders Breivik, who carried out terror attacks in Oslo and Utoya.

The number of victims in Ansbach and Wurzburg, when compared to the casualties in Munich, makes clear that far-right terror is the main threat in Germany.

According to the Amadeu Antonio Foundation, 178 homicides have been carried out by far-right extremists in Germany since 1990, although official figures put the number at 75. Bavaria has witnessed a rapid increase in far-right terror. In the first half of 2016 politically motivated crimes against refugee shelters in the state more than tripled compared to the same period in 2015.

Herrmann remains silent on the far-right terrorist attacks because the secret services maintain close links to such neo-fascist circles. This was particularly evident in the case of the far-right terrorist group, the National Socialist Underground (NSU), which murdered nine immigrant workers between 2000 and 2006.

In the course of the investigation into the murders it emerged that various intelligence agencies and police authorities had installed more than 20 undercover agents and employees into the circles in and around the NSU. Some of these agents played a leading role in building up neo-Nazi networks and were in direct contact with the three confirmed members of the terrorist group. There is evidence that employees of the secret service were even actively involved in the murders.

The Bavarian intelligence services also played a significant role. Five of the nine murders were carried out in the state. In the course of investigation it was revealed that the state secret services employed for a decade an agent who assisted in the creating the far right Thule Power and had close links to the groups from which the NSU emerged. According to the Suddeutsche Zeitung the agent received up to 150,000 German deutschmarks from the state to build the network.

This same authority has now been freed from further parliamentary scrutiny and is receiving expanded powers. It is clear that the issue is not about the protection of the population, but rather the build-up of an apparatus with close ties to the far-right terrorist scene which can be used against future social opposition.

Herrmann made this very clear in his press conference on Monday. In addition to the new law, he announced tougher measures against refugees. Random police checks will monitor asylum centres and in future the Bavarian police will increasingly conduct mass operations, i.e., indiscriminate mass controls of all transport users to detect so-called illegals.

We need to stop refugees without papers at the German borders, clarify their identity and when necessary reject them, Herrmann said. Foreign offenders most quickly lose their right of residence and be deported even more quicklyeven back to crisis regions.

In reality, these attacks on the democratic rights of refugees are aimed at all workers. Growing militarism and continuous social cuts are incompatible with democracy. This is the logic behind the new laws in Bavaria, which represent a further step towards a police state in Germany.
The campaign of Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton has taken a further turn to the right, with open appeals to Republican Party loyalists to break with their nominee Donald Trump on the grounds that he is disrespectful of the military and opposed to confronting Russia and other countries targeted by Washington for attack.

Three incumbent Republican congressmen, other prominent Republican officials and ex-officials, and numerous Republican fundraisers have announced their support for Clinton, or at least their opposition to Trump.

Tuesdays endorsement of Clinton by Representative Richard Hanna, an upstate New York Republican, was followed by statements Wednesday from Representative Adam Kinzinger, whose district is in the Chicago suburbs; Representative Charlie Dent of Pennsylvania; and former Montana Governor Marc Racicot, an ex-chairman of the Republican National Committee. These three declared they could not support Trump, while stopping short of saying they would vote for Clinton.

A bipartisan group of 37 foreign policy and national security officials, including several former military officers, issued an open letter Thursday condemning Trumps comments downgrading the significance of the NATO alliance. The letter declared:

Trumps ill-considered statements have already sown doubt in the minds of our European partners as to whether they can count on American resolve, commitment, and strength in the future. Those statements also threaten to weaken our collective deterrence against Vladimir Putin from further territorial aggression in Europe after his invasions of Ukraine and Georgia. If Trumps policy was implemented, it would undermine the essential credibility of the United States in Europe and around the world.

Among those signing were Thomas Pickering, UN ambassador under the first President Bush; Steven Pifer, a top-level State Department official in the second Bush administration, with responsibility for Russia and Ukraine; John Bellinger III, chief counsel for the National Security Council and later the State Department in the second Bush administration; and neo-conservatives Kori Schake and Randy Scheunemann, officials in the second Bush White House and advisers to the McCain-Palin Republican presidential campaign in 2008.

The Wall Street Journal reported Thursday that 45 prominent Republicans have so far come out publicly for Clinton, in an effort coordinated by campaign Chairman John Podesta and Leslie Dach, a former Wal-Mart executive and longtime Clinton crony. Clinton herself has participated in the wooing of top Republicans, phoning Hewlett-Packard CEO Meg Whitman, the Republican candidate for governor of California in 2010, last month. Whitman declared her support for Clinton Tuesday and pledged a six-figure donation to the campaign.

According to the Journal, The effort, which largely targets national-security experts and business leaders, began several months ago but has ramped up in the wake of Mr. Trumps recent troubles, including his spat with the parents of a Muslim US Army captain who died in Iraq, people familiar with the effort said. It is expected to culminate in a Republicans for Hillary group, whose members will endorse her candidacy.

One Republican former Reagan and Bush administration official, Frank Lavin, told the Journal he had been reassured by the Democratic National Convention and Clintons selection of Senator Tim Kaine of Virginia as her running mate. I have an increasing comfort level with Hillary Clinton, he told the newspaper. Shes not going to be bossed around by the Bernie Sanders wing of the party.

The Washington Post carried a similar report Thursday night on Clintons outreach to potential Republican converts, including donors, elected officials, and business and foreign policy leaders. The message is simple: Even if you have never before considered voting for a Democrat, and even if you dont like Clinton, choosing her this year is a moral and patriotic imperative. The informal slogan of the outreach effort, according to the newspaper, was duty, honor, country, an indication of the extremely right-wing posture being taken by the Clinton campaign.

Clinton aides told the newspaper that the patriotic campaign was aided by Trumps comments on foreign policy, particularly his praise of Russian President Vladimir Putin, and by his public attacks on the father and mother of a Muslim US Army soldier, Captain Humayun Khan, who was killed by a suicide bomber in Iraq.

Clinton herself has begun to appeal publicly to Republicans to support her campaign as a patriotic duty, as the Associated Press put it Thursday. She told a union hall audience in Las Vegas, I want to be the president for all AmericansDemocrats, Republicans, independents. Were going to pull America together again.

The shift to the right was unveiled at the Democratic National Convention, where an array of former generals paid tribute to Clinton as the best choice for commander-in-chief, and billionaire Michael Bloomberg, the former Republican mayor of New York City, was given a featured position as a Clinton endorser.

The choice of Bloomberg (net worth $48 billion) was a signal of the real social constituency to which Clinton is appealing. It was followed July 30 with the endorsement of Clinton at a Pittsburgh rally by media billionaire Mark Cuban (net worth $3 billion), a right-wing libertarian and devotee of Ayn Rand.

August 1 found Clinton being introduced to an Omaha, Nebraska campaign event by investor Warren Buffett, whose personal net worth of $63.3 billion, derived entirely from financial speculation, makes him one of the richest men on Earth. On August 3 came the endorsement by Meg Whitman (net worth $2.1 billion), and on August 3, backing from hedge fund mogul Seth Klarman (net worth $1.35 billion), who has generally donated to Republican candidates in the past.

Several groups have been formed to harness the support of wealthy Republicans behind the Democratic nominee. These include Republicans for Her 2016, led by Republican lobbyist Craig Snyder; R4C16, led by officials from President George W. Bushs administration; and the Republican Women for Hillary, which is led by US Chamber of Commerce official Jennifer Pierotti Lim.

Other prominent billionaires (Democrats and Republicans) supporting Clinton include Walmart heiress Ann Walton (net worth $5 billion); LinkedIn founder Reid Hoffman ($3.8 billion); Univision television network owner Haim Saban ($3.6 billion); Hyatt Hotel chain heir J.B. Pritzker ($3.4 billion); Slim-Fast founder Daniel Abraham ($2 billion); Marc Benioff of Salesforce.com ($4 billion); Facebook executive Sheryl Sandberg ($1.4 billion); medical industry heirs Jon and Pat Stryker ($2.3 billion); television personality Oprah Winfrey ($3.1 billion); and Hollywood producers Steven Spielberg ($3.6 billion) and Jeffrey Katzenberg ($1 billion).

Especially noteworthy is the large number of Wall Street financiers backing Clinton. These include speculator George Soros ($24.9 billion), hedge fund managers James Simons ($14 billion), David E. Shaw ($4.7 billion) and Tom Steyer ($1.6 billion); venture capitalist John Doerr ($4.7 billion); and banker Herbert Sandler ($1.2 billion).

The combined wealth of the aforementioned billionaires openly backing Clinton is roughly $200 billiondivided among 21 individuals. This is roughly the same amount that the Obama administration proposes for education, housing, transportation and science in its 2016 budget.

This line-up demonstrates the worthlessness of Vermont Senator Bernie Sanderss claims, as he ended his campaign and endorsed Clinton, that the Democratic Party had been fundamentally changed by his political revolution. Sanders denounced the billionaire class throughout his campaign, rallying the support of millions, including large numbers of young people and students. But he delivered his supporters to the tender mercies of a candidate who is a trusted servant of that billionaire class.

At his speech to the Democratic convention, Sanders claimed that Clintons campaign had the most progressive platform in history. Within days, Americas financial aristocracy has reminded everyone just who owns Clinton and the entire Democratic Party.

Sanders did not create the mass opposition of working class and youth that found brief expression in his campaign. His aim, as he repeatedly stated, was to absorb that opposition within the Democratic Party, which, he argued, could be made a vehicle of social reform.

In conceding to Clinton, Sanders fulfilled his campaigns mission. Her subsequent sharp turn to the rightwhich includes not just fulsome support from billionaires, but from the military-intelligence apparatus based largely on warmongering against Russiahas very rapidly exposed the reactionary character of Sanders politics, and the bankruptcy of any perspective that claims that working people and youth can achieve progressive change through the Democratic Party.
By PTI: From Lalit K Jha

Washington, Aug 5 (PTI) Trump campaign has alleged that the US government is engaged in a "cover-up" of its Iranian cash deal, notwithstanding the rebuttal by Obama administration of paying any ransom to Iran for the release of American prisoners.

"The Obama Administration is now engaged in a cover-up of their fly-by-night untraceable cash airlift to Iran, the worlds leading state sponsor of terrorism," Stephen Miller, senior policy advisor from the Trump Campaign alleged.

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"President Obamas refusal to acknowledge that these funds will end up being used to subsidise terror is shameful - and Hillary Clintons support for the Presidents actions are a national disgrace," he said.

The statement by Trumps campaign came after US President Barack Obama refuted allegation of paying any ransom amount to the Iranians.

"The reason that we had to give them cash is precisely because we are so strict in maintaining sanctions, and we do not have a banking relationship with Iran, that we couldnt send them a check, and we could not wire the money," Obama told reporters at a Pentagon news conference.

Obama was responding to questions on a Wall Street Journal report that the US transferred a plane load of hard cash amounting to USD 400 million to Tehran at the same time when Iran released four American prisoners.

The Trump campaign did not appear to be convinced by Obamas statement.

"The Obama-Clinton foreign policy gave rise to ISIS, made Iran flush with cash, and is now admitting vast numbers of refugees and migrants into the US from some of the most volatile regions in the world - including more than 100,000 migrants annually from the Middle East, plus theyre now on track to hit their target of 10,000 Syrian refugees this year through dangerously expediting their admission (which Hillary Clinton wants to increase by 550 per cent)," Miller said.

"But none of this is surprising from an Administration that allowed its Secretary of State to threaten the country with a private email server, delete her records, and lie about it to us all," he said.

The House Speaker Paul Ryan yesterday alleged that the Obama administration secretly paid a ransom of USD 400 million to the worlds foremost state sponsor of terror.

"President Obama pushed through his dangerous Iran deal despite overwhelming opposition from the American people. He promised to hold them accountable. He hasnt. Iran is stronger than ever - and there is nothing to prevent its regime from using this cash infusion to strengthen its nuclear program or fund terrorist organisations like Hamas and Hezbollah," he said.

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"Thanks to President Obama, the US and every other free nation is threatened by this rogue, aspiring nuclear power. This is unconscionable. Its time to hold Iran accountable. Its time to hold this administration accountable," Ryan said. PTI LKJ UZM

--- ENDS ---
On Monday, a Ministry of Defence (MoD) press release on the UKs intervention in the war in Iraq and Syria was taken up in several British media outlets including the BBC, Guardian and Daily Mail.

The headline-grabbing story told of an air-strike on a palace of former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein in Mosul, the Iraqi capital of Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (IS/ISIS/ISIL/Daesh), by Reaper drones and Tornado fighters using the Royal Air Forces 2,000-pound bunker busting Paveway bombs. ISIS has been in control of Mosul, Iraqs second-largest city, since June 2014, when the Iraqi army collapsed in the face of an offensive by the Islamist force.

The press release also revealed that there have been RAF strikes over several days around Manbij in northern Syria, which lies on the main supply route from Turkey to Raqqa, Islamic States headquarters in Syria.

The British air force has conducted close to 950 airstrikes from RAF Akrotiri in Cyprus since the UK restarted military action in Iraq in September 2014, as part of the USs Operation Inherent Resolve to recapture territory held by ISIS. Some 1,150 military personnel are stationed in the region and more have been promised by Conservative Defence Minister Michael Fallon.

Speaking at the Royal United Service Institutes annual airpower conference last month, Fallon declared, The RAF has not operated at this sustained operational tempo in a single theatre of conflict for a quarter of a century.

Our tempo and commitment to the operationour precision targeting, our Intelligence, Surveillance, Reconnaissance, and our overall support to the coalitionshows no sign of abating.

An indication of the severity of the conflict can be gleaned from the monthly reports published on the MoD website, which catalogue the almost daily bombing raids by the RAF.

Typical is the entry for July 28 which reads, RAF aircraft continued to provide close air support to the Syrian democratic forces on Thursday 28 July, when a Reaper patrolled the Manbij area. The Reapers crew conducted 4 attacks with Hellfire missiles against several groups of Daesh fighters, and assisted in 4 further attacks by coalition fast jets. In Iraq, Brimstone armed Tornados destroyed a mortar near Qayyarah, while a pair of Typhoons used a Paveway IV to strike a Daesh bunker on the shores of Lake Qadisiyah.

A demonstration of the terrible power of the missiles can be seen here.

The ramping up of UK military intervention is part of US plans to recapture Mosul from ISIS. According to some press reports, pressure is increasing to begin the offensive in October--before the US presidential election--and that it may be combined with one on Raqqa.

Speaking at a meeting of 30 defence and foreign ministers in Washington last month, Brett McGurk--Special Presidential Envoy for the Global Coalition To Counter ISIL, Office of the Special Presidential Envoy for the Global Coalition to Counter ISIL--declared, The liberation of Mosul is now in sight and an achievable goal and means the end of the IS phony caliphate.

In March, ISIS was ousted from the Syrian city of Palmyra and in June from the Iraqi city of Fallujah. The Pentagon claims ISIS has lost some 45 percent of the territory it held in Iraq and up to 20 percent in Syria.

In recent weeks, the Obama administration has given permission for US advisers to be deployed with Iraqi battalions i.e., in the firing line, and hundreds of advisers are pouring into the Qayyarah air base, about 40 miles south of Mosul, which was recaptured from ISIS last month.

Additionally, support for the Peshmerga militia of the Kurdistan Regional Government has rapidly escalated with an agreement signed last month to provide $415 million to buy ammunition and medical supplies.

The battle for Mosul will be waged by three main military forces: Iraqs Popular Mobilization Forces, the Kurdish Peshmerga and Iraqi Security Forces. So far, the fight against ISIS has provided the glue for an uneasy truce among these political factionsbut US officials concede the informal alliance on the battlefield could be shattered by political disagreements. A powder-keg has been created, which will lead to another bloody sectarian conflict in the vacuum left should ISIS be defeated.

The Popular Mobilization Forces is an Iraqi state-sponsored umbrella organization composed of some 40, almost entirely Shia Muslim militia groups. It was created in 2014 as the Iraqi Army collapsed. Nominally headed by Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi, under the control of the Iraqi security services and paid by the Iraqi state, most militias operate with their own chain of command, and receive direct support from Iran. According to Amnesty International, Shiite militias have abducted, tortured and killed numerous Sunni civilians.

The US alliance with the Peshmerga, which it sees as the mainstay of the Mosul operation, has antagonised both the Iraqi central government and Turkey, which fears growing Kurdish influence with the USespecially since the failed coup attempt against Turkish President Recep Erdogan earlier in July. The Kurdish Workers Party (PKK) and its local offshoots now control a swathe of territory from northern Iraq into northern Syria.

A recently negotiated US-Kurdish understanding includes Peshmerga militia standing aside when the Iraqi Security Forces pass through their units during the initial assault on Mosul. The move is part of a US effort to make sure that the units involved in the Mosul operation do not end up killing each other.

The US has also dropped its opposition to arming Sunni militias in Iraqs Anbar province and helped create a new Tribal Mobilization Force.

The announcement Wednesday by President Barack Obama that he has authorised a month-long bombing campaign against Islamic State in Libya, prompted Middle East Eye (MEE) to raise questions regarding UK military involvement on that front.

Noting evidence of ongoing covert UK operations in Libya, including the use of the elite Special Air Service regiment, MEE writes: On Wednesday, sources at the Ministry of Defence in London refused to be drawn on potential UK flights and Libya when asked to clarify the UK's position by MEE. This comes after Prime Minister Theresa May promised to work toward preventing Libya becoming a base for Daesh. She made the comments alongside her Italian counterpart, Matteo Renzi in Rome last week.

MEE also states that the British government has refused to comment on whether RAF drones are currently operating over Libya.

The UKs role in the bloodbath being carried out across the Middle East and North Africa lies firmly with the Labour Party which allied itself with the Conservative government, voting for war in Iraq in 2003, Libya in 2011, in Iraq again in 2014 and in Syria in December 2015.

Current Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn cleared the path for the bombing of Syria when he capitulated to his right wing and agreed to a free vote on military action, enabling 66 Labour MPs to vote with the Tories without fear of censure.

In a survey of the party membership, 75 percent registered their opposition to the bombing of Syria. Only the day before, the Foreign Affairs Select Committee voted four to three in favour of a motion that Cameron had not adequately addressed concerns about military action.

Corbyn continues to state his personal opposition to military action in Syria and Libya, but his new Shadow Secretary of State for Defence, Clive Lewis, pointedly refused to rule out support for military operations in Libya. We will look at the detail of any request from the Libyan authorities, if and when such a request for military assistance is made, Lewis reported.
A new study by the RAND Corporation titled War with China: Thinking Through the Unthinkable is just the latest think tank paper devoted to assessing a US war against China. The study, commissioned by the US Army, provides further evidence that a war with China is being planned and prepared in the upper echelons of the American military-intelligence apparatus.

That the paper emerges from the RAND Corporation has a particular and sinister significance. Throughout the Cold War, RAND was the premier think tank for thinking the unthinkablea phrase made notorious by RANDs chief strategist in the 1950s, Herman Kahn. Kahn devoted his macabre book On Thermonuclear War to elaborating a strategy for a winnable nuclear war against the Soviet Union.

According to the preface of the new study, released last week, This research was sponsored by the Office of the Undersecretary of the Army and conducted within the RAND Arroyo Centers Strategy, Doctrine, and Resources Program. RAND Arroyo Center, part of the RAND Corporation, is a federally funded research and development center sponsored by the United States Army.

The paper is a war-gaming exercise in the Kahn tradition: weighing the possible outcomes of a war between two nuclear powers with utter indifference to the catastrophic consequences for people in the United States, China and the rest of the world.

The study is based on a series of highly questionable assumptions: that a war between the United States and China would not involve other powers; that it would remain confined to the East Asian region; and that nuclear weapons would not be used. In reality, a war on China would from the outset involve US allies and would thus, in all likelihood, rapidly escalate out of control, spread beyond East Asia, and heighten the danger that nuclear weapons would be used.

As part of the Obama administrations pivot to Asia, the US has been strengthening alliances throughout the region, establishing new basing arrangements and consolidating military interoperability. The US military could not wage war against China without the intelligence and military and basing resources of, at the very least, Japan, Australia, South Korea, the Philippines, Singapore and Thailand.

The RAND Corporation study considers four simplistic scenarios for a conflict defined by two variables: intensity (either mild or severe) and duration (from a few days to a year or more). It also notes that given the pace of advances in military technologyin what is already an undeclared arms racethe outcomes change over time. Thus, it studies the losses and costs for both sides of a war fought in 2015 and one in 2025.

The summary of findings pays far more attention to the outcomes of severe conflicts than for mild ones. In both casesa brief, severe war and a long, severe warthe study estimates that the economic and military impact on China would be far greater than on the United States. At the same time, it concludes that the US would suffer greater losses and costs in 2025 than in 2015.

The paper states: As its military advantage declines, the United States will be less confident that a war with China will conform to its plans. Chinas improved military capabilities, particularly for anti-access and area denial (A2AD), mean that the United States cannot count on gaining operational control, destroying Chinas defences, and achieving decisive victory if a war occurred.

The unstated conclusion, which underpins all of the Pentagons planning and preparations, is that a war with China must be fought sooner rather than later. The US military build-up envisages 60 percent of all air and naval assets in the Indo-Pacific region by 2020now just over three years away. Moreover, Washingtons deliberate inflaming of dangerous flash points in Asia, especially in the South China Sea, is aimed at portraying Beijing as aggressive and expansionist and concocting the necessary casus belli.

The very premises of the study, however, underscore the aggressive, neo-colonial character of a war confined to a region thousands of kilometres from the United States. Washingtons aim is nothing less than the complete subjugation of China to the strategic and economic interests of US imperialism.

In advising the Pentagon and the White House, the RAND Corporation paper calls for prudent preparations to be able to wage a long and intense war with China. It continues: Of no less importance is the ability of the United States to limit the scope, intensity, and duration of a war with China through its planning, its system of civilian control and its ability to communicate with China.

The reference to the necessity of a system of civilian control in the United States is particularly sinister. Behind the backs of the American population, plans are being drawn up by think tanks like the RAND Corporation, by the military/police forces and by the broader state apparatus for police state measures to suppress anti-war opposition that go well beyond those employed in World War II.

The RAND Corporation paper is a chilling confirmation of the warnings made by the International Committee of the Fourth International (ICFI) in its statement of February 18, 2016 titled Socialism and the Fight Against War. The statement notes that at a certain point, military fatalism becomes a significant contributing factor to the outbreak of war. It cites an international relations specialist who wrote: Once war is assumed to be unavoidable, the calculations of leaders and militaries change. The question is no longer whether there will or should be a war, but when the war can be fought most advantageously.

The new study indicates that such a shift in thinking is underway in Washington. And while the RAND Corporation study dismisses the possibility of nuclear war, other imperialist strategists are planning for such an eventuality.

Just two weeks ago, the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), which has played a central role in the planning of the pivot to Asia, issued a report assessing the Chinese nuclear arsenal. The paper was titled Chinas nuclear forces and weapons of mass destruction.

The CSIS also downplayed the likelihood of nuclear war, but did not reject it out of hand. History is a grim warning, it stated, that deterrence sometimes fails, and escalation occurs in ways that are never properly planned or controlled.

Driven by the worsening economic and political breakdown of capitalism, another catastrophic war on a global scale is not only possible, but inevitable without the intervention of the international working class. However, the same capitalist crisis that is driving towards the insanity of world war is also creating the impulse for social revolution. This underscores the urgent necessity of the political fight being waged by the ICFI to build an international anti-war movement of the working class to put an end to capitalism and its outmoded nation-state system and reconstruct society on socialist foundations.
A report published this week by Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch further exposes the deliberate violation of the human, democratic and legal rights of about 1,200 men, women, and children who have been detained on the remote Pacific island of Nauru for more than three years after seeking asylum in Australia.

As the report documents, the Australian government has set a brutal model for countries around the world to punish and bar entry to the millions of desperate refugees. There are now more than 60 million globally fleeing persecution, oppression and war, mostly as a result of the wars being waged by the US and its allies, including Australia, throughout the Middle East.

Anna Neistat, an Amnesty research director who conducted the investigation, said: Australias policy of exiling asylum seekers who arrive by boat is cruel in the extreme. Few other countries go to such lengths to deliberately inflict suffering on people seeking safety and freedom.

According to the report, the traumatised refugees suffer frequent abuses, inhumane treatment, primitive housing, unpunished assaults and denial of basic medical and psychological services. Despite 915 of the asylum seekers being officially classified as refugees needing protection under international law, all are being held indefinitely, unable to leave the island.

One woman told the researchers: People here dont have a real life. We are just surviving. We are dead souls in living bodies. We are just husks.

This regime, while vehemently defended by Australias current Liberal-National Coalition government, was established in 2012 by the previous Labor government, under Prime Minister Julia Gillard, for the explicit purpose of punishing asylum seekers in order to deter others from trying to reach Australia.

The report states that the refugees endure unnecessary delays and at times denial of medical care, even for life-threatening conditions. Many have dire mental health problems and suffer overwhelming despairself-harm and suicide attempts are frequent. All face prolonged uncertainty about their future

Refugees and asylum seekers interviewed said they have developed severe anxiety, inability to sleep, mood swings, prolonged depression, and short-term memory loss on the island. Children have begun to wet their beds, suffered from nightmares, and engaged in disruptive and other troubling behavior.

Neistat and other researchers interviewed 84 asylum seekers from Iran, Iraq, Pakistan, Somalia, Bangladesh, Kuwait and Afghanistan, including stateless Kurds. They also interviewed several Australian-funded service providers, who supplied information despite risking prosecution under Australian law for doing so.

The refugees initially spent a year or more living in cramped vinyl tents, with filthy toilets, with temperatures indoors regularly reaching 45 to 50 degrees Celsius, and torrential rains and flooding. Those people later classified as refugees were generally provided accommodation in prefabricated units, converted containers or other sub-standard housing.

About one-third of the 1,200 people remain in the tents inside the detention centre, still subject to curfews, banned from bringing smartphones into the camp and monitored by guards.

To visit Nauru, the researchers had to go undercover to break through a wall of secrecy erected by Australia and Naurus government, which is paid millions of dollars annually to host the detention facilities. Requests by journalists to visit are invariably rejected, doctors and other detention staff face criminal charges for disclosing abuses, Facebook has been banned and human rights observers have been denied access.

The report emphasises that Australian authorities are well aware of the abuses. The Australian Human Rights Commission, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, a Senate committee and a government-appointed expert have each highlighted many of these practices, and called on the government to change them.

Amnesty and Human Rights Watch conclude that the Australian government is guilty of human rights abuses: By forcibly transferring refugees and people seeking asylum to Nauru, detaining them for prolonged periods in inhuman conditions, denying them appropriate medical care, and in other ways structuring its operations so that many experience a serious degradation of their mental health, the Australian government has violated the rights to be free from torture and other ill-treatment, and from arbitrary detention, as well as other fundamental protections.

As with every previous inquiry, the Australian mainstream media largely buried the report, and the government dismissed it out of hand. The Department of Immigration and Border Protection said it strongly refutes many of the allegations in the report, but refused to provide details on which parts of the report it was refuting.

The report says the self-immolation of 23-year-old Omid Massoumali, an Iranian refugee, in April had a devastating effect on other detainees, triggering rapid declines in mental health. Massoumali was the third refugee within eight months to die in an Australian detention facility after setting himself alight in protest at the inhuman conditions.

At that time, Australian Immigration and Border Protection Minister Peter Dutton flatly defended the delay in evacuating Masoumali, who might have survived had he received prompt medical care. Dutton branded such protests as politically futile acts of self-harm and claimed that the refugees were happy to be settled in Nauru.

The reality is that Nauru, just 21 square kilometres (smaller than a major city airport), has been devastated by 40 years of Australian phosphate mining. As a result of Australian colonial rule, most of the island is uninhabitable and uncultivable. Employment opportunities are scarce and basic services, such as health and education, are inadequate.

That is precisely why successive Australian governmentsdating back to the Pacific solution unveiled by the Howard Coalition government in 2001have used Nauru, along with Papua New Guineas equally impoverished Manus Island, as a punitive location for people seeking refuge in Australia.

Labors immigration spokesman Shayne Neumann said his party was deeply troubled by the Amnesty report, and Immigration Minister Dutton needed to immediately investigate these claims. This is rank duplicity. Labor, which first introduced the mandatory detention of refugees in 1992, remains unequivocally committed to maintaining the offshore detention camps.

Last year, Labor joined hands with the government to push through legislation to retrospectively legalise the Nauru and Manus camps. That bill provided the basis for this Februarys ruling by Australias High Court sanctioning the offshore regime, effectively setting a new global benchmark for the indefinite incarceration of peopleoffshore facilities outside the jurisdiction of the courts.

Likewise, the Greens immigration spokesperson, Senator Sarah Hanson-Young said Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull needed to take action on the situation in Nauru. It was the Greens who gave the previous Labor government the parliamentary numbers to remain in office as it reopened the Nauru and Manus camps. The Greens back the underlying border protection framework of stopping refugees reaching Australia, except for small numbers of carefully hand-picked people.

The truth is that Australian governments, Liberal-National and Greens-backed Labor alike, have made asylum seekers and immigrants scapegoats for the worsening social conditions being imposed on the working class. Some of the worlds most vulnerable people are being subjected to ever-more lawless imprisonment, setting precedents for wider use around the world.
In an August 4 editorial titled Turkeys new anti-Americanism, the New York Times takes not only the government but also the people of Turkey to task for drawing the obvious and well-founded conclusion that Washington played a central role in backing the abortive July 15 coup to overthrow the countrys elected president, Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

Shaken by a failed coup attempt, Turkeys government and many of its citizens are desperate for someone to blame. Instead of undertaking a thorough investigation of the facts, though, they have accused the United States of complicity in the insurrection, the Times argues, adding, This has ignited a new wave of anti-Americanism.

The Times treats such accusations as illogical and absurd. It makes no sense that the United States would seek to destabilize a NATO ally whose cooperation is crucial to alliance security as well as to the fight against the Islamic State, especially when much of the region is in chaos.

In fact, Turkey has been a NATO ally of the United States since 1952. Since then, Washington has backed the Turkish militarys seizure of power not once, but three timesin 1960, 1971, and 1980not counting the bloody events of last month.

Moreover, it was precisely the cooperation of the Erdogan government that had been called into question in recent months, particularly in relation to its attempt to achieve rapprochement with Moscow under conditions of rising US-Russian tensions. Relations had further deteriorated over Syria, where the US military has forged an alliance with Kurdish separatists, which Ankara views as an existential threat to the Turkish state.

The Turks, the Times tells us, are playing a duplicitous and cynical game in suggesting that the US had anything to do with the failed coup.

When it comes to cynicism and duplicity, the Times has no equal. How can it claim that the US had nothing to do with the coup?

It is well-established that much of the coup was organized out of Incirlik air base in southeastern Turkey. The base is not only the center of the US air war against Iraq and Syria, housing 1,400 US military personnel and hundreds more American contractors, it is also the site of the largest stockpile of US nuclear weapons on the European continent, as many as 90 B-61 tactical nuclear bombs, each capable of delivering a destructive power over ten times greater than the bomb dropped on Hiroshima.

After the coup had failed, the bases commander, one of the many military figures with close ties to the Pentagon who played a prominent role in the plot, asked his American colleagues to grant him asylum.

If the CIA and other US intelligence agencies had known nothing about the impending coup, organized under the noses of the US military, it would constitute one of the greatest intelligence failures in US history. What if it had been an Islamist coup, with the nuclear bombs turned over to Al Qaeda, ISIS or a similar organization? Such a failure would warrant the resignations of CIA Director John Brennan, Adm. Michael Rogers, director of the NSA and others. Needless to say, no such resignations were forthcoming.

Moreover, the only reason that Erdogan escaped shortly before a military assassination squad arrived at the door of his vacation home was that Russian intelligence, which had apparently picked up military communications between the coup plotters, had given him enough advance warning.

Is it frankly credible that the US military, which likely heard these same communications from adjoining offices, or the CIA and NSA, whose spying capacities in a country where they have operated for decades have to be far superior than those of their Russian counterparts, did not have the same or even more extensive prior knowledge?

Their decision not to issue Erdogan a similar warning can only have one interpretation: Obama and the US military and intelligence chiefs preferred to see the Turkish head of state dead.

The initial reaction of the US governmentgiven in Moscow by US Secretary of State John Kerry before it became clear that the coup would failpoints to the same conclusion. Kerry limited himself to expressing US desire for stability and peace and continuity within Turkey. Neither Erdogans name nor any US concern for the continuation of elected civilian rule was even mentioned.

The recklessness and criminality of this policy are breathtaking. Having killed and maimed millions and wrecked entire societies in Iraq, Libya and Syria, US imperialism was prepared to do essentially the same in Turkey to further its desperate drive for regional and global hegemony.

Given the ruling AKP partys sizable popular base, one can only assume that a successful coup would have been followed by a bloodbath far exceeding that carried out by Gen. Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, the US dictator in Egypt, or the savage repression of the 1980 Turkish coup. The likely result would have been the eruption of civil war in a NATO country on the borders of Europe.

This is what the Times is trying to conceal. From its deliberate distortion of the events in Turkey to its frenzied campaign to indictwith literally no objective evidenceRussias President Vladimir Putin for allegedly stealing incriminating Democratic National Committee emails and providing them to WikiLeaks, the Times functions more and more openly as a media arm of the US military and intelligence apparatus, alternately aiding and abetting its operations and covering up for its crimes.

Last week, the World Socialist Web Site posted a column titled Who is James Bennet?, calling attention to the political pedigree of the Times recently installed editorial page editor James Bennet. We pointed to Bennets family connections, from a father who was a former head of USAID, a front for the CIA, to a brother who is the senior senator from Colorado, as exemplifying the politically incestuous relationship between the media and the political establishment and state apparatus.

The combination of disinformation and propaganda that dominates not only the Times editorials, but also its news coverage, makes it impossible to know where the CIA ends and the newspaper begins.

While the Times banner logo reads all the news thats fit to print, the papers real function is to distort, manipulate and conceal information to further the aims and interests of the US state and to prepare public opinion for war.
By Snehanshu Shekhar: Vijay Rupani, a devoted RSS member since his school-days who is known for hard work but keeps a low profile, is set to succeed Anandiben Patel as the Chief Minister of the high-profile Gujarat state. His selection surprised many but he was never out of race from day one. Buzz going around Nitin Patel and political pandits may take time to find out what went wrong against Nitin Patel, who, since morning, busy in giving interviews and accepting greeting from Media and followers. Interesting that one particular media house not only announced Nitin patel as next CM , but went ahead by even announcing his oath ceremony date on 7th . But people close to PM were silent and when deliberation in party office "Kamalam" start taking time, rumor & speculation start taking shape and when name announced, one political analyst said that one should not forget that PM Modi always believe in surprise.

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Political pandit may debate in coming days that who checkmate whom in this political game, but the 60-year-old first time MLA trumped all other contenders for the post. What apparently weighed in his favour among other things is his closeness to BJP chief Amit Shah. Rupani's elevation to the top post is also seen as a recognition of his Jain community, which was recently accord minority status by the state government. A leader who wields considerable influence in Saurashtra, a politically significant part of Gujarat, Rupani celebrated his birthday on August 2 with his wife and son at his house in Rajkot, his native town.



Born in Rangoon (now Yangon, in Myanmar) to Ramniklal Rupani in 1956, Rupani grew up in Rajkot where he joined RSS as a school boy. He pursued BA and then LLB. As the chairman of the state tourism corporation, he headed 'Khushbu Gujarat Ki' campaign to popularize the state as a tourist destination. Between 2006-12, he was a member of Rajya Sabha. During this period he was a part of various Parliamentary committees on water resources, food, public distribution, public undertaking.

When Rupani became the state BJP president, replacing R C Faldu, it was seen as a victory for the Amit Shah faction in state BJP. Minister. Rupani cut his teeth on politics in his college days when he joined the ABVP, and got involved in the students struggle committee during the Navnirman Andolan of the 1970s. He was among the first to jump into students' agitation on the call given by Jayprakash Narayan. He was jailed during the Emergency and spent nearly one year in Bhuj and Bhavnagar jails. He was elected as a corporator of Rajkot Municipal Corporation for the first time in 1987, and went on to become president of the Rajkot district unit of BJP.

Between 1988 and 1996, he served as the chairman of the standing committee of Rajkot Corporation. In 1996-97, he became the mayor of Rajkot when his efforts to develop the city and the district as a tourism hub stood out. His contribution to develop Rajkot as the industry centre of Saurashtra is also well-recognized. With deep root in the party and close association with RSS, he believed to perfect organization man and when election is just an year ahead, onus shifted on him to take all fraction with him and make sure that Modi's Gujarat Model survived in another political acid test next year.

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Also read: Amit Shah's masterstroke? Why Vijay Rupani was chosen as Gujarat CM



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TALLAHASSEE, FL (WTXL) -- For sex offenders living in Leon County, getting reintegrated into society means connecting with the right people.

The Insiders team looked at why finding housing and employment is much more difficult than most think.

For Joe Bowick, a registered sex offender, it has been a struggle to escape the stigma attached to his past. He became a registered sex offender in 2008 after being released from prison.

He was convicted of a lewd and lascivious charge and served 8 years in prison.

According to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, 590 registered sex offenders live in Leon County. The term "sex offender" applies to those guilty of various charges, including sex with a minor and child molestation.

Once offenders complete their prison sentence, the road to recovery comes with challenges.

In Bowick's case, he said he was with a woman who lied about her age. However, he said he has left that in the past and has found help through CARE Tallahassee.

"CARE has provided accountability and support. You know, they've been a great support system for me," said Bowick.

CARE Tallahassee, a faith-based organization, is the only organization in the county that is legally approved to house sex offenders on probation.

In its 11-year history, more than 600 men have come through the program, but the organization said finding resources for these men are few and far between.

George Schwender, resident manager at CARE Tallahassee said, "When they first get here, they don't have clothes. They don't have bedding, they don't have hygiene, they don't have anything."

Housing comes with certain restrictions for sex offenders like the distance from schools or the proper zoning of the building. For those who can't find a legal place to stay, it's back to prison.

"There are men in the Florida prison system now that have done their time and have committed no new crimes, but they cannot comply with having an appropriate address to live at," said Glenn Burns, executive director at the Good Samaritan Network.

The Good Samaritan Network provides sex offenders with housing and work opportunities. He said that fighting the stigma is half the battle, because sometimes, the label comes without having any sex.

Burns also said, "Gainful employment is very difficult when you have any kind of felony background, but especially if you have a sexual offense of any kind. Again, nobody is going to listen to what kind it was. They're just going to say, 'He's a sex offender.'"

Finding and keeping work has been difficult for Bowick, but he said he refused to let being a sex offender define him.

"We're still human beings. We make mistakes, and if given a chance, then we not so much redeem ourselves, but being able to, you know, take responsibility for those actions," said Bowick.

Bowick also said he's working on his bachelor's degree in business administration. He has a goal of starting his own organization to help sex offenders.

If you have a story idea for the Insiders, you can email us at abc27news@wtxl.tv, attention: the Insiders.
By Kumar Shakti Shekhar: While Gujarat Health Minister Nitin Patel was appearing on television channels, accepting congratulations throughout the day for succeeding Anandiben Patel as the state's chief minister, in a dramatic development, state party president Vijay Rupani, a Jain, was chosen to succeed Anandiben Patel.

Unlike Anandiben, who was closely identified with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Rupani is considered close to BJP president Amit Shah.

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The choice of Rupani as the new Gujarat chief minister has sent out two messages - that the BJP has reconciled to the Patels no longer being their traditional voters and that Shah will have a say now in Gujarat affairs.

In other words, the BJP will now consolidate the non-Patel votes through Rupani. Besides, the BJP national president should now be remote-controlling the state and preparing the party's strategy for the December 2017 Assembly elections.

Nitin Patel's name was also in the reckoning but he lost out to Rupani at the last moment because the BJP thought it was futile to anoint a Patel as CM. He has however, been nominated for the Deputy Chief Minister's post.

With Patels' support to the BJP now in doubt following the year-long Patidar agitation led by Hardik Patel, the party leadership has judiciously chosen Rupani to lead the state. If required, the Patidars can be appeased with the help of Nitin Patel.

Besides the Patels, the Dalits too had been antagonised by the BJP after four men of the community were flogged by vigilantes on July 11 in full public view, for skinning a dead cow. This led to massive statewide protests and suicide attempts by several Dalits. Anandiben failed to handle these angry protests as well.

It is generally believed that there is no love lost between Anandiben and Shah. This is one of the most important reasons why Anandiben, despite having been personally picked by Modi to succeed him in May 2014, could not handle either the Patidar agitation or the Dalit protests. But Rupani will have the backing of Shah.

With Rupani at the helm of the state and Shah as the man behind him, polarisation of votes on religious lines cannot be ruled out. Once this happens, the Dalits and a large section of the Patel-Patidars should come back to the BJP's fold.

In the current scenario, only Modi and Shah can change the fortunes of the state party in their home state. "It is either Shah as the Gujarat chief minister or anyone. It doesn't make any difference," said a senior BJP leader.

A win for BJP in 2017 will finally boil down to Modi and Shah, no matter who the chief minister is. Party leaders believe that whirlwind tours by the PM and party president throughout the state during Assembly elections will turn the tide in their favour.



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The Yakima Valley Community Foundation reached a settlement agreement with the owners of Yakima Regional Medical and Cardiac Center and Toppen
A Benton County woman in her 70s has West Nile virus  the first human case in the state so far this year.
Donald Trump held a campaign rally on May 7 at the Northwest Washington Fairgrounds in Lynden, Wash. (Dean Rutz / The Seattle Times)
In a surprise move, Vijay Rupani was today chosen as the new Gujarat chief minister by the BJP legislators to succeed Anandiben Patel.

By India Today Web Desk: What was the reason for choosing Gujarat BJP president Vijay Rupani as the state's chief minister at the last minute, even as Nitin Patel was seen accepting congratulations throughout the day? Here's a look at the inside story behind all the drama that took place behind closed doors in the BJP.

If reports are to be believed, Vijay Rupani, 61, is BJP national president Amit Shah's man while state Health Minister Nitin Patel is considered close to former Gujarat chief minister Anandiben Patel.

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Anandiben was pushing for Nitin Patel. She was not ready to listen to any argument against the Patel leader. She apparently said in a meeting that no candidate of Amit Shah should be the Gujarat chief minister.

After long arguments, Anandiben was told that Nitin Patel is not on good terms with the Patidars and, hence, cannot guarantee a win in the Gujarat 2017 Assembly elections.

Subsequently, with no solution in sight, Prime Minister Narendra Modi called Anandiben. It was after his intervention that she agreed on Rupani's name for the chief ministerial post.

After a long meeting, which was attended by Amit Shah, Vijay Rupani, Nitin Patel, Anandiben and V Satish, both sides reached on a compromise and decided on Vijay Rupani's name for the chief minister's post while Nitin Patel's name was decided for the post of deputy chief minister.

The BJP chief had reportedly promised Vijay Rupani that he will be the new chief minister of Gujarat.

Earlier, Anandiben, who turns 75 this November, handed over her resignation to Governor OP Kohli on Wednesday after announcing her decision to quit on Facebook.

Gujarat Game of Thrones

Rupani belongs to the Jain community, which is a dominant social group in Gujarat politics.

The BJP has decided against choosing a Patel chief minister, despite a massive Patidar resentment against the state government.

The Patidar community rose up last year to demand reservation in government jobs and college admission. A state government ordinance giving Patels 10 per cent quota was scrapped by the Gujarat High Court earlier this week.







ALSO READ



Gujarat googly: Vijay Rupani to be CM, Nitin Patel his deputy



BJP accepts Anandiben's resignation, rules out Amit Shah as next Gujarat CM

FROM THE MAGAZINE | Gujarat model in danger: BJP crisis intensifies after Anandiben Patel's exit

Vijay Rupani is new Gujarat CM: Here's all you need to know about him



--- ENDS ---
Lebanese terror organization Hezbollah said the partition of Iraq and Syria was a possible outcome of sectarian fighting across the region and there was no prospect of any end to the war in Syria until after November's US presidential election.

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Sheikh Naim Qassem, deputy leader of the Iran-backed group, whose forces are fighting alongside President Bashar Assad against rebels supported by Western and regional powers, said Hezbollah, Iran and Russia would stand by Assad until the end.

In an interview with Reuters, he said recapturing Aleppo, Syria's second major city where a decisive battle is unfolding, remained an objective but was not an immediate goal.

Sheikh Naim Qassem (Photo: Reuters)

The US and its allies say that by waging war against his own people, Assad can have no future in Syria, while Russia and Iran, wholly opposed to regime change, maintain he is the legitimate president, albeit of a state shrunk by rebel gains.

Both coalitions fear his sudden departure could destroy what is left of Syria after more than five years of civil war, bequeathing a shell state to the jihadis of Islamic State and al-Qaeda.

Qassem said both Syria and neighboring Iraq, where Islamic State has also seized territory, could split.

"On the battlefield and in view of regional and international interventions I don't rule out that one of the ideas proposed is finding a state of partition in those two countries but will it succeed or not?

"So far the forces that want the unity of Iraq and Syria are able to prevent the idea of partition but we should remain worried about ... the possibility that some countries might push these two countries or one of them into partition."

Assad was the best protection against this, Qassem said.

"With President Assad the solution can be logical and rational in finding political parameters that can give the opposition its share and the regime its share and there could be coordination which allows for putting things back in order and reviving authority in Syria," the white-turbaned sheikh said.

Die-hard commitment

The intervention of Russia's air force since last September, after Iran, Hezbollah, and Iraqi Shi'ite militiamen had fought relentlessly to keep Assad in place, has confounded the designs of Washington and regional Sunni powers such as Saudi Arabia and Turkey, Qassem said, opening the way to a political solution.

"Iranian and Russian relations with Syria helped achieve steadfastness on the ground because both support Assad staying in power and back a political solution," the Hezbollah number two told Reuters.

The Syria war grew out of Arab spring-inspired protests in 2011 calling for democratic change. Before Iran, Hezbollah and Russia came to Assad's aid, his grip on power appeared to be failing. Their support was seen by diplomats and Middle East experts as key to Assad's survival.

Sheikh Naim Qassem (Photo: Reuters)

Syria's civil war, now in its sixth year, has killed more than 250,000 people, displaced more than 6.6 million inside the country and forced another 4.8 million to flee, creating a huge influx into neighboring countries and Europe.

Qassem said the months-long push on rebel-held Aleppo by Assad's government forces was aimed less at recovering Syria's major city than at separating the rebels from Idlib, their stronghold in the north-west, and choking their supply lines from Turkey.

Aleppo, with a population of more than 2 million people now, has been divided for years into rebel and government areas.

"The main objective of the Syrian state and allies was to cut the road between the city of Aleppo and Idlib. As for liberating Aleppo that's a different goal that may not be undertaken quickly..."

"Regaining Aleppo will remain one of the goals of the Syrian state and its allies but we're not tied to a timeframe", said the Hezbollah leader.

Fighting global threat

The Lebanese group, a Shi'ite Islamist party with a powerful armed wing, describes its role as part of a struggle against the growing regional threat presented by Sunni Muslim jihadists, who it labels takfiris for their radical ideology, violent and uncompromising stance.

The conflict in Syria has further fuelled an old regional rivalry between the Shi'ite Islamist government of Iran and the conservative Sunni Muslim kingdom of Saudi Arabia, one of the main sponsors of the insurgency against Assad.

Qassem said the United States, one of the power brokers in finding a solution to the crisis, was distracted by its November presidential elections and not ready to commit to any action until a new president takes over next year.

Sheikh Naim Qassem (Photo: Reuters)

"The US administration is convinced that the period ahead of the presidential elections is a wasted time, that it can await until the new president assumes power. Then, the prospects of a solution or of a prolongation of the crisis will be clear."

He said the sacrifices of Hezbollah, which has lost hundreds of fighters in Syria, were worthy, otherwise the ultra-hardline jihadists of Islamic State would have taken control in Syria and expanded into Lebanon.

"We have prevented the expansion of the crisis into Lebanon and this is a major achievement, we prevented the takfiris from disrupting the resistance and laid the basis for the steadfastness of Syria. These great achievements deserve every sacrifice," he said.

He said Islamic State, which is being targeted by coalition air strikes, will increase its attacks in Europe and beyond, adding that the group has an expansionist strategy and will use any means to achieve its goals.

"European pains are big and will increase more and more," Qassem said, adding that Islamic State "will not leave an opportunity in all the countries of the world without exception to attack when it can and when is able to."
Israel's Foreign Ministry has launched a campaign meant to put a spotlight on the suspected funneling of millions of dollars in aid to Hamas's military wing.

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Mohammad El Halabi, the manager of operations in Gaza for the NGO World Vision, was arrested by the Shin Bet on June 15 while crossing the border into the enclave.

A senior Israeli security official on Thursday said Halabi, who has run the group's Gaza operations since 2010, had been under extended surveillance and had confessed to siphoning off some $7.2 million a year to Hamas.

World Vision said it was shocked by the claims and a Hamas spokesman said the group had no connection with Halabi.

After news of the allegations came to light, the Foreign Ministry instructed all of its missions worldwide to work to bring the story to the attention of world media, opinion makers and senior officials in the different branches of government.

The Israeli diplomats were asked to emphasize Israel's humanitarian aid to the Strip and its facilitation of the reconstruction of Gaza, as well as the obligation of governments and international organizations to monitor the humanitarian aid they send to the Palestinian enclave.

Specifically, the diplomats were instructed to spread the news of the Halabi's alleged actions among liberal and religious groups who support World Vision.

"Contacts, journalists and relevant opinion makers should be briefed, and an emphasis needs to also be put on the digital arena," senior Foreign Ministry officials instructed.

The diplomats were equipped with detailed background materials about the case and talking points to be used in meetings, posts on social media, and infographics.

Foreign Ministry Director-General Dore Gold also sent a letter to his counterparts in the world to update them on the case.

"The investigation uncovered a lot of information concerning other figures in Gaza who took advantage of their position in humanitarian aid organizations and UN institutions on behalf of Hamas," Gold wrote.

"It's important to note that Hamas has close ties to the security apparatus in Iran, which is looking for ways to expand its military influence from Syria to Yemen. Beyond that, Hamas has also been closely working with ISIS militants in northern Sinai. The bolstering of Hamas's military abilitiesmade possible by humanitarian aidserves the strategic interests of the big destabilizing powers operating in the Middle East today."

Meanwhile, Australia decided to suspend funding for World Vision's operations in the Palestinian Territories in the wake of the allegations.

Australia's Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) called the allegations "deeply troubling" and said in a statement that it was "urgently seeking more information from World Vision and the Israeli authorities."

"We are suspending the provision of further funding to World Vision for programs in the Palestinian Territories until the investigation is complete," it said.

Australia has paid World Vision approximately A$5.7 million ($4.35 million) over the past three financial years for the provision of aid in the Palestinian Territories, a DFAT spokesman said.
Residents of north Jerusalem neighborhoods have been subject to booming explosions, but there has not been reason to worry: The explosions were produced for the filming of a docudrama recreating the Battle of Ammunition Hill in the Six-Day War.

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The film, produced by the US-based Christian Broadcasting Network (CBN) and directed by Erin Zimmerman, tells the story of the Paratroopers' 55th Brigade's fight in the bloody battle that led to their seizing the Western Wall.

Scenes from the film (: CBN DOCUMENTARIES , :   , biblicalproductions.com , :  )

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The recreation is extremely accurate, down to the smallest details, from the period IDF and Jordanian Arab Legion uniforms to the weapons that they carry. Researching the film including interviewing paratroopers from the war. A large portion of the scenes were filmed at the actual battle sites that they depict, such as the Rockefeller Museum, the Mount of Olives, the Old City's Nablus Road (nicknamed "Death Alley"), and the Tower of David Museum.

Scenes from shooting (Photo: biblicalproductions.com)

Scenes from shooting (Photo: biblicalproductions.com)

Scenes from shooting (Photo: biblicalproductions.com)

Zimmerman said about the film, "We wanted to make a special project for the 50th anniversary of the Six-Day War, but not a dry documentary. So we thought of talking with the soldiers themselves, hearing their stories and portraying their personal take on the events. We got great material that we wouldn't have found in the archives."





Scenes from shooting (Photo: biblicalproductions.com)

Scenes from shooting (Photo: biblicalproductions.com)

Rami Baruch stars as Minister of Defense Moshe Dayan, Sharon Friedman as Paratrooper Brigade Commander Mordechai Gur, and Yehoyachin Friedlander portrays IDF Chief Rabbi Shlomo Goren Alongside professional actors, the film's extras were drawn from the ranks of recently discharged special forces units such as Maglan, Oketz and Duvdevan.





Scenes from shooting (Photo: biblicalproductions.com)

Scenes from shooting (Photo: biblicalproductions.com)

Yoram Zamush is a veteran of the Six-Day War, and he welcomed the project. His personal story features in the film: When the Paratroopers were preparing to set out for the Old City, an elderly woman came up to him and told him that she had lived in the Jewish Quarter until the Jordanians took it in 1948. She gave to Zamush an Israeli flag that she had taken then from the quarter and asked him to fly it on the Western Wall if they managed to retake it, which Zamush faithfully did.





Scenes from shooting (Photo: biblicalproductions.com)

Scenes from shooting (Photo: biblicalproductions.com)

Said Zamush of the docudrama, "Retelling the events of the war is reliving it in the consciousness of world Jewry."
LONDON - Britain said it was concerned about its nationals imprisoned in Iran including a British-Iranian aid worker who has been detained since early April and accused by Revolutionary Guards of trying to overthrow Iran's government.

Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, who was arrested as she tried to leave Iran after a visit with her two-year-old daughter, appeared in the Revolutionary Court on Monday.

"We continue to raise our strong concerns about British prisoners in Iran, including Mrs Zaghari-Ratcliffe, at the highest levels in both London and Tehran," a spokeswoman for Britain's Foreign Office said.

The Foreign Office spokeswoman said former Prime Minister David Cameron had repeatedly raised the case with his Iranian counterpart.
Shhhhhh. What a pleasant silence. It's been a few whole days since rabbis and LGBT people have fought. With the support of this calming silence, I'll try to offer a different voice.

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Debate and disagreement are necessary to build a healthy society, but the debate that has been going on here in recent weeks around LGBT issues is a debate amongst the deaf. A small anecdote proves this.

"I'm your comrade-in-arms," said Michael Schlissel on the phone to his brother, Yishai (who murdered 16-year-old Shira Banki in 2015), using an obscure Aramaic word. The police, who were listening to the Schlissels' conversationYishai is serving a life sentence in prison rushed to arrest the un-incarcerated brother before the Pride march in Jerusalem

However, the actual meaning of that Talmudic phrase is not "comrade-in-arms," (It's a false cognate.) but rather "opponent," meaning that he disagreed with his brother.

Jerusalem Pride 2016 (Photo: EPA)

It's not just the ultra-Orthodox who are speaking the language of the past; so are many religious people. Certainly rabbis of the National Zionist stream dotake Rabbi Yigal Levinstein as an example. When Levinstein says " perverts ," (the same word as "deviants"), he sees in his head the Biblical prohibition on gay male sex. Whoever doesn't toe the line, in accordance with the obligations that God set, is deviating from the true pathfrom the norm.

The average Israeli ear, however, hears in the word "perverts" or "deviants" something else entirely. The meaning is a sexual deviant, somebody who harms other people, and maybe even minors. That ear is not capable of understanding how one could call two adults who share love and attraction "perverts."

In the language of the present, it is the right of the individual to choose their own path, so long as they don't harm anybody else. In the language of the past, it is the obligation of the individual to carry out the orders of God. The inability to understand that these are different languages, based on opposing values, causes people to mistakenly think that they can change the other group's position.





Jerusalem Pride 2016: 'Love your neighor as yourself' (Photo: Gil Yohanan)

The rabbis think that they will prove to LGBT people their sins, that they'll evoke in them feelings of religiosity. But their admonishments do just the opposite.

LGBT people insist that the rabbis recognize them and cancel a clear Torah prohibition. The Dark Ages have passed, they say. Your prohibitions are appropriate for days past; evolve. Unsurprisingly, this insistence does just the opposite.

Few rabbis speak the two languages and are capable of remaining faithful to God's law and also express a tender message of inclusion to LGBT people. They're a minority of a minority who walk a tightrope, step by step, and who are likely to fall to the abyss at any moment.

Most of the public can't speak the two languages. They just need to understand that they don't understand. Just recognize that they don't understand the others' language, and the others don't understand their language.

When the LGBT community demands recognition from the rabbis, they're speaking in Chinese to Hebrew-speakers. It doesn't matter how much they yell or detail their argumentsthere's no chance that they'll be understood. So it's better to be quiet.

When the rabbinical community yells against the phenomenon of LGBT people, they're speaking Hebrew to Chinese-speakers. It doesn't matter how much they yell or detail their argumentsthere's no chance that they'll be understood. So it's better to be quiet.

This mutual silence is better and more pleasant for both opponents.
The Israel Police arrested a 39-year-old father of seven on Thursday on suspicion that he sexually abused boys and girls from his and other families.

The suspect, an Israeli rabbi originally from the Shfela region, was abroad as part of his role as a Chabad emissary and returned only about a year ago.

According to police, he has been sexually assaulting his victims, minors aged 14-16, since he was a teenager and up to a few years ago.

He denied the allegations attributed to him.
Last week, Unilever Israel admitted that some of its flagship breakfast cereals contained salmonella and that they had initially withheld that information from the public and the Ministry of Health. Thursday night, contrary to their previous statements, Unilever, admitted that some infected boxes had reached supermarket shelves. In response, Minister of Health Rabbi Yakov Litzman condemned their actions and threatened to pull their license.

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Speaking Friday morning, Litzman said, "Unilever failed in management, lied to the public and the Ministry of Health, and we take this seriously. We are considering revoking its production-line license. We can't trust them. Teams from the ministry are investigating the serious case that includes damage to public health."

Anat Gabriel and Yakov Litzman (Photo: Yuval Chen, Amit Sha'al, Alex Kolomoisky)

The minister's condemnation came the morning after Unilever reported to his ministry that despite their repeated claims that all the infected cereals had never reached the public, some 240 infected units, out of a total of some 150,000 that had been infected, had actually left the factory. The ministry dubbed this "negligent" on Thursday night, and their official statement also threatened to revoke Unilever's license.

The Ministry is opening an investigation to check how the tainted units came onto the market, the results of which will be released to the public, including recommendations for avoiding similar cases in the future.

Unilever Israel CEO Anat Gabriel released a statement on the affair on Thursday night: "I apologize from the bottom of my heart for the recent eventsWe apologize that we mistakenly announced that no product from the tainted line had reached the market." She elaborated that they had learned only Wednesday that this was mistaken and that they were working to recall any affected cereals and to implement new procedures to prevent recurrences.

Unilever has already begun the recall of the cereals: Cornflakes of Champions cereal purchased between June 26 and 27; Badatz kosher Cornflakes purchased on June 23 and between June 27 to 29; and Cocoman cereal purchased between June 29 and June 30.
ABIDJAN - Two soldiers in Ivory Coast have been jailed for 10 years for associating with, and failing to denounce, suspected members of an al Qaeda cell which killed 19 people at a beach resort town in March, the military prosecutor said.

Gunmen shot swimmers and sunbathers before storming into several hotels in Grand Bassam, 40 km (25 miles) from the commercial capital, Abidjan, on March 13. The attack was claimed by al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM), the Islamist group's North African branch.

Authorities in Ivory Coast and neighboring Mali have arrested a number of suspects since the raid.
The decision to elect Vijay Rupani, 61, as Anandiben Patel's successor was taken at a meeting of BJP legislators in Gandhinagar today.

By India Today Web Desk: Vijay Rupani is the new chief minister of Gujarat, and despite massive speculation, frontrunner Nitin Patel, the senior-most minister in state Cabinet, will be his deputy.

The decision to elect Rupani, 61, as Anandiben Patel's successor was taken at a meeting of BJP legislators in Gandhinagar today, chaired by party chief Amit Shah.

Here is all you need to know about new Gujarat chief minister:

Vijay Rupani belongs to the Jain community, a dominant social group in Gujarat politics. He hails from Rajkot, which is a stronghold of the Patels. President of the Gujarat Bharatiya Janata Party since February 2016, the CM shares close relations with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP president Amit Shah. He was inducted as water supply, transport, labour and employment minister in the Anandiben Patel government last year. He was also the state government's spokesperson and is known for his problem-solving skills and dereft management of multiple portfolios. He has a long-standing association with the Sangh Parivar and is equally looked upon by party members. Rupani also shared good relations with veteran leaders like Keshubhai Patel. Unlike most of his peers, he holds a clean image of himself in the Gujarat political circuits, without any allegations. He was the only leader from Gujarat to be jailed during the Emergency. Former CM Anandiben reportedly strongly opposed to Rupani as the next CM, as he is said to be a Shah loyalist. Rupani is seen as an affable leader known for his conciliatory approach to a problem, perhaps why he was elevated as the BJP's state unit chief but retained his status as minister.

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Also read: Gujarat googly: Vijay Rupani to be CM, Nitin Patel his deputy



--- ENDS ---
Summer 1906: Alfred Dreyfus, the former decorated French army captain, who had been nationally humiliated in a public court martial in 1894 was declared innocent and reinstated in the military at the rank of major. One hundred ten years later, Maj. (res.) Uriel Dreyfus, fifth generation of the dynasty, serves as a judge in an IDF military court, as revealed by Bamahane.

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The two Dreyfuses were both born in the city of Mulhouse in France with about a century between them.

The original trial culminated in the captain's public humiliation and his ranks being removed and his being sentenced to hard labor. A long and public campaign in his support, declaring the trial an anti-Semitic sham that led to his eventual acquittal. Theodore Herzl, the father of Zionism, said that the initial trial, which he covered as a journalist, inspired in him the foundation of the Zionist idea and the need for a Jewish state.

The two Dreyfuses (Photo: Maxim Chuperikov)

Said Uriel, "The fact that Alfred Dreyfus was convicted with false evidence in a military court and now that I sit in another military court and safeguard the rights of the accusedit's come full circle."

He continued, "It's a sort of puzzle that comes together. I studied law in France, and I had it pretty good. I could have continued living there, but I wanted to be in the Land of Israel, in a place that we are the ones who set our own path. When I'm here, accepting a rank and serving as a judge, it seems to me to be a kind of destiny."

Dreyfus, whose grandfather was Alfred's cousin, was the first in his family to immigrate to Israel in 1992. Thirteen years later, in 2005, he decided to enlist for reserve service as a military judge, and he was awarded the rank of captain.

"In a lot of cases, they present Dreyfus as a kind of antihero, somebody who had the affair thrust upon him without fighting," said Uriel. "In my opinion, it's just not righthe fought for his innocence and didn't give up. People have done a lot with the affair, but not with the man himself.

"Most of the books that are written are about the Dreyfus Affair, and there are barely any biographies on him. There aren't a lot of streets in his name, and if they are, they're after the Dreyfus Affair. In my opinion, they're doing him an injustice. You need to remember that Dreyfus was also a person. I think that everybody has his past and his baggage, has his certain mission. Mine is in the legal field. I know from where I come, and the affair is always behind me."
Dozens of animals were discovered in an illegal market in inhumane conditions in Be'er Sheva on Thursday.

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Ducks, geese, chickens, and parrots  all with their feet tied, stuffed in cages, and without food or water in the desert heat  were discovered by the Investigations and Enforcements Unit of the Ministry of Agriculture. The Unit arrested seven people under suspicion of violating the Animal Welfare Act.

The suspects were caught following a raid conducted by the ministry of agriculture in conjunction with the Be'er Sheva municipality and Israel Police. They illegal market was in the Bedouin market in the city.

Abused turkey being sold at an illegal animal market in Be'er Sheva (Photo: Ministry of Agriculture)

The animals were kept with their feet bound and suffocating in burlap sacks (Photo: Ministry of Agriculture)

The raid began early in the morning when the illegal traders first arrived at the market. Amongst the animals found were 131 chickens, six geese, 72 pigeons, 15 rabbits, 11 parrots, 11 geese, and four turkeys. Approximately 250 animals in all were resuced from the illegal traders.

The animals themselves were kept in inhumane conditions  some of the animals had their legs tied and were carried around in burlap sacks which were strangling them, none of the animals had water, and none of them had food. Some of them were stuffed in cages so small that they were I danger of being squeezed to death.

Ducks were also found being sold illegally (Photo: Ministry of Agriculture)

The animals were brought to a special animal treatment facility after the raid. "Various sellers came to Be'er Sheva with live animals in order to sell them, but kept them in horrible conditions, without food or water in the heat of the desert," said Dr. Nirit Tzipori Barkai, Deputy Trustee of the Animal Welfare Act of the Ministry of Agriculture.

"We believe that it is very important to mitigate the anguished caused to animals and to protect their welfare. We view this situation and the conditions in which the animals were held with the utmost severity, especially in light of the summer heat here in the desert in Be'er Sheva. These traders were treating the animals as if they were inanimate objects," she continued.

Pigeons for sale were stuffed into cages with no room to move (Photo: Ministry of Agriculture)

"The ministry is continuously working to prevent harm to animals and calls on the public to report any suspected violations to the law or on any instance where they see cruelty to animals," Barkai said.



The ministry said that the raid came to a successful conclusion due to the cooperation between the Israel Police, the Be'er Sheva municipality, and the Ministry of Agriculture.
ROME - Italian police on Friday arrested eight people on suspicion of people smuggling and falsifying documents, saying that the gang's leader had sworn loyalty to ISIS.

The group of eight, made up exclusively of non-Italians, used fake contracts and payslips provided by a complicit textile company north of Naples to obtain work visas for irregular migrants, Carabinieri police said in a statement.

Heading up the alleged criminal gang was 41-year-old Mohamed Kamel Khemiri, a Tunisian man who had previously been arrested on drug smuggling charges. Khemiri had become a radical Islamist and is under investigation on terrorism charges, police said.
ZAGREB/BELGRADE() - Croats celebrated its independence victory on Friday while Serbs mourned, with relations between the former-Yugoslav neighbours strained by a war of words that could hinder Serbia's bid to join the European Union.

Serbia's prime minister wrote to the EU this week to protest against what he called anti-Serb politics in Croatia, an EU member which his foreign minister accused of "rehabilitating fascism" after a court annuled a 1946 verdict against a Catholic cleric whom Serbia views as a war criminal.

Croatia's foreign minister replied: "We are not going to allow anyone to talk to Croatia like this."
JAKARTA- Six suspected militants with links to ISIS were arrested by Indonesian police on Friday while allegedly plotting a rocket attack on Singapore, authorities in Indonesia and Singapore said.

Singapore said it was stepping up security in response to the plan being hatched on nearby Batam island, which is only about 15 km (10 miles) to the south of the wealthy city-state.

Indonesian police spokesman Agus Rianto told reporters the six had been plotting with a member of ISIS in Syria to attack Singapore, a major commercial, banking and travel hub that is home to many Western expatriates.
PARIS- A Saudi woman filed a complaint in Paris on Friday for the theft of a watch that she said was worth 1 million euros ($1.11 million), a French police source told Reuters.

The source said the woman had introduced herself as a member of the Saudi royal family.

According to the source, she said she had been violently assaulted by two men who grabbed her watch before disappearing
US President Barack Obama announced Friday that the Iran nuclear agreement is working exactly as planned, and stated that Israel itself acknowledges the fact that Iran is holding to its part of the agreement.

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The Israeli Defense Ministry published its reaction to the statement right before the Sabbath started, saying "the Israeli security services believe that the agreements only have value if they are based on existing reality, and that they hold no value if the reality on the ground is completely different than the reality envisioned in the agreements."

The response continued, saying "the Munich agreement didn't stop World War Two or the Holocaust. (The agreement's -ed) basic premise - that Nazi Germany could be a partner in some form of agreement  was wrong, and world leaders at the time ignored Hitler's and other Nazi leaders' blunt remarks (regarding the Jews -ed)."

President Barak Obama (Photo: Reuters)

"This is the same regarding the agreement with Iran, which itself explicitly and publicly announces that its goal is to destroy the state of Israel. A US State Department document published this year states that Iran is the chief state sponsor of terror world wide," the response said. "Therefore, the Israeli security establishment, the nation of Israel, and many other nations around the world, understand that agreements like those signed between the world super powers and Iran aren't helpful. They only damage the uncompromising struggle against nations which support terror."

The fact that the Ministry of Defense responded to Obama's statements is unusual, as the agreement is primarily political in nature.

After the Ministry of Defense sent it's statement, the Prime Minster's Office sent a softer reply, saying "Israel's position on the Iran Nuclear Deal remains as it was. However, Prime Minister Netanyahu still believes that Israel has no greater ally than the United States. As Netanyahu said in his UN speech last year, it's important that those who were for the agreement and those who were against it cooperate to fulfill three goals; to make sure that Iran doesn't violate the agreement, to deal with Iran's regional aggression, and to dismantle Iran's global terror network. The Prime Ministers expects these goals to become part of shared policies, and that the alliance between the United States and Israel only grow stronger not only with President Obama, but also with his successor."

Obama's statements come after the Iranian leadership expressed disappointment with the agreement on Tuesday, something which many believe to be the first cracks to show in Iranian trust in their agreement. Iranian leader Ali Khomeini said that the average Iranian hasn't seen the benefits they had hoped to see following the agreement.

"Were the sanctions not removed in order to change the lives of the people?'' Khomeini asked. "Do we see any tangible changes in the lives of the Iranian people after six months (since signing the agreement ed)?"

Khomeini, who has the final say for any policy decision in the Islamic Republic, said that the US and other countries continue to sabotage Iran's economic relations despite the agreement. He said that Tehran won't agree to any more talks with Washington due to alleged US violations of the agreement. Khomeini has previously rejected additional negotiations with the US.





Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khomeini (Photo: AP)

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani made a statement on Wednesday saying that the superpowers have yet to fulfill their side of the nuclear agreement and that they are attacking Iran's economy.

"If the rest of the parties involved would have held up their side of the agreement, our situation would be a lot better," Rouhani said.

He was also quoted as saying that Iran is still unable to access its frozen assets abroad, despite the fact that it is now able to export more natural gas and have access to the international banking system. He then said that the US Congress, Israel, and other countries in the Middle East have made it difficult to implement the agreement.
ISTANBUL- After raiding a home and business owned by someone suspected of loyalties to a banned Muslim cleric, police listed the incriminating evidence they found: two shotguns, a pistol, ammunition, a fake identity card -- and three $1 bills.

The serial numbers, they noted, all began with the letter F.

In one of the odder twists in Turkey's failed July 15 coup and the subsequent crackdown, authorities are citing U.S. banknotes -- and $1 bills in particular -- as evidence that people are followers of Fethullah Gulen, a U.S.-based Muslim cleric whom Turkey accuses of orchestrating the coup. Gulen, whose broad but secretive movement runs schools, charities and businesses across the globe, denies any involvement.
ANKARA- US Secretary of State John Kerry is expected to arrive in Turkey later this month, Turkey's foreign minister said Friday, amid strained relations with Washington over the possible extradition of a Muslim cleric accused of being behind an attempted military coup last month.

The Turkish government has expressed growing annoyance with what it regards as a lack of solidarity from international allies in the aftermath of the failed coup, as well as increased frustration over perceived foot-dragging by the United States over a Turkish demand that US-based Muslim cleric Fethullah Gulen be returned to Turkey to face trial.

Turkey accuses Gulen, a former ally of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan who lives in self-imposed exile in Pennsylvania, of masterminding the July 15 coup attempt by renegade officers in Turkey's military. It has designated his movement, which runs charities, schools and businesses across the world, as a terrorist organization and has launched a widespread crackdown on suspected members.
WASHINGTON - The United States has resettled 8,000 Syrian refugees inside US borders since October, Anne Richard, assistant secretary of state for the Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration, told reporters on Friday.

The United States is on track to meet President Barack Obama's goal to resettle 10,000 refugees from Syria's civil war by the end of the fiscal year, Richard said.
ROME- More than 100 migrants broke through police barriers at the Italian border town of Ventimiglia and made their way into France on Friday, the local Italian police chief said.

They stopped on rocks near the port at the French Riviera town of Menton after breaking through in the afternoon and were still there in the evening under the surveillance of French police, said Ventimiglia police commander Giorgio Marenco.

"Both the Italian and French forces at the border were taken by surprise," Marenco told Reuters. The French Interior Ministry and representatives of the Alpes-Maritimes region around Menton were not available for comment.
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This has been a long time in the making, but in our continuing pursuit to bring only the best of firearms, 2nd Amendment and defence related news to our readers, we are very excited to announce the next step in our evolution as a company.

As of 2020, Minuteman Review is now the proud owner and operator of Your Defence News, a website with a long history of breaking huge news stories and investigative journalism.

We hope you are equally as excited as us.

This means that now the teams of Minuteman can combine with the firepower of Your Defence News to stay at the absolute forefront for our readers.

Keep an eye. Big things are coming soon. We couldn't be more excited.

In the meanwhile, here are some of our most popular posts and categories to keep you busy.

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Dobra, k. Szczecina 900 m2

40 miejsc parkingowych



Atut: Dodatkowe dochody z paczkomatow InPostu, a juz niedugo i z myjni samoobsugowej.



Tradycyjny zakup nieruchomosci, mozliwosc wykupienia uzytkowania wieczystego.
News

Washington, DC - The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has reached agreement with Brazil's Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Food Supply to allow access for U.S. beef and beef products to the Brazilian market for the first time since 2003. Brazil's action reflects the United States' negligible risk classification for bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) by the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE) and aligns Brazil's regulations to the OIE's scientific international animal health guidelines.

"After many years of diligently working to regain access to the Brazilian market, the United States welcomes the news that Brazil has removed all barriers to U.S. beef and beef product exports," said Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack. "We are pleased that Brazil, a major agricultural producing and trading country, has aligned with science-based international standards, and we encourage other nations to do the same. Since last year alone, USDA has eliminated BSE-related restrictions in 16 countries, regaining market access for U.S. beef and pumping hundreds-of-millions of dollars into the American economy.

"The Brazilian market offers excellent long-term potential for U.S. beef exporters. The United States looks forward to providing Brazil's 200-million-plus consumers, and growing middle class, with high-quality American beef and beef products," Vilsack said.

Both countries will immediately begin updating their administrative procedures in order to allow trade to resume. U.S. companies will need to complete Brazil's regular facilities registration process.

In a separate decision, USDA's Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) also recently determined that Brazil's food safety system governing meat products remains equivalent to that of the United States and that fresh (chilled or frozen) beef can be safely imported from Brazil. Following a multi-year science based review consistent with U.S. food safety regulations for countries that export meat, poultry and egg products to the U.S., FSIS is amending the list of eligible countries and products authorized for export to the United States to allow fresh (chilled or frozen) beef from Brazil.

The Brazilian agreement is just the latest example of USDA's ongoing efforts to knock down barriers to U.S. exports. In 2016 alone, these efforts have led to the reopening of the Saudi Arabian and Peruvian markets for U.S. beef, the South Korean market for U.S. poultry, and the South African market for U.S. poultry, pork and beef. In 2015, U.S. beef exports reached $6.3 billion thanks to aggressive efforts by USDA to eliminate BSE-related restrictions in 16 countries since January 2015, gaining additional market access for U.S. beef in Colombia, Costa Rica, Egypt, Guatemala, Iraq, Lebanon, Macau, New Zealand, Peru, Philippines, Saint Lucia, Singapore, South Africa, Ukraine, Vietnam and, now, Brazil.

The past seven years have represented the strongest period in history for American agricultural exports, with international sales of U.S. farm and food products totaling $911.4 billion between fiscal years 2009 and 2015.

Since 2009, USDA has worked to strengthen and support American agriculture, an industry that supports one in 11 American jobs, provides American consumers with more than 80 percent of the food we consume, ensures that Americans spend less of their paychecks at the grocery store than most people in other countries, and supports markets for homegrown renewable energy and materials. USDA has also provided $5.6 billion in disaster relief to farmers and ranchers; expanded risk management tools with products like Whole Farm Revenue Protection; and helped farm businesses grow with $36 billion in farm credit. The Department has engaged its resources to support a strong next generation of farmers and ranchers by improving access to land and capital; building new markets and market opportunities; and extending new conservation opportunities. USDA has developed new markets for rural-made products, including more than 2,500 biobased products through USDA's BioPreferred program; and invested $64 billion in infrastructure and community facilities to help improve the quality of life in rural America.
Gauteng: The ruling African National Congress (ANC) vowed Friday to learn from bruising local election results that showed South African voters turning away from the party that led the anti-apartheid struggle.

With the nationwide vote count almost complete, the ANC was ahead overall but recorded its worst electoral performance since white-minority rule fell 22 years ago.

The party once headed by Nelson Mandela was on 54 percent of the vote -- sharply down from 62 percent in the last municipal elections in 2011.

On Friday, it conceded defeat to the main opposition Democratic Alliance (DA) in Port Elizabeth, an industrial city that was a key battleground of Wednesday`s election.

The two parties were still in a close fight for Pretoria, the capital, and Johannesburg, the country`s economic centre, with the ANC set to lose its outright majorities in both cities.

"We are now going to do an introspective look at ourselves," said Cyril Ramaphosa, vice president of both the ANC and the country.

"(Our critics) think that we are arrogant, they think we are self-centred... I would like to dispute that and say we are a listening organisation."

Defeat in Port Elizabeth was a humiliating blow for the ANC as the municipality is officially known as "Nelson Mandela Bay" in tribute to its past as a hotbed of anti-apartheid activism.

"The fall in support has been dramatic, in levels never seen before," political analyst Somadoda Fikeni told AFP.

"The poor performance, particularly in urban metros, points to declining support among the middle-class.

"These voters are concerned about the issues affecting the economy and unemployment."

The results were seen as a marker ahead of the next general election due in 2019.

President Jacob Zuma will not stand again after serving the maximum two terms.

According to official results on Friday, the DA was on 26 percent with the radical leftist Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) on eight percent."It`s good for our democracy," Mmusi Maimane, the DA`s first black leader, said.

"It says the democratic process is working...and now we have got to work hard."

The election was widely seen as a referendum on Zuma, who has been plagued by a series of scandals and court cases since taking office in 2009.

An unemployment rate of 27 percent and GDP growth at zero percent have added to his woes as frustration builds among poor black communities seeing scarce improvements since apartheid fell.

Zuma, 74, who was jailed on Robben Island with Mandela during apartheid, retains deep loyalty within the ANC and in many rural areas, but he could step down before his term ends in 2019.

"All of this points at Zuma, ultimately the buck stops with him," Fikeni said.

"The corroded moral authority of the ANC under Zuma is one of the factors, and his name keeps featuring in major political scandals."

Contesting its first local poll after bursting onto the scene in the 2014 general election, the far-left EFF could emerge in the influential role of kingmaker.

"We are happy that the ANC has been punished," charismatic party leader Julius Malema told reporters.

"The writing is on the wall, and (the election in) 2019 is going to be a serious challenge for the ruling party."

The EFF, which won six percent of the national vote in 2014, advocates land redistribution without compensation and the nationalisation of mines.

Complete results were expected late Friday or Saturday.

Turnout was about 58 percent as voters chose mayors and other local representatives responsible for hot-button issues including water, sanitation and power supplies.

Problems providing such basics trigger regular and sometimes violent "service delivery" protests in South Africa, where harsh socio-economic divisions remain a grim legacy of the apartheid era.
Washington: Donald Trump acknowledged Friday he was wrong in claiming to have seen secret Iranian footage of $400 million in cash being delivered to Tehran as payment for the release of US prisoners.

Trump raised eyebrows this week when he made that assertion and gave many details of what he said he saw in the film.

"Remember this: Iran -- I don`t think you heard this anywhere but here -- Iran provided all of that footage, the tape of taking that money off the airplane," Trump said Wednesday at a rally in Florida. "Right?"

But that widely viewed footage is believed instead to show the moment in January when three of five American prisoners freed by Iran get off a plane in Geneva.

In a tweet Friday, Trump said this is indeed what he saw. It is rare for the free-wheeling Republican presidential nominee -- known for making provocative claims -- to admit making a mistake.

"The plane I saw on television was the hostage plane in Geneva, Switzerland, not the plane carrying $400 million in cash going to Iran!" Trump wrote.

The story of the seemingly cloak and dagger money transfer in an unmarked plane was broken this week by the Wall Street Journal.

In January, five American prisoners were released as Washington granted clemency to seven Iranians and withdrew arrest warrants for 14 others.

Soon thereafter, the United States helped airlift $400 million worth of Swiss francs and euros to Iran.

But President Barack Obama says the payment was not ransom for the release of US prisoners.

The White House has said it was returning cash from a 1970s Iranian military order that was not fulfilled because of the Islamic Revolution.
New York: For the first time in 128 years, the Harvard Republican Club will not endorse the party's presidential nominee Donald Trump for the top post, condemning his "racist and misogynistic rhetoric" and repeated "belittling" of sacrifices made by uniformed personnel.

In a scathing attack on the 70-year-old leader, the Club, the oldest College Republicans chapter in the nation, said its members are "ashamed" of Trump just as President Ronald Reagan would be.

The Club called on fellow Republicans to withdraw their support to the "dangerous" man, describing him a "threat to the survival of the Republic".

Lashing out at Trump, the Club said he "simply" does not possess the "temperament and character" necessary to lead the US through an "increasingly perilous world" and in response to any "slight?perceived or real", he lashes out "viciously and irresponsibly".

The Club said it will not stand for his "vitriolic rhetoric" that "poisoning" the country and its children.

"We call on our party's elected leaders to renounce their support of Donald Trump, and urge our fellow College Republicans to join us in condemning and withholding their endorsement from this dangerous man. The conservative movement in America should not and will not go quietly into the night," the Club said in a post on Facebook.

It said even as millions of people across the country are feeling despondent, their wages slashed, jobs shipped overseas, Trump does not have a plan to fix these problems but only to "exploit" them.

The Club said it will be for the first time in 128 years that it will not be endorsing the Republican nominee, strongly criticising Trump's views as "antithetical to our values not only as Republicans, but as Americans".

Alluding to Trump's remarks targeting the parents of Pakistani-origin US Army Captain Humayun Khan, who died while serving in Iraq in 2004, the Club slammed the billionaire tycoon for insulting the sacrifices made by veterans.

"The rhetoric he espouses ?from racist slander to misogynistic taunts? is not consistent with our conservative principles, and his repeated mocking of the disabled and belittling of the sacrifices made by prisoners of war, Gold Star families, and Purple Heart recipients is not only bad politics, but absurdly cruel," it said.

The Club said that at home his "protectionist" trade policies and "draconian immigration" restrictions would enlarge the nation's federal deficit, raise prices for consumers, and throw the economy back into recession.

His foreign policy would "wreak havoc" on the established world order which has held aggressive foreign powers in check since World War II, it said.

The Club also strongly criticized Trump's habit of "incessant name calling and derision", his "complete" lack of knowledge on critical matters, meandering from position to position over the course of the election, and resorting to lies "in a manner more brazen and shameless than anything politics has ever seen".

He is looking to pit neighbour against neighbour, friend against friend, American against American, they said.
Chicago: A Pakistani-American couple has claimed that they were removed from a US-bound flight as an on board crew member felt "uncomfortable" after noticing that they were "sweating", saying "Allah" and texting.

Nazia and Faisal Ali have accused Delta Air Lines of Islamophobia of throwing them off their flight from Paris to Cincinnati, Ohio.

Nazia, 34, had removed her sneakers, finished sending a text message to her parents and was putting on headphones and settling into her seat for the nine-hour flight from Paris to Cincinnati when a Delta Air Lines crew member approached her and husband, Faisal.

A flight crew member had complained to the pilot that she was uncomfortable with the Muslim couple, The Cincinnati Enquirer reported.

The woman was wearing a headscarf and using a phone, and the man was sweating, she allegedly told the pilot.

The flight attendant also claimed that Faisal tried to hide his cell phone and that she had heard the couple use the word 'Allah'.

The pilot contacted the ground crew and would not take off until the couple was removed.

"We had been in our seats for 45 minutes," Nazia said yesterday in the Cincinnati area office of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR).

"The ground agent said, 'Can you step out with me? We'd like to ask you a few questions.' So I said, 'Do you want us to get our things?' And he said, 'Yes, please grab all of your personal belongings. You're not going to be on this flight'," Nazia said recounting the July 26 incident.

They were interrogated by a French police officer about their stay in Paris -- the couple had been enjoying a brief holiday in the capital city for their 10th wedding anniversary, media reports said.

After the interrogation, the officer said he had no problem with them and there was nothing else he could ask the couple.

In the wake of the couple's removal from the flight, the Muslim advocacy group has filed a religious profiling complaint against Delta Air Lines to the US Department of Transportation

"We call on the US Department of Transportation to conduct a thorough examination of the prevailing practices of major American air carriers, including Delta Air Lines, and to develop policy guidelines on the objective factors that are to be considered when determining that a passenger may legally be removed from a flight," CAIR-Cincinnati attorney Sana Hassan said.

The Delta Airlines, in a statement, said, "Delta condemns discrimination toward our customers in regards to age, race, nationality, religion, sexual orientation or gender."

"As a global airline that brings hundreds of thousands of people together every day, Delta is deeply committed to treating all of our customers with respect. Delta continues its investigation into this matter and will issue a full refund of these customers' airfare," it said.
London: After living eight of her 15 years in the luxurious confines of the White House, the first daughter of the United States of America, Sasha Obama, is all set to learn other half of life this summer.

President Barack Obama`s youngest daughter has currently taken up a summer job at Nancy`s restaurant on Martha`s Vineyard, a local hot spot that serves fried seafood and milkshakes, reports the Daily Mail.

Sasha was spotted in her uniform of a blue t-shirt, hat and khaki banks, ringing up take-out orders for hungry customers.

Reportedly, the youngest Obama is using her full name Natasha at the restaurant, where she is protected by six Secret Service agents stationed rather conspicuously on the takeout benches during her shifts.

"She`s been working downstairs at takeout. We were wondering why there were six people helping this girl, but then we found out who it was," said a server at the restaurant.

Nancy`s has always been a favourite joint for the Obamas whenever they visit Martha`s Vineyard.

The Obamas are said to be friends with Nancy`s owner Joe Moujabber, who set Sasha up with her summer job.

She has reportedly been working the four-hour shift early in the morning and is believed to be there until Saturday, around when the rest of the family are expected to arrive for the president`s annual summer vacation.
New Delhi: Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu on Friday met Prime Minister Narendra Modi here and raised the issue of special status for his state, to which the PM cited some technical issues but assured that he would examine the matter.

TDP MPs also met the Prime Minister separately and raised the issue. They were assured by Modi that "their problem is his problem" and justice would be done to the people of Andhra Pradesh.

Sources said Naidu told the Prime Minister that a special status was assured to Andhra Pradesh after its bifurcation by his predecessor Manmohan Singh and also by the TDP and the BJP during the polls and the promise must be delivered.

The Chief Minister is also believed to have said that since several political parties supported the Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Bill, the chances of their resistance to special status to the state is likely to be little.

Union Minister of State YS Chowdary and Naidu's trusted aide in Delhi said the Prime Minister cited some technical difficulties in granting special status to the state, but assured he will definitely examine the issue.

Naidu, who landed in the national capital yesterday, has since met President Pranab Mukherjee, Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley and HRD Minister Prakash Javadekar and invited them for the Krishna river Kumbh mela.

The TDP, an NDA ally, has two ministers in the Modi Cabinet. With the Congress and the YSR Congress, the main opposition party in AP, demanding a special status, the pressure has been mounting on the TDP over the issue.
Vijayawada: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday assured Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu that he was "serious" about resolving all issues, including granting of special category status to the state.

"I am also serious. I will complete all things at the earliest," Naidu quoted Modi as telling him when they met in New Delhi this morning.

Briefing reporters upon his return from New Delhi here tonight about his interaction with the Prime Minister, the Chief Minister said the latter was "positive" about their demands like grant of special status and implementation of the AP Reorganisation Act in letter and spirit.

"I reminded the PM about the specific promises he made during electioneering in 2014 and it was time he honoured them. I clearly told him there was no way injustice could be allowed. He was positive but that is not enough. It should convert into action," Naidu remarked.

"It is good if it happens in a week or as early as possible. They (Central government) have GST and other things to deal with in Parliament. Let us hope for the best.

"I have put forth various demands like grant of special status, establishment of railway zone at Visakhapatnam, development of port at Dugarajapatnam, setting up of steel plant in Kadapa district and also increasing the number of seats in the Assembly from 175 to 225," he said.

"Besides, I also wanted them to complete the Polavaram irrigation project by 2019 by ensuring adequate fund flow since it has been declared as a national project. I wanted all issues settled in a time-bound manner," Naidu said.

"Jaitley also said the same. We are waiting for it (to happen)," he said.

The Chief Minister said the proposed Good and Services Tax (GST) was a "revolutionary" fiscal reform.

"GST will deliver the same benefits over a period of time as economic reforms did a few years ago. Simplification of business is essential. Even international investors are seeking it.

"India is a cooperative federalism, so the Centre should ensure that the rights of states are not usurped," he added.
Hyderabad: State Minorities Commission for Telangana and Andhra Pradesh is set to unleash an awareness campaign against ISIS by getting on board Imams of a large number of mosques across the two states to thwart the attempts of the terror group to lure youths.

The Commission will tomorrow hold a seminar, awareness programme and interactive session on "ISIS - Interpreting reality", which would be attended among others by Imams of nearly 300 mosques from the two states, its Chairman Abid Rasool Khan said.

"These guys (Imams) are going to listen to all this (speeches by security and legal experts and religious scholars on perils of ISIS) and they will say the same thing next Friday (Friday prayers) in mosques. So, that way we want to spread word throughout the states," Khan told PTI here.

At the event, they would discuss ways to wean away people from the violent and ultra conservative ideology of the terror group, and educate youth about serious repercussions of getting involved in its activities through social media.

Among the speakers would be a security expert on radicalisation, a scholar who has written a book on ISIS and an adviser to multi-national companies on cyber threat.

Deputy Chief Ministers of Telangana and Andhra Pradesh, Mohammed Mahmood Ali and K E Krishnamurty, respectively, and Telangana Home Minister Nayini Narasimha Reddy would also speak at the event.

"Muslim speakers would be speaking with reference to Quran...And how ISIS...Jihad how they are trying to entice. They (Muslim scholars) are trying to break the myth," he said.

Nearly 100 principals of colleges where Muslim students are studying and 100-200 "concerned parents" would also be among the attendees.

"Realising the serious threat of such terror groups to radicalise the youth, the Commission attempts to create awareness and provide solutions," Khan said.

The Minority Commissions of West Bengal, Maharashtra and Karnataka have approached Khan seeking help for organising programmes as the one taking place here tomorrow.

"We are happy, a lot of people are coming to us and saying they want to be part of it. The community has responded positively to this," he added.

The event is being organised against the backdrop of police in several states detaining men on suspicion of having links to ISIS or planning to join the dreaded outfit. Recently, NIA busted a module in Hyderabad whose members allegedly owed allegiance to ISIS.
Islamabad: All crew members aboard a Pakistani helicopter that crashlanded in Afghanistan were safe, Afghan Ambassador in Islamabad Omar Zakhilwal said on Friday.

Six people, including a Russian national, aboard were taken hostage by the Taliban as the helicopter landed in Logar province while on its way to Russia via Uzbekistan for repair and maintenance, Xinhua news agency reported.

Afghan officials said the Taliban took the crew members along with them and efforts were underway to secure their release.

Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said he was seeking information about the incident.

"All crew members are safe," Zakilwal said on Friday.

He confirmed the Taliban had taken the crew and President Ashraf Ghani has asked the security forces to assist in recovering the hostages.

"I am hopeful there will be a peaceful ending to this," Ghani said.

Pakistani officials said the helicopter belonged to Punjab province and permission to use the Afghan airspace had been sought.

Military spokesman General Asim Bajwa has said army chief General Raheel Sharif had spoken to General John Nicholson, the Resolute Support Mission`s commander, hours after the helicopter made a crashlanding.

"The army chief called Nicholson, asked him to help in recovery of crew of Punjab government helicopter," Bajwa said on his official Twitter.

Bajwa said the Afghan government and the National Army have also been contacted for their assistance in recovering the crew members.
Bangkok: Hundreds of fans mobbed ex-premier Yingluck Shinawatra as she arrived at court Friday to give evidence at her negligence trial, where she implored supporters to vote on a contentious referendum this weekend.

Yingluck, Thailand`s first female premier, was dumped from office by a court days before army chief Prayut Chan-O-Cha seized power in May 2014.

She was retroactively impeached over a financially ruinous rice subsidy scheme that funnelled cash to her farming base, and is facing a trial which could see her jailed for up to ten years.

The rice scheme was a major catalyst in the debilitating protests that presaged the military takeover.

In a sign of her enduring star power among supporters, Yingluck was met by several hundred people outside the court.

In a frenzied atmosphere, many supporters handed her red roses -- a nod to the colour of their grassroots movement.

She repeated her plea of innocence of the negligence charge to the crowd, saying the billions of dollars of losses occurred after she was booted from office.

Yingluck also urged Thais to vote on Sunday`s referendum on a new military-scripted constitution, the first test of public opinion on army rule since its power grab.

"I want to invite all Thais to go for the vote," she said.

"I don`t want small turnout otherwise the result won`t be what we want, if we want to see democracy have a future."

Yingluck`s Pheu Thai party has expressed fears of a low turnout -- with many among their rural support base unsure of how the new charter affects them.Campaigning against the document has been effectively banned and many have not seen the draft they are expected to vote on.

A low turnout is likely to favour the military, which says the document will bring long-term stability, rein-in avaricious politicians and prevent any party from becoming too dominant.

Junta chief Prayut Chan-O-Cha told reporters Friday he will vote for the document and hit out at his detractors.

"If I am dictator as they have accused me, why bother holding referendum and elections?" he said.

But opponents say the charter will lead to a straightjacketed democracy, weak coalition governments controlled by an appointed senate and enable courts and other agencies to hamper policy making.

Thailand has been deeply divided since the 2006 ousting of Thaksin Shinawatra by the military.

Shinawatra-led or aligned governments have won every election since 2001, powered to government by the working class and rural poor who laud the clan for recognising their changing aspirations in a deeply hierarchical and economically divided society.

But the military and its Bangkok-centric establishment allies have hit back with coups and court rulings.

This week the junta said the rice scheme cost the state $8 billion and threatened to sue Yingluck -- whose billionaire brother Thaksin sits at the heart of the country`s caustic divide -- for compensation.

In court Yingluck told judges that Thai governments, both civilian and military, had long paid subsidies to farmers.

"This is not a new policy, it has been used for 30 years," she she said.

A conviction, she added, would set a precedent for future civilian administrations who might put off policy decisions for fear of prosecution.

Hundreds of supporters remained outside the courthouse as she gave evidence, many critical of junta rule.

"Now people are suffering, farmers are suffering," Mayuree Tohom, a 63-year-old woman sporting a hat featuring Yingluck, told AFP.

"In the past two years nothing has got better. Farmers have headaches and a lot of debt."

tp-jta/apj/fa


Islamabad/Peshawar: Pakistan`s Prime Minister said on Friday his government is using "formal and informal channels" to seek the return of seven passengers of a crashed helicopter Pakistani helicopter who were captured by the Taliban in Afghanistan.

A Taliban commander claimed the seven were "in safe hands" with the insurgents.

The Pakistani government helicopter, en route to Russia for a routine overhaul, crash-landed in the Taliban-held Logar province in eastern Afghanistan on Thursday.

"Formal and informal channels are being used to ensure safe recovery of the entire crew," Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif said in a statement from his office.

Pakistan`s army chief, General Raheel Sharif, called Afghan President Ashraf Ghani on Friday to request his country`s help.

"Afghan President Ashraf Ghani assured all possible assistance in this regard," tweeted General Asim Bajwa, the Pakistani military`s spokesman on Friday.

Logar province has been increasingly lawless since the launch two years ago of a military operation in neighbouring Pakistani tribal areas pushed many Taliban and allied fighters into Afghanistan.

On Friday, a senior Afghan Taliban commander, speaking on condition of anonymity, confirmed that the passengers - six Pakistanis and a Russian technician - were in their custody and that negotiations for their release were ongoing.

"They are being looked after, being provided tea, food, everything," he said. "We are in touch with the Pakistani officials. We conveyed to them that they are in safe hands."

He added that it was no use seeking help from the Afghan government or U.S. military, because the Taliban are in full control of the district.

The Pakistani government and military did not directly confirm direct talks with the Taliban, but officials said they were doing everything possible.

"Efforts are in top gear for early recovery of the crew & pilots of the chopper... Prayers for my dear friends safe return," tweeted Shahbaz Sharif, the prime minister`s brother and chief minister of the Punjab provincial government that operates the helicopter.

The aircraft had permission to fly over Afghan air space on its way to Uzbekistan further north, said Nafees Zakaria, the Pakistani Foreign Ministry spokesman, on Thursday.

Pakistan`s army chief had previously contacted top U.S. commander in Afghanistan General John Nicholson asking for his international military coalition`s help in recovering the men, Bajwa said on Thursday.
Kabul/Islamabad: A Pakistani helicopter made a crash landing in a remote district of eastern Afghanistan's Logar province on Thursday, crew unhurt but reportedly taken hostage by Taliban, a provincial government spokesman said.

"The initial findings by our provincial security sources showed that a Pakistani chopper made an emergency landing at around midday in Azra district of Logar province. But the crew remained unhurt following the crash," spokesman Salem Salah told media.

While the Pakistani army has denied its helicopter was involved in the incident in the mountainous Afghan province bordering Pakistan, some reports suggested that the helicopter was belonging to the government of Pakistan.

The Pakistani Embassy in Kabul has reportedly announced that the chopper was en route to Russia for maintenance.

Unofficial sources said the six-member crew was captured by Taliban militants after the chopper went down in the province 60 km south of Kabul.
Washington: In a strong message, the US has asked Pakistan to act against all the terror groups in the country, especially those targeting its neighbours and not just the ones that pose a threat to it.

"We have been very clear with the highest levels of the Government of Pakistan that they must target all militant groups and that includes those that target Pakistan's neighbors. They must also close all safe havens," Deputy Spokesman of the State Department Mark Toner said yesterday.

"They (Pakistan) have made progress. They're going after groups, but selectively. We need to see them go after all groups and as I just said, even those groups that might not threaten Pakistan itself but threaten its neighbors," he said.

Responding to questions about Pentagon's decision to withheld USD 300 million military aid to Pakistan, Toner said, "We've urged the Government of Pakistan to address this and to pursue closer counterterrorism cooperation with Afghanistan against all groups that pose a long-term security threat to the region, not just to Pakistan," Toner said.

He added that Pakistan has taken considerable action against terrorist networks.

"I would answer it is we believe that Pakistan has taken and is taking steps to counter terrorist violence and certainly focusing on those groups that threaten Pakistani or Pakistan's stability," he said.

"They have, the military has shut down some of these safe havens. They've restored government control to parts of Pakistan that were used as terrorist safe havens for years.

The spokesman said these are important steps that have continued or contributed to security interests in the region.

"And they've come at a cost of Pakistani lives lost," Toner said.
Kokrajhar: In Assam's worst terror attack since 2014, a group of heavily-armed militants dressed in military fatigues opened fire and lobbed grenades at a crowded market in Kokrajhar on Friday, killing 14 civilians. One of the attackers was also killed.

No group has claimed responsibility for the attack, but Minister of State for Defence Subhash Bhamre confirmed that the attack in Balajan Tiniali market, about 12 km from here, was carried out by a faction of the National Democratic Front of Bodoland (NDFB).

Additional Director-General of Police LR Bishnoi also told reporters that a preliminary probe established that the attack was carried out by the NDFB(S).

"The mobile phone recovered from the slain militant, who is yet to be identified, contains the numbers of many top NDFB(S) leaders and it establishes the outfit's involvement in the attack though the investigation is on," he said.

Bishnoi said NDFB(S) could have acted out of frustration as the security forces had stepped up their operation against the organisation recently.

"The Unified Command had also launched an operation in areas where senior leaders are suspected to be hiding and the attack may have been launched to divert the attention of the security forces," he added.

The police said that the militants, who were believed to be about five in number, came to the crowded weekly market in a van around noon and fired indiscriminately killing 12 persons on the spot and injuring more than 20 others.

Two other persons succumbed to their injuries en route to the hospital, they added.

Assam Finance Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma told news agency ANI that the Central Reserve Police Force, Assam Police, and other Paramilitary forces are conducting a joint combing operation to neutralise the remaining extremists.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi strongly condemned the attack and said the Home Ministry is in touch with the Assam government.

The dead included a woman who was yet to be identified while six others have been identified as Mazhar Ali, Salam Ali, Danda Basumatary, Moniram Basumatary, Parmeswar Basumatary and Tapan Chakraborty.

Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal denounced the attack and said the militants would be dealt with "very sternly".

Sonowal, who is in Delhi, said the militants would be dealt with "very sternly", a statement from the CMO said.

"We will not tolerate any threat from any group. The government will not bow to any pressure while tackling terrorist groups," he said, adding all deputy commissioners and superintendents of police across the state have been directed to be on high alert following the attack and in view of the Independence Day.

He announced an ex gratia payment of Rs 5 lakh to the next of kin of the dead, Rs one lakh to the seriously injured and Rs 20,000 to those who sustained minor injuries in the attack.

Describing the incident as "very unfortunate", Union Minister of State for Home Kiren Rijiju said in New Delhi, "Peace had returned to the Bodoland area and this incident has given us a shock. We will ensure that the victims' families are taken care of".

Home Minister Rajnath Singh was briefed about the attack by National Security Advisor AK Doval.

The security forces recovered an AK-56 rifle, two magazines, a Chinese hand grenade, 49 rounds of ammunition, three bags and a mobile phone with two SIM cards from the spot.

The Chief Minister said, "Ensuring protection to life and property of the people is the first and foremost duty of the government."

He appealed to the people of the state to exercise restraint and maintain peace and harmony.

Sonowal said Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh discussed the incident with him and have conveyed their deepest condolences to the family members of those killed in the attack.

Finance, Education and Health Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma tweeted that he was shocked at the barbaric violence and death of innocents. He also visited the spot later.

Congress chief Sonia Gandhi condemned the militant attack, saying it was a `mindless and dastardly` one, adding that the perpetrators of such acts shall be dealt with in the severest possible manner. Following the deadly attack, Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi asserted that this development was extremely worrying.

President Pranab Mukherjee and Assam Governor PB Acharya have also condemned the attack.

Tension prevailed in the entire Kokrajhar district with all shops and business establishments closing their shutters and vehicles remaining off the road.

This was the worst terror attack in Assam since December 2014 when the NDFB killed more than 70 Adivasis in Kokrajhar and Tezpur districts. This led to a major crackdown against the NDFB's "anti-talk faction", led by IK Songbijit, who carries a reward of Rs 10 lakh on his head.
Guwahati: As Kokrajhar district in Assam was rocked by a terrorist attack on Friday, Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal assured of strict action against the extremists.

Addressing the mediapersons, Sonowal said, he had a word with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Rajnath Singh in regard with the attack.

The Bharatiya Janata Party leader condemned the attack and said his government was committed to protect the people of Assam.

The Assam CM announced Rs 5 lakh ex-gratia to the kin of the deceased and Rs 1 lakh to the injured.

At least 14 civilians were killed today when militants in military fatigues opened random fire at a busy market in Assam's Kokrajhar town.

Security forces patrolling the area retaliated and one militant was killed, the police said.

Search operations are continuing in the area as the militants are suspected to be hiding in nearby buildings.

The entire area has been cordoned off by police and security personnel and the injured, many of them critical, are being shifted to nearby hospitals.
Kokrajhar: The calm prevailing in Assam ever since the new BJP government assumed power was broken on Friday when a group of suspected NDFB(S) militants opened fire at a busy market near Kokrajhar, killing at least 14 civilians and leaving more than 20 others injured.

One of the attackers was killed in retaliatory action by security forces.

The militants arrived in a van and lobbed grenades before firing indiscriminately at Balajan Tiniali market, around three kilometres from Kokrajhar town, before disappearing into the forests.

Assam Director General of Police Mukesh Sahay said the attack at the market was suspected to be the handiwork of National Democratic Front of Bodoland (NDFB-S) and search operations by the security forces were on in the area.

He said 12 people died on the spot when the militants who came in a van around 12.30 pm opened fire. Two more people died on their way to the hospital, another police official said.

One of the attackers was killed when security forces, who were patrolling the area rushed in and retaliated, Sahay said. The body of the slain militant was yet to be identified.

It is suspected that three or four militants may be hiding and operations are on to nab them, he said.

AK-56 and 47 series rifles along with grenades were recovered from the spot.

More than 20 persons have been injured, most of them critically, and were admitted to various hospitals in the town.

The six killed have been identified as Mazhar Ali, Salam Ali, Danda Basumatary, Moniram Basumatary, Parmeswar Basumatary and Tapan Chakraborty.

Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal has condemned the killings and directed the district authorities to provide medical aid to the injured.

He has also directed Finance, Education and Health Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma to rush to the spot and review the situation in the area, where more security personnel have been deployed.

Sonowal, who was sworn-in as the first BJP chief minister of Assam on May 24, said his government is committed to ensure the safety of life and property of the people of Assam.

"Our government is committed to take stern action against extremists outfit to ensure the safety of civilians," he said.

"We will not tolerate any threat from any group. The government will not bow to any pressure while tackling terrorist groups," he said, adding all deputy commissioners and superintendents of police across the state have been directed to be on high alert following the attack and in view of the upcoming Independence Day.

The Chief Minister said Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Rajnath Singh spoke to him and conveyed their condolences.

Sonowal, who is in Delhi, has also briefed Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar about the situation in Kokrajhar.

The Assam government has decided to grant an ex gratia of Rs 5 lakh to the kin of the deceased and Rs 1 lakh to those injured, he said.

He hoped that the people of Assam will maintain peace during this critical period.

"I am sure people of Assam will definitely maintain peace and harmony. This is our sincere appeal to everyone," he said.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi later tweeted:

Saddened by the attack in Kokrajhar. We strongly condemn it. Thoughts & prayers with the bereaved families & those injured.  Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) August 5, 2016

The Home Ministry is in touch with the Assam Government & is monitoring the situation closely. @HMOIndia  Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) August 5, 2016

Meanwhile, Rajnath Singh tweeted:

Spoke to Assam CM Shri @sarbanandsonwal who apprised me of the situation in Kokrajhar. MHA is closely monitoring the situation.  Rajnath Singh (@rajnathsingh) August 5, 2016

His deputy Kiren Rijiju said that the government is shocked by the timing of the attack when sincere efforts are being made to bring peace to the region.

Congress president Sonia Gandhi, who is steadily recuperating after undergoing a surgery to repair a shoulder injury at a hospital in Delhi, also condemned the terrorist attack in Kokrajhar.

Following the deadly attack in Assam, Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi asserted that this development was extremely worrying, adding that his prayers were with the victims` kin.
London: The 19-year-old Norwegian national of Somali-origin, who is in police custody on charges of murder after going on a knife rampage in London, has been described as a "quiet, nice" schoolboy and initial probe indicate that tragic incident was triggered by mental health issues.

Zakaria Bulhan is yet to be officially named by Scotland Yard but UK media reports confirm the London schoolboy as the suspect being held over the murder of 64-year-old American retired teacher Darlene Horton.

A schoolmate, who went to Graveney School in Tooting, south London, with Bulhan told 'Daily Mirror': "It's one of the most shocking things I have ever heard.

No-one would have expected that he would turn out like that.

"He was a quiet, nice kid who had banter with people. He was just a nice kid. I have seen some reports that say he was bullied but it was just banter - he gave back as good as he got. It was a two-way thing."

Norwegian Police said in a statement that the suspect had emigrated from Norway to the UK in 2002 and they were assisting London police.

Scotland Yard had searched addresses in north London and another in south London and concluded that mental health issues were the most likely cause of the "random attack".

After an initial indication that terrorism was one line of inquiry, the force confirmed that there was no evidence of radicalisation or anything to suggest the attack was "in any way motivated by terrorism".

"Whilst the investigation is not yet complete - all of the work that we have done so far, increasingly points to this tragic incident as having been triggered by mental health issues,"?Metropolitan police assistant commissioner Mark Rowley said.

"So far we have found no evidence of radicalisation or anything that would suggest the man in our custody was motivated by terrorism,"?he added.

A British man who suffered a stab wound to his stomach in the attack at Russell Square, near the British Museum, remains in hospital in a "serious but stable" condition while an American man, an Australian man and Australian woman, and an Israeli woman were all discharged after receiving treatment for their injuries.

Horton, who died at the scene, was set to return to Florida today with husband Richard Wagner, a psychology professor at Florida State University (FSU), after he completed his summer classes on the day of the attack.

It is understood that university officials have flown to London to support him.

Floria State University president John Thrasher said: "There are no words to express our heartache over this terrible tragedy".

The Met police said there is an increased police presence in the area popular with tourists, which will remain in place for some time.
Panaji: The Goa Police is monitoring the movement of Kashmiris as well as refugees from the IS-affected regions, Chief Minister Laxmikant Parsekar said on Friday.

Parsekar also said that intelligence inputs indicated that Goa was an "important target for terrorism" and social media was being tracked for radicalisation and potential lone wolf attackers.

The anti-terrorism squad (ATS) "is keeping track on migrants, tenants, servants, individuals of Jammu and Kashmir throughout the state of Goa who may try to penetrate into the state with ulterior motives and disrupt the internal security of the state", Parsekar told the assembly.

"ATS is tracking down foreigners overstaying in Goa, especially those nationals from ... the conflict zone of IS-led terror," he added.

Parsekar said a ban on drones and paragliding had also been ordered after it was revealed that an Indian Mujahideen suspect had trained in the latter.

"ATS has managed to bring a ban on flying of drones and paragliding in Goa to thwart any covert activities from anti-social elements," Parsekar said.

"Keeping in mind the present security scenario globally, ATS Goa is gearing up in all possible ways to tackle and face all eventualities in the state," Parsekar said.

"ATS technical wing is monitoring online activities on social media to tackle any type of radicalisation efforts, to influence youth to carry out lone wolf attacks and other subversive activities," he said.

Goa is one of the top beach tourism destinations in the world, which is popular with European tourists.
Ahmedabad: The name of the next Chief Minister of Gujarat to succeed Anandiben Patel would be announced on Friday after the BJP legislative party meeting in this regard.

BJP president Amit Shah, who held intensive deliberations with party leaders to finalise the candidate, will meet the party's MLAs in the presence of the central observers.

BJP's parliamentary board had earlier accepted Anandiben Patel's offer to resign at its meeting in Delhi, paving the way for appointment of a new Chief Minister to lead the party in 2017 Assembly polls.

A meeting of party MLAs and office-bearers has been convened today evening at the BJP headquarters in Gandhinagar where the next CM would be announced.

Apart from Amit Shah, all the party MLAs, office bearers and our observers Nitin Gadkari and Saroj Pandey will remain present at the meeting," said state BJP president Vijay Rupani, who is also the state transport minister.

Shah, who arrived in the morning, has been busy holding meetings with state BJP leaders and ministers at his house.

Among others, he met state BJP in-charge Dinesh Sharma, national joint general secretary (organisation) V Satish, party treasurer Surendra Patel, Education Minister Bhupendrasinh Chudasama and former state BJP chief R C Faldu.

Health Minister Nitin Patel, considered to be the front-runner for the job, was also present during Shah's meeting with Rupani.

When asked by reporters whether he would accept the post of CM, Patel evaded a direct answer but said, "Whoever is chosen by the party, we all will work together."

Dinesh Sharma, who arrived yesterday, engaged in hectic parleys with BJP leaders and ministers. It is believed that he apprised Shah of his observations today.

The names that are doing the rounds for the post are `number two' in the cabinet Nitin Patel, Union Minister Purshottam Rupala and Assembly Speaker Ganpat Vasava, a tribal leader.

Rupani's name also came up early on, but he indicated yesterday that he was not in the race as he was happy with his current job. After this, Nitin Patel has emerged as a strong contender.
Gandhinagar: The Bharatiya Janata Party on Friday evening announced Vijay Rupani as the 16th Chief Minister of Gujarat, with senior cabinet minister Nitin Patel as Deputy Chief Minister. It is for the first time that Gujarat will have a deputy chief minister.

Nitin Patel was seen as the front-runner for the top slot after Anandiben Patel offered to resign, but the BJP leadership surprised everyone by announcing Rupani's name as the Gujarat's next CM instead.

After being elected, Rupani told reporters that he will "try to make Gujarat a model state for the entire country".

He thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP's parliamentary board for considering him worthy of a "huge responsibility."

Addressing a press conference with Union Minister Nitin Gadkari, Rupani said he and Deputy Chief Minister Nitin Patel will responsibly carry forward the pace of the "politics of development," the tone of which was set by Prime Minister Modi and the incumbent Chief Minister Anandiben Patel.

Gadkari later told reporters that Vijay Rupani and Nitin Patel were chosen for their respective posts through a "democratic" process and "unanimously".

Replying to a question how Rupani was selected, even as Nitin Patel's office had said that he would be the next chief minister, Gadkari said, "Under Rupani's leadership, the BJP will once again emerge victorious in the 2017 Assembly elections."

Outgoing Chief Minister Anandiben Patel was at her aggressive best as she passionately opposed Rupani's elevation but she lost out to Bharatiya Janata Party president Amit Shah.

The sudden decision to name Rupani, president of the Gujarat BJP, was taken amid heated arguments at a meeting of BJP MLAs chaired by Amit Shah.

The announcement was made by Gadkari, who was assigned as the party's observer, after the BJP legislature party meeting which elected 61-year-old Rupani as its leader. The names of Rupani and Nitin Patel were proposed by Anandiben Patel and seconded by several MLAs.

The decision to make Rupani as chief minister and Nitin Patel, the incumbent health minister, as his deputy was taken at hectic parleys involving BJP president Amit Shah and Gadkari.

The BJP legislature party meeting, which was to start at 4 pm began two hours late, apparently due to parleys involving top leaders.

Earlier in the day, Nitin Patel's office had claimed that his name has been finalised by the BJP to fill the position that fell vacant by Anandiben's resignation.

Patel had given a series of interviews to national television channels listing how he intends to take the state forward when it is facing the challenges like Patel quota agitation and Dalit unrest. Even sweets were distributed at his residence and a pooja was also organised.

However, in the two hours after BJP national president Amit Shah reached the party office at 4 pm, followed by observers Gadkari and Saroj Pandey, the top leaders of the state remained in a huddle in one of the conference rooms of BJP state headquarters at Koba village on the outskirts of Gandhinagar.

Shah, Gadkari, Pandey, Anandiben, Nitin Patel, Vijay Rupani and BJP joint general secretary (organisation) V Satish were present in the meeting, besides some other leaders.

However, there is no word on what transpired at the meeting.

Rupani, who belongs to Jain-Baniya community, is considered to be close to Amit Shah while Patel is said to be close to Anandiben. He represents Rajkot West seat. He joined Jan Sangh in 1971 and has been associated with BJP since its formation.

Rupani, who holds an LL.B degree, is not only close to Modi and Amit Shah but also believed to have maintained the right links with the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Singh since he started his career from the Sangh student wing ABVP.

He currently holds Transport, Water Supply, Labour and Employment portfolios.

Rupani's candidature is being seen as a way to pre-empt any conflict between the Dalit and Patidar communities, the latter on a warpath with the government over its demand for reservation on par with the OBCs.

He is being assigned the task of leading the BJP in the high stake Assembly polls as the party is struggling to retain its political base and lacking in leaders who have the charisma of Narendra Modi, who had a tight hold on its affairs as Chief Minister before moving to the Centre.

Gujarat will hold Assembly Election next year -- the first after Modi, who was Chief Minister from 2001, moved to New Delhi as Prime Minister in 2014.

The BJP, which has been on a winning spree for over last two decades, seems to have sensed a political setback in continuation of Anandiben, who took charge in 2014 as successor to her high-profile predecessor.

Anandiben, who turns 75 this November, had handed over her resignation to Governor O P Kohli on Wednesday.

Under her leadership, BJP had suffered a reversal in the civic polls held last year, with the opposition Congress making handsome gains at the expense of its saffron rival.

In the last two years, the BJP was also at loggerheads with its loyal vote bank of Patidars who have been demanding OBC quota and launched violent protests.

Of late, flogging of Dalits at Una also caused a massive unrest, further denting the party's image.

(With Agency inputs)
New Delhi: Amid tensions between India and China, Beijing has announced to send Foreign Minister Wang Yi to New Delhi next week for 'serious' bilateral talks.

Ties between the two countries have been strained over a number of thorny issues, including the NSG membership, journalists row and visas to Uyghur leaders.

Wang is also likely to discuss India's participation at the G-20 Summit in Hangzhou, China, which will be attended by PM Narendra Modi from Sep 4-5.

However, Wang's main purpose of visit is to build confidence after differences emerged between Delhi and Beijing on India's NSG membership.

Both sides were also at loggerheads over the issue of Pakistan-based terrorist Masood Azhar.

China had vetoed against a ban on Azhar at Pakistan's behest at the UN.

Confirming Wang's visit, the Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson, Vikas Swarup said he will hold talks with External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj.

Wang will meet Sushma Swaraj on August 13, Swarup said at a media briefing here.

The visit is "part of the regular high-level dialogue", he added.

Besides India, he will also visit Kenya and Uganda during his three-nation tour from August 9 to 14, the state-run Xinhua news agency quoted a Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson as saying.

India had recently given visas to Uyghur leaders to attend a conference of Chinese dissidents in Dharamsala while refusing to extend visas to three Xinhua journalists, who are employed by the Chinese government.

Beijing has also been wary of growing Indo-US ties which is being viewed by the ruling Communist Party as attempt to check China.
New Delhi: Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh on Friday informed Parliament that he had told Pakistan not to glorify terrorism and urged all SAARC nations to respect United Nations ban on terror oufits.

Speaking in Parliament, the Home Minister said, ''I conveyed India's concern on terrorism and asked Pakistan to act against terror outfits operating from its backyard. I said there is a need to strongest action not just against the terrorists but also those who support terrorism.''

During SAARC Home Ministers' meet, I urged all members that terrorists should not be glorified nor should they be patronised, Rajnath Singh said in Rajya Sabha.

I told all the dignitaries attending the SAARC meet that terrorism should not be encouraged. Terrorists of a country should not be seen as a 'martyr' by other countries, Singh said in RS.

I also suggested the Pakistani government during the SAARC meet that ban on terror outfits by UN must be respected by all as there is no good or bad terrorism, Singh informed the lawmakers.

Rajnath Singh, who returned home yesterday after attending the seventh SAARC Home Ministers conference, also replied to various queries of the Rajya Sabha MPs regarding the alleged mistreatment given to him there.

He admitted that there was an apparent media boycott of his speech and that the Pakistani established failed to respect the protocol and the laid norms.

It is true that Doordarshan, ANI and PTI reporters who had come from India were not allowed to enter the SAARC meet venue, Singh said while Rajya Sabha MPs shouted 'Shame'.

I did not register any protest there. About the 'blackout' I will need to ask MEA about protocol of past occasions, he added.

Pakistan Interior Minister had invited everyone for lunch, but then he left in his car. I also left then. I hold no grudges as I wasn't there to have lunch, Singh said.

I will not comment whether Pakistan was right or wrong in not allowing coverage of his speech at SAARC summit, he stated. All our PMs have done their best to improve relations with our neighbours but the problem is "yeh padosi hai ki maanta hi nahi hai", he said amid laughter in Rajya Sabha.

He also thanked the lawmakers for their overwhelming support to him regarding his Pakistan visit. He further added that the ongoing protests did not deter him from speaking tough on terror in Pakistan.

However, a united opposition, which appreciated the Home Minister for taking a tough stand on terror, also condemned Pakistan for not following the protocol and its reported boycott of Singh's speech there.

We all saw how Pakistan failed to maintain protocol and how it treated Home Minister, we are one in condemning it, said Sharad Yadav.

Evading media pressure, Singh had yesterday said that he had placed India's point of view across Pakistan, adding all information can be gathered from his speech which is now in the public domain.

The Home Minister had also yesterday briefed Prime Minister Narendra Modi about his visit to Pakistan.

During his terse speech, Singh launched a veiled attack on Pakistan, saying mere condemnation of terrorism and individual acts by terrorists was not enough.

He categorically stated that there is no good or bad terrorist. Singh said that strongest action should be initiated not only against terrorists but also against organizations, individuals and nations supporting terror. However, Singh's speech during the meet was blacked out. Members of the Indian media, who had come from New Delhi to report on the conference, were not allowed to cover the speech.

Some reports said that there was an aggressive verbal exchange between officials of the two sides over the issue. Only Pakistan state PTV was allowed to cover introductory speeches of Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and Interior Minister Chaudhary Nisar Ali Khan.

However, government sources later described the reports of a 'blackout' of Rajnath Singh's statement during the SAARC ministerial meeting as "misleading".
New Delhi/Islamabad: Following reports of repeated attacks on an Indian prisoner lodged in a Pakistani jail, the government on Friday said it has reiterated its request to the Pakistan government for consular access to the victim.

Hamid Nehal Ansari was attacked twice in the Peshawar Central Prison in the last two months, Dawn online quoted his lawyer as telling a court on Thursday. The lawyer said a jail official also daily thrashed Ansari.

Jail Superintendent Masoodur Rehman, however, argued that the injuries were of minor nature and that such incidents "kept happening" in prisons.

External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Vikas Swarup said in his weekly media briefing in New Delhi that a petition was filed in the Peshawar High Court earlier following earlier reports that Hamid Ansari was attacked in prison.

"Through our high commission in Islamabad, the government has also raised the matter of Ansari`s well being and his early release," he stated.

"We have also reiterated our earlier stand and request for consular access and ask the government of Pakistan to allow him to speak to his family."

Ansari, serving a three-year term, is kept in a death cell. Superintendent Rehman said in his statement in the court that the Indian "can`t be kept in a normal barrack with other prisoners for the sake of his security".

Ansari`s lawyer said he wanted security for his client but the jail official had refused to give such a guarantee.

The official had promised to shift Ansari to a hospital after the attack but did not do so. The lawyer also alleged that a prison warder used to beat Ansari daily.

Ansari, who reportedly possessed a fake Pakistani identity card, was arrested by intelligence agencies in Kohat district in November 2012. He was convicted by a military court in February this year.
New Delhi: A BJP member in Lok Sabha Friday attacked the Centre over its handling of the Kashmir issue, saying its strategy was "totally wrong" and demanded that the terrorists and separatists be dealt with sternly.

R K Singh, a former home secretary, said a Jammu and Kashmir government minister was recently targetted in a bomb attack and some police stations and outposts were vacated by cops during the recent unrest.

"The current Kashmir strategy of the government is totally wrong... Its handling of separatists and some terrorists is not correct. It is wrong," he said during Zero Hour.

He said the majority of people in Kashmir wanted peace and harmony and were against violence. A handful of terrorists have scared the majority there, Singh said.

Separatists should also be prosecuted and measures taken to stop the flow of hawala money, he said, adding that border should be fenced to stop infiltration.
New Delhi: China has not constructed any road in Indian territory, the Lok Sabha was informed on Friday.

Responding to a supplementary during Question Hour, Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar said he was not aware of China constructing any road "in our area" in the last two years.

He said 73 roads have been identified as strategic Sino-India border roads, of which 61 roads have been entrusted to the Border Roads Organisation (BRO) having a total length of 3417 km which are planned to be completed by 2012.

Out of these, 22 roads of 707.24 km length have been completed and as per the revised schedule, five roads will be completed this year, eight in 2017, 12 in 2018, eight in 2019 and six in 2020.

Parrikar cited delay in forest and wildlife clearance, hard rock stretches, limited working season, difficulty in availability of construction material and delay in land acquisition as key reasons behind slow execution of road projects.

Responding to a supplementary, he said funds would not be an issue for the BRO in completing the road projects and if need be, supplementary budget will be allocated.
New Delhi: Maintaining that fund constraints will not affect the work of Border Roads Organisation (BRO), Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar on Friday asserted that China has not constructed any road in Indian territory.

"I can say, as per my knowledge, that during the last two years no road has been constructed by the Chinese in our area," Parrikar told the Lok Sabha during Question Hour.

Answering supplementary questions, including from Gaurav Gogoi (Congress), he said budgetary issues have not hampered any BRO work.

"We are working. I do not think money will be a bottleneck point. In fact, the work speed has increased, and if money is required, we will go with the supplementary budget," the minister said.

Parrikar said 73 roads have been identified as strategic Sino-India border roads, of which 61 with a total length of 3,417 km have been entrusted to the BRO.

Of these, 22 roads totalling 707.24 km, have been completed and as per the revised schedule, five roads will be completed this year, eight in 2017, 12 in 2018, eight in 2019 and six in 2020.

Parrikar said some delays in forest and wildlife areas was due to difficulty in availability of construction material and delay in land acquisitions.

Gogoi alleged delays in the BRO work in the northeastern region due to "large gap" between budgetary expectation and budgetary sanctions.
New Delhi: Lok Janshakti Party (LJP) leader Chirag Paswan has appealed to the well-off Dalits to give up reservation benefits, as lakhs of people across the country have done by opting for subsidy-free LPG in their domestic households.

Chirag, son of Union Minister Ram Vilas Pasawan said, people who are well-settled should voluntarily stop taking reservation benefits, as this would help the needy in getting more resources.

The LJP leader made the remarks while giving an interview to 'The Times of India'.

The actor-turned politician said he aims for a caste-free society.

When asked, whether the Bharatiya Janata Party is trying to attract the Dalits and the OBC voters in Punjab and Uttar Pradesh by giving some members of the particular castes key posts in the party, Chirag Paswan said, the timings of such appointments will be questioned.

He said that by bringing such leaders forward, BJP is sending out a good signal.

The LJP is a part of NDA government led by the BJP.

In 2017 politically sensitive Uttar Pradesh will go to polls. The caste factor will play a dominant role in the high-voltage elections.
Imphal: Hours after a deadly bomb and gun attack in Assam, a CRPF jawan and a civilian were injured in an IED blast in the Manipur capital on Friday.

According to ANI news agency, the CRPF personnel belonged to 109 Battalion Echo Company and was guarding the Raj Bhavan when the explosion occurred.

The site of the blast is close to the Manipur State Museum.

On Friday afternoon, NDFB militants struck a market place in Assam's Kokrajhar town, killing at least 12 people and injuring many others.

The militants first detonated a bomb and after that opened fire at people.

The security has been beefed up in the town and the adjoining areas even as a search operation is underway to nab the terrorists.

Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal has condemned the attack and vowed stern action against the perpetrators of the attack.
New Delhi: Delhi High Court Friday refused to interfere with the ban on a controversial BBC documentary, 'India's Daughter' on the December 16 gangrape case, saying the issue of its telecast was pending before the trial court which was competent to deal with it.

A bench of Chief Justice G Rohini and Justice Jayant Nath also did not go into the validity of an advisory issued by the Centre against telecast of the short film, saying that it was only an advice to private TV channels and the documentary was not shown because of the restraint order of the trial court.

"So far as the judicial orders of March 3 and March 4, 2015 (banning telecast of the documentary) are concerned, since the matter is pending before the competent court of law and more particularly the investigation is still in progress, the interference by this court either under Article 226 or under Article 227 of the Constitution is not warranted," the bench said.

The court also said, "It is apparent from facts borne out from the record that the advisory dated March 3, 2015, was a mere advice to the private TV channels. It appears to us that the documentary in question has not been telecast on account of the restraint order passed by the competent court of law.

"We, therefore, decline to enter into the various contentions advanced by the petitioners regarding the validity of the advisory issued by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting."

The decision came on the PILs by three law students seeking lifting of the ban on the documentary, which was shot inside Tihar Jail, on the ground that it was "a look at the mindset of one of the convicted rapists".

The bench disposed of the petitions while leaving it open to the trial court to proceed with the matter by following the due process of law and also granted liberty to the law students or any other aggrieved party to work out other remedies under the law.

On the night of December 16, 2012, Ram Singh, Vinay Sharma, Akshay Thakur, Pawan Gupta, Mukesh and a juvenile had gangraped a girl in a bus and beaten up her 28-year-old male friend, who was with her.

While the girl succumbed to her injuries on December 29, 2012 at a Singapore hospital, the victim's friend, suffered grievous hurt in the incident.

The juvenile accused was on August 31, 2013 convicted and sentenced to three years in a reformation home, while four others were handed down death penalty.
Islamabad: In yet another attack on miniorities in Pakistan, a 56-year old doctor belonging to the Hindu community was shot dead in Karachi, it was reported on Friday.

"Pireetam Das was sitting in his clinic located in Hasrat Mohani Colony at midnight on Thursday when someone attacked him," Akhtar Farooq, SSP Investigation said.

The police official added the doctor`s attendant had gone to buy a mobile card when the doctor was attacked in the Pak Colony area of the metropolis late Thursday.

"Hearing the gunshot, the assistant rushed to the clinic and found the doctor bleeding," added Farooq.

SSP Investigation said the suspect(s) did not take any valuables. He added police were investigation the incident.

Earlier, two members of the Hindu community were among three people shot dead in an attack on a wine shop in the Abbas Town area of the metropolis.
Peshawar: A 31-year-old Indian prisoner, convicted by a military court this year for possessing a fake Pakistani identity card, was attacked twice by inmates in a Peshawar jail during the last two months, his lawyer has said.

Hamid Nehal Ansari, a Mumbai resident arrested in 2012 for illegally entering Pakistan from Afghanistan reportedly to meet a girl he had befriended online, suffered injuries after he was attacked by inmates in the Peshawar Central Prison.

Ansari's lawyer Qazi Mohammad Anwar told a Peshawar High Court bench yesterday that his client had been kept in a death cell with a hardened criminal awaiting execution for a murder.

Superintendent of the prison Masoodur Rehman confirmed the incidents but insisted they're of minor nature and that such incidents did happen in prisons, the Dawn reported today.

Rehman also told the bench that Ansari, who was serving three years jail term, had been kept in the death cell.

"He (Ansari) can't be kept in a normal barrack along with other prisoners for the sake of his security," he said.

Ansari's lawyer said the jail superintendent should give an undertaking to the court that attacks won't happen against his client in future.

The superintendent, however, said he couldn't give a written guarantee in that regard, the paper said.

Ansari had gone missing after he was taken into custody by intelligence agencies and local police in Kohat in 2012 and finally in reply to a habeas corpus petition filed by his mother, Fauzia Ansari, the high court was informed on January 13 that he was in custody of the Pakistan Army and was being tried by a military court.

He was convicted by the military court for possessing a fake Pakistani identity card and sentenced to three years imprisonment.
Guwahati: Manipuri human rights activist Irom Sharmila, who has announced that she would end her 16-year-old fast against alleged atrocities by the security forces in the northeastern state this month, has been threatened by a local radical group.

While announcing her decision on ending the fast, Sharmila had stated that she would contest elections and also marry.

However, the lesser-known secessionist group Alliance for Socialist Unity, Kangleipak (ASUK) has warned the Manipuri activist against standing in elections as well as marrying an outsider.

In its threat, the ASUK said that some former revolutionary leaders were assassinated after they deviated from the cause and won elections, the Hindustan Times reported.

All those who joined electoral politics did so knowing well that it was a dead-end, ASUK chairman N Oken and vice-chairman Ksh Lab Meitei said in a statement on Wednesday, as per the newspaper.

The duo also cautioned Sharmila against marrying a non-local.

It may be noted that Sharmila is in a relationship with a Goan-British activist, Desmond Coutinho.

Even though the man is an NRI, he is still an Indian in the eyes of the people of Kangleipak (core of Manipur), the statement said.

The outfit said the Indian intelligence agencies could have planted the NRI to weaken Sharmila's fight against AFSPA and colonial domination.

As per the report, the ASUK is fighting for a sovereign Manipur.

Sharmila, 44, had announced on July 26 that she would end her hunger strike against AFSPA on August 9.

Sharmila, who has come to be known as the Iron Lady of Manipur, had launched her hunger strike in November, 2000 just days after some armed forces personnel allegedly killed 10 people at a bus stop in Malom in front of her eyes.

Several human rights activists and her family members have not reacted positively to her decision to end the fast.
Delhi: Superior TV Viewing Experience, Amazing Sound Output and Never Seen Before Content Will be Key Pillars for LeEco TV Strategy LeEco the global internet and ecosystem conglomerate plans to completely shake up the TV market through their recently launched SuperTVs: Super3 MAX65, Super3 X65 and Super3 X55, which will truly disrupt how Indians watch TV.

LeEco successfully disrupted the smartphone market in India with the launch of its Superphones and now once again it is set to rewrite the rules of the TV segment. This is because of the global conglomerate's ecosystem business model which allows it the luxury of offering top-of-the-line devices at disruptive prices. Unlike any other smartphone or TV manufacturer, LeEco's objective is not to earn profit by selling its hardware but through its unique and engaging content.
New Delhi: In what could turn out to be a big boost to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's 'Make in India' campaign, American defence major Lockheed Martin has offered to move to move its one and only production line of the latest version of fighter aircraft F-16 Block 70 from Texas to India.

The fighter aircraft manufacturer said that the new facility will meet Indian and global requirements for the aircraft.

However, the company said that it will take forward the proposal only in the eventuality of IAF choosing the aircraft for its fleet.

"The offer we have given to the Indian government is unmatched and from our side unprecedented," Randall L Howard, F-16 Business Development head at Lockheed Martin, said in New Delhi, yesterday.

Howard said the company wants to make F-16 Block 70 "for India, from India and export to the world". F-16 is the largest-sold fighter aircraft in the world.

The Lockheed Martin offer comes after Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar said that India will choose at least one more aircraft, besides the indigenous Tejas, for the IAF through the 'Make in India' route.

The F-16s direct competitors are its American rival Boeing (F/A-18E), Dassault Aviation of France (Rafale), Swedish plane Gripen by Saab and the Eurofighter.

And, interestingly, all of these companies have also offered to set up a production facility in New Delhi.

"But we are offering not only moving the lone production line to India but also meeting the global requirement through the same unit here," Howard said, adding it is a "win-win situation".

With PTI inputs
New Delhi: Expressing serious concern over adulteration of milk and dairy products, the Supreme Court on Friday said "stringent measures", including amending the Food Safety and Standards Act and making it a penal offence, are needed to "combat" the menace.

Referring to earlier orders, the bench headed by Chief Justice TS Thakur said, "It will be in order if the Union of India considers making suitable amendments in penal provisions at par with the provisions contained in the state amendments to the IPC. It is also desirable that the Union of India revisits the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006 to revise punishment for adulteration making it more deterrent in cases where the adulterant can have an adverse impact on health."

The bench, also comprising Justices R Banumathi and UU Lalit, referred to the amendments made by some states like West Bengal, Odisha in the IPC, enhancing jail term to the imprisonment for life with or without fine for the offence of food adulteration.

The court, while issuing a slew of guidelines to curb milk adulteration, said infants are "traditionally" fed milk and hence, stringent steps are needed.

"Union of India and the state governments shall take appropriate steps to implement Food Safety and Standards Act in a more effective manner," it said.

It asked the states to take steps to inform "owners of dairy, dairy operators, and retailers" that if chemical adulterants like pesticides, caustic soda, and other chemicals are found in milk, then stringent action will be taken against them.

The verdict, written by Justice Banumathi, asked the State Food Safety Authority (SFSA) to identify "high-risk areas" where chances of milk adulteration are more during festivals.

"SFSA should also ensure that there is adequate lab testing infrastructure and ensure that all labs have/obtain NABL accreditation to facilitate precise testing. The state governments should ensure that state food testing laboratories/district food laboratories are well-equipped with the technical persons and testing facilities," it said.

The apex court also asked SFSA to take steps to ensure that sampling and testing of milk and milk products can be done at the spot by mobile food testing vans, equipped with primary testing kits, for conducting "qualitative test of adulteration in food".

"For curbing milk adulteration, an appropriate state-level committee headed by the Chief Secretary or the Secretary of Dairy Department and District level Committee headed by the concerned District Collector shall be constituted as is done in the state of Maharashtra to take the review of the work done to curb the milk adulteration in the district and in the state by the authorities," it said.

It asked the states to set up a website, specifying the functioning and responsibilities of food safety authorities and also creating awareness about complaint mechanisms, to prevent adulteration of milk.

The websites, which will have contact details of the Joint Commissioners including the Food Safety Commissioners, would register such complaints.

"States should also maintain toll-free telephonic and on- line complaint mechanism," the verdict said.

To increase consumer awareness about ill effects of milk adulteration, the general public should be informed about the nature of risk to health and create awareness of food safety and standards, it said.

School children should be educated school by conducting workshops and teaching them easy methods for detection of common adulterants in food, keeping in mind indigenous technological innovations, such as milk adulteration detection strips, it said.

It also asked the Centre to evolve a complaint mechanism for "checking corruption and other unethical practices of the food authorities and their officers".

The verdict came on a PIL filed by Swami Achyutanand Tirth highlighting the menace of growing sale of adulterated and synthetic milk in different parts of the country.
New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday said he was saddened by the death of 14 people at the hands of terrorists in Assam.

"Saddened by the attack in Kokrajhar. We strongly condemn it. Thoughts and prayers with the bereaved families and those injured," Modi tweeted.

He said the Home Ministry was in touch with the Assam government and was monitoring the situation closely.
Islamabad: Key suspect in the 2008 Mumbai 26/11 terror attacks has been arrested by security agencies in Pakistan, it was announced late on Thursday.

The terror which evoked world condemnation the claimed over 160 lives, including foreigners, and 308 others were wounded.

Suspect Sufiyan Zafar, wanted in connection with the attacks, had reportedly assisted prime suspect Hammad Amin Sadiq financially, a sources close to the development said.

According to the sources, an anti-terrorism court granted eight-day physical remand of the suspect.

Sources further said that a Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) team, headed by Director Mazhar Kakakhel, was interrogating the suspect.
United Nations: The UN has strongly rejected assertion that Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has a "vow of silence" on the issue of Kashmir.

"It's not a vow of silence. We did say something, but that's where we stand on it right now," Ban's deputy spokesman Farhan Haq told reporters at the daily press briefing yesterday when asked when the UN Chief will "break his vow of silence" and speak about Kashmir.

Haq said Ban's stance on the Kashmir issue remains the same and cited a statement that had been issued a few weeks ago on the crisis in the Valley.

Ban had said he is closely following the recent clashes in Kashmir, that had broke out in the aftermath of the killing of Hizbul commander Burhan Wani.

He had called on all parties to "exercise maximum restraint" to avoid further violence and hoped that all concerns would be addressed through "peaceful means".

Earlier this week, Ban's spokesman St?phane Dujarric had rejected remarks that the Secretary General was reluctant on the issue of Kashmir. Dujarric was asked at the daily press briefing why the Secretary General did not initiate efforts to settle the Kashmir conflict, even as the world body is trying to resolve conflicts in Cyprus and the Middle East.

"I will leave it to you and others to analyse the reasoning. I think the questions on the situation in Kashmir have come up with us today and previously. Our answers to those questions remain the same," Dujarric had said.

When asked why there is "reluctance" on the part of the Secretary-General and the United Nations to offer any comments on the situation in Kashmir, Dujarric said when questions arise on the issue, the UN offers comments.

"So I don't agree as being reluctant," he had said.

Protests broke out across Kashmir Valley on July 9, a day after Wani was killed in an encounter with Indian security forces, leading to clashes in which 50 people have been killed.
Nagpur: Several organisations fighting for a separate Vidarbha today called on the legislators from the region and requested them to show solidarity on the issue of Statehood in the Assembly and oppose any resolution on united Maharashtra.

Vidarbha Rajya Sanghatana and Vidarbha Connect, the two non-political groups on the forefront of agitation for a separate Vidarbha state, today welcomed the move by a BJP Member of Parliament to move a private member Bill in the Lok Sabha seeking statehood for the region in eastern Maharashtra.

The Bill was moved a week ago by Nana Patole, the MP from Bhandara-Gondia in Vidarbha.

The BJP MP deserves compliments for his commitment to the statehood cause, said the two groups.

"We welcome the move by Patole, who ignored opposition from a section of political parties and went ahead with his Bill," President of Sanghatana Advocate Mukesh Samarth and Sandesh Singalkar of Vidarbha Connect told reporters here.

Legislators from Vidarbha should show solidarity on the issue of Statehood in the Assembly and oppose any resolution on united Maharashtra, they said.

During a debate in the Assembly recently, Shiv Sena leader and Transport Minister Diwakar Raote virtually rushed towards BJP legislators from the region, which is unfortunate, they said.

Sena, which is vehemently opposed to any division of Maharashtra, should show some restrain on the emotive issue, Samarth said.

The groups also welcomed the open defiance by top Congress leaders from Vidarbha - Vilas Muttemwar, Naresh Pugalia, Shivajirao Moghe, Satish Chaturvedi and Nitin Raut - who have asked their counterparts from Western Maharashtra not to deny the legitimate demands of Vidarbha people.

Samarth criticised BJP General Secretary Muralidhar Rao for his reported remark that the 2014 election mandate in Maharashtra was not for creation of Vidarbha State.

Rao's remark was uncalled for and reflects his ignorance, he said.

BJP, which favours statehood to the region, won 44 out of 62 Assembly seats from Vidarbha in the 2014 polls.
Srinagar: A civilian was killed and scores were injured in fresh violent protests across Kashmir Valley on Friday despite strict curfew enforced to stop people from holding pro-freedom demonstrations, police and witnesses said.

They said protest demonstrations were held at many places in the restive valley after Friday afternoon prayers leading to violent clashes in Srinagar, and south and north Kashmir regions.

An unruly mob pelted security forces with stones in Nagam village of Budgam. The security forces opened fire and dispersed the protestors with pellets.

Some 30 protestors were injured and one of them -- Maqbool Wagay -- succumbed later, a police officer said.

At least 50 persons were injured in Sopore, a north Kashmir town that has remained relatively calm in the last one month of turmoil. Police said angry men clashed with security forces, prompting police and paramilitary troopers to use force to quell protests in the apple town.

More than a dozen protestors were also wounded in north Kashmir Kangan area on the Srinagar-Leh highway enroute to Amarnath cave shrine.

A young man was critically injured in Shopian, in south Kashmir, in clashes between security forces and protestors. The man, according to doctors at a local hospital, had multiple pellet injuries.

Protests were also held at several other places, including in Srinagar, in which dozens more were hurt.

For the first time in the recent history of Kashmir, no Friday congregational prayers were offered at Dargah Hazratbal -- the most revered shrine in the state -- that houses a lock of hair of the Prophet. Authorities had imposed strict curfew and blocked all entry points to Hazratbal to prevent a separatist-called protest march to the shrine.

Curfew remained in force almost across the valley that has been on the boil since the July 8 killing of rebel commander Burhan Wani. The toll in the unrest has reached 53 after the latest casualty.
New Delhi: The Centre on Friday told the Supreme Court that the law and order situation in Kashmir Valley has improved considerably since the killing of Hizbul Mujahideen commander Burhan Wani with violent protests having gone down from 201 on July 9 to 11 on August 3.

The Centre, in a status report filed before a bench of Chief Justice T S Thakur and Justices A M Khanwilkar and D Y Chandrachud, said that in view of the improving situation, curfew had been lifted from most parts of the Valley on July 30.

Solicitor General Ranjit Kumar, referring to the report, said the curfew is in force only in certain areas of three districts in the Valley.

"However, due to persistent efforts of the security forces/Jammu and Kashmir Police, the situation has shown remarkable improvement, with the number of incidents declining progressively since the outbreak of violent protests and clashes.

"Compared to 201 incidents on July 9, 2016, only 11 incidents were witnessed as on August 3, 2016," Kumar said, adding that a total of 872 incidents of violence were reported mainly from south Kashmir and parts of central and north Kashmir.

He said that in these 872 incidents, 42 civilians and two security personnel were killed, while 2656 civilians and 3783 security personnel were injured.

Kumar said that 28 government establishments were set ablaze and 49 such establishments were damaged and due to the violent incidents initially curfew was imposed in 10 districts out of 22 districts of the state.

He said incidents of violence started after Wani and two other militants were killed by the security forces on July 8, leading to large-scale protests and law and order problems in different parts of the Valley.

"Inimical and anti-social elements exploited the news on social media platforms to inflame passions and incite sentiments. Public address systems of some of the local mosques were used to raise to pro-freedom slogans and incite the youth to indulge in stone pelting/protests," the report filed by the Ministry of Home Affairs, said.

The apex court had earlier asked the Centre to file a status report detailing "ground realities" prevailing in Jammu and Kashmir after Wani's killing in the Valley by security agencies.

Prior to that, it issued notice to the Centre on a PIL filed by senior advocate and Jammu and Kashmir National Panthers Party (JKNPP) leader Bhim Singh seeking imposition of Governor's rule in the state.
Jammu: Jammu and Kashmir Deputy Chief Minister Nirmal Singh on Friday asserted that the terrorists who refuse to surrender will be "replied in the same language".

"BJP will never compromise with terrorism and separatism. The militants who carry guns and kill people will be replied in the same language if they do not surrender," he said.

Asked about the action his government has taken against those involved in violence in Kashmir, Singh told reporters here that "people involved are being identified and caught. In the time to come, you will see the situation will improve and the government will take action against them."

Singh was recently in the line of fire after he called the killing of Hizbul militant Burhan Wani "an accident". He had to clarify his statement after political parties, including Congress and National Conference, demanded his resignation.

"The Opposition and some anti-social elements and separatists tried to disturb peace in Jammu region, but people of Jammu and administration foiled their designs and ensured peace in the region," he said.

"We will ensure the right to life of the people at all cost," Singh said.

Earlier the deputy chief minister launched the work on a modern bus stand project at Jammu to be constructed at an estimated cost of Rs 201.68 crore.

The project is likely to be completed within 18 months.
Srinagar: Three persons were killed and over 150 injured in fresh clashes which rocked Kashmir at several places after Friday prayers, raising the death toll during the current unrest to 53.

The clashes took place even as curfew was extended to more areas of Kashmir to thwart a planned march by separatists to Hazratbal shrine here even as normal life in the Valley remained paralysed for the 28th consecutive day.

Mohammad Maqbool Khanday was allegedly killed in action by security forces against mobs who indulged in stone-pelting after Friday prayers at Nagam in Chadoora area of central Kashmir's Budgam district, a police official said.

As the news of Khanday's death spread, protests erupted at several places along the Chanapora-Chadoora road and clashes were reported from Kralpora area, he said.

In another incident, three youth were critically injured in action by security forces against the violent mob at Khansahib area of Budgam district, the official said.

He said the injured were taken to SMHS hospital here where one of them was declared "brought dead" by the doctors.

The death of the youth led to protests within the hospital and some youth started pelting stones on the nearby Karan Nagar police station.

One youth was killed in a clash in Sopore, he said.

Mobs also indulged in stone-pelting on the ancestral house of Asia Naqash, Minister of State for Health, in Habbak area of Srinagar. However, nobody was in the house.

The house of Independent MLA Hakeem Mohd Yaseen was also attacked by mobs in Khan Sahib area but nobody was injured, the official said.

The official said clashes between protestors and security forces were also reported from Sopore town and Palhallan town in north Kashmir Baramulla district and Goshbug in Kupwara district.

More than 100 people were reported to be injured in these clashes but officials refused to comment on this, saying they were busy with law and order situation.

Earlier in the day, authorities had extended curfew to more areas of Kashmir to thwart a planned march by separatists to Hazratbal shrine.

Curfew was imposed in entire Srinagar district as also in Ganderbal, Budgam, Anantnag town, Awantipora, Kulgam town, Baramulla district excluding Sopore, Shopian town, Kaloosa in Bandipora and parts of Handwara, the police official said.

He said restrictions were also clamped on an assembly of four or more persons in rest of the Valley as a precautionary measure to maintain law and order.

Security forces had been deployed in strength in the sensitive and vulnerable areas to maintain law and order.

Normal life in the Valley remained affected for the 28th consecutive day due to the curbs imposed by the authorities and separatist-sponsored strike against the death of civilians in clashes between violent mobs and security forces following the killing of Hizbul Mujahideen commander Burhan Wani in an encounter July 8.

Schools, colleges, business establishments, petrol pumps banks and private offices remained closed while public transport remained off roads. Attendance in government offices was also thin, the official said.

For the last couple of days, many shops and business establishments open after sundown after the separatists announced a relaxation in the agitation programme to allow people to buy essentials in view of the prolonged shutdown.

Mobile Internet services continued to remain snapped in the entire Valley where the outgoing facility on prepaid connections is barred.

The separatists, who have extended the shutdown call in Kashmir till August 12, have demanded that mainstream politicians resign from their parties and posts.

They have called for blocking routes to Civil Secretariat here and other government offices in districts to "ensure that no employee is able to join the duty".

53 people have been killed in the violence and 5,500 injured during the unrest.

Police have launched a massive crackdown against "hooligans and miscreants" in Kashmir, arresting nearly 500 youths from across the Valley.
Raipur: A station house officer and four other policemen came under attack by Naxalites tonight while passing through a dense forest in Sukma district of Chhattisgarh, police said.

SHO of Konta police station Eman Sahu and four police jawans were heading for Konta from Sukma when their SUV came under fire near Manikonta village, a senior police officer told PTI.

They, however, quickly took positions and retaliated, forcing the rebels to flee.

All five personnel reached Dornapal safely. Forces were dispatched to the area to trace the attackers.
Bhopal: They both are poor and hails from the same village in Madhya Pradesh. But of late they are making frequent visits to the income tax department.

What sets their case apart is due to a strange development in their life  someone deposited crores of rupees in their bank accounts without their knowledge!

The money has long been withdrawn from their accounts, again without their knowledge, but by then there're already in for a major trouble from the income tax department which has issued notices to them to prove their income source.

Rajnish Kumar Tiwari is a part-time electrician and Umadut Haldkar is a small-time employee of a private clinic. Both are BPL card holders and struggle to make ends meet, the Hindustan Times reported.

They are both being pressed by the income tax department to give an explanation for the crores of rupees they supposedly held in their accounts.

Tiwaris accounts with the Katni branch of Axis Bank had Rs 16.93 crores while Haldkars account with the same branch had Rs 2.26 crores, the report said. Both have no clue how it came into their accounts between 2006 and 2009.

And they are equally clueless about who withdrew the staggering sums.

Police investigations have revealed that some people have opened the accounts in their names for illegal transactions.

According to the bank papers, both are named as company directors, which again they have no knowledge about.
Mumbai: The CBI on Friday filed its supplementary charge sheet against gangster Chhota Rajan in connection with the murder case of journalist J Dey at a special MCOCA court here.

On July 5, MCOCA court Judge S S Adkar had directed the probe agency to file the charge sheet latest by August 5.

According to CBI, the motive for killing Dey in 2011 was the book that he was writing on the underworld.

The agency, in its charge sheet, has recorded statement of 41 witnesses while it made witness--Ravi Ram--an additional accused in the case.

"Ravi Ram was a witness earlier but he has emerged as a key link between Rajan and other accused," said a CBI officer.

Ram had allegedly supplied 20 global sims on Rajan's instructions.

The CBI said they have also included transcripts of conversation between arrested journalist Jigna Vora and Rajan in the charge sheet.

The agency also said that FSL reports show that the recorded voice sample of Rajan matches with the intercepted conversations between Rajan and Jigna.

Last month, adjourning the hearing till today, the court had said that it would go ahead with framing of charges as per the charge sheet earlier filed by Mumbai Police's Crime Branch if the agency failed to do so.

Special Public Prosecutor Bharat Badami had then informed the court that the agency had got some more evidence against the wanted accused Nayan Singh Bisht, and will be annexing it to the charge sheet.

Rajan was arrested at Bali airport in Indonesia on October 25 last year and deported to India. He is facing around 70 cases in Maharashtra, which include the J Dey murder case of 2011. The Maharashtra government has handed over all these cases to CBI.

Dey, a veteran crime reporter, was shot dead in suburban Powai on June 11, 2011, allegedly at the behest of Rajan.

According to investigators, Rajan was upset with certain articles written by Dey about him.

The first charge sheet filed in 2011 names Satiah Kaliya, Abhijeet Shinde, Arun Dake, Sachin Gaikwad, Anil Waghmode, Nilesh Shendge, Mangesh Agawane, Vinod Asrani, Paulson Joseph and Deepak Sisodia (all arrested).

Another charge sheet was filed against journalist Jigna Vora the next year. Vora, accused of instigating Rajan against Dey owing to her own professional rivalry, is now out on bail.
Mumbai: Eight more bodies were recovered on Friday during the search operation in the Savitri river, where two state-run buses and some private vehicles were swept away after a British-era bridge collapsed in Mahad, taking the toll in the tragedy to 22 as hopes for survivors faded.

"Eight more bodies from different locations in the river were recovered and the toll has now gone up to 22. Of these, 17 are males and five females," said Satish Bagal, Resident Deputy Collector of Raigad district.

A fresh search operation, involving multiple agencies and local divers, will be launched tomorrow morning, he said.

The tragedy occurred on Tuesday night at Mahad, about 170km from here, when two state-run buses and some private vehicles fell into the swollen river following the collapse of a British-era bridge on Mumbai-Goa Highway.

Of the 22 victims, 10 were in Rajapur-Borivali bus while seven travelling in Jaigad-Mumbai bus, both belonging to State Transport Corporation.

Six of the deceased belonged to Mumbai and its neighbouring suburbs of Virar and Nalasopara, while five hailed from Chiplun town in Ratnagiri district, he told the media.

The bodies of Shrikant Kamble, the driver of Jaigad- Mumbai bus, and Prabhakar Shirke, the conductor of Rajapur- Borivali bus, have also been recovered, the official said.

Two of the deceased - Shewanti Mirgal and Sampada Vaze - were travelling in a private Tavera vehicle.

Divisional Commissioner Tanaji Satre and Guardian Minister of Raigad district Prakash Mehta supervised the search operation, said Bagal.

Twenty boats and nearly 160 personnel from Coast Guard, NDRF and Navy were deployed in the search operation, Raigad Additional Superintendent of Police Sanjay Patil said, adding the district administration was also taking help of local fishermen.

The local police were providing all logistical and technical support to the jawans, he said.

Another senior police official said some of the bodies were recovered as far as about 120km from the mishap site. He said the search operation will continue till the remains of the buses and other vehicles are found.

"We have extended the area of the search operation and alerted local residents and appealed them to inform us if they spot anything floating in the water," he said, adding heavy rains were hampering the exercise.

Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis has said the government will give Rs 5 lakh to the kin of the deceased. The government has already announced the kin of the deceased staff members of the two state-run buses would either be given job or compensation of Rs 10 lakh each.
Tirunelveli: Days after Rajya Sabha MP Sasikala Pushpa was expelled from ruling AIADMK, a man filed a complaint with the police commissioner here on Friday, alleging she had cheated him to the tune of Rs 20 lakh.

In his complaint to the Police Commissioner R Thirugnanam, S Rajesh alleged that Sasikala Pushpa had taken Rs 20 lakh from him, promising him a contract work. He sought police help to get back his money from her.

His advocate Jeni T said the payments to Sasikala Pushpa were made in two instalments last year in the presence of her husband Lingeswara Tilakan.

"Now, considering the present situation (her expulsion), when Rajesh wanted the money back from her, she scolded and abused him," Jeni told PTI, adding "though the payments were made last year, no contract work was facilitated for his client as promised".

He alleged that the MP had also "intimidated and threatened," his client.

Asked about the complaint, a police inspector attached to the Commissioner's Office confirmed receipt of the complaint.

"Police Commissioner will look and decide into the complaint," he said, declining to specify if a case will be registered or the complaint has made out cognisable offences.

Sasikala Pushpa was expelled from AIADMK by party supremo Jayalalithaa on August 1 for anti-party activities.
Lucknow (Uttar Pradesh): Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav on Friday announced three lakh compensation and a flat each to Bulandshahr gang-rape victims.

Drawing criticism from all quarters in the wake of Bulandshahr gang-rape incident, Akhilesh Yadav yesterday slammed the Opposition and accused them of tutoring the survivors in an endeavour to serve their political motives.

"The incident is unfortunate. Action will be taken against those responsible. But the question is what are BJP and other (opposition) parties tutoring the survivors and showing the way of politics," he said.

The three men, who have been arrested, have been sent to 14-day judicial custody. However, the police are yet to arrest the gang leader Saleem Bawariya and other accused, who still remain absconding.The incident took place last week on Friday night when a 35-year-old woman and her 14-year-old daughter were allegedly gang-raped by a group of robbers in Bulandshahr district.

The victims were on their way from Noida to Shahjahanpur with the other family members when their vehicle was stopped near a cycle repairing shop in Dostpur village on NH-9, which connects Noida and Bulandshahr.
Lucknow: In a stern message to party workers, Samajwadi Party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav on Friday asked them to pull up their socks for the 2017 Uttar Pradesh Assembly polls and stop "grabbing lands" or indulging in other such deeds.

"Will you (party workers) be able to form government again? Remove your flaws. There are many shortcomings. Will you be able to work on them? Will you stop grabbing lands? There are many places where land grabbing is on. If you have to earn money, do any other business. In politics you have to sacrifice things," he said without mincing words.

Yadav delivered the tough talk at a gathering of party workers on the occasion of 84th birth anniversary of SP leader late Jnaneshwar Mishra.

Referring to youth workers in the party, Mulayam said the new breed of party workers did not know the foundation of 'samajwad' (socialism).

"I have asked (chief minister) Akhilesh Yadav a number of times about training of youth workers but no heed was paid to it," he said, adding, "Politics is the most difficult work and training of youths is a must for that."

Akhilesh, who has been publicly chided by his father in the past too, was present on the occasion.

Mulayam said, "The elections are near. In Delhi, only this election is being discussed. The Opposition is not leaving any stone unturned to form the next government. Two parties are trying to orchestrate riots in the state."

He stressed the need for giving special emphasis on youths and farmers and said women should also be included in the party working.

"There are women chief ministers in four states and they are doing good work. You (Akhilesh) should also involve women in party and give them a chance," he said.

"The government should implement its manifesto and if there is any problem, it should tell him," he said.

Akhilesh also addressed the gathering and highlighted the works done by his government, claiming that promises made in 2012 SP manifesto have been met.
New Delhi: The Centre on Friday told the Supreme Court that it did not take a "rigid" stand in the appointment of Vice Chancellor of AMU and forwarded three short-listed names to the President for approval as the varsity has kept the UGC regulations on the issue at abeyance.

The Ministry of Human Resource Development (HRD), in its reply filed before a bench headed by Chief Justice TS Thakur, said that three names were forwarded to the President under the relevant provisions of the Aligarh Muslim University Act.

The President appointed one of the short-listed persons as the VC, the ministry said, adding the varsity is yet to adopt the regulations of the University Grants Commission (UGC).

At the outset, the counsel for the UGC told the bench, also comprising Justices AM Khanwilkar and DY Chandrachud, that the appointment of the VC should be as per regulations.

The reply of the HRD Ministry was filed in response to a plea of an alumni of the university seeking a direction to quash the appointment of Lt Gen (Retd) Zameeruddin Shah as the VC.

"As far as the appointment of present Vice Chancellor of the AMU is concerned, the university has explained in its affidavit that the adoption of clause 7.3.0 of the UGC regulations was kept in abeyance at the time of processing the matter of the filling up of the post of Vice Chancellor."

"Since the university had not adopted the said UGC regulations pertaining to appointment of the Vice Chancellor, it sent the proposal containing a panel of three persons recommended by the court of University to the ministry for onward submission to the visitor (President), which was prepared in accordance with the prevalent statutes of AMU Act, 1920," the ministry said.

"The ministry did not take a rigid stand at the time of forwarding the panel to the visitor in May 2012 as the post of the VC was vacant and was required to be filled up without delay," the ministry said, adding that the post was filled up in May 2012 with the approval of competent authority that is visitor, who is the President, on the "basis of panel recommended by the court as per the relevant statutes of AMU Act".

The appointment of Shah as the VC of AMU on May 11, 2012, was challenged on the ground that according to the UGC regulations, the VC ought to have worked for at least 10 years as a professor at a university or on an equivalent post in a research or academic institute.

The petitioner, Syed Abrar Ahmed, had argued before the high court that the regulations -- which pertained to minimum qualifications and maintenance of standards in higher education -- had become binding on AMU when it had adopted these on December 6, 2010.

The ministry said that the UGC regulations on Minimum Qualifications for Appointment of Teachers and Other Academic Staff in Universities and Colleges and Measures for Maintenance of Standards in Higher Education, 2010 are mandatory for central universities.

"All the central universities should adopt these regulations without fail and as early as possible in order to ensure maintenance of standards in higher education," it said.

It said that the new UGC regulations cannot lead to an "automatic amendment to the university's Act and statutes given the autonomous amendment of the central universities as envisaged by the respective Central University Act passed by Parliament".

Earlier, the apex court had asked the Centre whether "a university can itself be termed as a minority institution."

The court has also sought Attorney General Mukul Rohatgi's assistance in the matter.
Kanpur: In yet another case of alleged police high-handedness, a Dalit youth was found dead in a police station in Kanpur, triggering protest in the area.

As per the reports, the body of 25-year-old Kamal Valmiki, who was brought to the police station two days ago for questioning in connection with a case of theft in the area, was found hanging inside the Ahirwan police station.

The state government has suspended at least 14 policemen and lodged a murder case against them in connection with the youth's death.

His family was informed today that he has committed suicide. His family members, however, allege that he was tortured and killed under police custody.

While the post-mortem report is yet to come, the family has alleged that the police tried to hush up the death and initially sent the body for an autopsy under a false name.

The local police claimed it was a case of mistaken identity.

"The family has said that a constable had taken Valmiki for questioning and then this incident took place," said Shalabh Mathur, SSP Kanpur.

"On basis of their complaint, we have registered a case of murder and the entire police chowki has been suspended. If other police personnel are involved we will act against them too," he added.

Station Incharge & other police officials who were present at time of incident, suspended- Kanpur SSP Shalabh Mathur pic.twitter.com/HIlfXvHJT6  ANI UP (@ANINewsUP) August 5, 2016

"Death in police custody is a very serious offence and we will spare no one in this case," State Police chief Javed Ahmed said.

Youth's death had triggered severe protest in the area. There was tension in the area as Kamal Valmiki's relatives and locals clashed with the police. The police had to use batons to control the mob.



The Dalit man's family and the locals in Kanpur held a protest in the evening. Protests in nearby locality have been reported today where locals pelted stones at policemen and vandalised several vehicles.

Locals pelted stones at police, vandalised vehicles after a man died in police custody in Kanpur (UP) pic.twitter.com/jZZVIbg1ZY  ANI UP (@ANINewsUP) August 5, 2016

The action against the policemen comes as the ruling Akhilesh Yadav government is under fire from the Congress and the BJP for the law and order situation in the state - an issue that is expected to spell trouble for it in next year's assembly elections.
Kolkata: The West Bengal government is approaching the central government seeking to take over the probe of theft of Rabindranath Tagore`s Nobel Prize medallion, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said on Friday.

"If the state government is given the responsibility, we can endeavour to retrieve the medallion. That is why are approaching the centre," said Banerjee after holding an administrative meeting in Burdwan district.

Chief Secretary Basudeb Banerjee said the state government will be writing to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) which was entrusted with the probe.

"If CBI cannot, we can look for Tagore`s Nobel," Mamata had said on Thursday during a visit to the Tagore founded Visva Bharati University at Santiniketan in Birbhum district.

The sensational theft of the medallion and 47 other memorabilia from Rabindra Bhawan at Santiniketan came to light on March 25, 2004.

The investigation was handed over to the CBI which after three years of fruitless probe, closed the case in August 2007, only to reopen it subsequently in September, 2008.

Failing to make much of a headway, the agency closed the case again in 2010.
Washington: Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump today said that achieving world peace "would be the best deal" for him and he "would know how to do it better than anybody else".

"Peace all over the world would be the best deal," Trump told the Portland Press Herald, which he gave during his visit to the city.

"And I think I would know how to do it better than anybody else, but peace all over the world," Trump said.

He was responding to a question as to what would be the best deal he could negotiate as president of the US. Trump, 70, is facing a tough battle against his Democratic rival Hillary Clinton in the presidential elections.

The billionaire from New York said age is not a disadvantage for him and asserted this is a good age for presidency.

"Well younger than Ronald Reagan, younger than some, basically I guess Hillary is about that same age, a number of them are about that age. That seems to be a good political age for the presidency if you look it's all around that middle vicinity. I think Ronald Reagan was one of our great presidents and that was an older age, so that's the way we have it," he said.

Later addressing an election rally in Portland, which was marred by a number of protests, Trump spoke about illegal immigrants and terrorism.

"We have just seen many, many crimes, getting worse all the time, and as Maine knows, a major destination for Somali refugees. Right. Am I right?," Trump said.

"They're all talking about it. Maine, Somali refugees. You admit hundreds of thousands into Maine and into other places in the US. Hundreds of thousands of refugees. And they're coming from among the most dangerous territories and countries anywhere in the world. This is a practice that has to stop," he said.

"People are pouring into our country, we have no idea who they are. This could be the great Trojan Horse of our time," Trump said.

A number of protesters were removed from his rally after they interrupted his speech by standing and holding up pocket-sized copies of the US Constitution in the air.

"It's sort of rude, when you think about it. We want jobs, we want health care. We're looking for the same thing. You want to have a good life. You want safety. And then we have people interrupting constantly," he said.
Dhaka: A Bangladeshi madrassa student who had murdered a Hindu priest earlier this year and was behind a terror attack on Eid in Dhaka was killed in a "gunfight" with security forces, media reported on Friday.

Shafiul Islam and an associate, whose identity was not immediately known, were killed in a gunfight with the Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) in Mymensingh`s district.

Shafiul, also known as Saiful, had been undergoing treatment at Mymensingh Medical College Hospital (MMCH) under RAB custody after he was caught following the attack on an Eid congregation in Sholakia in Kishoreganj on July 7.

Doctors released Shafiul on Thursday and he was being taken to Kishoreganj to be handed over to the police.

However, the team came under attack at a place in Nandail when the attackers tried to snatch away Shafiul by hurling bombs and opening fire, a RAB official said, Daily Star reported.

A gun battle ensued when RAB fired back, in which the two militants were hit by bullets and died.

Two motorcycles, several bombs and arms as well as some ammunition were recovered from the spot.

Three RAB members suffered splinter injuries during the encounter, RAB said.

The police also said the "gunfight" happened at 11.00 p.m. near a brickfield at Dangrigoshpala area, some three to four km east of Nandail upazila headquarters.

On July 7, a police check-post near the Sholakia Eidgah ground, which hosts the country`s largest Eid congregation, came under a terrorist attack. During the attack, Shafiul was injured in an hour-long gun battle with police and later taken into custody.

Two policemen were killed in the Sholakia attack while a woman from a nearby house died after being hit by stray bullets. Police later shot one suspected attacker dead.

Shafiul was one of the three motorcycle-riding assailants who slit the throat of a Hindu priest Jagneshwar Roy, 50, after hacking him with sharp weapons in the early hours of February 21.

He also goes by the aliases Shariful Islam, Abu Mokaddel, and "Sohan".

Shafiul was allegedly involved in at least two other targeted killings in Kurigram and Panchagarh.
Manila: Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte has given a commitment that $81 million stolen by cyber criminals from the account of Bangladesh Bank in New York and funnelled through bank accounts in Manila would be returned, the Bangladesh ambassador to the Philippines said on Friday.

A Bangladesh central bank team visiting Manila to recover the money said earlier on Friday that it was close to getting back $15 million of the loot frozen by the Philippines.

Cyber criminals tried to steal nearly $1 billion from Bangladesh Bank`s account at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York in February, and succeeded in transferring $81 million to four accounts at Manila`s Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. The money was then laundered through the city`s casinos, according to investigators.

Only about $18 million, including $2.7 million frozen by the Philippines` casino regulator, has been accounted for.

The Philippines` Department of Justice (DoJ) has asked the Bangladesh Bank delegation to file a legal document staking its claim to $15 million of that, but the casino money will have to be pursued separately, said two sources close to the visiting team.

"We are very hopeful that we will get the total $81 million," said Ambassador John Gomes, who is helping the bank representatives on a four-day visit to Manila ending Friday.

"The reason is I got a commitment from the president himself," he said.

He added Bangladesh`s finance minister might come to the Philippines to meet Duterte to help in the recovery of the money.

Gomes said the bank felt RCBC should be held responsible because it did not follow a stop-payment request from Bangladesh Bank, and its lawyer Ajmalul Hossain said it would sue RCBC if it was not able to recover the entire $81 million.

The Philippine central bank said on Friday it would fine RCBC 1 billion pesos ($21 million) in relation to failings over the heist, the largest amount it has ever approved "as part of its supervisory enforcement actions".

In March, RCBC`s then president Lorenzo Tan acknowledged at a Philippines senate hearing there had been "some judgment error from the people on the ground".

RCBC said earlier on Friday that the transfers were made based on authenticated instructions over payments network SWIFT, and the hackers had used stolen Bangladesh Bank credentials.

"Going to court instead of the media and various Philippine government agencies is the proper procedure," it added.

PROVE IT

Ricardo J. Paras III, chief state counsel of the Philippines DoJ, told Reuters that it has already drafted court documents to begin recovery of the $15 million, but it was important for Bangladesh to prove it is their money.

The Bangladeshi delegation has prepared an affidavit citing a letter by the New York Fed to the Philippines` central bank, in which the Fed said the money was stolen from Bangladesh Bank`s account. The affidavit will be given to the DoJ, the sources said.

The Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (PAGCOR), a government body that regulates casinos in the country, has promised to cooperate with Bangladesh Bank to help it recover the $2.7 million it has frozen, Gomes said.

"The money is with Solaire (Resort and Casino)," PAGCOR President Alfredo Lim told Reuters. "It will put us in a bad light if the money is not immediately released to them."

Solaire, operated by Bloomberry Resorts Corp, has said about $29 million of the funds came to the casino and most was transferred to the accounts of two junket operators.

Solaire declined to comment on Friday.

Bangladesh Bank is relying on internal RCBC documents to buttress its assertion that the banks Jupiter Street branch in Manila ignored suspicions raised by some RCBC officials when the money was first remitted to the accounts on Feb. 5, and then delayed acting on requests from RCBCs head office to freeze the funds on Feb. 9.

Gomes said Bangladesh Bank would also sue Philrem Service Corp, a remittance company that anti-money laundering investigators said was used to transfer some of the $81 million.

"They have the responsibility to return the money or face the consequences," he said.

A lawyer for Philrem, who speaks on behalf of the company, was not immediately available for comment.
Columbia: US President Barack Obama warned Russia faces fierce international rebuke if it continues to make common cause with Syria`s brutal regime, signaling a renewed push to end the bloody five-year civil war Thursday.

Obama said Russia risked casting itself as an "irresponsible actor" on the world stage, after meeting with top aides at the Pentagon.

Eying a looming humanitarian catastrophe in Aleppo -- the besieged northwestern city of 250,000 people that was once Syria`s commercial hub -- Obama said it was "time for Russia to show that it is serious" about bringing peace.

For five years Russian President Vladimir Putin has steadfastly supported the regime of Bashar al-Assad, offering international cover, military aid and in the last year carrying out its own strikes in anti-Assad areas.

Without material Russian and Iranian support it is doubtful Assad could have held on to power.

Putin has shown little sign of ending that support through multiple rounds of international talks.

"I`m not confident that we can trust the Russians or Vladimir Putin," Obama said. "Which is why we have to test whether or not we can get an actual cessation of hostilities."

The United States hopes renewing a failed ceasefire would prevent a bloodbath in Aleppo, allow humanitarian aid missions to resume and open the door for negotiations that would end the civil war and turn the focus to defeating the Islamic State.

The White House is betting that Putin`s preoccupation with Russia`s position on the world stage could lead to a rethink before he travels to the G20 in China and UN General Assembly in New York next month.

Putin`s decision to annex Ukraine`s Crimea and support separatist forces in the east of that country have led to international sanctions and to Russia being expelled from the G8, much to the Russian leader`s chagrin.

If the renewed ceasefire does not stick, Obama said "Russia will have shown itself very clearly to be an irresponsible actor on the world stage that is supporting a murderous regime, and will have to answer to that on the international stage."

"Russia may not be able to get there, either because they don`t want to, or because they don`t have sufficient influence over Assad. And, that`s what we`re going to test," Obama said.

As reports surfaced of a Russian raid killing two Syrian children and wounding dozens at a refugee camp near Aleppo, Obama said "Russia`s direct involvement in these actions over the last several weeks raises very serious questions about their commitment."But it is not just Russia`s reputation that is on the line in Syria.

By using chemical weapons, Assad crossed what Obama had said would be a "red line" -- only for the United States to never follow through on any attack.

Russian bombing of US trained groups in Syria has also dramatically undermined Washington`s moral and military standing.

Critics accuse the Obama administration of failing to stand up for its allies and failing in its duty to protect innocent civilians from withering bombings.

As the country has fallen apart the Islamic State, Al-Qaeda affiliated groups and other assorted jihadists have flourished and a refugee crisis has destabilized the region and Europe.

Obama`s political foes have accused his policies of leading to the growth of the Islamic State into a group that now carries out attacks in the United States and Europe with regularity.

Obama, who came to office promising to end the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, has hit the Islamic State with airstrikes and commando raids, but has steadfastly refused to bomb Assad or start another ground war in the Middle East.

On Thursday he admitted that Syria had been one of the most testing issues of his presidency, which will end in January.

"I`ve been wrestling with this thing now for a lot of years," he said. "I am pretty confident that a big chunk of my gray hair comes out of my Syria meetings."

"There is not a meeting that I do not end by saying is there something else that we could be doing that we haven`t thought of? Is there a plan `F,` `G,` `H,` that we think would lead to a resolution of this issue."After meeting with advisors at the Pentagon, Obama said the Islamic State group would "inevitably" be crushed and said the US-led coalition would continue to aggressively target the jihadists "across every front."

But "the decline of ISIL in Syria and Iraq appears to be causing it to shift to tactics that we`ve seen before -- an even greater emphasis on encouraging high-profile terrorist attacks, including in the United States," Obama warned, using an acronym for the Islamic State group.

The jihadists swept across vast parts of northern Syria and Iraq in 2014, leaving a trail of human butchery and horrific destruction in their wake.

Since then, the coalition has conducted daily plane and drone strikes -- more than 14,000 so far -- and worked with local forces on the ground to gradually reclaim the seized territory.

Despite the massive effort, the jihadists still hold Mosul -- Iraq`s second-largest city -- and the Syrian city of Raqa.

Earlier this week Obama announced a new front in the war, ordering airstrikes against Islamic State jihadists` positions in Sirte, Libya.
Washington: US Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump is reported to have asked why the United States can't use nuclear weapons!

He posed the question before a foreign policy expert who has been advising him.

The revelation was made by MSNBC's Joe Scarborough Wednesday on his "Morning Joe" program.

The TV host based his claim on an unnamed source who said he had spoken with Trump.

"Several months ago, a foreign policy expert on the international level went to advise Donald Trump. And three times (Trump) asked about the use of nuclear weapons. Three times he asked at one point if we had them why can't we use them," Scarborough said on the show.

Scarborough made the revelation while interviewing former Director of Central Intelligence and ex-National Security Agency Director Michael Hayden.

The Trump campaign has rejected the claims.

Outgoing President Barack Obama has already described Trump as "unfit to serve as President".

Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton, too has said that Trump can't be trusted with nukes.

"A man you can bait with a tweet is not a man we can trust with nuclear weapons," she has said.
Columbia: Republican presidential hopeful Donald Trump launched new attacks on immigrants Thursday, telling supporters that Somalis and other refugees from "terrorist nations" should be barred entry to the United States.

"We are letting people come in from terrorist nations that shouldn`t be allowed because you can`t vet them," Trump, who has built his campaign around an anti-immigration platform, said at a rally in Portland, Maine.

"You have no idea who they are. This could be the great Trojan horse of all time," he said, reprising a warning that terrorists including members of the Islamic State extremist group will sneak into the United States as refugees.

"This is a practice that has to stop."

He pointed to the Somali immigrant population as an example of the "thousands" of refugees who have flooded into Maine and other US states and caused problems.

Trump said efforts to resettle Somali refugees -- many of them in Minnesota -- were "having the unintended consequence of creating an enclave of immigrants with high unemployment that is both stressing the state`s... safety net and creating a rich pool of potential recruiting targets for Islamist terror groups."

He then listed several immigrants, mostly from Muslim majority countries -- Afghanistan, Iraq, Morocco, Pakistan, the Philippines, Somalia, Syria, Uzbekistan and Yemen -- who were arrested for conducting or threatening to carry out violent attacks, teaching bomb-making to recruits, and otherwise supporting terror groups.

"We`re dealing with animals," he seethed.

Trump caused an uproar last December when he called for a temporary ban on all Muslims entering the United States, and he has harangued his Democratic rival Hillary Clinton for seeking to allow many times more refugees into the country than President Barack Obama has.

"Hillary Clinton wants to have them come in by the hundreds of thousands," Trump warned Thursday, to a chorus of boos.

"You`re going to have problems like you`ve never seen."
Paris: The iconic Eiffel Tower in Paris has been evacuated, according to reports on social media. Visitors have been posting pictures online of police cordoning off the entrance area.

Witnesses say that police and military forces are "all over" the place. However, no panic was reported and the cause of the evacuation remains unknown.
Columbia: Donald Trump suffered more blows to his presidential campaign Friday when a CIA ex-director accused him of being an "unwitting agent" of Russia`s Vladimir Putin, and the billionaire acknowledged erring about seeing cash transferred to Iran.

Trump`s drive for the White House showed no signs of stopping the hemorrhaging after a brutal week of setbacks, with a new poll showing him vulnerable in November`s election in Georgia, a traditional Republican stronghold.

Despite the stumbles, including Trump`s refusal to back down in a confrontation with the parents of a Muslim American soldier killed in action in Iraq, his campaign chairman Paul Manafort told Fox News it has been "an improving week."

But the latest setback came in the form of harsh criticism by Michael Morell, a 33-year veteran of the Central Intelligence Agency who served presidents of both parties and then helmed the agency in 2011.

"On Nov. 8, I will vote for Hillary Clinton," he wrote in a New York Times column, adding that Trump "may well pose a threat to our national security."

Morell said that as Russia`s president, "Putin played upon Mr. Trump`s vulnerabilities by complimenting him. He responded just as Mr. Putin had calculated."

Trump has praised Putin as a great leader, and taken policy positions "consistent with Russian, not American, interests" including endorsing Russian espionage against US figures like Clinton and greenlighting a possible Russian invasion of Baltic states, Morell said.

"In the intelligence business, we would say that Mr. Putin had recruited Mr. Trump as an unwitting agent of the Russian Federation," he added.

Trump has also admitted he wrongly claimed to have seen secret Iranian footage of $400 million in hard currency being delivered to Tehran as payment for the release of US prisoners.

Trump raised eyebrows this week when he made that assertion and gave many details of what he said he saw in the film.

"Remember this: Iran -- I don`t think you heard this anywhere but here -- Iran provided all of that footage, the tape of taking that money off the airplane," Trump said Wednesday at a rally in Florida. "Right?"

Early Friday, Trump made a rare backtrack.

"The plane I saw on television was the hostage plane in Geneva, Switzerland, not the plane carrying $400 million in cash going to Iran!" Trump tweeted.

Trump`s campaign has insisted that the money was "a payment for hostages" held in Iran who were released in January.

The White House says it was returning cash from an unfulfilled 1970s Iranian military order.

"We do not pay ransom for hostages," President Barack Obama told reporters Thursday.Trump may try to help right the ship with a campaign appearance later Friday in Wisconsin, the home state of House Speaker Paul Ryan, whom the brash real estate mogul this week refused to endorse for his congressional re-election bid.

Ryan warned on Thursday that Trump has had a "strange run" since formally earning the nomination last month, and that it was "distressing" that the campaign was sidetracked instead of going after his Democratic rival Clinton.

Manafort insisted the party was "united" despite evidence to the contrary.

"Do we agree on everything? No," he acknowledged.

"Mr. Trump is an outsider" and not a traditional politician, Manafort added. "So his relationships with the leadership of the party are not as deep and long as traditionally it would be with the Republican nominee."As the nation`s presidential contenders, Trump and Clinton will soon begin receiving intelligence briefings from US officials, and Obama warned the impulsive Republican to keep classified information under wraps.

"They have been told these are classified briefings and if they want to be president, they`ve got to start acting like president," Obama said.

"And that means being able to, you know, receive these briefings and not spread them around."

Polls show Clinton opening up substantial leads over Trump following last week`s Democratic National Convention.

A McClatchy-Marist poll released Thursday showed Clinton surging to a 15-point advantage, 48 percent to 33 percent, a dramatic increase over her three-point lead last month.

In Georgia, which has voted Republican in every presidential election since 1996, Clinton leads by four points, according to an Atlanta Journal Constitution poll Friday.
London: The Egyptian army has announced that it has killed a key ISIS-allied leader along with 45 other militants in a military operation in the country`s Sinai Peninsula.

The army in a statement said that head of the Ansar Bait al-Maqdis movement, identified as Abu Duaa al-Ansari, and a number of his aides were killed in airstrikes targeting the ISIS affiliate`s strongholds. "They managed to destroy a number of weapon and ammunition stores, and their explosives..

In addition they killed more than 45 terrorist insurgents and injured dozens of members," CNN quoted the statement as saying.However, the army did not explain how it confirmed the death or provide any more details about Ansari.

Ansari`s name has not been reported elsewhere in relation to Ansar Bait al-Maqdis. Reports suggest that the group has adopted a different title after its alliance with ISIS in 2014.It is still unclear whether the Egyptian army has characterised the jihadist group under its original name.

Ansar Beit el-Maqdes had pledged allegiance to IS in 2014.The group claimed responsibility for downing the Russian airliner carrying people from an Egyptian resort last year that killed all 224 people on board.
Jerusalem: Israel on Friday strongly rejected an assertion by US President Barack Obama that Israel recognizes the efficiency of the Iran deal, comparing it to the 1938 agreement with Hitler.

Obama told a press conference at the Pentagon on Thursday that senior Israeli officials now support the nuclear deal.

"The Israeli defence establishment believes that agreements have value only if they are based on reality. They have no value if the facts on the ground are opposite to the ones the deal is based on," said the statement.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has been a vocal opponent of the deal, which was signed on July 2015 between Iran and the world powers.

The newly-appointed Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman, the hawkish leader of the far-right "Yisrael Our Home" party, is also a fierce opponent of the deal.
Tokyo: Japan protested to China on Friday after Chinese coastguard ships and fishing vessels entered what Tokyo considers its territorial waters around a group of disputed islets, the Japanese Foreign Ministry said.

Beijing claims the uninhabited, Tokyo-controlled East China Sea islands, called the Senkaku in Japan and Diaoyu in China, and occasionally sends its coastguard vessels near them.

But this is the first time Chinese coastguard ships and fishing vessels have sailed together in the area, in what appeared to be increased assertion of jurisdiction over the islets, a Foreign Ministry official said.

Japanese Vice Foreign Minister Shinsuke Sugiyama summoned China`s ambassador to Japan, Cheng Yonghua, to lodge a strong protest, the ministry said.

China on Friday also accused Japan`s new defence minister, Tomomi Inada, of recklessly misrepresenting history after she declined to say whether Japanese troops massacred civilians in China during World War Two.

Ties between China and Japan, the world`s second- and third-largest economies, have been plagued by the territorial row, the legacy of Japans` wartime occupation of parts of China and regional rivalry.
London: A man has been charged with the murder of a US tourist after a knife attack in London earlier this week, police in the city said Friday.

Zakaria Bulham, 19, was charged with the murder of 64-year-old Darlene Horton plus five counts of attempted murder following the incident late Wednesday in Russell Square.
Florida: The official line from ground zero in America`s first homegrown Zika outbreak is this: relax, everything is under control.

But it`s hard not to be jittery when some restaurants put cans of bug repellent on the tables.

The epicenter of the nation`s first locally transmitted cases of Zika -- as opposed to cases stemming from travel to Zika-affected areas overseas -- is a one-square-mile part of a popular arts and restaurant district known as Wynwood. Fifteen cases have been reported.

Despite the upbeat tone from city officials, who note that the affected area has been fumigated thoroughly, some businesses are taking no chances.

Grace Della, founder of Miami Culinary Tours, has halted her food crawls for now out of concern for the safety of employees and visitors.

"Right now I count more than 90 people that rescheduled the tours. So you can imagine it for more businesses, that`s a big hit," said Della.

US health authorities issued a travel warning Monday for the affected part of Wynwood, urging pregnant women not to go there.

The virus is known to cause the birth defect microcephaly, in which babies are born with unusually small heads and brains.

That alert prompted Wynwood Yard, a cultural center that hosts concerts and outdoor activities and features restaurants, to shut down, too.

But other merchants, who work indoors with air conditioning, said the culinary tour firm and the cultural center are isolated cases.

"Those are different kinds of businesses, that operate outdoors," said Joaquin Cintron, manager of a hair salon called Razzle Dazzle.

"What is more, people are reacting positively," he added.

Cintron`s shop -- with tapestries, vintage sofas and a checkerboard tile floor -- is a postcard of Wynwood: a gentrifying neighborhood where hip millennials rub elbows with low-income people on rundown streets that boast art galleries.

So Wynwood is part of the city`s tourism route. But it is too early to say if the Zika outbreak will hurt the tourism industry.

Miami authorities are bending over backwards to keep panic and the Zika outbreak from spreading.

"As long as everybody takes the proper precautions, there is no need for any sort of panic that we will have an actual economic effect," said Ken Russell, a member of the Miami city council from a ward that includes part of the Zika-hit area.In fact, the news media can be the main source of damage, said Carolin Lusby, assistant professor at the School of Hospitality and Tourism Management at Florida International University.

She cited as examples the impact that Ebola and swine flu had on tourism.

"Negative hype does have a negative economic impact" but things eventually go back to normal, she told AFP.

"I definitely think the word is out and people are changing travel plans, due to the generalization effect that this could impact all of Florida or the southern US, too," Lusby said.

She noted, however, that the World Health Organization has not issued any restriction for Miami.

So local authorities insist that Florida is, as Governor Rick Scott said Monday, "safe and open for business."

The governor and Tom Frieden, chief of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) visited Wynwood on Thursday and met with residents and merchants.

"We understand it is a financial burden to this area ... but we have to do it," Frieden said of the travel warning, adding that no other Miami neighborhood was at risk.

Miami-Dade County fumigated the affected area of Wynwood on the ground and from the air. It hands out bug spray to visitors, and has a web page where people can report instances of standing water where Zika-carrying mosquitos like to breed.

"This state is known for very good mosquito control efforts," Scott said.

Hammering away at the message of business as usual, Miami Mayor Tomas Regalado said, "I think Wynwood now is the safest place in South Florida because they`ve fumigated."

Still, an AFP reporter experienced how the mosquitos are still biting pretty hard in Wynwood.
Paris: The militant attacks that have convulsed France in the past 18 months should not weaken France`s bid to host the 2024 Olympics, President Francois Hollande said.

He has warned previously of a long "war" against Islamist militants both at home and abroad, while Prime Minister Manuel Valls has said more attacks on French soil are inevitable.

Several summer festivals have been cancelled because they cannot meet security standards and on Friday police in Paris arrested an Afghan migrant suspected of plotting an attack on the capital, a police source said.

"Every candidate city faces the question of terrorism," Hollande said in Friday`s edition of Le Parisien.

"No country is immune."

Hollande arrived in Rio de Janeiro on Thursday to promote France`s bid on the eve of the opening ceremony for the 2016 games in the Brazilian city, just weeks after two deadly attacks by Islamic State loyalists in the cities of Nice and Rouen.

Hollande`s Conservative opponents have been stinging in their criticism of the president`s security track record, calling him soft on suspected militants. More than 200 people have been killed in attacks in France since January 2015.

"Indeed the threat is there, but our country is ready to face up to it. And who knows what the world will look like in 2024," Hollande said.

France has not hosted the summer Olympics since 1924 and narrowly missed out on holding the 2012 games to London.

Traffic police in northern Paris on Friday detained an Afghan migrant a day after security services circulated his photo on suspicion he may be preparing an attack.

The city of Lille said on Friday it was cancelling the annual Lille Braderie, or flea market, because of security risks. The market dates back to the 12th century and organisers claim it is one of the largest such events in Europe.

Special security has been arranged for more than 50 such events and summer festivals this year.
Washington: The Pentagon's decision to block USD 300 million military aid to Pakistan for its failure to take sufficient action against Haqqani network shows that Islamabad can no longer expect "blank checks" from the US, according to experts.

"The blank-cheques approach to soliciting Pakistan's support against terrorism no longer holds in Washington among both legislative and executive branches of government - a development primarily the result of repeated American requests for Pakistani action against the Haqqani Network which has been implicated in attacks against Americans in Afghanistan," Shamila Chaudhary, a former White House official and now a senior South Asia fellow, International Security Programme at New America, a think-tank, told PTI.

The Obama administration's decision to withhold a portion of the Coalition Support Funds from Pakistan shows just how much US-Pakistan ties have changed since the days following the 9/11 attacks, when the Bush administration initiated a counter-terrorism-based assistance relationship with relatively few strings attached, she said.

Chaudhary was responding to questions on the decision of the US Defence Secretary Ashton Carter to not to give the necessary certification to the Congress that Pakistan is taking appropriate action against the Haqqani network. In the absence of which the Pentagon has blocked USD 300 million in funds to Pakistan.

"Under these circumstances, the US-Pakistan relationship could become more straight forward about where its interest align and where they converge - a dynamic that would ultimately be more beneficial for long-term relations," she argued.

However, she noted that she does not think the CSF determination means the US-Pak relationship is headed towards a downward spiral.

"There is still a great deal of bilateral engagement between the two countries on a range of issues, and the US firmly believes Pakistan must play a role in conversations about a political resolution in Afghanistan - which means there are still some equities remaining in the relationship that must be considered and protected, even as the US ramps up the pressure on Pakistan," Chaudhary said.

"This step to hold Pakistan accountable for its failure to crack down on the Haqqani network was long overdue," Lisa Curtis, an eminent South Asia expert, from The Heritage Foundation, said.

"The move reflects that the US Congress has finally lost patience with Pakistan's facilitation of militants directly undermining the US mission in Afghanistan," she said.

"Fifteen years after 9/11, Pakistan stubbornly perpetuates its policy of harbouring the Taliban and Haqqani network. It's about time the US holds back some aid due to Pakistan's damaging policies," Curtis added.

"I see it as a natural progression over time reflecting American disenchantment over repeated Pakistani promises which are never fulfilled," said Aparna Pande, director, Initiative on the Future of India and South Asia at Hudson Institute, a Washington DC-based think-tank.

"For the last few decades Islamabad-Rawalpindi have always promised they will take action against terror groups and requested both for time as well as assistance (economic and military). In earlier years Washington was willing to give benefit of doubt but it appears that is changing," she said.

The Haqqani Network has carried out a number of kidnappings and attacks against US interests in Afghanistan, as well as Afghan government and civilian targets.

The group is also blamed for several deadly attacks against Indian interests in Afghanistan including the 2008 bombing of the Indian mission in Kabul that killed 58 people.
Santa Cruz de La Palma: A park ranger died while fighting a blaze in the Canary Islands allegedly sparked by a German man who set fire to toilet paper after defecating in the woods, authorities said.

Some 700 people yesterday were evacuated from areas near the blaze, which is sweeping through a wooded, mountainous area in La Palma, one of the lesser-known, unspoiled islands of the Spanish archipelago off the coast of Africa.

Emergency services said a further 1,800 were being moved from their homes yesterday night as the blaze showed no sign of abating.

"The fire has not come under control yet," Fernando Clavijo, regional president of the Canaries, told reporters.

"The situation may get more complicated throughout the night. It's not going to be easy."

The ranger, Francisco Jose Santana, died while working to put out the flames, said Spain's UGT union of which the 54-year-old was a member.

"He leaves a wife and five children," it added.

A spokesman for the Guardia Civil police force told AFP a 27-year-old German man was arrested Wednesday afternoon, suspected of having caused the fire.

The man, whose identity has not been revealed, "told officers he accidentally provoked the blaze when he defecated... And set fire to the toilet paper he used for that," the Guardia Civil added in a statement.

The man has been accused of causing a forest fire through negligence, and was expected to be questioned by a judge yesterday, it said.

Some 200 people are fighting the blaze, as are helicopters and planes, a spokeswoman for the Canary Islands' emergency services said.

Weather conditions are not making their task any easier, as high temperatures and strong winds fan the flames, she added.

Acting Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy sent his condolences to the park ranger's bereaved family.
Cairo: Gunmen opened fire at a former Egyptian mufti, Ali Gomaa, in Cairo on Friday, missing the pro-government cleric but wounding his bodyguard, security officials said.

Gomaa was on his way to a mosque in the capital to lead weekly prayers when two assailants on a motorbike opened fire, three police officials said.

A bodyguard was wounded in the shooting, they said.

Gomaa later told Egyptian state television of how he had taken shelter behind a mosque wall when the shooting started.

After the attack, he "conducted the Friday prayers as a message to these people", the cleric said in a telephone interview.

Gomaa was Egypt`s most senior Muslim cleric for a decade until 2013.

He strongly backed the army`s overthrow of Islamist president Mohamed Morsi that year and the subsequent deadly crackdown on his supporters.

Since stepping down as mufti -- the official interpreter of Islamic law -- Gomaa has remained one of the country`s top Islamic scholars.

He is for his moderate views on religion but reviled by the Islamist opposition for his support of the crackdown against them that has killed hundreds of protesters.
Portland: Donald Trump's characterization of Somalis as dangerous and a drag on resources could undo years of work that they have done to establish themselves in the country's whitest state, Somali residents said.

Trump told a packed audience in Portland on Thursday that Maine is a "major destination" for Somali refugees and that they're coming from some of the "most dangerous" places. All told, about 10,000 Somalis lives in Portland and Lewiston, Maine's largest cities.

The Somali Community Center of Maine said the Republican presidential candidate's remarks were a setback for immigrants who have worked hard to become part of the state's fabric over the past two decades.

"It is damaging to the psyche of our youth to hear a major party presidential nominee insult our culture and religion, especially while standing next to the governor of our state," the community center said in a statement.

"We condemn his name calling, scapegoating and the lies perpetrated by his campaign."

Republican Gov Paul LePage, who supports Trump and has sparred with immigrant groups in the past, introduced Trump at Thursday's events. His office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Somalis began coming to Maine in the 1990s as part of a refugee resettlement effort in Portland. A housing shortage caused some to look to Lewiston, a former mill town 35 miles to the north, where apartments were cheaper and easier to come by.

Integration was not without challenges. Laurier Raymond, then Lewiston's mayor, told Somalis to stop relocating to the city in 2002 because of what he called a strain on social services.

A few years later, someone rolled a frozen pig's head into a mosque, drawing widespread condemnation from the community and eventually criminal charges.

These days, Somalis and immigrants from other African communities attend public schools and run local businesses. Portland school Superintendent Xavier Botana called the district's Somali students "a shining example" of the strength of diversity.

It's common in both cities to see hijab-clad mothers shepherding children around playgrounds, something no one would have fathomed decades ago in the state that still has the lowest percentage of non-whites in the US.

Other Somali communities have grown in places such as Minnesota and Columbus, Ohio.

Young men in Minnesota's Somali community have been targeted by terror recruiters in recent years, and three Somali men who were accused of plotting to go to Syria to join the Islamic State group were convicted in June of conspiracy.
Nicosia: Turning a town square into a sea of red and white Turkish flags, several thousand demonstrators rallied in the Turkish Cypriot half of ethnically divided Cyprus' capital Nicosia to denounce the July 15 failed coup in Turkey and show support for President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

Demonstrators, including many mainland Turks who live in the island's breakaway north, chanted pro-democracy slogans along with Erdogan's name in an outburst of national fervor in Sarayonu Square yesterday.

An eight-meter (26-foot) banner emblazoned with the image of modern Turkey's founder Mustafa Kemal Ataturk was flanked by the flags of Turkey and the breakaway Turkish Cypriot state. Images of Ataturk in military uniform and civilian clothes were also projected onto a massive screen behind a stage where speakers addressed the crowd.

A rendition of a 17th-century Ottoman battle hymn blared while many in the crowd held aloft placards reading, "no to the coup, yes to democracy" and shouted "long live democracy."

"We're very happy to have Turkey always supporting us and being by our side, so we're here to show Turkey we're standing by its side and that it's not alone," Turkish Cypriot demonstrator Muzaffer Karabetca told The Associated Press.

A Turkish invasion in 1974 in the wake of a coup aiming at union with Greece split the island along ethnic lines. Only Turkey recognizes a Turkish Cypriot declaration of independence and gives tens of millions of euros in financial support to the north each year while maintaining more than 40,000 troops there.

Turkey's Deputy Prime Minister Tugrul Turkes praised demonstrators for turning out, adding that he hoped to see Greek Cypriots from the island's internationally recognized south to join the rally and show their support.

Cypriot President Nicos Anastasiades, a Greek Cypriot, and Turkish Cypriot leader Mustafa Akinci, who didn't attend the rally, are now engaged in talks aiming to reunify the island as a federation.

Sunat Atun, the Turkish Cypriot energy minister, said the rally sends the message that Turkish Cypriots are "hand in hand with motherland Turkey."

"The Turkish nation and the Turkish Cypriots stand as one," he told The Associated Press. "This also shows full support for the leadership of Recep Tayyip Erdogan, one of the most effective leaders in the world."

Erdi Safar, a 27-year-old mainland Turk, said Erdogan is a strong leader that won't allow Turkey to be plunged into chaos like what has happened in other countries.

The rally was organized by the "Support Democracy Platform," an umbrella group of many associations and right-wing political parties. One left-wing Turkish Cypriot party said it wouldn't participate in what it called a rally supporting "Erdogan's dictatorship."
Istanbul: Turkey`s ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) has ordered the party to be "cleaned" of supporters of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan`s arch foe US-based Islamic preacher Fethullah Gulen, state media reported on Friday.

In a circular signed by the party`s deputy leader Hayati Yazici, he ordered an "urgent clean-up in the party organisation" to eliminate those linked with the Fethullah Terrorist Organisation -- a name Ankara gives for the movement blamed for the July 15 failed putsch, Anadolu news agency reported.

The party decree also said the operation should take place "without giving any room for trouble or gossip within the party."

A party official, contacted by AFP, was not immediately available to confirm the decree.

Turkey has accused Gulen of running a "parallel state" and staging the coup attempt through its supporters in the army -- which the reclusive cleric vehemently denies.

Turkish authorities have implemented a relentless crackdown in the wake of the coup.

Over 60,000 people within military, judiciary, civil service and education have been dismissed, detained or are currently under investigation for suspected links to the Gulen movement.

The crackdown that has also targeted journalists accused of links to Gulen has set off alarm bells in the international arena.

Twelve out of 14 journalist suspects from the Zaman daily were remanded in custody, Anadolu reported on Friday, less than a week after six others were arrested.

Mumtazer Turkone, former columnist of the newspaper, was one of the journalists arrested by an Istanbul court, it added.

Turkone was remanded in custody on charges of "serving FETO`s purposes", nine other suspects on charges of "membership in an armed organisation" and the remaining two on charges of "aiding the organisation despite not being a member of it," Anadolu added.

Turkey issued arrest warrants last month for 47 former staff of the Zaman newspaper suspected of links to Gulenists in the aftermath of the coup.

In March, Zaman and its sister English-language newspaper Today`s Zaman were taken over by state-appointed administrators and it has since taken a strongly pro-government line.

Turkey on Thursday issued an arrest warrant for Gulen on charges of ordering the coup attempt.

But the Turkish cleric, who has been in self-imposed exile in the US since 1999, has denounced the arrest warrant as meaningless, saying that it was typical of a justice system which was not independent.
Ankara: Turkey`s top diplomat escalated on Friday a war of words with Austria, calling it the "capital of radical racism" after Vienna urged an end to Ankara`s EU membership talks.

"Racism is an enemy of human rights and humanitarian values and the Austrian chancellor should first look at his own country," Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu told TGRT news channel.

"Austria is the capital of radical racism," he said.

Cavusoglu was reacting to comments made by Austrian Chancellor Christian Kern who said Turkey was unfit to join the European Union in the aftermath of the July 15 attempted coup by a rogue faction within the military.

"We have to face reality: the membership negotiations are currently no more than fiction," Kern told the Die Presse newspaper in comments published on Thursday.

Cavusoglu blasted Kern`s "ugly" comments.

Turkey has already faced much criticism and delay in its bid to join the EU which could face further issues after President Recep Tayyip Erdogan`s suggestion last month that he may reintroduce the death penalty following the failed putsch.

Cavusoglu said he rejected all of Kern`s criticisms of Turkey, which included the statement that Ankara`s democratic standards were "far from sufficient to justify its accession".

Reacting on Twitter soon after Cavusoglu made those comments, Austrian Foreign Minister Sebastian Kurz urged his counterpart to "exercise restraint".

"I urge the foreign minister to exercise restraint and sharply reject his criticism. Turkey needs to moderate its choice of words and actions," he said in German.

On Thursday, European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker rejected Vienna`s call to end talks over Turkish accession, saying it would be a "serious foreign policy mistake".

"I don`t think it would be helpful if we were to unilaterally end negotiations with Turkey," Juncker told German public broadcaster ARD.

Turkey`s EU membership bid dates back to 1963, with its formal application made in 1987 and negotiations starting in 2005.
Istanbul: Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that US State Secretary John Kerry intends to visit this month, in what would be the first trip by a top Western dignitary since a failed putsch.

Kerry's visit, if confirmed, comes at a time of heightened tensions between Washington and Ankara in the wake of the attempted military takeover on July 15.

Turkey has been furiously demanding the extradition of Pennsylvania-based Islamic preacher Fethullah Gulen, whom it accuses of masterminding the coup.

The government has launched a crackdown in its wake that has seen over 60,000 people within the military, judiciary, civil service and education sector dismissed, detained or put under investigation.

"I think their secretary of state is coming on the 21th (August)," Erdogan said yesterday in a live interview with state-run TRT television.

Within the next two weeks, a delegation led by Turkey's foreign and justice ministers would also travel to the US to explain Gulen's alleged involvement in the coup bid, he added.

US State Department spokesman Mark Toner declined to comment.

An Istanbul court yesterday issued an arrest warrant for Gulen, accusing him of ordering the coup aimed at ousting Erdogan.

Ankara has frequently called on the United States to extradite the Muslim cleric, sending two sets of documents to Washington as evidence of his involvement in the putsch attempt.

Gulen strongly denies masterminding the coup and the movement he leads insists it is a charitable network promoting tolerant Islam.

Kerry said on July 18 that Turkey must present "genuine evidence" and "not allegations" against Erdogan's former ally for his extradition.

The crisis in Turkey has erupted at a time when the Ankara-Washington relationship is as important as ever, with the United States needing Turkish help in the battle against Islamic State militants in Syria.

US fighter jets have been using Turkey's southern base of Incirlik as a crucial launch point for lethal raids against IS targets in neighbouring Syria.
Cardiff: Britain's embattled Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn was accused of failing to provide a credible opposition to the government as he clashed with the man hoping to unseat him in the first debate of a bitter contest.

Owen Smith, a former member of Corbyn's top team, accused the veteran socialist yesterday of "sloganising" rather than holding the Conservatives to account, and of failing to campaign hard enough to prevent a vote to leave the European Union.

Corbyn hit back by accusing Smith and other Labour MPs who have rebelled against him in recent months of undermining their efforts to win the next election, telling his rival: "You walked away."

Labour has been plunged into disarray since the Brexit vote on June 23, when lawmakers dissatisfied at Corbyn's leadership seized upon the turmoil that followed to demand that he step down.

The 67-year-old refused, noting he was elected only last September on the back of strong grassroots and trade union support -- prompting his critics to back the relatively unknown Smith as an alternative.

Corbyn has the support of many Labour members, and since February 2015 party membership has surged from 200,000 to 540,000.

"People see in Corbyn a new form of politics, where people care for the poor and downtrodden," said Philip John Rosser, a 61-year-old former lecturer attending the hustings in Cardiff in Wales.

But Smith has strong support among Labour MPs, who argue that Corbyn, a long-time anti-war and anti-nuclear campaigner, cannot beat Prime Minister Theresa May's centre-right Conservatives.

In the debate, 46-year-old Smith repeatedly cited the latest opinion poll putting the Conservatives 14 points ahead, and another that found 29 percent of Labour voters would prefer May to Corbyn as premier.

For some party members, his message is getting through.

"I'd rather see Jeremy Corbyn but there's no point having him if he's not going to win," said Chris Jones, a 28-year-old civil engineer.

The battle for control of the party has exposed long-standing fault lines over Labour's core values, and led to fears that it could split, with Smith warning this week that it was "teetering on the brink of a precipice".

Local party meetings have been suspended during the contest due to allegations of intimidation levelled against Corbyn's supporters.
United Nations: Expressing concern over the critical health condition of a prominent Chinese activist who has been on a hunger strike in a prison to protest against censorship of a newspaper in China, a group of UN human rights experts have asked the country to urgently provide him with medical care.

Prominent Chinese human rights defender Yang Maodong, known by his pen-name 'Guo Feixiong', was arrested in August 2013 for taking part in a public protest against official censorship of a Guangzhou newspaper, and has been sentenced to six years in prison on charges of "gathering crowds to disturb public order" and "picking quarrels and provoking trouble".

"We are concerned about repeated incidents of degrading and humiliating treatment suffered by Guo in detention, both at the hands of other inmates and prison guards at Yangchun Prison in Guangdong province," an independent group of experts appointed by the UN have said.

Guo has been on a hunger strike for almost three months, demanding to be transferred to another prison where he would be free from ill-treatment.

The experts said that his public profile as a human rights defender seems to have been the cause and aggravating factor for the denial of appropriate medical care and ill-treatment, which included sleep deprivation, harassment, and humiliating medical procedure filmed by prison officials for public release.

"Guo's six-year imprisonment is connected to his peaceful and legitimate human rights activities," the experts said.

"His only wrong-doing was to have exercised his rights to peaceful assembly and expression concerning censorship in China" they said.

The experts reiterated that the criminalisation of legitimate human rights activities and the exercise of the rights to freedom of expression and of peaceful assembly that has formed the legal basis for the arrest, conviction and detention of Guo, is incompatible with China's obligations under international human rights law.

They recalled that in 2015, the UN Committee against Torture recommended the Government of China, "to refrain from prosecuting human rights defenders, lawyers, petitioners and others for their legitimate activities for broadly defined offences".

The experts asked Chinese authorities to release Guo and recognize the important contribution of human rights defenders in upholding constitutional values in China.

The experts are UN Special Rapporteurs, Michel Forst, on the situation of human rights defenders; Maina Kiai, on the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and of association; David Kaye, on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression; Juan E Mendez, on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment; Dainius Puras, on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health; and Setondji R Adjovi, current Chair of the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention.
United Nations: UN peacekeepers abandoned their posts and questioned an order to use force to repel heavily armed soldiers who stormed their base in South Sudan six months ago, according to the findings of a UN board of inquiry released.

The board set up by UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon found that the mission "failed to manage the crisis effectively" when its base in the northeastern town of Malakal came under attack on February 17 and 18.

About 30 people sheltering in the Malakal base were killed in the violence and 123 injured.

The board said there was a "combination of causes" that led to the violence, including tensions between Shilluk, Dinka and Nuer ethnic groups who make up the 48,000 people living at the Malakal camp.

It concluded that it was "highly likely" that government forces planned the attack or at the very least supported local militia "to facilitate the ethnic reconfiguration of Malakal."

The violence erupted just hours after UN peacekeepers had confiscated weapons from two men trying to break into the UN base. During questioning, the men identified themselves as government soldiers.

After clashes erupted, targeting the Dinka sector, South Sudan soldiers stormed an entrance to the base.

Some 30 minutes later, peacekeepers on guard duty found themselves "unable to stop the intruders" and "abandoned their positions," the board said in a summary of its report released to the press.

A UN commander ordered troops to "engage the SPLA troops by firing back on them and (said) that under no condition should SPLA soldiers" enter the main base.

The SPLA is the Sudan People's Liberation Army, originally part of a guerrilla movement but now the country's regular army.

"Some troop commanders hesitated about the use of lethal force and sought written authorization for it," the report added.

The order was reissued by the mission's headquarters in Juba, and about two hours later the peacekeepers began an operation to push the gunmen out of the base.

The board also found that the peacekeepers failed to quickly repair a breach in a fence that could have been used to smuggle weapons into the camp.

"This combination of inaction, abandonment of post and refusal to engage made the situation harder to contain and contributed to the negative effects of the incident," the inquiry found.

Malakal is one of eight UN bases providing a haven since the war in South Sudan began in late 2013. The bases, sheltering around 200,000 people, are protected by razor wire and no weapons are allowed in them.
District of Columbia: US-based preacher Fethullah Gulen has condemned Turkey`s judicial system after a court issued an arrest warrant that accuses him of ordering last month`s bid to topple President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

"It is well-documented that the Turkish court system is without judicial independence, so this warrant is yet another example of President Erdogan`s drive for authoritarianism and away from democracy," he said in a statement late on Thursday.

The arrest warrant, issued earlier in the day, accuses Gulen of "ordering the July 15 coup," the Anadolu news agency reported.

Gulen strongly denies any involvement in the attempted putsch and the movement he leads insists it is a charitable network promoting tolerant Islam.

"The issuance of an arrest warrant from a Turkish court changes nothing about my status or my views," Gulen said.

"I have repeatedly condemned the coup attempt in Turkey and denied any knowledge or involvement."
Florida: A type of genetically modified mosquito made by the British company Oxitec should pose no danger to the environment, US regulators said on Friday after considering thousands of public comments.

The US Food and Drug Administration`s environmental review for the release of Oxitec`s genetically engineered (GE) mosquitoes, known as OX513A, found "the proposed field trial will not have significant impacts on the environment."

The male mosquitoes are engineered so that their offspring will die before they reach adulthood, an approach Oxitec says can reduce the populations of Aedes aegypti mosquitoes that can spread human viral diseases, including Zika, dengue, yellow fever and chikungunya.

The FDA decision does not, however, mean the mosquitoes are immediately approved for commercial use, said a statement from the federal agency.

"Oxitec is responsible for ensuring all other local, state and federal requirements are met before conducting the proposed field trial," said the FDA.

The Florida Keys Mosquito Control District will also weigh in on whether and when to begin the proposed field trial in Key Haven, Florida.

The program would release male Oxitec mosquitoes to mate with wild female Aedes aegypti.

Only female mosquitoes bite and spread disease.

Any offspring they produce would soon die, reducing the size of the mosquito population. "Efficacy trials in Brazil, Panama, and the Cayman Islands have tested this approach, and in each of these trials the population of Aedes aegypti was reduced by more than 90 percent -- an exceptional level of control compared to conventional methods, such as insecticides," said an Oxitec statement.

The prospect of releasing the mosquitoes in the Florida Keys has stirred strong opposition among many residents, and a petition against them on change.org has garnered more than 168,000 signatures.

The FDA said it had reviewed thousands of comments from the public since issuing a draft environmental assessment in March.

"We`re delighted with the announcement today that the FDA, after their extensive review of our dossier and thousands of public comments for a trial in the Florida Keys, have published their final view that this will not have a significant impact on the environment," said Oxitec`s chief executive officer Hadyn Parry.

"We are convinced that our solution is both highly effective and has sound environmental credentials," Parry added.

"We are now looking forward to working with the community in the Florida Keys moving forward."

Supporters of the modified mosquitoes say they could be a key asset in the fight against Zika, since the mosquitoes that carry the virus can breed in tiny amounts of water, and can be difficult to kill with pesticides.

The United States is now among some 50 countries and territories of the world, most of them in Latin America and the Caribbean, where Zika virus is active.

Florida has announced 16 locally transmitted cases of the Zika virus since July, with all those cases linked to one neighborhood in Miami.

If a pregnant woman is infected with Zika, she faces a higher risk of bearing a child with the permanent skull and brain defect known as microcephaly.
Washington: Trump campaign has alleged that the US government is engaged in a "cover-up" of its Iranian cash deal, notwithstanding the rebuttal by Obama administration of paying any ransom to Iran for the release of American prisoners.

"The Obama Administration is now engaged in a cover-up of their fly-by-night untraceable cash airlift to Iran, the world's leading state sponsor of terrorism," Stephen Miller, senior policy advisor from the Trump Campaign alleged.

"President Obama's refusal to acknowledge that these funds will end up being used to subsidise terror is shameful - and Hillary Clinton's support for the President's actions are a national disgrace," he said.

The statement by Trump's campaign came after US President Barack Obama refuted allegation of paying any ransom amount to the Iranians.

"The reason that we had to give them cash is precisely because we are so strict in maintaining sanctions, and we do not have a banking relationship with Iran, that we couldn't send them a check, and we could not wire the money," Obama told reporters at a Pentagon news conference.

Obama was responding to questions on a Wall Street Journal report that the US transferred a plane load of hard cash amounting to USD 400 million to Tehran at the same time when Iran released four American prisoners.

The Trump campaign did not appear to be convinced by Obama's statement.

"The Obama-Clinton foreign policy gave rise to ISIS, made Iran flush with cash, and is now admitting vast numbers of refugees and migrants into the US from some of the most volatile regions in the world - including more than 100,000 migrants annually from the Middle East, plus they're now on track to hit their target of 10,000 Syrian refugees this year through dangerously expediting their admission (which Hillary Clinton wants to increase by 550 per cent)," Miller said.

"But none of this is surprising from an Administration that allowed its Secretary of State to threaten the country with a private email server, delete her records, and lie about it to us all," he said.

The House Speaker Paul Ryan yesterday alleged that the Obama administration secretly paid a ransom of USD 400 million to the world's foremost state sponsor of terror.

"President Obama pushed through his dangerous Iran deal despite overwhelming opposition from the American people. He promised to hold them accountable. He hasn't. Iran is stronger than ever - and there is nothing to prevent its regime from using this cash infusion to strengthen its nuclear program or fund terrorist organisations like Hamas and Hezbollah," he said.

"Thanks to President Obama, the US and every other free nation is threatened by this rogue, aspiring nuclear power. This is unconscionable. It's time to hold Iran accountable. It's time to hold this administration accountable," Ryan said.
Columbia: The US Navy is ditching its much-maligned blue-and-gray camouflage uniform that sailors complained was uncomfortable and joked made them harder to spot if they fell into the ocean.

Enlisted sailors and naval officers alike invariably grumble that the "aquaflage" clothing makes them feel self-conscious, and some worry the colorful camo fatigues -- which are not flame retardant -- put them at greater risk of burn injuries.

Navy Secretary Ray Mabus this week said the so-called Type I uniforms -- also known as "blueberries" -- were to be phased out over the next three years.

"One of the issues (sailors) consistently want to talk about are uniforms," Mabus said in a statement.

"They want uniforms that are comfortable, lightweight, breathable... and they want fewer of them. We have heard the feedback and we are acting on it."

Sailors will instead wear a more muted "Type III" uniform, featuring a conventional green-and-black camouflage.

US lawmakers have criticized the proliferation of camouflaged uniforms in recent years.

Before 2001, American troops all wore the same camo, a green version for temperate climates and a beige model for the desert.

But as military spending mushroomed after the September 11 attacks, the US Marine Corps, Army, Navy and Air Force crafted their own combat uniforms for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Washington: US President Barack Obama has said the USD 400 million given to Iran was not a ransom for the release of four American prisoners, saying the whole amount was given in cash as they do not have a banking relationship with the country.

"The reason that we had to give them cash is precisely because we are so strict in maintaining sanctions and we do not have a banking relationship with Iran, we couldn't send them a check and we could not wire the money," Obama told reporters at a Pentagon news conference yesterday.

Responding to questions about a report of 'The Wall Street Journal' that said the US transferred a plane loaded with hard cash amounting to USD 400 million to Tehran coinciding with the release of four American prisoners by Iran in January, Obama questioned the justification of writing such a story.

"It is not at all clear to me why it is that cash, as opposed to a check or a wire transfer has made this into a new story. Maybe because it kind of feels like some kind of spy novel or you know crime novel because cash was exchanged," he said.

After the story was first reported by The Wall Street Journal early this week, the White House is having a tough time in defending the decision as the opposition Republican party and the Trump campaign has made it an election issue and alleging that it was a ransom paid to the Iranians.

"This wasn't some nefarious deal. And at the time, we explained that Iran had pressed a claim before an international tribunal about them recovering money of theirs that we had frozen," Obama said.

"That as a consequence of working its way through the international tribunal, it was the assessment of our lawyers, that we were now at a point where there was significant litigation risk and we could end up costing ourselves billions of dollars."

"It was their advice and suggestions that we settle. That's what these payments represent," he added.

"It was not a secret. We were completely open with everybody about it. And it is interesting to me how suddenly this became a story again," the US president as he strongly refuted allegations that US aid any ransom.

"We do not pay ransom for hostages. We've got a number of Americans being held all around the world, and I meet with their families, and it is heartbreaking. We have stood up an entire section of interagency experts who devote all of their time to working with these families to get these Americans out, but those families know that we have a policy that we don't pay ransom," Obama said.

"The notion that we would somehow start now in this high profile way, and announce it to the world even as we are looking into the faces of other hostage families, families whose loved ones are being held hostage and say to them that, we don't pay ransom, defies logic," he said.

Obama said if the US did pay any ransom it would start encouraging any Americans to be targeted, much in the way that some countries that do pay ransom end up having a lot more of their citizens being taken by various groups.

He said the cash was paid so that Iran would ship a "whole bunch of nuclear material out" and close down facilities to make sure it does not have breakout nuclear capacity.
* PermaKat Eleonora Rosati received the 2022 Adepi Award

* PermaKat Eleonora Rosati listed as one of the World Intellectual Property Review's "Influential Women in IP" of 2020.

* PermaKat Eleonora Rosati listed as one of the Managing Intellectual Property magazine's "Fifty Most Influential People" of 2018.

* IPKat founder and Blogmeister Emeritus Jeremy Phillips listed as one of the Managing Intellectual Property magazine's "Fifty Most Influential People" of 2005, 2011, 2013, and 2014.

* Recommended by the European Patent Office as reading material for candidates for the European Qualifying Examinations, 2013.

* Listed as "Top Legal Blog" in The Times Online, March 2011.

2010 ABA Journal 100. * One of the only two non-US blogs listed in the Blawg100.

* Court Reporter Top Copyright Blog award winner, November 2010.

* Number 1 in the 2010 Top Copyright Blog list compiled by the Copyright Litigation Blog, July 2010.

* Selected by the United States Library of Congress for inclusion in its historic collections of Internet materials related to Legal Blawgs as of 2010.

* Top Patent Blog poll 2009: 3rd out of 50 in the "Favourite Patent Blog" poll and 2nd out of 50 in the "Most-read" poll.

Blog of the Year, 20 August 2008. * ComputerWeekly IT Law and Governance, 20 August 2008.




This Kat has been engaged in trademarks for 30 years and he is usually pretty relaxed about developments in the field. When it comes to thealleged problem of deadwood on the trademark registry, however, his trademark fur bristles. In a word, please leave Deadwood to the State of South Dakota USA; it has no place in trademark practice. Deadwood, South Dakota, trademarkswhat is this Kat talking about? Read on.Last month, Guest Kat Mike Mireles published a post  The USPTO Moves to Clear Trademark Deadwood. Mike reported on the latest steps intended by the United States Patent and Trademark Office to clean deadwood from the trademark registry. For several years, the claim has been expressed (not just in the U.S.) that there are too many unused registered trademarks, with the result that the registry suffers from trademark clutter. Moreover, it is claimed, unless we get control of the deadwood issue, the task of trademark clearance will one day become well-nigh impossible.The impetus for this interest in trademark deadwood seems to have come from an attempt to make big data relevant to trademark policywhat better subject than deadwood and clutter to do so. The proposed solution in the U.S. is to tighten the evidentiary requirements supporting proof of use. In this way, it is presumed, the deadwood problem will be ameliorated. (There has also been discussion on shortening the period after registration by which evidence of use must be filed, but this change does not appear be part of the current intended rules.)Sorry, but this Kat has difficulty in understanding these claims. There is, in principle, a virtually limitless number of inherently distinctive marks that can meet the test for registration. (We will call them fanciful marks, as the term has been developed in U.S. practice.) This is especially so when one also takes into account that a mark is protectable with respect to specified goods or services. The prime limitation on the reservoir of fanciful marks is the creativity of the person charged with coming up with a new mark. True, as more fanciful marks are registered, the task of creating a new fanciful mark may be marginally more difficult, but the basic principle remains: there is virtually no limit on the number of potential fanciful marks.This means that when the claim is made that deadwood and resulting clutter on the registry place an increasingly heavy burden on clearance, what is really being said is that the mark under consideration is straddling the divide between being descriptive and suggestive. As trademark Kat readers will know, U.S. practice has rested for decades on the principle that descriptive marks, which are not inherently distinctive, require proof of sufficient use as a prerequisite for registration (so-called secondary meaning) On the other hand, suggestive marks are deemed inherently distinctive, obviating the need for evidence of sufficient use to support registration.Because descriptive/suggestive marks are, in some sense, more descriptive of the goods or services to which they relate than are fanciful marks, it is easier to come up with such a mark. Also, such marks are usually preferred by the marketing department. In such a case, there may well be a potential problem of cluttering, because the universe of such marks is much more circumscribed. But that is the price paid by a person who fails to adopt a fanciful mark. The root of the problem are decisions made regarding the type of mark being registered, not accumulated deadwood on the registry.Thus, when we focus on the real issue, the alleged problem of deadwood is another way of saying that too many of this type of mark is being accepted without the need to prove secondary meaning, i.e., the mark has been found to be suggestive and not descriptive. It is presumed that a mark for which secondary meaning has been proved will not likely fall into rapid disuse, i.e., it will not become trademark deadwood. Seen in this way, trademark deadwood is really about registry practice in distinguishing between inherent and acquired distinctiveness. (The renewal process serves as an additional check on this, by requiring the periodic payment of a renewal fee. A trademark owner will likely pay such a fee only if the mark is actually being used.) All of this points to the conclusionthe alleged issue of deadwood and trademark clutter is a solution in search of a problem.That means putting deadwood in its proper perspective. There were few U.S. frontier settlements that enjoyed the aura of Deadwood, South Dakota . The discovery of gold and the flourishing of brothels that followed the prospectors; General George Armstrong Custer (of Last Stand infamy); the near-by Black Hills ; and the female adventurer and gunslinger, Calamity Jane , all contributed to this small town punching above its weight as an American icon. And then there is the legendary 19th century rascal, Wild Bill Hickok , who was shot to death in Deadwood over a round of poker. For poker Kats, the notion of the dead mans handblack aces and eights-- comes from this event; it was the hand held by Hickok at the time of his death (in Deadwood, of course).All of this well and good, even interesting. One thing thoughplease keep Deadwood in South Dakota and far away from trademark policy and practice.
YEREVAN, AUGUST 5, ARMENPRESS. In an interview with Armenpress, Human Rights Defender of Nagorno Karabakh Ruben Melikyan said the fact-finding activities on the tortures committed by the Azerbaijani forces against the NKR civilians and the Defense Army soldiers continue.

It is quite time-consuming work. Now we are in contact with the respective structures, we have initiated a separate proceeding, he said.

On April 10 the State Commission on Prisoners of War, Hostages and Missing Persons of the Nagorno Karabakh Republic, through the mediation of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and the Office of the Personal Representative of the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office, carried out the exchange of bodies of the deceased between the Nagorno Karabakh Republic and Azerbaijan near the Bash Karvend settlement. The bodies of 18 servicemen of the NKR Defense Army, fallen as a result of the large scale military aggression unleashed by Azerbaijan in April 2-5, were transferred to the NKR side during the exchange.

At the presence of the representatives of the International Committee of the Red Cross, the NKR State Commission on Prisoners of War, Hostages and Missing Persons registered that all bodies of the deceased transferred by the Azerbaijani side had been subjected to torture and mutilation.

On April 22 the Human Rights Defender of Nagorno Karabakh has submitted the report on the atrocities of the Azerbaijani armed forces committed during the period of April 2-5 against the civilians of Nagorno Karabakh and the servicemen of the Defense Army to the international institutions. In particular, the report was sent to the UN and CoE High Commissioners for Human Rights, UN Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, democratic institutions of the OSCE, the Human Rights Office, the institution of the European Ombudsman, the International Institute of the Ombudsman, etc. The report has been sent also to international human rights institutions - Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International, Association for the Prevention of Torture, as well as a number of other human rights organizations.

To Armenpress question whether the activity of the Human Rights Defender had any impact on that issue, Ruben Melikyan said:

One of the most visible results was the report by the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) where many references are made to the report by the NKR Ombudsman, the NKRs stance, but the report also presents the Azerbaijani stance. An attempt has been made to objectively reflect the reality since we must understand that despite our assessments are independent, this will be viewed as the Nagorno Karabakh sides document, he said.

He said the Human Rights Defender must present clearly the situation to its partner organizations.

The report has been sent to the international structures with the purpose of spreading more information, bringing attention in order for people to pay much attention to the NKR events and follow the developments. In other words, in this case this is not a formal situation, it will be formal, for instance, in case of the international tribunals, Ruben Melikyan said.

The Ombudsmans report analyzes Azerbaijans anti-Armenian, violating all international norms policy, as well as its terrible consequences with specific examples of brutality. The report discusses the objective assessments of the international prominent organizations over the Azerbaijani hatred and violence against people with the Armenian nationality, as well as it presents the hatred propaganda in the media and social networks.

Moreover, the report presents the consistent activities of hatred and violence propaganda by the Azerbaijani officials, as well as other public figures.






YEREVAN, AUGUST 5, ARMENPRESS. Russia is not trying to monopolize the work on the settlement of the Nagorno Karabakh conflict, it works with the Western partners and hopes the issue will be solved through joint efforts, Russian President Vladimir Putin said in an interview with Azerbaijani AzerTac news agency, reports TASS.

"We often hear that Russia is trying to monopolize the work related to the settlement of the Nagorno Karabakh conflict and push other mediators aside. That is a misconception," Putin said.

Putin said more than twenty trilateral summits on the Karabakh issue with the participation of the Russian president perfectly complement the efforts by the OSCE Minsk Group co-chaired by Russia, the US and France to settle this conflict.

"It should be noted that US and French representatives attended the concluding part of the above-mentioned trilateral summit in St. Petersburg," the Russian President said.

In turn, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and French Secretary of State for European Affairs Harlem Desir were invited to the meeting between the Presidents of Armenia and Azerbaijan held on the initiative of the US in Vienna on May 16, 2016, Putin said.

This approach is an example of how "we can and should work to settle international conflicts. I hope that our joint efforts will help the sides to reach a consensual solution," Putin said.








YEREVAN, AUGUST 5, ARMENPRESS. The National Security Service of Armenia issued a statement on finding a large amount of ammunition in Yerevan city resident G. S.s apartment, press service of the NSS informed Armenpress.

The statement reads: As a result of the investigative operations, as well as the searches conducted within the framework of the criminal case for illegal acquisition and possession of ammunition, a large amount of ammunition has been found in Yerevan city resident G. S.s apartment.

Two people were arrested. According to the judicial data, the ammunition may be related with the gunmen who have seized the Police precinct in Yerevan. All possible versions are being checked during the investigation operations".
YEREVAN, AUGUST 5, ARMENPRESS. The Special Investigation Service of Armenia announces that the criminal case, filed under the Articles of 219 and 235 of the Armenian Criminal Code over the seized Police precinct on July 17, has been sent to the Special Investigation Service of Armenia on August 2 under the mediation of the National Security Service of Armenia, press service of the Investigation Service informed Armenpress.

Currently the preliminary investigation is being carried out by a group of 48 investigators. 44 people are involved in the criminal case as culprits, and two more have a status of suspect. 42 people are arrested, 3 people are in hospital. All the culprits have been charged under the Article 218 (taking hostage), the Article 219 (seizing buildings, means of transport and communication) and the Article 235 (illegally acquiring, using, keeping, transferring or carrying weapons, ammunition, explosive devices) of the Criminal Code of Armenia. 19 people suffered injuries, 10 of whom with taking and holding hostage.

The Armenian Special Investigation Service informs that all the actions of the culprits will be personalized based on the existing and upcoming evidence.

It also informs that the arrest against the culprits aims to prevent their possible non-proper behavior and ensure the normal process of the criminal proceedings during the early stage of the investigation. Thus, we urge the public interested in this criminal case not to assess or comment the use of that preventive measure as a punishment.

Additional information will be provided about the preliminary and interim results of the investigation.
YEREVAN, AUGUST 5, ARMENPRESS. After the July events in Armenia the key to maintaining the stability of the situation is in the leaderships hands, Armenpress reports, executive director of Against Violation of Law NGO, former Armenian Ombudsman Larisa Alaverdyan said referring to the political situation in Armenian created after the gunmens laying down the weapons.

She said the mediations in the negotiation process gave their positive results. She said there will be people who will once again try to apply illegal methods, and there will be those who will go on changes with the leadership through peaceful means. I think now is the best moment to make political and personnel changes, she stated.

Larisa Alaverdyan said during these tense days (July 17-31) the journalists were in their places. We had a group of journalists who came, stood and were beaten. And now I am confident they will do everything to restore the justice, she said.

In the morning of July 17 gunmen stormed a Police HQ in Yerevan and took hostages  demanding the release of Zhirayr Sefilyan, who was imprisoned a month ago, charged with illegal possession, transportation and acquirement of weapons and ammunition.

Police Colonel Artur Vanoyan has been killed by the gunmen during the ambush.

Colonel Aram Hovhannisyan, Lt.  Colonel Hrach Khosteghyan, Corporal Gagik Mkrtchyan received gunshot wounds.

The hostages were released within a week, but on July 27 the gunmen took hostage the paramedics who came to show medical assistance to the wounded in Police station.

On July 30 a police officer Yuri Tepanosyan has been killed by sniper fire from the seized police precinct.

On July 31 the gunmen laid down the weapons and surrendered.
YEREVAN, AUGUST 5, ARMENPRESS. The Central Bank of Armenia informs that on August 5 the USD exchange rate was 476.02 AMD which is a decrease of 0.14 drams compared to the previous day.

The Euro increased by 0.51 drams forming 530.29 drams, and British pound decreased by 6.56 drams forming 626.54 drams. Russian ruble increased by 0.12 drams forming 7.28 drams on August 5.

The prices for precious metals are as follows: the price for silver per gram is 308.54 AMD, gold-20,856.07 AMD, and platinum  17,707.19 AMD.
YEREVAN, AUGUST 5, ARMENPRESS. Approximately 40 craftsmen  who have been selling their products in Vernissage since 1991  are against the initiative of turning the Vernissage into an exhibition-fair center.

Various craftsmen have addressed a letter to Yerevan City Hall, the Public Council and other state agencies stating they expect to be provided with proper conditions for presenting their products.

The Culture Committee of the Public Council discussed the complaint.

The craftsmen had met with representatives of the City Hall in spring, and endorsed the initiative by being confident they will be provided with good conditions.

However they say the conditions which the City Hall is offering are not satisfactory.

Embroidery craftsman Vardishagh Karapetyan says the City Hall is planning to turn Vernissage into an exhibition-fair center, which will allow everything to be sold there, however since the beginning Vernissage has been a cultural center.

It is a problem for us, we want it to remain the way it was since the very first day a cultural center. Whats the purpose of adding another mall among all the other malls. Let them treat us with a little respect. Every time there is an issue of change, we are the one being impacted, Karapetyan said.
YEREVAN, AUGUST 5, ARMENPRESS. The Aragatsotn Department of the Investigative Committee is investigating the stabbing of 4 people in Ashtarak, Armenia.

At 20:10, August 4, the Ashtarak Medical Center informed police about 4 citizens being admitted with various penetrating stabbing wounds.

A criminal case has been launched in the Aragatsotn Investigative Department.

Investigation is underway to determine the circumstances of the event.

Law enforcement agencies have determined the possible area where the stabbing happened, forensic teams searched the area and discovered blood-like prints, a cell phone and other objects. Surveillance footage of a nearby store has been confiscated.

Several witnesses have been questioned, and forensic expertise has been launched.

Notice  Suspect is innocent until proven guilty by the Court of Law.
The newly revealed information indicates that the monetary payment and the prisoner swap were not only negotiated simultaneously, but were carried out at the exact same time. President Obama authorized an initial payment of 400 million dollars, to be flown directly two Iran in the form of cash acquired from European banks. Some of Wednesdays media coverage highlights the seemingly scandalous nature of this sort of payment method, but the Obama administration has defended itself by saying that there was no other way of making the payment, since the nuclear deal had not yet been implemented, meaning that Iran was still fully cut off from the global banking system.

Even today, most international banking institutions are wary of resuming business with Iran. This is in part because US law still prohibits any direct contact between the Iranian and American financial systems. Banks that willingly or unwillingly facilitate such transactions could still be subject to economic sanctions, even though sanctions on Irans nuclear program were suspended with the implementation of the JCPOA.

But Wednesdays revelations suggest that the Obama administration has not allowed this separation between the two financial systems to be the absolute barrier that it might have been. This can be expected to give additional fuel to months-long criticisms by the Republican Congress and other opponents of the Obama administrations Iran policy. Many of those critics have decried the administrations apparent efforts to actively encourage European investment in the Islamic Republic. Furthermore, they have repeatedly suggested that the White House might be pursuing plans to allow Iran access to US dollars.

The January shipment of cash arguably resembles the controversial (and currently banned) U-turn transactions that would allow international banks to facilitate transactions between the US and Iran by utilizing intermediary currencies. Among those who suspect that the Obama administration will allow such transactions, either officially or unofficially, some have characterized them as potential pathways for US taxpayer dollars to directly financing international terrorism.

The danger of contributing to Irans support for terrorism has actually been acknowledged by the administration itself. The Washington Free Beacon reports that when White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest was asked about the 400 million dollar shipment of cash, he argued that the vast majority of it has been devoted to Irans economic recovery but still admitted that it is certainly possible that some of that money was devoted to Irans nefarious activities such as its financing of the Hezbollah paramilitary and Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad.

But regardless of whether the debt-repayment actually does materially contribute to terrorism, it is still a source of ammunition for those who accuse the current US leadership of failing to hold Iran accountable for its role in previous terrorist acts. CNN explains that the 400 million dollar principal debt was originally slated to be withheld and used as payment to victims of Iran-backed terror, following a decision by the Clinton administration in 2000. Obamas agreement to repay the debt, and to begin doing so on the date of the prisoner swap, contradicted this arrangement and demonstrated that previous financial compensation to those victims and their families had come from American taxpayers and not from the Iranian regime.

This is in spite of the fact that in April the Supreme Court famously upheld a lower court ruling which allowed for the seizure of frozen Iranian assets, to be paid out to such victims. US court cases have deemed that Iran was responsible for a number of terrorist acts that killed and wounded American citizens, but the regime has ignored the resulting judgments and has traditionally be protected against enforcement by the principle of sovereign immunity.

But the Iranian tendency to ignore such financial obligations only raises more questions about the Obama administrations apparent urgency in paying a debt that was incurred before the current Iranian government came to power. Such urgency is perhaps best explained if it was necessary that the Obama administration settle the matter in order to get something important in exchange. Tom Cotton, a notably stringent opponent of the Iran nuclear deal, said of the new information regarding that payment: This report makes plain what the administration can no longer deny: this was a ransom payment to Iran for U.S. hostages.

The USA Today reported upon Cottons remarks and added that House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy had emphasized the clearly suspicious nature of such close overlap between the hostage release and the 400 million dollar delivery. Nevertheless, the Obama administration has continued to maintain that the timing of the two agreements was merely coincidence.

Another Republic representative, New Yorks Lee Zeldin, described the administrations claim as beyond unbelievable. He went on to levy particularly harsh criticism against the White House, saying, It is clear at this point that one of two possibilities apply to this administration: either the president has absolutely no idea what he is doing or the president knows exactly what he is doing and is playing for some other team.

Zeldins remark seems to reflect the general nature of congressional criticism of the nuclear deal that was spearheaded by President Obama. Virtually the entirety of the Republican Party, along with some Democrats, have judged that agreement to be weak and to have formalized a series of concession in return for very little guarantee that Iran would halt its pursuit of a nuclear weapon. But there has apparently been no consensus regarding whether the president disagrees with that assessment or has simply ignored the weakness in favor of preserving a fundamental reorientation of American foreign policy.

Whatever the case, some of the presidents critics appear to have seized upon the latest revelations in hopes of using it to undermine the nuclear deal or set the groundwork for its cancelation under the next presidency. The revelation that the Obama administration ransomed the three Americans being unjustly detained by Iran with $400 million in cash is only the most recent piece of evidence that the so-called nuclear deal with the mullahs is fundamentally illegitimate, said Texas Republican Senator and erstwhile presidential candidate Ted Cruz.

It is nothing but a series of bribes and secret agreements that will do nothing to prevent Iran from reaching nuclear capability, yet will provide funding for their sponsorship of terrorism and encourage them to detain more of our citizens. This deal should be ripped to shreds immediately before more damage is done, he added, according to the Daily Signal.

When the JCPOA was finalized in July 2015, President Obama characterized it not only as a safeguard against the threat of an Iranian nuclear weapon but also as a possible forerunner to moderating trends within the Iranian regime. The latter prediction has been cited frequently in critical commentary over the past year, suggesting that the deal is a failure because it has not led to the promised changes in Iran-US relations.

In fact, by most accounts Irans anti-Western rhetoric has only intensified since that time, as evidenced by the fact that the hostages released in January were essentially replaced by other dual nationals including the international businessman Siamak Namazi and, much more recently, the recent San Diego State University graduate Robin Shahini.

Both of these men were invoked in further criticism of the apparent US ransom payment. Paying ransom to kidnappers puts Americans even more at risk, said Illinois Senator Mark Kirk, as quoted by Business Insider. While Americans were relieved by Irans overdue release of illegally imprisoned American hostages, the White Houses policy of appeasement has led Iran to illegally seize more American hostages.

Recognizing the danger of legitimizing hostage-taking, the State Department maintains a policy against the payment of ransom. Josh Earnest reiterated this fact in his press briefing on Wednesday, citing that policy as support for the administrations claim that the 400 million dollar payment and the agreement to pay an additional 1.3 billion dollars over time did not constitute ransom for the American citizens Jason Rezaian, Amir Hekmati, Saeed Abedini, and Nosratollah Khosravi.
YEREVAN, AUGUST 5, ARMENPRESS. 74 police officers were injured in the period of July 17-31 as result of the capture of Police precinct in Yerevan. 119 citizens were detained in Yerevan July 17-19, Police spokesman told ARMENPRESS in response to an inquiry.

The number of detained people during July 19-31 is being clarified, therefore we will inform this until August 15. Protocols on administrative violations have been filed against 9 citizens. As the materials have been sent to the Investigative Committee, therefore the number of launched criminal cases can be provided by the Investigative Committee. Since July 17, 20 applications have been received by the Police from the Ombudsman, the majority of which is still in the stage of discussions, as the details which are noted in those applications can be checked either through internal investigations or investigative measures.

The internal investigation regarding police officer Margarita Karapetyan is still ongoing.

Currently the Police are unable to provide information on other issues, because the clarification on those issues are in the jurisdiction of the investigative agencies, the spokesman said.
YEREVAN, AUGUST 5, ARMENPRESS. Corporal Gagik Mkrtchyan  who was wounded on July 17 when gunmen ambushed the Police precinct in Yerevan  is still in critical condition.

The Corporal is breathing via a respiration machine, and is under constant medications to maintain heart function.

During this period Gagik Mkrtchyan received four surgeries, and every minute doctors are fighting for his life. We wish our colleague strength to overcome this situation and recovery, Police spokesman Ashot Aharonyan wrote on Facebook.
YEREVAN, AUGUST 5, ARMENPRESS. The Police of Armenia deny media reports on Officer Gagik Zohrabyan being involved in the July 29 Sari Tagh incidents and using excessive force and violence while in plainclothes.

The Police of Armenia officially announce that not a single incident on Gagik Zohrabyan using violence has been uncovered as result of ongoing internal investigations.

In addition, Gagik Zohrabyan has been dispatched to Sari Tagh at the instruction of the Police Chief, and has fulfilled his official duties as officer of the investigative-intelligence department, including verifying information regarding violence against reporters by persons in plainclothes. On that day, Gagik Zohrabyan himself has been subjected to violence.

Meanwhile we inform that Gagik Zohrabyan has no connection with the hooligan behavior of some Pavel Sasunyan in reporter Tehmine Yenokyans Facebook page.

Other information will be published after completing the ongoing internal investigation.
US trade overall continued to slow, amid sluggish economic growth domestically and around the world.

The US trade deficit grew more than expected in June as imports jumped and the gap with China continued to widen, government data released Friday showed.

The country's trade deficit with the rest of the world climbed 8.7 percent in June to a seasonally adjusted $44.5 billion. Analysts had only expected a 3.9 percent increase.

The figures mark the third straight month the deficit has grown, weighing on US growth and possibly fueling the arguments of Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump for protectionist policies.

It now stands at the highest level since June 2015 due to a 1.9 percent rise in imports to $227.7 billion and only a 0.3 percent increase in exports to $183.2 billion.

Imports of industrial supplies, consumer goods and capital goods all rose in June.

Petroleum product imports jumped almost 20 percent to $13.3 billion due to higher oil prices.

At the same time, sales of American products overseas stalled, with exports of autos falling four percent to $12.2 billion.

In terms of bilateral trade, the US deficit with China continued to rise, reaching $29.8 billion, the highest level since November.

US officials have routinely accused China of manipulating its currency and taking other actions to boost exports at the expense of the United States.

The US trade deficit with the European Union dipped 4.4 percent to $12.8 billion. The two sides are locked in difficult negotiations on a vast trade accord.

US trade with Canada was at a modest deficit of $299 million.
Brother Phil writes, "The Public Defender's Office in Missouri is chronically underfunded by a governor who can always find money for his pet projects. However, they do have the power to draft any lawyer to serve as the defense in a case if they don't have one spare.Guess who just happens to be a lawyer"

Missouri's indigent defense system ranks 49th in the nation. The budget for the system has fallen in real terms since 2009, and faced cuts of $3.47M in 2015. The governor has not cut "a single dollar" from his own budget.

The DoJ, meanwhile, has cited Missouri for subjecting poor black children to a "systematic deprivation of their rights" due to insufficient funding for the public defender's office.

Up to this point, the Public Defender, Michael Barrett, has refrained from drafting lawyers out of private practice to serve in his office (as statute empowers him to do), because he believes that attorneys who haven't contributed to the current crisis should not have to bear the burden of it. However, Missouri Governor Jay Nixon, is "the one attorney in the state who not only created the problem, but is in a unique position to address it."

Go man go!







(Image: Governor Jay Nixon, Mobikefed, CC-BY)
A British woman of Muslim descent was detained and questioned by police under terror laws after a flight crew member noticed she was reading a book about Syrian art while flying to Turkey.

The Thomson Airways attendant reported her for "suspicious behavior," which amounted to reading a book.

Faizah Shaheen, 27, is not a terrorist. The NHS mental health worker just been married. She was flying to Turkey to celebrate her honeymoon.

She is a psychotherapist from Leeds who works with at-risk teens to help prevent them becoming 'radicalized.' Shaheen was reading the book Syria Speaks: Art and Culture from the Frontline on her honeymoon flight. It looks like a really cool art book, put together by some really cool people, and I'm ordering a copy for myself right now.

Police detained her at Doncaster airport on July 25, on her flight home from her honeymoon in Turkey. A Thomson Airways flight attendant reported her for her suspiciously radical book-reading behavior on her outbound flight two weeks prior.

Shaheen was angry and in tears, and says she believes she was targeted because of her faith and ethnicity. She plans to make a formal complaint against the police, and against Thomson Airways.

"Police officers questioned Shaheen for 15 minutes under Schedule 7 of the Terrorism Act, under which the police can detain individuals without grounds for suspicion of involvement in criminal activities, including terrorism," reports the Guardian.

"I was completely innocent  I was made to feel like a culprit," Shaheen told The Independent.

"I was queuing at passport control and saw police staring at me I just got through passport control and then two police officers approached me and took me aside and asked me to show my passport again.

"I asked what was going on and they said I had been reported due to a book I was reading and was to be questioned under the Terrorism Act."

"I became very angry and upset. I couldn't understand how reading a book could cause people to suspect me like this. I told the police that I didn't think it was right or acceptable." She was given an information leaflet explaining that Schedule 7 legislation is used by police to determine whether a person appears to be or has been involved in terrorism. "I was asked what I do," she said. "I told them I work as a child and adolescent mental health services practitioner for the NHS. "Ironically, a part of my job role is working on anti-radicalisation and assessing vulnerable young people with mental health problems are at risk of being radicalised. "I said that to the police. I'm actually part of trying to fight radicalisation and breaking the stereotypes.

Here's the publisher blurb about the book, which includes 108 color illustrations of Syrian art. Does this sound like a terrorist tract to you?

In Syria, culture has become a critical line of defence

against tyranny. Syria Speaks is a celebration of a people determined to reclaim their dignity, freedom and self-expression. It showcases the work of over fifty artists and writers who are challenging the culture of violence in Syria. Their literature, poems and songs, cartoons, political posters and photographs document and interpret the momentous changes that have shifted the frame of reality so drastically in Syria. Moving and inspiring, Syria Speaks is testament to the courage, creativity and imagination of the Syrian people. A unique anthology providing a window into Syrian art and writing since the uprising. Contributors include

internationally renowned artists and writers, such as Ali Ferzat, Samar Yazbek, Khaled Khalifa and Robin Yassin-Kassab.
Without an accurate census, it's virtually impossible to make good national policy, which is why so many countries make census participation mandatory (when former Canadian Prime Minister Stephen "Dumpster Fire" Harper made the long-form census optional, statisticians and policy wonks quailed)  which is why the Australian government's decision to collect and retain  for 10 years  personally identifying information on census participants is such a big deal.



The Australian Bureau of Statistics has suffered 14 data breaches since 2013. Now they're proposing to gather the most intimate and potentially compromising information possible on literally every Australian, centralise it, and retain it. IBM has the contract to maintain the security of this data, and one of their security architects, Philip Nye tweeted (then deleted) a question about this, directed to Troy Hunt of the Have I Been Pwned? clearinghouse: "Will your pwned database handle the entire Australian population when Census data is inevitably leaked?"

The ABS hasn't articulated any specific reason to retain this information, only that it "will increase the value of census data."

Meanwhile, Australians are planning mass acts of civil disobedience, ranging from falsifying their census data to refusing to take the census at all, risking large, daily fines for noncompliance.

This is a disaster. Without accurate census figures, there's evidentiary footing on which to plan policy, nor any reliable way of assessing the outcomes of policy. Australia is an advanced, technologically intense country facing significant environmental challenges, embroiled in a disgusting humanitarian disaster relating to refugees, with intrinsic logistical problems stemming from its massive and often inhospitable geography. It needs a thoroughly involved government to function (see also).

Anything you collect will probably leak. Anything you retain will definitely leak. Playing games with the census is the kind of recklessness that should disqualify the culprit from any position of responsibility.

Meanwhile, data scientists are concerned data integrity will be harmed as many people may refuse to complete the census or deliberately provide false information as an act of civil disobedience, even though it is illegal to do so. "Even on a relatively small scale, acts of civil disobedience with regard to the census could seriously skew the data," warned privacy advocacy group Electronic Frontiers Australia. The ABS will certainly try to force compliancefines range from AUS$1800 (~1,000 or ~$1,370) for providing false information to AUS$180 per day for failing to submit the form. But the agency will have no real way to verify the answers provided by those who do complete the form as accurate. Failure to vote in the Federal Election last month resulted in only a AUS$20 fine. Someone set up a website, CensusFail.com, to give advice to Australians concerned that their personally identifying information will be linked to other sensitive information such as religion, income, etc., in the census form. The ABS says it will store names and addresses separately from other census responses, with names replaced by "anonymous linkage keys." However it is not clear how these will be generated. According to Electronic Frontiers Australia, the keys are likely to be a "14 character alphanumeric string made from components of your first and last names, birthdate, and sex."

Censusfail [Electronic Frontiers Australian]

Australians threaten to take leave of their census

[Jennifer Baker/Ars Technica]
By Krishna N. Das, Karen Lema and Neil Jerome Morales MANILA (Reuters) - Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte has given a commitment that $81 million stolen by cyber criminals from the account of Bangladesh Bank in New York and funneled through bank accounts in Manila would be returned, the Bangladesh ambassador to the Philippines said on Friday. A Bangladesh central bank team visiting Manila to recover the money said earlier on Friday that it was close to getting back $15 million of the loot frozen by the Philippines. Cyber criminals tried to steal nearly $1 billion from Bangladesh Bank's account at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York in February, and succeeded in transferring $81 million to four accounts at Manila's Rizal Commercial Banking Corp . The money was then laundered through the city's casinos, according to investigators. Only about $18 million, including $2.7 million frozen by the Philippines' casino regulator, has been accounted for. The Philippines' Department of Justice (DoJ) has asked the Bangladesh Bank delegation to file a legal document staking its claim to $15 million of that, but the casino money will have to be pursued separately, said two sources close to the visiting team. "We are very hopeful that we will get the total $81 million," said Ambassador John Gomes, who is helping the bank representatives on a four-day visit to Manila ending Friday. "The reason is I got a commitment from the president himself," he said. He added Bangladesh's finance minister might come to the Philippines to meet Duterte to help in the recovery of the money. Gomes said the bank felt RCBC should be held responsible because it did not follow a stop-payment request from Bangladesh Bank, and its lawyer Ajmalul Hossain said it would sue RCBC if it was not able to recover the entire $81 million. The Philippine central bank said on Friday it would fine RCBC 1 billion pesos ($21 million) in relation to failings over the heist, the largest amount it has ever approved "as part of its supervisory enforcement actions". In March, RCBC's then president Lorenzo Tan acknowledged at a Philippines senate hearing there had been "some judgment error from the people on the ground". RCBC said earlier on Friday that the transfers were made based on authenticated instructions over payments network SWIFT, and the hackers had used stolen Bangladesh Bank credentials. "Going to court instead of the media and various Philippine government agencies is the proper procedure," it added. PROVE IT Ricardo J. Paras III, chief state counsel of the Philippines DoJ, told Reuters that it has already drafted court documents to begin recovery of the $15 million, but it was important for Bangladesh to prove it is their money. The Bangladeshi delegation has prepared an affidavit citing a letter by the New York Fed to the Philippines' central bank, in which the Fed said the money was stolen from Bangladesh Bank's account. The affidavit will be given to the DoJ, the sources said. The Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (PAGCOR), a government body that regulates casinos in the country, has promised to cooperate with Bangladesh Bank to help it recover the $2.7 million it has frozen, Gomes said. "The money is with Solaire (Resort and Casino)," PAGCOR President Alfredo Lim told Reuters. "It will put us in a bad light if the money is not immediately released to them." Solaire, operated by Bloomberry Resorts Corp , has said about $29 million of the funds came to the casino and most was transferred to the accounts of two junket operators. Solaire declined to comment on Friday. Bangladesh Bank is relying on internal RCBC documents to buttress its assertion that the banks Jupiter Street branch in Manila ignored suspicions raised by some RCBC officials when the money was first remitted to the accounts on Feb. 5, and then delayed acting on requests from RCBCs head office to freeze the funds on Feb. 9. Gomes said Bangladesh Bank would also sue Philrem Service Corp, a remittance company that anti-money laundering investigators said was used to transfer some of the $81 million. "They have the responsibility to return the money or face the consequences," he said. A lawyer for Philrem, who speaks on behalf of the company, was not immediately available for comment. (Reporting by Krishna N. Das, Karena Lema and Neil Jerome Morales in MANILA; Editing by Will Waterman)
FRIDAY, Aug. 5, 2016 (HealthDay News) -- American women seem more satisfied with their weight now than they were 30 years ago, preliminary new research indicates.

After reviewing more than 250 studies that included a total of over 100,000 participants, researchers found that women's dissatisfaction with their thinness levels significantly declined between 1981 and 2012.

"In the past few years, we've seen more and more of the idea of body acceptance . . . and more media awareness [of this issue] growing from societal influences," said study author Bryan Karazsia. He's an associate professor of psychology at the College of Wooster in Ohio.

Karazsia's analysis comes at a time when the U.S. National Institutes of Health says that about two-thirds of American adults are overweight or obese.

But public relations and ad campaigns over the last decade -- such as the Dove Campaign for Real Beauty -- have attempted to promote body acceptance by showcasing models with wide variations in body types.

Prior research in the 1990s had indicated that rising numbers of women were unhappy with their weight. Body dissatisfaction, Karazsia noted, can lead to greater risks of eating disorders or depression.

The new meta-analysis examined changes in two aspects of body dissatisfaction over time, including thinness and muscularity. Karazsia and his team compared participants' average scores over each study period using specialized measurements derived from self-reported surveys.

Over the 31-year period that weight-related satisfaction was calculated, women's dissatisfaction scores gradually declined, while men's remained relatively constant.

Meanwhile, in a second analysis of another 81 studies relating to body image and musculature done with 23,000 participants, men reported more dissatisfaction with muscle size than women. But these levels remained consistent for both men and women over the 14-year study period.

Karazsia said several possible factors could explain the new findings, including "some evidence to believe that socio-cultural ideals are gradually shifting."

"I do think the message is getting out there to be comfortable in your skin," he added. "It's OK to look a little different and embrace that. I think we're seeing more body diversity out there."

But a New Jersey-based psychotherapist found the study results surprising, saying she still counsels many women of all ages who voice dissatisfaction with their bodies.

Diane Lang, also an adjunct professor of psychology at Montclair State University in New Jersey, contended that social media outlets, such as Facebook, foster body image dissatisfaction because women encounter a steady stream of photos of others posting idealized images of themselves.

"With social media or even reality TV, women now are comparing themselves to the girl next door," Lang said. "When they're seeing their neighbor down the road or three towns over who has a six-pack [abdomen] and three kids, they're asking why they don't look like that. People just put their best foot forward on social media."

Lang advised people to limit their time using social media and not succumb to the urge to compare oneself to others.

"Comparing yourself is setting yourself up for failure," she said. "There will always be someone heavier and someone thinner."

The study was scheduled for presentation on Friday at the American Psychological Association's annual convention in Denver. Research presented at medical conferences typically hasn't been peer-reviewed or published, and results are considered preliminary.

More information

Read more about body image from WomensHealth.gov.
Some human rights defenders have dismissed or at least called into question the prospect for this years figures to be regarded as an improvement in the countrys domestic situation. The lower rate of judicially mandated killings may instead be attributable to the fact that parliamentary elections and the Muslim holy month of Ramadan both took place during the first half of the year. Executions usually diminish or stop during these periods, but rebound afterwards.

Recent reports have seemingly lent credence to this interpretation of matters. Organizations and news outlets like Iran Human Rights and the Human Rights Activists News Agency have already confirmed multiple instances of mass executions taking place in the month of July and in the first days of August. For instance, a number of international news outlets including Reuters have seized upon the story that Iran executed as many as 20 Sunni Kurds on Tuesday, possibly after gaining convictions for many of those defendants on the basis of false and coerced confessions.

Reuters explains that these individuals were accused of being members of the organization Tawhid and Jihad (Monotheism and Holy War), and of being involved in violent dissent. Conflicting reports have led most outlets to simply report the death toll from this series of executions as being between 10 and 20.

The Iranian government claims to have identified at least 100 members of the militant group, many of whom have supposedly been arrested or killed in a series of clashes since 2011. The people in the present batch of executions were held accountable for specific set of killings and kidnappings, although it does not appear as though the judiciary precisely identified which individuals actually carried out which attacks. Authorities did, however, broadcast apparent confessions from some of the defendants, but it has been suggested that at least some of these were extracted under torture.

The International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran specifically emphasized the case of one individual named Shahram Ahmadi, who was hanged in the courtyard of Rajai Shahr Prison just before dawn on Tuesday. Although he provided authorities with a confession, he later told his lawyers and family members that he had been tortured. Those same people have since insisted that Ahmadi had never taken up arms and had in fact never been a member of Tawhid and Jihad. If this is correct, it would appear that Ahmadi was lumped together with members of the organization because he was a Kurd and had been known to distribute materials promoting Sunni Islam inside the Shiite theocracy.

The Iranian criminal justice system has a long history of this sort of guilt by association, putting people to death for tenuous connections to banned political groups, or for activities that were demonstrably non-violent. For instance, in 2014, Gholamreza Khosravi was hanged on the same charge as Ahmadi, namely enmity against God, for no greater offense than donating money to a satellite television network affiliated with the dissident group the Peoples Mojahedin Organization of Iran.

In Ahmadis case, whether or not he had ever been armed he was not armed at the time of his arrest. Rather, he was shot while walking away from security agents, after he had left a mosque in Sanandaj. His subsequent death sentence seems arbitrary to human rights defenders like the International Campaign. Furthermore, Irans overall approach to enforcement seems similarly arbitrary in light of context like that which was provided by IranWire on Wednesday, in a report on Irans execution of Salafist groups, of which Tawhid and Jihad is allegedly one.

That report indicated that some of these groups, which consider other Muslims to be heretics, have been explicitly tolerated by the Iranian regime when their activities seemed to be in line with the regimes broader interests. For instance, IranWire indicates that between 2003 and 2005, the Kurdish Salafists focused their attention on Kurdish political party called the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan. It was only after Tehran ceased to see the Salafist presence as useful that a crackdown began and led to the sorts of mass executions that took place on Tuesday.

IranWire further adds that this is part of a larger pattern of the Islamic Republic tolerating or actively working with militant groups, even if their ideologies conflict with those of the Shiite theocracy. This trend came into renewed focus last month when the US Treasury Department instituted sanctions against three individuals believed to be simultaneously living in Iran and working for the Sunni terrorist group Al Qaeda.

Under different circumstances, such people might be subject to Irans death penalty. But their apparent freedom to operate inside the Islamic Republic demonstrates that Iran is willing to overlook its own harsh laws. Meanwhile, the execution of Sunni Kurds shows that when those laws are not overlooked they tend to be enforced very strictly and very callously. The International Campaign and the UKs Guardian newspaper both noted that in the case of Shahram Ahmadi, his family was alerted of his imminent execution, but authorities did not give them sufficient time to travel to the prison for a final visit before he was executed. Instead, they were informed while in transit that they should go not to the prison by the morgue to retrieve his body.

Many previous stories have described similar treatment of other death row inmates and their families. Not only are family visits uncertain and inconsistent, so too is the entire process of implementing the death penalty. Human rights organizations often issue warnings of imminent executions when it is reported that prisoners have been taken from their cells and placed in solitary confinement. But this process is sometimes repeated several times, leaving prisoners never quite certain of when they are going to be hanged.

All of this goes to show that despite the lower figures for the first half of this year than last year, the regimes attitudes toward the death penalty and criminal justice do not appear to have changed. The Guardian notes that this topic remains of considerable interest to leading human rights organizations. It quotes a representative of Human Rights Watch as saying, In 2016, Iran is yet again the regional leader in executions  at least 230  while it continues to be a laggard in implementing illusory penal code reforms meant to bridge the gap with international standards.

Apart from simple over-use of the death penalty and its application to cases involving forced confessions, Iran also deviates widely from international standards in its persistence in executing persons who were below the age of majority at the time of their offenses. In the midst of the mass execution at Rajai Shahr, the Iranian judiciary also carried out the execution of a man who was only 17 years old at the time of his arrest on the charge of raping another boy.

It is also interesting to note that Irans laws regarding rape make these sorts of cases implicitly untrustworthy in the absence of definite proof of the crime. On Tuesday, IranWire examined the countrys laws regarding sexual contact and pointed out that a man who rapes another man faces the death penalty, but in cases of consensual sex the active party receives 100 lashes while the passive party faces execution. Naturally, this makes it imperative for the passive individual to attempt to prove that he was raped, even if the sex was actually consensual.

Strangely, there is no legal provision for clemency in such cases, as there is in the case of murder. According to the Islamic legal principle of qisas, when a person is sentenced to death for murder, the family of the victim has the right to forgive the perpetrator and save him from the gallows, often in exchange for a payment of blood money. The Guardian points out that although the regime has been as committed to the death penalty as ever, there has been a clear trend toward forgiveness among the families of victims. This may be another contributing factor in the lower rate of execution this year, compared to last. And in any event, it is further evidence of an ideological gulf between the Iranian regime and the Iranian people..
Lithuanian English

Utena, Lithuania, 2016-07-29 14:00 CEST (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- During the first half of 2016, the sales of AB "Utenos trikotazas" amounted to 8.2 million EUR and were 16.6% higher compared to the same period of 2015. During the first half of 2016, the consolidated sales of AB "Utenos trikotazas" group amounted to 9.7 million EUR and were 15.1% higher compared to the same period of 2015.

"The continuously increasing operating results of the company show that AB "Utenos trikotazas" chose an effective strategy for the development of higher value-added products and investment into innovations and modern technologies, - says Eimundas Maciulis, the Managing Director of AB "Utenos Trikotazas".  Results of the first half of the year were mostly influenced by the new customers of the company. Participation in international exhibitions and constant search for new customers started to give results: over the past two years, the company's customer list increased by more than a third, and "Utenos trikotazas" products currently reach not only most of the Western European countries, but also Japan as well".

AB "Utenos trikotazas" group, which consists of AB "Utenos trikotazas", AB "Satrija" and the company "Mrija" in Ukraine, earned 285 thousand EUR of operating profit during the I half of 2016, whereas during the same period in 2015 the company made an operating profit of 205 thousand EUR. During the first half of 2016, AB "Utenos trikotazas" suffered 32 thousand EUR of operating losses, whereas in 2015 it suffered operating losses of 393 thousand EUR.

"By following the company's operational strategy, we have decided not to undertake large but less profitable orders within the past several years, and now we are focusing on the manufacture of higher value-added products. AB "Utenos Trikotazas" is one of the few European textile companies that has a complete vertically integrated production process and is able to offer its customers a full range of services  from the production of preferred fabrics to the final product. Today, clothing collections in the retail trade are changed much more often than before. Customers order smaller batches and are searching for uniqueness much more often now. The fact that "Utenos trikotazas" is able to promptly carry out a wide variety of orders and adapt to the unique needs of its customers is currently a very important competitive advantage for us", - says head of the company while commenting on the successful strategy of AB "Utenos trikotazas".

According to E.Maciulis, investments into the modernization of production and the standards of environmentally-friendly production processes and raw materials enabled "Utenos trikotazas" to not only offset market contraction due to slower economy in Russia, but to also enter new markets.

The sales of AB "Utenos trikotazas" own brands - ABOUT and "Utenos trikotazas" have increased by almost 50 percent during the first six months of 2016, compared to the same period of 2015.

"Stable increase in the sales of our own brands is ensured by two significant factors: consumer trust in markets on which we are focusing  firstly in Lithuania and other Baltic and Scandinavian countries, in Germany, Japan, etc., while the second factor is good evaluation of our ecological and comfortable Lithuanian products", - says Eimundas Maciulis, the Managing Director of AB "Utenos Trikotazas".

For more information on the material event, please contact Eimundas Maciulis, the Managing Director of AB Utenos Trikotazas, tel. 8 389 51445.

Managing Director Eimundas Maciulis
Finnish English

Sanoma Corporation, Stock Exchange Release, 5 August 2016 at 8:30 CET+1

Markus Holm (48), M.Sc. (Econ.) has been appointed Chief Financial Officer and Chief Operations Officer of Sanoma Corporation. The appointment will take effect on 1 February 2017. Mr. Holm will be responsible for Group Finance and Service Functions and be a member of Sanomas Executive Management Group. He will report to Sanomas President and CEO Susan Duinhoven.

Markus Holm joins Sanoma from Metsa Group, where he has acted as CFO of Metsa Board Corporation since 2014 and of Metsa Tissue Corporation from 2008 to 2013. Prior to working for Metsa Group, he was Finance and ICT Director of GlaxoSmithKline Oy, and before that he worked for more than ten years in Huhtamaki Group in various managerial positions in finance, treasury, global sourcing and investor relations.

As a leading consumer media and learning company with strong local presence and brands, Sanoma is well positioned for the ongoing digital transformation. Therefore, Im excited to join at this moment in its transformation, says Markus Holm.

As agreed in the employment contract, Sanomas current CFO Kim Ignatius will retire by the end of 2017 at the age of 61. After the appointment of Markus Holm, Kim Ignatius will continue as Executive Vice President and support Sanoma Group in strategic and operational management. He will continue to be a member of the Executive Management Group.

We are delighted to welcome Markus Holm. His solid financial background and strong business acumen will make him a very valued member of our Executive team. I am very pleased that we have the opportunity for such a good hand-over period thus avoiding any discontinuity, says Susan Duinhoven.

Additional information

Communications Director Hanna Johde, tel. +358 40 673 8977.

About Sanoma

Sanoma is an inspiring, relevant and trusted consumer media and learning company. Ever since its formation in 1889, the company has held creativity and independent thinking at its core in order to deliver high-quality content in new and different ways.

Sanomas consumer media business provides consumers with engaging and personalised content through cross-media brands that touch their lives. Sanomas close relationships with its consumers enable the company to offer unique value-added marketing solutions to its business partners.

Sanoma Learnings learning solutions enable teachers to excel at developing the talents of every child, creating opportunities for children to advance their prospects in life.

With operating companies in Finland, the Netherlands, Belgium, Poland and Sweden, Sanoma realised net sales of more than EUR 1.7 billion in 2015. The company employed over 6,000 employees.
As of August 26th, 2021 Yahoo India will no longer be publishing content. Your Yahoo Account Mail and Search experiences will not be affected in any way and will operate as usual. We thank you for your support and readership. For more information on Yahoo India, please visit the FAQ
NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- Athenahealthundefined released new data reporting more than 1,600 people requested a Zika virus screening, CNBC's Andrew Ross Sorkin said on "Squawk Alley" Friday.

The San Diego-based healthcare company has partnered with authorities in Miami to fight the virus before it spreads, he said.

In order to get the test, patients must to go to the public health commission. The CDC is the reference lab that will fax the results over to the patient in 2-7 days, Athenahealth CEO Jonathan Bush told CNBC.

Athenahealth found 2,000 men and women who are risk profile. The company is driving in those people for the test and will be surveilling the results.

The results have all been negative so far but are have over 300 tests are now being done per day.

Shares of Athenahealth are trading higher this afternoon.

Separately, TheStreet Ratings team set this stock as a "hold" with a ratings score of C. The company's strengths can be seen in multiple areas, such as its robust revenue growth, largely solid financial position with reasonable debt levels by most measures and good cash flow from operations. However, as a counter to these strengths, we also find weaknesses including a generally disappointing performance in the stock itself and unimpressive growth in net income.

TheStreet Ratings objectively rated this stock according to its "risk-adjusted" total return prospect over a 12-month investment horizon. Not based on the news in any given day, the rating may differ from Jim Cramer's view or that of this articles's author. TheStreet Ratings has this to say about the recommendation:

You can view the full analysis from the report here: ATHN
Employees Needlessly Sickened When Employer Exposes Them to Mercury Poisoning

OSHA has fined Environmental Remediation Services a total of $142,200 for violations.

OSHA has determined that a hazardous materials remediation contractor exposed employees to mercury poisoning and did not provide the proper safeguards while at the General Electric Co. Power and Water Main Plant State Superfund site in Schenectady, N.Y. After employees complained about mercury exposure, an investigation found that several employees inhaled or absorbed excessive levels of mercury vapor or liquid mercury through their skin while removing the substance from the third and fourth floors of the plant.

"Environmental Remediation Services Inc. did not control the mercury exposures. They failed to implement measures such as ventilation, protective equipment or reorganizing work to reduce employees' exposure levels despite the employees' complaints about the exposure. Particularly disturbing is the fact that company managers knowingly refused to perform personal exposure monitoring of employees most likely to have the highest exposure levels. Had the monitoring be done, managers could have identified over-exposures and mitigated or prevented them from occurring in the first place. Instead, these employees were needlessly sickened while simply doing their jobs," said Robert Garvey, OSHA's Albany area director.

OSHA says ERS did not comply with several requirements for protecting employees engaged in hazardous waste operations.
Nevada Governor Signs Mining Agreement in Brisbane

The governor and a Nevada delegation he heads toured the Sustainable Mineral Institute at the University of Queensland, St. Lucia, and Sandoval met with David Camerlengo, Queensland's Trade and Investment commissioner for North America, and Dr. Anthony Lynham, Minister for Natural Resources.

Nevada Gov. Brian Sandoval signed a statement of intent Aug. 4 with the Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk to advance collaboration during the next three years between Nevada and that Australian state in the mining sector, as well as in higher education, water, and technology.

The goal is to work together and share best practices in:

mining technologies, health and safety, and environmental sustainability in mining

higher education

water management and water efficiency technologies

pathways for market access for start-ups and established technology companies

"Queensland's focus on innovation presents a unique opportunity to help propel many of our key industries into the future," Sandoval said. "We have committed to collaborate with the State of Queensland in areas of mutual benefit to ensure that we are working together to increase trade and investment opportunities. The Governor's Office of Economic Development will take the lead on ushering this partnership through, and I look forward to seeing the collaborative projects that will serve to increase our competitiveness in mining, education, water and technology."

The governor and a Nevada delegation he heads toured the Sustainable Mineral Institute at the University of Queensland, St. Lucia and participated in an education roundtable with faculty and school leaders, and Sandoval met with David Camerlengo, Queensland's Trade and Investment commissioner for North America, and Dr. Anthony Lynham, Minister for Natural Resources.
Nobel Prize-winning economist Joseph E. Stiglitz has resigned as chairman of a Panamanian government commission set up to investigate the Central American countrys offshore financial industry in the wake of the Panama Papers scandal, saying that government officials have refused to give the panel full independence.

Stiglitz and Mark Pieth, a Swiss anti-corruption expert, wrote Panamanian President Juan Carlos Varela on Friday that they were pulling out of the study committee because they fear government officials will limit the panels freedom to investigate and keep its final report secret.

They said in the letter that government officials had declined to commit to public release of the panels report and instead had insisted the groups findings would be the property of the government and that Panamanian authorities would have sole responsibility for any public announcements. Such restrictions, they said, made no sense considering that the panel was set up to investigate concerns about how offshore secrecy encourages money laundering and other misconduct.

How can a group allegedly committed to transparency write a report that is not transparent? It would undermine our own credibility, Stiglitz said in telephone interview Friday afternoon. Evidently they wanted us to be part of a charade to convince people they were serious when in fact they werent.

A government spokesperson issued a brief statement saying Panamanian officials regretted Stiglitz and Pieths exit from the panel and adding that the government understands both resignations are related to internal differences within the panel over which it won't intervene.

The statement added: The Government of Panama reiterates its firm and real commitment to transparency and international cooperation and how showed this commitment with clear actions that have been recognized by the international community.

In their resignation letter, Stiglitz and Pieth urged that the independent committee disband. Stiglitz said he and Pieth will likely issue their own separate report, which will make the case that being more transparent will help Panamas economy in the long run.

Panamanian authorities established the panel  appointing four members from Panama and three from outside the country  in April.

President Varela called for the creation of the committee after the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists and more than 100 other media partners began publishing stories exposing how a Panama-headquartered law firm, Mossack Fonseca, had set up hard-to-trace shell companies for politicians, professional athletes, organized crime figures and money launderers from around the world. The resulting media firestorm forced Panamas government to respond.

Varela said at the time panel was formed that his administration was committed to bulletproofing Panamas financial services sector against threats from people and groups who want to use it for illegal activities.

The commission is supposed to make recommendations to Varela and other Panamanian officials and write a report on their findings by the end of this year.

Stiglitz and Pieth said that committee members had agreed during a meeting in New York in early June that Panamas government needed to make the committees report public no matter what its findings. Pieth said in an interview Friday with Tages-Anzeiger, a Swiss newspaper that collaborated on the Panama Papers investigation, that he and Stiglitz decided to resign after an official with Panamas foreign ministry sent them a rude letter on July 29 that said the government wouldnt commit to releasing the report.

We were a little shocked, Stiglitz told ICIJ. Before we took the action to resign, we made an effort to contact the vice president or president, and we were rebuffed. We never got through.

Pieth told Tages-Anzeiger that he and Stiglitz agreed that we dont write secret reports. If you want to have a clean financial center, transparency is the top priority.

In their letter to Varela, Stiglitz and Pieth wrote: We believe that transparency is at the core of our mission  transparency in Panamas corporate and financial sectors and transparency regarding the Independent Committees process, findings and final reports. Given our commitment to transparency and the fact that global standards are moving towards more disclosure not less, we believe that its essential that our findings be made public and that Independent Committee members shall be allowed to speak freely about our findings, recommendations and beliefs.

Stiglitz is a professor at Columbia University in New York and shared the 2001 Nobel prize in economics. Pieth is a professor of law and criminology at Basel University and spent more than 20 years as the chair of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Developments working group on corporate bribery.

Pieth and Stiglitzs resignation letter noted that the country has made progress on meeting international standards aimed at combating money laundering and tax evasion, but said the country needs stronger laws and better enforcement when it comes to overseeing law firms, accounting firms and other key players in the offshore financial system. Because international standards are getting stronger, they said, Panama needs to do more to keep up.

If not, they said, the gap between Panama and these global standards will increase, with substantial potential damage to Panamas reputation and its place within the international community.

Later Friday afternoon, after fielding questions about the two panel members' resignations, Panamanian officials distributed a nine-page document that describes itself as the committee's July 2016 interim report.

The document recommends more reporting requirements for offshore companies and suggests other changes in the country's regulatory practices. It says Panama should try to reduce and, if possible, eliminate all forms of illicit money flows.

Stiglitz and Pieth, however, said in their letter to President Varela that they had played no role in writing the document. Had they done so, they said, they would have made recommendations that go far beyond those that appear in the document.

Neither of us agreed to that report, and it was prepared and submitted without discussion within the Committee, Stiglitz and Pieth wrote. Indeed, one of us is not even in receipt of the Final Interim Report, after submitting numerous requests. While there may be conclusions of that report with which we agree, that Report should not be considered the work of the Committee.

They added that it appears strange and nontransparent that a report of the committee be submitted without approval of Stiglitz, the committee's chair.
Homebuyers are upbeat about the prospects of Singapores residential market in the long run. About 43%, or 217, of the 500 respondents polled in a recent survey shared that they were on the lookout to purchase a private home in Singapore. The survey was jointly conducted by property consultancy firm Knight Frank and The Edge Property over a one-month period starting from June 10. Interestingly, 59% of the 217 respondents who plan to purchase a private home currently own an existing property in Singapore, mainly an HDB flat, while another 21% own more than one property.

Regardless of their intention to purchase a private home, a vast majority, or 87% of the 500 respondents, believed that Singapore residential property makes a good investment, citing potential capital appreciation as well as the countrys stability and renowned status as a gateway city and financial hub (see Chart 1).

The minority, or 13% of respondents who were less sanguine about Singapore properties, was mostly concerned about the large supply of homes, which would dampen rental yields. The market has seen the new supply of residential properties outstripping population growth in recent years. This trend is likely to continue over the next few years, says Knight Frank.

However, the property consultant highlighted a pickup in purchases by foreign nationals this year, which further underscores investor confidence in Singapore as a safe haven.

A total of 1,932 caveats were lodged by foreign nationals, comprising permanent residents and non-PRs, for private non-landed homes in 1H2016. This was 20% higher than the 1,608 caveats lodged in the same period last year (see Chart 2). The proportion of foreign purchasers has remained largely unchanged from last year because the number of Singaporean purchasers has also increased.

The rising number of foreign homebuyers in recent quarters reflects the revival in interest in Singapore residential property over other overseas properties, given higher currency volatility, a less transparent system and tax considerations in other markets, notes Alice Tan, head of research at Knight Frank Singapore.

Story continues

Projects that drew a high proportion of foreign purchasers in 2Q2016 include Ardmore Three, Cairnhill Nine and OUE Twin Peaks. Interestingly, some projects in the city fringe and the suburb have also attracted keen interest from PRs and non-PRs alike. At Lakeville on Jurong Lake Link, foreign purchasers accounted for 40% of the 40 caveats lodged in 2Q2016  15% by PRs and 25% by non-PRs. Similarly, 47% of the 51 caveats lodged for Symphony Suites units in 2Q2016 were by foreign nationals.

Cautious interim outlook

In the short term, however, a confluence of factors, including a frail economy, job uncertainties and the additional buyers stamp duty (ABSD) is deterring aspiring home buyers from signing on the dotted line. The recent uptick in sales was mostly driven by price incentives and projects with strong location attributes.

--thisisapagebreak

Hence, among the 217 respondents who aspire to buy a private home, only 51, or 24%, were likely to purchase their dream home over the next 12 months. Meanwhile, 107 respondents, or 49%, said they might take up to 24 months to commit. The remaining 59 respondents, or 27%, could take longer than 24 months to ink a deal.

When questioned on the outlook for the Singapore economy and residential market, half of the 217 respondents believed prices will continue to fall over the next 12 months. A bigger percentage of respondents said the Singapore economy would fare worse in 2016 compared with last year. Beyond the next 24 months, however, 61% of respondents believed that prices would begin to recover.

Rising job uncertainties are also keeping homebuyers on the sidelines. Singapores unemployment rate crept up from 1.9% in March to 2.1% in June, according to preliminary estimates released on July 28 by the Ministry of Manpower. About 68,300 residents were reported to be unemployed as at June, up from 60,400 in March.

The survey also suggests that the ABSD continues to deter buyers from committing. About 58%, or 125 of the 217 respondents, would purchase a private home within 12 months if the ABSD was more favourable, up from 24% earlier.

For some buyers, the challenging market presents an opportunity to unearth value deals. Among the 51 respondents who are prepared to commit in the next 12 months, 65% believed there are good property investment opportunities to be uncovered in this period. The percentage is lower among the 107 and 59 respondents who might take up to 24 months or more to buy their property, at 53% and 39% respectively.

Tan says the optimism about Singapores property market prospects shown by a high proportion of aspiring homebuyers is fuelled mainly by our long-standing attributes. The city states status as a safe haven for asset investments, the governments proactive strategies to advance real estate development and the stable Singapore dollar all combine to strengthen investor confidence in the property market.

Tan attributes homebuyers optimism

to Singapores safe-haven status, the

governments proactive strategies to

advance real estate development and

a stable Singapore dollar

However, headwinds persist for residential property, in particular uncertain economic performance, job security concerns and the prolongation of property cooling measures. Despite these challenges, interest in Singapore residential property is anticipated to be sustained in 2H2016, especially for properties in the city centre and fringe locations, as unsold inventory and upcoming launches taper off and pent-up demand swells three years after the imposition of the total debt servicing ratio (TDSR). The continuing search for stable property investment by both local and foreign investors would support Singapore as one of the property destinations of choice, notes Tan.

Owing to economic uncertainties and the ABSD, most respondents will likely take up to 24 months or longer

to commit to buying a new property

Homebuyers wish list

Expectedly, condominiums and apartments emerged as the most popular choice of private homes, with 199 of the 217 respondents considering to purchase them. Eight respondents would only consider landed properties, either strata or conventional landed homes.

--thisisapagebreak

Overall, private homes priced between $1 million and $1.5 million appear to be the preferred choice among homebuyers, with 42% of the 217 respondents targeting to buy within this range (see Chart 3). The trend was observed across income bands, including among respondents with a high gross household income of above $16,000 and $20,000 a month. Properties priced between $500,000 and $1 million came in second, with 28% of respondents indicating this price range as their preferred choice.

Analysis of URA caveats supports this trend. At least since 2011, private non-landed homes priced between $1 million and $1.5 million have accounted for the bulk of resale and sub-sale caveats lodged annually. In the primary market, however, units priced between $500,000 and $1 million formed the majority of new sale caveats for private non-landed homes annually over the same period. This might be owing to the relatively smaller units offered in new projects.

The top three household income ranges among the 217 respondents who aspire to own a private home are $8,001 to $12,000 (21%) $12,001 to $16,000 (20%) and $5,001 to $8,000 (20%). Notably, 18% of respondents reported a household income of above $20,000.

Nearly half of the 217 respondents were married with one to two children, which explains a higher preference for three-bedroom units (see Chart 4). While the TDSR has been blamed for the slower take-up of bigger units in new projects, perhaps the design and efficiency of the units in some projects or the size of the internal space could be enhanced for this group of buyers.

This article appeared in The Edge Property pullout, Issue 740 (Aug 8, 2016) of The Edge Singapore.

Related Articles From TheEdgeProperty.com.sg

What's the next step for HDB owners?

Moderate price fall for private homes in 2Q2016

Wing Tai to sell its half-stake in Nouvel 18 to CDL for $411 mil

Completed condos near new launches in OCR present buying opportunities
The Philippines Central Bank on Friday handed a local bank a record $21 million fine after it was used by hackers to channel millions of dollars stolen from Bangladesh into local casinos.

In February, unidentified cyber criminals shifted $81 million from the Bangladesh central bank's account with the US Federal Reserve to a Manila branch of the Rizal Commercial Banking Corp (RCBC), from where it was funnelled into local casinos.

The central bank said in a statement it had approved the record one billion pesos ($21 million) fine after a "special examination" of the bank and its role in the audacious cyber heist.

The fine was part of its "supervisory enforcement action on RCBC", the central bank said in a statement.

The move shows the central bank's "strong commitment to ensure the stability of the country's financial system through strong and effective regulation," it added.

Bangladesh welcomed the imposition of the fine.

"It's positive," Bangladeshi ambassador to Manila John Gomes told a news conference.

RCBC said separately that it had made provisions for the fine and would pay it in two instalments over a one-year period.

The total was equivalent to more than 38 percent of the 2.6 billion pesos it earned in net profits during the first half of 2016.

But it added: "The payment of the amount will not affect the operations of RCBC, and capital ratios will continue to be strong."

The brazen cyber heist highlighted how the Philippines' banking loopholes and anti-money laundering laws have made the impoverished and corruption-weary Southeast Asian nation a dirty money destination.

Philippine law exempts casino transactions from scrutiny by the country's anti-money laundering council without a case filed in court.

Filipino authorities now say they have tracked down all but $21 million of the loot, but have only recovered a fraction of it.

The Philippines' Anti-Money Laundering Council has filed a suit to gain control of the alleged stolen funds from RCBC, the casinos, and a Manila-based Chinese casino operator.

Story continues

But the process is expected to take years, with Bangladesh voicing frustration at the slow pace of the return of surrendered funds.

Bangladeshi ambassador Gomes announced Friday that Dhaka was sending a high-level delegation to Manila late next month to press for the return of the funds.

The Bangladesh theft was one of a series of spectacular cyber attacks against banks this year that have heightened fears the industry is becoming an increasingly attractive target for hackers.
Investors can now buy equity in private companies through online platforms, which has led people eager to invest in startups to consider purchasing shares through these portals. But before people become invested in equity, they should think about how they will get their money out. We dont yet have an efficient secondary market for private company shares.

The Challenge of Exiting Crowdfunding Investments

Business angels and venture capitalists usually achieve liquidity when the companies they finance are acquired or go public. But its not likely that most investors in crowdfunding portals will achieve liquidity that way. Most of the companies raising money through these platforms arent the type to go public or be acquired.

Moreover, crowdfunding will lead to a smaller fraction of private companies having these types of exits. Crowdfunding will increase directly the number of young companies getting financed, but wont influence the number of IPOs or acquisitions very much at all. If crowdfunding leads more companies to receive investment, but doesnt alter the number experiencing an IPO or acquisition, it will exacerbate the startup investment liquidity problem.

Strategic and institutional investors might someday become buyers of crowdfunding shares, David Freedman and Matthew Nutting argue in their book Equity Crowdfunding for Investors: A Guide to the Risks, Returns, Regulations, Funding Portals, Due Diligence, and Deal Terms. But, these investors arent going to do much to make a market for those shares initially. Strategic and institutional investors focus their financing activity on the highest performing fraction of businesses backed by angels and other early investors in private companies. They arent likely to be interested in the shares of most companies that raise money through equity crowdfunding.

Other individual investors might want to buy these shares, Freedman and Nutting explain. But that wont happen while the startups are still selling shares through crowdfunding. Just as people dont buy previously lived-in homes while builders are still offering brand new dwellings, investors wont buy shares from others when they can purchase them from the companies themselves.

More importantly, for these shares to really trade between investors, we need a secondary market where buyers and sellers come together. The intermediaries that currently match buyers and sellers for private company shares probably wont create these secondary markets. The currently market-making entities typically seek the approval of the companies that issue the shares before accepting transactions, making them a better fit for selling employees shares than investors equity. In addition, these transactions are labor-intensive, which will deter most entities from making markets for small lots.

Then there is the information problem. Potential buyers will have a difficult time getting accurate data on the private companies they are considering buying. No analysts cover these companies or provide reports about them. Few of the businesses have audited financial statements to provide to potential investors.

Before investing in private companies, investors should consider how they will liquidate their holdings in the future. Right now its possible to buy shares in private companies quite efficiently. But its not yet possible to sell those same shares easily.
Its Olympics season and were talking hiring hurdles.

Youd guess that the biggest problem small businesses face when hiring is finding the right person for the job.

Actually, its the opposite. Small businesses worry that, while there re qualified people out there, they wont be able to attracting them.

Or so says a new survey of small business owners conducted by Indeed. The company has been investigating hiring trends among small businesses in the U.S.

Specifically, the survey found that 64 percent of small businesses identified attracting the right candidate for their open job as the biggest obstacle toward making a hire.

The same survey found 40 percent of small businesses worry most about making a hire who is a good fit with the company culture.

Nearly the same amount of those responding  39 percent  said finding the right person within the amount of time they had allotted for making the hire was their biggest challenge.

Just more than a quarter of those responding  28 percent  said being able to meet their ideal candidates compensation request was the biggest worry.

Twenty-seven percent told Indeed that their biggest obstacle when hiring is finding time out of their own schedule to dedicate to finding the right candidate.

And 21 percent said that carving out some time as a company to find the right person to bring on board is their biggest challenge they face when hiring.

Only three percent of those responding to Indeed said they dont really face any obstacles when hiring.

Lucky them!

So, what should you get from this surveys findings?

First off, expect hurdles and be prepared for them when hiring someone new at your company. Few, if any, small businesses go through the process without some sort of hiccup.

And this survey identifies some of the biggest hurdles youre likely to face. So with this information in hand, youre already at least partially prepared for the problems that might lay ahead.

Finding Good Employees

So what can your small business learn from all this? Being prepared ahead of the hiring process  before you even schedule your first interview  is one vital way to make the process go more smoothly.

Include at least one other person within your company in the process, too. How else will you get a true sense of the company culture?

In terms of attracting the right candidate  after all, its the biggest hurdle identified by Indeeds respondents  youre going to have to canvass the right places.

Recruit in multiple locations. Consider and be open to alternatives to the plan you had originally for the open position with your company.

If you were thinking of hiring an on-location, full-time employee for your job but you believe you may have found a good fit who wants to telecommute, you should be open to this.
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U.S. Bank (NYSE:USB) and Sage (LON:SGE) announced this week at Sage Summit 2016 in Chicago a new partnership that will benefit Sage customers in the U.S. and Canada.

The partnership centers around the introduction of AP Optimizer, an application built by U.S. Bank that lives inside the Sage Live accounting platform.

Its purpose, according to Bradley Matthews, head of Middle Market Product and Marketing for U.S. Bank Corporate Payment Systems, who spoke with Small Business Trends by phone, is to address three pain points experienced by Sage customers: knowing the best time to pay invoices, the best method for paying them and how to make the payment process easier.

AP Optimizer creates a cash flow analysis that shows outgoing and inbound invoices over a 90-day period, Matthews said. It maps the two sets of invoices together and shows the times when the business has the most cash on hand, or the reverse, when it is cash poor.

Cash Flow Statement

Matthews said that by seeing the two areas, a business can know the best time to pay and when to avoid making payments, as the following screenshots illustrate:

By showing the projected cash flow from both payables and receivables, the user quickly sees how to maximize their working capital and avoid crunch times of late payments and loss of float,' Matthews said.

Real-time Accounts Payables

AP Optimizer marks the first truly digital accounting and payment solution that enables small to medium-sized businesses to manage their cash flow in near real-time. In fact, it was the real-time nature of Sage Live that attracted U.S. Banks attention in the first place.

Sage Live users can see at any given moment when a payment is coming due, and then decide to rearrange the payment schedule based on the amount of cash on hand, thanks to the information AP Optimizer provides, Matthews said. If a payment from a customer comes in, perhaps via a credit card, users will see a jump in the revenue line immediately and can change their invoice payment schedule to accommodate.

U.S. Bank Customers Get Payables Tool; Everyone Else Can Analyze

AP Optimizer has two main parts: Payables, which lists the invoices and allows users to pay, and the Optimizer portion, which shows the best way to pay.

While the payables portion is only available to U.S. Bank customers, according to Matthews, Sage Live users can gain insights from the Optimizers comparative data, which shows how their business stacks up against its peers and best-in-class performers. It also includes a calculation of the savings or additional revenue that companies could realize by making specific changes.

The comparative that the tool generates  how much an organization is spending on payments, how that compares with its peers and with best-in-class and how much additional revenue could be realized by making adjustments  is a game changer for small businesses, Matthews said. It enables them to do something only big companies could do before.

Currently, AP Optimizer is designed for larger small businesses preparing to cross the chasm to become a medium-sized enterprise. Thats not to suggest smaller companies cant use the tool, but they must be Sage Live users to do so. U.S. Bank is looking into ways to integrate the tool with Sage One, the accounting platform used by smaller companies, Matthews said.

Related: 2-Minute Whirlwind Tour Of Sage Summit 2016
Remember the Ice Bucket Challenge from a few years back? The viral videos had everyone from LeBron James to former President George W. Bush getting buckets of icy water dumped onto their heads  all for a good cause, of course.

The Ice Bucket Challenge was created to support research into a cure for ALS, or Lou Gherigs Disease. But after several months of people dumping ice cold water on themselves, some were starting to show skepticism about what this challenge could actually accomplish.

Well, those viral videos got so much attention that they also caused donations to come pouring into The ALS Association  to the tune of approximately $115 million. And thanks to that funding, researchers have now identified a gene that is linked to the disease. Thats a major breakthrough that wouldnt have been possible had all those people not been willing to make frozen, sopping wet fools of themselves.

The Takeaway of This Viral Marketing Example?

And viral videos dont just make a difference when it comes to raising money for a good cause. Businesses can also use them to get messages across or even raise money. The important thing is to have a goal in mind for those videos  otherwise you may find yourself with a bunch of really enthusiastic fans but no clear way for them to help you reach your business goals.
The chances of your business surviving past the five-year mark are somewhat better than they used to be, says one economics expert.

According to research and commentary from Dr. Scott Shane, professor of economics and entrepreneurial studies at Case Western Reserve University (and long-time SBT contributor), startup failure rates have declined slightly for employer firms in recent years.

In 2010, the odds that a business would fail were lower than in 1980, Shane confirmed in an email to Small Business Trends,.

Shane stated that three factors govern a small businesss survival rate: age, size and industry, in that order.

Failure rates drop dramatically as firms age, Shane said. This is true across all sectors of the economy, all geographic locations and all time periods.

As to business longevity, size matters, he said. The bigger the company, the less likely it is to fail.

Finally, industry plays a significant role. Data from Shanes reports (see below) testify that sectors such as education, healthcare, mining and manufacturing fare better than others  information technology and construction, in particular.

Small Business Survival Report Summaries

The following seven reports, the first by Small Business Trends CEO and publisher Anita Campbell, the next six by Shane all published over an 11-year period, dating from July 2005 to January 2016 paint a more complete picture of the situation. But Campbells initial report deals with at what age most small businesses fail.

July 2005: Business Failure Rates Highest in First Two Years

Data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics revealed that most businesses that fail do so within the first two years.

Across sectors, 66 percent of new establishments were still in existence two years after their birth, and 44 percent were still in existence four years after, the Bureaus statistics showed (PDF).

These findings square with Shanes reports, which follow  survival rates vary by industry. In this case, the education and health services sector showed the highest survival rate while the information technology sector had the lowest.

It should be noted that the report covered the period from March of 1998 to March of 2002  the height of the dot-com boom.

April 2008: Startup Failure Rates  The REAL Numbers

In his inaugural report, which used Bureau of the Census data produced for the Office of Advocacy of the U.S. Small Business Administration from 1992 to 2002, Shane found that the survival rate for startups dropped precipitously the first year (25 percent) and then fell another 11 percent the second year. Even though it began to level off after that, each year showed further decline. After ten years, only 29 percent of businesses remained.

Shane alluded to the fact that there are considerable differences across industry sectors in business failure rates but did not elaborate, saying that he would do so in a later article.

May 2008: Startup Failure Rates Vary  Choosing the Right Industry Matters

Shane followed up his initial report a month later sharing data from an article by Amy Knaup in Monthly Labor Review, published by the Bureau of Labor Statisics, which looked at the 1998 cohort of new businesses.

As Shane suggested in his first report, survival rates varied based on industry. For example, the four-year survival rate in the information sector was only 38 percent while survival rate for startups in the education and health services sectors were 55 percent. (Those are the same industries that Campbell found in her report as being at the bottom and top of the scale.)

[T]he average start-up in education and health sector is 50 percent more likely than the average start-up in the information industry to live four years, Shane said.

He added that the industries that have lower initial survival rates tend to continue with those rates every year.

May 2012: Businesses Face High Rates of Infant Mortality

After a several year hiatus, Shane returned in May of 2012 with another report. This time, he used data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics 1994 cohort, which showed the percentage of businesses alive in a given year that failed during the subsequent year.

Shane found, for example, that the proportion of businesses started in 1994 that failed in 1995 was 20.2 percent while the percentage of those still alive in 2010 but which failed by 2011 was a mere 4.3 percent.

See Also: How to Pick the Best Business Partner for You

Shane also found that the new business failure rate for companies started in 1994 steadily declined until 2006 and then flattened out.

While the odds of going under never disappear, they pretty much hold steady at 5 percent once the businesses reach age 12, he said.

Sept. 2012: Small Business Failure Rates by Industry: The Real Numbers

Shane reported again in September of 2012 on data drawn from the Census Bureau Business Dynamics Statistics for the year 2005, which reinforced his assertion that survival rates vary by industry.

He compiled the data into a graph that compared survival rates among the following eight industry sectors:

Mining (51.3 percent)

Manufacturing (48.4 percent)

Services (47.6 percent)

Wholesaling and agriculture (47.4 percent)

Retailing (41.1 percent)

Finance, insurance and real estate (39.6 percent)

Transportation, communications and utilities (39.4 percent)

Construction (36.4 percent)

As you can see, mining companies had a 15-point higher rate of survival than construction firms.

Dec. 2012: Startup Failure Rates: The Definitive Numbers

At the end of 2012, Shane came back with a report that said business startup failure rates had not changed much since his inaugural assessment in 2008.

Citing data from the Census Bureau and Bureau of Labor and Statistics, Shane stated that both data sets revealed that the typical new business started in the United States is no longer in operation five years after being founded.

Jan. 2016: Business Failure Rates Are Declining

Shanes most recent report  published in January of this year  brought good news: business survival rates are on the rise following the bust of the 2008 Great Recession, which brought a spike in business failures.

Referencing Census Bureau statistics, Shane said that business failure rates and the fraction of American employers that go under each year are in long-term decline.

He found that in 1977, 12.9 percent of U.S. companies with employees went out of business, but in 2013, that fraction was down to 9 percent.

While recessions cause spikes in business failure rates, the long-term tendency is toward more, not fewer, small businesses surviving, Shane said.

Conclusion

These startup failure rates reports conclude that the chances of your business surviving beyond five years depends on its age, size and industry sector.

While, historically, only half to less than half of companies are still in business after five years, survival rates are slightly better now than in years past, so there is a reason for hope.

Of course, the data is empirical. It fails to take into account intangible qualities such as the entrepreneurs passion, grit and determination to succeed. While those cant be measured, they play a critical role nonetheless.
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Podcasts are being created because the technology making it happen is readily available. The software, podcasts platforms, and hardware are easily accessible. If push comes to shove, you can even use your smartphone to launch and broadcast your program. The point is a podcast will increase your customer base and give you a platform in which you can engage with your audience.

Podcast Microphone

Having a good quality podcast mic will pay off, and best of all it doesnt have to be very expensive. Since you are going to be using your voice, the quality of the voice transmission will determine if your listeners will stay for the long run. First impressions being what they are if there is a lot of static and interference, you might lose your audience before they have a chance to hear what you have to say.

With that in mind, here are 20 podcast microphones for under $200.

The Best Budget Microphones for Podcasting

Pyle PDMICR42R

The Pyle PDMICR42R has a retro design that is great to look at. But it also provides the basics so you can comfortably deliver your podcast with professional-sounding results. The microphone retails for $29.00 and has a dynamic moving coil element with a cardioid polar pattern and a frequency response rate of 30Hz-15kHz.

ECOOPRO Studio Condenser Recording Microphone

The ECOOPRO is a side-address condenser microphone that uses a cardioid polar pattern with HD broadcasting capability. The plug-and-play function and 3.5mm audio lets you plug it into any standard laptop or PC and use the sound card to make any adjustment to improve sound quality. At $39.99, it is a bargain to be sure.

Stony-Edge

The Stony-Edge has simple designed for portability and can plug into smartphones, tablets and PCs. For just $20.00, it features noise blocking technology, built-in windscreen and a goose neck frame so it can easily be adjusted.

Blue Microphones

Blue Microphones Snowball iCE is a cardioid condenser microphone that plugs in directly with a USB cable. It doesnt require any drivers, and it is Skype certified. It has a frequency response rate of 40 18 kHz and sample/word Rate of 44.1 kHz/16 bit. For $42.00 it delivers considerable features.

CAD U37 USB

The CAD U37 is a USB studio condenser recording microphone with cardioid pick-up pattern and 10dB overload-protection switch to minimize distortion. Retailing for just $49.99, it has a bass-reduction switch diminishing room noise and frequency response rate of 20Hz  20kHz.

Samson Go

The Samson Go, which retails at just $39.00, has switchable cardioid and omnidirectional pickup patterns with a frequency response of 20Hz18kHz and a resolution of 16-bit, 44.1kHz. The compact design and USB plug makes it easy to clip on your laptop or carry anywhere. The company offers the Samson Sound Deck Noise Cancellation Software as a paid download, which is a great feature if you are in a noisy environment.

Behringer Podcastudio USB

If you want a full recording studio for just $99.99, the Behringer PodcastStudio includes a USB audio interface, mixer, microphone, headphones, and downloadable professional audio software. This bundle offers all the tools you need to get hands on experience at an affordable price. It includes the UCA200 audio interface, XENYX 502 mixer, HPM1000 headphones, the Ultravoice XM8500 dynamic microphone, XLR mic cable and two stereo RCA cables.

MXL 990 Condenser Microphone

At just $74.98, the MXL 990 condenser microphone with shock mount has solid construction with a vintage look. It comes with a large 3/4 gold-sputtered diaphragm, 30Hz-20kHz frequency response and 130dB maximum Sound Pressure Level (SPL).

Shure MV5 Digital Condenser Microphone

See Also: Top 20 Products Your Business can Sell on eBay

The Shure MV5 digital condenser microphone has DSP preset modes for vocals, flat and instruments with automatic gain application, EQ, compression and limiting for better control. It also has a built in headphone output for real-time monitoring and it is Apple MFi (Made for iPhone/iPod/iPad) Certified for direct connection to any iOS device. The $99 price tag is also a selling point.

NEAT Widget C Desktop USB Microphone

If you are looking for a microphone with a modern design, the $115.71 NEAT Widget C is for you. It has a plug-and-play with Mac/Windows feature with an integrated pop filter and an internal shock-mounted condenser capsule. It includes a full-range 96kHz/24 bit audio and frequency response of 20 Hz  20 kHz.

M-Audio USB Condenser Microphone

The M-Audio has a large 16mm cardioid capsule protected by wire mesh to guard against unwanted noise. It can capture 16-bit recording at CD quality and more at -44.1 or 48 kHz with the USB connection. And at $98.75, it is certainly a bargain.

Audio-Technica AT2020USB PLUS Cardioid Condenser USB Microphone

A bit pricier at $149.00, the Audio-Technica AT2020USB PLUS comes from a proven brand delivering high quality A/D converter with 16 bit, 44.1/48 kHz sampling rate. It also includes a headphone jack with high-output internal headphone amplifier and mix control.

Blue Microphones Yeti USB Microphone  Silver

This is another entry from Blue Microphones, which manufactures professional grade equipment used in the recording industry. Retailing at $109.00, the Yeti has a tri-capsule array 3 condenser capsules to record in almost any environment with a multiple pattern selection of cardioid, bidirectional, omnidirectional and stereo. The frequency response is 20Hz  20kHz, and a sample rate of 48 kHz.

AKG P420 High-Performance Dual-Capsule True Condenser Microphone

The AKG P420 is a studio grade condenser microphone with dual-element design that accommodates cardioid, omni, and figure-8 patterns. Retailing for $179, it includes a shockmount and a metal case with a -20dB pad switch and a bass cut filter switch to eliminate unwanted low frequencies.

sE Electronics X1 Large Diaphragm Condenser Mic

At less than $199, the sE Electronics X1 packs a punch. It has a 1 hand made, diaphragm, 10dB pad and Bass cut with a solid build. The frequency response is 20Hz-20KHz, with -32 dBV/Pa (25.1mV/Pa) sensitivity and a cardioid polar Pattern.

Behringer B-2 Pro

The Behringer B-2 Pro is a German designed microphone with professional 1 gold-sputtered dual-diaphragm condenser. It has frequency response from 20 Hz to 20 kHz and two selectable pickup pattern, omni for capturing sound in all directions and cardioid. It retails for $149.99.

Blue Microphones Spark Condenser Microphone, Cardioid

The Spark from Blue Microphones has a premium condenser capsule with professional grade recording features for a bit more: $199. It includes a pop filter and custom-designed shockmount to reduce plosives and distortion while delivering isolation during recordings. The company also provides a detailed recording guide with professional tips and a three-year manufacturers warranty.

Rode NT-USB USB Condenser Microphone

Meanwhile, $169 will get you the Rode NT-USB condenser microphone compatible with recording applications on both Windows and Mac OS based computers as well as on any other recording app that accepts an external microphone. It comes with a premium pop-filter to minimize plosives (hard B, T or P that, when spoken, produce a harsh sound) during speech recordings.

Studio Projects B1 Vocal Condenser Microphone, Cardioid

The $145 Studio Projects B1 is a cardioid condenser microphone with a true 1 inch 3 um gold sputtered large diaphragm to capture high quality vocal recordings. It has a selectable filter for 75Hz and 150Hz, as well as selectable pads for -10dB and -20dB.

Marantz Professional MPM-500A

Marantz has been developing high fidelity audio systems for more than four decades, and the MPM-500A is a professional grade hi-quality 45mm cardioid condenser microphone that is a testament to that legacy. The $176.49 mic comes with shock mount, desktop tripod stand and windscreen, a frequency response of 3020,000Hz, and complete voice-recording system for interfacing with a computer sound card.

* * *

It is important to note, quality microphones practically last forever. You really have to go out of your way to break them. So if you plan to podcast professionally for an extended amount of time, it is best to buy the most expensive and highly rated unit you can afford. However, if youre just testing out the waters to see how your podcasting will go, any of the 20 microphones listed here should be a good place to start.
Payment network Dwolla today, Aug. 4, announced a new addition to its platform, Dwolla ACH API. The new API integrates ACH (automated clearing house) features into daily business processes and gives smaller businesses access to the same type of automated payment transfer management previously available only to larger corporations.

Dwollas goal in creating the new tool, according to Jordan Lampe, director of communications and policy affairs for Dwolla, who spoke to Small Business Trends by phone, was to modernize ACH and bring it into the 21st century, to operate in line with other digitized business processes.

ACH has many positive aspects, Lampe said. Its ubiquitous, low-cost and flexible compared to credit cards. On the flip side, it has no API associated with it; there are no webhooks (notification features) and no way to automate its integration into other platforms. Its a 40-year-old financial transaction network that is not compatible with modern digitized business tools and practices.

Dwolla made a name for itself in the small business world a few ago by reducing payment transaction fees, compared to credit card readers and payment providers such as Square and PayPal.

While the company still retains that focus, in recent years Dwolla seized upon a new opportunity by converting its payment network into a platform with which other platforms can integrate via APIs. (API stands for Application Programming Interface, which is a set of tools used to build software applications.)

Not a Tool for Small-Small Businesses

Lampe clarified that the new tool is not something small-small businesses could use but is intended for bigger companies that process several hundred ACH transactions per month, and that need a better, easier and faster way to manage them.

Business with one-bookkeeper, HR person or executive assistant would likely defer to paying a premium for an ACH product through an existing Freshbooks or Sage-like platform, Lampe said. But as the company scales and needs to coordinate 500 to 600 payments a month to and from employees, vendors and clients, a more integrated backend process might be necessary. 

He cited, as an example, a company that has a website to take online orders from customers or a mobile web app for employees to issue invoices and track jobs.

They may want an integrated ACH solution to automate all of that, Lampe said. Thats where Dwollas API would come in and help them save boatloads of time and money.

How Dwolla ACH API Tool Works

According to Lampe, some programming is required to integrate the ACH API tool into a business process, so its not turn-key right out of the box. Once set up, however, no further technical know-how is needed.

A single administrative dashboard contains all the information and presents it in a visual orientation that includes charts and graphs. Users can quickly look up and edit customer information from within the dashboard.

Customer and transaction data will be arranged in a way that provides a straightforward look at the health of the business and makes it easy to establish and analyze business trends over time, a post on the official Dwolla Blog explains.

Other features include the ability to search for and view transaction details to assist in the reconciliation process and to run basic accounting and business operations faster.

Small businesses buy ACH access from banks and credit unions all the time, Lampe said. Were offering them no-tech-know-how required tools (with free transactions) or tech-powered small businesses with APIs in ways that are modern and efficient.

Tech Platforms Primary Audience

While small businesses can use the ACH API tool, the primary target audience consists of technology platform providers that wish to integrate payment processing management in a white label fashion (no Dwolla branding appears).

The blog post announcing the new tool says, Today, we released an intuitive new dashboard for White Label partners to manage customers, view transaction details, and discover business trends.

The partners to which the post refers, are, for the most part, technology platform providers.

For example, RentMonitor uses Dwollas platform to facilitate ACH payments between tenants and landlords; Goat, a mobile retail marketplace, relies on it to process transactions between buyers and sellers; and Popular Pays, an Instagram advertising network, utilizes it to automate payouts from brands directly into ad creators bank accounts.

Dwolla ACH API Cost, Benefits

Dwollas new ACH API tool comes with a steep price tag: $1500 per month, according to the companys website. However, for those that need an easier way to process and monitor a high volume of ACH transactions or integrate with other platforms, the cost may be very worthwhile  particularly considering the benefits, which include the ability to:

See Also: PayPal Here and Invoice2go Simplify How Businesses Take Credit Card Payments

Integrate and manage ACH with other platforms more easily;

Reduce manual processes and save on per transaction fees (Dwolla charges no transaction fees);

Easily manage customers, view transaction details and discover business trends;

Onboard customers without handling their sensitive bank account information;

Offload any necessary identity verification requirements to the platform;

Monitor for fraud and risk in the network;

Remove the need for white label partners to build a customized dashboard;

Integrate payment status updates to communicate with end-users, and more.

The new ACH API tool is available for use now. Visit the Dwolla website to learn more.
Imagine this: one day while youre at work, you start to feel a dull pain in one of your teeth. You dismiss it as not a big deal and go about your day. But as the days and weeks pass, the pain only gets more intense. You put off going to see a dentist at first, because the cost can be prohibitive. You think that the worst that can happen is a little tooth pain, maybe a cavity that youll need to get taken care of eventually. But you dont consider that dental care can actually have an impact on your overall health and quality of life.

This situation has happened many times in the past. And it doesnt just result in the need for a filling or even a root canal. In fact, research over the last several years indicates that theres a correlation between dental health and overall health.

Thats one of the reasons why proper dental care is so important. And for business owners, providing employee dental health care isnt just a bonus that can make your benefits package look more attractive to employees. It can actually have a huge impact on employees overall health, quality of life and even their productivity at work.

The Value of Employee Dental Health Benefits Insurance

According to the National Association of Dental Plans (NADP), people without employee dental health benefits insurance reported higher incidences of a variety of other illnesses. For example, periodontal disease has been shown to make other health conditions like diabetes worse.

In addition, people who have access to dental coverage are more likely to practice good preventive care, which can help keep them healthier overall. Take a look at a shocking correlation  those without employee dental benefits were:

67 percent more likely to have heart disease.

50 percent more likely to have osteoporosis.

29 percent more likely to have diabetes.

So if you decide against offering employee dental benefits insurance, youre not only decreasing your teams odds of having good dental health, but also their chances of having good physical health overall.

And that doesnt just mean negatives for your employees, but also for your business.

Think about it. If a lack of coverage causes your employees to experience health issues, it could lead to them missing a significant amount of work over time. In fact, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found that more than 164 million work hours are lost each year due to dental problems alone.

Even if your employees arent actually missing work, just experiencing those dental and physical health issues can impact their satisfaction and productivity when theyre actually at work. About 30 percent of small business employees said that their productivity at work has suffered because they had to delay medical or dental care due to the cost, according to MetLifes 14th Annual Employee Benefit Trends Study.

Since dental health can have a significant impact on overall health, its likely that a lack of dental coverage can actually lead to even more missed work. Given that, its in your companys best interests to invest in keeping your employees healthy so that they can be most productive.

If your employees dont have dental health coverage to pay for the care that they need, it can make them stressed and distracted so that they arent fully focused on the tasks they need to accomplish. In addition, theyre likely to be unhappy with their lack of dental coverage if it leads to a situation where theyre unable to get the care they need. And that could cause them to either lose motivation so they dont work to their full potential or just decide to seek employment elsewhere.

If a lack of employee dental health benefits insurance causes your employees to leave for companies that offer better benefits  that means you have to spend more on hiring and also training new employees.

Overall, cutting corners when it comes to employee benefits, especially employee dental benefits insurance, can lead to a variety of increased costs or missed potential down the line. It might seem like youre saving money by skipping that part of your employee benefits plan, but if you add up the missed work, productivity issues and increased turnover, youll likely find that those costs can be much greater over time.

Offering Non-Medical Employee Benefits

Instead of accepting that fate, you can create a better work environment for your employees and better the chances of your business succeeding by offering non-medical employee benefits that include dental insurance. Doing so can have a positive impact on your employees overall health. But it can also give your small business a better chance at succeeding.

The investment in non-medical employee benefits that include dental insurance is really an investment in your team and your business. If your employees are healthy and happy, they can spend more time working and actually focused on improving your business, instead of missing work for appointments with their dentist.

Additionally, when theyre actually at work, they can be more focused on their tasks instead of being stressed or distracted by their dental health issues and all of the costs associated with them.

All of those benefits to your business also lead to benefits for your employees. Of course, your employees are more likely to experience better quality of life and overall satisfaction if they are generally healthy. And dental health can be a big part of that. So if your team has dental coverage included in their benefits, theyre more likely to be healthy, happy at work and satisfied with their compensation.

Happy employees tend to be more productive at work  and also tend to spend a longer length of time employed with a company.

If you can offer employee dental coverage, you can help them avoid those situations where they might experience health issues because of delayed care. And in doing so, you can create a happier and more productive team thats more likely to get stuff done, stick around and experience much greater overall health.
When you get a customer complaint, how fast do you respond?

You may have been told customer complaints should be resolved as soon as possible  and thats probably true.

But would it surprise you to learn most customers have been trained to put up with a wait of between one and three days to have their complaints addressed? Thats according to new data from GetFiveStars, a company thats created a platform encouraging small businesses to get feedback and reviews from its customers.

GetFiveStars co-founder Mike Blumenthal surveyed a group of 480 adults about how long they expect a local company to respond to a complaint. While 38 percent said a local business should respond to a customer complaint within one day, that wasnt the real shocker. No, that came when a surprising 30.3 percent of those responding to Blumenthals survey said they believed three days was enough time to respond. Really?

That means two-thirds of your customers, presumably, dont expect you to respond to their complaint right away.

It seems like a long time to let a complaint fester. And Blumenthal believes small businesses can thank big companies for lowering the bar.

Blumenthal told Small Business Trends, The consuming public have very low expectations.

He suspects that the approach taken by big businesses  particularly those that exist with little or no competition (like cable companies)  have trained the average consumer not to expect rapid response.

And some customers seem content to let their complaints go even longer than that without resolution. GetFiveStars data reveals 12.5 percent of customers dont really expect a company to get back to them to resolve their issue in less than a week. These are some understanding customers indeed!

Exceeding Customer Expectations is Easy if You Address Complaints Quickly

But just because customers have been trained to put up with long waits to get their issues resolved doesnt mean you should make them wait. Blumenthal explains. Its not about excellence. Its about exceeding expectations.

If you want to stand out from the competition  particularly big companies that make customers feel like their concerns dont matter  then get in front of complaints right away.

GetFiveStars data shows that only 15.9 percent of those responding expect a company to get back to them in just one to three hours. While only 1.9 percent say they expect an immediate response.

But remember, this is only about what customers have been trained to expect from the companies with whom they do business. What would happen if your business went the extra mile? How much good will could you generate for your business by addressing problems within hours instead of within days?

Well, a lot, it seems. Blumenthals data suggests 90 percent of customers whose complaints were addressed quickly and who felt their problems had been resolved to their satisfaction, would remain loyal to that business.

Youre winning the battle for loyalty, he explains.
Compliance

Salt Lake City Schools Revamps Employee Safety Learning Approach

A Utah school district with close to 25,000 students has gone public with its decision to implement a web-based learning management system specifically for maintaining a training library for its employees. Salt Lake City School District has signed with PublicSchoolWorks to adopt the company's EmployeeSafe Suite.

Initially, the district sought a solution that would address various federal, state, local and district compliance training requirements and maintain virtual binders for organizing information about chemical inventory lists for each school and safety data sheets that could be quickly accessed from any web-enabled device. The request resulted in proposals from four companies.

School leaders chose software from PublicSchoolWorks, said Byron Garritson, director of human resources, in a press release, to "deploy and manage all required staff training, as well as add other courses to the staff course load as needed."

EmployeeSafe includes functions specifically addressing safety data sheets, among other features. The service includes around-the-clock phone access to chemical specialists, spill specialists and poison control hotlines to answer all questions about the safe handling of chemicals and address chemical exposures or spills.

The district is also implementing EmployeeSafe's Accident Management System for managing the reporting of staff accidents. That program includes workflow; when a report is submitted, designated staff members are automatically notified to investigate the incident and address the hazard, and the injured employee is automatically notified to take training related to the injury type to reduce the chance of a reoccurrence.

"There are other companies that offer parts of what [this service] offers, but the biggest feature for us is that they continuously track all legislation and update their offerings accordingly," added Garritson. "Prior to working with PublicSchoolWorks, we tracked legislation by attending legislative sessions and reading resources from organizations like the Society for Human Resource Management, which was too time-consuming. With PublicSchoolWorks doing this for us, we can be confident that our programming is compliant and that it will never be outdated."
- Kenyans have taken to social media criticising Uhuru Kenyatta of discriminating against the poor

- Uhur was blasted apparently giving white school children better than their black countrparts who visited State House

- In the photos, Kenyans compared photos of the president with students (mostly white) from an exclusive private school and those coming from a poor rural school

President Uhuru Kenyatta has come under fire after several Kenyans on social media accused him of discriminating against poor students who had visited him at State House.

In the photos circulating on social media, Kenyans compared photos of how Uhuru treated children from an exclusive private primary school and how he handled those from a poor rural school.

President Uhuru Kenyatta with students of Pembroke House School when they visited him at State House. Kenyans on social media have criticised the president for the way he treated students from a poor school compared to those from the exclusive school.

READ ALSO: Senator Chris Obure reveals why he went to State House

In the photos, doings rounds on social media, the president is seen with students from the exclusive Pembroke House School and the rural Titus Ngoyoni Memorial Primary School from Marsabit County on two different occasions.

President Uhuru Kenyatta with pupils from Titus Ngoyoni Memorial Primary School from Marsabit County . The president was accused of discriminating on the students compared from those of an exclusive rich school.

Kenyans on social media accused the president who giving the students from the exclusive school better treatment like providing for them seats during the photo shoot as well as providing red carpet treatment and letting them inside his office.

Uhuru Kenyatta taking students from Pembroke House around the State House when they had a visit to him.

Most were angered that the children from the rural school in Marsabit were left to stand or squat during the photo shoot and had no kind of red carpet treatment that was previously offered to their counterparts from the exclusive school which had mostly white students.

Most were angered that the children from the rural school in Marsabit were left to stand or squat during the photo shoot and had no kind of red carpet treatment that was previously offered to their counterparts from the exclusive school which had mostly white students.

READ ALSO: Demos in Kisii after politicians visit Uhuru at State House

President Uhuru Kenyatta with students of Pembroke House School at State House.

Below are some the reactions of Kenyans on social media.

In the photos doings rounds on social media, the president is seen with students from the exclusive Pembroke House School and the rural Titus Ngoyoni Memorial Primary School from Marsabit County on two different occasions.

In the photos doings rounds on social media, the president is seen with students from the exclusive Pembroke House School and the rural Titus Ngoyoni Memorial Primary School from Marsabit County on two different occasions.

READ ALSO: President Uhuru Kenyatta to set camp in Railas strongholds

Cover photo: Uhuru Kenyatta/Twitter

Source: TUKO.co.ke
* LSE head says Brexit no threat to its EU business

* No plans to alter terms of Deutsche Boerse (LSE: 0H3T.L - news) deal

* Expects merger to complete in first half of 2017 (Adds comments from media call)

By Noor Zainab Hussain and Huw Jones

Aug 4 (Reuters) - The London Stock Exchange Group will be able to serve its customers in the European Union regardless of whether its merger with Deutsche Boerse proceeds or whatever Brexit brings, its chief executive said on Thursday.

Xavier Rolet, chief executive of the LSEG, said the $28 billion merger with its Frankfurt-based counterpart was on track and he expected it to be completed in the first half of 2017. It still needs to secure regulatory approvals in a number of jurisdictions.

He also played down the impact of Britain's vote in June to leave the European Union, noting the value of the group's existing operations across Europe which include the Milan stock exchange.

Without continued access to the single market, it will be difficult for UK based financial firms to offer their services to customers in the EU without obtaining a licence from the bloc, a costly undertaking.

"We do not need to apply for new licences. It's basically a weekend migration, we switch a few things," Rolet told a conference call to present the exchange's half-year results.

He expects Britain to ultimately secure continued access to the single market otherwise companies across the region would be cut off from London's financial expertise.

"The penalties would be very high not just for the UK but for the rest of the EU. We would be going back to fragmentation. I don't think that's what corporate issuers want," Rolet said.

He urged the British government to secure transitional arrangements to provide stability for markets until final trading terms with the EU have been agreed.

First (Other OTC: FSTC - news) half earnings were largely in line with expectations.

Adjusted operating profit rose 9 percent to 333 million pounds ($443 million) in the six months ended June 30. Revenue rose 9 percent to 721.9 million pounds, boosted by strong growth in its FTSE Russell and clearing services divisions.

Story continues

LSE's shares were up marginally at 2746 pence at 1130 GMT. The company said it would pay an interim dividend of 12 pence per share, up from 10.8 pence per share a year earlier.

CLEARING SAFE

Rolet played down the threat of the European Central Bank or policymakers mandating the switch of euro denominated clearing from London to the euro zone. French President Francois Hollande also called for this after Britain's vote in June.

LSE's LCH.Clearnet, which dominates euro swaps clearing, saw revenue increase by 12 percent to 167.1 million pounds in the first half.

"For the moment, there is no immediate threat from that standpoint," Rolet said.

It was how customers respond to any regulatory changes and not what politicians say, that determined where clearing takes place, he added.

Germany's markets watchdog BaFin has expressed unease that if the merger with Deutsche Boerse goes ahead, its "topco" holding company would be in London, outside the EU.

Rolet said no changes were planned to the structure of the deal. "It will be topco'd here. We will operate on the basis of dual headquarters." ($1 = 0.7517 pounds)

(Editing by Mark Potter and Keith Weir)
* UK gas system oversupplied by 59 mcm/day

* Wind power expected to surge on Saturday

* Norwegian flows steady despite Vesterled maintenance

Aug 5 (Reuters) - British wholesale gas prices fell on Friday in response to an oversupplied system and an expected surge in wind power output, despite ongoing maintenance on the UK continental shelf.

Gas for immediate delivery fell 0.15 pence to 34.25 pence per therm by 0830 GMT, while prices for Monday fell 0.6 pence to 34.15 pence/therm.

"Prompt prices have opened the session lower, on the comfortably supplied system despite the fall in UK continental shelf (UKCS) production weighing on prices for the coming weeks," one UK-based trader said.

The UK gas system was 59 million cubic metres (mcm) oversupplied, with flows at 208 mcm/day and demand forecast to be 149 mcm.

The oversupply is despite ongoing heavy maintenance on the UKCS, with flows into St Fergus Mobil terminal falling to zero compared to normal flows around 20 mcm/day.

"We're long at the moment because of storage withdrawals too, which I'd expect to be lower over the weekend," the trader said, referring to the oversupply.

Flows through the Vesterled pipeline, one of Norway's export routes to Britain, also dropped to zero on Friday morning due to a planned one-day maintenance.

This, however, was offset by a similar increase in flows via the Langeled pipeline, putting total Norwegian deliveries unchanged from the previous day.

Meanwhile, wind power output expected to peak to 5.8 GW on Saturday from 1.8 GW on Friday, reducing demand for gas, due to unseasonably windy weather, with gales expected in the far northwest.

The weather is forecast to remain unsettled and windy across northern parts on Sunday and Monday, the Met Office said.

There were no confirmed liquefied natural gas (LNG) deliveries, though there might be one-two tankers potentially arriving in Britain by around mid-August, gas market analysts at Thomson Reuters (Dusseldorf: TOC.DU - news) said.

Story continues

If those deliveries do not materialise, LNG supply from UK terminals will have to drop from the current 22 mcm/day rate, they added.

Lower LNG receipts could be the result of higher Northeast Asian LNG demand pulling Qatari gas away from Britain due to hotter than average weather boosting cooling demand in Japan, London-based consultancy Energy Aspects said.

NBP (Shanghai: 601018.SS - news) prompt prices could continue to find support if the slowdown in UK LNG receipts is sustained, however the holiday season and rising gas stocks in Europe could reduce demand on the Continent, it said.

Further along the curve, the contract for gas delivery next-month, was at 34.70 pence/therm, 0.45 pence or 1.28 percent lower.

Dutch day-ahead gas prices at the TTF hub fell 0.15 euro or 1.1 percent to 13.20 euro/MWh.

In the European carbon market, front-year allowances eased 0.03 euro to 4.67 euro a tonne. (Reporting by Nerijus Adomaitis in Oslo. Editing by Jane Merriman)
Ares Management is reportedly seeking to raise more than $45bn for its latest batch of funds.
[August 04, 2016] Dell, NetApp and Palo Alto Executives to Headline 2016 Best of Breed Conference

WESTBOROUGH, Mass., Aug. 4, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Three high-profile, technology industry executives are slated for keynote interviews at The Channel Company's 2016 Best of Breed Conference (www.thechannelco.com/events/bob16) in San Antonio, Texas: Marius Haas, chief commercial officer and president of Enterprise Solutions at Dell; George Kurian, CEO of NetApp; and Mark McLaughlin, chairman, president and CEO of Palo Alto Networks. Robert Faletra, CEO of The Channel Company, will interview each of the three chief executives in a live, onstage discussion about the state of the technology industry from an IT channel perspective. All three executives are deftly navigating major changes in the IT channel and helping to shape its future on multiple frontsthe steady stream of hugely disruptive technologies, the widespread transition to a recurring revenue business model and the emergence of fierce new competition, among others. Haas, Kurian and McLaughlin's determined response to these challenges make them a perfect fit with the theme of this year's Best of Breed Conference: "Disrupt, Innovate & Grow: Innovating in a Time of Chaos." Haas has played a key role in growing Dell's enterprise server, storage and networking business as the company transitions from a PC-dominated business model to one that turns on enterprise computing. More importantly, as the tech giant moves closer to finalizing its $60 billion acquisition of leading storage company EMC and becoming the largest company in high tech, Haas is overseeing sales for the soon-to-be combined company, integration of EMC's partner accounts into Dell's existing channel program and the structure of its go-to-market sales structure moving forward. Haas will be onstage to answer questions surrounding the acquisition and what it means to the partner community. He has pledged to actively support and engage existing EMC partners, promoting their growth and incentivizing them to pick up Dell product lines. NetApp's new CEO, George Kurian, who previously served as executive vice president of product operations, is spearheading the company's innovative strategy connecting physical and virtual all-flash storage across on-premise and cloud infrastructures. Kurian was responsible for the storage compan's positively regarded 2015 acquisition of flash storage array startup SolidFire (www.solidfire.com) and oversaw the product road map and engineering execution for its proprietary Data ONTAP Operating System. Kurian's NetApp is a direct competitor of EMC and now faces the task of competing against the larger Dell Technologies. He will be on stage answering questions for his vision of the future and how he will compete and leverage the channel moving forward.



Palo Alto Networks CEO Mark McLaughlin has led the enterprise security powerhouse to major milestones in the white-hot security space. Growing fiscal-year 2015 revenue 55 percent year over year to $928.1 million and adding more than 1,000 customers each quarter for the last 18 quarters, McLaughlin has been pushing the envelope on growth. The company went public under McLaughlin's leadership in 2012, earning it $260 million1, and has been listed as a leader in Gartner's annual Magic Quadrant for Enterprise Network Firewalls every year since McLaughlin joined the company in 2011. "Haas, Kurian and McLaughlin are among the most accomplished and innovative executives leading the IT channel forward," said Faletra. "All three are solidly committed to guiding their organizations through the complex and fast-changing rapids of today's channelfinding nimble, creative new ways of meeting unprecedented technological challenges and keeping pace with partners' evolving needs. I look forward to engaging them on the most pressing issues facing not only their own organizations, but their partner channel organizations. We will explore new technology opportunities and challenges around cloud, IoT, security, new IT services and the future of the data center. I also hope to get their perspectives on the recent emergence of the Strategic Service Provider and how this new breed of solution provider is reshaping the leaders' go-to-market strategies."

This year's Best of Breed Conference will take place October 24-25 in Atlanta, Ga., hosting top industry executives from CRN  's (www.crn.com) Tech Elite 250, Next-Gen 250, Solution Provider 500, Fast Growth 150 and Managed Service Provider 500 communities. Each year, attendees gather to discuss the changing channel ecosystem, attend presentations by numerous renowned IT thought leaders, network with executive peers and learn about the latest technologies and market trends from prominent CIOs. The Best of Breed Conference is the only high-profile event dedicated to examining the current business challenges, strategies and thought leadership running through the technology industry through the lens of the IT channel. To learn more about the 2016 Best of Breed Conference, register or become a sponsor, please visit http://www.thechannelco.com/events/bob16/about. About The Channel Company

The Channel Company enables breakthrough IT channel performance with our dominant media, engaging events, expert consulting and education, and innovative marketing services and platforms. As the channel catalyst, we connect and empower technology suppliers, solution providers and end users. Backed by more than 30 years of unequaled channel experience, we draw from our deep knowledge to envision innovative new solutions for ever-evolving challenges in the technology marketplace. www.thechannelco.com Follow Us: Twitter | LinkedIn | Facebook CRN is a registered trademark of The Channel Company, LLC. The Channel Company logo is a trademark of The Channel Company, LLC (registration pending). All rights reserved. SOURCES:

1 http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2012-07-19/palo-alto-raises-260-4-million-pricing-ipo-above-range Media Contact:

Melanie Turpin

The Channel Company

1 Research Drive, Westborough, MA 01581

508.416.1195

[email protected] Logo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160804/395711LOGO To view the original version on PR Newswire, visit:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/dell-netapp-and-palo-alto-executives-to-headline-2016-best-of-breed-conference-300309367.html SOURCE The Channel Company

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YEREVAN, AUGUST 4, ARMENPRESS. Deputy Foreign Minister of Armenia Shavarsh Kocharyan doesnt think that numerous officials must react to Vladimir Zhirinovskys absurd statement. He recalled that Armenian Ambassador to Russia Oleg Yesayan has commented on Zhirinovskys remarks.

I do not think these absurd statement requires the reaction of numerous officials, let us not so value it, the Armenian Ambassadors response is enough. Further reaction will mean to give more value to that statement, Armenpress reports, Kocharyan said.

He added that his personal attitude is the same like that of every Armenian citizen. To the question whether it is necessary to put a ban against Zhirinovsky on visiting Armenia, the Deputy FM said there is no need to give such a value to that absurd statement.

Leader of the Russian Liberal Democratic Party Vladimir Zhirinovsky gave an interview to the Russian TV Channel where he said: Do not care about Armenia. Who needs Armenia? There will be regular speeches. A small country, in the mountains, between Azerbaijan and Turkey, no perspective, no economy. Nearly a million Armenians remained there. But they are 6 million all over the world. Everyone went to Lebanon, Iran, Russia, France, the US. There is no place to live, only mountains. We will take back the base. This base is their salvation, otherwise, the Turks and Azerbaijanis will eliminate them. Thats why there is no need to worry about Armenia. Azerbaijan will immediately capture Nagorno Karabakh, and the Turks will help them.
[August 04, 2016] Backend as a Services Market Will Grow at an Impressive CAGR of 102% until 2020, Reports Technavio

Technavio analysts forecast the global backend as a services (BaaS) market to grow at a CAGR of 102% during the forecast period, according to their latest report. The research study covers the present scenario and growth prospects of the global BaaS market for 2016-2020. To calculate the market size, the report considered revenue generated from BaaS software platform, tools, applications, services, and support and maintenance. Technavio ICT analysts highlight the following four factors that are contributing to the growth of the global BaaS market: Need to reduce complexities in application development

Concerns of mobile data privacy and security

High demand for additional features in mobile apps

Growing use of cell phones and smart devices Need to reduce complexities in application development BaaS reduces complexities associated with developing and designing mobile and web applications. It removes the need for application developers to create their own backend systems in the client-server communication process. Vendors are offering solutions that do not require complex coding in the server. This reduces development time of applications, improves frontend tasks such as design and development of content and enhances user interface (UI) design for better experience. As BaaS involves cloud, the storage capacity of data is highly flexible and scalable. It facilitates automatic generation of API to read and write data through an external access. Amit Sharma, lead cloud computing analyst at Technavio, says, "Enterprises build their apps to reduce business application development complexity. This allows unitary development of both frontend mobile clients and backend server-side programs. With changing business requirements, the "going mobile" trend is quickly gaining popularity. The trend includes deploying mobile-rich Internet applications in buiness phones and PDAs for both frontend and backend enterprise systems."



Concerns of mobile data privacy and security The growing number of mobile app users worldwide has raised concerns over security threats. Organizations seek mobile apps that are safe from cyber-attacks such as application layer distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks. BaaS is a secured platform as it has access control list to prevent data from unauthorized access. It provides additional security layers by integrating with two-factor authentication servers. This authentication system is secured and strong as it includes two different forms of identification layers such as a combination of fingerprint and password.

High demand for additional features in mobile apps The growing demand for mobile apps with additional features and functionalities is boosting market growth. BaaS ensures better user engagement. BaaS provides cloud-based storage and user account management. It allows end-users with easy storage and retrieval of user information across different platforms and devices. Such cloud-based APIs help developers reduce development time by eliminating the need to perform coding from the start. BaaS providers offer a wide range of added functionalities that appeal to advanced business needs. These solutions vary in scope and purpose with different providers. The basic elements most companies offer include: Social integration: This is ideal for apps that focus on social collaboration or need analytics. It allows linking users to their social media profiles. After authentication, additional native integration such as social activity lists can be incorporated. Growing use of cell phones and smart devices The use of cell phones and smart devices has increased exponentially worldwide. With this, the demand for BaaS solutions is also growing rapidly. Organizations need applicant tracking software integrated with smartphones. Cell phones and tablets are now being equipped with more personalized services such as location-based mobile technology. This helps companies to categorize potential customers for marketing purposes. "The backend process involved in this segmentation is highly complex. It includes processes such as integration with service infrastructures, integration with customer data, privacy and security policy, and creating access to information in real time. Therefore, application developers use BaaS solutions to save time, costs, and the complex processes involved in application development. These solutions increase the overall efficiency of the developing process through SDKs," asserts Amit. Browse Related Reports: Global Backend As A Service (BaaS Or MBaaS) Market 2015-2019

Global Data Protection As A Service (DPaaS) Market 2015-2019

IPaaS Market - Global Market Analysis 2015-2019 Do you need a report on a market in a specific geographical cluster or country but can't find what you're looking for? Don't worry, Technavio also takes client requests. Please contact [email protected] with your requirements and our analysts will be happy to create a customized report just for you. About Technavio Technavio is a leading global technology research and advisory company. The company develops over 2000 pieces of research every year, covering more than 500 technologies across 80 countries. Technavio has about 300 analysts globally who specialize in customized consulting and business research assignments across the latest leading edge technologies. Technavio analysts employ primary as well as secondary research techniques to ascertain the size and vendor landscape in a range of markets. Analysts obtain information using a combination of bottom-up and top-down approaches, besides using in-house market modeling tools and proprietary databases. They corroborate this data with the data obtained from various market participants and stakeholders across the value chain, including vendors, service providers, distributors, re-sellers, and end-users. If you are interested in more information, please contact our media team at [email protected]. View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20160804005076/en/

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[August 04, 2016] Reputable Cryptocurrency Exchange XMLGold Offers Great Deals to Its Bitcoin Customers

BELIZE CITY, Belize, Aug. 4, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- XMLGold, part of the XML Corp is a leading cryptocurrency trading platform serving the community for over 10 years. While XMLGold supports over 21 different electronic currencies/ payment options, Bitcoin continues to be an all-time favourite among its customers. The convenience of bitcoin trading on XMLGold in unprecedented. Both existing and new users can start trading bitcoin within seconds on the platform, without having to go through the whole process of registration. The company has received outstanding feedback from its customers regarding the ease of trading and rates offered on the platform. Photo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160804/395788 XMLGold's instant online bank transfer option is the platform's other offering that has received accolades from customers. The instant banking feature allows clients to pay for their cryptocurrency purchases directly from their bank accounts within minutes. This will allow customers to trade cryptocurrencies whenever they want without having to worry about the liquidity on the platform. However, the instant banking feature is currently available only in Austria, France, Germany, Italy, Spain and other countries where the platform offers its services. XMLGold is continuously working on increasing its reach by extending its services to moe countries.



All the services offered by XMLGold are profoundly compatible with each other, viz., AdvCash EUR and USD; Bank Transfer EUR; Bank Transfer GBP; Bank Transfer USD; Bitcoin; BTC-E Code; C-CEX USD; CoinMate EUR; Ecoin-Code-USD; EPay EUR and USD; Litecoin; MoneyPolo EUR; OKPAY EUR and USD; Payeer USD; PayPal USD; PerfectMoney EUR and USD; Online Bank Transfer EUR; lastly, XMLMoney USD. The wide range of services offered by XMLGold ensures that all users will be able to find the most convenient option to transact the digital currency of their choice. XMLGold platform maintains transparency in its operations and all the transactions happening over the platform are protected by SSL 256-bit encryption, which combined with a user-friendly interface makes interaction with the platform, a pleasurable experience.

XMLGold prefers to grow with its customers and affiliates by offering the best deals to its users and have one of the markets most generous referral programs. By offering 10% of the profits to its affiliates the company hopes to reach out to more users worldwide. About XMLGold: XMLGold is part of XML Corp, a Belize registered company. XMLGold is one of the leading digital currency exchange which has been around since 2000. The platform is known for its reliability and high security standards with all the transactions in and out of the platform protected by SSL 256-bit encryption. To know more about XMLGold, please visit: https://www.xmlgold.eu/ Find out more about the XMLGoldreferral program at: https://www.xmlgold.eu/en/referal/index XMLGold is the source of this content. Virtual currency is not legal tender, is not backed by the government, and accounts and value balances are not subject to FDIC and other consumer protections. This press release is for informational purposes only. The information does not constitute investment advice or an offer to invest. Related Links Bitcoin PR Buzz XMLGold This content was issued through the press release distribution service at Newswire.com. For more info visit: http://www.newswire.com. To view the original version on PR Newswire, visit:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/reputable-cryptocurrency-exchange-xmlgold-offers-great-deals-to-its-bitcoin-customers-300309610.html SOURCE XMLGold

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PwC expects accelerated growth in Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs) over the next five years, with global assets under management (AUM) expected to exceed $7 trillion by 2021, representing an annual global growth rate of approximately 23% from current global assets under management of approximately $3.14 trillion.

The European market is expected to grow by 27% annually, reaching $1.6 trillion AUM by 2021.

A new report, ETFs: A roadmap to growth predicts the market will achieve further significant growth through entering new markets, expanding distribution channels and asset classes.

ETFs are important for the Irish financial services sector, with Irish domiciled ETFs accounting for over $260 billion or half of the assets under management in European listed ETFs and nearly 2,000 people working in the industry in Ireland.

An ETF is an investment fund that can be traded on a stock exchange, just like a normal stock, but references a basket of securities or an index, thus offering the benefits of diversification and lower costs due to the pooled investment structure.

Irelands market share of European ETFs has been consistently increasing over the last number of years and currently stands at 53%, thus giving rise to significant potential for assets under management in Irish domiciled ETFs to exceed $800 billion by 2021, representing annual growth of in excess of 27%.

A significant driver of the increasing market share has been Irelands very strong infrastructure and experience around ETFs, particularly given the familiarity of the Central Bank of Ireland with the product and the investment made by fund administrators and other service providers in developing ETF servicing capabilities.

The report outlines that advances in technology and data analytics are expected to be significant contributors to the growth of ETF markets by encouraging new product creation and evolution in distribution channels.

Digital technology and big data will continue to enable successful firms to improve decision making processes, streamline costs and transform investor relationships.

Financial advisors, online platforms and retail investors are expected to be the top three segments driving ETF growth globally. Online platforms have overtaken wealth management platforms in the top three distribution trends.

PwC Ireland ETF Leader for Europe, Middle East and Africa, Marie Coady says, "Given the momentum and speed at which the ETF industry is developing, it is not surprising to see regulators across the globe, including here in Ireland, focusing on investor protection. Regulatory developments will continue to be front of mind for those looking to expand in the ETF market, although not all regulations will be an obstacle  some European regulatory initiatives that promote fee transparency and low commissions may cultivate further ETF growth."

She added, "With our highly skilled English speaking talent pool, our pro-business environment and our experience and familiarity with ETF products, Ireland has a huge opportunity to continue to grow its ETF market."

Source: www.businessworld.ie

About us
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: In Atlanta: Rennie Sloan, rennie.sloan@cartercenter.org

In Monrovia, Liberia: Janice Cooper, janice.cooper@cartercenter.org

ATLANTATwenty-one clinicians specializing in child and adolescent mental health graduated today in Monrovia, Liberia, from a training developed by The Carter Centers Mental Health Program in partnership with the Liberia Ministry of Health, Ministry of Education, and the Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Protection. These graduates, the first cohort of clinicians focused on children and youth from the partnership, will provide mental health and psychosocial care in schools, clinics, and other child and youth-centered settings.

The graduates add to the 166 mental health professionals previously trained in the collaboration to significantly increase access to mental health services in Liberia. Those clinicians are now working in primary care clinics and hospitals across 15 counties to provide much needed care as the country seeks to strengthen its mental health services. The group of Liberian nurses, physician assistants, and registered midwives completed a free, six-month Child and Adolescent Post-Basic Mental Health Training Program at the Tubman National Institute for the Medical Arts at the JFK Hospital in Monrovia.

"Liberia is making a brighter future for all of its citizens by investing in the mental health of adults, children, and adolescents," said former U.S. First Lady and Carter Center Co-founder Rosalynn Carter.

Liberia is on course to reach its goal of expanding access to mental health care to 70 percent of the population within the next few years. Previously, this nation of 4.3 million had one psychiatrist to meet the needs of at least 300,000 Liberians suffering from mental illnesses.

Graduates of The Carter Center program passed a credentialing exam in July from the Liberian Board of Nursing and Midwifery and the Liberia Physician Assistants Association to practice as licensed mental health clinicians. This allows them to return to their counties of practice as child and adolescent mental health specialists and to practice in primary care settings that focus on children and adolescents or to begin working in school-based clinics. These graduates are also critical to Liberia's post-outbreak psycho-social response to Ebola.

"This class of graduates marks an important milestone in the shift to strengthen mental health services in Liberia. The Carter Center program graduates have provided life-changing mental health and psychosocial support services throughout Liberia, especially for those facing the aftermath of the Ebola epidemic," said Dr. Bernice Dahn, Minister of Health in Liberia.

Since 2010, mental health clinicians trained by the Carter Center program have made a lasting impact in their communities by establishing new services at the ground level. Clinicians have opened 14 clinical practices in prison systems, trained nurse midwives to screen for maternal depression, treated refugees from the Ivory Coast conflict, supported the nation's first mental health consumer organization, worked in Ebola Treatment Units (ETUs) and provided psychosocial supports to individuals and families affected by the Ebola virus. This new cohort of child and adolescent mental health clinicians will assist in these efforts by providing specialized care to Liberian youth.

"With every group of clinicians trained, there is a special excitement around how they will contribute to gaps in the still emerging mental health system. As a child mental health specialist it is a personal fulfillment to have child and adolescent health mental health providers in our workforce. We are especially proud that our first group of child and adolescent mental health clinicians comes from all over the country, 12 out of the 15 counties," said Dr. Janice Cooper, a native Liberian and project lead for the Carter Center's mental health initiative in Liberia.

The Child and Adolescent Post-Basic Mental Health Training program is part of a three-year initiative to address the psychological effects of Liberia's Ebola crisis and to promote psychosocial health in the country. The project, Supporting Psychosocial Health and Resilience in Liberia, is funded by Japan through the Japanese Social Development Fund, a trust fund administered by the World Bank. The project is expected to reach approximately 18,000 beneficiaries in Montserrado (housing Monrovia) and Margibi counties.

In addition to promoting long-term health and resilience through the newly credentialed child and adolescent mental health clinicians, the project provides support to respond to the intermediate psychosocial impact of Ebola. The Carter Center, in collaboration with Liberian stakeholders, has trained Ebola first responders in self-care, facilitated Community Healing Dialogues for Ebola-affected families, and trained health workers to provide community-based mental health care and family psycho-education. These and other efforts through this project offer support and capacity-building for individuals and communities affected by Ebola.

The psychological impact of more than a decade of civil conflict, which ended in 2003, has contributed to a mental health crisis in Liberia that has been intensified by: misconceptions, stigma, and the resulting discrimination surrounding mental illnesses; lack of mental health care training for health professionals; and inadequate supplies of necessary medications. The Ebola crisis exacerbated these needs.

While every Liberian county now has at least three mental health clinicians, there remains a need to build up services in places with immense treatment gaps. The largest concentration of Carter Center-trained clinicians, 45, serves a population of more than 1 million in Montserrado County, where the capital, Monrovia, is located. Outside Montserrado, the average number of mental health clinicians per county is seven. Remote counties like Sinoe, Grand Gedeh, and Lofa each have 11 clinicians, River Gee has nine, and the southern county of Grand Kru has three.

The Carter Center's Mental Health Program in Liberia is supported by contributions from individuals, foundations, governments, and corporations. The Center's partners include the John P. Hussmann Foundation, which aims to provide life-changing assistance through medical research, education, and direct aid to vulnerable individuals with urgent needs or significant disabilities. The Hussman Foundation's four-year commitment to the Mental Health Program in Liberia has been critical to the program's success.

###

"Waging Peace. Fighting Disease. Building Hope."

A not-for-profit, nongovernmental organization, The Carter Center has helped to improve life for people in over 80 countries by resolving conflicts; advancing democracy, human rights, and economic opportunity; preventing diseases; and improving mental health care. The Carter Center was founded in 1982 by former U.S. President Jimmy Carter and former First Lady Rosalynn Carter, in partnership with Emory University, to advance peace and health worldwide.
Ive spent a lot of time in this blog discussing the importance of emotional intelligence, or EQ, and how critical it is for developing competencies such as self-awareness, empathy and relationship building.

Marcel Schwantes, principal and founder of Leadership From the Core, lists nine questions in a recent article to help leaders evaluate their level of emotional intelligence. I found the list extremely helpful and wanted to share a few of my favorite questions with you. They include:

 Are you usually aware of your feelings and why you feel that way?  Are you aware of your limitations, as well as your personal strengths, as a leader?  Can you adapt smoothly to changing realities?  Can you usually sense the feelings of the people you interact with and understand their way of seeing things?  Do you have a knack for persuasion and using your influence effectively?
The wheat and spring barley harvests are picking up momentum, with early yields being seen at levels much better than French and German crops.

The first samples of milling wheat arrived at Wessex Grain this week and showed promising results, according to grain buyer George Harvey.

The lower yields have pushed up the protein, with all bar one sample coming in above 13%, he says.

All samples had Hagberg levels above 250 and specific weights of at least 76kg/hl, with Gallant appearing to be the top-performing variety so far.

See also: Harvest 2016: Winter barley harvest turns disappointing in Lincolnshire

The first sample of Propino spring barley had come in all fine  except one bit that had a small amount of fusarium  but specific weights were at least 64kg/hl and germination tested at 100%.

Disappointing winter barley

In eastern areas, the winter barley harvest was nearing completion, with yield and quality being described as disappointing.

All the winter barley had come in dry at Wessex Grain. At least 70% had specific weights of between 50kg/hl and 63kg/hl, and the rest above that level.

Yields are down about 30% on last year, if not more, says Mr Harvey.

Cassia had been the best-performing variety, while in general six-row hybrids have not done so well, yielding below conventional two-row varieties.

However, there was one report of a crop of Tower near Bath that came off at 10t/ha, he adds.

Oilseed rape oil contents were coming in at about 45%, with yields varying between 1.5t/ha and 3.7t/ha. Harvest has not yet been completed.

Oilseed rape in Wiltshire

In Wiltshire, Edward Parsons had finished combining his oilseed rape crop at Templemans Farm, Salisbury. With his own crop and his contracted work, he had harvested 202ha, 90% of which was Harper.

His own crop yielded 3.1t/ha, while some contracted Compass yielded 3.7t/ha.

I also did 40ha that yielded just under 2t/ha, so overall rapeseed has been rubbish, he says.

His spring barley crop looked well, while about 10% of his Crusoe winter wheat crop looked to have fusarium.

Overall, 90% of the Crusoe has a good berry but I am expecting it to be mediocre, he adds.

Mr Parsons also had some Lili wheat, which was about 10 days off combining, and linseed, which had gone flat, although some of it was starting to pick back up.

Wheat in Berkshire

In Berkshire, Stephen Whitby had made a start on his wheat crop at Rowley Farm, Wexham, Slough.

He combined 28ha of Skyfall at the beginning of the week at 17% moisture, which yielded between 7.4t/ha and 8.6t/ha, but he was still waiting on quality reports.

In total, he had 283ha of Skyfall and Crusoe, which he planned to get back into on Friday (5 Aug). Visually it looked promising, he says.

Mr Whitbys spring barley crop of the variety Planet was also fit and he had another 12ha of Mulika spring wheat that was ready to be combined.

Barley in Norfolk

Further east, Nick Doig had finished harvesting his winter barley crop with very variable results at High House Farm, Thetford, Norfolk.

He grew 101ha, some of which was Flagon malting barley, which had specific weights of 59kg/hl to 63kg/hl.

His Cassia feed barley had specific weights between 61kg/hl and 63kg/hl and yielded 20-25% below average for his farm, at between 4.9t/ha and 5.2t/ha.

I usually hope for around 6.7t/ha to 7.6t/ha, he adds.

Mr Doig also has a good-looking spring barley crop, which he hoped to start combining on Friday, while he plans to start cutting his Diego and Claire winter wheat next week.
Please sign with your name and stand with the persecuted Hindu people and other victims in Islamic Bangladesh

New Delhi : As an important initiative of Tulsi Gabbard in fighting for a government of the people, by the people, and for the people; she has taken up the matter of Hindu persecution in Bangladesh to highlight the same in appropriate forums to see an end of it.

Tulsi, an American politician and member of the Democratic Party who has been the United States Representative for Hawaiis 2nd congressional district since 2013, has been vocal about the Islamic atrocities on minority Hindus in Bangladesh since a long time.

She wanted to pass a resolution in US Congress earlier (July 2015) to stop the torture and onslaught upon marginal Hindus in an Jihadi upsurge and Talibani situation in Islamic Bangladesh.

Though that bipartisan bill was not found successful, Tusi has taken another initiative as Please sign your name and stand with the people of Bangladesh, to make any privilege to Bangladeshi Victims on her kind part to pressurize BD Govt for taking right and timely actions.

In this take Tulsi communicated her concerns as below:

Aloha and Namaste. While we here in the United States may sometimes take our freedoms for granted, Hindus and other religious minorities in Bangladesh are living in perpetual terror. Forced conversions to Islam, rapes and abductions, extortions and land grabbing and forced expulsion, desecration and destruction of places of worship, are just a few of the types of violence that are currently being unleashed. The population of Hindus in Bangladesh has dwindled from 18% in 1971 to a meager 9.7% today. Accounting for the overall population growth during this time this is a net loss of about 53 million Hindus from Bangladesh. Thats close to the total population of a dozen European Union countries or that of more than fifteen U.S. States that has simply vanished from a tiny country about the size of Greece or the State of New York.

Compounding the problem is the rapid rise of violent jihadists in Bangladesh. Weve seen in the news recently word of terrorist attacks, machete attacks and beheadings of Hindu priests, secularists, bloggers, and intellectuals. Yet there has been no real action taken by the Bangladesh government to quell this festering crisis.

We must stand together with the people of Bangladesh. Please sign this petition as we call on the Bangladesh government to take urgent action against the horrific oppression and terror that plagues religious minorities in Bangladesh every day.

Hindu Existence Forum is fully supporting this propagation in favour of Bangladeshi Hindus under a serious trauma in Islamic Bangladesh.

Source : Hindu Existence
Not Our Fault Won't Vote for Clinton by Elise Casby

This is a response to a Berniecrat who wrote to other Berniecrats on his way home from Philadelphia.

He is worried about not defeating Trump, and imploring us to vote for Hillary. My response to him, in this letter, is also a reasoned argument for why we should not vote for Hillary.

Thursday, August 4, 2016

Dear Harvey,

I agree with you, about Trump.

However, as a long time patient activist, I have grown extremely tired with the Clinton machine, the conservatism that Hillary displays, and yes, the crooked dealings of the DNC.

For several decades now, I have been patient, and so have many other progressives and voters.

Hillary may fail, but it is not the fault of us voters who are democrats, or greens, or socialists, or just people who want help and change, we have been working hard.

That is more than thirty years of patience, dedicated striving, that I and many, many others have delivered in order to build a sustainable future for humans in the world and us in the U.S.

I have been working on the grassroots level for change in areas such as pro-labor, the environmental movement, anti-war, and other grassroots movements on the left, and I have worked to get Democrats elected continuously.

Hillary, Debbie Wasserman Schultz, and other establishment Dems are not strongly enough "about" the future, and "they" have not delivered at all for us.

Whereas, though Trump is a fascist, we are out of waiting time.

We who are not particularly brilliant, or wealthy, or who have not any great status, understood years ago, that the time for empire is over.

It is time for more change, for less war, for more alternative media and energy and a green mind-set.

Sadly, the Democratic Party made this decision to force our votes before.

For so many years, we did what "they", the establishment Democrats said, and now, we are finished with "the lesser of two evils" and Clinton.

We know Bernie actually would have won, because we did the math, and we clearly analyzed with rationality that was credible, accurate, and saw the DNC do illegal things to force a victory for Hillary.

We also knew however, that our votes might not be counted.

So, we all watched very, very closely this year, and of course, "they", the Democrats of the establishment did not count our votes, again.

We saw the mainstream media, essentially play the same game "they" played in 2000, duping us out of going to vote, by "calling" the election early.

We were finished a long time ago, with the Dems, yet we voted for them, for decades to prevent, "the worse of two evils".

Yet, "they", (the DNC, Hillary, etc.), kept refusing to really hear us, meet our needs, believe us...she voted for the attack on Iraq...and so much else.

The urgency we activists understood twenty years ago, in 1996, of the need for change, motivated us to give so much, for decades, for our country.

We gave and gave to get Al Gore elected, while he refused to recount all of Florida, he refused to fully reject the theft of that election of the year 2000.

Then we gave to John Kerry, only to have him concede to Bush, in the election of 2004, for what reason, we will never know.

Then, we worked hard, so very hard and gave so much to get Obama elected and he did not fully deliver.

Now, Obama has endorsed Hillary.

We thought for the past twenty years that we should work for our futures, and give up the money and effort we could have expended on ourselves.

But, Harvey, we have not seen that "they" appreciated our work for them, or even really understood what we needed them to do, not John Kerry, not Al Gore, and no, not Obama, or Hillary.

Hillary's world-view is extremely stale and old, outdated and unhelpful.

Sadly, we are over it.

We have watched for decades as "they" have lied, those democrats of the establishment, and we saw them manipulate the truth, so many times that many people now actually fully "know it".

Now, twenty four years after the first Clinton got elected and did not help us much, we still have given a lot to our grassroots movements, and we voted continually, for the "lesser of two evils", we are fed-up.

Now, in the last days and years when we might save ourselves on this planet, we are sickened by that tactic, and can no longer force ourselves to do it.

We will get the changes we need, and we know that Hillary will not do this for us.

So, perhaps Harvey, this is something you can still stomach, voting for "the lesser of two evils".

As much as Trump is the worst ever, truly, we can no longer allow ourselves to be manipulated, and forced.

We think "they" forced Trump on us, so we would vote for the "lesser of two evils", and we watched the corruption of the DNC unravel our attempts at democratic elections.

We know that Hillary won't help us, enough, and that it is because of the weaknesses and the corruption of the Democratic Party, the DNC, and the establishment Dems that we have been delivered over to Trump.

Therefore, we do not wish to vote for Trump, however, neither can we allow the fabrications, falsifications and the forced- vote, that is the very actually, coerced vote for Hillary.

We have been put into an impossible position.

It is not our fault.

We did not bring this on ourselves.

We have been working very hard for change, "they" the democratic establishment brought it upon us.

We will not be moved, and vote for "the lesser of two evils", and we will hold accountable those other establishment Democrats who delivered this mess upon us, for a change.

Sincerely,

Elise Casby

Long time democratic activist




Departments in this edition of the scorecard include: Albuquerque, Aurora (Colo.), Austin, Baltimore, Baltimore County, Baton Rouge, Boston, Charlotte-Mecklenburg, Chicago, Cincinnati, Cleveland, Dallas, Denver, Detroit, Fairfax County (Va.), Fayetteville, Ferguson, Fort Worth, Fresno, Houston, Las Vegas, Louisville, Los Angeles, Memphis, Mesa, Miami, Miami-Dade County, Milwaukee, Minneapolis, Montgomery County (Md.), New Orleans, New York, Oakland, Oklahoma City, Omaha, Parker (Colo.), Philadelphia, Phoenix, Pittsburgh (Penn.), Rochester (N.Y.), Salt Lake City, San Antonio, San Diego, San Francisco, San Jose, Seattle, St. Louis, Tampa, Tucson, and Washington, D.C.The scorecard uses eight criteria derived from the Civil Rights Principles on Body-Worn Cameras signed by a broad coalition of civil rights, privacy, and media rights groups in May 2015. The scorecard also highlights notable policies in each of these categories that, of those evaluated, best protect the civil rights of individuals. It evaluates whether each department:* Makes its policy publicly and readily available;* Limits officer discretion on when to record;* Addresses personal privacy concerns;* Prohibits officer pre-report viewing;* Limits retention of footage;* Protects footage against tampering and misuse;* Makes footage available to individuals filing complaints; and* Limits the use of biometric technologies.Our findings include:Negative Trends:* No department fully met the criteria for all eight categories and only 13 departments were able to fulfill the criteria in more than two categories. Ferguson and Fresno failed on every measure.* In a concerning nationwide trend, none of the department policies we analyzed have a blanket limitation on officer review of footage before filing an initial written incident report. However, six department policies have partial prohibitions in place for certain critical incidents like officer shootings. This is a major accountability problem with all body camera programs as its vital to preserve the officers recollection and the body-camera footage as independent records. When officers view camera footage before filing their reports, theres a real danger of reports reflecting only what cameras happened to record, rather than what the officer actually experienced.* Shamefully, three major departments  Aurora (Colo.), Detroit and Pittsburgh  appear to have cameras on the ground but have not released their policies to the public. Residents of these cities should be very concerned about the lack of transparency and accountability on how these cameras are used. These police departments are enhancing surveillance of innocent people throughout their cities with no accountability for how the footage is used, when the cameras must be turned off or on, if theyre videotaping victims during incredibly personal and sensitive moments, or what, if any, consequences there would be for officers using their cameras inappropriately.* Even when departments have camera programs, nearly half (24 of 50) dont make them easily and publicly available on their department websites, which hinders robust public debate about how body cameras should be used.Positive Trends:* Departments are establishing explicit procedures that allow recorded individuals, like those seeking to file a police misconduct complaint, to view the footage of their own incidents. Four departments we analyzed  Cincinnati, Chicago, Parker (Colo.) and Washington, D.C.  now appear to provide special access to recorded individuals.* Due to concerns from civil rights groups about the increased potential for surveillance, leading departments have begun to include limits on their use of biometric technologies like facial recognition. In our initial scorecard release, only Baltimores policy addressed facial recognition. Since then, Baltimore County, Boston, Cincinnati, Montgomery County (Md.), and Parker (Colo.) have all followed suit.As police departments across the nation begin to equip more officers with body cameras, it is imperative to recognize that cameras are just a tool  not a substitute  for broader reforms of policing practices. Without carefully crafted policy safeguards, these devices could become instruments of injustice rather than tools of accountability, said Wade Henderson, president and CEO of The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights. We hope that our scorecard will encourage reform and help departments develop body camera policies that promote accountability and protect the rights of those being recorded.Body cameras carry the promise of officer accountability, but accountability is far from automatic, said Harlan Yu, principal at Upturn. Our goal is to help departments improve their policies by bringing attention to areas where policy improvements can be made and highlighting promising policy language from around the country.The full policy scorecard can be found here: https://www.bwcscorecard.org/ Click here to listen to a press call describing this scorecard: http://dl2.newmediamill.net/media/lccr/CivilRightsBodyCameraScorecardPressCall.mp3 The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights is a coalition charged by its diverse membership of more than 200 national organizations to promote and protect the rights of all persons in the United States. The Leadership Conference works toward an America as good as its ideals. For more information on The Leadership Conference and its 200-plus member organizations, visit http://www.civilrights.org
LifeStyle

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[August 05, 2016] CMU-spinoff ForAllSecure wins $2 million top prize at the DARPA Cyber Grand Challenge

PITTSBURGH, Aug. 5, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- ForAllSecure, a Carnegie Mellon University spinoff startup, just took home $2 million in prize money as the winners of the DARPA Cyber Grand Challenge (CGC), a first-of-its-kind hacking contest in which all participants are autonomous computer systems. ForAllSecure was one of seven finalist teams in the contest, which took place on Thursday, August 4th, in Las Vegas, Nevada. "Our vision is to check the world's software for exploitable bugs so they can be fixed before attackers use them to hack computers," says David Brumley, who wears several hats as CEO of ForAllSecure, director of Carnegie Mellon's CyLab Security and Privacy Institute, and professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering. "We believe our technology can make the world's computrs safe and secure."



ForAllSecure's system, dubbed "MAYHEM" by the team, scans software for bugs, generates exploits, and fixes vulnerabilities. The system performs every task completely autonomously. "This is a shining moment for a startup born at Carnegie Mellon," says Jim Garrett, Dean of Carnegie Mellon University's College of Engineering. "We couldn't be more proud of ForAllSecure for applying its vision to the development of cutting-edge technology that addresses the global issue of security."

DARPA launched the CGC in response to the recent increase in software bugs, due in large part to the explosion of the Internet of Thingsbillions of connected devices like smart thermostats or fitness trackers that are built with little regard to cybersecurity. The challenge aimed to identify state-of-the-art technology to find these bugs quickly, and at scale. ForAllSecure was co-founded in 2012 by Brumley and two Carnegie Mellon graduate students, Thanassis Avgerinos and Alex Rebert. The startup currently has nine employees and is based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. About Carnegie Mellon University: Carnegie Mellon (www.cmu.edu) is a private, internationally ranked university with programs in areas ranging from science, technology and business to public policy, the humanities and the arts. More than 13,000 students in the university's seven schools and colleges benefit from a small faculty-to-student ratio and an education characterized by its focus on creating and implementing solutions for real world problems, interdisciplinary collaboration and innovation. About Carnegie Mellon University CyLab: Carnegie Mellon University CyLab (www.cylab.cmu.edu) is a University-wide, multi-disciplinary cybersecurity and privacy research institute. With over 50 core faculty, CyLab partners with industry and government to develop and test systems that lead to a world in which people can trust technology. CyLab stretches across five colleges encompassing the fields of engineering, computer science, business, public policy, information systems, humanities and social sciences. Contact: Daniel Tkacik, [email protected], 770-256-0469 Photo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160805/396049 To view the original version on PR Newswire, visit:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/cmu-spinoff-forallsecure-wins-2-million-top-prize-at-the-darpa-cyber-grand-challenge-300309993.html SOURCE CyLab at Carnegie Mellon University

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- Kwara state which is known as the 'State of Harmony' was created by the military government on May 27, 1967

- Principal groups residing in Kwara state are the Yorubas, Nupe, Barubas and the Fulanis

Known as the 'State of Harmony', Kwara state, it is the gateway between the South and North, the state was created in 1967 by the military junta of General Yakubu Gowon and 49 years after, 16 local councils have been carved out from it.

At its creation, the state was made up of the former Ilorin and Kabba provinces of the then Northern Region, and, was initially named the West Central state but later changed to "Kwara", a local name for the River Niger.

It is bordered by Oyo and Osun states from the South West, and Kogi and Niger states from the North Central, while Ilorin is its capital.

49 years after its creation, the state is reputed for its religious tolerance and multi-ethnicity composition.

Legit.ng reports that the principal groups residing in Kwara state are the Yoruba, Nupe, Baruba and Fulani and they are original indigenes of the 16 Local Government Areas in the state; namely, Asa, Baruten, Edu, Ekiti, Ifelodun, Ilorin East, Ilorin West, Ilorin South, Irepodun, Isin, Kaiama, Moro, Offa, Oke-Ero, Oyun and Pategi.

Muslims saying their prayers AFP PHOTO / PIUS UTOMI EKPEI

The state, which is endowed with diverse culture and tribes, is a home to some northerners and southerners who are striving in their various trades.

A resident of the state, Mr Awosanmi Olaitan, who claimed to have resided in Kwara for almost 40years, told Legit.ng that it is peaceful, adding that he had adopted it as his state of origin because of some of his childhood friends are indigenes of the state.

Religion

The state is divided politically into three senatorial districts, Central, South and North. Yorubas are found in the Southern part of the state, Baruba, Nupe, Northern part; Fulani and Yoruba are indigenes of the Kwara Central. Each of the three senatorial districts is recognised for its peculiarities.

For instance, Kwara South senatorial district is grouped along three ethnic tribes, Ekiti, Ibolo and Igbomina in which the indigenes of this district are Yorubas and practice Islam, Christianity and Traditional religions.

READ ALSO: Kwara Commissioner explains happenings in the state.

According to an Ilorin-based Journalist, Osasona Kehinde, who hails from Oke-Ero local government area of the state, the district is a typical Yoruba setting and its people co-exist harmoniously.

He added that despite the advent of Islam and Christianity, the people of Kwara south have not totally jettisoned their traditional belief.

Legit.ng also gathered that as part of culture and tradition, every town and village in the district still observes the annual yam festival and celebrates masquerade festival till date.

In the Central, Ilorin, which is the capital of the state is the political and religious headquarters of the district. The district is under the authority of the Emir of Ilorin, Alhaji Ibrahim Sulu Gambari and it is named the Ilorin Emirate.

Yoruba men

As reputed, Ilorin as a town is dominated by people of diverse backgrounds but with a common front. Since it was founded centuries ago, the town is known and synonymous with Islam and to this end, Islam is the only faith practice by the bonafide indigenes of the town.

However, its residents, who are Christians are enjoying freedom of worship.

Culture

Kwara is noted for Durba, Ere Olomoba, Weaving, among others.

The Kwara North indigines of the state are Barubas and Nupes and their ways of life are resemblance to the Ilorin people but a Nupe man is accustomed with Fish and Rice, while a Baruba is at home with Pounded yam.

Development

After 49 years of existence, the state could be categorised as developed in terms of infrastructural development as it plays host to the federal owned University of Ilorin, Ilorin, Federal Polytechnic, Offa, Federal Training Centre, Ilorin, State Colleges of Education, Ilorin and Oro, Kwara State Polytechnic, Ilorin, the Schools of Nursing and Midwifery, Ilorin, Kwara State University, Al-Hikma University and Land Mark University (a private University) located in Omu Aran.

Emir of Ilorin, Alhaji Sulu Gambari

Also, NTA and notable media out-stations are sited in the state alongside an International Airport. Kwara non-indigenes are of the view that the state is harmonious and a beckon of hope to settlers.

Mr Emmmanuel Ogor, an indigene of Abia state, who plies his trade in the state, said he is happy and contented to be a resident of the state, explaining that since 1999 he relocated to the state, his family and business has not for once been attacked.

I relocated to Ilorin in 1999 from the East and since then, I don't have any regret living and transacting business in the town. I will say, I am happy to be a resident," he revealed.

Also, Aliyu Haruna, a trader and an indigene of Sokoto state, who said he was born in the state some 45 years ago, described it as the most peaceful in the country, and, however, commended the people of the state for their hospitality and religious tolerance.

I have no reason to regret living in Kwara and considering the number of years I have spent here, I think I am now part of them.

Meanwhile, the present governor of the state is Abdulfatah Ahmed, who is currently running his second-term in the office. The Senate president, Bukola Saraki is an indigene of Kwara state.

Source: Legit.ng
- Abdulmumin Jibrin, former chairman of the House of Representatives committee on appropriation, has claimed that 250 members of the House have signed a petition against Yakubu Dogara

- Jibrin said that members of the House have demanded that the lower chamber be reconvened so the issue can be thrashed

Abdulmumin Jibrin, the recent ousted chairman of the House of Representatives committee on appropriation, has claimed that 250 members of the House have signed a petition calling for the resignation of the Speaker, Yakubu Dogara.

Jibrin went on air to state this despite the instruction from the All Progressives Congress (APC) to stop him from commenting on the budget padding scandal.

The party admitted that the budget padding crisis has caused it a lot of embarrassment adding that it is seeking possible solution to the matter.

READ ALSO: Budget Padding: Stop exposing Dogara, others -APC tells Jibrin

The former chairman, speaking on African Independent Televison's (AIT) Focus Nigeria, said no one has the internal budget of the House of Representatives and that the speaker refused to release it.

He also added that the Reps have demanded that the House be reconvened so the issue can be thrashed.

Jibrin said: I am not alone, I am with many members. On Wednesday, a lot of them said they wanted to go to the secretariat with me, but I said no. I didnt want us to make the thing to look like a movie.

We have the transparency group and it did not just start now; so no one can say Jibrin initiated it. It was formed even before we went on holiday. Anyone that says we are lying must be a joker because there were about 200 signatures before we left for holiday.

Now, they have increased to about 250. Another group has emerged aside the integrity group and these groups have come together and all they are asking Mr. Speaker to do is to reconvene the House immediately and step down, but the body language of Mr. Speaker and a few corrupt people around him is that the issue would have died down when we resume in September and Nigerians would have forgotten.

You are corrupt and you are talking about September. What we are asking for is that Mr. Speaker should reconvene the House immediately and step down so that internal and external investigations can go on concurrently.

Jibrin also said that the House spokesman, Abdulrazaq Namdas has ran out of the country because he can't provide good answers to the issues on ground.

READ ALSO: APC under attack for trying to cover up budget padding crisis

"In Nigeria, corrupt people don't have shame. Corruption exist in the House of Representatives. What I am doing is beyond Dogara.

I was in charge of finance committee for 4 years without any allegation of corruption. I didn't do any side cuts with them. That's why none of them can accuse me of being corrupt," he said.

Source: Legit.ng
- The president of the Historical Society of Nigeria, Prof. Christopher Ogbogbo led a delegation on a courtesy visit to Senator Ali Wakili representing Bauchi South senatorial district in Abuja.

- He complained bitterly about the lack of knowledge of Nigerian history

- He also said that the Nigerian history is not taught in schools therefore leaving the young ones clueless about past heroes

Senator Ali Wakili

The president of the Historical Society of Nigeria, Prof. Christopher Ogbogbo, has said that the development crisis in the country is because of lack of history.

Ogbogbo made this known when he led a delegation on a courtesy visit to Senator Ali Wakili representing Bauchi South senatorial district in Abuja.

He decried that the absence of history in school curriculum in the country from primary schools to junior secondary schools. According to him, this is responsible for the death of the knowledge of history.

"Since 1982 that is about 34 years ago Nigerians have not had history at the primary and at the junior secondary level and you are not going to be disposed taking it because it is optional at the senior secondary school," he said.

READ ALSO: Top vice presidents in Nigeria's history

He alleged that 90 per cent of the children know little or nothing about Nigerian history and "we know that history is the bedrock of a nation.

"In fact some of us have argued at the university level that our development crisis as a country and as a continent is because of lack of history.

"I give the example of a brilliant young man in secondary school, when asked who is the most popular Obafemi that he knows.

"Everybody thought naturally he was going to say Obafemi Awolowo. The truth is that our children today know little or nothing about our heroes .

"In all advanced countries, history is compulsory before you graduate, you must pass courses in history, he said.

The president commended Wakili for coming up with the bill, saying it would help to make the study of the subject compulsory in order to retain our history for future generation.

"I commend Senator Wakili for proposing a Bill to make it a law. When it becomes a law it is different from being a policy. That means governments can come and go but the law remains."

On use of mother tongue, Ogbogbo encouraged parents to teach their wards indigenous languages, he said studies have shown that children from age one to 12 can comfortably assimilate seven languages.

"The more languages you are able to speak, the more advantageous you are as a human being.

"There is nothing wrong if adults speak our indigenous languages to our children, he said.

READ ALSO: The worst government in the history  Femi Aribisala

Responding, the senator appreciated the delegation for deeming it fit to pay him a visit over his effort to ensure that there was a legal provision for compulsory teaching of history in all school levels.

He promised to follow the bill to its logical conclusion to ensure that Nigerias history did not extinct.

However, Nigerians are forging an identity of themselves as a well educated people, but are our nations children suffering from a lack of knowledge about history.

Source: Legit.ng
MATTOON -- The Red Cross encourages eligible donors to become hometown heroes and answer the call of patients in need by donating blood during the Annual Battle of the Badges Blood Drives on Wednesday at locations in Mattoon and Charleston.

This annual event is sponsored by Cromwell Radio and is a challenge between the Fire and Police Departments in Mattoon and Charleston, Coles County Sheriffs Department, Lake Land College Police and EIU Police Department.

When individuals donate they will be asked to vote for the department of their choice. Pizzas and sandwiches will be provided by Villa Pizza-Mattoon and Jerrys Pizza-Charleston and other area businesses will be donating refreshments and give always. There will be coupons for drawings at both locations (Holiday World tickets, The Alamo, Dairy Queen Coupons, McDonalds Coupons, El Vaquero, Coles County Airport Restaurant and more.)

Additionally Angies Little Bakery will be giving cookies to donors that day as well.

Donating blood is one of the simplest things a person can do to help save a patients life. For the hour it takes to give blood, there could be a whole community of people thankful for another birthday given to their loved one.

The locations and times are shown.

Wednesday at Burgess Osborne Auditorium, Mattoon, noon to 6 p.m.

Wednesday at Charleston Carnegie Library, noon to 6 p.m.

How to donate blood

Simply download the American Red Cross Blood Donor App, visit redcrossblood.org or call 1-800-RED CROSS (1-800-733-2767) to make an appointment or for more information.

All blood types are needed to ensure a reliable supply for patients. A blood donor card or drivers license or two other forms of identification are required at check-in.

Individuals who are 17 years of age (16 with parental consent in some states), weigh at least 110 pounds and are in generally good health may be eligible to donate blood. High school students and other donors 18 years of age and younger also have to meet certain height and weight requirements.

The American Red Cross shelters, feeds and provides emotional support to victims of disasters; supplies about 40 percent of the nations blood; teaches skills that save lives; provides international humanitarian aid; and supports military members and their families.

The Red Cross is a not-for-profit organization that depends on volunteers and the generosity of the American public to perform its mission. For more information, visit redcross.org or visit us on Twitter at @RedCross.
This weekend the Outside Lands music festival takes over Golden Gate Park in San Francisco. More than just for music, the three-day festival has quickly turned into a huge food and drink festival as well.

This years festival will include 11 unique food and drink experiences, with 42 wineries, 30 breweries, five cocktail bars, and 80 restaurants all bringing their A game to the festival, which also stars bands like LCD Soundsystem, Radiohead, and Lionel Richie.

Beer Lands is always one of the highlights for us. The mini beer festival is curated by Dave McLean, the owner of San Franciscos Magnolia Brewing Company, and offers a taste of some of the amazing brews made by Northern California breweries, including Magnolia, 21st Amendment, Almanac, Drakes, and Sierra Nevada.

We were able to score the beer list for this years festival a little early. Below are a few of my personal suggestions on beers you definitely want to check out while youre there (or enjoy from your couch while watching the livestream), as well as the full list of available options so you can plan your lineup of beer stops between sets accordingly.

Anderson Valleys Briney Melon Gose

The days are going to be warm, and Anderson Valleys Briney Melon Gose is the perfect way to cool off without getting too intoxicated early in the day. The watermelon gose is one of my favorite beers of the summer, in part because of how absolutely perfect it is on a hot day. At just 4.2%, you can grab one of these between each band you go see while the suns out, and still be standing come headliner time.

Sierra Nevadas Outside Lands Saison

Sierra Nevada brews this one up just for Outside Lands, so you have to try it, right? Come for the Untappd checkin, but stay for what promises to be a pretty solid Saison. Even better, Sierra Nevadas Beer Ambassador, Terence Sullivan, will be hosting the pouring of the festival brew from Sierra Nevadas awesome solar-powered trailer.

Lost Coast Fog Cutter Double IPA

The nights are bound to be foggy in Golden Gate Park, which means youll likely need a little something to keep you warm. Lost Coasts Fog Cutter Double IPA might be the perfect beer to grab on your way to see the headliner of the night. Heres hoping its magical powers cut through the fog enough that youll be able to see the stage.



And heres the full list of participating breweries and what theyll be pouring:

21st Amendment Brewery

Hell or High Watermelon Wheat

El Sully Mexican Lager

Ace Cider

Pineapple

Apple Honey

Almanac Beer Co.

Craft Pilsner

Saison Dolores

Anchor Brewing Company

Mango Wheat

Dry-Hopped Steam

Anderson Valley Brewing

Briney Melon Gose

Summer Solstice Cream Ale

Bare Bottle Brewing

Boaty McBoatface #2

Sparkling Wheat

Bear Republic Brewing Co.

Racer 5

Big Bear Black Stout

Calicraft Brewing Co.

Buzzerkley

Oaktown Brown

Drakes Brewing Company

Robusto Porter

Hefeweizen

Faction Brewing

Defcon III Belgian Dubbel

Summer IPA

Fort Point Beer Co.

KSA

Villager IPA

Harmonic Brewing

Yonder Wall Wit

Rye Old Fashioned Pale

Half Moon Bay Brewing Co.

Amber

Full Swing IPA

Headlands

Group G RyePA

Hawk Hill Hefeweizen

HenHouse

Saison

Oyster Stout

High Water Brewing

Campfire Stout

Blondes Have More Fun

Iron Springs Pub & Brewery

Saison dete

Single Hop Oatmeal Pale

Linden Street Brewery

Black Lager

Glow Pilsner

Local Brewing Co.

Hetch Hetchy Hoppy Wheat

Sunnyside Pale

Lost Coast

Fog Cutter Double IPA

Great White

Mad River Brewing Co.

Steelhead Extra Pale

IPA

Magnolia Brewing Co.

Kalifornia Kolsch

Blue Bell Bitter

Mendocino Brewing Company

Red Tail Ale

Talon Double IPA

Napa Smith Brewery

American Lager

Golden Gate IPA

North Coast Brewing Co.

PranQster

Old Rasputin

Pine Street

Grapefruit Gose

Atom Splitter Pale

Social Kitchen & Brewery

Lavandula Roseum

Juiciest Galaxy

Speakeasy Ales & Lagers

Baby Daddy Session IPA

Prohibition Ale

Strongbow Cider

Strongbow Cider

Sierra Nevada Brewing Co.

Outsidelands Saison

Hoppy Wheat IPA

Vienna Lager

Tumbler Brown Ale
Throughout the primary season, smearing Bernie Sanders and his supporters established itself as a full-fledged media industry. Sanders, we were told, was an egomaniacal, sexist, old white man on a delusional and quixotic campaign promoting pie-in- the-sky policies like single payer health care, free college tuition, viewing Palestinians as people, and not destroying the planet. Exerting his male privilege, he bullied Hillary Clinton into nominally opposing a secretive, Frankensteinian trade agreement. He even forced her to embrace a $15 federal minimum wage with a sexist condescension that far outweighs the material benefits that would be reaped by women who make up the majority of the minimum wage work force.

In his Utopian quest, Sanders was more than happy to drag down the Democratic Party and thwart history, by opposing the candidate who could become the first female president of these United States. And he recklessly strung along an army of all white Bernie Bros and some white women who had internalized misogyny. There were, simply put, no people of color who supported Sanders. It was that simple.

Little did we know, the media was actually pulling its punches. Once Hillary won the nomination and Vermont senator graciously and enthusiastically endorsed her, the gloves really came off. In a display of shameless schadenfreude, the media gleefully mocked Sanders supporters for being emotionally weak and cognitively damaged. If they wanted to hang around with the cool crowd, they had to remove their aluminum foil antenna from their heads, lick off their patchouli, and sit in the back, silent, hands-folded, and listening to the winners. Stinky, crazy, loud-mouthed losers, needed to get in line, sit down and shut up, immediately.

The medias Mean Girls style contempt isnt just for Bernie or Busters or Stein supporters. Its for anyone who is, ever has been or ever might be one. Curiously, the criticism is much harsher than anything we see hurled at people supporting Trump you know the fascist whose potential presidency makes not supporting Clinton such an act of lunacy.

Lets take a look at some schoolyard bullying and berating techniques the media is using that will do little to distinguish Democratic Party shills from you know who.

Slate editor, Jeremy Stahl, was the schoolyard terror, lobbing Sanders supporters for being sad. In his piece, Photos of Angry, Sad, Horrified Bernie Sanders Supporters During His Convention Speech, Stahl compiled nine photos (none of which he took, as hes more of a curator). Two of the selected photos have the same bummed out white guy and three of them have the same very sad white gal. There there was no shortage of photos of people of color with the Sanders Team in Philly (I know because I was there). But when your strategy is ridicule, why waste time on research?

And Stahl more than makes up for this with the witty descriptions he inserts under the photos such as, Just please take me home now. I want to go home, poor souls, I mean, nobody died, or my personal fave, [Insert Celine Dion lyrics here.] This blunt object hit piece wacks anyone who felt low watching their candidate officially leave the race, especially knowing that the DNC had employed dirty tricks to defeat him.

Stahl ends another piece, Watch an MSNBC Host Confront Bernie Sanders Delegates About Denial, with this zinger: The Nile is a river in Egypt. Denial is a thing that some Bernie Sanders delegates are still apparently going through. Though, hat tip to Stahl for unpacking for us the de nial: it aint just a river in Egypt classic.

Stahl opens the same witty denial piece by promising his readers fun. The fun is watching MSNBCs Stephanie Ruhle interview two Iowa Sanders delegates, essentially asking them to justify the entire Bernie or Bust movements raucous obstinancy [sic] on Day 1 of the Democratic National Convention. Stahl dutifully transcribed some highlights of the interview, my favorite part being the following:

Ruhl: Bernie Sanders, he built the fire. He lit it and now he is saying guys, time to put it out. Are you not listening to your candidate?

Delegate Larson: I would argue is that he is not saying that we put anything out. Hes saying we need to continue and fight harder.

Ruhl: For Hillary Clinton. He said it last night.

Larson: For progressive candidates. And weve made a lot of progress and we do have some faith that she has gone farther left and will support things that we care about.

Larson was not only intelligent but patient in his response to an interviewer who thought that Sanders convention message to his supporters had been, Enough about the damn fire we started as a movement! Enough about the damn phoenixes and ashes. Were gonna come together one last time, grab some hoses, and spray. Were over.

In all fairness, this rule is fairly counter-intuitive and its definitely not something they teach you at journalism school. So, Ill cut Washington Posts Callum Borchers some slack for writing a piece called, Dear delegates chanting through DNC speeches: The media thinks youre stupid.

Speaking on behalf of the media and journalists, Borchers did not mince his words:

Chanting is so hot right now at the Democratic National Convention, but the media is unimpressed.

Those two clauses are amazing on their own but they are synergistic explosion of truth and knowledge dropping when combined. The problem, according to the very musical Borchers, is partly because the rhythmic phrases disrupting speeches Wednesday night have been hard to understand, at timesand whats the point of chanting, if not to deliver a message? But the bigger issue, Borchers explains, is journalists watching the proceedings consider the timing of these outbursts to be terrible.

As he points out, the criticism isnt about substance; its about strategy. The analysis isnt about the point pro-Sanders delegates were making. Its that they picked a lousy time to make it.

Panetta making mainstream case to kill terrorists and that HRC is the best to do that and is shouted down by No more war chants  Nick Riccardi (@NickRiccardi) July 28, 2016

Its pretty hard to dismiss Borchers precisely because he really gets these chanters and their message. He proves as much by citing the disapproval from the Pro-Sanders chanters natural allies like Joe Scarborough and Chuck Todd. But perhaps the greatest and more persuasive point that will definitely knock some sense into their heads was, apparently, a tweet from Nick Riccardi, who observed, Panetta making mainstream case to kill terrorists and that HRC is the best to do that and is shouted down by No more war chants.

Now, Im not sure if Riccardi was condemning the chanters, extolling them, or just reporting what they were saying when they were saying it. The important thing here is that Borchers reads this tweet as proof that the chanting backfired. Borchers clearly knows how to appeal to his audience, as we already know (see headline). But he really nails it here. If the chanters had known Panetta endorsing Clinton for her ability to mainstream the whole killing of terrorists thing, surely, these critics of militarism and war would have shut up and maintained their silence until the end of Panettas speech, at which point they would have erupted into applause, stormed the stage, hoisted Leon on their shoulders, before putting him down, and clearing a pathway, down which Panetta would run and be greeted by a lucky Berniac who would lift Panetta into the air as The Time of My Life crescendoed in the background to full volume. Alas, it was not to be.

The Daily Beasts Nathan Place was refreshingly candid about his intentions in a post entitled, Watch: Bernie or Bust Movements Worst Moments at the DNC. The header is just as nuanced, understated and ambiguous as the video mashup and the description, which opens with, The words will live on throughout history. To the Bernie or Bust people, Sarah Silverman pleaded against the booing throngs of die-hard Bernie Sanders supporters, youre being ridiculous.

In case any readers were confused about what the embedded video would show, Place urged, Watch this video to see what she was talking about. In case anyone chose to ignore his advice about watching the video, he was happy to summarize: At nearly any mention of Hillary Clintons name, devoted Berniacs at the Democratic National Convention booed, jeered, and chanted against the very notion of supporting their partys nominee. Then, after the night was over, several of the Bernie faithfultold MSNBC reporters they would not support Clinton in the general election.

I would vote my heart, not my brain, one said, before suddenly backtracking. I mean, you know, whatever. The backtracker is a Black woman, so I congratulate the writer for acknowledging Sanders supporters are not, contrary to unfounded media narratives, all white. Too bad he chose to highlight a few seconds of fumbling out of the hours of footage.

Looking forward to the Watch: Bernie or Bust Movements Best Moments at the DNC video.

Wonkettes Alex Ruthrauff could barely contain his excitement over the really stupid statements from Sanders supporters who engaged in a media sit-in inside the media tent, which Ruthrauff claims was poorly organized and poorly planned. Im pretty sure he could have demonstrated that without writing the following:

The Washington Examiner collected several quotations from erstwhile Berners, and many are really stupid ones. To wit:

Today we were all denied access to democracy, [Alonso] Statham continued. Being in a wheelchair, I am used to being denied access to all sorts of things. But everybody here was denied access to democracy, denied access to the party.

Alonso Statham said this to the free press, at a political convention to which he freely traveled after freely voting for Bernie Sanders.

Ye ole Wheelchair mocking! One of the most underused strategies of persuasion.

Much of the narrative against Sanders and his supporters framed them as self-indulgent, stubborn, out of touch, privileged people. And as soon as the Democratic Sanders lost to Clinton the same story has been advanced against Jill Stein.

Stein-bashing sprouted months ago. In May, when a pro-Stein listener called into Dan Savages podcast Savagewell savaged her:

Disaster will come. And the people wholl suffer are not going to be the pasty white Green Party supporterspasty white Jill Stein and her pasty white supporters. The people wholl suffer are going to be people of color. People of minority faiths. Queer people. Women.

Dont do it. Dont throw your vote away on Jill Stein/vote for, bankshot-style, Donald Trump.

Such savagery seems pervasive and coordinated. Jordan Weissmans recent article in Slate is titled, Jill Steins Ideas Are Terrible. She Is Not the Savior the Left Is Looking For. In his Bernie-bashing days, Weissman defended free trade: The fact is, most of the world has seen its standard of living improve quite a bit in the era of free trade. Now he attacks Steins economic policy by stating that Stein probably just has no idea what shes talking about.

I get it. I, too, am often tempted to attack or mock the people who disagree with me. Really I am. Theres a part of me that wants nothing more than to spend the next three months writing and performing, Our Woman in Tegucigalpa, a musical-comedy, packed with intrigue and romance, about the Democratic candidates involvement in the Honduran coup.

But my opposition to Trump is stronger than this particular creative calling, so I refrain. Maybe the media should do that too.
The first time Oscar-winning director Steven Soderbergh encountered singani, it was love at first sip.

I had an instant reaction, he says. I had never tasted anything like it.

That was back in 2007 at the launch party for his movie Che in Madrid. The self-described vodka drinker was given the traditional Bolivian grape spirit as a gift and was quickly hooked. Little did he know that it would lead to him to branch off from his day job of making movies to importing liquor.

After securing a supply for the five-and-a-half-month movie shoot for Che (priority number one at the time), Soderberghs crew floated the idea of bringing it to the U.S. The craving was real.

I found, totally by chance, my desert island drink, Soderbergh says, recounting the experience during a conversation in New Orleans last month.

Soderbergh and his crew certainly werent the first people to feel that way about the spirit. Singani is essentially the national spirit of Bolivia and has centuries of history. But its foothold in America was virtually nonexistent until a couple years ago, the booze started to find its way to the U.S.

Singani is tricky to explain. At a very basic level, signani is currently classified as a brandy, as are all spirits distilled by fruits. But thats a bit of a misnomer. Unlike typical brandy, singani is an unaged, clear spirit. You might decide to compare it to pisco, but even that isnt specific enough, as pisco can be made from a variety of grapes.

Singani, on the other hand, is made from only 100% Alexandria Muscat grapes, and they come from a small high-altitude region of Tarija, Bolivia. If thats not random enough, consider the fact that that particular Muscat grape traveled around 6,500 miles over its history from its home in Alexandria before reaching Bolivia, where, thanks to Spanish missionaries, it settled at the perfect location for producing Singani. Everything from the altitude to the soil turned out to be just right.

Since launching Singani 63, Soderbergh has found success in major cities like New York, Los Angeles and Washington, D.C., a metro area with a large Bolivian population. Ramon Escobar, founder of the small Chufly Imports, sells Rujero singani. Hes a first-generation Bolivian whos bringing the spirit to the U.S.

There are several other brands around, but the overall selection is still extremely limited as there are only a handful of distilleries in Bolivia with production levels to export.

Singani comes in at around 80 proof, and its smooth body and floral notes make it perfect for sipping neat or with a big ice cube. Its also a ridiculously versatile spirit for mixing cocktails. Theres no real textbook singani cocktail. The Chuflay  a highball of singani and lemon-lime soda  is prominent in Bolivia. Its also become an easy drink to market to a curious American audience, says Tealye Long, one of Escobars partners at Chufly Imports.

The simple Chuflay is just the beginning though. Singani is great for experimenting and is a versatile and forgiving spirit.

Ive never encountered a spirit that I can use to replace so many other spirits. Not only white spirits, but dark spirits, Soderbergh says, joking that hes a seasoned drinker.

Long points out that many bartenders she introduces to Rujero gravitate toward substituting singani in classic cocktails. At the recent Tales of the Cocktail convention, for example, bartenders whipped up singani drinks of all types, including substituting into classic cocktails like the daiquiri, old fashioned and even a vieux carre.

Its ego-less. It keys off whatever you put it around and finds its spot. It doesnt feel like it has to be forward, Soderbergh says.

Most bottles retail for between $30 and $40, so giving it try is not going to break the bank. Still, its rare to find singani behind a bar or on a cocktail menu, and its even more unlikely to show up on home bar carts. But awareness is slowly growing.

The goal for importers like Soderbergh is to get signani to be viewed as its own category of spirit  one thats not a luxury, but an essential part of any well-stocked liquor cabinet. Its not there yet, but judging by the growth in just a couple of years, it might not be far off.
CHARLESTON -- A charge accusing a man of burglarizing a Charleston apartment was dismissed because he'll apparently be deported to his native country.

Mubanga A. Lwao was accused of entering and stealing from the apartment on Ninth Street in Charleston on July 6 and would have faced a requirement of prison time had he been convicted.

Lwao, 31, whose most recent local address on record is 315 N. Sixth St., Charleston, was arrested for the burglary less than a week after he pleaded guilty to earlier drug charges and was placed on probation.

During a court appearance in the burglary case, Coles County Circuit Judge Teresa Righter granted a prosecution motion to dismiss the case.

Assistant State's Attorney Bryant Hitchings moved for the dismissal and said federal authorities have placed an immigration hold on Lwao, so there appears to be plans to deport him.

Lwao is a native of Zambia, a country in Africa, and was an international student who attended Lake Land College and Eastern Illinois University, according to information from the two schools.

Records in the burglary case indicate that residents of the apartment recognized Lwao, a former roommate, as the man who was in the apartment but fled after being seen.

The residents reported two pieces of smoking paraphernalia missing from the apartment and those items were found in Lwao's possession when police located him later, the records say.

In connection with the incident, Lwao was charged with residential burglary, an offense that requires a prison sentence of four to 15 years with a conviction.

On June 30, Lwao pleaded guilty to charges of possession of a controlled substance and possession of methamphetamine precursor and was placed on probation for two years.

Those charges accused of having a prescription painkiller on July 18 and having medicine with pseudoephedrine, planning to use it to make methamphetamine in January 2014.

The plea agreement in those cases included dismissal of a burglary charge alleging he went to the Charleston Wal-Mart with plans to steal merchandise on Sept. 29 and a possession of stolen property charge alleging he had a stolen computer on Sept. 28.

Public Defender Anthony Ortega represented Lwao.
A woman has been stabbed to death in a horrific attack in Central London, with up to six more people reportedly rushed to hospital with injuries.

Metropolitan police were called to the area surrounding Russell Square pub, Imperial Hotel, at about 10:30pm local time after reports of a knife-wielding individual injuring people.

One person, presumably the suspect, was arrested at the site of the attack after being tasered by officers.

Ambulances are currently attending the scene, according to eyewitnesses.

London: Stabbing attack in #RussellSquare . One female dead and six injured. Suspect arrested. Possibly terrorism. pic.twitter.com/SlBUuaGcIG  Moshe Zichmir (@mosezichmir) August 4, 2016

As with any incident of this nature, terrorism isnt being ruled out by police.

Terrorism is one possibility being explored at this stage, read a statement.

The condition of the six injured, and the details of their injuries, remains unknown.

Well update you as more information comes to hand.

Source: The Guardian.

Photo: London Tourism Office.
The district court Bonn now decided that the four former board members of the real estate company IVG do not have to provide any damages (file number AZ: 14 O 88/14). The real estate company had sued Wolfhard Leichnitz (chair), Bernd Kottmann (finances), Andreas Barth (project development) and Georg Reul

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It looks like nothing was found at this location. Maybe try a search?

Search for: Search
Indias automotive market has faced a massive fall due to COVID-19 lockdown

The ongoing COVID-19 lockdown protocol has affected businesses across India, including the automotive industry. Several manufacturing plants are either shut down or working at extreme limitations. Certain OEMs are also concentrating on designing medical equipment at their facilities in a bid to assist the health department in the fight against COVID-19.

In the lower spectrum, automotive dealerships have been closed since they are not part of essential services. Owing to this, many dealers are at the verge of going out of business in the long run unless concerned authorities lend support. We have already shared the poor sales performance of four-wheelers last month and now, heres how hatchbacks have done on the sales chart:

Maruti Baleno comes at the top after selling 11,406 units in March 2020 compared to 17,264 units in March 2019. This is a fall of 33.93%. Following with almost a thousand units less is Maruti Alto at 10,829 units and 16,829 units in March 2020 and March 2019, respectively. Sales went down by 35.64%. Maruti WagonR registered 9,151 units last month compared to 16,152 units back in March 2019; facing a loss of 43.34%.

Hatchback Sales March 2020

No Model Mar-20 Mar-19 Diff % 1 Maruti Baleno 11,406 17,264 -5,858 -33.93 2 Maruti Alto 10,829 16,826 -5,997 -35.64 3 Maruti WagonR 9,151 16,152 -7,001 -43.34 4 Maruti Swift 8,575 14,218 -5,643 -39.69 5 Maruti S-Presso 5,159    6 Hyundai i10 Grand 4,293 7,225 -2,932 -40.58 7 Maruti Celerio 4,010 11,807 -7,797 -66.04 8 Hyundai i20 Elite 3,455 12,172 -8,717 -71.62 9 Hyundai Santro 2,169 8,280 -6,111 -73.8 10 Maruti Ignis 1,901 3,156 -1,255 -39.77 11 Toyota Glanza 1,533    12 Renault Kwid 1,475 5,853 -4,378 -74.8 13 Tata Altroz 1,147    14 Tata Tiago 1,127 6,884 -5,757 -83.63 15 Ford Freestyle 340 1,480 -1,140 -77.03 16 Ford Figo 170 691 -521 -75.4 17 Datsun Redi-GO 139 1,374 -1,235 -89.88 18 Volkswagen Polo 105 1,342 -1,237 -92.18 19 Nissan Micra 66 186 -120 -64.52 20 Datsun GO 2 260 -258 -99.23  Total 67,052 1,25,170 -58,118 -46.43

Maruti Swift garnered 8,575 units in March 2020 as against 14,218 units a year before; a 36.69% dip. Maruti S-Presso, with no previous data to compare with, hit 5,159 units last month. Hyundai Grand i10 collected 4,293 units this March in comparison to 7,225 units one year ago (down by 40.58%). Maruti Celerio follows at 4,010 units and drop of 66.04% compared to 11,807 units in March 2019. Hyundai i20 Elite sales in March 2020 was 3,455 units or 71.62% down from 12,172 units last year.

Hyundai Santro hit 2,169 units as against 8,280 units back in March 2019 (a sales decline of 73.80%). Maruti Ignis attained 1,901 units or 39.77% less than 3,156 units last year. Toyota Glanza is relatively new and registered 1,533 units in March 2020 (no old data for comparison).

It is followed by Renault Kwid which hit 1,475 units last month compared to 5,853 units last year (down by 74.80%). Tata Altroz, a new product, hit 1,147 units. At exactly 20 units less than Altroz or simply 1,127 units, Tata Tiago faced a substantial fall of 83.63% in the given time period.

Ford Freestyle hit only 340 units compared to a decent 1,480 units a year before (sales dropped by 77.03%). Other entrants on the list in increasing order of March 2020 sales are Ford Figo (-75.40%), Datsun Redi-GO (-89.88%), Volkswagen Polo (-92.18%), Nissan Micra (-64.52%) and Datsun Go (-99.23%). Overall, these hatchbacks garnered a collective sales figure of 67,052 units in March 2020 as against 1,25,170 units back in March 2019  a fall of 46.43%.
Hyundai Cretas 7-seater avatar was recently spied testing on public roads in South Korea

Kia Motors could be working on a 7-seater Seltos model since its virtual sibling, Hyundai Creta will be getting an extended capacity variant soon. It was only recently that Hyundais new-gen Creta was spotted in a 7-seater avatar in the streets of South Korea. Hyundai India does not have any seven-seater model as of now and the Creta 7-seater could be a potential addition to its current line-up.

The 2020 Hyundai Creta was launched earlier this month at a starting price of Rs 9.99 lakh ex-showroom (introductory). Being based on the same platform, it shares a lot with Kia Motors Indias Seltos  be it powertrain, equipment or, to an extent, pricing.

One could argue that the 2020 Hyundai Creta is the better pick, at least on paper. The official 2020 Hyundai Creta media drive was supposed to take place earlier this month, but the ongoing corona virus pandemic has led to its cancellation.

Like the regular Kia Seltos and Hyundai Creta versions, their 7-seater configurations would also be identical under the skin. If we keep aside the current market slump, the demand for SUVs or crossovers in India has improved a lot lately.

Owing to this, many are investing a lot on such products in the compact and subcompact category. Kia Motors India witnessed a runaway success with just a single product while Hyundai India used the same formula for the Creta, which is also doing well in terms of booking and customer interest.

Either SUV share the same powertrain choices: 1.5-litre NA petrol (113bhp/144Nm), 1.5-litre diesel (113bhp/250Nm) and 1.4-litre turbo petrol (138bhp/242Nm). The engines are available mated to a CVT, 6-speed AT and 7-speed DCT, respectively. On the other hand, a 6-speed manual transmission comes as standard.

The upcoming 7-seater versions of both SUVs could feature the same power plants at a different state of tune. To justify a higher price tag by not just size and seating capacity, the 7-seater models (which could sport a different name) might get some additional items on the list of features. Considering the success of the original 5-seater models, one can expect a decent degree of success with their bigger variants.

If introduced in India, both 7-seaters will lock horn with the upcoming Tata Gravitas (Harriers 7-seater sibling). Furthermore, they could be significantly affordable alternatives to the Ford Endeavour, Toyota Fortuner and Mahindra Alturas G4.
Porsche 911 Carrera S and Carrera S Cabriolet have been launched in India today at the Buddh International Circuit. It is offered in two variants, Porsche 911 Carrera S and Carrera S Cabriolet available at a price of Rs 1.82 crore and Rs 1.99 crore respectively, and deliveries are set to commence from mid 2019 onwards.

This is the 8th generation Porsche 911 and was showcased at the LA Auto Show. It sports new exterior and interior updates and is positioned on a new platform that uses a lot of aluminum in its makeup contributing to improved weight distribution. It sits on new 20 wheels in the front and 21 wheels at the rear, gets wider wheel arches and the overall body is now 45mm wider offering better interior space. Design elements to the rear include a distinctive spoiler and a light strip that runs along the width of the Porsche 911.

Interiors also get revamped with a brand new cabin design while the dashboard follows the same design as seen on the 1970 models. The dials have been replaced by digital displays and it also sees a new rev counter in the middle. The 2019 Porsche 911 sports a new multi function steering wheel, a 10.9 touchscreen monitor and plenty of connectivity functions such as navigation with swarm based data.

Under the hood is a 3.0 litre, flat six, turbo petrol engine with power capacity at 444 bhp at 6,500 rpm and 530 Nm torque from 2,300-5,000rpm. Acceleration from 0 to 100 kmph is achieved in under 4 seconds with the Carrera S reaching 0 to 100 kmph in 3.7 seconds and the Carrera 4S in 3.6 seconds.

Top speed at 308 kmph on the Carrera S and at 306 kmph on the Carrera 4S. This engine is mated to a new 8 speed Porsche dual clutch transmission with new assistance system such as Porsche Wet Mode for enhanced traction on less frictional surfaces along with Night Vision Assist along with a thermal imaging camera. The engine is mated to a 7 speed or 8 speed dual clutch transmission and is reworked with new intakes and exhaust system. The engine also comes in fitted with a particulate filter to cut emissions.

The new Porsche 911 take on the Audi R8, the Nissan GT-R and Mercedes-AMG GT in terms of competition in India.
Sales of Royal Enfield motorcycles are at a record low due to lockdown in India

With sales of car and bikes at a record low, OEMs are trying to lure customers back into showrooms by launching innovating schemes. Earlier today, we say Datsun launching cars with Buy Today, Pay in 2021, Hero Electric launched 100% money back scheme. And now, Royal Enfield has launched an exciting new offer for their customers in India.

For those who have already booked a Royal Enfield motorcycle, the manufacturer is incentivising your purchase completion. To avail of benefits, the purchase needs to be completed by May 31, 2020. Alongwith a new bike, youll walk home with goodies worth 10 grands. This is distributed with free extended warranty worth 3k, and accessories or gear worth 7k.

New bike owners will also get a complimentary helmet. Furthermore, theres an additional 20 percent off on purchase of apparel and accessories on offer. The all in all beneficial offer stands in good stead in terms of being an attractive one. The offer is applicable on all RE motorcycles  Classic, Bullet, Electra, 650 Twins.

How many bookings it helps in converting is something the brand would be working diligently on. With the possibility of sales only just getting underway after government and local authorities have started giving the green signal for business operations in areas determined to be relatively safe for now.

Of course this is only possible in areas that are deemed safe for business. So, those in areas where dealerships arent yet open, neednt worry because deliveries too now need to be accrued out under the strictest protocol. As such, a delayed delivery will be something of a norm now until the time operations are regulated as per Covid-19 protocol. As a new way of doing business emerges, home delivery of new purchases may become a norm. Its also difficult to foretell when the entire nation will be able to return to a pre lockdown pattern, if at all.

Royal Enfield Free Accessories  T&C

With domestic sales showing no activity last month, manufacturers are now vying for any business opportunity. As such, in the weeks to come it would be interesting to see what incentives are offered and how finance plans are curated for these big ticket purchases.

Ordinarily, a pandemic isnt a time of great mirth and fervour and jolly purchases. The shortly to be here monsoon season usually impacts the automobile market in India but that is not something one can rely on this year.

Furthermore, companys will need to reschedule test rides, find new ways of accommodating interested buyers, chalk out attractive finance offers, and offer quite the complete package. At this point, theres also the predicament of job losses, the extent of which is still only being branched softly. Given the new market condition, Royal Enfield would need to gather some steam. Even prior to the pandemic, the manufacturing had been losing business volume at a study rate all through the last FY.
Designed to take on the most challenging of terrains in the country, Royal Enfield Himalayan is all set to collect more brownie points, thanks to this new colour option. The image above is credited to Deena Dayalan R Chettiar.

Seen at an authorized Royal Enfield dealership in India, this decked up and accessorized variant of new Himalayan is finished in the fan-favourite Army Green shade. Another variant in Battle Green shade is seen with a jerrycan on each side of the fuel tank in the same colour, alongwith army green coloured cloth panniers with leather straps.

Himalayan in Battle Green in India is most likely a custom job and not a company product. Royal Enfield is not permitted to sell Battle Green colour in India. It is only available for Army, Air Force and Navy. Outside India, the same colour is on sale without any restrictions.

Royal Enfield Himalayan is the newest motorcycle from the oldest Indian motorcycle maker. Its built on a new chassis from Harris Performance making the bike even more adaptable to traffic and travelling conditions in India. Dual purpose tyres, high ground clearance, a large 21 front wheel and a 14 litre fuel tank are among its notable features.

Himalayan is fitted with a single round headlight, an instrument panel with analogue dials and a large speedometer with readouts in mph and kmph. Other fitments include a digital selector gear indicator, two trip meters, an odometer and clock. Two small dials house a dual gauge and digital compass.

Last year, Royal Enfield Himalayan was recalled over issues with faulty rocker shaft and clutch assembly. The company called it a proactive free service update and stated that the issues were not of critical nature but needed to be inspected and parts replaced. The company also addressed issues of the stand touching the body, and problems with the sari guard design.

Earlier this year, since 31st March 2017, Royal Enfield Himalayan has not been on sale across India. The company is working at fixing the glitches and launching a refurbished Himalayan later this year with FI and BS4 compliant engine. Expect the new Himalayan to cost upwards of INR 2 lakh, ex-showroom.
CHARLESTON -- A man convicted of a role in an armed robbery has never taken responsibility for his actions, but his youth, intelligence and recent parenthood could be "an impetus for change," a judge concluded Friday.

Those were factors that led to a sentence of nine years in prison for Christopher J. Maghett, Coles County Circuit Judge Teresa Righter said.

The judge declined to impose the minimum sentence as Maghett's attorney requested, but also didn't order a prison term closer to the maximum, which the case's prosecutor recommended.

Maghett, 23, whose most recent address listed in court records is an apartment at 751 Sixth St., Charleston, was found guilty by a jury during a trial in June.

He was accused of being one of four men who forced their way into a residence on Davis Street in Charleston on Dec. 6, threatened the occupants with guns and stole one person's wallet and a video game system.

The jury convicted Maghett of taking part in the robbery after hearing one of the victims testify that he recognized Maghett by his voice, though his face was covered with a mask.

Having a role in the break-in meant he could be found guilty of the armed robbery offense. However, there was conflicting testimony about whether Maghett was one of the men who had a gun during the robbery, and the jury concluded that couldn't be proven.

That meant the sentence Maghett faced on Friday ranged from six to 30 years instead of 21 to 45 years. Probation wasn't possible for the conviction.

During Friday's hearing, Assistant State's Attorney Tom Bucher emphasized Maghett's criminal record in asking for a 22-year prison sentence.

Maghett's convictions date to when he was a juvenile and many of his crimes, including the robbery, were committed while he was on parole from prison or out of jail on bond in other pending cases, he noted.

"Nothing prevents this defendant from committing further crimes," Bucher said. "He is a career criminal, and there's no reason to believe that has changed."

Assistant Public Defender Lupita Thompson asked Righter to impose the minimum, six-year prison sentence and to "take into account the lack of structure in (Maghett's) upbringing."

Thompson said there's no indication of what kind of help might have been available for Maghett after his earlier convictions.

"That's why he got to the place he is now," she said.

She also described Maghett as intelligent and noted that he's the father of a young child and "has the ability to become a productive member of society."

In a statement to Righter, Maghett apologized to the robbery victims and said his drug use and poor choice of friends were largely to blame for his behavior.

"I take full responsibility for my actions," he said. "I look for ways to better my future."

Righter granted Thompson's request to recommend Maghett for prison drug treatment and college course programs.

Maghett received credit on his sentence for the eight months he's been jailed since his arrest. State law also makes him eligible for day-for-day reductions in his prison sentence.

Thompson indicated that Maghett plans to appeal the conviction.

He still faces pending cases in which he's accused of having a stolen vehicle in July of last year and having a prescription medication in December 2015.

Bucher opted not to dismiss those charges after the sentencing for the armed robbery and Righter scheduled a status hearing for the pending cases for Nov. 14.

Two other men were identified as suspects in the robbery while the fourth suspect has not.

One of the identified suspects is Martin R. "Pete" Oliver Jr., 24, whose most recent address on record is on Division Street in Charleston.

Oliver also been charged in connection with a May 31 incident during which he and three other suspects allegedly forced a man to drive to a store and make purchases for them. He was recently located and arrested in Texas.

The other man charged in connection with the robbery and who's still at large is William B. Bailey, 21, whose most recent address on record is an apartment on North 12th Street in Charleston.
Replacing the old Innova in India is the new generation Toyota Innova Crysta. Launched in May this year, it was only offered with 2.4-liter and 2.8-liter diesel engine options.

More powerful and more efficient than any of the Innova engines offered before, the engines were banned from sale in certain Indian cities due to a new ruling. Toyota India appealed, but nothing changed. Their most advanced Innova was not on sale in one of the most lucrative market  New Delhi.

In spite of this, Toyota Innova Crysta sales surpassed everyones expectations. The MPV started registering an average monthly sales of 8,000 units, and also became the best-selling UV in the country, beating the likes of Hyundai Creta, Maruti Brezza, Mahindra Scorpio, etc. All this, without the car being on sale in Delhi, NCR, Kerela.

The only way to overcome the diesel ban was to launch a petrol variant, and today the same was launched by Toyota India. New Toyota Innova Crysta is now offered with a petrol 2.7 liter engine. This engine generates 166 PS @ 5200 rpm and 245 Nm @ 4000 rpm. Transmission options include 5 speed MT or a 6 speed AT.

It is available in four trims, exactly like the diesel variants  G, V, Z. Only the G trim is offered in both 7 or 8 seater options, the latter two are only offered with 7 seat option. Exteriors, Interiors, equipment list, etc remains same as that of the Innova diesel respective variants.

Toyota Kirloskar Motor (TKM) Director and Senior Vice-President (Sales and Marketing) N Raja said, The petrol Innova Crysta will be powered by a 2.7 litre new engine. Although the launch is for all India, it has been brought mainly with a view to address consumers and dealers in Delhi-NCR, where we have not been selling the MPV for the last eight months.

Read our Toyota Innova Crysta Review.

Photos
A new study from Indiana University researchers shows that although most people who engage in sexting expect their messages to remain private, nearly one in four people are sharing the sexual messages they receive.

The study, "Sexting among singles in the USA: Prevalence of sending, receiving, and sharing sexual messages and images," was led by Justin Garcia, Ruth Halls Assistant Professor for Gender Studies and research scientist at the Kinsey Institute. It was recently published in the journal Sexual Health online.

"There has been a lot of public concern about sexting practices, but there hasn't been enough research examining whether these concerns are justified, examining how people perceive and experience the relative costs and benefits of sexting," Garcia said. "There has also been almost no research looking at sexting practices in large national samples like ours, assessing patterns across major demographic categories including age, gender and sexual orientation."

The study examined sexting attitudes and behaviors, including sending, receiving and sharing sext messages and images, among a national sample of 5,805 single adults between the ages of 21 and 75. Sexting was defined as the transmission of sexual images and messages via cell phone or other electronic device.

Of those surveyed, 21 percent, or nearly one in five people, reported sending sext messages, and 28 percent reported receiving sexually explicit text messages. Furthermore, 16 percent reported sending sexual photos and more than 23 percent reported receiving sexual photos. The study also found that most sexting happens between couples already in an established relationship, and of those who sent messages, 66 percent of men and 78 percent of women did so to flirt with a relationship partner.

The study also found that sexting is more prominent among younger respondents -- and men were 1.5 times more likely than women to send a sexy text.

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When it comes to expectations regarding maintaining privacy when sending and receiving sexual messages and images, the study found that 73 percent of participants reported discomfort with the unauthorized sharing of sexts beyond the intended recipients. However, of those who received sext photos, 23 percent reported sharing them with others.

Further, those who received sexts and shared them with others did so with an average of more than three friends.

"That finding suggests that the real risk of sexting is the potential for nonconsensual sharing of sext messages," Garcia said. "It raises the question that if someone sends something to you with the presumption that it's private and then you share it with others -- which, when it comes to sexting, nearly one out of every four single Americans are doing, what do we want to consider that type of violation? Is it just bad taste? Is it criminal?"

According to the study, the older a person is, the more risk they associate with sexting. Most participants, between 60 and 74 percent, reported that they believe sexting could hurt their reputation, career, self-esteem, or current relationships or friendships.

The study also found that women were more likely to be upset with sharing than men. And men were nearly twice as likely as women to share with others.

Garcia said that with the continual leakage of private information in the U.S., particularly from high-profile sources, and the effects the discovery of sexting or explicit photos can have on Americans, the issue of privacy expectations continues to be raised.

"For some, sexting may lead to positive outcomes such as increased partner intimacy and satisfaction," Garcia said. "For others, it may lead to negative outcomes such as lowered self-esteem or damage to reputation. But the real risk is not the sending of sexual messages and images per se, but rather the nonconsensual distribution of those materials to other parties. As sexting becomes more common and normative, we're seeing a contemporary struggle as men and women attempt to reconcile digital eroticism with real-world consequences."

Amanda Gesselman, assistant research scientist at Kinsey; Shadia Siliman, gender studies doctoral student at IU Bloomington; Brea Perry, associate professor of sociology at IU Bloomington; Kathryn Coe, professor of social and behavioral sciences at the IU Richard M. Fairbanks School of Public Health at IUPUI; and Helen Fisher, senior research fellow at Kinsey, also contributed to the study. Data from the study was drawn from the Singles in America study, sponsored by Match.com and coauthored by Garcia.
A group of Russian physicists, with the contribution from their Swiss colleagues, developed a way to use the therapeutic effect of heating or cooling the tissues due to the magnetocaloric effect. The article with the results of the work was published in the latest issue of the International Journal of Refrigeration.

A team of the Lomonosov Moscow State University scientists proposed a new way to use the magnetocaloric effect for the targeted delivery of drugs to the implants. Vladimir Zverev, one of the authors (Lomonosov Moscow State University, Faculty of Physics) claims that this is a unique method that uses a negative magnetocaloric effect.

The gist of the magnetocaloric effect (MCE) is reduced to the fact that when exposed to an external magnetic field, the magnetic material changes its temperature, sometimes rising and sometimes, on the contrary, falling (depending on the material). This significant physical phenomenon was discovered in the nineteenth century, although the effect has been described only in 1917. Over the past century, the MCE has been minutely studied, but the interest of researchers increased dramatically in recent decades. This is due to, first, a significant contribution to the physics of magnetic materials, and, second, a fairly extensive area of its possible applications. It can be very successfully used in low-temperature physics, for the production of heat engines, refrigeration and so on.

However, the majority of these applications is not ready for commercial use yet, mainly due to the unavailability of the technology. Speaking, for example, about domestic magnetic refrigerators, although they are being developed today by many scientific and industrial laboratories around the world, according to Vladimir Zverev, a member of the Physics Department of MSU, such refrigerators, if they were made today, would be very expensive.

'For such a refrigerator magnetic field of around one Tesla is required, which at today's possibilities makes the prices very high and therefore commercially unacceptable -- the very device to generate such a field will cost at least fifteen hundred dollars. It remains to wait for them to fall in price', Vladimir Zverev says.

However, this did not prevent the authors from suggesting a new application of the magnetocaloric effect, almost ready for massive use -- this time in medicine.

One of the developed methods is called "magnetic fluid hypothermia" and consists in heating cancer tumors with special magnetic nanoparticles, delivered directly to the tumor site. To do this, the researchers developed and created a unique tool to create an alternating high-frequency magnetic field with no analogues in the world, as Vladimir Zverev says. Today, with the help of this facility in the Blokhin Scientific Cancer Centre, the primary research of various cancerous cell cultures was conducted. The studies on mice were also carried out, which proved biocompatibility and non-toxicity of the microparticles. The experiments on the microparticles' pharmacokinetics are conducted as well, which demonstrate its ability of retention in the tumor, spreading in the body with the blood flow etc.

If the possibility of using such magnetocaloric effect in the scientific literature is at least mentioned -- in fact that the heating of the tumor may lead to its degradation has long been known, -- the second method, proposed by the scientists, is quite unique.

It is known that one of the problems when implanted of foreign parts in human- artificial joints, abdominal nets, stents esophagus, urinary and biliary ducts, etc. -- is the likelihood of rejection. The authors offer to apply a special coating to implants (yet at the stage of the preparation for installing), consisting of several layers. The first layer is a magnetic material, which is cooled in an external magnetic field (a material with a negative magnetocaloric effect). This layer may be a thin film or a suspension of magnetic microparticles. The second layer is the polymer matrix, in which, as a sponge, absorbs the drug. The polymer matrix is in direct thermal contact with the magnetocaloric material. This entire structure is placed in the body during the operation.

The fact that the polymer used in the technology at the normal body temperature, i.e. at a temperature above 37 degrees, behaves like a jelly, which holds the drug inside. When the magnetic field lowers the temperature, the polymer transits in a liquid state and releases drug at the site of theimplantation. For example, when, after insertion of the implant an inflammation occurs, the non-invasive application of an external magnetic field (for example, in MRI) allows to release the desired dose of drug over the desired time and place.

This method of the 'targeted' drug delivery is good, in particular, by the fact that it only affects the source of inflammation and remains the rest of the body uninfluenced, that is, by definition, completely harmless. There is a problem though -- it is unclear what to do if the coated drug is over.

Zverev says that this problem is solvable: 'First, in some cases just a single drug input is need, for example, to paste the abdominal mesh. A release dosage portions of the drug can be controlled by regulating the magnitude of the external magnetic field. It is also possible to replenish a the coat, using the fact that a drug may be chemically linked to the magnetic particles which can be 'dragded' to the desired location in the body by an external magnetic field. This method we haven't developed however, and it is only ideas yet'.
Researchers have provided geological evidence for China's "Great Flood," a disastrous event on the Yellow River from which the Xia dynasty is thought to have been born. The flood occurred in roughly 1920 BC, they say, which is several centuries later than traditionally thought -- meaning the Xia dynasty, and its renowned Emperor Yu, likely had a later start than Chinese historians have thought, too. According to Chinese legend, Emperor Yu gained notoriety through his handling of the country's Great Flood. By dredging the destructive floodwaters, he tamed them, "earning him the divine mandate to establish the Xia dynasty ... and marking the beginning of Chinese civilization," Wu Qinglong and colleagues write.

Yu's story was handed down for a millennium before entering the historical record, yet, geological evidence for the flood he mastered has always been lacking. Thus, "some scholars have argued that the story is either a historicized version of an older myth," David Montgomery explains in a related Perspective, "or propaganda to justify the centralized power of imperial rule."

Here, by reconstructing a sequence of events along the Yellow River -- including a landslide that created a dam from which water built up and burst forth -- Wu Qinglong and colleagues provide geological evidence for a catastrophic flood event that may be the basis of the Great Flood. The researchers mapped and dated distinctive sediments that were deposited downstream of a Qinghai Province dam when the dam broke. In further work, they determined that the flood that broke the dam was of enormous proportions. Using radiocarbon dating techniques on samples that included human bone, they dated the flood to 1920 BC.

"The ... flood shares the main characteristics of the Great Flood described in ancient texts," the authors say. If their flood is indeed the event that came to be known as the Great Flood, researchers could propose a new start date for the Xia dynasty, at 1900 BC. This date not only coincides with the major transition from the Neolithic to the Bronze Age in the Yellow River valley, possibly resolving a longstanding contradiction among Chinese historians about when Xia started in relation to this critical period in history, but it also coincide with the beginning of the Erlitou culture that dominated China in the early Bronze Age -- supporting arguments that this culture is the archaeological remains of the Xia dynasty.

Taken together, these results reveal how the concurrence of these major natural and sociopolitical events may be an "illustration of a profound and complicated cultural response to an extreme natural disaster that connected many groups living along the Yellow River.
Alcohol-craving rats have provided researchers with a detailed look into the complicated genetic underpinnings of alcoholism.

By comparing the genomes of rats that drank compulsively with those that abstained, Purdue and Indiana University researchers identified 930 genes associated with alcoholism, indicating that it is a highly complex trait - on par with human height - influenced by many genes and the environment.

The study confirmed genes previously identified as being linked to alcoholism and uncovered new genes and neurological pathways, some of which could be promising targets for treatment. But the sheer number of genes that contribute to the trait suggests pharmaceutical treatments for alcoholism could be difficult to develop, said William Muir, professor of genetics.

"It's not one gene, one problem," he said. "This trait is controlled by vast numbers of genes and networks. This probably dashes water on the idea of treating alcoholism with a single pill."

One of the best predictors of alcoholism in humans is the drinking behavior of their families. But to what extent this link can be chalked up to inherited genetics - versus a shared environment - has been poorly understood and a challenge to study: Parsing out the influence of genetics on drinking habits from other factors such as stress, boredom or peers who drink is not possible in humans.

"It's very difficult to tease out the difference between what your genes are telling you to do and what you choose to do," Muir said.

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To gain insights into genes that contribute to alcoholism, Muir and Feng Zhou, a professor of neuroscience at Indiana University School of Medicine, used a model based on rats, mammals with which we share a majority of genes. Beginning with a population of genetically diverse rats, researchers at the Indiana Alcohol Research Center bred two lines: one group that displayed classic clinical signs of alcoholism and another that completely abstained from alcohol.

Breeding rats to drink was no small challenge and required several decades, Muir said. Like most animals, rats tend to have a natural aversion to drinking a high concentration of alcohol.

"But typical of any genetic study, there's always an outlier - in this case, a rat that will drink large amounts," he said.

Choosing and breeding the rare rats that would take a tipple of pure grain alcohol eventually yielded a line of rats that compulsively drank to excess, preferred alcohol to water, drank to maintain intoxication, performed tasks to receive alcohol and showed signs of withdrawal if alcohol was absent.

Still, rats responded to intoxication in individualized ways, Zhou said.

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"Under the influence of alcohol, some rats became docile and fell asleep in a corner while others became aggressive," he said.

The researchers sequenced and compared entire genomes from 10 rats in each line to determine genetic characteristics of drinking and abstaining. They also repeated the experiment with two additional lines of alcohol-seeking and teetotaler rats to discern which gene alterations were the result of natural selection and which were random genetic crosses.

The results highlighted 930 genes associated with excessive drinking behavior, the vast majority of which are in genetic regulatory regions, not coding regions, as many researchers previously expected. Muir compared coding regions to a car and regulatory regions to the gas and brake pedals that determine the car's speed.

"We all have the genes for alcoholism, but our genetic abilities to control it differ," he said.

While the researchers stressed that the genetic complexity of alcoholism complicates potential treatments, they pinpointed the glutamate receptor signaling pathway - which can control a sense of reward in the brain - might be a possible target for treatments due to the number of alcoholism-associated genes it contains.

One of the next steps in the research is to verify that the genes identified in alcoholic rats are relevant to human alcoholism.

Though the study shows there is a large genetic component to alcoholism, environment still plays a crucial role in shaping people's drinking habits, the researchers said.

"Even with the same genetics, one person might be prone to getting drunk while another doesn't drink at all," Zhou said. "Your environment can trigger the expression of genetic tendencies toward alcoholism."

Or, as Muir put it, "You can't just blame your drinking on your parents."
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Employers in Massachusetts will need to update their job applications to remove salary inquiries to comply with a new law signed on Aug. 1.

The general purpose of the Massachusetts Pay Equity Actwhich is scheduled to take effect in 2018is to close the gender gap and make it unlawful for employers to pay men and women different rates for "comparable work," Christopher Kaczmarek, an attorney with Littler in Boston, told SHRM Online.

The law will also prohibit employers from screening job candidates based on their previous salary or asking salary-related questions until after an offer is made.

Additionally, employers won't be able to contact an applicant's former company to confirm the wage amount until after an offer is made, Kaczmarek said. Even then, employers will only be able to verify past wage amounts if they have written permission from the applicant.

This creates challenges for HR professionals, recruiters and managers who are conducting interviews and negotiating offers.

This is the first state law that prevents employers from asking job candidates about their salary history, said Amanda Baer, an attorney with Mirick O'Connell in Westborough, Mass. "As a result, many employers in the state will need to update their job application forms."

Furthermore, Baer said, salary questions have become so commonplace in recruiting that human resource professionals should consider providing interview training to hiring managers and other potential interviewers to make sure they are informed about the new law.

Broad Coverage

Massachusetts has had an equal pay law since 1945, but its equal pay standard has been narrowly interpreted by the courts, Baer said.

The existing law essentially requires a plaintiff to show "unequal pay for equal work," according to Mark Burak, an attorney with Ogletree Deakins in Boston. The standard will be considerably broadened under the new law.

"Comparable work," as referred to in the new law, means "work that is substantially similar in that it requires substantially similar skill, effort and responsibility and is performed under similar working conditions." The law further provides that job titles or job descriptions alone can't be used to determine comparability.

As an illustration of the change, Burak said that a male janitor and a female hotel housekeeper may have comparable jobs under the new provisions even though the job titles and duties aren't the same.

He noted that the law is intended to help fix the gender-based pay gap for women, but it can also apply to men who are paid less than women in comparable jobs.

The act additionally bars employers from:

Preventing employee discussions about wages.



Retaliating against employees for exercising their rights under the act.



The act does provide employer protections for pay variations that are based on a bona fide merit system or a seniority systemas long as employee seniority isn't reduced for taking pregnancy-related leave or Family and Medical Leave Act time off. Certain pay variations based on geography, education and training, and travel requirements are also permissible.

Employer Self-Audits

Many employment-related laws have a short limitations period during which an employee can bring a claim, and the employee is usually required to go through an administrative agency's process before a claim can be brought in court, Baer explained.

The Massachusetts pay equity law, however, has a longer, three-year statute of limitations, and plaintiffs can immediately bring their claims in court.

Because it will be easier for workers to bring a claim, employers should take steps as soon as possible to make sure their pay practices are fair and equitable, she said.

The new law provides a defense from liability if an employer "completed a self-evaluation of its pay practices in good faith and can demonstrate that reasonable progress has been made toward eliminating compensation differentials based on gender for comparable work in accordance with that evaluation."

The state attorney general will issue a standard template for conducting self-evaluations, but it may be a while before employers receive that guidance, Kaczmarek said. In the meantime, employers should conduct evaluations in conjunction with legal counsel under the attorney-client privilege.

Burak said employers may want to engage an experienced labor statistician who is familiar with the relevant variables, challenges and appropriate data analysis.

Employers need to understand what it is that drives pay divisions in their companies and why there may be pay disparities, he said. They shouldn't just assume that the reason is gender bias.

"Companies should take a good look at internal practices and make sure they are using good data," he added. "How is starting pay set, and what factors drive increases and promotions?"

Employers should conduct a self-evaluation sooner rather than later, Kaczmarek said. This isn't the type of law that employers should look at a few months before the effective date.

Related SHRM Articles:

New York City Council Approves Legislation Limiting Salary History Questions, SHRM Online State & Local Updates, April 2017

Business Group Challenges Philadelphia Wage History Ordinance, SHRM Online State & Local Updates, April 2017



Banning Salary History Questions: A Game Changer?, SHRM Online Compensation, October 2016
<p><a href="https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=1236946263011551&set=a.1236945673011610.1073742845.100000885681753&type=3&theater" target="_blank">Facebook/Curt Werner</a><span></span></p>

After an unpredictable month, Libre has finally left the hospital to begin his new life in the loving arms of his savior and mom at his forever home. He's healthy, happy and, more importantly, - free from the shackles of neglect that nearly took his life.

The Boston terrier puppy's journey began on July 4, when he was found emaciated and clinging to life in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. He lived on a farm where he was under the "care" of a breeder. Libre's previous owner gave him up, and he was taken to the Speranza Animal Rescue. The rescue's founder, Janine Guido, immediately took him to the Dillsburg Veterinary Center to start his journey to recovery. Guido believed in the young puppy and stuck with her decision to support Libre, whose name means "free," rather than euthanize him.

Libre from when he was first rescued | DILLSBURG VETERINARY CENTER

At just 7 weeks old, Libre was plagued with a severe case of demodectic mange - a condition that left him hairless and crusty - along with a slew of secondary infections. There were ulcers in his eyes and maggots embedded deep in his flesh. His chances of survival looked slim. He was depressed and listless, his overall condition unstable.

Dodo Shows Adopt Me! Scared Little Dog Is So Full Of Joy Now  And Looking For A Family

DILLSBURG VETERINARY CENTER

Each day presented a new challenge for Libre, but he continue to rise to the occasion and fight - over and over - until he was soon able to stand and walk on his own.

Libre's a rock star | Libre, the Bug Eyed Miracle

Libre was transformed from a sad dog into one who loves to explore the outdoors, feeling the sun and grass against his healing skin.

Libre, the Bug Eyed Miracle

A vet technician at Dillsburg told The Dodo during his recovery that Libre is a "very sweet" dog who's quite mellow for a puppy.

Libre, the Bug Eyed Miracle

As his heartwarming story grew across social media, Libre gained a legion of supporters, both domestically and internationally.

He even has a law named after him in the works that, if passed, would strengthen Pennsylvania's animal cruelty laws.

Dillsburg Veterinary Center

"I wake up shedding tears for you," Janine Guido, founder of the rescue, wrote on Facebook days after Libre's rescue. "I catch myself dreaming of you running around someday. With a wagging tail. With a smile on your face. And with a light in your eyes."

Dillsburg Veterinary Center

Guido's wish for Libre came true.

Yesterday, she took him home from Dillsburg, having officially adopted the rescued puppy into her family. Guido currently owns seven dogs, in addition to a few fosters - making Libre the latest to join an already extensive family. "Today was the day I was finally able to bring Libre home with me," Guido wrote on Speranza's Facebook page in a note thanking the lead veterinarian who took care of Libre. "I wish I could put into words how happy that made me feel."

You can keep up with Libre's adventures on Facebook.

Libre, the Bug Eyed Miracle

Want to help with Libre's ongoing medical care? Consider making a donation here.

Libre, the Bug Eyed Miracle
You might forgive Marley for being a little skittish around guns. He did, after all, grow up in war-torn Kabul, Afghanistan. Specifically, in a trash heap.

Johnothan Jones

In 2011, Johnothan Jones, a military veteran who was doing private contract work at the time, ended up taking him home to his family in Florida.

Dodo Shows Faith = Restored Couple Meets A Beach Dog In Mexico Who Changes Their Life

Johnothan Jones

And Marley, who is another kind of war veteran, found the peace that had eluded him for most of his life - surrounded by a family who adored him.

Johnothan Jones

But for Marley, it seems, a gun is a gun. Even a toy gun. So when Jones' two boys, aged 5 and 15, were playing cops and robbers in the house, Marley sprang into action.

Johnothan Jones

The older boy, Taylor, was wearing a mask and brandishing a toy gun. Marley bit him several times - in his hands, arm, shoulder and side. "Marley thinks Taylor was hurting his brother and he intervened to stop it," Jones tells The Dodo. As Jones and his girlfriend weren't home, an understandably disoriented Taylor went to a neighbor's house. Another neighbor saw the boy bleeding and called animal control. "Honestly, I really don't blame her," Jones says. "It's a very emotional situation. Taylor looked bad. He was just bitten by Marley."

Johnothan Jones

At the hospital, a doctor recommended just Neosporin and Band-Aids. But no stitches. The next, morning animal control officers placed a quarantine order on Marley, confining him to the family home for the next 10 days for observation. But then, on the tenth day, just after the quarantine ended, Marley and Taylor started wrestling over a dog toy. Marley jumped on Taylor's back, opening the old wound on his side. And the same neighbor who called animal control 10 days earlier picked up the phone again. Not long after that, Marley, who had been in the country for four years without any incidents of aggression, was being whisked away to Bay County Animal Services with an order to be euthanized hanging over his head. Jones quickly filed an appeal. A local magistrate sided with Jones. There were more appeals. The county insisted on the death penalty. Jones fought the 'dangerous dog' designation. In fact, Jones, a former deputy sheriff, says Florida law is unequivocally on his side, citing statute 767 12b. "It clearly states in that statute that no dog shall be deemed dangerous if he is protecting an owner or family member against abuse, torment or assault," he says. Amid all the legal wranglings, a dog born in a garbage heap in Afghanistan has spent 10 months of his life in a county kennel. Marley could have come home in June, eight months into his incarceration - and some say the blame for his extended lock-up lies with his owner. "I was extremely upset to find out that Marley could have been taken home months ago," Bay County commissioner Guy Tunnel wrote in an email obtained by News Channel 7. County officials have not returned several requests for comment. For his part, Jones says Marley's release could only happen if he fulfilled every requirement from a long list the county presented him with. "People don't understand all the costs and hurdles we're going through," Jones says. "That's what's frustrating."

Johnothan Jones

Jones says he faces a laundry list of expensive to-dos before he can reclaim Marley from the county - which is why he wants the "dangerous dog" designation removed before Marley comes home. Among the requirements, a tall fence and insurance. "Homeowner's insurance doesn't want to cover us because we have a 'dangerous dog' living in the residence," Jones says.

Johnothan Jones

Then there's the cost of housing Marley for the last 10 months. If Jones doesn't win an appeal to remove his dog from the 'dangerous' designation, he will be on the hook for thousands in kennel fees. It all adds up to a legal process, he says, that pushes dog owners toward making a dark decision. "They stack the obligations so high, most people - I would say 99 percent of most pet owners - sign their dog over to animal control as a forfeiture and the dog is killed," he says. "They don't really have a choice. People don't have $3,000 for an attorney. They certainly don't have another $8,000 to $10,000 for an appeal. Plus paying for the kennel fees."

Johnothan Jones
A couple of weeks ago, photographer Alexis Holloway noticed a shy, fluffy white chicken hanging around a feral cat colony she feeds, near her apartment in Brooklyn, New York. "I threw her some food, she came for it right away," says Holloway.

Alexis Holloway

There had been chickens before - from where, it's not clear. Perhaps escapees from a brutal and controversial religious ritual that takes place nearby, perhaps abandoned pets. One, Holloway had placed with a sanctuary in upstate New York. The others had left pretty quickly, seemingly of their own accord. And while the colony is home to some raccoons, in addition to the cats, Holloway wasn't too worried about this chicken - until a couple of days into the chicken's tenure, when New York City's hot summer weather started getting swampy. Holloway put out extra water for the bird, who was skittish at first. After a couple of days, the chicken - now named Camilla - let Holloway get closer. By the end of the week, "she started following me and whenever I pet her, she would just plop down on the ground and start cooing," says Holloway. "Prior to living here, I hadn't ever touched a chicken. And prior to Camilla, I had never pet one! I didn't know they would be so receptive and loving."

Dodo Shows Comeback Kids Family Stops At Nothing To Help Their Great Dane Run

Alexis Holloway

Holloway's concern for Camilla developed along with their relationship. "I was totally in love with her and becoming more and more worried about the heat - there's very little shade," she says. "And the possibility of someone grabbing her. Also, every night I was extremely nervous the raccoons would get her." Holloway reached out to sanctuaries, but none could help. Then she tried her network of animal rescuers - and through them, found Abbie Slaman.

Meredeth Oliver

Slaman and her family live in New Jersey, where they were already growing a little flock. "Three hens, raised together from hatchlings," she tells The Dodo. "My husband build a wonderful coop in our backyard in New Jersey for them. My daughter and I painted it and they have been happy pets." It didn't take long for Slaman to say yes to making Camilla part of the family.

Meredeth Oliver and her boyfriend, Bill Wilson, offered to drive Camilla to the Slamans' house. First, she spent a night with them in New Jersey - where the couple, in turn, found themselves smitten. "She was so sweet," says Oliver. "When you stroked her back, she would plop right down, singing and just reveling in the caresses." Oliver greeted Camilla the next day, before driving the last leg to her new home. "I said 'Good Morning, Camilla,' and she started dancing around and singing," says Oliver.

Meredeth Oliver

On Sunday, Oliver and Wilson and Camilla drove off together, to deposit the chicken with her new family. Oliver was impressed with what she found - the careful, comfortable chicken enclosures; the teenaged daughter, Rebecca, who is deeply involved with the animals' care. "It gives me hope that there are young people like this out there," says Oliver. "Bringing Camilla to Abbie's home was amazing."

Abbie Slaman

Camilla's new name is Eliza - named for Alexander Hamilton's wife. She has been with Slaman and her family for about a week and a half now. "We toasted her arrival," Slaman says.

Abbie Slaman

Slaman thinks Eliza may be very young still. She seems a little ungainly on her feet, and her comb isn't fully formed yet. They're doing all they can to get her healthy and strong. And they're enjoying her just as she is, right now, this mysterious, charming little chicken who's come their way. "I keep thinking of her as a helpless baby and she doesn't mind sitting on my lap and being petted. Then she starts singing and it's just so sweet," says Slaman. "She's just so sweet."
The U.S. National Park Service is celebrating its 100th birthday and the U.S. is going all out urging people to visit its parks. Part of the push includes the giant-screen film America Wild: National Parks Adventure (called National Parks Adventure south of the border), which is now playing at the Ontario Science Centres IMAX Dome theatre. I caught a preview screening and came away itching to hit the road.

Here are five spots America Wild  which filmed in more than 30 parks and is narrated by actor Robert Redford  has inspired me to see:

Moab area (Utah): In Greg and Shaun MacGillivrays America Wild, youll gawk at professional mountain biker Eric Porter showing the film crew how to jump over mushroom boulders and bike off cliffs at Bartlett Wash near (but not in) Arches National Park and Canyonlands National Park. These stunts arent for novices, obviously, but they will inspire you to head to Utah. Biking is restricted in some parks, but allowed in others. Arches is a red rock wonderland with more than 2,000 natural stone arches, and Canyonlands offers a primitive desert atmosphere for hikers and those with four-wheel drive.

Yellowstone National Park (Wyoming): I dont think Canadians realize how spectacular the worlds first national park (created in 1872) is. Its an active volcano with mudpots, multicoloured hot springs, Old Faithful and other geysers, and hydrothermal features. There are grizzlies and bison, but keep your distance and dont be a stupid tourist. I love Yellowstone, and not just because I had one of the best steaks of my life here last summer. The bulk of Yellowstone is in Wyoming, with bits in Montana and Idaho. Its crazy crowded in the summer.

Katmai National Park & Preserve (Alaska): Ive got a volcano obsession going on, and wild and remote Katmai was created to protect a volcanically devastated region in Alaska. But the real draw here is its a key habitat for salmon and brown bears. America Wild has a couple of compelling minutes that show a young bear trying repeatedly to master fish-catching skills. Until I make the trip north, Ill make do with the parks Bearcam on the Brooks River.

Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore (Michigan): To create an active story line with people and not just places, America Wild follows mountaineer Conrad Anker, adventure photographer Max Lowe and artist Rachel Pohl as they explore. They come here to climb a massive frozen waterfall in the bitter cold, which isnt going to happen in my lifetime. But they also cross-country ski into a picturesque cave with giant icicles at the entrance. This lakeshore, on Lake Superior, is full of beaches, sand dunes, waterfalls and sandstone cliffs.

Devils Tower National Monument (Wyoming): Im headed to Wyoming this month to commune with dinosaurs and fossils. Inspired by America Wild, Ill consider taking a detour to the northeastern part of the state so my family can see this odd geologic feature with cracks parallel to each other protruding out of the prairies. American Indians have long considered the tower a sacred place. You can climb the 386-metre formation, but well make do with hiking, taking pictures and visiting the prairie dog town.

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HALIFAXNova Scotias highest court has denied an intellectually disabled couple custody of their children, saying a lower court was wrong to prioritize the parents rights over their sons.

We recognize (the parents) genuinely want to continue to parent their children and losing the right to do so is a devastating loss, the Nova Scotia Court of Appeal said in a decision released Wednesday.

Ultimately the paramount consideration is the best interests of (the children). They need to be protected from harm and unfortunately their parents are unable to do so.

The appeal court overturned a lower-court decision that returned the children to their parents. In that ruling, Family Court Justice William Dyer had said authorities needed to offer the parents more help, not take their sons away.

It may be time for a different perspective, and a different approach in the best interests of the family, Dyer said in his own ruling. He added: There has been much said about the parents failures. The bigger issue may be whether society has failed them.

The appeal judges substituted their own judgment rather than ordering a new trial, in an effort to resolve the issue more quickly for the children.

The boys, now aged 2 and 3, have been in the care of child protection authorities for much of their short lives.

Their 26-year-old mother and 44-year-old father have lived together several years. The appeal court said the two, who were both neglected themselves as children, present socially as young adolescents.

The court said the parents bickered badly and often, and exposed their kids to violence. They prioritized their own needs over their childrens, and showed little ability to change, the court said.

The parents lawyers argued there is no evidence they abandoned their sons, but the appeal court said the parents were dysfunctional and unable to care for their children, and their past behaviour means the kids are at high risk for future harm. Other, less intrusive methods to address the issue failed, it said.

The appeal court noted neighbours overheard screaming and things being thrown in the parents apartment. On one supervised visit, the father even threw a toy train, kicked chairs and yelled you dont have a father at one boy. Other times, he kicked a crib and punched a wall.

The children were often at the epicentre of dangerous outbursts of uncontrolled anger, said the appeal court.

The youngest child was first taken into care as an infant, after the father was charged after domestic violence. The second was taken at 10 months, after the mother decided to return to her partner after a brief separation.

Both children now have high needs and are aggressive, and the older boy bangs his head, the appeal court said.

The appeal court denied the parents any future access to their boys, saying it is not in the best interest of the children. It noted the kids had good prospects for adoption.

Understandably, the parents love and want to continue to care for their children. Losing their right to parent cannot be interfered with lightly and should only occur if required to protect the welfare of a child. Such is the circumstance in this case, said the appeal judges.

In his decision at trial, Dyer had said the agency failed to recognize the parents special needs as intellectually disabled citizens, and were simply measured on their inability to meet expectations.

Rarely, if ever, I find, did anyone see the parents through a disability lens or put themselves in their shoes, so to speak, he said. Perhaps the parents deserve far more credit than they have been given, and the agency considerably less. I find, with respect, a more nuanced and insightful approach to the parents was warranted.

In my opinion, the parents may need societys long-term help. Many disabled people do. This should not be a rationale to permanently remove their children from their care.

In its decision, the appeal court criticized Dyer for quoting from the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, which wasnt in evidence in the trial.

It was inappropriate for the trial judge to support his call for a different perspective with a document arguably not properly before the court, but more importantly, a document upon which the parties had no opportunity to comment, the appeal court said.

It said Dyer did not consider the ample evidence before him about risks of harm to the children.

The record is clear and persuasive: the parents lack the ability and capacity to resume safely the care of their children. This is not likely to change, said the appeal court, composed of justices Edward Scanlan, Cindy Bourgeois and Elizabeth Van den Eynden.

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OTTAWAAn outgoing senior commander is voicing frustration at the increasing scrutiny of Canadas military, saying the ideal solution is that those who seek more oversight should get out of the way and the defence department be given greater freedom to manage its affairs.

Lt.-Gen. Guy Thibault, who retired Friday after a 38-year military career, used his last speech in uniform to suggest that greater oversight by politicians and others across government wasnt welcome  or needed.

Thibault said a common sentiment was that while the armed forces was respected for its fighting capabilities, we were not seen as equally excellent or particularly effective in our management and stewardship of the resources entrusted to us.

In recent years, the tortured purchases of new warships and new fighter jets and claims that the military has too much tail and too little teeth  suggesting it is top heavy on administration  have put military management under a cloud.

In general we didnt appear to enjoy the confidence and trust of our Government of Canada partners and our political leaders and as a result, all of work was and often still is subjected to increased scrutiny, enhanced oversight and more checks and balances, including third-party reviews of pretty much everything we are trying to advance, Thibault said.

The veteran officer spoke Friday at the end of his last posting, a three-year stint as vice chief of defence, the second most powerful position in the military and the one responsible for many administrative functions.

Thibault said that while the military is far from perfect, added layers of oversight and scrutiny are not the answer.

I completely reject the notion that we in the defence team are not and have not been good stewards, Thibault told guests gathered in a sweltering armoury in Ottawa as he passed the baton to his successor.

The fact that the military can accomplish its missions while in working in what he called an ever-changing security environment, all while managing a $20-billion budget is testimony enough to our management discipline, he said.

If I were King for a day, rather than apply more oversight and controls over national defence, Id simply give us clear directions . . . with sustained funding, then Id get out of the way and watch what the defence team would deliver, Thibault said.

You would be amazed, he said to the applause of the largely military crowd.

His replacement is Vice-Admiral Mark Norman, formerly the head of the Royal Canadian Navy, who used his own speech to put defenders of the status quo on notice.

You will receive no quarter with me, Norman said, adding that he intends to root out unnecessary bureaucracy.

He pointedly said that anyone with proposals to divert valuable time and resources on projects not in line with key objectives would be out of luck.

Following the ceremony, the military refused to make top commanders available to the media and a planned opportunity to speak with Norman was cancelled.

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Edmonton publisher Mel Hurtig, one of the lions of Canadian nationalism and a true gentleman, died on Wednesday at 84. It is awful news, but it is conspicuous in its timing. As the lurid pageant of the U.S. presidential election plays out, I dont recall it ever being clearer than it has been this summer that whatever Canada is, it aint the United States.

Hurtig would not have been reassured. Maintaining a clear line between the two countries was the work of his life, but he was not often reassured about Canadas continued status as an independent country. His periodic warnings were often couched in urgent tones.

Not only are we selling our country, he wrote in this 2002 book The Vanishing Country: Is It Too Late to Save Canada?, but much of the money foreigners use to buy up our industry, our resources, our wholesale and retail companies, our high-tech corporations  much of it is our own money. No other country, anywhere, would dream of allowing this to happen.

The Vanishing Country was a kind of sequel to Hurtigs 1991 book, The Betrayal of Canada, and a precursor to his 2008 book, The Truth About Canada. Its chapter titles include Whats the Use of Even Having a Separate Country? and Turning the House of Commons Into a Mausoleum.

In those days the Liberal government of Jean Chretien was often accused, including in my old paper the National Post, of wild antipathy toward Americans. Hurtig could not have disagreed more completely. By the measure that mattered to him, U.S. investment in Canada, the Liberals were selling our national sovereignty as briskly as their Progressive Conservative predecessors. He called Chretien, Paul Martin and John Manley the nations pallbearers. The word traitors appears often in his writing.

Of course, by the turn of the century, Hurtigs final falling-out with the Liberal party was complete. He ran for the Liberals in Edmonton West in 1972, a year that perhaps marked the high-water point of economic nationalism in Canada.

The postwar boom in natural resource exports had led to unprecedented prosperity. But the client base was hardly diversified: Europe was shattered after the war, the United States dominant and hungry. U.S. investment in Canada grew steadily and fast. The Liberals, under Lester Pearson and then Pierre Trudeau, were divided between a continentalist old guard that saw U.S. investment as the key to prosperity, and a new faction that saw the Americans as a threat.

Nationalism has developed from a fringe cause espoused by a few dedicated eccentrics into a popular movement thats drawn to its banner Canadians of diverse backgrounds and disparate sensibilities, Christina McCall wrote in Macleans magazine in 1972. McCall assayed the government of Pierre Trudeau by that standard and found it wanting. Stuck in the old colonized mindset. To ask such people to defend Canada is to ask them to defend a country theyve struggled for years to transcend.

Peter C. Newman, a former editor of Macleans and of this newspaper, had formed the Committee for an Independent Canada in 1970, with Pearsons former finance minister Walter Gordon and others, including Hurtig. They got Trudeau to set up the Foreign Investment Review Agency, but it barely even slowed the tide of U.S. money into Canada.

When the Mulroney Conservatives succeeded the Trudeau Liberals, Hurtig and others formed a new group, the Council of Canadians. The biggest confrontation between continental and nationalist visions was the 1988 free-trade election, with John Turner the unlikely standard-bearer for nationalism. But for Hurtig, the worst still lay ahead: Chretien replaced Turner as Liberal leader, and with Martin and Manley he transformed the Liberals into an unabashed party of free traders.

Hurtig formed a party of his own, the National Party, backed by serious private money, to contest the 1993 election. He got nowhere. The party didnt last. Since then, a generation has risen in Canada believing  Hurtig would have said naively  that Canada can be open to the world and keep its independence. Justin Trudeau belongs to that generation. He has spent part of the summer courting Blackrock, the worlds largest investment manager, a $5-trillion juggernaut with its headquarters in New York City. Trudeau hopes some of that worldwide torrent of money can be diverted toward infrastructure projects in Canada.

Mel Hurtig would have warned him theres always a cost. Hurtig has successors  Maude Barlow, David Orchard  but like him, they remain outsiders. History has chosen a different path for the country Hurtig so loved.

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The head of the TTC says he wouldnt oppose the mayor calling in a task force to examine the transit agencys finances, but he believes doing so would only confirm that hes doing everything possible to cut costs.

TTC CEO Andy Byford made the comments during an exclusive sit-down interview with the Star on Thursday. The day before, Mayor John Tory raised the prospect of asking an outside party to review the commissions books, after Byford wrote an internal memo warning that the cuts required to meet Tory and councils directive that all city departments cut their budgets by 2.6 per cent next year would be unpalatable.

While Byford stated Thursday he thought that getting a second opinion would merely vindicate his leadership, he also said he hoped it wouldnt be necessary. I would argue we are the task force, he said.

I would be very confident that if a task force came in, they would find that we either have already done, are already doing, or have plans to do what they would recommend.

Byford stressed that he and the mayor are not feuding over the budget. He said the pair had spoken Wednesday and we are both on the same page on the need to find further efficiencies and avoid service cuts.

But Byford rejected a comparison Tory made the day before that likened the TTC to the Toronto Police Service, which has sparred with successive administrations over attempts to cut its budget. In February Tory led a successful effort to form a task force to reign in police spending.

Byford called the comparison entirely unfair. He said the TTC has made cuts when asked, including in 2012 when then-Mayor Rob Ford demanded a 10 per cent budget reduction from all departments.

The CEO argued that since he took the TTCs top job four years ago he has aggressively pursued efforts to modernize the century-old organization, and hired new executives to look at the agency through fresh eyes. He touted cost-saving measures hes backed, such as contracting out bus cleaning jobs, the implementation of the Presto fare-card system, and one-person subway operation, which will be tested on the Sheppard line this fall.

In total the TTC has identified an estimated $175 million in long-term savings that could be realized through such policies, Byford said, but they wont take effect in time for next year.

Tory is adamant there are more savings to be found as transit agency prepares its 2017 budget, citing a May auditor-generals report that found the commission had implemented just 14 of 53 cost-saving recommendations from previous audits. Byford said the TTC is working to complete the outstanding recommendations, except for a handful that the agency has deemed would be detrimental.

The 2.6-per-cent reduction council and the mayor have asked for would amount to a cut of about $16 million from the TTCs net operating budget of $611 million. The agency has found about $19 million in departmental savings, through measures like only hiring workers to fill vacancies in critical positions and deferring all non-essential non-labour expenditures.

We have found the 2.6 (per cent). In fact we found more than the 2.6 (per cent), Byford said.

The challenge is that in order to reduce its budget, the TTC is  beyond the $16 million in savings  being asked to swallow cost increases projected to total $215 million next year, for a total of $231 million in savings and new revenues needed.

That opening pressure is driven by items like Presto implementation, the opening of the Toronto-York Spadina subway extension, bus and subway maintenance, and TTC workers collective bargaining agreement.

In addition to the $19 million in departmental savings, the TTC has located about $63 million to bridge the shortfall, including $40 million in additional revenue that could be raised by implementing a 10-cent fare increase, eliminating discounts for seniors and students when they pay a cash fare, and raising more money from parking.

In his memo, Byford wrote that the commission could reap even more savings by eliminating all fare discounts, cutting service, and delaying the opening of the subway extension, but he deemed these steps unpalatable because they would undermine service.

That has left a shortfall of $149 million for next year, which Byford said he will do everything in his power to address.

We havent finished looking for the remaining gap. But all Im saying is, if were starting from a position that it will not impact service . . . or do anything else that would materially make transit worse, that does limit your options.

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Growing up on a reserve on Manitoulin Island, Shanna Peltier thought her dream of going to grad school would remain just that  a dream.

But that dream is now a little closer to reality thanks to a summer program at McMaster University that gives indigenous students from across Canada an early taste of graduate school life.

Peltier is one of 22 students taking part in the Indigenous Undergraduate Summer Research Scholars program that pairs students with researchers from many different areas of expertise. The eight-week session, known as IUSRS, also incorporates indigenous studies in the research projects and includes various cultural teachings and activities.

I thought it was too good to be true, said Peltier, 20, a psychology and womens studies major at Laurentian University in Sudbury. Its giving a small town girl like me who grew up on the reserve the opportunity to work in a school like McMaster and gain experience in graduate style work.

Bernice Downey, program coordinator of IUSRS who launched the project last summer, said they did some things a bit differently this year by collaborating with Six Nations, which is handling and hosting the indigenous-related activities of the program. The session was also expanded from six weeks to eight, to allow more time for research.

We heard from the students that the first two weeks were too intensive. It was too much information all at once and they only had four weeks left to become engaged with their supervisors and the research projects they were involved in, said Downey.

This year, we made it eight weeks long and they come for the workshop one day a week on a Wednesday. In addition to that, we have a talking circle process so they can talk about their experiences and receive support from the other students.

Students experience hands-on research, take part in academic workshops, connect with local communities, network and more.

Downey said the main focus is to get indigenous undergrad students thinking about going to graduate school.

We are producing graduates from university now. But we want them to go on, we want them to become the faculty in the university and that is the next frontier, she said.

Peltier said she loves the collaboration between modern research and indigenous issues.

Theyre adding this cultural aspect where were able to learn in a different sense, theyre trying to show us that western knowledge isnt the only way of knowing, said Peltier.

There are two different worlds and were learning, by being indigenous, were learning to navigate those two worlds and its okay to have one foot on this side and one on the other.

Peltier, who is currently researching Indian child welfare and transnational adoptions after the Second World War, said the program hasnt just taught her basic skills, but also the barriers she may face being an indigenous woman in grad school.

Its really given me an opportunity to see how other scholars have done advocacy work in their specific field and gain the respect.

Besides supporting Peltier and other students in their academic research, the program pays for their travel, food and accommodation, and even gives them a $5,000 stipend.

For many indigenous students, including Peltier, it means everything.

I would not have been financially able to come here without having the support that McMaster has given the students, she said.

Next up for Downey is to find ways to keep the program going for future years, including exploring options with private donors.

Doug Welch, acting dean of the School of Graduate Studies, said he is very optimistic everything will work out. I certainly have every intention to continue to do it in the future. Its been such a success, he said.

Meet some of the students:

Shanna Peltier , 20, is from Wikwemikong First Nation on Manitoulin Island. In the Indigenous Undergraduate Summer Research Scholars program at McMaster, she is working with Professor Karen Balcom researching transnational adoptions after the Second World War.

What Im doing is looking at bills that were made in order for families to bring their kids into the United States without having to go through immigration laws.

To touch on the indigenous aspect of the program, theyre looking at Indian child welfare and the Sixties Scoop in Canada  a period of mass adoptions of indigenous children into non-indigenous homes.

Outside the IUSRS program, Peltier is majoring in psychology and womens studies at Laurentian University in Sudbury.

Brandon Gaudette , 24, of Pic Mobert First Nation in northwestern Ontario, is working with Professor Karen Bird on a pilot study to better understand indigenous conceptions of citizenship.

Gaudette says he feels its important they brought indigenous teachings and culture into modern research, and even says he wants to continue on this path.

Outside of the IUSRS program, he studies Law and Justice at Algoma University in Sault Ste. Marie.

Brittany Lickers , 23, is from Six Nations. In the IUSRS program, she is working with Professor Chelsea Gabel on a photo voice project with an Inuit community in St. Lewis, Labrador.

Im working on a newsletter right now that will be distributed in St. Lewis to get the community involved . . . Were going to do a photo exhibit and once thats all done were going to do a report that will also be distributed to the community.

Lickers stressed how important she thinks it is for indigenous students to see other indigenous students who have gone out and left their communities and were able to pursue a university education.

I know a lot of people dont get this opportunity and I feel like its my responsibility to keep doing what Im doing for future generations, and just having role models and seeing that they can do it too.

Lickers is a third-year gerontology student at McMaster and is doing an indigenous studies minor.

Evan Jamieson-Eckel , 23, of Waterford, Ont., is spending the summer working with engineers making apps to teach kids about engineering. His role is to find the appropriate Mohawk words for the engineers to use on the apps.

The app is a choose your own adventure story. They have a list of words and they score points for using those words. So were going to give them a separate window that consists of Mohawk words so they can learn how to incorporate that in English sentences as kind of a stepping stone in between learning English and learning Mohawk.

Jamieson-Eckel praised the McMaster program for the doors it opens.

It gives you the chance to see if you really want to do this and it can inspire you to do it or it can show you that, hey, this is not my thing, Its a stepping stone that helps indigenous students succeed, and we need more things that help us succeed.

Outside of IUSRS, Jamieson-Eckel is a fourth year indigenous studies student at McMaster.

Stephanie Morningstar , 40, is from Six Nations but grew up in Buffalo. As part of the IUSRS program, she is looking at indigenous approaches to alternative dispute resolution and child welfare cases.

What Ive been doing is researching and networking with communities all over Ontario to write provincial curriculum for an aboriginal approach to (alternative dispute resolution.) What were doing at this current moment is were flying out to all these different communities all over Ontario to do our data collection through focus groups facilitations.

Like the other students, Morningstar agrees that adding an indigenous aspect to the research is very important.

When it comes to indigenous issues, weve been silenced for so long that its only been in the past decade or two that weve really been able to find our voices within research and have our indigenous ideologies recognized as something that is valid.

Morningstar is currently a McMaster student and is working on a research project in Six Nations.

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I just finished reading Susan Brownmillers book Against Our Will: Men, Women and Rape.

It was on my mind because defence lawyers pointed to it, along with 12 other texts, as evidence that Ontario Court Justice Marvin Zuker was biased in his guilty verdict against York PhD student Mustafa Ururyar.

It was one of the social science sources Zuker allowed to cloud his objective assessment of the evidence, according to the lawyers affidavit of the merits of the appeal.

Zuker found Ururyar guilty of sexually assaulting fellow PhD student Mandi Gray last month. A week later, he revoked his bail. Ururyars lawyers convinced Ontario Superior Court Justice Michael Quigley to reverse that decision this week, and grant the 29-year-old bail until the day before his sentencing on Sept. 14. Although he hasnt yet given his reasons, Quigley did call the citations a jaw-dropper given that none had been introduced as evidence in the trial.

Zukers mind may have been a little too full with these articles and books on gender-based violence to deliver a fully impartial ruling, Quigley opined.

Among the 13 are: five articles from academic journals, a couple of training manuals, a district attorney association newsletter and a U.S. Department of Justice statistics report, and four books. Against Our Will is by far the most famous, which is why I picked it up.

Published in 1975, it was the first book that studied rape, both historically as a weapon of war and as a present-day tool of oppression. An American journalist, Brownmiller spent four years digging through history books, pre-revolutionary newspapers, ancient congressional investigations, FBI crime reports and police manuals. In the end, she argued convincingly that rape was not a sexual act of perverted deviants, but a calculated act of violence by the boy next door.

Rape is not a crime of irrational, impulsive, uncontrollable lust, but is a deliberate, hostile, violent act of degradation and possession on the part of a would-be conqueror, she wrote, designed to intimidate and inspire fear.

At the time, that idea was radical. Now, it is baseline.

It wasnt just a classic feminist text. The book was a textbook in law classes. Law professors including the University of Torontos Denise Reaume began teaching it in the 1980s in seminar courses such as Women and the Law.

In the 1990s, it was became mainstream in the first-year mandatory curriculum at the University of Toronto, Reaume says. All law students spent a week learning about gender and the law, and would have to read Against Our Will or one of its successors to give them an idea of how legal rules are often biased against women. (In the 2000s, the week-long module was sadly withdrawn from U of Ts mandatory course, Reaume says.)

Reading Against Our Will, its easy to see why it was considered a textbook. In the last chapter, Brownmiller lays out her ideas for law reform. She argues that:

Rape should be redefined as sexual assault.

It should be degendered, so not only women could be the victims.

It should be broadened from vaginal penetration to all acts of sex forced on unwilling victims.

Just as armed robbery was treated differently from unarmed robbery, sexual assault should have different levels of severity.

The punishment for rape should be reduced from life to prison terms of six months to 20 years.

The law should no longer exempt a woman not ones wife from its breadth. At the time, the idea that a husband could rape his wife was considered preposterous and legally impossible. Compulsory sexual intercourse is not a husbands right in marriage, Brownmiller wrote. Consent is better arrived at by husband and wife afresh each time.

Finally, a womans sexual history has no place in jury room deliberation as to whether or not, in the specific instance in question, an act of forcible sex took place, Brownmiller stated.

Every one of those suggestions were introduced to Canadas Parliament in 1982 and written into the Criminal Code the following year. (The rape shield provisions prohibiting defence lawyers from delving into victims sexual history was struck down by the Supreme Court in 1991, and reintroduced in a modified state the following year.)

The argument Brownmiller first made shaped the 1983 law reform, says Lise Gotell, vice-chair of the Womens Legal Education and Action Fund and a University of Alberta women and gender studies professor.

I am not a lawyer, so I cant judge the merits of the appeal, whenever it gets heard. But I do wonder how citing Against Our Will shows any more bias than referring to case law, which Zuker does liberally.

That same person would never have that reaction to Abraham Lincoln or any of the dead white guys judges regularly cite. But if its a non-dead feminist, thats automatically proof of ideological bias, says Reaume. The ideological bias is that of defence counsel who have never bothered reading any of this . . . and factor it into their practice of criminal law so theyre not just running all over sexual assault victims with their hobnail boots.

Zukers decision is 534 paragraphs long. He cites these contentious social science sources in 15 of them. Brownmillers book and two others are referenced in one single paragraph. The point those three books are propping up? There are a host of complex issues involved with sexual and gender-based violence. There is a need to appreciate the interplay of power, gender and sexuality.

If Zuker hadnt cited some feminist books, would any lawyer have a problem with that?

Catherine Porter can be reached at cporter@thestar.ca . You can follow her on Twitter at @porterthereport

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A Toronto movie and TV animation company that abruptly closed this week  leaving more than 500 jobless  wont have to repay a $23-million Ontario government grant it got in a splashy photo op with Sir Elton John in 2009.

Arc Productions had long ago met job-creation obligations in the deal, Economic Development Minister Brad Duguid said Friday, defending programs that dole out taxpayer money to help businesses expand.

They fulfilled their end of the bargain, he told reporters at Queens Park after Statistics Canada reported the province lost 36,000 jobs in July as the provincial unemployment rate held steady at 6.4 per cent.

You cant hold a company responsible to operate forever because theyre operating in the real world.

Progressive Conservative MPP Monte McNaughton said the companys failure is why hes been pressing the government for six months to release a comprehensive list of government handouts to corporations and details on how many jobs were created.

The government needs to come clean . . . so all taxpayers can see whether theyre getting value for money, said McNaughton, who has called the money crony capitalism with no transparent guidelines, targets or measurement of results.

In her annual report last December, Auditor General Bonnie Lysyk flagged $1.45 billion in business assistance funding since 2004, with 80 per cent awarded in a secret process by invitation only to certain companies, raising questions about why they were chosen.

She found some companies got funding despite evidence they would have proceeded without government help.

Duguid said the government has given $2.8 billion in business support to companies over the last decade, brought in $28 billion of private sector investment and 160,000 net new jobs.

Its a point of pride for us.

Arc, one of the countrys largest animation studios, locked out staff Tuesday citing a cash crunch that prompted its principal lender to seek a court-appointed receiver to take possession. Staff were owed wages.

Under the 2009 agreement, the company then known as Starz Animation was to create about 200 jobs over five years, Duguid said, insisting such grants helped make Ontario a hotbed for the digital animation industry.

The $23-million deal under the governments Next Generation jobs fund was announced by then-premier Dalton McGuinty with Sir Elton John, who had hired Starz to produce the Shakespearean drama spoof Gnomeo and JulietGnomeo and Juliet for his film company, Rocket Pictures.

Duguid said the government will release the list of grants, companies and results requested by McNaughton very soon, after it has been vetted to ensure sensitive commercial information is not accidentally released.

I dont buy this, said McNaughton, who accused the government of stonewalling and has previously raised concerns about companies getting grants and subsequently donating to the Liberal Party of Ontario.

Given that Ontarios digital animation industry is growing at a rate of 20 per cent annually, with three new companies expected to announce investments soon, Duguid said he expects the Arc staff will be able to find new jobs.

One of the reasons why were a leader is because weve made these business support investments with companies like Arc, with companies like Ubisoft as well, that have become an anchor . . . for talent in this sector.

Duguid said money in corporate grant programs is meted out as job targets are met and that 88 per cent of companies meet their obligations.

The other 12 per cent werent able to expand the way they wanted to and then they just didnt fulfill their obligation, but didnt get money, he added.

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The Wynne government is brushing aside an NDP complaint to Elections Ontario that the Liberal candidate in Scarborough-Rouge River got an unfair head start in the Sept. 1 byelection campaign.

At issue is a press release issued by the Liberals trumpeting their local campaign two minutes before an Elections Ontario press release announced the voting date on Wednesday morning.

Its regrettable that happens, but lets keep this in context; were talking about two minutes, Economic Development Minister Brad Duguid said Friday.

But New Democrats said the quick timing suggests collusion between Premier Kathleen Wynnes office and the campaign of Liberal candidate Piragal Thiru, which had a press release ready to go.

That raises questions about how much advance notice the Liberal candidate got.

This undermines Ontarians faith that elections are being conducted fairly, NDP House Leader Gilles Bisson wrote in a letter requesting an investigation by chief electoral officer Greg Essensa.

Oddly, the press release from Thirus office did not include the byelection date, leaving reporters scrambling to confirm when the vote would be held.

Duguid said the Liberal party regrets that its press release went out early but said its simply a case of somebody on a local election campaign having a quicker finger to the send button.

He noted that all the major parties have nominated candidates in the riding since veteran Liberal MPP Bas Balkissoon resigned without explanation in March, and that its the premiers decision on when to call a byelection.

There was an expectation . . . that it would likely be called before the legislature resumes on Sept. 12, Duguid added.

All three parties have been out, and there may be other parties involved out there, too, that have been out campaigning already, he told reporters.

I dont think its a surprise to anybody. Nor was it a competitive advantage to get our press release out two minutes before the government release.

Progressive Conservative MPP Monte McNaughton said Duguid and the Liberals should be taking the issue more seriously.

Its irresponsible of him to be so dismissive.

Elections Ontario said it doesnt comment on complaints or investigations.

The Conservatives are running veteran City Councillor Raymond Cho in the riding. Toronto District School Board trustee Neethan Shan is carrying the NDP banner.

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Like others worldwide, ancient texts that describe the beginning of Chinese civilization mark it with a Great Flood.

Chinas earliest written histories tell of a 22-year-long flood of the Yellow River and a hero, Yu the Great, who dredged the lands and returned order. Yus leadership earned him the divine mandate to establish Xia dynasty, Chinas first.

The Xia Dynasty was succeeded by the Shang and every dynasty thereafter. But while the existence of the Shang is supported by archeological evidence, the Xia have remained a mystery. Was the Xia a real historical culture, or a convenient myth to support centuries of political succession?

Now, archeologists say they have stumbled across geological evidence of a devastating prehistoric flood of the Yellow River, providing tantalizing clues about the Xia.

Its among the largest known floods to have happened on Earth during the past 10,000 years, said Darryl Granger, a geologist at Purdue University and co-author on a paper describing the findings, published Friday in the journal Science.

Other researchers were impressed by evidence of the natural disaster, but said archeologists will need to search for more proof of a related culture shift.

I think the authors have made an extremely good case that there was some kind of major flood event, said T.R. Kidder, an environmental archeologist from Washington University who works in China. What I am skeptical of, and what I think some of my colleagues are also skeptical of, is that they dont demonstrate in any factual way a connection between that flood event and transformations well downstream.

Qinglong Wu, an archeologist and first author on the paper, accidentally discovered hints of the flood when he found unusual sediments in the Yellow Rivers Jishi Gorge in 2007. Subsequent research revealed a chilling picture.

Geological observations suggest that an ancient landslide created a dam that completely blocked the river, filling a lake that swelled until it rose as high as 210 metres above present river levels.

Six to nine months later, the water overtopped the dam and crumbled it, suddenly discharging up to 16 cubic kilometres of water and deluging the regions below. Downstream, the researchers found distinctive sediments associated with the outburst as high as 50 metres above present river levels.

The researchers calculations indicate that this would have ranked among the largest freshwater floods since the last ice age, about 11,700 years ago.

To pin down a date for the outburst, the researchers carbon-dated charcoal from the sediments. But the best evidence came from a pre-existing archeological site nearby: the late-Neolithic Lajia cave dwellings.

The Lajia dwellings are already famous for fuelling a long-standing culinary fight. In 2005, archaeologists reported the discovery of a sealed, well-preserved bowl of millet noodles, proving the Chinese were slurping them 4,000 years ago, well before the first evidence of Italian or Arab noodles.

Noodles aside, Lajia is a sobering place, sometimes referred to as Pompeii of the East. Its occupants were crushed in mudslides triggered by an earthquake. The collapsed dwellings preserved numerous skeletons, including a woman with her arms wrapped protectively around a child.

When the researchers sampled the Lajia site, they discovered that sediments from the flood outburst had filled cracks caused by the earthquake before the next occurrence of the annual rains, meaning the flood had to have occurred the same year.

In fact, the researchers believe the earthquake that crushed Lajia probably also created the landslide dam at Jishi Gorge. More precise dating of the childrens skeletons provided a clearer estimated date for the flood: 1920 BC.

That date is significant. Thousands of kilometres downstream sits another archeological site known as Erlitou, a state-level civilization that arose in about 1900 BC and boasted rammed-earth walls, palatial dwellings and bronze technology.

For half a century, researchers have speculated that Erlitou could be the dynastic seat of the Xia. But because estimates put the beginning of the Xia to between 2200 and 2070 BC, the timing was off.

If the Jishi Gorge flood in 1920 BC preceded the rise of the Xia, the dates now line up. But was this catastrophic flood the same as the Great Flood of legend? Is it linked to the important cultural shifts happening in the plains way downstream?

The co-authors of the Science paper estimate that a flood of this size could have easily travelled more than 2,000 kilometres, breaching levees, backwashing into tributaries and causing widespread disruption.

Their research did not extend to the archeological sites way downstream like Erlitou. But Kidder notes there is no evidence of significant flooding in these areas where the Xia dynasty supposedly evolved.

Just because there isnt evidence yet, though, doesnt mean it cant be found, Kidder said.

They have provided the scholarly community with an intriguing hypothesis  theyve given us things we can now go look for.

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ANCHORAGE, ALASKABearded seals, the largest of the Arctic seals, deserve to be listed as a threatened species because of continuing loss of their sea ice habitat, a federal government attorney told a panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Thursday.

Robert Stockman of the National Marine Fisheries Service urged judges to reverse a lower-court ruling that said the agency improperly listed bearded seals in December 2012.

The agencys best projection is that ice critical to bearded seals will disappear or be greatly reduced by the end of the century in the Bering Sea, where 70 per cent of bearded seals thrive. Ice loss already is outpacing models, he said.

The minimum ice years will start being harmful soon, he said.

Attorneys for the North Slope Borough, the Alaska Oil and Gas Association and others who sued to reverse the listing said the federal agency has not demonstrated that Bering Sea ice losses will harm bearded seals, which have thrived for centuries and survived other warming periods.

Here all we have is information on sea ice loss, said attorney Tyson Kade.

Bearded seals get their name from short snouts covered with thick, long, white whiskers, according to the agency. They grow as large as 8 feet (2.4 metres), weigh between 575 and 800 pounds and can live to 25 years or more.

They eat Arctic cod and shrimp but also dive for crab and clams, usually in depths less than 325 feet, according to the agency.

They give birth and rear pups on drifting pack ice. When females give birth, they need ice to last long enough in spring and early summer to successfully reproduce and molt.

U.S. District Court Judge Ralph Beistline in 2014 ruled the threatened species listing was improper. It did not appear, he wrote, that any serious threat of a population reduction, let alone extinction, existed before 2100. The listing itself conceded that through the middle of the century, there would be enough sea ice to sustain Bering Sea bearded seals at or near current levels, Beistline said.

Judges on Thursday closely questioned how far out an agency could project harm before it declared a species threatened or endangered.

Kristen Monsell of the Center for Biological Diversity, which sought the listing, said agencies must act to protect future generations of a species, not just the current population, and take measures with enough time to do so.

But Jeffrey Leppo, representing the Alaska Oil and Gas Association, said NMFS has not documented harm to bearded seals despite well-documented sea ice loss that already has occurred. He dismissed the idea that bearded seals will face harmful competition if they migrate north of the Bering Strait into other areas with ice.

If this was a small area, that would be a fair point, he said. The area is a very, very large area.

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President Barack Obama said Daesh, also known as ISIS or ISIL, continues to lose territory in the Middle East, and that the terrorist groups strongholds must be retaken in order to reduce the appeal of its propaganda.

So long as they have those bases they can use their propaganda to suggest that somehow theres still some caliphate, Obama said in a news conference at the Pentagon on Thursday after meeting with his national security advisers. That can insinuate itself into the minds of folks who may be willing to travel there or carry out terrorist attacks.

The U.S. has begun a campaign of airstrikes in Libya, targeting Daesh militants who have established a stronghold in the city of Sirte. Obama said earlier this week that the U.S. and its allies didnt adequately attend to Libya after a 2011 military intervention that toppled the government there, leaving room for extremists to take hold.

Daesh fighters have streamed into Libya this year, as the group has lost territory in Iraq and Syria.

Criticizing Putin

The civil war in Syria, now in its sixth year, has killed more than 280,000 and displaced millions. Russias President Vladimir Putin provides military support to the regime of President Bashar al-Assad, while the U.S. has called for him to step down.

The U.S. is attempting to work with Russia there to fight terrorism and address the humanitarian crisis stemming from the conflict. But neither country has disclosed steps they have been discussing to co-ordinate efforts in the conflict, which has driven a refugee crisis that has further destabilized the Middle East and generated a flood of migrants into Europe.

Im not confident that we can trust the Russians and Vladimir Putin, which is why we have to test whether we can get an actual cessation of hostilities, Obama said. Russia may not be able to get there, either because they dont want to or because they dont have sufficient influence over Assad.

A cease-fire backed by the U.S. and Russia earlier this year has been marred by continuing violence carried out by the Syrian regime and opposition fighters. Airstrikes by a U.S.-led coalition targeting Daesh killed dozens of civilians in northern Syria last month, according to the U.K.-based monitoring group Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. The U.S. is investigating those reports, Defense Secretary Ash Carter has said.

Prospects for a political solution in Syria, which Obama has said is the only option for resolving the conflict, have worsened amid the continuing violence.

Were going to test and see if we can get something that sticks, Obama said. If not, Russia will have shown itself very clearly to be an irresponsible actor on the world stage that is supporting a murderous regime and will have to answer to that on the world stage.

Dozens of State Department diplomats signed a dissent memo in June objecting to Obamas strategy in Syria and calling for more forceful U.S. action against Assad.

Refugees continue to flee their homes, and the violence and humanitarian crises in Iraq and Syria are creating new challenges for Europe, including several large terrorist attacks by Muslim immigrants.

What ISIL has figured out is if they can convince a handful of people or even one person to carry out an attack on a subway, or a parade, or some other public venue, and kill scores of people, instead of thousands of people, it still creates the kind of fear and concern that elevates their profile, Obama said, using an acronym for the group.

Rooting out small networks of terrorists or lone attackers in some ways is tougher than disrupting larger organizations, Obama said. Those networks will probably sustain themselves even after ISIS is defeated in Raqqa and Mosul, he said, using another acronym for the group. The cities of Raqqa and Mosul are the groups strongholds in Syria and Iraq.

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George Zimmerman, who was acquitted in the 2012 shooting death of unarmed teenager Trayvon Martin, claims he was punched in the face by a man at a Florida restaurant.

According to 911 calls obtained by WFTV-TV in Florida, Zimmerman said a group of men recognized him at Gators Riverside Grille and confronted him.

He said he was going to kill me, Zimmerman said to police. You need to send like three or four cops.

The Orlando Sentinel reported that Zimmerman walked by several people seated at a table Sunday evening and complimented one mans Confederate flag tattoos. The man, Joseph Whitmer, thanked him and asked about the Trayvon Martin case.

The Sentinel reported that as Zimmerman explained that he shot the unarmed teen in self-defence, another man confronted him, asking, Youre bragging about that?

A man who identified himself as Zimmermans friend told 911 dispatchers: George Zimmerman and I were sitting at a restaurant here eating and four or five guys came up to us and attacked George, he said. I tried to film it and they knocked my phone out of my hand and down onto the dock when I was trying to film it.

But witnesses told police that the fight began because Zimmerman was bragging about killing Martin, WFTV reported.

According to WFTV, Zimmerman allegedly said, I love your tattoos. My name is George Zimmerman, you know, that guy who killed Trayvon Martin? (Whitmers wife told police that Zimmerman said, Hey I like your racist tattoos.)

A number of twitter users posted celebratory memes after the alleged attack, drawing a connection between Zimmerman and Dylann Roof, who was attacked Thursday next to a jail shower. Roof faces murder charges in the killing of nine black parishioners at a Charleston, S.C., church.

Ed Winters, the owner of Gators Riverside, said the whole thing was blown out of proportion. He claimed the men shoved each other after Zimmerman said he didnt like one of the mans tattoos, and that was it.

Everywhere this guy goes he causes controversy, Winters told the Orlando Sentinel. Youd think hed keep a low profile.

Hes not wrong. Just last month, Zimmerman attempted to auction off the gun he used to kill Martin not once but twice. Those auctions were met with a sea of outrage, while fake bidders flooded the auction sites to place absurdly large bids (one was $65 million U.S.).

The man Zimmerman accused of assaulting him has not yet been located by police.

With files from The Washington Post

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JANESVILLE, WIS.U.S. House Speaker Paul Ryan said Friday that he remains unsure whether Donald Trumps public drama with him over a possible endorsement has concluded, hours before the Republican presidential nominee holds a rally in this battleground state.

Heck if I know, Ryan said Friday in an interview with WISN radios Jay Weber. Im not going to try to psychoanalyze this stuff.

The speakers comments were the latest sign that tensions with Trump remain at the highest levels of the Republican Party less than 100 days before the election, with the House speaker frustrated and distracted by his partys presidential nominee.

Ryan did not say whether he has spoken to Trump in recent days nor did he offer encouraging words about Trumps campaign.

Earlier in the week, Trump told The Washington Post that he is not yet ready to endorse Ryan ahead of the speakers Aug. 9 primary. Trump has praised Ryans opponent, businessman Paul Nehlen.

Honestly, the endorsement that I personally care about is from the people here in Wisconsin, my 1st Congressional District employers, Ryan told the local radio station. So, Im just going to rise above the stuff and Im not going to get involved in some sort of petty back and forth. I see no purpose in doing that. Im going to be me and do my thing.

Ryan acknowledged that he has spoken out a few times against Trumps comments on several fronts in recent months, which has irritated Trump and his supporters even though Ryan has given Trump his formal endorsement.

But Ryan said he said made clear to Trump and others at the outset of the presidential race that they should not expect him to march in lockstep. Thats just the way the cookie crumbles, he said.

When asked about Nehlen, who has said that the United States should consider deporting Muslims, in particular those who follow sharia law, Ryan was incredulous.

You cant make this stuff up, he said. I think people are going to thoroughly reject this on Tuesday.

Ryan added that Nehlens campaign, which has been backed by stars of the conservative counterestablishment like Sarah Palin and commentator Ann Coulter, is fuelled by scam PACs and out of state donors.

Theyre not pushing conservatism. They call this alt-conservatism, Ryan said.

When Weber said that this specific group, the alt-right, was tied to white supremacists and fringe groups, Ryan did not argue the point.

Its a nasty, virulent strain of something, Ryan said, repeating the hosts words back to him. I dont even know what it is other than that it isnt us. It isnt what we believe in.

Turning to his congressional work, Ryan said he would not bring the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade pact to the House floor while President Barack Obama is still in office.

No, no, Ryan said. We dont even have the votes for it. I see no, I dont see any way in which that could be done because youd have to change the TPP in some substantial ways, and I just dont see that happening.

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Believing he was answering a holy call, Harry Sarfo left his home in the working-class city of Bremen last year and drove for four straight days to reach the territory controlled by Daesh in Syria.

He barely had time to settle in before members of Daeshs secret service, wearing masks over their faces, came to inform him and his German friend that they no longer wanted Europeans to come to Syria. Where they were really needed was back home, to help carry out the groups plan of waging terrorism across the globe.

He was speaking openly about the situation, saying that they have loads of people living in European countries and waiting for commands to attack the European people, Sarfo recounted Monday, in an interview conducted in English inside the maximum-security prison near Bremen. And that was before the Brussels attacks, before the Paris attacks.

The masked man explained that, although the group was well set up in some European countries, it needed more attackers in Germany and Britain, in particular. They said, Would you mind to go back to Germany, because thats what we need at the moment, Sarfo recalled. And they always said they wanted to have something that is occurring in the same time: They want to have loads of attacks at the same time in England and Germany and France.

The operatives belonged to an intelligence unit of Daesh known in Arabic as the Emni, which has become a combination of an internal police force and an external operations branch, dedicated to exporting terror abroad, according to thousands of pages of French, Belgian, German and Austrian intelligence and interrogation documents.

Daeshs attacks in Paris on Nov. 13 brought global attention to the groups external terrorism network, which began sending fighters abroad two years ago. Now, Sarfos account, along with those of other captured recruits, has further pulled back the curtain on the groups machinery for projecting violence beyond its borders.

What they describe is a multilevel secret service under the overall command of Daeshs most senior Syrian operative, spokesman and propaganda chief, Abu Muhammad al-Adnani. Below him is a tier of lieutenants empowered to plan attacks in different regions of the world, including a secret service for European affairs, a secret service for Asian affairs and a secret service for Arab affairs, according to Sarfo.

Reinforcing the idea that the Emni is a core part of Daeshs operations, the interviews and documents indicate that the unit has carte blanche to recruit and reroute operatives from all parts of the organization  from new arrivals to seasoned battlefield fighters, and from the groups special forces and its elite commando units. Taken together, the interrogation records show that operatives are selected by nationality and grouped by language into small, discrete units whose members sometimes meet one another only on the eve of their departure abroad.

And through the co-ordinating role played by al-Adnani, terror planning has gone hand-in-hand with the groups extensive propaganda operations  including, Sarfo claimed, monthly meetings in which al-Adnani chose which grisly videos to promote based on battlefield events.

Based on the accounts of operatives arrested so far, the Emni has become the crucial cog in the groups terrorism machinery, and its trainees led the Paris attacks and built the suitcase bombs used in a Brussels airport terminal and subway station. Investigation records show that its foot soldiers have also been sent to Austria, Germany, Spain, Lebanon, Tunisia, Bangladesh, Indonesia and Malaysia.

With European officials stretched dealing with a string of assaults by seemingly unconnected attackers who pledged allegiance to Daesh, also known as ISIS or ISIL, Sarfos information suggests there may be more of a link than the authorities yet know.

Sarfo said he was told that undercover operatives in Europe used new converts as go-betweens, or clean men, who help link up people interested in carrying out attacks with operatives who can pass on instructions on everything from how to make a suicide vest to how to credit their violence to Daesh.

The group has sent hundreds of operatives back to the European Union, with hundreds more in Turkey alone, according to a senior U.S. intelligence official and a senior U.S. defence official, both of whom spoke on the condition of anonymity.

Sarfo, who was recently moved out of solitary confinement at his German prison because he is no longer considered violent, agrees with that assessment. Many of them have returned, he said. Hundreds, definitely.

Vetting recruits

The first port of call for new arrivals to Daesh is a network of dormitories in Syria, just across the border from Turkey. There, recruits are interviewed and inventoried.

Sarfo checked all the necessary boxes, and on the third day after his arrival, the members of the Emni came to ask for him. He wanted to fight in Syria and Iraq, but the masked operatives explained that they had a vexing problem.

They told me that there arent many people in Germany who are willing to do the job, Sarfo said soon after his arrest last year, according to the transcript of his interrogation by German officials, which runs more than 500 pages. They said they had some in the beginning. But one after another, you could say, they chickened out, because they got scared  cold feet. Same in England.

By contrast, the group had more than enough volunteers for France. My friend asked them about France, Sarfo said. And they started laughing. But really serious laughing, with tears in their eyes.

They said, Dont worry about France, adding Mafi mushkilah, which means in Arabic means no problem. 

That conversation took place in April 2015, seven months before the co-ordinated killings in Paris in November, the worst terrorist attack in Europe in more than a decade.

While some details of Sarfos account cannot be verified, his statements track with what other recruits related in their interrogations. And both prison officials and the German intelligence agents who debriefed Sarfo after his arrest said they found him credible.

Since the rise of Daesh more than two years ago, intelligence agencies have been collecting nuggets on the Emni. Originally, the unit was tasked with policing Daeshs members, including conducting interrogations and ferreting out spies, according to interrogation records and analysts. But French members arrested in 2014 and 2015 explained that the Emni had taken on a new portfolio: projecting terror abroad.

Its the Emni that ensures the internal security inside Dawla  the Arabic word for state  and oversees external security by sending abroad people they recruited, or else sending individuals to carry out violent acts, like what happened in Tunisia inside the museum in Tunis, or else the aborted plot in Belgium, said Nicolas Moreau, 32, a French citizen who was arrested last year after leaving Daesh in Syria, according to his statement to Frances domestic intelligence agency.

Moreau explained that he had run a restaurant in Raqqa, Syria, the de facto capital of the groups territory, where he had served meals to key members of the Emni  including Abdelhamid Abaaoud, the on-the-ground commander of the Paris attacks, who was killed in a standoff with the police days later.

Other interrogations, as well as Sarfos account, have led investigators to conclude that the Emni also trained and dispatched the gunman who opened fire on a beach in Sousse, Tunisia, in June, and the man who prepared the Brussels airport bombs.

Records from French, Austrian and Belgian intelligence agencies show that at least 28 operatives recruited by the Emni succeeded in deploying to countries outside of Daeshs core territory, mounting both successful attacks and plots that were foiled. Officials say that dozens of other operatives have slipped through and formed sleeper cells.

In his own interactions with the Emni, Sarfo realized that they were preparing a global portfolio of terrorists and looking to fill holes in their international network, he said.

In his briefings with the German authorities, and again in the interview this week, Sarfo raised the possibility that some of the recent attackers in Europe who pledged allegiance to Daeshs leader during their assaults might have a more direct link to the group than officials believe.

Sarfo explained that the Emni keeps many of its operatives underground in Europe. They act as nodes that can remotely activate potential suicide attackers who have been drawn in by propaganda. Linking them are what Sarfo called clean men, new converts to Islam with no established ties to radical groups.

These people are not in direct contact with these guys who are doing the attacks, because they know if these people start talking, they will get caught, he said of the underground operatives.

The intelligence documents and Sarfo agree that Daesh has made the most of its recruits nationalities by sending them back to plot attacks at home. Yet one important region where the Emni is not thought to have succeeded in sending trained attackers is North America, Sarfo said, recalling what the members of the branch told him.

Though dozens of Americans have become members of Daesh, and some have been recruited into the external operations wing, they know its hard for them to get Americans into America once they have traveled to Syria, he said.

For America and Canada, its much easier for them to get them over the social network, because they say the Americans are dumb  they have open gun policies, he said. They say we can radicalize them easily, and if they have no prior record, they can buy guns, so we dont need to have no contact man who has to provide guns for them.

The big man

As he progressed through the special forces training, Sarfo became closer with the emir of the camp, a Moroccan, who began to divulge details about how Daeshs external operations effort was structured, he said. Sarfo learned that there was one outsize figure behind the groups strategies and ambitions. The big man behind everything is Abu Muhammad al-Adnani, he said.

He is the head of the Emni, and he is the head of the special forces as well, Sarfo added. Everything goes back to him.

Born in the town of Binnish in northern Syria, al-Adnani is said to be 39, and is the subject of a $5 million (U.S.) bounty from the U.S. State Departments Rewards for Justice program. But details about his life remain a mystery. There are very few available photos of him, and the one used on the State Departments website is years old.

Sarfo explained that when recruits to the special forces finished all 10 levels of training, they were blindfolded and driven to meet al-Adnani, where they pledged allegiance to him directly. Sarfo was told that the blindfolds stayed on the whole time, so that even al-Adnanis best-trained fighters never know what he looks like.

To the world, al-Adnani is better known as the official spokesman of Daesh, and the man who put out a global call this year for Muslims to attack unbelievers wherever they were, however they could.

Adnani is much more than just the mouthpiece of this group, said Thomas Joscelyn, a senior fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies in Washington who tracks the groups leadership. He is heavily involved in external operations. He is sort of the administrative yea or nay at the top of the pyramid, who signs off on attack plans, the details of which are handled by his subordinates.

During his time in Syria, Sarfo was contacted by other German fighters who wanted him to be an actor in a propaganda film aimed at German speakers. They drove to Palmyra, and Sarfo was told to hold the groups black flag and to walk again and again in front of the camera as they filmed repeated takes. Syrian captives were forced to kneel, and the other German fighters shot them, showing an interest only in the cinematic effect.

One turned to Sarfo immediately after killing a victim and asked: How did I look like? Did I look good, the way I executed?

Sarfo said he had started doubting his allegiance to Daesh during his training, after seeing how cruelly they treated those who could not keep up. Making the propaganda video provided his final disillusionment when he saw how many times they recorded each scene in the five-minute film. Back in Germany, when he had been inspired by similar videos, he had always assumed they were real, not staged.

He began plotting his escape, which took weeks and involved sprinting and crawling in a field of mud before crossing into Turkey. He was arrested at Bremen Airport, where he landed on July 20, 2015, and he voluntarily confessed. He is now serving a three-year term on terrorism charges.

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PHOENIXU.S. Sen. John McCain seemingly has every reason to oppose Donald Trump.

The Republican presidential nominee has attacked many issues dear to the Arizona senator, including the family of a fallen soldier, NATO and even McCains own military service. Yet McCain, who faces a primary challenge and a strong Democratic opponent in the fall, has stuck by his support for Trump, at times seemingly through gritted teeth.

I have said that I will support the nominee of the party, and let me just say to you that is the last time, McCain told reporters this week as they pushed for more insight into why he continued to back Trump. If I change my view or my position, then you will be among the first to know.

Eight years after stumping across the nation himself as the Republican Partys presidential candidate, McCain wants to focus on Arizona, yet at nearly every step in recent weeks Trump has dogged him.

The billionaire businessman took aim at McCain personally Tuesday, saying he would not endorse him for re-election because Ive always felt that he should have done a much better job for the vets.

Trump earlier suggested McCain was not a war hero because he was captured during the Vietnam War.

Despite some concerns, the vast majority of Republicans in Congress have stood by Trump. But that hasnt stopped McCain from lashing out.

The senator slammed Trump last month for saying he might not come to the aid of NATO countries that failed to fulfil their financial obligations. And this week, he spoke out against Trump for attacking the parents of an Army captain killed in Iraq in 2004. Trump drew the ire or many in his party for comments he made attacking Khizr and Ghazala Khan, who spoke at the Democratic National Convention.

In recent days, Donald Trump disparaged a fallen soldiers parents, McCain said in a lengthy statement. He has suggested that the likes of their son should not be allowed in the United States  to say nothing of entering its service. I cannot emphasize enough how deeply I disagree with Mr. Trumps statement. I hope Americans understand that the remarks do not represent the views of our Republican Party, its officers or candidates.

McCains primary challengers include tea party activist Kelli Ward, who left the state Senate to take him on, and talk-radio host Clair Van Steenwyk, who in an odd twist is also seeking a U.S. House seat. A fourth Republican, Scottsdale businessman Alex Meluskey, suspended his campaign just days before early ballots were mailed to voters, so his name remains as a choice. The primary is Aug. 30.

Many political observers expect McCain to easily advance to the November election. Legitimate polling in the state is lacking, and the only head-to-head poll measuring McCain versus Ward, in late January, showed McCain so far ahead that another poll hasnt been done.

The five-term senator is known as a tireless campaigner and has spent the past two weeks crisscrossing the state, appearing in rural Arizona and before veterans groups, the state Chamber of Commerce and others.

At 79, McCain remains a combative politician, jousting with reporters and using his post as chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee to criticize President Barack Obamas international policies, fight for veterans issues and support Arizonas defence industry and military bases. As one of the Senates most well-known members, he has become an icon in Arizona.

The people of Arizona know me, and know me very, very well, McCain said Wednesday. And they know my record, and they know what I have done and what I can do for the state of Arizona. And they will make the decision on that basis. I am totally confident.

Ward says not so fast.

The overwhelming message is, it is time for Sen. McCain to retire, and its time for new blood to go into Washington, D.C., and the people overwhelmingly want to vote for Kelli Ward, Ward said Thursday. That Trump wave, that wave of the outsider, is coming. And John McCain is crashing under in the tumult, and I am riding high on my surf, and I am going to come in first come Aug. 30.

The physician from the northwestern community of Lake Havasu City is trying to tap into a widespread dislike of McCain in the conservative wing of the state Republican Party. The state GOP censured him in 2014 for not being sufficiently conservative, but hes brushed off the criticism.

Retired Green Valley resident Sidney Long is a longtime McCain backer who is considering voting for Ward. Long agrees with most of McCains conservative views but likes that Ward is younger and supports term limits.

Ive supported him (McCain) so long, and I didnt pay attention, frankly, to anybody else who was running until I heard a couple things on the radio that made me think, Well, maybe shes on the ball, Long said.

McCain has a history of fighting off primary challenges from the right. In 2010, he trounced conservative stalwart Rep. J.D. Hayworth by 24 percentage points.

McCain has been spending his vast war chest on the Democrat in line to challenge him if he knocks off Ward and Van Steenwyk in the primary. He had $5.8 million (U.S.) in the bank June 30, compared with just $240,000 for Ward.

Meanwhile, Democratic Rep. Ann Kirkpatrick is unchallenged in her primary and has $2.4 million in the bank.

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KUALA LUMPUR, MALAYSIAMalaysia acknowledged for the first time that one of the pilots of Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 had plotted a course on his home flight simulator to the southern Indian Ocean, where the missing jet is believed to have crashed.

Australian officials overseeing the search for the plane last month said data recovered from Capt. Zaharie Ahmad Shahs simulator included a flight path to the southern Indian Ocean. Malaysian officials at the time refused to confirm the findings.

On Thursday, Transport Minister Liow Tiong Lai told local journalists that the flight path was found on the simulator. He also cautioned there were thousands of destinations on the simulator and no evidence that Zaharie flew the plane in that area or deliberately crashed it.

A recording of the news conference was made available to The Associated Press on Friday.

New York Magazine reported last month that an FBI analysis of the device showed Zaharie had conducted a simulated flight to the southern Indian Ocean less than a month before the plane vanished along a similar route. The magazine cited the discovery as strong evidence that the disappearance was a premeditated act of mass murder-suicide at the hands of the captain.

Until today, this theory is still under investigation. There is no evidence to prove that Captain Zaharie flew the plane into the southern Indian Ocean, Liow said. Yes, there is the simulator but the (route) was one of thousands to many parts of the world. We cannot just base on that to confirm (he did it).

Liow didnt say when the Indian Ocean path was flown on the simulator. He stressed that international experts and Australian officials have agreed that the most likely scenario was uncontrolled ditching of the plane.

The latest twist in the saga of the worlds biggest aviation mystery unnerved families of the victims, who blame Malaysia for a coverup and incompetence.

It is sheer nonsense! I dont believe it at all. We were told in the past that both the plane and the pilots had no problem and now we are told there was something wrong with the pilot, said Li Xinmao, whose daughter Li Yan and son-in-law Luo Wei were among the majority of Chinese passengers on the flight.

It is another irresponsible thing the Malaysian government has done to try to fool the relatives and cover up the truth and the conspiracy. We relatives strongly protest it and strongly demand the discovery of our loved ones, he said.

In Malaysia, Jacquita Gonzales, whose husband Patrick Gomes was a crew member, said there were many unanswered questions over the Indian Ocean flight path in the captains simulator.

She said it was unclear when he last flew the route on the simulator. She also noted reports citing a private investigator that a flaperon  a small section of the wing that washed ashore on Reunion island off East Africa last year  was broken off, indicating controlled ditching of the plane.

I am not blaming the pilot, but the government should be more forthcoming with information. Why is France still not releasing details on the flaperon after so long? she said. Its very frustrating. We are like yo-yo going up and down all the time.

She also said police questioned all crew families in the early days of the tragedy and had told them that all crew members were cleared.

Liow said Thursday that French authorities were still waiting for documents from several parties including Boeing, and insisted on holding on to the wing part as court evidence.

Australias Joint Agency Coordination Center  which is overseeing the search for the plane off Australias west coast  has also said that evidence of the route did not prove that Zaharie had planned to steer the plane off course and showed only the possibility of planning for such an event.

Malaysias national police chief Khalid Abu Bakar has said investigations will not be conclusive until the black boxes  the cockpit voice recorder and a data recorder  are recovered. He did not rule out a pilot suicide.

Officials have been stymied in their efforts to explain why the Boeing 777 carrying 239 people veered so far off course during a flight from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing on March 8, 2014. Theories have ranged from a deliberate murder-suicide plot by one of the pilots, to a hijacking, to a mechanical catastrophe. Similarly, search crews have been unable to find the main wreckage of the plane despite a sweeping underwater hunt of a remote stretch of ocean off Australias west coast.

Last month, officials from Malaysia, Australia and China announced that the underwater search will be suspended once the current search area has been completely scoured. Crews have fewer than 10,000 square kilometres left to scan of the 120,000-square-kilometre search area, and should finish their sweep of the region by the end of the year.

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In his most extensive remarks about feminism, U.S. President Barack Obama has written an essay for Glamour magazine that reflects on American womens long fight for equality and calls on men to fight sexism.

His 1,500-word essay, which was published online Thursday and will appear in the September print magazine, spoke about the optimism he has gained watching his daughters Sasha and Malia grow up in his term in office.

The progress weve made in the past 100 years, 50 years, and, yes, even the past eight years has made life significantly better for my daughters than it was for my grandmothers, he wrote.

And yes, its important that their dad is a feminist, because now thats what they expect of all men.

It is not the first time that the president has declared himself a feminist. In June, while speaking at a White House summit meeting on women, he declared: This is what a feminist looks like.

And, of course, Obama is not the first world leader to declare his feminism. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau famously offered the succinct explanation because its 2015 to introduce his half-female cabinet last November.

In January, at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Trudeau urged men and women to embrace the feminist label and spoke about raising his son to grow up to be a feminist just like dad.

Still, Obamas essay was the most extensive statement on feminism yet from a sitting U.S. president.

Brenda Weber, the professor and the chairwoman of the gender studies department at Indiana University, said she was delighted by the essay, which she said showed a nuanced sense of womens issues. It is unusual for a man to write such an essay, let alone a president, she said.

To claim the identity of feminism and discuss why it is personally important to him and his daughters is a meaningful gesture coming from someone with the cultural authority of the president, she said.

Those are all pretty radical statements in terms of a politician at that level of influence, she said.

In the essay, Obama argued that when everybody is equal, we are all more free. He praised the progress of American women over the past century while pledging to work on securing equal pay and reproductive rights.

In an extended passage, the president also warned against dated assumptions about gender roles.

We need to keep changing the attitude that raises our girls to be demure and our boys to be assertive, that criticizes our daughters for speaking out and our sons for shedding a tear, Obama wrote. We need to keep changing the attitude that punishes women for their sexuality and rewards men for theirs.

We need to keep changing the attitude that permits the routine harassment of women, whether theyre walking down the street or daring to go online. We need to keep changing the attitude that teaches men to feel threatened by the presence and success of women.

We need to keep changing the attitude that congratulates men for changing a diaper, stigmatizes full-time dads, and penalizes working mothers. We need to keep changing the attitude that values being confident, competitive, and ambitious in the workplace  unless youre a woman. Then youre being too bossy, and suddenly the very qualities you thought were necessary for success end up holding you back.

Cindi Leive, the editor of Glamour, said on CBS This Morning that she thought the essay went beyond the kind of boilerplate I believe in strong women that at this point anybody can mouth pretty effectively.

It did strike me as this very modern moment, something that we wouldnt have heard probably from any other president, but honestly we would not have heard before this year, she said. I do think the embrace of the term feminism by men as well as women has really been on the rise.

With files from the Canadian Press

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Faizah Shaheen was returning to England from her honeymoon in Turkey last week when airport security pulled her out of the line of people waiting to get their passport checked at Doncaster Sheffield Airport in South Yorkshire.

For 15 minutes they questioned the British psychotherapist, who is employed by the U.K.s National Health Service, using their powers under the countrys 2000 Terrorism Act, the Guardian reported Thursday. The officers said a Thomson Airways attendant on a previous flight had reported her for suspicious behaviour.

Her crime? Reading a book about Syria.

I asked what was going on and they said I had been reported due to a book I was reading and was to be questioned under the Terrorism Act, Shaheen told the Independent.

She told the paper that she felt targeted for being Muslim.

Shaheen works with teens with mental illness. Part of her job, she said, is to prevent the teens from becoming radicalized.

I said that to the police, she said. Im actually part of trying to fight radicalization and breaking the stereotypes.

The book, Syria Speaks: Art and Culture from the Frontline, is a collection of work from more than 50 Syrian artists and writers who are challenging the culture of violence in Syria.

Thomson Airways told the Independent that it recognizes that in this instance Ms. Shaheen may have felt that overcaution had been exercised. However, like all airlines, our crew are trained to report any concerns they may have as a precaution.

Shaheen intends to make a formal complaint against the airline as well as the law enforcement officers who detained her and reduced her to tears, according to the Independent.

I was completely innocent. I was made to feel like a culprit, Shaheen said.

Racial profiling of Muslim fliers has become a familiar pattern, Ibrahim Hooper, spokesman for the Council on American-Islamic Relations, told the Post in November. Familiar enough that Muslim people have begun documenting their experiences with religious discrimination on planes using the hashtag #FlyingWhileMuslim.

At least four other people this year have publicly said airlines discriminated against them because of their race or religion.

The argument is better safe than sorry but, yeah, that only works if youre not the one being targeted, Hooper said.

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FAIRFAX, VA.A Northern Virginia mayor was facing drug charges Friday after his arrest in a meth-for-sex sting, police said.

Three-term City of Fairfax Mayor R. Scott Silverthorne was arrested Thursday after meeting at a hotel with undercover detectives he connected with through a website used to arrange casual sexual encounters between men, police said.

Police had an idea that they were pursuing the mayor from the beginning of the investigation sparked by a tip that Silverthorne was involved in a website, where he was exchanging methamphetamines for sex, Fairfax County police Capt. Jack Hardin said at a news conference. He did not reveal the name of the website.

Silverthorne made contact with an undercover detective who had created a profile on the site just two days before, he said. Hardin didnt know how long Silverthorne had been on the website.

I do know that he had one other relationship on the website besides us, Hardin said. Another person was on the website and they connected through this website and met and exchanged methamphetamine for sex.

The undercover detectives agreed to meet for a group sexual encounter in exchange for methamphetamine, police said. Silverthorne, 50, would provide methamphetamine and the undercover detectives would provide the hotel room, Hardin said.

After detectives met Silverthorne at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in McLean on Thursday night, they saw him meet suppliers, Hardin said. Silverthorne was arrested after police said he gave detectives methamphetamine. Hardin said he had two grams of methamphetamine and provided a full confession, Hardin said.

One person who was with the mayor was arrested and another person was released, Hardin said.

Detectives were able to find and arrest the suppliers, who were still in the area, he said. Detectives charged Juan Jose Fernandez, 34, of Takoma Park, Maryland, with distribution of methamphetamine, possession with the intent to distribute methamphetamine and possession of drug paraphernalia. Caustin Lee McLaughlin, 21, also of Takoma Park, was charged with distribution of methamphetamine, obstruction of justice and possession of drug paraphernalia. As detectives arrested McLaughlin, police said he resisted and a detective used his stun gun. Police said there were no injuries.

All three men were taken to the Fairfax County Adult Detention Center for processing.

Silverthorne, in an email, referred questions to his attorney, Brian Drummond, who did not immediately return a call seeking comment Friday.

Calls to the office of the Public Defender, which is representing Fernandez, were not returned. No attorney is listed for McLaughlin on online court records.

Silverthorne was re-elected in May for a third term of the city west of Washington after a tumultuous year in which The Washington Post reported he lost his job with the National Association of Manufacturers, filed for bankruptcy, lost his home to foreclosure and was diagnosed with cancer. He announced in November that hed been diagnosed with squamous cell carcinoma, and the Post said he underwent treatment that ended two months before the election.

Silverthorne defeated Tom Ammazzalorso in May with 58 per cent of the vote. The Post reported Ammazzalorso, a high school history teacher in Prince Georges County, Maryland, and a former Republican official, mailed a flyer to voters that questioned Silverthornes fitness to oversee city finances, given his personal financial problems.

Ammazzalorso challenged the mayors plan to continue development in the small, suburban community that is the county seat of Fairfax County, but which has its own mayor, City Council and police force. The 16.3-square-kilometre city has a population of just over 24,000, according to the Census Bureau.

Fairfax County Public Schools spokesman John Torre says Silverthorne was hired as a substitute teacher in April and terminated Friday because of the arrest. Silverthorne was used as a substitute between April and the end of the school year, he said.

Silverthorne, a Democrat, also served on the Fairfax City Council. He was released on his own recognizance pending a preliminary hearing Oct. 31.

His father, the late Frederick Silverthorne, was mayor of Fairfax in the late 1970s and early 1980s.

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KINSHASA, CONGOAs a yellow fever outbreak in central Africa exploded, one million vaccines disappeared in Angola. Thousands more vaccinations were delayed when accompanying syringes got waylaid. Ice packs to keep the shots potent went missing. And while the epidemic of the hemorrhagic fever spilled across international borders, a senior outbreak expert at the World Health Organization acknowledged their response had lagged for months.

Much like its fumbled response to the 2014 Ebola outbreak in West Africa, the UN agencys efforts to stop yellow fever have been undermined by chronic mismanagement, according to internal UN emails and documents obtained by The Associated Press.

Some health officials now estimate they will be short about 22 million vaccines amid the worst yellow fever outbreak in decades. From Angola, the virus has since spread to Congo, with a total of 5,000 suspect cases and more than 450 deaths. The potential for the outbreak to be exported elsewhere remains high, since the disease is spreading largely unchecked in the Congolese capital of Kinshasa, a city of more than 10 million with strong international links.

We could have prevented this from happening, said Amanda McClelland, a senior emergency official at the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, also known as the IFRC. Unlike Ebola, there is a vaccine to stop yellow fever from spiralling out of control, and global agencies should have reacted faster, McClelland said. The vaccine takes effect about 10 days after it is administered.

The mostly mosquito-spread virus was largely wiped out from the West following the development of two vaccines in the 1930s, but still sparks epidemics in Africa and Latin America. On February 12, WHO announced an outbreak of yellow fever in the Angolan capital of Luanda. In a bid to snuff out the disease, WHO and partners quickly dispatched more than six million doses  the equivalent of the entire global emergency supply.

To ensure the vaccines reached those who needed them, WHO and partners requested a detailed explanation of their use. But Angola failed to account for more than one million doses, internal emails between WHO and its colleagues show.

How can this happen in a situation of (vaccine) shortage? WHOs Sergio Yactayo wrote to his colleagues at UNICEF, Doctors Without Borders, IFRC and WHO. He speculated that the shots had probably been taken by local politicians, the military or resold on the private market.

In an emailed statement this week, WHO and partners said the million missing doses were not unexpected in such a mass vaccination campaign.

But Angolan officials disputed that any vaccines were missing at all.

There has been no diversion (of the vaccines) whatsoever, said Luis Gomes Sambo, the countrys health minister. He said the government has careful accounting of where and when the shots were administered and nothing has disappeared.

As the disease tore through Angola and Congo in the spring, UN officials made a series of avoidable mistakes that stalled control efforts, including sending vaccines without syringes.

Sending the vaccines without the vaccination material is USELESS,  WHOs Angola representative, Hernando Agudelo, complained to his colleagues in a May email.

In Congo, WHO logistician Guillaume Queyras described a quite alarming situation where workers were unable to guarantee that vaccines were being kept at the right temperature to preserve their effectiveness.

With competing vaccine requests from worried countries, experts began to consider diluting the shot.

WE HAVE A MAJOR PROBLEM ON OUR HANDS, wrote UNICEFs Robert Kezaala in an all-caps email to colleagues at WHO and elsewhere.

In Geneva, senior WHO staffer Pat Drury acknowledged to colleagues that the agencys response had lagged behind the outbreak for months.

About one month later, an internal memo to WHO director-general Dr. Margaret Chan relayed more alarming news: Congos only yellow fever laboratory in Kinshasa had halted operations two weeks earlier, leaving WHO unable to track where yellow fever was spreading in the country.

Facing pressure from Doctors Without Borders, Chan wrote directly to its international president, Dr. Joanne Liu. In a July 16 message, Chan listed five measures WHO had taken to restart the Kinshasa facility. But despite her reassurances, the yellow fever lab was still shuttered in late July.

Laboratory director Dr. Jean-Jacques Muyembe Tamfum, said Monday that there was a backlog of 300 untested samples, explaining that diagnostic materials shipped to the lab had been mistakenly returned.

With limited yellow fever vaccines in the emergency stockpile, WHO is now recommending doses be diluted, even though a draft document in May concluded that doing so should be forgotten because of the programmatic and safety concerns.

In a press release, WHO concluded that partial doses, which use one-fifth of the standard vaccine dose, could indeed be a safe and effective option.

But for some in Congo, the vaccine shortage has proven deadly.

In April, boat operator Guillit Mbwanga, 41, thought he had malaria and went to his local pharmacy for medication. Soon though, his entire body had a yellowish tone. He died soon afterwards, leaving behind his wife, Nadine, and their 10 children. His medical file states that he likely died of yellow fever.

Now there is no one to take care of the children financially, says his brother-in-law Mitterand Manzambi, who will now help look after the children, who live in a cement-block house hidden by banana trees. His oldest daughter planned to go to university, but who will pay for the tuition now? And what about school fees for the others?

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Gold Star parents Khizr and Ghazala Khan, whose son Humayun died in Operation Iraqi Freedom, became luminaries of the Democratic National Convention for their blistering takedown of Donald Trump.

Hillary Clinton was right when she called my son the best of America. If it was up to Donald Trump, he never would have been in America, Khizr Khan proclaimed at the Convention. We cant solve our problems by building walls and sowing division. We are stronger together. And we will keep getting stronger when Hillary Clinton becomes our next president.

U.S. army Capt. Humayun Khan was killed in 2004 alongside two Iraqi civilians in a suicide bombing in Baqubah. All three  and so many thousands more  were the casualties of a war widely regarded as illegal by international legal experts, and condemned as immoral by activists and intellectuals.

The recently released report of the Chilcot Inquiry, convened by the U.K. government, is a damning record of the jingoism that precipitated the war, and the manipulation involved in selling it to the world. The U.K. chose to join the invasion of Iraq before the peaceful options for disarmament had been exhausted, the inquiry concluded. Military action at that time was not a last resort. The Chilcot findings support what anti-war activists have long maintained: his was an illegally launched and incompetently executed war of aggression.

The costs of this aggression have been steep. Hundreds of thousands of Iraqis have died because of the conflict, and millions more have been displaced. Cancers and birth defects have multiplied in areas heavily bombarded during the war, in some places exceeding rates in Hiroshima and Nagasaki after the American nuclear assault of the Second World War. The devastation of Iraq has generated instability across the region; Daesh was born in the ashes of the invasion.

The debacle of the war in Iraq should remind us that Islamophobia does not always come wrapped in the conspicuous neon-orange packaging of Donald Trump. Its most deadly forms have often been less ostentatious, permitting massive exercises of violence against people dehumanized and demonized as terrorists  and with the support of politicians, such as Hillary Clinton, who are now acclaimed as the anti-racist antithesis to Trump.

(As Columbia University professor Jeffrey Sachs put it, Hillarys record as Secretary of State is among the most militaristic, and disastrous, of modern US history ... Hillary was a staunch defender of the military-industrial-intelligence complex at every turn, helping to spread the Iraq mayhem over a swath of violence that now stretches from Mali to Afghanistan.)

Trump and his advisers should undoubtedly be denounced for their overtly racist attacks on the Khan family: the suggestion that Ghazala was silent at the Convention podium because Muslim women are not allowed to speak; the accusation that Khizr is a terrorist agent. But the fixation on Trumps wall-building and division-sowing rhetoric threatens to divert our attention from the walls already built and the divisions already sown by the war policies of successive American governments.

It is not enough to empathize with the Khans for their sacrifice of their soldier son; we must also mourn for the thousands of Iraqi families bereaved because of the war he fought in (even though they were not memorialized at the Democratic Convention).

It is not enough to affirm Ghazala Khans ability to speak; we must also demand the right of girls and women victimized by the war on terror, such as Nabila Rehman, to be heard. (Nabilas grandmother was killed by a CIA drone strike in Pakistan. When she travelled with her family to Washington to testify before Congress in 2013, only five out of 430 representatives bothered to show up.)

Humayun Khans death should be treated as an indictment of American militarism, rather than deployed in an uncritical celebration of Muslim American patriotism. It is dangerous to confuse anti-racism with the multiculturalization of violent imperialism, to conflate anti-Islamophobia with the participation of Muslim Americans in a war on terror that has killed and maimed thousands of Muslims around the world. If that is our vision of victory, then we have already lost.

Azeezah Kanji is a legal analyst and writer based in Toronto.

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There is method in Donald Trumps madness. The Republican nominee for the U.S. presidency does things that, on the face of it, seem insane. They are not.

Even his unprecedented attack on the parents of a Muslim American soldier killed in Iraq follows a certain, bizarre logic.

In criticizing Khizr and Ghazala Khan, Trump may have broken all of the normal political rules. But his is not a normal campaign. In effect, Trump is gambling that among the voters he hopes to attract, fear of Muslims outweighs reverence for the military.

Dont assume he is wrong.

Certainly, his critics within the Republican Party understand the strength of Trumpism. Well-known Republican legislators, including Sen. John McCain and House Speaker Paul Ryan have publicly condemned Trumps attack on the Khans.

Yet McCain and Ryan still endorse his presidential bid. As the New York Times has pointed out, both are engaged in stiff nomination battles and neither can afford to alienate Trump supporters.

The Republicans have seen star legislators defeated before by populist insurgencies within their own party. They know no one is safe.

It is telling that Rep. Richard Hanna, the only federal Republican legislator so far to announce he will vote for Clinton over Trump, is not running for re-election.

Can Trump build on this support to win the presidency in November? Currently, the polls dont favour him. Most show Hillary Clinton, his Democratic rival, has shot ahead and now holds a 5 to 10 percentage point lead.

But polls at this point in a U.S. presidential race are notoriously volatile. The polls to watch will be those taken after Labour Day when more voters begin to pay more attention.

One fact is interesting: Trump is doing unusually well in raising money from small donors.

Typically the money in American politics comes from well-heeled backers, such as casino magnates, real estate tycoons, investment bankers and Hollywood celebrities.

But Bernie Sanders, the Democratic challenger to Clinton, showed it was possible to mount a competitive campaign financed by $10 and $50 contributions.

Trump, it seems, has learned the lesson. His campaign reports that it pulled in $64 million last month, mostly in the form of small donations.

Given that some wealthy Republicans are refusing to back Trump, this is financially important. But it is also a signal that Trump, a billionaire who up to now has paid for most of his own campaign out of pocket, can draw on broad support from the less well-to-do.

And that is the essence of Trumps seeming madness. The billionaire realtor may be the privileged scion of a wealthy family. But he can win only if he convinces enough disgruntled Americans that he, like them, is an outsider  that he stands aloof from the power elite, that he is not a slave to political correctness and that he tells it like it is.

Up to now he has succeeded by defying the experts, confounding the pundits and doing everything a politician is supposed to avoid.

Those who expected him to moderate after winning the Republican nomination last month just werent paying attention. A moderate Trump would be a contradiction in terms. To appear reasonable would queer his entire pitch.

And so the outrageous behaviour continues. Do the grieving parents of a fallen Muslim soldier challenge him? Then Trump must double down  first by suggesting the wifes religion forbids her from speaking publicly, second by hinting that Clinton, who brought this couple to public attention, cares only about non-white soldiers.

Does the president of the United States accuse him of being unfit to lead? Are the media on his case? Do his own partys bigwigs take him to task?

To the self-declared outsider, none of this matters. Indeed, such attacks only prove his point that this election is about Donald Trump versus the elites.

I dont know if Trumps strategy will succeed. I do know that its not stupid. Dangerous and divisive maybe. But not stupid. The madness is calculated.

Thomas Walkom's column appears Monday, Wednesday and Friday.

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NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- Shares of Bristol-Myers Squibb (BMY) were down 16.46% to $62.92 on heavy trading volume early Friday morning after its cancer treatment Opdivo failed to meet the primary endpoint in a phase 3 trial of patients with non-small cell lung cancer.

Peak revenue estimates for the medication's treatment of lung cancer alone were between $12 billion and $15 billion, TheStreet's Adam Feuerstein reports.

"This is the drug that made Bristol-Myers into a different company," TheStreet's Jim Cramer said on CNBC's "Squawk on the Street" this morning. "It was no longer an interesting, pastiche drug company."

The medication launched in 2014, and has been approved to treat melanoma, metastic non-small lung cancer, advanced renal cell carcinoma and relapsed classic Hodgkin lymphoma.

Given the drug's past successes, Cramer said he felt certain the trading halt placed on the stock this morning would precede an announcement that Opdivo had been approved as a first-line therapy for lung cancer.

"I'm as astonished as everyone else," he conceded.

"So I cannot give an off-the-cuff answer about whether Bristol-Myers is a 'buy' because I know what institutions were in there betting that this was going to be maybe the biggest drug of all time," Cramer added.

But he doesn't think this marks an end for Bristol-Myers either, as there will likely be a "major re-rating" which will ultimately lead to a buying opportunity.

"I just want to be careful," he said. "I don't want to be glib and say, go buy Bristol. That may turn out to be the case, but I can't do that."

Merck (MRK) stock was up 7.27% to $62.04 this morning as its cancer drug Keytruda will now go to the fore of this market, Cramer noted.

Separately, TheStreet Ratings team rates the stock as a "buy" with a ratings score of B+.

Bristol-Myers' strengths such as its revenue growth, compelling growth in net income, solid stock price performance, impressive record of earnings per share growth and expanding profit margins. Although no company is perfect, currently we do not see any significant weaknesses which are likely to detract from the generally positive outlook.

You can view the full analysis from the report here: BMY

TheStreet Ratings objectively rated this stock according to its "risk-adjusted" total return prospect over a 12-month investment horizon. Not based on the news in any given day, the rating may differ from Jim Cramer's view or that of this article's author.
NEW YORK (TheStreet) --Shares of Netflix (NFLX) were higher during mid-afternoon trading on speculation that the company Alibaba (BABA) is interested in formulating a bid for the streaming giant, CNBC's Melissa Lee reported on today's "Power Lunch."

Recode Managing Editor Ed Lee joined the program to discuss the reports.

"I think this is very unlikely to happen for a lot of reasons. Regulatory issues on both sides in both countries, and frankly on the China side the big problem with media there right now is censorship. It is regulated and monitored by the government," Lee noted.

Lee listed past ventures of American companies like Disney (DIS) and Apple (AAPL) who attempted to infiltrate the Chinese market only to be subsequently shut down. Disney's streaming deal with Alibaba, and Apple's iTunes were both terminated by the government in China.

"Even for the homegrown players it's hard," Lee said. He then spoke to the possibility of Alibaba buying only a stake in Netflix vs. the entire service.

"They could, but I think a more likely possibility would be the two going in on some joint venture in China. Netflix would help produce shows or movies and Alibaba would kick in money, resulting in a sanctioned streaming service in China," Lee explained.

Lee concluded by describing why Alibaba is so ambitious regarding the Chinese market.

"Alibaba views the Chinese market how a lot of U.S. companies view it, that there is room to grow. There's still a lot more that they need to tap into, and they have those ambitions. They're just not there yet because of the regulations in China."

Separately, TheStreet Ratings rates Netflix as a "Hold" with a ratings score of "C+." The primary factors that have impacted TheStreet Ratings rating are mixed - some indicating strength, some showing weaknesses, with little evidence to justify the expectation of either a positive or negative performance for this stock relative to most other stocks.

The company's strengths can be seen in multiple areas, such as its robust revenue growth, expanding profit margins and increase in net income. However, as a counter to these strengths, TheStreet Ratings also finds weaknesses including generally higher debt management risk, disappointing return on equity and weak operating cash flow.



TheStreet Ratings objectively rated this stock according to its "risk-adjusted" total return prospect over a 12-month investment horizon. Not based on the news in any given day, the rating may differ from Jim Cramer's view or that of this articles's author.

You can view the full analysis from the report here: NFLX


Jacob Levitt, who suffers from periodic paralysis, takes karate in June in New York. He and his father, who were both pharmaceutical executives, had sought to have an old glaucoma drug approved for use to treat Levitts rare disease. (Yana Paskova/For The Washington Post)

Three decades ago, Congress listened to the plight of Americans sick with diseases so rare many people had never heard of them. They were victims of a pharmaceutical market failure  orphans ignored by drug companies because, the thinking went, tiny groups of patients would lead to trifling sales.

To make the business viable, Congress  pushed by patients and a popular television show that highlighted rare diseases  passed the Orphan Drug Act. The 1983 law offered drug companies attractive tax credits and monopolies to develop treatments for rare diseases, radically transforming the pipeline of orphan drugs.

Now, rare diseases are no longer a neglected niche of the pharmaceutical business; they are a tantalizing moneymaking opportunity. More than 400 treatments have been approved since the law passed. Last year, nearly half of all novel drugs approved were treatments for orphan diseases.

But critics and some medical experts are concerned that the Orphan Drug Act may have backfired.

Pharmaceutical companies can reap huge profits because of the most important perk offered by the law: a period of market exclusivity that prevents competition for seven years. That has paved the way for drug prices so high that a single year of treatment can cost more than a car or even a house. Since the act passed, the median launch price of orphan drugs for chronic use has doubled every five years, according to an analysis presented in May by a team of Massachusetts researchers.

In one way, this is a straightforward success story: Patients with rare and often devastating diseases have the attention of drug companies and a growing trove of treatments. Despite the drugs high list prices, patients generally are not on the hook for the full amount, thanks to insurance, secret rebates and assistance programs underwritten by drug companies.

As the rare-disease drug business has expanded, though, the high prices could drive up insurance costs for everyone. Spending on orphan drugs is growing twice as fast as the overall drug market, according to the market research firm Evaluate.

For example, the orphan drug Soliris has an average annual cost of up to $488,000 per patient for the treatment of paroxysmal nocturnal hemoglobinuria  one of two ultra-rare diseases for which it is approved. It netted $2.59 billion in sales last year. Rituxan, an orphan cancer drug sometimes called vitamin R because it has become an important treatment for so many diseases, had worldwide sales of more than $7 billion last year.

Were seeing the Orphan Drug Act used in ways that we never anticipated when the law was adopted, said former congressman Henry A. Waxman, the California Democrat who was the principal author of the bill and now works at his sons lobbying and communications firm, Waxman Strategies. In the way people use the word orphan status, its almost becoming a synonym for a monopoly price. Sounds like its good to be an orphan.





Birth of a new market

That wasnt always true.

In the late 1970s, Abbey Meyers was a young mother from Connecticut who had finally found relief. Her son, David, was taking an experimental drug for Tourettes syndrome, a rare disease that causes motor and vocal tics. The treatment worked. But when the drug failed the main trial for a common illness, the drugmaker stopped supplying it.

After testifying at a congressional hearing, Meyers was invited to speak with drug executives.

You have grandchildren  what if it was one of your grandchildren? Meyers recalled pleading.

The problem gained national attention when the popular medical drama Quincy, M.E. aired an episode on Tourettes and actor Jack Klugman, who played the medical examiner at the center of the show, testified before Congress.

As written, the law sought to fix a clear market failure: Because so few individuals are affected by any one rare disease or condition, a pharmaceutical company which develops an orphan drug may reasonably expect . . . to incur a financial loss.

It gave them the realistic chance of making a profit, said Meyers, who would go on to found an advocacy group, the National Organization for Rare Disorders. It was not going to be a great big profit. . . . It was only going to be reasonable profit, because the market was very small.

[Jack Klugmans secret, lifesaving legacy]

For drugs treating diseases that affect fewer than 200,000 people in the United States, the law provides tax credits for half the cost of clinical development, seven years free from competition, and waived fees.

The debate over profits began not long after the law was adopted. Congress passed an amendment that would have increased competition and revoked exclusivity if the drugs target population grew to more than 200,000, but President George H.W. Bush refused to sign it into law.

Two years later, a proposed amendment would have terminated the exclusivity early if a drug reached $200 million in annual sales. Henri Termeer, then the chief executive of the Massachusetts biotechnology company Genzyme, appeared before Congress to argue against the cap, which was never passed, and defend a $300,000-a-year treatment for a rare metabolic disorder called Gaucher disease.

In his testimony, Termeer said the cost of the treatment, Ceredase, would naturally drop in the affordability range  without a change to the law  because the dose could be reduced over time.

That never happened. Lower doses did not control the disease as hoped, and the next generation of the drug, called Cerezyme, became a blockbuster, hitting a billion dollars in annual revenue. There are now five drugs for Gaucher disease, which has been diagnosed in 10,000 people worldwide. Two are made by Genzyme and are both priced around $310,000 a year.

David Meeker, the current head of Sanofi Genzyme, said that the Orphan Drug Act is an important law but that the proof of profitability has been crucial in establishing the industry. It suddenly created a business model that said you can go after these incredibly rare diseases and survive, Meeker said.

Not every drug is a success, but the appeal of the niche is clear.

In 2014, the average annual cost per patient for the 100 top-selling orphan drugs in the United States was nearly $112,000, compared with $23,000 for non-orphans, according to an Evaluate report. And orphan drugs are generally cheaper to develop. The largest, most expensive clinical trials for orphan drugs cost about a quarter as much as those for non-orphan drugs, after the tax credits are factored in, according to the report.





Old drugs become orphans

Nowhere are the strange economics of drug pricing more difficult to understand than when a drug invented decades earlier is granted orphan status  and an orphan price.

Last summer, an old glaucoma drug was reborn as an orphan for a disease called periodic paralysis. Its list price was $50 a bottle in 2002, according to Truven Health Analytics. In 2015, it was relaunched by Taro Pharmaceutical Industries with a new brand name, Keveyis, and a new price: $13,650 a bottle.

The relaunch of the drug was first envisioned by a family with unusual connections to periodic paralysis and the pharmaceutical industry.

Jacob Levitt, a member of that family, experienced his first attack of paralysis at a karate lesson when he was 12, three decades ago. Jacob sat down on the floor, and when he tried to stand up, he couldnt.

A neighbor slung the boy over his shoulder and drove him home. His father, Barrie Levitt, a physician and then-chairman of Taro, drew blood and raced to his Manhattan medical office in the middle of the night to run tests.

By the next day, Jacob Levitts scary illness had a name: periodic paralysis, an ultra-rare disorder that causes temporary bouts of immobility and muscle weakness. Patients can wake up paralyzed and go through their days feeling as if they are wearing lead shoes and a 50-pound backpack.

Jacob Levitt began taking an old glaucoma treatment that is sometimes used off-label to manage periodic paralysis. It worked, and he was able to continue practicing karate and went on to become a doctor and a vice president at Taro.

In the early 2000s, a similar glaucoma drug called Daranide was discontinued by Merck, leaving many periodic-paralysis patients without their best option for controlling their disease.

The Levitts wondered whether Taro could help launch it as a generic drug that could be used off-label, like Jacobs medication.

Taro bought Daranide from Merck for less than half a million dollars in 2008, according to the Levitts. Two years later, Taro filed for orphan status.

Then in 2010, after a contentious corporate and legal battle, the Levitts were forced out of Taro and the company was taken over by Sun Pharmaceutical Industries, the Indian drugmaking giant. Under the new leadership, Taro got orphan approval in 2015 and priced the drug at more than 270 times its last price.

Credit Suisse analysts estimated the drug could bring in $100 million per year for Taro, with a blue sky scenario of up to $600 million.

In May, however, the company changed its plan and announced the drug would be given away free. Taro said it had made less than $1 million selling Keveyis and spent millions on patient support services, medical education and promoting disease awareness.

Experts who track the industry said that the sudden reversal on price is an uncommon move. But it is not uncommon for companies to recycle old drugs as orphans and stamp them with a price hike.

For example, a decades-old pregnancy drug received orphan approval in 2011 as a treatment to lower the risk of preterm birth. The drug was previously available from compounding pharmacies for $20, but the list price for the approved drug, Makena, rose to more than $1,400 a dose  although it was halved after public backlash. After receiving orphan designation as an infantile spasm treatment, H.P. Acthar Gel increased in price by more than $20,000 a vial in 2007, though it had been used since the 1950s. Today, its list price is $34,034, not including discounts.

In February, dozens of physicians signed a letter in the journal Muscle and Nerve, highlighting concerns about the future price of a treatment for a rare autoimmune disease that had been around for decades, though never approved  now at risk of a hike.

What is particularly troublesome to us is a loophole in the Orphan Drug Act that allows companies to receive FDA market exclusivity . . . for older, existing drugs, the physicians wrote.





Popularity of orphan drugs

The high prices of orphan drugs have been detached from the laws original rationale  that incentives are necessary for companies to recoup the costs of research and development of treatments with tiny markets. Today, some pharmaceutical companies use the word orphan to justify a drugs high price, whether or not that drug is protected by the laws exclusivity. The market has come to expect high prices for any drug that treats very few patients, and the system lacks any real mechanism to counter the price increases.

In a slide deck released to a Senate committee last year, Valeant Pharmaceuticals International outlined its reasoning for a price hike for Syprine, a three-decade-old rare-disease drug that ultimately went from $652 for 100 capsules to $21,267 over a five-year period. The slide explains the reason for the price hike: Progressive pricing actions to bring in line with comparable Orphan products.

Former pharmaceutical executive Martin Shkreli, who became notorious for hiking the price of an old drug called Daraprim that is used to fight an exceedingly rare infection, called the drug an orphan even though it is not protected by the law. This drug is priced similarly to other drugs for rare disease, and I think most physicians understand that, Shkreli told The Washington Post last year.

Orphan drugs are isolated from many of the typical pressures that bring down prices. Insurance companies often have so few rare-disease patients on their books that even a very high-priced drug gets little attention. And pharmaceutical companies fund assistance programs that ensure patients do not forgo a treatment because of its price.

Drug companies argue that any change to incentives could lead the industry to abandon orphans once more. Patients and their advocates worry about that  but also see how the new market for orphan drugs gives companies virtually unlimited pricing power.

In 1979, Joseph Jankovic, a physician at the Baylor College of Medicine, began treating the uncontrollable movements of Huntingtons disease, called chorea, by importing tetrabenazine, a drug not approved in the United States. For years, his efforts to interest a drug company in tetrabenazine were fruitless. The medicine cost about $200 for a 180-pill bottle.

Prestwick Pharmaceuticals got U.S. orphan approval for the drug in 2008. The brand-name version, Xenazine, now sold by Lundbeck, carries a list price of $10,622 for a 112-pill bottle.

Obviously, Im concerned about the cost of the drug, but more importantly, Im concerned about what is the out-of-pocket cost to the patient, Jankovic said.

Cheaper generic versions entered last year after the drugs exclusivity expired. But now a chemically altered form of the drug that breaks down slower is being developed by Teva Pharmaceutical Industries as an orphan.

On one hand, Im encouraged by the data we just published showing that the drug is very effective in reducing chorea, with minimal side effects, Jankovic said. On the other hand, Im concerned that once the drug is approved, its going to be perhaps even more expensive.
Carter Page, an adviser to Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump, speaks at the graduation ceremony for the New Economic School in Moscow, July 8. (Pavel Golovkin/AP)

In early June, a little-known adviser to Donald Trump stunned a gathering of high-powered Washington foreign policy experts meeting with the visiting prime minister of India, going off topic with effusive praise for Russian President Vladimir Putin and Trump.

The adviser, Carter Page, hailed Putin as stronger and more reliable than President Obama, according to three people who were present at the closed-door meeting at Blair House  and then touted the positive effect a Trump presidency would have on U.S.-Russia relations.

A month later, Page dumbfounded foreign policy experts again by giving another speech harshly critical of U.S. policy  this time in Moscow.

The United States and other Western nations have criticized these regions for continuing methods which were prevalent during the Cold War period, Page said in a lecture at the New Economic School commencement. Yet ironically, Washington and other Western capitals have impeded potential progress through their often hypocritical focus on ideas such as democratization, inequality, corruption and regime change.

Page has an ambiguous role in Trumps campaign. But since being named to the Republican nominees team in March, his stature within the foreign policy world has grown considerably, drawing alarm from more-established foreign policy experts who view him as having little real understanding about U.S.-Russia relations. Many also say that Pages views may be compromised by his investment in Russian energy giant Gazprom.

13 names, 5 Steves, 0 women. (Daron Taylor/The Washington Post)

Other foreign policy experts from both parties say they are distressed with Page for his criticism of sanctions, praise for Putin and his advisers, and his tepid response to what most U.S. policymakers see as Russian aggression.

It scares me, said David Kramer, who was responsible for Russia and Ukraine at the State Department during the George W. Bush administration. He called Pages speech in Moscow and recent comments by Trump on the possibility of lifting sanctions against Moscow deeply unsettling.

Asked to comment on Pages public statements and campaign role, Trump spokeswoman Hope Hicks said Page was an informal foreign policy adviser who does not speak for Mr. Trump or the campaign. Trump first named Page as one of a handful of his foreign policy advisers during a meeting at The Washington Post.

The open embrace of a controversial foreign leader is unusual for an adviser to a presidential candidate  and a break from a decades-old Republican tradition of tough stances toward Moscow.

Page, who worked in Moscow for Merrill Lynch a decade ago and who has said he is invested in Gazprom, joins other Trump advisers who have done business in Russia while advocating closer relations. Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort, for example, has wooed investments from oligarchs linked to Putin and advised the now-toppled pro-Russian Ukrainian president Viktor Yanukovych.

Trump has also expressed admiration for Putin, questioned U.S. obligations to defend NATO allies and most recently  after hacked emails were released on the eve of the Democratic National Convention  asked for Russian help to find the deleted emails of presidential candidate Hillary Clinton. At the time he spoke, the FBI was investigating a break-in at the Democratic National Committee by alleged Russian hackers. Later, Trump said the request was made sarcastically.

While his comments have drawn derision from some quarters, friends of the 45-year-old Page say that he is knowledgeable about Russian affairs, and they profess astonishment that he has chosen to advise Trump.

Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump said the United States gets "no respect" from Russian President Vladimir Putin during a town hall event in Scranton, Pa., July 27. (The Washington Post)

Relationship with Gazprom

A graduate of the Naval Academy later posted as a Marine intelligence officer in Western Sahara, Page won a fellowship from the Council on Foreign Relations, where he wrote about Turkeys role as a hub for oil and natural gas being taken by pipeline from the Caspian Sea region to Europe. After earning a degree from New York Universitys business school, Page moved in 2004 to Moscow, where he worked for Merrill Lynch until 2007.

Page, who declined to comment for this article, has said in other media interviews that he also struck up a relationship with Gazprom. His Web biography says he was an adviser on key transactions for Gazprom, the Russian electric utility and other energy companies. In a two-hour interview with Bloomberg News in late March, he said he advised Gazprom on its largest deals, including buying a stake in an oil and natural gas field near Russias Sakhalin Island and the merging of two classes of Gazprom stock, one of which was restricted to foreigners and the other to Russians.

Page has offered that experience as one of his main areas of expertise, but his boss at Merrill Lynch at the time says that Pages claims are exaggerated.

Sergey Aleksashenko, former deputy chairman of the Russian central bank and former chairman of Merrill Lynch Russia, says that Page did not play a key role at that time. He was a vice president, and the job of vice president is not to organize deals but to execute, Aleksashenko said.

He also said that no one at Merrill Lynch advised Gazprom on its purchase of Sakhalin oil and gas assets from a group led by Royal Dutch Shell, because the deal was driven by the Russian government, which strong-armed Shell by holding back environmental permits, complaining about the extent of local content and slowing Shells work to a crawl.

Gazprom did not need any advice, Aleksashenko said. It was not a commercially driven transaction.

Merrill Lynch was one of three firms that issued a fairness opinion on the price Gazprom eventually paid the Shell group.

Aleksashenko said when he heard that Trump named Page as an adviser, I was laughing because he was never ready to discuss foreign policy.

After he left Moscow, Page worked as chief operating officer of Merrill Lynchs energy and power department in New York. Later, he set up Global Energy Capital, which is around the corner from Trump Tower. But he told Bloomberg News that he failed to raise money for a private-equity fund to buy assets in Turkmenistan. Instead, he says on his website that he advised others on investing in Russia and emerging markets.

Pages position as a Trump adviser has catapulted him into the most prestigious policy events, such as a closed-door session co-chaired by former secretary of state Madeleine K. Albright and Republican consultant Vin Weber at Cambridge University in July. After his speech at the New Economic School in Moscow, Page spoke briefly with another speaker, Arkady Dvorkovich, who is a graduate of the school, deputy to Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev and now chairman of the Russian Railways board.

Page also went to the Republican National Convention, where he attended a session held by the International Republican Institute and a separate, sponsored foreign policy event.

Page has left a trail of blog posts on the Global Policy Journal that has traditional foreign policy experts scratching their heads. For example, on Feb. 10, 2015, he compared the 2015 National Security Strategy rationale for imposing sanctions on Russia to an 1850 publication offering slaveholders guidance on how to produce the ideal slave.

After the Obama administration added Rosneft Chairman Igor Sechin to its sanctions list in 2014, limiting Sechins ability to travel to the United States or do business with U.S. firms, Page praised the former deputy prime minister, considered one of Putins closest allies over the past 25 years. Sechin has done more to advance U.S.-Russian relations than any individual in or out of government from either side of the Atlantic over the past decade, Page wrote.

Another blog post on March 31, 2015, titled ISIS Response Self-help Principles for Would-be Warriors of the West approvingly cites Dale Carnegies classic How to Win Friends and Influence People as a strategy for dealing with the Islamic State.

Since being named as a member of the Trump team in March, Pages background in Russia has raised questions about potential conflicts of interest.

During his interview with Bloomberg News, he said that he owns shares of Gazprom and that his stock portfolio had suffered since 2014, when the United States and Europe imposed economic sanctions on Russia after its annexation of the Crimean Peninsula.

In his Moscow speech in July, Page suggested that investment was the key to better relations. He said the United States should provide Russia with emerging technologies and potential capital market access contingent upon the U.S.s refocus toward resolution of domestic challenges. Russia would, in turn, approve collaborative partnerships in the energy industry and other diversified sectors.

So many people who I know and have worked with have been so adversely affected by the sanctions policy, Page told Bloomberg News. Theres a lot of excitement in terms of the possibilities for creating a better situation. While acknowledging his own investments in Russia, Page told Bloomberg News his work on the campaign was unlikely to help his portfolio.

All holdings in Russia by members of the Trump team should be fully disclosed, said Michael McFaul, a former U.S. ambassador to Russia under Obama who is now teaching at Stanford University.

Refreshing to Russian ears

Trump is not the first national political figure to suggest improved relations with Russia; Obama and Clinton advocated a reset a few years ago, which they have since abandoned. Trump is also not alone in seeking more military spending from U.S. allies in Europe. But he is the first to cast doubt on NATOs mutual defense commitment or to request help from Russia in undermining his opponent.

I think what we are offering is a very clear, mature, adult, realistic view of the world, said Sam Clovis, an Iowa talk-show host and former Senate candidate who backs Trump and makes the case for rethinking U.S. commitments around the globe.

The Republican platform committee at the partys convention last month was one place Trump campaign aides have promoted that view, according to national security experts who were there. They said Trump campaign staffers weakened language that would have called for military support of Ukraine.

It was troubling to me that they would want to water down language that supports a country that has been invaded by an aggressive neighbor, said Rachel Hoff, a member of the platform committee. I think the U.S. should properly come to Ukraines aid in that struggle. In the past, that would not be considered a controversial Republican position.

Manafort denied on Meet the Press this week that the campaign had sought to alter platform language related to Russia. However, those present said they negotiated directly with people who worked for the campaign.

Democrats, however, have suggested something more sinister lies behind Trumps unusual views on Russia. McFaul, who reviewed Pages early July speech in Moscow, said he disagreed with the content and added that he knew of no precedent for a presidential campaign adviser publicly criticizing U.S. policy in a foreign capital. The ranking Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, Adam B. Schiff (Calif.), has said that the Russian ties of Trumps advisers show that the Kremlin has tentacles into the Trump campaign.

Meanwhile, in Moscow, all this is being watched closely.

I think Donald Trump is a very interesting internal American phenomenon, said Fyodor Lukyanov, editor of Russia in Global Affairs and chairman of the presidium of the Council on Foreign and Defense Policy. He said that in July, Page had not established contacts with the Kremlin and had only met with some university professors for informal coffees.

I dont think he has any direct support here, Lukyanov said of Trump. What hes saying sounds very much refreshing to Russian ears. If he by chance were elected president, I think many people in Russia would love it.

Rosalind S. Helderman, Will Englund and Andrew Roth contributed to this report.
Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump has stocked his economic team with wealthy financiers and billionaires, including some who have had close ties to his companies, in a move that brings a group of powerful businessmen inside his campaign but could also threaten his populist message.

The 13 outside advisers announced Friday include a banker who loaned Trumps casinos $600 million during their bankruptcies, as well as a hedge-fund manager who famously made a fortune betting against the U.S. housing market before the financial crisis. There are no women on the list.

In selecting a team on which the typical adviser is almost certainly worth hundreds of millions of dollars, Trump reinforced his pitch to voters that having already achieved financial success is critical to understanding what needs to be done to boost the U.S. economy. In a statement, he hailed a formidable group of experienced and talented individuals advising him, declaring, I am going to be the greatest jobs President our country has ever seen.



But the team drew criticism from liberal and conservative economists who said it badly lacked the policy expertise and economic credentials that have traditionally defined past Republican and Democratic campaigns.

The purpose of having any economist on your campaign is it allows the candidate to be schooled on the issues, so if you get questions, you can be prepared to handle them, said Greg Mankiw, a Harvard University economist who advised GOP nominee Mitt Romney in 2012 and served as top White House economist for President George W. Bush. Trump doesnt seem that interested in being conversant in issues, he added, so maybe, from his perspective, he didnt need that kind of help.

[Trumps economic team has six men named Steve but no women]

Mankiw said he will not vote for Trump, citing the nominees policies on trade and immigration. Trumps team includes no prominent economists from the past several GOP campaigns or senior economic officials from previous Republican administrations. There is only one academic economist in the group and only one well-known tax policy expert.

Trump long led Democratic rival Hillary Clinton in polls on the question of who would better handle the economy, but that advantage has vanished following the parties national conventions. He has also sought to portray the economy as weak, though that could become more difficult in light of Fridays hiring report, which said the country added 255,000 jobs in July, higher than expectations.

Trumps new economic team includes Harold Hamm, a self-made oil billionaire who was an energy adviser to Romneys 2012 presidential campaign; Dan DiMicco, a former chief executive of steelmaker Nucor; Steven Mnuchin, Trumps national finance director, who is chairman and chief executive of the hedge fund Dune Capital Management; Steve Roth, founder and chief executive of Vornado Realty Trust; hedge-fund billionaire John Paulson; Howard Lorber, chief executive of the Vector Group; real estate investor Tom Barrack; bankers Stephen M. Calk and Andy Beal; and financier Steve Feinberg.

Business ties link Trump and several of those men. It was Beals banks that loaned Trump $600 million during his casino bankruptcies, according to Bloomberg, and Trump once said Beal has 20/20 vision into what is going to happen in the future. Barrack sold Trump the Plaza Hotel in New York for $410 million, shortly before the citys hotel market cratered. Trump still called him a totally brilliant guy.

The only member who has a doctorate in economics is Peter Navarro of the University of California at Irvine, who focuses on trade with China and who three times ran unsuccessfully for public office in San Diego.

The leading tax expert is Stephen Moore, who founded the Club for Growth and was a longtime columnist for the Wall Street Journal. There is also a former U.S. Senate candidate, David Malpass, who served in the Reagan and George H.W. Bush administrations and who now runs an economic consulting firm.

On the campaign staff level, the team is led by policy director Stephen Miller, a former aide to Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.), and deputy director Dan Kowalski.

Justin Wolfers, a liberal economist at the University of Michigan, said the group undermined Trumps promise to voters that he would assemble the best people to staff his administration. This is the least distinguished, least qualified economic team of any candidate in my lifetime, Wolfers said.

If you said that what I had to do was only formulate an economic policy team exclusively of rich white guys who had business backgrounds and were all named Steve, Wolfers added  referencing the names of six members of group  I still wouldnt choose Steves only from Wall Street, real estate and mining.

A Trump spokeswoman did not respond to a request for comment on the criticism.

Trump also takes economic advice from several people who were not listed in Fridays release, including Arthur Laffer, the former Reagan administration economist who is known as the godfather of supply-side economics; Larry Kudlow, a financial commentator who is a Laffer disciple; and Trumps children, including his daughter Ivanka.

Notably missing from the official list is Carl Icahn, the famed activist investor whom Trump frequently praises on the campaign trail. There are also no researchers who focus on middle-class or family issues specifically, an area Trump aides have suggested they will highlight.

Issues facing the middle class and working women are especially important this election cycle, said Abby McCloskey, an economist who was policy director for former Texas governor Rick Perrys short-lived campaign for the Republican presidential nomination. Trump could have signaled his commitment to these issues by publicly surrounding himself with people who have expertise on these topics. He chose not to.

Trumps pitch has long been that the most successful members of the business world know what it takes to save the middle class. The advisers reinforce that idea.

Lorber, for example, earned $42.5 million in 2015, and his compensation package, according to the Real Deal, a real estate news site, included the use of a company car and driver, club memberships, corporate plane use and a $90,000 allowance for lodging and expenses.

Voters at Trump rallies frequently cite business success as evidence that Trump could improve their individual fortunes.

Patty Adams said last week before a Trump rally in Colorado Springs that she has been supporting Trump since he first announced his candidacy last summer, in large part because of his business record. She said that, particularly with two children in college, she is worried about the countrys economic future.

We need jobs. We need people off the entitlement dole. Ive never seen so many homeless and street people. Obama has had eight years to fix it, and he hasnt, Adams said, adding, Hes a businessman, and I think we need a different direction.

Democrats warned Friday that Trumps investor-heavy crew could muddle his attempt to appeal to Wall Street and paint Clinton as the candidate of Wall Street.

He does sell himself as a billionaire and someone who knows all the tricks of the trade, said Jared Bernstein, a former top economic adviser to Vice President Biden who now advises Clinton on policy. So aligning himself with similar billionaires may be okay in his case. But you couldnt find a group further away from the people hes trying to woo.

Like Trumps, Clintons inner circle also includes some longtime associates, such as Neera Tanden and Gene Sperling. But she also has spent two years reaching out to more than 200 experts, some of whom she had never met before, to build a sprawling economic agenda.

The contrast is clear in their policy proposals thus far. Trumps are few, and they focus on a few recurring themes. Clintons are many, and detailed.

Jose A. DelReal in Colorado Springs contributed to this report.


Alysia Reiner stars in Equity, directed by Meera Menon. (Steve Buckwalter/Sony Pictures/Everett Collection)

In a lot of ways, Equity is a typical Wall Street drama. Shady characters convene in dimly-lit bars to trade insider information, and backstabbing is a foregone conclusion. There are monologues about the allure of cold hard cash and temper tantrums over trivial inconveniences.

But theres one key difference: The movies three main characters are women. Women also wrote, directed and produced the movie.

Equity offers a flash of hope in an industry that gives fewer roles and speaking lines to ladies, even in movies that are marketed to them. But just as the movie is a sign of progress, its also a reminder of how far Hollywood has to go.

Thats because Equity isnt just a Wall Street movie. Its being hailed as the womens Wall Street movie. Finally, a Movie About Women Who Love Money, Atlantics headline read. Meet the new women of Wall St., said CNN. The Rolling Stone labeled it The She-Wolf of Wall Street.

Obviously we dont want to be pigeonholed that way, said Alysia Reiner, who stars in the drama, produced it and developed the story. From the beginning, in writing it and conceptualizing it, we said: What if it could be like a David Mamet play, but all women? And when you watch a David Mamet play. nobody says, Oh thats such an-all male version of the world. Its just the world.

As the women who made the movie have toured the country, gender tends to dominate every conversation with the media. That sounds familiar: The entertainment industry is struggling to be more inclusive, but the trailblazing movies and shows are forced to become big statements about diversity. Is it possible for a movie about women to be just a movie? If the controversial Ghostbusters remake is any indication, not yet.

Television powerhouse Shonda Rhimes  the producer behind Greys Anatomy, How to Get Away With Murder and Scandal  is used to getting the same relentless line of questioning.

I really hate the word diversity,  she said at the Human Rights Campaign Gala last year. As if there is something unusual about telling stories about women or people of color or LGBT characters on TV. I have a different word. I call it normalizing. I make TV look like the world looks.



Anna Gunn plays Naomi Bishop, an investment banker in Equity. (Sony Pictures/Courtesy Everett Collection)

Likewise, Equity looks like reality, because its based on reality. The writers interviewed a slew of female bankers and traders, many of whom invested in the film.

The slickly-shot drama follows Naomi Bishop (Breaking Bads Anna Gunn), a powerful investment banker who takes start-ups public. Shes successful, but also haunted by a recent failure that she cant seem to shake. For the moment, she has the support of her ambitious protege, Erin (writer-producer Sarah Megan Thomas), whos starting to get impatient about her rung on the corporate ladder. Meanwhile, Naomi re-connects with a former classmate, Samantha (Reiner), who investigates white collar crime  and is specifically targeting the hedge fund guy Naomi is bedding (James Purefoy).

Does that sound like a chick flick? Not exactly. In fact, all of these roles could easily be played by men with minimal script doctoring. The dark, cold look of the movie, directed by Meera Menon, is more Steven Soderbergh than Lifetime. In fact, the cinematographer is a man, Eric Lin, which was a conscious decision.

We do want this to be a movie for men as well, Thomas said. Thats the point: We need gender balance. We dont need all women or all men.

Thomas is clearly concerned that the media narrative surrounding the movie might hurt its chances of luring a mixed crowd.

Men really like this movie, Thomas said on a couple of occasions, while she, Reiner and Menon were in town on a press tour.

In fact, the female response to the movie has been more of a mixed bag. When the drama premiered at festivals, including Sundance and Tribeca, Thomas noticed two distinct responses from female audiences, depending on their tolerance for seeing ladies throw their sisters under the bus.

Weve had women who did not like the film because they feel that this should be a social mission piece and women should be supporting women on screen, she said. And other people love that part of it  this is the way it is in the business world.

Equity is unquestionably an anomaly in having such a female-dominated creative team. Even Bad Moms, a comedy about the stresses of modern motherhood, was written and directed by the guys who did The Hangover, Jon Lucas and Scott Moore. (And the movie got some flak for that.)

But a movie is more than the genders of the people who made it. Although Equity deals with some issues that are particular to women  Naomis boss criticizes her for being unlikable and Erin hides a pregnancy by refilling her martini glass with water  the dilemmas at the heart of the story are human ones. Theyre moral quandaries about the cost of success.

Men, including Purefoys character and a nefarious enigma played by Craig Bierko, factor in heavily, but we never get asked about them, Menon said. Not even the scene during which Bierkos character suggests that Purefoy should get Botox. (We were kind of proud that we had a conversation between two men talking about plastic surgery, Reiner admitted.)

Reporters are too fascinated with the all-female angle to see anything else. But Reiner has some news: Working on a set with a female director is not that different from working on one led by a man. The Orange Is the New Black actress has worked with all kinds. She doesnt want to name-drop, but she worked with two Academy Award-winning directors  one man, one woman  who were hardly stereotypes.

The man was more gentle and more traditionally feminine than the woman, she said. So, isnt that interesting?
Takoma Radio founder Marika Partridge speaks during the first minutes of the community radio stations existence on the air. (Sarah L. Voisin/The Washington Post)

At 10 minutes to airtime, the studio clock was three minutes slow. Marika Partridge climbed up on a folding chair to fix it, exchanging a Close one! glance with her fellow founders of the Washington areas newest radio station.

After a cutthroat Federal Communications Commission application fight and five years of begging for help and money, it wouldnt do to blow the on-air debut because of a $15 wall clock from Target.

But at exactly 9:43 a.m. on a July Saturday  right after the Ethiopian coffee ceremony, the Patuxent tribal blessing and the search for a ponytail tie to fix a droopy microphone cover  a volunteer engineer clicked a button on a laptop and Takoma Radio was born.

We are automatically forgiving ourselves for everything that really isnt ready yet, said a harried Partridge before shooing well-wishers out of the studio so she could deliver the inaugural station ID.

When Good morning, world, this is Takoma Radio beamed across a swath of the Washington region for the first time, the station became the latest outlet in the low-watt, high-risk world of low-power FM. All across the country, the government is shoehorning new 100-watt community stations into the radio dial. Its lawful pirate radio, with the feds granting precious slivers of the electromagnetic spectrum to folks who have things to say and songs to play you wont hear on commercial radio: environmentalists, fringe preachers, James Joyce fanatics, antiabortion activists, lovers of Estonian pop, Japanese rock and the accordion.

Ten-year-old Sam Jam, also known as Sama Albanna-Levy, smiles during a reggae show featuring her and her aunt, Soul Rebel. They DJ-ed for an hour during Takoma Radios debut. (Sarah L. Voisin/The Washington Post)

Almost a dozen stations a week are going on the air following the FCCs second wave of license approvals. Most are local churches that want to extend their ministries a few miles from the pulpit. Several are colleges and school systems, where programming ranges from the morning announcements to afternoon homework clinics.

Among the latest wave on the airwaves, according to LPFMDatabase.com: Milwaukees WPJQ with a mix of old-school gospel and expletive free hip-hop. KALY in Minneapolis just became the countrys first Somali-language radio station. KXWR is broadcasting across Navajo Nation from Dine College in Arizona.

But getting on the air is often the easy part. Of the 1,200 licenses awarded in the first round, in 2001, nearly 750 have already gone silent, according to Rec Networks, a Maryland-based low-power-radio consultant group. One of those lost: Alaskas KAQU, which broadcast whale mating sounds from an underwater microphone.

[Little guys get airtime as low-power FM makes it debut]

In the case of Takoma Radio, the ticket to sound off to almost 250,000 potential listeners went to a volunteer group of radio veterans who hope to create a potluck mix of music and talk reflecting the politically liberal and ethnically diverse suburb.

Other stations say it, but we really are live and local, said Partridge, an NPR veteran who lives two blocks from the closet-size studio volunteers built under a Takoma Park, Md., hardware store. The signal cable runs up past the keymaking machine to the roof, where it is relayed to an antenna on top of the 11-story senior center across the street.

She wants WOWD-LP (94.3 FM) to be the town mic.

Marvill Martin, 25, better known as Marvillous Beats, was the first live musician to play on the air at Takoma Radio. (Sarah L. Voisin/The Washington Post)

If youve got a good idea for a show, we want to hear it, she said.

Among those filling the host seat in the first two weeks: a 10-year-old reggae DJ, three blind African American disability activists and a pair of feminist hip-hop aficionados, one Iranian, one Israeli. The music offerings are college radio for adults, a mix adhering to no known format, ranging from Bulgarian wedding bands to film scores. Jazz factions from cool to classic have locked in their hours.

Ed Smith, 72, has been listening to jazz since he was 10 years old. Now the retired health-care administrator with the gray chin beard and the Carmel-by-the-Sea cap is broadcasting his collection to radios in parts of the District and the Maryland suburbs, and worldwide on takomaradio.org.

He spent all weekend going through the CDs, said his wife, Margo, looking through the studio glass as he tentatively punched buttons on the board. Hes having the time of his life.

The gaps between actual hosted programs  more than half the hours of the week are still blank  are filled by an automated playlist that is nearing 8,000 tunes, a randomized jukebox of Gene Autry yodels, Sid Vicious solos, Bengali opera and tree-frog calls. The mega mix tape was curated largely by Partridge, who as a longtime director of NPRs All Things Considered is credited with honing the distinctive world-beat variety of the networks music buffers.

All I asked is that we take out all the Christmas music and the Nirvana, she said of the WOWD house soundtrack.

The station has already attracted refugees from the commercial side of the Washington dial, which these aficionados dismiss as hopelessly homogenized.

Commercial radio today, and even public radio, is not very local, said Jonathan Weasel Gilbert, 67, the alt-rock veteran from the once-radical WHFS who is doing a Sunday gig on WOWD along with local music guru Robbie White. I think Takoma Radio is trying to get some of that back on a small scale.

Its free to apply for the license, but the cost of equipping a station  about $10,000, minimally  and the demands of managing it have silenced many.

You get it up and running, but then you have to run a nonprofit, said Sally Kane, head of the National Federation of Community Broadcasters. A lot of them are just helpless.

Michael Shay, an environmental activist in Maryland, launched one of the regions first low-power stations in southern Anne Arundel County in 2002. He kept WRYRs mix of green development and Chesapeake culture on the air for almost 10 years until another station stepped on his signal. It didnt help that regulations forced him to locate his antenna on the other side of the bay.

We had to broadcast all the way back to our community with the power of a light bulb, Shay said. It became unlistenable.

Following a change in the law that was hotly opposed by existing broadcasters, the new low-power licenses can be sited much closer to major markets. Shay is hoping to get his antenna moved to his side of the bay.

Like most community radio projects, Takoma Radio is a volunteer effort, except for two half-time employees who work on laptops in Partridges spare bedroom. It was five years ago that Partridge learned that the FCC was going to accept applications for low-power licenses for only the second time since 2001. She posted an invitation on her neighborhood email group for anyone interested in starting a local radio station to come meet on her front porch.

The call-out eventually attracted an only-in-Washington cast of media and legal experts. One of the volunteer engineers came from WAMU, the local NPR affiliate. The volunteer lawyer has been a specialist in FCC issues for more than a decade. Partridge had started a community radio station in Sitka, Alaska, before working at NPR for more than 15 years. She left to home-school her autistic son.

Oh yeah, you cant surprise us with anything, said Partridge, who is 60.

The group raised more than $65,000 through concerts, T-shirt sales and an online funding campaign. They enlisted Historic Takoma, a local heritage group, to be the official applicant and license holder.

But the brain trust proved decisive in the unforgiving FCC process, which relies on competing license seekers to rat out the mistakes in each others applications.

One by one, Takoma-based lawyer Michael Richards combed the documents filed by three other finalists for the same frequency, 94.3. The group persuaded the Maryland Highway Department, which wanted to beam traffic updates from a College Park antenna, to drop out after finding a mistake in its proposed tower location.

I basically went with the message that there was a tremendous application coming from my constituents in District 20 and that there appeared to be a problem with their own application and asked if they would consider stepping aside, said state Sen. Jamie B. Raskin (D-Montgomery), a Takoma Park resident.

Richards next notified the FCC of a flaw in the nonprofit status of another finalist, a group related to the D.C. jazz club HR-57. And in the case of the Washington Peace Center, which had sponsored an application on behalf of the Latino Media Collective, he found that a key document had been signed not by an officer of the center, as required by the FCC, but by the office manager.

It was enough. In January 2015, the FCC announced that the other two were disqualified and Takoma Radio had won the license.

By the time I found out, it was too late to do anything, said Norberto Martinez, the head of the Latino Media Collective. He wanted the license to create a Spanish and English station along the line of progressive public outlet WPFW, where his group hosts a one-hour show on Hispanic issues.

Martinez denies there were any mistakes in his groups application and maintains he never received word of Takoma Radios complaints. But documents from the FCC website show that a copy of the Takoma groups petition to deny was sent to the Washington Peace Center.

I dont have any hard feelings, Martinez said, but it didnt feel like a clean process.

Partridge, too, lamented the finger-pointing exercise that leads to an FCC license award. Since low-power frequencies that fail dont get re-licensed to new stations, radio advocates tend to root for groups that offer as much competence as passion.

Its a horrible process, she said. But were determined to make it work, and we definitely have the skills to do it.
FILE: Kaya Henderson, left, talks about her time as the District of Columbia's School Chancellor. She was photographed with D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser, right. (Marvin Joseph/The Washington Post)

The D.C. mayor has announced a 17-member committee that will help select the next chancellor of D.C. Public Schools  the first step in tapping a replacement for the current head of the school system, Kaya Henderson.

Henderson, who has led the school system for more than five years, announced in June that she would step down from her post on Oct. 1. Mayor Muriel E. Bowser (D) immediately named John Davis, the systems chief of schools, as the interim chancellor. City officials say they hope to name the replacement in October, though he or she likely wouldnt start until after 2016-2017 school year concludes.

[D.C. Schools Chancellor Kaya Henderson to step down, leaving legacy of progress]

Bowser will ultimately nominate the new chancellor, but the DCPS Rising Leadership Committee will meet three times over the course of the selection process to make a recommendation to the mayor. The committee will provide feedback and input to the mayor, and determine what they think the priorities for the school system should be.

We are moving full steam ahead in our search for the next DCPS Chancellor, Bowser said in a statement.

The committee, which Bowser convened on July 29, is comprised of local business leaders, parents, teachers, the head of the teachers union, a principal and a student from Woodson High School in Ward 7.

Patricia McGuire, the president of Trinity Washington University, and Gina Adams, a DCPS graduate and the senior vice president for government affairs at FedEx, are co-chairing the committee.

The committee and mayor have a tough decision to make: Do they select someone who has worked under Henderson to replace her, or do they go outside the city to find the systems next chancellor?

Henderson has been credited with leading a troubled and under-enrolled school district through rapid improvements with test scores improving, graduation rates jumping and with more academic and extracurricular options available in the citys schools.

But critics argue that Hendersons achievements  and the reforms initiated by her predecessor, Michelle Rhee  have not reached the citys neediest students. The school systems national standardized test scores have been among the fastest-improving in the nation, but there are still stark achievement gaps between white and black and wealthy and poor students.

[With Kaya Henderson leaving, Bowser has a decision to make about the future of D.C. schools.]

In a June interview, Bowser lauded the chancellors accomplishments but did not signal whether she would hire a new chancellor whose leadership approach mirrors Hendersons.

Part of searching for a new chancellor will be taking the pulse of the community, getting feedback from stakeholders, and moving forward, Bowser said.

McGuire, who noted that many Trinity Washington University students are graduates of the D.C. school system, said the committee will not go in with a bias toward internal or external candidates. She applauded Henderson and said she wanted to see a new chancellor who could listen to the community and school leaders and build off Hendersons reforms.

We have to continue the kind of progressive reforms that Henderson was moving along with, McGuire said. It would be disastrous to have a clean break and start over again.

McGuire said notable progress in education takes significant time, and Henderson should not be blamed for the persistent achievement gap during her tenure.

Educational progress takes generations. Its evolutionary, not revolutionary, she said. There are pockets of inequality and poverty that no school system can solve alone. We need a chancellor like Kaya Henderson who is dedicated to solving that gap, but we must be realistic in how long it takes to do so.

In addition to the three committee meetings, Deputy Mayor for Education Jennifer Niles will hold three community engagement forums so other community stakeholders can say what they want to see in the next chancellor. Each committee member must attend at least one community session. The first community meeting is Aug. 30 at 6:30 p.m. at Roosevelt High School in Petworth.

The city has also hired a global search firm, Boyden Global, to present the mayor with applicants from D.C. and around the country. The firm will also make a recommendation to the mayor.

Once the mayor makes her selection, it will go before the D.C. Council for final approval.
U.S. Senate candidate Del. Kathy Szeliga (R-Baltimore County) is declining to support stricter firearms laws, despite meeting with gun-control activists last week and strong backing for such measures from Maryland voters.

Szeliga, the states House minority whip, did not budge from her position on the subject when she met Thursday with activists and victims of gun violence, who want her to back a federal bill written by her opponent, U.S. Rep. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), and two others that failed in the U.S. Senate this year.

She wasnt outright confrontational, but she wasnt agreeing to any of the measures to reduce gun violence, said Jen Pauliukonis, president of Marylanders to Prevent Gun Violence, which arranged the gathering.

Instead, Szeliga expressed a desire for stricter enforcement of existing gun laws.

One of the things we all agreed on was that we must have judges and prosecutors who enforce the gun-related laws already on our books, she said in a statement Friday. Too often, we see violent criminals return to the streets they have previously terrorized, only to commit more violent crimes.

Szeligas stance on gun control contrasts with the positions taken by Marylands Democratic congressional candidates, all of whom have co-sponsored Van Hollens bill or pledged to back it if elected in November.

[Marylands Democratic congressional delegation lines up behind gun bill]

Van Hollens proposal, which has stalled at the committee level, would create federal financial incentives for states to establish handgun-licensing programs similar to the one former Maryland governor Martin OMalley signed into law in 2013. Szeliga voted against the state measure, which also banned assault rifles and limited ammunition clips to 10 rounds, giving Maryland some of the strictest firearms regulations in the nation.

A Washington Post poll that year found that Marylanders overwhelmingly supported stricter national gun-control laws, with 63 percent saying they favor such legislation, compared with 34 percent who said they oppose it.

Advocates say licensing laws help reduce firearm homicides and prevent guns from flowing from states with lax purchasing rules into the hands of criminals in states that do have such regulations. But gun rights advocates say permit-to-buy laws restrict the constitutional right to bear arms while failing to block criminals from obtaining the weapons through illicit means, such as theft, straw purchases or the black market.

Marylanders to Prevent Gun Violence also called on Szeliga to support legislation from Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) that would bar people on federal terrorist watch lists from buying firearms and another bill from Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) that would require background checks for gun purchases nationwide. Both failed in the Senate this year amid opposition from the National Rifle Association.

[Maryland is one of the states where a watch-list gun ban failed]

Conservatives attacked Feinsteins bill on grounds that the watch lists are flawed and that the government has not developed a fair process for suspects to challenge their inclusion on the rolls, potentially allowing authorities to remove a persons Second Amendment rights without due process.

Pauliukonis said the watch lists should still play a role in gun control.

We want to make sure if someone is as dangerous as the CIA and FBI say they are, and too dangerous to fly on an airplane, then they are considered too dangerous to possess firearms, she said. If someone wants to work to fix any of the due-process problems, thats a separate issue.

Rockville resident Iris Sherman, one of the gun-violence victims at Thursdays meeting, said she supports licensing requirements. She was struck by a .45-caliber bullet fired from a school playground in December while driving to pick up her son at a Metro station.

The round stopped in her right thigh, about a half-inch from her femoral artery.

I survived and feel amazingly lucky, but Ill never be the same, Sherman said. I feel like I need to take this empowerment and make an impact.

Szeliga said she was moved by the accounts.

As a wife and mother, hearing the stories of the mothers who lost their children was especially heartbreaking, she said in her statement. When Im elected to the Senate, I will continue to meet with all Marylanders, whether we agree on every issue or not.

Szeliga spokeswoman Leslie Shedd challenged Van Hollen to meet similarly with gun rights advocates.

Its important to listen to the other side and hear what they have to say, she said. Thats how we find common ground and get things accomplished instead of sticking with your side.

Van Hollen campaign spokeswoman Bridgett Frey accused Szeliga of putting the interests of the gun lobby above public safety. She said the congressman will continue to fight for common-sense measures that both respect the Second Amendment and save lives by keeping guns out of the hands of criminals, terrorists and those convicted of domestic violence.
Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan told a predominantly African American audience of urban leaders from across the country on Friday that he wants to work with Democrats to address the problems that plague Baltimore and other cities.

Ive always said I dont care which side of the aisle that those ideas come from, Hogan (R) said at the annual convention of the National Urban League, but that we must find bipartisan, common-sense solutions to the serious problems that face us.

Hogan, who was invited to speak at the convention, was the only Republican elected official to address the urban leaders during their four-day meeting this week.

And that appearance helps Hogan draw a clear contrast with the national Republican Party and GOP presidential nominee Donald Trump, some political observers said.

It puts the idea out there that hes different, said Todd Eberly, a political science professor at St. Marys College, that you cant paint him with that same broad brush.

Trump was invited to the convention but declined, organizers said. Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton was also invited, but her running mate, Sen. Tim Kaine (Va.), spoke on her behalf.

[Kaine contrasts two Republicans on civil rights: His father-in-law and Trump]

Charles R. Conner III, the executive director of the state Democratic Party, said it seemed disingenuous for Hogan to address a group dedicated to addressing the needs of urban communities when in recent days he had withheld money from some of those communities.

As someone who lives in Baltimore, a photo op doesnt do a whole lot for me, Conner said. When it comes time to deliver for Baltimore City, particularly for its children, his administration has missed hitting the mark.

This week, Hogans budget secretary announced that the governor would not release most of the $174 million that the legislature set aside for things such as helping local school systems pay for employee pensions and demolishing the abandoned Baltimore jail.

Del. Cheryl D. Glenn (D-Baltimore City), the president of the Legislative Black Caucus, said she was not surprised that Hogan accepted the invitation to speak before the national group but thought it was interesting that it came after his decision to withhold additional funding from Baltimore schools.

It makes it look like he is concerned about black issues, Glenn said. But at the same time he has a long way to go.

Hogans appearance at a gathering of one of the nations oldest civil rights organizations allows him to continue to distance himself from Trump, the billionaire businessman who has agitated Democrats and Republicans with his remarks about women, Muslims and immigrants.

In June, seeking to highlight what he said was support among African Americans, Trump pointed out a black man at a rally and said, Oh, look at my African American over here. Look at him. Are you the greatest?

That same month, Hogan said he did not plan to vote for Trump or Clinton. And last month, he chose not to attend the national GOP convention in Cleveland, instead going to an annual clam bake, a political event on Marylands Eastern Shore.

The Republican governor, making his first address before a national civil rights group, touted his efforts to improve education, increase job creation and reduce the prison population. He called on the leaders to work with him.

We must all be willing to work together to be part of the solution, Hogan said. We must seek to empower instead of seeking to demonize, because we must not give up on our cities and we simply cannot afford to leave anyone behind.

The speech came more than a year after unrest in Baltimore over the death of Freddie Gray after his arrest and as the national debate continues over police shootings of African American men and the use of excessive force. Charges were dropped last month against the officers who were still to stand trial in the Gray case.

Hogan, who said it would have been a waste of resources to continue the trials against the officers, did not mention the 25-year-old African American man in his speech. Instead, he mentioned the resulting riot, the worst violence in 47 years that sought to tear apart the very fabric of Baltimore and his administrations work to bring peace and calm to our most important city.

The crowd of more than 500 gave Hogan a polite reception, interrupting his speech with tepid applause four times. Two of those interruptions came when Hogan thanked the group for holding its convention in Baltimore and for the work it has done in the city.

Before the speech, many said they knew very little about Hogan, who took office in January 2015 after an upset victory over then-Lt. Gov. Anthony Brown (D).

But they were not surprised by the appearance of a Republican governor. Republican presidential candidates Jeb Bush and Ben Carson addressed the convention last year.

Hogan told the crowd that he shared their passion to improve conditions in Baltimore and elsewhere. Im here as someone who decided to run for office not out of any desire to be something but because I wanted to do something, he said.
Korryn Gaines recorded video of her standoff with Baltimore County police officers on August 1 and posted it on social media. Police say Gaines, a 23-year-old black woman, pointed a gun at officers and threatened to kill them before they shot and killed her. Officers had arrived at her apartment to serve warrants. (Instagram @shesyourmajesty)

Korryn Gaines recorded video of her standoff with Baltimore County police officers on August 1 and posted it on social media. Police say Gaines, a 23-year-old black woman, pointed a gun at officers and threatened to kill them before they shot and killed her. Officers had arrived at her apartment to serve warrants. (Instagram @shesyourmajesty)

A 5-year-old boy who was wounded during a standoff between his mother and Baltimore County police at the womans apartment Monday was struck by a bullet fired by a tactical officer, the department said Friday. The mother was killed in the shootout, police said.

Police said in a statement that the new information was learned from a bullet recovered after the boy underwent a medical procedure at Johns Hopkins Childrens Center in Baltimore on Friday. The child was struck in the left cheek, but police said the wound was not life-threatening.

[Police fatally shot woman during standoff in Baltimore County]

Until Friday, authorities had said it was unclear whether the child had been injured from police gunfire or from shots fired by his mother, Korryn Gaines, 23, who police said fired at officers with a 12-gauge shotgun. Police had left open the possibility that the child had been struck by shrapnel.

It was also unclear where the child was in the apartment when he was wounded. Police had gone to the apartment to arrest Gaines and her boyfriend on outstanding warrants. Police said Gaines refused to surrender and held them at bay for hours.

Police said an officer fired at her after she pointed a shotgun at officers and said, If you dont leave, Im going to kill you. Police said Gaines then fired back and a tactical officer then fired three more times, killing her. Gaines had posted part of the standoff on social media.
Fairfax County police spokesman Maj. Ed OCarroll describes the circumstances surrounding the Thursday arrest of Fairfax City Mayor Scott Silverthorne in connection to an alleged methamphetamine-for-sex scheme. (WUSA9)

Fairfax County police spokesman Maj. Ed OCarroll describes the circumstances surrounding the Thursday arrest of Fairfax City Mayor Scott Silverthorne in connection to an alleged methamphetamine-for-sex scheme. (WUSA9)

Scott Silverthorne built a reputation as a civic pillar of Fairfax City, Va., over three decades, helping bring a park to the affluent suburbs downtown and championing other improvements during his stints as a City Council member and mayor.

But even as he was the public face of the city, police said, Silverthorne was privately leading another life online: using a website to swap methamphetamine for sex with other men.

That other side of Silverthorne, 50, burst into public view Friday, as Fairfax County police announced that he had been charged following a sting in which they said he agreed to give an undercover officer the drug in exchange for an orgy at a Tysons hotel.

The arrest marked a stunning downfall for Silverthorne, who had followed his father into the mayors office, recently beaten cancer and coped with the loss of his job and house. Through text messages, Silverthorne declined to discuss the charges.

[Fairfax mayor says he has cancer and plans to stay in office]

Fairfax City Mayor Scott Silverthorne watches video of a city council meeting in December. (Dayna Smith/for The Washington Post)

The news shocked residents and Fairfax City officials, and clouded the future of projects Silverthorne was pushing. City Council member Jeffrey C. Greenfield was appointed acting mayor of the city of 23,500 residents, which is 20 miles west of Washington.

The city of Fairfax City Council appreciates Mr. Silverthornes long-standing dedication to the community, Greenfield said in a statement read to TV cameras outside City Hall. The community has benefitted from his dedication and his vision.

One former political opponent showed up Friday at the city registrars office to investigate the process of running for mayor in a special election. Others simply expressed shock at seeing a man they watched rise through local politics fall in such an unexpected way.

The sad thing is you can spend 30 years building up your reputation and lose it in 30 minutes, said City Council member David L. Meyer. I think I can speak collectively that were concerned for the future of the city as well, but the city is greater than one person and were going to persevere.

Fairfax County police said at a news conference that Silverthorne had admitted to distributing drugs. They said they began the investigation after receiving a tip in mid-July.

We were provided with information from a citizen that the mayor was involved with a website, said Capt. Jack Hardin, commander of the Fairfax County police organized crime unit. It was alleged he was exchanging meth for sex.

Detectives created a fake profile on the site, which police declined to name, in an effort to lure Silverthorne, police said. Two days later, they said, Silverthorne messaged the account, saying he could provide drugs in exchange for group sex.

Juan Jose Fernandez, left, and Caustin Lee McLaughlin, who police said supplied methamphetamine to Fairfax City Mayor Scott Silverthorne. (Fairfax County Police)

Two undercover officers arranged a meeting at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Tysons around 7 p.m. Thursday, police said. The undercover officers met Silverthorne and two acquaintances in the parking lot.

The group waited about 20 minutes for Silverthornes methamphetamine supplier to arrive, police said. When he did, Silverthorne allegedly acquired about two grams of meth, then returned.

Silverthorne and one acquaintance, Caustin Lee McLaughlin, 21, of Maryland, were placed under arrest, police said. As police were trying to arrest McLaughlin, he resisted and was Tasered, police said. No one was injured during the encounter.

Afterward, detectives went into the hotel and arrested Juan Jose Fernandez, 34, of Maryland, who police said had supplied the drugs to Silverthorne and was at the bar. Silverthornes other acquaintance was released without being charged.

Silverthorne was charged with felony distribution of methamphetamine and misdemeanor possession of drug paraphernalia. McLaughlin and Fernandez also face drug charges, and McLaughlin was charged with obstruction of justice.

All three were transported to the Fairfax County jail, where McLaughlin and Fernandez remained on Friday. The Fairfax County Public Defenders Office, which represents Fernandez, did not return a call for comment, and court records did not list an attorney for McLaughlin.

Silverthorne was released on his own recognizance. He is scheduled to be arraigned Wednesday.

On Friday, Silverthorne, in a text message, referred requests for comment to his attorney. Wish I could speak to you but hes asked to direct calls to him, Silverthorne said.

Silverthornes attorney, Brian Drummond, said, Given the fact that I havent had the opportunity to sit down and speak with my client, Ill have no comment at this time.

The arrest capped a period of tumult in Silverthornes personal life. In January, Silverthorne told The Washington Post, Its been a terrible year for me, referring to financial and medical problems.

Theres no question about it, he said at that time. I can try to sugarcoat it as best I can, but the facts speak for themselves.

[Fairfax mayor says he has cancer and plans to stay in office]

In late June 2015, Silverthorne was laid off as a director of recruitment with the National Association of Manufacturers. He owed about $58,000 to various creditors and filed for federal bankruptcy protection.

A bank foreclosed on Silverthornes five-bedroom house, and he moved in with a friend. He was also battling neck cancer.

A Fairfax native, Silverthorne, a Democrat, was elected in May to serve his third term in the nonpartisan office of mayor. He has previously served nine terms on the City Council. And his father, the late Frederick W. Silverthorne, served as mayor of Fairfax City in the late 1970s and early 1980s.

Silverthorne worked briefly as a Fairfax County substitute teacher beginning in April, but he was terminated from that position Friday, school district officials said.

With his cancer in remission, Silverthorne recently resumed the lead in efforts among local leaders to raise Fairfax Citys economic stature by redeveloping some old strip malls and other parcels in hopes of luring in developers.

As mayor, Silverthorne has been behind some key city improvements, most notably a green-space ordinance while he served on the City Council about a decade ago that made it possible for the city to develop a downtown park.

Silverthorne was also key in easing tensions with a local center for the homeless after the city lost a Virginia Supreme Court battle four years ago that concerned an effort to push the organization out of Fairfax.

His arrest probably means that Silverthorne will step down, some local officials said. With no vice mayor, the City Council would have to schedule a special election for a new mayor, most likely in November. Silverthorne had not resigned as of Friday.

Still, John Norce, who ran for mayor against Silverthorne in 2012, wasted no time in trying to take advantage of the political disruption. Id be into again being involved if it helps the city, he said after visiting the city registrars office to inquire about a special election.

Meanwhile, Silverthornes friends worried about his well-being.

After such a rocky year financially and with his health, I had hoped that he turned a corner and was back on his feet, so this is awful, said Fairfax County Board of Supervisors Chairman Sharon Bulova (D), who described Silverthorne as a champion for people in need of social services. Its just really very sad.

Tom Ammazzalorso, Silverthornes challenger in the May election, said he felt sympathy for this onetime political opponent.

My heart breaks for this man, because obviously hes facing tremendous personal challenges, Ammazzalorso said. Thats not the way to conclude your political career. Thats absolutely terrible. Its absolutely heartbreaking.

Dana Hedgpeth, Tom Jackman and Fenit Nirappil contributed to this report.
Correction: An earlier version of this article incorrectly said Maureen McDonnells convictions had been vacated.

A federal appeals court has signaled that it agrees that former Virginia first lady Maureen McDonnells corruption convictions should be tossed out because of the U.S. Supreme Court decision that overturned her husbands convictions.

Attorneys on both sides said that a ruling Friday by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit suspends the public corruption case, and that further legal action is necessary to vacate the convictions as prosecutors decide whether to seek a new trial. But they said the order indicates that the court agrees with a defense analysis  unchallenged by prosecutors  that the first ladys convictions cannot stand.

Although the United States acknowledges that the Supreme Courts opinion in McDonnell v. United States is equally applicable to Maureen McDonnells convictions, Mrs. McDonnells convictions have not been vacated, federal prosecutors in Virginia said in a statement.

Both sides have until Aug. 29 to consider how to proceed in the cases against the McDonnells.

At this time we are thoughtfully determining next steps in both cases, prosecutors said in the statement.

The McDonnells were accused of helping a dietary supplement salesman in exchange for more than $175,000 in gifts and personal loans. They were tried together and convicted in 2014, although they had different defense teams and their appeals have proceeded separately.

The high court in June overturned Robert F. McDonnells convictions, but his wifes case has remained under appeal.

Her case has always been the follow-on case; this has always been all about the governor, said Scott Fredericksen, a public corruption expert at the firm Foley Lardner. What happens with his case will happen with her case.

Should prosecutors decide to move forward with a new trial, they will face a difficult road. The Supreme Court ruled unanimously that the definition of an official act given to the jury that convicted both McDonnells was so broad, it could cover almost any action by a public official. The couple have always maintained that what they did for businessman Jonnie Williams  connecting him with state officials, letting him launch a product at the governor's mansion, and letting him shape the guest list for a health-care event  were things they would have done for any constituent.

There is no doubt that this case is distasteful; it may be worse than that. But our concern is not with tawdry tales of Ferraris, Rolexes, and ball gowns, Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. wrote. It is instead with the broader legal implications of the Governments boundless interpretation of the federal bribery statute.

Connecting constituents with state officials, as McDonnell did, is what conscientious public officials do all the time, Roberts wrote.

But there is still room for a case to be made with new jury instructions, former federal prosecutor Randall D. Eliason said. Williams wanted state grant money and state-funded studies to research one of his nutritional supplements. Although he didnt get either, Eliason said prosecutors could argue that there was an agreement with McDonnell that he would.

McDonnell doesnt have to have performed these official acts. He just has to have agreed to perform them, said Eliason, who teaches at George Washington University School of Law. So its possible to say . . . there was sufficient evidence that the jury could have found there was an agreement to perform official acts.
The body of a 77-year-old pedestrian was dragged for more than a mile by a hit-and-run driver in Montgomery County Thursday night, according to police.

Police on Friday were searching for the driver of a late-model, white or tan sedan that struck the man. The driver left the scene, but may have believed he hit an animal or object in the road, police said.

Police identified the victim as Julius Henry Newton, of the 14800 block of Melfordshire Way in the Layhill area of the county. He was pronounced dead on the roadway.

He didnt deserve that kind of death, that kind of torture, that kind of pain, Newtons daughter, Pam Newton, said Friday.

Her father, with the longtime nickname of Boo, was born in North Carolina and was retired after working decades at a Frito-Lay plant outside of Washington, she said. He enjoyed going to gospel music performances.

Julius Newton was killed by a hit and run driver in Montgomery County Thursday. His family said he had walked to a store near their home to buy snacks for his family. (Family Photo)

He was a beautiful person, she said.

Just before 9:30 p.m. Thursday, police officers and rescue workers were called to a reported pedestrian collision in the 14400 block of Layhill Road. While trying to find that scene, another call came in for a pedestrian collision approximately one mile away  at Bel Pre and Homecrest roads.

Newtons body was found at that second location, police said.

Officers quickly determined that the two calls were actually for different parts of the same collision, Capt. Paul Starks, a police spokesman, said in a statement.

Starks said that investigators believe Newton had been walking across Layhill Road when he was hit.

Pam Newton said her father had left their townhome to buy snacks and soda at a nearby 7-Eleven for himself and family members. She suspects her father crossed Layhill Road to get to a bus stop and take the bus back due to the weight of grocery bags with the items he had purchased.

When Julius Newton did not return--and when the family saw ness accounts of the nearby collision, they became worried. One relative tried to walk to the scene but could not get past police barriers.

On Friday morning when two officers knocked on the door of the family home, their worst fears were realized.

One of Newtons grandsons, Quanzet Newton, spoke with the officers.

He said Friday he was still trying to process how his grandfather had died and why he wouldnt be walking around the home shared by several generations.

Of the hit-and-run driver, Newtons grandson said, that was very sickening, devilish, coldhearted--wrong all the way around.

Pam Newton said she has found herself expectantly looking at the door. You just cant believe it. Youre just looking for him to come in the door at any moment.

Her fiancee, Manuel Taylor said perhaps the driver was scared or maybe they dont care. But he said he hopes the driver or someone who knows the driver steps forward.

Were pleading for the public to come forward, Taylor said.

Justice has to be served, added Pam newton.

Detectives believe the striking vehicle may be a late model white or tan sedan. Investigators believe there is damage to the striking vehicles front end, Starks said.

Anyone with information about the crash is asked to call the county police departments Collision Reconstruction Unit at 240-773-6620.
A man wounded by gunfire near Congress Heights in Southeast Washington early Friday was driven across the city to near Thomas Circle in Northwest, according to authorities.

Police said the man was shot about 12:35 a.m. in the 1800 block of Stanton Terrace SE. Police said officers stopped a car about 1:10 a.m. in the 1200 block of Massachusetts Avenue NW and noticed the wounded man.

He was taken to an area hospital. No arrest has been made.
Updated on June 28, 2018:

The murder charges against Kumalo Ealom were dropped shortly after his arrest after prosecutors determined he was acting out of self-defense.

A man who owns a dry-cleaning business asked Ealom to be a security escort on a trip to deliver cash when someone tried to rob them, said John Erzen, a spokesman for the Prince Georges County States Attorneys Office.

Ealom pleaded guilty in December 2016 to the illegal transport of a handgun because he didnt have a permit for the weapon, Erzen said. The judge granted Ealom probation before judgment, which means the conviction will not appear on his record.

A Silver Spring man has been arrested and charged in a homicide that happened earlier this week in Prince Georges County.

Police said Kumalo Ealom, 40, is charged in the fatal shooting of Erik Kelly. Kelly, who was 26, lived in District Heights.

The incident happened Monday around 12:30 p.m. when officers were called to the 4600 block of Red Hawk Terrace in Bladensburg near the Baltimore-Washington Parkway for a report of a shooting. When they arrived, they found Kelly in a parking lot. He had been shot and was pronounced dead at the scene.

Ealom is charged with first- and second-degree murder.

A man who owns a dry-cleaning business asked Ealom to be a security escort on a trip to deliver cash when someone tried to rob them, said John Erzen, a spokesman for the Prince Georges County States Attorneys Office.

The murder charges were dropped, but Ealom pleaded guilty in December 2016 to the illegal transport of a handgun because he didnt have a permit for the weapon, Erzen said. The judge granted Ealom probation before judgement, which means the conviction will not appear on his record.

He is being held on a no-bond status.
Authorities investigate on Friday at the scene of a home where a deputy fatally shot a person in Loudoun County. (Hamil Harris/The Washington Post)

A Loudoun County sheriffs deputy fatally shot a man who was armed with knives Friday morning during an incident that marked the second day in a row that law enforcement had been called to the same home on a report of a disturbance, authorities said.

A deputy responding to the scene fired a single, fatal shot at a man inside of an Aldie home after the man armed with two knives kept advancing toward the deputy despite orders to stop, according to Loudoun County Sheriff Mike Chapman.

All indications are that the appropriate protocol was followed, Chapman said.

The sheriffs department identified the man who was fatally shot as Johannes Melvin Wood, 58, authorities said.

The incident began shortly before 5 a.m. when Woods sister locked herself in a room and called 911 reporting that her brother had been threatening her, according to Chapman and a spokesman for the county sheriffs office. Someone in the home was reportedly damaging items inside, according to the sheriffs office.

A deputy responded to the home in the 41400 block of Carriage Horse Drive where Wood, wielding two knives, met him at the door, Chapman said.

He was ordered to drop the knives, Chapman said. He continued to advance toward the deputy who ended up having to fire one shot that ended up being fatal.

Kraig Troxell, a county sheriffs office spokesman, said that deputies came to the same address about 9 a.m. the day before. Woods sister had called reporting that her brother was acting in a disorderly manner, Troxell said. Deputies arrived, and that Thursday morning incident was resolved peacefully.

Police tape continued to crisscross the street in the quiet community of newly built single-family houses and townhomes Friday afternoon.

The deputy, who has not yet been named, has been with the department for one year and in law enforcement for five years, Chapman said. He has been placed on paid administrative leave, authorities said.

It is all part of a difficult job. At an instant, you are thrown into a life-and-death situation, and the public has to remember that anything can happen at any time, Chapman said.

County sheriff department officials have turned the case over to the Virginia State Police to complete an independent investigation, Troxell said.

State police spokeswoman Corinne Geller said the investigation, like most criminal investigations, will take several weeks.

We treat this like any other death investigation, Geller said.

The last time the Loudoun department had a fatal, deputy-involved shooting was in 2013, when a woman wielding a knife was killed inside a Costco in Sterling.

The woman, after having been shocked by a Taser, continued to come toward deputies with a knife before one deputy fired at her. The woman was killed, and the shooting rattled customers and employees, who reportedly rushed out of the store or took cover behind cash registers during the incident.

Tim Richardson and Rachel Weiner contributed to this report.
An Aedes aegypti mosquito is seen at the Laboratory of Entomology and Ecology of the Dengue Branch of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in San Juan, Puerto Rico, on March 6. (Alvin Baez/Reuters)

Puerto Rico

Man infected with Zika dies of unrelated causes

Health officials announced Friday that an elderly person infected with Zika has died in Puerto Rico as the U.S. territory battles what federal authorities call a silent epidemic.

The victim was a 75-year-old man who was hospitalized and died from health ailments unrelated to Zika, according to Health Secretary Ana Rius. She said no more details would be provided, and health officials did not respond to requests for further comment.

Officials with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention referred all questions to Puerto Ricos Health Department.

The first Zika-related death was reported in late April and involved a 70-year-old man from the San Juan metro area.

Puerto Rico has a total of 8,776 Zika cases, with 1,480 new cases reported this past week. There are now 901 pregnant women with Zika, which has been linked to severe birth defects. The director of the CDC has said he is concerned many of those women could give birth to babies with microcephaly. However, Rius said all 95 of the pregnant women with Zika who have given birth have healthy babies.

 Associated Press

Minnesota

City defends police after Castiles death

The city of St. Anthony is defending the training and diversity of its police force, weeks after one of its officers fatally shot a black motorist in a nearby Minnesota city.

Questions about officer training were sparked by the July shooting of 32-year-old Philando Castile, who was killed during a traffic stop by St. Anthony police officer Jeronimo Yanez. Castiles girlfriend filmed the immediate aftermath of the shooting live on Facebook.

The city released a statement saying it is now sharing information about police training. It noted that St. Anthonys 23 officers average nearly 80 hours of training each year. Thats more than what the state requires.

The statement doesnt mention Castile by name, but says the city shares the grief over the shooting and wants to learn from it.

 Associated Press

Florida

Genetically engineered mosquitoes cleared

Intrexon Corp.s Oxitec unit was cleared by U.S. regulators to move ahead in Florida and release genetically engineered mosquitoes and study their ability to mate with local mosquitoes and suppress the population, a tactic that could slow or stop the spread of the Zika virus and other mosquito-borne diseases.

The Food and Drug Administration said in a statement that it determined the mosquitoes wouldnt have a significant impact on the environment. The trial, which is to take place in Key Haven  one of the Florida Keys islands  cant begin unless local voters approve it in November, said Matt Warren, a spokesman for Oxitec, which is based in Germantown, Md.

 Bloomberg News

Father who left twins in car had been drinking: Police say a father charged with manslaughter in the deaths of his 15-month-old twin girls in Carrollton, Ga., had been drinking before he left them in a hot car in 90-degree weather.

On Thursday, witnesses heard screams and saw Asa North running as he carried the toddlers  Ariel and Alaynah  from the parking lot in front of their home to an inflatable pool out back. Neighbors joined him, frantically trying to revive the girls with water and ice packs. But they were already unresponsive, and soon were declared dead at a nearby hospital.

Monsoons buffet Phoenix metro area: The latest round of monsoon thunderstorms to sock Phoenix swept across the metro area Friday, swamping low-lying streets, knocking out power to thousands of customers and delaying airline flights.

Autopsy of Orlando nightclub gunman released: The gunman who killed 49 patrons at a gay nightclub in Orlando was hit by at least eight bullets as he died in a shootout with a SWAT team. A report on the autopsy of Omar Mateen released Friday shows that he was struck in the head, neck, chest, abdomen and foot. No drugs or alcohol were found in his body, but his urine had higher levels of anabolic steroids than a healthy person typically has.

 From news services
Sandy Rovner, a Washington Post reporter and editor who spent about 15 years as a health columnist and liked to quip that her interest in that speciality owed to being a quasi-professional hypochondriac, died Aug. 4 at an assisted-living group home in Bethesda, Md. She was 88.

The cause was complications from a stroke, said her daughter, Julie Rovner, a longtime health policy correspondent for NPR who now is a reporter at Kaiser Health News.

Mrs. Rovners early career included stints in activism and politics in addition to journalism. In the early 1960s, she was a part-time reporter at the Sentinel, a community newspaper in Montgomery County, Md., and she also picketed against racial segregation at Glen Echo Park near her longtime home in Bethesdas Bannockburn neighborhood. Her husband was a pivotal leader of that successful effort.

Mrs. Rovner became a press aide to Rep. Carlton Sickles (D-Md.) and was active in his unsuccessful 1966 gubernatorial primary campaign. The next year, she joined the Baltimore Sun, where she worked as a reporter and assistant city editor, among other jobs.

She joined The Post in 1972 as a deputy editor in the Style section, for which she eventually began writing the Healthtalk column. The Post created a separate health section in 1985, and Mrs. Rovner took up residency there as a reporter and columnist, covering an array of topics but focusing especially on cancer, aging and mental health.

Sandy Rovner (William O'Leary/The Washington Post)

In 1988, the American Psychiatric Association honored her for her coverage of domestic violence, including a column about women who kill their abusers.

After her Post retirement in the early 1990s, she grew increasingly active with Gilbert and Sullivan light opera troupes, including the Washington Savoyards. She was on the board of the Leisure World retirement communitys Democratic Club.

Naomi Elinor Stern, who went by the nickname Sandy, was born in St. Louis on Jan. 29, 1928, and grew up in Washington. She was a 1945 graduate of Woodrow Wilson High School and a 1949 graduate of the University of Michigan, where she was editorial page editor of the student newspaper. She attended the University of Paris and spent a few years as a researcher and writer at the U.S. Information Agency.

In 1953, she married Edmond F. Rovner, a union activist who became chief of staff to Maryland Gov. Marvin Mandel in the early 1970s and later served as a top aide to two Montgomery county executives, Charles W. Gilchrist and Sidney Kramer. He died in 1992.

Besides Julie Rovner, of North Bethesda, Md., survivors include a son, Mark Rovner of Takoma Park, Md.; a sister; and two grandchildren.
On 3-5 October 2017 Kyiv is going to host the Space and Future Forum to network international experts and youth, many of whom will also participate at the first CosmoHack in the world. Joinfo provides media coverage of the Forum, and some of its topics were already discussed ...
BANGLADESH

2 arrested in deadly restaurant attack

Two men who had not been heard from since last months restaurant attack in Bangladesh were arrested Thursday on allegations they were involved in the deadly siege carried out by radical Islamists.

British national Hasnat Karim, 47, and University of Toronto student Tahmid Hasib Khan, 22, were arrested in different areas of the capital, Dhaka, and a court has allowed police to keep them in custody for eight days to question them, a Dhaka police spokesman said.

Five gunmen attacked the Holey Artisan Bakery restaurant on the night of July 1, killing 20 people and holding others inside hostage. Security forces stormed the restaurant the next day, killing the gunmen and rescuing the remaining 13 hostages.

Karim had lived in Britain for nearly 20 years and returned to Bangladesh a few years ago. Khan was studying global health at the University of Toronto and was a permanent resident of Canada.

 Associated Press

SYRIA

Cranes lift aid across border to refugees

Cranes hoisted huge white bags with rice, lentils and dates from Jordan into tent camps on the Syrian side of a border berm  an unprecedented way of delivering U.N. aid to tens of thousands of displaced Syrians cut off from outside help for almost two months.

The three-day delivery to two makeshift encampments in a remote desert area ended Thursday, U.N. aid agencies said.

Relief over getting badly needed aid to the Ruqban and Hadalat camps was muted by concern over deteriorating conditions there. Aid agencies have reported that disease, malnutrition and dehydration

are on the rise.

This weeks shipment of 650 metric tons of food and hygiene kits was a one-time event. Jordan has said it will bar future deliveries from its soil on security grounds. Jordan sealed the border on June 21 after a cross-border suicide attack by the Islamic State killed seven Jordanian border guards near

the Ruqban camp.

 Associated Press

UKRAINE

Site says it posted journalists data

A Ukrainian nationalist website has published what it says is an email archive with the personal data of Ukrainian and international journalists, raising new concerns about their safety.

The archive posted by Myrotvorets, which allegedly comes from a disenchanted rebel official and contains thousands of emails, was published late Wednesday. Some emails contain photographs and copies of journalists travel IDs. The authenticity of the published emails has not been confirmed.

In May, Myrotvorets first caused worries about the safety

of journalists who covered the conflict in Ukraines rebel-controlled east when it leaked names and contact information for thousands of reporters.

Those documents were widely considered to be genuine.

 Associated Press

Vote in Rousseff case: Brazilian senators have taken the latest step in the impeachment process against suspended president Dilma Rousseff. A Senate panel voted 14 to 5 to send the matter to the full body for a vote next week. Rousseff will be tried on fiscal charges if the Senate agrees by a simple majority.

Greece approves mosque: Lawmakers in Greece approved construction of a state-funded mosque near central Athens, a proposal that had triggered dissent within the coalition government amid public debate on how to manage the migrant crisis. The proposal, approved 206-24, follows several attempts to implement the project, which was opposed by the powerful Orthodox Church. Tens of thousands of Muslim migrants live in greater Athens.

Cyprus arrests terror suspect: Cypriot authorities have arrested a 28-year-old Austrian man on suspicion of having links to terrorist groups. Justice Minister Ionas Nicolaou said authorities received a tip from Polands Interpol that the man was seeking to come to Cyprus after Poland deported him. The Muslim convert was arrested this week as he tried to cross from the Turkish Cypriot north into the Greek Cypriot south after flying in from Istanbul. Nicolaou said the man will be deported to Austria.

 From news services
ISRAEL

Obamas remarks on Iran deal rejected

Israel is rejecting remarks by President Obama contending that it no longer opposes the nuclear deal that world powers struck with Iran in 2015.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Friday that Israels view on the Iran deal remains unchanged.

Israels Defense Ministry reportedly compared the deal to the 1938 Munich Pact ahead of World War II, which Britain and France signed with Germany and which averted war at the time but effectively gave then-Czechoslovakia to the Nazis.

Obama said in remarks Thursday that the Iran deal is working, saying that is the assessment of the Israeli military and intelligence community . . . that acknowledges this has been a game-changer.

Netanyahu has been one of the fiercest critics of the deal and has butted heads with Obama over it.

Indian pedestrians walk along a flooded street during heavy rain showers in Mumbai on August 5, 2016. (Punit Paranjpe/AFP/Getty Images)

 Associated Press

SYRIA

Rebel attack thwarted in Aleppo, army says

Syrian rebels said Friday that they had stormed an artillery base in the northern city of Aleppo in an assault to try to end the siege of opposition-held areas, but the army said it had repelled the attack and killed hundreds of insurgents.

A quarter of a million

civilians live in Aleppos opposition-controlled eastern neighborhoods, effectively under siege since the army, aided by Iranian-backed militias, cut off the last road into rebel districts in early July.

Fighters from a coalition of Islamist rebel groups called Jaish al-Fatah  which includes Jabhat Fatah al-Sham, the former al-Qaeda-affiliated Jabhat al-Nusra; Ahrar al-Sham; and other smaller groups  said they took part of the main fortress-like artillery academy in the Ramousah quarter in the southwest of Aleppo.

The army said that it had foiled the attack on the artillery base and two major barracks, and that hundreds of insurgents had been killed and much of their equipment and tanks destroyed. The army said it was the biggest assault by rebels against government-held areas in the past year.

 Reuters

NORTHERN IRELAND

Police find cache of weapons, explosives

The Police Service of Northern Ireland said it has uncovered a stash of guns, pipe bombs and explosives linked to Irish Republican Army dissidents.

Police said the cache was discovered in woods near Lurgan, 20 miles southwest of Belfast.

Detective Superintendent Karen Baxter said Friday that the items were in an advanced stage of readiness and included a fully constructed explosive device.

The dominant IRA faction renounced violence in 2005, but breakaway groups still plot bombings and shootings in hopes of destabilizing Northern Irelands peace process and the Catholic-Protestant unity government.

In May, the U.K. government raised the threat of a Northern Ireland-linked attack in mainland Britain to substantial.

 Associated Press

Paraguay recalls its envoy to Venezuela: Paraguay recalled its ambassador to Caracas after Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro made disparaging remarks about Paraguay amid a leadership dispute in South Americas Mercosur trade bloc.

Socialist Maduro accused Paraguay of being part of an extreme right wing alliance aimed at blocking Venezuela from assuming its role as head of Mercosur as scheduled during the second half of the year.

Kuwait arrests Filipina accused in terror plot: Kuwait said it arrested a Filipina who had joined the Islamic State through its affiliate in Libya and who planned to launch an attack. The Interior Ministry said the woman entered Kuwait in June as a maid. Security forces monitoring her email found messages to the Islamic States Libyan affiliate, pledging allegiance to the group, the ministry said. It did not identify the woman or say whether she faced criminal charges.

 From news services
The television commercial begins simply: This is a legal alert for the users of Xarelto. Lawyers, the narrator says, are reviewing claims that the blood-thinning drug can cause severe bleeding or hemorrhaging, stroke or even death. If affected, viewers are advised to call a number on the screen. You may have a case, the speaker intones.

In 2015, lawyers spent $128 million to air 365,000 ads like this, which seek plaintiffs for lawsuits against drug and medical-device manufactures. In the first six months of this year, that number jumped to $85 million, or about 14 percent of all lawyer advertising dollars, according to X Ante, which tracks mass tort litigation advertising. And why not? These ads drum up business for firms.

They can also scare patients to death.

According to a recent report, at least 30 people suffered serious medical problems  such as strokes, heart attacks and pulmonary embolisms  because they stopped taking Xarelto without their doctors approval after seeing the commercial. Two of those patients died, including a 45-year-old man being treated for blood clots. Two others were paralyzed. (Millions of people take Xarelto each year.)

Ads like this often include extensive descriptions of serious adverse reactions, with little context about how common these side effects are. They routinely mimic public-service announcements, claiming to be a medical alert or an FDA warning. Most dont disclose that the ad is for lawyers until the final few seconds. One researcher sampled these promotions and found that only 39 percent warned viewers to consult a doctor before stopping a drug. Many that did ran that advisory in very small print.

Sometimes, when patients see these ads, they panic. In 2003, my organization surveyed 300 patients; a quarter said they would stop taking their medication immediately if they saw an advertisement regarding litigation over the drug. In another survey (commissioned by the National Council for Community Behavioral Healthcare and Eli Lilly, a pharmaceutical company), 402 psychiatrists treating patients with antipsychotic drugs for schizophrenia and bipolar disorders were contacted. Ninety-seven percent said theyd had at least one patient who stopped taking medications without their approval. Half of those patients did so because of law firm advertisements.

Lawyers argue that these ads are an important part of the work they do fighting for people injured by faulty drugs or devices. They say the products referenced can severely hurt users; lawsuits offer victims opportunities for justice. But left unregulated, the ads are their own public health risk, says Albert Einstein College of Medicine cardiologist Evan Levine. In a 2012 article, Levine profiled a patient who put himself at risk for a stroke after he stopped his blood-thinning medication because of lawsuit commercials. Many of the ads would scare me, if I did not know the drug to be an important agent to reduce the risk of stoke, Levine wrote.

The American Medical Association is so concerned that it recently called on lawyers to better regulate these fear-mongering commercials. The onslaught of attorney ads has the potential to frighten patients and place fear between them and their doctor, the organization said in a statement. Theyre dangerous to the public at-large.

Of course, drug companies spend significantly more ($5.2 billion in 2015) in their outreach to consumers. But theres an important difference: The Food and Drug Administration strictly regulates what a pharmaceutical company can include in its communications about its products.

It wasnt always that way. For most of the 20th century, drugs were marketed specifically to doctors, who determined who got a prescription and why. The FDA had very little role in regulating advertisements. Then in 1959, Congress became concerned about pharmaceutical marketing. In hearings, lawmakers pushed back at drug companies, highlighting advertisements that made claims about efficacy without evidence. Some ads also minimized the side effects of particular drugs.

Concern about ad regulation intensified in the 1960s, after a rash of birth defects caused by thalidomide. In 1962, Congress dramatically expanded the authority of the FDA, giving the agency complete oversight over prescription drug advertisements. The agency mandated that all ads include a summary of the drugs side effects along with information about its effectiveness. Today, the FDA reviews some ads before they run and others after theyve gone public (health-care providers can also alert the agency to misleading ads). Violators receive a warning letter demanding immediate action. The FDA can also bring a lawsuit.

The government argued that these rules were important because drug companies had begun to target consumers directly. But pharmaceutical companies, and even some doctors, worried that this approach would scare patients into avoiding medicine they needed.

These fears did not come to pass. By 2002, 82 percent of doctors said drug advertisements did not negatively affect their relationships with their patients. Three-quarters of consumers said they appreciated the ads. And when a patient requested a relevant drug he or she had seen advertised, doctors honored that request 79 percent of the time.

Similar regulations could be developed for legal ads. University of Memphis law professor Daniel M. Schaffzin has proposed that lawyer medical ads should remind viewers to consult their doctors before they stop taking their medications. Another option: The ads could include some kind of disclaimer noting that only a small percentage of people may have had an adverse reaction to a specific drug. All claims should be backed by science, and not exaggerate risks. These and other reforms could be achieved by empowering the FDAs Office of Prescription Drug Promotion to review lawyer ads, just as it does drugmaker ads.

As these ads proliferate, those responsible for protecting the publics health and safety should make sure trial lawyers arent held to a lower standard than those who advertise the products over which theyre suing. Until then, all TV viewers should heed the warning: Reacting to trial lawyers ad claims before consulting a doctor may be bad for your health.

lrickard@uschamber.com

Read more from Outlook and follow our updates on Facebook and Twitter.
Keith B. Richburg, a professor of journalism at the University of Hong Kong, was The Washington Posts bureau chief in China, Hong Kong and Southeast Asia and is the author of Out Of America: A Black Man Confronts Africa.

Barack Obama, born in Hawaii and partly reared in Indonesia, styled himself Americas first Pacific president. He was elected on a promise to extricate the United States from the seemingly intractable wars of the Middle East and to shift the countrys attention to the prosperous Asian region, with its dynamic economies and the worlds fastest-growing middle class.

The refocus to Asia, first outlined by Hillary Clinton as secretary of state in a widely circulated 2011 Foreign Policy article, gave the new policy its shorthanded name, the pivot. Kurt Campbell, who served as Clintons assistant secretary of state for Asia, is as much as anyone the architect of the rebalancing.

Campbells new book, The Pivot, is understandably defensive about both the policy and Clintons role in implementing it. At times, that makes this very readable policy book seem too safe and unchallenging, as if Campbell is laying out his vision for the secretary of states job if Clinton wins the election.

Campbell concedes early on that the Pivot is a work in progress and that the unrelenting demands of the Middle East place claims on finite American resources. But that is about as far as he goes in acknowledging that despite Obama and Clintons best intentions, other global trouble spots continue to dominate the administrations attention. The Asia pivot remains one of Obamas unfinished legacies.

"The Pivot: The Future of American Statecraft in Asia" by Kurt Campbell (Twelve)

The book is best when Campbell provides personal anecdotes from his travels around Asia  such as his last trip aboard Air Force One during a presidential visit to Burma. Campbell recounts stuffing his pockets full of plane memorabilia and then breaking into a nervous sweat as he was chased down a tarmac by Secret Service agents he thought were after his purloined loot, when in fact they only wanted to tell him that Obama had requested he ride along in the presidential limousine. Also valuable  but far too infrequent  are his insiders accounts of the fascinating dynamic between erstwhile rivals Obama and Clinton. Glaringly absent are any real insights into the various Asian leaders he met during his many travels.

This book at times feels like a foreign policy treatise that has been overtaken by recent events. For example, Campbell talks about the importance of strategic partnerships with countries such as the Philippines  but new Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte, an ardent nationalist, wants warmer ties with Beijing and has spoken disparagingly about the U.S.-Philippine alliance. Campbell also rightly calls the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade deal a cornerstone of the U.S. rebalancing to Asia, but he ignores how Clinton has adopted a new anti-TPP tone in response to Sen. Bernie Sanders (Vt.) pushing her to the left on trade issues in the Democratic primaries.

A less-cautious approach might also have laid out more starkly the challenge from China and the prospect that Beijings leaders may not want a more cooperative relationship with Washington. Instead Campbell falls back on safe bromides, like the need to set the contours for Chinas rise, and overcoming strategic mistrust with such things as joint space exploration and more affirmative and cooperative dialogues.

This is no tell all by a former high-ranking official but a studious, policy-oriented book, designed not to challenge conventional wisdom or offend, all while showcasing the authors considerable expertise in Asian history and contemporary politics. If Clinton wins the White House, this might also be the blueprint for how she intends to complete one part of Obamas unfinished business.
Last weekend we witnessed incredible devastation and tragic loss of human life in Ellicott City. The full scope of the disaster wont be assessed for some time. For many residents, just feeling safe again will be challenging.

Ellicott City sprung up in a bucolic countryside surrounded by rivers and streams and is naturally prone to flooding from the Patapsco River and Tiber Creek. Flash flooding from this storm, which dropped about six inches of rain in two hours, was an extreme event but one that may become more common. The National Climate Assessment in 2014 reported that precipitation has increased by 71 percent in the heaviest rainfall events from 1958 to 2012 in the Northeastern states, which include Maryland. This trend is predicted to continue. These data are sufficient cause for concern in how we plan recovery and think about our future.

Extreme precipitation is the driver of this disaster, but its effects are exacerbated by two related factors: urbanization and the loss of ecosystems and the flood-protection services they provide.

Ellicott City is part of the urban-suburban zone that stretches from Baltimore to the District. The population of the historic town alone tripled in 40 years, going from 21,784 in 1970 to 65,834 in 2010. Supporting the growing suburban population has required major investment in roads and infrastructure. Roads are not designed to simulate flood plains. They neither absorb water nor impede its rapid flow. Paved streets and infrastructure funnel floodwaters into raging torrents, as we saw in shocking videos from Ellicott City.

Natural, green infrastructure or ecosystems have traditionally been humans first line of defense against natural disasters, including floods, landslides and coastal storms. These services that nature provides were ignored for decades in urban planning. That has cost us dearly economically and in human suffering. It makes sense to turn to nature for help in protecting our communities and reducing costs.

Just last month, I spent time at the United Nations University working on ways to create standards and guidelines for incorporating ecosystems into engineering approaches to leverage nature for human protection. We are beginning to see these efforts emerge. For instance, in Wisconsin, the Milwaukee areas Greenseams project is restoring natural flood plains with wetland areas designed to hold 1.3 billion gallons of water, about 1,970 Olympic-size swimming pools. In Minnesota, Ramsey County developed green infrastructures to reduce localized flooding, decreasing runoff volumes by 99 percent and saving half a million dollars over the cost of gray infrastructure. The Netherlands, a low-lying country that faces extreme flooding, recently created a partnership between the government and the private sector to identify and pursue nature-based solutions that work with engineering approaches to reduce the risks to residents.

Ellicott City is indicative of many urban-suburban regions on which this nation depends. There are four action items that Ellicott City, Maryland and all vulnerable communities can complete to leverage nature to recover, plan and protect themselves:

 Estimate the flood damage benefits that green infrastructure can provide;

 Compare the benefits and the costs of using green or gray infrastructure or a mixed (green-gray) option;

 Identify the most effective options among them; and

 Target investments in conservation or restoration to the most cost-effective areas.

It is critical that we learn to design infrastructure that can serve more than one purpose. Our solutions to such disasters must align with natural processes, rather than work against them, and be adaptable to cope with changing conditions and extreme events brought on by climate change and sea-level rise.

The writer is a consultant on natural hazards, disaster risk reduction and use of natural and infrastructure-based solutions.
Donald Trump, the man who defied every political rule and prevailed to win his partys nomination, last week took on perhaps the most sacred political rule of all: Never attack a Gold Star family. Not just because it alienates a vital constituency but because it reveals a shocking absence of elementary decency and of natural empathy for the most profound of human sorrows  parental grief.

Why did Trump do it? It wasnt a mistake. It was a revelation. Its that he cant help himself. His governing rule in life is to strike back when attacked, disrespected or even slighted. To understand Trump, you have to grasp the General Theory: He judges every action, every pronouncement, every person by a single criterion  whether or not it/he is nice to Trump.

Vladimir Putin called him brilliant (in fact, he didnt, but thats another matter) and a bromance is born. A Mexican judge rules against Trump, which makes him a bad person governed by prejudiced racial instincts.

House Speaker Paul Ryan criticizes Trumps attack on the Gold Star mother  so Trump mocks Ryan and praises his primary opponent. On what grounds? That the opponent is an experienced legislator? Is a tested leader?

Not at all. Hes a big fan of what Im saying, big fan, attests Trump.

1 of 60 Full Screen Autoplay Close Skip Ad  What Donald Trump is doing on the campaign trail View Photos The GOP presidential nominee is out on the trail ahead of the general election in November. Caption The GOP presidential nominee is pressing his case ahead of Election Day. Nov. 7, 2016 Donald Trump speaks during a campaign event at SNHU Arena in Manchester, N.H. Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post Wait 1 second to continue.

Youre a fan of his, hes a fan of yours. And vice versa. Treat him unfairly and you will pay. House speaker, Gold Star mother, it matters not.

Of course we all try to protect our own dignity and command respect. But Trumps hypersensitivity and unedited, untempered Pavlovian responses are, shall we say, unusual in both ferocity and predictability.

This is beyond narcissism. I used to think Trump was an 11-year-old, an undeveloped schoolyard bully. I was off by about 10 years. His needs are more primitive, an infantile hunger for approval and praise, a craving that can never be satisfied. He lives in a cocoon of solipsism where the world outside himself has value  indeed exists  only insofar as it sustains and inflates him.

Most politicians seek approval. But Trump lives for the adoration. He doesnt even try to hide it, boasting incessantly about his crowds, his standing ovations, his TV ratings, his poll numbers, his primary victories. The latter are most prized because they offer empirical evidence of how loved and admired he is.

Prized also because, in our politics, success is self-validating. A candidacy that started out as a joke, as a self-aggrandizing exercise in xenophobia, struck a chord in a certain constituency and took off. The joke was on those who believed that he was not a serious man and therefore would not be taken seriously. They  myself emphatically included  were wrong.

Winning  in ratings, polls and primaries  validated him. Which brought further validation in the form of endorsements from respected and popular Republicans. Chris Christie was first to cross the Rubicon. Ben Carson then offered his blessings, such as they are. Newt Gingrich came aboard to provide intellectual ballast.

Although tepid, the endorsements by Ryan and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell were further milestones in the normalization of Trump.

President Obama strongly criticized Donald Trump's suitability for president during an August 2 news conference at the White House. (Reuters)

But this may all now be jeopardized by the Gold Star gaffe. (Remember: A gaffe in Washington is when a politician inadvertently reveals the truth, especially about himself.) It has put a severe strain on the patched-over relationship between the candidate and both Republican leadership and Republican regulars.

Trumps greatest success  normalizing the abnormal  is beginning to dissipate. When a Pulitzer Prize-winning liberal columnist (Eugene Robinson) and a major conservative foreign policy thinker and former speechwriter for George Shultz under Ronald Reagan (Robert Kagan) simultaneously question Trumps psychological stability, indeed sanity, theres something going on (as Trump would say).

The dynamic of this election is obvious. As in 1980, the status quo candidate for a failed administration is running against an outsider. The stay-the-course candidate plays his/her only available card  charging that the outsider is dangerously out of the mainstream and temperamentally unfit to command the nation.

In 1980, Reagan had to do just one thing: pass the threshold test for acceptability. He won that election because he did, especially in the debate with Jimmy Carter in which Reagan showed himself to be genial, self-assured and, above all, nonthreatening. You may not like all his policies, but you could safely entrust the nation to him.

Trump badly needs to pass that threshold. If character is destiny, he wont.

Read more from Charles Krauthammers archive, follow him on Twitter or subscribe to his updates on Facebook.
The Aug. 2 Health & Science article Cause of death showed the human face and family tragedy of heroin addiction. The heart-wrenching stories of the fatal overdoses of Jordan Roche and Kelsea Brandt, among others, revealed that those who succumb to addiction arent criminals. Rather, those who forsake their families, friends, careers, health and futures suffer from a bona fide disease of the brain.

Brandt and Roche lived in Harford County, Md., where Im privileged to work with our drug courts. Every day, our elected and appointed officials, treatment providers, law enforcement officers, education officials, faith-based groups and nonprofit agencies work to overcome the stigmas of substance-use disorder. They work to discourage and prevent drug use by children, youths, pregnant women, those suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder and others.

Congress has to provide the funding that should have accompanied passage of the Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act to honor the lives and struggles of the people who die from addiction.

Don Mathis, Havre de Grace, Md.

The writer is a case manager with the

Harford County Office of Drug Control Policy.
Tim Huelskamp, a Republican, represents Kansass 1st District in the House.

After a hard-fought race, I was disappointed on Tuesday to lose the primary to represent Kansass Big Firstcongressional district. Representing the citizens of Kansas has been a great honor. I hope that they  and other folks across the United States  will now heed my warning.

Americans are frustrated with what they see on Capitol Hill: career politicians wholly owned by special-interest groups. But why are so few elected officials willing to cast bold votes to reduce government spending, address the massive national debt, secure our border, stop the flow of unvetted refugees into the United States and so on? Theyre afraid of being primaried by big-money Washington elites.

When I was elected to Congress in the conservative tea party wave of 2010, I committed both to my family and Kansans that I would not become a creature of Washington, that I would be willing to cast tough votes and that I would stand up to my own party when necessary. I have fought tooth and nail for accountable, open and limited government. For this, I was punished by my partys leadership when I refused to support massive spending and borrowing that more reflected President Obamas priorities than conservatives. In Washington, it turns out that keeping your promises makes you a lot of enemies  especially in Republican circles.

In my case, the billionaires who ran ads that helped Hillary Clinton win Iowa worked against me  putting nearly a million dollars toward attacking me and supporting my opponent. A super PAC called the Ending Spending Action Fund (ESA Fund)  which masquerades as a small government organization and is funded by wealthy GOP establishment donors  has been working against me for months, despite my strong record on fiscal policy. In addition, another super PAC deceptively named Strong Leadership for America spent nearly $300,000 against me.

My opponents relied on false and deceptive information in their attacks. From Day One, they tried to claim I couldnt adequately represent Kansass farming interests since I was kicked off the House Agriculture Committee by then-Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio), despite the fact that I am a fifth-generation farmer. But very little of the outside spending against me came from agricultural groups. My opponents said I was a Washington insider, that I was a key ally of Obama, that I hated the military and even that I was associated with Planned Parenthood  all shameful lies.

Even the U.S. Chamber of Commerce joined the assault at the end. That should be no surprise: Its top policy priorities include passing amnesty for millions illegally in this country, keeping their crony Export-Import-Bank alive and maintaining a regulation-obsessed IRS that benefits the largest corporations at the expense of Americas small businesses  all of which I oppose, but for which my opponent will be a reliable yes vote.

Too many representatives come to Washington and go along to get along. These individuals are automatic yes votes for party leadership and special interests regardless of how bad the policy may be for not just their district  but also the nation. The result is an unsecured border, unrestrained government spending and $19.5 trillion in debt.

It is my hope that the people of the Big First of Kansas, and all Americans, hold their elected representatives accountable and remember that Congress belongs to them  not the special-interests groups that bought this primary. It is also my hope that my loss wont deter other principled conservatives from voting their conscience in office and staying accountable to the people, not the Washington elites destroying our country.

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Rep. Michael McCaul (R-Tex.) chairs the House Committee on Homeland Security.

The House of Representatives recently passed a number of bills designed to combat the epidemic of dangerous drugs sweeping across the United States. No congressional district has been spared from this problem, and people are dying at an alarming rate from the use of fentanyl, bath salts, flakka, K2, Spice and other synthetic drugs. But lawmakers failed to act to close a major entry point for these terrible drugs into the United States: the global postal system.

Anyone with a laptop, wireless access and a credit card can order these poisons over the Internet from abroad and have them shipped directly to their home through the U.S. mail. This is not a new problem  Congress has held extensive hearings on this issue, starting as far back as 2000. According to the Department of Homeland Security, more than 340 million packages enter the United States through the international mail stream, with little or no electronic manifest data associated with them. Our federal law enforcement agencies have no way to perform risk assessments on incoming postal shipments before they arrive and are forced to manually screen millions upon millions of postal parcels in an attempt to intercept these deadly drugs.

In contrast, private transportation companies such as UPS and FedEx are required to provide electronic manifest data to U.S. Customs and Border Protection in advance of the packages arriving in this country, enabling systematic and more effective screening to try to ensure that these drugs are detected and seized. Meanwhile, our customs officers are left to guess the contents of huge sacks of parcels and packages  searching for needles in haystacks  entering the United States via the postal system.

Drug dealers know this and use the global postal system to deliver their deadly goods into our homes and communities. The Trade Act of 2002 requires that advanced electronic manifest data accompany packages coming into the United States via private shipping companies. However, rather than require the Postal Service to comply immediately with that requirement, the law directed the Department of Homeland Security and the Treasury Department, in consultation with the U.S. postmaster general, to determine whether it is appropriate to apply this important provision to the Postal Service.

Such a determination has yet to materialize. I would argue that it is not only appropriate to apply this safeguard to postal parcels but also critically important. When Congress reformed the Postal Service in 2006, it recognized this problem when it required that all laws, including customs laws, apply equally to the Postal Service and private delivery companies. Yet shipments coming in via the postal system are still subject to much less rigorous screening than private commercial shipments due to the lack of advanced electronic screening data.

Congress did not intend for the Postal Service, a government agency, to become the import vector of choice for drug dealers. A package is a package, however it is shipped. If we are going to defeat the epidemic of synthetic drugs, we must take every measure possible. Advanced electronic screening data must accompany all packages coming into the United States from overseas. Its time to close the postal loophole. A rapidly growing flood of hundreds of millions of postal packages containing poisons is simply too big to ignore.
Workers leave the site of the future Trump International Hotel, in Washington, D.C., which is at the Old Post Office Pavilion. (Matt McClain/The Washington Post)

In the fullness of time  no, make that within a matter of weeks  one of the worlds most famous streets, our own Grand Avenue and Americas Main Street, will once again be stained by the presence of a mean-spirited man who smeared and bulldozed his way to the top.

The avenues first tyrant was J. Edgar Hoover, whose name is on the FBI building at 935 Pennsylvania Ave. NW. He soon will be joined by Donald Trump and his Trump International Hotel, slated to open Sept. 12 at 1100 Pennsylvania Ave. NW.

Yes, win or lose on Election Day, the Republican presidential nominee will be enshrined in a national historic site, the Old Post Office building, on Pennsylvania Avenue between the White House and the Capitol. As with the GOP nomination, the building in the heart of our nations capital now belongs to him.

As Trump boasted on the campaign trail, The hottest development site, probably in the history of the General Services Administration . . . is the Old Post Office site . . . in Washington, D.C., an entire block fronting on Pennsylvania Avenue. In other words, if I dont get to the White House, Im getting there anyway.

Just how Trump landed a spot on our corridor of national power is, as always seems the case with him, a point of contention.

In an investigation, BuzzFeed News reported that the real estate mogul won the deal by promising the federal General Services Administration that he would partner with a well-respected architect big on historic preservation and engage with a substantial real estate investment firm to finance the deal  and, after getting the deal, did neither. Trumps organization maintains that the feds bought the change in plans, but insiders grumble that the GSA went along because it was having political problems of its own and wanted to avoid a dust-up with Trump.

Be that as it may, Trump, like Hoover, is ensconced on the boulevard of presidential inauguration parades, state funeral processions and famous celebrations and marches.

And Trumps brand, as Hoovers, will be on display for all the world to see.

What symbolic meaning do these names bring to the avenue?

J. Edgar Hoover, FBI director and relentless persecutor of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. Hoover, with his clandestine and illegal operations, secret files, penchant for trampling upon civil liberties and disrespect for civil rights. Hoover, who took it upon himself to be the arbiter of right and wrong and the judge of who deserves justice  and when.

Hoover, an outrageous presence.

In 1998, Sen. Harry Reid (D-Nev.) declared that J. Edgar Hoovers name on the FBI building is a stain on the building and sponsored an amendment to change it.

The Republican-controlled Senate voted 62-to-36 to keep Hoovers name aloft.

Now, Hoovers new companion on Americas Main Street is Trump. Trump, like Hoover, lacks a moral compass. Trump, like Hoover, is constitutionally unable to deal with criticism. Despotic is the word for the two street-mates.

Partial relief is in sight.

Plans are afoot to take down the J. Edgar Hoover Building and construct a new, fully consolidated FBI headquarters in Maryland or Virginia. With the headquarters goes Hoover, at least away from Pennsylvania Avenue. President Obamas 2017 budget includes $1.4 billion for the new facility. That figure, along with $390 million already appropriated, should be enough to give the FBI a new homeland  hopefully minus the Hoover albatross.

Our nations capital has no such luck with Trump, who, to the contrary, appears intent on expanding his presence among our monuments, memorials and parks.

A lawsuit filed this week by the nonprofit Partnership for Civil Justice Fund, a free-speech advocacy organization, seeks information from the D.C. and federal governments regarding agreements allegedly entered into with Trump to take public space on Americas Main Street traditionally open for First Amendment-protected free speech and dissent, and create a buffer zone around the Trump Hotel restricting access to exclusive or priority use of the Trump Organization.

For more than five months, the free-speech advocates have been trying to obtain this information through Freedom of Information Act requests, but they have encountered nothing but foot-dragging.

It would be an outrage if the District and the federal agencies, as the advocates claim in their lawsuit, had agreed to the Trump Organizations demand to place restrictions on sections of the Grand Avenue and its sidewalks for the priority or exclusive use and personal profit of the Trump Organization.

How can such desecration be allowed?

The citys bootlickers may show up for Trumps grand opening next month. Washingtonians with dignity and respect for our nations capital, however, will stay away.

Read more from Colbert Kings archive.
The outstanding article Hows Amanda? [front page, July 24] was an excruciatingly accurate portrayal of the everyday reality of countless families overwhelmed by the power of heroin addiction coupled with their frustration with the high rate of relapse to heroin use after entering treatment.

But the article said the average heroin addict dies after 10 years of heroin use. Taking the articles accurate estimate of a total of about 1.6 million heroin addicts in the United States and linking it to the latest Centers for Disease Control and Prevention count of annual heroin overdose deaths, 10,574 in 2014, the risk of overdose death for a heroin addict is about 0.6 percent a year. That means that over the course of 10 years of heroin addiction, about 6 out of 100 heroin addicts die of a heroin overdose. This shockingly low number explains why so many heroin addicts are oblivious to the risk of overdose death: Overdoses kill a very small percentage of their heroin-using friends each year.

Robert L. DuPont, Rockville

The writer was director of the

National Institute on Drug Abuse from 1973 to 1978.

Although I agree that heroin addiction is a tragic and growing problem in our country, I was appalled by the casual treatment given to tobacco addiction. Although Amanda Wendler was depicted as smoking cigarettes throughout the article, her act of smoking was never referred to as an addiction, only as a crutch to help her avoid heroin use.

The article stated that 350 people start using heroin every day. In contrast, the surgeon general estimates that more than 2,500 kids try their first cigarette each day and there are more than 42 million addicted smokers in the United States. There are almost 500,000 deaths each year from tobacco use  more than from alcohol, car accidents, illegal drugs, murders, suicides and AIDS combined.

I find it interesting that when dealers of illegal drugs are apprehended, they generally are sent to prison, whereas the tobacco industry purveys its addictive product with impunity.

John O Hara, Bowie

The writer is president of the

Maryland Group Against Smokers Pollution.
Daniel Kanstroom is a professor of law at Boston College and co-director of the universitys Center for Human Rights and International Justice.

O f all the associations one might have with the name John Lennon,  deportable alien  would not be likely to top many lists. And yet, according to Leon Wildes, a well-known and highly respected immigration lawyer for more than half a century, the former Beatles most enduring legacy may not be musical, artistic or cultural, but  strangely  legal.

More than 40 years after litigating what was undoubtedly the deportation case of his lifetime, Wildes has written an engaging book, John Lennon vs. the USA, that recounts a remarkable (and remarkably complex) legal story. The tale has been told before (in many articles written by Wildes and in a documentary, The U.S. vs. John Lennon, released in 2006). However, the book adds important details and a rather bold claim. It suggests that the roots of President Obamas highly controversial assertion of broad discretionary power to shield millions from deportation lie in a most strange place: the Nixon administrations rather sordid but ultimately unsuccessful attempt to deport Lennon and Yoko Ono in the early 1970s. (Both got green cards and were allowed to live permanently in the United States. Lennon was murdered in New York in 1980 before he could apply for citizenship.)

Wildes argues that Johns legacy is a broad attempt to reform the immigration process in a humanitarian way. What he means is that the Lennon case was largely about the controversial idea of government discretion to pursue or not to pursue particular deportation cases. Many millions of people in this country are potentially subject to deportation. But they cannot all be removed without a massive effort that would be politically, economically and morally unacceptable. The government must establish priorities. But when do such priorities become equivalent to lawmaking, and thus reserved to the legislative branch of government? This, essentially, was the issue on which the Supreme Court recently split, 4 to 4, regarding Obamas executive action to grant deferred action to certain undocumented parents of U.S. citizens and lawful permanent residents, and to some who came to the United States as children.

"John Lennon vs. The U.S.A.: The Inside Story of the Most Bitterly Contested and Influential Deportation Case in United States History" by Leon Wildes and Michael Wildes (American Bar Association )

Though it took Wildes years to prove it in the Lennon case, there was a secret system of discretion in play in those days. That sort of discretion strongly contradicts basic ideas of justice and fairness. As one court put it in regard to Lennons case, The courts will not condone selective deportation based upon secret political grounds. But once the system of discretion was brought to light, it grew and became more transparent and generous. In that sense, Wildes suggests, Lennons legacy was to open this process up and to allow it to flourish.

The full history of discretion in immigration enforcement is considerably more complex than Wildes suggests in his rather informal, accessible but detailed narrative, as are the roots of Obamas recent actions. Still, the Lennon saga reveals much of the eye-crossing intricacy, harshness and dysfunction of our immigration system. And for those of us of sufficient age to remember John and Yoko, the book is also, if not a complete magical mystery tour of the 1970s Kulturkampf, still a precious ticket to ride back in time.

There is much to like in this book. Wildes captures readers attention from his first encounter with John and Yoko in 1972. Though already a successful lawyer, he seems to have been remarkably naive about popular culture, claiming to have been so insulated from it at the time that he did not even know who Lennon was! The book contains charmingly intimate stories of John and Yoko, who, among other stunts, sent a bouquet of flowers to the New York director of the Immigration and Naturalization Service and declared themselves to be ambassadors from the made-up, free state of Nutopia, which granted them diplomatic immunity from any further deportation proceedings.

It also walks us through a fascinating recitation of legal complexities, litigation strategies, courtroom tactics and celebrity witnesses ranging from John V. Lindsay to Jack Lemmon, Fred Astaire and a young Geraldo Rivera. It will be especially interesting for lawyers and for those who are curious about how immigration law actually works.

The essence of Wildess story is simple. Its main bete noir is President Richard Nixon, along with a variety of government underlings who, at best, seem to have lacked the character and fortitude to resist pressure from above. Nixon, we are told, hated and feared Lennon as an inspiration to  and potential organizer of  the newly authorized 18-to-21-year-old vote. The president apparently discovered that Lennon, who was then temporarily living in New York with Ono, was potentially subject to deportation (he had pleaded guilty in 1968 to possession of cannabis resin in Britain). The law was not so simple on this score, however. It referred to marijuana, not cannabis resin. Wildes recounts being ignorant of the difference between cannabis resin (also known as hashish) and marijuana. Lennon explains the difference to him from one perspective: Hash is much better than marijuana!

But it turns out that arcane technical details, then as now, can have dramatic effects in deportation cases. Indeed, a federal court ultimately concluded that Lennon was not, technically, subject to exclusion for this British conviction. Moreover, Lennon had been granted a waiver, a sort of forgiveness. How could he now be deported for an offense that the U.S. government had previously forgiven? How indeed, when part of the story was also John and Yokos poignant search for her daughter, who they claimed had been illegally taken from her by the childs father?

Nixon and his cohort were apparently untroubled by legal niceties and such humane considerations. Along with the FBI, according to Wildes, they engaged in the sort of dirty tricks that, to this day, are referred to as Nixonian. Wildes recounts that Nixon, who had earlier ordered a politically motivated, vindictive raid against the Los Angeles Times to search for illegal aliens, was well aware of the power of immigration law to support partisan politics. Wildes, making his case, reprints various government documents he obtained through vigorous use of the Freedom of Information Act. Indeed, much of the book is a paean to the enduring importance and power of FOIA. A particularly chilling example is a 1972 memo from the arch-segregationist Strom Thurmond, then a member of the internal security subcommittee of the Senate Judiciary Committee, urging Attorney General John Mitchell to take appropriate action against Lennon to avoid many headaches. Equally revealing is a 1972 memorandum to Nixons assistant H.R. Haldeman specifically linking Lennons alleged political activities to the deportation case against him.

Of course, this sort of thing was not new then, though it was not widely known. Wildes does not mention it, but J. Edgar Hoover, who shuffles on and off stage throughout the book, was involved in deporting radicals early in his career with the Justice Departments general intelligence division. He deported Emma Goldman in 1919 and other anarchists and leftist dissidents during an earlier ideological deportation episode in New York. The discretionary targeting of political opponents, in short, had a long history before Lennon encountered it. But it was always a sort of dirty little secret that challenged our fidelity to the best principles of the rule of law.

In that sense, much of the significance of this book lies in its revelation of the strange and complex history of immigration law in our nation of immigrants. Laws of exclusion and deportation have been especially hard to reconcile with legal principles of due process and equal protection. Though current debates have focused mostly on recent deportations of millions of undocumented workers and their families by the George W. Bush and Obama administrations, our immigration laws have long embodied all sorts of prejudices that we have proudly rejected in other legal arenas. And yet, the attempted exclusion and deportation of political opponents, petty criminals, and those seen as immoral or dangerous has often achieved popular support and has tempted governments from the very founding of the republic. The debates have been fierce. The 1798 Alien and Sedition Acts, the earliest federal effort to empower the president to deport undesirables (mostly Irish and French opponents of John Adamss Federalists), were decisively criticized by Thomas Jefferson, James Madison and others as an unjust assault on the friendless alien and a violation of deep principles of justice and fairness. As later became true of Lennons case, much of the critique was directed at the discretionary nature of these laws, which empowered the president to summarily deport all such aliens as he shall judge dangerous to the peace and safety of the United States, or shall have reasonable grounds to suspect are concerned in any treasonable or secret machinations against the government thereof.

Since their reinvigoration in the late 19th century, with a set of racist laws aimed specifically at Chinese laborers, exclusion and deportation have become massive, complicated and harsh legal systems. Many millions have been deported, some after court hearings but many summarily. Some have seen regard for family connections or personal hardships, but many have been given no such consideration. Through it all, a deep question has remained: What is the right relationship between executive discretionary power to exclude and deport and the basic rights of aliens (a peculiarly offensive word for noncitizens that nevertheless remains a technical term of art in the immigration statutes)? And what is the right relationship between the power of Congress to enact strict deportation laws and the power of the executive branch to ameliorate harshness with so-called prosecutorial discretion?

These are questions that will undoubtedly recur and about which the evocatively titled John Lennon vs. the USA offers important insights and engaging historical lessons.
NOW THAT the FBI has arrested a Metro Transit Police officer for allegedly trying to help Islamic State terrorists, its fair to wonder whether the Districts transit system, already beset by severe maintenance problems, has set a new benchmark for defects in what it calls safety culture.

General Manager Paul J. Wiedefeld, who took Metros top job last fall, has orchestrated an ambitious campaign to restore the subway system to a state of good repair. His moves have included launching a massive (and massively disruptive) track repair program; hiring a highly regarded new safety chief; replacing 20 top managers; and firing employees whose conduct imperils passengers. That includes the transit police officer, Nicholas Young, who was dismissed following his arrest Wednesday.

To succeed in moving the safety needle at Metro, Mr. Wiedefeld needs, and generally has received, backing from the systems major stakeholders. Its important that the main union representing Metro employees, Amalgamated Transit Union Local 689, also get behind the safety surge.

Unfortunately, the union is sending mixed messages in that regard, at best. Last month, it filed suit in federal court to reinstate a Metro mechanic who was fired for safety violations connected with the incident that filled subway cars with smoke last year at the LEnfant Plaza station, leaving one passenger dead and dozens sickened.

The unions lawsuit is the latest move in an ongoing tussle between the union and Metro over the mechanic, a 13-year employee named Seyoum Haile. To be clear, Mr. Haile was not to blame for the death and injuries in the accident. Yet his transgressions, which included failing to inspect a tunnel fan that eventually burned out near LEnfant Plaza after passengers had been evacuated, were themselves serious enough to result in firing, in Metros view. Accordingly, the agency terminated him in February last year, about a month after the tunnel incident at LEnfant Plaza.

The union appealed Mr. Hailes firing, and in April a panel of arbitrators ordered him reinstated. The arbitrators agreed that his transgressions, which included falsifying an inspection report, were serious, but not so grave as to merit firing. Arbitrator Ezio E. Borchini agreed with the union that Metros own systemic failings  namely, its routinely lax maintenance procedures  bore much of the blame.

The problem with the arbitrators analysis, and with the unions contention that Mr. Haile has been made a scapegoat, is that if everything is the transit agencys problem, then no one is truly accountable. To say that the system is to blame is to exonerate, by default, the systems employees when they cut corners, ignore procedures or turn a blind eye to problems.

Will the union also contest Metros firing of two train operators in the past month for running red signals? Its not saying.

Mr. Wiedefeld says Metro will go to court to overturn the arbitrators decision in the case of Mr. Haile. Why the agency has waited more than three months to do so is a mystery and may undercut its case. Still, the principle at stake  establishing genuine accountability at a transit system that has suffered for its absence  is critical.
Derek Chollet, assistant secretary of defense for international security affairs from 2012 to 2015, is a senior adviser at the German Marshall Fund of the United States. This piece is adapted from his book The Long Game: How Obama Defied Washington and Redefined Americas Role in the World.

In his Aug. 1 column, A U.S. retreat that feeds on itself, Fred Hiatt rehearsed many of the familiar critiques of President Obamas foreign policy, suggesting that if only the United States had kept substantial troops in Iraq, put forces into post-Gaddafi Libya, bombed Syria after it used chemical weapons and focused a little less on nation-building at home, the United States  and the world  would be better off.

The idea that the United States has retreated defies reality. Today the United States is more engaged, in more places and in more ways, than it was eight years ago. In fact, on the issues that matter most  how and where the country uses military force, how it approaches its enemies and works with its partners, and how it should conceive of its power and exert its leadership  Obamas mark will be enduring and largely positive. Instead of allowing the consensus for the United States global leadership to fray, the president has worked to strengthen and sustain it.

Thats because Obama plays a long game. The defining element of his global strategy is that it reflects the totality of U.S. interests  foreign and domestic  to project leadership in an era of finite resources and seemingly infinite demands.

Obamas fundamental challenge has been to implement such a strategy within a debate that has become overwhelmed by manufactured drama and the illusion of silver bullet, black-and-white solutions. For too many critics, the answer is almost always for the United States to do more of something and show strength by acting tough, though usually what that something is remains very vague. And doing more of everything is not a strategy.

Think of it this way: Obama has been like a foreign policy version of Warren Buffett, a proudly pragmatic value investor less concerned with appearances and the whims of the moment, focused instead on making solid investments with an eye to long-term success. The foreign policy debate, on the other hand, tends to be dominated by policy day traders  or flashy real estate developers  whose incentives are the opposite: achieving quick results by making a big splash, getting rewarded with instant judgments and reacting to every blip in the market.

Of course, todays geopolitical turbulence feels like more than the usual market ups and downs. It is understandable that when looking out at the world, Americans are frustrated, pessimistic and scared.

But think back to 2008, with the U.S. economy shedding as many as 500,000 jobs a month and on the cusp of a second Great Depression, the U.S. military was stretched to the breaking point through fighting two wars, and many parts of the world associated the United States with militarism, Guantanamo Bay and torture. The picture looks very different today.

History reminds us that the question is not whether the world presents challenges but rather how the United States is positioned to deal with them. Considering the extent of todays global disorder, it is tempting to succumb to a narrative of grievance and fear  sharpening the divisions between us and them, building walls longer and higher, and lashing out at enemies with force. Or to think it better that, to reduce exposure to such geopolitical risk, the United States should divest from its alliances. Despite all the talk of strength, what these impulses reflect is a core lack of confidence.

We cannot submit to such pessimism. As Obamas presidency nears its end, the state of the world is indeed tumultuous and ever changing, but we have good reason to be confident. The United States global position is sound. The United States has restored a sense of strategic solvency. Countries look to it for guidance, ideas, support and protection. It is again admired and inspiring, not just for what it can do abroad but also for its economic vitality and strong society at home. Or as Buffett  who on Monday spoke at a rally in support of Hillary Clinton for president  recently declared in his more folksy way, The babies being born in America today are the luckiest crop in history.

When it comes to being in a position to solve problems and give people an opportunity to improve their lives, the United States is far better off than it was a decade ago. The question is whether it will continue to make the choices necessary to stay that way.
To Republicans who hope to emerge from the Donald Trump fiasco with any shred of political viability or self-respect, I offer some unsolicited advice: Run, do not walk, to the nearest exit.

Im speaking to you, House Speaker Paul Ryan. And you, Sen. John McCain. And you, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell  along with so many other elected Republicans and party stalwarts. You are not fools. You are well aware that the erstwhile Party of Lincoln has nominated for president a man wholly unfit to hold the office.

I realize that puts you in a tough spot politically. Breaking with the partys standard-bearer, chosen by voters in primaries and caucuses, would surely mean short-term pain. For some of you, it could be politically fatal. But sticking with Trump, as far as I can see, will almost surely be worse  for you, for the party and, potentially, heaven forbid, for the country you have sworn to serve.

Youre taking a position that is indefensible on both philosophical and real-world grounds: begging Trump to pretend to be sane and competent until Election Day.

Anybody who is horrified by Hillary [Clinton] should hope that Trump will take a deep breath and learn some new skills, Newt Gingrich told The Post on Wednesday. He cannot win the presidency operating the way he is now.

The Washington Posts Philip Rucker explains how unusual it is that Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump is withholding his endorsements of House Speaker Paul D. Ryan and Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) in their primary races. (Bastien Inzaurralde/The Washington Post)

This week, Republicans, your calls for Trump to tone it down shifted into panic mode. Apparently you thought it was a bad idea for him to attack a Gold Star mother who lost her Army captain son in Iraq, then clumsily contrive to keep the story alive for nearly a week. You thought Trumps pointed refusal to endorse Ryan and McCain in their primaries, even though both are supporting him, might not be the best way to foster party unity. You thought perhaps that while there are many things a candidate might say at a rally to win friends and influence people, Get the baby out of here is not one.

Your response is to hope against hope that someone will persuade Trump to feign rectitude for the next three months. But think of the implications of imploring him to look and sound presidential. You know full well how out of control and unbalanced he is; you just wish hed do a better job of conning voters into thinking he can be trusted with the nuclear codes. Shame on you, Republicans, for encouraging such a dangerous ruse.

And in any event, it should be clear by now that Trump cannot or will not pretend to be a normal candidate. How many resets have there been already? Let me make a bold prediction: Within the next week or so, Trump will give a stilted, non-crazy, teleprompter-aided speech. Supporters will rejoice that the campaign has finally turned a corner. And then, a few days later, some perceived slight will have Trump once again tilting at windmills and baying at the moon.

Republican officials and party leaders, you got into politics because you believed in certain principles. I may disagree with many of your views on policy, but I do not question your sincerity. I firmly doubt, however, that Trump knows what the word sincerity means.

You believe in conservative values; he manifestly does not share them. You believe in sound, prudent fiscal management; he runs his real estate empire like a pirate, trailing bankruptcies in his wake. You believe, generally, in a strong defense posture; he is open to handing Crimea and perhaps the Baltics to Vladimir Putin. You believe in limited government, answerable to the people; he describes a bleak, failed America in his acceptance speech and proclaims that I alone can fix it!

Republicans, you are aiding and abetting a latter-day Juan Peron in his quest for power. You know that he believes in no coherent policy agenda beyond his own self-proclaimed greatness. You see how unhinged he becomes when anyone challenges him. You know what a grave risk it would be to have a man like that in the Oval Office.

You may be making the calculation that tepidly supporting the partys nominee will leave you best situated to help revive and reform the GOP after Trump is soundly defeated by Clinton. Judging by this weeks polls  Clinton has leapt into a solid lead  your bet on the elections outcome may be sound.

1 of 60 Full Screen Autoplay Close Skip Ad  What Donald Trump is doing on the campaign trail View Photos The GOP presidential nominee is out on the trail ahead of the general election in November. Caption The GOP presidential nominee is pressing his case ahead of Election Day. Nov. 7, 2016 Donald Trump speaks during a campaign event at SNHU Arena in Manchester, N.H. Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post Wait 1 second to continue.

But even if he loses, Republicans, Trump will leave a lasting stain. If you tell us such a man should be president, why should the nation ever believe anything else you say?

Read more from Eugene Robinsons archive, follow him on Twitter or subscribe to his updates on Facebook. You can also join him Tuesdays at 1 p.m. for a live Q&A.
Donald Trump began Aug. 2, 2016, no doubt, determined to follow the advice of family and advisers to avoid fueling his own controversies and focus on Hillary Clintons manifold failures.

By the end of that day, the Republican presidential nominee had continued his fifth day of conflict with a Gold Star family. He had refused to support the reelection of the Republican speaker of the House and two senators in races essential to maintaining GOP control of the Senate. He had (strangely) urged Americans to dump equities in their 401(k) plans. He had joked that he always wanted to get the Purple Heart  the chances of which would have increased had he not taken five deferments during the Vietnam War. He had made a statement  if theres not a better alternative, then you stay  that seemed to dismiss the gravity of workplace sexual harassment.

Any of these would be judged a gaffe. Taken together, in a single day, they raise the prospect that Trump is being driven by compulsions that have nothing to do with politics. It should now be evident that Trumps behavior as a candidate will not be changed (at least for long) by appeals to his rational self-interest, because he is not in full control of his impulses. This may be Trump being Trump, but it is utterly terrifying in a prospective president.

The fondest hope of regular, everyday Republicans has been to keep their heads down, work to maintain control of the House and Senate, and hope that the next three months pass quickly so that the rebuilding of the party can commence. Now it is dawning that three months of Trump  a rapid-fire loose cannon  may make keeping congressional control impossible. It may, in fact, leave the national GOP in ruins, with the electoral earth salted among minorities, women and the young.

The unraveling of Trumps support has begun, and not just among moderates of the Meg Whitman variety. Before backtracking, Trumps vice-presidential finalist Newt Gingrich said that neither Hillary Clinton nor Trump was acceptable at the moment. Even the sycophantic New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie distanced himself from Trumps attacks on Khizr and Ghazala Khan: Its just inappropriate for us in this context to be criticizing them, and Im not going to participate in that.

Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump found himself in the middle of a whole bunch of controversies, all in the space of a few days. Here's a breakdown. (Peter Stevenson/The Washington Post)

But is such discontent a preview of dramatic defections? If they come, they are likely to arrive in a rush, as they did in August 1974. When President Richard Nixons smoking gun tape was revealed, the wall of Republican resistance to impeachment quickly collapsed. A congressional delegation led by Sen. Barry Goldwater (R-Ariz.) (who blamed himself that he had not acted sooner) told Nixon that it was over. And though his wife and daughters urged him to fight on, Nixon bowed to political reality.

In Trumps case, we are not dealing with criminality but with temperament, which is not less important. To quote myself from a January column: We are witnessing what happens when a narcissist who thinks he is at the center of the universe is actually placed at the center of the universe. Trumps political judgments seem mostly based on how others view him, making Vladimir Putin a friend and Paul Ryan an enemy. On policy, Trump claims to know more than experts while displaying stunning ignorance. He lies with disturbing ease. He seems to lack the gene for empathy.

If Republican leaders believe these things to be true, they should not continue to support Trump for president. I suspect, however, that a principled stand will become more attractive if Trump declines further and consistently in the polls. Integrity is more reliable with the support of interest.

It is hard to imagine that a meeting with party elders in which they urge Trump to renounce his nomination would end well. Any friend bringing such a message to Trump would immediately be categorized an enemy. And Trumps adoring, overflow crowds must provide him with intoxicating encouragement.

Trump, however, is not the only one being tested. We have seen that Trump is a sadist; now we determine whether Republicans are masochists. On the current course, Reince Priebus will be judged the worst GOP party chairman in history. On the current course, Ryan will be discredited as a political and moral leader. On the current course, our children will look back in confusion and contempt, asking: How did you allow such a man to get so close to such an office?

Read more from Michael Gersons archive, follow him on Twitter or subscribe to his updates on Facebook .
In The liberal hero even conservatives could relate to [Outlook, July 24], a review of Larry Tyes book Bobby Kennedy, Joe Scarborough recalled a speech I gave in 2001 in which I criticized the George W. Bush administration for invoking Robert Kennedys name when attacking civil liberties.

In the name of national security, the Bush administration launched the total information awareness program, undermined the Whistleblower Protection Act, engaged in domestic spying, undermined attorney-client privilege, allowed unfettered government access to pharmaceutical and library records and other personal information of Americans accused of no crime, supported legislation that would have encouraged neighbor to spy on neighbor (or plumbers to spy on clients) a la the Stasi, targeted immigrants, demanded that 5,000 Muslim men accused of no crime voluntarily report to police, detained U.S. citizens and greatly expanded the use of military tribunals in which the accused could be sentenced to death with no access to the evidence used against them.

I stand by my assertion that these were not consistent with Kennedys values.

As our nations lead prosecutor facing the terror of organized crime, Kennedy was determined to use the law to bring criminals who threatened our country to justice. But that eagerness was always tempered by his commitment to protecting civil liberties, even when it meant letting the accused, such as Jimmy Hoffa, go free.

As attorney general at the height of the civil rights movement, Kennedy was keenly aware of the capacity for overzealous or corrupt law enforcement officials to abuse the awesome power of the law. He took that conviction on his travels around the world and criticized governments that invoked national security to suspend civil liberties.

As far back as 1948, Kennedy wrote articles criticizing Britains mistreatment of Jews in Jerusalem. He was the first international leader to criticize Indonesias massacre of communists. He traveled to South Africa in 1966 when few had heard of apartheid. He made a point of meeting with government critics from Japan to Brazil. He often quoted John Winthrop and said we should be a beacon on a hill for those who believed in democracy and human rights.

Scarborough gave credence to Tyes oft-repeated thesis that Kennedy fundamentally changed from a rabid right-winger to the ultimate liberal. Instead, I believe my father is more clearly seen through the prism that defined the entirety of his life, as top aide Jack Rosenthal suggested: Get your boot off his neck.

Kerry Kennedy, New York

The writer is president of the nonprofit

Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights.
The Innocents is a haunting, never-before-seen World War II movie thats based on a true story about a young French doctor who discovered the horror of nuns raped by Russian soldiers who were giving birth in Polish hospitals.

In the film, Madeleine Pauliac, the real doctor, becomes Mathilde, a doctor who has just finished her studies and is working as an assistant in a field hospital operated by the French Red Cross charged with finding wounded French soldiers, treating and repatriating them as the war winds down in 1945.

Unlike the real doctor, Mathilde (Lou de Laage) doesnt discover the nuns. Instead, risking discipline, a nun leaves the convent and comes to the hospital, looking for a doctor to help a sister. Initially turning her away, Mathlide sees the nun kneeling in prayer outside the hospital and goes with her back to the convent.

Shes hardly welcomed -- almost turned away by the stern Mother Abbess (Agata Kulesza). But with the intercession of Sister Maria (Agata Buzek) she's allowed to enter. There she finds a nun having a problem delivery and has to do surgery, much against the wishes of all involved.

But in spite of the convents ban on outsiders and the nuns chastity vows that prohibit them from being touched by anyone, Mathilde convinces Mother Abbess she should come back to aid the half-dozen pregnant nuns.

Told briskly, but meditatively, the film delves deeply into the lives and beliefs of the nuns and Mathilde. That includes Mathildes relationship with sarcastic Jewish doctor Samuel (Vincent Macaigne), her Communist upbringing and the risks she takes in going to the convent.

For the nuns and the Mother Abbess, the examination is deeper -- the aftermath of the rapes, the pressure to follow their vows, the meaning of their faith and, pivotally, what to do with the babies who cannot become part of their community for shame and, likely, expulsion.

Evocatively written by Sabrina B. Karine and Alice Vial, with a gut-wrenching twist late, The Innocents is directed by Anne Fontaine, who made Coco Before Chanel, a superb biopic of the early years of the fashion designer.

As in that film, Fontaine captures the period perfectly in its characters -- Mathilde representing a modern woman, the nuns the traditional and the upheaval and violence of the war seen in the hospital and in threats from the still-present Soviet soil.

And the picture couldnt look more authentic. Primarily filmed in an abandoned convent in Poland that was restored for the film, The Innocents rings true right down to the mix of Polish and French in its dialogue.

Superbly acted throughout, particularly by de Laage in her first adult role, Buzek and Kulesza, The Innocents is bleak, but hope-filled, an examination of a horror that ultimately finds a way to the future. That makes it memorably powerful and a candidate for the Best Foreign Language Film Oscar next year.
A

ll Americans should be alarmed by Donald Trump confidant Roger Stones suggestion that Trump claim Hillary Clinton is trying to steal the election.

Asserting that there is already widespread voter fraud, Stone said Trump should say that if theres voter fraud, this election will be illegitimate . . . we will have a constitutional crisis, widespread civil disobedience, and the government will no longer be the government. In an interview with the conservative outlet Breitbart, Stone continued: I think hes got to put them on notice that their inauguration will be a rhetorical, and when I mean civil disobedience, not violence, but it will be a bloodbath.

A bloodbath. Rhetorically speaking, of course.

If you have any doubt that Stone has Trumps ear, two days later Trump said, Im afraid the election is going to be rigged, and he went on to warn of voter fraud.

Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump told supporters in Columbus, Ohio, Aug. 1 that he worries the Nov. 8 election "is going to be rigged." (The Washington Post)

Some are comforted to know this election ends in 95 days. But a Trump loss in November  which seems increasingly likely  could be only slightly less destructive than a Trump victory. At best, his followers would regard the Clinton administration as illegitimate from Day One and use whatever legal means they can to prevent government from functioning. At worst, they will conclude that their white-male dominated America is lost forever  and take extra-legal measures to protect themselves.

Americans take for granted peaceful transfers of power. But if the losing side declares the government illegitimate and talks of bloodbaths, something else could occur.

Sixteen years ago, after the contentious 2000 recount, Al Gore gave a gracious concession speech that invoked Stephen Douglass words to Abraham Lincoln: Partisan feeling must yield to patriotism. Im with you, Mr. President, and God bless you.

This is America. Just as we fight hard when the stakes are high, we close ranks and come together when the contest is done, Gore said. We will stand together behind our new president.

Can anybody imagine Trump saying those words after a Hillary Clinton victory?

Trumps supporters are primed to suspect conspiracy  all the more so now that they see Trump sinking in the polls. At a Trump rally in Virginia this week, after Trump told the crowd, Were running against a rigged system, the Trump backers I sampled at random all thought the election could be stolen.

Dawn Quires told me that FBI director James Comey didnt recommend charges against Clinton because he doesnt want to get shot in the back like others. James Scarborough, in red Make America Great Again cap, said court defeats for voter-ID laws were evidence of a rigged election. And Connie Jagger reasoned that a Trump defeat would necessarily mean a stolen election because Trumps crowds are bigger than Clintons.

This fallacy  that the winner is determined by crowd size rather than the 125 million ballots cast  makes Trump backers think a legitimate Clinton victory is impossible. Trump in trouble? 10,000 people in Jacksonville!!!! somebody named Eric Swenson emailed me Thursday. Pathetic media, corrupt to the core.

Mix that paranoia with the propensity for violence seen at Trump events, and you can see where this could go after Nov. 8.

At a Trump rally in Pennsylvania this week, a video posted by PennLive shows Trump supporters shoving, throwing to the ground and bloodying the nose of a demonstrator.

A video montage published this week by the New York Times captures the rage at Trump rallies: Trump supporters proclaiming F--- those dirty beaners, F--- Islam, F--- that n------, Hang the bitch; Trump responding to a protest by telling supporters come on  get him; and various scenes of pushing and shoving of demonstrators.

Slates Ben Mathis-Lilley has a tally of 20 violent incidents at Trump events by Trump supporters, and protesters, including protesters hit with pepper spray by Trump backers, and instances of demonstrators being sucker-punched, shoved and choked.

Trump has encouraged such activity by offering to pay the legal fees of the violent, by likening demonstrators to terrorists, by suggesting a demonstrator should have been roughed up and saying knock the crap out of them and Id like to punch him in the face, among other things.

Trump has identified Clinton as a criminal and the devil. Would his most ardent backers just possibly assume he would favor violence against a government run by such a person?

The rage will only increase if Trump continues to sink in the polls and  as is his pattern when in trouble  he continues to get more and more outrageous. I worry that all he knows how to do is double down, Sen. Jeff Flake of Arizona, a Republican critic of Trump, told me this week. Theyre out of options.

Not entirely out of options. Theres still the rhetorical bloodbath. Or worse.

Twitter: @Milbank

Read more from Dana Milbanks archive, follow him on Twitter or subscribe to his updates on Facebook.
A Donald Trump supporter, left, plugs his ears while passing protesters waving signs and chanting against the Republican presidential nominee at a Trump rally in Denver. (Brennan Linsley/Associated Press)

How did Donald Trump win the Republican nomination, despite clear evidence that he had misrepresented or falsified key issues throughout the campaign? Social scientists have some intriguing explanations for why people persist in misjudgments despite strong contrary evidence.

Trump is a vivid and, to his critics, a frightening present-day illustration of this perception problem. But it has been studied carefully by researchers for more than 30 years. Basically, the studies show that attempts to refute false information often backfire and lead people to hold on to their misperceptions even more strongly.

This literature about misperception was lucidly summarized by Christopher Graves, the global chairman of Ogilvy Public Relations, in a February 2015 article in the Harvard Business Review, months before Trump surfaced as a candidate. Graves is now writing a book about his research at the Rockefeller Foundations Bellagio Center in Italy.

Gravess article examined the puzzle of why nearly one-third of U.S. parents believe that childhood vaccines cause autism, despite overwhelming medical evidence that theres no such link. In such cases, he noted, arguing the facts doesnt help  in fact, it makes the situation worse. The reason is that people tend to accept arguments that confirm their views and discount facts that challenge what they believe.

This confirmation bias was outlined in a 1979 article by psychologist Charles Lord, cited by Graves. Lord found that his test subjects, when asked questions about capital punishment, responded with answers shaped by their prior beliefs. Instead of changing their minds, most will dig in their heels and cling even more firmly to their originally held views, Graves explained in summarizing the study.

Presidential candidate Donald Trump has made quite a few false statements during his rise to the top of the Republican field. The Post's Fact Checker took a look at Trump's five biggest whoppers. (Jenny Starrs/The Washington Post)

Trying to correct misperceptions can actually reinforce them, according to a 2006 paper by Brendan Nyhan and Jason Reifler, also cited by Graves. They documented what they called a backfire effect by showing the persistence of the belief that Iraq had weapons of mass destruction in 2005 and 2006, after the United States had publicly admitted that they didnt exist. The results show that direct factual contradictions can actually strengthen ideologically grounded factual belief, they wrote.

Next Graves examined how attempts to debunk myths can reinforce them, simply by repeating the untruth. He cited a 2005 study in the Journal of Consumer Research on How Warnings about False Claims Become Recommendations. It seems that people remember the assertion and forget whether its a lie. The authors wrote: The more often older adults were told that a given claim was false, the more likely they were to accept it as true after several days have passed.

When critics challenge false assertions  say, Trumps claim that thousands of Muslims cheered in New Jersey when the twin towers fell on Sept. 11, 2001  their refutations can threaten people, rather than convince them. Graves noted that if people feel attacked, they resist the facts all the more. He cited a study by Nyhan and Reifler that examined why people misperceived three demonstrable facts: that violence in Iraq declined after President George W. Bushs troop surge; that jobs have increased during President Obamas tenure; and that global temperatures are rising.

The study showed two interesting things: People are more likely to accept information if its presented unemotionally, in graphs; and theyre even more accepting if the factual presentation is accompanied by affirmation that asks respondents to recall an experience that made them feel good about themselves.

Bottom line: Vilifying Trump voters  or, alternatively, parents who dont want to have their children vaccinated  wont convince them theyre wrong. Probably it will have the opposite effect.

The final point that emerged from Gravess survey is that people will resist abandoning a false belief unless they have a compelling alternative explanation. That point was made in an article called The Debunking Handbook, by Australian researchers John Cook and Stephan Lewandowsky. They wrote: Unless great care is taken, any effort to debunk misinformation can inadvertently reinforce the very myths one seeks to correct.

Trumps campaign pushes buttons that social scientists understand. When the GOP nominee paints a dark picture of a violent, frightening America, he triggers the fight or flight response thats hardwired in our brains. For the body politic, it can produce a kind of panic attack.

1 of 60 Full Screen Autoplay Close Skip Ad  What Donald Trump is doing on the campaign trail View Photos The GOP presidential nominee is out on the trail ahead of the general election in November. Caption The GOP presidential nominee is pressing his case ahead of Election Day. Nov. 7, 2016 Donald Trump speaks during a campaign event at SNHU Arena in Manchester, N.H. Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post Wait 1 second to continue.

Screaming back at Trump for these past 12 months may have been satisfying for his critics, but it hasnt dented his support much. What seems to be hurting Trump in the polls now are self-destructive comments that trouble even his most passionate supporters. Attempts to aggressively correct his remaining fans may only deepen their attachment.

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Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump endorsed House Speaker Paul D. Ryan (R-Wis.) and Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) for reelection while campaigning with vice presidential nominee Mike Pence in Green Bay, Wis., on Aug. 5. (The Washington Post)

Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump endorsed House Speaker Paul D. Ryan (R-Wis.) and Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) for reelection while campaigning with vice presidential nominee Mike Pence in Green Bay, Wis., on Aug. 5. (The Washington Post)

Capping a week of backbiting between Donald Trump and Republican leaders, the GOP presidential nominee on Friday sought to end a high-stakes impasse by delivering a formal endorsement of U.S. House Speaker Paul D. Ryans reelection bid after initially refusing to do so.

We will have disagreements, but we will disagree as friends and never stop working together toward victory. And very importantly, toward real change, Trump said during a campaign event in Green Bay, Wis., on Friday evening. So in our shared mission to make America great again, I support and endorse our speaker of the House, Paul Ryan.

When asked for the speakers reaction, a spokesman said: He appreciates the gesture and is going to continue to focus on earning the endorsement of the voters in Southern Wisconsin.

Trump ignited a firestorm in his party this week when he pointedly withheld his endorsement from Ryan, who faces a primary challenge Tuesday. That infuriated Republican leaders close to Ryan  and in particular the Republican National Committee chairman, Reince Priebus, himself from Wisconsin  who have sought to project party unity as the general election season hits its stride.

1 of 60 Full Screen Autoplay Close Skip Ad  What Donald Trump is doing on the campaign trail View Photos The GOP presidential nominee is out on the trail ahead of the general election in November. Caption The GOP presidential nominee is pressing his case ahead of Election Day. Nov. 7, 2016 Donald Trump speaks during a campaign event at SNHU Arena in Manchester, N.H. Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post Wait 1 second to continue.

Trump sought to move beyond that feud Friday, flashing two thumbs up as he formally endorsed Ryan, Sen. John McCain (Ariz.) and Sen. Kelly Ayotte (N.H.) for reelection.

Trump received a cold shoulder from several high-profile Republicans on Friday in Wisconsin, where he hosted an evening rally in Green Bay. Neither Gov. Scott Walker nor Ryan was expected to attend the rally, Trumps first in the state since its April primary.

Walker, along with Priebus, attended a campaign event last week in Waukesha, Wis., with Trumps running mate, Indiana Gov. Mike Pence.

Wisconsin House Speaker Robin Vos, in an op-ed published on a conservative website Friday, said he was heartbroken over Trumps decision to voice support for Ryans primary opponent, Paul Nehlen, in a tweet. Trump had praised Nehlen on Monday. Vos added that Trump might be able to repair the damage, but it cant be ignored.

Welcome to Wisconsin, Mr. Trump, but lets get something straight  we are Ryan Republicans here in Wisconsin, not Trump Republicans, he wrote.

The controversy made little strategic sense; instead, Trump had appeared to be engaging in score-settling by echoing comments Ryan made this year before he endorsed Trump. Im just not quite there yet, Trump told The Washington Post on Tuesday in reference to endorsing Ryan. The heightened tensions could be particularly damaging for Trumps unconventional campaign operation, which still depends heavily on the RNC for ground operations and fundraising.

Meanwhile, rival Hillary Clinton appeared increasingly bullish Friday about Democrats retaking the Senate and picking up seats in the House of Representatives. Trumps weaknesses as a candidate, Clinton said, would strengthen her chances not just of winning the White House but also of putting forward a bold policy agenda in January  notably, comprehensive immigration reform.

Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump campaigned in Des Moines on Aug. 5. (The Washington Post)

Im hoping that the outcome of the election, which I am working hard to ensure [is] a victory, will send a clear message to our Republican friends that its time for them to quit standing in the way of immigration reform, she told reporters at a convention of black and Hispanic journalists in Washington.

Theres nothing like winning to change minds, Clinton said, adding that the political landscape favors passage of the long-shelved legislation.

Trump acknowledged during his campaign event Friday that he would need the help of various party factions.

I need a Republican Senate and House to accomplish all of the changes that we have to make. We have to make them, Trump said. I understand and embrace the wisdom of Ronald Reagans big tent within the party. Big, big tent, remember? Ronald Reagan. Great man. Great guy.

Ryans team appeared caught unawares Friday afternoon when news began to circulate about Trumps potential endorsement. During a radio interview with WISNs Jay Weber on Friday morning, Ryan said he was unsure where things stood with Trump. He repeated several times throughout the morning that he was not seeking Trumps endorsement and that his constituents  our employers in Wisconsin  are his top priority.

Heck if I know, Ryan said when asked about the status of his feud with Trump. Im not going to try to psychoanalyze this stuff.

Asked later by radio host Charlie Sykes whether there was something sufficiently disturbing that Trump could do to make Ryan rescind his endorsement of the GOP nominee, Ryan responded: With any endorsement of anybody, theres never a blank check. And you know that, and thats how Ive always felt.

He added, I see no purpose in doing this tit-for-tat, petty back-and-forth with Donald Trump, because it serves no purpose, in my mind.

The Clinton campaign has regularly sought to capitalize on the persistent tensions between Trump and his partys leadership by pointing to intraparty attacks against the GOP presidential nominee. On Friday, the Clinton campaign released an ad featuring several high-profile Republicans denouncing the GOP nominee.

Trump, meanwhile, tore into Clinton on Friday during a campaign event in Des Moines.

Shes really pretty close to unhinged, and youve seen it, youve seen it a couple times . . . and shes like an unbalanced person, Trump said, as the crowd raucously shouted, Lock her up!

Trump gave a thumbs-up as the crowd chanted. He added later that electing Clinton would lead to the destruction of our country from within.

Clintons running mate, Sen. Tim Kaine (Va.), also was in Wisconsin on Friday. He focused his 25-minute speech at a Milwaukee rally on attacking Trump.

He also took a veiled shot at Walker, the governor, as he congratulated Wisconsin over a challenge to its new voter ID law.

Youve got governors out there trying to screw around and keep people from voting, Kaine said to loud cheers.

Wisconsin, you know how to win, Kaine said. Youve done it again and again and again.

Robert Costa in Janesville, Wis., Kay Nolan in Milwaukee and Abby Phillip in Washington contributed to this report.
House Speaker Paul D. Ryan (R-Wis.) sent an urgent fundraising appeal Thursday evening that warned: If we fail to protect our majority in Congress, we could be handing President Hillary Clinton a blank check.

Whether or not it was intentional, the phrase blank check has a political echo  one that suggests a deep fear by congressional Republicans that a sinking presidential candidate could take their majorities in the House and Senate with him, and that they are getting ready to desert him.

It goes back 20 years, to an infamous chapter in internecine Republican politics. In the weeks before the 1996 presidential election, as it became clearer and clearer that GOP nominee Bob Dole would not defeat incumbent president Bill Clinton, Republican operatives began urging their struggling congressional candidates to begin making the argument: Lets not give Clinton a blank check.

In late October of that year, the National Republican Congressional Committee spent $4 million on television ads in 50 congressional districts where races were close. The final shot was of a blank check hovering over the Capitol dome. It was signed: American taxpayer.

For Dole, the implication that even his own party had given up on him was a devastating blow.

The Washington Posts Philip Rucker explains how unusual it is that Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump is withholding his endorsements of House Speaker Paul D. Ryan (R-Wis.) and Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) in their primary races. (Bastien Inzaurralde/The Washington Post)

One of Doles top strategists that year was Paul Manafort, who is now Trumps campaign chairman. Doles personal assistant was Michael Glassner, who has worked for Trumps campaign for more than a year. A number of other Dole staffers now work for Trump.

Ryan used the words blank check at least three times Thursday, as Trump sat below Clinton in the polls and continued to deal with the aftermath of controversies of his own making. This week, Trump refused to endorse Ryan in the Wisconsin Republican primary and praised Ryans underdog opponent, Paul Nehlen. It was a snub that angered many Republican leaders.

[Paul Ryan says Trumps campaign is distressing but stands by endorsement]

I like Paul, but these are horrible times for our country, Trump said in an interview with The Washington Post on Tuesday. We need very strong leadership. We need very, very strong leadership. And Im just not quite there yet. Im not quite there yet.

Trumps campaign and Ryans office have yet to respond to requests for comment. Katie Martin, a spokeswoman for the National Republican Congressional Committee, said the historical comparison is unfair.

There is no news here, nothing to read into, no secret message about the upcoming elections, Martin said in an email. The possibility of giving Hillary Clinton a Congress led by Speaker Nancy Pelosi would be an unmitigated disaster for the American people  as it was 8 years ago with President Obama.

In the 1996 election, Republicans lost nine seats but managed to hold the House, the first time they had done so in consecutive elections in more than 60 years. This year, Republicans have a bigger cushion  their strongest House majority since 1930.

Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump found himself in the middle of multiple controversies, all in the space of a few days. Here's a breakdown. (Peter Stevenson/The Washington Post)

However, they also have a standard-bearer who is far more toxic. In 1996, Dole was viewed positively by most voters, even as he lost. Trump, on the other hand, has the most unfavorable ratings of any candidate ever to lead a major party ticket since the advent of polling.

Ryans first use of the term blank check came during an interview with WTAQ radio in Green Bay, Wis., where Trump will hold a rally Friday night. Host Jerry Bader pressed Ryan on his support for Trump, despite the nominees ongoing controversial utterances. Ryan said he would remain behind Trump while continuing to speak out when he disagrees with him.

[Let Mike be Mike: Inside the sometimes awkward Trump-Pence partnership]

When asked whether there would ever be a point at which he would abandon Trump, Ryan said of his endorsement: None of these things are ever blank checks.

It was the standout line of the interview and appeared in numerous headlines. Hours later, the words popped up twice in Ryans fundraising appeal that was sent to email addresses collected during Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walkers failed presidential campaign.

The email reads: 96 days  thats all the time we have left before Americans head to the polls on Election Day, and much more is at stake than the presidency. If we fail to protect our majority in Congress, we could be handing President Hillary Clinton a blank check.

Clinton in the White House and Nancy Pelosi as the House speaker would truly be devastating for our great nation, the email continues, and it urges donations of $25 to $100.

The email is signed Speaker Paul Ryan and includes this P.S.: We cannot afford to give Hillary Clinton a blank check if shes elected president. We need a strong, conservative majority in Congress as our last line of defense.

Mike DeBonis contributed to this report.
1 of 15 Full Screen Autoplay Close Skip Ad  Where We Live | Old Town North in Alexandria, Va. View Photos Even with history dating back to the 1600s, the community is still evolving, with numerous projects in the works. Caption Even with history dating back to the 1600s, the community is still evolving, with numerous projects in the works. Old Town North is a community in Alexandria, Va., with a historic flavor dating to the 1600s and 1700s. Amanda Voisard/For The Washington Post Wait 1 second to continue.

When Kathie and Gene McBride moved from Charlotte to be closer to their grown children and grandchildren, they chose Old Town North in the city of Alexandria, Va.

They wanted to live in a place that was walkable, had infrastructure and had things to do, Kathie McBride said. They found all three in a neighborhood that is a 10-to-15-minute drive from Reagan National Airport and within walking distance of Old Town Alexandria just south. They can also walk to a Harris Teeter and a Trader Joes.

Its wonderful because its close to a big city like D.C., Kathie McBride said. The McBrides, who retired before moving to Old Town North, are from California originally and lived in Hawaii for 15 years before moving to Charlotte.

They said they enjoy the change of seasons in Virginia. Its probably the best place weve ever lived, she said. Her husband worked as a pharmacist manager and she was a project manager with Wells Fargo in Charlotte, where they lived for 20 years. Besides being near family, they wanted to make new friends and travel a lot.

[Relaxing by the bay in Marylands Franklin Manor]





Neighborhood in flux: Old Town North, a community with a historic flavor dating to the 1600s and 1700s, is in flux as developers seek to build on any available parcel. This is a mixed-use area and is likely to stay that way, said Tom Soapes, president of the North Old Town Independent Citizens Association of Alexandria, known as NOTICe, founded approximately 15 years ago.

Its dotted with seven parks including Oronoco Bay Park along the waterfront, one of the largest, and the small Montgomery Park, home to the Old Town North Farmers Market, launched in May and held Thursday afternoons from 3 to 7, at 901 N. Royal St.

The farmers market will be open year round, weather permitting, according to Margaret Townsend, president of the Old Town North Community Partnership and owner of Rivers Edge Yoga. Hours are likely to be 3 to 6 p.m. from December through March, she said. If school is canceled, the market will be canceled.

Free Yoga in the Park takes place from 6 to 7 p.m. Thursdays. Concerts also are scheduled in the park.

The Mount Vernon Trail, the bike path that runs along the Potomac, is a popular place. The river is one of the great assets of Old Town North, Soapes said. I use the bike path every day.

[Georgetowns Book Hill is a community working together from the start]

Turning point: Agnes and Engin Artemel moved to Old Town North in 1996, drawn by its proximity to the river, and because they liked the mixed-use nature of it, Agnes Artemel said. Both grew up in Europe and liked the walkability of the neighborhood. They raised their son A.J., now an architect who lives in Brooklyn, in Old Town North, where he attended the public schools. Agnes Artemel, who is a former president of the Old Town North Community Partnership, a nonprofit organization of businesses and residents, and a consultant in planning and economic development, believes the revised Old Town North Small Area Plan in progress can only improve the neighborhood. It already has great fabric, but its only going to get better.

Its a neighborhood at a turning point, she said.

And even though everyone hasnt always agreed on the direction of change, Old Town North is at a point, she said, where people are more accepting of change.



Sophie Labys, left, and Megan McCabe chat outside the Art League. The nonprofit hosts a fine art school, gallery and art supply store. (Amanda Voisard/For the Washington Post)

Old Town North began to shift from an area that was primarily industrial to one with mixed-use character beginning in the 1960s. At that time, industry began to slow as factories had become antiquated and changes in shipping technology and land prices took place, according to the Old Town North Small Area Plan Update Project Brief from December. The first redevelopment of the area included offices with some hotels and residential.

Later, the 1992 Old Town North Small Area Plan, with its zoning tools and urban design guidelines, continued to promote the transformation of this area to a balanced mixed use neighborhood, the brief said.

Soapes, a member of the Old Town North Small Area Plan Advisory Group, explains the upcoming changes in a newsletter to NOTICe members: Old Town North includes at least 14 approved, pending, and future sites for redevelopment. We are considering needed zoning, height, floor area, and traffic management changes as well as possible new uses for sites over the next 20 years. Among the strategies, he noted, are affordable housing for a mix of incomes and ages, balanced and flexible land use, focused retail areas, improved access and enhanced and expanded open space.

There is so much potential for redevelopment, Soapes said. Both city and citizens wanted to have some control over it.



Miora Randrianantenaina works at her booth at the Old Town North Farmers' Market held at Montgomery Park. (Amanda Voisard/For the Washington Post)

Living there: The neighborhood is bounded by the Potomac River to the east, Daingerfield Island to the north, Oronoco Street to the south and the George Washington Memorial Parkway and Washington Street to the west.

According to JoAnn LaFon, a real estate agent with Weichert Realtors, in the past 12 months 88 condominiums have sold in Old Town North, ranging from an efficiency with one bath for $163,400 to a three-bedroom, three-bath for $1.1 million. In addition, 30 fee simple properties  all others except condominiums  sold, ranging from a one-bedroom, one-bath townhouse for $525,000 to a three-bedroom townhouse for $1.55 million.

There are 21 condominiums on the market, ranging from a one-bedroom, one-bath for $230,000 to a three-bedroom, three-bath on the Potomac for $3.5 million. In addition, there are five newly constructed townhouses on the market, ranging from a four-bedroom, five-bath listed at $1.9499 million to a four-bedroom, six-bath listed at $3.1999 million.

Transit: The neighborhood is served by the Braddock Road Metro stop on the Blue and Yellow lines, DASH (Alexandria Transit Co.) buses and Capital Bikeshare.

Schools: Jefferson-Houston (K-8); Cora Kelly School for Science, Math and Technology (elementary); George Washington Middle; T.C. Williams High.

Crime: According to RaidsOnline, in the past 12 months, the Alexandria Police Department has reported four burglaries, five robberies and two aggravated assaults in the Old Town North neighborhood.


Residents hang their clothes to dry on an old chain-link fence in the playground of School Squat 2 in Athens. (Carter McCall/for The Washington Post)

Rasha Mohammad always cooked in Syria, but never like this. At home in Damascus, she fed her husband and six children; in Greece, she oversees the mass production of food for nearly 400 refugees. Her office is a tiny, mint-green toolshed-turned-kitchen, and her place of work is the uneven concrete courtyard of an abandoned primary school.

Opposite the toolshed, a Victorian-style tower serves as the main gateway between the courtyard and the building. The once-shuttered school is now full of children who sprint up the spiral marble staircase to former classrooms where families sleep on donated mattresses and stacks of thick, gray blankets provided by the Office of the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees. Offices on the ground floor were repainted with sky-blue signs reading No Borders One Love and transformed into storerooms for donations, a technology room and a medical clinic.

Welcome to School Squat 2. This is one of seven major squats in the city where approximately 1,500 refugees have found an alternative to government camps that have rampant health and safety issues.

Many of the roughly 57,000 refugees now stuck in political and physical limbo in Greece never expected to spend more than a season here, but they found themselves still sweltering in tents at a makeshift camp at Piraeus Port this spring and summer. Camps were usually either full or host to a range of problems: scabies, knife fights, food poisoning, inadequate facilities, snakes and scorpions. In response, frustrated local activists and refugees started teaming up to house people in abandoned schools, hotels, apartment buildings and hospitals.



Tasnim and her brother Adam, refugees from Lebanon, sleep in the lobby of a squatted hotel in Athens. (Carter McCall/for The Washington Post)

School Squat 2 is one of four opened by a team led by Kastro S. Dakdouk, a Syrian from the sea town of Tartus who came to Greece in 1989 for art school. He paints drooping faces and political cartoons, and he made his name in the Greek anarchist community as one of seven activists jailed after a 2003 protest.

Dakdouk, who is easily spotted by his ever-present stack of hand-rolled cigarettes and his black, shoulder-length curls, opened the original School Squat in March. It now houses about 420 refugees, mostly Afghans and Syrians.

When asked why the School Squat and its derivatives exist, why he chose to navigate this crisis this way, Dakdouk pauses, rolls another cigarette and begins to speak about children sleeping in the streets, then trails off.

It is like . . . laazim, he explains, switching out of accented English and back to his native Arabic.

It is necessary.

[Greece was once the fast lane to Europe for refugees. Now its a grim waiting room.]

Mohammad, 36, heard about School Squat 2 after coming to Athens for her registration interview two months ago, and she is grateful for the change from a camp up north. Here, no one tells us what to do, what not to do, she says.

There is familiarity and freedom. A Syrian flag hangs out of a second-story window. As Mohammad prepares dinner, a cluster of Syrian and Lebanese guys in their 20s debate which music to play on the loudspeaker, finally deciding on an Arabic remix of Adele. A Syrian Kurdish woman peels through a large milk carton of onions, and inside the tiny toolshed, cucumbers are being cut lengthwise twice, then sliced Arabic-salad style. The smell of boiling eggplant carries out of the open door and past children playing obstacle games with Spanish volunteers.

There are cleaning teams, cooking teams, security teams, language lessons, art classes, childrens activities, beach outings, translators, Arabic lessons for volunteers and more.



A resident prepares a pasta dish for dinner at the City Plaza hotel. The squats refuse aid from governments and nongovernmental organizations. Teams of residents and volunteers share the cleaning and cooking responsibilities at City Plaza. (Carter McCall/for the Washington Post)

Squats are run without government or major nongovernmental-organization influence and rely on donations and manpower from independent volunteers. Responsibility is divided among the residents. At Dakdouks original squat, a local technical group is the go-to for all maintenance and IT issues. There are plans to establish a bakery to produce bread en masse for residents and rooftop gardens to provide for the soul and for the body, says one group member.

The location of most of the major squats  near the borders of Exarcheia, the Athens neighborhood that is the historic home of Greek anarchy  attracts Greek leftists and anarchists, who see it as their duty to protect these people, regardless of their ideology.

The government shut down three squats in Thessaloniki in the last week of July, sending refugees into the streets and putting the Athens squats on edge. These are haphazard international communities built out of the worst modern humanitarian crisis  but like their residents, their legal rights are disputed. Almost all of the residents would rather be elsewhere  in Germany, Spain, Belgium, a peaceful Syria  but for now, this is the best alternative for many.

On Monday, the mayor of Athens released a public letter to the citizen protection and migration policy ministers requesting the transfer of all refugees from occupied buildings to organized hospitality structures. This came five days after the Greek Center for Disease Control and Prevention called for the closure of these migrant reception centers across Greece after finding that 16 centers pose a public health risk.



Abdul Jalil Haddad and his brother Mohamed have been living at School Squat 2 for two weeks after arriving in Athens from the island of Chios with no place to stay. The men, who are from Homs, Syria, heard about the squat through word of mouth. They now live in a classroom with 15 other young men. (Carter McCall/for the Washington Post)

John Vasiliadis, 28, a resident of Exarcheia and an anarchist, is one of two Greeks living and helping at the newest hotel squat, a tiny building tucked into a residential street of apartments, record stores and cafes.

We protect this territory from the fascists and the police, and we help the people to live here for free, he says. We protect these people because we must all be free  we must be brothers.

[How the refugee crisis turned waiters into goatherds on the Greek islands]

Each squat has a different level of political influence and a distinct character. School Squat 2 evokes boisterous, family-style living. The tiny hotel where Vasiliadis works is defined by its homey lobby, where Syrian men watch BBC Arabic on a newly installed satellite television and kids play chess on donated plastic boards. City Plaza, the most publicized of the bunch, is billed as the best hotel in Europe; and was opened by a political group shortly after the borders were closed. Like many other squats, the building is plastered with signs in four languages  Greek, English, Farsi and Arabic  and a list of community expectations and events. Between refugees and volunteers, nearly 15 countries are represented.



Children run in the playground of the original school squat in Athens. (Carter McCall/for the Washington Post)

Theres a sense of ownership and community among residents, says Rabi Abu Tarah, a 26-year-old resident and translator from Damascus.

This here, this is a street, he explains, pointing to the hallway that connects the hotel bar, which serves instant coffee to residents and visitors, and the large dining room, which is decorated with photographs of refugees and volunteers.

And the rooms are houses. Every room has a story. Open the room, there is a deep story.

Read more:

NATO ships to combat migrant-smuggling networks in Aegean

Parts of Greece are becoming massive refugee camps

Greeces abandoned Olympic stadiums get a second life: Housing refugees

Todays coverage from Post correspondents around the world
Supporters of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan hang an effigy of U.S.-based cleric Fethullah Gulen during a pro-government demonstration last month in Taksim Square in Istanbul. (Kursat Bayhan/Getty Images)

Last months failed coup brought into relief a bitter struggle at the heart of Turkish politics.

From his humble childhood in a working-class neighborhood of Istanbul, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has steadily transformed the nation in his image over almost a decade and a half in power and become the Turkish republics most influential leader since its founder, Mustafa Kemal Ataturk.

Halfway around the world, Fethullah Gulen, a 77-year-old imam, presides over a somewhat opaque network of schools, charities and businesses in Turkey and more than 100 other countries. He has lived in self-imposed exile in the United States since 1997 and has acted as a kind of global spiritual leader, advocating peace and tolerance.

Just years ago, the two devout rivals were locked in a tactical alliance against an old enemy  Turkeys once-entrenched secularist establishment. But the understanding between their camps eventually crumbled into a fight for power, one that came dramatically to the surface in the July 15 coup attempt by a rebellious faction of the military. Some 270 people died during the 12-hour revolt, including 24 of the coup plotters.

Now an enormous purge of suspected Gulenists is underway.

Turkish Muslim cleric Fethullah Gulen sits at his residence in Saylorsburg, Pa., in March 2014. (Selahattin Sevi/AP)

[An old-school coup fails to topple Turkeys powerful president]

Much of the Turkish public and the main opposition parties have rallied around the government despite their differences. Gulen and his congregation seem to be everyones scapegoat.

Not long ago, though, Turkeys leadership had a very different perspective.

In May 2012, Turkeys then finance minister delivered an hour-long address to the Rumi Forum, a Washington-based interfaith organization that espouses Gulens teachings. The minister, Mehmet Simsek, chatted about his countrys economy. The tone of the conversation was that of a dialogue among friends.

Simsek, now a deputy prime minister who voiced angry attacks on Gulen after the failed coup, is hardly alone. An array of officials from Erdogans ruling Justice and Development Party, or AKP, who once collaborated with Gulenists have vociferously condemned the preachers movement.

The Gulenists chose to strike last month, Ankaras narrative goes, once they became aware of government plans to oust them from positions in the military. Senior AKP politicians have likened Gulen to Osama bin Laden and Irans Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, a cleric in exile who returned home at the right moment to found a theocratic republic.

Gulen and his supporters overseas strenuously deny involvement in the coup plot and reject such characterization. His sympathizers invoke the not-so-distant past.

Why did Erdogan support the movement more than a few years ago, asked Sevgi Akarcesme, the editor of a now-shuttered newspaper connected to Gulens movement. Why did they openly support Gulen events?

Since 2013, the rivalry between the AKP and the Gulenists has shadowed Turkish politics. The government carried out small-scale purges and actions against perceived Gulenist organizations, including the Zaman newspaper, which was once Turkeys biggest daily and Akarcesmes employer until the state seized it in March.

AKP leaders now say they were hoodwinked by their old alliances.

For a long time, we couldnt see that this group was an instrument and cover for other goals and sinister calculations, Erdogan said in a speech on Wednesday.

[The execution of a former Turkish leader that still haunts Erdogan]

Gulen has repeatedly denied any direct connection to the coup plot.

If there is anything I told anyone about this verbally, if there is any phone conversation, if one-tenth of this accusation is correct . . . I would bend my neck and would say, They are telling the truth. Let them take me away. Let them hang me,  Gulen said in an interview with CNN Sunday.

The Turks have requested Gulens extradition from the United States. American officials said they have yet to see sufficient evidence implicating him.

The new-age preacher

When the AKP came to power in 2002, it was a party largely composed of political outsiders, at odds with the military as well as a secularist establishment that had long balked at Islam in politics.

The AKP had nothing except for its popular support. It came into government as if it was like an alien from Jupiter or Saturn landing on Earth, said Halil Berktay, a professor of history at Sabanci University in Istanbul, adding that Erdogans party eventually concluded an unholy alliance with the Gulenists already installed in various corners of the Turkish state and enabled the promotion of countless more over the years.

The AKP and the Gulenists have the same ideology. They both want to see a religious country, to give it the color of Islam, said Levent Gultekin, a former Islamist and a popular commentator and columnist. Its just their direction is different.

While the AKPs ticket was mass mobilization and electoral democracy, emerging as the party of pious conservatives and merchant classes outside the countrys cosmopolitan coastal cities, the Gulenists entered the state in a more clandestine fashion.

The preachers movement espouses a kind of moderate Islam and a rhetoric of modernity, peace and service, which its adherents say should be seen as an antidote to the extremism of groups such as the Islamic State.

But if you listen to the Gulenists critics, the group operates with the cultish weirdness of Scientologists and militant discipline of the Jesuits.

The cemaat, or congregation, as most Turks refer to the movement, came to the fore in the 1980s after a military coup that targeted leftists and created space for a kind of political Islam to make inroads in doggedly secular Turkey. Its supporters set up schools that churned out a new generation of civil servants and intellectuals who started to enter the ranks of the government bureaucracy once wholly dominated by Turkeys secularist elite.

A network of Gulen-linked business groups, charities and schools spread around the world and, in some places, served as a surrogate for Turkish soft power  it is said, for example, that the aggressive Turkish diplomatic expansion in Latin America and Africa under Erdogans watch was facilitated by Gulenist contacts. Two leading schools as well as a hospital connected to Gulen in Mogadishu, the war-ravaged capital of Somalia, were shut down in the days after the failed coup.

In Western capitals such as Brussels and Washington, Gulenist-led organizations often acted as an informal lobby group for Ankara.

But at home, the secretiveness of the organization  even experts on the Gulenists are not certain how large the cemaats membership is  surrounded it for years in a thick cloud of suspicion and fear.

A power struggle

Beginning in 2007, pro-Gulen prosecutors launched a string of investigations into the military for alleged plots to overthrow Erdogans government. Hundreds of military officers were eventually sent to jail.

But as legal proceedings dragged on and arrests mounted, the trials began to look more like a Pyrrhic victory for Erdogan, who was eventually forced to distance himself from the hearings as they seemed to turn into a witch hunt.

Some of the cases involving Gulen-linked prosecutors had used falsified evidence, and higher courts eventually overturned the convictions in both cases.

Ilker Basbug, a former chief of the Turkish military and one of the generals who was convicted and later exonerated, told CNN Turk this week that he had warned the AKP about the threat posed by the Gulenists.

I said to them today the threat is to us, Basbug said, referring to the military, but tomorrow it will be you.

By December 2013, the alliance had totally fallen apart, with the Gulenists installed in Turkeys police and judiciary launching corruption probes into Erdogan and his government that led to four ministers losing their jobs. The investigations faltered as the AKP hit back.

Its not quite clear who cast the first blow. Observers suggest it also had to do with growing tensions over the control of Turkeys intelligence agency and Erdogans increasing annoyance with the extent of Gulenist infiltration.

Authorities started closing Gulen-linked schools and media outlets, while commencing a steady purge of the police and judiciary. By the end of 2015, the AKP government had declared Gulens movement a terrorist organization.

According to government statements after the failed July 15 coup attempt, intelligence officials had known for about a year of some 40,000 suspected Gulenists in the country, including 600 senior military officers, after decrypting millions of text messages sent through a messaging app.

Now, Turkey is in the grips of an unprecedented crackdown. The government declared a three-month state of emergency, and some 80,000 people have been detained, arrested or suspended from their jobs.

[Turkish authorities expand massive purge of opponents]

International rights groups and opponents of the government are deeply concerned by the scale of the backlash, which has netted numerous liberal journalists and others with little real connection to Gulen, they say.

There are signals of the intention to fabricate thought crime and collectively punish people, said Sezgin Tanrikulu, an opposition parliamentarian.

Yet, by and large, there is little sympathy for the Gulenists among the wider Turkish public, even among those who are opposed to Erdogans increasingly authoritarian style. Opinion polls indicated vast majorities pinning the coup on the cleric and his followers.

People realize, at the end of the day, they can get rid of Erdogan at the voting booth, said Gultekin, the columnist. But how do you get rid of Gulen?

Erin Cunningham and Zeynep Karatas contributed to this report.

Read more:

Turkish lawyer files complaint accusing U.S. generals of aiding coup attempt

Turkeys Erdogan always feared a coup. He was proved right.

Todays coverage from Post correspondents around the world
U.S. based cleric Fethullah Gulen at his home in Saylorsburg, Pa., last month. (Charles Mostoller/Reuters)

Allegations by Turkey that Fethullah Gulen was responsible for the recent coup attempt there are absurd, and the Turkish effort to have him extradited from the United States to face charges is unfounded and baseless, lawyers representing Gulen said Friday at a news conference in Washington.

A Turkish court issued an arrest warrant Thursday for Gulen, an influential Muslim cleric who has lived in the United States since 1999 and is the leader of a vast network of organizations, schools and followers in Turkey and around the world.

The warrant for Gulens arrest is seen as a preliminary step by Turkey before it officially requests his extradition. Turkey has designated the Gulen movement as a terrorist organization and has targeted its members in key sectors, including the police, the judiciary, the media and schools.

Though a sharp critic of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, his former ally, Gulen has denied any involvement with the failed coup and condemned the July 15 military uprising.

[Hes 77, frail and lives in Pennsylvania. Turkey says hes a coup mastermind]

Fethullah Gulen is an Islamic scholar and cleric from Turkey. He left Turkey in 1999, and is now living in self-imposed exile in Pennsylvania. (Claritza Jimenez,Jason Aldag/The Washington Post)

But since then, the crazy allegations against Gulen have only increased, said Reid Weingarten, a powerful Washington defense lawyer with Steptoe & Johnson, the firm serving as the clerics counsel.

Weingarten offered his own explanations for what most likely sparked the coup attempt, including the possibility that disaffected members of the military who thought they were about to be purged took precipitous action. He also suggested that Erdogan staged the coup himself, noting how quickly the president was able to marshal supporters to go into the streets to support him. All of a sudden they are out in force. . . . Sure seems this thing was precooked, Weingarten said.

Describing his client as an elderly, frail religious leader, Weingarten argued that Gulen, who lives in a compound in the Pocono Mountains in Pennsylvania, has done nothing that would meet any of the legal justifications for extradition under U.S. law and that he poses no threat.

Hes pro-Democracy, pro womens rights, a moderate, modern, anti-violence, anti-terror Islamic scholar, Weingarten said. Sounds like a really dangerous person, doesnt it?

Robert Amsterdam, an international lawyer hired by the Turkish government to investigate Gulens activities outside Turkey, said he was not involved in the extradition case but took issue with Weingartens statement that Gulen could not be extradited.

They obviously havent read the extradition treaty, he said.

He also said that while Gulens attorneys have every right to strenuously argue for their client, he also strenuously believes that Gulen is not the fragile, reclusive imam portrayed by Weingarten.

1 of 63 Full Screen Autoplay Close Skip Ad  The scene in Turkey after an attempted coup View Photos The nations military tried to overthrow the government of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Caption The nations military tried to overthrow the government of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. July 17, 2016 Women mourn near the flag-draped coffin of a relative in Istanbul, during the funeral of seven victims of the July 15 coup attempt. Aris Messinis/AFP/Getty Images Wait 1 second to continue.

He said that there have been federal investigations of Gulens movement and enterprises associated with him, and that there is evidence he is not some pastoral imam but someone very involved in business and politics.

Turkey is a crucial military ally of the United States, and the country has been upping pressure on Washington to hand over Gulen to be tried at home.

President Obama said July 22 that he told Erdogan that Turkey should present us with evidence that they think indicates the involvement of Mr. Gulen or anybody else who is here in the United States, and it would be processed the way that it is always processed, and that we would certainly take any allegations like this seriously.

Weingarten said he and his partner, Michael Miller, had full confidence that the Justice Department lawyers who will be looking at Turkeys request for extradition understand the process.

Extradition is fundamentally a legal process, and we are lawyers, and we deal with evidence and we deal with due process, he said. And guess what, in extradition proceedings, evidence matters, and due process matters.

Read more:
Since the failed military coup in mid July, the drumbeat against Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has been incessant. Leading German politicians are demanding firm measures against the Turkish government and the break-off of accession talks to the European Union. The Left Party and Green Party are demanding economic sanctions against Ankara, and the mainstream media are agitating against the Sultan of the Bosphorus, as the Bild newspaper calls Erdogan.

At the same time, information is mounting about the involvement of the United States and potentially other countries in the attempted coup. The media campaign makes clear that the governments in Washington, Berlin and other NATO capitals have not accepted that the coup failed. They are preparing the next stage of the regime change operation in Turkey.

Erdogan responded to the failed coup with the adoption of authoritarian measures. He has sacked or arrested tens of thousands of public servants whom he has described as traitors or opponents, and he is seeking to strengthen his personal power. The current media outcry, however, is not concerned with the defence of democracy in Turkey. In reality, an elected government is to be removed from office because it is an impediment to the war plans of Washington and Berlin.

The situation strongly recalls the Ukrainian crisis in the winter of 2013/14. The then president in Kiev, Victor Yanukovich, was an ally of Moscow and an obstacle to NATOs encirclement of Russia. When he refused in November 2013 to sign an Association Agreement with the EU, the media initiated a fierce campaign against the undemocratic and corrupt regime in Kiev. In reality, the main concerns were the restriction of Russias sphere of influence and the expansion of NATOs territory to Russias western border.

The United States and Germany systematically promoted the pro-EU opposition, which organised the demonstrations against Yanukovich. They not only based themselves on right-wing oligarchs like Julia Timoshenko, but also on openly fascist parties such as Svoboda and the paramilitary militia, Right Sector.

Reliant on these forces, they organised a coup and brought an oligarchic regime to power led by Poroshenko and Yatsenyuk, which plunged the east of the country into civil war, and fueled the danger of war with Russia. It has since collaborated closely with Washington and the EU. The social and political conditions of the Ukrainian population have worsened dramatically.

It is now Turkeys turn. Erdogans nationalist politics, with which he aims to consolidate his right-wing, Islamist regime, has previously resulted in tensions with Berlin and Washington. In 2003, Ankara refused to allow the US to attack Iraq from Turkish territory. In 2010, it opposed US efforts to secure UN sanctions against Iran. And in 2013, it shocked the US and NATO by announcing its intention to purchase a Chinese missile defence system.

Relations deteriorated further with the war in Syria. Turkey continued to rely upon the Islamic State militia to overthrow the Syrian regime, when the US had already carried out an about face and begun bombarding IS. While Washington closely cooperated with Kurdish militias in Syria, which are aligned with the PKK, Ankara feared strengthening the Kurds and attacked them politically and militarily.

In Germany there was opposition, primarily from right-wing circles, to the deal on refugees negotiated by Chancellor Merkel in the name of the EU with the Erdogan regime. The concern was that too great a reliance on Ankara could prove an obstacle to the increasingly aggressive pursuit of German interests in the Middle East. When in May, Erdogan removed Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu, who was seen as a guarantor of close relations with the EU, there was outrage in Berlin.

When Erdogan then apologised at the end of June in Moscow for the downing of a Russian fighter jet last November, initiated close ties with Russia and hinted that he could improve his stance towards Iran and the Syrian government, alarm bells rang in Washington.

American imperialism is not prepared to accept such a strategic reorientation in the region, and Washington has therefore been stepping up pressure on Ankara since the failed coup.

The German government supports the US governments actions, but is pursuing its own aims.

This is why an attempt to militarily overthrow the government by NATOs second largest army, which has close ties to the US and German armed forces, did not produce any serious protests. On the contrary, in the wake of the failed coup, pressure from all sides increased against the Turkish government, which only narrowly avoided the attempted overthrow.

Washington and Berlin have evidently not given up their plans for a regime change operation.

When 40,000 Turkish people living in Germany gathered for a rally in Cologne last Sunday to celebrate the defeat of the coup, no German politician was prepared to speak. Instead, proposals were initially floated to cancel the rally on security grounds. It was ultimately allowed to proceed, under a major security build-up.

President Erdogan, who only narrowly escaped with his life during the coup, was not permitted to deliver a video message to the participants. The German Constitutional Court, which normally takes months to issue rulings, dismissed an application from the event organisers in an emergency session. Prior to this, the Superior Administrative Court in Munster arbitrarily ruled that the constitutional right to assembly did not permit any involvement by speakers from abroad.

The political hostility to a rally explicitly directed against a military coup was significant. There were five counter-demonstrations, ranging from one organised by the far right to another by a coalition of the youth organisations of the Social Democrats, Greens, Left Party and free market FDP under the slogan Stop Erdogan. All of them protested against an elected government which had just survived an attempted coup.

The campaign against the Turkish government has continued. It involves not only the traditional right-wing papers Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, Die Welt and Bild, but also the formerly more moderate Suddeutsche Zeitung, Frankfurter Rundschau and taz. Above all, representatives of the Greens and Left Party are seeking to outdo each other with poisonous tirades against the Turkish president.

Characteristic is an article by Claus Staeck entitled Turkey: professional counter-coup in the Frankfurter Rundschau. The SPD functionary and graphic designer, who produced election posters for Willy Brandt in the 1970s and was president of the Academy of Arts in Berlin until a year ago, raged against Erdogan.

Complaining about the failure of the coup and describing its leaders flatteringly as rebels, Staeck wrote, Without investigating the rebels motives, the Erdogan regime immediately received the guaranteed solidarity of the free world from the media and politicians: stability and NATO were at risk. As if, amid all the outcry about values there was anything left to defend in, or with Turkey. Then he stated that the struggle against the military was preparing the road to dictatorship.

Staeck speaks on behalf of a privileged layer of the cultural elite, which with the return of German militarism has rushed, with its human rights bombast, into the camp of imperialist great power politics.

A particularly prominent role in this army of human rights imperialism is played by the Left Party. Its representative on the parliamentary foreign affairs committee, Sevim Dagdelen, demanded that Chancellor Merkel use more firmness against Erdogan. Concerning the rally on Sunday in Cologne, she told the Neue Osnabrucker Zeitung that there should not only be a ban on video links. We finally need sanctions against Erdogan due to his brutal repressive policies of torture and mass detention. His bank accounts must be blocked.

The chairwoman of the Greens parliamentary group, Katrin Goring-Eckardt, called on the EU no longer to be blackmailed by Turkey. The orgy of violence by Erdogan against democracy and the constitutional state had to stop immediately, she said.
The American woman stabbed to death Wednesday night in London by a knife-wielding attacker who injured five others is the wife of a Florida State University professor who was teaching abroad, PEOPLE confirms.



Darlene Horton was the wife of Richard Wagner, an FSU psychology professor who had just finished teaching in the university's summer abroad program, reports the Tallahassee Democrat.



In a statement to PEOPLE, the university confirms that Wagner and his wife were in Central London's Russell Square where the attack occurred. Horton died at the scene.



 Want to keep up with the latest crime coverage? Click here to get breaking crime news, ongoing trial coverage and details of intriguing unsolved cases in the True Crime Newsletter.



"James Pitts, director of FSU International Programs, said students already had left the program for the summer, and none were involved in the incident at Russell Square," the university's statement said. "Pitts said that university administrators in London immediately offered assistance to Wagner. The couple had planned to return to Tallahassee today, Aug. 4."



"There are no words to express our heartache over this terrible tragedy," said FSU President John Thrasher in the statement. "We are shocked that such senseless violence has touched our own FSU family, and we will do all we can to assist Professor Wagner and his loved ones, as well as his friends and colleagues in the psychology department, as they mourn."



Florida Gov. Rick Scott mourned the loss in a Tweet: "Extremely saddened to hear about the loss of Darlene Horton in London. Ann and I are praying for her family and loved ones."



Authorities who initially faced questions about a terrorist attack later backed off that concern, stating the investigation revealed the assailant was "triggered by mental heath issues," said Mark Rowley, an assistant commissioner with London's Metropolitan Police, according to The New York Times. Police arrested a 19-year-old Norwegian man of Somali ancestry, but said his background did not appear "relevant to the motivation for his actions."



"So far we have found no evidence of radicalization or anything that would suggest the man in our custody was motivated by terrorism," Rowley told reporters.
Sen. Bill Kintner of Papillion broke his silence Friday.

He said he won't resign from the Legislature, and he will apologize only to his wife and his God for engaging in cybersex last summer with a woman.

"I am sorry that I sinned against God," he said. "I am sorry that I sinned against my wife."

In an interview, he did not apologize to his constituents or fellow senators. In fact, he questioned why senators would be talking about impeaching or expelling him, when a number of them have shown a lack of "standards" themselves.

Kintner was fined $1,000 Friday by the Nebraska Accountability and Disclosure Commission for using his state laptop computer during the exchange on an online video call.

After an investigation by the Nebraska State Patrol, no criminal charges were filed.

Kintner said the incident began with a casual conversation on Facebook nearly a week before he connected with the woman over Skype. He said they talked via Facebook about their families and their jobs first.

"Then she finally said, 'Let's go on Skype,'" he said.

At that time, he said he was on a trip to Boston not related to the Legislature.

After the cybersex took place, he said, someone quickly contacted him and asked him to send $4,500 or his life and marriage would be destroyed. He put the person off, saying he would take care of it when he got home.

He disconnected Skype, and the person contacted him one more time via Facebook, asking for $2,000, he said. He said no and didn't hear from the person again.

Because of the patrol investigation, Kintner said, he believes this wasn't a woman just sitting in her living room. It was probably a small crime syndicate out of the Ivory Coast using Russian computer servers.

He used his legislative laptop during the exchange. He said he has several computers and keeps one or two with him at any given time so he can check emails, and try to stay in touch.

"To be honest with you, I don't always pay attention to which computer I'm on," he said.

What happened was a "real wake-up call," Kintner said.

A week and a half after he disclosed the cybersex to his wife last summer, she was diagnosed with cancer, he said. Lauren Kintner is the governor's chief policy adviser.

"My wife has shown absolutely incredible grace and forgiveness, more so than any man deserves," he said during an interview in his office with reporters after announcement of the fine. "I am just fortunate that we have a good, strong marriage and my faith is stronger than ever."

If constituents in District 2 want an apology, they can contact him and talk to him about it, Kintner said. And he doesn't feel he owes an apology to the Legislature.

He asked what standard he violated to embarrass the institution of the Legislature that would require him to apologize to senators.

Other senators, he said, have acted in ways that apparently did not violate legislative standards: drinking and driving, adultery and affairs, fornication between senators and staff, habitual drunkenness and inflammatory rhetoric that could incite violence against police officers.

"So what standard are all 49 senators held to that I violated?" he asked. "I would love to know."

As for his constituents, Kintner said, the cybersex incident didn't invalidate any political positions he's taken in the Legislature.

"I'm still one of the leading advocates for limited government, for lower taxes, for public safety in our state."

One sin doesn't take away everything he's done in the past three years, he said.

"My reputation's still there. I'm still a fighter for the taxpayers," he said.

His 2016 legislative session, which took place months after the cybersex incident, was a good one by anyone's standards, he said.

"I dealt with it. I moved on. I continued to serve the taxpayers, as I will continue now," he said.

He said he belongs in the Legislature, despite calls for his resignation from Gov. Pete Ricketts, Speaker Galen Hadley and Executive Board Chairman Bob Krist.

He believes staying is not a political decision but part of God's plan for him, to be an effective advocate in the Legislature and to be a loving husband.

Kintner said people who live long enough in "this fallen world" eventually find themselves in a situation in which they've said or done something that falls short of their own standards.

"Unfortunately, that is where I found myself over a year ago," he said.

Kintner said he prayed for a week over the matter, as did his staff, his wife, and a number of pastors.

"After doing that for a week, I am comfortable where I am right now," he said.

Omaha Sen. Ernie Chambers has promised to propose impeachment or expulsion if Kintner does not resign, and to bring a full discussion of Kintner's indiscretions into legislative debate in January.

"Senator Chambers does not occupy the moral high ground in this Legislature," Kintner said. "Not on this issue or any other moral issue."

He said Chambers has made comments that Kintner believed appeared to threaten police officers.

"You need 25 votes. We all need each other down here," Kintner said. "We all have to work together for the common good of the state."

He said he has been in contact with a number of senators, and they have been supportive.

Kintner said he felt his due process was violated when stories were written last week about the incident. He said the stories were full of misrepresentations and misstatements.

"There has never been any video with adult content on any computer that I own or that I operate," he said.

Skype is an online video chat program, but, generally, no permanent video is recorded.

When asked how he was doing, Kintner said he's never been happier.

"I go home to a loving wife, a great marriage. My walk with Christ is stronger than it's ever been," he said.

What happened to him was something all men need to understand, he said, "that sexual sin is the way Satan gets to us."

He offered some advice to men that he said he is now following himself.

* Don't do anything you wouldn't do with your wife sitting next to you.

* Have an accountability partner, someone in your life you trust to talk to about marriage issues.

* Don't put yourself in a position to fail. If you find yourself on an adult website, or alone with a single woman at night, get out of there.

* Give your wife your computer passwords and let her see everything you're doing.
Donald Trump was interrupted numerous times on Thursday while stumping in Portland, Maine.

A group of people were removed from the event, all holding pocket Constitutions, a nod to the now-iconic moment by the father of a fallen U.S. soldier who spoke during the Democratic National Convention, blasting Trump for his anti-immigration rhetoric.

It appears at one point, one of the protesters had a whistle. The protesters were booed and called "traitors" as they were removed.

Trump stopped and watched every time he was interrupted. The Republican presidential nominee did not say much concerning the protesters other than commenting on how safe his rallies are because of the heavy police presence.

During one of the interruptions, Trump began shaking hands with supporters seated behind him.

Hillary Clinton also had to deal with protesters on Thursday.

The Democratic presidential nominee was swarmed by Secret Service agents when animal rights protesters got too close to her while she was stumping in Nevada.

Clinton responded to the commotion by saying, "And apparently these people are here to protest Trump, because Trump and his kids have killed a lot of animals."

Watch video from both rallies below.

Another protester just escorted out. Holding pocket constitutions. #mepolitics #WGME pic.twitter.com/4Nhyob3EiG

- Dan Lampariello (@DanWGME) August 4, 2016

Protesters standing silently with copies of the Constitution held high booed by @realDonaldTrump supporters: pic.twitter.com/9swBnvoBYn

- Jeremy Diamond (@JDiamond1) August 4, 2016

Secret service storms protesters at Clinton rally. pic.twitter.com/pUWz6xF5gV

- Chris Reed (@CDReed) August 4, 2016
Cara Delevingne Suicide Squad

Getty Image

The nonstop hype and marketing for David Ayers Suicide Squad undoubtedly had fans and critics thinking that Warner Bros. was throwing everything into making sure this movie was not another Batman v Superman. For weeks and even months, we were treated to action-packed clips and trailers that made it seem like this movie would be a villain-lovers dream, as the bad guys took to the streets to unleash their own brand of antiheroics. On top of that, Jared Leto proclaimed himself King of the Method Actors and everyone expected his Joker to be the star of the film.

Then the embargo for Suicide Squad reviews passed and it was Batman v Superman all over again. In fact, it feels worse than that, because between Vanity Fairs Not even the good kind of bad review and Mashable making a case for it being the most disappointing movie of all-time, the reviews cant get much worse. Short of someone claiming Suicide Squad forced his wife to divorce him, I think weve reached rock bottom. Still, Ayer stands by his film and says he only cares about the fans, and now model-turned-actress Cara Delevingne is joining him, but shes also firing back.

The critics have been absolutely horrific, theyre really, really horrible. You know, I just dont think they like superhero movies, Cara Delevingne, who plays the Enchantress, told Reuters at the films London premiere. Delevingne added that while this movie isnt perfect, it was made for the fans. (Via Reuters)

She might be on to something, because it seems like some critics are turning DC bashing into a sport. Its like, who can come up with the meanest possible review? Combined with Ayer shouting, F*ck Marvel, albeit jokingly, it does nothing but stir the pot with hardcore fans, and thats how you get wild theories that Marvel pays critics. Worst of all, it causes fatigue for us fans who just want to watch fun comic book movies, so everyone needs to chill out.

For once, lets all come together, embrace the entire genre, and do something productive with our energy like make fun of Letos outfit. Delevingne knows what Im talking about.

Jared Leto's dumb outfit

Getty Image
It was just this July that the death of Alton Sterling triggered protests all over the nation, but especially in his hometown of Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The protests drew hundreds of participants ending with almost 200 arrests. Among them was prominent Black Lives Matter activist, DeRay McKesson.

A multitude of the arrests made were caught on camera, McKessons being caught live on Periscope which garnered a viral support campaign on social media. It appeared that protestors were being peaceful and were suddenly charged and handcuffed. McKesson, along with fellow protestors Kira Marrero and Gloria La Riva, are suing the city of Baton Rouge claiming that officers were overly aggressive and militant in their arrests. The officers were carrying machine guns, driving tanks and wearing riot gear. Journalists have confirmed that weapons were pointed at them and several peaceful protestors, as McKesson has cited in his lawsuit.

Although the city recently declared that many of the protestors would not be prosecuted, all of the plaintiffs in the lawsuit included, McKesson and his fellow protestors are pressing forward. The lawsuit is seeking damages for lawyer and administration fees, as well as for their arrest records to be expunged.
Libyan forces

Here is what you need to know.

Jobs report crushes expectations. The US economy added 255,000 jobs in July, topping the 180,000 that was expected by economists surveyed by Bloomberg. Additionally, the unemployment rate held at 4.9% and average hourly earnings increased 2.6% year-over-year.

Support for Angela Merkel is cratering. German Chancellor Angela Merkel is plunging in the polls in the wake of the recent terrorist attacks in Germany. Reuters reports that a survey conducted by the public broadcaster ARD shows that support for Merkel has fallen 12 points since July to 47%. This is the second-lowest reading since Merkel's reelection in 2013.

Goldman Sachs might have to make some changes in the UK. According to a US regulatory filing, the investment bank says the Brexit could "adversely affect" certain parts of its business, and it might be forced to restructure some of its business. The filing comes a little more than a month after Richard Gnodde, the cohead of the Investment Banking Division of Goldman Sachs, suggested the company could move workers out of the UK and into other countries within the European Union because of the vote for a British exit from the EU.

Apple is changing its approach to TV. The tech giant is building a TV guide that will allow it to connect to services like Netflix, HBO, and ESPN, a source told Recode's Peter Kafka.

Amazon is leasing airplanes. Amazon One, a converted Boeing 767 that is operated by Atlas Air and that is the first plane to bear the company's name, was unveiled Thursday. The company says it is leasing 40 planes, 11 of which are dedicated to bringing packages around the world.

Jeff Bezos is selling Amazon stock. Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos sold a million shares of stock this week, bringing in more than $755 million. Just last month, he moved ahead of Warren Buffett as the third-richest person in the world. Bezos is an investor in Business Insider.

Story continues

LinkedIn crushes estimates. The business networking site earned $1.13 a share as revenue spiked 31% to $712 million. "We achieved record levels of operating cash flow, while continuing to invest heavily across our core member and customer value propositions," CFO Steve Sordello said. Back in July, Microsoft agreed to acquire LinkedIn for about $26 billion.

Stock markets around the world are higher. Hong Kong's Hang Seng (+1.4%) led the gains in Asia, and Spain's IBEX (+0.8%) paces the advance in Europe. S&P 500 futures are up 4.75 points at 2,164.00.

Earnings reporting is light. Liberty Media and Virgin America will report ahead of the opening bell, while Berkshire Hathaway releases its quarterly results after markets close.

US economic data flows. Aside from the jobs report, the trade balance will be released at 8:30 a.m. ET and consumer credit will cross the wires at 3 p.m. ET. The Baker Hughes rig count is due out at 1 p.m. ET. The US 10-year yield is down 1 basis point at 1.49%.

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There's no way around it: College is expensive. And it's not just the tuition and books  you also need somewhere to live. HomeUnion, an online real estate investment management firm, released a list of the college towns with the most expensive off-campus rents throughout the nation.

"As college students return to school this month, we wanted to let them and their families know where off-campus rents would be the most expensive," Steve Hovland, director of research for HomeUnion said in a press release. "This study illustrates where living near campus is disproportionately more expensive than the market as a whole, and off-campus housing may eat into their college savings."

To create this list, HomeUnion first narrowed the list of all colleges and universities in the U.S., only considering schools where more than 15,000 students are enrolled. From there, the group looked at their internal database from the second quarter of 2016 to determine median monthly rent within a two-mile radius of university campuses and then compared it to the market-rate monthly rent in the metro area. Here's what they came up with.

The 15 Metro Areas & Schools Where Housing is Most Expensive

1. Los Angeles/Westwood: University of California, Los Angeles

Median Rent: $4,343 (80% above market)

Market Rent: $2,409

Enrollment: 43,000

2. San Jose/Palo Alto, California: Stanford University

Median Rent: $5,705 (63% above market)

Market Rent: $3,499

Enrollment: 16,000

3. Miami/Coral Gables: University of Miami

Median Rent: $2,818 (44% above market)

Market Rent: $1,916

Enrollment: 17,000

4. Boston/Cambridge: Harvard University

Median Rent: $3,287 (44% above market)

Market Rent: $2,276

Enrollment: 21,000

5. Oakland/Berkeley, California: University of California, Berkeley

Median Rent: $4,070 (44% above market)

Market Rent: $2,822

Enrollment: 37,000

6. Salt Lake City/East SLC, Utah: University of Utah

Median Rent: $2,043 (41% above market)

Market Rent: $1,443

Enrollment: 32,000

Story continues

7. Dallas/Richardson: University of Texas, Dallas

Median Rent: $2,058 (39% above market)

Market Rent: $1,476

Enrollment: 23,000

8. Seattle/University District: University of Washington

Median Rent: $2,786 (39% above market)

Market Rent: $2,044

Enrollment: 45,000

9. Lansing/East Lansing, Michigan: Michigan State University

Median Rent: $1,282 (35% above market)

Market Rent: $948

Enrollment: 51,000

10. Portland, Oregon: Portland State University

Median Rent: $2,327 (34% above market)

Market Rent: $1,724

Enrollment: 28,000

11. New York City/Greenwich Village: New York University

Median Rent: $2,881 (34% above market)

Market Rent: $2,139

Enrollment: 57,000

12. Chapel Hill/University City, North Carolina: University of North Carolina

Median Rent: $1,739 (31% above market)

Market Rent: $1,329

Enrollment: 29,000

13. Gainesville/West Hills, Florida: Santa Fe College

Median Rent: $1,510 (29% above market)

Market Rent: $1,173

Enrollment: 17,000

14. Springfield/Upham's Corner, Massachusetts: University of Massachusetts

Median Rent: $2,013 (26% above market)

Market Rent: $1,596

Enrollment: 29,000

15. Ithaca/Forest Home, New York: Cornell University

Median Rent: $2,082 (24% above market)

Market Rent: $1,675

Enrollment: 22,000

Creating a Housing Budget

You may not be able to do much about the cost of living in the area where you live, but you can do something about making sure you qualify for a rental. Having a good credit score is important, as landlords often review a version of your credit report during the application process. You can see where your credit currently stands by taking a look at your free credit report summary, updated monthly, on Credit.com.



More from Credit.com


Moscow (AFP) - More than 180,000 Russians have signed an online petition to President Vladimir Putin calling for the resignation of Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev over his recent comments on teachers' pay.

The petition first posted on the website Change.org on Thursday came after the premier advised a low-paid lecturer to go into business if he wanted to make money.

Medvedev's comments -- seen as out-of-touch and uncaring -- unleashed a torrent of criticism in the press and on social media.

"The cabinet should be led by a person who is competent, educated and cares about the country," wrote the petition's author, Alexander Li.

"We are seeing the opposite right now."

The Duma, the lower house of Russia's parliament, is obliged to debate any petition that gets 100,000 signatures.

At a youth education forum on Tuesday, Medvedev was asked by a university lecturer from the impoverished Dagestan region why teachers receive only around 15,000 rubles ($230) per month, while police are significantly better paid.

"There's no need to compare," Medvedev said. "The issue is what you choose in life."

Teaching, he said, "is a vocation. If you want to make money, there are a bunch of great places where you can do that quicker and better in business. And you didn't go into business."

Medvedev -- who served as president from 2008 to 2012 between Putin's presidential terms -- added that a "modern energetic teacher" should be able to find ways to "earn something extra."

Medvedev, who lectured at the law faculty of Saint Petersburg State University in the 1990s, also cited himself as an example of a teacher who succeeded in making a living.

"I just gave a lot of lectures, held seminars," he said. "Overall I was able to make ends meet."

Official statistics show the average monthly salary in Russia is around 37,000 rubles (507 euros, $566). Teachers make an average 32,000 rubles per month but the figure varies greatly depending on the region.

Story continues

In Dagestan, teachers earn a monthly average of 18,000 rubles, Kommersant daily reported.

- 'Hang in there' -

"The prime minister's impressions are completely understandable," said a wry editorial in tabloid Moskovsky Komsomolets.

"We all know very well of government officials who successfully manage to combine their main job with business, including big business."

Novaya Gazeta lashed out at the premier over his remarks.

"Cynicism cannot be at the foundation of the state's domestic policy. That usually ends badly for the state and the bureaucrats," it said.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov declined to comment on the petition.

Other Russian officials have enraged teachers with insensitive comments about their low salaries.

Last year a local lawmaker in the city of Yekaterinburg advised female teachers to find themselves wealthy husbands to ensure their livelihoods.

In May, Medvedev once again sparked public ire after telling a group of pensioners: "There's no money, but hang in there."

The phrase has since gone viral.

Russia's energy-reliant economy is reeling from the fall in oil prices and Western sanctions over Moscow's meddling in Ukraine.
From Town & Country

This summer Woody Allen released his 52nd feature film, Cafe Society, a comedy-drama set in the 1930s. Its star-studded cast - Jesse Eisenberg, Kristen Stewart, Blake Lively, and Steve Carrell - embodies familiar Allen themes: love triangles, glamour, and the enduring power of anxiety.

As for the locations? Decidedly chic. With Hollywood mansions and New York nightclubs, the movie sets dazzle with 1930s extravagance. Cafe Society's production designer, Santo Loquasto - an 18-time Tony Award winner and frequent Allen collaborator- described to T&C how his team mixed "LA treasures" with some common New York locations.

Opening Party Scene

The gleaming white, art-deco home of 1930s Hollywood star Dolores del Rio is nestled in the Santa Monica Hills. Its backyard is the glamorous setting for the outdoor party in Cafe Society's opening scene. Loquasto explained that he remembered this house from a book and thought its bright colors distinguished it from the New York locations. "[The cinematographer] really wanted to create that strong contrast. There is lot of aqua because of the pool, and subtle washed out colors because of the house."

Central Park

Loquasto divulged that Woody Allen selected both Central Park sites for Eisenberg's character Bobby's romantic scenes. His scene with Vonnie (Stewart) took place on Bow Bridge. "Central Park is always a tricky thing and I let Woody take charge of it-he knows better... like a psychiatrist's office," Loquasto said.

Cafe Society's Nightclub

This New York nightclub scenes took place on a set. The design was inspired by a combination of places Loquasto and Allen had visited, even "a touch of El Morocco," a prominent 1930s nightclub. "We're usually in sync, and the nightclub we worked out together." Its zebra stripes are a striking antithesis to the film's Hollywood pastels.

Uncle Phil's House

A 1930s home, which had been restored and expanded, served as the mansion where Uncle Phil, played by Steve Carell lives. "It was an amazing house with a warm feeling because of its Italian-style architecture. It even had the proper time period electric switches, so we added very little," Loquasto explained.

Story continues

The Jazz Clubs

These scenes were shot in a variety of real locations, from a 20s era smoking lounge in California's Redland Heights,to the intimate spot, pictured above, on Brooklyn's Myrtle Ave, and the back of Jimmy's No. 43 in the East Village. "These small gems were usually happened upon," says Loquasto.

Beverly Hills Homes

During Bobby and Vonnie's Hollywood tour, they gaze upon the likes of Joan Crawford and Robert Taylor's illustrious mansions. Their sites weren't staged - they were real Beverly Hills residences. The production department just dressed them appropriately, parking vintage cars in the driveways or using plants to strategically hide security systems.

Bobby's Motel Room

The interior of Bobby's room at the Ali Baba Motel is awash in glowing neutrals. "Woody likes warm-tones," Loquasto emphasized. The filmmakers used a room in Forest Hills, New York to create these scenes.

Bobby and Vonnie's "Mexican joint"

This charming restaurant looks reminiscent of L.A.'s famous Olvera Street circa1932. Yet, Bobby and Vonnie's favorite Hollywood restaurant is a friendly bar in New York's East Village named Jimmy's No. 43. Loquasto noted that the production team simply added the mural, making it "a real treasure."
A Nebraska Court of Appeals judge has affirmed an earlier decision that bars prosecutors from using a Grafton man's statement to law enforcement against him at trial because he agreed to talk "off the record."

Ervin Fuehrer, 61, is charged with first-degree assault and use of a deadly weapon to commit a felony in the March 19, 2015, shooting of his brother, Stephen Preslicka, in Fuehrer's driveway.

The charges each carry a maximum penalty of 50 years in prison if he's convicted.

Preslicka was hit in the leg and the stomach and survived the shooting.

Fuehrer spoke with Fillmore County Sheriff William Burgess at the scene and with a Nebraska State Patrol lieutenant and an investigator later that afternoon, telling them he would talk with them "off the record" about what happened. The investigator told him to go ahead, and they talked about the shooting for nearly an hour.

Fuehrer was not advised of his Miranda rights and didn't sign a waiver form.

Fillmore County District Judge Vicky Johnson ruled in December that Assistant Nebraska Attorneys General Sandra Allen and Laura Nigro, who are prosecuting the case, couldn't use Fuehrer's statements against him at trial.

Prosecutors appealed the ruling during a March hearing.

On June 29, Nebraska Court of Appeals Judge Michael W. Pirtle agreed with Johnson, saying Fuehrer was in custody when he talked with authorities and that Miranda rights should have been given then.

Court records indicate that the sheriff told Fuehrer not to talk about the shooting and didn't ask him any questions while the two were in the cruiser. Fuehrer allegedly made statements about the incident anyway, and Pirtle said that since his Miranda rights hadn't been read he didn't know they could be used against him.

Pirtle said all of the statements he made should be suppressed because they were obtained in violation of his constitutional rights.

The Appeals Court decision came as an unpublished memorandum opinion, which cannot be cited as precedent.

Fuehrer's trial is set for Oct. 17 in Fillmore County.
NextShark

Jahrah, who only has a first name as customary in Indonesia, went out to collect rubber on Sunday morning in the forest in Jambi Province on Sumatra Island, Indonesia. The search parties only found success a day later, on Monday, when they discovered a 22-foot-long (6.7-meters-long) python with a bulging stomach resting in the woods. Her family then reported her missing to the local authorities, and a search has been carried out since then, Anto, the local villages chief, said.
For the 3rd week in a row, the US hit it out of the park with yet another 275 krb sales, both years combined. In only 3 weeks the US has sold a whopping 875 krb. This week by far the high man was Viet at 106 krb. China was 2nd at 35 krb, with Korea and Thai in there for 27 krb and 31 krb. There are 3 days in the market year past this report, so we will get the roll into new crop next week. Part of the reason for the move from the mid 60s to mid 70s was shortages in Pakistan and India. This week they bought only 27 krb, both crop years of upland and pima.



Sales target for new crop is a much larger unknown that production, as there is only a ratio by which the USDA uses until it gets enough data to begin real projections. Their ratio of 58% based on total supply is reasonable by history, so at this time of year there is nothing else to base sales on. Our theory is that with the resurgent mill usage rates in China, this will cause lower manufacture of yarn and textiles in Asian countries that in recent years sprang to make up the gap. Yesterday there was another auction in China and only half the cotton sold, as opposed to nearly all it for all auctions up to now. The Chinese price has dropped 8c in a week, while US landed price has climbed from 75c to 87c in a month. The price difference has gone from nearly 25c China over, to around 10c today.

Varner View

The bull got a triple dose of good news today, via big US sales, dry forecasts in Gujarat and W TX, and lower acreage in India overall. Dennis Gartman has been a bull and suggested today that cotton could rise to $1.00. Two tech newsletters have thrown out 95c as the objective. Sentiment and COT positions are getting very frothy, and we like the idea of farmers getting to 90% sold. Current price is 16c above loan and has much risk. If cotton stays at this level into winter, history suggests world acres can climb to 80 M, up from 74.5 M this year. Our guess is that cotton prices will be much lower around full harvest by Thanksgiving. Todays price is one that rations cotton use vs poly, and greatly encourages as much as 5 to 6 Mb more in world production next year.

Technicals

Spot traded into the breakdown gap from 7564 to 7675 made when July 2014 rolled to Oct. One other objective in this area is the 50% retrace from the 9935 Mar 2014 high to the 5566 Mar 2016 low, at 7650. This week falls on 3 Fib counts from previous highs and lows in the last 2 years (see chart).

thur cotton

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Berlin (AFP) - Long-dead German artist Albrecht Duerer is causing a stir after a collector donated a lost work, bought for a few euros on a French flea market, to a Stuttgart museum.

The bronze engraving titled "Mary crowned by an angel" dates back to the year 1520, Anette Frankenberger of the Staatsgalerie art museum told AFP on Friday, and is in "very good condition".

A retired French archaeologist noticed the work on a bric-a-brac stand in Sarrebourg in eastern France, after the seller cleared it out of a house in the town.

Alerted by his keen eye, he quickly bought the piece -- only to find the stamp of the Staatsgalerie on its back and decide to donate it anonymously.

The man came "personally with his wife" to return the engraving, which had been missing since the end of World War II, Frankenberger said.

The museum spokeswoman added that the piece had likely been wrapped in paper for some of the intervening decades, keeping it in good condition.

It was owned by a former deputy mayor of Sarrebourg before ending up at the second-hand stall, she said.

The museum has not yet decided how to put the engraving on display.

"We have to find the right setting to present it in," Frankenberger said.

Duerer was born in 1471 in the southern German city of Nuremberg and travelled through Italy, becoming one of the first artists to introduce the Renaissance in Germany and northern Europe.
Singapores Marina Bay financial district. (Photo: Associated Press)



Six terror suspects who allegedly had plans to attack Singapores Marina Bay financial district were arrested in Batam, Indonesia on Friday (5 August).



Local media reports cited National Police spokesman Boy Rafli Amar as saying that the group  led by 31-year-old factory worker Gigih Rahmat Dewa  had intended to fire a rocket towards Marina Bay from Batam.



All were said to be members of the Katibah Gigih Rahmat terrorist group and were arrested by Indonesias Special Detachment 88 anti-terror squad.



The suspects, aged 19 to 46, are also said to have links to Bahrun Naim, the alleged mastermind behind the terrorist attacks in Jakarta in January, who is now based in Syria. Gigih is said to have received orders from Bahrun to conduct terror attacks in Indonesia.



They are also said to have had a role in helping Indonesians gain passage to Syria via Turkey.

Heightened inland, border security



According to a Channel NewsAsia report, Singapores Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) said it is aware of the groups plan and has been working with the Indonesian authorities since the plot was uncovered.

Our security agencies have been coordinating closely with the Indonesian authorities since the discovery of this attack plot, to monitor the activities of the group and to apprehend those involved. We are grateful for the good cooperation by the Indonesian authorities and their actions to apprehend the group, the MHA said.



The ministry added that inland and border security measures have been stepped up in response to the prevailing security situation.

Singapore ministers respond

Referring to the attack plan, Minister for Home Affairs and Minister for Law K. Shanmugam said it does not come as a surprise.

I have spoken several times, about plans being made in places just outside Singapore, to target Singapore  we were serious about the threats. The attacks can come from terrorists who seek to come into Singapore; and they can come from terrorists who locate themselves just outside Singapore. Our small size increases these risks, he said, calling for Singaporeans to be extra alert.

Story continues

Other ministers commented on the news too, with Deputy Prime Minister Teo Chee Hean saying on his Facebook page, This development highlights the seriousness of the terrorism threat to Singapore, and the importance of the SG Secure national movement.



SG Secure is a new national plan that incorporates reaching out to local communities  among other security initiatives  in seeking to counter terrorism.

Minister in the Prime Ministers Office Chan Chun Sing also posted on Facebook saying, This is extremely serious Our security agencies and the Indonesian counterparts have done well to foil this plot Our safeguard is eternal vigilance by our security agencies and every Singaporean.
Panama City (AFP) - Around 800 US-bound migrants, most of them from Haiti, Africa, Asia and Cuba, are currently in dense jungle on the Panama-Colombia border, Panama's president said Friday, describing it as "another migration crisis."

The migrants are in the Darien Gap, a swampy forested area teeming with snakes that lies across the border, Juan Carlos Varela told reporters before heading to the region.

No roads cross the southern border, and passage by foot is dangerous and uncertain.

Varela said that the land border was closed but admitted that migrants were crossing it to get past authorities.

He said the number of border patrol officers there had been reinforced but stressed: "This is not Panama's problem, but a global problem."

Many of the migrants were Haitians, he said, who had gone to Brazil after a 2010 earthquake devastated their country. Brazil's current deep recession has motivated them to try to get to the United States through Central America.

Varela said he had talked the issue over with Luis Guillermo Solis, president of Costa Rica.

That northern neighbor was facing its own migration problems with the inflow, hosting around 2,500 migrants unable to get past the next border, into Nicaragua, where security to catch visitors without visas has been greatly increased since late last year.

Colombia, the South American country many migrants use to enter Panama, has adopted emergency measures against illegal migration and is currently looking to deport hundreds of stranded Cubans.
A generous stranger is about to make college much more affordable for eight high school students.

Dale Stoner, an 86-year-old resident of Victorville, California, has offered to pay the teens' complete college tuition.

"To me, it's a very natural thing to do," he told affiliate KCBS.

Read: Twins Offered Combined $1.6 Million in Scholarships After Being Accepted to 56 Colleges

He surprised the first two, Ronaldo Lopez and Tonantcy Vargas, with the news at their school, University Prep, last month.

Vargas broke down as she spoke to the local station about Stoner's incredible gesture.

"I was so shocked... I just started crying," she said.

"This makes me feel very great inside," Lopez added.

Stoner, who has worked hard all his life, earned most of his money from real estate, KCBS reported. He is married with children, who are now all grown.

"To me its all very simple. The money is there," he said. "There is no need on my side, my kids, and so I said 'swell.'"

When he decided to spread his wealth with local students, he turned to the phone book for help. Stoner and his wife, Od, flicked through the pages to find a nearby high school.

University Prep Principal Valarie Hatcher told KCBS she was skeptical when she first received the call but when she met with the couple, she knew they were for real. So she turned to the counseling office and leadership team, who said Vargas and Lopez were the most deserving.

Lopez will attend Cal State Fullerton, while Vargas is going to Cal Poly Pomona.

Read: Boy Who Dreams of Becoming a Firefighter Donates Smoke Detectors to Needy Seniors

Stoner will pay the college tuition for two students from the school each year. He will continue the kind gesture through 2019, paying for eight students in total.

Stoner said he wants nothing back from them apart from knowing that they will graduate  and that they might pay it forward one day in the future.

Story continues

"I want him to see me graduate so that he knows that he didn't do this for nothing," Vargas said.

Watch: Man Who Spent Most of His Life as a Homeless Alcoholic Graduates From College

Related Articles:
In the old days, newspaper libraries, called morgues, kept their clips in dusty manila envelopes with neat little headers typed on the frontas in the Oscar Best Picture winner Spotlight. And the Margaret Herrick Library of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences still does.

So we dropped in to see if the Herrick library had an envelope for The Confessions Of Nat Turner, a never-produced film, based on William Styrons bestselling novel of the same title. The book went into development at 2oth Century Fox back in January 1968. That was some 48 years and nine months before Fox, through its Fox Searchlight Pictures division, will finally release Nate Parkers The Birth Of A Nation, a completely different Nat Turner biopic that already has a fat clip file of its own.

But thats another story. Sort of.

In January, Fox Searchlight set a Sundance Film Festival record by paying $17.5 million to acquire The Birth Of A Nation. But, according to those musty old clips, Fox had once before paid a record price for the Turner story, when it joined producer David Wolper (later famous for Roots) in offering $600,000, plus an added participation, for the Styron novel.

Base price is the largest ever paid for pix rights to a book, Variety wrote on January 15, 1968 (when our sister publications famous slanguage was still in full bloom).

Hopes were high. Norman Jewison, fresh off In The Heat Of The Night, which would win that years Best Picture Oscar, joined project as director, snipped Variety in that same yellow dispatch. It is Scotch-taped to a 35 index card, no digital tricks here.

Producers and agents would soon be circling James Earl Jones, then starring on Broadway in The Great White Hope, and already promised to Fox for a film version of that play. By February 3, 1969, Jones was set for the Turner role  but not before disaster struck, in the form of racial politics.

NEGROES PROTEST TURNER BIO BLARED, I mean, blared the front-page banner headline of The Hollywood Reporter (Price 10 Cents) on Friday, March 29, 1968.

Story continues

Its all right there in a story by Ray Loynd. Godfrey Cambridge and Ossie Davis had joined a protest movement, headed by an ad hoc committee from the Los Angeles Negro community, attacking the Fox film.

Organized by Lee Meriweather, a freelance writer and ex-story analyst at Universal, the Association to End Defamation of Black People sent a five-page (single-spaced) letter to Wolper and Jewison, with a copy to Jack Valenti, then head of the MPAA. It accused the filmmakers of murdering the spirit of Nat Turner, one of the great ethnic heroes of black Americans. Contacted on the set of the Jonathan Winters television show, Cambridge explained that having Styron, a white Southerner, tell the Turner story was worse than hiring a repentant Adolf Eichmann to write the story of the Bible.

In May, Styrons book won the Pulitzer Prize. The motion picture adaptation of this Number One Best-Seller will be released by 2oth Century-Fox insisted the studio, in a full-page ad, in the May 13, 1968 Hollywood Reporter. (Casting notes on the back of the clip have Brenda Vaccaro set for Midnight Cowboy, and two Beatles, John and Paul, booked for tomorrows Tonight Show.)

Two weeks later, Fox hired Lew Peterson, a black playwright, as its Nat Turner screenwriter. But in October 1968, Ebony upped the opposition with an eight-page essay, by Lerone Bennett Jr, titled: The Case Against Styrons Nat Turner. It was an excerpt from a book called William Styrons Nat Turner: Ten Black Writers Respond, edited by John Henrik Clarke.

The studio eventually reached a deal with the protesters under which it agreed to drop the word Confessions from the films title, to expand its historical sourcing beyond the Styron novel, and to eliminate scenes involving rape and homosexuality  all of this according to Variety, on February 12, 1969. Three days later, the Los Angeles Times said the written agreement specified that black slaves in the film would not be depicted as lusting after white women, and that Fox would commit to projecting a positive image of Turner as a black revolutionary.

By then, the protest group, said the Times, had grown to include the activist leaders H. Rap Brown, Stokely Carmichael and LeRoi Jones.

But to no avail. Jewison dropped out  Variety said it was due to a conflict with his commitment to direct Fiddler On The Roof. Sidney Lumet flirted with the project, but backed off.

By September 4, 2001, Styron, who died five years later, was still complaining, in a not-so-musty clip from the Village Voice, about the Fox agreement. They wanted to give Nat a wife, and turn it into a bourgeois family, he said.

Turners legacy, and the next round of clips (including a new Vanity Fair story about the Nat Turner wars, which will soon join the stack), passed to Parker, who wrote, directed, produced and starred in The Birth Of A Nation as an independent production. Through karma or quirk of history, the film found its way to Fox. And Parkers Turner, if not quite bourgeois, is now a largely admirable black revolutionary, with a wife.

Related stories

Josh Mond To Direct Fox's Graphic Novel Adaptation 'Jake Ellis'

'Birth Of A Nation' Helmer Nate Parker Sets New Film With Legendary

Michelle Williams In Talks To Join 'The Greatest Showman' With Hugh Jackman
LONDON (Reuters) - Actress and activist Vanessa Redgrave delivered a letter to Britain's prime minister on Friday calling for unaccompanied child refugees in Calais to be brought to Britain if they have families in Britain. The letter, signed by the 79-year-old screen and stage veteran and politician Alf Dubs, called for an immediate amnesty for the minors identified by Citizens UK, which since last year has been working in the northern French city with child refugees who have family in Britain. Earlier this year, French authorities dismantled the southern half of the Calais camp, known as "The Jungle", where thousands of migrants fleeing war or poverty in the Middle East, Africa and Asia have massed, hoping to go to the UK. "There's 170 children who have relatives in this country and they've been in Calais under terrible conditions, for about nine months some of them. It's an appalling situation," Redgrave told Reuters. "(Prime Minister) Theresa May has stated that she's going to allot money against the slavery programs. Well, these children are being abandoned to slavery whatever form it is, sex or otherwise." Former Prime Minister David Cameron said in May Britain would take more Syrian child refugees who had made it to Europe. The Home Office has said up to 3,000 Syrian and other child refugees from camps in the Middle East and North Africa are to be resettled in Britain over the next four years Citizens UK said in a statement they had reunited more than 40 children with their Britain-based families, but lawyers say the process is long. Three children a week are being reunited on average, it said, and "at the current rate of reunification, many will face another winter in Calais". A committee of MPs recommended this week unaccompanied minors should be welcomed to the UK in "a one-off action". "We have committed through the Immigration Act 2016 to resettle vulnerable children from Europe," a Home Office spokesman said. "We are consulting with local authorities to confirm available capacity and to ensure appropriate support systems are in place." He said Britain was also in "active discussions" with the UN refugee agency and other European governments to "to strengthen and speed up mechanisms to identify, assess and transfer unaccompanied refugee children to the UK and ensure this in their best interests". (Reporting By Alex Fraser; Writing by Georgina Cooper and Marie-Louise Gumuchian; Editing by Larry King)
From ELLE

Though I experienced a great deal of worry and frustration when I was arrested, I expected that everything would work out. I thought people would see I had no reason to kill Hae, and certainly there could be no evidence to say I did. I had complete faith that I would never be held responsible for a crime I did not commit. But by the end of the year, the exact opposite happened. It seemed everyone thought I had reason to kill Hae, and there was hard evidence to prove I did.

Even if you've been living under a rock, it's hard not to recognize the voice above. It belongs to Adnan Syed, the protagonist and center of the groundbreaking podcast "Serial." The passage is taken from a letter written from prison, and it appears in a new book, Adnan's Story: The Search for Truth and Justice After Serial, which will be published next week. The book is the product of the lifelong relationship between Adnan Syed and his friend and advocate Rabia Chaudry.

A quick refresher: Syed was convicted of killing his girlfriend Hae Min Lee in 1999 when he was a high school senior. He was the Prom Prince, ran track, led prayers at his mosque, and was a teenage ladies' man. She was smart, beautiful, and an athlete. "Serial," a spin-off of "This American Life" hosted by Sarah Koenig, took listeners through the details of the case over the course of 12 riveting episodes. "Serial" has been downloaded over 100 million times. Chaudry's follow-up podcast, "Undisclosed," which she started while "Serial" was airing, focused, in its first season, on the minute details of Adnan's case and the way that Koenig was covering it. "Undisclosed" has been downloaded 92 million times. A second season follows a different true-crime case.

Chaudry's new book is more than just a re-cap, however. It's loaded with facts and analysis, details from the original case, and revelations that have emerged since Adnan's incarceration: an alibi provided by Syed's classmate Asia McClain, for example, who said she saw Adnan in the library at the time of the murder, yet was never contacted by Adnan's original lawyer. The book also looks at the issue of possible witness-tampering by Kevin Urick, one of the prosecutors. Then there's an examination of the cell phone records, a key piece of evidence used by the state that may not be as reliable as originally thought.

Story continues

Chaudry is uniquely qualified to tell this story. She is the one who brought the case to Koenig's attention in the first place. And she's known Syed since he was a kid-he's her little brother's best friend, and they are from the same community in Maryland, attended the same mosque, and refer to each other's parents as "aunty" and "uncle." Chaudry sat in the courtroom during the trial, visits him in prison, and the two talk on the phone and write letters. When I spoke to her recently about the case and her new book, she says he's always been "charming, patient, non-confrontational and empathetic."

The book arrives at a particularly important moment. At the end of June 2016, a Baltimore judge vacated Syed's conviction and ordered a retrial. This month, the Maryland attorney general's office appealed the judge's decision to overturn Syed's conviction. What this means for Syed is more uncertainty and waiting.

At the end of June 2016, a Baltimore judge vacated Adnan's conviction and sentence and ordered a retrial.

Since June, Syed has been assisted, pro bono, by Hogan Lovells. The high-powered international law firm has joined forces with Syed's longtime lawyer, Justin Brown, and the Innocence Project. "This is a huge deal," says Chaudry. "[Hogan Lovells] has vast resources. And it really reduces the stress on us to raise money for a new trial. But also it has political implications," she says. "It sends a message to the state-that we've got a lot of firepower and we've got the backing of a firm that has very good relationship with the judiciary."

These resources have given Chaudry and Syed renewed hope. Chaudry says her phone conversations with Syed are usually basic. They talk about family stuff, his case, things he needs, and what's going on and home and work, but he'll never disclose details about life in prison. She says he's careful to make everyone feel like he's doing fine, so as not to be a burden on his friends or family. But lately, for the first time, Adnan has started to talk about life after incarceration.

"It was always too scary and painful to talk about what we would do if he came home," she says. "But since the conviction was overturned, our discussions have been very pragmatic. If he gets bail, where would he live?" Syed's parents live in the same house he grew up in-his younger brother now has his room-but it would be tricky for him to move back in as his mother runs a licensed daycare center from the home.

"Since the conviction was overturned, our discussions have been very pragmatic. If he gets bail, where would he live?"

Chaudry describes her relationship with Adnan as akin to that of a big sister, but there's a maternal urgency in her voice as she talks about his life after jail and her hopes for his future. She says she would recommend he move away from Baltimore-she doesn't trust the city-and start a quiet life somewhere else.

And then there's the current anti-Muslim sentiment within the political climate, and what Chaudry jokingly refers to as the "possible apocalypse" of a Trump presidency. "Muslims have been experiencing a slow boil [of antagonism] in the last 10-15 years," she says. But it's taken what she sees as "full-blown shameless bigotry to make people realize what's happening." According to Chaudry, Syed was indicted and prosecuted because of his religion and ethnicity. The bigotry that she believes colors Donald Trump's worldview is the same bigotry that did in Syed. But she doesn't want to impose any kind of mission on Syed to combat this. "I'm hoping when Adnan comes out  [he'll] just build a small, quiet life and have a family," she says.

Adnan's Story is deeply inflected with Chaudry and Syed's faith. Each chapter of the book starts with a verse from the Koran, a quote from the Prophet, or a prayer. Before the chapter on "Serial," Chaudry quotes a thirteenth-century Sufi mystic: "The truth was a mirror in the hands of god. It fell, and broke into pieces. Everybody took a piece of it, and they looked at it and thought they had the truth." The quotes are purposeful: "I wanted to use those quotes to frame how we approach situations," she says. "For an observant Muslim, when things happen in your life, we reference the scripture  Many of the quotes are with us already. These are very common things, common verses, we think about all the time."

She says while Adnan wasn't very religious as a 17-year-old, he's found comfort in faith in jail. "There's this confusion about how observant Muslims-which I am, Adnan is, his family is-approach issues and think about things. For example, when Adnan says he 'takes responsibility,' people don't understand that from a spiritual or Islamic perspective, we are commanded to take responsibility, not for things we didn't do, but to think about what we have done that has put us in certain situations," she says.

She says while Adnan wasn't very religious as a 17-year-old, he's found comfort in faith in jail.

Part true-crime, part-personal memoir, the book is also about Chaudry herself. In it she opens up about her personal life, including a failing marriage and issues with her then-husband and in-laws. She talks about the terms of her life that were set by her conservative in-laws: She was responsible for cooking, cleaning, taking care of her daughter before heading to law school. In a separate essay not in the book, Chaudry has opened up about domestic violence issues that plagued her first marriage. (She's since happily remarried and has two daughters.) "I also wanted to send a message  that if [domestic violence] happens to you, it doesn't define you. There's no shame in it. There's such a deep shame in the South Asian culture in talking about [divorce, domestic violence]. I knew how much it would help other people, I knew what it would do for other women."

Her openness and assertiveness have made her a target to some. But she's tough, shutting down social-media haters quickly and pointedly. "I can be a little cutting and biting online," she says. "I don't take a lot of crap. When people attack me, I will say, 'fuck off' and I will do it in publicly.  I have had people say, as a Muslim woman you shouldn't talk like that. And to them, I also say 'fuck off.' ... But for the most part, people are very supportive. I get a lot of messages from women saying thank you for not shutting up when people tell you to shut up."
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The Chicago River ran yellow on Thursday. Gross, we don't mean like that.

Every year, Special Olympics Illinois hosts the Windy City Rubber Ducky Derby, a delightful race that begins with over 50,000 rubber ducks being poured from a truck into the river. From there, the stakes are high: participants select a duck to "adopt" in the hopes it'll be first to "sail" (float) across the finish line.

SEE ALSO: Congratulations to this duck that graduated from elementary school

We will be honest. It is extremely exciting.

Please behold the duck river of your dreams  and the ultimate bathtub.

Allegedly, this year's winning duck is pictured in the photo below being held by its doting adopter. We're not sure of the duck's name, but it does have that victorious air about it, don't you think?

And the best part of this whole endeavor? All proceeds go to Special Olympics Illinois. Indeed, last year's Derby raised over $400,000.

[H/T: ABC News]
By Tim Hepher and Alwyn Scott

PARIS/NEW YORK (Reuters) - Airbus (AIR.PA) virtually closed the gap with Boeing in their intense battle for airliner orders in July after booking about half of the 197 firm sales unveiled at last month's Farnborough Airshow, according to the latest data from both companies.

Amid a broad slowdown in purchases, the European planemaker said it had sold a total of 373 jets between January and July, or 323 after adjusting for cancellations.

That compares with 383 airplane sales, or 333 after cancellations, by U.S. rival Boeing (BA.N).

Combined orders at the world's dominant planemakers fell 17 percent from the same period last year, weighed by concerns over the economy and relatively low oil prices, which have taken the edge off demand for new fuel-saving models.

Both planemakers are struggling to book new sales in a market that is seen as somewhat oversupplied with jets, especially larger wide-body models, industry experts said.

The slowdown has raised some questions about whether the companies will maintain plans to boost output later this decade.

Both have also faced a slew of order deferrals in recent weeks, while insisting the trend of postponements is stable.

Two industry sources said Indonesia's Lion Air, one of the largest jet buyers with hundreds on order from Boeing and Airbus, is weighing the deferral of about 25 Airbus jets.

Airbus declined comment and Lion Air was not available.

Airbus was also hammering out details of an order for 100 more planes from Lion Air's regional rival AirAsia (AIRA.KL), announced in a shower of publicity at Farnborough.

After a slow start to the year, Airbus had looked set to end the Farnborough Airshow with 380 net orders for the year to date including the AirAsia deal, which it described as a firm order.

The deal did not make it into the new tally, however, and an Airbus spokesman said paperwork was being finalised. A person close to the talks said this only involved tying up loose ends.

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Latest Airbus data also suggested that another order secured at the height of an industry boom in 2012 had been trimmed back.

Mexican low-cost carrier Interjet has canceled five of 40 A320neo jets it has on order, according to the monthly update.

An airline spokeswoman said the change was part of an "operational swap," without giving further details. The cancellation emerged as Mexican consumer confidence dropped to its lowest level in two years amid a weak economy.

DELIVERY WOES

While Boeing remains ahead by a whisker in the race for new orders, it maintains a solid lead on deliveries which drive revenues, handing over 432 jets between January and July.

Airbus delivered 339 jets between January and July, down 4 percent on the year, due in part to a shortage of Pratt & Whitney (UTX.N) engines for its newly revamped A320neo.

It delivered just three of those jets in July, including two powered by Pratt & Whitney and the first to be delivered with alternative engines from CFM International (GE.N)(SAF.PA).

So far this year it has delivered 11 A320neos and 15 of its widebody A350s, another model suffering delays due in part to problems with suppliers. It aims to deliver 50 A350s this year.

Industry sources say that besides widely reported problems with cabin equipment such as toilets, the A350 has faced other glitches including quality problems with wing spoilers from Austrian parts maker FACC (FACC.VI). An Airbus spokesman said these problems had been resolved. FACC declined to comment.

New Airbus data also incorporated the cancellation by Qatar Airways of the first of 50 A320neo-family jets it has ordered.

The Gulf airline has criticized Airbus and Pratt & Whitney over A320neo delays and said in June it would exercise a clause to abandon the first jet, one of several parked in Qatar livery outside the French factory waiting for engines .

Parent Airbus Group said last week that upgraded versions of the engines were now being delivered.

Meanwhile, Qatar Airways is in talks with Boeing for rival 737 MAX jets to diversify its fast-expanding fleet.

(Additional reporting by Alizeh Kohari, Veronica Gomez; Editing by Greg Mahlich, Alexandra Hudson and Leslie Adler)
From ELLE

Jason Bourne was a bit slow, its only tension artificially pumped in with car chases that lasted longer than most relationships. But I'm no hater. Au contraire. I'm a Bourne Franchise stan who stood in line grinning like an 8-year-old, $12 clutched in my sweaty palm, only to sit in that theater for two whole hours trying so hard to find something to care about-and finding satisfaction in the unlikely place of Alicia Vikander's butterfly hair clip.

It was a truly remarkable thing to behold, as if a condor had alighted at the junction of Alicia Vikander's exquisitely shaped skull and neck. It was such an odd style choice. Here she was in her minimalist corporate chic clothing and no-make-up makeup, and it just was so endlessly surprising that this was all topped off by what shall hereafter be referred to as The Clip.

Her outfit said "I am a rising star in the CIA," but her hair said "I'm studying for finals at Bennington in 1997."

After waiting politely until the the credits rolled, I searched "Alicia Vikander clip" (just as I once searched "Rick Springfield's eyes" during the credits of Ricky and The Flash) and was so relieved to discover I was not alone:

But there were also FANS.

I woke up the next morning with the same uncharitable feelings about the film itself but having softened a bit towards The Clip. As much as I was like, "Really, The Clip?" I also couldn't deny that The Clip elicited a certain respect. Heather Lee-Vikander's character-wore The Clip for the whole movie. The Clip was tenacious! And maybe also kind of great? Could it be that The Clip was not working against Lee's rising star status in the CIA, but in fact precisely the object that made this possible? Maybe The Clip was her secret weapon.

Hair and makeup for Jason Bourne was headed up by Frances Hannon, who won an Academy Award for 2014's The Grand Budapest Hotel. To my eternal gratitude, Hannon was more than eager to discuss The Clip. "I have daughters who are 22, 23 and 25-and we discussed it, and I put it to them, "If you were just trying to achieve something and not think "Will this look nice?" what would you do with your hair?" And that's what they all said. And there's really no other accessory that's as Plain Jane, and kind of dowdy." Hannon also pointed out that Vikander is so beautiful with her hair down that it became sort of necessary to just "get rid of it."

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Hannon also pointed out that Vikander is so beautiful with her hair down that it became sort of necessary to just "get rid of it."

She went on, which was great. I could have had someone justify the The Clip to me all day! "It was chosen because her character wants to achieve what she wants to achieve, and she just wants her hair out of the way," Hannon said. "It's just very utilitarian, and she never changes it-not for meetings with her bosses, not to meet Bourne, because she just never, ever thinks about her hair. She's just about doing what she's doing." She added, "You ought to get yourself a clip!"

Clearly, it's time to stop thinking about The Clip as something that you wear to watch The Bachelor. The Clip is for vanquishing enemies. The Clip is for when nothing matters but The Task at Hand. The Clip is What We Wear In a Nation Soon To Be Lead By a Woman. Bourne may have won this round, but for the next one-and there will be a next one, and I will be there, despite my disappointment-my money is on The Clip.
NEWS BRIEF Israel has accused the head of World Vision in the Gaza Strip of funneling about $43 million in funds to Hamas over the past six years.

Mohammad El Halabi, the manager of Gaza operations for World Vision, the Christian charity group, was arrested in June at the Erez Crossing between Israel and Gaza while on his way home from meetings in Israel. He spent the next nearly two months in Israeli detention. Israel charged Halabi on Thursday with providing support to Hamas, which governs the Gaza Strip and which Israel and the U.S. regard as a terrorist organization.

Haaretz has more on the case based on a briefing given to reporters by an official from Shin Bet, Israels internal security service, and because a gag order imposed in the case was lifted Thursday. Heres more from the Israeli newspaper:

The charge sheet says that Halabi, with a masters degree in engineering, joined Hamas's armed wing Izzedin al-Qassam in 2004 and was asked a year later to infiltrate a humanitarian organization so as to be close to decision makers in a foreign organization, to be involved in the group and operate secretly to advance al-Qassam's interests. The Shin Bet accuses Halabi of joining World Vision and sending its funds to Hamas military wing, some of it to fund digging military-related tunnels and to purchase weapons. The Shin Bet alleges that a sum of $80,000 contributed by British donors to assist needy families, and support civilian projects in Gaza were used to build a Hamas position in the Gaza town of Beit Hanun, to pay Hamas activists salaries and bonuses members who had fought against Israel in the 2014 war.

Halabis attorney rejected the charges, telling Haaretz the fact the World Vision official was detained for 55 days before charges were announced proves, in the words of the newspaper, theres a problem with the evidence.

Recommended: Missouri's Governor Wouldn't Fund Public DefendersSo He's Been Ordered to Serve as One Himself

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The Monrovia, California-based World Vision said in a statement that it was shocked to learn of these charges against Mohammad.

World Vision has detailed procedures and control mechanisms in place to ensure that the funds entrusted to us are spent in accordance with applicable legal requirements and in ways that do not fuel conflict but rather contribute to peace.  World Vision programs in Gaza have been subject to regular internal and independent audits, independent evaluations, and a broad range of internal controls aimed at ensuring that assets reach their intended beneficiaries and are used in compliance with applicable laws and donor requirements. Based on the information available to us at this time, we have no reason to believe that the allegations are true. We will carefully review any evidence presented to us and will take appropriate actions based on that evidence. We continue to call for a fair legal process.

A Shin Bet official cited by The New York Times said there was no evidence that World Vision had been aware of Halabis alleged activities. But Tim Costello, the head of World Vision Australia, which is heavily involved in the Gaza project, told the Times the organization was very worried about the impact of the allegations. Indeed, the Australian government said Thursday it was suspending funding to the groups projects in the Palestinian territories.

Full Aus Gov statement on World Vision/Gaza allegations here. pic.twitter.com/UB2dX3KjOa  Dave Sharma (@AusAmbIsrael) August 4, 2016

World Vision, which operates around the world, has worked in the region since 1975, advocating for the improved well-being of children as well as empowering Palestinian and Israeli voices that advocate for peace and justice.

Read more from The Atlantic:

This article was originally published on The Atlantic.
Washington (AFP) - Online giant Amazon unveiled its first branded airplane Friday, part of what is expected to be a fleet of Prime Air cargo planes.

Amazon over the past year began working with aircraft leasing firms and cargo operators to reduce its dependence on commercial carriers, but Fridays announcement is the first to show its own branded aircraft.

The company was set to unveil the plane, Amazon One, at the Seafair Air Show in its hometown of Seattle, Washington.

The Boeing 767-300 was to participate in a flight demonstration as part of the air show.

Creating an air transportation network is expanding our capacity to ensure great delivery speeds for our Prime members for years to come, said Dave Clark , Amazons senior vice president of worldwide operations.

I cannot imagine a better way to celebrate the inaugural flight than in our hometown at Seafair alongside Amazon employees and Seattle residents.

With the Amazon Prime logo painted on the fuselage, Amazon One is one of 40 planes that Amazon has agreed to lease through air cargo partners.

There are currently 11 dedicated airplanes flying for Amazon with additional ones rolling out over time.

Amazon is moving to take greater control of its logistics to ensure speedy one- or two-day delivery for subscribers of its Prime service.

In recent years, UPS and Fedex have struggled with the high volume of goods ordered online to meet delivery commitments.
The Puako coral reef has provided food, recreation and beauty for many generations. So when residents began to see the coral degrade  a loss of 50 percent between 1970 and 2010 and several studies showed dangerously high bacteria count  they decided it was time to care for the reef. The community came together and launched the Clean Water for Reefs project in Puako in Sept. 2014. It soon became apparent that the major culprit was outdated waste water treatment such as cesspools, and that upgrading to a septic tank, given the porous volcanic rock and high ground water, was not a viable option. 

[T]he final recommendation was for an on-site waste water treatment plant. A big advantage to the on-site waste water treatment plant is that the water coming out of it would be safe to use for irrigation, making a community orchard a real possibility.
The future holds great uncertainty for Nebraska National Guard Sgt. James White.

As a member of the guards newly organized First Infantry Division Main Command Post-Operational Detachment, he knows hell leave home this weekend for a few weeks of training at Fort Riley, Kansas. After that, hell cross an ocean or two, but his final destination is unknown -- even to him.

The National Guard held a send-off ceremony at Haymarket Park for White and his fellow soldiers Friday afternoon. Each of the 90-some men and women volunteers to be deployed were set apart from the many others in uniform by big, red patches reading 1 on their left shoulders.

Its a very prideful feeling, White said of the ceremony. But at the same time it also feels like too much. Im not a person whos all about the big crowds or the recognition, Im usually behind the scenes.

The unit formed earlier this spring and is comprised of mostly specialized soldiers in areas including engineering, aviation and artillery. This is its first deployment.

Today Ive been feeling really excited about everything, but Ive also been really sad, said Sara White. Im just full of mixed emotions.

As for the actual deployment, her husband is ready to get rolling.

With every deployment theres always something thats a little bit rocky in the beginning, but then everything works itself out in the long run, James White said. Theres a lot of unknowns in the beginning.

Nine people spoke at the send-off, including Sens. Deb Fischer and Ben Sasse, Reps. Jeff Fortenberry and Adrian Smith and Gov. Pete Ricketts.

Ricketts talked about how, when the special unit was being assembled, there were more volunteers than there were seats to fill. That proves the guards commitment to fighting for freedom and its passion for country, he said.

I cant tell you how proud that makes me of our young men and women, he said. It really says something about their dedication, their patriotism.

After the speeches, members of the unit gathered on the field and shook hands with each of the speakers. On their way out, they all received Husker red ballcaps with First Infantry Division, est. 1917 on the front.

Ricketts left the servicemen and women with this message.

Remember your training and take care of each other. We want all of you back here. You are our best and brightest, and the finest examples of patriotism we have in our state.
Pastor Saeed Abedini, one of four American hostages released from Iran earlier this year, revealed in an interview with FOX Business Networks Trish Regan that he and his fellow prisoners had to wait for hours at the airport until a second plane arrived on orders from police.

He told me we are waiting for another plane. And if that plane takes off then we are going to let you go, said Abedini.

He noted that the plane and pilot were there, and everyone was ready to go, but they didnt leave until 10 a.m. the next day. They eventually flew to the U.S. in the plane that had been sitting at the airport overnight.

The account comes amid controversy over a $400 million payment the Obama administration made to Iran when the American prisoners were released. Officials say the payment was strictly connected with a legal settlement in an unrelated case, and President Obama insisted Thursday it was not ransom.

But Republican lawmakers say the money was clearly used to buy the prisoners freedom.

Abedini could not say whether the other plane contained money. When asked whether he believes the U.S. paid the Iranian government a ransom for his release, Abedini said he has his suspicions, but they didnt talk about money.

We call them terrorists and I dont believe they are going to use this money for building orphanages, which I was arrested for, but I prefer that the politicians answer this question.

Abedini said he is more concerned about worsening human rights conditions in Iran.

Im very grateful about my release and freedom, but there are some people still left behind and Christians who are still in prison, he said. Two days ago some of my friends have been executed because of their faith. Every Wednesday they execute 100 people.

He also said, First of all, Im so thankful for my freedom. There is nothing like a life of being free.

Related Articles
From Town & Country

A Norwegian teenager of Somali origin is suspected of going on a knife rampage through London's tourist hub of Russell Square, killing an American woman and injuring five other people, police said Thursday.

The London force sent extra officers into the city streets and mobilized counterterror detectives, but said the investigation suggested mental illness was the driving force behind the attack.

The attack came just days after authorities warned the British public to be vigilant in light of attacks inspired by the Islamic State group elsewhere in Europe.

Metropolitan Police Assistant Commissioner Mark Rowley said the investigation "increasingly points to this tragic incident as having been triggered by mental-health issues."

"So far we have found no evidence of radicalization or anything that would suggest the man in our custody was motivated by terrorism," Rowley said.

The name of the dead woman, thought to be in her 60s, has not been released. Rowley said the five injured people are British, American, Israeli and Australian, and none has life-threatening injuries. Two remain in a hospital, while three others have been discharged.

Rowley said it appeared to be a "spontaneous attack and that the victims were selected at random."

Officers used a stun gun to subdue the 19-year-old suspect, who was arrested on suspicion of murder. Detectives from the force's murder and terrorism squads interviewed the suspect, his family and witnesses and searched properties, and found no evidence of radicalization, Rowley said.

The National Criminal Investigation Service in Norway confirmed the suspect was a 19-year-old Norwegian national who had left the country in 2002.

Police said they received "numerous" calls from members of the public at around 10:30 p.m. (2130GMT, 5:30 p.m. EDT) Wednesday about a man attacking people with a knife in the streets around Russell Square, a busy central area full of students and tourists.

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Student Megan Sharrock, 18, looked out her window and saw someone lying on the sidewalk under a blanket.

"There was like two rivers of blood running away from the person so we thought, yeah, someone has been killed," she said.

Helen Edwards, 33, who lives in the area, came out for a walk late Wednesday and found armed police near a subway station. In a city with vivid memories of the July 7, 2005, attacks on public transport - two of which struck near Russell Square - she immediately suspected that an attack had occurred.

"There is always that thing in the back of your mind," she said. "You live with that threat of terrorism or other crimes in the back of your mind. It wasn't a huge shock I guess."

Ellie Cattle, 21, a student staying in a hotel near the square, said she heard police shouting: "'Put it down, put it down!'

"Then I heard what sounded like a gunshot, but it must have been the Taser," she said. "After that they just stopped shouting. I didn't hear any screams from anyone."

London Mayor Sadiq Khan urged the public to keep calm and remain vigilant.

"We all have a vital role to play as eyes and ears for our police and security services and in helping to ensure London is protected," Khan said.

Knives are the most common murder weapon in Britain, which has strict gun-control laws. There were 186 knife killings in the year to March 2015, according to government statistics - a third of all murders.

In the last three years London has seen two knife attacks by people inspired by radical Islam. In May 2013, two al-Qaida-inspired London men killed off-duty soldier Lee Rigby in the street near his barracks. In January, mentally ill Muhiddin Mire tried to behead a London Underground passenger, shouting that he was doing it "for Syria."

The Russell Square incident came within hours of an announcement by London police that they were putting more armed officers on the streets. The idea was to sustain public confidence following attacks by Islamic State-inspired groups in Europe.

Police in Britain do not carry guns for the most part - a principle that remains unchanged. Even with the additional armed officers, most of London's 31,000 police officers will not be armed.
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New York has the cupcake ATM, and now an Ohio college has the pizza ATM.

Xavier University in Cincinnati is home to the United States' first pizza ATM that delightfully dispenses hot pizza to hungry students at any hour.

SEE ALSO: Hydraulic press channel bakes a smashed pizza thats almost edible

As reported by Cincinnati.com, the $55,000 Paline ATM is located in the dorm Fenwick Hall and will be open 24/7 come fall.

"We were looking for a way to solve this problem of having a late-night pizza option on campus," Assistant Vice President for Auxiliary Services Jude Kiah told Cincinnati.com.

Seventy artisan pizzas of various flavors will be prepared by the Xavier University's dining staff each day and put into the ATM.

If you're thinking that 70 pizzas may not be enough for everyone on campus, have no fear: the machine sends notifications to employees' phones when it's is running low on pizzas so they can refill it.

The machine works very simply. Twelve-inch personal pizzas chill in a refrigerator until someone inserts $9 and makes a selection. Then, the pizza is transferred into a convection oven, where it spends three minutes evolving into hot gooey goodness.

Xavier had no interest in sacrificing quality for convenience  the school's dining program is award-winning, and they even consulted with a French chef, so the pizza is expected to taste great.

Students will be moving onto campus for the fall semester by the end of the month. Those who chose to live in Fenwick Hall will be arriving with big appetites.
Lizzie McGuire creator Terri Minsky is returning to Disney Channels lineup with Andi Mack. The network has picked up to series the pilot, starring 12-year-old newcomer Peyton Elizabeth Lee. Created and executive produced by Minsky, Andi Mack begins production this fall in Salt Lake City, UT, for a 2017 premiere on Disney Channel.

The single-camera family series centers around Andi (Lee) as shes about to celebrate her 13th birthday. However, when her capricious older sister Bex returns home with the hope of getting her life together, Andis life is turned upside down and she is left questioning everything shes ever known.

Also starring are Lilan Bowden (Zombie Apocalypse) as Andis sister Bex, Lauren Tom (The Joy Luck Club, Friends) as Andis mother Celia, Joshua Rush (Disneys The Lion Guard) as Cyrus and Asher Angel (Jolene) as Jonah Beck.

As a writer and creative force, Terri Minsky has a one of a kind voice that resonates with our audience, making them laugh and cry in the same scene with dialogue and storytelling that always feels honest, said Adam Bonnett, EVP Original Programming, Disney Channels Worldwide. When Terri created Lizzie McGuire, she helped put Disney Channel on the map with a character that our audience could identify with and we look forward to introducing Andi to a new generation of kids and tweens.

About her return to Disney Channel, Minsky said, I could have done this show any number of places, but the only one where it would really matter is Disney Channel. Regarding casting Lee, she added, Andi only existed as words on a page until Peyton Lee walked into the room. I will never forget the magic of that moment  to meet the character I wrote. Actually, it wasnt until I met Peyton that I really knew who Andi was.

In addition to Lizzie McGuire, for which she was a WGA Award nominee, Minsky created the series Less Than Perfect and The Geena Davis Show for ABC and most recently developed Finding Carter for MTV. Two-time Emmy winner, Betty Thomas directed the pilot, and Michelle Manning will serve as an executive producer.

Story continues

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Hoya, there! In May, actress and U.N. Special Envoy Angelina Jolie signed on to be a visiting professor at the London School of Economics for the fall. Now, she will do the same guest spot at Georgetown University, LSEs sister school in Washington, D.C., a source reveals in the new issue of Us Weekly.

PHOTOS: Angelina Jolie's Us Weekly Covers

The 41-year-old mom of six, who did not attend college, will share her knowledge in lectures, workshops and research focused on women, peace and security  subjects that are close to her heart.



It is vital that we broaden the discussion on how to advance women's rights and end impunity for crimes that disproportionately affect women, such as sexual violence in conflict," Jolie said in a May statement, announcing her U.K. gig. "I am looking forward to teaching and learning from the students, as well as to sharing my own experiences of working alongside governments and the United Nations."

PHOTOS: Angelina Jolie's Red Carpet Style

The course, the first of its kind internationally, was launched last year by Jolie and former U.K. foreign secretary William Hague, who will also serve as an unpaid visiting professor at LSE.



After meeting with the By the Sea star, Melanne Verveer, executive director of the Georgetown Institute for Women, Peace and Security, expressed her excitement for bringing their program stateside.



PHOTOS: Brangelina's Surprising BFFs!

"I was pleased to meet with Angelina Jolie during my recent trip to London on ways we at Georgetown University can continue the collaboration between our sister programs on both sides of the Atlantic," Verveer said in May. "We look forward to welcoming Angelina and former foreign secretary Hague to Georgetown in the future."






Former soap star Antonio Sabato, Jr. says he's being blacklisted for his political views.

Read: Amid Protests From Animal Rights Activists, Hillary Clinton Blasts Trump and Sons as Hunters

The actor gave a speech supporting Donald Trump on the first day of the Republican National Convention in Cleveland 2 weeks ago. Ever since then he says Hollywood has had it out for him.

In a recent interview with Variety, the 44-year-old Italian born star said: Ive had fantastic directors who have said officially to my agents and managers they will never hire me again. That's unfair. It's just like communism."

He added: "I think this country allows you freedom of speech. Anybody should be allowed to say whatever they want. When youre in my business, you cant talk about [conservative] politics. You just cant. Youre attacked viciously in a way that Ive never been attacked before."

Read: Melania Trump Photographer Says She Did Not Get Paid Amid Illegal Immigration Accusations

The actor was last in the public eye in 2014 when he was a contestant on Dancing with the Stars.

In the past he has been in TV series like Ugly Betty, CSI: NY, and Ally McBeal.

Watch: Megyn Kelly Shocked as Donald Trump Brings Up 'Blood' Debacle Again

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On Aug. 6, 1945, the United States dropped the worlds first atomic bomb on the Japanese city of Hiroshima. Combined with a similar nuclear strike on Nagasaki on Aug. 9, the attacks helped lead to Japans surrender during World War II and the end of the conflict in the Pacificand decades worth of debate over the choice.

Here are seven TIME stories about the devastation and the implications of the decision to bomb the cities.

Marching orders: See the operations orders given to Jacob Beser, the electronics specialist who had to make sure radio waves didnt interfere with the device and the only man to fly both atomic bomb missions. These military documents are now part of the collection of The Museum of World War II in Natick, Mass.

The first reaction: The Aug. 20, 1945, issue of TIMEpublished just after that infamous weeknot only explained who developed the technology and how it worked, but also how it would change diplomacy forever:

The atomic bomb was not merely a new weapon; it was a new dimension of military and political power. Each in its turn, steel and gunpowder and aircraft had gradually changed war and society. In a single day the atomic bomb made a bigger change than any of them. Its blast hit every war office and chancellery on earth.

An eyewitness account: As part of TIMEs July 29, 1985, cover package for the 40th anniversary of the bombings, Yoshitaka Kawamoto, the director of the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum, described what it was like to be 13 years old and attending school near the site on that day:

We were taught that it was cowardly to desert ones classmates. So I crawled about the rubble, calling, Is there anyone alive? I saw an arm shifting under planks of wood. Ota, my friend, was moving. But I could see that his back was broken, and I had to pull him up into the clear. Ota was looking at me with his left eye. His right eyeball was hanging from his face. I think he said something, but I could not make it out. Pieces of nails were stuck on his lips. He took a student handbook from his pocket. I asked, Do you want me to give this to your mother? Ota nodded. A moment later he died.

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The ruins: See LIFE magazine photos of Hiroshima and Nagasaki taken in the immediate aftermath of the bombings. One photographer on scene, Bernard Hoffman, wrote his photo editor that, most of us felt like weeping; not out of sympathy for the Japs but because we were revolted by this new and terrible form of destruction. Compared to Hiroshima, Berlin, Hamburg and Cologne are practically untouched.

Get your history fix in one place: sign up for the weekly TIME History newsletter



President Obamas historic visit: This year, President Barack Obama became the first sitting U.S. president to visit Hiroshima. President Gerald Ford, the first sitting U.S. president to visit Japan, had earlier been advised not to go because some at at the White House felt that such a visit would be adding a dose of negativity to an otherwise positive trip, and that it would risk opening old wounds.

Was the bomb necessary? Knowing Obamas visit would reignite debates about whether the bombings could have been avoided, historian David Kaiser evaluated new theories on the use of the bomb while explaining the original rationale behind the decision:

As it turned out, the combination of the bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki and the entry of the USSR into the war against Japanall within a period of just three daysconvinced the Emperor and the Japanese government that surrender was the only option. More and more evidence has shown, however, that Japan would not have surrendered on American terms before an invasion took place in the absence of the atomic bombs. The United States, then, dropped the bombs to end the war that Japan had unleashed in Asia in 1931 and extended to the United States at Pearl Harborand thereby probably avoided an invasion that would have meant hundreds of thousands of casualties That does not mean that we need not ask ourselves about the moral implications of destroying two whole cities with nuclear weapons.

What remains: See photos of the Genbaku Dome convention center, a UNESCO World Heritage site and the only building left standing after the 1945 bombing.
Back in 2011, special effects worker John Franco sued Warner Bros. after a truck rolled over on the set of Green Lantern. The accident caused debris to go flying, and Franco suffered a pelvic crush, a broken hip, fractures to both femurs, injuries to his knees, a punctured lung and more.

The litigation quickly turned to who was responsible for such alleged negligence. Was it Warner Bros. or Big Moose LLC, the production company? "There is a reason they call it the 'movie business' - it's all about illusion," said Franco's attorney at the time. A judge wouldn't let Warner Bros. escape the lawsuit.

Then, the case went away. Well, sort of. Franco got a settlement, but two insurance companies continued to war with each over who was picking up the tab for a settlement payment worth millions.

Warner Bros. had a primary insurance policy with Fireman's Fund worth $2 million and an umbrella insurance policy with a $3 million limit. As a result, Fireman's Fund defended Warner Bros. in the Franco lawsuit and came to the decision to settle the litigation.

The settlement apparently was worth more than $3 million because later, Fireman's Fund looked for a contribution from Ace American Insurance Company, which provided Warner Bros. an excess insurance policy with a $50 million limit.

So Ace American sued Fireman's Fund for equitable subrogation and breach of the covenant of good faith and fair dealing. The plaintiff alleged that Franco had early on made reasonable settlement demands within the limits of the Fireman's Fund policy, but Fireman's Fund chose not to settle. Once Franco got closer to trial, the situation changed, and Fireman's Fund saw the wisdom in settling, but Franco's price had gone up. Ace American's theory was that Fireman's Fund was liable for the extra money because of its wrongful conduct in failing to settle the case at the early stage.

Fireman's Fund moved to dismiss the claim with the argument that an excess insurer could only sue for equitable subrogation if there has been a judgment against the insured that exceeds the limits of the primary policy. Because of the settlement, the case never got to judgment.

Story continues

A trial court agreed with Fireman's Fund's contention, but on Friday, after reviewing conflicting past decisions on the subject, a California appellate court reversed.

Rejecting an argument that such a decision could prompt more lawsuits from excess insurers against primary insurers and discourage settlements, California appeals court judge Audrey Collins writes that "primary insurers already have a duty to accept reasonable settlement offers within policy limits, and liability for resulting damages when they breach that duty."

The published opinion comes to the conclusion that a judgment isn't a necessary element for an equitable subrogation claim and "where the insured or excess insurer has actually contributed to an excess settlement, the plaintiff may allege that the primary insurer's breach of the duty to accept reasonable settlement offers resulted in damages in the form of the excess settlement."

The case is remanded for further proceedings where the insurance companies will now battle over the multi-million dollar Green Lantern worker injury settlement.

Here's the full opinion.
SAN DIEGO -- It's hard criticizing people you respect, and twice as hard if the criticism might be misinterpreted as defending someone you don't.

Since I'm "Never Trump," I'm free of the moral conflict of supporting a nominee who would stoop so low as to insult the parents of a dead soldier.

This sort of thing should disqualify someone from serving as president. But then again, so does calling Mexican immigrants criminals and rapists, mocking the disabled, demeaning women, suggesting that President George W. Bush knew about the attacks of Sept 11, 2001, beforehand, praising Saddam Hussein and Vladmir Putin and threatening to ban an entire religion from the United States.

Yet because of my line of work, I'm not free to ignore the truth, even when it's uncomfortable -- especially when it's uncomfortable.

Here's the truth: There are many good ways for parents to remember and honor a child they've lost. But using their anguish as a springboard to enter the political rough and tumble by picking a fight with a party's nominee isn't one of them.

When Khizr and Ghazala Khan -- the Gold Star parents of Capt. Humayun Khan, an American soldier killed in Iraq -- attacked Trump with a stinging personal rebuke at the Democratic National Convention, they did Hillary Clinton a big favor.

Yet, with those remarks and later television appearances, the Khans did nothing to serve the memory of their fallen son.

I've interviewed Gold Star parents, and they have a special burden to watch what they say and do so as not to let politics in any way diminish their sacrifice. Some have fallen short, and both political parties have shamelessly exploited their anger.

The Khans are now in a media-fueled tit-for-tat with Trump who -- in a startling lack of social skills -- suggested that the reason that Ghazala Khan, a grieving mother, kept quiet as her husband spoke was because Islam commands it.

Even Republicans couldn't stomach such disrespect, and many of them have fired at Trump. Good for them.

But, amid all the insults flying about, haven't we lost sight of something rather important -- like an American hero?

Humayun Khan was the real deal. On June 8, 2004, he lost his life when he ran toward the vehicle of a suicide bomber who was accelerating toward a facility with hundreds of American soldiers.

Where do we find such people? And how did America get so lucky as to have more than her share?

That Humayun Khan died serving his country is a tragedy, but how he died makes for a great story. It's a tale that I might have expected to hear from his parents when they had the chance to address the nation during the Democratic convention.

But I didn't hear it from them. Instead, I heard it from subsequent media accounts and from Sen. John McCain's official statement condemning Trump for his disparagement of "a fallen soldier's parents" and re-emphasizing -- as Clinton did -- that Humayun Khan represented "the best of America."

Maybe the reason I didn't hear the heroic story of Humayun Khan from his parents is because, of the 300 words in Khizr Khan's convention speech, almost half -- 134 words -- were about Trump. Khan started out criticizing the real estate developer for smearing "the character of Muslims," disrespecting minorities, attacking fellow Republicans and vowing to build walls and ban Muslims from the United States.

He insinuated that Trump had never read the U.S. Constitution, and offered to lend the GOP nominee his copy. He followed that broadside by asking if Trump had been to Arlington National Cemetery and seen the grave sites of patriots who come in "all faiths, genders and ethnicities." He then accused Trump of having sacrificed nothing in life, and finally insisted that Americans "can't solve our problems by building walls and sowing division."

It was an effective political speech, the kind you expect to hear at a party convention -- but not what you should hear from parents of a fallen soldier.

The Khans had the chance to honor their son by telling his story to the country. Instead, they wasted the opportunity by criticizing a self-centered con man and carnival barker with a mean streak who used deferments to skip out on the Vietnam War and isn't fit to have carried their son's duffel bag.

It's just one more tragic element of a tale that was already guaranteed to break your heart.
Buenos Aires (AFP) - An Argentine judge on Friday lifted his arrest warrant for the head of acclaimed human rights group Mothers of the Plaza de Mayo, who had ignored his orders to testify in a corruption case.

Hebe de Bonafini, 87, is one of the most prominent political activists in Argentina and a founding member of the Mothers.

The well-known organization has led the fight for justice for the thousands of people abducted, tortured and killed by Argentina's military regime (1976-1983).

Judge Marcelo Martinez de Giorgi ordered Bonafini's arrest Thursday after she snubbed two summonses to testify about state funds that vanished from a social housing project run by her group.

But her lawyer later negotiated with the judge to let Bonafini testify at her home, a judicial source said.

Bonafini and her fellow activists are not accused in the case. Prosecutors say they were taken advantage of by their former attorney, and a lower court had ruled to that effect.

But Bonafini, whose two sons were "disappeared" by the military regime, had defied the judge's order to testify.

When police showed up at her organization's headquarters Thursday to escort her to court, she slipped past them and boarded a mini-van bound for the Plaza de Mayo.

The iconic square in front of the presidential palace is the site where the Mothers and their sister group, the Grandmothers of the Plaza de Mayo, have marched in protest every Thursday since 1977.

She had harsh words for the judge.

"He doesn't have the balls to go after the people he really needs to go after. He's messing with a bunch of old ladies," she told Radio Del Plata.

"He should go after the people who are stealing, not the Mothers.... I already said everything I have to say (in the case). I already sent them everything I have to send."

The case involves a $53 million program to build housing, schools and health centers in low-income neighborhoods.

Story continues

Much of the money -- which came largely from the government -- went missing. The ensuing scandal brought an abrupt end to the program in 2011.

Bonafini was close to former president Cristina Kirchner. The Mothers organization received generous government funding during Kirchner's administration and that of her late husband, Nestor, from 2003 to 2015.

Bonafini is a fierce critic of Kirchner's successor, business-friendly conservative Mauricio Macri, who has steadily undone leftist policies of the previous 12 years.
With the objective of bringing together amateur art fans and experienced collectors, the Nocturne Knocke art fair takes place from August 6 to 15 (between 4-9pm).

Celebrating its 41st year, the Nocturne Knocke art fair is held in the Belgian region of Knokke-Heist. The fair is held at two venues, located a short walk from one another: the CC Scharpoord and the Hotel la Reserve on the banks of the Zegemeer lake and the coastline.

Not just exhibitions

Over 40 exhibitors of art, sculpture and design are chosen every year through a highly selective process. The fair emphasizes its role as a platform not only to present exhibitions but also to encourage sales. The selected artists and galleries come from around the world. This year will see stands from Douwes Fine Art (Hong Kong), Igor Kormyshev (Russia), Marina Jacob Design (Germany) and Maria Kononov (USA) among others.

Sculpture trail

Another highlight of the 2016 Belgian art calendar is the 23rd "Sculpture Link Knokke-Heist" -- the sculpture festival displayed along the promenade in Het Zoute and Heist West, past the Hotel La Reserve and the Zegemeer lake to the CC Scharpoord park. The festival, which opened on June 16, will come to a close at the same time as the Art Nocturne Knocke Festival.

Anticipated artwork

Marcello Petisci is a Belgian painter known for his hyper-realist technique and focus on automobiles. His work has been exhibited around the world, and is gaining a strong following.

Pieter de Vries -- not the fictional Piter De Vries from the "Dune" universe -- is known as one of the best contemporary documentary cinematographers. De Vries, based in Sydney, will be showcasing photography from documentaries filmed around the world.

The Ilunga African art gallery, located in Brussels, specializes in masks, figures and traditional objects from ancient Africa. Their pieces, on view at Art Nocturne Knocke's Stand 22, have been selected from American and European collections.
Berlin (AFP) - A rising number of Turkish nationals have sought asylum in Germany, official data showed Friday, as tensions rise in Turkey over an intensifying crackdown by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

Germany recorded 1,719 Turkish asylum applications in the first half of this year, almost the same number as for the whole of last year, when 1,767 sought refuge, Tagesspiegel daily reported, citing data from the Federal Office for Migration and Refugees.

The office said it did not yet have any indication of how the failed coup of July 15 and the resulting massive crackdown had impacted on numbers.

But even before the coup, activists and the West have been alarmed by the deteriorating human rights situation in Turkey, with spiralling numbers of journalists, bloggers and ordinary people being taken to court on an array of charges, including insulting Erdogan.

Most of the Turkish refugees came from the Kurdish regions, with 1,510 applications filed by Kurds so far this year, according to the data.

Last summer, Erdogan's government launched military operations against the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) following the collapse of a two-year ceasefire.

Thousands of militants have been killed in the clashes, but activists claim that innocent civilians have also been killed in the offensive.

Nevertheless, the rate of successful asylum applications in Germany by Kurds -- at 5.2 percent -- was lower than the average of 6.7 percent for the whole of Turkey.
NEWS BRIEF There hasnt been a mosque in the Greek capital in 150 years. Thats about to change.

On Thursday, the Greek parliament approved plans to build a state-funded mosque near the center of Athens. Construction will cost around $1 million. Athens was the last European Union capital without a mosque, despite the estimated 300,000 Muslims living there, many of them from the Balkans.

For more than a century, Muslims in Athens have had to worship in dozens of makeshift mosques, often in the basements of homes. One of the last remaining mosques in Athens from the time of Ottoman rule, which ended in 1829, is now a museum for folk art, having also been used as a prison, army barracks, and storage facility.

Proponents of building the mosque said it could prevent the potential radicalization of the tens of thousands of new refugees who now live in Athens. According to Greek newspaper Kathimerini, Greek Education Minister Nikos Filis said Thursday:

If we wish to avoid the problems facing France and Belgium, we should not make the mistakes that they are now trying to deal with. The existence of makeshift mosques is a shame for the country as well as for the Muslim community and a danger to national security.

The project has faced heavy opposition from conservative and right-wing groups, like the neo-nazi Golden Dawn party, as well as the Greek Orthodox Church, the official religion of the Mediterranean country. The Greek government attempted to build a mosque in 2006, but the project was set aside because of legal appeals.

Read more from The Atlantic:

This article was originally published on The Atlantic.
SYDNEY (Reuters) - Australia said on Friday it was suspending funding for relief group World Vision's operations in the Palestinian Territories after allegations its Gaza representative funneled millions of dollars to the Islamist militant group Hamas. Mohammad El Halabi, World Vision's manager of operations in Gaza, was arrested by Israel on June 15 while crossing the border into the enclave, which is under the de facto rule of Hamas, a group on Israeli and U.S. terrorism blacklists. A senior Israeli security official on Thursday said Halabi, who has run the group's Gaza operations since 2010, had been under extended surveillance and had confessed to siphoning off some $7.2 million a year to Hamas. World Vision said it was shocked by the claims, and a Hamas spokesman said the group had no connection with Halabi. Australia's Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) called the allegations "deeply troubling" and said in a statement that it was "urgently seeking more information from World Vision and the Israeli authorities." "We are suspending the provision of further funding to World Vision for programs in the Palestinian Territories until the investigation is complete," it said. Israel welcomed the decision and said it has passed on details of the case to a number of countries from where money is being sent to Gaza. Israel's Foreign Ministry said it "calls on the organization and others dealing in aid to the Gaza Strip to examine themselves and their local partners." Australia has paid World Vision approximately $4.35 million over the past three financial years for the provision of aid in the Palestinian Territories, a DFAT spokesman said. (Editing by Michael Perry)
TAMPA, Fla. (Reuters) - Autopsy reports on some of the people shot at a gay nightclub in Florida in June appear to support witness accounts of the massacre at the crowded club including that some people were shot many times before the gunman was brought down in a hail of police bullets.

Florida released autopsy reports on Friday for 31 of the 49 people killed at Pulse nightclub in Orlando in one of the deadliest mass shootings in modern U.S. history. Reports for the remaining victims were pending.

Evidence of the way the shooter fired at people could be found in the autopsy report of an 18-year-old girl who was shot once near her jaw and twice through her upper body. When her body was found, one hoop earring dangled from her right ear and the other was tangled in her hair.

The autopsy by the Orange County Medical Examiner's Office on shooter Omar Mateen, 29, showed that he was hit in his head, neck, chest, abdomen, right calf and right foot. A toxicology report showed that there were no illicit drugs or alcohol in his system.

Mateen was killed by police who stormed the club after a three-hour siege.

The autopsy reports will likely be among evidence considered in a U.S. Justice Department review of the Orlando Police Department's response to the shootings.

The medical examiner found that a 30-year-old man died from a complex gunshot wound after a bullet entered his left arm, exited his chest and re-entered his neck.

Some 53 people were wounded.

During the shooting, Mateen used an assault rifle and pistol that had been legally purchased. Police negotiated with him for about three hours before breaking a hole in a wall, which allowed hostages to escape. Mateen was shot dead by police when he emerged from the hole, police have said.

(Writing by Curtis Skinner in San Francisco; Reporting by Letitia Stein in Tampa; Editing by Colleen Jenkins)
Bangladesh police said Friday a suspected Islamist extremist accused of carrying out a deadly attack on a prayer rally last month has been shot dead in a gunfight while in their custody.

Shafiul Islam Don was being driven to a police station late Thursday when the Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) vehicle carrying him came under attack by suspected fellow extremists.

The 22-year-old was killed in the gunfight that ensued, local RAB commander Shariful Islam told AFP.

"The attackers opened fire as they tried to snatch Don. We fired back in retaliation," said Islam.

"After a brief gunfight, they fled the scene. We found Don and another person's body from the spot."

Police had arrested Don at the scene of last month's attack at a prayer ceremony marking the end of Muslim holy month of Ramadan.

Three people were killed in the attack in Sholakia town, which came just a week after suspected extremists killed 22 people including 18 foreigners at an upscale cafe in Dhaka.

Islam said he was a member of Jamayetul Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB), which authorities accuse of being behind a wave of killings of foreigners and religious minorities in recent years.

Islam said Don had confessed in custody to taking part in several recent killings targeting people from religious minorities in the mainly Muslim country.

Police have said a faction of the JMB led by a 30-year-old Canadian of Bangladeshi origin is behind the latest attacks.

Many of its members are drawn from rich families and have vowed allegiance to the Islamic State (IS) group.

Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has launched a major crackdown on Islamist extremism since the cafe attack.

At least 17 suspected Islamist extremists were killed in the last five weeks and a number of militants were arrested.
MANILA (Reuters) - Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte has given a commitment that the $81 million stolen from the account of Bangladesh Bank in New York and traced to bank accounts in Manila would be returned, the Bangladesh ambassador to the Philippines said.

"We are very hopeful that we will get the total $81 million. The reason is I got a commitment from the president himself," Ambassador John Gomes told a media briefing in Manila on Friday.

Cyber criminals succeeded in stealing $81 million from Bangladesh Bank's account at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, transferring the funds to four accounts at Manila's Rizal Commercial Banking Corp (RCB.PS), which was then laundered through the city's casinos, according to investigators.

A Bangladesh central bank team currently in Manila to hasten the recovery process has said they were close to getting back only $15 million of the money stolen in February.

"We know substantial amounts of money have been frozen by authorities over here," Bangladesh Bank lawyer Ajmalul Hossain said.

Bangladesh's finance minister might come to the Philippines to meet Duterte and seek his help in the recovery of the money, Gomes said.

Gomes said the bank felt that RCBC should be held responsible because they did not follow a stop-payment request from the Bangladesh Bank.

Minutes before the Bangladesh officials held a briefing, the Philippine central bank said it would fine RCBC a record 1 billion pesos ($21 million) in relation to the cyber heist.

Hossain said the Bangladesh central bank would sue RCBC if it was not able to recover the entire $81 million.

Gomes also said they would sue Philrem Service Corp, a remittance company that anti-money laundering investigators said was used to transfer some of the $81 million.

"I think they have to return the money. They have the responsibility to return the money or face the consequence," Gomes said of Philrem.

A lawyer for Philrem, who speaks on behalf of the company, was not immediately available for comment.

The last Philippines Senate hearing into the heist ended in May as a new government came to power under Duterte. No date has been announced for a resumption, but Gomes said they had asked Senate President Aquilino Pimentel III to reopen the hearings.

(Reporting by Krishna Das and Neil Jerome Morales; Writing by Manolo Serapio Jr; Editing by Will Waterman)
Bangladesh has shut down dozens of online news services including those of pro-opposition media, an official said Friday, sparking accusations of government censorship.

The head of the national telecoms regulator said he ordered the closures late Thursday night, citing "objectionable contents".

"We've shut down 32 news portals and websites following instructions from an intelligence agency," Bangladesh Telecommunications and Regulatory Commission (BTRC) chairman Shahjahan Mahmood, told AFP.

He said the list included Sheershanews.com, a popular website known for its fast news coverage, and amardeshonline, a news portal linked to a pro-opposition Bengali daily that the government shut down in 2013.

The crackdown comes after the government banned live television coverage of Islamist extremist attacks in the wake of last month's deadly assault on a cafe in which 22 people were killed including 18 foreigners.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina publicly criticised the coverage of the attack and told private broadcasters to be more responsible.

The head of Sheershanews Ekramul Hoque said he was stunned by the move, which would mean about 100 journalists losing their jobs.

"We think it's a direct assault on the country's freedom of press. The government is shutting down the news organisations they don't like. They want total control of the media," Hoque said.

"By closing down these news portals, the government is sending a clear message to all media firms that they won't tolerate any news organisation that does not follow their line," he said.

Sheershanews was drawing up to 200 million hits a month this year.
The online stranger goaded Bill Kintner for 30 minutes, urging him to remove his pants for the webcam.

At first, alone in a Boston hotel room, he resisted.

"I just can't do this," the outspoken, conservative state senator typed. "It would break my wife's heart if she knew I did this."

He hung up then, but his decision seven hours later  to resume the chat and give the woman what she wanted  resulted in Kintner falling victim to an online extortion scam, being fined Friday for breaking a law that restricts public officials' use of state computers, and being urged by Gov. Pete Ricketts and others to resign from the Nebraska Legislature.

Kintner, 55, refused to step down but said he has apologized to his wife and God.

The Nebraska Accountability and Disclosure Commission fined the Papillion lawmaker $1,000 for using his government-issued laptop for the live video exchange, which happened in July 2015 while he attended a conference.

The ruling drew swift reaction at the Capitol.

"Senator Kintner should resign his office immediately. Period, Ricketts said in a news release.

Omaha Sen. Ernie Chambers called Kintner a "guttersnipe" and a "vulgar hypocrite," and repeated his vow to pursue Kintner's impeachment if he doesn't step down.

And Speaker of the Legislature Galen Hadley said he was leaning toward supporting Kintner's expulsion from office and that the situation should be dealt with this year  possibly through a special legislative session.

"This puts his fellow senators in an exceedingly difficult position," Hadley said.

News of Kintner's online issues first emerged last week, a year after the woman he met on Facebook convinced him to masturbate into a webcam using the computer program Skype while she did the same. The two also swapped sexually explicit messages, hers apparently translated from another language.

"Make me pleasure," she says at one point, according to transcripts compiled by the Nebraska State Patrol.

But Kintner is conflicted: "I don't want to sneak behind my wife's back," he tells her. "It's not about you, it is about me. You are smoking hot."

The woman, who used the name Vinciane Diedeort, continues pressing Kintner to remove his clothing.

"Let's end this, before I get in trouble," he responds, then stops the call around 5 p.m. July 30.

Only when he returns after midnight does he do as the woman asks, exposing himself. And within minutes, she threatens to post the video on YouTube and share it with his Facebook friends if he doesn't wire $4,500 to an account in the Ivory Coast, which she claimed was for a deaf child.

Kintner reported himself to the State Patrol that day, telling investigators he'd fallen victim to a scam.

"I knew as a follower of Christ I needed to take quick and decisive action, and I did," Kintner said in a statement.

His wife of seven years, Lauren Kintner, is the governor's top policy adviser. She was diagnosed with ovarian cancer days after her husband's return from Boston.

News of Sen. Kintner's online activity didn't surface publicly until last week, and even then officials were reluctant to comment pending action by the Accountability and Disclosure Commission.

Ricketts acknowledged having known about the investigation but said he didn't make it public out of respect for Kintner's due-process rights.

Top Democrats have criticized the lack of transparency, noting that Kintner was chosen as a delegate to last month's Republican National Convention in Cleveland despite the ongoing investigation.

The case against Kintner is now resolved, but the file isn't closed on the extortion attempt, State Patrol spokeswoman Deb Collins said in an email. Such cases are often lengthy and can involve suspects in foreign countries, she said.

Kintner said investigators traced the scam to a small crime syndicate based in the Ivory Coast and using Russian computers.

Recorded video of the exchange was never saved on his computer, Kintner said. The scammer posted a brief clip, or GIF, of the recording online, but it has since been deleted.

Kintner's $1,000 civil penalty is half what the Accountability and Disclosure Commission could have ordered, part of a settlement agreement with Kintner's attorney.

Former Lt. Gov. Rick Sheehy made a similar deal in 2013 after using his state cellphone to make late-night calls to various women other than his wife.

State law also provides for a misdemeanor criminal charge against public officials who misuse state property. Asked why such a charge hasn't been filed against Kintner, Suzanne Gage, spokeswoman for Nebraska Attorney General Doug Peterson, noted the exchange took place in Massachusetts.

Hadley said Kintner's action was "unbecoming a senator in the state of Nebraska."

Members of the Legislature's Executive Board will meet Aug. 19 to discuss their options.

Only the governor or a supermajority of the Legislature, 33 of 49 senators, can call lawmakers back into the Capitol before they reconvene as scheduled in January.

Impeachment would then require support from 25 senators, although some have questioned whether a state senator may be impeached at all under Nebraska law. Expulsion of a senator requires 33 votes.

Legislative staffers have estimated the cost of a seven-day special session at $65,000.

Ricketts spokesman Taylor Gage said the governor believes Kintner should resign "out of respect to the taxpayers."

"The governor's office is keeping open lines of communication with the speaker (Hadley) to see what course of action legislative leaders pursue," Gage said in a text message.
By Andy Bruce LONDON (Reuters) - The Bank of England's top two monetary policymakers said interest rates may need to fall further, as surveys on Friday sustained their view that even a "sledgehammer" stimulus will not be enough to fully counter a post-Brexit vote slowdown. Ben Broadbent, the BoE's deputy governor for monetary policy, told Reuters he would support reducing interest rates again, while his boss Mark Carney repeated that rates could fall further if needed. Their comments follow Thursday's rate cut to a new record low of 0.25 percent and the launch of stimulus measures worth up to 170 billion pounds - a huge package designed to offset the shock from June's vote by Britons to leave the European Union. "There was a majority that expected to vote to cut interest rates again, were the economy to unfold in line with forecasts, and yes, I was one," Broadbent said in an interview at the BoE, which was also attended by two other news organisations. Despite the scope of the new stimulus plan, Carney again emphasised that the number of unemployed was likely to rise by around a quarter of a million in the next few years, in an interview with LBC radio. A closely-watched survey of recruitment firms offered an early sign the BoE might be right, while carmaker Nissan raised doubts about its long-term investment plans for Britain. The labour market entered "freefall" after the vote to leave the EU, with the number of permanent jobs placed by recruitment firms last month falling at the fastest pace since May 2009, according to the Recruitment and Employment Confederation. "The Treasury pay attention to this survey - (it) has a good record of predicting the labour market. They will be worried," Rupert Harrison, chief macro strategist for multi-asset at BlackRock who was chief of staff to ex-finance minister George Osborne, said on Twitter. Most economists agreed on Thursday that the Bank of England's stimulus will need to be bolstered by reforms and significant investment from the government to truly counter the downturn resulting from the vote to leave the EU. But Broadbent warned no conventional monetary or fiscal tools could fully compensate for the deep structural changes to Britain's economy caused by leaving the EU. "There are limits to what monetary policy, indeed any demand management policy can do - conventional fiscal policy as well - to offset what is a structural effect on the economy," he said. Reflecting doubt about Britain's future as a trading power, Nissan's <7201.T> chief executive warned investment decisions in Britain would hinge on the terms of a Brexit deal with the EU. "The question is what's going to happen in terms of customs, what's going to happen in terms of trade, what's going to happen in terms of circulation, particularly of the products," Renault-Nissan Alliance Chief Executive Carlos Ghosn told the BBC. "All of these are very sensitive elements that are going to determine, how and how much we are going to invest in the UK, particularly for the European market." The outlook for Britain's housing market is also uncertain. A survey from mortgage lender Halifax showed British house prices fell in July, reversing gains seen the month before, but it is too soon to tell if Britain's vote to leave the European Union will have a major impact on the housing market. (Editing by Michael Holden and Richard Balmforth)
Candidates banned from standing for election in Hong Kong because they are advocating a split from mainland China led the city's first pro-independence rally Friday as tension over the upcoming vote escalates.

Five pro-independence candidates who tried to register were rejected by election officials who said their stance went against Hong Kong's mini-constitution.

Critics have slammed the move as censorship as fears grow over Beijing interference in the semi-autonomous city in a range of areas, from politics to media and education.

A park near the government's harbourfront headquarters filled with thousands of supporters through Friday evening.

Most sat calmly on the grass, many of them holding "Hong Kong Independence" placards and flags, as they listened to activists speak.

They applauded as banned candidate Edward Leung, the leader of new party Hong Kong Indigenous who is gaining a growing following, addressed the crowds.

"Hong Kong's sovereignty does not belong to (Chinese President) Xi Jinping, does not belong to the authorities, and does not belong to the Hong Kong government. It belongs to the Hong Kong people," said Leung.

Protester Satomi Cheng, a 49-year-old office manager, said many in the city were angry about China's tightening grip.

"Day by day our human rights... are taken away by the Hong Kong government and the Chinese government," she told AFP.

Some acknowledged that independence was a pipe dream in the face of a powerful Beijing, but said the city was running out of options.

"China has destroyed Hong Kong politics... we are supporting freedom and democracy," said student Clayton Chow, 19.

Andy Chan, 25, leader of the pro-independence Hong Kong National Party and a disqualified candidate, said the rally was a chance to talk about the future.

Pro-independence activists including Chan have previously advocated violence -- he said they had now decided that would not work.

Story continues

"We don't want people to get hurt or arrested, so we want to start with a public meeting and hopefully it will be a healthy path for us to get stronger," he told AFP.

As Chan wrapped up the rally he shouted "Hong Kong Independence", a chant echoed back to him by the jubilant crowd.

- No more taboo -

The idea of independence is dismissed as illegal by Beijing and Hong Kong authorities, and was a taboo subject until recent months, when new parties emerged campaigning for a breakaway.

They evolved out of the "localist" movement of mainly young campaigners disappointed after mass rallies in 2014, known as the Umbrella Movement, failed to win concessions from China on political reform.

Localist groups are pushing for more autonomy for Hong Kong and characterise it as culturally separate from the mainland.

Some localists do not advocate independence, but are instead pushing for self-determination for Hong Kong, an idea which has taken root among other pro-democracy campaigners.

Demosisto, a new party set up by Umbrella Movement activists including well-known campaigner Joshua Wong, has made self-determination its central platform, although it does not cast itself as a localist organisation.

Those calling for self-determination have been allowed to stand in September's legislative vote.

The ban on activists supporting a complete break from the mainland has triggered widespread anger across the pro-democracy camp. Thirty leading lawyers also came out against the move.

But Jasper Tsang, the outgoing president of the city's legislature, insisted it was legal.

"The government and people from all walks of life don't want to see the election becoming a stage for promoting Hong Kong independence," he told reporters.

Hong Kong was handed back to China by Britain in 1997 under an agreement that protects its freedoms for 50 years, but concern is growing that those liberties are disappearing.
Money talks, and in Hollywood there are few things with a louder voice, which is why many in the industry cheered Thursdays announcement that Selma director Ava DuVernay will become the first woman of color to direct a filmDisneys A Wrinkle in Timewith a budget over $100 million.

DuVernay is only the third woman to reach the $100-million-budget milestone, following Kathryn Bigelow, who directed the 2002 movie K-19: The Widowmaker, and Patty Jenkins, who is slated to direct the new Wonder Woman movie, which will be released in 2017.

RELATED: Campaign to Promote Women Artists Comes With a Surprising Challenge

Some women directors who started working long before DuVernays debut are only now getting the acclaim they deserve. Take this falls return to theaters of the 1991 film Daughters of the Dustwhich The New York Times cited as a source of inspiration for Beyonces Lemonade. The film examines the Gullah culture of the islands off the coast of South Carolina and Georgia, and it was the first film directed by a woman of color that went into wide theatrical release.

In an interview with TakePart, Dust director Julie Dash said she was giddy at the prospect of DuVernay directing a big-budget science fiction film, a genre with few films directed by minorities and even fewer directed by minority women.

In addition to the big budget, shes been able to break through the genre, the science fiction genre, which weve been trying to do for many, many years, Dash said.

The budget of the film is seen as indication of the faith Disney has in DuVernays abilities.

This is a milestone because anytime a woman, let alone a woman of color, is able to join a club that has had a no girls allowed sign for decades, it is a big deal, Melissa Silverstein, founder and publisher of the Women and Hollywood blog, wrote in an email to TakePart. Silverstein noted that of the top-grossing films from the last decade, only about 4 percent have women directors, a stat she calls unacceptable.

Story continues

For Dash, the recognition of DuVernays talent shows that the climate for minority filmmakers is improving.

[DuVernay] is wildly creative, and shes a director who takes her time. She pays attention to the detail, the tiny specifics of character in the story shes working on. I think thats why her work resonates with so many people and with other filmmakers as well, Dash said. Now shell have the opportunity to work with a budget that will allow you the time and the people and the gizmos and the gadgets and all of those wonderful things. Its a wonderful time.

That enthusiasm is shared by filmmaker Matthew A. Cherry, who met DuVernay at the 2010 Chicago premiere of her debut film, I Will Follow. He offered to work for her, helping with social media and spreading the word about the low-budget film, and has considered her a mentor ever since. Cherry has directed music videos for artists such as Snoop Dogg and Michelle Williams, and his latest feature film 9 Rides, debuted at South by Southwest in March.

Watching [I Will Follow] was the first time I had ever seen black people portrayed in a way that I thought was relatable, Cherry said. When I say relatable, it was the first time I saw black people in a film, the first time I thought, Wow, this is something I can do. 

Cherry says the $100 million milestone has the potential to have a similar impact on future minority directors.

I think its inspiring for the younger generation because for me, sometimes not seeing yourself doing a job leads you to think that its not even a possibility, he said. Younger filmmakers, particularly young black girls, will see Ava and the example that shes setting and will know that the skys the limit.

For more reactions to DuVernays groundbreaking achievement, click here.

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London (AFP) - Activists from Britain's Black Lives Matter movement blocked the main road into London Heathrow, Europe's busiest airport, on Friday as part of a nationwide day of protests against racism.

Ten people were arrested during the demonstration, which brought traffic to a standstill at the peak of the holiday season, while another five were held for blocking a road to Birmingham airport in central England, police said.

Black Lives Matter UK had called for a national "Shutdown" to mark the fifth anniversary of the police shooting of Londoner Mark Duggan, whose death in 2011 spark several nights of rioting in cities across England.

"Five years ago. One day after they killed Mark Duggan. One day before the riots. A moment for rage, reflection and rebuilding. A moment for coordinated nationwide action," said BLMUK on its Facebook page.

The group, inspired by the US protest movement against police shootings of black men, has highlighted British deaths in police custody and the fact that black people in Britain are more likely to be arrested and jailed.

Pictures circulating on social media showed a small number of protesters blocking the link road from a major motorway to Heathrow holding a banner reading "This is a crisis".

London's Metropolitan police said they had arrested ten people after a group blocked the M4 slip road to the airport at around 8:30 am (0730 GMT).

Four had been taken into custody but by midday, officers were still trying to release another six who had "locked" on to each other, it said in a statement.

"One lane (of the road) remains closed to ensure the safety of protesters and officers," it said.

A spokeswoman for police in Birmingham told AFP that four women and a man had been arrested after they gathered on the A45 road near the city's airport at 7:00 am.

Heathrow said security and the smooth running of Britain's main air hub was paramount.

Story continues

"Heathrow supports the right to peaceful protest within the law, but the safety and security of our passengers, aircraft and colleagues, together with the smooth running of the operation, is paramount," it said.

"We are sorry to those passengers whose journeys are being disrupted and we are working with the authorities to resolve the issue."

Black Lives Matter, which stopped traffic in south London for several hours in a protest last month, also planned action on Friday in east London, Manchester and Nottingham.
Black Lives Matter protesters have sparked traffic chaos across the U.K. by blocking a key route leading to Heathrow Airport, as well as targeting transport links in other major cities.

The campaign groups U.K. offshoot is calling for a nationwide shutdown today, to raise awareness of the movement, Londons Evening Standard reported.

Several of the protesters chained their arms together and lay down on the tarmac, beneath signs with slogans that read This is a crisis, White silence is violence and #shutdown.

As well as targeting Heathrow, the biggest airport in the U.K., events have been held in the cities of Manchester, Birmingham and Nottingham  where all tram lines have been shut down.

A statement on Londons Metropolitan Polices website said that 10 people have been arrested. Four have been taken to west London police stations where they remain in custody.

Officers are currently in the process of safely releasing the protesters who locked on to each other.

The Black Lives Matter group was set up in the U.S. three years ago in response to police killings of black men. Earlier this week more than 60 groups which are part of the movement teamed up to release a set of demands. Six were related to police and criminal justice reform as well as 40 recommendations on how to address them.

Student and activist Adam Elliot Cooper, one of the organisers of todays protests, told the BBCs Today programme that in Britain, on average, one person a week dies in the hands of the police, and black people are disproportionately affected by these killings.

Story continues

Dr Tony Sewell, from the Youth Justice Board, who also appeared on the programme, said that of men under 18 in custody in England and Wales, 21% are black and 60% are white  even though black people make up 4% of the population and white people 82%.

But he added he thought the UKs Black Lives Matter offshoot had missed a trick. He said: We could look at Black Lives Matter as a way of trying to address the whole issue of disproportionality of black young people in custody.

We should be really looking at this as a U.K. matter and not just following the U.S., which is a different context entirely.
LONDON (Reuters) - Ten people were arrested on Friday after protesters from the British arm of the "Black Lives Matter" movement blocked the main road to London's Heathrow Airport, police said. Four people were in custody while the other six were being disentangled having locked themselves together across the five-lane slip road leading to the airport, causing traffic congestion at the Europe's busiest hub. One lane of the road, a spur off a motorway which connects London to western England, remained closed at midday on Friday, police said, adding that the airport and road network were otherwise open and operating as normal. Black Lives Matter started in the United States as a reaction to fatal shootings of black people by white U.S. police officers. The British arm is protesting against what it says is a disproportionate number of black people among those who die in police custody in Britain. "To be stuck in traffic is an irritation. To be denied justice for decades is a crisis," Black Lives Matter UK said on its Twitter feed. Other demonstrations were being held in Birmingham, Manchester and Nottingham on Friday to mark the anniversary of the death of Mark Duggan, whose shooting by police five years ago helped spark several days of rioting in Britain. (Reporting by Sarah Young, editing by Stephen Addison)
The UK arm of the Black Lives Matter movement is holding coordinated rallies in London, Birmingham and Nottingham today.

This morning, a group of protestors in London lay down in the road on the approach to Heathrow airport, causing "traffic chaos", The Guardian reported. They held a banner that read: "This is a crisis."

London's Metropolitan police said a number of people were arrested. A spokesperson for Heathrow airport apologised to "passengers whose journeys are being disrupted", and said the airport is "working with the authorities to resolve the issue".

Activists also blocked the road to the city's airport in Birmingham, while they chanted No justice, no peace. Four women and one man were arrested just before 7.30am on the A45 in Solihull, close to Birmingham airport, according to a West Midlands police spokeswoman.

Protestors also lay in the middle of tram lines in Nottingham city centre, blocking traffic. A spokesperson for Nottinghamshire police said: Officers are currently on scene and are negotiating with a small number of protesters," The Guardian reported.

"It is believed that the unplanned demonstration is in line with a national #BlackLivesMatter protest. Our priority will remain the safety of everyone involved and to bring the demonstration to a peaceful conclusion.

Black lives matter protest Nottingham town centre, chained themselves to the floor, all trams and most buses stopped pic.twitter.com/Z8hWeNRVSK  Joe Howey (@howey555) August 5, 2016

The action comes a day after the five-year anniversary of the death of Mark Duggan and is part of #BlackAugust, a campaign to raise awareness of racism and police brutality.

The #BlackLivesMatterUK group previously announced on Twitter that they were calling for a "nationwide shutdown". The Facebook event page says: "5 years ago. 1 day after they killed Mark Duggan. 1 day before the riots. A moment for rage, reflection and rebuilding. A moment for coordinated nationwide action."

The action received support from many activists on Twitter.

YES so glad @ukblm are doing their #shutdown. #BlackLivesMatter in the UK; racism is alive and killing black people in the UK.  June Eric-Udorie (@juneericudorie) August 5, 2016

M4 towards Heathrow now #Shutdown. If we don't get justice, SHUT IT DOWN! #BlackLivesMatter pic.twitter.com/hJavhHm3ey  Wail Qasim (@WailQ) August 5, 2016

Others, meanwhile, blamed the protestors for inconveniencing people making their way to the airport for their holidays.

Shame #BlackLivesMatter pick on families going on holiday. Black people are part of our UK and of course they matter https://t.co/HV2pANdYaM  Londolozi (@Londolozi15) August 5, 2016

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How badly will the GDP growth be affected?

Singapore is still reeling from the downtrend economy of China, the city-states single largest export market, as it kept hitting the manufacturing and services sectors the hardest. This fixed analysts forecasted GDP growth at 1.7% in 2016.

BMI Research revealed the depressing industry breakdown with manufacturing, services, and construction sectors growing at just 0.3%, 0.5%, and 0.6%, respectively.

Major trade partners like EU, Japan, and US are also unlikely to contribute to a significant pick-up in demand for Singaporean goods, keeping the country's export outlook, and, by extension, its manufacturing sector outlook subdued, analyst said.

Scanty demand from these crucial markets will keep Singapores economy in sombre shape through 2017 with GDP growth rate pegged at only 2.2%.





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London (AFP) - Britain's child sex abuse inquiry suffered a set back on Thursday with the resignation of its chair Lowell Goddard, who said its "legacy of failure" had weighed upon her role.

Goddard became the third chair to quit since the inquiry was set up in 2014 to examine accusations of historic institutional paedophilia.

"Compounding the many difficulties was its legacy of failure which has been very hard to shake off and, with hindsight, it would have been better to have started completely afresh," said the New Zealander judge in a statement.

"While it has been a struggle in many respects, I am confident there have been achievements and some very real gains for victims and survivors of institutional child sexual abuse in getting their voices heard," she added.

The inquiry has so far launched 13 investigations into claims against politicians and within public institutions.

It was established in the wake of press revelations, confirmed by ministers, that files relating to 114 claims of sexual abuse against children between 1979 and 1999 had disappeared.

Interior minister Amber Rudd said the probe would "continue without delay" and praised the dedication of Goddard, who had previously conducted an inquiry into the police handling of child abuse in New Zealand.

The government has not yet given detail of who will replace Goddard.

"It is a testament to your commitment that you have taken the difficult decision to stand down now, having set the inquiry firmly on course, and allow someone else to lead it through to the end. With regret, I agree that this the right decision," said Rudd.

Goddard had recently faced criticism for spending more than 70 days abroad or on holiday since taking up the position in April 2015.

The decision by Goddard to resign was described as "astonishing" by Keith Vaz, an opposition Labour MP and chair of the Commons Home Affairs committee.

"We will expect a full explanation from both the prime minister and the new home secretary (interior minister) about these matters. We need to examine again the remit, cost, purpose and ambition of what the inquiry was tasked with."

Story continues

Richard Scorer, a lawyer at Slater and Gordon representing more than 50 abuse survivors at the inquiry, said it is crucial that Rudd appoint a new chair as soon as possible.

"It is incredibly important for survivors that the inquiry continues so the truth is uncovered and their voices are finally heard," he said.

Goddard replaced lawyer Fiona Woolf, who resigned in October 2014 following complaints from victims' groups related to her establishment ties.

The first chair of the inquiry, Elizabeth Butler-Sloss, stood down just a week into the job after questions were raised about how her brother handled abuse allegations in the 1980s while attorney general.
Indian filmmaker Mahmood Farooqui was given a seven-year jail sentence after being convicted of raping an American woman at his Delhi home last year.

Farooqui co-directed the 2010 release Peepli Live with his wife, Anusha Rizvi,

As reported earlier, the case first came to light when the victim, a research student from Columbia University, filed a police complaint which led to Farooqui's arrest last June. He was later released on bail as the case went to trial in September.

Read more: Bollywood Director Convicted of Rape, Faces Life in Prison

A lower court in Delhi convicted him last week and announced its sentence Thursday following which Farooqui was taken into custody. The court also ordered Farooqui to pay a fine of $748 (50,000 rupees) stating that the amount be given to the victim, according to the Hindustan Times. Farooqui is expected to appeal the verdict, and the case could go to a higher court. "Our fight for justice is by no means over," his wife had earlier told the newspaper. "We will approach the High Court for justice that has been denied to us."

Farooqui was first introduced to the research student, who is in her thirties, by Danish Hussain, a longtime friend of the director. In her complaint, the woman alleged that Farooqui was drunk when he raped her at his house after he invited her over to discuss her research project last March.

The Farooqui case comes at a time of increased media and judicial scrutiny of sexual violence against women in Indian society. The brutal gang-rape of a young Delhi woman on a moving bus in the city on Dec. 16, 2012, sparked nationwide protests, throwing light on rising crimes against women in India. The outcry led to a call for action that included legal amendments and fast-tracking rape cases such as the Farooqui case.

The 2012 incident was also referred to in the testimony of the American woman who told the court that she "did not resist" the rape because she feared she would also be killed like the Delhi gang-rape victim, according to the Indian Express.

Story continues

Peepli Live, which premiered at Sundance in 2010, was a satirical take on a poor farmer's struggle to pay his loans, highlighting India's painful issue of farmer suicides. The film was produced by top Bollywood star Aamir Khan and was put forward as India's entry for the foreign-language film Oscar in 2011.

Read more: Peepli Live -- Film Review
A Moroccan boxer is being held on suspicion of sexual assault against two female cleaners inside Rios Olympic village.

Read: The Age of Excellence: Meet the Oldest and Youngest Summer Olympics Competitors

Hassan Saada, a light-heavyweight boxer, was arrested on Wednesday.

The 22-year-old is accused of pushing one maid against a wall, pressing her with his thighs and trying to kiss her. Saada is also accused of squeezing another maids breast and making obscene gestures at her.

Judge Larissa Nunes Saly ordered him to 15 days detention pending an investigation.

Saada was set to have his first fight on Saturday and will miss the bout because of his detention.

Read: Student Headed to the Olympics Reveals How She Learned to Swim After Cousins Drowned

There has been no comment from Saada or the Moroccan Olympic committee about the allegations.

The Olympic opening ceremonies will begin on Friday night inside Rios iconic Maracana Stadium.

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Bradley Cooper is developing a miniseries about the rise of ISIS for HBO.

The four-time Academy Award nominee will executive produce the miniseries, called Black Flags. Based on the Pulitzer Prize-winning nonfiction book Black Flags: The Rise Of ISIS by Washington Post reporter Joby Warrick, the miniseries chronicles the rise of ISIS from its beginnings in Jordan to its gains in Syria. Warricks book explores how the Iraq War contributed to the growth of ISIS, told through interviews with terrorists, politicians and intelligence agents.

After reading the book, Cooper thought it would make a good limited TV series. He and producing partner Todd Phillips collaborated with Warrick on the project, Deadline reported.

Cooper and Phillips, partners under the production company Joint Effort, will release their companys first movie, War Dogs, which centers on two men who arm U.S. allies in Afghanistan, on Aug. 19.

HBO has not announced a release date for the miniseries.

[Deadline]
NFL: Cincinnati Bengals at New Orleans Saints

The New Orleans Saints were able to breathe a sigh of relief.

Brandin Cooks and Keenan Lewis missed practice yesterday, per ESPNs Mike Triplett. Sean Payton refused to give out information about Cooks, but Lewis was taking it easy; his first practice back since coming off the PUP list. As Triplett points out, theyre taking precautions with Lewis who missed most of last season with a hip injury.

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For Saints fans, this isnt anything to worry about. With the regular season roughly a full month away, the team doesnt want to overwork players. Any minor injury is a warrant for them to take practices off if necessary.

Cooks is their best receiver and they cant have him overwork. Lewis cant be rushed back either, as he will need plenty of time to get back into the swing of things after plenty of time off.

Lewis is in his fourth year with the Saints. After a remarkable first season with them in 2013, hes struggled a little bit with injuries and his production has slowed down. Perhaps a new defensive coordinator in Dennis Allen is all he needs to find his groove again.

As for Cooks, hell undoubtedly be Drew Brees top weapon in 2015 after leading the team in receiving last season. If Brees is to beat father time again, itll come thanks to the help from his star wideout.

The post Brandin Cooks and Keenan Lewis suffer minor injuries appeared first on Cover32.
By Ana Mano

SAO PAULO, Aug 5 (Reuters) - Insurers who sell policies limiting executives' liability from lawsuits have seen a surge in business thanks to a sprawling Brazilian corruption probe involving state-controlled Petroleo Brasileiro SA and a rash of corporate bankruptcies.

The country's so-called Directors & Officers (D&O) insurance market has more than doubled in value since 2011 based on the volumes of premiums paid, rising to 370 million reais ($114 million) last year, according to data from industry regulator Susep, the most recent available.

Such policies, which cover claims against senior executives for the decisions and actions they take as part of their management duties, typically cover legal bills arising from a criminal investigation. However, if the defendant is convicted and criminal intent is proven, then the insurer may demand repayment of those costs, says Juliana Casiradzi, D&O manager at Marsh.

Together with the sweeping Petrobras probe, a severe recession has contributed to a surge in claims to about 47 percent of premiums by 2015, Susep data show, up from just 9 percent in 2011. Typically, bankruptcies trigger tax, labor and environmental liabilities against companies and their executives.

But even the higher rate of claims is considered relatively healthy for the industry as it lags the overall claims to premiums ratio of 65 to 70 percent for the domestic market, said Flavio Faggion, owner of Siscorp, a Sao Paulo-based insurance market analysis firm.

Yet the spike in claims did catch some insurers by surprise.

For example, Zurich AG's local unit saw claims exceed premiums by 53 percent in 2015, according to Susep. Zurich declined to comment on the data.

Some insurers trying to manage soaring claims have resorted to barring firms with severe financial woes or links to corruption probes, said Marsh's Casiradzi, adding that companies with extensive government contracts were seen as particularly hard to insure.

Story continues

Premiums have also soared, with some clients paying up to 50 percent more to renew their annual policies, she said.

GOV'T CONTRACTS A DANGER SIGN

But the market, which remains underpenetrated by global standards, is expected to expand at an annual rate of at least 15 percent, Fator Corretora's D&O manager Luis Rosanelli said.

D&O premiums represent 0.2 percent of Brazil's $58 billion insurance market whereas in the United States and Europe penetration is between 1 and 3 percent, said Alvaro Igrejas, corporate risk director at broker Willis Towers Watson PLC .

A large number of privately owned and family businesses lack coverage, and certain big companies, including state-run power generator Furnas Centrais Eletricas SA, only bought their first D&O policy a year ago, Rosanelli explained.

Beneficiaries may include Chubb Ltd, which grabbed about 55 percent of Brazilian D&O premiums last year after buying Itau Unibanco's large corporate risk portfolio in 2014. Smaller players such as France's Axa and U.S.-based Travelers Cos also stand to gain. While in 2015 Axa paid no claims, Travelers' kept claims below 8 percent. Both declined to comment.

BLOCKED ACCOUNT

Even excluding the vast Petrobras bribery and corruption probe, D&O is virtually indispensable amid Brazil's labyrinthine+ labor, tax, regulatory and environmental-laws.

Former TIM Participacoes CEO Mario Cesar de Araujo said legal cases stemming from his job with the company six years ago still haunt him, with judges regularly blocking access to his bank account.

"I never suffered any personal loss but it is an inconvenience," Araujo told Reuters, adding that he had had cash blocked from a personal account, though all such funds were eventually unfrozen.

Often used as a bargaining chip when executive compensation is being negotiated, D&O policies are widely used in the Brazilian market, says Guilherme Petreche, associate director at Page Executive, the global headhunting firm.

Multinationals also occasionally buy local D&O policies for their executives to insulate them from domestic legal claims.

However, given higher premiums, a recent study by headhunting firm Page Executive with 1,000 top ranking executives in Brazilian companies showed a 3 percent drop in executives covered by a D&O policy in 2015. ($1 = 3.1887 Brazilian reais) (Reporting by Ana Mano; Editing by Christian Plumb, Bernard Orr)
LONDON (Reuters) - Britain said it was concerned about its nationals imprisoned in Iran including a British-Iranian aid worker who has been detained since early April and accused by Revolutionary Guards of trying to overthrow Iran's government. Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, who was arrested as she tried to leave Iran after a visit with her two-year-old daughter, appeared in the Revolutionary Court on Monday. "We continue to raise our strong concerns about British prisoners in Iran, including Mrs Zaghari-Ratcliffe, at the highest levels in both London and Tehran," a spokeswoman for Britain's Foreign Office said. Zaghari-Ratcliffe, 37, works for the Thomson Reuters Foundation, a London-based charity that is independent of Thomson Reuters and operates independently of Reuters News. The Foreign Office spokeswoman said former Prime Minister David Cameron had repeatedly raised the case with his Iranian counterpart. "We are deeply concerned by recent reports that Mrs Zaghari-Ratcliffe has been charged but has not been allowed to see a lawyer," the spokeswoman said. "We remain ready to facilitate Mrs Zaghari-Ratcliffes daughter's return to the UK if requested." (Writing by Guy Faulconbridge; Editing by Catherine Evans and Janet McBride)
Bruker Corporation BRKR reported adjusted earnings per share (EPS) of 20 cents in the second quarter of 2016, up from the year-ago quarters figure by a penny. Adjusted EPS was in line with the Zacks Consensus Estimate.

Per management, lower share count contributed to this bottom-line improvement, although the company observed lower operating profit.

Excluding one-time adjustments, Bruker reported net income of $14.5 million or 9 cents per share, exhibiting a year-over-year decline of 33.8% or 30.8% in the second quarter.

Revenues in Detail

Bruker reported revenues of $371.7 million in the second quarter, down 6.1% year over year. The top line also missed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $408 million. While acquisition boosted Bruker's second-quarter revenues by 3.1%, foreign exchange rates had no impact. Excluding these, Bruker's organic revenues declined 9.2% on a year-over-year basis.

Per management, academic funding delays in Europe, weakening industrial markets globally and lower Maldi Biotyper sales in China as well as in the U.S can be attributed to the deterioration in the companys second quarter revenue growth.

Geographically, the company witnessed double-digit revenue decline in Europe and Japan, whereas North America experienced double-digit revenue growth.

BRUKER CORP Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise

BRUKER CORP Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise | BRUKER CORP Quote

Margin Trends

Adjusted gross margin in the reported quarter expanded 250 basis points (bps) to 47.6%, owing to the companys Jordan Valley acquisition, NMR revenue growth, price increases, operational improvements and favorable product mix. However these positive effects were marginally neutralized by the lower Nano and CALID volume observed in the second quarter.

Selling, general & administrative expenses increased 2.4% to $100.9 million, while research and development expenses fell 1.9% to $36.8 million. Adjusted operating income dropped 6.8% year over year to $40 million. However, the adjusted operating margin remained flat at 10.8% in the quarter.

Story continues

Financial Position

Bruker exited the reported quarter with cash and cash equivalents and short-term investments of $420.4 million compared with $420.5 million at the end of first quarter of 2016. At the end of the second quarter, net cash flow from operating activities was $18.1 million, compared with $1.5 million of net cash outflow recorded in the year-ago quarter.

Adjusted free cash flow was $8.9 million in the quarter, compared with free cash outflow worth $9.2 in the prior-year quarter. This improvement was primarily driven by increased working capital.

During the reported quarter, Bruker repurchased 1.2 million shares for $34.5 million. At the end of the second quarter, the company was left with approximately $42.4 million of the remaining authorization to buy back shares, as part of the initial $225 million share back program.

Guidance

For full-year 2016, Bruker updated its guidance. Management currently expects its reported revenue in 2016 to be approximately flat compared to the prior year, including an organic decline of 2% and acquisition related growth of 2%. The company also expects to its adjusted operating margin to increase by approximately 75100 bps year over year. Earlier, the company projected organic revenue growth of approximately 3% as well as adjusted operating margin expansion of 100 bps, year over year. The current Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2016 revenues stands at $1.66 billion.

However, on the bottom-line front, Bruker maintains adjusted EPS projection in the range of 97 cents$1.02 for 2016. The current Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2016 EPS stands at $1.01, within the companys guidance.

Our Take

Bruker ended second quarter of 2016 on a disappointing note. While the companys earnings came in line with the Zacks Consensus Estimate, revenues missed the mark. Although year over year growth was observed in the bottom line figure of the reported quarter, but that was merely fuelled by lower share count and not by any strong operating results on the companys part. Further, revenues suffered a high-single-digit decline which buoys further pessimism.

On a brighter note, the company exhibited solid cash balance position on the back of improved free cash flow compared to the prior-year period. Further, a comparatively better performance delivered by Brukers BioSpin group, optics and semiconductor metrology businesses as well as a margin recovery observed in the Bruker Nano-surfaces business, encourages us. Evidently the cost-reduction action previously adopted by the company in its Nano-surfaces business played its role suitably. However, a reduction observed in managements revenue guidance for the companys 2016 results, again deflates this optimism.

Zacks Rank & Key Picks

Bruker currently has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). Some better-ranked medical stocks worth a look are IDEXX Laboratories, Inc. IDXX, Masimo Corporation MASI and Natus Medical Inc. BABY. All these stocks sport a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy).

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When trader Vivek Mehra buys artwork from the remote corners of India, he braces himself for a world of pain as he navigates the country's notoriously complex tax system.

But Mehra, who makes and sells furniture, is among throngs of business owners hopeful Prime Minister Narendra Modi's moves this week for a new, single national sales tax will make life much easier.

At the moment, Mehra has to pay different rates of sales tax in different states, a policy that means endless hold-ups when crossing interstate borders.

"You can be stranded behind 300 trucks at the border and even one single piece of paper missing can mean your load is confiscated," he told AFP in his New Delhi workshop.

Lawmakers have voted in favour of scrapping India's jumble of federal and state taxes and introducing a single goods-and-services tax (GST), creating a common market for the first time.

The government said the move, hailed as India's most significant economic reform in decades, would reduce double taxation, cut red tape and make the system more efficient.

Experts said the tax could eventually help boost India's already strong economic growth by up to two percentage points.

"Consumption will go up, production will go up, investments will go up, investment into production will go up, so this is a great development," said Adi Godrej, chairman of consumer goods giant the Godrej Group.

"To my mind it is the biggest economic reform after the liberalisation of 1991," he said, referring to historic moves to open up India to international trade.

- 'Stiff targets' -

Modi has battled fiercely to introduce the tax after facing criticism for being too slow to introduce much-needed reforms after storming to power in 2014.

The main opposition Congress party, which first proposed a GST a decade ago, blocked the current one in parliament for 12 months before finally agreeing to an amended version.

But experts say the changes needed to win political support may have blunted the overall boost to the economy.

Story continues

States will still be allowed, for example, to separately tax alcohol, petrol and other products that are likely to be excluded from the GST.

The government also faces a race against time to introduce the tax by its deadline of next April, when the new financial year starts. Half of India's states have to now ratify the move in their parliaments before it can be enshrined in law.

Thousands of tax officials must also be trained in the new regime, government IT systems overhauled and companies themselves briefed on complying with the changes.

"It is always good to set stiff targets and try meet them, rather than have no targets at all," Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said of the deadline, which many experts believe is optimistic.

The main rate of the GST must also still be thrashed out by a council of state and central officials.

Congress says it wants the rate capped at 18 percent of any purchase of goods or service to avoid what it calls "creeping taxation".

- 'Just one tax' -

States with lots of manufacturers may battle to push the rate higher.

They stand to lose revenues because the money collected would now go to the state where the product is consumed, although New Delhi has pledged to reimburse them for the first five years.

"We need to wait for details and tax rates to come out before speculating about the GST's effectiveness," warned Sujan Hajra, chief economist at Anand Rathi Securities.

But Prakash Tulsiani, chief operating officer with Allcargo Logistics based in Mumbai, is confident the move means increased productivity, with less paperwork and faster delivery of goods.

"Now, we don't have to worry about multi-level taxation levied by different states," said Tulsiani.

About 150 countries worldwide have some form of GST or VAT (Value Added Tax), according to the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development.

Mehra, who employs around 200 artisans and others at his workshops and showrooms in Delhi and neighbouring Rajasthan state, hopes the changes will also mean fewer headaches.

"Hopefully there's only one department that we now have to answer to, we don't have to go to excise, we don't have to go to VAT and various other departments. We just pay one tax and that's it," he said.

"That's what we hope is going to happen. But let's see what the fine print says."
By Steve Gorman

(Reuters) - The mayor of Stockton, California, was arrested on Thursday on a felony eavesdropping charge stemming from a strip poker game he is accused of surreptitiously recording at a summer camp he hosts for disadvantaged inner-city children, prosecutors said.

Mayor Anthony Ray Silva, 41, was also charged with three misdemeanor counts - contributing to the delinquency of a minor, child endangerment and furnishing alcoholic beverages to individuals under the legal drinking age of 21, according to a criminal complaint filed in court.

Silva is accused of using his cellphone to make an audio recording of conversation among several young people, including a 16-year-old boy, who were playing strip poker with the mayor inside his cabin at the camp.

Prosecutors said in a media statement it was evident that the participants, who were naked, were recorded against their will. Amador County District Attorney Todd Riebe said those present besides the mayor included two to three females and three males, all ranging in age from 18 to 20.

The criminal complaint further accuses Silva of supplying alcohol to six underage youths. Prosecutors said some were camp counselors.

The incidents, according to prosecutors, took place last August at the Stockton Silver Lake Camp in Amador County, which lies in California Gold Country on the edge of the Sierras northeast of Stockton.

In addition to hosting unprivileged children at the city-leased camp each summer, Silva has served as president of the Boys & Girls Clubs of Stockton for the past six years.

Silva's lawyer, Mark Reichel, told Reuters his client "will be vindicated" and suggested the case was politically motivated, noting that the mayor, a Republican, faces a tough election run-off in November against a Democratic city councilman.

Asked whether Silva was playing strip poker with youths from his camp, Reichel replied, "I highly doubt it." Reichel added, "I can't wait to fight them in court, so we can expose the epidemic of kids at summer camp playing strip poker."

Story continues

Silva was elected mayor of Stockton, a city of about 300,000 east of San Francisco, in November 2012, months after the municipality filed for bankruptcy. The city emerged from bankruptcy protection in February 2015.

Silva, who is not married, was arrested by FBI agents Thursday morning at the camp and released on $20,000 bond later in the day.

His next court date is Aug. 18. If convicted of the charges, he could face up to three years in prison.

(Reporting by Steve Gorman; Editing by Tom Brown, Bill Rigby and Bernard Orr)
Phnom Penh (AFP) - Cambodian customs Friday seized more than 600 kilograms of illegal ivory in a container packed with corn that had languished unclaimed at a port for two years after being shipped from Africa.

The haul was made after officials decided to open the container, which had been left at the southwestern port of Sihanoukville weeks after a crackdown on ivory smuggling in 2014.

"The shipment arrived at the port more than two years ago... but nobody has come to claim it," Kin Ly, head of the port's customs office.

"The elephant tusks were hidden underneath sacks of corn," Kin Ly said, adding that the ivory had been shipped from Africa and was destined for a third country.

He was unable to say which country or provide an estimate of how much the tusks worth.

In 2014, Cambodia seized more than three tonnes of ivory -- the country's largest-ever haul of elephant tusks -- hidden in a container of beans.

The same year, Cambodian police arrested two Vietnamese men who were trying to smuggle nearly 80 kilograms (180 lbs) of illegal ivory from Africa.

Kin Ly said the container may not have been claimed because of links with those smuggling groups.

Conservationists have voiced concern that Cambodia is emerging as a key transit route for African ivory, which often makes its way to wealthy buyers in Vietnam or China.

Poaching of elephants has risen sharply in Africa to meet demand in Asia.

More than 35,000 elephants are slaughtered each year on the African continent from an approximate population of more than 450,000 in the wild.
Ottawa (AFP) - Canada's jobless rate rose 0.1 percentage points in July to 6.9 percent, the government announced Friday.

Full-time employment fell while part-time work was up in the month, said Statistics Canada.

There were fewer youths, aged 15 to 24 years, working mostly part-time jobs in July.

Ontario and Newfoundland provinces shed positions while British Columbia -- with the nation's lowest regional unemployment rate -- and New Brunswick saw an uptick in job creation.

Overall, fewer Canadians were employed in public administration, while the number of healthcare and social assistance jobs increased.

The public sector shed jobs, while there was little change among private sector and self-employed workers.

Statistic Canada, however, cautioned that the July data was incomplete. For the third straight month, it had not received data from the Fort McMurray, Alberta region which saw sweeping shutdowns of oil operations in May due to devastating wildfires.
Ottawa (AFP) - Canada posted a record Can$3.6 billion (US$2.7 billion) trade deficit in June, the government statistical agency said Friday.

Imports rose 0.8 percent to Can$45.0 billion in the month, while exports increased 0.6 percent to Can$41.4 billion, widening Canada's trade deficit well beyond the Can$2.8 billion forecast by analysts.

Imports from the United States -- Canada's largest trading partner -- climbed while exports fell. As a result, Canada's trade surplus with the US narrowed from Can$2.6 billion in May to Can$1.8 billion in June.

Canada also exported more goods to Britain, Spain, South Korea and China while importing less from Switzerland and Norway. This was partially offset by an uptick in imports from Germany and Saudi Arabia.

Gains in motor vehicle imports reached a record high in June, according to Statistics Canada, led by passenger cars and trucks.

Canadian imports of refined petroleum products, communications and audio and video equipment increased, while fewer aircraft engines and parts were shipped abroad.

Energy exports climbed for a fourth consecutive month as oil and natural gas prices jumped 9.1 percent and 32.3 percent, respectively.

Exports of plastic resins, dyes and pigments, and petrochemicals, and basic chemicals were also up.

The month of June, however, saw lower exports of unwrought gold to the United States and Hong Kong, as well as lower exports of unwrought nickel and nickel alloys -- down 17.5 percent to Can$256 million, the lowest level since January 2010.
Https%3a%2f%2fblueprint-api-production.s3.amazonaws.com%2fuploads%2fcard%2fimage%2f168523%2f6ed3b79f623a48eb820133dd01856d59

You know, Carol, that movie about a couple of gal pals taking a road trip together who suddenly get very upset because they're both on their periods or something girly like that?

Well, that's what you think Todd Hayne's film about a lesbian couple in the 1950s who suffer grave consequences to be together is about if you saw it on a Delta flight. The airline shows a version of the movie that is censored to the point that Rooney Mara and Cate Blachett's characters don't even kiss.

SEE ALSO: LGBTQ people share their stories of violence and resilience

Comedian Cameron Esposito was furious about the censorship. Esposito points out that heterosexual relationships don't receive the same treatment, meaning that it's not simply a matter of removing graphic scenes, but a case of queer erasure.

May viewers who had only seen the film on flights had no idea the characters in the movie ever have a physical relationship.

Delta in a statement to After Ellen explained that the edited version of the film available in-flight was provided directly by the studio, The Weinstein Company,.

Mashable has reached out to The Weinstein Company for a comment.

Carol screenwriter Phyllis Nagy informed fans they can view the uncensored versions on American and United flights.

Esposito, meanwhile, is waiting on a satisfactory answer to why such tame acts of LGBTQ intimacy are being edited out of movies.

Don't be a Harge, Delta; we're not ugly people.
* Richter stocks hit 2-week low on failed U.S. test of drug * Poland plans new changes to constitutional legislation * Markets shrug off Polish plan which lacks details * Hungary's output falls but trade surplus surges By Sandor Peto and Jakub Iglewski BUDAPEST/WARSAW, Aug 5 (Reuters) - The stocks of Hungarian drug maker Richter fell on Friday, pulling down Budapest's main equities index, after the company said a clinical trial of its cariprazine drug in the U.S. failed.

In contrast with most Central European assets, which were rangebound, Richter's stocks fell 4.2 percent by 0820 GMT.

Richter and its U.S. partner Allergan said a clinical trial of cariprazine as adjunctive treatment to major depressive disorder failed, but they added that they would continue the trials.

Cariprazine is already used for a treatment of other illnesses. The new trials do not affect that, so the reaction of Richter stocks could be "moderate, a few percent", Erste analysts said in a note.

Budapest's stock index fell 1.6 percent, while other stock indices in the region were mostly rangebound.

Warsaw's bluechip index dropped by only 0.1 percent and the zloty traded near 15-week highs.

Polish assets surged this week after a bill proposed by the country's president to tackle the problem of Swiss franc mortgages proved less painful to banks than feared, reducing the risk that credit rating agencies will downgrade Poland.

The bill leaves some uncertainty over costs and another key risk to Polish assets is tension with the European Commision over the rule of law in Poland, mainly changes to the constitutional court.

Senate speaker Stanislaw Karczewski reminded investors of that latter issue, telling the state news agency PAP that the ruling Law and Justice party planned another amendment to the law on the constitutional tribunal.

Polish assets did not react because the politician did not disclose details on the planned new changes.

"The negative scenario (regarding the court) has already been priced in the exchange rate so I think that the only change that could move the market would be some kind of compromise," said Mateusz Sutowicz, analyst at Bank Millennium.

Story continues

"This would be positive for the zloty as it would mean reduced risk of further rating downgrades," he added.

Poland's 10-year government bond yield was off 9-month lows, rising 4 basis points to 2.75 percent as investors took profit in European debt markets after Thursday's rally triggered by economic stimulus measures from the Bank of England.

The forint was steady near two-month highs.

Hungary's industrial output fell 0.3 percent in annual terms in June, but the disappointment was upset by a surge in the country's trade surplus to a monthly record 1.129 billion euros in the same month.

CEE SNAPSHOT AT 1020 CET MARKETS CURRENCIES Latest Previous Daily Change bid close change in 2016 Czech Hungary Polish Romanian Croatian Serbian Note: calcula previous close at 1800 CET daily ted change from STOCKS Latest Previous Daily Change close change in 2016 Prague 850.86 856.10 -0.61% -11.03% Budapest 27138.83 27574.38 -1.58% +13.45% Warsaw Buchares 6734.96 6707.50 +0.41% -3.85% t Ljubljan Zagreb Belgrade Sofia BONDS Yield Yield Spread Daily (bid) change vs Bund change in Czech spread Republic 2-year 5-year Poland 2-year 5-year FORWARD RATE AGREEMENT 3x6 6x9 9x12 3M interban k Czech (PRIBO R=) Hungary (BUBOR =) Poland (WIBOR =) Note: are for FRA ask quotes prices ********************************************************** **** (Reporting by Sandor Peto; Editing by Tom Heneghan)
From tongue rings to nose studs, celebrities rock all different types of body jewelry. But now several fashion-forward A-listers are sporting shiny jewels in an unexpected place: their hair.

Braid piercing is the latest Hollywood hair trend. First spotted on Christina Aguilera at a May taping of The Voice, celebrity hairstylist Chris Appleton began threading hoops through clients hair to achieve a punk-inspired look.

#GetTheLook  #VoicePlayoffs last night! Go to www.christinaaguilera.com A photo posted by Christina Aguilera (@xtina) on May 11, 2016 at 11:17am PDT

Last nights look ???? #thevoice @simoneharouche @chrisappleton1 @etienneortega A photo posted by Christina Aguilera (@xtina) on May 11, 2016 at 2:18pm PDT

#GetTheLook  #VoiceTop9 last night! Go to www.christinaaguilera.com A photo posted by Christina Aguilera (@xtina) on May 10, 2016 at 11:17am PDT

I braided the side of the hair to open up the face and added hoops as a detail, Appleton explained on Christinas website.

Now celebrities just cant get enough.

Taking note from Xtina, Blac Chyna started adding jewels to her own braid. The future Angela Kardashian wore a wraparound braid piercing to her Chymoji release party.

Hair by #kellonderyck makeup @jolisarena #chymojii release/bday @blacchyna A photo posted by Kellon Deryck (@kellonderyck) on May 11, 2016 at 3:38pm PDT

Her stylist Kellon Deryck revealed that the look was inspired by Chynas desire to try something different. The fun hairstyle allows celebs to feel the excitement of a new piercing  without the permanency and without the pain.

@blacchyna hair by #kellonderyck custom color #pearl A video posted by Kellon Deryck (@kellonderyck) on May 10, 2016 at 9:31pm PDT

Shay Mitchell was next to jump on the braid piercing bandwagon, donning an intricate line of hair hoops for the 2016 Teen Choice Awards on Sunday.

Love a little detail. @shaym for teen awards Hair by me Makeup @patrickta Styling @bartolistyle A photo posted by Chris Appleton (@chrisappleton1) on Jul 31, 2016 at 7:25pm PDT

This is what Shay means when she says she #putaringonit.

Story continues

Its all in the details #putaringonit ???? A photo posted by Shay Mitchell (@shaym) on Aug 1, 2016 at 1:42pm PDT

Even Katy Perry is rocking it in her new video of the Olympic anthem Rise.

Through the blood, sweat (lots of it), and tears, we keep rising ???????? Finally, my new video for #RISE. Link in bio! A photo posted by KATY PERRY (@katyperry) on Aug 4, 2016 at 5:05pm PDT

And if anyone was skeptical about the lifespan of this hair trend, Kim Kardashian sealed the deal when she debuted a new look Thursday night on Snapchat. Keeping things casual in a vintage denim jacket from hubby Kanye Wests Life of Pablo line, Kim twirled around to show off a head full of braids  complete with rows of glistening braid piercings.

Go follow @khlokardashianarmy A video posted by Kim Kardashian Snapchats (@kimmysnapchats) on Aug 4, 2016 at 7:40pm PDT

Chris Appleton works his magic once again.

Kim K. is proof that the braid piercing trend is here to stay  and we cant wait to see who wears it next!
BEIJING (Reuters) - China on Friday convicted a rights activist for subversion and sentenced him to three years prison, the fourth such sentencing this week and the latest move by authorities to crackdown on activists and lawyers. Gou Hongguo, 54, an associate of the Beijing Fengrui law firm, pleaded guilty and said he would not appeal the sentence, the official Xinhua news agency said. However a three year reprieve accompanying the sentence means Gou is likely to be released subject to strict monitoring. A court in China's northeastern city of Tianjin in recent days has handed out prison terms of more than seven years to activists and lawyers linked with the Beijing law firm, which has represented high-profile clients critical of the government. Dozens of people linked to the firm have been swept up in a crackdown on dissents since July last year, as President Xi Jinping's administration has tightened control, citing a need to boost national security and stability. International rights groups have criticized the trials as unfair and politically motivated, and the United States has called for the release of the lawyers and activists. Xinhua cited prosecutors as saying Gou had been influenced by the underground church leader Hu Shigen's ideology of "overturning the government". Hu was sentenced on Wednesday to seven and a half years prison, and Zhou Shifeng, the firm's director, was given seven years on Thursday, both on similar charges. Prominent activist Zhai Yanmin was sentenced on Tuesday. Authorities have accused the firm and its associates of orchestrating protests outside courts, politicizing ordinary legal cases, and conspiring with "foreign forces" that sought to undermine China's ruling Communist Party. "Gou Hongguo was sent outside of China's borders by Hu Shigen to receive training related to subverting the government," Xinhua said. Their "systematic ideology for subverting government power" seriously damaged national security and social stability, it said. The court said Gou's "light punishment" was due in part to his expressed contrition, according to a summary posted to its official microblog. The court did not answer phone calls seeking comment. China consistently rejects any criticism of its human rights record, saying it adheres to the rule of law. Subversion charges are commonly leveled against critics of the party, and rights groups say in such cases there is little chance of a fair trial in party-controlled courts. (Reporting by Michael Martina; Editing by Michael Perry)
BEIJING (Reuters) - China on Friday accused Japan's new defense minister of recklessly misrepresenting history after she declined to say whether Japanese troops massacred civilians in China during World War Two. Tomomi Inada, a 57-year old lawmaker known for her revisionist views of Japan's wartime actions, took up her post on Thursday and repeatedly sidestepped questions at a briefing on whether she condemned atrocities committed by Japan. China consistently reminds its people of the 1937 massacre in which it says Japanese troops killed 300,000 people in its then capital. A postwar Allied tribunal put the death toll at 142,000, but some conservative Japanese politicians and scholars deny a massacre took place at all. China's defense ministry, in a statement on its microblog, expressed "indignation" over Inada's comments, and said there was ironclad evidence of the Nanjing massacre. "Her open denial of the ... facts is simply an attempt to cover up Japan's history of aggression and challenge the international order by reviving militarism," the ministry said. "We must point out that facing up to history is the basis for resolving historical problems," it said. "If history is denied, China-Japan relations have no future." Inada told reporters on Thursday that whether Japan's wartime actions should be described as an invasion "depends on one's point of view", and said she thought it was not "appropriate" for her to comment on the matter. Inada has called for a revamp of Japan's war-renouncing constitution to ease constraints on its military operating overseas. She has been a regular visitor to Tokyo's Yasukuni Shrine for war dead that neighbors, including China and South Korea, see as a symbol of Japan's past militarism. Inada has also questioned whether Japan forced women from Korea and other countries into military brothels. Relations between the neighbors, haunted by the legacy of World War Two and conflicting claims over a group of East China Sea islets, have been strained in recent years as China's military modernization has rattled Tokyo. (Reporting by Michael Martina; Additional reporting by Tim Kelly and Nobuhiro Kubo in Tokyo)
The first official look at Christopher Nolan's highly anticipated WWII movie Dunkirk has arrived.

The Warner Bros. film centers on the British military evacuation of the French city of Dunkirk in 1940, one of the biggest battles during the war.

The minute-long teaser is a series of several wartime vignettes, but features very few familiar faces from the A-list cast, which includes Tom Hardy, Mark Rylance and Kenneth Branagh, as well as One Direction alum Harry Styles.

Harry Styles Joins Cast of Christopher Nolan's WWII Action Thriller 'Dunkirk'

The official trailer is set to screen ahead of Suicide Squad, the studio's big superhero release that is out this weekend. Warner Bros. released the trailer on YouTube, following a pirated clip of nearly half of the teaser that surfaced online, which appeared to be taken on a mobile device from inside a movie theater.

Dunkirk, which is being shot on 65mm large format film and IMAX, will hit theaters July 19, 2017.

Watch the teaser trailer in the player below.

This article was originally published by The Hollywood Reporter.
By Jonathan Stempel

NEW YORK, Aug 5 (Reuters) - A federal appeals court rejected a one-time Florida billionaire's bid to revive his $800 million lawsuit accusing Citigroup Inc of fraudulently hiding its exposure to subprime and other toxic mortgages, inducing him to hold on to shares he otherwise would have sold.

The 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Manhattan on Friday said Citigroup and former officials, including two chief executives Charles Prince and Vikram Pandit, were not liable to trusts and corporate entities overseen by Arthur Williams and his wife.

Lawyers for the Williamses did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Citigroup spokeswoman Danielle Romero-Apsilos said the bank was pleased with the decision.

Williams, the founder of what became Primerica Financial Services, has said he had planned in May 2007 to sell his 17.6 million Citigroup share stake, but decided to sell just 1 million because the bank assured investors it was in good shape.

It was not until March 2009 that he finally sold the rest at $3.09 each, costing him "the financial benefit of his life's work," court papers show.

He sued for the difference between that price and the $51.59 price prevailing in May 2007.

But the appeals court called the damages "too undeterminable and speculative," saying Williams could only hypothesize what the stock price might have been at a given time had New York-based Citigroup disclosed its exposures sooner.

Citigroup ultimately lost $27.68 billion in 2008, and underwent a series of federal bailouts that have since been repaid.

Pandit and the bank's current Chief Executive Michael Corbat have spent years shedding troubled assets.

Citigroup, once the largest U.S. bank by assets, now ranks fourth.

Friday's decision upheld an October 2013 ruling by U.S. District Judge Sidney Stein in Manhattan.

The decision was delayed because the appeals court asked the Supreme Court in Delaware, where Citigroup is incorporated, whether Williams should have sued on behalf of the bank and other shareholders, in a so-called derivative lawsuit.

Story continues

In May, Chief Justice Leo Strine in Delaware said the claims were "direct" because "they belong to the holders and are ones that only the holders can assert."

The case is AHW Investment Partnership et al v. Citigroup Inc, 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, No. 13-4488.

(Reporting by Jonathan Stempel in New York; Editing by Bernadette Baum)
(Adds comment from plaintiffs' lawyer, updates share price)

By Jonathan Stempel

NEW YORK, Aug 5 (Reuters) - A federal appeals court rejected a one-time Florida billionaire's bid to revive his $800 million lawsuit accusing Citigroup Inc of fraudulently hiding its exposure to subprime and other toxic mortgages, inducing him to hold on to shares he otherwise would have sold.

The 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Manhattan on Friday said Citigroup and former officials, including two chief executives Charles Prince and Vikram Pandit, were not liable to trusts and corporate entities overseen by Arthur Williams and his wife.

"We respectfully disagree with the court's opinion, and are considering our appeal options," Jacob Zamansky, a lawyer for the Williamses, said in a phone interview.

Citigroup spokeswoman Danielle Romero-Apsilos said the bank was pleased with the decision.

Williams, the founder of what became Primerica Financial Services, has said he had planned in May 2007 to sell his 17.6 million Citigroup share stake, but decided to sell just 1 million because the bank assured investors it was in good shape.

It was not until March 2009, upon "realizing that Citigroup likely was never going to recover," that he sold the rest of his stake at $3.09 per share, costing him "the financial benefit of his life's work," court papers show.

He sued for the difference between that price and the $51.59 per-share price prevailing in May 2007.

But the appeals court called the damages "too undeterminable and speculative," saying Williams could only hypothesize what the stock price might have been at a given time had New York-based Citigroup disclosed its exposure sooner.

Citigroup ultimately lost $27.68 billion in 2008, and underwent a series of federal bailouts that have since been repaid.

Pandit and the bank's current Chief Executive Michael Corbat have spent years shedding troubled assets.

Citigroup, once the largest U.S. bank by assets, now ranks fourth.

Story continues

Friday's decision upheld an October 2013 ruling by U.S. District Judge Sidney Stein in Manhattan.

The decision was delayed because the appeals court asked the Supreme Court in Delaware, where Citigroup is incorporated, whether Williams should have sued on behalf of the bank and other shareholders, in a so-called derivative lawsuit.

In May, Chief Justice Leo Strine in Delaware said the claims were "direct" because "they belong to the holders and are ones that only the holders can assert."

Citigroup's share price is down more than 91 percent from where it was in May 2007, after accounting for a reverse stock split in 2011.

The case is AHW Investment Partnership et al v. Citigroup Inc, 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, No. 13-4488.

(Reporting by Jonathan Stempel in New York; Editing by Bernadette Baum)
WALFORDnew

Oakland Raiders tight end Clive Walford is entering his second year and many have very big expectations. After a slow start to his rookie season, Walford really started to shine later in the year, showing off why the Raiders were so excited to land him. Hes a complete tight end capable of both blocking but its his abilities in the pass game that make him special.

Last year when the Raiders were playing at Denver, Walford nearly made a big time catch down the sideline. The refs ruled that he had only gotten one foot in so it was not a catch. When John Middlekauf and Guy Haberman spoke with Walford at training camp, they asked him about that play and Walford had an opinion not only on the play but also on Von Miller:

That was a caught ball and did you see von miller lay on the ground and act like he was hurt? Come on bro, get up man, what you doin?

On the play in question, Carr hit Walford down the sideline for a 17 yard game. However, the play was challenged by Denver and the call was reversed and it was ruled that Walford had one foot out of bounds when he caught it. It appears from Walford that Von Miller faked an injury in order to give the Denver staff time to decide if they should challenge the play.

AROUND COVER32

First & Ten: Ten NFL headlines for Thursay

Power Rankings: Training Camp Edition

Madden Monday: A look at the new features for this years game

Fantasy Football: Where to draft suspended players

Raiders News: Ken Norton, Jr. is going to unleash Mario Edwards, Jr. on the NFL

Raiders News: DeAndre Washington brings cautious optimism to the run game.

Walford must seem pretty confident to call out one of the leagues best players for faking an injury and thats a good thing. Sure, Von Miller is a great player and should be respected, but he shouldnt be feared. If you fear the opposition before you step on the field, you dont have much chance. And its not like Walford is a wide receiver who will never have to go up against Miller in a game. Walford could very well be asked to help blocking Miller at times this year.

No, this isnt ground breaking news but at this time of year, I am always on the look out for anything that gives you a better idea about individual players or the team as a whole. In this case, we got a look into Walfords confidence and competitiveness. The Raiders won that game but here we are in August, and Walford is clearly still not happy about the call or Millers antics. I like that kind of passion.

The post Clive Walford calls out Von Miller for faking injury appeared first on Cover32.
RTX2CLEQ

It was one of the biggest announcements of 2016. Using two gigantic detectors, scientists were able to detect something amazing  ripples in the fabric of spacetime generated by two colliding black holes.

Decades of work, and the construction of a $300 million dollar observatory, known as the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory (LIGO), led up to this defining moment in physics.

Fifty years ago, Rainer Weiss thought up a way to detect these ripples, known as gravitational waves, which were predicted by Einsteins theory of general relativity. But Weiss life leading up to this invention was anything but traditional. And, as revealed in Science's recent profile of the brilliant physicist, Weiss was once a college dropout.

Weiss was born in 1932 in Berlin, but his family fled to New York City to escape the Nazis. After bouncing from electrical engineering to physics in his undergraduate career at MIT, Weiss fell in love with a woman he met on a ferry and, after abandoning his classes to follow her to Illinois, flunked out during his junior year.

People say, I failed out of college! My life is over! Well, its not over. It depends on what you do with it, Weiss told Science.

He began working as a technician at MIT, and was eventually able to earn his bachelors degree in 1955 and his Ph.D. in 1962.

Weiss first came up with the idea that would later become LIGO while he was teaching a graduate course on general relativity at MIT. While teaching this course, Weiss focused on experimental tests of gravity. He stumbled across an experiment that Joseph Weber, an engineer at the University of Maryland, was doing.

In this experiment, Weber was trying to detect gravitational waves using aluminum cylinders the size of a footlocker. He believed that a gravitational wave passing through would stretch the cylinders, making them vibrate like tuning forks.

Story continues

Weiss didnt fully grasp Webers experiment, so he came up with his own, based on an L-shaped instrument called an interferometer. This device splits a laser beam, sending the two separate beams down perpendicular arms. The beams bounce off mirrors placed at the end of the arms and shoot back toward the laser.

If the arms are precisely the same length, the light waves return in sync and recombine so that light flows back toward the laser, Science writes. But if the arms differ by a sliver of the lights wavelength, then the out-of-kilter overlap sends some light leaking out a perpendicular dark port.

It occurred to Weiss that a gravitational wave passing through would slightly stretch the arms of the device, causing some light to leak out, which is what scientists would try to detect.

Although the idea of using a interferometer to detect gravitational waves was already being bouncing around in the community, Weiss was the first to realize how huge this detector would have to be  each arm is more than 2 miles long. And he was the first to come up with a way to deal with noise from other sources that could drown out the elusive waves.

Decades later it was this exact concept that allowed scientists to finally detect this mindblowingly faint waves. The discovery, Science reports, puts Weiss in line to win a Nobel Prize.

To tell you the truth, these prizes give me the willies, Weiss said. He plans to use 90% of the award money to help graduate students.

NOW WATCH: These 5-mile long buildings led to one of the greatest discoveries in physics





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Colombias Caracol TV has boarded Birds of a Passage (Pajaros del Verano), the upcoming pic by Ciro Guerra whose black and white Amazon fable Embrace of the Serpent made Colombian film history by snagging a Foreign-Language Oscar nomination this year.

Caracol was also an investor on Embrace of the Serpent, which swept the 2016 Platino Awards held at Punta del Este, Uruguay on July 24, winning seven major plaudits including best picture, director, and cinematography.

Once youve invested in a movie that has paid off so handsomely, its very hard to say no to the filmmakers next film, said Alejandro Toro, Caracol head of co-productions.

Guerra is an official selection juror at the 20th Lima Film Festival, which runs Aug. 5-13.

Embrace of the Serpents Argentine producers MC Productions and Buffalo Films and Mexicos Pimienta Films will also be boarding Birds of a Passage. Embraces international sales agent, the Berlin-based Films Boutique, has also signed on again.

Budgeted at $1.8 million, Birds spans the years between 1968 and 1980, and will require eight weeks of pre-production in the La Guajira desert where Guerra shot his second feature, Wind Journeys. Described as a Colombian western, Birds will entail the use of animals, period costumes, and various sets, said its producer, Cristina Gallego, at Ciudad Lunar.

Principal photography begins in February and is expected to run for two months. Gallego is not expecting an easy shoot given the extreme conditions of the desert but the sacrifice will be well worth it. We want to make artistic and original films that are accessible to the mainstream, said Gallego. Birds is based on an idea by Gallego, and on a screenplay by Maria Camila Arias and Jacques Toulemonde, the late a co-scribe on Embrace of the Serpent,

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Netflix Inks Exclusive Licensing Pact With Colombia's Caracol TV
By Nelson Acosta HAVANA (Reuters) - Colombia's government and leftist FARC rebels took another step toward ending more than a half century of conflict on Friday, agreeing on a U.N.-supervised security protocol, timetable and other details for disarming the estimated 9,000 guerillas. The announcement came after the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) and the government of President Juan Manuel Santos signed in June an historic agreement that stated they had reached deals on all major issues and established a de facto ceasefire and the parameters for the rebels to disarm and rejoin civil society. Under the agreement, FARC troops will gather at 26 locations around the South American country and hand over their arms within six months of a final peace agreement going into effect. "The FARC will have handed in all their arms to the United Nations within 180 days," Humberto de la Calle, chief negotiator for the government, told reporters in Havana. Friday's agreement stipulated that 50 FARC members would be free to monitor the process nationwide, and another 10 in each of the 26 locations. Under the agreement, the United Nations would have final say on any disputes. After more than three years of negotiations hosted by Cuba over such thorny issues as land reform, war crimes and drug trafficking, the two sides are close to a final accord that would be put to a referendum vote. If ratified, it would end the longest-running and last significant guerilla conflict in the Western Hemisphere. "When we finish the agenda points, that is to say, when everything is agreed, that is when we will send the texts to Congress and convene the plebiscite," Santos said during an event in the Pacific port city of Buenaventura on Thursday. Santos must win over those skeptical of FARC promises to rejoin civil society, including supporters of hard-line former President Alvaro Uribe, who contends a deal will grant guerrillas impunity for war crimes. The FARC grew out of a 1960s peasant revolt that exploded into a cocaine-fueled war that has killed at least 220,000 people and displaced millions. (Additional reporting by Marc Frank; Editing by Will Dunham)
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) gave the go-ahead to raise rates on inmate calls amid declining prison population. The latest development would benefit service providers such as AT&T Inc. (NYSE: T).

A press release from the FCC said, "The rate caps adopted are, on average, significantly lower than the 2013 interim rate cap of 21 cents a minute that currently applies to interstate long-distance calls. The new caps will govern both in-state and interstate calling, reducing the price for most inmates of an average 15-minute call by nearly 35 percent.

Related Link: Canaccord Thinks Private Prison Equities Could Break Out

The new rates for debit/prepaid calls are as follows, with 2015 rate caps in parentheses:

State or federal prisons: 13 cents/minute (11 cents/minute)

Jails with 1,000 or more inmates: 19 cents/minute (14 cents/minute)

Jails with 350-999 inmates: 21 cents/minute (16 cents/minute)

Jails of up to 349 inmates: 31 cents/minute (22 cents/minute)

The FCC further said the rates for collect calls are slightly higher in the first year, but will phase down to the listed caps after a two-year transition period.

The announcement comes amid steady drop in prison population. Total inmate population in the United States is now 193,461, significantly lower than the 214,149 inmates in 2014, according to the Bureau of Prisons data.

Approximately 71 percent of inmates reside in state or federal prisons, and about 85 percent of inmates reside in institutions with populations exceeding 1,000.

Do you have ideas for articles/interviews you'd like to see more of on Benzinga? Please email feedback@benzinga.com with your best article ideas. One person will be randomly selected to win a $20 Amazon gift card!

See more from Benzinga

 2016 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved.
The New York woman that was found beaten and strangled off an isolated running path was said to put up a ferocious fight before her death, according to police.

Read: After the Grisly Death of Jogger, How You Can Stay Safe During a Run

Karina Vetrano, 30, was found dead Tuesday night at 11 p.m., hours after she left her home in the Howard Beach section of Queens. Vetrano was found dead in Spring Creek Park, a federal park property.

"This woman put up a ferocious fight, right to the end. She was beaten quite severely, which would suggest she put up a big fight, NYPD Chief of Detectives Robert Boyce said Thursday.

Police sources told the New York Post that Vetrano was found with a missing tooth, scratches all over her beaten body, and the killer's handprints imprinted on her strangled neck.

The NYPD has now called for help from the FBI, since the womans body was discovered on federal property.

Boyce told reporters on Thursday: Right now, we think its random, so we dont think its anybody in her life thats created this.

He added: We plan to chop down just about every weed in that location till we're satisfied that we've got all the evidence. This is a remote area. A young lady was running  still daylight  so hoping somebody saw something going into the park."

Authorities are appealing to the public for any information in the case.

We are looking for info about the murder of Karina Vetrano in #Queens. Please call #800577TIPS if you have info. pic.twitter.com/mSfOoq4oVO  Chief Robert Boyce (@NYPDDetectives) August 3, 2016





Her father, Phil, a retired firefighter had allegedly warned her not to go running in that area without him. After his daughter failed to come home, he called police and eventually discovered her body in the marsh.

Story continues

Read: Jogger Found Dead by Her Own Father After Failing to Return From Evening Run

"The father then went into the woods and then found the body with our detectives right after him," Boyce said. "We found her face down in the ground."

A wake for Vetrano will be held on Friday in her neighborhood.

Watch: Here's How American Students Can Stay Safe While Studying Abroad

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By Marc Frank HAVANA (Reuters) - Veteran Cuban dissident Guillermo Farinas was briefly hospitalized in Santa Clara on Friday after losing consciousness in his home on the 16th day of a hunger strike to protest government repression, his opposition organization said. This was the second time the 54-year-old Farinas, who has staged more than 20 similar actions over the years, was rushed to receive medical attention and intravenous liquids since starting the hunger strike after what he said was a beating by police in his home city of Santa Clara in central Cuba. Farinas, who received the European Union's Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought in 2010, is demanding that such beatings cease and a meeting between dissidents and the government to negotiate an end to repression. Farinas returned home from a hospital after being there for more than seven hours, Juan Carlos Ruiz, a member of Farinas' organization, the Frente Antitotalitario Unido (the United Antitotalitarian Front), said in a telephone interview from the dissident's home. "They gave him an intravenous solution. But already he is recovering and right now sleeping," he said. More than a dozen other dissidents around the country, mainly members of an opposition organization called the Patriotic Union of Cuba (UPACU) in the eastern part of the country, also are on hunger strikes, with at least two members hospitalized, according to opposition groups. A few of the UPACU members began their hunger strikes earlier than Farinas, also to protest repression. Farinas has been a vocal critic of the detente between the United States and Cuba that began in December 2014, when he said dissidents should have been included in secret talks preceding it that he called a betrayal. Last week, the U.S. State Department voiced concern about the condition of Farinas and other hunger strikers, and urged Cuba's government to take action. "We stand in solidarity with those who advocate for human rights and fundamental freedoms, including freedom of expression and the right to peaceful assembly," State Department spokesman John Kirby said. Communist-run Cuba calls all political opponents U.S. mercenaries with no popular following. Dissidents are relatively free to talk among themselves, travel abroad and publish on the internet, though their posts are blocked within the country. However, Cuban opposition efforts to organize political protests and engage in civil disobedience are regularly met by harassment, mobs of government supporters, temporary detentions and occasional imprisonment. (Additional reporting by Nelson Acosta; Editing by Will Dunham)
As a correspondent for The Daily Show with Trevor Noah, comedian Hasan Minhaj covered both the Democratic and Republican conventions. At the former, he found himself face-to-face with Donald Trump supporters who shouted him down, telling him to "go home" to India, his parents' ancestral home. "This is my home," he told them.

Minhaj, who described himself in a previous interview as an "angry optimist," will soon set off on tour for his one-man show, Homecoming King, which centers on tales from his own experience as an Indian-American. Diving into what he calls "the New Brown America," the show aims to showcase "his family's quest to achieve the elusive American Dream."

Homecoming King will be coming to the Regent Theater in Los Angeles on Aug. 27th. Below, Minhaj spoke to The Hollywood Reporter about the prospect of a Trump presidency, the feeling of solidarity in an increasingly exposed Muslim-American community and his own feelings of pride and passion about being Muslim and American.

You saw Khizr Khan's speech at the Democratic National Convention. What'd you think?

It was incredible to witness, like absolutely really beautiful. We'd seen that at Muhammad Ali's death, when the country had to reckon with feelings about someone being black, being Muslim, a controversial champion. And we all stood there proud and we mourned his death. I felt that same feeling where, say what you will about the war with radical Islam, you couldn't help but feel for this family and son who gave the ultimate sacrifice. It made me feel proud to be an American.

Read more: Hillary Clinton's Stop at Leonardo DiCaprio's House Highlights Two-Day, Big-Bucks Hollywood Fundraising Tour

And Donald Trump's response?

I was like, "Wow, really? You're really going to go after the mother of a deceased soldier." It's one thing to make fun of peoples' hands, or looks, but wow, okay, he went there. The comedian side of me started thinking, "Okay, so Mrs. Khan was just sitting in silence the same way Pence was sitting there. Do you silence your vice presidential nominee?" It only made Khan's point ring true, that [Trump] is a person who hasn't sacrificed anything. He should be embarrassed for himself.

Story continues

Why is Trump so Teflon? It's as if nothing he says or does will alienate his supporters. What's going on in America that this can happen?

It boils down to one thing that I witnessed live at the RNC, which I was covering that week. There was a clear distinction and it was fear. The thing that the GOP was peddling, from [Rudy] Giuliani and Trump on down was: we need to get our country back. I didn't know if Giuliani was talking about the country or his glasses. He was like your old grandpa. I was like, "Someone give grandpa his glasses back." There was this idea of: it needs to return to its moment of greatness. When was America great? There have always been times when America was "great," but there was also a lot of room for social change.

What's different now?

What's missing by the GOP is that when liberals call for change, they're not trying to radically change the good things. What they're trying to do is, say we believe America is one of the greatest social experiments and what we're asking is: live up to your advertisement. When it comes to immigrants and minorities and gays, what we're asking for in terms of equality is a thing that lifts the tide of all votes. if Muslims are treated better, if immigrants are treated better, then everyone will be. It's an all or nothing game. Equality in a rising tide that lifts all boats. A myriad of things will happen because of that. That dialogue was completely missing from the GOP rhetoric. What they're peddling right now is fear. It's also a complete 180-degree feeling from what I felt at DNC. When Michelle Obama spoke, it was about hope. We all contribute to this narrative that is the American dream. There is not just one voice that defines us, which is in stark contrast to Trump, which was straight up Fascism.

Are we too far gone to bridge that fear?

I don't think so. But i don't think so because I'm an angry optimist. I'm upset with the state of the country, but optimistic in our ability to change things. We have incredible potential for change, but are we taking advantage of it? I don't know. I feel it all the time. I feel the people who feel disenfranchised, that there's room for them to understand. I did this piece, called "Hasan's Farewell Tour," and I had to ask delegates to their face: Do you think it will be better for Muslims under Trump? They had to look at me, while wearing their "All Lives Matter" pins and go: Wow, I never thought about that. That's a part of the dialogue that's missing. Maybe they don't have a Muslim neighbor that they're close to, a black neighbor, or gay friends or family. These are issues that I'm humanizing and saying this to you, face-to-face. An old lady delegate was like, "I like you, you're one of the good ones." Her accidental racism was adorable, but it was the beginning of a conversation. If we can have these conversations in a real way, outside social media, then it's possible.

Read more: Aasif Mandvi Takes on Trump: He Voices "the Worst Part of Us as a Country"

How does that happen?

The people who are actually openly bigoted are few and far between. Very small. But a lot of people were ignorant, and that's what made me sad. You can legislate against bigotry, but you can't legislate against ignorance or stupidity. The only way to combat ignorance is exposure and that means people have to desire change, a desire to step outside your comfort zone, your own circle of influence. I do believe in the American people, otherwise i wouldn't be here. I'd be in Canada kicking it with Justin Trudeau. He's accepting Syrian refugees, so they may be accepting American refugees soon as well.

How has the Muslim-American community been shaped by the election?

There has been a clear line that has been drawn in the sand. When Trump said "we need to build a wall," or ban these people, or "I'm going to reestablish law and order," there's been this clear delineation: this is where we stand on the issue. These communities have been called out by name. We have no choice but to stand up and say: this is not right. Do you understand the ramifications of what could happen if we don't say anything? Think beyond the 4-5 million Muslim-Americans who call this home. It's more important for the other 300 million Americans to deem this rhetoric unacceptable. There's not going to be a predominant Muslim vote for Trump. But I am most interested in seeing Americans saying collectively: hey, we're inclusive of all people. Therefore we will not vote for you, because it's an insult to our American values.

What's the most comedic component of this for you?

What isn't? I never thought I'd find someone as funny as Sarah Palin. Then I got Trump. Palin just didn't know geography, this guy is like an actual maniac, truly out of his mind. As the weeks go on, there's more evidence proving that. It was funny, then scary, then sad. I have to go to therapy to unbox all my emotions at any given time.

Do you think he's mentally ill?

The guy who ghostwrote The Art of the Deal said that he's sociopathic. I would imagine that [Trump] has only gotten more stubborn in his world view. I believe if he's given the nuclear codes we're looking at a bleak picture of the world. It could be just the end of American civilization. There's always a corrupt leader or a particular voice that represented the end of civilization. That's what I'm afraid of.

Read more: 'Daily Show' Correspondent Hasan Minhaj Reveals Bill Maher-Ben Affleck Islam Dispute Got Him His Job

How would the end of civilization happen?

Two potential things. This would be really bad. When you understand America's place in the world, there's a great level of diplomacy, education and knowledge to deal and work with other countries economically, strategically. How are we going to engage with them? I don't think Trump believes in diplomacy. Look at the way he way he treats people. I think he believes in his way as the only way. How is he going to deal with Iran, with North Korea, with other major players? You can't just delete nuclear missiles the way you delete tweets. Secondly, look at what we do, you and I right here, the discussion, freedom of speech. As a Muslim, I'm incredible grateful to the freedoms in this country. I come from India and we feel incredibly restricted there in print and on TV, and it's a democracy. This is the dystopian future, there will be repercussions, especially if he wants to limit freedom of expression.

Your parents came from?

Aligarh, India. When crazy people at the RNC are like, "Go back to where you come from," I'm like, "No, I like it here." You couldn't do something like The Daily Show in India.

The whole American experiment is very fragile.

Very. And it's incredibly nuanced. And if you start chipping away at it, you'll still have the shell of a democracy but it's not the same. I'm proud that we can have this conversation and both go to bed and know that tomorrow no one is going to knock on our door and say we're being sued, that we have to go to trial. I'm proud of that. That's one thing I've learned from my travels, one thing we take for granted is that safety is assumed. We can say what we want, and we feel safe. Donald Trump, with his 5,000 lawsuits, is going to put that safety and freedom in jeopardy, I feel that's safe to assume, given his track record.

Read more: Aziz Ansari Calls Khan Family "the Drake to Donald Trump's Meek Mill"
From Popular Mechanics

Historians still argue about whether King Arthur was a real British king in the Early Middle Ages, or if he is a legend created from tales of many different British leaders, both real and fictitious. Now, those in the King-Arthur-was-real camp have some more evidence to support their claims-a building that appears to be a royal palace dating to the legendary king's time was discovered at an archaeological dig site, precisely where Arthur is said to have been born, according to The Independent.

The discovery at Tintagel in Cornwall, the southwestern-most region of the U.K., has major historical significance even without any connection to King Arthur. The Cornwall Archaeological Unit, with financial support from the English Heritage Trust, says that this is the first time British buildings from the Dark Ages-the 5th and 6th centuries AD-have been found in such a preserved state.

Three-foot thick masonry walls enclose buildings with sturdy steps and slate floors. Artifacts found in and around the buildings suggest the occupants were members of royalty, such as pottery and glass fragments that once contained wine from modern-day Turkey and olive oil from northern Africa. Finely-painted glass cups from medieval France and ornamental bowls and plates from Turkey and northern Africa also suggest the occupants of the Dark Ages buildings were an elite class.

The Cornwall archaeologists believe that the primary building at the site was the seat of the 6th century rulers of Dumnonia, the British kingdom that covered the Tintagel region at the time-which is where and when King Arthur is said to have lived.

Geoffrey of Monmouth, a 12th century Welsh cleric, recorded one of the first detailed written accounts of King Arthur's life in his Historia Regum Britanniae ("History of the Kings of Britain"), likely taken from earlier oral traditions. In Geoffrey's account, completed around 1136, King Arthur was conceived in the 5th century in a fortress at Tintagel that had fallen into ruin by Geoffrey's time. The ruins of a castle that was completed about a century after Geoffrey lived still stand near the dig site where the Dark Ages buildings were discovered.

Story continues

Scholars who believe King Arthur was a real individual who defended Britain against Saxon invaders in the Early Middle Ages will surely point to the newly unearthed buildings, thought to be a royal place and surrounding complex, as precisely the fortress that Geoffrey cites as Arthur's birthplace. Skeptics will argue that the discovery is a coincidence and point to the fact that Geoffrey was writing some 600 years after King Arthur's alleged death, suggesting that the myth of Arthur was likely patched together from the lives of many historical rulers.

Whether a king named Arthur actually consorted with a wizard named Merlin and pulled the sword Excalibur from a stone-both of these tales are recounted in Geoffrey's Historia-is secondary to the historical significance of the Cornwall dig. It seems that great rulers once lived in Tintagel. Here's to hoping that continued study can determine if one of them, or perhaps some combination of several of them, was the King Arthur of legend.

Source: The Independent

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David Huddleston, a prolific character actor with dozens of credits, but was best known for playing the title role in the 1998 Coen Brothers comedy The Big Lebowski, has died in New Mexico following a battle with kidney and liver disease. He was 85.

A native of Virginia, Huddleston was born in 1930 in Vinton, and raised in Villamont. As a young man he was an aircraft mechanic in the United States Air Force before attending American Academy of Dramatic Arts on the G.I. Bill. His acting career began in earnest in the 1960s, with Huddleston appearing in numerous television and film roles. On television, his long list of credits includes Adam-12, Gunsmoke, Bewitched, Bonanza, The Waltons, Kung Fu, Hawaii Five-O, Walker, Texas Ranger, Charlies Angels, Sanford and Son, The Practice, and The Rockford Files. Other notable appearances include Star Trek: The Next Generation, a recurring role as Kevin Arnolds grandfather on The Wonder Years, Jericho, and 2010s Its Always Sunny in Philadelphia: Its a Very Sunny Christmas, among many others.

Huddleston only held the lead in one film, holding the title role in 1985s Santa Claus: The Movie, which also starred Dudley Moore and John Lithgow. He usually played supporting roles, including in a slew of classics like Brians Song, The Worlds Greatest Lover, Blazing Saddles, Rio Lobo, Capricorn One, and Frantic, along with notorious flops like Joes Apartment, and oddities like the Muhammad Ali biopic The Greatest.

Huddleston also played Benjamin Franklin on Broadway in the 1997 production of 1776.

His greatest fame would come thanks to 1998s The Big Lebowski, a half-serious neo-noir set during the first Gulf War in which Huddleston appeared in several memorable scenes as the title character and main villain. Huddlestons The Big Lebowski is a blustering, deluded villain, an imperious leech living an affluent pretense funded by his dead wifes fortune who attempts to grift money from his familys charity via a convoluted fake kidnapping plot. Lebowski was a reunion of sorts for Huddleston and star Jeff Bridges  the pair appeared together in the 1972 deconstructionist western Bad Company, in which Huddleston played the outlaw Big Joe.

Story continues

A modest success upon release, The Big Lebowski went on to become one of the most beloved cult films of all time and has since spawned an annual, multi-city festival.

Hes survived by his wife, Sarah Koeppe, to whom he was married 32 years.

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OMAHA  Omaha police say the driver of a dump truck involved in a fatal west Omaha crash last month has been charged with one count of misdemeanor motor vehicle homicide.

Police say 59-year-old Ronald Nootz, of Bellevue, was driving the truck the morning of July 22 when he ran a red light and hit a small SUV, killing its driver, 75-year-old Noel Lammers, of Omaha.

The maximum penalty for the misdemeanor charge is a year in jail and a $1,000 fine.
Deepika Padukones Hollywood debut has been in the limelight for the last couple of months. The talk-of-the-town topic has been grabbing headlines all over - be it in India or West. The actress, who finally returned to the country, post wrapping up the shoot for her debut Hollywood flick, xXx: The Return Cage, has been on her toes off lately. She is busy with her brands promotional commitments and appearances.

Yesterday, at one such event, in an interaction with a daily, DP spoke at length about her career plans. If I am offered an interesting script for a South Indian film, I would definitely consider taking it up. For me, language is only a medium to give shape to great content, kickstarted Deepika.

When asked about how her experience of working in the US was, she said that she doesnt like to separate her Hollywood journey from her career. Honestly, I dont like dividing my projects into Hollywood or Bollywood - as an actor, the kind of effort and hard work that I put into any film is exactly the same, and the only difference is the language. So, I dont look at it as two separate journeys. I look at it as an extension of my career, said Dippy.

Recommended Read: Deal or No Deal? Deepika Wanted Profit-Sharing For Padmavati But Got 10 Crores Instead

On being questioned about her fellow competitor, Priyanka Chopra who has seen success in Hollywood, Deepika shared that Aishwarya Rai Bachchan is the one who must be recognized first. She, for me, is the torch bearer for putting India on the global map. But everyone who has managed to break through into the western market  whether it is Anil, Irfan, Priyanka, or myself  I think we have all done a great job, she says with a satisfied smile on her face. We got this opportunity at a time when all of us are working towards breaking stereotypes. We are all focused on being part of good content, and to be cast in films based on our talent and not because of the colour of our skin, she added.

Reportedly, today Deepika stands as one of the highest paid celebrities in Bollywood, crushing the trend of male actors always being paid the most. Rumour mills suggest that she will be paid a whopping Rs 10 Cr (or more) for SLBs Padmavati.

Slay, woman!
Destruction and rebuilding in Vila Autodromo for the Rio Olympics The house of Carlos Augusto and Sandra Regina (not pictured) who have lived in Vila Autodromo slum for 20 years with their children, is demolished after the family moved to one of the twenty houses built for the residents who refused to leave the community, in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, August 2, 2016. (REUTERS/Ricardo Moraes)

The last house of a Rio de Janeiro slum near the Olympic park that was once home to 700 families was demolished on Aug. 2. Market vendor Augusto Pereira told the Associated Press that there was too much pressure on him to leave the area and that he needed to carry on with his life somewhere else. The Vila Autodromo favela was once home to around 700 families. Most left or accepted offers of compensation or resettlement in a nearby housing complex. Favelas are dotted around Rio de Janeiro. Some are small and some house tens of thousands of residents. Until recently 20 families had refused to move out because proposed new homes did not provide paved streets and public lighting, but the issue was resolved this week for most of them. Pereira was the very last to stay in the area. I requested some conditions to leave, but the City Hall was stalling me. I was getting so depressed that I just decided to go anyway, Pereira said. Staying here during the Olympics would hurt me even more. The Opening Ceremony of the Olympics will be on Friday. Clearing space for the Olympic venues has brought a political cost for Rio Mayor Eduardo Paes. The bulldozing of Vila Autodromo was made to build a complex of 31 high rises that will become upper-class housing in the citys west zone. Paes initially said residents could stay if they wanted, but changed course and ordered evictions. He said a few months ago that the homes built in that area will cost between 3 million to 3.5 million reais ($800,000 to $930,000), but sales have been slow so far. Felipe Pena, a visiting professor at New York University who recently released an award-winning documentary on Vila Autodromo, said that the demolition of the last home in the region is a symbol of how Rios authorities dealt with the Olympics. Demolishing working-class housing next to the Olympic Park shows how much exclusion there is in these Games, Pena said. What happened to Vila Autodromo is a representation of what might happen to the rest of the country. The mayor, the governor and the interim president belong in the same party. Politicians are fine with this. Activists and lawmakers have pledged to keep the pressure on Paes to improve conditions for former residents of Vila Autodromo in their new homes. (AP) See more news-related photo galleries and follow us on Yahoo News Photo Tumblr.
Dick Wolf is no stranger to ripping from the headlines. In the nearly 26 years since Law & Order debuted, the Emmy winner has looked to real-life cases for countless episodes of the flagship as well as its spinoff series, in addition to the Chicago universe that now takes up major real estate on NBC's schedule.

However, the prolific TV producer still turned heads earlier this year when it was announced that he was developing a true-crime anthology series for which the first season will focus on the Menendez brothers. After years of stuffing long, drawn-out investigations and trials into 42-minute episodes, Wolf and writer Rene Balcer will examine the Menendez case, in which brothers Erik and Lyle were found guilty in 1994 of murdering their parents in 1989, over eight hours. (Put into development in April, the project was picked up to series earlier this month.)

The Hollywood Reporter spoke with Wolf about the inspiration behind the True Crime series, why he picked the Menendez brothers and why he's not afraid of true-crime fatigue.

Read more: 'Law & Order: True Crime  The Menendez Murders' Ordered to Series at NBC

You've done ripped-from-the-headlines cases before, but what made you want to explore it in a longer format?

You want me to completely candid? [The People v. O.J. Simpson] was like, 'Oh, this is a good idea!' (Laughs.) Because we did a version of Menendez, of the boys in 1992, like in the third season of Law & Order, so it's something that has really interested me since it happened.

Why this case? I'm sure you've read tons of murder cases before.

The whole concept of what drove them to do it is the most  are they telling the truth? Were they molested? What was the level? How long did it go on? How oppressive was it? What did the mother know? I mean, come on.

What other cases did you look at before you picked this one?

There are other cases that, if it works, I know we're going to be doing in the future.

Story continues

Why was Rene Balcer the right person to come on board this and write?

This is an enormous case. There were two hung juries and a trial, and there is nobody better at writing complicated legal procedurals than Rene. He's been doing it time after time after time for years and years and years, and this is a hugely complicated case.

What was behind your decision to frame it within the Law & Order franchise as opposed to just calling True Crime?

First of all, it's a huge legal procedural. Look, I learned the lesson when we did the movie which started all the branding, which was Exiled. It was the highest-rated movie of the year. Barry Diller said, 'I don't know who's going to watch this. Why don't you call it Law & Order?' When it did the numbers it did, it was the highest-rated movie of the year, and I don't think it was because it was called Exiled. (Laughs.)

Will it have any elements from the original? Will there be a theme or an opening?

[Original series composer] Mike Post is going to write another variation.

Obviously, true crime is a hot trend right now. TNT is working on a Chandra Levy miniseries, FX has season two of American Crime Story. How concerned are you with viewers getting burnt out on these kinds of shows?

I never worry about it because I think that there is an endless appetite for stuff that's really well done. If it's not really well done, yeah, I think you can go, 'Oh, please, I've got to watch six more hours of this?' But if it gets you - and O.J. got me and I know that story really well, because it was told differently.

What is the timetable for the project? When could this premiere?

Rene is up in the Arctic Circle working on his own show [The Council, which will debut on Canada's CBC in fall 2017], so I think he'll really start working next month or something. I'd love it to get on in the second quarter of next year  but it's tough. It's eight hours.
By Leah Schnurr

OTTAWA, Aug 5 (Reuters) - Another month of bleak Canadian trade data in June has fueled concerns the central bank has been too optimistic about non-energy exports helping to revive the country's struggling economy, economists said on Friday.

The situation is not bad enough to spur additional rate cuts, but could soon prompt a more cautious tone from the Bank of Canada, they said in interviews.

"It will give the bank pause," said Paul Ferley, assistant chief economist at Royal Bank of Canada.

"I think the bank is going to express caution, disappointment with the trade number, but probably also imply that they are going to continue to monitor the data."

Canada's second-quarter trade deficit hit a record, with exports tumbling 4.7 percent, their biggest decline since 2009, data showed on Friday. Export growth has been weak after a strong gain in January. A 0.6 percent rise in June exports came largely due to a jump in prices, with volumes down 1.4 percent.

While the figures are prone to revisions and May's wildfires in Alberta made it difficult to determine how the economy is performing, economists said the data raise a red flag.

The central bank is counting on an uptick in non-energy exports for the economy to meet its growth projections, but those shipments were down 0.4 percent in June.

"If we get another couple months of this type of weakness, you would have to expect the bank needs to be a little more forthright in their assessment," said David Tulk, chief Canada macro strategist at TD Securities.

A more dour tone would likely weigh on the currency and short-term rates. The Canadian dollar weakened sharply against the greenback after Friday's data and overnight index swaps implied higher odds of a rate cut later this year.

Though economists largely expect the bank to hold steady, Tulk said there is a higher probability that the next move could be a cut than a hike. The bank eased twice last year as oil prices collapsed.

Story continues

Last month the bank revised down its forecast of how much exports would contribute to growth in 2016, though it expects gains in 2017 and 2018.

The central bank is not the only one puzzling over weak exports, said Peter Hall, chief economist at Export Development Canada, noting that the drawdown in U.S. inventories might be a reason.

"This is something that is perplexing the economics community."

($1 = 1.3021 Canadian dollars) (Reporting by Leah Schnurr; Editing by Jeffrey Hodgson and Richard Chang)
Disney might start taking pictures of your feet when you visit the parks. For real.

Disney might start taking pictures of your feet when you visit the parks. For real.

If youve visited a Disney park recently, you know that theyve started rolling out some pretty nifty new technology to make your day at the Magic Kingdom even more magical  Magic Bands, anyone?

FullSizeRender

But since Disney needs you to have THE MOST MAGICAL day ever, theyre working towards creating some brand new technology to not only caters to your ever park need, but also completely immerse you in their fantasy world. How are they going to do this? Why, its so easy: Theyre going to take pictures of your feet.

Yes, your feet.

According to Forbes, Disney has just patterned technology for a machine that takes photos of visitors feet as they enter a theme park and pairs these photos with demographic information given voluntarily by the visitor such as name, age or city. Later another camera aimed at shoe level can track the same visitor at a ride or an eatery.

Um. Whaaaat?

If Disney can track your feet, then the next time youre about to get on Thunder Mountain Railroad, the greeter there might just say, HEY [your name] WELCOME TO THE WILDEST RIDE IN THE WILDERNESS! And thats pretty cool.

Oh, also, dont freak out whatsoever about taking your shoes off at Disney; the technology is just going to take impressions of the soles of your shoes and the height of your shoes. Youll just have to go to one of the designated acquisition stations (i.e., the park entrance ticket window) to get this magic started. Disney will do the rest.

Some of this technology already exists with Disney Worlds Magic Bands, but you can ONLY get a Magic Band if youre staying in a Disney resort. This newfangled thing will work great for guests staying off-property, or day guests only coming in for the afternoon parade. This is all in an effort for your day to be bursting with pixie dust and tailored directly to you.

Now if Disney would only patten something that delivers you Dole Whips in line for Space Mountain.

The post Disney might start taking pictures of your feet when you visit the parks. For real. appeared first on HelloGiggles.
New prized Yankees prospect Clint Frazier is already looking for a date in NYC. (AP)

When Clint Frazier was traded to the New York Yankees last weekend in the deal that sent Andrew Miller to the Cleveland Indians, Frazier immediately became the Yankees most prized prospect. Now, in his first few days in the Yankees organization, Frazier seems to have no problem adapting to the privilege that comes with playing in the city Derek Jeter once ruled.

[Join a Yahoo Daily Fantasy Baseball contest now]

Frazier is a 21-year-old outfielder with great bat speed and a .277 batting average three minor-league season. Upon joining the Yankees, he was assigned to Triple-A, where hes played in two games and gotten one hit.

Yet hes already attempting the Jeterian task of dating models. On Thursday morning, Frazier tweeted at Instagram fitness model Jen Selter  she of the nine million followers  with a modest proposal.

@JenSelter now that both of us are in New York, I think it's only fair you let me take you on a date! #SelterFrazierDate  Clint Frazier (@clintfrazier) August 4, 2016

Not longer after, he retweeted himself (yes, thats a thing you can do) and added make this happen! In his defense, Selter isnt unattractive. Still, this is a level of thirst we never saw publicly from Jeter, even as a young 21-year-old.

Hope everyone is having a great weekend! Love ya ???? A photo posted by Jen Selter (@jenselter) on Jul 10, 2016 at 12:30pm PDT

This, of course, became a tabloid story (welcome to the Big Apple, kid) and Frazier was asked about it before Wednesdays game. Nothing changed, hes still looking for that date. He told NJ Advance Media:

Story continues

Ive been trying to reach out to her. She lives in New York, Frazier said with a smile. I think shes 22. Im 21. Im single. Lets hook this up!

I guess we shouldnt be surprised if we see Clint Frazier stocking up on gift baskets sometime soon.

More MLB coverage from Yahoo Sports:

      

Mike Oz is the editor of Big League Stew on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at mikeozstew@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!
Dolly Parton's new album, Pure & Simple, drops on Aug. 19, followed by The Complete Trio Collection, her project with Emmylou Harris and Linda Ronstadt, on Sept. 9. But then the 70-year-old country music legend who is currently on tour in North America will concentrate on more TV production as part of a deal with NBC, including a film called Jolene.

"I wake up with new dreams every day," she said at a recent press conference in Toronto. "And I hope to never retire because I love my work, unless my husband or myself got in bad health, I would stay with him if he needed me and I'd stay home if I was too sick to go, but, hopefully, I'll be able to work from now on.

"One of the reasons I'm doing this full-blown tour this year - because I didn't know when I would be doing another full-blown tour, overseas or here - [is] because I'm planning on going into more production on television shows."

Female Country Stars Kacey Musgraves, Cam, Maren Morris and More on Industry Sexism, the 'Freak Show' Presidential Election and Tomato-gate

Last December, NBC aired Dolly Parton's Coat of Many Colors (named after her 1971 song of the same name) directed by Stephen Herek. The made-for-TV special, whose cast included Jennifer Nettles and Ricky Schroder, was about "the tight-knit Parton family as they struggle to overcome devastating tragedy and discover the healing power of love, faith and a raggedy patchwork coat that helped make Dolly who she is today," according to IMDb.

It did so well, Parton says, that they are filming a sequel this year called Dolly Parton's Christmas of Many Colors: Circle of Love, with the same cast and more "true stories from my life." Directed again by Herek, she says, "It's about when a Mama who never had a wedding ring all the years she was married and had a house full of kids so it was about the year that we all made enough money to try to get Mama a wedding ring. It's a sweet little story."

Story continues

The Tennessee native also hopes to do a series based on her life story, beginning with how her Uncle Bill -- who will be introduced in the Christmas movie -- "helped me travel around and helped me get started," she says, adding, "if I do the series, then I'll be in some of those, playing a grown-up Dolly as a reflection with the little girl [Alyvia Alyn Lind] that played Dolly; it will be her dreams, her future, or me reflecting back on my past."

Dolly Parton Says the Presidential Race 'Could Always Use More Boobs'

Also in the works is a movie based on 1973's "Jolene," her popular song in which she begs a woman "with flaming locks of auburn hair" not to take her man, as well as a series based on 1975's "The Seeker," that will be a "Touched By An Angel type thing, only with a boy instead of a girl."

She adds that her four-picture deal with NBC is not exclusive and that one of the projects might be a live musical special with guest artists, in the vein of her Dolly variety show in the late 80s. "I've still got many things I want to do."

Parton is currently on a 60-date tour, which ends in December. It is titled Pure & Simple after her 43rd studio album. She is also excited to see leftover material from past Trio sessions with Harris and Ronstadt see the light of day. The Complete Trio Collection includes 1987's Grammy-winning Trio album and 1999 follow-up, Trio II, plus 20 previously unreleased songs.

"Linda has Parkinson's Disease now and she can't sing anymore - one of the greatest voices ever but she's doing good; she's holding her own at the moment - but she just doesn't have the strength in her vocal chords to sing anymore, so we thought it would be great to take all those songs while we're still young enough and in good enough health to enjoy knowing that they're out there, so we can be part of sharing that with the public," Parton says. "There's some really good stuff on those albums. I'm as proud of that as I am anything I've ever done, working with Emmy and Linda."
On Sunday, the Journal Star told the story of Braniff Flight 250, which plummeted to the ground near Falls City 50 years ago, and introduced you to some of the people whose lives are forever connected to Nebraskas deadliest commercial air disaster. Here are more of their stories.

The husbands and sisters and sons gathered that night to greet Flight 250 were kept waiting, and waiting, and they didn't understand the delay.

And they couldn't get anybody at the Omaha airport to explain.

The plane was late and we were wondering what was going on and nobody was telling us anything, said Bob Gummers, whose mother and uncle were flying home after burying an aunt in Tennessee. They asked us to be patient.

Lynnda Chamblin Wise and her husband had driven from Lincoln to pick up her sisters, who were coming from Arkansas to see their new niece.

It was long, it was way too long, she said. We started asking questions and they just didnt have any answers. We all kept looking out the windows, waiting for something to come down out of the sky, and it didnt come down.

But it already had come down, 100 miles to the south in a field near Falls City.

The Braniff Airways flight carrying 38 passengers and four crew members left Kansas City just before 11 p.m. on Aug. 6, 1966. The British Aircraft 1-11 was less than a year old and airworthy, according to the National Transportation Safety Board. Its crew was qualified, the captain and first officer logging more than 30,000 hours of flight time combined.

Still, the airliner didn't hold up to the line of storms stretching from Pawnee City to Des Moines, and the turbulence ripped it apart. Its 10,000 pounds of fuel exploded a mile above Richardson County, and what remained of Flight 250 -- and all that it was carrying -- fell through the rain in a shower of flames.

None of this was immediately known in Omaha, where more than half of the passengers were scheduled to deplane before the jet finished its route to Minneapolis.

Everybody was waiting for someone to get off that plane, Wise said. And we just kept waiting and waiting, and they didn't give us any information.

Then an Omaha World-Herald reporter showed up and told those waiting at the airport what he knew. Tragic news to have to break, but Wise was grateful then, and she still is.

The newspaper people, they were our lifeline to finding out what was going on.

That night 50 years ago, the soybean field northeast of Falls City would become a magnet of activity, attracting firefighters, federal investigators, news crews, National Guardsmen and airline officials. But also that night, a number of cars would depart the Omaha airport, their occupants solemn, their seats unfilled with the passengers they'd planned to pick up and carry home.

Bob Gummers was 15, and he and his father returned home in silence.

We drove home in shock, not knowing what was going on or what to do next. It's something you can't prepare for and never expect.

Their rabbi would later go to Falls City to identify Lottie Gummers and Adolf Mayer.

Bob Gummers' parents had escaped the Nazis separately, Lottie before she ended up in a concentration camp, Richard after he was freed from one. They met in New York but found their community, and their commerce, here in the middle of America.

Uncle Adolf had loaned them money to buy the restaurant at the Conant Hotel in Omaha, and later they started Gummers Coffee Shop in the Doctors Building at 42nd and Farnam, working side by side.

Lottie's death changed the dynamics of their family, her son said. His sister Claire had just finished her first year at Missouri, but she would stay home to help, transferring to the university in Omaha.

Claire was on a date the night her mother died, and when she heard about the crash on the radio of her boyfriend's Impala, they headed for the airport. She didn't know where else to go.

I didn't want to believe it happened, she said. I was definitely in denial back then.

Their father was devastated and would sell their coffee shop to go to work for others.

For most of his life, Bob Gummers has panicked on planes. He never visited the crash site, and he never felt like he said goodbye to his mother.

He hopes that changes Saturday, at the 50th anniversary ceremony in Richardson County.

I was at the hospital when my father died. There was closure. With my mother, I never saw a body, I never saw anything.

But there was this: The searchers who scoured the site found his mother's charm bracelet, a gift from his father. His sister has that now. They found her engagement ring, too. His daughter wore it at her wedding.

That night 50 years ago, Lynnda Wise had to call home to Arkansas.

Her father was an only child, her mother one of two. They had wanted their four kids to have lots of babies, to fill their house at the holidays. Now they'd lost Nancy, 18, and Susan, 15.

I told my dad that the plane was down and the girls were gone, Wise said. It was the most horrible thing.

Lynnda and her husband, Marion, returned to their duplex near Eden Swimming Pool in Lincoln. They'd moved there a few months earlier to take over a vacuum distributorship, and her sisters had planned to spend a couple of summer weeks with them and Anne, their newborn.

They just wanted to be with the baby, Wise said. They loved babies.

The sisters couldn't have been more different from each other. Nancy had just graduated. She was tall, laughed a lot, had so many friends. Crazy, Wise said, but cool.

And Susan was a strange little person, she said. A Junior Olympics swimmer. Headstrong. Nobody made her do anything.

Their parents flew to Nebraska the next day with friends who identified the bodies.

The crash changed Wise's family, too. She and her husband moved back to Arkansas to be closer to her parents. Her mother stopped getting the mail after the trauma of finding college letters for Nancy.

For the rest of their lives, when they were introduced to someone, they'd say, 'Oh, you're the family that lost those girls on the airplane?'

They did what they could to honor the girls. They named their houseboat The Sunan. But there was no real danger of forgetting what they lost so quickly so long ago.

I still think about them every day, their older sister said. After 50 years, it's like it was a dream. Were they really here?
Donald Trump appears to have admitted he was wrong when he claimed he saw footage of cash being transferred to Iran.

The plane I saw on television was the hostage plane in Geneva, Switzerland, not the plane carrying $400 million in cash going to Iran! the Republican nominee tweeted Friday morning.

At a Florida rally on Wednesday, Trump said he had seen video of cash being taken from a plane, referring to the $400 million flown to Tehran around the same time Iran released four American hostages in January. President Barack Obama quieted speculation that the cash transfer was a ransom for the release of the hostages on Thursday, saying the timing was a coincidence. The cash was part of a $1.7 billion settlement of a dispute over an arms deal between the U.S. and pre-revolution Iran.

Trump described the video of the supposed transfer in detail to the crowd at the Florida rally, although officials later said there was no such footage. His campaign spokeswoman said Thursday the video he saw was B-roll footage shown on TV, and that he did not see a money transfer.

The real video Trump saw showed the released American hostages landing in Geneva, Switzerland.
(DES MOINES, Iowa)  Donald Trump faced an all-too-clear sign of GOP divisions Friday in Midwestern battlegrounds, embraced by party leaders in one state but ignored in another. He unleashed a scathing attack on Hillary Clintons character as he tried to overcome deepening concerns about his presidential candidacy.

Iowas Republican Gov. Terry Branstad appeared with the celebrity businessman at an afternoon rally, his third appearance in the swing state over the past two weeks. But in neighboring Wisconsin, a state Trump insists he can win, the states best-known Republicans said they were too busy to attend an evening event.

House Speaker Paul Ryan cited a scheduling conflict, while Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker said hed attend an all-you-can-eat spaghetti dinner instead of appearing with his partys standard bearer.

Welcome to Wisconsin, Mr. Trump, but lets get something straight, Wisconsins Assembly Speaker Robin Vos wrote in an open letter to his GOP colleagues ahead of Trumps arrival. We are Ryan Republicans here in Wisconsin, not Trump Republicans.

The tale of two states underscores Trumps mounting challenges during one of the most tumultuous weeks of his unorthodox campaign. He has skipped from one misstep to the next, sparking a fresh wave of Republican defections among longtime party loyalists who refuse to support their presidential nominee  including some who even publicly support for Democrat Clinton.

Eager to change their minds, Trump unleashed a slew of insults at Clinton during his Iowa rally.

If Hillary Clinton becomes president, he said, you will have really, in my opinion, the destruction of this country from within.

Trump called his Democratic opponent a dangerous liar, an unbalanced person, pretty close to unhinged, totally unfit to lead, and lacking the judgment, temperament and moral character to lead the country.

Story continues

The charges came soon after Clinton addressed her own political vulnerabilities while facing a group of minority journalists in Washington.

The former secretary of state sought to clarify and explain a recent statement on Fox News Sunday that FBI Director James Comey said her answers to the bureau about her use of a private email server were truthful.

I may have short circuited and for that I will try to clarify, Clinton said, though still insisting that she never sent or received anything that was marked classified.

She also acknowledged many people dont trust her.

It doesnt make me feel good when people say those things, and I recognize that I have work to do, Clinton said. She added, Im going to work my heart out in this campaign and as president to produce results for people.

Yet Trumps own gaffes have largely overshadowed Clintons problems as the Democrats work to recover from a bruising primary election season.

Complicating the Republican Partys 2016 challenge are fresh signs the nations economy is strengthening under a Democratic president.

The Labor Department reported Friday that U.S. employers added a healthy 255,000 jobs in July, a sign of confidence that could point to a resilient economy.

Trumps approach to national security came under fire Friday as well, with former CIA Director Michael Morell contending the Republican nominee would make a poor, even dangerous commander in chief.

Morell, outlining his views in The New York Times, also questioned Trumps unusual praise of Russian President Vladimir Putin

In the intelligence business, we would say that Mr. Putin had recruited Mr. Trump as an unwitting agent of the Russian Federation, wrote Morell, who was CIA director in the Obama administration and now works for a firm run by one of Clintons closest advisers.

Trump conceded Friday he was wrong to claim repeatedly in recent days that he saw a video of a U.S. cash payment going to Iran.

The New York billionaire has cited a $400 million payment the U.S. made to Iran this year, delivered on the same day that Iran released four American hostages. Trump charged on Thursday in vivid detail that the Iranian government released a video of the cash exchange to embarrass America.

The plane I saw on television was the hostage plane in Geneva, Switzerland, not the plane carrying $400 million in cash going to Iran! Trump tweeted Friday morning.

He has refused to admit any error, however, on a higher-profile dispute with an American Muslim family whose son, U.S. Army Capt. Humayun Khan, was killed in Iraq. Republican leaders and military veterans have called on Trump to apologize for criticizing the Khan family, who appeared at last weeks Democratic National Convention.

Trump sparked further GOP outrage earlier in the week when he refused to endorse Ryan, a Wisconsin Republican and the partys top elected official.

Ryan has endorsed Trump, but he said in a Friday radio interview that his endorsement isnt a blank check and pledged to speak out against the businessmans divisive positions if necessary.

The tension between the Republican heavyweights complicates Trumps push to compete in Wisconsin, a state that hasnt voted for a Republican presidential candidate since 1984.

Like Ryan, state Assembly Speaker Vos said hes not pulling his endorsement of Trump because he believes Clinton would be worse. But Vos, too, was skipping the Trump rally on Friday.

I have a thing, he said.
Washington (AFP) - Donald Trump, the embattled Republican presidential nominee, has made a successful campaign out of incendiary rhetoric and defying political correctness.

But the plain-talking political outsider has stepped in it repeatedly over the past week, so much so that members of his own party are begging him to get back on message in his battle against Democratic rival Hillary Clinton.

Here are six of Trump's biggest gaffes since last week.

- Russian hacks

Trump alarmed American voters and his own supporters when he urged Russia to find and release emails that disappeared from Clinton's private server while she was secretary of state.

"Russia, if you're listening, I hope you're able to find the 30,000 emails that are missing," Trump said during a July 27 press conference. "I think you will probably be rewarded mightily by our press."

Democrats -- and some furious Republicans -- seized on the comments to highlight how Trump invited a foreign power to conduct espionage against the United States.

Trump backtracked the next day: "Of course I'm being sarcastic."

- Gold Star gaffe

Trump's denigration of the family of a fallen Muslim American soldier was seen by many as a monumental mis-step.

Khizr Khan, a Pakistani immigrant whose son died in a suicide bombing in Iraq in 2004, pricked Trump by telling the Democratic National Convention last Thursday that Trump has "sacrificed nothing, and no one," for the country.

The Republican shot back on ABC News that he has made "a lot of sacrifices," then raised the stakes by tweeting: "Mr. Khan, who does not know me, viciously attacked me from the stage of the DNC."

The remarks, and Trump's refusal to apologize for suggesting that Khan's wife stood silently at his side at the convention because she was not allowed to speak, triggered an uproar within his party, with John McCain decrying the attack on a Gold Star family.

Story continues

Trump stood firm, even as some Republicans openly vowed to vote for Clinton.

"I don't regret anything," Trump told WJLA-TV on Tuesday.

- Harassment?

Just as his campaign reeled under the Khan fallout, Trump invited fresh criticism for comments some branded as victim blaming.

In an interview with USA Today published on August 1, Trump was asked about the sexual harassment accusations against Fox News boss Roger Ailes, who resigned last month amid the scandal.

What if daughter Ivanka were similarly harassed, Trump was asked: "I would like to think she would find another career or find another company," he responded.

- Paul Ryan rebuff

Like many of his colleagues, House Speaker Paul Ryan issued a stern statement Sunday criticizing Trump's clash with the Khans.

In a move that highlighted Trump's vindictive reputation, Trump said Tuesday he was "just not quite" ready to endorse Ryan, the nation's top elected Republican, in his congressional re-election. Ryan squares off next week against a primary challenger who has praised Trump.

Ryan then warned Trump during a radio interview that his support was not a blank check.

Trump, eager to put the week's disasters behind him, endorsed Ryan late Friday, declaring "we need unity."

- Purple Heart

Trump had the opportunity to bounce back Tuesday after the Khan fiasco, when a supporter gave him a Purple Heart, the American medal awarded to soldiers wounded in combat, as a gift.

"I always wanted to get the Purple Heart," said Trump. "This was much easier."

Trump has never served in the military. The New York Times reported that he received five draft deferments in the 1960s during the war in Vietnam.

- Cry baby

The crying baby is an American presidential campaign staple. On Tuesday, when an infant repeatedly cried as Trump delivered a speech in Virginia, the nominee came across as unprepared.

"Don't worry about that baby. I love babies," he said. "I hear that baby crying, I like it. I like it!"

"It's young and beautiful and healthy and that's what we want."

Minutes later, when the baby cried out again, Trump sang a different tune.

"Actually, I was only kidding, you can get the baby out of here," he said.
With the help of a channel-digging dragon and magical, water-absorbing dirt, the legendary Emperor Yu is said to have saved China from a Great Flood that lasted thousands of years. While this tale is the stuff of myths, with plenty of embellishments added through the years, geologists are finding that at least part of the story is based in reality.

The ancient Chinese legend holds that a devastating flood of the Yellow River forced people from their homes and washed away farmland, leading to famine. Emperor Yu is said to have tamed the floodwaters by dredging the river bed. The heroic emperor went on to establish the Xia Dynasty, the first in Chinese history.

Until now, a lack of geological evidence for such a flood left some scholars questioning whether the legend tells the story of a real disaster or if it was propaganda used to justify imperial rule. [Top 10 Deadliest Natural Disasters in History]

Now, a team of scientists has provided geological evidence for a disastrous flood that occurred around 1920 B.C., which could be the origin of the legend. The research, published today (Aug. 4) in the journal Science, reconstructed ancient events along the Yellow River  including an earthquake, a landslide and a dam burst  that led to a catastrophic flood.

If this ancient flood is in fact what came to be known as the Great Flood, then Emperor Yu's Xia Dynasty likely started several centuries later than historians had thought, the researchers said.

"Because this flood happens at a critical turning point in the development of Chinese civilization, this geological event takes on even greater significance," said study co-author David Cohen, an archaeologist at the National Taiwan University. "This is because the flood dates to the likely time period for China's legendary Great Flood, and this is the first time a flood of the scale large enough to account for it has been found."

The study shows that an enormous flood surged down the Yellow River after a dam broke. In their research along the Yellow River, in China's Qinghai province, the scientists found remains of a landslide, dam and outburst flood sediments downstream that allowed them to reconstruct the flood's size.

Story continues

"The flood was about 300,000 to 500,000 cubic meters per second [about 10,600,000 to 17,650,000 cubic feet per second]. To put that into perspective, that's roughly equivalent to the largest flood ever measured on the Amazon River, the world's largest river," said study author Darryl Granger, a geologist at Purdue University in West Lafayette, Indiana. "It's more than 500 times larger than a flood we might expect on the Yellow River from a massive rainfall event."

The researchers were able to determine the flood year by dating human remains from people who died in the same earthquake that triggered the landslide that dammed the river. Granger said the remains of children, because they grow so quickly, their bones give an accurate and reliable age at the time of their death. This allowed the researchers to narrow the time frame in which the flood would have occurred.

Given the timing of this flooding event, plus information from historical texts and astronomical evidence, the researchers said the Xia Dynasty likely began around 1900 B.C., with Emperor Yu starting his reign in 1914 B.C.

Much of Chinese dynastic history is dated as a "floating chronology," Cohen said. Evidence drawn from ancient documents has allowed historians to determine the duration and order of the reigns, but not necessarily specific years. Especially in the case of the Xia Dynasty, which was originally thought to have begun in 2070 B.C., the historiographic evidence was lacking, he said.

Cohen explained that the basic calculations for each reign was based on a "leapfrogging" approach, the historians would move backward from a known point to determine each predecessor's reign.

"There has to be an anchor point somewhere in that," Cohen said.

This flood, if it is indeed the legendary "Great Flood," could be the Xia Dynasty's anchor point, the researchers said. Beyond supporting the legend of Emperor Yu's flood, the new research could offer researchers a greater understanding of China's ancient history, they said.

Original article on Live Science.

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Copyright 2016 LiveScience, a Purch company. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
The Florida driver who miraculously survived his car rolling over several times is lucky to be alive and is thanking his rescuers for their help.

Joe Myers, 43, was rescued by good Samaritans in DeLand, Florida, on Sunday, after his car went out of control. Footage of the incident became the talk of social media.

Read: 13 Bears Adjusting to Life in Natural Habitat After Rescue From Grizzly Conditions: 'They're Never Going to Turn Back'

He spoke to Inside Edition from his home as he continues to recover from his injuries. One of his rescuers, Keland King, paid him a visit as he recovered.

A crash like that, it's really horrifying. And for somebody to be able to survive that without anything really wrong with him is great, King told Inside Edition. There was a higher power that watched over him and kept him alive.

King said that seeing the car accident was like a video game you were watching on TV -- but you were right there watching it.

The good Samaritan said that when he and other rescuers got to the car, Myers was in the passenger seat and not the drivers seat. Due to the rolling around inside the vehicle, he was tossed around to another section of the car.

Myers added: If it hadn't been for those guys, I wouldn't be here. The seatbelt saved my life, but they saved my life, too.

Myers, who lives near Orlando, told Inside Edition he had a seizure at the wheel of his car and has no memory of the accident and dramatic rescue.

Read: Family of Flight Attendant Roughed Up by Unruly Passenger Demands to Know Why No One Jumped In

He has no broken bones after the car flipped, but he said: My hands are cut up, a little bit on my arms. Ive got a couple of staples in my head and in my shoulder.

He said his life was spared due to a miracle. There has to have been an angel there, he said.

His mother, Sondra, told Inside Edition that she is so thankful he is alive. She also said that for three days after the incident, he had no idea who she was.

Story continues

Almost a week later, she said that he is back to normal, despite his injuries.

Watch: 3 Cops and 2 Civilians Spring Into Action to Rescue Man Trapped in Car After He Drove Into Lake

Related Articles:
Daisy Ridley and Sia are just two of the high-profile figures attached to the upcoming Eagle Huntress documentary, the official trailer of which has now debuted online.

Ridley, who also serves as an executive producer, narrates the film and the trailer, starting the latter by explaining, "For over a thousand years, the nomads of the Altai Mountains have hunted with Golden Eagles - a precious skill that has traditionally been handed down from father to son. But now a young girl is setting out to become a master eagle hunter."

She's telling the story of 13-year-old Aisholpan, the first girl in her family to become an eagle hunter.

"She's strong. She's brave. And she's a total natural," Ridley says.

Read more: 'The Eagle Huntress': Sundance Review

The Eagle Huntress not only follows Aisholpan's struggle to train her own eagle, but also her preparation for a male-dominated annual competition with more 70 other hunters.

The trailer flashes some of the other themes within the documentary - like "family" and "tradition" - that are important for those who live in the mountains of northwestern Mongolia.

Otto Bell directed The Eagle Huntress, which premiered at Sundance and hits theaters in New York and Los Angeles on Oct. 28, expanding nationally in the following weeks.

Read more: Sundance: Sia Records "Girl Power Anthem" for Doc 'The Eagle Huntress'
Piper Monson is spending the summer taking classes at Chase Dance & Madonna ProActive, performing in The Music Man at the Lofte Community Theatre in Manley, NE., and working on coming up with $7,000 to cover the expenses of a music-filled 16-day European trip next summer.

The sophomore-to-be at Nebraska City Lourdes High School has been invited to sing with The Nebraska Ambassadors of Music June 9-24, 2017 in London, Paris, Lichtenstein, Austria, Venice, Germany and Switzerland.

Leslie Gould, Pipers high school music teacher at Nebraska City Lourdes, nominated his student for the by-invitation-only organization. More than 200 students attending Nebraska high schools have been tabbed for the trip.

I know a couple people who went last year and they said it truly is a once-in-a-lifetime experience, said the talented vocalist.

Selection is based on musical ability, leadership and citizenship. The student at Bob and Stephanie Chases dance studio in Lincoln also has a strong work ethic. In the past two months, the Nebraska City teen has been selling merchandise at local farmers markets and concessions at sporting events and outdoor movies.

During a July 28 phone interview, Monson said shed raised nearly $1,000 to go toward trip-related expenses. The farmers market items she sells include pies shes made with her mom, and wood carvings.

A dance since the tender age of 3, she joined the Chases dance studio in southeast Lincoln about five years ago after Nebraska Citys only dance studio at that time closed. She acted on a local choreographers recommendation to check out the studio operated by the Chases, who were part of the dance scene in New York City before moving to Nebraska.

Monson is currently enrolled in tap classes and is also taking vocal lessons. She also portrays Zaneeta in The Music Man, which concludes a summer engagement this weekend, playing through Aug 7 at The Lofte Community Theatre in Manley.

Im so proud of Pipers selection to the Nebraska Ambassadors of Music group, said Stephanie Chase.

For years, she and her two little brothers have been driving up from Nebraska City to study dance with me, her dance instructor said.

Anyone who wishes to help Piper Monson with her fundraising is asked to contact the Rev. Mark Cyza, superintendent at Nebraska City Lourdes High School, at (402) 873-6164.
CAIRO (AP)  Egypts military said on Thursday that the leader of Islamic States affiliate in the Sinai Peninsula had been killed, along with several key aides and 45 other members of the extremist group.

Few details were immediately available and there was no word from the extremist groups branch in Egypt on what, if confirmed, would be a major setback for the Sinai-based militants.

A posting on the Facebook page of the Egyptian militarys chief spokesman, Brig-Gen Mohammed Samir, said Abu Doaa al-Ansari was killed in an operation south of the coastal city of el-Arish. It said the operation was carried out by counterterrorism forces backed by warplanes and guided by accurate intelligence.

The statement did not provide a total number of those killed or say when the operation took place, but two military officials with first-hand knowledge of the conflict in the turbulent northern part of Sinai said al-Ansari and his aides were killed in an airstrike that targeted a house located amid olive groves south of el-Arish.

Aerial images of the strike released by the military appeared to confirm the account given by the officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the operation with the media.

The name of Abu Doaa al-Ansari is not widely known and had not been previously mentioned as that of the leader of the Sunni militant group, which was known as Ansar Beit al-Maqdis, or Soldiers of Jerusalem, before it swore allegiance to the Islamic State group fighting in Syria and Iraq.

Al-Ansaris name is likely a nom de guerre  something militants typically take when joining groups such as IS. These names often allude to the country or city a militant hails from or the place he adopted as his home.

Mohannad Sabry, an Egyptian expert on the Sinai insurgency, said it was a seriously embarrassing situation that the military did not provide al-Ansaris real name, something he said casts doubts on the purported leaders identity and the report of his death.

Story continues

Even if someone with this nom de guerre exists, this will be one more time Egypts military announces that it has killed the leader, or a leader of a group that never publicly named its leader, Sabry told The Associated Press.

The militarys report could not be independently confirmed. Egypt has virtually banned independent media from northern Sinai while the pro-government press relies almost entirely on often brief army and police statements on the fighting there.

Also, an anti-terrorism law adopted last year places severe restrictions on media coverage of anti-government activity, with heavy fines and up to five years imprisonment for publishing news that contradicts official statements or is perceived as promoting militant causes.

According to the Egyptian military officials, the airstrike that killed al-Ansari was part of an ongoing, intense air campaign that began more than a week ago and in which jet-fighters, helicopter gunships and drones are being used. The campaign of airstrikes, at least in part, were in response to the growing threat to ground troops posed by roadside bombs planted by the militants, they said.

The officials also suggested that the 45 who were mentioned in the military spokesmans statement as slain alongside al-Ansari, may have perished in a series of airstrikes earlier this week that targeted IS positions and ammunition depots near the border town of Rafah.

Egyptian forces have been battling Islamic militants in Sinai for years but the insurgency there has grown deadlier since the 2013 ouster by the military of Mohammed Morsi, the Islamist president whose one year in office proved divisive for the country.

Earlier this week, a 35-minute video released by the Islamic States branch in Sinai purported to show IS attacks against Egyptian security forces, including roadside bomb blasts, gun battles and sniper fire.

The military officials dismissed the video as a compilation of heavily edited footage of past attacks.
Would you like to live like a local in Thailand for a week? The Friendship Force of Lamphun has invited the Friendship Force of Lincoln to visit for a week in February, 2017.

Lamphun is a city in Northern Thailand with a history reaching back 1300 years. It is known for its many temples, traditional handicrafts, and welcoming people. Friendship Force members will have the opportunity to experience the everyday lives of locals, staying in their homes and enjoying their meals.

While still in the planning stage, the Lincoln group plans to spend a few days touring Bangkok. Visitors will have an opportunity to visit Chiang Mai and ride elephants into the jungle, and they will take a day trip to the River Kwai, visit the Grand Palace, and see the Emerald Buddha.

Lamphun can accommodate approximately 20 Lincolnites. The trip should last two weeks. Participants can determine which tours they want, so the total cost is flexible at this time. For application information, contact Exchange Director Carolyn Kitterer, 308-224-5208, ckitterer@gmail.com.

The Friendship Force is open to anyone interested in world peace, meeting new people and experiencing different cultures. For information, contact membership chair Mary Bryant, 402-488-7781, ab2359@windstream.net.
CAIRO (Reuters) - Egypt's former Grand Mufti Ali Gomaa, once one of the country's top religious authorities, survived an assassination attempt on Friday, security sources told Reuters and state television later reported. Two men on a motorcycle fired guns on Gomaa as he entered a mosque, the sources said. He was unharmed and one of his body guards received a minor injury to the foot. The gunmen immediately fled the scene. "If Ali Gomaa dies there are millions who will take his place," Gomaa told state television shortly after news of the attempt was made public. "I gave my sermon right after my survival." Like many of the top religious figures in the Egyptian state, Gomaa is an adherent of a mystical school of Islam known as Sufism whose practices have sometimes set them at odds with more puritanical Muslims, including hardline Islamist groups. Gomaa is an outspoken critic of Islamist groups, including the Muslim Brotherhood which the military ousted from power in 2013 after mass protests against former President Mohamed Mursi. He is also close to President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, who led the military's ouster of Mursi, and campaigned for his election. "I tell Sisi remember your God and pray to him and walk in his blessing. God will grant you victory. This proves you are on the right path," Gomaa said. The grand mufti is in charge of issuing religious edicts as well as issuing a non-binding opinion on all capital sentences. No group claimed the attempt on Gomaa's life. Egypt is facing an Islamist insurgency led by Islamic State's local branch in North Sinai where hundreds of soldiers and police were killed. There have been attacks in Cairo and other cities as well. The country's top prosecutor was assassinated by a car bomb in June last year. (Reporting by Ahmed Mohamed Hassan and Mostafa Hashem; Writing by Ahmed Aboulenein; editing by Ralph Boulton)
From Esquire

According to the Associated Press, Egypt's military claims it has killed Abu Doaa al-Ansari, the leader of Islamic State's affiliate in the Sinai Peninsula, along with "several key aides" and 45 other members of ISIS.

Though few details are currently available, Egyptian military's chief spokesman, Brig Gen Mohammed Samir, said in a statement on his Facebook page that the leader of the extremist group was killed south of el-Arish in an operation by counterterrorism forces utilizing warplanes and "accurate intelligence." Officials said that Ansari and the aides were killed in an airstrike; this information "appeared to [be] confirmed" by aerial images of the strike, according to the AP. The airstrike was part of an ongoing campaign that started over a week ago, officials said.

If you haven't heard the name before, the AP notes that it wasn't widely known; it's likely a fake name that "allude[s] to the country or city a militant hails from or the place he adopted as home," also known as a "nom de guerre." Egyptian expert on the Sinai insurgency Monhannad Sabry told the AP that it could be problematic that the military didn't give al-Ansari's real name.

"Even if someone with this nom de guerre exists, this will be one more time Egypt's military announces that it has killed the leader, or a leader of a group that never publicly named its leader," Sabry said.
Istanbul (AFP) - Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Thursday that US State Secretary John Kerry intends to visit this month, in what would be the first trip by a top Western dignitary since a failed putsch.

Kerry's visit, if confirmed, comes at a time of heightened tensions between Washington and Ankara in the wake of the attempted military takeover on July 15.

Turkey has been furiously demanding the extradition of Pennsylvania-based Islamic preacher Fethullah Gulen, whom it accuses of masterminding the coup.

The government has launched a crackdown in its wake that has seen over 60,000 people within the military, judiciary, civil service and education sector dismissed, detained or put under investigation.

"I think their secretary of state is coming on the 21th (August)," Erdogan said in a live interview with state-run TRT television.

Within the next two weeks, a delegation led by Turkey's foreign and justice ministers would also travel to the US to explain Gulen's alleged involvement in the coup bid, he added.

US State Department spokesman Mark Toner declined to comment.

An Istanbul court on Thursday issued an arrest warrant for Gulen, accusing him of ordering the coup aimed at ousting Erdogan.

Ankara has frequently called on the United States to extradite the Muslim cleric, sending two sets of documents to Washington as evidence of his involvement in the putsch attempt.

Gulen strongly denies masterminding the coup and the movement he leads insists it is a charitable network promoting tolerant Islam.

Kerry said on July 18 that Turkey must present "genuine evidence" and "not allegations" against Erdogan's former ally for his extradition.

The crisis in Turkey has erupted at a time when the Ankara-Washington relationship is as important as ever, with the United States needing Turkish help in the battle against Islamic State militants in Syria.

US fighter jets have been using Turkey's southern base of Incirlik as a crucial launch point for lethal raids against IS targets in neighbouring Syria.

During Thursday's live broadcast, Erdogan broke down in tears while watching a TRT documentary about civilians who lost their lives on the night of the coup.

At least 272 people including 34 plotters were killed after people took to the streets and squares against the putschists.
HAMBURG (Reuters) - Persistent rain at harvest time is set to cause a late reduction in the European Union's crop of rapeseed, its main oilseed for edible oil and biodiesel production, experts said on Friday. "Harvest weather has been terrible with repeated rain in the four largest producers France, Germany, Britain and Poland, and we are likely to see crop sizes reduced at the last moment," one German rapeseed trader said. "The EU's rapeseed import requirement may be larger than expected next season." France, which may be the EU's largest rapeseed producer this year, is set for a crop sharp fall after adverse weather. France's rapeseed harvest is coming to a close but has been held up in the north by repeated rain since late July. French rapeseed has endured heavy rain, cold spells and limited sunshine during spring, analysts said. "Yields in France are disappointing but not disastrous like in wheat," said Renaud de Kerpoisson, president of consultancy ODA Groupe. ODA estimates the French crop will fall to 4.4 million tonnes, down 17 percent from last year. French analyst Strategie Grains this week cut its crop estimate to 4.7 million tonnes, down 400,000 tonnes from its previous outlook. Rain is delaying the German harvest and means some rapeseed is suffering from fungal diseases and pest attacks. Germany's farming association said. It forecast the rapeseed harvest will fall 500,000 tonnes on the year to around 4.5 million tonnes. In Britain, rapeseed harvesting is about 40 percent complete with a smaller crop expected driven by declines in both yields and planted area. "Yields are highly variable this year, but at this stage the average yield appears to be around 10 percent lower than the five-year average," said analyst Susan Twining of crop consultants ADAS. Analysts also expect UK rapeseed area will be down around 10 percent this season, hurt by weak margins and problems linked to curbs on the use of a class of insecticides known as neonicotinoids. The EU restricted their use to protect bees. Traders said Britain is expected to harvest a crop of about 2.0 million tonnes, down from last year's 2.54 million. In Poland, rain is also disrupting harvesting and may cause crop losses, said Wojtek Sabaranski of analysts Sparks Polska. Sparks Polska forecasts expects Poland's crop to fall 30 percent on the year to 2.2 million tonnes. But late rain means a fall to 2.0-2.1 million tonnes cannot be ruled out, Sabaranski said. (Reporting by Michael Hogan, Gus Trompiz and Nigel Hunt, editing by David Evans)
London (AFP) - Everton's Bosnian midfielder Muhamed Besic is facing six months on the sidelines with a knee injury, he revealed on Friday.

"6 months out! #devastated," the 23-year-old Bosnia and Herzegovina international wrote on his Twitter account.

Besic was forced off by injury just 12 minutes after coming on in Wednesday's testimonial match for Wayne Rooney against Manchester United at Old Trafford.

It is the latest in a series of injuries to have befallen the player, who joined the Merseyside club from Hungarian side Ferencvaros in 2014.

A hamstring injury sidelined him for four months last season and a recurrence of the problem kept him out until March.

Everton, who appointed Ronald Koeman as manager in June, host Tottenham Hotspur in their opening Premier League fixture on August 13.

They play Espanyol in a friendly on Saturday.
A former acting director and deputy director of the Central Intelligence Agency just publicly endorsed Hillary Clinton and denounced Donald Trump as a threat to national security.

Michael Morell, a 33-year CIA veteran, who is neither a Democrat nor a Republican, has served presidents from both parties and voted for politicians from either side of the aisle. As a government official, he chose to keep his preferences among presidential candidates private until Friday, when he announced his support for Clinton in the New York Times.

Morell  who was with President George W. Bush on Sept. 11 and President Obama when the U.S. took out Osama bin Laden  said he will vote for Clinton in November and do everything he can until then to help her win the election.

Two strongly held beliefs have brought me to this decision. First, Mrs. Clinton is highly qualified to be commander in chief, he wrote. I trust she will deliver on the most important duty of a president  keeping our nation safe. Second, Donald J. Trump is not only unqualified for the job, but he may well pose a threat to our national security.

As secretary of state, he said, Clinton demonstrated the qualities necessary to being commander in chief: prepared, detail-oriented, thoughtful, inquisitive and committed to protecting the country. He said she never brought politics into the White House Situation Room over the four years he worked with her and that she advocated early on for the raid that killed bin Laden.

Hillary Clinton at a rally in Commerce City, Colo., Aug. 3. (Photo: Andrew Harnik/AP)

In stark contrast with Clinton, Morell said, Trumps political inexperience and character flaws suggest he would be a poor and possibly dangerous president.

These traits include his obvious need for self-aggrandizement, his overreaction to perceived slights, his tendency to make decisions based on intuition, his refusal to change his views based on new information, his routine carelessness with the facts, his unwillingness to listen to others and his lack of respect for the rule of law, he continued.

Story continues

Michael Morell, former acting director of the Central Intelligence Agency, says he will vote for Hillary Clinton. (Photo: Drew Angerer/Getty Images)

According to Morell, Russian President Vladimir Putin has identified and exploited Trumps vulnerabilities with compliments, compelling the reality TV star to endorse positions that support Russian  rather than American  interests and to turn a blind eye to Putins aggression.

In the intelligence business, we would say that Mr. Putin had recruited Mr. Trump as an unwitting agent of the Russian Federation, he said.

Morell was deeply critical of Trumps call for barring Muslim immigrants and tourists from entering the United States. He said the real estate magnates position clearly contradicts the countrys founding principles and plays into the hands of terrorists trying to frame the global war on terrorism as a battle between religions.

The op-ed apparently led to Trumps issuing a statement in which the GOP nominee said, It should come as no surprise that her campaign would push out another Obama-Clinton pawn (who is not independent) to try to change the subject from Clintons own vulnerabilities.

Hillary Clinton and President Obama bear the direct responsibility of destabilizing the Middle East, having let ISIS take firm hold in Iraq, Libya and Syria, not to mention their allowing Americans to be slaughtered at Benghazi, Trump said.
Attorneys for the ex-wife of Florida law professor Dan Markel tell PEOPLE it's "fanciful fiction" to suggest that she or her family members have any connection to the murder of the popular teacher in 2014.



The family of the ex-wife, Wendi Adelson, is speaking out through their attorneys for the first time in a statement to refute that allegation, which was raised after the arrests earlier this summer of two suspects in the alleged murder-for-hire plot.



"There has been a lot of unsupported speculation that the Adelsons had something to do with the murder," says the statement signed by a team of six attorneys who are separately representing Adelson, her brother, and her parents. "That speculation is categorically false. To be clear, none of the Adelsons  Wendi, her brother Charlie, or their parents Donna and Harvey  had anything to do with Danas murder."



A "bitter divorce" and revived child custody matters between Adelson and Markel, who were fellow law professors at Florida State University, emerged as a dominant theme underlying the arrests this summer of two men in the alleged plot, according to a court document made public in June.



That document stated, "Investigators believe the motive for this murder stemmed from the desperate desire of the Adelson family to relocate Wendi and the children to South Florida, along with (a) pending court hearing that might have impacted the access to the grandchildren."



Markel, a nationally respected professor and father of two boys, was shot in the head execution-style on the morning of July 18, 2014, as he sat in his Honda Accord in the garage of his suburban Tallahassee home.



After nearly two years of no public progress, authorities in May and June arrested and charged Sigfredo Garcia, 34, and Luis Rivera, 33, for the murder. Both have pleaded not guilty, and are scheduled to be tried together in November.



 Want to keep up with the latest crime coverage? Click here to get breaking crime news, ongoing trial coverage and details of intriguing unsolved cases in the True Crime Newsletter.



The alleged connection to the Adelsons was raised in a probable cause affidavit leading to Garcia's arrest. In that document, investigators wrote that Charlie Adelson "was involved in a personal relationship" with the mother of Garcia's children, Katherine Magbanua, who also was described as a business associate of Garcia's.



Although police have never publicly named Charlie Adelson or other members of the family as suspects, they have said additional arrests are expected.



"We respect the process and the enormous amount of work that the Tallahassee police department has done in this case," the attorneys for the Adelsons say in their statement. "They have spent the past two years reviewing every shred of evidence out there  every phone record, financial record, text message, email, internet search, everything. We understand why the government has put the Adelson family through this type of severe scrutiny."



"But nothing has turned up that supports this fanciful fiction that the Adelsons were involved. The investigation has gone so deep that it employed FBI agents, undercover agents, and a tip line. There is a reason that the police have not arrested any of the Adelsons  they werenat involved in Danas death."



"We are issuing this statement because the media continues to run stories suggesting  without any support or evidence  that the Adelsons were somehow involved in Dan's murder. Again, this is simply not true. The Adelsons were not involved. We share in the hope that those responsible will be brought to justice."



The attorneys also said: "On behalf of the Adelson family, we continue to send our deepest condolences to the Markel family. Dan's death was a tragedy, and the loss is profound. Although Wendi and Dan were divorced, he was the father of their two children, who must now grow up without their dad."



The attorneys who signed the statement are John Lauro, representing Wendi Adelson; David Oscar Markus, Margot Moss and Michael Weinstein, representing Charlie Adelson; and Daniel Rashbaum and Jeffrey Neiman, representing Donna and Harvey Adelson.
Toys that are made out of tiny beads that expand when they get wet can be a hazard for children, in some cases getting stuck in kids' ears and causing permanent hearing loss, according to a new report.

The report describes the cases of two children who suffered ear injuries after playing with the beads. The beads start small, just 0.04 to 0.08 inches (0.1 to 0.2 centimeters) in diameter, but can grow to 0.4 inches (0.9 cm) when exposed to water.

The beads' small initial size allows them to fit inside the ear or nose of a child, but when kids put the objects in there, they can expand and then get stuck. If the child gets water in his or her ear (for example, during a bath), or if a doctor doesn't realize the beads can expand and tries to remove them using drops or flushing the ear with water, the bead can grow and damage parts of the ear, said Dr. Pamela Mudd, a pediatric ear, nose, and throat (ENT) specialist at Children's National Health System in Washington, D.C., who has treated several patients who had these beads in their ears.

"I think that no children should play with these beads. I think they're very dangerous," Mudd told Live Science. "It's not worth the risk of having permanent hearing loss because the bead expands," she said. [9 Unexpected Ways Kids Can Get Hurt]

In one of Mudd's cases, a 9-year-old girl became deaf in one ear after having an expanded bead in her ear canal for more than 10 weeks. Doctors initially could not figure out what was wrong; the girl had fluid draining from her ear, which can be a symptom of an ear infection, but she didn't respond to antibiotics. She also denied putting anything in her ear.

But further tests revealed significant damage to the ear-canal bone. "We thought she had cancer, because it was so destructive," said Mudd, who is a co-author of the new report.

The bead not only damaged bones of the girl's middle and inner ear, but also damaged nerves that are crucial for hearing, Mudd said. Doctors ended up performing surgery to remove the bead.

Story continues

In another case, a 6-year-old boy placed several of the expanding beads in his ear, and was taken to the emergency room. Doctors there tried to get the beads out by flushing the ear with water, but it only led to more expansion, moving a bead deeper inside the ear canal, Mudd said.

Because of their experience with the first case, Mudd and colleagues took the boy into surgery and removed the bead. Still, the bead had already started to destroy the boy's middle ear, and had perforated his ear drum. The boy needed two more surgeries to repair the ear drum, and he experienced reversible hearing loss, Mudd said.

Mudd and her colleagues recommend that doctors consider these beads as possible culprits in children who have foreign bodies in their ears. In addition, doctors and emergency room staff should avoid using water or drops in the ear if the child has a bead inside.

"If you see a bead in the ear, don't try and flush it out, because it could be an expanding water bead and that could be dangerous," Mudd said.

Several years ago, pediatricians warned about the dangers of another expanding ball toy, called Water Balz, which can expand to be much larger in water, growing to be several inches in diameter. These toys were recalled after an 8-month-old infant swallowed one of the balls and it blocked her intestine.

But the expanding beads involved in the current cases are still on the market. Although there are several manufacturers of these beads, which are made from a superabsorbent polymer, the main maker of the toys is Orbeez. The beads are intended for children ages 5 and up, and the company does have a warning label on its products about the danger of inserting the beads inside the ear or nose. The beads are marketed as toys themselves, or for use children's in arts-and-craft projects, as well as a "spa" product where the beads are said to soothe the hands and feet.

The company also said on its website that the beads can be a choking hazard for children under age 3. But if swallowed by older children, the beads should pass through the digestive tract without problems, , the company said. Still, Orbeez advised that parents seek medical attention if their children swallow the beads.

Mudd and colleagues have also notified the Consumer Products Safety Commission and the American Academy of Pediatrics about the risks of the beads.

The report is published today (Aug. 4) in the journal JAMA OtolaryngologyHead & Neck Surgery.

Original article on Live Science.

Editor's Recommendations

Copyright 2016 LiveScience, a Purch company. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Photo credit: Scott Barbour - Getty Images

From Popular Mechanics

Update, July 2018: Since this story was published in August 2016, things have started to look up for the F-35-sort of.

The first Joint Strike Fighters have been declared combat-capable. All three variants-the F-35A for the Air Force, F-35B for the Marines, and F-35C for the Navy, are dropping below the threshold of $100 million per plane as the fighter enters full production.

But it's not all good. The F-35 is still dogged by decisions like the one to build the plane using the strategy of "concurrency," or building the first planes before the experimental design was truly finalized. As of March, barely half the F-35s were flight-ready because many of the older ones needed to be brought up to spec.

The F-35 just flew a victory lap. Last month, three U.S. Air Force F-35As made the Atlantic crossing to appear at the Farnborough Air Show in England (while PM rode along in the tanker that refueled the Joint Strike Fighter). The debut came two years after the F-35 failed to make its first appearance at the international air show following an engine fire.



Recent reports suggest the F-35 Lightning II may have finally turned a corner, overcoming the technical problems that have plagued its development and nearing readiness to serve in the field. It's a big moment for the long-awaited plane, and it's been a long, long time coming. The Joint Strike Fighter was declared operational by the Marine Corps in July 2015; the Air Force just declared initial operational capability (IOC) this week and the Navy hopes to do so by February 2019. If the schedule holds, the F-35 will be baseline operational 18 years after it was selected over Boeing's X-32, and 23 years after the program began.

For over two decades, the F-35 has been the symbol of everything that's wrong with mammoth defense contracts: behind schedule, over budget, and initially, over-sold. How did things get this way, and how did the trillion-dollar albatross come out flying in the end?

Story continues

There Can Be Only One

The development of the F-35 has been a mess by any measurement. There are numerous reasons, but they all come back to what F-35 critics would call the jet's original sin: the Pentagon's attempt to make a one-size-fits-all warplane, a Joint Strike Fighter.

When the program began in 1996, the JSF was conceived as a way to replace the F-16 Falcon, F-15E Eagle, A-10 Warthog, F/A-18 Hornet, and AV-8B Harrier across their respective roles and missions. The Joint Strike Fighter program called for a common design with three variants to share 80 percent of their parts. There would be the conventional F-35A, the Air Force's plane. There would be the short takeoff and landing (STOVL) F-35B for the Marines. The Navy would get the carrier landing F-35C. At its dawn, the F-35 was projected to be four times more effective than older, legacy fighters in air-to-air combat, eight times more effective in air-to-ground combat, and three times better at reconnaissance and suppression of enemy air defenses. Design goals called for the JSF to be the premier strike aircraft through 2040, second only to the F-22 Raptor in air supremacy.

The F-35 wouldn't just be shared across the branches of the U.S. military; it was to be shared around the world. A coalition of "partner nations" would not only fly and produce the aircraft but support it worldwide. Eventually, eight foreign partners-Australia, Canada, Denmark, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Turkey, and the United Kingdom-signed on to invest in and acquire the aircraft. To date, seven have received their first jets and eight have pilots and maintainers in training. Two of the three foreign military sale customers (Israel, Japan, and South Korea) will receive their first jets in 2016.

Stll, we could have seen this coming, and not just because of the technical complexity involved in making a warplane for so many constituents. Long before the delays and overruns that riddles the F-35 program, history was littered with illustrations of multi-mission aircraft that never quite measured up. Take Germany's WWII Junkers Ju-88 , or the 1970s Panavia Tornado, or even the original F/A-18. Today the Hornet is a mainstay of the American military, but when it debuted it lacked the range and payload of the A-7 Corsair and acceleration and climb performance of the F-4 Phantom it was meant to replace.

F-35 supporters were undaunted in the face of that evidence, adamant that the technological advances needed to make a do-it-all aircraft for several brances of the military had finally arrived. Back in 2000, I interviewed Lt. General Michael A. Hough of the U.S. Marine Corps, director/deputy director of the Joint Strike Fighter Program from 1997 to 2001. During the interview, Hough thumped the table with his fist, declaring the JSF would not suffer the problems of past multipurose aircraft, which were prone to run over budget and see their progress stall.

The Rocky Years

Things got rocky pretty quickly. The Air Force wanted a stealthy plane, and those stealth requirements drove a JSF design which, at least initially, did not have internal weapons bays. That didn't sit well with the Marines, who would demand their inclusion. This design change would add weight to the F-35. So would the Marines' desire for a vertical takeoff plane, something the USMC demanded because it said it had no alternative replacement for the Harrier. Defense journalist and War Is Boring blogger David Axe observed that "in demanding STOVL capability, the Marines foisted a fat, bulky airframe on the program, even though the Air Force's F-35A didn't really want to be that fat."

Building one plane for three branches wasn't the only place the JSF program ran into trouble. The Pentagon hoped to take advantage of "concurrency": that is, the idea of keeping down costs by building production planes at the same time it was finishing ground and flight testing. Never mind that most aspects of the F-35, from its engines and flight control system to its software and autonomic logistics system, were still in early stages of development at the program's outset and far from finished technologies ready to be integrated. You can imagine what happened. During the flight testing, the military found the F-35 needed structural and electronic modifications. The fact that it had already produced many of the aircraft made the fix far more expensive.

In the decade following 2003, the program faced over a dozen major setbacks. They just kept coming and coming. In 2004, the F-35B was more than 2,000 pounds overweight, unable to meet its performance goals. In 2006, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) warned that, as a result of the policy of concurrent development, retrofitting aircraft with systems that were not fully functional or working as intended could be terribly expensive. By 2013, the cost of retrofitting was put at $1.7 billion.

Starting in 2007, suspected Chinese cyber intrusions resulted in the theft of several terabytes of data related to the F-35's design and electronics systems. This attack and another 2012 hack of BAE Systems (which makes the F-35's flight control software, electronic warfare systems, aft fuselage, as well as its horizontal and vertical tails) forced hardware and software redesigns, adding more cost and delays. From a troublesome helmet mounted cueing system to inadequate ejection seats and logistics software, the F-35 has continued to face challenges.

The mess got so bad that Secretary of Defense Robert Gates removed JSF program manager Maj. Gen. David Heinz (USMC) in 2010 and delayed development even more. Problems assembling the F-35's four-piece wing and structural fatigue in one of the bulkheads supporting the wing on the F-35B, combinged with a strike at Lockheed Martin, forced reduced initial production buys. The cascade of woes nearly resulted in the cancellation of the F-35B in 2010-11. To avoid further delays resulting from design changes, in 2012 the Pentagon accepted a reduced combat radius for the F-35A and a longer takeoff run for the F-35B. The F-35B's estimated combat radius was reduced by 15 percent. (F-35Bs had to refuel 15 times on the recent transatlantic flight.)

Who gets the blame for a 20-year misadventure? In 2013, the GAO's Michael Sullivan asserted that Lockheed had failed to get an early start on systems engineering and had not understood the technologies involved at the program's launch. But a RAND study the same year found the three F-35 variants had drifted so far apart during development that having a single base design may prove to be more expensive than if services had just built separate aircraft tailored to their own requirements from the get-go. And to this the fact that enormous defense projects almost always go over-budget and you've got a recipe for the start-and-stop, muddled first two decades of the F-35.

The Price Tag and the Promise

Cost estimates for the F-35 have changed yearly over the past 15 years. It's safe to say, though, that the program is the most expensive in U.S. history (so far), pegged at more than $320 billion in 2012. In 2014, the GAO found that the F-35 fleet would have operating costs 79 percent higher than the aircraft it was to replace.

A 2015 Pentagon Selected Acquisition Report said that program costs had increased 43 percent from 2001, including unit cost (up 68 percent). The report added that the F-35A's cost per flying hour is $32,500 while the F-16C/D is $25,500. Private analysts have called the F-35 a "money pit," and argued that the purpose of Lockheed's extensive national and global supplier base-which includes 1,300 suppliers in 45 states and nine foreign countries-was not so much to realize logistics efficiency and security, but to make sure the Joint Strike Fighter was too big to fail.

They succeeded. The F-35 may be one of the most derided and controversial warplanes, but it's here, nearly ready to go into service in force. That's a good thing. Frankly, we need the F-35. The average age of current USAF airframes stands 27 years, and it's nearly as bad in the Navy. Decades-old Marine airplanes are being brought back from the boneyard. As a fifth-generation aircraft, the F-35 offers new combat capabilities and information exploitation. It will work with the F-22 and our 4th generation fighters such as the F-18 and F-16 to "kick down the door" in defended environments.

The F-35 is, at least so far, a jack-of-all-trades and master of none. We have paid a steep price for it, the full accounting of which has yet to be reckoned.

Let's hope it was worth it.

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By Andrew M. Seaman (Reuters Health) - At the annual Gender Odyssey conference this week in Seattle, parents and healthcare providers who care for transgender and gender-nonconforming children are receiving a crash course on a world often left unexplored. Gender Odyssey began 15 years ago in Seattle as a collection of people discussing transgender and gender-nonconforming issues, but it has since ballooned to include programming specifically for families and healthcare providers. This week, more than 1,200 attendees are expected. "I wanted us to come together and give and take," said Aidan Key, who founded the conference. The goal of the professional programming is to advance medical standards and guidelines. Meanwhile, the family programming focuses on parents' and children's experiences, and their future. Parents "feel like theyre having to advocate for their children in an arena they never thought theyd have to navigate," Key told Reuters Health. "At the very least, what I want them to know is that their child can have a fantastic future," said Key. "I want them to be able to leave and have a connection that will help sustain them throughout the year." After not finding the right fit among a few support groups, Evelyn Montanez, a mother and teacher from Redmond, Washington, came to Gender Odyssey in 2015 at the suggestion of a family member. This year at Gender Odyssey, Montanez said she'll be paying special attention to sessions about medical care and insurance as her son, who is transgender, enters college. "Its an incredible safe space to talk about our experiences and a space to share positive things," said Montanez. "Last year was positively overwhelming," she said. "There was so much information I was learning. All the workshops were amazing, but what stood out to me was the student panel  the kids. It was really good for me as a mom to see where the kids are at different stages." There are no national estimates of the number of transgender or gender diverse youth in the U.S., but The Williams Institute at the UCLA School of Law says about 1.4 million U.S. adults identify as transgender. This year, medical professionals attending Gender Odyssey are offered sessions on barriers to care for transgender and gender-nonconforming youth, talking to young children about gender, and hormone use among gender diverse youths. Medical school curricula currently devote only about five hours to issues affecting lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender communities, said Dr. Aron Janssen, who is clinical director of the gender and sexuality service at NYU Langone Medical Center in New York City. "As physicians at least we have an ethical responsibility to treat the patients who come through our doors," said Janssen. "Its not an excuse to say you havent been trained." Janssen said healthcare providers, parents and children can all benefit from conferences like Gender Odyssey, but for those who can't attend, online resources are available. He usually recommends Gender Spectrum (www.genderspectrum.org) and TransYouth Family Allies (www.imatyfa.org). According to Key, one of the most powerful and consistent benefits for children and families is meeting other people with similar backgrounds. "You can immediately find kinship and find someone who understands your experience," he said. Montanez said her goal this year is to exchange phone numbers and email addresses with two families at the conference who live outside the Seattle area. "I think now that Im going to be an empty nester, I want to be more involved with communities and families," she told Reuters Health. "I think its important to hear they're not alone and they have friends going through the same thing." Every person develops a gender identity, Janssen said, and that identity doesn't always align with what is typically portrayed in the media and online. "There is beauty in that diversity," he said. SOURCE: http://bit.ly/2aDOHdX Gender Odyssey, August 4-7, 2016.
Hundreds of fans mobbed ex-premier Yingluck Shinawatra as she arrived at court Friday to give evidence at her negligence trial, where she implored supporters to vote on a contentious referendum this weekend.

Yingluck, Thailand's first female premier, was dumped from office by a court days before army chief Prayut Chan-O-Cha seized power in May 2014.

She was retroactively impeached over a financially ruinous rice subsidy scheme that funnelled cash to her farming base, and is facing a trial which could see her jailed for up to 10 years.

The rice scheme was a major catalyst in the debilitating protests that presaged the military takeover.

In a sign of her enduring star power among supporters, Yingluck was met by several hundred people outside the court.

In a frenzied atmosphere, many supporters handed her red roses -- a nod to the colour of their grassroots movement.

She repeated her plea of innocence of the negligence charge to the crowd, saying the billions of dollars of losses occurred after she was booted from office.

Yingluck also urged Thais to vote on Sunday's referendum on a new military-scripted constitution, the first test of public opinion on army rule since its power grab.

"I want to invite all Thais to go for the vote," she said.

"I don't want small turnout otherwise the result won't be what we want, if we want to see democracy have a future."

Yingluck's Pheu Thai party has expressed fears of a low turnout -- with many among their rural support base unsure of how the new charter affects them.

- 'No' voters muzzled -

Campaigning against the document has been effectively banned and many have not seen the draft they are expected to vote on.

A low turnout is likely to favour the military, which says the document will bring long-term stability, rein-in avaricious politicians and prevent any party from becoming too dominant.

Junta chief Prayut Chan-O-Cha told reporters Friday he will vote for the document and hit out at his detractors.

Story continues

"If I am dictator as they have accused me, why bother holding referendum and elections?" he said.

But opponents say the charter will lead to a straightjacketed democracy, weak coalition governments controlled by an appointed senate and enable courts and other agencies to hamper policy making.

Thailand has been deeply divided since the 2006 ousting of Thaksin Shinawatra by the military.

Shinawatra-led or aligned governments have won every election since 2001, powered to government by the working class and rural poor who laud the clan for recognising their changing aspirations in a deeply hierarchical and economically divided society.

But the military and its Bangkok-centric establishment allies have hit back with coups and court rulings.

This week the junta said the rice scheme cost the state $8 billion and threatened to sue Yingluck -- whose billionaire brother Thaksin sits at the heart of the country's caustic divide -- for compensation.

In court Yingluck told judges that Thai governments, both civilian and military, had long paid subsidies to farmers.

"This is not a new policy, it has been used for 30 years," she she said.

A conviction, she added, would set a precedent for future civilian administrations who might put off policy decisions for fear of prosecution.

Hundreds of supporters remained outside the courthouse as she gave evidence, many critical of junta rule.

"Now people are suffering, farmers are suffering," Mayuree Tohom, a 63-year-old woman sporting a hat featuring Yingluck, told AFP.

"In the past two years nothing has got better. Farmers have headaches and a lot of debt."
London (AFP) - Two men campaigning for fathers' rights to see their children staged a protest Friday on the roof of British opposition Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn's London house.

Activist Bobby Smith, a father of two girls, posted a video on Twitter of himself and a fellow protester sitting on the roof, and showing police deployed in the road below.

"Both of us would rather be home with our children right now, on the summer holidays, but we're not -- we have no choice but to do this," Smith told LBC radio, adding that they had food and water to stay all day.

He said he wanted Corbyn, who was due at a rally in Wales on Friday, to "hold the government to account" to improve the rights of fathers in the family courts.

A police spokesman confirmed the protest, saying: "Officers are in attendance and the road is currently closed to traffic."

Photos on Smith's website show previous protests on the roof of a building in the grounds of Buckingham Palace and at the home of Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson, who was mayor of London at the time.
MOUNT PLEASANT  Every Thursday for the last three years, veterans have gathered at the Veterans Cafe in Malickis Piggly Wiggly store, 5201 Washington Ave., for coffee, donuts and to come together across generations.

To honor the third anniversary of the weekly event, the stores owner and operator, Ralph Malicki, was surprised at this weeks session by Racine Mayor John Dickert with a proclamation stating that Aug. 4 was Ralph Malicki day.

Ralph has been an unsung hero for three years now, Dickert said. Ralph is one of those people who does all of this work, helps out all these people without any recognition whatsoever. We thought, as the city, that the least we could do is dedicate today to him.

Malicki also was presented with a portrait commissioned by the group and painted by renowned Racine illustrator Don Ricchio.

Veterans from World War II and the Vietnam, Korean and Iraq wars attended Thursdays event. Malicki said 30 to 50 veterans attend Veterans Cafe each week.

Don Hetland, 90, who served in the 97th Infantry Division during World War II and is a regular attendee of the weekly event, said the veterans all appreciate the work Malicki does for them.

Ralph is quite a guy, Hetland said. He donates all of this to the veterans and its really nice. It is really appreciated by all the guys. We appreciate him and everything hes done for the veterans.

A way to give back

Malicki was surprised by the honor for something he started because he wanted to give back to those who served. Malickis grandfather served in the Army during World War II.

I havent sat down and thought about it yet, Malicki said. What inspired me was the sacrifices they made when they were in the military and to be able to do something back to them when I myself wasnt in the military is a real big plus.

Brad Mehling, the veteran services officers for Racine County who retired from the United States Air Force in 2015 after 25 years, said Vets Cafe is the highlight of a lot of veterans weeks.

You can see Vietnam. You can see the Gulf Era. You can see World War II. To have a safe place where they can gather is just great, Behling said. Ralph deserves every accolade he can get.

Malicki plans to keep this event running for the veterans as long as he can.

When you look at the veterans and the camaraderie they have here and the fact that they can get together here and talk and you cant ask for anything better, Dickert said. Today is Ralphs day.

The group, which welcomes all veterans, meets every Thursday from 8 a.m. to 11 a.m. at the store at 5201 Washington Ave.
Filmbuff has licensed all worldwide rights to Summer Of 8, the debut feature of writer-director Ryan Schwartz, with day and date release in select theaters and all VOD platforms planned for September 2.

Set in the summer after the end of high school, Summer Of 8 follows eight close friends having as much fun together as they can at the beach before they part ways to head off to college. Longstanding couple Jesse and Lilly debate whether or not to maintain a long distance relationship, while Aiden works up the nerve to tell his friend Serena about his romantic feelings for her. Meanwhile, Bobby is worried about going to college alone, Emily is worried about her lack of sexual experience, and Jen is seemingly unworried about anything.

So8_Poster_Final (1) (1)

I am incredibly proud that FilmBuff has come on board, said Schwartz. Our cast and crew poured their hearts into this movie. For FilmBuff to recognize all their talent and hard work is truly a dream come true.

Shot in Newport Beach, California and premiering at the Newport Beach film festival, Summer Of 8 stars Shelley Hennig (Teen Wolf), Matt Shively (The Real ONeals), Carter Jenkins (Mad Men), Rachel DiPillo (Chicago Med), Bailey Noble (True Blood), Natalie Hall (Star-Crossed), Michael Grant (The Secret Life of an American Teenager), and Nick Marini (Funemployed).

Michael M. McGuire and Steven J. Berger produced with Scott Dixon executive producing. Sam Scupp of FilmBuff and Michael M. McGuire of Organically Grown Productions negotiated the deal.

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Cinema Guild Acquires Cannes Pic 'The Death Of Louis XIV'; FilmBuff Pulls Trigger On 'I Am Gangster'

Netflix Drives To 'Where The Road Runs Out'; FilmBuff Releasing 'Don't Worry Baby'
It just got a little more expensive to film on the streets of Los Angeles  even for some student filmmakers. Effective August 1, FilmLA, the citys film permit office, raised its fees for a wide range of services including a $35 increase in film permit application fees, which now costs $660  a 5.6% increase from the $625 it cost a week ago.

The fees, which havent been raised since 2008, were adopted in June by the FilmLA board of directors as part of the organizations fiscal year 2017 budget. FilmLA says theyll help offset the rising cost of providing film-permit coordination and related services to the industry, local governments, and communities.

Under the new fee rates, filmmakers will pay more to employ FilmLA monitors, the agencys eyes and ears at sensitive location shoots who help mitigate the impact of filming in residential and business areas. The monitors fee has gone up a dollar an hour to $31 an hour  a 3.3% increase. The overtime monitors fee has gone up $2 an hour to $47 an hour, and the double-time fee has gone up $2 an hour to $62.

It will also cost more for some student filmmakers to shoot in the city. Complex student permit fees have gone up $5 to $95, a 5.5% increase. Simple student permit fees, however, remained unchanged at $25. Projects are deemed simple if they have minimal impact on the community, dont affect pedestrian or street traffic, and dont involve pyrotechnics or other special effects.

Other fee hikes include a $9 increase for notification fees, which will now cost $164 (up 5.8%). Those fees pay for FilmLA teams to notify the community of filming activities, including going door-to-door. Film permit rider fees  charges for changes to an approved permit  will now cost $105 (up 5%), while still-photo application fees have gone up $3 to $63 (up 5%). Permit delivery fees, charged when producers need their permits delivered to their locations, will now cost $58 (up $3).

Considerable research was conducted over the past year to inform this change in pricing, FilmLA said on its website, noting that its new rates are set well below the overall increase in consumer prices over the last eight years. The new rates are also set below the average regional rate for like services, keeping FilmLA and its client jurisdictions cost-competitive within the Greater Los Angeles Region.

Story continues

FilmLA said that as a not-for-profit, economic development organization, its policy is to avoid fee increases whenever possible, and minimize fee increases when they are necessary.

FilmLA said that some of the services sustained by the fee hikes include: advocating for sensible film policy at the state and local level; marketing Greater Los Angeles as a premier production location; one-stop permit processing and production planning assistance; comprehensive community relations, including neighborhood notification and monitoring; around-the-clock filming complaint referral and resolution; film economy research, data collection and dissemination, and investments in technology such as the Online Permit System and LocoScout, an online directory of location availability.

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On-Location L.A. Film Production Up Nearly 24% In Q1

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Film & TV Fire Safety Advisers Get Pay Raise
Amazon Prime cargo jet

The first freighter jet to carry the Amazon brand is primed for its public debut in Seafairs sunny skies, after making a stealthy flight from New York to Seattle in the middle of the night.

Its hard for me not to be a little bit giddy, almost. This is the first time Ive actually seen the plane in person, Dave Clark, Amazons senior vice president of worldwide operations, said at a press preview that took place behind closed hangar doors at the Boeing Co.s Seattle Delivery Center on Thursday.

The plane, emblazoned with Amazon on its belly, Prime Air on its sides and the Amazon smile logo on its tail, will fly over Lake Washington during the Boeing Seafair Air Show at around 1:15 p.m. Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Until now, the big reveal was kept so hush-hush that Seafair organizers referred to the event only as a Special Guest Flyover.

The Boeing 767-300 jet is part of what will eventually become a fleet of 40 planes, transporting cargo between Amazons distribution centers for delivery to customers. Clark said the planes will mesh with Amazons network of 4,000 branded truck trailers, the Uber-like Amazon Flex delivery system, and the services provided by transportation partners such as UPS and FedEx.

Were doing this because of customers, and on behalf of customers, Clark said.

Clark said Amazons main objectives are to streamline existing delivery operations and increase shipping capacity. Although Clark didnt mention it, some Amazon customers have complained in the past about delays in deliveries during the holiday rush due to problems at UPS and FedEx.

As Amazon becomes more familiar with the capabilities of its growing fleet, it may be able to offer enhanced delivery services, Clark said.

Once you have a capability, you have options to build new products and services off it, Clark told GeekWire. So I think certainly once we have all 40 of these planes deployed, theres the opportunity to create new connections for customers. Inventory that might not have been available next day suddenly could be available next day for customers. But really, its all about building core capacity for our Prime service for customers.

Story continues

He declined to go into the financial details behind the fleets creation, except to say that were very comfortable in the economics of this program.

Amazon One name

Ten planes have been flying Amazon cargo under the terms of a lease agreement with Ohio-based Air Transport Services Group, or ATSG. The plane making its debut this week is the first to be painted in Amazons colors, however, and its the first to be leased from and operated by New York-based Atlas Air.

Its a big part of Atlas future, and it ultimately will become transformative for our company, Atlas Air President and CEO William Flynn told GeekWire.

Atlas and ATSGs air operations have long experience flying planes for cargo delivery services such as DHL. The air carriers agreements included provisions that allowed Amazon to buy stakes in each company.

Over the next couple of years, Atlas Air will be phasing in 20 Boeing 767-300s to carry Amazons freight, under the terms of a 10-year lease and a seven-year maintenance and operation contract. ATSG says its air services will eventually operate just as many planes for Amazon: 12 Boeing 767-200s that are covered by five-year leases, plus eight 767-300s with seven-year leases.

Were proud to say we flew the first flight for them under this setup, and were happy to fly many more, Joe Hete, ATSGs president and CEO, told GeekWire.

Amazon's Dave Clark

Hete smiled when it was pointed out that Atlas jet had the name Amazon One painted beneath the cockpit windows.

This is Amazon 11, as far as were concerned, he joked.

The Boeing 767s are being modified for Amazons use at Israel Aircraft Industries, based in Tel Aviv. The ATSG planes were given a generic paint job, but Atlas had its first plane painted to Amazons specifications at Premier Aviation in Rome, N.Y.

I think its a great-looking livery, dont you? Flynn asked GeekWire.

Each of the Amazon-branded planes will be registered with a prime number, serving as an Easter egg reference to Amazon Prime. Amazon Ones tail registration number is N1997A  which includes a prime number that also denotes the year Amazon went public.

Amazon One's tail

To preserve the element of surprise, Amazon One took off from Griffiss International Airport in Rome well after dark on Tuesday, and flew through the night to reach Seattles Boeing Field well before dawn on Wednesday. It was kept in the hangar at the Seattle Delivery Center in preparation for its coming-out party at Seafair.

Clark said he was particularly proud to have the plane make its public debut in Amazons hometown, during Seattles most festive summer weekend. To be able to be a part of that with our own aircraft is truly a special thing, he said.

He said the hoopla over Amazons newest airliner also impressed his two sons.

At least for this weekend, I get to be a very, very cool dad, Clark said.

More from GeekWire:
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Just days after a local outbreak of the Zika virus began in Miami, infecting at least 15 people so far, U.S. researchers are moving ahead with the first clinical trial for a potential vaccine.

Yet their progress could quickly hit a wall if Congress doesn't free up more funding to fight the disease, the White House and scientists warned this week.

The money that we need to fight Zika is rapidly running out. The situation is getting critical, President Barack Obama said Thursday during a press conference at the Pentagon.

SEE ALSO: Likely Zika outbreak in Florida marks turning point for the U.S.

In February, the Obama administration asked Congress to set aside $1.9 billion to fund research for preventing and treating the dangerous disease.

President Obama speaks to the media at the Pentagon, Aug. 4, 2016.

Image: Getty Images

But Congress failed to pass an emergency spending bill before breaking for a seven-week recess in mid-July.

In the absence of new spending from Congress, the government has been funding Zika research by tapping into the dwindling dollars that had been intended to go toward additional Ebola work in the wake of the epidemic in West Africa.

The White House and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said their remaining Zika funding could vanish by late September without congressional action.

Zika is a serious threat to Americans, especially babies, Obama said, urging Congress to, Deal with this threat. Help protect the American people from Zika.

Zika is spread through mosquito bites from the Aedes aegypti mosquito and, less commonly, through sex.

via GIPHY

The majority of people infected with Zika often dont show symptoms, and if they do, the symptoms are often akin to a mild flu or cold.

For pregnant women, however, the risks are more concerning. Zika is known to cause birth defects and brain abnormalities in children whose mothers were infected during pregnancy.

The first Zika vaccine trials in humans

The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of the National Institutes of Health, launched the first phase of its human vaccine trial earlier this week.

Story continues

Two of 80 volunteers were injected with an investigational DNA vaccine.

Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of NIAID, said the funding dilemma wont affect Phase 1 of NIAIDs clinical vaccine trials, which are expected to wrap up in late December.

But Phase 2 of the trials, which could start as early as January 2017, could face substantial setbacks and delays unless Congress approves more research funding soon, he said.

The "Asian Tiger" mosquito, which also carries Zika.

Image: AFP/Getty Images

When I say were going to run out of money soon, I mean really soon, Fauci told reporters on a Wednesday press call.

We cannot afford to delay the work needed to develop a safe and effective vaccine to prevent Zika virus infection, he added.

The Obama administration said this week it has now spent about $201 million of the $347 million it set aside in April to combat Zika.

The CDC has spent about half of its $222 million in available Zika funding and will likely burn through the rest by Sept. 30, the end of the fiscal year.

Im puzzled by this. I just dont understand why were not moving on it, Fauci told Mashable in early June, when Congress was still debating a Zika funding bill.

A physical therapist in Brazil holds an infant with microcephaly, or an abnormally small head.

Image: Getty Images

I dont think its a lack of perception of the seriousness of the problem, he added. I believe its a disagreement as to how you go about addressing the problem.

If NIAID had sufficient funding, researchers would already be preparing for Phase 2 of the vaccine trials by preparing host clinics and hiring and training personnel, he told reporters this week. The second phase could involve between 2,400 and 5,000 volunteers.

A different clinical trial for a different Zika vaccine is expected to start in October.

In a separate development, researchers from the Walter Reed Army Institute of Research and Harvard Medical School announced Thursday that they found a promising vaccine was effective in monkeys.

Aresearch specialist tests body fluids from rhesus macaque monkeys infected with the Zika virus, June 28, 2016 in Madison, Wisconsin.

Image: Getty Images

The purified, inactivated Zika vaccine was effective against Brazilian and Puerto Rican strains of the virus in rhesus monkeys, a primate frequently used in the study of human disease, according to a study published in the journal Science.

Researchers are fast-tracking the inactivated-virus vaccine for human clinical trials, Bloomberg reported.

A batch of the vaccine has already been manufactured. The Army also agreed last month to transfer its vaccine technology to Paris-based drugmaker Sanofi for further development.

U.S. cases are adding up

About 1,800 cases of Zika have been reported in the U.S., including 500 pregnant women, although all of those cases were from travelers returning home after visiting other Zika-affected countries.

Laboratory-confirmed Zika cases as of Aug. 3, 2016.

Image: CDC

The recent infections in Miami mark the first time Zika was found to be transmitted via infected mosquitoes in the continental United States, the CDC confirmed.

The agency on Monday issued a rare travel advisory for a one-square-mile area in downtown Miami where the Zika outbreak is occurring.

The CDC also advises pregnant women against traveling to the U.S. territory of Puerto Rico, where nearly 5,500 people have acquired the disease locally.

Mashable science editor Andrew Freedman contributed reporting to this story.
A video was released by Al Rimaah, the new media arm of Mali Islamist group Ansar Dine, on Wednesday, August 3, showing five Malian Army soldiers taken hostage by the group in a July 19 attack on a Nampala military base. Six soldiers had been missing since the raid on the base, which left 17 Malian soldiers dead and 35 injured, according to an AP report, citing the Malian defence ministry.

In the footage, each soldier speaks to camera, saying their name, rank and where they were captured on July 19 by Ansar Dine. One of the men is identified as a first sergeant. A Malian defense ministry source confirmed the men in the video were five of the missing Malian soldiers.

The attack is the largest on the Mali army in months, according to reports. Army Spokesperson Souleyman Maiga said three groups staged the raid; Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb, the Macina Liberation Front linked to Ansar Dine and the ethnic Peul group.

The video was promoted on a Twitter account for Al Rimaah, with the title, Prisoners of battle Nambala. Rimaah released an English version of the video on August 5. Credit: Al-Rimaah Media Foundation
A parade float featuring a dummy that resembled Hillary Clinton is sparking the latest controversy around the presidential candidate.

Read: Amid Protests From Animal Rights Activists, Hillary Clinton Blasts Trump and Sons as Hunters

During a parade in Arcadia, Iowa, a float was pulled down the street Saturday showing Clinton in a prison jumpsuit as children threw water balloons at the dummy inside a cage. It also featured a slogan that read: "Hillary For Prison 2016."

The photos were taken by Matthew Rezab of The Carroll Daily Times Herald. The parade was to celebrate the local fire departments 100th anniversary.

Kyle Julin drove the ATV that pulled the float down the street.

He told Inside Edition: We believe Hillary should be in prison for the things she has done.

But others are outraged by the Clinton float.

Read: Poised Chelsea Clinton Praises Hillary: 'I'm So Grateful to Be Her Daughter'

Bob Krause, a retired colonel, U.S. Army Reserve told Inside Edition: I don't think it was a good public example for children.

In a statement, County Democrats Chairman Tim Tracy called the display sad.

Watch: Pantsuit Riot! This Fashion Trend Is All the Rage This Season

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KENOSHA  Seeking to end a days-long firestorm, GOP presidential nominee Donald Trump reversed course Friday and endorsed House Speaker Paul Ryan.

Trumps announcement, made during a campaign stop in Green Bay, came just a few days after he gave a shoutout to Ryans primary challenger and proclaimed he was "just not there when it came to endorsing Ryan.

Trump retreated Friday, saying: In our shared mission to make America great again, I support and endorse our Speaker of the House, Paul Ryan.

He added that while they may disagree on a couple of things, they agree on a lot as well.

Hes a good man and hes a good guy, Trump said.

Ryans opponent in Tuesdays primary, Paul Nehlen, said in a statement that Trumps endorsement is appropriate and is a display of true leadership.

But he said Trumps early refusal to endorse Ryan sent a clear signal to Wisconsin voters that Ryan is not his preferred candidate in this race.

Ryan brushes

off attention

Ryan did not attend Trumps rally, spending the afternoon and evening in Kenosha County instead.

Speaking to Republicans at the Kenosha County GOP headquarters, 5901 75th St., Ryan brushed off the sudden national media attention Trump has brought to his primary race against Nehlen.

He insisted that national interest in Wisconsin politics isnt new, comparing outside influences in the primary to past state Supreme Court races and legislative and gubernatorial recalls.

We are used to out-of-state interlopers coming in and trying to hijack our system, Ryan said. This is not new for us. Its new coming from this fringe right, but its not something were used to having.

Nehlen has sought to capitalize on the attention, slamming Ryan primarily on immigration and trade. He has a rally with conservative commentator Ann Coulter scheduled for 4 p.m. Saturday at his Kenosha campaign headquarters, 1112 56th St.

Ryan acknowledged that taking over the speakership last year would put him in the crosshairs, but said: I do what I think is right and I dont worry about the consequences.

You put a target on your back the day you accept that responsibility, Ryan told local reporters in Kenosha. I expected it and sort of assumed something would happen where I get targeted more politically, and I never really lost sleep over it. Just comes with the job.

Trump calls for unity

Trumps previous nonendorsement of Ryan and U.S. senators John McCain, R-Ariz., and Kelly Ayotte, R-N.H., was just part of a growing onslaught of controversy and tanking poll numbers for the GOP nominee since the Republican National Convention just two weeks ago.

Trump also engaged in a flap with the Muslim-American parents of an Army captain killed in Iraq, which prompted widespread criticism, including from Ryan.

On Friday, Trump made a call for party unity. In addition to Ryan, he also backed McCain and Ayotte, who like Ryan face primary challenges.

As president, Trump said he will need a Republican Senate and House to accomplish all of the changes he wants to make. Trump added that this campaign is not about me or any one candidate.

We will have disagreements, he said. But we will disagree as friends and never stop working together toward victory.

Martha Laning, chairwoman of the Democratic Party of Wisconsin, criticized Ryan and other Republicans for standing by their support of Trump.

Paul Ryan and Wisconsin Republican leaders either share Donald Trumps principles, or lack the political courage to stand up to his hateful and divisive rhetoric, Laning said in a statement Friday night. No matter which it is, they are letting down the people of this state and throwing their support behind a man who is temperamentally unfit to be President.
A huge, floating orb  one that looks more like an alien object than anything typically found in the ocean  left a fisherman perplexed when he came across it in the waters off the coast of Australia. But despite its strange appearance, the bobbing monstrosity has an earthly explanation: Researchers said its a bloated whale carcass.

Fisherman Mark Watkins spotted the ballooned carcass about 30 miles (50 kilometers) southwest of Bunbury, Australia. Watkins said he thought it could be another boat or a balloon, but as he got closer to the orb, a pungent odor revealed the objects true identity: whale.

The species of the whale was not officially identified, but the texture of its belly suggests it was most likely a humpback or southern right whale, reported Mother Nature Network. [7 Things Most Often Mistaken for UFOs]

And though whale carcasses may seem like an unusual sight, they are a challenging problem. Marine biologist Andrew David Thaler told National Geographic in 2014 that the bloat of a dead, beached whale comes from pent up gas released as the animals internal organs and stomach contents decompose. (Thaler created the website Has the Whale Exploded Yet? to update people on the status of a 375,000-lb., or 170,000 kilograms, beached blue whale in Newfoundland, Canada.) When jostled or manipulated, a whale carcass can explode, spewing whale guts and emitting a punishing smell.

Imagine a jar of bacon grease that you leave out in the sun for weeks. Now imagine that odor is so potent that it clings to everything you own.  Decomposing whale is one of the worst smells in the world, Thaler told National Geographic.

Beached whales do pose a threat to coastal communities. In 2014, an unusually high number of Newfoundland blue whales died and washed ashore, including the specimen Thaler was monitoring, after being trapped in shifting ice patches. If ice shifts in such a way that whales cant surface, the animals are unable to breathe and they can suffocate, reported CTV News. One or two animals are typically trapped in this way each year, but the nine whales that washed up on the Newfoundland coast in the spring of 2014 made for a particularly dramatic year, according to CTV News.

Story continues

Thaler said the best option in the event of a beaching is to bury the carcass on site and leave it to decompose.

But whale deaths in the ocean, like what Watkins observed, result in a much more natural process. Thaler said scavengers arent usually able to puncture the whales thick skin and blubber when the carcass is floating in the sea, and eventually the body will naturally deflate and sink, intact, to the seafloor.

These events, known as whalefalls, provide a staggering amount of resources for deep-sea creatures, and entire aquatic communities can thrive on the food a carcass provides, Thaler told National Geographic. The breakdown of a dead whale can take up to 30 years, he added.

Original article on Live Science.

Editors Recommendations

Copyright 2016 LiveScience, a Purch company. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Low-cost Icelandic carrier WOW Air is offering $250 round-trip fares from Newark, New Jersey, to Reykjavik, Iceland.

The Flight Deal spotted this airfare sale, which is valid for flights in early December, as well as January through March.

Flights from Newark International Airport to Keflavk International Airport can be found by using WOW Airs flexible date calendar.

Note that the airline has some pretty hefty baggage fees, charging as much as $48 per leg for a bag more than 11 pounds. Be sure to pack light to keep costs down.

If you need a little nudge to go purchase tickets, just checking this stunning drone footage of Iceland that proves the land of fire and ice is too beautiful for words.

Melanie Lieberman is the Assistant Digital Editor at Travel + Leisure. Follow her on Twitter and Instagram at @melanietaryn.

Related Articles
(Adds valuation, background)

By Eric Auchard

FRANKFURT, Aug 5 (Reuters) - Food delivery service Deliveroo said on Friday it has raised $275 million in a new round of funding, making it one of only a handful of start-ups still attracting investments in the competitive food delivery market which Uber is now targetting.

The London-based company active in 12 countries across Europe, Asia and the Middle East, said in a statement that the new financing was led by experienced restaurant investor Bridgepoint, existing investor DST Global and General Catalyst.

Existing investor Greenoaks Capital also took part.

A source familiar with the investment said it was agreed at a higher valuation than previous rounds, putting Deliveroo's value above the $1 billion which makes it just one of two European start-ups to achieve "unicorn" status this year.

The other company is Edinburgh-based travel search site SkyScanner, which raised funds giving it a $1.6 billion valuation early this year, according to venture market research firm data.

Deliveroo said the gross merchandise value of its food deliveries has grown 400 percent since its last $100 million investment round in November. It is now profitable in an unspecified number of markets where it operates, it said.

The new funds will be used for geographic expansion in new and existing markets as well as further investments in projects such as RooBox, which gives restaurants access to off-site kitchen space to cater for takeaway demand which cannot be supplied by their own restaurant kitchens.

UberEats is now available in 18 cities, mostly in the United States. In recent weeks, it expanded into London, where its app has been downloaded by more than 100,000 users in its first few days, the company said. Uber is actively staffing up in cities in Europe and Asia as part of an ambitious global expansion.

(Reporting By Eric Auchard; Editing by Harro ten Wolde, Greg Mahlich)
By John Tilak

TORONTO, Aug 5 (Reuters) - Foreign buyers are helping to drive a jump in sales of top-tier Canadian office buildings, industry players say, with a soft currency and the country's relative stability helping attract interest from abroad.

While the Canadian economy is struggling with the drag from weak oil prices, global events like Britain's vote to leave the European Union have increased its appeal.

"Foreign buyers view these assets as safe bets as they look to diversify their global real estate portfolios," said Ashi Mathur, head of North American real estate investment and corporate banking at BMO Capital Markets.

So-called Class A office buildings are high-quality properties in prominent locations that tend to draw the best tenants and command higher rents.

Class A sales in Canada in the first half of 2016 were worth $2.7 billion, compared with $415 million in the same period last year, with Vancouver and Toronto especially active, according to real estate services firm Colliers. Year-to-dates sales in 2016 have already surpassed full-year sales in 2014 and 2015.

Major deals involving foreign buyers over the past year include China's Anbang Insurance Group's purchase of Vancouver's Bentall Centre and Toronto's 70 York St. In another Vancouver deal, German billionaire Klaus-Michael Kuehne acquired the Royal Centre from Brookfield Canada Office Properties .

Chinese players have been particularly aggressive bidders, while European buyers have made more enquiries since the UK vote, real estate industry advisers said.

"Canada's weaker currency, combined with our lower volatility and lower geopolitical risk, makes us very appealing to certain foreign buyers today - notwithstanding where we are in the valuation cycle," said Jeffrey Dean, managing director at real estate-focused investment bank Trimaven Capital Advisors.

The Canadian dollar has strengthened against the U.S. dollar since the start of the year, but it has lost 19 percent since mid-2014, when a major decline in the price of oil began.

Story continues

At the same time, the office vacancy rate in downtown Toronto fell to 4.9 percent in the second quarter, giving it the lowest downtown vacancy rate in North America, according to real estate firm CBRE.

Capitalization rates for Canadian Class A and AA properties are at their lowest level in at least a decade, especially in major urban centers, according to CBRE. Capitalization rates are calculated by dividing an asset's net operating income by its market price. A lower rate indicates stronger demand.

While sellers welcome the buoyant market, some wonder if the international interest will last.

"Is this influx of foreign capital temporary, an aberration, or is it part of a longer-term, sustainable trend?" said Paul Morassutti, an executive vice president at CBRE in Toronto.

"I would argue in a world that has so much uncertainty ... increasingly global investors are going to say Canada is a very good place to be."

(With additional reporting by Fergal Smith in Toronto; Editing by Jeffrey Hodgson and Jonathan Oatis)
Fresh protests in Indian-administered Kashmir Friday left at least two protesters dead and more than 100 injured, taking the death toll from nearly a month of unrest to 54, a police officer said.

Thousands of residents clashed with government forces, defying a curfew authorities extended to large parts of the disputed territory, including the main city of Srinagar, for the 28th straight day.

Government forces fired bullets, tear gas shells and pellets from shotguns to break up demonstrations and thwart a protest march called by separatists opposed to Indian rule.

"Forces fired to disperse large crowds at two places in Budgam district in which two persons died," a senior police officer told AFP on condition of anonymity as he was not authorised to speak to media.

"Over 100 protesters (and) some policemen were injured in the day-long clashes," the officer said.

Indian Kashmir has spiralled into unrest with almost daily anti-India protests and clashes since the killing on July 8 of popular young rebel leader Burhan Wani in a gunfight with soldiers.

The Himalayan territory has remained locked down since then as authorities imposed a rolling curfew, cut internet services and suspended most mobile networks.

The unrest, the worst since 2010, has left 54 civilians and two policemen dead so far. More than 4,000 people have been injured, many with pellets in their eyes causing partial or complete blindness.

Kashmir has been divided between India and Pakistan since they won independence from British rule in 1947. Both claim the territory in its entirety.

Several rebel groups, including Wani's Hizbul Mujahideen for decades have fought hundreds of thousands of Indian troops deployed in the territory, demanding the region's independence or its merger with Pakistan.

Rights groups say 70,000 people, mostly civilians, have died in the fighting since 1989 when an armed rebellion against Indian rule began.
ABC Photo Archives / Getty

Full House fans are in for a shock: The San Francisco home made famous by this 1980s-90s TV sitcom has sold after two and a half months on the marketbut for less than the sellers had wanted. In spite of all the hubbub surrounding this property (not to mention the Netflix spinoff, Fuller House), the Full House home sold for under asking price.

How much under? Well, not much. The 3,125-square-foot, three-bedroom, four-bathroom Victorian beauty was listed at $4,150,000, and sold for $4 million. The difference is hardly chump change, so we doubt the sellers are sobbing to sleep. Still, youd think a home thats a pop culture icon in one of the countrys most expensive markets could have sparked a bidding war that would have pushed the price well over asking. So what happened?

Granted, those of us who religiously watched the show may be biased by our warm and fuzzy memories of widower Danny Tanner (Bob Saget) raising his three kids (one of whom was played alternately by the Olsen twins) with the help of rocker brother-in-law Jesse (John Stamos) and best friend Joey (Dave Coulier). We may think the property (known forever to fans as the Tanner house) is downright priceless, even if it was used only for exterior shots in the opening credits. Yet in real estate, a home is worth only what a buyer will pay.

Full House Victorian exterior and foyer realtor.com

Im not surprised at all that the home sold for under asking, says Texas Realtor Wendy Flynn. Many sellers suffer from the endowment effect, which is thinking our possessions are worth more than they are in reality. This is especially true when sellers have a unique property.

In fact, the homes uniqueness might have been part of the problem.

Living room realtor.com

The house did have some very taste-specific decor which may have limited its buyer audience, says Florida Realtor Cara Ameer. Some of the rooms appeared to have a bit too much furniture, which could have made it appear smaller and cluttered.

Story continues

Theres also the luxury home market softening nationwide.

According to the Institute for Luxury Home Marketing luxury housing report for August, 41% of luxury properties nationwide have had a price decrease, says Ameer. In San Francisco, the average price of a luxury home is $3,550,872. So, the Full House owner did exceed the average market price by over half a million dollars, which is not too shabby.

After all, its hard to put a price tag on fame when it comes to real estate.

The library realtor.com

The celebrity stature of a home does help to drive a higher asking price, but its always hard to quantify, says Ameer. Full House was popular during its time on television, but I would say its perceived more as a has been with limited appeal, versus properties that have been more recently featured or belonging to more notable individuals.

In other words, the interest in a home featured on a show thats hot today (think Empire) might spark a bidding war which would push the price way over asking. But the Tanner house, though nice, is running mostly on the fumes of nostalgia.

Ameer adds: The reaction to someone who says he lives in the Full House home would be more one of Thats neat versus Oh my gosh, when can I arrange a tour to see it?'

Sorry, Tanner house. We love you, but not that much.

The post Full House Home Sells for Under Asking Price, and Heres Why appeared first on Real Estate News and Advice - realtor.com.





Related Articles
By Jim Finkle

LAS VEGAS (Reuters) - A software program dubbed "Mayhem" was poised to win the final round of a three-year contest to teach computers to launch and defend against cyber attacks, earning a $2 million prize for the team that wrote the winning code.

The event, known as the Cyber Grand Challenge, concluded Thursday evening in a Las Vegas convention center ballroom after a digital battle among software programs running on seven supercomputers on a stage in a Las Vegas ballroom.

Thousands watched as announcers presented a play-by-play account of the competition. It took place ahead of Friday's start of Def Con, a hacking convention expected to draw more than 20,000 people to two sprawling Las Vegas convention centers.

The contest was sponsored by DARPA, or the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, the U.S. military laboratory credited with creating the Internet.

DARPA spent $55 million on the effort, which it dubbed the first "capture the flag" hacking contest played solely by computers.

Agency officials said it succeeded in its goal of stimulating development of technologies for automating the process of protecting computer networks against cyber attacks.

DARPA program director Mike Walker said the seven machines succeeded in identifying a total of 650 code vulnerabilities and rewriting 421 programs to fix them.

"A spark was lit today," he said. "We have proven that autonomy is possible."

Previous DARPA contests include one for self-driving vehicles that is widely credited with kick-starting the now robust autonomous-vehicle industry.

The hacking challenge included 96 rounds in which computers were charged with examining software programs, identifying bugs, patching them and finding ways to attack rival machines.

DARPA said it hoped the contest would speed the slow process of identifying and patching real-world bugs. It can take more than a year from the time a vulnerability is uncovered until a vendor releases a software patch, according to DARPA.

Story continues

That delay gives hackers time to attack unprotected systems, one factor that security experts say has contributed to the surge in cyber attacks.

"Mayhem" was provisionally named winner, pending an overnight review of the results.

The winning program was created by eight computer experts from San Francisco and Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. They are affiliated with Carnegie Mellon University, which regularly produces teams that earn top scores in the annual Def Con hacking contest.

Mayhem will compete against Carnegie Mellon students and other elite hackers when this year's Def Con contest starts Friday. It is the first time a computer has competed.

Second place went to a program dubbed Xandra, created by security experts from the University of Virginia and GrammaTech Inc, earning $1 million.

A program known as Mech Phish, which was born at the University of California, placed third, earning its creators $750,000.

(Reporting by Jim Finkle; Editing by Paul Tait)
RACINE  The heat was too much for Sarah Wilsons kids at the Racine County Fair.

They were there to cheer on their mom, who was competing in the demolition derby for the second year in a row. Unofficially, she was the first woman to win at the fair last year and was looking for the two-peat.

But the heat took its toll and her kids had to go home. Before they left, Wilsons son, Lane, 10, gave her a goodbye kiss and said, You better bring home the trophy this year. 

The kids departed and Wilson prepared for the chaos. When the dust settled, she won the derby, possibly becoming the first person to win the derby in the same category two years in a row  thats still being determined  and was glad to not let her son down.

He was ecstatic, Wilson said. He told me, You did what I said. 

Road to Victory

For last years race, Wilson had a lot riding on her. She was inspired by the death of her husband, Billy Wilson, who took his own life in January 2014. He served in the United States Air Force and served tours in Iraq and Kuwait, and he was a big fan of the derby.

The demo weekend was off limits, Wilson said. He had to be free the whole weekend. He had a passion for it though he never did it.

Billys passion passed on to Sarah, who was always interested in cars. She saw herself behind the wheel and got the opportunity at the 2015 Racine County Fair when she won the mini-trucks and mini-van class.

Fear found her at the line last year. This year, she felt her husbands presence.

I felt him out there with me when I lined up out there, Sarah said. I heard his voice.

With her family in mind, off she went.

Its a war, Sarah said. Thats the only way to describe it is as a war, and you have to win the battle.

Sarah Wilsons War

The cars crashed and mashed against one another. Metal flew and the crowd roared.

Then it came down to two. Sarahs Chevy versus a yellow truck. They bashed the rear-ends of their vehicles into one another until they reached an impasse.

He looked and me and I looked at him and we went head to head, Sarah said.

Head to head the cars charged at each other. This is where Sarahs no brakes method came in handy. When the cars collided, Sarah knew she had it won.

The yellow truck began to smoke. A couple more blows and the referee declared the yellow truck defeated. Sarah was victorious again.

Driving the bus

Sarah returned to her job as a teacher at Mauer Home School Monday. Mauer currently does not have a bus driver, so the demolition derby winner takes the wheel.

Her boss joked that parents might be concerned that a demo-driver is taking their kids to school.

She said, Wow, you better stop winning these things,  Sarah said. Its hard to sell transportation when the demo-driver is driving the bus.

Since her stint as champion began, Sarah has received high recognition and even inspired other girls to join the scarce ranks of female derby drivers. Sarah even saw more women participate in this years derby and hopes more participate next year.

Usually its dominant male straight up, Sarah said. Some guys said I was lucky to win last year and now they are like youre legit because you won again.

Her two kids also take notice of their moms success. Sarah plans to keep the automotive lineage going with her kids, Lane and Kaylee Svendsen, 12.

They will know to maintain a car and they will know how to destroy a car, Sarah said.
Https%3a%2f%2fblueprint-api-production.s3.amazonaws.com%2fuploads%2fcard%2fimage%2f168673%2facc5040a5e4f4e8b9b1499d0cdf2732d

A swarm of genetically-engineered mosquitoes may soon break out in the Florida Keys.

But its likely good news in the fight against the Zika virus.

Federal regulators on Friday okayed a field trial to release genetically modified mosquitoes in Key Haven, Florida. The goal is to take out the local population of aedes aegypti mosquitoes, which spread Zika and other diseases through their bites.

SEE ALSO: The first Zika vaccine trials are underway, but research funding is running out

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said that after an extensive review and thousands of public comments, the agency found the field trial will not result in a significant impact on the environment.

The FDAs announcement arrives as Florida is racing to contain an outbreak of Zika in downtown Miami. At least 16 people have been infected via mosquito bites, marking the first outbreak from local mosquitoes in the continental United States.

via GIPHY

The genetically-engineered mosquitoes, created by the British biotechnology company Oxitec, were created so that the offspring die before reaching adulthood.

Oxitec is proposing to release its male mosquitoes  which do not bite or spread disease  with wild female aedes aegypti in the Florida Keys so that the females offspring die, thus reducing the local population of Zika-carrying mosquitoes.

Oxitec said that similar field trials in Brazil, Panama and the Cayman Islands helped reduce the population of aedes aegypti by more than 90 percent  an exceptional level of mosquito control compared to conventional mosquito-fighting methods, such as insecticides, according to a Friday press release.

Weve been developing this approach for many years, and from these results we are convinced that our solution is both highly effective and has sound environmental credentials, Oxitec CEO Hadyn Perry said in a statement.

We are now looking forward to working with the community in the Florida Keys moving forward, he said.

Story continues

The FDA said its finding this week does not mean Oxitecs modified mosquitoes are approved for commercial use.

The biotech firm must still meet local, state and federal requirements and work with its local partner, the Florida Keys Mosquito Control District, to decide whether and when to start the proposed field trial in Key Haven, according to the FDA.

An advisory committee convened by the World Health Organization (WHO) recently reviewed Oxitecs genetically-engineered mosquitoes as part of the ongoing response to the Zika outbreak in the Americas and Caribbean.

The committee found that while the technology has been shown to reduce aedes aegypti populations in small-scale field trials, theres still an absence of data on its broader disease-fighting impacts.

A mother holds her baby and a can of insect repellent in Miami, Aug. 2, 2016.

Image: Getty Images

Additionally, sustained release of transgenic male mosquitoes is needed to maintain suppression of wild Zika-carrying populations, according to the expert group.

Still, the WHO committee recommended carefully planned pilot deployment of Oxitecs modified mosquitoes, together with rigorous independent monitoring and evaluation.
Police are investigating after George Zimmerman said he was punched at a Florida restaurant on Sunday.

Read: 'Black Lives Matter' Chant Erupts as 9 Moms Who Lost Children to Police and Gun Violence Speak at DNC

Deputies from the Seminole County Sheriff's Office said Zimmerman called 911 about the incident at Gators Riverside Grille in Sanford, Florida, claiming he was accused of bragging about killing Trayvon Martin, according to WKMG.

According to a witness statement, Zimmerman approached another table to compliment someone on their tattoos.

Zimmerman allegedly said: I love your tattoos, my name is George Zimmerman, you know, that guy who killed Trayvon Martin?

That was when a large man reportedly named Eddie came up to him, and said, "You're bragging about that?"

The man left but came back, and hit Zimmerman in the face, according to police. Cops are now looking for the man, whos wanted for battery. He reportedly rode off on a Harley Davidson motorcycle.

Zimmerman called 911, and when the dispatcher asked who started the argument, Zimmerman said in the call, He recognized me and he told me he was going to kill me. He told me hed [expletive] shoot me and he punched me in the face.

He told police he was not bragging about killing Martin. When people asked him to prove he was George Zimmerman, he told police he pulled out his I.D. and said he acted in self-defense.

In the 911 call, Zimmerman said, He said hes going to kill meYou need to send like three or four cops.

Read: George Zimmerman Paints Confederate Flag to Sell at 'Muslim-Free' Gun Shop

Zimmerman, a former neighborhood watch volunteer, was found not guilty of second-degree murder and manslaughter in July 2013. He shot and killed Martin in February 2012.

This is only the latest controversy for Zimmerman. In May, the online auction for the gun he used to kill Martin ended, with an apparent final bid of $138,000, according to reports.

Story continues

In August 2015, a gun store in Florida was selling prints of the Confederate flag that were painted by Zimmerman.

Florida Gun Supply was selling off the 24x18 prints on their website for $50. Each person who buys a print will then be entered into a raffle to win the original painting.

The website says it "could be worth up to $100,000." Half of the proceeds went to Zimmerman. The other half would go to shop owner Andy Hallinan, who faced a federal discrimination lawsuit filed by the Florida chapter Council on American-Islamic Relations.

The suit was filed after he declared his shop to be a Muslim-Free Zone in July. The suit was ultimately thrown out.

And in May 2015, Zimmerman was involved a road rage shooting incident, according to Lake Mary Police Department.

Lake Mary police department received a 911 call from the third party on behalf of a Matthew Apperson, a white male, who stated that he had just been involved in a shooting with George Zimmerman. At this time the investigation has proven that George Zimmerman was not the shooter," Lake Mary Police Department spokeswoman Bianca Gillette said.

Zimmerman's attorney, Don West, told WKMG that a bullet missed his head but he was hospitalized after he was hit with glass and debris after the bullet struck the windshield of his car.

Apperson was charged with attempted murder. He entered a not guilty plea.

Watch: George Zimmerman Tries to Auction Off Gun Used To Kill Trayvon Martin

Related Articles:
By Rich McKay

ATLANTA (Reuters) - A 24-year-old Georgia father, whose twin toddler daughters died after he left them inside a car on a hot and humid day, was arrested early Friday on charges of involuntary manslaughter and reckless conduct, police said.

Police were called Thursday evening to an apartment complex in Carrollton, Georgia, about 50 miles (80 km) west of Atlanta, where the 15-month-old girls Ariel and Alaynah North were found unresponsive after being left for an undetermined amount of time in a car in the parking lot, said police Captain Chris Dobbs.

Weather reports say temperatures in Carrollton reached 90-degrees Fahrenheit (32 Celsius) on Thursday.

This is just a sad situation, Dobbs said in a phone interview.Officers answering a 911 call were motioned to a side yard where the father had the children in an inflatable kiddie pool trying to cool them off. Some neighbors brought ice packs.

Paramedics rushed the children to the hospital, where they were pronounced dead, Dobbs said. The children's mother was in Atlanta at the time of the incident, local media reported.

The girls' deaths bring the total number of U.S. children who have died this year due to heat stroke in a vehicle to 26, compared to 12 such deaths at this time last year, according to the KidsAndCars.org advocacy group.

The father, Asa North, was charged with two counts of involuntary manslaughter and two counts of reckless conduct. No bond or lawyer information was available Friday morning.

We believe he left the children in the car, but were not getting into what his story is at this time, Dobbs said.

A medical examiner with the Georgia Bureau of Investigation in Atlanta is scheduled to conduct autopsies on Friday to determine the official cause of death and possibly how long the children were left in the heat, he said.

(Editing by Colleen Jenkins and Bernadette Baum)
Stralsund, Germany (Reuters) - Turkey and Germany's relationship - essential to curbing mass migration to Europe - has grown so bad the two countries have virtually "no basis" for talks, German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier said on Thursday. Germany has serious concern about mass arrests carried out by Turkish officials after a thwarted coup last month, Steinmeier said. At the same time, Turkey feels Germany has not taken the July 15 coup attempt seriously, and its government is angered by German media reports suggesting it was orchestrated by Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan. "We are talking with each other like emissaries from two different planets," Steinmeier said, speaking in the northern German city of Stralsund. "There is essentially no basis for understanding ... no basis for discussions." Relations between Germany and Turkey have been tense for months following a June 2 vote by the German parliament to brand the 1915 massacre of Armenians by Ottoman forces as genocide, a move sharply criticised by Erdogan and other Turkish officials. Chancellor Angela Merkel met with Erdogan during a NATO summit in Warsaw shortly before the abortive coup to try to repair the relationship, but she later said the differences would not "just disappear". Since that vote, Turkey has denied German parliamentarians access to the Incirlik airbase, where 250 German soldiers are taking part in NATO operations against Islamic State militants. Steinmeier said he had last spoken with his Turkish counterpart on Friday and assured him that Germany did view the attempted coup as a serious matter, while insisting on the right to question whether its response had been appropriate. "We must be allowed to ask if mass arrests of tens of thousands of lawyers, judges, journalists, soldiers, closure of broadcast stations and shutdowns of newspaper - were carried out under the rule of law," he said. "We are trying to end the current situation, which is unsatisfactory but also dangerous, in which we are only communicating via megaphones, or microphones and cameras," he said. Steinmeier reiterated that reinstatement of the death penalty in Turkey would prevent its entry into the European Union. But he warned against prematurely halting discussions with Ankara, as top Austrian officials have demanded. That would eliminate any leverage Europeans have regarding the many thousands of people who had been arrested in Turkey, he said. He also said Turkey and the European Union would continue to implement an agreement limiting the flow of migrants to Europe. Thus far, he said, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu had made a single comment threatening to back out of the agreement, but neither Erdogan or Turkey's prime minister had made similar remarks. (Reporting by Reuters TV and Andrea Shalal, editing by Larry King)
Berlin (AFP) - A German national has been detained in Turkey as part of the country's crackdown on suspected supporters of Fethullah Gulen in the wake of last month's failed coup, Berlin confirmed Friday.

The Sueddeutsche Zeitung newspaper said the woman was arrested several days ago after books were found at her home suggesting she had links with the Gulen movement or was a member of it.

The Turkish government has accused Gulen of ordering the July 15 attempt to overthrow President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and has launched a sweeping crackdown on people connected to the preacher who lives in the United States.

Germany's foreign ministry confirmed the accuracy of theSueddeutsche Zeitung report to AFP, without giving details.

The newspaper said it had no information about the identity of the detained German, whether she was a dual national or whether she lived in Turkey.

The German embassy in Ankara has been trying to contact the woman for several days, without success, the newspaper said.

Tensions have been growing between Germany and Turkey over the German parliament's decision to brand as genocide the World War I-era Armenian massacre by Ottoman forces and Ankara's threat to back out of a crucial deal with the EU on migrants.

There was fresh anger from Ankara earlier this week when a German court ruled that speeches by Turkish politicians including Erdogan could not be shown live at a rally in his support in Cologne.

Berlin has also criticised the Turkish government's post-coup crackdown, in which more than 60,000 people in the military, judiciary, civil service and education system have been dismissed, detained or put under investigation for suspected links to the Gulen movement.

Gulen has denied any involvement in the coup.
Gisele Bundchen is feeling "humbled and honored" before she takes the stage at the Olympics.

The 36-year-old supermodel will return to the runway for Friday's Opening Ceremony, representing her home country of Brazil -- and she couldn't be more proud.

WATCH: Gisele Bundchen Reportedly Coming Out of Retirement for the Rio Olympics

Ahead of her Olympic debut, in which she will walk the longest runway of her career, Bundchen took to Instagram to share an emotional post about the day's upcoming events.

"The Olympics symbolize so much for our global community," she wrote, along with a picture of herself facing the Brazilian sunset holding her hands in a heart. "The unity that is felt is amazing and gives me goose bumps."

"There is so much dedication and love the athletes themselves pour into their chosen sport," she explained. "Each athlete has given their all to achieve lifelong dreams and their journeys have led them here to Rio to compete for their countries with pride."

Bundchen, describing the current energy in Brazil as "electric and contagious," goes on to state how honored she is to represent her country at the Olympics. "I am so happy to be part of the opening ceremony in my homeland and to celebrate these bright stars from around the globe," she said.

NEWS: Gisele Bundchen Writes Sweet Birthday Message to Tom Brady As She Heads to Rio Olympics

"As I walk down tonight on the longest runway I have ever been on I will be sending out all my love and positivity. I am humbled and honored to be part of this historic moment for my country," she concluded. "I believe that the unity is the key to creating a world filled with kindness, gratitude, peace, and love."

The Brazilian beauty definitely appears to be enjoying her time back home.

"Bom dia Basil!!!" she posted to Instagram just a few hours before her emotional essay, along with a peaceful shot of the ocean.

Story continues

WATCH: Gisele Bundchen Flaunts Bikini Bod, Proves Her Plant-Based Diet Is Paying Off

"What an incredible place!" she captioned a snap of herself in a museum the day before.

Bundchen seemingly retired from the runway in April of 2015, walking her last show for Brazilian brand Colcci.

"I am grateful that at 14, I was given the opportunity to start this journey," she wrote on Instagram in a post confirming her retirement. "It is a privilege to be doing my last fashion show by choice and yet still be working in other facets of the business."

RELATED: Gisele Bundchen Goes Makeup-Free and Still Looks Flawless

See more in the video below.

Related Articles
By Alister Doyle OSLO (Reuters) - A global agreement on climate change looks likely to enter into force this year, a study showed on Friday, making it harder for Republican Donald Trump to pull out if he wins the U.S. presidency. Countries accounting for 54 percent of greenhouse gas emissions have signaled intent to ratify this year, according to the tally of national pledges by the Marshall Islands which is a strong backer of the plan agreed in Paris in December. That is just a fraction short of the required 55 percent of emissions, and support from at least 55 nations, the Pacific island nation said. The deal formally enters into force 30 days after the twin threshold is crossed. "What we agreed in Paris at the end of last year will likely now have the force of the law by the end of this year," Marshall Islands President Hilda Heine wrote in a report compiled by her foreign ministry. "This is a big recognition of the urgency with which we must now get on with the job." The Paris Agreement aims for a massive shift in global energy use to phase out greenhouse gas emissions, mainly from burning fossil fuels, in the second half of the century in favor of cleaner energies such as solar and wind power. So far, an official U.N. count shows that 22 states accounting for just 1.08 percent of emissions have formally ratified the deal, part of efforts to limit rising temperatures and more floods, droughts and rising seas. China and the United States, the top emitters accounting together for 38 percent, have promised to join this year. Other big emitters including Australia, Canada, Mexico and Indonesia also plan to sign up in 2016, the Marshall Islands study said. Once the pact enters into force, the agreement sets a formal four-year process for withdrawal. Diplomats say that will make it harder for Trump to carry out a threat to renegotiate Paris if he beats Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton. Trump doubts mainstream scientific findings that human activity causes global warming. Still, the Paris Agreement has no penalties for non-compliance, meaning that Trump could ignore President Barack Obama's plan to cut U.S. emissions, if he becomes president from Jan. 20, 2017. Other recent analyses by groups including the World Resources Institute think-tank and the U.S. National Resources Defense Council have also indicated that backing for Paris is approaching the threshold. (Editing by Robin Pomeroy)
(Adds details)

Aug 5 (Reuters) - The U.S. Food and Drug Administration said on Friday that a field trial testing Intrexon Corp's genetically engineered mosquitoes, meant to be used in the battle against Zika, would not have a significant impact on the environment.

The company wants to conduct a trial in the Florida Keys to assess the effectiveness of the genetically modified mosquitoes in reducing populations of Aedes mosquitoes, which can spread diseases including Zika, dengue, yellow fever and chikungunya.

Florida began aerial spraying on Thursday to kill mosquitoes in a Miami neighborhood with the first U.S. spread of the Zika virus. Health authorities have identified 15 Zika cases spread by local mosquitoes and expect there may be more.

The mosquitoes are genetically altered so their offspring die before they can reproduce. (http://bit.ly/1McvLMg)

Trials in Brazil, Panama and the Cayman Islands showed that Intrexon's mosquitoes can reduce localized Aedes aegypti populations by more than 90 percent.

The current Zika outbreak was first detected last year in Brazil, where it has been linked to more than 1,700 cases of microcephaly, a birth defect marked by small head size that can lead to severe developmental problems in babies.

The virus has spread rapidly through the Americas and Caribbean and its arrival in the continental United States, where Aedes aegypti mosquitoes thrive in the warmer southern states, had been widely anticipated.

The GM mosquito strain is made by Oxitec, a spin-off company from Oxford University that is now a UK subsidiary of U.S. based Intrexon.

(Reporting by Natalie Grover in Bengaluru; Editing by Ted Kerr)
A golden gun that belonged to Nazi Hermann Goring is going up for auction.

The Rock Island Auction Company in Illinois is putting the gold-plated Walther PPK, a semiautomatic pistol, up for bid in September. It has an estimated price of $250,000 to $400,000, CNN reports. The gun was made in 1939 and has Gorings initials in gold letters, as well as his family crest of a fist holding a ring.

Goring was Adolf Hitlers right hand man. He was an ace fighter pilot for Germany during World War I and became one of the most powerful Nazi leaders in World War II. He oversaw Luftwaffe, the German air force, which bombed London during the Blitz, as well as other European cities. He was infamous for looting the treasures of Jewish people during the Holocaust.

At the Nuremberg trials, Goring was convicted of war crimes and received a death penalty, but he committed suicide first.

[CNN]
Liberal Democrats have made an election-year issue of the revolving door between corporate executive positions and government service. If a regulator comes from the business they are supposed to regulate, progressives argue, they will necessarily operate with a lighter touch and give free passes to their friends and former colleagues. Its another way the system is rigged for special interests and against ordinary people.

But the revolving door can be more insidious than that, as a recent case involving the New York Federal Reserve and Goldman Sachs illustrates. When individuals pass smoothly between government and the private sector, they can use their contacts to engage in that most American of pursuits: making money.

Related: How the Government Is Rolling Over for Big Banks Again

Thats what Joseph Jiampetro, a Goldman Sachs managing director and a former top aide at the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), apparently figured out after a performance review encouraged him to increase the amount of revenue generating business he brought to the firm. Jiampetro worked at Goldman as a technical advisor to mid-sized and regional banks on government regulation, his area of expertise after years at the FDIC and the Senate Banking Committee.

According to the narrative provided by federal officials, Jiampetro hit on an idea: If he could get so close to the regulators that he knew what they were saying about banks, he could lure clients to Goldman based on his superior inside information. How did he do it? He hired Rohit Bansal, who previously worked at the New York Fed.

Jiampetro allegedly recruited Bansal directly, and after the hiring, encouraged him to use a friend at the New York Fed, Jason Gross, to obtain 35 pieces of confidential information about 20 unnamed banks. Bansal and Jiampetro then used that information to pitch those banks on working with Goldman to manage their regulatory requirements. The banks accepted the offer, and why wouldnt they? Goldman appeared to be reading the minds of the New York Fed.

Story continues

Related: Revolving Door Between Congress and Lobbyists Is Speeding Up

A few months later, when an executive at Goldman saw the confidential information in one of Bansals emails, they turned him in. Last October, New Yorks Department of Financial Services fined Goldman $50 million, and federal prosecutors imposed misdemeanor criminal charges on both Bansal and Gross. Both pleaded guilty and were given probation.

The case has returned to the spotlight because the Federal Reserve wants to go after Jiampetro, Bansals manager. In addition to fining Goldman another $36.3 million, the Fed wants to ban Jiampetro from the banking industry for life. The Fed alleges that Jiampetro had been handling confidential information for years, even before getting Bansal hired and using his sources to obtain more.

Jiampetro, who Goldman fired last year, denies all charges; his attorney said in a statement that the Fed has the law wrong and the facts wrong. But his claims are a bit of a stretch. Jiampetro says that he never read the documents, even though some of them were found on his desk. He also says that he had no idea where the documents came from, even though Bansal would regularly put in emails that the information he obtained was highly confidential, not public and has not been issued as guidance yet.

Related: Goldman Sachs Says Stocks Are Headed for a Correction, and Soon

Everyone understands the use of the revolving door to limit regulatory pressure. But this is a novel concept: using contacts inside the government to extract things of value that could effectively be sold to third parties. In this case, Goldman executives sold the knowledge gleaned from the New York Feds secret files.

If you wish, you can call this a victimless crime. After all, the banks that worked with Goldman really did get value for their money: They learned what their regulators expected of them and how they could improve. Goldman profited from the deal, but it was a genuine transaction. Of course, theres the part about stealing a federal regulators confidential documents, which the New York Fed keeps secret because it doesnt want member banks to be able to circumvent its oversight.

The larger point is that if Goldman can figure out how to turn secret documents into dollars, it can turn all kinds of other government relationships into money as well.

Related: 21 Business Buzzwords Goldman Sachs Thinks You Should Know

Maybe knowing the contents of government reports on banks would be useful to investors in buying or selling their stock. After all, Goldmans wealth management business is far larger than its bank advisory business. Maybe having a friend in government passing along secret files can give Goldman itself the trajectory of regulations, even if the information isnt directly about their bank. Knowing what regulators look for and focus on is helpful to an investment bank. Maybe they can sell this information to political intelligence firms, who are always looking for scraps to pass on to clients.

Once you figure out a way to gather information, there is literally no end to how you can put it to use. And the above brainstorm just concerned supervisory notes from a regulator. There are many more pieces of classified information that would be of use to a major investment bank like Goldman Sachs.

Thats the core danger of the revolving door. Whether directly through inside information or indirectly through relationships and gossip, companies can benefit from having employees who previously worked at a regulator, or a regulator who previously worked with the company. The Goldman/New York Fed incident is just the most brazen way of capitalizing on that. Most favors stay far more under the radar, in the form of tips or access and not specific non-public information. But its all the same game, really.

Related: Kaines $160,000 Gift Controversy  More Bad Optics for the Democrats

Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump have already begun their presidential transitions. Both of their finance chairs  the people who take in the fundraising dollars  are alums from Goldman Sachs. While at some level you cant escape some private sector expats in government, the easy practice of moving back and forth between Washington and the corporate world really has to end. It saps trust in institutions across the board, and it provides too many opportunities for mischief. And what the Goldman incident tells us is that the revolving door isnt just protection insurance for large corporations; it can be a tangible asset.

Top Reads from The Fiscal Times:
The genetically-enhanced super-insects are normally what end up killing the humans in just about every sci-fi dystopia ever. But the FDA doesn't appear to seen that memo, so on Friday morning, the "What Could Go Wrong?!" department green-lit the use of genetically modified Zika-killing mosquitoes in the Florida Keys.

On Friday morning, the FDA officially approved field trials of a genetically modified mosquito made by biotech company Oxitech. The FDA concluded the trials will not have significant impacts on the environment.

DON'T MISS: Leaked video shows off the iPhone 7s Lightning EarPods from every angle

The trial will involve the release of thousands of modified male mosquitoes. They have been genetically altered to pass on a gene that will prove fatal to any offspring they have with wild females, which should kill off the majority of the local mosquito population, or at least keep it under control.

Field trials have already been conducted overseas, including in Brazil, but this will mark the first time the mosquitoes are deployed on US soil. Now that the FDA has signed off, it's up to Oxitech to deal with state regulators and set up a trial location in the Florida Keys.

If all goes to plan, it could prove to be an effective way of controlling mosquito population. Of course, the law of unintended consequences (and every Marvel movie) basically prove that a new, more resistant super-mosquito will evolve, feast on the Zika virus, and take over the country.

Trending right now:

See the original version of this article on BGR.com
* Equity trading revenue graphic: http://tmsnrt.rs/2aT843C

* U.S.-European gap widens again

* Only JP Morgan sees revenue rise

By Anjuli Davies and Jamie McGeever

LONDON, Aug 5 (Reuters) - Stock markets may be nudging their highest ever levels, but that's scant consolation for many of the world's big investment banks, where revenues from equity trading, an area they have invested in heavily, fell heavily in the second quarter.

Caution ahead of Britain's European Union referendum, tighter regulation, low trading volumes and a particularly strong second quarter the year before depressed revenue at almost all major investment banks.

European names were the hardest hit, with HSBC, the continent's largest lender, seeing its revenue slide more than 50 percent from the same period last year.

Goldman Sachs saw revenue decline by 12 percent, the worst performer of the top five U.S. banks. JP Morgan was the only one of 11 institutions on either side of the Atlantic whose earnings increased.

Equity trading revenue graphic: http://tmsnrt.rs/2aT843C

The drop is a blow to investment banks since equities trading is seen as one of their few potential growth areas given it faces fewer constraints under tough new capital rules than other market businesses such as fixed income.

In March, Reuters reported that Deutsche Bank, a traditional bond trading powerhouse, was hiring about 100 people to boost its equities trading operations, seeking to recover ground in an area seen as vital to its new strategy.

Until now, that strategy was making sense with data from research firm Coalition showing that while industry-wide bond trading revenue shrank 36 percent from 2010 to 2015, stock-trading revenue rose 23 percent.

But with more banks focusing on this relatively low-margin business, their ability to earn large profits in a crowded market place is dwindling.

"Commission fees are getting squeezed and banks won't be able to earn as much as they did in the past," said Neil Wilson, markets analyst at ETX Capital.

Story continues

Regional factors played a part too, with Barclays' withdrawal from Asian equities, for example, having an impact on its trading revenue.

There was also a huge spike in trading volumes in Hong Kong and Chinese stocks in the first half of 2015 ahead of a sudden slide in the markets later that year and a tail-off in activity.

Credit Suisse saw Asia Pacific equity sales and trading revenue drop 39 percent year-on-year.

Reuters' latest monthly asset allocation poll showed that global investors' equity holdings were at the lowest in at least five years. Investors have pulled $139 billion from global equity funds so far this year, according to Bank of America Merrill Lynch.

"Q2 was very dull, while Q2 last year was very, very good. Volumes were low and banks were very cautious. No one was diving in," said Chris Wheeler, banking analyst at Atlantic Securities.

Wheeler argues all is not lost for banks, with equity trading still a potentially lucrative, less capital intensive business once volumes pick-up.

"I don't think this is a collapse. It's had a fabulous run through the last few years, but just couldn't keep that pace up," he said.

(Reporting by Jamie McGeever and Anjuli Davies; Graphic by Vikram Subhedar; Editing by Mark Potter)
ABC pulled out the big guns for Greatest Hits live (!) two-hour (!!) season finale, beginning with a tribute to one of the greatest voices of all-time.

VIDEOSHanson, Backstreet Boys Perform 90s Jams on ABCs Greatest Hits  Watch

Scroll down to watch all of the evenings performances, save for a few that werent blessed to us by Twitter:

* Ariana Grande kicked off Thursdays broadcast with a high-energy performance of two Whitney Houston classics, How Will I Know? (1985) and Queen of the Night (1993):

Video of Ariana Grande's Whitney Houston tribute on ABC's #GreatestHits finale. (August 4)https://t.co/3XxR8OdAj4  Ari Always Update (@AriAlwaysUpdate) August 5, 2016

* Next, American Idol runner-up Adam Lambert renewed the audiences Faith in George Michaels 1987 pop hit:

* Five members of New Edition followed this up by dusting off their dancing shoes for a medley of the groups greatest hits:

Story continues

* Co-host Kelsea Ballerini then joined Sheryl Crow for a duet of her 1994 jam All I Wanna Do:

* Next, En Vogue reminded the audience that  as far as the groups collective lovin is concerned  were Never Gonna Get It. (Video will be added when it becomes available.)

* The second half of the finale began with an emotional performance of My Heart Will Go On, which Celine Dion dedicated to her late husband:

* This was followed by a well-intended Run-D.M.C. tribute, courtesy of Flo Rida:

* Changing the pace up a bit, Richard Marx took the stage next, performing his 1987 hit Dont Mean Nothing:

* The audience was then pulled Down Under, courtesy of Men at Work frontman Colin Hay:

* And John Legend was on hand for a dual performance of Lauryn Hills That Thing and Ex-Factor. (Video will be added when it becomes available.)

* The finales penultimate performance was an unexpected duet of All Star with Smashmouth and country star Hunter Hayes?

* Dion aside, I would argue that Greatest Hits saved its biggest hit for last. Ladies and gentlemen, Nellys Hot in Herre:

Which Greatest Hits finale performance was your favorite? Drop your pick(s) in a comment below.

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Lawyers representing U.S.-based cleric Fethullah Gulen lampooned the Turkish government on Friday, calling Ankaras allegations that the 75-year-old imam helped orchestrate the failed July 15 coup absurd and crazy.

Mr Gulen had not one thing to do with it, Reid Weingarten, a partner at the firm of Steptoe & Johnson, said at a press conference in Washington. Mr Gulen should not, and will not, be extradited.

A court in Turkey issued a formal arrest warrant for Gulen on Thursday, accusing him of being behind the coup that caused the deaths of more than 270 people and involved military units blocking bridges and bombing government offices.

Weingarten repeatedly referred to Gulen as frail and elderly, and said the odds of him masterminding a coup from his compound in the middle of the Pocono mountains in Pennsylvania were about as likely as a meteor hitting his Washington law office in the middle of the press conference.

The Turkish Embassy in Washington did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

In the wake of the abortive coup, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has ordered a crackdown on the alleged plotters, detaining, arresting and firing tens of thousands of military officials, prosecutors, judges, journalists and teachers. He has also ordered a state of emergency and said U.S.-Turkish relations could be jeopardized if Washington doesnt extradite Gulen to Turkey, a position many Turkish political parties, including opposition politicians, support.

But Gulens lawyers expressed confidence in the U.S. Justice Department and said they took great comfort in a Thursday Wall Street Journal report citing U.S. officials who were unconvinced by Turkeys case.

We understand and believe the people making the decisions in the U.S. government know full well what the rules are and we have entire confidence in them that they will act appropriately, said Weingarten.

Describing the obstacles confronting Turkish officials in extraditing Gulen, Weingarten noted that they would have to meet the Justice Departments bar for probable cause and then go to court in Pennsylvania to persuade a magistrate that the probable cause standard is met. If those hurdles are surmounted, Ankara would then have to convince the State Department that Gulen will receive a fair legal process in Turkey  outcomes Weingarten said were unlikely.

Despite his confidence, he said he was concerned about Gulens safety and is discussing whether to request security assistance from U.S. authorities.

Gulen, a onetime political ally of Erdogan, controls a billion-dollar network of banks, media companies, and construction firms. He has also inspired leaders of charter schools and universities around the world, which Ankara is asking authorities in foreign countries to investigate.
The death toll from an attack in India's northeastern Assam state, where gunmen opened fire on a busy market, jumped to 15 on Saturday as three more people succumbed to their injuries.

The dead included a militant from a faction of the outlawed National Democratic Front of Bodoland (NDFB), which has waged a decades-long campaign for an independent homeland for the indigenous Bodo people.

Police say that around six gunmen were behind Friday's attack, one of whom was later killed by security forces who were searching for the other attackers.

"One person died on Saturday morning and another two succumbed to their injuries overnight. The death toll from the attack is now 15 including one militant," Assam state health minister Himanta Biswa Sarma told AFP on Saturday.

Sarma said that around 900 soldiers and police reinforcements had reached the site of the attack in Balajan, around 220 kilometres (140 miles) west of Assam's main city of Guwahati and near the border with Bhutan.

"They have started a massive combing operation for the attackers and are being supported by the security forces on other side of the international border," he added.

Several security check points were put up a day after the attack, and there was a massive and visible presence of the security forces. The area was tense but peaceful early Saturday.

Assam's newly elected Chief Minister Sarbanand Sonowal, from Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), condemned the killings and pledged strong action against the perpetrators.

On Friday, Modi too expressed his grief at the loss of life on Twitter.

"Saddened by the attack in Kokrajhar (district). We strongly condemn it. Thoughts & prayers with the bereaved families & those injured," the prime minister said.

Northeast India, which is linked to the rest of the country by a narrow land bridge, has seen decades of unrest among ethnic and separatist groups.

Story continues

Assam has been relatively peaceful in recent years, but tensions between the Bodo and other communities in the area persist, particularly over land rights.

Bodo guerrillas have in recent years launched ferocious attacks on both Muslim settlers and other tribal communities in the tea-growing state of Assam.

In 2014 thousands of people fled their homes in Assam after a series of coordinated attacks by armed rebels left at least 69 people dead, 18 of them children.

Two years earlier, ethnic clashes in the same area claimed about 100 lives and displaced more than 400,000 people.
Booking photos of Anthony Silva, the mayor of Stockton, Calif., and Richard Scott Silverthorne, mayor of Fairfax, Va., on Thursday, Aug. 4, 2016. (Photos: Amador County Sheriffs Office; Fairfax County, Va., Police Department via AP)

One more and its a trend.

In two separate arrests on opposite coasts over a 24-hour period, one mayor was accused of exchanging drugs for sex and another was accused of playing strip poker with a minor and secretly recording video of it.

Fairfax, Va., Mayor Richard Scott Silverthorne was arrested on Thursday after allegedly exchanging methamphetamine for a sexual encounter with undercover detectives, the Fairfax County Police Department announced Friday.

Silverthorne, who also worked as a substitute teacher in Fairfax County public schools, was arrested at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Tysons Corner, Va., and charged with felony distribution of methamphetamine and misdemeanor possession of drug paraphernalia. Two others were arrested in connection with Silverthorne.

Silverthorne, a third-term mayor, ran for reelection under personal duress, facing such obstacles as being laid off, filing for bankruptcy, the foreclosure of his home, and a diagnosis of squamous cell carcinoma  a non-deadly form of skin cancer, according to NBC News.

I ask that you allow the process to proceed before rushing to judgment (as tough as that may be), Silverthorne wrote on his Facebook page Friday, according to NBC Washington.

Across the country, Anthony Silva, mayor of Stockton, Calif., was arrested Thursday on charges of playing strip poker with a minor and providing alcohol to youths, according to the Los Angeles Times. Silva was taken into custody at Silver Lake Camp, a camp that he runs for disadvantaged adolescents.

According to prosecutors, Silva not only allegedly engaged in these activities on the night of Aug. 7, 2015, but also illegally recorded photos and videos on his cellphone.

Silva was taken into custody by the FBI on Thursday but was released that afternoon on $20,000 bail after denying accusations through his attorney.

His response is that he is absolutely innocent, that these are false charges that are done at the midnight hour of a campaign, said his attorney, Neat Sawyer, according to the Wall Street Journal. They are minor charges, but they have maximum political impact, so he is going to fight them, and he is going to go to trial, and he will be exonerated.

Story continues

This is not the first time that controversy has touched Silva, according to the Times. A 19-year-old woman accused him of sexual battery in 2011, but no charges were filed. In 2013, Bob Deis, then city manager, claimed Silva recorded their conversations without telling him.

In 2014, Silva got into a fight inside a limousine that left him in handcuffs but not arrested. Silva was sued by the limousine driver and fellow passengers. One charge was made on behalf of a woman who accused the mayor of making unwelcome advances.

Finally, in 2015, 13-year-old Rayshawn Harris was killed with a gun stolen from the mayors house that was registered to Silva. Two guns have been stolen from two of Silvas homes in the past two years.

Amid all of this controversy, according to Silvas attorney, he still plans to run for reelection in November. However, according to the L.A. Times, the Stockton Police Officers Association released a statement calling for Silvas resignation: The mayors actions have formed not merely a dark cloud, but full fledged storm, over the mayors ability to govern and represent the city of Stockton.
Bangladesh cafe attack: UK and Canada men held for Dhaka attack

A Canadian student and a British man have been arrested for their alleged roles in an attack on a cafe in Bangladesh in which 22 people died.
Most people arent big fans of a national income tax, but it was on this day back in 1861 that the first one was levied by the new President, Abraham Lincoln. It only lasted 10 years and many people thought it would never return.

incometax

But after years of arguing and a few court battles, the federal income tax we all know returned for good in 1913, with the ratification of the 16th Amendment.

Lincolns national income tax was a direct reaction to the military needs of the Civil War and he could only tax the northern states. He was also able to impose the tax without passing a constitutional amendment.

Link: Read The Act

After asking his cabinet if the income tax was constitutional, Lincoln met with Congress in a special joint session on July 4, 1861, to hammer out the details of a tax law.

Lincolns cabinet and fellow Republicans had determined that since it did not tax property directly, the income tax was an indirect direct tax, and it was not subject to Article I of the Constitution, which said that direct taxes must be apportioned according to the population of each state.

Lincoln signed The Revenue Act of 1861 on August 5, 1861, and it taxed imports, provided for a direct land tax, and imposed a tax of 3 percent on individual incomes over $800 (which, in current dollars, is about $18,000). The bill fell far short of its goals. There wasnt an effective way to collect the taxes, and the 3 percent income tax only applied, ironically, to 3 percent of the population in the north.

The laws were overhauled in the more-extensive Revenue Act of 1862, which created the agency that later become known as the Internal Revenue Service and levied the first progressive income tax on Americans. The new act also had hefty taxes on alcohol and tobacco products. More income taxes brackets and higher tax rates were added in 1864, with the tax law expiring during the Reconstruction period after the Civil War.

The Revenue Act of 1864 did survive a later Supreme Court challenge, when in Springer v. United States a unanimous Court said that the Civil War income tax was constitutional. But when Congress passed a national income tax in 1894, it was ruled unconstitutional the following year by the Supreme Court in Pollock v. Farmers Loan & Trust Company.

A divided court said it was a direct tax not apportioned according to the population of each state, in violation of Article I, Section 9, of the Constitution. After the Pollock decision, it took Congress and at least 36 states to make the income tax legal via the 16th Amendment. By 1913, when the amendment was ratified, the average income had risen to $800, which was the taxable rate back in 1861.

And for the record, the Confederacy also had its own version of an income tax, too, which wasnt as effective as the Union tax system. Its lawmakers approved an income tax measure in 1863 as a graduated income tax. It exempted wages up to $1,000, levied a 1 percent tax on the first $1,500 over the exemption, and 2 percent on all additional income. But the Confederacy didnt have an established system to collect taxes.
HCP Inc. HCP is slated to report second-quarter 2016 results on Aug 9, before the opening bell.



Last quarter, this healthcare real estate investment trust (REIT) had reported in-line results. Over the trailing four quarters, the company exceeded estimates in three quarters, resulting in an average positive earnings surprise of 1.95%. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for the second-quarter funds from operations (FFO) per share is currently pegged at 70 cents.



Lets see how things are shaping up prior to this announcement.

HCP INC Price and EPS Surprise

HCP INC Price and EPS Surprise | HCP INC Quote

Factors to Consider



HCP has a diversified, well-balanced portfolio in the healthcare sector. The company is expected to benefit from rising healthcare spending, and a growing aging population in the to-be-reported quarter.



Its same property portfolio cash net operating income (NOI) is projected to increase backed by improved occupancy, rate, and expense management. Further, strategic investments, tie-ups and acquisitions are anticipated to drive decent cash flows. However, growth might be hindered by cut-throat competition in its markets. Also, there is increased supply in the broader metropolitan statistical areas (MSAs).



Notably, in May, its Board of Directors approved the spin-off of the HCR ManorCares (HCRMC) portfolio of Skilled Nursing Facility (SNF) and assisted living assets, and other skilled nursing assets, into an independent and publicly-traded real estate investment trust (SpinCo), creating more values for shareholders.



In fact, the deal will enable HCP to enhance its portfolio quality and focus more on its core businesses of Senior Housing, Life Science and Medical Office. Notably, HCPs core portfolio comprises diverse operators and tenants primarily from the private-pay sector.



However, overall, HCPs performance during the quarter was inadequate to win analysts confidence. As a result, the Zacks Consensus Estimate remained unchanged at 70 cents per share over the last 30 days.



Earnings Whispers



Our proven model does not conclusively show that HCP will beat on earnings this quarter. This is because a stock needs to have both a positive Earnings ESP and a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), 2 (Buy) or 3 (Hold) for this to happen. That is not the case here as you will see below.



Zacks ESP: HCP has an Earnings ESP of 0.00%  the percentage difference between the Most Accurate Estimate and the Zacks Consensus Estimate.



Zacks Rank: HCP has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).



Despite a favorable Zacks rank, a zero ESP makes surprise prediction difficult.



Note that we caution against stocks with Zacks Rank #4 or 5 (Sell-rated stocks) going into the earnings announcement, especially when the company is seeing negative estimate revisions.



Stocks to Consider



Here are a few stocks in the broader Finance sector, of which REIT is a part, that you may want to consider instead, as our model shows that they have the right combination of elements to post a positive surprise this quarter:



Parkway Properties Inc. PKY has an Earnings ESP of +6.45% and a Zacks Rank #3. The company will release its results on Aug 8.



Bank of Montreal BMO has an Earnings ESP of +2.24% and a Zacks Rank #2. The company is slated to report its earnings on Aug 23.



Sun Life Financial Inc. SLF has an Earnings ESP of +1.47% and a Zacks Rank #2. The company will come with its results on Aug 10.



Note: FFO, a widely used metric to gauge the performance of REITs, is obtained after adding depreciation and amortization and other non-cash expenses to net income. All earnings per share numbers presented in this write up represent FFO per share.



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Zacks Investment Research
Medical is one of the eight sectors in the S&P 500 cohort that is expected to record growth in earnings in the second quarter. The sector is likely to post earnings growth of 4.4% on revenue improvement of 7.7%.



We note that 414 S&P companies have already reported their quarterly numbers, with 70.3% of them beating EPS estimates and 51.9% surpassing the top-line estimate.



As per the latest Zacks Earnings Trend report, overall second-quarter earnings for the S&P 500 companies are expected to be down 3.1% year over year on revenue decline of 0.4%.



Healthcare is an important component of the Medical sector and is expected follow the earnings growth trajectory in the quarter.



Here, we take a look at three healthcare stocks scheduled to report their second-quarter figures on Aug 8:



Brookdale Senior Living Inc BKD is the leading operator of senior living communities throughout the United States. We believe impressive revenue contribution from the senior housing segment, strong focus on core business and exclusive senior-living solutions are the key drivers.

BROOKDALE SENR Price and EPS Surprise

BROOKDALE SENR Price and EPS Surprise | BROOKDALE SENR Quote

Notably, the recent announcement of Brookdale to rationalize its portfolio by divesting 44 communities is a positive. Meanwhile, the company has disposed a total of 30 communities with 2,594 units, either through sales or lease terminations. We expect these initiatives to reduce operational disruptions and fortify Brookdales core business.



However, our proven model does not conclusively show that the company is likely to beat earnings, given the combination of a Zacks Rank #4 (Sell) and Earnings ESP of 0.00%. We note the Most Accurate estimate and Zacks Consensus Estimate for the company is pegged at 59 cents.



As per our proven model, a stock needs to have both a positive Earnings ESP and a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), 2 (Buy) or 3 (Hold) to beat estimates. Simultaneously, we caution against stocks with a Zacks Rank #4 or 5 (Sell-rated) going into the earnings announcement, especially when the company is seeing negative estimate revisions.



BioScrip Inc BIOS is a major national provider of infusion and home care management solutions. The Infusion platform, addition of new hospital-transitional care contracts and exceptional clinical management capabilities are likely to drive growth.



Moreover, the recent announcement to acquire all the assets of Home Solutions is a major positive, which should help BioScrip to take over a leading position in the Home Infusion market.

Story continues

BIOSCRIP INC Price and EPS Surprise

BIOSCRIP INC Price and EPS Surprise | BIOSCRIP INC Quote

Nevertheless, our proven model does not conclusively show that the company is likely to beat estimates, given the combination of a Zacks Rank #2 and Earnings ESP of 0.00%.



This is because both the Most Accurate estimate and the Zacks Consensus Estimate for the company is pegged at a loss of 9 cents.



Headquartered in Denver, CO, DaVita HealthCare Partners Inc DVA is a leading provider of dialysis services in the U.S. to patients suffering from chronic kidney failure, also known as end stage renal disease (ESRD).



An improved performance by the Kidney Care segment, strategic acquisitions, collaborations with local hospitals, strong financial position and a compelling inorganic growth story are the key accelerators for growth.

DAVITA HEALTHCR Price and EPS Surprise

DAVITA HEALTHCR Price and EPS Surprise | DAVITA HEALTHCR Quote

However, our proven model does not conclusively show that the company is likely to beat earnings, given the combination of a Zacks Rank #4 and Earnings ESP of +2.04%. We note that the Most Accurate estimate for DaVita stands at $1.00, while the Zacks Consensus Estimate is pegged at 98 cents.

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A 14-year-old Ohio girl accused of fatally shooting her father in the head is being hailed as a "hero" by her mother  for allegedly saving the family from years of physical abuse, PEOPLE confirms.



Bresha Meadows is charged with one count of murder for her alleged role in the death of her 41-year-old father, Jonathan Meadows, according to her arrest report. She is accused of shooting him in the head with his own gun at the family's home early July 28, police said.



But Bresha's mom has called her a "hero," telling local media her daughter's alleged actions ended the years of physical abuse she was forced to suffer at her own husband's hands. (It was Bresha's mom who first called 911, records show.)



"She is my hero. I wasn't strong enough to get out and she helped me," Brandi Meadows told Fox 8 in Cleveland. "I am so sorry she had to go through this. She is my hero."



Bresha "helped me," Brandi told Fox 8. "She helped all of us so we could have a better life."



 Want to keep up with the latest crime coverage? Click here to get breaking crime news, ongoing trial coverage and details of intriguing unsolved cases in the True Crime Newsletter.



Bresha's attorney, Ian Friedman, tells PEOPLE she "lived in a perpetual state of fear for her mother, her siblings and herself."



He told Fox 8 she was both allegedly abused for years by her father, and witnessed her father allegedly abusing her mother.



"It was a situation, thankfully, that very few of us can even imagine," Friedman says. "In this case, the facts will show that this young lady had no choice in her mind but to defend her mother and her family. She felt that if this would have continued that her mom would be the one who was dead."



Friedman says he has provided Trumbull County prosecutors with witness statements as well as medical records to establish a pattern of abuse against Bresha's mother and siblings.



"We want to get at the truth and see that justice is served," prosecutor Stanley Elkins told Fox 8, saying that police continue to investigate. "Anybody who has any information or reports should contact Warren police."



(Prosecutors did not immediately respond to PEOPLE's request for comment.)



"I am hoping the prosecution will be able to fully appreciate what was going on in this home," he says. "This really was a justifiable case of self-defense."



Bresha is due back in Trumbull County Family Court at the end of August for a pre-trial hearing, Friedman says. She has entered a plea of "not true" to the charge against her.
Hillary Clinton wants to make the presidential election a choice between a wonk and a scrooge.

In campaign stops from Pennsylvania to Colorado and in new television advertisements this week, Clinton has presented herself as a cerebral policy-maker and Donald Trump as a heartless businessman, driving home a theme that her campaign hopes will define the race.

Clinton in recent days toured a tie factory in Denver and an electrical contracting facility in Las Vegas, where the themes were honest work and making it in America. Trump, who has come under fire for not paying his contractors and making his products overseas, was the butt of Clintons visits.

Donald Trump would not pay people who did work, painters and plumbers and glass installers and marble installers and architects, Clinton said in Denver at the Knotty Tie Co. What kind of man does business by hurting other people?

The next day in Las Vegas, Clinton drove home the message that Trump is a callous dealmaker, lambasting Trump over his now-shuttered Trump University, which is being sued for not delivering the services it promised, and pointing to his comments before the housing crisis. What did Donald Trump say when [the housing crisis] began to happen? He basically said, Hey this is good for me, Clinton said. I can make money. It didnt matter the heartbreak, five million homes lost, 13 trillion dollars in family wealth, mostly in homes. What did Donald Trump do? He was thinking of himself.

In case painting Trump as a cigar-chomping, real-life Mr. Burns isnt enough, Clinton is continuing to sell herself as a competent, plans-driven policy maker, pointing to apprenticeship plans and infrastructure projects. Some people said, Oh my gosh, there she goes with another plan, Clinton said on Thursday at Mojave Electric in Las Vegas. Heres what I believe: If Im asking you to vote for me for President, I want you to know what Im going to try to do as your President starting next January 20th.

Story continues

Clintons approach to dealing with Trump closely parallels the line of attack Obama took against former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney in 2012, when Democrats endlessly scrutinized Romneys record at Bain Capital. One of the most devastating ads from that election featured a paper mill worker who lost his job when Bain Capital was involved in the closing of his plant.

Trump, for his part, is continuing to attack Clinton herself as the villain, focusing on her use of a private email server when she was Secretary of State. Shes made everybody less safe, Trump said Thursday in Maine, repeating his moniker for her, Crooked Hillary.

Theres something going on there, Trump added. Has anyone ever seen a liar like that ever before?

This week, Clintons campaign released two ads, one spot that shows Trump talking with David Letterman about where his clothing line is made (Bangladesh and China), and another ad that details Clintons plan to raise taxes on top earners and charge an exit tax on companies that move overseas.

The dual task of portraying herself as a responsible manager and vilifying her opponent is central to her campaign, as Clinton consistently lags Trump in polls when voters are asked who they trust to do a better job on the economy. A Fox News poll this week showed that Trump beats Clinton in that category, 50 percent to 45 percent. Clinton has sought to close that deficit, mindful of the importance voters place on the economy when casting their ballots.

Data released on Friday showed that employers added a robust 255,000 jobs last month, suggesting the economy is strong despite tepid economic growth numbers in the second quarter. But both Trump and Clinton will use the latest data on the campaign trail to their advantage.

Trump has a lengthy business history, and has long been one of the most powerful names in business in America. His gold-plated name tops towers from New York to Chicago to properties abroad, and his reality television show The Celebrity Apprentice cemented his status as a businessman.

But Trump has come under fire for making nearly all Trump-branded products overseas instead of the United States, despite his repeated remonstrations against companies that have moved production facilities outside of the country, like Carrier or Nabisco. Hes also been accused in numerous lawsuits of not paying his own contractors during his repeated bankruptcies in Atlantic City. Clintons campaign started a website that hillaryclinton.com/makeithere, following up on another website artofthesteal.biz, all of which detail Trumps business decisions.

At the same time, in appearances in Pennsylvania, Nevada and beyond, Clinton has spoken about her own plans in granular detail, an approach that wont thrill most of her detractors but seeks to project competence.

At a campaign stop in Commerce City, Colo., Clinton called for modernizing the electric grid, mentioned that five million children dont have Internet access at home, and said she wants to train 50,000 teachers to teach computer science.

Clinton recalled the average salary of a union worker at a steel producing plant in Pennsylvania ($70,000) and delivered a paean to Denvers new transit system. Ive laid out the best I could the specific plans and ideas that I want to pursue as your president because I have this old-fashioned idea, Clinton said on Wednesday When you run for President, you ought to tell people what you want to do as their president.
BI Graphics_Clinton vs Trump Polling

Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton maintains a meaningful  if slightly shrinking  lead over Republican Donald Trump. She's been ahead since the Democratic convention in July.

Here's a poll taken in late August from USA Today and Suffolk University, which surveyed 1000 Americans, showing:

Clinton: 48%

Trump: 41%

Before the Democratic convention, the race appeared tighter: Rasmussen Reports asked 1,000 Americans in mid-July whether they would vote for Clinton or Trump. This is what it found at the time:

Trump: 43%

Clinton: 42%

Was Trump ahead then? Is Clinton ahead now? Answering that requires a clear sense of how polls work, and looking closer tells you everything about what we can and cannot trust.

It depends on whom you ask

In 1936, a magazine called The Literary Digest ran one of the biggest opinion polls of all time. It asked 2.4 million people whether they planned to vote for the incumbent Democratic president, Franklin D. Roosevelt, or his Republican challenger, Alfred Landon.

BI Graphics Lit Dig covers

It trumpeted this prediction:

Landon: 57%

Roosevelt: 43%

The poll must have had one of the smallest margins of error in polling. But it was dead wrong.

Error margins apply only to the population a pollster is sampling.

This is what actually happened in the election:

Roosevelt: 62%

Landon: 38%

The Literary Digest fell prey to what is known as selection bias. That massive sample was made up of its subscribers and members of groups and organizations that tended to skew wealthier than the average American.

Today's pollsters are savvier, but there are still many ways that bias seeps in. For instance, a poll that calls only landlines may leave out a whole demographic of younger, cellphone-only households. Some polls are opt-in, where users of a specific website answer questions. That's less reliable than a random sampling.

"Far more important than dialing down the margin of error is making sure that whatever you're aiming at is unbiased and that you do have a representative sample," says Andrew Bray, an assistant professor of statistics at Reed College.

Story continues

Some polls have well-known biases. Rasmussen, for instance, is known to skew Republican.

Lee Miringoff, the director of the Marist Institute for Public Opinion  which produces polls for NBC News, The Wall Street Journal, and McClatchy  says polls are as much art as science.

"Scientifically, we should get the same result," he says.

Modern polls are not immune to these issues. Some potential voters are harder to reach, and some polls skew more educated. And polls with a high percentage of potential voters who are undecided can lead to more uncertainty.

So how much can we trust today's results?

Margin of error

BI Graphics_Spearfishing vs throwing a net_transparent

Pollsters and journalists tend to highlight the headline numbers in a poll. If you did that with the July Rasmussen example, you'd think Trump was leading Clinton.

Rasmussen didn't help matters by describing Trump as "statistically ahead."

It's actually not that simple.

First, you have to consider the margin of error. Rasmussen pollsters interviewed 1,000 people to represent the views of 320 million Americans. Naturally, the poll results might not perfectly match what the whole population thinks.

This Rasmussen poll has a 3-point margin of error. Here's what that actually means.

Let's take that Trump number: 43% is something called a "point estimate." This is basically the polling firm's best educated guess of what the number would be if it had asked the whole population. But it's not guaranteed to be right.

The margin of error accounts for this:

Because the margin of error is 3 points, the pollsters are confident that support for Trump in the total population is between 40% and 46%  or 43% plus or minus 3 percentage points.

Support for Clinton is between 39% and 45%.

confidence intervals

The point estimate (the dots in the chart above) is like fishing with a spear; you're stabbing for the right answer. The margin of error is like fishing with a net; somewhere in your catch is the true figure.

But this is not the whole story either.

Feeling confident

Before the 2016 Michigan primary, it looked as if Clinton had it made. FiveThirtyEight aggregated several polls and predicted that she had a 99% chance of winning the primary. Many polls had Clinton ahead of challenger Bernie Sanders by double digits.

The polls were wrong.

Sanders eked out a narrow victory. Of the many reasons pollsters might have been off, this may be one of them: There's more to polling than the margin of error.

"The margin of error is a guidepost, but not a foolproof" one, Miringoff says.

Here's what the margin of error really means.

Pollsters typically ask roughly 1,000 people a question like: Whom do you plan to vote for? Their goal is to be 95% sure that the real level of support in the whole population is captured in the sample's range, from the low end of the margin of error to the high end.

That range is called a "confidence interval."

Let's say a pollster like Miringoff were to run that same poll 100 times. Each time, he would randomly select different groups of 1,000 people. Miringoff would expect that the true proportion  the candidate's actual support  would be found within the margin of error of 95 out of the 100 polls. That's why he'd say that he's 95% confident in the results.

Those five outliers are one reason elections don't always turn out the way pollsters predict.

Remember that Rasmussen poll in July showing Trump with 43% support? That 43% is thought to be the most likely reflection of reality. But the pollster is still only 95% confident that Trump's true amount of support is found between 40% and 46%.

The further you get from that point estimate, the less likely it is that you are seeing the true number. So it's more likely to be 42% than 41%  and 40% is even less likely.

normal curve annotated 2

The chance that what's happening in reality is captured by a number outside the 95% confidence interval is, as you might expect, quite unlikely. The more outside it is, the more minuscule the likelihood. But it's still possible for a poll to be way off.

"If you really want to be 100% confident in your estimate, you're either going to have to ask every American or be satisfied with a huge margin of error," Bray, the Reed College statistics professor, says.

The whole point of polling is to extrapolate what a large group believes by asking a randomly selected subset of that group.

In the era of modern polling, most pollsters agree that being 95% confident in the margin of error is "good enough."

"It's a reasonably high number," Bray says. "That means we're going to be wrong one in 20 times, but for most people that's acceptable."

Many polls, such as those from the Pew Research Center, bury the margin of error in the fine print. Far fewer highlight the confidence interval. But anytime you see a poll, remember: There's a 5% chance that the poll is far different from the headline number.

Keeping it 1,000

BI Graphics_1000 emoji_transparent

Look closely and you'll notice that most polls question roughly 1,000 people. That holds true whether pollsters are trying to approximate voter opinion in Rhode Island (about 1 million residents) or the entire US (nearly 320 million residents).

Why 1,000?

It's a big enough number to be reasonably confident in the result  within the margin of error 19 out of 20 times. There's a lot of variety in a group of 1,000 people, so it captures many of the elements in the larger group.

Asking more people than 1,000 leads to diminishing returns of accuracy.

For instance, sampling 2,000 people is not twice as precise as sampling 1,000. It might bring the margin of error from roughly 3 points to about 2.2 points.

moe vs sample size 3

In modern polling, most statisticians see sampling 1,000 people as a good compromise between a manageable sample size and acceptable confidence.

What and when

Results differ among pollsters for many reasons.

There are simple explanations, like when the polls were conducted. It can take days or weeks to conduct and analyze a poll. A lot of news can happen between the dates on which the questions were asked and the date of the results' release.

BI Graphics_Polling Days vs Election Day transparent

This is especially a problem with polls close to Election Day. They're generally a snapshot in the week before the election. If something happens in the final days of campaigning, those final polls may not be as predictive.

It also matters how a pollster phrases and orders questions, and whether it's a phone interview, in-person interview, or online survey. Even the interviewer's tone of voice can matter.

Then, pollsters have to decide how to analyze and weight the data, and those methodologies can vary.

But it's not just pollsters analyzing data  and that's where we get another big problem.

Drilling down

BI Graphics 1000 Group

When Miringoff releases his Marist polls into the wild, they are quickly consumed by journalists, commentators, and a public looking for trends that create headlines. This drives him crazy.

"It's too often to throw up your arms," Miringoff says.

Here's the problem: Let's say his team interviews 1,000 people to represent the general population. In that 1,000, there are subgroups: men versus women, minorities, immigrants, young people, old people.

It's tempting to pull out those subgroups and draw conclusions about, say, support for a candidate among Latinos or women.

But each of those subgroups is, in effect, its own sample, and those samples can be very small. That means the margin of error for each subset can be huge.

Take this poll from Pew: In the sample, there were only 146 black respondents. The margin of error for that subgroup is more than 9 points!

redo screenshot

You can't learn much by looking at a group with a 9-point error margin.

Why aggregating is good

If you combine results from multiple polls taken at the same time, you can think of it as one huge poll. That drives down the overall margin of error and can make you more confident in the predictive power of the polls.

In the real world, different polls are conducted in different ways, so you can't think of an aggregated poll as truly one big sample. But this is also a virtue because it reduces the effect of pollster biases and errors. FiveThirtyEight, The New York Times, and RealClearPolitics all run averages with different weightings and methodologies.

Ahead or tied?

OK, so now that you know a lot more about polls, what should you think when a race is tight? The answer is not straightforward.

Let's say that a poll comes out showing Clinton with 51% support and Trump with 49%. The margin of error is plus or minus 3 points. Are the two candidates statistically tied, or is Clinton slightly ahead?

In purely statistical terms, most would consider this example a "statistical dead heat." Either candidate could be ahead.

"It's pretty significant editorially," Miringoff says. "It's not significant statistically."

That said, that doesn't mean Clinton's lead in this hypothetical example is completely insignificant.

"If I was running for office, I'd rather have 51 than 49," Miringoff says.

Remember point estimates? In this scenario, 51% is still the pollster's best guess at Clinton's true level of support. That's higher than Trump's. If a series of polls shows Clinton with a slight edge  even within the margin of error  then it can suggest an advantage. A series of polls is more convincing than any single poll.

Feedback loop

BI Graphics_Trump Feedback Loop transparent

Finally, for as much as we want to believe that polls are a scientific reflection of reality, polls can also affect reality.

Here's one example: Polls that show candidates falling behind can galvanize their supporters to get out to vote.

The media may also focus on polling trends, leading to changes in public opinion about which candidates are viable or worth supporting.

Polls don't happen in a vacuum.

NOW WATCH: INSTANT POLL: Americans viewed Clinton's convention speech more favorably than Trump's





More From Business Insider


Clint Eastwood at the 2012 Republican National Convention; LGBT rights activist Sarah McBride at the Democratic National Convention in 2016. (Photos: Joe Skipper/Reuters; Paul Sancya/AP)

LGBT rights activist Sarah McBride was not convinced by film legend Clint Eastwoods condemnation of the United States current pussy generation or his defense of Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump.

In a recent Esquire interview, Eastwood, 86, a longtime conservative, said he would choose Trump over Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton even though the GOP candidate has said a lot of dumb things.

The acclaimed actor and director said Trump is onto something because people are getting fed up with the political correctness of the kiss-ass generation.

Were really in a pussy generation. Everybodys walking on eggshells. We see people accusing people of being racist and all kinds of stuff. When I grew up, those things werent called racist, Eastwood said in the interview, published on Wednesday.

McBride, 25, of Wilmington, Del., who recently made history as the first openly transgender convention speaker at the Democratic convention in Philadelphia, is the national press secretary of the Human Rights Campaign, a gay rights organization.

She argued that it was misguided for Eastwood to appeal to his childhood during the 1930s and 40s to figure out what is racist.

What was considered racist in 1930 is not an accurate barometer of what actually is racist. And if hes approaching these issues with a 1930s or 1940s lens, then I can see why he doesnt fully understand it. Its pretty outdated, McBride said in a Friday phone interview with Yahoo News.

She also pointed out on Twitter that a lot of racist things were not considered offensive back when Eastwood was growing up. She asked her followers to help her compile a list of these things. The list included Jim Crow laws, a segregated military, dismissing the concept of a black president, poll taxes, opposition to federal anti-lynching laws and much more.

@SarahEMcBride got your list all in one place for you! Should we Google Doc it?! #ClintEastwoodsNostalgiaList pic.twitter.com/fObpryGxVW  Lamar Carter (@iamlamarcarter) August 5, 2016

What Trump is onto, according to Eastwood, is saying whats on his mind, even though its not so good sometimes. He cited Trumps comments about U.S. District Court Judge Gonzalo Curiel, who is the son of Mexican immigrants, as a dumb thing to say, but thinks the press is blowing it out of proportion. Trump had argued that the U.S.-born Curiel should not hear a Trump University fraud case because of the jurists Mexican heritage.

Story continues

Hes said a lot of dumb things. So have all of them. Both sides. But everybody  the press and everybodys going, Oh, well, thats racist, and theyre making a big hoodoo out of it. Just f***ing get over it. Its a sad time in history, he told Esquire.

But for McBride, Trumps comments about historically marginalized groups are not something to just f***ing get over; they are major problems with his candidacy. She is troubled by his proposed ban on Muslim Americans entering the country, his response to the Black Lives Matter movement and his stance on LGBT issues, which she says cannot be described as anything but hateful and discriminatory.

Eastwoods status as one of Hollywoods rare staunch conservatives is well known. Just four years ago, he gave a Republican National Convention speech in which he infamously addressed an empty chair that was supposed to represent President Obama.

McBride said she was aware of Eastwoods conservatism, but still had hopes that he would disassociate himself from Trump.

I certainly enjoyed some of his movies in the past, she said. I grew up watching In the Line of Fire, but I was disappointed, although not surprised, given some of the politics that hes expressed in the past. Really, I think it shows a lack of understanding of whats at stake and what Donald Trump is calling for.

I think its so sad when someone who has lived a really great life like Clint Eastwood, a life of success and fame and wealth, for him to diminish or demean any vulnerable groups effort for basic dignity, McBride said. And I dont think Clint Eastwood is in any place to define what ouch means for someone else.

New national polls released Thursday showed that Clinton has a commanding lead over Trump. The new information was released at the end of one of the Trump campaigns worst weeks, which included his public feud with the parents of a Muslim American soldier who heroically died in Iraq.

But McBride argued its important for social progressives not to rest on their laurels because the election is far from over and many down-ballot races are particularly important for the LGBT community. Much of the legislation she deems hateful took place on the local and state levels. Nevertheless, she said the change in polling overall reflected that Trumps message is not resonating with the American public the way Clintons is.

People in this country are good and decent, and do not want to target their fellow Americans and their neighbors for discrimination or mean-spirited and hurtful attacks, she said.

Related video:
Bus rams scooter at Putalisadak seriously injuring a woman

A woman was seriously injured after a passenger bus rammed a scooter at Putalisadak on Friday morning.
Aug 5 (Reuters) - Spain's competition watchdog said it was investigating logistics companies including United Parcel Service Inc, FedEx Corp, Deutsche Post's DHL Group and Britain's Royal Mail Plc for possible anti-competitive practices.

The investigation, which is looking into practices that include forging pacts to not poach each others' clients, could last 18 months and end in fines, the National Commission Markets and Competition (CNMC) said in a statement on Friday.

The CNMC said its investigation was directed at the Spanish units of the international logistics companies.

Royal Mail said in a statement that its GLS unit was under investigation, but did not elaborate on the allegations.

FedEx said in an emailed statement that it has been notified by Spanish authorities of the investigation, but did not provide details.

A UPS spokeswoman said the company was aware of the investigation but had no comment. Reuters was not immediately able to reach a Deutsche Post representative for comment, while DHL did not immediately respond to an emailed request.

Royal Mail said it did not expect any fine to be material, based on the allegations and GLS's annual turnover.

"We have completed a compliance review of the GLS Group and we are not aware of any other matter which could be the subject of any other investigation by a relevant competition law authority," Royal Mail said.

Royal Mail agreed with the French competition authority in December to pay 40.2 million pounds (then $60.9 million) to settle a breach of antitrust laws by its French unit.

(Reporting by Pranav Kiran in Bengaluru and Sarah White in Madrid; Editing by Savio D'Souza)
It aims to nurture citizens entrepreneurial mindset.

Singapore is another step closer to its Smart Nation dreams, as Hub Singapore has launched a national initiative with the goal of fostering Singaporeans entrepreneurial mindset.

According to Hub Singapore's media release, The Mission Movement is a community platform that aims to help Singaporeans pursue their "personal missions." It will kick off by researching Singaporeans' wants and fears in pursuing a courageous mindset needed to grow and diversify the city-state's entrepreneurial landscape.

"The movement will then curate partnerships with organizations or business entities that can cater to these needs through events, workshops, talks, and communities," stated Hub Singapore.

Moreover, Hub Singapore is also teaming up with IDA Hivethe Infocomm Development Authoritys (IDA) tech facilityto build networking platforms for technologists and entrepreneurs. The partnership aims to create solutions that address challenges and contribute to Singapores Smart Nation initiative.

"To encourage more ground-up initiative from citizens and businesses, IDA will provide open data platforms such as data.gov.sg where real-time APIs will be housed to enable Hub Singapores start-up community to co-create useful applications that are relevant to their businesses," Hub Singapore explained.

The Mission Movement was launched in conjunction withe Hub Singapore's 10,000 sqft co-working space at Cuppage Terrace.







More From Singapore Business Review


hyperloop one

Hyperloop One, a Los Angeles-based startup developing the technology for the Hyperloop high-speed transportation system, is interested in building a Hyperloop that can travel underwater.

Peter Diamandis, a Hyperloop One board member and CEO of the X-Prize Foundation, told Business Insider that the startup is interested in using Hyperloop to transport cargo to ports 10 miles off shore.

"We've been talking to a lot of the port authorities around the world about re-engineering their ports in this kind of fashion," he said.

Hyperloop One is proposing moving ports 10 miles off the coastline and having ships dock "like a giant oil platform" to off-load their cargo, Diamandis said. The Hyperloop would then travel between the coastline and the port to transport cargo containers.

Moving ports into the ocean would clear up land on the coastline, opening up the potential for "a huge real-estate boom."

"Long Beach, near where I live, is a beautiful California coastline that is basically covered with ports or cargo containers and ships," Diamandis said. "Imagine if you could regain all of that coastline for parks and homes and beaches by taking the port and putting the port 10 miles off shore."

The design work that's been done for the Hyperloop presents it as a contained tube, meaning it could stay underwater. Diamandis said that having the Hyperloop travel underwater would prevent issues with shipping lanes.

"Conceptually, I think one of the things that's interesting about the future is there's a lot of underutilized space underground," Diamandis said. "And I think one of the areas the Hyperloop can become an expert in is tunneling technology in the future."

Diamandis also said there's "been conversations" about using the underwater Hyperloop to transport people too.

"Some of the more interesting proposals that have come in have been [about] going between Norway and Sweden  going through the water ways there," he said.

Story continues

Hyperloop One did not immediately respond to Business Insider's request for comment.

NOW WATCH: The Best Features Of Elon Musk's Hyperloop





More From Business Insider


By Rina Chandran

MUMBAI (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - When Textiles Minister Smriti Irani tweeted a picture of herself this week in an electric-blue silk saree with the hashtag #IWearHandloom, her tweet was favourited more than 10,000 times and retweeted 4,000 times.

Hundreds responded to Irani's request to post pictures of themselves in handloom apparel, including politicians, actors, athletes, models and designers, ahead of National Handloom Day on Aug. 7, to celebrate the humble hand-woven fabric.

A symbol of India's freedom struggle, handloom attire was once regarded as fit only for politicians and villagers.

It is now seeing a revival, with demand growing for sustainable and ethical fashion, even as mass-market clothing still dominates malls and pavement stalls.

"There's a greater desire among the youth and the middle class, who are frustrated with dirty politics and crooked companies, for something better," said Arvind Singhal, chief executive of retail consultancy Technopak Advisors.

"Having a greater sensitivity to people and the environment is 'in', and people are even willing to pay a small premium for what they perceive to be ethical and responsible," he said.

India is among the biggest manufacturers of textiles and apparel in the world, supplying leading international brands. But the domestic market is large too, and accounts for more than 40 percent of the industry's revenue.

The sector is dominated by small and medium-sized firms that are under enormous pressure to reduce costs and produce garments quickly. Many use forced labour, while abuses including withheld salaries and debt bondage are rife, activists say.

Wages in India's textile and garment industry are about $1.06 an hour, compared with $2.60 in China, according to the World Bank.

The pressure on margins trickles down to cotton farmers. More than 90 percent of cotton in India is genetically modified, and as those seeds cannot be replanted, farmers have struggled with rising input costs and lower prices for cotton.

Story continues

Tens of thousands of indebted cotton farmers in the western state of Maharashtra have killed themselves in the past two decades.

HAPPY SURPRISE

It was the plight of these farmers that drove Apurva Kothari, who was working in technology in San Francisco, to return to India and set up apparel brand No Nasties in 2011.

The company sources organic cotton, and audits its supply chain to ensure there is no child labour and that workers receive fair wages, he said.

"I simply Googled 'fair trade cotton', then met with cotton producers," said Kothari, speaking by telephone from Goa.

"They all supplied foreign apparel makers, and it was a challenge convincing them there is a market here, too. But the great reception from consumers has been a happy surprise," he said.

No Nasties and Do U Speak Green are among a handful of Fairtrade-licensed clothing brands in India.

They source from producers including Rajlakshmi Cotton Mills, which deals in organic and fair trade cotton and pays fair wages, and Chetna Organic, whose seed conservation project has organic "seedbanks" from which farmers can withdraw seeds.

They are getting a boost from Fairtrade India, which set up office in 2013, and has stamped its distinct circular logo on a small range of products including tea, coffee, rice and sugar.

It is also working with Amazon India to make Fairtrade-certified products available online.

"It's been a bit of a mixed bag," Abhishek Jani, chief executive of Fairtrade India, told the Thomson Reuters Foundation.

"There is a lack of technical know how, a lack of capacity, and a lack of awareness about ethical supply chains, even among big businesses. But the fact that we're invited to talk is a good starting point," he said.

EMPATHY ELUSIVE

Working conditions and wages in South Asia's garment industry have come under greater scrutiny since the April 2013 Rana Plaza disaster in Bangladesh, in which more than 1,100 workers died.

But retailers' efforts to clean up supply chains will have little impact unless consumers in India demand more ethically produced goods, analysts say.

"Most buyers are oblivious to farmer suicides or unfair wages, and don't make that connection to the clothes they wear," said Jani.

"But there is clearly a segment that cares, and all things being equal, more people would probably buy an ethical product if the price point isn't too high," he said.

Brands can take heart from success stories including Fabindia, said Technopak's Singhal. Set up in 1960 to market diverse craft traditions, the company appeals to both young and old consumers, the wealthy and the not-so wealthy, he said.

No Nasties' Kothari identifies similar challenges.

"How do you get people to empathise and make ethical fashion relevant? It's an uphill task, but we're optimistic," he said.

(Reporting by Rina Chandran @rinachandran, editing by Megan Rowling. Please credit the Thomson Reuters Foundation, the charitable arm of Thomson Reuters, that covers humanitarian news, women's rights, trafficking, corruption and climate change. Visit news.trust.org to see more stories.)
By Rina Chandran MUMBAI (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - When Indian Textiles Minister Smriti Irani tweeted a picture of herself this week in an electric-blue silk saree with the hashtag #IWearHandloom, her tweet was favorite more than 10,000 times and retweeted 4,000 times. Hundreds responded to Irani's request to post pictures of themselves in handloom apparel, including politicians, actors, athletes, models and designers, ahead of National Handloom Day on Aug. 7, to celebrate the humble hand-woven fabric. A symbol of India's freedom struggle, handloom attire was once regarded as fit only for politicians and villagers. It is now seeing a revival, with demand growing for sustainable and ethical fashion, even as mass-market clothing still dominates malls and pavement stalls. "There's a greater desire among the youth and the middle class, who are frustrated with dirty politics and crooked companies, for something better," said Arvind Singhal, chief executive of retail consultancy Technopak Advisors. "Having a greater sensitivity to people and the environment is 'in', and people are even willing to pay a small premium for what they perceive to be ethical and responsible," he said. India is among the biggest manufacturers of textiles and apparel in the world, supplying leading international brands. But the domestic market is large too, and accounts for more than 40 percent of the industry's revenue. The sector is dominated by small and medium-sized firms that are under enormous pressure to reduce costs and produce garments quickly. Many use forced labor, while abuses including withheld salaries and debt bondage are rife, activists say. Wages in India's textile and garment industry are about $1.06 an hour, compared with $2.60 in China, according to the World Bank. The pressure on margins trickles down to cotton farmers. More than 90 percent of cotton in India is genetically modified, and as those seeds cannot be replanted, farmers have struggled with rising input costs and lower prices for cotton. Tens of thousands of indebted cotton farmers in the western state of Maharashtra have killed themselves in the past two decades. HAPPY SURPRISE It was the plight of these farmers that drove Apurva Kothari, who was working in technology in San Francisco, to return to India and set up apparel brand No Nasties in 2011. The company sources organic cotton, and audits its supply chain to ensure there is no child labor and that workers receive fair wages, he said. "I simply Googled 'fair trade cotton', then met with cotton producers," said Kothari, speaking by telephone from Goa. "They all supplied foreign apparel makers, and it was a challenge convincing them there is a market here, too. But the great reception from consumers has been a happy surprise," he said. No Nasties and Do U Speak Green are among a handful of Fairtrade-licensed clothing brands in India. They source from producers including Rajlakshmi Cotton Mills, which deals in organic and fair trade cotton and pays fair wages, and Chetna Organic, whose seed conservation project has organic "seedbanks" from which farmers can withdraw seeds. They are getting a boost from Fairtrade India, which set up office in 2013, and has stamped its distinct circular logo on a small range of products including tea, coffee, rice and sugar. It is also working with Amazon India to make Fairtrade-certified products available online. "It's been a bit of a mixed bag," Abhishek Jani, chief executive of Fairtrade India, told the Thomson Reuters Foundation. "There is a lack of technical know how, a lack of capacity, and a lack of awareness about ethical supply chains, even among big businesses. But the fact that we're invited to talk is a good starting point," he said. EMPATHY ELUSIVE Working conditions and wages in South Asia's garment industry have come under greater scrutiny since the April 2013 Rana Plaza disaster in Bangladesh, in which more than 1,100 workers died. But retailers' efforts to clean up supply chains will have little impact unless consumers in India demand more ethically produced goods, analysts say. "Most buyers are oblivious to farmer suicides or unfair wages, and don't make that connection to the clothes they wear," said Jani. "But there is clearly a segment that cares, and all things being equal, more people would probably buy an ethical product if the price point isn't too high," he said. Brands can take heart from success stories including Fabindia, said Technopak's Singhal. Set up in 1960 to market diverse craft traditions, the company appeals to both young and old consumers, the wealthy and the not-so wealthy, he said. No Nasties' Kothari identifies similar challenges. "How do you get people to empathize and make ethical fashion relevant? It's an uphill task, but we're optimistic," he said. (Reporting by Rina Chandran @rinachandran, editing by Megan Rowling. Please credit the Thomson Reuters Foundation, the charitable arm of Thomson Reuters, that covers humanitarian news, women's rights, trafficking, corruption and climate change. Visit news.trust.org to see more stories.)
By Fayaz Bukhari SRINAGAR, India (Reuters) - Indian security forces opened fire on curfew-defying protesters in the disputed region of Kashmir on Friday, killing three and bringing the number of people killed in a wave of unrest to 55. The recent protests erupted in July over the killing of Burhan Wani, 22, a commander of the Hizbul Mujahideen militant group, a separatist group. In Friday's shootings, two protesters were killed in the west of Srinagar, Jammu and Kashmir state's summer capital, and one in the north of the city after crowds began attacking police and paramilitary positions following Friday prayers, a senior police officer said. More than 100 people were wounded including several police officers, the police officer said, speaking on the condition he was not named because he was not authorized to speak to the media. India has urged its security forces to act with restraint as they try to keep protesters off the streets and quell near-daily violence that has flared since July 9, but some have accused troops of using excessive force to control the protests. The Muslim-majority region of Kashmir has been divided between Pakistan and India since shortly after the two countries were carved out of Britain in 1947. Both claim the territory as theirs in full and they have fought two of their three wars over the region. The weeks-long unrest has further strained relations between the two countries and this week threatened to overshadow a regional forum meeting in Islamabad that was attended by India's interior minister. India accuses Pakistan of smuggling fighters across its border to attack forces in the Indian-administered portion of the region, a charge Islamabad strongly denies. Militant attacks against Indian forces have fallen substantially from a peak in the 1990s, but the Indian state has failed to tackle widespread resentment against its rule and there remains a simmering insurgency. Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government has vowed to continue hunting militants while increasing aid and development for the region. (Writing by Tommy Wilkes)
Fourteen police officers have been suspended in India after a low-caste man was allegedly tortured and killed in custody, police said Friday.

Kamal Valmiki, from India's lowest Dalit caste, was found hanging inside a cell on Wednesday a day after he was detained on suspicion of robbery in Kanpur in northern Uttar Pradesh state.

His family accuse one police officer of torturing him to death in custody and then hanging his body to make it look like suicide.

"We have suspended 14 policemen including two officers for negligence," Kanpur police chief Shalabh Mathur told AFP.

Valmiki's family has said he was pressured to confess and brutally beaten when he refused.

Police are awaiting the results of the autopsy.

Hundreds of demonstrators have blocked a local highway to protest at the man's death and police atrocities against the Dalit community.

Custodial abuse is widespread in India and detainees are often tortured at police stations to extract confessions.

Right groups say the government has failed to keep its pledge to end the abuse.

National crime records bureau figures show more than 1,200 people were killed in police custody between 2000-2013.

But a 2012 report by the National Human Rights Commission said more than 12,000 people were killed in police stations or prisons across India between 2001 and 2010.
NEW DELHI (Reuters) - Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi appointed a party loyalist on Friday to lead his home state of Gujarat in an effort to broaden his support base ahead of crucial state elections next year. The decision to appoint Vijay Rupani, the president of his party in the western state and a member of the minority Jain community, as Gujarat chief minister surprised many who had expected Modi to name a representative from a powerful clan that staged violent protests last year. Instead Modi picked Nitin Patel, a member of the upper-caste Patel, or Patidar, community that took to the state's streets last year, as Rupani's deputy, O. P. Panchal, an official in the Gujarat chief minister's office, told Reuters. Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party faces a number of key state elections next year where he will need to reach out to different communities and castes if he is to win. The 65-year-old prime minister ruled Gujarat for more than a decade. He pitched his "Gujarat model" of rapid economic growth to voters in the 2014 national election and, if he is to secure a second term, can ill afford a setback when the state goes to the polls in late 2017. Rupani replaces Anandiben Patel, who tendered her resignation on Monday following protests over a lack of job opportunities and social discrimination. Members of the Patel community rose up last year in Gujarat to demand "reservation", a guaranteed share of government jobs and college places usually reserved for disadvantaged groups. Further protests in Gujarat last weekend by the low-caste Dalit community over attacks by militant Hindus who oppose cow slaughter have underlined the need for Modi to appeal to different social groups. Nitin Patel told Indian news channels on Friday he was determined to start a dialogue with Dalit leaders and find ways to end the agitation. Dalits are planning more protests to express their outrage at the public beating of four men from their community by cow-protection vigilantes who accused them skinning a cow. (Reporting by Rupam Jain; additional reporting by Tommy Wilkes; Editing by Douglas Busvine)
NEW DELHI (Reuters) - Sonia Gandhi, the leader of India's main opposition party, has undergone shoulder surgery at a New Delhi hospital after suffering a fall on a campaign stop this week, senior Congress party officials said on Friday. Gandhi, 69, dislocated her left shoulder when she fainted on Tuesday while launching the party's campaign for next year's Uttar Pradesh state election in the holy city of Varanasi, Prime Minister Narendra Modi's parliamentary constituency. Gandhi suffered acute dehydration while traveling in an open vehicle for four hours through large crowds. "She had dislocated her shoulder after a fall and is now under observation for 48 hours," said a senior party official, who did not wish to be named as he was not authorized to speak to the media. The Italian-born politician, who led her party to two successive terms governing the world's largest democracy, has played a slightly reduced public role since being treated abroad for an unknown illness in 2011. Despite persistent speculation, she has yet to hand over the party leadership to Rahul Gandhi, her 46-year-old son and the great grandson of India's first prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru. (Writing by Rupam Jain and Malini Menon; Editing by Douglas Busvine and Ed Davies)
By Fergus Jensen JAKARTA (Reuters) - Indonesian police arrested six suspected militants on Friday who they believed to be linked to the Islamic State group and plotting a rocket attack on Singapore, authorities in Indonesia and Singapore said. Singapore said it was stepping up security in response to the plan to attack it that was being hatched on Indonesia's Batam island, which is only about 15 km (10 miles) to the south of the wealthy city-state. Members of an elite Singapore police unit patrolled the glittering downtown waterfront in vehicles and on foot on Friday afternoon. One officer said they were on routine patrol. Indonesian police spokesman Agus Rianto told reporters the six suspects had been plotting with a member of the Islamic State militant group in Syria to attack Singapore, a major commercial, banking and travel hub that is home to many Western expatriates. "What we understand so far is that they were planning to attack vital objects, busy areas including police offices," Rianto said. Asked whether police had recovered any physical evidence of a rocket attack, Rianto said "not yet". ISLAMIC STATE LINK The six arrested were suspected of having links to Bahrun Naim, an Indonesian fighting with Islamic State in Syria, police said. Indonesian investigators believe that Naim was one of the masterminds behind an attack in January in the Indonesian capital of Jakarta, in which eight people were killed including the four attackers. "There's a link to Bahrun Naim because there was communication with Bahrun Naim - but whether they were affiliated with Bahrun Naim's group or not - this is what we're investigating now," Rianto said. The Batam Pos newspaper quoted police as saying the six suspects were mostly factory workers aged between 19 and 46. Batam is linked to Singapore by frequent ferries and its beach resorts and golf courses are a popular weekend getaway destination. Singapore, which is celebrating its National Day holiday next week, said it is not surprised by the arrests. "We were aware of the plans being made to attack us with rockets," Home Affairs Minister K. Shanmugam said in a statement. He did not elaborate on what type of rockets the plotters planned to use or what evidence for the plan had been uncovered. "The attacks can come from terrorists who seek to come into Singapore; and they can come from terrorists who locate themselves just outside Singapore. Our small size increases these risks," he said. Multi-ethnic Singapore has never seen a successful attack by Islamist militants, though authorities did break up a plot to bomb several embassies soon after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on the United States, while jailed Singaporean militant Mas Selamat Kastari was accused of plotting to crash a hijacked plane into the city-state's Changi Airport in 2002. ATTACKS AT HOME Indonesian authorities did not confirm details of the latest alleged plot. National police spokesman Martinus Sitompul said police and an anti-terrorist unit were in the early stages of their investigation. Authorities in Indonesia and neighboring Malaysia say dozens of men have gone from those countries to join IS in the Middle East, while Singapore has detained several people suspected of supporting the group. Security officials fear that Naim and other Islamic State leaders were now asking supporters in Indonesia and other countries to launch attacks at home, instead of being drawn to the fight in the Middle East. Southeast Asian militants fighting for Islamic State in the Middle East have said they have chosen one of the most wanted men in the Philippines to head a regional faction of the radical group, security officials said last month. Jakarta-based security analyst Sidney Jones said it would be a departure for Naim and his supporters if they were thinking of attacking targets outside Indonesia. "One thing I think is clear is Bahrun Naim has been able to establish a lot of communication with a lot of people through his social media network," Jones said. Singapore's Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said this week that the financial center was a target for IS as they saw it as "a rational, open, cosmopolitan country", even though it was not involved in the U.S.-led campaign against the group in the Middle East. "So do not think that by lying low, we are not going to be a target," Lee told reporters while on a visit to the United States, the Straits Times newspaper reported. (Reporting by Fergus Jensen; Additional reporting by Fathin Ungku and Anshuman Daga in Singapore; Writing by Randy Fabi; Editing by Robert Birsel and Alex Richardson)
Monaco (AFP) - Monaco striker Radamel Falcao will miss "several weeks" with a left hamstring injury, his club confirmed on Friday, ruling him out of the start of the French season and the Champions League play-offs.

Falcao pulled up injured late in the first half of Monaco's 3-1 home win against Fenerbahce on Wednesday that saw them win the Champions League third qualifying round tie 4-3 on aggregate.

He had set up one goal and then scored a penalty at the Stade Louis II, having previously netted in the 2-1 defeat in the first leg in Turkey.

His absence means he is set to miss the crucial clash with Spain's Villarreal in which a group stage berth is at stake.

The first leg is scheduled to be played at El Madrigal on August 17 with the return in the principality six days later.

The Colombian, back at the club after two seasons on loan in England with Manchester United and then Chelsea, could also miss Monaco's opening two Ligue 1 games at home to Guingamp next Friday and away to Monaco.
Whether it's from her easy-to-follow, engaging beauty tutorials on YouTube, her work with Chanel, Boots No 7 and Lancome, her debut book Face Paint: The Story of Makeup, or from the countless celebrity faces she's worked on, you've probably heard of Lisa Eldridge. If you haven't, it's time to get acquainted.

Regularly making up the faces of Emma Watson, Kate Winslet, Keira Knightley, Lily Collins, Kate Moss and Rosie Huntington-Whiteley, Eldridge is the queen of enhancing natural beauty and creating flawless skin. She's also called upon by the biggest brands and publications in fashion to create bold, innovative beauty looks for editorials and campaigns.

We asked the beauty icon (who just so happens to be one of the warmest people in the biz too) to share her tips, tricks and must-have products. Welcome to makeup heaven.

If you had just five minutes to get ready, what would you do/use?

I actually made a tutorial about this for my channel, My 5 Minute Makeup Look (no editing!). Its the makeup I do most days before work. I focus my foundation on the areas where I feel like I need coverage (usually around my nose and the centre of my face) and team with some pinpoint concealing to cover any marks and blemishes. Then I add a sweep of blusher  its a super-quick way to make your face look fresher and more alive (use one with a touch of shimmer to get a highlighter effect.) And I always make time to curl my lashes and apply a couple of coats of mascara  it takes two minutes but it makes the biggest difference to your face.

Favourite foundation and why?

I chop and change depending on how my skin is feeling. Clarins Ever Matte is perfect for oily skin days and I like Lancome Miracle Cushion Foundation for a lighter, dewy finish. Bourjois Healthy Mix is a great high street base that looks good on camera and in real life, and I like the classic Vita Lumiere Aqua foundation by Chanel too.

What's your hair routine and favourite hair products?

Im fairly low-maintenance but cant live without my Tangle Teezer brush  its indispensable for long hair like mine that gets tangled easily. I also love hair masks, especially Kerastase and pre-shampoo ones like Michael Van Clarke 3 More Inches and Philip Kingsley Elasticizer. If Im at home, I sometimes leave a mask in my hair for most of the day! Apart from that if Im filming Ill tong it and add a bit of texturising spray.

Story continues

Whats the product you reach for to take you from day to night?

A bright lipstick as a power pout can change your whole face as well as your mood! There are so many gorgeous, vibrant lip colours around at the moment. I used an amazing vivid coral shade (Sephora Cream Lip Colour in Watermelon Slice) in my latest film, Wear a Power Pout and Smile. Or, lashes and liner, which is one of my favourite looks  I use Lancome Grandiose liner.

Do you contour and if so what do you use?

Not every day, but for a night out or party I might. I also contour my clients, especially again before an event or red carpet appearance. The best contour products are the ones without heavy shimmer  youre trying to mimic the way your skin looks in natural shadow, which isnt shimmery or glittery! Powder-wise I like Kevyn Aucoins Sculpting Powder and Lancome Belle de Teint Healthy Skin Powder, and Tom Ford Shade & Illuminate is a great cream contour. Brushes and tools are also really important when contouring; you want to use something small and directional, big fluffy powder brushes dont work.

Can you remember the first beauty product you bought in your teens?

Concealer. As someone who suffered with acne, once I learnt how to successfully cover my blemishes without looking like I was wearing a mask, my confidence grew and grew. I love makeup for that reason.

Whats the one product that you have re-purchased the most over the years?

MAC Face and Body Foundation  its been in my kit for about 20 years and I go through mountains of it. I use it when I want a really light foundation (if youre not normally a foundation person or dont like lots of coverage, this is the base for you) and its my fail-safe for arms and legs to match everything up. It has a very strong film former so, once its dry, it doesnt budge and wont come off on clothes. The shade offering is also excellent.

Whats the most expensive, luxury beauty product you own?

My vast collection of Suqqu Cheek Brushes, the only blusher brush I use so I have quite a few in my kit (often on jobs Im working with lots of different models at the same time.) Theyre expensive, but so soft, like a kittens paw! And the perfect shape, nicely tapered and not too big. I use it for buildable blush, highlight, powder and bronzer application.

Whats your most trusty highstreet makeup product?

False lashes from Japanese drugstores. I usually buy enough to fill an entire suitcase each time I visit. As there is a huge demand for high quality false lashes in Japan, theres a lot more choice than you find in Europe or the US. Each drugstore has hundreds of sets piled high, everything from natural and subtle to full-on, crazy styles, with lots of variation in weight, length and featheriness.

Can you remember your worst beauty faux pas?

There are some dodgy photos somewhere from my teens haha I used to favour using about 10 neon colours on my eyes. Im all for experimenting with makeup (especially in your teens.) The point of makeup is to have fun and enjoy it, so the odd faux pas here and there doesnt matter.

Favourite mascara and why?

Lancome Hypnose Doll Eyes is great for everyday. I like my lashes to look really volumised but, at the same time, individual and not overloaded with product.

Who are your beauty icons?

I have so many! I wrote about a lot them in my book, Face Paint, I call them my Makeup Muses. Im fascinated by Theda Bara, the first on-screen vamp, and Greta Garbo who had such a strong, modern style and was very ahead of her time in terms of attitude and look. Then there are more recent icons like Amy Winehouse who was rarely, if ever, seen without her thick slashes of flicked eyeliner. As a teenager and a young woman I was so inspired by Isabella Rossellini's beauty, her personality and everything she stood for, so it was a real pinch myself moment when I did her makeup for the first time last year.

Photos: Everett/REX/Shutterstock, PHILIP HOLLIS/REX/Shutterstock.

Favourite lip product?

Like foundation, it changes, but Im lucky that I got to design a huge range of lipsticks last year for the Lancome Absolu Rouge relaunch this September. Alongside tweaking and modernising the current bestselling colours I got to create 55 brand new shades and textures. As part of the range I decided to take advantage and include a red just for me (why not!), Idole  its the ultimate feel-good pinky/coral-red that suits many skintones and always makes me feel happy when I wear it.

Which is the one, transformative beauty product that makes you feel your best?

Concealer. Its my secret weapon for even, flawless skin, and its not just for spots or dark circles (though it will of course brilliantly cover that too); if you have pigmentation, redness or unevenness that you want to conceal, without masking your face in foundation, concealer is all you need.

What's your favourite beauty trend/look for summer 2016?

I dont really believe in trends, I think the same ones come around again and again. For me the best trend is to think for yourself, thats the one Im backing this summer! Rather than telling everyone you must contour or you must try purple eyeliner, the most important thing is to develop your own aesthetic, references and influences, and follow your own mood.

Follow Lisa Eldridge on Instagram @lisaeldridgemakeup

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Pasquale Rotella is having a good Friday. Yesterday (Aug. 5), the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office dismissed all felony charges of bribery, embezzlement, and conspiracy against him, ending an arduous chapter in the Insomniac CEO's life and career.

"I always knew the charges were politically motivated and publicity driven," Rotella says in an email statement. "While it's taken too long to finally put this behind me, I can now focus my energy where it belongs: my family and my company. Thank you to everyone who has supported me through this."

Listen to 20 Standout Sets From EDC Las Vegas 2016: Eric Prydz, Kaskade, Jauz & More

Rotella was accused of giving about $2 million in kickbacks to the event manager of the LA Coliseum before moving Electric Daisy Carnival to its current home in Las Vegas. Rotella did plead no contest Thursday afternoon to a single count of misdemeanor conflict of interest. According to the Los Angeles Times, he will pay $150,000 to the LA County and serve three years of probation.

"I am so pleased that all of the charges in the grand jury indictment against Mr. Rotella have now been dismissed," says his lawyer Gary Jay Kaufman in an email statement. "We have maintained from day one that Mr. Rotella is innocent, and today's dismissal finally confirms this. I am elated for Mr. Rotella and his family."


Dain Said's "Interchange" gets Malaysian release date.





5 Aug  Movie fans who have been wondering if "Interchange" will ever be released in cinemas here can now rest easy, knowing that the mystery thriller will indeed be shown locally.



The much anticipated movie by local filmmaker Dain Said is confirmed to be released in Malaysia on 1 December 2016 and is distributed by GSC Movies.



"I have seen the movie, and like Dain's "Bunohan", I must say that it is a very good film!" said the General Manager of GSC Movies, Mr. Tung Yow Kong



It is also expected to be released in neighbouring countries, Singapore and Indonesia, though no release dates have been confirmed for these locations.



The movie first makes its world premiere this 5 August at Locarno International Film Festival's Piazza Grande section, known as the main core of the festival.



Cinema Online is currently at Locarno with the director, producer and stars of the film, to attend the premiere of "Interchange".



"Interchange" makes its world premiere at Locarno Film Fest

(Photo source: Interchange's Facebook).





It is the third movie to represent Malaysia at the prestigious festival, after the debut of filmmaker Ho Yuhang's "At The End of Daybreak" in 2009 and also the world premiere of Liew Seng Tat's "Lelaki Harapan Dunia" in 2014.



"Interchange" is also planned for release in international markets, with Paris-based company, Reel Suspects, being in charge of the distribution, though XYZ Films will be representing the movie's sale in North America instead.



The follow-up to Dan Said's "Bunohan", which made its world premiere at Toronto International Film Festival 2011 and released in Malaysia in 2012, is a co-production between Malaysia's independent film production company, Apparat, and Indonesia's Cinesurya along with Sonneratia Capital, Seeing Eye Films and MDec (Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation).



The movie stars Malaysian actors Iedil Putra as Adam and Shaheizy Sam as Detective Man, alongside Indonesian stars Prisia Nasution as Iva and Nicholas Saputra as Belian.
By Tom Miles GENEVA (Reuters) - Islamic State fighters may have captured up to 3,000 fleeing Iraqi villagers on Thursday and subsequently executed 12 of them, the U.N. refugee agency UNHCR said in a daily report on events in Iraq. The report followed a statement on Thursday from the Iraqi Observatory for Human rights, which said about 1,900 civilians had been captured by an estimated 100-120 Islamic State fighters, who were using people as shields against attacks by Iraqi Security Forces. Tens of civilians had been executed, and six burnt. "UNHCR has received reports that ISIL captured on 4 August up to 3,000 IDPs (internally displaced people) from villages in Hawiga District in Kirkuk Governorate trying to flee to Kirkuk city. Reportedly, 12 of the IDPs have been killed in captivity," the UNHCR report said. The United States is leading a military coalition conducting air strikes against Islamic State in Iraq and Syria, where the group seized broad swathes of territory in 2014. The fighting had displaced 3.4 million people in Iraq by July 2016. Islamic State's grip on some towns has been broken, but it still controls its de facto capitals of Mosul in Iraq and Raqqa in Syria. Last month the U.N. appealed for $284 million to prepare aid for an assault on Mosul, as well as up to $1.8 billion to deal with the aftermath. It has so far received nothing in response, according to the U.N. Financial Tracking Service. UNHCR has begun building a site northeast of Mosul for 6,000 people and is preparing another northwest of the city for 15,000, a fraction of those expected to need shelter. Tens of thousands who fled from the city of Falluja have still not returned since its recapture from Islamic State in June. Three volunteers helping to clear Falluja of rubble and explosives died while clearing a house on Aug 1, UNHCR said. "Although local authorities have suggested that returns to Falluja could begin in September, the Ministry of Migration and Displacement has stated that it may take another three months before conditions are conducive for large scale returns," it said. But Iraqi authorities reported 300,000 displaced people had returned to Ramadi district, UNHCR said. Iraqi forces declared victory over the jihadist group in Ramadi, the capital of Anbar province, in December, but later called a halt to returns after dozens of civilians were killed by mines. (Reporting by Tom Miles; Editing by Ralph Boulton)
Paul Ryan

Paul Ryan on Friday ripped the "alt-right" platform, on which he accused his primary opponent of running, after his challenger questioned why the US has "Muslims in the country."

The House speaker told Wisconsin radio host Charlie Sykes that the comments about Muslims made by his opponent, Wisconsin businessman Paul Nehlen, were "dark, grim," and "indefensible."

Ryan later said the "alt-right," a group that has provided some of the most fervent support of Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump, "isn't even conservatism."

"Look, I hate to even give such comments currency by even talking about them," Ryan said. "This is not the US Constitution. This is not the US Bill of Rights. Let's just be really clear about this."

"I think they call it alt-conservatism," he added, before Sykes jumped in and referred to it as the "alt-right."

"This is not Wisconsin conservatism ... That kind of dark, grim, indefensible comments are going to be clearly rejected and repudiated on Tuesday. I have a hard time seeing the thinking behind this. Unfortunately, we see some of it these days."

Sykes asked Ryan what he'd say if Trump were to support Nehlen's comments, which Nehlen said on a Chicago radio station on Thursday.

"I'm not going to go into the hypothetical," Ryan said, repeating that his endorsement of Trump is not a "blank check."

He acknowledged, though, that there could be a point at which he withdraws his endorsement of Trump. But he declined to say what might make him rescind his support.

"If I hear things that I think distort conservatism, that disfigure our values ... I'm going to defend ourselves so people in this country don't get a misperception about who we are and what we believe in," he said. "I've had to do that from time to time, certainly more than I've wanted to."

He mentioned his defense of the parents of a slain Muslim US soldier, with whom Trump started a feud after the soldier's father denounced him at the Democratic National Convention.

Story continues

The Wisconsin Republican added that he has "no plans" to speak with Trump this week and that he has "not spoken to him since the convention" last month.

NOW WATCH: Here's what we know about Trump's youngest daughter, Tiffany





More From Business Insider


Jerusalem (AFP) - Israel's defence ministry on Friday likened the Iran nuclear deal to the 1938 Munich agreement with Nazi Germany and slammed US President Barack Obama for defending the accord with Tehran.

The rebuke came after Obama on Thursday defended the nuclear deal which was sealed in July 2015 between Tehran and six world powers led by Washington.

Obama told reporters that the year-old nuclear deal "has worked exactly the way we said it was going to work".

"You'll recall that there were all these horror stories about how Iran was going to cheat and this wasn't going to work and that Iran was going to.... finance terrorism and all these kinds of scenarios, and none of them have come to pass," said Obama.

"It's not just the assessment of our intelligence community, it's the assessment of the Israeli military and the intelligence community, the country that was most opposed to this deal that acknowledges this has been a game changer and that Iran has abided by the deal and that they no longer have the sort of short-term breakout capacity that would allow them to develop nuclear weapons," he added.

Israel's defence ministry, lead by hardliner Avigdor Lieberman, on Friday compared the deal with Iran to the Munich agreement, which allowed Nazi Germany to annex parts of then Czechoslovakia.

"The Munich agreement did not prevent World War II and the Shoah (Holocaust) because it rested on the hypothesis that Nazi Germany could be a partner to an agreement," it said in a statement.

The defence ministry said the Iran deal was "harmful" and would also fail to stop Iran from developing nuclear weapons.

Tehran "clearly and proudly proclaims that its goal is the destruction of the State of Israel," the ministry said.

It said the Jewish state's defence establishment and the entire Israeli people "understand that such agreements are not useful and undermine the fight without concession against terrorist states like Iran".

Story continues

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu released a separate statement, repeating the country's rejection of the Iran deal but stopping short of lambasting Obama.

"While Israel's view on the Iran deal remains unchanged... it firmly believes that Israel has no greater ally than the United States," said the statement released by the premier's office.

"Prime Minister Netanyahu looks forward to further strengthening the alliance between Israel and the United States with President Obama and with the next US administration," it added.

The deal with Iran, which came into force in January, saw Tehran accept curbs to its nuclear programme in exchange for a lifting of sanctions by world powers.
(Adds comments from aircraft operator)

MILAN, Aug 5 (Reuters) - A northern Italian airport reopened on Friday hours after being temporarily shut down when a cargo plane exited the runway after landing and slid onto a local road, Italy's civil aviation authority ENAC said.

The two-person crew of the aircraft was unharmed and there were no injuries on the ground, ENAC said in a statement.

The Boeing 737-400 aircraft, operated by a Hungarian carrier on behalf of freight delivery firm DHL, slid through the airport's fences after landing at Bergamo's Orio al Serio airport north-east of Milan amid reports of heavy rain.

The plane had just completed a night flight from France's Charles de Gaulle airport.

A spokesman for Dublin-based ASL Aviation Group, the parent company for the aircraft's operator, ASL Airlines Hungary, said the cause of the incident was being investigated.

"We cannot speculate on the cause and are concentrating on getting the plane off the road," he said.

Pictures posted on Twitter showed the aircraft's belly resting on a two-lane road with the nose poking onto another street and resting on a guard rail.

The incident happened at just after 0400 local time (0200 GMT) Friday morning, and the airport was reopened by 0700.

Although the airport is open, ENAC said travellers flying through should contact the airlines to make sure their flights are operating.

(Reporting by Stephen Jewkes and Tim Hepher; Editing by Steve Scherer and Tom Heneghan)
Classless society

Open universities allow students to receive education at home through distance learning
5 Aug - Nadine Lustre is excited for her and boyfriend James Reid's upcoming series, "Till I Met You", as reported on ABS-CBN.



The actress revealed that the new drama will be airing at the end of this month, and that she has already filmed several scenes alongside co-stars JC Santos and Carmina Villaroel.



As for Reid, Lustre stated that the actor has yet to shoot any scenes, and that their first scene together will be shot in Greece next week.



"We will be out of the country for work, but it will be a bit of a break as well," said Lustre, who will celebrate their six months anniversary while in Greece with Reid.



When asked if they're pressured to do well after the success of "On the Wings Of Love", Lustre admitted that there is pressure, especially since the previous drama was received well by the viewers.



Nonetheless, she believes that the strong LGBT theme will hook viewers to tune in as well.



"It's very interesting, definitely more mature, and a lot of fun," she said.



Meanwhile, when asked about JaDine's love team being featured in an article on Teen Vogue website, Lustre stated that they were approached by someone from Teen Vogue about a quick interview while they were on tour in the US previously.



"I was shocked. Teen Vogue, is not that [a popular magazine in the US]? We were shocked. There's nothing else we could say about that," she said.



(Photo source: twitter.com/ojdincrime15)
TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan protested to China on Friday after Chinese coastguard ships and fishing vessels entered what Tokyo considers its territorial waters around a group of disputed islets, the Japanese foreign ministry said. Beijing claims the uninhabited, Tokyo-controlled East China Sea islands, called the Senkaku in Japan and Diaoyu in China, and occasionally sends its coastguard vessels near them. But this is the first time Chinese coastguard ships and fishing vessels have sailed together in the area, in what appeared to be increased assertion of jurisdiction over the islets, a foreign ministry official said. Japanese Vice Foreign Minister Shinsuke Sugiyama summoned China's ambassador to Japan, Cheng Yonghua, to lodge a strong protest, the ministry said. China on Friday also accused Japan's new defense minister, Tomomi Inada, of recklessly misrepresenting history after she declined to say whether Japanese troops massacred civilians in China during World War Two. Ties between China and Japan, the world's second- and third-largest economies, have been plagued by the territorial row, the legacy of Japans' wartime occupation of parts of China and regional rivalry. (Reporting by Kiyoshi Takenaka; Editing by Richard Balmforth)
Tokyo (AFP) - Japanese Emperor Akihito will address the nation next week, the imperial palace said Friday, following reports that the octogenarian wants to abdicate the throne of one of the world's oldest monarchies.

An Imperial Household Agency spokesman said Akihito's address, via video, would be broadcast at 3:00 pm (0600 GMT) on Monday.

The 82-year-old, who has been suffering from health problems for years, was not expected to announce explicit plans to step down, as he is constitutionally barred from making political statements.

"The emperor will express his feelings regarding his duties as a symbol" of the nation, the spokesman told AFP.

But Japanese media, including public broadcaster NHK, have widely reported that Akihito would likely hint at his desire to abdicate the Chrysanthemum Throne.

Major media said last month that Akihito expressed to close advisors that he wanted to pass the throne to his eldest son, Crown Prince Naruhito, in the next few years.

The reports came as a surprise to many in Japan where the last abdication happened in 1817, nearly 200 years ago.

Akihito, who has suffered from prostate cancer and heart problems in recent years, spoke of his growing limitations last year.

He acknowledged making unspecified "mistakes" in his duties, which range from native Shinto religious ceremonies to visiting residents in regions hit by Japan's frequent natural disasters.

Akihito's second son, Prince Akishino, a few years ago suggested that emperors should be allowed to retire.

The spokesman for the agency, the tradition-steeped government body that manages royal affairs, said no decision had yet been made on how the video would be released.

- 'Most suitable way' -

But Kyodo News reported that the video would be uploaded on the Imperial Household Agency's website and also broadcast on television.

The possible abdication is a complicated and sensitive issue in Japan, where current law put in place after World War II made the emperor the "symbol of the state" with no provisions for one to step down.

Story continues

But the highly choreographed event on Monday could well set a process in motion for legal changes that would enable abdication.

According to NHK, the emperor is expected to speak for about 10 minutes.

An unnamed palace official told the broadcaster that officials discussed the possibility of Akihito expressing his feelings in December last year.

But they ultimately decided to continue discussions and secretly started a study session on the issue from the beginning of this year.

"We believe that having the emperor's feelings heard carefully is most important," NHK quoted a palace official as saying.

"We chose the most suitable way to deliver the emperor's words to the public in a secure, precise and comprehensive way," the official said.

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's government is planning to release a statement on the same day in response to the emperor's remarks, NHK reported earlier Friday.

The mass-circulation Yomiuri newspaper said last week that the government plans to set up a panel of experts to discuss revising the law governing the imperial family system as early as this autumn.

The throne is held in deep respect by much of the public, despite being largely stripped of its mystique and quasi-divine status in the aftermath of World War II.

Akihito's father, Hirohito, in whose name Japan's military campaigns of the 20th century were carried out, was treated as a living god until defeat in 1945. He died from cancer in 1989.
Https%3a%2f%2fblueprint-api-production.s3.amazonaws.com%2fuploads%2fcard%2fimage%2f168030%2fjared_leto_photoshop_battle_header

LONDON  If you wear a very eye-catching green coat while attending the premiere for a major Hollywood movie, you'd better be prepared for the Photoshop-based consequences.

On Wednesday, Jared Leto joined his fellow Suicide Squad cast members on the red carpet for the European premiere in London.

SEE ALSO: Obama and Clinton's tender hug sparks Photoshop battle

He wore the following, very green coat.

Jared Leto at the 'Suicide Squad' European Premiere.

Image: Dave J Hogan/Getty Images

Shortly after, the photo made it onto Reddit.

It wasn't long before a Photoshop battle was in full swing.

Jared Leto as Elf.

Image: imgur/invertedwhy

Jared Leto as an awkward green screen moment.

Image: imgur/2000sfrankiemuniz

Jared Leto as Professor Membrane.

Image: imgur/invertedwhy

Jared Leto ready to go out and conquer Hyrule.

Image: imgur/invertedwhy

Soon, there were film references.

'Requiem for a Dream', plus one green coat.

Image: reddit/intelligentfolly

Jared Leto waits in line to fight himself.

Image: imgur/kevinstu20

And then things started to get strange.

Jared Leto as Kermit.

Image: imgur/aidanhatton99

Jared Leto face swap.

Image: imgur/djdadzone

Finally, there was Jared Leto holding some carrots.

This one's certainly creative.

Image: imgur/wetcoastlife

Splendid work all round, Photoshoppers.
Derick Dillard is sporting a new do!



Jill (Duggar) Dillard shared an Instagram snap of her husband's golden brown locks pulled back into a man bun on Thursday evening.



Fans of the couple were quick to notice and comment on the 27-year-old reality star's new look.



"Travel days can be long but we look forward to being home with family & friends soon!" 25-year-old Jill captioned the photo of her son, Israel, and Derick sitting on the floor playing with cups.









Travel days can be long but we look forward to being home with family & friends soon! #papiandisrael #playingwithcups #dfwairport #lovethekidsarea A photo posted by Jill Dillard (@jillmdillard) on Aug 4, 2016 at 5:39pm PDT











Derick donned a shorter hairdo when he asked Jill to enter into courtship with him in May 2014, but now he appears to be growing out his hair while serving in Central America as a missionary.



The couple will star in season 2 of Counting On, which is set to premiere Aug. 23 at 8 p.m. ET on TLC.




Johnny Depp has been rocked hard by his divorce and ongoing legal battles with his estranged wife Amber Heard.



Though the actor, 53, has remained silent about his split from Heard, a source close to Depp tells PEOPLE he's felt the strain of the split.



"He feels stressed about all the Amber drama," says the insider. "He never anticipated getting a divorce. He just wants it all the be over and move on."



"It's a very sad situation for him," the source adds.







Heard was granted a temporary restraining order against Depp on May 27, just one week after she filed for divorce. In the court filing, the actress claimed the actor was abusive to her throughout the "entirety" of their relationship.



In a response to Heard's claim, Depp's divorce attorney, Laura Wasser, said in court documents that "Amber is attempting to secure a premature financial resolution by alleging abuse."





Johnny Depp 'Stressed' About Amber Heard Divorce: 'He Just Wants It All to Be Over' Says Source| Breakups, Couples, Movie News, People Picks, Amber Heard, Johnny Depp





Amidst the allegations, Depp remained on tour with his band The Hollywood Vampires performing at numerous venues around Europe and the U.S.



"The tour couldn't have happened at a better time," the insider says. "He had no choice but to stay focused on his performances."



During a break on the tour, Depp spent time relaxing on his private island in the Bahamas. But since the tour wrapped on July 25, the Alice Through the Looking Glass actor has been living in Los Angeles, a source tells PEOPLE. Depp has been spending time with daughter Lily-Rose, 17, and son Jack, 14. Most recently, they held a memorial for Depp's mother, Betty Sue Palmer, at Ago Restaurant in West Hollywood.



" Spending time with his kids is his focus," says the source.





VIDEO: A Look Inside Johnny Depp and Amber Heard's Tumultuous 15-Month Marriage





Heard was spotted in Miami last weekend spending time with tech guru Elon Musk. Despite rumors of a possible relationship, a source maintains they're not dating.



After months of rescheduling and postponements, Depp's legal team is set to depose Heard on Saturday in her ongoing restraining order case.



The temporary restraining order against Depp was reissued in June, and a court hearing for a permanent order has been scheduled for Aug. 15 and 16.
New York (AFP) - US bank JPMorgan Chase denied Friday that it ever intended to buy troubled Italian rival BMPS, as people close to the alleged deal had reported.

"This is not accurate and was never under consideration," a JPMorgan spokesperson told AFP.

Sources who asked to remain anonymous had indicated Wednesday that Jamie Dimon, chief executive of the largest US bank by assets, and Daniel Pinto, the London-based head of JPMorgan's investment and finance department, were behind the plan to bail out the Banca Monte Paschi di Siena unveiled last week.

Their first idea, the sources said, was the outright purchase of the heavily indebted BMPS, which the European Central Bank last week cited as the financial institution most susceptible to bankruptcy according to EU bank stress tests.

JP Morgan had hesitated to pursue a bid, fearing US authorities would take an unfavorable view of a US bank rescuing a European firm.

The bank also feared a backlash to the acquisition in Italy and in Europe where big banks are not favorably viewed in the press, the other source explained.

The US bank ultimately decided the best solution would be an injection of funds, the cooperation of the Italian government and improved governance, the two sources said.

Dimon discussed the situation with Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi while he was in Italy in early July for the 100th anniversary of JPMorgan's presence in the country, the sources said. He also discussed it with the BMPS management team.
Close to 300k families sign housing aid deal

The National Reconstruction Authority (NRA) has signed agreements for the first installment of the housing aid to 295,724 households from 12 districts and 42,882 households have already received the grant so far.
Afghanistan scrambled Friday to free six crew members of a Pakistani helicopter taken hostage by the Taliban after it crash-landed in the country's volatile east.

Militants set the Mi-17 transport helicopter on fire and took the six crew to a Taliban-controlled area after it made an emergency landing in Logar province on Thursday, local authorities said.

The crew included retired Pakistani military officers and a Russian navigator, Pakistan's Dawn newspaper reported citing senior local officials.

"We have launched an investigation into the incident... and the government has instructed security forces to spare no efforts to secure the release of the crew members," the Afghan defense ministry said in a statement.

The ministry said Pakistan had sought permission to fly a helicopter, being sent to Russia for overhauling, over Afghan air space.

But it added it was investigating whether the crashed chopper was the one for which permission had been granted.

Kabul has long been suspicious of Pakistan, which it accuses of nurturing Taliban sanctuaries on its soil in the effort to maintain influence in Afghanistan.

Pakistani army chief General Raheel Sharif tweeted that he had telephoned Afghan President Ashraf Ghani to secure the release of the crew.

"President Ashraf Ghani assured all possible assistance in this regard," he tweeted.

Russia's foreign ministry said it was checking media reports that one of their citizens had been taken hostage, adding it was in contact with Afghan and Pakistani authorities to secure his release.

The Taliban have so far not commented on the incident.

Pakistan's military uses Russian-made MI-17 helicopters, several of which have crashed in recent years.

In February, an army officer was killed when a military helicopter crashed in northern Pakistan on a routine night training mission.

In May 2015 the ambassadors of Norway and the Philippines, the wives of the Malaysian and Indonesian ambassadors, two pilots and a crew member were killed when the Pakistani Mi-17 carrying them crashed in northern Naltar valley.
Nairobi (AFP) - Forty Chinese and Taiwanese nationals held in custody since December 2014 were acquitted of running a cybercrime cell from an upmarket Nairobi suburb on Friday and will be deported.

The 35 Chinese and five Taiwanese were accused of running a hacking operation and mysterious "command centre" from upmarket houses in the Kenyan capital, and were denied bail for 18 months on the grounds they were a flight risk.

But magistrate Joyce Gondani ruled the prosecution had failed to prove the group was involved in running an unlicenced telecommunication system and was engaged in organised crime, charges they had denied.

Police raided the properties after investigating a house fire apparently caused by a computer that left one Chinese national dead. Police found people living in "military-style dormitories."

Several mobile phones, laptops, routers were found in the house.

According to local police at the time, the group was "preparing to raid the country's communication systems" and had equipment capable of infiltrating bank accounts, Kenya's M-Pesa mobile banking system and ATM machines.

In April Kenya deported dozens of Taiwanese accused of fraud to China, where they were put on trial, causing a diplomatic spat between Beijing and Taipei.

Like most countries in the world, Kenya does not recognise Taiwan's claim to be a sovereign state separate from the People's Republic of China.
The Weinstein Company has optioned rights to Richard North Pattersons bestselling series of Kerry Kilcannon novels, which Weinstein TV will develop as a potential political drama series. Pattersons books follows U.S. President Kilcannon from his campaign for presidency through some of the most difficult moments of the job. The character was introduced by in his 1998 novel No Safe Place.

The deal includes two Patterson crossover novels, The Final Judgment and Conviction. TWC co-chairman Harvey Weinstein said he was turned on to the series by President Bill Clinton, who recommended Protect And Defend to Harvey years ago as one of his favorite books.

The move comes amid more executive shuffles at the Weinstein outfit. Today, Dan Guando, President of U.S. Production and Acquisitions, exited, as did longtime president of publicity Dani Weinstein.

As a result of Guandos exit, current SVPs Brendon Boyea and Jennifer Malloy have been named acting co-heads of TWCs U.S. Production and Acquisitions under Negeen Yazdi, Head of International Production and Acquisitions. Meanwhile, current Weinstein Televisions head of unscripted programming Patrick Reardon will take on a new role, handling all TV marketing.

Nicole Quenqua and Marguerite Michael were named co-heads of TWC Publicity in the wake of Dani Weinsteins exit, while TWC-Dimension upped Pantea Ghaderi to EVP Publicity.

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Kevin Hart and his rib, Eniko Parrish, on the red carpet. (Photo: Jeffrey Mayer/WireImage)

Kevin Hart is all heart this weekend as he prepares to marry Eniko Parrish, the model he locked down nearly two years ago.

The comedic actor, 37, told The Insider With Yahoo the wedding will take place Monday, Aug. 8 (because apparently they dont care about their 9-to-5 friends). The bride-to-be has been showered. She let loose at the best bachelorette party EVER. Meanwhile, the Central Intelligence star is probably still recovering from his  and he better hurry because his wedding is going to be full-on #ComedicRockStarS***, as is every aspect of his life. (Thats his favorite hashtag, yo.)

Seeing as Ms. Parrish, 31, is becoming Mrs. Hart, we wanted to know what shes all about

1. Yes, shes taller than he is. There are conflicting reports about their heights, but it seems that she is 5-foot-7 to his 5-foot-4. It hasnt stopped her from wearing heels.

.. Just the two of us. homies, lovers, friends! ???????? A photo posted by e n i  o???? (e-nee-o) (@enikobaby) on Jul 30, 2016 at 6:57pm PDT

2. They got engaged on her 30th birthday. In 2014, they had been dating for five years when he hijacked the mic at her dirty 30 and popped the question.

3. Shes cool with being a stepmom  if this family Nerf War is any indication. He has two children, Heaven and Hendrix, from his first marriage.

When kev gets in director mode and his creative juices start flowing.. there's no telling what he might come up with! #nerfwars #creativityatitsbest #thekidsgaveusournicknamestho ???? Live. Laugh. Love ???? A video posted by e n i  o???? (e-nee-o) (@enikobaby) on Jul 22, 2016 at 6:19am PDT

4. Shes even cool with his ex, Atlanta Exes reality star Torrei Hart.

What matters most! ???? Hope your day was filled with JOY!.. Happy birthday Hendrix. We love you!  #lovewins #positivityiskey ???????? #PrinceHendrix A photo posted by e n i  o???? (e-nee-o) (@enikobaby) on Nov 9, 2015 at 9:12am PST

5. Eniko is her name. Dont wear it out. People must regularly butcher the Maryland natives name because she posts the pronunciation of it on her Instagram page: (e-nee-o). Speaking of, she has an impressive following on the photo sharing site with 1.3 million followers  though her man is a social media giant with 40 million followers of his own. As for her handle on Insta, Twitter, and Snapchat? @enikobaby.

Story continues

6. But he calls her my rib.

#DopePic #MyRib Photocred @kevinhart4real ???????????????????? A photo posted by Kevin Hart (@kevinhart4real) on Jul 11, 2016 at 10:35pm PDT

7. She doesnt mind living the #ComedicRockStarS*** life. Not that she should.

Family vaca starts now! ???????????????????????? #summersummersummertime  A photo posted by e n i  o???? (e-nee-o) (@enikobaby) on Jul 17, 2016 at 12:10pm PDT

From Abu Dhabi via helicopter to Dubai with love!  #blessed #LiveLoveAndLaugh A photo posted by e n i  o???? (e-nee-o) (@enikobaby) on Nov 30, 2015 at 3:56am PST

#DopePic #Harts A photo posted by Kevin Hart (@kevinhart4real) on Jul 11, 2016 at 7:51am PDT

8. She loves a good bathing suit shot.

Life's a beach. Literally! ???? #CreatingMemoriesThatllLast4Ever???? #DontTellHart A photo posted by e n i  o???? (e-nee-o) (@enikobaby) on Jun 27, 2016 at 2:29pm PDT

..just another day in paradise.  A photo posted by e n i  o???? (e-nee-o) (@enikobaby) on Jul 12, 2016 at 3:35pm PDT

#HAPPINESS ???? A photo posted by e n i  o???? (e-nee-o) (@enikobaby) on Dec 3, 2015 at 8:56pm PST

9. Even more, she loves posing with Kevin.

I hope you're enjoying your b-day vaca, that you truly deserve Happy birthday my love. ???? #aboutlastnight #Harts A photo posted by e n i  o???? (e-nee-o) (@enikobaby) on Jul 13, 2016 at 8:21am PDT

A photo posted by e n i  o???? (e-nee-o) (@enikobaby) on Apr 3, 2016 at 4:46am PDT

???????? #NYE A photo posted by e n i  o???? (e-nee-o) (@enikobaby) on Jan 1, 2016 at 8:25am PST

#aboutlastnight on our way to the #gethardpremiere I'm so proud of you babe but u already know this! ???? xO. @kevinhart4real A photo posted by e n i  o???? (e-nee-o) (@enikobaby) on Mar 26, 2015 at 10:08am PDT

Dug this one up from the archives, one of our very first vacas together Awww memories! #TBT #BVI ???? A photo posted by e n i  o???? (e-nee-o) (@enikobaby) on Jul 24, 2014 at 7:15am PDT

10. And posing with Kevin while wearing a bathing suit? Even better.

???????? A photo posted by e n i  o???? (e-nee-o) (@enikobaby) on Jul 14, 2016 at 1:18pm PDT

Just biking it. ???????? A photo posted by e n i  o???? (e-nee-o) (@enikobaby) on Jul 12, 2016 at 1:01pm PDT

Fun in the sun. ???? #VIVAMEXICO ???????? A photo posted by e n i  o???? (e-nee-o) (@enikobaby) on Aug 12, 2015 at 10:07am PDT

B A E C A T I O N ???? #VIVAMEXICO???????? A photo posted by e n i  o???? (e-nee-o) (@enikobaby) on Aug 10, 2015 at 8:06pm PDT

Me x Him equals good times. #BodiesOnFleek ???????????????? @kevinhart4real ???????????? A photo posted by e n i  o???? (e-nee-o) (@enikobaby) on May 23, 2015 at 2:56pm PDT

11. She doesnt play around at the gym.

Happy hump day. ???? #theNATURALway Crushing on my own #wcw ???????? A photo posted by e n i  o???? (e-nee-o) (@enikobaby) on May 18, 2016 at 7:50am PDT

12. She loves Beyonce.

#FormationWorldTour Beyonce I love you girl!!!! lol. ???????????? A video posted by e n i  o???? (e-nee-o) (@enikobaby) on May 15, 2016 at 10:03am PDT

13. She loves her doggies, Riggs and Roxy.

Every single morning, she jumps up on the bed & lays her head right on top of my chest. I love it tho. Mommys baby. ???? #roxygirl #dobermanlove A photo posted by e n i  o???? (e-nee-o) (@enikobaby) on May 12, 2016 at 8:35am PDT

14. And a good inspirational quote.

Hello! ???????? For me it has ALWAYS been about energy, be mindful of ppl and their motives at all times. A photo posted by e n i  o???? (e-nee-o) (@enikobaby) on Apr 6, 2016 at 2:52pm PDT

15. But she really loves her man. And cant wait to officially become Mrs. Hart.

#EatYourHARTout #DontTellHart A photo posted by e n i  o???? (e-nee-o) (@enikobaby) on Jun 24, 2016 at 3:51pm PDT




An unusually delicate pair of artifacts recently emerged from a dig site in the United Kingdom: a tiny ball of thread and another length of thread wound around a bobbin. Both are estimated to be approximately 3,000 years old.

The fragile fiber objects appeared during the excavation of a Bronze Age village near what is now Petersborough, in eastern England. The location, known as Must Farm, is thought to have been abandoned suddenly after a fire decimated the settlement thousands of years ago. Many everyday objects were left behind, and are now being discovered and brought to light for the first time.

Archaeologists working on the project shared images of the thread ball and bobbin on the project's Facebook page. That generated a discussion thread (naturally) that drew dozens of questions and comments from curious readers, though in-depth analysis of the finds is yet to come. [Photos: Prehistoric Village Holds Bronze-Age Treasures]

The photo of the first fiber object, a miniscule thread ball that still appears to be neatly wound, was posted on July 21, and the archaeologists described its condition as "amazing." They explained that the thread was probably so well preserved because it was made of plant fiber, "likely flax or nettle," that carbonized in the fire and then became waterlogged  a process that helped protect it.

The greenish-brownish thread might have been a different color before it was burned, soaked and buried, but it's "very unlikely" that even the most careful cleaning and preparation would restore its original hue, the archaeologists said in a comment on Must Farm's Facebook page, as carbonization would have removed any trace of pigment.

Found close by the thread ball was a small bobbin with more thread wrapped around it, also in excellent condition, the archaeologists reported. "We did as much as possible to delicately remove sediment from the fibers before we lifted it," the archaeologists wrote on Facebook.

Story continues

A great variety of well-preserved artifacts have been discovered at Must Farm during this excavation: woven textiles, pots, a bronze sickle, an ax head and glass jewelry. It is not known what caused the fire that destroyed the village, though archaeologists have suggested that it might have been deliberately set by hostile neighbors.

These balls of thread and the other everyday items found at Must Farm present a remarkable snapshot of life thousands of years ago, disrupted by a single catastrophic event. For this reason, the site has been compared to a more famous doomed city and archaeological site: Pompeii.

"The Must Farm settlement has one of the most complete Bronze Age assemblages ever discovered in Britain, and it is giving us an unprecedented insight into the lives of the people who lived there 3,000 years ago," the archaeologists explained on the Must Farm website.

Once excavation at the site is complete, the much longer process of preparing, preserving and describing their discoveries begins, and that can take years to complete, the scientists said on Facebook.

Original article on Live Science.

Editor's Recommendations

Copyright 2016 LiveScience, a Purch company. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
From Seventeen

Today I need to thank Kylie Jenner, who has shown me the true meaning of luxury. It's not a fancy car. It's not a big mansion. It's an entire closet dedicated to holding 19 custom-made wigs, worth thousands of dollars each. Thank you, Kylie, for teaching me - and everyone! - this important lesson.

Kylie showed off her wig collection on Snapchat in a truly mind-blowing video.

From right to left, you can spot:

An asymmetrical black bob wig

Two medium-length black wigs

A long black wig

A long navy blue wig

A long emerald green wig

A long pale green wig

A long pale blue wig

A medium-length light gray wig

A long pale purple wig

A long pastel rainbow wig

A long pink and peach wig

A long pastel pink wig

A long orange wig

A long chestnut brown wavy wig

A medium-length honey blonde wig

A long honey blonde wig

A long medium gray wig

The reality star's wig guy, Tokyo Stylez, charges up to $5,000 for a long-length custom wig, so it's possible that her wig closet is stuffed with $95,000 of hair.

#Goals, girl, #goals.
Dixit objects to LRO move before court hearing

A decision taken by the Land Reform Office (LRO), Lalitpur, to attach 18 ropanis of land owned by Sajha Yatayat Chairman Kanak Mani Dixit, also a prominent journalist and rights activist, hours before a Supreme Court interim order not to take any action in Dixits case has stoked doubts whether
ZURICH (Reuters) - LafargeHolcim reported better-than-expected operating profit in its second quarter and reaffirmed its guidance, easing the pressure on management struggling to make a success of the mega-merger that created the building materials giant. The Switzerland-based company reported adjusted operating profit before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation of 1.71 billion Swiss francs (1.34 billion pounds) in the three months ended June 30. That was up 6 percent on a like-for-like basis and better than the 1.62 billion francs expected on average by analysts in a Reuters poll. It has forecast at least a high-single-digit percentage increase in adjusted EBITDA this year. After a 17 percent fall in the first quarter, analysts said the company would need to report at least flat growth in the second quarter if LafargeHolcim was to achieve the target. "Our focus on pricing and synergies is delivering visible earnings momentum, driving a 210 basis points year-on-year improvement in operating margins and a 6 percent increase in like for like adjusted operating EBITDA in Q2," Chief Executive Eric Olsen said in a statement on Friday. Underlying operating profit would have risen 13 percent if not for gas shortages in Nigeria that affected its plants, he added, saying the company was adapting plants to reduce dependency on gas in measures to take effect by year's end. The company has already exceeded its 2016 goal of making divestments worth 3.5 billion francs and said it had extended the programme to 5 billion francs by the end of next year. (Reporting by Michael Shields; Editing by Rupert Pretterklieber)
LinkedIn Corporation LNKD reported better-than-expected results for the second quarter of 2016. The professional networking company posted adjusted earnings (excluding accretion of redeemable non-controlling interest, amortization of intangible assets and non-cash interest expense but including stock-based compensation) on a proportionate tax basis of 6 cents. The Zacks Consensus Estimate was pegged at a loss of 6 cents, while in the year-ago quarter, the company had incurred a loss of 30 cents.

On a GAAP basis, however, LinkedIn incurred a loss of 89 cents per share, wider than the prior-year quarter loss of 53 cents.

Nevertheless, LinkedIns second-quarter revenues surged 31% year over year to $932.7 million and came ahead of both managements guidance range of $885 million to $890 million and the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $897 million. The year-over-year upside was backed by the companys ongoing investments in mobile, global expansion of content and jobs, and the acquisitions of lynda.com and Connectifier to a large extent.

Segment-wise, revenues at Talent Solutions surged 35% from the year-ago quarter to $597 million. Revenues at Marketing Solutions jumped 29% to $181 million driven primarily by higher sponsored updates. LinkedIn garnered $155 million in revenues from Premium Subscriptions, up 21%.

LinkedIns cumulative member count rose 18% to 450 million at the second quarter end. The company witnessed a 9% increase in unique visiting members and a 32% surge in member page views.

Geographically, LinkedIns revenues from the U.S. increased 27.8% on a year-over-year basis. International revenues, which comprise Other Americas (Canada, Latin America and South America), the Europe, Middle East & Africa (EMEA), and Asia-Pacific (APAC) regions, jumped 36.4% to $364.6 million. Meanwhile, revenues from Other Americas, EMEA and APAC increased 19.4%, 41.8% and 32.7%, respectively.

Total costs and expenses in the quarter rose 18.3% to $938.3 million. As a percentage of revenues, total costs and expenses were 100.6%, compared with 111.4% a year ago.

Story continues

On an adjusted basis (excluding amortization of intangible assets but including stock-based compensation), the company posted an operating income of $52.4 million in the quarter under review. In the year-ago quarter, it had incurred operating loss of 51.7 million.

Balance Sheet & Cash Flow

LinkedIn ended the quarter with cash, cash equivalents and marketable securities of $3.312 billion, compared with $3.160 billion in the preceding quarter. During the quarter, the company generated approximately $332.4 million in cash flow from operations, while that for the first half of 2016 was $584.6 million.

LINKEDIN CORP-A Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise

LINKEDIN CORP-A Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise | LINKEDIN CORP-A Quote

Our Take

LinkedIn, a leader in the emerging online professional networking segment, enjoys increasing popularity and steady growth worldwide. The company posted better-than-expected results in the second quarter and witnessed a strong year-over-year improvement on both fronts. Moreover, the company witnessed an impressive 19% increase in its cumulative member count. Additionally, we are encouraged by top-line growth of 3050% that was recorded over the past few quarters by this Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) company.

However, the company did not update its outlook for 2016 and did not held conference call in light of the pending Merger with Microsoft Corp. MSFT. Notably, the two companies entered into a merger agreement on Jun 11, under which Microsoft will acquire LinkedIn for a total cash consideration of approximately $26.2 billion.

LinkedIns traction in the mobile segment is particularly impressive, owing primarily to the launch of its applications for Apples AAPL iPhones and Android-based smartphones. Synergies from its acquisitions  Lynda.com, Newsle and Bizo  are also expected to garner additional earnings through targeted marketing strategies over the long term, apart from enhancing user experience.

We believe that LinkedIns initiatives to boost advertising revenues through product launches and partnership programs are noteworthy. Meanwhile, advertisers are also taking note of the companys growing user base, in our view.

LinkedIns investments in strategic products are essential as its peers like Facebook FB and Twitter have started looking for opportunities to expand in the professional networking space.

On the flip side, continued investments in new and improved products and services might dent LinkedIns profits in the short term, even though over the long run, these investments will drive member growth and user engagement.

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To read this article on Zacks.com click here.
The American woman who was killed in the knife attack on Wednesday in London has been identified as Darlene Horton, 64, a retired special education teacher from Florida.

Horton and five other people were attacked at Russell Square in London. The other victims, who were Australian, American, Israeli and British, suffered injuries but survived, according to Metropolitan Police Assistant Commissioner Mark Rowley.

The 19-year-old suspect was arrested and is now in police custody.

Horton began her career in education in the 1980s, The Guardian reports. She was the wife of Richard Wagner, a psychology professor at Florida State University. She and Wagner had planned to return to Tallahassee on Thursday.

There are no words to express our heartache over this terrible tragedy, FSU President John Thrasher said in a statement. We are shocked that such senseless violence has touched our own FSU family, and we will do all we can to assist Professor Wagner and his loved ones.
(Reuters) - A 19-year-old man was charged on Friday with the murder of a 64-year-old U.S. woman in a knife attack that wounded five others in Central London on Wednesday, London Metropolitan Police said. The man, Zakaria Bulham, was also charged with five counts of attempted murder in relation to the individuals injured in the attack, police said. Bulham, a Norwegian man of Somali origin, began attacking people on Wednesday evening in Russell Square, a park near the site of a 2005 suicide bombing. He was arrested on the same day. At the time, police said there was no evidence the attack was terrorism related. The police statement on Friday did not mention any suspected reason behind the rampage. Bulham will appear in custody at Westminster Magistrates' Court on Saturday, police said. Earlier in August, a man who attacked passengers at a London underground train station in December was jailed for life. (Reporting by Ismail Shakil in Bengaluru; Editing by Savio D'Souza)
Every weekend, Longform highlights its favorite international articles of the week. For daily picks of new and classic nonfiction, check out Longform or follow @longform on Twitter. Have an iPad? Download Longforms new app and read all of the latest in-depth stories from dozens of magazines, including Foreign Policy.

Congolese women walk past a sign opposing sexual violence on December 4, 2008 in Nyamilima, in Nord-Kivu, in the east of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). There are many cases of rape and sexual vioence against women during recent fighting in this area. Months of fighting pitting Nkunda's rebels against government troops and various militia groups have displaced some 250,000 people in the eastern Congo and triggered a humanitarian crisis that has sparked international concern. AFP PHOTO / PASCAL GUYOT (Photo credit should read PASCAL GUYOT/AFP/Getty Images)

The village where dozens of young girls have been raped is still waiting for justice by Lauren Wolfe, The Guardian

In the past three years, Kavumu, in eastern Congo, has been torn apart by a series of horrific attacks. Will the perpetrators ever answer for their crimes?

The girls will reach puberty before they and their families know the extent of the physical and psychological harm done to them. We dont know if they will have sex normally because of fibrosis, the girls doctor, Dr Neema Rukunghu (known to all as Dr Nene), said, Because of destruction of the cervix, we dont know if they will bleed normally or have babies. We dont know.

For the Kavumu families caring for their ruined (as they put it) daughters, every day that passed brought new terrors. We dont know who will be the next child visited by the rapist, one mother said. (The families asked that I not use their names in order to protect them from retribution.) They had gathered in a sweaty, dim room and crammed on to benches, chairs and the floor in order to tell their stories and talk about their fear.

Now, the mother said, we no longer sleep.

BANANAL ISLAND, BRAZIL - 2015/11/24: Banks of the Araguaia river showing sand slopes - fluvial beach or river beach - at Ilha do Bananal ( Bananal island ), the worlds largest fluvial island, Amazon rainforest, Brazil. (Photo by Jose Caldas/Brazil Photos/LightRocket via Getty Images)

An Isolated Tribe Emerges from the Rainforest by Jon Lee Anderson, The New Yorker

In Peru, an unsolved killing has brought the Mashco Piro into contact with the outside world.

Before Nicolas (Shaco) Flores was killed, deep in the Peruvian rain forest, he had spent decades reaching out to the mysterious people called the Mashco Piro. Flores lived in the Madre de Dios regiona vast jungle surrounded by an even vaster wilderness, frequented mostly by illegal loggers, miners, narco-traffickers, and a few adventurers. For more than a hundred years, the Mashco had lived in almost complete isolation; there were rare sightings, but they were often indistinguishable from backwoods folklore.

Story continues

Flores, a farmer and a river guide, was a self-appointed conduit between the Mashco and the regions other indigenous people, who lived mostly in riverside villages. He provided them with food and machetes, and tried to lure them out of the forest. But in 2011, for unclear reasons, the relationship broke down; one afternoon, when the Mashco appeared on the riverbank and beckoned to Shaco, he ignored them. A week later, as he tended his vegetable patch, a bamboo arrow flew out of the forest, piercing his heart. In Perus urban centers, the incident generated lurid news stories about savage natives attacking peaceable settlers. After a few days, though, the attention subsided, and life in the Amazonian backwater returned to its usual obscurity.

To go with story: Japan-Nuclear-Disaster-Diving,FEATURE by Harumi Ozawa Yasuo Takamatsu looks out to sea as he sits on the edge of a boat after a diving lesson in Onagawa, Miyagi Prefecture, on March 2, 2014. Te 57-year-old bus driver started taking scuba diving lessons in November to find his wife who is still missing after the 3/11 tsunami. AFP PHOTO/Toru YAMANAKA (Photo credit should read TORU YAMANAKA/AFP/Getty Images)

I Have No Choice but to Keep Looking by Jennifer Percy, New York Times Magazine

Five years after the tsunami that killed tens of thousands in Japan, a husband still searches the sea for his wife, joined by a father hoping to find his daughter.

On the first dive, Takamatsu took a boat out to sea. He was scared. The water wasnt clear, and he knew that below the surface, there were dangers  he could get caught by a rope or cut by debris. A flipper might hit his head and flood his mask. The regulator might not work. He might panic. He could die of hypothermia, entanglement, the bends.

For his first dive, he reached a depth of 16 feet. He had expected silence, but the ocean had a sound. Takamatsu called it chirichiri  the sound of hair burning or a snake hissing. Takahashi instructed him not to touch the bottom with his hands or fins because he might kick up a disorienting cloud of sand. Takamatsu kept his head down and flippers up.

Picture taken on May 5, 2012 shows former German rapper Denis Cuspert (C) among salafi in Bonn, Germany. Denis Mamadou Cuspert, who rapped under the name Deso Dogg but took on the name Abu Talha al-Almani in Syria, was initially reported to have been killed in a suicide attack Sunday in an eastern province but hours later some retracted the claim, saying he was still alive. AFP PHOTO /DPA/ HENNING KAISER GERMANY OUT (Photo credit should read HENNING KAISER/AFP/Getty Images)

The Pop Star Of Jihad by Amos Barshad, Fader

The strange tale of Deso Dogg, the German rapper who fled to Syria to sing songs for ISIS.

Though he left rap, Cuspert never abandoned music. He began instead singing songs in praise of the international jihad, what jihadists refer to as nasheeds. Traditionally, nasheeds are songs of uplift, mostly a cappella, about Islam, its practices, and its history. But these were songs about fighters-in-arms, about explosions, about mass murder. In one, a German-language adaptation of a jihadist anthem called Qariban Qariba, Cuspert declared, Enemies of Allah, we want your blood/ It tastes so wonderful.

After leaving Germany, he reimagined himself with a new name. He was now Abu Talha al-Almani  Abu Talha the German. Thanks to Junud al-Sham and Islamic State videos, he became possibly the most prominent black man within jihadist ranks in Iraq and Syria. He was an ex-gangster rapper on the front lines, cheating death, singing songs of war. In videos, he was seen marching through the bloodied and at times decapitated victims of his fellow fighters; his job was to praise the massacring, and he took to it with fervor.

A picture taken on March 10, 2016 shows an apache helicopter firing during the Northern Thunder military exercises in Hafr al-Batin, 500 kilometres north-east of the Saudi Capital Riyadh. Warplanes roared overhead, tanks rumbled across the desert and smoke filled the sky for the final day of what Saudi Arabia billed as the region's biggest-ever military exercises. The 12-day "Northern Thunder" manoeuvres in the kingdom's northeast included 20 nations from the Middle East, Africa and Asia, Saudi officials said. / AFP / FAYEZ NURELDINE (Photo credit should read FAYEZ NURELDINE/AFP/Getty Images)

Killing Fields in the Egyptian Desert by Tom Stevenson, Foreign Policy

Eight vacationing Mexican tourists and four tour guides were gunned down  out of the blue  by Egyptian military aircraft. What happened?

For the Mexican tourists, it was supposed to be two weeks of sightseeing, adventure, and mild spiritualism. The 16 tourists had arrived together on Sept. 11, picked up at Cairo International Airport at 1:30 p.m., and taken in a 23-seat Toyota Coaster minibus to the Movenpick hotel, which sits just opposite the Great Pyramid of Giza. They stayed the night at the Movenpick and spent the following day visiting the pyramids and Cairos Khan el-Khalili market, the most famous in the city. They then spent another night at the Movenpick before waking up early on the morning of Sept. 13, knowing a long journey was ahead of them.

Windows of Egypt, a well-regarded firm offering Nile cruises, temple visits, and seven-day camel trekking tours of the desert led the tour. Nabil El Tamawi, an experienced guide who spoke fluent Spanish and had worked with tour groups in Egypt for 25 years was the head guide. The tourists had been gathered together by Rafael Berjerano, a 41-year-old spiritual healer and musician, and his mother Marisela Rangel Ravalos, both of whom had visited Egypt on similar tours before.

Photo credit: PASCAL GUYOT/AFP/Getty Images; Jose Caldas/Brazil Photos/LightRocket via Getty Images; TORU YAMANAKA/AFP/Getty Images; HENNING KAISER/AFP/Getty Images; MOHAMED EL-SHAHED/AFP/Getty Images; HECTOR GUERRERO/AFP/Getty Images
Eight career diplomats approved as ambassadors, no hearing on political nominations

The parliamentary hearing special committee (PHSC) approved eight career diplomats as ambassadors based on the recommendation of Foreign Ministry.
The performance of machinery stocks last year was nothing worth writing home about, with adverse currency movements, weakening economic conditions, particularly in China, and multi-year-low commodity prices haunting the industry. The Machinery industry, which is broadly grouped under the Industrial Products sector (one of the 16 broad Zacks sectors), suffered an unceremonious 22.2% drop in earnings in first-quarter 2016.



The second-quarter 2016 does not paint an impressive picture either. In the sector, 95.5% of the companies have reported a 1.2% decline in earnings for the quarter. Considering all the companies that are yet to report, the sectors earnings are expected to fall 4.9% in the quarter.



Looking at the projected estimates for the quarter, total S&P 500 earnings are expected to be down 3.1% on a 0.4% dip in revenues. We are looking at negative earnings projections for the 5th quarter in a row. Growth will be in the red for 7 of the 16 Zacks sectors, with the maximum drag from the Energy sector (read more: 4 Things to Know about the Q2 Earnings Season?).



Meanwhile, weak industrial production numbers  comprising output of the manufacturing, mining and utility sectors  add to the woes. Per the latest Federal Reserve report, industrial production inched up 0.6% in June, after edging down 0.3% in May. In the second quarter, industrial production suffered its third consecutive quarterly decline, falling at an annual rate of 1%. Industrial demand remained challenged in the quarter, hurt by weak global oil & gas markets. Capacity utilization has been decreasing, reflecting slow industrial capex spending.



While residential and commercial construction continue to be sources of strength, key markets for the machinery industry  such oil and gas, agriculture, and mining  are pulling the industry down, with no possibility of an improvement any time soon. The U.S. rig count currently stands at 414, down 47.3% from a year ago and is likely to dwindle even further, in tandem with plunging oil prices. Moreover, the U.S. Department of Agriculture estimates farm income to decline further this year. Persistent economic weakness in China has sucked the mining machinery industry into its vortex.



Keeping these headwinds in mind, it will be interesting to see how some of the machinery stocks fare in their upcoming releases on Aug 8, 2016. Apart from beats and misses, focus will also be on steps taken to overcome the headwinds as well as their outlook.



Hyster-Yale Materials Handling, Inc. HY designs, engineers, manufactures, sells, and services a line of lift trucks and aftermarket parts in the United States and internationally. The company will report second-quarter results before market open on Aug 8.



Story continues

HYSTER-YALE MAT Price and EPS Surprise

HYSTER-YALE MAT Price and EPS Surprise | HYSTER-YALE MAT Quote



In the last quarter, Hyster-Yale delivered a negative earnings surprise of 10.29%. Nevertheless, the stock has a positive average surprise of 5.71% over the trailing 4 quarters.



The overall global market is predicted to decline modestly in 2016. Market growth in EMEA is expected to be more than offset by declines in the Americas and JAPIC (operations in the Asia and Pacific regions, including China) markets. Despite these market conditions, unit shipments, revenues and parts sales are expected to increase in the remainder of 2016 compared with 2015. However, a strong U.S. dollar will continue to affect revenues and results.



Hyster-Yale has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) and an Earnings ESP of 0.00% which makes surprise prediction difficult.



The Manitowoc Company, Inc. MTW  a leading global manufacturer of cranes and lift solutions  will also report second-quarter 2016 results on Aug 8, after market close.



MANITOWOC INC Price and EPS Surprise

MANITOWOC INC Price and EPS Surprise | MANITOWOC INC Quote



In the prior quarter, Manitowoc posted a negative surprise of 33.33%. However, the stock has delivered an average positive surprise of 20.89% in the trailing 4 quarters.



Manitowoc continues to be hurt by weak demand, particularly in mobile cranes, and low oil prices. Even though the company will benefit from product innovation and launches and cost-reduction initiatives, reduced backlog remains a headwind.



Manitowoc has a Zacks Rank #4 (Sell), which along with a 0.00% ESP, makes an earnings beat unlikely this season.



DXP Enterprises, Inc. DXPE, which engages in distributing maintenance, repair, and operating (MRO) products, equipment, and services to industrial customers in the U.S, will report second-quarter results on Aug 8.



DXP ENTERPRISES Price and EPS Surprise

DXP ENTERPRISES Price and EPS Surprise | DXP ENTERPRISES Quote



Last quarter, the company posted a negative earnings surprise of 488.89%. The company has a negative earnings surprise of 119.67% over the past four quarters.



Last quarter, DXP Enterprises faced headwinds from lower capital spending by its customers in the oil & gas industry due to choppy oil prices. Also, unfavorable foreign currency movements and its effect on export demand adversely affected the companys top line. In the quarters ahead, though the negative influences of these headwinds are easing a bit, these can pose concerns for the company.



DXP Enterprises has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) and an Earnings ESP of 0.00% which makes surprise prediction difficult.



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To read this article on Zacks.com click here.
Female achievers awarded

Hotel Annapurna on Thursday conferred the Princess Jayanti Achievement Award on three top female achievers studying at the graduate level in the field of tourism and hotel management at the Nepal Academy of Tourism and Hotel management (NATHM).
Malaysian officials have said that one of MH370's pilots plotted a path over the Indian Ocean on a home flight simulator, but warned this did not prove he deliberately crashed the plane.

The Malaysia Airlines jet was carrying 239 passengers and crew when it disappeared en route from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing on March 8, 2014.

It is believed to have crashed into the Indian Ocean, but an extensive hunt off Australia's west coast is drawing to a close without any sign of the plane.

Pilot Zaharie Ahmad Shah had used a home-made flight simulator to plot a very similar course to MH370's presumed final route, said Transport Minister Liow Tiong Lai.

But he emphasised this was just one of thousands of practice routes discovered on Zaharie's hard drive.

"There is no evidence to confirm that (the pilot) flew the plane into the southern Indian Ocean," he told reporters at a press conference Thursday.

The discovery of the flight simulator data was first reported last month by New York Magazine, which said the FBI had recovered the deleted files.

But the end point of the simulated route was some 900 miles (1,450 kilometres) from the area where the plane is believed to have gone down, the report said.

Zaharie was the subject of intense media speculation when MH370 first vanished, with reports scrutinising everything from his political beliefs to his mental health for clues as to what could have happened.

Australia, Malaysia and China, where most of the passengers were from, have agreed that when the current search area is fully searched, expected around December, they will pull the plug unless "credible new information" emerges.
By Eveline Danubrata JAKARTA (Reuters) - Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak said on Friday a recent lawsuit by the United States Department of Justice (DOJ) does not involve him, the Malaysian government or sovereign wealth fund 1Malaysia Development Berhad directly. Last month, U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch announced a civil action seeking the recovery of more than $1 billion worth of assets linked to a conspiracy to launder funds taken from 1MDB. Najib has come under attack from the Malaysian opposition and sections of the public over allegations of corruption linked to the debt-laden 1MDB and deposits into his personal account worth around $680 million. He has denied any wrongdoing and maintains that the source of the money was not 1MDB. He has also said those funds were not used for personal gain. Malaysia's attorney-general has said the money was a gift from the Saudi royal family, and most of it was subsequently returned. "I want to say that what was done by the DOJ recently does not involve me, or the Malaysian government, or 1MDB directly," Najib told Indonesian television station Metro TV. "The suit named five people." "This is not a criminal suit, but a civil suit," said Najib, who was on a visit to the Indonesian capital. The 1MDB issue is a business issue but it has been politicized by "certain enemies", he added. When asked about his relationship with Mahathir Mohamad, one of his staunchest critics, Najib said the former Malaysian premier is "obsessed about control". "Dr. Mahathir did strongly support me in the past and has been my mentor, but he has a controlling tendency," Najib said, adding that Mahathir wants to play a role in state decisions even though he is no longer prime minister. In March, Mahathir filed a suit against Najib, alleging corruption and abuse of power. (Reporting by Eveline Danubrata; Editing by Simon Cameron-Moore)
(Adds details, analyst comments)

* June exports +3.4 pct y/y vs Reuters poll -4.2 pct

* June imports +8.3 pct y/y vs poll f'cast -0.3 pct

* Trade surplus 5.5 bln MYR vs poll f'cast 5.7 bln MYR

* Exports to China -20.3 pct y/y, U.S. +22.0 pct, EU +4.1 pct

KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 5 (Reuters) - Malaysia's export growth rose unexpectedly in June, driven by higher demand for manufactured goods from the United States, which offset the hit to the oil-producing country's commodities shipments.

Exports in June grew 3.4 percent from a year earlier, data from the International Trade and Industry Ministry showed on Friday, a stark contrast to economists' estimates of a 4.2 percent decline. In May, exports slid 0.9 percent, hit by the effects of weak global oil prices.

Malaysia's exports to the U.S. jumped 22 percent in June, the highest on-year growth recorded this year, on higher shipments of electrical and electronic products, as well as optical and scientific equipment.

The spike in demand helped offset declining commodity exports. Malaysia, the world's second-largest producer of palm oil, saw a 20.3 percent annual drop in palm oil and palm-based exports in June.

Exports of liquefied natural gas and crude oil also remained weak, down 29.2 percent and 7.3 percent respectively.

Economists said while the trade figures were a positive surprise, sustained growth would be dependant on commodity prices.

"We are in a small downturn right now but the outlook is still for a slight recovery in oil prices towards the end of the year, as global supplies increase," said Julia Goh, an economist for UOB Bank in Malaysia.

Exports to the European Union grew 4.1 percent from a year earlier, but those to China fell 20.3 percent, due to lower exports of commodities and manufactured goods.

The ringgit rose 0.4 percent to 4.032 per dollar after the data. The currency was emerging Asia's worst performing last year.

Imports in June expanded 8.3 percent from a year earlier, up from the previous month's 3.1 percent rise.

Story continues

June's trade surplus widened to 5.5 billion ringgit ($1.36 billion), compared to 3.3 billion ringgit in May.

In the first half of 2016, exports grew 1.2 percent while imports rose 1.4 percent from the same period last year. A trade surplus of 41.8 billion ringgit was recorded, compared with 41.7 billion ringgit in the first half of 2015.

($1 = 4.0355 ringgit) (Reporting by Rozanna Latiff; Editing by Sam Holmes)
BELFAST (Reuters) - Northern Ireland police on Friday arrested a man over the shooting dead of 10 Protestant textile workers in 1976 in one of the deadliest of three decades of sectarian attacks in Northern Ireland. No one has ever been convicted for the crime, which an inquiry said was carried out by the Provisional IRA who targeted the men because of their religion. The IRA has always denied involvement in the attack near the village of Kingsmill, county Armagh, in January 1976, when gunmen forced workers from a minibus and shot them dead at close range. The one Catholic worker was instructed to run from the scene. The incident was one of a series of tit-for-tat attacks by Protestant loyalist paramilitaries who wanted Northern Ireland to remain part of the United Kingdom and Catholic Irish nationalists who wanted a united Ireland. A 1998 peace agreement paved the way for a power-sharing government of loyalists and Irish nationalists and mostly ended the cycle of violence, though some small armed groups remain. Police on Friday said they had arrested a 59-year-old man in Newry on suspicion of the murders. Investigators earlier this year found a match with a palm print found on a getaway car. Investigations of historic crimes have in the past caused tension between the governing parties, which include former militants. (Reporting by Ian Graham; Writing by Conor Humphries; Editing by Janet Lawrence)
Few things can prepare a person for an ailing parent. Leslie Thompson, managing principal at Spectrum Management Group in Indianapolis, recently had a client dealing with his father's own declining health, as dementia and other physical ailments set in.

Although the father lived in a duplex connected to the son's family home, it was clear he needed more attentive care. But, now his father's caregiver, the adult child had to take on more of a role in figuring out what his father could afford.

Thompson's client faced a situation that more and more adult children must tackle. A report from TD Ameritrade last year found that 20 percent of millennials have to support an aging parent. And more than 40 million Americans are caregivers to someone over 65, according to Pew Research.

[See: 10 Retirement Myths Debunked.]

But this support can have a drastic impact on someone's own savings, leading to retirement troubles down the line.

"It's similar to the question, should you help your kids in college or (focus on) your own retirement savings," Thompson says. "It's important for the adult child to make sure their own retirement is on track."

Doing so requires a level of planning from the adult child. Avoid these issues that may come to mind when facing the unfortunate position of caring for an ailing parent.

Don't shy away from financial conversations. The best way to protect one's finances when caring for parents is ensuring they have their finances in order prior to needing a caregiver. This conversation is something many parents avoid and adult children don't encourage.

"It can be a really touchy conversation," Thompson says. "For some families, talking about financial matters is pretty taboo."

Instead of discussing it one-on-one, hire a third party, whether it's a financial advisor or a lawyer, to outline options if the parent's health begins to suffer. This will help ensure the right power of attorney provisions are in place for when the parent can no longer safely manage their finances.

Story continues

This conversation can get more complicated, depending on the number of siblings involved. But going through a third party ensures there's an impartial point person that can handle any questions. This keeps everyone on the same page, even if one child takes the lead on caring for a parent.

In situations where an adult child needs to ascertain some basic information about a parent's financial security, Thompson advises adult children to position it as trying to get advice. One should ask them what they do for setting up a power of attorney, long-term care insurance or other financial specifics, as if the adult child needs to know for her own purposes.

In the case of Thompson's client that had a parent with dementia, the father and son met with an attorney to help create power of attorney for the adult child. While doing so, the lawyer discovered that the parent was a veteran, which provided him with a Veteran Affairs perk that offered some financial assistance. It's something neither the father nor the son would have known about without meeting with someone first.

[See: Long-Term Investing Strategies That Work.]

Don't forget the retirement plan. When taking on the burden of financially supporting a parent, one of the initial thoughts may be to reduce retirement savings, in order to ensure that there's more money coming in. But that's a move that most financial advisors would strongly urge not to take.

"Do not ignore the retirement plan," says Karen Cunningham, president and founder of the Oklahoma Financial Center. Continue to add the maximum one can "because this is the highest earning years and last chance to earn as much money as possible."

As one moves along in their career, peak earnings typically hits in the early-to-mid 50s, according to the Federal Reserve Bank of New York study. But the average caregiver is 49. That time period when one makes more, allows the chance to stuff more savings into a 401(k) and other retirement vehicles. By reducing the savings rate, then the adult child's retirement planning becomes more perilous.

"There's no way to retire if you don't have the cash to do so," says Cunningham, but there are resources to help an elderly parent. There are agencies and organizations available, including Medicare, Medicaid, adult day care centers and community tools like Meals on Wheels that specifically work toward protecting elderly and the infirm. Researching those options can provide a parent with great care, while not sacrificing the adult child's financial future.

Don't embrace shortcut solutions. As parents sell down assets such as the family home, there's a temptation for the caregiver to intermix the finances, even with good intentions in mind. After all, it's easier to manage one account as opposed to many. But it would lead to problems with taxes, since the parent would need to essentially gift the assets to the caregiver. Plus, there are potential Medicaid complications, depending on the state. "Keep them separate," says Thompson, who added that it could also bring suspicions that one plans to take advantage of the parent.

Another shortcut tactic to avoid: taking out 401(k) loans or refinancing a mortgage in order to pay for care. In the case of the 401(k) loan, there's a maximum limit to the amount one can borrow at $50,000 and it has to be paid back, or else it gets converted to normal income, which would add a significant amount of taxes. With the average cost of a semi-private room in a nursing home being $6,235 a month, that money would go fast. Instead, tap the community resources to help manage the expense.

[See: 11 Health Care ETFs for a Heart-Healthy Portfolio.]

In fact, one of the best tactics is downgrading the expectation that one should financially support the parent. It's not because caregivers shouldn't care about their parents, but because the parents have other options. It's the job of the caregiver, instead, to find the best options that a parent can utilize.





More From US News & World Report


Few things can prepare a person for an ailing parent. Leslie Thompson, managing principal at Spectrum Management Group in Indianapolis, recently had a client dealing with his father's own declining health, as dementia and other physical ailments set in.

Although the father lived in a duplex connected to the son's family home, it was clear he needed more attentive care. But, now his father's caregiver, the adult child had to take on more of a role in figuring out what his father could afford.

Thompson's client faced a situation that more and more adult children must tackle. A report from TD Ameritrade last year found that 20 percent of millennials have to support an aging parent. And more than 40 million Americans are caregivers to someone over 65, according to Pew Research.

[See: 10 Retirement Myths Debunked.]

But this support can have a drastic impact on someone's own savings, leading to retirement troubles down the line.

"It's similar to the question, should you help your kids in college or (focus on) your own retirement savings," Thompson says. "It's important for the adult child to make sure their own retirement is on track."

Doing so requires a level of planning from the adult child. Avoid these issues that may come to mind when facing the unfortunate position of caring for an ailing parent.

Don't shy away from financial conversations. The best way to protect one's finances when caring for parents is ensuring they have their finances in order prior to needing a caregiver. This conversation is something many parents avoid and adult children don't encourage.

"It can be a really touchy conversation," Thompson says. "For some families, talking about financial matters is pretty taboo."

Instead of discussing it one-on-one, hire a third party, whether it's a financial advisor or a lawyer, to outline options if the parent's health begins to suffer. This will help ensure the right power of attorney provisions are in place for when the parent can no longer safely manage their finances.

Story continues

This conversation can get more complicated, depending on the number of siblings involved. But going through a third party ensures there's an impartial point person that can handle any questions. This keeps everyone on the same page, even if one child takes the lead on caring for a parent.

In situations where an adult child needs to ascertain some basic information about a parent's financial security, Thompson advises adult children to position it as trying to get advice. One should ask them what they do for setting up a power of attorney, long-term care insurance or other financial specifics, as if the adult child needs to know for her own purposes.

In the case of Thompson's client that had a parent with dementia, the father and son met with an attorney to help create power of attorney for the adult child. While doing so, the lawyer discovered that the parent was a veteran, which provided him with a Veteran Affairs perk that offered some financial assistance. It's something neither the father nor the son would have known about without meeting with someone first.

[See: Long-Term Investing Strategies That Work.]

Don't forget the retirement plan. When taking on the burden of financially supporting a parent, one of the initial thoughts may be to reduce retirement savings, in order to ensure that there's more money coming in. But that's a move that most financial advisors would strongly urge not to take.

"Do not ignore the retirement plan," says Karen Cunningham, president and founder of the Oklahoma Financial Center. Continue to add the maximum one can "because this is the highest earning years and last chance to earn as much money as possible."

As one moves along in their career, peak earnings typically hits in the early-to-mid 50s, according to the Federal Reserve Bank of New York study. But the average caregiver is 49. That time period when one makes more, allows the chance to stuff more savings into a 401(k) and other retirement vehicles. By reducing the savings rate, then the adult child's retirement planning becomes more perilous.

"There's no way to retire if you don't have the cash to do so," says Cunningham, but there are resources to help an elderly parent. There are agencies and organizations available, including Medicare, Medicaid, adult day care centers and community tools like Meals on Wheels that specifically work toward protecting elderly and the infirm. Researching those options can provide a parent with great care, while not sacrificing the adult child's financial future.

Don't embrace shortcut solutions. As parents sell down assets such as the family home, there's a temptation for the caregiver to intermix the finances, even with good intentions in mind. After all, it's easier to manage one account as opposed to many. But it would lead to problems with taxes, since the parent would need to essentially gift the assets to the caregiver. Plus, there are potential Medicaid complications, depending on the state. "Keep them separate," says Thompson, who added that it could also bring suspicions that one plans to take advantage of the parent.

Another shortcut tactic to avoid: taking out 401(k) loans or refinancing a mortgage in order to pay for care. In the case of the 401(k) loan, there's a maximum limit to the amount one can borrow at $50,000 and it has to be paid back, or else it gets converted to normal income, which would add a significant amount of taxes. With the average cost of a semi-private room in a nursing home being $6,235 a month, that money would go fast. Instead, tap the community resources to help manage the expense.

[See: 11 Health Care ETFs for a Heart-Healthy Portfolio.]

In fact, one of the best tactics is downgrading the expectation that one should financially support the parent. It's not because caregivers shouldn't care about their parents, but because the parents have other options. It's the job of the caregiver, instead, to find the best options that a parent can utilize.

Ryan Derousseau is a journalist with nine years of experience writing about investing and leadership issues. His work has been read in Fortune, Money, CNNMoney and Fast Company, among other publications. You can find more from him on Twitter @ryanderous.
Govt announces Rs1,000 cash incentive for birth registration

Government has decided to provide a grant of Rs1,000 to each Dalit family across the country who registers birth of their child.
Criteo president and COO Eric Eichmann

If you asked anyone in ad tech to name the star-performer of the sector, most people would point to Criteo.

Criteo is the France-based ad tech company that specializes in "performance" advertising.

It works with ecommerce companies to target ads at people who are likely to be in the market for buying their products  mostly through a method called retargeting, which serves ads to people who have already viewed that particular brand's product, website, or a competitor product or website.

Last year, Criteo's CEO Eric Eichmann explained why it's not like other ad tech companies (and why it's outperforming many of them): It focuses on one thing and does it well, it works directly with clients rather than agencies, and it has the scale to drive competitors in the space out of the market.

It's clearly working. On Wednesday, Criteo reported a 36% increase in revenue to $407 million and an adjusted EBITDA rose 66% to $39 million.

Here's one way of looking at how Criteo is outperforming the ad tech market: If you add together the market caps of all the public ad tech companies, that number doesn't even come to half of Criteo's market cap:

criteo v the rest

Here are the numbers (correct as of 12 p.m. GMT August 5):

Criteo: $2.59 billion

TubeMogul: $410.33 million

Rubicon Project: $316.05 million

YuMe: $120.75 million

Rocket Fuel: $105.86 million

Marin Software: $104.34 million

Tremor Video: $100.15 million

Maxpoint Interactive: $71.47

The combined total of all public ad tech companies minus Criteo: $1.22 billion

An added bonus: Here's how the ad tech stocks performed in the second quarter of this year. You'll notice Maxpoint Interactive had a strong performance, but that followed a reverse stock split.

ad tech stock q2

Retargeting may be sniffed at by some in the advertising community as the "pair of shoes you already bought that keep following you around the internet," but it's clearly working for Criteo.

NOW WATCH: Watch the Air Force drop 8 armored Humvees out of a plane from 5,000 feet





More From Business Insider


Job seekers in Massachusetts will no longer have to disclose their salary history to prospective employers in order to be considered for a job, thanks to a new pay equity law signed this week. The law, which goes into effect in July 2018, makes it illegal for employers to ask job applicants what they've earned in the past and makes Massachusetts the first state to ban the practice.

[See: 10 Things Your Mom Didn't Teach You About Job Searching.]

This step is a victory for job seekers, who have long been put at a disadvantage by employers who insist on knowing their past salary history. Employers commonly base salary offers on the information, which has meant that people who have been earning below-market wages are more likely to continue to be underpaid -- which has historically been a particular issue for women, who are statistically likely to be paid less than their male counterparts for the same work.

"The prohibition is designed to stop perpetuating pay inequality from employer to employer when employers offer to pay women applicants less than their male counterparts because the men were paid more at the last employer," says Amanda Marie Baer, an employment lawyer at Mirick, O'Connell, DeMallie & Lougee, LLP in Massachusetts. "For example, if a company is hiring two accountants, Pam and Paul, and knows their respective salary histories, it may be inclined to offer Pam $80,000 because she was paid $60,000 by her last employer, while offering Paul $90,000 because he was paid $70,000 by his last employer -- resulting in a $10,000 pay gap. If the company does not know Pam and Paul's salary histories, it may offer an equal salary of $85,000 to both."

Companies that do this often assert that salary offers pegged to a candidate's previous pay are generous increases, even when the offer ends up causing this kind of gender gap or results in below-market pay.

[See: 12 Steps to Asking for a Raise -- and Getting It.]

Of course, employers who ask about salary history often claim that knowing how much a candidate earned in the past helps them understand how other companies have valued that person's work. But employers should be able to determine a new hire's value themselves, based on the person's experience, accomplishments, skills and track record, as well as the responsibilities they'll be assuming in the new role. Plenty of companies don't request salary history and still manage to figure out what a job or a new hire is worth to them. In fact, a company that doesn't know what a position is worth is a company that hasn't done sufficient planning and analysis before advertising a job opening.

Story continues

But while this new law is great for job seekers in Massachusetts, what can you do if you live in any of the other 49 states and thus are still subject to intrusive questions about past earnings from employers?

The best thing that you can do when employers ask for your salary history to answer the question they should have asked -- which is about what salary range you're seeking now. So for example, you might say, "I'm looking for $60,000 to $70,000." In many cases (more than you might expect!) the person you're talking to will accept this answer and move on with the conversation. But if the interviewer insists on learning what you've made previously, you can try being more direct about the fact that you don't care to share that private information. You can try saying, "My previous employers have considered their salary structure confidential, but I'm looking for a range of X to Y" or "I've always kept that confidential, but I'm seeking a range of X to Y." Some interviewers will accept that, and others won't. If they don't, at that point you'll need to decide if you're willing to hold firm and risk shutting down the process or not.

[See: 15 Awesome Jobs That Pay More Than $90K.]

And if you do get pressured into disclosing your salary history and you worry that it will be used to lowball you at the offer stage, keep in mind that you can contextualize the salary information for your interviewer. For example, you might note that your most current salary is under-market and is the primary reason that you're looking at other organizations and that you wouldn't consider changing jobs for less than a certain salary amount.

And meanwhile, keep an eye on Massachusetts' law. It may be the first in a trend that could spread to your state.





More From US News & World Report


Ahead of an economic speech Donald Trump will deliver in Detroit on Monday, the Republican nominee released a list of economic advisors that includes hedge fund managers, bank executives and a cigarette manufacturer.

Some of the advisors have worked with Trump on his real estate projects. Several are investment bankers who managed tens of billions of dollars in international investments.

I am pleased that we have such a formidable group of experienced and talented individuals that will work with me to implement real solutions for the economic issues facing our country, Trump said in a statement.

Read More: Donald Trump Still Has Not Named Any Women Advisers

Heres a look at who will be advising Trump on economic policy:

Tom Barrack

A man who told personal stories about Trump at the Republican National Convention, Barrack runs an investment firm that has been involved in $60 billion in investments over a quarter century. Colony Capital has 14 offices in 10 countries. After Barracks RNC speech where he praised Trump, the Washington Post reported he backed out of a partnership with Trump to redevelop a post-office into a hotel in downtown Washington, D.C.

Andy Beal

Beal Bank is one of the largest private banks in the country. Founded by Andy Beal in 1988, Beals two banks have combined assets of more than $7 billion. The billionaire also briefly had an aerospace company that he said he closed because it could not compete with NASA.

Stephen M. Calk

Calk graduated from West Point and was a combat helicopter pilot. Calk has a long career in banking. He currently manages the the Federal Savings Bank with assets of $2 billion and a focus on private business loans. Calk was sued by CitiMortage for $4.5 million in 2014 for allegedly misrepresenting information on loans from a previous bank he ran.

Dan DiMicco

DiMiccos business acumen comes from a life spent in the steel industry. He ran the countrys largest steel company and regularly blogs about American manufacturing and jobs. He has been an avid supporter of Trumps trade proposals, recently writing, The Trump trade policy is both sound and necessary in todays World where Trade Cheating has become the norm. DiMicco became Trumps trade advisor in early July, saying he had never met Trump in person but had corresponded with him for a decade.

Story continues

Steve Feinberg

The founder of Cerberus Capital Management, Feinbergs company manages more than $30 billion in investments and is headquartered in Manhattan. The firm has deep roots with Republicans. Former George H.W. Bush Vice President Dan Quayle is Cerberus head of global investment. John W. Snow, George W. Bushs Secretary of the Treasury, is the firms chairman.

Dan Kowalski

Kowalski is the deputy staff director for the Senate Budget Committee. His staff biography says he has 20 years of government budget management experience. Kowalskis boss, Wyoming Sen. Mike Enzi, has said he will support Trump.

Howard M. Lorber

The President and CEO of Vector Capital, Lorber used to run Nathans Famous, a chain of hot dog restaurants. He is also president of real estate investment firm Douglas Elliman. Vector Capital manufactures cigarettes but Lorber prides himself on detailing the addictive and cancerous nature of his products. On Vectors website, he writes his company remains the only major tobacco company to carry Smoking Is Addictive warning labels on its cigarette packs and to list ingredients on its cartons.

David Malpass

Malpass worked as a high-ranking Treasury department official in the Ronald Reagan and H.W. Bush administrations. He was the chief economist at Bear Stearns, the New York investment bank that collapsed in 2008 and contributed to the recession. Malpass currently runs a consulting firm focused on global economic and political trends.

Steven Mnuchin

Once a liberal donor who made his fortune at Goldman Sachs, Mnuchin began running Trumps national fundraising operation in May. Mnuchin has donated to Hillary Clinton, Al Gore, Barack Obama and John Kerry. Mnuchin has been heavily involved in gearing up Trumps fundraising from nearly nonexistent to at pace with Clinton.

Read More: Meet the Hillary Clinton Donor Now Running Donald Trumps Fundraising

Stephen Moore

The founder of Club for Growth is now a visiting fellow at the conservative Heritage Foundation. Club for Growth is known for pushing small-government, free-market ideology  a position somewhat at odds with Trumps stated goals of limiting international trade. Moore has also been a public policy and economics writer at the Wall Street Journal. In May, he began helping Trump rewrite his tax plan.

Peter Navarro

A professor at the University of California-Irvines Paul Merage School of Business, Navarro frequently talks about the American-Chinese trade relationship. Death By China, a documentary Navarro created, is narrated by Martin Sheen and available on Netflix. His latest book focused on Chinese militarism and how it affects the rest of the world.

John Paulson

An advisor to Harvard Business School and a member of New York Universitys Board of Trustees, Paulson is an investment fund manager with more than two decades of experience. Paulsons firm manages more than $19 billion in investments and he is worth nearly $10 billion. The investment manager famously bet against subprime mortgage loans that failed and led the financial crisis in 2008.

Steven Roth

Roth has won awards as one of the worlds most respected corporate leaders. He runs Vornado Realty Trust and grew up in the Bronx in New York City. Roth and Trump co-own a tower in Manhattan and while Roth is not known for public appearances, he was at Trumps victory party in April. Roth is New York Citys largest real estate owner. According to Crains, Roth owns ten times as much real estate in the city as Trump.
The group of five older men who announced the formation a new political group in a Manhattan restaurant Thursday had a long list of reasons for why Melania Trump should be the next First Lady.

She would definitely be our most beautiful First Lady ever, said nightclub owner Noel Ashman, wearing a sleeveless T-shirt. Incredibly beautiful, agreed Sammy Musovic, the restaurant owner who organized the event at his Upper East Side restaurant, Sojourn. Shell become a fashion icon, as was Jackie Onassis, says Elliot Hurdy, When she wore different clothes and stuff.

The men, accompanied by three women who did not speak until asked, were forming a new group called Lets Move Melania into the White House. This was not a campaign for Trump, they specified. This was all about Melania.

Are we prejudiced because shes beautiful? Are we prejudiced because she has an accent? asked Todd Shapiro, Vice President of New York Republican County Committee. So maybe she has an accent. No ones perfect.

The men occasionally compared Melania Trumps role in a potential Trump White House to Michelle Obamas current role, except they referred to Mrs. Obama repeatedly as Obamas wife. When asked about the plagiarism scandal at the Republican National Convention, in which several portions of Melania Trumps speech sounded remarkably similar to a speech given by Michelle Obama at an earlier Democratic Convention, they shrugged off the dispute as a trademark issue.

They similarly had little to say about the new allegations that Trump may not have had her visa paperwork in order during the early year of her modeling career the 1990s. But when asked about the nude photos of the would-be First Lady released by the New York Post on Monday, the men had a lot of opinions. They pointed out that she was young when the racy photo shoot occurred, not yet married to Trump, and it was many years ago.

Story continues

People make mistakes and they should be given a second chance, said Musovic. Those pictures might even help her, Shapiro added.

The group was started by Musovic, who grew up in Montenegro near Melania Trumps native Slovenia. Musovic said he once served Trump at one of his restaurants and recalled that the GOP candidate was very gracious when he was told that the kitchen could not make him meatloaf. Trump left a lousy tip, his friends reminded him, but Musovic chose not to dwell on the past.

I kinda support his wife more than I support Trump, he said. She is from my neighboring country and I want to see someone from Europe excel.

Musovic says Melania is a hometown hero in Slovenia and in the rest of Eastern Europe. Shes beloved in the community, she gives to charities, he said.

Which charities, exactly?

Theres some charities in Slovenia I dont know about. He added that she is known for walking around giving out money on the street. Theyre very excited to see her reach this level, he says of the reaction back home. Shes very beautiful also.

The group has no formal connection to the Trump family or campaign, they say, but at one organizer is confident they can raise at least seven figures from the construction business alone. It was not immediately clear whether the money would be directed towards the Trump campaign or towards other promotional efforts.

When asked if there were other reasons Melania Trump should be First Lady, besides her beauty, few of the men had much specific to say. Every single thing that shes gonna talk about is gonna help kids, is gonna help women, is gonna help things that have to be helped, Musovic said.

After a request to hear what any of the three women in attendance thought Melania would do for them, Dawn Lincoln stepped forward. She said she was there to support her friend Musovic.

I would like to see womens names not be dragged in the mud for politics, she said. Women in politics have been slighted more than men have been.

So how does she feel about Trumps comments on women? Lincoln hesitated, then revealed the truth: shes a Clinton supporter.
Merck KGaA MKGAF reported second-quarter 2016 earnings of 80 cents per American Depositary Share, lower than the year-ago tally of 90 cents.



Meanwhile, net sales in the reported quarter came in at $4.3 billion (3.8 billion), up 20.7%. Organic sales growth was 5.1% driven by the Life Science and Healthcare segments.



Segment Sales in Detail



The company reports results under three segments  Healthcare, Life Science and Performance Materials.



Sales at the Healthcare division were down 2.7% year over year to 1.8 billion. The decrease was primarily due to foreign exchange fluctuations in Latin America and the return of Kuvan rights to BioMarin Pharmaceutical Inc. BMRN. However, organically, sales at this segment improved 7.3%. Erbituxs sales were stable compared to year ago period at 233 million, while Rebif sales dipped to 441 million due to continued competitive pressures and negative currency impact.



Life Science recorded sales of 1.4 billion, up 85%, primarily backed by the acquisition of Sigma-Aldrich which boosted sales by 79.7%. The segment witnessed strong organic sales growth (up 8.1%). The Process Solutions business recorded organic growth of 13.5%, while Applied Solutions posted organic sales of 3.9%.



Performance Materials sales were down 3.4% to 621 million. Organically, this segment witnessed a 2.4% decline in sales due to destocking by display industry customers. However, inclusion of Sigma-Aldrichs SAFC Hitech business contributed 3.1% to sales.



Pipeline Update



Under its partnership with Pfizer Inc. PFE, Merck KGaA is evaluating avelumab in a number of phase III studies for several cancer indications. In the reported quarter, the company initiated a phase III study (JAVELIN Renal 101) on avelumab in an advanced renal cell carcinoma setting. The study is evaluating the candidate, in combination with Inlyta, in comparison with Sutent (sunitinib malate) monotherapy in patients with unresectable, locally advanced or metastatic RCC with clear cell component.



In July, another phase III study (JAVELIN Renal 100) was initiated on the candidate, in combination with, and/or as follow-on treatment to, platinum-based chemotherapy in patients with locally advanced or metastatic disease (Stage III or Stage IV) with previously untreated epithelial ovarian cancer.



Outlook



Backed by a strong performance in the first half of the year, the company has lifted its guidance for 2016. Sales are now expected in the range of 14.915.1 billion (previous projection: 14.815 billion).



On an organic basis, sales are anticipated to grow moderately (previous forecast: slight growth). The Healthcare segment is expected to witness solid organic growth sales, while organic sales at Life Science are expected in the mid-to-high single-digit percentage range. Performance Materials segment will, however, witness moderate decline in 2016. Nevertheless, backed by the Sigma-Aldrich acquisition, the company continues to expect a positive portfolio effect on sales in the low double-digit percentage range.



Sales are, however, expected to be hurt by foreign exchange impact of 35% due to continued devaluation of the Latin American currencies.



Our Take



Merck KGaA second-quarter earnings were encouraging with the company reporting a year-over-year growth in sales. Earnings were, however, down on a year-over-year basis. Backed by the acquisition of Sigma-Aldrich, the company witnessed an encouraging performance at the Life Science segment in the second quarter of 2016. Going ahead, we believe that the Sigma-Aldrich acquisition, along with the companys collaboration with Pfizer in the field of immuno-oncology, will pave the way for future growth. However, we remain concerned about the impact of negative foreign exchange fluctuations that are expected to hamper sales in 2016.

Story continues

MERCK KGAA Price

MERCK KGAA Price | MERCK KGAA Quote

Investors looking for a well-placed stock in the health care sector may consider Anika Therapeutics Inc. ANIK, sporting a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy).

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If things don't work out with the whole acting thing, Jonah Hill and Miles Teller have a backup plan.



The War Dogs stars revealed their alternative career aspirations during a PEOPLE Twitter Q&A on Friday.



"I'm really into like cold brew coffee, I think its kind of found its little niche in the marketplace," Teller, 29, explained. "So I would love to start a cold brew  also pressed juice  one-stop-shop kind of thing."



He added, to Hill, "And I know you've expressed interest in that as well."







Confirmed the 32-year-old, "Its always been a passion of mine."





In the film  which is based on a true story  the pair play young international arms dealers who secure a government contract to supply weapons for U.S. troops after lowballing their offer.



The project took them across the world for filming, but Hill's "favorite location to shoot" was stateside in Miami, Florida.



"That's where these guys were from and it was really fun to get to shoot in such a vibrant, colorful place," he shared.





'





Related Video: Seth Rogen Says His Office Doesn't Smell like Pot



Of their characters, who get a little more than they bargained for by joining the arms race, Hill said, "I would consider them successful in that they accomplished what they were going for until it went completely, completely sour."



War Dogs hits theaters on Aug. 19.
PARIS, Aug 5 (Reuters) - The militant attacks that have convulsed France in the past 18 months should not weaken France's bid to host the 2024 Olympics, President Francois Hollande said. He has warned previously of a long "war" against Islamist militants both at home and abroad, while Prime Minister Manuel Valls has said more attacks on French soil are inevitable. Several summer festivals have been cancelled because they cannot meet security standards and on Friday police in Paris arrested an Afghan migrant suspected of plotting an attack on the capital, a police source said. "Every candidate city faces the question of terrorism," Hollande said in Friday's edition of Le Parisien. "No country is immune." Hollande arrived in Rio de Janeiro on Thursday to promote France's bid on the eve of the opening ceremony for the 2016 games in the Brazilian city, just weeks after two deadly attacks by Islamic State loyalists in the cities of Nice and Rouen. Hollande's Conservative opponents have been stinging in their criticism of the president's security track record, calling him soft on suspected militants. More than 200 people have been killed in attacks in France since January 2015. "Indeed the threat is there, but our country is ready to face up to it. And who knows what the world will look like in 2024," Hollande said. France has not hosted the summer Olympics since 1924 and narrowly missed out on holding the 2012 games to London. Traffic police in northern Paris on Friday detained an Afghan migrant a day after security services circulated his photo on suspicion he may be preparing an attack. The city of Lille said on Friday it was cancelling the annual Lille Braderie, or flea market, because of security risks. The market dates back to the 12th century and organisers claim it is one of the largest such events in Europe. Special security has been arranged for more than 50 such events and summer festivals this year. (Reporting by Marine Pennetier and Gerard Bon; Writing by Richard Lough; Editing by Louise Ireland)
Despite the student loan crisis, about 20 percent of college students may be missing out on a key source of college funds. New data from the U.S. Department of Education finds that one in five undergraduate students did not apply for any student aid, and 10 percent applied only for private aid.

Among those who didnt apply for aid, 44 percent thought that they were ineligible, making that the most common reason for skipping the application, followed by 43 percent who thought they could afford college without financial aid. Nearly a third of those surveyed said that they didnt apply because they didnt want to take on debt.

In addition to federal grants, the Federal Application for Student Aid is used to determine qualification for both student and parent federal loans, and institutions sometimes require it for eligibility for merit aid.

Related: 6 Ways to Boost Financial Aid for College

A NerdWallet analysis last winter found that about half of students who didnt send in a FAFSA would be eligible for Pell grants, worth an average of $1,861.

Nearly 60 percent of students receive some sort of financial aid. The published cost of tuition and fees at a four-year public college was $9,410 in 2015-2016, according to the College Board, but the average net price after grants and scholarships was just $5,410. At private schools, the discount was even higher, with the average student paying just $15,000 on a published price of $32,410.

Among those who didnt apply for financial aid, 13 percent said they didnt know how, and 9 percent said it was too much work.

Top Reads from The Fiscal Times:
Gun emoji debate rages as Apple is urged to rethink

Apple has been urged to rethink its plan to convert the handgun emoji symbol into a water pistol icon.
Some home remedies are great, like chicken soup for a cold or gargling warm salt water for a sore throat, but The Doctors warn of the dangers of rubbing whiskey on a babys gums to help with teething.

A recent incident in Arkansas saw a mother arrested after she gave her 10-month-old bourbon in his bottle in hopes of alleviating his teething pain. The baby was found unresponsive and had to be airlifted to the hospital. When tested, the babys blood alcohol level was a shocking 0.19, which is more than twice the legal limit of most states.

ER physician Dr. Travis Stork demonstrates that to reach that blood alcohol level for an average 10-month-old baby it would only require 1.8 ounces of alcohol.

Watch: Teething Tips

D8067 18

Can you imagine that much bourbon, pouring in some milk and giving it your baby? he asks. Adding, This could kill your baby!

Sadly, we dont know [the mothers] intent, he continues.

A flabbergasted OB/GYN Dr. Jennifer Ashton asks, We make it harder in this country to get a drivers license than we do to be responsible for another human being. So, why when you have a baby, shouldnt you have to take some basic child care before you leave the hospital?

Watch: Alcohol and Parenting

In this incident, the mother was arrested and charged with aggravated assault and child endangerment and her child was taken away from her.

The Doctors share two seemingly more obvious tips for teething, including a cool wash cloth or a teething ring.

In addition to the tips above, The Mayo Clinic recommends these options to help soothe a teething baby:

Rub your baby's gums: The pressure of a clean finger can ease the discomfort

Keep the area cool: A cold washcloth, spoon or chilled teething ring, but never use a frozen teething ring as this can be harmful

Hard foods: If your child is eating solid foods, a chilled and peeled cucumber or carrot might help

An over-the-counter remedy: Acetaminophen (Tylenol, others) or ibuprofen (Advil, Children's Motrin, others) could help

Watch: Soothing Fussy Babies

The Mayo Clinic also recommends that you consult your physician if the problem seems excessively painful or uncomfortable for your baby.
Blood is thicker than water, but it's ink that that makes the bond of this inseparable mother and daughter even more special.

Read: Kind-Hearted Dad Gets Tattoo on His Head To Match His Daughter's Cochlear Implant

Victoria Vargas of El Paso, Texas, told InsideEdition.com that when her mom was faced with her second battle against breast cancer, she wanted to show her full support.

So she shaved her head in solidarity with her mom. Then, she suggested they get matching tattoos.

Bright pink bows, permanently inked to their bald heads.

"We'll never be bald again, together, ever in our lives," Vargas insisted. "That's the only time that skin is going to be bare and visible, so we might as well put something on it."

Her mom, Veronica Quintanilla, told InsideEdition.com that she calls it, "a little treat at the end of a horrible journey."

Quintanilla, 47, said the first time she battled breast cancer, her kids were 4, 6, and 8.

"It was hard," she said. "As a mother, you want to protect your children."

When the cancer returned, Quintanilla said her silver lining was her eldest daughter, Vargas.

"The last time she went through this, I was a lot younger so I didn't fully understand," the 21-year-old said. "Now that I'm a lot older, I got to see behind the scenes. It gave me an insight to what my mom's going through."

Read: Meet The Survivors Inspired to Switch Careers After Cancer: 'Now I Feel Like I'm Making a Difference'

When she had time off from her job as a hairdresser, Vargas accompanied her mom to chemotherapy treatments, where they grew closer.

"It was a comfort to have my daughter right there next to me," Quintanilla said. "I could let my guard down and just be me."

Though Quintanilla's journey against breast cancer is not quite over, "I feel like I can take whatever life throws at me," with steadfast support from her loving daughter.

Story continues

Watch: 76-Year-Old Man Get a Tattoo of His Wife On Their 59th Anniversary During Journey Against Alzheimers

Related Articles:
NEW YORK, Aug 5 (Reuters) - A closely watched measure of interbank borrowing costs rose on Friday in its sixth consecutive week of increases due to reduced demand from U.S. money market funds for bank debt in advance of new industry regulations in October.

The London interbank offered rate on three-month dollars , or Libor, was fixed at 0.79235 percent, its highest since May 2009. The benchmark for more than $300 trillion worth of financial products worldwide was up from 0.78760 percent on Thursday.

Since July, Libor has risen nearly non-stop as some prime money market funds have changed over to government-only funds, which are exempt from impending rules from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

Libor was up 0.033 percentage point on the week, bringing its six-week rise to 0.169 point.

Prime money market funds had been major buyers of commercial paper and other short-term bank debt.

Reduced demand for bank debt among prime funds has raised short-term borrowing costs for banks.

On Oct. 14, the SEC will require prime money funds used by institutional investors to float their per-share net asset value or impose limits and liquidity fees on redemptions in times of market stress.

This final phase of money fund reform is intended to safeguard a sector that was rattled by the collapse of Lehman Brothers during the global credit crunch in September 2008.

(Reporting by Richard Leong; Editing by Lisa Von Ahn)
RABAT (Reuters) - Morocco's jobless rate fell to 8.6 percent in the second quarter this year from 8.7 percent in the same period last year, mostly on employment growth in the construction and services sectors, official figures showed on Friday. Services, building activity and industry added 149,000 additional jobs to help offset 175,000 jobs lost in the agricultural sector due to a severe drought, the High Planning Commission added. The government expects the 2016 cereal harvest to fall sharply after last year's record crop of 11 million tonnes due to bad weather and more farm job losses are expected in 2016. The woes of the farm sector have put further pressure on the Moroccan government, which is already facing protests over austerity measures. The industrial sector created 38,000 jobs, the data showed. Construction and services added 70,000 and 41,000 jobs respectively, more than in previous years, a sign that the Moroccan economy has started to recover from years of recession caused largely by the euro zone debt crisis. The euro zone is Morocco's main trade partner. However, jobs created by construction and services are mostly precarious, the agency warned. The Finance Ministry has forecast the economy will grow this year by less than 2 percent, slowing from 4.4 percent in 2015. However, the planning agency said the drought would drag growth down to 1.3 percent in 2016. Informal labour abounds in Morocco, making it hard to produce reliable employment figures. (Reporting By Aziz El Yaakoubi; Editing by Ralph Boulton)
When it comes to how Americans view gun ownership, there is a curious contradiction: Almost everyone thinks the majority of the country agrees with them.

In June, we ran a survey in partnership with social psychologists Sander van der Linden of Cambridge and Princeton Universities and Adam Pearson of Pomona College, in which readers were polled on their opinions about gun ownership and then asked to predict how other people felt about the issue. The more likely the 5,117 respondents were to agree with the statement I think having a gun in the home increases ones risk of death, the more likely they were to think other Americans agreed as well, as the following graph demonstrates.

As one can see, those who disagreed with the idea that owning a gun is dangerous tended to predict that a minority of Americans agreed with the statementwhich is to say, that a majority of Americans likely agreed with their position. Those who agreed thought, on average, that more than half of Americans also agreed.

To social psychologists, these results will probably not be surprising. There is a well-researched concept in the field known as the false consensus effect, in which people tend to overestimate the degree to which their attitudes, opinions, and behaviors are shared by others. This has been experimentally verified across a range of subjects, such as health behaviors, Presidential elections and environmental conservation.

These preliminary results are very much consistent with the literature on social perception, said van der Linden, who analyzed the results of the survey with Pearson. Most people have a deep motivation to be part of the prevailing social consensus, and if you and everyone else you know share the same beliefs, it only seems natural to project that this is also how society-at-large feels about the issue.

In a less formal sense, the false consensus effect was on display at the political conventions, where both parties presented their views on the virtues or dangers of owning a firearm as representing the common-sense attitude of most Americans. Republican nominee Donald J. Trump declared that he would protect the right of all Americans to keep their families safe, while Connecticut Sen. Chris Murphy took the stage at the Democratic Convention to declare that the gun lobby fights to keep open glaring loopholes that 90 percent of Americans want closed.

Story continues

Van der Linden and Pearsons analysis found a similar effect when readers were asked to predict how social scientists who have studied gun ownership felt about the question. Again, people tended to think the research was on their side. Those who agreed that gun ownership led to a higher chance of death estimated that the scientific consensus was 15 percentage points higher than those who disagreed.

In fact, neither group was terribly accurate in their predictions. According to the most recent Gallup survey, only 30 percent of Americans agreed that owning a gun makes one less safe, meaning people of all opinions on the issue overestimated the percentage of Americans who agree with the question. By contrast, nearly everyone underestimated the scientific consensus. A recent study found that 84 percent of social scientists who have studied gun ownership agreed with a similar statement.

While there is a clear and significant correlation between how people feel about guns and how they perceive that others feel, there is compelling evidence that this perception influences ones personal opinion too.

To test this reciprocal effect, the researchers working with TIME ran the results through what is known as the Gateway Belief Model, a psychological theory which van der Linden and colleagues developed to predict ones views on social issues using perceived consensus of others as the input, not the output. They found a fascinating result: For self-identified Democrats, it was their guess about the scientific consensus that had the most relative predictive power in determining how they felt about gun safety. Although Republicans attitudes were also influenced by the scientific consensus, their policy position was instead more strongly predicted by their perception of what fellow Americans thought. In other words, the more Republicans perceive that Americans agree on the fact that gun ownership increases ones risk of death, the more likely they are to support stricter gun control laws.

Our research shows that, in forming social judgments, both liberals and conservatives rely on consensus cues from a neutral out-group, such as scientists, which often acts as a gateway to shaping other key personal beliefs, van der Linden said. However, at the same time, a large body of social-psychological work, including our own, also finds that conservatives typically value adherence to social norms and social conformity more than liberals.

This is also reflected in the data, van der Linden said. When comparing the influence of what scientists and Americans think on the issue, the views of fellow Americans had little to no effect on Democrats judgments but exerted a strong influence on Republicans personal views about stricter gun control laws.
Pick any three notes on the piano and you could have your own custom-made, unrehearsed composition at least if you attended a performance with William Goldstein.

Discovered by Berry Gordy and brought under contract to Motown Records as a recording artist, composer and producer in 1975, Goldstein recognized he had a talent for creating new musical compositions off the rift or instant composition by the age of four.

The practice, which has been called a lost art form, could be seen in the musical styles of 17th and 18th century composers Mozart, Beethoven and Chopin. Now, Goldstein is putting new life into it.

The audiences gather from my performances that it is possible for some of us to create an actual composition with a beginning, development and end in real time, says Goldstein. There arent many composers out there that can do this anymore.

Goldstein has infused instant composition into his work, throughout his 40-plus years in the industry, which has spawned over 40 albums and 50 films and TV projects. In June he release released his ninth instant composition studio album, Musings, in collaboration with Laurence Juber, former lead guitarist of Paul McCartneys band, Wings.

But where Goldstein has stood out to audiences and performers most is in his live performances.

On July 14, almost 10 years after their first collaboration, Goldstein teamed with Qi Zhang, dancer and director of the Qi Zhang Dance Studio, at the Serenity West recording studio in Hollywood to create a number of improvised compositions and dances. It was part of his work to teach students how to access their creative gifts in real time.

She speaks the language of dance and I speak the language of music, says Goldstein of Qi. We start together, we finish together and in between a work emerges that looks pre-choreographed and sounds pre-composed, but in fact its created in real time.

Like Goldstein, Zhang finds improvisation as performance honest, vulnerable and exciting. For their first performance, the two artists met only 10 minutes before show time, but in that instant second, we brought our own experience and understanding of life into our art form, says Zhang.

Story continues

We both love the creative process, says Zhang. It is like a deep conversation between you and your close friend.

Zhang said for her, improvisation mimics life. It represents a moment in time that cant be duplicated. The previous second cant be repeated and the next second cannot be predicted, she says.

Goldsteins improvisation work isnt secluded to collaborations with professional artists. What developed as a method of proving that his compositions were not created beforehand turned into an interactive experience with the audience.

During his live performances, he invites individuals onstage to choose three notes on the piano that resonate with them, and from there, he creates them a musical portrait.

The idea of the musical portrait is a result of at least 90% of the people who have had this experience tell me that Im describing their life story, and their inner aspirations, says Goldstein. Im not consciously trying to create a portrait; Im just creating a piece of music.

Belgian director Jaco Van Dormael is one of the many individuals who has experienced this art form. Van Dormael was drawn to the idea of having a musical portrait created after two of his actors from his 2015 film, The Brand New Testament, told him of their experience.

Bill has a great sense of improvisation, and is confident in his intuitions, says Van Dormael.

Van Dormael said after improvising, Goldstein made corrections on the computer that recorded the movements of the hammers on the strings, and his Disklavier payed it again, with the corrections, but with the feeling and spontaneity of the first time.

It was great to see how Bill can keep the first spontaneous feeling, and also perfect it, says Dormael.

Goldstein continues to line up performances, where he showcases his talent for improvisational composition, including his master classes and an upcoming international performance at the Black Nights Festival in Tallinn Estonia in November.

A documentary, currently in production, will explore Goldsteins ability to create compositions in real time.

Pictured: William Goldstein with director Jaco Van Dormael

Related stories

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Netflix Orders Motown-Themed Animated Series

Broadway Box Office: 'Cats' Starts Out Purring
Aug 5 (Reuters) - The following financial services industry appointments were announced on Friday. To inform us of other job changes, email moves@thomsonreuters.com.

BARCLAYS PLC

Barclays has appointed Emily Portney as chief financial officer of its corporate and international (BC&I) business, which includes its investment bank, a person familiar with the matter said on Friday.

Also, Ray Kahn, who held a variety of senior roles in Barclays' clearing business over the past eight years, is no longer with the bank, according to a person with knowledge of the situation.

BANK OF AMERICA MERRILL LYNCH

Izumi Devalier is to join the U.S. bank from HSBC as head of Japan Economics.

DEUTSCHE BANK AG

Dodd Kittsley, who has served as head of exchange-traded product strategy at Deutsche Bank's U.S. asset management unit for the past two years, has left the company, according to two people with knowledge of the departure.

CURRENCIES DIRECT

Antony Jenkins, who stepped down as chief executive of Barclays a year ago, has been made non-executive chairman of Currencies Direct, a provider of FX and international payment services.

FICC MARKET STANDARDS BOARD

The new London-based body set up to improve standards of conduct and practice for the fixed income, currency and commodities markets has appointed Gerry Harvey as its first chief executive.

(Compiled by Manish Parashar in Bengaluru)
Hearing of eight envoy nominees completed

The Parliamentary Hearing Special Committee on Thursday concluded the hearing of ambassadorial nominees from among career diplomats.
Hillary Clinton

Renowned statistician Nate Silver gave Hillary Clinton a nearly 93% chance of winning the general election if it were held Friday, less than two weeks after the same projection showed Donald Trump with a roughly 55% chance of taking the presidency if ballots were cast in late July.

That's a more than 50-point swing in just 10 days for Silver's "Now-cast" projection.

On July 27, Trump held a 55.4% to 44.6% edge over Clinton. The Democratic nominee enjoyed a 92.9% to 7.1% advantage over Trump on Friday.

In swing states such as Pennsylvania, Virginia, Ohio, Iowa, Colorado, and North Carolina, the odds were dramatically in Clinton's favor. Even traditionally red states, such as Arizona and Georgia, would likely choose Clinton if the election were today, Silver's forecast showed.

The forecast comes on the heels of nearly a week's worth of nonstop controversy surrounding the Republican nominee that led to a plummet in a number of polls.

His numbers took a beating amid a feud with a military family that was critical of him at the Democratic National Convention. He has also lately claimed the fall election would be "rigged" against him, expressed more positive feelings toward Russia, and said that he is not ready to endorse House Speaker Paul Ryan or Sen. John McCain of Arizona  two of the most prominent Republicans in Washington  in their primary races later this month.

NOW WATCH: Watch Trump relentlessly slam Hillary Clinton in his big RNC speech





More From Business Insider


As the Zika virus ravages pockets of the globe one company is a step closer to battling the deadly virus by creating a mosquito war.

Oxitec, a unit of Intrexon (NYSE:XON), produces genetically modified mosquitoes that kill off the native populations and limit the instance of fatal diseases among humans.

Friday the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved testing of the pests in the Florida Keys where 15 local cases of Zika have been diagnosed so far.

Ahead of the decision Oxitec CEO Hadyn Parry told FOXBusiness.com his next market needs to be Puerto Rico.

Theres over 5,000 cases of Zika now and the economic toll and the human misery and the scale of this could be absolutely horrendous. So we would very much like to help in Puerto Rico.

Oxitec mosquitoes are engineered for insect population control, this works with the use of what the company calls a self-limiting gene. The engineered larvae carrying this gene mate with native species unleashing the trait into the wild. The self-limiting gene prevents the affected insects from reaching adulthood. The result is a dramatic decrease in the mosquito populations which is slowing the spread of several deadly diseases.

The idea was born out of the use of radiation to sterilize fruit flies in the 1950s, says Parry. But for every problem that came along with radiation, Oxitecs founder said I reckon we can fix that with genetics. Why mosquitoes? We sat down and said this species spreads Zika, Yellow Fever, Dengue lets go after that.

These genetically modified mosquitoes are already hard at work. Efficacy tests in Brazil, Panama and the Cayman Islands have consistently shown a 90% reduction in the resident mosquito populations.

Oxitec tracks their larvae using a color system; when viewed under fluorescent lighting, the engineered mosquito larvae appear red. Parry says this system is completely innovative in its field; You use [the mosquitoes] where you need them and not where you dont its a completely new way of thinking driven by metrics.

Story continues

Despite the recent FDA approval Parry argues more needs to be done.

If people want this to help in the current crisis, which is now, you really need to accelerate this through with emergency authorization. At the end of the day there is an emergency now... If you had a vaccine with this level of efficacy, it would be through in a matter of days.

Related Articles
TOKYO (Reuters) - Nissan Motor Co is discussing with Panasonic Corp and overseas companies including Chinese firms the possible sale of its controlling stake in a car battery manufacturing venture, the Nikkei daily reported on Friday. The Japanese automaker wants to sell its 51 percent stake in Automotive Energy Supply Corporation, which is jointly owned by NEC Corp, because it would be cheaper to buy batteries for its electric vehicles including its Leaf model from other makers, the newspaper reported, without saying where it obtained the information. The report "is speculation, and is not based on any announcement by us", Nissan said in an email. Spokesmen for Panasonic and NEC declined to comment. The Japanese car maker and Renault SA, under Carlos Ghosn, who heads both companies, have bet more heavily on electric cars than mainstream competitors. In 2009 the two companies pledged to invest 4 billion euros ($4.46 billion) to build models including the Nissan Leaf compact and as many as 500,000 batteries per year to power them. Sales of the Leaf and those other electrical vehicles, however, have been disappointing, meaning Nissan and NEC have been unable to lower battery costs through mass production. ($1 = 100.9200 yen) ($1 = 0.8975 euros) (Reporting by Naomi Tajitsu and Tim Kelly; Editing by Sherry Jacob-Phillips and Muralikumar Anantharaman)
LONDON, Aug 5 (Reuters) - The chief executive of Japanese carmaker Nissan said future investment decisions about Britain's biggest car plant will depend on the terms of a Brexit deal struck with the European Union on customs, trade and free movement of goods.

Nissan's Sunderland plant in the north of England built nearly one in three of Britain's 1.6 million cars last year and has been lauded as one of Europe's most efficient facilities, where it builds the popular Qashqai sport utility vehicle.

But most of the site's output is exported to Europe and Renault-Nissan Alliance Chief Executive Carlos Ghosn told the BBC that Nissan and other companies were waiting to see the outcome of Brexit talks before making new investment decisions.

"The question is what's going to happen in terms of customs, what's going to happen in terms of trade, what's going to happen in terms of circulation, particularly of the products," he said.

"All of these are very sensitive elements that are going to determine, how and how much we are going to invest in the UK particularly for the European market."

Business surveys and manufacturing data have all shown faltering confidence in the British economy in the wake of the June 23 referendum. The Bank of England cut rates and unleashed billions of stimulus on Thursday.

Nissan has invested around 4 billion pounds ($5.25 billion) in its British manufacturing base but many firms are now closely watching formal talks on Britain's divorce terms from the European Union, which are unlikely to start until next year.

Investment decisions in the car industry often occur several years before a model rolls off a production line meaning any delay in the coming months could hit output and jobs in years to come.

British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher signed a deal in 1984 to bring Nissan to the deprived north of England beginning a renaissance in the British car industry, which is forecast to hit record production levels by the end of the decade.

Story continues

But over 61 percent of voters backed Brexit in Sunderland, spurred on by concerns around immigration, ignoring their bosses who made the business case for remaining in the 28-member bloc.

Ghosn said Sunderland was a "European plant" but that he was confident that British and European politicians would strike an amicable trade deal.

"We are reasonably optimistic that at the end of the day common sense is going to prevail from both sides," he said. ($1 = 0.7616 pounds) (Reporting by Costas Pitas; editing by Guy Faulconbridge)
LONDON (Reuters) - The chief executive of Japanese carmaker Nissan <7201.T> said future investment decisions about Britain's biggest car plant will depend on the terms of a Brexit deal struck with the European Union on customs, trade and free movement of goods.

Nissan's Sunderland plant in the north of England built nearly one in three of Britain's 1.6 million cars last year and has been lauded as one of Europe's most efficient facilities, where it builds the popular Qashqai sport utility vehicle.

But most of the site's output is exported to Europe and Renault-Nissan Alliance Chief Executive Carlos Ghosn told the BBC that Nissan and other companies were waiting to see the outcome of Brexit talks before making new investment decisions.

"The question is what's going to happen in terms of customs, what's going to happen in terms of trade, what's going to happen in terms of circulation, particularly of the products," he said.

"All of these are very sensitive elements that are going to determine, how and how much we are going to invest in the UK particularly for the European market."

Business surveys and manufacturing data have all shown faltering confidence in the British economy in the wake of the June 23 referendum. The Bank of England cut rates and unleashed billions of stimulus on Thursday.

Nissan has invested around 4 billion pounds in its British manufacturing base but many firms are now closely watching formal talks on Britain's divorce terms from the European Union, which are unlikely to start until next year.

Investment decisions in the car industry often occur several years before a model rolls off a production line meaning any delay in the coming months could hit output and jobs in years to come.

British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher signed a deal in 1984 to bring Nissan to the deprived north of England beginning a renaissance in the British car industry, which is forecast to hit record production levels by the end of the decade.

Story continues

But over 61 percent of voters backed Brexit in Sunderland, spurred on by concerns around immigration, ignoring their bosses who made the business case for remaining in the 28-member bloc.

Ghosn said Sunderland was a "European plant" but that he was confident that British and European politicians would strike an amicable trade deal.

"We are reasonably optimistic that at the end of the day common sense is going to prevail from both sides," he said.

(Reporting by Costas Pitas; editing by Guy Faulconbridge)
By Colleen Jenkins WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. (Reuters) - North Carolina will ask the U.S. Supreme Court to allow a state law requiring voters to show identification to stand, after an appellate court struck it down a week ago, Republican Governor Pat McCrory said on Friday. The 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Thursday refused the state's request to put its decision on hold while North Carolina asks the Supreme Court to overturn it ahead of the U.S. general election on Nov. 8. McCrory said the state will ask justices by early next week to stay the appeals court's ruling, which found that sweeping changes to the state's voting rules in 2013 intentionally discriminated against African-Americans. An application for a stay would likely be directed to Chief Justice John Roberts, who has responsibility for emergency actions that arise from the 4th Circuit. Roberts could act alone or refer the matter to all eight justices. Five votes are needed to grant an application for a stay. "Changing our state's election laws close to the upcoming election, including common sense voter ID, will create confusion for voters and poll workers," the governor said in a statement. "The court should have stayed their ruling, which is legally flawed, factually wrong and disparaging to our state." The state's request would be a mistake, said Marc Elias, a lawyer for plaintiffs in the case. "North Carolina should stop wasting taxpayer money trying to make voting harder and should instead implement the court's order," he said in a statement. In addition to striking down the state's requirement that voters show photo identification when casting ballots, the appeals court also canceled provisions of the law that scaled back early voting, prevented residents from registering and voting on the same day and eliminated the ability of voters to vote outside their assigned precinct. Voting advocates say those provisions are important for providing more access to the polls for minorities and poor people, who rely more on flexible voting methods and are less likely to possess state-issued photo IDs. Proponents of voter ID laws say they are intended to prevent voter fraud. (Reporting by Colleen Jenkins; Additional reporting by David Ingram in New York; Editing by Jonathan Oatis)
India market attack: Suspected rebels kill 13 in Assam

Gunmen have opened fire on a busy market place in India's north-eastern state of Assam, killing at least 13 people, officials say.
By Warren Strobel

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Obama administration is preparing to elevate the stature of the Pentagons Cyber Command, signaling more emphasis on developing cyber weapons to deter attacks, punish intruders into U.S. networks and tackle adversaries such as Islamic State, current and former officials told Reuters.

Under the plan being considered at the White House, the officials said, U.S. Cyber Command would become what the military calls a "unified command" equal to combat branches of the military such as the Central and Pacific Commands.

Cyber Command would be separated from the National Security Agency, a spy agency responsible for electronic eavesdropping, the officials said. That would give Cyber Command leaders a larger voice in arguing for the use of both offensive and defensive cyber tools in future conflicts.

Both organizations are based at Fort Meade, Maryland, about 30 miles north of Washington, and led by the same officer, Navy Adm. Michael S. Rogers.

A former senior intelligence official with knowledge of the plan said it reflects the growing role that cyber operations play in modern warfare, and the different missions of the Cyber Command and the NSA. The official spoke on condition of anonymity.

A Cyber Command spokesman declined comment on the plan, and the NSA did not respond to requests for comment.

Established in 2010, Cyber Command is now subordinate to the U.S. Strategic Command, which oversees military space operations, nuclear weapons and missile defense.

U.S. officials cautioned that details of the plan, including some aspects of Cyber Command's new status, are still being debated.

It was unclear when the matter will be presented to President Barack Obama for final approval, but the former senior intelligence official said it was unlikely anyone would stand in the way.

A senior official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the administration was "constantly reviewing if we have the appropriate organizational structures in place to counter evolving threats, in cyber space or elsewhere."

Story continues

"While we have no changes to this structure to announce, the relationship between NSA and Cyber Command is critical to safeguarding our nations security," the official said.

The Pentagon acknowledged earlier this year that it has conducted cyber attacks against Islamic State, although the details are highly classified.

"We are dropping cyberbombs. We have never done that before," Deputy Defense Secretary Robert Work said in April.

The Washington Post reported last month that Pentagon leaders had been frustrated with the slow pace of Cyber Command's electronic offensive against Islamic State, militants who control parts of Iraq and Syria and have sympathizers and supporters worldwide.

In response, Rogers created Joint Task Force Ares to develop new digital weapons against Islamic State and coordinate with the Central Command, which is responsible for combat operations in the Middle East and South Asia.

The new task force has "the specific mission to accomplish cyberspace objectives in support of counter-ISIL operations," a Cyber Command statement said. Task Force Ares, it said, "comprises operations and intelligence professionals from each of the military services."

James Lewis, a cyber security expert at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, said the plan that will be presented to Obama highlights how Cyber Command, reliant on the NSA in its early years, is developing its own work force and digital tools.

"It reflects the maturing of Cyber Command and its own capabilities," Lewis said.

Defense Secretary Ash Carter hinted at the higher status for Cyber Command in an April speech in Washington, in which he said the Pentagon is planning $35 billion in cyber spending over the next five years.

"Adapting to new functions will include changes in how we manage ourselves in cyberspace," Carter said.

NSA's primary mission is to intercept and decode adversaries' phone calls, emails and other communications. The agency was criticized for over-reach after former NSA contractor Edward Snowden revealed some of its surveillance programs.

NSA's focus is gathering intelligence, officials said, often favoring the monitoring of an enemy's cyber activities. Cyber Command's mission is geared more to shutting down cyber attacks - and, if ordered, counter attacking.

The NSA director has been a senior military officer since the agency's founding in 1952. Under the plan, future directors would be civilians, an arrangement meant to underscore that NSA is not subordinate to Cyber Command.

(Additional reporting by Idrees Ali; Editing by John Walcott and Grant McCool)
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama on Thursday called on Congress to approve additional funding to combat the spread of the Zika virus in the United States, saying that money to fight the outbreak is rapidly running out.

"Congress needs to do its job," Obama said at a press conference after a meeting with officials at the Pentagon. "Fighting Zika costs money."

(Reporting by Jeff Mason; Editing by Bernard Orr)
By Jeff Mason and Idrees Ali WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama on Thursday touted progress he said the United States and its allies had made in the military campaign against Islamic State, but warned that the militant group still can direct and inspire attacks. The United States is leading a military coalition conducting air strikes against Islamic State in Iraq and Syria, where the group seized broad swathes of territory in 2014. It has succeeded in breaking Islamic State's grip on some towns, although it still controls its two de facto capitals, Mosul in Iraq and Raqqa in Syria. The president, criticized for suggesting Islamic State was made up of amateurs, presented a more measured assessment on Thursday. He said the last two years of the U.S.-led air and ground campaign have proved that the extremist group can be beaten in conventional military fights but that it has shown the ability to carry out damaging, small-scale attacks. "I am pleased with the progress that we've made on the ground in Iraq and Syria," Obama told a news conference at the Pentagon after meeting with officials directing the campaign, but added: "We're far from freeing Mosul and Raqqa."While the campaign against Islamic State in Iraq, Syria and now Libya is making significant gains, the group is adapting, reverting to high-profile attacks and using the internet to recruit and train, and to encourage "lone wolf" attacks. "They've seen the degree of attention they can get with smaller-scale attacks using small arms or assault rifles," Obama said. "The possibility of either a lone actor or a small cell carrying out an attack that kills people is real." The United States must do a better job of disrupting Islamic State networks that can carry out attacks far from the group's bases in the Middle East, Obama said. "Those networks are more active in Europe than they are here, but we don't know what we don't know, and so it's conceivable that there are some networks here that could be activated," he said, while warning against over-reacting to such attacks. "How we react to this is as important as the efforts we take to destroy ISIL, prevent these networks from penetrating," he said, using an acronym for the group. "When societies get scared they can react in ways that undermine the fabric of our society." COORDINATING WITH RUSSIA In Syria, where the United States is exploring options to cooperate with Russia militarily to defeat Islamic State, Obama said Russia's and Syria's most recent actions have raised doubts about their commitment to a pause in the conflict. This week, a Syrian rescue service operating in rebel-held territory said a helicopter dropped containers of toxic gas overnight on a town close to where a Russian military helicopter had been shot down hours earlier. The opposition Syrian National Coalition accused President Bashar al-Assad of being behind the attack. Assad has denied previous accusations of using chemical weapons. The twin U.S. goals in Syria have been to end the violence that has claimed some 400,000 lives, according to United Nations estimates, and to seek a political process to replace Assad, whom Obama has said "must go." Proposals for the United States and Russia to cooperate in Syria would have them share intelligence to coordinate air strikes and prohibit the Syrian air force from attacking rebel groups considered moderate. But U.S. military and intelligence officials have called the plan naive and said U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry risks falling into a trap that Russian President Vladimir Putin has laid to discredit the United States with moderate rebel groups and drive some of their fighters into the arms of Islamic State and other extremist groups. "The U.S. remains prepared to work with Russia to try to reduce the violence and strengthen our efforts against ISIL and al Qaeda in Syria, but so far Russia has failed to take the necessary steps," Obama said, adding that he was not confident Russia or Putin could be trusted. (Writing by Yeganeh Torbati; Editing by James Dalgleish)
By Jeff Mason and Timothy Gardner WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama confirmed on Thursday that Donald Trump will get national security briefings ahead of the November election, but he warned the Republican candidate, whom he has called "unfit" for office, that information from the meetings must be kept secret. Obama, a Democrat who endorsed his former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in the 2016 White House race, has made clear his dismay over Trump, a New York businessman who has proposed temporarily banning Muslims from entering the United States and building a wall on the U.S. border with Mexico. On Tuesday Obama questioned why leading Republicans have not withdrawn their support for their presidential nominee. On Thursday he dismissed as ridiculous Trump's claims that the election may be rigged. "Of course the elections will not be rigged. What does that mean?" Obama said with exasperation. "If Mr. Trump is up 10 or 15 points on Election Day and ends up losing, then maybe he can raise some questions. That doesnt seem to be the case at the moment." Trump is trailing Clinton in polls. Despite his disdain, Obama said Trump would get the top secret briefings on world crises and security threats to which he, Clinton and their respective vice presidential running mates are entitled. Some Republicans have said Clinton should be denied access to such briefings because of her handling of classified material on a private email server while she was secretary of state. Obama on Thursday, speaking to reporters at the Pentagon, made clear that both candidates would be treated equally. "We are going to go by the law, which is that, in both tradition and the law, that if somebody is the nominee ... they need to get a security briefing so that if they were to win, they are not starting from scratch in terms of being prepared," Obama said. "What I will say is that they have been told these are classified briefings," he added, in response to a question about whether he was concerned about Trump obtaining the classified information. "And if they want to be president, they got to start acting like president, and that means being able to receive these briefings and not spread them around." Trump has placed blame on Clinton and Obama for the rise of Islamic State, also known as ISIS. "The Obama-Clinton foreign policy gave rise to ISIS, made Iran flush with cash, and is now admitting vast numbers of refugees and migrants into the United States from some of the most volatile regions in the world," Trump senior policy adviser Stephen Miller said in a statement. "But none of this is surprising from an Administration that allowed its Secretary of State to threaten the country with a private email server, delete her records, and lie about it to us all," Miller said. Obama, who was meeting with his national security advisers about the fight against Islamic State, also made a subtle jab at Trump for his dispute with a Muslim couple whose U.S. Army captain son died in Iraq. Obama lauded "patriotic Muslim Americans" who fight in the U.S. armed forces. (Additional reporting by Mark Hosenball and Steve Holland; Editing by Leslie Adler)
The buzzy name in the cast of the Cats revival is Leona Lewis, who steps into the paws of Grizabella, the glamor cat whose luster has faded, leaving her ostracized by the others. THR's review said, "Her powerful singing is not to be faulted. While her delivery of the show's signature song in the first act is restrained, her reprise in Act 2, featuring a rafters-ringing cry of 'Touch Meeee ...,' is spine-chilling."

But the British pop star, who was pitched for the role after working with Andrew Lloyd Webber's son on her most recent album, makes her Broadway debut after just finishing a tour, and finds herself living in New York for the first time. "I've always wanted to be on Broadway, so I took the opportunity when I got the call, but I'm away from my friends and my family; I've moved to a new city where I don't know anyone," she tells The Hollywood Reporter. "I am actually very much like Grizabella - apart from being part of the cast, it has been a little bit isolating."

Currently appearing in the show through October, Lewis, 31, goes Off Script to talk tackling the iconic ballad "Memory," joining the Broadway community and experiencing the stage door for the first time: "It's even more hype than a concert."

Read more: All the Broadway Shows of the 2016-2017 Season

What do you admire most about Grizabella?

Her strength. This character is an outcast - she's very isolated and shunned from everyone in the tribe, and yet she still has so much resilience and she still goes on. I feel like everyone can take a bit away from her, and each night when I play her, that's what I take away.

Were you nervous about joining the show as your Broadway debut?

Cats was one of the first musicals that I saw as a child; I saw the show in its original form in London. I was more excited about getting involved because of the nostalgia people attached to it. And then there are kids that I've met who are seeing it for the first time, and it reminds me of me when I was younger. Being part of that child's memory, coming to see the show and having a magical night, is very special.

Story continues

And the character, the song, the fact that she's only onstage for little segments of time - I think it was a good first role to take on. I can really focus on getting those segments as great as I can get them.

Leona Lewis in 'Cats.' Photo credit: Getty Images

What's something new you've taken on for the role?

I'm working out a lot more, which is good. You have to be so physically fit to do these shows every night. And I'm treating [this run] the same as when I'm on tour and I'm singing each night for two hours, so I'm looking after the voice and making sure I'm focused on what I'm doing.

What have you given up to play this role?

I actually just came off a tour and was supposed to have a bit of time off and just chill out and have a bit of a life again. I've always wanted to be on Broadway, so I took the opportunity when I got the call. But I'm away from my friends and my family; I've moved to a new city where I don't know anyone. I am actually very much like Grizabella - apart from being part of the cast, it has been a little bit isolating.

Do you have any special pre-show rituals?

I meditate for five to ten minutes to focus, still my mind and get into character.

Read more: 'Cats': Theater Review

What goes through your mind as you sing "Memory" onstage?

To just embody Grizabella. It's really her desperate, final plea to them to be accepting and open their hearts. That song really made me fall in love with those kind of big ballads with so much emotion and turmoil. I really have to be on my game every single night because it's so well-known. The audience is always waiting for it.

What is something special in your dressing room?

I've got my little personal steamer, which I really love because it helps my voice. And all my photos of my two horses, my dogs, my rabbit. All of my animals are stuck up on my dressing room mirror, which is quite special. No cats though. But my neighbor's cat hangs around our house and I'll feed him from time to time.

Missing my little Melrose today

A photo posted by Leona Lewis (@leonalewis) on Jul 11, 2016 at 3:23pm PDT

What do you do when you're not onstage?

I have to keep my voice warm because she only comes on in segments, so I'm doing trills and lip rolls. My dressing room is right next to the stage, and sometimes I'll just watch the rest of the show from the wings. In rehearsals, my favorite number was "Gus: The Theatre Cat;" it used to make me cry every single time. Now, with the costumes, I love "Old Deuteronomy" and "Mr. Mistoffolees."

What do you think of the stage door tradition?

It's been so crazy. Everyone at stage door are real Cats fans, obsessed with every single character. It's even more hype than a concert and I didn't expect that at all. I remember they were saying to me, "We're going to put some barriers around the doors," and I was like, "That's a bit dramatic." But then I went out there and there was so many people, I actually couldn't believe it. It's amazing with the adrenaline after the show, and then you go out there and everyone is really emotional.

Favorite backstage guest so far?

Zachary Quinto came back and said hi, and that he enjoyed my performance. With him being an incredible actor, that was a big honor for me. That was the first time I've met him. I'm definitely a Trekkie.

What do you do on your days off?

Sleeping. And I've got my dog here, so I've been doing little things like taking her out by the Hudson River in this nice weather. I like Williamsburg - I went into some of the little shops and got some cute outfits. They've got nice independent stores and I love that kind of thing. I want to go to Ellis Island soon.

NY sunshine

A photo posted by Leona Lewis (@leonalewis) on Jul 17, 2016 at 12:44pm PDT

What are your first impressions of the Broadway community?

Very welcoming, very warm, very open. To actually be on Broadway is a huge honor, and these people are such hard workers and it inspires me to want to do my best. They've been so supportive - that's not surprised me, but it's definitely a big relief because I didn't know how people would be, if they'd be funny because I'm coming from the pop world. I feel very lucky.

What's your dream Broadway role?

It would be fun to be in Hamilton. I feel like the audience is like going to a Jay Z concert.
On Saturday, August 6, Elizabeth Beisel will be among those kicking off Olympic swimming as she goes for her long-coveted gold in the 400 individual medley. However, as the 23-year-old tells Us Weekly, she could have ended up in a completely different Olympic sport. Read on to find out all of the 25 fun facts Beisel shared with Us.



PHOTOS: Olympic Athletes: Where Are They Now?

1. I have played the violin and piano since I was 3 years old.

2. I grew up with two goats, two pigs, two ducks, two dogs, two rabbits, two guinea pigs, 16 birds, a cat and plenty of fish.

3. My first sport was diving, but I was so bad at it, my mom made me join the swim team instead.

4. I have been swimming competitively since I was 5 years old.

5. During my first race ever, I peed on the blocks because I was so nervous.

6. I have a younger sibling named Danny who is the coolest person I know.

7. My brother and I used to hide bananas behind our windowsills because we hated when Mom made us eat them.

8. My mom found the bananas a few weeks later and was not happy.

9. I have two tattoos: one of the Olympic rings on my hips and an anchor on my ribs for Rhode Island, my home state.

10. I started surfing when I was 10 and won my first competition when I was 12.

PHOTOS: Here's What Rio Olympic Athletes Will Wear

11. I qualified for my first national swim team in 2006 at age 13.

12. I competed in my first Olympics at 15.

13. On my 14th birthday, my hero Natalie Coughlin gave me a personalized birthday card, and I still have it framed to this day.

14. I have been to every continent, minus Antarctica.

15. My parents met in a bar in New York and have been together ever since.

16. I would rather swim in front of a million people than play my violin in a room of 10.

17. Smoked salmon is my favorite food.

18. I am close to fluent in Spanish.

19. I am a die-hard Boston Red Sox fan.

20. I graduated the University of Florida with a 3.8 GPA.

PHOTOS: Olympic Athletes Turned TV and Movie Stars

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21. I will always be in love with Leonardo DiCaprio.

22. If I could meet three celebrities, it would be Taylor Swift, Leo and Jennifer Lawrence.

23. I am severely blind; I always have to have glasses or contacts on.

24. I am the only person in my family with curly hair.

25. If I weren't a professional swimmer, I would be an actress.
Jet Airways to resume 5 daily flights to Nepal

India-based private airline Jet Airways on Thursday announced resumption of normal operations to Nepal, with five daily flights, beginning from October this year.
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A worthy addition to the canon of YouTube-captured unlikely animal friendships, baby deer Faline (named after Bambi's girlfriend, derh!) and her pigeon buddy are here to brighten your loveless day.

Wildlife worker Jess Barkley from Sydney, Australia, is the director of this cinematic homage to all that is good and pure  shooting the pair together after privately rescuing the orphaned deer from hunters.

SEE ALSO: Teenager finds a new squad in some doughnut-lovin' deer

"We assume that mum was shot  people hunt deer in Australia," she told Mashable Australia.

"They told us that they found her while they were fishing but they also told us two different locations of where they found her, so we put two and two together."

Faline was only a couple of days old when Jess rescued her, and had to be fed every couple of hours, around the clock. It was during this time that a native Australian pigeon Jess was hand-raising began taking a special interest in the adorable deer.

"He was coming in and out of the house as he pleased, and they got along quite well. They used to snuggle together and the pigeon would follow her around and groom her."

But the unlikely friendship was to be as impermanent as it was heartbreakingly cute, with Faline being moved to a less-urban property in Mudgee, where she can chill and graze with other animal pals.

Image: Giphy

Mr. Pigeon was sad to see his four-legged buddy leave. He would go to the bed where they used to hang out together and just go to sleep there, says Jess. Sad face!

But don't worry. As she added, "He's been released now, so hopefully he's forgotten all about it."
What scene could be more tranquil than that of a sea otter mother cradling her nursing pup? But there's a darker side to this heartwarming tableau. Suckling a baby comes with a high metabolic cost, one that some female otters' bodies just can't meet  and the experience can be fatal.

Scientists knew that mortality rates are unusually high in female southern sea otters that have just finished lactating, but researchers had yet to pinpoint the cause.

However, a new study offers the first evidence of what's happening in the bodies of female otters as they nurse their young, helping scientists to understand how the animals' metabolisms kick into overdrive to handle the demands of lactation  and why they sometimes burn out. [The 7 Weirdest Moms in the Animal Kingdom]

"This had been a big question within the marine mammal scientific community for many years," said study co-author Nicole Thometz, a postdoctoral researcher with the Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at the University of California, Santa Cruz.

Thometz told Live Science in an email that in an earlier study, she and her colleagues had evaluated the energy demands of sea otter pups at the Sea Otter Research and Conservation (SORAC) program at the Monterey Bay Aquarium in California. As the otters grew from pups to juveniles, the scientists calculated how many calories a female otter would require to keep up with the youngsters' needs, estimating that she would need about twice as many as a nonlactating female.

But Thometz said a crucial piece of the puzzle was missing: metabolic analysis of a lactating female. Without that critical data, scientists had no way of knowing how a female otter's body responds to lactation, and whether that challenge might be even greater than they suspected.

Meanwhile, the scientists faced a challenge of their own; breeding otters in captivity is illegal, so the researchers had no way of collecting the missing data. The unexpected arrival of a pair of young female sea otters, one of whom was pregnant, at the Monterey Bay Aquarium handed the researchers exactly the opportunity they needed.

Story continues

The two otters were moved to a lab at Santa Cruz, where the researchers used a special chamber to measure the animals' oxygen intake.

The scientists monitored the pregnant otter, nicknamed Clara, before the pup's birth, while she nursed it, and after the pup was weaned. They found that over four months of producing milk for the pup, Clara's energy requirements doubled, with her resting metabolic rate increasing by 51 percent.

"Due to high lactation costs, we found the cost of pup rearing to be significantly higher than previously estimated  approximately twice nonreproductive levels for the last three months of lactation," Thometz told Live Science.

For a species whose normal energy demands are already high and whose energy reserves are typically low, this represents a significant energy burden, she explained.

"This is likely one of the underlying reasons why we are seeing high mortality rates for prime-age females at the end of lactation," Thometz said, particularly in areas where sea otter populations are more numerous and there is limited access to prey.

The findings were published online Aug. 3 in the Journal of Experimental Biology.

Original article on Live Science.

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Copyright 2016 LiveScience, a Purch company. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Omar Elhosseiny couldnt speak but was able to mouth I love you to his new bride from his hospital bed.

The California couple was supposed to marry on July 10, but the wedding was canceled when Elhosseiny's health suddenly deteriorated.

Read: See Bedridden Grandma's Joy After Newlywed Grandson and His Bride Visit Her After Ceremony

On June 29, Elhosseiny, a Pasadena police officer, was rushed to the Methodist Hospital of Southern California in Arcadia where doctors diagnosed him with Guillain-Barre syndrome, a rare condition that caused almost full-body paralysis. The 26-year-old was put into a medically induced coma for weeks.

When he finally woke up, he was eager to tie the knot with the love of his life, Osiris Negrete.

Last couple of weeks he regained some of his functionally, said Lt. Vasken Gourdikian, a Pasadena Police spokesperson.

Hospital staff, including nurse Michelle Vasquez, helped plan the big day.

We came in early and decorated the conference room as the reception, Vasquez told InsideEdition.com. I brought the wedding cake.

Dressed in a white shirt and jeans, Negrete, 23, held a small bouquet as she stood next to Elhosseiny.

"It was heartfelt," Vasquez said. "She was holding his hand. You could feel the emotion in the room and everyone tear up. Omar just looked at her, she looked at him and to them it didnt seem like anyone else was there.

Elhosseiny came to the U.S. with his family when he was 10 and becoming a police officer was part of his American dream. As a teenager, he started as a police cadet working part-time in the records department, Gourdikian said. He was eventually promoted to full-time officer. Thats where he met Negrete, a dispatcher for the department.

They fell in love, Gourdikian explained.

Read: Daughter Arranges Rushed Wedding in Hospital Room to Include Dad on Life Support

Story continues

The Pasadena Police Officers Association organized a Gofundme page to help offset Elhosseinys medical costs.

We are heartbroken to see Omar's promising future so tragically interrupted and want to do everything we can to help him and his family get through this crisis, the page reads. Omar dedicated his professional life to serving his community, and now we are asking that the community offer him and his family support during this exceedingly difficult time.

Following the wedding, Omar was transferred to a rehabilitation hospital where his recovery is improving. He was taken off his breathing tube on Aug. 1, a major step toward recovery.

A wedding is a special moment to be shared. For them to miss their original wedding day and then to have this  it did help, Vasquez said.

Watch: These Grandparents' Anniversary Photo Shoot Will Melt Your Heart

Related Articles:
Techno superstar Paul Kalkbrenner has dominated the German charts for well over two years with a single song, spun in front of a half-million people to celebrate the fall of the Berlin Wall, and starred in Berlin Calling, the hit film about a DJ in the city's exploding techno scene at the turn of the millennium. Kalkbrenner, however, vows he's no longer a DJ, and has refused to play anyone else's music since 1998.

That is until this summer, as Kalkbrenner releases a trio of mixtapes aptly dubbed Back to the Future, parts 1, 2 and 3. Deep-diving for a year-and-a-half into the rabbit holes of YouTube, Kalkbrenner culled over 5,000 songs from his youth and assembled them into glorious mixes of techno history. And he's releasing them all for free, with downloads. These mixes aren't merely relics, rather he dissected the tracks, pulled them apart and reconfigured them into hour-long meta-retrospectives that any fan of EDM should enjoy. And many clearly have: Together they've been downloaded and streamed nearly a half-million times.

Rolling Stone caught up with the techno historian before he drops the third and final Back to the Future installment this weekend



What was the inspiration for the Back to the Future project?

It was Christmas 2014, really in the middle of hardcore producing [the album 7], my first time with a major label, and they were just breaking my balls. So many people into my stuff, I was not used to that. Before I did it all by myself. And I just started listening to some old techno songs from the late Eighties on YouTube, and how you find sometimes one thing, and then you go after another.

[When I was young] we all listened to this one radio show where DJs played. But because it was the first station where they played actual mixes  you never knew what song it was. Shazam wasn't invented yet! I just had them in my mind, and so I started clicking myself through YouTube, finding a lot of titles of songs from that time, 1987 to 1993. Finding out the names of the people who produced it for the first time in my life. So that made it all so magical for me.

Story continues

Why don't you have any tracks after 1993?

I said sharply, 1993 has to be the end. Because then somehow techno lost its charm. We already had in Germany in 1994, "Somewhere Over the Rainbow" and the Smurfs song done in techno clothing. So it got commercialized very quickly here. There was other cool techno records produced from all those years on, but this charm  I can't explain it, it's impossible. Like the imperfection of the production, somehow you can hear they're just doing it because they're having fun.

It's an interesting picture for an American to think of a 12-year-old kid in his parent's house, behind the communist wall, listening to a broadcast radio station from West Berlin...

No, no, you got it wrong. It was after the wall came down and they somehow changed one of the [communist] stations into one of those stations that still could continue after East Germany broke down. And on this station they played these mixes  and the funny thing is my studio now is where it was broadcast from.

I mean there was already a small techno scene in West Berlin, coming from the UK in 1989. But actually it only took off after the wall came down. When those old school West Berlin drag queens had to meet the Far East Berlin hooligan-style raver, and this mixture, this crazy melange, was also a reason for this scene. You would not find a dance scene or any music scene anywhere else in the world like it  only in that city, only at that time, because of what happened historically.

Were you suffering from writer's block at all? Like did you do it to get the juices flowing?

No, I actually was in the beginning phase of recording, and I finished the album on time. But it felt good to have something else to do with music.

Since you recorded these tracks from YouTube, were you at all concerned about the lo-fi quality?

I was. That was the entire reason why everything was: "Let's commercialize it, and maybe do it with Sony. Let's see, maybe it's possible to license all those tracks." Which I really doubted, but they had the idea. But then I thought: Come on, we listened to it from cassettes and we loved it! And to be honest, the more I think of it, the less I have a problem with [the sound quality], because when I think of all this high-end techno and all this 192 kilohertz bullshit, I think of this overproduced EDM shit. So I like this music because it sounds so. ... It has something so raw to it, just so fashioned from grassroots.

Was there any sense of duty? Like, "OK, as a chronicler of this scene, this is my duty to finish this project and to teach people who've never heard this music what the roots are."

Yeah. Especially when every five years, there's another wave of bands or electronic music that sampled the one from before. Like everyone who would like to know, "I heard that before in another song; I wanna know where it actually came from. ..." Here, listen to these cassettes.

This is like the basic soup of everything. Like when the Earth was very young, when it was just gas and liquids. So yeah, I'm very happy that I could have laid it down like this. It's exactly how I thought in my weird mind, even when it was so far away from putting it together.

You've said that this project is in some ways more personal than a proper artist album.

When I came up with this plan it looked like a big, big, big mountain to climb. The listening, then the choosing, then the editing. Then this March I said, "Come on, now comes the actual most important step." This mountain actually felt as high as it was at the beginning, so I'm kinda proud, but also sad at the same time. It's now my last moments with Part 3. Because it's from my youth and so many years ago, that's why it feels so personal. Even though not one song is produced by myself, because of the very personal relation I have with this music. And it was so packed away, so covered and unseen by myself for so many years.

Was it like discovering an old version of yourself?

The more I got into it, the more I could feel it. It was so good 'cause I felt like being young and whoo!, just like I felt then. And I also picked some stuff up  the next music I will produce will definitely not be as slow as my seventh album. It will be definitely faster, thanks to these tapes.

That's an interesting concept, because it's like you went back in time to discover this old part of yourself.

Yeah. That's why everything we talk about, the name of the series, Back to the Future, phrases it the best. It's the future somehow. It is such a long bridge for me that I still remember those songs, the ones I liked  and here they are. Presented in a way that is new. All young people we showed it to, they fucking like it. Because it's fresh music, and fresh music never ages, you know?

Do you think this curiosity to re-visit the past, and the fact that you're coming up to 40 years old. Is it a musical mid-life crisis?

No, it's more the feeling of nostalgia, what we all get once we reach a certain age, because this is the time of life when we turn back and realize, "Hey, everything happened so fast! No, no!" That's one truth, but the other truth is also that we can look back and realize we have lived already quite a long time. Otherwise, this project wouldn't be possible. Come on, I saw my city [East Berlin] in the last 25 years. I mean, the eastern part, coming from the ruins to what it is now, you know?

Because you haven't played other people's music in so long, do you think that if you end up performing this project live that it will feel like a completely different experience?

No, I was always very good DJ, technically, when I was young, but I was never very good in letting the record run and not doing something. But yeah, I don't know, I think pressing them on vinyl and making it into a vinyl-only, old school set would be the most probable way to perform it.

A lot of people who've never heard the music live would be blown away. If you really feel a sense of duty as a historian and chronicler, then you have to share it.

Yeah, but that's why it's good. I bring something on like this three mixes, for the fans it's like three albums. And also now here when we release it, it's August, when the actual summer and vacation starts in all those party spots of Europe, Spain, and Italy and everywhere. And in every Fiat Cinquecento, and every little Peugeot, those tapes are running. So, of course, that's what I must do  like using my position and strength to dig [these songs] out again. To dig them out of the earth again. As I've found out, it's all too good to be forgotten.





Related
NEWS BRIEF Days before his primary election, House Speaker Paul Ryan is keeping Donald Trump at arms length.

Hes had a pretty strange run since the convention, Ryan said in a radio interview on Thursday. You would think that we want to be focusing on Hillary Clinton, on all of her deficiencies. She is such a weak candidate that one would think that we would be on offense against Hillary Clinton, and it is distressing that thats not what were talking about these days.

Ryan was perhaps alluding to a series of controversies that have rocked the Republican nominees campaign recentlylike Trumps reckless remarks about Khizr and Ghazala Khan, who lost their son in combat in 2004, and Trumps decision not to endorse Ryan. Altogether, its made for a turbulent few days for the House speaker ahead of his primary election in Wisconsin next week.

In an interview with The Washington Post on Tuesday, Trump, who Ryan backed in June, refused to return the favor: I like Paul, but these are horrible times for our country. We need very strong leadership. We need very, very strong leadership. And Im just not quite there yet. Im not quite there yet, he said. Zack Roday, a Ryan campaign spokesman, said that the campaign had not asked for Trumps endorsement and was confident in a victory next week regardless.

Recommended: Why Conservatives and Progressives Would Both Benefit From a Huge Trump Loss

Then, contra Trump, Republican vice-presidential nominee Mike Pence did endorse his former House colleague, saying:

I strongly support Paul Ryan, strongly endorse his reelection. Hes a long-time friend; hes a strong conservative leader. I believe we need Paul Ryan in leadership in the Congress of the United States to rebuild our military, to strengthen our economy, and to ensure that we have the kind of leadership in this country that will make America great again.

Story continues

Still, Trumps decision to withhold an endorsement infuriated Republican Party leaders, chief among them Republican National Committee Chair Reince Priebus.

Throughout the primary season, Ryan has kept his distance from Trump. In the spring, he said he wasnt yet ready to back the Republican candidate but ultimately endorsed him in June. Ryan also delivered remarks at the Republican National Conventiona display of unity at a time when the fractures within the GOP were clear.

On Thursday, Ryan stood by the party and the voters choice of nominee. We are a grassroots party; we arent a superdelegate party, he told radio-show host Jerry Bader. We are a party where the grassroots Republican primary voter selects the nominee. Theres something to be said for those voters.

Next Tuesday, Ryan will come up against businessman Paul Nehlen, who was thrown into the national spotlight after engaging with Trump on Twitter. On Wednesday, Nehlen delivered a strong rebuke of Ryan and lauded Trumps policies. For his part, Ryan didnt seem too concerned about his primary challenger, saying, I feel very good where I am.

Read more from The Atlantic:

This article was originally published on The Atlantic.
House Speaker Paul Ryan on Capitol Hill in June. (Photo: J. Scott Applewhite/AP)

House Speaker Paul Ryan attempted to distance himself Friday from any feud with Donald Trump but noted he could un-endorse the Republican nominee if he continues to make controversial statements.

Ryan told a Wisconsin radio station Friday that his support of Trump is not a blank check and added he could pull his endorsement if necessary.

Of course, Ryan said when asked by Milwaukee radio host Charlie Sykes if there was anything Trump might say that would cause the congressman to retract his endorsement. But Im not going to go down the road of litigating his past comments.

In a separate interview, Ryan said heck if I know when asked if the conflict with Trump was over. The speaker added he was more interested in seeking the support of his constituents in Wisconsins Aug. 9 primary than in engaging Trump.

Im not going to try and psychoanalyze stuff, Ryan told WISN-12s Jay Weber in Milwaukee. Im going to rise above the stuff, and Im not going to get involved in some petty back-and-forth. I dont see a purpose in that.

Ryan has been critical of Trumps feud with Khizr and Ghazala Khan, the parents of a Muslim American soldier killed in Iraq. The Khans spoke out against Trump at the Democratic National Convention, and Trump criticized them in response.

In a statement last week, Ryan said attacking Gold Star families was unacceptable and that they deserved greater respect. Trump then told the Washington Post on Tuesday that he would not endorse Ryan in his GOP primary, saying he was not quite there yet. Trump also declined to endorse other Republicans, including Arizona Sen. John McCain and New Hampshire Sen. Kelly Ayotte, in their races.

I like Paul, but these are horrible times for our country. We need very strong leadership. We need very, very strong leadership, Trump said, echoing the words Ryan used before he endorsed Trump.

However, Fox News is reporting that Trump will endorse Ryan Friday night at a rally in Green Bay, Wis.

Story continues

Ryans primary opponent, Paul Nehlen, has also been supportive of Trump, who responded in kind on Monday by thanking Nehlen for his support during the Khan firestorm.

Nehlen garnered headlines Thursday when he called for a deportation of Muslims in the U.S. in an interview with a Chicago radio station.

Ryan said Nehlen represents alt-conservativism and was backed by scam PACs.

You cant make this stuff up, Ryan said. It is antithetical to any kind of principle we have as Republicans, as conservatives and as Americans.

Ryan is leading Nehlen by 66 points, according to a poll released Friday morning.
Berlin (AFP) - The perpetrators of two attacks in Germany claimed by the Islamic State group were given advice on the separate assaults by members of the jihadist organisation, Der Spiegel reported Friday.

Without citing its sources, the weekly said the two men exchanged messages with individuals using different phone numbers, including some that were registered in Saudi Arabia.

The Afghan teenager who in July went on an axe rampage on a train, wounding four tourists from Hong Kong and a German passer-by, had reportedly discussed how he would carry out the attack with his IS contacts.

In one of the exchanges, an IS contact suggested that the teen, named by German media as Riaz Khan Ahmadzai, could drive a car into a crowd, but the Afghan rejected the idea as he did not have a driver's licence, the report said.

The teen said he would instead get on a train and carry out his attack onboard.

In a separate attack that happened six days later on July 24, a Syrian asylum seeker aged 27 named by German media as Mohamed Daleel set off an explosive device near an open-air music festival that killed him and wounded a dozen others.

But Spiegel said messages from his phone suggest that the assault in the southern city of Ansbach was not meant to have been a suicide bombing.

Rather, his contact had reportedly asked him to detonate the bomb and film the subsequent chaos before sending the footage to the IS.

The messages also suggested that Daleel was due to carry out other attacks.

The assaults -- which happened over a span of a week when another asylum seeker killed a woman in a knife attack and a German national shot nine dead in a gun rampage -- have put pressure on Chancellor Angela Merkel to reverse her welcoming stance to refugees.

But Merkel has rebuffed the calls, saying the assailants sought to "undermine our sense of community, our openness and our willingness to help people in need," but "we firmly reject this".
Https%3a%2f%2fblueprint-api-production.s3.amazonaws.com%2fuploads%2fcard%2fimage%2f168706%2f75bdbcf84da842b3b4424b1c9f048ccf

It's summer, it feels like a million degrees and you need to cool down: what do you do?

Take a cold shower, grab a popsicle or stand in front of a large fan, maybe.

Philadelphia's a little more resourceful than that. Last weekend, the Cedar Street Block Party rented a dumpster and filled it up with water from a hydrant to arrange a makeshift swimming pool.

SEE ALSO: If politicians were famous Philadelphia attractions

It's a combination of brilliant and disgusting. It's a combination the city has banned.

A few days after the party, the Mayor's Office released a statement in which they declared that Philadelphia "will not issue permits for block party dumpster pools."

Their reasons for the ban are valid since the purpose of a hydrant is first and foremost to provide water to put out a fire, not to provide the bathwater for dumpster tubs in which day-drinkers spill Bud Light Limes.

In order to dress up their dumpster pool party, the Philadelphians brought in some inflatable toys.

The party's hosts, Justyn Myers and Jake Long, reportedly covered the dumpster's floor with plywood and a Home Depot tarp before softening the edges with pool noodles, in a summer DIY hack that easily trumps whatever Pinterest popsicles you made.

In her statement, Karen Guss, Communications Director for the Department of Licenses and Inspections, declared, "We are not screwing around, Philly."

Guss also told the Associated Press, "You would think this decision would not require an explanation."

But, it's August in Philadelphia, so it did.

For the remainder of the summer, block party permits will not be issued in the area surrounding the location of the now infamous dumpster pool party site.

We hope Philadelphians will find a different, safer way to stay cool.

[H/T: BillyPenn]
(Adds more details from RCBC statement, background)

By Manolo Serapio Jr and Enrico Dela Cruz

MANILA, Aug 5 (Reuters) - The Philippine central bank said on Friday it would fine Rizal Commercial Banking Corp (RCBC) a record 1 billion pesos ($21 million), after the bank was used by cyber criminals to channel $81 million stolen from Bangladesh Bank in February.

The central bank said in a statement that it was the largest amount it has ever approved "as part of its supervisory enforcement actions" on a bank.

RCBC said separately that it would pay the fine over a one-year period, in two tranches of 500 million pesos each.

Unknown hackers tried to steal nearly $1 billion from the Bangladesh central bank's account at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York between Feb. 4 and Feb. 5, and succeeded in transferring $81 million to four accounts at RCBC in Manila.

RCBC earlier on Friday challenged Bangladesh Bank to take it to court, telling Reuters that the "Philippine side has done its part" and that the transfers were made based on authenticated instructions over payments network SWIFT.

After the fine was announced, RCBC President and Chief Executive Officer Gil Buenaventura said in a statement: "With this payment, RCBC affirms its continued viability and determination to fulfil its firm commitment against money laundering, terrorism and other transnational crimes to ensure the stability of the banking system."

Bangladeshi officials say the money was able to disappear into the casino industry because of systemic failures at RCBC, not just individual errors by some of its officers.

A Bangladesh central bank team is currently in Manila to try and recover some of the lost money, but said they were close to getting back only $15 million.

($1 = 46.8900 Philippine pesos) (Reporting by Manolo Serapio Jr. and Enrico dela Cruz; Editing by Will Waterman)
Joint panel to draft proposal to amend the constitution

Madhesi leaders said that the Tarai-centric parties would join the government once a new amendment proposal is registered in Parliament based on political consensus.
Recently elected Philippine President Rodrigo Dutertes aggressive war on drugs has killed more than 400 people in the past month. And on Friday morning, furious after visiting a town where suspected drug dealers shot a police chief in the chest, Duterte told reporters that he had given police orders to shoot to kill when they come across anyone they believe to be involved in drug trade.

Ill really have you killed, he said Friday. My order is shoot to kill you. I dont care about human rights, you better believe me.

Activists have urged Duterte to scale back his countrywide hunt for drug dealers in order to give suspects an opportunity for due process and a fair trial before they are executed on the countrys streets. But Duterte has not relented.

He promised on the campaign trail that he would halt the drug trade after six months, and in addition to the 400 already killed, another 4,400 have been arrested.

And, according to officials in Dutertes camp, some 500,000 people have turned themselves into authorities to avoid being violently targeted by the police. Those numbers were made public by Dutertes administration and have not been confirmed by outside parties.

But if he does have half-a-million people in custody, Duterte likely doesnt know what to do with them. Some plans have been floated for rehabilitation centers, but they are reportedly still in the works.

Even local politicians are not free from the new government program intended to entirely wipe drugs out of the country. Three mayors turned themselves in this month to avoid retribution.

I will not hesitate to kill you  dont think that youre a governor or a mayor, Duterte said. Youll be the first to go before the civilians.

Duterte earned his hardline reputation when he served as mayor of Davao City, on the southern island of Mindanao, and ruled by the mantra that killing criminals was the best way to keep the city safe.

Story continues

After winning the May presidential election, it was clear he would bring that philosophy to the whole nation.

Double your efforts. Triple them, if need be, he said in a July speech. We will not stop until the last drug lord, the last financier, and the last pusher have surrendered or put behind bars  or below the ground, if they so wish.

Photo credit: Dondi Tawatao/Getty Images
By Neil Jerome Morales and Krishna N. Das

MANILA (Reuters) - A Philippines bank that was used as a conduit by cyber criminals to transfer $81 million from the Bangladesh central bank's account at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York on Friday challenged Bangladesh Bank to take it to court.

The unknown hackers tried to steal nearly $1 billion from the Bangladesh Bank account between Feb. 4 and Feb. 5, and succeeded in transferring $81 million to four accounts at Rizal Commercial Banking Corp (RCB.PS) (RCBC) in Manila.

Bangladesh is seeking to recover about $18 million that has been frozen in the Philippines, and Bangladesh Bank officials say errors at RCBC enabled the rest to disappear into the casino industry.

But RCBC told Reuters that the "Philippine side has done its part" and that the transfers were made based on authenticated instructions over payments network SWIFT. The hackers used stolen Bangladesh Bank credentials to issue the instructions.

"Going to court instead of the media and various Philippine government agencies is the proper procedure," RCBC said in a statement. "We will welcome that complaint as RCBC did not keep any of the funds that were released by the NY Fed and sent via three global banks after authentication by SWIFT."

The statement added that Bangladesh Bank must follow the "correct legal procedures instead of unduly burdening the Philippine government".

A source close to Bangladesh Bank, who has direct knowledge of the legal position of the central bank, said it would sue RCBC if ongoing efforts to recover the money fail.

A Bangladesh central bank team is currently in Manila to hasten the recovery process but said they were close to getting back only $15 million of the total loot.

Bangladesh Bank spokesman Subhankar Saha could not immediately be reached for comment.

(Reporting by Krishna N. Das; Editing by Will Waterman)
Anyone who tried taking a flatlay for Instagram knows that it is a skill on its own. For the hundreds of flatlays featured on Airfrovs Instagram feed, weve tried using sunlight and adding colors. But the greatest stumbling block has got to be looking for the right props. Fresh flowers dont last, marbled materials just dont come cheap.

insta flatlay

Not until we chanced upon Kmart & Primarks Instagram feed. We learned that props need not be expensive nor is there a need for perishable flowers. We combed Australias Kmart & UKs Primark stores for beautiful items that will cost you no more than $10.

Take a look at how these delicate homewares can add dimension and complement your flatlay:

Seriously cool accessories from only 2/3 in our homeware department right now! #Primark #PrimarkHome #interior A photo posted by Primark (@primark) on Jul 1, 2016 at 12:34pm PDT

Instagram props - homeware

White Hanging Cow Skull

from Primark, UK

3 (Approx SGD $5.30)

Its the little things that make us smile (and the little prices!) Home accessories and ring sets from only 2.50/3 #Primark #PrimarkHome #accessories #littlethings A photo posted by Primark (@primark) on Jun 16, 2016 at 11:06pm PDT

Instagram props - homeware

White Heart Trinket Tray

from Primark, UK

3 (Approx SGD $5.30)

This cute weekly planner at only 5/7 makes creating those to-do lists a little easier! #Primark #PrimarkHome #homeware A photo posted by Primark (@primark) on Jun 17, 2016 at 7:12am PDT

Instagram props - homeware

Weekly Planner Chalkboard

from Primark, UK

5 (Approx SGD $8.80)

New season pastels fit @sophsthings home just perfectly! Our geometric pot adds a soft touch of colour to any corner! Also available in white, mint and orange. #kmartaus #kmartstyling #geometric #pastel #pot A photo posted by Kmart Australia (@kmartaus) on Nov 7, 2015 at 10:37pm PST

Instagram props - homeware

Geo Pot

from KMart Australia

AUD $3 (Approx SGD $3)

Such a gorgeous display of our removable trays styled with jewellery by @iammisskatherine. #kmartstyling #kmartaus #kmartaustralia #pastelhomewares A photo posted by Kmart Australia (@kmartaus) on Feb 7, 2016 at 10:04pm PST

Instagram props - homeware

Hexagon Metal Trays  Set of 3

from KMart Australia

AUD $6 (Approx SGD $6.10)



Small Canister

from KMart Australia

AUD $5 (Approx SGD $5)

Story continues

Instagram props - homeware

Concrete Storage Box

from KMart Australia

AUD $5 (Approx SGD $5)

These cute little trinket trays are just 3/4 for the set #Primark #PrimarkHome #homeware #accessories A photo posted by Primark (@primark) on Jul 17, 2016 at 2:01am PDT

Instagram props - homeware

2 Pack Mono Cat Trinket Trays

from Primark, UK

3 (Approx SGD $5.30)

Want to get hold of the above home decor accessories without flying to UK or Australia?

Ask an Airfrov traveller for help!

Heres how it works:

1) Post a new request / Click on + to copy others request

2) Input details such as item description, willing to pay price (cost price + tips for travellers effort)

3) Wait for traveller to offer help

4) Pay deposit (held safely by Airfrov until traveller returns with correct goods)

5) Wait for travellers to return to Singapore!

Instagram props - homeware

Facebook

twitter

reddit

pinterest

linkedin

mail

The post In Pictures: Up your Instagram game with 8 Beautiful Homeware below $10 appeared first on Airfrov Blog.
By Simon Jessop, Sinead Cruise and Carolyn Cohn

LONDON (Reuters) - A government plan to overhaul how local authorities invest their workers' pension money is meeting opposition from some trustees worried they will be forced to accept low returns for funding new roads, railways and other capital projects.

The government has proposed merging nearly 200 billion pounds ($280 billion) of local authority retirement savings into investment pools to help pay for improvements to Britain's infrastructure. It is also wooing other investors such as insurance companies who want secure, long-term revenue streams.

While several years in gestation, the plan has taken on greater importance since Britain's vote in June to leave the European Union, with new Prime Minister Theresa May looking for lasting remedies to support an economy facing a period of stagnation and weak growth.

But there is opposition to the ambitious scheme among the stewards of 89 Local Government Pension Schemes (LGPS) in England and Wales, who together manage the retirement savings of more than 5 million people.

The government says its plan will help them to trim costs and improve returns when many are struggling to plug deficits caused by weaker returns on staple bond and stock investments.

But some scheme managers say they are concerned over what they see as an attempt by central government to take more control of their investment policies.

"It could be very positive and mean substantial investment in infrastructure schemes or it might mean the dead hand of the Treasury comes in and say 'you will invest in this'," said David Wilcox, a councillor in Derbyshire, central England.

"That's my greatest concern and the concern of the scheme members."

VARIABLE RETURNS

Local officials fear the investment pools could mean they end up funding riskier or lower return projects than they might choose to support independently, a Reuters analysis of minutes from council meetings between September 2015 and June 2016 and a survey of committee members in May and June showed.

Story continues

The schemes are used to having full control of their investments and are reluctant to surrender any more power in what is already a centralised political system.

A spokesman for the Department of Communities and Local Government (DCLG) said the government has not said local authorities will be compelled to invest in infrastructure, just that it should be considered.

Yields on building projects also vary widely.

Returns on low-risk infrastructure debt could be as low as Euribor plus 250 basis points, said Peter Hobbs of advisory firm bFinance, and are unchanged since the Brexit vote.

Riskier projects, meanwhile, are more akin to private equity investments and can net returns of up to 25 percent, he added.

NEW PROJECTS

Since taking power last month, May's administration has announced plans for a 344 million pound ($457 million) expansion of London's City Airport, and could back a multi-billion pound high-speed rail project to link London with central England.

UK Treasury and DCLG spokesmen told Reuters the local government wealth fund plan will be proceeding, with the pools potentially up and running by April 2018.

While the local schemes are broadly open to investing more in infrastructure, problem projects such as the over-budget Channel Tunnel linking Britain and France remain fresh in the memory of investment committees.

Many say infrastructure projects are often too complex, fraught with construction and operational risks and tough to exit.

Only five councils of the 89 contacted by Reuters said they had no concerns about the government's plan, while 46 said they were concerned it could see them compelled to invest in low-quality infrastructure projects.

"The government's desire to find a pot of money to pay for infrastructure developments shouldn't override our basic duty of care to members to invest in the right investments," David Bawn, a councillor in Northumberland in northern England, told Reuters.

Two councillors told Reuters they would consider legal action if the government sought to force them to invest in projects they did not like, or imposed an arbitrary target for infrastructure investment, citing their fiduciary duty to scheme members.

FOLLOWING CANADA AND AUSTRALIA

With just 1 percent of LGPS assets currently invested in infrastructure debt or equity, even a small increase in allocation would help the government.

That figure contrasts with the likes of Canada and Australia, where large pension funds invest around 8-15 percent in infrastructure.

Hobbs of bFinance said a realistic target in Britain was for five percent of LGPS funds to go into infrastructure over the next 5-10 years.

That would not be risk-free, however.

"Nudging or mandating UK pension assets to invest in UK infrastructure projects, creating jobs for UK citizens and creating economic stimulus within the UK, sounds like a laudable aspiration for a government," said BNY Mellon in a February report on the pooling initiative.

"But it brings with it huge amounts of risk both for the members of the LGPS and for the council taxpayers who will have to foot the bill in the event that investments go wrong."

Above all, those running local schemes value the freedom to invest as they see fit.

"We would want to be invested in infrastructure where it's going to produce the best returns, whether that is supplying rolling stock in London or providing a hydroelectric plant in Norway " said Bill Gifford, who is a councillor in Warwickshire, central England.

(Additional reporting by Stefano Berra and Rod Morrison; Editing by Rachel Armstrong and Keith Weir)
By Simon Jessop, Sinead Cruise and Carolyn Cohn LONDON (Reuters) - A government plan to overhaul how local authorities invest their workers' pension money is meeting opposition from some trustees worried they will be forced to accept low returns for funding new roads, railways and other capital projects. The government has proposed merging nearly 200 billion pounds ($280 billion) of local authority retirement savings into investment pools to help pay for improvements to Britain's infrastructure. It is also wooing other investors such as insurance companies who want secure, long-term revenue streams. While several years in gestation, the plan has taken on greater importance since Britain's vote in June to leave the European Union, with new Prime Minister Theresa May looking for lasting remedies to support an economy facing a period of stagnation and weak growth. But there is opposition to the ambitious scheme among the stewards of 89 Local Government Pension Schemes (LGPS) in England and Wales, who together manage the retirement savings of more than 5 million people. The government says its plan will help them to trim costs and improve returns when many are struggling to plug deficits caused by weaker returns on staple bond and stock investments. But some scheme managers say they are concerned over what they see as an attempt by central government to take more control of their investment policies. "It could be very positive and mean substantial investment in infrastructure schemes or it might mean the dead hand of the Treasury comes in and say 'you will invest in this'," said David Wilcox, a councillor in Derbyshire, central England. "That's my greatest concern and the concern of the scheme members." VARIABLE RETURNS Local officials fear the investment pools could mean they end up funding riskier or lower return projects than they might choose to support independently, a Reuters analysis of minutes from council meetings between September 2015 and June 2016 and a survey of committee members in May and June showed. The schemes are used to having full control of their investments and are reluctant to surrender any more power in what is already a centralised political system. A spokesman for the Department of Communities and Local Government (DCLG) said the government has not said local authorities will be compelled to invest in infrastructure, just that it should be considered. Yields on building projects also vary widely. Returns on low-risk infrastructure debt could be as low as Euribor plus 250 basis points, said Peter Hobbs of advisory firm bFinance, and are unchanged since the Brexit vote. Riskier projects, meanwhile, are more akin to private equity investments and can net returns of up to 25 percent, he added. NEW PROJECTS Since taking power last month, May's administration has announced plans for a 344 million pound ($457 million) expansion of London's City Airport, and could back a multi-billion pound high-speed rail project to link London with central England. UK Treasury and DCLG spokesmen told Reuters the local government wealth fund plan will be proceeding, with the pools potentially up and running by April 2018. While the local schemes are broadly open to investing more in infrastructure, problem projects such as the over-budget Channel Tunnel linking Britain and France remain fresh in the memory of investment committees. Many say infrastructure projects are often too complex, fraught with construction and operational risks and tough to exit. Only five councils of the 89 contacted by Reuters said they had no concerns about the government's plan, while 46 said they were concerned it could see them compelled to invest in low-quality infrastructure projects. "The government's desire to find a pot of money to pay for infrastructure developments shouldn't override our basic duty of care to members to invest in the right investments," David Bawn, a councillor in Northumberland in northern England, told Reuters. Two councillors told Reuters they would consider legal action if the government sought to force them to invest in projects they did not like, or imposed an arbitrary target for infrastructure investment, citing their fiduciary duty to scheme members. FOLLOWING CANADA AND AUSTRALIA With just 1 percent of LGPS assets currently invested in infrastructure debt or equity, even a small increase in allocation would help the government. That figure contrasts with the likes of Canada and Australia, where large pension funds invest around 8-15 percent in infrastructure. Hobbs of bFinance said a realistic target in Britain was for five percent of LGPS funds to go into infrastructure over the next 5-10 years. That would not be risk-free, however. "Nudging or mandating UK pension assets to invest in UK infrastructure projects, creating jobs for UK citizens and creating economic stimulus within the UK, sounds like a laudable aspiration for a government," said BNY Mellon in a February report on the pooling initiative. "But it brings with it huge amounts of risk both for the members of the LGPS and for the council taxpayers who will have to foot the bill in the event that investments go wrong." Above all, those running local schemes value the freedom to invest as they see fit. "We would want to be invested in infrastructure where it's going to produce the best returns, whether that is supplying rolling stock in London or providing a hydroelectric plant in Norway " said Bill Gifford, who is a councillor in Warwickshire, central England. (Additional reporting by Stefano Berra and Rod Morrison; Editing by Rachel Armstrong and Keith Weir)
VANCOUVER, BC / ACCESSWIRE / August 5, 2016 / Plata Latina Minerals Corporation (PLA.V) ("Plata Latina" or the "Company") announces that effective immediately Ms. Margaret Brodie has resigned as the Chief Financial Officer ("CFO") of the Company and accepted her appointment as Director to the Board. Ms. Patricia Fong has been appointed as the new CFO. Ms. Fong, CPA, CMA, has twenty years of experience in the mining industry overseeing projects in Canada, United States and Latin America and working with foreign investor groups. She is currently the CFO of two resources companies in Vancouver, B.C.

Gil Clausen, Chairman of the Board, stated, "We would like to thank Ms. Brodie for her hard work and years of contributions as the CFO to Plata Latina and welcome her to the Board as Director. Concurrently, we welcome Ms. Fong to the management team as CFO of the Company."

The Company also advises that it has granted an aggregate of 100,000 stock options to an officer and an employee of the Company. The options are exercisable at C$0.06 per share for a period of five years, expiring on August 1, 2021.

About Plata Latina Minerals

Plata Latina Minerals is a Canadian exploration company with a portfolio of four silver-gold properties situated in the prolific Mexican Silver Belt focused on discovering new silver-gold vein districts. Plata Latina's expertise in the ore horizon concept and extensive experience in Mexico provides a competitive edge for discovery of new districts between old historic deposits. Its highly experienced management team and board are focused on developing its portfolio of high-potential targets and exploring additional value-creation opportunities. The Company trades on the TSX Venture Exchange under "PLA".

For more information on Plata Latina, please contact:

Mike Clarke, President & CEO

Telephone: +1 720 984 1076

Email: info@plminerals.com

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor the Investment Industry Regulatory Organization of Canada accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

Story continues

Forward Looking Statements

This news release contains forward-looking statements and other statements that are not historical facts including statements about the Company's latest exploration program. Such forward-looking statements are subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties and assumptions that could cause actual results to vary materially from target results or events predicted in these forward-looking statements. As a result, investors are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements.

The forward-looking statements contained in this news release are made as of the date of this release. Except as required by applicable law, Plata Latina disclaims any intention and assumes no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. Forward-looking information reflects the current expectations or belief of the Company based on information currently available and such information is subject to a number of assumptions, risks and uncertainties, including risks related to exploration, uncertainties related to financings, the uncertainties of interpreting exploration results and other risks associated being a mineral exploration company.

NOT FOR DISTRIBUTION TO U.S. NEWSWIRE SERVICES OR FOR DISSEMINATION IN THE UNITED STATES

SOURCE: Plata Latina Minerals Corporation
This summer hasnt seen a lot of setbacks for Russia, not even for its Olympic hopefuls. Crimea has been annexed and fully absorbed, with the blessing of Republican presidential front-runner Donald Trump, who also calls NATO obsolete. Russian intelligence services have allegedly been pawing through the emails of U.S. political parties, and releasing them at their leisure. Turkey, in the wake of a failed coup attempt, is rushing to mend fences with Moscow.

All of which makes last months decision by the Polish antitrust regulator to file a formal objection against Russias proposed Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline more noteworthy. That regulatory spanner could be Europes last and best chance to halt construction of a pipeline that critics say will divide Europe, beggar Ukraine, and reinforce Moscows energy dominance for another generation.

For years, Russia has sought to keep Europe dependent on its exports of energy, especially through natural gas pipelines. But Moscow is also desperate to cut out potentially meddlesome middlemen, like Ukraine, which sits smack between Russias natural gas fields and millions of European consumers. That gives Kiev the ability to interrupt Russian gas flows headed to Europe, infuriating Moscow, but also earns Ukraine billions of dollars in much-needed transit fees.

A decade ago, Russia enlisted former German Chancellor Gerhard Schroder to help it build a pipe across the Baltic from Russia to Germany, sidestepping Ukraine: Nord Stream. Then Russia tried to build another pipeline, South Stream, across the Black Sea from Russia to Bulgaria, also bypassing Ukraine, but that was quashed by the European Union in 2014. Then, Moscow invented the idea of a Turkish Stream, another proposed Black Sea pipe, one landing in Turkey, outside of Brusselss reach. But last fall, Turkish F-16s shot down a Russian jet, and with it hopes of any immediate Russo-Turkish energy cooperation.

Theyve had anything but success at bypassing Ukraine, said Sijbren de Jong of the Hague Center for Strategic Studies. They keep launching very large, very capital-intensive infrastructure projects, time and time again, with little to show for it, he said.

This sent Russia back to basics  and to the Baltic  with the announcement last year of Nord Stream 2. The project proposed to double the existing, under-utilized pipeline that would directly connect Europes biggest gas supplier and Russias biggest gas customer, Germany.

The project, a 10 billion-euro brainchild of Russian gas giant Gazprom and a handful of Western energy companies, has unleashed torrents of political abuse. Politicians in central and Eastern Europe  whod suffer the most if Ukraine is cut out as a transit country  have railed against the pipeline for a year. The European Unions top energy official has gone red in the face opposing Nord Stream 2, especially since it would directly undercut the EUs entire energy strategy. Just this week, Americas top energy diplomat, Amos Hochstein, said the pipeline would resurrect the Cold War divisions in Europe.

Germany, though, loves the idea, which could turn it into Europes gas hub. Top officials including Chancellor Angela Merkel and Sigmar Gabriel, the economic and energy minister, publicly and privately back the project. The European Commission has said that Nord Stream 2 must comply with all European laws and regulations, but has not taken any steps to block the pipeline, even though those laws and regulations are what sunk South Stream. The pipelines backers say they arent feeling any pressure from the European Commission. Nordic countries through whose waters the pipeline must travel have been mum.

But the Polish Office of Competition and Consumer Protection last month determined that Nord Stream 2  which wouldnt even touch Polish territory  could harm consumers. The Office found that the concentration might lead to restriction of competition, it tentatively concluded, adding that the project could further strengthen Gazproms dominant position.

The regulator has until the end of the year to make a final decision on the project. Gazprom and its partners on the project have one month to answer the Polish regulators objections; at the very least, the antitrust concerns threaten to set back construction of the pipeline.

Poland basically threw a wrench down the pipe, so to speak, said de Jong. Gazprom is trying very hard to circumvent all these pesky transit states but they keep biting back. Some days youre the dog, some days youre the tree.

Why does a gas pipeline raise so much dander on both sides of the Atlantic? For U.S. officials, who have spent a lifetime trying to help Europe reduce its dependence on Russian energy  and the geopolitical leverage that comes with it  Nord Stream 2 is the opposite of helpful. For many in central and Eastern Europe, whove repeatedly been subjected to Russian strong-arming, often times with their gas supplies cut off entirely, giving Moscow a direct route into the heart of the Continent is downright scary.

And for plenty of folks in Brussels, which has spent the better part of a decade trying to liberalize the Continents energy markets, Nord Stream 2 represents a frontal challenge to EU law; even before Nord Stream 2, the EU competition office was investigating Gazprom for alleged non-competitive behavior throughout the European market. Alan Riley, a British law professor and fellow at the Atlantic Council, has argued that the pipeline likely violates crucial EU regulations, especially rules meant to pry open the energy sector and reduce the power of monopolies.

But some energy experts say that an expanded pipeline straight into Germany could actually help competition, by bolstering and expanding central Europes gas markets, making them function more like U.S. gas markets. One recent study, funded by the companies hoping to build Nord Stream 2, says the project amounts to a test case for European regulators, who have to decide whether to apply rules impartially, or with a political agenda.

Ultimately, if Europe does manage to knit together its fragmented energy market by laying new pipelines connecting one country to another, then another Gazprom pipe might not be that big a deal. If Europe were fully interconnected, other sources of gas  such as liquefied gas shipped over from the United States or Qatar, or even the eastern Mediterranean  could be pumped throughout the continent, wherever they are needed, and consumers would benefit from low prices. Without that connective tissue, though, Nord Stream 2 could just tighten Moscows stranglehold even more.

Its certainly Russias right to be able to choose how it wants to deliver its gas to Europe, so long as whatever pipelines it builds conform to EU regulations, said John Roberts, an energy consultant at Methinks Ltd. and also a fellow at the Atlantic Council.

The project is fine, he said, so long as its not simply reinforcing a monopoly in southern and eastern Europe, and to avoid that, more has got to be done.

Photo credit: ALAIN JOCARD/AFP/Getty
Makalu plane plunges into river

A single-engine aircraft belonging to Makalu Air made a forced landing in a river in Simikot on Thursday afternoon after it encountered an engine failure.
By Michelle Nichols UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - Former Portuguese Prime Minister Antonio Guterres is still the front-runner to become the next United Nations Secretary-General after a second U.N. Security Council secret ballot on Friday, said diplomats. The 15-member council cast a ballot for each of the 11 candidates, and the choice is encourage, discourage or no opinion. Guterres received 11 encourage, two discourage and two no opinions, diplomats said. In the first poll on July 21, Guterres received 12 encourages and three no opinions. Former Serbian Foreign Minister Vuk Jeremic moved up to second with eight encourage, four discourage and three no opinion, edging out Argentinian Foreign Minister Susana Malcorra who got eight encourage, six discourage and one no opinion. Former Slovenian President Danilo Turk dropped to fourth from second with seven encourage, five discourage and three no opinion, while Irina Bokova of Bulgaria, director-general of U.N. cultural organisation UNESCO took fifth spot. The Security Council will hold secret ballots until a consensus is reached on a candidate to replace U.N. chief Ban Ki-moon of South Korea who steps down at the end of 2016 after serving two five-year terms. There are 11 candidates, six men and five women, vying for the post. Former Croatian Foreign Minister Vesna Pusic, who came last in the first ballot, dropped out of the race on Thursday. (Graphic - http://tmsnrt.rs/2aLr6IV) Civil society groups and nearly a third of the 193 U.N. member states, led by Colombia, have pushed for the first woman secretary-general. Four of those countries, Japan, Spain, Uruguay and Venezuela are in the security council. But hopes for a woman to lead the United Nations appear to be fading. Russia's U.N. Ambassador Vitaly Churkin said this week that was because "the people who have spoken so loudly about the need to support a woman have not done that when it came to the actual straw poll." Guterres was prime minister of Portugal from 1995 to 2002 and served as United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees from June 2005 to December 2015. Diplomats said the council aimed to recommend a candidate to the 193-member General Assembly for election by October. Ultimately, the five permanent veto-wielding council members - the United States, Russia, Britain, China and France - must agree on a candidate. (Reporting by Michelle Nichols; editing by Grant McCool)
Capping off perhaps the worst week of Donald Trumps presidential campaign, a new wave of national polls show Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton gaining a significantly wider lead over her Republican rival.

The latest numbers are accompanied by a few caveats, however, not least of all is the fact that they arrive in the dead of summer and on the heels of Clintons historic presidential nomination at last weeks Democratic National Convention.

Still, Clintons sudden surge seems to reflect more than a simple post-convention boost.

Not only are her numbers rising, but the polls also show a major recent drop in support for Trump amid a cacophony of controversy that includes ongoing feuds with the Gold Star parents of a fallen Muslim American soldier as well as members of the GOPs top brass, reports of chaos and frustration within both Trumps campaign and his party, and a growing list of prominent Republicans publicly defecting to the Clinton camp.

A McClatchy/Marist poll released Thursday put Clinton at a 15-point lead over Trump, with the chasm between the candidates growing from a tight 42-39 last month to 48-33.

In addition to welcoming a new wave of fans from within Clintons own party, the pollster noted that she has also seen a recent surge in support from white voters and men  two constituencies crucial to a Republican victory, the firm wrote.

Other polls showed Clinton expanding her advantage by slightly more modest  though still significant  margins.

According to an NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll released Thursday, the former secretary of state has almost doubled her lead over Trump since last month, a mere 5 points before both party conventions to a more substantial 9 this week.

In terms of demographics, the NBC/WSJ poll found Clinton beating Trump by wide margins with women (51-35), young voters (46-34), white voters with a college degree (47-40), and all non-white voters (69-17). By far the starkest contrast in support was seen among African-American voters, only 1 percent of whom favored Trump compared with 91 percent for Clinton. And among the groups that did favor the Republican nominee in the poll, his advantage over Clinton was much smaller.

Story continues

Hillary Clinton gives two thumbs up at the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia, July 28, 2016. (Photo: Alex Wong/Getty Images)

When paired with their respective running mates, the same poll found that 47 percent of registered voters favor Clinton and Democratic vice presidential candidate Tim Kaine while 38 percent support the GOP ticket with Trump and running mate Mike Pence.

Similarly, a Fox News poll released Wednesday found 49 percent of voters supported a Clinton-Kaine ticket while 39 percent were in favor of Republicans Trump and Pence.

Clinton also appears to be making strides at the state level.

On Friday, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution published the results of a poll that showed Clinton taking the lead over Trump in Georgia, a state that has voted for every Republican presidential nominee since 1996. Though relatively narrow, Clintons 44-40 percent lead over Trump in Georgia this week showed a significant change since May, when the last AJC poll found Trump beating Clinton 45-41.

Georgia still isnt directly in Clintons crosshairs, and her campaign has yet to declare Georgia a battleground state, the AJC noted. But a common strain from the Democratic and Republican conventions was that Georgia has the chance to turn blue for the first time since Bill Clintons 1992 win over President George H.W. Bush.
London (AFP) - British band Viola Beach scored a posthumous number one with their debut album on Friday, topping the charts in their homeland six months after they were killed in a road accident in Sweden.

Band members Jack Dakin, Kris Leonard, Tomas Lowe and River Reeves died with manager Craig Tarry in February when their car plunged more than 25 metres (80 feet) off a bridge in Sodertalje, southwest of Stockholm.

Their self-titled first album, released on July 29, entered Britain's official album chart at number one on Friday, and the band's family thanked fans for their support.

"What will now define their lives and what they will be remembered for, forever, is the music they were so passionate about making together," they said in a statement.

Martin Talbot, chief executive of the Official Albums Chart, said it was "hard to think of an album which more people were rooting for than the Viola Beach release, nor a success which has felt so bittersweet".

The circumstances of the crash remain unclear.

The band's car drove through a signal light and two barriers towards a canal bridge which had not fully closed after a vessel passed underneath.

A preliminary autopsy found that the driver, whose identity has not been formally confirmed, did not have "elevated levels of drugs or alcohol" in his body.

Surveillance footage from the bridge provided no clues to the cause of the accident.
Sweden's Prince Carl Philip and Princess Sofia took a trip down memory lane on Wednesday when they paid a visit to the town where they first met seven years ago  only this time, 3-month-old son Prince Alexander tagged along!



The royals mixed in a little business with their family trip to Bastad, a small town about 200 miles from of Stockholm, as Sofia is expected to tend to official duties on behalf of her charity, Project Playground.



The royal plans to meet with key figures working to advance "Boundless," a new partnership initiative on behalf of her organization, which helps African children.



"This is something that Princess Sofia thinks is important, to be able to help," Swedish royal family spokeswoman Margareta Thorgren said.







The meeting, which will include John Hope Bryant, an itinerant adviser to President Barack Obama, is themed "A Sustainable Tomorrow," and aims to develop new venues, increase social responsibility and create better conditions for vulnerable youth.



 Want to keep up with the latest royals coverage? Click here to subscribe to the Royals Newsletter.



Princess Sofia, who calls herself a country bumpkin at heart, should certainly feel at home in the locale where she first met her husband. She and the prince also dropped in to relax in the town after their honeymoon in Fiji last summer.



On Wednesday, Prince Carl Philip took the opportunity to indulge his love of competitive driving at a local go-kart track with Jan-Ake Hansson, who was the best man at his wedding, according to the Swedish newspaper Expressen.



Later, the young royal couple enjoyed dinner together at Sea Republic, a new harborside restaurant.





Will Prince George and His Royal Family be Moving to London Soon?





"It's great to have them here," restaurateur Hugo Soderberg said. "I hope they were as happy as all the other guests. And I'd love them to come back."



The royal couple, who fit right in with their casual style, seemed relaxed as they mingled with locals.



This is the first of two appearances scheduled for Princess Sofia before the christening of Prince Alexander in Drottningholm Palace's Royal Chapel on September 9.
Pyper America Smith is the new brand ambassador for OPI Infinite Shine. (Photo: OPI)

One of our favorite nail polish brands just upped its cool factor another notch. OPI has named model-musician Pyper America Smith as the brand ambassador of its long-wear Infinite Shine line. The brand is also expanding the gel-like line with 30 of its most iconic nail colors, including Big Apple Red, Cajun Shrimp, and Lincoln Park After Dark.

If youre wondering what makes the 19-year-old right for this new role, then you should know that she has had a long love affair with nail polish. When I was younger, I put red nail polish on my lips. I didnt know  I was obsessed with the color and thought it would look really pretty, Smith told Yahoo Beauty at an OPI Infinite Shine event in New York City on Thursday.

Now much older and wiser, Smith rocks nail polish only on her nails  and she is quick to admit that shell paint them whenever and wherever she likes. Giving us a sneak peek inside her black backpack, we found OPI shades Youre Such a BudaPest (a creme periwinkle-purple) and Teal the Cows Come Home (a shimmery deep turquoise). I have it in my bag because I paint my nails anywhere, which is inappropriate. But Ive painted my nails after I ate at a restaurant, says Smith.

When shes not disturbing the peace with her not-a-care-in-the-world nail polishing routine, Smith likes to sit at home, take her time filing her nails, and treat her cuticles with extra TLC. Modeling gigs often require her to rock minimalist manis, but Smith is still entranced by Japanese nail art and Harajuku girls with their dangly nail charms.

Smith is also quite the DIYer, having recently transformed her signature platinum hair with a light wash of pink dye. She keeps her strands healthy by getting frequent trims and using good old coconut oil as a hair mask. Even though Smith is open to experimenting with different hair colors, she says that she will never dramatically cut her hair.

Wed guess that her model-brother Lucky Blue would agree, as he has switched up his bright blond tousled do to go gray. But if the two were ever to go head-to-head in a smizing face-off, she says hed absolutely win. She explains: He has this Blue Steel look that can just stare right into your soul. I would just start laughing.

Story continues

Look out for Pyper America Smith in the new ads that will accompany OPI Infinite Shines 30 iconic shades when they hit counters and salons Sept. 1.

Pyper America Smith poses for an OPI Infinite Shine ad campaign. (Photo: OPI)

Lets keep in touch! Follow Yahoo Beauty on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Pinterest.
Amy Sherman-Palladino has cast rising young actress Rachel Brosnahan (House of Cards, Manhattan) in the title role of her Amazon dramedy pilot The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel.

Set in the 1950s, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel centers on Miriam Midge Maisel (Brosnahan), a 25-year-old sharp, sunny, energetic and absolutely adorable Jewish girl married and living with her husband and two children in NYC. A woman of her time, Midge is a dutiful daughter and a cheerleader of a wife to a man who, though he has a good job in his fathers company, sadly harbors delusional dreams of a stand-up comedy career. One day, Midges perfect life blows up when her husband leaves her for another woman. Completely unprepared, Midge suddenly finds herself at sea with only her wit to help her build a brand new life for herself. She goes on to become one of the first female standup comics.

Sherman-Palladino wrote the script and executive produces with Dan Palladino.

This marks the second big role for Brosnahan at Amazon where she also recently landed one of the leads in the new Woody Allen series.

Brosnahan was a regular on WGN Americas Manhattan in addition to playing the key role of Rachel Posner on Netflixs House Of Cards, which earned her a guest starring Emmy nomination. On the film side, her credits include The Finest Hours, Joachim Triers Louder Than Bombs and Peter Bergs upcoming Patriots Day. Shes repped by Innovative Artists, Carole Dibo Talent Management and Schreck Rose.

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By Ed Cropley JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - A party of South African radical leftists has emerged as electoral kingmaker in major cities Pretoria and Johannesburg, giving a first taste of power to an ANC renegade who was once an acolyte of President Jacob Zuma. This week's municipal elections have shown just slender nationwide gains for Julius Malema's red beret-wearing Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF), who are demanding nationalisation of mines and banks and a redistribution of wealth to poor black people as antidotes to still-glaring inequality. The three-year-old party - contesting its first local elections - has not reaped as much rewards from voters deserting the ruling African National Congress as the main opposition Democratic Alliance (DA), and is in a distant third place in the elections with about 8 percent of the vote countrywide. That result suggests South Africa's flatlining growth and persistently high unemployment - at the official rate one in four people is without a job - is not translating into a wholesale slide towards the EFF's brand of militant socialism. But the ANC's worst losses since the end of apartheid have shifted South Africa from what was effectively a one-party system into an era of coalition politics - allowing the EFF to punch above its weight in the role of kingmakers. The calculus has thrown up two results that put 35-year-old Malema in the box seat in Gauteng, the province that includes Johannesburg and Pretoria and accounts for 40 percent of the economy. Neck-and-neck races between the ANC and DA in Johannesburg and Tshwane - home to the capital Pretoria - mean the EFF's 10 percent share of the vote will be needed for coalitions there. As it became clear his party could hold the balance of power, Malema - who was only 13 when white-minority rule ended and is one of the young generation of South African politicians adept on social media - put out a cryptic three-word tweet on Thursday: "Talks about talks". Which way he jumps remains a mystery, and neither option is particularly palatable to Malema, if his past comments are anything to go by. 'OIL AND WATER' The EFF's 8 percent vote share countrywide, with nearly all ballots counted, would represent a gain of just 2 percentage points from national elections two years ago. It has won some support from voters frustrated about inequality in a country where black people make up about 80 percent of the 54 million population, yet most of the economy in terms of ownership of land and companies remains in the hands of white people, who are about 8 percent of the population. But the party is still a long way behind the DA, which has won about 26 percent of the vote and the ANC which leads with about 54 percent. Ideologically, the EFF is closer to the ANC, which at the national level is in a formal governing alliance with the Communist Party. Malema joined the ruling party when he was nine, rising to head the party's Youth League, and once proclaimed his readiness to kill for Zuma. However, his devotion turned to animosity and he was expelled from the ANC in 2012 for misconduct and went on to found the EFF the following year. He displays an intense and personal hatred of the president, particularly over his refusal to pay back some of the $16 million of state money spent on his personal home, as ordered by a constitutionally mandated anti-corruption watchdog in 2014. Malema and DA leader Mmusi Maimane, the first black leader of a party traditionally seen as the political home of wealthy whites, have ruled out any chance of doing a deal with the ANC. Which leaves, as the only option left, Malema getting into bed with the DA - a party he has consistently scorned as an agent of the "white monopoly capital" he says still controls Africa's most industrialised economy. Curiously such a deal might have long-term benefits for both the EFF and DA by forcing them to find common ground closer to the political centre and showing their respective core constituencies, black and white voters, that they are not the devils they are depicted to be. "Ideologically, the two parties are like oil and water - they don't mix. But what is ideological about eradicating bucket toilets?" said Prince Mashele of the Pretoria-based Centre for Politics and Research. "The EFF will have to tone down the anti-white rhetoric and the DA will have to learn how to talk to a young unemployed man living in a township," he said. "Ultimately, that's good for South Africa." (Editing by Pravin Char)
Malaysia top remittance sending country to Nepal

Nepal received the highest amount of remittance from Malaysia, the most popular destination among Nepali migrant workers.
CLINTON: Good morning. I am so pleased to be here, I want to thank you all for the invitation, for the introduction, to everyone associated with NABJ and NAHJ. I want to just mark the moment because you were created in this hotel. I dont know if there are any original founders but if there are could you all stand up and we could give you some recognition.

I am delighted to thank you for the important work you do everyday and now more then ever, we need you to keep holding leaders and candidates accountable. And in the tradition of path-breaking journalists like Ethel Payne and Ruben Salazar, we need you to make sure that Americas front pages, and nightly new casts, and online information reflects the great diversity of our nation.

Someone that I had the privilege of knowing, the late great Bob Maynard, former owner of the Oakland Tribune once said

(APPLAUSE)

And I quote Bob, It is in seeing ourselves whole that we can begin to see ways of working out our differences of understanding our similarities and becoming a more cohesive nation, and that is what you do everyday. Helping us to see ourselves as whole  Im looking forward to our discussion, which Im sure will cover a wide range of issues.

But I want to take just a few minutes to focus on a challenge that doesnt get enough attention on the campaign trial, although Ive been trying, and that is how do we expand economic opportunity for African-Americans and Latinos across America.

And you know very well  its been said  that when the economy catches a cold, communities of color get pneumonia.

The great recession hit our whole country hard but the toll was especially difficult for black and Latino families. Black wealth was cut in half, for Latinos it dropped 66 percent. That represented decades even generations of hard work, and during these past 18 months people across our country have described to me how hard its been to get back on their feet in an economy that is still not working the way we all want to see it, and barriers of systemic racism makes that even harder.

Now I believe that President Obama does not get the credit he deserves for leading us out of the great recession.

(APPLAUSE)

And I like to remind people, he had nothing to do with creating it in the first place.

(APPLAUSE)

He came into office in this worst of all financial crises since the Great Depression  was handed to him. And I think if you fairly look at the record, you have to conclude that his leadership saved us from a Great Depression.

CLINTON: So as bad a things became  9 million jobs lost, 5 million homes lost, $13 trillion in family wealth wiped out  as bad as it was, theres no telling how far down we would have gone without his leadership.

So we are out of the ditch that we were in and now weve got to do even more. Weve got to build on the progress weve made, 15 million new jobs in the last seven and a half years, 20 million people now have health insurance who did not have it before he became president.

So weve got to have the will and the plans together to move forward. Thats why Ive proposed a comprehensive new commitment to African American and Latino communities to make serious, sustained investments to create more good paying jobs. To help families build and rebuild wealth, to support Black and Latino owned small businesses.

For me these arent just economic issues, theyre part of a long, continuing struggle for civil rights. Rosa Parks opened up every seat on the bus, now weve got to expand economic opportunities so everyone can afford the fare and we have to make sure the bus route reaches every neighborhood and connects families with safe, affordable housing and good jobs.

(APPLAUSE)

Sylvia Mendez and Ruby Bridges helped desegregate our schools, now weve got to help every family afford the books, computers and internet access that our kids need to learn in the 21st century. And so in my first 100 days as president, we will work with both parties to pass the biggest investment in new good paying jobs since World War II. That includes jobs in manufacturing, clean energy, technology and innovation, small businesses and infrastructure.

If we invest in infrastructure now we will not only create jobs today, we will lay the foundation for the jobs of the future. Were going to also focus on creating jobs and communities where unemployment remains stubbornly high after generations of underinvestment and neglect. Im a big fan of Congressman Jim Clyburns 10-20-30 plan, steering 10 percent of federal investment to neighborhoods where 20 percent of the population has been living below the poverty line for 30 years.

We need that kind of focused, targeted investment in urban places, rural places, wherever Americans have been left out and left behind. Were also going to invest $20 billion in creating jobs for young people. Theres a big gap here. The unemployment rate among Latino and African American youth is significantly higher than for Whites. You know its hard to write a resume if you have nothing to put on it.

Were going to help our young people get that first job, so they can get that second job, so they can build a good, solid middle class life that will give them and their families a better future. Were also going to do more to help Black and Latino entrepreneurs get access to capital so they have a real chance at turning their ideas into thriving businesses.

Now I think thats not only good for those entrepreneurs, its good for their families, their workers and their communities. Additionally, as part of our end to end reform of the criminal justice system, were going to help people succeed when they return home from jail or prison. Were going to ban the box so they can be judged by their skills and talents, not by their pasts.

And we will dedicate $5 billion to provide training and support to returning citizens so they can get a good paying job. And in my first 100 days, Im going to introduce legislation for comprehensive immigration reform with a path to citizenship.

(APPLAUSE)

Thats not only the right thing to do, every independent analysis shows it will add hundreds of billions of dollars to our economy. It will also keep families together. We need to bring hard working people out of the shadows. America has always been a place where people from around the world work hard and apply their talents to American growth and innovation in pursuit of their own dreams.

So were going to do everything we can to get this done.

CLINTON: We need to build an economy and a future that every American can be proud of and be a part of; an economy that works for everyone, not just those at the top. That will be my mission as president.

These are just some of the highlights of our plan. I hope you will go to my website, hillaryclinton.com, to read the details, including how we are going to pay for everything I have proposed.

And of course, I hope you will compare what Im proposing to what my opponent is talking about. Now heres one measure that you could use for that comparison. An independent economist recently calculated that if my agenda for jobs and growth is put into place, our economy would create at least 10.4 million jobs within four years. We actually think it could be more than that.

Now, this economist also ran the numbers on Donald Trump, including his disastrous and inhumane plan to round up and deport millions of hard working immigrants.

The result, according to Mark Zandi, who was the economic advisor to John McCain during his 2008 run for the Presidency. The result of Trumps plans would be a lengthy recession, with 3.4 million jobs lost.

Now of course, Donald Trumps problems go far beyond economics. At every turn, he stokes division and resentment. He says horrible things about one group of Americans after another.

Hes hearkening back to the most shameful chapters of our history and appealing to the ugliest impulses of our society. You know the list, youve reported on it. He started this campaign by describing Mexican immigrants as criminals and rapists.

He re-tweets white nationalists. He says a distinguished Federal judge cant be trusted because he is of Mexican heritage. He talks about banning Muslims from coming to the United States, a land built on religious freedom. And yes, he also talks about curtailing press freedom as well.

We need to stand up as a country and say that Donald Trump doesnt represent who we are and what we believe.

That is what my campaign, what Tim Kaine and I and everyone supporting us is doing everyday. And were going to keep at it. Because I believe, with all my heart, that America is better than this. America is better than Donald Trump.

We just launched an all Spanish twitter account, because we want to bring as many Americans as possible into this conversation. Weve opened offices in every state, because we want to compete everywhere.

We want to bring our message and our vision to all corners of our country. But we cant do it alone. Everyone, Republican, Democrat, and Independent, needs to stand up and speak out.

Now, I think, journalists have a special responsibility to our democracy in a time like this. As Ida B. Wells once said, people must know before they can act, and there is no educator to compare to the press. Now, many of you are showing the way.

Its a badge of honor when Jorge Ramos gets thrown out of a press conference for challenging Donald Trump.

(APPLAUSE)

Or when another news organization gets banned for reporting what he says. As Jorge said, the best journalism happens when you take a stand, when you denounce injustice. So, I hope youll keep calling it, like you see it. Keeping holding all of us accountable.

You know, I have laid out all these plans. And Im well aware that I have been sometimes made fun of, for putting out these plans about the economy, and education and criminal justice reform and healthcare and gun safety measures and all the rest of it.

But I do have this old fashioned idea, when you run for President you ought to tell the voters of America what you would do as President. So, I am going to keep telling you what I would do, because I want you to hold me accountable, press and citizen alike. Because the stakes are as high as theyve ever been in our lifetimes. And we all have to do our part.

So, thank you for what you do everyday. Thank you for inviting me to address you today. And I look forward to taking some of your questions. Thank you all very much.

(APPLAUSE)

(UNKNOWN): Please welcome moderators, Kristen Welker, White House Correspondent for NBC news, and Lori Montenegro, National Correspondent for Telemundo.

(APPLAUSE)

WELKER: Thank you. I really appreciate it. Good afternoon to all of you. What an honor to be here. And, its fantastic to see so many people gathered here for this great conversation were going to have with Secretary Clinton.

Secretary Clinton, thank you for being here today. We really appreciate it.

Usually I am on the campaign trail with Secretary Clinton and were at a very crowded event, so its great to be able to have this conversation this afternoon.

MONTENEGRO: Madam Secretary, thank you so much for accompanying us. You know, so many questions, so little time, so I think we should just get right to it.

CLINTON: Great.

MONTENEGRO: You alluded to the topic that I want to ask you about. Latinos are very much concerned about the economy. They are concerned about education. They also believe in trustworthiness. I want to start with a topic that, I believe, will result, could, you know, tell the future of it after this election  its immigration reform.

Many Latinos are discouraged by the lack of immigration reform. They believe their vote has been taken for granted. We know what your position is. But, what I would like for you to do is to walk us through the steps.

CLINTON: Right.

MONTENEGRO: How will you get immigration reform, something that President Obama was not able to do, so that Latinos can believe that something is going to happen, that their vote, again, is not being taken for granted considering that the House, at least the House, will remain under Republican control? CLINTON: Its a great question, and its one that I, obviously, have given much thought to because I am determined that we are going to achieve comprehensive immigration reform with a path to citizenship.

So, here is how I see it  first of all, we are going to start immediately. I want this to be a clear, high priority for my administration. We will be prepared to introduce legislation as quickly as we can do so.

I am hoping that the outcome of the election, which I am working hard to ensure a victory, will send a clear message to our Republican friends that its time for them to quit standing in the way of immigration reform.

If you remember, after the 2012 election, the Republican National Committee did what they called an autopsy of their loss and concluded that they could not continue to deny the importance of immigration reform, and they urged Republicans running for office to get on board. Now, that hasnt turned out the way that they seemed to have hoped. We have, instead, a Republican nominee who has been virulently anti- immigrant.

But, theres nothing like winning to change minds. And, I think, number one, we have a good chance of having a Democratic Senate if everybody does what I hope they will do and vote for Democratic candidates for the Senate. I believe we will pick up some seats in the House and at least, if not take it back, narrow the numbers.

If we move in the Senate and then we demand that there be a vote in the House, because I am convinced that if the bipartisan bill that had been achieved in the Senate  remember when Marco Rubio was for it and people worked hard and achieved it?

If it had been allowed to come for a vote in the House, it would have passed. So, I view the political landscape as increasingly favorable to us making this happen. I will also defend the Presidents executive actions. I, like you, was disappointed with the Supreme Court decision, but remember what it did, it sent the case back to be tried. It did not determine the case. So, DACA and DAPA are still alive.

Trump has said one of his first acts as President would be to eliminate every executive order that President Obama has signed, including those on immigration issues. So, I will defend DACA and DAPA while I work vigorously for immigration reform.

CLINTON: I have proposed an Office of Immigrant Affairs for the White House so that we are able to answer questions and provide information and help people.

I will take a very hard look at the deportation priorities. My priority are violent criminals, people suspected of any kind of connection to terrorism, not hard working mothers and fathers and people who go to work, help support this economy, pay $12 billion a year into Social Security, so we will take a hard look at that. We will close private detention centers, just like I want to end private prisons. Were going to close private detention centers.

So, I have a very active agenda and were going to be moving on it and I believe  and you know, obviously it depends upon the outcome of this election  which is why its so important to register more voters.

My campaign is trying to register 3 million more voters, convince people to turn out, because were going to start early and were going to be tenacious and absolutely committed to getting a positive result. I think the chances, once we win, will improve dramatically.

MONTENEGRO: Madam Secretary, you spoke about the deportations. President Obama, some call the deporter-in-chief, you have alluded already to your priority will be criminals, but how do you walk balk the deportations? Theyre people who are not criminals that are deported daily from this country.

How do you walk back the deportations, comply with the law, and not inherit the title of deporter-in-chief, and at the same time, all these steps to help mobilize the Latino community to the polls, many who still believe that their vote is taken for granted in 2008 and 2012, and then we have the e-mails from WikiLeaks that say that are the loyalty brand of the party?

CLINTON: Well look, I think that the President was committed to immigration reform. Its one of the reasons we got the bi-partisan bill passed in the Senate. And what we didnt get though was enough political pressure to turn that bill into a voting issue in the 2010 midterm election.

And heres one of my frustrations: people turn out to vote for Presidential elections, and then often dont for midterm elections. So, we lost  we lost a lot of the leverage because we lost the House of Representatives. So, nothing happens easily or quickly in modern politics in America, but here is what I know. As I have said, we are not going to be deporting hard working people and break-up families. Ive been on record for a year-and-a- half about this and that will be how I direct the Department of Homeland Security to act.

We are going to push on immigration reform and I will need, not only a considerable vote in November, but I will need people across our country to make it clear to their elected representatives that theyre going to be held accountable for how they are going to act on immigration reform.

We put enough organizing and political effort into this, I am optimistic and I believe we can get this done. But it wont happen simply because we want it. And I can only say that I will give you my very best efforts and I will do everything I can to help elect a Democratic Senate. Ive already talked to some of my former colleagues in the Senate. This will be fast-tracked. We already know what can pass the Senate because it happened just a few years ago.

And if we then put enough pressure on the House, and do everything we can to really force them to have to take what the Senate passes, I think the outcome will be very different this time. Thats my goal and thats what Im going to do every thing I can to achieve.

MONTENEGRO: Thank you Madam Secretary.

WELKER: Madam Secretary, your poll numbers went way up this week, and yet, the e-mail controversy was still in the headlines. So, I wanted to give you the opportunity to respond.

This week you told two separate news organizations that FBI Director James Comey said quote, My answers were truthful, and that what I said is consistent with what I have told the American people.

That assertion, as you know, has been debunked by multiple news organizations which point out that Director Comey did say theres no indication that you lied to the FBI. But he didnt weigh-in on whether or not you were truthful to the American people.

So my question for you is, are you mischaracterizing Director Comey testimony? And is this not undercutting your efforts to rebuild trust with the American people?

CLINTON: Well Kristin, I appreciate your asking that because I was pointing out in both of those instances that the Director Comey had said that my answers in my FBI interview were truthful. Thats really the bottom line here. And I have said on  during the interview and in many other occasions over the past months, that what I told the FBI  which he said was truthful  is consistent with what I have said publicly.

So I may have short circuited it and for that I  you know, will try to clarify because I think  you know, Chris Wallace and I were probably talking past each other be  because of course he could only talk to what I had told the FBI and I appreciated that.

Now I have acknowledged repeatedly that using two e-mail accounts was a mistake I  and I take responsibility for that, but I do think you know, having him say that my answers to the FBI were truthful and then I should quickly add what I said was consistent with what I had said publicly and  and thats really, sort of in my view, trying to tie both ends together.

WELKER: Is the one inconsistently though that you said you never sent or received classified material, and he did say there were three e-mails, that were marked classified at the time.

Is that an inconsistency?

CLINTON: Well, he  heres  heres what  here are the facts behind that as well, you know that I preside I  I sent over 30,000 e-mails to the State Department that were work-related e-mails. Director Comey said that only 3 out of 30,000 had anything resembling classified markers, what does that mean? Well usually, if any of you have ever served in the Government, a classified document has a big heading on the top, which makes very clear what the classification is.

And in questioning Director Comey made the point that the 3 e- mails out of the 30,000 did not have the appropriate markings and it was therefore reasonable to conclude that anyone, including myself, would have not  suspected that they were classified.

And in fact, I think that has been discussed by others who have said two out of those three were later explained by the State Department not to have been, in any way, confidential at the time that they were delivered.

So that leaves the 100 out of 30,000 e-mails that Director Comey testified  contained classified information but again, he acknowledged there were no markings on those 100 e-mails and so what we have here is pretty much what I have been saying throughout this whole year and  and that is that I never sent or received anything that was marked classified.

Now if in retrospect, which is what is behind the 100 number, if in retrospect some different agencies said but it should have been  although it wasnt  it should have been thats what the debate about  is about. But Director Comey said there was absolutely no intention, on my part, to either ignore or in any way dismiss the importance of those documents because they werent marked classified, so that would have hard to do and I will go back to where I started.

I regret using one account, Ive taken responsibility for that but Im pleased to be able to clarify and explain what I think the bottom line is on this.

WELKER: And just very quickly before we get to our panel, Donald Trump says this whole thing means that you cant be trusted with National Security, today you are endorsed by former CIA Director Michael Morell who says its Trump who cant be trusted, and he went so far as to indicate that that hes been termed (ph) by Putin.

Do you agree with that assessment?

CLINTON: Well, I had the great honor of working with Mike Morell, spending a lot of hours with him in the situation room in the White House. He is a consummate professional who has devoted his entire professional career to protecting our country.

I was honored to receive his endorsement, I will let his comments speak for themselves but I  I really appreciated his explaining as he did in his op-ed  some of whats at stake in this election.

MONTENEGRO: Thank you Madam Secretary. I believe we have a question from one of our panelists in the previous  could you stand up please?

QUESTION: My question is, youve accused Donald Trump of using racist and sexist language. What does it say about the electorate that so many Americans are supporting him?

CLINTON: Well, I  I really  I really believe that the core of his support  Im not going to speak for everyone who supports him because I think there have been some quite distressing statements coming out of his rallies and his supporters and who has aligned themselves with him  but I think the core of his support really centers on the disappointment in the economy that so many Americans feel.

And what I have been saying is, you know, Im going to bring this country together. I think we have three overarching goals: we need more economic opportunity, we need to protect our national security, and we have got to work toward American unity.

So I have been trying to understand what it is that has driven people to support Trump and Ive met with some people, I have listened to them.

And so many of them are looking for an explanation as to why they lost the job they had for 18 years when the factory closed and nobody cared about them; what theyre going to do when their whole life was spent mining coal and they made $80 thousand a year; now they can barely find a job making minimum wage; why the centers of so many old industrial towns in America are hollowed out and people are turning to opiates and heroin, and the list goes on. And thats what Ive heard.

So, I think, we have to recognize that of course, some of the appeal is xenophobic and racist and misogynistic and offensive  we have to acknowledge that. But lets not lose sight of the real pain that many Americans are feeling because the economy has left them behind.

So I have said  I said it again in my acceptance speech last Thursday, I want to be the president for all Americans. I want to lift up and give everybody a chance to pursue their dreams. And that means people who are supporting him.

When I went to West Virginia, I knew that I was not gonna win West Virginia, I can tell you that. And I was in a meeting with a group of folks, including a coal miner who was incredibly emotional and talking to me. And outside there was a big Trump protest going on, and one of the people at the protest, for goodness sakes, was Blankenship who had just been convicted of reckless indifference toward the wellbeing of his coal miners  causing deaths.

So clearly the lines are pretty stark. But I have said, you know, Ive got a plan for coal country, Ive got a plan for Indian country, Ive got a plan for inner cities, Ive got a plan for rural communities. Its one of the reasons, as I said in my remarks, that I support Jim Clyburns 10-20-30 proposal, which would help all kinds of communities in America. Jim and I have talked about this.

So we have to reject and stand up against the appeals to the kind of bigotry and the use of bluster and bullying that we see coming from Trumps campaign, but lets not forget the real economic challenges that too many Americans of all backgrounds are facing today.

So thats how I think about it and thats how Im going to try in this campaign to respond to and rebuke all of the horrible things he says on a pretty regular basis  but not about me, I could care less about that.

CLINTON: But when he goes after individuals; when he accuses a distinguished federal judge of Mexican heritage of not being fair, when he insults a gold star family of a Muslim American who served in the military  you know the list. I will stand up and call him out on that.

But I will also keep reaching out to Americans of all races and ethnicities and where ever they live to tell them that I am not going to forget about them after this election.

Im going work my heart out to help every single person have a better job with a rising income, and make sure their kids get a good education, and everything else that I think theyre owed here in America.

MONTENEGRO: Great, wonderful. And I think we have another question from our panel.

QUESTION: Madam Secretary, Ed OKeefe for the Washington Post. Thank you for being here. And I think on behalf of all of us, we encourage you to do this more often with reporters across the country.

(APPLAUSE)

Especially those news organizations that travel the country with you everywhere you go. A majority of voters consistently say frankly they dont like you and they dont trust you. And they say pretty much the same thing about Donald Trump.

Either you or Mr. Trump will be elected president. How would you lead a nation where a majority of Americans mistrust you? And what extra responsibility might you have to show that youre up to the task?

CLINTON: Well let me start by saying every time I have done a job, people have counted on me and trusted me.

And at the convention last week we highlighted the fights of my life, starting as a lawyer for the Childrens Defense Fund, taking on the problem of juveniles in adult jails in South Carolina, segregated academies so-called in Alabama, fighting for kids with disabilities to get an education, and all the way through the work I did as senator after 9/11, and representing all of you as secretary of state.

So there is  I  and I  I take this seriously. Dont, you know, dont doubt that. I take it seriously. You know, it doesnt make me feel good when people say those things. And I recognize that I have work to do. But when I started running for the Senate in New York, a lot of the same things were said.

I won. I worked hard for the people of New York. And I was reelected with 67 percent of the vote after I demonstrated that I would be on their side, I would fight for the people I represented.

I ran a really hard campaign against Barack Obama, as I think everybody remembers. It got a little contentious from time to time. And to my surprise, he turns around, asks me to be secretary of state because he trusted me.

And then I served as secretary of state. And when I left, I had a 66 percent approval rating. So, ask yourselves

(APPLAUSE)

were 67 percent of the people in New York wrong? Were 66 percent of the American public wrong? Or maybe, just maybe, when Im actually running for a job, there is a real benefit to those on the other side in trying to stir up as much concern as possible.

So, I take it seriously. And Im going to work my heart out in this campaign and as president to produce results for people, to get the economy to work for everybody, not just those at the top, to do as much as I can to help people who, as I said earlier, may not even vote for me. Because I think our country is at a crossroads election.

President Obama said it extremely well both in what his speech discussed in the convention, what his press conferences since have pointed out. This is a crossroads election. There is so much at stake.

You can look at my record of public service. You can meet people and families who were benefited by the Childrens Health Insurance Program. You can meet people who were benefited by reforming the foster care and adoption system.

You can meet first responders and survivors from 9/11 who were benefited because I went to bat for them. You can meet National Guards members and their families who didnt have health care unless they were deployed before I worked with Republicans to fix that. You can go down a long list, and wed be happy to provide it to you, of what I have done because I believe in public service.

And I am proud that Ive had the great, great opportunity to work on behalf of giving more people a better life ever since I was right out of law school. So Im just going to get up every day and make my case.

And I think therell be an opportunity for a lot of people to actually hear it.

QUESTION: Madam Secretary?

CLINTON: Mmhmm.

QUESTION: Kevin Merida. Im editor-in-chief of The Undefeated at ESPN. What is the most meaningful conversation youve had with an African-American friend?

CLINTON: Oh my gosh. Well, could I tell you that I am blessed to have a  a crew of great friends and Ive had two chiefs of staff who were my African-American women friends, Maggie Williams and Cheryl Mills.

I have been blessed to have people by my side in politics like Minyon Moore who is one of the leaders of my campaign. Ive had a great group of young people who I have been really motivated by and, frankly, learned from.

So I really have had a lifetime of friendship going back to my college years when one of my best friends was an African-American student, so I cant compress into one conversation  theyve supported me, theyve chastised me, theyve raised issues with me, theyve tried to expand my musical tastes.

So weve had  weve had a lot of  weve had a lot of great, great times because of our friendships, so I cant really pick one conversation out of, you know, 50 years of conversation and I dont want to embarrass my friends.

Peggy Lewis is here, she just became the Dean of Communications at Trinity Washington and I want to congratulate her. Donna Brazile is here, shes our acting chair of the DNC.

So I  I guess Ill leave it at that. I think Im going to  Im going to respect the code of friendship silence but please know Ive got a lot of great friends who have given me so much more.

QUESTION: Madam Secretary, theres such little time and theres lots of questions and youre signaling us to  but I would be remiss. Were in a room full of Latino journalists and I have to ask you and give you an opportunity to respond and set the record clear.

Does the Democratic Party, does your campaign, take Latino voters seriously, or are you taking them for granted that they will automatically vote Democrat? CLINTON: Well, I take them seriously, because Ive had the great privilege of working for many years with Latino leaders, activists, business men and women.

You know, just as I responded to the question, my first experience working on behalf of Latinos was  well, actually, even before I was a legal services lawyer, through my church, I babysat Latino kids on Saturdays while their parents and older siblings went to the fields outside of my home in Chicago, which used to be  hard to believe now, miles of farmland.

It was my first real lesson in how much more we all have in common. There I was, 11 or 12 years old, babysitting these little kids and at the end of the day the old ramshackle bus stopped at the end of the road and the parents and the older brothers and sisters got out and these little kids just broke loose and started running down that road with their arms outstretched calling for their mothers and their fathers and getting swept up in very tired arms.

And then, when I was a little bit older, my church arranged exchanges with Latino churches. We would go into the city of Chicago, sit in church basements, talk about our lives and, again, it reinforced what, to me, was so much of a common sense of, you know, what we wanted in our lives even though their lives and mine were very different.

And as a legal services lawyer  as the chair of the legal services corporation, we expanded legal services into places against a lot of political opposition.

CLINTON: So, I feel very fortunate that Ive had the chance to work with, and learn from, so many Latinas and Latinos across America. When I ran for the senate, I worked closely with our elected representatives, both at the city, state, and national level.

I was honored that they rallied around to support me and were part of the great victory that we had in the primary in New York.

So no, I dont take any voter for granted. And I particularly dont take any voter who is placing their trust and confidence in me for granted. Because I am going to get up, as I said, every single day and work my heart out to get the results that I have told you, were going to achieve together.

And I know its hard. Ive been around as you all know, very well. Im not new to this. It doesnt happen by hoping it happens, or wishing it happens. It happens by doing everything you possibly can and I am blessed to have such close working relationships and friendships with Latino leaders.

Tonight, at my house, we will be having a big event with Latino business leaders, coming from around America. And so, Im going to do what Ive always done.

You see, I think at the core of political leadership is relationship. Youve got to build relationships with individuals and communities. I know that doesnt happen by just asking for it. It happens because you work hard to achieve it.

So Im going to do everything I can to make sure that any Latino voter who votes for me, knows that Im going to be doing my best to deliver on everything that Ive said.

And I will tell you as we go along, what the challenges are, because I may need to ask your help. I may need you to put pressure on elected officials. I may need you to flood the internet, or flood the old fashioned mailbox of elected representatives.

So they know people are watching. But thats how were going to get it done. And Im actually pretty confident and optimistic about that. So I hope that people will take this election seriously, because I sure take you seriously. And together I think we can create the kind of future that everyone of our kids and grandkids deserves.

Thank you all very much.

WELKER: Secretary Clinton, we are out of time. We want to thank you very much. Everyone please, give a big round of applause for Secretary Clinton for coming and answering our questions. We really appreciate it, and (inaudible) your time. Thank you very much.
Minxin Pei is a professor of government at Claremont McKenna College.

Given the circumstances, Uber Technologies appears to have done the right thing, at least for its investors. After losing $1 billion a year before the deal in a self-destructive price war with its Chinese rival, Didi Chuxing, the U.S. ride-hailing company finally decided to sell itself to the competition. What makes this transaction worth noting is not the business acumen of Uber's senior management, but the perfect record Beijing has kept so far in preventing leading American technology firms from dominating China's information sector.

The saddest thing about this abysmal record is not that American firms did not try hard enough. On the contrary, they have done just about everything they were told to do by their advisers to befriend the Chinese government. For example, CEO Mark Zuckerberg personally led a high-profile campaign to charm senior Chinese officials in an attempt to persuade them to unblock access to Facebook . In December 2014, Zuckerberg even hosted Lu Wei, China's then Internet censor-in-chief, in his office, where a copy of a collection of speeches by Xi Jinping, the Chinese Communist Party chief, was prominently displayed. Unfortunately, no matter how hard Zuckerberg tried (he even jogged across Tiananmen Square last year amid heavy pollution), the Chinese government would not relent.

What talented senior executives in leading American tech firms such as Zuckerberg have failed to grasp is that the Chinese government has made it a national policy not to allow any foreign tech firm dominate China's information industry in an effort to build up Chinese companies. For the ruling Communist Party, its foremost concern is regime security. Ceding the control over the flow of information to American tech firms would seriously endanger its survival. Economically, the Chinese government's mercantilist mindset would not allow American tech firms to dominate - and reap lucrative profits from - China's fast-growing information sector. Finally, relying on American information technology also undermines Chinese national security because, as shown by the documents leaked by Edward Snowden, the former U.S. National Security Agency contractor, Washington has a backdoor into the systems operated by American tech firms.

Obviously, governments in many other countries share the same concerns as Beijing (especially those over economic benefits and national security). But unlike China, no other country has the advantages of market size, the political will of the government, and the dynamism of private sector tech entrepreneurs to thwart the titans of Silicon Valley. Consequently, only China has succeeded where all other countries have failed: it is the only country where local Internet giants, such as Alibaba, Tencent, Huawei, and Baidu, can rival their American counterparts in scale, market capitalization and, in some instances, even profitability.

While most Chinese industrial policies are abject failures (such as those on semi-conductors, software, automobile, and civil aviation), Beijing has achieved remarkable success in frustrating American tech firms and grooming domestic national champions. Because the information sector is so new and there were no entrenched state-owned enterprises (SOEs) to protect or support, the Chinese government had to rely on private tech start-ups run by dynamic entrepreneurs such as Jack Ma (founder of Alibaba) and Pony Ma (CEO of Tencent). Unlike moribund SOEs, these firms were quick to imitate, improve, and adapt technologies initially invented in the Silicon Valley to the Chinese market. More importantly, Beijing has also erected a wall of regulations to deny deep-pocketed American tech firms access to the Chinese market.

To be sure, this two-pronged strategy has its costs, such as inferior technology and substandard service (for example, is a far superior search engine than Baidu, the dominant Chinese search engine). However, such costs are mainly borne by Chinese customers while the benefits flow to the Chinese government (greater regime security) and domestic firms (monopoly profits).

As long as Beijing maintains this policy, even the most competitive American tech firms have only one of three options. The first option, which Google has adopted, is to stick to its principles, exit China, and focus on its core markets. So far it has been a winning strategy, at least for Google . The second option, which Facebook and Twitter have embraced, is to persevere despite repeated setbacks. Given Beijing's determination to ensure the Communist Party's regime security, this strategy seems pure wishful thinking.

The third option, pioneered by Yahoo and now adopted by Uber, is to join local rivals if you cannot beat them. Yahoo turned its $1 billion investment in Alibaba into a stake now worth at least $30 billion. Uber could also see its $7 billion stake in Didi Chuxing grow in value if the combined ride-hailing behemoth dominates the Chinese market, as seems likely.

For most American tech firms, the Google approach may be the best - it avoids unnecessary distractions and possible reputational losses. The strategy pursued by Yahoo and Uber may seem attractive, but such firms are minority investors and have no control. Its success is decided by luck, above anything else. But compared with Facebook, Uber seems to have learned its Chinese lesson - cut your losses before it is too late.

See original article on Fortune.com

More from Fortune.com
The sole aim of stock investors is to generate handsome returns from their portfolio as they put their hard earned money into it. However, with stocks flooding the market, it is by no means an easy task to arrive at a winning portfolio.

Moreover, the same basket of stocks is not always likely to be the winner given the ever-changing global environment. For example, in a regime of extremely low oil prices, it might be a winning strategy to add airline stocks to ones portfolio, but the same stocks might not be prudent choices when oil prices surge. To insulate ones portfolio from surrounding uncertainties, maintaining a well-diversified portfolio (selecting stocks from different industries) is a tried and tested strategy culminating in handsome returns.

In view of the above commentary, it is clear that investors need to indulge in thorough research on minute details like the long-term prospect of a stock before owning it. However, given the constraints that individual investors face, the task is best left to experts  brokers/analysts  on the subject.

Why Pay Heed to Broker Advice?

The opinion of brokers acts as a valuable guide for investors while deciding their course of action (buy, sell or hold) on a particular stock. Broker ratings do not come from the blue and are backed by sound logic. In fact, they have a lot more information on a company and its prospects than individual investors as they not only scrutinize the publicly available financial documents, but also attend company conference calls and other presentations. Given their expertise, it is prudent for investors to pay heed to broker advice while formulating their investment strategy for generating handsome returns.

Direction of Earnings Estimates: An Invaluable Guide

Since brokers follow the stocks in their coverage minutely, they revise their earnings estimates after carefully examining the pros and cons of an event for the concerned company. In fact, a rating upgrade or downgrade by brokers has the potential to immediately influence the price of the stock.

Story continues

Since brokers arrive at their recommendation on a stock after thoroughly analyzing the nitty-gritties associated with the company, it is natural that if investors see them improving their recommendation on a particular stock, they are inclined to believe that there is a solid reason/logic behind it. In fact, a rating upgrade generally leads to stock price appreciation. Similarly, the price of a stock may plummet following a rating downgrade.

Estimates can move north for a number of reasons  favorable earnings performance, a bullish guidance, product launch or any favorable macro scenario.

Revenue Performance- Not to be Ignored

According to many market watchers, a revenue beat is more creditable for a company than a mere earnings outperformance, especially in an environment of revenue weakness due to macroeconomic headwinds like a strong dollar. To take care of the top line, we have considered the price/sales ratio for screening stocks.

Screening Criteria

# (Up- Down Rating)/ Total (4 weeks) =Top #75: This gives the list of top 75 companies that have witnessed net upgrades over the last 4 weeks.

% change in Q (1) est. (4 weeks) = Top #10: This gives the top 10 stocks that have witnessed earnings estimate revisions over the past 4 weeks for the upcoming quarter.

To ensure that the strategy is a full-proof and winning one, we have added the following screening parameters:

Price-to-Sales = Bot%10: The lower the ratio the better, companies meeting this criteria are in bottom 10% of our universe of over 7,700 stocks with respect to this ratio.

Price greater than 5: A stock trading below $5 will not likely create significant interest for most investors.

Average Daily Volume greater than 100,000 shares over the last 20 trading days: Volume has to be significant to ensure that these are easily traded.

Market value ($ mil) = Top #3000: This gives us stocks that are the top 3000 if one judges by market capitalization.

Com/ADR/Canadian= Com: This takes out the ADR and Canadian stocks.

Here are five of the 10 stocks that made it through the screen:

Dean Foods Company DF, based in Dallas, TX, is a leading processor and distributor of milk and other dairy products in the U.S. as well as a leading manufacturer of various specialty food products. The company has an impressive track with respect to earnings, having surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate in each of the last four quarters by an average of 17.8%.

Cooper-Standard Holdings Inc. CPS, based in Novi, MI, operates as a supplier of systems and components for the automotive industry. Its products include sealing and trim, fuel and brake delivery, fluid transfer, thermal and emissions and anti-vibration systems. The company has an impressive record with respect to earnings, having surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate in each of the last four quarters by an average of 51.2%.

Boise Cascade Company BCC, based in Boise, ID, operates as a wood products manufacturer and building materials distributor. The company has an impressive track with respect to earnings, having surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate in three of the last four quarters by an average in excess of 100%.

Pittsburgh, PA-based United States Steel Corp. X is a leading steel manufacturer in the U.S. It produces and sells steel mill products  including flat-rolled and tubular products  in North America and Europe. For 2016, the companys earnings per share are projected to grow at 75.80%, much higher than the industry average of 5.8%.

AECOM Technology Corp. ACM is a leading solutions provider for supporting professional, technical and management solutions for diverse industries across end markets like transportation, facilities, government as well as those in environmental, energy and water businesses. The company has a healthy projected EPS growth rate (over the next 35 years) of 10.8%.

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Zacks Investment Research
(Corrects spelling of Regions in headline)

Aug 5 (Reuters) - Regions Financial Corp has agreed on a payment to settle a U.S. Justice Department investigation of its mortgage loans, the bank said in a filing on Friday.

The undisclosed amount will not have a material impact on Region's results or cash flows as the company has already set aside money for the settlement, it said. (http://bit.ly/2aGAVnZ)

The agreement resolves an investigation of the Birmingham, Alabama-based bank's origination, underwriting and quality control practices for loans insured by the Federal Housing Association.

More than one dozen lenders have settled similar claims brought by the Justice Department over FHA-insured home loans as part of its crackdown on shoddy mortgages that fueled the U.S. housing and financial crises.

The probe has targeted some of the nation's largest banks, such as Wells Fargo & Co which reached a $1.2 billion settlement in February, as well as mid-sized lenders.

In May, M&T Bank Corp a large northeastern U.S. regional bank, agreed to pay $64 million to settle civil charges that it misled the government into insuring hundreds of risky mortgages, leading to substantial losses when the loans went into default.

(Reporting by Suzanne Barlyn and Subrat Patnaik; Additional reporting by Nate Raymond; Editing by Kirti Pandey and Lisa Von Ahn)
cro cop fedor

When it comes to Pride FC  the incredibly awesome/incredibly corrupt Japanese MMA promotion that reigned over the sport from 1997-2007  there are a handful of fights that us hardcores typically praise as the best in the organizations history. For some, its the all-out ballsiness of Don Frye vs. Yoshihiro Takayama at Pride 21. For others, its the freakish size discrepancy (a regular feature of Pride matchmaking back then) and underdog story that occurred when Antonio Nogueira took on Bob Sapp at Pride Shockwave. But for most, the greatest Pride fight of all time came when Mirko Cro Cop and Fedor Emelianenko met in the ring at Pride Final Conflict 2005.

The fight, which saw two of the sports greatest fighters solidify their legacies in a 20-minute battle of wills, was almost unanimously voted as not only the Fight of the Year for 2005, but the Fight of the Decade as well. And now, we might be seeing round 2 (well technically, rounds 4-8, but you get the point).

This September, Japanese upstart promotion Rizin Fighting Federation will be kicking off the first round of its first-ever Open Weight Grand Prix tournament, pitting 16 of the baddest (non-UFC) fighters against one another in order to determine just who is the best fighter in the world today. Though the bracket is nowhere close to being filled yet, the tournament has already attracted the likes of Cro Cop, former PRIDE middleweight champion turned disgraced UFC outcast Wanderlei Silva, and Kazuyuki Fujita.

However, things took an interesting turn this afternoon when Cro Cop posted the above image to his official Facebook page, seemingly insinuating that his former rival Emelianenko would be joining him in the tournament as well.

The addition of Emelianenko to the Open Weight GP would obviously be a huge get for Rizin, and doesnt seem too far-fetched in terms of the Russians current career trajectory. The Last Emperor has already competed under the Rizin banner, for starters  having previously picked up a first round TKO over Singh Jaideep at Rizin 2 last year  and closed the book on a potential UFC run with his disastrous performance against Fabio Maldonado back in June.

Story continues

That being said, the Fedor camp has yet to breathe any life into the rumors, and theres also that whole Fedor vs. Tito Ortiz at Bellator thing to consider, which seems like the far safer option for the notoriously picky Fedor to choose. Basically, either Cro Cop knows something we dont or hes just California dreaming for the time being.

Speaking of which, here is a video of Cro Cop and Pat Barry singing California Dreaming, just because.
Dave and Busters

Mac n' cheese is great. But, what about mac n' cheese in a burger? Or on a pizza?

America is facing an overwhelming trend of mac n' cheese being added to foods that simply do not need macaroni and cheese.

On Thursday, Red Robin announced it had added mac n' cheese to the chain's tavern burger.

"Begin drooling now!" the burger chain ordered on Twitter.

The new menu item comes less than a week after Dave & Buster's short rib and cheese mac stack was named one of the least healthy menu items in America, clocking in at 1,910 calories.

The buzziest mac n' cheese item of the summer, however, has to be Burger King's mac n' Cheetos, a polarizing item that debuted in June.

"My mouth is so confused and I'm so concerned as to how much I think I like these," one Business Insider tester said of the mac n' Cheetos. "I ate gourmet French cuisine yesterday and I am deriving nearly the same amount of satisfaction now."

Mac n cheetos

Others disagreed.

"These are bad. Very bad," another Business Insider tester said. "There is no flavor, no crispiness, just a mushy center that vaguely resembles mac and cheese that's been run through a blender coated in something that looks like Cheetos and has also run through a blender."

Restaurants seem to be drawing inspiration for these controversial mac n' cheese mashup dishes from the plethora of over-the-top culinary creations found online.

Dude Foods has published recipes for creations such as a bacon weave taco stuffed with mac n' cheese and a mac n' cheese crust pizza. BuzzFeed has debuted a recipe for breadsticks filled with mac n' cheese. A simple Google search of "mac n' cheese pizza" turns up seemingly endless results.

Story continues

Instagram is filled with increasingly absurd takes on mac n' cheese mashups. We have deep-fried:

Deep Fried Mac & Cheese Sandwich!!!  #foodyfetish #macandcheese #sandwichporn vc: @tymbussanich Snapchat : foodyfetish A video posted by We Do It For The Foodies (@foodyfetish) on Aug 4, 2016 at 8:55am PDT on Aug 4, 2016 at 8:55am PDT

Mac n Cheese bites are honestly the only meal I need in life  Credit: @hungrytwins A photo posted by JERSEY FOOD JUNKIE (@jerseyfoodjunkie) on Aug 4, 2016 at 11:57am PDT on Aug 4, 2016 at 11:57am PDT

In a grilled cheese:

just a light evening snack: mac and cheese stuffed grilled cheese  A photo posted by Steph & Sarah (@quinoa_queens) on Aug 3, 2016 at 6:26pm PDT on Aug 3, 2016 at 6:26pm PDT

Yes, that's MAC N CHEESE stuffed into a GRILLED CHEESE! Coming soon to a @brotherjimmys #Brunchboys A photo posted by Brunch Boys-NYC Food Lifestyle (@brunchboys) on Aug 3, 2016 at 9:22am PDT on Aug 3, 2016 at 9:22am PDT

On fries:

Mac'n'cheese with chips - because sometimes only carb-on-carb violence will do  Pic by @marcel_n83 A photo posted by Chatswood Eats (@chatswood_eats) on Aug 3, 2016 at 3:34pm PDT on Aug 3, 2016 at 3:34pm PDT

Because when you make your own epic stack of fries, mac n cheese is always an appropriate condiment.  #spoonfeed #cheese : @toms_big_eats A photo posted by Spoon University (@spoonuniversity) on Aug 3, 2016 at 2:13pm PDT on Aug 3, 2016 at 2:13pm PDT

Again, on pizza:

Bacon Mac n Cheese Pizza. @baysidelanding in #PacificBeach gets that it's only right to combine two of the world's greatest into one. Photo: @yelpsandiego #BaysideLanding #MacNCheese #Pizza #YouStayHungrySD A photo posted by YouStayHungrySD (@youstayhungrysd) on Aug 4, 2016 at 1:01pm PDT on Aug 4, 2016 at 1:01pm PDT

Even on waffles:

Mac n Cheese Waffles at Bombay Waffle Co. #cheesy #macncheese #tastiest #pasta #waffle #savoury #foodiegram #foodlove #mumbaifoodlovers #mumbaifoodie A photo posted by BespectacledGypsy (@bespectacledgypsy) on Aug 4, 2016 at 8:50am PDT on Aug 4, 2016 at 8:50am PDT

I'm sure some of these dishes are delicious, but enough is enough.

Mac n' cheese is great. Whether Kraft's distinctive flavor or a creamy homemade version, it's a fantastic and usually fattening dish that makes any meal better.

But adding it to a recipe that does not require it doesn't make every dish better. Your burger is fine without the mac n' cheese. So is your pizza.

Adding unnecessary ingredients to make your dish more photogenic is a scourge of the restaurant industry. Stick with your side of mac n' cheese, and stop trying to cram it into every item on the menu for Instagram likes. Please.

NOW WATCH: The secret ingredient to add to your grilled cheese





More From Business Insider


Melania Trump visa: Republican's wife denies rule break

Melania Trump, the wife of Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump, has rejected suggestions that she violated visa rules when she started working as a model in New York.
RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) -- Police in Rio de Janeiro said a Russian diplomat trying to repel an attempted robbery Thursday near the Olympic Park was involved in a shooting that left the assailant dead. The Russian embassy denied any of its employees were involved in the incident.

Rio police said a Russian vice consul wrestled with a gunman who was trying to rob him, causing the weapon to go off and killing the criminal. In a statement to The Associated Press, the Russians refuted the police report.

''There must be a misunderstanding,'' the embassy said in an email late Thursday.

The Russian government also said its representatives are not armed. It pointed out that consulate officials are ''Russian citizens with Russian names,'' contrary to media reports that gave a Brazilian-sounding name.

Authorities did not officially identify any of the people involved in the incident, and only said the man who was attacked was a lawyer and a vice consul for Russia.

The O Globo newspaper and other local media said the Russian diplomat practiced Jiu-jitsu. They reported that he was driving with his wife and daughter when he got stuck at a traffic jam on a main highway of Barra da Tijuca, home to the Olympic Park. Two gunmen in motorcycles attacked, media said. The police only talked about the assailant, who was killed.

''The vice consul got into a physical confrontation with the aggressor, and during the fight, the assailant's gun was fired several times,'' said the police statement. The homicide unit opened an investigation.

Such street muggings are common in Rio de Janeiro streets, especially in areas with heavy traffic, where motorcycles can drive in between lanes, attack motorists and escape easily.
putin erdogan

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan appears to again be embracing his old friend Russian President Vladimir Putin as he continues to consolidate power after last month's failed military uprising.

Efforts to reset the Turkish-Russian relationship after Turkey shot down a Russian warplane over eight months ago have been underway since before July's attempted coup. Erdogan reportedly wrote a letter to Putin in late June with the apology Moscow had been demanding since November.

"I once again express my sympathy and profound condolences to the family of the Russian pilot who was killed, and I apologize to them," Erdogan wrote, according to the Kremlin.

But the stakes of reviving the relationship may now be significantly higher, as anti-American sentiment peaks within Turkey and Erdogan draws condemnation from the West for his decidedly undemocratic crackdown on those suspected of plotting or sympathizing with the coup.

Putin, too, has much to gain from strengthening his relationship with Erdogan at such a politically sensitive moment  specifically, the opportunity to undermine the unity of both the European Union and NATO and absorb Turkey into Russia's sphere of influence.

That may be why Russia was one of the first countries to issue an official condemnation of the coup on July 15  a gesture that Turkey noticed and evidently appreciated.

"We thank the Russian authorities, particularly President Putin. We have received unconditional support from Russia, unlike other countries," Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu told Haberturk TV late last month.

Russian President Vladimir Putin (R) gestures after greeting Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan during their meeting in Moscow's Kremlin July 18, 2012. REUTERS/Sergei Karpukhin

"Russia may go for a long-term game-changing move and lure Turkey away from the West as part of a broader geopolitical reconfiguration," Middle East expert Marc Pierini, a visiting scholar at Carnegie Europe, wrote on Thursday.

Story continues

He continued:

"Unlike Western capitals, Moscow has not bothered much with rule-of-law considerations. A trend toward a more authoritarian leadership in Turkey, one with fewer checks and balances than in any Western democracy, is not something to worry Russian President Vladimir Putin much. On the contrary, it helps him demonstrate that the Russian style of muscular governance is useful to Turkey, at a time when the EU and the United States keep reminding Ankara of their own brand of liberal democracy."

As such, "an opportunistic convergence of minds might therefore emerge between the two leaders, with each having his own reasons," when they meet next week in St. Petersburg, Pierini said.

The clearest wrinkle in this potentially game-changing rapport between Russia and Turkey is their support for opposing sides in the Syrian civil war. Russia intervened in the conflict on behalf of Syrian President Bashar Assad in late September, whereas Turkey has been arming various Syrian opposition groups since 2011 and formally severed ties with the Assad regime in March 2012.

Syria rebels aleppo

But as The Wall Street Journal's Yaroslav Trofimov wrote Thursday, even Erdogan's determination to overthrow the Assad regime  which has reportedly been steadily waning  is likely to take a backseat as he restructures the Turkish military and focuses on purging his own country of suspected traitors.

Gonul Tol, the director of the Center for Turkish Studies at the Middle East Institute in Washington, told The Journal that "the generals who were leading the Turkey-Syria policy and the Turkish policy on Syrian Kurds are all in jail now." And Mohamed Hineidi, a senior analyst at the Delma Institute think tank in Abu Dhabi, said the shift in Erdogan's priorities since the uprising was "undermining any future offensives that the rebels could launch."

'Our greatest and irrevocable goal'

That shift may have been in the works since well before the uprising even occurred, however, as evidence mounted that Ankara  in the wake of 14 terrorist attacks on Turkish soil in just more than a year  was looking to move away from ideology and toward security as the foundation of its foreign-policy objectives.

Perhaps most indicative of this policy reset were comments made by Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim about Ankara's relationship with Damascus just two days before the attempted coup.

"It is our greatest and irrevocable goal: Developing good relations with Syria and Iraq, and all our neighbors that surround the Mediterranean and the Black Sea," Yildirim said on July 13. "We normalized relations with Russia and Israel. I'm sure we will normalize our relations with Syria as well. For the fight against terrorism to succeed, stability needs to return to Syria and Iraq."

Syria map

As Carnegie's Pierini noted, normalizing relations with Assad might actually be a way for Erdogan to shore up domestic support at a time when he most needs it.

"An evolution of Ankara's policy toward overt acceptance of the Assad regime might usefully ease up some tensions at home, as Turkey's main opposition party, the Republican People's Party (CHP), has long viewed the Assad regime as a guarantor of Turkey's security," Pierini wrote.

"For Erdogan, this is simply a survival strategy," Aykan Erdemir, a senior fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, said in an interview last month. "This is like a barter. He gives up the AKP's foreign-policy priorities in exchange for his personal survival in domestic politics."

People shout slogans and wave Turkish national flags as they have gathered in solidarity night after night since the July 15 coup attempt in central Ankara, Turkey, July 27, 2016. The banner on the right reads

His best chance of doing that, Erdemir said, is to "back-step from his Islamist stance" and relinquish "neo-Ottoman adventurism" in favor of a more pragmatic and realpolitik approach as he faces threats from ISIS, the insurgent Kurdistan Workers' Party, and, now, from parts of his own military.

It is little wonder, then, that Moscow would choose now to try to reset its relationship with Ankara.

"Now that Turkey is moving away from NATO and Washington, Russia has an enormous interest in bringing Turkey into its fold," Lebanese Parliament member Basem Shabb told The Journal.

He added: "If Syria is important, Turkey is infinitely more important, and Russia isn't going to sacrifice Turkey to please Assad, Hezbollah, or Iran."

NOW WATCH: Watch Trump relentlessly slam Hillary Clinton in his big RNC speech





More From Business Insider


MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov told U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry on Friday that the fight against extremist groups in Syria must be stepped up because they are using poison gas on civilians. Lavrov and Kerry discussed the Syria conflict in a phone call, the Russian foreign ministry said in a statement. The two men spoke a day after Moscow sharply criticized U.S. behavior in Syria, accusing Washington of backing rebels who use poison gas against civilians and of killing hundreds in air strikes. (Reporting by Polina Devitt; Editing by Andrew Osborn)
MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russia's biggest mobile phone operator MTS has sold its 50 percent stake in Uzbekistan telecommunications operator Universal Mobile Systems (UMS) to its joint venture partner, it said on Friday.

MTS has been under scrutiny from the U.S. Department of Justice and the Securities and Exchange Commission as part of a broader investigation into telecom firms' operations in Uzbekistan.

"Due to a variety of business reasons and other circumstances, MTS decided to sell its stake in the joint venture UMS LLC," Andrei Smelkov, MTS vice president, said in a statement.

The company said in a separate emailed comment that its decision was not prompted by the U.S. investigation or by any business difficulties related to the Uzbek government.

It declined to disclose the price of the sale but said UMS had repaid all its debt obligations to MTS.

Russia's Interfax news agency first reported the deal on Thursday, and said it would be done at a "a symbolic price", citing a source in the Uzbek state communications committee.

MTS sold its UMS stake to the State Unitary Enterprise Centre of Radio Communication, which is part of Uzbekistan's Information Technologies Ministry, and already owns the other 50 percent of UMS.

Due to the stake sale, MTS expects to write off about 3 billion rubles ($46 million) of assets in the third quarter, it said.

Its statement was published after the Moscow stock market close. MTS' American Depositary Receipts (ADRs) were up 1.2 percent in New York by 1813 GMT.

($1 = 65.6455 rubles)

(Reporting by Anastasia Teterevleva; writing by Polina Devitt; editing by Susan Fenton)
By Sankalp Phartiyal

NEW DELHI (Reuters) - State-run Steel Authority of India Ltd (SAIL) has earmarked 40 billion rupees ($600 million) for capital expenditure in the 2016/17 fiscal year and expects its annual sales to grow by more than 10 percent.

SAIL, India's biggest state-owned steel company, is trying to cut costs by producing more from its new efficient units and by adding value to its product line, Chairman Prakash Kumar Singh told Reuters in an interview.

"We're are going to cut down production from the inefficient units," Singh said.

SAIL has already closed some unproductive units such as the blast furnace at its Rourkela plant in eastern India, as it has embarked on a 600 billion rupee modernisation and expansion plan.

The company aims to produce 20 million tonnes of steel by 2018/19. Crude steel production was 14.3 mln tonnes in the year to the end of March 2016

Steel Minister Chaudhary Birender Singh last month asked SAIL to reduce costs, increase efficiency and exercise better capacity utilisation.

Margins of domestic steelmakers, including SAIL, have been hit due to a flood of cheap imports, especially from China.

The company swung into the red in its fiscal year to March 2016, posting a loss of 41.37 billion rupees, compared to a net profit of 21 billion rupees in the previous year. Its nearly 85,000 strong workforce accounted for over a fifth of its expenditure.

Sales fell 15 percent to 385 billion rupees in the last financial year.

"Downsizing may happen over a period of time but we will not take any extreme measures," Singh said.

SAIL has allowed 1,038 employees to retire on a voluntary retirement scheme, a move that will help it save 1.03 billion rupees. (http://bit.ly/2aXZSPp)

About 5,000-6,000 workers will retire annually for the next two to three years, Singh said.

Local steel prices, currently hovering around 26,000 rupees ($434.46) a tonne, are not sustainable, Singh said.

"If prices keep dropping, it is difficult to make profits," Singh said.

Story continues

Import curbs may, however, help SAIL raise prices and recoup losses.

India has unveiled a series of measures this week to boost its steel mills and shield them cheap overseas shipment.

New Delhi this week extended a floor price on imports of 66 steel products for a further two months and government bodies recommended safeguard taxes and anti-dumping duties on imports.

($1 = 66.7488 Indian rupees)

(Reporting By Sankalp Phartiyal; Editing by Keith Weir)
Https%3a%2f%2fblueprint-api-production.s3.amazonaws.com%2fuploads%2fstory%2fthumbnail%2f16749%2fsddefault

Salma Hayek has a confession.

On The Late Late Show with James Corden, she conceded that she does indeed agree with at least one thing that controversial presidential candidate Donald Trump has to say.

SEE ALSO: 'The Simpsons' takes a hard stance against Donald Trump

The Mexican-American actress cites a story from one of the businessman-turned-politician's books in which he claims to be the same person as his first-grade self.

Hayek agrees: "We have a 1st-grade boy running for the president of the United States."

Unrelated, but also featured in this video: A Donald Trump pinata. Enjoy!

Man convinces email scammer he's flown to Hong Kong for Kit Kats and $13.9 million

Scottish man goes fishing in Florida, gets a terrifying 6-foot surprise

The Ikea puns guy is back, proposing to his girlfriend ... with puns

Andy Murray awkwardly bears flag, almost hits Princess Anne in the face
Never-ending transition

No government has worked on developing a national policy to deal effectively with the past
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP)  After-school religious clubs appear to be the next venture of a national group that sought to install a statue of Satan outside two state capitols to protest Christian monuments on public grounds.

The Satanic Temple contacted nine public school districts across the country this week seeking to start after-school Satan programs. In all but one district, religious clubs are operated by the Child Evangelism Fellowships Good News Clubs, in which students can study the Bible and pray, according to temple co-founder Lucien Greaves.

Several districts contacted by the Associated Press said they were reviewing the groups request and noted their facilities were available to community groups.

Mat Staver, founder of a Christian legal aid group that has represented the Child Evangelism Fellowship, said Greaves organization was illegitimate and an atheist group masquerading as religious. Greaves described Satanism as an atheist philosophy whose believers feel it provides everything a religion provides to be legitimized as such.

The Satanic Temple, which is based in Salem, Massachusetts, and has chapters in several states, said it wants to counter well-funded fundamentalist Christian organizations that it believes are eroding the separation of church and state in public schools. Greaves said the after-school program would show that people can be of different religious opinions and still be moral, upright people.

We think that when kids are being exposed to the idea that they will burn in hell and other supernatural ideas, that there is a positive upshot to being exposed to the presence of a satanic afterschool program, he said.

Greaves said his group could pose tough legal fights if its requests are denied.

In Utah, the Granite School District said that if the group meets set requirements, including paying rent, theres nothing the district can do to stop it. District spokesman Ben Horsley said the group wont be able to put up fliers in schools or talk to students during school hours, the same arrangement given to the Good News Club.

Story continues

Springfield Public Schools in Missouri also said it was reviewing the groups request. It noted that granting requests to use the districts taxpayer-funded facilities does not constitute the districts endorsement. The school district in Prince Georges County, Maryland, described a similar policy and noted parental permission was required for after-school activities.

The other districts are in Georgia, California, Florida, Oregon, Washington state and Arizona.

The Satanic Temple has taken up similar causes outside schools, including seeking to install an 8-foot-tall bronze statue of Satan at the Oklahoma Capitol to stand in contrast to a Ten Commandments monument. Oklahomas Supreme Court later banned all religious displays on Capitol grounds. The group is seeking to do the same outside Arkansas statehouse, where a Ten Commandments monument has been proposed.
Https%3a%2f%2fblueprint-api-production.s3.amazonaws.com%2fuploads%2fstory%2fthumbnail%2f16746%2fscottish_fisherman_reels_in_alligator

The fishing situation in Florida is a little different to the fishing situation in Scotland.

During a fishing trip to a lake in Kissimmeee, Florida, Scottish angler Stephen McMillan discovered this first-hand.

In the clip above, he starts reeling in something heavy only to discover a 6-foot-long alligator emerging through the murky water towards him.

SEE ALSO: Watch this driver seriously underestimate an alligator

Our favourite part of the video? The snap turtle that keeps trying to get in on the excitement, and doesn't seem in the least bit concerned by the scaly monster swimming next to it.

Man convinces email scammer he's flown to Hong Kong for Kit Kats and $13.9 million

The Ikea puns guy is back, proposing to his girlfriend ... with puns

Andy Murray awkwardly bears flag, almost hits Princess Anne in the face

Top 10 movie villains of all time
Scripps Networks Interactive, Inc. SNI is scheduled to release second-quarter 2016 financial numbers, before the opening bell on Aug 9.

In the last quarter, Scripps Networks posted a positive earnings surprise of 35.64%. In fact, the company boasts an impressive history with respect to earnings, having outshined the Zacks Consensus Estimate in each of the last four quarters. The average earnings beat for the company stands at 23.81%.

Factors at Play

Scripps Networks is expected to gain from its acquisition of TVN completed last year. TVN is a Polish multi-platform media company and will help Scripps Networks expand its presence in Europe. The company is also expected to benefit from the completion of the remaining 35% stake purchase in Travel Channel Media from Cox Communications Inc. Scripps Networks has also entered into a content licensing deal with Amazon. Meanwhile, the companys focus on expanding viewership across the globe should boost revenues.

However, foreign currency risks associated with the companys global operations are a concern. Moreover, the company has a high concentration of revenues coming from marketing and advertising. This revenue stream is dominated by U.S. corporate sector spending and can be adversely affected in case of market downturn.

Notably, a few of other media companies such as Discovery Communications Inc. DISCA and Viacom Inc. VIAB have beat earnings estimates for the quarter ending Jun 30, 2016. Lets see how Scripps Networks is poised ahead of the earnings release.

Earnings Whispers

Our proven model does not conclusively show that Scripps Networks is likely to beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate this quarter. That is because a stock needs to have both a positive Earnings ESP and a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), 2 (Buy) or 3 (Hold) for this to happen. That is not the case here, as you will see below:

Zacks ESP: The Earnings ESP for Scripps Networks is -1.34% as the Most Accurate estimate is 2 cents below the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.49.

Story continues

Zacks Rank: Scripps Networks carries a Zacks Rank #3 which increases the predictive power of ESP. However, that alone is not sufficient to secure an earnings beat.

As a caution, we advise investors not to consider Sell-rated (Zacks Rank #4 or 5) stocks going into an earnings announcement.

SCRIPPS NETWRKS Price and EPS Surprise

SCRIPPS NETWRKS Price and EPS Surprise | SCRIPPS NETWRKS Quote

Stock to Consider

We present below a company you may want to consider as our model shows this has the right combination of elements to post an earnings beat this quarter.

Tahoe Resources TAHO has an earnings ESP of +8.33% and a Zacks Rank #2. It is expected to report second quarter earnings on Aug 9.

Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report >>



Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report



SCRIPPS NETWRKS (SNI): Free Stock Analysis Report



DISCOVERY COM-A (DISCA): Free Stock Analysis Report



VIACOM INC-B (VIAB): Free Stock Analysis Report



TAHOE RESOURCES (TAHO): Free Stock Analysis Report



To read this article on Zacks.com click here.



Zacks Investment Research
Correction appended Friday, Aug. 5

Amazon is building itself an air force.

The Seattle-based e-commerce giant is leasing 40 cargo planes to help get packages to customers, the company announced Friday. One of the planes, a Boeing 767-300, has been painted in an Amazon Prime Air livery. (Fun fact: The planes new tail number, N1997A, includes a prime number. That registration once belonged to a hot air balloon that was destroyed in the early 1990s, according to FAA records.)

News of smaller Amazon deals to lease cargo aircraft has been previously reported. However, the company is now revealing that its leasing a larger number of aircraft than once believed, as well as showing off the Prime Air livery for the first time.

To be clear, Amazon wont own the planes directly. Instead, its working with aviation cargo operators Atlas Air and ATSG. However, Amazon now owns a minority stake in the latter firm, while it has reportedly expressed interest in increasing its investment  a sign that it may ramp up its aviation operations in the future.

The aircraft mark Amazons latest effort to take further control of its own logistics operations, rather than rely on partners like the UPS and FedEx. (That Amazon is doing some of its own flying could help it pressure those firms to keep their prices low for shipping Amazon packages, lest Amazon lease yet more planes and give the shippers less business.) Last year, the company rolled out a fleet of thousands of tractor trailers to move products between its warehouses. It also has an Uber-like program enabling individuals to sign up as delivery workers.

To be sure, 40 aircraft is a drop in the hat compared to the size of FedEx and UPS fleets (643 and 237 aircraft respectively, plus chartered flights). But some in the air cargo business are hoping Amazons interest will breathe new life into the industry, which is on track to grow a mere 0.4% over the next two years as it faces increasing competition from the trucking and rail industries.

Correction: The original version of this article misstated the registration number of Amazons repainted 767. It is N1997A.
By Alexandria Sage

CONCORD (Reuters) - Self-driving trucking start-up Otto is poised to put its software in the hands of long-haul truckers by the end of this year for testing, its co-founders said on Thursday.

Otto, co-founded by Google car and map project veterans Anthony Levandowski and Lior Ron, will also begin testing five retrofitted Volvo trucks at Northern California's autonomous vehicle testing grounds, GoMentum Station, in coming weeks.

By the end of the year, small owner-operators and larger commercial partners will begin using Otto's self-driving kit, Levandowski told Reuters at the facility in Concord, north of San Francisco, adding the company has a target of "thousands" of testers by 2017.

Otto has not yet announced when the technology will be ready for sale.

Launched in May, Otto focuses on maximizing the efficiency and safety of long-haul trucks, which spend much of their time on the side of the road as drivers rest.

The Otto trucks are equipped with a series of sensors and mapping technology to allow them to gauge their position on highways and make real-time driving decisions.

It's unknown just how Otto's partners will test the trucks, but Otto's vision allows the driver to leave the wheel, similar to a plane's "autopilot" system.

Many experts believe full self-driving technology will first roll out in the trucking sector, rather than in passenger cars. Autonomous driving lends itself to highways, where trucks do not have to contend with pedestrians and the myriad distractions of city streets.

Ron said trucks fitted with Otto software can drive more than double their normal daily mileage. "There is a very strong return on investment."

Since its launch, Otto has received hundreds of emails from mom-and-pop owner-operators around the country asking to use the technology, Ron said.

Otto's staff has more than doubled to 90 employees from 40 in May, and the self-funded company now has a fleet of five test trucks.

(Reporting By Alexandria Sage; Editing by Bernard Orr)
Cairo (AFP) - Gunmen opened fire at former Egyptian mufti Ali Gomaa in a Cairo suburb on Friday, missing the pro-government cleric but wounding a bodyguard, the interior ministry said.

Gomaa was on his way to a mosque near his house in the October 6 suburb when the assailants hiding in a park started shooting, the ministry said.

His guards exchanged fire with the gunmen and forced them to flee, it said, adding that one of the guards was lightly wounded.

Gomaa later told Egyptian state television of how he had taken shelter behind a mosque wall when the shooting started.

After the attack, he "conducted the Friday prayers as a message to these people", the cleric said in a telephone interview.

"This attempt is a message aimed at creating fear," he said.

The private CBC Extra news channel showed footage of armed guards with pistols drawn escorting Gomaa out of the mosque after the shooting.

In an interview with the channel, Gomaa said this was not the first attempt on his life and derided the assailants as "very stupid".

"They blew up my house in Fayoum," he said, referring to a province southwest of Cairo. And assailants had also "tried before from the park" outside his Cairo home.

Gomaa was the mufti -- the government's official interpreter of Islamic law -- for a decade until 2013.

He strongly backed the army's overthrow of Islamist president Mohamed Morsi that year and the subsequent deadly crackdown on his supporters.

Since stepping down as mufti, Gomaa has remained one of the country's top Islamic scholars.

Gomaa is known for his moderate views on religion but is reviled by the Islamist opposition for supporting the crackdown against them that has killed hundreds of protesters.

He is a member of the council of senior scholars in the Al-Azhar institute, the top body in Sunni Islam's most prestigious centre of learning, and has hosted a religious affairs programme on television.
(Reuters) - A former top CIA official attacked Donald Trump on Friday as a danger to national security, saying President Vladimir Putin had made the Republican presidential candidate an "unwitting agent" of Russia. Putin had flattered Trump into supporting positions favorable to Russia, Michael Morell, a longtime CIA officer and former deputy director of the agency, said in an opinion piece in The New York Times. "In the intelligence business, we would say that Mr. Putin had recruited Mr. Trump as an unwitting agent of the Russian Federation," Morell said, in an article in which he endorsed Trump's rival in the Nov. 8 election, Democrat Hillary Clinton. Morell did not provide evidence for his assertion, but he said Putin had used skills from his past as an intelligence officer to identify and exploit vulnerabilities in an individual. "That is exactly what he did early in the primaries. Mr. Putin played upon Mr. Trumps vulnerabilities by complimenting him. He responded just as Mr. Putin had calculated," Morell wrote. Trump's campaign dismissed Morell's criticism, linking the ex-CIA officer to the Obama administration's public response after the September 2012 attacks in Benghazi, Libya. "Count how many reporters will tweet today that Michael Morell lied for #CrookedHillary to cover up Benghazi," Trump's campaign said in a Twitter message. The incident, in which the U.S. ambassador and three other Americans were killed, occurred while Clinton was secretary of state, and Republicans have long criticized her handling of the attack and its aftermath. Critics say administration officials tried to play down the role of Islamist militants in the attacks. Morell approved talking points after the incident. U.S. officials have said any reference to militants taking part was initially dropped for classification reasons. Morell is currently affiliated with Beacon Global Strategies, a consulting firm with ties to senior Democrats with national security expertise, including former defense secretary and CIA director Leon Panetta and former top Clinton aide Philippe Reines. Trump's vice presidential running mate, Indiana Governor Mike Pence, on Friday dismissed Morell's comments, saying that "standing up to Russian aggression is going to be really different under a Trump-Pence administration." "These people are playing politics," Pence said of Morell in an interview on NBC's "Today" program. Morell's article, in which he also said Trump had undermined U.S. security with his campaign proposal to combat terrorism by imposing a temporary ban on Muslims entering the country, added to questions raised by some national security experts about the New York businessman's qualifications to be president. On Thursday, a bipartisan group of experts criticized Trump's lukewarm support for the NATO alliance, comments about Russia's annexation of Crimea and other matters as "disgraceful." Trump has also drawn criticism for his praise for Putin as a strong leader, particularly after Moscow came under suspicion from U.S. officials as being behind recent hacking of Democratic Party groups. Moscow has denied the allegations. (Reporting by Emily Stephenson, Mark Hosenball and Susan Heavey; Editing by Frances Kerry)
Railway line to Nepal border possible by 2020: Chinese Experts

Chinese experts have stated that the much touted railway link connecting Nepal with China through the Himalayan highland is economically and technologically feasible.
(Adds details on Kittsley's role and background, byline)

By Trevor Hunnicutt

NEW YORK, Aug 4 (Reuters) - Dodd Kittsley, who has served as head of exchange-traded product strategy at Deutsche Bank AG's U.S. asset management unit for the past two years, has left the company, according to two people with knowledge of the departure.

Deutsche's Asset and Wealth Management's Americas division hired Kittsley, a longtime industry veteran, away from BlackRock Inc in 2014 as part of a push to accelerate its growth in the fast-growing business of managing exchange-traded funds and other similar products.

In addition to leading the company's ETF research, Kittsley became a leading spokesman for the company's X-trackers products among potential clients and in the media. The U.S. ETF business managed $16 billion at the end of June, according to fund researcher Morningstar Inc.

A Deutsche Bank spokeswoman declined to comment. Kittsley did not respond to inquiries from Reuters.

The most popular of the company's index funds specialize in international stocks, including "currency-hedged" ETFs that strip out the effect of declining foreign currencies for U.S. investors.

Kittsley had been based in New York and reported to Deutsche's head of passive business in the Americas, Fiona Bassett.

At BlackRock, Kittsley had been head of institutional product management and consulting for the iShares business and had also served as head of global research for the world's largest ETF issuer. He joined iShares in 2007, when it was a part of Barclays PLC.

Kittsley's nearly two decades in the industry also included tenures in research-related positions at State Street Global Advisors and Morgan Stanley.

(Reporting by Trevor Hunnicutt; Additional reporting by Lawrence Delevingne; Editing by Sandra Maler, Bernard Orr)
REUTERS - Indian shares rose more than 1 percent on Friday to notch up their biggest daily gain in almost four weeks after the Bank of England's stimulus plan lifted markets worldwide, while the passage of the Goods and Services Tax boosted sentiment.

The Nifty climbed 1.54 percent to 8,683.15 points. It rose 0.52 percent on the week, posting a second consecutive weekly gain.

The Sensex ended up 1.31 percent at 28,078.35 points, marking a weekly gain of 0.09 percent.

Both indexes recorded their biggest daily percentage gains since July 11.

(Reporting by Samantha Kareen Nair in Bengaluru; Editing by Sherry Jacob-Phillips)
donald trump seth meyers

It's been one fire to extinguish after another for for the Donald Trump campaign in the past several days, so Seth Meyers recapped what he called a "disastrous" week for Trump on NBC's "Late Night."

"His campaign is in full meltdown mode," the host said before picking apart everything that's gone wrong.

Among the things that drew people's ire, the Republican presidential candidate attacked the family of a solider who was killed in combat, threw a crying baby out of his rally, didn't seem to know that Russia had occupied Crimea, and suggested the presidential election would be "rigged."

And then Trump refused to endorse House Speaker Paul Ryan and John McCain in their current primaries, which one reporter described as the "final straw" for many in the GOP.

"This is the final straw?" Meyers said, before referring back to Trump's comments about women and his proposed wall along the Mexican border. "What happened to all the other straws?"

Mike Huckabee went on TV to say that Trump would be better served once in the White House, where he'd be surrounded by a lot more experts. But Meyers wasn't having it.



"He'll be way cooler and more reasonable just as soon as we give him more power," Meyers said sarcastically. "I'm not sure it's all the comforting when the biggest promise you can make about your candidate is, 'He'll have adults around him and we'll lock him out of his Twitter account.'"

Watch the video below:

NOW WATCH: Watch Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone dance and sing in the first trailer for 'La La Land'





More From Business Insider


NEW YORK, NY / ACCESSWIRE / August 5, 2016 / Pomerantz LLP announces that a class action lawsuit has been filed against Juno Therapeutics, Inc. ("Juno" or the "Company") (JUNO) and certain of its officers. The class action, filed in United States District Court, Western District of Washington, and docketed under 16-cv-01083, is on behalf of a class consisting of all persons or entities who purchased or otherwise acquired Juno securities between June 4, 2016 and July 7, 2016 inclusive (the "Class Period"). This class action seeks to recover damages against Defendants for alleged violations of the federal securities laws under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (the "Exchange Act").

If you are a shareholder who purchased Juno securities during the Class Period, you have until September 12, 2016 to ask the Court to appoint you as Lead Plaintiff for the class. A copy of the Complaint can be obtained at www.pomerantzlaw.com. To discuss this action, contact Robert S. Willoughby at rswilloughby@pomlaw.com or 888.476.6529 (or 888.4-POMLAW), toll free, ext. 9980. Those who inquire by e-mail are encouraged to include their mailing address, telephone number, and number of shares purchased.

[Click here to join this class action]

Juno is a biopharmaceutical company that is developing cell-based cancer immunotherapies. Its leading product candidate is called JCAR015, which is currently in clinical trials.

The Complaint alleges that throughout the Class Period, Defendants made materially false and misleading statements regarding the Company's business, operational and compliance policies. Specifically, Defendants made false and/or misleading statements and/or failed to disclose that: Defendants made misleading partial disclosures about JCAR015's safety and made public misrepresentations or failed to disclose material facts of the death of patients in its Phase 2 clinical trial.

In May 2016, a patient in the Phase 2 trial of JCAR015 - dubbed the "ROCKET" trial by Juno - died of a cerebral edema, a form of neurotoxicity. In late June or early July, two more patients in the ROCKET trial died of cerebral edemas. This caused the FDA to issue a clinical hold and forced Defendants to reveal the truth, which they finally did on July 7, 2016, after the market closed. On this news, the Company's share price fell $13.01, or 31.87%, to close at $27.81 on July 8, 2016.

Story continues

The Pomerantz Firm, with offices in New York, Chicago, Florida, and Los Angeles, is acknowledged as one of the premier firms in the areas of corporate, securities, and antitrust class litigation. Founded by the late Abraham L. Pomerantz, known as the dean of the class action bar, the Pomerantz Firm pioneered the field of securities class actions. Today, more than 80 years later, the Pomerantz Firm continues in the tradition he established, fighting for the rights of the victims of securities fraud, breaches of fiduciary duty, and corporate misconduct. The Firm has recovered numerous multimillion-dollar damages awards on behalf of class members. See www.pomerantzlaw.com.

SOURCE: Pomerantz LLP
A dinosaur print purse designed by an autistic teenage boy has completely sold out after photographs of the Singaporean prime minister's wife carrying it at the White House went viral.

Sales of the $11 blue purse with a white dinosaur motif have soared since Ho Ching was photographed carrying it during husband Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong's official visit to the United States earlier this week.

Ho bought the purse last weekend at a fundraising event for the Autism Resource Centre (ARC) in Singapore, for which she is an advisor.

The dinosaurs were drawn by See Toh Sheng Jie, 19, who attends the Pathlight school for students with autism run by the ARC.

Photos of Ho holding the purse on the White House lawn went viral, spurring massive demand for the accessory, with Pathlight saying its stock of 200 sold out within a day and it was now on backorder with a two-month wait.

The school said that it usually took months to sell this many purses.

The purse was part of a series curated by the school, which puts their students' artwork on different products, earning the artists royalties from the designs sold.

Ho, also one of Asia's most powerful businesswomen, garnered praise on social media for her unusual choice of accessory.

"So good of Mrs Lee to use it at such a high profile occasion! Great job ADP artist Sheng Jie!" wrote Facebook user Su Yeo.

Another user, Leong Geok Hoon, called it a "world class fashion of the heart" while others noted that while Ho could have chosen any other designer, she went with one from a cause she supports.

"It gave such a great mileage for the artists on our Artist Development Programme and The Art Faculty merchandise," Pathlight principal Linda Kho told AFP.

See Toh's family has also been overwhelmed with media attention but for the autistic teenager, the son of a taxi driver with a love for dinosaurs and beetles, it makes little difference.

When AFP visited the family's suburban government-built housing flat, he nonchalantly sat at a table in the living room drawing his favourite dinosaurs and watching television.

Story continues

He has filled countless notebooks and folders with his drawings, his parents said.

"When the school first told us that Ms Ho Ching brought Sheng Jie's pouch to the White House, we thought it was a joke," See Toh's father, Jason told AFP Friday.

When shown a picture of Ho with the bag bearing his design, See Toh was delighted, his parents added.

"He is not very communicative but when we once gave him a dinosaur toy during a tantrum, he calmed down. That's when we knew he liked dinosaurs," the elder See Toh told AFP.

The youth has an encyclopaedic knowledge of dinosaurs and must watch every dinosaur movie he comes across.

He also makes intricate dinosaur toys from polymer clay, filling an entire display cabinet in the family's flat.

"We'll just let him do what he likes because you can't force him to draw when he doesn't want," Wendy See Toh said.
SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Singapore is not surprised by the arrest of six suspected militants on Indonesia's Batam island on Friday for plotting an attack on the city-state, a government minister said. "We were aware of the plans being made to attack us with rockets," Home Affairs and Minister for Law, K. Shanmugam, said in a statement on Friday. "The attacks can come from terrorists who seek to come into Singapore; and they can come from terrorists who locate themselves just outside Singapore. Our small size increases these risks," Shanmugam said. Earlier, Indonesian authorities arrested six suspected militants who were believed to be linked to the Islamic State group. (Reporting by Anshuman Daga and Saeed Azhar; Editing by Robert Birsel)
Being a millionaire lends you plenty of privileges; owning a Bugatti, for example. But being a billionaire lends you even more privileges than thatlike owning a one-of-one Bugatti Vision Gran Turismo concepton top of your brand new Chiron.

Saudi prince Badr bin Saud did exactly that. After purchasing his $2.5 million Bugatti Chiron, he went ahead and coaxed Bugatti into selling him the stunning Vision Gran Turismo concept as well. Carscoops estimates a grand total, for both vehicles, of well over $5 million. For someone worth $21 billion, thats chump change.

RELATED: See More of the Stunning Bugatti Vision Gran Turismo

As far as performance goes, Bugatti hasnt divulged much detail about the Vision Gran Turismo, other than its quad-turbocharged 8.0-liter W16. The Chiron we know is loaded with performance, using the same engine it puts out 1,497 horsepower and 1,180 lb-ft of torque. So theres no reason the Vision GT shouldnt be doing about the same.

After finding their new home in the Middle East, the two cars will be on display together at the upcoming Pebble Beach Concours in Monterey, California.

RELATED: See More of the 1,500-Horsepower Bugatti Chiron Hypercar

Photo Credit: GFWilliams
Bangui (Central African Republic) (AFP) - The son of the Central African Republic's ousted leader Francois Bozize was arrested on Friday in the capital Bangui, a minister said, as the country struggles to restore security after years of sectarian violence.

Jean-Francis Bozize, who was defence minister in his father's cabinet, "handed himself in voluntarily" to the UN peacekeeping mission deployed in the country, Justice Minister Flavien Mbata said in a statement.

Acting on an arrest warrant issued for Bozize in May 2014, the mission known as MINUSCA "arrested him and handed him over to the Central African authorities", the statement said.

The UN mission has a mandate to detain suspects of grave human rights and humanitarian law violations, and hand them over to the national authorities.

The ex-president's son will be brought before a judge to "answer to the charges against him", it added.

A source close to MINUSCA confirmed the details of the arrest. There was no immediate information on the charges Bozize faces.

Earlier, the gendarmerie security force backed by a police mission of MINUSCA said it had arrested him.

"Jean-Francis Bozize was part of former president Bozize's inner circle, (and) family members are under investigation by the Central African Republic's judiciary," a source in the prosecutor's office said.

Ex-president Bozize, who has lived in exile since being ousted, faces an arrest warrant for murder, torture and inciting genocide and hate.

Jean-Francis Bozize, who is in his 40s, had returned from Nairobi, where he had been living since 2013, to Bangui in recent days.

Like other members of the family and high-ranking officials from the old regime, the former defence minister's assets had been frozen.

"He was trying to return to the country where he still has some property," a relative of Bozize said on condition of anonymity.

Bozize's son fled the Central African Republic on March 24, 2013, when the mainly Muslim Seleka rebellion overran Bangui.

The coup plunged the country into a brutal sectarian war that left thousands dead after the mainly Christian anti-Balaka militia hit back against the Seleka movement.
Risky journeys

Ageing transport infrastructures are becoming increasingly vulnerable to floods and landslides
By Aaron Maasho ADDIS ABABA (Reuters) - South Sudan's government on Friday agreed to allow a regional protection force to be deployed in the country, a regional development group said, following fighting between rival groups last month in the country's capital, Juba. Such a force has been a key demand of former vice president Riek Machar, the leader of one of the factions involved in last month's fighting. The agreement was reached at a summit meeting in Ethiopia of the leaders of the eight countries in the group, the Intergovernmental Authority on Development. "The government of South Sudan has accepted (the deployment of troops) with no condition," Mahboub Maalim, IGAD's executive secretary, told reporters after the meeting. Fighting broke out in July between forces loyal to President Salva Kiir and to Machar, his long-time rival, who had been serving as vice president but who left Juba after the fighting. He has since been replaced as vice president. Machar had also served as vice president from 2011, when South Sudan gained independence, until he was sacked by Kiir in 2013. After two years of fighting between his forces and Kiir's, Machar returned to Juba in April and resumed the position of vice president as part of a peace agreement. He left again after the new clashes broke out, killing at least 272 people. He said he would return only if an intervention force was deployed to separate his forces and those of Kiir. Politics in South Sudan have long been plagued by splits and rivalries as leaders switch allegiances in a complex contest for power and influence in the oil-producing nation, which gained independence from Sudan only five years ago. Kiir sacked six ministers allied to Machar earlier this week, replacing them with people allied to the new vice president, Taban Deng Gai. That further widened the political division in South Sudan and threatened to lead to more violence. IGAD's Maalim said Deng Gai, who attended the meeting in Ethiopia, had said he could step down for Machar if he returns to Juba. Deng Gai was not immediately available to comment. Maalim said military chiefs from member states would travel to Juba, to work with the government there on the deployment of the new force, without giving more details. Earlier in the day, South Sudan rejected accusations from the U.N. that its soldiers had raped and killed civilians during last month's clashes. On Thursday, Zeid Ra'ad Al Hussein, U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights, said at least 217 cases of sexual violence in Juba had been documented during the period of July 8 to July 25. Lul Ruai Koang, the government's military spokesman, said the U.N., through the peacekeeping UNMISS force, should provide evidence that government soldiers were involved in the crimes, adding that they had not received any formal complaints. (Additional reporting by Denis Dumo in Juba; Writing by Duncan Miriri; Editing by Larry King)
- By Sydnee Gatewood





Despite four labor groups calling for his departure, Southwest Airlines (LUV) CEO Gary Kelly said he is not going anywhere.

The company's four largest unions, which represent about 36,000 of the 52,000 employees, called for Kelly and Mike Van de Ven, executive vice president and chief operating officer, to step down.





The Southwest Airlines Pilots Association started the movement on Monday and was joined by groups representing flight attendants on Tuesday. Unions for mechanics, baggage handlers and other airport ground-operations workers followed suit on Wednesday.

The unions cited a systemwide technical outage in July as grounds for their removal. Although the computers were restored 12 hours into the outage, flights continued to be canceled or delayed for several days as the airline attempted to reorganize its crews and planes. In addition, the unions voiced displeasure with the executives' focus on cutting costs and spending billions buying back company stock.

The airline has also deferred negotiations on new contract terms with the pilots, flight attendants and mechanics, creating tension.

In a video addressed to the company's employees, Kelly, who has served as CEO since 2004, claimed the personal attack against him is part of a negotiating ploy and said he and Van de Ven have "important work to do and important issues to address" and would not be distracted by the unions' attacks.

The Dallas-based airline was established in 1967 by Herb Kelleher and adopted its current name in 1971. Southwest is the world's largest low-cost carrier and operates more than 3,800 flights per day. It has a market cap of $23.26 billion with an enterprise value of $22.6 billion. It has a price-earnings (P/E) ratio of 9.5 with a forward P/E of 9.3. It has a price-book (P/B) ratio of 2.9 and a price-sales (P/S) of 1.14. GuruFocus ranked its financial strength 7 of 10 and its profitability and growth 8 of 10. The company's operating margin is at 21.8%, which is ranked higher than 89% of its competitors.

Story continues

The company has not fared well on Wall Street, either. On Tuesday afternoon, shares fell more than 3%, now down 17% for the year to date.

Disclosure: I do not own stock in any companies discussed in the article.

Start a free 7-day trial of Premium Membership to GuruFocus.

This article first appeared on GuruFocus.






MADRID (Reuters) - Spanish police said on Friday they had arrested five alleged members of the so-called "Pink Panther" gang of jewel thieves in Barcelona. A special operations unit from the Catalan police was waiting when the thieves, one armed with a pistol, tried to rob a jewelry store on the city's famous Passeig de Gracia avenue, a police statement said. The operation was part of a larger investigation with different crime units in Spain, and with the collaboration of the Serbian and German police, the statement said. Police were able to recover the jewelry the gang was trying to steal. The Pink Panther gang got their nickname after a 2003 London robbery when a thief hid a diamond in a pot of beauty cream, similar to the plot of one of the Pink Panther movies about an inept French detective played by English actor Peter Sellers. Interpol, the international crime-fighting agency, estimates the Pink Panther network has stolen more than 334 million euros ($369.57 million) worth of jewelry in around 380 armed robberies between 1999 and 2015. ($1 = 0.9038 euros) (Reporting by Catherine Bennett; Editing by Angus Berwick, Larry King)
By Patrick Rucker ALKOL, West Virginia (Reuters) - On the day Victor Clark retired after 26 years at the Hobet coal mine, the bosses called him to the office for a surprise. His wife, daughter, and sons Rocky and Tony, both miners, turned out for ice-cream, pop and a farewell toast for a man who had been at the West Virginia strip mine since the beginning. You felt appreciated, Clark, 87, remembered of that day in January 1990. When son Tony left the same mine in 2012, there was no fuss. They had my job posted before I was out the door, Tony said. In a generation, the Hobet mine transformed from a small, founder-run operation to a company cheered in three different incarnations by Wall Street and twice bankrupt  a twisting path mirroring the fortunes of a U.S. coal industry whose output is at its lowest level in decades. Operating 25 miles south of Charleston in the belly of West Virginia, Hobet is a case study of a once-rich industry in decline. Coal supporters blame competition from natural gas, weak demand from China and government pollution controls they call a war on coal. All those forces hampered an industry where the largest investor-owned companies are mired in bankruptcy. Yet theres something more to the coal story and the fall of industry behemoths. Like the onetime family-run Hobet mine, the coal sector transformed from a blue collar bastion known for dirty, dangerous work to one noted for its dizzying mode of buy and sell. Some coal insiders believe the industrys quest for fast profits through corporate maneuvers brought peril, not promise. As companies sought new investments, they shed union mines and left worker benefits in jeopardy. Those same companies piled up debt as they acquired rivals. Bob Murray, an outspoken coal baron who founded Murray Energy, believes a drive for short-term profits pushed publicly-traded companies to the brink. I watched it go on and shook my head, Murray said. Everyone was shoving liabilities to someone else. As a privately held company, Murray Energy did not face the same investor pressure for quick returns. Still, the industrys larger challenges are testing the Ohio miner. Murray Energy said last month it may be forced to lay off thousands of miners. Those cutbacks have some asking whether any coal company can survive this industry-rattling decline. Since last year, Arch Coal, Peabody Energy and Patriot Coal have all gone bankrupt. Each was tethered, at one point or another, to the Hobet mine  a site with a history shaped by mining advances, near disasters, striking workers and market swings. Investors applauded for years before those industry leaders reached the edge. Patriot Coal shares soared in the first years after it took hold of union mines once controlled by Arch and Peabody. Wall Street helped leading companies acquire rivals in a 2011 buyout binge that crashed a few years later. Arch Coal and Peabody Energy declined to discuss past business deals for this story. The companies have previously said critics are misguided in second-guessing deals in hindsight. When Arch sold the Hobet mine to a private equity firm in 2005, the buyer was a strong, well-capitalized entity, the company said. Today, Hobet is owned by a conservation group and no longer producing coal. The mine is a scene of rubble and retaining ponds where sycamore, pine and cedar forests once stood. Toxic runoff must be steered clear of tributaries that feed the Ohio River. A decades-long cleanup awaits. Theres uncertainty, too, for miners. For Andrew Adkins its a matter of leukemia medicine costing $1,200 a month. He could die without his pills, yet the health care plan for Adkins and about 800 other retired Hobet miners and their families expires at years end. Miners who went on strike in the 1990s to protect their health plan said they never expected this. Theyre doing away with everything we were promised, said Adkins, a Vietnam veteran who relies on the low cost and open access of his health plan. Adkins, 71, is eligible for Medicare, but that carries its own costs and limitations. For mining families in West Virginia and beyond, a blur of Wall Street deals altered the industrys decades-old pledge to mining communities. DAWN OF A COAL MINE The Hobet mine was born in 1974 under a man named Fil Nutter  part of a West Virginia prospecting family that controlled a construction company, limestone pit and small-time coal mines. Nutter was a typical coal operator of the era with the charm and hustle needed to thrive in the mountains, said Homer Toler, an early employee. He liked to party, get drunk and worked his ass off, Toler said. When a land speculator named Granville Lee Jimmy Linville acquired the right to a forested plot 25 miles south of Charleston, Nutter brought the financing and connections. They went into business together. Underground mines were joined by strip mines: workers blasting, or shooting, the surface until they reached coal and then pushed everything else down the mountainside. Shoot and shove, in common parlance. The method left behind poisoned streams and peaks sheared in half. Nutter, who died in 2009, knew the brutality of coal mining. One brother was killed in a bulldozer accident at a strip mine, and the Hobet workforce was shaped by defiance. Just a few summits from the Hobet mine stands Blair Mountain, site of a bloody scene in 1921, where at least 10,000 miners stood down strikebreakers, sheriffs and coal bosses. If you owned a mine in this area, it was going to be union, said Wayne Chambers, founding member of the United Mine Workers of America local at Hobet. Hobet grew from a hill and valley called Dog Hollow. Soon one shift became two. Streetlights were installed so laborers could work around the clock to fulfill a contract with a power plant in the state capital, Charleston. The less than 90,000 tons of coal produced in 1975 ballooned to nearly a half-million tons by 1978. Some miners say they dared believe Jimmy Linvilles prophecy: Men, youll retire from this job. A NEW EARTH MOVER In the coal patch that stretches from southern West Virginia to central Pennsylvania, miners must pull countless loads of worthless rubble out of the ground before reaching the precious black rock. Hauling that waste, or spoil, is a costly concern. Nutter had a method that satisfied West Virginia officials, but then Congress set national standards with the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977. Mining companies were to take more care with spoil and restore vanished mountains to their approximate original contour. New rules meant higher costs. The year the law was passed, Nutter sold out to Ashland Oil of Kentucky. The new operator attacked the problem of spoil with an audacious piece of equipment. It was a dragline: a towering crane-and-bucket that could carry in one scoop what several dump trucks might haul. The dragline came in pieces and took 18 months to assemble. The contraption grew to a 20-story tower and slung a giant bucket from a half-mile of steel cable. At first sight, miners feared the dragline might end their jobs. But the mammoth machine is probably what kept Hobet running through market ups and downs over the years, those same workers say. In 1984, the first full year of operating the dragline, Hobet produced 1.8 million tons of coal. That was more than double previous output, according to data from the Mine Safety and Health Administration. Jobs were abundant, with over 200 miners, and spirits were high. Workers and bosses fraternized at the Hobet cookout each summer, the families fishing and tossing horseshoes. In these flush times, miners were unafraid to strike. From May until nearly Christmas in 1993, workers were off the job to protect their health plan. We won that one. We won them all, recalled former miner Adkins. In the end, though, the health and pension plans at Hobet were difficult to sustain. Pensions had defined benefits, which relied on a share of miner wages going to pay retirees. Layoffs and cutbacks to the workforce could upend that model. The Hobet health plan had uncommonly low deductibles. We took smaller pensions, smaller hourly wages to protect our health insurance, said Ronald Yogi Pauley, a United Mine Workers leader at the Hobet mine for 30 years. Former managers agree the health plans were exceptional. These would have been called Cadillac health plans, said Ken Woodring, who started as a Hobet mine manager in the 1970s and retired as an Arch executive in 2004. They were manageable when health costs were low in the 1960s and 1970s. But those costs kept rising. DEBT AND PROMISES The fate of miners was closely tied to a changeable coal market known for long winning and losing streaks. In September 1995, as Hurricane Opal crashed through the Gulf of Mexico, fear of a natural gas shortage drove coal prices higher. Within months, utilities burned through coal inventories until they reached lows not seen since Fil Nutter put his claim on Dog Hollow. Steady, reliable coal was proving itself again. Investors liked the turnaround story and Ashland helped conceive Arch Coal as a shareholder-owned company in July 1997. Hobet was now under Arch Coals corporate umbrella. In the era of answering to Wall Street, Woodring said, mining knowledge could take a backseat to marketing. It was important that executives be comfortable with investors, analysts and stock pickers. Steven Leer, 45 at the time, had helped market Valvoline motor oil for Ashland before leading the coal division. When Arch Coal was formed, Leer was tapped as chief executive and paid in Wall Street fashion, with bonuses, country club memberships and other perks. Much of his compensation was tied to the companys performance. If the share price climbed, Leer could redeem stock options for cash. Leer did not respond to interview requests. Deals were one way to get investors attention, and Leers first big acquisition in 1998 was emblematic of a borrow-and-buy growth strategy. Arch used more than a billion dollars in debt to take hold of new leases and rival operations in the West. Further deals would anchor the company in Wyomings Powder River Basin. There, union power was weak and mines had vast reserves of low-sulfur coal in demand under new pollution controls. Still, Arch Coal had promises to keep at Hobet and other eastern mines where current and former workers were owed hundreds of millions of dollars in benefits. These were onerous liabilities, credit rating agency Standard and Poors reported. Arch Coal could not shift its miner liabilities, so it tried to control them. With bigger machinery and longer hours, the Hobet mine could boost output without hiring more miners. After five years under Arch, Hobet was producing a record 5 million tons of coal, according to government data. That was 1.5 million tons more than Ashland produced in its last year of management. Production was up but the culture became more focused on the bottom line, some former miners say. Hobet managers summoned to Archs St. Louis headquarters came back describing cost-savings and the Arch Way of management that kept a steady eye on spending, said Ronnie Vance, a Hobet manager. In Novembers past, Ashland had tolerated deer season when more than 15 percent of the workforce sought an absence. No more. COAL CRUSH Coal fever spread through the 2000s. Asian demand rose with the economy and natural gas output was flat, keeping up demand for coal. Amid record revenue, one cost remained a blot on the Arch Coal balance sheet: more than $400 million in miner health and pension costs. By 2005, investor hunger for coal had spread beyond Wall Street. ArcLight Capital Partners, a Boston private equity group, wanted a toehold in the coal business and Arch Coal found a way out of some stubborn costs. ArcLight bought Hobet and three other West Virginia mines and named the new enterprise Magnum Coal. The deal included the miner health and pension plans. The welfare of thousands of miner families was no longer tied to the deep-pocketed Arch Coal. Miners fretted about their private equity bosses and the sectors reputation for flipping companies for investors. Could Magnum shoulder miner health and welfare plans? Miners had to wait and see. The union leadership told us there was nothing we could do, said labor leader Pauley. The Magnum transaction clears the decks for more growth, Leer told analysts on a conference call in January 2006. Arch shares climbed 3.6 percent. In 2007, Leer took a $10 million payout  his biggest in a career with Arch Coal that earned him more than $40 million, a Reuters review of securities filings found. WALL STREET AND COAL Peabody Energy, the nations largest coal company, conceived Patriot Coal in 2007 to house its union mines and about $750 million in worker liabilities. Eventually, Patriot Coal bought Magnum Coal. By 2011, rising coal prices ignited a new spree of deals. This time coal companies borrowed big for industry-shaping buyouts. Alpha Natural Resources acquired Massey Energy for $7.1 billion in 2011. In December, Peabody Energy acquired MacArthur Coal of Australia for $5.1 billion. Arch Coal bought rival International Coal Group in May for $3.4 billion, with Leer envisioning a coal franchise poised for growth. In the end, the deals were poorly timed. Asian coal demand was tapering, and the new drilling technique of hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, pushed natural gas prices to 10-year lows. Alpha Natural Resources declined to comment on the 2011 deals. Mike Quillen, who founded Alpha in 2002, believes coal executives erred by trying to keep up with the steady rhythms of Wall Street. Debt will kill you in the coal business, said Quillen, who stepped down as Alphas chairman in 2012. And its cyclical. But everybody just got caught up in the idea that high coal prices would go on forever. The industry paid for that misjudgment. Alpha Natural Resources filed for bankruptcy in August 2015; a federal judge in July approved its plan to exit bankruptcy. Peabody Energy filed for bankruptcy in April 2016. Arch Coal, which filed for bankruptcy in January 2016, suffered cost overruns at its Leer Mine of West Virginia, named after its executive. If it werent for those deals, these companies would be solvent, said John Hanou, an independent coal industry analyst who helped lead market research at Wood Mackenzie and Hill & Associates in Annapolis, Maryland. Quillen said thats not so clear-cut. Everything is negative for the industry right now. Theres no way of knowing how long any company might have survived, he said. The coal industry will come through this downturn smaller and with fewer publicly-owned companies, he said. But I dont think the major acquisitions were the single catalyst. TOXIC LEGACY Today the remnants of decline are visible at the Hobet mine. The weathered piles of spoil and valley fills are leaching selenium, a healthful nutrient in trace amounts but a toxin in larger doses. A 2008 study, presented in federal court, found deformed fish and warned of catastrophe, requiring a cleanup. Patriot Coal, the last major operator at the Hobet mine, outlined more than $400 million in pollution liabilities after its first bankruptcy in 2012. At the same time, miners learned their health benefits would vanish. The company-sponsored policy relied on cash from coal operators that are now bankrupt and so those contributions are due to end. When Patriot went bankrupt again last year, the company was sold in pieces. West Virginia Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin has said he hopes the Hobet site will be fit for commercial development. But there are no concrete plans yet. On the land where the dragline first trod, theres a slurry impoundment rather than the wildlife habitat promised by executives in the original permit. This summer, the dragline will be idled. (Editing by Ronnie Greene)
By Julia Edwards WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States has taken in 8,000 Syrian refugees since October and is on track to meet President Barack Obama's goal of resettling 10,000 by the end of the fiscal year, a U.S. State Department official told reporters on Friday. Assistant Secretary of State for the Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration Anne Richard said additional U.S. personnel had been deployed to vet refugees overseas and that many other refugees had already been vetted and were awaiting resettlement. The total number of Syrian refugees in the United States may even exceed the 10,000 goal by the end of the fiscal year on Sept. 30, Richard and other administration officials said on a call with reporters. Obama set a goal of welcoming 10,000 Syrian refugees from Syria's civil war to the United States, drawing criticism from Republicans in the U.S. Congress worried about admitting Syrians who pose a security threat. Human rights advocates raised concerns over whether the administration would be able to meet its goal when less than 5,000 Syrians had been admitted halfway through the fiscal year. "Monthly totals have climbed from low numbers of refugees submitted in the first half of the year to higher numbers recently. In May, June and July the impact of our investments in and enhancements to the process began to be realized," Richard said. (Reporting by Julia Edwards; Editing by Jonathan Oatis and Sandra Maler)
Harley Quinn was meant to be nothing more than a one-episode character when she made her debut on Batman: The Animated Series in September 1992.

Introduced as the brassy new henchperson to The Joker (Mark Hamill), she initially received a mixed response from fans and one of her co-creators wasn't convinced she should even return to the airwaves.

But from those humble beginnings, Harley Quinn grew to become one of the most popular female comic book characters of all time - first giving The Joker a partner that would change his character forever - and then moving on to become both a feminist icon and merchandising phenomenon, a character who has spanned cartoons, comic books, videogames and now the big screen, with Margot Robbie stepping into the role for Suicide Squad.

Harley Quinn's surprising origin story began when writer Paul Dini was sick at home and happened to catch an episode of the soap opera Days of Our Lives on TV. Dini recognized Arleen Sorkin, an old friend from their college days in Boston, playing a harlequin in a dream sequence  and it got him thinking.

"SHE WAS ALWAYS INTENDED TO BE A ONE-SHOT CHARACTER"

It's 1992 and Paul Dini has left Warner Bros. after writing for shows such as Tiny Toon Adventures, to work on other projects, but he's been asked to contribute scripts on a freelance basis for Batman: The Animated Series by executive producer Alan Burnett.

Paul Dini, Harley Quinn co-creator: One of the scripts I wrote was "Joker's Favor." As I was putting together the story, I thought, "What about giving The Joker a girl in the gang this time and referencing the Adam West series?" They had the Riddler, Joker, Penguin with their own henchgirls. I was friends with Arleen Sorkin, and I thought about a character kind of like her persona at the time, which was the snappy, wisecracking blonde. I was home sick and had the TV on, and there she was on Days of Our Lives playing a jester in a fantasy sequence. I saw her running around in a pied piper outfit, and I thought, "That's kind of cute."

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Bruce Timm, Harley Quinn co-creator: Harley was always intended to be a one-shot character in just one episode. Paul pitched her as a change of pace from all the other henchman that we had for The Joker.

Read more: Before 'Batman Begins': Secret History of the Movies That Almost Got Made

Dini: I told Andrea Romano, who was our voice director, that Arleen Sorkin is on TV a lot and she's kind of like this character. "What do you think about giving her the shot?" Andrea brought her in and Arleen did a great job.

Timm: Going off of the name, Harley Quinn, as a play on the word harlequin, I did some brief research into harlequin costumes. I took the jester hat and the diamond patterns and the ruffled collar and the little balls and stuff. The thing I immediately freaked out about was classic harlequin costumes are really, really baroque. They have a lot of design on them. I immediately keyed in on that diamond pattern. I said, "I can't put thousands of diamonds on her, because nobody is going to be able to animate that." I just strategically placed them on her costume. For the alternate, red and black color blocking on her costume, there was a classic comics character called Daredevil in the '40s - this was way before the Marvel character - who had a red and black outfit which I thought was a kind of unique motif, so I kind of stole that. And there we were. I wasn't thinking about designing a character for the ages or for a character that would be turned into toys and toothbrushes and purses and stuff for decades. It was just intended to be, "Let's come up with a cool design for this one-shot character."

The Golden Age character Daredevil (from Lev Gleason Publications) partially inspired the look for Harley Quinn

Sorkin: I would sing in the car on the way to work - "Adelaide's Lament" from Guys and Dolls. And when I got there, I was ready. Adelaide from Guys and Dolls is someone I always wanted to play. So it was very easy for me to find Harley's voice. But I made her even more extreme. I also auditioned multiple times for Little Shop of Horrors. And I'd seen Ellen Green's performance. I thought her performance was brilliant, so I wouldn't be surprised if when I did Harley that some of her inflection came out.

Timm: When we got the rough footage for that first episode back and we saw her character actually moving in animation and paired up with Arleen's voice and the personality they gave her, it was, "Oh wow. There's something here." It was immediately apparent to everybody. Paul was from the very beginning advocating for us bringing her back and I was a little reluctant. I thought, "Well okay, that's going to kind of shift Joker a bit for what we intended to do with him in the series." Even though we were doing the show for children's television, we really wanted to try to make Joker as serious a threat as possible to Batman. Kind of balance the psychopathic, homicidal nature with the funny clown motifs, so we thought if he had a girlfriend, that kind of humanizes him too much.

Read more: 'Suicide Squad's' Secret Drama: Rushed Production, Competing Cuts, High Anxiety

Dini: A few months later, we were doing a story called "The Laughing Fish" and The Joker needed a gang again, and we thought, "What if we bring her back?" She was fun and fawned over The Joker and was a willing audience for him. The more we used her for that, the more we had this twisted relationship growing between them, where she idolized him or followed his orders to the letter. That really gave us an interesting dynamic.

Sorkin: To watch Mark Hamill act, I couldn't believe how wonderful he was. Sometimes I forgot to pick up my lines because I would be so busy watching him. Everybody else sat with their headphones on, but he stood. I never saw anything like it. Mark owned that character. It was mesmerizing to watch.

Timm: It did give Mark more flavors to play. His relationship with Harley is obviously very complicated. I couldn't honestly tell you what the Joker's actual true feelings for her are, but there were times when he seemed to be affectionate toward her, or at least he would use her affection as a way of controlling her. It definitely brought different dimensions to The Joker than we had anticipated.

Sorkin: There were a few times when I did things that inspired the character. One was during the L.A. riots in '92. Paul was having a breakdown.There were fires everywhere and we were driving home from the recording studio and it was in deep Hollywood and I just started singing to try to cheer him up. He remembered the song - "Say We're Sweethearts Again" - and put it in the show.

HARLEY AND IVY

A major turning point for Harley - and the show - comes on Jan. 18, 1993, when the episode "Harley and Ivy" airs. The story, which sees Harley befriend Poison Ivy (Diane Pershing) and break free from The Joker's control, tackles issues of domestic abuse and finding one's own identity - all on a children's TV cartoon show. An origin story comic, revealing that Harley was once Harleen Quinzel, the Joker's psychiatrist, soon followed.

Dini: I'd done a few episodes of Harley as The Joker's assistant and you see that part of the relationship. Then I thought, let's show the flip side. Working for a villain is never a lot of fun, and as funny and as charismatic as The Joker can be, the downside is he's psychotic and nasty. Showing what Harley's life is like was very compelling. And showing her in contrast to a very strong female character such as Poison Ivy just seemed like a natural to me.

Read more: 'Batman Forever': The Story Behind the Surprise Hit "Nobody Really Wanted"

Timm: The Harley and Ivy episode was definitely one of the turning points for the character. That was the first time she at least tried get away from The Joker. Within the scope of a children's cartoon, we were basically portraying an abusive relationship, which is really weird. But all of this stuff was kind of played for fun and lightness. But there was this darker subtext to it. That was the episode where with her friendship with Poison Ivy, she was kind of encouraged to make a break from him. We played back and forth with that a bit for the next bunch of episodes with her.

Dini: In 1993 we did the origin comic Mad Love. It had been floating around in my head for a while. Who is Harley Quinn? Where did she come from? One day, Bruce and I sat down and the psychiatrist idea landed on the table and we both gravitated toward that. It's kind of a surprise to everybody. She's not just this ditzy girl The Joker picked up in a bar. She was his therapist, and this was what she became. Before this, she was very smart and driven and somehow he got into her head and twisted her. It says a lot about her and a lot about The Joker that he would manipulate her into his perfect henchperson. She made this tragic choice that defined the rest of her life and we made it more like a cautionary story. Do not love so unwisely and do not charge into something. Do not try to change yourself for someone else. That leads to tragedy. And it really added a much stronger core to the character.

Sorkin: Years later, the character was getting popular. I never would have asked for more money, except for the casting director, Andrea Romano. I was doing it for years and years and loving every second of it, and Andrea Romano said, "Arleen you can't keep doing it for scale. You've got to ask for more." And that was my only raise. I really was so grateful for it. It was so much fun for me. It wasn't for the money. It was the enjoyment of it.

Timm: Harley had a slow build. There wasn't a whole lot of Harley merchandise early on. When the first Harley action figure came out as part of the Batman: The Animated Series line, it was actually a really rare figure. You'd get a box of Batman toys at a toy store and there would be eight Batmans and five Jokers and there'd be maybe one Harley in the entire box. Now I can't believe how much Harley merchandise is out there. It's insane.

"A HAPPY ENDING"

Harley gets her own, Joker-free episode on Oct. 15, 1994 near the run of Batman: The Animated Series. "Harley's Holiday" shows Harley released from custody - only to be wrongly accused of shoplifting as a series of events lead her back to her old ways. She's eventually imprisoned again at Arkham, but it's hinted that she will be released with a clean bill of health soon. After Batman: The Animated Series ends, Harley goes on to become one of the most popular DC characters - living on in cartoons, comics, videogames and on the big screen. Sorkin retires from the role in 2011 after playing Harley Quinn in numerous iterations for two decades.

Timm: The last episode we did with her in Batman: the Animated Series didn't even have The Joker in it. Paul and I actually sat down and said, "Can we do a Harley episode that doesn't have The Joker in it?" That was kind of the challenge. In a weird kind of way, we knew our end of the series was coming up. We thought, it would be kind of nice to leave her with a happy ending. She's on parole and has made a break with The Joker. By the end of the episode, she seems like she is going okay. That was our wanting to give her a happy ending.

Read more: Get to Know Every Harley Quinn Actress Ever

Sorkin: I told Paul I had played a character on the sitcom Duet (1987-1989) named Geneva. I pitched to one of the showrunners that since Geneva was a thief, why can't she think she went straight and then take a shirt that still had a tag on it, and accidentally be accused of stealing? The showrunner of Duet thought I was insane. But Paul thought it was a very good idea. So he turned it into a Harley story.

Tara Strong (The current voice of Harley Quinn, after taking over in 2011): I was Batgirl alongside Arleen and Kevin Conroy (Batman) and Hamill when I first moved to town from Toronto. Years later, I got the call for Harley and they said, "We do not want you to do an impression from Arleen. We want you to make it your own. We want you to go to all kinds of crazy energy levels and we want this to be the new Harley." That was daunting, because No. 1, I really love Arleen. And I was always so impressed with her acting skills, her performance, the way she stuck to this character who was just so endearing and cute. You instantly fall in love with Harley. I wanted to honor her for being the inspiration behind this role, as well as make it my own and hopefully the fans not get furious that she wasn't doing it.

Sorkin: It's thrilling for me that I did something that will live on. I'm so happy and grateful that I did it. I did a lot examples of it. I hope it helps who continues the role in the future. I still do the voice sometimes. I have a fan, a high school student named Brian McCauley, who goes to a wonderful school for the blind in Boston. I've recorded birthday songs him for after his father tracked me down.

Dini: Harley has come into her own. Now when I write Harley, I never pair her up with the Joker. She's always off by herself doing mayhem. Sometimes I pair her up with Poison Ivy and I go back to that dynamic because that's a lot of fun. To show them as pals and partners in crime.

Timm: Looking back, ironically if I had known then what I know now about Harley's success, I probably would have said, "Get out of here you're insane." But clearly, this is the character we added to the Batman mythos who has had the most impact and longevity. I'm lucky that we caught lightning in a bottle when we did.
Beirut (AFP) - Jihadists and their rebel allies pressed an offensive Friday with a massive attack aimed at seizing a military academy south of Aleppo and breaking a three-week-old siege of insurgent neighbourhoods.

Their assault focusing on the artillery and armaments schools of the academy has sparked contradictory reports about the situation on the ground.

"The rebels have seized parts of these schools, but the army has begun a counter-offensive backed by air cover to chase them out," said Syrian Observatory for Human Rights chief Rami Abdel Rahman.

"If the rebels can take control of these schools, they will cut the supply route into regime-held districts of western Aleppo and they must seize the adjoining area of Ramussa to lift the siege on the rebel districts," he said.

"This is a battle of life and death for the regime and for Russia," its key ally, Abdel Rahman added.

State television in Syria said government forces had repulsed the assault, killing "hundreds" of attackers.

Once Syria's economic powerhouse, Aleppo has been ravaged by the war that began in March 2011 with anti-government protests.

The government siege of opposition-held districts began on July 17 and has raised fears of a humanitarian crisis.

The Observatory said at least 13 people, including nine children, were killed in air strikes on the rebel-held east of the city on Friday.

The Britain-based group said it was unclear if the raids on the Marjeh district were carried out by Syrian or Russian aircraft.

Moscow, meanwhile, hit back at US criticism over Syria, accusing Washington of lacking trust in Russia and not behaving as a true partner.

Russia and the United States support opposing sides in Syria's civil war, which has left 280,000 people dead and forced half the population to flee their homes.

- 'Wholly logical' policy -

But the two world powers have agreed "concrete steps" to revive a tattered ceasefire and tackle jihadist groups in Syria, although details have not been made public.

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On Thursday, US President Barack Obama said Russia risked casting itself as an "irresponsible actor" on the world stage particularly due to its actions in Aleppo in recent weeks.

"The United States sometimes don't behave as partners when dealing with us on Syrian issues and are not always ready to negotiate on equal grounds," Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov told TASS news agency.

He said he thought Moscow's policy on Syria was "wholly logical" and set goals that are mostly "shared by most members of the international community".

In an audio message released Friday, Abu Mohamed al-Jolani, the head of Al-Qaeda's former affiliate in Syria, pledged that the rebel offensive which started on Sunday would soon succeed.

God had granted fighters "a glorious victory in the battle to break the siege of Aleppo", he said.

"This battle, the outcome of which will go beyond simply opening the road for the besieged, will change the balance of the conflict... setting the scene for a new stage of the battle."

After some initial rebel advances, government forces backed by Iranian and Hezbollah fighters as well as Russian air strikes have pushed back opposition fighters who include jihadists from Jolani's faction, now known as the Fateh al-Sham Front.

- Ravaged by war -

According to the Observatory, at least 115 civilians, including 35 children, have been killed in the city since the rebel assault began on Sunday.

The deaths include 65 people, among them 22 children, killed in rebel fire on government neighbourhoods, the Observatory said.

Another 42 people, including 11 children, have been killed in strikes on eastern Aleppo, it said.

It reported five more deaths in rebel fire on the Kurdish-majority Sheikh Maqsud district of the city.

Elsewhere in Aleppo province, the monitor said an alliance of Kurdish and Arab fighters was advancing inside the Islamic State group bastion of Manbij.

Abdul Rahman said the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) now held 70 percent of the town.

"The Islamic State has entered its final phase in the town of Manbij," he told AFP, adding however that IS was using a number of civilians there as human shields.

"The progress the SDF has made in the last week is more than it was able to achieve in previous weeks put together," Abdul Rahman said.

The SDF began its assault on Manbij in late May and entered the town proper on June 23, with support from the US-led coalition against IS.

Manbij sits on the route between the Turkish border and the eastern city of Raqa, the jihadists' de facto capital in Syria.
Romanian man nabbed in ATM fraud

Police on Monday arrested a Romanian national for his alleged involvement in ATM fraud.
Warning: This post contains spoilers for Suicide Squad.

Early on in Suicide Squad, Viola Davis Amanda Waller must convince her colleagues that the American government requires the help of some pretty bad supervillains to defend it against even more villainous villains. If she couldnt convince them, of course, the movie would be over after 30 minutesbut naturally she does. One of the arguments she uses to make her case is that her proposal is not unprecedented.

Waller points to a deal the U.S. Navy made with the Mafia during World War II to protect American shipyards. And despite the absurdity of pretty much everything else that happens in the movie, this one historical tidbit is entirely accurate.

In 1942, following the attack on Pearl Harbor and the suspicious destruction of the Normandie cruise ship in Manhattan, the U.S. Office of Naval Intelligence was concerned about the potential for Italian and German agents to infiltrate the country through its ports. The organization dispatched its own agents to attempt to gather intelligence from the mostly Italian-American fishermen and dockworkers in New York City, but workers refused to offer up any information.

Navy officials figured that the workers reticence had little to do with the questions they were asking and more to do with who was doing the asking. Working through the Jewish mobster Meyer Lansky, who was quietly endeavoring to intimidate Nazi sympathizers at home, the Navy began negotiating with Mafia boss Salvatore C. Luciano, nicknamed Lucky Luciano, widely considered to be the father of organized crime in the U.S.

The Navy, the State of New York and Luciano struck a deal in which the latter, who was serving 30 to 50 years in prison for compulsory prostitution, would have his sentence commuted in exchange for enlisting the support of his organization in providing intelligence to the Navy. Though theres little evidence proving the success of the arrangement, it was enough to get Luciano released from prison in 1946 and deported to Italy to live out his days in his home country.

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But the Mafias contributions to the war effort dont end there. Luciano recruited a number of his associates to help draw maps and dig up photos of the Sicilian coastline in preparation for the Allied invasion of Sicily, otherwise known as Operation Husky, in 1943. Mob boss Vito Genovese offered his services as an interpreter and an adviser to U.S. forces in Naples, and several other Mafia connections offered up contacts in Sicily who were supportive of the Allied cause.

The U.S. government denied its collaboration with the Mafia for decades, and not just in relation to the Second World War. In 2007, to cite just one example, the CIA released documents that revealed the agencys collaboration with the Cosa Nostra in a failed 1960 attempt to assassinate Fidel Castro.

Suicide Squad may be taking some heat from critics over its choppy and circuitous plot. But setting aside aliens and enchantresses and malevolent metahumans, its underlying premise is no stranger than history itself.
The 20-year-old man suspected of killing two Atlanta-area teens had "previous encounters with police," but no known criminal record, authorities tell PEOPLE.



Police have so far declined to discuss a possible motive in the double killings of Carter Davis and Natalie Henderson, both 17, who were both found shot once in the head behind a Roswell, Georgia, Publix early Monday.



On Wednesday, Roswell police arrested Jeffrey A. Hazelwood and charged him with two counts each of murder, aggravated assault and theft by taking, and one count each of identity fraud and possession of a firearm during the commission or attempt to commit certain felonies, according to jail records.



It was not immediately clear if Hazelwood had retained an attorney or entered a plea to his charges. He is scheduled to appear in court Friday.



With Hazelwood's arrest in the deaths, details are emerging to some questions  while many others remain.





How He Was Caught

Det. Zachary Frommer, with Roswell police, declined to say what evidence pointed the investigation toward Hazelwood, but said "cell phone data in general from several people was very important in the case."



He declined to elaborate on what Hazelwood's "previous encounters" with authorities were.



Hazelwood's car was also allegedly seen in the same area and about the same time as the killings, police said, according to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.



 Want to keep up with the latest crime coverage? Click here to get breaking crime news, ongoing trial coverage and details of intriguing unsolved cases in the True Crime Newsletter.



Police have said Davis and Henderson met at the Publix between 2 a.m. and 4 a.m. Monday, and their bodies were discovered about 6 a.m. by delivery drivers.



Hazelwood allegedly used either Henderson's credit or debit card at a gas station, after their killings, Roswell Police Chief Rusty Grant told WSB.





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Suspect in Atlanta Teens' Double Homicide Had 'Previous Encounters with Police'| Crime & Courts, True Crime

Police executed a search warrant Wednesday morning at a Roswell residence that was neither the home of Davis nor Henderson, police have said. It was not immediately clear if they had searched Hazelwood's residence or how their search might be connected to his arrest.





How Were They Connected?

Hazelwood was "very close to a girlfriend," who was not Henderson, and had been raised by his grandparents, according to the AJC.



His connection to the victims was not immediately clear. District officials tell PEOPLE he did not attend the same school as Davis. He had attended an alternative school in Roswell, according to the AJC.



Frommer tells PEOPLE that investigators "have no reason to believe that drugs are involved" in the shootings.



Davis and Henderson were rising seniors  he at River Ridge High School and she at Roswell High School. Monday would have been Davis' first day of school.



The two were "starting to get to know each other," Henderson's close friend Ari Lorentz tells PEOPLE, when asked if they were dating.



Lorentz says Henderson was "always really happy, just so happy. I never saw her upset." (He says he and Henderson became friends in sixth grade, because they shared a birthday.)



Lorentz says he also met Davis several times through another mutual friend, and described him as a "really, really nice young man."



He says he didn't know anything about Hazelwood.
This Swedish pilot is all of our fitness goals This Swedish pilot is all of our fitness goals

All images via Instagram/pilotmaria



Being a pilot, you can imagine a lot of your time is spent waiting around in airports followed by hours sitting in the cockpit of a plane. But that doesnt mean you cant make the most of your downtime.

Maria Pettersson, a 32-year-old Ryan Air pilot, fills her Instagram feed with pretty impressive photos of the yoga (and other activities) she does in some of the exotic locales she gets to visit on the job.

Click through the gallery above to see why shes racked up more than 200K followers and let us know your thoughts by tweeting to @YahooStyleCA.
ZURICH (Reuters) - Swiss right-wing leader Christoph Blocher and allies fired a salvo on Friday against negotiations to bind Switzerland more closely to the European Union, saying it would be a strategic error to join forces with such a crisis-ridden entity. Negotiations are about to wrap up on a "framework treaty" that would put Swiss bilateral ties with its most important trading partner on a more comprehensive basis, and Blocher's Swiss People's Party (SVP), the biggest in parliament, opposes any agreement that goes beyond existing favorable trade terms. Blocher, head of the Committee Against a Creeping EU Entry, told reporters Switzerland could never agree to a pact that let Brussels impose binding EU rules and regulations on a sovereign nation and then have EU courts rule on any disputes that arose. "Foreign laws, foreign judges. That is a very fundamental decision we have to make, along the lines of the 1992 decision on entering the European Economic Area and then the EU," he said, referring to Swiss voters' rejection of that process. Instead, Switzerland has arranged a series of bilateral economic accords that now are jeopardized by a standoff over Swiss demands to limit immigration from the EU. Talks on that issue come to a head in September. SVP party leader Albert Roesti said it would be "fundamentally false" strategically to bind Switzerland more closely to a union battling debt, financial and refugee crises at a time when Britain had decided to leave the bloc. The negotiations on forging closer institutional ties are separate but parallel to the immigration talks. Any deal would have to win parliamentary approval and then face a potential referendum under Switzerland's system of direct democracy. (Reporting by Michael Shields; Editing by Louise Ireland)
PARIS  Switzerland has chosen Claude Barrass Cannes Directors Fortnight player My Life as a Courgette as its foreign-language Oscar candidate at the 89th Academy Awards.

Produced by Geneva-based Rita Productions, My Life as a Courgette marks the feature debut of Swiss director Claude Barras.

Repped by Paris-based Indie Sales, the critically-acclaimed stop-motion toonpic scooped the Cristal prize for best feature and audience award at Annecy, before playing at Directors Fortnight in Cannes.

Based on Gilles Pariss Autobiography Of A Courgette and penned by Celine Sciamma (Girlhood), Ma vie de Courgette tells the tale of a nine-year-old boy nicknamed Courgette who has to find his way in an orphanage after his mothers death and is eventually adopted by a policeman.

Ma vie de Courgette is an original film guided by luminous artistic direction. Its story is packed with emotion, marked by resilience and a hopeful vision of human society. Director Claude Barras and screenwriter Celine Sciamma succeeded in giving children a voice: While adressing children at eye level they still speak to all generations, said the Swiss Oscar jury about the selection.

My Life as a Courgette was co-produced by Frances Blue Spirit Productions, Gebeka Films and Monaco-based KNM.

On top of being a critical success, My Life as a Courgette has been sold to most of Europe, the Middle East and Asia by Indie Sales. Deals with the UK and the U.S. are now in negotiation.

The theatrical roll-out of My Life as a Courgette kicks off in Switzerland in September, followed by France, Belgium in October, as well as Germany and Italy in December.

Oscar nominations will be unveiled on Jan. 24. The award ceremony will be held in Los Angeles on February 26.

Related stories

Switzerland: Up Next! Claude Barras

Film Review: 'My Life as a Courgette'

Directors' Fortnight Player 'My Life as a Courgette' Sells Abroad (EXCLUSIVE)
BEIRUT (Reuters) - A Syrian group said on Thursday it had the bodies of five people shot down in a Russian helicopter and demanded the release of prisoners in exchange for the corpses. The Russian military helicopter was downed in Syria's rebel-held Idlib province on Monday, killing all five people on board in the biggest officially acknowledged loss of life for Russian forces since they started operations in Syria. The demand was made in a statement seen by Reuters, signed off by a group calling itself the General Foundation for Prisoners' Affairs. It wanted the release of prisoners held in Syrian government jails and by Damascus's Lebanese Shi'ite ally Hezbollah in Lebanon. It did not say who those prisoners were, or how many it wanted released. It also demanded an end to the siege of areas blockaded by the Syrian army and its allies, and for the delivery of significant amounts of humanitarian aid to people living in besieged areas. The statement showed what appeared to be identity cards belonging to those killed in the crash. Russia's defense ministry said on Monday the Mi-8 military transport helicopter had been shot down after delivering humanitarian aid to the city of Aleppo as it made its way back to Russia's main air base in the western province of Latakia. No group immediately claimed responsibility for shooting down the helicopter. Islamic State fighters are not active in the area, but there are other Islamist rebel groups there, as well as moderates backed by the United States and its allies. Russia has supported Syrian President Bashar al-Assad with an air campaign against insurgents since September. Russia and Syria did not make any immediate comment on the demand. (Reporting by Samia Nakhoul and John Davison; Editing by Andrew Heavens)
By Suleiman Al-Khalidi BEIRUT (Reuters) - Syrian rebels stormed an artillery base in the northern city of Aleppo on Friday to try an end the siege of opposition-held areas but the Syrian army said it had repelled the attack and killed hundreds of insurgents. A quarter of a million civilians still live in Aleppo's opposition-controlled eastern neighbourhoods, effectively under siege since the army, aided by Iranian-backed militias, cut off the last road into rebel districts in early July. Fighters from a coalition of Islamist rebel groups called "Jaish al Fateh" that includes Jabhat Fateh al Sham, the former al Qaeda-affiliated Nusra Front, Ahrar al Sham and other smaller groups, said they took part of the main fortress-like artillery academy in the Ramousah quarter in southwestern Aleppo. The artillery base, one of the largest in Syria, is almost 2 km from the besieged opposition area. It has a huge supply of ammunitions and is used regularly to shell parts of the city held by opposition forces. The rebels are trying to break through a strip of government-controlled territory to reconnect their encircled sector of eastern Aleppo with a swathe of insurgent territory in the west of Syria, effectively breaking the siege. The fall of that strip would also cut off western Aleppo, which is in government hands. "There are two suicide bombers who have driven into regime posts inside the artillery base," said Abu al-Walid, a fighter with Ahrar al Sham, who said there was fighting inside the base. Hundreds of fighters were clashing with government troops only a few hundred metres from each other in parts of the artillery base after breaking into government defences around the heavily fortified compound, rebels said. Aleppo, Syria's biggest city before the outbreak of the civil war five years ago, has been divided between government forces and rebels since the summer of 2012. Seizing full control would be the biggest victory for Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in five years of fighting and demonstrate the dramatic shift of fortunes in his favour since Russia joined the war on his side last year. Islamist rebels have poured in thousands of fighters mainly from the rebel-held province of Idlib in north western Syria. Inside the city, Free Syrian Army (FSA), among them vetted U.S.-backed groups, helped pile pressure on the army and its allies along other frontlines. Jabhat Fateh al Sham, which is believed to have carried out at least three suicide bombings so far, said it also killed a number of Lebanese Shi'ite Hezbollah fighters it said were defending the artillery school. The militant Shi'ite group that fights alongside Assad's government forces is an ally of Iranian-backed militias and the Russians in trying to help Assad regain control of the opposition-held parts of Aleppo. The army said it had foiled the attack on the artillery base and two major military academies. Hundreds of insurgents had been killed and much of their equipment and tanks destroyed, the army said. It said the assault was the biggest by rebels against government-held areas in the last year. "Today there was a large scale attack by the terrorist armed groups and they used all types of weapons but were are fighting this attack and will defeat them," said Brigadier General Deeb Bazi, the head of one of the military academies targeted. The army said at least a thousand insurgents had been killed since the assault began earlier this week. Rebels said jets flying at high altitude, believed to be Russian, intensified their strikes on the area but were unable to hold back rebel advances because of the terrain. (Reporting by Suleiman Al-Khalidi and additional reporting by Tom Miles in Geneva; Editing by Janet Lawrence and Grant McCool)
Entrepreneur Philip JamesCEO and founder of the wine commerce site Penrose Hillis no stranger to uncertainty, risk, or adventure. He climbed Mount Everest in 2003, and has taken an unreal motorcycle trip across Europe and Mongolia. He also started his own company (which has a partnership with Time Inc).

According to James, going on an epic expedition requires some of the same skills and personality quirks as launching a new business.

You know where you are, the origin point, right at the beginning. James explained, and you know where youre trying to go[be it to the] top of a mountain or to build a successful business.

With your goal in your mind, you can only imagine the road there in fairly broad termsbeautiful landmarks and unusual pit stopsbut there may be no clear trail to follow. Even if there is, you will encounter unexpected obstacles and roadblocks along the way.

James said that, like embarking on a great excursion, you fill up with gasoline [and] have enough food and water to make it to the next village or city. But you have to accept that you cant anticipate where every rest stop may appear, nor every barrier and setback.

You cant plan around a corner or see over the horizon, James continued. There will always be twists and turns.

More than anything, an entrepreneur has to be OK with uncertaintyjust like travelers have to be flexible and open-minded.

But James notes that uncertainty is not the same thing as risk, which is cumulative. You can undertake things that are uncertain, [while] you work incredibly hard to minimize the exposure to [risk], James concluded.

For travelers, specifically, that means taking precautions (contact the embassy, give your kids the hotels business card) securing your belongings, and being intrepid. After all, some of our most gutsy trips can be the most memorable adventures of our lifetime.

Melanie Lieberman is the Assistant Digital Editor at Travel + Leisure. Follow her on Twitter and Instagram at @melanietaryn.
Rs 105m Swiss support for Jiri School

The government of Switzerland has agreed to provide one million Swiss francs (approximately Rs 105 million) for the reconstruction of Jiri Technical School in Dolakha district.
Paris (AFP) - Teenagers who exchange digital messages with sexual content, a practice known as sexting, are more likely to experience violence in love relationships, a study has found.

In a survey of more than 1,000 14 to 17-year-olds in Norway, 549 reported having had a romantic partner.

Nearly a third of the young lovers said they had sent explicit sexual messages -- pictures and/or text -- to their sweethearts.

Compared to teens who had not engaged in sexting with a partner, these adolescents experienced four times more physical violence -- acts such as smacking, pushing, strangulation or being beaten with a hard object, the researchers found.

They suffered 2.5 times more sexual abuse, ranging from forced kissing to rape, and 3.5 times more psychological violence.

The findings were reported in the peer-reviewed Scandinavian Journal of Public Health.

For teens, "there is a bigger chance of becoming a victim of intimate partner violence if you send messages with sexual content," said lead author Per Hellevik, a sociologist at the Norwegian Centre for Violence and Traumatic Stress Studies is Oslo.

More than 40 percent of youngsters with love interests -- which did not necessarily include sex -- said they had experienced couple violence of some kind. This included sexters and non-sexters.

Girls were far more exposed to violence than boys, the study showed, especially those with older partners.

They also reacted differently.

Both sexes were asked how they felt when subjected to violence in a relationship, with possible answers ranging from "sad" and "frightened" to "loved" and "desired".

Twice as many girls expressed negative feelings about violence.

At the other extreme, "one percent of the girls and 35 percent of the boys had purely positive experiences", Hellevik said in a statement.

The study does not conclude that sexting causes violence, noting that children who experience fighting or brutality at home or at school are prone to similar behaviour with their intimate partners.

Story continues

Sexting, in other words, could be as much symptom as cause.

The findings raise thorny questions about when parents and teachers should intrude in the private digital lives of youngsters.

"We wouldn't let teenagers hang around in the streets all day without knowing what they are up to or who they were with," said Hellevik.

"In the same way, they shouldn't be allowed to hang around online on their own."
From Town & Country

Peter Brant II and his brother Harry are regulars of the fashion circuit. They've also both been arrested this year, as has their mother, model Stephanie Seymour. Harry is due in court today after being busted by Greenwich Police last week for resisting arrest, drug possession, and sixth-degree larceny.

Here's what they have in common-and what sets them apart:

Peter is the older one and he goes by Peter Brant II to distinguish himself from his billionaire father. (The Emily Post Institute would prefer he used Jr.)

Photo credit: "

Peter is 22; Harry is 20.

Photo credit: "

The New York Times dubbed them "the new princes of the city" in 2012.

Photo credit: "

As the Times profile pointed out, "Peter's deadpan, detached demeanor contrasts with Harry's livelier, impish quality, a witty rejoinder ever ready."

Photo credit: "

The brothers recently launched their second makeup line with MAC. It's a "collection of modern-day grooming and sculpting products for men and women."

Peter got in trouble for an off-color joke he made on social media after the 2012 presidential election.

The screenshot of an iMessage conversation allegedly between Brant and friend Andrew Warren went like this: Warren: "Guess we're poor now" Brant: "I have a contingency plan/Kill Obama hahaha." Brant later apologized.

Photo credit: "

As of 2012, Peter II was planning to enroll as student at Bard College after studying at Hunter College in the city. The Brant Foundation gave Bard a $1 million grant to support curatorial studies and art history in September 2015.

Photo credit: "

According to their Instagram bios, they both model: Peter with IMG and Harry with The Lions.

They're both close to their mother.

Photo credit: "

Peter is out.

After photos of him being affection with his mother on a St. Barts beach caused a stir in 2011, he reportedly wrote on Facebook, "... We have nothing to hide and with that in mind I would like to say that I am openly gay. At my age my mother and I are almost like friends and I feel open to talk to her about anything (and yes our relationship may be different because of my sexuality)."

Story continues

Photo credit: "

Peter is slightly taller than Harry: Six-foot-two compared to six feet.

Photo credit: "

Harry has done a bit of writing.

He penned an essay for Fashionista.com about attending the Paris couture shows in 2012. An excerpt: "I met the ultimate queen of glamour herself, Donatella Versace! In my opinion she is the ultimate Queen B."
(Recasts with details on debt repayment)

Aug 5 (Reuters) - Tesla Motors Inc said on Friday it must repay the principle on $411 million of 2018 convertible notes and expects to do so in the third quarter, adding to the cash pressure on the electric vehicle company.

"During the third quarter, we will be using substantial amounts of cash in connection with conversions of our 2018 Notes and we could pursue other actions to reduce our outstanding balance of convertible notes, which could require further outlays of cash," Tesla wrote in its quarterly filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

Tesla, which wants to buy solar panel installer SolarCity Corp for $2.6 billion in shares, also disclosed that the value of its secured assets had limited its ability to borrow under its asset-based revolving credit agreement with a syndicate of banks.

As it said in its previous quarterly filing in March, Tesla warned that the cost of building and operating its Gigafactory battery factory in Nevada could exceed the company's current expectations.

(Reporting by Alexandria Sage and Sweta Singh in Bengaluru; editing by Sriraj Kalluvila and Bernard Orr)
(Reuters) - Tesla Motors Inc <TSLA.O> said on Friday it must repay the principle on $411 million of 2018 convertible notes and expects to do so in the third quarter, adding to the cash pressure on the electric vehicle company.

"During the third quarter, we will be using substantial amounts of cash in connection with conversions of our 2018 Notes and we could pursue other actions to reduce our outstanding balance of convertible notes, which could require further outlays of cash," Tesla wrote in its quarterly filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

Tesla, which wants to buy solar panel installer SolarCity Corp <SCTY.O> for $2.6 billion in shares, also disclosed that the value of its secured assets had limited its ability to borrow under its asset-based revolving credit agreement with a syndicate of banks.

As it said in its previous quarterly filing in March, Tesla warned that the cost of building and operating its Gigafactory battery factory in Nevada could exceed the company's current expectations.

(Reporting by Alexandria Sage and Sweta Singh in Bengaluru; editing by Sriraj Kalluvila and Bernard Orr)
Striding into a Bangkok Starbucks wearing a T-shirt emblazoned with I Love Gen. Prayuth, referring to Thailands cantankerous junta chief, Rackchart Wong-Arthichart doesnt seem your typical student democracy activist. But then he points out a pair of crossed fingers printed on the back. I designed it myself, he grins. We mainly do satirical campaigns against the military government.

Rackchart is a member of the Citizens Resistance, a student-led group peacefully agitating for a return to democracy in a nation ruled by the military since a coup on May 22, 2014. On Sunday, Thailand is holding a referendum on a new constitution that critics say will entrench military rule. The draft includes provisions for an unelected Prime Minister and a 250-strong Upper House entirely appointed by the military. The 500-member Lower House would be elected by a new single transferable vote system. Analysts say it is specifically designed to hobble the influence of the populist party of ousted Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra. Any discussion of the draft has been banned.

They are going to form a government inside the government, says Rackchart. Its going to be worse than ever and it will be very hard to fix or do anything.

Read More: Thailands Future Hinges on a Controversial Political Referendum

Citizens Resistance has been campaigning strongly against the draft. For almost a year, its 30-odd members have published tens of thousands of copies of a monthly protest magazine, as well as distributing leaflets and campaigning via social media. They have also organized silent protests at iconic landmarks in Bangkok. Thais have taken to myriad creative ways to register dissent: from posting pictures of Transformers and Star Wars stormtroopers on social media, to reading George Orwells dystopian classic 1984 in public or simply eating sandwiches. We just silently stood still, says Rackchart. It was inspired by [Erdem Gunduzs] standing-man protests in Taksim Square in Turkey.

Story continues

Most recently, Citizens Resistance has been tweaking the lyrics of popular music videos to lampoon the military. The junta doesnt see the funny side and has charged several members of the group, including Rackchart, with attempting to disrupt the referendum vote. He could face ten years in prison if convicted.

The worst thing is that we have to face trial in military court, he says. Theres no transparency in military court, there is no justice there.

Many democracy activists have already had a taste of detention. Rangsiman Rome, a 24-year-old member of the New Democracy Movement, which is allied with Citizens Resistance, has spent two stints of 12 days behind bars since the coup. The law graduate student had his head shaved and says he was forced to sleep 40 to a cell with robbers, fraudsters and hit men. When everyone was sleeping there wasnt enough room to walk around, he says. Some European and African prisoners were too big and couldnt even stretch out.

Rangsiman may be seeing prison again soon. He faces an additional five charges  everything from stirring up political turmoil to refusing to provide fingerprints  that could see him imprisoned for 18 years. They are political charges, its nothing to do with the law at all, he says, so I believe that if we win the political fight then we can beat all the charges.

Read More: Thai Junta Leader Warns Opposition Not to Monitor Upcoming Referendum

That political fight is serious for all of Thailands 68 million people. A once thriving economy is backsliding, vital tourist numbers are down and rights routinely trampled on. Thailand is also Americas oldest ally in Asia and a lynchpin of the Obama administrations rebalancing to the region. But the junta has been growing closer to China, repatriating Uighur asylum seekers and other persons of interest without a nod to due process.

Of course, there are some supporters of the draft who say it will return stability to a country racked by political paralysis and often bloody street politics. The 2014 coup was ostensibly spurred by mass protests that riled the heart of Bangkok for six months.

Though many believe something else lies behind the sudden intervention. Thailand is in a state of deep anxiety as beloved King Bhumibol Adulyadej, who is 88 years old and ailing, nears the end of his reign. As his son and heir, Crown Prince Maha Vajiralongkorn, does not command the same respect as his father, the nations elite cannot rely on the palace to shield their interests, and instead entrust the military to perform this role as the sensitive time of royal succession approaches.

They want to make sure that the constitution gives a legal establishment for the military and the Bangkok elite to ensure they still can hold onto power should then the throne be wobbling, says Pavin Chachavalpongpun, associate professor of Southeast Asian Studies at Japans Kyoto University.

However, discussion of anything concerning the royal family is extremely dangerous as Thailand boasts the worlds fiercest royal defamation laws. Some have been charged for simply liking Facebook posts. Article 112, as it is known, has increasingly been deployed to silence dissent since the junta seized power.

Read More: Thailands Shame

Most analysts doubt the constitution will pass after both major parties came out against it. But thats assuming the generals will allow a clean vote; independent monitoring of the polls has also been banned.

If it passes, the military regime will say it has legitimacy from the people to continue on, says Paul Chambers, a political scientist based in the northern city of Chiang Mai. If it doesnt, then it will galvanize the opposition.

That opposition is already swelling. Other than students groups, allied movements in Thailands south have sprung from longstanding opposition to perceived military abuses against ethnic Muslim Malay communities. In the north and northeast, the heartland of the ousted Yingluck government, opposition tends to be politically aligned.

Whether that would erupt into mass street protests once again is unclear, but the junta is clearly nervous. Politicians of the former government have been arrested in the run up to the vote. On Thursday, the Bangkok embassies of seven nations  including the U.S.  warned their citizens of possible disturbances surrounding the vote.

Rangsiman doesnt foresee any immediate trouble, though. If the constitution is rejected then we will call for the military to not be involved in drafting the replacement, he says. If it passes then we will first make sure that the vote was first free and fair.

Unfortunately for Thais, voting no may not achieve the desired result. The junta has said that it will simply draft another charter and enact it without a referendum. Many suspect it would be even more authoritarian than the current draft.

Either way the promise of elections next year will be very difficult, says Prajak Kongkirati, assistant professor of political science at Bangkoks Thammasat University. There will be no quick return to democracy.
Airlines are notoriously strict when it comes to canceling or refunding plane tickets. Most charge passengers a fee of $150 to $200 to change an itinerary, and tickets are typically non-refundable, so its impossible to get all of your money back if you decide not to take the trip.

But the emergence of Zika has changed all of that. The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) believes that the virus causes birth defects in pregnant women, and can be sexually transmitted from partner to partner. The CDC has advised certain groups to avoid travel to areas with known cases of Zika, forcing airlines to loosen their policies to accommodate a growing number of travelers rethinking their vacation plans.

The CDC reports that Zika cases have been found in 55 countries and territories around the world. This week, the CDC shocked Americans when it warned pregnant woman against traveling to parts of Miami where it says mosquitoes are spreading Zika. So far, Florida health officials have identified 15 Zika cases which they believe have been spread locally, and they expect there might be more.

Zika travel warnings have been steadily growing since February, and each major US airline has updated their policies to deal with the rise in travelers looking for refunds. Most are willing to refund the flight completely, but each airline has their own cut-off date and rule about travel companions. Heres a rundown of how each airline is handling Zika-related refunds.

Alaska Airlines

The following statement is applicable for travel to and from Fort Lauderdale (FLL), Orlando (MCO) and Tampa (TPA):

We will waive the change fees if the new travel is booked and completed on or before June 13, 2017. You may also cancel your flight and request a refund if you choose not to travel at all. Tickets must be exchanged or refunded on or before August 16, 2016.

American Airlines

If youre pregnant and traveling to a destination in Latin America or the Caribbean affected by the Zika virus, you and your travel companions can request a refund for tickets purchased on or before March 31, 2016. Just provide a doctors note confirming your pregnancy when you request a refund.

Story continues

Delta

Customers may qualify for a change to alternate destinations, travel dates or a refund. Customers may make fee-waived changes to future reservations/tickets if tickets were issued on or before March 1, 2016. If you are a Delta Vacations customer please call 1-800-800-1504.

JetBlue

Original travel must have been booked on or before August 1, 2016 in order for passengers to be eligible for a refund. If you are traveling on a Getaways package, a full refund is not always available and hotel penalties may apply. You can contact JetBlue by phone to request a change or refund.

United Airlines

Customers who are advised to avoid the affected regions based on CDC guidance may change their destination or travel date without a change fee or may choose to receive a refund if their tickets were issued on or before February 29, 2016. The new travel date must be within the validity of the ticket. Additional charges may apply if there is a difference in fare for the new itinerary.

United says this policy also applies to companions of pregnant women or people who were advised to avoid travel to Zika-infected areas.

Southwest Airlines

As always, our customers can change their travel itineraries without a change fee and our non-refundable fares can be applied toward future travel without penalty as long as your reservation is cancelled 10 minutes prior to the scheduled departure of your flight.

Spirit Airlines

Customers planning to travel to a country that has been impacted by the Zika virus may contact us here with questions about changes to their itinerary.

Brittany Jones-Cooper is a writer for Yahoo Finance.

Read more:

Add to your travel fund with these money-saving tips

The best ways to travel the world for free

How a bright red vintage trailer inspired a young couples business
Most dogs are mans best friend but three-year-old Australian Labradoodle Jessie is more cats best friend.

The caring canine is regularly spotted side-by-side with rescue kitten Koda - even letting him hitch a ride on her back.



The pair are apparently inseparable, spending time adventuring through the Canadian wilderness near their home in Alberta, Canada.

Inseparable - Koda and Jessie are always side-by-side (Pictures: Caters)

Jessie and four-month-old Koda live with doting owner Emily Aubrecht, 23, who has captured their close bond in adorable photos, including the moment Koda hitched a ride on Jessies back.

Emily said: Jessie is very energetic and friendly, she enjoys bikes rides, hikes and swimming.

And Koda is energetic and crazy too. He likes wet food, playing outside and chasing feather toys.

Animal adventures - the pair love going off on adventures together

Emily, who adopted Koda from an overpopulated home, said Jessie became instantly attached to the little kitten.

She must have thought he was her baby, she said. Koda was also very friendly with Jessie and never hissed.

The pair play together, sleep together and go off on adventures side-by-side, as well as enjoying drives to the local pet shop or nearby river.

Hitching a ride - Jessie even gives Koda a ride on her back

I got Koda a harness that was specifically meant for adventuring and letting him outside, Emily added.

He was happy on Jessies back, but she wasnt very pleased.
[Photo: Getty]

Were constantly bombarded with information about how to optimise our sleep and why we should avoid having too little or, God forbid, too much.

But now a new study has taken a different tack on this much-researched topic. VU University Medical Centre in the Netherlands has been examining links between how long we sleep for, insulin sensitivity and the risk of diabetes and heart disease.

Researchers concluded that seven hours of deep sleep was the optimum for maintaining healthy glucose levels and insulin production.

Stable levels of glucose are key to controlling our weight.

[Photo: Getty]

Unfortunately for those of us with busy work schedules (or heavy weekend plans), sleeping less than seven hours has been shown to mess with your glucose metabolism. This can cause weight gain and even the early onset of diabetes.

A report by the Royal Society For Public Health found that Brits are just missing out on the seven hour mark and are instead averaging 6.8 hours sleep per night.

More than 3.9 million people in the UK have diabetes, more than treble the amount there were in 1996.

Here are some tips on how to get a good nights kip. Dont say we never do anything for you.

These are the best and worst sleep positions for your health



Foods To Side-Step If You Want A Good Nights Sleep
Traverse the Himalayas as a yeti

With Pokemon Go gaining ubiquitous popularity around the world and nudging millennials to get out of their homes to explore the real world through a virtual lens, Google has introduced a new app that allows users to explore the final frontier-the Himalayas.
A female Aedes aegypti mosquito, known to be a carrier of the Zika virus. (Photo: Andre Penner/AP)

A promising new approach to fighting the Zika virus through the release of genetically modified mosquitoes won preliminary approval from the Food and Drug Administration Friday.

The agency announced a final environmental assessment of a proposed test in Key Haven, Fla., a suburb of Key West, with a population of about 1,000. After reviewing thousands of public comments over the last five months, the FDA concluded there would be no significant impact to human health or the environment from the program.

The finding clears a major hurdle for Oxitech, the British biotech company that has developed the mutant mosquitoes, which are already in experimental use in Piracicaba, Brazil. But there is no date set for the Florida test, which would be the first in the U.S.

The Zika virus is spread primarily through the bite of the Aedes aegypti mosquito (as well as sexual contact), and it causes a generally mild illness  but devastating birth defects in some cases when it infects pregnant women. It has been spreading through Latin America and the Caribbean, and recently officials identified more than a dozen cases in southern Florida that appear to have been contracted locally.

The mosquito  which also spreads yellow fever and dengue  is found along a wide swath of the Gulf Coast and parts of the southeastern U.S.

Oxitec has spent years developing a gene that renders mosquitoes essentially unable to reproduce: They can mate, but the offspring inherit a lethal mutation and die before reproducing themselves. To be effective in the field, the plan requires breeding and releasing millions of modified mosquitoes. (Only males  which dont bite  are released.) In field tests, Oxitec says it has achieved reductions of as much as 90 percent of the local population of Aedes.



The program must still be approved by local and state officials, and many residents of the Keys oppose it on principle, because it involves genetic modification. The board of the Florida Keys Mosquito Control District, which has the final say, voted in June to put the question on the ballot in November. The referendum will be nonbinding, but a majority of the commissioners say they will abide by the results.
More than 40 alleged members of the some of the East Coast's largest organized crime families were accused this week of loan-sharking, gambling, extortion, gun-running, drug offenses and various violent crimes, PEOPLE confirms.



The charges "demonstrate that the mob remains a scourge on this city and around the country," Manhattan U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara said in a statement.



Federal prosecutors in New York handed down a 32-page indictment Thursday, naming 46 people. The crackdown netted the arrests of leaders, soldiers and associates of the East Coast La Cosa Nostra, with affiliations to the Gambino, Genovese, Lucchese, Bonanno and Philadelphia organized crime families, according to a statement from the U.S. Attorney's Office.



According to the indictment, which was obtained by PEOPLE, the defendants also face charges related to financial scams they'd allegedly hatched involving the sale of untaxed cigarettes. Many are also charged with credit-card and health-care fraud, according to the statement.







"Today's mafia is fully diversified in its boundless search for illegal profits," Bharara said. "And as alleged, threatening to assault, maim and kill people who get in the way of their criminal schemes remains the go-to play in the mob's playbook."



 Want to keep up with the latest crime coverage? Click here to get breaking crime news, ongoing trial coverage and details of intriguing unsolved cases in the True Crime Newsletter.



Among those charged are New Yorkers Agostino "Augie" Camacho, 40, of Yonkers; Mitchell Fusco, 52, of Yonkers; Richard LaCava, 67, of Pelham; Mark "Stymie" Maiuzzo, 37, of Scarsdale; Pasquale "Patsy" Parrello, 72, of Tuckahoe; Vincent "Big Vinny" Terracciano, 40, of Yonkers; Joseph Tomanelli, 70, of Yonkers; Anthony "Tony the Wig" Vazzano, 51, of Brewster; and Bradford Wedra, 61, of Mount Vernon.



The indictment identifies the alleged criminal enterprise leaders as suspected Genovese crime family captain Parrello; Joseph Merlino, of the Philadelphia area; and Genovese acting captain Eugene "Rooster" O'Nofrio, of East Haven, Connecticut.



Parrello, according to the indictment, allegedly ran operations out of Pasquale's Rigoletto, a restaurant in the Arthur Avenue area of the Bronx.



Among other alleged incidents, he once allegedly ordered Anthony "Anthony Boy" Zinzi and the late Ronald "The Beast" Mastrovincenzo to assault a panhandler who'd been approaching customers in a parking lot of his restaurant. Parrello instructed his associates to break the panhandler's knees, the indictment alleges.



Federal authorities further allege that a number of the suspects had concocted a scheme to use credit-card skimmers to steal personal account information. They also allegedly targeted the health insurance system using corrupt doctors to issue unneeded and excessive prescriptions.



The U.S. Attorney's Office is seeking the forfeiture of property and profit from the illegal operations.



At least 39 of the defendants have been taken into custody, but none have had an opportunity to enter pleas to the charges against them, authorities said.



Court records did not indicate whether any of the defendants had retained attorneys who could speak on their behalf.
All the late-night hosts spend a fair amount of time making jokes about Donald Trump, so its difficult to keep up with all of them, especially when you are binge-watching Stranger Things on Netflix. So we narrowed down the best Donald Trump jokes of the week from the hosts.

Number five was from Late Night With Seth Meyers, when Seth was talking about the picture of Donald eating KFC with the Wall Street Journal next to him: The only person I can imagine eating KFC and reading the Wall Street Journal is the CEO of KFC.

Coming in at the fourth spot was Jimmy Fallon on The Tonight Show making an Olympics joke about Trump being afraid of the Mexican pole vaulting team. Stephen Colbert came in at number three on The Late Show, saying, [Trump] makes more gaffes than I can keep up with; its like I love Lucy in the chocolate factory, except that with Trump, the brown stuff aint chocolate. Seth Meyers was back at the number two spot saying that Trumps recent antics have caused the Republicans to go into emergency break-glass mode, but then they remembered Ted Cruz is the one behind the glass.

Finally, topping the list was an amazing performance by James Corden and Denis Leary on The Late Late Show. The two dressed up as Bill and Hillary Clinton and sang Learys famous A**hole song, with the lyrics directed toward Trump, like, Ive never asked Russia to hack the U.S.A. or said my daughter is someone I want to date.

Megyn Kelly stunned and amused when Donald Trump brings up past controversies, including one with her:

Tell us what you think! Hit us up on Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram  or leave your comments below.


Not all Olympics fans will be lucky enough to go to Brazil. As an alternative, try its cuisine at one of the four popular restaurants we've picked out for you from around the world.

> Paris, France

Maloka

As Oka restaurant moves to the 5th district of Paris at the end of November, Rio de Janeiro-born chef Raphael Rego has transformed its old location into a new restaurant called Maloka. With solid experience at Taillevent and L'Atelier de Joel Robuchon behind him, Rego transports his customers to Brazil with no stopovers, serving local cuisine made with ingredients imported from his homeland. Parisians are introduced to cassava, a new twist on the traditional feijoada (a pork and black bean stew), and pao de queijo (cheese rolls) as they partake of genuine caipirinhas, Brazil's national cocktail. This has become a hot culinary destination in Paris since its recent opening.

28, rue de la Tour d'Auvergne, 75009 Paris

> New York, USA

Beach Bistro 96

Rockaway Beach -- a free beach qccessible from Manhattan via the subway -- has become a cool neighborhood of Queens beloved by surfers. Since May, a chef has been attracting foodies, and even a New York Times restaurant critic, to his Beach Bistro 96 here. A native of the town of Santos, in southern Brazil's Sao Paulo state, Carlos Varella is the Big Apple's latest hot favorite. Like his fellow Brazilian Raphael Rego in France, he prepares culinary specialties from his home country such as pao de queijo. This former professional surfer's menu also includes picanha, a cut of beef with a layer of fat which protects it during grilling.

95-19 Rockaway Beach Boulevard, Beach 96th Street, The Rockaways, New York

> Newcastle, UK

Cabana

The latest Brazilian eatery to open in the UK is in Newcastle. Cabana restaurants have opened their tenth address in this northeastern English city, offering a relaxed atmosphere and traditional Brazilian cuisine that has been given a modern twist for a new audience. This new business has also sourced some of its furnishings from Brazil's poor communities such as the recycled jeans from a favela in Sao Paulo that have been used to line the restaurant's chairs. Cabana already operates in London and Leeds, and plans to open another restaurant in Southampton in the near future.

Story continues

117 Newgate Street, Newcastle upon Tyne

> Fort Lauderdale, USA

Regina's Farm

If you live in Florida, Regina's Farm can transport you to the Brazilian countryside. Regina, a young Brazilian living in Fort Lauderdale was missing her native state of Minas Gerais, so decided to recreate a traditional Brazilian farm in her backyard. Brazilian culinary specialties are prepared on a wood stove in the company of roosters and chickens. Regina serves soups, cheese bread, fresh guarapa (iced sugarcane juice) and much more. The farm is a non-profit-making venture which is only open to diners on Saturday.

1101 Middle St., Fort Lauderdale
By Doina Chiacu and Steve Holland

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - If Mike Pence had any doubts about what life would be like on the 2016 Republican presidential ticket with Donald Trump, the past week will have erased them: He is the damage control guy.

The Indiana governor who swore off political mudslinging years ago heard Trump call Democratic rival Hillary Clinton the devil and watched him fan the flames of a feud with the parents of a Muslim soldier who died saving U.S. troops in Iraq.

Unlike many vice presidential running mates, the mild-mannered Pence was not tapped as the attack dog in the Nov. 8 presidential election. Trump has that part down pat.

Pences job is harder: softening Trumps rough edges and limiting the fallout from what many Republicans see as the nominees self-inflicted wounds.

A week ago, for example, Pence rowed back on Trumps blacklist of some media outlets, saying the campaign is discussing changing course.

Last Sunday, as Trumps dispute with the parents of slain U.S. Army Captain Humayun Khan boiled over, Pence issued a statement praising the soldier as an American hero and saying that his family should be cherished by every American.

On Wednesday, Pence offered his own endorsement to House of Representatives Speaker Paul Ryan, the top U.S. elected Republican, after Trump infuriated many party leaders by declining to endorse Ryan in his re-election bid.

Pence, who swore off negative campaigning after losing a vituperative congressional race in 1990, eschews name calling. Trump, by contrast, delights in using monikers such as Crooked Hillary and the devil to describe Clinton.

Trump has made clear he values Pence, telling a rally on Thursday in Portland, Maine, that he and his running mate have a great relationship.

But Pence must walk a fine line.

Even as he defuses Trumps verbal bombs, Pence must be careful to show he knows who is boss. He also has to stick to his own principles while not appearing to be trying to undermine the man who chose him as his No. 2.

Story continues

Should Trump win, Pence, a former congressman, could serve as a conduit to the U.S. Congress. But if Trump loses, Pence could emerge as a possible White House contender for 2020.

He should have expected he would do some of this and provide more of the even-tempered, articulate, measured responses, Black said.

But Republican strategist Ryan Williams said Pence is in an impossible spot and said that Trumps missteps could cast a shadow over his running mates political future.

Mike Pence is a good Republican but unfortunately he will be associated with the controversies that have ensnared the Trump-Pence ticket and will be tied to whatever the consequences of this election are, Williams said.

POSITIVE PENCE, TESTY TRUMP

Trumps off-the-cuff insults and controversial proposals, such as a temporary ban on Muslims entering the United States and a plan to build a wall along the Mexican border to keep illegal immigrants out, have made many in the party establishment uneasy.

The Republican nominees feud with the Khan family made for an awkward moment for Pence at a campaign event in Carson City, Nevada. A military mother asked Pence how could he tolerate Trumps disrespect for the armed forces, which prompted boos.

Pence admonished the crowd to tone it down. Folks, thats what freedom looks like and thats what freedom sounds like, he said before calling Humayun Khan an American hero.

Pence was asked on Thursday by an 11-year-old boy at a North Carolina rally if his role was softening up Trumps policies and words.

Pence replied that he and Trump were shoulder to shoulder in the campaign.

Christopher Devine, co-author of the book The VP Advantage and an assistant political science professor at the University of Dayton in Ohio, said that if Trump loses the November election, Pence may try to position himself as a conservative bridge between Trump supporters and traditional Republicans. That may be an added reason for Pences cautious approach.

He has to be very careful about how he handles the defense of Donald Trump, Devine said.

(Editing by Caren Bohan and Leslie Adler)
TripAdvisor Inc. TRIP reported adjusted second-quarter 2016 earnings of 28 cents per share, which missed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 31 cents. Adjusted earnings exclude one-time items but include stock-based compensation expense.



Shares of the online travel research company fell over 8% in response to the second-quarter results.



Revenues



TripAdvisor reported revenues of $391.0 million in the second quarter, up 26.5% sequentially but down 3.5% year over year due to lower click-based advertising sales. Revenues also missed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $408 million.



Earlier, TripAdvisor had changed its reportable segments to reflect changes in managements reporting structure. The new segments are Hotel and Other.



Revenues of $316.0 million from the Hotel segment fell 8% from the year-ago quarter but made up 81% of total revenue. This segment includes click, display, subscription and transaction-based revenues from hotels, air and cruise, including that from the companys largest subsidiary, SmarterTravel, as well as from operations in China.



Revenues of $75.0 million from the Other segment increased 21% year over year and contributed the remaining 19% of the total revenue. The increase was driven primarily by acquisitions falling under the attractions and restaurants businesses. This segment includes revenues from attractions, restaurants and vacation rentals businesses.



Revenues by Source



Revenues of $201.0 million from Click-based advertising fell 15% from the year-ago quarter and accounted for 51% of total revenue. Revenues from Display-based advertising increased 6% year over year to $72.0 million and brought home 18% of total revenue. Other hotel revenue component was $43.0 million and accounted for 11% of total revenue. Non-Hotel revenue component contributed the remaining 20% accounting for $75.0 million in revenues, up 21% year over year.



Revenues by Geography



Geographically, on a year-over-year basis, only North American revenues increased 7% to $225.0 million, representing 58% of total revenue. Latin America revenue component decreased 32% to $13 million, accounting for 3%. Revenues from the EMEA (Europe, Middle East and Africa) region decreased 8% to $117.0 million and contributed 30% to total revenue, while revenues from the Asia-Pacific decreased 25% to $36.0 million, bringing in the remaining 9%.



Operating Results



TripAdvisors adjusted operating expenses of $323.0 million increased 0.3% sequentially and 4.9 % year over year. The adjusted operating margin of 14.3% was up 12 basis points (bps) sequentially but down 790 bps year over year.



On a GAAP basis, TripAdvisor recorded a net profit of $34.0 million or 23 cents per share, significantly down compared with the year-ago figure of $58.0 million or 40 cents.



Pro-forma earnings fell to 31 cents per share from 47 cents in second-quarter 2015.



Balance Sheet & Cash Flow



TripAdvisor exited the quarter with cash, cash equivalents and short-term investments of roughly $853.0 million, up compared with $692.0 million in the prior quarter. Accounts receivables were $230.0 million, down from $244.0 million in the last quarter.



Long-term debt was $91 million in the quarter.



Cash flow from operations was $237.0 million, up from $120 million in the previous quarter. Capex was $19.0 million, up from $17.0 million in the first quarter.



During the quarter, the company repurchased shares worth $11.0 million.



Story continues

TRIPADVISOR INC Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise

TRIPADVISOR INC Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise | TRIPADVISOR INC Quote

Our Take



TripAdvisor is an online travel research company that features reviews and advice on hotels, resorts, flights, vacation rentals, vacation packages and travel guides, to name a few. The company reported a weak second quarter with both the top line and the bottom line missing our estimates.



The companys solid fundamentals, growth initiatives, partnerships to boost hotel bookings, strong focus on developing its mobile products, expansion into the international restaurant reservation space and improvement in user growth and engagement, especially related to mobile devices will help the company to achieve desired results.



Additionally, TripAdvisors acquisitions complement its travel product portfolio. These also improve efficiency and expand user base, on one hand, while increasing traffic, hotel shoppers and profits, on the other. Over the long term, the company is well positioned to grow, given its expanding user base, improving margins and increasing monetization of social and mobile platforms.



However, mounting expenses due to new initiatives and investments are hurting the companys profits. Also, lack of visibility and intensifying competition from Priceline, Expedia EXPE and Alphabet GOOGL remain future growth concerns.



Currently, TripAdvisor has a Zacks Rank #4 (Sell). A better-ranked stock in the same space is PetMed Express, Inc. PETS, sporting a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy).

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Puerto Barrios (Guatemala) (AFP) - Tropical Storm Earl hit Mexico after weakening from a hurricane over Central America, but continued to cause evacuations amid persistent fears of flooding.

Earlier in the day, terrified residents fled their inundated homes as the storm tore through the small Caribbean state of Belize and into neighboring Guatemala with fierce winds, knocking down trees and electricity lines.

After sweeping into the southern Mexican state of Tabasco around 7 pm (0000 GMT Friday), Earl is expected to maintain strength on Friday.

"Somewhat surprisingly, Earl has maintained tropical storm intensity this evening," the US National Hurricane Center (NHC) said at 0200 GMT on Friday after having earlier predicted the storm would weaken. "Maximum sustained winds are near 65 kilometers per hour (40 miles per hour) with higher gusts."

The storm is forecast to move inland for good over south-central Mexico during Friday and dissipate in around 48 hours, the NHC said.

"The main threat from Earl continues to be heavy rains over a large portion of Central America and southeastern Mexico."

A tropical storm warning has been issued for Mexico's southern Bay of Campeche coast.

- Persistent rain -

Earl swept in from the Caribbean at hurricane strength, with 130 kilometer-per-hour winds, and struck just south of Belize's capital around midnight Wednesday (0600 GMT Thursday), according to the NHC.

In the Guatemalan town of Melchor de Mencos near the Belize border, housewife Lorena Leonardo, 42, and her family were among those displaced.

"We were so scared," she told AFP while taking refuge in a temporary shelter.

"The house filled with water. We have a baby and were afraid he would drown."

The authorities in the surrounding northeastern Guatemalan district of Peten said 350 people were affected in that area alone.

The storm weakened as it moved inland, and by 1200 GMT, the NHC had downgraded it from a hurricane to a tropical storm with 105 kilometer-per-hour winds.

Story continues

Fears of more flooding persisted as 200 to 300 millimeters (eight to 12 inches) of rainfall were forecast for Belize, Guatemala and southern Mexico through Friday. Airports in the area were closed.

Belize's National Emergency Management Organization warned of a threat of flash floods and mudslides, as well as flooding in low-lying areas.

- Evacuations -

The Mexican authorities took no chances, evacuating 300 families living close to a river along the border with Belize in the southeastern state of Quintana Roo for fear of flooding.

More than 750 shelters were readied in the state in preparation for expected high winds.

Guatemala evacuated about 100 people from Melchor de Mencos, disaster response spokesman David de Leon said.

The fifth named tropical storm of the 2016 season, Earl strengthened to a Category 1 hurricane on Wednesday, according to the NHC.

Category 1, the lowest of five grades on the hurricane scale, is described as having dangerous winds of between 119 and 153 kilomteters per hour that can rip off roofs, bring down trees and cause extensive damage to power lines.

Belizean public and private sector workers were permitted to go to their homes Wednesday to secure property.
MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - Tropical storm Earl moved along Mexico's Gulf coast on Friday, dumping large amounts of rain in southern states after battering Belize, the U.S. National Hurricane Center said. The hurricane center, in its 7 a.m. CDT (1100 GMT) update, said Earl was about 175 miles (282 kilometers) east southeast of Veracruz, with maximum sustained winds of 40 miles per hour (64 km per hour). The storm will produce 8 to 12 inches (20 to 30 cm) of rain in parts of the states of Chiapas, Oaxaca, Puebla, Tabasco and Veracruz, the hurricane center said. It said the rains could result in life-threatening flash floods and mudslides. Earl, which briefly reached hurricane status on Wednesday but was downgraded on Thursday, was expected to start weakening on Saturday as it moves into mainland Mexico. Before crossing Mexico's Yucatan peninsula, Earl battered Belize earlier this week, smashing car windows and punching holes in the roofs of Belize City's wooden houses. It also downed trees and flooded parts of the coast. State-owned oil company Pemex said late on Thursday it was monitoring Earl but that so far it had not needed to evacuate its offshore platforms. (Reporting by Christine Murray; Editing by Bill Trott)
US, Japan wish PM; to co-work on democracy

The United States and Japan on Thursday congratulated Pushpa Kamal Dahal on his election as the prime minister, hoping to work together to strengthening democracy and Nepals development efforts.
Washington (AFP) - Donald Trump acknowledged Friday he was wrong in claiming to have seen secret Iranian footage of $400 million in cash being delivered to Tehran as payment for the release of US prisoners.

Trump raised eyebrows this week when he made that assertion and gave many details of what he said he saw in the film.

"Remember this: Iran -- I don't think you heard this anywhere but here -- Iran provided all of that footage, the tape of taking that money off the airplane," Trump said Wednesday at a rally in Florida. "Right?"

But that widely viewed footage is believed instead to show the moment in January when three of five American prisoners freed by Iran get off a plane in Geneva.

In a tweet Friday, Trump said this is indeed what he saw. It is rare for the free-wheeling Republican presidential nominee -- known for making provocative claims -- to admit making a mistake.

"The plane I saw on television was the hostage plane in Geneva, Switzerland, not the plane carrying $400 million in cash going to Iran!" Trump wrote.

The story of the seemingly cloak and dagger money transfer in an unmarked plane was broken this week by the Wall Street Journal.

In January, five American prisoners were released as Washington granted clemency to seven Iranians and withdrew arrest warrants for 14 others.

Soon thereafter, the United States helped airlift $400 million worth of Swiss francs and euros to Iran.

But President Barack Obama says the payment was not ransom for the release of US prisoners.

The White House has said it was returning cash from a 1970s Iranian military order that was not fulfilled because of the Islamic Revolution.
Donald Trump

Donald Trump walked back his claims that he'd seen a video of cash coming off a plane in Iran as part of a $400 million payment from the US.

"The plane I saw on television was the hostage plane in Geneva, Switzerland, not the plane carrying $400 million in cash going to Iran!" Trump tweeted Friday morning.

The footage from the hostage release in Geneva doesn't match Trump's description of what he saw. Trump had said at a rally on Wednesday that "Iran provided all of that footage, the tape, of taking" $400 million in cash from the US off a cargo plane.

"They have a perfect tape, obviously done by a government camera, and the tape is of the people taking the money off the plane," Trump said. "It's a military tape. It's a tape that was a perfect angle, nice and steady."

He also claimed the tape was "top secret."

Reporters and experts questioned whether such a video existed because there seemed to be no public record of it. A Trump campaign spokeswoman told The Washington Post on Thursday that Trump was referring to widely available video footage of three American prisoners being released from Iran and flown into Switzerland, but then at a rally on Thursday, Trump repeated his description of a video showing money coming off a plane.

The whole controversy started with a Wall Street Journal story detailing a transfer of $400 million in cash to Iran amid a prisoner swap in January. On the same day, seven Iranians detained in the US were exchanged for Washington Post reporter Jason Rezaian and three other Iranian-American prisoners.

The cash  euros, Swiss francs, and other currencies  was airlifted to Tehran on a cargo plane. The payment was part of a decades-old dispute over money that Iran sent to the US to buy weapons that it never received.

President Barack Obama said on Thursday that the US had previously disclosed the $400 million payment to Iran and argued that the payment was made in cash was because of existing sanctions in place against Iran.

Story continues

NOW WATCH: Obama said the White House previously announced the $400 million payment to Iran  here's the footage





More From Business Insider


Ankara (AFP) - Turkey's top diplomat on Friday said US Secretary of State John Kerry would visit on August 24 as the country reels from the aftershocks of a failed coup.

It would be the first visit by a top Western dignitary since the July 15 attempt to overthrow President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, with Ankara complaining about of a lack of western support as it mounts a major crackdown which has affected tens of thousands of people.

Speaking to TGRT news channel, Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said Kerry would arrive in late August, following remarks by Erdogan on Thursday in which he said he believed Washington's top diplomat would visit on August 21.

Until now, the State Department has declined to comment on whether Kerry would visit Turkey later this month.

Cavusoglu said Kerry wanted to come on August 24 and that Ankara had agreed the date.

"We then looked at our schedule and said that would suit us as well."

If confirmed, the planned visit would take place at a time of strained relations between the two NATO allies following the attempted putsch by a rogue faction within the military.

Ankara has demanded the extradition of Pennsylvania-based preacher Fethullah Gulen, whom Turkey blames for orchestrating the coup alongside his movement. Gulen denies the accusations.

So far, Turkey has sent two sets of documents to Washington detailing his alleged involvement and on Thursday, it issued a warrant for his arrest on grounds of "ordering the July 15 coup", state-run Anadolu news agency reported.

US State Department spokesman Mark Toner on Thursday said Washington was still "in the process of going through" the documents.

He said the first batch did not appear to be "a formal extradition request" for Gulen.

"But we subsequently received more documents. We're looking through them, and I think they're trying to figure out whether this is the full request. And I don't think they have reached that determination yet."

Ankara has come under harsh criticism from the West for the ongoing purge in which over 60,000 people within military, judiciary, civil service and education have been dismissed, detained or are currently under investigation for suspected links to the Gulen movement.
Ankara (Turkey) (AFP) - Turkey's top diplomat escalated on Friday a war of words with Austria, calling it the "capital of radical racism" after Vienna urged an end to Ankara's EU membership talks.

"Racism is an enemy of human rights and humanitarian values and the Austrian chancellor should first look at his own country," Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu told TGRT news channel.

"Austria is the capital of radical racism," he said.

Cavusoglu was reacting to comments made by Austrian Chancellor Christian Kern who said Turkey was unfit to join the European Union in the aftermath of the July 15 attempted coup by a rogue faction within the military.

"We have to face reality: the membership negotiations are currently no more than fiction," Kern told the Die Presse newspaper in comments published on Thursday.

Cavusoglu blasted Kern's "ugly" comments.

Turkey has already faced much criticism and delay in its bid to join the EU which could face further issues after President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's suggestion last month that he may reintroduce the death penalty following the failed putsch.

Cavusoglu said he rejected all of Kern's criticisms of Turkey, which included the statement that Ankara's democratic standards were "far from sufficient to justify its accession".

Reacting on Twitter soon after Cavusoglu made those comments, Austrian Foreign Minister Sebastian Kurz urged his counterpart to "exercise restraint".

"I urge the foreign minister to exercise restraint and sharply reject his criticism. Turkey needs to moderate its choice of words and actions," he said in German.

On Thursday, European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker rejected Vienna's call to end talks over Turkish accession, saying it would be a "serious foreign policy mistake".

"I don't think it would be helpful if we were to unilaterally end negotiations with Turkey," Juncker told German public broadcaster ARD.

Turkey's EU membership bid dates back to 1963, with its formal application made in 1987 and negotiations starting in 2005.
Istanbul (AFP) - Turkey's ruling party on Friday ordered a purge from its ranks of supporters of US-based Islamic preacher Fethullah Gulen, accused of plotting last month's failed coup.

The "urgent clean-up in the party organisation" was aimed at expelling those linked with the Fethullah Terrorist Organisation, as Ankara calls the movement blamed for the July 15 attempted putsch, state-run Anadolu news agency reported.

It comes as Turkey announced a visit later this month from US Secretary of State John Kerry, which would be the first by a western diplomat since the failed effort to unseat President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's government.

Turkey's hardline response to the coup has escalated tensions with Europe, while the United States, where Gulen has been in self-imposed exile since 1999, has not yet confirmed the key visit by its top diplomat.

Ankara has accused Erdogan's arch-foe Gulen of running a "parallel state" and on Thursday issued a warrant for his arrest for "ordering the July 15 coup" -- which the reclusive cleric vehemently denies.

The Muslim cleric has denounced the arrest warrant as meaningless, and his lawyer told reporters in Washington Friday that Turkey did not have any evidence linking Gulen to the failed coup.

"We haven't seen any evidence, direct or indirect... a scintilla of evidence, electronic or otherwise, implicating Mr Gulen," said attorney Reid Weingarten.

Turkey has frequently called on the United States to extradite Gulen, sending documents to Washington as evidence of his alleged involvement in the putsch attempt.

But Weingarten accused Erdogan of betting on "power and politics" to make Washington grant the extradition.

"The bottom line is that the conspiracy theories and the threats of Mr Erdogan are not strong enough to overwhelm the American legal system. And for these reasons, we believe that Mr Gulen should not and will not be extradited," Weingarten said.

Story continues

- Links to Kazakhstan -

Turkish authorities have implemented a relentless crackdown in the wake of the coup.

Over 60,000 people within the military, judiciary, civil service and education have been dismissed, detained or are currently under investigation for suspected links to the Gulen movement.

A German national has also been caught up in the purge, Berlin confirmed Friday.

A woman was arrested several days ago after books were found at her home suggesting she had links with the Gulen movement or was a member of it.

The German embassy in Ankara has been trying to contact the woman for several days, without success, said the Sueddeutsche Zeitung newspaper, which initially reported the arrest.

Turkey is also pressing Kazakhstan over its schools linked to Gulen, with Erdogan expressing the hope on Friday that the Central Asian country would take steps to close them.

"They (Gulenists) have 33 schools in Kazakhstan. We have delivered them the list," Erdogan told reporters in Ankara with Kazakhstan's President Nursultan Nazarbayev, the first foreign head of state to visit Turkey after the failed coup.

The Kazakh leader said 90,000 students were registered at those schools.

"If there are any among them linked with terrorism... we will respond to Turkey's demand," he said.

Ankara's crackdown on the Gulen movement has also targeted journalists accused of links to the preacher.

Twelve out of 14 journalist suspects from the Zaman daily were remanded in custody, Anadolu reported on Friday, less than a week after six others were arrested.

Mumtazer Turkone, former columnist of the newspaper, was one of the journalists arrested by an Istanbul court, on charges of "serving FETO's purposes," it added.

Meanwhile, Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu escalated a war of words with Austria on Friday, calling it the "capital of radical racism" after Vienna urged an end to Ankara's EU membership talks.

"Racism is an enemy of human rights and humanitarian values and the Austrian chancellor should first look at his own country," he told TGRT news channel.

"Austria is the capital of radical racism," he added.

Reacting on Twitter soon after Cavusoglu made those comments, Austrian Foreign Minister Sebastian Kurz urged his counterpart to "exercise restraint".

"Turkey needs to moderate its choice of words and actions," he said.
Viral fever: Hundreds taken ill in Dolakha, Kancharpur

Viral fever is taking its toll in various parts of the country, with hundreds reported to be taken ill in the past few days.
Abidjan (AFP) - Two Ivorian soldiers have been jailed for 10 years for having associated with the perpetrators of a beach attack that left 19 people dead in March.

A military court found sergeants Zanga Zoumana Coulibaly and Brice Toure guilty late Thursday of associating with criminals and disobeying orders.

The charges relate to the pair's meeting with Assane Barry, also known as Sam, one of the main suspects in the Islamist attack on the resort town of Grand Bassam.

Barry, a driver by profession, is awaiting trial in a civilian court on charges of terrorism and association with criminals.

The tribunal adhered to the military prosecutor's sentencing recommendation for the two soldiers, which also included a fine of 200,000 CFA francs ($330, 300 euros).

The prosecutor, Ange Kessi, said the pair "were involved, through their greed ... with criminal activities that led to a disaster, a catastrophe, a calamity, a massacre in Ivory Coast."

He had previously said the soldiers should have informed their superiors about the presence of the attackers' driver.

The two soldiers had denied the charges and their defence lawyers had said the pair should be released because investigations into the attack were "still in their infancy."

On March 13, three assailants armed with grenades and assault rifles stormed three hotels in Grand Bassam, a resort popular with foreigners that lies 40 kilometres (25 miles) from Abidjan.

The attack, the first of its kind in the Ivory Coast, was claimed by Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb, which has also carried out similar assaults on tourist hotspots in Mali and Burkina Faso.

In late June, Burkina Faso's interior ministry said around 10 people had been arrested in connection with the Grand Bassam attack and another attack in Ouagadougou that killed 30 people in January.

Three of those detained are thought to have been involved in both attacks.

In April, Ivory Coast's interior ministry said 80 people had been detained in connection with the two attacks.
Even when sunscreen works at its best, there are shortfalls  from potentially dangerous chemicals to limited powers, such as when users swim and sweat and dont reapply. But when the SPF labeling is just straight-up wrong  as an increasing number of upset parents claim was the case in lawsuits against Banana Boat  the results can be disastrous.

Earlier this summer, Paul Lambrakis sued the sunscreen maker after his daughter wore Banana Boat Kids SPF 50 and got a sunburn. The dad found out after getting the lotion lab tested that the products true SPF was only 12. Not long after, a St. Louis mom did the same, alleging fraud and seeking class-action status. And now, in the sun-drenched state of Florida, moms Ingrid Anglin and Christina New Land have joined forces to bring their own action against the product and its parent company, Edgewell Personal Care. Thats because, in their independent lab testing, the lotion labeled SPF 50 was actually only 8.

Though the plaintiffs lawyer, Marc Wites, was not available for comment, he told the New Times that he estimates there are thousands, if not tens of thousands of people who purchased the mislabeled sunscreen in Florida alone. Wites called the company immoral, unethical, unscrupulous and substantially injurious to consumers and alleged that the two moms and many others were induced to purchase Defendants Product, and have suffered damages.

The wave of Banana Boat suits began when Consumer Reports tipped folks off in May that it had investigated 64 sunscreens with an SPF of at least 30, which is the minimum level of protection recommended by the American Academy of Dermatology. The study found that 43 percent of the lotions and sprays fell short of the SPF claim on their labels  some in a major way, including CVS Kids Sun Lotion SPF 50 and Banana Boat Kids 50, which both tested at an SPF of 8.

And thats what Anglin and New Land, it turns out, had been rubbing all over their kids  a 7-year-old son and 6-year-old twin girls, respectively. Both, according to the suit, claim they relied on the Defendants SPF labeling, understanding that this meant that the Product had a high SPF that would effectively block UV rays on her child Among other things, excessive exposure to the suns UV rays produces genetic mutations that can lead to skin cancer as well as skin aging and wrinkling.

Story continues

While Edgewell Personal Care does not comment on pending or ongoing litigation per company policy, a spokesperson tells Yahoo Beauty it did release the following statement regarding its products: At Banana Boat, our goal is to provide families with safe, everyday sun protection, and so all of our products are rigorously tested to ensure that. People can feel confident that Banana Boat products provide safe and effective sun protection at their stated levels of SPF when applied as directed and with other sun protection measures as necessary.

But the mounting lawsuits claim otherwise, with this latest one explaining the vast difference between SPF 50 and SPF 8, noted New Times: Accordingly, instead of 1/50th of the UV radiation reaching the skin as represented by Defendants, 1/8th reaches the skin. Using the measure of time indicated above  with an individual developing a sunburn in 10 minutes without applying sunscreen  the same individual would avoid sunburn for only 80 minutes if wearing the Product instead of the 500 minutes the Product  labeled SPF 50  was represented to provide.

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By Joseph Ax

NEW YORK (Reuters) - "Tony the Cripple, "Muscles" and "Mustache Pat" were among dozens of suspected Mafia members arrested on Thursday in a massive multi-state bust.

U.S. authorities charged 46 people, ranging in age from 24 to 80, with extortion, loan sharking, smuggling, arson, gun trafficking and other crimes in a federal indictment unsealed in New York.

Prosecutors said the suspects were members of four of the city's five major Mafia outfits - the Genovese, Gambino, Luchese and Bonanno families. Other defendants were part of the main Philadelphia family, the indictment said.

"Today's charges against 46 men, including powerful leaders, members and associates of five different La Cosa Nostra families, demonstrate that the mob remains a scourge on this city and around the country," Manhattan U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara said.

Most of the suspects were arrested in New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Massachusetts and Florida early on Thursday. Three remained at large, according to U.S. prosecutors in Manhattan.

The multi-year investigation included a mobster-turned-witness who wore a recording device and a federal agent who posed as a member of the conspiracy.

In court papers, prosecutors detailed an array of schemes, including gambling rings, untaxed cigarettes sales and fake credit cards.

Prosecutors cited several instances in which the defendants used violence to intimidate and extort victims, including one assault involving glass jars and steel-tipped boots.

Pasquale "Patsy" Parrello, 72, Eugene "Rooster" O'Nofrio, 74, and Joseph Merlino, 54, were the leaders of the conspiracy, prosecutors said. Merlino is believed to be the head of the Philadelphia crime family.

A second indictment unsealed in Massachusetts on Thursday charged two of the suspects in a separate extortion scheme, along with three other alleged members of the Genovese family.

Also on Thursday, the grandson of former New York mob boss John Gotti, also named John, was charged by New York City prosecutors with dealing oxycodone and other drugs in a case unrelated to the federal case. Police recovered $240,000 in cash and more than 850 pills, and a total of nine people were arrested.

Story continues

The elder John Gotti died in prison of cancer in 2002.

The federal prosecution is one of the largest mob-related busts in recent years, as the pace of such cases has slowed since the mafia's heyday decades ago. Although the mafia is not as powerful as it once was, prosecutors said the investigation shows it is still a potent force.

(Editing by Bill Trott and Leslie Adler)
By Julie Steenhuysen CHICAGO, Aug 5 (Reuters) - The United States has taken another step toward clearing the way for a trial of genetically modified mosquitoes in Florida as a way of reducing populations of mosquitoes that carry Zika. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration said on Friday that a field trial testing Intrexon Corp's genetically engineered mosquitoes would not have a significant impact on the environment. The announcement comes as Florida officials ramp up aerial pesticide spraying of a neighborhood in Miami, Florida - the first state to report local transmission of the virus. Florida Health authorities have identified 16 Zika cases spread by local mosquitoes and expect there may be more. Zika, a virus spread by Aedes aegypti mosquitoes, poses the most serious risk to pregnant women. The virus has been linked to birth defects including microcephaly, which results in small head size and can lead to severe developmental problems in babies. The Zika outbreak was first detected last year in Brazil, where it has been linked to more than 1,700 cases of microcephaly. Intrexon's Oxitec unit has been working for years to kick off a trial of the mosquitoes in the Florida Keys to assess the effectiveness of its mosquitoes to reduce levels of mosquitoes that carry diseases, including Zika, dengue, Yellow Fever and chikungunya. The FDA has been reviewing Oxitec's application for use of its technology as an investigational new animal drug. Its environmental assessment helps clear the way for the company to begin a clinical trial in Key Haven, Florida, which would assess whether the genetically modified mosquitoes will mate with local, wild mosquitoes and suppress their population over time. Results of that trial would be used to support approval of the company's drug, a process that could take more than a year. Oxitec's mosquitoes are genetically altered so their offspring die before they can reproduce. (http://bit.ly/1McvLMg) Trials in Brazil, Panama and the Cayman Islands have shown that the Oxitec mosquitoes can reduce localized Aedes aegypti populations by more than 90 percent. To begin the trial in Key Haven, however, the company must first await the results of a vote in November seeking community approval for the trial. Use of the genetically altered mosquitoes has raised concerns among community members about its safety. Oxitec Chief Executive Hadyn Parry said in a conference call that the vote is non-binding, and the decision about whether to proceed is up to the Florida Keys Mosquito Control District. As his company awaits the vote, Parry said he intends to ask the FDA for an emergency use authorization that would make the product available for use to help battle Zika in the United States. FDA has already approved several diagnostic products under this designation. That is not likely to be granted under current statutes. FDA spokeswoman Theresa Eisenman said in an email that there is no "fast-track" designation for new animal drugs, and emergency use provisions in the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act do not apply to animal drugs. The World Health Organization has declared Zika a global health emergency, and has suggested that alternative approaches to fighting mosquitoes that carry the virus might be an important way to suppress mosquito populations. The virus has spread rapidly through the Americas and Caribbean and its arrival in the continental United States, where Aedes aegypti mosquitoes thrive in the warmer southern states, had been widely anticipated. (Reporting by Julie Steenhuysen in Chicago and Natalie Grover in Bengaluru; Editing by Bernard Orr)
By Julie Steenhuysen CHICAGO (Reuters) - U.S. health regulators have cleared the way for a trial of genetically modified mosquitoes in Florida that can reduce mosquito populations, potentially offering a new tool to fight the local spread of Zika and other viruses. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration said on Friday that a field trial testing Intrexon Corp's genetically engineered mosquitoes would not have a significant impact on the environment. The announcement came as Florida officials grapple with the first cases of local Zika transmission in the continental United States. Florida health authorities have identified 16 Zika cases spread by local mosquitoes and are ramping up aerial pesticide spraying of a Miami neighborhood where all of the people are believed to have been infected. Pregnant women are most at risk from Zika, which can cause a rare birth defect in fetuses called microcephaly. The Zika outbreak was first detected last year in Brazil and has spread rapidly in the Americas, primarily through mosquito bite. Intrexon's Oxitec unit has been working for years to kick off a trial in the Florida Keys to assess the effectiveness of its mosquitoes to reduce levels of the insects that carry diseases, including Zika, dengue, Yellow Fever and chikungunya. The Oxitec method involves inserting an engineered gene into male Aedes aegypti mosquitoes. When they mate with female mosquitoes in the wild, they produce offspring that cannot survive to adulthood. The FDA has been reviewing Oxitec's application for use of its technology as an investigational new animal drug. Its environmental assessment helps clear the way for the company to begin a clinical trial in Key Haven, Florida that would test whether the genetically modified mosquitoes will suppress the wild populations over time. Results of that trial would be used to support approval of the company's technology, a process that could take more than a year. Similar testing in Brazil, Panama and the Cayman Islands have shown that the Oxitec mosquitoes can reduce local Aedes aegypti populations by more than 90 percent. 'THEY ARE USING US' To begin the trial, however, the company must first await the results of a vote in the Nov. 8 general election seeking community approval for the trial. Oxitec Chief Executive Hadyn Parry said in a conference call that the vote is non-binding, and the decision about whether to proceed is up to the Florida Keys Mosquito Control District, the local body responsible for mosquito control. Community support in the vote is not guaranteed. In Key Haven, a suburb of large, waterfront homes near Key West where the trial is slated to take place, yard signs have popped up declaring "no consent" to the release of genetically modified mosquitoes. Kathryn Watkins, a Key Haven resident recruited by trial opponents, is seeking election to the board overseeing the Florida Keys Mosquito Control District. "It just has everyone scared," Watkins said, adding that local residents see themselves as unwilling test subjects. "The genetically modified male has to mate with a wild female, and the wild female has to bite us in order to lay eggs," she said. "They are using us in this trial without consent," she added. As his company awaits the vote, Parry said he intends to ask the FDA for an emergency-use authorization that would make the product available to help battle Zika in the United States. The FDA has approved several diagnostic products under this designation. But it is not likely to be granted under current statutes. FDA spokeswoman Theresa Eisenman said there is no "fast-track" designation for new animal drugs, and emergency-use provisions in the applicable law do not apply to animal drugs. The World Health Organization has declared a global health emergency over Zika's link to microcephaly, a condition marked by abnormally small head size that can lead to severe developmental problems. The agency has suggested that alternative approaches to fighting mosquitoes that carry the virus might be an important way to suppress mosquito populations. (Reporting by Julie Steenhuysen in Chicago and Natalie Grover in Bengaluru and Leticia Stein in Tampa; Editing by Bernard Orr and Will Dunham)
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States is evaluating new documents sent by Turkey to push for the extradition of U.S.-based cleric Fethullah Gulen, the alleged mastermind of the country's recent failed coup, a State Department spokesman said on Thursday. "The Turkish authorities (made) several deliveries of documents to us and we're in the process of going through those documents," spokesman Mark Toner told a daily news briefing. Toner said the first batch "did not, we believe, constitute a formal extradition request." He added: "We subsequently received more documents. We're looking through them ... and I don't think they've reached that determination yet." The U.S. Justice Department is the main agency poring over the documents to see whether they amount to a formal extradition request for Gulen, who has lived in self-imposed exile in Pennsylvania since 1999. Turkish officials, including Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu, have warned that ties with the United States will be affected if it fails to extradite Gulen. The NATO member plays an important role in the U.S-led fight against Islamic State. But Washington has said Ankara must provide clear evidence of Gulen's involvement in the failed military coup before any extradition process can move forward. Gulen has denied plotting against Turkey and has condemned the coup attempt. Toner said the United States had offered to help Turkey with investigating the coup. He did not say whether Turkey had responded to the offer. Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan accuses Gulen of orchestrating the failed putsch and harnessing an extensive network of schools, charities and businesses in Turkey and abroad to infiltrate state institutions. Erdogan vowed on Thursday to choke off the businesses, while an Istanbul court issued an arrest warrant for Gulen for "giving the instructions" for the coup attempt, in which more than 230 people were killed. In New York, Kamil Aydin, a Turkish member of parliament from Erzurum, said the U.S. Justice Department had received 85 boxes of documents from Turkey related to Gulen so far. "They are in the process of evaluating these documents," he said, without giving any details on the files. (Reporting by Lesley Wroughton in Washington and Michelle Nichols at the United Nations; Editing by Tom Brown)
Ubiquiti Networks, Inc. UBNT continued its winning streak with another striking earnings beat, as its fourth-quarter fiscal 2016 adjusted earnings came in at 69 cents a share, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 61 cents by 13.1%. The earnings surprise marks Ubiquitis fifth consecutive beat.

Encouraged by positive business trends and favorable demand environment, Ubiquiti gave an optimistic guidance for the upcoming quarter.

Investors cheered the companys solid results, with shares soaring 5.5% in after hours trading following the release.

The earnings figure reflected growth of 9.5% on a year-over-year basis. Successful product launches coupled with notable strength in the Enterprise Technology segment boosted the companys results.

Inside the Headlines

The company charted robust revenues growth of 27.8% year over year to $185.7 million, surpassing the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $172 million comfortably. Strong performance of UniFi AC access points and other products primarily drove sales growth.

The companys Enterprise Technology segment continued to fare remarkably well, with revenues rising a whopping 89.4% year over year to $76.7 million. The striking growth was fuelled by products like new UniFi AC access points, UniFi Video and UniFi Switch, coupled with other Enterprise market products.

Even the Service Provider Technology segment turned its performance around and achieved growth of 4% year over year, generating $109 million.

On a geographic basis, revenues in North America continued to be strong, rising a striking 60.5% year over year. Also, Europe, the Middle East and Africa, as well as Asia were up 22.5% and 15.4%, respectively from the comparable period last year. However, South Americas contribution continued to go downhill, as it witnessed a 7.5% revenue decline.

Non-GAAP gross margin for the quarter increased 280 basis points year over year to 48.3%. The continued expansion in gross margin was attributable to an improved product mix, coupled with sustained cost-cutting strategies and steady product pricing.

Story continues

Product Launches

Keeping its momentum of new offerings alive in the quarter, Ubiquiti launched a new Wi-Fi system solution AmpliFi. This is a breakthrough technology that builds on the companys industry-leading UniFi Wi-Fi platform to solve the chronic Wi-Fi challenges that modern homes face. Consequently, AmpliFi delivers unparalleled speeds and eliminates dead zones even in the most demanding home environments.

Ubiquiti also announced the opening of its consumer electronics R&D laboratory  Ubiquiti Labs, based in Latvia.

The company recently also released UniFi 8- and 16-Port Gigabit Switches, which can deliver powerful performance with their independent switching ports. The quarter saw the company expand its UniFi Switch line portfolio, which is now available with 16, 24 or 48 RJ45 Gigabit ports.

Liquidity & Share Repurchases

Ubiquiti ended the quarter with cash and cash equivalents of $551 million, compared with $446.4 million as of Jun 30, 2015. Long-term debt was $192.3 million, significantly up from $87.5 million a year back.

Also, at the end of the quarter, the company had exhausted the full $50 million available under its stock repurchase program approved last November. Consequently, Ubiquiti initiated a new stock repurchase program under which it can repurchase up to $50 million of its common stock.

Guidance

Incorporating the strong performance in the reported quarter, as well as favorable business trends and robust demand environment, the company released optimistic guidance for the first quarter of fiscal 2017.

Management expects revenues in the range of $180$190 million. Non-GAAP earnings are expected within 6874 cents per share, while GAAP earnings per share are projected to be in the band of 67 to 73 cents.

UBIQUITI NETWRK Price and EPS Surprise

UBIQUITI NETWRK Price and EPS Surprise | UBIQUITI NETWRK Quote

Our Take

We believe that strong demand of Ubiquitis products in end markets will improve its prospects, going forward. Ubiquiti has launched a number of new products in recent times, which has significantly expanded its addressable market. Particularly, strong market traction of Unifi products will continue to drive the companys growth.

The companys strong commitment toward research and development activities for cultivating innovative products and state-of-art technologies is impressive and bodes well for the long term.

Ubiquiti currently has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). Some better-ranked stocks in the industry include Clearfield, Inc. CLFD, QUALCOMM Incorporated QCOM and Sonus Networks, Inc. SONS. Each of these stocks holds a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).

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By Elias Biryabarema KAMPALA (Reuters) - Uganda's Police raided a night club where a Gay Pride event was underway and arrested at least 15 people, accusing them of staging an illegal gathering and promoting homosexuality, a rights activist told Reuters on Friday. Gays and lesbians experience considerable hostility in the largely conservative east African country, one of 37 countries on the continent where homosexuality is illegal. They often live secretive lives, fearful that coming out will attract stigma and hostility from family and friends, or the loss of a job or an apartment. Clare Byarugaba, a gay rights activist, told Reuters Police showed up at a club in a suburb of the capital Kampala at about 11:30 p.m. on Thursday and accused the organizers of promoting homosexuality, before scuffles with revelers started. "They (Police) were dragging people, they were beating people, they were undressing people," Byarugaba said. "They were undressing especially trans-gender women. Apparently they wanted to find out whether they were men or women." Kayima Emilian, a police spokesman, said they had dispersed the gathering because the organizers had failed to notify them of the event. "A large group of people gathering? They need to tell Police. But also they were likely to engage in promoting gay sex which is illegal in Uganda." Uganda triggered widespread western criticism after it enacted a harsh anti-gay law that handed out life sentences for some homosexual offences. A constitutional court later overturned the law because of legal technicalities. Despite threats by some lawmakers that the bill would be re-introduced in parliament, that has not happened and analysts say it would be unlikely to succeed in the face of strong pressure from Western donors. Police arrested at least 15 participants in Thursday's incident and took them to a nearby police station where they spent about two hours before they were all released without recording a statement or being charged with any offences. At the station, Byarugaba said security personnel taunted the homosexuals, took their pictures without their permission and tried to touch them to "ascertain especially for trans gender individuals whether they were women or men.""It was a very, very degrading process," she said. Uganda Police have raided similar events before with officials accusing organizers of assembling illegally and promoting gay lifestyle in Uganda. Byarugaba said the club event, where a Mr. and Ms. Pride was to be selected was a precursor to a Gay Pride march planned for Saturday in Kampala. (This version of the story corrects activist's second name throughout to Byarugaba not Byaruhanga)
Yes, its hard to to tell when one enters the city limits

Yes, they will make the city more inviting

Maybe ... does it really matter?

No, the signs in place are fine

No, it would be a waste of taxpayer dollars

Vote

View Results
By Giles Elgood LONDON (Reuters) - David Cameron was accused on Friday of cronyism that would "embarrass a medieval court" after he rewarded a long list of his political aides and allies with some of Britain's highest honours to mark his resignation as prime minister. Cameron stepped down last month after he failed to persuade voters to back staying in the European Union in a referendum, and many of those on his "Resignation Honours" list were prominent in the campaign to remain in the bloc. Outgoing prime ministers can put forward a list of people to receive honours, ranging from peerages and knighthoods to lesser honours such as membership of the Order of the British Empire. Among the most prominent names on the list are cabinet ministers Michael Fallon, Patrick McLoughlin and David Lidington, all of whom favoured remaining in the EU. George Osborne, who resigned as finance minister after the Brexit referendum, is made a Companion of Honour. Also honoured is Isabel Spearman, a former fashion public relations executive who worked for Cameron's wife Samantha as a stylist and assistant, and Thea Rogers, an adviser credited with smartening up Osborne's public image. Cameron's former spin doctor, Craig Oliver, was given a knighthood. Three prominent donors to the Conservative Party were also either made lords or knights. Cameron's list was attacked by opposition politicians and those who had successfully backed leaving the EU, who argued that he was rewarding the failed "Remain" campaign. Leave.EU, a group that backed Brexit, said Cameron had "used his final 'losers list' to lavish titles and social status on personal friends, party donors and failed Remain campaigners". Tom Watson, deputy leader of the opposition Labour Party said Theresa May, who succeeded Cameron as prime minister, should have vetoed the list. "The fact she has allowed this cronyism to go ahead shows that the Tories will always put their own interests first, Watson said. Tim Farron, leader of the Liberal Democrats, said the list was "so full of cronies it would embarrass a medieval court". Cameron, who has been on holiday with his family in Corsica, has not commented. Media attention has focused instead on his striking swimming trunks, said to have cost 225 pounds ($300). Downing Street declined to comment. The list also held some embarrassment for Labour, which appointed a prominent human rights lawyer, Shami Chakrabarti, as a peer in the House of Lords. Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn said last year he saw no reason to appoint people to the unelected upper house. He had also appointed Chakrabarti to head an inquiry into anti-Semitism in the party, prompting Jewish leaders to say the review could not be seen as independent. A Labour statement said: "Shami Chakrabarti shares Jeremy's ambition for reform of the House of Lords." (Additonal reporting by William James; editing by Stephen Addison)
United Nations (United States) (AFP) - UN peacekeepers abandoned their posts and questioned an order to use force to repel heavily armed soldiers who stormed their base in South Sudan six months ago, according to the findings of a UN board of inquiry released Friday.

The board set up by UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon found that the mission "failed to manage the crisis effectively" when its base in the northeastern town of Malakal came under attack on February 17 and 18.

About 30 people sheltering in the Malakal base were killed in the violence and 123 injured.

The board said there was a "combination of causes" that led to the violence, including tensions between Shilluk, Dinka and Nuer ethnic groups who make up the 48,000 people living at the Malakal camp.

It concluded that it was "highly likely" that government forces planned the attack or at the very least supported local militia "to facilitate the ethnic reconfiguration of Malakal."

The violence erupted just hours after UN peacekeepers had confiscated weapons from two men trying to break into the UN base. During questioning, the men identified themselves as government soldiers.

After clashes erupted, targeting the Dinka sector, South Sudan soldiers stormed an entrance to the base.

Some 30 minutes later, peacekeepers on guard duty found themselves "unable to stop the intruders" and "abandoned their positions," the board said in a summary of its report released to the press.

- UN troops 'hesitated' -

A UN commander ordered troops to "engage the SPLA troops by firing back on them and (said) that under no condition should SPLA soldiers" enter the main base.

The SPLA is the Sudan People's Liberation Army, originally part of a guerrilla movement but now the country's regular army.

"Some troop commanders hesitated about the use of lethal force and sought written authorization for it," the report added.

Story continues

The order was reissued by the mission's headquarters in Juba, and about two hours later the peacekeepers began an operation to push the gunmen out of the base.

The board also found that the peacekeepers failed to quickly repair a breach in a fence that could have been used to smuggle weapons into the camp.

"This combination of inaction, abandonment of post and refusal to engage made the situation harder to contain and contributed to the negative effects of the incident," the inquiry found.

Malakal is one of eight UN bases providing a haven since the war in South Sudan began in late 2013. The bases, sheltering around 200,000 people, are protected by razor wire and no weapons are allowed in them.

About 1,200 peacekeepers from the mission known as UNMISS are deployed at the compound in Malakal.

The board found that the United Nations had set "unrealistic expectations for the protection that UNMISS could feasibly afford" to the 48,000 displaced civilians living at the Malakal camp.
From Popular Mechanics

The United States is about to rebuild its arsenal of B61 nuclear bombs to a new standard, ensuring they stay reliable while adding new capabilities including a "dial-a-yield" capability. The process is so extensive some critics charge that the modified bombs are essentially a new weapon, a development that could restart the nuclear arms race.

The Pentagon has many types of nuclear weapons, but currently the only true "bomb"-dropped from an aircraft and delivered to target by free fall flight-is the B61. First produced in the late 1960s, the B61 series of bombs can be carried carried by a number of combat aircraft, including the B-52 Stratofortress, B-2A Spirit, F-15E Strike Eagle, and F-16 Fighting Falcon. The F-35A Joint Strike Fighter will also be cleared to carry the new version of the bomb.

Now the National Nuclear Security Agency, or NNSA, has cleared the B61-12 to enter its last phase of development before production. Production will involve taking older versions of the bomb and updating them to the B61-12 standard. Washington insists that the update is critical to ensure the bombs remain reliable into the future.

In addition to the reliability update, the B61-12 has several new features. It has a new set of bolt-on tail fins that increase the range at which the bomb can be released and still hit its target. This increases aircraft survivability while allowing the pilot to avoid close-in air defenses. The bomb also has a new inertial navigation system accurate to 30 meters, without using the constellation of GPS navigation satellites that might be shot down in wartime.

Finally and perhaps most importantly it has a "dial-a-yield" mechanism that allows the operator to choose the explosive power of the bomb. The bomb can be set to the equivalent of a mere 300 tons of TNT, 1.5 kilotons of TNT, 10 kilotons, or 50 kilotons. The Hiroshima bomb, for comparison, was about 16 kilotons.

Story continues

The B61-12 program is estimated to run approximately $10 billion dollars, to produce between 400 and 500 bombs. That breaks down to approximately $28 million per bomb, which will make it the most expensive U.S. nuclear bomb project ever. At one point, with gold at $1,619 an ounce, observers of the program noted the 700 pound bomb cost "1.5 Times its Weight in Solid Gold."

Critics of the B61 modernization believe that introducing a new bomb into the military arsenal at this point could restart a nuclear arms race with Russia and even China. They also charge that the "dial-a-yield" capability and and low yields could encourage the Commander-in-Chief to use them instead of conventional weapons.

Supporters of the weapon believe that modernizing the U.S.'s nuclear bomb stockpile will put bad actors on notice that Washington is serious about its nuclear policy. The upgrade will also give the U.S. expanded options for using the weapons, trading explosive yield for accuracy. Using smaller bombs in a conflict could prevent escalation to using larger ones. But let's hope it doesn't come to that.

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Miami (AFP) - Research that mixes human cells into animal embryos could get US government funds for the first time under a new proposal that has stoked concerns about ethics and the limits of science.

Some say the research has the potential to spark major medical breakthroughs in diseases like Alzheimer's and Parkinson's or conditions like infertility, and could help grow organs for human transplant, which are in short supply.

Critics, however, worry that these mixtures, or chimeras -- named after the monster in Greek mythology with a lion's head, goat's body and dragon's tail -- raise complex moral questions and go beyond what is acceptable in modern society.

One year ago, the US National Institutes of Health placed a moratorium on research proposing to introduce human pluripotent stem cells into animal embryos, deeming it too controversial.

Since then, experts have met to discuss the state of the science.

Now, the NIH is offering to fund research introducing human cells into certain kinds of animals.

That could include experiments "where there could be either a substantial contribution or a substantial functional modification to the animal brain by the human cells," said a statement on Thursday.

The NIH will seek public comment for 30 days on the proposed scope of the research.

Oversight on funding decisions will be provided by an internal NIH steering committee, it said.

"I am confident that these proposed changes will enable the NIH research community to move this promising area of science forward in a responsible manner," wrote Carrie Wolinetz, NIH associate director for science policy, in a blog post.

- Brain modifications -

The prospect of altering an animal's brain to make it more human alarms some experts.

"Let's say that we have pigs with human brains and they are wondering why we are doing experiments on them," said Stuart Newman, a researcher at New York Medical College.

Story continues

"And then, what if we had human bodies with animal brains, and then you say, 'Well they are not really humans, we can do experiments on them and harvest organs from them," he told AFP.

"I am coming up with extreme scenarios, but just making these chimeric embryos 15 or 20 years ago was considered an extreme scenario."

Indeed, Newman filed for a patent on a human-animal chimera almost two decades ago -- not because he wanted to make such a creature, but to make the point that such dangers lay ahead.

The US Patent Office rejected his application in 2005, which Newman saw as a victory of sorts.

But now, he fears his warnings are going unheeded.

"People get used to things gradually," he said.

Even though the NIH is starting small, and probably doesn't intend to allow animals with full human brains, "we don't have any laws in this country that would stop doing those things," he said.

"I think it is just a road that we should not go down."

- Potential benefits -

For some, the notion of brain experiments offers both the greatest promise and the most serious danger.

"If we want to do research on schizophrenia and Alzheimer's and depression, we can't readily do research on brain cells of humans with these diseases because we can't open up the brains of people while they are alive," said Robert Klitzman, director of Columbia University's Master's of bioethics program.

Klitzman said he views the NIH move as a "great step in the right direction" with "tremendous potential to help millions of people with various diseases."

Still, he urged the NIH to include ethicists on its funding oversight committee.

"We need to be careful with human brain cells," he said.

"What we don't want is a mouse or a chimp that suddenly has human-like qualities, because morally that creates a number of problems."

What rights would the creature have? How should it be treated? What if it escaped the lab and bred with wild animals?

"This is the stuff of science fiction," he said.

Far more tame research mixing human and animal cells has been going on for decades. Scientists regularly implant human tumors in mice, and heart valves from pigs and cows are commonly used in human heart patients.

"This area of research has been done in the United States for many, many years and certainly around the world it is commonplace," said Samuel Packer, chief of medical ethics at Northwell Health in New York.

Still, the notion of altering Earth's creatures may upset those who are religious, as well as those who support animal rights. Politics, too, may play a role in what gets funded and what does not.

The administration of President George W. Bush restricted federal funding for research using stem cells derived from human embryos. Bush believed the work devalued human life.

The NIH said its latest proposal is in line with the guidelines of the International Society for Stem Cell Research.

"There is a lot of infrastructure to this," said Packer.

"It is not as if, 'Oh my God, all of a sudden we are doing something that is crazy.'"
Washington (AFP) - The US Navy is ditching its much-maligned blue-and-gray camouflage uniform that sailors complained was uncomfortable and joked made them harder to spot if they fell into the ocean.

Enlisted sailors and naval officers alike invariably grumble that the "aquaflage" clothing makes them feel self-conscious, and some worry the colorful camo fatigues -- which are not flame retardant -- put them at greater risk of burn injuries.

Navy Secretary Ray Mabus this week said the so-called Type I uniforms -- also known as "blueberries" -- were to be phased out over the next three years.

"One of the issues (sailors) consistently want to talk about are uniforms," Mabus said in a statement.

"They want uniforms that are comfortable, lightweight, breathable... and they want fewer of them. We have heard the feedback and we are acting on it."

Sailors will instead wear a more muted "Type III" uniform, featuring a conventional green-and-black camouflage.

US lawmakers have criticized the proliferation of camouflaged uniforms in recent years.

Before 2001, American troops all wore the same camo, a green version for temperate climates and a beige model for the desert.

But as military spending mushroomed after the September 11 attacks, the US Marine Corps, Army, Navy and Air Force crafted their own combat uniforms for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Rio de Janeiro (AFP) - The carpool karaoke craze has come to the Olympics courtesy of the US swimming team.

Michael Phelps, Katie Ledecky, Missy Franklin and Co. let themselves go at a Stateside pre-Games training camp in their version of the TV sketch in which celebrities rock out in the car.

They unleashed an eight-minute video montage on YouTube on Thursday that features more than 40 swimmers and nine different cars.

Freestyler Simone Manuel shines in her interpretation of One Direction's What Makes You Beautiful, while medley swimmer Maya DiRado shows off some solid seat-dancing moves to Fifth Harmony's Bo$$.

Phelps and Allison Schmitt contribute a soulful version of Zac Brown Band's "Chicken Fried" while Ryan Lochte presides over a riotous trip through a fast-food drive-through.

Add in the Pokemon theme song, Miley Cyrus's "Party in the USA" and a couple of random lobster costumes and it looks like the Americans are plenty relaxed heading into the Rio swimming competition that starts on Saturday.
Washington (AFP) - The US trade deficit grew more than expected in June as imports jumped and the gap with China continued to widen, government data released Friday showed.

The country's trade deficit with the rest of the world climbed 8.7 percent in June to a seasonally adjusted $44.5 billion. Analysts had only expected a 3.9 percent increase.

The figures mark the third straight month the deficit has grown, weighing on US growth and possibly fueling the arguments of Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump for protectionist policies.

It now stands at the highest level since June 2015 due to a 1.9 percent rise in imports to $227.7 billion and only a 0.3 percent increase in exports to $183.2 billion.

Imports of industrial supplies, consumer goods and capital goods all rose in June.

Petroleum product imports jumped almost 20 percent to $13.3 billion due to higher oil prices.

At the same time, sales of American products overseas stalled, with exports of autos falling four percent to $12.2 billion.

In terms of bilateral trade, the US deficit with China continued to rise, reaching $29.8 billion, the highest level since November.

US officials have routinely accused China of manipulating its currency and taking other actions to boost exports at the expense of the United States.

The US trade deficit with the European Union dipped 4.4 percent to $12.8 billion. The two sides are locked in difficult negotiations on a vast trade accord.

US trade with Canada was at a modest deficit of $299 million.
Lagos (AFP) - The United States has warned its citizens against travelling to 20 states in Nigeria, including the insurgency-hit northeast, because of security concerns.

On its website, the State Department said US nationals should "avoid all travel to Adamawa, Borno and Yobe states because the security situation in northeast Nigeria remains fluid and unpredictable."

It said its ability to provide assistance in those three states was limited, and also named another 17 states which should be avoided due to the risk of kidnappings, robberies and other armed attacks.

US citizens should be vigilant around government security facilities, churches, mosques, hotels, clubs, bars, restaurants, markets, shopping malls and other areas frequented by expatriates and foreign travellers, it said.

"Security measures in Nigeria remain heightened due to threats posed by extremist groups and US citizens may encounter police and military checkpoints, additional security and possible road blocks throughout the country," it added.

Nigeria is battling a seven-year Boko Haram insurgency in the northeast that has killed some 20,000 and forced 2.6 million more to flee their homes.

Oil rebels in the Niger delta have also since February attacked oil pipelines and facilities, hurting output and hammering revenues.
By Barbara Lewis

LONDON (Reuters) - Mining and energy group Vedanta Resources (VED.L) expects to complete its merger with Cairn India early next year, a move that would boost the firm's financial strength, Vedanta's CEO said on Friday.

Vedanta is among the resource firms hit by a collapse in commodity prices and it is also facing legal action and activist protests over its operations in Zambia.

In a speech to a London shareholders' meeting, CEO Tom Albanese said the rationale for the merger was compelling, which was why Vedanta announced improved terms in July.

"The merger ... will contribute significantly to our overall financial strength, not least through a potential re-rating, which will lower our overall cost of capital," Albanese said, according to a copy of his speech.

"We expect to close the transaction in the first quarter of 2017."

The deal, which will give Vedanta access to oil and gas explorer Cairn India's $3.5 billion (2.6 billion) cash pile, has faced opposition from some big minority shareholders, including British-based Cairn Energy (CNE.L), but Albanese said he did not foresee obstacles.

Vedanta's debt to EBITDA ratio is 5.7 for 2016 compared with the level of around 3 analysts view as comfortable.

Albanese told Reuters after the meeting that Vedanta had repaid close to $1.2 billion of bonds in the first quarter and had no further Vedanta Resources debt maturing until 2018.

"We are committed to deleveraging the balance sheet," he said, citing a share price rally - the stock has almost doubled since the end of last year - as proof of market confidence.

Albanese also predicted the commodity price slump has ended.

"My own personal view is that for the first time in more than five years, most commodities will end this calendar year higher than they began the year," he said in his speech.

To Reuters, he declined to comment on a case involving Vedanta's copper mining in Zambia because it is being litigated.

Protesters, under the banner of the activist organisation Foil Vedanta, demonstrated at the shareholder meeting, chanting "shame, shame" and "looters, polluters" as executives walked in.

In May, a high court judge decided that a claim could proceed in the English courts on behalf of 1,826 Zambian villagers seeking compensation following what they say is damage to their health and land caused by Konkola Copper Mines. Vedanta, which has a majority stake in Konkola, has appealed that decision and said Zambia is the appropriate jurisdiction. It expects to know the outcome of the appeal next year.

(Reporting by Barbara Lewis; editing by Grant McCool)
An off-duty LAPD officer is suing the makers of HBOs Veep, claiming he was not paid for a 30-minute meal break.

The officer, identified in the suit only as D. Wilson, worked security for the show on a single day in December 2015. According to the lawsuit, Wilson was paid a base wage of $53.22 an hour, plus a $75 car allowance. He also received time-and-a-half for working more than eight hours, and double time for working past 12 hours. Wilson complains that he was not paid for a 30 minute meal break, despite the fact that no such meal break was taken.

Wilson also contends that he did not receive payment until more than a month later, which he alleges is a violation of California Labor Code.

The lawsuit, filed by attorney Alan Hale, seeks unspecified attorneys fees and costs as well as civil penalties for the labor code violations. The suit names Second in Command Productions, the legal entity that produced the show, as the defendant. Hale did not return messages seeking comment.

HBO declined to comment.

Veep was produced in Maryland for its initial four seasons, but was lured to California with a $6.6 million tax credit last year. It was among the first batch of shows to come to California after the state expanded its tax incentive program from $100 million to $330 million per year. It was renewed for a second round of California tax credits in June.

Related stories

Emmy Voters Play Politics With Guest Noms for 'Veep,' 'House of Cards' Actors

Emmy Awards 2016: Handicapping the Top Series and Acting Races

Emmy Awards: 'Veep' Star Peter MacNicol Disqualified as Guest Actor
* Palm snaps five sessions of gains

* Palm may retrace to support at 2,390 rgt/T-techs

* Correction seen after market moved up fast -trader

(Updates latest prices)

By Emily Chow

KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 5 (Reuters) - Malaysian palm oil futures

fell on Friday from their seven-week highs hit in the previous

session, as a stronger ringgit hurt prices.

The ringgit, the currency of trade for palm oil, was up 0.7

percent at 4.0200 per dollar on Friday evening, making the

vegetable oil more expensive for holders of foreign currencies.

"The ringgit is one factor for a lower market today," said a

trader based in Kuala Lumpur, adding: "The market has also moved

up very fast in the last few days, so there is some correction."

Benchmark palm oil futures for October delivery on

the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives Exchange were down 1.5 percent at

2,407 ringgit ($599) per tonne at the close of trade, its first

fall in six sessions.

They have added 3.9 percent so far this week, a third weekly

gain in four.

Traded volumes stood at 36,962 lots of 25 tonnes each at on

Friday evening.

Weakness in related vegetable oils could have also weighed

on the market, said traders, along with forecasts of higher

inventories ahead of the release of official government data

next week.

In Malaysia, the world's second largest producer after

Indonesia, palm oil inventories at the end of July likely rose

3.1 percent from a month earlier to a four-month high of 1.83

million tonnes, a Reuters poll showed.

The survey also forecast output likely gained 3.8 percent to

1.59 million tonnes, while exports surged 13.9 percent.

The Malaysian Palm Oil Board (MPOB) is scheduled to release

July end-stocks data on Aug. 10, after 0430 GMT.

Palm oil may retrace to a support at 2,390 ringgit per

tonne, as it failed to break a resistance at 2,458 ringgit, said

Reuters market analyst for commodities and energy technicals

Wang Tao.

In other vegetable oils, the Chicago soybean oil contract

for December fell 0.6 percent, while Dalian's January

Story continues

soybean oil contract dropped 0.6 percent.

Palm, soy and crude oil prices at 1033 GMT

Contract Month Last Change Low High Volume

MY PALM OIL AUG6 2510 -4.00 2484 2510 56

MY PALM OIL SEP6 2432 -32.00 2422 2452 1445

MY PALM OIL OCT6 2406 -37.00 2401 2436 17843

CHINA PALM OLEIN JAN7 5180 -12.00 5166 5236 934776

CHINA SOYOIL JAN7 6136 -36.00 6134 6204 545866

CBOT SOY OIL DEC6 30.84 -0.11 30.83 31.14 7008

INDIA PALM OIL AUG6 525.80 -2.00 524.50 528.1 1568

INDIA SOYOIL AUG6 633.25 -2.90 633.1 636.4 10670

NYMEX CRUDE SEP6 41.49 -0.44 41.44 41.85 63617

Palm oil prices in Malaysian ringgit per tonne

CBOT soy oil in U.S. cents per pound

Dalian soy oil and RBD palm olein in Chinese yuan per tonne

India soy oil in Indian rupee per 10 kg

Crude in U.S. dollars per barrel

($1 = 4.0200 ringgit)

($1 = 66.7725 Indian rupees)

($1 = 6.6414 Chinese yuan)

(Reporting by Emily Chow; Editing by Subhranshu Sahu and David

Evans)
An opposition supporter stands with the Venezuelan flag in front of police during a rally to demand a referendum to remove President Nicolas Maduro in Caracas, Venezuela July 27, 2016. REUTERS/Carlos Jasso

In an long-expected decision, Venezuela's national electoral council announced on Monday that the political opposition's efforts to mount a recall of President Nicolas Maduro had passed the first hurdle, securing the signatures of 1% of the country's voters.

But several more steps remain, including the gathering of millions more signatures, before any vote can take place  and the pace at which this process moves will largely be decided by the embattled government.

So even as the recall effort moves forward, the possibility of a messy political confrontation remains.

The national electoral council (CNE) said that nearly 98% of the 408,000 signatures gathered had passed an audit, well exceeding the 1% standard (about 200,000 signatures). The opposition leadership pushing the recall, led by the Democratic Unity Roundtable (MUD) coalition, had two days to submit a formal request to move the process forward.

After that, the CNE, which many believe to be slanted in the government's favor, will have 15 days to respond to that request, then another 15 days to set a date for the second petition drive, which will be a three-day period during which the opposition has to gather the signatures of 20% of the electorate  some 4 million people.

The CNE gets 15 days after that to count and verify the signatures, and, assuming the signatures pass muster, it must set a date for the actual referendum that, based on current polling, would likely end with Maduro forced from office.

'The political game'

Venezuela recall referendum Maduro crisis

But it is extremely unlikely that the process, delays of which have already inspired large street protests, will move forward in such an orderly fashion.

Story continues

The timing of a potential referendum is extremely important. If Maduro loses a vote held before January 10, 2017, another vote for president is to be held, seen as the best chance to end the Socialist Party's 17 years in power. If Maduro loses a vote after January 10, then his vice president takes over.

Evidence the government wants to delay a referendum has already been on display. The opposition submitted the first petition, with 1.85 million signatures, for approval on May 2. According to David Smile and Hugo Perez Hernaiz, curators of blog Venezuelan Politics and Human Rights, the results of the audit of those signatures were ready on July 19, but the CNE put off announcing it until the start of August.

It's not clear how the process will proceed from here. Some estimates foresee signature-gathering and voting as happening in late fall or early winter, possibly even in early January. Political scientist Greg Weeks said the government could be so brazen as to have the referendum on January 11, while TeleSur, a state-backed media outlet, said the recall vote wouldn't happen before 2017.

Despite years of political and economic strife, it's not clear what kind of response this apparent foot-dragging will elicit from the public  though that's not necessarily a good thing for Maduro.

The government's delays are "not a big topic of discussion among people," Smilde, a senior fellow at the Washington Office on Latin America, told Business Insider.

A motorcycle rides past a mural depicting late Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, near his mausoleum in Caracas March 5, 2015. REUTERS/Jorge Silva

"Chavismo has lost a lot of popularity and has few defenders in public. Everyone knows what it is doing but sort of chalks it up to the political game," Smilde added, referring to the political movement named for Maduro's predecessor, late President Hugo Chavez. "In fact, I think it should be worrying for Chavismo that people are not more disappointed."

'They want to see stability'

The opposition recall effort seems to have broad public backing, gathering nearly 2 million signatures in the first petition drive. But this doesn't necessarily translate into support for the opposition itself.

"The MUD and its leaders have roughly double the support of the PSUV and its leaders," Smilde told Business Insider in an email. "But that still leaves them with the support of about half of the population."

Venezuela recall referendum Maduro government protest

"The MUD has not yet been able to take advantage of the space left by the decline of Chavismo," Smilde added. "They have gained support, but it is more because of disgust with Chavismo than by putting forward a real proposal for the country and alternative ideology."

"There's nothing that has even been implied" by the opposition about its proposals, Alejandro Velasco, a historian of Latin America at New York University, told Business Insider ahead of legislative elections in December.

"I mean the opposition right now is basically ... hoping to ride the wave of extreme discontent, and the less that that it says about any concrete policy agendas, the better it will be in terms of winning" those December elections, Velasco said at the time.

While the opposition won a decisive legislative majority in the December balloting (which the government is still contesting), the government continues to get a not-insignificant amount of support.

Indeed, while 63% of Venezuelans said in June they would vote for Maduro's recall, his support has hovered around 25% in recent months, a sign that a bloc of loyal backers has not been peeled away from the government.

Venezuela government supporter Maduro protest political crisis

Moreover, in light of the opposition's failure to present concrete proposals to counter the government's actions, Venezuelans whose support of the government is wavering, and even some of those who say they disapprove of it, may not go as far as voting down Maduro.

"What they imagine would come from an un-negotiated resolution," that is, from forcing Maduro out of office, "is a very difficult couple of years, with severe economic policies that would really hurt them," Velasco told The Christian Science Monitor in July. "They want to see stability."

Maduro has also argued Venezuela is facing a covert economic war orchestrated by those opposing his government. Many economists have dismissed that, but it may resonate with Venezuelans who remember hard times in the 1980s and 1990s.

'A popular demand'

The political scene is more divided than just a simple government-opposition contest. Within the government, conflict has arisen over Maduro's handling of the present situation and his purported departure from the legacy of Chavez.

To some, there are now the concepts of Chavismo, referring to Chavez's legacy and policies, and of Madurismo, referring to the current president and his administration.

Venezuela Maduro Chavez

Within the opposition there are also divides. Many of the differences are over how to oust Maduro and the governing socialist party.

While opposition leaders like Henrique Capriles have pursued electoral challenges, others have pushed for drastic action, like massive street protests. According to Smilde, for the time being, the opposition is likely to leave those internal divides unresolved.

"It is probably better for them to continue to do what they are doing: fight for the recall referendum, which is a popular demand," he told Business Insider.

NOW WATCH: Obama said the White House previously announced the $400 million payment to Iran  here's the footage





More From Business Insider


This article originally appeared on Health.com.

Twenty-five years ago, the World Health Organization rated coffee as possibly carcinogenic. Now the agency is reversing its longstanding warning, declaring that evidence is lacking. (Whew!) But the WHO is also saying that hot drinks, of any kind, may cause esophageal cancer.

In a report published today in The Lancet Oncology, the WHOs International Agency for Research on Cancer said a working group of 23 scientists had classified drinking very hot beverages at or above 65 degrees C (149 degrees F) as probably carcinogenic to humans. (A cup of coffee or tea is typically served between 160 and 185 degrees F.)

The IARCs job is to classify foods, chemicals, and other items into one of five categories: carcinogenic to humans, probably carcinogenic to humans, possibly carcinogenic to humans, not classifiable, and probably not carcinogenic. Things like tanning beds and smoking are in the first category because evidence indicates they definitely cause cancer. Hot beverages are now in the second category because the research linking them to cancer isnt as strong.

RELATED: Yes, the Bacon-Cancer Link is Real, But Heres Why You Shouldnt Freak Out

The working groups conclusion was based in part on studies done in countries (including China, Turkey, and South America) where tea or mate is traditionally drunk piping hot. The research showed that the risk of esophageal cancer increased with the temperature at which the beverage was drunk, according to a statement from the WHO.

The IARC also cited studies done on animals that suggested water hotter than 65 degrees C can promote the growth of tumors.

Esophageal cancer is the eighth most common cancer worldwide, causing 5% of all cancer deaths. About 15,000 Americans are diagnosed with the disease each year.

Smoking and alcohol drinking are major causes of esophageal cancer, particularly in many high-income countries, Christopher Wild, Director of the IARC, said in the statement. However, the majority of cases occur in parts of Asia, South America, and East Africa, where regularly drinking very hot beverages is common and where the reasons for the high incidence of this cancer are not as well understood.

The WHOs spokesman in Geneva, Gergory Hartl, told Reuters that the new classification was based on limited evidence, and that more research is needed. But in the meantime, the agency is suggesting people avoid sipping anything scalding hot: We say: be prudent, let hot drinks cool down.

This article originally appeared on RealSimple.com.

http://www.realsimple.com/health/hot-beverages-carcinogenic
A 62-year-old "violent sex offender" in on the run after allegedly slipping off his electronic monitoring bracelet and fleeing his Wisconsin home, PEOPLE confirms.



Authorities say anyone who sees Rene Antero Rodriguez should avoid approaching him, as he is considered to be armed and dangerous.



Rodriguez "has an extensive history using edged weapons, along with assault, robbery, theft and burglary," Manitowoc Police Department allege in a news release. He was sentenced in 1995 to seven years in prison on a charge of first-degree sexual assault of a child, according to court records.



Police claim Rodriguez has family members in the Manitowoc area, so they believe it is possible he remains in that city. His whereabouts are currently unknown.



On Thursday, Department of Health and Social Services discovered Rodriguez had vanished after making a routine visit to the residence where he'd been staying. The news release alleges Rodriguez wiggled out of off his electronic monitoring device before fleeing.



 Want to keep up with the latest crime coverage? Click here to get breaking crime news, ongoing trial coverage and details of intriguing unsolved cases in the True Crime Newsletter.



Rodriguez is described as 5-foot-4-inches and weighing 165 pounds, with black hair and brown eyes, according to police. He has tattoos on both arms.



He also has a dragon tattoo on the left side of his chest, which covers a 10-inch scar, and a left leg tattoo in the shape of a heart with the words "make love," according to police.



Anyone with information about the whereabouts of Rodriguez is asked to contact the Manitowoc Police Department shift commander immediately at 920-686-6551.
By Laila Kearney

(Reuters) - The mayor of Fairfax City, Virginia, a suburb of Washington D.C., has been arrested on suspicion of providing methamphetamine for sex, police said on Friday.

Mayor Richard "Scott" Silverthorne, 50, has been charged with felony distribution of methamphetamine and misdemeanor possession of drug paraphernalia, Fairfax County Police Captain Jack Hardin told a news conference.

"The reason this investigation started was because of an allegation of him supplying methamphetamine in exchange for sex," Hardin said.

Fairfax County police began investigating Silverthorne late last month when they received a tip from a citizen who said the mayor was distributing meth through a website used to arrange sex between men, Hardin said.

An undercover detective created a fake profile on the site and was contacted by Silverthorne within two days, Hardin said. After exchanging texts, the detective agreed to meet with Silverthorne for group sex if he provided drugs, Hardin said.

On Thursday, undercover members of the police department's Organized Crime and Narcotics Division met Silverthorne at a local hotel, received two grams of methamphetamine from the mayor and later arrested him, Hardin said.

Two men suspected of supplying Silverthorne with drugs were also arrested. Juan Jose Fernandez, 34, and Caustin Lee McLaughlin, 21, both of Maryland, face charges including felony distribution of methamphetamine.

Silverthorne did not solicit money in exchange for the drugs, Hardin said.

An attorney for Silverthorne was not immediately available for comment.

Silverthorne was elected this year to serve his third term as mayor of Fairfax, a middle-class city with a population of about 22,500. He is also a substitute teacher for the Fairfax County Public Schools.

Councilman Jeffrey Greenfield will serve as acting mayor in Silverthorne's absence, the city said in a statement.

(Reporting by Laila Kearney; Editing by Daniel Wallis and Leslie Adler)
(FAIRFAX, Va.)  A northern Virginia mayor was facing drug charges Friday after his arrest in a meth-for-sex sting, police said.

Fairfax Mayor R. Scott Silverthorne was arrested Thursday after meeting with undercover detectives at a hotel, police said.

After receiving a tip about a possible methamphetamine distributor in July, Fairfax County police said in a statement that they began an inquiry and identified a suspect distributing methamphetamine through a website used to arrange for casual sexual encounters between men. An undercover detective created a profile on the site and police said within days the suspect, who turned out to be Silverthorne, made contact and they then communicated by text.

Silverthorne, 50, indicated that he could provide methamphetamine for sexual encounters and undercover detectives agreed to meet for a group sexual encounter in exchange for methamphetamine, police said. Silverthorne arranged to bring methamphetamine and other men, police said.

Detectives met Silverthorne at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in McLean on Thursday and he was arrested after he gave them methamphetamine, police said.

Detectives also found Silverthornes suppliers Juan Jose Fernandez, 34, and Caustin Lee McLaughlin, 21, of Maryland, and arrested them, police said. Fernandez was charged with distribution of methamphetamine, possession with the intent to distribute methamphetamine and possession of drug paraphernalia. McLaughlin was charged with distribution of methamphetamine, obstruction of justice and possession of drug paraphernalia. As detectives arrested McLaughlin, police said he resisted and a detective used his stun gun. Police said there were no injuries.

All three men were taken to the Fairfax County Adult Detention Center for processing.

Silverthorne was re-elected in May for a third term of the city west of Washington after a tumultuous year in which The Washington Post reported he lost his job with the National Association of Manufacturers, filed for bankruptcy, lost his home to foreclosure and was diagnosed with cancer. He announced in November that hed been diagnosed with squamous cell carcinoma, and the Post said he underwent treatment that ended two months before the election.

Story continues

Police said he was also a substitute teacher for the Fairfax County Public Schools.

His father, the late Frederick Silverthorne, was mayor of Fairfax in the late 1970s and early 1980s.

Scott Silverthorne, a Democrat, also served on the Fairfax City Council.
By Gary Robertson

WILLIAMSBURG, Va. (Reuters) - Many residents of the Virginia town where John Hinckley Jr. will settle after his release from a psychiatric hospital were unfazed by his expected arrival on Friday, though some were still wary of the man who tried to kill President Ronald Reagan in 1981.

Hinckley, a 25-year-old college dropout when he shot and wounded the president, will live with his 90-year-old mother in a gated community in Kingsmill outside Williamsburg, a historic town about 130 miles (210 km) south of Washington.

That was one of dozens of conditions imposed by a federal judge when he ruled last week that Hinckley, now 61, was no longer a danger to himself or others, and could leave the hospital as early as Friday.

Kingsmill Police Chief Jim West said he did not know who was transporting Hinckley to his mother's home or when he might arrive. Neither a spokeswoman for St. Elizabeths, the Washington hospital where Hinckley has been held since 1982, nor his lawyer Barry Levine could immediately be reached.

Hinckley, who was obsessed with actress Jodie Foster when he shot the president, Reagan's press secretary and two others, was found not guilty by reason of insanity after a trial that led several states to tighten rules on using such a defense.

Amanda Krems, a former teacher who has been taking time off to raise her children, said she has no issue with Hinckley being in Williamsburg.

"He has served his time," she said. "But I know he makes a lot of people nervous."

Suzanne Lanier, a homemaker at the local library, said she had a change of sentiment about Hinckley when her own child struggled with mental issues, an experience that gave her a better understanding of mental illness.

"I am sure the Reagan family and the Brady family would feel quite differently," she said, referring to the now-deceased former president and his press secretary, James Brady, who was severely wounded by Hinckley and died two years ago.

Story continues

The decision to release Hinckley drew criticism from the Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation and Institute, which said the family believed he still poses a threat to others.

That sentiment was shared by Randy Newkirk, 61, who works for a distribution company.

"He should be in jail," Newkirk said while eating lunch at a Taco Bell. Newkirk, who lives outside Williamsburg, said his work frequently brings him to the town.

"If you're well enough to get out on account of mental problems, you're well enough to stand trial," he said. "You never know what might set him off."

Hinckley is no stranger to Williamsburg, a "living museum" known for its re-enactments of life during the American Revolution. Since 2003, he has spent increasingly extended furloughs there, visiting his mother, performing volunteer work and occasionally frequenting local shops.

Hinckley's behavior during those visits was mostly unremarkable, the federal judge wrote.

At a local Starbucks, a retiree who declined to give his name said he knew Hinckley but not very well.

"While I deplore what he did, I would have no problem with him being here," he said. "There are many mental health problems that can be treated successfully. He will be monitored closely. I would not anticipate any trouble."

After his admission to the hospital, doctors diagnosed Hinckley with depression and psychosis, but they say those conditions have been in remission for years.

Before the assassination attempt, Hinckley had become obsessed with Foster and the Martin Scorsese film "Taxi Driver," in which she played a teenage prostitute.

Hinckley began to identify with the film's main character, Travis Bickle, who planned to assassinate a fictitious presidential candidate, and spent years trying to make contact with Foster, who at the time was a Yale University student.

On March 30, 1981, Hinckley wrote Foster a letter detailing his plans to kill Reagan in an effort to win her over. Later that day, Hinckley approached the president outside the Washington Hilton Hotel and opened fire.

The judge's order imposes nearly three dozen conditions on Hinckley's release, including monthly meetings with his psychiatrist. Secret Service agents are likely to monitor his movements.

Jen Thurman, owner of Retro Daddio, a Williamsburg shop that sells old records and other goods, is not worried, saying she does not understand why anyone would get "twisted up" about Hinckley's release, pointing out that he has already spent a lot of time in the community.

"He's a nice man. He comes in the store about once a month to buy records. He doesn't bother anybody," she said.

(Writing by Frank McGurty; Editing by Jonathan Oatis)
The proposed settlement between federal and state regulators and Volkswagen regarding the companys cheating on emissions standards in nearly 500,000 diesel vehicles details how affected American consumers would be made whole. Plus, it spells out the ways in which the German-based company must compensate for the environmental damage done by the excess pollutants that VW diesels spewed into the atmosphere. Now out for public review, the settlement addresses many of the concerns raised by Consumer Reports, but it can be improved.

Consumers Union, the policy and mobilization arm of Consumer Reports, today submitted formal comments to the U.S. Department of Justice supporting the settlement, while urging regulators to consider and address several points before finalizing the agreement, including:

While the buyback and lease termination options are entirely justified, they should be revised to increase buyback values and ensure that all consumers who leased their vehiclesincluding those who used a company other than the VW Credit servicedo not incur any recall-related costs.

Consumers who receive an emissions fixif one is approved by regulatorsshould have a period of time to return a modified car if they are unsatisfied with how it operates. This would give them a second chance to take the buyback or lease termination. It would help VW get more consumers to participate in the recall by protecting them from being stuck with a car that has worse performance or fuel economy than it did before.

Any approved emissions modification program should clearly inform consumers of buyback or lease termination alternatives and better protect them from improper liability waivers or releases.

The recall rate target of 85 percent by June 2019 is appropriately ambitious. The target is backed by substantial penalties if the company falls short, but it should include earlier, staggered targets to motivate quicker action.

Consumers who sold a vehicle between September and June can split the owner restitution payment approximately 50/50 with the new owner, but they have only 45 days to identify themselvesa timeline that should be extended.



Requirements for salvage, resale, and export are generally appropriate, but labeling and disclosure obligations should extend to consumers abroad.

Regulators have broad oversight tools, but certain penalties should be stronger.

The zero-emission vehicle investment will help pay for the harm done, but it should not be fulfilled through government incentives or excess public outreach.

VW must completely offset any past, present, and future emissions through the mitigation trust.



Read the full comments submitted by Consumers Union (PDF).





More from Consumer Reports:

Top pick tires for 2016

Best used cars for $25,000 and less

7 best mattresses for couples



Consumer Reports has no relationship with any advertisers on this website. Copyright  2006-2016 Consumers Union of U.S.
The ongoing diesel emissions scandal has severely damaged Volkswagen's reputation in the U.S., and will be quite costly to remedy.

Under the terms of a settlement that recently received preliminary approval from a federal judge, VW must buy back or modify 466,000 2.0-liter TDI cars.

But the company may face far worse problems in South Korea.

DON'T MISS: VW diesel plan gets preliminary approval, but buyback offers won't start yet

Volkswagen sells relatively few cars in that country, and doesn't operate any factories there, but the government is coming down hard on the German carmaker.

It is suspending sales of most VW models, alleging the company forged documents for emissions and noise tests, reports Reuters.

The ban also includes models from Audi and Bentley, for which South Korea is a more important market than the main Volkswagen brand.

2017 Audi A4

The affected models include a mix of gasoline and diesel powertrains, and were sold as far back as 2007.

South Korea also fined VW 17.8 billion won ($16.1 million).

Volkswagen halted sales of most models in South Korea on July 25, in anticipation of the government's decision.

MORE: EU, consumer groups pressure VW for diesel cheat compensation in Europe

The company will likely have to re-certify all of the affected models before it can resume sales.

The certification process normally takes three months, but it may take longer for Volkswagen because regulators plan to be especially thorough, the South Korean environment ministry director Hong Dong-gon told Reuters.

At a public hearing on the matter at the National Institute of Environmental Research in Inchon, Volkswagen executives said that while mistakes had been made in documenting emissions and noise test results, the affected cars still met South Korean standards, according to Wards Auto.

2016 Bentley Continental GT Speed

The carmaker may take legal action against the sales ban.

In a letter to customers posted on its South Korean website, VW said it was considering requesting an "injunction of execution" against the decertification of its cars.

Story continues

In addition to government sanctions, Volkswagen also faces pressure from consumers to provide compensation for its alleged deception.

South Korean law firm Barun Law is bringing more than 4,500 civil suits against the carmaker, with many plaintiffs demanding substantially more compensation than U.S. TDI owners will receive.

They are asking for full refunds of the purchase prices or lease payments of cars andin some casespersonal damages.

_______________________________________________

Follow GreenCarReports on Facebook and Twitter
By Nandita Bose

CHICAGO (Reuters) - Wal-Mart Stores Inc (WMT.N) has implemented a new system for scheduling workers at 650 U.S. stores, the company said, as it aims to improve staffing levels during peak shopping times and offer more certainty over hours for employees.

The worlds largest retailer has acknowledged in the past that customer service needed to improve as it was hurting sales growth. Wal-Mart is investing $2.7 billion on pay and benefits and has led major retailers in raising minimum wages to $10 per hour. Wal-Marts new scheduling system could prompt others to follow.

The system, called Customer First Scheduling, was launched in all of Wal-Marts 650 small-format Neighborhood Markets in the last week of July with plans to eventually roll it out across the entire U.S. store network, although the company gave no timeframe.

If customers are coming in at a different time we have to be there at a different time. We will not last very long if we dont do that, Mark Ibbotson, vice president of central operations, told Reuters.

At the same time  associates have the option to choose what hours they want and see if they are available, he said.

The electronic system can prioritize scheduling for peak shopping hours by taking into account foot traffic and sales data from every department in each store. Staff are then allocated to the remaining shifts in order of importance.

Wal-Mart began last year to try and improve customer service with faster checkouts and better-stocked shelves.

The new system also aims to give employees more certainty over shifts and should cut down on the need to schedule employees on short notice.

Labor activists, unions and politicians have been pushing retailers, including Wal-Mart, to offer workers more predictable hours.

The new system allows some workers to have a fixed schedule with the same hours and days for up to six months. Those with unfixed schedules will only be slotted to work when they say they are available and will not be expected to be available on short notice.

Story continues

Currently, Wal-Mart managers allocate hours within the times employees say they are available to work.

EARLY PROBLEMS

The new system is ostensibly designed to increase workforce retention, but it was not immediately clear how it will affect overtime opportunities, an important component of low-paying retail jobs.

Ibbotson declined to comment on whether the system will affect the availability of overtime.

Labor groups, which have been calling for change, had mixed reactions to the new system.

Our Wal-Mart, a labor group that focuses on representing the retailers employees, said in a statement that the policy makes some improvements by adding fixed shifts and prioritizing peak hours. But it said the system does not address the problem of inadequate hours.

The United Food and Commercial Workers union, which has worked to unionize Wal-Mart employees but does not count any of the companys employees among its members, said in a statement it was not clear whether the changes will make a material difference in the problem of scheduling.

Fears of a cut in overtime pay led to worker protests across three cities in China last month when Wal-Mart launched a new but different scheduling system there.

Electronic schedules generated by the new U.S. system, which Wal-Mart developed with workforce software company Red Prairie, have thrown up some early problems.

Some days it will schedule one person on the entire front end from 7-11 a.m. and other days it just wont schedule at all until 1 p.m., said a store worker who spoke on condition of anonymity.

I didnt have a single cashier come in one day until mid-morning, the worker said.

(Reporting by Nandita Bose in Chicago; Editing by Jo Winterbottom and Leslie Adler)
Carrying humans to space is a dangerous endeavor, so NASA is thoroughly testing its next-generation human space vehicle.

NASA's Orion capsule could help astronauts on their way to Mars and other space locations someday. This week, a group of ground-based astronauts demonstrated the kind of testing that Orion is undergoing before it ever carries crewmembers into space.

In a short video released by the space agency, three NASA astronauts are shown testing the docking hatch  which would connect the capsule to a larger vehicle in space  on a mock-up version of Orion. The test will demonstrate how the hatch functions during an emergency situation.

"Today we're practicing an emergency escape as if we landed in the ocean and we can't use the side hatch because of large waves," NASA astronaut Rick Mastracchio said in the video. "So we're practicing egressing out the top of the docking hatch today."

The Orion mock-up is located at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston. Mastracchio was joined in the testing by astronauts Stephanie Wilson and Karen Nyberg.

The Orion spacecraft can carry two to six crewmembers at a time. The video shows that the quarters aboard Orion are somewhat cramped, and astronauts are intended to stay in the vehicle for only short periods of time. A journey to Mars would require a much larger vehicle for the crew during what could be a nine-month ride to the Red Planet.

In 2018, NASA plans to make the first test launch of the SLS rocket. During that test, the rocket will send the uncrewed Orion on a trip to the vicinity of the moon.

Follow Calla Cofield @callacofield. Follow us @Spacedotcom, Facebook and Google+. Original article on Space.com.

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Copyright 2016 SPACE.com, a Purch company. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Minnesota rap duo Atmosphere have unveiled their stirring new video for "Pure Evil." The gripping song tackles the issue of police brutality and it's from the group's politically charged LP Fishing Blues.

"Pure Evil" follows a police officer named Officer Daley in the immediate aftermath of an officer-related shooting. In striking images, Daley is seen riding his motorcycle down a desolate highway, his hand quivering after the violent incident. The video ends with Daley overcome by guilty, digging a hole in the desert and burning his uniform as he crouches naked beside the fire.



"We're proud to be part of a label that not only allows but encourages artists to make videos, singles, and focus tracks out of songs like this," Atmosphere's Slug said in a statement of the duo's label Rhymesayers.

Fishing Blues  which features guests like MF Doom, Aesop Rock, Kool Keith and I.B.E.  is due to drop in mid-August, but Pandora has an early stream of the album now. Atmosphere have also produced a series of "Fishing Blues with Sway Calloway videos, where Ant and Slug fish on Lake Minnetonka with the MTV VJ.







Related
Each election cycle, the list of most memorable political ads includes one involving a candidate shooting something.

In 2010, West Virginia Senate candidate Joe Manchin ran an ad in which he took dead aim at a climate change bill by shooting it with a rifle. In 2012, Ohio Congressional candidate Joe Wurzelbacher was filmed loading a shotgun and shooting several targets for an ad. In 2014, Kentucky Senate candidate Alison Lundergan Grimes went skeet shooting for an ad.

But Eric Greitens has escalated the ad war probably as far as it can go. In a new ad, the Missouri gubernatorial candidate is shown loading and firing a machine gun.

Eric Greitens is under attack from Obamas Democrat machine, a voiceover says as Greitens puts on protective eyewear and ear protection. But Eric Greitens is a conservative warrior and when he fights back, he brings out the big guns.

A former Navy Seal, Greitens won the Republican primary Tuesday after casting himself as a conservative outsider. In an ad during the primary, he was shown firing an assault rifle.
Jamie Dornan is out of the Red Room and into Nazi Germany for his new spy thriller, Anthropoid.



Based on a true story, the period piece tells the incredible tale of "Operation Anthropoid," the code name for a Czechoslovakian-led mission to assassinate SS officer Reinhard Heydrich. Heydrich, the main architect behind the Final Solution, was the Reich's third in command behind Hitler and Himmler and the leader of Nazi forces in Czechoslovakia.



The film follows two soldiers from the Czechoslovakian army-in-exile, Josef Gabcik ( Cillian Murphy) and Jan Kubis (Dornan), who are parachuted into their occupied homeland in December 1941. Living in a city on lockdown with limited means, they must find a way to assassinate Heydrich and change the course of the war.



In this exclusive new clip, Dornan and Murphy work to recruit a young woman named Marie Kovarnikova, played by Charlotte Le Bon, to their cause. Along with her friend, the real-life Kovarnikova received crucial daily information on Heydrich's whereabouts.







Written by Sean Ellis and Anthony Frewin and directed by Ellis, Anthropoid hits theaters Aug. 12.
In the summer of 1982, while he was still opposition leader in Bonn, future German chancellor Helmut Kohl expressed his concerns about the plans for a national Holocaust museum in the United States. Peter Petersen, a CDU member of the Bundestag, recorded what Kohl had said to a group of Bundestag parliamentarians about the museum, which the Jews, as Petersen put it, were building in Washington. In the early 1980s, he summarized Kohls statement: What would a young German visiting the United States think when he passed the Holocaust Museum on the Mall? . . . What would he feel when he saw his countrys entire history reduced to these twelve terrible years? Was this the way in which the United States was going to treat its most valued European ally?

Throughout the 1980s and the early 1990s, a network of mostly conservative West German officials and their associates in private organizations and foundations, with Kohl located at its center, perceived themselves as the victims of the afterlife of the Holocaust in America. They were concerned that public manifestations of Holocaust memoryfor example museums, monuments, and moviescould severely damage the Federal Republics reputation in the United States.

Of course, the Nazi past had affected the image of the Federal Republic abroad since its founding in 1949. But the 1980s were a unique time: as the Federal Republic came to see itself as a nation-state with its own positive traditions and history, it was a central goal of the Kohl government to escape Hitlers shadow. At this historical juncture, however, representatives of the American Jewish community, including prominent Holocaust survivors like Elie Wiesel, were also in the process of transplanting the perspective of Holocaust victims into the popular, political and academic culture of Germanys superpower ally, the United States.

The Kohl governments Holocaust angst culminated in the opposition to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum (USHMM). The museum, conceived in 1978 and completed in 1993, epitomizes what scholars like Alvin H. Rosenfeld have called the Americanization of the Holocaust. While there had been little continuous public engagement with the mass murder of European Jews outside of Jewish communities in the postwar decades, the discourse changed significantly in the 1970s. The Holocaust became an American memory, a moral point of reference in a variety of contexts. It still provides universal lessons for diverse groups, causes and beliefs.

Get your history fix in one place: sign up for the weekly TIME History newsletter

From the beginning, Kohls government exhibited a highly skeptical attitude toward the establishment of a museum that would permanently anchor Holocaust memory in American life. The leadership around Kohl considered the USHMM a state-sanctioned reduction of German history to the Holocaust and, as the German ambassador in Washington Peter Hermes stated it in the early 1980s, an anti-German museum. They assumed that it would portray Jews as victims, Americans as liberatorsand Germans only as mass murderers. Such a narrative not only collided with the Kohl governments domestic politics of history in the 1980s, with its emphasis on German wartime suffering and resistance to Nazism, but it also seemed to pose a threat to the countrys reputation abroad. Hence, Kohls government set out to influence the content of the museums permanent exhibition.

Through a series of behind-the-scenes interventions, a network of official and unofficial German emissaries attempted to integrate the history of German anti-Nazi resistance and of postwar West Germany into the exhibition concept. They aimed to show that not all Germans had been Nazis and that the Federal Republic had learned its lessons. For instance, they considered the countrys coping with the Nazi past, its model democracy and the alliance with Israel a success story, which should be told in the museum. For more than a decade, German intermediaries tried to convince the museum planners to design the exhibition accordingly, arguing that the museum would be incomplete without references to the good Germans that lived and suffered through the Third Reich as well as postwar West Germanys accomplishments. As claimed in interviews and oral history transcripts with former museum representatives Michael Berenbaum, Miles Lerman, and William Lowenberg, they also offered a very large donationup to $50 millionto make an even more convincing case in Washington.

West Germanys Holocaust angst was not just a question of image and prestige, but of real foreign policy concerns. Kohls government assumed that visiting a Holocaust museum could cause Americans to question the alliance with the Federal Republicthe pillar of German security and prosperity during the Cold War. A key advisor to Kohl, Hubertus von Morr, summarized this sentiment: We cannot understand why America wants its young people to go to that museum and come out saying, My God, how can we be allies with that den of devils?

A specific form of secondary anti-Semitism complemented and catalyzed German Holocaust angst. This defense mechanism against feelings of shame or guilt for the Holocaust revealed itself in the assertions that American Jews could not forgive the Germans and that they exploited the suffering of Jews during the Third Reich for political and financial gainan alleged conspiracy that Norman Finkelstein later controversially termed the Holocaust industry.

In the end, all German efforts to change the content of the USHMM failed.

Museum plannersmany of them Holocaust survivorsconsidered German demands for a modification of exhibition either illegitimate or irrelevant. They also rejected those demands based on their personal experience of persecution and suffering under Nazism. However, museum planners never intended to create an anti-German institution, but to firmly anchor in American life what they believed to be universal lessons of the Holocaust.

The Kohl government realized at some point that all efforts to change the USHMMs content were doomed, but they also acknowledged that American Holocaust memory was not an anti-German plot by American Jews. This learning process contributed to an indeed remarkable transformation: since the 1990s, Germany has completely reversed its position and fully acknowledged the Holocaust and its legacies. In fact, Kohl even stated in 1998, his last year as chancellor, that the memory of the Holocaust had become the core of Germanys self-concept as a nation. The countrys leadership also realized that this memory did not necessarily have to weaken Germanys international reputation, but rather that an open, unapologetic engagement bore the potential to strengthen it. In the course of the 1990s, the Holocaust therefore changed from a burden into a special responsibility.

Jacob S. Eder is a historian at the Friedrich-Schiller-University Jena, and the author of Holocaust Angst: The Federal Republic of Germany and American Holocaust Memory since the 1970s, from which this piece is adapted.
From Town & Country

When I was growing up, my parents made my brother and me dress up for everything: piano recitals, flights, theater outings, and dinners out at restaurants. We didn't always wear ties-especially when other men around us were often in their shirtsleeves-but I've never been what you'd call a casual dresser. I no longer dress to please my parents, but I understand now, more than ever, the importance of dressing up.

I recently called John Winterman, who used to work for Daniel Boulud as maitre d' at Daniel, and for Charlie Trotter before that, and asked if he thinks dressing up for dinner still matters.

"Absolutely," said Winterman, who's now managing partner at Batard in New York City. "I break it down into self-respect and respect for others."

Would someone's appearance affect the table they were assigned at, say, Daniel?

"On the record, yes," he said. "If someone comes in making an effort and looking fabulous and glamorous and they know they're in for a premium experience at a premium price, you give them a fabulous table in the middle of the room. And people react to that, when they see a crowd that's well-dressed and beautiful and sparkling."

I break it down into self-respect and respect for others.

Once Winterman had to turn away a regular who arrived to the restaurant in cut-off jeans and flip-flops. "We said, 'Doctor, we're very sorry but we can't serve you,' because once you make an exception for one person, it's a slippery slope."

Photo credit: "

Winterman, who said he's "never been in a city where what table you're sitting at is such a competitive sport," was quick to point out that dressing up doesn't necessarily require spending a lot of money. What matters, he said, is "does it fit well, does it create that silhouette, and is it made from quality materials?"

A few blocks south and east from Daniel, Le Perigord on East 52nd Street near Sutton Place is one of the few remaining restaurants that still requires gentlemen wear a tie under their jacket-kind of.

Story continues

"I'm so glad you called because this is a very important and very interesting subject in fine dining restaurants in New York," said 79-year-old Swiss native Georges Briguet when I reached him at his home above the restaurant. He's owned the restaurant with his French wife, Marie-Therese, for more than 50 years, and still spends most of his nights there (in a tuxedo, no less).

And while the restaurant was mentioned in a 1998 New York Times story as being among a handful of places that held onto their tie requirement for male diners, today Briguet has modified the rule. (The other restaurants on the list have either closed or switched to a dress code that requires a jacket but no tie.)

Photo credit: "

"In the old days, until business went down with the recession in 2009 and 2010, the dress code for men was simply jacket and tie," Briguet said. "Nobody would be served dinner by the chef at Le Perigord if he was not dressed properly. Unfortunately, today we have to pay the rent; we have to stay in business, and we cannot turn away the people who do not have a jacket and tie."

So the solution he's come up with is to separate the restaurant into two sections: around 80 percent of the clientele, "who are dressed for fine dining" (i.e. men wearing jackets and ties), sit on the formal side of the restaurant. Briguet seats the other 20 percent of "people who are very elegantly dressed but not dressed for fine dining" on the other side of the room, and "everyone is happy."

He recalled a recent evening when a well-dressed couple was sitting on a banquette and Briguet seated another couple next to them. After about half an hour, the man took off his jacket.

In the old days I would go over and I would ask him to put the jacket back on.

"In the old days I would go over and I would ask him to put the jacket back on, but today with the business being difficult you don't want to frustrate anyone," Briguet said. As it turned out, it was the woman on the banquette who would register a complaint, asking Briguet, "very discreetly," to be seated at another table.

"When she left, she said, 'I'm not choosing to sit for dinner next to a man without a jacket,'" Briguet said. "But those days of jacket and tie are practically over. We're getting more and more younger people because after 52 years, some of our first friends have moved to Florida or paradise or Mexico."

Two early rule-breakers at Le Perigord got away with it though.

Truman Capote, who used to live around the corner from the restaurant, came in without a tie. Briguet told him that he could not seat him without a tie. So the following week Capote arrived back at the restaurant wearing a beautiful jacket and tie on top, but Bermuda shorts on the bottom. Briguet said he thinks Capote might have expected to be turned away again, but he told him, "Monsieur, you have such beautiful legs. I wish people had such legs as you." Capote got a table for two that day.

The first women he allowed in the restaurant with pants was Jackie Kennedy, around 1966.

The first women he allowed in the restaurant with pants was Jackie Kennedy, around 1966: "In those days a woman was not allowed in a restaurant with pants," Briguet said. "I was the first fine dining restaurant to let Miss Jacqueline Kennedy in with black pants! She came in with a governor of New Jersey. I still remember the table." The hot pants fashion followed, and soon restaurateurs had no choice but to allow them.

Just like today, when even the fanciest restaurants will give a table to men who aren't wearing ties.
Meet the Press moderator Chuck Todd isnt worried that his show will lose viewers after the presidential election because Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton are both so interesting  and whatever happens, one of them has to win.

Every time you have a new and unique election, it brings in new people paying attention. Obama brought in a new group of people and they stayed engaged. Did they stay engaged at the same level as 08 [election]? No, Todd told TheWrap. Trump is bringing in new people. Will they stay engaged at the same level theyre at now? No. But a number of them will.

Todds Meet the Press recently had its most-watched July sweeps since 2008, and grew 26 percent in total viewers and 41 percent in the key news demo of adults age 25-54. MTP has the most year-over-year growth among Sunday show rivals Face the Nation and This Week and regularly wins the key demo of adults age 25-54.

Also Read: Melania Trump Fires Back at 'Inaccurate Reporting' of Visa Fraud: 'Simply Untrue'

Although MTP is bringing in the most viewers since the 2008-09 season when President Obama was first elected, Todd is looking forward to the post-election cycle that he calls an opportunity to keep extra eyeballs on Meet the Press.

Todd, who is also NBCs networks political director, has broadened the shows reach beyond Sunday mornings, with a daily version of MTP each weekday on at 5 pm. ET on MSNBC, articles across NBCs digital platforms and a ton of social media outreach, including weekly Facebook Q&As.

I wouldnt want to try it without [the extra exposure], he joked. I dont know if its one thing, but I do know that my fear is that the most fragile brands are weekly brands.

Also Read: NBC Boss on Network's Role in Creating Trump's Celebrity: That's TV's Job

Todd compared it to the weekly magazines that have died because the modern fractured media landscape moves too quickly for the format. He understands that you need a daily persona to thrive and was nervous taking over a weekly show without the additional exposure.

Story continues

Youve got to make it more accessible if you want people to watch he said. It was sometimes a little too ivory tower as a weekly brand.

While Todd clearly understands how the media landscape works, he feels Trump is a master at manipulating the news cycle. The MTP host pointed out that Trump often says one thing to infuriate his opponent and immediately goes somewhere else to discuss something completely different.

Also Read: Clint Eastwood on Donald Trump's Racism: 'Just F--ing Get Over It'

I just think he knows how to manage an hourly news cycle. Hes figured that out, Todd said before pointing out that Trump doesnt always have a strategy, despite the ability to manipulate the news cycle.

I dont know if he thinks long-term strategically on messaging, Todd said, pointing to Trumps recent comments urging Russia to find Hillary Clintons missing emails as a prime example.

Certainly he distracted Democrats a little bit, but I dont know what the pro-Putin constituency is, Todd said. Sometimes there is a method to the chaotic madness, sometimes there isnt.

Also Read: How 'NBC Nightly News With Lester Holt' Has Dominated Ratings During His First Year

Todd said hes often called on to deny Trump airtime until he releases his tax returns or apologizes for whatever the scandal of the day happens to be, but its not his role.

Thats fine if youre an activist, he said. Thats not our job.

Todd points out that both sides want the election to be a referendum on their opponent, as negativity helps motivate potential voters. The obvious place for a full-blown assault on each others character are the presidential debates, but the MTP host doesnt think theyre a lock to even take place.

Im not convinced that what we think is the schedule will be the schedule, I think Trump is going to be very, very picky. Hes never done a one-on-one debate before, Todd said. Im not convinced all three debates happen. It wouldnt shock me if we were one and done.

Also Read: Why Betting Against Fox News Is Risky for CNN, MSNBC Execs

He explained that if Trump does well in the first debate, he might not want to risk taking the stage for a second time. But if Trump struggles, he could also find a reason to back out.

I think he believes he has more control over this process and I think that when Trump thinks he can control a process, he usually wants to grab it. The debates are going to be a flash point, Todd said.

Either scenario would be ideal for political pundits seeking viewers.

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Donald Trumps successful presidential campaign might motivate other billionaires and celebrities to run for office in 2020

Donald Trumps successful presidential campaign will probably motivate other billionaires and celebrities to run for office in 2020. From Mark Cuban offering to be Hillary Clintons running mate to Kanye West declaring early, here are 14 potential candidates.

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Chuck Todd Thinks MSNBC Makeover Will Work and Media Is Not to Blame for The Donald Trump Show

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Photo: Snap Stills/REX Shutterstock.

I grew up in New Jersey. Not the part of New Jersey that's been made famous thanks to shows like Jersey Shore, The Sopranos, or even The Real Housewives of New Jersey. I grew up in the part of New Jersey with zero beaches and even less drama. By the time I was 18, I was over it. My teenage angst was further amplified by the fact that in the summer of 2003, I had just broken up with the first boy I had ever loved. I was getting ready to go to college, but I was only going to Pennsylvania. It wasn't far enough away from my humdrum formative years and recent heartbreak. The summer was progressing in a swirl of depression and monotony. I wanted to be far, far away, in someplace like...California.

Then, Seth Cohen appeared in my life.

On August 5, 2003, The O.C. premiered on FOX. It was everything I needed during that terrible summer. The trailer promised all the deliciously soapy hallmarks of a teen show set in a world that's traditionally kept behind closed doors. Ryan Atwood (Ben McKenzie) is a smart guy from the wrong side of the tracks who gets caught stealing a car. His county-appointed lawyer, Sandy Cohen (Peter Gallagher), sees Ryan's potential and takes Ryan to live with his family in the affluent community of Newport Beach in Orange County, California. It's a classic fish-out-of-water story, and viewers are meant to have a voyeuristic view of the posh, upscale world of Newport through Ryan's eyes.

Back to the Cohens, though. Sandy Cohen is one of the best TV dads ever. He's a classic New York Jew (my people) who's been transplanted to California, so he's a bit of a fish out of water himself, and that's why he feels like Ryan is a kindred spirit. He's married to Kirsten (Kelly Rowan)  she of the later-season drinking problem, constant facial grimace, and introduction of yogalates to the masses.

They have a son named Seth (Adam Brody). I love him, and not just because of his adorable face and gangly body. He has the exact type of neurotic-yet-sure-of-himself personality that speaks directly to my soul. He doesn't fit in at all in Orange County, so he's spent most of his life developing his hobbies and creative pursuits. Seth is an avid sailor. He loves comic books. He has a horse named Captain Oats in whom he confides  and somehow this is cute, not childish. He's sarcastic and quick with the quips, but not in a mean or hurtful way. He invented Chrismukkah, the new holiday that's "sweeping the nation  or at least the living room."

Story continues

Photo: Snap Stills/REX Shutterstock.

Until Ryan arrives, Seth is a total loner, and I just want to shake all the obnoxious girls at his school who've been overlooking him for years. Have they seen him? Dude is adorable. Seth Cohen is just the beginning of the wave of TV characters who are clearly already great in high school, but the rest of the world won't truly recognise their awesomeness until much later in life. It's fine, Seth. I see you. I also wouldn't fit in among the Newport Beach elite (unless they secretly appreciate cynicism and skin so pale it's translucent), and I feel like my personality didn't really hit its stride until I hit 21 or so.

Many people credit Seth Cohen/Adam Brody with formulating the "adorkable" ideal long before Zooey Deschanel, but that's not at all why I love him. When I look at Seth Cohen, I see someone who's comfortable being alone  because he knows how to deal with sadness and anxiety  but also wants to use humour to make friends and connections. He's a kindred spirit, and not just because of the Jewish neuroses we share.

Sure, Seth Cohen makes mistakes. He's a teenager, after all. Once Ryan joins the Cohen family, Seth starts gaining confidence now that he finally has a friend. This leads him to having his first romantic encounters with not just one but two girls (Rachel Bilson and Samaire Armstrong). Sure, he kind of jerks them both around. But Seth Cohen was basically living my best life in the summer of 2003. He was experiencing the same heartbreak I was, for the very first time, but he wasn't letting it destroy him the way mine was. I couldn't decide whether I wanted to emulate him, date him, or both. Probably both, even though he'd probably leave me for his one true love, Summer Roberts (Bilson).

It's hard to separate Adam Brody from Seth Cohen. He recently starred in a Neil LaBute show called Billy & Billie (he played the first Billy), and I was kind of in love with the character he played on that show, too. Never mind that Billy is extremely self-centred, not particularly thoughtful, and isn't a good boyfriend. After finishing Billy & Billie, I needed to get back to Brody basics, so I decided to re-watch The O.C. to see if my feelings for Seth Cohen still ran nearly as deep 12 years later. They did.

And if you happen to know a real-life Seth Cohen, please have him email me. We could get together for bagels...or burritos.

Photo: Courtesy of Fox.

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It does look fishy as all get out: $400 million in assorted denominations, stacked on wooden pallets and flown to Tehran in the dead of night by the government of the United States. Hours later, five imprisoned Americans are released and board planes to freedom. If that situationwhich took place in Januarydoesnt look like a hostage deal, what does?

Answer: The actual hostage deal that in fact accounts for the cash payment, which President Obama said on Thursday was not a ransom.

The currency shipped to Iran in the dead of night drew attention from presidential candidate Donald Trump this week, who on Friday appeared to walk back an earlier assertion that he had seen a payment being delivered. But that money was owed to the Islamic Republic since 1979, the year the U.S. froze all the Iranian funds in American banks as retribution for seizure of the U.S. embassy in Tehran, as revolution swept that nation.

What was universally known as the Iran hostage crisis went on for more than a year, and finally ended with a bargain: In exchange for the release of 52 American diplomats and citizens, both sides agreed to resolve the question of money through international arbitration. The Iran-United States Claims Tribunal has trudged along for almost four decades now, and the money has flowed both ways. By 1983, Iran had returned $896 million to U.S. banks, which in turn had returned hundreds of millions in frozen funds to Iran. Today, private claims from the U.S. side have been resolved to the tune of $2.1 billion.

But still at issue as Obama began his second term was $400 million that Iran in the late 1970s had paid for U.S. fighter jets, while Tehran was still a U.S. ally. After it turned into an enemy in 1979, Washington was not about to deliver the jets. But, all these years later, Iran wanted its money backand with interest.

Get your history fix in one place: sign up for the weekly TIME History newsletter

Story continues

All told, Tehran was asking The Hague arbitrators (comprising equal numbers of U.S., Iranian and neutral judges) for $10 billion. Fearing they might actually be awarded that much, or something like it, the Obama administration negotiated privately with Tehran, which agreed to settle for $1.7 billion. The $400 million stacked on pallets was the first installment.

The day it arrived, however, a great deal else was going on. January 17 was the day the international compact rolling back Irans nuclear program was set to take formal effect. It was also the day that Iran had, privately, agreed to release five Americans it had imprisoned on spurious charges. At the same time, the Obama administration would release seven Iranians the U.S. had held for violating sanctionsthe same sanctions that had brought Iran to the negotiating table, and indeed had necessitated doing business in cash, Irans banks having been cut off from the international banking system.

There were a lot of moving parts and fraying nerves at the timeand the whole teetering contraption nearly came crashing down when a couple of U.S. Navy river boats strayed into Iranian waters, and were taken by the Revolutionary Guards five days before the big day. To those who follow U.S.-Iranian relations, the swiftness of the sailors releasethe very next daywas the most impressive indication of how badly both sides wanted January 17 to come off as planned.

At least till now.

The pallets of Euros and Swiss francs are even more vivid a symbol. To Iran-watchers, they show how badly Obamas team wanted to bolster Irans moderate leaders, who had promised their public that the nuclear deal would produce immediate economic improvements. It also helps to bear in mind that Irans theocratic government works on a patronage system. When Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was president, it was his loyalists who got the contracts to smuggle Irans oil past the sanctions; President Hassan Rouhani is now grappling with the fallout from paying his own people tens of thousands a month. In short, cash and a show of good will were much in demand.

Were the prisoners a factor? Even on Jan. 17, when the apparent quid pro quo was Obamas grant of clemency to the seven Iranians, the concept of hostage-taking haunts every transaction with Iran.

The mullahs insisted that Jimmy Carter have left office before releasing the 52 original hostages, minutes after Ronald Reagan was sworn in Jan. 21, 1981. The arms for hostages scandal that marred Reagans second term brought together Iran, Central American insurgencies and U.S. prisoners held by Iranian surrogates.

Nor was President Obama the first president to look for leverage in The Hague. A flurry of claims settlements in 1989 came as President George H.W. Bush attempted to persuade Tehran to help release more American hostages, a group that was being held in Lebanon. Id like to get this underbrush cleaned out now, Bush said, after the U.S. announced it was releasing $567 million in frozen assets to Tehran. I hope, Bush added, they will do what they can to influence those who hold these hostages.

At the time, a State Department official quoted in TIME acknowledged what amounted to a dance: You want to do things that are justifiable on their own merits and defensible in terms of U.S. interests. And if Iran wants to take it as a signal, fine. And, if not dandy, at least the way things seem to work with Iran.
Global health officials are racing to better understand the Zika virus behind a major outbreak that began in Brazil last year and has spread to many countries in the Americas. The following are some questions and answers about the virus and current outbreak: How do people become infected? Zika is transmitted to people through the bite of infected female mosquitoes, primarily the Aedes aegypti mosquito, the same type that spreads dengue, chikungunya and yellow fever. The Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) said Aedes mosquitoes are found in all countries in the Americas except Canada and continental Chile, and the virus will likely reach all countries and territories of the region where Aedes mosquitoes are found. How do you treat Zika? There is no treatment or vaccine for Zika infection. Companies and scientists are racing to develop a safe and effective vaccine for Zika, but the World Health Organization (WHO) had said early in 2016 that it would take at least 18 months to start large-scale clinical trials of potential preventative shots. A vaccine is not expected to be ready for widespread use for at least two or three years. U.S. government researchers said they started their first clinical trial of a Zika vaccine. How dangerous is it? The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention concluded that infection with the Zika virus in pregnant women is a cause of the birth defect microcephaly and other severe brain abnormalities in babies. The CDC said now that the causal relationship has been established, several important questions must still be answered with studies that could take years. According to the World Health Organization, there is strong scientific consensus that Zika can cause the birth defect microcephaly in babies, a condition defined by unusually small heads that can result in developmental problems. In addition, the agency said it could cause Guillain-Barre syndrome, a rare neurological disorder that can result in paralysis. Conclusive proof of the damage caused by Zika may take months or years. Brazil reports the number of confirmed cases of microcephaly at more than 1,700 as doctors and Brazilian health officials find that some suspected cases of microcephaly are not the disorder. Suspected ones under investigation had declined to 3,257. Brazil registered 91,387 likely cases of the Zika virus from February until April 2. Current research in Brazil indicates the greatest microcephaly risk is associated with infection during the first trimester of pregnancy, but health officials have warned an impact could be seen in later weeks. Recent studies have shown evidence of Zika in amniotic fluid, placenta and fetal brain tissue. What are the symptoms of Zika infection? People infected with Zika may have a mild fever, skin rash, conjunctivitis, muscle and joint pain and fatigue that can last for two to seven days. But as many as 80 percent of people infected never develop symptoms. The symptoms are similar to those of dengue or chikungunya, which are transmitted by the same type of mosquito. How can Zika be contained? Efforts to control the spread of the virus focus on eliminating mosquito breeding sites and taking precautions against mosquito bites such as using insect repellent and mosquito nets. U.S. and international health officials have advised pregnant women to avoid travel to Latin American and Caribbean countries where they may be exposed to Zika. How widespread is the outbreak? Active Zika outbreaks have been reported in at least 54 countries or territories, most of them in the Americas, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Brazil has been the country most affected. (http://1.usa.gov/1ovAJyh) Africa (1): Cape Verde Americas (45): Anguilla, Antigua, Argentina, Aruba, Barbados, Barbuda, Belize, Bolivia, Bonaire, Brazil, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Curacao, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, French Guiana, Grenada, Guadeloupe, Guatemala, Guyana, Haiti, Honduras, Jamaica, Martinique, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Saba, Puerto Rico, Saint Barthelmy, Saint Lucia, Saint Martin, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Saint Eustatius, St. Maarten, Suriname, Trinidad and Tobago, Turks and Cacos, U.S. Virgin Islands and Venezuela. Oceania/Pacific Islands (8): American Samoa, Fiji, Kosrae, Federated States of Micronesia, Marshall Islands, New Caledonia, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, and Tonga. What is the history of the Zika virus? The Zika virus is found in tropical locales with large mosquito populations. Outbreaks of Zika have been recorded in Africa, the Americas, Southern Asia and the Western Pacific. The virus was first identified in Uganda in 1947 in rhesus monkeys and was first identified in people in 1952 in Uganda and Tanzania, according to the WHO. Can Zika be transmitted through sexual contact? The World Health Organization (WHO) said sexual transmission is "relatively common" and has advised pregnant women not to travel to areas with ongoing outbreaks of Zika virus. It also advised women living in areas where the virus is being transmitted to delay getting pregnant. The U.S. CDC is investigating about a dozen cases of possible sexual transmission. Those cases involved possible transmission of the virus from men to their sex partners. But the CDC issued updated recommendations for preventing and testing for Zika infection on July 25, warning that the virus can be transmitted through unprotected sex with an infected female partner. A reported case of female-to-male sexual transmission in New York City, and limited human and non-human primate data indicating that Zika virus RNA can be detected in vaginal secretions, led to the new warning, the agency said. CDC's expanded warnings on sexual exposure to Zika now caution against sex without a condom or other barrier method of protection with any person, male or female, who has traveled to or lives in an area with Zika, including female to female transmission with a pregnant partner. British health officials reported Zika was found in a man's semen two months after he was infected, suggesting the virus may linger in semen long after infection symptoms fade. The PAHO said Zika can be transmitted through blood, but this is an infrequent transmission mechanism. There is no evidence Zika can be transmitted to babies through breast milk. The WHO has identified Zika cases in Argentina, Chile, France, Italy and New Zealand as likely caused by sexual transmission. What other complications are associated with Zika? Zika has also been associated with other neurological disorders, including serious brain and spinal cord infections. The long-term health consequences of Zika infection are unclear. Other uncertainties surround the incubation period of the virus and how Zika interacts with other viruses that are transmitted by mosquitoes, such as dengue. (Compiled by the Americas Desk)
TORONTO, ON / ACCESSWIRE / August 5, 2016 / Wi2Wi Corporation (Wi2Wi or the Company) (YTY.V), announces that Mr. Michael Pesner has resigned as a director and Chair of the audit committee. Mr. Sharad Mistry has resigned as Chief Financial Officer and continues as a director. Ms Dawn Leeder has been appointed the Chief Financial Officer of the Company.

Ms. Leeder has over 35 years of experience in budgeting, cost accounting, financial reporting and analysis, ERP systems, international accounting, acquisitions, auditing and human resource management. She possesses a Bachelor's Degree in Business Administration and Finance along with Certificate in Human Resource Management. She is a member of IMA (Institute of Management Accountants) and SHRM (Society for Human Resource Management. Formerly, she was the chief financial officer of Precision Devices, Middleton, Wisconsin. Prior to joining Precision devices, she held various management positions in various companies.

Mr. Daniel Phelan, the Chairman of the board will assume the role of the Chair of the audit committee

"We thank Michael for his guidance and contribution as Chair of audit committee and director and wish him well in his future endeavours. We also thank Mr. Sharad Mistry for acting as CFO and for his continuing support of Company," said Zachariah Mathews, President and CEO of Wi2Wi.

For further information, please contact:

Zachariah Mathews

President and Chief Executive Officer

408 416 4202

zach@wi2wi.com

About IoT and M2M

Essentially, IoT and M2M describe the network of physical objects or "things" embedded with electronics, software, sensors, and network connectivity, which enables these objects to collect and exchange data. Driven by several factors including the growth in the availability of Broadband Internet, which reduces the cost of connecting, and the related increase in Wi-Fi capabilities as well as sensors built into myriad technologies, this has been described as the "perfect storm"for the IoT. Almost any device with an on and off switch that can be connected to the Internet (and/or to each other) - anything from cell phones, coffee makers, washing machines, headphones, lamps, wearable devices, cars, as well as machine components in the engine of a jet airplane or the drill of an oil rig. According to analyst firm Gartner, by 2020 there will be over 26 billion connected devices. Others think this figure could be too conservative by a factor of four.

Story continues

About Wi2Wi Corporation

Wi2Wi is a vertically-integrated technology company which designs, manufactures and markets high performance, low power wireless connectivity solutions, global navigation satellite system (GNSS) modules, and frequency control devices. The Company's products and services address numerous applications in the markets of Internet of Things (IoT), Machine to Machine (M2M), Avionics, Space, and Government Sponsored Projects. Wi2Wi's products and value-added services provide highly integrated, rugged, robust, and reliable multiprotocol wireless actuators with embedded software, along with customized timing and frequency control devices for customers, worldwide. The Company was founded in 2005 and is strategically headquartered in San Jose, California with satellite offices in Middleton, Wisconsin and Hyderabad, India. Wi2Wi's manufacturing operations, its laboratory for reliability and quality control, together with design and engineering for timing and frequency control devices are located in Middleton, WI. The branch office, located in Hyderabad, India, focuses on the development of wireless connectivity; both hardware and software. Wi2Wi's strategic objective is to service the unique needs of each customer by providing end to end wireless integration solutions and highly customizable timing and frequency control devices. Wi2Wi distinguishes itself from commodity grade products, with best in the market performance, highly reliable, low power wireless connectivity products with integrated software that supports broader temperature ranges and a longer product life cycle. Furthermore, Wi2Wi's end to end product solutions helps the customer substantially reduce their end product expense, certification cost, and overall R&D investment, in addition to substantially reducing the time to market. Wi2Wi has partnered with best in class global leaders in technology, manufacturing, and sales. The Company uses a wide network of manufacturer's representatives, worldwide, to promote its products and services, and has partnered with world class distributors for the fulfillment of orders along with direct sales.

Forward-Looking Statements: This news release contains certain forward-looking statements, including management's assessment of future plans and operations, and the timing thereof, that involve substantial known and unknown risks and uncertainties, certain of which are beyond the Company's control. Such risks and uncertainties include, without limitation, risks associated with the ability to access sufficient capital, the impact of general economic conditions in Canada, the United States and overseas, industry conditions, stock market volatility. The Company's actual results, performance or achievements could differ materially from those expressed in, or implied by, these forward-looking statements and, accordingly, no assurances can be given that any of the events anticipated by the forward-looking statements will transpire or occur, or if any of them do so, what benefits, including the amount of proceeds, that the Company will derive there from. Readers are cautioned that the foregoing list of factors is not exhaustive. Additional information on these and other factors that could affect the Company's operations and financial results are included in reports on file with Canadian securities regulatory authorities and may be accessed through the SEDAR website (www.sedar.com). Forward-looking statements are made based on management's beliefs, estimates and opinions on the date the statements are made and the Company undertakes no obligation to update forward-looking statements and if these beliefs, estimates and opinions or other circumstances should change, except as required by applicable law. All subsequent forward-looking statements, whether written or oral, attributable to the Company or persons acting on its behalf are expressly qualified in their entirety by these cautionary statements. Furthermore, the forward-looking statements contained in this news release are made as at the date of this news release and the Company does not undertake any obligation to update publicly or to revise any of the included forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as may be required by applicable securities laws.

Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

SOURCE: Wi2Wi Corporation
From Woman's Day

Celebrating a 75th birthday is a milestone for anyone, but for Frances Gillett, who lives in England, this birthday is a really, really big deal.

Frances is believed to be the world's oldest woman with Down syndrome, according to the Daily Mail. When she was born in 1941, people diagnosed with Down syndrome where only expected to live until their mid-20s. The birthday girl has clearly defied expectations. Not only that, Frances has also beaten breast cancer and tuberculosis.

Her big birthday is on August 7, but she recently celebrated it a group home in Ely, Cambridgeshire. Family and friends showered her with gifts, cards, cake, and lots of hugs.

"Frances is really and truly amazing and over the years she has become more than a resident, she is like family," Wayne Bent, one of the owners of the home, told local reporters. The 75-year-old moved in 12 years ago, after living with her parents for her whole life.

Here's to an amazing 75th birthday, Frances!

(h/t Daily Mail)

Follow Woman's Day on Instagram.
By Henning Gloystein

SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Oil traders on Friday were lamenting the imminent demise of their main communication tool, Yahoo Messenger, which has been an industry standard since the late 1990s.

To some traders' surprise, the software was still operating and in use during New York trading hours, even though Yahoo Inc had set Aug. 5 as the date for shutting down the legacy version of its chat that many were reluctant to give up.

Because Yahoo was free, it democratized access across market participants, as a trader only needed a computer and internet connection. The new version does not meet the industry's standards for compliance, which is why traders have to move elsewhere.

Traders and analysts have been preparing for the inevitable transition this week, putting their new ICE, AOL and Skype usernames in their Yahoo messages to avoid losing contacts.

"You have no idea how much I'll miss Yahoo Messenger," said a senior oil trader in Singapore who has been in the business for 20 years.

"I built up hundreds of contacts on it over more than a decade. I have Yahoo friends I have never met, but with whom I spent many hours bantering and joking. It also made me a lot of money. Now that it's gone, I could cry."

With Messenger's end, the highly-opaque oil industry may become even more so, given the challenge of the fragmented communication market.

Some said it could force players back to the telephone.

"I think any cross-broking from one messenger platform may mean people use the old friend  the phone," said Matt Stanley, a fuel oil broker at Freight Investor Services in Dubai.

Yahoo, which in July announced the sale of its core business unit to Verizon Communications Inc, took the oil industry by storm in the late 1990s.

Its free instant messaging technology revolutionized the industry, helping usher in a new era of high-speed communication that changed the way millions of barrels of oil traded daily.

But the online, follow-up version to Yahoo's standalone messaging software cannot be used by the industry. It fails to meet compliance standards because conversations cannot be saved locally.

Story continues

"It's kind of a pain registering and getting started again," said Tariq Zahir at Tyche Capital Advisors. "It works fine, but traders are creatures of habit. You get used to it."

As a result, oil traders, brokers, analysts and also reporters covering the oil industry have been scrambling for alternatives.

They include ICE's Instant Messaging; Symphony, in which 18 of the world's biggest financial institutions hold stakes; Bloomberg Messenger; Thomson Reuters' Eikon Messenger; AOL's AIM and Facebook's WhatsApp.

(Additional reporting by Libby George in London and Catherine Ngai in New York; Editing by Richard Pullin, Dale Hudson and David Gaffen)
A former firefighter has been arrested for allegedly burning the home of a black firefighter in upstate New York.

Matthew Jurado, 39, admitted to police that he burned Kenneth Walkers home in North Tonawanda, N.Y., in retaliation for being let go from his volunteer firefighter job, the New York Daily News reports. Jurado was Walkers neighbor, and while they had both trained together, they worked at two different departments.

Walker had received a racist and threatening letter on Monday. Jurado did not claim responsibility for the letter, but said he knows who wrote it, the Daily News reports. Jurado told police his crime was not race related.

Walker and his family were not in the house when it burned down, but they lost two cats, their home and their belongings.
A New York lawmaker introduced a Blue Lives Matter bill Thursday, making the Empire State the latest to consider offering police officers special protections under hate crime law.

Protecting the men and women that risk their lives protecting the public every single day is [the] paramount concern for me as an elected official, said Republican assemblyman Ronald Castorina, who proposed legislation that would make assaulting a police officer a hate crime.

Existing hate crime laws apply to attacks motivated by the victims race, religion, nationality, sexual orientation, age, disability and gender. But Castorina now joins a growing list of U.S. lawmakers who seek to expand those statutes to include police officers as a protected class, akin to ethnic minorities or members of the LGBT community.

A protester confronts a New York City police officer during a march against police brutality in Manhattan, July 9, 2016. (Photo: Bria Webb/Reuters)

Following a number of failed attempts to pass similar legislation at the state and federal level, Louisiana became the first state to enact a so-called Blue Lives Matter law this May.

And while the latest FBI data shows a significant decline in police murders and targeted assaults on law enforcement officials, recent deadly attacks on police officers in Dallas and Baton Rouge, La., have prompted lawmakers in places like Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, Chicago and now New York to follow Louisianas lead.

We now live in a world where police officers are attacked for no reason other than their badge, New York City Council Member Joe Borelli said in a statement Thursday. Here in New York City, we are fortunate to have one of the most iconic departments in the world, which in terms of hate crimes against cops, puts an unusually large bulls-eye on our officers. I am calling on our state legislature to pass a Blue Lives Matter bill to add additional hate crime-related charges on those who would violently attack our thin blue line.

By invoking the states hate crime statutes, the Blue Lives Matter bill would elevate New Yorks already harsh penalties for violence against law enforcement officials. Under the proposed legislation, assault against a police officer would go from a Class C felony to a Class B felony, which is punishable by up to 25 years in prison. Aggravated assault on an officer, currently considered a Class B felony, would now classify as Class A, carrying a potential life sentence.

Story continues

People will now think twice before they assault a police officer with the knowledge that they could be charged with a hate crime, Castorina stated, arguing that such increased penalties will result in increased safety for police.

Donna Lieberman, executive director of the New York Civil Liberties Union, dismissed this argument, suggesting that enacting such legislation would do little to improve the safety of New Yorks police officers nor its citizens.

Of course its important to punish those who assault police officers, but this bill is just political pandering, Lieberman said in a statement to Yahoo News on Thursday. Any politician truly committed to making New York safer for everyone must increase trust between police and the people they are sworn to protect by holding officers accountable when they abuse civilians too.
A pair of students captured distressing footage of a young humpback whale struggling off the Sunshine Coast after getting caught in a shark net, on July 27. The twin teenagers, Ada and Eugenie Hearn, were in the water filming the shark nets for a research assignment when they captured the video. The whale struggles and thrashes in and out of the water, fortunately the girls said it managed to get away unharmed.

Shark nets are a source of controversy in Australia  this is not the first whale to get caught in a Noosa net  with conservationists and environmentalists arguing other animals get caught in them unnecessarily. Credit: Ada and Genie Hearn
For Immediate Release

Chicago, IL  August 05, 2016  Zacks.com announces the list of stocks featured in the Analyst Blog. Every day the Zacks Equity Research analysts discuss the latest news and events impacting stocks and the financial markets. Stocks recently featured in the blog include Aratana Therapeutics, Inc. (PETX), Dynavax Technologies Corporation (DVAX), Heron Therapeutics, Inc. (HRTX) and La Jolla Pharmaceutical Co. (LJPC).

Today, Zacks is promoting its ''Buy'' stock recommendations. Get #1Stock of the Day pick for free.

Here are highlights from Thursdays Analyst Blog:

Drug Stock Earnings to Watch for Friday

How does the earnings picture look like as we near the tail end of the second-quarter reporting cycle? Actual Q2 results are turning out to be less ominous than what was expected. With 73.5% (as of Jul 29) of the S&P 500 members having already reported results, this trend is expected to continue through the end of the earnings season. Of the 317 S&P 500 companies that have reported as of Jul 29, 72.9% topped earnings expectations while 53.6% surpassed revenue estimates.

Notwithstanding this modest improvement, growth still remains elusive and Q2 is headed to be the fifth quarter in a row to record an earnings decline for the S&P 500 index.

Now with several pharma and major biotech companies having released their earnings results, it is clear that Medical is one of the few sectors witnessing earnings and revenue growth this season. Our Q2 scorecard shows that 63.5% of the Medical sector have reported results with a blended beat of 75.8% (the percentage of companies that have beaten both EPS as well as revenue estimates) with the sector recording 5.4% earnings growth on revenue growth of 10.5%.

Per our Earnings Trends report, Medical is one of the six sectors expected to record earnings growth in Q2.

This is also corroborated by the second-quarter performance of some well-known names in the Medical sector. Companies like Johnson & Johnson, Novartis, Abbott, Biogen, Amgen, AbbVie, Bristol-Myers, and Celgene have surpassed expectations, and some among these even raised their outlook for the year. However, the biggest drag was biotech major Gilead Sciences. The company barely managed to beat earnings by a penny and even cut its product sales guidance for the year.

Story continues

Still, several mid- and small-sized pharma and biotech companies are yet to report Q2 results. Lets take a sneak peek at four such companies.

Will These Drug Stocks Pull a Surprise?

Pet therapeutics company, Aratana Therapeutics, Inc. (PETX) is focused on licensing, developing and commercializing innovative biopharmaceutical products for companion animals. This Leawood, KS-based company has a decent track record. The company has beaten estimates in three of the last four quarters with an average positive surprise of 10.69%. Aratana currently carries a Zacks Rank #3. The stocks Zacks Rank #3 when combined with an Earnings ESP of 0.00% makes surprise prediction uncertain. The company will report second-quarter results on Aug 5.

ARATANA THERAP Price and EPS Surprise | ARATANA THERAP Quote

Headquartered in Berkeley, CA, Dynavax Technologies Corporation ( DVAX) is a biopharmaceutical company focused on the discovery and development of vaccines and therapeutics. Dynavaxs track record so far has been mixed with the company surpassing expectations on two occasions, while missing estimates in the other two. Overall, the company has delivered a negative surprise of 4.19%. This Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) stock also has an ESP of 0.00% making a surprise prediction difficult this quarter. The company is expected to release Q2 results on Aug 5.

DYNAVAX TECH CP Price and EPS Surprise | DYNAVAX TECH CP Quote

Based in Redwood City, CA, Heron Therapeutics, Inc. (HRTX) is a biotechnology company focused on the development of novel, patient-focused solutions that apply its innovative science and technologies to already-approved pharmacological agents for patients suffering from cancer or pain. Herons track record has also been mixed with the company surpassing expectations on two occasions, while missing the same on the other two. Heron currently has a Zacks Rank #4 (Sell) and an ESP of +3.13%. As it is, we caution against Sell-rated stocks (#4 or #5) going into an earnings announcement. The company is expected to release Q2 results on Aug 5.

HERON THERAPEUT Price and EPS Surprise | HERON THERAPEUT Quote

San Diego, CA-based La Jolla Pharmaceutical Co. (LJPC) is a biopharmaceutical company focused on the discovery, development and commercialization of innovative treatments for patients suffering from life-threatening diseases. La Jollas performance has been mostly disappointing with the company missing expectations in three of the last four quarters with an average negative surprise of 9.18%. Though the stocks Zacks Rank #3 increases the predictive power of the ESP, it also has an ESP of 0.00%, making a surprise prediction uncertain this quarter. The company is expected to report second-quarter results on Aug 5.

LA JOLLA PHARMA Price and EPS Surprise | LA JOLLA PHARMA Quote

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The following timeline charts the origin and spread of the Zika virus from its discovery nearly 70 years ago:

1947: Scientists researching yellow fever in Uganda's Zika Forest identify the virus in a rhesus monkey

1948: Virus recovered from Aedes africanus mosquito in Zika Forest

1952: First human cases detected in Uganda and Tanzania

1954: Virus found in Nigeria

1960s-80s: Zika detected in mosquitoes and monkeys across equatorial Africa

196983: Zika found in equatorial Asia, including India, Indonesia, Malaysia and Pakistan

2007: Zika spreads from Africa and Asia, first large outbreak on Pacific island of Yap

2012: Researchers identify two distinct lineages of the virus, African and Asian

201314: Zika outbreaks in French Polynesia, Easter Island, the Cook Islands and New Caledonia. Retrospective analysis shows possible link to birth defects and severe neurological complications in babies in French Polynesia

March 2, 2015: Brazil reports illness characterized by skin rash in northeastern states

July 17: Brazil reports detection of neurological disorders in newborns associated with history of infection

Oct. 5: Cape Verde has cases of illness with skin rash

Oct. 22: Colombia confirms cases of Zika

Oct. 30: Brazil reports increase in microcephaly, abnormally small heads, among newborns

Nov. 11: Brazil declares public health emergency

November 2015-January 2016: Cases reported in Suriname, Panama, El Salvador, Mexico, Guatemala, Paraguay, Venezuela, French Guiana, Martinique, Puerto Rico, Guyana, Ecuador, Barbados, Bolivia, Dominican Republic, Nicaragua, Curacao, Jamaica

Feb. 1: World Health Organization (WHO) declares public health emergency of international concern

Feb. 2: First case of Zika transmission in United States; local health officials say likely contracted through sex, not mosquito bite

Feb. 5: U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says virus being actively transmitted in 30 countries, mostly in the Americas

Feb. 8: U.S. President Barack Obama requests $1.8 billion to fight Zika

Story continues

Feb. 12: Brazil investigating potential link between Zika infections and 4,314 suspected cases of microcephaly. Of those, 462 confirmed as microcephaly and 41 determined to be linked to virus

Feb. 17: Brazil investigating potential link between Zika and 4,443 suspected cases of microcephaly. Of those, 508 confirmed as microcephaly and most of those cases are linked to the virus. WHO seeks $56 million to fight Zika.

Feb. 18: CDC adds Aruba and Bonaire to countries and territories with active outbreaks, bringing total to 32.

Feb. 23: CDC investigating 14 cases of possible sexual transmission of Zika. CDC also adds Trinidad and Tobago and Marshall Islands to countries and territories with active outbreaks, bringing total to 34.

Feb. 25: Brazil says confirmed microcephaly cases number more than 580 and considers most of them to be related to Zika infections in the mothers. Brazil is investigating an additional 4,100 suspected cases of microcephaly.

Feb. 27: France detects first sexually transmitted case of Zika.

Feb. 29: CDC adds St. Maarten, and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines to countries and territories with active outbreaks, bringing total to 36.

March 1: Brazil says confirmed microcephaly cases rose to 641 and considers most of them to be related to Zika infections in the mothers. Brazil is investigating an additional 4,222 suspected cases of microcephaly.

March 8: WHO advises pregnant women to avoid areas with Zika outbreak and said sexual transmission of the virus is "relatively common."

March 9: CDC adds New Caledonia to countries and territories with active outbreaks, bringing total to 37.

March 15: Cuba reports first case of Zika contracted in the country.

March 16: Cape Verde identifies first case of microcephaly.

March 18: CDC says during Jan. 1, 2015 to Feb. 26, 2016, 116 residents of the United States had evidence of recent Zika virus infection based on laboratory testing.

Brazil says confirmed microcephaly cases rose to 863 and considers most of them to be related to Zika infections in the mothers. Brazil is investigating an additional 4,268 suspected cases of microcephaly.

March 19: CDC adds Cuba to countries and territories with active outbreaks, bringing total to 38.

March 21: South Korea confirms first case of Zika.

March 22: CDC adds Dominica to countries and territories with active outbreaks, bringing total to 39. Bangladesh confirms first case of Zika virus.

Brazil says confirmed microcephaly cases rose to 907 and considers most of them to be related to Zika infections in the mothers. Brazil is investigating an additional 4,293 suspected cases of microcephaly.

March 29: Brazil says confirmed microcephaly cases rose to 944 and considers most of them to be related to Zika infections in the mothers. Brazil said the number of suspected cases of microcephaly dropped slightly to 4,291.

March 31: According to the World Health Organization, there is a strong scientific consensus that Zika can cause the birth defect microcephaly as well as Guillain-Barre syndrome, a rare neurological disorder that can result in paralysis, though conclusive proof may take months or years.

April 1: CDC adds Kosrae, Federated States of Micronesia to countries and territories with active outbreaks, bringing total to 40.

April 4: CDC adds Fiji to countries and territories with active outbreaks, bringing total to 41.

April 5: Vietnam reports first Zika infections.

April 6: Brazil says confirmed microcephaly cases rose to 1,046 and considers most of them to be related to Zika infections in the mothers. The number of suspected cases of microcephaly dropped to 4,046.

April 7: St. Lucia confirms first two cases of Zika, contracted locally.

April 12: Brazil says confirmed microcephaly cases rose to 1,113 and considers most of them to be related to Zika infections in the mothers. The number of suspected cases of microcephaly dropped to 3,836. It was the second week in a row that the overall total figure fell.

April 13: The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention concluded that infection with the Zika virus in pregnant women is a cause of the birth defect microcephaly and other severe brain abnormalities in babies. The CDC said now that the causal relationship has been established, several important questions must still be answered with studies that could take years.

CDC adds St. Lucia to countries and territories with active outbreaks, bringing total to 42.

April 14: Colombia confirms two microcephaly cases linked to Zinka.

April 18: Peru reports first case of sexually transmitted Zika virus.

CDC adds Belize to countries and territories with active outbreaks, bringing total to 43.

April 19: Chilean authorities find Zika mosquito for first time in decades.

April 25: Canada confirms first sexually transmitted Zika case.

April 26: Brazil says the number of confirmed cases of microcephaly climbed to 1,198 from 1,168 in the week through April 23, but suspected ones under investigation continued to decline to 3,710 from 3,741 a week ago.

Brazil registered 91,387 likely cases of the Zika virus from February until April 2, the health ministry said, in its first national report on the epidemic.

April 29: Puerto Rico reports first death related to Zika, according to the CDC. The country also confirmed 683 Zika cases, including 65 pregnant women, and five suspected cases of Guillain-Barre syndrome from Zika, the CDC reported.

May 4: Panama confirms four microcephaly cases tied to Zika.

May 6: Spain gets first case of Zika-related brain defect in a fetus.

May 9: CDC adds Papua New Guinea, Saint Barthelemy and Peru to countries and territories with active outbreaks, bringing total to 46.

Honduras suspects first case of microcephaly in Zika patient.

May 11: Brazil says the number of confirmed cases of microcephaly dropped to 1,326 in the week through May 7 as doctors and Brazilian health officials find that some suspected cases of microcephaly are not the disorder. Suspected ones under investigation continued to decline to 3,433.

May 12: CDC adds Grenada to countries and territories with active outbreaks, bringing total to 47.

May 13: Puerto Rico reports first case of Zika-related microcephaly.

May 20: WHO says an outbreak of Zika virus on the African island chain of Cape Verde is of the same strain as the one blamed for birth abnormalities in Brazil.

May 24: Brazil reports the number of confirmed cases of microcephaly at 1,434 for the latest week to May 21. Suspected ones under investigation declined to 3,257.

May 26: CDC adds Argentina to countries and territories with active outbreaks, bringing total to 48.

June 9: WHO issues updated guidelines on prevention of sexual transmission of the Zika virus, including advising women living in areas where the virus is being transmitted to delay getting pregnant.

June 14: El Salvador confirms first case of microcephaly linked to Zika.

June 23: CDC reports seven babies in the United States with microcephaly or other Zika-related birth defects such as serious brain abnormalities, and five lost pregnancies from either miscarriage, stillbirth or termination.

June 28: First baby with Zika-related birth defect microcephaly born in Florida.

June 30: CDC adds Anguilla to countries and territories with active outbreaks, bringing total to 49.

Guinea-Bissau confirms three cases of Zika, government says.

Spain records first case of sexually transmitted Zika virus, health authorities said.

July 8: CDC confirmed that a Utah resident's death last month is the first Zika-related death in the continental United States.

July 14: CDC adds Saint Eustatius to countries and territories with active outbreaks, bringing total to 50.

July 15: New York City's health department reports the first female-to-male transmission of the Zika virus.

July 18: CDC reports that caregiver of Utah man who died of Zika tested positive for virus.

July 19: Florida health officials are investigating a case of Zika virus infection that does not appear to have stemmed from travel to another region with an outbreak.

July 21: CDC reports 400 pregnant women in U.S. with evidence of Zika infection, up from 346 a week ago. The health agency also reports three more babies born in U.S. with birth defects linked to the Zika virus, bringing total to 12.

Florida Department of Health said it was investigating a non travel-related case of Zika in Broward County, marking the second such case in the U.S.

July 22: New York City health officials reports first baby born with Zika-related birth defect.

July 25: Spain reports first case in Europe of baby born with Zika-related defect.

CDC issues updated recommendations for preventing and testing for Zika infection, warning that the virus can be transmitted through unprotected sex with an infected female partner.

July 26: Honduras detects 8 cases of babies with Zika-related defect.

CDC adds Saba to countries and territories with active outbreaks, bringing total to 51.

July 27: Paraguay reports first cases of microcephaly linked to Zika.

July 29: Florida authorities report what is believed to be the first evidence of local Zika transmission in the continental United States.

Aug. 1: Florida identifies 10 more cases of Zika virus caused by mosquitoes, bringing total to 14. CDC issues guidelines for pregnant women who live in and traveled to affected area in a Miami neighborhood.

Aug. 2: Health authorities in Florida add one more case of locally transmitted Zika, bringing total to 15.

CDC adds Antigua, Barbuda, and Turks and Cacos to countries and territories with active outbreaks, bringing total to 54.

Aug. 3: U.S. researchers said they launched Zika vaccine clinical trial.

Aug. 4: Cuba reports two cases of locally transmitted Zika.

Aug. 5: Florida health authorities report another locally transmitted case, bringing total to 16.

SOURCES: World Health Organization, U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Reuters

(Reporting by Ben Hirschler; Editing by the Americas Desk)
First Lady Michelle Obama makes the sweetest post for President Obamas birthday, and were dying!

First Lady Michelle Obama makes the sweetest post for President Obamas birthday, and were dying!

We just love love and absolutely admire President Obama and First Lady Michelles relationship. Our First Lady wished our POTUS a very happy birthday with a sweet photo and message today, giving us serious goals in the process.

55 years young and that smile still gets me every single day. Happy birthday, Barack. I love you. -mo A photo posted by First Lady Michelle Obama (@michelleobama) on Aug 4, 2016 at 7:34am PDT

55 years young and that smile still gets me every single day. Happy birthday, Barack. I love you. -mo, she wrote, being sure to leave her personal signature of MO, so wed all know it came directly from the source.

How cute!

This isnt the first time our POTUS and FLOTUS showed PDA for all of us to fawn over. Check out a few of our favorite BO and MO moments below!

Like President Obamas adorable message to commemorate their wedding anniversary! We dieeeeeee.

"You and I" #21Years A photo posted by Barack Obama (@barackobama) on Oct 3, 2013 at 5:31pm PDT

President Obama is so chivalrous.

Wishing you and all your loved ones a very Merry Christmas! A photo posted by First Lady Michelle Obama (@michelleobama) on Dec 25, 2015 at 9:05am PST

And a couple that makes embarrassing faces together, stays together.

Inside all of us is a wild thing. #EasterEggRoll A photo posted by First Lady Michelle Obama (@michelleobama) on Mar 28, 2016 at 7:03pm PDT

Our hearts are melting!

 A photo posted by First Lady Michelle Obama (@michelleobama) on Mar 10, 2016 at 5:01pm PST

#goals.

The post First Lady Michelle Obama makes the sweetest post for President Obamas birthday, and were dying! appeared first on HelloGiggles.
LAS VEGAS  Are you an Airbnb customer? Are you an owner who rents out property using Airbnb, or any other short-term rental service? If so, you're at risk of being hacked if there's a Wi-Fi router in the rental unit, a security researcher said at the Black Hat 2016 conference here today (Aug. 4).

Jeremy Galloway, a researcher with Atlassian, said that too few homeowners keep the Wi-Fi router behind lock and key. If they don't, he said, any short-term tenant can get physical access to the router and then reset or modify it, with possibly disastrous results.

"When an attacker can touch your hardware," Galloway said, "you don't just have bad network security  you have no network security."

MORE: Your Router's Security Stinks: Here's How to Fix It

The scope of the danger became apparent to Galloway during a ski trip in Colorado, he said. Taking a break from the slopes, he figured he'd prank his friends by tweaking their Airbnb rental's Wi-Fi router to redirect network traffic to unexpected locations.

"I expected it would take me a couple of hours," he told the conference audience. "Instead, I found that I could just pick up the router and turn it over. Getting into it took me five minutes."

Security experts know that most home Wi-Fi routers have pretty poor security, especially because many users never change a given model's default administrator name and password. But even if the admin credentials are changed, Galloway said, there's a often built-in backdoor  the paperclip-activated reset button.

"I call this the Average Paperclip Threat," he joked, a nod to the advanced persistent threats, or APTs, about which information-security consultants warn corporations. "My APT is all that it takes to wipe out an entire layer of security."

With a paperclip, Galloway said, any kid with a laptop can reprogram the rental unit's Wi-Fi router to enable remote administration (to access it later), change the network name or password, block specific websites, turn on parental controls or, perhaps most dangerously, change the Domain Name Server (DNS) settings so that the router gets its Web addressing information from a malicious source.

Story continues

Malicious DNS servers could send someone logging into Gmail, for example, to a completely different site that only looks like the Gmail login page. The site could capture the user's Gmail address and password, then send the user to the real Gmail login page, none the wiser.

"If a bored teenager can hack your network, you're in trouble," Galloway said.

He cautioned one- or two-night renters against using a rental unit's Wi-Fi network, and suggested they instead use their smartphones to get online.

"Think twice before having an unprotected 'one-network stand,'" Galloway joked.

Because of the grave potential for harm, he said, both homeowners and renters need to take precautions with rental-unit Wi-Fi. First and foremost, homeowners need to make routers inaccessible to tenants.

"Lock it in a closet, or in a locked room," Galloway said. "Or put it in an electronics enclosure," a locked box transparent to radio signals.

Homeowners should periodically factory-reset their routers, he added, just to clear out anything that might have accumulated. They should never share their personal Wi-Fi networks, if their own living quarters are next to the rental unit. They might also consider not offering Wi-Fi access at all.

Renters should manually set their DNS settings on all devices they travel with, Galloway said, such as to Google's dependable "8.8.8.8" DNS server. That way, a malicious router can't redirect Web traffic.

He also suggested that renters enable two-factor authentication on all online accounts that permit it, minimizing the chances of an account hijack, and to use commercial virtual-private-network services such as TunnelBear.

To see what kinds of attacks upon your devices might be possible, "watch Mr. Robot," Galloway said. "If you watch that show, you're exposing yourself to more security knowledge than 99 percent of the population."

But, he added, unsecured routers and sloppy Wi-Fi security in short-term rental units will be with us for some time.

"This problem is not going away anytime soon," Galloway said. "There's no patch, update or easy fix."

Copyright 2016 Toms Guides , a Purch company. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Today Translations is confident that demand for emoji translation is set to grow (AFP Photo/MIGUEL MEDINA) (AFP/File)

San Francisco (AFP) - Apple and Microsoft on Friday appeared to be aiming in opposite directions with freshly unholstered gun emojis.

A pistol character included among glyphs for messages sent using coming iOS 10 software powering Apple mobile devices looked like a toy instead of a real firearm.

New emojis teased by Apple in a blog post included women athletes, single parents, a rainbow flag, and a green water pistol.

California-based Apple promised that more than 100 new or redesigned emoji characters will be available to iPhone and iPad users when iOS 10 software is released later this year.

Apple billed it as "an exciting update" with emojis that "reflect the diversity of people everywhere."

Apple did not respond to an AFP request for comment regarding the apparent decision to make a gun emoji that appeared less menacing than the real thing.

It remained unclear whether Apple made the change in response to recent high-profile episodes of gun violence, as some theorize.

While the change was welcomed by groups devoted to preventing gun violence, it provoked online backlash by those unhappy with the move.

"I have never seen an emoji change so poorly received," Emojipedia.org founder Jeremy Burge said in a blog post.

"And this isn't even in the hands of most people yet."

Meanwhile, a Windows operating system update rolled out this week by Microsoft came with a pistol emoji changed from a cartoonish ray gun to a revolver.

Microsoft said in a blog post that it had a team design new emojis from scratch for the major Windows 10 anniversary update.

"They needed to feel more human, more personal, more expressive," Microsoft said in the post devoted to the new array of 'glyphs' that have become a standard for mobile messaging.

"The effect is clear, and pretty striking."

A Microsoft spokesperson told AFP that the company's intent with every glyph is to "map to industry designs or our customers' expectations" regarding what emojis mean.

Apple's toy gun emoji, if it isn't changed before the official release of iOS 10, would break from more realistic looking glyphs offered by major messaging platforms.
Here it is, the ultimate evidence that Samsung has "invented" the Apple Watch. After all, Samsung did make smartwatches long before Apple did. And a Samsung patent application clearly shows images of the Apple Watch.

DONT MISS: The only bad cell company is Sprint

Yes, I am kidding about Samsung inventing the Apple Watch, but Samsung is dead serious about copying Apple. For some very strange reason, the company thought its really okay to just publish drawings in a legal document that are blatant copies of a piece of hardware belonging to the competition. Thats even more worrying considering that Samsung is copying Apple. Again.

From engineers to designers to the lawyers who submitted the documentation, it seems that nobody working for Samsung cared about the fact that drawings depicting what has already become an iconic product in this nice are present in the patent. Check them out:

Anyone whos ever seen an Apple Watch will recognize some of its apparent design markings, including the rectangular watch face, the Digital Crown, and the secondary button, and the heart rate sensor on the back. Even the straps resemble actual Apple products.

As Business Insider explains, the patent application also contains generic smartwatch drawings, so its puzzling to see an Apple product in a patent thats supposed to describe strap technology that might be seen in future Samsung smartwatch designs.

Samsung has a long history of copying the iPhone, with US courts having already ruled for Apple in the past  although Samsung managed to gain a few notable victories in appeals itself. Many people already regard Samsung as an Apple imitator, regardless of what courts say. And Samsung may not be done copying just yet.

Trending right now:

See the original version of this article on BGR.com
By Alexandria Sage CONCORD (Reuters) - Self-driving trucking start-up Otto is poised to put its software in the hands of long-haul truckers by the end of this year for testing, its co-founders said on Thursday. Otto, co-founded by Google car and map project veterans Anthony Levandowski and Lior Ron, will also begin testing five retrofitted Volvo trucks at Northern California's autonomous vehicle testing grounds, GoMentum Station, in coming weeks. By the end of the year, small owner-operators and larger commercial partners will begin using Otto's self-driving kit, Levandowski told Reuters at the facility in Concord, north of San Francisco, adding the company has a target of "thousands" of testers by 2017. Otto has not yet announced when the technology will be ready for sale. Launched in May, Otto focuses on maximizing the efficiency and safety of long-haul trucks, which spend much of their time on the side of the road as drivers rest. The Otto trucks are equipped with a series of sensors and mapping technology to allow them to gauge their position on highways and make real-time driving decisions. It's unknown just how Otto's partners will test the trucks, but Otto's vision allows the driver to leave the wheel, similar to a plane's "autopilot" system. Many experts believe full self-driving technology will first roll out in the trucking sector, rather than in passenger cars. Autonomous driving lends itself to highways, where trucks do not have to contend with pedestrians and the myriad distractions of city streets. Ron said trucks fitted with Otto software can drive more than double their normal daily mileage. "There is a very strong return on investment." Since its launch, Otto has received hundreds of emails from mom-and-pop owner-operators around the country asking to use the technology, Ron said. Otto's staff has more than doubled to 90 employees from 40 in May, and the self-funded company now has a fleet of five test trucks. (Reporting By Alexandria Sage; Editing by Bernard Orr)
Apple will shell out thousands of dollars to researchers who discover and report critical bugs in its software, the company announced Thursday.

Hackers participating in the bug bounty program, which launches in September, could earn up to $200,000 depending on the type of vulnerability they find. Apple unveiled the program during the Black Hat cybersecurity conference in Las Vegas, according to The Wall Street Journal.

Coders wishing to take part will need an invitation from Apple. The Cupertino, Calif. company is seeking only researchers who have previously disclosed security issues to the company. That said, Apple does plan to expand the program, and it wont turn away new researchers with useful information.

Bug bounty programs are common among large technology companies, who pay so-called white hat hackers to find and report software vulnerabilities that could have been exploited by malicious actors. Google, Facebook, and Uber all have bug bounty initiatives of their own that can result in a hefty amount of cash for researchers. Google announced earlier this year that it had paid out $6 million in rewards to security researchers since 2010.
By Henning Gloystein SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Oil traders on Friday were lamenting the imminent demise of their main communication tool, Yahoo Messenger, which has been an industry standard since the late 1990s. To some traders' surprise, the software was still operating and in use during New York trading hours, even though Yahoo Inc had set Aug. 5 as the date for shutting down the legacy version of its chat that many were reluctant to give up. Because Yahoo was free, it democratized access across market participants, as a trader only needed a computer and internet connection. The new version does not meet the industry's standards for compliance, which is why traders have to move elsewhere. Traders and analysts have been preparing for the inevitable transition this week, putting their new ICE, AOL and Skype usernames in their Yahoo messages to avoid losing contacts. "You have no idea how much I'll miss Yahoo Messenger," said a senior oil trader in Singapore who has been in the business for 20 years. "I built up hundreds of contacts on it over more than a decade. I have Yahoo friends I have never met, but with whom I spent many hours bantering and joking. It also made me a lot of money. Now that it's gone, I could cry." With Messenger's end, the highly-opaque oil industry may become even more so, given the challenge of the fragmented communication market. Some said it could force players back to the telephone. "I think any cross-broking from one messenger platform may mean people use the old friend  the phone," said Matt Stanley, a fuel oil broker at Freight Investor Services in Dubai. Yahoo, which in July announced the sale of its core business unit to Verizon Communications Inc, took the oil industry by storm in the late 1990s. Its free instant messaging technology revolutionized the industry, helping usher in a new era of high-speed communication that changed the way millions of barrels of oil traded daily. But the online, follow-up version to Yahoo's standalone messaging software cannot be used by the industry. It fails to meet compliance standards because conversations cannot be saved locally. "It's kind of a pain registering and getting started again," said Tariq Zahir at Tyche Capital Advisors. "It works fine, but traders are creatures of habit. You get used to it." As a result, oil traders, brokers, analysts and also reporters covering the oil industry have been scrambling for alternatives. They include ICE's Instant Messaging; Symphony, in which 18 of the world's biggest financial institutions hold stakes; Bloomberg Messenger; Thomson Reuters' Eikon Messenger; AOL's AIM and Facebook's WhatsApp. (Additional reporting by Libby George in London and Catherine Ngai in New York; Editing by Richard Pullin, Dale Hudson and David Gaffen)
Safariland LLC has landed a $7.3 million contract to supply the New York City Police Department with ballistic gear.

Specifically, the Jacksonville, Florida-based company will deliver 20,000 high-performance Delta 4 helmets, 12,000 Hardwire Type III armor plates and 6,000 TAC PR plate racks, according to a press release.

The equipment, which officers will begin wearing in September, is designed to protect them from threats from gunmen carrying more powerful firearms, officials said.

The department is seeking to acquire "heavy duty vests -- vests that would be capable of stopping rounds fired from weapons like we saw in Baton Rouge, Louisiana," New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio said during a July 25 press conference.

The Baton Rouge shooter was identified as Gavin Long, a former Marine who spent time in Iraq and was discharged at the rank of sergeant in 2010. Armed with an IWI Tavor SAR 5.56 caliber rifle and a Springfield XD 9mm pistol, he shot and killed three law enforcement officers and injured three others in a July 17 attack. One of the slain officers was Matthew Lane Gerald, 41, a veteran of both the Army and Marine Corps.

"The traditional vests that our officers wear under their shirts ... are the latest [and] state-of-the-art, but will not stop unfortunately some of the weaponry that American" police officers have been facing on the streets, de Blasio said.

The Safariland contract is but one of many being issued by the NYPD, which has spent $323 million in the last 18 months to acquire and train personnel on the new protective gear, the mayor said.

"You name it, we're buying it," he said at the press conference.
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Introducing a few new books for your late summer reading, including the latest from one of La Bloga's faves, Martin Limon , and bilingual science mysteries just in time for back-to-school. A lso , in case you might want to catch me reading from my newest book, here's a list of upcoming events, celebrations, and literary happenings. Hope to see you at one.



Manuel Ramos



New Books







Martin Limon

Soho - June



[from the publisher]

South Korea, 1974. US Army CID Sergeants George Sueno and Ernie Bascom are assigned an underwhelming case of petty theft: Major Frederick M. Schulz has accused Miss Jo Kyong-ja, an Itaewon bar girl, of stealing twenty-five thousand won from him  a sum equaling less than fifty US dollars. After two very divergent accounts of what happened, Miss Jo is attacked, and Schulz is found hacked to death only days later. Did tensions simply escalate to the point of murder?



Looking into other motives for Schulzs death, George and Ernie discover that the major was investigating the 501st Military Intelligence Battalion: the Armys counterintelligence arm, solely dedicated to tracking North Korean spies. The division is rife with suspects, but its dangerous to speak out against them in a period of Cold War finger-pointing. As George and Ernie go head-to-head with the battalions powerful, intimidating commander, Lance Blood, they learn that messing with the 501st can have very personal consequences.



Martin Limon retired from military service after twenty years in the US Army, including ten years in Korea. He is the author of nine previous books in the Sergeant George Sueno series: Jade Lady Burning, Slicky Boys, Buddhas Money, The Door to Bitterness, The Wandering Ghost, GI Bones, Mr. Kill, The Joy Brigade, and Nightmare Range. He lives in Seattle.

Gabrielle Lucille Fuentes

Touchstone - September





[from the publisher]

A searing, beautifully written novel that captures the exhilaration and dangers of 1970s post-Franco Spain. Mosca, a bitterly jaded young woman, goes on a harrowing search for her missing brotherand the history that destroyed their lives. Violent, heartbreaking, unforgettable, The Sleeping World is a stunning debut ( Cristina Garcia, author of Dreaming in Cuban).





Spain, 1977. Military rule is over. Bootleg punk music oozes out of illegal basement bars, uprisings spread across towns, fascists fight anarchists for political control, and students perform protest art in the city center, rioting against the old government, the undecided new order, against the universities, against themselves





Mosca is an intelligent, disillusioned university student, whose younger brother is among the disappeared, taken by the police two years ago, now presumed dead. Spurred by the turmoil around them, Mosca and her friends commit an act that carries their rebellion too far and sends them spiraling out of their provincial hometown. But the further they go, the more Mosca believes her brother is alive and the more she is willing to do to find him.





The Sleeping World is a beautiful, daring novel about youth, freedom, and doing whatever it takes to keep a family together, in a nation whose dead walk the streets and whose wars never end.





Eric Yoder and Natalie Yoder

Science, Naturally - August



[from the publisher]

Become a science sleuth with the bilingual edition of our award-winning book, One Minute Mysteries: Short Mysteries You Solve With Science! Each one-page mystery is featured in both English and Spanish.







Conviertase en un genio de la ciencia con esta edicion bilingue de nuestro premiado libro, Misterios de Un Minuto: Mas misterios cortos que resuelves con ciencia! Cada misterio de una pagina es disponible en ingles y espanol.



Incluidos estan misterios sobre la tierra, el espacio, la vida, la fisica, la quimica y las ciencias naturales. Ahora usted podra resolver estos rompecabezas en dos idiomas!



These mysteries have a clever twistyou have to be a super sleuth, tapping into your science wisdom and critical thinking skills to solve them. Each story takes just one minute to read and challenges your knowledge in a variety of science disciplines. These brainteasers keep you engaged and eager to learn more. Written by the same father-daughter team that brought you the award-winning



Estos misterios contienen un giro impredecible, debes ser un super detective, utilizando tus conocimientos cientificos y pensamiento critico para resolverlos. Cada historia se lee en solo un minuto y te desafia sobre una variedad de disciplinas cientificas. Estos enigmas te mantendran cautivado y ansioso de aprender mas. Escritos por el mismo equipo de padre e hija que les presento el premiado libro de los Mysteries in earth, space, life, physical, chemical and general science are included. Now you can solve science brainteasers in two languages!Conviertase en un genio de la ciencia con esta edicion bilingue de nuestro premiado libro, Misterios de Un Minuto: Mas misterios cortos que resuelves con ciencia! Cada misterio de una pagina es disponible en ingles y espanol.Incluidos estan misterios sobre la tierra, el espacio, la vida, la fisica, la quimica y las ciencias naturales. Ahora usted podra resolver estos rompecabezas en dos idiomas!These mysteries have a clever twistyou have to be a super sleuth, tapping into your science wisdom and critical thinking skills to solve them. Each story takes just one minute to read and challenges your knowledge in a variety of science disciplines. These brainteasers keep you engaged and eager to learn more. Written by the same father-daughter team that brought you the award-winning 65 Short Mysteries You Solve With Math! , this entertaining and educational book is great for kids, grown-ups, educators, and anyone who loves good mysteries, good science, or both!Estos misterios contienen un giro impredecible, debes ser un super detective, utilizando tus conocimientos cientificos y pensamiento critico para resolverlos. Cada historia se lee en solo un minuto y te desafia sobre una variedad de disciplinas cientificas. Estos enigmas te mantendran cautivado y ansioso de aprender mas. Escritos por el mismo equipo de padre e hija que les presento el premiado libro de los Misterios cortos que resuelves con matematica! Este entretenido y educativo libro es ideal para ninos, adultos, educadores, o cualquier persona que disfrute de buenos misterios, buena ciencia, o ambos.

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My Schedule of Upcoming Events

( more to be added)





August 14: Reading, talking, signing books at the RUDOLFO "CORKY"GONZALES LIBRARY My Bad: A Mile High Noir. Reading, talking, signing books at the1498 N. Irving Street, Denver., 2:00 P.M. - 4:00 P.M. I plan to read from my upcoming novel



September 2: TENNYSON STREET LIT CRAWL. Tea for Ewe I'll be part of an entertaining group of writers at the, 4234 Tennyson Street, Denver, 7:00 P.M.



September 10: COLORADO BOOK FESTIVAL, Mug Shots: Creating Memorable Sleuths , 1:15 P.M. - 1:55 P.M., with fellow mystery writers Rex Burns, Jennifer Kincheloe, and moderator Bruce Most. Central Library, 10 W. Fourteenth Ave. Pkwy, Denver, 11:00 A.M. - 4:00 P.M. I'll have a booth with books and I'm on a panel:1:15 P.M. - 1:55 P.M.,with fellow mystery writersand moderator



September 24-25: JAIPUR LITERATURE FESTIVAL Of Murders and Mysteries: Stories Behind Stories, with Margaret Coel and Laura Pritchett; and Race, Class and Gender with Michael Patrick MacDonald, Amrit Kaur Lohia, Andrew Lam and Marcia Douglas - times to be announced. Main Library, 1001 Arapahoe Ave, Boulder, 9:00 A.M. - 7:00 P.M. I'll be part of two presentations:withandandwithand- times to be announced.



September 29: UNIVERSITY OF COLORADO AT COLORADO SPRINGS. I spend the day on the beautiful UCCS campus talking with students, conducting a workshop, and making a presentation in the evening.



October 14-15: ROCKY MOUNTAIN LITERARY FESTIVAL , Mount Vernon Country Club, Evergreen. I'll be at this unique festival both days; my presentation is set for 11:30 A.M. on October 15.
The sounds of African drumming and storytelling took center stage July 20 at the Bangor, Holmen and Onalaska public libraries.Oba William King played his jembe drum, sang songs and told his African-style tales to library patrons as part of the library systems summer reading program.

King beat the goat skin top of his goblet-shaped hardwood drum as he sang songs from Africa, inviting the audience to sing along using the African words he taught the youngsters and adult library patrons. The young audience members were also given the chance to try their hands at drumming.

The theme of this years county library summer programming has been Book a Trip! Read Around the World!, which encouraged readers to read about different cultures and the geography of other lands.
As the blare of a foghorn is heard across town, no one bats an eye as one of a half dozen trains begins to roll through.

The sound of heavy steel wheels screeching across the railroad tracks is a sound Coulee Region residents are all too familiar with. Most days, these trains go almost unnoticed. Many dont even hear them anymore; its an all too common occurrence.

Except today, its no ordinary train. A massive freight train carrying crude oil from out west strikes an unknown obstacle, derailing the train. Train cars are strewn on either side of the tracksome are in peoples yards, others in their homes.

Somewhere in the pile of twisted steel, an oil tanker is leaking thick black crude onto the tracks.

Area police departments converge of the town helping to evacuate schools, daycares and nursing homes from the area. Local police and fire departments leap into action to prevent a blaze that could engulf the accident site.

As the first responders extract the last of the survivors from the accident site, a train car catches fire, erupting into a massive cloud of black smoke. From all directions, cars and buses can be seen streaming from the town as a mile-wide evacuation order goes into place.

Within a few hours, its a ghost town; everyone within a mile of the crash has been evacuated to temporary shelters in neighboring communities.

It isnt clear when the residents will be able to return to their homes. It could be days, weeks, monthsin the early hours of the accident, no one knows.

This is exactly the kind of scenario that the La Crosse County Emergency Management Office hopes never to confront. The role of those at the office is to plan for the worst and hope for the best.

Over the past two years, the department has received grants to plan for the unthinkable: a train derailment in a populated area along one of the several BNSF rail lines.

The program was born out of the increase of shipping of Bakken crude oil, Emergency Management Office Coordinator Keith Butler said.

Increased train traffic due to the burgeoning Bakken oil fields has increased the flow of crude oil in recent years. More oil is flowing through the heart of the Coulee Region.

Earlier this year, a Canadian Pacific freight train derailed just south of Brownsville, Minn., sending three containers careening into the water.

In this case, these containers were carrying soybean oil, of which only a small quantity leaked from the upturned tanker cars. The environmental impact was minimal. It could have been a lot worse, a crude oil spill in the Mississippi could have had long-standing ecological repercussions lasting decades.

Oil isnt the only volatile chemical that could prove life-threatening.

A few months earlier in November 2015, a BNSF freight train derailed near Alma, leaking an unknown quantity of ethanol into the the Mississippi river. More than 100 area residents were voluntarily evacuated.

Earlier this year, the department received a second grant to put together similar evacuation plans along the Canadian Pacific rail lines east of La Crosse. These included those along Rockland, Bangor, West Salem and Onalaska.

The department is working to meet with these communities to develop a standardized evacuation plan. These meeting are taking place at several of the communities most affected by the Canadian Pacific rail line.

West Salem Police Chief Charles Ashbeck attended a recent meeting to discuss evacuation plans in the event of a train derailment or other disaster.

The goal is to create an evacuation plan for the village of West Salem, Ashbeck said. If a train derails, chances are, they are going to want to evacuate everyone within a half-mile.

He said while the meeting revolved around a train derailment scenario, he could see other reasons a plan of this nature would be useful. This is because the plan helps identify liabilities such as schools, daycares, nursing homes and other vulnerable population centers in West Salem.

It also identifies possible meeting points where displaced residents can stay until they could return to their homes in the event of an accident.

Ashbeck said it is difficult to develop evacuation plans in Wisconsin because most residents are used to bunkering in verses getting out.

In northern states, we dont have to do evacuations, he said.

For this reason, the Emergency Management Office looked to states where evacuations are common, such as those along the Gulf Coast where hurricanes are common.

Southern states, especially those on the gulf, have evacuation plans in place, he said.

Ashbeck noted that unlike southern states which sometimes have weeks to evacuate cities in the path of hurricane, a train derailment could happen in the blink of an eye.

According to Butler, the question of how to evacuate residents safely from their homes was a sticking point in all of the communities. Ashbeck said the group discussed the possibility of changing West Salems tornado sirens to add an additional tone to signal an evacuation.

The problem that comes with introducing a new siren would be one of education. Ashbeck explained that there would have to be a large educational campaign to teach residents about the sirens to ensure that they dont bunker down when they really need to leave.

However, his ideal plan would involve a more cumbersome process to get evacuation alerts sent to everyones cell phone the same way Amber and weather alerts are.

Volunteer firefighter and buildings and grounds director for the West Salem School District Scott Johnson also attended the meeting. Johnson took a critical look at the plan from the school districts perspective.

The district has had evacuation plans in place going back nearly a decade. These plans, however, focused more on short distance evacuations in the case of a gas leak at one of the schools.

Johnson explained that if for some reason the district had to evacuate the middle school, they could move students and faculty to the Marie W. Heider Center auditorium.

He said the district did not, however, have a plan in place to evacuate nearly 1,700 children off-site. Johnson said that if the county determined the need to evacuate the village, the school district would call in the buses and get the kids to a safe place.

He said he wasnt sure how the district would achieve this without help because the school district lacks adequate buses for a school-wide evacuation.

Another problem with evacuating the school would be what to do with the students who drove to class. He said he wasnt sure if the district should allow them to drive themselves to the shelter or have to take a bus.

Johnson said there are a lot of unanswered questions left on the table after the meeting.

Whos going to go door-to-door? he asked.

Johnson is now working with Ashbeck and Butler to further develop a more comprehensive evacuation plan.
There are 19 owl species in Kenya. Scientists from The Peregrine Fund, in collaboration with the National Museums of Kenya, currently study three species.

Along the Kenyan coast, they study the endangered Sokoke Scops Owl. In central Kenya, they study the Mackinders Eagle Owl, and on Mt. Kenya, they study the extremely rare Abyssinian Owl. Dr. Ogada will discuss their current and future work on these species, as well as the conservation threats facing each species during a program at 7 pm. Tuesday, Aug. 16, at the International Owl Center in Houston. She will also discuss the extremely worrying threat posed by the trade in owl eggs in East Africa.

Originally from upstate New York, Dr. Darcy Ogada is the Assistant Director of Africa Programs for The Peregrine Fund. Her work focuses on research and conservation of birds of prey, particularly vultures and owls. She has studied the Mackinders Eagle Owl since 2004. Her student, Paul Muriithi, is currently studying the extremely rare Abyssinian Owl on Mt. Kenya. She lives an hour outside of Nairobi with her 9-year-old son.

The cost to attend is $7 for members and $10 for non-members. Pay at the door, but RSVPs to karla@internationalowlcenter.org or 507-896-6957 to make sure we can accommodate everyone are encouraged. Half of the admission fees will go support owl programs Ogada oversees in Kenya.
Biologists with the departments of natural resources in Minnesota and Wisconsin have determined that several fish kills reported in and around the Mississippi River near La Crosse are due to hypoxia, which occurs when there are unusually low levels of dissolved oxygen in the water.

These kills can occur during periods of hot summer weather and heavy rains causing rapid fluctuation in river levels.

The two state DNRs have been working together and with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to investigate reports of dead fish in Blue Lake and Lawrence Lake in Pool 8 of the Mississippi River, in Round Lake in Pool 7, and in other isolated locations in backwaters of the Mississippi River. Pool 7 runs from roughly Trempealeau to La Crosse, while Pool 8 includes that portion of the river approximately between La Crosse and Genoa.

Hypoxia can occur during periods of high summer temperatures because hot water holds less oxygen and it speeds up decay of vegetation and other organic matter, a process that consumes oxygen. Oxygen levels near zero have been recently measured in some backwater areas near La Crosse. With recent rains, that hypoxic water has been flushed out into other parts of the river, causing the death of those fish that were unable to escape quickly.

Fish species noted in the kills have been primarily bluegill, yellow perch, largemouth bass, gizzard shad, common carp and northern pike. The number of dead fish observed in these areas usually represents a small portion of the overall fish population, as most fish are able to move out of hypoxic waters into areas with higher dissolved oxygen levels. However, there is potential for higher mortality rates in areas that do not have good connection to areas of better water quality. Such fish kills generally have little to no noticeable impact on the fishery.

While low oxygen levels should soon improve, it is possible that other areas of the river will be affected.

People who see a large number of dead fish in an area are encouraged to contact either their local DNR office or, in Minnesota, the state duty officer, who is available at 800-422-0798. In Wisconsin, people can call 800-TIP-WDNR to report fish kills. The sooner a fish kill can be investigated, the more likely it is that the cause can be determined.
The 2016 classical chamber music festival returns to Houston Aug. 26 through Sept. 3 for nine days of music. Led by Houston native and Twin Cities resident Garret Ross, 12 musicians from the region and further afield will take part in concerts, master classes and outreach activities. All events are free of charge and take place at Cross of Christ Lutheran Church, 210 S. Chase St.

Apollo Music Festival had its beginning in 2012 with a debut concert in Houston featuring pianist Garret Ross and cellist Ruth Marshall, known as Artu Duo. After a full house crowded into the historic Houston Mercantile (formerly known as the Skifton Building), Apollos programming has been expanding ever since.

Apollo Music Festival never charges admission for concerts and yet strives to present the highest quality music.

The 2016 Apollo Music Festival will be its most exciting venture yet, including four free concerts, six master classes for students, and 12 musicians from across the country.

For more information, including full concert repertoire and artist biographies and photographs, go to www.apollomusicfestival.org. This activity is made possible by the voters of Minnesota through a grant from the Minnesota State Arts Board, thanks to a legislative appropriation from the arts and cultural heritage fund.
Once again, Wisconsin dairy producers have been reminded its not easy being cheesy. Theyve been victimized by a string of cheese crimes. This situation is not gouda. Its enough to leave us feeling bleu.

The third theft of this year occurred recently in Oak Creek, where a semi-trailer containing 20,000 pounds of cheese was stolen from a parking lot. The driver told police he dropped the trailer off at 2 a.m. and returned to find it gone. It vanished like a block of Colby at a tailgate party.

The cheese, bound for New York, was valued at $46,000. Talk about scoring some major cheddar.

Which rat took the cheese? Police are sniffing around. Its unique. Its a lot of cheese, Capt. Mike Bolender said. Its a high-value property, and were gonna take it seriously like we would any theft.

Because theyre a sharp bunch, Wisconsinites have long appreciated the value of cheese. After all, pouring melted cheese over vegetables is the only way to make them edible. Suddenly thieves have awakened to the smell of our dairy air. Cheese may not be as elusive as Hamilton tickets, but it has spawned a cottage industry.

This winter, Wisconsin saw two major cheese heists, a crime only possible in a state where foam cheddar wedges are considered high fashion. The truckloads of cheese that got (pepper) jacked were valued at a combined $160,000.

On Jan. 15, Marshfield police reported that some cheese whiz stole 41,000 pounds of parmesan en route to Illinois. This grate amount was valued at $90,000. A semi picked up the cheese from a distributor but never reached its intended destination.

Investigators received a tip that the semi was in Grand Chute, where they found the entire shipment unloaded into a warehouse, fully intact. Fortunately, no one had cut the cheese.

A week later, another $70,000 worth of cheese was stolen from a Germantown distribution center. A 54-foot-long trailer and semi-tractor used to steal it turned up in Milwaukee a few days later, but the trailer was empty. These abominable thieves are absolute muensters. Unfortunately for police, they have mastered their Kraft.

Police suspect the Marshfield theft was coordinated by organized crime. Oh great, Wisconsin has been infiltrated by La Queso Nostra.

Fondue isnt the only hot cheese out there. Our states favorite export isnt even safe under lock and key. Why do thieves hanker for a hunk of cheese? Perhaps they know the average person eats 35 pounds of cheese each year. And thats just average people.

Now that three cheese heists have taken place this year, we cant help but fear thieves will continue to descend on Americas Dairyland from across the country: Its a curd mentality.

Its pretty fresh, Bolender told Fox6 in assessing the Oak Creek theft. Theres always a market for anything. I suppose the next one will have bratwurst or something.

No whey can we let criminals begin intercepting another of our states beloved exports. If the cheese thieves turn to sausage, well know the cases are linked.
A Twin Cities nonprofit could soon be added to the list of organizations serving veterans in need in Southeast Minnesota and Coulee Region.

Blake Huffman, a Ramsey County Commissioner and the executive director of Journey Home Minnesota and its Veterans Journey Home program, spent Thursday and Friday visiting cities including Winona and La Crosse, meeting with local elected officials, veterans groups and nonprofits such as Habitat for Humanity. Founded in 2008, his organization works to build affordable homes in the Twin Cities for domestic violence victims and veterans, and Huffman said he is looking to see if he can help meet the needs of homeless veterans outside of the metro.

Were having a number of conversations, he said. Were looking to see if we can expand into the region.

With the economic and housing expansion in Rochester and southeast Minnesota due to the Destination Medical Center project at Mayo Health System, as well as a housing crunch in Winona due the high number of college rentals, Huffman said veterans living on the edge can fall off more easily. Seeing the Veterans Administration Medical Center in Tomah and homelessness in La Crosse, he said he was interested in expanding his organization here in.

For a lot of people its just one little thing that becomes a tidal wave into homelessness, Huffman said.

On Friday, La Crosse Area Habitat for Humanity was one of Huffmans stops, and he spoke with executive director Kahya Fox about the organization and its relationships in the community, as well as getting a feel for the demographics and economy of La Crosse.

Huffman said his organization uses a similar model for its construction projects, using in-kind and fundraising donations to cover two-thirds of the cost of a home. The rest comes from a loan from the bank, which the organization pays back by renting the home to a veteran at a low rate, with the ultimate goal of home ownership for that person.

Fox spoke about some of the projects already being done in the La Crosse community, such as the $10.4 million Kane Street Affordable Housing project, which will provide 57 units, 15 of which are dedicated to the homeless, especially veterans and families. Even with the upcoming development, the need in the community is still great, she said, and called the meeting with Huffman serendipitous as her organization itself is looking at ways to do more to serve homeless veterans and their families.

Collaborations are really great for our dollars to go further, she said. We love to partner with people and organizations in La Crosse.

Near the end of the sit-down, Huffman said his organization would definitely take an interest in expanding into Rochester and then moving east toward the Coulee Region. He said he hoped to start a number of projects in communities such as Winona and La Crosse, while building partnerships with other organizations, businesses and the community.

These guys (veterans) are sacrificing for our safety and security, he said in an interview after the meeting. I want to give back to them  help them with their safety and security.

These guys (veterans) are sacrificing for our safety and security. I want to give back to them  help them with their safety and security. Blake Huffman,

executive director of Journey Home Minnesota
FARGO, N.D.  Jonathan Garaas has learned a few things in three seasons of backyard beekeeping: Bees are fascinating. Theyre complicated. And keeping them alive is not easy.

The Fargo attorney lost hives in his first two years as a novice beekeeper. With nine hives now established near his home and a couple of University of Minnesota bee classes under his belt, he feels like hes got the hang of it, although its still a challenge.

Every two weeks, he opens the hives to check the bees and search for varroa mites, pests that suck the bees blood and can transmit disease. If he sees too many of the pinhead sized parasites, he applies a chemical treatment.

You can get the book learning. You can see the YouTubes. You can be told by others, he said, but you have to have hands-on experience. When you start putting it all together, it now starts making sense.

Scientists wish every beginner beekeeper were as diligent.

While experts welcome the rising national interest in beekeeping as a hobby, they warn novices may be inadvertently putting their hives  and hives for miles around  in danger because they arent keeping the bee mite population in check.

Many hobbyists avoid mite treatments, preferring a natural approach, but thats often a deadly decision for the bees, said University of Minnesota bee expert Marla Spivak.

National surveys by the Bee Informed Partnership show backyard beekeepers in fact are taking the greatest losses nationally, and those losses are often the result of an out-of-control infestation of the varroa mite, said Spivak.

Varroa mites arrived in the United States nearly 30 years ago. But theyve become a bigger problem in recent years. Researchers partly blame backyard beekeepers who dont treat their hives.

Untreated hives can spread mites and viruses to other hives within several miles, Spivak said. Healthy bees will invade a dying hive to steal the honey. When they do, they also carry mites with them back to their hives.

The combination of the mite and the viruses is deadly, said Spivak.

The University of Minnesota Bee Squad, a group that provides beekeeping education and mentoring in the Twin Cities, is seeing more healthy hives rapidly infested with mites and the viruses they carry.

Fall is an especially critical season, said Rebecca Masterman, the Bee Squads associate program director.

That late season reinfestation means that your bees are going through winter with a lot of mite pressure and its really hard for them to come out of that and survive, she said. Its something that is important enough to really try to get every backyard beekeeper in the country to at least be aware of it.

Masterman said shes also encouraging commercial beekeepers to check their bees more often for surprise mite infestations.

A new online mite monitoring project lets beekeepers anywhere in the country share data on mite infestations and will help researchers track the spread, she added.

A mite control experiment set up this summer should provide more information about the best methods for treating mites in bee colonies.

Bees face other challenges beyond mites, including poor nutrition, disease and pesticides. Even veteran beekeepers say it takes more effort to keep their bees alive.

Beekeepers are independent, so Spivak said she doesnt like to tell them how to care for their bees. But the mite and virus threat to bees, she added, is something that can be controlled.

I really understand why some people might not like to have to treat their bee colony for mites. It just sounds so awful. Its such a beautiful bee colony and to have to stick some kind of a treatment in there seems so unnatural, she said.

But our bees are dying, she added. And its very important to help do whatever we can to keep them alive.
ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP)  A class-action lawsuit accuses the state of discriminating against Minnesota residents with disabilities by forcing them to live in segregated group homes.

The lawsuit filed by Mid-Minnesota Legal Aid alleges the Department of Human Services funnels individuals with disabilities into nearly 3,500 group homes statewide, depriving them access to more independent living arrangements. The suit claims that move violates a 1999 U.S. Supreme Court ruling that requires states to ensure that people with disabilities receive services in integrated settings.

People are stuck in these facilities, where they experience isolation, lack of control and an overall helplessness, said Legal Aid attorney Sean Burke. Its no longer good enough.

A Star Tribune investigation last year found that many people with intellectual and developmental disabilities who are capable of taking care of themselves are sent to group homes against their will. Some are placed more than 100 miles from their families in settings that leave them isolated from friends, relatives and support networks, the investigation found. The homes are indirectly subsidized through Medicaid, the state and federal health insurance program, which covers the cost of their services.

One of the plaintiffs, Marrie Bottelson, 41, has cerebral palsy and has lived in a group home for 13 years. As an artist, Bottelson would like to create a studio in her own home.

This is a person who could really be flourishing if she could actually have an apartment and an art studio, said Justin Perl, Mid-Minnesota Legal Aids litigation director.

Bottelson has asked to move into an apartment with a friend, but says she has been told by her case managers there are no options other than her group home.

In a statement Thursday, state Human Services Commissioner Emily Piper said residents with disabilities should have choices about where they live.

She said the states plan for implementing the Supreme Court ruling is our path forward to increase opportunities for Minnesotans living with disabilities to live, work and succeed in our state in the most integrated setting possible.

In 2015, Minnesota became one of the last states to adopt a plan to expand housing options for people with disabilities, according to the Star Tribune.
Ricky Darnell Waiters, the man accused of opening fire outside a west-end bar the morning of July 27, was back in court Thursday.

Waiters and his attorney, A. Michael Kuehn, appeared before District Court Judge Nancy Buytendorp and a packed gallery for only a few minutes as Kuehn announced they had decided to forgo an immediate guilty plea.

Kuehn said they would hold off on a plea until after an omnibus hearing, scheduled for Sept. 2, during which the court will begin preparations for a potential trial.

By law, Waiters only plea option Thursday would have been guilty, but after the omnibus, hell be able to plead however he wishes.

Waiters is charged with second-degree murder, second-degree assault and drive-by shooting  which together carry a maximum sentence of 57 years in prison. Hes being held at Winona County Jail, his bail set at $5 million.

According to a criminal complaint:

Shortly after closing time at EBs Corner on July 27, several people who were gathered outside the bar noticed a Blue Geo Tracker illegally parked.

One of the people approached the driver, who witnesses identified as the 49-year-old Waiters, and said he wasnt allowed to park there. It was then, witnesses say, that Waiters moved his car, pulled out a handgun and started firing into the crowd.

The shots hit two Winona men: Sean OBrien was treated for upper leg injuries. Bob Johnson died from his injuries in the hospital.
U.S. Rep. Ron Kind has been a tireless advocate for the people of Wisconsin, and he deserves your vote Aug. 9. By remaining focused on those whom he represents, instead of playing party politics, hes managed to steer a big bill through Congress that was signed by President Barack Obama and is already having an impact.

For years, a loophole allowed corporations to import goods into the United States that were made using child, slave or forced labor. Kind introduced legislation to stop this morally outrageous exploitation of foreign work forces and also level the playing field for our workers. He took leadership on the issue and built consensus, eventually passing a bill in both the House and Senate at a time when his party controlled neither body.

Recently, for the first time in years, U.S. Customs was able to seize a shipment of goods because of the loophole closed by Kind. Not only did Kind finish the job, but the legislation is already getting results.

Its easy to demand change, but it's much harder to get it done. Ron Kind deserves your vote; hes proven that hes able to rise above the rhetoric in order to do the right thing for our nation and for Wisconsinites.
Republican Donald Trump brings his volatile presidential campaign to Green Bay on Friday as part of a strategy to capture crucial Midwestern states but amid an extraordinary public feud with numerous high-profile members of his party, including House Speaker Paul Ryan of Janesville.

The New York real estate moguls evening campaign rally  in a part of the state that has shown him the strongest support in recent polls  comes a week after vice presidential nominee Mike Pence made his first post-nomination campaign stop in Waukesha.

But unlike Pences rally, no prominent Wisconsin Republicans plan to be by Trumps side. In fact, Gov. Scott Walker, who has endorsed Trump, is scheduled to be at a spaghetti dinner fundraiser in tiny Grand View in northwest Wisconsin.

Trumps erratic campaign has put state Republican leaders in a difficult position, said Barry Burden, a political science professor at UW-Madison.

Trump has his work cut out for him in Wisconsin. Not only are state and national Republicans struggling with how to handle his increasingly incendiary statements, but Wisconsin has one of the strongest Never Trump movements. He was solidly crushed by Texas Sen. Ted Cruz in the states primary in April after a successful push by prominent state Republicans and conservatives who sold Cruz as the only viable candidate to stop Trump from becoming the GOP nominee and to defeat Democratic choice Hillary Clinton.

Ryan, Walker, U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson of Oshkosh and Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald, R-Juneau, eventually threw their support  albeit at times tepid  behind Trump. But now, those high-profile Republicans wont be attending Fridays rally.

In recent days, Walker, Ryan and Johnson have all criticized Trumps comments about the Muslim family of a deceased U.S. Army soldier. Trump this week refused to endorse Ryan and at a March rally, Trump said Wisconsins middling economic growth was Walkers fault: Hes not doing a great job.

Most Wisconsin Republican lawmakers seem to have concluded that the further away from Donald Trump they can be, the better, said UW-Madison journalism and political science professor Mike Wagner. Wisconsin lawmakers are behaving as though they believe that associating too closely with Trump could be toxic for their own campaigns.

Key region for candidates

Even without much of a welcome wagon from state lawmakers, Trump comes to a part of the state that swings between Democrats and Republicans in presidential contests but leans Republican in state and other federal elections.

Wisconsins 8th Congressional district is an important place for presidential candidates to do well if they want a shot at winning the states 10 delegates, according to Marquette Law School Poll director Charles Franklin.

According to Franklins latest polling data, Trump beats Clinton 44 percent to 35 percent in the Green Bay/Appleton area, the most densely populated part of the eighth district.

Democratic presidential candidates tend to win that district if they also win the state by 10 percentage points or more, Franklin said. In 2008, President Barack Obama won the state by 14 percentage points and won the district by nine percentage points. In 1996, former President Bill Clinton won the state by 11 percentage points and won the eighth by five.

But in closer elections the district is nearly even, said Franklin.

In 2012, Obama won Wisconsin by seven percentage points, but lost the district 48-51. And in 2000 and 2004 elections, former President George W. Bush won the district by nine and 11 percentage points, respectively.

That strong performance by Bush made the statewide race razor thin in both races that he lost more substantially in the rest of the state outside (the district), said Franklin. So in short, the (district) is capable of going either way for president and can swing fairly widely ... That means the campaign can make a substantial difference in the area.

In addition, even though Trump lost the April primary in Wisconsin, he won two districts, the 3rd and 7th in western and northern parts of the state.

Johnson may need surge in Trump support

Republicans have worried about the impact Trump will have on U.S. Senate and statewide races  that dissatisfaction with him could depress turnout among GOP voters.

In Wisconsin, Johnson may be in the unique position of needing Trump to carry the state to win his own race against former U.S. Sen. Russ Feingold, a Democrat from Middleton.

Trump is an underdog in Wisconsin. The state never seemed particularly well-suited to him, and it typically votes a little bit more Democratic than the nation, said Kyle Kondik, managing editor of Sabatos Crystal Ball at the University of Virginias Center for Politics. Johnson may very well need Trump to win statewide to win re-election, so if Trump is an underdog statewide, then Johnson is too.

Wagner said the growing fissures in the Republican Party between more traditional conservatives and Tea Party-style conservatives may be playing a small role in party donors and Super PACs paying less attention to Wisconsin than they normally do in a presidential election year.

Freedom Partners Action Fund in July dropped a $2.2 million ad buy it had reserved for ads supporting Johnson that were set to air in August and September, for example. But on Thursday the group announced it would get back in the race with $1 million in air time.

Wagner said Johnson could suffer from the perception among some Republican insiders who say Wisconsin is no longer a swing state, and therefore more money for ad buys are pulled from conservative Super PACs to support Johnson.

If Wisconsin isnt close for Trump, Senator Johnsons job becomes much more difficult because he is going to have to motivate those who think the top of the ticket is lost to come to the polls anyway, said Wagner.
U.S. House Speaker Paul Ryan said Friday that it's possible he could withdraw his support for his party's presidential nominee, Donald Trump -- a fresh sign of the degree to which top Republicans increasingly are dismayed with Trump's embattled White House candidacy.

Ryan, R-Janesville, stopped short of signaling such a drastic step is imminent, acknowledging he's not sure what would trigger it.

Asked by Wisconsin conservative talk radio host Charlie Sykes if there's anything Trump could do to cause Ryan to "cancel" his support, Ryan replied "of course."

"With any endorsement of anybody, there's never a blank check," Ryan said.

Sykes, part of a bloc of conservatives who have fought Trump's rise within the GOP, prodded Ryan about what it would take for him to withdraw his support.

"Where that line gets crossed, I don't know where that is -- if that is," Ryan replied.

The exchange came hours before Trump was scheduled to go onstage at an event in Green Bay, accompanied by none of Wisconsin's leading Republicans. Ryan, Gov. Scott Walker and U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson all said they would not attend.

It also came at the close of a brutal week for Trump, in which he was hammered by both parties for feuding with the parents of a fallen U.S. soldier who is Muslim after the parents spoke at the Democratic National Convention. Trump also plunged in national polls this week, putting him behind Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton at a critical point in the campaign, with less than 100 days remaining.

In recent months Ryan, R-Janesville, has maintained an uneasy alliance with Trump, endorsing him but publicly rebuking him at points throughout the campaign. The rocky relationship between the two also has gotten personal. Earlier this week, Trump said he wasn't ready to support Ryan in his primary campaign against a pro-Trump challenger, Delavan businessman Paul Nehlen.

In Friday's interview, Ryan blasted Nehlen, who has aligned himself with Trump. Ryan disavowed Nehlen's call this week for a discussion about deporting all U.S. Muslims, a suggestion Ryan described as being at odds with the U.S. Constitution and with conservative principles.

Ryan also said Nehlen has falsely characterized Ryan's positions on issues such as immigration, claiming he's for "open borders" when he has worked to increase border patrols and security.

"It's a hoax campaign run by scam PACs and out-of-state interlopers, out-of-state people, trying to basically whip things up, make some money, and then close up shop and move on to the next race somewhere in America," Ryan said.
The public is invited to an open house today (Thursday) to learn more about the 2017 repaving project that will affect Hokah and La Crescent along highways 16, 61 and 44, according to the Minnesota Department of Transportation.

MnDOT engineers and others will be at the Hokah Fire Department Community Room, 9 Mill St., from 3 to 4:30 p.m. to talk about work along Hwy. 44. Later in the day, MnDOT will be at the La Crescent Public Library, 321 Main St., from 5 to 7 p.m. to talk about the project on Hwy. 16 and 61.

Work is scheduled to begin in May 2017 and end in July 2017. In Hokah on Hwy. 44, blacktop will be removed and repaved, as well as ADA improvements and culvert work. In and near La Crescent, blacktop removal and repaving, culvert work and guardrail installation are scheduled. Traffic will remain open during the work with flaggers directing traffic.

The open houses will provide an opportunity to learn more about the project plans and share your concerns with MnDOT representatives. The same information will be presented at both open house locations. MnDOT is holding two open houses to provide convenience for those who wish to attend.
MADISON  Wisconsin is about to take center stage in the presidential race.

Donald Trump is headed Friday to the critical Fox Valley region for his first visit to the state since losing its primary and refusing to endorse fellow Republican House Speaker Paul Ryan.

Just hours before Trumps rally Friday night, Democratic vice presidential nominee Tim Kaine was to talk about Hillary Clintons job plans at a brewery in the Democratic stronghold of Milwaukee.

The decisions on where the candidates are choosing to campaign in their first stops in Wisconsin speak to their strategies as Democrats try to keep alive a presidential winning streak in the state dating back to 1988.

The Kaine visit to Milwaukee, home to the largest pocket of Democratic voters in the state, is all about rallying the base to volunteer and vote in November, said strategist Joe Zepecki. Milwaukee County is the only one Clinton won in the April primary. Bernie Sanders beat her by 13 points statewide.

Trumps going to Green Bay  an area that has swung between voting for Democrats and Republicans for president over the past 20 years  is about trying to make the state more competitive by driving up GOP turnout, said Zepecki, a Democrat.

Given that both Trump and Kaine are coming to Wisconsin, a week after Trumps running mate Mike Pence held a rally in conservative Waukesha, shows that at least for now the state still matters to both campaigns, said Charles Franklin, a pollster at the Marquette University Law School.

The most recent Marquette poll, released in July, showed Clinton ahead of Trump among likely voters by 4 points.

Both campaigns were expected to focus on the Green Bay media market, which is home to just under one quarter of the states registered voters. A large number of them  36 percent according to a 2014 University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh survey  are independent.

The area has tended to swing widely in recent presidential elections, with Democrats winning in 1996 and 2008. In 2000 and 2004, when Democrats narrowly carried Wisconsin statewide, George W. Bush won the Green Bay area by 9 and 11 points, respectively.

In 2012, President Barack Obama lost Brown County, which is home to Green Bay, by just 2,310 votes to Republican Mitt Romney.

Trump won just 37 percent of the vote in Brown County in this years primary. Texas Sen. Ted Cruz won the county by 14 points, a margin nearly identical to his statewide 13-point victory.

In recognition of the importance of the area, both state parties held their annual conventions in Green Bay this year. The congressional seat is open, due to the retirement of Republican Rep. Reid Ribble, adding even more intensity and focus in the region.

Ribble, a three-term congressman, was one of the first Republican office holders to publicly disavow Trump. Ribble said in December he wouldnt back Trump, and hes been outspoken in denouncing Trumps most controversial statements and policies.

Ribble isnt the only Republican office-holder who wont be with Trump. Ryan planned to be in his congressional district in southeastern Wisconsin, Gov. Scott Walker is to be touring flood damage in the northern part of the state, and U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson cited scheduling conflicts.

All three are backing Trump, but they all have also been critical of him. Trump this week said he wasnt ready to endorse Ryan in his primary race, and Walker has yet to appear alongside Trump since they ran against each other in the GOP primary for president.

Wisconsin Republican Party spokesman Pat Garrett said Clinton lost to Sanders in Wisconsin because Democrats are looking for real change in Washington, D.C., and they dont trust Hillary Clinton to be anything beyond more of the same.

Russ Feingold, the former three-term U.S. senator who is challenging Johnson in a rematch of their 2010 race, will not be joining Kaine. Feingold is unable to attend Friday but he looks forward to campaigning with Senator Kaine and Secretary Clinton throughout the election, said Feingolds spokesman Michael Tyler.
Biddeford-Saco-OOB Courier

The board earmarked $1.54 million in federal American Rescue Plan Act funds for the dredge, designed to keep channels open and supply sand to nourish eroding beaches up and down the York County coast and beyond.
Our national parks journey this week takes us to an extreme landscape in Colorado. Around us are clear lakes, aspen and fir trees, and mountain peaks that rise over 4,400 meters.

Welcome to Rocky Mountain National Park.

The vast Rocky Mountains range extends from the western United States up to Canada. National parks in both countries protect many of the huge peaks.

Here in Colorado, Rocky Mountain National Park covers about 1,100 square kilometers. Although it is much smaller than other western parks, like Yellowstone, it welcomes almost as many visitors each year.

People from around the world come to experience its alpine, or high-mountain, environment. In the spring and summer, wildflowers burst to life and many kinds of butterflies arrive. In the fall, the aspen trees turn bright yellow and orange. In the winter, deep snow blankets the park. Its peaceful alpine lakes freeze over.

One of the major sites here is the Continental Divide. The area in the high mountains separates the rivers that flow into the Pacific Ocean from the rivers that flow into the Atlantic Ocean.

The Rockies huge glaciers form the rivers. Glaciers help tell the natural history of the land. Over millions of years, glaciers carved deep canyons out of rock. Erosion from wind and water formed the mountains sharp summits that we see today. Rock at the top of these summits is some of the oldest found on Earth.

It was not until 11,000 years ago that humans began living in the area. The Utes tribe settled here - for part of the year - thousands of years ago. Winter was too severe to survive. When the weather warmed, they lived in the green valleys and meadows and near the lakes.

In 1803, the U.S. government gained control of the land we now call Rocky Mountain National Park. It came as part of the Louisiana Purchase, which nearly doubled the size of the United States.

In the 1840s, American writer Rufus Sage came to the Rockies. He wandered the area from 1841 until 1843, spending time with fur trappers, Native Americans, soldiers and hunters.

His long and detailed account of mountain life was published in 1846. He called it Scenes in the Rocky Mountains.

Rufus Sage wrote, Further on were yet higher summits, surmounted by pines and cedars, raising their heads in stately grandeur far above the sweet valleys at their feet. Taken together, the scenery was not only romantic and picturesque, but bewitching in its beauty and repulsive in its deformity.

Beginning in the late 1850s, gold and silver rushes brought huge crowds to the Colorado Rockies. Miners arrived in search of the precious metals. They settled temporary cities. One of the best-known is called Lulu City. It was settled in the late 1870s after miners discovered silver nearby. By 1880, more than 500 miners lived in Lulu City. It had a meat shop, a post office, and many houses and mining companies. Lulu City was short-lived. In just five years, miners left town, seeking other opportunities.

Today, some visitors choose to hike to this ghost town, where they will find old cabins and remains of buildings.

As more and more people came the area, concern for protecting the natural environment grew. In 1909, the nature guide and naturalist Enos Mills began pushing for the creation of a national park here.

He first climbed the towering Longs Peak when he was just 15 years old. Longs Peak is the areas tallest mountain, at 4,346 meters. Mills made the hike 40 more times by himself during his lifetime, and almost 300 times as a mountain guide.

Mills gave wrote and gave talks about the Longs Peak area to urge Congress to make it a national park.

On January 26, 1915, Mills got his wish. President Woodrow Wilson signed the Rocky Mountain National Park Act to make the area Americas 10th national park.

The Denver Post newspaper called Mills the Father of Rocky Mountain National Park.

Visiting Rocky Mountain National Park

Today, more than 3 million people visit Rocky Mountain National Park each year. In 2015, it was the third-most visited national park in the country.

Many visitors arrive by car. They drive the Trail Ridge Road, which winds through meadows and forests and up the mountains. The road was built during the 1930s, during the Great Depression.

At the time, many of the western national parks were served by the railway. Travelers arrived on trains. But, a railroad never served Rocky Mountain National Park. The National Park Service described it as always an auto park.

The high number of visitors and vehicles caused concern. In the 1970s, park officials began managing crowds. They started using buses in the park, and created a campsite system in the wild backcountry.

Today, conservation efforts continue. Park officials educate visitors and urge them to respect the natural environment.

Rocky Mountain National Parks scenery, hiking trails, and wildlife attracts huge numbers of visitors. It has over 480 kilometers of hiking trails. They include challenging climbs up some of the tallest mountains and forest hikes that lead to one of the parks many waterfalls.

They also include trails to crystal blue alpine lakes. One leads to Mills Lake, in honor of Enos Mills. The view of Longs Peak from the lakeside is one of the finest views in the whole park.

One of the most extreme hikes in the park is the Continental Divide Loop. The 86-kilometer path cuts through glacial valleys and past lakes and waterfalls. It takes most hikers at least six days to complete.

Long hikes give visitors a chance to experience Rocky Mountain wildlife. Within the park are hundreds of elk and bighorn sheep, as well as a small moose population. The park's huge number of large animals makes it one of the best places in America for wildlife watching.

Butterflies fill the parks meadows. Some of the most common kinds are the Painted Lady, the Arctic Blue, and the Western Pine Elfin.

Butterflies help researchers in the park study the effects of climate change. Scientists and volunteers collected information on butterfly populations from 1995 until 2011. They identified more than 140 butterfly species.

Park visitors also come to fish, bike, and go horseback riding.The animals are permitted on most of the parks hiking trails.

You can ride in the park on horseback. You can explore on foot. You can sleep under the stars. You can sit be a clear quiet lake. However you visit Rocky Mountains National Park, you will likely find, in the words of Enos Mills the paths of peace and a repose that is sweeter than sleep.

I'm Caty Weaver.

And I'm Ashley Thompson.

Ashley Thompson wrote this report with materials from the National Park Service. Caty Weaver was the editor.

_______________________________________________________________

Words in This Story

alpine - adj. of or existing in high mountains

blanket - v. to cover (something)

summit - n. the highest point of a mountain

dominate - v. to have control of or power over (someone or something)

wander - v. to move around or go to different places usually without having a particular purpose or direction

scene - n. a view or sight that looks like a picture

surmounted - v.  to be placed at the top of (something)

grandeur - n. a great and impressive quality

romantic - adj. making someone think of love

bewitching - adj. attractive or delightful in a way that seems magical

repulsive - adj. causing strong dislike or disgust

opportunity - n. a situation in which something can be done 

towering - adj. very tall

ghost town - n. a town that no longer has any people living in it

challenging - adj. difficult in a way that is usually interesting or enjoyable

crystal (clear)- adj. perfectly clear

species - n.  a group of animals or plants that are similar and can produce young animals or plants

repose - n. a state of resting or not being active
Military and political experts are warning the United States against storing nuclear weapons in Turkey.

Those experts say the recent attempt to overthrow Turkeys government shows one of the risks of deploying American weapons overseas.

Jeffrey Lewis is an arms expert with the Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterrey in California. He told VOA that the nuclear arms in Turkey are very safe in what he calls the near term. [But] generally speaking, it is not a good idea to have nuclear weapons in a politically unstable country, Lewis said.

The military-led coup of July 15 failed to oust Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Since then, his government has led a campaign against members of the armed forces, judiciary and media.

The U.S. military stores B61 nuclear bombs at an airbase in southern Turkey. The bombs are equipped with Permissive Action Links, known as PALs. They prevent arming and using the weapons without approval from the top U.S. leadership.

The B61 bombs are heavily guarded and kept in underground shelters. Up to 50 of those weapons are believed to be stored at the airbase. But in July, the Turkish commander of the base was arrested after being accused of involvement in the failed coup against the government.

Ensuring Security

The United States has about 200 B61 bombs in and around Europe, according to Amy Woolf. She studies nuclear weapons policy for the U.S. Congressional Research Service.

American bombs in Turkey are mostly in storage, Woolf said. She noted that Turkey does not have aircraft designed to hold nuclear weapons. In addition, Turkey does not let the U.S. permanently deploy such aircraft to the base.

Currently, some of the airplanes that pass through the airbase could drop nuclear weapons. But those aircraft are involved in operations against suspected terrorist targets.

Woolf said that for NATO member countries, the weapons are there in case the fundamental security of any of its members was to be threatened.

U.S. defense policy expert Kori Schake told VOA that removing the nuclear arms from Turkey would send the wrong message to Americas allies.

Countries that feel protected by the U.S., [like] Japan, South Korea, Turkey, have not developed nuclear weapons of their own, Schake said. Without that guarantee, she says, the risk is that they might develop nuclear weapons of their own.

There is another negative effect of removing the nuclear weapons from Turkey. Without the security of the bombs, Turkey could develop alliances with Russia or even Iran.

Time to Move Them?

Jeffrey Lewis thinks that Turkeys president is much more concerned about political opposition than about having nuclear weapons in the country. Its not something Erdogan is bringing up, he said.

Hans Kristensen agrees. He directs the Nuclear Information Project at the Federation of American Scientists. He says that there would not be any serious political problems if the nuclear weapons left southern Turkey.

Kristensen said that because of the political situation in Turkey, it might be time to consider moving the weapons.

"You only get so many warnings before something goes terribly wrong, and there are plenty of warnings in the area now, he said.

Im Jonathan Evans.

Sharon Behn reported this story for VOANews.com. Jim Dresbach adapted her report for Learning English. George Grow was the editor.

We want to hear from you. Write to us in the Comments Section or visit our Facebook page.

________________________________________________________________

Words in This Story

coup  n. a sudden attempt by a small group of people to take over the government usually through violence

according  p. as stated, reported, or recorded by

fundamental - adj. of or relating to the basic structure or function of something

negative - adj. harmful or bad
LEXINGTON,Neb. - Since drug court was launched in Dawson County in 2006, 80 people have graduated the program designed to reform non-violent drug offenders while keeping them out of jail or prison.

The very first graduate, Brooke Weeder, was among the speakers Wednesday at a press conference in Lexington discussing the legislatures commitment to expanding problem-solving courts.

She was the only distinguished guest at the press conference. Nebraska Supreme Court Chief Justice Michael Heavican also spoke, and fellow Supreme Court justice William Cassel was on-hand as well.

Dawson County District Court Judge James Doyle, Region Two Behavioral Health Administrator Kathy Seacrest, and State Senator Matt Williams rounded out the slate of speakers.

Weeder, an Elwood native, said she comes from a good family with good parents. She believes one of the contributing factors to her eventual struggles with addiction was the fact that she began smoking at just 14-years-old. Cigarettes were a gateway, she said, because it led to her hanging out with a different crowd than she was used to, one that smoked marijuana and consumed alcohol.

I liked a guy who was using meth, so I tried it, she said.

Methamphetamine was initially a great experience, she said. It was my elixir. I felt better about myself than I ever had, I was a hard worker, I lost weight, she said.

It didnt take long for the ugly side of chemical dependence to show itself, however. Starting my freshman year, living a double life became my normal. I became a master manipulator. I lied, cheated, and stole, and whenever I got in trouble I said whatever I had to get out of it so I could get to my next high, she said.

Her parents sent her to treatment, but Weeder said she went in with no intention to change. Again, she did what she had to so she could complete treatment and get back home to resume her old habits. In fact, she began intravenous methamphetamine usage shortly after returning from treatment.

In March 2006, Weeder was charged with possession of methamphetamine.

That was the darkest month of my life. I wanted to die. I begged God to let me not wake up, she said.

Despite the gravity of her situation, Weeder said she still did not have the proper priorities. She wanted people to feel sorry for her.

I was 20 at the time, and had my back against the wall. My parents drove me to treatment in Omaha, then had to close those car doors and head down the road, she said, adding that it was very hard on them.

It was at that point that Weeder realized she needed to make changes in her life. I finally realized what Id done, she said.

She took treatment seriously and returned to Dawson County to participate in the fledgling drug court at the urging of her probation officer.

At first I wanted to stay in Omaha. I still wanted to do things Brookes way, she said.

Despite her initial misgivings, Weeder soon realized the drug court was the best thing that could have happened to her.

The people believed in me when I didnt believe in myself, she said. Judge Doyle believed in me. (Problem-Solving Court Coordinator) Steve Garcia believed in me. My parents believed in me.

She became the drug courts first graduate after completing the 18-month program.

I was five months pregnant when I completed drug court, and two years sober when I gave birth, Weeder said. Drug court gave me a daughter who has never had to know her mother as a drug user.

Now clean for 10 years, Weeder said it hasnt been easy. Addiction is a lifelong disease, but drug court gave me the tools for living.

She now works with people in the process of recovery themselves, and said shes grateful to have the opportunity.

Im a productive member of society, and that would have not been possible without the drug court, she said.

Her remarks drew a standing ovation.

Doyle is the chair of the committee on Problem-Solving Courts, and has long been a tireless advocate for the program. In 2006, he approached the state Community Corrections Council for financial help to start a drug court in Dawson County. There had been at one point federal funding available to start drug courts, but by that time the federal money was gone.

The council approved the request.

Since 2006 there have been 80 graduates, and right now there are 80 people in the program, so we anticipate 80 more, Doyle said.

He credited many people with the courts success, including the County Attorneys Office, Dr. Mark Jones, and local law enforcement leaders like Lexington Police Chief Tracy Wolf and Dawson County Sheriff Gary Reiber, among others.

They contributed a great deal, he said.

Doyle noted that the legislature has decided against building a new prison to address the corrections departments overcrowding issue. Instead, the state will expand problem-solving courts to include veterans courts, re-entry courts, DUI courts, and mental health courts. He thanked Williams for introducing a bill supporting the expansion.

When Heavican spoke, he first remarked that the one person who played a large role in the drug courts success that Doyle neglected to mention was Doyle himself.

Im thankful for the work hes done, Heavican said. Hes persistent in ensuring progress and accountability in the drug courts.

The goal of problem-solving courts is to make participants productive members of society.

Most people who are sent to prison will come back in a relatively short amount of time, and if there is not some form of intervention in their lives, they will come back less productive than when they went in, he said.

Accountability is key to continued success, he added. Its easy to find a success story, but for the drug courts to work you have to have consistent accountability.

Heavican described attending a recent drug court graduation ceremony, and said the remark was made multiple times that problem solving courts dont just change lives.

They save them.
This website is inclusive of tolerant people of all faiths, without exception. Neither anti-Semitism nor Islamophobia nor homophobia should ever be acceptable to anyone. We must all strive to live in peace and harmony with each other, regardless of religious affiliations, or none. Intolerance is the mother of strife and conflict.   Mark Alexander

We Britons are Europeans!Wir Briten sind Europaer! Nous, les Britanniques, sommes europeens !  Mark AlexanderEmail me at:markalexander.librabunda@gmail.com




Particularly during my sojourns in South Africa, it may not be possible for me to perform the moderation function speedily. I regret the necessity of moderation but it has been rendered inevitable by the behaviour of a particular commentator whose contributions will always and without exception be rejected.





No correspondence will be entered into regarding moderation decisions.

Readers are invited to comment on blog posts. All comments require to be pre-moderated by me, and I shall reject all (a) that are not related to the Lockerbie disaster or (b) that fail to meet my -- perhaps idiosyncratic -- standards of courtesy towards other contributors. Comments will not be rejected simply because I disagree with them or because I, or other contributors, find them irritating. But comments will be rejected if they distort or misrepresent the evidence; are defamatory; or if they risk embroiling me, as publisher, in defamation proceedings. I am perfectly relaxed about being sued in respect of material which I personally have posted -- but not in respect of material that others wish to post as comments and which, in any case, I often strongly disagree with.
Tower Property Fund grew its distributable earnings by 61% to R221m in the year to May, as the fund's offshore acquisition strategy in Eastern Europe gained momentum and the value of the portfolio increased to over R5bn.

The Cape-based real estate investment trust which released its results for the year to end-May on Thursday, made a total distribution of 92c per share, in line with its earnings growth forecast.

Towers first international acquisition was in August 2015, when it purchased 15 floors of the premium grade VMD KVART office property in Zagreb, Croatia, for R320m (23.7m). Shortly after the end of May this year, Tower completed its largest acquisition since listing in June 2013 with the purchase of a portfolio of four retail stores and shopping centres in Zagreb and Dubrovnik in Croatia for R1.1bn (66.4m).

These properties are anchored by Konzum, the largest supermarket chain in Croatia. Tower raised R740m on through a book-build to partially fund the new properties. This R1.1bn acquisition increased Towers portfolio to 50 properties with a value of R5.1bn, with SA representing 69% by value and Croatia 31%.

"The recent Croatian acquisition could prove transformative as it aligns the group with Konzums owners Agrokor, which is the largest company in the Adriatic region. However, this is not the end game for Tower as we believe there is a strong growth pipeline in Croatia," said Towers CEO, Marc Edwards.

Towers retail sector exposure has grown to 50%, achieving the funds listing target. Edwards said Towers offshore exposure would diversify risk and serve as a hedge against the volatility of the rand. "In the 10 months since we acquired our first Croatian property, its value has increased by R130m, owing mainly to currency weakness."

Tower bought three properties totalling R408m in SA during the financial year. These were the Links Hill Shopping Centre in Waterfall, KwaZulu-Natal, for R217m; Evagold Shopping Centre in Evaton, Gauteng, for R110m; and 15 Wellington Road, a mixed use retail and office property in Gauteng for R81m.

Non-core properties were being sold to strengthen the groups balance sheet. The property at 73 Hertzog Boulevard in Cape Town was sold for R111m while another five properties are earmarked for sale, and are expected to raise a total of R200m.

Edwards said he planned to develop residential apartments in the Cape Quarter which would be sold over time, given the high demand for residential property in the area.

Chief investment officer at Grindrod Asset Management, Ian Anderson, said Towers future was positive and that the company held a lot of value for investors.

"We continue to like Tower a lot. Having spent some time with management in Croatia, we are very comfortable with their offshore strategy, which is not something I say very often in the SA listed property market. Both these results and the prospects for financial year 2017 were in line with our expectations," he said.

"The current one-year forward yield on Tower is 12.5% and the company is trading at a 20% discount to net asset value. Like many of the smaller listed property companies in SA that are not constituents of the SA Listed Property index, it is overlooked by many institutional investors and for that reason, continues to offer exceptional value for investors," he said.

Source: BDpro
Key findings of the 4th bi-annual release of the Ipsos Affluent Survey Africa 2016 show that affluent Africans are committed to adopting a green pathway for a sustainable Africa.

Image by 123RF

Significant findings include:

Social responsibility and being environmentally friendly are top-priorities for Africas most wealthy, as they work towards a long term sustainable strategy.

African millennials are breaking economic barriers and joining the affluent elite.

Media and personal/wearable technology are vital to the African Affluent.

The Ipsos Affluent Survey Africa maps the behaviour and media consumption of the individuals within the Top 15% in terms of income across seven African countries. The Ipsos Affluent Survey Africa is conducted in Cameroon, Ghana, Kenya, Morocco, Nigeria, South Africa and Uganda. With a sample of 2,561 it covers a universe of about 3.5 million Affluent Africans.

It is part of the Ipsos suite of Affluent surveys which now covers Europe, Middle East, Asia/Pacific, Latin America and the USA, spanning 50 countries and reflecting approximately 147 million adults.

Earlier this year United Nations Economic Commission for Africa released its Economic Report on Africa 2016, which stated the big opportunity for Africa, as a latecomer to industrialisation, is adopting the green pathway towards sustainable and inclusive development.

It will create jobs while safeguarding the productivity of natural resource assets. For the African affluent, investing for the long-term is of great importance. Their progressive vision is confirmed by the involvement in their community: nearly nine out of 10 African Affluent think it is important to contribute to the community they live in, while amongst the European Affluent it is 64%.

In line with the investment in their own, and their communities potential, the affluent African endorses a responsible, durable way of empowering Africas economy. Seven out of 10 take a companys commitment to corporate and social responsibility into consideration when purchasing products.

Not only is a companys commitment important to them but they actively engage in pro-eco initiatives. 15% of affluent Africans were involved in an environmental/conservative group, while amongst European affluents this is only 5%.

On the lookout for millennials

The millennials (aged 21-34 years) are the young entrepreneurs of the continent. As income generally grows as a career progresses, for a millennial to be among the top 15% of income earners is unusual. It is therefore significant that 40% of all African affluent are millennials - by comparison only 17% of Europes Affluent are millennials.

Affluent millennials are an important group for marketers:

Tend to take the lead in decision making (eight out of 10).

Are confident about the future of their standard of living (84%).

One out of three already owns a gold/platinum credit card with which they go shopping for well-known brands (79%).

Two out of three affluent millennials bought luxury products of one kind or another in the past year.

Nearly two out of 10 made six or more air trips in the past 12 months and an equal amount stayed in upmarket hotels or upscale resorts.

To keep up with their upscale lifestyle, gaining knowledge and becoming better informed is a priority to the millennials (82%). This is also confirmed by their media behaviour.

Digital consumption

The African affluent consume digital for breakfast, lunch and dinner. The Affluent Africa Survey 2016 proves once more that the usage of mobile technology in Africa is vital for everyday life. While 52% of the Affluent Europeans are so called three screen users, an impressive 66% of the African affluent own all three of the main mobile devices: a smartphone, a tablet and a PC/Laptop.

Over a half of the upscale population considers themselves as early adopters, by saying they are always one of the first to have technologically innovative products. One out of eight African affluent owns a wearable device, like a smartwatch or smart glasses vs. a modest 5% of affluents in Europe. They are not passive users of new tech with 37% of the affluent Africans having bought products and services via their phone in the past year, which is over double the number for Europe (15.5%).

It will come as no surprise that digital takes a fair share of the media consumption for affluent Africans. Affluent Africans have high consumption levels of international media: 45% of affluent Africans consume international media digitally every week; 40% read an international title in print; and nearly nine out of 10 watch international TV on a weekly basis.
For a good 20 minutes in the beginning of the National Award-winning, Punjabi film Chauthi Koot, you just stare at a few strangers on the screen who in turn, stare into oblivion.

The period is the post-Operation Blue Star 80s. The place is rural Punjab. The focus is on two men who dont say much but look worried. The camera follows their every move, holds on their faces for long moments and seems to be keen on capturing their internal struggle. We see the two miss a train to Amritsar.

A troop of army men land up at a desolated station in Punjab. They supervise a freight train, shut the windows and declare its ready to go. A Sikh gentleman approaches the two men to find a way in. The two men introduce themselves to an army officer as hum Hindu bhai hain'. The appeal doesnt help much. The train starts moving.

In a bizarre move, the two men and a Sikh gentleman, find a way to jump into the train, past a guard at the doorway, who is protesting and not protesting at the same time. Inside, there are two other Sikh passengers, who seem to have found a similar route in. Now, the camera stays on these silent people, for what seems an eternity. Everyone seems to be in a half state of slumber; the chugging wheels  the only sound. Soon, the train slows down; the men are told to get off the moving train by a scared and irate guard.

Now you see the bunch of Hindus and Sikhs running together. And you wake up to the scenes sheer brilliance: the unity of people at the political times of discord.

That was not just one sequence. It was one of the stories written by Waryam Singh Sandhu in his collection of short stories titled, Chauthi Koot. The scenes length and quiet, non dramatic treatment, which tests your patience, turns out to be the most evocative scene of a tension filled Punjab in the early eighties, a mood leading to the horrendous massacre in the Golden Temple of Amritsar, unseen throughout the film, yet strongly felt.

The film shifts gears to a few months back. The camera follows another quiet journey on foot by one of the Hindu men seen earlier, equally closely. This time his wife and a little girl accompany him. He meets a Sikh farmer called Joginder (Vikky Survinder) who has a perpetual, suspicious look on his face.

Then suddenly, Joginders dog barks.

And another story begins. The story of fear. The story of the common man harassed by the army by day and the militants by night. A ridiculous demand is made. That of the death of Tommy  the dog who barks all night. While the idea, the theme and the over indulgent mood are impactful till here, the films structure which tries to combine two stories, does not quite make sense, especially in the end.

Chauthi Koot is a profound observation and comment on how a political and religious environment can impact the daily life of a commoner. Director Gurvinder Singh, a FTII alumnus, relies heavily on cinematographer Satyajit Rai Nagpauls evocative images to recreate the palpable and the unspoken violence. The isolated farmhouse, the lush, wind struck paddies swaying furiously on stormy days, the sweeping shots of villagers atop tractors, chanting and singing caught unaware by a sudden political disruption; are images that stay.

The irony of the situation is brilliantly captured in a long moment of a bowl of food being licked away hungrily by a dog who is the object of all attention and suddenly the cause of everyones trouble. Its not the Khalistani separatists, not the Indira Gandhi assassination soon to follow, not the politicians or the army men or the militants; who can be faulted. Its the cursed dog to be blamed for barking and exposing the presence of the militants.

That bloody dog. This remarkable film.
Warning: Spoilers Ahead.

I am part of a WhatsApp group called Fetishists and Chiddlers, that was started with the primary aim of sending everyone else Harry Potter trivia that hits you in the feels.

We also send each other pictures of cute baby animals, but most times the group is reserved for screenshots of all Harry Potter things that twist your stomach into a knot, like a post on Tumblr that says that once Lupin died and all the Marauders were gone, the Marauders Map cleared itself of its contents and chose to forever display the words Mischief managed.

Each of these messages begins with the announcement, get ready for a sob fest, and then we all send weeping emojis and yell at the person who sent us the screenshot because its all just too sad.

When Harry Potter and the Cursed Child was released, our WhatsApp group came alive again. It has been nine years since the tension-inducing Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows with the not-so-beautiful epilogue released, and we were excited.

I finally bought a copy two days ago, after much waiting and longing, and staring at the bright cover that I didnt particularly like.

I opened it immediately on the long auto ride home from work, sure that I would finish at least a hundred pages, but I didnt. I shut it after I finished fifty. I disliked it immediately.

I didnt want to dislike it  I tried very hard to tell myself that Dracos funny, nerdy son Scorpius made up for everything terrible in the book, and that now I could ship him and Albus Severus, but this wasnt enough to make up for its boring writing. It was just too unfamiliar reading it in the form of a play, and there were no descriptions of magic.

Im told there were long lines outside Blossom Book House in Bangalore from very early in the morning on 31st July when the book came out, and this is probably the case in every major bookstore in every city.

I was 10 when I first began reading Harry Potter and like all its fans, have followed it through all these years. When Deathly Hallows first came out, I insisted that my mother take me to a book store early in the morning.

I had sat on the steps outside the book store and read. Then I read in the car on the way home, and Im sure I read in the lift, before I collapsed on my bed with the book. But any small Harry Potter-related book, or interview with JK Rowling, has always led to an explosion of fans doing crazy things because the book has taken a life of its own outside of Rowlings world.

This year, the book became my excuse to rush to a Harry Potter party at Lightroom, a childrens bookstore in Bangalore, on the evening of the books release. I wondered very fleetingly if I would be surrounded by children who looked at me strangely, before I decided that I was actually of the Harry Potter generation, so it didnt matter.

It was beautiful: imagine walking through a curtain into a room full of children in black capes and long pointed hats, and seeing along the walls the seven Harry Potter books plus Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them and Quidditch Through the Ages, colouring books of magical creatures, an actual cupboard under the stairs, and a wall full of copies of Harry Potter and the Cursed Child.

Across the room, a little boy who looked like he was six was wearing Harrys round glasses, sitting on a stool reading Cursed Child while photographers happily took pictures of him. He was the only child I saw who opened the book at the party: it was as though the book was less important than being at the party and showing everyone just how much you knew about the books.

I just stared from the door until a woman walked up to me with the Sorting Hat and asked me to pick out a sticker from it that would sort me into my house. Later, I overheard a conversation a young 10-year-old girl was having with another girl she had just met, My friend had a Harry Potter themed birthday, and her parents did this thing where they put a Sorting Hat on a chair, and it talked, because there was a recorder under it! Nobody knew what was happening, she said.

I felt disgruntled, because nobody had any kind of Harry Potter party when I was younger. When an older-looking woman won the costume competition for dressing up as Professor Sprout with leaves in her hair, the girl whose friend had a Harry Potter birthday party looked most disappointed  she was in black school robes and a red tie, with a scar on her forehead.

In retrospect, I think this party made up for the book that seemed to ride too much on all its past (all the children in the book seem to have no part to their character that isnt some imitation of their parents, or their parent friends).

I was angry because the book completely ignored Ron and Hermiones child Rose, who I had been so excited to read about, and is instead full of preachy lessons of love, friendship, and parenthood stated too obviously.

At the party, every child who came forward to be sorted was terribly disappointed when they were sent to any house that wasnt Gryffindor; children would giggle about anyone sorted into Hufflepuff, shrug about being in Ravenclaw, and moan when they were sent to Slytherin. Once we were all sorted (including the parents), we settled down to play Pictionary.

Were in Ravenclaw, of course well win, a girl whispered to me grinning confidently. A woman sitting next to me would yell across the room to her son (who was in Hufflepuff) every time we got a point, and he would roll his eyes. After this happened thrice, he yelled back to his mother, Cedric Diggory was Hufflepuff! and ignored her for the rest of the evening. Then I got more competitive in the quiz than I would like to admit, and we came close to winning our prize of cockroach clusters.

I wonder now if the children at the party went home and read Cursed Child and were as disappointed as I was. I couldnt recognise Harry, Ron, Hermione or Ginny anymore. I wonder if they melted when Snape appeared, or got as frustrated with Dumbledore in this book as they used to earlier, but I felt like it didnt do enough to keep readers feeling this way.

Then I remember that I have the party to remember about July 31st, instead of the book itself, and Im happy again.

The Ladies Finger is a leading online feminist magazine.
Chandigarh: The Punjab government on Thursday announced a ban on the screening of comedy film The Legend of Michael Mishra.

"The Punjab government has suspended the exhibition of the film with immediate effect for two months and during such suspension, it shall be deemed to be uncertified film in the state," a spokesman of the state government said.

He said the decision was taken "keeping in view the prevailing strong resentment among the Valmiki community about some objectionable references to Maharishi Valmiki".

On Wednesday the Valmiki community called for a Punjab Bandh to protest against the usage of objectionable language while addressing Maharishi Valmiki in the film. They also sought for the arrest of Arshad Warsi, the films producer, director and chairman of the CBFC.

"The decision was aimed at keeping intact the hard earned peace and social harmony in the state as the screening of this film may invite massive protests," the spokesman added.

This is not the first time that the Punjab government has taken such an action against a film. They had earlier banned Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh's controversial film Messenger of God.

The film, which is slated for release on Friday, August 5, also stars Aditi Rao Hydari and Boman Irani.

With inputs from IANS
He is not called "the complete actor" for nothing. Preparing himself well for his foray into Tollywood, Malayalam superstar Mohanlal learnt Telugu and even dubbed for himself in Manamantha (All of us) that released on Friday.

The world got a glimpse of Mohanlal's effort to learn a new language at 56 when he posted a photograph with his Telugu notes on Facebook in December. That drew a response from another superstar in Telugu, Venkatesh who wrote: "Welcome to the Telugu film industry, Mr Mohanlal.''

Given that Lalettan, as Mohanlal is fondly referred to in Malayalam, is doing two films in Telugu in 2016, most believe that he has invested in the language for good reason. Mohanlal has his own distinct identity and his voice a unique flavour.

Manmantha sees Mohanlal returning to Telugu cinema after 1994, when he appeared in a cameo role in Gandeevam. This time, he seems to have come with a plan. Next month, he will be seen in Janatha Garage with NTR, whose 34-second teaser has been viewed over 5.2 million times. The film has already set a record for being sold for Rs 7 crore, the highest ever for a Telugu dubbed film in the Kerala market.

The movie is being released in Malayalam as Vismayam and as Namadhu in Tamil, to tap the popularity of Tamil actor Gautami, who plays the lead role in the film. "It is interesting that a crossover of this kind is taking place between actors of different industries within south India,'' says Mahesh Koneru, a film publicist who watches the Telugu film industry closely.

Malayalam actors are more known to act in Tamil movies, the two languages being more close to each other than Malayalam and Telugu.

In 2014, Mohanlal's Jilla along with Tamil superstar Vijay did well not just in Tamil but also in the dubbed versions in Malayalam and Telugu. Earlier in 1997, he had played the pivotal role resembling MGR in Mani Ratnam's Iruvar and made a brief foray into Hindi with Ram Gopal Varma's Company.

While Tamil actors like Suriya, Karthi and Vishal take the effort of promoting the Telugu dubbed versions of their movies in Telangana and Andhra markets, Telugu actors have not quite been able to breach the Andhra-Tamil Nadu border. The exception to this has been Baahubali whose second installment has reportedly been sold in Tamil for Rs 45 crore.

In the past many years, two actors who have been popular in each other's territory are Telugu actor Allu Arjun and Malayalam actor Suresh Gopi. Chiranjeevi's nephew Allu Arjun's dubbed movies do such phenomenal business in Kerala that he is referred to as 'Mallu' Arjun. And Suresh Gopi's fiery police roles have found acceptability in the Telugu market.

But Mohanlal's presence in Hyderabad promises to take this interest to the next level.

Producer D Suresh Babu says, "Mohanlal presents to the Telugu filmmakers an actor superior to a Prakash Raj and a Sathyaraj. It also helps develop a market for Telugu films in Kerala. Having actors in important roles, helps sell the movie both in Telangana-Andhra and Kerala.''

Interestingly, Mohanlal's superhit Drishyam was remade in all south Indian languages and even Hindi. His decision to embrace Telugu will mean the film-goers will get to see the master's craft in a familiar language.

The fact that actors across the south Indian film industry are putting in an effort to collaborate, is good news for everyone. Mohanlal bought the rights to Rajinikanth's Kabali and the trailer of his Onam release Oppam, a murder mystery thriller in which Mohanlal plays a blind man with a heightened sense of sound and smell, was released along with it.

Mohanlal's Telugu avatar has filmmakers salivating, excited at the prospect of working with an actor of his calibre. Already unit members of both Manamantha and Janatha Garage are full of awe, telling stories of how Mohanlal would give most shots in one take, with perfect Telugu diction and voice modulation.

Immediately after the teaser of Manamantha was out in June, Baahubali director SS Rajamouli thanked director Chandrasekhar Yeleti for bringing God's own Mohanlal into Tollywood. It is not everyday that you see a veteran of 36 years under the arclights get such a rousing reception.
Christopher Nolan's epic World War II masterpiece Dunkirk just got its first teaser trailer.

Filming began on 23 May 2016 in Dunkirk, France and is shot on 65mm large format film stock by cinematographer Hoyte Van Hoytema, who was also responsible for Interstellar.

The film, which stars Tom Hardy, Mark Rylance (of Bridge of Spies fame), also features Harry Styles (of One Direction) in his first film role. It will tell the story of an effort to evacuate more than 300000 allied troops who were surrounded by Nazi troops in the French seaport of Dunkirk.

The trailer opens with an almost peaceful shot of the sea foam washing onto the beach. Tension quickly mounts as troops are seen aligned on the beach, marching on the harbor, then out in the water. The words 'At the point of crisis', 'At the point of annihilation' and 'Survival is victory' buildup the tension between the screens.

The trailer leaves us with the look of dread on the soldiers faces as they realise the possibility of attack looms ahead.

Dunkirk will debut in theaters on 21 July 2017.
New Delhi: The passage of GST Bill in the Rajya Sabha is "credit positive" for India's sovereign rating as the rollout of Goods and Services Tax regime will have a favourable impact on growth and tax revenues, Moody's Investors Service said today.

"The short-term sovereign credit implications of the GST bill will be limited, given that effective implementation will take some time, and as the GST rates are likely to be chosen as revenue neutral," Moody's said.

It added: "The GST will support economic activity and government revenues over the medium term by removing a key hurdle to the smooth movement of goods and services, and reducing corporates' and the government's tax administration costs, thereby improving compliance and raising tax receipts."

In a report titled, 'Upper House Passage Paves Way for GST Bill Implementation, a Credit Positive', Moody's said the new tax regime will be broadly positive for Indian non-financial corporates, although the overall impact will vary across sectors.

GST will lead to much simpler administrative framework, reducing tax governing costs for corporates, and over time, improving the overall cost competitiveness of corporate India. It will also likely translate into swifter mobility of goods between states by removing the barriers present under the existing regime, it said.

"The overall impact is likely to vary across sectors, with some of the highest tax payers under the current regime, such as automotives, standing to gain the most," Moody's said. Rajya Sabha on August 3 passed a constitutional amendment to allow implementation of the long-delayed GST. The Bill will now go to Lok Sabha next week.

The Bill will then have to be ratified by 50 per cent of the state legislative assemblies, and the actual GST bill will need to be enacted into law by the Lok Sabha and by state governments.

Moody's said the new GST structure follows a dual taxation model with powers granted to the central and state governments to tax both goods and services under a common structure. It will replace the existing system of multiple taxes, imposed at different stages of the value chain, with a single unified tax.

Last December, a committee headed by the Chief Economic Adviser recommended a revenue neutral range of 15-15.5 per cent with a preference for the lower end of that range. "While the goal is to strive towards one single GST rate in the medium term, the committee recommended a three-rate structure in the interim. The lower rates may be at around 12 per cent while standard rates are recommended to be in the range of 17-18 per cent," it said.
There is a "huge element of money laundering" in illegal public deposit schemes across the country, a top Sebi official said today, even as he wondered why not many claimants are coming forward to get back the money in the high-profile Sahara case.

"So far as Sahara is concerned, we have a decent amount of money but not many claimants. That is a question mark, as to why there are no claimants despite the fact that we have made multiple advertisements seeking applications to pay the money," Sebi whole time member S Raman told reporters.

Speaking on the sidelines of the launch of a website under the State Level Coordination Committees (SLCC) scheme to tackle the menace of illegal money pooling activities, Raman said there is "huge element of money laundering" in such schemes. Because of this, the Ministry of Finance's Directorate of Enforcement should (RPT) should also be made a part of the state-level coordination panels, which began working in 2014, he added.

In Sahara case, Sebi was given truckloads of documents not connected to one another and undertook the gargantuan task of sifting through those which has not been done by any regulator in the world, Raman said. "The entire desire of ours is to distribute as much money as possible," he said.

Sahara is engaged in a long-running dispute with Sebi over schemes involving raising of funds from public through certain bonds and the group was asked to return thousands of crores along with interest to the investors through the regulator. The group claims to have already refunded 95 per cent of the money directly to the investors.

As per the latest Sebi data, it has got Rs 11,272 crore with interest in its Sahara Refund Account while the money returned to investors is just around Rs 55 crore.

Talking about another high-profile case involving Pearl Group entity PACL, which was asked by Sebi to refund over Rs 50,000 crore collected from investors, Raman said the recently constituted committee under the chairmanship of former Chief Justice of India R M Lodha is trying to collect details of properties owned by the group.

He, however, sought to clarify that in PACL, the watchdog had been proactive in barring the company from collecting funds as far back in 1996, but the company got a relief in its favour from a High Court.

Sebi successfully challenged the order in the apex court, but an order from the Supreme Court came only in 2012 by which time it had raised the money.

Referring to some media reports about the group trying to raise money from sale of some assets in Australia, Raman said the market watchdog is in touch with Australian authorities to ensure that proceeds are not diverted for any other purpose.

"We are in touch with Australian authorities not to allow the sale transaction proceeds to go away. All that is in the process," he said.

"In Sahara (case) you would have seen in the papers, we got truckloads of papers not connected with one another. It is a huge effort, I don't think any regulator in the world has to face such a challenge. The challenge was faced and met and we are doing our best to ensure...the entire desire of ours is to distribute as much money as possible," Raman said.

According to him, the responsibility to repay the investors is on the persons who have taken the funds. "Regulator is somebody who tries to ensure that such illegal fund raisings do not happen... Our desire is to that nobody loses any money but the most important weapon in our hand is investor education," Raman said.
SRINAGAR Indian security forces opened fire on curfew-defying protesters in the disputed region of Kashmir on Friday, killing three and bringing the number of people killed in a wave of unrest to 55.

(Click here for pictures)

The recent protests erupted in July over the killing of Burhan Wani, 22, a commander of the Hizbul Mujahideen militant group, a separatist group.

In Friday's shootings, two protesters were killed in the west of Srinagar, Jammu and Kashmir's summer capital, and one in the north of the city after crowds began attacking police and paramilitary positions following Friday prayers, a senior police officer said.

More than 100 people were wounded including several police officers, the police officer said, speaking on the condition he was not named because he was not authorised to speak to the media.

India has urged its security forces to act with restraint as they try to keep protesters off the streets and quell near-daily violence that has flared since July 9, but some have accused troops of using excessive force to control the protests.

The Muslim-majority region of Kashmir has been divided between Pakistan and India since shortly after the two countries were carved out of Britain in 1947. Both claim the territory as theirs in full and they have fought two of their three wars over the region.

The weeks-long unrest has further strained relations between the two countries and this week threatened to overshadow a regional forum meeting in Islamabad that was attended by India's interior minister.

India accuses Pakistan of smuggling fighters across its border to attack forces in the Indian-administered portion of the region, a charge Islamabad strongly denies.

Militant attacks against Indian forces have fallen substantially from a peak in the 1990s, but the government has failed to tackle widespread resentment against its rule and there remains a simmering insurgency.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government has vowed to continue hunting militants while increasing aid and development for the region.

(Writing by Tommy Wilkes)

This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed.
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Army has been carrying out extensive area domination operations in the strife torn District of Kokrajhar. pic.twitter.com/AGzLEHj5uw

Almost every ethnic group has lost someone or the other, reported CNN-News18. This is unlike the attacks that took place in 2014 or 2015 in Assam.

"Our government is committed to take stern action against extremists outfit to ensure the safety of civilians," he said.

Sonowal, who was sworn in as the first BJP chief minister of Assam on 24 May, said his government is committed to ensure the safety of life and property of the people of Assam.

The Home Ministry is in touch with the Assam Government & is monitoring the situation closely. @HMOIndia

Saddened by the attack in Kokrajhar. We strongly condemn it. Thoughts & prayers with the bereaved families & those injured.

Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal has directed Assam Director General of Police Mukesh Sahay to beef up security and launch a vigorous drive to apprehend those behind the "heinous crime", Sonowal said the militants would be dealt with "very sternly".

"We will not tolerate any threat from any group. The government will not bow to any pressure while tackling terrorist groups," Sonowal said, adding all deputy commissioners and superintendents of police across the state have been directed to be on high alert following the attack and in view of Independence Day.

News of the terror attack in Kokrajhar, Assam extremely worrying. My thoughts& prayers are with the families of the victims

It's a matter of concern, will not allow peace to be destroyed in Assam: Jitendra Singh (DoNER Minister) #Kokrajhar pic.twitter.com/hp4SwaU5Td

Spoke to Assam CM Shri @sarbanandsonwal who apprised me of the situation in Kokrajhar. MHA is closely monitoring the situation.

NSA will have separate meeting with MoD officials; no clarity yet on who is behind the attack, reported Times Now.

At least 14 people have died in an encounter between militants and security forces in Kokrajhar in Assam, CNN-News18 reported. According to the reports, at least 10 civilians were those among killed.

At around 11.30 am, shootout broke out in a busy market area in Kokrajhar Assam. So far no group has claimed responsibility for the attacks.

The Assam DGP told CNN-News18 that three to four militants were still on the run, and the area has been cordoned off. The search is still on even as one terrorist has been shot dead. A fierce gunbattle is underway in Barzan bazaar.
The Assam DGP has said that NDFB(S), a militant group active in Assam, may be responsible for the Assam gun attacks that has claimed lives of 13 civilians so far.

Media reports claim that the style of attack and the choice of ammunition is similar to NDFB(S) modus operandi, however, no group has claimed responsibility so far. The National democratic Front of Bodoland(Songbijit) is one of the largest insurgent group active in the region with more than 300 cadres in its folds. According to a Times of India report published a few months before the deadly 2014 Assam attacks, NDFB(S) continues to be the most powerful faction of the militant groups active in the region. The report also claimed that six new terror groups were in the offing, mainly consisting of surrendered militants and criminals who had gone back to the jungles.

During the period, possibly NDFB(S) also restrengthened itself by recruiting fresh cadres, as it continues to be the largest separatist faction that has remained out of the entire peace process.

However, despite its popularity, the group, which is a faction of the National Democratic Bodoland Front is of fairly recent vintage. After the original NDFB engaged in peace talks and signed the ceasefire treaty with the Indian government in 2005, it was split in several factions: those who were pro-talks and those who continued to indulge in militancy. NDFB(S) was formed in 2012 and was one of the strongest voices in the anti-peace talk factions, and has been a target of the Indian security forvces since then. Disgruntled over NDBF's bid to indulge in peace talk, IK Songbijit, the "army commander" of the group, seceded from the original party to form his anti-peace talk separatist faction in 2012, according to a report in Times of Assam.

Though, interestingly as the group vows to not rest until it has a separate Bodoland, its founder Songbojit is not a Bodo himself. A Karbi by birth, Songbojit hails from Sonitpur district where the NDBF(S) has massacred as many as 31 innocent people, according to a report in The Indian Express. However, Songbojit conveniently dubs the lives lost as "collateral damage" in the course of a war of "rights" in his interview to Times of Assam.

Since 2012, the group has indulged in multiple attacks and killed over 200 people. However, the Indian forces have continued to foil attempts of insurgency, seizing weapons on various occassions and have also neutralised several of its cadres.

According to a report in India Today, in April, three NDFB(S) terrorists were arrested while two others were killed in March. However, Friday's attack indicates that the militant group has fortified in the region.

In Balazan market area of Kokrajhar, Assam a fierce gun battle between militants and security forces broke out at around 11.30 am on Friday that has seen 13 killed so far, while 18 people have been injured. According to reports,several among those who died in the attacks are Bodos. A militant has also been neutralised by the security forces.
New Delhi: BJP's dalit member Udit Raj on Friday demanded a discussion in the Lok Sabha on the recent incidents of atrocities against dalits, saying the community was being targeted across the country.

Udit Raj referred to a host of recent cases, including in Gujarat, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Kerala and Tamil Nadu in which

dalits were attacked.

He also spoke about recent beating up of dalits in Patna and killing of a dalit couple in Mainpuri in Uttar Pradesh for Rs 15.

"Incidents of atrocities against dalits are happening in various parts of the countryit should be discussed," he said.

The government had recently rejected the opposition's demand for a similar debate, saying the issue has already been raised in Parliament.
Widespread protests broke out in Kanpur after a 25-year-old Dalit man died under suspicious circumstances in police custody on Tuesday.

NDTV reported that Kamal Valmiki was summoned to the police station on Tuesday for interrogation over a case of theft. Police later claimed that he committed suicide by hanging himself, while his family alleged that he died because of "police brutality".

Along with Station House Officer (SHO), Yogendra Singh, 12 police personnel were suspended and five cops were booked for murder, Hindustan Times reported.

"Twelve police personnel, including the station in-charge Yogendra Singh, have been suspended and strict action will be taken against them if found guilty," said SSP, Mathura, Shalabh Mathur.

Mathur said that a case has been registered under sections of murder and SC/ST Act based on the complaint of family members of deceased.

Station Incharge & other police officials who were present at time of incident, suspended- Kanpur SSP Shalabh Mathur pic.twitter.com/HIlfXvHJT6  ANI UP (@ANINewsUP) August 5, 2016

A case has been registered under sections of murder and SC/ST act on the complaint of family members of deceased: Kanpur SSP Shalabh Mathur  ANI UP (@ANINewsUP) August 5, 2016

Further, Uttar Pradesh Director General of Police, Javed Ahmed while speaking to NDTV said, "A custody death is absolutely unacceptable. There is no question of not taking action."

Along with Valmiki, the police had rounded up another co-accused, Raju Mistri who has been reported as "missing".

Interestingly, when the police had sent Valmiki's body for post mortem, the corpse was allegedly bearing the name of Mistri. The police, however, denied these allegations and said it was "deliberate".

Following Valmiki's death, members of the Dalit community blocked the Kanpur-Lucknow highway, and started protesting by pelting stones at the police station. But senior police officials reached the spot to restore law and order.

Uttar Pradesh: Agitated locals protested in Kanpur after a man died in police custody, Station In charge suspended pic.twitter.com/6mEkV6USTp  ANI UP (@ANINewsUP) August 5, 2016

Locals pelted stones at police, vandalised vehicles after a man died in police custody in Kanpur (UP) pic.twitter.com/jZZVIbg1ZY  ANI UP (@ANINewsUP) August 5, 2016

With elections due next year, the Uttar Pradesh police has been receiving a lot of flak because of the Bulanshahr gangrape incident which once again brought the law and order situation under the Akhilesh Yadav government under scanner.
The miraculous escape of 282 passengers and 18 cabin crew members aboard the Emirates flight EK521, which crash-landed in Dubai on Wednesday, is vividly captured in a video that has now gone viral.

For survivors, it sure was a miraculous escape since seconds after the last person left, fire engulfed the plane. If one were to track social media posts on this incident, appreciating the obvious professionalism of the flight's crew, pales in comparison to the vitriol against Indians in general, and Malyalees in particular. There were thankfully zero casualties in such a dangerous incident as the flight's crew succeeded in getting everyone evacuated in time. The flight originated in Thiruvananthapuram, and majority passengers were Indians.

But instead of appreciating the crew, social media is in a bind over the fleeing passengers (mostly Indians) insisting on also carrying their luggage out of the inferno. There are various allegations and racial posts out there, suggesting that such behaviour is peculiar to Indians and to Malyalees.

The assumption clearly is that it is only people from a certain race or region who think about securing their worldly possessions even in times like these. Unfortunately, aviation history is replete with examples of people of different races doing exactly this: disregarding the danger to their lives as well as their co-passengers' and pouncing for bags. So this love for worldly possessions is not an Indian or a Mallu thing  it is a common reaction, and most passengers reach for their bags when leaving an aircraft in a hurry, no matter which part of the world they were born in. When a British Airways aircraft caught fire at Las Vegas in September 2015, similar instances of passengers carrying their handbags out of the plane were seen, with widespread condemnation.

"F*****g rats. That was the term a person used to describe Indian passengers aboard an Emirates plane that crash-landed Wednesday at Dubai airport, says this story from India Today, ostensibly quoting a cabin crew member from another airline. This person was reacting to the love for luggage that fleeing passengers showed.

And this post lists out instances where passengers who were not from India indulged in similar behaviour during an emergency aircraft evacuation earlier, across the globe.

Remember, emergency evacuation could mean having to slide down chutes, getting off the plane in hostile external environment etc, and even if bags have been secured, they may be impossible to carry once a passenger has left the aircraft. Bags damage evacuation chutes  but more importantly, they take away precious time from the evacuation process.

Although one doesn't want to put too fine a point on this, vanity bags and laptops need not be a priority in a time like this. In the Emirates crash-landing incident, passengers may have been unaware about the impending fire, but an emergency evacuation automatically means they should have just followed instructions from the crew for a speedy exit instead of clutching their bags.

There is no law against taking bags while fleeing an aircraft, it is merely common sense.

Another uncomfortable question: who actually found time to film the chaos, when only seconds were available for leaving the aircraft? Cabin crew are trained to evacuate an aircraft in 90 seconds, for a reason. Every second counts in emergency situations. Perhaps it is time that passengers boarding an aircraft are specifically trained about the perils of clinging to their worldly possessions when lives are at stake.

Some aviation professionals are suggesting that carrying hand baggage into the cabin itself should be banned; no bags at hand, no temptation to think of them instead of the safety of fellow passengers in emergency situations. This may be a bit drastic but some training of passengers is definitely called for

That the cabin crew of this Emirates flight showed exemplary professionalism is not in doubt. Emirates chairman Sheikh Ahmed Bin Saeed said in a press conference, after the incident that "evacuation procedures were followed professionally. Cabin crew were the last to leave the plane".

This post from ABC News also lists out steps that have been considered in the past to prevent people from running out of a plane with their bags, One suggestion has been the automatic locking of overhead bins in the aircraft to prevent such temptations. It seems the aviation industry has been considering whether to install this feature on aircrafts for some time.

Till the aviation industry figures out what to do to get passengers to refrain from grabbing their bags while sliding down emergency chutes, perhaps we all should start actually watching the safety videos (drills) which are shown at the start of each flight. And put a little more trust in the men and women who ensure that our lives are saved in times of crises by remaining on board till the last passenger has deplaned safely.
Delhi High Court on Friday, refused to interfere with the ban on a controversial BBC documentary, Indias Daughter on the December 16 gangrape case, saying the issue of its telecast was pending before the trial court which was competent to deal with it.

A bench of Chief Justice G Rohini and Justice Jayant Nath also did not go into the validity of an advisory issued by the Centre against telecast of the short film, saying that it was only an advice to private TV channels and the documentary was not shown because of the restraint order of the trial court.

So far as the judicial orders of March 3 and March 4, 2015 (banning telecast of the documentary) are concerned, since the matter is pending before the competent court of law and more particularly the investigation is still in progress, the interference by this court either under Article 226 or under Article 227 of the Constitution is not warranted, the bench said.

The court also said, It is apparent from facts borne out from the record that the advisory dated March 3, 2015, was a mere advice to the private TV channels. It appears to us that the documentary in question has not been telecast on account of the restraint order passed by the competent court of law.

We, therefore, decline to enter into the various contentions advanced by the petitioners regarding the validity of the advisory issued by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting.

The decision came on the PILs by three law students seeking lifting of the ban on the documentary, which was shot inside Tihar Jail, on the ground that it was a look at the mindset of one of the convicted rapists.

The bench disposed of the petitions while leaving it open to the trial court to proceed with the matter by following the due process of law and also granted liberty to the law students or any other aggrieved party to work out other remedies under the law.

On the night of December 16, 2012, Ram Singh, Vinay Sharma, Akshay Thakur, Pawan Gupta, Mukesh and a juvenile had gangraped a girl in a bus and beaten up her 28-year-old male friend, who was with her.

While the girl succumbed to her injuries on December 29, 2012 at a Singapore hospital, the victim's friend, suffered grievous hurt in the incident.

The juvenile accused was on August 31, 2013 convicted and sentenced to three years in a reformation home, while four others were handed down death penalty.

The counsel for Delhi Government had earlier told the bench that video of the documentary was available on the Internet and no one's fundamental right was affected due to this.

The documentary was made by Leslee Udwin and was broadcast by British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC). It was banned by the government after its contents, including the interview of one of the rapists who showed no remorse, triggered outrage.

Udwin had claimed that she took permission from the then Director General of Tihar Jail Vimla Mehra to interview Mukesh in prison for BBC. Police said it is probing the matter.

The Information and Broadcasting ministry had on March 3 advised all news channels not to carry the story related to the interview of one of the convicts in the gangrape case.

The trial court had restrained airing or broadcasting the documentary in March last year. The police, in its application filed before the trial court, had said that Mukesh Singh, the driver of the bus in which the girl was gangraped, has made insulting, malicious and derogatory statements about women.

They had said if the interview is telecast, it might lead to widespread public outcry and serious law and order problem as had happened in the aftermath of the gangrape case. Police had registered an FIR in the matter and thereafter obtained an order from the court restraining the media from broadcasting, publishing or transmitting the interview.
Srinagar: Jammu and Kashmir Congress chief GA Mir on Friday demanded an immediate ban on the use of pellet guns on protesters by security forces in the Valley.

"The pellets have already inflicted serious damages to hundreds of people. Their use must be banned immediately," he said, urging the authorities dealing with law-and-order to exercise restraint and avoid use of lethal weapons on the protesters.

Describing the prevailing law-and-order situation in the Valley as "dangerous", Mir urged the Centre and the state government to move ahead with a "great sense of responsibility" to put an end to the ongoing unrest.

"The deteriorating (law-and-order) situation is dangerous and a great loss to the state. The Centre and the state government should move ahead with a great sense of responsibility and make serious efforts to reach out to the people (to end the unrest)," he said in a statement here.

Underlining the need to adopt a "holistic approach" to put an end to the unrest, Mir urged the Centre and the state government to make "serious efforts" to restore normalcy in the Valley.

He also called for avoiding the "use of force or bullets" on people.

"Both the state and Central governments need to ensure the safety of the common innocent people," he said. Describing the recent killing of an ATM guard allegedly by CRPF personnel at Chattabal here as "highly condemnable", the state Congress chief lashed out at the ruling PDP-BJP combine in the state alleging that it was not even able to stop the killings of "innocent" people.

"These unfortunate incidents reflect the inability and inefficiency of the coalition government to handle the crisis. Killing or injuring the people without any provocation gives rise to anger, besides making it difficult, almost impossible, to restore peace.

"This is unfortunate that the state government is still in a moribund condition and not able to stop the innocent killings which is a matter of serious concern," Mir said. Calling for calm, he appealed to the people to maintain peace and avoid confrontation with the security forces.
Mumbai: The CBI on Friday filed its supplementary chargesheet against gangster Chhota Rajan in connection with the murder case of journalist J Dey at a special MCOCA court.

On 5 July, MCOCA court Judge S S Adkar had directed the probe agency to file the chargesheet latest by 5 August.

According to CBI, the motive for killing Dey in 2011 was the book that he was writing on the underworld.

The agency, in its charge sheet, has recorded statement of 41 witnesses while it made witnessRavi Raman additional accused in the case.

"Ravi Ram was a witness earlier but he has emerged as a key link between Rajan and other accused," said a CBI officer.

Ram had allegedly supplied 20 global sims on Rajan's instructions.

The CBI said they have also included transcripts of conversation between arrested journalist Jigna Vora and Rajan in the chargesheet.

The agency also said that FSL reports show that the recorded voice sample of Rajan matches with the intercepted conversations between Rajan and Jigna.

Last month, adjourning the hearing till 5 August, the court had said that it would go ahead with framing of charges as per the chargesheet earlier filed by Mumbai Police's Crime Branch if the agency failed to do so.

Special Public Prosecutor Bharat Badami had then informed the court that the agency had got some more evidence against

the wanted accused Nayan Singh Bisht, and will be annexing it to the chargesheet.

Rajan was arrested at Bali airport in Indonesia on 25 October last year and deported to India. He is facing around 70 cases in Maharashtra, which include the J Dey murder case of 2011. The Maharashtra government has handed over all these cases to CBI.

Dey, a veteran crime reporter, was shot dead in suburban Powai on 11 June, 2011, allegedly at the behest of Rajan.

According to investigators, Rajan was upset with certain articles written by Dey about him.

The first chargesheet filed in 2011 names Satiah Kaliya, Abhijeet Shinde, Arun Dake, Sachin Gaikwad, Anil Waghmode, Nilesh Shendge, Mangesh Agawane, Vinod Asrani, Paulson Joseph and Deepak Sisodia (all arrested).

Another chargesheet was filed against journalist Jigna Vora the next year. Vora, accused of instigating Rajan against

Dey owing to her own professional rivalry, is now out on bail.
Srinagar: Curfew was extended to more areas of Kashmir today to thwart a planned march by separatists to Hazratbal shrine here even as normal life in the Valley remained paralysed for the 28th consecutive day.

"Curfew has been imposed in entire Srinagar district in view of the call for march by some elements to Hazratbal. "Curfew has also been imposed in Ganderbal, Budgam, Anantnag town, Awantipora, Kulgam town, Baramulla district excluding Sopore, Shopian town, Kaloosa in Bandipora and parts of Handwara," a police official said.

He said restrictions on assembly of four or more persons in rest of the Valley as a precautionary measure to maintain law and order.

Security forces have been deployed in strength in sensitive and vulnerable areas to maintain law and order.

Normal life in the Valley remained affected for the 28th consecutive day due to the curbs imposed by the authorities and separatist sponsored strike against the death of civilians in clashes between protesters and security forces following the killing of Hizbul Mujahideen commander Burhan Wani in an encounter on 8 July.

Schools, colleges, business establishments, petrol pumps banks and private offices remained closed while public transport remained off roads. Attendance in government offices was also thin, the official said.

For the last couple of days, many shops and business establishments open after sundown after the separatists announced relaxation in the agitation programme to allow people to buy essentials in view of the prolonged shut down.

Mobile internet services continued to remain snapped in the entire Valley where the outgoing facility on prepaid connections is barred.

The separatist, who have has extended the shutdown call in Kashmir till 12 August, have demanded that mainstream politicians resign from their parties and posts.

They have called for blocking routes to Civil Secretariat in Srinagar and other government offices in districts to "ensure that no employee is able to join the duty".

"A poster letter asking pro-India politicians and their workers including panchs and sarpanchs to resign from their parties and positions to be pasted on the gates of their homes," the agitation calendar, issued jointly by the separatist camp, said.

51 persons were killed in the violence and 5,500 injured.

Police had launched a massive crackdown against "hooligans and miscreants" in Kashmir, arresting nearly 500 youths from across the Valley.
Srinagar: Three persons were killed and over 150 injured in fresh clashes which rocked Kashmir at several places after Friday prayers, raising the death toll during the current unrest to 53.

The clashes took place even as curfew was extended to more areas of Kashmir to thwart a planned march by separatists to Hazratbal shrine here even as normal life in the Valley remained paralysed for the 28th consecutive day.

Mohammad Maqbool Khanday was killed allegedly in action by security forces against mobs who indulged in stone-pelting after Friday prayers at Nagam in Chadoora area of central Kashmir's Budgam district, a police official said.

As the news of Khanday's death spread, protests erupted at several places along the Chanapora-Chadoora road and clashes were reported from Kralpora area, he said.

In another incident, three youth were critically injured in action by security forces against violent mob at Khansahib area of Budgam district, the official said.

He said the injured were taken to SMHS hospital here where one of them was declared "brought dead" by the doctors.

The death of the youth led to protests within the hospital and some youth started pelting stones on the nearby Karan Nagar police station.

One youth was killed in a clash in Sopore, he said.

Mobs also indulged in stone-pelting on the ancestral house of Asia Naqash, Minister of State for Health, in Habbak area of Srinagar. However, nobody was in the house.

The house of Independent MLA Hakeem Mohd Yaseen was also attacked by mobs in Khan Sahib area but nobody was injured, the official said.

The official said clashes between protestors and security forces were also reported from Sopore town and Palhallan town in north Kashmir Baramulla district and Goshbug in Kupwara district.

More than 100 people were reported to be injured in these clashes but officials refused to comment on this, saying they were busy with law and order situation.

Earlier in the day, authorities had extended curfew to more areas of Kashmir to thwart a planned march by separatists to Hazratbal shrine.

Curfew was imposed in entire Srinagar district as also in Ganderbal, Budgam, Anantnag town, Awantipora, Kulgam town, Baramulla district excluding Sopore, Shopian town, Kaloosa in Bandipora and parts of Handwara, the police official said.

He said restrictions were also clamped on assembly of four or more persons in rest of the Valley as a precautionary measure to maintain law and order.

Security forces had been deployed in strength in sensitive and vulnerable areas to maintain law and order.
Guwahati: The NDFB(S) group that is suspected to have carried out the deadly attack in Assam's Kokrajhar district on Friday has strong links with ISI, says former DGP Assam Ghanashyam Murari Srivastava.

While speaking to Firstpost, he said that the militant group was mentored by the Pakistani intelligence agency Inter-Services Intelligence to carry out terror strikes in Assam in a secret meeting that took place two months back at a clandestine location at Chittagong in Bangladesh.

He said that as per the mentorship of the patron, the group planned to launch attack in Assam.

Tipped off by sources, the police had ambushed a group of NDFB(S) militants on 16 July this year and killed three of them in Kokrajhar district.

If we go back to the records of militant attacks in Assam in the last 20 years we will find that they attack innocent people only when they are weak or they feel that local people have tipped off security forces about their existence. Today's attack seems to have been factored by similar condition, he said.

He said that such an attack was not difficult to anticipate, given the fact that the joint operation of the police and army neutralised three militants only last month.

The former Assam police chief further said that the militant group normally carry out these attacks to spread fear among the common people to prevent them from cooperating with the security forces.

One such incident was the brutal murder of a young girl in August 2014.

A bright Class-X student Priya Basumatary from Runikhata Girls' High School in LaimatiDwimuguri village in Chirang district was brutally killed in front of her family and other villagers by the NDFB(S), which suspected her of being a police informer.

When security forces fail to garner support from people it becomes easier for the militants to find money and shelter, the former police chief said.

In May 2014, heavily armed NDFB (S) militants had shot dead 11 people, including three children, and leaving three others seriously injured. Out of the 11, seven were shot dead in Kokrajhar. A group of 20 to 25 NDFB-Songbijit militants, armed with AK-47 rifles, swooped down on three houses at Balapara-I village in Kokrajhar district in the early hours on the today and fired indiscriminately killing seven people on the spot, the police had said.

In December 2014, NDFB (S) had gunned down 78 people in BTAD areas including Kokrajhar.

According to the security expert, the Kokrajhar attack on Friday are unlikely to be carried out directly by Jihadi groups, but the NDFB group has strong links with ISI.
Congress on Friday said Home Minister Rajnath Singh was "insulted" by Pakistan at the just-concluded

SAARC meet there, and came down hard on the Narendra Modi- government for allowing it to happen.

"Such an insult had never been heaped on the Indian Home Minister in any bilateral or multilateral fora. It is a result of the flip-flops, U-turns and zigzag in India's Pakistan policy which has never seen in the past 70 years," party spokesman Abhishek Singhvi told reporters.

Noting that Congress was "angry and saddened" by the manner in which the Indian Home Minister was treated, he said it showed that India's foreign policy and, especially Pakistan policy, is "lying in tatters".

The government has to be held accountable and it should share the blame, he said.

"India's foreign policy is lying in tatters. We had no business to put ourselves in such positions where we can be embarrassed," he said, wondering why were no guarantees sought by the Indian government before the Home Minister visited Pakistan.

Singhvi contended that there have been Saarc meetings earlier as also the shadow of terrorism, "but never before have we seen such type of insult against India".

Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif in the meeting said that Kashmir was witnessing a new wave of freedom movement, Singhvi said insisting that "never before had the Pakistan government dared talk like this".

Tearing into the government's Pakistan policy, he said Pakistan routinely insults India, and the Modi government rolls out the "red carpet", first for the Pakistan Prime Minister and then for the ISI as was witnessed after the Pathankot terror attack.

"Never before has the Home Minister been insulted like this. The question is, why was he allowed to be mistreated like this?" he said expressing shock that there were terror groups which were "openly abusing and mocking" India while the Home Minister was in Pakistan.

Wondering as to why has Modi government not moved beyond the sari-shawl diplomacy, he said there is "huge difference" between the "pretended bonhomie" when the Pakistan PM had come for Modi's swearing in and the just concluded Saarc meet.

Singhvi was also critical of certain statements of the External Affairs Ministry when the Home Minister went to Pakistan saying that it should have kept quiet. "The whole thing shows that the left hand does not know what the right hand is doing in this government".

He noted that when Rajnath flew to Pakistan, he was received by Director General of Saarc, which was against the protocol. When Chidambaram had gone there as Home Minister, his Pakistan counterpart Abdul Rahman Malik had received him, he said.

Singhvi reminded the government that Bangladesh Home Minister had not gone to the Saarc meet despite the fact that their ties with Islamabad were "far better" than that of India.
New Delhi: Senseless acts of terrorism targeting innocent lives undermine the democratic base of society and deserve to be universally condemned, President Pranab Mukherjee said on Saturday, condemning the militant attack in Assam's Kokrajhar district, killing 14 people.

In a message to Assam Governor Padmanabha Balakrishna Acharya, Mukherjee said, "I am extremely sad to learn about the attack by militants in Assam's Kokrajhar district today in which a number of persons have lost their lives and several others are injured."

"Such senseless acts of terrorism targeting innocent lives undermine the democratic base of society and deserve to be universally condemned. They must be met with determination and collective action," he said.

He called upon the state government and all other agencies concerned to ensure that the guilty are brought to justice and law and order is maintained in state.

"I am sure necessary steps are being taken to provide all possible aid to the bereaved families who have lost their near and dear ones as well as medical assistance to the injured. Please convey my heartfelt condolences to the families of the deceased. I also wish speedy recovery to the injured persons," he said.

Terror struck Assam when a group of heavily armed militants dressed in army fatigues and suspected of belonging to a Bodo separatist outfit opened indiscriminate fire and lobbed grenades at a crowded weekly market killing 14 people.
Hyderabad: State Minorities Commission for Telangana and Andhra Pradesh is set to unleash an awareness campaign against Islamic State by getting on board Imams of a large number of mosques across the two states to thwart the attempts of the terror group to lure youths.

The Commission will on Saturday hold a seminar, awareness programme and interactive session on "ISIS - Interpreting reality", which would be attended among others by Imams of nearly 300 mosques from the two states, its Chairman Abid Rasool Khan said.

"These guys (Imams) are going to listen to all this (speeches by security and legal experts and religious scholars on perils of Islamic State) and they will say the same thing next Friday (Friday prayers) in mosques. So, that way we want to spread word throughout the states," Khan told PTI.

At the event, they would discuss ways to wean away people from the violent and ultra conservative ideology of the terror group, and educate youth about serious repercussions of getting involved in its activities through social media.

Among the speakers would be a security expert on radicalisation, a scholar who has written a book on Islamic State and an adviser to multi-national companies on cyber threat.

Deputy Chief Ministers of Telangana and Andhra Pradesh, Mohammed Mahmood Ali and K E Krishnamurty, respectively, and Telangana Home Minister Nayini Narasimha Reddy would also speak at the event.

"Muslim speakers would be speaking with reference to Quran...and how ISIS...jihad how they are trying to entice. They (Muslim scholars) are trying to break the myth," he said.

Nearly 100 principals of colleges where Muslim students are studying and 100-200 "concerned parents" would also be among the attendees.

"Realising the serious threat of such terror groups to radicalise the youth, the Commission attempts to create awareness and provide solutions," Khan said.

The Minority Commissions of West Bengal, Maharashtra and Karnataka have approached Khan seeking help for organising programmes as the one taking place on Saturday.

"We are happy, a lot of people are coming to us and saying they want to be part of it. The community has responded positively to this," he added.

The event is being organised against the backdrop of police in several states detaining men on suspicion of having links to Islamic State or planning to join the dreaded outfit.

Recently, NIA busted a module in Hyderabad whose members allegedly owed allegiance to Islamic State.
Raipur: Three Naxals, including a woman, were on Friday killed in a fierce gun-battle with security personnel in a dense forest pocket in Chhattisgarh's Dantewada district, police said.

The encounter occurred early this morning in the forests of Kacheghat area when a team of state's District Reserve Group (DRG) was out on an anti-Naxal operation in the region, Dantewada Superintendent of Police Kamlochan Kashyap told PTI.

Based on inputs, a team of DRG had launched the operation in Faraspal's interiors forests, located on Dantewada-Bijapur border, around 450 kms from here.

A group of armed Naxals opened indiscriminate fire on the security personnel close to Kacheghat village following which an encounter broke out between the two sides, he said.

Bodies of three cadres, including a female, clad in 'uniform' were later found. Besides, two 315 bore revolvers, a muzzle loading gun, some daily use items and two bags were also recovered from the spot, he said.

A thorough search of the area is underway and more details are awaited, the SP added.
Ahmedabad: In a surprise decision, Vijay Rupani was on Friday chosen as the new Chief Minister of Gujarat by the BJP legislators to succeed Anandiben Patel, who resigned on Wednesday.

Rupani emerged as the choice for the top slot at the legislature party meeting attended by BJP chief Amit Shah and Union Minister Nitin Gadkari, though it was widely speculated that the mantle would fall on Nitin Patel.

After the meeting Gadkari announced that Rupani would be the new Chief Minister of Gujarat.

Rupani would be tasked with leading the party in the assembly polls due next year, overcoming the multiple

challenges faced by it in the home state of prime minister Narendra Modi.

Anandiben Patel announced her decision to resign through a Facebook post last week, saying she thought it fit to step down since as she will turn 75 this November, the age cap set by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the central and the state ministries.

#FLASH Vijay Rupani to be the next Chief Minister of Gujarat. Nitin Patel to be the Deputy CM.  ANI (@ANI_news) August 5, 2016

Vijay Rupani to be the next Chief Minister of Gujarat. Nitin Patel to be the Deputy CM: Nitin Gadkari pic.twitter.com/fHITt1u7Qv  ANI (@ANI_news) August 5, 2016

Vijay Rupani & Nitin Patel being felicitated by Nitin Gadkari, Amit Shah & Anandiben Patel in Gandhinagar (Gujarat) pic.twitter.com/F1JZJMNgdn  ANI (@ANI_news) August 5, 2016

BJP president Amit Shah has since Thursday held deliberations with party leaders to finalise the candidate.

BJP's parliamentary board accepted Anandiben Patel's offer to resign on Monday at its meeting in Delhi, setting in motion the process of choosing the new chief minister.

The BJP, in power in Gujarat for long, has been facing grim challenges like Patel quota stir and Dalit unrest in the wake of widely condemned dalit flogging incident in Una apart from reversals in rural areas in civic polls, which together seem to have dented its image and support base,prompting Aanandiben to quit.
Ahmedabad: Union Minister Nitin Gadkari, who was appointed as the BJP's observer for the selection of the new leadership in Gujarat, on Friday said that Vijay Rupani was chosen as the new Chief Minister and Nitin Patel as Deputy CM through a "democratic" process and "unanimously."

Speaking to the media after announcing the names, Gadkari stressed that the names of Rupani and Patel were finalised after thorough consultation with the party leadership.

"After coming here, I held talks with the party chief (Amit Shah) and (former Gujarat CM) Anandiben Patel. Vijaybhai Rupani's name was finalised after taking into consideration everybody's opinion and after discussions...And as per Anandiben's proposal, Nitin Patel was made the Deputy CM," Gadkari said.

"The selection happens through a democratic process. So two names came up and they were selected. The decision was taken unanimously after taking into account different opinions of the party leadership and party workers.

"The BJP believes in a democratic process. And our observers put forth all the demands infront of me. All the MLAs, MPs, PM, and Anandiben Patel were consulted...I will again say that the selection process was totally democratic. And the names were selected according to the proposal submitted by Anandiben," he said.

Replying to a question how Rupani was selected, even as Nitin Patel's office had said that he would be the next chief minister, Gadkari said, "Under Rupani's leadership, the BJP will once again emerge victorious in the 2017 Assembly elections."

"In the leadership of both of them, Gujarat will further develop in the coming times. The yardstick set by Narendrabhai Modi will be taken forward very well. In the coming state elections, we will get a bigger victory than last time," he said.

He also praised Anandiben Patel for her contribution towards the state and party as the chief minister, a post she held for two years, before she resigned on Wednesday.

"For two years as Chief Minister and eighteen years in political life Anandibenji took responsibilities of different ministries and did a great job. Even as a CM, she contributed significantly to the yardstick of development set by Narendra Modi," Gadkari said.
When Madkam Hidme, a tribal woman, was killed in Chhattisgarh just over a month ago, locals alleged that she was dragged from her house, gang raped and killed in cold-blood.

Barely days after the incident another news came from Chhattisgarh  that a tribal man (Situ Hemla) was tied to a tree, tortured and crucified. In both cases, men in uniform were blamed for the torture.While in

While in the case of Hidmes death, High Court had ordered a second post-mortem, the death of Hemla, a farmer, didnt get a mention in most of the local newspapers. With one or two exceptions, his death was not reported in national media either, and of course, there was hardly any outrage.

In sharp contrast, the flogging of four Dalit youths in Una in Gujarat, led to nationwide uproar. It angered Dalits across the country. Though in this case too media was accused of ignoring the incident, Dalit leaders and activists in different states raised it strongly, huge protests were held and politicians rushed to Una to meet the injured Dalit victims.

It may be argued that circumstances are different in Chhattisgarh, a state with Maoist stronghold, but incidents of brutality and killing of adiwasis largely doesnt become a major issue.

Chhattisgarh is not Kashmir, it is considered a part of the heartland, yet, there is not a whimper when tribals are not just beaten but killed brutally. It is not about conflict-torn states alone, any incident of torture or suspected fake encounter needs to be brought in public space. It is important because voiceless people are more prone to harassment, torture and oppression.

In fact, atrocities on tribals in MP, Odisha or Jharkhand, fail to evoke strong reaction from the political class and mostly the tribal victims voice fails to reach the national level. One of the reasons is lack of a strong tribal leadership.

Do you remember any media reports about a tribal youth who was allegedly tortured and killed in Jharkhand recently or when tribals were tortured in custody in faraway Tamil Nadu? Or for that matter, the killing of five persons, mostly tribal, in Kandhamal in Odisha in July?

Lack of pan-Indian tribal leadership

While there are many Dalit leaders across different political parties who take up issues regarding atrocities on Dalits, there is no tall tribal leader at the national level, who can even raise the basic issues of the Scheduled Tribes (especially, those outside North East).

Tribals never had an Ambedkar. Unfortunately, they couldnt even have a Kashi Ram either. They dont have their Mayawatis or Paswans either. As a result, their voice fails to reach Delhi.

Gujarat Dalits didnt need Mayawati for their protests but the BSP supremo raised the issue in the Parliament, which created an uproar. The former Gujarat CM Anandiben Patel had to resign, still, protests in different forms continued.

Dalits suffered much more but are now organised

Dalits have suffered immensely for ages. They face(ed) worst possible apartheid untouchability. But, fortunately, there are several movements now. An awakening that has made them stand for their rights on issues.

They have many political parties with substantial cadre. Dalits are active on ground as well as on social media. However, the tribal voice is missing even on social media.

Tribals concentrated in many states, yet voiceless

Sadly, the most indigenous people today are the voiceless Indians. The tribals or the Scheduled Tribes (STs) form nearly 8.6 percent of Indias population, much less than 16 percent of Dalits. However, tribals are concentrated in regions, unlike Dalits, and this should have benefited them.

About 25-35 percent of the population in Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, and Jharkhand are tribals. Odisha also has over 20 percent. While UP, Bihar has a very small tribal population, states like Rajasthan, Maharashtra, Karnataka, AP and Gujarat have sizable tribal populace.

This belt has nearly five crore tribals but no major leader. Chhattisgarh and Jharkhand were formed for tribals (at least, thats what was said when these states were created) but power remained in the hands of non-tribals, who inhabit urban areas (the big cities).

There are tribal leaders in Congress and BJP but none who could be pan-Indian leader of the Adiwasis and could raise their issues  displacement, lack of opportunities, socio-economic issues, exploitation and the onslaught  on their culture.

Where is the power of tribal vote?

This is the reason that more than 10 crore tribal voters across India are not seen as a vote bank at a national level, which could have prompted the parties to be sensitive to the aspirations of the adiwasis. Even in the central Indian belt, it has no impact.

Clearly, the tribals are thus the most neglected lot in India today. No delegations reach tribal victims households in case of harassment, torture or killings.

MP and Chhattisgarh have no mainstream parties of the STs while Jharkhand has a strong tribal party Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM), but there is no national leadership. In other states, tribal leaders are mostly divided among Congress, BJP or other parties.

The Gondwana Gantantra Party (GGP) had shown promise in MP but it soon got divided and faded from the political horizon. The situation is similar in other states.

Dalit, Muslim voices stronger than that of tribals

On the other hand, Dalits have organised better, though political leadership has a very important role in it. Nearly sixty years after Ambedkars death, Dalits have begun to react to injustice and resist strongly.

It has taken decades of groundwork by Dalits  writers, activists, and leaders  who together brought the awakening among the community. Their protests in Gujarat and other parts of the country have had an impact on New Delhi.

Dalits always had an icon like BR Ambedkar to get inspiration from. Ambedkar had asked them to focus on organising themselves and to live in cities. Dalits inhabit cities and towns, where they can organise better and their protests can have an impact.

Muslims also have this benefit, as they are predominantly urban, and their voice can reach media and power corridors early. In comparison, tribals remain in their areas in rural parts of the country and forestlands.

And thats another reason the voice of an adiwasi remains weak. What is needed is for tribals to have their own strong leaders and politicians-activists to ensure that they are heard and justice is done to them too.

The writer is a journalist based in Bhopal. He tweets at @indscribe
New Delhi: AAP leader Arvind Kejriwal will announce the party's plans to contest the Gujarat assembly election at a rally in Surat on 16 October, party sources said.

Aam Aadmi Party leaders Sanjay Singh and Ashutosh will hold a public meeting in Surat on August 9, a party source told IANS. And on October 16, Kejriwal will also hold a rally there and announce that the AAP will contest the next assembly election, the source added.

Kejriwal has visited Gujarat twice in the past month and the AAP has become very active in the state in recent weeks, building up its support base.

Elections to the 182-member Gujarat assembly are expected to be held next year.
It is a slap on Arvind Kejriwal's face, exulted his critics after the Delhi High Court's decision making Najeeb Jung the boss of Delhi.

No, sweetie, did you check your cheeks lately? The slap is actually on the face of Delhi's voters.

Look at it like this: The HC, for no fault of its, has absolved Delhi's elected government of all accountability. It has given Kejriwal a valid reason to put one leg over the other, twiddle his thumb and tell everyone who comes to him to go chew the Lt Governor's brain.

Voter: Sir, a buffalo carcass is stinking in our colony.

Kejriwal: Main kya karun ji? Go to LG.

I know that's an exaggeration. But you can get the drift.

Kejriwal and Jung were fighting over their areas of jurisdiction for more than a year. Unable to persuade the LG to grant the executive freedom he wants, Kejriwal had approached the HC for his rights.

But, a bench headed by Chief Justice G Rohini said the LG is Delhis administrative head and isnt bound by the advice of the city council of ministers.

According to the Hindustan Times, the court also scrapped the AAP governments directive to the city power regulator to compensate consumers in case of unscheduled power cuts as the decision wasnt communicated to the LG.

It also judged illegal enquiries initiated by the Kejriwal governments in some alleged irregularities by Delhi officials.

On a reading of Article 239 and Article 239 AA (special provisions to Delhi) of the Constitution together with the provisions of the Government of National Capital Territory of Delhi Act, 1991... it becomes manifest that Delhi continues to be a Union Territory, the bench said.

Jung has blocked many decisions taken by Kejriwal. As Prem Shankar Jha points out in The Wire, these include regularising the employment of 15,000 temporary teachers; raising the land acquisition compensation in Delhi from the present Rs 54 lakhs per acre to the prevailing market price of Rs 3 crores, and engaging Akshaya Patra, the well-known NGO headed by Sudha Murthy, wife of Infosys founder Narayana Murthy that runs midday meal schemes for 1.5 million children, to run Delhis midday meal programme.

The HC verdict effectively says Kejriwal can't complain if Jung vetoes his decision. His hands are tied in supplication.

Kejriwal can't compensate consumers for power cuts. He can't provide financial assistance to farmers for failed crops or buy their land at market rates. And he can't even ask his anti-corruption sleuths to act against Central government officers posted in Delhi against whom citizens have lodged complaints through a helpline. All he can do now is pass legislation, clear bills, take decisions and then pray for the LG to say yes to them.

Congratulations, Delhi, for electing a courier service instead of a chief minister.

If you were Kejriwal, the HC decision would have made you wild with joy. Imagine earning all that money, getting so many sops, lal battis, perks, bungalows and then not being expected to do anything. Hand on your heart, how many of you wouldn't kill for such a sinecure?

The purpose of an election in a democracy is, as someone famously said, to elect sevaks, legislators responsible for working for their voters, solving their problems; choosing people who can be held accountable for their failures and promises. Not to distribute free lunches.

The HC decision, in hindsight, makes the Delhi election look like a bigger and wilder version of Big Boss, where nearly 1.25 crore voters elected 70 people to walk away with the poshest job and perks in town. Next time, instead of the Election Commission, Salman Khan can be tasked to conduct it.

Frankly, the joke is on Delhi's voter. For, Kejriwal has already laughed his way to the heart of Punjab. Using Delhi as a springboard to other states, his AAP has already moved on, putting itself in the pole position in Punjab and emerging a serious contender in Goa and a wannabe in Gujarat. Kejriwal doesn't need Delhi any more.

If his party goes on to win Punjab  a result that is quite likely  Kejriwal would now have a valid excuse for moving lock, stock and muffler to Chandigarh. Delhi, he can bluntly say, deserves a politician with lots of time to kill. Perhaps he can ask Kumar Vishwas to take over so that he gets enough time to write his poetry when not swatting flies in the secretariat. That would be a throwback to the time of Bahadur Shah Zafar, the last ruler of India, who killed time writing stirring poetry in the Red Fort! (Umr-e-daraaz maang kar laaye they chaar din, do arzoo mein kat gaye do, intezaar mein, Zafar wrote, perhaps to sum up Kejriwal's plight).

Knowing Kejriwal, he of the famous upadravi gotra (loosely translated an incorrigible miscreant), is unlikely to do any of this. Kejriwal's history has shown us that he loves to be pushed into a corner, from where he can aim his slingshots at the Goliaths of Indian polity. Being a bechara is Kejriwal's dream job. And once again the BJP has contrived to put Kejriwal in his favourite corner.

Rest assured, he will come out screaming and shouting, kicking and flailing his arms, crying persecution and throwing his hands up in frustration and disgust, complaining that nobody lets him do any work.

Guess what? He would be paid full time for it.

There is of course the fear that the HC decision would now become the benchmark for the future of governance in Delhi. Where Kejriwal is today, tomorrow there might be someone else.

As Dilbert famously said, sometimes you are the bird, sometimes you are the statue.

Pity the Delhi voters won't have that option. The HC decision has ensured voters of Delhi will always be the statue covered in droppings.
Lucknow: Calling for a CBI probe into the Bulandshahr gangrape case, a BJP delegation on Friday met Uttar Pradesh Governor Ram Naik and demanded immediate dismissal of the Samajwadi Party government, accusing it of "failing" on all fronts.

Led by BJP Legislature Party Leader Suresh Khanna, the leaders met Naik at Raj Bhawan and submitted a memorandum.

Pointing towards "laxity" on part of police in handling the case, they said the incident was painful and unfortunate.

"It is an outcome of the laxity on part of the government and its inability and lenience towards criminals," the memorandum alleged, adding the intention of the government was not right from the very beginning.

The delegation said three accused were arrested but none of them were interrogated. Their remand was also not sought.

It said there was a need to arrest the remaining accused at the earliest and ensure justice to the victims.

"It is our demand that a CBI probe should be conducted into the incident," it said, alleging there was a complete anarchy in the state and incidents of crime on highways was on the rise in Uttar Pradesh as criminals were "moving freely".

"The government and administration are not executing their responsibility correctly. At more than 1,100 places, police have filed cases of manhandling or assault. There is an atmosphere of fear among people over rising cases," it said. "The Chief Minister (Akhilesh Yadav) was not able to handle the state and the government has failed on all fronts. In such a situation, we demand sending a report to the Centre to dismiss the government immediately," it added.

Yadav on Thursday said he was ready for a CBI probe and accused the opposition of "tutoring the victims", a remark dubbed by BJP as "insensitive" and insulting to women.
Several times during the seven-hour debate preceding the passage of GST Amendment Bill in the Rajya Sabha and ever since it was passed with a unanimous verdict, Congress has been busy claiming martyrdom over India's single biggest tax reform.

With wounded voices and hurtful eyes, its senior leaders were at pains to point out repeatedly during the debate how GST could have become a reality "at least" four or five years back and India by now could well have been on the path to prosperity had it not been for one Narendra Modi and his party who conspired to scuttle UPA's honest efforts in marshalling the reform.

"Dialogue on GST incomplete without talking about its origin. Then BJP-led Opposition said Congresss GST Bill push would weaken states, even called it 'unconstitutional'. It hurt us," Congress leader Anand Sharma said in his speech.

"It wouldve been better had there been better dialogue when (then) finance minister Chidambaram tried to take bill forward. Still believe it was a momentous, historic moment for the Congress.

"After 2014, Chief Minister Modi became PM Modi and his thoughts on GST changed. Would've been nice if he were here today. Would've been nice if the present government acknowledged that UPA government's concerns on GST were meant for good of nation," he suggested.

Chidambaram, his party colleague, reflected a similar sentiment.

"Between 2011 and 2014, I did what was virtually a char dham. We tried to pass the GST Bill with the support of the principal Opposition party and we failed. In the past two years, the government also tried to pass the GST Bill without the support of the principal Opposition party and I am glad you also failed."

Even as it voted in favour of the amendment, Congress's deep victimhood and moral indignation was evident. It tried to create an impression that though BJP played petty politics when it was in the opposition, that the GST has now taken a step towards fructification owes in no small measure to the magnanimity of the Congress which, unlike its political rival, is playing the role of a "responsible Opposition". It is letting Modi and Finance Minister Arun Jaitley take all the credit in a show of blinding sacrifice.

As part of an integrated campaign, Congress's PR machinery kicked in. Shortly after the Constitutional Amendment was cleared, the party's social media handlers started uploading videos of Modi as Gujarat chief minister opposing the idea of GST. Rhetorical questions were raised on whether BJP deserves credit for bringing in the reform, or denouncement for blocking its passage. Not surprisingly, a section of the media readily bought into the argument.

Setting aside the caveat that Congress still holds the GST key and has the power to hold the government to ransom before it is made into a law, let us explore to what extent Congress's claim is true  that the BJP has shown utter hypocrisy in championing a bill that it had bitterly opposed when not in power.

That parties show obstructionism towards passing legislation while in Opposition but change tack when in power is a truism few will argue against.

But it is plain wrong, in this case, to claim that "BJP blocked GST" during UPA regime. It didn't. The fact is, Congress's version of GST was a radically different animal that no state was ready to buy into, including those where Congress were in power.

As a report in Hindu, published on 13 July, 2012, pointed out under the title 'GST: 3 States oppose setting up dispute settlement authority' that Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu and Orissa have opposed certain provisions under the Goods and Services Tax Bill. Appearing before the Standing Committee of Parliament on Finance, representatives of these States said they were opposed to the provision for setting up a Dispute Settlement Authority to settle matters between States or between States and the Union with regard to GST. The opposition by the then Congress-ruled Maharashtra was interpreted as a setback to the UPA Government, which is trying to fast-track reform-oriented laws.

More reports expose the falsity of Congress charge that only BJP-ruled states led by Modi had obdurately blocked UPA-led GST.

On 21 December, 2013, shortly before UPA was voted out of power, The Indian Express reported that "even as UPA-II is palming off the blame for non-implementation of the much-awaited GST on the BJP and other Opposition parties, dissent is brewing within the Congress-ruled states over the issue. The Congress-led ruling UDF government in Kerala has lent support to the Gujarat government's apprehensions on GST Kerala finance minister KM Mani has taken a courageous stand in hitching his government's fears over the GST regime to those of BJP poster boy and prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi's government."

Arun Jaitley wasn't far from truth when he told the Rajya Sabha during GST debate that if "I were to table UPA's GST Bill right now, not a single state will be ready to back it."

Moreover, GST remained in the domain of ideas and never reached the Parliament during UPA regime because the Manmohan Singh government failed to build a consensus that lies at the heart of Arun Jaitley's GST success.

Congress' claim about being a 'GST martyr' is dubious and phony. It's time this lie was busted.

Facing sustained and obdurate obstructionism from the Congress, an initially flustered Finance Minister eventually changed tactic and made isolating the grand old party the cornerstone of his GST strategy.

As Firstpost had pointed out in a report on Wednesday, "in a round of pro-GST diplomacy, the finance minister and Chief Economic Advisor Arvind Subramanian met leaders of the Congress, the Left, the Trinamool Congress, the SP and the JD(U) on 28 July to garner support for the bill's passage in the current session of Parliament. Following the meeting, the Congress, which had raised three demands for supporting the bill, changed its stand."

Jaitley also gave assurances in Rajya Sabha to states like West Bengal, suffering from a deep debt burden, that it will set up a committee of state finance ministers, headed by himself, to address the issues.

Beset with a myriad scams and dodgy dealings, UPA had no time, intention or political will to embark upon such a massive exercise of consensus building which Modi and especially Jaitley undertook. The concerted effort paid off when Congress, fearing isolation and running the risk of antagonizing alliance partners, voted in favour of the amendment.

One more point needs to be stressed.

Under the UPA, cooperative federalism had reached such a nadir that states had simply stopped trusting the Centre. Behind Chidambaram's failure in bringing GST Bill to the Parliament lies a complete breakdown of relationship with the states. Most states were up in arms against the UPA because Chidambaram had denied them the compensation for abolition of central sales tax (CST) after state-level value-added tax (VAT) came into existence. As the states blocked the GST in return, not even a late dose of Rs 9,000-crore sop could persuade them.

One of the first things that Jaitley did as FM was to promise the states that he would release the CST in tranches as a pre-condition for bringing them to the GST table.

Congress' claim about being a 'GST martyr' is dubious and phony. It's time this lie was busted.
New Delhi: A court in Delhi has asked Delhi Police to file an action taken report on a criminal complaint seeking lodging of FIR against AIMIM President Asaduddin Owaisi for alleged offences of sedition and causing enmity between different groups.

The court's direction came after the complainant informed it that in pursuance to its earlier order, he has provided to police the copy of recording of All India Majlis-e-Ittehad-ul Muslimeen (AIMIM) leader Owaisi's alleged objectionable statement and other documents.

Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Munish Markan fixed the matter for 7 October for filing of police report and further proceedings.

On the direction of court, the official of Karawal Nagar police station in north east Delhi had earlier filed a status report saying the complainant has not provided it the copy of recording of Owaisi's alleged objectionable statement.

The report had also said that complainant Brijesh Chand Shukla, Swaraj Janata Party's national president, had not brought any person who had heard the alleged remarks given by the leader.

The complaint alleged that on 13 March, Owaisi had voluntarily said that "even if somebody puts a knife at me, I will not say 'Bharat Mata ki jai'" and his expression showed "disaffection and includes disloyalty and all feeling of enmity".

Earlier, the complainant's counsel had said the matter comes under the definition of section 124A (sedition) of IPC as the statement made by Owaisi showed his disloyalty and disaffection towards the nation.

The complaint sought a direction to the police to lodge an FIR against Owaisi for the alleged offences under sections 124A (sedition) and 153A (promoting enmity between different groups on grounds of religion, race etc) of IPC.

The plea alleged that the act of Hyderabad MP showed he was not loyal to India and was trying to harm the country's reputation and his statement comes under the definition of sedition charge.

"...It is correct that our Constitution does not permit to say 'Bharat Mata Ki Jai' but the Constitution also does not allow to say 'koi meri gardan par churi rakh de tab bhi mai Bharat Mata ki jai nahi bolunga' (even if somebody puts a knife at my neck, I will not say Bharat Mata ki jai)," it alleged.

The complainant said he had filed the complaint in this regard with the Delhi Police but no action was taken and thereafter, he approached the court.
Six decades into Independence, it is a trifle disconcerting to remind ourselves of India's basic model of governance but these are extraordinary times.

Impetuous political ambitions have led a still-nascent Aam Admi Party and its dictatorial chief to launch stunning guerilla warfare on our carefully-laid democratic structures. There is nothing wrong with being ambitious, of course, but in trying to take the shortest cut possible to the corridors of power, Arvind Kejriwal has repeatedly shown a stunning disregard for power's normative principles. This is worrisome.

As the AAP boss searches for (and hopefully finds) inner peace in the precincts of the Himalayas, the small window of respite from his vituperative political strategy is a good opportunity to take a second look at the foundation of the Indian State.

Based on the Montesquieu model of separation of powers, India's executive, legislature and judiciary each enjoy separate, independent powers and areas of responsibility.

Though there have been arguments to the contrary (most notably by Pratap Bhanu Mehta under the article The Inner Conflict of Constitutionalism in the book titled India's Living Constitution: Ideas, Practices, Controversies), it is generally perceived that the Indian judiciary interprets the Constitution as its final arbiter and acts like a guardian in protecting the fundamental rights of the people, as enshrined in the Constitution, from infringement by any organ of the state.

In light of the above statement, now consider the reactions that have been issued by AAP's senior members since the Delhi high court on Thursday ruled that Lieutenant Governor Najeeb Jung is the administrative head of Delhi and all decisions taken by AAP's ministers must be communicated to him.

Its senior leader Ashish Khetan appeared to question the high court's judgement and termed it "anti-people", running dangerously close to being booked for contempt of court.

The HC verdict has made a mockery of Indian democracy. This is an anti-people judgment.  Ashish Khetan (@AashishKhetan) August 4, 2016

Khetan also drew a false equivalence between the powers enjoyed by the CM of Delhi, a Union territory, and the Prime Minister of India who leads the executive branch of the government and is also the chief of government, chief adviser to the President, head of the Council of Ministers and the leader of the majority party in the Parliament.

Would Narendra Modi have agreed to Pranab Mukherjee running the Central Govt after winning 282 seats in Lok Sabha?  Ashish Khetan (@AashishKhetan) August 4, 2016

This goes beyond the usual hurly-burly of disagreements between political parties. This is either a basic unawareness about the structure of the Indian State or a wilful subversion of it through cynical means.

AAP has since said that will approach the Supreme Court, as it has every right to, but what it cannot do is cast aspersions on a ruling passed by a court of law.

Deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia, in a media conference, said: "The high court says Delhi is merely an Union Territory. If as per Constitution Delhi is only an UT, then why was it amended to make Delhi an UT with legislature. If Delhi was to be run by the Lieutenant-Governor, then why was the Constitution amended to have a state Assembly? Why was a provision made to have an elected government? We were targeted as we tried to rid the city of corruption."

It is unclear whom was Sisodia blaming when he said "we were targeted as we tried to rid the city of corruption." His party colleague and AAP spokesperson Raghav Chadha chipped in: "A democratically elected government cannot be undermined. This isn't a fight for supremacy, but democracy".

The question is, who was undermining "a democratically-elected government"?

Acting on different petitions arising out of the turf war between the LG and AAP, a bench of Chief Justice G Rohini and Justice Jayant Nath on Thursday dealt with the central argument of AAP government that due to Article 239AA Delhi is more than just a Union territory. The bench said this Article does not "dilute" the effect of Article 239 which relates to governance of a Union territory and Article 239 of the Constitution continues to be applicable to Delhi.

As a report in Times of India points out, the high court was categorical in its ruling that the Constitution provided for demarcation of powers between the Centre and the states. According to Part VIII of the statute book, union territories will be governed by the President acting through an administrator. The court also agreed with additional solicitor general Sanjay Jain, who represented the Centre, that no order can be issued by CM Kejriwal or his ministers without the LG's approval and every decision must be routed through him.

This, at first glance, would appear as a blow to the ruling party in its power struggle with the Union government-appointed official but it is important to note that this is "nobody's victory", neither was it a "slap" on anyone.

This goes beyond the usual hurly-burly of disagreements between political parties. This is either a basic unawareness about the structure of the Indian State or a wilful subversion of it through cynical means.

Najeeb Jung pointed out after the verdict: "I have no option to go against even a comma of the Indian Constitution This is nobodys victory. Arvind Kejriwal and Najeeb Jung dont exist. It is not that we will give sweets to each other today. These are things that the HC clarified today."

The irresponsible statements by AAP's senior leaders is perfectly in line with the brand of politics sans gravitas that its leader Arvind Kejriwal represents. His authoritarian wielding of power, even when his political positions are exposed as deeply hypocritical, leaves no place for criticism, only blind adulation.

For instance, only Kejriwal  a product of dharna politics  could have issued a ban against demonstrations in front of his official residence in the national capital, and still expect to be taken seriously. The National Capital Territory (NCT) government imposed Section 144 around the CM's residence on the ground that "any demonstration, protests or dharna will create public nuisance and serious law and order problems".

In is another matter that Jung on Thursday termed SMD's order as "illegal" and said that only officers of DCP rank and above can issue order under Section 144 of CrPC under the Police Act.

In another country, and in a different context, Americans are currently in the throes of extreme confusion over the rise of Donald Trump. In a series of controversial statements, the latest of which was over purported use of nuclear weapons, the Republican Presidential nominee has sent his political rivals, foreign policy traditionalists and even his own party members in a tizzy, prompting US president Barack Obama to issue a statement on Tuesday that Trump is "unfit for the role of president" because he "doesn't appear to have basic knowledge around critical issues."

Trump's rival Hillary Clinton during the recent Democratic National Convention raised a rhetorical question, asking voters to "imagine Trump in the Oval Office facing a real crisis."

Americans won't have to look too far to imagine what such a disruptive force would look like in a position of power.
New Delhi: China has not constructed any road in Indian territory, Defence Minsiter Manohar Parrikar informed the Lok Sabha on Friday.

Responding to a supplementary during Question Hour, Parrikar said he was not aware of China constructing any road "in our area" in the last two years.

He said 73 roads have been identified as strategic Sino-India border roads, of which 61 roads have been entrusted to the Border Roads Organisation (BRO) having a total length of 3417 km which are planned to be completed by 2020.

Out of these, 22 roads of 707.24 km length have been completed and as per the revised schedule, five roads will be completed this year, eight in 2017, 12 in 2018, eight in 2019 and six in 2020.

Parrikar cited delay in forest and wildlife clearance, hard rock stretches, limited working season, difficulty in availability of construction material and delay in land acquisition as key reasons behind slow execution of road projects.

Responding to a supplementary, he said funds would not be an issue for the BRO in completing the road projects and if need be, supplementary budget will be allocated.
Its ironical that the man whose career is built on activism and who once famously declared that he is an anarchist, despite holding the antithetic office of Delhi chief minister, has got activists barred from assembling and raising slogans outside his residence.

Has Arvind Kejriwal finally shed the common man persona and laid the first brick of building his own ivory tower?

Kejriwals government that rules the National Capital Territory (NCT) imposed Section 144 of CrPC outside the chief ministers residence at Civil Lines for the month of August. The Sub-Divisional Magistrate (SDM) of Civil Lines, who imposed Section 144, reportedly wrote, The coming month of August has many festivals such as Independence Day, Raksha Bandhan, Parsi New Year and Janmashtami. People, in general, used to visit the chief minister and officers residence during festive seasons. Therefore, it is apprehended that any demonstration, protests or dharna will create public nuisance and serious law and order problems.

The SDM is an administration official under the Kejriwal government.

Have one-and-a-half years in power erased memories of his recent past from the chief ministers mind? Has the comfort of power made him fearful of the people of his own ilk, who resort to demonstrations to get their voices heard? How else would have the world heard the voice of this diminutive go-getter, who resorted to peaceful demonstrations and dharnas to rouse an entire nation under the leadership of social activist Anna Hazare, not too long ago?

And it was during his first stint as Delhi CM when he had staged a dharna outside Rail Bhavan in New Delhi in January 2014, sleeping on the pavement covered in a quilt in a much-publicised act, a first for democratic India. Thats when he had proclaimed, Im an anarchist.

Has the chief minister of Delhi finally realised that the view of the sloganeering, demonstrating general population of the country looks petrifying from the other side of the power divide?

It is quite common in India for people to demonstrate and stage dharnas outside the residences of chief ministers of various states. The only exceptions may be chief ministers like J Jayalalitha of Tamil Nadu or Akhilesh Yadav and Mayawati of Uttar Pradesh. Is Kejriwal drawing inspiration from these semi-autocratic counterparts?

The imposition of Section 144 finally underscores one extremely vital aspect of Kejriwals personality, which was not so evident when he was an activist with the India Against Corruption movement.

He has an autocratic streak, as is affirmed by many who have worked closely with him and by those who were expelled from the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) for voicing dissent against Kejriwal.

Whether a founding member of the party or a grassroot worker, any dissenting voice within the party has always been met with expulsion. The intellectual faces of AAP, Yogendra Yadav, Prashant Bhushan, Prof Anand Kumar and Prof Ajit Jha, who later formed Swaraj Abhiyan, all had to face a similar consequence.

Prof Ajit Jha, a former member of AAPs national executive and at present heading the party formation committee at Swaraj Abhiyan, calls this a peculiar phenomenon of Kejriwal. Its unthinkable. Hes not bothered about the reputation he has earned. An autocratic streak is a minor crime. To achieve his ambition, he can take any path, says Jha, who was expelled from AAP for questioning Kejriwal.

In a detailed write-up on the then blue-eyed boy of Indian politics, Financial Express had written in 2013: Those who have worked with Kejriwal through the RTI activism years and earlier admit he does have an autocratic streak. For example, Kejriwal and long-time associate Manish Sisodia took the key members of the Anna movement completely by surprise when they announced their decision to form AAP, in July 2012. A member who was present at the announcement said, We were on a fast for the Jan Lokpal Bill and sitting together when Arvind and Manish said they were forming a political outfit. We asked why this was not discussed with us, and he said he did not need to. A social activist involved with Kejriwal during the RTI movement says he showed a similar trait even then. When he had made a decision, it was final and no amount of argument from any quarter would change his mind. Having worked with him, I can only hope he takes the collective along with him, he says.

Right now, the chief minister is clearly not thinking collective. If he distances himself from his support base in this fashion, how long will the collective  that gave him 67 out of 70 seats in the Delhi Assembly  stay with him?

Is this aam aadmi (common man) slowly turning into a khaas aadmi (VIP)?
New Delhi: Amid the slugfest over special status to Andhra Pradesh, former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Friday spoke up on the issue, asking the Rajya Sabha to fulfill the commitments made by him in this regard over two years back as the House took up a private member bill on the issue.

The 'Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Bill', moved by Congress member KVP Ramachandra Rao, was, however, referred to Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan for a decision on its fate, amid an uproar created by Congress which led to premature adjournment of the House for the day.

"The Constitution does not give any power to the Chair (of Rajya Sabha) to decide if it is Money Bill or not....The point is if the Chair has any doubt he cannot decide...In a way Chairman of Rajya Sabha is vested with zero power whether it is Money Bill or not...I am giving ruling...since the matter is under doubt, I refer the matter to the Speaker," Deputy Chairman PJ Kurien said.

If it is declared as Money Bill, there cannot be any discussion on it in the Rajya Sabha.

Earlier, Manmohan Singh appealed to the House to honour commitments made by him on 20 February, 2014 on the floor of the Rajya Sabha to grant Special Status to Andhra Pradesh.

It was perhaps for the first time that Singh had himself spoken on the issue over which NDA ally TDP and its government in Andhra Pradesh has locked horns with the BJP-led government at the Centre. TDP MPs have been agitating for the demand for a number of days, both inside and outside Parliament.

Finance Minister and Leader of the House Arun Jaitley raised objections to the Bill, saying Money Bill cannot be introduced in the Rajya Sabha.

Kurien said he was in no position to decide whether the Bill seeking special category status for Andhra Pradesh is a Money Bill or not.

While giving ruling, the Deputy Chairman said Rao had on 7 August, 2015 introduced the Bill and since the matter was under doubt, he was referring the same to Lok Sabha Speaker.

This enraged the members of the Congress who trooped into well alleging that the government failed to keep its committment.

The Congress members were shouting "shame-shame" and slogans like "We want justice".

Amid protests, Kurien asked DMK MP Tiruchi Siva to introduce his Bill but as uproar continued, he adjourned the House for the day at 3.50 pm.
New Delhi: Pakistani authorities did not allow entry of Indian mediapersons, including those from PTI and Doordarshan, inside the venue of 7th Saarc Home Ministers Meeting in Islamabad, Home Minister Rajnath Singh said on Friday.

Responding to questions in Rajya Sabha after making a suo motu statement on yesterday's conference, the Minister also said that after the meeting was over, Pakistan's Home Minister, who was the host, invited the participants for lunch but left in a car soon thereafter.

"Keeping in mind the country's prestige, I did what I should have done. I have no complaints. I had not gone there for lunch," he said amid thumping of benches by members.

He also said he was "hestitant to say if the host were courteous... I don't want to comment on it. I have no qualms or complaints". The Minister also said "India is known globally for its 'meheman nawaazi (hospitality)."

Several members had appreciated Singh for "boycotting" the lunch and criticised Pakistan for not showing due courtesy to the visiting Indian Home Minister.

To queries whether there was no telecast of his speech, Singh said he was not aware of the convention and would need to ask the Ministry of External Affairs regarding it.

"Since I was giving speech, I did not see if it was live telecast or not. But this is true that Doordarshan, ANI and PTI reporters were not given permission to enter inside (the venue)", he said as members condemned it by chanting "shame, shame".

Rajya Sabha members also criticised Pakistan for allowing protest against India and the visit of Singh.

The Minister said as per the original plan, he had to reach the hotel by road from Rawalpindi airbase, but probably security officials later decided to use helicopter.

"I saw people were protesting at several places in groups of 10-25 or 100," he said, adding "had I bothered about the protest, I probably wouldn't have gone to Pakistan". Singh also said he did not register any protest against these protests.

Reports had said that members of the Indian media, which went from New Delhi to report the conference, were not allowed to enter the venue and kept at a distance by Pakistani officials, leading to a verbal duel between a senior Indian official and a Pakistani official.

But the dilemma is...padosi hai ki maanta hi nahi (the neighbour is not ready to change)...May God give sense to all

The Home Minister also skipped the official lunch as the host had left the venue, the reports had said.

Recalling former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee's statement that one can change friends but not neighbours, Singh said Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his predecessor Manmohan Singh have expressed sympathy with Pakistan as it too has been a "victim of terror".

He said all Prime Ministers have made efforts to improve relations with neighbours.

"But the dilemma is...padosi hai ki maanta hi nahi (the neighbour is not ready to change)...May God give sense to all", he said evoking laughter in the House.

Earlier Leader of Opposition Ghulam Nabi Azad, seeking clarification on Singh's statement, said his Congress party and ruling BJP may have differences, but when the Prime Minister or the Home Minister travel abroad, they are one.

He sought to know if local TV channels did not cover the Home Minister's visit and his statements and there was a media blackout.

He also sought to know whether protocol was not extended to him in accordance with India's standing among SAARC nations and the host being absent at his reception and added if all this was true, it was condemnable.

Subramanian Swamy (BJP) wanted to know if Singh took up with his Pakistani counterpart the "daily retort by their Prime Minister about disintegrating" India and Kashmir.

He wanted to know if he suggested to Pakistanis to take care of problems in their own backyard.

Derek O'Brien (TMC) wanted to know if the Indian media including official media DD were not given access to the Home Minister's speech which was blacked out.

He also wanted to know if this was the first instance of blackout or is there a precedence.

Asked whether paramilitary forces should be given a free hand to deal with terrorists, the Home Minister said that BSF has been asked to maintain "patience, but if a bullet is fired, then they do not need to seek permission for how they have to respond. This is the standing order".
New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi is all set to reach out to citizens through his first-ever 'townhall' style event on 6 August.

A new PMO app to enable mobile users to connect with the Indian Prime Minister's website will also be launched at the mega event, which is being organised by MyGov - the government's citizen engagement platform - to mark its second anniversary.

The townhall to be held at the Indira Gandhi Stadium Complex in New Delhi will be preceded by a series of panel discussions and sessions in keeping with the 'Do, Discuss and Disseminate' theme of MyGov and will culminate in the first ever townhall address by the Prime Minister.

"The Prime Minister will talk about the concept of citizen engagement, MyGov, the response to this participative governance initiative and how he sees the platform evolving," MyGov Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Gaurav Dwivedi said.

He said a process is already on to short-list those who will get to interact with Modi. "They would be selected from among the regular users of MyGov, based on their ideas, level of engagement, questions and suggestions," he added.

The townhall address will also see launch of new MyGov initiatives and distribution of awards to winners of MyGov contests - Ek Bharat Shrestha Bharat, Duties of a Citizen, Governance Quiz and India Africa Quiz.

The event is expected to see participation of various ministers and senior government officials, which will be inaugurated by IT Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad and will have four sessions.

The first session 'Do' will cover contests on design innovation, eGreetings as also volunteering, poll and survey functionalities of MyGov while the second one 'Discuss' will see officials and MyGov contributors in an interactive discussion on brainstorming ideas and sharing experiences.

The third session will invite fresh ideas for improving user experience, introducing new features for the platform and the panel for this includes social media representatives, MyGov users, Members of Parliament who have contributed to MyGov, and senior officials of the Ministry of Electronics and IT, and NIC.

The fourth session will cover the 'Disseminate' theme and focus on #TransformingIndia website, eSampark portal and MyGov live events as the channel of government communication with citizens.
New Delhi: Asserting that terrorist in one nation cannot be a martyr for another, India has asked Saarc nations, including Pakistan to take effective steps against state and non-state actors supporting terrorism and extradite persons involved in it.

In a suo motu statement on his visit to Islamabad to attend the 7th Saarc Home Ministers Meeting on 4 August in Rajya Sabha, Home Minister Rajnath Singh said he had urged the members not to glorify terrorism or give patronage to it.

"A terrorist in one nation cannot be a martyr or freedom fighter for anyone," he said.

"They should not make the mistake of distinguishing between good terrorism and bad terrorism," he said. "It is necessary to take all effective steps against states or non-state actors encouraging or supporting terrorism."

To ensure that terrorism is not encouraged, it was necessary that stringent action is not just initiated against terrorists but also against persons, organisations, institutions and states supporting them, Singh said.

He said he had suggested to the Saarc Ministers that sanctions and bans imposed against terrorists by the global community have to be honoured.

Stringent action should also be taken against persons involved in terrorism and their extradition should be ensured so that they can face the law, the home minister said.

"It is important for nations who have not ratified Saarc Convention on Mutual Assistance on Criminal Matters to do it," he said, adding Pakistan has so far not ratified this Convention as well as SaarcTerrorist Offenses Monitoring Desk (STOMD) and Saarc Drug Offenses Monitoring Desk (SDOMD).

"I was told on behalf of Pakistan that they will soon act on ratifying these. And I hope that 'soon' is actually soon," he said.

"The agenda of the meeting was terrorism, smuggling of narcotic drugs, cyber crime and human trafficking. Almost all countries, condemned terrorism in strongest possible term," Singh said.

India placed special emphasis on terrorism as it posed the single biggest threat to peace and prosperity of South Asia, he said. "I called upon them to firmly resolve to uproot terrorism."

Also, New Delhi urged all Saarc nations not to glorify or give patronage to terrorism.

The home minister said dark clouds of terrorism have engulfed not just South Asia but the entire world. "The entire world community is concerned about this serious threat. This was clear not just from the clear message India gave on the threat it poses to humanity, but also from the fact that most nations also expressed concern over it."

India's message is for humanity and human rights because "terrorism is the biggest threat to human rights," he said.

At the meeting, Singh said the initiatives announced by India included offering technical assistance to make STOMD and SDOMC more effective.

India has also offered to host a meeting of experts on Saarc Anti Terrorism Mechanism on 22-23 September, he said, adding he offered provision of training to Saarc member nations on preventing narcotics trade.

New Delhi also said it was ready to hold the first meeting of member state on Computer Emergency Response Teams (CERTs), the home minister said.

Singh said he informed the Saarc ministers about recent initiatives by Government for women and child safety as also about financial inclusion schemes of Jandhan and Aadhaar to provide honest, transparent and accountable governance.
Who can better tell than Vijay Rupani that patience pays dividends. Just three days after his 60th birthday, the low profile BJP leader was chosen as the new chief minister of Gujarat after his predecessor Anandiben Patel quit from office midway. Another contender for the same office, Nitin Patel, has been appointed as his deputy.

Reacting on the development, a senior Gujarat BJP leader told Firstpost that "Amit Shah had the last laugh."

There was intense speculation in the past two days as to who would get to head the Gujarat government between the two of them. However, Nitin got too optimistic and by Friday afternoon he even started publicly accepting congratulations and spoke to news channels as if he was going to be the next chief minister. But BJP chief Amit Shah had a surprise in store and finally the climax ended with Rupani being given the responsibility of taking over as the chief minister. Dishing out surprises has become the norm under the current Modi-Shah dispensation, even catching the media on the back foot. Probably, it was too big a surprise for Nitin.

The deputy chief minister-designate committed the mistake of becoming impatient and start celebrations a bit early in the day. His premature interviews to media remind one of May 2014 when Arun Shourie after meeting the then prime minister-designate had started giving interviews in the media as to how the economy was to be managed and how the prospective Modi government would function. Then Shourie had read the script wrong, now Nitin read it wrong. But Nitin still has great deal of things to cheer for as official number two in the government and hope for better luck at a later date.

It was a toss up between Rupani and Nitin. Initially, Rupani was believed to be ahead of Nitin in the race but since Thursday when central BJP observers  Nitin Gadkari and Saroj Pandey  landed there, Nitin's name gained more circulation. But in the end, it was Rupani with his non-controversial, low-profile and sincere organisational man credentials which prevailed. Also, Rupani is a Jain Bania, which is taken as a caste-neutral status at a time when the state, society and polity seemed to be broadly divided into caste lines.

The aggressive posturing taken by the Patel community during Patidar agitation had polarised other castes, particularly the OBCs against Patels. Thus, even as Nitin was taken to be a very strong contender, eventually he lost it out to Rupani. But Nitin and the Patel community have been placated by designating him as deputy chief minister and the same announcement was made by central party observer and Union Minister of Highways and Shipping Nitin Gadkari. The announcement on Rupani as the new leader of BJP Legislature Party, and consequently as the next chief minister of the state was also made simultaneously.

For Rupani, his Jain Bania background suddenly became his asset. But the biggest of all the plus points, which went in his favour was that he had absolute trust of Shah.

This is not to say that he was not Prime Minister Narendra Modi's favourite. Rupani couldn't become a chief minister without the blessings of Modi. Nobody in Gujarat BJP, and now elsewhere can meaningfully survive without being on the right side of Modi. The fact that Gujarat is Modi's home state, every single leader out there owe his or her allegiance to Modi. But after initial clarity on Rupani's name, there was a sudden surge of consensus like situation for Nitin and there were reports that the former had conceded ground in favour of the latter. But in the end, as they say, a day is a long time in politics  Shah convinced Modi that it would be better to have Rupani at the helm. Outgoing Chief Minister Anandiben Patel was opposed to Rupani and favoured Nitin but, obviously, she ultimately had to bow before Shah's wishes.

That was the reason that Modi-Shah didn't show any undue hurry in naming the new leader in Gujarat. Shah and central observers took two days time in Ahmedabad and prior to that Modi and Shah took their own time in Delhi in convening the meeting of the Parliamentary Board and dispatching observers a day later. Before arriving at a conclusion, they mulled over all possible factors.

A chief minister has a great deal of say in elections, both in ticket distribution and campaign. Rupani will work in close coordination with Shah. Modi will, of course, have a hawk eye on developments there but given his responsibilities as PM, he can't micro-manage election management. The party hopes to swing election on Modi's star power. Sources said once Shah finishes with next round of elections, Uttar Pradesh in particular he will start spending sufficient time in Gujarat to reverse the perceived process of current downward slide in BJP's fortune. With Rupnai at the helm, Shah would rule by proxy, it is suggested by the party sources.

Rupani has risen from the ranks, getting into saffron politics as an Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad activist, then elected as a municipal councillor, a Rajya Sabha member but his wait to get into the state assembly was long and it came through luck.

When Vajubhai Wala, Speaker of Gujarat assembly was appointed as Karnataka Governor in August 2014, he vacated his Rajkot West seat. Rupani was nominated as BJP candidate in the ensuing by-election from that seat. He won handsomely from an otherwise Patel dominated constituency and was made Minister of Transport, Water Supply, Labour and Employment in Anandiben Patel's government. Subsequently, he also got the distinction of getting to hold position of state BJP president while retaining ministry in state government. The soft-spoken leader from Rajkot had suddenly turned into a powerful BJP leader from Saurashtra region.

Rupani has the unique ability to work smoothly with leaders of all shades within the party. He remained close to Keshubhai Patel, Narendra Modi, Anandiben Patel (it's a different matter though that she was opposed to his elevation as CM) and Amit Shah.

Like Rupani, Nitin too is 60-year old and served the party for last three decades. He has been Minister for Health, Medical Education, Family Welfare, Road and Building, Capital Project in the outgoing Anandiben government. Previously, he was a cabinet minister for water supply, water resources, urban development and urban housing.

He had the support of around three dozen Patel legislators in the party, as also some others. A number of MLAs had openly voiced their preference for him in the legislature party meeting. But this was not his time and place. Nitin didn't have Amit Shah's support for the top most, something which mattered most.
A announcement on the successor of Anandiben Patel is likely on Friday. BJP president Amit Shah flew down to Ahmedabad on Thursday and held meetings with party members to zero in on the next Gujarat Chief Minister. While state BJP president Vijay Rupani, Cabinet minister Parshottam Rupala and state minister Bhupendrasinh Chudasama had emerged as top contenders for the post of Gujarat CM, it is Nitin Patel, the senior-most minister in the Anandiben Patel Cabinet, who is leading the race.

#BREAKING | Sources to CNN-New18: Nitin Patel all set to become the next CM of Gujarat

LIVE: https://t.co/fOVzLQTAzp  News18 (@CNNnews18) August 5, 2016

Ahead of the Gujarat BJP legislature party meet, Nitin Patel clarified that the state unit will back whoever is elected as the Gujarat CM.

Whatever decision is taken in the meeting (Gujarat BJP legislature party meet),will be acceptable to all-Nitin Patel pic.twitter.com/vCmCJY1FHN  ANI (@ANI_news) August 5, 2016

There is no race. All BJP workers, leaders fulfil whatever responsibility they are entrusted with, by the party: Nitin Patel  ANI (@ANI_news) August 5, 2016

Another senior leader told IANS: "Nitin Patel is the logical choice. He is the senior most minister, a Patel and from Mehsana in North Gujarat, home district of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Amit Shah. Choosing the senior-most minister would also neutralise any factional considerations."

Shah, who was considered to be the most ideal candidate for the CM's post, will now have a final say on who will lead Gujarat for the Assembly polls in 2017. The situation in Gujarat is critical which witnessed one of the biggest Dalit agitation in the recent years following the brutal assault of Dalit youths by self-style cow vigilantes in Gujarat's Una district.

Moreover, the Gujarat High Court on Thursday rejected the Anandiben Patel government's ordinance to provide 10 percent quota in government jobs and educational institutions to the Economically Backward Classes (EBCs), and termed the quota "unconstitutional".

Reacting to the verdict, Hardik Patel, the face of Patel quota stir, said, "We always maintained that this is a lollipop and now the lollipop has melted. This was unconstitutional and done without following proper process. It was bound to be rejected." He also signaled that the Patels will resume their agitation seeking quota under the OBC category.

In fact, Nitin Patel termed the high court verdict "unfortunate" and said, "We wanted to bring about social equity and now it looks difficult to implement for the current academic year or ongoing government recruitment. The economically weaker sections will be the big loser."

"The decision we took was not on the basis of caste or community but for the poor from across society. Therefore, we felt there was no need for a survey. Unfortunately, the high court has turned down our request."

Patel, however, said the court has granted the state government two weeks to approach the Supreme Court against the order. Just the Assembly election looming ahead, it will be detrimental for the BJP government in Gujarat if the Patidar community once again starts a full-blown agitation. He also told CNN-News 18 that he is likely to meet Hardik Patel to find an amicable solution.

Nitin Patel on Patidar agitation: We are in talks with them & intend to take Patidar community along with us, will talk to all their leaders  News18 (@CNNnews18) August 5, 2016

The Patidar quota agitation and the Dalit unrest in the state has beginning to weaken the saffron hold in the state. The Anandiben-led government came under severe criticism for the poor handling of the quota agitation and it's inability to contain Dalit atrocities.

On the Dalit agitation, in an interview with CNN News 18, he said that it is wrong to label BJP as anti-Dalit as the party has most representation of Dalits.

Nitin Patel to CNN-News18: Wrong to say our party is anti-Dalit pic.twitter.com/EGdLQM3SE4  News18 (@CNNnews18) August 5, 2016

We have the most representation of Dalits as MLAs, sarpanchs and at other levels: Nitin Patel to CNN-News18  News18 (@CNNnews18) August 5, 2016

Patels, which form around 14 percent of the state's population have been traditionally BJP supporters. In the Gujarat Assembly, of the 182, there are 44 Patel MLAs and within the state unit, of 120 MLAs, 34 are from the Patel community. It will be the priority of the next Gujarat CM to placate and consolidate this voter base.

After Shah's meeting on Thursday, a senior BJP minister told the Indian Express, The situation in our party is so serious that we cant afford to play a high-stakes game of selecting a new face or someone not suitable for our core constituency  which is Patels.

In selecting the next chief minister, the BJP has make sure that in their effort to appease the Patel community, they don't alienate the non-Patel leaders.

With inputs from agencies
New Delhi: Congress Chief Sonia Gandhi was making steady progress, two days after she underwent a surgery to repair a shoulder injury, officials from Sir Ganga Ram Hospital said on Friday.

Sonia Gandhi has been shifted out of the ICU and is making steady progress in the hospital.

"She was admitted under Dr Arup Basu and his team from Department of Pulmonology and has been operated for a shoulder injury by a team of Dr Sanjay Desai from Mumbai and Dr Prateek Gupta, Orthopedic Consultant from Sir Ganga Ram Hospital,"

according to a health bulletin issued by Dr D S Rana, Chairman (Board of Management) of the hospital.

69-year-old Gandhi was shifted to the Sir Ganga Ram Hospital on Wednesday from the Army Research and Referral Hospital, where she was rushed soon after her arrival from Varanasi around midnight on Tuesday.

She had to cut short her roadshow in Varanasi after she was taken ill. She had fractured her left shoulder during the roadshow.

The Congress president was shifted out of the ICU on Friday.

A number of senior Congress leaders visited her at the hospital which includes Sheila Dikshit and Raj Babbar.

Sources said the operation on her shoulder on Wednesday night lasted for nearly two hours.

They said she is likely to remain at the hospital for at least five days and will need physiotherapy.
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Friday announced Vijay Rupani as Gujarat's 16th chief minister to succeed Anandiben Patel and Nitin Patel as the state's deputy chief minister.

With Anandiben Patel resigning, Vijay Rupani, who belongs to the Jain community and hails from Rajkot, was considered as the frontrunner. Incidentally, Rajkot is the heartland of Saurashtra and the stronghold of Patels, the same community whose virulent agitation exposed the caste fault lines in the state. Rupani's birthday falls on 2 August. If he takes over as the chief minister, it will be a birthday gift by the party and Prime Minister Narendra Modi, said a senior BJP leader from Ahmedabad.

Rupani comes across as an affable leader, and his proximity to Modi and BJP President Amit Shah is well-known. But that's not the reason why he is most likely to be chosen as chief minister as in Modis politics such a conventional metric does not work.

Rupani who handles several portfolios in the Anandiben Patel government has proved to be a deft administrator known for his conciliatory approach to a problem. That is the precise reason why he was elevated as the BJPs state unit chief while retaining his status as the minister. Highly placed sources admit that Rupanis conciliatory traits and his malleable personae are the main attributes that would see him through as the possible successor of Anandiben.

Apart from her age (she is almost 75), Anandi Patels biggest handicap was her inability to have a firm grip on the administration. She was found to be wanting in arresting that drift of social groups which formed a strong support base for the BJP in the past. At the same time, the overwhelming influence of her family members on the state administration was also frowned upon by top leaders of the Sangh Parivar. Rupani has had a long stint with the Sangh Parivar and he is considered to be the man who can overcome the deficiencies of Anandiben Patel.
India's home minister Rajnath Singh goes to Pakistan as a guest and comes back insulted  his speech censored, hotel surrounded by protesters and official luncheon ruined by a sulking government taking dictation from a banned terror outfit.

With its churlish behaviour, Pakistan ended up doing exactly what it wanted to avoid: Giving publicity to the Indian home minister's words, denying him media space. Singh's speech is now almost everywhere, it is being quoted by international agencies, talked about in India and, to Pakistan's misfortune, being debated in its own country.

Under normal circumstances, Singh's address to the Saarc leaders would have passed off as a normal speech. But the controversy and curiosity around it has given it a life and legend of its own.

The entire episode reminds us of the story of Hanuman's visit to Ravana's Lanka. Eager to spite the messenger, the demon king sets Hanuman's tale on fire and ends up burning down his own capital.

During Singh's visit to Pakistan for the Saarc summit, Islamabad acted almost like a B-team of Jamaat-ud-Dawa chief and outlawed terrorist Hafiz Saeed, following the agenda he had set. As if to ensure Saeed was not seen as a paper tiger, the Pakistani government allowed protesters to camp near Singh's hotel and turn it effectively into a staging area for protests.

Ensuring the safety of a diplomatic guest, keeping miscreants away is a standard protocol all hosts follow during VIP visits. It would be pertinent to point out to Pakistan here that India, like a gracious host, goes out of its way to ensure Tibetan protesters do not get any opportunity to ruin a visiting Chinese premier's visit. But Pakistan, obviously, had a different plan in mind: It wanted to use Singh's visit as a propaganda tool for its Kashmir lobby.

Speaking at the Democratic National Convention, US First Lady Michelle Obama offered an interesting punchline while taking down Donald Trump: When they go low, we go high.

To Singh's credit, he decided to visit Pakistan in spite of threats of mass protests by Saeed. Once India had taken the decision, it was Pakistan's responsibility to behave like a good host, if not a gracious neighbour. It is a shame it didn't. Not attending the lunch was a new low. Speaking at a press conference, Pakistan's interior minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan said he had received a message from the Indian minister asking whether he (Nisar) would be coming to the lunch. The interior minister said he excused himself as he had to attend an important meeting at the prime minister's residence.

This, from a country whose leaders gorge on biryani in our country even during personal visits.

The Pakistani media, while debating Singh's walkout, has imparted to a different spin to the story. It claims the Indian home minister walked out in a huff after losing a war of words with Chaudhry. The Indian minister indirectly accused Pakistan of sponsoring terrorism. But when Chaudhry responded  after relinquishing his position as the chairman of the meeting  Singh found it difficult to digest, claimed Dawn.

That is like saying Hanuman walked out of Lanka with his tail burnt. Singh had gone there with the specific purpose of speaking his mind on the issue of terrorism sponsored by Pakistan. Once he had done that and in the process set the house on fire, it made no sense to endure Pakistan's usual litany of explanation and ''our freedom fighter-your terrorist" spiel.

Finally, before we forget Pakistan's insolence and impudence, let us get this off our chest: What does the Indian government intend to do to ensure such acts are not repeated?

In 2013, when then Pakistani prime minister Nawaz Sharif compared his Indian counterpart Manmohan Singh with a dehati aurat, Narendra Modi retorted in trademark style: "How dare you (Sharif) address my nation's prime minister as a village woman? There cannot be a bigger insult of the Indian Prime Minister," Modi said during a rally in New Delhi, adding, "We can fight with him (Manmohan) over policies, but we will not tolerate this. This nation of 1.2 billion will not tolerate its prime minister's insult."

This country of 1.2 billion should not tolerate the home minister's insult either.

As prime minister, Modi has been extremely lenient with Pakistan so far, a privilege that seems to have gone to Pakistan's head. When he became the prime minister, Modi decided to start with a clean state by inviting Sharif to his swearing-in and then exchanging gifts. Then, when the two countries had given up on bilateral talks, Modi made another gesture of friendship by making a brief stopover in Lahore while returning from Afghanistan in December 2015.

But, India and Pakistan are back where they were in 2014 at Kathmandu, sulking in public, throwing barbs at each other, bickering in the glare of the media.

Much of this is Pakistan's fault.

Over the past two years, it has responded to every friendly gesture with a fresh round of hostilities, a trend that was capped by the terror strike on Pathankot within hours of Modi's Lahore visit.

Although India has been keen on reviving talks, bringing Pakistan back to the table, the results have been discouraging. Pakistan's behaviour at Saarc should force India to chalk out a long-term plan for dealing with the neighbour.

It should start by summoning the Pakistan's High Commissioner to India and raising strong objections to the treatment meted out to the home minister.

Give him an earful, read him the riot act, familiarise him with etiquette, and then offer him a cup of tea to show that even in anger we do not forget the basics of mehmaan nawazi, something Nawaz and his team have forgotten.
WASHINGTON/PORTLAND, Me. Supporters of Republican Donald Trump urged him to get back on message on Thursday after a week of dropping opinion poll numbers and a war of words with ranking Republicans over his U.S. presidential campaign.

In response to the criticism, Trump pledged to focus more on Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton, who emerged from last week's Democratic National Convention with a lead in the polls and who has been consistently attacking him as temperamentally unfit for the presidency.

At a rally in Portland, Maine, on Thursday, Trump kept his attention on trying to undermine Clinton's candidacy. He said the fact that she has moved past a scandal over her use of a private email server as President Barack Obama's secretary of state was "probably the greatest accomplishment that she has ever had in politics."

Since formally accepting the Republican nomination two weeks ago, Trump has exasperated many supporters by getting bogged down in a public spat with the parents of an American soldier killed in Iraq and some fellow Republicans.

Billionaire investor Wilbur Ross said he still backed Trump, but urged him to stop engaging in exchanges that benefit the Democrats and make the real estate mogul's behaviour the issue in the campaign.

"This election is Donald's to lose and so far the Democrats have been clever about baiting him and he generally has bitten," Ross said in an email to Reuters late on Wednesday.

U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Paul Ryan, who has endorsed Trump but has not received a reciprocal endorsement from the New York businessman in his re-election bid, told WTAQ radio host Jerry Bader in Green Bay, Wisconsin, that Trump has "had a pretty strange run since the convention."

"You would think we ought to be focussing on Hillary Clinton, on all of her deficiencies. She is such a weak candidate that one would think we'd be on offence against Hillary Clinton, and it is distressing that that's not what we're talking about these days," he said.

Michael Caputo, a former Trump adviser who still supports him, said Trump still has time to right the ship.

"Staying on message is absolutely key," Caputo told Reuters. "After 30 years of speaking his mind, Mr. Trump has to understand that the general election for president of the United States is all about staying on message."

Actor and director Clint Eastwood, a prominent celebrity supporter of the Republican Party who appeared at its 2012 U.S. presidential nominating convention, offered an alternative view, saying Trump says some "dumb things" but that Americans should get over it.

"He's onto something because secretly everybody's getting tired of political correctness, kissing up," the acclaimed actor and director told Esquire magazine. "That's the kiss-ass generation we're in right now."

At the same time, Trump's lukewarm support for the NATO alliance drew criticism from 37 national security experts from both Democratic and Republican administrations.

"We find Trumps comments to be reckless, dangerous, and extremely unwise," they wrote in a statement.

Obama, at a Pentagon news conference, dismissed Trump's statements that the election could be "rigged" against him.

"Of course, the elections will not be rigged," he said.

Trump's rough patch has contributed to a dip in support in some battleground states. A WBUR/MassINC poll in New Hampshire showed Clinton leading Trump, 47 percent to 32 percent.

Other polls showed Trump down 11 percentage points to Clinton in Pennsylvania and 6 percentage points in Florida, two states that are important to his chances of winning the election.

Trump's troubles are emboldening Democrats to think big.

Speaking with reporters after a Clinton campaign event in Las Vegas, U.S. Senator Harry Reid, the Senate Democratic leader, said he believed traditionally Republican-leaning states such as Arizona and Georgia are going to be competitive this election, and he expects Clinton to campaign there.

In Portland, some people at Trump's rally said the candidate should stop getting distracted.

"I don't like how he gets off track," said Bill Devine, 65, of Bath, Maine. "He needs to stay focussed on his campaign."

Trump campaign manager Paul Manafort told CBS's "This Morning" that the campaign is comfortable where it stands now and said the news media have built a false narrative in which Democrats are controlling the race to the Nov. 8 election.

Manafort said that Trumps dropping poll numbers were expected and that he expected the numbers to even out soon.

The framework of this election favours Donald Trump. If we run the campaign that we plan on running, we think were going to win," he said.

Concern about Trump has spilled into at least one congressional race.

U.S. Representative Mike Coffman, a Colorado Republican, has released a campaign ad in his own re-election bid promising to stand up to Trump if Trump is elected.

People ask me, What do you think about Trump? Honestly, I dont care for him much. And I certainly dont trust Hillary," Coffman said in the ad.

U.S. Representative Charlie Dent, a Pennsylvania Republican, told MSNBC he could not endorse Trump because of "all these unforced errors" that Trump was making.

"It just seems that he's, at times, hell-bent on losing a very winnable election to a very seriously flawed candidate: Hillary Clinton," Dent said.

(Additional reporting by Jennifer Ablan in New York, James Oliphant in Las Vegas and Doina Chiacu and Susan Cornwell in Washington; Editing by Will Dunham and Jonathan Oatis)

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Baton Rouge, La.: Black Lives Matter activist DeRay Mckesson sued the city of Baton Rouge and police officials Thursday, saying officers responded in a "militarized and aggressive manner" in arresting him and other people protesting a police shooting death.

Mckesson was among nearly 200 protesters arrested in Baton Rouge after the 5 July death of 37-year-old Alton Sterling, a black man who was shot during a struggle with two white police officers. The federal class-action lawsuit, which names two other arrested protesters as plaintiffs, accuses police of using excessive force and violating the protesters' constitutional rights.

The suit said police advanced against protesters while wearing military gear and gas masks and brandishing assault weapons alongside armored vehicles. Officers threatened peaceful protesters by pointing their weapons directly at them, the suit said.

"Defendants used excessive force in attacking, battering, beating, and assaulting plaintiffs and class members without provocation or the need for defense," the suit said.

Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards has defended the police response to the protests, saying their use of riot gear and weaponry was appropriate. The governor, a Democrat who comes from a family of sheriffs, also noted that a police officer had teeth knocked out by a rock during protests.

Sterling's shooting was captured on cellphone video and circulated widely on the internet. His death, along with another fatal police shooting in Minnesota, sparked widespread protests in Baton rouge and beyond. The Justice Department is investigating Sterling's death.

Mckesson, a Baltimore resident, was arrested 9 July near Baton Rouge police headquarters on a charge of obstructing a highway. East Baton Rouge Parish District Attorney Hillar Moore has said Mckesson is one of roughly 100 arrested protesters who will not be prosecuted by his office for the same charge.

But the lawsuit said Mckesson and other arrested protesters had to pay administrative and court fees to be released from jail and will have to pay more to have their arrest records expunged.

"All class members now have criminal arrest records, which in this digital age could adversely affect their future employment, education, reputations, and professional licensing," according to the suit, which seeks unspecified compensation for lost wages, court costs and other expenses related to the arrests.

"The courts have always been an important lever by which we can hold cities accountable for engaging in unconstitutional practices," Mckesson wrote in a text message Thursday night.

The American Civil Liberties Union of Louisiana and other groups also filed a lawsuit last month over the treatment of protesters by police.

East Baton Rouge Parish, the mayor, the head of the state police, the city's police chief and the local sheriff are also named as defendants.

State Police Col. Mike Edmonson, who hadn't seen the lawsuit, said he believes police "exercised great restraint" in response to the protests.

"I didn't witness any aggressive form of behavior by any police officer," he said.

On 13 July, after the protests began to abate, police announced that they had arrested three suspects accused of stealing several handguns from a pawn shop as part of an alleged plot to harm police officers in the Baton Rouge area. Police Chief Carl Dabadie Jr. cited those "credible threats" as the reason for police officers' tactics and their "show of force" during the protests.

Four days later, a lone gunman, Gavin Long, shot and killed three law enforcement officers and wounded three others outside a Baton Rouge convenience store. Long, a black military veteran from Kansas City, Missouri, had posted rambling internet videos calling for violence in response to what he considered oppression.
HAVANA Colombia's government and leftist FARC rebels took another step towards ending more than a half century of conflict on Friday, agreeing on a U.N.-supervised security protocol, timetable and other details for disarming the estimated 9,000 guerrillas.

The announcement came after the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) and the government of President Juan Manuel Santos signed in June an historic agreement that stated they had reached deals on all major issues and established a de facto ceasefire and the parameters for the rebels to disarm and rejoin civil society.

Under the agreement, FARC troops will gather at 26 locations around the South American country and hand over their arms within six months of a final peace agreement going into effect.

"The FARC will have handed in all their arms to the United Nations within 180 days," Humberto de la Calle, chief negotiator for the government, told reporters in Havana.

Friday's agreement stipulated that 50 FARC members would be free to monitor the process nationwide, and another 10 in each of the 26 locations. Under the agreement, the United Nations would have final say on any disputes.

After more than three years of negotiations hosted by Cuba over such thorny issues as land reform, war crimes and drug trafficking, the two sides are close to a final accord that would be put to a referendum vote. If ratified, it would end the longest-running and last significant guerrilla conflict in the Western Hemisphere.

"When we finish the agenda points, that is to say, when everything is agreed, that is when we will send the texts to Congress and convene the plebiscite," Santos said during an event in the Pacific port city of Buenaventura on Thursday.

Santos must win over those sceptical of FARC promises to rejoin civil society, including supporters of hard-line former President Alvaro Uribe, who contends a deal will grant guerrillas impunity for war crimes.

The FARC grew out of a 1960s peasant revolt that exploded into a cocaine-fuelled war that has killed at least 220,000 people and displaced millions.

(Additional reporting by Marc Frank; Editing by Will Dunham)

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Islamabad: All crew members aboard a Pakistani helicopter that crash-landed in Afghanistan were safe, Afghan Ambassador in Islamabad Omar Zakhilwal said on Friday.

Six people, including a Russian national, aboard were taken hostage by the Taliban as the helicopter landed in Logar province while on its way to Russia via Uzbekistan for repair and maintenance, Xinhua news agency reported.

Afghan officials said the Taliban took the crew members along with them and efforts were underway to secure their release.

Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said he was seeking information about the incident.

"All crew members are safe," Zakilwal said on Friday.

He confirmed the Taliban had taken the crew and President Ashraf Ghani has asked the security forces to assist in recovering the hostages.

"I am hopeful there will be a peaceful ending to this," Ghani said.

Pakistani officials said the helicopter belonged to Punjab province and permission to use the Afghan airspace had been sought.

Military spokesman General Asim Bajwa has said army chief General Raheel Sharif had spoken to General John Nicholson, the Resolute Support Mission's commander, hours after the helicopter made a crashlanding.

"The army chief called Nicholson, asked him to help in recovery of crew of Punjab government helicopter," Bajwa said on his official Twitter.

Bajwa said the Afghan government and the National Army have also been contacted for their assistance in recovering the crew members.
PARIS Paris police cleared tourists out of the Eiffel Tower on Friday evening, then said it had been a false alarm.

France is on high alert after a string of militant attacks, most recently last week's murder of a priest in Normandy.





(Reporting by Matthias Blamont; Editing by Andrew Heavens)

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ROME Italian police on Friday arrested eight people on suspicion of people smuggling and falsifying documents, saying that the gang's leader had sworn loyalty to Islamic State.

The group of eight, made up exclusively of non-Italians, used fake contracts and payslips provided by a complicit textile company north of Naples to obtain work visas for irregular migrants, Carabinieri police said in a statement.

Heading up the alleged criminal gang was 41-year-old Mohamed Kamel Khemiri, a Tunisian man who had previously been arrested on drug smuggling charges. Khemiri had become a radical Islamist and is under investigation on terrorism charges, police said.

"As long as I live I will be an Islamic State man, and if I die I call on you to join," Khemiri said, speaking Arabic, on a telephone call recorded by police in January 2015, prosecutor Luigi Alberto Cannavale told reporters.

Khemiri became more and more radicalised over time, investigators said after scouring his internet and social media activity.

He celebrated when militants, who later were said to have acted on behalf of Islamic State (IS), conducted a series of planned attacks in Paris in November that killed 130 people, police said.

"This investigation demonstrates that there is a risk that people close to jihadists can also control people smuggling operations," Franco Roberti, Italy's top anti-terrorism prosecutor, told AGI news agency.

On Wednesday, Italy said it is investigating whether IS is involved in organising the passage of tens of thousands of migrants across the Mediterranean Sea.

More than 420,000 migrants have reached Italy by sea from North Africa since the start of 2014.

(Reporting by Steve Scherer)

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Islamabad: Pakistan on said it has formally approached medical relief charity Medecins Sans Frontieres (Doctors without Borders) for emergency health services in Kashmir.

Advisor to the Prime Minister on Foreign Affairs Sartaj Aziz wrote a letter to MSF chief highlighting the emergency health situation in Kashmir, Foreign Office spokesman said in a statement.

The advisor wrote about the state of "medical emergency" in Jammu and Kashmir that has developed as a result of "atrocious Indian brutalities against unarmed and defenseless civilians".

"The Advisor has requested Medecins Sans Frontieres to immediately provide medical assistance to thousands of injured in Kashmir. The Advisor particularly emphasised the urgent need of eye surgeons, as hundreds of people are suffering from severe eye injuries caused by the use of pellet guns on peaceful protesters," it said.

It is not sure how the MSF would respond to the letter, which seems to be an effort to internationally highlight the issue of Kashmir.

Pakistan and India have been at loggerheads over the recent unrest in Kashmir.

The two sides exchanged barbs at SAARC security summit in Islamabad when Home Minister Rajnath Singh visited Pakistan yesterday.
Cairo: Egypt's military said on Thursday it had killed Abu Duaa al-Ansari, whom it identified as the leader of the Sinai branch of Islamic State.

It said on its Facebook page that a series of air strikes near Arish, the largest town on the Sinai peninsula, had also killed 45 other Islamic State fighters.

There was no immediate confirmation from Sinai Province, Islamic State's offshoot in the peninsula that borders Israel, the Gaza Strip and the Suez Canal.

"This successful operation confirms the pledges of the armed forces to avenge their martyrs and... pursue all the terrorist elements and leaders wherever they are found until Egypt and its great people enjoy security and stability," the military said.

Hundreds of soldiers and policemen have been killed by an insurgency since mid-2013, when then-army chief Abdel Fattah al-Sisi ousted Islamist President Mohamed Mursi following mass protests.

Most of the violence has taken place in northern Sinai, where Islamic State loyalists are based.

The military has conducted several campaigns to crush insurgents and cut off their arms supplies, demolishing border villages and tunnels it said were used to smuggle arms and fighters from the Gaza Strip.

Locals say the tunnels were used to smuggle consumer goods to Gaza to ease the consequences of the Israeli blockade.

In 2014, an Egyptian militant group called Ansar Bayt al-Maqdis pledged allegiance to Islamic State and changed its name to Sinai Province.

The army, which still refers to the group by its former name, did not say when the air strikes took place.
Washington: US President Barack Obama has expressed doubts whether to trust Russia to cooperate militarily with America in putting an end to the Syrian crisis, saying the proposition needs to be tested first.

"I'm not confident that we can trust the Russians or Vladimir Putin, which is why we have to test whether or not we can get an actual cessation of hostilities. That includes an end to the kinds of aerial bombing and civilian death and destruction that we've seen carried out by the Assad regime," Obama told reporters at news conference on Thursday.

He said Russia may not be able to get there, either because they don't want to, or because they don't have sufficient influence over Assad and that will be tested by the US.

"We go into this without any blinders on. We're very clear that Russia has been willing to support a murderous regime that has an individual, Assad, who has destroyed his country just to cling on to power. What started with peaceful protests has led to a shattering of an entire pretty advanced society," Obama said.

"Whenever you are trying to broker any kind of deal with an individual or a country like that, you have got to go in there with some scepticism," he said while replying to a question.

Talking about the Syrian crisis Obama said defeating the Islamic State and Al-Qaeda requires and end to the civil war and the Assad regime's brutality against the Syrian people that has pushed people into the arms of extremists.

"The regime and its allies continue to violate the cessation of hostilities, including with vicious attacks on defenceless civilians, medieval sieges against cities like Aleppo, and blocking food from reaching families that are starving."

"It is deplorable and the depravity of the Syrian regime has rightly earned the condemnation of the world," he said.

In a strong message to Russia, Obama said the country's direct involvement in these actions over the last several weeks raises very serious questions about their commitment to pulling the situation back from the brink.

"The US remains prepared to work with Russia to try to reduce the violence and strengthen our efforts against Islamic State and Al-Qaeda in Syria, but so far Russia has failed to take the necessary steps."

Given the deteriorating situation, it is time for Russia to show that it is serious about pursuing these objectives," he said.
WASHINGTON The Obama administration is preparing to elevate the stature of the Pentagons Cyber Command, signalling more emphasis on developing cyber weapons to deter attacks, punish intruders into U.S. networks and tackle adversaries such as Islamic State, current and former officials told Reuters.

Under the plan being considered at the White House, the officials said, U.S. Cyber Command would become what the military calls a "unified command" equal to combat branches of the military such as the Central and Pacific Commands.

Cyber Command would be separated from the National Security Agency, a spy agency responsible for electronic eavesdropping, the officials said. That would give Cyber Command leaders a larger voice in arguing for the use of both offensive and defensive cyber tools in future conflicts.

Both organizations are based at Fort Meade, Maryland, about 30 miles north of Washington, and led by the same officer, Navy Adm. Michael S. Rogers.

A former senior intelligence official with knowledge of the plan said it reflects the growing role that cyber operations play in modern warfare, and the different missions of the Cyber Command and the NSA. The official spoke on condition of anonymity.

A Cyber Command spokesman declined comment on the plan, and the NSA did not respond to requests for comment.

Established in 2010, Cyber Command is now subordinate to the U.S. Strategic Command, which oversees military space operations, nuclear weapons and missile defence.

U.S. officials cautioned that details of the plan, including some aspects of Cyber Command's new status, are still being debated.

It was unclear when the matter will be presented to President Barack Obama for final approval, but the former senior intelligence official said it was unlikely anyone would stand in the way.

The Pentagon acknowledged earlier this year that it has conducted cyber attacks against Islamic State, although the details are highly classified.

"We are dropping cyberbombs. We have never done that before," Deputy Defense Secretary Robert Work said in April.

The Washington Post reported last month that Pentagon leaders had been frustrated with the slow pace of Cyber Command's electronic offensive against Islamic State, militants who control parts of Iraq and Syria and have sympathizers and supporters worldwide.

In response, Rogers created Joint Task Force Ares to develop new digital weapons against Islamic State and coordinate with the Central Command, which is responsible for combat operations in the Middle East and South Asia.

The new task force has "the specific mission to accomplish cyberspace objectives in support of counter-ISIL operations," a Cyber Command statement said. Task Force Ares, it said, "comprises operations and intelligence professionals from each of the military services."

James Lewis, a cyber security expert at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, said the plan that will be presented to Obama highlights how Cyber Command, reliant on the NSA in its early years, is developing its own work force and digital tools.

"It reflects the maturing of Cyber Command and its own capabilities," Lewis said.

Defense Secretary Ash Carter hinted at the higher status for Cyber Command in an April speech in Washington, in which he said the Pentagon is planning $35 billion in cyber spending over the next five years.

"Adapting to new functions will include changes in how we manage ourselves in cyberspace," Carter said.

NSA's primary mission is to intercept and decode adversaries' phone calls, emails and other communications. The agency was criticized for over-reach after former NSA contractor Edward Snowden revealed some of its surveillance programs.

NSA's focus is gathering intelligence, officials said, often favouring the monitoring of an enemy's cyber activities. Cyber Command's mission is geared more to shutting down cyber attacks - and, if ordered, counter attacking.

The NSA director has been a senior military officer since the agency's founding in 1952. Under the plan, future directors would be civilians, an arrangement meant to underscore that NSA is not subordinate to Cyber Command.

(Additional reporting by Idrees Ali; Editing by John Walcott and Grant McCool)

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WASHINGTON President Barack Obama on Thursday touted progress he said the United States and its allies had made in the military campaign against Islamic State, but warned that the militant group still can direct and inspire attacks.

The United States is leading a military coalition conducting air strikes against Islamic State in Iraq and Syria, where the group seized broad swathes of territory in 2014. It has succeeded in breaking Islamic State's grip on some towns, although it still controls its two de facto capitals, Mosul in Iraq and Raqqa in Syria.

The president, criticized for suggesting Islamic State was made up of amateurs, presented a more measured assessment on Thursday.

He said the last two years of the U.S.-led air and ground campaign have proved that the extremist group can be beaten in conventional military fights but that it has shown the ability to carry out damaging, small-scale attacks.

"I am pleased with the progress that we've made on the ground in Iraq and Syria," Obama told a news conference at the Pentagon after meeting with officials directing the campaign, but added: "We're far from freeing Mosul and Raqqa."While the campaign against Islamic State in Iraq, Syria and now Libya is making significant gains, the group is adapting, reverting to high-profile attacks and using the internet to recruit and train, and to encourage "lone wolf" attacks.

"They've seen the degree of attention they can get with smaller-scale attacks using small arms or assault rifles," Obama said. "The possibility of either a lone actor or a small cell carrying out an attack that kills people is real."

The United States must do a better job of disrupting Islamic State networks that can carry out attacks far from the group's bases in the Middle East, Obama said.

"Those networks are more active in Europe than they are here, but we don't know what we don't know, and so it's conceivable that there are some networks here that could be activated," he said, while warning against over-reacting to such attacks.

"How we react to this is as important as the efforts we take to destroy ISIL, prevent these networks from penetrating," he said, using an acronym for the group. "When societies get scared they can react in ways that undermine the fabric of our society."

COORDINATING WITH RUSSIA

In Syria, where the United States is exploring options to cooperate with Russia militarily to defeat Islamic State, Obama said Russia's and Syria's most recent actions have raised doubts about their commitment to a pause in the conflict.

This week, a Syrian rescue service operating in rebel-held territory said a helicopter dropped containers of toxic gas overnight on a town close to where a Russian military helicopter had been shot down hours earlier.

The opposition Syrian National Coalition accused President Bashar al-Assad of being behind the attack. Assad has denied previous accusations of using chemical weapons.

The twin U.S. goals in Syria have been to end the violence that has claimed some 400,000 lives, according to United Nations estimates, and to seek a political process to replace Assad, whom Obama has said "must go."

Proposals for the United States and Russia to cooperate in Syria would have them share intelligence to coordinate air strikes and prohibit the Syrian air force from attacking rebel groups considered moderate.

But U.S. military and intelligence officials have called the plan naive and said U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry risks falling into a trap that Russian President Vladimir Putin has laid to discredit the United States with moderate rebel groups and drive some of their fighters into the arms of Islamic State and other extremist groups.

"The U.S. remains prepared to work with Russia to try to reduce the violence and strengthen our efforts against ISIL and al Qaeda in Syria, but so far Russia has failed to take the necessary steps," Obama said, adding that he was not confident Russia or Putin could be trusted.

(Writing by Yeganeh Torbati; Editing by James Dalgleish)

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WASHINGTON President Barack Obama confirmed on Thursday that Donald Trump will get national security briefings ahead of the November election, but he warned the Republican candidate, whom he has called "unfit" for office, that information from the meetings must be kept secret.

Obama, a Democrat who endorsed his former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in the 2016 White House race, has made clear his dismay over Trump, a New York businessman who has proposed temporarily banning Muslims from entering the United States and building a wall on the U.S. border with Mexico.

On Tuesday Obama questioned why leading Republicans have not withdrawn their support for their presidential nominee. On Thursday he dismissed as ridiculous Trump's claims that the election may be rigged.

"Of course the elections will not be rigged. What does that mean?" Obama said with exasperation. "If Mr. Trump is up 10 or 15 points on Election Day and ends up losing, then maybe he can raise some questions. That doesnt seem to be the case at the moment."

Trump is trailing Clinton in polls.

Despite his disdain, Obama said Trump would get the top secret briefings on world crises and security threats to which he, Clinton and their respective vice presidential running mates are entitled.

Some Republicans have said Clinton should be denied access to such briefings because of her handling of classified material on a private email server while she was secretary of state.

Obama on Thursday, speaking to reporters at the Pentagon, made clear that both candidates would be treated equally.

"We are going to go by the law, which is that, in both tradition and the law, that if somebody is the nominee ... they need to get a security briefing so that if they were to win, they are not starting from scratch in terms of being prepared," Obama said.

"What I will say is that they have been told these are classified briefings," he added, in response to a question about whether he was concerned about Trump obtaining the classified information. "And if they want to be president, they got to start acting like president, and that means being able to receive these briefings and not spread them around."

Trump has placed blame on Clinton and Obama for the rise of Islamic State, also known as ISIS.

"The Obama-Clinton foreign policy gave rise to ISIS, made Iran flush with cash, and is now admitting vast numbers of refugees and migrants into the United States from some of the most volatile regions in the world," Trump senior policy adviser Stephen Miller said in a statement.

"But none of this is surprising from an Administration that allowed its Secretary of State to threaten the country with a private email server, delete her records, and lie about it to us all," Miller said.

Obama, who was meeting with his national security advisers about the fight against Islamic State, also made a subtle jab at Trump for his dispute with a Muslim couple whose U.S. Army captain son died in Iraq. Obama lauded "patriotic Muslim Americans" who fight in the U.S. armed forces.

(Additional reporting by Mark Hosenball and Steve Holland; Editing by Leslie Adler)

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Chicago: A Pakistani-American couple has claimed that they were removed from a US-bound flight as an on board crew member felt "uncomfortable" after noticing that they were "sweating", saying "Allah" and texting.

Nazia and Faisal Ali have accused Delta Air Lines of Islamophobia for throwing them off their flight from Paris to Cincinnati, Ohio.

Nazia, 34, had removed her sneakers, finished sending a text message to her parents and was putting on headphones and settling into her seat for the nine-hour flight from Paris to Cincinnati when a Delta Air Lines crew member approached her and husband, Faisal.

A flight crew member had complained to the pilot that she was uncomfortable with the Muslim couple, The Cincinnati Enquirer reported.

The woman was wearing a head scarf and using a phone, and the man was sweating, she allegedly told the pilot.

The flight attendant also claimed that Faisal tried to hide his cell phone and that she had heard the couple use the word 'Allah'.

The pilot contacted the ground crew and would not take off until couple was removed.

"We had been in our seats for 45 minutes," Nazia said on Thursday in the Cincinnati area office of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR).

"The ground agent said, 'Can you step out with me? We'd like to ask you a few questions.' So I said, 'Do you want us to get our things?' And he said, 'Yes, please grab all of your personal belongings. You're not going to be on this flight'," Nazia said recounting the 26 July incident.

They were interrogated by a French police officer about their stay in Paris  the couple had been enjoying a brief holiday in the capital city for their 10th wedding anniversary, media reports said.

After the interrogation, the officer said he had no problem with them and there was nothing else he could ask the couple.

In the wake of the couple's removal from the flight, the Muslim advocacy group has filed a religious profiling complaint against Delta Air Lines to the US Department of Transportation

"We call on the US Department of Transportation to conduct a thorough examination into the prevailing practices of major American air carriers, including Delta Air Lines, and to develop policy guidelines on the objective factors that are to be considered when determining that a passenger may legally be removed from a flight," CAIR-Cincinnati attorney Sana Hassan said.

The Delta Airlines, in a statement, said, "Delta condemns discrimination toward our customers in regards to age, race, nationality, religion, sexual orientation or gender."

"As a global airline that brings hundreds of thousands of people together every day, Delta is deeply committed to treating all of our customers with respect. Delta continues its investigation into this matter and will issue a full refund of these customers' airfare," it said.
UNITED NATIONS Former Portuguese Prime Minister Antonio Guterres is still the front-runner to become the next United Nations Secretary-General after a second U.N. Security Council secret ballot on Friday, said diplomats.

The 15-member council cast a ballot for each of the 11 candidates, and the choice is encourage, discourage or no opinion. Guterres received 11 encourage, two discourage and two no opinions, diplomats said. In the first poll on July 21, Guterres received 12 encourages and three no opinions.

Former Serbian Foreign Minister Vuk Jeremic moved up to second with eight encourage, four discourage and three no opinion, edging out Argentinian Foreign Minister Susana Malcorra who got eight encourage, six discourage and one no opinion.

Former Slovenian President Danilo Turk dropped to fourth from second with seven encourage, five discourage and three no opinion, while Irina Bokova of Bulgaria, director-general of U.N. cultural organisation UNESCO took fifth spot.

The Security Council will hold secret ballots until a consensus is reached on a candidate to replace U.N. chief Ban Ki-moon of South Korea who steps down at the end of 2016 after serving two five-year terms.

There are 11 candidates, six men and five women, vying for the post. Former Croatian Foreign Minister Vesna Pusic, who came last in the first ballot, dropped out of the race on Thursday.

Civil society groups and nearly a third of the 193 U.N. member states, led by Colombia, have pushed for the first woman secretary-general. Four of those countries, Japan, Spain, Uruguay and Venezuela are in the security council.

But hopes for a woman to lead the United Nations appear to be fading. Russia's U.N. Ambassador Vitaly Churkin said this week that was because "the people who have spoken so loudly about the need to support a woman have not done that when it came to the actual straw poll."

Guterres was prime minister of Portugal from 1995 to 2002 and served as United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees from June 2005 to December 2015.

Diplomats said the council aimed to recommend a candidate to the 193-member General Assembly for election by October. Ultimately, the five permanent veto-wielding council members - the United States, Russia, Britain, China and France - must agree on a candidate.

(Reporting by Michelle Nichols; editing by Grant McCool)

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PRETORIA South Africa's ruling party was on track for its worst electoral performance since coming to power two decades ago, poised to lose control of a key metropolitan area in a reflection of rising anger over a stubbornly high jobless rate and a lack of basic services.

Support for the African National Congress (ANC) has waned particularly among urban residents whose lives have not improved much since it toppled oppressive white rule in 1994 and who accuse President Jacob Zuma of mismanaging the economy.

On Friday the ruling party was on the brink of losing control of Nelson Mandela Bay, named after the late anti-apartheid icon, to the Democratic Alliance (DA), which held 46.65 percent of the vote compared with the ANC's 40.99 percent, with 98 percent of ballots counted.

Victory in Nelson Mandela Bay would give the DA control of its second major city, and embolden the opposition ahead of national elections in 2019. ANC officials in the area, however, said they were lodging a complaint about 500 dumped ballot papers found there with votes marked for the party.

The DA held a narrow lead in the capital, Pretoria, with 66 percent of the votes in, while the two parties were on par in the economic hub of Johannesburg, with 64 percent counted.

This leaves the ANC with a tenuous hold on two more major cities where millions of impoverished blacks are now looking beyond its liberation struggle credentials and focussing on weak economic growth and the scandals embroiling Zuma.

"The results suggest that South Africa's political system is becoming much more competitive," said John Ashbourne, Africa analyst at Capital Economics.

"The DA, which has traditionally relied on the votes of white and coloured (mixed-race) South Africans, finally appears to be gaining support among the country's black majority."

The DA last year elected its first black leader, Mmusi Maimane, as part of continued efforts to shake off its image as a party that mainly serves white interests.

The ANC was still in the lead nationally, with 54 percent of votes versus 26 percent for the DA and nearly 8 percent for the radical leftist Economic Freedom Fighters.

But this was down sharply from 62 percent in the 2011 municipal elections, suggesting voters are losing patience with Zuma, who rattled investors in December by changing finance ministers twice in a week, sending the rand currency plummeting.

Zuma survived an impeachment vote in April after the Constitutional Court said he breached the law by ignoring an order to repay some of the $16 million in state funds spent on renovating his private home in Nkandla. Zuma has since said he will repay some of the money.

The ANC failed to win in Nkandla in a personal blow to the president, with the Inkatha Freedom Party retaining its hold on the region.

(Writing by Stella Mapenzauswa, editing by G Crosse)

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Home Minister Rajnath Singh, who returned to India on Thursday evening after delivering a compact speech at the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (Saarc) home ministers meeting in Islamabad, has been taken to task by some critics that by targeting Pakistan for its role in Kashmir in what is an international or regional gathering, he has weakened the growth of the regional organisation.

To be precise, Singh did not name Pakistan. But he made it pretty obvious when he emphasised that no type of terrorism or support to it could be justified and called for immediate and effective action against all those who support or encourage international terrorism, "whether state actors or non-state actors. In fact, by talking of attacks on Pathankot (and earlier, Mumbai), he clearly was referring to Pakistan, even though he also talked of the menace of terrorism in Dhaka and Kabul.

It also needs to be ensured that terrorism is not glorified and is not patronised by any state. One country's terrorist cannot be a martyr or freedom fighter for anyone. I also speak for the entire humanity  not just for India or other Saarc members  in urging that under no circumstances should terrorists be eulogised as martyrs. Those who provide support, encouragement, sanctuary, safe haven or any assistance to terrorism or terrorists must be isolated. The strongest possible steps need to be taken not only against terrorists and terrorist organisations, but also those individuals, institutions, organisations or nations that support them. Only this will ensure that the forces engaged in promoting the heinous crime of terrorism against humanity are effectively countered

And here, he had obviously in mind how the Pakistani government under Nawaz Sharif has conferred on Burhan Wani, a Kashmiri commander of the terrorist outfit Hizbul Mujahideen, the status of a martyr.

It has been argued by some analysts that Singh should not have raised what are essentially bilateral issues between India and Pakistan at an international meeting. But two questions are noteworthy here:

Is terrorism in Kashmir a bilateral matter?

Secondly, was it Singh who raised it first in the Islamabad meeting?

Let me answer the second question first. It all began with Pakistans Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan, the host. In his introductory address, Khan lambasted the "use of excessive force to suppress protests in held Kashmir, without naming the Indian government. Using torture against innocent children and violence against civilians qualifies as terrorism, said the Pakistani minister, adding that there was a need to end an extremist mindset. He said that like the attacks in Pathankot, Kabul, Mumbai and Dhaka, Pakistan too has lost many innocent lives due to terrorism. The use of blame game has not benefited anyone for the past six decades.

Just imagine what an Indian home minister would have done in his response to such an welcome (and here, one is not looking at the demonstrations against his visit by the all the hardcore terrorist organisations based in Pakistan) by his Pakistani counterpart? Viewed thus, Singhs was a fitting response.

Now let us come to the first question  that of whether terrorism in Kashmir should be seen strictly as a bilateral affair? The answer to this should be seen along with two other important developments concerning Pakistan today (Thursday) itself.

One is the decision that China is to set up an anti-terrorism alliance with Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Tajikistan, to boost coordination with neighbours to tackle what it says is a growing domestic militant threat. Fang Fenghui, a member of the powerful Central Military Commission that controls China's armed forces, had hosted a meeting with his counterparts on Wednesday in Urumqi, capital of the western Xinjiang region. According to Chinese news agency Xinhua, the four countries recognised the serious threat of terrorism and extremism to regional stability, and they agreed to set up a "four-country mechanism" for intelligence sharing and training. "All parties reaffirmed they will cooperate to respond to these forces, and safeguard all member countries' peace and stability," Xinhua said. Apparently, Afghan army chief of general staff, General Qadam Shah Shaheem, Pakistani army chief General Raheel Sharif, and the Chief of General Staff of the Tajikistan armed forces, Major-General EA Cobidrzoda took part in the talks.

The point here, thus, is, that Pakistans decision to be a part of the Chinese sponsored group means that it realises that growing domestic militant threat (in this case, battling Islamist militants) cannot be fought alone and that there is a need for coordination with other countries in general and neighbours in particular. And if this is the case, what crime has Rajnath committed when he spoke of a regional imperative to tackle terrorism in South Asia, including Kashmir?

If anything, it only reflects Pakistans double-talk on terrorism. As is very well-known, terrorism is an instrument of Pakistans foreign policy, particularly vis-a-vis India and Afghanistan. So, apart from China, nobody takes Pakistan seriously and its growing international isolation is being debated in various Pakistani think tanks these days. And another bit of concrete evidence  and this is the other major development of the day  of this was Pentagons decision not to pay Pakistan $300 million in military reimbursements after US Secretary of Defence Ashton Carter decided not to tell Congress that Pakistan was taking adequate action against the Haqqani Network (a Pakistani-funded and guided terror outfit in Afghanistan fighting the democratic regime there).

It may be noted that of late,the US and Pakistan have been at loggerheads over the latters unwillingness to act against extremist groups such as the Afghan Taliban and the Haqqani Network. The $300 million comes under the Coalition Support Fund (CSF), a US Defence Department programme to reimburse allies that have incurred costs in supporting counter-terrorist and counter-insurgency operations. Pakistan is the largest recipient. The decision to withhold funds comes in the wake of the growing resistance in the US Congress to send money to Pakistan. In fact, in March, Republican Senator Bob Corker, the chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, had threatened to bar any US funding for Islamabads purchase of $700 million of Lockheed Martin Corp F-16 fighter jets.

Instead of finding fault with our home ministers speech, our so-called liberals should impress upon the Pakistani prime minister not to play with fire.

Thursday marked also another important development in the Pakistani capital. Raheel Sharif called on Nawaz Sharif at the prime minister's residence and they exchanged views on Indian atrocities in the occupied Kashmir, news reports said. Therefore, despite whatever our bleeding heart liberals say in our news outlets, the fact remains that Pakistan now seems determined to complicate our problems in Kashmir by diplomatic, financial and military support.

Nawaz Sharif has shown his true colours once again by saying that the Kashmir issue is the main pillar of Islamabad's foreign policy. Let it be remembered that it was Sharif under whose premiership the invasion of Kargil in 1999 had taken place. And it was during his first tenure as Prime Minister (1990) that Sharif had gone to the extent of establishing a fund for the liberation of Kashmir. In fact during his election-campaigns that year, Sharif had pointed out how Benazir Bhutto as the prime minister was a security threat as she had revealed to India the identities of Sikh insurgents who had links with Pakistani intelligence. As Pakistani scholar-diplomat Husain Haqqani has written, Sharif had also promised Kashmirs liberation by arms.

If anything, Sharifs present policy towards Kashmir reflects his unchanged mindset. So instead of finding fault with our home ministers speech, our so-called liberals should impress upon the Pakistani prime minister not to play with fire.
ANKARA Turkey plans to abolish military high courts by amending the country's constitution, a senior lawmaker in the ruling AK Party said on Friday, part of government efforts to boost civilian control over the armed forces and the judiciary.

The reforms will also aim to unite Turkey's high courts under a single roof, Ahmet Iyimaya, the chairman of parliament's justice commission, told Reuters in an interview. It will not include controversial projects such as the introduction of an executive presidency, he said.

President Tayyip Erdogan blames U.S.-based Islamic cleric Fethullah Gulen for orchestrating the coup attempt, which killed about 240 people. He has initiated a crackdown on Gulen's followers within the judiciary, military and the rest of the government for alleged links to the coup plot.

"Measures to cleanse the members of judiciary who have sold their souls to the Gulenist terror group is a must," Iyimaya said. "Work will be carried out to unite high courts under a single one. After that, the military high court and military administrative court will also be removed," he said.

The military courts have jurisdiction over the prosecution of soldiers. The military high courts are, in effect, appeals courts for those cases.

Overhauling the judiciary follows unprecedented changes to the military's structure, including closing secondary war academies, moving to bring the army fully under Defence Ministry control and dishonourably discharging more than 3,000 soldiers.

Prime Minister Binali Yildirim had announced plans to change the constitution late last month, capitalising on what he described as common ground among political parties following the abortive coup attempt.

"I believe these constitutional changes could be done in August before parliament goes to recess," Iyimaya said.

Any constitutional change requires the support of at least 367 deputies in the 550-seat assembly to pass directly. The AKP has 316 seats; the main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP), 133 lawmakers.

Opposition parties have been wary of the AKP's years-long campaign for a new constitution because Erdogan has made transforming his office from a largely ceremonial post into an executive-style presidency a central aspect of the new charter. They worry this will concentrate too much power in his hands.

Iyimaya said the reforms also envisage parliament electing members of the High Council of Judges and Prosecutors (HSYK) instead of the existing system where the Justice Ministry, members of the high courts and Erdogan appoint them.

(Writing by Humeyra Pamuk and Daren Butler; Editing by Ayla Jean Yackley, Larry King)

This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed.
Turkish Foreign Minster Mevlut Cavusoglu called Austria the "capital of radical racism" on Friday after Chancellor Christian Kern suggested ending European Union accession talks with Ankara.

In an interview with broadcaster TGRT Haber, Cavusoglu said Kern's comments, spurred in part by a crackdown on suspected perpetrators of a failed coup last month, were "ugly" and that he rejected them all.

"The Austrian chancellor should first take a look at his own country. One of the trends that is an enemy of human rights and values is racism and today Austria is the capital of radical racism," he said.

Kern said on Wednesday he would start a discussion among European heads of government to quit talks with Turkey citing democratic and economic deficits.

Talks have made only slow progress since they began in 2005, with only one of 35 "chapters" concluded.

Cavusoglu's comments drew immediate reaction from Vienna. Austrian Foreign Minister Sebastian Kurz called on Ankara to moderate its words and actions.

Kern's Social Democrats have come under pressure from both their Conservative coalition partners and the far right Freedom Party, which has in a recent opinion poll attracted 35 percent of votes on an anti-immigrant platform, critical of Islam.

European leaders have voiced concern over Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan's crackdown on suspected dissidents after a failed coup attempt last month, identifying his idea of reintroducing the death penalty in Turkey as a red line barring EU accession.

Tensions between the two countries had been on the rise since last month. Austria had summoned Turkey's ambassador on July 21 to explain Ankara's links to demonstrations in the country in support of Erdogan.

Turkey has so far lived up to its side of the landmark deal with Brussels to stop illegal migration to Europe via its shores, in return for financial aid, the promise of visa-free travel to much of the bloc and accelerated talks on membership.

But Ankara has complained Europe is not living up to its side of the accord, a stance reiterated by Cavusoglu on Friday.

"If there is an agreement, either both sides would implement this or both would put it aside. There is no step back from this," he said.
The United Nations has strongly rejected assertion that Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has a "vow of silence" on the issue of Kashmir.

"It's not a vow of silence. We did say something, but that's where we stand on it right now," Ban's deputy spokesman

Farhan Haq told reporters at the daily press briefing on Friday when asked when the UN Chief will "break his vow of silence" and speak about Kashmir.

Haq said Ban's stance on the Kashmir issue remains the same and cited a statement that had been issued a few weeks ago on the crisis in the Valley.

Ban had said he is closely following the recent clashes in Kashmir, that had broke out in the aftermath of the killing of Hizbul commander Burhan Wani.

He had called on all parties to "exercise maximum restraint" to avoid further violence and hoped that all concerns would be addressed through "peaceful means".

Earlier this week, Ban's spokesman Stephane Dujarric had rejected remarks that the Secretary General was reluctant on the issue of Kashmir.

Dujarric was asked at the daily press briefing why the Secretary General did not initiate efforts to settle the Kashmir conflict, even as the world body is trying to resolve conflicts in Cyprus and the Middle East.

"I will leave it to you and others to analyse the reasoning. I think the questions on the situation in Kashmir have come up with us today and previously. Our answers to those questions remain the same," Dujarric had said.

When asked why there is "reluctance" on the part of the Secretary-General and the United Nations to offer any comments on the situation in Kashmir, Dujarric said when questions arise on the issue, the UN offers comments.

"So I don't agree as being reluctant," he had said.

Protests broke out across Kashmir Valley on 9 July, a day after Wani was killed in an encounter with Indian security forces, leading to clashes in which 50 people have been killed.
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A man who stabbed an American woman to death and injured five other people in Londons Russell Square is a Norwegian of Somali origin, police said yesterday. They said they have found no signs of radicalization as a motive. Metropolitan Police Assistant Commissioner Mark Rowley said the investigation increasingly points to this tragic incident as having been triggered by mental-health issues.

Portugal nabs 40,000 ecstasy tablets at Lisbon airport

Portuguese police say they have arrested an 18-year-old foreigner at Lisbon airport in possession of around 40,000 ecstasy tablets. Police said in a statement yesterday that the 17-kilo haul is the largest Portuguese airport seizure of the drug in the past five years. The suspect, whose name and nationality were not provided, appeared before a judge and was denied bail. The European Union drug agency, which monitors substance abuse in the 28-nation bloc, said earlier this year that ecstasy is becoming popular again among a new generation of users.

Greek minister: EU unprepared if migration deal collapses

A minister for migration in Greece says European Union countries would not be ready to deal with another surge in migration if a deal with Turkey to limit migrant and refugee arrivals collapses. Yiannis Mouzalas said Greece and other European countries would be severely tested if the March agreement failed  in the wake of an attempted coup in Turkey and a government crackdown on its alleged sympathizers that has strained relations with the EU. Mouzalas told private Skai television yesterday that no country in Europe is ready for a repeat of the mass arrival of migrants and refugees that occurred last year. He made the remarks a day after a government official told the AP that the EU-Turkey deal was holding so far, with daily arrival numbers remaining low.
The Macau Civil Servants Association (ATFPM) have submitted a petition yesterday to the office of the Chief Executive (CE), Chui Sai On, to launch an investigation into the operations of the Meteorological and Geophysical Bureau (SMG). ATFPMs petition follows the controversy over the bureaus failure to hoist a signal 8 on Tuesday morning when typhoon Nida struck Macau.

Speaking to journalists on the sidelines, ATFPM president Jose Pereira Coutinho said that the goal is to understand how the services work, the responsibilities of each of the leaders, and why a staff member in charge of important services related with the weather forecast and the typhoons of Macau quit [those duties] to be a simple technician.

According to Pereira Coutinho, the three [SMG] centers have had open positions, including heads of the department of Administration and Finance for a long time, and that its been a while [] the services are operating with [internal] problems that have consequences [for society].

Pereira Coutinho named several issues like the appearance of signal 10 warnings [that in] reality should be 1; errors committed by the staff of the SMG due to poor infrastructure in terms of software; and when they propose changes to improve the internal working conditions, this results in retaliation against employees and [] disciplinary proceedings for the fact that they had the courage to raise questions that, in the view of the director [of the SMG], should not be raised.

Pereira Coutinho said the SMGs problems and operations are highly relevant, not just for SMG staff, but for the general public.

In his opinion, the situation escalated after the retirement of former SMG director Antonio Vizeu, leaving in position a deputy director [Leong Ka Cheng] that looks like [she] is not able to handle the situation, and the director who for a long time stopped taking responsibilities for the classification of the typhoons []. But it seems like he also has some difficulties in this specific area.

The journalists also questioned Coutinho about a statement made earlier yesterday by the Secretary for Transport and Public Works, Raimundo do Rosario, who apologized for communication failures by SMG.

Let me apologize to all citizens and residents of Macau regarding the controversy surrounding the typhoon. We need to apologize because we havent done enough and we havent done our best, Rosario said during a visit to the Pac On area.

We also didnt [perform] well regarding the communication levels.

According to Coutinho, Rosarios apology is a positive development but still not enough.

We want to know more than that. After all, how does the SMG work? he asked, saying that the ATFPM only made its decision because of the worsening of these problems.

Nevertheless, according to the lawmaker and ATFPM head, the mistakes of the SMG involve many other public services; namely, the Education and Youth Affairs Bureau (DSEJ), the services of the Public Security Police Force (PSP) and the Transport Bureau (DSAT), among others.

During this particular case, the DSAT has issued a warning telling the motorcycle riders not to use the two bridges while T3 signal hoisted. So I ask, how can the workers go to work if they cant use the two bridges? This is not right at all. We think that now is the right time to know what is going on inside this service and to put the right people [in charge], said Coutinho.

Gaming association calls on CCAC to investigate

The Macau Civil Servants Association was not the only group to hand in a petition yesterday. The Gaming Employees Advance Association, meeting at the offices of the CCAC, has also called on the corruption watchdog to investigate malpractice at the weather bureau and why signal 8 was not hoisted this week.
The China Green Building and Energy Saving (Macau) Association have awarded MGM China Holdings Ltd. a two-star certification under the China Green Building (Macau) Design Label for its second resort in Macau, the MGM Cotai.

Set to open in early 2017, MGM Cotai is reportedly the largest property in Macau to achieve this certification and is also the first private-sector project to be recognized by the association.

MGM Macau said its pursuit of a local green building certification is in line with MGM Chinas efforts to realize its global vision for green business in a manner relevant to the peninsula.

The China Green Building (Macau) Label evaluates projects in six key areas: land usage, energy, water, building materials, indoor environmental quality and operations and management.

The finished property will showcase numerous eco-design features that will holistically tie the companys operations to environmental responsibility.

The Parisian to bring new luxurious brands to the region

The Parisian Macao has announced its retail line-up for Shoppes at Parisian in the run-up to its opening on September 13.

With over 320,000 square feet of retail space, Shoppes at Parisian will add another 170 stores to the Sands Shoppes Cotai Strip Macaos portfolio, and many brands will open their first stores in the region.

Shoppers will be able to enjoy a French-themed street atmosphere in the mall, featuring an eclectic mix of street artists, mimes and buskers.

The Shoppes will also install a Place Vendome ceiling projection, featuring a series of artworks that will transform the plain white ceiling into a moving art piece.

To celebrate the opening of the resort, the Shop & Stay retail promotion is also available until October 16.

Shoppers who spend more than MOP20,000 at Sands Shoppes Cotai Strip Macao will be able to redeem stays at luxurious hotels based on their spend.
McDonalds, which is trying to shake its image for serving processed junk food, said this week that its eliminating some unpalatable ingredients from its most popular menu items.

That includes making Chicken McNuggets and other items without artificial preservatives, and removing high-fructose corn syrup from its burger buns. McDonalds did not immediately respond when asked about which specific preservatives are being removed.

The changes come as the worlds biggest burger chain fights to win back customers after three straight years of declining guest counts at its established U.S. locations. Major restaurant chains are scrambling to step up the image of their food as they face more competition from smaller rivals promising wholesome alternatives.

Why go to the position of trying to defend them, if the consumer is saying, I prefer not to have that particular ingredient in my food? said Mike Andres, president of McDonalds U.S., during an event at the companys headquarters in Oak Brook, Illinois, about its food journey.

How meaningful the changes are to customers remains to be seen.

Michael Jacobson, executive director for the Center for Science in the Public Interest, said the moves by McDonalds dont seem to address the big-picture problem with restaurant food  the overabundance of calories.

For instance, he said swapping out high-fructose for sugar doesnt make burger buns any healthier.

In the past year and a half, McDonalds has also switched to butter from margarine for its Egg McMuffins and added kale and spinach to its salads. Its rivals have made changes as well.

Dunkin Donuts, for instance, has promised to put more egg in its egg patty. Currently, the patty looks like a fried egg but is a composite of ingredients including egg whites, water, egg yolks and modified corn starch.

As part of its own push to remove artificial ingredients, Taco Bell has said it would switch to actual black pepper rather than black pepper flavor. Thats even as it continues trying to lure new diners with indulgent concoctions and neon-colored drinks.

Subway has introduced a rotisserie chicken and carved turkey that have more texture and look more natural than its regular chicken strips and turkey. Its offering both versions to avoid alienating fans who might not want any changes.

But convincing people it serves wholesome food is particularly important for McDonalds, which has long courted families with its Happy Meals.

The companys sales in its flagship U.S. market have showed improvement, helped by the fanfare over the introduction of an all-day breakfast menu in October. In the most recent quarter, though, McDonalds said sales edged up just 1.8 percent at established locations. That signaled that any excitement from all-day Egg McMuffins could already be losing steam.

McDonalds had signaled that tweaks to its menu were in store, telling investors during a presentation in late 2014 that it was evaluating its cooking procedures and ingredients as part of its push to fix its struggling businesses.

We need to think about our ingredient labels as being much smaller, Andres said at the time.

The company also said this week that it has completed, ahead-of-schedule, its commitment to phase out chicken raised with antibiotics important to human medicine.

Reporters at a media event on Monday posted images of new items like breakfast bowls the company is testing. And a McDonalds chef demonstrated making Egg McMuffins with freshly cracked eggs  a point the company has been trying to emphasize in advertising to convey the message that it serves real food. Candice Choi, AP


Indonesias Supreme Court has rejected an appeal by a radical Islamic cleric who was convicted of funding a terror training camp.

Abu Bakar Bashir, known as the spiritual leader of the Jemaah Islamiyah militants behind the 2002 Bali bombings, had sought a judicial review of his June 2011 conviction, for which he was sentenced to 15 years in prison. A higher court reduced it to nine years, but the Supreme Court reinstated the 15-year sentence in February 2012 on appeal by state prosecutors.

Supreme Court spokesman Suhadi said yesterday the appeal was rejected by a three-member judicial panel in a verdict dated July 27. Suhadi, who uses one name, said the judicial review failed to present new evidence.

We also did not find any mistakes or irregularities in the verdicts by the district as well as high court, he said. Hearings for Bashirs appeal began in January.

Bashir has neither confirmed nor denied planning attacks. He said the Aceh camp was meant to defend Islam and Muslims.

He acknowledged that the military-style training camp violated the law on firearms but that he was obeying Gods orders in supporting it.

The camp brought together men from almost every known extremist group in the predominantly Muslim country.

They were allegedly planning gun attacks on foreigners in the capital, Jakarta, and the assassinations of moderate leaders, including then-

President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono. AP
Chinas market for initial public offerings is the hottest its ever been, thanks to the securities regulator. The 62 new stocks that have completed their first month of trading this year soared 420 percent on average in the span, the steepest such rally on record, data compiled by Bloomberg show. For a clue as to why: the average size of this years offerings has dwindled to USD88 million, the smallest since 2005.

While huge returns on mainland IPOs arent new, the numbers are getting even more eye-watering as the China Securities Regulatory Commission seeks to stabilize the nations $6.1 trillion equity market. Officials asked arrangers and companies to limit their deal sizes in the first half to avoid an oversupply of shares, according to people with knowledge of the matter, and a proposed registration system that would have given firms more flexibility on IPO pricing and timing has been delayed. The Shanghai Composite Index is down 16 percent in 2016, one of the worlds biggest declines.

Regulators are carefully watching and testing market reactions as they approve IPOs, said Dai Ming, a money manager at Hengsheng Asset Management Co. in Shanghai. They tend to tighten approvals when the market slumps and release more deals when sentiment improves.

More than 800 companies have filed IPO applications and are waiting for approval, according to the CSRCs website. The 78 completed sales this year compares with 219 in all of 2015, and the value of the deals is about a quarter of the 2015 amount, Bloomberg data show.

Wuxi Honghui New Materials Technology Co. was one of the lucky ones, raising $39 million in June. The shares soared 553 percent in their first month on the Shenzhen exchange, and are now up 580 percent from their IPO price.

The company is typical of Chinese IPOs in that it priced at a multiple below the market average  nearly all initial shares sold in the past two years were valued at less than 23 times profit, data compiled by Bloomberg show. Wuxi Honghuis listing valuation of 22.98 times earnings compares to an average multiple of 43.3 for firms in the chemical products industry, the company said in a June 17 filing.

Investing in A-share IPOs is highly profitable because regulators keep prices low, said Hao Hong, chief strategist at Bocom International Holdings Co. in Hong Kong. The odds of winning initial shares are falling as returns surge.

For the 13 stocks that started trading last month, the average chance for a retail investor to be allocated any shares in an offering was 0.04 percent, data compiled by Bloomberg show.

The CSRC has been signaling a tougher stance on letting companies list in China, warning brokerages last month to improve their standards when helping clients raise money. The regulator is also said to be considering measures to curb the flow of overseas-traded Chinese companies seeking backdoor listings on the mainland.

As the market stabilizes, the CSRC is set to approve bigger deals for the second half, the people familiar with the matter said. China Film Co. has raised $628 million and is waiting for the regulators green light for a debut slot.

Bank of Jiangsu Co. started trading Aug. 2 after raising $1.1 billion in the biggest IPO this year. The stock has surged 74 percent from its offer price through yesterday, taking its valuation to 1.7 times the book value, the highest among lenders listed in China.

Bank of Jiangsu was the first A-share banking IPO since August 2010, data compiled by Bloomberg show. Lenders that received CSRCs initial approval more than six months ago and are still waiting for a listing slot include Bank of Hangzhou Co., Bank of Shanghai Co., Jiangsu Jiangyin Rural Commercial Bank Co. and Bank of Guiyang Co.

Some companies have gone to Hong Kong instead. Postal Savings Bank of China Co., one of the few state-owned giants remaining unlisted, is preparing for an $8 billion IPO in the former British colony this year.

Bank of Tianjin Co. and China Development Bank Financial Leasing Co., which raised a combined $1.8 billion in Hong Kong initial offerings this year, had both considered A-share listings, separate people with knowledge of the matter said.

While IPO approvals are hard to come by, regulators appear more lenient towards listed companies selling additional shares. Companies have completed 320 additional offerings on the mainland this year, raising $99 billion. Both the deal count and the fundraising are the second highest in the past decade.

Bocom Internationals Hong says the outlook for Chinas IPO market remains in the CSRCs hands.

The IPO fever will continue if regulators keep delaying a registration system and capping prices, he said. Bloomberg
Brazils Vale group has completed the process of renegotiating the deal reached in 2014 with Japans Mitsui & Co group for the sale of a percentage in coal-related interests in Mozambique, reports the Brazilian newspaper Valor Economico.

Mitsui & Co, a shareholder of the Vale group, should pay less than the originally agreed amount, which sources indicate may be reduced by 30 percent, the respective article states.

In 2014 Mitsui & Co agreed to pay USD763 million for stakes in Vales projects in Mozambique: 15 percent in the Moatize coal mine and 50 percent in the logistics corridor comprising the railway line from Moatize in Tete province via Malawi to the terminus in Nacala and that citys port.

Vale CEO Murilo Ferreira recently said that the agreement with Mitsui should be concluded by this September.

He highlighted that the process was in a very advanced stage with only Malawi government approval still required, something that is in the final negotiation phase following last months approval by the Mozambican government.

The Brazilian newspaper reported that negotiations still also under way with the banks financing the operation, specifically the Japanese Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC), the International Finance Corporation of the World Bank group and the African Development Bank.

Coal mining at Moatize in Tete province has accounted for losses of $500 million per year for Vale, down to $112 million in the first quarter and $100 million in the second quarter of 2016.

Impairments assumed by the group for Mozambique  $2.4 billion  were the second highest included in the accounts, and the larger ones  $3.46 billion  were for a nickel mining project in Canada. MDT/Macauhub
In an interview with The Associated Press, a senior official at North Koreas version of NASA said international sanctions wont stop the country from launching more satellites by 2020, and that he hopes to see the North Korean flag on the moon within the next 10 years.

Even though the U.S. and its allies try to block our space development, our aerospace scientists will conquer space and definitely plant the flag of the DPRK on the moon, said Hyon Kwang Il, director of the scientific research department of North Koreas National Aerospace Development Administration.

North Koreas official name is the Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea.

An unmanned, no-frills North Korean moon mission in the not-too-distant future isnt as far-fetched as it might seem. Outside experts say its ambitious, but conceivable. While the U.S. is the only country to have conducted manned lunar missions, other nations have sent unmanned spacecraft there and have in that sense planted their flags.

It would be a significant increase in technology, not one that is beyond them, but you have to debug each bit, Jonathan McDowell, an astrophysicist at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics who maintains an exhaustive blog on international satellites and satellite launches, said in an email to the AP.

Hyon said the current five-year plan, at the order of leader Kim Jong Un, focuses on launching more Earth observation satellites and what would be its first geostationary communications satellite  which, technologically, would be a major step forward. He said universities are also expanding programs to train rocket scientists.

We are planning to develop the Earth observation satellites and to solve communications problems by developing geostationary satellites. All of this work will be the basis for the flight to the moon, Hyon said on July 28, adding that he personally would like to see that happen within 10 years time.

North Korea has marked a number of successes in its space program  and, of course, in its development of ever-more-sophisticated long-range missiles for military use. On Wednesday, it test-fired what was believed to be a medium-range ballistic missile into the seas off Japan, the fourth reported weapons launch it has carried out in about two weeks.

It launched its latest satellite  the Kwangmyongsong 4, or Brilliant Star 4  into orbit on Feb. 7, just one month after conducting what it claims was its first H-bomb test.

That brought new sanctions because nuclear tests and rocket launches, which can have military applications, are banned under United Nations resolutions.

Hyon said the sanctions are ridiculous.

Our country has started to accomplish our plan and we have started to gain a lot of successes, he said. No matter what anyone thinks, our country will launch more satellites.

He said North Koreas long-term target is to use its satellites to provide data for crop and forestry assessments and improved communications. It also intends to do manned spaceflight and scientific experiments in space, make a flight to the moon and moon exploration and also exploration to other planets.

The U.S. made its first lunar flyby in 1959, only six months after its first satellite, Explorer 1, though it took eight more years and several failed attempts to succeed with a lunar orbiter. The USSR made its first moon shot after only three successful Sputnik satellites. Its probe  just a year and a half after Sputnik 1  reached the moon, but missed its orbit.

So its not ridiculous to attempt a moon mission early in your space program, McDowell said.

Given their low flight rate of one mission every few years, I think it is hard to see them succeeding in this in the next five years, but possible to see them attempting it, he said.

North Korea currently has two satellites in orbit, KMS-3-2 and KMS-4. It put its first satellite in orbit in 2012, a feat few other countries have achieved. Rival South Korea, for example, has yet to do so.

Hyon said that as of July 27, KMS-4 had completed 2,513 orbits, and that within one day after its launch it transmitted 700 photographic images back to Earth. He said it is still working properly and sending data whenever it passes over North Korea, which is four times a day.

Foreign experts have yet to confirm any communications from the satellite.

Theres been no independent evidence that KMS-4 sent data back, but no evidence that it didnt, either, McDowell said.

German analyst Markus Schiller, one of the worlds foremost experts on North Koreas missiles and rockets, said a geostationary satellite might be a more ambitious goal for the country than a lunar flyby or crash-landing.

Hitting the moon hard would require less performance  power, rocket size  than getting into GEO [geostationary equatorial orbit], but it will still be quite a challenge, he said in an email from Munich, where he is based.

Judging from what I have seen so far with their space program, it will take North Korea about a decade or more to get to lunar orbit at best  if they really pursue this mission, he said. My personal guess, however, is that they might try but they will fail, and we will not see a successful North Korea lunar orbiter for at least two decades, if ever.

Hyon said claims that North Koreas space plan is a military program in disguise are hypocritical, considering the history of space exploration. The U.S., Russia and China all built their space programs out of military technology. Many of the rockets they use today were initially developed as ICBMs.

It is the U.S. that militarized space, he said.

He said the North Korean military has already succeeded in developing long-range missiles that can reach anywhere on Earth, especially to American territory, and so there is no need for our state to use the space program for ballistic missile development.

That argument isnt likely to sway sanctions advocates in Washington or Seoul. But Schiller said the claim is plausible, given the advances in weaponry North Korea has displayed through its overtly military missile tests and the specific designs of the Unha rockets that are used to launch its satellites.

I agree they [the military] will not learn any essential new things from launching another Unha rocket, he said. Of course, there are lessons learned that you can also apply for the missile program. But the whole missile program shows so many different characteristics that they seem to be separated to a certain degree. Eric Talmadge, Pyongyang, AP
When a generous patriarch dies, the lives of two families are altered in Ira Sachs beautifully poignant slice of life drama Little Men.

In the film, Brian Jardine (Greg Kinnear), a struggling actor, his wife, Kathy (Jennifer Ehle), a psychotherapist and the breadwinner of the family, and their 13-year-

old son Jake (Theo Taplitz) uproot their Manhattan lives and move into Brians late fathers home in Brooklyn.

On the ground floor of the residence is a tiny store that sells handmade dresses. The owner, a Chilean woman, Leonor Calvelli (Paulina Garcia) also has a young son, Tony (Michael Barbieri), who Jake quickly befriends.

Jake is an old soul with an artists eye and sensitivity. Tony is a charismatic neighborhood kid with a thick Brooklyn accent and acting ambitions. Theyre both angling to get into the same art school too. Their friendship is pure, immediate and quite charming  these two kids are some true talents.

But theres an unspoken tension lingering below the surface in Leonors interactions with the Jardines. She knows whats coming even if the audience cant quite see it yet. They live side-by-side in relative peace for a time, and then the conversation happens: Brian tells Leonor that she needs to sign a new lease and pay more rent.

Leonor had been shielded from the changing tides of the neighborhood under the charity and protection of Brians father. They were friends, and he liked the glamour of having the shop there, she explains. But Brian is not his father and he and his sister are thinking practically about the space. What do they owe this woman, after all? And hasnt she gotten by for longer than she would have under any other circumstance?

But even at a discount, Leonor cant afford the new rent.

Leonor lashes out in her reserved, but piercing way, telling Brian that she was more his fathers family than he was. She was there the day he died. She was there every day. Brian responds appropriately  that thats a ridiculous thing to say. Both are right, and both are wrong, but the die has been cast and there is no turning back from this.

Alone, its a good story, but its the very different-on-paper little men at the center, Jake and Tony, who give it that extra weight of tragedy, as they watch their parents unravel with greed and pride and vow to stop speaking to them until they work it out.

Its not about gentrification, Kathy tries to tell Leonor. They arent the ruthless rich, colonizing a new neighborhood. Brian doesnt make any money and hasnt in a while and they need the rent money from the store, she says.

Again, its partially true and partially not. You get the sense that the Jardines would be OK. The stakes for the Calvellis are so much higher. But you also cant necessarily fault the Jardines for wanting to claim the full value of what is now rightfully theirs. The adult actors are all excellent  Kinnear especially  delivering elegant lines from Sachs and his longtime co-writer Mauricio Zacharias (Love is Strange, Keep the Lights On) with a lived-

in realism.

Little Men unfolds like a play in a taut 85 minutes. Its smallness makes it grand and moving. These are the things, these little moments, decisions and consequences that most human lives are made of, after all. Lindsey Bahr, AP, Film Writer



Little Men, a Magnolia Pictures release, is rated PG by the Motion Picture Association of America for thematic elements, smoking and some language. Running time: 85 minutes.
Wearing dapper suits and a beaming smile, Raymond Shrimp Boy Chow presented himself as a reformed San Francisco Chinatown gangster who went from dealing drugs and running an escort service to mentoring troubled youth.

But that image could crumble for good today [Macau time] when a judge is expected to sentence Chow to life in prison in a murder and racketeering case that also brought down a state senator and exposed the underworld of one of the nations oldest Chinatowns.

Prosecutors say Chow, contrary to abandoning his criminal past, killed a rival in 2006 and took over a Chinese fraternal group that had members that engaged in drug trafficking, money laundering and the sale of stolen cigarettes and top-shelf liquor such as Johnny Walker Blue Label and Hennessey XO.

The murder charge carries a mandatory life sentence. Jurors convicted Chow of an additional 161 charges, including racketeering and conspiracy to commit murder in connection with a second slaying.

Chow is deserving of a life sentence and nothing less because of his unceasing criminal conduct from a young age, the seriousness and violent nature of that conduct, his mockery of real rehabilitation, his corruption of those around him and those younger than him, and his absolute lack of any remorse even in the face of his most recent convictions, prosecutors said in a sentencing memo.

Chow, 56, has maintained his innocence, saying he was the victim of unscrupulous prosecutors who were determined to send him to prison. He renounced his drug-dealing and gangster ways after leaving prison in 2003 and turned to meditation and was working on a biography when he was arrested in 2014, he testified during the trial.

His conviction was largely the work of an undercover FBI agent who posed for years as a foul-mouthed East Coast businessman with mafia ties after infiltrating Chows fraternal group  among dozens of active tongs, or family associations, in Chinatown.

The agent testified under a false name that he wined and dined Chow and his associates for years. Chow willingly accepted envelopes stuffed with thousands of dollars in cash for setting up various crimes, the agent said.

Chow said he was given the money because the agent was showing his respect, not in exchange for criminal activity.

The investigation of Chows tong led to the indictment of more than two dozen people, including former State Sen. Leland Yee  a gun control advocate who acknowledged in a plea deal that he accepted thousands of dollars in bribes and discussed helping an undercover FBI agent buy automatic weapons from the Philippines.

A federal judge sentenced Yee in February to five years in prison. AP
Global investors cant get enough of Taiwan. Overseas funds poured USD5.4 billion into the islands equities last month, taking inflows for the year to $11.6 billion and making Taiwan the most popular destination for investors among nine Asian markets tracked by Bloomberg. Thats helped send both the benchmark stock gauge and the currency to one-year highs.

Fueling gains are bets that the imminent release of Apple Inc.s iPhone 7 will boost profits at Taiwan suppliers and relief that the new political era under President Tsai Ing-wen hasnt led to a conspicuous deterioration in ties with China. While a stronger currency may crimp overseas earnings for exporters, Prudential Financial Inc.s local unit sees room for further gains as Asias second-highest dividend yield and below-average valuations lure investors.

Taiwan is especially strong because everyone knows the new iPhone will be launched in September or October, and production begins in the second quarter, said Hsienwen Yeh, head of greater China investment at Prudential Financial Securities Investment Trust Enterprise in Taipei.

The increased investor enthusiasm toward the islands stocks is a reversal from May, when global funds rushed for the exit amid concern slower smartphone sales growth would hit the local supply chain and the new president would strain ties with China. Tsai has avoided provoking China directly, saying in her inauguration speech that Taiwan will maintain peace and dialogue.

Since Tsai assumed the presidency on May 20, the Taiex index has rallied 15 percent on a dollar basis, the fifth-biggest gain among 94 global benchmark indexes tracked by Bloomberg. The Taiwan dollar has strengthened 3.4 percent, the most in Asia after the currencies of Japan and South Korea.

Technology companies have driven the advance. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., the islands largest listed company and a major Apple supplier, climbed to a record this week after forecasting third-quarter sales that beat estimates as the new iPhones release neared. Apple added to positive sentiment after reporting sales that fell less than projected in the April-June period.

I will increase allocation to some names related to iPhone 7 production after reducing exposure in the first half, said Stevie Chou, Taipei-based head of equities at Manulife Asset Management (Taiwan). The third quarter is a hot season for information technology products.

Chou sounded a word of caution, saying the indexs rally may be limited by the islands lackluster economy. Gross domestic product expanded 0.69 percent on a yearly basis from April through June, after three straight quarters of contraction. A stronger Taiwan dollar is also a threat to exports, which have shrunk for 17 months in a row.

The Taiex gained 0.3 percent at the close, while the Taiwan dollar rose 0.1 percent.

Global investors have overlooked these challenges of late as they hunt for high yields amid receding returns around the world and decreasing odds of a Federal Reserve interest-

rate increase this year. The islands 4.02 percent dividend yield is Asias highest after Australia, and its 16.3 price-to-earnings ratio is still less than its five-year average of 17.4.

Taiwans dividend yield is better than most emerging markets, said Peter Tzeng, senior vice president at IBTS Investment Consulting Co. in Taipei. While theres some uncertainty over global economic growth, the earnings of Taiwans listed companies havent been too bad. So when theres a lot of money around, funds come to Taiwan. Justina Lee, Bloomberg
Communities in the northern, central and southern districts have filed complaints about trash piling up around garbage bins located in their surroundings. According to a report by Macao Daily News, some of the district residents deposit their families waste, as well as construction waste, in spaces adjacent to trash-collecting facilities.

In recent years, the local government has established garbage chambers across all districts in the territory. However, the General Union of Neighborhood Association (Kai Fong) said the areas surrounding these facilities are overflowing with refuse. The association stated that residents dump large furniture, electrical devices and other waste outside the chambers on a daily basis. As these areas cannot be cleaned immediately, strong smells spread around the neighborhood, especially in extreme weather.

Kai Fong has urged the government to take immediate action before the situation deteriorates. MSAR policies state that any parties responsible for abandoning certain kinds of waste, such as industrial waste, shall be fined MOP600  a light punishment, according to the association, compared to the fines applied in neighboring regions. The association has suggested that the government increase the fines and assign those responsible to community service.

Kai Fong also suggested that the authorities establish 24-hour reporting hotlines to help curb unruly behavior. The association said Macau should learn from the Japanese and devise schedules for each household to dispose of their garbage at different times.

Currently, the city relies mainly on garbage chambers for household waste collection. Each chamber has a capacity of 1,100 liters.

Overall, there are 121 garbage chambers across the entire Macau peninsula, according to the Civic and Municipal Affairs Bureau.

Staff reporter
Two men who had not been heard from since last months restaurant attack in Bangladesh were arrested yesterday on allegations they were involved in the deadly siege carried out by radical Islamists.

British national Hasnat Karim and University of Toronto student Tahmid Hasib Khan were arrested in different areas of the capital, Dhaka, and a court has allowed police to keep them in custody for eight days to question them, said Masudur Rahman, a Dhaka police spokesman.

Five armed gunmen attacked the Holey Artisan Bakery restaurant on the night of July 1, killing 20 people and holding others inside hostage. Security forces stormed the restaurant on July 2, killing the gunmen and rescuing the remaining 13 hostages. Those killed were nine Italians, seven Japanese, three Bangladeshis and one Indian.

Karim, 47, and Khan, 22, were known to have been inside the restaurant, but Bangladeshi authorities and police denied having them in custody after the attack. Their families and New York-based Human Rights Watch had appealed for news about them and said the authorities were holding the men.

Karim was in the restaurant with his wife and two daughters and the family had said they were there to celebrate the birthday of their daughter.

But a South Korean man from a nearby apartment had shot a video of the scene in the restaurant in which Karim was seen talking to the attackers.

Police also said there were photographs showing Karim smoking on the rooftop of the building with two of the attackers standing behind him.

We are taking them to a court and we have already sought 10 days police custody for further questioning, Rahman said soon after the arrests.

Hours after his arrest, Karims family said he was innocent and should be released immediately.

He had no links to any terrorist group or organization. He and his family were celebrating his daughters 13th birthday when they became victims of a terrorist attack, Rodney Dixon, the family lawyer, said in a statement.

He said the family was willing to cooperate fully with the authorities to prove his innocence.

There is clearly no evidence to charge him and he should be let go without any further delay, the family said.

He is not a suspect and has not been charged, the statement said. AP
CHINA A Chinese lawyer was sentenced to seven years in prison in the third in a series of subversion trials demonstrating the ruling Communist Partys determination to silence independent human rights activists and government critics.



DUBAI Video footage of the evacuation scene on the Emirates flight that crash landed in Dubai showed some travelers collecting luggage before they escape. In the worst scenarios, nonsense such as this can end with injury or death, especially through delaying the evacuation of other passengers.

MYANMAR At least 30 children have died in northwestern Myanmar since mid-June from an unknown disease that causes breathing difficulty, officials said yesterday. A local administrator said the deaths have been recorded in Nanyun and Lahe towns in the Naga region, one of the poorest in the country, about 1,300 kilometers from Yangon.



BANGLADESH Two men who had not been heard from since last months restaurant attack in Bangladesh were arrested yesterday on allegations they were involved in the deadly siege carried out by radical Islamists.

AUSTRALIA Two men have been charged with drug smuggling after methamphetamine valued at 115 million Australian dollars (USD90 million) was shipped to Sydney from Africa hidden in wooden logs, officials said yesterday.



TURKEY A court in Turkey issued a formal warrant yesterday for the arrest of U.S.-based Muslim cleric Fethullah Gulen, who the government accuses of being behind the failed July 15 coup that left more than 270 people dead. The government says Gulen, a former ally of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan who lives in self-imposed exile in Pennsylvania, masterminded the failed coup attempt by renegade officers in Turkeys military and wants him extradited to Turkey. Gulen has denied involvement or prior knowledge of the coup attempt.

CYPRUS justice minister says authorities have arrested a 28-year-old Austrian man on suspicion of having links to terrorist organizations. Ionas Nicolaou said yesterday that Cypriot authorities received a tip-off from Polands Interpol that the man was seeking to come to Cyprus after Polish authorities deported him.



NIGERIAs Boko Haram Islamic extremists have a new leader who is threatening to bomb churches and kill Christians while ending attacks on mosques and markets used by ordinary Muslims. He also says there is a Western plot to Christianize the region and has accused charities of using their aid for that purpose.
By Melanie Schefft

513-556-5213

Photos: Jay Yocis/UC Creative Services

August 4, 2016



Rescue drones, or unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) are attracting a lot of attention in the world of emergency management lately, and the trend is not about to stop.



When disaster strikes, incident commanders now have a new tool, says Lawrence Bennett, program chair of the University of Cincinnatis Fire Science & Emergency Management. UAVs are equipped with infrared cameras and other sensors that can help emergency responders save lives.



From a control pad, trained operators can even send UAVs into hazardous situations to collect air and liquid samples for on-scene analysis.



To keep firefighters and other first responders up-to-date and trained on the new technology, UC will present a free seminar on Aug. 10, that will bring together teams of faculty experts from UCs College of Engineering and Applied Science, along with guest speakers from fire and emergency management and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).



Over 150 fire, police and other emergency personnel from throughout the nation have registered for Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV) for Emergency Responders, which will include flights in the UC Aerospace Flight Lab on Victory Parkway, and is expected to run from 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.

A drone demonstration will take place noon-1 p.m., Wednesday, Aug. 10, in the auditorium of UC's Victory Parkway Campus, 2220 Victory Parkway, 45206. The auditorium is located on the 4th floor of the Science Building. See the map of the Victory Parkway Campus.
BOISE  The Idaho state official in charge of a voided $60 million statewide school broadband contract says he won't try to recover the money paid out under the illegal deal despite direction from Idaho's highest court.

Idaho Department of Administration Director Robert Geddes informed Idaho Attorney General Lawrence Wasden of his decision in a letter dated last week. Now it falls to Wasden to decide if he will enforce a state law requiring officials to seek the return of money paid on illegal contracts.

The Idaho Supreme Court agreed in March that the statewide contract for broadband in public schools was void. At the time, Wasden said the direction from the high court was clear. He said his office would take action if Geddes and the Department of Administration declined to do so.

On Friday, however, Wasden's spokesman Todd Dvorak said his boss was still working out the legal details.
TWIN FALLS  The head of Act for America was in Twin Falls Thursday to decry what she views as a coordinated Muslim plan to take over Western societies and call on people to take action against it.

All of us know something is not right with our country, Brigitte Gabriel, who founded the group, which focuses on national security and the threat they say radical Islam poses to America, told the crowd of more than 200 people in the John Roper Auditorium at Twin Falls High School.

The event was sponsored by We the People Magic Valley, a group consisting of the local Act chapter, the John Birch Society, and Dallypost Tactical, a group run by Pocatello-area political activist Lance Earl. The III Percenters provided security.

Refugee resettlement is an issue across the country  Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump has called for banning either Muslim immigration or immigration from countries with terrorism problems, and opposes letting in Syrian refugees, and one of the loudest of Gabriels many applause lines was when she expressed hope that a President Trump would shut down refugee resettlement.

Resettling refugees became controversial in Twin Falls a little before it broke onto the national stage in a big way, though, with a movement starting to close the College of Southern Idaho Refugee Center earlier in 2015 after news came out that Syrians could be among the refugees to be resettled here this year. No Syrian refugees have been resettled here.

A petition for a ballot measure to shut down the Refugee Center failed to get enough signatures this spring, but the debate flared up again in June after news came that three boys from Iraqi and Sudanese families had, according to authorities, sexually assaulted a 5-year-old girl at the Fawnbrook Apartments.

Gabriel talked a bit about what happened here, mostly in the context of refugee resettlement in general, which she sees as a way for churches and contractors involved to make money and as part of a larger Islamic plot to infiltrate and take over the West. She also spoke of sexual assaults elsewhere in the United States and in Europe that she blames on Muslim refugees. She urged people to vote out the Twin Falls City Council, which she accused of trying to cover up what happened. City officials and law enforcement have repeatedly denied this. The case is sealed, as is usual with juvenile cases, but they ended up releasing some basic details due to the public outcry.

Next time it could be your wife, your daughter, your girlfriend, your mother, Gabriel said.

Gabriel said she paid for her own airplane ticket and wasnt paid to speak. Her name is a pseudonym  Gabriel has said in the past that she has gotten death threats  and while admission was free and open to everyone, security to get in was tight, with everyone having to empty their pockets and get checked with a metal detector wand. Signs on the way to the entrance asked people not to bring any guns, bags or computers inside.

Gabriel was born into a Maronite Christian family in Lebanon, a country that is divided between different Christian and Muslim sects, and when she was a child civil war broke out.

In Gabriels telling, that war started because Lebanon accepted hundreds of thousands of Palestinian refugees, changing the country from majority Christian to majority Muslim. Gabriel told the crowd her family lived in an underground in a bomb shelter for seven years, eating dandelions because they were the only greens they could find and crawling to avoid sniper fire to get water from a nearby spring, saying their last goodbyes as if one of them might die every time someone went to get water. She told the crowd stories about Muslim fighters desecrating Christian churches and torturing, raping and killing Christians in Lebanon.

My past is Americas future unless America wakes up today and changes course, she said.

Gabriel spent a good chunk of her speech talking about An Explanatory Memorandum: On the General Strategic Goal for the Group in North America, a document that was written by a Muslim Brotherhood member in 1991, seized by the FBI in a box of other documents in a 2004 raid and became public a few years after that during the trial in Texas of the leaders of the Islamic charity the Holy Land Foundation for Relief and Development. They were convicted of funneling money to Hamas.

The document talks about the role of Muslim immigration in increasing Islamic power in this country, and has been widely cited by groups like Act as proof of a wider conspiracy. Gabriel said its plans are being implemented by Muslim organizations working with useful idiots on the left who dont know they are being used. Muslim groups have denied all of this.

What you are seeing in your community is just the tip of the iceberg, Gabriel said.

Since its founding in 2007, Act has been part of passing 44 bills in 22 states, including bills banning the use of foreign laws in American courts that are aimed at blocking the use of Muslim Shariah law. Such a bill was introduced in Idaho this year but died when it didnt get a full House vote before the end of the legislative session. Gabriel urged people to join Act, support it financially, write to their lawmakers and vote.

We the people have the power if we just know what to do, she said.
TWIN FALLS  Prosecutors Thursday filed a new, more serious felony charge against a Utah man accused in a knife attack, but cooler heads prevailed in the mans second court appearance after his initial hearing turned confrontational at times and a judge set his bond at $100 million.

Mulugeta Zemu Mana, 32, of Salt Lake City is accused of attacking an acquaintance with a knife last week at a home on Third Avenue West behind Washington Street Pawn. Mana was originally charged with aggravated battery, punishable by up to 15 years in prison, but prosecutors Thursday filed an amended criminal complaint charging Mana with battery with intent to commit a serious felony.

That charge carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison, and prosecutors are seeking an enhanced penalty of 15 years for use of a deadly weapon.

Mana, a refugee whos likely from the African horn nation of Eritrea based on the Tigrinya language he speaks, is accused of attacking a fellow refugee outside a Twin Falls home July 28. Mana told arresting officers he attacked his victim, Samuel Gebreegziabher, because Gebreegziabher and two others ruined his life.

Gebreegziabher told police he knew Mana from the College of Southern Idaho refugee program, but he hadnt seen him in three years and had no relationship with him.

In court the day after his arrest, Mana refused the help of the public defenders office and got into a dispute with a translator he said was speaking a different dialect. When he heard prosecutors were asking that he be held on $1 million bond, he told the judge through the interpreter, you can even make it $100 million, which Judge Michael Redman did.

But on Thursday, despite the more serious charge he now faces, Manas second hearing went much smoother than the first confrontational appearance. While he initially stuck by his decision to represent himself, saying he knew what the court and the system would do to him even if he did have an attorney, he finally relented and accepted a deputy public defender as his counsel.

That was thanks in large part to the concern showed by Chief Deputy Prosecutor Suzanne Craig and Magistrate Judge Roger Harris. When Craig was asked to call her first witness for the preliminary hearing, she instead requested that Harris once again question Mana about representing himself.

He needs to understand that hes going to be held at the level of an attorney and that hes going to be up against an attorney, Craig said.

Harris asked Mana again if he wanted a lawyer.

I dont see the point in getting an attorney, Mana said through a Tigrinya interpreter. I dont feel like I have rights here. But if you think it would be advisable for me to have an attorney and if you want to assign one anyway, I dont have any objections to that. I leave that up to you, your honor.

Harris appointed the public defenders office to represent Mana, who was then joined at the defense table by Deputy Public Defender Samuel Beus.

I want to preserve all your rights for you, whether you believe you have any or not, because I do, Harris told Mana. I believe you have rights in this case, and I want to make sure theyre protected. And an attorney can help you do that.

After the hearing, Beus credited the judge with asking someone from the public defenders office to attend the hearing even though Mana had previously waived counsel; Harris could not be reached for comment about that decision.

You never want to see someone go without counsel, especially in a felony case, Beus said in the hallway outside the courtroom.

After assigning the public defenders office to the case, Harris cleared everyone from the courtroom to give Beus a chance to speak with Mana and use the interpreter, who was patched through on a conference call. After about 15 minutes of speaking with his client in private, Beus asked for the preliminary hearing to be continued.

Manas preliminary hearing is now set for Aug. 26.

I dont feel like I have rights here. But if you think it would be advisable for me to have an attorney and if you want to assign one anyway, I dont have any objections to that. I leave that up to you, your honor. Mulugeta Zemu Mana, defendant
Newly released records from the state investigation of a ranchers shooting by two Adams County sheriffs deputies show that both deputies had been disciplined for behavior in previous jobs, and one had been fired.

Brian S. Wood and Cody W. Roland have been on leave with pay at the Adams County Sheriffs Office since Jack Yantis was killed the night of Nov. 1 on U.S. 95 next to his ranch north of Council. Last week, state and federal prosecutors decided not to file homicide or civil rights charges against them, saying the evidence was too weak to overcome reasonable doubt.

After a vehicle collided with one of Yantis bulls, Yantis went to the highway to euthanize the animal with his rifle. Wood and Roland say Yantis disobeyed their commands, pointed the rifle at one of them and fired, so they returned fire. Yantis was shot 12 times.

Yantis widow and nephew said Yantis did not threaten the deputies with his rifle, and the deputies killed him needlessly.

The shooting is the highest-profile police-involved shooting in Idaho in recent years, and it drew national attention. After nine months, Attorney General Lawrence Wasden and the Idaho State Police released investigative records Friday.

Among them are documents showing that Wood was investigated twice and fired from his previous job as a McCall police officer after he poached an elk. Roland was investigated four times by the Valley County Sheriffs Office before he resigned.

Woods poaching

Wood, 32, started his first law enforcement job, as a McCall police officer, in February 2010. Less than two years later he was fired.

According to an Idaho State Police report, the McCall Police Department began an internal investigation of Wood after learning he was under investigation by Idaho Fish and Game for killing an elk without a valid tag in Valley County.

Fish and Game, acting on a tip, cited Wood on Nov. 7, 2011, with three misdemeanors. Wood first pleaded not guilty but changed his plea to guilty to two of the three charges: unlawfully possessing wildlife and having no game-hunting tag. The third charge, wasting wildlife, was dismissed.

The judge ordered Wood to pay a $1,050 fine and to complete 200 hours of community service. His hunting license was suspended for three years. In May 2013, the judge issued a withheld judgment, meaning the guilty plea was withdrawn and the case dismissed.

Meanwhile, the city of McCall wrote Wood a letter saying it intended to terminate his employment. Wood wrote back, asking not to be fired. He said he was wrong to shoot the elk, but he thought he had a valid tag for the zone. Wood said he actually had a tag for another zone, while a friend with whom he usually hunts had the tag for the McCall zone.

When Wood shot the spike elk  a young male with unbranched antlers  near his McCall home, he was hunting alone.

McCalls investigation found that Wood violated several hunting-related laws, two police department policies  conduct unbecoming and failure to maintain level of moral conduct  and a city policy prohibiting employees from engaging in criminal conduct. He was fired Nov. 30, 2011.

Woods firing led Idaho Peace Officer and Standards Training, a division of the Idaho State Police, to begin an investigation to determine whether Wood should be decertified. All local and state law enforcement officers in Idaho must be certified through POST.

Jerry Summers was McCalls police chief when Wood worked there.

I received a call from the POST decertification investigator questioning comments that were made and truthfulness by Mr. Wood, Summers told the Statesman this week, declining to be more specific. I provided additional documentation to that investigator and said that if, in his estimation, the officer was being untruthful, that my recommendation would be to decertify the officer.

After McCall fired him, Wood took construction jobs and other nonpolice work. On Oct. 4, 2012, he filed a a tort claim against the Idaho State Police and Jim Tibbs, a POST investigator and veteran police officer who then sat on the Boise City Council and is now an Ada County commissioner.

The claim  which Idaho law requires before anyone sues a state or local agency  alleged that Tibbs and other unknown agents  were involved in the unlawful dissemination of information gleaned from a confidential interview between Investigator Tibbs and Mr. Wood.

Ten weeks after that, POST dismissed the decertification investigation. Tibbs declined to comment. The Statesman has a request pending with POST for documents about the investigation.

Woods returned to law enforcement in June 2013 when Sheriff Ryan Zollman of neighboring Adams County hired him as a part-time marine deputy. Wood became a full-time deputy that September.

Zollman told the Statesman that he did not know then that Wood had been investigated by POST or that McCall had fired him. Summers, who was no longer McCalls police chief, said Zollman did not contact him for a reference or background check.

Zollman said July 29 that both deputies want to return to work. They have to be psychologically cleared, he said. That is a standard protocol throughout all law enforcement ... It will be weeks before that decision is made.

Another incident occurred several months before the poaching violation. A 78-year-old McCall man, Rodney Whaley, accused Wood of using excessive force during a July 6, 2011, traffic stop for speeding. Whaley sued McCall in federal court and received a $14,500 settlement. Wood was not disciplined for that, according to ISP.

On June 30, 2015, Wood was placed on probation for four months for repeatedly submitting late reports. That probation would have ended on or around Nov. 1  the day Yantis was shot.

Wood did not respond to repeated requests for comments.

Rolands incidents

Roland, 38, has worked for six Idaho law enforcement agencies since 2000, including the sheriffs offices of Adams, Canyon and Valley counties and the Gooding, Parma and Wilder police departments. Roland told the Statesman that he also worked in Basra, Iraq, for military defense contractor DynCorp International from 2008 to 2010. Zollman hired him as a patrol deputy in August 2014.

An ISP report said four incidents in Rolands tenure in Valley County from 2005 to 2012 resulted in investigations or discipline:

1. On Jan. 12, 2007, after a complaint from a motorist, Roland was counseled for his attitude during a traffic stop. The ISP report provided no details. Roland told the Statesman he does not recall the specific incident, but the statement is correct.

2. On May 14, 2008, Roland received a letter of reprimand and was placed on probation for one year for conduct unbecoming, which stemmed from an off-duty incident. The ISP report provided no details. Roland declined to provide details but said he was not demoted.

3. In March 2010, an internal investigation was started against Roland after a confidential informant provided information to members of the Valley County-area narcotics task force. The ISP report provided no details about this, either, and neither did Roland.

Roland told the Statesman he was questioned and then later told that the matter had been dropped.

I never did figure out what that was about, he said. I never knew there was an (internal) investigation.

4. In December 2011, the Idaho POST Academy told Valley County Sheriff Patti Bolen that there were inconsistencies on Rolands POST and employment applications about his military service.

In a 2001 job application, Roland said he served in the military and received a general discharge under honorable conditions. In a 2011 application, he said he did not serve in the military. POST told Bolen that Roland actually had received an uncharacterized/entry-level separation.

That typically means an enlisted person served fewer than 180 days and the commander did not have enough time to evaluate the persons conduct and performance.

Roland resigned before Bolen could address the application inconsistencies with him, Valley County Undersheriff John Coombs told ISP.

Roland told the Statesman the inconsistencies stem from a military paperwork error.

When I was 18, right out of high school, I received a waiver for a hearing loss to join the military, he said. Once I received the waiver, it took approximately one year, that waiver was rescinded, and I was unable to join the Navy. I was issued a DD214 form.

A DD214 form is issued to anyone enlisted in the military who leaves the military. It indicates length of service and reason for departure.

When completing employment applications, Roland said, he indicated he served in the military. Later, he said he learned he should not have received a DD214 form because he never actually served in the military and he could not state that he had. So he no longer put it on his applications.

Roland said he does not remember whether the DD214 said his separation was a general discharge or an uncharacterized entry-level separation.

Given the information I had at the time, I was being truthful, he said.

The Valley County Sheriffs Office declined comment on Rolands employment. It is a personnel matter, said Sgt. Jason Speer.
TWIN FALLS  The city has signed on its new economic development director, Nathan Murray.

Murray, a Boise native, previously worked four years in the mayors office of economic development in Provo, Utah. This job included coordinating business development downtown. Hed worked his way into the role after spending two years as a planning technician and another six years as the city planner.

Murray officially begins in Twin Falls Aug. 15. He was selected from a pool of 19 applicants that were eventually narrowed down to three.

In his new role, Murray expects another wave of growth in Twin Falls and believes he can help the city retain its young professional workforce.

Id like to help continue the momentum, Murray said.

In the past, Twin Falls economic development director has also led the Urban Renewal Agency. The previous director, Melinda Anderson, left in November for a position in Oregon. City Manager Travis Rothweiler filled both roles for a while, until the URA brought in interim director Phil Kushlan. His contract goes through September and may be extended if needed.

Murrays background is diversified from others who have held the position in the past, Rothweiler said. The city saw value in his planning and business development experience.

He brings a lot of good experience not only in business recruitment, but in working with existing businesses, Twin Falls Mayor and Chamber of Commerce CEO Shawn Barigar said. With his background in city planning, I think that brings more detailed expertise to how a city grows.

Murray got a degree in Latin American Studies from Brigham Young University in 2001, and he speaks Spanish.

My plan was to go to law school, but I never got around to it, he said. I volunteered for the Census in 2000 and it turned into a career of planning and economic development.

During college, he interned with the city to gather data to show the U.S. Census estimates of the citys population were off. Following graduation, he took a position in the city.

All the stuff I was doing with the city, I sort of grew into as I matured, Murray said.

Now 38 and married with five children  8-year-old twins and 5-year-old triplets  Murray liked the opportunity to get closer to his family in the area, while accepting a new challenge.

Theres a lot of great things happening in Twin Falls that need to be shared and told, he said.

After seeing the advertisement for the job on Twitter, he researched the city and was impressed with its investment in companies such as Chobani, Glanbia and Clif Bar  and in its water and sewer facilities.

That matters a ton to companies that are coming in, he said. I want to work for a city like that.

Murray believes there is a gap in the housing market for young professionals, and he brings experience in addressing that need.

Theres a lot that can be done with improving some of the housing needs in the area, he said.

The new economic development director will be the key to revamp the economic development department, consisting of a director and one staff member, Rothweiler told the Times-News during the final selection process. The director will assist in building depth to the team and staff, he said.

Barigar expects Murray will bring the same passion and experience to Twin Falls as his previous roles.

Hes very personal, very down-to-earth, very positive, he said.
The Egyptian military has claimed killing the leader of the Sinai Province extremist group, affiliated to the Islamic State.

The statement said Abu Duaa al-Ansari was killed in airstrikes near the town of el-Arish following accurate intelligence.

The operation left more than 45 terrorists dead including a number of his top aides, dozens injured and several arms caches destroyed.

The military said the group was targeted with precise hits but did not state when the operation took place. Sinai Province is yet to confirm the death of its leader.

It is unclear if Cairo collaborated with Moscow to eliminate Abu Duaa al-Ansari, believed to be the mastermind of the downing of a Russian jet above the Sinai Peninsula in October last year, killing all 224 passengers on board. President Putin had then pledged to find and punish the criminals. Sinai Province had claimed responsibility for the attack.

Clashes between the extremist group in the Sinai and Egyptian forces intensified after the ousting of president Morsi in 2013 and one of the groups most deadly attacks is the killing of 33 Egyptian security personnel in North Sinai in October 2014.

Sinai Province, Egypts most active insurgent group, has been linked to deadly attacks in Sinai and Cairo. It wants to establish an Islamist province in the Sinai. In its latest video that surfaced this week, the group warned Israel that it is still under its radar and it would soon pay a high price. Before switching its attention on Egypt in 2013, the group used to attack Israel with hopes of controlling the Sinai.
The US government has praised Moroccos successful experience in the fight against religious extremism in Africa through its imams training program and hailed the North African countrys efforts to promote tolerance and inter-faith dialogue.

Speaking lately at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, a Washington, D.C., think tank, Sarah Sewall, under-secretary for civilian security, democracy and human rights, said Morocco has taken the lead in training imams from a host of nations in how to help clerics preach moderation and trust to refute the violent perversion of Islam.

Sewall made the remarks while tackling the State Departments pilot program to combat terrorism and religious extremism in Africa through prevention.

The U.S. is spending about $200 million a year on preventative programs in countering extremism, she said, noting that preventive work is probably the hardest challenge particularly in Africa.

In the African continent, the young people are particularly vulnerable of being set adrift in industrializing societies, added the US under-secretary. Extremists, such as al Shabaab in Somalia, make attractive promises of security and law and project themselves as the defender of the faithful, she added, affirming that there is no guarantee that preventative efforts will give the perfect formula for each community, district or country to meet the challenges they face.

But religious institutions can play an important role, said the US official, citing in this regard Moroccos inspiring initiative to train African imams to counter Islamic radicalization.

Morocco, a beacon of moderate Islam, has launched lately a new Foundation for African Ulemas (Islamic clerics/scholars,) a Fez-based academic institution seeking to enhance cooperation and dialogue between African preachers to counter Isis extremist ideas and deceptive propaganda.

King Mohammed VI of Morocco launched in March 2015 a leading Institute that provides training to hundreds of imams of various nationalities, including some from Africa and Europe.

The center teaches Imams the precepts of a tolerant and non-violent form of Islam based on Maliki rite and teach them how to fight extremism and religious radicalization through sound argumentation and dialogue.

According to some experts, the Mohammed VI Institute for Imams Training combined with the new fez-based Foundation will certainly help thwart the perversion of Islam and prevent the use of religion as an excuse for violence and terrorist acts.
Ugandan president Yoweri Museveni vowed to help the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) to flush out rebels of the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) who remain a security threat in the two countries.

Museveni said during talks with DRCs President Joseph Kabila on Thursday, he was ready as usual to deploy the Uganda Peoples Defence Forces (UPDF) to join the fight against the remnants of ADF rebels.

The two leaders also discussed cross-border trade and tourism since both Uganda and DR Congo share Virunga National Park, a major tourist attraction. Museveni wrote on twitter that Kabila had also offered security assurances to Ugandan traders in his territory.

ADF was formed in the mid-1990s in the Rwenzori mountain range in western Uganda, close to the countrys border with DRC.

The group killed hundreds in several attacks in the capital, Kampala, and in parts of western Uganda, and caused the displacement of tens of thousands. The rebellion was largely contained in Uganda by 2000, with reportedly just about 100 fighters finding refuge in eastern North Kivu.

Since last September, ADF forces have been blamed for a series of attacks with automatic weapons in DRC.

The rebels have targeted civilian vehicles and passersby as well as army outposts.

The North Kivu province has been torn for over twenty years by armed conflicts fueled by ethnic and land disputes, competition for control of mineral resources and rivalries between regional powers.
Two Ivorian soldiers were sentenced to 10 years in prison on Thursday for links with al-Qaeda militants who carried out an attack at a beach in March during which 19 people were killed.

Sergeants Zanga Zoumana Coulibaly and Brice Toure were prosecuted for having lived with the attackers and communicating with the driver of the vehicle who transported the militants.

They were charged for breaching instructions and failure to denounce the assailants to their superiors.

Since the attack at Grand-Bassam, 44 kilometers east of Abidjan, Ivorian authorities have arrested more than 15 people with alleged link to the assault.

The Grand-Bassam rampage, the first of its kind in the Cote dIvoire, was claimed by Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) which has also carried out similar assaults on tourist sites in Mali and Burkina Faso.

The Islamist fighters, who have established bases in northern Mali since a coup left a temporary power vacuum in 2012, pledged to launch more attacks on countries that support military operations against them.

Cote dIvoire is the biggest economy in French-speaking Africa and hosts the largest population of French expatriates in the region.
A healthy human liver cell. The hepatitis C virus attacks the liver, leading to damage that progresses to cirrhosis, liver failure or liver cancer. Credit: Donna Beer Stolz, University of Pittsburgh

A new Brown University study projects that increasing the number of Rhode Islanders treated every year for hepatitis C virus infection (HCV) to about 2,000 by 2020 would reduce cases by 90 percent and prevent more than 70 percent of expected liver-related deaths in the state by 2030.

More moderate increases in treatment such as doubling the number treated each year could reduce death rates by less than 20 percent, the analysis showed.

"Hepatitis C virus-related morbidity and mortality can be reduced significantly in Rhode Island if an aggressive treatment strategy is implemented over the next decade," wrote public health Assistant Professor Brandon Marshall and colleagues in the journal Epidemiology and Infection.

"The medications available today are so effective thatwith increased treatment uptakewe have the opportunity to all but eliminate the disease by 2030," he added.

Marshall's analysis comes as Rhode Island takes a deep look at the how the disease has impacted the state. July 28 was World Hepatitis Day. The Aug. 6 WaterFire marks that occasion. Meanwhile, next week the Rhode Island Department of Health plans to unveil an epidemiological report, in partnership with the Rhode Island Public Health Institute, describing key aspects of the state of the epidemic.

Hepatitis C can take decades to cause serious disease, but ultimately the liver damage it can cause can be fatal as it progresses to cirrhosis, liver failure or liver cancer. In recent years many baby boomers (infected as long ago as the 1950s, '60s and '70s) have been reaching those critical later stages of progression. One in 30 baby boomers in the U.S. has hepatitis C. At the same time, new treatments have made the disease curable in only a few weeks, very safely, but in the U.S. they are priced at tens of thousands of dollars.

"Hepatitis C kills more people in the United States than any other infectious disease," said study co-author Dr. Lynn E. Taylor, assistant professor of medicine, physician at The Miriam Hospital and founder of Rhode Island Defeats Hepatitis C. "In fact, hepatitis C causes more deaths than all other 60 infectious diseases reportable to the CDC, combined. This is the critical infectious disease epidemic of our time. Our goal is elimination. We need to scale up our testing and treatment with urgency to avert preventable illness and early death."

Projections show that the 'eliminiation' strategy could dramatically reduce liver-related deaths in Rhode Island over the next decade and a half. Credit: Brandon Marshall, et. al.

Modeling mortality

The new study sought to project the impact of expanding treatment by varying degrees using a sophisticated computer model loaded with data from Rhode Island's epidemic or, when that data wasn't available, from that of the U.S. more broadly.

Marshall's team, including lead author and Brown public health graduate student Dr. Ayorinde Soipe, included figures and estimates for the number of Rhode Islanders infected since 1950, the progression rate of hepatitis C's various strains and the rate of new infections. They also considered many other pertinent factors including how often people die of the disease vs. other causes over time, and the likelihood that they could clear the infection without treatment.

They then used the model to project the course of the next 14 years of the epidemic in Rhode Island based on four different treatment scenarios:

The Base Case: Treatment for 215 residents a year, restricted to patients with stage three fibrosis or worse.

Scale-up 1: Double treatment to 430 residents annually and treating patients with stage two fibrosis or worse.

Scale-up 2: Double treatment to 430 residents annually and treating patients irrespective of HCV disease stage.

The "Elimination" Scenario: Whatever the model says is needed to reduce infections by 90 percent by 2030, which turned out to be treating 2,000 patients a year by 2020.

The greatest reductions in liver-related deaths by 2030 occurred in the elimination scenario: a drop of 72.4 percent compared to the base case.

Scale-up 1 would reduce liver-related deaths by 19.3 percent, and Scale-up 2 would reduce them by 7.4 percent.

Similar patterns of reductions would also bring down the number of cases of cirrhosis, which could lead to more deaths after 2030.

Marshall said that the reason why maintaining a restriction on treating patients with more advanced liver disease would result in fewer deaths (as in Scale-up 1 vs. 2) is because with few people being treated, it would prevent more deaths if treatment resources were focused on those more acutely ill.

The study did not track the costs of expanding treatment, which would likely be in the tens of millions of dollars. The researchers noted, however, that while the upfront investment would be large, it would likely pay off eventually in preventing thousands of cases of cirrhosis, liver failure and liver cancer, which are expensive to treat and would drastically reduce the need for very costly liver transplants.

The study has other limitations, such as the need to make assumptions based on national rather than state data. It also might underestimate the prevalence of hepatitis C because it does not account for rising infection rates among young people amid the state's opioid and heroin epidemic.

Still, Marshall said, the study provides guidance for state policymakers, insurers and care providers about what it will take to bend the curve of the state's epidemic to result in far fewer deaths.

Explore further Successful treatment for hepatitis C reduces risk of liver cancer later in veterans

More information: A. I. SOIPE et al. Chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) burden in Rhode Island: modelling treatment scale-up and elimination, Epidemiology and Infection (2016). A. I. SOIPE et al. Chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) burden in Rhode Island: modelling treatment scale-up and elimination,(2016). DOI: 10.1017/S0950268816001722
Shares in the world's largest maker of diabetes treatments, Novo Nordisk, fell more than eight percent on Friday after the company said prices were under pressure in the United States and lowered its growth forecast.

The stock was 8.7 percent lower in early afternoon trading on the Copenhagen exchange, where the main index was 3.5 percent lower, even as the group posted a 19 percent rise in quarterly earnings.

In the United States, negotiations with the firms that manage prescription drug services between health insurers and insured patients for 2017 "have reflected an intensifying price competition," chief executive Lars Rebien Sorensen said in a statement.

"In spite of this, we see significant growth opportunities based on our strong diabetes care portfolio," he added.

Although price pressure in the United States "may have been expected... the level is probably a tad higher than what the market had expected," Jyske Bank trader Kim Sejdelin Christensen told Danish news agency Ritzau.

Sales were expected to grow by between five and seven percent in local currencies this year, rather than a previous estimate of five to nine percent, the company said.

Operating profit was expected to grow by between five and eight percent in local currencies, down from an earlier prediction of five to nine percent.

Net profit in the second quarter rose 19 percent to 9.97 billion kroner (1.34 billion euros, $1.49 billion), compared to a Bloomberg analyst estimate average of 9.91 billion kroner, as revenue edged up one percent to 27.46 billion kroner.

Sales growth of Victoza, which controls blood sugar levels by mimicking an intestinal hormone called GLP-1, and once-daily insulin Tresiba continued to be strong in the first half of the year, Sorensen said.

The number of adults estimated to be living with diabetes nearly quadrupled between 1980 and 2014 to 422 million, according to the World Health Organization.

Novo Nordisk holds a 46 percent share of the international insulin market.

Explore further Novo Nordisk says US launch 'encouraging' as profit drops

 2016 AFP
Credit: Jourden C/public domain

Teenagers who exchange digital messages with sexual content, a practice known as sexting, are more likely to experience violence in love relationships, a study has found.

In a survey of more than 1,000 14 to 17-year-olds in Norway, 549 reported having had a romantic partner.

Nearly a third of the young lovers said they had sent explicit sexual messagespictures and/or textto their sweethearts.

Compared to teens who had not engaged in sexting with a partner, these adolescents experienced four times more physical violenceacts such as smacking, pushing, strangulation or being beaten with a hard object, the researchers found.

They suffered 2.5 times more sexual abuse, ranging from forced kissing to rape, and 3.5 times more psychological violence.

The findings were reported in the peer-reviewed Scandinavian Journal of Public Health.

For teens, "there is a bigger chance of becoming a victim of intimate partner violence if you send messages with sexual content," said lead author Per Hellevik, a sociologist at the Norwegian Centre for Violence and Traumatic Stress Studies is Oslo.

More than 40 percent of youngsters with love interestswhich did not necessarily include sexsaid they had experienced couple violence of some kind. This included sexters and non-sexters.

Girls were far more exposed to violence than boys, the study showed, especially those with older partners.

They also reacted differently.

Both sexes were asked how they felt when subjected to violence in a relationship, with possible answers ranging from "sad" and "frightened" to "loved" and "desired".

Twice as many girls expressed negative feelings about violence.

At the other extreme, "one percent of the girls and 35 percent of the boys had purely positive experiences", Hellevik said in a statement.

The study does not conclude that sexting causes violence, noting that children who experience fighting or brutality at home or at school are prone to similar behaviour with their intimate partners.

Sexting, in other words, could be as much symptom as cause.

The findings raise thorny questions about when parents and teachers should intrude in the private digital lives of youngsters.

"We wouldn't let teenagers hang around in the streets all day without knowing what they are up to or who they were with," said Hellevik.

"In the same way, they shouldn't be allowed to hang around online on their own."

Explore further Teen dating violence is target of new CDC program

 2016 AFP
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Georgia-China Business Forum held in Nanchang, China

After presenting Georgias investment climate and ongoing reforms in Chinas biggest city of Shanghai this week, Georgian officials are continuing to raise awareness of the countrys development in other regions of China.Nanchang, the capital of Jiangxi Province in southeastern China, today hosted dozens of Georgian and Chinese business representatives at the Georgia-China Business Forum.Speaking to representatives of about 90 Chinese companies, Georgias Economy Minister Dimitry Kumsishvili outlined Georgias progress in creating preferential trade regimes with the European Union (EU), the United States (US) and other leading industrial countries.I would like to underline Georgias opportunities and call on you to expand your businesses in Georgia, to open new enterprises in Georgia and then export the production in new directions, including the EU market of 500 million consumers, said Kumsishvili.China has recently become one of Georgias largest partners in terms of investment, trade and joint projects.Chinese firms have successfully been operating in a range of sectors in Georgia for several years however this has intensified over the past 12 months in areas including construction, roads and infrastructure, energy, and the banking sector. China is Georgias fourth largest trade partner and second largest in terms of export. China takes nine percent of Georgias entire exports.Recent important developments between China and Georgia included: Making significant progress with Free Trade talks, which started in 2015. A Free Trade deal is expected to come into force in late 2016; Establishing a Joint Trade and Investment Council that facilitates the exchange of information about entrepreneurs, attracts investors and develops trade; Establishment of the One Belt, One Road initiative that aimed to offer many new opportunities to countries along the Silk Road.
Teachers must be more appreciated

By Messenger Staff

Georgias Prime Minister, Giorgi Kvirikashvili, says teachers in Georgia - and especially those in the mountainous and remote parts of the country - must be more appreciated, and provided with higher salaries and better working conditions.The PM stressed that the Government had initiated education reforms which support professions demanded by market economy, and included better offers for teachers.However, the PM explained the reform agenda would not cause big upheavals for teachers.We are proposing immersive training programmes and better opportunities for current and future teachers, the PM said.The Prime Minister especially highlighted the merit of teachers who work in mountainous and remote regions, in party or nearly emptied areas and often in sub-standard conditions.Although the Government announced systemic education reform, this has been a promise of every Georgian Government since the country became independent.The previous Government also launched reforms, one success of which was the introduction of new higher education exams.Various steps have been taken to improve the situation in the education system. However, it appeared that the steps were made in haste, without much consideration or planning.The new education system requires a good reform plan drafted by foreign and local experts, which will not be a copy of some foreign model.The plan should be innovative, based on current demands and fit to Georgian characteristics and the national reality.With regards to the teachers themselves, second chances should be given to those who fail their certification exams. However, a limit should be placed on the opportunity to resit exams, as one bad teacher may influence the future of many students.Payment also needs to be addressed; the current average salary for teachers ranges between 500-600 GEL, which is hardly a motivation for a professional individual to start his/her career at a school.
Head of Constitutional Court to be questioned

By Messenger Staff

Georgias Chief Prosecutor Irakli Shotadze has stated that the head of the Constitutional Court of Georgia, Giorgi Papuashvili, will be questioned this week over his statements that some judges of the Constitutional Court are being pressured and blackmailed by the current authorities in relation to some notorious cases.All members of the court have already been questioned. The court's head will be questioned this week at the Constitutional Court as he requested himself. From my point of view, this week we will be able to discuss particular mid-term results that will not harm the investigation process, Shotadze said.Conflict between members of the nine-seat Constitutional Court erupted after five judges accused Papuashvili of trying to speed up decisions into politically-charged trials and not giving judges a reasonable time to relevantly consider the notorious cases.However, other members dubbed the statement of the five-judges 'groundless'.Papuashvili was selected as the President of the Constitutional Court of Georgia by the Plenum of the Constitutional Court on September 30 2006 and September 21 2011.Before taking the post , from February 2004 to February 2005 Papuashvili served as Minister of Justice of Georgia under the previous United National Movement government.Iin February 2005 he was appointed as the Minister of Environmental Protection and Natural Recourses of Georgia.The statement made by Papuashvili over the pressure on judges is a very serious accusation.However, accusations without evidence are meaningless, and his statements have already caused controversy in both the courts and amongst the public.Papuashvilis statements must be thoroughly investigated to ascertain whether his accusations reflect a very negative reality or if he is trying to create problems for the current Government before his term in the post expires shortly this year before the elections.
THE STAGGERING COST OF ALL THAT 'CHEAP' LABOR: Encouraging both legal and illegal mass immigration continues to be a primary aim for both politicians and organizations on the left. Breitbart News previously revealed that the wealthy Ford Foundation poured an astonishing $114 million into organizations that push for mass immigration and amnesty. Spencer Lindquist
George Bekich II/Las Vegas News Bureau via Getty ImagesHere's some exciting news for Monkees fans: Founding band member Michael Nesmith will join Micky Dolenz and Peter Tork for the first and possibly only time during the group's 50th anniversary tour at their show Friday at the Golden State Theatre in Monterey, California.

The Monkees' official Facebook page announced the news earlier today, and also reported that tickets are still available and can be purchased at the theater's website.



When the 50th anniversary trek was first announced, Nesmith reported that he would not be participating in it because he'd committed to writing a book that he had to complete by the fall. In a new message on his official Facebook page, Nesmith explains his decision to perform with the band on Friday.

"So 'the guy' are coming to Monterey -- I am ahead of schedule on my book Infinite Tuesday, -- the fires are almost out -- and they sent me a nice invitation to come play at the State Theatre with them -- and so I am!" he writes. "I haven't played in a while -- hand's a little stiff -- but I can do a couple or three songs with them that I would really enjoy."

He adds that his appearance with The Monkees is "[o]ne time only for now -- still have to deliver the book -- but the delivery is getting closer faster than I thought."

Although Mike hasn't previously joined The Monkees in person on this tour, he did make an appearance via Skype at a show in June at The Town Hall in New York City. He also contributed to the group's new studio album, Good Times!

The 2016 U.S. leg of The Monkees' 50th anniversary trek runs through a November 20 concert in Englewood, New Jersey.

Copyright  2016, ABC Radio. All rights reserved.
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Jan Richter, a native of Prague, says he's an old-fashioned guy.

He likes old cars and old buildings, things that have character and a story.

He also likes old cameras: he shoots on a Minolta and a Pentax from the 1980s, and sometimes buys expired film. It's cheap, and it also has a grain that he enjoys.

He only shoots photographs, though, when he's in the United States: The open land inspires him in a way that the historic churches and buildings of Europe do not.

He's collected years' worth of photographs from his American excursions in a book, "My Own Private Montana," and will show them at the Break Espresso this month, while he's staying in town for three months.

***

Richter's fascination with West started when he was young, courtesy of the classic American export: pop culture. His father listened to Johnny Cash and Woody Guthrie, and watched Hollywood Westerns.

"It gave me a picture of the Wild West, of the space, of the space we didn't have at this time in Prague," Richter said. "It made me feel the need to escape someday, watching these movies and listening to this music like Woody Guthrie."

He first visited Montana about eight years ago, as a part of a road trip that hit more than 23 states.

The wide-open space that he saw in films like "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid" was even more riveting in person.

"The space around me was incredible. I felt absolute freedom," he said. "Nothing could hold me."

Despite that fascination with the openness of the West, he's not a landscape photographer.

He has more ground-level interests. He likes shooting railroad tracks and seedy bars, grain elevators and old signs.

"I don't care about pretty things," he said.

When it comes to shooting portraits, he favors truck drivers and people he meets on the street. He also shoots portraits of the friends he's made here, carefully blurred to suggest a night that's gone on too long.

Richter is self-taught to a degree: his father is a photographer and taught him to develop film in a home darkroom when he was growing up.

In the introduction to the book, Missoula author Josh Wagner considers how the pictures focus on things local residents might not see anymore.

"If Jan was native to America, a book like 'My Own Private Montana' might suffer from a different kind of blindness, nostalgia. But Jan's photos are too nimble. They never get bogged down under deceptive historical romanticism, and they always manage to illuminate the present without repressing the detritus of the past."

On that first trip to Missoula, on the first night, he headed to the Top Hat Lounge. He struck up a conversation with a stranger. When Richter mentioned he wasn't sure where he was staying yet, the stranger said he could crash at his place, where he had a camper.

It was Zach Spannagel, who opened Board of Missoula, the city's first snowboard shop, and remained a leading figure in building a local skateboarding and snowboarding scene. After Spannagel died last November, a memorial filled the Wilma Theatre, a testament to the sheer volume of people he touched while he was alive.

After that first trip, he and Richter remained friends, and Richter dedicated the book to him. "He was a great guy," Richter said. "(He) helped me so much. Without him, I wouldn't be sitting here."

The photographs in "My Own Private Montana," represent work from eight return trips.

"The answer is in the mountains, dusty towns, old-time saloons, in the rivers, the prairie, in the sky, in the sky. Montana has it all," he said.
Playwright Anita Vatshells play "Front Street" is littered with topics pertinent to Missoula  prostitution, drugs and guns, to name a few  because if you really love Missoula, you should know its history.

Vatshell said "Front Street" was inspired by the story of Mary Gleim, a Missoula woman known for her less-than-moral business ventures in the 1890s. Vatshell also drew inspiration from all the women forced to cope with frontier life.

In 1894, the Missoulian referred to Gleim as Mother Gleim or The Queen of the Bad Lands." She allegedly smuggled lace, diamonds and opium into Missoula. She owned real estate throughout all of western Montana and brought illegal Chinese immigrants into the country, all while supposedly running a brothel on Front Street.

In August 1894, Gleim went on trial for allegedly hiring two hit men to dynamite the home of Bobby Burns, her most prominent business competitor. The Missoulian reported that during her trial, Gleim told the judge, in terms far more forcible than polite, that she was being made the victim of a diabolical scheme.

Gleim eventually won the case and was released.

"Front Street" opens with Gleim in jail and her famed bordello temporarily in the hands of another real-life Missoulian, French Emma. While the plays catalyst and some of its characters are historically accurate, Vatshell said most of "Front Streets" plot is imagined.

This is not a happy ending, prostitute with a heart-of-gold kind of story, Vatshell said. We wanted the play to have a little weight because prostitution was the reality for many frontier women. It wasnt what they wanted, but if they werent married, they just didnt have any other way to survive.

But it wouldnt be the Wild West without saloon pianos, whiskey and hurdy-gurdy dancers, and "Front Street" has those too. Various ladies of the night frequently lie around the tables and chairs of the Front Street Saloon, taking swigs of booze before shooting off snippy comments to each other, and mocking church folk.

Just jealous 'cause their husbands pay us, says prostitute Novella about religious protesters singing in front of the saloon one morning.

One woman in the play who will not be getting money for sex  rather the opposite  is Old Sal, a tough-talking lesbian cross-dresser who frequently visits the saloon, and not just for whiskey.

Old Sal, played by Salina Chatlain, falls for an enslaved Chinese prostitute who would seemingly rather die than continue with her career at the Front Street Saloon. Chatlain said Old Sal is a character unlike anything shes played before.

Its different for me because its an era I havent seen a lot and its set in Missoula, Salina Chatlain said. Im playing a lesbian in the 1800s who dresses as a man and we only have about three weeks to rehearse. Its a very unique challenge.

But Chatlain seemed relaxed on stage at rehearsal Monday night, where she breezed through her lines. Everyone was having fun at rehearsal, especially the ladies of the night.

Youre all great whores, actress Colleen Rosbarsky said to the ladies during a short break. Rosbarsky will be playing French Emma, a character with a difficult French accent who wants to maintain control of the brothel.

"Front Street" is put on by the Montana Repertory Theatre at 7:30 p.m. on Aug. 11-13. Tickets will go for $10 at the Masquer Theatre in the PAR-TV Center on the University of Montanas campus.
CORVALLIS  As Philip Slagter approaches age 70, the artist says he's wary of beliefs and the way they can close your mind off from other possibilities.

It's only on the subject of his daughter, who died four years ago at age 17 in a car crash, that he expresses confidence in a spiritual idea.

"A lot of people think we're here on this planet as a physical being and that maybe we can be lucky enough to have a spiritual experience," he said. "I'm a proponent of exactly the opposite idea: we're a spiritual being that gets to have an earthly experience. That experience is to learn and is to teach."

It took him more than three years to come to that realization: that he and his wife had taught Dao all they could, and perhaps her final lesson to him was that he could either find a way to live again or let himself die. His theory, which gave him an enough strength to work again, is "an interesting take, but it's what works for me," he said.

Those "years with the most wonderful human I've ever met are more than most people ever have."

***

Slagter, who's shown his work in New York and Los Angeles, only recently began painting again.

In earlier phases of his career, he favored abstract expressionism. Later, he painted somewhat whimsical pop surrealist work like "Montana Home Invasion," in which birds peck at a tiny human house sitting atop a tree trunk, that he's shown in Missoula galleries.

His current work is an information-age lowbrow melange, over-stuffed with visual information from other cultures, world history, conspiracies, pop culture and kitsch.

He began reaching out to galleries, and has work on display in Missoula at the Radius Gallery, which he thought would appreciate the contemporary style, and upcoming solo exhibition in Los Angeles at La Luz de Jesus, the "birthplace of pop surrealism," which opened in 1986.

Director Matt Kennedy said Slagter is a skilled technical painter who can maintain a precise level of detail while working on a large scale, which can sometimes thwart other artists.

What's more, Kennedy said Slagter's re-emergence coincides with interest from major New York galleries in lowbrow, a genre of which he is part of the original generation.

"It's good to be able to reintroduce somebody like that," he said. "Who doesn't love a comeback?"

***

The L.A. showing will be somewhat of a homecoming for Slagter.

In 1990, Slagter sold a stockpile of about 300 works to a private collection of Richard Carlson and Nancy Reges, two prominent figures in the city's art scene. They were used for a mid-career survey at a gallery at the Pasadena Community College, but by the time the show opened, Slagter was gone. He used the windfall to travel to Thailand, where he lived for five years. There he met his wife, Gulap, and had Dao. They returned to the Los Angeles area in 1996, and when Dao was approaching middle-school age, they moved to a scenic property in Corvallis.

Slagter grew up in Indiana, and wanted Dao to have the same contentedness he feels from a rural upbringing rather that put her through the public school system in California.

"I know that no matter where I been in this world, there's a spot I can go back to where I can find peace if I want to," he said.

Slagter, who studied commercial art in college, fell back on his muralist skills to support his family.

In 2007, he spent a year in Macau working with a small crew on a ceiling mural for the Venetian casino. It was "250,000 square feet of sky" for an interior designed to resemble the city of Venice.

"When you look up, you really think you're looking at the sky," he said.

While there, he was earning enough to agree to what he believed was a steep but temporary increase in his mortgage payments. He's since been ensconced in a lengthy battle over the foreclosure and sale of his house, which he says is now pending before the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.

He's served as his own counsel, a constant drain on his time to work.

His ability, or desire, to paint completely eroded in 2012.

On a Monday morning that February, Dao was driving to school on the Eastside Highway when her vehicle drifted off the road and struck a fence, killing her.

Slagter said he was awoken by the police bringing him the news.

He equated the effect to post-traumatic stress disorder.

"I didn't laugh and I didn't do anything. I didn't go fishing, I didn't hike. I did nothing, except sit down for more than three years," he said.

"It destroyed my body. Literally. When I finally decided I needed to stand up and start having a life again, I couldn't walk. My spine had twisted," he said.

"It took me about three and a half years before my brain even realized I had to start a new life," he said.

***

Slagter's work is packed with religious, political and pop cultural imagery, and references from the cultures of the places he's lived and traveled: China, Thailand, Kenya, South America and more.

Kennedy described it as a "historical mash-up that reflects different eras of kitsch" that Slagter is able to render authentically, whether the style is graffiti, anime, '50s cartoons or hyper-realism.

Slagter said if he has to be labeled as anything, he'd call himself a Bernaysian pop surrealist, after Edward Bernays, author of the 1928 book, "Propaganda" and a pioneer in the ways public opinion can be manipulated.

Despite political imagery, Slagter reiterates that he's not a political artist.

"A political artist is a propagandist. A propagandist makes a political statement that he wants you to believe. I don't want you to believe anything except what you learn on your own," he said.

Regarding his content, Slagter said he's "looking at what people are believing, and what people are being subjected to in a Bernaysian sense."

"I don't believe it, but I don't disbelieve it," he said.

Slagter is particularly interested in Bernays' theory that you should begin by taking a concept that people trust and believe in, and then interweave the desired new ideas.

He said "Drowning" from 2011, is "pretty complex and it's hard for you to find any images in it that you can identify with except for possibly the female figurative reference," he said, pointing to an anime-inspired nude in the right half of the picture. He frequently uses imagery of naked women from anime, the popular Japanese genre that he calls a form of societal propaganda akin to pornography in the U.S.

That's the entry point for the viewer, who can then explore the myriad imagery throughout the rest of the canvas, roughly 5.5 by 9 feet.

Chinese carp, a symbol of good luck, surround the figure, who seems to be in shock and falling downward.

The source of the jetstream of imagery is a tiny plane with insignia from World War II German aircraft and modern Israeli ones, which is piloted by Uncle Rich Pennybags, aka the Monopoly guy, who was modeled on J.P. Morgan.

The detritus that plane left behind, in a zero-gravity, comic-book-like flow crossing the full upper half of the canvas from left to right, include Ebola and fluoride molecules, nuclear radiation symbols, and a mixture of blood and oil that if you look carefully spells words from the final verse of the "Hail Mary": "now and at the hour of." (The omitted last word is "death.")

Other elements seem to threaten the anime character and other sympathetic figures.

"The militaristic figure that's stabbing the dove of peace is taken directly from one of the murals in the Denver airport," he said, referring to the cryptic paintings at the Denver International Airport, a subject of numerous conspiracies about their somewhat ominous content.

Elsewhere you can find a black monster wrapped in the Union Jack, Tibetan medical diagrams and chakras, an Asian "superboy" and the sideshow performers "Lobster Boy" and "Lobster Girl," arranged in an dizzying tide of references that he's woven together in an all-over compositional style reminiscent of a former abstract expressionist.

"Taking a Selfie With Suami Ku Lele and "Texting Words of Wisdom" have irreverent allusions to current technology. In the latter, a serene Madonna figure types away on an iPhone.

He has several other new series of work, including one that hearkens to his youth. To learn more about artists he admired, like Van Gogh and Gauguin, he would repaint their self portraits, albeit in his own style. Right now, he's working a recreation of a Van Gogh in his current mode. He gave Vincent his ear back. Near his shoulder, Mickey Mouse sits atop Pluto, with a cloned human ear growing off his back. Mighty Mouse hovers between them, his hands gesturing toward both ears.

Slagter said it's an interesting thing to "start a new career, a new life" at age 70. He's back to his old working routine: starting between 3 and 5 in the afternoon and painting until sunrise, a habit he picked up in Macau.

"I'm just trying to have fun painting again. I might be here 30 years, or 10 years, or a week or a hour," he said with a laugh.
Within three months this spring, author and part-time Missoula resident Kathleen Snow had two books published.

Given that both revolve around grizzly attacks, or potential attacks, in Yellowstone National Park  ones non-fiction; ones a mystery  it may seem like a brilliant marketing ploy.

Instead, Snow says, it was happenstance.

Happy happenstance now, perhaps, but not so much during the 10 years she sought a publisher for Searching for Bear Eyes: A Yellowstone Park Mystery.

In the fictional work, its up to the parks chief investigator to figure out if the death of Melody Applegate was a mauling by a bear, or a murder  an attempt at the perfect murder  by a human.

Snows New York agent was unable to peddle Bear Eyes to any of the big publishing houses a decade ago, so the author began submitting it to smaller publishers herself.

Meantime, she says, I decided since I couldnt sell it but Id done all this research, maybe Id pretend to be a journalist and write a separate, true-life book about grizzly-human encounters in the park.

Taken by Bear in Yellowstone: More than a Century of Harrowing Encounters Between Grizzlies and Humans is the result.

The second book was published first, in March, by Lyons Press. The mystery, meantime, was released in June, and was published by the University of Montana.

And thats why, when Snow does book signings  as she will Saturday morning outside Fact & Fiction, when Farmers Market crowds will be wandering up and down Higgins Avenue  the author will be scratching her name into not one, but two, books.

***

Making it even more interesting is this: While Snows latest two books arrived within weeks of one another, more than a quarter of a century had passed since her last book came out.

Im somebody who is constantly wanting to stop and smell the roses, says Snow, who for the last 14 years has split her time between Missoula and New York City. My career is only part of my motivation  for better or worse.

Snow grew up in a rural area outside Bloomington, Ind., where roaming the woods and going to the lake were very much a part of her upbringing.

At the age of 21 she set out for Manhattan. The goal was to be an editor. The goal was Random House, she says, and while that never materialized, Snow carved out a career doing freelance copy editing, writing jacket copy for publishers, and working as editor at Where magazine, a tourist-oriented publication.

Oh, and this happened, too: Snow read a headline in the New York Times. Two Manhattan Career Girls Slain it said.

It seemed to imply what happens when a young woman decides to leave the protection provided by a father, or husband, by venturing into the career zone in a big city, Snow says.

It struck a nerve with Snow, who had left southern Indiana for Manhattan, and the headline became gist for her first novel.

Night Waking, published by Simon and Schuster in 1978, sold more than 250,000 copies. A terrifying novel about paranoia, the Chicago Sun-Times said of the book, about two roommates coping after a third roommate is murdered by a serial killer.

One reason I write is fear, Snow says. I find we dont control what we write, or at least I dont. The subjects that inspire fear in me, I write to come to some sort of understanding about that fear.

***

Twelve years would pass  there were roses to be smelled  before Snows second novel, Aguahega, was published in 1990. Its about conflict between a lobstering family and wealthy summer residents  and, eventually, the National Park Service  on a Maine island.

Then came the 26-year gap before the two Yellowstone books, but as has been explained, Searching for Bear Eyes was finished more than a decade ago.

The continuing research for Taken by Bear, the stories of 100 years worth of real grizzly-human encounters, took up about that much time. Official reports were not easily available when Snow began writing the first of her two Yellowstone books.

Most of the research was done through FOI (Freedom of Information) requests, Snow says. I spent decades researching. Its not easy to get FOIs, and I had to pay top dollar. I was deemed a commercial user, which I understand I am, but even though FOI is a wonderful thing, it does not mean you can obtains things easily.

Snows agent  a friend Snow says has done a wonderful job  declined to represent her with Taken by Bear, maintaining a nonfiction book about grizzly-human encounters in Yellowstone was meant for a more local audience.

I disagree. I think interest in Yellowstone is worldwide, Snow says.

Her interest in the park goes back to 1963-64, when Snow worked for the Yellowstone concessionaire as a maid, hostess and glass machine operator  the official title of someone who loaded and unloaded dishwashers.

Working and living in Yellowstone is completely different from visiting, Snow says. It can be life-changing, and it was for me.

The girl whose life in Indiana centered around the woods and lake had her attention distracted by other things as she entered her teenage years.

During high school and college I fell away from those interests, Snow says. Being in Yellowstone reawakened all that again, and I was fascinated by the wild innocence of its bears.

***

Shes grateful to Gerald Fetz  retired as the University of Montana's Arts and Sciences dean, and former dean of the Davidson Honors College  for almost single-handedly reviving the University of Montana Press, which gave Searching for Bear Eyes a home.

That, in turn, made it possible for her works of fiction and nonfiction  written more than a decade apart  to be published almost simultaneously.

Its a supremely wonderful moment to hold a book in your hands that youve written, Snow says.

Its a way for me, someone who was shy, to be able to communicate with others without having to be physically present, she says. So many writers have moved me in my life, so when I finish a book, the thought that this could touch somebody, help somebody, entertain somebody, is a wonderful thing.

And it probably wont be another dozen years before Snow finishes her fifth book.

Shes already at work on her second nonfiction effort, this one about the history of grizzly-human encounters in Glacier National Park.

That one, Snow says, could be out by next spring.
HAMILTON  A lot of evacuees of the Roaring Lion fire were told they could go home Thursday night.

The mandatory evacuation area was cut nearly in half after the most active fire danger moved southward.

The new Stage 2 mandatory evacuation area now includes Roaring Lion Road west of Springhill road and everything south and west of Gold Creek Loop west of Highway 93, including Two Horse, Lupine Bridge, Highland Drive and Whispering Pines.

The new Stage 1 alert area includes the area from Blodgett Camp south to Gold Creek Loop, including the Westside Road and Highway 93 to Springhill Road. The area also includes both sides of Lost Horse Road.

Residents along Roaring Lion and Lost Horse roads will be allowed back into their homes after they obtain a permit.

Those permits could be obtained at a public meeting Thursday night or picked up at the roadblocks. People will need to show their proof of residence. The permits are designed to limit traffic to local residents and emergency vehicles.

A good day

Firefighters had a good day on the line Thursday.

The fire was pretty darned subdued all day, said Forest Service Fire Information Officer Mike Cole on Thursday evening. The inversion never really lifted.

As a testament to that fact, Cole said the demand by firefighters on the line for water drops by helicopters was down from the days before.

Thats a good thing, Cole said. Right now, everything seems to be going pretty much according to plan. We are making headway.

The fire is 7 percent contained, he said.

With some wind and potential thunderstorms expected to arrive later this weekend, the hope is firefighters will have the lines shored up on the southern end enough to contain any potential spread of the blaze.

The fire grew by more than 500 acres Wednesday and is currently estimated to cover 7,752 acres. The cost of firefighting efforts so far is more than $2.1 million.

On Thursday, the fire danger was moved to very high on the entire Bitterroot National Forest. That means any fires will spread rapidly and quickly increase in intensity.

Forest officials are likely to bump up fire restrictions to include a ban on campfires.

Heavy machinery and hand crews are building fire line on the southern edge of the fire. The goal is to connect that into line built earlier this year during the Observation Fire.

Cole said that crews are also working around homes to ensure that there arent any hot spots or snags that could endanger the structures that survived the fire.

Sometimes youll find smoke coming up a day or two later after the fire comes through, Cole said. Were checking those homes pretty thoroughly to ensure that nothing else gets started.

The fire has burned close to a mile south of the Ward Creek drainage. Cole said the goal from the onset has been to keep the fire out of Camas Creek.

Definitely the fire is most active on the southern end, Cole said. There is a lot of beetle-killed lodgepole, drought-stressed trees and some Doug Fir with root rot in that area.

A full staff

There are still nine helicopters and two single engine air tankers assigned to the Roaring Lion fire. Helicopters have dropped more than 750,000 gallons of water on the fire so far.

As of Thursday morning, Cole said there were 629 people assigned to the fire.

That number will vary day to day as crews time out, he said. Were pretty staffed up right now.

The plan doesnt call for building a fire line completely around the fire.

The main issue is to keep the fire out of the valley, Cole said. Every fire in the Bitterroot is like that. Well build lines where we need to contain the fire and work to make them secure enough for that next wind event.

Fires like this one are teachable moments for people who live in the woods, he said.

You have a window of opportunity before the fire comes, Cole said. Once the fire starts, its too late to haul flammable material out. The only thing you can do is get the woodpile and other flammable material away from the house and then pray.
More than 120 animals and birds living in what authorities called "deplorable" conditions were seized from a suspected puppy mill in Libby on Tuesday.

Lincoln County Sheriff Roby Bowe said it was the largest such seizure he'd seen. Deputies removed six donkeys, 53 poodles, 60 parakeets and three canaries from the property. Conditions were especially bad for the dogs, Bowe said.

When you have that many, there just wasnt enough space for them all. They were all living in a very tight place, he said. Puppies and adult dogs were severely underweight and had eye, ear and dental infections, he said.

The county animal control office attempted to work out a solution with the owner of the animals, who sells them online, for more than a month but eventually the only option left was to obtain a warrant and remove them, he said.

The sheriff said Thursday his office has forwarded its investigation to the Lincoln County Attorneys Office for a decision on filing criminal charges.

Lincoln County Animal Control will care for the animals while a criminal case is ongoing.

Wendy Hergenraeder, Montana state director for the Humane Society of the United States, said the organization flew members of its animal rescue team in from around the country to help.

While some counties have local ordinances, Montana is one of 16 states that lacks laws regulating commercial breeding operations. Such laws have been proposed during recent sessions of the Montana Legislature, but have failed in part because of concerns that the proposals  written for pets  would affect livestock breeding, she said.

I think there is wide support for this type of law and we will continue to work to make it happen, Hergenraeder said.

The Humane Society of the United States is also providing some financial assistance to help care for the animals, and PetSmart Charities has donated money, food and other supplies.

Tuesdays incident in Libby was the second time in a week that animals had to be seized in western Montana. On July 26, 11 dogs were taken from a Lake County commercial kennel by sheriffs deputies. Seven of the dogs were eventually returned to the kennel, with the rest remaining under veterinary care.

Larry and Nadene Latzke, owners of LDR Kennels, which sits between Charlo and St. Ignatius, were cited for felony aggravated cruelty to animals, and the Lake County Attorneys Office is reviewing the case to determine if additional charges should be filed.
Self-styled as a business plan for Montana by Montanans, Gov. Steve Bullocks Main Street Montana Project presents a relationship shift between the public and private sectors. The ambitious project specifically re-envisions public sector entities, which often play regulatory or educational roles, as proactive facilitators and supporters of business development in the state.

A Bozeman-based Brewery Sustainability Pilot helping Montana breweries implement sustainable, cost-saving behavioral and operational changes is seamlessly executing projects vision: having government approach business with a spirit of customer service and assistance. The pilot program is a unique collaboration between public entities including Montana State Universitys Montana Manufacturing Extension Center, the Montana Department of Environmental Quality and sustainable business operations training program, Uncommon Sense, in Bozeman. The Main Street Montana project really serves to bolster efforts like the Brewery Sustainability Implementation program, said Lt. Gov. Mike Cooney. The Brewery Sustainability Implementation Pilot showcases the value of collaboration between industry networks  one of the key goals of the Main Street Montana project.

The pilot works with craft brewers who typically have ears to the ground for new approaches to production efficiency and resource conservation in the notoriously high-input industry. Meadowlark Brewing in Sidney, 406 Brewing Company in Bozeman, KettleHouse Brewing Company and Great Burn Brewing in Missoula, Phillipsburg Brewing Company in Phillipsburg, and Neptunes Brewery in Livingston are the six initiates of the pilot.

The pilot began mid-December 2015 with Uncommon Sense Director Heather Higinbotham and MMEC process engineer Christopher Hergett performing on-site audits at each brewery. Audits included a full review of the facilities and production process and identified water and energy flows, areas of waste generation and employee roles. In a following in-depth training, pilot leadership guided brewers through the development of customized work plans based on scale, process and complexity. Brewers also learned to use a return-on-investment calculation tool to prioritize cost-effectiveness of work plan action items. The training workshops are specifically designed to address each participants individual needs and unique challenges, so that they are implementing initiatives that are directly relevant and most impactful to their operations, says Higinbotham. The workshops are also an opportunity for participants to benefit from collaboration, which weve learned is invaluable for shared learning and gaining new perspectives on challenges.

During the implementation period following the workshop, Higinbotham and Hergett are on-call technical resources, sounding boards and invested supporters. In addition to guaranteed availability, Higinbotham conducts one-on-one monthly clinics with each brewer covering overall progress, needed resources or support, potential roadblocks and successes. These program elements reflect the proactive customer assistance-style engagement anticipated in the Main Street Montana Project. As of June, pilot participants seem energized by their progress.

Pilot participants have quickly made headway, from installing long-lasting LEDs to longer-term investment in hot liquor tanks that capture and re-use city water used to cool products in the brew process  water which would otherwise be dumped as wastewater. This is an ongoing process that evolves naturally. We have built on what our goals are moving forward, says KettleHouse Brewerings sustainability director, Eddie Wooldridge.

We have been working closely with NorthWestern Energy in some of the retrofits we have been doing at both breweries, says Philipsburg Brewings Nolan Smith, who was drawn to the pilot hoping to access public sector financial support. We are hoping to install big impact technology to save on water and electricity consumption says Travis Peterson, founder of Meadowlark Brewing, who currently seeks funding from the Montana DEQ and Montana Dakota Utilities.

The project continues to be a driving force in an unprecedented partnership between the private sector and state government. Through the Project, the state of Montana intends to cut red tape and increase opportunities for Montana businesses, put more Montanans to work through job training and apprenticeship programs and increase the promotion of made-in-Montana products and businesses.

Todays economic reality is that small businesses employ more than 67 percent of Montanas labor force and micro businesses consistently create jobs despite major economic downturns. Efforts like the Brewery Sustainability Pilot seem to be organic responses to a business and political climate that values very small business development. Patently faced with an uncertain traditional energy market and the potential vagaries of climate change, sustainability management could gird Montanas businesses against changing energy economics.
A deluge of huckleberries to the Bitterroot Valley for its outpouring of community support for residents who were ordered to evacuate their homes ahead of the Roaring Lion fire near Hamilton, and especially to the firefighting crews working so hard to contain the blaze. Hundreds of people have been evacuated, hundreds more have been put on notice that they may have to evacuate, more than a dozen structures have burned and most tragically, one man has died of cardiac arrest. Yet firefighters have continued working through their exhaustion to save even more homes, and countless offers of food, water, shelter and animal care have poured into the valley for the past five days. The Missoulian is pitching in with an effort to organize fundraising; to contribute to the Roaring Lion Fire Relief Fund, go to roaringlionfirerelief.com; 100 percent of your donation will be split between the American Red Cross of Montana and Montana 2-1-1.

Chokecherries delivered through a firehose to the person who walked away from a still-smoldering campfire just a few miles south of the Roaring Lion fire. It boggles the mind to think that the very obvious presence of a nearby fire  one that has burned more than 7,500 acres to date  would not be enough to stop someone from starting a campfire, let alone ensure that campfire was out cold before leaving the site. That persons thoughtlessness meant that already exhausted firefighters had to divert their energy and resources to extinguish the new fire so carelessly kindled in the Lost Horse Drainage.

Historic huckleberries to Missoulas city councilors for making efficient use of their time in arriving at a compromise decision for the Missoula Mercantile. The City Council approved a partial demolition permit that will allow the developer, Bozeman-based HomeBase Montana, to deconstruct most of the building and build a five-story custom Marriott hotel in its place. However, the permit requires HomeBase to preserve a corner of the building that was once a pharmacy. While neither preservation advocates nor the developer get their way completely, the decision is reasonable and fair, and paves the way to a brighter future for a key property in downtown Missoula.

Were sending The Carlyle Group the receipt for a pint of chokecherries for having the gall to ask the city of Missoula to reimburse it for costs that clearly fall outside the definition of reasonable and necessary. The company submitted nearly $7 million in costs it says are associated with its court battle to retain ownership of Mountain Water Company  including items like Metamucil and wings at Hooters, and services such as a limousine ride.

A barrel of huckleberry juice to the Montana Supreme Court for affirming this week, in a 5-2 decision, that the city of Missoula has the right to take over the local water company. The Missoula County District Court had previously ruled that the city could flex its power of eminent domain to force the sale of Mountain Water. Now that the higher court has upheld the ruling, Missoula is just a few filings away from officially purchasing the company for $88.6 million, a figure determined through a previous court ruling.
The performance of two Augusta, Georgia, school districts resembles a quote from Charles Dickens' novel, "A Tale of Two Cities." Dickens wrote, It was the best of times, it was the worst of times. In July 2016, the Georgia Milestone end-of-course assessment numbers were released. Richmond County ranked below the state average in each of the 10 high school testing subjects. In contrast, Columbia County participated in 8 of 10 testing areas and ranked above the Georgia mean in every phase. The results were no surprise.

In addition to the dismal Georgia Milestone results, Richmond County has 18 failing schools. Nevertheless, Richmond County School Superintendent Dr. Angela Pringle prefers to see the world through rose-colored glasses. In an Augusta Chronicle article, she was quoted as saying, We are proud of the growth shown by our schools in the second year of a more rigorous assessment. What growth? Obviously, Pringle has decided to play the idealist card and ignore the reality of substandard results.

On the other hand, Columbia County Superintendent Dr. Sandra Carraway is a realist. Carraway was quoted as saying, In general, Columbia County school district students tend to perform in the top 10 percent of the state, and its always our goal to provide a great education in a safe environment. That is why she was justified in proposing a 3 percent employee pay increase.

Conversely, 18 failing schools and substandard Georgia Milestone results prove Pringle was not justified in proposing a 4 percent employee pay increase. American writer Mark Twain said, Figures dont lie, but liars figure.

Kevin Palmer,

Martinez, Georgia
HAMILTON  Montanans across the state  from civic clubs and businesses to churches and media organizations  are stepping up to help raise money and provide aid for people affected by the Roaring Lion fire south of Hamilton.

Ann Bethea, president of the Florence Civic Club, said it didn't take her members long to decide they needed to do something to help out their neighbors to the south who were being displaced by the blaze that has burned more than 11 square miles in the Bitterroot.

One of our members, Kim McClay, was driving trailer loads of water to Hamilton to help those suffering due to the fire, Bethea said. That really motivated us all. Helping is what were all about.

The club set up a community emergency fund account at Farmers State Bank. (See box for details.) The donations they receive will go to help people affected by the fire.

These people are our community, Bethea said. It feels good to be able to help them.

On a larger scale, six newspapers, two television stations and four radio stations have banded together to create a website that will send 100 percent of all dollars collected to Montana 2-1-1 and the Montana Chapter of the American Red Cross.

Montana Red Cross Executive Director Diane Wright said the statewide media campaign is unprecedented in her history with the organization.

Whats so cool about this is that you dont usually have all these competing media outlets working together like this, Wright said. This has the potential to make a huge difference for the people we are helping.

Mark Heintzelman, publisher of the Ravalli Republic and Missoulian, said he pulled together the media consortium because "we are all empowered with a great level of community responsibility and I thought it was important we all band together and embrace this effort unilaterally to help those in need.

In addition to the Hamilton and Missoula papers, the media relief effort includes the Billings Gazette, Montana Standard in Butte, the Great Falls Tribune, the Helena Independent Record, KPAX-TV, ABC Fox Montana, The Drive 107.9, KLYQ 1240, Mountain 102.5 and Trail 103.3.

Wright was in Hamilton on Thursday to visit the emergency shelter set up at the River Church on Lewis Lane.

This community has a way of really pulling together when disaster strikes, Wright said. One of the best disaster teams in the state is located right here in Ravalli County.

While only nine people stayed at the shelter overnight, Wright said many more were using the facility for meals, comfort and to take advantage of a shower and laundry unit set up behind the church.

The shelter was established less than an hour after the call went out Sunday as evacuations first began from the Roaring Lion fire.

Thats the great thing about the Red Cross, Wright said. We stand ready to respond to any disaster. We know in advance where the shelters locations will be. This is something thats happening all across Montana.

The services dont end after the smoke disappears.

Wright said Red Cross teams will help people who have lost their homes work their way through insurance documentation, find rental housing, pay for incidentals, and provide mental health care for those who need it.

All of it is free of charge, Wright said. Its also confidential. We serve anyone in need. Sometimes people think the Red Cross only does blood drives. Were much more than that.

People affected by the fire are also finding help at Ravalli Countys Emergency Operations Center, which matches those willing to help with those in need.

Ron Brace is one of the volunteers working at the center, which opens its doors following a disaster. He and his wife were evacuated from their home on Mountain Goat Road earlier this week.

Our home survived the fire, but it was close, Brace said.

The center maintains a list of people offering places to stay, pastures for livestock, and trucks to haul stuff to safety. Those people are matched with those who need those services.

Right now, were in pretty good shape, Brace said. The community has been wonderful in its response. Weve had a lot of people call in and say, 'What do you need?' Both citizens and businesses have been very helpful.

The Bitterroot Valley Chamber of Commerce is working with local churches in a fundraiser that offers people the opportunity to donate to those in need with the knowledge that their money will remain in the local economy.

Jenny Siefert of Bitterroot Drug said people can buy chamber dollars at the chamber office. Those chamber dollars will then be turned over to local churches that have the names of people affected by the fire.

The chamber dollars can be used at any local business.

That keeps the money in the community, Siefert said. That way its just not buying water. This is a way that people can directly help families who need some help.

Bitter Root Humane Association shelter manager Eve Burnside has seen how that generosity has impacted her community.

The shelter has simply been inundated by kindness, she said. People have dropped by food and supplies. We have about 80 animals right now that were taking care of for people who have been evacuated.

Burnside knows what the evacuees are going through. Shes one of them. She lost her garage to the fire, along with the crates and other gear that she uses with her own pets.

A number of local businesses have stepped up to supply food, leashes and other pet supplies for evacuees.

People have been so relieved to know that they can leave their pets here, she said. It eases their stress during this difficult time. Many had to evacuate at the drop of a hat. They wondered what they were going to do.

This community stepped up and said they were willing to help, Burnside said. And they did.
Police reports

DRUG BUST

Jamie Best, 62, of Butte was arrested for possession of dangerous drugs and drug paraphernalia after police assisted probation and parole at a residence on the 100 block of East Daly Street on Wednesday. A small baggie of marijuana, glass pipes, spoon, 4 grams of psilocybin, and a syringe with suspected methamphetamine were found.

DUI

Bruce Banderob, 53, of Wisdom was unsteady on his feet, belligerent, and refused sobriety tests after he was stopped at a truck stop in Rocker about 4 p.m. Wednesday, police said. He was booked on misdemeanor charges of reckless driving and DUI.

VANDALISM

The drivers side window of a white 1994 Ford F-250 was broken with a pellet or BB gun on the 900 block of North Jackson Street between 2 p.m. and 10 p.m. Wednesday. Police say damages are estimated at $200.
CASPER, Wyo.  A 16-year-old Sheridan girl has been found safe in Casper, Wyoming, and the man suspected of abducting her has been taken into custody.

Madison County Sheriff Roger Thompson said the girl was found safe about 5:15 p.m. by Casper law enforcement officers, who spotted her and 60-year-old Rodney Lee Zahn in a vehicle and made a traffic stop.

Law enforcement officials in Montana believe Zahn took the girl from her home in Sheridan. They believed he may have been taking the teen to Billings or Idaho. The girl was reported missing at 6 a.m. Wednesday.

Thompson said the girl appears OK and Zahn was in police custody.

An electronic WIC benefits card belonging to the girl was used Thursday morning in Dubois, Wyoming.

Authorities said Zahn is a registered violent offender and is violating probation. He was believed to be driving a black 1987 Ford pickup pulling a tan and white fifth-wheel trailer.

Thompson said the FBI, the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, and the U.S. Marshals Service joined state and local agencies in the search for Zahn and the girl, who is described as mentally delayed.

According to a social worker with knowledge of the situation, Zahn apparently struck up a conversation when he saw the girl, her mother, and possibly a sister in their yard attempting to repair a bicycle. He asked if he could help and then returned later, and the family allowed Zahn to park his fifth-wheel trailer on the rental property.

The girl had set up a tent in the yard and apparently slept in it Tuesday night. When her dad left for work early Wednesday morning, he noticed both Zahn and his daughter were gone.

Prior to his disappearance, Zahn was asked by the girl's father to leave the property on behest of the landlord.

Pat Hogan, general manager of Lisacs Tire in Billings, said Thursday that Zahn was a pretty good tire technician during his stint from August 2014 to September 2015. He had previously worked at the Lisacs in Butte and earned a positive recommendation.

But when a woman who Zahn called his wife became sick and died during the latter months of his employment in Billings, Hogan said Zahn was distraught.

He was pretty faithful to her.  It put him in a tailspin, the general manager said, adding that Zahn began having issues, focusing more on talking with customers instead of working. One day he was upset about something and quit.

Hogan last saw his former employee two to three weeks ago when he came to the shop to check the tire pressure on his fifth-wheel. He looked the same.

Im surprised, Hogan said of the Amber Alert issued Wednesday. We all are.
Four young musicians studying at the university level will take the stage at St. Timothys Summer Music Festival at 4 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 7.

Tickets can be purchased by visiting www.sttimothysmusic.org, calling 888-407-4071, or visiting any of the ticket outlets mentioned on the website.

The Young Montana Musicians Spotlight concert will feature performances by Stephanie Anderson on trumpet, Breana McCullough on viola, and Prismatic Duo  Erin Equall and Cami Kohler  on piano and violin. All four are Bozeman natives who study music in Montana and across the country.

For more than two decades weve provided a venue to introduce young musicians to the world of music  incredibly talented musicians that go on to create exceptional careers in music,'' says the Music Festivals Board Chair, Diana Neely.

Neely cited several examples including: Jazz pianist Taylor Eigsti who played St. Timothys at the age of 14; violinist Nathan Shuttlesworth, now a first violin with the Butte Symphony; Coty Hogue who plays any stringed instrument she can get her hands on and who just wrapped up a new CD tour in May; and, last years high-school-graduate jazz trumpeter, Luca Rodoni, who toured Cuba with tenor saxophonist, Jeff Coffin, and who will attend Temple Universitys Boyer College of Music this fall.

Stephanie Anderson attends the Eastman School of Music in Rochester, New York under the tutelage of trumpeter, James Thompson. Anderson was a featured performer on NPRs From the Top, recorded at Big Sky last fall.

Breana McCullough is a season away from securing her status as Bachelor of Music  Viola Performance at the University of Colorado in Boulder, as a student of Erika Eckert. McCullough also studied at Concordia College in Moorhead, Minnesota where she co-founded the Campanile String Quartet and performed with the Concordia Orchestra.

Both pianist Erin Equall and violinist Cami Kohler  the Prismatic Duo  attend Montana State University in Bozeman. Individually, theyve participated in several musical intensives and successfully competed against their peers within their musical specialties.

St. Timothy's Chapel is located near Georgetown Lake, west of Anaconda.
Retired University of Montana Professor Harry Fritz and I recently returned after delivering a series of lectures on the U.S. political system at Nankai University in Tianjin, a city of 12 million people near the Chinese capitol of Beijing. This was my fourth trip to China.

Americans who have been there know that Chinese cities are forests of building cranes on the tops of countless high rise buildings. While one would think the construction boom that is powering Chinas domestic economy will reach a saturation point, the Chinese expect their population will support it.

Projections show Chinas population of 1.4 billion falling to 1.125 billion over the next 50 years. That is why the government has modified its one child mandate and now allows two children per family. According to the Chinese model, population sustains growth. Labor-intensive projects provide millions of jobs. Vast amounts of electrical power must be generated to keep Chinas manufacturing and employment colossus surging forward. China is a nation of builders, both for its domestic use, and for products exported abroad.

The rapid rise of China has been likened to a rhino climbing into the canoe of world nations. It is greatly destabilizing. While Chinas economy will likely overtake ours, the huge population required to sustain it also has to be sustained. Per capita income in China is improving, but it is only about $14,100 compared to more than $55,800 in the U.S.. Chinas push for productivity is primary. Environmental fallout from total economic emphasis is shocking. Montanans would say you could cut the air there with a knife

While working at the University of Montana in 2006, I spent several weeks at Nankai University. On this recent visit, Prof. Fritz and I lectured to the senior-level international relations class of Professor Han Zhaoying. I had explained American politics and culture to that same class when I was there 10 years ago. All have had a minimum of 12 years of English. While few American college kids have any knowledge of Mandarin, no interpreter is necessary in communicating with many upper division college students in China. Though bright and motivated as ever, these students were also noticeably more reticent to express themselves than those I encountered a decade ago.

The reason is probably because the new regime of Xi Jianping is returning to a tougher and more authoritarian form of Maoism. Xis fire wall of blocking information into China from the outside world has been surprisingly effective. The Communist Party has a greater hands-on presence in Chinese society now than when I was there previously.

Students seemed clearly more uncomfortable about sharing their thoughts in class discussions. They were very aware of Chinese military expansion into the South China Sea. They accepted Xis construct that since China was once the worlds greatest civilization, and because of its new rise to economic greatness, China should expand its sphere of military influence to match the glory of its past. Essentially, Xi is sounding a theme that we have heard in our country. Hes going to make China great again.

A highlight of our trip was attending the annual American Independence Day Celebration sponsored by the U.S. Embassy in Beijing. It was festive and patriotic. Montanas former Senator Max Baucus, now U.S. Ambassador, spoke well and effectively as our countrys representative in China. Harry and I felt deeply grateful for our freedoms symbolized there in China by Independence Day. Baucus made us proud to be Americans and Montanans in this challenging time in world history.

-- Bob Brown of Whitefish is a former Montana Secretary of State and State Senate President.
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MUSCATINE, Iowa Two Davenport residents were pronounced dead at the scene of a crash that shut down Highway 61 near Blue Grass Thursday morning.

Zachary Whitsel, 36, was traveling northbound in a Chevy Silverado pick-up when for unknown reasons, he crossed into the southbound lanes of Highway 61, according to the Iowa State Patrol crash report.

The other driver, Charles Dibbern, 52, was southbound on Highway 61 in a Chevy Impala when the vehicles collided at the 107 mile marker around 4:30 a.m.

Highway 61 was closed for several hours as crews cleaned up the accident.

The accident remains under investigation by the Iowa State Patrol assisted by Muscatine and Scott County Sheriff's Departments.

Emily Wenger of the Muscatine Journal
WAPELLO, Iowa  The camping rate at Wapellos North Park is going up.

The city council agreed Thursday to increase the current nightly rate of $10 to $20 for a site that has water, sewer and electrical connections. The rate for a site with just electrical service was increased from $10 to $15.

The new rates will go into effect Sept. 1.

Weve done a lot of improvements and its prudent to raise rates, Mayor Shawn Maine told the council before the vote.

Maine also pointed out some campers appeared to have been taking advantage of the lower rates by staying in the park for extended periods.

Council member Kenny Marlette said he did not see any problem with letting campers stay for longer periods. Local resident Damon Moore, who is also the citys fire chief and attended the meeting to present a fire department report, agreed with Marlette.

They are buying ice, beer, cigarettes and generating a lot of income (for local businesses), Moore said.

Other officials acknowledged the campers economic impact and did not include any limit on camp stays.

In other action, the council agreed to accept the resignation of police officer Keith Bell, but the decision apparently will mean a nearly $5,000 loss for the city. According to officials, Bell was hired about 18 months ago, but needed to attend the Iowa Law Enforcement Academy for training.

The officials said Bell and the city signed an agreement that included a stipulation Bell would repay the city a portion of his training cost, estimated to be around $10,000 if he quit working for the city within a specified period.

However, Maine told the council Thursday the citys copy of the contract had disappeared, apparently leaving the city without any proof the contract had been signed.

This is crap, council member Larry Wagg fumed after revealing the paperwork could not be located.

Maine agreed and promised the snafu would not happen again.

We will make some changes and it will be handled differently in the future  at least as long as I am in office, he assured the council.

Bells resignation will be effective Aug. 8. Police chief Wayne Crump said Bell had accepted a position in Anamosa.

Local resident Nerea Strickland and her son Chase, who works for the city as a public works staff member, also met with the council to discuss a recent city variance board meeting.

According to the two, Nerea Strickland and her husband Denziel began constructing a garage on their property after receiving a building permit from the city. The permit had been issued by Crump, who also serves as the citys zoning administrator, after he visited the Strickland lot and viewed survey pins Denzil Stickland had reportedly located.

However, a neighbor challenged those pins and eventually hired a surveyor to locate his own lot lines. That survey reportedly discovered the Strickland garage was 18 inches inside the required six-foot setback from property lines. Nerea Strickland said her husband chose to seek a variance rather than continue building the garage.

However, the citys variance board did not take any action, which prompted Chase Strickland to question what his parents next steps could be.

Officials suggested they seek additional survey pins and seek another variance hearing.
MUSCATINE, Iowa Muscatine residents will soon see poetry beneath their feet.

The Muscatine City Council approved a Pilot Sidewalk Poetry Program at the council meeting Thursday night.

The Muscatine County Arts Councils pilot will allow for installation of stamped poetry in new or replacement sidewalks in various locations around Muscatine.

The poems will be stamped under the direction of the Public Works Department as part of the annual sidewalk construction projects.

Winners of the 2016 Sidewalk Poetry Competition will have their works stamped into sidewalks in Muscatine.

Dave Gobin, the community development director for Muscatine, said the city website would have a map to mark where the poems are.

Its a low-cost way of attracting visitors here from outside town, Gobin said.

City Administrator Gregg Mandsager said the Department of Public Works reviewed the proposal and said it will meet Americans with Disabilities Act requirements regarding tripping hazards.

City Engineer Jim Edgmond said the text will be shallower than the joints in the concrete, and a portion of the sidewalk section will be clear of text if residents are concerned about crossing the text.

David Ales, a board member with the Muscatine County Arts Council, said 40 poems were submitted to the contest. The final judge who selected the five poems was Mary Swander, Iowa Poet Laureate, who read the poems at one of the Summer Concert Series performances.

A great thing about project is were offering something for the poets in the county, so we have that aspect of art but also the visual aspect for residents to enjoy poetry, said Angela Woodhouse, the vice president of the arts council.

The program is the only one in the state of Iowa, and was inspired by Northfield, Minnesota, where Ales traveled and discussed the project with the public works department and poets in the area.

Woodhouse said the poetry contest was funded by a grant from the Muscatine Community Foundation.

Gobin provided a PowerPoint presentation, which stated on the first slide:

With our best foot forward the city can leave a lasting impression.

The council also voted to approve the second reading of a code amendment that would change the appointment authority for boards and commissions to the city council and the ability to appoint and remove the fire and police chiefs to the city administrator, subject to the approval of the city council.

Currently, the mayor holds those appointment and removal powers, subject to the approval of the council.

A committee would be developed, consisting of the mayor, two city council members, and a member of the boards and commissions that needed new members.

Prior to the meeting Dan Clark asked the city council to communicate within as well as with the citizens. He also expressed concerns about the code changes.

Back off, cut each other some slack, maybe it wouldnt hurt for this mayor to have a year, like Spread had a year, to figure some of this stuff out. I just received long email from Tom Spread, thats exactly the sort of thing we need to see. I want to be in this conversation and I think the citizens do too; a lot of the people who are angry have a lot of misunderstandings, Clark said.

Councilman Tom Spread read the email that he had sent, and said by creating a committee with the mayor, council members, and members of boards and commissions, collaboration would increase.

[The changes] would assure the council has better information to make informed decisions and ensure that there is a collaborative effort, Spread said.

He began the letter by thanking the public for input on the discussion.

Thank you for showing an interest in the work we do, concerns are important as the council makes decisions, Spread said.

Councilman Scott Natvig agreed.

"I see this as providing for that cooperation and collaboration," he said.

John Dabeet also urged council members to collaborate, as did Councilman Bob Bynum, when he moved to table the item.

"We need to accept differences of opinion and work together in all pursuits for the City of Muscatine," he said.

The motion was not seconded, and the amendment passed 6 to 1, with Bynum against.

In other business, a public hearing will be held at 7 p.m., Thursday, Aug. 18, on a request to vacate certain utility easements. The owner of lots 6 and 7 of the Riverbend Fifth Addition plans to combine the two lots to construct an elder group home.
AMES, Iowa - The Iowa State University exhibit at the 2016 Farm Progress Show again will be located at the corner of Central Avenue and Seventh Street on the showgrounds near Boone. Iowa State has added a speakers stage and plaza filled with planters, seating, picnic tables and Cy statues along Central Avenue for the Aug. 30-Sept. 1 show.

Iowa State University students, faculty and extension specialists will engage visitors in demonstrations and conversations to connect them with current research applicable to individual agricultural operations. They will host interactive displays, make presentations and recognize outstanding producers. They also will be available for one-on-one conversations.

Stewardship of our land, water and environment is a major theme of the Iowa State exhibit again this year, said John Lawrence, associate dean for extension and outreach in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences and director of Agriculture and Natural Resources Extension. The care of these natural resources comes from farmer management decisions rather than products bought and applied. Throughout the show we feature Iowa women impacting the land through decisions about how their land is farmed. We also have interactive displays, a speakers stage, and experts to discuss and demonstrate the latest research.

Hear Speakers and Talk to Experts  Producers face complex and at times critical issues. It is vital they have reliable information on which to base their management decisions. Iowa State University speakers discuss nutrient reduction, insect and pest management, climate, soil organic matter, farm management, ag market outlook and incorporating new technologies from the speakers stage during the Farm Progress Show. Each day two speakers make presentations in the morning and three speak in the afternoon.

Iowa State experts are on hand throughout the show to talk with and learn from visitors. Stop by the Ask an Expert area  visitors can meet the new Iowa State faculty and extension specialists as well as reconnect with the experts they already know.

Honoring Women Impacting the Land  The shifting, growing role of women in production agriculture has signaled the need for a new ISU Extension and Outreach program focus  Women in Agriculture. In addition to providing research-based educational programs specifically designed for women, the Women in Agriculture program created a Women Impacting the Land recognition and will introduce eight women and their agricultural achievements during the Farm Progress Show. Honorees will be introduced at noon each day.

Speaker, expert and women impacting the land schedules will be posted in the exhibit and made available on the Iowa State Farm Progress Show webpage http://register.extension.iastate.edu/2016fps.

Get an Overhead View with Digital Ag  Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering and Agronomy specialists will demonstrate uses of aerial imagery, including that provided by small unmanned aerial vehicles, to aid in making operational decisions in farming operations. They will also discuss experiences with crop modeling tools as well as other precision ag tools available to analyze on-farm trials and other cropping system logistics.

Explore Healthy Soil  Hosting the first Iowa soil health conference was a prelude to bringing interactive soil displays to the 2016 Farm Progress Show for one group of agronomists. They are ready to guide visitors in non-traditional explorations of the biological, chemical and physical properties of soil, and point out conservation agricultural systems that benefit soil health.

Make a Splash with Quality Water - Table-top models, interactive online landscapes, a conservation station, and researchers with a wealth of experience bring the practices outlined in the Iowa Nutrient Reduction Strategy to life for visitors. Research being demonstrated looks at the performance of current and emerging nutrient management practices, provides recommendations on implementing the practices and shares the development of new practices. The possibility of splashing about in water adds a playful feature to learning about bioreactors and saturated buffers.

Discover the Beauty of Monarch Habitat  Using scientific and practical approaches to adding monarch breeding habitat to the Midwest landscape is the goal of a partnership between ISU Research and Demonstration Farms and Iowa State researchers. A display containing native milkweeds and forbs that support the four life stages of the Monarch butterfly sets the stage for robust Farm Progress Show discussions. Learn about the Iowa Monarch Conservation Consortium and how to apply recent research findings.

Get a Closer Look  Who better to answer parent and student questions about being a student in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences than those currently enrolled? Recruitment and alumni relations representatives from the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences also will be on hand to provide admissions information, college news and event updates, and keep alumni and prospective students connected with the college.
MUSCATINE, Iowa Farm tenants and land owners are encouraged to attend a program Aug. 19 in Muscatine.

Iowa State University Extension and Outreach in Muscatine County is hosting a farmland leasing meeting at 1 p.m. Friday, Aug. 19 at the Muscatine County Extension Office, 1514 Isett Ave., Muscatine. The annual meeting is offered to address questions that land owners, tenants or other interested individuals have about leasing farmland.

Topics will include land values and cash rent trends, cost of production, methods for determining a rental rate, legislative updates regarding leases and communicating with tenants or landlords.

More than half of Iowas farmland is rented, and strong landlord/tenant relationships are important for the long-term viability of Iowas valuable farmland, said Alejandro Plastina, assistant professor of economics and extension economist at Iowa State University. Cash rent values across the state of Iowa have declined for the third consecutive year, dropping by 6.5 percent from 2015. Every crop reporting district in the state saw a decline in rental prices.

The two and a half hour workshop is designed to assist landowners, farm tenants and other agri-business professionals with current issues related to farmland ownership, management and leasing arrangements. Attendees will gain a better understanding of current cash rental rate surveys and factors driving next years rents such as market trends and input costs.

Each registrant will receive a 100-page workbook with resources regarding land leasing agreements such as surveys, sample written lease agreements and termination forms, along with many other publications.

Registration for the Aug. 19 session is $25 per individual or $40 per couple and includes materials. Preregistration is encouraged as an additional $5 fee will be added if registering less than two calendar days before the meeting date. To register contact the ISU Extension and Outreach Muscatine County office at 563-263-5701 or sgrimm@iastate.edu.

The leasing meetings being held across Iowa are facilitated by farm management specialists with ISU Extension and Outreach.
MUSCATINE, Iowa U.S. Rep. Dave Loebsack introduced his proposed New Jobs Training Act at Muscatine Community College Thursday.

The act would create a grant program to assist community colleges and local businesses to partner in job training.

Don Doucette, the chancellor for Eastern Iowa Community Colleges (EICC) likened the act to Iowa Code 260E, or the Iowa Industrial New Jobs Training Act, which allows certain businesses in Iowa to partner with community colleges for future employee training.

Rep. Loebsack said the New Jobs Training Act would create similar programming, but would include a wide variety of businesses. Colleges like MCC, he said, are essential in job training.

"Community colleges are a principle connection between the workforce and businesses," he said.

Those who are already employed, Doucette said, should also be considered, as a large market exists for training.

"This is focused on new jobs and that's important. The investment in the existing workforce by itself, is not as sexy as new jobs, but it's probably equally important because...you've got to give people the skills and abilities they need so they can change and develop," he said.

Members of Eastern Iowa Community Colleges, CBI Bank and Trust, Mayor Diana Broderson, and various local business representatives were in attendance.

Several provided input, including the importance of training for those already in the workforce, as well as the concern that Iowa would loose its competitive edge if all states had a job training program.

Doucette also suggested the bill could include a funding source that would allow it to become essentially revenue neutral.

"I know you always get push-back for these kind of funding programs," he said.

Katie Watson, a business solutions consultant for EICC, said she was glad to see Loebsack put time into a meeting.

"That's where decisions get made," she said.

Ellen Lensch, the vice chancellor for workforce and economic development with EICC, said she enjoyed the opportunity to provide input.

"I appreciate his appreciation of community colleges and our role in education and the workforce," Lensch said.

Listening to input from those within his district, Loebsack said, has always been a focus for him.

"It's always good for me to stay in touch with folks here locally and get a good handle on what they're doing here and then do whatever I can at the federal level to keep providing whatever resources we can so they can continue to do what they're doing," he said.

Loebsack said he plans for the bill to move forward after the new congress is elected in November.
MUSCATINE, Iowa  The Muscatine Police and Fire departments with assistance from the Iowa Fire Marshal's Office are trying to determine the cause of a Thursday night structure fire in the 600 block of East Seventh Street.

According to a press release, police and fire officials responded about 10:31 p.m. Thursday to a report of a fire at 614 E. Seventh St.

Upon arrival, the home was fully engulfed in flames. It was unoccupied at the time of the incident.

The cause remains under investigation. No other details are available at this time.

The Muscatine Police Department is asking for the publics help in providing information regarding the possible cause of the fire. The public is asked to contact the Muscatine Police Department (563-263-9922 ext 608). Callers may remain anonymous.
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 []
MTN has released its group interim financial results for the six months ended 30 June 2016, which show a decline in South African subscriber numbers.

South African subscribers dropped by 2.6% to 29.8 million, which MTN said was a result of:

Network outages in some areas

Competition

Economic pressure impacting consumer spending

The prepaid and post-paid segments declined by 2.7% to 24.7 million and 2.1% to 5.1 million, respectively, said MTN.

The local operation saw an increase in revenue, though, which was up 5.1%.

Data revenue and usage also increased in South Africa, climbing 19.2% and 53.8% respectively, while the number of smartphones on the network increased by 18.4% to 9.3 million.

The MTN Group also saw a revenue increase, rising 14.0% to R78.8 billion.

Group data revenue increased by 32.2% to R19.8 billion, while data traffic increased by 135.3%.

More on MTN

This comparison shows how Telkoms new FreeMe contracts smash Vodacom and MTNs

Why a suspended WASP could still use MTNs network
The Zimbabwean army is ready to deal with those using the internet to destabilise the southern African country, the state-owned Herald newspaper reported on Friday.

Zimbabwe National Army commander, Lieutenant-General Phillip Valerio Sibanda, warned they were training their officials to detect and deal with internet threats.

As an army, at our institution of training, we are training our officers to be able to deal with this new threat we call cyber warfare, where weapons, not necessarily guns, but basically information and communication technology, are being used to mobilise people to do wrong things. We will be equal to the task when the time comes, Sibanda was quoted as saying.

The country has in recent months been hit by a wave of protests, as Zimbabweans demand that the government deal with the ongoing economic decline.

On July 6, the country came to an abrupt standstill as Zimbabweans downed tools, demanding better services. Many businesses, shops, schools, government departments and courts were closed. Public transport came to standstill. The protests were reportedly organised through social media networks like Twitter, Facebook, and WhatsApp.

A cleric in the southern part of the country galvanised thousands of Zimbabweans to stand up against the malfunctioning government of longtime ruler Robert Mugabe through a video he posted on his Facebook page in May.

Baptist pastor Evan Mawarire, 39, unwittingly began the This Flag movement when he expressed his frustration at the state of his nation, wearing the Zimbabwean flag around his neck.

Since then, a number of other social media movements have sprung up throughout the country.

This resulted in the ruling Zanu-PF government accusing the governments of Britain, United States of America, and France of interfering in the countrys internal affairs.

News24

More security news

Apple offers $200,000 security bug bounty

Data of 200 million Yahoo users for sale on the Dark Web
The Culinary Institute of America, which has won Napas support to move into the shuttered Copia wine and food center, will have more funds for the revival.

A $40 million bond issue has gained the approval of the Napa and St. Helena city councils, with $5 million earmarked for Copias redevelopment. The bond, which will be issued by a joint-powers agency of various California cities, will help pay for remodeling at the First Street complex that has been dormant since Copias failure eight years ago, as well as upgrades to the academys Greystone campus in St. Helena.

Weve waited a long time since 2008, when it closed to the public, Mayor Jill Techel said of Copias demise amid mounting debt and sinking attendance. We couldnt pick a better partner than the CIA to bring that energy, that vitality back to the site.

CIA is seeking the bond funding from the California Statewide Communities Development Authority, which provides tax-exempt financing for local projects that create a public benefit. The bond is an obligation of the authority and not the two cities individually.

Since buying the property at 500 First St. in October 2015 for $12.5 million, the culinary institute has outlined its plan to remake it as CIA at Copia, a home to cooking demonstrations, exhibits and special events. The city Planning Commission approved the project July 21.

Although the school plans relatively modest changes to the exterior of the 80,000-square-foot main building, the interior would see major changes to its layout.

The restaurant would gain a separate entrance from the outside, and a nearby staircase would be removed for easier access into the building. CIA will install demonstration kitchens upstairs in a former gallery, and the center will house two free-access collections  the artworks of the Vintners Hall of Fame, and a tableware and cookware collection assembled by the late Chuck Williams, who founded the Williams-Sonoma kitchenware firm.

Copias outdoor amphitheater facing the Napa River will gain a shade canopy and terraced seating, and the school also seeks a greenhouse to replace one that was removed after the buildings closure.

If there were any doubt about the Copia propertys usefulness to Napans under CIA control, the inclusion of the two museums should settle that question, said Vice Mayor Mary Luros.

This fills a pretty clear public benefit, she said before the vote. We have a real lack of museums here in the city of Napa.

Copias reopening is scheduled to begin with the debut of its restaurant in late September, and work is expected to continue through 2017.

Earlier in July, the St. Helena City Council gave its own approval to the bond issue to support CIA. Funds for the Greystone property will go toward renovating instructional kitchens, adding bake shops, building a separate kitchen for catering, and moving office and support operations.
Napa County Public Health Officer Dr. Karen Relucio reminds parents to ensure their childrens vaccinations required for school are up to date.

As summer comes to an end, we want to remind parents to get their children any necessary vaccines so they dont miss out on the first days of school. said Relucio. Talk to your healthcare provider to verify their vaccines are up to date and ensure you have proper documentation.

Parents of children without health insurance, with MediCal or are Native American or Alaskan Native can call the Napa County Public Health Immunization Clinic at 707-253-4270 to make an appointment for vaccinations.

This is the beginning of the first school year with the new California law SB277 that changes which students will be allowed to attend school without vaccinations. Students with a medical exemption written by their doctor may attend school without vaccinations. Students with personal or religious exemptions will no longer be accepted.

Students who are not vaccinated (and do not have a medical exemption) will not be allowed to attend school. Parents must make alternate school plans if their child does not have a medial exemption against vaccination and they do not want him/her to be vaccinated.
Music has been called the universal language, but becoming a serious musician may require more than just picking up an instrument.

Being able to read and write music is important, for example, if you want to perform with an orchestra or have an orchestra perform your music.

But what if you can't read music like everybody else? What if you have low-vision and need the notes printed larger than the size of an average page of music or you're completely blind and need it printed in Braille? What can students hoping to walk in the melodic footsteps of Stevie Wonder do to ensure access to these materials?

They can attend LightHouse for the Blind and Visually Impaired's Music Academy at Enchanted Hills Camp in Napa, which aims to help students learn how to use different technologies that can help them with reading, writing and recording music.

Were learning about all the technology we can eventually use in music, said Franny Bartos, 16, of Chico. Franny plays the piano and the guitar, but she also writes and performs her own musical pieces.

Bartos, who has low-vision, was most excited to experiment with the Lime Lighter, which magnifies print music up to 10 times the standard size, because she just finished writing a piece of original music. The instructors are also teaching the students GOODFEEL Braille Music Translator, which allows printed musical scores to be scanned, edited and converted into Braille notation.

I read Braille music, but technology is very important for me to incorporate in all things," said Fernando Apan, 24, of Xalapa in Veracruz, Mexico.

Apan started playing piano when he was 4 years old. His mother taught him how to play piano, and even learned how to use the software that was available at the time in order to help her son transcribe his musical scores. Apan and his mother now sell and instruct others how to use the software in Mexico.

My goal is to keep busy, to keep working, getting people to know our capability and how braille music can respond to life  being blind is not an obstacle at all, Apan said. I try to make people aware that blindness is not a disability, its an opportunity to be a better person.

Instructor Bill McCann, also a blind musician, said that he has to prepare for performances in which he has to read new music ahead of time whereas someone who is sighted might be able to take a job at the last minute. When it comes to playing in orchestras, he added, some conductors might worry about performers seeing or not-seeing their hand movements.

"You need to figure out 'what can I do' and then work on getting really good at that," McCann said.

McCann, along with instructor Roberto Gonzalez, planned to also show the students how to record their own music from their computer without any fancy microphones or a studio.

Were going to show them how its done, Gonzalez said.

But it isnt all about the music.

Bartos said that Enchanted Hills feels like home to her since she has been attending other camp programs there for almost a decade. She has enjoyed making new friends and said she plans to stay in contact with many of the musicians she met at the academy.

Its close-knit, she said. I like it here."

Lawrence E Brown III, 23, of El Paso, Texas, said that he came to the camp mostly to hang out with other people like him. Its important to see how other people with your disability navigate, he said, and for you to learn from them. And if its in your line of work or career path, then thats even better, he said.

Brown, who is a Braille user, has an undergraduate degree in music and communication and is already working in the field and plans on attending graduate school. He said his interest in music began very young as his mother caught him banging on pots and pans. She bought him a drum set and hes been a drummer ever since, performing with bands across several different genres.

No matter what, people are always going to want to put obstacles (in front of you) and make assumptions about you if you have any kind of disability, even if its being a blind musician, Brown said.

The lessons they learned in class this week will be put on display in a free public performance at Covenant Presbyterian Church, 1226 Salvador Ave. in Napa from 7:30-8:30 p.m. on Friday.
Here we are at the end of another two-year presidential election season during which nearly $2 billion will be raised by the Democratic-Republican political machine to win control over trillions of dollars in taxes and a staggering level of coercive power over the choices and values of Americans.

However, 2016 is unique because it represents the last of the 20th century presidential elections. Confused?

Dont be.

Since at least 1932, the issue dividing Democrats and Republicans has been portrayed as wealth  with hard-working Americans on one side and on the other, the wealthy, who allegedly buy government to serve their interests.

From that point on, Democrats took control of and then expanded the size and scope of government to fight, as liberal historians tell us, against the wealthy on behalf of democracy and the People.

With the exception of Woodrow Wilsons earlier flirtations with fascism, which are factual and deplorable, Democrats turned away from the limited government and freedom of choice principles embodied in the Constitution. Americans were offered, and then forced to embrace, a New Deal  a deal that used economic crisis to get desperate Americans to believe that because times had changed, they must abandon their natural skepticism of government power and simply trust in governments benevolence, ability, and knowledge to help people and solve problems.

Many deserving people were helped by the staggering new powers of government. But many undeserving people also benefited and those folks proved to be politically essential to the re-election of big-government politicians.

Hundreds of thousands of these clients of big government were brought into existence by the New Deal but those numbers pale in comparison to the many millions of clients created by the explosion in the size and scope of government in the 1960s when Democrats doubled-down on their Peter Pan-like faith in governments benevolent intentions, expert knowledge, and administrative capacity to solve societys problems.

Not limiting themselves to the economic arena as Franklin Delano Roosevelt had done, this generation went ahead and opened the flood gates to government interference in all other areas of American life, most of which had been private matters throughout American history.

With Goldwaters 1964 loss to LBJ, the Republicans recognized that limited government was a good political principle but a bad electoral strategy. And so, since at least 1968, both Republicans and Democrats have simply been buying off politically important groups with politically targeted social programs, crony based corporate welfare and bail-outs, and government-approved cartels via so-called regulations. All told, these political enablers and their clients form a privileged political class.

Unfortunately, unless you are part of this political class then a) your real income has declined steadily since the 1970s; b) you and your children owe $50 trillion in national, state, and local debt; c) you pay for high-priced/poor-quality public services whether you use them or not, and d) occupational licensure, minimum wages, and other regulations have handicapped your life chances particularly if you cannot afford government permission to work, are too young or inexperienced to compete for minimum wage jobs or simply trying to run a small business.

The political class is completely insulated from these dismal conditions behind the walls of government. They have secure futures, decent pay, health care, generous benefits for themselves and their dependents, and the authoritative power to guarantee that those things remain. As a public employee myself, youd be shocked at what weve been guaranteed and moreover, how we still complain that its not enough.

Those outside the walls have insecure futures, declining real pay, exorbitant and shoddy public services including health care, education, and transportation. They must also accept official government values even those that are contradictory to their own beliefs. Living outside of the walls means you have many good reasons to fear about what the future holds for your children.

This fear drove both the tea party and the Occupy movement and has driven the Donald Trump and Bernie Sanders campaigns. Whatever their disagreements, the deep roots of their discontent are the same  they all represent groups outside of the walls of the political class and they all correctly use the word rigged to describe the outcome whenever someone within that class competes with someone outside.
THE ANNIVERSARY NATSIAAs

Harold Thomas proudly in front of his spectacular Big Telstra-winning work, 'Tribal Abduction' (Photo: J Eccles)

Aboriginal Art Directory | 05.08.16

Author: Jeremy Eccles

News source: From Darwin



It's a big anniversary year for the National Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Art Awards - aka The Telstras. As Luke Scholes, the newish Curator of Aboriginal Art & Material Culture points out, 2016 celebrates 40 years of Aboriginal Land Rights and the year that ended the interminable Kenbi Land Claim happily for the Larrakia in Darwin; it's 50 years since the Wave Hill walk-off; it's a mighty 33 years of the NATSIAAs, and they're celebrating 25 years of Telstra sponsorship with a few little extras.

For instance, previous winning artists have seen their work taken to the cold southern cities to alert them to the warm joys up here; Scholes has been appointed as a much-needed Indigenous curator for a museum that's clearly at the heart of the whole movement and will be doing important things next year like showing off their amazing early Papunya boards in exhibition; and the ceremonial aspects of the presentation of awards later tonight has been pepped up - as they should be.

So, how has all this fed into the 2016 Awards? 224 entrants hoped to be here, their number whittled down to a limit of 75 by judges Vernon Ah Kee (Brisbane-based artist), Kimberley Moulton (Melbourne-based museum curator) and Don Whyte (described as The Impresario of Darwin, an artist and framer who's been professionally associated with the Awards since 1993). And the selection - which contains the $50,000 Big Telstra winner, five category winners and no Highly Commended, because the whole room's Commended says Whyte  reflects the artists' hungry desire to be here in greater diversity than ever, I suspect. It's not just that urban artists seem to have re-discovered their enthusiasm for the steamy North; I believe that many artists are pursuing novel ways of telling mythic stories, and, in the Salon des Refuses, which picks up the cream of the crop that didn't make it into the Museum, there are more new names emerging confidently to suggest absolutely no end to Aboriginal art.

Heading my list of innovators, therefore, is Yaritji Young from Amata in the amazingly abundant APY Lands, whose work might be mistaken by casual viewers for something by John Olsen. It's a complex Honey Ant Dreaming story, telling of their lifestyle and value as a food source. But how extraordinary that such disparate artists with such a different outlooks on the world should see our landscape so similarly  it must be how it really looks! I think I might have made it a Winner.

Others in the traditional/innovator category would be The Tjanpi Weavers, creating a sickness and health story from their desert grasses; Pepai Jangala Carroll putting a water-snake legend on to a 75 cm ceramic pot; the venerable Ngarritja Tommy May etching his Kurtal rainbow serpent and thunderous rain onto tin; Wukun Wanambi using unvarnished larrikitj trunks - all lumps and holes  to represent sacred rocks; Mumu Mike Williams staining a map of Australia with team and Pitjanjatjara words to claim This land belongs to all of the tjilpis and pampas (old men and women); and Andrew Snelgar  surely the first Ngemba/NSW-identifying artist in the Telstras  with a sibling rivalry legend painted on to three shields.

But the actual Big Telstra winner was Harold Thomas  a name to conjure with as the designer of the politically-potent Black, Red and Yellow Aboriginal flag, but less well known (to his regret) as a consistent painter. His work is extraordinary  as is perhaps too often the case with the Big Telstra winner. Think back to the Tjanpi Toyota, Dennis Nona's mighty croc, Richard Bell's 'Theorem', Danie Mellor's great Masonic painting, and perhaps the last significant works by elderly artists such as Makinti and Mrs Snell. I guess it's easy for a group of judges to agree on such stand-out works  though they may not actually be the best art on offer.

Harold Thomas's quasi-Renaissance work  which he agrees harps back to artists such as Caravaggio and Gericault, whom he encountered as the first Western-trained Aboriginal artist back in the 1960s  tackles the abduction of Aboriginal children with the violence of a 'Massacre of the Infants' in the sort of desert landscape for which he's better known - that and Kakadu lilies that Monet might be proud of. We were rewarding the evocation of feelings Harold achieves in this painting, explains Don Whyte; and few could deny the pain of the mother having her babe snatched literally from her breast, the unfeeling faces of the police 'just doing their job', and the naked aggression on the advancing nun's face, desperate to cover the nakedness of the baby. As the stolen child of two stolen parents, there are generations of bitterness available to Thomas.

Something of the same generational politics may be seen in the selection of the Best Bark Award for the great John Mawundjul. It's not the best Mawurndjul ever painted - but boy it's good to see him back painting after the dreadful hiatus in Maningrida art. As he and his Kuninjku cohort put it, the global art market collapse combined with the Intervention, run by people who thought they knew everything, disempowered us and disrespected the artists and put us on the ground. I'm delighted by this third Best Bark recognition for Mawurndjul, but have twinges of regret that the dominant Buku Larrnggay art centre's Garawan Wanambi was left right out of the NATSIAAs for his dark and powerful work, 'Marranngu' which I felt stood out in the category.

Mysteriously, the Best Painting Award went for the second year running to Betty Pumani from Mimili in the APY Lands  which many, viewing the plethora of mighty canvases from that area in the Salon which opened on Wednesday night, feared might have been rejected wholesale by the judges. Not true  APY is as strong as ever, the women filling vibrant canvases and the men inspired by the great Tarnanthi Spear project. But one wonders whether the judges saw Pumani's work last year  differing only in a courageous extension to the width of her Maku/Witchetty Grub evocation.

Best Work on Paper was a new name to me  Robert Pau, from Erub Island in the Torres Strait via Cairns. And his imagery is new too  reporting on Black wars I'd not heard of involving the notorious Blackbirders seeking slaves for the cane-fields and polluting vital water-holes to the point that the Islanders chose to fight back. Mythic guidance from above and sharks prowling below frame the actively researched Battle of Bikar. A name and a historian to watch.

Nicole Monks also broke new ground with her 3-D prize-winner  the first performance artist to get a Telstra. Sydney-based, she used a residency at Fowler's Gap, out from Broken Hill, to explore her sense of being trapped between two worlds. Or possible three as she identifies with Walmajarri, Dutch and English ancestries, but used the wool from imported sheep and the feathers from native emu to clothe her nakedness two-way, then cast the spirit-crushing wool aside to reveal her bare-breasted all.

Finally, a second film took out the youth award for Ishmael Marika from that mighty Yirrkala family. Called 'Sunlight Energy II', he examined sunrise and sunset over the sands and sea of his local Arnhemland, blended light and smoke from burning off through an Arnhem treescape, then caught the tumbling dust in the motes and beams of sunlight in a Lake Mungo wool shed to sense the energy of that mythic place.

The NATSIAA hang by Luke Scholes felt good, using sculptural works cleverly to balance the density of canvases and works-on-paper on the walls  though I clearly made connections that he didn't between Mamu Mike Williams's spear-framed work and the more youthful Anwar Young's hanging army of 'Kulata' (Spears); and between Nicole Monks's natural/unnatural clothing, Nici Cumpston's photo of grass-trees as bunyip figures and Georgia Macguire's paper-bark figure, 'Ill-fitted uniform II', imposing unnatural clothing on the Woiwurrung of Western Victoria.

As perhaps can be read from the sheer number of artists deserving a mention this year, I have emerged with strongly positive feelings about the selections for the 2016 Telstra/NATSIAAs, but a few questions about the judge's choice of some of the winners.

But remember Don Whyte's words  all were Highly Commended.





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Contact Details

Gallery: National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Art Award

Telephone: +61 8 8999 8264

Address: 19 Conacher Street Fanny Bay Darwin 0820 NT



Gallery: Museum and Art Gallery of the Northern Territory

Contact: Marcus Schutenko

Email: info@magnt.net.au

Telephone: +61 8 8999 8264

Address: 19 Conacher Street Fanny Bay 0820 NT



Nicole Monks, talking about the first ever performance work, 'We are all animals' to take out the NATSIAA 3D Art Award, also showing on video behind her (Photo: J Eccles)

Yaritji Young's spectacular Olsen-esque painting, 'Tjala tjukurpa' (Honey-ant Story) in the background as the local ABC reporter records her commentary for the television (Photo: J Eccles)

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Martyn Goodacre/Getty ImagesThe history of Pantera will be told visually in A Vulgar Display of Pantera, the first authorized photo book about the band. The book will be released on September 13.

A Vulgar History of Pantera will feature rare and previously unseen photos of "Dimebag" Darrell and company, taken by photographer Joe Giron. The book will also feature contributions from bassist Rex Brown and drummer Vinnie Paul, who is also Dimebag's brother.

Pantera was formed in 1981 and released nine studio albums, including 1992's Vulgar Display of Power, before disbanding in 2003. One year later, Dimebag, born Darrell Abbott, was shot and killed while he was on stage performing with his band Damageplan in a Columbus, Ohio nightclub.

Copyright  2016, ABC Radio. All rights reserved.
Armenian PM Hovik Abrahamyan has paid a working visit to the countrys Ararat province, the Government press-service reports.

Abrahamyan first visited local Aintab community, where he talked to the residents, got familiarized with their issues and answered a number of their questions.

According to the Aintab residents, one of the most important issues of the community is that of portable water, which is supplied with interruptions. The PM instructed those responsible to carry out corresponding activities and solve the issue of water supply as soon as possible.

Hovik Abrahamyan was then briefed on the construction of Culture House in Aintab. The project is assessed at 592 mln AMD, the work of 140 mln AMD having already been carried out. A music school and gym will also operate in the Culture House. The construction work will be completed in 2017.

Afterwards, the PM visited the town of Masis. A consultation headed by Abrahamyan and attended by the heads of Masis region communities took place in the city hall. Ararat province governor Rubik Abrahamyan reported that the organization of agricultural, including grape procurement activities is successfully carried out in the province. Projects aimed at the improvement of infrastructures, specifically through the renovation of educational institutions, roads, water supply systems and roofs, are carried out.

The head of the government also visited Voske Katsin Armenian-Iranian slaughter house in the town of Masis, which has been operating since 2015. Around $3 mln was invested in the construction of the slaughter-house, which now employs 100 people. 650 heads of sheep and lambs are slaughtered in one shift, from which 10-11 tons of meat is received.

The slaughterhouse by-products are processed. The received hide is sent to an Armenian-Italian organization operating in Masis, where it is processed and exported to Italy.

Since 2015, overall 50,000 heads of sheep and lambs have been slaughtered, 30,000 heads being slaughtered in the period from January to July. The by-products have been exported to Iran.

The slaughter house has also got a meat packaging unit, where the meat is frozen. Currently, the frozen meat is exported to Iran, but there is also demand in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). It is thus planned to take the number of employees up to 250.

Abrahamyan underscored the importance of the modern slaughter-houses in terms of ensuring and promoting the food safety and development of cattle-breeding.

The PM then visited the dry fruit company of Surenavan, where nearly 250 mln AMD investments have been made since the companys foundation in 2007. The plant is equipped with modern Ukrainian, Chinese and Korean equipment, which allows procuring 300-350 tons of fruit and berries annually.

Abrahamyan underscored the importance of the plants activity and continuous increase of production volumes, noting that the government is ready to discuss ways of providing support to the processing company.

The PM also visited the art school in the town of Vedi, where he got familiarized with the conditions of the educational institution.

Apart form this, the head of the government visited Nor Kharberd and Aralez communities, where he met with the residents, listened to their concerns and answered a number of questions.
TALLAHASSEE, Florida  Floridas back-to-school tax-free holiday kicked off at 12:01 a.m. on Friday, August 5, 2016 and lasts through 11:59 p.m. on Sunday, August 7. 2016.





The Florida Legislature and Florida Governor Rick Scott made some important changes to the 2016 back-to-school tax free weekend when compared to past years. The limit on clothing and footwear has been reduced from $75 to $60. The number of days the tax-free holidays lasts have been reduced from ten to three. Also, computers are no longer tax free.





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What Back-to-School items are tax free in 2016?





During the 2016 Florida Back-to-School Tax Holiday, no Florida sales tax or local option tax will be collected on sales of clothing, footwear, and certain accessories selling for $60 or less per item, on certain school supplies selling for $15 or less per item.





No tax is due on the sale or purchase of any article of clothing, wallet, or bag, including handbags, backpacks, fanny packs, and diaper bags, but excluding briefcases, suitcases, and other garment bags, with a selling price of $60 or less per item.





Clothing means any article of wearing apparel, including all footwear (except skis, swim fins, roller blades, and skates) intended to be worn on or about the human body. Clothing does not include watches, watchbands, jewelry, umbrellas, or handkerchiefs. This exemption does not apply to sales of clothing.




A clash between some military personnel and villagers in Niger State on Thursday morning has left five persons feared dead while two others were injured.

The two injured were said to be soldiers while the identities of the deceased were yet to be known and four of the vehicles belonging to the army were either burnt or destroyed.



The incident occurred in Kpaidna village in Bosso Local Government Area at about 1.30am of Thursday.



It was gathered that the combined team of soldiers and Nigeria Air Force personnel drove to the village on official operation when the clash occurred.



The military team, according to a source, were in the village in search of arms and ammunition which intelligence claimed were hid in some houses in the community.



The source said the villagers mistook the soldiers for armed Fulani herdsmen and, therefore, attacked them leading to the death of the five people and while two others were injured.



The Police Public Relations Officer in state police command, DSP Bala Elikana, when contacted confirmed the story saying,"The command immediately mobilized mobile Policemen and other combatants to the village and Police discovered it was soldiers in operation. "But calm has been restored in the area."



Also contacted was the Assistant Director of Army Public Relations, Major Njideka Agwu, said: "We heard there are arms and ammunitions in that village and we went for cordon and search after soldiers were briefed yesterday.



"Unfortunately, villagers opened fire on us and we don't know the number of casualty for now because the information is sketchy.



"But our men are still at the location and investigation is still going on."




The requested page is currently unavailable on this server.

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MUMBAI: Search engine giant Google on Thursday showcased its smart, modern and secure offerings here that will enable customers take advantage of the emerging digital technologies.

Google's enterprise offerings comprise the full array of IT needs from communication and productivity with apps to application hosting, data analysis and infrastructure with cloud platform and workplace devices with chrome and android hardware.

Senior leaders from e-retailer Flipkart, Hero MotoCorp, market research form PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) and Mahindra's startup arm SmartShift were present at the event who spoke about the adoption of Google's enterprise offerings that are enabling their teams to be more connected, collaborative and competitive.

For enterprises, Google is providing a seamless experience from desktop to mobile  accommodating the current needs of a digital, collaborative, connected and integrated workforce while continuing to build for future shifts, the company said in a statement.

Further, Google is making heavy investments in growth areas, particularly Google Cloud Platform, its cloud infrastructure offering that benefits from deep networking and machine learning expertise to provide businesses with powerful application hosting, data analysis and computing resources.

Google India hosted over 2,000 business leaders and also arranged livestreaming sessions at the event.

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SIU planning Eclipse 2017: One Year Countdown

by Tim Crosby

CARBONDALE, Ill. -- With a total solar eclipse a year away, officials at Southern Illinois University Carbondale are marking the occasion and using it as an opportunity to educate the public and new students on what to expect and how to get involved.

The event, "Eclipse 2017: One Year Countdown," begins at 6 p.m. on Sunday, Aug. 21, in the Student Center Auditorium. The evening will feature videos and a movie about eclipses, as well as information on the 2017 eclipse, followed by an invitation to night sky observations later that evening.

The event is free and open to the public. More information about the event can be found here.

SIU is gearing up to play a major role in the Aug. 21, 2017, eclipse, which will feature the first total solar eclipse over the mainland United States since 1979. The eclipse viewing path and shadow that day will sweep across the country from northwest to southeast, with its point of greatest duration a few miles south of Carbondale. Officials expect 30,000 to 50,000 people to descend on the area for the happening. The universitys planning, led by a campus-community committee, has been underway for more than a year.

Not only that, but a second such event is due on April 8, 2024. The intersection of the two eclipse paths is just south of Carbondale over Cedar Lake. No other place in the world will offer the opportunity to observe these two eclipses from the same ground-based spot.

Bob Baer, specialist with the Department of Physics and co-chair of the planning committee, said he hoped to organize the event for new SIU students who might not yet have heard about the upcoming eclipse. Students, Baer said, are key to ensuring the eclipse goes smoothly.

We are going to rely heavily on student volunteers and student workers for eclipse events in 2017, Baer said. This next event is meant to get these new students interested and hopefully identify a few interested in taking part in eclipse preparations over the next year.

Participants will hear from Saluki Astronomy Association President Sarah Kovac, a senior in physics, who will announce information about the club's first meeting and talk about how students and registered student organizations can get involved in the eclipse planning, Baer said.

We are hoping that several RSOs will take up an eclipse project and participate in the 2017 event, he said. We are developing programming for the large events in cooperation with NASA and the Adler Planetarium in Chicago, but we also want student involvement in this process.

NASAs webcast of the eclipse will originate from Saluki Stadium.

Baer said the event this month also is aimed at members of the general public, who will receive updates on where the university and other entities stand on the planning process.

The highlights of the event, however, are video-based. It starts with a 30-minute program produced by NASA Edge that previews the 2017 event at SIU and the region. NASA filmed the program in June when its personnel were on hand for a workshop on campus. That two-day event also brought a large crowd of eclipse enthusiasts out, Baer said.

That video will be followed by a screening of Chasing Shadows, which profiles people who chase eclipses around the world. The movie, by Nelson Quan, documents an eclipse chasers journeys, Baer said.

It will give people an idea of what to expect here in Carbondale from the perspective of people who live to see the next eclipse, he said. We plan to have Nelson join us by Skype at the end of the movie to answer questions and provide comments.

Once the movie ends at about 8:30 p.m., participants will have the opportunity to join SIU sky-watchers on the observation area on the roof of the Neckers Building, just south of the Student Center. If the crowds are large, Baer said organizers also will have at least one other telescope set up on the ground near Neckers west entrance to handle the overflow.

Those attending the observation portion of the event likely will get to see Saturn and Mars, as well as some deep-sky objects such as the Ring Nebula.

Mars is still relatively close to Earth and so you can see a little detail in it, Baer said. Saturn is tilted nicely right now so observers can see the rings well. The scopes we have on top of Neckers are very high quality and allow people to get great view of the night sky. We will also have volunteers on hand to explain to people what they are seeing.
Home Minister Rajnath Singh on Friday made it clear that he was not treated well in Pakistan, confirming that he skipped a lunch hosted by his counterpart during a meeting of Saarc ministers. "It is true that Pakistan Interior Minister (Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan) invited everyone for lunch. But then he left in his car. I also left. I have no complaints or grudges as I had not gone there to have lunch," Rajnath Singh told the Rajya Sabha. The minister spoke a day after he returned after a two-day Pakistan visit during which he attended a meeting of interior ministers of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (Saarc). The minister said the Indian media accompanying him was not allowed in when he was making the speech on terrorism at the conference. "But as far as the reported blacking out of my speech is concerned, I am not aware of protocol norms followed during previous events. Will have to speak to the Ministry of External Affairs on that." He said he won't comment if Pakistan was right or wrong in not allowing the coverage. "I don't know if it was a precedent. I cannot say anything about that. But they did whatever they could," --IANS sar/mr ( 222 Words) 2016-08-05-12:16:01 (IANS)
India will be more appealing to Chinese firms after the clearance of much awaited Goods and Services Tax Bill in the upper house of Parliament, a state-run daily said on Friday. An op-ed piece in Global Times said China was willing to work with India to make GST Bill a "reality". It said the passage of the bill could boost Prime Minister Narendra Modi's political legacy and give him a better chance for a second term. "This (GST) could certainly boost India's appeal to multi-nationals, including Chinese firms, as a myriad of existing federal, state and interstate levies in the country had previously increased their tax burdens and barred them from further exploring potentials in the world's fastest-growing major economy. "China is more likely to see this reform, which aims to make India a better destination for investment, as an opportunity rather than a threat," the daily said. However, the Global Times lamented that Chinese companies still faced complicated and cumbersome tax system in India. "Chinese companies are certainly welcoming the move. Along with other restrictions, the country's complicated and cumbersome taxation system as well as bureaucracy related to tax-collection remains a hurdle for the firms doing business in India." "China will be happy to see the reforms go through as it sees this improved investment environment as an opportunity rather than a threat and will be willing to work with India to make it a reality," the write-up said. "The move is both politically and economically significant. Politically, it showed that the Modi government can compromise to get reforms made in the national interest. "It could add momentum to the world's already fastest growing economy," it said. --IANS gsh/py/ ( 293 Words) 2016-08-05-10:16:01 (IANS)
Four days after the Bihar assembly passed a law to implement the ban effectively, excise officials in Shekhpura, Bhagalpur and Nawada districts forwarded a proposal to impose collective fines on residents of different villages in their jurisdiction for breaching the liquor ban.

According to officials, the villages which may face fines include Murarpur village in Shekhpura, Lauhsingha village (Nawada) and three villages in Bhagalpur.

The Bihar Prohibition and Excise Bill 2016 allows the district collector to impose collective fine on a village or a locality in a town if a group of people are found to have violated the liquor law repeatedly.

Chief Minister Nitish Kumar said the new legislation was required to plug gaping holes in the previous Act that facilitated the liquor ban with effect from from April 1.

--IANS ik/kb/mr

( 170 Words)

2016-08-05-13:38:03 (IANS)
Healthy buying was witnessed in automobile, banking and capital goods stocks.

The wider 51-scrip Nifty of the National Stock Exchange (NSE) surged by 111.25 points, or 1.30 per cent, to 8,662.35 points.

The barometer 30-scrip sensitive index (Sensex) of the BSE, which opened at 27,810.55 points, traded at 28,033.81 points (at 3.00 p.m.) -- up 319.44 points, or 1.15 per cent, from the previous close at 27,714.37 points.

The Sensex has so far touched a high of 28,039.91 points and a low of 27,795.74 points during intra-day trade.

The BSE market breadth was skewed in favour of the bulls -- with 1,784 advances and 873 declines.

On Thursday, both the indices had ended on a flat note due to a fresh bout of buying support and short covering during the last hour of the trading session.

The barometer index had risen by 16.86 points or 0.06 per cent, while the NSE Nifty inched up 6.25 points or 0.07 per cent.

Initially on Friday, the benchmark indices opened on a higher note, in sync with Asian markets.

The domestic markets took positive cues from global indices which traded on a firm note, a day after the Bank of England (BoE) decided to ease its monetary policy.

Besides, value buying and short covering after last two days of corrections lifted the equity markets.

The upward trend was also supported by a steady rupee and above average monsoon rains.

However, lower crude oil prices, concern over the future passage and implementation of the GST (Goods and Services Tax) bill capped gains.

In addition, caution ahead of major global events risks such as the US jobs data hampered the upward trajectory.

"Short covering after last two days of correction lifted the equity markets. The upward trend was also supported by BoE's (Bank of England) decision of monetary policy easing," Anand James, Chief Market Strategist at Geojit BNP Paribas Financial Services, told IANS.

According to Dhruv Desai, Director and Chief Operating Officer of Tradebulls, CNX Nifty and Bank Nifty traded firm.

"IT sector stocks faced profit booking at higher levels, whereas pharma and auto stocks held their gains," Desai noted.

"However, sugar stocks were volatile due to profit booking. Bearish sentiments in USD/INR futures prices are likely to support the firm sentiments in Nifty."

--IANS ppg-rv/dg

( 412 Words)

2016-08-05-15:26:03 (IANS)
This is yet another step in fulfilling our commitment in the creation of a globally competitive aerospace supply chain in India that delivers to stringent global standards, Pratyush Kumar, President, Boeing India was quoted as saying in a statement.

According to the global aircraft manufacturer, CIM Tools is one of the micro small and medium enterprises (MSME) in India, which Boeing is directly working with.

The company further said that the contract is in line with its strategy in India to develop an indigenous aerospace and defence ecosystem to further support the "Make in India" initiative.

Under the contract, CIM Tools will supply over 57,000 complex titanium machined parts, aluminium details and assemblies for Boeing 787 and 737 airplanes in coming years.

The company added that with the aim of building a world class aerospace ecosystem in India, it is expanding its collaboration with Indian industrial partners.

"Boeing in India has around 500 employees and more than 3,500 people work on dedicated Boeing supply-chain jobs with its 30 direct suppliers across manufacturing, engineering and IT sectors," the statement said.

"The company continues to increase its footprint as direct and indirect suppliers and sourcing activities continue to grow rapidly."

--IANS rv/dg

( 245 Words)

2016-08-05-17:54:00 (IANS)
Rajya Sabha Deputy Chairman P.J. Kurien on Saturday referred a private member's bill on granting special status to Andhra Pradesh to the Lok Sabha Speaker to decide if it was a money bill. Members of parliament other than ministers are called private members and bills presented or moved by them are private member's bills. The bill by K.V.P. Ramachandra Rao of the Congress sought to give special category status to Andhra Pradesh. Rao's Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation (Amendment) Bill, which has been at the centre of debate for the last two weeks, was to be put to vote on Friday in the Rajya Sabha which has the opposition in majority. The opposition has been accusing the central government of not honouring its promise on special status to Andhra Pradesh. In the Rajya Sabha, Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley objected to the draft legislation and said it was a money bill. Bills which exclusively contain provisions for imposition and abolition of taxes, for appropriation of moneys out of the Consolidated Fund, etc., are certified as money bills. Money bills can be introduced only in the Lok Sabha. "We must be clear about where we stand as regards jurisdiction of the upper house. There is no distinction between a bill moved by government and that by a private member," Jaitley said. "Article 117 is very clear... money bill can be introduced only in the Lok Sabha. A money bill can be only voted in the Lok Sabha, and third, if a dispute arises as to whether a particular bill is money bill or not, it's only the presiding officer of the Lok Sabha who can decide," Jaitley said. Kurien then sought suggestions from other members on whether the bill tabled by Rao should be considered a money bill. Congress member Kapil Sibal said every bill eventually entails drawing fund from the Consolidated Fund of India. "Every legislation has impact on the Consolidated Fund of India," Sibal said. Samajwadi Party leader Ramgopal Yadav said, "Common sense says if the bill was introduced in this house, it is not a money bill." Kurien, however, ruled that the decision on whether the bill was a money bill or not should be referred to the Lok Sabha Speaker. The Deputy Chairman quoted rules and said objection on the bill can be raised at the stage of introduction, or subsequently at any stage if the bill is felt to be a money bill. "If the Chairman has a doubt that it is a money bill, then it has to be terminated. If the Chairman has a doubt, he can refer it to the Lok Sabha Speaker," Kurien said reading out from the rule book. "In a way, the Chairman of the Rajya Sabha is vested with zero power on deciding money bill." "Since the matter is not free from doubt, I therefore under Rule 1868 refer the matter to the honourable Speaker for a decision. Till then further proceedings in connection to the bill is deferred," Kurien said. While the treasury benches welcomed the decision with thumping of desks, Congress members trooped near the Chairman's podium shouting slogans against the government. In the din, the house was adjourned for the day. --IANS ao/bim/vt ( 550 Words) 2016-08-05-17:54:02 (IANS)
Though he has wrapped up the shoot of 'Befikre,' Ranveer Singh is not bone idle rather Mr Energetic is keeping busy and raking in moolah from commercials. When the curious media quizzed the 31-year-old actor for an update of Sanjay Leela Bhansali's new film 'Padmavati,' the actor cleared that he is only shooting for ads these days. "We are flying off to shoot some ads. At this moment I am busy doing ads. There are quite a few big budget ads. We are going to Europe for the shoot. Renowned directors from worldwide have been called for this commercial. Hopefully things will go off smoothly and we have some good ads in the cans," he told yesterday outside the Mumbai airport. On the professional front, Ranveer's 'Befikre,' also starring Kriti Sanon, will release on December 9. (ANI)
Nimai curates works of over 55 established and emerging jewellery designers from India who endorse handcrafted, artisanal and Indian contemporary products.

The website will launch with an initial roster of 45 brands and will eventually become the virtual version of the retail store that is currently headquartered here.

The current roster includes names such as Eina Ahluwalia, Suhani Pittie, Outhouse, Deepa Gurnani, Valliyan, Zariin, Dvibhumi, Bangdar Sarali, Absynthe Design, Chicory Chai, Misho Designs, Metallurgy, Olio, Vasundhara Mantri, Baby Bania and Rara Avis.

Ever since our launch in 2013, Nimai has strived to create an interactive platform that celebrates curious concept jewellery by artists from different regions of India," Pooja Roy Yadav, Founder and CEO, Nimai, said in a statement.

"I am confident that with the launch of shopnimai.com, we will be able to reach out to more jewellery enthusiasts. This move will also help us inch closer to our vision of putting Indian jewellery designers on a global map," Yadav added.

The designers experiment with unique mediums and techniques such as paper, wood, cement, clay, nuts, bolts, fuse, leather, glass, discarded watch parts, lava stones, shark teeth, fossils, brass, copper, silver, semi-precious stones, Bidri, enamelling, fretwork and steampunk.

--IANS ank/nn/dg

( 234 Words)

2016-08-05-18:00:03 (IANS)
"We are conscious. We are increasing the number of health insurance schemes so that we are able to bring down the out of pocket spending in India which is the major reason for pushing people down the poverty line in our country," Minister of State for Health and Family Welfare Anupriya Patel told the Lok Sabha during Question Hour.

She was replying to supplementary questions from AIADMK member K. Ashok Kumar, who claimed that more than 80 per cent of India's population, especially those belonging to rural India, is not covered under health insurance.

"Only the rich and those who have access to communication are able to take advantage of such schemes," he said.

Minister of State for Finance Santosh Gangwar also said the government is aware of violation of rules by health insurance companies.

In a written reply, Finance Minister Jaitley listed out 13 insurance companies which have violated health insurance regulations.

These include New India Assurance, Bharati Axa General Insurance, Bajaj Allianz Gen Insurance, Future General Insurance, L&T General Insurance, Shriram General Insurance, Max Bupa Health Insurance, United India Insurance, Cholamandalam MS General Insurance, ICICI Lombard and Reliance General Insurance.

Gangwar, however, said people were availing insurance schemes like Pradhan Mantri Suraksha Bima Yojana, and Pradhan Mantri Jeevan Jyoti Bima Yojana which provide insurance cover at a very low premium.

BJP member Udit Raj demanded action against ICICI Lombard, saying "it is a bogus company".

Gangwar assured that if there was any specific complaint, the matter will be looked into.

--IANS nd/vd/dg

( 298 Words)

2016-08-05-17:58:04 (IANS)
According to reports, one of them, carrying a cash reward of Rs. one lakh on his head, was nabbed by a team of security personnel following a gun battle between policemen and rebels in Dantewada.

Reports said that a team of security personnel consisting of District Reserve Group (DRG), Special Task Force (STF) and CRPF had a face-off with armed guerrillas in the jungles near Nilavaya Mandeda.

The ultras also triggered an IED blast and opened fire on the police team to which the latter also retaliated. (ANI)
After the Rajya Sabha gave its nod to the Goods and Services Tax (GST) Bill, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) national president Amit Shah has called on Chief Ministers of the party ruled states to ratify the tax reform bill. The meeting will take place on August 27 in New Delhi. Meanwhile, Shah is also scheduled to helm a meet of all BJP ruled state core groups in the national capital on August 23 to get a direct feedback about various states. The bill was approved by the Upper House after a seven-hour debate with 203 votes in favour and none against on Wednesday evening. Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley yesterday said the rolling out of the GST Bill will increase opportunities for ease of doing business in India as the tax rates are likely to come down. "I am sure once the GST is rolled out, doing business in India would be easier, and it will help large body of traders, business people and citizen of India enjoy easy taxation," he told a press conference here. With this major step in the direction of having a uniform tax in the country, Jaitley said the imposition of tax will eventually impact the cost of many goods and services in the country. The biggest tax reform since Independence, the GST Bill, was approved by the Rajya Sabha to replace a raft of different state and local taxes with a single unified value added tax system to turn the country into world's biggest single market. "The constitutional amendment was pending for a long time, predominantly because Rajya Sabha was not able to reach a consensus," said Jaitley expressing his delight over the passage of bill. The 66-year-old Constitution, which gives power to Centre to levy taxes like excise and empowers states to collect retail sales taxes, was amended though the 122nd Constitution Amendment Bill. (ANI)
Members of the YSR Congress continued their protest and slogan chanting in the Lok Sabha, demanding a special status to Andhra Pradesh despite the government's fresh assurance for earlysolution of the issue. Since August 2, YSRCP members have been displaying placards and raising slogans in the Well of the House over the matter. Members of the Telugu Desham Party had also protested over the issue for two days from Monday but ended their stir following an assurance from Finance Minister Arun Jaitley. However, YSRCP members remained unrelenting despite repeated assurances from the government. Even today, Union Parliamentary Affairs Minister Ananth Kumar assured them of early solution to the issue, saying, "Government is working on it. We are also in touch with state Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu." The protesting members, however, wanted specific time frame for grant of a special status to the state.UNI SS SW 1252 -- (UNI) -- C-1-1-DL0089-872500.Xml
With no trace of the eight Naval Arm Depot staffers from Visakhapatnam,who were among the 29 persons on-board an Indian Air Force AN-32 aircraft, which had gone missing off the Chennai coast on July 22, the employees families members now allege about the lack of interest of the officials of Indian Air Force ( IAF) and Indian Navy in their search operations. Several weeks after the incident, the family members have come out in open before the Media in a Press Conference here and tThey alleged that the authorities of NAD and Indian Navy have Stopped communicating them over the search operations for the last five or six days. They said the only answer that came from the NAD authorities, when they call or approach them is that Search is On. "We are vexed up listening to the same answer every day. We are very much worried about our family members. This is matter of lives and all the persons have families including young children. We need an immediate clear update over the missing aircraft and our family members," said J Prasad, an relative of missing person Samba Murthy. The employees started from Visakhapatnam on July 20 and reached Chennai at around 8 am on July 21. They were assigned to fix the routine defect rectification in weapon CRN-91 in INS Battimalv, which is in Port Blair. Few families also alleged that after one week of rigorous search, the authorites have started to act negligent and decreased the intensity in search operations. They also blamed the callousness of the IAF authorities in maintenance of the AN-32 aircraft which faced three technical snags within last one month.UNI BSR CS -- (UNI) -- C-1-1-DL0275-872570.Xml
Talking to reporters here, he said Jaleel wanted to accuse the Centre of its inability to secure release of Indian workers, including Keralites, stranded in different labour camps in the Islamic kingdom.

He said Jaleel should not have applied for the diplomatic passport as it is very difficult to get it released.

Besides, he was aware that Minister of State for External Affairs Gen (Retd) V K Singh is in that country to make efforts for their release as soon as possible.

Meanwhile, Congress member and former Union Minister of State for Power K C Venugopal today served a notice in Lok Sabha on denial of the travel document to the Minister.

Kerala government wanted to send Jaeel and Additional Secretary in the Ministry V K Baby to the kingdom to help ease efforts to release stranded workers housed in labour camps following lay offs due to economic crisis.UNI PCH CS

-- (UNI) -- C-1-1-DL0300-872529.Xml
Some armed criminals shot dead three persons over some money dispute in Kotwali area of Muzaffarnagar district of Uttar Pradesh, police sources said here today.According to sources , one Rasheed and Islam of Kotwali area picked up a quarrel over money dispute around 2300 hours last night. The quarrel took an ugly turn when Rasheed and others shot dead Islam (60), Gulsher (30) and Akhtar (30) and injured Naseer and Shamsher.Injured were rushed to the hospital. Additional police force has been deployed in the area as a precautionary measure. Police is searching for escaped criminals.UNI XC-JDM MB JW 1300 -- (UNI) -- C-1-1-DL0364-872514.Xml
"We will very soon move the Supreme Court challenging the Delhi High Court judgement," said a source from the AAP.

Yesterday, in a landmark judgement, the Delhi High Court had said that the LG was the administrative head of National Capital Territory.

The division bench had also said that decisions taken by the Delhi government without consulting the LG were illegal.

The court also rejected the AAP government's submission that the LG is bound to act on advice of Council of Ministers, after noting that these were without any substance and cannot be accepted.

The court said the May 21, 2015, notification of Centre barring the ACB from proceeding against Central Govt employees is neither illegal nor unsustainable.UNI XC SV ADG 1400

-- (UNI) -- C-1-1-DL0364-872581.Xml
Seven more bodies of the victims of a bridge collapse on the Mumbai-Goa highway were recovered by search teams on Friday morning, taking the total bodies found so far to 21. Seventeen bodies have been identified and handed over to families after autopsy. Two buses of the Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation (MSRTC), a private Tavera, a Honda City and another three-wheeler were washed away in the Savitri river after the British era bridge collapsed early on Wednesday near Mahad in Raigad district of Maharashtra. On Thursday, Raigad Deputy Collector Satish Vagal said at least 42 persons are feared missing and washed away. For over 60 hours, a massive search operation on land, river, creek and the Arabian Sea, which is 18 km away, has been underway since to look for the missing persons. The operations have been undertaken by the Indian Navy, Indian Coast Guard, National Disaster Response Force, local police and fire brigade. Local fishermen and volunteers of diving clubs have joining in the efforts. However, the operations continued to be hampered by heavy rains in the district, increasing the water level in the Savitri river. Since Thursday morning, search teams helped by local fisherfolks have been finding bodies of victims at regular intervals, some swept away over a hundred km into the sea. Defence authorities had procured large magnets weighing around 300 kg for the underwater search in the muddied waters to detect the missing vehicles, but the efforts have been in vain so far. Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, his ministers and Leader of Opposition Radhakrishna Vikhe-Patil airdashed to the tragedy site on Wednesday and met Collector Sheetal Ugale and Superintendent of Police Suvez Haque. The state government announced Rs 10 lakh for families of each victim and a like amount or a job in MSRTC for family members of the corporation's staff like drivers and bus conductors and others travelling on the two buses. Fadnavis also announced a judicial probe and ordered a structural safety audit of all old bridges on the busy Mumbai-Goa highway before the coming 10-day Ganeshotsav festival. --IANS qn/tsb/rn ( 359 Words) 2016-08-05-15:26:01 (IANS)
With the onset of the outbound tourism season in the Middle East, Kerala Tourism has rolled out a high-octane promotional campaign in Dubai targeting Arab travellers and showcasing the state's spectacular features via colourful visuals draped on a bevy of taxis moving through the bustling metropolis. As many as 200 Kerala-branded taxis will ferry the message of 'A Faraway Land Four Hours Away' with eye-catching visuals featuring hill stations, backwaters, waterfalls as also Ayurvedic therapies through the streets of Dubai, the throbbing heart of the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The campaign will see the cabs take to the streets sporting wrappings aimed to promote the state's Monsoon getaways, offering respite from the tortuous sizzle of the Arabian summer. "Apart from the favourable climate, the relative proximity and excellent air connectivity between Kerala and the cities of the Middle East make it easier to attract holiday makers to the state," said Dr Venu V, Principal Secretary (Tourism). "Dubai, being the hub for air travel in the region, was the logical choice of location for the marketing campaign. The exposure and footfalls gained by Kerala will bear this out." The campaign, inspired by the previous highly successful branding efforts on London taxi cabs and the Mumbai metro, will run until August 15. Besides serving to augment Kerala's destination pull, it is an acknowledgment of the growing importance of the Middle East outbound tourist market the world's fastest-growing segment with a nine per cent rise in outbound trips in 2015. Arab tourists are also the biggest spenders. Kerala received more than one lakh visitors from the region in 2015, with some 20,506 tourists from the UAE alone. The majority came from Saudi Arabia with 51,149 Saudi Nationals visiting last year, while Oman accounted for 18,763 footfalls. "As the holiday season in the Middle East coincides with the Monsoon season here, Kerala is well-positioned to benefit from the influx of travellers looking to trade in the sizzle and dust for cooler climes and greener pastures," said U.V. Jose, Director, Kerala Tourism.UNI DS CS -- (UNI) -- C-1-1-DL0324-872733.Xml
BJP Chief Amit Shah has called a meeting of Chief Ministers of all BJP-ruled states on August 27 in the national capital to discuss the current political developments, especially the roll out of the Goods and Service Tax Bill. Mr Shah will also take up another crucial meeting on August 23 with heads of all organisational core groups ahead of Assembly polls, due early next year in seven states. The party sources said issues such as better coordination between the government and party, promotion of pro-poor schemes and streamlining the organisational structure will be high on Mr Shah's agenda. UNI RG CJ RJ 1508 -- (UNI) -- C-1-1-DL0377-872760.Xml
Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal today asserted that militants behind today's attack on a market in the state, would be dealt with firmly. Talking to reporters at New Delhi, Mr Sonowal said, "Those responsible for the attack will be dealt with firmly and brought to justice. We are committed to protecting our state and people." He said the Prime Minister and the Union Home Minister have spoken to him over telephone, regarding the attack and conveyed grave concern. The Chief Minister also announced ex-gratia for the victims, with Rs five lakh to the next of kin of the deceased, Rs one lakh to critically-injured and Rs 20,000 for those with minor injuries. He further informed that a team of senior ministers, led by Dr Himanta Biswa Sharma, and top police and civil administration officials have already left for the spot. At least 13 civilians and one militant was killed and over 20 others injured, in indiscriminate firing by suspected Bodo militants in a market at Kokrajhar, about 300 km from here, today. UNI SG CJ RJ 1542 -- (UNI) -- C-1-1-DL0400-872862.Xml
A group of probationers of Indian Forest Service of the 2015-17 batch, including two foreign trainees from Royal Government of Bhutan called on President Pranab Mukherjee today at Rashtrapati Bhavan. Speaking on the occasion, the President congratulated the probationers for successfully qualifying one of the most difficult competitive examinations. He said that they were entering a new phase in their careers and would dedicate the rest of their lives to the service of the people of the country. The President said that wanton destruction of natural resources has posed a grave threat to the environment, flora and fauna. The demands of development need to be balanced with conservation and preservation of environment. Many years ago, Mahatma Gandhi had pointed out that the world has enough for everyone's need, but not enough for everyone's greed. The whole world has recognized the danger caused to humanity due to destruction of natural resources and also the need to address the grave issue. Fortunately, our awareness levels have increased and steps are being taken to mitigate the problem. The President told the probationers that it was their responsibility to preserve and protect forests and conserve the depleting resources. He advised them that if they do their job to the best of their ability, they will be able not only to advance their careers but also to contribute to protecting our civilization and humanity. These probationers are in Delhi to participate in an appraisal course in 'Parliamentary Processes and Procedure' organized by the Bureau of Parliamentary Studies and Training. (ANI)
Strongly condemning the militant attack in Assam, Kokrajhar where thirteen people have been killed, Congress Chief Sonia Gandhi on Friday asserted that the attack was a 'mindless and dastardly' one, adding that the perpetrators of such acts shall be dealt with in the severest possible manner. "Congress President Smt Sonia Gandhi has strongly condemned the militant attack on a weekly market at Balajan Tinali in Assam and extended her condolences to the families of the thirteen innocent victims. Describing the attack as mindless and dastardly, she stressed that the perpetrators of such acts that target innocent and unsuspecting common people shall be dealt with in the severest possible manner," the Congress said in a statement. Hoping that immediate relief measures were being taken, Gandhi instructed the Assam Pradesh Congress Committee and the frontals to reach out to the injured and bereaved with all possible assistance. Echoing similar sentiments, Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi asserted that this development was extremely worrying, adding that his prayers were with the victims' kin. "News of the terror attack in Kokrajhar, Assam extremely worrying. My thoughts & prayers are with the families of the victims," the Office of Rahul Gandhi said in a tweet. Meanwhile, NSA Ajit Doval has met Chief Minister Sarbanand Sonowal and discussed the current state of affairs in Kokrajhar. At least 13 civilians have been killed and more than 20 have sustained injuries after militant outfits belonging to National Democratic Front of Bodoland (NDFB) fired indiscriminately. Speaking to ANI, Sonowal condemning the incident said that the state government has announced Rs. Five lakh to the deceased families and Rs. one lakh to the injured. He said that stern action would be taken against the militants. "Our government is committed to the protection of people of Assam and that is why we have immediately directed the Director General of Police and other senior police officials to rush to the spot," he said. He stated that Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh have been apprised of the matter. One of the attackers has reportedly been gunned down. Meanwhile, Assam Finance Minister Hemant Bishwar told ANI that Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), Assam Police and Paramilitary forces are conducting a joint combing operation to neutralise remaining extremists. He said that the Army has been kept at standby and will be called if necessary. As per reports, an AK-47 has been recovered from the terrorist who was killed after an intense gun battle that lasted about 20 minutes. The gunbattle ensued when the armed extremists opened fired at a market around 12 kms from Kokhrajar. This sudden incident of firing on people at a public place in broad daylight is first of its kind in the militancy-ravaged state. (ANI)
At least 13 civilians have been killed and more than 20 have sustained injuries after militant outfits belonging to National Democratic Front of Bodoland (NDFB) fired indiscriminately.

Speaking to ANI, Sonowal condemning the incident said that the state government has announced Rs. five lakh to the deceased families and Rs. one lakh to the injured.

He said that stern action would be taken against the militants.

"Our government is committed to the protection of people of Assam and that is why we have immediately directed the Director General of Police and other senior police officials to rush to the spot," he said.

He stated that Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh have been apprised of the matter.

One of the attackers has reportedly been gunned down.

Meanwhile, Assam Finance Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma told ANI that Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), Assam Police and Paramilitary forces are conducting a joint combing operation to neutralise remaining militants.

He said that the Army has been kept at standby and will be called if necessary.

As per reports, an AK-47 has been recovered from the terrorist who was killed after an intense gun battle that lasted about 20 minutes.

The gunbattle ensued when the armed extremists opened fired at a market around 12 kms from Kokhrajar.

This sudden incident of firing on people at a public place in broad daylight is first of its kind in the militancy-ravaged state. (ANI)
"Saddened by the attack in Kokrajhar. We strongly condemn it. Thoughts and prayers with the bereaved families and those injured," Modi tweeted.

He said the Home Ministry was in touch with the Assam government and was monitoring the situation closely.

--IANS ruwa/mr

( 74 Words)

2016-08-05-17:18:02 (IANS)
Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bheema Yojana (PMFBY) isgetting tremendous response across the country with over 100 millionfarmers expected to insure their crop during the current fiscalUnion Agriculture Minister Radha Mohan Singh said today. Addressing journalists across the country through videoconferencing on the scheme which had been modified last year tobenefit farmers, Mr Singh said last year the coverage was about 80million farmers and this number was expected to go up further as thelast date for registering under the scheme has been extended toAugust 10 from July 31, He said most of the states have lapped up the scheme under whichfarmers have to pay low premium and enjoy higher compensation andthat too within a stipulated time period. He said progressive states such as Karnataka had shown surgingnumber of farmers adopting to the scheme. As against over 800,000farmers covered under the scheme, this year Karnataka has alreadycovered One million farmers and the number was expected to be more. Mr Singh said the NDA government under Prime Minister NarendraModi is all set to use technology to its fullest to ensure that thecrop loss compensation was paid within a month using latesttechnologies such as smart phones and satellite coverage. He said the government had enhanced the budget for crop insuranceto Rs 5500 crore from Rs 3185 crore in last fiscal. The premium isbased on the local conditions and several clusters have beencreated to identify high and low risk areas and determine theinsurance premium. According to the Minister, gone are the days where farmersused to pay high premia, but had to wait for long periods to getcompensation due to crop failures. He said the government intend to increase the number of insuredfarmers from the present 20 per cent to 50 per cent within the nextthree years.UNI CNR MSP CS 1710 -- (UNI) -- C-1-1-DL0275-873144.Xml
A high alert has been issued across the state and patrolling has been intensified along the Indo-Bhutan border, following the gruesome killing of 13 civilians in a suspected militant attack, at a weekly market in Kokrajhar town of lower Assam. Thirteen civilians and an ultra were killed, while several others injured, when a group of heavily armed militants opened fire in a crowded marketplace at Balajan market of Kokrajhar district."We have asked all DC, SP to be extra vigilant and border patrolling has been intensified so that militant should not sneak into the bordering countries," a security official said.Police have so far recovered 13 bodies and search operations are continuing in the area as the militants are suspected to be hiding in nearby buildings. The entire area has been cordoned off by police and security personnel and the injured, many of them critical, are being shifted to nearby hospitals. The number of injured is, however, yet to be ascertained. Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal has condemned the killings and directed the authorities to provide medical aid to the injured. A team headed by Education and Health minister Himanta Biswa Sarma along with top police officials has rushed to the spot to review the situation. Assam Director General of Police Mukesh Sahay said security forces have reacted to it and one suspected militant as been reportedly neutralised. "We have launched an intensive operation.," he said.Meanwhile, cutting across party lines leaders have condemned the attack. "I condemn the gruesome killing of the people. Ahead of independence day militant try to destabilise the peace in the state every year. How the intelligence wing of the state government failed needs to be probed," Gaurav Gogoi, MP from Assam said.UNI ABI CJ RJ 1640 -- (UNI) -- C-1-1-DL0400-873039.Xml
In what it was perceived as an unexpected help in the recent times, the Sri Lankan Naval Personnel today rescued three Indian fishermen, who were stranded on the high seas after their mechanized fishing trawler developed technical glitch. Fisheries officials said the fishermen Balachandran, Susai and Murugesan, hailing from Kottaipattinam coastal hamlet in Pudukottai district had ventured into the sea for fishing yesterday morning. While they were fishing on the high seas about 25 nautical miles from the Indian coast, their fishing vessel developed technical snag last night. The fishermen sought help from a Sri Lankan Naval craft which was on routine patrol early this morning. Instead of attacking or incarcerating the fishermen in distress, the Sri Lankan Naval men lend a helping hand. They towed the fishing vessel to Kankesanthurai Port in Sri Lanka, where the boat mechanics set right the mechanical problem. The Lankan Navy offered food to the fishermen and later handed over the fishermen along with the boat to the Indian Coast Guard (ICG) at International Maritime Boundary Line (IMBL). The fishermen who reached Kottaipattinam expressed their gratitude to the Sri Lankan Navy for their assistance.UNI GSM cs 1907 -- (UNI) -- C-1-1-DL0275-873336.Xml
With the opposition parties gearing up their campaign in Uttar Pradesh for the next Assembly elections, the ruling Samajwadi Party has announced to organise big rallies at all 18 divisional headquarters. Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav has already announced to take out the `Samajwadi Vikas Rath Yatra'' from next month. The schedule of the rallies is likely to be announced after the conclusion of the ongoing monsoon session of the parliament on August 12. SP sources here today said the blueprint for the 18 rallies is at the drawing board stage and would be finalised by the end of next week. Samajwadi Party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav has today directed the district presidents of the party and other leaders of the organisation to close their ranks and devote all their time and energy for the success of the rallies. SP chief said the party will be completing 25 years of its existence in 2017 and in same the party will fight the most crucial battle in last 25 years. Asking the party leaders to do their best for the fifth government of the Samajwadi party in 2017, Mulayam Singh Yadav said," I have brought he SP to this level with my blood and sweat and painstaking efforts and now it's your duty to take the party to new heights''. Samajwadi party sources said the BJP and the Congress are hyper active in UP. Rahul Gandhi held a meeting in Lucknow and Congress president Sonia Gandhi recently led a hugely successful road show in the Prime Minister Narendra Modis constituency Varanasi. A SP leader said the national president of the BJP Amit Shah is addressing meetings of the both level party workers and he has so far covered close to 200 assembly constituencies. `There is little time left for the elections and we are all set to take the plunge in the electoral battle'' the SP leader added. Bahujan Samaj Party chief Mayawati has already announced to hold two ``Sarvajan Hitay Sarvajan Sukhaya 'rallies in Agra and Azamgarh. She will kick start her party's poll campaign from Agra on August 21 followed by similar rally on August 28 in Azamgarh in east UP. Azamgarh is also the Lok Sabha constituency of the Samajwadi Party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav. Mayawati had also announced during her rallies she will expose the secret pact between the Samajwadi party and the Bharatiya Janata Party. Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar has also stepped up his campaign in UP. He has already six public meetings in UP and will be in the state on August 6 to address a public meeting named as `` divisional convention of the party workers' at Ghatampur in Kanpur nagar district on August 6. NItish Kumar has also found an ally in UPthe BSP rebel RK Chowdhary who is likely to float his party soon. The Hyderabad MP and All India Ittehadul musalmeen (AIMIM)leader Asaduddin Owaisi will also be in UP on three day visiting from August 12. Owaisi will be reaching here in Lucknow on August 12 and address a meeting of the party cadre at Convention centre near the KG medical college. He will address a meeting of muslim intellectuals and religious leaders on August 13. He is also scheduled to address a public meeting in Kanpur on August 14. State president of MIM Shaukat Ali said the party has sought the permission from the district administration for the meeting and it will be held subject to permission.UNI MB CJ RJ 1810 -- (UNI) -- C-1-1-DL0400-873308.Xml
Pulling up the curtain from the suspense regarding the successor of the outgoing Chief Minister Anandiben Patel, the Legislature Party of the ruling Bhartiya Janata Party in Gujarat in a 'last minute twist of sorts,' today selected state BJP president and incumbent Transport Minister as her successor and incumbent Health Minister Nitin R Patel, a seasoned leader of Kadwa Patidar community from North Gujarat, as the next Deputy Chief Minister. The meeting was held at Shrikamalam, state headquarters of the ruling BJP. It was also attended by BJP president Amit Shah (also an MLA from Naranpura constituency of Ahmedabad) and two Central observers- Union Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari and party General Secretary Saroj Pandey. Union Minister of State for Agriculture Purushottam Rupala, BJP state in-charge Dinesh Sharma, national joint General Secretary (Organisation) V Satish also attended the meet, during which Ms Patel herself was present. Soon after the meeting, Mr Gadkari announced that the name of Mr Rupani as her successor was proposed by Ms Patel herself, who also proposed the name of Mr Nitin Patel as Deputy Chief Minister. ''Following the support of 10 members to the proposal, Mr Rupani has been elected the leader of the legislature party and Mr Patel as deputy leader,'' Mr Gadkari said. The announcement came as a big last minute twist to many as the name of Nitin Patel was doing the rounds, most prominently as the next Chief Minister. Ms Patel had sent a letter to Mr Shah on August 1 (which was also made public as a facebook post) expressing her desire to quit the CM's post following the party's guideline to leave minister's office in the event of attending the age of 75 years. She had in her letter said that though she would attain 75 years in November this year, she wished to quit early to give her successor time to prepare for next year's assembly election and vibrant Gujarat summit. Mr Rupani, a close confidante of Mr Shah, is likely to take oath on August 8,however, no official announcement in this regard has yet been made.UNI RAJ CJ RJ 1905 -- (UNI) -- C-1-1-DL0400-873444.Xml
National Thermal Power Corporation Limited (NTPC), the largest power generating company in India, raised INR 2,000crore through rupee denominated 'Green Masala Bonds' from the offshore markets on 3rd August,2016. According to Gurdeep Singh, CMD, NTPC, the company launched the transaction at Asia open on 3rd August, 2016 with an initial target to raise Rs.1000crore. On the back of strong investor support, the order book built to over Rs.2900crore with participation from more than 60 accounts. The company upsized the issue to Rs.2000crore and priced the bond at an annual yield of 7.48 per cent with 5 year tenure. The bond priced 20bps inside the 5year AAA Bond yields which closed at 7.68 per cent on 3rd August, 2016. "A notable feature of the bonds is that they are 'Green' bonds with third party assurance and Climate Bonds Initiative certification. The proceeds would be used to finance the renewable energy projects of the company," he said.Investors from Asia contributed 70 per cent to the transaction with the rest from Europe and Middle East. The Notes were distributed to high quality fixed income accounts: 80 per cent to fund managers, Insurance companies and sovereign wealth funds, 15 per cent to banks and 5 per cent to others. Mr. Singh said, "NTPC is marching ahead to increase its renewable portfolio to 10GW, in furtherance of the Government of India target to achieve 175GW of renewable capacity by 2022. We are the largest power generating company in India; the offering of Green Masala Bonds with third party assurance and Climate Bonds Initiative certification, reflects our commitment to renewable energy in the times ahead."UNI ADP CJ BD1820 -- (UNI) -- C-1-1-DL0429-872964.Xml
Prime Minister Narendra Modi today strongly condemned the militant attack in Assam, in which 14 people have been killed and more than 18 were severely injured. Mr Modi said the Home Ministry was in close touch with the Assam government and was monitoring the situation closely. ''Saddened by the attack in Kokrajhar. We strongly condemn it. Thoughts & prayers with the bereaved families & those injured,'' Mr Modi tweeted.Police said the toll might rise in the attack that took place in a crowded market of Kokrajhar, Assam. Meanwhile, the injured have been shifted to nearby hospitals. The government and Opposition parties expressed shock and condemned the barbaric violence. Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal, in the meantime, has also reportedly spoken to Prime Minister Mr Modi after the attack. Reacting sharply to the attack, Minister of State for Home Affairs Kiren Rijiju said outside the Parliament today, "This is very unfortunate, we will assure that victims are taken care of. There was peace in Assam. But, this incident is very unfortunate. The incident has shocked us." Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi also condemned the attack, saying ''News of terror attack in Kokrajhar, Assam extremely worrying. My thoughts and prayers are with the families of the victims.'' "Terrorist attack in Kokrajhar market is cowardly and inhumane. Loss of innocent lives so close to 15th August fills our heart with anguish." tweeted Gaurav Gogoi, Member of Parliament from Kaliabor, Assam. UNI XC RJ 1922 -- (UNI) -- C-1-1-DL0400-873538.Xml
The face value of FICN in circulation was found to be about Rs 400 crore and it was found the value remained constant for the last 4 years, the lok Sabha was informed today. Minister of State for Finance Arjun Ram Meghwal in a written reply said a study on Fake Indian Currency Notes (FICN) issues, including estimation of FICN in circulation, has been undertaken by Statistical Institute (ISI), Kolkata under the overall supervision of National Investigation Agency. The design and security features of banknotes are decided by the Government of India from time to time, in consultation with Reserve bank of India (RBI). A post of Director General in the rank of Additional Secretary in the Directorate of Currency has been created, he added.To check the menace of counterfeiting of banknotes, the Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Home Affairs, Reserve Bank of India, Security and Intelligence Agencies of the Centre and States are working in tandem to thwart the illegal activities related to Fake Indian Currency Note (FICN). An FICN Coordination Group (FCORD) has been formed in the Ministry of Home Affairs to share the intelligence/information amongs different security agencies of States/Centre to counter the menace of agencies to effect more seizures. The issue has also been raised in international multilateral fora constantly. RBI has also initiated several measures for generating public awareness, conducting training programs for employees/officers of banks and streamlining the process of reporting and detection of counterfeit notes. Further, in order to stay ahead of the counterfeiters, Government has recently introduced revised numbering pattern in all denominations of banknotes. RBI has issued Press Release in this regard on June 25, 2015.UNI ADP AE 1925 -- (UNI) -- C-1-1-DL0429-873550.Xml
Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu said that he had met Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi today and explained him the necessity of granting Special Category Status (SCS) to Andhra Pradesh. The Prime Minister has assured that he will take a decision on SCS without any further delay, Mr Naidu said while addressing a press conference here. "I explained to the Prime Minister the dire necessity of granting SCS to AP. The Prime Minister appeared to be responded positively but his response should appear in action also" the Chief Minister said. Mr Modi also told him that the opinion of various states and the 14th Finance Commission should be taken into consideration before taking a decision on the SCS issue, Mr.Naidu said and added that it would be good if the SCS is granted during the Parliament session. He said that since the residuary AP state came into existence only two years ago, it should not be compared with other states as the state was bifurcated irrationally. Alleging that the Congress is doing politics on SCS, Mr.Naidu felt that the Congress should have put a condition on the Centre that it would support the Goods and Services Tax (GST) bill, if the SCS was granted. However, the Congress Party had supported the GST bill and now doing politics on the SCS, he charged. Stating that by citing technical reasons, the Centre is trying to dilute the private member bill that was moved by Congress MP in the Rajya Sabha seeking SCS to AP, the Chief Minister said now the Centre is stating that it is a Finance Bill. He asked the Congress party on why it had agreed for a discussion when the private bill on SCS was declared as a money bill. Meanwhile, the Chief Minister thanked the 11 political parties, which extended their support to the private bill for granting SCS to AP in the Rajya Sabha. Mr.Naidu said he has invited President, Prime Minister, Supreme Court Chief Justice, Union Ministers and other dignitaries for Krishna Pushkarams beginning on August 12.UNI DP CS 2035 -- (UNI) -- C-1-1-DL0275-873776.Xml
Responding to allegations made by Kerala Local Administration and Minority Affairs Minister K T Jaleel that it was unfair to not grant him a diplomatic passport for a visit Saudi Arabia, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said on Friday that the 'timing' of his visit was not right. "The matter is not about the issue of a diplomatic passport but the timing of a ministerial visit. At this time the focus of our mission and consulate in Saudi Arabia is on helping the Indian workers who are facing hardships and also on helping the Indian pilgrims who arrived in the holy city of Mecca for the sacred Haj pilgrimage," MEA Official Spokesperson Vikas Swarup said in a press conference. Swarup added that it cannot be anybody's case that the mission should not pay attention to the requirements of the Indian citizens including, those in distress. The Centre's decision to deny diplomatic passport to Jaleel for Saudi Arabia visit to meet the Indian workers trapped in migrant camps there after their employers laid them off, was met with a lot of criticism. Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan termed the decision as "unfortunate" and said that Jaleel had been deputed by the state government to visit Saudi Arabia for an on-the-spot assessment of the situation as the families of the workers back home were extremely concerned. To address these concerns, the state had decided to send the minister to talk to those in the labour camps directly and hear their problems. Earlier today, former minister of states for external affairs and Thiruvananthapuram MP Shashi Tharoor also condemned the Centre's decision to not give a diplomatic passport to Jaleel. In a Facebook post, Tharoor said, "Deplorable behaviour by the Ministry of External Affairs. Why shouldn't the affected state send its own minister to see to the welfare of its citizens?" Reportedly, at least 300 Keralites are stranded in Saudi Arabia. Jaleel has cancelled his Saudi visit for now and has clarified that he will not take the visit unless his diplomatic passport receives clearance. (ANI)
President Pranab Mukherjee on Friday condemned the terror attack in Assam's Kokrajhar district in which 13 civilians were killed and called on the State Government and all concerned other agencies to ensure that the guilty are brought to justice and law and order is maintained in state. "I am extremely sad to learn about the attack by militants in Assam's Kokrajhar district today in which a number of persons have lost their lives and several others are injured," the President said in a message to Assam Governor Padmanabha Balakrishna Acharya. Asserting that such 'senseless acts of terrorism' targeting innocent lives undermine the democratic base of society and deserve to be universally condemned, the President added that they must be met with determination and collective action. "I call upon the State Government and all concerned other agencies to ensure that the guilty are brought to justice and law and order is maintained in State. I am sure necessary steps are being taken to provide all possible aid to the bereaved families who have lost their near and dear ones as well as medical assistance to the injured," he said. President Mukherjee also conveyed his heartfelt condolences to the families of the deceased and also wished speedy recovery to the injured persons. Earlier today, 13 civilians were killed and more than 20 e sustained injuries after militant outfits belonging to National Democratic Front of Bodoland (NDFB) fired indiscriminately. The gunbattle ensued when the armed extremists opened fired at a market around 12 kms from Kokhrajar. This sudden incident of firing on people at a public place in broad daylight is first of its kind in the militancy-ravaged state. (ANI)
A five-day training programme on the 'Water, Sanitation and Health' is being organised by School of Public Health, PGIMER to build the capacity of medical professionals towards achieving goal of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in domains of clean drinkingwater, better sanitation and health. The progamme is being co-ordinated by Dr Ravindra Khaiwal, Associate Professor of Environment Health, and School of Public Health, PGIMER and is supported by Department of Health Research (DHR), Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW), New Delhi. Participants from various medical colleges, universities and government organisations representing eight states of India including Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Oddisa, West Bengal and Chandigarh are attending the training which will conclude on August 6. The participants of the training programme reached Fatehgarh Sahib to learn the execution phase of community- Led Total Sanitation approach in villages of Fatehgarh Sahib to break habits of community defecating in open and to replicate the approach in their respective area to bring the change towards cleanliness. The session "Learning from Field: Success Stories of Fatehgarh Sahib" of the Environmental Training Programme was inaugurated by Jasvir Singh, District Sanitation Officer and Executive Engineer, Department of Water Supply and Sanitation, Fatehgarh Sahib and session was chaired by Dr Ravindra Khaiwal, Associate Professor of Environment Health at Annexe Hall, Civil Hospital, Fatehgarh Sahib. The session was jointly co-ordinated by Dr Ravindra Khaiwal, Associate Professorof Environment Health, School of Public Health, PGIMER and Dr Suman Mor, Co-ordinator, Center for Public Health, Panjab University, Chandigarh and facilitated by Civil Surgeon, Civil Hospital, andExecutive Engineer, Department of Water Supply and Sanitation, Fatehgarh Sahib. Krishan Lal, Assistant Engineer revealed the framework of sanitation campaign executed in the district Fatehgarh Sahib to make Open Defecation Free (ODF) and shared their experiments with theparticipants. Er Jasvir Singh highlighted that it is the community sensitisation where Doctors can play a major role to shift the community habitual of open defecation to safe sanitation practices. He also added thatconstruction of toilet is barely a path for reaching to a status ODF, while we could not ignore the functionality of toilets to bring a realistic change. Dr Ravindra Khaiwal highlighted that building toiletis not enough and we have to ensure that all toilet built are being used. Further, there is need to maintain the complete chain of sanitation, which also include containment, emptying, transport,treatment and disposal. He stressed that a shift towards toilets that are used, maintained is needed. The participants also visited village Mahadudan facilitated by Department of Water Supply and Sanitation, Fatehgarh Sahib and interacted with volunteers, community and committee members of Gram Panchayat Water and Sanitation Committee (GPWSC) and Nigrani Committee (NC) to learn the community participation approach in depth in their village.UNI XC JS SDR SB BD2222 -- (UNI) -- C-1-1-DL0141-873909.Xml
According to the regional daily Nice Matin, Peter Hattermann, 56, succumbed to his injuries. His wife and 13-year-old son were also killed in the attack that occurred in the Promenade des Anglais during the Bastille Day celebrations.

His 14-year old daughter was still hospitalized, it added.

"All my thoughts for the girl, the family and relatives of Peter Hattermann who just died. (The) 85th (victim) disappeared after the attack of Nice," Estrosi, former mayor of Nice, tweeted.

On July 14, Mohamed Lahouaiej Bouhlel plowed a heavy truck into crowds that were celebrating National Day in Nice. The truck careered 2 km through mass of revelers before being stopped by police units who also shot dead the driver.

The Islamic State claimed responsibility for the attack.

Probing showed the 31-year delivery man had prepared his act for months with the help of accomplices. It also showed his "certain, recent interest to radical jihadist movements."

--IANS ahm/

( 202 Words)

2016-08-05-03:42:02 (IANS)
The helicopter had seven people onboard at the time of the incident, and was on its way for maintenance to Uzbekistan, reports the Dawn.

The Mi-17 transport helicopter crashed in Azra district, in the restive province of Logar province.

A spokesman for Logar province's governor confirmed that the helicopter crashed in the Mati area of Azra district.

Following the incident, Army Chief General Raheel Sharif called Commander Resolute Support Mission in Afghanistan General Nicolson and asked him to help in the recovery of the helicopter crew.

"Gen Nicolson has assured all possible help in this regard," Dawn quoted Pakistan military's spokesperson, Lieutenant General Asim Bajwa as saying.

Bajwa confirmed that seven people were on board the helicopter including retired military officers and a Russian navigator.

However, there arise conflicting reports on how the helicopter caught fire.

While some eyewitnesses reportedly said that the helicopter appeared to have caught fire during landing while some residents said the Taliban set it on fire.

Meanwhile, all seven crew members survived the crash.

Six members of the Punjab government and a Russian engineer were on board.

The Pakistan Foreign Office is now trying to contact Afghan officials to get more information on the incident.

So far, the Taliban militant group has r not commented on the incident.(ANI)
After living eight of her 15 years in the luxurious confines of the White House, the first daughter of the United States of America, Sasha Obama, is all set to learn other half of life this summer. President Barack Obama's youngest daughter has currently taken up a summer job at Nancy's restaurant on Martha's Vineyard, a local hot spot that serves fried seafood and milkshakes, reports the Daily Mail. Sasha was spotted in her uniform of a blue t-shirt, hat and khaki banks, ringing up take-out orders for hungry customers. Reportedly, the youngest Obama is using her full name Natasha at the restaurant, where she is protected by six Secret Service agents stationed rather conspicuously on the takeout benches during her shifts. "She's been working downstairs at takeout. We were wondering why there were six people helping this girl, but then we found out who it was," said a server at the restaurant. Nancy's has always been a favourite joint for the Obamas whenever they visit Martha's Vineyard. The Obamas are said to be friends with Nancy's owner Joe Moujabber, who set Sasha up with her summer job. She has reportedly been working the four-hour shift early in the morning and is believed to be there until Saturday, around when the rest of the family are expected to arrive for the president's annual summer vacation. (ANI)
The army in a statement said that head of the Ansar Bait al-Maqdis movement, identified as Abu Duaa al-Ansari, and a number of his aides were killed in airstrikes targeting the ISIS affiliate's strongholds.

"They managed to destroy a number of weapon and ammunition stores, and their explosives.. In addition they killed more than 45 terrorist insurgents and injured dozens of members," CNN quoted the statement as saying.

However, the army did not explain how it confirmed the death or provide any more details about Ansari.

Ansari's name has not been reported elsewhere in relation to Ansar Bait al-Maqdis.

Reports suggest that the group has adopted a different title after its alliance with ISIS in 2014.

It is still unclear whether the Egyptian army has characterised the jihadist group under its original name.

Ansar Beit el-Maqdes had pledged allegiance to IS in 2014.

The group claimed responsibility for downing the Russian airliner carrying people from an Egyptian resort last year that killed all 224 people on board.(ANI)
As the US Treasury Department decides whether to license sales of Boeing Co and Airbus commercial aircraft to Iran, opponents of last year's nuclear pact with the Islamic republic have launched a lobbying campaign against the deals.The international agreement to curb Iran's nuclear program made such sales possible by easing sanctions on Tehran, but some members of the US Congress who oppose it want to block the proposed sales of some 200 jetliners, worth about 50 billion dollars at list prices, to renew Iran Air's aging fleet.While they oppose any action that could boost the Tehran government, they also argue that Iran could use passenger aircraft for military purposes such as transporting fighters to battle US troops or allies in Syria or elsewhere.Boeing and Airbus, the world's two largest planemakers, struck provisional agreements with the Iranian carrier earlier this year.The Republican-majority Congress could pass legislation to block the sales even if the Treasury Department approved them. The House of Representatives last month passed two amendments that would have stopped the sales, although to become law they would have to be approved by the Senate and signed by President Barack Obama, a Democrat.This week, the Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD), a Washington foreign policy research group, which has criticized the nuclear pact and advocated tougher sanctions on Iran, organized letters signed by dozens of national security figures expressing concern about the aircraft sales and promising to increase pressure on Congress."This deal ... represents a legitimization of a State Sponsor of Terror and a direct benefit for a ruling regime responsible for gross human rights abuses, support for terrorism including threats against the US and its allies," said the letters to Dennis Muilenburg, Boeing's chairman, and Fabrice Brgier, chief executive of Airbus' plane manufacturing unit.The 42 signers included former Secretary of State George Shultz, former CIA Director Michael Hayden and former US Senator Joseph Lieberman.HEATED POLITICSAviation industry experts said Treasury likely would not approve the sales until after the November 8 US presidential election, even though the companies would like to move more quickly.The campaign season "is not the time to push it," said Adam Pilarski, a senior vice president at the Avitas aviation consultancy in Virginia. "Once we have a resolution of who the president is, calmer heads will prevail. It is business that is good for the US"Democratic Party candidate Hillary Clinton, a former secretary of state under Obama, supports the nuclear deal. Republican candidate Donald Trump opposes it.The Treasury had no immediate response to a question on the status of the licensing request.Airbus spokesman Stefan Schaffrath declined comment on the lobbying campaign, saying the company was working with US authorities to ensure that all its activities complied with applicable laws and regulations.John Dern, a Boeing spokesman, said the company is continuing to talk with approved Iranian airlines, that all its actions to date have been licensed by the US government and that any final agreements also would need approval.Since it is based in Chicago, Boeing must obtain a license from Treasury before the sale can go through. France-based Airbus must also obtain a license, as would virtually any aircraft maker, because its planes contain more than 10 per cent US content.Supporters of the Boeing sale say American firms will lose out to foreign competitors if the US government bars sales to Iran. Although the nuclear pact eased sanctions connected to Iran's nuclear program, restrictions related to concerns such as terrorism support and human rights abuses remain. REUTERS RSD 0103 -- (Reuters) -- C-1-1-DL0435-872242.Xml
A US woman was killed and five other people injured by a man with suspected mental health issues who went on a rampage with a knife in central London.Armed police were called late yesterday evening after a 19-year-old Norwegian man of Somali origin began attacking people in London's Russell Square, a park near the site of a 2005 suicide bombing. Police said there was no evidence the attack was terrorism related.The victim was identified as Darlene Horton, a woman in her 60s who was the wife of a US psychology professor. She was treated at the scene but pronounced dead a short time later.A British man who was stabbed in the stomach remains in hospital in serious but stable condition, police said. Four others - an American man, a man and a woman from Australia, and an Israeli woman - suffered stab wounds but have been released from hospital."All of the work we have done so far increasingly points to this tragic incident as having been triggered by mental health issues," said London Metropolitan Police Assistant Commissioner Mark Rowley."We believe this was a spontaneous attack and that the victims were selected at random," said Rowley, who is Britain's senior anti-terrorism officer."So far, we have found no evidence of radicalisation that would suggest that the man in our custody is in any way motivated by terrorism," said Rowley. Initially, he had said that terrorism was a line of inquiry.Police, who arrived within six minutes of being called, used a Taser electric shock gun to subdue the suspect. He was later formally arrested on suspicion of murder.Police cordoned off the southern part of the square, which is near the British Museum, for several hours as forensics officers examined the attack scene. Later, workmen hosed blood off the pavement.'SEVERE THREAT'London's Sadiq Khan, the first Muslim mayor of a major Western capital, called for vigilance and urged Londoners to report anything suspicious to the police, who increased their presence in the capital."The safety of all Londoners is my number one priority and my heart goes out to the victims of the incident in Russell Square and their loved ones," he said.The woman who was killed was identified as Horton by Florida Governor Rick Scott. Florida State University said in a statement she was married to an eminent professor of psychology who had been teaching in its London Study Program."There are no words to express our heartache over this terrible tragedy," FSU President John Thrasher said.Just hours before the attack, London's police chief said that he would deploy an additional 600 armed officers across the capital to protect against attacks.London counter-terrorism police chiefs have previously warned that Islamic State was seeking to radicalise vulnerable people with mental health issues to carry out attacks. In some operations, police commanders have taken advice from specialist psychologists.Islamist militants hit London with coordinated suicide bombings on July 7, 2005, killing 52 people. One of the bombs detonated on a bus close to Russell Square.Since then, dozens of plots have been foiled and there have been smaller-scale attacks, such as the beheading of an off-duty soldier by militant Islamists in a London street in May 2013.A man who attacked passengers at a London underground train station in December was jailed for life earlier this month. The judge said the attacker was suffering from paranoid schizophrenia at the time of the offence but may have been motivated by events in Syria.REUTERS RSD 0145 -- (Reuters) -- C-1-1-DL0435-872249.Xml
Urban South Africans dealt the ANC its biggest political blow since the end of apartheid today, knocking the ruling party off its perch in three cities as voters vented anger at corruption, high unemployment and poor public services.The African National Congress (ANC) - which ended white-minority rule when it won power in the first democratic national election in 1994 - still held a big lead in the overall count in nationwide municipal elections.But it was trailing the opposition Democratic Alliance (DA) in Port Elizabeth, which it has previously held virtually unopposed for the last two decades. The ANC was also unlikely to make it to a 50 per cent outright majority in the capital Pretoria and economic-hub Johannesburg.A significant loss of support for the ruling party in these areas could mark a watershed in South African society and politics as the country shifts from what has effectively been a one-party system in the era immediately post-apartheid.It could reshape the political landscape ahead of the 2019 national election, and may also embolden President Jacob Zuma's rivals within the ANC to challenge him.The municipal vote comes as Africa's most industrialised country teeters on the edge of a recession after a string of corruption scandals surrounding Zuma.SWITCHING ALLEGIANCEThe ANC failed to win Zuma's hometown of Nkandla in Kwa-Zulu Natal province, a personal blow to Zuma, where the Inkatha Freedom Party retained its hold on the region.Many ANC supporters are switching allegiances to the DA, bolstering its attempts to attract black voters and shake off its image of a party that chiefly serves the interests of the minority white community.With 85 per cent of the vote counted, the ANC led in the national count with 53.5 per cent at 1830 GMT, against 27.5 per cent for the DA and 7.5 per cent for the left-wing Economic Freedom Fighters. Final results are expected tomorrow.The DA, which last year elected its first black leader, Mmusi Maimane, was ahead in Johannesburg and in Nelson Mandela Bay, the area named after the anti-apartheid hero who led the ANC to power. It includes the city of Port Elizabeth.The DA had an unassailable lead, almost 69 per cent of the vote, in Cape Town, the only big city currently not run by the ANC.RURAL/URBAN DIVIDEThe ANC was dominating most of the countryside, long a key area of its support, underscoring a widening political divide between urban and rural South Africa."The ANC vote has held up well in rural areas but fallen away sharpest in urban areas, as expected. The ANC is therefore becoming a party of the rural vote," Nomura analyst Peter Attard Montalto.The ANC had 42.9 per cent of the votes in Tshwane municipality against the DA's 42.7 per cent after half the votes were tallied.In Johannesburg, the opposition party's lead had been trimmed to 42.09 per cent to 42.02 per cent for the ANC, with 47 per cent of the votes counted. In Nelson Mandela Bay it led with 49.5 per cent versus 39.2 per cent, with 94 per cent of votes in.ANC officials in Nelson Mandela Bay cried foul and said it was lodging a complaint about 500 dumped ballot papers found there with votes marked for the party.Opponents say defeat in a region named after the ANC's liberation hero would be an embarrassment for the ruling party.FRUSTRATIONThe Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF), which is led by Julius Malema, Zuma's one-time protege and a former ANC youth leader, is participating in only its second election and was running a distant third in the votes counted.It is, however, winning some support from voters frustrated about inequality in country where blacks make up about 80 percent of the population of 54 million, but ownership of land and companies remains mostly in the hands of whites, who account for about 8 percent of the population.The rand currency and government bonds firmed on Thursday, boosted by the smooth running of the elections.Many South Africans who queued up to vote across the country said they were worried about Zuma's performance and the state of the economy.Zuma survived an impeachment vote in April after the Constitutional Court said he breached the law by ignoring an order to repay some of the 16 million dollars in state funds spent on renovating his private home in Nkandla.In December, he rattled investors after changing his finance minister twice in a week, sending the rand plummeting. Zuma has said he would repay some of the funds spent on his home.REUTERS RSD 0210 -- (Reuters) -- C-1-1-DL0435-872251.Xml
President Barack Obama called on Congress to approve additional funding to combat the spread of the Zika virus in the United States, saying that money to fight the outbreak is rapidly running out."Congress needs to do its job," Obama said yesterday at a press conference after a meeting with officials at the Pentagon. "Fighting Zika costs money." REUTERS RSD 0412 -- (Reuters) -- C-1-1-DL0435-872256.Xml
Supporters of Republican Donald Trump urged him to get back on message after a week of dropping opinion poll numbers and a war of words with ranking Republicans over his US presidential campaign.In response to the criticism, Trump pledged to focus more on Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton, who emerged from last week's Democratic National Convention with a lead in the polls and who has been consistently attacking him as temperamentally unfit for the presidency.At a rally in Portland, Maine, yesterday, Trump kept his attention on trying to undermine Clinton's candidacy. He said the fact that she has moved past a scandal over her use of a private email server as President Barack Obama's secretary of state was "probably the greatest accomplishment that she has ever had in politics."Since formally accepting the Republican nomination two weeks ago, Trump has exasperated many supporters by getting bogged down in a public spat with the parents of an American soldier killed in Iraq and some fellow Republicans.Billionaire investor Wilbur Ross said he still backed Trump, but urged him to stop engaging in exchanges that benefit the Democrats and make the real estate mogul's behavior the issue in the campaign."This election is Donald's to lose and so far the Democrats have been clever about baiting him and he generally has bitten," Ross said in an email to Reuters late on Wednesday.US House of Representatives Speaker Paul Ryan, who has endorsed Trump but has not received a reciprocal endorsement from the New York businessman in his re-election bid, told WTAQ radio host Jerry Bader in Green Bay, Wisconsin, that Trump has "had a pretty strange run since the convention.""You would think we ought to be focusing on Hillary Clinton, on all of her deficiencies. She is such a weak candidate that one would think we'd be on offense against Hillary Clinton, and it is distressing that that's not what we're talking about these days," he said.Michael Caputo, a former Trump adviser who still supports him, said Trump still has time to right the ship."Staying on message is absolutely key," Caputo told Reuters. "After 30 years of speaking his mind, Mr. Trump has to understand that the general election for president of the United States is all about staying on message."Actor and director Clint Eastwood, a prominent celebrity supporter of the Republican Party who appeared at its 2012 US presidential nominating convention, offered an alternative view, saying Trump says some "dumb things" but that Americans should get over it."He's onto something because secretly everybody's getting tired of political correctness, kissing up," the acclaimed actor and director told Esquire magazine. "That's the kiss-ass generation we're in right now."At the same time, Trump's lukewarm support for the NATO alliance drew criticism from 37 national security experts from both Democratic and Republican administrations."We find Trump's comments to be reckless, dangerous, and extremely unwise," they wrote in a statement.Obama, at a Pentagon news conference, dismissed Trump's statements that the election could be "rigged" against him."Of course, the elections will not be rigged," he said.Trump's rough patch has contributed to a dip in support in some battleground states. A WBUR/MassINC poll in New Hampshire showed Clinton leading Trump, 47 per cent to 32 per cent.Other polls showed Trump down 11 percentage points to Clinton in Pennsylvania and 6 percentage points in Florida, two states that are important to his chances of winning the election.Trump's troubles are emboldening Democrats to think big.Speaking with reporters after a Clinton campaign event in Las Vegas, US Senator Harry Reid, the Senate Democratic leader, said he believed traditionally Republican-leaning states such as Arizona and Georgia are going to be competitive this election, and he expects Clinton to campaign there.In Portland, some people at Trump's rally said the candidate should stop getting distracted."I don't like how he gets off track," said Bill Devine, 65, of Bath, Maine. "He needs to stay focused on his campaign."Trump campaign manager Paul Manafort told CBS's "This Morning" that the campaign is comfortable where it stands now and said the news media have built a false narrative in which Democrats are controlling the race to the Nov. 8 election.Manafort said that Trump's dropping poll numbers "were expected" and that he expected the numbers to even out soon."The framework of this election favors Donald Trump. If we run the campaign that we plan on running, we think we're going to win," he said.Concern about Trump has spilled into at least one congressional race.US Representative Mike Coffman, a Colorado Republican, has released a campaign ad in his own re-election bid promising to "stand up" to Trump if Trump is elected."People ask me, 'What do you think about Trump?' Honestly, I don't care for him much. And I certainly don't trust Hillary," Coffman said in the ad.US Representative Charlie Dent, a Pennsylvania Republican, told MSNBC he could not endorse Trump because of "all these unforced errors" that Trump was making."It just seems that he's, at times, hell-bent on losing a very winnable election to a very seriously flawed candidate: Hillary Clinton," Dent said.REUTERS RSD 0425 -- (Reuters) -- C-1-1-DL0435-872264.Xml
An explosive device was thrown at Kosovo's parliament building in the evening, a policeman on the scene said, adding that there were no casualties.Kosovo media reported that two motorcyclists fired a rocket propelled grenade as they drove near the parliament building. The police did not confirm media reports.The parliament is next to the government's building on a busy street in the centre of Pristina. After the explosion, a special police unit sealed off the area around the parliament, a Reuters witness reported.In the past 10 months the landlocked state of 1.8 million has seen tensions rise among political parties. Opposition MPs released tear gas inside the parliament several times in a protest over an EU-brokered accord with Serbia giving more autonomy to Serb dominated municipalities. Opposition supporters clashed with the police several times during the same period.Yesterday morning the Kosovo government asked the parliament to ratify a border agreement with Montenegro, disputed by opposition parties that have said it gives away some 8,000 hectares of Kosovo land.A major opposition party called its supporters to protest against the border deal in front of the parliament earlier yesterday, but the crowd quickly dispersed because the issue was not put on the agenda.Adopting a border deal with Montenegro is a precondition for Kosovo to get a visa-free travel regime to the Schengen zone as other countries in the region including Serbia, Albania, Montenegro, Macedonia and Bosnia were given in 2010.Kosovo declared independence from Serbia in 2008 and is still not recognised by Belgrade. It has signed a trade and political pact with the EU but it is still not recognised by five member states: Spain, Cyprus, Romania, Greece and Slovakia. REUTERS RSD 0441 -- (Reuters) -- C-1-1-DL0435-872275.Xml
"It is well-documented that the Turkish court system is without judicial independence, so this warrant is yet another example of (Turkish) President (Recep Tayyip) Erdogan's drive for authoritarianism and away from democracy," Xinhua news agency quoted Gulen as saying on Thursday.

Gulen's statement comes after the court issued a warrant against him for allegedly "giving instructions" for the coup.

Erdogan has repeatedly accused Gulen, a Muslim cleric living in self-imposed exile in Pennsylvania, of plotting the military coup which left at least 290 persons dead, including more than 100 "plotters".

The Turkish government has already sent dossiers to the US requesting the extradition of Gulen.

Turkey-US ties were strained by the failed coup amid Ankara's indication of Washington being involved in the attempt.

The US has denied any role in the coup attempt and repeatedly said that it supported the elected civilian government in Turkey. It vowed to continue cooperation with the Nato ally in areas such as the fight against terrorism.

--IANS sm/py/sac

( 200 Words)

2016-08-05-12:22:02 (IANS)
Singapore said today it had stepped up its border and inland security after Indonesian police arrested six suspected militants on the nearby Indonesian island of Batam suspected of planning an attack on Singapore."MHA (Ministry of Home Affairs) is aware that plans were being made by the six terror suspects arrested by the Indonesian Authorities," the ministry said in a statement today."Our security agencies have been coordinating closely with the Indonesian authorities since the discovery of this attack plot, to monitor the activities of the group and to apprehend those involved."The ministry said police and other agencies had been stepping up inland and border security measures in response to the threat.Multi-ethnic Singapore has an image as one of the safest countries in the world and has never seen an attack by Islamist militants. REUTERS JW VP1358 -- (Reuters) -- C-1-1-DL0364-872625.Xml
Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said today negotiations over the future of Syria should resume and he called for a fourth round of peace talks in Geneva.Cavusoglu also said in an interview with broadcaster TGRT Haber that the surrounding of Aleppo by Syrian government forces threatened a new wave of migration.REUTERS SDR PR1451 -- (Reuters) -- C-1-1-DL0431-872764.Xml
If Mike Pence had any doubts about what life would be like on the 2016 Republican presidential ticket with Donald Trump, the past week will have erased them: He is the damage control guy.The Indiana governor who swore off political mudslinging years ago heard Trump call Democratic rival Hillary Clinton "the devil" and watched him fan the flames of a feud with the parents of a Muslim soldier who died saving US troops in Iraq.Unlike many vice presidential running mates, the mild-mannered Pence was not tapped as the attack dog in the November 8 presidential election. Trump has that part down pat.Pence's job is harder: softening Trump's rough edges and limiting the fallout from what many Republicans see as the nominee's self-inflicted wounds.A week ago, for example, Pence rowed back on Trump's blacklist of some media outlets, saying the campaign is discussing changing course.Last Sunday, as Trump's dispute with the parents of slain US Army Captain Humayun Khan boiled over, Pence issued a statement praising the soldier as an "American hero" and saying that his family "should be cherished by every American."On Wednesday, Pence offered his own endorsement to House of Representatives Speaker Paul Ryan, the top US elected Republican, after Trump infuriated many party leaders by declining to endorse Ryan in his re-election bid.Pence, who swore off negative campaigning after losing a vituperative congressional race in 1990, eschews name calling. Trump, by contrast, delights in using monikers such as "Crooked Hillary" and "the devil" to describe Clinton.Trump has made clear he values Pence, telling a rally yesterday in Portland, Maine, that he and his running mate have a "great relationship."But Pence must walk a fine line.Even as he defuses Trump's verbal bombs, Pence must be careful to show he knows who is boss. He also has to stick to his own principles while not appearing to be trying to undermine the man who chose him as his Number 2.Should Trump win, Pence, a former congressman, could serve as a conduit to the US Congress. But if Trump loses, Pence could emerge as a possible White House contender for 2020.Republican strategist Charlie Black said Pence has shown some political deftness."He should have expected he would do some of this and provide more of the even-tempered, articulate, measured responses," Black said.But Republican strategist Ryan Williams said Pence is in an "impossible spot" and said that Trump's missteps could cast a shadow over his running mate's political future."Mike Pence is a good Republican but unfortunately he will be associated with the controversies that have ensnared the Trump-Pence ticket and will be tied to whatever the consequences of this election are," Williams said.POSITIVE PENCE, TESTY TRUMPTrump's off-the-cuff insults and controversial proposals, such as a temporary ban on Muslims entering the United States and a plan to build a wall along the Mexican border to keep illegal immigrants out, have made many in the party establishment uneasy.The Republican nominee's feud with the Khan family made for an awkward moment for Pence at a campaign event in Carson City, Nevada. A military mother asked Pence how could he tolerate Trump's disrespect for the armed forces, which prompted boos.Pence admonished the crowd to tone it down. "Folks, that's what freedom looks like and that's what freedom sounds like," he said before calling Humayun Khan an American hero.Pence was asked yesterday by an 11-year-old boy at a North Carolina rally if his role was "softening up" Trump's policies and words.Pence replied that he and Trump were "shoulder to shoulder" in the campaign.Christopher Devine, co-author of the book "The VP Advantage" and an assistant political science professor at the University of Dayton in Ohio, said that if Trump loses the November election, Pence may try to position himself as a conservative bridge between Trump supporters and traditional Republicans. That may be an added reason for Pence's cautious approach."He has to be very careful about how he handles the defense of Donald Trump," Devine said. REUTERS SDR PR1540 -- (Reuters) -- C-1-1-DL0431-872861.Xml
Singapore is not surprised by the arrest of six suspected militants on Indonesia's Batam island today for plotting an attack on the city-state, a government minister said."We were aware of the plans being made to attack us with rockets," Home Affairs and Minister for Law, K. Shanmugam, said in a statement today."The attacks can come from terrorists who seek to come into Singapore; and they can come from terrorists who locate themselves just outside Singapore. Our small size increases these risks," Shanmugam said.Earlier, Indonesian authorities arrested six suspected militants who were believed to be linked to the Islamic State group. REUTERS SDR PR1541 -- (Reuters) -- C-1-1-DL0431-872869.Xml
Opening about their ordeal of being thrown off a Delta Air Lines because of Islamophobia, a Pakistani-American couple said they were singled out because flight crew had allegedly noticed them "sweating" and saying the word "Allah", which they denied. Faisal Ali and Nazia Ali were waiting for about 45 minutes on a Delta Air Lines flight in Paris to fly back to Cincinnati, Ohio, when a Delta employee asked the couple to exit the aircraft as he needed to ask them questions. "We asked if we should get our stuff and he said yes, take all of your stuff as you won't be on that flight," the Independent quoted Nazia, as saying. A French police officer waiting outside the gate then interrogated them about their stay in Paris and said that he had no problem with them. The couple was in Paris to enjoy a brief holiday for their 10th wedding anniversary. The Delta employee then explained that the pilot had decided to ask them to leave as one of the crew members had felt "uncomfortable" in their presence. The crew member had reportedly seen Faisal hide his phone as they walked by, and that Faisal had been sweating and saying "Allah". To this, Faisal said that he had been texting his mother to let her know they had safely boarded the flight, and added that he might have been sweating due to poor air circulation on the plane as it had been on the tarmac for about 45 minutes. "We just went straight to the terminal and they booked us on the next flight home, so they know we didn't do anything and we know that we didn't do anything," said Nazia. The couple, who have three young children under the age of five, were booked into a hotel by the airline overnight. They were interrogated again by a US customs agent at the airport the next day. When Faisal asked what they had done wrong, the agent said: "You have done nothing wrong, unfortunately this is the way the world is right now. It is Delta's word against yours." They finally boarded the plane and Nazia said she still felt scared. The Council of American-Islamic Relations has filed a complaint against the airline and said that the couple had been discriminated . To this, Delta Air Lines spokesman Morgan Durrant responded, "Delta condemns discrimination toward our customers in regards to age, race, nationality, religion, sexual orientation or gender. Delta continues its investigation into this matter and will issue a full refund of these customers' airfare." (ANI)
The independent leadership in Pakistan occupied Kashmir (PoK) and Gilgit, led by the United Kashmir People's National Party (UKPNP), have strongly rejected moves by Pakistan to establish military courts in the region in order to further suppress the local population. In a conference titled "National Action Plan & Freedom of Expression in PoK and Gilgit Baltistan" held recently in Mirpur city of PoK, Kashmiri leaders vehemently rejected the draconian law. Pakistani security forces have arrested many Kashmiri nationalist leaders under the National Action Plan that was established by Pakistan government in January 2015 to crack down on terrorism. In a resolution passed unanimously, the participants demounces establishment of military courts and implementation of National Action Plan in PoK and Gilgit Baltistan. They said Pakistan has no jurisdiction in these areas. Asif Shah Kashmiri, President of J K Peoples National Party said, "In Gilgit Baltistan, the Pakistan court have imposed false cases against Baba Jan and his colleagues and announced 20 years of imprisonment. We strictly condemn it". He said, "We condemn sedition charges leveled against Muhammad Khwaja Rafiq of Kashmir International Friendship Club, Talat Mehmood and other political leaders of Azad Kashmir and Gilgit Baltistan". Most speakers criticized Kashmir policy of Pakistan government and human rights violations committed by them in POK and Gilgit-Baltistan. Advocate Nasir Ansari, President of J&K Plebiscite Front (JK Mahaz-e-Rai Shumari) said, "We also want to see a progressive Pakistan. It is making atomic bombs. But, can a human being eat these atom bombs? Pakistan has failed to provide a glass of clean drinking water to its citizens in the past 70 years. Can we do faith on Pakistan that it will make us free?" The speakers said that the Pak establishment is trying to convey that recent elections in POK were free and fair, but in fact, the elections were rigged, unfair and partial. Nationalist parties were not allowed to participate in the elections. Regarding the National Action Plan, the truth is that jihadis and religious fundamentalists are not being acted upon. However, NAP is being used against political activists in POK and GB, which is not part of Pakistan and Pak laws do not apply in these areas. Shafique Kayani, Secretary General of the J K Freedom Movement said. "Why you required a National Action Plan. It was because to arrest those Kashmiris who are demanding freedom. Why you are not arresting those terrorists in Karachi who are involved in kidnappings and killings. They are carrying out terrorist attacks and killings children in schools". There are many political and human rights activists in POK and Gilgit Baltistan who are facing trial and are in prison. People are not free to express their views and if they do, they face the consequences of Anti-Terrorism Law. (ANI)
"The COAS called Afghan President Ashraf Ghani today and asked him to help in the safe and early recovery of the crew members of the Punjab government," the Dawn quoted Asim Bajwa, the Director General (DG) of Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) as saying.

Bajwa, earlier confirmed that seven people were on board the helicopter including retired military officers and a Russian navigator.

He added that Ghani assured the army chief of "all possible assistance" in this regard.

The Mi-17 chopper which was on its way to Russia via Uzbekistan for maintenance crash-landed in Afghanistan's Logar province.

The Taliban insurgents after the crash took the crew hostage before setting the aircraft on fire.

The Army chief had yesterday also called Commander Resolute Support Mission in Afghanistan General Nicolson and asked him to help in the recovery of the helicopter crew.

Meanwhile, Chief Minister of Punjab, Shahbaz Sharif visited the families of the helicopter's pilots Colonel (retd) Shafiqur Rehman, Colonel (retd.) Nasir Mehmood and Colonel (retd) Safdar Hussein in Lahore today expressed his heartfelt sympathies.

"I am in contact with the relevant federal agencies in this matter. Our first priority is the safe recovery of the crew. I have faith we will receive some good news soon," he said.(ANI)
Danish warplanes bombed Syria for the first time, its military said today as Denmark extended its fight against Islamic State from neighbouring Iraq.Four F-16 jets bombed the militants' stronghold city of Raqqa, targeting command and control facilities, weapons stocks and enemy personnel, Defence Command Denmark said.NATO member Denmark is part of the US-led operation "Inherent Resolve" against Islamic State, which has declared a caliphate in parts of Iraq and Syria.Denmark's Chief of International Air Force Missions Jan Dam told Danish media the bombings had been an "important contribution" to the coalition's work.Denmark has flown 67 missions and dropped 93 bombs in the two countries since deployment in mid-June, the military said. REUTERS SDR PR1705 -- (Reuters) -- C-1-1-DL0431-873120.Xml
German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier said today he hoped to restore direct talks with Ankara despite concerns about Turkey's use of mass arrests and dismissals to crack down on those suspected of engineering a failed coup attempt."I will work to ensure that the dialogue with Turkey does not occur solely via megaphones and microphones and cameras," he said after a meeting with other German-speaking foreign ministers in Vaduz, Liechtenstein."There is no alternative - even if it is difficult in these times - to return to a direct dialogue with Turkey."Steinmeier said he was focused on "how to manage the relationship with Turkey in this difficult situation and what we can do for those who have been arrested." He said the reinstatement of the death penalty in Turkey would be incompatible with the values of the European Union.REUTERS SDR BD2210 -- (Reuters) -- C-1-1-DL0431-873881.Xml
Former Portuguese Prime Minister Antonio Guterres is still the frontrunner to be the next United Nations Secretary-General after the second Security Council secret ballot today, diplomats said.The 15-member council cast a ballot for each of the 11 candidates, and the choice is encourage, discourage or no opinion. Guterres received 11 encourage, two discourage and two no opinions, diplomats said. In the first poll on July 21, Guterres received 12 encourages and three no opinions.Former Serbian Foreign Minister Vuk Jeremic moved up to second with eight encourage, four discourage and three no opinion, followed by Argentinian Foreign Minister Susana Malcorra who received eight encourage, six discourage and one no opinion.Former Slovenian President Danilo Turk dropped to fourth from second with seven encourage, five discourage and three no opinion, diplomats said.The Security Council will hold secret ballots until a consensus is reached on a candidate to replace UN chief Ban Ki-moon of South Korea who steps down at the end of 2016 after serving two five-year terms.Diplomats said the aim was for the council to recommend a candidate to the 193-member General Assembly for election in September or October.Guterres was prime minister of Portugal from 1995 to 2002 and served as United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees from June 2005 to December 2015.Some diplomats, speaking on condition of anonymity, had said that if Guterres received any discourage votes today it could simply be an attempt to draw out the selection process.Former Croatian Foreign Minister Vesna Pusic, who came last in the first ballot, dropped out of the race yesterday.REUTERS AKC BD2314 -- (Reuters) -- C-1-1-DL0432-873937.Xml
Blockade line is seen near the attack site in central Russell Square in London, Britain, Aug. 3, 2016. (Xinhua/Ding Xiao)

LONDON, Aug. 4 (Xinhua) -- London Metropolitan Police announced Thursday that a Norwegian national of Somali origin has been arrested on suspicion of murdering an American woman and injuring five others, in an attack on Wednesday night in central London.

Speaking outside Scotland Yard headquarters, Metropolitan police assistant commissioner Mark Rowley said there was no evidence that the 19-year-old suspect had been radicalized or was motivated by terrorism, and reasserted the view that "mental health issues" played a significant role.

The suspect emigrated from Norway to Britain in 2002, at the age of five, according to the Norwegian embassy.

The Metropolitan Police said they received numerous calls starting at 10:30 p.m. local time (2130 GMT) describing a "man attacking people with a knife" between Russell Square, Montague Street, Bloomsbury Square and Great Russell Street.

Media reporters gather near the attack site in central Russell Square in London, Britain, Aug. 3, 2016. (Xinhua/Ding Xiao)

The man was arrested at the scene after police stunned him with a Taser following the attack, near the Imperial Hotel and the British Museum. The suspect was taken to a south London police station after receiving treatment in hospital.

"While the investigation is not yet complete, all of the work we have done so far increasingly points to this tragic incident as having been triggered by mental health issues," Rowley said. "Indeed at this time we believe it was a spontaneous attack and the victims were selected at random," he added.

Rowley said the woman who was murdered was American national, while those injured are Australian, American, Israeli and Briton. He said the police have spoken to relevant embassies and will do everything possible to support them.

U.S. ambassador to Britain Matthew Barzun expressed condolences on his twitter account: "Heartbreaking news that a U.S. citizen was killed in #RussellSquare attack. My prayers are with all the victims and their loved ones."

The mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, called for the public to remain calm and vigilant. The police were doing an incredibly difficult job, the mayor said, adding that the safety of Londoners was his "number one priority".

The attack came on the same day the Metropolitan Police announced it was to increase the number of armed patrols in London as part of anti-terrorism plans.

The London Metropolitan Police chief Sir Bernard Hogan-Howe on Sunday warned a terror attack in Britain was a case of "when, not if".

The London incident followed a series of attacks in other European countries, although Britain had been relatively quite.
DAMASCUS, Aug. 4 (Xinhua) -- A joint Syrian-Russian airstrike killed 40 rebels in the northern province of Aleppo Thursday, a military source told Xinhua.

The airstrikes as well as artillery shelling targeted a position of the rebels near the town of Khan Touman in the southern countryside of Aleppo, as the rebels were bracing to attack the Syrian military positions near that area, said the source on condition of anonymity.

The military forces received information about an imminent rebel attack in that area, the forth to be planned against the Syrian army, the source added.

Ahead of the airstrikes, rebels announced the launch of phase four of their attack to break the recently-imposed siege by the Syrian army on rebel-held areas in the eastern part of Aleppo city.

On Tuesday, the state news agency SANA said Syrian warplanes carried out 100 airstrikes against rebel positions in southern Aleppo, bringing to a halt the third phase of the rebel attack.

Late last month, the Syrian army stormed the Bani Zaid area, a main rebel stronghold in the eastern part of Aleppo.

The progress came days after the army severed the last rebel supply route connecting rebel-held areas in the northern countryside of Aleppo, with rebel-controlled parts in the eastern part of the city.

Severing the Castello road has dealt a strong blow to the rebels inside Aleppo.

With the progress made, the Syrian army has fully besieged eastern Aleppo, urging the rebels to surrender themselves and the civilians to cooperate.

Moreover, President Bashar al-Assad announced an amnesty for the rebels who surrender themselves and their weapons to the authorities.

The Syrian authorities in cooperation with the Russians also opened three safe passages for civilians wishing to leave eastern Aleppo. They also opened a fourth one for the rebels who would want to surrender themselves.

On Tuesday, state news agency SANA said dozens of families evacuated eastern districts in Aleppo, the second batch to leave the city since the government offered the safe passages.

SANA also said rebel fighters surrendered themselves to the authorities. Video clips of rebels surrendering were aired on several Syrian TVs.

With the Syrian army making all this progress in Aleppo, the rebels, including jihadi ones, unleashed several attacks over the past week to try to break the government-imposed siege.

However, all of their efforts have been rendered flat so far, as the government siege on rebel-held areas is still in place.

Aleppo, Syria's largest province and once a thriving economic metropolis, has witnessed intensified violent battles lately as the Syrian army advances against the rebels in the north.
LONDON, Aug. 4 (Xinhua) -- From middle age, the brains of obese individuals show signs that it is 10 years older than those in lean individuals, according to a study revealed Thursday by the University of Cambridge.

Human brains naturally shrink with age, but scientists are increasingly recognizing that obesity may also affect the onset and progression of brain aging. Now a new study led by researchers from the University of Cambridge may provide new evidence to support this link.

The team studied data from 473 individuals between the ages of 20 and 87, and divided the data into two categories based on weight: lean and overweight. They found striking differences in the volume of white matter in the brains of overweight individuals, compared with those of their leaner counterparts. Overweight individuals had a widespread reduction in white matter compared to lean people.

White matter is the tissue that connects areas of the brain and allows for information to be communicated between regions.

The team then calculated how white matter volume related to age across the two groups. They discovered that an overweight person at, say, 50 years old had a comparable white matter volume to a lean person aged 60 years, implying a difference in brain age of 10 years.

But the researchers only observed these differences from middle-age onwards, suggesting that brains may be particularly vulnerable during this period of aging.

"It will also be important to find out whether these changes could be reversible with weight loss, which may well be the case," said one of the study authors, Professor Paul Fletcher from the University of Cambridge.

The study has been published in the journal Neurobiology of Aging.
Undated file photo provided by Qinglong Wu of Nanjing Normal University shows the Jishi Gorge in northwest China's Qinghai Province. Scientists have found what could be geological evidence of a legendary flood tied to the establishment of the first dynasty in China, Xia, and even the beginning of Chinese civilization, a study published in the U.S. journal Science said Thursday. In the new study, Qinglong Wu and colleagues reported geological evidence for a catastrophic flood on the Yellow River about 4,000 years ago, including remains of a landslide dam and dammed lake sediments. (Xinhua)

WASHINGTON, Aug. 4 (Xinhua) -- Scientists have found what could be geological evidence of a legendary flood tied to the establishment of the first dynasty in China, Xia, and even the beginning of Chinese civilization, a study published in the U.S. journal Science said Thursday.

The flood occurred in roughly 1920 BC on the Yellow river, the study said, which is some two to three centuries later than traditionally thought, meaning the Xia dynasty, and its renowned Emperor Yu, likely had a later start than Chinese historians have thought, too.

According to Chinese legend, Emperor Yu tamed this flood by dredging, earning him the divine mandate to establish the Xia dynasty.

However, no scientific evidence has been discovered before, leading some scholars to believe that the legend of Xia was just a fabrication of later historians to justify political succession, said Qinglong Wu of the Nanjing Normal University, who led the study.

In the new study, Wu and colleagues reported geological evidence for a catastrophic flood on the Yellow River about 4,000 years ago, including remains of a landslide dam and dammed lake sediments.

He said the flood was the result of an earthquake-induced landslide that dammed the Yellow River to form a huge lake in the Jishi Gorge on the edge of the Tibetan Plateau.

Landslide dams like this typically fail by overtopping, and in this case, the dam could have completely blocked the Yellow River for six to nine months before overtopping, said Wu.

"Roughly 11 to 16 cubic kilometers of the dammed lake water was released in a very short period of time when the dam broke, resulting in a huge flood," he told Xinhua.

Using a standard engineering equation to determine flood discharge, the researchers calculated that the waters could have surged down the river at a rate of 300,000 to 500,000 cubic meters per second. The damage may have reached as far as 2,000 kilometers downstream.

"To put that into perspective, that's roughly equivalent to the largest flood ever measured on the Amazon River, the world's largest river," study co-author Darryl Granger, a geologist at Purdue University, said at a teleconference.

"It's among the largest known floods to have happened on earth during the past 10,000 years, and it's more than 500 times larger than a flood we might expect on the Yellow River from a massive rainfall event. So this cataclysmic flood would've been a truly devastating event for anyone living on the Yellow River downstream."

To date the outburst flood, the researchers used radiocarbon dating techniques on skeletons of children who died in the same earthquake that triggered the massive landslide dam, at a prehistoric settlement site called Lajia, 25 kilometers downstream from the Jishi Gorge.

Results showed that the flood happened around 1920 BC, which coincides with the major transition from the Neolithic to the Bronze Age in the Yellow River valley.

"Because this flood happens at a critical turning point in the development of Chinese civilization, this geological event takes on even greater significance," said David Cohen, an archaeologist at National Taiwan University, who also worked on the study.

"This is because the flood dates to the likely period where China's legendary great flood. This is the first time a flood of scale large enough to account for it has been found. The outburst flood could've caused social disruptions downstream lasting for years, and if this is the case, we think it could've been the source of the great flood legend."

According to legend, it took Emperor Yu and his farther about 20 years to tame this flood. As a result, the researchers proposed a new start date for the Xia dynasty, at 1900 BC.

"The outburst flood provides us with a tantalizing hint that the Xia dynasty might really have existed," Cohen said.

"Our reasoning is like this, if the founding of the Xia dynasty is really tied to a great flood, then here we have evidence for a natural event that could have eventually been recorded as the great flood," he said. "If the great flood really happened, then perhaps it is also likely that the Xia dynasty really existed too. The two are directly tied to each other."

Traditionally, historians have dated the start of Xia to about 2200 BC, whereas a government-sponsored chronology project adopted the date as 2070 BC.

In an accompanying perspective in Science, David Montgomery of the University of Washington wrote: "Great floods occupy a central place in some of the world's oldest stories. And Emperor Yu's flood now stands as another such story potentially rooted in geological events."
PARIS, Aug. 4 (Xinhua) -- France sent home an Algerian who was suspected of having ties with terrorist networks, the interior ministry said on Thursday.

Addelkarim Mostefai was detained as soon as he had been spotted in French territory and was sent back to Algeria "given the serious threat" he may cause to the public order, the ministry said in a statement.

It also said the government is working to improve intelligence services and reinforce controls at borders.

Since 2012, some 80 people have been expelled as part of the country's security policy to handle growing terrorist risks.

Since Paris attacks in November 2015, the government has raised security alert to the highest level out of fears for recurring attacks, with security measures tightened at transport hubs, religious sites and department stores.
TUNIS, Aug. 4 (Xinhua) -- The bilateral culture cooperation between Tunisia and China "never stops going forward by great steps," Tunisian minister of culture Sonia Mbarek said on Thursday.

Inaugurated on Wednesday, the 3rd Chinese Arts Festival held in Sfax, marks the program of cultural activities "Sfax, capital of Arabe culture" which will continue to next March in the theme of "the culture unites us and Sfax gathers us."

"The Chinese Art Week is a golden opportunity for the anchorage of Arabic cultural identity," said Houda Kchaou, Tunisian coordinator of this event who is satisfied with the Chinese delegation composed of over 90 artists and several journalists.

Speaking to Xinhua, Tunisian Minister of Culture Mbarek said the 3rd Chinses Arts Festival gives Tunisia a propitious chance to reinforce its cultural cooperation with China.

"Under the frame of Sino-Arabic Cooperation Forum, this international festival represents an important stage to build the solid cultural coordination thus to put the stones for the common civilisation connection," she added.

The friendship between China and Tunisia going back to over 50 years leads the way for the frequent and efficient cultural exchanges which bring the people of two countries closer, said Mbarek.

"China, one of the most majestic civilisation heritages of the world, is always closely connected in the cultural way to the Arabic world, which makes China a culture centre and civilisation platform founded on the tolerance," concluded Mbarek.
TEHRAN, Aug. 4 (Xinhua) -- Iran's Kurdistan province judiciary said Thursday that a number of Sunni Kurdish rebels who had killed local officials and civilians were executed recently, semi-official Mehr news agency reported.

The Takfiri members of the "Tawhid and Jihad" group committed the crimes in 2009, the judiciary said in a statement, adding that they were hanged on Tuesday morning.

Takfiri groups, in Iran's political and religious terminology, refers to the extremist Sunni Muslims.

The statement did not specify the number of the executed men, but some western media put the number at least at 20.

The terrorist acts of the "Tawhid and Jihad" group resulted in the death of 21 officials and people in Iran's Kurdistan province. They also injured 40 others in their terrorist operations, according to the statement.

On Wednesday, Iran's Intelligence Ministry said that it had dismantled a "terrorist" cell in 2012, in the western province of Kurdistan suspected of attacks on local officials and security forces.

The members of the "Tawhid and Jihad" group had killed 20 Iranian officials and people, injured 40 others, and were involved in armed robbery during the past years, the ministry said in a statement.

Some of the cell members were killed and some others were arrested in clashes with police and security forces, it said, adding that some of those who were arrested were executed recently.

Iran's seven million Kurds make up around 10 percent of the population. Most of them live in Kurdistan and other northwestern provinces on the border with Iraq. Many Kurds seek greater rights for their region.

The area has seen increased clashes between Kurdish militants and government security forces in recent months.
NEW YORK, July 19, 2016 (Xinhua) -- File photo taken on July 16, 2016 shows Donald Trump speaking during a campaign event in New York, the United States. New York billionaire Donald Trump clinched enough delegate votes to be officially selected as Republican presidential nominee Tuesday evening in the roll call voting at the ongoing Republican National Convention. (Xinhua/Li Muzi)

by Matthew Rusling

WASHINGTON, Aug. 4 (Xinhua) -- U.S. Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump continues to pile insults on rival Hillary Clinton recently, but experts said that could hurt him more than help him.

Recent days have seen Trump ramping up on the insults against Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton, even referring to her as "the devil." But while experts said the brash businessman should be focusing on Clinton's policy blunders, he continues to engage simply in name calling.

"Trump's insults reinforce the perception that he is ill-tempered and not well-suited for the presidency," Darrell West, vice president and director of governance studies of the Brookings Institution, told Xinhua.

It would make more sense for Trump to criticize her policies rather than calling her names, West said.

"That would help him argue that she has a failed vision and shouldn't be elected to the highest office in the land," he said.

U.S. voters are more accepting of differences on the issues because that is a legitimate part of electoral discourse. But Trump goes too far and makes himself look bad in the process, he added.

Indeed, critics say Trump's major fault is that he's still preaching to the choir -- the blue color white males who put him through the primaries, with whom Trump struck a chord by what has at times been over-the-top comments.

But now that Trump's already got the white working class men's vote in the bag, analysts say he should be broadening his horizons.

Trump needs to understand that appealing to a general electorate of 130 million people is different than a Republican primary audience of 20 million people, West said.

"The former requires a different style of argumentation than the latter," West said.

One of the issues Trump might focus on is Clinton's recent email scandal, which overshadowed last week's Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia.

Clinton has also been embroiled in another controversy in recent weeks. Leaked emails from the Democratic National Committee showed that it tried to tip the scales in favor of Clinton to win against her opponents, mainly Democratic rival Bernie Sanders, in the primaries.

Sanders' supporters said the email scandal showed that the Democratic Party rigged the system to allow Clinton to unfairly grab the party's nomination for president.

Christopher Galdieri, assistant professor at Saint Anselm College, said that Trump is not converting anyone with his insulting attacks on Clinton.

"It appeals to his primary voters but they are already with him. It doesn't help him with skeptical Republicans," Galdieri said.

Julian Zelizer, professor of history and public affairs at Princeton University, told Xinhua that nothing Trump is doing now is working very well.

Clinton's polls are getting better, more Republicans are saying they will vote for Clinton, and the media has really turned against Trump in a significant way, Zelizer noted.

He said Clinton doesn't have to constantly respond to Trump's insults because this will provide voters "with a feel of stability and steadiness."

Galdieri said Clinton's best move is to give Trump ample room to keep shooting himself in the foot, while she keeps being a steady hand.

"In this regard I think picking Tim Kaine, an amiably boring and experienced figure from a key state, will prove to be one of the smartest moves of her campaign," Galdieri said of Clinton's running mate, a senator from the state of Virginia.

Related:

Superstition trumps science in vision, hearing tests: New Zealand study

WELLINGTON, Aug. 4 (Xinhua) -- If you're having your eyes or ears tested, be aware that you could be subconsciously skewing the results, the New Zealand co-author of an international study said Thursday.

The research, conducted with scientists in the United Kingdom and United States, showed people had a natural tendency to base their responses in tests on past decisions. Full story

Feature: Trump supporters blast Clinton for corruption, calling for her arrest

ASHBURN, United States, Aug. 3 (Xinhua) -- Supporters of U.S. Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump on Tuesday blasted his rival Hillary Clinton for corruption at an event in Virginia, while demanding the Democratic nominee be locked up.
Outdoor salmon barbecue is served during the salmon festival in Richmond, Canada, on July 1, 2014. (Xinhua/Liang Sen)

OTTAWA, Aug. 4 (Xinhua) -- A waiter at a restaurant in Sherbrooke, Canada, has been arrested for serving salmon fish to a highly allergic customer. This particular case could be the first in the country, according to Canadian TV Thursday.

A man, named Simon-Pierre Canuel, ordered beef tartare at a local restaurant last May and said a few times to the waiter that he was allergic to both seafood and salmon.

The waiter allegedly didn't take any notes and later he brought a plate of salmon tartare instead of ordered beef tartare to the table and Canuel took a bite, unaware of what he'd been served because the lighting had been dimmed.

Canuel felt very bad immediately and was hospitalized at the intensive care unit of the Centre hospitalier universitaire de Sherbrooke for several weeks, even falling into a coma for several days and suffering cardiac arrest.

The Sherbrooke police began an investigation of the case on July 28 after receiving a formal complaint by Canuel and arrested the 22-year-old waiter, but released him on a promise to appear in court at a later date.

A spokesman of the Sherbrooke Police said that the case is very unusual. The definition of criminal negligence in the Criminal Code allows for an arrest if there was carelessness or lack of action to ensure the health and safety of others.

The police have recommended a criminal negligence charge, but it will be up to provincial director of criminal and penal prosecutions to determine whether charges will be laid.
WASHINGTON, Aug. 4 (Xinhua) -- U.S. President Barack Obama warned on Thursday the extremist group Islamic State (IS) continued to act behind lone-wolf attacks across the world.

"On the ground in Syria and Iraq, ISIL continues to lose territory. Tragically, however, we have also seen that ISIL still has the ability to direct and inspire attacks," said Obama at a press conference at Pentagon, referring to another acronym of the extremist group.

"In fact, the decline of ISIL in Syria and Iraq appears to be causing it to shift to tactics that we've seen before, an even greater emphasis on encouraging high profile terrorist attacks, including in the United States," said Obama.

According to Obama, unlike al-Qaeda, which had a much more centralized operation and tried to plan very elaborate attacks, the IS opted to inspire lone-wolf attackers whose less complicated attacks were harder to detect and prevent.

"What ISIL has figured out is that if they can convince a handful of people, or even one person to carry out an attack on a subway or at a parade ... and kill scores of people as opposed to thousands of people, it still creates the kinds of fear and concern that elevates their profile," said Obama.
Chinese Minister of Commerce Gao Hucheng (L) meets with Lao Prime Minister Thongloun Sisoulith in Vientiane, Laos, on Aug. 4, 2016. (Xinhua/Liu Ailun)

VIENTIANE, Aug. 4 (Xinhua) -- China and Laos on Thursday vowed to promote all-round mutually beneficial cooperation as this year marks the 55th anniversary of the establishment of bilateral diplomatic ties.

The pledge came as Lao Prime Minister Thongloun Sisoulith met with visiting Chinese Minister of Commerce Gao Hucheng here on Thursday.

They spoke highly of the bilateral friendship and cooperation, stressing that they will earnestly implement the consensus reached by the leaders of the two countries.

They said they will make full use of the communication and coordination mechanism on economy and trade between their countries so as to further boost cooperation.

At the meeting, Gao briefed the Lao prime minister on the progress of the implementation of the consensus, and suggested the two countries accelerate the alignment of development strategies, expand cooperation in trade and investment as well as in economy in border areas and the whole region.

Thongloun, for his part, recalled his meeting with Chinese Premier Li Keqiang in Mongolia last month and sharing his opinions on economic and trade cooperation between the two countries.

Thongloun said he will direct the work of the Lao-China Joint Cooperation Commission himself so as to lift bilateral economic and trade cooperation to a new high.

The Chinese minister of commerce is here to attend the 48th ASEAN Economic Ministers' Meeting and related meetings,

Gao also met with Lao Minister of Industry and Commerce Khemmany Pholsenaon Thursday. The two sides hailed the progress in bilateral economic and trade cooperation and signed three cooperation documents on economy and technology.

Khemmany expressed gratitude to China for the support and assistance to Laos, saying Laos is willing to continue working closely with China to enhance cooperation.

As the rotating chair of ASEAN this year, Laos will also actively promote trade and economic cooperation between China and ASEAN within regional and sub-regional frameworks, she added.

At a separate meeting, Gao exchanged views with Lao Minister of Planning and Investment Souphanh Keomisay on bilateral economic and technological cooperation and the construction of cross-border economic cooperation zones.
Upper left: A sensor implanted on a peripheral nerve is powered and interrogated by an ultrasound transducer, and pinged every 100 microseconds with six 540-nanosecond ultrasound pulses. Upper right: Components of the sensor, known as neural dust. Down left: The sensor mote contains a piezoelectric crystal, shown as silver cube, and an electronic circuit that responds to the voltage across two electrodes to alter the backscatter from ultrasound pulses produced by a transducer outside the body. Down Right: The so-called neural dust, 3 millimeters long and 11 millimeters in cross section, is attached to a nerve fiber in a rat. Once implanted, the sensor is powered and the data read out by ultrasound. (Courtesy of UC Berkeley)

SAN FRANCISCO, Aug. 3 (Xinhua) -- Engineers at University of California, Berkeley, have built the first dust-sized, wireless sensors that can be implanted in the body, to monitor internal nerves, muscles or organs in real time, or to stimulate the immune system or tamp down inflammation.

Already shrunk to a 1 millimeter cube, about the size of a large grain of sand, and implanted in the muscles and peripheral nerves of rats, the so-called neural dust uses ultrasound both to power and read out the measurements.

It contains a piezoelectric crystal that converts ultrasound vibrations from outside the body into electricity to power a tiny, on-board transistor that is in contact with a nerve or muscle fiber.

A voltage spike in the fiber alters the circuit and the vibration of the crystal, which changes the echo detected by the ultrasound receiver, typically the same device that generates the vibrations, according to a release from UC Berkeley. The slight change, called backscatter, allows them to determine the voltage.

"I think the long-term prospects for neural dust are not only within nerves and the brain, but much broader," Michel Maharbiz, an associate professor of electrical engineering and computer sciences and one of the two main authors of a study published Wednesday in the journal Neuron, was quoted as saying.

"Having access to in-body telemetry has never been possible because there has been no way to put something supertiny superdeep. But now I can take a speck of nothing and park it next to a nerve or organ, your GI tract or a muscle, and read out the data."

In their experiment, the researchers powered up the passive sensors every 100 microseconds with six 540-nanosecond ultrasound pulses, to give them a continual, real-time readout.

They coated the first-generation motes -- 3 millimeters long, 1 millimeter high and 4/5 millimeter thick -- with surgical-grade epoxy, and they are currently building motes from biocompatible thin films which would potentially last in the body without degradation for a decade or more.

"The original goal of the neural dust project was to imagine the next generation of brain-machine interfaces, and to make it a viable clinical technology," said neuroscience graduate student Ryan Neely.

"If a paraplegic wants to control a computer or a robotic arm, you would just implant this electrode in the brain and it would last essentially a lifetime."

The team is working to miniaturize the device further, find more biocompatible materials and improve the surface transceiver that sends and receives the ultrasounds, ideally using beam-steering technology to focus the sounds waves on individual motes, and also building little backpacks for rats to hold the ultrasound transceiver that will record data from implanted motes.

"The beauty is that now, the sensors are small enough to have a good application in the peripheral nervous system, for bladder control or appetite suppression, for example," said Jose Carmena, a member of the Helen Wills Neuroscience Institute and another main author of the study.

"The technology is not really there yet to get to the 50-micron target size, which we would need for the brain and central nervous system. Once it's clinically proven, however, neural dust will just replace wire electrodes. This time, once you close up the brain, you're done."
U.S. President Barack Obama addresses the 2016 U.S. Democratic National Convention at Wells Fargo Center, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, the United States on July 27, 2016. (Xinhua/Li Muzi)

WASHINGTON, Aug. 4 (Xinhua) -- U.S. President Barack Obama warned on Thursday the extremist group Islamic State (IS) continued to act behind lone-wolf attacks across the world.

"On the ground in Syria and Iraq, ISIL continues to lose territory. Tragically, however, we have also seen that ISIL still has the ability to direct and inspire attacks," said Obama at a press conference at Pentagon, referring to another acronym of the extremist group.

"In fact, the decline of ISIL in Syria and Iraq appears to be causing it to shift to tactics that we've seen before, an even greater emphasis on encouraging high profile terrorist attacks, including in the United States," said Obama.

According to Obama, unlike al-Qaeda, which had a much more centralized operation and tried to plan very elaborate attacks, the IS opted to inspire lone-wolf attackers whose less complicated attacks were harder to detect and prevent.

"What ISIL has figured out is that if they can convince a handful of people, or even one person to carry out an attack on a subway or at a parade ... and kill scores of people as opposed to thousands of people, it still creates the kinds of fear and concern that elevates their profile," said Obama.
Rio 2016 opening ceremony organizers vow to present "the coolest party" at the ceremony on August 4, 2016.(Xinhua)

RIO DE JANEIRO, Aug. 4 (Xinhua) -- Rio 2016 opening ceremony organizers have urged athletes to participate in the Olympic curtain-raiser on Friday, promising them "the coolest party they have seen."

Some delegations, including Australia and Britain, have said that many of their athletes will miss the four-hour extravaganza at the Maracana stadium to concentrate on their events.

"We call on athletes to come to what will be the coolest party they have seen," the ceremony's executive producer Marco Balich told a news conference on Thursday. "We have created a big athletes' parade and artistic parade with a surprise at the end.

"The athletes are the center of the show. We know that the Maracana stadium is a long way from [the Olympic village], but I encourage all athletes to participate because it will be a magnificent experience. And we know that the Brazilian audience will react in a beautiful way, as Brazilians always do. "

Balich has previously been involved in 16 Olympic opening and closing ceremonies and Rio will be the third time he has been executive producer, after Torino 2006 and Sochi 2014.

He said Brazil's worst recession in decades had played a part in the show's content, which will feature less high-tech effects than at previous Games.

Some 21 million US dollars have been spent on the opening ceremony in Rio, about half London's outlay four years ago.

"The budget is irrelevant," Balich said. "I think it's right, given the situation the world and Brazil finds itself in, that we don't have an opulent ceremony. We want to deliver a show with heart and passion.

"Our repertoire will be very analog but it will be deployed with high values like peace and tolerance, which are needed in the world today. And we have conveyed the message of sustainability which has excited and motivated all of us."

Balich played down a decision by suspended president Dilma Rousseff to miss the ceremony as she faces an impeachment trial for allegedly breaking budget rules. Former president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva has also declined an invitation.

"It's important that the Olympic ceremony stays in the collective mind forever," Balich said. "You don't remember who was the president at other Olympic Games. You remember Muhammad Ali lighting the torch in Atlanta and the archer in Barcelona. We have to celebrate humanity and celebrate Rio."

Another of the creative directors, Fernando Meirelles, said previous opening ceremonies, particularly the spectacle that kick-started the Beijing 2008 Games, had served as inspiration for Rio.

"Beijing was amazing, it set a new standard," Meirelles said. "If Beijing was powerful and London was smart, Rio will be cool."
SYDNEY, Aug. 5 (Xinhua) -- Australian airports have received no reports of credit card fraudsters targeting tourists, Australian authorities told Xinhua.

A 44-year-old Chinese tourist was reportedly arrested at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) on July 28 for allegedly "patting" a duty free store clerk on the head for hiding her card.

The tourist had left her card on the countertop when she went to find more goods to meet a sales threshold to qualify for a discount, only to realize it was then missing.

A Chinese online media claimed Chinese tourists were becoming increasingly nervous about travel into the United States and Australia due to credit card fraud at airports.

Employees targeting tourists may use the extended flight time to commit fraudulent shopping from stolen cards, but reports of this kind have never been received, UnionPay International's South Pacific chief Yang Jianmin told Xinhua.

"This crimes are generally present in small restaurants, small bistro or small business," Yang said.

"Employees from high-end business such as large duty-free shops are very stable, this case happens less."

Representatives from Sydney Airport, operator of Australia's airport tax-free stores, Germany-based Gebr. Heinemann and Australian police too denied reports of credit card fraud at Australian airports.

"Credit card fraud at airports, it's really not an issue," New South Wales (NSW) police Fraud and Cybercrime Squad commander, Detective Acting Superintendent Matt Craft, told Xinhua.

"The offenders that we've arrested that have committed credit card fraud haven't gone anywhere near the airports because they know as soon as they step into the terminals, there's always (surveillance video) and (police) in the area. There's a greater chance of detection."

The incidence of credit card fraud in Australia however has risen from 3.7 percent of the population in 2010-11 to 5.9 percent in 2014-15, for an estimated total financial loss of 2.1 billion Australian dollars (1.61 billion U.S. dollars), Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) figures show.

But an analysis of fraud trends in conjunction with Australia's banking institutions show tourists themselves aren't targeted, Craft said.

"Those people that are involved in credit card fraud don't discern between their victims, they're just after their cards and PINs (personal identification number)," Craft said.

"If that (victim) is a tourist or a resident of Australia, it really doesn't matter to them, because it's about getting the details (the offender) needs in order to commit fraud."

Banking and law enforcement consistently advise the public to treat credit cards like cash money, never leave it out of your sight and ensure PIN numbers are protected at all times.

The rapid change in technology is also making credit card transactions more secure through the advent of contactless payment systems and smartphone "wallet" apps such as ApplePay, QuickPass, SamsungPay and HCE.

"Such payments are safest because the customer hold their bank cards, or directly pay by phone during the payment process, so frauds cannot happen," Yang said.
by Matt Walsh

CANBERRA, Aug. 5 (Xinhua) -- Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull has stood by his decision to block former PM Kevin Rudd's bid at the United Nations top job, describing Rudd's "interpersonal skills and temperament" as unsuitable for the position.

Rudd, Australian Labor Prime Minister from 2007 until 2010 and again in 2013, asked the federal government for endorsement in his bid to become the next secretary-general for the UN, but was denied following a cabinet meeting last Friday.

All candidates must be formally endorsed by their home government if they're to be considered by the UN.

In an interview with The Australian newspaper on Friday, Rudd said Turnbull's decision would "reflect poorly" on his government, as he turned on his word and failed to endorse a countryman for the position.

"It's no small thing when the prime minister of Australia stands up and says that one of his prime ministerial predecessors is unsuitable to be considered as a candidate for UN secretary-general," Rudd told the Australian on Friday.

"I think that will reflect poorly on (Turnbull). I think it will."

Rudd spoke candidly about a lunch he had with both Turnbull and Turnbull's wife, Lucy, last year, in which the PM all but agreed that Rudd was suitable for the UN's top job.

"As I was heading out to get the car to the airport, this was quite explicitly stated: that the government would be mad not to support my candidature."

But Turnbull hit back at Rudd later on Friday, saying he stands by his decision to block the former PM's tilt at the UN, despite previously giving indication to Rudd that the government would support his bid.

"The facts are pretty clear and the decision was a correct one," he told Macquarie Radio on Friday.

"At all relevant times he knew that this was a matter for the cabinet, he knew there would be no guarantee that he would be nominated if and when he asked for such a nomination."

Meanwhile, Defence Industry Minister Christopher Pyne backed up Turnbull's assertion, and said Rudd's "extraordinary" behavior following cabinet's decision was one of the reasons why the government decided to snub his bid.

"Since the announcement that we wouldn't nominate him for secretary-general of the UN he has underlined why he is not a suitable candidate, because his behavior has been quite extraordinary," Pyne told the Nine Network.
HANOI, Aug. 5 (Xinhua) -- "The Zhejiang Export Fair will serve as an important bridge to boost China-Vietnam bilateral trade ties," said Feng Wei, director of the Economic-Commerce Desk under China's Zhejiang Commerce Department.

Wei made the remark at the opening ceremony of the fifth export fair of Zhejiang, one of the most prosperous provinces in China, in Vietnam's capital city of Hanoi on Thursday.

According to the Chinese official, in order to further enhance reciprocal cooperation with ASEAN countries, including Vietnam, his department carried out a project to promote Zhejiang-made products to the world.

Under the project and with the support of Vietnam's Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT), the fifth Zhejiang Export Fair has drawn participation of 114 Zhejiang companies.

More than 150 booths occupy 4,000 square meters and are showcasing three outstanding industries of electric and electronic machines, equipment; building materials, interior decoration, hardware; as well as textile materials and consumer products, said Wei.

To Ngoc Son, vice general director of the MoIT's market department for the Asia-Pacific region, said at the opening ceremony that over the past years, Vietnam-China trade ties have enjoyed impressive growth.

According to Vietnam Customs, China continued to be Vietnam's largest trading partner with total import-export revenue of more than 66.6 billion U.S. dollars in 2015, up 13.4 percent year-on-year.

Meanwhile, Son quoted China Customs as saying that Vietnam was the largest trading partner of China among ASEAN countries.

China's localities in the Yangtze Delta, including Zhejiang, with their advantages in transport convenience, have made important contributions to the development of Vietnam-China economic relations, said Son.

Vietnamese localities and Zhejiang provinces are complementary to each other in terms of economic structure. Specifically, Zhejiang has strengths in supporting industries, production of machines and materials for garments and textiles while Vietnam has strengths in exports of farm products, the Vietnamese official said.

With the intention of promoting the attractive feeling of "Zhejiang Made" products to Vietnam and Southeast Asia, the fair draws a great deal of attention from local companies and consumers.

Nguyen Mai Thuong, office head of the young enterprise association in Vietnam's northern Quang Ninh province, told Xinhua that her province borders China so Quang Ninh companies have taken particular care of the products picked to be displayed at the fair.

"On behalf of the association to be present here, I find many products with lovely designs, good quality, unique identities and reasonable prices, which will be suitable for Vietnamese consumers. As a woman, I love Zhejiang-made jewelry," said Thuong, while choosing a natural pearl necklace at the fair for herself.

Echoing her view, Thuong, Tran Thanh Tam, 24, from a local logistics company told Xinhua that her company has joined the fair several times.

"I come here with the purpose of seeking business opportunities with Zhejiang companies through direct dialogue. My company has many customers who are in need of importing Chinese products and then transporting them from Vietnam and vice versa," said Tam.

Also, while perusing the booths, Tam said, "The products here are diverse and well-shaped, which presents customers with a variety of choices."

As a director of a local firm looking for advanced technology at the fair, Le Van Thang, 46, told Xinhua that this is the first time he has taken part in the Zhejiang fair.

"I have just been introduced to an electric welding machine, made by a Zhejiang company. Despite having not used the product, I am impressed with its modern design and reasonable price at about 63 U.S. dollars each," said Thang.

"The price is some 30 percent lower than that of the product I use now. However, price is not the only factor that matters to me. In addition, the product is supremely mobile, which is due to a new advanced technology. I am very interested in this product," the metal engineer, with some 20 years of field experience, told Xinhua.

"The fair also gives me a chance to have a close look at new developments in the metal engineering industry," Thang said, adding that on the last day of the fair on Saturday, he will come back to buy the product.

According to Feng Wei, director of the Economic-Commerce Desk under China's Zhejiang Commerce Department, from January to May 2016, his province earned 2.13 billion U.S. dollars from exports to Vietnam, up 13.55 percent year-on-year.
MELBOURNE, Aug. 5 (Xinhua) -- Delays in the construction of Western Australia's new children's hospital has caused "needless suffering" , according to Doctors.

The new 900 million U.S. dollar children's hospital in Perth has suffered from a series of setbacks which have pushed the opening from October 2015 to as late as early 2017.

Dr Andrew Miller, from the Australian Medical Association (AMA), said that the delays are putting the aging Princess Margaret Hospital (PMH) under considerable stress.

"We're told every day of instances of patients needlessly suffering because the facility has just not been maintained," Miller told the ABC on Friday.

"The physical facilities have been very poor for some time as we know."

"Our doctors have been doing everything they personally can to make sure the patients are ok in what is a crumbling facility."

"At the same time, the doctors themselves have uncertainty about their careers, because they're told there will be staff reductions when they move to the new facility."

"There's been no clear leadership in terms of how they are going to get from where they are now in a facility that's crumbling and falling apart and into this new hospital and whether there is going to be anything done at PMH to improve the current situation which we remember has been dire for some time."

Professor Frank Daly, the man responsible for commissioning the new Perth hospital, said that while the building was old PMH is not dangerous.

"We haven't abandoned any maintenance and we haven't let anything become dangerous," Daly said on Friday.

"Our staff are fully committed at all times to the highest quality patient care, whether it be in this building or the next."

The latest setback for the hospital was the discovery of asbestos in the roof panels.
SEOUL, July 8, 2016 (Xinhua) -- A man walks past a poster with "No!THAAD" during a protest against the decision to deploy the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD), in Seoul, South Korea, July 8, 2016. South Korea and the United States on Friday announced their final decision to deploy the THAAD in the U.S. Forces Korea (USFK) despite continued oppositions from neighboring countries. (Xinhua/Yao Qilin)

MOSCOW, Aug. 5 (Xinhua) -- The deployment of the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) missile defense system is a serious policy mistake made by South Korea, which is expected to escalate tension on the Korean Peninsula, a Russian political analyst said.

"The decision to deploy THAAD missile defense system in South Korea is a provocation from the American side ... the system provides no additional benefits for the defense of South Korea," Oleg Barabanov of the Moscow State Institute of International Relations told Xinhua.

Meanwhile, its deployment will serve to escalate tension on the Korean Peninsula, forcing the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) to take countermeasures, he noted.

The DPRK on Wednesday fired two ballistic missiles, one of which was reportedly landed in Japan's exclusive economic zone. The launch was the latest in a volley of missiles fired by the DPRK, apparently in protest against the deployment of THAAD in South Korea.

On July 13, Seoul and Washington announced an agreement to install one THAAD battery in the Seongju county by the end of next year, claiming that it is aimed to deter ballistic missiles from the DPRK.

Barabanov said this decision undermines the constructive relations between Seoul and Moscow, which have been strengthened in recent years and withstood the test of the Ukrainian crisis.

China and Russia are strongly opposed to the deployment of THAAD, as the X-band radar of the system could easily snoop on the territories of the two countries, a potential threat to regional peace and stability.

Russia earlier indicated the possibility of deploying missile units in the country's eastern region in response to the deployment of THAAD.

"Neither Russia nor China wants a new round of militarization on the Korean Peninsula and in the Asia-Pacific region ... The deployment of the THAAD system will only exacerbate the DPRK nuclear issue," said the expert.

In his opinion, the short-sighted decision Seoul was talked into by Washington would justify Pyongyang's development of nuclear capabilities as in a "quite natural and even legitimate response."

In a broader view, Barabanov believes that the THAAD deployment fits into Washington's strategy to contain both Russia and China.

The expert believes that the U.S. moves in the Asia-Pacific region are aimed largely at curbing China.

"We see this not only in the economic sphere, for example in the project of Trans-Pacific Partnership, but also in the military and political sphere, given that the United States is behind the ongoing tensions in the South China Sea."

THAAD deployment in South Korea indicates a new arms race initiated by the United States, he added.
LA PAZ, Aug. 4 (Xinhua) -- Bolivian lawmakers on Thursday reassured the country's Catholic Church that same-sex marriage was not legalized in the Gender Identity Law that they approved in May.

The National Assembly sent a letter to Monsignor Ricardo Centellas, president of the Bolivian Conference of Bishops, explaining that the law allows those who have had sex change operations to also change their name and gender on legal documents but it does not legalize same-sex marriage.

Jose Alberto Gonzales, president of the Bolivian Senate, and Edgar Montano, a deputy of the ruling socialist MAS party, took pains to clear up the confusion sparked by the new law.

According to Gonzales, to allow same-sex marriage would require a constitutional amendment through a referendum.

"In legal terms ... this law does not affect the rest of the citizenry, it does not affect the rest of society," said Gonzales, stressing it was designed exclusively to recognize the right of the transsexuals to have their new gender accurately reflected in their national identity cards, passports and other documents.

"It is clear that this law does not make same-sex marriage possible," he added.

The confusion was fueled partly by Alberto Moscoso, representative of the Bolivian Coalition of LGBT Collectives, who interpreted the law as allowing transsexual and transgender people to marry someone of their own sex once they had changed their paperwork, and was touting the law, which took effect on Monday.
RIO DE JANEIRO, Aug. 4 (Xinhua) -- A Brazilian court on Thursday sentenced a former head of the state nuclear company Eletronuclear to 43 years in prison.

The sentence imposed on Othon Luiz Pinheiro da Silva is one of the toughest handed down as part of the investigation into the Petrobras corruption ring.

Pinheiro da Silva was found guilty of corruption and money laundering within the Petrobras corruption ring, along with 12 other people, including his daughter Ana Cristina da Silva Toniolo, who was sentenced to 14 years and 10 months in prison.

Pinheiro da Silva was found to have organized bribes for the contracts signed between Eletronuclear and construction companies Andrade Gutierrez and Engeviz for the construction of the Angra 3 nuclear power plant in Rio de Janeiro.

Investigations found various irregularities in the contracts for building Angra 3, including fraud in the tendering process, bribes to public officials and favoritism in the assignment of contracts.

The contracting process was overseen by Eletronuclear, a subsidiary of the state electric company Eletrobras, and was orchestrated to be in favor of several private companies involved in the corruption ring.

The Petrobras corruption ring is estimated to have embezzled at least 2 billion U.S. dollars between 2004 and 2014, leading to the arrests of dozens of government officials, Petrobras staff and executives of private companies.
MONTEVIDEO, Aug. 4 (Xinhua) -- Representatives from the Southern Common Market (Mercosur) countries were divided Thursday over Venezuela's takeover of the bloc's presidency.

Venezuela was supposed to take over the presidency of Mercosur, which groups Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, Uruguay and Venezuela, on Monday.

Representatives from Argentina, Brazil and Paraguay believed that Venezuela's current crisis means the country is not positioned to assume presidency.

Uruguay, however, maintains that the alphabetical order must be followed and Venezuela must take over the rotating presidency from it as planned. It also rejected a proposal by Buenos Aires that Argentina, being next in line, should take over the presidency.

Paraguayan Deputy Foreign Minister Rigoberto Gauto said the countries would meet again in the next few days to seek a political solution.

Earlier in the day, Brazilian Foreign Minister Jose Serra proposed that Mercosur create an "informal council" to oversee the bloc's affairs until January 2018, when Argentina is scheduled to take over the presidency.

On Thursday, Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro accused Argentina, Brazil and Paraguay of forming a "triple alliance" in favor of the United States.

Maduro is facing a recall referendum spearheaded by the opposition.
TIANJIN, Aug. 5 (Xinhua) -- Gou Hongguo, an associate of an underground church leader, was convicted of subverting state power and sentenced to three years in prison with a three-year reprieve on Friday.

He has also been deprived of his political rights for three years, according to the No. 2 Intermediate People's Court in Tianjin, a northern port city close to Beijing.

Gou pled guilty and said at the court he would not appeal.
BEIJING, Aug. 5 (Xinhua) -- Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs Zhang Ming is visiting Turkey, a Foreign Ministry spokesperson said Friday.

Zhang will learn about Turkey's domestic situation, and make in-depth exchange of views with the Turkish side on China-Turkey relations as well as international and regional issues of shared interest, spokesperson Hua Chunying said in a written statement.

Hua said China hopes Zhang's visit will deepen the two countries' political mutual trust, and promote the healthy and stable development of bilateral ties.

Turkey is a friendly nation to China, and is an important country in the Middle East with significant influence on the peace and stability in the region, said the spokesperson.

A failed coup attempt in the country on July 15 was crushed the next day.
BUENOS AIRES, Aug. 4 (Xinhua) -- Argentine and Brazilian agriculture ministers on Thursday stressed like-mindedness at a time when their regional trade bloc is being rocked by ideological differences.

"The two countries have a common destiny," said Argentine Agriculture Minister Ricardo Buryaile.

His Brazilian counterpart, Blairo Maggi, echoed that sentiment, saying the feeling is mutual.

The two ministers, who met on Thursday, made the remarks in the context that their countries, along with Paraguay, are unhappy with Venezuela taking over the six-month presidency of the Southern Common Market (Mercosur), which groups Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, Uruguay and Venezuela.

Venezuela was supposed to take over the presidency of Mercosur on Monday.

Argentina, Brazil and Paraguay believed that Venezuela's current political crisis means the country is not positioned to assume presidency.

Uruguay, however, maintains that the alphabetical order must be followed and Venezuela must take over the rotating presidency from it as planned. It also rejected a proposal by Buenos Aires that Argentina, being next in line, should take over the presidency.

Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro is facing a recall referendum spearheaded by the opposition.
HANOI, Aug. 5 (Xinhua) -- A number of individuals and organizations related to granting fake licenses for local fertilizers under Vietnam's Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development's Department of Cultivation (DoC) have been handled, said the department on Friday.

Specifically, Nguyen Thi Phuong Thao, acting head of the DoC's Quality and Environment Management was disciplined while Truong Hop Tac, former head of the DoC's Soil and Fertilizer Management was criticized and transferred to other job, reported local Tien Phong (Pioneer) newspaper on Friday.

At the same time, Tran Quoc Tuan, deputy director of Vietnam's National Center for Fertilizer Testing and director of the Southern Center for Fertilizer Testing, was removed from the post and transferred to other job.

The ministry now continues to review and handle other senior officials of the DoC as well as ministry leaders over the issue.

Ma Quang Trung, head of DoC said that among 1,550 fertilizer samples reviewed across Vietnam, as many as 248 are granted licenses in conformity with regulations. The remaining 1,300 products which are not granted licenses in accordance with regulations will be recovered.

In Vietnam, there are some 5,000 fertilizer products.
BEIJING, Aug. 5 (Xinhua) -- A former senior official with the Beijing government went on trial Thursday for allegedly taking bribes totaling 1.9 million U.S. dollars, a local court said Friday.

Liu Zhi, former deputy secretary-general of the Beijing municipal government, appeared at Beijing's Second Intermediate People's Court on Thursday.

Liu sought benefits for others by taking advantage of his positions and gained more than 12.66 million yuan (1.9 million U.S. dollars) in illicit profits in the form of cash, housing and cars between 2004 and 2015, when he served as deputy chief of the municipal development and reform commission and deputy secretary-general of the municipal government, according to the indictment.

The Beijing Municipal People's Procuratorate launched an investigation into his case in August 2015.

The case is being heard and a verdict will be announced on a later date.
WASHINGTON, Aug. 4 (Xinhua) -- Exiled Turkish cleric Fethullah Gulen on Thursday dismissed an arrest warrant issued against him by a Turkish court, while denying his role in the recent failed military coup.

The warrant changes neither his status nor his views, Gulen was quoted by U.S. media as saying in a statement after a court in Istanbul issued the warrant for allegedly "giving instructions" for the July 15 coup.

"It is well-documented that the Turkish court system is without judicial independence, so this warrant is yet another example of (Turkish) President (Recep Tayyip) Erdogan's drive for authoritarianism and away from democracy," Gulen said.

Erdogan has repeatedly accused Gulen, a Muslim cleric living in self-imposed exile in Pennsylvania, of plotting the July 15 coup, which left at least 290 people dead, including more than 100 "coup plotters."

The Turkish government has already sent documents to the United States requesting the extradition of Gulen, leader of the Gulen Movement.

U.S. State Department Spokesman Mark Toner told a news briefing Thursday that the U.S. government is still studying those documents to determine whether they constitute a formal extradition request.

Turkey-U.S. ties were strained by the failed coup amid Turkey's indication of U.S. involvement in it.

But the U.S. government has denied any role in the coup and repeatedly stated that it supports the elected civilian government in Turkey, while vowing to continue cooperation with the NATO ally in areas such as the fight against terrorism.
Photo taken on Aug. 1, 2016 shows a symbol of Didi in Hangzhou, capital of east China's Zhejiang Province. (Xinhua/Long Wei)

BEIJING, Aug. 5 (Xinhua) -- Chinese former Olympic hurdles champion Liu Xiang has filed a lawsuit against online ride-hailing service provider Didi for using his image without authorization in online ads, a Beijing court said Friday.

The Haidian District People's Court has accepted the case.

In the indictment, Liu said the company released news of Liu's retirement and six images of him through its official microblog account in April 2015, according to the court in a statement.

"My runway, my hurdles. Every ending point is a new start. Fighting," said the post, followed by content promoting its app Didi Chuxing.

Liu said the company violated his rights of publicity for commercial use and misled the public to believe Liu had been hired as the company's brand spokesman or had cooperated with the company.

Liu requested the company apologize, immediately delete the related web links and photos, and provide compensation of 1.26 million yuan (190,000 U.S. dollars).

The statement did not mention when the hearing is scheduled.
Cambodia's National Assembly president Samdech Heng Samrin (front L) and Chinese Ambassador to Cambodia Bu Jianguo (front R) cut the ribbon during the inauguration ceremony of the building of the Cambodia-China Friendship Association in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, Aug. 5, 2016. Samdech Heng Samrin on Friday inaugurated the building of the Cambodia-China Friendship Association in Phnom Penh and encouraged the association to work more actively to boost Cambodia-China ties. (Xinhua/Sovannara)

PHNOM PENH, Aug. 5 (Xinhua) -- Cambodia's National Assembly president Samdech Heng Samrin on Friday inaugurated the building of the Cambodia-China Friendship Association here and encouraged the association to work more active to boost Cambodia-China ties.

"This is a historical milestone that the Cambodia-China Friendship Association has its own building since it was established more than a decade ago," he said during the inauguration ceremony.

He expressed profound thanks to generous Chinese and Cambodian people for donating money for the construction of the two-storey building.

"I'm confident that the association will work more active to further strengthen and expand the long-standing friendship relations and good cooperation between Cambodia and China," he said.

Chinese Ambassador to Cambodia Bu Jianguo appreciated the association for its active contributions to promoting China-Cambodia relations, particularly through cultural exchange, people-to-people and youth-to-youth connectivity, and education.

"These activities have importantly contributed to strengthening and expanding traditional friendship relations and good cooperation between China and Cambodia for mutual benefits," she said.

"The new building is another important symbol of solid China-Cambodia relations," she said.

Meanwhile, the Chinese embassy also donated another 200,000 Chinese yuan (about 30,000 U.S. dollars) to the association.

Built on a 270-square-meter parcel in the complex of the Senate, the two-storey building took 10 months to be constructed at the cost of 340,000 U.S. dollars, said Ek Sam Ol, president of the Cambodia-China Friendship Association.

He said the budget for the construction was donated by Chinese Embassy to Cambodia, Chinese People's Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries, and Chinese community in Cambodia as well as Cambodian people.
SYDNEY, Aug. 5 (Xinhua) -- The latest installment of the hugely popular Harry Potter series has become Australia's fastest selling book of the decade, local media reported on Friday.

More than 170,000 people have rushed to grab a copy of the two-part series book titled: "Harry Potter and the Cursed Child" in the first three days of its release, said publishing house Hachette Australia.

The book which was released on July 31 by author J.K Rowling, director John Tiffany and playwright Jack Thorne has become Australia's fastest-selling script book since the release of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows in 2007.

The unprecedented response to the play script has left retailers scrambling to order thousands of copies more to satisfy Hogwarts-hungry readers.

Booktopia's head of marketing John Purcell said the online-only business sold out of the title despite placing four bulk orders, totaling more than 8,000 copies.

To date, author JK Rowling has sold 450 million copies of her Harry Potter seven-book series worldwide.
VANCOUVER, Aug. 4 (Xinhua) -- The effects of an extra property tax on foreign homebuyers remain to be seen although the government wanted to cool Vancouver's extremely hot housing market, said experts on Thursday.

Thomas Davidoff, an economics professor, said the new tax is a net positive for affordability in Vancouver. "I think it's a good step and it's politically very popular here," he told Xinhua.

The affordability situation is so severe, and there is such strong demand from the Chinese mainland for property in the Greater Vancouver region, said the professor with the University of British Columbia.

"If you made me pull out a number, I would say relative to a world without this tax probably about a 10 percent lower price, but it is so hard to know what the impact will be," the professor said.

Nothing would change if rich foreigners keep buying homes at the same pace as before, or if they start buying property through friends or professional acquaintances whom they trust, he said.

He claimed to be part of a group that believes a property tax would be more effective if it targeted only property buyers who don't pay income tax here regardless of their nationality.

Adil Dinani from Royal LePage Realty, a local real estate agent, also said that it was too early to talk about the effectiveness of the new tax.

"When there is uncertainty in the air, which is the general sentiment now, with the tax, and how it's going to unfold and how its going to effect the broader market, and the buyer sentiment, it does shake confidence," he told Xinhua on Thursday.

The new tax caught everyone by surprise when the British Columbia government announced it on July 25, said Dinani.

"There wasn't a lot of consultation ... It almost felt like Premier Christy Clark was shooting from the hip, and not really looking downstream as to the impact of what this type of policy would have on the broader market, and especially locals, who have a lot of their purchases tied to foreign national buyers."

The new tax, which covers residential property deals only, took effect on Tuesday. The move came after the government tracked all residential real estate transactions across British Columbia and reported that foreigners spent more than 885 million Canadian dollars (679 million U.S. dollars) on Metro Vancouver real estate in a recent five-week period, about 10 percent of the value of all real estate purchased in the region over that period.
ISLAMABAD, Aug. 5 (Xinhua) -- Afghan Ambassador in Islamabad Omar Zakhilwal said all crew members of a Pakistani helicopter that made crash landing in eastern Afghanistan on Thursday are safe.

Six people, including a Russian national, on board were taken hostage by the Taliban as the helicopter came down in Azra district of logar province, Afghan officials said in reported comments.

Pakistani officials say the helicopter was on way to Russia via Uzbekistan for repair and maintenance when it came down.

Afghan officials quoted the residents as saying that the Taliban took the crew members along with them and efforts are underway to secure their release.

The Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid has been quoted by Pakistani The Express Tribune newspaper that he is seeking information about the incident.

"All crew members are safe," Afghan ambassador Zakilwal told Xinhua in Islamabad on Friday.

He also confirmed the Taliban had taken the crew and that President Shraf Ghani has directed the Governor of Logar and the security forces to assist in recovering of the hostages.

"I am hopeful there will be a peaceful ending to this," he said.

Pakistani officials said the helicopter belonged to Punjab, the biggest province of Pakistan's four provinces, and that permission to use the Afghan airspace had been sought.

The military spokesman Gen Asim Saleem Bajwa has said Army chief General Raheel Sharif had spokesman to General John Nicholson, the Resolute Support Mission's commander hours after the helicopter made a crash landing.

"The Army Chief called Gen Nicholson, Commander RSM in Afghanistan, asked him to help in recovery of crew of Punjab government helicopter that crash-landed in Logar province," Gen Bajwa said on his official Twitter.

Lt Gen Bajwa added that the Afghan government and Afghan National Army have also been contacted for their assistance in recovering the crew members.
TIANJIN, Aug. 5 (Xinhua) -- Gou Hongguo, an associate of the leader of an illegal church, was convicted of subverting state power and sentenced to a three year suspended sentence on Friday.

He has also been deprived of his political rights for three years, according to the No. 2 Intermediate People's Court in Tianjin, a northern port city close to Beijing.

Gou, 55, pleaded guilty and said that he would not appeal.

Influenced by Hu Shigen, leader of an illegal church, Gou formulated ideas to subvert state power, the court said in a statement. Hu was sentenced to seven-and-a-half years in prison after being convicted of subverting state power Wednesday.

Assigned by Hu, Gou once went abroad to attend training for theories and methods of state subversion, the court added.

Since 2014, Gou colluded with a group of like-minded religious people, petitioners, lawyers and legal administrators to agitate in controversial cases and incite public hatred against the state.

He also arranged meetings and actively engaged in criminal activities subverting the government and the socialist system, harming national security and social stability, the court said.

"Today's trial enabled me to recognize the harm I've brought to the country, society, and my family," Gou said in his final statement.

"I plead guilty, express my sincere remorse and accept the ruling."

He said he had been deluded by the West's so-called ideology of democracy and was used by "foreign forces and those with ulterior motives," causing grave damage to social stability.

"I'm grateful to the government to save me and resolve not to participate in any criminal activities and will make a clean break with all those anti-government forces," Gou said.

He also thanked the judicial organs for helping him contact a hospital while he was ill in detention, saying he was really moved by such actions.

According to a court statement, he was given a light sentence because he confessed, testified against others and repented.

The court also decided that Gou posed no major threat to the community.
Thailand's former prime minister Yingluck Shinawatra waves to supporters before a court hearing over a rice subsidy scheme in Bangkok, capital of Thailand, on Aug. 5, 2016. Thailand's former prime minister Yingluck Shinawatra attended a court hearing on Friday over a rice subsidy scheme during her administration, which allegedly incurred losses of billions of U.S. dollars. (Xinhua/Rachen Sageamsak)

BANGKOK, Aug. 5 (Xinhua) -- Thailand's former prime minister Yingluck Shinawatra attended a court hearing on Friday over a rice subsidy scheme during her administration, which allegedly incurred losses of billions of U.S. dollars.

The former lady leader appeared before the Supreme Court in the first defendant hearing, during which prosecutors made inquiries into the controversial rice program implemented by her Puea Thai (for Thai) Party-led government years ago.

Hundreds of her supporters gathered to cheer her up under close watch of policemen outside the court compound.

A working group of the Prime Minister's Office under current Thai leader Prayut Chan-o-cha has held Yingluck, as head of the previous government, responsible for 8.2 billion U.S. dollars in damages for the allegedly corrupt, loss-ridden rice program in an earlier hearing at the Supreme Court.

Nevertheless, Yingluck maintained that she had merely intended to have the rice farmers nationwide fairly benefit from her populist program and categorically dismissed allegations that she had failed to combat alleged corruption in the program run by senior government officials.

Yingluck, who has already been banned from politics for five years since January 2015, denied that she had deliberately turned blind eye to alleged scams of any government officials or rice dealers to make undue gains.

She said some documents and personal witnesses which could have been otherwise useful to her legal battle in court had not been taken into account during court hearings.

Government prosecutors, the Democrat Party and critics of the previous Yingluck administration claimed that the rice program had been largely riddled with corruption allegedly involving senior officials, including former commerce minister Boonsong Teriyabhirom, in collusion with rice dealers.
WELLINGTON, Aug. 5 (Xinhua) -- New Zealand kiwifruit giant Zespri said Friday it has temporarily halted all exports to China, its biggest market, after a fungus was found in two containers during routine checks.

Zespri general manager of grower and external relations David Courtney told Radio New Zealand that the fungus had not been found before on New Zealand kiwifruit in China or in any other market, but it had been present on fruit in New Zealand for 20 years.

Shipping to China would be halted for up to a week to have the time to implement new protocols such as adding additional layers of checks before export, Courtney said.

China bought just under 20 percent, or about 500 million NZ dollars (360.65 million U.S. dollars), of New Zealand's kiwifruit exports, Courtney said, and China was responding appropriately to the risk.

A number of containers on the wharf in New Zealand due for departure would be repacked according to the new protocols, he said.

In April, Zespri announced it was expanding its presence in China, including the possibility growing kiwifruit there as part of a plan for year-round supply.

The grower-owned company said it was expanding its representative offices in China, raising staff numbers from 25 to 90 over the next three years and investigating kiwifruit cultivation with local partners.

Zespri, which entered the Chinese market over a decade ago, was broadening distribution and sales from tier one and two cities and the eastern seaboard to inland into other large provincial cities and more tier two and tier three cities.

Record sales in China last year have helped to rebuild New Zealand's kiwifruit industry as it recovers from the Psa vine-killing disease.
MANILA, Aug. 5 (Xinhua) -- The Asian Development Bank (ADB) said on Friday that its Board of Governors has unanimously reelected Takehiko Nakao as president for a further five years beginning on Nov. 24.

Nakao was first elected as president on April 28, 2013 to serve the three and a half years remaining of the term of his predecessor, Haruhiko Kuroda.

Nakao, the bank's ninth president, was the sole nominee after the bank's governors were invited from May 31 to June 30 to make nominations for the organization's presidency.

Nakao welcomed the board's decision.

"It is a great honor to receive the mandate of ADB members to serve as president of the ADB for another five years," he said.

"I will devote myself to continuing to lead ADB to an even more elevated standing as the primary development institution in the region that helps achieve inclusive and sustainable development in Asia and the Pacific," Nakao said.

Prior to joining ADB in 2013, Nakao was a senior official in the Japanese Ministry of Finance where he gained extensive experience in international finance and development. Nakao also taught international finance as a Visiting Professor at the University of Tokyo in 2010 and 2011.

Born in 1956, Nakao holds a Bachelor's degree in Economics from the University of Tokyo and a Master's degree in business administration from the University of California, Berkeley.

ADB, based in Manila, is dedicated to reducing poverty in Asia and the Pacific through inclusive economic growth, environmentally sustainable growth, and regional integration.

Established in 1966, the bank will mark 50 years of development partnership in the region in December 2016. It is owned by 67 members - 48 from the region. In 2015, ADB assistance totaled 27.2 billion U.S. dollars, including co-financing of 10.7 billion U.S. dollars.
CARACAS, Aug. 4 (Xinhua) -- Latin American countries have organized public breastfeeding events this week to commemorate World Breastfeeding Week from Aug. 1 to 7.

In Venezuela's capital Caracas, some 200 women gathered at El Vena Plaza to breastfeed their babies on Thursday to tout the benefits of breastfeeding for both the baby and the mother.

The event also marked a national milestone, since Venezuela's breastfeeding rate has climbed from a mere 7 percent in 1997 to 52 percent today, Marilyn Di Luca, director of the National Nutrition Institute (INN), told state television network VTV.

The women gathered at the site to "promote breastfeeding as an act of love, equality, justice, health, well-being and above all food security," said Di Luca, urging Venezuelans to help meet the government-set goal of raising the rate to 70 percent by 2019.

The World Health Organization recommends mothers exclusively breastfeed infants from birth until they are six months old, citing the health benefits of mother's milk.

Venezuela's success has eluded Mexico, where the low breastfeeding rate has been considered as a public health crisis.

Officials and health workers in Mexico held press conferences on Wednesday to sound alarms and recommend ways to combat the stigma of breastfeeding in a country where baby formula is widely considered to be superior to breast milk.

"In Mexico, the number of children that die could be up to five times lower with something as simple as breast milk for the first six months ... and then complementing it with other foods until they are two years old," Isabel Crowley, representative of the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) in Mexico, told reporters.

The good news is that the breastfeeding rate in Mexico has doubled in the past three years, up from 14.4 percent in 2012 to 30.8 percent in 2015, according to UNICEF.

Crowley called for continued efforts to raise the rate to at least 80 percent, but noted that one major obstacle was the workplace.

"Mexican women who want to breastfeed their babies face many challenges when they return to work, among them the lack of support from co-workers and discrimination in the workplace," she said, whereas women should be encouraged to breastfeed because it reduces the likelihood of illness in the first year of infancy by 35 percent, and as a result reduces absenteeism of the parents by 30 to 70 percent.

Attitudes in Mexico are beginning to change, according to media reports.

The city government of Ciudad Juarez, in northern Chihuahua state, announced Thursday it would install a special breastfeeding nook for new mothers at its offices starting next month, local daily Norte Digital said.

"In all workplaces there should be an area where mothers can breastfeed their babies and get 45 minutes to feed them," said Hugo Staines, director of the city's health department.

In Colombia's capital Bogota, as many as 2,000 women gathered at a city park to breastfeed their babies, many more than last year.

"I think it's great for (the organizers) to support moms, because breast milk is the essential food for babies," said new mother Gabriela Mulfo.

"I urge all mothers to breastfeed. It is the first and greatest show of love we can present to our children," said Mulfo.

"Breast milk protects the baby, helps the mother recover (from childbirth) and on top of that it's free," UNICEF's Crowley said.
The memorial statue of Comfort Women is seen in the city of Glendale, southern California, the United States, Aug. 4, 2016. A U.S. appellant court Thursday dismissed a case against a memorial statue in Glendale, southern California, dedicated to victims of sexual slavery by the imperial Japanese army during World War II. (Xinhua/Yang Lei)

LOS ANGELES/SAN FRANCISCO, Aug. 4 (Xinhua) -- A U.S. appellant court Thursday dismissed a case against a memorial statue in Glendale, southern California, dedicated to victims of sexual slavery by the imperial Japanese army during World War II.

The statue was erected after the proclamation of "Comfort Women Day" by the city of Glendale on July 30, 2012, and the passing of U.S. House of Representatives Resolution 121 on July 30, 2007, urging the Japanese government to accept historical responsibility for war-time crimes.

Michiko Shitota Gingery, a Japanese-American, sued the city of Glendale and called for the city to remove it, alleging it exceeds the city's power and infringes upon the federal government's power to conduct foreign affairs. She was joined by several members of Japan's House of Representatives.

Judge Kim McLane Wardlaw of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, which chambers in Pasadena, California, wrote in the ruling that the statue meant to advocate against "violations of human rights" and therefore was "well within the traditional responsibilities of state and local governments."

"Here, by dedicating a local monument to the plight of the Comfort Women in World War II, Glendale has joined a long list of other American cities that have likewise used public monuments to express their views on events that occurred beyond our borders."

In the 23-page ruling, Judge Wardlaw agreed with the finding in late 2014 by the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California about the case that "plaintiffs had not plausibly claimed that Glendale' s actions were preempted under the foreign affairs doctrine," and "the district court properly dismissed Plaintiffs' preemption claim."

Following Glendale's suit, Board of Supervisors of San Francisco voted unanimously in September 2015 to pass a resolution urging the creation of a comfort women memorial. Once erected, it would be the first major U.S. city to have one.

The U.S.-based Global Alliance for Preserving the History of WWII in Asia, a world-wide consortium dedicated to disclosing truthfully the facts about the Asia-Pacific War in 1931-1945, issued a statement applauding the appellant court's ruling.

During the district court's proceedings, the Global Alliance submitted an Amicus Curiae Brief in May 2014 to assist the court in deciding whether to dismiss or proceed with the case.

The organization said on Thursday that the appellant court's decision strengthens its "continuous call on the government of Japan to squarely face its responsibility and to bring a proper closure to this tragic chapter in history without further delay."

During World War II, Japanese forces enslaved more than 200,000 Asian and Dutch women who were removed from their homes in Korea, China, the Philippines, Thailand, Vietnam, Malaysia, East Timor and Indonesia before the war ended in 1945.
BANGKOK, Aug. 5 (Xinhua) -- A ceremony to welcome over 100 Chinese ladies from Chengdu upon their arrival in Bangkok was staged Thursday, as they are joining in Thailand's special month for female tourists.

The Chinese delegates had all taken up promotional packaged tours in Thailand, which had been specially put together by the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT), THAI Airways and Chengdu-based tour companies to meet the needs of women travelers. Their trips cover three routes taking in Bangkok, Pattaya, Kanchanaburi, and Phuket respectively.

The trips featured a range of excursions and activities geared toward female tourists including beauty treatments, relaxation and wellness, spa and massage, and the chance to experience local culture and traditions.

"Thailand offers a great deal to women in terms of activities and attractions and our Women's Journey Thailand 2016 campaign is promoting the best of these. Our visitors from Chengdu got the chance to experience health and beauty treatments and to relax in some of the kingdom's most sublime tropical destinations. We understand the stress of modern life and feel that the charms of Thailand can help women to relax and feel invigorated after a break here."Said Runjuan Tongrut, TAT Executive Director of the East Asia Region said,

According to TAT, the visit of the 100 Chengdu women is expected to generate over 20 million Baht (570 thousand USD)and is just one of the many events planned for the Women's Journey Thailand campaign that will continue throughout the month of August 2016.

The campaign also marks the 84th Birthday of Thai Queen Sirikit on 12 August.
MANILA, Aug. 5 (Xinhua) -- The number of tourists from Chinese who flocked to the island resort Boracay in the central Philippines during the first seven months of this year has more than doubled.

Marry Ann Sumillar of the Malay Municipal Tourism Office told Xinhua that from January to July the tourism office has recorded a total of 187,089 tourists from Chinese, up 138 percent from 78,686 recorded the same period in 2015.

In 2015, Sumillar said their office recorded a total of 177,926 tourists from China. "Chinese tourist arrivals started to pick up in August last year," she said.

During the first seven months of this year, Sumilar said South Korea tops the list of foreign tourists visiting Boracay.

She said international tourist arrivals rose by 29.47 percent to 558,014 during the January-July period.

Data showed that South Korea topped the number of foreign tourists with 193,536 arrivals from January to July this year, up 13.5 percent from last year's 170,408 visitors. In 2015, a total of 292,174 South Koreans visited the resort island.

China came in second, Malaysia with 18,356, and the United States with 15,290, Sumillar said.

She said data also showed that tourists from Japan, China and South Korea made up more than half of the total international travelers to Boracay, accounting for 429,800 arrivals or 77 percent of the foreign tourists.

She said the total number of tourists who visited Boracay during the first seven months of the year grew by 15 percent, or to 1,126,755 from the 973,434 arrivals in the same period last year.

Boracay Island, off Aklan province in the central Philippines, is famous for unsullied fine talcum powder-sand beaches, sapphire seas and spectacular sunsets.
ISTANBUL, Aug. 5 (Xinhua) -- Former Istanbul governor Huseyin Avni Mutlu was arrested on Friday over his link to the failed coup attempt in Turkey last month.

Along with Mutlu, 11 other suspects, including seven governors, a deputy governor and three district governors, were detained as well for being members of the Fetullah Organization, the state-run Anadolu Agency said.

Fethullah Gulen, a Turkish cleric based in the United States, has been accused of being behind the July 15 coup bid, in which 237 people were killed.

Mutlu, after serving four years as Istanbul governor between 2010 and 2014, had been working with the Interior Ministry.

He was suspended from his position following the failed coup and detained on July 26 in the investigations into the plotters.

During his interrogation, Mutlu had denied having ties with Gulen's organization, Anadolu said.

"On the coup attempt night I condemned the coup on Twitter and I obviously said that they should pay the price before law," he was quoted as saying.

Anadolu also noted that Mutlu confessed he had once spoken to Gulen over the phone but never met him.

Two books written by Gulen were seized in Mutlu's house, while the phone number of former Air Force Commander Akin Ozturk, who was arrested and dismissed from the Turkish Armed Forces over his link to Gulen's group, was found in his phone, according to the agency.

In his testimony, Mutlu said the books belong to his sister-in-law or her son, and the phone number of Ozturk existed because of their prior professional relationship in the southeastern city of Diyarbakir between 2007 and 2010, Anadolu added.
A Turkish girl gestures under a huge picture of modern Turkey's founder Mustafa Kemal Ataturk at a rally in Gundogdu Square in Izmir on August 4, 2016. (AFP/Xinhua)

ISTANBUL, Aug. 5 (Xinhua) -- Former Istanbul governor Huseyin Avni Mutlu was arrested on Friday over his link to the failed coup attempt in Turkey last month.

Along with Mutlu, 11 other suspects, including seven governors, a deputy governor and three district governors, were detained as well for being members of the Fetullah Organization, the state-run Anadolu Agency said.

Fethullah Gulen, a Turkish cleric based in the United States, has been accused of being behind the July 15 coup bid, in which 237 people were killed.

Mutlu, after serving four years as Istanbul governor between 2010 and 2014, had been working with the Interior Ministry.

He was suspended from his position following the failed coup and detained on July 26 in the investigations into the plotters.

During his interrogation, Mutlu had denied having ties with Gulen's organization, Anadolu said.

"On the coup attempt night I condemned the coup on Twitter and I obviously said that they should pay the price before law," he was quoted as saying.

Anadolu also noted that Mutlu confessed he had once spoken to Gulen over the phone but never met him.

Two books written by Gulen were seized in Mutlu's house, while the phone number of former Air Force Commander Akin Ozturk, who was arrested and dismissed from the Turkish Armed Forces over his link to Gulen's group, was found in his phone, according to the agency.

In his testimony, Mutlu said the books belong to his sister-in-law or her son, and the phone number of Ozturk existed because of their prior professional relationship in the southeastern city of Diyarbakir between 2007 and 2010, Anadolu added.
BEIJING, Aug. 5 (Xinhua) -- Silicon Valley has long enjoyed a reputation for technological innovation, while times may have changed as industry insiders are currently seeing China as further ahead, especially in mobile tech, the New York Times recently reported.

The Times article took WeChat, Alipay, and YY.com -- all native Chinese social media giants -- as outstanding examples that first popularized barcodes-scanning payment and money transfer, mobile order services and video-streaming, among other hits, that some U.S. tech giants, such as Facebook and Snapchat, are following suit.

In 2015, China has surpassed the United States in mobile payment. Also, more people in China, than anywhere else, are using mobile devices to order services, make friends and watch videos, according to the article.

Some business insiders interviewed by the Times shared the view that China has become the leader on many fronts in the mobile world. Ben Thompson, the founder of the tech research company Stratechery, told the Times that "the trope that China copies the U.S. hasn't been true for years," and in today's mobile world, "the U.S. often copies China."

The article also pointed out that in comparison with the idea among their U.S. peers of making apps simple, Chinese tech firms often stuff several functions into one app -- you can chat, order food and car rides, do shopping, book trips and hotels all through a single platform. They also allow other companies to grow within them to directly offer services, which have created many successful business stories, the article said.

Meanwhile, Chinese tech giants are also exploring overseas markets themselves. On Thursday, WeChat, the most widely used mobile messaging app in China, announced it was entering the New Zealand payments market with its automatic payment app WePay.

WePay has 400 million active users in China, processing over 500 million payment transactions a day.
HANOI, Aug. 5 (Xinhua) -- Vietnam and Thailand jointly issued here on Friday a stamp collection to mark the 40th anniversary of establishment of their diplomatic ties.

The collection included two stamps designed by a Vietnamese and a Thai painters, featuring puppetry, a traditional art of both countries.

The stamps, which are sold at prices of 3,000 Vietnamese dong (13.45 U.S. cents) and 10,500 Vietnamese dong (47.1 U.S. cents), will be available from Aug. 5, 2016 to June 30, 2018, said Vietnam's Ministry of Information and Communication (MIC).

On the occasion, Vietnam Post also launched an application of augmented virtual reality technology on its stamps.

Following that, stamp users can download free application of ASEAN Stamp to their smart phones or tablets to know more of information and special photos related to the stamp collection.

According to MIC, there are around ten countries having such application on postage stamps. In Asia, Vietnam is the third country to implement the application after Thailand and Singapore.
SYDNEY, Aug. 5 (Xinhua) -- A "comfort women" statue commemorating ladies who were used as sexual slaves during the Second World War will go on display in Australia for the first time on Saturday.

The local Korean community has decided to go with the unveiling of the statue despite the resistance it has received from the Japanese community in Sydney.

Sydney's Peace Statue Establishing committee spokesperson Sihyun Paik said the society had pooled a donation of about 50,000 Australian dollars (38,264 thousand U.S. dollars) to bring the statue from South Korea.

He said this was because the committee felt compelled to honor almost 200,000 Korean ladies who had been forced into prostitution to satisfy soldiers before and during WWII from the 1930s to 1945.

"The statue will be here on a permanent basis. It's our hope that it will make its way to the war memorial museum in Canberra one day as well. We haven't started talking to them (the museum) yet but we hope to get a spot there soon," Paik told Xinhua on Friday.

He said until then, the statue will be within the grounds of anywhere the Korean society deems it fit to be. At present, there are only 29 of the 1.5-meter statue worldwide. Besides South Korea, the statue can also be found at Glendale and Detroit in the United States and in Toronto, Canada.

The "comfort women" statue will be displayed at the Korea Society in Sydney's Croydon Park.
Tibetans celebrate the Ongkor Festival in Shannan, southwest China's Tibet Autonomous Region.(Xinhua/Purbu Tashi)

BEIJING, Aug. 5 (Xinhua) -- In the highland barley fields of Tibet, as the crops ripen in the late summer, farming families celebrate a festival that began more than a thousand years ago.

The Ongkor Festival - marked when the harvest is just around the corner - usually falls in August between the fifth and sixth month of the Tibetan calendar.

Farmers celebrate the Ongkor Festival in the Yarlung Valley in Shannan, southwest China's Tibet Autonomous Region.(Xinhua/Purbu Tashi)

During the festival, farmers pray for good weather and a bumper harvest. It is most popular in Lhasa and the Xigaze and Shannan prefectures.

Across Tibet, the climate varies according to the altitude and so does the ripening time for the highland barley. The actual date of the Ongkor Festival also depends on the maturity of the crops so each village celebrates at a different time.

Farmers celebrate the Ongkor Festival in the Yarlung Valley in Shannan, southwest China's Tibet Autonomous Region.(Xinhua/Purbu Tashi)

Ongkor is Tibetan for "looking around the field", and the celebrations are often held in the fields. The typical celebration begins with everyone - young and old - dressing in their festive costumes. On their backs, they carry rolls of sutras as well as food such as tsampa (a roasted flour specialty) and highland barley wine.

People celebrate the Ongkor Festival in a village in the Lhasa valley in southwest China's Tibet Autonomous Region.(Xinhua/Purbu Tashi)

Chanting prayers or singing folk songs, their elders lead them in a line through the fields, burning cypress twigs and leaves to pray for good times, a good harvest and prosperity.

Finally, they gather in an open area to sing, dance and drink wine, and to celebrate with activities such as horse racing and tug-of-war.

A man shoots an arrow as part of the Ongkor Festival celebrations in the Yarlung Valley in Shannan, southwest China's Tibet Autonomous Region.(Xinhua/Purbu Tashi)
COLOMBO, Aug. 5 (Xinhua) -- China grabbed the number one spot with the most number of tourist arrivals to Sri Lanka with over 30,000 tourists arriving in the month of July, Sri Lanka's tourism development authority said on Friday.

Statistics showed that tourist arrivals from China for the month of July grew 21.9 percent compared to the same month last year.

Last year 25,120 tourists arrived from China in the month of July.

India came in second with over 27,000 tourists arriving in the island nation last month, a 12.1 percent growth from the same period last year.

Overall, Sri Lanka's tourist arrivals increased by 19.1 percent in July this year compared to the same period last year exceeding one million tourists arrivals so far this year.

Statistics showed that In the first seven months of this year 1,173,618 tourists visited the island compared to the 1,005,855 visited in the corresponding period of 2015, recording an increase of 16.7 percent.

Tourist arrivals from North America increased by 25.6 percent to 10,249 in July while 77,862 people visited from Western Europe registering a 20 percent increase in arrivals during the month. Most of the tourists came from UK, Germany and France.

Sri Lanka's Tourism Minister, John Amaratunga recently announced that it expects a heavy influx of Chinese tourists to Sri Lanka this year and will continue mega promotional campaigns in major cities across China.

Chinese tourist arrivals in the island nation has seen a rising trend since the end of the country's 30 years civil conflict in 2009.

This is the second time that China has taken the number one spot and outnumbered visitors from India who had been leading with the most number of tourist arrivals.

"China is a very important market for us and we are expecting a huge number this year. We are also making the necessary preparations to deal with the large numbers," Amaratunga said.
TIANJIN, Aug. 5 (Xinhua) -- Gou Hongguo, an associate of the leader of an illegal church, was convicted of subverting state power and sentenced to a three-year suspended sentence on Friday.

He has also been deprived of his political rights for three years, according to the No. 2 Intermediate People's Court in Tianjin, a northern port city close to Beijing.

Gou, 55, pleaded guilty and said that he would not appeal.

The defendant, originally from Chengde City in Hebei Province, is the legal representative of two companies based in Beijing. His trial was the fourth at the Tianjin court this week.

Under the influence of Hu Shigen, leader of an illegal church, Gou formulated ideas to subvert state power, the court said in a statement. Hu was sentenced to seven-and-a-half years in prison after being convicted of subverting state power Wednesday.

Gou, on assignment from Hu, went abroad to attend training in theories and methods of state subversion, the court added.

Since 2014, Gou colluded with a group of like-minded religious people, petitioners, lawyers and legal administrators to agitate in controversial cases and incite public hatred of the state.

He also arranged meetings and actively engaged in criminal activities to subvert the government and the socialist system, harming national security and social stability, the court said.

"Today's trial enabled me to recognize the harm I've brought to the country, society, and my family," Gou said in his final statement.

"I plead guilty, express my sincere remorse and accept the ruling."

He said he had been deluded by the West's ideology of democracy and was used by "foreign forces and those with ulterior motives," causing grave damage to social stability.

"I'm grateful to the government for saving me and I resolve not to participate in any criminal activities and will make a clean break with all those anti-government forces," Gou said.

He also thanked the judicial organs for helping him contact a hospital while he was ill in detention, saying he was really moved by such actions.

According to a court statement, he was given a light sentence because he confessed, testified against others and repented.

The court also decided that Gou posed no major threat to the community.

The second branch of the People's Procuratorate of Tianjin Municipality filed charges against Gou with Tianjin No. 2 Intermediate People's Court on July 15.

During Friday's trial, the presiding judge informed the defence team of Gou's rights and obligations in litigation. The defendant and defenders did not object to any evidence presented by prosecutors.

More than 40 people, including lawyers and journalists from China and overseas, observed the trial.

Prosecutors told the court that Gou, together with others including Hu Shigen, Zhou Shifeng and Zhai Yanmin, had conspired and plotted to subvert state power, and had "established a systematic ideology, method and steps to achieve it."

The defendant was accused of hyping up incidents to attract international attention and carrying out activities aimed at subverting state power. One such case was a fatal incident in Suzhou City, Jiangsu Province in December 2013, which resulted in two deaths.

After the incident, Gou joined others to support the suspect in the intentional injury case for the Suzhou incident, misrepresenting him as a "hero of legal rights protection." Their photos were then posted by some overseas anti-China websites.

In January 2014, Gou instigated public hatred for the government, saying "the authorities are against the people" during a conference held in Beijing.

"Gou's criminal facts have revealed the malicious intent of some ax-grinders, who have used illegal religious activities as a disguise and colluded with overseas anti-China forces to commit a series of crimes to subvert state power," prosecutors were quoted as saying.
BISSAU, Aug. 5 (Xinhua) -- A Chinese fishing vessel, Hai Feng, will be used to supply fish to Guinea Bissau's internal market as from Friday, Guinea Bissau's Fisheries Minister Fernando Correia Landim said Thursday.

"The Chinese vessel will henceforth supply fish to the internal market so that every citizen can access fish products at an affordable price," Landim said after taking part in operations to offload fish from the Chinese vessel at the Bissau port.

He said the government will avail over 200 tons of fish on the domestic market under an agreement signed with China.

A kilogram of fish that currently costs 650 CFA Francs (1.1 U.S. dollar) on the internal market will henceforth be sold at 500 CFA Francs.

The minister said this partnership with China will enable the Guinea Bissau government to create ideal conditions for supply of fish to the internal market.

On Thursday, Hai Feng vessel offloaded 142 tons of fish, but Guinea Bissau fishmongers urged the government to redouble efforts to supply more fish on the internal market.

Guinea Bissau has in the past experienced a shortage of fish due to lack of fishing vessels in the country.

China and the European Union are the country's principle partners in the fishing sector.
KINSHASA, Aug. 5 (Xinhua) -- Democratic Republic of Congo (DR Congo) President Joseph Kabila and his Ugandan counterpart Yoweri Museveni on Thursday agreed to start sharing intelligence reports on activities of Ugandan rebels operating in eastern DR Congo.

"On this matter, we have agreed to collaborate through our security services by sharing intelligence on activities of the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) rebels," Museveni said after the meeting between the two leaders in Kasese district, western Uganda.

He said Uganda will end operations to recruit ADF fighters within its territory, and also revealed that "ADF had been recruiting fighters from other countries, like Tanzania."

The United Nations and non-governmental organizations have accused the Ugandan rebels of killing over 600 people in eastern DR Congo since October 2014.

The UN Mission for Stabilization of Congo has deployed an intervention brigade against local and foreign armed groups, but its impact on insecurity reduction has not been felt much in North Kivu province where ADF rebels have been active since 1986.

Omar Kavota, a member of North Kivu civil society, welcomed the agreement reached between Kinshasa and Kampala authorities to work together on addressing the ADF problem.

He also hailed the efforts made by Kabila to engage his Ugandan counterpart to significantly contribute to eradication of rebel threat in eastern DR Congo.
BEIJING, Aug. 5 (Xinhua) -- Chinese authorities are alarmed by the slow progress in reducing overcapacity in the coal and steel industries as a temporary market recovery impeded efforts to shut down production.

An inter-ministerial meeting held Thursday urged stronger efforts to press ahead with the capacity cuts. Inspection teams will be sent to local governments to oversee the work starting in mid-August, the People's Daily reported Friday.

In the first seven months of the year, China only achieved 38 and 47 percent of this year's reduction targets for the coal and steel sectors, respectively, official data showed.

Some local governments and companies have wavered in cutting capacity due to increases in steel and coal prices in recent months, said Xu Shaoshi, head of the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), the country's top economic planner.

"We must be cool-headed about it," Xu said at the meeting, attributing the price upticks to expectations for lower supply and warning that excessive capacity remains huge in the two sectors.

China is the world's largest producer and consumer of steel and coal. The two industries have long been plagued by overcapacity and felt the pinch even more in the past two years as the economy cooled and demand has fallen.

However, coal and steel prices have risen in the past few months amid temporarily strained supply as some producers scaled back output to avoid losses.

The price of a popular coal product rose by 30 yuan (about 4.5 U.S. dollars) in the first six months to 400 yuan per tonne at the beginning of July, while the composite steel price index increased by 11 points to 67.83 points, according to data from the NDRC.

As prices picked up, some coal mines and steel plants quietly resumed production and were reluctant to close down, speculating that business could turn around, an industry insider told Xinhua on condition of anonymity.

For example, monthly crude steel output has returned to growth since March, with the daily average output hitting record highs in April and June.

Both analysts and officials said the recovery is unsustainable.

"The price increases were just the result of a short-term mismatch between supply and demand," said Xu Xiangchun, an analyst with mysteel.com, a Shanghai-based steel information service provider. "It cannot hide the fact that the coal and steel market remain seriously oversupplied."

In the first half of the year, China's steel consumption dropped 2.7 percent year on year while coal consumption fell 5.1 percent, showing that there is no basis for sustained price increases, said NDRC's Xu Shaoshi at Thursday's meeting.

"We should stand firm and not to be disrupted by price fluctuations in working to reduce overcapacity, or else the two industries will face more trouble," he said.

Officials at Thursday's meeting demanded local authorities clearly define responsibilities and fulfill the reduction targets without delay or compromise.

Local governments were ordered not to allow any new projects that would expand steel or coal capacity. They were also required to protect the legitimate interests of all employees who are redundant.

China plans to cut steel and coal capacity by about 10 percent -- as much as 150 million tonnes of steel and half a billion tonnes of coal -- in the next few years, with 100 billion yuan in funds set aside to help displaced workers

For this year, the government aims to pare steel production capacity by 45 million tonnes and shave off coal capacity by 250 million tonnes.
A person waves a Turkish flag during a rally at Gundogdu Square in Izmir on August 4, 2016, protesting against the failed July 15 military coup attempt. (AFP/Xinhua)

ANKARA, Aug. 5 (Xinhua) -- Turkey's Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu on Friday criticized Austrian Chancellor Christian Kern's remarks in which he suggested that the European Union end accession talks with Ankara.

"The Austrian chancellor has to look at his country first. Austria is the capital of radical racism," Cavusoglu said in an interview with private broadcaster TGRT Haber.

Cavusoglu described the comments as "ugly," saying that he received them with "astonishment" and "regret."

On Wednesday, Kern called the accession talks with Turkey a "diplomatic fiction" and he wanted the EU leaders to reconsider their approach to Turkey.

Tensions between the two countries had been on the rise since last month.

Austria had summoned Turkey's ambassador on July 21 to explain Ankara's links to demonstrations in the country in support of Erdogan.

Turkey has been a candidate country for EU membership since 2005.
SINGAPORE, Aug. 5 (Xinhua) -- Singapore's Minister for Home Affairs and Minister for Law K Shanmugam said on Friday that Indonesian authorities' arrest of six terror suspects who plotted to launch a rocket to Singapore's Marina Bay did not come as a surprise.

Singapore's Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) said in a statement that it was aware that plans were being made by the six terror suspects arrested by the Indonesian authorities, and the Police and other agencies had been stepping up inland and border security measures in response.

Indonesian police said earlier in the day that they had arrested the six suspects in Batam, Riau Islands Province, including the group's leader whom police said had been plotting an attack by launching a rocket from Batam to Singapore's Marina Bay.

MHA said the country's security agencies had been coordinating closely with the Indonesian authorities since the discovery of this attack plot, to monitor the activities of the group and apprehend those involved.

The ministry stressed that this development highlighted the seriousness of the terrorism threat to Singapore, and the importance of the SG Secure national movement.

Shanmugam also urged Singaporeans to be extra alert. "We have to emphasize the importance of SG Secure, and the role that everyone has to play," added the minister.
Myanmar's President U Htin Kyaw (L, 2nd Row) and visiting Laos' President Bounnhang Vorachitch (R, 2nd Row) inspect the guard of honor at the Presidential Palace in Nay Pyi Taw, Myanmar, on Aug. 5, 2016. Myanmar and Laos entered into an agreement on Friday for management of the first ever Friendship Bridge between the two countries during the meeting between Myanmar's new President U Htin Kyaw and his counterpart Bounnhang Vorachitch. (Xinhua/Soe Than Lynn)

NAY PYI TAW, Aug. 5 (Xinhua) -- Myanmar and Laos entered into an agreement on Friday for management of the first ever Friendship Bridge between the two countries during the meeting between Myanmar's new President U Htin Kyaw and his counterpart Bounnhang Vorachitch.

President Vorachith arrived in Nay Pyi Taw on Friday morning for a visit at the invitation of Myanmar's President U Htin Kyaw. President Vorachith's visit is the third head of state level to Myanmar after Mongolia and Singapore.

The bridge which links Myanmar's Tachileik in eastern Shan state and Laos'Luang Namtha Province across Mekong River was inaugurated by the then presidents of both countries. The bridge was opened in May last year.

The idea of constructing the 691.6 meter-long Myanmar-Laos Friendship Bridge worth of 26 million U.S. dollars was first raised during an earlier visit to Myanmar by Lao Prime Minister Thongsing Thammavong in July 2011 and the project started in February 2013.

During the talks of the two presidents, they has also highlighted the continuation of bilateral discussion and mutual visit, holding bilateral commission meeting and meeting of Myanmar-Laos border authorities in September this year, cooperation on border affairs, repairing boundary pillars and starting direct flights for Yangon-Vientiane and Luang Prabang- Bagan, reconsidering enacting agreements and promoting bilateral ties and cooperation on regional and international affairs.

U Htin Kyaw paid a visit to Laos in early May, accompanied by State Counselor and Foreign Minister Aung San Suu Kyi, as his very first official visit abroad.
Chinese Minister of Commerce Gao Hucheng (L) meets with his Philippine counterpart Ramon Lopez in Vientiane, Laos, on Aug. 4, 2016. (Xinhua/Liu Ailun)

VIENTIANE, Aug. 5 (Xinhua) -- The South China Sea issue does not determine all aspects of China-Philippines relations and will not affect bilateral cooperation in economic, trade and investment fields, ministers from the two countries agreed on Friday.

China and Philippines have the capability and wisdom to solve the issue on the existing basis through bilateral negotiation and the consultation mechanism between China and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), said Chinese Minister of Commerce Gao Hucheng after meeting with his Philippine counterpart Ramon Lopez in the Lao capital.

The meeting has focused on measures to further recover and develop economic and trade relations between the two countries, Gao told media on the sidelines of the 48th ASEAN Economic Ministers Meeting that kicked off here Wednesday.

Gao said both Lopez and he agreed that the two countries should restart the China-Philippines joint economic and trade committee, an important mechanism on bilateral trade and economic cooperation, which has been stalled for five years.

The new Philippine administration has repeatedly expressed willingness to improve relations with China through bilateral channels and direct dialogues, which created favorable condition for bilateral cooperation in a number of areas, said the Chinese minister.

The two sides also had an in-depth and extensive exchange of views on bilateral cooperation on trade, two-way investment, infrastructure construction, tourism, trade facilitation and certain industries, he said.
KABUL, Aug. 5 (Xinhua) -- Internal differences within Taliban rank have further deepened as fresh fighting between supporters of Taliban leader Mawlawi Haibatullah Akhundzada and his opponents in the western Herat province have claimed at least 20 lives over the past four days, a local official said Friday.

"Up to 20 militants from both sides have been killed in the infighting flared up on Tuesday," a spokesman for provincial administration Jilani Farhad told Xinhua.

The clash, according to the official, erupted between armed men of Mullah Samad, a commander loyal to Taliban leader Akhundzada and his rival commander Mullah Nangiali during which 15 more insurgents from both sides sustained injuries.

A loyalist to Taliban faction led by Mullah Rasoul Akhund, commander Mullah Nangiali has been challenging the rival faction in Shindand district and adjoining areas to expand his grip in the region.

Taliban militants haven't commented on the situation there in Shindand.

Akhundzada replaced Mullah Akhtar Mohammad Mansoor who was killed in a U.S. drone attack in late May.

The succession has been challenged by Mullah Rasoul Akhund as illegitimate and since then both sides have clashed in several provinces.

Similar conflict between Mullah Samad and Mullah Nangiali in Shindand district some two months ago had killed score of fighters from both sides.

Fighting between supporters and opponents of Akhundzada, according to local media reports have claimed hundreds of lives from both sides in Farah, Badghis, Ghor, Zabul and other provinces over the past couple of months.

Just weeks ago the armed men of Mullah Ghafar Tofan a commander loyal to Mullah Rasoul Akhund challenged commander Mullah Sia Khan, a loyalist to Akhundzada in Qadis district of Badghis province which claimed dozens of lives from both sides.

Infighting within Taliban in Shindand district has been reported amid ongoing fierce fighting between government forces and Taliban militants in Helmand, Kunduz, Baghlan and Badakhshan provinces.

Afghan political analysts believe that continued infighting among Taliban militants would gradually weaken the armed outfit and eventually facilitate government forces to dislodge militants from their hideouts.
HANGZHOU, Aug. 5 (Xinhua) -- Australian Timothy Clancy has become a local celebrity in east China's Hangzhou for his online videos.

In the bilingual program, "Tim brings you around West Lake," Clancy, 31,shows popular venues for morning exercises, how to bargain at the market and make rice dumplings, and introduces viewers to West Lake Longjing, one of the most famous green tea brands produced near the city's West Lake.

"I thought it would be interesting to tell stories about Hangzhou from a foreigner's point of view so that more people fall in love with it like I have," he explained in fluent Chinese.

Supported by the local government, he has released 12 episodes on the official "Beautiful West Lake" microblog as well as on streaming video players such as Youku.

"Through the program, Chinese friends are expected to learn some pure oral English, and Westerners can learn about the beauty of Hangzhou," he said.

As Hangzhou, capital of east China's Zhejiang Province, prepares to host the 2016 G20 summit on Sept. 4 and Sept. 5, foreign residents like Clancy have joined the volunteers to teach English and spread Chinese culture.

Despite being an Australian, Clancy did not have a lot of feelings about the 2014 G20 summit in Brisbane, but he said it was "an honor" to be part of the event this time in Hanghzou, his "second hometown."

He and more than 50 foreign volunteers from the United States, Russia, Italy, Republic of Korea, Ukraine and Indonesia have passed tests on etiquette, G20 basics, volunteer services and physical ability. They continue to train and rehearse in preparation for the event.

According to the organizers, foreign volunteers will serve as interpreters for the summit attendees and provide other services at the conference venue.

Born in Sydney, Clancy earned diplomas in electrical engineering and engineering management from the University of Technology Sydney. In 2007, he was struck by the landscape and history of Hangzhou while studying on an exchange at Zhejiang University, and decided to return to the city in 2011.X "I loved the campus surrounded by hills, water and trees. I could even smell the plum flowers while breathing," he recalled.

He earned a diploma in Chinese history and literature at Zhejiang University in 2011, and is now continuing for his fourth bachelor's degree, this time in clinical medicine.

His interest in volunteering was inspired in part by his Chinese wife. The couple helped start a club for Chinese and foreign volunteers in Hangzhou last year, attracting more than 120 participants from over 20 countries.

"The number of foreigners living in Hangzhou exceeds 10,000, including doctors, designers and painters. They often need help finding jobs, renting houses and seeing a doctor," he said.

To help more Chinese people learn English, Clancy and his peers have organized English lectures in communities and offices during summer vacation. He is also compiling a brochure of English translation mistakes he catches in the city.

"Some translations of road signs and bulletins are too funny," he said, adding he will submit the brochure to authorities for correction.

His dream is not limited to serving the summit. He is planning to produce another bilingual program about cultural, tourism and economic exchanges between Hangzhou and Sydney. Currently, he is seeking support from the Australian Consulate-General in Shanghai.

"I hope, with my efforts, Hangzhou will be known to the world," he said.
ROME, Aug. 5 (Xinhua) -- A cargo plane overshot the runway at Orio al Serio international airport in Bergamo, northern Italy, and ended onto a nearby road on Friday, authorities said.

No casualties were reported in the incident, which took place early Friday.

The plane, a Boeing 737 belonging to courier firm DHL, apparently skidded on the runway after landing due to bad weather conditions, Ansa news agency reported.

It smashed through the perimeter fence of the airport, and stopped with its nose onto the highway passing at the end of the runway.

The cargo flight originated from Charles De Gaulle airport in Paris, and had three crewmembers on board, all of which were uninjured, aviation officials said.

The highway was quite empty of car traffic at that early morning hour, which helped prevent possible casualties, according to local media.

The Italian National Agency for Flight Safety was immediately informed in order to investigate the causes of the incident, the Italian Civil Aviation Authority stated.

The Orio al Serio hub was closed for a few hours on Friday morning, and some flights had to be rerouted to Malpensa airport in Milan.

Up to mid-Friday, at least eight rescue teams of Italian firefighters were at work in order to secure the area, and remove the plane.

The closure of the highway where rescue teams were working, plus heavy rains, caused severe disruption to the traffic in the Lombardy region.

Low-cost Orio al Serio hub lies some 50 km northeast of Milan, and is Italy's third busiest airport by passenger traffic, with over 10 million travelers last year.
HELSINKI, Aug. 5 (Xinhua) -- Finnish universities have agreed on common measures to protect Turkish researchers working in Finland from being purged in the aftermath of the coup attempt in Turkey.

Following the failed coup attempt in mid-July, the Turkish education sector including the higher education institutions has been targeted for massive political purge.

According to media reports, over 15,000 staff members of the Turkish Ministry of Education have been suspended or dismissed, 21,000 teachers have lost their professional licenses, and 1,577 university deans have been forced to resign.

On July 20, the Turkish Council of Higher Education issued an order to suspend sending scholars abroad, and ask researchers and teachers working abroad to return to Turkey.

Halil Gurhanli, a Turkish researcher in the University of Helsinki, told Finnish daily Helsingin Sanomat that it is easy to understand why the Turkish president wants the cleanups to target specifically universities.

On July 22, Universities Finland (UNIFI), an organization for Finnish universities, issued a statement to condemn the forced resignation of university deans. UNIFI also expressed its strong support for the higher education community in Turkey, and called for academic freedom in the country.

To protect Turkish researchers working in Finland from being purged, Finnish universities have agreed on common measures recently. One of the measures was to extend the contracts of Turkish scholars working in Finland.

"We have agreed that when their contracts run out, they will keep on until the situation (in Turkey) is evaluated," Kalervo Vaananen, rector of the University of Turku, was quoted by Kaleva as saying.

According to Jouko Niinimaki, chairman of UNIFI and rector of the University of Oulu, currently there are about 100 Turkish nationals working in Finnish universities.

"Taking a position on societal issues is one of the tasks of universities," he told Kaleva.

Halil Gurhanli told Xinhua on Thursday that he personally has no institutional connection with Turkey, so there is no place to call him back.

"I know only one researcher here in Finland who is called back, and that through a common friend, not directly," said Gurhanli.

He also said that the Finnish university the researcher is affiliated to sent a letter to urge the Turkish university in question not to call the person back, due to the importance of his work that was ongoing in Finland.

According to Liisa Laakso, rector of the University of Tampere, one of the three Turkish scholars in the university had received similar order.
JAKARTA, Aug. 5 (Xinhua)-- The anti-terror squad of Indonesian police on Friday arrested six suspected militants allegedly linked with the Islamic State (IS) group and planned to launch rocket strike on nearby Marine Bay of Singapore, police disclosed here.

The militants were captured in separate locations in Batam Island of Riau province, said Brigadier General Agus Rianto, spokesman of the national police.

"We captured six suspected terrorists grouped in Kitabah Gonggong Rebus (KGR) group,"he said at the police headquarters.

One of the militants with initial GRD is the leader of the KGR group in Batam Island and used to plot rocket strikes which target Singapore's Marina Bay, said Rianto.

"They (used to) plan rocket strikes on Singapore, the rockets would be launched from Batam Island,"the spokesman said.

The strike would involve a high profile IS member from Indonesia, Bahrun Naim, who is fighting in Syria now, Rianto revealed.

"The plot was possibly made just before Bahrun Naim departed to Syria," he added.

Besides, GDR had planned to launch several suicide bombings at police stations and the place where mass gathered, he said.

GDR took responsibility for receiving and channelling funds from Indonesian citizen Bahrun Naim in Syria and is also in charge of facilitating Indonesians wishing to engage in Jihad (holy war) in the Middle East country, he added.

The arrest is conducted as international experts will gather in Bali next week to find a strategy to paralyze financial system of the global terrorists.

Indonesia is among the global target of the IS. On Jan. 24, the group launched a suicide bombing strike in the heart of the country's capital, killing eight people and injured over 28 others.
GENEVA, Aug. 5 (Xinhua) -- UN humanitarian agencies Friday announced the successful completion of a relief operation to provide more than 75,000 people with food and humanitarian relief items at Syria-Jordan border.

"Today, the World Food Programme (WFP), the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, the International Organization for Migration and UNICEF completed an urgent relief operation to provide a one-month ration of desperately-needed food and hygiene supplies to more than 75,000 people who are trapped along a land embankment, or berm, at the Syria-Jordan border," according to a joint statement by the agencies.

An estimated 75,000 people fleeing conflict in Syria are living in makeshift shelters along the border area, or the berm, that runs along the Syria-Jordan border.

"Unable either to cross the border or turn back, the situation facing these women, men and children has grown more dire by the day. Sheltering in makeshift tents in harsh desert conditions with temperatures of up to 50 degrees Celsius and sudden sand storms, they are without sufficient food and have barely enough water to survive," the statement said.

The UN agencies thanked the government of Jordan for supporting this critical operation and look forward to further efforts to reach people at the berm with humanitarian assistance in time to save their lives.

Jordan sealed the berm area more than a month ago following an attack at a Jordanian border post. Before the border closure, UN agencies and aid organizations regularly delivered aid from Jordan's territory to Syrians stranded on the other side of the berm.
BEIJING, Aug. 5 (Xinhua) -- A film featuring China's wildlife such as pandas and snow leopards, by Disneynature and Chinese film-makers, premiered in Beijing on Thursday. It will be shown in cinemas from Aug. 12.

Cui Yuying, deputy director of the State Council Information Office, said at the premier that the film showed the beauty and harmony of China's nature, ecology, and people, and would help the international community know more about China.

Directed by Lu Chuan, the film features endangered species such as giant panda ,golden monkey, snow leopard, Tibetan antelope and red-crowned crane.

The film will be put on screen worldwide on April 22, Earth Day, next year.
MANILA, Aug. 5 (Xinhua) -- The Central Bank of the Philippines (BSP) has imposed a record 1-billion-peso (21.3 million U.S. dollars) fine on Rizal Commercial Banking Corp., in connection with the Bangladesh Bank heist scandal, the central bank said in a statement Friday.

"The Monetary Board approved the imposition of supervisory enforcement action on RCBC to pay the amount of 1 billion pesos, in connection with the special examination conducted by the (central bank) relating to the Bangladesh Bank cyber heist,"the statement read.

"This affirms the (central bank's) strong commitment to ensure the stability of the country's financial system through strong and effective regulation of BSP-supervised financial institution (BSFI)."

The central bank said this is the largest amount it has ever imposed on a financial institution as part of its supervisory enforcement actions on a BSFIs.

The imposition of fine was in connection with the 81 million U.S. dollars stolen from a Bangladeshi central bank that made its way into the Philippines through RCBC employees. The government has managed to trace most of the 81 million U.S. dollars but at least 17 million U.S. dollars is still unaccounted for, prompting the Bangladesh to seek the help of President Rodrigo Duterte.

Bangladeshi Ambassador to the Philippines John Gomes told a news briefing on Friday that a team from Bangladesh will visit Manila to look into and recover the laundered money.

"We are pinning our hopes on the new administration for the recovery of our money," Gomes said.
BEIJING, Aug. 5 (Xinhua) -- China's Defense Ministry on Friday denounced new Japanese Defense Minister Tomomi Inada's attempts to deny any "killing contest" in Nanjing during WWII.

Tomomi Inada's remarks are outrageous, said the Chinese Defense Ministry in a statement.

Inada said Thursday that she doubted that whether any killing contest took place during the Nanjing Massacre.

Japanese Defense Minister's public denial of the fact was aimed at whitewashing Japan's atrocities and disturbing the post-war order, said Chinese Defense Ministry.

There is no future if Japan denies history, said the Defense Ministry.

The Japanese army occupied Nanjing, then capital of China, in late 1937, and in over 40 days more than 300,000 Chinese were killed.

During that time two Japanese officers, Toshiaki Mukai and Tsuyoshi Noda, had a contest to kill 100 Chinese people using a sword. Mukai beheaded 106 and Noda 105.

The two officers were convicted of atrocities and executed in January 1948.
Chen Chen (6th R), minister Counselor of the Chinese Embassy in Myanmar, and Thein Win (4th R), director general of the Higher Education Department of Myanmar, pose for a group photo with Myanmar university students during the launching ceremony of the China Foundation for Poverty Alleviation (CFPA)'s Myanmar office and Paukphaw Scholarship Project in Yangon, Myanmar, Aug. 5, 2016. China Foundation for Poverty Alleviation (CFPA) launched its office in Myanmar on Friday to provide scholarship to 600 university students in the country as part of its Paukphaw Scholarship Project. (Xinhua/U Aung)

YANGON, Aug. 5 (Xinhua) -- China Foundation for Poverty Alleviation (CFPA) launched its office in Myanmar on Friday to provide scholarship to 600 university students in the country as part of its Paukphaw Scholarship Project.

CFPA will provide four years of scholarship aid to 600 students from Yangon University of Economics, East Yangon University, West Yangon University and Dagon University who have poor economic backgrounds. Each student will be provided with about 253 U.S. dollars per annual.

Thein Win, director general of the Higher Education Department of Myanmar, Chen Chen, minister Counselor of the Chinese Embassy in Myanmar as well other officials and distinguished guests attended the launching ceremony themed "For the Students, For the Future".

Thein Win welcomed the launch of the project and urged the scholarship recipients to study diligently in order to contribute to the society and the close ties between the peoples of China and Myanmar.

Chen Chen expressed his hope that more Chinese non-governmental organizations will establish offices in Myanmar to undertake humanitarian work to demonstrate the goodwill of the Chinese people.

CFPA was registered to Myanmar's Ministry of Home Affairs in order to operate as an international non-governmental organization in Myanmar.

During the past decade, CFPA has raised 100 million RMB for projects in 15 countries and regions.
DAMASCUS, Aug. 5 (Xinhua) -- The Syrian army on Friday foiled an attack by the Islamic State (IS) on military positions in the eastern province of Deir al-Zour, killing 150 of the terror group militants, state news agency SANA reported.

The Syrian army foiled the IS attacks on military positions in the Tal Bruk in the countryside of Deir al-Zour, said SANA.

SANA spelled no further details, but the IS group has repeatedly carried out attacks against government positions in that oil-rich province.

The IS controls much of the countryside of Deir al-Zour province, except the city, which is still under the government control, but besieged by the IS.

Russian aircrafts frequently carry out airdrops of aid and food to the besieged people in that city.

Deir al-Zour holds a strategic importance to the IS, due to its proximity to the IS-controlled areas in neighboring Iraq.
Smoke billows from buildings during an operation by Syrian government forces to retake control of the rebel-held district of Leramun, on the northwest outskirts of Aleppo, on July 26, 2016. (AFP/Xinhua)

DAMASCUS, Aug. 5 (Xinhua) -- The Syrian army on Friday foiled an attack by the Islamic State (IS) on military positions in the eastern province of Deir al-Zour, killing 150 of the terror group militants, state news agency SANA reported.

The Syrian army foiled the IS attacks on military positions in the Tal Bruk in the countryside of Deir al-Zour, said SANA.

SANA spelled no further details, but the IS group has repeatedly carried out attacks against government positions in that oil-rich province.

The IS controls much of the countryside of Deir al-Zour province, except the city, which is still under the government control, but besieged by the IS.

Russian aircrafts frequently carry out airdrops of aid and food to the besieged people in that city.

Deir al-Zour holds a strategic importance to the IS, due to its proximity to the IS-controlled areas in neighboring Iraq.
PARIS, Aug. 5 (Xinhua) -- French police on Friday arrested an Afghan asylum seeker who may planned "an imminent terrorist attack," according to local state-run radio.

The refugee had been in France for the past two months and "was getting ready to take action in the coming hours or days," France info radio reported.

Earlier this week, police was on alert for the man suspected of plotting an attack. His photos have been circulated and helped to arrest him earlier on Friday in 18 districts of the French capital, it added.

Last month, two attacks claimed by the Islamic State (IS) rocked France, which has been already on high terror alert since Nov. 2015 after gunmen killed 130 people in Paris in the country's deadliest terrorist assault.
BEIJING, Aug. 5 (Xinhua) -- Once again, in its latest defense white paper, Japan has shamelessly accused China of jeopardizing regional peace and stability, playing up the "China Threat" for its own right-wing agenda.

As the Abe administration moves Japan's security policy further and further to the right, rebuilding the country as a military power, those neighboring nations who remember the past look on aghast.

The new defense paper adopts an even more confrontational tone compared to previous ones, accusing China of "changing the status quo by relying on its strength" and expressing "deep concern" over China's activities in the East and South China seas.

If history is indeed a mirror, then surely that mirror reflects Japan's recent record of stirring up regional trouble and enmity wherever and whenever it can. If there is any meddling with the status quo, it is easy to see that Japan is the meddlesome one.

In 2012, Tokyo stoked up tensions in the East China Sea through the transparent farce of "purchasing" the Diaoyu Islands. Warships and aircraft were dispatched to the islands' waters and skies, harassing Chinese vessels and aircraft going about their lawful business.

On the South China Sea, Japan -- far from an interested party -- can't seem to keep its nose out of the issue, pointing fingers at China and cheerleading for distant parties who also seek to interfere in the dispute.

And then in April, Japan sent warships to the Philippines, perhaps as a direct "thank-you" for the spurious South China Sea arbitration, laying bare its attempts to mount pressure on China.

The Abe administration has tinkered with the stability of the Asia-Pacific and conjured up security threats for no reason other than to justify a move to the right: a militarist move which includes, but is not limited to, easier arms trade, weaker civilian control over the military, and these controversial security bills.

This year's white paper makes much of the "constitutionality" of Japan's new security laws - the legal foundation for the right-wing to take control of Japan's defense.

Japan talks of "concern" and "vigilance" over China's military development, and has done so in its annual papers since 2005. After new security legislation last year, Japan has taken a more proactive approach, a more aggressive approach, directly condemning and challenging China.

Abe and his coalition partners are clearly speeding up their attempts to rewrite the constitution before his tenure ends in 2018. Laws allowing Japan to engage in armed conflict overseas, even if Japan is not attacked or threatened, came into effect in March. The Abe administration is inching closer to its dream of replacing the country's pacifist constitution with... a different kind of constitution.

The fanciful "China Threat" and tensions in the region are the best excuses for aggressive military and security polices that Tokyo can cook up.

Seven decades after World War II, Japan now stands at a critical juncture: to continue on its peaceful path or to return to militarism with all the fears and tensions that will bring to the region.

Each and every responsible member of the international community must stay vigilant. This peace and stability was hard-won. Its loss will be harder still.

Related:

Japan hypes up "China threat" in defense white paper

TOKYO, Aug. 2 (Xinhua) -- The Japanese government approved a defense white paper for 2016 on Tuesday, summarizing Japan's defense policy changes while smearing China's normal maritime activities to justify Japan's own militarization.

The annual document came after an ad hoc arbitral tribunal with judges mostly picked by Shunji Yanai, a Japanese right-winger, issued a biased and illegal award over the South China Sea dispute. Full story
HARARE, Aug. 5 (Xinhua) -- Zimbabwean Minister of Industry and Commerce Mike Bimha has met with his South African counterpart Rob Davies in South Africa to discuss bilateral trade issues, including Zimbabwe's recent move to ban selected imports from South Africa.

Bimha told a press briefing Friday that South Africa welcomed Zimbabwe's clarification on the import ban, with the two countries pledging to further cement their trade ties.

South Africa is Zimbabwe's biggest trading partner but a recent import ban by Zimbabwe on some South African products appeared to have unnerved South Africa, with some media reports indicating the country was considering retaliatory action.

However, Bimha said the South African trade and industry minister Rob Davies denied that South Africa intended to hit back at Zimbabwe over the import ban.

"He did regret the negative reports that have been circulating in the media on these measures which were more of making reference to issues that South Africa was resorting to measures to retaliate against our Statutory Instrument (SI) 64 of 2016," Bimha said.

Zimbabwe effected the SI in June this year, which puts restrictions on importation of 42 products mainly from South Africa.

Zimbabwe says the measure, which it argues is not an import ban, is aimed at protecting the local industry as it only targets products that are already produced in Zimbabwe.

Bimha said Zimbabwe wanted the import restrictions to be in force for the next two to three years to allow the struggling Zimbabwean companies to retool and improve production capacity.

Government would also put in place funding schemes for the affected companies to enable them to recapitalize during the protection period, he said.

Zimbabwean manufacturing companies are struggling with lack of funding to retool and acquire raw materials, a development that has left them teetering on the brink of collapse, hence government's intervention through various measures such as the import ban.

Meanwhile, Bimha said South Africa had requested Zimbabwe to either reduce or exempt from tax its 112 products that it exports to Zimbabwe.

Zimbabwe was currently consulting on the matter, Bimha said, adding Ministers of Health from the two countries were also discussing a matter where there should be reciprocity in the trading of pharmaceutical products.

South Africa currently insists that pharmaceutical products from Zimbabwe should be transported by air and yet Zimbabwe does not insist on that requirement.

"We allow pharmaceutical products from South Africa to come through Beitbridge Border Post hence their pharmaceutical products become more competitive than ours," he said.

The two industry ministers are due to meet again after two weeks to check on progress regarding the decisions they made.
Vesna Pusic, former Croatian foreign minister, candidate for the position of the next secretary-general, presents herself to the member states at the United Nations headquarters in New York, April 13, 2016. (Xinhua/Li Muzi)

ZAGREB, Aug. 5 (Xinhua) -- Former Croatian Foreign Minister Vesna Pusic on Thursday withdrew her campaign for the post of UN secretary-general before the Security Council's second straw poll on candidates.

In a press release, she said that the first poll showed her chances were not realistic and the post would likely go to some one who has already worked or works at the UN.

"For that reason, I am withdrawing my candidacy for the post of UN secretary-general and I will not participate in further activities related to this election," she added.

The incumbent UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon will conclude his term at the end of 2016.

In July, the UN Security Council held its first straw poll on candidates vying to become the next UN secretary-general.

Pusic got the least encourage vote, according to diplomats.

Former Portuguese Prime Minister Antonio Guterres is the frontrunner, followed by former Slovenian President Danilo Turk, diplomats said earlier.

The UN Security Council's second straw poll on candidates is scheduled for Aug. 5.

UN secretary-general shall be appointed by the General Assembly upon the recommendation of the Security Council. In practice, the Security Council, particularly its five permanent members, will make the final choice and send a single candidate to the General Assembly for approval.
UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, Stephen O'Brien, briefs the media in Juba at the end of his three-day mission to South Sudan on Aug. 3. He called on all parties to uphold their responsibilities to protect civilians, amidst fresh fighting that has displaced tens of thousands of people in multiple locations across the country. (UNOCHA)

JUBA, Aug. 5 (Xinhua) -- The top UN relief official has expressed shock and dismay over reports of violence against civilians and sexual violence against women and girls committed during the recent fighting in South Sudan.

"The people of this country have suffered far too much, and for far too long," Stephen O'Brien, the UN Emergency Relief Coordinator told journalists in Juba on Wednesday, wrapping up his three-day visit to South Sudan.

He called on all parties involved in the violence to cease hostilities immediately and punish those responsible for abusing the rights of civilians.

"I express my shock and dismay at the reports of violations committed against civilians during fighting in recent months, including Juba in particular. I condemn the heinous acts of sexual violence carried out against women and girls, including members of the organized forces," he said.

O'Brien who said he met President Salva Kiir and also toured two camps for internally displaced persons in Wau and Aweil, said reports of widespread violence against civilians throughout the country are alarming.

"I am outraged by the heinous acts of violence that have been committed against civilians, including by members of the armed forces, and call for swift and decisive action to halt these abuses and bring the perpetrators to account."

The UN relief official said he witnessed for himself "enormous and complex multifaceted" humanitarian crisis and widespread hunger all over the country.

O'Brien, who is also the Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs, stressed that access for humanitarian workers and those on a humanitarian mission is a right that is guaranteed under international laws.

He added that conflict had severely restricted aid access, if not prohibited altogether, in some instances.

"The people of this country have suffered far too much. There is no military solution to this conflict; the fighting must stop and the atrocities must end immediately. I call on all armed actors to immediately silence the guns, end the culture of impunity and allow civilians to live in peace," O'Brien said.

The humanitarian situation in South Sudan is catastrophic. More than half of the population - some 6.1 million people - are in need of humanitarian assistance. An estimated 4.8 million people are severely food insecure across the country, with a quarter of a million children facing severe acute malnutrition.

Forced displacement remains a defining feature of the crisis, with some 1.6 million people internally displaced, and more than 900,000 having fled to neighbouring countries, including more than 60,000 who fled to Uganda in July alone.

O'Brien emphasized that humanitarian workers are driven by humanitarian needs. They operate on the basis of independence, impartiality and neutrality, and must be given free, unimpeded access to reach all people in need, wherever they may be.

The UN peacekeeping mission in South Sudan reported last week that it documented over 100 cases of sexual violence and rape against unarmed innocent civilians, including gang rapes and sexual abuse of minors since the outbreak of conflict on July 8.

O'Brien also condemned the killing of aid workers in the war-torn country, urging authorities to investigate the killings and bring perpetrator to book.

"Today, the number of aid workers killed since December 2013 is 57 and many more are still missing. This is absolutely unacceptable, and I urged the president to take immediate action to end the impunity that has prevailed to date," he said.

The humanitarian chief appealed to donors to meet their pledges to help fund the remaining 700,000 million U.S. dollars as part of the 1.3 billion dollars humanitarian appeal for South Sudan in 2016.
CHENGDU, Aug. 5 (Xinhua) -- A 19-year-old giant panda gave birth to a male cub at the Chengdu Giant Panda Breeding Center in southwest China's Sichuan Province during the early hours of Friday.

In terms of a human equivalent, the mother, Dashuang, about 70 years old, said Wu Kongju, a panda expert at the center.

Dashuang has given birth seven times in the past. Her water broke at around 8:40 p.m. Thursday, and the baby, weighing 186 grams, was born a few hours later, Wu said.

Pandas are in the high reproductive season, and staff at the center have gone to great lengths to take care of the mothers and their babies.

There are more than 1,300 wild pandas in Sichuan, 15 percent more than 10 years ago. The number of captive pandas in Sichuan is more than 360, accounting for 86.3 percent of all captive pandas nationwide.
NANNING, Aug. 5 (Xinhua) -- Five people were killed and another three injured when a tunnel under construction collapsed in south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, authorities said Friday.

The accident happened at around 8:30 a.m. Thursday, when a tunnel near a reservoir in Laibin City caved in, trapping five of the eight workers inside. The five were announced dead at around 6:10 p.m. Friday.

One of the injured is receiving treatment in hospital, while the rest only suffered minor injuries.
CAPE TOWN, Aug. 5 (Xinhua) -- An unprecedented 14 million votes have been cast in favour of South Africa's ruling African National Congress (ANC) party in the 2016 local government elections, results showed on Friday.

This translates to 54 percent of the national vote, and dramatically exceeds numbers recorded in the previous municipal election in 2011 when the ANC secured 8.1 million votes, according to results coming in to the Independent Electoral Commission's (IEC's) National Results Center in Pretoria.

As results continue to come in, ANC votes are expected to increase even further, a sign of ringing endorsement of the ANC's service delivery program by the citizens of South Africa, ANC national spokesperson Zizi Kodwa said.

These figures come at a time of intense speculation around voter apathy and citizen's alleged lack of interest in political processes, he said.

They also heavily contradict the speculation of numerous pollsters and analysts in the lead-up to the election.

As counting continues, the numbers show that the ANC is leading in all the country's nine provinces, barring the Western Cape.

With 94 percent of all votes counted by 11:00 a.m. on Friday morning, the ANC had secured the majority of votes in Limpopo, Mpumalanga, North West, Kwa-Zulu/Natal, the Northern Cape, the Eastern Cape, the Free State and Gauteng.

In nearly all these provinces the margins are wide, with opposition parties trailing far behind.

"The ANC is both honoured and humbled that so many South Africans have once again entrusted us with their vote.

"Twenty-two years into democracy, the people of South Africa have shown that not only are they committed to participatory democracy, but they also believe the ANC is their only political home," said Kodwa.

The ANC is optimistic that the party's national lead in the polls will increase further as results continue to come in, he said.

The elections, seen by many as being the most contested since 1994, took place on Wednesday.

For the first time in history, the elections saw 200 political parties and over 61,000 candidates participating to seek control of more than 200 municipalities. The number of registered voters stood at 26 million.
PORTO ROTONDO, Italy, Aug. 5 (Xinhua) -- A Chinese consortium will pay 740 million euro to buy 99.93 percent of AC Milan club shares, according to a preliminary agreement signed on Friday.

Under the agreement, the Chinese investors headed by Li Yonghog, chairman of Sino-Europe Investment Management company, will pay 740 million euro, a number which includes assuming the 220 million euro of debt, to buy 99.93% shares of the Italian club.

"We have been negotiating with Fininvest for a long time, it was really hard," an insider told Xinhua. "Due to language barriers, we could not put our messages to the club president Mr. Silvio Berlusconi. Our plan almost went flat several times. We carried on until the end."

The Chinese team's lawyers worked out the details of the agreement on Wednesday night and sent it to Berlusconi for approval.

The former Italian Prime Minister, who has been rumored to sell his club several times, made up his mind and on Friday called the Chinese side to his villa in Sardinia where they signed the agreement.

Chinese electronics retailer Suning Commerce Group Co Ltd in June bought nearly 70 percent of city rivals Inter Milan for 270 million euros.
VIENTIANE, Aug. 5 (Xinhua) -- Global economic growth is set to moderate to 3.1 percent for 2016 before picking up to 3.4 percent in 2017, according to a meeting of economic and trade ministers from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and its dialogue partners here Friday.

Emerging economies are expected to continue to provide the bulk of economic growth with 4.1 percent in 2016 in the face of moderation in the rate of economic growth seen in China alongside continued robustness in growth rates seen in India and most of Southeast Asia, according to a joint statement from the fourth East Asia Summit (EAS) Economic Ministers Meeting in Vientiane.

Meanwhile, advanced economies will see their economies expanding at an average rate of some 1.8 percent in 2016 in the face of challenges to growth, citing the result of Britain's Breixt referendum as adding further to the uncertainties.

ASEAN's trade with other EAS countries amounted to 1.05 trillion U.S. dollars in 2015, a drop from 1.11 trillion U.S. dollars in the previous year, and representing some 46.3 percent of the 10-member bloc's total trade.

Efforts towards economic integration were noted including progress in negotiations toward a Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership.

The gathering of ministers from ASEAN and eight dialogue partners including China, the United States, Japan, South Korea and Russia also welcomed China's successful convening of the Shanghai G20 Trade Ministers Meeting and expressed anticipation towards a successful G20 summit in China next month.

The fourth EAS Economic Ministers Meeting was held in conjunction with the 48th ASEAN Economic Ministers Meeting, among several multi-sectoral gatherings being hosted by Laos as per its 2016 chairmanship of the 10-member bloc, culminating in the ASEAN Summits and East Asia Summit set for Sept. 6-8 in Vientiane.
JOHANNESBURG, Aug. 5 (Xinhua) -- The pronounced drop in support for South Africa's ruling African National Congress (ANC) in the nationwide municipal elections increases the risk of more populist government policies, Fitch Ratings said on Friday.

"However, our base case remains broad policy continuity," Fitch said in a statement in response to the SA local government elections held on Wednesday.

According to early results, the ANC's share of the vote fell to 54.4 percent, from 62 percent in the previous municipal elections, its worst showing since 1994. The share of the opposition Democratic Alliance (DA) rose to 26.2 percent from 24 percent, and support for the radical Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) stood at 7.9 percent, only moderately above the 6.4 percent in the 2014 national election (the EFF was founded in 2013).

The initial results also suggested that the ANC failed to obtain an absolute majority in four of the eight large metropolitan districts: Cape Town (already held by the DA), Johannesburg, Nelson Mandela Bay and Tshwane (Pretoria).

This suggests that South African politics has become more competitive and constitutes a setback for the ANC, Fitch said.

There is a risk that the ANC turns to more populist policies to address rising voter dissatisfaction with perceived insufficient improvements in living conditions since the end of Apartheid, the agency said.

This could include costly spending measures that could require breaching expenditure ceilings or redistributive regulatory policies that might undermine economic growth.

"Increased in-fighting within the ANC could divert political energies from policy-making, and we think it most likely that the national government will continue without major changes to policies," Fitch said.

This would entail no substantial progress on structural reforms that could accelerate sluggish trend growth, but also no measures that could seriously threaten fiscal sustainability.

A more populist stance could alienate greater numbers of black middle-class voters, and the limited gains of the EFF, which runs on a platform of radical wealth redistribution, point to the limited effectiveness of populist political strategies, according to Fitch.

Municipalities have no role in macroeconomic policy-making, but such a blow to the ANC's traditional predominance could have an impact on policies, depending on the political repercussions and the conclusions that ANC leaders draw.

The results may weaken President Jacob Zuma's position inside the ANC, because the outcome may be attributed to a scandal about state funding for the refurbishment of his private residence and court decisions to reinstate corruption charges, according to Fitch.

However, Zuma has built a strong network of support in the ANC's upper echelons, and there have been no clear signs that a majority of leaders could withdraw their support before the ANC conference in December 2017 that will choose his successor as party president and presumptive ANC candidate for the South African presidency in 2019, said Fitch.

"We affirmed South Africa's 'BBB-'/Stable Long-Term Foreign-Currency IDR in June. A track record of improved growth, for example bolstered by structural reforms, could be positive for the rating, while failure of GDP growth to recover sustainably could be rating negative," Fitch said.

Currently, Fitch and S&P rate South Africa's sovereign debt a notch above sub investment, while Moody's has the country's debt two level above junk status grade but with a negative outlook.
NICOSIA, Aug. 5 (Xinhua) -- Cyprus deported to his native country a man who had converted to Islam and become "radicalized", Justice Minister Ionas Nicolaou said on Friday.

He said authorities had no evidence that the man was involved in terrorism but authorities thought that he presented a potential danger.

Nicolaou corrected a previous statement that the man was of Arab descent, saying further investigation indicated that he was an Austrian who converted to Islam.

The man travelled on Thursday night from Istanbul to an airport in the northern part of Cyprus controlled by Turkish troops, which the island's Greek Cypriot government has declared to be illegal.

Cypriot authorities allow European Union citizens who arrive at the airport to cross into the government controlled region under complex regulations set by the European Union, which considers the occupied territory of Cyprus to be part of its member state but outside the control of the legal government.

Nicolaou said the man had claimed that he came to Cyprus to pray at Hala Sultan Tekke near the city of Larnaca, a mosque Muslims consider to be their second holiest place after Mecca.

He said that the man was put on a plane to Vienna after Austria was briefed about the deportation of its national and the European Police, Europol, was also informed about the move.
TEHRAN, Aug. 5 (Xinhua) -- Iranian President Hassan Rouhani will visit Azerbaijan on Sunday for a trilateral meeting with his Azeri and Russian counterparts, official IRNA news agency reported on Friday.

Rouhani will attend the summit in Azerbaijan's capital Baku to exchange views with Ilham Aliyev and Vladimir Putin about the ways to bolster relations and discuss the latest regional developments, it said.

The sides will confer on expansion of trilateral cooperation in commerce, energy, telecommunications, environment, transportation and transit of goods, as well as fighting terrorism, it added.

During his two-day visit to Baku, Rouhani will also hold separate meetings with his Azeri and Russian counterparts to exchange views on issues of mutual interest.

Iranian and Azeri presidents will discuss implementation of already reached agreements and bolstering cooperation in commerce, industry, energy, culture, banking, consular facilities, telecommunications, and railway transportation.

The Baku meeting is held upon the proposal by Aliyev for talks about the issues of common interests.

In April, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif and his Russian and Azeri counterparts, Sergei Lavrov and Elmar Mammadyarov, held talks in Baku on ties and cooperation.

During their meeting, they stressed the importance of strengthening security, political and economic cooperation among the three countries.
MOSCOW, Aug. 5 (Xinhua) -- The leaders of Russia, Azerbaijan and Iran will discuss cooperation between the three countries in various fields at a meeting in Azerbaijan's capital Baku on Monday, Russian President Vladimir Putin said Friday.

"Our talks will focus on a flagship project -- the International North-South Transport Corridor," Putin said in an interview with Azerbaijani state news agency AZERTAC ahead of the tripartite meeting.

The transport corridor with a total length of 7,200 km aims to provide the best possible opportunities for transporting transit cargo from India, Iran and the Gulf States to Azerbaijan, Russia and further to northern and western Europe, Putin said.

According to Putin, in 2015, the overall cargo traffic along the transport corridor amounted to 7.3 million tons, up 4.1 percent from 2014.

The president said that joint anti-terrorism would be another key topic for discussion, considering the vicinity of Russia, Azerbaijan and Iran to the "hotbeds of instability" in Afghanistan and in the Middle East.

Reiterating the importance of a joint anti-terror effort, Putin said there could be no double standards in treating terrorists, which could not be divided into "good" and "bad."

"Attempts to use radical groups out of political and geopolitical interests were unacceptable and extremely dangerous," Putin said when suggesting to intensify trilateral interaction to counter terrorism, drug trafficking and so on.

On bilateral cooperation with Iran, Putin mentioned that Russia intended to grant two state loans to Iran for a total of 2.2 billion euros (about 2.4 billion U.S. dollars) to finance its power and infrastructure construction.

Russia would further assist Iran in implementing the plan of action on its nuclear program, including the processing of enriched uranium and the conversion of facilities to produce stable isotopes, Putin added.

Meanwhile, Putin said it is possible for a free trade zone to be established between the Eurasian Economic Union and Iran, as a team has started examining the parameters of relevant agreements.
GUANGZHOU, Aug. 5 (Xinhua) -- China Vanke, China's largest home builder, has refuted reports that it leaked information about Evergrande Group's purchase of its shares.

Evergrande Group, another real estate conglomerate, announced Thursday it had purchased nearly 5 percent of the issued shares of China Vanke. Rumors have swirled around that Vanke revealed the purchase to some media outlets in advance. A journalist claims to have found traces of Evergrande's purchase after he checked Vanke's list of shareholders.

The Shenzhen Stock Exchange issued a notice to Vanke on Friday, asking for an explanation.

In a Friday announcement, Vanke said it had followed the rules of the Shenzhen and Hong Kong stock exchanges. It denied rumors of leaking information about the Evergrande share purchase. Vanke said it has sent a letter to Evergrande to explain the situation.

Vanke's shares rose more than 6.5 percent Friday, after they climbed by the daily limit of 10 percent on Thursday. Shares of China Calxon Group, mostly owned by Evergrande, rose 9.98 percent.
TIANJIN, Aug. 5 (Xinhua) -- Wang Yu, a member of the Fengrui Law Firm, said on Friday that she "strongly protests" against being given an overseas "human rights award."

"Given that I have clearly refused the 'award', but the organization has still made the award against my will, I consider this an infringement of my human rights," Wang said.

Four Chinese were convicted of subverting state power and sentenced by a court in Tianjin after serial trials in the past four days.

Wang, who is currently on bail pending trial for involvement in the case, told journalists that she would "not acknowledge, not recognize and not accept" the "award."

"I am a Chinese and I love my country," she said. "I have done nothing important regarding human rights and those overseas who want to give me this award are using me to smear the Chinese government and the country."

Wang said she will not accept any award from any overseas organization and will not entrust anyone to accept the award on her behalf.

Talking about the trial of Zhou Shifeng, former head of Fengrui, and others, Wang said she believes that the trials of them have been open and fair.

"I hope people like Zhou will truly rectify their wrongdoings," Wang said, adding that she has also reflected on her own misdeeds.

Wang said she has met with her husband, Bao Longjun, who is also on bail pending trial. "He is in good condition."
VANCOUVER, Aug. 5 (Xinhua) -- Birth tourism is becoming increasingly popular these days, especially in Canada's western coastal city of Vancouver, as more and more foreign nationals come to give birth to their babies here, according to local media reports on Friday.

As some worry about the legal status of such phenomenon, Canadian federal authorities have said clearly that foreign nationals coming to Vancouver to have babies aren' t breaking any laws if they can pay all the medical care fees.

According to Friday's Vancouver Sun report, Richmond, a suburb city of Vancouver, has witnessed the birth tourism rising from just 18 in 2010 to 339 in the past fiscal year.

Nancy Caron, spokeswoman for Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC), said foreign nationals must have a temporary resident visa (TRV) to enter Canada and must state the purpose of travelling to Canada.

Many believe that more and more foreign nationals, particularly Asians, favor birth tourism because the mothers can obtain Canadian citizenship, passports, birth certificates and other documents for their newborns.

The Citizenship Act guarantees Canadian citizenship for any baby born in Canada, thus alluring foreigners to give birth here if they wish to get Canadian citizenship for their newborns.

The real problems arise is when the mothers could not pay their medical bills. Birth tourists are charged fees set by the provincial government in consultation with health authorities. British Columbia government information shows that only half of non-resident bills related to births are paid.

According to Vancouver Coastal Health (VCH) officials, non-residents are asked to put a 7,500 CAD (5,685 U.S. dollars) deposit down for an uncomplicated birth and 13,000 CAD (9,854 U.S. dollars) for a C-section, roughly three times what the hospital gets from the Medical Services Plan for insured B.C. residents.
UNITED NATIONS, Aug. 5 (Xinhua) -- The president-elect of the UN General Assembly, Ambassador Peter Thomson of Fiji, on Friday announced two more key appointments to the Office of the President of the General Assembly for the 71st session, showing the president-elect's strong commitment to transparency, gender parity and North-South balance for the upcoming session.

Ambassador Sofia Borges, former permanent representative of Timor-Leste to the United Nations, will become special adviser on strategic engagement and transparency and Ambassador Ioannis Vrailas, the deputy head of the European Union delegation to the United Nations, will act as special adviser on political affairs, a press release said here.

On June 13, Thomson, who has served as Fiji's permanent representative to the United Nations since 2010, was elected president of the 71th session of the United Nations General Assembly. He will replace Mogens Lykketoft of Denmark as president of the 193-member assembly in September this year.

In announcing the appointments, the president-elect said they reflected a commitment to provide the Office of the President with gender parity, North-South balance, institutional continuity and the requisite skills and experience to drive towards a successful 71st session.

"In line with the appointments made earlier this week, today's appointments reflect my commitment to maintaining gender parity and a healthy North-South balance in the Office of the President," Thomson said. "A continuing commitment to transparency will also be a core responsibility during the 71st session."

Ambassador Borges will lead work on strategic engagement with member states and non-state actors and oversee activities within the Office to ensure the maximum level of transparency possible.

Borges is currently serving as special adviser on the 2030 Agenda to the World Federation of United Nations Associations (WFUNA).

Ambassador Vrailas is a career diplomat and foreign affairs expert. Before taking his current position as deputy head of the European Union delegation in New York in 2011, Vrailas was deputy chief of mission with the Embassy of Greece in Washington D.C. from 2009 to July 2011.

The Friday announcement follows the appointment earlier this week of Ambassador Tomas Anker Christensen of Denmark, who will continue for a second term to serve as chef de cabinet of the assembly president's office and Ambassador Dessima Williams of Grenada as special adviser in charge of the Office's team for the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals, which was approved in September last year to serve as the blueprint for global development efforts for the next 15 years.
TIANJIN, Aug. 5 (Xinhua) -- Four people were convicted of subverting state power and sentenced by a court in Tianjin after serial trials in the past four days.

Of the four, Hu Shigen, an illegal church leader, got the longest prison term of 7.5 years. He is the eldest at 61 and had engaged in state power subversion since the 1990s.

Zhou Shifeng, a lawyer who formerly managed the Fengrui Law Firm in Beijing, was sentenced to seven years in prison.

Zhai Yanmin, an unemployed resident of Beijing, was sentenced to three years in prison, suspended for four years.

Entrepreneur Gou Hongguo received a suspended three year sentence.

Zhai and Gou may not be jailed if they do not re-offend during the probation period.

All of them accepted the charges and expressed remorse. None chose to appeal.

The four met to "establish a systematic ideology, method and steps" to subvert state power, according to the court statements.

Hu masterminded, spreading subversive ideas and plans and training agents such as Gou; Zhou ran the law firm as a front to carry out subversive activities with Hu and others; and Zhai, the "enforcer," who was instructed by Hu to organize paid petitioners for illegal protests, according to the statements.

Chen Yaodong, vice head of the Law School of Nankai University who observed proceedings, came to the conclusion that the trials were "open and fair," and that China's judiciary handled these sensitive cases with order.

"There's no place for outlaws in our country under the rule of law, and any activities to subvert state power via violence, 'peaceful evolution' or 'street politics' will be punished by law," he added.

"SPIRITUAL LEADER" HU

Hu is a native of Nanchang city in east China's Jiangxi Province. He was a teacher in a Beijing university before engaging in subversive activities.

He was sentenced to 20 years in prison in 1994 for "counter-revolutionary" crimes. He returned to his subversive ways not long after he was released in 2008.

Hu has been spreading the idea of "pushing down the wall", namely overturning China's existing system and realizing a "color revolution."

"Hu Shigen is our 'spiritual leader,'" Zhai Yanmin said in his testimony, adding Hu greatly influenced his ideas and concepts.

According to testimony of witnesses, Hu has been engaged in "brainwashing" through alleged "missionary" activities. Hu was proud to make a fuss over sensitive legal cases, often, through conflicts raised by paid petitioners.

Hu even misled the petitioners that "it is an honor to be detained," promising them financial compensations if they were.

A witness surnamed Liu said, Hu regarded petitioners as a force to subvert state power, as they "are bold enough and readily stirred up," and "obey his orders."

Gou Hongguo said, petitioners have one thing in common which is a grudge against governments, therefore, if organized, they can be a powerful force against the government.

The Qing'an incident is one example of Hu's "pushing down the wall." In May 2015, police officer Li Lebin shot dead Xu Chunhe at Qing'an County Railway Station in Heilongjiang Province, after Xu attacked Li despite multiple warnings. CCTV cameras and follow-up investigations confirmed that Li had acted within the law.

But Hu instructed Zhai to organize protests at the railway station and in front of the county government buildings, influencing online opinion and misrepresenting the incident as police brutality.

"I just wanted to smear the judicial organs, police and government," confessed Hu.

Hu also put forward the idea of "three factors" -- stronger citizen power, an internal split within the ruling bloc, and interference of international society -- and "five plans" for "peaceful transformation."

"I instilled these ideas to others with the very aim of achieving a 'color revolution,'" Hu said.

UNSCRUPULOUS LAWYER

Zhou, 51, is originally from Anyang City, Henan Province. He was director of the Fengrui Law Firm, which was suspended from operations in 2015 after a police investigation into several of its employees.

Zhou confessed he was unsatisfied with current judicial systems and the government. He has long been influenced by anti-China forces and gradually established ideas to overturn the country's political system.

Since 2011, Zhou has used the law firm as a front for his subversive agenda, recruited like-minded lawyers and other staff and together they discredited judicial organs, attacked the judicial systems and promoted anti-government sentiment by interfering in and inflating the importance of sensitive cases.

According to a prosecution witness who used to work at Zhou's firm, Zhou recruited two key administrative assistants, surnamed Wu and Liu, neither of whom were lawyers. Liu's duty was to analyze sensitive cases and to identify loopholes, while Wu was responsible for promoting them.

Zhou hired them to distort facts, cause confusion and social instability, and attack the country's judicial system.

In March 2015, while a local court in Hebei Province was hearing an extortion case taken on by Zhou's firm, he instructed lawyers to take pictures of prosecutors and judges and post them online, fabricating rumors about their moral characters.

Lyu Hongbing, vice head of the All China Lawyers Association who was present at the court this week, noted that these cases serve as a lesson for all lawyers.

"Revere the law, stick to the facts and protect you clients' legitimate interests," Lyu urged.

FOREIGN SUPPORT

The activities of this group had received foreign supports over the years, investigations found.

In March and April 2014, Gou was sent by Hu to attend a program abroad that trained the participants with theories and techniques of how to subvert a government.

"Some separatists seeking 'Tibet independence' and 'Xinjiang independence' also took part in this 'leader camp' to learn anti-China theories and skills to confront the government and law enforcement agencies," Hu Shigen confessed.

"I found the program was actually a gathering of members from all anti-China groups," Gou said. "Hu himself could not leave the country so he planned to make me his agent in activities of 'civil movements' abroad and a right-hand man in domestic operations. Once the movement picks up at home, I can organize people through what I learnt in the program."

Wang Yu, a lawyer working for Zhou, also went to training programs in Britain, Switzerland, Thailand, Taiwan and Hong Kong, together with her husband Bao Longjun, sponsored by foreign organizations.

"They contacted me and offered me free chances to learn about the judicial system and humanitarian programs in the West. During these visits, I was instilled with Western ideologies and also learnt how to use encryption softwares and softwares for bypassing Internet firewall," said Wang, who was investigated in a separate case.

Foreign organizations also offered financial assistance. According to Li Heping, another lawyer close to Zhou, he had received funds from a foreign foundation since 2013 for a three-year project.

According to Li's assistant, surnamed Gao, the project trained a selected group of lawyers and paid petitioners to organize protests and manipulate public opinion.

Training programs or operations were approved by the foundation and thus all the cost were covered, Gao said.

The protest organized by Wu in front of a provincial-level court of Jiangxi last year was sponsored by the foundation, he said.

In September 2015, some foreign organizations even helped smuggling Wang's son out of China to Myanmar. Before he left for Thailand on his way to a Western country, the minor was intercepted by Myanmar police and returned to China.

Zhou admitted that foreign organizations showed keen interest in his activities.

"Their purpose of approaching me is to use us to challenge China's court order and judicial system and cause trouble for the Chinese government. Their ultimate goal is to overthrow the rule of the Communist Party of China," Zhou said.

Wang Zeqing, a legislator with the Tianjin Municipal People's Congress, noted that a "color revolution" is in essence a malign political attempt by some Western countries or interest groups to instigate domestic conflicts and collude with the country's insurgent forces to intervene in its domestic affairs, cause chaos, subvert state power and sway international political landscape and then reap benefits.

"It runs counter to real democracy and progress and will cause huge damage to society," Wang said, adding that such attempts -- mere noise compared with the mainstream rhythm of national social and economic development -- are doomed to fail.
VIENTIANE, Aug. 5 (Xinhua) -- Economic and trade ministers from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and its dialogue partners urged here Friday o progress negotiations on the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP).

Ministers attending the fourth RCEP ministerial meeting stressed the importance of substantially pushing forward the RCEP negotiations in accordance with the Guiding Principles and Objectives for Negotiating the RCEP, so as to reach a high-quality agreement as early as possible.

Participating the talks, Chinese Minister of Commerce Gao Hucheng said reaching the RCEP agreement would boost trade and investment between its members and inject new growth momentum to the world economy.

It also helps strengthen East Asia's role in the world economic landscape, he added.

Despite economic instabilities at the global level, economic ministers at the meeting noticed that the 16 RCEP member economies witnessed steady economic performances, with average GDP growth over 30 percent higher than the global level in recent years.

Ministers of the 16 nations reiterated the promise and objective of building a modern, comprehensive, high-quality and mutually beneficia regional free trade pact, urging member economies to continue to participate in the negotiation actively and constructively.

China has been a firm supporter and promoter of RCEP, and it proposes to strive for an early conclusion of the RECP talks while taking care of the concerns of all its members, said Gao.

Putting forward a four-point proposal, Gao also voiced China's support to ASEAN's leading role in the negotiation, which should be pushed forward in a balanced manner.

Launched in 2012, the regional free trade pact involves the 10 ASEAN states, China, India, South Korea, Japan, Australia and New Zealand. In a joint statement in November last year, leaders of the RCEP states requested intensify efforts to achieve a mutually beneficially and high-quality agreement in 2016.

By far, 13 rounds of negotiations had been completed, while the 14th round is expected to be held on Aug.10-19 in Vietnam.
NEW DELHI, Aug. 5 (Xinhua) -- Believe it or not, India has only one doctor for every 900 patients which was revealed by the country's government on Friday.

"There is one doctor for every 893 patients in the country if allopathic doctors and those practising Ayurveda, Unani and Homeopathy streams are considered together," junior Health Minister Faggan Singh Kulaste told the Parliament.

He added "There are nearly one million registered allopathic doctors in the country and over six million Ayurveda, Unani and Homeopathy (AUH) doctors. If all streams are considered together, it gives a doctor population ratio of 1:893," the minister said.

The Constitution of India makes health the responsibility of state governments rather than the central government.

The National Health Policy was endorsed by the Indian Parliament in 1983 and updated in 2002. The National Health Policy is being worked upon further and a draft for public consultation has been released.
SRINAGAR, India-controled Kashmir, Aug. 5 (Xinhua) -- At least three civilians were killed and over 200 injured on Friday after government forces fired on protesters across restive India-controled Kashmir, officials said.
URUMQI, Aug. 5 (Xinhua) -- The regional government of Xinjiang unveiled China's first local counterterrorism law Friday.

Based on China's Counterterrorism Law, passed in December 2015, the regional law details and supplements the national law in defining terror activities and terrorists, security precautions, intelligence, investigations, countermeasures and punishment.

The local rules, which feature measures to implement the nation's Counterterrorism Law in the region and contain 61 items in 10 chapters, took effect Aug. 1.

The legislative commission of the regional people's congress said the new measures stress that religious extremism is the ideological basis of terrorism and must be prevented and punished.

Nayim Yasen, head of the standing committee of the regional legislature, said Xinjiang, as the main battlefield in China's war against terrorism, has gained experience in combating terrorism in recent years, ensuring the practicality and effectiveness of the new law.

The new rules stipulating that it is illegal to intervene in others' marriages, funerals, inheritance issues for religious reasons. The spread of distorted Islamic ideas is also prohibited. Acts such as encouraging others to resist national policies, destroying identification cards, household registration and marriage certificates are also made illegal.

The regional police said that terror attacks in Xinjiang in recent years have shown that religious extremism is an important tool for terrorists to brainwash people into engaging in crime.

Bai Li of the Xinjiang Academy of Social Sciences, said that extremism may not necessarily turn into terrorism, but that the two are inseparable.

"Extremism is the philosophical basis of terrorism," Bai said. "Therefore, it is important to prevent and punish extremism in Xinjiang's anti-terror campaign."

The rules emphasize the importance of a mechanism for public reporting of terrorist activity. According to the rules, public security bureaus and state security organizations should be ready to receive information from the public.

Public support has been helpful in previous action against terrorists in Xinjiang, particularly in 2014, when an attack in Shache County killed dozens of civilians. More than 70 local people provided information on the suspects.

Li Wei, an antiterror expert at the China Institute of Contemporary International Relations, said that terrorist activity in Xinjiang will not disappear overnight.

"For the past 100 years, domestic and international hostile forces have been making trouble in Xinjiang, so the antiterror fight will be a long one," he said.
NEW DELHI, Aug. 5 (Xinhua) -- At least 14 people were killed and more than 20 others injured after terrorists opened fire and hurled grenades at a busy market area in the northeastern Indian state of Assam Friday, a top police official said.

The incident took at the busy weekly Balajan Tiniali market outside the state's Kokrajhar town, around 220 kms from Guwahati, where hundreds of people had gathered for trade. The terrorists came in an auto-rickshaw and started firing indiscrimately at the market.

"At least three to four militants attacked the market place in the afternoon. One militant has also been neutralised. We have launched an intensive operation to track down others involved in the terror attack," state police chief Mukesh Sahay told the media.

While 14 people lost their lives, those injured have been admitted to nearby hospitals where the condition of some are said to be serious, the official said.

Local TV channels reported the area has been cordoned off by the security forces and operations have been launched to track down the militants who are suspected to be hiding in nearby buildings in the area. Some reports said a building adjacent to the market place caught fire in the attack.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said he was saddened by the attack. "We strongly condemn it. Thoughts and prayers with the bereaved families and those injured."

Assam's Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal has also condemned the attack and promised action. "Whoever is responsible for this will not be spared. Our policy is zero tolerance for terrorism," he told the media in the national capital.

The state government has announced a compensation of five lakh rupees (9,000 U.S. dollars) to the family of each of those killed.

Though no group has claimed responsibility for the attack, police suspect the militants were rebels of the outlawed National Democratic Front of Bodoland in Kokrajhar, which has been fighting for a separate homeland for the region's ethnic Bodo people.

The chief minister hoped the people of Assam will maintain peace during this critical period. "I am sure people of Assam will definitely maintain peace and harmony. This is our sincere appeal to everyone," he said.
Russian President Vladimir Putin at a meeting in Moscow on Aug. 3, 2016. (Kremlin photo)

MOSCOW, Aug. 5 (Xinhua) -- The leaders of Russia, Azerbaijan and Iran will discuss at a meeting in Azerbaijan's capital Baku on Monday the cooperation between the three countries in various fields, Russian President Vladimir Putin said Friday.

"Our talks will focus on a flagship project - the International North-South Transport Corridor," Putin said in an interview with Azeri AZERTAC news agency ahead of the tripartite meeting.

The transport corridor with a total length of 7,200 kilometers aims to provide best possible opportunities for transporting transit cargo from India, Iran and the Gulf States to Azerbaijan, Russia and further to Northern and Western Europe, Putin noted.

According to Putin, in 2015, the overall cargo traffic along the transport corridor amounted to 7.3 million tons, up 4.1 percent from 2014.

The president said the joint anti-terrorism would be another key topic for discussion, considering the vicinity of Russia, Azerbaijan and Iran to the "hotbeds of instability" in Afghanistan and in the Middle East.

Reiterating the importance of joint anti-terror effort, Putin stressed there could be no double standards in treating terrorists, which could not be divided into "good" and "bad".

"Attempts to use radical groups out of political and geopolitical interests were unacceptable and extremely dangerous," Putin said when suggesting to intensify trilateral interaction to counter terrorism, drug trafficking and so on.

On bilateral cooperation with Iran, Putin mentioned that Russia intended to grant to Iran two state loans for a total of 2.2 billion euros to finance its power and infrastructure construction.

Russia would further assist Iran in implementing the Plan of Action on its nuclear program, including the processing of enriched uranium and the conversion of facilities to produce stable isotopes, Putin added.
Source: Xinhua| 2016-08-06 01:40:33|Editor: Song Lifang

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This file photo taken on June 7, 2016 shows Miami-Dade mosquito control worker Carlos Vargas pointing to the Aedes aegypti mosquito larvae at a home in Miami, Florida.US regulators on July 28, 2016 called for a halt to blood donations in the Miami area as investigators probe four potential non-travel associated cases of the mosquito-borne Zika virus, which can cause birth defects. If confirmed, the cases would mark the first time that mosquitoes carrying the virus are known to be present in the mainland United States. (AFP Photo/Rhona Wise)

WASHINGTON, Aug. 5 (Xinhua) -- The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on Friday approved a British company's field trial that would release genetically engineered (GE) mosquitoes in Florida to fight Zika and other mosquito-borne diseases.

The FDA said in its final environmental assessment that it considered thousands of public comments and found the proposed trial by Oxitec "will not have significant impacts on the environment."

But that does not mean that Oxitec's GE mosquitoes are approved for commercial use, it said, noting that the company should work together with its local partner, the Florida Keys Mosquito Control District, to determine whether and when to begin the field trial.

The purpose of the trial is to determine the efficacy of Oxitec's GE mosquitoes for the control of the local population of Aedes aegypti in Key Haven, Monroe County, Florida.

The method involved using modified male Aedes aegypti mosquitoes, which do not bite or spread disease.

Once these mosquitoes are released to mate with wild females, over 95 percent of their offspring die before reaching adulthood, therefore reducing the population.

Brazil, Panama and the Cayman Islands have tested this approach, and in these trials the population of Aedes aegypti was reduced by more than 90 percent, the company said.

"We've been developing this approach for many years, and from these results we are convinced that our solution is both highly effective and has sound environmental credentials," Oxitec's Chief Executive Officer Hadyn Parry said in a statement.

"We're delighted with the announcement today that the FDA, ... We are now looking forward to working with the community in the Florida Keys moving forward," Parry added.

Zika virus infections often begin with a headache. Within a few days patients may develop a rash, bloodshot eyes, and run a fever. Some patients may also develop joint pains in their wrists, knees, and ankles, as well as muscle pain, and pain behind the eyes.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (R) sits next to Israeli Supreme Court Justice Menachem Mazuz (L) during an official memorial ceremony marking the 10th year anniversary of the 2006 war betweenIsraeland Lebanese Hezbollah guerrillas, at Mount Herzl military cemetery in Jerusalem July 19, 2016. (Xinhua/Reuters Photo)

JERUSALEM, Aug. 5 (Xinhua) -- Israel on Friday strongly rejected an assertion by U.S. President Barack Obama that Israel recognizes the efficiency of the Iran deal, comparing it to the 1938 agreement with Hitler.

Obama told a press conference at the Pentagon on Thursday that senior Israeli officials now support the nuclear deal.

"The Israeli defense establishment believes that agreements have value only if they are based on reality. They have no value if the facts on the ground are opposite to the ones the deal is based on," said the statement.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has been a vocal opponent of the deal, which was signed on July 2015 between Iran and the world powers.

The newly-appointed Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman, the hawkish leader of the far-right "Yisrael Our Home" party, is also a fierce opponent of the deal.
UNITED NATIONS, Aug. 5 (Xinhua) -- Former Portuguese Prime Minister Antonio Guterres held the lead in the race for the post of the next UN secretary-general, winning 11 encourage votes in the second round of straw poll of the 15-member Security Council, diplomats said on Friday.
DAMASCUS, Aug. 5 (Xinhua) -- Extremist rebels failed on Friday to storm a military base and open a supply route in Syria's northern province of Aleppo, according to a military source.

The rebels of Jaish al-Fateh, or the Conquer Army, failed to capture the Artillery College, following a wide-scale offensive they launched on Friday targeting that facility in southern Aleppo countryside, said the source on condition of anonymity.

Jaish al-Fateh, an alliance of several rebel groups, which was previously known as the Nusra Front before breaking ties with al-Qaida, has unleashed five offensives in the southern countryside of Aleppo over the past two weeks, in a bid to break a recently-imposed siege by the Syrian army.

The rebel group claimed that it captured portion of the artillery collage on Friday, a claim denied by the state news agency SANA.

Meanwhile, Syrian military media outlets published photos of what it said were booby-trapped vehicles destroyed before reaching the military college.

Pro-government Sham FM said the army destroyed six explosive-laden vehicles near the college.

The military source said that after repeatedly failing to open a route from southern Aleppo into the besieged eastern part, the rebels in eastern Aleppo announced starting battles from inside the eastern Aleppo neighborhoods to break the siege.

Last month, the Syrian army severed the last rebel supply route connecting rebel-held areas in the northern countryside of Aleppo with rebel-controlled parts in the eastern part of the city.

With the progress made, the Syrian army has fully besieged eastern Aleppo, urging the rebels to surrender themselves and the civilians to cooperate.

Moreover, President Bashar al-Assad announced an amnesty for the rebels who surrender themselves and their weapons to the authorities.

The Syrian authorities in cooperation with the Russians also opened three safe passages for civilians wishing to leave eastern Aleppo. They also opened a fourth one for the rebels who would want to surrender themselves.

On Tuesday, SANA said dozens of families evacuated eastern districts in Aleppo, the second batch to leave the city since the government offered the safe passages.

SANA also said rebel fighters surrendered themselves to the authorities. Video clips of rebels surrendering were aired on several Syrian TVs.

Aleppo, Syria's largest province and once a thriving economic metropolis, has witnessed intensified violent battles lately as the Syrian army advances against the rebels in the north.
LISBON, Aug. 5 (Xinhua) -- Portuguese police have seized 4.3 tons of clams worth over 30,000 euros in an operation against fishing infractions, Portugal's national guard revealed on Friday.

The operation took place in Portuguese capital Lisbon and in Samouco, Alcochete, around 35 km northeast of Lisbon.

"During the inspection activity, in the Tagus river estuary, several infractions were detected related to professional fishing, with 300 kilos of clams having been seized. Here three tools for catching bivalve molluscs were also seized," the police said in a statement.

The operation was carried out by military staff with the objective to detect infractions related to professional fishing, the capture of banned species and the illegal transportation of bivalve molluscs.

"In the area of Samouco, the military staff seized a load of four tons of clams and a man who was not licensed for the practice of catching bivalve molluscs did not have any documentation to prove where they came from," it added.

The offenders were identified. The bivalve molluscs were returned to their natural habitats alive.
KHARTOUM, Aug. 5 (Xinhua) -- Four people died and six others injured at an Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) camp in Sudan's South Darfur State due to heavy rain, Sudan Tribune reported Friday.

"The heavy rainfall during the past three days has left great loss in lives and properties, which created difficult humanitarian conditions at the IDP camps," Adam Abdalla, deputy chairman of the IDPs, was quoted as saying.

He added that about 183 houses in the camp have also been destroyed.

Abdalla urged humanitarian organizations to urgently provide shelter materials such as tents and tarpaulins for the IDPs, stressing that any delay would lead to disastrous health consequences.

Sudan's Interior Minister Ismat Abdel Rahman on Wednesday announced that 76 people died and around 1,300 houses collapsed due to the recent heavy floods and rains in Sudan.

The Sudanese National Council for Civil Defence had forecast heavy rainfall during the coming days throughout Sudan.
LILONGWE, Aug. 5 (Xinhua) -- China has donated about 6,600 metric tons of Chinese rice to Malawi in response to calls for emergency food assistance for 6.5 million starving Malawians.

Chinese Ambassador to Malawi, Wang Shiting, made the symbolic donation to Malawi President Peter Mutharika at Kamuzu Palace in the capital, Lilongwe on Thursday.

Wang said the Chinese government understood that people in Malawi were in dire need of food following poor rain patterns over the past growing season, hence the donation.

"The Chinese government has declared that China would offer emergency food assistance worth 7 billion Kwacha (about 9.4 milion U.S dollars)," said the ambassador.

Wang said that 2,000 tonnes of the rice had already arrived in Malawi, with the second and third shipments arriving in ten days' time and before the end of the month respectively.

The Ambassador further said his government was very proud to be among the first development partners to deliver on the promise of food assistance but he appealed for more support from other partners.

Wang further said China had put agriculture cooperation as priority on China-Malawi relations and he pledged further support in agricultural projects in Malawi.

Malawi President said the donated rice would go a long way in supporting Malawians badly affected by hunger.

The Chinese support comes three weeks after the Acting UN Resident Coordinator and UNAIDS Country Director, Amakobe Sande, called upon development partners who had made food aid commitments to Malawi to honor their pledges in time for easy logistic arrangements.
MOSCOW, Aug. 5 (Xinhua) -- The meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Aug. 9 is expected to pave the way for restoring bilateral cooperation, Russian presidential aide Yuri Ushakov said Friday.

Russia intends to gradually lift the special economic measures, introduced against Turkey earlier due to the downing of Russia's Su-24 aircraft by Turkish air forces last November, Ushakov said.

"The Turkish president is coming to (Russia's) St. Petersburg despite the substantially difficult internal political situation. And this is an indication that our Turkish partners are interested in restoring multidimensional cooperation with our country indeed," Ushakov was quoted by RIA Novosti news agency as saying.

According to the official, Putin and Erdogan would discuss a range of economic issues, "including the construction of the Akkuyu nuclear power plant in Turkey, as well as issues regarding the Turkish stream and the participation of Turkish companies in construction projects in Russia."

Military experts from both sides are also expected to join the two leaders on discussions of the Syrian crisis, Ushakov added.

"The Syrian crisis will be discussed in great detail, and we hope that the Turkish position will have a more constructive character in the given context," Ushakov said.

Meanwhile, the compensation of the downed Su-24 would be raised during the meeting of Putin and Erdogan, according to the presidential aid.

Ushakov also noted that the high-level meetings between the two countries are being resumed under various frameworks on issues in politics, trade and economy, as well as foreign relations.

Earlier in the day, Turkish ambassador to Russia Umit Yardim said that the "historic" meeting between the two countries' leaders would witness a roadmap drawn to bring bilateral relations to a "qualitatively new level."

Yardim noted the meeting would stimulate the implementation of energy projects between the two countries, including the Turkish stream natural gas pipeline and the Akkuyu nuclear power plant.

The Moscow-Ankara ties soured after Turkish forces shot down a Russian Su-24 jet near the Turkish-Syrian border on Nov. 24, 2015 for alleged airspace violation.

Russia started a range of restrictive measures against Turkey after the incident. Moscow didn't start tempering its anger until Erdogan sent a letter in June to Putin containing both an expression of regret and an apology for downing the Russian bomber, voicing readiness to mend ties.

Related:

Spotlight: Erdogan's visit to Russia unlikely to prompt U-turn in relations, Russian experts

MOSCOW, July 27 (Xinhua) -- The upcoming visit by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to Russia is unlikely to bring a dramatic turnaround in bilateral relations strained by the downing of a Russian warplane last November, Russian analysts say.

Russian President Vladimir Putin is scheduled to meet Erdogan in Russia' s second largest city of St. Petersburg on August 9, officials from both sides have confirmed. Full story
UN secretary-general candidate AntonioGuterresof Portugal attends the "globally televised" debate at the UN headquarters in New York, the United States, July 12, 2016. The first-ever "globally televised" debate for the UN chief election was held on Tuesday among 10 of the 12 candidates. They took questions from diplomats and the public at large. (Xinhua/Li Muzi)

UNITED NATIONS, Aug. 5 (Xinhua) -- Former Portuguese Prime Minister Antonio Guterres held the lead in the race for the post of the next UN secretary-general, winning 11 "encourage" votes in the second round of straw poll conducted by the Security Council, diplomats said on Friday.

Earlier, the Security Council held its second straw poll on 11 candidates vying to become the next UN secretary-general. 15 council members voted "encourage," "discourage" or "no opinion" for each candidate.

Guterres, also the former U.N. high commissioner for refugees, has garnered 11 "encourage" votes, 2 "discourage" votes, and 2 "no opinion," diplomats said.

In the second place, Serbia's Former Foreign Minister Vuk Jeremic and Argentina's Foreign Minister Susana Malcorra both received 8 "encourage" votes. On "discourage" votes, Jeremic received 4, while Malcorra received 6.

Former Slovenia President Danilo Turk and Irina Bokova, head of UN cultural agency UNESCO both garnered 7 "encourage" votes, and Turk received 5 "discourage" votes, while Bokova got 7.

Helen Clark, former prime minister of New Zealand and head of UN Development Program, received 6 "encourage" votes and 8 "discourage" votes. Natalia Gherman, Moldova's former minister of foreign affairs, got the highest discourage votes of 10.

Under the UN Charter, the UN secretary-general shall be appointed by the General Assembly upon the recommendation of the Security Council. In practice, the Security Council, particularly its five permanent members, will make the final choice and send a single candidate to the General Assembly for approval.

Currently, 11 candidates stay in the campaign. One day before the second poll, Former Croatian Foreign Minister Vesna Pusic announced her withdrawal from the campaign due to the result of the first poll which shows her chances for the post were slim.

Diplomats have said the purpose of straw polls is to encourage those candidates who don't do well to drop out of the race.

The incumbent UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon is going to conclude his term at the end of 2016. The council's decision to select the top leader of the world organization shall come later in the fall.
LIVERPOOL, Aug. 5 (Xinhua) -- British official Chris Grayling paid the first official visit as Secretary of State for Transport to Liverpool on Friday, ahead of the opening of a new 400 million U.S. dollars container port terminal on the River Mersey.

Trials have just been made at the new facility which will allow the world's biggest container ships to load and unload in the River Mersey.

A fleet of giant cranes, built in Shanghai and shipped to Liverpool, are now fully operational, awaiting the opening of the new riverside dock at Seaforth in north Liverpool.

Owners Peel Ports say the new terminal is expected to create up to 5,000 new jobs.

Peel Ports' chief executive Mark Whitworth said: "The minister's interest maintains the government's support for our efforts to facilitate British trade through this key cargo gateway."

"With full opening now imminent, we will soon be able to offer companies ship-to-door access to the heart of the UK market via the biggest container ships in the world," he added.

Grayling also visited south Manchester to see how a 300 million U.S. dollars road scheme will improve links to Manchester Airport, Britain's busiest provincial airport.

The first five ship-to-shore cranes arrived in Liverpool last November aboard the vessel Zhen Hua 23, completing an 29,000 km-journey that started three months earlier in Shanghai. The cranes are a key part of the biggest ever investment in Liverpool's new deep water port.

The super structures were produced by Chinese company Zhenhua Heavy Industries Co.,Ltd. (ZPMC), a famous heavy duty equipment manufacturer, as part of a contract with Peel Ports.

In May, the first six cantilever rail-mounted gantry cranes arrived at the port. Ultimately the facility will have eight ship-to-shore cranes and 22 cantilever gantry cranes.

Phase one of the container terminal is due to be fully operational this fall. The terminal will be able to handle vessels up to 20,000 TEU (20-foot equivalent units) or two 13,500 TEU vessels simultaneously.

The cranes will have the ability to operate at speeds in excess of 30 moves per hour and will facilitate an anticipated 1,500 moves in each tidal window.
A fighter of the Syrian Islamist rebel group Jabhat Fateh al-Sham, the former al Qaeda-affiliated Nusra Front, rides in an armoured vehicle in the 1070 Apartment Project area in southwesternAleppo, Syria August 5, 2016. (Xinhua/Reuters Photo)

DAMASCUS, Aug. 5 (Xinhua) -- Over 300 rebels were killed Friday as extremist groups failed to storm a military base and open a supply route in Syria's northern province of Aleppo, according to a military source and official Syrian media.

The rebels of Jaish al-Fateh, or the Conquer Army, failed to capture the Artillery College, following a wide-scale offensive they launched on Friday targeting that facility in southern Aleppo countryside, said the source on condition of anonymity.

The rebel group claimed that it captured portion of the artillery collage on Friday, a claim denied by the state news agency SANA.

Syrian military media outlets published photos of what it said were booby-trapped vehicles destroyed before reaching the military college.

Pro-government Sham FM said the army destroyed six explosive-laden vehicles near the college.

Meanwhile, Syria's national TV said the Syrian forces killed over 300 rebels who attacked the artillery school and nearby military colleges in southwest Aleppo.

The TV also cited officers at the military colleges as stressing that they are at their offices and that the situation is under control.

The military source told Xinhua that a group of rebels infiltrated the fences of the artillery college, but they were all killed.

He added that calm prevails the military colleges, except some cracks when the army fired at the rebels who were trying to withdraw the bodies of the killed ones.

The source said Friday's attack involved a high number of rebels, adding that the militants have used all kinds of weapons in the offensive.

He added that the rebel attack in southwestern Aleppo was coupled with renewed mortar and rocket attacks on government-controlled areas in Aleppo city, mainly the Hamadaniyeh district.

The state TV said Syrians in Aleppo rushed to donate blood for those wounded in Friday's attack and the injured Syrian soldiers.

Jaish al-Fateh, an alliance of several rebel groups, which was previously known as the Nusra Front before breaking ties with al-Qaida, has unleashed five offensives in the southern countryside of Aleppo over the past two weeks, in a bid to break a recently-imposed siege by the Syrian army.

The military source said that after repeatedly failing to open a route from southern Aleppo into the besieged eastern part, the rebels in eastern Aleppo announced starting battles from inside the eastern Aleppo neighborhoods to break the siege.

Last month, the Syrian army severed the last rebel supply route connecting rebel-held areas in the northern countryside of Aleppo with rebel-controlled parts in the eastern part of the city.

With the progress made, the Syrian army has fully besieged eastern Aleppo, urging the rebels to surrender themselves and the civilians to cooperate.

Moreover, President Bashar al-Assad announced an amnesty for the rebels who surrender themselves and their weapons to the authorities.

The Syrian authorities in cooperation with the Russians also opened three safe passages for civilians wishing to leave eastern Aleppo. They also opened a fourth one for the rebels who would want to surrender themselves.

On Tuesday, SANA said dozens of families evacuated eastern districts in Aleppo, the second batch to leave the city since the government offered the safe passages.

SANA also said rebel fighters surrendered themselves to the authorities. Video clips of rebels surrendering were aired on several Syrian TVs.

Aleppo, Syria's largest province and once a thriving economic metropolis, has witnessed intensified violent battles lately as the Syrian army advances against the rebels in the north.
JOHANNESBURG, Aug. 5 (Xinhua) -- South African political parties on Friday expressed satisfaction with the manner in which the local government elections were conducted this week.

The elections were held on Wednesday, in which the ruling African National Congress (ANC) took the lead.

ANC spokesperson Khusela Sangoni told Xinhua that the elections were held in a free and fair manner.

"The ANC is happy with the manner the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) handled the elections. The IEC again conducted the elections in a free, fair and credible manner. We are happy also that it was peaceful and incident free," she said.

The ANC said it was pleased that other political parties managed to rein in their supporters as there were no incidences of violence.

Despite a resounding victory, the ANC lost in President Jacob Zuma's homeland of Nkandla, KwaZulu-Natal Province to the opposition Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP).

The ANC also lost the strategic Nelson Mandela Bay metro to the Democratic Alliance (DA) .

The ANC however expressed satisfaction with what they achieved.

The party got over 14 million votes, compared to the 8.1 million it garnered in 2011, according to the votes counted so far.

The DA, which came second after the ANC, also expressed satisfaction with what it has achieved.

"We are happy with our performance. We managed to wrestle Nelson Mandela Bay from the ANC and are expecting to win Tshwane (Pretoria) ... We are also happy with the electoral process. There were glitches, but they were sorted out," DA spokesperson Phumzile Van Damme said.

She said the DA also did well in the country's economic hub, Gauteng province. The DA is expected to win the executive capital of Tshwane as it is leading in the polls.

The Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) came third in the elections.

By 6:00pm on Friday, about 97 percent of the votes had been counted. The ANC was leading with 54.3 percent of the votes, with the DA trailing with 26.43 percent and the EFF with 8.02 percent.
UNITED NATIONS, Aug. 5 (Xinhua) -- The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) is concerned about the deteriorating security and humanitarian situation across Syria's Aleppo city, a UN spokesman told reporters here Friday.

The UN relief agency is particularly concerned over the humanitarian situation of the estimated 250,000 to 275,000 people trapped in eastern Aleppo, Farhan Haq, the deputy UN spokesman, said at a daily news briefing here.

The UN and its partners had been providing assistance including regular food supplies from across the border in Turkey to some 144,000 people, as well as assistance to thousands of others, up until July 7, when the last available route into eastern Aleppo, the Castello Road, was cut by fighting, he said.

"While the UN had pre-positioned basic assistance inside the city, reports are that with the lack of access and the ongoing fighting, the situation is deteriorating," Haq said

Aleppo has seen intensified battles and violence recently with the Syrian government troops tightening the noose on the rebel-held areas in the eastern part, while the rebels unleashed several offensives to break government siege on rebel-held areas.

"Our humanitarian colleagues consider any initiative that can provide relief to people in need as a positive step, including the recently announced proposal to establish corridors, provided that humanitarian and protection guarantees are met by all parties," Haq said. "It is critical that the security of such corridors is guaranteed by all relevant parties."

"Movement through the corridors must be two-way, meaning allowing humanitarian access in and civilian movement out and in," Haq said. "Any movement of civilians must be fully informed, voluntary, to a location of their own choosing, and temporary."

"For any humanitarian operation to be successful, including the proposed corridors, the UN proposal for having, at a minimum, weekly 48-hour humanitarian pauses or a full-fledged ceasefire to reach those trapped in eastern Aleppo is essential," he added.
UNITED NATIONS, Aug. 5 (Xinhua) -- The World Food Programme (WFP) and its partners, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) and the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) have been using huge cranes to deliver food, and hygiene kits from the Jordan to displaced persons in Syria -- over a "berm" that separates the two countries, a UN spokesman told reporters here Friday.

The "berm" means earthen embankments between Syria and Jordan. Jordan sealed the area following an attack in June on Jordanian military personnel. Before the border closure, UN agencies and partners regularly delivered supplies from the Jordanian side to the people stranded in a "no man's land."

In the first delivery of humanitarian assistance since the border was sealed in June, some 650 metric tons of aid was delivered to two locations, Rukban and Hadalat, over three days, Farhan Haq, the deputy UN spokesman, said at a daily news briefing here.

More than 75,000 people seeking to escape the conflict in Syria are living in tents near the embankments between the two countries, he said.

WFP said most are women, children and the elderly who have no access to food or medicine.
UNITED NATIONS, Aug. 5 (Xinhua) -- The UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) on Friday reported that aid convoys have reached conflict-affected populations in the non-government controlled area of Luhansk in eastern Ukraine, a UN spokesman told reporters here.

"It was the first delivery in five months for thousands of people who had their homes damaged or destroyed during the conflict," Farhan Haq, the deputy UN spokesman, said at a daily news briefing here.

Two separate convoys of 25 trucks each travelled with support from the World Food Programme and local partners to deliver supplies.

The first Thursday delivered 23,000 roofing sheets, he said, adding that the second delivered cement, bricks, roofing material, tarpaulins and nails as well as kitchen sets and jerry cans on Friday.

UNHCR estimates that some 10,000 houses in non-government controlled areas of Luhansk have been damaged as a result of the conflict.

The Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) documented 69 civilian casualties in June, including 12 dead and 57 injured, and 73 civilian casualties in July, including eight dead and 65 injured, the highest figures since August 2015. The average of 71 casualties for these two months was more than double the monthly average of 34 from September 2015 through May 2016.

In total, from mid-April 2014 to July 31, 2016, the UN human rights office has documented 31,690 casualties, including 9,553 killed and 22,137 injured in the conflict area in eastern Ukraine, including Ukrainian forces, civilians and members of the armed groups.
ABC News(BELTON, Texas) -- A correspondent for a website that photographs police activity recently taped himself "pulling over" a Texas Highway Patrol trooper who, the civilian said, was speeding.



The incident happened this past Monday evening on Interstate 35 between the cities of Jarrell and Belton in central Texas, according to 26-year-old Phillip Turner from Austin.



"I was driving along when this state trooper just flew right by me," Turner told ABC News today. "He was fast enough that he caused my car to shake a little bit when he passed me."



Turner said he wasn't sure if the trooper was responding to an emergency, so he decided to observe the trooper's car for a bit. He added that he "had a little trouble keeping up" since Turner claims the trooper seemed to be going nearly 90 mph.



"I thought he might've been trying to pull over the car in front of him, but he didn't have his emergency lights or siren on," Turner said. "Then, he just kept speeding and even went around the guy in front of him. I followed and eventually caught up after there were three cars in front of each lane, and he had nowhere to go."



Once Turner was behind the trooper's car and close enough, Turner said he flashed his lights and honked his horn at the trooper.



Video from Turner's dashboard camera, which he uploaded to YouTube and which also appears on the Photography Is Not A Crime website seems to show the trooper turning on the lights on top of his car before pulling over to the side of the highway. Turner then appears to pull over and park his car behind the trooper's.



Turner told ABC News that's when he got out his cell phone to start recording his exchange with the officer.



"What happened? Why'd you flash me?" the trooper can be heard asking on the video Turner shared with ABC News.



"The reason I was trying to pull you over is you flew right by me," Turner tells the trooper in the video. "You were going pretty fast back there."



A few seconds later, Turner asks Trooper Granado, "Are you in an emergency or something?"



The trooper replies, "I apologize, sir. I didn't mean to."



Turner then tells the trooper, "I feel like people get tickets for that [speeding] all the time," before asking the trooper again if he was "in an emergency or something."



The trooper says, "I apologize, sir," again, and Turner proceeds to ask the trooper for his name and badge number.



"I don't have it on me," the trooper replies.



After asking again, the trooper tells Turner what is apparently his badge number.



Turner then asks the trooper for his last name, and the trooper says it's Granado.



A few seconds later, Turner asks Granado if he can take a picture of his license plate. The video then appears to show the side of Granado's car, which appears to have a Texas Highway Patrol logo.



Granado can then be heard saying, "I apologize, I know I was speeding," before telling Turner, "Alright, we got to get going."



Turner then asks if the trooper has a business card, and the trooper replies, "I dont have a business card on me, sir. I dont have one on me. If I had one on me Id give it to you."



Before leaving, Turner asks Granado if he's "a sergeant, corporal, deputy," and Granado tells Turner he's a trooper. He also spells his last name out for Turner.



Turner then says, "Mind slowing down for me?" before the two appear to part ways, and the video ends.



Turner told ABC News that he has no intention of filing a complaint over the incident and that he was "happily surprised that the officer was very polite, professional and honest about his mistake."



A spokesman for the Texas Department of Public Safety, of which the Highway Patrol is a part, told ABC News in a statement that the trooper in the video is David Granado. Spokesman Tom Vinger said Granado "notified his chain of command of the incident, and it is currently under review."



Texas' administrative code says the state's public safety department "complies with Texas Transportation Code." The state's codes list rules for the public safety department's law enforcement officers.



According to the state's transportation code, law enforcement officers may only exceed the maximum speed limit when responding to an emergency call, pursuing on actual or suspected violator of the law, responding to but not returning from a fire alarm, directing or diverting traffic for public safety purposes or conducting a police escort.



The Texas administrative code adds that "in deciding not to operate the emergency lights or siren in compliance with the provisions of Texas Transportation Code, 546.004, the driver of the emergency vehicle should give consideration to the safety of others."



Granado did not appear to have his emergency lights or siren on at the time Turner said he was speeding, according to Turner's video. It was also not immediately clear if Granado was doing any of the actions listed above that permit Texas law enforcement officers to exceed the maximum speed limit.



Vinger, the public safety department spokesman, did not immediately return ABC News' requests for additional comment and information, including if Granado was doing any of the above-listed actions that permit law enforcement officers to speed.



ABC News was not immediately successful in reaching Granado for comment.

Copyright  2016, ABC Radio. All rights reserved.




BRASILIA, Aug. 5 (Xinhua) -- Former Brazilian president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva would be the most likely candidate to win 2018 presidential elections, according to a new poll released on Friday by the Vox Populi Institute.

The broad poll used likely candidates from major parties, including Lula, Marina Silva of Sustainability Network, Aecio Neves of Brazilian Social Democracy Party, and Ciro Gomes of Democratic Labor Party.

In all potential presidential candidates, Lula came out on top with 28-29 percent of the vote, followed by Silva with 18-19 percent support and Neves with 18 percent of the vote.

However, those who would choose a blank vote reached 20 percent, with around 75 percent saying they associated with no specific political party.

The poll also found that 61 percent of respondents favored early presidential elections, rather than waiting till 2018.

Interim President Michel Temer suffered a defeat as only 17 percent wanting him to stay in office until 2018.

Only 13 percent approve of his performance, against 35 percent holding a negative view of his job.

Suspended president Dilma Rousseff fared no better, with just 18 percent supporting her to return to power.

Vox Populi interviewed 1,500 people in 97 municipalities between July 29 and Aug. 1, 2016.
CARACAS, Aug. 5 (Xinhua)-- The Venezuelan government Friday raised the flag of the Southern Common Market (Mercosur) bloc outside its Foreign Ministry to show that it will take on the rotating presidency despite disagreements from Paraguay, Argentina and Brazil.

In a ceremony, Foreign Minister Delcy Rodriguez denounced a "boycott" from Mercosur's founding members, except Uruguay, who all voted against handing the presidency to Venezuela in a meeting Thursday in Montevideo.

"The norms are very clear, the rotating presidency belongs to Venezuela by right and there is no call for any kind of political interpretation," said Rodriguez.

On Thursday, Brazil also proposed that all Mercosur nations create "an informal council" to run the bloc until January 2017, when Argentina is set to take over.

Representatives from Argentina, Brazil and Paraguay believed that Venezuela's current crisis means the country is not positioned to assume presidency.

Uruguay, however, maintains that the alphabetical order must be followed and Venezuela must take over the rotating presidency from it as planned. It also rejected a proposal by Buenos Aires that Argentina, being next in line, should take over the presidency.

On Friday, Rodriguez said the proposal "would supplant the legal mandate with political arguments and conflicting ideologies, placing this regional bloc close to a point of no return."

"This attempted assault on the strength of Mercosur is being encouraged from Washington," she said, adding that the governments of Paraguay, Argentina and Brazil were violating the laws of Mercosur.

In the coming days, Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro is expected to announce a series of activities and events linked to Mercosur.
UN secretary-general candidate Antonio Guterres of Portugal attends the "globally televised" debate at the UN headquarters in New York, the United States, July 12, 2016. The first-ever "globally televised" debate for the UN chief election was held on Tuesday among 10 of the 12 candidates. They took questions from diplomats and the public at large. (Xinhua/Li Muzi)

UNITED NATIONS, Aug. 5 (Xinhua) -- Former Portuguese Prime Minister Antonio Guterres held the lead in the race for the post of the next UN secretary-general, winning 11 "encourage" votes in the second round of straw poll conducted by the Security Council, diplomats said on Friday.

Earlier, the Security Council held its second straw poll on 11 candidates vying to become the next UN secretary-general. 15 council members voted "encourage," "discourage" or "no opinion" for each candidate.

Guterres, also the former U.N. high commissioner for refugees, has garnered 11 "encourage" votes, 2 "discourage" votes, and 2 "no opinion," diplomats said.

This photo shows the combination of pictures of the 12 UN chief candidates. (Xinhua/Li Muzi)

In the second place, Serbia's Former Foreign Minister Vuk Jeremic and Argentina's Foreign Minister Susana Malcorra both received 8 "encourage" votes. On "discourage" votes, Jeremic received 4, while Malcorra received 6.

Former Slovenia President Danilo Turk and Irina Bokova, head of UN cultural agency UNESCO both garnered 7 "encourage" votes, and Turk received 5 "discourage" votes, while Bokova got 7.

Helen Clark, former prime minister of New Zealand and head of UN Development Program, received 6 "encourage" votes and 8 "discourage" votes. Natalia Gherman, Moldova's former minister of foreign affairs, got the highest discourage votes of 10.

Under the UN Charter, the UN secretary-general shall be appointed by the General Assembly upon the recommendation of the Security Council. In practice, the Security Council, particularly its five permanent members, will make the final choice and send a single candidate to the General Assembly for approval.

Currently, 11 candidates stay in the campaign. One day before the second poll, Former Croatian Foreign Minister Vesna Pusic announced her withdrawal from the campaign due to the result of the first poll which shows her chances for the post were slim.

Diplomats have said the purpose of straw polls is to encourage those candidates who don't do well to drop out of the race.
Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani, and former Iranian president Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani attend Supreme Leader's meeting with authorities of the country and ambassadors of Islamic countries, in Tehran, Iran July 6, 2016. (Xinhua/Reuters Photo)

TEHRAN, Aug. 5 (Xinhua) -- Iranian President Hassan Rouhani will visit Azerbaijan on Sunday for a trilateral meeting with his Azeri and Russian counterparts, official IRNA news agency reported on Friday.

Rouhani will attend the summit in Azerbaijan's capital Baku to exchange views with Ilham Aliyev and Vladimir Putin about the ways to bolster relations and discuss the latest regional developments, it said.

The sides will confer on expansion of trilateral cooperation in commerce, energy, telecommunications, environment, transportation and transit of goods, as well as fighting terrorism, it added.

During his two-day visit to Baku, Rouhani will also hold separate meetings with his Azeri and Russian counterparts to exchange views on issues of mutual interest.

Iranian and Azeri presidents will discuss implementation of already reached agreements and bolstering cooperation in commerce, industry, energy, culture, banking, consular facilities, telecommunications, and railway transportation.

The Baku meeting is held upon the proposal by Aliyev for talks about the issues of common interests.

In April, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif and his Russian and Azeri counterparts, Sergei Lavrov and Elmar Mammadyarov, held talks in Baku on ties and cooperation.
A fighter of the Syrian Islamist rebel group Jabhat Fateh al-Sham, the former al Qaeda-affiliated Nusra Front, rides in an armoured vehicle in the 1070 Apartment Project area in southwestern Aleppo, Syria August 5, 2016. (Xinhua/Reuters Photo)

DAMASCUS, Aug. 5 (Xinhua) -- Over 300 rebels were killed Friday as extremist groups failed to storm a military base and open a supply route in Syria's northern province of Aleppo, according to a military source and official Syrian media.

The rebels of Jaish al-Fateh, or the Conquer Army, failed to capture the Artillery College, following a wide-scale offensive they launched on Friday targeting that facility in southern Aleppo countryside, said the source on condition of anonymity.

The rebel group claimed that it captured portion of the artillery collage on Friday, a claim denied by the state news agency SANA.

Syrian military media outlets published photos of what it said were booby-trapped vehicles destroyed before reaching the military college.

Pro-government Sham FM said the army destroyed six explosive-laden vehicles near the college.

Meanwhile, Syria's national TV said the Syrian forces killed over 300 rebels who attacked the artillery school and nearby military colleges in southwest Aleppo.

The TV also cited officers at the military colleges as stressing that they are at their offices and that the situation is under control.

The military source told Xinhua that a group of rebels infiltrated the fences of the artillery college, but they were all killed.

He added that calm prevails the military colleges, except some cracks when the army fired at the rebels who were trying to withdraw the bodies of the killed ones.

The source said Friday's attack involved a high number of rebels, adding that the militants have used all kinds of weapons in the offensive.

He added that the rebel attack in southwestern Aleppo was coupled with renewed mortar and rocket attacks on government-controlled areas in Aleppo city, mainly the Hamadaniyeh district.

The state TV said Syrians in Aleppo rushed to donate blood for those wounded in Friday's attack and the injured Syrian soldiers.

Jaish al-Fateh, an alliance of several rebel groups, which was previously known as the Nusra Front before breaking ties with al-Qaida, has unleashed five offensives in the southern countryside of Aleppo over the past two weeks, in a bid to break a recently-imposed siege by the Syrian army.

The military source said that after repeatedly failing to open a route from southern Aleppo into the besieged eastern part, the rebels in eastern Aleppo announced starting battles from inside the eastern Aleppo neighborhoods to break the siege.

Last month, the Syrian army severed the last rebel supply route connecting rebel-held areas in the northern countryside of Aleppo with rebel-controlled parts in the eastern part of the city.

With the progress made, the Syrian army has fully besieged eastern Aleppo, urging the rebels to surrender themselves and the civilians to cooperate.

Moreover, President Bashar al-Assad announced an amnesty for the rebels who surrender themselves and their weapons to the authorities.

The Syrian authorities in cooperation with the Russians also opened three safe passages for civilians wishing to leave eastern Aleppo. They also opened a fourth one for the rebels who would want to surrender themselves.

On Tuesday, SANA said dozens of families evacuated eastern districts in Aleppo, the second batch to leave the city since the government offered the safe passages.

SANA also said rebel fighters surrendered themselves to the authorities. Video clips of rebels surrendering were aired on several Syrian TVs.
BRASILIA, Aug. 5 (Xinhua) -- Brazil's Foreign Minister Jose Serra thanked U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry on Friday for the trust the United States has placed in Brazilian institutions.

Speaking at a joint press conference in Brasilia, Serra said Brazil's political and judicial institutions have been examples of maturity during the impeachment process of suspended president Dilma Rousseff.

"I would like to extend our thanks, in the name of President (Michel) Temer, for the trust the U.S. government has placed in the solidity of Brazilian ... institutions," he added.

Kerry reaffirmed Washington's commitment to bilateral ties and praised Brazil's fight against corruption.

According to Kerry, Brazil "is a global partner" and the two countries must find common ground to further develop bilateral ties.

He added that "the Olympics must be a moment of unity" along with his certainty that the event would be "safe, sound, secure."

Kerry arrived in Brazil on Friday, leading a U.S. delegation to attend to the opening ceremony of the 2016 Olympic Games.

During his two-day visit, Brazil and the U.S. signed a number of agreements, covering areas such as climate change, sustainable development, healthcare, science, and technology.
JOHANNESBURG, Aug. 6 (Xinhua) -- The ruling African National Congress (ANC) suffered the worst electoral setback since the end of apartheid in 1994, analysts said on Friday.

It was generally agreed that in the local government elections, voters had punished the party for failure to address high unemployment, inequality and corruption.

According to early results, the ANC's share of the vote fell to 54.4 percent, from 62 percent in the previous municipal elections, its worst showing since 1994.

The share of the opposition Democratic Alliance (DA) rose to 26.2 percent from 24 percent, and support for the radical Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) stood at 7.9 percent, only moderately above the 6.4 percent in the 2014 national election.

The ANC lost the strategic Nelson Mandela Bay metro, "home of the ANC", to the main opposition Democratic Alliance.

Results also showed the ANC trailing behind the DA in Tshwane (Pretoria), the country's executive capital.

This was an embarrassment to the ANC, said Daryl Glaser, head of political studies at Witwatersrand University in Johannesburg.

He told Xinhua in an interview that the DA, perceived to be for whites, was "finding its way into African townships. It's a nightmare come true for the ANC and (President) Jacob Zuma."

Stanford Mahati, an expert in the African Centre for Migration and Society Studies at Witwatersrand University, supported Glaser's assertion.

"Unless ANC takes a radical intervention which is pro-poor and addresses the economic fundamentals, the party will be found wanting in future elections," he said.

He, however, noted that some of the issues dogging South Africa were beyond Zuma's capacity, citing the slowdown of economic growth in all major emerging economies.

ANC's chief whip, Jackson Mthembu seemed to concur with Mahati.

Mthembu confirmed that he was not impressed with his party's performance and it was a "cause for concern."

He said his party would do a postmortem to find out "what went wrong."

The ANC's poor performance in the local government elections, held on Wednesday, will impact the 2019 national elections, said Institute of Race Relations CEO, Frans Cronje.

"The results are devastating for the ANC and we expect that opposition parties will redouble their efforts to undermine the party on issues ranging from corruption to Jacob Zuma and SA's sluggish economic performance," Cronje told Xinhua.

"If the ANC cannot secure an economic turnaround ahead of 2019, let alone if SA slips into recession, then the race for 2019 will be extremely close," he said.

As counting progressed on Friday, political parties were preparing to form coalitions in some municipalities.

DA leader Mmusi Maimane said his party would control the city of Tshwane (Pretoria) by forming coalition with smaller parties.

Maimane said that his party was the biggest party in the city and would now go ahead and put together a coalition government.
LONDON, Aug. 5 (Xinhua) -- London Metropolitan Police announced Friday that Zakaria Bulhan, the man suspected of killing U.S. tourist Darlene Horton in a stabbing rampage in central London, has been charged with murder.

According to the police, the 19-year-old Norwegian citizen is of Somali descent and moved to the UK at the age of five.

He was also charged with five counts of attempted murder, in relation to the five other individuals who were injured, the police said in a statement.

He will appear in custody at Westminster Magistrates' Court on Saturday, it added.

Police raided his home in Tooting, south London, on Thursday after he was arrested on suspicion of murder.

The police said they received numerous calls starting at 10:30 p.m. Wednesday describing a "man attacking people with a knife" between Russell Square, Montague Street, Bloomsbury Square and Great Russell Street.

Bulhan was arrested at the scene after police stunned him with a Taser following the attack, near the Imperial Hotel and the British Museum. The suspect was taken to a south London police station after receiving treatment in hospital.

Horton and her husband Richard Wagner were in London for a summer course and were due to return to the United States the day after the fatal attack.

Florida State University, where Wagner is a psychology scholar, issued a statement saying: "There are no words to express our heartache over this terrible tragedy."
Car hackers Charlie Miller (R) and Chris Valasek, both security experts with Uber's Advanced Technology Center, present their latest car hacks at the Black Hat USA 2016 in Las Vegas, the United States, on Aug. 4, 2016. Black Hat, built by and for the global InfoSec community in 1997, is one of the most technical and relevant global information security event series in the world. The Black Hat USA 2016, held at the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino in Las Vegas, has attracted more than 11,000 attendees. (Xinhua/Guo Shuang)
Chinese vice premier Liu Yandong(L) shakes hands with International Olympic Committee (IOC) President Thomas Bach(C) during a welcoming banquet in Rio de Janerio, Brazil, Aug. 4, 2016. (Xinhua/Han Yan)
Bar owner shot dead

Douglas ran to a stock room in his bar where he collapsed, bleeding profusely. Officers of the St James police station who were on patrol nearby heard the gunshots and rushed to the scene. Douglas was rushed to the St James Hospital where he was pronounced dead on arrival.

A party of officers led by ASP Prescott and including Inspectors Hospedales, Birbal and officers of the Homicide and Crime Scene Unit and cordoned off the area.

Police secured CCTV footage in which the killer is seen crossing the road, walking up to Douglas and firing four shots at him. In the video footage the killer simply turns around and returns to a vehicle parked at Brunton Road and drives off.

Police records revealed that Douglas was charged with trafficking with drugs and was known to officers. Investigators said that they were working on two theories for Douglas murder and believe they may be able to make a breakthrough soon. Early yesterday, the estranged wife of Douglas identified as Marina Sammy as well as another woman claiming to be his girlfriend, were both at the scene weeping. Yesterday, Sammy would only say, I cant say anything at this time.

Investigations are continuing.
Blind Welfare head arrested

According to Suratt, the land for the School for the Blind was given to his Association in 1951 and he wants to know how an member of the Association could call in the police against members of the executive who tried to enter the compound for trespass.

Suratt said he hired a locksmith to break the locks at the school and was accompanied by other executive members when a policeman arrived and arrested him.

He said that he had written several letters to the Schools Principal Deryck Maundy and Director of Schools Supervisor asking for permission for the school to be made available for the installation of fire alarms during the summer vacation but received no response from the two persons.

Suratt said that in frustration he hired a locksmith to break the locks so the fire alarm installation could take place yesterday.

Because of his arrest, the installation was put off to today.

After being taken to the Santa Cruz Police Station and threatened with charges of trespassing and breaking and entering I was asked several questions but presented a deed to prove ownership of the land. I explained to the policeman that an owner could not be charged for trespassing on his own property, Suratt said.

Suratt pointed out that after wasting two hours of his time he decided to call his driver and told the officers that he was leaving.

He was not restrained as he left the station but vowed to take the necessary for his loss of time and the embarrassment meted out to him. We will be returning today without any fear and our main intention will be to install those fire alarms for the safety of the children who attend classes here, said a defiant Suratt.
TIL DEATH DO US PART

The death of Peter Marchan, 48, and his wife Ardia Yearwood Marchan, 45, is being treated as a suspected murder/suicide by investigators who will now await the findings of autopsies to be done at the Forensic Science Centre in St James. The bodies were found in a pick up van inside the lonely Forres Reserve Road in Fyzabad on Wednesday night.

The death of the couple has plunged not only their relatives into deep mourning but also officers of the Mon Repos Fire Station where Peter worked as a civilian mechanic and the local dance fraternity as his wife was a popular dance teacher who last worked at La Romaine High School. She also taught dance in her community and is said to recently have formed her own dance company.

At the familys home in Robert Hill, Fyzabad yesterday, relatives struggled to come terms with the deaths saying they never saw the tragedy coming. They were a good couple, with a good relationship although about a year ago the marriage broke down and Peter withdrew, grieving brother Denis Marchan told Newsday.

I dont know much of their business but their marriage just went cold. They were married for 15 years and were very close before the collapse of their marriage, Marchan said, adding that the couple had no children. According to a police report, at about 7. 02 pm on Wednesday, an anonymous caller alerted Fyzabad Police that a vehicle was seen on fire at 42 Forres Reserve.

Cpl Ramlal, PC Sookdeo along with a party of officers responded where they observed an Izuzu pick-up on fire and contacted the Fire Services. Fire-fighters put out the blaze and on checking, the charred remains were found in the front seat of the twin-cab pick-up, which police said was facing in a southerly direction. The vehicle was traced to Peter Marchan.

The bodies were viewed by District Medical Officer Dr Arthur who ordered them removed to the Forensic Science Centre autopsy.

When officers visited the couples home, they found blood splashes inside but no sign of forced entry or missing items to suggest robbery.

Crime scene officers took away items from the house for further analysis.

Marchan told Newsday he last shared lunch with his brother on Sunday as was the norm after Church service. My brother was his cheerful self. There were no signs to indicate that something was wrong, Marchan said. Saying the couple was active in the community and well-liked, Marchan revealed that they regularly childrens parties and Christmas fetes.

Ardia conducted dance classes in the community centre while her husband conducted aerobic classes and also participated in dragon boat racing. Marchan said his brother took good care of their parents Calvin, 85, and Octavia, 79, as he was the one living at home. He was the one who kept them comfortable made sure they were happy. He was always doing something. They had had their little quarrels like anyone else but they were a good couple I must say. Everyone liked them.

Only God knows what happened last night. When Newsday visited Ardias relatives, they refused to comment. On her Facebook page, glowing tributes from individuals and agencies like the South West Regional Indoor Sport Arena were posted. Ardia Yearwood-Marchan what a beautiful soul. You have contributed so much to the Point Fortin Community by extension the South West Regional Indoor Sport Arena. It is heart rending to hear such bad news and we are all in disbelief and shock. It would never be the same. May you Rest In Perfect Peace, read a post.

Kendell Diamond Clarke posted: I hate to say it, r.i.p to this individual right here, I swear to GOD one of the best people I know any and everyone who stuck around her would agree...this is the definition of tragic...Lord give us strength... Indra Ramsingh-Geoffroy wrote: The Victoria DSRA expresses condolences to the family, students and colleagues of teacher Ardia Yearwood-Marchan.

She was a dance teacher at the La Romaine Secondary School, she recently started her own dance school. Ardia was also a dance instructor with Lambert school of dance.May her loved ones have peace and strength as they deal with her loss. May her soul rest in peace
Mom, son have nowhere to live

Deomatee Rajballysingh, 56, and her son Ganesh, 25, were reintegrated into mainstream society after being incarcerated for seven years and four months. The womans youngest son Ajai, 24, remains in prison awaiting sentence.

Mother and sons were charged with manslaughter following the death of son Vicky Rajballysingh, 16, in 2008 in Fyzabad, where they all lived. It was on Sunday August 31, 2008, when Vicky was beaten to death. Justice Carla Brown Antoine who adjudicated in the trial, heard that the deceased son used to verbally abuse his mother.

During the confrontation that day, Rajballysingh had called on sons Ganesh and Ajai, to tie him to a coconut tree and hit him a few lash. The mother had struck him with a mop handle while her other two sons, beat him with a louvre frame, then tied him to a coconut tree and left him there.

The mother, sometime later, told her sons to call an ambulance but by this time, Vicky was already dead. In April, Justice Brown Antoine sentenced Rajballysingh to four months in jail, she having served a period of eight years.

And the sentence of the judge on Ganesh, was that he serve the same period. The mother and son came out of jail a few weeks ago. Yesterday, Rajballysingh sat in during the hearing of the case of her youngest son, Ajai, in the San Fernando High Court before the judge. The judge adjourned the hearing for today when she would decide what would be the appropriate measure to adopt in sentencing Ajai, considering the fact that he was 16-years-old at the time. Speaking to reporters as she left the court house, Rajballysingh said that while she was elated to leave the prison which she spent nearly eight years, she has no place to call home. The house she and her sons lived in in Fyzabad, became dilapidated over the period she and her children were in jail. When I came out of jail, I went to my home in Avocat Village and it was no more. I cried, because I now have to start from scratch without a home. I just need a place to call home for me and my sons to live and we restart our lives. Rajballysingh is currently renting an apartment at Dow Village with financial assistance from relatives.

She said, It is really hard, I really need a place to stay for me and my children. Rajballysingh said that she has since submitted an application to the Housing Development Corporation. She said that she managed to find a job domestic worker.
Rotary Club of PaP gets new President

He pledged to implement the Rotary theme Rotary Serving Humanity and committed himself to the transformation of lives in a meaningful way during his tenure. President Ramnarine indicated his intention to ensure that the needs of women, children and the physically challenged are given priority. We must always be cognizant of the fact that we must always take time to be introspective as a club, we must look within before we look without, President Ramnarine told those present.

He promised youth development through Rotary and Fashion and an annual youth festival. Guest speaker, Independent Senator Stephen Creese commented on how the system of local government, when reformed, can improve the lives of all through the more efficient delivery of government services.

He congratulated President Ramnarine and the new board on their appointment.
PM is constantly accessible

This was the assurance given by Acting Attorney General (AG) Stuart Young at yesterdays post-Cabinet news conference. Young said he was part of a Cabinet team which saw the Prime Minister off earlier yesterday.

Young, who is acting as AG until Attorney General Faris Al-Rawi returns from vacation on August 14, said Finance Minister Colm Imbert (who will act as Prime Minister in Rowleys absence), National Security Minister Edmund Dillon and Foreign and Caricom Affairs Minister Dennis Moses were all present at Piarco International Airport to see Rowley off.

As is normal, when we meet, just before he (Rowley) leaves, we had a number of discussions pertaining to the governance of TT. Young did not indicate what those discussions were about. He said, certain discussions and decisions were made which he could not disclose.

Young added, The Prime Minister whenever he is away remains constantly accessible. On Tuesday, Rowley defended his decision to take leave at this time. The Salaries Review Commission allows the Prime Minister, 30 days vacation leave annually. Young also said Government has no issue with Acting Commissioner of Police (CoP) Stephen Williams proceeding on three months leave, as of Monday. Young said it is a known fact that Williams had this leave to take and there is someone acting for him while he is on vacation.
Kamla: GATE changes unbelievable

Persad-Bissessar, who is political leader of the United National Congress (UNC) called on Government to provide statistical data to show the country those who will be most affected by a tightened GATE.

I find it unbelievable.

Are you sure? Then they wipe out in effect, thousands of children from being able to afford tertiary level education. That will take away many public servants and remove many of you working in the media.

The government needs to tell us the number of persons who will be affected, Persad-Bissessar told reporters.

She was speaking to reporters at the opening at the new headquarters for the UNC located along the Southern Main Road, Couva, a short distance away from the Rienzi Complex where the party had called home for many years on Thursday evening, hours after Garcias press conference at the Office of the Prime Minister in St Clair.

The GATE programme provides financial assistance to citizens of the country who are pursuing tertiary level education.

Education Minister Anthony Garcia announced changes such as persons in a household with a monthly income of under $10, 000 being eligible for 100 percent funding, but persons with more than $10,000 must pay between 25 and 50 percent of the tertiary education fee.

Also commenting on the GATE changes, former Tertiary Education Minister Fazal Karim described the decision as, the great PNM GATE betrayal. It in the PNMs Manifesto. They promised to maintain and in fact widen the scope of education in this country.

And what do they do less than a year in office? They have betrayed the GATE programme.

In item number two of the 120 day Action Plan of the People Partnerships Manifesto, we stated we will secure, maintain and expand GATE, for the first time, into technical and vocational education and training.

Thats what a PP Government would have done, Karim said.

The Chaguanas East MP said that the the PNM had broken its own social pact with citizens as stated in that partys Manifesto.

They have clearly broken their trust with the people of this country...

I want to advise the national community that the PNM in 2004 had a means test.

They abandoned that means test in 2006 and I am telling you that one of the reasons we clamoured against the means test is because of the potential for political interference for discrimination and nepotism, Karim told reporters.

Karim accused the Dr Keith Rowley-led administration of reversing the achievements of the Peoples Partnership. They are going back in terms of the global competitiveness index that we have so far accomplished...

What you are seeing is the destruction of the middle class in terms of the future and a better quality of life, Karim added.

The former Minister charged that under the leadership of Persad- Bissessar, 12 institutions were accredited.

None was accredited before 2010. There are a lot of information we need to know... You cannot simply say that you are going to cut the programme. You are going to disenfranchise learning and earning.
Govt will enforce GATE contracts

Minister in the Ministry of the Attorney General and Legal Affairs Stuart Young made this point as he defended Governments decisions on GATE, at yesterdays post-Cabinet news conference at the Office of the Prime Minister in St Clair.

Responding to a question from Newsday, Young disclosed, Over the last five year period, these contracts have not been properly enforced. Young said there have been instances in which persons who are in GATE funded programmes are not adhering to the requirement in their contracts to work in TT , once they complete their programmes. In order to protect taxpayers monies and ensure GATE remains true to its objectives, Young said Government intends, to begin enforcing the GATE contracts. He said the monitoring of GATE contracts will be enhanced and persons be given a period of time in which to find employment.

Young explained that if persons fail to get a job or apply for an exemption, we will pursue you for the cost of your programme. In the worst case scenario, Young added, We will commence legal action. Reiterating that GATE contracts do not bind persons to only work for the Government for a specific period and these persons can work in the private sector as well, Young said it was important for persons to, align their studies with an eventual outcome of employment. Indicating that many stakeholders (including students) have praised Government for taking very mature and responsible decisions to make GATE more efficient, Young said Government rejected the GATE task forces recommendat i ons that households earning above $10,000 per month pay one third of the tuition fees and insisted on 25 percent instead. He also said households earning above $30,000 per month, may only have to pay $4,000 annually in tuition fees. While the particulars of the means test still need to be worked out, Young said he saw a draft means test form and it included a statutory declaration for the applicant or the person who will provide financially for the student.

He explained that if the declaration made is proven to be false, the Government is going to take steps for prosecution of it. Young observed that while Barbados cut all funding for tertiary education in 2014, this Government has not done any such thing. He said approximately $6 billion has been spent on GATE since its inception in 2004, over 200,000 students have benefitted from the programme and 45,000 students participate in it annually.

As he justified the decision for persons over 50 years to be ineligible for GATE funding from this month, Young said Government rejected a proposal from the task force to make persons over 25 years ineligible for GATE. He reiterated that continuing students over 50 years, will receive funding to complete their programmes.

Young declared that Opposition allegations that the new GATE initiatives were discriminatory and would cause poverty, made, absolutely no sense. Recalling how GATE was funded under previous Peoples National Movement (PNM) administrations when energy prices were high, Young said the PPs actions contributed significantly to the cash crunch the country now faces.

He said when this is married against a scenario of lower energy prices and a fall in government revenue, the Cabinet has beenvery responsible in managing the countrys finances and ensuring that GATE remains accessible to those who need it most.
What you need to know about the Octagon Art Festival on Sunday in Ames

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Outsider meddling with our elections and data will continue until cyber defenses are improved

(Cyberwar.news) It may be appalling to many Americans that a foreign government could utilize its cyber capabilities to try to influence a presidential election, but that kind of intelligence tradecraft has been going on for decades. The Cold War is replete with examples of U.S. and Soviet influence on the governments of smaller nations, to include trying to influence the outcome of elections. Its just that these days, with the advent of the Internet, intelligence agencies have an entirely new way of utilizing technology to gain an edge.

The question of whether Russian hackers broke into the DNCs and Hillary Clintons email servers seems to have been decided. What to do from here out also seems clear, according to a recent column in Defense One: Better defenses.

In 2015, there were over one million cyber attacks on individuals and companies every day  and that is why even the strongest U.S. response to the theft of the Democratic National Committee emails will do little to deter future state-sponsored attacks, cybersecurity experts say, the website noted.

Whats more, as technology improves, so too does plausible deniability for nation-states who will be able to cover their tracks, until better detection methods are developed.

One of the key factors that makes these Russian operations doable is that sophisticated criminal groups have APT-like capabilities and go after similar targets, said Christopher Porter, of cybersecurity company FireEye, which first documented hacking groups ties to the Kremlin in 2014. The best criminals use some of the same tools that lower-end states might use.

Jarno Limnell, vice president for cybersecurity at Insta Group Oy, adds that without having to pay a substantial penalty for theft of data or hacking into campaigns, Russia  and other state actors  will continue to push the envelope.

The increase in state-sponsored cyber attacks of Russia is the result of a perception that there is not a significant price to pay for such activities, he told Defense One. Russia will keep pushing more aggressive and sophisticated cyber operations as long as the West doesnt push back.

This of course assumes that the U.S. isnt pushing back  a stretch, at best. We have to remember that the United States and, most likely Israel, were the first to use cyberspace as a weapon. In 2012 reports surfaced that a computer virus called Stuxnet, developed jointly by American and Israeli intelligence, was intended only to disable Irans nuclear plant at Natanz, but it escaped into the global web, where it was discovered. Stuxnet was begun during the Bush administration and work on development was continued during the present Obama administration, when it was ostensibly deployed.

Some have said it is disconcerting that the Obama administration refuses to publicly identify those who are hacking U.S. government and industry. But such notifications would become a two-way street; if we start outing foreign hackers, they will start outing us as well.

Such issues are best handled in private anyway  diplomatically. We know the Russians, Chinese, Iranians, North Koreans and others are hacking us; they know we are hacking them. Publicly identifying them would likely cause more problems than just doing what needs to be done: Develop better means of cyber self-defense.

More:

Cyberwar.news is part of USA Features Media.

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Ajay Devgn gets invited to Indore by his Fan Clubs for SHIVAAY Trailer Launch!!

Bollywood, Fri, 05 Aug 2016 NI Wire

Superstar Ajay Devgn has numerous fan clubs across India and we hear they are all eagerly waiting to see a glimpse of Ajay Devgn's magnamopus Shivaay.

The constant insistence of the fan clubs compelled Ajay Devgn to agree to launch the trailer in one of the Hindi strongholds of Bollywood cinema. We are told that fans from several parts of the country will be congregating in the heartland of India, Indore, to show their love for Ajay Devgn.

In a unique gesture for the fan groups, the brain meets brawn star has decided to launch the trailer of his directorial 'Shivaay' in their midst on August 7. The star felt it was the most apt way to share his creation with his ardent supporters.

The Indore-based fan group which is one of the largest and extremely active, made a special request for a meet and greet. Thence the actor director decided to launch the trailer in their city.

The trailer will be available for all to see as it will go live from the event on all official Shivaay and Ajay Devgn Social Media handles. The theatre going audience watching Akshay Kumar's Rustom starting 12th August, across the globe, will be especially treated as Shivaay's trailer will be attached to the film.

Shivaay Trailer 2016 Ajay Devgan & Sayyeshaa Saigal Relasing 28 Oct Look alike
Kejriwal Government Secretariat is busy only in litigations and confrontations: Satish Upadhyay

New Delhi, Fri, 05 Aug 2016 NI Wire

Whatever Governance and Public Welfare is seen in Delhi is due to the Efforts of the office of LT. Governor as the Kejriwal Government Secretariat is busy only in litigations and confrontations.

New Delhi, 5th August: Delhi BJP President Shri Satish Upadhyay has said that it appears that Aam Aadmi Party and its Government who never had any respect for the constitutional provisions will not respect the judicial verdict also.

Shri Upadhyay has said today's statement of Aam Aadmi Party saying that people of Delhi should henceforth go to the Lt. Governor for all their problems and yesterday's statement of Dy. CM Manish Sisodia that we will be going in for appeal against the Delhi High Court order amply make it clear that Team Kejriwal is anarchic from the day of its formation and will remain so. It appears that Kejriwal and his colleagues have taken their mandate of 67 as a right to rewrite the Constitution of India.

Shri Upadhyay has said today's statement of AAP leader Ashutosh with reference to the Lt. Governor is a dirty continuation of their earlier diatribes against the Lt. Governor and the Central Government. It will be better that AAP Leaders understand that whatever Governance and public welfare work is seen in Delhi is due to the efforts of the office of Lt. Governor as the Kejriwal Government Secretariat is busy only in litigations and confrontations.
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One thing that has always been true in the communications industry is that public safety agencies have truly unique needs that rightfully should be addressed with purpose-built and dedicated networks. From the earliest days of walkie-talkie systems on radio spectrum allocated for use by police, fire and medical first response teams to todays highly sophisticated networks, making sure the right people have the right tools to act quickly during a crisis is the very definition of mission critical.





The good news is that giving first responders the best tools available is an area in which there continues to be innovation. And, when it comes to innovation, looking at taking the best of public LTE (News - Alert) networking and combining it with virtualization techniques such as network functions virtualization (NFV), is really pushing the state-of-the-art forward in ways that are not only remarkable from a technology standpoint but life saving. The announcement from Nokia and SK Telecom (News - Alert) that they have successfully developed a portable all-in-one Public Safety-LTE (PS-LTE) network system is a case in point.

When the partners describe this as all-in-one and portable, they are spot on. The system is so small it can fit into a backpack. And, what is in it is an impressive array of technology that includes:

A base station (eNB)

Switching system (core network: Evolved Packet Core, Home Subscriber Server, Policy and Charging Rules Function, etc.)

Push-to-Talk (PTT) technologies  to instantly create an independent communications network to be used by public safety workers/emergency services.

What is noteworthy is the use of NFV for connectivity of core network elements. Coupled with PTT solutions, this enables the new form factor to overcome the challenges of existing portable LTE that could not easily connect to the backhaul network and had other performance challenges.

In addition, as the partners explain, Moreover, the system offers scalability as it can add other communication solutions (e.g. user management program, group messaging, etc.) needed by public service agencies. With the portable all-in-one PS-LTE system, first responders at the site of emergencies can communicate with each other over the instantly created LTE network. The network deployed with the system provides coverage of five kilometers and accommodates up to 400 users, and has a set-up time of less than three minutes. Indeed, in thinking about first responder disaster scenarios, this ability to scale quickly and provide high quality connectivity and performance to so many people is impressive.

In addition, the speed at which this was developed is equally impressive. Nokia (News - Alert) and SK Telecom signed an agreement for joint development of disaster communication technologies in October 2015. It covered the portable LTE system and also a real-time Group Communication System Enabler (GCSE) based on mobile evolved Multimedia Broadcast Multicast Service (eMBMS) for simultaneously transmitting heavy multimedia content to massive numbers of users.

SK Telecom will trial the portable LTE system this year, and states that it will actively utilize the system to expand the South Korean national disaster safety wireless network as well as their LTE for Maritime Wireless Communications (LTE-Maritime)project in 2017.

The portable all-in-one PS-LTE system is a ground-breaking solution that enables communication among first responders by setting up an independent LTE network when regular communication networks are disrupted by disasters, said Lee Jong-bong, executive vice president and head of Infra Division of SK Telecom. SK Telecom will not only utilize the innovative system to build disaster safety wireless networks in Korea, but also plans to share its expertise and know-how with many other countries around the world.

This worlds-first portable LTE solution will be invaluable when critical services are needed to respond to all kinds of disasters and emergencies, commented Andrew Cope, head of Korea at Nokia. We are very pleased to customize our all-in-one Ultra Compact Network in cooperation with SK Telecom and local small and medium-sized enterprises to suit their individual needs. Nokia will continue to take the lead in PS-LTE related standardization activities by collaborating with Korean companies and offering advanced PS-LTE solutions to our customers.

The Public Safety-LTE (PS-LTE) network system has obviously been purpose-built. However, it illustrates how leveraging, to a very significant extent, the innovations in LTE and NFV that are driving communications service provider and enterprise network transformations can be quickly and successfully applied to meet highly customized needs in important vertical markets.

Edited by Alicia Young
Leaves are falling, the air is crisp and deer season is right around the corner. Anyone who knows me knows how much I love this time of year. Becoming involved in hunting a few years ago gave me yet another reason why I look forward to fall.
Low cost airline, Air Arabia Morocco, will launch next autumn an air link between Tangier and Malaga, which will become the fourth destination served by the airline company in Spain.

Tangier-Malaga flight duration on board Air Arabia Morocco will last 45 minutes and will be operational as of December 4, 2016 using Airbus A320 with a 168-seat capacity.

Departures from Tangier to Malaga are scheduled every Thursday, Friday and Sunday at 13:30 while return flights will take off at 16:05 with an arrival time in Tangier at 15:50.

The Sharjah based Air Arabia will be the sole airline operating this air route, which is launched in cooperation with Moroccos tourism promotion office (ONMT).

Air Arabia Morocco operates flights to the Spanish cities of Madrid, Barcelona and Palma de Majorca as well to other European airports, namely Montpellier, Brussels, Amsterdam and London-Gatwick. In Morocco, in addition to Tangier, it flies to Casablanca, Fez and Marrakech.
Egyptian military forces announced Thursday the killing of the Islamic State leader in the Sinai Peninsula, Abu Doaa al-Ansari, in an army-led operation in the provincial capital of el-Arish.

IS group in the Sinai has been engaged in a guerrilla war with Egyptian security forces since the 2013 overthrow of the countrys democratically elected President, Islamist Mohamed Morsi.

Abu Doaa al-Ansari was announced killed by the army Chief spokesperson, Brig-Gen Mohammed Samir, in a Facebook post without further details on when the army operation took place.

The army post said the operation carried out in the provincial capital el-Arish also killed a number of Ansaris close aides without giving a precise number.

The militants were killed in an airstrike that targeted a house located amid olive groves south of el-Arish, reports say.

IS in Sinai has not issued any statement to confirm the death of its leader.

Military accounts say the army launched a campaign against the militant group with the support of airpower and drones.

Ansari is leader of the Sinai-based Ansar Beit al-Maqdis, or Soldiers of Jerusalem militant movement, which pledged allegiance to the Islamic State.

The group claimed the downing in October 2015 of a Russian passenger jet in the Sinai, few minutes after taking off from the Red city of Sharm el-Sheickh.

The militant groups attacks against the army and police forces killed more than 500 security personnel, according to Egyptian military sources. Thousands of militants were also killed in retaliation operations, the same sources said.
Paul Massey. Photo: Nick Hunt/Patrick McMullan

A real-estate developer whod been mulling a mayoral run made it official Thursday. Paul Massey will join the 2017 race as a Republican contender for New York City mayor.

Massey, who founded a real-estate firm in 1988 that he later sold to Cushman & Wakefield in 2014, says on his new website that hes a non-politician. Hes trying to model himself as a successor to Michael Bloomberg  pro-business and socially liberal. As New York reported in March, a Massey campaign:

 would be focused around restoring trust between City Hall and the police, more support for charter schools, and leveraging Masseys connections in the real-estate world and experience with development to spur the creation of more affordable housing, said one person who has spoken with Massey about plotting a possible bid.

I love this city and I am concerned about where its headed, Massey said in a statement announcing his campaign. He added in a jab to de Blasio: this is not a tale of two cities; this is the worlds greatest city and diversity is our strength.

The investigations swirling around de Blasio intensified the rumblings of potential challengers, including Comptroller Scott Stringer and Representative Hakeem Jeffries. But New York City is still a tough town for Republican mayoral candidates. There will have to be a very strong de Blasio backlash for Massey to win, Bob Turner, the head of the Queens County Republican Party, told New York in March.

Massey has one opponent in the Republican primary. Former New York Jet Michael Faulkner announced his candidacy this past September. The more the merrier, de Blasio said at the time. I feel very good about what I have to say to the people of this city over the next two years.
Obama after a meeting with U.S. Secretary of Defense Ashton Carter and members of the Joint Chiefs of Staff at the Pentagon Thursday. Photo: Mark Wilson/Getty Images

President Obama celebrated his 55th birthday by getting together with the National Security Council to discuss the fight against the Islamic State.

The meeting was followed by a press conference at the Pentagon, where he recounted the United Statesled military campaigns recent progress in recapturing territory from ISIS in Iraq and Syria. He also noted that the militants have not had a major successful offensive operation in either of those countries in a year. Even ISILs leaders know that theyre going to keep losing, and their message to followers that theyre increasingly acknowledging is that they may lose Mosul and Raqqa. And ISIL is right, they will lose them, Obama said. And well keep hitting them and pushing them back and driving them out until they do. In other words, ISIL turns out not to be invincible, they are, in fact, inevitably going to be defeated.

Sounds good! Except, as Obama pointed out, defeating ISIS on the ground wont eliminate the danger it poses to the rest of the world: So long as their twisted ideology persists and drives people to violence  the international community will continue to be at risk in getting sucked into a global whack-a-mole where were always reacting to the latest threat or the lone actor.

What ISIL has figured out is if they can convince a handful of people or even one person to carry out an attack on a subway, or a parade, or some other public venue, and kill scores of people, instead of thousands of people, it still creates the kind of fear and concern that elevates their profile, he said. He went on to warn against portraying the fight against ISIS as a clash of civilizations between the West and Islamic world, which would will only assist terrorists in their efforts to encourage people to carry out attacks on their behalf.

Obama also managed to get in some digs at Donald Trumps fitness for handling similarly complicated matters, should he become president. Of Trumps (apparently false) claim to have seen a top secret video as part of the classified security briefings hes now eligible to receive, Obama said that if presidential nominees want to be president, they have got to start acting like a president and that means being able to receive these briefings and not spread them around. Asked whether he felt that Trump was capable of handling the U.S.s nuclear arsenal, Obama replied, I would ask all of you to make your own judgment.
Protestors in Portsmouth, Virginia. Photo: Bill Tiernan/The Virginian-Pilot via AP

A police officer has been convicted in the shooting death of a black teenager last spring.



A jury in Portsmouth, Virginia, found Stephen Rankin guilty of voluntary manslaughter yesterday and recommended that he serve two-and-a-half years in prison.



In April of last year, Rankin shot 19-year-old William Chapman in the face and chest outside of a Walmart where he had been stopped by a security guard for shoplifting.



The details of what happened have proved extraordinarily hard to sort out; in the end, it took the jury almost two days of deliberation before they could agree on a verdict. No tape of the encounter exists and witness testimony was often contradictory, though all witnesses agreed that Chapman was unarmed when Rankin shot him.



Defense attorneys for Rankin claimed that Chapman resisted when the officer tried to handcuff him and physically attacked Rankin, knocking his stun gun out of his hand and yelling shoot me repeatedly.



Some of the testimony backed up Rankins version of events, but the security guard who was on-hand, and who had actually called the police, said that Chapman never charged the officer and remained still, with his hands up in a defensive position, and asked, Are you going to [expletive] shoot me?



In the end, Rankin did shoot him twice, from five yards away, killing him.



This was not the first time that Rankin had killed someone. Four years ago, he also shot and killed an unarmed suspect but was kept on active duty; it was only after the second fatal shooting that he was removed from the force.



While police kill 1,000 people on average every year, officers are very rarely held legally accountable; according to CBS News, only 74 have been charged with any crime in the last 11 years  and only a third have been convicted.



In the predominantly black town of Portsmouth, and nationwide, the case was seen as a referendum on police accountability. Rankin was facing up to ten years in prison; when he is formally sentenced on October 12, the judge can give him less than the two-and-a-half years recommended by the jury, but not more.


Photo: H. Armstrong Roberts/ClassicStock

I had a certain Mrs. N as my English teacher during my senior year of high school. She loved teaching 12th-graders, she liked to say, because she couldnt do that much bad to us  and not that much good, either. She had the rigorous affection that great instructors do, forcing us to memorize Shakespeare and give presentations on Dickens, because, come on, what else is a literature education for. She was also, after years of fundamentalist Protestant education, refreshingly, mind-openingly liberal about language. There are no bad words, I recall her intoning. Just more and less coarse.

Motherfucker, I thought to myself. Youre goddamn right. And it seems that, at least according to linguists and philosophers and other people who really care about words, swears have a particular social function. In a new piece on Quartz, Noah Berlatsky makes the convincing argument that you should teach your kids to curse, because, he argues, good-natured swearing has a way of bonding people together. (He mentions the way his wife will conspiratorially quote John Olivers Are you fucking kidding me?! in front of their son.) A well-placed curse expresses a sort of ribald vulnerability, especially in power dynamics like parent and child. Berlatsky quotes In Praise of Profanity author Michael Adams, who writes that swears are unexpectedly useful in fostering human relations because they carry risk  We like to get away with things and sometimes we do so with like-minded people. Without dipping her toe too far into the pool of profanity, Mrs. N was doing that with her rambunctious seniors: By giving us, in a way, a sense of permission about coarser language, she was expressing an opinion different from the schools orthodoxy, and in doing so, expressing vulnerability and cultivating trust.

In this way, swearing is a lot like humor: Both carry social risk and skewer taboos (probably why so many good jokes incorporate swears). A good, hearty swear between teacher and student, or among family is not dissimilar from how friends talk shit as a way of bonding. It happens all over the world, reports anthropologist Daniel Hruschka: Men in Papua New Guinea greet each other by saying theyd like to eat one anothers intestines, and for the Bozo tribe of West Africa, Hruschka writes, friends demonstrate their love by making lewd comments about the genitals of one anothers parents. Its parallel to your wife reprising a trademark curse from a late-night talk show host in front of your kids. Its context-sensitive, its funny, and it makes people feel closer. Just make sure that if the kid does swear at school, its in front of a particularly cool teacher.
A few years ago, T-Mobile was a budget carrier being slowly squeezed out by the big two mobile carriers, AT&T and Verizon. But now, T-Mobile has leapfrogged over both to offer the fastest LTE downloads in the country, per a new study released by OpenSignal today.

Granted, it was a neck-and-neck competition between T-Mobile and Verizon, with T-Mobile hitting 16.3 Mbps on average, and Verizon right behind at average speeds of 15.9. AT&T saw speeds of 12.3 Mpbs, while Sprint lagged badly behind at 9.4 Mbps.

The speed difference was even starker for users here in the NYC area: T-Mobile users saw average speeds of 20.4 MBps, while Verizon customers saw 17.4 Mbps.

Its not a complete win for T-Mobile, however. Verizon customers were able to hop on LTE networks 85.6 percent of the time, while T-Mobile customers were able to find one 83.2 percent of the time.

The test was conducted by 120,586 users who had installed the OpenSignal app on their phone, which constantly monitored whether the phone was able to connect to a 4G or 3G network, and what the download speeds were for each networks.

T-Mobile was able to rapidly increase its speed and availability in a short amount of time thanks to large investments in both infrastructure and spectrum, especially in rural areas where it had traditionally lagged badly behind. The company was able to snap up 700 Mhz airwaves recently, a low-frequency spectrum that allows signals to spread further.

Still, will T-Mobile be able to hold on? T-Mobile surpassing AT&T in 4G availability is a big deal, said Kevin Fitchard, an analyst at OpenSignal, but I suspect it will have a lot of work ahead of it if it wants to close the gap completely with Verizon on availability the same way it has with speed. Verizon has deep pockets, and a willingness to spend when threatened. A few years ago Verizon saw its speeds falling off as its LTE network became congested, said Fitchard. It wound up building its XLTE upgrade, which doubled or even tripled its capacity in most cities across the U.S. Im not saying the same thing will happen today, but Im pretty sure Verizon wont just go blindly into the night if T-Mobile threatens to overtake it in availability.



And theres a battle looming for more spectrum, which is key to who actually comes out on top. The FCC is preparing to auction off 126 Mhz of TV spectrum, all of it 600 Mhz airwaves, the lowest frequency ever made available to mobile carriers. Lower frequency means signals can travel farther, making them incredibly valuable from almost every angle. But the price wont be cheap: The FCC says the minimum price of those airwaves will be $88.6 billion. Verizon had a gross profit of $79 million in 2015; T-Mobile had just $17 million. Meanwhile, its parent company has warned that the carriers current business plan is unsustainable.

So why even care about these speed-measuring contests? First off, new products like Facebook Live require both steady and speedy connections to maintain. More important for those in NYC, you might get just a few seconds of LTE connection at a subway stop before going back into the tunnels, and the difference in speed can determine whether you can grab all the data waiting for you  whether thats new emails, the rest of a Kindle book, or a new Snapchat video. And for right now at least, T-Mobile is the carrier thatll most likely download everything you need the fastest.
You can survive anything.  Jennifer Aniston Photo: Getty Images

Some cope with heartbreak by devouring pints of ice cream; others take an impromptu weeklong residency at KFC to pair buckets of tears with buckets of fried chicken. Whatever the coping mechanism  junk food, sun, solitude, exercise, tears, or travel  the bottom line is this: Weve all been there. Whether its referred to as a breakup, separation, conscious uncoupling, or divorce, the upshot is the same: The relationship has ended and a wave of emotions is bound to follow.

Below, weve gathered heartbreak quotes from women whove experienced breakups in full view of the public and come out on the other end with grit, grace, and strength. Read on for words of wisdom from Rihanna, Amy Poehler, Jennifer Aniston and more on their personal experiences facing heartbreak, dealing with it, and moving forward with their lives.

Mary Karr

Even Jesus bitched about his suffering, and if we read him right, he suffered our agonies too. No one leaves this planet without having plenty of heartbreak.  Poetry Foundation, December 2012

Serena Williams

I think everyone kind of goes through [heartbreak]. It definitely isnt a good feeling. I think having surgery is definitely a lot easier  having a pulmonary embolism is definitely a lot easier than a heartbreak.  Piers Morgan Live, May 2012

Selena Gomez

At first I didnt care [about the tabloid scrutiny]. To me it was: Im 18, I have a boyfriend, we look cute together, we like that. Then I got my heart broken and I cared. Because people had no idea what was going on, but everywhere it was a million different things.  W magazine, February 2016

Sylvia Plath

There is so much hurt in this game of searching for a mate, of testing, trying. And you realize suddenly that you forgot it was a game, and turn away in tears.  The Unabridged Journals of Sylvia Plath, 1982

Erykah Badu

My best advice for moving on from a relationship is you gotta go all the way through it. If you dont want to let go yet, keep on calling and getting hung up on. Keep on following him around and getting embarrassed. When you get tired enough, you will evolve, I promise. But you gotta go all the way through it. You know, you gotta get your weave snatched out a couple more times. You gotta keep moving. Go through it. Youll evolve.  her Twitter, December 2015

Amy Poehler

Imagine spreading everything you care about on a blanket and then tossing the whole thing up in the air. The process of divorce is about loading that blanket, throwing it up, watching it all spin, and worrying what stuff will break when it lands.  Yes Please, October 2014

Nora Ephron

People always say that once it goes away, you forget the pain. Its a cliche of childbirth: you forget the pain. I dont happen to agree. I remember the pain. What you really forget is love. Divorce seems as if it will last forever, and then suddenly, one day, your children grow up, move out, and make lives for themselves. The divorce has lasted way longer than the marriage, but finally its over  The point is that for a long time, the fact that I was divorced was the most important thing about me. And now its not.  I Remember Nothing: and Other Reflections, 2010

Jennifer Aniston

You dont want to feel that when a marriage ends, your life is over. You can survive anything. Compared to what other people are surviving out there in the world, this is not so bad, in the grand scheme of things. Human endurance is unbelievable. Think of what mothers of soldiers have to rise above! Everythings relative. Nothings broke. Maybe a little bruised.  Vanity Fair, September 2005

Mindy Kaling

He broke up with me. It was years ago that that breakup happened  [I was] so sad. Not angry. Sad, sad. That was the hottest Ive ever looked because I stopped eating. When I get depressed I stop eating. So I was so miserable and so beautiful.  Howard Stern Show, September 2014

Elizabeth Wurtzel

I was, after the breakup, what you call a complete wreck. For the first time in my life, my pain had a focus. And I just couldnt help myself. I didnt care what anyone thought, I didnt care that all the girls in school would say, See, he finally got wise, I didnt care how stupid I would look with teary mascara stains and purple eyeliner tracks down my cheeks, I didnt care about anything except how this was the worst pain ever. I used to weep for never having anything worth losing, but now I was simply resplendent  puffy, red, hysterical  with a loss I could identify completely.  Prozac Nation, 1994

Stevie Nicks

That electric crazy attraction between Lindsey Buckingham and Stevie Nicks never dies, never will die, never will go away. Hes married, hes happy, he has three beautiful children that I love. You know, hes found a good, happy, calm, safe place  but who Lindsey and I are to each other will never change. Its over. It doesnt mean the great feeling isnt there, it must mean that  you know, were Beauty and the Beast. It means that the love is always there but well never be together, so thats even more romantic.  MTV, April 2009

Madonna

Last year, you and Guy Ritchie got divorced 

You dont have to lower your voice when you say that. Its not a bad word. I thought we were talking about music, though. If you can connect the idea of divorce to music, Ill talk to you about it.  Rolling Stone, October 2009

Katy Perry

There were two weeks of my life after I found out the truth of my marriage where I was like, OK. All right. I cant feel this. This is too intense right now. I was, like, just eating Flamin Hot Cheetos and drinking, and thats it  There are two ways you can go: You can either nurture yourself or go destructive. I have gone down the destructive path before, and that didnt work for me. You dig deep beyond those scars and find that soft tissue again, and you massage and nurture it and bring it to life, little by little, through serving yourself well. I did it through hikes and vitamins and therapy and prayer and good friends.  Marie Claire, January 2014

Uma Thurman

When I was first going through my separation, someone said to me, It will take you half as long as you were in the relationship before youll feel better. And I wanted to knock them out cold across the table. Because, of course, I was in agony. And the last thing I wanted to think was that I was going to stay that way for a long time. But interestingly enough, it is over four years later  we were together eight years  and I finally feel like, cool. I feel better.  Redbook, February 2008

Elizabeth Gilbert

If you are among the brokenhearted today, I am so sorry for what you are going through. I know what you are feeling. Theres a hole in center of your chest that nobody can see, and it feels like your soul is leaking right through it. You either cannot sleep at all, or you sleep all day. You either cannot eat at all, or you cannot stop eating. You are either dead numb, or you cannot stop sobbing. You are either incapable of working, or terrified that somebody will make you stop working and then you will have to focus on your terrible sorrow.  I guarantee you  we have all been there. Every single one of us. And if we could survive it, you can, too.  A Letter to the Brokenhearted, her Facebook, January 2015

Jerry Hall

There is nothing more humiliating than loving him so much that you forgive the infidelities.  McCalls magazine, 1992

Emma Stone

I was crawling on the floor. I remember throwing up. Like, within the hour  I have never felt anything quite like that. It was so visceral. Its like someone has killed you and you have to live through it and watch it happen  It was awful.  Interview, August 2012

Reese Witherspoon

[Divorce is] very humiliating and very isolating  But, by the way, if its not painful, maybe it wasnt the right decision to marry to begin with. Those are the appropriate emotions.  Elle, March 2009

Princess Diana

There were three of us in this marriage, so it was a bit crowded. Friends of my husbands were indicating that I was unstable, sick, and should be put in a home of some sort to get better so I wouldnt be an embarrassment.  BBC, 1995

Taylor Swift

Theres just been this earth-shattering, not recent, but absolute crash-and-burn heartbreak, and that will turn out to be what the next album is about. The only way that I can feel better about myself  pull myself out of that awful pain of losing someone  is writing songs about it to get some sort of clarity.  Vogue, January 2012



Rihanna

I was very lost. I have to say I felt really confused. I hate talking about it but it was really crazy because I felt so out of touch with myself and when that happens its scary because nothing you say or do feels like its you. You just lose touch of everything that you love and everything that you would normally do; how you would dress or how you would say something  [But] once youre back on your feet  if you ever make it back on your feet  thats the ultimate achievement. I remember I was in New York at the Trump Hotel and I woke up and I just knew I was over it. It was a different day. I felt different. I didnt feel lonely. I felt like I wanted to get up and be in the world. That was a great, great feeling.  Marie Claire UK, December 2010

Alexa Chung

I asked my mum instead [about heartbreak] and she told me: Nobody goes through life without having their heart broken and one day youll wake up and it will be okay  There are upsides to despair. You can wear a blanket instead of a coat and your friends wont judge you. You can smoke indoors because nobody will have the heart to tell an inconsolable girl that a smoking ban has been in place for eight years. And you find out that people are very nice and that they care about you even if the person you care about most doesnt. When somebody makes you laugh when youre sad, thats the most enjoyable laugh youll ever experience.  It, October 2013

Anne Hathaway

I think the thing that I have learn[ed] is that a bad love experience is no reason to fear a new love experience. But you have to be very honest at every single stage with the person about how youve been hurt, and hopefully they will be supportive about whatever it is that you have to go through  Everybody has bad relationships and, at the end of the day, they are just a great way to set yourself up for a good relationship.  The Telegraph, 2010

Ava Gardner

When you have to face up to the fact that marriage to the man you love is really over, thats very tough, sheer agony. In that kind of harrowing situation, I always go away and cut myself off from the world. Also, I sober up immediately when there is genuine bad news in my life; I never face it with alcohol in my brain. I just rented a house in Palm Springs and sat there and just suffered for a couple of weeks. I suffered there until I was strong enough to face it.  Ava: My Story, October 1990

Nicole Kidman

Well, I can wear heels now.  Late Show With David Letterman, July 2001

Ellen DeGeneres

What I dont mind saying is, it was the first time I ever had my heart broken. Id always been the one to leave relationships, and I had been in long-term relationships, and it was the one time I really believed this is forever. Im going to be with this person forever, and I felt safe and I felt we shared so much together, and it was the first time Ive had my heart broken, and it was in a big way. Because there is no closure. Ive had a girlfriend who was killed in a car accident. I know what its like to lose someone. and thats a horrible feeling, [but] its almost worse to lose someone and know theyre still alive out there, and I dont understand.  Los Angeles Times, September 2001

Tavi Gevinson

You cant stay with your high-school sweetheart forever. People do, but you shouldnt  I flew straight to New York for a wedding and then I visited Taylor Swift at her home in Rhode Island. I hate being heartbroken, but who better to discuss it with than Taylor Swift?  I had some time in Oak Park to reclaim everything that had happened in my life thus far as my own. And actually, coming out of the breakup has kind of reignited my love for fashion, because its a way of asserting a new identity and becoming a new person and giving yourself space.  New York, August 2014

Miley Cyrus

When I went through a really intense breakup  you know, I was engaged  and when I was with [Liam] or when I was on Disney, the thing that gave me the most anxiety was not knowing what to do with myself when Disney wasnt there to carry me anymore or if I didnt have him. And now Im free of both of those things, and Im fine. Like, I lay in bed at night by myself and Im totally okay, and thats so much stronger than the person three years ago, who would have thought they would have died if they didnt have a boyfriend.  Elle, May 2014

Jennifer Lopez

Back then the pain hurt so much, but I didnt want what happened to finish me. I wanted it to help me grow for the better. I didnt want to just survive it; I wanted to come out of it stronger than I was before. It took a lot of digging to do that  Right now Id say it was the hardest thing Ive ever been through, because of the kids. When youre this little scrappy girl and things happen, you just cry yourself to sleep. But when youre responsible for two other human beings and their lives and emotional well being, thats a biggie. Youre constantly wondering: Am I doing the right thing here?  Glamour UK, March 2014

Gloria Steinem

Your old lovers get to be your really old lovers, and you cant remember who broke up with who, or who got mad at who  just that the two of you remember things that no one else in the world does.  New York Times, March 2014
Hassan Saada of Morocco. Photo: Courtesy of YouTube/Boxing World

The disaster Olympics are living up to their name already. Moroccan boxer Hassan Saada was arrested by Brazilian police over allegations that he sexually assaulted two women who work as housekeepers in the Olympic Village.

The BBC reports that police said Saada, 22, pushed one of the women against a wall, pressed her with his thighs, and tried to kiss her. He grabbed the second womans breast and made obscene hand gestures to her.

A Brazilian judge ordered him to remain in jail for 15 days while police conduct an investigation. He was set to compete in his first match on Saturday so his Olympics are probably over, and before the Opening Ceremonies even happened.
Photo: Courtesy of Facebook/Korryn Gaines

On Monday, Baltimore County police killed Korryn Gaines, a 23-year-old mother, after a nearly six-hour standoff in Randallstown, Maryland. Gainess 5-year-old son was also shot, though his injuries werent life-threatening. Police allege that Gaines pointed a gun at officers and threatened to kill them, but there is no video evidence of what actually happened. Gaines did document some of the standoff from her point of view in videos posted on Facebook and Instagram, but after a request from police, they were removed from the sites.

This summer, videos of police violence have become an all-too-familiar trend. Because of the massive distrust between people of color and law enforcement, people often feel like recording police encounters is the only way to make their experiences known, and videos were what started the calls for justice for Alton Sterling and Philando Castile. So the lack of video evidence makes this case especially frustrating, as does the knowledge that Gaines was the ninth black woman to be killed by police this year.

By mid-afternoon, Gaines had allegedly pointed her gun at an officer, saying, If you dont leave, Im going to kill you. Another officer opened fire, and Gaines shot back. Her son was wounded in the shoot-out, and police say theyre not sure who shot him.



We are of course extremely upset at an event like this, police spokesperson Elise Armacost said at a press conference. We do not like to be in a position of having to use lethal force, but this was a situation where our officers exercised patience for hours and hours.

But since there is no video proof of this happening, the family of Korryn Gaines wants to know why such lethal force had to be used. Dawn McGee, Gainess aunt, told a Baltimore TV news station, We see hundreds of videos where these people are taken into custody without harm. What was so different in this situation? If they truly felt like something was wrong with her, then address her accordingly.

Baltimore County Police Chief Jim Johnson says the officers werent wearing body cameras  an odd coincidence that keeps occurring. And Armacost, the police spokesperson, explained that Baltimore Countys body-camera program is only a month old, which is why not all officers are currently equipped with them. The videos Gaines posted on Facebook and Instagram, including one in which her young son says police are trying to kill us, were taken down after officers requested their removal.

#KorrynGaines filmed encounters with Baltimore County Police before. This is her. pic.twitter.com/8MnVzHQtR7  Shaun King (@ShaunKing) August 2, 2016

Gaines was a vocal critic of the police. According to the Baltimore Sun, when she was pulled over in March, she had a cardboard sign in her car in place of a license plate that stated, Any Government official who compromises this pursuit to happiness and right to travel will be held criminally responsible and fined, as this is a natural right or freedom.



Police cited her for the missing plates and because the car hadnt undergone a recent emissions check, but Gaines refused to get out of the car, instead recording the encounter. She told police officers that they would have to murder her to get out of the vehicle, which ended with officers arresting her by force, removing her infant child from her arms, and pulling her out of the car. She suffered a miscarriage after the incident, for which she blamed the police  one of the reasons her family has been adamant about making sure her story is heard.

#KorrynGaines loaded these videos right before her death (see previous post for full story) pic.twitter.com/vJMngpGTIj  BallerAlert (@balleralert) August 2, 2016

Because of the publicity surrounding this case and others, its become more apparent that its not just black men getting killed by the police. Eight of the nine black women killed by police this year were armed, but that certainly didnt ensure them a safe space (and you can bet the NRA hasnt been offering any sympathy).



For their part, the police officers said they feared for their own lives, and that since Gaines was armed they had no other choice but to fire. Meanwhile, Gainess son is now forced to live a life without his mother.

Were left with questions about what is legally reasonable for police to perceive as a threat, and why are black women disproportionately targets of police violence? The events of this summer have also inspired discussion about the dehumanization of people of color, with videos of their killings displayed on the news in a constant, often traumatizing, loop. But so far, its amounted to public awareness that people of color are in danger, but with no real actions or solutions offered. In a predictable move, Baltimore County has placed the officers involved in Gainess shooting on administrative leave. In the meantime, Ill keep saying Korryn Gainess name, because there are clearly some missing details that we may never know.
What the fuck?!

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I can't believe people have been excusing this footage :/ This is scary. No he's not hitting her but he's clearly being aggressive and she's running away.

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This is so upsetting :( Was this what was on the cover of Star? I refuse to watch it. This fucking scumbag sack of shit. I really hope Lindsey is able to get away from this shit bag. It doesn't seem likely though, she doesn't seem to have supportive people around her, just enablers.

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ummm he didn't do anything wrong in the video

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wtf? he practically had her in a headlock and twisted her arm.

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Oh no, of course he didn't. He just tossed her around like a rag doll so her tits and ass were exposed, and at one point looks like he slaps her in the face, but you're so right he didn't do *any*thing wrong in the video.



And in case you just can't get it, I'm being highly sarcastic. She was plainly assaulted by him, and if this is what he'd do in public to her, imagine how much worse she must have to deal with living in a home with him... I honestly don't understand people who defend men who do this type of shit to women. There are other ways to get a cellphone back from a person that doesn't require anyone putting their hands on each other.

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mmm so she's in an abusive relationship with a wealthy guy. not shocking.

the video didn't even faze me tho. i was expecting worse.

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i didn't watch the videos but the pictures are pretty disturbing. didn't "faze" you? it looks like he was going to break her arm

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watch the video, it's literally 2 seconds and it's just him trying to get the phone

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it just looked like typical stuff i've been through since i've been in abusive relationships. granted, i feel bad about her going through this though. no one should have to go through this kind of stuff.

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Normalizing violence isn't cool.

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For real. The OP said the video and pictures were graphic. It's literally two people fighting over a cell phone for 4 seconds.

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mte, I was expecting something worse (since it involved Lindsay)

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me too, I had the same reaction. I was expecting sean penn levels of bad.

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Abuse is abuse regardless of how shocking it may or may not look.

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Wtf are these comments? Abuse is abuse. If he's acting like this in public then he's probably even more abusive behind closed doors.

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yikes at some of these comments...

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mte, it was obviously an ugly fight but I was expecting much worse.

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you guys sound disappointed.

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I actually think Lindsay is too intellectually and emotionally stunted to be redeemed by this point. Sending her dad incoherent texts that a 5 year old could correct for errors, biting her foods into hearts, partying until 6 am and captioning her instagrams in arabic and then deleting it....it's sad af. The years of being a kept lady and enabling her have just made her worse.

I mean she's hanging on to an abusive Russian Oligarch despite his cheating and domestic violence so she can try to get her hands on some $$ so she doesn't have to change? It's so sad.

And before people start on about how I'm not sympathetic to the cycle of the abuse, I am. I think it's very sad that Lindsay, who watched her dad abuse her mom, is subject to abuse, but if anyone thinks that her need desire to be kept and keep her name in the headlines isn't an important part of why she's staying in (and got in) then please see her years of (alleged) sleeping with men for $. One of the saddest parts to me about this whole thing is I'm p. sure she's gay.

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No, I agree with you. And I think it's possible to feel sad for Lindsay and hope she gets help, while also being realistic about the issues that have gotten her to this point and while acknowledging that she herself is not a great person. No one deserves being treated the way this guy (and likely many other men) have hurt her, but the chain of events in her life is due to a number of factors, many of them her own responsibility. I hope she gets away from this guy, but for her to not end up in the same situation again, she needs to also take ownership of the personal changes she needs to make, and she needs to accept that she will have to have a much different lifestyle (financially, socially, etc.) if she wants to live a happier, healthier life. I think a huge issue is that she's addicted to the traveling and partying and "rich" life and she can't afford it on her own and can't bring herself to get healthy or accept the help she's been offered because it means giving up that life.

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Agreed with all of this.

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mhm agree 100%

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i agree with both these comments :/

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yep very well worded comment.

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ia, this is a good way to put it. nobody is denying that she's been through some rough times and has clearly been manipulated, but she wants to stay in the spotlight and live a life of luxury, seemingly without putting work into her actual career anymore. it doesn't seem like this lifestyle is in anyway healthy for her, or conducive to any real changes.

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agreed

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yup.

but, i don't think her brain works that way. i'm pretty sure she feels sorry for herself.

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That last line made me realize I *totally* forgot about her relationship with Sam Ronson. Feels like a lifetime ago.

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no. there are people who drink and drug for 50 years and then get sober and live meaningful lives. to say it's too late for her isn't true

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Ia

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100%



/recovering addict, BPD, lesbian, former escort

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I watched the video and it... didn't seem as bad as the description implied (he doesn't really pick her up or shake her, he's grabs her from behind trying to get his phone back. The whole thing is over in like 10 seconds.). That said, this relationship is clearly awful and toxic and she needs to end it. She won't though.



Edited at 2016-08-05 05:52 pm (UTC)

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Exactly this!

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yeah, tbh. not to defend him, but my family and I would do the same thing over the tv remote or whatever growing up. honestly, that in particular is nothing. however, this took place in public, and I wouldn't doubt he'd be more aggressive and abusive behind closed doors

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Yeah, my siblings and I would "fight" like this to steal each other's phones and read texts from our SOs. But that was playful and never with the intent to hurt. This guys intentions might not be as good.

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Ya but there is a huge difference between fighting amongst siblings (because that shit can get crazy, I agree) and being in an abusive relationship. You can see how volatile and angry he is, and you can also see how "normal" it is to her, because she just gets back in the car.

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when you're small children and fighting with your siblings? ... okay... when you're a grown man and this is your partner? obviously no...

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Yeah, it kind of more looked like she was throwing a fit over his phone and he was wrestling her to get it back.

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Mte

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he was being aggressive

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ia, i don't like that op was baiting us and trying to use violence to get views

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omg awful

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omg i saw a still of this on some magazine yesterday. i didn't know it came from a video. i know she's a shitty person but i will always have a soft spot for her </3

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You made it sound a lot worse than it was...

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Mte. Although I do appreciate the trigger warning and I'm glad it wasn't as bad as I was expecting.

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Mte

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I don't wanna see the video/pictures, but I just wanna ask, is this different from the pictures posted here (or somewhere around here anyway) that showed her at the beach and he was grabbing her from behind?



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sounds like the same pix

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Same thing, but the pictures make it look worse than the encounter was, IMHO.



That said, after watching the video of him screaming at her on their apartment balcony I have no doubt he's an abusive shit, but this article seems like click bait.

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Exactly this. The video on the balcony is scary. The way she kept instinctively backing away from him was so sad.

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he grabbed her from behind so she couldn't run away with his phone and then snatched it from her hand.

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They both seem like intoxicated.

http://radaronline.com/photos/lindsay-lohan-fiance-fight-egor-tarabasov-beach/photo/1326576/ Check it out, it's sadder instead of infuriating =(They both seem like intoxicated.

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It's not him attacking or shaking her. He grabs her & gets his phone back. This relationship is still toxic af & she needs to get out.

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i can't watch the vid but those pics look awful, jesus...

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definitely not excusing him putting his hands on her, but the pix definitely make it look worse than what transpires in the video



this relationship is clearly toxic tho

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the description there says he shakes her up but ppl here say he's just trying to get his phone back...what exactly happens?

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i'm seconding the pictures vs video comments, you usually don't realize with celeb gossip what a big difference the medium used makes because ia the pics were disturbing but the video is just ..? not saying that what lindsay claims about their relationship isn't true of course, this was just a 30 second clip and though i'm not sure if it shows abuse, who knows what goes on behind four walls.

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well, shit. that's awful.



i do feel bad for her, as i think there is no one around her who really cares, but there are people who want to use her or not treat her well who she thinks really love her because they offer her stuff or take her on trips or whatever. i also think between the fame and drug use, she's probably emotionally stunted in many ways and can't deal with conflict well. it's just a powder keg of issues. she seems like a person who has a lot to work on personally/for herself, but no one deserves to be abused. i do hope she can find the strength to stay away from him and really stick to the help people have offered her.

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You make a really great point. I also think she probably has never had a truly healthy relationship in her life. This is just her normal. It's all very sad.

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I agree about it being her "normal." I also think that the partying/traveling/rich lifestyle is her "normal" and if she were to get healthy, she'd have to stay away from that lifestyle, those friends, the luxuries and experiences, and just be like an average person because she is no longer trusted in the industry and she doesn't have much money left. That has to be pretty scary for someone in her spot, and I feel bad for anyone struggling with that kind of choice because it has to feel like jumping off a cliff into the unknown to give up everything you're comfortable with for a recovery process that's likely to be difficult and painful and lonely.

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i also think she has some kind of mental illness. i am not saying her life situation is 100% the result of that, but i remember watching the oprah show and she seems like she needs chaos constantly in her life. she can't have structure, she can't have routine, she can't sit at home reading a book. i think moving overseas is just another chapter of her seeking new highs and excitement emotionally.

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great comment.

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ew @ people trying to quantify abuse. so bc he "only" tussled her for "a few seconds" it's nothing?

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Better than the comments at the source saying they'd do worse to her. People are disgusting.



Edited at 2016-08-05 05:59 pm (UTC)

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From the last post, I think a lot of people here think it's a mutually abusive relationship. Doesn't excuse what he's doing here, but I think a lot of ONTDers have little to no benefit of the doubt to give her.

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Just IMHO, I have no doubt he's an abusive piece of shit but my issue with this article is that I think they sensationalized what actually happened in the video for clicks.

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lol seriously

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Seriously wtf.

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It's creeping me out how far some people will go to normalize abuse.

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mte

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mte i would be really shaken if my bf did this to me.

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mte "it looks like what me and my brother did while fighting over the remote as children!"



k... but these aren't 10 y/o siblings, this is an adult couple. i'd ask if people understood the difference, but i'm afraid of the answer. and these other fuckheads pointing out that the description is worse than the video, like, sorry you're disappointed that you didn't get to see a man attack a woman to the extent you were expecting. disgusting.

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seriously. it's v. disturbing how many commenters think this is EH

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That wasn't a brawl but ok. I hope she can eventually live a drama-free life.

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I hate when the media describes abuse as a brawl sfm!

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I really can't get over how they sensationalized this story for clicks.

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If he does this in public, what does he do in private?

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Yeah, that was my first thought.

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exactly

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I have a feeling they both get pretty violent with each other. It is obvious it is a toxic relationship and she needs to leave him.

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right

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mte. it's really scary to think about.

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right :(

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boy howdy

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the second whitest dude alive is smh at the whitest dude alive...too good.

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That's not a Hiddleston gif though

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aw, bcoop wants to win his right wing fan base back after the DNC betrayal



((highkey pissed that this isn't an assassins creed/pirate series))

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damn, that one would be such a great series instead. i would love one about Cheng I Sao

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a cable pirate anthology series that focuses on a different pirate or region/era of piracy each season would be siiiiick 



in the mean time, season 4 of black sails will just have to do

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http://deadline.com/2015/07/red-flag-david-franzoni-dylan-mcdermott-maggie-q-1201482709/



http://www.imdb.com/title/tt3342478/ they are (were?) making a miniseries about cheng i sao starring maggie q but there hasn't been any news about it in over a year :(

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why the fuck

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I hate Bradley Cooper sfm. IDK why but I want to punch his stupid smug-looking face.

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I feel ya, sis. He's one of the most punchable people out there, he's irritating af to me and I'm not even sure why.

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I know a guy who looks so much like him but is the sweetest dude ever so I feel bad that I see him and get immediately annoyed.

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same, ever since Alias he's annoyed the fuck out of me

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OH MY GOD DON'T

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i only associate todd phillips with licking amy smart's toes and bcoop with jlaw + american sniper so i'l take a real hard pass on this one 

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I love that you're trying to bring some positivism to this mess. I appreciate it, really.

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it most certainly wont, although it most definitely should

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Baby sour cream!

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i'm holding out that hope too

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lol this is a nice response tbh

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aww...most optimistic comment i've ever read on ONTD. i'm with you even though i'm more cynical.

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how amazing would that be

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It'll be an AMURICAAA FUCK YEAA movie for sure.

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I would be shocked if it turned out like that. Idk if anyone has the guts to make a movie where they tie in all the catastrophic disasters the US committed in the Middle East (or other places like Latin America)

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I doubt it. Charlie Wilson's War is the closest I think we've come and even that had the real bite taken out of it.

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Lmao! Sure bb, sure. Living the dream, lbr.

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Bradley Cooper in another war movie? Pass.

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why is bradley cooper obsessed with muslims/middle eastern wars

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I hope he is asked come release time.

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It'd be one thing if he was anti-war or dedicated to truly informing people on the depth of the issue...but he's just making shit to sensationalize an issue that dehumanizes the people who have continually been affected by American actions. It's gross.

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i hope he has a shitty answer like, "the story possibilities are LIMITLESS" so we can all drag him.

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#whoaskedforthis Great post, op! Perfect tags.

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No, ty.

Also that Todd Phillips guy looks a lot like Donald Sutherland.

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Yeah this will end well.

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I didn't read and thought she literally wore that to meet with politicians.

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i wouldn't put it past her tbh

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same

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me too, i was about to grab some pearls to clutch.

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Put her hideous face under a cut.

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yikes

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lol that self-hate

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you dont deserve that flawless icon tbh

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Put in a little effort into an actual insult next time

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I thought she actually took that to Capitol Hill, lordy lord.

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I don't know what the weather is like in NYC this week, but here it's fucking hot. I'd never wear that much heavy fabric even with the lack of shirt in this heat unless I had to and Gaga clearly doesn't have to.

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fashion knows no weather, darling

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Its cooled down the past week..after like a month of 200t humidity and 100 degree weather..definitely wouldnt wear her outfit for long periods but something tells me she's probably not walking much outside..

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Massively disappointed she didn't actually wear this to Capitol Hill.

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Ugly and washed up.

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A few friends keep sending me job postings for things in DC, and now I can show them a picture of Lady Gaga and tell them unless I can dress like that, there is no way in hell I am working in that swamp town!

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lol bless this post OP. it's good to see more people doing the lord's work!

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thx sis! i love your gaga posts. i especially like how you're basically the only person who makes them lol

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let's not get ahead of ourselves

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the pictures of her in black , i thought she was performing for Tony Bennet in that dress ...for his bday

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yeah it was the same day. she might've finished something up in the studio before heading to the party

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you don't wear velvet gowns to work??

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Queen of looks

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She is not cute.

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I like it. She's doing the best she can with what she has.

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the best kind tbh that compliment wasthe best kind tbh

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Lollll

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Activist investing has taken off in prominence in the last five years with guys like Bill Ackman and Carl Icahn making a very public case around firms from Herbalife and Valeant to Dow and Apple. With many more investors in the activist arena now and traditional industrial and life sciences companies shaping up their act, activists need to find new targets. The energy sector is a ripe possibility  and current investors in the energy sector should be thrilled.

With commodity prices starting to rebound, energy sector companies are ripe targets for activists. The sector is still in disarray after the oil price crash and that means that many firms have not adjusted to the new environment well. Activists have an opportunity to push inefficient firms to sell themselves to other companies, and they have an opportunity to push firms that have become too conservative in hoarding cash to disgorge those funds via buybacks and special dividends.

Private equity firms are also likely to be taking a close look at opportunities to buy companies in the sector at still distressed prices. Activist involvement could hasten this process. M&A in the market should certainly heat up if activists get more involved. Firms like Weatherford and Franks International have strong business positions and could be attractive targets. The big dilemma in many cases will be that debt is hard to raise for energy companies right now, but all stock deals are certainly a realistic possibility as are bolt-on acquisitions by larger cash-rich firms like General Electric.

Now it is important to note that activist investing has developed something of a bad name. Politicians like Hillary Clinton have decried activist investing as being too short-term and suggested that is causes companies to make bad long term decisions. Thats a misleading critique. The truth is that activist investing simply puts a form of pressure on management to act in the best interests of shareholders. And lets face it  that is what management is supposed to do. Companies exist not to serve society, but to serve their shareholders by maximizing value through large profits that can be sustained over time. Activists make life less pleasant for company executives and thus serve as an external incentive for management to act in the best interests of shareholders. Few sectors need this incentive more than the energy sector. Related: Is Iowa The Next Nigeria? Arson Suspected in Pipeline Fire

Part of the reason the energy sector got itself into the current mess was a lack of discipline among management teams. Companies were focused mainly on production growth and capitalizing on the euphoria around fracking. That led to some bad internal investment decisions. Those decisions were famously derided in the David Einhorn Mother Fracker presentation. Some of Einhorns conclusions may have been exaggerated, but the fundamental theme that energy companies could use some internal discipline on risk is well-founded. And few forces create this discipline faster than the threat of activist investors.

Investors looking to get in ahead of activists should look for firms that are either (1.) small, deeply depressed companies with valuable assets that could be better used by another firm, or (2.) stable businesses that have become too conservative and risk averse. Activists could pressure the former group to sell themselves in M&A deals, and the latter group to make changes to their corporate capital structure or operations to capitalize on opportunities in the market.

By Michael McDonald of Oilprice.com

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This past March, I wrote about some intriguing comments from the Chinese government. Suggesting that the nation might be on the verge of opening major opportunities in its oil and gas sector for outside investment.

And news this week appears to have confirmed this trend is now in motion.

That development came from state oil and gas player China Petroleum & Chemical Corp. (Sinopec). With the company announcing it will sell a major stake in a key pipeline asset to foreign investors.

Sinopec management said Tuesday that it will vend up to 50% of the Sichuan-East China natural gas pipeline to incoming investors. With the move aimed at shoring up cash holdings for the company.

Although Sinopec didnt hang a value on the transaction, this appears to be a significant asset. With the project consisting of over 1,700 kilometers of pipe, delivering 12 billion cubic meters (423 billion cubic feet) of natgas per year directly into the key consuming market of Shanghai.

Sources interviewed by the Wall Street Journal estimated the sale could fetch up to 20 billion yuan ($3 billion). Which would make this one of the biggest foreign deals ever completed in energy infrastructure in China.

The fact that the stake is coming up for sale also shows big changes afoot in Chinas energy sector. With local operators now apparently following through on orders from Beijing to begin divesting assets to outside investors. Related: $40 Billion In Spending Planned For Canadas Oil Sands

That trend is coming for a number of reasons. For one, officials are seeking to loosen the dominance of big state firms like Sinopec  which many feel have become bloated and complacent.

Natural gas is likely to be a particular focus. With the Chinese government reportedly also seeking a big buildout in pipeline infrastructure  to facilitate a national switch from coal to cleaner natgas energy supply.

Such an infrastructure overhaul is seen as happening much smoother under the direction of private firms. Which could mean more deals coming available soon  watch for announcements on the buyers and deal terms for the Sichuan-East China project, and for additional asset sales over the coming months.

Heres to shaking the tree.

By Dave Forest

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Natural gas trade between Poland and Ukraine is expected to rise in the near future after the former offered to supply Ukraine consumers with essential energy commodities.

The deal was made after an agreement with Eru Traders, a private gas trader in Ukraine.

Since the announcement, Polands national energy company, PGNIG, has declined to provide details on the volume of goods and the terms of the fuel supply deal, but according to Reuters, the Ukrainian industry consumes about 11 billion m3/yr of gas.

Both Poland and Ukraine are planning on increasing the amount of gas that is exchanged between their systems. Ultimately, the goal is to connect the LNG terminal on Polands Baltic Sea to both central and eastern European countries (North-South gas corridor).

For now, Poland and Ukraine both depend on Russia for fuel supplies. Ukraine, which was formerly a Soviet Republic, has been trying to sever ties with Russia since the February 2014 revolution that tore the country apart. While nuclear power dominates Ukraines energy grid, 95 percent of the fuel used for the nuclear plants currently comes from Russia.

Energy minister Igar Nasalyk has announced plans to break this dependence.

Ukraines relationship with Russia has been falling apart further in recent days, and yesterday, Ukraine announced further plans for its energy independence with an agreement with Westinghouse Electric Sweden, which will construct a nuclear fuel production facility in Ukraine.

By Zainab Calcuttawala for Oilprice.com

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Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro said on Thursday that his country had begun discussions with the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) on mechanisms to increase the global oil price.

"He spoke with the secretary of OPEC, we are making efforts for a new meeting soon between OPEC and non-OPEC members, with Russia at the head ... to stabilize the price towards $40 (per barrel) and over $50 and $60," Maduro said on state TV, referring to Oil Minister Eulogio Del Pino.

Maduro gave no further details or explanations of the meeting.

An informal meeting of formal and informal members of OPEC could feature a discussion on a potential production freeze in September, Reuters said.

Twice this year, OPEC has refused to reduce production rates for oil, prompting its rival, Russia, to increase production as well. Iran and Saudi Arabias regional rivalry has prevented either side from pursuing polices that would lead to the increase of Brent barrel prices.

Other contractual oil obligations have also limited Venezuelas path towards recovery. The Petrocaribe energy pact requires Venezuela to sell crude at a cheaper rate to specific countries in the Caribbean, even while the South American countrys own economy is struggling to stay afloat. The deal was designed to allow Venezuela to profit despite artificially low sale prices, but as the oil pricing crisis unfolded, the deal put Venezuela at a disadvantage in terms of its own source of foreign income.

Because of its Petrocaribe obligations, at the end of 2015, Venezuela owed $23 billion to countries within the contract. Adding to Venezuelas struggles, some of the debtors havent been using dollars to pay their dues, and instead have been offering up exported items such as blue jeans and coffee. Cuba owes $15 billion in debt to the organization  the largest of any country in the pact.

Venezuela current sells 750,000 barrels to the United States per day, according to figures from ClipperData.

By Zainab Calcuttawala for Oilprice.com

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Milwaukee-based filmmaker Aaron Biebert was never a smoker, and he certainly wasnt much of a vaper. In fact, his earliest memory of vaping comes from making fun of a dopey ad back when the hobby was getting on its feet.

"I was watching TV years ago  and in this commercial, this guy looked like he was smoking in a restaurant, a waitress came by to tell him to put out his cigarette, and he took the thing and started jabbing it into his wrist, being like, Look, its not on fire! He was kind of being a douchebag, and he looked like a total jerk," Biebert laughingly recalled. "This was the beginning of these e-cigarettes, and everyone was like, Ugh. No one really knew what it was."

In just a few years, however, Biebert has gone from gently mocking e-cigarette users and vapers to fighting for their cause, landing right in the middle of the ongoing smoking/vaping debate with his upcoming documentary, "A Billion Lives."

The film  making its North American red carpet premiere right here in Milwaukee at The Pabst Theater on Saturday night at 8 p.m.  follows Biebert and his crew as he attempts to learn more about vaping as a viable alternative for smokers hoping to quit.

The quest sends the director across four continents and through countless interviews  ranging from a former executive director at the World Health Organization to a former director of the World Medical Association to a former Winston Man turned anti-smoking advocate and more  all pushing the argument that vaping is a healthier option for smokers looking for longer, healthier lives.

Over the course of his travels and interviews, he also finds evidence and arguments pointing toward many organizations  yes, tobacco companies, but governments and health agencies as well  trying to squelch vapings progress and popularity in the name of saving profits rather than the projected billion lives (thus the title) lost to smoking this century.

Its certainly an intriguing conspiracy theory, presented compellingly in "A Billion Lives" with a mix of interviews with experts and vapers, as well as Bieberts mostly on-screen narration. Its also a case the Milwaukee director never particularly imagined himself taking on.

"I thought it was really stupid, so I would be teasing about (e-cigarettes) looking stupid and quit smoking or smoke the real thing  but you guys look ridiculous," Biebert recalled. "Then there was this big news last year where they said vapor technology might cause more cancer than smoking, and everyone was like, See, not only do you look stupid, but you ARE stupid! And I was kind of one of those people."

The more he looked into the study, however, the more he discovered the study was, in his words, a fraud. According to Biebert and his doc, rather than atomizing the fluid as e-cigarettes and vapes do, the test set the temperature too high  at a level human beings wouldnt and in many cases cant ingest  and burned the liquid.

"Thats intellectually dishonest," the director argued. "Thats not how theyre used. Thatd be like saying bread causes more cancer than cigarettes if you toast the thing to black every time. No human would eat burnt crust all day every day, but you could make a case that bread causes more cancer than cigarettes."

As Biebert dug a little deeper into vaping, he discovered the projected billion lives lost to smoking this century stat, that vaping was the number one most effective way to quit and that countries across the globe  including the U.S.  were banning or moving to ban them from use.

"When I found out a billion people were going to die and some of my friends who Id been making fun of about this vaping thing explained to me some of the fraudulent stuff going on, I said OK," Biebert said. "We were looking for our next big project for a documentary, a billion people are going to die, maybe this is something nobody else is talking about.

"I wasnt some big super zealot for helping save smokers lives until I learned about it; it was mostly just a business decision, to make a film that would be of interest to people, but the more I learned about this and people tell me their stories about how they were trapped for 50 years, tried to quit ten times  when 70 percent of people want to quit something thats going to kill them, I think we need to help these people, not ban their number one and number two way of quitting."

Director Aaron Biebert on tour with "A Billion Lives" (PHOTO: A Billion Lives Facebook)

Bieberts globe-trekking journey, to learn not only more about vaping and its history but also about the history of the tobacco and cigarette industries, took him nine months, grabbing interviews with esteemed former health, tobacco and vaping experts helping to clarify common misconceptions.

For instance, the interviews in "A Billion Lives" argue that, while nicotine gets a bad name for its presence in cigarettes, nicotine is not causing the cancer or the addiction. Biebert notes that even in the surgeon generals report that said smoking causes lung cancer, nicotine was not identified as the issue.

"Everyone wants to demonize that, but you dont see nicotine junkies breaking into Walgreens to steal nicotine gum," Biebert argued. "People smoke for the nicotine, but they die from the tar. So if we can get rid of the smoke, people dont die."

"Theyre calling (vapor technology) a tobacco product, but theres no tobacco in it; its like a fog machine," he continued. "Theyre saying they dont know what it could do and all of this stuff, but its the same as inhalers for asthma. They know whats in this."

After his travels, Biebert then took another three months to edit the film  and all of its often complicated, complex arguments about vaping safety and governmental and pharmaceutical ties to cigarettes  together. By the time "A Billion Lives" reached its final cut, however, the outcry about vaping regulations and banning had only grown.

"Its a hot topic; its an important topic," he said. "We kind of hit this thing right at the right time, because a lot of people are unfortunately really freaking out right now."

Despite not even being released yet, the films already made a little impact on the war on vaping. While many countries have still banned or moved to ban the technology, in New Zealand, three days after "A Billion Lives" hosted its premiere there, the government announced it was going to reexamine its ban on vaping and defund some of the organizations speaking out against it.

And now the film will hit the big screen for the first time in North America right here in Milwaukee  Bieberts hometown but also an unlikely locale for a red carpet premiere.

"It feels great," he said. "A lot of people were looking at me weird. We had offers to get it done in L.A. and New York, and I kind of pushed back. Its gotta be at home.

"Ultimately, I dont just want to do this movie. I was born in Milwaukee, but I didnt grow up here, so when I moved back (ten years ago), I really saw there was a lot of potential for this city, and Im watching it come alive right now. I really want to build Milwaukee up; I want to be a part of building it up. So Ill make everyone come here."

From Milwaukee, Biebert says "A Billion Lives" should expand out into an official theatrical release later this year, possibly September he hypothesized. As of right now, though, he feels good about its odds  both of being seen by lots of millions of eyes and of making an impact on billions of lives.

"At the end of the day, this isnt really a political issue; its just should people live or die, should they have the truth or not. And I think we can all agree they should have the truth, and they should be allowed to live if they want."
USA Network's "Mr. Robot" has been delivering its fans a bit of a mind f*ck. Theres so many unanswered questions that were all left to ponder on our own, and our BFF Elliot isnt letting us in on all the secrets. But lets not be too hard on him  he doesnt know all the secrets himself!

Elliot has begun working for Ray, which is arguably one of the worst decisions hes made. Its been obvious that Ray is a dangerous guy, yet Elliot cant walk away due to his curiousity. Wait, let me change that statement; Elliot cant walk away because of his obsession. Like he said, he lives for this sh*t. It seems as if Elliot giving into the hacking isnt exactly making Mr. Robot happy  hes worried. Its interesting because hes only happy when hes the one driving things. Now that Elliot is taking matters into his own hands, Mr. Robots all paranoid.

Meanwhile, Angela found Darlene in her lavish apartment in the city with a proposition. Darlene wants Angela to help hack the FBI, but Angela is obviously hesitant. Lets not forget; it was Angela who planted the infected disk that started Five/Nine when she worked at AllSafe. Shes as much a part of this as everyone else, so its time for her to own up to it. Darlene pointed out something, though: Angela and Elliot werent the only ones who knew about the disk. Angela used her ex-boyfriends computer to start the Five/Nine attack after he put her at risk, and she did what she did after being blackmailed. Theres so many cogs in the Five/Nine machine that its kind of hard to keep track.

Angela went to meet with her ex-boyfriend to ensure his silence, but she was too little too late. Hed already talked to the FBI and even tried to incriminate her by recording their conversation. Angela is now in a lot deeper than she thought, so its only fair that she gets in on the FBI hack action. Her only chance of freedom lies in fsociety; nevertheless, Elliot isnt for it at all. Elliot has always been protective of Angela, and he sees her as an innocent. In reality, Angela is a silent and deadly force to be reckoned with. This woman is weaseling her way into E Corp, shooting her to the top. I find it hard to believe that she gave up her morals and sold her soul to Phillip Price for nothing. Against Elliots wishes, Angela is going to try to achieve the impossible and hack the FBI.

Our favorite FBI agent Dominique is seriously closing in on fsociety and the Five/Nine hack. She and the FBI need help from China in their efforts, so they head there for a parlay. Surprisingly, Whiterose is Chinas Minister of State Security  talk about wearing a mask. Hes the one person thats supposed to protect Chinas interest, yet hes controlling it on his own terms through the Dark Army. The FBI wants to get all information on the Dark Army, which is a complete nuisance, no doubt. Whiterose is an extremely smart individual, so he took the opportunity to understand his opponent. He brought drunk Dominique into aspects of his personal world, including his closet full of exquisite womans clothing. Both Whiterose and Dominique are playing each other, for they both know that the other is playing coy about their lives.

Just like clockwork, men from the Dark Army come into the building where the FBI was staying in China and opened fire. This says to me that Whiterose is a little threatened by Dominique and her uncanny FBI skills. As far as we know, Dom survived, but who knows whats going to transpire next.

Joanna Wellick is still being a sneaky little snake. The man whos lying to the police for her is getting too paranoid; he believes that the FBI knows that he lied to them. Naturally, Joanna has him killed to cut all ties. She had her bodyguard inject him with a paralyzing agent before killing him so that he could be aware of why his life was ending before it did. Joanna thinks that letting him die with answers saves them from being ruthless murderers. No Joanna  youre still a heartless, ruthless murderer. She would murder her own husband if it benefited her, making her just as evil as they come.

The thing that intrigues me about Joanna, though, is that I cant exactly tell what her intentions are. Her mystery phone from Tyrell rang, and all she heard were the sirens outside her house; this lets us know that Tyrell is right there in New York City. Something tells me that hes testing her before revealing himself. I wonder if he knows that she went to confess everything to Scott Knowles? Time will tell.

Back in Rays office, Elliot is still trying to get to the bottom of things. He had Rays former hacker come in to help him, but we all know he just wanted to pry into private matters. Elliot knows that Rays old hacker knows his stuff, so hes confused as to why Ray needed him. The hacker revealed that Ray runs a black market site, filled with guns, drugs, human trafficking and everything else wrong with this world. How can such a calm, nice guy be involved with something so sinister? Well, blame it on the masks we all choose to wear for survival.

Naturally, Ray found out that Elliot was digging into his black market site, so Elliot had to pay for disobeying. Rays henchmen dragged Elliot out of bed in the middle of the night, presented him with the other hackers rattail (with the skin attached) and proceeded to beat Elliots ass. You cant say Elliot didnt have it coming. Now that Elliot crossed that line, its probably going to be near impossible for him to go back. Poor Elliot  he just cant seem to catch a break.

Now that hes under Rays control, who knows what Ray is going to have him do. Its all a huge series of unfortunate events, sparked by Elliots genuine desire to save the world. Maybe we cant be saved; maybe we can only attempt to survive.
Philly was feisty from 'tude in the street to the battles in the convention arena. Yet while official events highlighted diversity and 2016 platform planks long championed by Sanders, the rhetoric against corporate power -- in the ironically titled Wells Fargo arena -- was often feeble. The Democratic Party and Clinton must convincingly commit to priorities championed by Sanders and the left on the climate, war, agriculture, a living wage, and trade. The time is now.

PHILLY

In Philly, much of the movement I saw on these critical issues was outside. At a steamy climate rally, Green Nobel Prize winner Berta Caceres' daughter Laura Zuniga Ca'ceres stepped in the legacy of her mother with the "It Take Roots to Change the System People's Caravan," seeking to bar police and military aid pending investigations into human rights violations. Musicians, artists, and activists watched Josh Fox's film "How to Let Go of the World and Love All the Things Climate Can't Change" on the eve of the Convention. At City Hall, Sanders' delegates delivered a moving presser urging superdelegates to vote for him, citing solid stands on the TPP and health care. Daily marches to FDR Park shut down Broad Street with peaceful Bernie supporters holding signs against fences and chanting to delegates arriving by train (who, after Monday, were inexplicably redirected to not pass protestors). Dr. Jill Stein high-fived me before cheering us on the language of this broader movement, just minutes later we raced for cover in a spirit-salving monsoon. Global Women spoke out at the DNC and moving art included Zoe Leonard's "I want a dyke for president" and RocktheVote's work by Keith Haring, Banksy and Shepard Fairey who reimagined the possible. Yet convention and inside-the-Beltway speakers were less inspiring.



Laura Zuniga Caceres at the Democratic National Convention

(Image by Veena Trehan) Details DMCA



So while we celebrate our strong opposition to a "Christian" anti-poor, anti-woman platform, and laud the critical gains made on college education, health care, and other Sanders' issues, Americans must collectively echo his truth to power. From Pope Francis to anti-austerity movements worldwide to Sanders, citizens seek societies rebuilt on the "common good." Right wing and corporations push back, but instead of ceding, we must continue our progress.

We must recognize our platform and rhetoric is highly regressive. It falls unimaginably short of tackling the unprecedented challenges we face in 2016: circumstances largely there for our unwillingness to prioritize people and the planet above corporate gains. Many positions are particularly horrifying when measured against the yardstick of other developed, more democratic nations. And the events of the past two weeks only amplify worry that Democrats will fail to confront power to radically reshape our world.

WAR THROUGH THE LENS OF PROGRESSIVISM

Evaluated against the morality of human rights, our inherent call to compassion, and a desire to stem violence, our foreign policy has been catastrophic. The good news is now we are finally admitting it. Sanders -- and ironically Trump -- raised issues of our terrible record abroad during the primaries. It continued during the Convention as chants of "No More War" greeted former CIA Director Leon Panetta and later Convention speakers (the latter were met with shouts, as ordered, of U-S-A which felt as scarily nationalistic as a Trump rally.) Since the Convention's end, we've embarked on a new phase of bombing Libya, citing support for the government (one of three). Yet neither the 2001 Authorization of Military Force nor an immediate threat can be used as justification. And while the initial attacks on Syria featured a three-week, heavily pro-war biased discussion, the time for discussing new wars has apparently shrunk to zero.

It's not like we have a great track record. Our illegal wars have brought unimaginably tragic geopolitical consequences. The Iraq invasion, which resulted in an estimated 100,000 Iraqi civilians losing their lives in the first 18 months and 650,000 by October 2006, led to the subsequent destabilization of Syria by the flow of regional extremists and American-supplied arms. Then the mass devastation of Syria led to about 10 million Syrians being displaced as part of the largest refugee crisis since World War II. It overwhelmed neighboring and accessible nations, promoted the rise of the right-wing across Europe and contributed to Brexit.

"Bombing People Causes People to Hate You" of course. Strong pushback to "world is our battlefield" policies helped both Sanders and Trump rise as they questioned our endless wars, NATO involvement, potential no-fly zones and Latin American record. It is impossible to justify the current state of drone warfare with no valid domestic authorization or compliance with international law. Yet the Convention and platform was strong on hegemonic bluster (even condemning the free speech of Boycott, Divestment, and Sanction movement (?!)), with little to say about drone warfare, mass surveillance, settlements,and casualties (children, civilian, or otherwise). Clinton's hawkish record in Latin America and the Middle East seems to portend greater violence.

In addition to a vigorous debate on foreign policy, this nation needs a mental shift in which we accept the truth about our past and today's realities. We need to accept we've contributed to the deaths of tens of millions abroad, in many cases toppling democratic governments. Ignoring this reality in the name of unquestioning "patriotism" has only spread and intensified violence. Independent investigations should be done on Iraq, torture, and drone warfare. But also we need to change our mindset: we need to eliminate the unreasonable expectation that there will be no attacks in America by anyone who has any sympathy with movements abroad. None of us reasonably expect zero violent deaths a year or no car accidents: we know the price we would pay for destruction of civil liberties and our economy would be too great. The stoicism and perseverance of the "Mothers of the Movement" must be our own. For the enormous misallocation of resources represents the degradation of our dreams: weapons could be traded for school supplies (or plowshares), instead of destabilizing oil-rich countries we could create a sustainable nation, and our government employees could rebuild our infrastructure and health.

TPP & TRADE: TRADE FOR PEOPLE AND THE PLANET

Perhaps most broadly called out issue at the DNC was trade with no-TPP signs, pins, and chants over multiple days. Three trade deals -- TISA, TTIP and the TPP -- loom on the horizon. Democratic leaders have offered notably mixed signals on the TPP, with the other two being irrationally ignored. Tim Kaine praised it less than a week before being chosen as Hillary's running mate. He was also one of a small minority of Democrats who voted for fast track authority. Hillary Clinton has also praised the TPP many times, saying it "set a gold standard" with statements by Virginia Governor Terry McAuliffe and Chamber of Commerce President Tom Donohue saying that she will support it in the White House. Her TPP-related mails are oddly being held til after November. After a bitter fight, language describing terms of good trade made it into the platform. Yet the Democratic Platform does not take a solid stand against any of these agreements or condemn a vote in the lame duck session on the TPP, despite opposition of all three major presidential candidates.

Of the three deals, the TPP has received the most attention, garnering broad opposition from public advocates. More than 450 environmental, landowner, indigenous and other organizations oppose it as it would threaten the climate imperative of keeping the vast majority of fossil fuels in the ground. How? Most notably through investor state tribunals by which corporations would be able to sue for lost future profits. TransCanada has sued the US government for $15 billion for nixing the unpopular, climate-destroying Keystone XL Pipeline. Other such cases include corporations bringing over 600 cases against 100 governments. Thus this provision alone would likely chill efforts to pass future labor, environment, climate, labeling, and advertising laws in the public interest. More generally, "NAFTA on steroids" -- written by corporate lobbyists rather than those working in the public interest -- would not increase American jobs, would limit critical access to pharmaceutical drugs, and otherwise expand environmental degradation. Additional fights won democratically or gathering momentum would be crushed also.

These trade deals do not serve mankind. They are not based on the Universal Declaration of Human Rights or compliant with international labor law. They threaten critical climate and environmental priorities. Indeed our food sovereignty and safety, jobs, and the very ability to govern ourselves -- including ensuring our planet remains viable -- would be traded for a boost in corporate profits. And thus all must continue the fight in the lame duck and beyond against trade deals affecting all aspects of American lives.

AGRICULTURE FOR OUR HEALTH AND CLIMATE

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Cui Bono, meaning 'to whose profit,' is a key forensic question in legal and police investigations: finding out who has a motive for a crime by carefully examining who will benefit the most. Tazeen Hasan examines who is the actual beneficiary from the terror attacks in Germany and elsewhere in Europe.



Nazi general Franz Halder also testified at the Nuremberg trials that Nazi leader Hermann Goering admitted to setting fire to the German parliament building in 1933, and then falsely blaming the communists for the arson.

(Image by Unknown) Details DMCA





Lutz Bachmann, the Pegida founder, proudly depicting himself as Hitler on his facebook post. He has a criminal record for sixteen burglaries, drunk driving, dealing with cocaine and assaults.

(Image by Telegraph) Details DMCA







German Chancellor Angela Merkel has ruled out the reversal of her open-door migrant policy despite a fierce backlash after it emerged that two recent terror attacks and a third killing were carried out by men who had entered the country as refugees. Notably, the Munich killer that claimed 10 lives including himself was influenced by the far-right ideology of Norwegian mass murderer Anders Breivik, who killed 74 people at a vacation resort in 2011. The responsibility of axe attack and backpack bomb incident has been accepted by ISIS but no one is killed in these incidents except the alleged attackers themselves. But all of the four attacks are seen as a consequence of Merkel's open-door policy. Merkel's opponents, the political right and Neo-Nazi ultranationalists organization like Pediga are using every measure to incite hate and intolerance against asylum seekers. Consequently, violence against refugees has risen to unprecedented heights.

Anti-refugee parties, be it Pegida, AFD, or NDP, are openly using Nazi slogans without thinking that this ideology has ruined Germany in the past. Recently Bachmann posted a self-caricature of himself on Facebook depicting himself as Hitler with a caption, "He is back."

Right-wing politicians need to understand that open-door policy is not charity for the humanitarian cause but an investment in Germany's future. Germany has one of the lowest birth-rates in the world and the imbalance between old and young population is threatening the economic survival. The cultural landscape of Germany is definitely changing but Germans and on the whole Europe need to learn to celebrate human values of tolerance and diversity for their own survival. The clash-of-civilization rhetoric will ruin our beautiful world.

Bavarian Premier Horst Seehofer, a fierce opponent of open-door refugee policy remarked against Muslim migrants as early as 2010

It should be noted that three out of the four attacks that have rattled German society took place in Bavaria. Is it a coincidence that Horst Seehofer, the premier of Bavaria, despite being an ally, is considered to be the fiercest opponent of Merkel and one who had even threatened to file a constitutional complaint against Merkel over her migrant policy. He had also sent a busload of refugees back to Berlin to show his annoyance over the refugee issue. Seehofer's anti-refugee stance is not something new, that emerged after the terrorist attacks. His statement against Arab and Turk migrants had been strongly criticized widely as early as 2010.

Apart from the recent attacks, Cologne rape scandal also fueled hatred and right wing successfully exploited it in March Elections. Is it also a coincidence that all of a sudden, the not-yet-settled migrants from Syria and elsewhere got mad and began a spate of violent attacks despite Merkel's welcoming attitude towards them and her guarantees that they would get asylum? Do the Syrian refugees have any particular score to settle in Germany? On the contrary, even a child can understand that they have every reason to bend over backwards to cooperate with the German government and the civil administration. Instead of investigating who is getting the benefit of these attacks, media is repeated Neo-Nazi rhetorics and accusations against refugees ad nauseam.

Among the winners, one group may be the political rivals of Merkel, as these attacks that have rocked Germany recently have suspiciously occurred just three months prior to the September elections, and their timing could not have been politically more than ideal. Moreover, they took place at a time when Merkel's popularity graph had risen to a record high in the last two years due to Brexit. Merkel can be truly considered to be one of the most powerful European politicians in history. Her writ runs far beyond Germany's borders. No wonder the anti-migrant organisation and media are making good are using the four closely spaced violent attacks as a proof of the failure of her open-door migrant policy to bring down Merkel's popularity a notch or two.

But the greatest winner in this charade of on order terrorism is a group of anti-refugee Neo-Nazi racist organisations whose popularity rockets to unimaginable heights followings any terror attack in the west. These racist parties have reacted violently against the asylum seekers even to the extent of concocting stories of rape attacks by migrants.

The German-Russian teenager admitted that rape story was concocted but Russian embassy Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov demanded a full explanation from German authorities

This is evident from the concocted and totally fabricated story of a 13-year-old Russian-German girl has admitted making up a story about being kidnapped and raped by Arab and North African migrants in a case that triggered a furor in Germany and briefly embroiled Berlin police in a spat with the Kremlin. The case prompted hundreds of Russian Germans to protest in Berlin over the weekend, calling for their children to be protected from "migrant violence."

This gives strength to the scepticism that the reports of the Cologne rape scandal were also fabricated and faked by Pegiaa and workers of its clone organisation. It is much more than ludicrous to claim the possibility of about 1000 men belonging to a specific, marginalised community like asylum seekers collectively attacking German ladies in public at the city's busy railway station on a specific evening. According to a BBC reports from local and international newspapers, the situation in a neighbouring German city was completely different according to the police.

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Congress Switchboard: 202-224-3121

"Rob Kall has been in on the modern bottom-up revolution from the ground floor. While the last two years have put the dangers of social media and connectivity at the forefront of our national debate, Rob Kall knows as well as anybody the infinite positive potential of our new world."



Jesse Lee, former White House Director of Rapid Response and Social Media Director for Speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi
Congress Switchboard: 202-224-3121

"We need a more Open digital world -- that's good for business, the economy and the future of humanity. To get there is going to take "bottom-up" effort and Rob Kall's book is an exciting roadmap for how that can happen."



Rufus Pollock, author of "The Open Revolution", Founder of Open Knowledge, and formerly Mead Fellow in Economics at the University of Cambridge
Bud Pierce for Governor

Salem, OR  Republican Gubernatorial Candidate Bud Pierce is disappointed, but not surprised that Gov. Kate Brown is supporting the largest sales tax increase in Oregons history, Measure 97, formerly called IP-28.

The choice is clear. Kate Brown believes that the government never has enough and always wants more. I believe that the government has enough, if the government spends wisely, said Pierce. If passed, this tax increase would greatly raise the cost of living in Oregon. Everyone, including low income families would be paying on average more than $1,800 per family more for goods and services. A tax increase like this will not help anyone. It will hurt low income families in Oregon the most, said Pierce.

Pierce is a strong opponent to Measure 97, because it is a regressive gross receipts tax with the highest rate in the country, according to The Tax Foundation.

Im quite honestly not surprised that Brown is supporting this tax increase. It took her more than 300 days to take a stance on the measure. However, months ago she released how she would spend the money raised by this increase, which showed that she obviously supported the measure, but was afraid to take an unpopular position. said Pierce.

Governor Brown has sided with the entrenched special interests rather than low income and middle class Oregonians.

Pierce also opposes Measure 97 because it does not contain specific details about where the state will spend the billions of dollars raised each year through this tax.

Im afraid if this measure passes, itll cripple Oregons already fragile economy. Many companies, like Powells Books have already said they may be forced to close their doors due to this huge tax increase. Im against any measure that will take businesses and jobs out of our state, said Pierce.

If it passes, Measure 97 will not just hurt businesses and jobs, itll hurt everyday Oregonians.

More to the point, however, I think we should be doing everything we can to help Oregon families by cutting the tax of low- and moderate-income Oregonians. Kate Browns $6 billion tax hike does just the opposite in order to placate her allies in Oregons government employee union leadership, said Pierce.
Senate Republican Leader Ted Ferrioli

House Republican Leader Mike McLane

Salem, Ore.  Senate Republican Leader Ted Ferrioli (R-John Day) released the following statement in response to Governor Kate Browns endorsement of Measure 97 (also known as Initiative Petition 28):

Kate Browns endorsement of Measure 97 proves she has been playing rope-a-dope with Oregonians, appearing to deliberate for months on the issue while intending to give her ringing endorsement. The Governor is a fully owned subsidiary of Big Unions Incorporated. It is disingenuous for the Governor to ask Oregonians to support Measure 97 to fund education when not one penny of new revenue is guaranteed to end up in the classroom. The sad state of our schools is the sole result of years of Democrat mismanagement of taxpayer dollars. Oregonians deserve the truth about Kate Browns endorsement of Measure 97: its not for our children. Its about keeping the corrupt relationship between Democrats and public employee unions in Oregon alive and well.

Salem, Ore.  House Republican Leader Mike McLane (R-Powell Butte) issued the following statement yesterday on Governor Kate Browns support of Measure 97:

Governor Browns support of Measure 97 was the worst kept secret in Salem. Today, she apparently decided it was time to come clean with Oregon voters. Now lets see how many other Democratic candidates are going to be honest with voters about their support for the largest tax increase in Oregon history.
Indian Home Minister left SAARC meeting halfway

ISLAMABAD: Indian Home Minister Rajnath Singh left the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) Interior Ministers meeting halfway through after being unable to respond to his Pakistani counterpart Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khans comments on Thursday.



Singh indirectly accused Pakistan of sponsoring terrorism. But when Interior Minister Nisar took offence on remarks against Pakistan, Singh found it difficult to digest. Nisar called for respecting the fundamental rights of the people and stressed that legitimate freedom struggles should not be suppressed in the name of the fight against terrorism.



He called upon the countries from the region to differentiate between terrorism and freedom movements, sanctified by the UN Security Council, and observed that violence against the freedom fighters in a disputed territory under Indian occupation was state-sponsored.



The interior minister also highlighted how Pakistan itself was one of the biggest victims of terrorism. He said, Instead of engaging in a blame-game and taking swipes at each other, we should take time out to reflect and sit together to try and work out the problems and reservations that we might harbour towards each other.



He said that it was not Pakistan that closed its doors to talks. Pakistan is ready to engage in any dialogue process based on mutual respect and dignity with no strings attached. It is for those who have put conditions and sub-conditions for initiating dialogue to reconsider and realign their position.



He said that unlike Indias claims, terrorist activities were not restricted to India, Afghanistan or Bangladesh. Scores of terrorist attacks had taken place in Pakistan and were equally condemnable, if not more so. He specifically mentioned the attacks on Army Public School in Peshawar, the Bacha Khan University in Charsadda and the Gulshan-i-Iqbal Park in Lahore. He added that such incidents could not be ignored and the perpetrators of these attacks must be apprehended and brought to justice.



His remarks came at a time when tensions are running high between the two nuclear-armed neighbours over fresh unrest and killings by Indian forces in Kashmir. His remarks rendered Singh speechless who chose not to respond but leve the conference unfinished instead.



The strains in relations were apparent when Nisar and Singh came across each other for the first time. Nisar was receiving the guests at the entrance to the conferences venue when Singh arrived and the two did not even shake hands properly.



In his address to the meeting, Singh called for tough action against terrorism and countries supporting it. Terrorists should not be glorified as martyrs. There is no good or bad terrorism. Terrorism is terrorism, he said.



Both ministers skipped the luncheon arranged for the participants of the SAARC conference. Addressing the media later, Nisar said that he had received a message from the Indian minister asking whether he (Nisar) would be coming to the lunch. Nisar said that he excused himself as he had to attend an important meeting at the prime minister house. Singh, however, did not stick around longer and left the venue without attending the final session of the conference.



Nisar observed that equating the movement for Kashmirs liberation with terrorism was dishonesty with history. He felt that SAARC members could not be hostage to a certain countrys agenda. He said, If somebody refers to some specific dates and incidents, then we have the right to come up with our own assessment of blatant foreign intervention and the influx of terrorism in Pakistan from across the border.



Meanwhile, SAARC ministers condemned terrorism in all its forms and manifestations, calling for collective efforts to fight this menace and emphasised that terrorists should not escape prosecution. The meeting highlighted the need for identifying practical solutions to challenges such as cybercrime and transnational organised crime, to ensure safety and security for socioeconomic growth and provide a secure future for the youth, women and children.



The meeting also called for strengthening SAARC regional conventions on the suppression of terrorism and the additional protocol on mutual assistance in criminal matters and on drugs and psychotropic substances.



Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, who was the chief guest at the inaugural session of the conference, said that at the national level, remarkable gains had been made against terrorists through Operation Zarb-e-Azb and the National Action Plan.
People are mature and cannot be detracted anymore: Nawaz Sharif

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on Thursday said that the political parties planning to hold another sit-in would gain nothing, as the people of Pakistan would not be detracted by such sloganeers.



People are mature and cannot be detracted anymore. They know which of the parties does politics of development and which believe in mere sloganeering. Only performance, not sit-ins, bring success in politics, the prime minister said while addressing the parliamentary party meeting.



The meeting was attended by a number of PML-N parliamentarians, including cabinet members, senators, MNAs, MPAs and advisers. On his arrival at the venues, the prime minister was received by the participants by thumping the desk, whom he thanked for praying for his recovery after he underwent an open-heart surgery in London.



The prime minister said that all opposition parties had used derogatory language against the government during their electioneering in Azad Kashmir, but the people have seen its consequences in form of the election results. Recalling his partys stunning victory in the elections in Kashmir, Gilgit, local bodies as well in cantonment boards, the prime minister assured the people that his government would fulfil all its commitments during the remaining tenure.



We should accelerate the development works. We should carry out historic development [work] during the next two years and make up [for] the deficiency, he urged the parliamentarians.



Nawaz said that despite propaganda by some people, the government had successfully brought the national economy to strong footings and even international organisations had been recognising the positive trends in Pakistans economy.



He said now Pakistan could not be labelled as a failed state as the country has not only become an emerging market but an emerging economy. He told the participants that the government has concluded its last review with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and he desired to say goodbye to the IMF, as the country has achieved self-sufficiency.



The prime minister said two power plants being built by Chinese companies would be completed within six to eight months. He said two LNG-fuelled power plants were also being constructed and the government would make all-out efforts for their timely completion, as the company had sought more time in this regard.



He told the participants that the government had saved Rs 100 billion from these power plants. The prime minister said that Pervez Musharraf should be summoned in the National Assembly, be questioned and held accountable for showing laxity to resolve the energy crisis. He said if the previous governments had taken due steps, the miseries of the industry, agriculture and domestic consumers could have been addressed.



He said that besides fulfilling the energy needs, the government was also striving to produce low-cost electricity through coal and other alternate energy resources. For the first time, Thar coal reserves were being used for power generation, he added. He said the incidents of terrorism had declined remarkably, and lauded the role of armed forces. He paid tribute to the personnel of the armed forces, police and civilians who sacrificed in the war on terror.



He said that peace and economic development were inter-linked, adding that after the restoration of peace in Karachi, investors were coming to the city for business deals. He said the federal government was going to introduce Green Line bus service in Karachi on the pattern of Metro Bus Service in Lahore, Multan, Rawalpindi and Islamabad. The federal government was also funding water supply projects in Karachi, though the provincial government was supposed to carry out such projects.
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The mathematical (and other) thoughts of a (now retired) math teacher,
Unveiled Vice-Presidential Candidate of the Progressive Peoples' Party (PPP) says she speaks the mind of most Ghanaians when she says she is desperate for a change in government come the December 7 general elections.



I am a Ghanaian who like you desperately wants changewho has seen better days and better times and therefore knows we are capable and deserve better Brigitte Dzogbenuku said in her first public political speech.



Dzogbenuku, a women empowerment advocate, an OccupyGhana protester and a former Miss Ghana 1991 was presented to party delegates by the Presidential Candidate, Dr Paa Kwesi Nduom at the party headquarters in Asylum Down Thursday.



She acknowledged her lack of political experience but suggested she has experienced enough of poor quality governance under President John Mahama.



Change is not going to come by sitting behind my laptop or tapping away at my phone every day expressing my displeasure at what Ghana has become. I actively want to do something about it. So if by this I am now labelled a politician, then that is what I have become, she explained.



Dzogbenuku was part of a protest on July 1, 2014, organised by pressure group OccupyGhana, decrying poor governance and poor economic management skills of the governing National Democratic Congress (NDC).



Perhaps pulling up memories of that protest, Brigitte Dzogbenuku lamented; What do we see from examples of our leaders today. Today, everything goes. How did our dear Ghana get here?



This is the second time Dr. Nduom has picked a woman for running-mate after an unsuccessful run in 2012 with former GBC Director-General Eva Lokko.



In his third attempt at the presidency, the business magnate has chosen the founder and Executive Director of Mentoring Women Ghana (MWG).



It is a nonprofit organization she launched one year after participating in Vital Voices Fortune/U.S. State Department Global Womens Mentoring Partnership in 2008.



She owns a private company that does business with the Barclays Clubhouse, in addition to her non-profit, Mentoring Women Ghana (MWG) organisation.

Source: JFM Ghana









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Emperor Yu is famous through Chinese legends in which he worked to control persistent flooding. Credit: Science/AAAS

A paper published this week in Science finds evidence to support stories that a huge flood took place in China about 4,000 years ago, during the reign of Emperor Yu. The study, led by Chinese researcher Quinlong Wu, finds evidence for a massive landslide dam break that could have redirected the course of the Yellow River, giving rise to the legendary flood that Emperor Yu is credited with controlling.

An accompanying commentary by David Montgomery, a UW professor of Earth and space sciences, discusses how this finding supports the historical basis for traditional tales about China's Great Flood. It even explains some details of the classic folk story.

"A telling aspect of the storythat it took Yu and his followers decades to control the floodwatersmakes sense in light of geological evidence that Wu et al. present," Montgomery writes.

The study showed that an ancient landslide dammed the Yellow River on the edge of the Tibetan Plateau. When the dam broke in about 1922 B.C., the authors found, it created an enormous flood that coincided with a period of major social disruption, suggesting that the Yellow River overflowed its banks and had to set a new course.

"It would have taken considerable time for a large river to adjust to such a change and the associated sustained flooding would fall in the right time and place to account for Yu's storyincluding the long time it took to control the floodwaters," Montgomery commented.

UW geologist David Montgomery is the author of a 2013 book that looks for the geological basis for Noahs flood and other traditional stories.

The discovery is the latest in a series of efforts to link geologic and oral histories, including the biblical tale of Noah's flood.

"Great floods figure prominently in some of humanity's oldest stories," Montgomery said. "In researching my book, 'The Rocks Don't Lie,' I found that while the idea of a global flood was soundly refuted almost 200 years ago, many of the world's flood stories have their roots in real catastrophic eventslike tsunamis, glacial dam-break floods and disastrous flooding of lowland valleys and areas along major rivers."

The Pacific Northwest is home to one prominent example. Montgomery notes UW research that has linked Native American tales about shaking and flooding to the 1700 earthquake and tsunami along Washington's coast, for which no written records exist.

"Now it appears that we can add China's story of a great flood to the growing list of legends of ancient catastrophes that may be rooted in real events," Montgomery said.

Explore further First evidence of legendary China flood may rewrite history

More information: Massive flood may have led to China's earliest empire. Massive flood may have led to China's earliest empire. DOI: 10.1126/science.aag0729 D. R. Montgomery. Emperor Yu's Great Flood, Science (2016). DOI: 10.1126/science.aah4040 Journal information: Science
This Sept. 5, 2006, photo provided by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration shows a bearded seal in Kotzebue, Alaska. An attorney for the National Marine Fisheries Service on Thursday, Aug. 4, 2016, in Anchorage, Alaska, urged the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to overturn a lower court ruling that said bearded seals do not merit a listing as a threatened species. (Michael Cameron/NOAA Fisheries Service via AP)

Bearded seals, the largest of the Arctic seals, deserve to be listed as a threatened species because of continuing loss of their sea ice habitat, a federal government attorney told a panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Thursday.

Robert Stockman of the National Marine Fisheries Service urged judges to reverse a lower court ruling that said the agency improperly listed bearded seals in December 2012.

The agency's best projection is that ice critical to bearded seals will disappear or be greatly reduced by the end of the century in the Bering Sea, where 70 percent of bearded seals thrive. Ice loss already is outpacing models, he said.

"The minimum ice years will start being harmful soon," he said.

Attorneys for the North Slope Borough, the Alaska Oil and Gas Association and others who sued to reverse the listing said the federal agency has not demonstrated that Bering Sea ice losses will harm bearded seals, which have thrived for centuries and survived other warming periods.

"Here all we have is information on sea ice loss," said attorney Tyson Kade.

Bearded seals get their name from short snouts covered with thick, long, white whiskers, according to the agency. They grow as large as 8 feet, weigh between 575 and 800 pounds and can live to 25 years or more.

This June 26, 2009, provided by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration shows a bearded seal on sea ice near Kotzebue, Alaska. An attorney for the National Marine Fisheries Service on Thursday, Aug. 4, 2016, in Anchorage, Alaska, urged the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to overturn a lower court ruling that said bearded seals do not merit a listing as a threatened species. (Michael Cameron/NOAA Fisheries Service via AP)

They eat Arctic cod and shrimp but also dive for crab and clams, usually in depths less than 325 feet, according to the agency.

They give birth and rear pups on drifting pack ice. When females give birth, they need ice to last long enough in spring and early summer to successfully reproduce and molt.

U.S. District Court Judge Ralph Beistline in 2014 ruled the threatened species listing was improper. It did not appear, he wrote, that any serious threat of a population reduction, let alone extinction, existed before 2100. The listing itself conceded that through the middle of the century, there would be enough sea ice to sustain Bering Sea bearded seals at or near current levels, Beistline said.

Judges on Thursday closely questioned how far out an agency could project harm before it declared a species threatened or endangered.

Kristen Monsell of the Center for Biological Diversity, which sought the listing, said agencies must act to protect future generations of a species, not just the current population, and take measures with enough time to do so.

This Sept. 5, 2006, photo provided by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration shows a tagged bearded seal in Kotzebue, Alaska. An attorney for the National Marine Fisheries Service on Thursday, Aug. 4, 2016, in Anchorage, Alaska, urged the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to overturn a lower court ruling that said bearded seals do not merit a listing as a threatened species. (Michael Cameron/NOAA Fisheries Service via AP)

But Jeffrey Leppo, representing the Alaska Oil and Gas Association, said NMFS has not documented harm to bearded seals despite well-documented sea ice loss that already has occurred. He dismissed the idea that bearded seals will face harmful competition if they migrate north of the Bering Strait into other areas with ice.

"If this was a small area, that would be a fair point," he said. "The area is a very, very large area."

 2016 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.
A bedbug climbs on a shed skin of a bedbug. Credit: Dong-Hwan Choe/UC Riverside

Researchers at the University of California, Riverside have discovered the shed skins of bedbugs retain the "obnoxious sweetness" smell often associated with the pests, a finding that could potentially be used to combat infestations of the insects.

Bedbugs shed their skins, known as exuviae, as they grow. Four pheromone compounds known as aldehydes are consistently found in the shed skins.

The UC Riverside researchers found that the shed skins retain those compounds in the glands and gradually dispense them over time. They also found that living bedbugs are likely to settle down in the vicinity of the shed skins by sensing these compounds.

The findings could have significant implications for pest management industries, which can use some of the chemical / mechanical characteristics of the bedbugs' shed skin to develop small, inexpensive monitor traps to catch living bedbugs at their early stages of infestation.

"This could be a key development in the search to find new methods to detect bedbugs," said Dong-Hwan Choe, an assistant professor of entomology and an assistant cooperative extension specialist.

'Aging' bedbug skins

Choe is the lead author of a paper, "Chemically Mediated Arrestment of the Bed Bug, Cimex lectularius, by Volatiles Associated with Exuviae of Conspecifics," published Tuesday (July 19) in the journal PLOS ONE.

Co-authors are Hoeun Park, a former undergraduate student who worked in Choe's lab; Claudia Vo, a current undergraduate student working in Choe's lab; and Alexander Knyshov, a graduate working with Christiane Weirauch, a UC Riverside professor of entomology.

Various shed skins from bed bugs. Credit: Dong-Hawn Choe/UC Riverside

The experimental work outlined in the paper had two stages.

First, the researchers placed shed skins obtained from bedbugs at different points of their development in small vials. They then analyzed the airborne compounds in the vials and found that the four aldehydes of interest were consistently detected regardless of the developmental stage.

Second, they collected shed skins from bedbugs kept in the lab, divided them into three groups and "aged" them in the open air for either seven days, 45 days or 99 days.

Then they crushed the shed skins and analyzed them for the presence of the four aldehyde compounds. They found that the amounts of the aldehyde pheromones dropped as the aging period increased, but that even after 99 days the compounds were still present in the shed skins.

Bedbugs difficult to handle, even in the lab

The work had an interesting wrinkle in that researchers could not use carbon dioxide to temporarily knock out the bedbugs when they were handling them. Carbon dioxide gas, which is common in insect research, would have the bedbugs release the large amount of the aldehyde pheromones unnaturally, thus potentially skewing the findings, Choe said.

Instead, they handled active bedbugs.

"That created a level of anxiety," Choe said. "We didn't want to accidentally release any bedbugs in the laboratory. But our students handled it well."

Explore further Shed skins of bed bugs emit pheromones that could help combat infestations of the insect
It was an unexpected moment - and one of the first signs Target's tech department was in line for a major shake-up.

Not long after taking over as Target's chief information officer, Mike McNamara told his boss, CEO Brian Cornell, that his budget was too big.

"For the first time perhaps in my career, I had someone walk into my office and say, 'Brian, I've got too much capital to spend,'" Cornell recounted incredulously to Wall Street analysts at a meeting in New York earlier this year. "'I want to give you some dollars back.'"

As in hundreds of millions of dollars back.

McNamara, 52, arrived last June from British-based grocer Tesco as one of the key outside appointments to Cornell's executive team. He immediately stood out, in part because of his passion for opera, his Irish accent and penchant for using superlatives such as "bloody" and "brilliant."

He quickly ushered in a completely new direction for Target's IT department. He identified three main weaknesses: Target had outsourced too much of its tech talent. Its systems were too unstable. And it was working on too many projects.

"We were just doing too many things," he said in an interview at his downtown Minneapolis office. "I mean we had over 800 projects. Even a company as big as Target doesn't have 800 priorities."

The list has now been pared back to 80.

And in an abrupt shift following thousands of headquarters layoffs last year, McNamara has taken Target on a hiring spree aimed at making the company into an engineering powerhouse instead of relying on contractors. In the past year, Target has hired about 700 engineers, many of them based out of the company's Minneapolis-area offices. About one-quarter of the new recruits work at its offices in Bangalore, India.

Target currently has about 800 more open tech positions.

"I could easily fill another thousand positions," McNamara said. "We need to have a much stronger engineering capability than we had, and we need to own it. We need to own our technology."

McNamara's efforts, as well as the clout he holds within Target's C-suite, is yet another sign of a new era in retailing.

For years, it was the flashy marketers and product designers who ran the show at Target, while tech folks were more of an afterthought. But as online shopping has disrupted the entire industry, technology and supply chain, which are the key ingredients in Amazon's meteoric rise, have become more central to the company's mission.

"They will be the new battlegrounds for retail over the next decade," McNamara said. "Whoever has got the best technology and the best supply chain has the best chance of winning."

Those are also the areas where Target needs the most work.

-

When Target's systems fail, it's often quite obvious and embarrassing.

If its point-of-sale systems freeze, it means delays in the checkout lanes. Since McNamara's restructuring, Target says the number of incidents involving those disruptions has been cut in half.

Incidents involving the handheld devices employees use to look up products for customers have been reduced about fivefold.

Yet McNamara said Target needs to continue to improve its website.

Target.com has notoriously crumbled under the pressure of some of its biggest moments, such as last year's popular designer collaboration with Lilly Pulitzer (before McNamara came on board).

On Cyber Monday last year, after McNamara was on board, Target.com offered an eye-popping 15 percent sitewide sale. Traffic was much higher than forecast, swamping the site. Target ended up putting shoppers into virtual waiting lines, frustrating legions of customers who took to social media to complain - loudly.

"It was glorious defeat," said McNamara, candidly. "But it was defeat. It's not good enough. We've got to do better this year."

-

McNamara's predecessor, Bob DeRodes, was in the role for a year. He was brought in to help Target get back on track following the company's massive data breach in late 2013.

An engineer by training, McNamara has been working closely with John Mulligan, Target's chief operations officer, who has been leading the effort to reduce the amount of out-of-stock merchandise and to modernize Target's supply chain, which was not built to handle the demands of online shopping.

"He's brought focus and clarity," Mulligan said of McNamara. "And I think he's brought confidence back to the technology team where it was waning before."

Mulligan recalled the hourslong meeting in December when McNamara convened all of Target's top executives to a room where they pared back the list of 800-plus technology projects. Each item was weighed against the company's strategic priorities for growth.

"Post-it notes that came off the board meant they weren't getting done," at least not this year, Mulligan said. "Others went up - that meant they were getting done."

Projects left on the cutting room floor included a long-hoped-for new intranet for headquarters, new human resources and finance systems and pilot programs such as curbside pickup.

-

When McNamara came to Target, about 70 percent of its technology work was being outsourced - not unusual. Target used its IT staff mostly to integrate and implement packaged software it bought from vendors.

"It was about plugging together Lego bricks that we bought from other businesses," McNamara said. "Those Lego bricks are just not good enough for us anymore. The packaged software that used to run our website isn't man enough for the job. We need to write those ourselves. We need to write our own e-commerce engine."

The company started to do that even before McNamara. Target had famously outsourced its website to Amazon for a decade, taking control of it back in 2011, only to have it crash shortly after the launch of its limited-time-only collaboration with Missoni.

"The way that website was rolled out the first time was sad - that's the only word I can use for it," said Paula Rosenblum, managing partner of Retail Systems Research. "It had a lot of people shaking their heads. It was well below any reasonable standard."

Target's post-Amazon website was built off software from IBM.

"We just outgrew that very, very quickly," McNamara said. "So over the past two or three years - it preceded me - we've been writing our way out of that position. We've been writing our own code to replace the packaged code."

A couple of months ago, the company rolled out a revamped website that, among other things, now adjusts itself depending on whether customers are using desktops or phones.

That enhanced website was made possible by the influx of engineers Target has brought in over the last year. Now, about 3,000, or nearly 70 percent, of its 4,500 tech department employees are Target employees, a complete flip of its previous position.

To fill those jobs, Target stepped up recruiting on college campuses and at tech conferences. In the process, Target is having to overcome some of the lingering negative perceptions about its technology prowess. But McNamara is pleased with the company's hiring success so far, especially since about one-third of the recent engineering graduates it has hired are women.

As for the buzz earlier this summer when Amazon opened a tech office in downtown Minneapolis, McNamara acknowledged he may initially lose some of his engineers to the online giant.

"But perversely, I'm quite excited about it," he said. "In the long term, I think it will be good for the Twin Cities because I think it will be a magnet for technical talent."

And, he added, Amazon has a reputation for churning through people. So down the road, some of those people might end up at Target.

2016 Star Tribune (Minneapolis)

Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
This illustration depicts NASA's Juno spacecraft in orbit above Jupiter. From its unique polar orbit, Juno will repeatedly dive between the planet and its intense belts of charged particle radiation, coming only about 3,000 miles (5,000 kilometers) from the cloud tops at closest approach. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech

Launched five years ago on Aug. 5, 2011, NASA's Juno mission maneuvered into orbit around Jupiter on July 4, 2016, joining a long tradition of discovery at the gas giant.

One of the brightest objects in the night sky, Jupiter has enthralled humans since ancient times. Today, scientists believe that learning more about the planet may be the key to discovering our solar system's origins and formation. They theorize that Jupiter didn't always rest where it is now, but that it moved throughout the solar system in its youth, disrupting the formation of Mars, influencing the formation and location of the asteroid belt, and more.

Scientists began to use space missions to unlock the planet's secrets in the early 1970s when Juno's earliest ancestors, Pioneer 10 and 11, launched. The pair of spacecraft reached the planet in late 1973 and early 1974. For the first time ever, scientists could obtain direct observations and close-up images of Jupiter, its moons and the mysterious Great Red Spot.

From Pioneer's findings, scientists were able to make numerous conclusions about Jupiter. They found that the planet is composed mostly of liquid, and that it has a magnetotail, an extension of its magnetic field, like Earth. This hinted at Jupiter's composition and the possibility of a solid core. They also got a close look at Jupiter's cloudsfrom 26,000 miles (about 42,000 km)to determine weather patterns.

This is a composite photo, assembled from separate images of Jupiter and comet Shoemaker-Levy 9, as imaged by the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope in 1994. Credit: NASA, ESA, H. Weaver and E. Smith (STScI) and J. Trauger and R. Evans (NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory)

The Pioneer missions paved the way for a second set of Jupiter-focused missions in the late 1970s, Voyager 1 and 2. Launched in 1977, the spacecraft are most famous for traversing to the outermost portion of the solar systemVoyager 1 has even passed its outer limits and has now passed into the space between solar systems. In time, Voyager 2 and the Pioneer missions will also leave the solar system. The Voyager pair flew past Jupiter in 1979, taking more than 52,000 photos of the planet and its moons over the course of several months.

These images and accompanying observations sparked seemingly countless new discoveries. The data revealed many features of the weather on Jupiter, including the existence of lightning in the cloud tops and of hurricane-like storm systems. Plus, for the first time, scientists discovered the existence of active volcanoes elsewhere than Earth, on the planet's moon Io.

The Galileo missions to Jupiter followed in the late 1980s. Unlike previous missions, this set of spacecraftan atmospheric probe and an orbiterwere designed to orbit the planet rather than collect data on flyby. The probe was the first spacecraft to directly measure characteristics of Jupiter's atmosphere - descending 95 miles (153 kilometers) into it before melting and vaporizing from the extreme heat. The probe passed 58 minutes of atmospheric data to the orbiter, which then transmitted it back to Earth. The data included measurements of Jupiter's atmospheric elements and showed that their abundance differed from that of the sun, providing insight into the planet's formation.

The orbiter itself made numerous long-term observations about the Jupiter system, including finding evidence to support the theory that an ocean of water lies under the surface of the moon Europa and finding Jupiter's ring system, a nearly invisible set of rings composed of dust created by meteoroid impacts with the planet's four moons. In July 1994, Galileo also witnessed the collision of Comet Shoemaker-Levy 9 with Jupiter, the first observation of such an impact as it occurred on any planet besides Earth.

Voyager 1 took this photo of Jupiter and two of its satellites (Io, left, and Europa) on Feb. 13, 1979. This photo was assembled from three black and white negatives by the Image Processing Lab at Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech

The Ulysses mission to study the sun collected data on Jupiter's magnetosphere while the planet provided a gravitational assist to change the spacecraft's trajectory in 1992. The Cassini spacecraft also observed Jupiter in 2000 on its way to its target destination, Saturn. Cassini's camera took 26,000 images of the planet and its moons and created the most detailed global color portrait of Jupiter ever produced at the time.

More recently, New Horizons, a mission to Pluto, added to these observations during its flyby of Jupiter in 2007, finding the planet changed since previous looks by NASA - the Galileo spacecraft burned up in Jupiter's atmosphere in fall 2003. New Horizons spent about six months observing the Jupiter planet system during its flyby on the way to Pluto, further exploring its weather systems, moons and rings. Perhaps most notably, New Horizons saw about 36 volcanoes on Io and measured the temperature of lava, finding it similar to that of Earth-based volcanoes.

The Hubble Space Telescope has made multiple observations and taken numerous photos of Jupiter since its launch in April 1990. Hubble's observations of the planet stretch over 26 years, and many of its observations are concurrent with other Jupiter missions, particularly Galileo. In fact, Hubble also witnessed the collision of Comet Shoemaker-Levy 9 with Jupiter, providing another perspective of the impact sites. Hubble's observations of the gas giant have continued to the present day. In October 2015, Hubble photos showed changes in Jupiter's Great Red Spot, and in June 2016, Hubble took awe-inspiring photos of auroras on the planet's poles. Hubble's observations of the solar system and the wider universe are expected to continue through 2020 and beyond.

With Juno's successful orbit insertion at Jupiter in July 2016, scientists expect to release information about the mission's first findings in September. NASA has already released several images taken of the planet by the JunoCam camera. Juno will make observations about Jupiter's atmosphere and magnetic and gravitational fields, providing more information about the planet's structure so scientists can deepen their understanding of Jupiter's origin and evolution. Any of these clues could begin to unravel the mystery of the solar system's origins and formation.

Explore further Image: Juno captures Jovian approach
Credit: Tokai University

Researchers explain a decades-old conundrum over the dielectric response of ice by using different freezing techniques. The findings are published in ACS Journal of Physical Chemistry, April 2016.

Despite numerous studies on the dielectric properties of water ice, a discrepancy in the results of different studies had remained unexplained for decades. Now a collaboration of researchers at Tokai University in Japan show that the differences likely arise as a result of the ice preparation conditions and resulting impurity levels.

In 1952 Auty and Cole published results from studies of water ice's dielectric relaxation time, ice  the lag in the response of molecules to changes in the electric field. They found a linear "Arrhenius" relationship between ice and temperature. However in 1981 Johari and Whalley reported observed changes in the relationship at 230 K. Subsequent experiments using various parameters  thereby excluding possible explanations based on crystal size or a metastable crystal surface - have also noted temperatures at which the dielectric behaviour apparently crosses over to a new regime.

The conundrum also affects studies of proteins and glycerol dissolved in ice. As Naoki Shinyashiki and colleagues explain in their report, "An explanation of the mechanism underlying the difference between the ice (Auty-1952) and ice (Johari-1981) would enable the use of ice observed in aqueous systems to be utilized effectively not only for understanding ice dynamics but also as a probe of the dynamic viscoelastic behaviour of water and solute molecules through ice growth."

Kaito Sasaki, Rio Kita, Naoki Shinyashiki, and Shin Yagihara prepared ice for the study in three different ways and found that the agreement with Auty et al. or Johari et al. depended on the preparation process. Ice that was slow-cooled using a magnetic stirrer to avoid bubbles and rapid crystallization replicated the results of Auty et al down to the lowest temperatures considered in the 1952 study. The researchers suggest this is caused by the lower level of impurities for ice prepared this way.

Dielectric relaxation

A dielectric material is an electrical insulator that can be polarized by an electric field. The delay in its response to the electric field is the dielectric relaxation time.

The simplest mathematical description for this relaxation process  the Debye equation as set out by Peter Debye in 1913 - describes the molecules as identical dipoles. Modifications to the equation have been developed since, including those by Debye himself with Erich Huckel in 1923, which allows for ionic solutes, whereby the perfect dipole approximation breaks down.

Alongside Kenneth S Cole, Robert H Cole  co-author with Auty in the 1952 paper on the dielectric properties of ice - set forth the modified Cole-Cole formulations of dielectric behaviour that incorporate broadening or dampening in the response time. This Cole-Cole behaviour is observed in the results reported here by the Tohai group.

The Arrhenius relationship

Svante Arrhenius proposed the Arrhenius relationship in 1889 to describe the relationship between rates of reaction and temperature. The relationship suggests a linear relationship, such that reaction rates double with every 10 K increase in temperature.

Arrhenius explained the relationship with the concept of an activation energy  the minimum energy required for reactants to form a product. The concept of an activation energy also applies to dielectric properties of activation as reported in the Cole-Cole temperature-dependent behaviour reported here.

Arrhenius relationships were observed in ice for all the three preparation techniques described by the researchers at Tohai University, although below a certain temperature they crossover into another temperature-dependent dielectric regime. For ice slow-cooled with a magnetic stirrer this crossover is not observed down to temperatures below that reported by Auty et al. The researchers suggest this is due to the absence of impurity-produced orientational defects.

Proteins in ice

Proteins are normally found in aqueous environments. In all studies of the dielectric properties of proteins dissolved in aqueous ice an unknown relaxation process is observed within a similar frequency range. Understanding the dielectric properties of ice can help to understand the contributions to the dielectric response of protein solutions and their viscoelastic properties.

Explore further Study suggests viscous materials do not follow standard laws below a sub-melting point threshold

Provided by Tokai University
DynamicAction Secures 15 Million in Latest of Funding, Forms Alliance with Accenture

Funding follows new client wins, Demandware partnership and release of new DynamicAction omni-channel capabilities

SILICON VALLEY: August 4, 2016  DynamicAction, provider of the most advanced analytics solution specifically designed for retailers, today announced it has secured $15 million in new funding and entered into an alliance relationship with Accenture (NYSE: ACN). Lead investors in the round include Accenture and West Coast Capital.

Through the alliance agreement, Accenture will become a reseller and service provider for DynamicActions solution. This complements Accentures analytics capabilities, which include the Accenture Insights Platform, a cloud-based, end-to-end analytics solution designed to simplify analytics and deliver real-time, actionable insights to businesses across industries. DynamicAction becomes the newest addition to the portfolio of early stage technology companies in which Accenture has taken a minority ownership stake through Accenture Ventures.

At the heart of Accentures strategy is the drive to continue to help clients be more agile in this competitive environment, said Jill Standish, global managing director of Retail at Accenture. Our investment in and alliance with DynamicAction is unique, as it brings together Accentures deep retail delivery capabilities with a cloud-based analytics firm that is solely based on profit optimization. The more challenging this market becomes, the more critical it will be for retailers to operate with the agility and speed of an industry leader like Amazon. DynamicActions solution focuses on the retailers most pressing needs, which are to increase full-price sales, improve margins, curb the discounting addiction and capitalize on demand.

DynamicActions top five retail clients experienced 91 percent full price sell through in 2015, and DynamicAction customers on average increased profits during the 2015 holiday season at a 27 percent higher rate than their revenue (which increased 11 percent YoY). The funding comes on the heels of rapid growth for DynamicAction, with revenue growing 172 percent YoY and retail client renewal revenue approaching 100 percent.

West Coast Capital, led by Scottish entrepreneur and philanthropist, Sir Tom Hunter, was an original investor in DynamicAction and continues to support the companys mission of relentless innovation with this most recent investment. Existing investors also include London-based Frog Capital, global communications services group WPP and global growth investor ePlanet Capital. Built by a former retail CEO, former IBM Smarter Commerce Chief Strategy Officer, and former Chief Scientist at Amazon, the technology far exceeds retail big data solutions in the market, with more than 600 algorithms built specifically for retail.

We are delighted to welcome Accenture as an investor in DynamicAction, said Sir Tom Hunter. Global retail is going through incredible change, and where there is change, there is opportunity. Data analytics will be at the forefront of that change, and DynamicActions world class software will help retailers navigate a more profitable path in the face of heightened competition.



Weve had the unique opportunity to witness the worlds most innovative retailers, from Cole Haan to Tesco, improve their operational efficiency, their decision making paradigm and their profitability with DynamicAction technology, said Paul Davidson, Managing Partner at West Coast Capital, and member of the DynamicAction Board of Directors. This company has bucked the trend of hype-before-substance and managed to build a world-class product, with the top retailers in the world as clients, and truly revolutionize the way that retailers look at their metrics and run their businesses.



Industry analyst Benjamin Gresham, Frost & Sullivan, agrees: DynamicAction quickly established itself as a David amongst Goliaths. Competing with major players such as SAS, Oracle and IBM, DynamicAction has positioned itself as the solution that retailers desperately need.



DynamicAction drives retail profitability and provides artificial intelligence-enabled analytics to retailers across the globe, including Tesco, Brooks Brothers, Sur la Table, Nine West and El Corte Ingles. With clients in 120 countries, Accenture helps nine of the top 10 retailers in the world solve the toughest challenges in retail.



As we look to the future of big data in retail, Accenture and West Coast Capital have proven themselves as the frontrunners and trusted navigators of retail innovation, said John Squire, Chief Executive Officer of DynamicAction. This investment and alliance partnership with Accenture allows us to help the worlds largest retailers navigate the troubled waters of modern day retail. As they seek to create meaningful, long term relationships with their customers, and do so profitably, retailers will benefit from the strength of Accentures deep analytics insight and industry expertise, with DynamicActions unparalleled data science team, corpus of algorithms and data-driven infrastructure.

New release of DynamicAction, integration and partnership with Demandware

DynamicAction also announced its latest product release, including new omni-channel features and usability enhancements  all designed to help retailers identify profit opportunities faster. DynamicActions software helps retailers more easily visualize and analyze opportunities and understand the relative size of the opportunity or problem. Opportunities are grouped by seven main categories for retailer merchandisers: conversion, inventory, profit, views, price, returns and order cancellations, and range.



DynamicAction also announced it is a certified Demandware partner, with a Demandware Certified Cartridge that automatically passes information about orders, products, inventory positions and customers to DynamicAction. The cartridge makes it easier than ever for retailers to implement advanced analytics capabilities, as eCommerce platform data now takes under an hour to deploy with DynamicAction.

ComCap LLC served as the exclusive financial advisor to DynamicAction.

About Accenture

Accenture is a leading global professional services company, providing a broad range of services and solutions in strategy, consulting, digital, technology and operations. Combining unmatched experience and specialized skills across more than 40 industries and all business functions  underpinned by the worlds largest delivery network  Accenture works at the intersection of business and technology to help clients improve their performance and create sustainable value for their stakeholders. With approximately 375,000 people serving clients in more than 120 countries, Accenture drives innovation to improve the way the world works and lives. Visit us at www.accenture.com.

About DynamicAction

Better decisions. Faster action. DynamicAction is the most advanced analytics solution specifically built for retail merchandising teams.



Connecting and analyzing millions of data points from every part of a retail organization, DynamicAction uses more than 600 proprietary algorithms that encapsulate hundreds of collective years of retail knowledge to pinpoint margin-eating disconnects in the business, prescribe the precise actions to take and accurately rank those actions by financial impact. Merchandising and eCommerce teams run more efficient organizations, sell more at full price, curb the discounting addiction, capitalize on demand and increase profit.



Retailers across the globe, including Brooks Brothers, Sur la Table, El Corte Ingles, Tesco, Nine West and Cole Haan, rely on DynamicAction to make better and more profitable decisions in order to get to action, faster.



Leading analyst firm Frost & Sullivan recently declared, DynamicAction has Moneyballed retail. Theres a new way to run retail organizationswith a clear understanding of data and immediate actions to improve performance.



Headquartered in Silicon Valley, DynamicAction has offices in London and Dallas.

Connect with us at www.DynamicAction.com and @Retail_DnA on Twitter.

About West Coast Capital

West Coast Capital is the private investment vehicle founded and funded by Sir Tom Hunter and his family in 2001. For more information, please go to westcoastcapital.co.uk.

*Gresham, Benjamin. A $22 Trillion Economy Depends on It: How Big Data Powers the Retail Enterprise. Frost & Sullivan. June 30, 2015.



Other Point of Sale news articles:
Sees Candies Chooses New Retail Sales Audit Solution

ATLANTA, August 5, 2016  Aptos, Inc., a recognized market leader in retail technology solutions, today announced Sees Candies has selected the award-winning Aptos Sales Audit solution.

Headquartered in South San Francisco and founded in 1921, Sees Candies is a manufacturer and distributor of candy. The company sells its products in more than 200 stores and airports nationwide and in Hong Kong, Japan and Macau and online at www.sees.com.

The company will leverage the powerful Aptos Sales Audit solution to validate and relay accurate and timely transaction information throughout the enterprise, integrating data from its Point of Sale and legacy back end systems, for improved decision making, streamlined operations and reduced costs.

Aptos Sales Audit ensures the integrity, accuracy and availability of detailed transactional data from every sales channel and touch point and streamlines audit activities. Aptos central audit repository receives all transaction data, treats it to a consistent and robust set of business rules, and then quickly feeds all validated data directly to the entire retail enterprise. Designed for multi-channel retail chains, Aptos Sales Audit is flexible, easy to integrate, and proven by more than 250 leading fashion, department, discount, and specialty retailers in North America, Europe, Asia and Australia.

We selected Aptos Sales Audit as it is recognized as a best-of-breed solution and we were impressed by the implementation expertise of the Aptos team, said Greg Gibbons, senior MIS director, Sees Candies. Aptos Sales Audit will serve as a critical foundation for our retail technology systems revamp by automating the cleansing of raw Point of Sale data and key audit activities, and consolidating sales across all stores and retail channels.

No other vendor can match Aptos experience within the retail sales audit space, said Noel Goggin, Aptos CEO and culture leader. In partnering with Aptos, Sees Candies will gain an end-to-end solution provider, with technology, consulting, cloud services and on-going support  all working in tandem toward the common goal of ensuring Sees Candies success.

Aptos is a recognized market leader in retail technology solutions with over 122,000 stores live on its platform. More than 500 retail brands across the globe rely on Aptos solutions to generate over $523 billion in annual revenues.
This blog will focus on political images I have found all around the Internet, though I will intersperse some commentary and quotes that I find interesting.
This is the latest in a series of posts about the 1916 presidential election between Democratic incumbent Woodrow Wilson and Republican challenger Charles Evans Hughes, a Glens Falls native.

Democratic leaders, in a panic over word that Charles Evans Hughes was poised to endorse a national suffrage amendment, dispatched Dudley Field Malone to Washington to attempt to convince Wilson to drop his resistance to the suffrage amendment, The Plattsburgh Sentinel reported July 7,1916.

Chairman McCormack of the Democratic National Committee and other Democrats of national prominence confess privately that this move by Hughes makes it well nigh impossible for Wilson to carry a single one of the twelve suffrage states, as Wilson is opposed to a federal amendment, The Sentinel reported.

Dudley Field Malone, collector of the Port of New York, started post haste for Washington this morning armed with letters, telegrams, clippings, literature and other documents containing the facts and figures with which he is going to make a final effort to bring a little sense into his head as Malone is said to have described the purpose of his flying trip.

Wilson was concerned he would be criticized as a flop flopper if he changed his position, The Sentinel reported.

The report can be viewed on New York State Historic Newspapers website, a project of public libraries.

Click here to read the most recent previous report in the series.
FORT EDWARD  Washington County Undersheriff John Winchell is on top of crime.

On Friday morning, he was also on top of the Dunkin Donuts in Fort Edward.

People getting their morning cup of coffee did a double take when they saw Winchell in a bright orange T-shirt standing on the roof of the building on Broadway.

Winchell was part of a group of Warren County and Washington County law enforcement officers who took turns on the roof to help raise money for Special Olympics.

They put an orange shirt on me. Its like a big billboard, he said.

It is definitely attracting attention, according to Warren County Sheriffs Maj. Jim LaFarr.

Theyre a lot of people that look like: What is going on? What is he doing up there? he said. Everybody is extremely generous.

People would fish for their loose change in the car or a few dollars to put in the buckets that other law enforcement officers were holding on the ground.

LaFarr also took a turn on the roof. Other officers who helped out at the event were Warren County Sheriffs Patrol Officer Jeff Grenier and Warren Sheriffs Lt. Lee Corsones.

This is the second year that law enforcement officers have done this fundraiser, according to LaFarr.

Dunkin Donuts locations across the state were participating in this fundraiser.

The manager of the coffee shop, Kassidy Colombe, allowed use of the space, according to Special Olympics volunteer Peg Adams of Schuylerville.

Also taking part in the Capital Region was a Dunkin Donuts in Malta and two locations in Schenectady.

Other fundraisers for Special Olympics include the Law & Order dinners at Applebees in Queensbury, the Polar Plunge in Lake George and the Torch Run. Adams said all the fundraisers brought in about $120,000 last year.

Mary Kana of Queensbury competes in swimming events in the Special Olympics. She has won a gold medal for the relay, a silver in freestyle and a bronze in the butterfly.

She said she enjoys taking part in Special Olympics.

I get to meet all new friends, she said.
GLENS FALLS  The voice of survivors should take precedence over the voice of military leaders in the debate over transferring prosecution of military sexual assault cases from military commanders to independent military trial lawyers, said U.S. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand.

The weight of the evidence is, This is a good reform that will make a difference, Gillibrand, D-N.Y., said Wednesday in a meeting with The Post-Star editorial board.

Gillibrand was responding to a question about what advice she would give to U.S. Rep. Elise Stefanik, R-Willsboro, who has said military leaders, including some at Fort Drum near Watertown, believe investigations should remain with commanders, but other preventive measures should be taken.

I think she is being misled, because if you talk to survivors, and Ive spent a lot of time talking to the survivor community, overwhelmingly they support this reform, said Gillibrand, who has been advocating since 2013 to change jurisdiction.

Both legislators serve on armed services committees in their respective chambers and have influence on military issues.

Gillibrand said military sexual assault survivors have said they did not report sexual assault to commanders because they didnt feel it would be investigated and because they feared retaliation.

You either believe them when they say that or you dont, Gillibrand said. I dont think the generals have enough information to know whats working and whats not working.

Stefanik would not comment for this report directly.

Congresswoman Stefanik does not support taking authority away from the commanders, said Tom Flanagin, a Stefanik spokesman, in a prepared statement.

Flanagin said multiple experts, including a military panel that studied the issue, concluded military prosecutors routinely have a higher rate of bringing cases to trial and getting convictions than civilian prosecutors.

Gillibrands proposal is for independent military trial lawyers, not civilian lawyers, to take over prosecution.

Flanagin said the House version of a recent military defense appropriations bill contains numerous measures to address sexual assault in the military.

Congresswoman Stefanik believes we should strengthen our outreach at the earliest level to create awareness for our youngest soldiers that there is zero tolerance for sexual assault in the military, Flanagin said.

Gillibrand said the military does not allow active duty members to recommend transferring prosecution from commanders.

Weve been told when we met with Col. (Don) Christensen, who was the most senior prosecutor for the Air Force for these cases  he was told by his command that he could not speak to this legislation when he was testifying before one of the congressional panels, Gillibrand said. They said, You may not support it. You will be reprimanded if you do so.

Christensen is now retired and heads the group Protect Our Defenders, which advocates to transfer prosecution from military commanders.

And then we have a bunch of generals who have just retired who have the freedom to speak out, Gillibrand said. So the highest ranking female general ever in the Army supports it. The highest ranking female psychiatrist in the Army supports it.

Stefanik is running for re-election against Democrat Mike Derrick, a retired Army colonel from Peru, in Clinton County, and Green Party candidate Matt Funiciello, a bread company owner and political activist from Hudson Falls.

Gillibrand said Derricks support for transferring prosecution of sexual assault cases from military commanders to independent military trial lawyers is one of the reasons she will be endorsing Derricks candidacy.

Gillibrand agrees with Stefanik and Derrick on a proposal to locate a strategic missile defense system at Fort Drum, even though some Pentagon officials do not see the need for the system.

Funiciello opposes it.

I think it would be a wise investment, Gillibrand said.

It may not be the technology the military needs to win the wars today, she said. But I am looking at the future. I want to create the force we need tomorrow. I want to create the technology we need tomorrow.

Gillibrand said locating missile defense system at Fort Drum would strengthen the Jefferson County bases position in the event of another Defense Base Realignment and Closure Commission.

We dont need one (BRAC) in this year, but we may need one in the next five years, she said.

I think Fort Drum is probably one of the most effective training facilities in the entire United States. So I dont fear for Fort Drum, but you have to continue to invest and modernize and show how valuable it is.
WATERTOWN  U.S. Rep. Elise Stefanik, R-Willsboro, made her second Jefferson County Results Tour campaign stop at New York Air Brake to tout her support of the Export-Import Bank.

Last October, Stefanik voted in support of re-authorizing the Export-Import Bank, specifically noting its importance to New York Air Brake and other businesses within the 21st Congressional District.

One of my key efforts is making sure we have good-paying jobs right here in New Yorks 21st district, she said. This was an example of challenging members of my own party and ensuring that we were able to bring this bill to the floor and have a vote.

Conservatives in Congress have opposed the bank, arguing that it only helps special business interests for large corporations.

CEO Michael Hawthorne said the bank helps the company better compete internationally. Air Brake does business outside the United States extensively. Larger customers are able to get financing at better rates if they do businesses with countries that have the equivalent of an Export-Import Bank.

If we dont have that, we cant compete, Mr. Hawthorne said. Our customers dont get the orders, we dont get the orders, so the Ex-Im Bank becomes vital for them to compete on a level playing field.

Stefanik also addressed the recent feud between the family of deceased Army Capt. Humayun Khan. Capt. Khan was killed while serving in Iraq in 2004, and his parents, Khzir and Ghazala, blasted Republican Presidential Candidate Donald Trump during the Democratic National Convention speech. Trump returned fire by criticizing both parents.

Stefaniks Democratic opponent, Mike Derrick, D-Peru, had repeatedly called on Stefanik to call out Trump. She issued a statement earlier this week saying she disagreed with his criticism.

I think there is no excuse to be attacking gold star families, she said. Military families deserve our utmost respect.

Though she said she will still support Trump, she will openly disagree on issues as they arise.

Ive always said I will support the Republican nominee, she said. Im an independent voice and that has not changed.
According to the sector minister, Fiifi Kwetey, the drop can be attributed to the high cost of air tickets.

The reduction in the domestic passenger movement largely is a combination of the difficulties in the increase in aviation fuel cost last year and also the fiscal issues that brought about introduction of VAT  he said at a press conference in Accra.

Local airlines complain that value added tax (VAT) on aviation fuel and other charges, which are passed on to passengers, is the reason why tickets are dear.

Earlier this week, the government announced a 20 percent reduction in aviation fuel to make the country as competitive as its West African neighbours, where many international airlines stop to refuel.

The main reason why the cost was reduced by 20 percent is not just targeted at the domestic airlines but to make Ghana a destination for airlines to refuel. Before the reduction, Emirate for instance makes a stop here in Kotoka but always go to Abidjan to refuel.

In terms of the aviation fuel you heard a good announcement that reduced it by 20 percent. We are talking to the Ministry of Finance as well in order to see an elimination of the VAT

Government has been trying over the years to increase domestic air travel numbers because it is a faster and safer mode of transport.
People affected by stunting face lifelong consequences starting in childhood such as frequent illness, poor school performance, having to repeat classes or dropping out altogether the report said.

According to the global food agency, about 37 percent of Ghanas adult population faced stunting as children due to inadequate food intake or the lack of nutrients in food consumed.

The WFP defines under nutrition as the result of prolonged low levels of food intake and/or low absorption of food consumed (undernourishment). It is generally applied to energy (or protein and energy) deficiency, but it may also relate to vitamin and mineral deficiencies.

Ghana has made enormous progress towards improving nutrition among its young citizens. The government introduced free feeding in public schools to induce enrolment and also provide nutritious meals for pupils.

The country has been successful in reducing the rate of stunting from 23 percent to 19 percent over the years. However, the UN body says more needs to be done to improve on the situation.
He handed over the baton to co-host Anita Erskine and Giovani Caleb, who has been substantive co-host of Starr Drive for the past few months.

Its a change of command and its going to be historical. Starr Drive is one show that is dear to me and I want you to rule the afternoon with Anita. You have my blessings and support, and I know that GioNita (Giovanni and Anita) brand is here to stay, Bolay Ray told Giovanni during the handing over ceremony on Thursday, August 4.

Bolay joined Accra-based Top Radio after university and joined Joy FM, a subsidiary of Multimedia Group, where he hosted Drivetime for eleven (11) years. He has been the host of Starr Chat and co-host of Starr Drive for two (2) years, aside being head of the EIB Network and the Empire Group.

During the handing over ceremony held live on the Starr Drive show on Starr FM, Samini, Reggie Rockstone, Chief Dele Momodu -- CEO of Ovation International, 4x4, Jon Germain, Okyeame Kwame, among other top personalities came on the show to wish him godspeed.

He will not completely stop radio. He will host Starr Chat on Starr FM.
The government will monitor markets and revive the sale at the optimal time and the right conditions, the Finance Ministry said in a statement on Thursday after concluding investor meetings in the U.K. and U.S. It also capped a buyback tender for $500 million of 2017 notes at $100 million, Bloomberg reported on Thursday.

The "Government will continue to build on this dialogue with international investors, while monitoring the markets and the IMF Board process with respect to the Third Review of the Program and will issue new notes at the optimal time and the right conditions,"the statement added.

International Ratings Agency Fitch gave Ghana a B credit rating ahead of the next Eurobond issue slated for September 2016.

An emerging-markets economist at Standard Life Investments Ltd. in London,Nicolas Jaquier, told Bloomberg "the timing of the new issue was a bit puzzling, coming to issue a bond just before some of the pending issues with the IMF were being ironed out. Thats what kept many investors away.

The government had to ditch its last Eurobond issue of $750 million in February 2016, describing it as ill-timed.
The alleged narcotic drug dealer, Kofi Asamoah was arrested in 2015 with 82 grammes of cocaine at his hideout at Atonsu in the Ashanti Region.

A Kumasi High Court granted Asamoah bail to the tune of GHc 100,000 with two sureties one of which was to be justified.

READ ALSO: Woman abandons baby in forest

But Warrant Officer Evans Kubeadzor endorsed the bail without ensuring all the requirements were met.

Ashanti regional Police Prosecutor, Emmanuel Ackonor told Kumasi-based ultimate FM that "he (the suspect) was granted bail on the 18th and the same 18th, within some few minutes, the bail has been executed and per the condition that was given by the Judge, it means that it will take more than five days even to do the authentication of the documents that has to be brought to the registrar, and within a twinkle of an eye, the Police Officer had endorsed the bail for the guy to go.

He added that an investigation has started to find out what truly happened.
The suspect further told the court he constantly has restrained him self from engaging his fellow inmate in any fight due the fact that he had repented and given his life to Christ.

The twenty year old suspect also indicated that after several complains he has been relocated to another police station where he is being kept.

Daniel Asiedu was arrested few days after the murder of JB Danquah who was the member of parliament for the Abuakwa North constituency in his residence at Shiasie in an Accra.

He was charged with murder when arraigned after his arrested and allegedly confessed to stabbing the late MP in his residence which led to his death.

Despite his confessions, another suspect was arrested later as an accomplice who aided him. But the teenager says he entered the MPs house to steal but not to kill.
They threatened to kill judges who ruled that the Electoral Commission should delete the names of voters who used NHIS cards to register from Ghanas electoral roll.

The visit is his first gesture of solidarity with the contemnors.

Some members of the public including lawyers for the three, Nana Ato Dadzie and George Loh, have described the sentence as harsh, and insisted that people must not be committed to prison for infractions on free expression especially in light of the repeal of the criminal libel law.

They have subsequently opened a petition book to solicit signatures to support the petition which has already been forwarded to the Office of the president for pardon.

A number of people including ministers of state have since signed the petition book. They are Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, Deputy Minister of Education, Nana Oye Lithur, Gender Minister, Education Minister Prof Naana Opoku-Agyeman, Head of the Presidential Delivery Unit, Valerie Sawyerr and Deputy Minister of Energy and Petroleum, Benjamin Dagadu.
According to him, he was misled to make the comments he did saying that he will ensure such a situation never recurs.

I wish to sincerely state that I am really sorry for everything that has happened. Let me use this opportunity to render an unqualified apology to the Chief Justice who is my mother and the entire Judiciary, judges, Parliament, good people of Ghana and my constituents, he told Accra-based Citi FM.

READ ALSO: Oti Bless

I am really sorry and this will be the last time, Its an experience. I have had my first baptism in politics. I thank the Speaker for his advice, the Minority Leader, my leader, Alban Bagbin  hes a wonderful leader, hes done a lot for me,and gave me guidance  and all the other leaders in Parliament.I also thank all Ghanaians for their sympathy and for understanding.

I was misled in a way as a young guy with youthful exuberance, you can understand. That is not my nature, thats not how I was brought up, Ill plead that it wont happen again. This will be the last time. They should kindly forgive me in the name of God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, he added.

His apology comes on the back of a directive by the Speaker of Parliament for deliberations over his nomination to be put on hold until he apologised for the comments he made.

Background

Parliament on Thursday suspended the approval of the Deputy Local Government Ministerial nominee John Oti Bless.

Oti Bless was hoping to be approved by the House to enable him to begin his role as deputy minister within five months to go into the December polls.

The Minority in Parliament had earlier initiated a process to stop the appointment of John Bless Oti as a Deputy Minister of Local Government and Rural Development after a revelation that he was part of the Montie FM panel on the day contemptuous statements were made about the Supreme Court.

The Member of Parliament (MP) for Nkwanta North was cleared by Parliaments Appointment Committee to be approved by the house as a deputy minister.

But his approval was deferred after Joe Osei-Owusu raised the issue in the house accusing Oti Bless of being part of the panellists that made contemptuous comments against Justices of the Supreme Court on Accra-based Montie FM.

READ ALSO: Montie FM Saga

When the matter was raised on the floor of parliament on Monday, the Minority Leader Osei Kyei Mensah-Bonsu argued that the comments made by the MP were unfortunate.

The language was disparaging to the Justices of the highest court of this land. These words are unprintable, certainly not the best from a Member of Parliament, taking the justices of the Supreme Court to the cleaners without any iota of evidence

Oti Bless is on record questioning the actions of the Chief Justice during the 2012 election petition hearing. He accused her of doing the bidding of the New Patriotic Party.

READ ALSO: Oti Bless

Today we have a CJ who because of a Political favour done her, will do anything to help the NPP. It is an agenda. The electoral commission should stop working and give it to Georgina Woode. And we have a whole CJ, look at how old you are; you have kids and grandchildren and yet you are at the Court doing politics; you deliberately appoint NPP Judges to do politics and scheme with NPP to give biased rulings. Are you not calling for war? Are you not calling for civil war? Are you not destroying this country? he quizzed

Meanwhile, the two other panellists and host of the show have been jailed for four months by the Supreme Court for their contemptuous comments.
PETITION FOR PARDON/ REMISSION OF SENTENCE & FOR REVIEW OF GHANAS CONTEMPT LAWWe, from the Research and Advocacy Platform (RAP), currently supported by in excess of One Hundred and Eighty Thousand (180,000) signatories, wish to petition your high office to invoke your Prerogative of Mercy under article 72 of the 1992 Constitution of the Republic of Ghana to pardon or remit the sentences of three citizens of this country who were jailed for contempt on July 27, 2016, namely Salifu Masse (a.k.a Mugabe), Alistair Nelson and Godwin Ako Gunn.The four-month custodial sentence has attracted widespread criticisms for its severity and excessiveness from well-meaning Ghanaians. As an advocacy group, we condemn the utterances of the convicts. We, however, join our numerous compatriots to make an appeal to your good offices to invoke Article 72 of the 1992 Constitution of the Republic of Ghana to pardon the three convicts or remit their sentences.As indicated above, it is the considered opinion of the signatories that the four months custodial sentence imposed on the three is excessive and has the potential to severely curtail rights to free speech, which is a fundamental right enshrined in the 1992 Constitution.Your Excellency, in addition to the above plea on behalf of the three gentlemen, we wish to state that the lack of a Contempt Act in Ghana that clearly states what constitutes contempt and its defined maximum and minimum penalties may have accounted for the harshness of their sentence. The absence of such a codified contempt law, in our view, gives rise to the discretionary application of what constitutes contemptuous offense and its attendant sanctions in our dear Republic.In a democracy, people should have the right to criticize judges. In our opinion, the power of contempt should be used to uphold the majesty and dignity of the court, only to the extent of enabling it to function effectively. The contempt law in its current form contradicts the above principles. This contradiction is further aggravated by the controversial incarceration of the Montie 3. The autocratic outlook of Ghanas contempt laws is traceable to its linkages with the British Colonial Administration, which was itself autocratic. The need for this review is further supported by the views of Fali Nariman, a distinguished constitutional jurist, who opined that the offense of scandalizing the courts remains in a mercurial jurisdiction in which there are no rules and no constraints.Your Excellency, we wish to respectively use this opportunity to request your high office to authorize the Attorney General and Minister of Justice to, as matter of urgency, enact such an Act or initiate the processes to review our current laws in order to safeguard the Judiciary from abuse, whilst at the same time, protecting the citizens rights to free speech as enshrined in the 1992 Constitution. Indeed, it is again our considered view that, it would be in the interest of this country to take such an action, since it would serve to guarantee and preserve the rights of citizens to freely express their opinions on the actions of public officials and state institutions without fear of being jailed for expressing their minds.As indicated earlier, this would aid in the maintenance of confidence in the administration of justice in this country. Your Excellency, we join the contemnors in pleading for leniency and wish to count on you to deploy your high sense of compassion to offer some reprieve to the three convicts. Yours in the Service of the NationSigned: RAZAK ABU, CONVENOR, RAP
Parliament on Thursday suspended the approval of the Deputy Local Government Ministerial nominee John Oti Bless.

Oti Bless was hoping to be approved by the House to enable him to begin his role as deputy minister within five months to go into the December polls.

The Minority in Parliament had earlier initiated a process to stop the appointment of John Bless Oti as a Deputy Minister of Local Government and Rural Development after a revelation that he was part of the Montie FM panel on the day contemptuous statements were made about the Supreme Court.

The Member of Parliament (MP) for Nkwanta North was cleared by Parliaments Appointment Committee to be approved by the house as a deputy minister.

But his approval was deferred after Joe Osei-Owusu raised the issue in the house accusing Oti Bless of being part of the panellists that made contemptuous comments against Justices of the Supreme Court on Accra-based Montie FM.

READ ALSO: Montie FM Saga

When the matter was raised on the floor of parliament on Monday, the Minority Leader Osei Kyei Mensah-Bonsu argued that the comments made by the MP were unfortunate.

The language was disparaging to the Justices of the highest court of this land. These words are unprintable, certainly not the best from a Member of Parliament, taking the justices of the Supreme Court to the cleaners without any iota of evidence

Oti Bless is on record questioning the actions of the Chief Justice during the 2012 election petition hearing. He accused her of doing the bidding of the New Patriotic Party.

READ ALSO: Oti Bless

Today we have a CJ who because of a Political favour done her, will do anything to help the NPP. It is an agenda. The electoral commission should stop working and give it to Georgina Woode. And we have a whole CJ, look at how old you are; you have kids and grandchildren and yet you are at the Court doing politics; you deliberately appoint NPP Judges to do politics and scheme with NPP to give biased rulings. Are you not calling for war? Are you not calling for civil war? Are you not destroying this country? he quizzed

Meanwhile, the two other panellists and host of the show have been jailed for four months by the Supreme Court for their contemptuous comments.
Oti Bless was hoping to be approved by the House to enable him to begin his role as deputy minister within five months to go into the December polls.

The Member of Parliament (MP) for Nkwanta North was cleared by Parliaments Appointment Committee to be approved by the house as a deputy minister.

But his approval was deferred after Joe Osei-Owusu raised the issue in the house accusing Oti Bless of being part of the panellists that made contemptuous comments against Justices of the Supreme Court on Accra-based Montie FM.

When the matter was raised on the floor of parliament on Monday, the Minority Leader Osei Kyei Mensah-Bonsu argued that the comments made by the MP were unfortunate.

The language was disparaging to the Justices of the highest court of this land. These words are unprintable, certainly not the best from a Member of Parliament, taking the justices of the Supreme Court to the cleaners without any iota of evidence

Oti Bless is on record questioning the actions of the Chief Justice during the 2012 election petition hearing. He accused her of doing the bidding of the New Patriotic Party.

READ ALSO: Mahama nominates Emmanuel Bombande as Deputy Foreign Minister

Today we have a CJ who because of a Political favour done her, will do anything to help the NPP. It is an agenda. The electoral commission should stop working and give it to Georgina Woode. And we have a whole CJ, look at how old you are; you have kids and grandchildren and yet you are at the Court doing politics; you deliberately appoint NPP Judges to do politics and scheme with NPP to give biased rulings. Are you not calling for war? Are you not calling for civil war? Are you not destroying this country? he quizzed

Meanwhile, the two other panellists and host of the show have been jailed for four months by the Supreme Court for their contemptuous comments.

In a related development, a group calling itself Law Protection Foundation have indicated that it will submit an audio recording of accusations made by Oti Bless to the court registry for appropriate actions to be taken against him.

It is still unclear the reasons behind Parliaments decision to suspend the approval of Oti Bless.
Director of Public Affairs of the Ghana Police Service, Superintendent Cephas Arthur made this known during a simulation exercise on how to fight crime during the 2016 elections.

We have identified not less than 5,000 flashpoints and we are ensuring that measures are put in place to nullify or neutralize the flash points such that it will not pose any danger to us.

"Nonetheless, [for] other places that are [considered] safe, we are keeping our eyes there because any place at all can be a flashpoint, the Police PRO told the media in Accra , adding: We know of some hot air being blown all over, we deem it as part of it but its our prayer that the hot air is toned down, we shouldnt incite people, he said.
Congratulating the vice presidential candidate of the party, Brigitte Dzogbenuku on her nomination, Dela told Pulse.com.ghthat the appointment means a lot to women.

Brigitte is an astute intelligent woman who can actually think through problems. So having her with a businessman who also thinks through problems with that business lens and she is thinking through it with a feminist/entrepreneurial...she just comes with a multitude of all perspectives that I think will definitely complement what we know about Nduom, Dela who also doubles as a Research Associate of the National Population Council said.

The former Miss Ghana, Brigitte Dzogbenuku was presented as running mate to the party delegates on Thursday at the party headquarters in Accra.

Dr Nduom earlier hinted that his running mate will be female. He believed his choice will give meaning to an all inclusive and Ghana first agenda.

Dzogbenuku won the Miss Ghana pageant in 1991. Even though she is a member of pressure group Occupy Ghana, she cannot be described as one who is actively involved in politics.

Brigitte Dzogbenuku is the manager of the Barclays Clubhouse in Accra. She also runs a non-profit organisation Mentoring Women Ghana (MWG).

READ ALSO: PPP presidential nominee gives details of how he will address unemployment in Ghana

Prior to this she served as the General Manager of Aviation Social Centre, a fitness and recreational centre in Accra, for twelve years and revolutionalised the fitness and training regime for Ghanaians.
The award winning actress is also documenting her current holiday for fans on her Instagram page.

She shared so many lovely photos of herself but we can't get over the one of her in a blue and white bikini.

The Academy Award-winner paired her swimsuit with a pair of purple sunglasses, captioning her photo, '#CaughtOffGuard.' Lupita be giving us body goals for years to come!

Meanwhile, Lupita Nyongo is currently in talks to join Chadwick Boseman in the upcoming Marvels "Black Panther".

According to The Hollywood Reporter, theres no word regarding her character in the upcoming movie.
Tyga disclosed this in an interview on Hollywood Today, Wednesday, August 3, 2016.

According to him, "He (King Cairo) had an incident at school," the 'Rack City' rapper said, adding, "They called me and it was like, "Your son, he's walking around saying the B-word."

"And I was like, 'Where did he hear that?' And the school was like, well, he told them, 'My dad says it in the studio.'"

"I try to keep him out of the studio and I try not to play songs while he's around, because he does stuff like that but, you know, it happens," Tyga added.

Also talking about the complicated relationship he has with the Kardashian clan now that his ex-fiancee is engaged to Jenner's half-brother Rob Kardashian,

"I try not to judge people. I came from nothing and I grew up in a single-parent home with just my mom. So my main focus and goal is just to make sure that my son has the best upbringing. I feel like once you're an adult, people make their own decisions and sometimes you can't put your faith in people cause you'll always be let down, so I just stay focused and really stay concerned about him."

Meanwhile, the rapper has leased a property in the streetnext to Kim Kardashian and Kanye West's Bel-Air home.
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The lady who only identified herself as U.O, told the Canadian authorities that her family and members of her community has vowed to kill her if she ever sets foot in her father's land and as such, wants to be allowed to stay in the North American country.

A report by the Canadian immigration authorities claim that the 32-year-old woman, fears persecution in her home country, where homosexuality is a crime punishable by up to 14 years in prison.

"She's been in Winnipeg for three months, arriving here for a conference and abandoning her plans to return to Nigeria after finding out her girlfriend was jailed and police were looking for her.

She went before the refugee protection division of the Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada to plead her case, giving written consent for a Free Press reporter to observe the hearing while several supporters from Winnipeg's LGBTQ community waited outside.

She claims her family in Nigeria has turned its back on her because of her sexuality."

In her words, U.O said:

"Nobody there wants me. They want me dead. I will be lynched if I returns to Nigeria. So, I don't think they deserve me. I would be happy to start a new life here and find a new love."

The lady allegedly told the board that her journey toward refugee protection began in May, when she, as an outreach worker at a non-governmental organization in Nigeria, attended an HIV/AIDS conference in Winnipeg.

While there, she found out her girlfriend, her first love from university, whom she'd been seeing in secret in Nigeria, had been arrested and forced to confess their relationship, and that her husband and other family members wanted her dead.
The social media user posted that, the father bought the slippers for the little girl and barely few days later, she went out to play with her friends and on coming back, the slippers were missing and efforts by the father to ask where they were proved abortive as she could not explain the circumstances.
Alexander Pieter Cirk, 41, arrived at Changsha's Huanghua International Airport last month hoping to meet a 26-year-old woman surnamed Zhang. After eight days in the arrivals terminal, he told broadcaster Hunan ETV he had met her online some two months ago and would not leave until his "girlfriend" arrived.

However Zhang told Hunan ETV by phone that she had not expected Cirk to actually come to Changsha and was unable to meet him after recent cosmetic surgery had made it "inconvenient" for her to step outside.

"I was really shocked. When we started, we were aiming towards (marriage), but he slowly became a bit indifferent towards me," she told the broadcaster. "But when we started we were both on good terms."

After 10 days of waiting with little to eat or drink but instant noodles and soft drinks, Cirk was taken to hospital where he told Hunan ETV from a wheelchair he was still determined "to have a good talk with the woman I love, (and bring her) back to my hometown."
The ruling was given by a judge at the Karimo Upper Area Court in the Federal Capital Territory.

Mohammed Abubakar, the judge who presided over the case however gave the accused, who committed the crime in a church, a N3,000 fine option.

Adeyemi however failed to make use of the golden opportunity given to him, and was then taken away to Kuje Prisons, the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports.

David Kafancha, the prosecuting counsel in the case told the court that the accused visited the Mountain of Fire Ministries in Utako, with the aim of stealing.
Fayose had alleged that there was a judgment against the President's wife, on how she wired $170,000 to an American, Jefferson, who was convicted in the infamous $185 million Halliburton scandal.

Mrs Buhari has since denied the claims and threatened legal action against Fayose if he did not retract the statement and tender a public apology.

In fact, a former chairman of the Economic Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Ibrahim Lamorde, who claimed to be very familiar with the case dismissed Fayose's allegations, saying the Aisha Buhari mentioned in the fraud case was someone else entirely, and not the President's wife.

In June, the acting Public Affairs Officer, US Consulate General, Lagos, Frank Sellin, also said the US government has no corruption case against Aisha Buhari.

But the Governor insisted Mrs Buhari was involved in the case.

However, wife of the President is currently in Washington DC, as the Special Guest of the 25th Anniversary of Zumunta Association.

A statement by her media aide, Zakari Nadabo stated that the Emir of Kano, Sanusi Lamido Sanusi is expected to speak at the event taking place at the Silver Spring civic centre in Maryland.

Mrs Buhari Will also be hosted to a round table discussion by the United States Institute of Peace to explore an in-depth conversation with a group of senior United states policy makers and an invested group of practitioners focused on Nigeria," the statement said.
Fayose had alleged multiple times that Mrs Buhari is wanted in the US due to her involvement in the infamous Halliburton fraud case, a bribery scandal that ended the political career of former Congressman William Jefferson, who is currently serving a 13-year sentence after he was convicted in US court for charges that included accepting bribes from Nigerian officials.

Mrs. Buhari has since denied the allegation and threatened legal action against Fayose.

However, the President's wife is currently in the US to participate in a series of meetings in Washington DC, including a function at the United States Institute of Peace.

Speaking to newsmen in Abuja on Friday, August 5, the AYIF President, Comrade Abubakar Ibrahim, said Fayose was playing indecent politics.

He said: We are pointing this significance because of what Nigerians were made to believe in the past by Ekiti State governor, with claims that Mrs Buhari was a fugitive from justice in the US over the Halliburton scandal.

We caution politicians to play politics in a decent and transparent manner irrespective of political differences and each time they have issues to score, they should not be diversionary.

Our expectations are that beginning with Ekiti state, at the end of Fayoses tenure, the electorates would insist that psychiatric evaluation and a consequent certificate of mental competence would be requisite for all the candidates seeking elections."

ALSO READ: Aisha Buhari not involved in bribery scandal  Lamorde
Ekhomu also urged the Federal Government to take the appointment of a new Boko Haram leader by the Islamic State (ISIS) seriously.

He made the call via a statement issued on Thursday, August 4, 2016, adding that the FG should respond to the development by placing the nations security agencies on high alert.

If ISIS gets to appoint senior leadership for Boko Haram then they are probably running the Nigerian terror group as a local franchise. Strategic decisions such as leadership appointments are made by the spiritual leader of a terrorist group. In other words, the appointment of Al-Barnawi might have been made by ISIS leader Sheik Abu Bakr El-Baghdadi himself, he said.

As a mega city, Lagos presented a tempting target for BH/ISIS and the state should be target-hardened in order to prevent any surprise attack, he added.

Abu Musab Al-Barnawi was appointed by ISIS to replace Abubakar Shekau on Wednesday, August 3.

Shekau is said to have been removed for opposing attempts by ISIS to train his soldiers among other things.

He however denied the allegations made against him via an audio message released in response to ISIS announcement.
China is willing to work with all parties to build roads, railway lines, air and sea route networks in East Asia to improve regional connectivity and trade flows, Commerce Minister Gao Hucheng said on Thursday.

These goals can be achieved through the cooperative framework of the Belt and Road Initiative, the minister said in Vientiane, the capital of Laos while attending the Association of Southeast Asian Nations Trade and Economic Ministers' Meeting, which also involved China, Japan and South Korea.

China is keen to work with partner countries to draw support from financial institutions including the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, the Silk Road Fund and the Asian Development Bank, to obtain funding for the projects.

"The Asia-Pacific Model E-port Network will become an important platform to promote regional trade facilitation and the development of supply chain connectivity," said Gao.

"China welcomes South Korea, Japan and ASEAN members joining this efficient network," he said.

Established in 2015 with members including China, Vietnam, Malaysia, Australia and Canada, the APMEN applies new technology such as cloud computing, big data and the internet of things to create new opportunities for improving regional trade and supply chain connectivity.

"We will also work closely with all related parties to complete talks on the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership by the end of this year," said Gao.

The minister said China will also offer necessary assistance to certain ASEAN members, with smaller economies, to build electronic ports.

China, Japan and South Korea remained the ASEAN's first, second and fifth-largest trading partners in 2015, respectively. The total trade volume between three countries and the ASEAN nations amounted to $708.6 billion last year, accounting for 41 percent of the region's foreign trade.

At the same time, China, Japan and South Korea invested $31.3 billion in ASEAN countries, taking 32 percent of the regions' foreign direct investment.

"We also wish to reach a consensus on the talks on a China-Japan-South Korea free trade agreement as soon as possible to further cut trade costs, as well as create new market growth points for businesses in three countries," said Gao.

"As China, South Korea and Japan have solid industrial foundations and financial capabilities to carry out international production capacity cooperation, they are capable of accelerating the pace of industrialization and economic structure adjustment in the ASEAN region," said Lin Guijun, a professor at the University of International Business and Economics in Beijing.
President Buhari stated this today, August 5, 2016 at the graduation ceremony of officers who took part in the National Defence College training which began in September, 2015.

President Buhari commended the participants and urged them to do their best to end the attacks on communities by armed persons disguising as herdsmen.

The president also stated that his administration was making efforts to rebuilding the north-east and the Niger Delta to correct the injustices experienced by both regions in the past.

The graduation ceremony had in attendance serving and retired military officers, the Emir of Kano, Mohammed Sanusi II, members of the diplomatic corps, the graduating officers and their well-wishers present.
The statement said Buhari made the call when Mr Paolo Gentiloni, the Italian Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation paid him a courtesy call at the State House.

The President said although relations between Nigeria and Italy were `very strong, concerted efforts should be made to strengthen the ties.

Shehu said Buhari commended the resilience of Italian businesses in Nigeria and expressed happiness that new businesses are about to come up in the country.

He also commended Italy for supporting ``government in tackling the humanitarian situation in the North-East and the training being given to Nigerian policemen.

The statement said Gentiloni, who was accompanied by the Italian Minister of State for Interior, Mr Domenico Manzione, announced his governments 10 million dollars humanitarian assistance to the countries of the Lake Chad Basin Commission.

Member-countries of the commission include Cameroon, Chad, Niger, and Nigeria.

"This is within the framework of the European Union, the statement added.

Shehu said the visit of the Italian delegation was a fulfilment of the promise made by the Italian Prime Minister, Mr Matteo Renzi, in when he visited Nigeria.
Fashola also said that corruption is merely a symptom of the absence of law and order.

The minister made the comments during a recent interview with Stephen Sackur on BBCs HardTalk.

Well, I think that the clear evidence is that we have done better in the way that we enforce law and order, Fashola said.

I think corruption is the symptom of the larger problem of non-compliance and therefore, I will focus on law and order and in such a way that compliance becomes a way of life; people who fail to comply, really, are those who then scandalise us.

For me there is no corruption-free country; it is a clash between law and order and enforcement and the lack of it and the more of that we see in our procurement process, in our way of life, in how open we are, how transparent we are in doing things, the better of we would be, he added.

The Muhammadu Buhari administration, of which Fashola is a strategic part, has made the fight against corruption in Nigeria its main focus.
"We, therefore, call on the good people of Nigeria to rally round the Federal Government and insurgency-affected states to restore peace in the North-East.

"Today, my family and I return to this land hitherto renowned as the Home of Peace to make a personal donation of an additional 600 bags of rice from my personal savings, to our vulnerable brothers and sisters in the IDPs camps.

"I am particularly glad to address you in an atmosphere of peace brought about by the hard work of our gallant soldiers, the determination of the Federal Government and efforts of government and people of Borno state, who crave for an enduring peace.

"We are happy about the huge successes that have been recorded in the area of security; but one is deeply concerned about reports of malnourishment emanating from the camps for IDPs.

"It is our fervent prayer and hope that in no distant time, this past glory will be restored; more especially now that the CBN is striving hard, in collaboration with fiscal authorities to diversify the Nigerian economy", Emefiele said.

Gov. Kashim Shettima of Borno thanked the CBN governor for the donation of 30 tons of rice, including the 400 bags of rice donated on May 13.

"We remain liberally indebted for Mr Emefieles widows might to our displaced persons.

"Branch comptroller of CBN, Malam Ibarhim, we are grateful for your support to IDPs.
In a statement issued by Mr Olayinka Oyebode, Special Assistant on Media to the Minister on Friday, August 5, in Abuja, the recall is with immediate effect.

Fayemi said this became imperative to strengthen the institutional capacity of the ministry to cooperate with the security agencies in ensuring the security of lives, environment and property in the country.

He said the call came barely 24 hours after the ministry blacklisted and withdrew the explosives licences of Delta-based company for the illegal diversion of explosives.

The Nigerian Army had revealed that some of the mining companies are supplying explosives to the Niger Delta Avengers and other militant groups in the country.

According to the minister, all the affected officers are to report to the headquarters of the Ministry of Solid Minerals Development, Abuja for further directives on their next assignments.

He said that letters to this effect had been dispatched to the state and zonal offices of the ministry nationwide.
Speaking to newsmen in Abuja, Eyibo, who served in the sixth assembly, said adjustments must be made in a budget before it could be passed into law.

"I have read from traditional and new media one language which is strange in the context of our understanding of the legislature, which is the word padding," he said.

"I know padding is associated with tailoring, fashion, but I am not conversant with it as associated to appropriation process.

"It becomes difficult for an average man in the street to understand that in the course of budget preparation and the input of the legislature, there will definitely be the issue of adjustment.

"The adjustment could be deleted or added and something could be allowed to serve as it were.

"There are bound to be indiscretion and how can this indiscreet be taken care of.

"The essence of the public procurement act was to enforce the principle of accountability and thin out possibility of corruption.

"But the challenge is, has there been the enforcement or compliance of the full principles of the public procurement act?"

He added that the budget proposal as presented by the executive was intended to come through the legislature so that the issue of checks and balances, separation of powers would be strengthened.

According to him, when that is done, that does not take away the input and contributions of the legislature into that proposal.

"If that was so, they wouldn't have been a pre-budget meeting or oversight, Eyibo said.
Sen. Chris Ngige, Minister of Labour and Employment gave the new date following the low level representations of the unions at the meeting originally scheduled for Thursday.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the stakeholders meeting was initiated by the minister to address labour related issues bordering on retrenchment and mass sacking of staff by some banks across the country.

NAN also reports that those present at the Thursday meeting were the officials of Association of Senior Staff of Banks, Insurance and Financial Institutions.

Others were the National Union of Banks, Insurance and Financial Institutions Employees and representatives of Mortgage Bank, among others.

"The banking sector is a very sensitive sector especially at this time and considering the gravity of issues to be discussed, in which unforeseen circumstance has prevented your heads from being in charge of your delegations.

"We have to postpone this meeting so that your heads of delegations will be here with us when we reconvene for the meeting.

"We will do that because we are going to take very weighty decisions here that will be binding on the banks, unions and the workers as a whole.

"We do not want to have haphazard arrangements. We want to have full compliments of this meeting before we proceed.

"That is why I feel it is important that we postpone this meeting to early next week, Ngige said.

The minister said that the banking sector was an essential part of the Nigerian economy.

He also said that the industries, construction, railways, transport, among others, were physically involved in the banking sector in their own various ways.

"But at the end of the day, everybody is talking about money and the banks control the monetary instruments of the economy.

"So it is not an institution that we should take lightly or discuss its matter in a hurry.
A family member who spoke to Punch, said Baba (Oseni) has not been released. We are making efforts, but we do not know what the government is doing about this. Even if an animal gets missing, you look for it, let alone the king of a town, who has spent over 40 years on the throne.

Having contributed much to the growth of the community and the state in general, his matter should be treated with more concern. The governor and his officials have not said anything lately about what is being done on the matter. As a family, we have not seen any green light from the government; we are in the dark.

The monarchs family had approached the Lagos government to help raise the N500m ransom which the abductors demanded.

Speaking further, another family member said If the state government expedited action on this, Baba should have been released.

The kidnappers are not saying they will not release him. If the government does what is necessary, the abductors will let go of the monarch.

The state government is not serious about this. What the government is doing now, we do not really understand. For now, God is our hope.

Though the Lagos State Police Public Relations Officer, Dolapo Badmos, says her men are still investigating the matter, Oba Osenis family members are not buying the story.

According to reports, the Oniba of Iba land, Oba Goriola Oseni, was kidnapped by militants on Saturday, July 16, 2016.
The Ooni expressed the support in Ile-Ife when Mrs Olajumoke Bello, the Permanent Secretary of Osun Ministry of Information, Home Affairs, Tourism and Culture, paid him a courtesy visit at his palace.

The monarch noted that the state was richly endowed with quality tourist sites which, if well-packaged and publicised, were capable of boosting the states economy via the influx of tourists from all over the world.

He said that Gov. Rauf Aregbesola was passionately interested in developing the entire state, including its tourism potential, adding, however, that his administration could not do it alone without the active support of the people.

He, therefore, called on the citizens of the state to fully support the efforts of the Aregbesola-administration to boost the states economy and improve the social-economic status of its citizens.

In her remark, Bello commended the Ooni for his giant and commendable strides in forging national unity and unity among the Yoruba race.

She also thanked him for his royal support for efforts to promote arts and culture.

She spoke about the state governments plans to develop the tourism and culture sector and solicited the Oonis royal blessing for the governments efforts to host this years World Tourism Day in Ile-Ife in September.
He said the Local Government Workers Union have the responsibility to monitor the income their administrators generate.

Oshiomhole also said I want to say it clearly that the Edo State Government does not have the responsibility of paying the salaries of local governments. I am not and I will not collect taxes from people to pay local governments workers. I dont know what they do in other states.

But in Edo State, we respect the full autonomy of local governments and this autonomy goes with responsibility. I challenge your union leaders to show any evidence to the contrary. Under the previous administration, the revenue of local governments was being spent on their behalf by the state government.

They even bought second-hand tractors at an inflated price and distributed to local governments and deducted the money from local government funds; that was what the PDP was doing. The union in Edo State did not raise a voice.

Just last week, the traditional rulers in Esanland said the best the then government did for them was to give them a loan of N500,000 to buy cars at that time and they deducted the money from local governments funds; the union leaders did not raise a voice.

The Edo Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) governorship candidate, Pundefinedover non-payment of workers' salaries.
For today, August 9 2016:

THE GUARDIAN NEWSPAPER

Split in Boko Haram terror group as Shekau reappears

A crack may have occurred in the leadership of the Boko Haram terrorist group with the reappearance yesterday of its erstwhile leader, Abubakar Shekau who insisted that he was still around.

Saudi Arabias oil price cut threatens Nigerias N820b revenue target

The expected oil-related N820 billion revenue to finance the 2016 budget is being threatened by the recent reduction of prices for Arab light by the worlds highest producer of crude oil, Saudi Arabia.

Buhari raises governing council, trustees board for Ogoni cleanup

Another practical step towards the cleanup of Ogoniland was taken yesterday by the Federal Government when it inaugurated the governing council and Board of Trustees (BoT) for the hydrocarbon pollution remediation project.

THE VANGUARD NEWSPAPER

US warns citizens against travelling to 20 Nigerian states

ABUJA  The United States of America has warned its citizens against travelling to 20 states in Nigeria due to security concerns. READ MORE

Transcorp suspends N320bn power plan on gas scarcity

LAGOS  Transnational Corporation of Nigeria, Transcorp Plc has suspended plans to build one of the nations biggest power plants as local gas shortage makes it difficult to obtain fuel and a downturn in the economy hinders efforts to raise funds for the project.

How Niger Delta Avengers, others acquire detonators, explosives

ABUJAThe National Security Adviser, Major General Babagana Monguno (retd), Thursday, disclosed that explosives experts dispatched to conduct investigations into the incessant bombing of oil facilities in Niger Delta, have uncovered the diversion of about 9,000kg of high explosives and 16,420 pieces of detonators for illegal use.

THE PUNCH NEWSPAPER

250 Reps want Dogara to step down, says Jibrin

A former Chairman of the House of Representatives Committee on Appropriation, Mr. Abdulmumin Jibrin, says at least 250 out of the 360 members of the House have signed a petition calling for the probe and removal of the Speaker, Yakubu Dogara. READ MORE

Kate Henshaw, family clash over sick babys treatment

Popular Nollywood actress, Kate Henshaw, says she regrets taking up a case involving a sex worker, identified as Mary, who allegedly abandoned her child, Michael, at the Lagos University Teaching Hospital, Idi-Araba.

Buharis wife accepts Fayoses challenge, visits US

Wife of the President, Mrs. Aisha Buhari, on Thursday travelled to the United States where she was scheduled to be the special guest at the 25th Anniversary of Zumunta Association. READ MORE

THE NATION NEWSPAPER

We will restore Ogoni ecosystem, says Buhari

One-time Lagos State Commissioner for Finance Mr Wale Edun was yesterday in Abuja inaugurated as Chairman of the Board of Trustees (BoT) of the Ogoni Trust Fund.

Govt shuts firm supplying militants with explosives

The Federal Government has uncovered a firm which supplies militants the explosives with which they have been bombing oil installations in the Niger Delta.

CBN resumes dollar sales to BDCs today

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) will today resume dollar sales to Bureaux De Change (BDCs) seven months after it stopped the practice.

BUSINESSDAY NEWSPAPER

Discretionary award of oil blocs ridicules FG's reform claim

Stakeholders in the oil and gas sector say that unless the discretionary powers given the president of Nigeria to award oil acreages in the petroleum laws are reversed, the purported reforms in the oil and gas sector will amount to a charge.

AMCON on sound footing as CIR dips 95%

The Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON) is considered to be on a sound financial footing, as cost to income ratio (CIR) for the financial year ended December 2015 reduced by 95.3 percent, from 618% 2014 to 29% last year.

Transcorp delays $1bn power project over gas shortage
What better way to ease off the stress of the week than watch a good movie.

With that in mind, check out our list of movies currently showing in cinemas across Lagos, Abuja and Port Harcourt.

Starring: Van Vicker, Omowunmi Dada, Judith Audu

Synopsis: The feature film 'Yes i Don't' is based on the best selling book by Pastor Dexter Akin-Aremu '10 Kinds of People you Must not Marry, How to Marry Right'.

Showing:

Friday - Thursday: 10:45am, 4:30pm

Friday - Thursday: 12:00PM, 4:20PM

Friday - Thursday: 2:45PM

Starring: Angelique Kidjo, Jimmy Jean Louis, Wale Ojo, Fatym Layache, Nico Ranagio, Kemi Lala Akindoju, veteran actress Hilda Dokunbo .

Synopsis: Set mainly on a beautiful beach resort on the outskirts of Lagos in Nigeria .The CEO is a mystery-thriller surrounding five top executives from across Africa who are dispatched on a 1-week leadership retreat by a multinational telecommunication firm, to determine which one to appoint as the firms new CEO. Things go awry when one by-one the executives are eliminated in sudden death circumstances, and the finger falls on the last two remaining executive as prime suspects. As the threat of a possible death sentence for multiple homicide looms over them.

Showing:

Friday - Thursday: 1:20PM, 3:25PM, 5:15PM, 7:20PM

Friday - Thursday: 4:50pm, 6:55pm, 9:00pm

Friday - Thursday: 7:25 PM, 9:40 PM

Friday - Thursday: 12:10PM, 2:20PM, 4:30PM, 6:40PM, 8:50PM

Starring: Emilia Clarke, Sam Claflin, Janet McTeer

Synopsis: A girl in a small town forms an unlikely bond with a recently-paralyzed man she's taking care of.

Showing:

Friday - Thursday: 10:40 PM

Friday - Thursday: 9:10PM

4.

Starring: John Travolta, Christopher Meloni, Amanda Schull |:

Synopsis: A man is out for justice after a group of corrupt police officers are unable to catch his wife's killer

Showing:

Friday - Thursday: 9:25PM

Starring: Mark Rylance, Ruby Barnhill, Penelope Wilton

Synopsis: A girl named Sophie encounters the Big Friendly Giant who, despite his intimidating appearance, turns out to be a kindhearted soul who is considered an outcast by the other giants because, unlike them, he refuses to eat children.

Showing:

Friday - Thursday: 10:00am, 12:00pm

Friday - Thursday: 2:00PM, 6:20PM

Mon - Saturday: 11:05AM, 12:30PM

Sunday: 12:30PM

Mon - Thursday:11:50 AM, 2:15 PM, 4:40 PM

Starring: OC Ukeje, Thomas Gumede, Nthati Moshesh

Synopsis: Fuelled by the electric energy and ethnic diversity of 21st century Johannesburg, "Ayanda" tells the story of a young woman whose dream of running a retro car restoration business is threatened by dark family secrets, the complications of love and the day-to-day challenges of life in the sprawling African metropolis.

Showing:

Friday: 2:45pm

Monday - Thursday: 2:45pm

Daily: 3:00 PM

Friday - Thursday 6:10PM

Friday - Thursday: 10:30AM, 5:30PM

Starring: Angela Dixon, Nigel Whitmey, Lisa Eichhorn

Synopsis: A single mother on vacation, takes the law into her own hands to take back her abducted child.

Showing:

Fri-Thur: 4:35PM, 9:20PM

Friday - Thursday: 3:00PM, 6:40PM, 8:30PM

Friday - Thursday: 5:10PM, 9:15PM

Friday - Thursday: 5:25 PM

Starring: Stephanie Beatriz, Robert Cardone, Neil deGrasse Tyson

Synopsis: Manny, Diego, and Sid join up with Buck to fend off a meteor strike that would destroy the world.

Showing:

Friday: 10am

Sat - Sun: 10:00am, 3:30pm

Mon - Thur: 10:00am

Friday - Thursday: 1:00PM

Friday - Thursday: 10:30 AM, 12:30 PM, 4:15 PM

Friday - Thursday: 12:20PM, 4:40PM

Starring: Dwayne Johnson, Kevin Hart, Danielle Nicolet

Synopsis: After he reunites with an old school pal through Facebook, a mild-mannered accountant is lured into the world of international espionage.

Showing:

Friday - Thursday: 8:35pm

Friday - Thursday: 12:40PM, 2:50PM, 5:00PM, 7:10PM, 9:20PM

Friday - Thursday: 10:25 PM

Starring: Liam Hemsworth, Jeff Goldblum, Bill Pullman

Synopsis: Two decades after the first Independence Day invasion, Earth is faced with a new extra-Solar threat. But will mankind's new space defenses be enough?

Showing:

Fri-Thur: 10:20am

Starring: Jesse Eisenberg, Mark Ruffalo, Woody Harrelson

Synopsis: The Four Horsemen resurface and are forcibly recruited by a tech genius to pull off their most impossible heist yet.

Showing:

Friday - Thursday: 2:10pm

Friday - Thursday: 4:00PM, 8:50PM

Friday - Thursday: 9:20PM

Starring: Melissa McCarthy, Kristen Wiig, Kate McKinnon

Synopsis: 30 years after Ghostbusters took the world by storm, the beloved franchise makes its long-awaited return. Director Paul Feig brings his fresh take to the supernatural comedy, joined by some of the funniest actors working today.

Showing:

Friday - Thursday: 12:10pm, 2:50pm, 4:45pm

Friday - Thursday: 7:05PM, 9:10PM

Friday - Thursday: 12:00PM, 2:20PM, 4:40PM, 7:00PM, 9:15PM

Fri - Sun 7:05 PM, 9:50 PM

(--VIP SHOWS--)

Fri & Sun - Thu: 12:30 PM

Starring:Alexander Skarsgard, Rory J. Saper, Christian Stevens

Synopsis: Tarzan, having acclimated to life in London, is called back to his former home in the jungle to investigate the activities at a mining encampment.

Showing:

Friday - Thursday: 1:20pm, 6:30pm

Friday - Thursday: 12:20PM, 2:30PM, 4:40PM, 6:50PM, 9:00PM

Fri & Sun - Thu: 7:30 PM, 10:05 PM

Sat: 7:30 PM, 10:05 PM

VIP Shows

Fri & Sun - Thu: 2:55 PM

Sat: 1:30 PM

Monday - Friday: 11:00AM, 4:50PM

Sunday: 4:50PM

Starring:Alexander Skarsgard, Rory J. Saper, Christian Stevens

Synopsis: Tarzan, having acclimated to life in London, is called back to his former home in the jungle to investigate the activities at a mining encampment.

Showing:

Fri-Thur: 10:05am

Monday - Saturday: 10:30AM, 3:05PM

Sunday: 3:05PM

Fri - Thursday: 10:50AM, 1:00PM

Starring:Megan Fox, Will Arnett, Tyler Perry

Synopsis: After facing Shredder, who has joined forces with mad scientist Baxter Stockman and henchmen Bebop and Rocksteady to take over the world, the Turtles must confront an even greater nemesis: the notorious Krang.

Showing:

Fri: 12:35pm

Sat-Sun: 12:35pm, 2:40pm

Mon-Thur: 12:35pm

Daily: 12:35 PM, 3:00 PM

Monday - Thursday: 5:00PM

Starring:Margot Robbie, Cara Delevingne, Jared Leto

Synopsis: A secret government agency recruits imprisoned supervillains to execute dangerous black ops missions in exchange for clemency.

Showing:

Fri & Sun - Thu: 1:55 PM, 4:35 PM, 6:15 PM, 7:15 PM, 9:55 PM

Sat: 1:55 PM, 4:00 PM, 4:35 PM, 6:15 PM, 7:15 PM, 7:55 PM

VIP Shows

Fri: 5:10 PM, 7:45 PM, 10:20 PM

Sat: 7:45 PM, 10:20 PM

Sun - Thu: 5:10 PM, 7:45 PM

Fri-Thur: 10:50am, 12:25pm, 2:20pm, 3:25pm, 5:00pm, 6:00pm, 6:55pm, 8:25pm[2D]

Fri-Thur: 7:30pm[3D]

Friday - Thursday: 2:10PM, 6:30PM, 9:00PM

Friday - Thursday: 1:05PM, 3:35PM, 6:05PM, 8:35PM

Starring:Melissa Joan Hart, Jesse Metcalfe, David A.R. White

Synopsis: When a high school teacher is asked a question in class about Jesus, her response lands her in deep trouble.

Showing:

Fri - Thu: 11:30 AM, 3:10 PM

Fri-Thur: 12:00pm, 2:15pm

Friday - Thursday: 10:40AM, 2:55PM, 7:05PM

Starring:Yvonne Nelson, Jose Tolbert, Kunle Remmy

Synopsis: We all wear a mask; a wise man once said. We all live a lie! And at some point or the other, who they think we are will be different from who we really are. Fact or Fiction? Truth or Dare? Our secrets no matter how long we hide them will eventually stare us in the face . And trust me, it will be on a day like Any Other Monday.

Showing:

Fri-Thur: 2:30 PM, 5:40 PM, 8:55 PM

Fri-Thur: 6:30pm, 8:35pm

Friday - Thursday: 1:10PM, 4:50PM, 8:40PM
The PDP said this in reaction to a recent poll result published by the African Leadership Magazine, which rated Ambode as the best performing Governor in Nigeria.

The Lagos PDP Publicity Secretary, Gani Taofik, said rating Ambode as the best performing Governor is laughable.

In a swift reaction, the Lagos state All Progressives Congress (APC) Publicity Secretary, Joe Igbokwe, said The Lagos PDP will not acknowledge the monumental achievements recorded in the last 14 months by the Ambode administration, which are being appreciated by all and sundry.

Nothing good can come from the Lagos PDP or the national leadership of the party. They are the same. The only thing they know how to do is to scheme to get to power and use their positions to steal everything in sight. See where they left Nigeria in 16 years.

Speaking further, on the rating, Taofik said Can Governor Akinwunmi Ambode walk on the streets and receive the same kind of support that Governor Fayose gets in Ekiti? Ambodes elitist style cannot be compared to that of Mimiko and Fayose, who are governors that the common man recognises and relates easily with.

Ambode cannot match the popularity and acceptability that both Mimiko and Fayose command in Ondo and Ekiti states respectively. Fayose and Mimiko are far better than Ambode.
Speaking to journalists at the Presidential Villa, Abuja on Friday, August 5, 2016, Speaker Dogara said budget padding was not an offence against any Nigerian law.

"I studied Law and I have been in the legislature and all this period I have never heard of the word 'padding' being an offence under any law. If I dont know, you are the media, research the law and let me know", the speaker said.

The number four citizen stated that he would not resign as he has not committed any offence.

"I have not committed any offence and so, the question of me resigning does not even arise", he said.

Speaker Dogara and President Muhammadu Buhari are currently holding a private meeting at the Aso Rock Villa.

Pulse recalls that Jibrin had on Thursday, July 21, 2016 called for resignation the of the speaker, his deputy, Yusuf Lasun, minority leader, Leo Ogor and Chief Whip, Ado Doguwa.
Chukwuma also said that the ruling party has nothing to fear from Ekweremadu, whos a member of opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

The cleric made the comment on Thursday, August 4, 2016, while addressing members of the National Association of Nigeria Students (NANS), Vanguard reports.

What we are saying is that All Progressives Congress, APC, should not be afraid of Ekweremadu. Ekweremadu is a very simple developing senator and out of all the senators in the South East, Ekweremadu, I must say, is most loved, hard-working senator that APC can make use of to develop Nigeria, Chukwuma said.

We want to also say that it is unfortunate that the governor of Imo State has continued to insult him and we say that it is not right, he should be called to order by the APC because Ekweremadu was not elected by the APC and election in the Senate was not done by governors.

Ekweremadu should be left alone to do his work, he has been elected constitutionally as Deputy Senate President and nobody can remove him there. If they do that, it means that this government doesnt want the Igbos, then you are calling for its secession from Nigeria because that is the high ranking position we have and we all, including the Church are behind him and he has been performing and should be left to perform, he added.

APC Chairman, John Oyegun recently said that the party is still bitter at Ekweremadus emergence as Deputy Senate President.
APC also wondered why the Governor paid only one month salary to workers in the state.

According to the Ekiti APC Publicity Secretary, Taiwo Olatunbosun, Fayose is not interested in improving the living standard of Ekiti people.

Olatunbosun said Apart from the recent revelations by the EFCC on how states funds are being misapplied for alleged personal use of the governor as revealed in the alleged diversion of MDG/local government funds, Fayose has demonstrated again that he is only in government to make himself comfortable while the rest of Ekiti people suffer.

Apart from demonstrating this by paying just one month arrears, his refusal to pay dying pensioners who spent their productive years in the service of the state is a callous neglect of the elderly, who the governor deceived with mouth-watering promises, including prompt payment of pensions, during campaign.

The party spokesman also accused Fayose of setting up a verification exercise for pensioners, with the aim of disqualifying some, so he can take their money.

He said Immediately he receives federal allocation, instead of paying salary of workers and pensioners allowances, Fayose will be going from town to town to deceive the hapless artisans at the grassroots that the money he received was not up to the amount announced and published. This is fraudulent on the part of a mean governor who calls himself friend of the masses.

Fayose ought to have taken a cue from his predecessor whose projects didnt stop payment of salary as at when due.

We call on Ekiti workers, pensioners and all other stakeholders to stop Fayose from further embarking on any new capital project until all arrears of salary are cleared, as embarking on new projects is a ploy to receive kick-backs and enrich himself so as to cushion the effects of the funds seized from him so far by EFCC.

Governor Fayose has since denied receiving N9b from the Federal Government. He said the state got N2.5b.

Justice Nnamdi Dimgba of the Federal High Court in Abuja has ordered that Governor Ayo Fayoses aide, Abiodun Agbele, be remanded in Kuje Prison.
Ekungba said this while speaking with newsmen shortly after submitting his nomination form for the governorship primaries at the APC National Secretariat in Abuja.

Citing Ondo, Bayelsa, Imo and Cross River states, he said the Governors are clueless about how to run their states profitably.

''Most of the governors have run out of ideas on how to run their states," he said.

''An oil-producing state owing salaries; can you imagine? That is because we don't have the right leadership.''

On his capacity to turn around the fortune of the state if given the opportunity, Ekungba said that he had done it while running his private business and that he could increase the revenue of the state.

ALSO READ: Mimiko impoverished Ondo people - Guber Aspirant

''I restructured a dead company back to life, so I can restore Ondo state back to life."
The AIT founder had declared for the position after it was zoned to the South, until Thursday, August 5, when that decision was reversed.

The Southern caucus of the party at meeting, which last for several hours, held in Port Harcourt, Rivers State decided to zone the chairmanship slot to the South-West, Deputy Chairman to the South-South, and the National Organising Secretary to the South-East.

The new zoning arrangement is, however, favourable to Chief Bode George, who obtained his nomination form for the position today, August 5.

It also favours the former governor of Ogun state, Gbenga Daniel; a former minister of education, Tunde Adeniran; and Owolabi Salis, a lawyer.

It was gathered that the party's candidate in the 2015 governorship election in Lagos, Jimi Agbaje might also join the race.

ALSO READ: I will not step down for Bode George  AIT boss says

However, it is unclear if Dokpesi, who has not commented on the new zoning arrangement, would abide by the decision of the party's stakeholders. He had earlier vowed not to step down for anyone.
Speaking on Friday, August 5, at the 12 All Nigeria Editors Conference holding in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, the Governor explained that he and Amaechi, who is the Minister of Transportation differed politically because they belong to different parties.

"There is nothing personal. We differ politically because we belong to different political politics," he said. "We want peace in the state and it is my desire to ensure that the state is peaceful.

Wike also said that former president Goodluck Jonathan did something special to ensure peace in the country by conceding defeat during the 2015 general election.

"Jonathan should be commended for this single act. People should emulate this move to ensure peace in the country, the governor said.

According to him, Amaechi was his boss as governor and they had good times serving the state.

"We should make sacrifices for peace. The state must move on. We only differ politically and that should not be to the level that will destroy the state, he said.
In a report by the News Agency of Nigeria, the groups urged him to see it as a challenge to further serve the nation.

In their respective congratulatory messages, the Muslim groups described Oloyede as a seasoned educationist and administrator per excellence owing to his track records in the past public life.

The groups were Muslim Media Practitioners of Nigeria, Federation of Muslim Women Association in Nigeria, Muslim Community of Oyo State, Obafemi Awolowo University Muslim Graduates Association, Muslim Students Society of Nigeria and Muslim Consultative Forum.

In its message, the MMPN, through its Chairman, Abdur-Rahman Balogun, expressed appreciation to President Muhammadu Buhari for appointing Oloyede to head the troubled JAMB.

Balogun said: As you are set to commence this onerous task before you, we urge you to be careful of those who hail you and reflect on the criticism of your critics. Know that every failure is a test and every success, a trial.

You have passed the test of past failures and it is the wish of the Almighty Allah to try you with success. For every action, there is a reaction; for every opportunity, there is a responsibility and for every appointment, there is accountability before men and Allah.

In its message, FOMWAN congratulated Oloyede on his new appointment, urging him to use his past experience in educational sector to correct the deficiencies at the Board.

While rejoicing with Oloyede, FOMWAN in a statement by her National Public Relations Officer, Alhaja Sururah Oyero, called on him to fear Allah in his stewardship by being just and fair to all regardless of their tribes or religious affinity.

The Muslim Community of Oyo State advised Oloyede to accelerate pro-active reforms in JAMB to the benefit of teeming Nigerian youths desirous of admissions into tertiary institutions.

Its Chairman, Alhaji Ishaq Kunle Sanni, thanked Allah for Oloyedes new appointment.

Sani urged him to be wary of psychophants capable of derailing him.

In the same vein, Engr. Abdulwaheed Odeyimka, the National President of UNIFEMGA, described Oloyedes appointment as well deserved, putting the right peg in the right hole.

Odeyimka said as alumni with interest in educational development, they expressed worries on the policy summersault by previous JAMB administrators to the detriment of millions of Nigerian students seeking admission into tertiary institutions.

MSSN in its felicitation message signed by Mushafau Alaran, B Zone Coordinator, thanked Allah for making Oloyede the new Registrar in JAMB as he will bring his experiences to bear in reforming the Board.

You may need to keep sycophants at bay, and assemble the best, upright, God-fearing and seasoned administrators and technocrats to achieve the best for the Nigerian students, MSSN stated in its statement.

MURIC in its message signed by Prof. Ishaq Akintola, its Director, said: We rejoice with him and wish him a successful tenure. Given his wide experience in university administration, we have no doubt that he would bring positive changes to the national examination body.

MURIC advised the new Registrar to immediately stop all early morning JAMB examinations, which start by 6.30am, as it exposed young Nigerians to serious danger, saying the security situation in the country is not yet conducive for such early morning examinations.

Malam Idris Usman, the Muslim Consultative Forum Coordinator, urged Oloyede to urgently bring his wealth of experience as a seasoned administrator to bear to correct all the anomalies in the agency.

President Muhammadu Buhari had on Monday announced the appointment of Oloyede as the new Registrar of JAMB alongside 16 other headd of educational institutions in the country.
The lecturers, who made this known in a statement, also alleged that the issue is killing the morale of LAUTECH workers.

The statement, which was signed by the ASUU Chairperson, Dr. Oladele Olaniran, and Secretary, Dr. P.T Abegunrin, tasked the Oyo and Osun state governments to wake up to their responsibilities and release the 21 months subvention being owed the institution.

The achievements of the university in the past may not be unconnected with adequate funding, however the last time the institution enjoyed good funding was during the era of the duo of Chief Bisi Akande and Late Alhaji Lam Adesina as governors of Osun and Oyo states respectively, he said.

ALSO READ: Lawyer warns Governor not to sack LAUTECH workers

The statement also explained that the institutions have had to pay salaries with internally generated revenue because the states refused to release the require funds.

A university adjudged the in the country some time ago is now moving in the opposite direction of the glory, the statement said.
"We want them to bring back the original fares we used to have," said Simon Mutembei, one of the drivers protesting the Uber price slash.

"If they don't do this we have other alternatives. We have so many other platforms where we can go. Because I need to eat. I need to feed my family," Mutembei said.

He said Uber drivers in the country were considering signing up with other ride-hailing companies such as the recently launched Little Cabs.

Analysts say there are at least three ride-hailing apps in Nairobi alone and that service has not gone beyond Kenya's capital, increasing the scramble for customers.

According to a report by Reuters, Uber says the cuts were in the drivers' interest as it would attract more customers, also stating that it consulted the drivers before it cut prices.

"More people are requesting more rides with Uber," the company said, according to the Reuters report.

Uber cut prices per kilometer to 35 Shillings from 60 Shillings. It also reduced the waiting rate per minute from 4 Shillings to 3 Shilling before this recent cut.

Peter Mbugua, secretary general of the Kenyan Taxi Digital Association, which represents the Uber drivers, said that the drivers will be switching to Little Cab if Uber did not meet their demands.
Media reports say names for the positions of Executive Commissioner and Non-executive Commissioners of the NCC were also submitted by the president to the senate for approval.

Here is the rest of the press release:

"President Muhammadu Buhari has requested the Senate to confirm nominees into positions of Chairman, Executive Commissioner, and Non-Executive Commissioners of Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC).

In a letter dated August 2, 2016, sent to President of the Senate, Bukola Saraki, Mr. Buhari nominated Olabiyi Durojaiye as chairman of the commission.

Mr. Durojaiye, a former senator, is to represent the South West.

The president also nominated Sunday Dare as the NCCs Executive Commissioner, Stakeholders Management.

Mr. Dare will also represent the south west. He is an aide to a former Lagos State governor, Bola Tinubu.

Those nominated as Non-Executive Commissioners are: Aliyu Saidu Abubakar (North East), Clement Omeiza Baiye (North Central), Okoi Ofem Obono Obla (South South), Ezekiel Yissa (North Central) and Ifeanyi Ararume (South East).
Welcome to the Pulse Community! We will now be sending you a daily newsletter on news, entertainment and more. Also join us across all of our other channels - we love to be connected! Welcome to the Pulse Community! We will now be sending you a daily newsletter on news, entertainment and more. Also join us across all of our other channels - we love to be connected!
According to the report, 23 people are feared dead after two buses and a car plunged into the Savitri River when an aging bridge on a highway linking the states of Maharashtra and Goa caved on Wednesday.

More than 100 emergency workers in boats, helicopters and on foot scoured the site, looking for survivors and the vehicles.

"We have recovered 18 bodies until now, of which 15 have been identified. One victim is the driver of a bus," said Sushma Satpute, sub-divisional magistrate of Raigad district.

Constant rain was hampering search operations.

"It is raining heavily and the river is fast flowing, so it is almost impossible to venture into the water and track where the vehicles are," Satpute said by phone from the site.

Local police, disaster management personnel, Indian Navy divers and coastguard and Indian Air Force helicopters were involved in the operation.

State authorities have come under attack for the accident, given the lack of maintenance for the 88-year-old bridge, the Hindustan Times newspaper reported.
"What we understand so far is that they were planning to attack vital objects, busy areas including police offices," police spokesman Agus Rianto told reporters.

"We also obtained information that these suspects with one ISIS terrorist in Syria now planned to attack Singapore via Batam," he said, referring to the Islamic State militant group.

The six were suspected to have links to Bahrun Naim, an Indonesian fighting for Islamic State in Syria. Naim is believed to be one of the masterminds of an attack in January in central Jakarta, in which eight people were killed including the four attackers.
Sergeants Zanga Zoumana Coulibaly and Brice Toure are being prosecuted for disobeying orders and associating with criminals.

The charges relate to the pair's alleged meeting with Assane Barry, also known as Sam, one of the main suspects in the Islamist attack on the resort town of Grande Bassam.

Barry, a driver by profession, is awaiting trial in a civilian court on charges of terrorism and association with criminals.

"I did nothing wrong. I did not collaborate with any terrorists," Coulibaly said in court.

"I am innocent. I have nothing to do with this business, which is beyond me," said Toure.

When he announced the pair's arrest on July 13, military prosecutor Ange Kessi said they had lived with some of the attackers and had had conversations with Barry.

"It was a serious mistake, an error, a military offence not have to denounced the presence of the driver and this group to their superiors so that we could have prevented the attack," he said, stressing the two soldiers were not suspected of complicity.

On March 13, three assailants armed with grenades and assault rifles stormed three hotels in Grand Bassam, a resort popular with expats that lies 40 kilometres (25 miles) from Abidjan.

The attack, the first of its kind in the Ivory Coast, was claimed by Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb which has also carried out similar assaults on tourist hotspots in Mali and Burkina Faso.

The jihadists claimed the attack on the former French colonial capital was in retaliation for military operations in the Sahel region led by France and its allies.

In late June, Burkina Faso's interior ministry said around 10 people had been arrested in connection with the Grand Bassam attack and another attack in Ouagadougou that killed 30 people in January.
The attack was claimed both by the Islamist Ansar Dine and a newly formed group.

Ansar Dine is a mainly Tuareg group that controlled areas of Mali's northern desert together with Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) and a third local group in early 2012.

Although the Islamists were largely ousted by an ongoing French-led military operation launched in January 2013, sporadic assaults from desert hideouts are common.

"Following the tragic events in Nampala, a team of investigators was dispatched to the area. The mission concluded that 17 Malian soldiers were killed and 37 injured, and that six others are missing," defence ministry spokesman Colonel Abdoulaye Sidibe told reporters.

An Ansar Dine video had been posted online hours earlier, showing five men in army fatigues, and identified as soldiers taken hostage on July 19 during the Nampala raid.

Distributed by private Mauritanian news agency Al-Akhbar, the video shows the five men seated in front of a black jihadist flag held up by two masked men.

Speaking on condition of anonymity, a defence ministry source confirmed the men seen in the video were indeed five of the missing Malian soldiers.

The fate of the sixth missing soldier remains unknown.

Sidibe said some 500 additional troops and 100 military vehicles have been dispatched to the camp since the attack, which has been assaulted several times since 2015.

Malian President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita on Thursday chaired a meeting of the country's defence committee.

After the gathering, Defence Mnister Tieman Hubert Coulibaly confirmed six troops were missing, and said he had seen the footage distributed online.
The African National Congress (ANC) - which ended white-minority rule when it won power in the first democratic national election in 1994 - held a big lead in the overall count in nationwide municipal elections.

But it was trailing the opposition Democratic Alliance (DA) in Port Elizabeth, which it has previously held virtually unopposed for the last two decades. The ANC was also unlikely to make it to a 50 percent outright majority in the capital Pretoria and economic-hub Johannesburg.

A significant loss of support for the ruling party in these areas could mark a watershed in South African society and politics as the country shifts from what has effectively been a one-party system in the era immediately post-apartheid.

It could reshape the political landscape ahead of the 2019 national election, and may also embolden President Jacob Zuma's rivals within the ANC to challenge him.

The municipal vote comes as Africa's most industrialised country teeters on the edge of a recession after a string of corruption scandals surrounding Zuma.

ANC LOSES ZUMA'S HOMETOWN

The ANC lost Zuma's hometown of Nkandla in Kwa-Zulu Natal province, a personal blow to Zuma, where the Inkatha Freedom Party retained its hold on the region.

Many ANC supporters are switching allegiances to the DA, bolstering its attempts to attract black voters and shake off its image of a party that chiefly serves the interests of the minority white community.

With about two-thirds of the vote counted, the ANC led in the national count with 54 percent at 1630 GMT, against 27 percent for the DA and 7 percent for the radical left-wing Economic Freedom Fighters. Final results are expected by Friday.

The DA, which last year elected its first black leader Mmusi Maimane, was ahead in Johannesburg and in Nelson Mandela Bay, the area named after the anti-apartheid hero who led the ANC to power and which includes the city of Port Elizabeth.

Daryl Glaser, lecturer in political studies department at the University of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg, said he expected the DA to be the biggest single party in Nelson Mandela Bay but to fall short of a majority.

"In the case of Tshwane and Johannesburg the ANC will be the biggest party - but very significantly, it will fall below 50 percent, so we are looking at a major setback," he said.

"We are into an era of coalition politics."

The DA is expected to maintain its control of Cape Town, the only big city currently not run by the ANC, where it had a large lead over the ruling party.

By late afternoon, the ANC had a slim lead in Tshwane municipality, home to the capital Pretoria.

'BEST COALITION'

The ANC had 42.9 percent of the votes in Tshwane municipality against the DA's 42.7 percent after half of the votes had been counted.

In Johannesburg, the opposition party's lead had been trimmed to 42.09 percent to 42.02 percent for the ANC, with 40 percent of the votes tallied, while in Nelson Mandela Bay it led with 56 percent versus 38 percent, with 85 percent of votes in.

The DA had 69 percent of the vote in Cape Town against the ANC's 22 percent, with 77 percent of the votes in.

Opponents say defeat in a region named after the ANC's liberation hero would be an embarrassment for the ruling party.

"While the middle classes are upset about government incompetence and corruption, the working classes are economically frustrated by the lack of jobs  good paying or not," said Sebastian Spio-Garbrah, DaMina Advisors chief Africa frontier markets analyst and global managing director.

The ANC said it expected to retain Tshwane municipality but was not so sure about Johannesburg or Nelson Mandela Bay.

Some ANC backers said votes expected from black townships would eat into DA's lead in Nelson Mandela Bay.

"I'm still hoping the ANC will win," said Yvonne Mehlo, 38, as she lay out fruit and vegetables at a roadside hawking stand in Port Elizabeth.

DA leader Maimane said his party would "put the best coalition on the table" when asked if he would be open to sharing power in some areas.

"We've shown some incredible growth in these elections and we're quite excited about that," said Maimane, whose party has promised to help create jobs and improve social services.

"There is no metro that is a given at this point," said ANC Secretary General Gwede Mantashe. He said votes in the party's strongholds in Nelson Mandela Bay had not yet been counted.

FRUSTRATION

The Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF), which is led by firebrand Julius Malema, Zuma's one-time protege and former ANC youth leader is participating in only its second election and was running a distant third in the votes counted.

It is, however, winning some support from voters frustrated about inequality in country where black people make up about 80 percent of the 54 million population, yet most of the economy in terms of ownership of land and companies remains in the hands of white people, who account for about 8 percent of the population.

The rand currency and government bonds firmed on Thursday, boosted by the smooth running of the elections.

"Foreign investors will probably welcome the fact that reduced support for the ruling ANC has helped the centrist DA rather than the leftist EFF," said John Ashbourne, Africa analyst at Capital Economics, in a note.

Many South Africans who queued up to vote across the country said they were worried about Zuma's performance and the state of the economy, where one in four in the labour force is unemployed.

Zuma survived an impeachment vote in April after the Constitutional Court said he breached the law by ignoring an order to repay some of the $16 million in state funds spent on renovating his private home in Nkandla.
In new revelations from the leak of millions of internal records on offshore shell companies, the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists reported that the law firm Mossack Fonseca had created 12 of 17 companies through which the Milan oil services company Saipem SpA allegedly paid $275 million to win $10 billion in oil and gas deals.

According to ICIJ, a non-profit newsroom, prosecutors in Milan believe the Franco-Algerian businessman Farid Bedjaoui used the offshore entities to funnel the bribes to Algerian officials.

Mossack Fonseca, the Panama City firm which specializes in the creation of offshore companies, told ICIJ that its actions were both legal and several steps removed from the actions of its clients or their associates.

Transparency campaigners have long denounced offshore secrecy and banking as an industry which enables corruption and illegal plundering of resources.

Governments have also now joined the campaign against tax havens and offshore companies to fight tax evasion, money laundering and terror finance.

An Italian judge in October ordered Saipem and several officials to stand trial over the company's business in Algeria. The company told ICIJ it was fully cooperating with Italian investigators.

Bedjaoui, 46, lives in Dubai and did not respond to requests for comment from ICIJ, but his lawyers have previously denied wrongdoing, the group said.

Interpol has issued an international alert to law enforcement that Bedjaoui is wanted by Italian police on suspicion of conspiracy to commit to corruption.

Snamprogetti Netherlands, a subsidiary of Saipem, agreed to pay $240 million to US authorities in 2010 to resolve massive bribery allegations in Nigeria's oil sector. Saipem acquired Snamprogetti in 2006.

A court in Algiers in February of this year ordered four companies, including Saipem, to pay fines of between 4 million and 5 million dinars ($35,500 to $44,300) for corrupt dealings with the state oil company Sonatrach.

The court also handed down sentences ranging from probation to 6 years in prison to eight people, including former Sonatrach CEO Mohamed Meziane.
On Thursday, Zeid Ra'ad Al Hussein, U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights, said at least 217 cases of sexual violence in Juba had been documented during the period of July 8-25.

He called on President Salva Kiir's government to prosecute the perpetrators and urged world powers in the U.N. Security Council to take "urgent action" to halt violence.

Lul Ruai Koang, SPLA's military spokesperson, said the U.N., through the peacekeeping UNMISS force, should provide evidence that government soldiers were involved in the crimes, adding that they had not received any formal complaints.

Regarding reports of rape reported being committed by men in uniform whom the U.N. thought were from SPLA, why are they not coming forward with the evidence they have collected for us to act?," Koang told Reuters.

We need this evidence to be given to us that our men in uniform took part in the alleged crimes in order for us to bring charges against them," he added.

Fighting broke out in July between forces loyal to President Salva Kiir and his long-time rival Riek Machar, who has been replaced as his vice president.

Machar returned to the capital Juba in April after a shaky peace deal, but left again after the new clashes broke out, killing at least 272 people. He said he would only return after an intervention force is deployed to separate his forces and those of Kiir.

Machar and the SPLM-IO group he leads have been caught up with more than two years of on-and-off, ethnically charged fighting with supporters of Kiir.

On Thursday, Zeid, based on his office's investigation, cited two separate incidents on 11 July in which SPLA soldiers reportedly arrested eight Nuer civilians during house-to-house searches in Jubas Munuki area and took them to two nearby hotels "where they shot four of them".

Politics in South Sudan have long been plagued by splits and rivalries as leaders switch allegiances in a complex contest for power and influence in the oil-producing nation, which gained independence from Sudan only five years ago.
Turning the ship before it hits the iceberg
More than 6,000 people have been notified by the Davenport School District that their personal information may have been stolen in an early September cyber attack.
They spend half the year hunting for gold in the mountains of Arizona, and the other half camping along the Mississippi River shoreline in Scott County.

If youve recently spent a night at Buffalo Shores, just west of Buffalo, its likely one of them greeted you upon arrival.

Can I help you? a smiling Jackie Lawhorn, 64, asked Thursday, stepping out her 40-foot utility-connected Phaeton motorhome.

As volunteer hosts, Jackie, and her husband, Dan, serve as goodwill ambassadors for the county at the 65-site campground. Midway through their third straight season, which began in May and continues through October, they appear settled.

Clad in matching Scott County Conservation Board shirts and flip-flops, the duo spent much of the day relaxing inside their fully furnished and air-conditioned RV as the heat index outside hovered around 100 degrees.

Were the eyes and ears of the park, Dan, 66, said. Were observers, not enforcers.

The Lawhorns represent a larger group of outdoor enthusiasts  generally retirees  who call various county, state and federal parks home during the late spring, summer and early fall in the Quad-City area.

In Scott County, there are eight host sites  two at West Lake Parks two campgrounds (135 sites), five at Scott County Parks five campgrounds (240 sites) and the Lawhorns at Buffalo Shores.

Roger Larson, who manages Buffalo Shores and West Lake Park, said he purposely seeks retired couples and full-time RVers to fill the volunteer positions.

We look at them primarily because that is their home, and they usually know a lot about camping, said Larson, who returned the favor last weekend by hosting a cookout for the park attendants. We're full almost every weekend, so they keep an eye on the place for us."

Across the river in Rock Island County, Illiniwek Forest Preserve (85 sites) and Loud Thunder Forest Preserve (117 sites) each recruited on-site campground hosts this year.

Jeff Craver, director of the Rock Island County Forest Preserve District, refers to his hosts as the parks concierges, who have limited maintenance, cleaning and custodial responsibilities.

Theyre the meeters and greeters for the most part, said Craver, who noted the host at Illiniwek receives payment for seasonal administrative work. They're extra security, and if something goes wrong, they'll notify our rangers.

The Rock Island District of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers also enlists hosts at its six campgrounds in Illinois, Iowa and Wisconsin, including two in Muscatine County and one in Rock Island County.

Kelly Thomas, chief of natural resources for the districts Mississippi River Project, said hosts sell firewood and conduct minor maintenance checks.

Above all, interested hosts, who must apply, interview and pass background checks, should possess people skills, Marc Miller, deputy director of the Scott County Conservation Department, said.

According to Miller, they also should be willing to interact with, and educate, strangers and out-of-towners about the park, camping rules and general attractions in the area.

Theyre an eclectic group, but theyre good people, he added, referring to the countys current collection of hosts, who see a lot of repeat campers.

Guests can stay for a maximum of 14 nights at area parks.

"We dont have too many instances," Dan said. Generally, campers are just good people."

The Lawhorns, who retired in 2010 and lived in Muscatine before buying their RV in 2013, still consider this area home.

The couple enjoys their freedom, and their Mondays and Tuesdays off. They spend most of their free time with their daughter, grandchildren and great-grandchildren who live in Muscatine.

When October comes, they plan to beat the snow and cold temperatures by hightailing it almost 1,700 miles back to the desert in western Arizona, where they park their RV near the Colorado River.

While theyll spend a chunk of time searching for gold aboard their off-road vehicle, their duties should bring them back to the Midwest next spring.

We can live in any state we choose because this is all we have, said Dan, who doesn't own any brick-and-mortar properties, but maintains a mailing address in South Dakota. We wouldnt have it any other way.
1. After the storm comes sunshine

A good Friday to all. Some Quad-Citians are cleaning up this morning after storms rumbled through the area last night.

Downed trees and power lines closed Jersey Ridge Road and East Locust Street for a time overnight while about 2,500 MidAmerican Energy customers in the Iowa and Illinois Quad-Cities are without power this morning.

As for today, here is the forecast from the National Weather Service.

Today will start out cloudy then gradually becoming mostly sunny with a high near 82 degrees and a low around 64 degrees.

For the weekend,

Saturday looks to be mostly sunny with a high near 81 degrees and a low around 61 degrees.

Sunday will be partly sunny with a high near 80 degrees and a low around 63 degrees.

2. Locust Street reopens after downed power lines, trees

East Locust Street from Marlo to Broadlawn avenues is open one lane in either direction this morning after being closed to traffic overnight because of downed trees and power lines, Davenport police report.

Also, Jersey Ridge Road at the Locust overpass is now open after being closed overnight by downed trees.

3. Two dead in head-on crash near Blue Grass

4. Is there a sex offender living near you?

Check out the map, there's been a number of new additions since it was first introduced in April. Any sex offender that has either resided, or been convicted in Davenport will show up within a 10-mile radius.

5. What's with the 'big cow?'

A lot of people want to know the story behind the "big cow" that stands on the Mississippi Valley Fairgrounds, usually facing West Locust Street. It often has a sign on its side announcing an upcoming event. Alma Gaul has the story. Take your selfie with the cow and tweet it out using the hashtag #qclife.

6. A couple of car shows for car lovers

If you love cars, here's a chance to view a wide variety of classic vehicles this weekend.

 The Quad City British Auto Club is holding its annual Heartland British Autofest on Saturday in LeClaire. The event runs from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. when the first and second place trophies will be awarded.

You'll see some of the areas best examples of British cars from automakers Jaguar, MG, Mini and Triumph.

DJ Greg Zirbes will be providing British invasion rock & roll music and best of all, the car show is free to the viewing public.

 On Friday and Saturday, East Moline will be the site of the Main Drag Car Show & Cruise In. The event features live music, car show, inflatable fun, food and festivities.

Action takes place in downtown East Moline from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. on Friday and from noon to midnight on Saturday (with inflatables, vendors and music from 5 p.m. to midnight).

All of downtown 15th Avenue will be closed down for the event.
The League of Women Voters of Iowa (LWVIA) works diligently each year to register voters and provide candidate forums and VOTE411.org information to give citizens the information they need to cast an informed vote that counts.

Even as we celebrate the rights we have as citizens of Iowa, there are 56,000 Iowa citizens who are not eligible to vote, including 1 in 5 African-Americans. As we register voters each year, we often meet individuals who would like to register, but cannot because of a felony conviction.

These citizens are permanently blocked from voting in Iowa, even if they have served their time and probation. Across the country, most states automatically restore voting rights to all citizens completing sentences for past criminal convictions. Only Florida, Kentucky and Iowa permanently deny voting rights for life for everyone with a felony in their past.

The league was very disappointed by Iowa Supreme Courts narrow 4-3 decision in Griffin vs. Pate issued on July 1. The Iowa American Civil Liberties Union took up the case because Kelli Jo Griffin, a Montrose resident and mother of four, was convicted of a nonviolent offense in 2008. Kelli was told by her defense attorney at the time that her voting rights would be restored after she completed probation. This was true back in 2008, but Gov. Terry Branstad rescinded this rule in 2011 on his first day back in office. The change made Kelli and all other Iowa citizens with a felony conviction ineligible to vote for life.

There is a way to get voting rights back in Iowa, but the process is arduous. The governor reviews applications for voting rights restoration on a case-by-case basis. Applying costs time and money in acquiring a criminal history check and other information. The state can take up to six months to review an individuals application. Between 2011 and 2014, an estimated 14,500 people completed their sentence for a felony in Iowa; of that number, only 64 had their voting rights restored by Gov. Branstad.

It is important to remember the 56,000 disenfranchised individuals are raising families, working, paying taxes and trying hard to be reintegrated into society. We must be mindful of the consequences our law has for families and extended families. Doesnt it make sense that those who have paid their debt to society should be reintegrated in the most positive way so they can participate fully in the election process and demonstrate that involvement to their children?

After all, voting is an activity we do as a family and as a community. Lifetime disenfranchisement means in Iowas African-American communities, nearly a quarter of adults and many parents are deprived a say in policies affecting schools, taxes, policing and everything else affecting their family and community. It means that we are creating a permanent underclass in our state that our officials are free to disregard.

We would also be wise to think in terms of a family-focused citizenship. Children do not learn citizenship only in a school setting but by the actions and beliefs of their families. Why not have parents act as role models and demonstrate the importance of voting and citizenship to their kids? We should give them the chance to discuss political views and their part in the political process and ultimately vote. We should be encouraging maximum participation in our political process.

That is why the League of Women Voters of Iowa provided an amicus brief in support of Kelli Jo Griffin in Griffin vs. Pate. The brief set out the case for voting rights restoration as a way to strengthen Iowas democracy, while at the same time, improving the re-entry process for citizens leaving prison and returning to their families and communities.

The league is undeterred by the Iowa Supreme Courts decision, and we are committed to finding a way to restore voting rights to everyone living and working in our communities, either through a constitutional amendment or state law change.
Donald Trump got five draft deferments from Vietnam War service. Remember this as he insults the parents of a dead war hero, calls Vietnam War prisoner of war John McCain, now senator of Arizona, "no hero," and accuses U. S. troops of stealing money in Iraq.

To dishonor a United States veteran or their family is about as low as you can go. A man who has no appreciation for the past sacrifices of our veterans should never be in a position to order future soldiers into war.

I wonder if Donald Trump has ever visited the Vietnam Veterans Memorial and looked at his reflection in the black polished marble.

Alan L. Light

Iowa City
DES MOINES  Incumbent Republican U.S. Sen. Chuck Grassley announced Friday that he has accepted invitations to participate in two face-to-face debates with 2016 challenger Patty Judge, an Albia Democrat who challenged him to four debates last June.

Grassley campaign manager Robert Haus issued a statement saying the Grassley committee has accepted invitations to debates hosted by Iowa Public Television and WHO Radio. He said the one TV debate and one radio debate will reach audiences statewide and include broadcast, traditional print and digital formats, thus maximizing the contribution of their debate formats to Iowa voters who will cast ballots in the November general election.

Sen. Grassley looks forward to these debate opportunities," Haus said in his statement. "That is why he has always debated opponents in each of his past campaigns.

"In addition to being one of most accessible and open members of the U.S. Senate ever to serve, Sen. Grassley continues to demonstrate his commitment to responding to media questions, communicating with Iowans how he's working for them, and participating in campaign debates. This stands in sharp contrast to his opponent this fall."

Previously, Judge, a former lieutenant governor, secretary of agriculture and state senator, challenged the six-term GOP incumbent to four, live televised debates leading up to the Nov. 8 election, saying the two major-party candidates should hold televised debates in the states four largest media markets based in Des Moines, Cedar Rapids, Davenport and Sioux City. She also proposed a radio debate.

At that time, Judges campaign indicated the Democratic challenger already had received and accepted an invitation from KCCI-TV and The Des Moines Register to participate in a general-election debate.

On Friday, Judges campaign manager, Joe Fox, issued a statement indicating the two camps had a constructive initial discussion aimed at setting a debate schedule agreeable to both candidates. He said the two campaigns plan to have further conversations in hopes of announcing a final debate schedule next week.

Patty Judge continues to believe that at least four televised debates  at least one each in Des Moines, Cedar Rapids, Davenport, and Sioux City  in front of Iowa voters is the fair and respectful way for both candidates to convey their priorities for the entire state, Fox said in his statement. All Iowans deserve the opportunity to be engaged with this election in order to make a truly informed choice in November.
Deadwood History operates all of the communitys museums as well as the Homestake Adams Research & Cultural Center. The other two organizations receiving grants were the Heritage Hall Museum and Archives in Freeman, and the Mitchell Area Historical Society. Each will receive $1,333.

According to a prepared release from the state, the advisory board received a $7,932 grant from the National Historical Publications and Records Commission, and $4,000 of the funding was set aside for re-grant funding. The board advocates for the preservation of historical records, educates the public and records caretakers about the importance of historical records, and leads the historical community in preserving and providing access to the states documentary heritage, the release stated.
The Rapid City school district may be starting the fiscal year with millions of dollars in reserves, but school board members are reluctant to tap too heavily into those funds.

Instead, they want to save that money for a rainy day.

Salaries and construction projects remain high-cost priorities, and though much of the money is there for now, leaders in the district are worried it may not be in the near future.

Up-to-date numbers show that the Rapid City school district ended the 2015-2016 fiscal year on June 30 with a total of about $72.6 million in reserves. That is about 38 percent of the total $192.2 million budgeted for fiscal year 2016-2017.

The bulk of that money  more than $57 million  can only be spent on specific expenses. For example, the $2.2 million surplus in the food service fund can only be used to pay for expenses incurred by the districts food service program, and so on.

The only account that can be directed toward any use determined by the school board is the general fund, which has an excess of $15.2 million in reserve, or 16.5 percent of the $92.5 million budgeted for the fiscal year. In 2009, a citizen finance committee recommended the district keep its general fund reserve balance at 12 percent.

Assistant Superintendent Dave Janak has expressed interest in spending down reserves to get them more in line with that figure.

What, if anything, the district should do with the $15.2 million in general fund reserves will be the subject of future school board and public discussions. The priority in recent months has been people over paint, or prioritizing employee pay over building projects and improvements.

With a new superintendent and two fresh faces on the school board, it is unclear for the time being whether that philosophy will continue to steer the districts finances moving forward. New Area 3 School Board Representative Ron Riherd said he is unwilling to venture an opinion about how general fund reserves should be used until he has learned more about district finances.

For his part, School Board President Jim Hansen remains committed to securing better wages for district employees.

My personal feeling is we need to take care of our school buildings, Hansen said, but we need to take care of our people first.

But committing too much of the districts cash-on-hand reserves to employee pay, or any other purpose, is problematic for Hansen, at least for now. The school board president said he has heard rumblings that state legislators might attempt to repeal the half-percent sales tax increase that made it possible to give teachers raises this year.

If that goes away and it goes to a vote, and it doesnt pass, where are we going to come up with the money to pay our employees? Hansen said.

State Sen. Phil Jensen defeated Rep. Jacqueline Sly in the June primary election for Jensen's senate seat. Sly was a supporter of the half-cent sales tax increase, which Jensen adamantly opposed.

I think it was a factor of my opponents defeat in the primary, Jensen said by phone Thursday. He added that he has not heard of any concerted effort to repeal the sales tax increase. Sly was one of several lawmakers who supported the sales tax hike who lost elections this summer.

Rep. Lance Russell, R-Hot Springs, also said a sales tax repeal is unlikely next session.

The governor has got two more years, and of course he would veto anything like that, Russell said. So it would be a fruitless endeavor at this point.

Though he also opposed the sales tax increase, Russell added that the idea of using reserves as the exclusive funding source for teacher pay is equally flawed.

Hansen and other Rapid City school board members remain worried nonetheless. If a repeal of the tax were successful, reserves could by necessity be tapped to continue paying employees, Hansen said, provided of course that they arent spent on a costly building project.

According to Hansen, the district has about $10 million worth of facility improvements on its plate this year, some of which have already eaten into the $29.4 million reserves built up in the capital outlay fund.

According to district spokesperson Katy Urban, roughly $8 million of those reserves have been committed to several projects, including asbestos abatement, districtwide playground upgrades, installation of keyless entry systems, resurfacing of several district parking lots, and air conditioning upgrades.

The capital outlay fund is the designated source of facilities improvement dollars, but it is similar to the general fund in that 45 percent of it can be used flexibly to pay for whatever expenses the school board chooses. This year, the district transferred $5.1 million from capital outlay to the general fund to pay for increased teacher salaries. According to Urban, the district can flexibly use up to $4 million more from the fund.

School board member Sheryl Kirkeby remains opposed to using those dollars for any purpose other than building improvements. The state may allow flexible spending from the fund now, but like the half-percent sales tax increase, that too could change with the political winds, Kirkeby said.

If its not sustainable, then we cant do it, Kirkeby said.
Last winter when Americans were warned about the Zika virus risk in Brazil and other areas of South America, U.S. public health officials said the disease would arrive in the United States this summer. This week, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported 15 cases of Zika that appear to have been contracted from mosquito bites in Miami.

Despite months of warning, the U.S. is not as well-prepared for this bug-borne virus as it should be and could have been. Congress failed to appropriate funds to combat this public health threat before lawmakers left Washington last month for a seven-week summer break.

Back in February, the Obama administration asked Congress to appropriate $1.9 billion to prevent the spread of Zika. Thats the amount that the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases said is needed. The NIAID, which has been conducting Zika research at the Rocky Mountain Laboratories in Hamilton, said in June that research money would run out this summer unless Congress provides more.

There is no vaccine against Zika yet, but thats what the lab in Hamilton is working toward.

The Senate approved $1.1 billion, and the House $622 million. Then in a conference bill, House Republicans tied Zika money to cuts in funding for family planning through Planned Parenthood, defunding part of Obamacare and reversing the ban on flying the Confederate flag at U.S. military cemeteries. Senate Democrats refused to accept those add-ons. So theres no money for Zika this summer. Instead, CDC is using limited funds previously appropriated for Ebola response.

On Tuesday, the CDC announced it was awarding $16 million to 40 states and U.S. territories to fight the virus. The largest awards  for Florida and California  were $720,000. That is a fraction of the cost of lifetime care for just one baby born with microcephaly  the birth defect that Zika can cause.

Fortunately, Aedes aegypti, the type of mosquito that transmits the Zika virus, doesnt live in Montana or Wyoming. However, folks in our region are at risk for Zika when traveling to states that do have the Zika-carrying mosquitoes. People infected while traveling can also transmit the virus to their sex partners back home. Montana has reported four cases of travel-acquired Zika, including one in Yellowstone County.

When Congress left on vacation, the U.S. had 1,000 Zika cases reported, including 320 in pregnant women and three cases of infants born with Zika-related microcephaly.

As of this week, the CDC had counted 1,658 cases, including 433 pregnant women. So far, those pregnancies have resulted in 13 babies born in the U.S. with birth defects and six pregnancies lost because of birth defects.

Both Republicans and Democrats voted in favor of Zika funding, but they failed to overcome the politics of gridlock. Regarding the latest attempt to defund Planned Parenthood, this is no time to reduce access to contraceptive services. Women who may be exposed to Zika need to have options for preventing pregnancy. Lawmakers who balked at spending more than a billion to fight Zika should consider the billions that Medicaid will spend to care for severely disabled babies  unless the U.S. finds a way to protect them from Zika.
Founders of online drug store arrested in Moscow

MOSCOW, August 5 (RAPSI)  Moscow police officers have stopped activity of an organized criminal group, which was trading drugs through Internet, RIA Novosti reported on Friday.

According to police, in February of this year, the criminal gang organized an online store selling methadone drug. Access to the store has been severely restricted. After customers made payment through virtual currency, they received information about the location of drug caches around Moscow. Caches were usually hidden in public places: entrances of apartment houses or the first floors windowsills.

Alleged organizer of the group and three gang members were arrested by the police. They were all detained for two months by the Tverskoy District Court of Moscow.
Aeroflot appeals ruling in $6 mln dispute with Russian Finance Ministry in Supreme Court

MOSCOW, August 5 (RAPSI)  Air carrier Aeroflot has lodged an appeal with the Supreme Court against reversal of ruling ordering the Finance Ministry of Russia to pay the company 374.4 million rubles (about $6 million) in compensation for insurance payments, according to court records.

The Moscow Commercial Court granted a lawsuit filed by the airline on November 23, 2015. The Ninth Commercial Court of Appeals has upheld the ruling. On June 7, the Moscow District Commercial Court granted an appeal by the Finance Ministry and overturned the lower courts rulings. The third party in this lawsuit is one of the Moscow departments of Russias Pension Fund.

Aeroflot has filed the lawsuit to retrieve the excess payments it made to the Pension Fund under a law of November 2001 on the additional social protection of civil crew members.

The amendments to the law made in December 2010 cancelled the upper ceiling on the revenue base for the assessment of insurance premiums and increased premiums from January 1, 2010. As a result, the companies that already paid insurance premiums for 2010 had to make additional payments to the Pension Fund.

In 2013, the Constitutional Court ruled that the above amendments contradicted the constitution in that they were applied retroactively, thereby affecting air carriers financial position.

Following that, several airlines demanded the return of overpayments they made for 2010. In September 2014, the Moscow Commercial Court granted a claim filed by UTair seeking collection of 158 million rubles ($2.4 million) from the Finance Ministry. The ruling has been upheld by higher courts. Moreover, the court has ordered the ministry to pay 26.7 million rubles ($402,150) to Donavia Airlines.

On May 5, Chamber for Commercial Disputes of Russias Supreme Court vacated judicial acts of lower courts in a similar suit by UTair-Helicopter Services seeking 11.4 million rubles ($171,700), thus dismissing the companys claim.
Russian Antimonopoly Service finds Pobeda airline guilty of false advertisement

MOSCOW, August 5 (RAPSI)  The Federal Antimonopoly Services (FAS) Moscow Directorate has found advertisement of Pobeda lowcoster airline misleading, announcement of the service reads on Friday.

According to the FAS, Russian citizen has filed an appeal with the Service against Pobeda. Applicant claimed that the airline was distributing email advertisement, which stated that during special advertisement campaign tickets would be sold for one ruble, in addition to taxes and fees.

After buying a ticket, in accordance with all conditions set by advertisement campaign, applicant had to pay 2,999 rubles ($45), instead of one ruble.

The FAS noted that it asked Pobeda to provide information regarding amount of tickets sold during the campaign as well as information on date and time of the last tickets sold in this campaign. Pobeda was not able to provide such information within six months.
A series of predicted strong thunderstorms over the weekend will test fire lines and could put those fighting the Roaring Lion Fire back on the defensive with a blaze thats already burned over more than 11 square miles.

The meteorologist assigned to the fire, Dan Borsum, was tracking a weather pattern Friday thats normally more associated with early July than August.

The low pressure driving the system appears ready to park itself along the Washington state coast for a couple of days. Borsum said the system will draw moisture up from the southwest, which will result in strong winds and potentially powerful thunderstorm starting late Friday.

The initial onslaught on Friday and Saturday will bring dry thunderstorms that have the potential of creating powerful microbursts, he said.

On Sunday, the thunderstorms will be more organized and moving faster, Borsum said. Those storms have the potential to drop some precipitation, but whatever falls might come too quickly to offer much help for firefighting efforts.

Borsum wouldnt be surprised if a tenth of an inch, or even a bit more, of rain fell on the fire in a sudden downpour.

To be helpful for firefighting, we look for moisture to linger to make a better adjustment to the fuels that are driving the fire, he said. A quick rain like that doesnt penetrate the canopy. It may not do the job for us even if we do get a little bit of moisture.

Any thunderstorms that track near the fire could pack wind gusts up to 50 mph.

Our concern will be keeping the troops safe, Borsum said. There are a lot of burned trees on the fire. Those high winds could knock down a lot of them. In terms of making progress, progress will have to yield to safety for a couple days. Well do what we can.

Across the region, the potential for widespread lightning is creating a good deal of concern about new fires.

Chris Grove of the U.S. Forest Service told the Ravalli County Commission Friday morning the Type 1 team could divert some of its resources to assist with initial attack on any new fires that occur due to lightning strikes.

We dont need any little ones getting big on us, Grove said.

Early Friday, crews were taking advantage of the calm weather to concentrate efforts along the northeastern and eastern flanks of the fire to minimize the potential that it could spread in those areas over the weekend.

Crews were also busy working on the southern parts of the fire to both mop up the existing line and construct some new line.

Bitterroot Forest Fire Management Officer Mark Wilson told the commission that Stage 1 fire restrictions may be coming as soon as Monday.

The restrictions would prohibit any campfires outside of the designated campgrounds. People would only be allowed to smoke inside a vehicle or an area thats been cleared of flammable materials on national forest lands.

Wilson said the fire behavior documented on the Roaring Lion Fire has been off the charts.

Fire behavior has been out-performing the indices, he said. We havent been able to nail down why. It may be that the heavy dead fuel is a little drier than what we thought.

As of Friday morning, the fire had burned over 7,927 acres. The fire is considered to 15 percent contained.

There are 735 people assigned to the fire, including five Hot Shot crews, eight Type 2 crews, two camp crews, five dozers, 51 engines, 15 water tenders, and nine helicopters.

On average, the fire is costing about $875,000 a day to fight.
BEIJING - China said Thursday that the EU should avoid abusing trade remedy measures, following the European Commission's latest decision to impose anti-dumping duties on some Chinese steel products.

On Thursday, the European Commission decided to impose duties from 19.7 to 22.1 percent on cold rolled steel products imported from China, a second move to impose anti-dumping duties on Chinese steel products this week, the Ministry of Commerce (MOC) said in a statement.

The move will raise the price of related products in the EU and hurt the competitiveness of its manufacturing sector, the ministry said, adding that the retroactive duty collection "raises legal uncertainties and severely hinders normal international trade."

"China regrets these consecutive trade protectionist moves and urges the EU to honor its commitments made under international circumstances," the statement said.

Trade ministers of the G20 reached a consensus to stand against trade protectionism at a meeting in Shanghai last month.

The EU should avoid the abuse of trade remedy measures and "avoid sending a wrong signal to the outside world," according to the MOC.

China maintains that trade remedy measures should be used in a prudent and restrained way and voiced willingness to improve communication with the EU to properly solve the current problems facing the steel industry, it added.
FILE a In this June 7, 2014 file photo, relatives mourn by the coffin containing the body of a police officer Nityananda Goswami, who was killed in a rebel attack, as they load his body in a vehicle during his guard of honor function in Gauhati, in the northeastern Indian state of Assam. AP

GAUHATI: Officials say that at least 12 people have been killed and 15 others injured after rebels opened fire in a crowded market in Assam state in Indias remote northeast.

Top local police official L.R. Bishnoi said that six rebels fired automatic weapons and lobbed grenades Friday in the market in Balajan, an area just outside the town of Kokrajhar in western Assam.

Bishnoi says one gunman was killed by security forces and troops are pursuing five others who fled. Several homes and shops were badly damaged in the attack.

Police blame a faction of the National Democratic Front of Bodoland for the attack. The group is seeking an independent homeland for the regions Bodo tribespeople.
Kathmandu, Nepal: with the aim to include the agitating Madhes based parties in the government, the Nepali Congress and CPN Maoist Center coalition government is going to indorse the agreement signed with them through the cabinet decision on Friday.

According to a reliable source close to the office of the Prime Minister and council of the ministers, a Cabinet meeting is going to be held to provide martyr status to those killed during the Madhes Movement, compensation to the families of the victims and treatment to the injured.

A meeting held on Friday morning between the leaders from the Nepali Congress, CPN Maoist Center and the Madhes based parties have made the decision in line with the three point agreement signed earlier during the Prime Ministerial elections.

With the endorsement of the agreement, the way would be paved to include the Madhes based parties in the government. However, participation of the Madhes based parties in the government is not specified in the meeting on Friday.
KATHMANDU, Aug 5: The Nepal Student Union (NSU)  a sister wing of the Nepali Congress  has set the age bar threshold for election in its organization at 32 years.

The Directive Committee formed by the party for coordinating the task for holding the 11th General Convention on the stipulated time gave final touches to its statute setting 32 years as the threshold.

However, the provision will only come into effect at the 12th General Convention. The NSU is holding the 11th General Convention from August 7 to 9 in the capital.

The NSU will also mandatorily enact the provision of 'one individual one post'. If a person holding a position files candidacy for election for another post, the person's lower position will be abolished automatically, Union's Spokesperson, UP Lamichane said.

The student organization will now have three general secretaries among which two will be elected and one nominated. It will have one chairman and 13 vice chairs constituting seven from seven different provincial states, four from inclusive quota and two from nomination. RSS
Kathmandu, Nepal: The Nepali Congress (NC), the largest party in the parliament, which is recently the coalition partner of the CPN Maoist Center Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal led government, has faced internal differences to finalize the name of ministers.

Not only the dissident faction of the Nepali Congress led by senior leader Ram Chandra Poudel but also the leaders from the party president Sher Bahadur Deuba are also exerting reassures to the party leadership either to include themselves with selective portfolio or to their nearer and dearer in the cabinet.

The differences was exposed after Nepali Congress central committee member Shekhar Koirala, who is considered t loyal to dissident faction led by party leader Poudel, denied any portfolio except the Ministry of foreign affairs.

Responding to the party president Deubas repeated call to be included in the cabinet, Koirala had made clear that he would not join the Cabinet even if not given the foreign ministry portfolio.

Similarly, another influential leader from the Deuba camp Arjun Narsingh KC, also declined the offer of a ministerial berth. According to the source close to the party, KC denied to hold the ministerial portfolio as he had a demand for deputy prime minister with home portfolio.

The Nepali Congress will get 13 portfolios in the Dahal led government. Only two Ministers from the Nepali Congress were included in the cabinet on Thursday. As Bimalendra Nidhi already sworn in as the Deputy Prime Minister and home minister, it is likely that KC would not accept other ministerial portfolio.

The dissident faction is in the state of wait and see mood. According to the source, Ramchandra Paudel have a stand that his loyal leaders should get at least six ministerial portfolio.
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Meeting Kansans at Carolyn's Essenhaus in Arlington

Sawyer believes ethanol is a key factor of growth for farmers and the state
The first teaser for Christopher Nolan's Dunkirk is not about the stars of the movie (including Tom Hardy, Cillian Murphy, Mark Rylance, and Kenneth Branagh) nor about the external forces that left Allied soldiers from Belgium, Britain and France surrounded by the German army in France and badly in need of rescue.

No, the teaser is about the soldiers, the ordinary joes who were bunched up by the hundreds of thousands, sitting ducks for the German army.

This is only a teaser -- Warner Bros. calls it an "announcement" -- but reports indicate the movie's focus will indeed stick with the soldiers, waiting for rescue. Watch the video below and share your initial impressions. Dunkirk is scheduled to open on July 21, 2017.
The 20th edition of the Fantasia International Film Festival came to a close last night. Team ScreenAnarchy bounced back and forth between the two theaters, the pub and whatever purveyor of caffeinated drinks was open at our times of need. You can read all about it, the highs and lows, find every review and interview we did this year, right here

Now that the festival is over for another year it is time to announce which films took home the hardware this year. Fantasia does a wonderful job of really spreading out the love but Yeon Sang-ho's Train to Busan took home both the Audience Award for Best Asian Feature and the Cheval Noir Award for Best Feature as awarded by the jury. Not bad at all. Ever since it bowed at the festival those still sticking around Montreal have been talking about it non-stop. Other Korean features The Wailing and The Bacchus Lady also go home with two awards.

What follows is the exhaustive list of all the award winners from this year's festival. When you run for three weeks you have every right to hand out as much hardware as you want. Peruse for your pleasure and see if films you liked this year made the cut.

Montreal, Thursday, August 4th, 2016  Following three straight weeks of screenings, today the Fantasia International Film Festival finishes its 20th edition. The festival filled to bursting the SGWU Alumni Auditorium (Hall Theatre), the J.A. De Seve Cinema, and the D.B. Clarke Theatre at Concordia University, as well as the McCord Museum, la Cinematheque quebecoise, Place de la Paix in le Quartier des Spectacles, and at the Videotron stage at the Just For Laughs Festival. For the seventh consecutive year, Fantasia attracted over 100,000 spectators to a total of 209 cinema screenings, three free outdoor screenings, 11 virtual-reality films, and numerous special events.

Among the many standout moments of the 20th edition were 19 world premieres, including KING DAVE by Daniel Grou, this years opening film, as well as THE TOP SECRET: MURDER IN MIND by Keishi Otomo, GORAN by Nevio Marasovic, SHES ALLERGIC TO CATS by Michael Reich, THE UNSEEN by Geoff Redknap UN PETIT BOULOT by Pascal Chaumeil, REALIVE by Mateo Gill, KICKBOXER: VENGEANCE by John Stockwell, and SOME FREAKS by Ian MacAllister-McDonald. Also noteworthy were many sold-out screenings, including LET ME MAKE YOU A MARTYR by Corey Asraf and John Swab, IF CATS DISAPPEARED FROM THE WORLD by Akira Nagai, LIGHTS OUT by David F. Sandberg, I, OLGA HEPNAROVA by Petr Kazda and Tomas Weinreb, EMBERS by Claire Carre, TRAIN TO BUSAN by Yeon Sang-ho, PSYCHO RAMAN by Anurag Kashyap, TERRAFORMARS by Takashi Miike, SHELLEY by Ali Abbasi, and DONT BREATHE by Fede Alvarez, this years closing film.

A near-record number of special guests were present for the festivals 20th anniversary, including iconic genre directors Guillermo Del Toro and Takashi Miike, in Montreal to receive a Cheval Noir and Lifetime Achievement Award respectively. Fantasia is also immensely proud to have presented the inaugural Prix Denis Heroux to filmmaker Jean-Claude Lord, celebrating his exceptional contribution to the development of Quebecois genre cinema.

Almost 700 international guests, including some 400 film industry professionals, came to Montreal over the course of the festival and its accompanying Frontieres International Co-Production Market.

AWARDS OF THE 20TH EDITION

The Fantasia International Film Festival is proud to announce the names of the various award winners of its 20th edition. The festival's winners were selected by juries as well as festivals audience.

CHEVAL NOIR

The jury, overseen by Aharon Keshales and Navot Papushado (directors) and composed of Cyril Despontin (Paris International Fantastic Film Festival), George Schmalz (Film Outreach Lead at Kickstarter), Justine Smith (critic), and Marcus Stiglegger (critic and researcher), selected the following winners:

Cheval Noir Award for Best Feature: TRAIN TO BUSAN by Yeon Sang-ho

Cheval Noir Award for Best Director: Kiyoshi Kurosawa for CREEPY

Cheval Noir Award for Best Screenplay: E J-Yong for THE BACCHUS LADY

Cheval Noir Award for Best Actor: Franko Dijak, GORAN

Cheval Noir Award for Best Actress: Youn Yuh-jung, THE BACCHUS LADY

Special Jury Prize: THE LURE (Poland, dir.: Agnieszka Smoczynska) for being a timeless cinematic fairytale  an instant cult classic!

NEW FLESH AWARD FOR BEST FIRST FEATURE

The jury, overseen by Michael Gingold (critic) and composed of Grady Hendrix (author, co-founder of New York Asian Film Festival), Kate McEdwards (Oscilloscope Laboratories), and Nicolas Stanzick (critic and musician), selected the following winners:

New Flesh Award for Best First Feature (awarded unanimously): MAN UNDERGROUND by Michael Borowiec and Sam Marine.

Special Jury Mention: Lily Mae Harrington, for her remarkable, nuanced and boldly honest performance in her feature-film debut, SOME FREAKS.

INTERNATIONAL SHORT FILM COMPETITION

Le jury, overseen by Chris Oosterom (Artistic Director, Festival Imagine, Amsterdam) and composed of Heather Buckley (critic, designer, Blu-ray supplement producer), and Peter Kuplowsky (producer and programmer, Fantastic Fest and Toronto After Dark), selected the following winners:

Best International Short: A NEARLY PERFECT BLUE SKY (France) The Jury is excited to award Best International Short to Quarxx, whose visionary and ambitious short cements him as a provocative auteur that we look forward to seeing more from.

Special Jury Mention for Best Emerging Short Filmmaker: Tanya Lemke for STATIC (Canada) The Jury would like to recognize this emotionally charged parable on grief and loss for its thoughtful and confident filmmaking, announcing the arrival of a promising new talent.

Special Jury Mention for Aesthetic Innovation: ESTATE (France / Belgium) The Jury would also like to recognize Ronny Trocker's deft synthesis of compelling visual experimentation with a profound meditation on a pressing contemporary socio-cultural reality.

SATOSHI KON AWARD FOR EXCELLENCE IN ANIMATION

The jury, overseen Julie Roy (Executive Producer, French Animation Studio, National Film Board of Canada) and composed of Benoit Melancon (Assistant Professor and specialist in previsualization, UQAC/NAD), Alex Parkinson (Visual Effects Supervisor, Feature Animation Division, Cinesite), and Tamu Townsend (Curator of the Emru Townsend Foundation), selected the following winners:

Satoshi Kon Award for Best Animated Feature: PSYCHONAUTS, THE FORGOTTEN CHILDREN (Spain, dir: Alberto Vazquez, Pedro Rivero). For its originality and vision in terms of aesthetic, narrative and characterization, PSYCHONAUTS defies comparison. Combined with its post-apocalyptic atmosphere and audacious themes, it achieves a daring balance that is at once destabilizing and engaging.

Satoshi Kon Award for Best Animated Short: STEMS (U.K., dir: Ainslie Henderson). The jury universally loved this short and sweet animation about the joy and tragedy of animation itself. In particular, they enjoyed the unique rough style with lent the piece a tangibility and charm, and complimented the message. STEMS packs a lot of big ideas into a short run time.

Special Jury Mention for Synergy of Narration and Art: CLOUDS (Canada dir: Diego Maclean) The jury conveys a special mention to the film CLOUDS to underscore the judicious balance between its artistic direction and narrative. The story is well crafted and highly effective. It is upheld by a harmonious and delicate design that skillfully contrasts with the cruelty of the story.

BARRY CONVEX AWARD FOR BEST CANADIAN FEATURE

The jury, composed of Kier-la Janisse (author, editor-in-chief of Spectacular Optical), Paul Corupe (author and screenwriter), and Mario DeGiglio-Bellamare (filmmaker, writer and programmer), awarded Spectacular Opticals Barry Convex Award to FEUILLES MORTES by Thierry Bouffard, Carnior et Edouard Tremblay. The award is accompanied by a $1000 prize, thanks to the Paul A. Ray Memorial Fund.

The jury also presents a Special Mention to ECARTEE by Lawrence Cote-Collins, saluting an accomplished exercise in voyeuristic suspense.

PRIX AQCC (Association quebecoise des critiques de cinema) 2016

The jury, overseen by Martin Gignac and composed of Celine Gobert and Olivier Thibodeau, awarded the Prix AQCC to THE WAILING by Na Hong-jin.

PRIX SEQUENCES

The jury, overseen by Pascal Grenier and composed of Jean-Marie Lanlo and Guillaume Potvin, awarded the Prix Sequences to WE ARE THE FLESH by Emiliano Rocha Minter.

PRIX LECRAN FANTASTIQUE

Le prix LEcran fantastique, selected by Yves Rivard, was awarded to BEFORE I WAKE by Mike Flanagan.

AUDIENCE AWARDS

Audience Award for Best European / North-South American Feature

Gold  Tie between HUNT FOR THE WILDERPEOPLE (Dir: Taika Waititi) and UN PETIT BOULOT (Dir: Pascal Chaumeil)

Silver  THEY CALL ME JEEG (Dir: Gabriele Mainetti)

Bronze  Tie between KIKI: LOVE TO LOVE (Dir: Paco Leon) and THE LURE (Dir: Agnieszka Smoczynska)

Audience Award for Best Asian Feature

Gold  TRAIN TO BUSAN (Dir: Yeon Sang-ho)

Silver  TOO YOUNG TO DIE (Dir: Kankuro Kudo)

Bronze  THE WAILING (Dir: Na Hong-jin)

Audience Award for Best Canadian Feature

Gold  KING DAVE (Dir: Daniel Grou)

Silver  FEUILLES MORTES (Dirs: Thierry Bouffard, Carnior, Edouard A. Tremblay)

Bronze  tie between ECARTEE (Dir: Lawrence Cote-Collins) and OPERATION AVALANCHE (Dir: Matt Johnson)

Audience Award for Best Documentary Feature

FOR THE LOVE OF SPOCK (Dir: Adam Nimoy)

Audience Award for Best Animated Feature

SEOUL STATION (Dir: Yeon Sang-ho)

Audience Award for Best International Short

Gold  SNAKEBITE (Dir: Tim Hyten)

Silver  NO TOUCHING (Dirs: Adam Davis, Will Corona Pilgrim)

Bronze  LOURS NOIR (Dirs: Meryl Fortunat Rossi, Xavier Seron)

Audience Award for Best Quebecois Short

Gold  CARNASSE (Dir: Francis Bordeleau)

Silver  CAUCHEMAR CAPITONNE (Dir: Jean-Claude Leblanc)

Bronze  BULLSHIT (Dir: Marc Wiltshire)

The festival's audiences were invited to vote for Best Virtual Reality Film. This year's selection of virtual-reality genre films was programmed in collaboration with the CFC Media Lab. The section consisted of 11 titles, five of which were Canadian and six international productions. The Samsung Virtual Reality Award went to the short film KILLER DEAL from US director Anthony C. Ferrante.

Lastly, as part of the program of family films MON PREMIER FANTASIA AU MUSEE McCORD, a youth jury consisting four members aged between 8 and 10 years old awarded this year's Prix Jeunesse Mon Premier Fantasia to (SIMON'S CAT) A VISIT AT THE VET by U.K. animator Simon Tofield.

The Fantasia International Film Festival wishes to thank its sponsors and partners for their continued effort and support. For its 20th edition Fantasia was able to count on the support of 50 sponsor-partners, a dozen media partners, and 130 advertisers.

The Fantasia International Film Festivals 21st edition will take place in July of 2017.
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The years-long saga around notorious Chinatown dragonhead Raymond "Shrimp Boy" Chow came to an end today, at least until any appeal may get filed. As the LA Times reports, U.S. District Court Judge Charles Breyer sentenced Chow to life in prison, as was expected, and was ordered to pay $16,000 in funeral expenses to the family of Allen Leung, who was gunned down, reportedly on Chow's order, in 2006.

Defense attorney J. Tony Serra wrote in a sentence memorandum that Chow will require constant medical care for his asthma and arthritis, and continued to paint a portrait of Chow as an asset to his community who was reformed after a previous stint in prison. "By all accounts Raymond Chow has pledged to live a humble life, characterized by public service and community outreach. He experienced a true epiphany after prison and thereafter devoted his life to bona fide social causes," Serra wrote.

Per the Associated Press, the prosecution wrote in their sentencing memo, "Chow is deserving of a life sentence and nothing less because of his unceasing criminal conduct from a young age, the seriousness and violent nature of that conduct, his mockery of real rehabilitation, his corruption of those around him and those younger than him, and his absolute lack of any remorse even in the face of his most recent convictions."

Further, prosecutors said, "The government doubts that the court, with all of its years of experience, has had occasion to sentence a defendant with a more violent and depraved past."

It appears the judge continued to side with the prosecution.

Chow is expected to appeal his January 2016 conviction, which was the reason that his defense team, which also included Curtis Briggs and Tyler Smith, filed a motion to quit the case in June. They cited some "irreconcilable differences" with their client, but Briggs also gave a statement saying, "This is a time when communication just be seamless so as to win the reversal he deserves, [and] it is time for us to let go and allow appellate lawyers to win his freedom."

Chow was convicted on 162 separate counts, including murder, but also various typical activities of organized crime like drugs, sale of stolen goods, racketeering and money laundering. The FBI's five-year investigation into the Chinatown underworld also led to the conviction of former state senator Leland Yee on racketeering charges, and the indictments of three more players in SF's City Hall earlier last year on corruption charges.

All previous Shrimp Boy coverage on SFist.
A cyclist was rushed to an area hospital Thursday afternoon, following a collision with a minivan in Golden Gate Park.

According to the San Francisco Police Department, the collision occurred at 12:35 p.m. Thursday, when a 35-year-old male cyclist was pedaling along the 1200 block of John F Kennedy Drive in Golden Gate Park, which is near Spreckels Lake and perpendicular to 35th Avenue (or so) in the Outer Richmond.

Police say that the cyclist apparently lost control of his bike and "crashed head first through the back window of a parked minivan." A call for further details on the circumstances of the collision was not returned at publication time.

The cyclist was rushed to San Francisco General Hospital for treatment of his injuries. Though an update on his condition was not immediately available, he was reportedly in stable condition as of Thursday night.
San Francisco  something of a backwater, wouldn't you say?  will at last cater to the American aristocracy forced to do business with its nouveau riche.

"San Francisco needed a proper luxury hotel," John Vanderslice, the global head of luxury and lifestyle brands at Hilton Worldwide, operator of the Waldorf brand, confided to Conde Nast Traveler. Merci beaucoup, Monsieur Vandersomething, it is such a royal bore to stay at the St. Regis **expensive laugh** ...

The hotel will take up the first 21 floors of this SoMa mixed-use building at First and Eckert designed by London-based Foster + Partners. Hirsch Bedner Associates will be doing the interior design. With more than 250 rooms, a quarter of them suites, the hotel will also feature several restaurants. San Francisco could really use a decent place to eat, wouldn't you agree?

I think that Vanderperson put it best when he said, "This project is ground zero for luxury there." That DOES have a ring to it!

Related: Super Thin, Nine-Story Hotel Proposed For Harrison Street
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SIOUX CITY | While other stars of yesteryear might spend their days dwelling on the past, oft-described "father of bubblegum music," Tommy Roe prefers to live in the moment.

After a short retirement from music in 2005, Roe returned to the stage in 2012 for a three-show stint in Canada. The experience reinvigorated his love for performing.

"The audience is what keeps me going," Roe said. "As long as I have an audience that listens to my music and remembers my music, I will keep trying to do it."

Roe's music is heavily influenced by Buddy Holly as demonstrated in songs like "Dizzy," "Everybody" and "Sweet Pea."

In fact, Roe remembers the day the music died quite well. He was working at his high school's concession stand, the Shakedown.

"There are things where you remember certain things in your life, and there I was. They announced (Buddy Holly) died over the radio at school," said Roe. "I was devastated to hear that, and then later on I kind of took up the style of Buddy Holly -- rockabilly style -- and thats what got me started in the early 60s."

In addition to his music career, Roe appeared as a regular on the Dick Clark-hosted television program "Where the Action Is" for six months. This opportunity prompted Roe to move from his then-home city of New York to Los Angeles, where he currently resides.

Raised in Atlanta, Roe wrote his first song at 14. It began as a little poem about his schoolboy crush on a classmate named Frieda. The poem ultimately evolved into Roe's first hit, "Sheila," which reached No. 1 on the U.S. charts in 1962. Roe has sold more than 60 million albums, had six Top 10 hits and has earned four gold records.

Now, at 74, Roe is happily married. He has two daughters, three grandchildren and three great grandchildren.

"My granddaughter calls me 'the Justin Bieber of the 60s.' I dont know if thats a compliment or not, so I just smile and say 'yeah, I guess so,'" Roe said.

Although Roe's touring schedule is a lot less rigorous than it once was, he's happy with his level of involvement in performing for his audiences.

"I do music because I love music," Roe said. "I used to say 'I would do this for nothing -- but dont tell anyone that, because I need to get paid.'"

Roe has seen a lot of ups and downs in the music business over the years, from No. 1 hits, to oldies tours, to Beatlemania -- enough to fill a book.

In fact, he's writing an autobiography with the help of co-author Michael Krikorian titled "From Cabbage Town to Tinsel Town." The book is slated for release in September.

"I guess I made a lot of bad choices, but I made a lot of good choices along the way," said Roe. "And I think all in all, it's really rewarding, and I really enjoy playing shows for my fans -- the ones that are still around -- and its a real blessing to still be able to do it after all these years."
SIOUX CITY | In recognition of the Siouxland Community Health Center's silver anniversary and a kick-off to National Community Health Center Week, SCHC will be hosting "Rock the Center," a community celebration from 2-5 p.m. Saturday in the SCHC parking lot, 1021 Nebraska St.

A number of Siouxland non-profit organizations will have displays set-up, along with games and free food. There will also be a free rummage sale of clothes for infants, children and adults. The gently used clothes will be given free of charge to those who demonstrate a need.
SIOUX CITY | Candidates for a single spot on the Sioux City School Board can file nomination papers beginning Monday.

The seat is currently held by John Meyers, who was appointed to fill a vacancy created after former board member Paul Speidel resigned in August 2015. Speidel stepped down after a district employee filed a sexual harassment complaint against him.

Speidel was elected to a four-year term that expires in September 2017. Because the board opted to appoint Meyers to fill the vacancy, rather than call a special election last year, state law requires that the remainder of the term be decided by voters at the next regularly scheduled election, which is this year's general election on Nov. 8.

Normally, school board elections in Iowa take place in September.

Meyers, who retired after 29 years as finance director for the city of Sioux City in 2006, said he plans to file for re-election.

Meyers served on the seven-member school board from 2007 to 2013. He ran again in the September 2015 election but placed sixth in a seven-candidate race in which the top four finishers won seats.

He was one of five applicants for Speidel's seat last year.

The filing period for this year's school board election ends at 5 p.m. on Aug. 31.

Nomination papers for the seat are available at the Educational Service Center, 627 4th St., the Woodbury County Auditors Office, or online at http://sos.iowa.gov/elections/pdf/candidates/affidavit.pdf. Papers may be returned to board secretary Cyndi Lloyd at the ESC.
SIOUX CITY | A Macy, Nebraska, man was sentenced to 10 years in prison Friday for attempting to rob people at gunpoint.

Dacota Stabler, 25, pleaded guilty in Woodbury County District Court to two counts of second-degree robbery. As part of a plea agreement, a charge of second-degree burglary was dismissed. Stabler must serve at least six years of his sentence before he's eligible for parole.

On May 19, Stabler approached a motorist in the 200 block of Bluff Street and pointed a BB or pellet gun at her, pulled her out of her vehicle and got in himself before exiting without taking anything.

Stabler also approached a man in the same vicinity, pointed the gun at him and took his cellphone. He later entered a home in the 100 block of Bluff Street, threatened the resident and demanded cigarettes before leaving the house.
According to court documents, Gallaugher and seven others assaulted Bradley Coan, 22, of Waterbury, Nebraska, at about 10:30 p.m. June 22 in the 700 block of Riverside Drive. Police said that the group beat Coan with poles resembling those found on a chain-link fence. They also kicked him and hit him with their fists.
Todays top picks from our online calendar. Find more events at siouxcityjournal.com/calendar.

The Authentic Rural History of Iowa and the Role of its One Room Schools: Learn about how Iowans created the best system of elementary schools in the nation during the height of the Victorian Era noon-1 p.m. at the Peiro Methodist Church in Old Town at the Woodbury County Fair in Moville. Call 712-375-5177 for more informaiton.

The 24th Street Wailers: Experienced, road-tested and tougher than a two by four, The 24th Street Wailers will rock Fridays on the Promenade 6-8 p.m. Grab your friends, a lawn chair and head to the Promenade in Sioux Citys Historic Fourth Street District. Admission is $3. Chill out with food, beverages. Visit fridaysonthepromenade.com for more information.

Free Friday Night Swim: Enjoy a free night of swimming 7 to 9 p.m. at Riverside Pool, 1301 Riverside Blvd. Call 712-279-6903 for more information. Sponsored by Sioux City Fire Rescue.
VIENTIANE - China and Laos on Thursday vowed to promote all-round mutually beneficial cooperation as this year marks the 55th anniversary of the establishment of bilateral diplomatic ties.

The pledge came as Lao Prime Minister Thongloun Sisoulith met with visiting Chinese Minister of Commerce Gao Hucheng here on Thursday.

They spoke highly of the bilateral friendship and cooperation, stressing that they will earnestly implement the consensus reached by the leaders of the two countries.

They said they will make full use of the communication and coordination mechanism on economy and trade between their countries so as to further boost cooperation.

At the meeting, Gao briefed the Lao prime minister on the progress of the implementation of the consensus, and suggested the two countries accelerate the alignment of development strategies, expand cooperation in trade and investment as well as in economy in border areas and the whole region.

Thongloun, for his part, recalled his meeting with Chinese Premier Li Keqiang in Mongolia last month and sharing his opinions on economic and trade cooperation between the two countries.

Thongloun said he will direct the work of the Lao-China Joint Cooperation Commission himself so as to lift bilateral economic and trade cooperation to a new high.

The Chinese minister of commerce is here to attend the 48th ASEAN Economic Ministers' Meeting and related meetings,

Gao also met with Lao Minister of Industry and Commerce Khemmany Pholsenaon Thursday. The two sides hailed the progress in bilateral economic and trade cooperation and signed three cooperation documents on economy and technology.

Khemmany expressed gratitude to China for the support and assistance to Laos, saying Laos is willing to continue working closely with China to enhance cooperation.

As the rotating chair of ASEAN this year, Laos will also actively promote trade and economic cooperation between China and ASEAN within regional and sub-regional frameworks, she added.

At a separate meeting, Gao exchanged views with Lao Minister of Planning and Investment Souphanh Keomisay on bilateral economic and technological cooperation and the construction of cross-border economic cooperation zones.
WASHINGTON -- No one would mistake Roger Ailes for a ladies man, at least not without a fistful of dollars -- or a garter belt.

So emerges a fresh image of the man who created Fox News, the cable network known for its leggy, law-degreed female hosts. Ailes, like Hugh Hefner, knew that a spoonful of sugar helps the medicine go down.

Then suddenly, somebody squealed. Former anchor Gretchen Carlson last month filed a sexual harassment lawsuit against Ailes for making lewd remarks, including publicly announcing that he'd slept with three Miss Americas but not Carlson.

The floodgates opened. Another 20 or so women subsequently have come forward with their own allegations of sexual harassment -- going back decades to when Ailes was with "The Mike Douglas Show," as well as through his years as a political consultant with the George H.W. Bush campaign.

In interviews with New York magazine's Gabriel Sherman, several women told stories that contained strikingly similar details. One of those is the garter belt, which Ailes allegedly asked many of them to put on. One woman said she was filmed by Ailes after he insisted that she dance while wearing it.

The dance scene was described a few days ago in a separate New York article profiling Laurie Luhn, a former Fox News booker of 20 years who, despite having agreed never to file a lawsuit against the network, decided to speak up. In so doing, she not only has created a head-swiveling drama that has Fox employees variously stunned and disgusted but has created a sidebar debate about feminism's rules of engagement.

What is sexual harassment? When is a woman a victim and when is she a participant? What is the statute of limitations on intimidation? What is the line between perception and interpretation? Is a woman still a heroine if she speaks up only after she has tolerated it and professionally benefited while others were being targeted? Was she expediently complicit for her own advantage?

When "everybody" knows what's going on and no one speaks up, isn't "everyone" complicit to some degree?

Such questions are unwelcome in the television industry -- and on certain college campuses where they'll spark a protest faster than a military draft. You can carry a gun to class, but you'd better not present ideas that might make someone uncomfortable.

But ask these questions we must, not only for the benefit of younger women entering the workplace but also for the sake of feminism itself. Rallying to any and all women who claim victimhood, even in cases of complicity, damages the cause and credibility of those who are targeted for abuse.

If all that has been claimed against Ailes is true, then obviously there's no defense for him and his diamond-seamed parachute is further insult to his victims. Carlson's claim clearly meets the standard of sexual harassment even if she waited until she felt she was demoted before she decided to make her accusations.

Apparently emboldened by Carlson's move, superstar Megyn Kelly tipped the point when she reportedly told investigators that Ailes had made unwanted sexual advances a decade ago. Hold that thought.

But Luhn topped all with jaw-dropping stories such as that Ailes allegedly ordered her to kneel, facing him. She said he placed his hands on her temples and extracted a pledge to obey him henceforth.

Most women, I'd like to think, wouldn't have gotten on their knees -- certainly would never vow to obey anyone against their will. But Luhn says she played along -- for 20 years. Under what New York magazine describes as "Ailes' protection within the company," Luhn says she received cash payments, promotions, a $250,000 salary and, in 2011, a $3.15 million severance.

Last week, she told Sherman that her life at Fox was "psychological torture."

No doubt it was, but Luhn could have left at any time. As recently as last summer, having recovered from a nervous breakdown and an overdose, Luhn wrote Ailes a letter asking for help finding a job in Los Angeles. O, what a tangled web we weave.

This lurid, byzantine tale of sex, lies and videotape will likely continue to unfurl in the coming weeks, but the moral of the story is clear: Nothing, neither money nor career, is worth surrendering your dignity and self-worth, both of which will be questioned when you call quits on a game you agreed to play.
DES MOINES | Incumbent Republican U.S. Sen. Charles Grassley announced Friday that he has accepted invitations to participate in two face-to-face debates with 2016 challenger Patty Judge, an Albia Democrat who challenged him to four debates last June.

Grassley campaign manager Robert Haus issued a statement saying the Grassley Committee has accepted invitations to debates hosted by Iowa Public Television and WHO Radio. He said the one televised and one broadcast debates will reach audiences statewide in Iowa and include broadcast, traditional print and digital formats, thus maximizing the contribution of their debate formats to Iowa voters who will cast ballots in the November general election.

Sen. Grassley looks forward to these debate opportunities. That is why he has always debated opponents in each of his past campaigns," Haus said in his statement.

"In addition to being one of most accessible and open members of the U.S. Senate ever to serve, Sen. Grassley continues to demonstrate his commitment to responding to media questions, communicating with Iowans how he's working for them, and participating in campaign debates, Haus added. This stands in sharp contrast to his opponent this fall."

Previously, Judge -- a former lieutenant governor, secretary of agriculture and state senator  challenged the six-term GOP incumbent to four, live televised debates heading up to the Nov. 8 balloting, saying the two major-party candidates should hold televised debates in the states four largest media markets based in Des Moines, Cedar Rapids, Sioux City, and Davenport. She also proposed a radio debate.

At that time, Judges campaign indicated the Democratic challenger already had received and accepted an invitation from KCCI-TV and the Des Moines Register to participate in a general-election debate.

On Friday, Judges campaign manager Joe Fox issued a statement indicating the two camps had a constructive initial discussion aimed at setting a debate schedule agreeable to both candidates. He said the two campaigns plan to have further conversations in hopes of announcing a final debate schedule next week.

Patty Judge continues to believe that at least four televised debates -- at least one each in Des Moines, Cedar Rapids, Davenport, and Sioux City -- in front of Iowa voters is the fair and respectful way for both candidates to convey their priorities for the entire state, Fox said in his statement. All Iowans deserve the opportunity to be engaged with this election in order to make a truly informed choice in November.
The theme was Ignite your passion at Sage Summit 2016.

Sage CEO Stephen Kelly said in the opening keynote yesterday, At Sage we want to help you ignite your passion for business.

To help with that goal, Sage this year included several celebrities in the speaker lineup.

Day 1 kicked off with iconic entrepreneur Richard Branson on stage with Kelly. Branson said his worst moment in business came when his Virgin Galactic companys spaceship crashed in 2014, killing the pilot. But the team didnt give up. They worked harder than ever to recover from the disaster.

Branson also spoke about building his brand. Most of the ideas for his companies arose when he was trying to solve some personal frustration, he said. He wanted better flights to the Virgin Islands, so he started his own airline. He wanted to fly into space but knew he could never get there through NASA, so he started his own space company.

One of Bransons favorite sayings in business is, Screw it, just get on and do it.

A Glimpse of Sage Summit 2016

Sage Softwares annual conference for customers and partners is this week in Chicago at the enormous McCormick Place, credited as the largest convention center in North America. Sage billed the event as the largest gathering of entrepreneurs with a reported 20,000 gathered (Sage has 3 million business customers around the world). However, there were not that many in attendance live, so the number must have included people joining in online.

Ive been to several Sage Summits and this is the most energetic one I can recall.

Other celebrity speakers expected to address those in attendance include actor Ashton Kutcher and actress Gweneth Paltrow. Along with celebrity speakers, the event featured a variety of Sage partners on the exhibition floor. Included were companies such as First Data featuring its Clover POS system, as well as funding source Fundbox. One of the most interesting  and enjoyable  products at the show was the new personal assistant/bot called Pegg.

A really popular attraction was The Startup Van. Created by two entrepreneurs, its a classic VW van inside which visitors can be interviewed for YouTube.

I put together the accompanying 2-minute whirlwind video tour of Sage Summit 2016 for those who couldnt be there.

Related: Sage Introduces New Partner Program, Marketplace, Community at Summit 2016
SEO is similar in all industries and for all types of companies, but there are things that differ based on whether you own a franchise, a blog, a B2B versus a B2C company, and finally, an eCommerce website. Once you have a basic understanding of how SEO works, its important that you understand how it pertains to the type of company you own, and which practices best fulfill your goals. Creating a checklist is a great way to do this.

eCommerce SEO Checklist: 16 Things in 2016

Retail eCommerce has become an increasingly profitable industry with extraordinary opportunity for profit. When it comes to SEO, there are many things to keep in mind that are specific to eCommerce websites. Below is a checklist to help you get started:

1. Minimize load time. Nothing is more annoying to a customer shopping online than a website that just wont load. More importantly, Googles algorithm accounts for site speed, and a delayed site could be hurting your rankings. Believe it or not, this is in the control of the webmaster. Make sure that you are removing any unnecessary plugins, decreasing HTTP requests, and using external CSS files. You might also consider upgrading your website hosting (note: the fastest hosting comes at a cost).

2. Create something interactive and engaging. This might sound obvious, but its not as easy as you think. You want to put a lot of effort into making sure that you have an attractive website design, polls and surveys to get people to participate, interactive infographics, and a short and easy way for someone to sign up to make a purchase. Makeup giant Sephora does a great job of this by employing quizlets and virtual try-ons of their products:

3. Think mobile. This is not optional. Mobile optimization is an absolute must, because more searches are being completed on mobile devices than desktops. With the conversion rate of mobile searches being so much higher than that of desktop searches, its just plain unwise to have an eCommerce website that isnt mobile-ready. Accounting the mobile gold rush means creating mobile responsive ads, having a mobile responsive site, and making sure you have visible, clickable information and products. Learn more here.

4. Remember social media, and consider Pinterest. By now, most companies know that powerhouse platforms like Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Google+ are crucial when it comes to gaining clicks and visibility for businesses. But for eCommerce websites, Pinterest is an important resource that often gets overlooked. With a growing 100 million active users, the platform, Pinterest generates over 400 percent more in revenue per click than Twitter and 27 percent more per click than Facebook. Thats a lot of potential for driving sales (but dont skip the third checklist item, because about 75 percent of Pinterest traffic comes from mobile users).

5. Optimize title and description tags. Optimizing these tags with a keyword helps tell the search engine bots what your website is about, and thats crucial when it comes time to rank and index a site. Its also just as important to make sure you arent promoting keywords that people arent actually searching for.

6. Put your products on your homepage. Your homepage is a huge factor for how search engines analyze your site and give you a PageRank (not to mention its the first thing customers see). Good eCommerce SEO means having a product no more than two or three clicks away from your homepage, and highlighting special offers and deals on the homepage as well.

7. Keep page volume low. Also along the lines of keeping products only a few clicks away is site depth. A customer should always be able to get back to the homepage within 2 to 3 clicks. Try and structure your site with clear, broad categories and avoid death by subcategory indexing.

8. Start a blog and guest posting strategy. Now is the perfect time to create a guest posting strategy as well as a blog in order to gain backlinks and increase visibility. Doing so usually involves hiring a writer to pitch different websites and write content related to your niche. Adding a blog component to your website is also an excellent way to assert yourself as an authority within your industry, as well as share ideas, experiences, tips and more with your clientele.

9. Have lots of product reviews. You want to give your customers an outlet to discuss your product or service. Prospective customers look for the past experiences and opinions of your business and Google likes to see the interaction, so if youre getting good reviews, its a win-win-win situation. Plus, it never hurts to bolster the reputation of your brand.

10. Create a product compare option. This is one practice that works particularly well for eCommerce websites, because it poses suggestions to consumers. Its obviously great if your users are able to look at your products and compare them with others, but its also great for SEO because it generates so many internal links.

11. Apply rich snippets. Rich snippets are little graphics, videos or extra pieces of information that show up on a search engine results page. These work well because it helps to differentiate your results from the rest, and it allows search engines as well as users to see what your website is about without having to actually click because it gives a preview.

12. Use CMS systems. Companies are still ignoring content management systems (CMS) that work well and improve performance for eCommerce sites. CMS systems make it easy to update your products as well as add content about them onto your site pages. The most popular CMS system for eCommerce sites is Magento, which has nearly 21 percent of the worlds top 100,000 eCommerce sites built on their platform. You can learn more about CMS and how to get started here.

13. Optimize all your images for search. Make sure that the search engine bots know what your photos represent by putting alt tags in the images. It might not seem like much, but it does make a huge difference when it comes time for Google to analyze your site. It shows that every part of your site is important and gives weight to images.

14. Have an XML or HTML sitemap. This is crucial if you have a large eCommerce site (more than 100 items) because it will automatically update whenever you need to revise or change your products. Having to go through and manually update pages would be a tremendous waste of time you could spend improving other marketing/eCommerce strategies.

15. Keep URLs readable. You wont have to worry about the optimization of your eCommerce site if no one wants to click on the link that leads to it. Plumping URLs with keywords that can quickly indicate to the user what the link is about is a huge part of generating traffic. Refer to the image below:

16. Write unique product descriptions. Duplicate content is punishable by search engines, which is why you cant use the same product descriptions over and over again. Its also why you cant and shouldnt use manufacturer descriptions of products. An eCommerce best practice is to write a couple hundred unique words for every product description. Itll help your rankings by keeping content original.

See Also: Your 10 Point Checklist to Starting an Ecommerce Business

Many of the items included in the checklist will work for other types of businesses just as well as they work for eCommerce sites. Still, its important that you put these things on your list as a top priority for your 2016 SEO practices, because eCommerce will only continue to become more competitive.

Republished by permission. Original here.
Robert Gilpin, R.I.P. - The Washington Post : His greatest book was written in 1981, but the main theory in it is perhaps more trenchant now...
Labour  August 5, 2016  David Camfield

The Canadian Union of Postal Workers (CUPW) is currently engaged in collective bargaining with Canada Post. Unlike in previous rounds, the contracts of both the Urban bargaining unit (covering about 42,000 workers) and the unit of some 8,000 Rural and Suburban Mail Carriers (RSMCs) are being negotiated simultaneously.

Thats not the only reason that this round of bargaining is unusual. This is a rare case of a public sector union not only trying to defend its past gains but also to change the nature of the work its members do. CUPW is backing a visionary plan to transform Canada Post called Delivering Community Power (DCP) and trying to win some of its elements at the bargaining table.

For its part, Canada Post management  led by CEO Deepak Chopra, who was reappointed to his position by Stephen Harper shortly before the last federal election and then refused the new Liberal governments request to resign  is not proposing the status quo either.

Clash of Visions

The employer has proposed that all future regular employees in both bargaining units will have a defined contribution pension plan instead of joining Canada Posts existing defined benefit pension plan. On top of weakening Urban workers vacation entitlements and health and safety training, Canada Post wants to shrink the number of full-time workers with open-ended contracts and increase the number of part-time and temporary staff. It also wants the right to close any or all of the close to 500 retail outlets it still runs. It wants to eliminate Appendix T of the Urban collective agreement, which deals with service expansion and innovation and provides for pilot projects. This is an attempt to kill discussion of the DCP plan.

These demands reflect managements ongoing effort to make work at this federal crown corporation more like work in the private sector  above all, to make postal workers jobs less secure. They are consistent with a longer-term perspective of trying to privatize at least the most profitable part of the organization, parcel delivery (Canada Post has been profitable for 20 of the past 22 years, with first-quarter profits in 2016 amounting to $44-million  while letter mail volumes are shrinking, parcel deliveries rose 27 per cent between 2011 and 2015, thanks to online shopping).

CUPW is resisting the effort to roll back workers past gains. Its leaders have pledged to reject any two-tier proposals that would create worse jobs for future hires while not immediately affecting people currently working at Canada Post. As CUPWs chief negotiators have written, what about the next round of negotiations?  Once we open the door for two-tier pensions and benefits they will keep coming for more. This stance is noteworthy because multi-tier arrangements  which deepen divisions between new (mostly younger) workers and existing workers  and other concessions by unions have become common.

The union is also fighting to improve members jobs and expand the services they deliver. One of its priority demands is pay equity for RSMCs, who are mostly women and make 28 per cent less than mostly-male Urban letter carriers. It has a set of proposals to improve health and safety at Canada Post (where disabling injury rates are higher than in any other segment of the portion of the workforce that is regulated by federal rather than provincial government rules). These include ergonomic studies on new equipment and work methods, stronger overtime limits and a return to allowing letter carriers to carry mail in one bundle rather than two.

CUPW proposes to expand services by extending hours at Canada Posts retail outlets, restoring door-to-door delivery in the urban areas where it was cut under Harper (the employers plan to eliminate door-to-door has been frozen since the Liberals took office) and reintroducing postal banking.

In many other countries post offices offer banking services. Until 1968 Canada Post did too. One aspect of DCP  a multi-pronged plan backed by CUPW, the Leap Manifesto team and other organizations  is for Canada Post to again offer a selection of basic financial services through its over 6000 outlets. Postal banking would be particularly helpful for people living in rural areas and First Nations communities, few of which have bank branches, and for low-income people in cities, including the close to two million people per year who use payday lenders.

The aim of DCP is to make Canada Post the hub for our Next Economy, one thats moving rapidly away from fossil fuels to renewable energy. In addition to postal banking, DCPs wide-ranging proposals include replacing gas-burning Canada Post vehicles with electric vehicles, installing charging stations at Canada Post facilities to spur the use of electric vehicles in society, expanding door-to-door delivery, having postal workers help with community elder care, and making it possible for people to order fresh farm produce through the post office.

While DCP itself is not on the bargaining table, CUPW is pushing for postal banking and defending Appendix T, without which it would be harder to implement DCP.

Bigger Picture

What we have here is nothing less than a clash of visions for the public postal service. A strike or lockout in August seems increasingly likely.

What makes this set of negotiations even more important is that the federal government is now conducting a review of Canada Post. The report of the review task force could lead to major changes at the crown corporation. The strength of CUPWs contracts will influence the impact of such changes and possibly their substance too.

If the outcome of this round is an employer victory, the ripple effect will be felt far beyond Canada Post. On the other hand, if postal workers are able to make gains or even just beat back demands for concessions, the expectations of other workers  steadily lowered by a decades-long employers offensive and the chorus of influential voices saying that working people shouldnt hope for job security and good pensions  could be given a welcome boost. Success in achieving any element of the DCP plan could inspire activists in other unions to develop proposals for changing work in ways that both address climate change and improve society. 

This article first published on the CCPA website.
The gravity of the existential threat we face from Islamic Jihad is truly of epic proportions. It is essentially a battle pitting free-civilized man against a totalitarian barbarian. What is at stake is the struggle for our very soul - namely who we are and what we represent. The lives that were sacrificed for individual rights and freedoms that we've come to cherish are being chiseled away from right under our noses by the stealth jihadists. And many of us are in denial and totally clueless.



The left's appeasement and pandering to evil is nothing new. What makes their utopian delusions so infuriating and unpardonable is that it is not only they who will have to pay the consequences, and deservedly, so, they are thwarting and undermining our best efforts at resistance and are thus dragging us down in the process as well.







By Peter Lancz,, the head of the Raoul Wallenberg World Campaign Against Racism.
"All my life I'd been grateful to be part of a civilized society. And, until about 2005, I felt blessed to live in a true social democracy, where people willingly paid high taxes for a fine welfare system and liberal values.

"Sure, the sunshine and lifestyle played some part in our decision [to move], but the real reason was Sweden's changing demographics and politics. The radical, left-wing establishment became totally obsessed with multiculturalism and political correctness, which we did not need reminding had been part of Swedish ethos for centuries."



"There are constant threats against our staff. But more than anything, we are doing this because of increasing gang crime in Gothenburg; it finds its way into our hospitals and causes concern among staff as well as among other patients."



On June 7, it was reported that British citizen Grace "Khadija" Dare had brought her 4-year-old son, Isa Dare, to live in Sweden, in order to benefit from free health care. In February, the boy was featured in an ISIS video, blowing up four prisoners in a car (pictured above). The boy's father, a jihadist with Swedish citizenship, was killed fighting for ISIS.

"It was always the same pattern, I felt as if my mere presence were provoking them. When I lectured in big auditoriums, the tensions became abundantly clear. 'Damn, you are disgusting,' one student at the Porthalla school yelled at me. Then he charged at me."



"We have even had someone with gray hair, which makes it pretty obvious, I would say. Some are even older than the staff, and this might well put the younger children at risk."



"In direct connection to the physical assault described, Shido forced NN [the victim] to endure and perform anal and oral intercourse. The coercion consisted of Shido uttering death threats, pointing a knife at NN, and causing him pain by forcing him to perform the sexual acts despite the injuries NN had sustained during the beating."



"In Islam, there is a difference between friend and comrade. You can see a comrade at the gym, or you can work with them and so on. But you cannot do things that are not allowed in our religion. There are tons of things you can do, like have a barbecue together, but you cannot share religious values. You cannot celebrate Christmas or Ramadan with someone who does not believe. That is not allowed."



"As soon as these people throw out their trump card and say 'Asylum', the gates of heaven open. Sweden has gotten a reputation as a safe haven for terrorists."



"I see plenty of question marks here. We are talking about a group that has invited hate preachers and whose Salafist orientation is in many ways the very opposite of tolerance."



Ingrid Carlqvist is a journalist and author based in Sweden, and a Distinguished Senior Fellow of Gatestone Institute.



June 1: The Swedish National Council for Crime Prevention (Bra), released a report which showed that 11,007 people have been sentenced to deportation after being convicted of crimes. However, the report makes no mention of how many of these individuals have actually been deported. The number of convictions that include deportation has decreased, despite an increasing crime rate among foreigners in Sweden. In the 1970s, about 500 a year were sentenced to deportation; in 2004, the number had risen to 1,074, but in 2014 only 644 received this verdict.Not only are fewer people sentenced to deportation -- but more and more, those who are to be deported refuse to leave the country. In October of last year, daily newspaper reported that 30,000 people whose asylum application had been rejected and were scheduled for deportation, had gone missing. The police say they lack the resources to track down these illegals. Patrik Engstrom, head of the border police at the Department of National Operations (NOA), told the paper: "We put these people on the wanted list, but we do not engage in an active search for them. We wait for tips and things like that."June 1: On the evening of May 31, a man was pushed in front of a speeding subway train in Stockholm. The victim was a 23-year-old Swedish student at the Royal Institute of Technology (KTH) in Stockholm. He received skull fractures and lacerations, lost half his foot, broke his ribs and collarbone and punctured one of his lungs. Whether he will ever fully recover remains unclear. The day after, a 34-year-old Algerian-Swedish citizen was apprehended for the crime. The attacker, who was already suspected of another violent subway crime, was identified and caught with the aid of the general public, who recognized him from photographs published. He is now being held in custody, pending trial June 2: A Swedish Jewish family told the Jerusalem Post they have fled Sweden and taken up residency in Mallorca. Dan, whose parents came to Sweden when thousands of Danish Jews were rescued during World War II, said:His wife Karla added: "If you disagree with the establishment, you are immediately called a racist or fascist, which we definitely are not. At times I felt that this was what it must have been like to live in the old Soviet Union."June 2: Sahlgrenska University Hospital in Gothenburg announced that from now on, it would employ security guards around the clock at Sahlgrenska's three hospitals. The head of security, Peter Alverman, toldThe guards will cost nine million kronor (over $1 million) a year -- money that could of course have been invested in health care.June 3: Member of Parliament Daniel Sestrajcic was indicted for disobeying a police officer. Sestrajcic is a member of the Left Party, formerly known as the Communists. The crime was committed in connection with a tent camp of protesting Palestinians being torn down in Malmo, in October 2015. Sestrajcic, who was among the protesters, was initially accused of trying to kick a police officer in the head, but due to lack of evidence, those charges were dropped. However, as he refused to obey police orders and leave the scene, the indictment for disobeying police orders still stands. Mr. Sestrajcic denies the charges.June 5: Three men, sentenced by Falun District Court to four years in prison for aggravated rape in the town of Ludvika, were acquitted by the Svea Court of Appeals. The prosecutor had appealed the original verdict in the hope that the men would get a longer prison sentence, but the Court of Appeals said that which of the men had done what could not be proven. The three were therefore acquitted and the deportation order revoked.June 6: On Sweden's National Day, the Left Party decided to go out and congratulate -- not the Swedish people -- but the Muslims in Sweden who were starting the fasting month of Ramadan. Discussions ran hot on the party's Facebook page. One person wrote: "I hope you do not end up in the same situation as the Green Party . I fled from Islamists in Iran, and you are wishing them a happy Ramadan? My condolences."June 6: The staff at an asylum house in Ludvika was forced to call the police after a group of Muslims seeking asylum had become dissatisfied with the meals served at the facility. They complained that the food was not "Ramadan compliant," and the way they expressed their complaints apparently frightened the staff. The police report is unclear about exactly what transpired after that.June 7: It was reported that Isa Dare, a 4-year-old boy who had been brought into Islamic State territory by his parents, had now been smuggled into Sweden. The reason was apparently to gain access to the free health care the Swedish government decided to offer all illegal aliens in 2012 -- at the Swedish taxpayers' expense. The boy's 24-year-old mother, Grace "Khadija" Dare, was born in London. She was married to a Swedish citizen Abdul Ghameed Abbas, also known as "Abu Bakr", who was killed in combat for ISIS in an air raid in November 2014.In February, the boy became well-known when he was featured in an ISIS video, where he was shown activating a detonator and blowing up a car with four prisoners inside. Posing by the burnt-out car, the 4-year-old yelled: "Allahu Akbar!"June 7: Ardeshir Bibakabadi fled Iran for Sweden because his sexual orientation was not accepted in his home country. Last year, he held lectures at ten schools in Gothenburg, and in an interview with the daily newspaper,, he explained how hatred against homosexuals flourishes in Swedish schools with Muslim students.June 8: Three Somali men in their 20s, who locked a 14-year-old girl in a room and took turns raping her, received very lenient sentences -- and all three avoided deportation. Two of the men got two and a half years in prison. The third, who was also convicted of drug-related crimes and drunk driving, got three years. After serving their time, they will all be allowed to stay in Sweden, even though they are not Swedish citizens.June 9: A 19-year-old illegal alien from Somalia, who bit a police officer in the arm while being arrested, was acquitted by the Umea District Court. The court believed his version of events -- that he had acted in a state of panic due to traumatic memories from his home country, and "bad experiences with the police in other countries."June 9: For years, the Swedish media has maintained that all who claim to be unaccompanied refugee children are indeed children -- no matter how wrinkled and grizzled they are. The notion that many of them lie about their age, in order to get fast-tracked to asylum, has been dismissed as a racist myth. However, an investigative report by the public-service, showed that many are in fact adults, resulting in grown men being put in the same facilities as teenagers and children.Irene Sandqvist, Unit Manager at the Social Services Department in Helsingborg, told the reporter that, in her estimation, at least 25% of the "refugee children" are adults:June 9: Three young men, around 18, were indicted for a violent mugging attack against a Swedish man of about 25, outdoors in the town of Norrkoping. One of the young men, Abdimalik Hassan Shido from Somalia, was also indicted for raping the victim at knifepoint in connection with the mugging. The prosecutor wrote:The prosecutor demanded that Shido be tried for aggravated rape.June 10: Back in January, a female employee at an asylum house for minors in Ystad told an Eritrean " unaccompanied refugee child " that he could not play any more video games. The man, who claims to be 17, then put the woman in a stranglehold until another employee intervened.Despite the seriousness of the crime, the Eritrean received a mild sentence -- 35 hours of community service and an order to pay 9,720 kronor (about $1,000) in damages to the woman.June 10: Abu Muadh, the controversial imam of the Halmstad mosque, gave an interview to the local daily newspaper,. When asked why he has said that Muslims cannot be friends with non-Muslims, Muadh replied:June 11: Danial Rahimi, an Afghan who claims to be a 17-year-old "unaccompanied refugee child", was arrested on suspicion of child rape in the small village of Bodafors. After a month on remand, he was indicted . According to the prosecution, Rahimi pressed his penis into a young girl's anus several times, touched her genitals and buttocks, squeezed her breasts and bit them. He forced the girl to the ground and held her down while he raped her, hit her in the face hard, and tried to suffocate her by holding his hand over her nose and mouth. Rahimi denies the charges, but the prosecutor has a strong case, including DNA evidence.June 12: Riot-like unrest started in immigrant-heavy neighborhoods in Kristianstad and Uppsala. In Kristianstad, fires were started and stones thrown at emergency service vehicles. In Uppsala, the riots went on for several days, and a bus with people aboard was attacked with rocks and other objects that were thrown.June 13: Public-service reported that Tobias Lindfors, the owner of the Pite Havsbad hotel and conference center, has been making many millions from his lucrative deal with the Swedish Migration Agency. Pite Havsbad, known as one of the largest swimming and spa facilities in Europe, is sometimes referred to as "the Swedish Riviera". In May, the facility made news when a Congolese man seeking asylum started a minor fire in his room. During the winter, only 25% of the rooms were occupied, but according to's report, Mr. Lindfors still gets paid for housing 1,300 asylum seekers -- regardless of how many are actually staying at the facility. The Swedish Migration Agency has rented Pite Havsbad for four years (excluding two months in midsummer). According to reports, the Agency paid its owner 240 million kronor (roughly $28 million) for the rental.June 13: When a riot broke out at an asylum house for "unaccompanied refugee children" in Nassjo, two kitchens, worth hundreds of thousands of kronor, were smashed to pieces. The staff did not dare to intervene against the rioters. Instead, they backed away and called the police. Stoves, a refrigerator and freezer, television sets, dishwashers, kitchen furniture and dishes were demolished. The vandals also flung chairs around, damaging windows and doors. According to the police, the riot started because of "dissatisfaction with the food served."June 13: A 46-year-old Bosnian ISIS jihadi, considered extremely dangerous, was taken into custody by the Malmo police. However, as he immediately applied for asylum, the Swedish Migration Agency stepped in, took over the case -- and prevented him from being deported. Inspector Leif Fransson of the Border Police was quite critical. He told the local daily newspaper,Nevertheless, after a lightning-fast determination process, it was reported four days later that the ISIS jihadi was denied asylum and would be flown out of Sweden as soon as possible.June 14: The first indictment since the new law on traveling abroad for the purpose of committing terrorist acts came into effect, was a major setback. Attunda Municipal Court acquitted a 25-year-old man, who in the spring of 2015 bought a one-way ticket to Turkey, but was denied entry and sent back to Stockholm. In his suitcase, police found body armor, knee pads and elbow pads. According to the prosecution, the 25-year-old's destination was Syria, where he planned to join the Al-Nusra Front, fighting against the Assad regime.Mark Klamberg, an assistant professor of international law, spoke with the daily,, right after the acquittal : "If the verdict stands, my conclusion is that it will be very hard to win these types of cases."June 14: More and more Swedish police officers are leaving the police force. A feeling of physical insecurity, low wages and discontent with National Police Commissioner Dan Eliasson are some of the explanations given. The Police Union recently started the blog Polisliv ("Police Life"), where police officers can tell their stories anonymously -- giving the Swedish people an opportunity to get a glimpse of what it is like to work as a police officer in Sweden.June 14: A report from the Swedish National Audit Office (), revealed that the Swedish Migration Agency spent four billion kronor (about $470 million) on accommodation alone for the asylum-seeking migrants who came to Sweden in 2015. The National Audit Office remarked that the costs could have been lowered significantly, if the Migration Agency had worked more effectively and systematically.June 14: An exceptionally lenient verdict against a rapist from Yemen caused emotions to run high in Mariestad. Maher Al Qalisi attacked a 13-year-old girl, knocked her off a bicycle, knifed her in the face and raped her in a park -- yet, he only got 18-months' probation and will not be deported. Al Qalisi claims he is 17 years old, even though his Yemenite passport says he is 20. If he had been tried as an adult, he would certainly have gotten a more severe punishment. Prosecutor Jonas Lovstrom was disappointed with the verdict: "It is my firm belief that he is older than 21."June 15: The number of threats reported at Swedish Migration Agency offices has more than doubled over the last year -- from 94 to 216. Mostly, the threats are directed at agency employees, or concern asylum seekers who act generally threatening.June 15: According to Swedish law, religious elements are not allowed in Swedish public schools. However, the Muslim students at the Bikupan School in Lessebo have their own prayer room. Teacher Veronica Wilhelmsen explained to public-servicehow this came to be: "They need to feel they can practice their religion here in Sweden and at the school, otherwise they might not come to school at all."June 15: The Swedish Agency for Youth and Civil Society ( made public which organizations had received the government grants of 212 million kronor (about $25 million) handed out in 2016. The grants are supposed to go to children's and youth organizations, but aside from municipalities getting money for summer holiday activities, most of the grants go to organizations claiming to work with antiracism, LGBT-issues and against "islamophobia".It turned out that a very controversial group, United Muslims of Sweden (, SFM), was granted over half a million kronor ($55,000). SFM has time and again been associated with extremism and hate speech against homosexuals, but argues that the money is to be used to fight racism and intolerance. Terrorism expert and scholar Magnus Ranstorp told the daily newspaper,June 17: Malmo is one of Sweden's most attractive places to live for migrants. There is an acute housing shortage, but the municipality has nonetheless decided to prioritize the so-called "newly arrived Swedes", and has therefore decided to purchase 56 apartments to accommodate the new arrivals. The Sweden Democrats party raged against the decision, and opined that it would be better to send most of the migrants home , since most of them live isolated from the rest of society anyway.June 20: An Afghan family in Landskrona refused to accept that their daughter had a boyfriend. So they made her marry a relative in their home country -- and violently abducted the boyfriend. Three people have now been indicted for forced marriage, battery, robbery and kidnapping. "The motive behind all these crimes," Prosecutor Ulrika Ekvall explained, "was to restore the family honor."June 20: The Swedish EU news website reported that in no other EU country has the number of asylum applications decreased so much as in Sweden. In the last quarter of 2015, close to 88,000 asylum applications were filed, but in the first quarter of 2016, only 8,000  a 90% drop. The reduction is mainly due to Sweden implementing border controls, as well as identification checks on the Danish side. Germany, which still has no border controls with its neighboring EU countries, on the other hand, saw an increase of asylum applications during the first quarter of 2016, compared to the last quarter of 2015.June 21: A 30-year-old woman was arrested , suspected of murdering a five-month-old baby at an asylum house in Sunne. The woman is not the baby's mother, but is said to have "ties to the child." A few days later, a 20-year-old Somali man was also arrested in the case, and the two have since been held in custody.June 21: The Green Party laid out a new plan of action to ensure that the party is never again infiltrated by Islamists . The plan presents five focal points. The party had enlisted the help of a Swedish Defense University scholar, Lars Nicander, who claimed that the party had been infiltrated by Islamists long before anyone knew what was going on. The Greens will also initiate a broad discussion about values, including the differences between Swedish leftist liberal equality values and Islam's view of women.June 21: Four people were indicted for attacking two police officers in the Hassleholmen neighborhood of Boras. Some 50 people surrounded the officers, while a man carrying a knife crept up beside them and stabbed one of them. It all started as a simple traffic stop for a moped, but things quickly got out of hand when more and more people showed up. A man kicked one of the officers in the chest, and stabbed another one. The female police officer who was stabbed said: "I thought he was aiming to kill me, that is what he wants."June 22: A 38-year-old man was charged, for the murder of a 16-year-old girl who came to Sweden as an "unaccompanied refugee child" in the fall of 2015. In March, she was reported missing, and in May her body was found in a wooded area in southern Stockholm. According to the daily, Aftonbladet , the man, who was 22 years her senior, was married to the girl.June 22: Triple-murderer Martin Saliba, who was sentencedto life in prison in January, will not be extradited to Sweden from his old home country, Lebanon. One early March morning last year, two joggers in Uddevalla found two dead men lying on the ground and a dead woman in a car -- all shot several times at point-blank range.Martin Saliba, 22, and his brother Mark, 23, were charged with the murders. Mark was sentenced to life in prison, but the Municipal Court did not think there was sufficient evidence to convict Martin, and so acquitted him. He was therefore at liberty when the case went to the Court of Appeals. On the last day of trial, he failed to show up, and was subsequently placed on the international wanted list after the verdict of life in prison was announced. Now, it seems, he has relocated to Lebanon. As Lebanon does not extradite its citizens, he can live there as a free man.June 23: Four men and a woman, all Syrians, were indicted at the Sundsvall Municipal Court for kidnapping, severely beating and sexually abusing a man. The man was attacked in a parking lot and for twelve hours driven around in a car. The motive behind the crimes is unclear, but according to local papers, they may be related to business deals gone wrong between the victim and his assailants. The prosecutor has asked for deportation of all the suspects, if convicted.June 26: A 20-year-old woman was found dead at an asylum house near Jonkoping. A 24-year-old man has been arrested, on suspicion of murder. The man confessed to his involvement in the crime; according to his lawyer , the motive was anger over infidelity.June 26: The Ostersund police department admitted that the many sexual attacks against women in the town in February and March of this year, were mostly committed by "asylum seeking youths." When the rapists were most active, the police put out a warning to women not to go outside alone evenings and nights. The local chief of police, Stephen Jerand, told the daily,: "When we take in people who are fleeing, it is important to inform them early on about what the rules are in Sweden, and that said rules also apply to women."June 26: A 25-year-old Afghan was arrested at an asylum house in Mariannelund for the murder of his 22-year-old wife According to reports, after the murder the man ran out onto the front lawn, shouting that he had strangled his wife to death. The couple had a 3-year-old child.June 27: A Muslim man attacked the St. Pauli church in Malmo. He broke several windows, and when the police arrived, he was at the top of the church, shouting "Allahu Akbar!" He then tried to attack police officers with a wooden cudgel. The man is now suspected of inflicting gross damage, also may be charged for hate crimes.June 27: Two 24-year-old men of foreign descent were convicted of a series of aggravated robberies against students in Malmo. Several of the victims were held at knifepoint for hours while the robbers emptied their homes and bank accounts. Mahad Munyo Mohamed, who was sentenced to 3.5 years in prison, is a Somali citizen, and Hassan Murtadha Mohammed Hassan, who was sentenced to five years in prison, is a Swedish citizen.June 28: The much-criticized National Police Commissioner, Dan Eliasson, launched a new campaign to put a stop to the gropings and rapes at music festivals: Bracelets with the words "Do not grope" printed on them. The bracelets will be distributed at festivals, and according to Eliasson, "turn a spotlight on this issue and encourage those affected to report the crime." Considering that in May, the police's own Department of National Operations (NOA) published a report that clearly states that 80% of the perpetrators are of foreign descent, many found the notion of bracelets with text in Swedish printed on them somewhat puzzling.June 28: An Eritrean, who raped a Swedish woman in a public restroom in Sundsvall, gets to stay in Sweden after being sentenced to one year and four months in prison. The Swedish Migration Agency apparently did not feel he could be sent back to his home country. The mild sentence was given because he claimed to be only 19-years-old.
Dr. Donnas Pet Foundation, a Tri-County 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, was recently launched in Broward County. It focuses on animal advocacy and the prevention of needless deaths of thousands of animals in our county shelters and city streets.

Dr. Donna Watson, a well-known and respected Fort Lauderdale chiropractor in practice for over 21 years, founded the organization.

Ive been an animal person my whole life, said Watson, whos personal experiences of adopting two rescue dogs from shelters opened her eyes to the problem of over population of dogs and cats here in South Florida, and the inadequate existing measures to reduce it.

When I realized what was happening and how many dogs and cats were being euthanized in our shelters and how our rescue partners who desperately try to keep up their intake and are unable to do so due to expenses and lack of fosters, I thought there has to be a better way, Watson said.

The problem, Watson said, is overpopulation of strays in the Tri-County area. In some parts of South Florida especially the Everglades and the Redlands in South Miami local residents dump their dogs there to fend for themselves or die as they cannot take care of them.

Related: Pets to be Used to Curtail Park Sex

The first part of fixing that problem is education of the citizens there through out reach programs in these impoverished areas. Spay and neutering these animals can greatly reduce the ever growing population and abandonment there.

One step in solving this is educating the area residents that there are other alternatives other then dumping them out there, and secondly, how spay and neutering can greatly reduce the growth cycle. We want to bring both the educational materials and mobile vans into those populated areas and pay for the costs so the residents will come and get these services.

However, Watson says, The problem is so large that we need to address it from several fronts at the same time. We can say we want the county shelters to become No-Kill facilities but the reality is at this time it is not possible due to the mass numbers of incoming animals. So if we can make headway by adding more channels of distribution of these animals coming in there we may have a chance to begin to win that fight. I will tell you that both Broward County and Miami Dade directors want nothing more then to fulfill that ultimate dream. They are both trying everything, there is just too many incoming animals. Passing the ordinance of The Puppy Mill Ban, here in Broward County and in Dade County will help with this.

Fifteen cities in Broward have passed it but the actual Broward County commission recently refused to pass it. By doing so it mandates that pet stores who sell dogs and cats would have to sell shelter animals instead of buying their dogs many who are sick, from these puppy mills who mass produce breeds in abusive and in inhumane conditions.

Our biggest immediate goal to lessen this over population, she says.

Related: Gay Couple Loses Home & Pets in Fire They Say is a Hate Crime

One of the foundations most important goals is to begin an organized transport system of our over crowed shelter animals to the northern parts of Florida and up the Eastern Seaboard to recognized 501(c)(3) rescues and non kill shelters that have the space to take them in.

We already have a volunteer army of transport volunteers in place in every state that will help in short distance runs, but this larger effort needs to have a coordinated effort between approved rescues and shelters along these northern states, and our shelters. It will be an initial expense in purchasing transport vans but we have some ideas on how to raise that money. It will save thousands of lives so it is well worth it.

Of course private and corporate donations are the backbone of any charity. And so Watson is out to make a difference. Her foundation got off to a rousing start last week with a fundraiser at Mod Lounge in Fort Lauderdale. The event raised over $2,000 dollars for the foundation and saw participation by Fort Lauderdale Police Sgt. Jack Lokinsky, photographer Dennis Dean, and Lori Tanner who served as celebrity participants for the evening. On the foundations website, a simple message is written across the top:

No pet should be without a home, and no human heart should be without the unconditional love that having one brings.

Watsons foundation is hoping to reduce euthanasia numbers in Broward that were posted by the Broward County Animal Control which in 2015, reported a total of 5,800 dogs and cats that were euthanized in their facility and 2,900 dogs and cats in the Miami Dade County Shelter. Broward Humane Societys numbers of euthanasia were not known at this time of publication.

The foundation is strictly a volunteer organization with all profits going to further the mission. Donations can be made on the Facebook page or website. Facebook page: www.Facebook.com/drdonnaspetfoundation5

To learn more about how you can help Dr. Donnas Pet Foundation, visit www.DrDonnasPetFoundation.org or call 1-844-PET-HOME. The office is located at 2034 East Oakland Park Blvd., Fort Lauderdale, 33306. Please like the Facebook page and follow her on Twitter and Instagram.
The conventional thinking on supporting libertarians and other third parties is that its a wasted vote. That it wont matter because most voters back either the Republican or Democratic candidate, from the state legislature to the presidency.

But on Aug. 30, voting libertarian will definitely matter in the Libertarian Party of Floridas [LPF] primary for the U.S. Senate.

Two candidates running to become the U.S. Senate nominee for the LPF are Orlando attorney Augustus Invictus and Paul Stanton, a computer programmer and U.S. Army Iraq war veteran who lives in DeLand.

Much like Democratic and Republican primary opponents often share many of the same views, Invictus and Stanton both agree on many issues.

Both of them want to stop the war on drugs, end military interventionism and cut government spending. Stanton has proposed eliminating taxes on businesses with annual revenues of less than $500,000. Invictus wants to repeal the individual income tax and abolish the IRS.

The winner will face off against the winner of the Democratic and Republican primaries along with two candidates with no party affiliation and six write-in candidates. Whichever LPF candidate wins, theyll be facing a huge deficit in registered voters.

In Broward, there are 1,168 registered Libertarians, 241,551 Republicans and 554,036 Democrats. Throughout the state, there are a total of 23,513 registered Libertarians, 4.2 million Republicans and 4.5 million Democrats. No libertarian has ever represented Florida in the U.S. Senate and the major parties have controlled both Senate seats since 1855.

But the Libertarian Party of Broward County is undeterred.

In a statement released on July 21, they endorsed Stanton for president.

It is a wonderful time to be a Libertarian not only here in Florida but across the United States. This year for the first time ever, a primary is being held for a U.S. Senate seat outside of the democrat and Republican Party. It's important during any election to have the right candidate deliver a message that will resonate with all voters. And without question we find Paul Stanton's message of peace, fiscal responsibility and civil liberties to be not just what Broward County needs, but the state of Florida as well. It seems very clear now who the other nominees will be and the Libertarian Party of Broward County feels Paul Stanton to be best candidate to oppose the main party candidates.

James Oaksun, a gay Fort Lauderdale resident, who is a former national treasurer of the Libertarian National Committee, is also encouraged to see Stanton's Senate run.

"Especially in states like Florida, where ballot access is not that difficult, Libertarians need to run more quality candidates. Hopefully the success that Gary Johnson is having at the top of the ticket will encourage more people like Paul to step forward in 2018."

When it comes to LGBT rights the Libertarian Party has been way ahead of the curve. In 1972 John Hospers became the first openly gay man to run for president of the U.S. as the Libertarian Partys nominee and the party itself supported gay rights. In 1976 the party came out in favor of full marriage equality.

"Our presidential candidate, Gary Johnson, said it best. In the Libertarian Party, we have 'really wonderful, well meaning, well spoken people, Oaksun said. And then people that are just batshit crazy.'"

The last day to register for the Aug. 30 primary is Aug. 1. Oct. 11 is the last day to register for the general election on Nov. 8.
Tracking pollution NASA

Coastal waters and near-shore groundwater supplies along more than a fifth of coastlines in the continental United States are vulnerable to contamination from previously hidden underground transfers of water between the oceans and land

A new study by researchers at The Ohio State University, Columbus, and NASAs Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, California reports.

The study, published online Aug. 4 in the journal Science, offers the first-ever map of the underground flows that connect fresh groundwater beneath the continental United States and seawater in the surrounding oceans. The map highlights areas most vulnerable to degraded water quality from these flows now and in the future.

The researchers combined U.S. topographic data and NASA climate models to identify key inland regions that contribute groundwater and contaminants to the coast. They examined rainfall, evaporation rates and the amount of known surface runoff to calculate the missing portion of water that was running out below ground, then melded those results with terrain and land-use data to identify where the water ended up. The team was able to learn more about the previously hidden water exchanges via computer analyses, without extensive and costly field surveys.

Audrey Sawyer, assistant professor of Earth Sciences at The Ohio State University and leader of the study, said that while scientists have long known that freshwater and seawater mix unseen below ground, until now they hadnt been able to pinpoint exactly where it was happening, or how much, except in limited locations.

Were all pretty familiar with the idea that rain falls on land and flows out to the ocean in rivers, but theres another, hidden component of rainfall that infiltrates the ground near the coast and spills into the ocean below sea level, Sawyer said. Its known as submarine groundwater discharge. Freshwater flows out to sea, and vice versa. Urbanization, agricultural development, climate and topography all affect how much water flows in either direction, and the exchange has a big impact on both onshore groundwater that we drink and offshore seawater where we swim and fish.

What Areas Are Most Vulnerable?

The study identified 12 percent of the continental U.S. coastline  including the northern Gulf Coast from Mississippi to the Florida Panhandle, northern Atlantic Coast and Pacific Northwest  as areas where once-hidden drainage systems make the ocean most susceptible to contamination from septic tanks and fertilizer in freshwater. There, excess nutrients in the water can cause harmful algal blooms to form, which remove vital oxygen from the water. This contamination from land to sea endangers fisheries and coral reefs, as well as water recreation and tourism.

In contrast, the team found that another 9 percent of coastline  including confirmed locations such as Southeastern Florida, Southern California and Long Island, New York  are especially susceptible to the opposite threat: contamination from sea to land. In these areas, saltwater intrudes inland and infiltrates the fresh groundwater supply.

It takes only a small amount of salt water to render drinking water non-potable, so saltwater invasion is a big concern for water resource management in coastal areas, Sawyer said.

The study found Los Angeles and San Francisco are vulnerable to both ocean contamination and saltwater intrusion.

How Much Water is Involved?

Overall, the study calculates that more than 15 billion tons of freshwater flow through invisible underground networks into the ocean along the continental U.S. coastline every year. That sounds like a lot of water, but its less than 1 percent of the total amount that flows from the continental United States into the ocean, said study co-author Cedric David of JPL. The other 99 percent comes from rivers and surface runoff.

Still, David explained, the study is significant because it provides the first continental-scale, high-resolution estimate of that 1 percent  a portion which, when compared to the other 99 percent, can be particularly rich in nutrients and other contaminants.

This Ohio State-JPL collaboration has removed the cloak from hidden groundwater transfers between land and sea, he said.

For example, the amount of yearly precipitation is similar in the Pacific Northwest and the mid-Atlantic regions, but the study found that underground drainage rates into the ocean were approximately 50 percent higher in the Pacific Northwest because the steep terrain there carries more groundwater to the coastline.

The researchers found that land use was critical to discharge in Florida. Sawyer said that she was surprised by the big effect that canals had there.

Since the early 20th century, Floridians have constructed thousands of miles of canals along the states coasts for transportation, irrigation and recreation. The study found that the canals may capture water that would otherwise flow underground and out to sea.

The researchers commented that increased urbanization  and the extensive pavement that goes along with it  will also decrease groundwater recharge and ultimate drainage to coastal regions where the population is growing, increasing the likelihood of saltwater intrusion.

Thats why we hope others will use our analysis to better plan strategies for coastal land development and groundwater management that help preserve water quality, Sawyer said. Right now, weve created a map of American coastlines that highlights some previously known as well as unknown areas of vulnerability along the U.S. coastline, but we hope to be able to do it for the world shortly, as data become available.

Model data for the study came from the enhanced National Hydrography Dataset NHDPlus, originally built by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and U.S. Geological Survey, and now developed by Horizon Systems Corporation in Herndon, Virginia; the North American Land Data Assimilation System from NASAs Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Maryland; the Variable Infiltration Capacity Macroscale Hydrologic Model from the University of Washington; the 2011 National Land Cover Database from the Multi-Resolution Land Characteristics Consortium; and the United States 2010 Census.

The research was funded by NASA, the National Science Foundation and The Ohio State University.

NASA collects data from space, air, land and sea to increase our understanding of our home planet, improve lives and safeguard our future. NASA develops new ways to observe and study Earths interconnected natural systems with long-term data records. The agency freely shares this unique knowledge and works with institutions around the world to gain new insights into how our planet is changing.
Edinburgh, Scotland is a city of juxtapositions. On one hand, it is a World Heritage site full of historic architecture, and for tourists can feel at times like visiting the set of Harry Potter; on the other, the city is home to a rising wave of small, progressive businesses, along with one of the worlds great fringe arts festivals. In Edinburgh, current and classical Scotland coexist, shaping a city that reflects its past and its present in equal measures.

Steps from Edinburghs main train station is a set of abandoned 19th century railway arches. In one of these arches sits Baba Budan, a modern cafe sprouting from a slice of city history. Owner Craig Niblock spent the best part of 18 months searching for a site in Edinburgh, aiming to leave his career in banking behind and channel his love for coffee into something tangible. When the arch became available, his decision was made quickly, and Baba Budan opened its doors in mid-April of 2016.

Inside the arch, the decor is a collision of old and new. Although the original stone still emerges in places, Baba Budan is contemporary in design and uses of-the-moment espresso equipment. Perched on the bar is a two-group La Marzocco Linea Classic, used in conjunction with a Nuova Simonelli Mythos One grinder to produce most of their espresso drinks. On my visit, Espresso 2 from Danish roaster The Coffee Collective was on offer, a 60/40 blend of Brazilian and Colombian coffees that made for a sweet and balanced shot. A guest espresso program is constantly rotating, and the offering at the time of writing is a fully washed Colombia Morales, roasted by London-based Ozone Coffee Roasters.

Noticeably absent is a manual pour-over bar, which over the last few years has become a ubiquitous feature in progressive Scottish cafes. In its place sits a two-liter airpot, full of batch brew. On this visit Coffee Collective made an appearance here as well, featuring their Colombia El Desarollo. Given the size of the shop, I knew we would mainly be a takeaway place, and people dont always want to wait a few minutes for a pour-over coffee, Niblock explains. The batch brewer would allow me to hand out samples of filter coffee for people to try so that we could introduce people to interesting filter coffees, and explain what we are trying to achieve.

Instead of manual pour-over, their priorities for their limited counter space lay elsewhere. Any early morning visitors to Baba Budan are treated not just to the alluring scent of coffee, but also to the smell of freshly fried dough. Each morning at dawn, doughnuts are freshly fried and filled in-house, before being temptingly displayed for their daily visitors. I wanted to be able to open something with a product that was tasty, photographed well for social media, and was a bit different, says Niblock of his decision to make his own doughnuts. I hoped the doughnuts would get the attention of people, and bring them down to also try our coffee.

Producing three to four different flavors per day in the petite cafe space is no mean feat; the space between the espresso machine and the archway window is reserved for the doughnut filling station, and the fryer fits neatly next to that on the only empty corner of the backbar. For the sake of efficiency, everything has its place.

However, the limits on space may soon be a thing of the past, as Niblock hints at imminent plans for expansion. The availability of a neighboring arch opens up the potential for a dedicated space for doughnut production, allowing for the development of new flavors and gluten-free options. This, in turn, would free up more cafe space for expanded brew bar options and more customer seating. Niblocks excitement for this upgrade is palpable. The coffee scene is booming here in Edinburgh, fusing old spaces with new ideas in a fusion that feels like an extension of the city itself.

Claire Wallace is a freelance journalist and coffee professional based in Edinburgh, Scotland. This is Claire Wallaces first feature for Sprudge.
Over two weeks in June 2016, Sprudge founders Jordan Michelman and Zachary Carlsen embarked on a far-flung coffee podcast tour of Europe, taping episodes of the Coffee Sprudgecast in four different cities. Our shows to date have been in Dublin, Paris, and Berlingems, these showsand were capping this off this week with our final episode of the tour, taped at the Scandinavian Embassy in Amsterdam.

This place is easily one of our favorite coffee bars in the world, and we filled it up with good wine, friendly people, and a set of guests that prove why Amsterdam is such an exciting coffee hub.

Sign up now as a subscriber to the Coffee Sprudgecast and never miss an episode. The Coffee Sprudgecast European Tour is sponsored by La Marzocco, Cafe Imports Europe, and KitchenAid USA craft coffee equipment.

Guests for this show included Cerianne Bury, a green coffee trader and Re:Co Symposium speaker; Stijn Braas of Coffee Company, the venerable Dutch chain with coffee bars across the city; Rikard Andersson, the chef and co-founder at Scandinavian Embassy; and Karina Hof, a Sprudge staff writer based in Amsterdam.

Join us, wont you? This was a warm and intimate evening in a truly special space, and well remember it forever. See you at Glou Glou for the afterparty (and then Cafe Van Wou).

Listen and subscribe and review The Coffee Sprudgecast on iTunes!

Visit The Coffee Sprudgecast feed here.
MOSCOW (Sputnik)  Australia suspended financing the Christian relief organization World Vision that was accused by Israel of financing Hamas Islamist organization controlling the Gaza Strip, the countrys Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade said on Friday.

On Thursday, Mossad, Israel's security agency said that Hamas had infiltrated World Vision, which provides aid to the strip, and has funneled some 60 percent of the group's budget to Hamas's military wing.

"The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) is investigating this as a matter of the highest priority. Officials are urgently seeking more information from World Vision and the Israeli authorities. We are suspending the provision of further funding to World Vision for programs in the Palestinian Territories until the investigation is complete," the DFAT statement said.
MOSCOW (Sputnik)  The activist said he would not appeal against the judgment, Xinhua news agency reported.

Earlier Chinese media reported that Gou pleaded guilty. He was accused of taking part in anti-Chinese forums abroad and spreading subversive ideas in China after returning.

US criticises China's 'political' trials as fourth activist punished for subversion: Rights lawyer Gou Honggu https://t.co/q520KrysLJ  Home Affairs Stories (@HAStories) 5  2016 .

He is said to have provided money for a number of other activists also being under investigation or already sentenced for subversion.
The incident took place after a party at Farooqui's residence, where the victim had gone to meet him seeking help on her academic project. The 35-year-old doctoral student testified that he had asked her to stay back after the other guests left and "forced himself on her." During the trial, the doctoral student says that she "did not resist" the rape for fear of being killed. Farooqui told the court that her testimony proves the "impossibility of sexual assault."

According to Vridna Grover, the victim's lawyer, "the accused (Farooqui) applied force and pushed her down. She then froze. She knew if she resisted the rape upon her, the consequence would be worse," seemingly implying that Farooqui had forced the graduate student to perform oral sex on him rather than vice-versa, a fact that wasn't expressly noted in most Indian media sources.


MOSCOW (Sputnik)According to the Straits Times newspaper, the detainees were members of the KGR (Katibah GR) terrorist group based on the Batam island in northern Indonesia.

"We are grateful for the good cooperation by the Indonesian authorities and their actions to apprehend the group," Singapore Home Affairs Ministry was quoted as saying by the newspaper.

Following the attempted attack, the police were forced to boost security measures on the island and at its borders.
Previously, many NGOs, including those working under the United Nations auspices, called Canberra to shut the center and return all migrants to Australia. Last year, a special committee within the Australian Parliament was established to investigate the allegations of mass abuses and rights violations at the Nauru processing center. In September 2015, the committee published its recommendations for the government, but with no much effect.

"Unfortunately, as our research has demonstrated, despite promises by both governments to improve the situation very little has actually been done and the situation would appear to have deteriorated even further. The wall of secrecy and access to the island makes taking any further action extremely difficult; however challenges for compensation (given the obvious damage done to a number of individuals taken to Nauru) may still remain a future possibility," Thom said.

Following the publication of the latest report, Australia's Department of Immigration and Border Protection said it strongly refuted many of the report's allegations, and that it does not exert control over Nauru's laws.

Australia's immigration policy dictates that asylum-seekers trying to reach the country by boat should not be settled in Australia, but be sent for processing to Nauru or to Manus Island in Papua New Guinea.

The Nauru facility was opened in 2001 and ran until 2008. In 2012 it was reopened following the large increase in the number of maritime arrivals by asylum seekers.
BANGKOK (Sputnik)  Over 40 million of Thais are set to vote this Sunday in a referendum on a new constitution , which is expected to hand over greater powers to the National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO), a military-controlled unelected government in power since the May 2014 military coup.

Increased security measures are introduced mainly towards the embassies, including the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, Denmark, Finland, Japan and Myanmar, which had recently issued a warning addressed to its citizens to avoid protests and be mindful of the volatile situation in the country, according to Khom Chat Lyk newspaper.

The local authorities, however, called these warnings groundless.
Defense Minister Manohar Parrikar said in India's Parliament that he was seriously considering the suggestion of equipping the roads near the Indo-China border with an optical fiber network.

India has identified 73 roads along the border as strategic Indo-China border roads; their total number's estimation is scheduled to be completed by 2020. Out of the 73 roads, 22 roads with an aggregate length of 707.74 km have already been equipped.
WASHINGTON (Sputnik)  The US embassy in Tokyo is warning about protests near the diplomatic compound on Saturday and Tuesday to mark the anniversaries of Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombings in World War II, according to a security message issued on Friday.

"On Saturday, August 6 and Tuesday, August 9 between approximately 8:00 AM and 6:00 PM, demonstrations are expected at the US Embassy and surrounding areas," the embassy stated.
MOSCOW (Sputnik)  Seoul may consider a new location in the southern county of Seongju for the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) missile system amid fierce opposition by local residents, a presidential spokesman said on Friday.

Residents of Seongju County, where the system is expected to be deployed, protest against the deployment of the missile system over potential negative health effects caused by the electromagnetic waves emanating from the THAAD's radar.

"Although it may not be easy to change the already designated site, [the government] will conduct a thorough study to see if there is another site [capable of hosting THAAD] should there be a request [for such a study]," Jung Youn-kuk was quoted as saying by the Yonhap News agency.
North Korea launched its most recent satellite on February 7. The Kwangmyongsong 4, or Brilliant Star 4, made its way into orbit just one month after the country purportedly conducted its first hydrogen-bomb test. Nuclear tests in the DPRK have obvious military applications, and are banned by the United Nations. The recent tests have resulted in increased sanctions against the country. Hyon called the sanctions "ridiculous."

Jonathan McDowell, an astrophysicist at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, who keeps a comprehensive blog detailing international satellites and launches, remarked that "It would be a significant increase in technology, not one that is beyond them, but you have to debug each bit."

As the US made its first lunar flyby only six months after launching its first satellite, and Russia did the same a year and a half after launching its first satellites, McDowell suggested that, "it's not ridiculous to attempt a moon mission early in your space program, given their low flight rate of one mission every few years. I think it is hard to see them succeeding in this in the next five years, but possible to see them attempting it."
In June, photos surfaced of Chinas new nuclear-powered Type 093 attack submarine. The Shang-class vessel appears to feature vertical-launch shafts that could fire both YJ-18 anti-ship cruise missiles and DF-10 long-range land-attack cruise missiles.

Beijings naval modernization comes as the United States and its Pacific allies work to escalate tensions in the South China Sea. A highly contested region through which roughly $5 trillion in trade passes annually, most of the waterway is claimed by China, though there are overlapping claims by Taiwan, the Philippines, Vietnam, Brunei, and Malaysia.

While the Hague-based Court of Arbitration recently ruled against Chinas nine-dash territorial claims, Beijing does not recognize the decision as legitimate.

The Pentagon has carried out a number of progressive patrol through the region, including several within the 12-mile territorial limit of Beijings artificial islands in the Spratly and Paracel archipelagos.

As China works to assert its claims, new ships and equipment could well play a significant role.
Moreover, the journalist added, "if we take at face value the calculations made by Cato Institute senior research fellow Michael Tanner, the real US figure is not $19 trillion, but $91 trillion !" That number takes account of unsecured obligations under US federal programs including social security and Medicare.

"In other words," Psekezin noted, "the real debt is nearly five times as high as the official one. But even the official amount [of $19 trillion] testifies to the fact that the United States has found itself in an astonishingly deep pit of debt."

"And if anyone is left unimpressed by these figures, others can be listed. They give as an idea of the percentage of GDP comprised by national debt. In this respect too, the forecast for the end of the year debt-to-GDP ratio is in Russia's favor, comprising 8.12%, vs. 115.394% for the US. Simply put, for us to pay off all our debts to creditors, we would have to knock off about one twelfth of our gross domestic product. The US, meanwhile, would have to lay out its entire GDP, and then find another 15%+ from somewhere."

Earlier this year, in his year-end report on the work of the Russian government for 2015, Prime Minister Dmitri Medvedev noted that as far as debt was concerned, the government has been left satisfied.

"We have managed to keep the national debt at a fairly low level. Speaking frankly, it's not just 'fairly low'; it's very low if we compare to other countries. This, by the way, is our competitive advantage; it is highlighted as such by all financial analysts and all international financial institutions," Medvedev said.
Asked to comment on what it was that attracted his company to the Petrovax Pharm's anti-influenza vaccine, Bamdad noted that "a whole range of factors" was at play. "For starters, the economic relations between Iran and Russia are very actively being developed and strengthened at present. We had offers from our Ministry of Health and other government agencies on more active cooperation with Russia."

At the same time, he noted that the Russian-made vaccine's innovative nature was a significant factor, too. "The Russian drug is unique; we have not yet met with analogues to it today, Grippol Plus is the most innovative and unique product [in its category]."

Of course, he added, "Iran is familiar with leading manufacturers from the United Kingdom and the United States. But I think that it was specifically the quality of the production technology producing Grippol Plus, and its use of the safe element polyoxidonium, which caused the heightened interest in the Russian vaccine among Iranian physicians."
But this apparent avoidance of patriotic obligation did not stop Bush three decades later becoming the 43rd president of the US in 2001 and again in 2005.

While 50,000 young American men  mainly from poor social backgrounds  were to die in Vietnam, with many more crippled physically and mentally, Bush and other privileged, well-connected peers were able to fiddle the system and spend their war years drinking highballs and snorting cocaine.

Bushs conduct record has never been pried open by the mainstream US media, even though plenty of skeletons lurk in his locker. One would think that suspicions of cowardice and fraud over Bushs dodgy military history would be especially worthy of investigation given his responsibility for instigating wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, which have claimed over a million lives, including thousands of his own countrymen.

That legacy of death, destruction and conflict continues to blight entire regions  and was all started on the watch of a man who preferred to party in mess halls than to serve his nation in a time of need.

Donald Trumps own history certainly sounds disreputable. At age 22, he availed of four military service deferments for educational reasons and one for having an alleged bone problem in one his feet. Years later, Trump said he couldnt remember which foot was the cause of the medical problem.

No doubt Trumps millionaire father had some bearing on why young Donald was able to avoid being shipped out to the jungles of Vietnam, unlike so many others of his generation.

Trump has also not done his tawdry past many favors either. He has made the inane and flippant comparison that his personal Vietnam was avoiding contracting sexual diseases during his wild youth.
"The safety of all Londoners is my number one priority and my heart goes out to the victims of the incident in Russell Square and their loved ones I urge all Londoners to remain calm and vigilant. Please report anything suspicious to the police. We all have a vital role to play as eyes and ears for our police and security services and in helping to ensure London is protected," Khan said in a statement, published by his office.

The mayor added that he fully supported the city police officers, who were doing "incredibly difficult" job.
An unnamed military source claimed that, "They are worried of another Woolwich-style attack [a soldier was rammed with a car and beheaded]. The security services are terrified that soldiers are going to be targeted so soldiers have been warned not to wear their uniform outside military bases. We have been told it could be imminently stepped up to critical".

Troops received the orders via email. Another unnamed source said the email, "warned us not to advertise to anyone we do not know that we are in the armed forces and also that we must not allow anyone without ID into Army bases. Other units have been told the same. They think there is a going to be a random attack."
"Professor Wagner and his wife were in London where he taught in the summer session at the universitys renowned London Study Program," FSU said via its Twitter account.

The couple had planned to return to Tallahassee, Florida on Thurday, according to the university.
The main suspect in the Paris attacks, Salah Abdeslam, collected a total of 19,000 euros (over $21,000) in unemployment benefits until three weeks before the terrorist act, The Wall Street Journal said citing sources familiar with the matter.

The series of terrorist attacks carried out across Paris on November 13 claimed 130 lives and injured over 350 people. Abdeslam is believed to have provided logistical support to the suicide bombers and shooters. He was charged with terrorism in April.
VIENTIANE (Sputnik)  Russia and Brunei have agreed to step up work on the creation of a joint investment fund, Russian Economic Development Minister Alexei Ulyukayev said Friday.

"We discussed speeding up the work on the creation of a joint investment fund. We agreed that [Brunei] would send its experts in the near future to work with the Russian Direct Investment Fund. I am the chairmen of the Russian Direct Investment Fund's supervisory board and I will, too, give instructions to make the most use of [our possibilities]," Ulyukayev said following a meeting with Brunei's Second Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Lim Jock Seng.

According to the Russian minister, the main area of investments could be the energy field as both Russia and Brunei are oil-producing countries.
At the same time, the lawmaker added that finding consensus is a challenging task and after Brexit, the matter is not on the top of the EU agenda.

She also stressed the importance of preserving the bilateral contracts with the European Union for the well-being of Swiss economy.

"The bilateral contracts are vital for the prosperity of Switzerland, for our economy they are very important," Fiala said.

She noted that Switzerlands withdrawal of its letter that could have started possible discussions for future application for EU membership, officially made on Tuesday, is "more a symbolic move" that demonstrates the will of the Swiss people to no longer pursue EU membership, but "to continue the bilateral contracts."

In June, the upper house of the Swiss parliament voted to invalidate the country's application to join the European Union. Following the vote, Switzerland was expected to issue a formal notice to the bloc to consider its application withdrawn.

The long-lasting negotiations between Brussels and Bern were put on hold earlier this year because of the United Kingdom's referendum on its EU membership, with EU officials asking Switzerland to wait until the Brexit issue had been clarified.

At a referendum held in February 2014, Swiss voters backed the introduction of quotas on EU migration. The vote jeopardized aspects of the 1999 EU-Switzerland treaty, which gives Switzerland favorable access to EU markets in exchange for eased entry for the EU workforce to the country's labor market.
Smile 13, an association of Muslim women, rented a pool in order to host an event where ordinary women's swimwear was forbidden. Men were not allowed to attend, although an exception was made for boys under 10 and for lifeguards.

The faith-based bathing group has endorsed the wearing of so-called burkinis, or bodykinis: swimsuits for Muslim women that cover the whole body except the face. The burkini has a tight hood and is designed to comply with more strict interpretations of Sharia (Islamic law).

"It is possible to cancel the event? Yes, the mayor can make a decision to ban it," Marseille lawyer Marc Wahed told Sputnik in an interview. "Then, the court will rule on the issue if the prefect considers the mayor's decision illegal. The court may decide to ban the dress code, or the event could be qualified as a violation of public order, if there will be meetings in front of the waterpark."
It was just another ordinary day in the small Irish town of Gorey in north County Wexford, when residents suddenly became witnesses to a very odd scene. A UFO, driving slowly through the town's streets was streets closely followed by a squad car with its lights flashing.

From the video posted on Facebook, it might seem like it was the slowest chase ever. However, it was less of a pursuit and more of a friendly escort, according to the police official who spoke to local media.

The spacecraft was actually created by local artist Ali Kemal Ali as part of the Space Pop Up Art Show, which was held at Gorey Park on July 29.
The B61-12 will replace the existing B61-3, 4, 7, and 10 bomb designs. It is thought that approximately 480 B61-12s will be produced through the mid-2020s.

Currently around 200 B61 bombs are deployed in underground vaults inside around 90 protective aircraft shelters at six bases in five NATO countries (Belgium, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, and Turkey).

Two of which would utilize US aircraft (one air base in Incirlik, Turkey and one in Aviano, Italy).

Non-US aircraft are assigned to other bases (Kleine Brogel, Belgium; Buchel, Germany; Ghedi Torre, Italy; and Volkel, The Netherlands).

In September last year German television station ZDF cited a Pentagon budget document saying that the US Air Force would deploy modernized B61 nuclear bombs to Germanys Buchel air force base replacing the 20 weapons already at the site.

In other words, the American modernized thermonuclear aircraft bomb has been primarily, and for the nearest quarter of a century, destined to Europe. Washington however does not specify how and from whom the modernized nuclear bombs are going to defend the continent, says an analytical article on the RIA Novosti website.
The row over the shelf content of a mini-market in a Paris suburb may be small but it's a significant example of the deteriorating level of tolerance and integration in France. The country is still witnessing several acts of Islamophobia with many mosques daubed with racist graffiti and an elderly Muslim beaten outside his home.

The French Muslim man of Senegalese origin, wearing a traditional dress, was attacked outside his apartment in an alleged dispute over a parking space. He was hit over the head and left semi-conscious until he was found by his family.

Bacon lardons have also been posted through the letter box of a mosque near the city ofNancy and racist graffiti has been scrawled on other mosques around the country.

Meanwhile, in contrast to the negative attacks of racism and intolerance in France, many Muslims attended a recent Catholic mass after the French Muslim council called on people to show "solidarity and compassion," following the murder of Father Jacques Hamel. Many Muslims and Jews also attended his funeral.

The government and religious leaders may well be preaching unity and solidarity  yet it remains a different story on the walls of many mosques and the shelves of a halal supermarket.
Although the Greek government takes a staunchly anti-austerity position, it argues that this should not be conflated with an anti-EU agenda.

"We believe in changing the EU from within because we see the EU as the minimum geopolitical entity for a greater social transformation, that's why we support, for example, Jeremy Corbyn's campaign in Labour in favor of remaining with the EU in order to change it with common struggles between all peoples who are willing to contribute to progressive change in Europe," Beurnos told Sputnik.

The same sort of Englishman who says Jeremy Corbyn is unelectable would have said Syriza is unelectable if they were from Greece instead.  Jonathan Felton (@PowerPigeon) August 2, 2016

"We need coordinated struggles in multiple levels from social movements to the level of highest institutions in order to change the architecture that more or less has lead to the Greek crisis itself," Beurnos said.

The calls for the alliance come at a time when the European left and right stand eyeball-to-eyeball, especially over the influx of refugees from the Middle East and South Asia.

In September, EU leaders said that they would relocate 160,000 people from Italy and Greece by September 2017. To date, just 3,056 people have been relocated. Although immigrations occupies a contentious ground, EU austerity policies continues to be the issue of the day, and whether or not this new alliance will be able to challenge them remains to be seen.
According to Der Spiegel, German police have discovered internet chat messages between Ahmadzai and a Saudi Daesh member.

The messages reveal the man's first suggestion to Ahmadzai, that he drive a car into a crowd of people.

This method of attack was used by Tunisian-born Mohamed Lahouaiej Bouhlel in Nice, France on July 14. He killed 84 people and injured hundreds more before he was shot by French police.

However, Ahmadzai said he couldn't carry out such an attack, because he did not have a driving license. Instead, he announced his plan to get on a train and attack the first passengers he saw.

Daesh claimed responsibility for Ahmadzai's attack, and published a video online which allegedly shows the teenager pledging to carry out a suicide attack in Germany on behalf of Daesh.

The video's publication led linguistic experts to doubt Ahmadzai's claim to be a refugee from Afghanistan, because in it he uses words and phrases found in the Pakistani, not Afghan, variant of Pashto.

On July 24 Mohammed Daleel, a 27-year-old asylum seeker from Syria, carried out a suicide bombing outside a music festival in Ansbach, Bavaria; he was refused entrance to the festival itself because he didn't have a ticket. The attack killed Daleel, and seriously injured 12 people.
The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry's Olena Zerkal said Wednesday the issue of a new Russian ambassador in the country "has been removed from the agenda." Commenting on her remarks, Ushakov said upcoming talks would confirm whether that constitutes Ukraine's official position.

"In other words, we will await a clear signal from Kiev. And if we get confirmation from Ukraine of its readiness to positively respond to our proposed candidate, we will then send a formal request to Kiev for an Agrement," he stressed.

Ushakov said Moscow performed "first overtures through highly authoritative channels" and expects to receive a final signal on whether Kiev was ready to accept the offered envoy.

"If Ukraine prefers to lower the level of diplomatic missions, then that is probably how it will be," the official stressed, echoing Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov's remarks the previous day.

He added that Moscow's candidate, rumored but not confirmed to be Mikhail Babich, was a highly experienced politician "who never allowed any anti-Ukrainian remarks," and who is "set to work constructively to resolve existing issues."

"And now we are awaiting some kind of final signal on this matter through closed channels," Ushakov said.
The refugee, who had lived in Paris for two months, was suspected of plotting a terrorist attack, the France Info broadcaster reported.

He was detained in the 18th arrondissement of Paris, located to the north of the city, the media outlet added.
MOSCOW (Sputnik)  Poland believes that the agreements on the expansion of NATO's military presence on the Alliance's eastern flank are stable, regardless of who is chosen to be the next US president, foreign policy adviser to the Polish president Krzysztof Szczerski said Friday.

At the last NATO summit in Warsaw, it was decided on the unprecedented strengthening of the eastern flank of the alliance. NATO intends to have in place in 2017 in the Baltic States and Poland, four multinational battalions.

"Poland is ready to cooperate with any US administration. We believe that the Alliance is based on a real unity of interests between the countries and has a stable character. The decisions taken at the NATO summit make sense only if we understand them as adopted by the states, and not the persons. If we treat NATO as a sustainable and stable union, the agreements have a long-lasting nature, as that derives from the NATO's nature, and not from the wishes of particular persons," Szczerski told the Polish Press Agency in an interview.
KIEV (Sputnik)  Ukraine is not completely cutting diplomatic ties with Russia, Alexei Makeev, head of the policy and communications department of the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry said Friday following Kievs decision not to receive new Russian ambassador.

"The situation in the Russian embassy will be following: a charges d'affaires ad interim is a senior diplomat, who will be tasked to support those rare contacts in the Ukrainian-Russian affairs. We are not speaking about full freeze of the ties. First of all because we must understand: today more than 3 million of Ukrainians are at the Russian territory. Every day more than 300 Ukrainians are applying for consular aid, validation of documents to our consulate in Moscow. There are Ukrainians there," Makeev told Radio Svoboda.

Russian President Vladimir Putin dismissed Mikhail Zurabov from the post on July 28, a decision that came into force after its publication on Thursday.
Back in April an American RC-135U reconnaissance aircraft was buzzed by a Russian Sukhoi Su-27 fighter jet over the Baltic Sea near Russias Kaliningrad Region.

Pentagon then accused the Russian pilot of "coming dangerously close" to the US aircraft.

When the flights are conducted with the turned on transponders, the systems of control over the airspace will constantly monitor the flight operation mode of any aircraft. This is our amicable suggestion and now it is up to NATO, former Russian air force chief Petr Deinekin told the newspaper.

"Aside from the issue of transponders, the Russian Defense Ministry is proposing to discuss a wide range of issues, from interaction with NATO to the joint response to common challenges and threats,"Head of the Defense Ministrys Main Directorate for International Military Cooperation Sergei Koshelev said on Friday.

The invitation was sent to the defense departments of these [Baltic] states, including the Lithuanian Defense Ministry. The Russian Defense Ministry expects the official response from our partners on the Russian proposals, as communication through the media will not allow us to rapidly resolve our differences," Koshelev added.

Head of the Department for European Security Studies in the Moscow-based Institute of Europe at the Russian Academy of Sciences Dmitry Danilov has explained why all the confidence-building measures in the Baltics should necessarily be reciprocal.

Military threat in the region keeps growing and we need to take care of decreasing the risks, however it should be a reciprocal process without any unilateral concessions, he told Izvestiya.

It is a multilateral process and both Russia and its opponents are interested in it, he said adding that the parties to the talks have been trying to agree upon the deterrent measures since last spring.

The political analyst hopes that there are grounds for the dialogue.
The idea to run a street art work shop for the over-65s was born over a cup of coffee.

"It evolved from an idea I had while I was sitting in a cafe drinking coffee with Fernando Mendes, from Cowork Lisbon at the LXFactory."

"We discussed how the audience members at the Covilha Urban Art Festival, who were the most interested in finding out about every detail of every painting, were the senior members," Rodrigues told Sputnik.

"Mendes, who has always followed the work of WOOL, challenged me to come up with a workshop, so I decided to do it straight away. Fifteen days later, we had established the first urban street art workshop for pensioners, LATA 65."

Rodrigues explains that her idea was initially met with some skepticism and little appreciation.

"At the beginning, no one believed we could do it  or really understood why we wanted to," she said."But we wanted to demonstrate that urban street art had the power to democratize access to contemporary art."

Active Ageing

"We also wanted to prove that concepts such as active aging actually work and that there can be solidarity between generations," Rodrigues told Sputnik.

The so-called "Graffiti Grannies" appear to have become pretty switched on to the world of street art.

"After the first workshop we quickly realized that it is possible to motivate and excite older generations through urban art  and that new activities often associated with youth culture can become a form of escapism."

Redefining Behavior

"Like a break from the old routine, it adds a greater sense of well-being to their lives."

LATA 65 has worked with more than 230 pensioners over 65 all over Portugal and Sao Paulo in Brazil.

"Together, these "graffiti grannies" are redefining the way we expect older people to behave," said Rodrigues.
However, three of the four current contenders for the post of depute leader of the SNP, including Smith, publicly back the establishment of an independent republic, with an elected head of state, if Scottish voters back independence in a second referendum. The Scottish electorate previously rejected secession from the United Kingdom in a referendum held in 2014, but SNP leader Nicola Sturgeon has said it is "highly likely" a second referendum will be held following the United Kingdom's decision to exit the European Union.

"I am pleased to hear Alyn Smith's call for a referendum on the monarchy and it is interesting that some other contenders for the depute leadership of the SNP have previously expressed support for an independent Scottish republic. This may have something to do with a desire to attract the votes of SNP activists in the depute leadership contest but there are sound principled reasons for having a head of state who is democratically elected," Canavan said.

"The sovereignty of the people is far more important than the sovereignty of any monarch and a hereditary head of state should have no place in a modern 21st century society which should be based on equality and democracy," he added.

Scotland and England have shared a monarch since 1603 when Scottish King James VI became James I of England following the death of Queen Elizabeth I of England who left no heirs.

In 1707, Scotland and England came together in a political union that saw the then Scottish Parliament abolished.

In 1999, following a referendum, the UK Government devolved a range of domestic powers to Scotland that led to the establishment of the current devolved Scottish Parliament in Edinburgh. The Scottish Parliament has gradually seen an increase in its powers but defense, macro-economics and foreign affairs are still determined by the UK Government in London.

All elected members of parliament, both in Westminster and the Scottish Parliament, are required to swear an oath of allegiance or affirmation to the British crown before they can assume office. No such oath is required from members of the Northern Ireland Assembly.
MOSCOW (Sputnik)  The European Union's plan on protecting its telecommunications equipment market from China's Huawei and ZTE companies is failing as China evades abiding to the EU-Chinese deal aimed at helping European telecommunications equipment manufacturers, media reports said Friday.

Beijing is not abiding by its 2014 agreement with the European Union by failing to fund an independent commission for monitoring telecommunications equipment markets and rejecting EU demands to staff the panel with people not linked to the Chinese government, The Wall Street Journal reported, citing an EU official.

The panel, which would monitor dumping practices and ensure European access to the Chinese market, has yet to be set up, while EU companies, such as giants Ericsson and Nokia, remain unprotected by tariff barriers fending of potentially dumped Chinese imports, according to the publication.


PRAGUE (Sputnik)According to Ceske Noviny news portal, Czech and Slovak authorities agreed on airspace protection deal in May and the Czech government will discuss the text of the agreement in the coming weeks.

The agreement is expected to go beyond the framework of the so-called NATO Integrated Air and Missile Defense System (NATINAMDS), which protects Alliance's territory, populations and forces against any air and missile threat and attack. In accordance with NATINAMDS, Czech planes may accompany an aircraft, over Slovakia, which does not react to any signals and vice versa.

The new agreement will prescribe, in particular, that a Czech pilot may use weapons against a civil aircraft kidnapped by terrorists over Slovakia which can be used as a tool for a terrorist attack.
MOSCOW (Sputnik)  Warsaw is interested in preserving good relations with Moscow, but at the same time believes that sanctions against Russia are justified, the top foreign policy adviser to the Polish president said in interview published Friday.

"Poland doesn't want and doesn't intend to have bad relations with Russia. Poland is interested in good relations with Russia, as with each of its neighbors," Krzysztof Szczerski told Polish news agency PAP.
All areas surrounding the iconic landmark have been cordoned off and eyewitnesses have described a large police presence.

 Jennifer Rodgers (@MrsRodgersDHS) August 5, 2016

The lockdown was caused by a piece of lost or forgotten luggage left in the area, with police saying it was a false alarm.

France is on high alert following the Bastille Day attack in Nice that killed at least 84 people. Last November, terrorists conducted coordinated attacks across the city, leading to the deaths of at least 130 people.
According to the BBC broadcaster, the first group of nine protesters was arrested for blocking the motorway, while 10 others were arrested later in the day.

The protests in the United Kingdom mark the fifth anniversary of the death of Mark Duggan, a 29-year-old black man, who was shot by police in Tottenham on August 4, 2011. The Metropolitan Police then stated that officers were attempting to arrest Duggan on suspicion of planning an attack, and that he possessed a handgun.
DSTL has refused to comment on whether MBDA has in fact been chosen for the contract and whether the decision resulted in protest. A DSTL spokesperson said, "We are still in the process of finalizing the contract. For reasons of commercial confidentiality we do not discuss details of any discussions with the tenderers."

In their protest, Thales UK is using a European procurement law which requires a 10-day "cooling off" period between when the Defense Ministry informs all bidders of its decision and when the award is announced, ideally giving the losing bidders an opportunity to challenge the award.
PRAGUE (Sputnik)  According to the statement, 64 Chinese nationals, 40 Cubans and some 30 Syrians were among those who applied for asylum in the Czech Republic since the beginning of the year.

"Ukrainians have been constituting the majority of asylum applicants in Czech Republic for a long time. This year, [Ukrainians] submitted 246 applications, which is 134 applications less than a year ago. Iraqi citizens submitted 131 applications," the statement read as quoted by Parlamentni Listy newspaper.

As much as 131 refugees received asylum in the country in the first half of 2016.
Tokmakov said he could not comment on the shooting itself as the Russian Consulate had no information on it and Rio police were investigating the incident. The Consul General stressed that if anyone involved in the incident is claiming to be a Russian diplomat or a consulate staff member, these claims are not in line with reality.

The Consulate General of Russia in Rio de Janeiro said in a statement to Sputnik that none of the diplomatic staff were in the area of the incident at the time when it took place. None of the staff from the Russian Consulate General in Sao Paulo were in Rio at that time either, the statement said.

According to the Consulate General of Russia in Rio, the Brazilian Foreign Ministry has been informed of the situation.
MEXICO CITY (Sputnik)  The train crashed into a palm tree on Thursday afternoon, Diario de Mexico said citing the Ministry of the Environment. At least nine adults and four children were wounded.

The operator of the train was sent to the hospital.

The Chapultepec (Bosque de Chapultepec) park in Mexico City is the largest city park in the Western Hemisphere.
Talking with Loud & Clear host Brian Becker, McAdams said that recent comments by Clinton aide Jeremy Bash sound to him like a rehash of the US neoconservative rhetoric on Syria in 2011, when the stated aim was to oust Syrian President Bashar al Assad. In the current environment, with a five-year civil war tearing the country apart, that concept looks outdated, he noted.

The idea that Assad gassed his own people is not true. In fact, it has been proven false, he said.

With Bashs statement, the Clinton camp showed it has shifted toward a super hawkish approach in its foreign policy approach, a niche ordinarily occupied by the primarily-Republican neoconservatives. But the war-leaning policy itself is not surprising, given Clintons previous experience, McAdams outlined.
However Bloomberg View columnist Leonid Bershidsky provides another reason why the US seems to be dropping its demands for President Assad to go.

With Russian air support, the regime forces and their Iranian and Lebanese allies are pushing back and holding the [Syrians army] siege [of eastern Aleppo], which cuts the rebels off from Turkey, he writes in his article for Bloomberg.

That's a nasty situation for the US, he says quoting Michael O'Hanlon of the Brookings Foundation.

In Syria, Putin is holding a much stronger hand. Unlike the US, he's backing a capable force that  with Russian and Iranian support  could take on the insurgents. The opposition has probably missed its best chance to negotiate a political transition now: Since the US is standing back, and so is Turkey, Assad, Putin, Hezbollah and Iranian forces are going to pummel them, he further suggests.

Bershidsky further reasons that if the Assad forces take Aleppo, the war will be essentially binary  between the Assad coalition and Islamic State (Daesh).

For President Putin, he suggests, this is preferable to a negotiated solution: The defeat of the opposition groups in Aleppo would make the US reluctance to leave Assad in power irrelevant. There would be no alternative.

The columnist then says that the US appears to be allowing Assad, Putin and Iranian generals to implement their plan.
DAMASCUS (Sputnik)  The bodies of the crew from the Russian Mi-8 helicopter downed in Syria are held by the Jabhat Fatah al Sham group (previously known as Nusra Front, banned in Russia) in southeastern Aleppo region, a source close to the Aleppo militia command said Friday.

"The Russians' bodies are with the Nusra Fronttwo or three bodies are held by the terrorists," the source told RIA Novosti.

The Mi-8 tragedy took place in the neighboring province of Idlib that has been controlled by the Army of Conquest (Jaish al-Fatah), an umbrella organization that includes al-Nusra Front, Ahrar al-Sham and other Syrian rebels who are fighting to overthrow President Bashar al-Assad and establish a caliphate.
MOSCOW (Sputnik)  Experts from the Israeli cyber intelligence company Intsights hacked the Telegram messenger group which militants of the Daesh terrorist group have used for communication and thus revealed their plans for multiple attacks, local media reported Friday.

According to Haaretz newspaper, a Herzliya-based intelligence company discovered the Daesh plans to attack the US air bases in Kuwait, Bahrain and Saudi Arabia, as well as attacks which already took place such as the one in the Saint-Etienne-du-Rouvray church in France.

The media added that the company did not disclose any details on how they managed to hack the Telegram group.
ANKARA (Sputnik)  The Turkey's ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) on Friday stressed the need to exclude from their ranks supporters of US-based dissident Muslim cleric Fethullah Gulen, whom Ankara accused of being the mastermind behind the recent coup attempt.

"It is necessary to urgently, preventing rumors and disagreements within the party, to start sorting out the party ranks from those who supported the disgusting coup attempt and is linked to Fethullah Gulen's terrorist organization," the notice, signed by AKP deputy chair Hayati Yazici, reads.

On July 15, the Turkish authorities said that an attempted coup was taking place in the country, which was suppressed the next day. Over 13,000 people have been detained in connection with the coup, while about 250 people died during the coup attempt. The Turkish government said that Gulen who, Ankara believes, is seeking to overthrow the current government was allegedly linked to a coup attempt.
Unbeknownst to the Israeli officials, and Moni herself, the interviews were broadcast Saturday on the pro-Hezbollah television channel, Al Mayadeen.

dahiya neighbourhood of beirut after 2006 war & following its completed reconstruction in 2012 (pics from waad) pic.twitter.com/y1KgwPnWwm  Leila (@ainiladra) July 29, 2016

Moni himself has said that he had no idea the documentaries were being used for Al-Mayadeen:

"I didn't know that the interviews I was sent to do in Israel were intended for Hezbollah. Palestinian TV producer Ahmed Barghouti, who hired me in Jerusalem, told me that he was preparing interviews for a show to be aired on the BBC and on Al-Jazeera. I work a lot with this producer and I took on the task," she said.

According to Israeli news source Ynet, Moni said that he was chased down by the Israeli officials, claiming that they said to him, "how could you not tell us that this was an interview for a Hezbollah television channel?"

The documentary, entitled "Hhat happened in 2006," documents the Hezbollah capture of two Israeli soldiers in July 2006 which then resulted in Israel's invasion of South Lebanon and airstrike campaign against parts of Beirut.
MOSCOW (Sputnik)  Washington's decision not to join the recently launched Moscow-Damascus humanitarian operation in Aleppo reveals the US real goal of supporting insurgency in Syria, Tarek Ahmad, a member of the Hmeymim group of internal Syrian opposition, told Sputnik.

On Thursday, US President Barack Obama expressed his mistrust to the Russian recent actions in Syria saying that they raise "very serious questions." Washington has been unwilling to join the humanitarian relief operation in Aleppo, launched by Moscow and Damascus in late July with US embassy in Syria on Friday claiming that without additional details the United States sees Russian humanitarian initiative in Syria as a demand for the countrys opposition to surrender.

"We can, with the efforts from the Syrian government and Russia only, help the civilians alone, without help of the Western countries. But they [Western states] want to give more initiatives for the terrorists to re-start their attacks against Aleppo," Ahmad said.
MOSCOW (Sputnik)  Ankara and the Kurdish ethnic community are neighbors and should be strategic friends, Salih Muslim, co-chairman of the Kurdish Democratic Union Party (PYD) , told Sputnik.

"We have repeatedly stated that we did not do anything against Turkey and are not going to We are neighbors. We need to be together, we should be friends," Muslim said in an interview.

He added that Kurds considered Turkey in terms of a larger strategy and would continue to hold out the hand of friendship to Ankara.
MOSCOW (Sputnik)  Moscow is standing in the center of the Syrian conflicts settlement and should use its power to support Syrian Kurds on the political arena, Salih Muslim, co-chairman of the Kurdish Democratic Union Party (PYD) , told Sputnik.

"Russia is our friend. It must support us in the political arena. We are awaiting stronger solidarity from friends," Muslim said in an interview.

He added that Moscow was in the heart of the solution of the Syrian issue and could use its authority during the next round of Geneva talks on Syrias reconciliation.
WASHINGTON (Sputnik)  Airstrikes conducted by the US-led coalition against the Islamic State (ISIL or Daesh) destroyed 14 oil tankers near the Syrian city of Deir Ezzor on Thursday, the US Combined Joint Task Force Operation Inherent Resolve said in a press release.

"Near Dayr Az Zawr [Deir Ezzor], one strike destroyed 14 ISIL [Islamic State] oil tankers," the release said on Friday.

The coalition conducted three additional airstrikes in Syria near the city of Manbij, hitting two separate Daesh tactical units and destroying one fighting position and a command and control node.
However, he added, there is no open-mindedness there in Washington. Quite the contrary.

Remember the letter from the 51 diplomats at the State Department. And Hillary Clinton has indicated through her puppet Michele Flournoy, her designated secretary of defense, that if things are still going like this in January they want to launch airstrikes against Assad. I dont see an open mind here in Washington, he said.

Following the chemical attack on Aleppo, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova has called on the Western mainstream media to refrain from double standards in reporting on the Syrian conflict and cover the crimes committed by the US-backed groups in the country.

In her post on the Facebook page she also sharply criticized US behavior in Syria, accusing Washington of backing rebels who use poison gas against civilians and of killing hundreds in airstrikes.

Zakharova called the rebels supported by Washington "animals," and said Washington and its allies were recklessly carrying out air attacks leading to numerous civilian deaths.

She noted that Harakat Nour al Din al-Zinki group has taken responsibility for that crime. It is the same group, which has been backed by the US and has been involved in the beheading of a young child in Aleppo after video footage circulated showing the boy being killed by a man whom activists identified as a member of the group.
MOSCOW (Sputnik)  The European Union will observe the forthcoming parliamentary elections in Jordan, with its Election Observation Mission (EOM) team expected to arrive in the country's capital of Amman next week, the European External Action Service said Friday.

Jo Leinen, member of the European Parliament, was appointed Chief Observer of the EOM by EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini, according to the press release.

"I look forward to taking on my task as Chief Observer for the EOM to Jordan. The EOM will provide an independent and impartial assessment of the elections. The EOM will closely follow all stages of the elections, including the campaign and will work in a transparent and cooperative manner with all Jordanian stakeholders," Leinen was quoted as saying by the press service.
She overcame hundreds of barriers and limitations and proved that the goal may be achieved even when physically handicapped and wearing a headscarf, which some consider a limitation.

At the end of the London Paralympics, Zahra was nominated for an award by the international organization SportAccord for sporting merit and socially meaningful activities. She was named the world's top athlete of 2012.

"I think, I have shown that there is no place for despair in women's sports, and that the Iranian woman should never lose faith in herself, but rather double-down to achieve their goals," Zahra said.

Soon after the Paralympics in London, Zahra got married to Roham Shahabi, a parasportsman, also competing for Iran in the category of classic archery. They were engaged in the Olympic village circled by their fellow athletes.

Zahra met Roham at the association for individuals with spinal disabilities, where they both discovered archery and were working out side by side for six years. Before his disability, Roham was an electrician. In 2001, while at work, his was hit by a falling pole  as a result his spinal cord was badly damaged.

"For all the time that we've know each other, we made sure that any problems are easier to be solved together. As regards archery, I am very lucky because other archers do not have an opportunity to train with their husbands. Roham is the world champion. This fact on its own is an incentive to improve my skills," Zahra went on.
Asked what he thought about the normalization of ties between Turkey and Russia, and the possibility that Turkey will soon change its policy on Syria as well, Muslim emphasized that "from the beginning, we have said that Erdogan and the leaders of the AKP are making concessions in order to prevent the Kurds from attaining their rights. This is the main thing for them, and it concerns Syria, Turkey and the other places where Kurds live. They made peace with Russia and Israel. Now it is Assad's turn."

At the same time, Muslim suggested that it is unlikely that Ankara and Damascus will be able to come to a rapprochement. "Turkey has already lost its political weight. They are making concessions to everyone, including Assad. But this will not lead anywhere, because nobody can trust Turkey."

"Even if Turkey reaches consensus with Assad, this will not affect the Kurds. I don't think it will throw us back. I doubt that Turkey will be able to come to terms with Assad. But even if they do, this will not affect us, because we do not depend on anyone's support. We stand on our own feet. We do not act against Turkey relying on the Syrian regime, nor act against the Syrian regime relying on Turkey. We rely on the strength of our people. We have a federalization project which is making progress every day."
Political analyst Catherine Shakdam told Radio Sputnik that while the report criticizes all sides of the conflict, the biggest obstacle to peace is the Saudi-led bombing campaign, which began in March 2015 with the aim of restoring ousted President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi to power.

"The Houthis are a resistance movement with de facto political legitimacy because they are representing the will of the people," said Shakdam, who is Director of Programs for the Shafaqna Institute for Middle Eastern Studies.

The UN report says that the Houthi rebels diverted millions of dollars from Yemen's central bank to support their military campaign. Shakdam replied that the Houthis are justified in taking money to conduct a war against an opponent with much greater means.

"Everything that the UN is reporting right now is hearsay. I'm not saying that they don't know what they're talking about, but what I'm saying is, we need to take this with a big pinch of salt."

"What you have is a resistance movement acting for the central bank to do its job and fund a war effort against an imperial power coming to invade Yemen," she said.
MOSCOW (Sputnik)  Russia launched its humanitarian operation in Aleppo on July 28. Three humanitarian corridors were opened in the city surrounded by Damascus-led forces, but held by radical groups. Moscow has pledged to deliver food and provide medical assistance to locals. Approximately 14 tons of humanitarian aid were delivered in the first three days of the operation.

"During the past 24 hours, no a single civilian was able to leave the eastern and southern districts of Aleppo. Terrorists are obstructing the movement of people along humanitarian corridors. All approaches to these are being mined and are shelled with artillery. Three civilians who today tried to leave the Karm al-Qasr to join their relatives, who live on territory controlled by the Syrian government, were detained and executed by the militants," the ministry said in a daily bulletin posted on its website.
With the advent of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) like the Reaper and Predator drones, it is becoming increasingly clear to many military strategists that wars of the future will be fought primarily by machines. In the US, most of these gadgets have been reserved for the Air Force, but the Marine Corps has been developing its own specialized mechanical units.

One such device is the Modular Advanced Armed Robotic System (MAARS), developed by defense contractor Qinetiq, designed to be a reconnaissance, surveillance, and target acquisition system, all in one.

Similar to the SWORDS robot, MAARS is outfitted with an M240B machine gun, four M203 grenade launcher tubes, and can carry roughly 300 pounds.
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MOSCOW (Sputnik)  Austria and India intend to take part in the military climbers competition, called the Elbrus Ring, at the International Army Games (IAG) 2017, Alexander Ukrainetz, the chief judge of the contest said Friday.

"I hope the international contest will become annual and about ten teams will participate in it next year. Participants in the contest have appreciated its complexity and have been impressed with the scale and complexity of the special tasks. Moreover, not only direct participants of the contest [have been impressed], but also observers from India and Austria, who have already expressed a serious desire to participate in the next contest [2017]," Ukrainetz told reporters.

Russia, China, Iran, and Kazakhstan are taking part in the 10-day Elbrus Ring contest, which started on August 1. The contest consists of 14 special tasks, including climbing the 18,510-foot high Elbrus mountain.
"We stand united with Nigerian efforts to defeat this brutal terrorist organisation [Boko Haram]. That is why we are increasing our support to their armed forces as they fight extremismWe are determined to tackle terrorism wherever it appears," UK Defense Secretary Michael Fallon was quoted as saying in the statement.

Boko Haram has been active in northeastern Nigeria since 2009. Last year, the group expanded attacks into Niger, Cameroon and Chad. In March 2015, it pledged allegiance to the Islamic State militant group, outlawed in Russia and many other countries.

Somalia has been experiencing violence since the country devolved into civil war in the early 1990s. The states collapse provided a breeding ground for warlords, pirates and the al-Qaeda affiliated al-Shabaab.
The Turkish government also has a number of other lobbying firms on retainer pushing for the extradition of religious and political figure Fethullah Gulen, currently living in exile in Pennsylvania. The Erdogan administration has accused Gulen of being behind the coup, and Washington has consistently refused extradition requests, citing a lack of compelling evidence.

Ankara has paid Gephardt Government Affairs roughly $1.7 million this year to lobby on the Hill for favorable relations with Turkey. That company is led by former Democratic House Majority leader Dick Gephardt.

Last year, the Turkish government paid Robert Amsterdam, an international lawyer, roughly $50,000 per month to attack Gulen in US courts and media outlets.

Ankara has taken a number of steps domestically in the wake of the coup. The Erdogan administration has launched an unprecedented crackdown on those suspected of being involved, including people in civil, judicial, education, and military positions.

Erdogan has publicly considered reinstating the death penalty.
China's southeastern coastal region was warned to prepare for more typhoons this month, as Typhoon Tida battered many provinces on Tuesday, the national meteorological authority said.

"In 10 days, there will be two to three typhoons formed, of which one will make landfall in the southeast," Wang Zhihua, deputy head of the emergency and disaster relief department under the China Meteorological Administration, said on Thursday.

So far this year, China has seen three typhoons make landfall - more frequently than average. The three struck in southern and southeastern regions, including Fujian, Hainan and Guangdong provinces, as well as Taiwan, said Qian Chuanhai, a typhoon forecaster in the administration.

In autumn, China may see more and stronger typhoons hit coastal regions, due to the lasting influence of El Nino and approaching La Nina, the administration said.

Both the administration and the State Flood Control and Drought Relief Headquarters have warned regions prone to typhoons to make better preparations.

Based on the statistics from the meteorological authority, the top five regions for typhoons in August are Taiwan, Guangdong, Fujian, Zhejiang and Hainan.

On Tuesday, Typhoon Nida made landfall in Shenzhen, Guangdong province, and affecting 682,000 people in five provinces.

But the affected provinces gave early warnings and strengthened prevention efforts, which prevented deaths.

For example, Guangzhou required suspension of production and schools on Tuesday to guarantee safety, and it strengthened monitoring and other emergency measures.

"It's the first time I've experienced a typhoon, but I feel safe because of frequent warnings and suggestions sent through text messages from the city and district governments," said Kong Yiying, a 27-year-old native of North China's Shanxi province, who is living in Guangzhou.

Many provinces have increased their investment in anti-flooding facilities to reduce casualties, since the country still faces a high risk of flooding.

For example, Jiangxi province will invest 10 billion yuan ($1.5 billion) in three years on eight major projects such as embankments, reservoirs and drainage systems. Since March 21, the start of flood season, China has seen 28 deluges with rainfall 17 percent higher than average, Wang from the administration said.

zhengjinran@chinadaily.com.cn

Rain pours down in Suzhou, Jiangsu province, flooding streets in parts of the city on Thursday. Wang Jianzhong / For China Daily

People try to keep out of the sun as they walk along the street in Hohhot, Inner Mongolia autonomous region, on Thursday. Liu Wenhua / China News Service

(China Daily 08/05/2016 page5)
Clinton stepped down from the foundation board in April 2015, when she decided to run for US president.

"Saudi Arabia gives $25 million to the Clinton Foundation and you wonder will she be good for the energy business?" Trump stated on Thursday. "Yeah, she's going to be good for the energy business of Saudi Arabia.
Sheehans son, US Army Specialist Casey, was killed in action in Iraq on April 4, 2004. US Army Captain Humayun Khan was killed by a suicide bomber in Iraq on June 8, 2004.

"I have enormous sympathy and empathy for the Khan family and am sorry that their grief had to be used by the Democratic Party and attacked by the Republican nominee for president."

Sheehan recalled the personal defamation she experienced by the Bush administration in 2005-8 for her outspoken opposition to their policies in Iraq.

"I have experienced all of this. I was repeatedly personally attacked by the George W. Bush administration and its minions in the press. It is not fun, but I know the Khans have the strength to withstand these attacks, as I did."

Trump has continued his feud with the Khans through Twitter posts and statements, accusing them of attacking him viciously in both the DNC speech and subsequent television interviews.
If the visit does take place, it will be the first by a top Western official since the failed military coup.

On July 15, an attempted coup took place in Turkey that was suppressed the following day. Over 240 people were killed during the coup attempt and an estimated 2,000 were wounded. Ankara has accused US-based dissident Muslim cleric Fethullah Gulen and his followers of playing a key role in the coup.
WASHINGTON (Sputnik)  In July, Sajjan told reporters in a conference call that Canada was assessing requests to provide peacekeeping forces in far-flung regions of the world, including Colombia and conflict zones in Africa.

Defense Minister Harjit S. Sajjan will visit the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Ethiopia, Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda from August 9-16, 2016, the release stated on Thursday.

During scheduled meetings with government officials from each respective country, the minister will explain Canadas peacemaking mission, the release noted.
NEW YORK (Sputnik)  On July 15, an attempted coup took place in Turkey that was suppressed the following day. Over 240 people were killed during the coup attempt and an estimated 2,000 were wounded. Ankara has accused US-based dissident Muslim cleric Fethullah Gulen and his followers of playing a key role in the coup.

"Gulen is still residing in Pennsylvania, United States. As long as he continues [to] live here, its not only a problem for bilateral relations and fight against global terrorism, but its also [a] threat [that] still continues," Gulen stressed, speaking in New York on Thursday.
On July 15, an attempted coup took place in Turkey that was suppressed the following day. Over 240 people were killed during the coup attempt and an estimated 2,000 were wounded. Ankara has accused US-based dissident Muslim cleric Fethullah Gulen and his followers of playing a key role in the coup.

In June, China's Assistant Foreign Minister Li Huilai said that China supported the further strengthening cooperation between Turkey and the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), which includes Russia and China among other members.
The Russian-Turkish Intergovernmental Commission on Trade and Economic Cooperation resumed its work after the July 22 decree, and consultations on the Agreement on Trade in Services and Investments and the Middle-term program for economic, trade, scientific, technical and cultural cooperation for 2016-2019 also started. Zeybekci and Ulyukayev held their first meeting on July 26, agreeing to complete consultations by August 5-6.

On the same day, Zeybekci said that he planned to meet his Russian counterpart on August 6 and that the two will hold bilateral meetings every three months after that.

The ministerial meeting is expected to finalize talks on restoring Russian-Turkish economic ties that begun on July 22, with the Russian Economic Development Ministry set to report to Russian President Vladimir Putin by Tuesday.

On July 27, Russia's First Deputy Economic Minister Alexey Likhachev said that the final meeting would take place on August 5-6, with the steps agreed on by the sides to be reported to Putin on August 9. On the same day, Putin and Erdogan will meet in St. Petersburg and plan to resolve any issues left unsettled by the ministers.

Zeybekci stated the next intergovernmental commission session would be held sometime in October in Turkey, and hailed the latest visit of his delegation to Russia as productive and successful.

AGENDA
Furthermore, it is rumored that Russia actually warned the Turkish president about the impending coup hours before a team of renegade commandos stormed the hotel where Erdogan was staying, and a statement issued by Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu apparently lends credence to this theory, according to LHebdo.

"During the coup attempt, Russia provided us with full and unconditional support. We thank Vladimir Putin and all of Russias officials Russia is not just our friend and close neighbor, but a strategic partner as well," the minister declared.

The Turkish army, numbering some 315,000 men, is the second-most numerous armed force in NATO, and Turkey itself is situated "in a strategic location at the border between the West and the Arab World, the Caucasus and Russia." Additionally, the US-led anti-Daesh coalition depends greatly on Turkish military infrastructure  the Incirlik airbase in particular  in its ongoing campaign against the terrorist group, the magazine points out.

And while Erdogan is unlikely to consider withdrawing his country from NATO, by maintaining friendly relations with Putin the Turkish leader is sending a clear signal that he won't allow himself to be bullied.

At the same time, while initially Russia and Turkey were backing the opposing sides of the Syrian conflict, now Erdogan apparently no longer believes that supporting the rebels in Syria is such a good idea. His intent to prevent the creation of a Kurdish state right next to Turkey's border makes Putins help quite desirable. Therefore, the two nations now apparently have more reasons to make peace with each other, not to mention that this development may significantly alter the balance of power in Syria.
Putin noted that the international terrorism can only be tackled jointly with the participation of the United Nations.

"Let me specifically underscore that the recent terrorist attacks perpetrated in various regions of the world prove yet again that terrorism can be addressed solely through a common effort guided by the norms and principles of international law and coordinated by the UN. In this endeavor, there can be no double standards," he said.

The Russian leader also touched upon regional burning issues  Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, its settlement and Moscow's role in it.

"We often hear that Russia is trying to monopolize the work related to the settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict and push other mediators aside. That is a misconception. The trilateral summits on the Karabakh issue with the participation of the Russian President  there have been more than twenty such summits  perfectly complement the efforts by the OSCE Minsk Group co-chaired by Russia, the US and France to settle this conflict," Putin said, adding that Russia is not attempting to impose "ready-made solutions" to the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict upon Armenia and Azerbaijan.

Speaking of the cooperation with Azerbaijan and Iran in bilateral format, Putin focused on several key points to be discussed during the upcoming meeting.

As for Azerbaijan, he noted, its agricultural products import to Russia, as well as an increase of Russian export of fertilizers and agricultural equipment to Azerbaijan will play a significant role in increasing trade between the two countries.

He added that relations between the two countries can be described as a strategic partnership, and although the trade turnover between Russia and Azerbaijan has amounted to $568.5 million in the first five months of 2016, which shows the 52.8 percent drop compared to the same period last year, Putin expressed hope that the two countries will be able to bring the mutual trade back to the path of sustainable growth.
"In order to please Berlin and not to quarrel with Brussels in the Schengen area, Francois Hollande will also cater to Erdogan's Turkey, which threatens to reopen the door to migrants to Europe at any moment. But all this would not have happened if Angela Merkel had not issued a unilateral appeal to migrants, but had instead refrained from what has turned out to be a highly irresponsible sense of 'generosity'!"

At the same time, the politician noted, the 'savage purge' going on inside Turkey after last month's coup attempt, and Ankara's ambiguous relations toward the Daesh terrorists in both Syria and Libya, "don't seem to be enough to stop negotiations on Turkey's accession to the EU, or a visa-free regime for Turkish citizens to Europe, talks on which are scheduled for October."

"Moreover, we are not able to put proper pressure on the country so that it completely stops all support for the Caliphate, on whose destruction all our efforts must be directed."

"Meanwhile," Dupont-Aignan noted, "the United States is doing everything it can to set Europe and Russia up against each other, out of fear that a mutual rapport between the two would weaken the US position on the continent. This is the very essence of the new Cold War artificial and reckless, which Washington has quietly declared against Moscow, having retained its obsolete military alliance, NATO, and constantly challenged Russia along its borders (in Ukraine, Georgia, etc.)."

This, the politician laments, has become a reality "despite promises made in the early 1990s not to engage in any struggle for influence in the territories of the former USSR. The fixation by Europe and Paris on the Ukrainian crisis and the annexation of Crimea (which had been Russian land for centures!), as well as the EU's absurd sanctions against Russia  all this is part of this policy, which does not correspond with our interests."

"It's all utter nonsense," the politician suggested, "because only Russia has demonstrated the effectiveness of its commitment against Daesh, unlike the United States, whose dodgy actions have been aimed more at damaging Moscow and Tehran by replacing Assad with Syrian rebels than they have on fighting Islamist terrorism in the Middle East. How else can one look at the ongoing US military assistance to the Syrian opposition, now dominated by factions affiliated with al-Qaeda?!"


MOSCOW (Sputnik)Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan will outline a roadmap to bring bilateral relations to a new level since the Russian jet downing froze ties, Turkish Ambassador in Russia Umit Yardim said Friday.

Putin and Erdogan are scheduled to meet next Tuesday, August 9, in St. Petersburg.

The leaders will discuss a full range of available issues. First, the negotiations will be tete-a-tete, and then between the delegations. And, of course, the presidents will outline a roadmap to bring our relations to a qualitatively new level in the course of August 9 negotiations, Yardim told RIA Novosti in an interview.
MOSCOW (Sputnik)  It is unacceptable to ignore or forget the fact that Moscow and Ankara have been and remain special partners, Turkish Ambassador to Russia Umit Yardim said Friday.

Even in the face of political rollback, Turkey remains a special country for Russia, just as Russia is for Turkey, Yardim told RIA Novosti in an interview, adding that ignoring this fact, forgetting about it is unacceptable.
MOSCOW (Sputnik)  In total 78 percent of Russian respondents said they are against transferring the islands of Iturup, Kunashir, Shikotan as well as the Habomai rocks to Japan, a poll conducted by the Moscow-based non-profit Levada Center found.

About 71 percent of respondents were also opposed to a possible compromise in the issue  transferring Shikotan and the Habomai rocks to Japan and retaining control over the larger islands of Iturup and Kunashir.

Almost 70 percent of those polled also rejected another possible compromise that would involve recognizing Japan's claim to the islands but retaining long-term control over them.
Large numbers of voters in France, Germany, Spain and Italy say the UK should be offered a tough deal when leaving the EU, according to a survey that said that Europeans want to punish Britain for Brexit.

39 percent of French voters said Brussels should offer Brits unfavorable departure terms, and only 19 percent of French voters said the UK should be given favorable terms.

The survey was also conducted in several other European countries, with only a few countries saying they would like the UK to be given good terms by Brussels.
"And considering the danger, I think we as American citizens deserve that debate, and not what we are given in the media today, including on the front page of the New York Times," he added.

However, Trump's "pro-Russian" remarks have triggered an instant backlash from Clinton's camp.

Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton branded Russia as a substantial threat to the US security along with Daesh (ISIS/ISIL) in her nomination speech at Democratic National Convention on July 28.

Thereby, in response to Trump's attempt to change the mainstream anti-Russian narrative, the Clinton campaign has labeled the Republican nominee "Putin's agent."

In his latest interview on the John Batchelor Show, Professor Cohen noted that a covert struggle is going on between the "party of war," represented by "supreme hawk" Hillary Clinton, and the "peace party" which is seeking to reach a detente with Russia.
The Turkish leader explained that the relations between the two countries are extremely important for the entire region, and so the crisis sparked by the downing of a Russian warplane in Syrian airspace had to be resolved no matter what.

"An undesirable incident involving an aircraft occurred between Russia and Turkey. The negative consequences of this incident lasted for eight months. We then wrote a letter and offered to put an end to this process, because relations between Turkey and Russia are very important for the region. The problem had to be solved. We also expressed our condolences for what happened and received a positive answer," Erdogan told Turkish national public broadcaster TRT.
Adding embarrassment to frustration, the media outlet noted that some of the stolen weapons were used to kill two Americans at a police training facility in Amman, according to FBI officials.

On July 3, Al-Masdar News reported that al-Nusra Front raided the headquarters of the FSA on July 2 in the towns of Kafr Anbel, Hazazen and Ma'arat Harmeh.

"Al-Nusra [Front] seized all weapons and ammunition held by the FSA group, including a batch of US supplied TOW anti-tank missiles," the media outlet reported.

Incredible as it may seem, the US State Department has as of yet failed to tackle the problem.

During a June 27 press briefing, State Department spokesperson Elizabeth Trudeau refused to provide any comments on the New York Times' report regarding the systematical theft of the US-made weapons destined for "moderate Syrian opposition" in Jordan.

"We have no comment on that report. There is an ongoing investigation. The United States remains committed to Jordan's security and stability, and we're proud to stand side by side with Jordan in the global counter-ISIL [Daesh] coalition. But on that particular report, there's an ongoing investigation. I just can't speak to it," Trudeau stressed.
One way to find out what is happening to us is to study the effect of urban life on other animals who cohabit our cities. Menno Schilthuizen, a Dutch evolutionary biologist, ecologist, professor and permanent research scientist at Naturalis Biodiversity Centre in Leiden, The Netherlands, makes it clear that evolution in cities is happening, and happening at a faster scale than in the countryside because animals, plants and birds have to adapt to survive.

Animals and plants evolve faster if the natural selection process is strong. If challenged by matters of life and death. You see that in the cities. If there is evolution that tends to happen very quickly in comparison to evolution that happens outside of the cities. The conditions are so different there that they have to adapt. Some species cannot adapt and they simply disappear.

If evolution is something that can happen over hundreds of years, it means that our whole concept of evolutionary change is wrong, we used to think that this was something that happened over thousands if not hundreds of thousands of years, at least that is what our school textbooks told us. I think we have known this for quite a while, but in peoples minds, evolution is still something that happens slowly. But the speed of evolution differs from species to species, depending on how many years there are between generations. Spiders, for example, evolve quickly because their generational cycle is very fast, two generations a year.
But, the article goes on to note that the difference, this time around is that What's new is putting human stem cells into the embryos of other animals, very early in embryonic development. Thats right. Stem cells. And if you remember, stem cells were the cells that were able to become any part of the body. In fact, there is an entire business dedicated towards saving the blood from a womans umbilical cord after she gives birth, simply because, as WebMD points out  this blood is rich in stem cells  cells that have the ability to transform into just about any human cell  that could someday be used as treatment if your child ever became ill with certain diseases. So, just think about that for a moment. On one hand, this field of work could possibly yield new cures and save countless lives. On the other, what are the ethics regarding not only this area of research, but the creatures that are created in the process?

The importance of this is explained in the article, as it quotes  Insoo Hyun, a bioethicist at Case Western Reserve University, by saying-"The special issue here with stem cells is that those types of human cells are so powerful and so elastic that there's great worry about the degree to which the animals could become humanized." Thats right. Humanized.

In that same article, Francoise Baylis, a bioethicist at Dalhousie University in Nova Scotia, Canada, says the engineering of creatures that are partly human and partly nonhuman animal is objectionable because the existence of such beings would introduce inexorable moral confusion in our existing relationships with nonhuman animals, and in our future relationships with part-human hybrids and chimeras." The article also quotes Hank Greely, a bioethicist at Stanford University, by saying  Another concern is that the human cells could end up in the brains of the animals. That raises the prospect that "this will somehow give the animal a human consciousness, human mental capabilities."

Another question that was posed is possibly even more troubling, If you had a male mouse that had human sperm in it, that's going to be a concern to some people, especially if it's anywhere near a female mouse that has human eggs in it. To say the least, it's disconcerting to think about two mice making a human embryo." Thats right. In the strange and bizarre world that we are heading into, two mice could possibly have a human-ish offspring. In responding to this movement, Rod Dreher, a senior editor at the American Conservative, recently said that creating partially human creatures is a step too far, Signs of the times, my friends. Read them, and prepare. We are a perverse and wicked generation who deserves what we are going to get.

The Washington Times noted, that  The US federal government is planning to lift a moratorium on funding for research studying the effects of injecting animal embryos with human stem cells, creating half-human half-animal hybrids. The general public reportedly will have one month to comment on the proposed change before the moratorium is lifted. So, thats that. Its done. For the most part- Onwards, and upwards, right?

Although H.G. Wells might have been a pioneer of the Science-Fiction genre more than a hundred and 20 some years ago, it isnt that hard to imagine that today, or at least in the not so distant future, some type of chimera inspired enhancement will be used on soldiers, coupled with some type of implantable or organic computer. Heck, maybe the entire process will be carried out in a lab, no mother or father needed. Picture that, a Minotaur type creature with super-human strength, completely amoral, controlled or enhanced with battlefield internet technologies, and equipped with state of the art weaponry and armor. It almost sounds like a Japanese Anime or a childrens Saturday morning cartoon, come to life, except that it is not possible to turn the TV off and walk away. And the chances that it will be like Groot or Rocket Raccoon, super-heroes in Marvels Guardians of the Galaxy franchise, are slim to none.

So, what do you think, dear listeners  Is it ethical to mix man and animal?
As the Olympics get underway in Rio de Janeiro, can the movement against the coup leverage this international spotlight?

The National Nuclear Security Administration has given the go ahead for the upgrade of the B-61 nuclear airborne bomb. Hans Kristensen of the Federation of American Scientists discusses the implications.

Donald Trumps increasingly ridiculous attacks on the parents of a Muslim Army captain who died in Iraq have been attacked by both Republicans and Democrats. But what has been ignored all this week was the Iraq war itself.
In 2009, by way of just one more example, we reported here on remarks delivered to the U.S. Elections Assistance Commission (EAC) by CIA cybersecurity analyst Steven Stigall, describing how "wherever the vote becomes an electron and touches a computer, that's an opportunity for a malicious actor potentially to make bad things happen," before going on to note that the CIA became interested in electronic voting systems years earlier "after concluding that foreigners might try to hack U.S. election systems."

So, it is with some skepticism that I regard Johnson's remarks this week about finally taking action to identify our existing, vulnerable electoral system as "critical infrastructure". Is it too little, too late on the eve of another Presidential election? And is it even possible to protect the type of electronic vote casting and counting systems we currently use in our elections? And what does the designation as "critical infrastructure" actually mean any way?

I'm joined on today's program for some answers by Scott Shackelford, cybersecurity law and business expert from Indiana University and the Harvard Kennedy School's Belfter Center, to explain some of this, and to describe some of the ways in which the U.S. might expand existing international agreements to keep domestic elections from being tampered with by foreign powers. Shackelford, writes about the issue this week at the Christian Science Monitor in an op-ed titled "How to make democracy harder to hack."

"It definitely is too late at this point to wake up and get all 9,000 jurisdictions on board for November," he tells me today. "Maybe instead of focusing quite so much on driver's licenses [to prevent fraud] and making sure we have different IDs in some of these states, it would've been great to have put that focus a little bit more on cybersecurity. But that didn't happen."

For what it's worth, my answer, after more than a decade on this beat: No, it's not possible to protect the type of electronic systems we currently use without moving to what I describe as "Democracy's Gold Standard". But Shackelford offers several ways we can, at least, try to improve the situation and mitigate the current dangers, as well as some thoughts on why action has been so long in coming. "Elections do quite a bit to focus minds. It is unfortunate that we lose some of that focus in the aftermath of these elections," he says.

Also today, why the right to vote is so important, whether you like it or use it or not, and why, for me, at least, it's still about rights, not politics, some 52 years to the day after the bodies of civil rights activists Andrew Goodman, James Earl Chaney and Michael Henry Schwerner were found after being murdered in Mississippi for trying to help register African-Americans to vote in 1964.

And, finally, speaking of vulnerable, as deadly, climate-fueled extreme weather continues across the planet, Republican U.S. Senator Ron Johnson of Wisconsin, up for re-election this year against former Democratic U.S. Senator Russ Feingold, offers up some of the dumbest, most embarrassing, scientifically disproven and just out-and-out inaccurate arguments against taking action on climate change that he could possibly muster. All of that and more on today's BradCast

Guest: Indiana University cybersecurity law expert Scott Shackelford
By March 2017, they plan on finishing their second hotel near Tokyo Disneyland.

Both Tokyo and Osaka continue to experience a lack of hotels, said Huis Ten Bosch President Hideo Sawada. The hotels are sure to be a big success, as they will be installed near outstanding theme parks.
But these identification services are recognized as not being strong in completely restricting access to the many perceived impressionable minds under the age of 18.

These services may also be hampered by not having a reliable and publicly available database that they can refer to and even if they did, would then the adults accessing porn sites be comfortable entering any personal information with what in effect is a data-collection prompt?

The more paranoid may well see this as the UK government's opening shot in an attempt to regulate Internet access and fear that it may prove to be the thin end of the wedge.

If the UK Government banned porn next year (which they are) isn't that just going to cause kids and teens asking others for nudes? Silly.  iPugsieHD (@iPugsieHD) July 8, 2016

With regard to current stages of the Digital Economy Bill, Sputnik spoke to the office of newly appointed Tory Minister of State for Digital and Culture, Matt Hancock and they explained that:

"Given where we are with the bill and that no other options apart from credit card verification methods have even been disclosed for age-verification by adult sites, it would be a bit premature to comment any further currently. It's far too early to even be critical of what the government may be planning at all, as no one is aware of what that may be yet."

But it doesn't stop cyber-tech experts from critiquing what information has been released about the bill so far, and it is said that the bill may well have totally missed the mark in its attempt to "save the children" from the murky side of the World Wide Web.

"The government may just be introducing futile attempts to give a smoke and mirrors impression that they are in fact doing 'something' whereas in a fairly borderless virtual world, tech savvy youngsters especially, just cannot really be protected at all," a London-based cyber security expert told Sputnik.

"With regard to ISP's, site owners and even the content creators, who may also be based anywhere around the world, will always be faced with bypassing mechanisms easily adopted by the front-end user to gain access, if that is what they choose to do."

60% of #kids in the UK admit to turning to porn to for sex ed.#parenting https://t.co/7WZ26TRaEn  Parents Who Fight (@ParentsWhoFight) March 29, 2016

Online safeguarding website 'Parent Zone' works across the spectrum with teachers, parents and families who may be concerned about online safety for young people. CEO Vicki Shotbolt pointed out that as much as age-verification is the least of what can be put in place on porn sites, it's very much like "putting a plaster on a gaping wound" for all the aspects of access that it overlooks.

So even if the government does manage to make inroads into reducing the amount of porn available via readily available avenues to those who know about them, such as torrenting for example, there are still innumerable other ways to get access to any kind of content a user requires, for example ad-sponsored illegal streams and binary newsgroups even.

How can parents respond to the online risks and challenges facing their children? https://t.co/Mj2IFA6K4R pic.twitter.com/ibzKoA76Ct  Parent Zone (@TheParentsZone) June 28, 2016

The government just doesn't look like it can win in anything it may attempt; and it would certainly be impossible to block all the options that exist online for tech loving young audiences savvy in these domains.

So unless the government manages to block (or ideally take down entirely) the vast majority of for example, torrent sites  which it clearly can't  any other solution it implements will only cover those who cant figure out how to use a VPN or BitTorrent.
Turner reversed the roles casually, and his move was met by a calm and professional officer in return.

The reason I was trying to pull you over is that you flew right by me, Turner tells the officer in the video, I mean you were going pretty fast back there. Are you in an emergency or something?

The officer then apologized for his actions, and admitted that he had no excuse for his speeding.

I apologize, sir, I didnt mean to, the officer responded.

Turner asked for the officers badge number, which the officer claimed not to have on him, but he did provide the activist with his name.

The two eventually went their separate ways, and Turner believes that the officers actions should be an inspiration for other officers.

I will say this officer was very respectful, honest and owned up to the mistake. He was very professional and I strongly believe this is how officers should behave when they are confronted for doing something wrong, Turner told TFTP. However, the issue I have is that people get citations for speeding all the time I think everyone should be held to the same standards. Throughout all my encounters with police, I believe more cops should mirror his professional attitude.
Earlier this week, a Fox News poll showed that Clinton was ahead of Trump by ten points, having 49 percent support against Trumps 39 percent.

The Fox News survey also revealed that sixty one percent of Americans think that Hillary Clinton is dishonest (sixty two think that Trump is dishonest).
"[We are] demanding a public explanation and retraction from NBC on the false reporting against a freely elected government of the Republic of Turkey and its president Recep Teyyip Erdogan," Kurtulas added.

Some activists, including National Security Whistleblowers Coalition founder Sibel Edmonds, went as far as labeling NBC as an orchestrator of the failed coup.

"In this case, [NBC] actively and directly participated in an illegal failed coup attempt against a sovereign nation. This has never happened before," Edmonds said.

The report was picked up by dozens of news organization across the world before it was taken down from NBC News website.

"From Telegraph and Guardian UK, Washington Post to New York Times, to newspapers in France and Germany, they printed false information that was planted and circulated by NBC News," Edmonds said. "NBC News is no longer a news agency. It is working in terrorist operations against sovereign nations."

On July 25, the Turkish Embassy in Washington DC sent an official request for a public retraction and an apology from NBC News.

Sputnik has reached out to NBC News for comment but has not received a reply.


WASHINGTON (Sputnik)Yemeni national Hail Aziz Ahmed al-Maythali, who probably served as a bodyguard to former al-Qaeda leader Osama Bin Laden, is cleared for release from the Guantanamo Bay prison in Cuba, newly unclassified documents from the US Department of Defense said.

"The Periodic Review Board, by consensus, determined that continued law of war detention of the detainee [al-Maythali] is no longer necessary to protect against a continuing significant threat to the security of the United States," the summery of final determination stated.

The documents indicated al-Maythali trained with al-Qaeda in Afghanistan in 2000 and 2001, may have served as a guard at Osama bin Laden's compound in Kandahar, and may have been a bodyguard to Bin Laden.


WASHINGTON (Sputnik)US Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton has a small lead over her Republican rival Donald Trump in the US state of Georgia, which has not voted for a Democrat in presidential elections since 1996, a new poll by the Atlanta-Journal Constitution revealed on Friday.

"The poll released Friday shows Clinton at 44 percent and Trump at 40 percent in a head-to-head matchup," the poll summary stated.

Even in a four-way race with Libertarian Party candidate Gary Johnson and Green Party contender Jill Stein, Clinton still leads Trump 41 percent to 38 percent, according to the poll.
WASHINGTON (Sputnik)  Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump has damaged the national security of the United States by allowing Russian President Vladimir Putin to prey on his vulnerabilities, former CIA acting director and deputy director Michael Morell said in an op-ed in the New York Times on Friday.

"In the intelligence business, we would say that Mr. Putin has recruited Mr. Trump as an unwitting agent of the Russian Federation," Morell stated on Friday.

Morell said Putin's compliments of Trump play on the nominee's vulnerabilities.
WASHINGTON (Sputnik)  The Zika virus can cause severe birth defects if contracted by a pregnant woman. The World Health Organization and US Centers for Disease Control have advocated mosquito control to curb the virus-transmitting insects population and fight Zika.

The FDA has published a final environmental assessment (EA) and finding of no significant impact (FONSI) that agrees with the EAs conclusion that the proposed field trial will not have significant impacts on the environment, the release said.
Pittsburgh residents were baffled by what they saw, with some saying that it looked like a weather balloon.

Around 8 p.m., we were looking up into the northern sky and saw what looked like just to be a bright, silver object in the sky, and then after we got a telescope on it, it looked like it was a clear balloon that was catching the light as it moved from west to east, witness Russ Moll told the local CBS affiliate.

The National Weather Service regularly uses balloons to measure conditions, and released a statement that their devices had not caused any strange occurrence that they are aware of.
Featured at the exercise was the prototype of the ground mobility vehicle 1.1, firing the M230-LF 30 mm cannon, along with a prototype for a light-armored combat-reconnaissance vehicle outfitted with a Kongsberg turret, firing an integrated MK44 30 mm cannon.

The Armys Light Reconnaissance Vehicle program was canceled in June and redirected to outfit cavalry scout units with the Joint Light Tactical Vehicle, a more general-purpose technology.

The decision to halt the program was decided in August 2015, after a two-week vehicle assessment held at Benning in which six companies took part of a platform demonstration to evaluate multiple prototypes. Officials maintain that scout units in infantry brigade combat teams will be equipped with JLTVs with sensor and weapons upgrades.
Last year, Trudeau's newly elected government laid out a plan to reset Ottawa's relations with the country's indigenous people. Trudeau's plan stipulates inquiry into missing indigenous women, investments in indigenous people's education, as well as and an overview of the legislation imposed on indigenous people by the previous governments.

During the election campaign, Trudeau promised to pay more attention to the problems of the First Nations peoples and to allocate about $40 million to an inquiry into some 1,200 cases of indigenous women and girls gone missing and being murdered.

Cases of homicides against indigenous women represent 16 percent of all female homicides in Canada, while the indigenous females make up just over 4 percent of all Canadian females, according to HRW.
MOSCOW (Sputnik)  Russian Helicopters holding is studying causes of the crash landing of the Pakistans Mi-17 in Afghanistan , a companys spokesperson said on Friday.

"The Pakistans civil helicopter Mi-17 driven by Pakistani pilots was heading for one of the plants of the Russian Helicopters holding for repairing works. Our experts are now in permanent communication with the Foreign Ministry and Pakistani authorities. Causes of the incident are being studied," the spokesperson told RIA Novosti.

The spokesperson added that the contract for repairing works was signed in July 2016.
MOSCOW (Sputnik)  Washington is not yet ready to extradite cleric Fethullah Gulen , who Ankara accused of being the mastermind behind the recent coup attempt, as it is not convinced by the evidence Turkey provided to support their allegations, local media reported.

On Thursday, the head of the Turkish delegation that is on a visit to the United States in an effort to persuade Washington to extradite Gulen, Taha Ozhan, said that Turkey considers the continued presence of dissident Muslim cleric Gulen in the United States as a problem in bilateral ties.

The US officials are not convinced by the evidence Turkey has presented in order to support the claim that Gulen was behind the coup attempt, and are troubled by threatening public statements Turkish officials have recently made, the Wall Street Journal said Thursday, citing sources familiar with the discussions in the White House.
MOSCOW (Sputnik)  The presidents of Azerbaijan, Iran and Russia will meet in Baku on August 8 to discuss the International NorthSouth Transport Corridor, Russian President Vladimir Putin said.

On August 8, 2016, we will meet for the first time at a summit of the three Heads of State in Baku, at the invitation of President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev, to discuss the prospects for developing long-term and mutually beneficial cooperation that would span diverse areas: from economic and humanitarian ties to security and the fight against terrorism, Putin told the Azerbaijani State News Agency AZERTAC in an interview.

He noted that that the talks would focus on the International NorthSouth Transport Corridor.
MOSCOW (Sputnik)  Russia has no intentions of pushing aside other mediators and monopolizing the Nagorno-Karabakh settlement work, Russian President Vladimir Putin said.

"We often hear that Russia is trying to monopolize the work related to the settlement of the Nagorny Karabakh conflict and push other mediators aside. That is a misconception. The trilateral summits on the Karabakh issue with the participation of the Russian President  there have been more than twenty such summits  perfectly complement the efforts by the OSCE Minsk Group co-chaired by Russia, the US and France to settle this conflict," Putin told AZERTAC news agency ahead of his Azerbaijan visit.

"It should be noted that US and French representatives attended the concluding part of the abovementioned trilateral summit in St. Petersburg," the president added.
MOSCOW (Sputnik)  Russia is going to further assist Iran in implementation of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action on its nuclear program, Russian President Vladimir Putin said.

"We will further assist our Iranian partners in implementing the Plan of Action on Iran's nuclear program, including the processing of enriched uranium and the conversion of facilities to produce stable isotopes," Putin told the Azerbaijani State News Agency AZERTAC in an interview.

He said that Russian-Iranian nuclear cooperation has become strategic.
MOSCOW (Sputnik)  Moscow will maintain its support of Tehrans aspirations to become a full-fledged member of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) , Russian President Vladimir Putin said in an interview.

"We are also interested in strengthening our partnership with Tehran in regional affairs. We consider it an important factor of maintaining stability and security across a large territory from Central Asia and the Caspian region to the Middle East. We will continue to support Iran's pursuit of full SCO membership," Putin told the AZERTAC news agency.

SCO currently comprises Russia, China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan with India and Pakistan set to be acceded by 2017.
MOSCOW (Sputnik)  A number of recent terrorist attacks committed across the world serve as a proof that international terrorism can only be tackled jointly with the participation of the United Nations, Russian President Vladimir Putin said in an interview.

"Let me specifically underscore that the recent terrorist attacks perpetrated in various regions of the world prove yet again that terrorism can be addressed solely through a common effort guided by the norms and principles of international law and coordinated by the UN. In this endeavor, there can be no double standards," Putin told to Azerbaijani State News Agency AZERTAC.

The Russian leader added that there is a big danger in attempts to exploit extremist groups out of political interests.
MOSCOW (Sputnik)  Russian officials are in contact with authorities on the ground to verify reports of a Russian citizen possibly kidnapped by the Taliban aboard Pakistans helicopter that crash-landed in Afghanistan , the Russian Foreign Ministry said Friday.

We are verifying this information. Our embassies in Islamabad and Kabul are in close contact with the authorities in host countries with the purpose of taking comprehensive measures for the release of the Russian citizen, the ministry said in a statement.

The kidnapped Russian citizen was identified as pilot S.K. Sevastyanov, born in 1956.
According to the NYT report, at the top of Emnis pyramid there is the elusive Abu Mohammad al-Adnani, Daesh propaganda chief and spokesperson, who has reportedly been named head of the intelligence unit dedicated to launching attacks abroad.

Below him is a tier of lieutenants empowered to plan attacks in different regions of the world, including a secret service for European affairs, a secret service for Asian affairs and a secret service for Arab affairs, the newspaper says.

Adnani has reportedly evaded capture from coalition forces and is one of the most senior Syrian operatives of Daesh.

Dr Abrahms says in essence Adnani has given a green light for people to do whatever they want.

To spread terror and to say that they did it on behalf of Daesh. So there really is no need for that much of communication between the sleeper cells in Europe, he noted.

There is a lot of variation in these attacks. For example, the one in Paris last year did have a lot of organizational involvement as in the attack on the Turk airport in Istanbul whereas other attacks where there is really no communication.

He cited as an example the attack of Omar Mateen in Orlando Florida, who gunned down 49 people at a gay nightclub in June.

He really seems to have been acting alone, without communications with the group although he ultimately attributed his violence to Daesh, he said.
MOSCOW (Sputnik)  Upcoming discussions between Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogans on the Turkish Stream gas pipeline project may give impetus to implementing this and other energy projects, Turkish Ambassador to Russia Umit Yardim said Friday.

At the moment, the parties have not started the formal part, the signing of documents. I do not know in what context the Turkish Stream will be discussed on August 9, but of course energy issues and these projects will be discussed, Yardim told RIA Novosti in an interview.

The diplomat voiced confidence that the meeting between the two leaders in St. Petersburg will give additional impetus not only on the Turkish Stream project, but all areas of our cooperation.
MOSCOW (Sputnik)  The United States has sent over 1,000 intelligence agents to provide security and protect US athletes at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games, US media reported Friday.

In addition to hundreds of analysts, special operations and law enforcement officers, Washington has sent a number of Navy and Marine Corps commandos, NBC News reported, citing a highly classified US intelligence report.
MOSCOW (Sputnik)  The Special Monitoring Mission (SMM) of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), deployed in Ukraine, noted on Friday a significant decrease in violence in the Luhansk Region in eastern Ukraine.

Last week, 209 ceasefire violations were registered in the Luhansk region, compared to over 2,000 the previous week, OSCE SMM Deputy Chief Monitor Alexander Hug told reporters. He noted, however, that in the Donetsk region the number of ceasefire violations had not changed significantly compared to the previous week.

Hug noted that the mission had registered destruction all across the contact line in eastern Ukraine, as the conflicting sides have failed to withdraw all the weapons.
MOSCOW (Sputnik)  Major UN agencies specializing in providing humanitarian aid to people in need announced on Friday the successful completion of a relief operation targeting some 75,000 people at the Syria-Jordan border, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) announced in a statement posted on its website.

In June, Jordan sealed a berm area on its border with Syria after a deadly attack at a border post, which left tens of thousands of Syrian refugees stranded, forcing them to live in shelters along the border area.

"Today the World Food Programme [WFP], the UN High Commissioner for Refugees [UNHCR], the International Organization for Migration [IOM] and UNICEF completed an urgent relief operation to provide a one-month ration of desperately needed food and hygiene supplies to more than 75,000 people who are trapped along a land embankment, or berm, at the Syria-Jordan border," the statement reads.
MOSCOW (Sputnik)  The persistent low oil prices and market instability led to an April meeting of OPEC and non-OPEC oil producers in Doha to discuss a possible freeze of oil output. The meeting failed to produce an agreement as OPEC members were sharply divided over capping their own production.

The Wall Street Journal reported, citing sources familiar with the situation, that the list of countries willing to organize a meeting on the issue comprises Venezuela, Ecuador and Kuwait. Some OPEC members believe that they could solve the issue on September 26, when oil producers meet at the International Energy Forum (IEF) in Algeria.


WASHINGTON (Sputnik)US citizens in Turkey should be aware of protests planned to take place in Ankaras neighborhood Kizilay and other locations around the capital over the weekend, the US embassy announced on Friday.

Even demonstrations intended to be peaceful can turn confrontational and escalate into violence. You should avoid areas of demonstrations and exercise caution if in the vicinity of any large gatherings, protests, or demonstrations, the embassy said.

Following the July 15 attempted military coup against the government of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, there have been a number of anti-American protests in Turkey, including at the Incirlik air base, where US troops are stationed.


MOSCOW (Sputnik)The operation was carried out in Istanbul and targeted a suspect with links to the Fethullahist Terrorist Organization (FETO), allegedly run by Gulen and designated as a terrorist organization by Ankara, Daily Sabah newspaper said.

The money, believed to be benevolent payments, was hidden in a car in the parking lot of a building.

Ankara believes that FETO is responsible for the recent failed coup in the country. In 2014, Turkey opened an investigation into the organization's activities to allegedly overthrow the government. Gulen multiple faces charges, including treason, which he denies.
The two leaders held a joint press conference following the meeting, during which Nazarbayev underlined the significance of the New Synergy joint program, adopted last year and aimed at promoting economic cooperation.

"Our goal is to increase the volume of mutual trade turnover to $10 billion. The program provides for implementation of 20 investment projects worth about $813 million," Nazarbayev told reporters as quoted in a statement published on his official website.
Canuels Epipen was in the car, and so his partner, who is a doctor, attempted CPR

After arriving at the hospital, his heart stopped and he became comatose for 48 hours. He spent five days in the hospital.

On Wednesday, the 22-year-old waiter was arrested, but he has not yet been charged. He has been been released from custody, but had to promise to appear in court, should charges be filed.

In order to prove criminal negligence, the court must prove the waiter acted with wanton, reckless disregard for human life.

It would be extremely rare to see a case like this make its way into the criminal courts, Daniel Brown, a criminal defence lawyer in Toronto, told the Star. It must make a lot of waiters uneasy.

Still, police believe that charges are warranted, given the serious nature of the incident.

When you dont do something that is supposed to be your duty, and you show recklessness for the life or security of someone, thats a crime, Carrier told the Globe and Mail of their unprecedented decision to recommend criminal charges.

Canuel, who is still recovering, intends to sue the restaurant as well.
Trainer Casie Coleman has had her fair share of world class fillies, and it looks like Candlelight Dinner wants to add her name to that list.

The two-year-old daughter of American Ideal-Time N Again crushed the foes she faced in Thursdays $39,800 final of the Whenuwishuponastar Series Final at Mohawk Racetrack, and in doing so pushed her record to three wins in as many tries.

Candlelight Dinner got away fifth for driver Jonathan Drury, who watched Black Jat Pat, Touching Thought and Warrawee Star battle to the quarter pole in :27.2. Touching Thought cleared and was quickly overtaken by Warrawee Star, and just as things settled Drury pulled the trigger out of fifth with Candlelight Dinner. She blasted her way to the lead at the half in :56.4 and proceeded to lead the way past the three-quarter pole in 1:24. She rumbled home in :28.2 in wrapped up fashion en route to the five-length tally over Black Jack Pat in 1:52.2. Moment To Ponder was third.

Right from the get-go she has just been a sweetheart, said Coleman. She got a little hot on me like most Americna Ideals can, but we taught her out of that right away, thats why J.D.s (Jonathan Drury) been racing her the way he is. Hes handled her really well, teaching her how to race when she is a dead favourite.

Sent off as the 1-9 favourite, Candlelight Dinner pushed her bankroll to $33,900 with the win for partners Mac Nichol, Let It Ride Stables Inc and Howard Taylor. The group shelled out $110,000 to purchase the filly from last years Lexington Select Yearling Sale.

Earlier on the card Seven And Seven broke his maiden for trainer/driver Tom Durand in the opening leg of the Define The World Series for two-year-old trotters.

A short field of five went postward in the lone division, and the majority of the road work was done by Cant U Spell. She took charge from Post 5 and carved out splits of :29.4, 1:00.2 and 1:29.1 before coming under attack. Race favourite AWOL Hanover rallied out of the pocket while Seven And Seven went on the offensive from third after being treated to a ground-saving journey throughout. Seven And Sevens closing quarter speed of :28 propelled him to the win by a length over AWOL Hanover, with Cant U Spell setting for the show dough in the $14,000 affair.

The homebred son of Chapter Seven-Ally Oop has banked $8,120 in his first two appearances for Tom and June Durand along with partner Allan Smith of Oakville, Ont.

(With quotes from WEG)

To view results for Thursday's card of harness racing, click the following link: Thursday Results  Mohawk Racetrack.
Greg Walling, the managing director of the Sullivan Group, and one of the main proponents behind the success of Kawartha Downs racetrack over the past two years, has been appointed a special advisor to Agriculture Minister Jeff Leal regarding the horse racing industry in Ontario.

The engagement is for $1 per year, said Walling who operates his company, which oversees corporate turnarounds and financings, in Lindsay, Ont.

Ive learned a lot about the industry over the past few years working with Ian Fleming, Heather MacKay and Skip Ambrose, who all have worked in the industry for many years and also participated in the turnaround and renewal of Kawartha Downs.

Given all of the tremendous change in horse racing these days, Jeff asked if I would continue on and in particular advocate for the smaller racetracks in the province and Im happy to do so.

Horse racing helps the rural economies of the communities where it occurs. Growing up and living in rural Ontario I think its important that the significant role of horse racing in Ontario is not forgotten, added Walling.

(From the Office of Jeff Leal)
The colour of the day at the Meadowlands Racetrack on Saturday will be silver, for the glistening Hambletonian and Oaks trophies that are the object of dreams for many. But the complementary colour of the day will be teal, for ovarian cancer awareness.

The longtime girlfriend of Hambletonian trophy presenter, NASCAR driver Martin Truex, is Sherry Pollex, who is an ovarian cancer survivor and advocate for others fighting the disease. Pollex is the owner of a womens clothing and accessories store, and she has a website (sherrystrong.org) that provides information and news for those dealing with ovarian cancer.

To honour her commitment, trainer Jonas Czernyson and his wife, Christine, will ask Pollex to sign a teal ribbon to be braided into the mane of Hambletonian Oaks contender Side Bet Hanover shortly before she races.

This is not the first time the Czernysons have been involved in building awareness and raising funds to fight the disease.

It started last year with Aldebaran Eagle, said Christine Czernyson of the now four-year-old trotter who has a mark of 1:52.1 and earnings of $209,243 and is trained by Jonas. The owner of Aldebaran Eagle is Duncan McPherson from Australia and his wife, Lyn, passed away from ovarian cancer. Jonas and I wanted to do something for Duncan, whos very involved in ovarian cancer awareness in Australia. We had the horse racing for ovarian cancer awareness and we gave a percentage of his earnings last year to the cause, it was almost $2,000.

We put out an initiative and said wed love for Eagle to be racing not only for Lyn McPherson but for all of the angels that have passed from ovarian cancer, and also the survivors. We wrote the names of all the people who wrote to us on teal ribbons, and Eagle will actually be racing tonight (Friday, Aug. 5, Race 5) at the Meadowlands with all of those survivors and angels names on ribbons in his mane. We have almost 50  it involves three ribbons.

The Czernysons are extending the ribbon project to Side Bet Hanover for the rest of 2016 and will donate a percentage of her earnings for all of 2016. The filly, who won her elimination of the Hambletonian Oaks at odds of 38-1, is rated at 8-1 on the morning line for the final from Post 4.

My aunt, Kathy Terrazas, passed away from ovarian cancer, so it is a cause close to my heart, said Christine Czernyson. We do this in honour of her and Sherry Pollex. She will be racing with the ribbons of all of Eagles angels and survivors.

$500,000 Hambletonian Oaks

(Race 12  Post time 4:41 p.m.)

PP-Horse-Driver-Trainer-Morning Line Odds

1  Caprice Hill  Tim Tetrick  Tony Alagna  5-2

2  Celebrity Eventsy  John Campbell  Staffan Lind  6-1

3  Dream Child  Scott Zeron  Linda Toscano  30-1

4  Side Bet Hanover  Corey Callahan  Jonas Czernyson  8-1

5  Windowshopper  Brian Sears  Ake Svanstedt  40-1

6  All The Time  Yannick Gingras  Jimmy Takter  9-5

7  Broadway Donna  David Miller  Jim Campbell  7-2

8  Wildflower  Ake Svanstedt  Ake Svanstedt  30-1

9  Black Broadway  Eric Goodell  Michael Eaton  50-1

10  Double Exposure  Brett Miller  Tony Alagna  15-1

This story courtesy of Harness Racing Communications, a division of the U.S. Trotting Association. For more information, visit www.ustrotting.com.
Religious Colleges Under Attack in Calif.

NEW YORK, August 5, 2016 / Standard Newswire / -- Bill Donohue comments on an anti-religious freedom bill in California:

Los Angeles Archbishop Jose Gomez is sounding the alarm about SB 1146, the bill we recently warned would gut the religious identity of faith-based colleges and universities in California.



In a joint statement ( In a joint statement ( click here ) with Bishop Charles Blake of the 6 million member, worldwide Church of God in Christ, Archbishop Gomez warns that under the so-called "Equity in Higher Education Act," religious schools that receive state funds or whose students receive state aid would be forced to adopt practices "contrary to their beliefs and teachings."

The legislation, sponsored by Sen. Ricardo Lara, would mandate bathrooms based on "gender identity" rather than male-female. It would require that married dorms be opened up to same-sex couples. It "even has the government setting guidelines for what 'religious practices' and 'rules for moral conduct' will be acceptable," Bishops Gomez and Blake write. It could restrict a school's ability to teach its religious faith or require student attendance at worship services, and it could be used to require that gay and lesbian clubs and activities be allowed on campus.

This goes way beyond the issue of gay and lesbian rights. It is clearly an effort to use that agenda to attack and weaken the moral foundations of Christianity.

It would also gravely weaken faith-based institutions financially, by forcing them to either compromise their moral principles or incur costly litigation to fight the bill's oppressive provisions. And it would gravely harm low-income and minority families, millions of whom, throughout California, utilize faith-based colleges and universities, and depend on financial assistance to be able to do so.
Foundation Calls for Return to Constitution

Local Foundation "Educates" Congress

MONTGOMERY, Ala., Aug. 5, 2016 / Standard Newswire / -- The Foundation for Moral Law, a Montgomery-based non-profit foundation dedicated to the strict interpretation of the Constitution as written and as intended by its Framers, has undertaken a massive project to educate the members of Congress about their duties as guardians of the Constitution.

Earlier this week, the Foundation sent a detailed letter to each of the 435 Representatives and 100 Senators explaining that the Constitution gives carefully enumerated powers to each of the three branches of the federal government. The President, according to the Foundation, has repeatedly exceeded his constitutional powers by issuing executive orders on subjects that are beyond his jurisdiction, and the Court has issued rulings that ignore the plain meaning of the Constitution and simply substitute their own subjective opinions in its place.

Foundation President Kayla Moore said, "Congress has the right and duty to protect the Constitution drafted by 'We the People' by overriding the President's executive orders through legislation and by refusing to appropriate money for the President's unconstitutional activities. Congress also has the right and duty to keep the Court within its constitutional limits by refusing to confirm judges and Justices who ignore the Framers' intent and, according to Article III Section 2, limiting the Court's appellate jurisdiction."

Along with the letter, the Foundation sent to each member of Congress a 112-page booklet titled One Nation Under God which is a compendium of foundational documents include excerpts from Sir William Blackstone's Commentaries, the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, and President Washington's Farewell Address. The booklet is available through the Foundation.



Foundation Senior Counsel John Eidsmoe added, "Our hope is that the members of Congress and their staffs will study these founding documents and be reminded of the limited republic our Founders created. In this pocketbook form, the Constitution becomes like your American Express card: 'Never leave home without it.'"
August 3, 2016 | Darius Shahtahmasebi





(ANTIMEDIA) Corporate media regularly attempts to present Bashar al-Assads regime in Syria as



Corporate media regularly attempts to present Bashar al-Assads regime in Syria as solely responsible for the ongoing conflict in the region. The media does report on events that contradict this narrative  albeit sparingly  but taken together, these underreported details shine a new light on the conflict.

10: Bashar al-Assad has a higher approval rating than Barack Obama

189.8 million American people did not vote for Obama. His current approval rating sits at about Obama, on the other hand, won elections in 2012 with a voter turnout of a mere 53.6 percent of the American public; only 129.1 million total were votes cast. This means approximatelyfor Obama. His current approval rating sits at about 50 percent

9: The moderate opposition has been hijacked

New York Times in 2012 that the majority of weapons being sent to Syria have been ending up in the hands of jihadists. A There is no longer such a thing as moderate opposition in Syria  if there ever was. The so-called Western-backed Free Syrian Army (FSA) has been dominated by extremists for years . The U.S. has known this yet has continued to support the Syrian opposition, despite the fact the reported in 2012 that the majority of weapons being sent to Syria have been ending up in the hands of jihadists. A classified DIA report predicted the rise of ISIS in 2012, stating:

If the situation unravels, there is the possibility of establishing a declared or undeclared Salafist principality in eastern Syria and this is exactly what the supporting powers to the opposition want, in order to isolate the Syrian regime.

, an FSA commander Furtheran FSA commander went on record not only to admit his fighters regularly conduct joint operations with al-Nusra (al-Qaeda in Syria), but also that he would like to see Syria ruled by Sharia law.

Apparently, moderate can also mean al-Qaeda affiliated fanatic.

8: Assad never used chemical weapons on his own people

A U.N. investigation into the first major chemical weapons attack committed in early 2013  an atrocity the West immediately pinned on Assad  concluded the evidence suggested the attack was more likely committed by the Syrian opposition. A subsequent U.N. investigation into the August 2013 attack never laid blame on anyone, including Assads forces. In December 2013, Pulitzer prize-winning journalist Seymour Hersh released an article highlighting deficiencies in the way the situation was handled:

In the months before the attack, the American intelligence agencies produced a series of highly classified reportsciting evidence that the al-Nusra Front, a jihadi group affiliated with al-Qaida, had mastered the mechanics of creating sarin and was capable of manufacturing it in quantity. When the attack occurred al-Nusra should have been a suspect, but the administration cherry-picked intelligence to justify a strike against Assad.

7: Toppling the Syrian regime was part of a plan adopted shortly after 9/11

According to a memo disclosed by 4-star General Wesley Clark , shortly after 9/11, the Pentagon adopted a plan to topple the governments of seven countries within five years. The countries were Iraq, Lebanon, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, and Iran.

As we know, Iraq was invaded in 2003. American ally Israel tried its hand at taking out Lebanon in 2006. Libya was destroyed in 2011. Prior to this intervention, Libya had the highest standard of living of any country in Africa. In 2015, alone, it dropped 27 places on the U.N. Human Development Index rating. U.S. drones fly over Somalia, U.S. troops are stationed in South Sudan  Sudan was partitioned following a brutal civil war  and Syria has been the scene of a deadly war since 2011. This leaves only Iran, which is discussed below.

6: Iran and Syria have a mutual defense agreement

Since 2005, Iran and Syria have been bound by a mutual defense agreement . The Iranian government has shown they intend to fully honor this agreement and has provided the Syrian regime with all manner of support, including troops, a $1 billion credit line , training, and advisement. What makes this conflict even more dangerous, however, is the fact Russia and China have sided with Iran and Syria, stating openly they will not tolerate any attack on Iran. Russias military intervention in Syria in recent months proves these are not idle threats  they have put their money where their mouth is.

5: Former Apple CEO is the son of a Syrian refugee

The late Steve Jobs , founder of Apple, was the son of a Syrian who moved to the United States in the 1950s. This is particularly amusing given the amount of xenophobia, Islamophobia, racism and hatred refugees and migrants seem to have inspired  even from aspiring presidents. Will a President Donald Trump create the conditions in which future technological pioneers may never reach the United States? His rhetoric seems to indicate as much.

4: ISIS arose out of the U.S. invasion of Iraq, not the Syrian conflict

3: Turkey, Qatar, and Saudi Arabia wanted to build a pipeline through Syria, but Assad rejected it

The Iran-Iraq pipeline will strengthen Iranian influence in the region and undermine their rival, Saudi Arabia  the other main OPEC producer. Given the ability to transport gas to Europe without going through Washingtons allies, Iran will hold the upper-hand and will be able to negotiate agreements that exclude the U.S. dollar completely.

2: Leaked phone calls show Turkey provides ISIS fighters with expensive medical care

Turkeys support for hardline Islamists fighting the Syrian regime is extensive . In fact, jihadists regularly refer to the Turkish border as the gateway to Jihad. In May 2016, reports started emerging of Turkey going so far as to provide ISIS fighters with expensive medical treatment.

Turkey is a member of NATO. Let that sink in for a moment.

1: Western medias main source for the conflict is a T-shirt shop in Coventry, England

Reuters, This is not a joke. If you follow the news, you most probably have heard the mainstream media quote an entity grandiosely called the  Syrian Observatory for Human Rights  (SOHR). This so-called observatory is run by one man in his home in Coventry, England  thousands of miles away from the Syrian conflict  yet is quoted by most respected Western media outlets ( BBC The Guardian , and International Business Times , for example). His credentials include his ownership of a T-shirt shop just down the road, as well as being a notorious dissident against the current Syrian president.

***

Despite the fact much of the information in this article comes from mainstream outlets, those circulating it refuse to put all of the storylines together to give the public an accurate picture of what is going on in Syria.
Northwest Hardwoods laid off more than 40 employees at its Longview mill in the wake of the companys struggle to secure a steady supply of raw materials.

The hardwood company says it temporarily laid off second-shift workers in July, but last week made those layoffs permanent.

The raw material shortage means the company cant support a second shift, said Brian Narramore, vice president of human resources at Northwest Hardwoods.

The lumber company is a big regional player in the hardwood industry, processing alder and maple woods in Longview and several other locations in Washington and Oregon.

We can sell as much as we could produce right now. This has everything to do with the limited raw material supply, Narramore said.

The company tried to prevent layoffs for the last year by reducing hours and participating in a state work share program, Narramore said, but now the company has exhausted those programs.

Weve been limping along all year, he said.

Yet union officials say workers were surprised by the job cuts, because they say there was speculation hours might rise again.

It was kind of a blind spot, said Scott Keatley, president of the Woodworkers Local Lodge 536, which represents the mills employees.

After the 46 layoffs, the union now represents about 82 to 84 employees at the Longview mill, Keatley said.

The woodworkers union is trying to connect the laid off employees to state and federal government programs that sends people back to school to be trained in another industry, he said.

It could take about 8 to 10 weeks before employees know if theyll be eligible for the federal retraining program, but some workers are already taking advantage of the state assistance, said Wayne Thompson, district business representative of the woodworkers union.

Narramore said the company wants to increase production, but its uncertain when that will be feasible. Other Northwest locations in Washington experienced layoffs earlier this year, he said.

He noted that timber companies are harvesting fewer trees in response to international competition.

West Coast log exports to Asia have steadily declined for well over a year as result of the strong U.S. dollar. In the first quarter of 2016, West Cost log exports fell 6.6 percent compared to the same quarter in 2015, according to the U.S. Forest Service.

At the Port of Longview, log exports were down 25 percent in the first five months of the year compared to the same period last year, hitting 39,700 million board feet.

And in October, a key lumber trade agreement between Canada and the U.S. expired, leaving American timber companies to compete with heavily subsidized Canadian lumber. Although there was a yearlong grace period, according to Woodworking Network, its not clear whether a new agreement will be struck. The outcome will could affect hardwood industry as well, because timber companies typically only harvest hardwood (such as alders and maples) when they harvest softwoods (such as conifers). If stiffer competition from Canada causes timber companies to reduce harvests, that could mean a limited hardwood supply as well, Narramore noted.

A shortage of Washington hardwoods has some producers turning to Canada for supplies, said Dave Sweitzer, manager of Western Hardwoods Association, a Camas-based trade group.

Regionally, harvest rates have been cut in half over the last 20 years as timber companies have faced logging restrictions and litigation, Sweitzer added.
The Rainier Oregon Historical Museum will hold a Getting to Know You and Your Museum event Saturday, Aug. 6. From 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. at the Rainier Senior Center.

Museum historian Mike Clark will be in attendance, with photos and a historical presentation on the Pythius Hall, which burned to the ground on Aug. 13, 1916.

There will also be a Rainier history trivia quiz with prizes. People will leave our event with new knowledge of the history of Rainier, said museum president Kay Heflin.

Though the museum does not have a permanent physical location yet, the group has been displaying historical objects of interest in display cases within the entry way to Rainier City Hall and at the town post office. Museum volunteers hope to relocate to a remodeled community room in City Hall sometime next year.

Refreshments will be provided and the event is free and open to the public. For more information on how to donate or volunteer, contact Kay Heflin at 503-556-4089.
Emitting carbon dioxide in the atmosphere by burning fossil fuels has lead to huge ripple effects to the extent of warming the globe and melting glaciers. One cannot deny that fact that it is a he source of energy but it comes with its own side effects.

Thus scientists have made sure that the carbon dioxide which is emitted in the form of smokestack can be turned back into fuel.

Experiments have been conducted in the yester years and research has made it possible that these experiments can be called successful inside the laboratory. However scientists around the world are now looking to conduct it on a larger scale or an industrial scale.

The smoke which is emitted from the burning, can be captured and recycled to fuel, making sure it is not creating a ruckus in the environment.

How is it done?

It is quite similar to electrolysis or the water splitting process which is used to produce hydrogen and oxygen by running electricity through water using electrodes.

The same process is applied here too where the scientists dissolve CO2 in a conductive liquid and run electricity through it using electrodes to produce carbon monoxide, which is combined with hydrogen to make products like synthetic diesel, says Ted Sargent, who has lead this experiment with a group of researchers.

Thus this process makes sure that the carbon is stopped from entering the atmosphere and this energy can also be stored in sunny places like Canada.

But producing this would require far more energy than the energy used to pump fossil fuels from the ground. And we cant afford to waste since efficiency of energy is very important, says sergeant.

While generating hydrogen from electrolysis has been found, carbon dioxide still needs some processing. This is why they have come up with a more process efficient system which is reported in the Report in the Journal Nature.

Because dissolving carbon dioxide in water takes a long time and only dissolved carbon dioxide can be split into carbon monoxide, Sargent and his team has come out with a new approach. This is done by refining the existing electrodes shape. The researchers shaped a gold electrode into an array of nanoneedles 10,000 times finer than a human hair. And applying electricity here generates an electric field that causes carbon dioxide molecules to gather at the tips of the needles  Sargent calls it a lightning rod effect which concentrates the carbon dioxide at the electrode and boosts the speed of its conversion into carbon monoxide to a large extent.

Xiao-Dong Zhou, an associate professor of chemical engineering at the University of South Carolina said that the speed is still far from what is needed to turn carbon dioxide into fuel on an industrial scale.

Rosenthal has a similar view by saying even though many leads have to be generated still; this is an important step in that direction.

This study has been funded by the Ontario Research Fund, the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada, the CIFAR Bio-Inspired Solar Energy program, a University of Toronto Connaught grant, the Shanghai Municipal Natural Science Foundation and the National Natural Science Foundation of China.
Scientists at the NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration) are testing the design of new docking hatch for the Orion spacecraft which will take astronauts on Journey to Mars in 2020. The tests are being conducted at NASAs Johnson Space Center in Houston to ensure that astronauts can get out of the spacecraft through the docking hatch in case of any emergency.

NASA explains, While the crew will primarily use the side hatch for entry and exit on Earth and the docking hatch to travel between Orion and a habitation module on long-duration deep space missions, the crew will need to be able to exit out of the docking hatch if wave heights in the Pacific Ocean upon splashdown are too high. The work is being done to help ensure all elements of Orions design are safe and effective for the crew to use on future missions on the journey to Mars.

Last year, NASA successfully tested the prototype of the spacecraft. Engineers have designed a new thermal protection system which will enable Orion spacecraft to withstand more than 2200 degree Celcius temperature. Since it will be the first manned mission to Mars, security of astronauts is very crucial.

NASA will test Orions endurability during next mission named Exploration Mission-1 (EM-1) in which the spacecraft will fly for at least three weeks and return back to Earth at a faster speed so that it get can tested through even hotter conditions.

Worlds most powerful rocket Space Launch Station (SLS) will be used to lift up Orion spacecraft along with 13 other miniature satellites. Astronauts will try to find traces of life on Mars. They will also grow vegetables including tomato. Moreover, scientists believe that the Red Planet was habitable in the past but somehow it lost it atmosphere, water and then life. Scientists will try to solve mystery of what made Mars a deserted place of today.
Everything you need to know about NASA Juno spacecraft on its 5th anniversary

It has been almost five years when NASA launched the Juno probe on 05 August 2011. The spacecraft reached the Jupiter planet on July 04 this year with an aim of exploring the largest planet of our solar system. Here is everything you need to know on the occasion of the fifth anniversary of Juno mission.

First mission to Jupiter was conducted 45 years ago and since then seven mission have been started to explore the largest planet of our solar system. Juno is the best possible attempt by the scientists to explore the planet and gather necessary information. In addition, Juno is only the second spacecraft to orbit Jupiter. Galileo was the first probe to orbit the planet from 1995 to 2003.

Juno is a solar powered spacecraft with the primary aim of searching for clues about how the planet formed, including whether it has a rocky core, the amount of water present within the deep atmosphere,mass distribution, and its deep winds, which can reach speeds of 618 kilometers per hour.

NASA scientists had swtiched off the scientific instruments including cameras on the spacecraft while it was entering into the orbit in order to prevent any damage to the equipment. It took nearly a week for the first snap of Jupiter. In addition, all the scientific instruments are fully functional now.

Were in an excellent state of health, with the spacecraft and all the instruments fully checked out and ready for our first up-close look at Jupiter, said Rick Nybakken, Juno project manager at NASAs Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, California.

Nearly a week after entering into the orbit Juno clicked the first image of Jupiter along with its three moons  Europa, Ganymede, and Io. The colorful image shows atmosphere and special characteristics of the gigantic planet like the giant red spot, fast moving volcanoes. NASA probe has many cameras including one color image snapper named JunoCam.

On July 31, the spacecraft achieved another milestone by reaching the farthest point on Jupiters orbit and now the probe is free falling towards the planet. According to NASA, Juno will make next close encounter with the planet on Aug 27. The US space agency will click several high-resolution images during the closest fly by.

As of now, Juno takes 53.5 days to complete its one elongated orbit around Jupiter. The mission is planned such that the spacecraft has to complete its one round around the planet by 27th of August at 2,600 miles above the planet.

Moreover, Juno missions entire cost is over $1.1 billion.
Ipoh (Malaysia): India hockey coach Michael Nobbs was delighted with his side's performance in the 2-1 victory over Pakistan, saying that his boys played better than their arch-rivals in the match to keep themselves in the race for a bronze medal in the Azlan Shah Cup tournament here.

India clinched victory through a 69th minute goal from striker S V Sunil who dived forward to push the ball into the goal after receiving a defence-splitting pass from Sardar Singh inside the circle.

The victory kept India in the hunt for a bronze medal. India finished their six round-robin league matches with nine points from three victories.

"We deserved the victory and I'm happy at the way the boys played today. We tightened our defence, but we could have made better use of the chances we got upfront," said Nobbs.

"We're in with a chance of getting the bronze here, and that should be a motivation for the boys. The boys have played a tough tournament in hot and humid conditions and we now have two days of rest before the last game," he said.

India will not know their opponents for their last match until Friday as several teams are in with a chance to feature in the top four of the round-robin league standings.

Nobbs expressed his displeasure at the umpiring in the tournament, which he termed "sub-standard".

"We should have got another penalty corner when Sandeep's shot hit a defender, but the decision was changed," he said.

Before Sunil's goal settled the issue, India had opened the scoring in the 30th minute through Sandeep's penalty corner conversion, while Pakistan equalised through a penalty corner goal by skipper Sohail Abbas in the 59th minute.

Pakistan team manager Akhtar Rasool was disappointed with the number of chances missed by his strikers.

"We lost due to a late goal, but this was our best match of the tournament," said Rasool, a former World Cup-winning captain.

"We kept missing chances despite repeated attacks. But this is a young team that will improve with more experience," he said.

PTI
IBM has unveiled a new IBM MobileFirst for iOS Garage in Bangalore, India. The Garage  part of a network of centers at Atlanta, Cupertino, Toronto and Chicago  will help clients around the world achieve mobile-led, digital transformations at speed and at scale on the iOS platform.

IBM also announced Mobile at Scale for iOS, a new offering specifically for clients looking to invest in digital transformation projects that include more than three iOS apps over a multi-year period. Clients opting for this model have full access to IBMs portfolio of MobileFirst for iOS apps to jump start their digital transformation, iOS App Accelerators for rapid app development and customization, and Enterprise Design Services that align the app experience to the needs of the user. The Garage specializes in handling these end-to-end client engagements to design, develop and implement multiple, bespoke iOS apps.

IBM partnered with Apple in July 2014 to transform enterprise mobility through a new class of made for business apps  bringing IBMs big data and analytics capabilities to Apple devices in the enterprise. To date, IBM has developed over 100 apps across 15 industries and delivered nearly 2,000 client engagements. The Garage will extend the design, development and delivery skills gained from IBMs partnership with Apple to serve a broader set of global clients.

With each IBM MobileFirst for iOS clients success, we see the conversation shifting from wanting a single app to cultivating a broader business transformation led by mobile, says Mahmoud Naghshineh, general manager, Apple partnership, IBM, adding, Our global network of MobileFirst for iOS Garages are a key accelerator for our clients and a significant differentiator for IBM.

The Garage is a state-of-the-art space, dedicated to enabling clients to complete digital mobility projects as quickly as possible. The Garage will tap into the worlds largest concentration of Swift developers, IBM design and iOS device expertise and consulting services. It will serve as a global development hub for iOS apps and work with existing design locations in Atlanta, Chicago, Cupertino and Toronto. IBM also plans to open satellite centers in Brazil, China, Romania and more.

There are 22 interdisciplinary teams working in the Garage in Bangalore, using end-to-end DevOps, IBM Design Thinking and agile delivery approaches to deliver iOS solutions in weeks, not months.

@Technuter.com News Service
Sholakia attack suspect Shafiul killed in RAB custody during gunfight

Shafiul Islam

The arrested Sholakia attack suspect has been shot dead in a gunfight between Rapid Action Battalion and 'militants' in Mymensingh's Nandail, law enforcers say. Nandail Police Station OC Md Ataur Rahman said Saiful Islam alias Shafiul Islam alias Don and another person died in hospital after they received bullet injuries in the gun battle on Thursday night. Three RAB personnel were also injured, he added. The OC could not identify the other person killed in the fire fight. Quoting RAB officials, the OC said gunmen tried to snatch 'militants' from a RAB-14 patrol by spraying bullets and hurling bombs at Dangi village on Dhaka-Mymensingh Highway around 11:15pm. Shafiul and the other person were hit by bullet, he said. A RAB official at the scene said three pistols, four machetes, a cutter, a hammer and a bag were recovered. He said the RAB personnel were on their way to hand Shafiul over to police. The RAB Headquarters in a text message said three of its officials were wounded in the skirmish. Two motorcycles, firearms, bombs and explosives were found at the scene, it said. Shafiul also goes by the aliases Shariful Islam, Abu Mokaddel, and Sohan, according to police. On the Eid-ul-Fitr morning of July 7, a police check-post near the Sholakia Eidgah ground, which hosts the countrys largest Eid congregation, came under a terrorist attack. It happened within a week of the Dhaka terror attack that left at least 22 persons killed. Two policemen and a housewife were killed in bomb blasts and a firefight in Sholakia. A suspected attacker was also killed. RAB personnel had detained Shafiul with a bullet wound and a gun right after the attack. He underwent treatment at Mymensingh Medical College Hospital under RAB custody. Police said Shafiul was one of the three motorcycle-riding assailants who slit the throat of priest Jagneshwar Roy, 50, after hacking him with sharp weapons in the early hours of Feb 21. Shafiul, a madrasa student from Dinajpur, said in initial interrogations after his arrest that he had taken part in the attack along with five others but he did not knew them. He said he was only following the order of his 'chieftain'. RAB said Shafiul was detained in a bloodied state, but he was visibly unruffled by his wounds or the consequences he would face. Abir Rahman, the suspected attacker killed in Sholakia, was a student of North South University. He had been with dead Gulshan cafe attacker, another NSU student, Nibras Islam in Jhenaidah, police suspect. Police also believe the two attacks were linked in the same thread.--bdnews24.com
Hefazate Islam Bangladesh, Dhaka Mahanagar unit staged a demonstration in the city on Friday in protest against militancy and terrorism.
Bangladesh Primary Teachers\' Association formed a human chain in front of the Jatiya Press Club on Friday in protest against terrorism and militancy
Deploy more competent people to ensure airport`s security

NEWS reports on Friday said the British government is asking for more steps to improve aviation security. Particularly it is laying emphasis on more measures to secure Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport in Dhaka to lift the ban on both cargo and passenger flights now under manifold restraints. It is not that our aviation authority has not done anything, but foreigners want more. The German government is also pressing for improving airport's safety standard. Only recently Australian government lifted an earlier ban on delivery of garment samples by air beyond certain weight but the issue of safety is only getting complex from all sides to hurt our exporters -- be it garments, fish or vegetables. They are remaining stranded and often unprotected at the airport because of slow scanning and security handling. The government appointed a British security firm in March and we believe it must do everything that is required to strengthen airport security. The British government on several occasions had pointed out that more manpower was required for the supervisory work at the airport. We don't understand why the government is not lining up the required manpower and there is also doubt at the same time why the security firm is not doing enough to fill up the gap. Our belief is that since a British firm is working, there can't be more complaint from the British government. It must get the remaining work fulfilled without delay.There is no doubt Bangladeshi authorities have taken much time to pay heed to security gap affecting direct cargo flight from Dhaka to London. But the government can't be blamed now alone as the British firm is working to improve the situation. But it does not however mean that the lapses of the Bangladesh government can be overlooked anyway by way of bureaucratic handling of sensitive issues killing time. Airport security has become all the more important now at a time when the country is facing growing militants' attacks. Since the July 1 attack at Gulshan Holey Artisan Bakery that killed 22 people including 18 foreigners and subsequent attack at Sholakia in Kishoregonj, Bangladesh remains at the center of global scanning in security issues. Then killing of nine militants at Kalyanpur in a preemptive police action passed the message that militants are active to hit more targets. Airports are highly vulnerable because of cargo shipment that is why inclusive security screening is important. Militants may also appear as passengers and that needs high intelligence outreach and capacity to act quickly to defeat such move. All that needs inclusive airport security and competent manpower deployment. We have already put a bad signal to global community and we can't afford more risks.
Investigators yet to find link of smugglers

Md Joynal Abedin Khan :

The investigators are hunting for the arms smugglers as they could not find any link of any person in connection with the recovery of huge weapons from a canal in the city's Uttara area.

The cops personnel, who are engagged in looking into the incident, are still in a puzzle about the motive of the keeping these huge arms in the water body, detective sources said.

The investigators are trying to find out the source of the arms and of their origin country, they added.

Even the investigators themselves are surprised about the existence of such huge arms in the canal despite unprecedented security measures in the area by the law enforcers.

But they are almost sure that these arms were brought in the city for making a sabtage to create panic among the people. But their ill-motive has been failed, they said.

They suspected that different national and internaltional gangs were trying

to tarnish the image of the country by smuggling arms.

It is to be noted that police recovered a huge cache of firearms and ammunition from a canal in the capital's Uttara on June 18 and 19 respectively. The seizure included 97 foreign pistols, 1,060 bullets, 497 magazines, 10 bayonets and 188 cleaning rods. The glock pistols of 7.62 mm bore, and bullets of the pistol and SMG, were intact and in good condition. These were kept in eight travel bags on the canal bed.

The Counter Terrorism and Transnational Crime (CTTC) unit has taken the investigation duty of the incident, said an officer of the enquiry team.

The CTTC members have already interrogated seven witnesses and local persons, he said.

The arms were carried out by a black colour car of Pajero Company without a number plate and left the spot by throwing the arms in the canal, the DB official said.

The arms were kept at the canal near the Mirpur Beribadh Roads to hand over them to the gangs in the name of catching fish in the canal by dodging the law enforcers and local people, he said.

The plan was reportedly taken by two members of the United Liberation Front of Assam (ULFA) of India to create anarchy in the country, said sources of Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP).

The arms were probably made by China and came to Chapainawabganj frontier by crossing the land-boundaries of Bangladesh-India-Pakistan, they said.

They suspected that several powerful criminal gangs from home and abroad were involved with the arms smuggling as no arms trader imported such as huge weapons at a time in the history of the country.

After inspecting the used arms, they claimed that only professional terrors and members of Jamaatul Mujahidin Bangladesh (JMB) and Ansarullah Bangla Team (ABT) and other militant organizations generally used such arms and ammunition.

DMP Commissioner Asaduzzaman Miah claimed that a 'vested interest group' which is trying to grab state power by creating instability, might have dumped the arms there.

Bidhan Tripura, Deputy Commissioner of Uttara Division, said 'We had intelligence that a huge amount of arms and ammunition were brought near the canal by a car on the day."

Asked about when and where the arms were removed from the canal site, he told The New Nation, 'I don't want to tell where these have been kept."

Turag Police Station Officer-in-Charge (OC) Abir Mohammad Hossain said that two GDs were filed with the police station in this connection.

A six-member probe body led by Sheikh Nazmul Alam, Deputy Commissioner of Detective Branch (Uttara Division), was formed to investigate the incident.

The member-secretary is Khandaker Nurunnabai, the Deputy Commissioner and the Chief of Serious Crime Division of the DB. Other members are Additional Deputy Commissioner (ADC) Ashiqur Rahman, Mahfuzul Islam, Golam Mostafa Rasel and Assitant Commissioner (AC) Sumit Jwarder.

DB's Additional Deputy Commissioner (ADC) has been appointed to investigate the two general diaries (GDs) in this connection.
BD gets $410.48m FDI during Jan-March

Chevron brings highest amount

Kazi Zahidul Hasan :

Bangladesh has received $410.68 million foreign direct investment (FDI) during the first quarter (January-March) of the current calendar year, with highest inflows from the US Company Chevron.

"Foreign capital keeps flowing into the country as the government has taken various initiatives in recent years to encourage FDI," a Senior Board of Investment official (BoI) told The New Nation on Friday.

He said, foreign companies continue to invest in Bangladesh to take advantage of relaxed FDI norms across sectors, relatively lower wages, special investment privileges, tax exemptions, and easy repatriation of profits

The BoI official further said that FDI flow into the country continue to growing in the months to come as a result of the government's favourable policy regime and prevailing clam in the country's political arena.When asked, he said, the recent terror attacks would not affect the FDI flow into the country as terrorism is now a global phenomenon.

According to a Bangladesh Bank (BB) statistics, Chevron brought the highest amount FDI totalling $42.76 million to Bangladesh during the period under review followed by Nortel (Grameen Phone) $ 39.88 million, YKK BD Pvt Ltd $25.48 million, Standard Chartered Bangladesh $25.35 million, British American Tobacco $17.37 million, HSBC $14.06 million, Young One CEPZ $12.60 million, Berger Paints BD Ltd $7.42 million and Orascom Telecom BD Ltd $ 7.26 million and Nestle BD Ltd $6.89 million.

The statistics shows that these 10 foreign companies altogether invested $199.07 million or 48.47 per cent of the total FDI inflows during January - March of the current calendar year.

Besides, investment of other foreign companies stood at $211.61 million, accounting for 51.53 per cent of the total FDI during the said period.

When contacted, Sheikh Zahidur Rahman, Manager, External Affairs of Chevron told The New Nation yesterday that the US Company is the largest producer of natural gas in Bangladesh and supplying approximately 50 per cent of the country's natural gas consumption.

It has already invested $2.5 billion in Bangladesh since signing of the Production-sharing Contacts (PSC) with Petrobangla, the national oil company.

"Under the existing contact, the US oil and gas giant Chevron has to operate in Bangladesh up to 2029, requiring additional investment. The latest investment was made for the exploration and production of gas from its designated fields," said Rahman.

The US Company operates three fields-Bibiyana, Jalalabad and Moulavi Bazar-under PSC signed with Petrobangla.

As the largest foreign investor, it provides employment for about 4,000 Bangladeshis.

"Flow of foreign capital into the country is a continuous process as foreign companies came here with a long-term business plan," Rupali Chowdhury, President of the Foreign Investors' Chamber of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) told The New Nation.

She said, the recent trend of FDI flow is satisfactory despite the existing challenges, including security concern and inadequate infrastructures, in Bangladesh's investment sector. It has the potential to lure more FDI if the challenges could be removed.

Commenting on Dhaka terror attack, Rupali Chowdhury said, the attack has created a deep sense of fear and insecurity among the overseas investors as it was aimed at foreign nationals.

"All foreigners including our FICCI members feel insecure, vulnerable and unsafe after the incidence," she added.

"The government has taken measures to improve the situation. But we request the Bangladesh authorities to ensure the safety and security of the foreign investors as well as foreigners and citizens of Bangladesh recognizing the security concern of all," said Rupali Chowdhury.

Bangladesh received $2.23 billion FDI last year (2015), recording 44.1 per cent year-on-year growth, according to a report by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD).

The FDI inflow into the country reached $ 1.55 billion in 2014.

Officials said that the inflows of FDI to Bangladesh remains below 1 per cent of the country's Gross Domestic Product (GDP) despite their yearly growth.
Fresh panic after diplomats warning

S. M. Mizanur Rahman :Diplomats and international media continue to warn that more terror attacks may take place anytime, anywhere in the country, as what they believe Islamic State's (IS) activists are active in Bangladesh.As a series of deadly attacks raised alarm in the country as well as abroad, Bangladesh government has already taken various measures to assure local and foreigners of providing all out security. As the government frequently told that there is no existence of IS in Bangladesh.Besides, the taskforce formed headed by Foreign Minister AH Mahmood Ali on the security of diplomats and diplomatic premises recommended some new measures to strengthen security of diplomats and officials of the diplomatic missions.It is also working on overall security issues of foreigners in Bangladesh following the two back-to-back terror attacks in a Gulshan cafe in Dhaka and Sholakia in Kishorganj early last month.As a result, panic continues to people in the capital Dhaka and other metropolitan cities following the diplomats' warning and international media report. But the United States of America (USA) United Kingdom (UK) and European Union fear further terrorist attacks in Bangladesh targeting foreigners, particularly the westerners.'There's a heightened threat of further terrorist attacks and foreigners, in particular westerners, may be directly targeted," said a UK statement. The EU described the current Bangladesh situation as very critical and fears further attacks like that of Gulshan cafe and is actively considering sending back their staff members' families to Europe, EU Ambassador in Dhaka Pierre Mayaudon quoted as saying. Apart from being fully operational, Middle East-based Islamist terrorist outfit IS has grown its root into Bangladesh, reports US news channel NBC.Besides, a New York Times has already said IS sent its 'foot soldiers' to Bangladesh as well as to Indonesia and Malaysia in Asia.According to India Today report, the intelligence agencies warned Dhaka that the 'Jama'atul Mujahedeen, Bangladesh' (JMB) groups are still active in Bangladesh. It also stated that the group is active along the Indo-Bangla border.Security services are known to have foiled several other plots targeting Dhaka attack. The capital is one of the heaviest protected cities in the country, however, with counter-terrorism officers working round the clock to counter homegrown extremism. Country's all metropolitan cities including Dhaka are on high alert as security services brace for further terror plots designed to follow up the horrific Gulshan massacre.Members of different law enforcing agencies across the capital as well as other metropolitan cities are preparing for the possibility of a fresh terror attack on country's soil after terrors killed at least 22 people mostly foreigners at a cafe at Gulshan in the city. More armed police have been drafted into international airports including railway Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport whilst there is also an increased police presence at Key Point Installments (KPIs), major transport hubs including railway stations. Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan categorically said that there was no existence of IS in Bangladesh although they are misguiding people in the name of such international militant group. "They (militants) are all home grown ... the militant activities which Bangladesh is facing in the recent times are the exposure of some local and international conspiracies to halt Bangladesh's ongoing progress," he told journalists after inaugurating a newly constructed passport office in Cox's Bazar on Friday. He said a new conspiracy is being hatched in the name of IS militants."In the past, we have witnessed emergence of militant organization like JMB and Huji Harkatul Jihad (Huji) whose activities were encouraged and supported by the then state machineries," he added. The Home Minister said as part of their deep-rooted conspiracies, they launched terror attacks in the city to destabilise the country as well tarnish its image abroad. Information Minister Hasanul Huq Inu at a view exchange meeting with different professional bodies and civil society leaders, at a city hotel of Khulna said BNP chairperson Begum Zia has been patronizing terrorism and militancy failing in her so-called movement of torching properties and people."The BNP and Jamaat-e-Islami are responsible for the rise of militancy in the country," he added
When Cai Jiayuan left his hometown in Hunan province for Tianjin to be a firefighter in 2014, his mother, Liu Yun'ai, expected him to return home in a few years so that she could enjoy a new role as a grandmother.

But Cai died in massive explosions on Aug 12 at a warehouse that was storing hazardous chemicals in Tianjin Binhai New Area. His death was confirmed five days after the incident. He was 19.

The blasts claimed 165 lives, including 99 firefighters. Eight remain missing.

Liu lost her only child, and she was devastated. She once considered suicide. But instead of indulging her grief or ending her life, she decided to create a new life - to have a baby through in vitro fertilization.

On Aug 1, nearly a year after the blasts, Liu, 44, gave birth to a healthy baby boy.

"My dear son, you have a younger brother now," Liu was quoted as saying by Beijing Times.

People who were not aware of the family's misfortune asked why she wanted another baby in middle-age, but she usually preferred to keep the truth to herself. Many people called or visited after the blasts, which troubled her.

"I would be willing to give my own life to save him, but it is impossible," she said. "No one can really understand the pain."

Cai called his parents on the morning of the tragic day to congratulate his father, Cai Laiyuan, on his 45th birthday.

"I believe he wanted us to stay healthy and happy," the senior Cai said.

Many mothers of those killed in the blasts are trying to get pregnant, according to Zheng Mengfan, whose brigade lost eight firefighters. As a telephone operator, he was the only one who escaped. He has been visiting the families to see how they are coping.

"I hope the families see me as their son," Zhang said. "I want to try my best to help them."

(China Daily 08/05/2016 page5)
BTRC blocks 35 websites, news portals

bdnews24.com :

The telecom regulators have blocked online news portals Sheersha News and Amar Desh's websites.

Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC) has also censored over 30 other websites.

Most of these sites are online news portals. Several International Internet Gateway (IIG) operators confirmed bdnews24.com on Thursday evening that they have taken down the websites following BTRC instruction.

BTRC Chairman Shahjahan Mahmood told bdnews24.com that 'sheershanews.com BD' was

blocked on government orders. He did not assign any reason for the action. Sheersha News Editor Ekramul Haque told bdnews24.com that their website could not be seen. "I've heard that BTRC has blocked our website. But we have not been explained why the website has been blocked," he said.

The IIG operators confirmed the blocking of Amar Desh's website, but the BTRC chairman could not.

Amar Desh's website could not be opened like 'Sheersha News' on Thursday night. The government cancelled Amar Desh's licence several years ago accusing it of provoking religious hatred.

It has been operating as an internet newspaper since then.
We must have public debates for stopping IS

Editorial Desk :

As per a story in the New York Times, terrorist group Islamic State (IS) has claimed it has sent 'foot soldiers' to Bangladesh alongwith Indonesia and Malaysia in Asian region. It means more killing and unrest may overtake these countries destroying stability and peace.

The report is based on an investigative story filed by Rukmini Callimachi who said he derived the fact from an interview of a jailhouse former IS militant from Germany, named Harry Sarfo. He has also used reference materials, he claimed in thousands of pages on IS compiled after the November 2015 Paris attack.

Leaked White House intelligence has revealed that the ISIS has "fully operational" branches in 18 countries including Bangladesh. A 'heat map' showing the presence of jihadist terror cells dated August 2016 shows the full reach of the

evil group is now bigger than ever.

The NBC TV network on August 03 also reported that a recent classified document of the US State Department shows Bangladesh as a growing hub of IS operations.

The heat map focused mainly on seven Muslim countries including Egypt and Saudi Arabia.

IS is not a rational movement and we have no reason to believe otherwise. But they love violence and look for situation where violence can be fomented by using frustration.

It is not that too many acts of terrorism have been launched. But people are terrorised in Bangladesh for lack of confidence in the government's ability to handle the issue and its arbitrary use of police powers without showing eagerness to find the cause.

The people say that government actions are disturbing business activities and placing too many police restrictions on general public creating new causes of anger and frustration.

The government's unwillingness to allow others to be associated for finding the right path for ending terrorism, reveals the government's own weakness. The people in power are anxious for their own protection and remaining in power.

Terrorism has affected our economy badly and if it cannot be stopped by earning confidence in our government's ability to do so, we shall face greater chaos and ruination of the economy.

The government seems not aware of the dimension of the problem. The bureaucrats surrounding the government are the real barrier for the government to think and act politically.

Terrorism is a national issue and hence national debates are essential to address it.

The government is happy that Modi is ready to help us. India is failing to deal with terrorism in Kashmir and in its eastern parts. India is already involved in our affairs, and we do not want outside powers to take advantage of our failure to solve our problem of terrorism. The government's own inclusive way of staying in power has contributed to the problem.

To be honest the government ought to have been behaving like an all party unity government for creating confidence in the minds of the investors both our own and foreign. But it appears more worried about loosing grip on power than saving the country.

It is in the best national interest not to fall into trap of those who want to see Bangladesh become a reckless anarchy and a field of IS kind of reckless terrorism attracting foreign powers.

The bureaucrats are same everywhere and wherever the bureaucrats were allowed to dictate political leaders or run the government disasters befell. They are shortsighted and easily blinded by absolute power. They are anti-people and against the rule of law. They cannot tolerate pro-people police and independence of the judiciary.

Unless the government is ready to come out of the clutches of bureaucratic dominance, there is no easy way of resisting terrorism.

Lives of innocent law abiding people have become miserable for thoughtless government actions when we are hearing more terrorist attacks to come.

We cannot all be useless and helpless in dealing with threats of terrorism. We cannot forget the plight of our young children how easily they are becoming target of police harassment.

We cannot allow foreign terrorists or foreign powers to spread their wings here and worsen the crisis.

The crisis cannot be resolved as party politics between Awami League and BNP. The crisis is much larger. We need open and frank public debates to know the causes of terrorism. Without waiting for the government let the persons with conscience and eminence organise public debates for a national solution to our national crisis.
The Undead Archives

I have finally salvaged my pre-Blogger TDR archives and added them into Blogger. They are almost totally in the form of one giant post for each month. And the formatting strayed from the originals. Sorry. But historians everywhere can rejoice that this treasure trove of my thoughts is restored to the world.
Looking for the vulture assist with Neolithic burials

2 years ago
If you are looking for the new Immoral Minority posts, you should know that they can be found here at our new home Please stop by to get caught up on politics, join the conversations, or simply check out the new digs.
Wikimedia

With Louisiana's budget gaps partially stabilized, Gov. John Bel Edwards is looking to make roads, bridges and other transportation needs a key initiative for next year's legislative session.

In June, the Democratic governor created an 18-member study group to develop ideas for tackling Louisiana's more than $12 billion road and bridge improvement backlog. The task force has started regular meetings, with its recommendations due by Jan. 1.

The state has struggled for years with ways to chip away at the long list of projects, with only modest success. In the budget year that began July 1, Edwards and lawmakers stopped paying for Louisiana State Police operations out of the state's transportation trust fund, a move that will steer millions more to roadwork this year.

But the governor is seeking more ways to drum up money for infrastructure.

"It's obvious that existing revenue sources aren't going to get for us more than we've been getting, and if we wait for the Easter bunny or the tooth fairy to deliver these infrastructure projects, that's never going to happen," Edwards said at a transportation event Thursday.

He wants the study group to consider gasoline tax hikes, toll roads and public/private partnerships as it devises recommendations to raise more money for road and bridge work. He said he wants the members to look at what other states do to pay for projects.

"It doesn't make any sense to just have another study to determine we have a $12 billion backlog and then we put that study on the shelf. We know that there's a backlog, so we're going to have to come up with some strategies to make sure that we can alleviate it. That cannot be done without resources," Edwards said.

The governor is also planning to steer more dollars from the state construction budget to transportation projects, plans that still need final approval later this year from the Bond Commission.

Edwards held events in Baton Rouge and Lafayette on Wednesday and Thursday to tout new interstate improvements that are planned to ease traffic problems, after the state received a $60 million federal grant.

At Thursday's press conference, the governor said more than $20 million will be spent to build a new off-ramp in Baton Rouge, aimed at lessening congestion at an interstate chokepoint near downtown. Construction will begin in late 2017 or early 2018.

Earlier this week, a new commissioner of the Office of Multimodal Commerce was introduced by the Edwards administration, with a goal of coordinating state programs for ports, railroads, aviation and commercial trucking. The office was created by lawmakers within the state transportation department.
Paris, TX (75460)

Today

Rain. Potential for heavy rainfall. High around 55F. Winds NE at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 100%. Rainfall possibly over one inch..

Tonight

Rain. Low 53F. Winds NNE at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 100%. Rainfall may reach one inch. Locally heavy rainfall possible.
MURPHYSBORO  The man charged with beating his cellmate to death two months ago is scheduled for a pretrial hearing on Tuesday.

Richard Powell was charged with beating and using a T-shirt to strangle to death 31-year-old Collin Kotlarz on May 26 in the cell the men were sharing at the Jackson County Jail.

Kotlarz's body was found about 6:45 a.m. May 26 in the cell by a correctional deputy conducting a routine check. Kotlarz was being held at the jail after he was arrested March 5 in Union County for allegedly driving under the influence and related charges, according to Judici.com.

In a pretrial hearing, each side in a case gets the chance to present any remaining concerns before the case proceeds to trial. The trial has been set to start Monday, Aug. 29.

Powell pleaded not guilty to two counts of first-degree murder at his preliminary hearing on June 23. A conviction on either count carries a sentence of 20 to 60 years in prison. Powell could be found guilty of only one of those counts, but the two-count charge is a strategy the prosecution will use to allow for a conviction for either intent to murder or the reasonable possibility that an action could cause death.

This case is being prosecuted by a special prosecutor from the Illinois State's Attorney Appellate Prosecutor.

Jackson County State's Attorney Michael Carr requested that a special prosecutor be appointed to the case, noting that his prosecution of it could pose a conflict of interest for his office. In a request for the special prosecution, Carr noted that, by law, the state's attorney is a representative of the Jackson County Sheriff, who was the custodian of the jail where Kotlarz died.
GRAND TOWER  Officials and other citizens in Grand Tower are, once again, questioning why repair work on the Big Muddy river levee that protects their town remains incomplete.

More than seven months have passed since residents in the floodplain community were evacuated during what has been dubbed the New Years Flood of 2016. At the time, Grand Tower officials pointed to a weak spot in the levee as the tipping point in the decision to order an evacuation as the river rose to near-record-setting levels.

That weak spot related to an incomplete repair project at the site of where a drainage pipe burst in June 2013.

The levee held, though on a wish and a prayer  at least thats the sentiment of many in town. But Grand Tower Mayor Mike Ellet Sr. said he never would have dreamed the project would still be dragging on into August. In fact, he said, he assumed it had been taken care of months ago.

Ellet and Councilman Richy Pyatt both said in separate interviews that a levee district board member reported at a recent Grand Tower City Council meeting that it was his understanding the work had been completed.

Ellet and Pyatt said they only discovered that was not the case when a city worker drove to the repair site in rural Jackson County to take a look at what he thought would be the finished project.

Pyatt said that after the city employee reported back to them that the remaining section of drainage pipe hadnt been installed, he and Mayor Ellet also took a drive out to the repair site, and were shocked by what they saw.

The pipe is still lying at the bottom of the levee, he said. The equipment has been sitting there for so long it has grass grown up into the motor department on some of the equipment.

So, we contacted the engineer in the project.

Too wet to work?

The project engineer is Kevin Grammer, a superintendent of the Union County Highway Department, a position for which he is paid $100,687 annually, according to salary figures on the county's website. Though this project is not related to Union County.

Grammer is separately employed as an independent contract engineer for this $1 million-plus levee project that includes repairing the Grand Tower levee pipe that burst in 2013 and several other maintenance repair projects spanning the Degognia-Fountain Bluff and Grand Tower levee districts. For that work, hes paid $100 an hour, according to invoices provided to the newspaper from Jackson County in response to a request for the records.

Grammer did not return phone calls The Southern Illinoisan placed to his office and cellphone on Wednesday and Thursday. Pyatt said that when city officials recently asked Grammer to explain the delay, Grammer told them, according to Pyatt, that the river has been too high, and it has been too wet to work.

Dude, are you insane? Pyatt said he thought upon hearing that. We went back and started looking at river stages and pulling charts and there were at least three weeks out of the time since all this took place that the river was below average. The time frame Pyatt references was January through July.

Levee officials defend project

Still, multiple levee district board members defended Grammers work as the contract engineer on the project, and his explanation about the weather.

Craig Miller, who sits on the Grand Tower Levee and Drainage District, said people need to understand that the levee system has structural issues dating back decades, and these issues will not just miraculously get fixed. He noted that even if there were stretches in the spring and summer before the wet July streak when the river levels were down, the levee dirt is such that it retains water like a sponge, meaning it would take a long dry spell to insert that remaining section of the drainage pipe thats been sitting in the weeds for months.

He said Grammer has relayed to levee officials that risks of performing work while the river is too high, and the ground underneath the levee too wet, include potential flooding, as the repair work needed is on the town side of the levee. Another risk, Miller said, is to the safety of workers if they ventured onto unstable ground with heavy equipment.

If they have machinery out there and make the wrong move, it could suck the machinery in and cause jeopardy to their workers lives, Miller said.

But Miller said he also appreciates the Grand Tower mayors concerns for the safety of the community. Miller said he's also been frustrated at times about an inability to obtain timely information on the project from Grammer.

More than $600K awarded

The levee repair project is being jointly administered by the Grand Tower and Begognia-Fountain Bluff levee districts. Under the terms of an intergovernmental agreement, Jackson County cuts the checks for the work. In June 2014, then-Gov. Pat Quinn signed a measure into law allowing Jackson County to sell bonds to raise up to an estimated $1.5 million to repair the levees. Grammer is the project engineer, and Marion-based Evrard-Strang Construction, won the contract for the work, with a low bid of just more than $1 million.

Between Dec. 15 and July 19, Grammer Engineering and Evrard-Strang have requested and been approved for payments totaling about $621,757, the vast majority of it paid to Evrard-Strang for parts and labor. The expansive project is intended to provide for maintenance activities to bring the Degognia-Fountain Bluff and Grand Tower levee districts back into compliance with U.S. Army Corps of Engineer standards. The work includes maintenance to gravity drains throughout the system, including replacement, lining and/or grouting of the lines and gatewell structures; work on the embankments; and relief well repairs.

Carl Heins, president of the Begognia-Fountain Bluff Drainage and Levee District, is designated in the intergovernmental agreement as the manager of the project, on behalf of the levee districts. Heins told the newspaper on Thursday hes not really comfortable with the delays in work, but said that is outside of the control of Grammer and Evrard-Strang.

We were hoping it would be done by now, he said of the Grand Tower levee project.

When youre dealing with the river, theres not a whole lot you can do  Last year, this time of year, the river was way up. Then, by the time it got dry enough, they barely got started. Then we got to December and the flood happened. Moving into 2016, Heins said its been an unusually wet summer. Even when the water levels dropped and water wasnt up against the levees, it was in the ditches, he said.

Of the 22 drainage pipes spanning both levee districts scheduled for replacement lining and/or other repairs as part of the project, Miller and Heins said in separate interviews that one has been completed thus far on the Grand Tower levee side. Miller also said work has been completed on drainage pipes that are to be taken out of service under terms of the contract.

Questions raised about delays

The repair project is under the joint jurisdiction of two levee districts, and not the city of Grand Tower. But Ellet, Grand Towers mayor, said he has a vested interest in its progress because it is his communitys citizens, farmers and business owners who stand to be affected. Ellet said hes reached out to U.S. Rep. Mike Bost for assistance.

The New Years Day evacuation cost private citizens and the city tens of thousands of dollars, he noted. He believes that may have been avoided if the repair project had been completed. That included $17,000 the city paid to rent eight pumps as a back-up plan, in case the water breached the levee, he said.

Ellet maintains that completing the repair of the drainage pipe is critical to protect Grand Tower.

Jackson County Board Chairman John Rendleman said he knows people have questions, and pledged that the board would do what it could to facilitate better communication about the projects status and future timelines.

Im concerned that we havent had consistent performance during what I understand to be the construction season, which I understand to be spring and summer, Rendleman said. Im confident with the recent questions that the responsible parties will start paying better attention to the project, and that includes the county board.

This most recent delay is the first of many during the past three-plus years that have left the citizens of Grand Towers patience wearing thin. In a story in The Southern Illinoisan published Jan. 6, titled Incomplete construction left Grand Tower levee vulnerable Jackson County officials laid out a timeline of events that led up to the date of the so-called New Years Flood of 2016 with work on the drainage pipe still incomplete about 2-1/2 years after it burst.

A year passed before legislators and Quinn signed off on the funding mechanism for repairs. And then another eight months passed before construction began as local officials sought to complete various intergovernmental agreements, receive plan approval from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, and seek permitting from a local judge and various federal government agencies.

Jamie Nash-Mayberry, a teacher at Shawnee High School who leads projects with her students to bring attention to the state of the region's levees, said that citizens would appreciate a more thorough explanation about the latest delays, and about the overall progress on the project, or lack of it.

Im surprised there hasnt been enough dry weather to complete the project in the past eight months, she said. However, if that is the case, I think the crew working on it may need to get creative and consider pumping water away from it.

Its ridiculous that the pipe still isnt in after all this time.
Thumbs up to Will Yocum, a 12-year-old Carterville resident, for having the largest collection of Rat-L-Trap lures in the world. His collection was recently sanctioned by the Guinness Book of World Records. With the assistance of his grandfather, Fred Washburn, Yocum has amassed a collection that will also be featured on a The Learning Channel program.

Thumbs down to the rash of nationwide violence that has targeted police. The violence reached Southern Illinois earlier this week when Carbondale officer Trey Harris was wounded in a shooting last Sunday. Harris was responding to a shots fired call when he was injured. Fortunately, the wounds were not life-threatening and Harris has since been released from the hospital.

Thumbs up and well wishes to Salukis Deanna Price and Gwen Berry as they compete in the Rio de Janeiro Olympics. The SIU grads will participate in opening ceremonies today. They compete in the hammer throw a week from today. Price is the two-time defending NCAA champion in the hammer.

Thumbs down to internet scams. The Better Business Bureau issued a warning this week asking consumers to be wary of current scams. Please avoid sending money to anyone as a prerequisite to winning a prize or responding to fake quizzes.

Thumbs up to the opening of the 2016 Grand American at Spartas World Shooting and Recreational Complex. Apparently, concerns created by Illinois ongoing budget crisis did little to discourage shooters from attending. An Amateur Trapshooting Association tweet Wednesday indicated participation in the events first contest was up 19 percent from last year.

Thumbs up to Lee Hughes and Arnettes Barber Shop in Carbondale for their continuing tradition of raising money to purchase back-to-school supplies for underprivileged children. A fund-raising event will be held at the shop from 3-7 p.m. today.
DENMARK -- Members of the Voorhees College Concert Choir recently traveled to the Dominican Republic for missionary work. The choir was invited by the Mission Team of All Saints Episcopal Church in Hilton Head and a member of the Southern Deanery of the Episcopal Church in South Carolina.

During the trip, choir members, along with the group's director, Dr. Rosemary Griffin, performed at worship services at the Holy Eucharist Historic Cathedral in Santa Domingo, the the countrys capital. They also assisted with Vacation Bible School in the city of Barahona by singing a variety of religious hymns with the youth.

One of the most memorable moments of the trip for the choir members was connecting with the youth through worship and praise. This interaction motivated the Voorhees students.

Seeing children who had so few material possessions demonstrate such inner joy and excitement was a gentle reminder of Gods care and concern for his people, said Chester McKenzie, a junior sociology major. Through these wonderful experiences with this trip, I feel obligated to continue helping those in need.

According to Griffin, the missionary trip was a great opportunity for the choir because they were exposed to a different culture.

There were some language barriers we faced, but somehow through the sounds of our music and song, the children connected with us, she said.

Griffin said she and the choir members were very appreciative of the opportunity.

We would like to thank All Saints Episcopal Church and the Southern Deanery of the Episcopal Church in South Carolina for granting the privilege of this trip to us, she said.

For more information, contact Megan Freeman, director of communications, at 803-780-1191 or at mfreeman@voorhees.edu.
Karl Samuda, Jamaicas Minmister of Agriculture, is determined to ensure that agriculture makes a significant contribution to the growth of that countrys economy. (internet photo)

Amidst all the clamour about tourism and how the Caribbean needs to invest in this sector so as to ensure growth of the regional economies, one Minister of a Caribbean government is not turning his back on the contribution agriculture can continue to make to growing the economy.





Karl Samuda, Minister of Industry, Commerce, Agriculture and Fisheries in the Jamaica Labour Party government, is reported by Jamaican media as saying openly and with much confidence, that the agricultural sector will grow the (Jamaican) economy.

"This is the ministry that is going to increase the level of growth in the country, the Jamaica Observer quoted Samuda as saying during an address to patrons at the 64th staging of the Denbigh Agricultural, Industrial and Food Show in Clarendon, Jamaica, Saturday 30th July.

In support of his conviction, Samuda told patrons that domestic crop production grew by over 13 per cent in the April to June quarter of 2016, and continued growth is expected throughout the year.

He said the governments target of 5 per cent growth per annum in the next four years is modest, as the agricultural sector alone is projected to contribute 2 of the 5 per cent increase projected.

The agriculture minister pledged, according to media reports, to dramatically improve infrastructure in the sector through the provision of irrigation systems, a rotating equipment pool and upgraded farm roads.

Samuda encouraged persons in the sector to change how they do business by producing more value added goods and using more technology.

"We have to become technology savvy, and we have to introduce it in all elements of agriculture. Thats the only way we are going to be on the cutting edge of competition. Other countries are doing it and we cannot hope to compete internationally if we continue with the old ways of doing things, Minister Samuda said.

And in keeping with the JLPs commitment to putting real action behind the move that will place Jamaica in a position, as Samuda said, ".to tackle the world with what we produce, the Jamaica government in April of this year, committed approximately 3,500 acres of land to the islands flagship Red Stripe brewery for cassava cultivation.

Most of the land "will be contracted to farmers to grow and supply the crop to the company, the government said.

The statement said: "It is anticipated that cassava and other locally grown crops will comprise at least 40% of the ingredients used by Red Stripe to manufacture beer, by 2020.

Is there a lesson for other CARICOM members in all of this? (Source: JIS ; jamaicaobserver.com)
R.C. Bishop of Bridgetown Jason Gordon has challenged business persons and other leaders in Barbados to take the lead in demanding a higher level of ethical and moral practices from the politicians. (Photo Credit: barbadostoday.online)

The next general election in Barbados is two years or so away, but some leaders in that society are already looking ahead to that eventuality.





Bishop of the R.C. Diocese of Bridgetown Jason Gordon last week appealed for an injection of morality into the politics of Barbados, and has urged business, religious and community leaders to show the way and to demand same from the politicians.





Bishop Gordon made the call while delivering the feature address at the Barbados Chamber of Commerce and Industry (BCCI) July Business Luncheon at the Lloyd Erskine Sandiford Centre last week Tuesday.

In short, Bishop Gordon called for a code of ethics to include controls on campaign financing, ahead of the next election.





"I ask that we the leaders of this society invite all relevant parties, including the political parties, to sign a code of ethics for political conduct during elections, including party financing.





"If we as leaders are willing to hold ourselves, the political parties and the electorate accountable to the highest standards, then we will create the conditions of hope in our nation for our people, the next generation and investors, Bishop Gordon told the gathering of business persons and invited guests.





The bishop challenged the Barbados Chamber opf Industry and Commerce and the private sector in general, to take the lead in acting ethically, morally and with a conscience, so that they would be standing on firm ground from which to demand the same from the politicians, not only with respect to how they conduct themselves in the election camaping, but also in how they govern.

On the specific issue of vote buying, Bishop Gordon said that his church was concerned about the unwillingness by Barbadians to go beyond complaining.

"We think the social action is complaining about the last thing that happened, and once we have complained, then what are we supposed to do? But complaining is not the action  the action is taking action with what has happened. And unless we are willing to do it incrementally, starting with the small stuff and working up to the bigger stuff, what will happen is the apathy will build up to a level that we wouldnt have the capacity to deal with the problems we are having, he warned. (Source: barbadostoday; NICE Radio)




Right: Participants in the ECGC-ACE bread-making workshop with facilitators Ali Medjahed (front left) and and Lanel Black (front right).

East Caribbean Flour Mills teamed up with the Adult and Continuing Education Unit (ACE), Zone 3, to provide training in bread-making for twenty-eight community residents .





ACE Zone 3, as part of its strategic initiative to enhance occupational skills in that Zone, has organized a three-month community-based workshop in cake-making, decorating and bread-making.

The workshop, which is slated to culminate in August 2016, resonates under the Occupational Skills Training Segment of ACE Zone 3, and includes participants from various communities in the Marriaqua constituency.

The ECGC bread-making component was part of this initiative. ECGC provided baking consultant Ali Medjahed of Sweety Pie Bakery in Mustique, to train the participants for two days (25 and 26 July), in the rudiments of bread-making.

Lanel Black, Quality Assurance Officer of ECGC, assisted in the training exercise, and the Zonal Coordinator of ACE Zone 3, Mrs. Wanda Dascent, along with Mrs. Girlyn Miguel, provided administrative support.

The Deputy Principal of the Marriaqua Convent, Mrs. Jennifer Browne graciously allowed ECGC the use of the schools Home Economics facility.

The East Caribbean Group of Companies continues to demonstrate its corporate responsibility in St.Vincent and the Grenadines, through the provision of quality training and technical support to bakeries and to persons in rural areas.

It is the hope of the company that the training will assist in stimulating further economic advances in the community, as participants are motivated to commence and continue in small enterprises that are concomitant with the baking industry. (Source: Marketing Dept. ECGC)
Rose Place, commonly referred to as Bottom Town and sometimes referred to as a fishing community, has seen its fair share of shooting incidents.

by HAYDN HUGGINS





A 71-year-old woman was among several persons charged in connection with police searches conducted during Operation I Girp at Rose Place, Kingstown, July 27, as the local constabulary continued its efforts to take illegal guns off the streets .





Theresa Norville, also known as T, was taken before the Serious Offences Court last Friday, July 29, charged with possession of a semi-automatic 9 mm pistol without licence and 12 rounds of 9mm ammunition.

Norville is also charged with possession of ten grams of marijuana and three grams of cocaine.

She pleaded not guilty to all four charges when she stood before Chief Magistrate Rechanne Browne.

The elderly woman was granted $25,000 bail with one surety, on condition that she surrender her travel documents, and report to the Central Police Station on Mondays and Thursdays.

Attorney Michaela Ambrose appeared on Norvilles behalf.

The firearm and ammunition matters were adjourned to September 9, while the others are slated for October 3.

The July 27 operation saw Rose Place locked down for some four hours, during which police, through a combined effort of mainly operational units, carried out searches on persons, houses and other structures.

Norville was the only one held on gun and ammunition charges.

A number of other persons who were apprehended during the action, were also taken before the Serious Offences Court last Friday on drug related charges.





I Girp  part of Tifos





Speaking with THE VINCENTIAN on Tuesday, Assistant Superintendent of Police Clauston Francis, Second-in-command of the Criminal Investigation Department (CID), described Operation I-Girp as another phase of Operation Tifos which started May 26 this

year.





Francis said the exercise is aimed primarily at taking the illegal firearms off the streets in an effort to reduce the number of gun-related crimes here, in keeping with the need to safeguard National Security.

He noted that Tifos, an acronym for "Taking Illicit Firearms Off the Streets, included police patrols and searches throughout the country, during which a number of persons were arrested and charged with possession of unlicensed firearms, ammunition and controlled drugs, over a period of time.

Francis added that persons who were wanted in connection with other crimes were also taken into custody.





He explained that, while search warrants were issued in relation to certain searches during Tifos, in the case of I-Girp which specifically dealt with Rose Place, a general search warrant was issued by the High Court, pursuant to section 32 of the Firearms Act.

Francis said this allowed the police to search persons, vehicles, houses and other structures in that community.

Asked whether similar operations are expected to be held in the near future, Francis said, "The police will continue to explore opportunities of conducting similar operations when and where necessary.
Anju Dowers, who previously attended the Richland Park Seventh Day Adventist School, enters a new institution next month. He will do so with some help from Kingstown Cooperative Credit Union (KCCU).





Dowers will receive $1100 every year to see him through secondary education. He is one of four KCCU scholarship winners for 2016, the others being Eduardo Gibbons, a former St. Marys Roman Catholic student, Zavorn Campbell of the Marriaqua Government School and Ronaldo Knights of the C.W. Prescod Primary School.

Reynold Williams from Leeward Seventh Day Adventist Primary is one of two bursary holders who will get $600 each. Maurissa Durrant from Kingstown Government is the older.

Sixty students received $150 each to assist them with their secondary education.

$50 will be placed in a special programme aimed at encouraging students to save.

The students heard a motivational speech from Justine Farrell.

She urged the students to embrace the diversity of secondary education. They must have fun, Farrell advised, but also must "do your school work.

Farrell warned the students to expect tears, but implored them to dry their tears and "keep pushing until you get what you want.

KCCUs manager Clement Lynch advised on making use of time and urged students to be committed and persistent.

Treasurer Gillon Frederick, in disclosing KCCU has spent over $227,000 in assistance to students since 1995, declared, "We have done our part, and advised the students to do their part.

The scholarship awards ceremony was held on Thursday 28th July at Frenches House, Kingstown.
Sixteen more Vincentian students are expected to take up studies under the Taiwan Scholarships Programme.





The programme was launched in 2004, and according to resident Ambassador of the Republic of China (Taiwan) to St. Vincent and the Grenadines - H.E Bershaun Ger, to date over 126 Vincentian students have benefitted from both the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Taiwan International Cooperation and Development Scholarship programmes.

He explained that the scholarship programme was launched because it was the Taiwanese governments belief in nurturing young talents, and to equip students with crucial skills and knowledge that will benefit the country.

"I am proud to share that the scholarships have borne fruitful results; we got many shining examples in the Taiwan scholar alumni association, H.E Ger said.

This years group of students are expected to pursue studies in a range of fields including computer science, medicine, trade, environmental engineering and international business.





Among the recipients, 70 percent will be pursuing degrees at the Bachelors level, 29 percent at the Masters level, and there is one student  Clint Lewis  who will be working on his PhD at the Dong Hwa University. Lewis is the first Vincentian to register for a PhD degree under the Taiwan Scholarship programme.

Ambassador Ger urged the students to study hard, saying that there was at least one student who almost failed their course work. Notwithstanding, the Ambassador indicated that Vincentian students have been doing well.

In his remarks, Dr Ralph Gonsalves explained that the government is working with a list of priority areas of study.

"Depending sometimes we go outside. But we try to remain within what we need for our man- power training and for what we need to continue our socio-economic development, Gonsalves said.

He further stated that it was the intention of his government to ensure that there would be on average, at least one university graduate per household by 2030.

"And we are on target for it. We have roughly about 36,000 households in the country, we dont have 36,000 university graduates who reside here because we have a lot who are working throughout the region and other parts of the world; but the goal is to have at least one graduate on an average per householdwe have work still to be done, but I think we are still on target, Gonsalves said. (DD)
Left:Colin John, incoming Deputy Commissioner of Police in his appropriate Police attire. Right:Outgoing Commissioner of Police Michael Charles (right) hands over the baton of honour to incoming Commissioner (Ag) Reynold Hadaway.

The reins of leadership of the Royal St. Vincent and the Grenadines baton of honour has changed hands officially.





On Tuesday evening, August 2nd, 2016, Michael Charles, who served as Commissioner of Police from 2013 to 2016, handed the reins of leadership over to Reynold Hadaway, at a retirement ceremony held for Charles at the Police Canteen, Kingstown.

Several dignatories, including Prime Minister Dr.Hon. Ralph Gonsalves, the Minister of National Security, were in attendance.

Addressing the gathering, Dr.Gonsalves praised Charles for his tenure, described him as a patriotic Vincentian, and promised that an official ceremony will be held soon to recognize Charles.

Commissioner (Ag) Hadaway, in his acceptance remarks, recognized Charles for his 35 hard years of service, and lauded him for establishing a good relationship with the public.

In Hadaways assessment, "He (Charles) has made the organization a better organization.

Recognising that "We cannot operate as an organization in a vacuum, Hadaway committed to building bridges with the public in the fight against crime.

The acting Commissioner disclosed that he has already embarked along this path, having met, on his very first day in office, with some 35 persons of all walks of life, who had visited his office to wish him well in his new capacity.

Remarks were also made by His Lordship Justice Brian Cottle; Judith Jones-Morgan, Attorney General; Colin Williams, Director of Public Prosecutions; Godfred Pompey, Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of National Security; Carla James, head of the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU), and Colin John, the new Deputy Commissioner of Police.

"This Commissioner of Police had always gone above and beyond to ensure the judicial staff officials are taken care of. He was quietly efficient. As the Bible says, Well done thou good and faithful servant, said Justice Cottle.

Jones-Morgan said Charles was always a pleasant person, and her own success as Attorney General and that of the judicial staff came about because of Charles contribution.

Hadaways tenure to act as Commissioner of Police officially began on August 1st, 2016.

Meanwhile, newly appointed deputy Commissioner of Police Colin John took up official duties, effective August 2.

John returns to the Royal St. Vincent and the Grenadines Police Force after vacating that organization as a Station Sergeant, to assume duties as Deputy Director of Public Prosecutions. (Source: RSVGPF)




Editors: The following is the full response of prime Minister Dr. Ralph Gonsalves to concerns raised by Reporters Without Borders, with respect to the Cybercrime Bill proposed for SVG.





Dear Mr. Holgard:





Thanks very much for your letter dated July 27, 2016, regarding the Cybercrime Bill which is currently before the Parliament of St. Vincent and the Grenadines.





I commend Reporters Without Borders (RSF) for their global work in promoting and defending "freedom of expression, "the free press, "independent journalism and journalists within the context of an alive constitutionalism, democracy, a quality judiciary, judicial independence, and the upholding of an internationally-recognis ed bundle of other fundamental rights and freedoms.





I have noted that your annual and/ or periodic reports have assessed St. Vincent and the Grenadines as possessing a "free press and full scope for independent journalism . Indeed, RSF have scored St. Vincent and the Grenadines very highly, comparatively with other nations in the Western Hemisphere and globally, and absolutely.

I am fortified by RSFs sense of balance and responsibility in your letters affirmation, in its commentary on the Cybercrime Bill, that:

"The internet should not escape the authority of the law altogether and we believe that it is perfectl y legitimate to sanction such crimes and offences as theft of documents or data, online identity theft, cyber-bullying or, even more serious, child pornography. "

I take your listing of "crimes and offences which are "perfectly legitimate to sanction as not exclusive, but as indicative examples.

It may be useful, for your continued reflection on the Cybercrime Bill, to be provided with some background on the context, process, and current stage of the Bills journey through Parliament.





To this end, I note, in summary, the following:





1. The Bill before our Parliament is a common piece of legislation which was drafted through the appropriate regional mechanisms for consideration by member-states of the Caribbean Community and the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States. Indeed, this Bill is part and parcel of a raft of legislative measures touching and concerning certain electronic and internet activities, some of which have already been enacted. In fact, since 2013 there have been consultations with the private and public sectors in St. Vincent and the Grenadines on this Bill by the regional drafters.





2. The Cybercrime Bill has been subjected to informed scrutiny by the relevant officials in the State administration, the general public, and a Parliamentary Select Committee. More specifically, the Bill was published in the print media in St. Vincent and the Grenadines and online; electronic copies were made available to civil society organisations and personalities upon request. Comments by the general public were invited. Indeed, several written submissions were made to the Office of the Honourable Attorney General. These submissions, including two by independent journalists, have been circulated to the Select Committee for its consideration; so, too, has your letter.





3. The Bill itself was published for public scrutiny and commentary over two months ago. The Bill had its first reading in Parliament on May 31, 2016, and a Select committee under my Chairmanship was appointed. Six members of the Governments side in Parliament, including the Attorney General, who is a public servant, were named to the Select Committee. Please note that there are twelve members on the Governments side in Parliament, plus the Attorney General; there are nine members on the Oppositions side. Since general elections on December 09, 2015, the Opposition has not been participating in any of Parliaments work, save and except on one occasion; it has not named anyone to the Select Committee and it has not participated in its deliberations.





4. The Select Committee has invited several persons to appear before, and sit with it, to consider the Cybercrime Bill in detail. Among these persons are: Representatives from the National Telecommunications Regulatory Commission; public servants from the Ministry of Telecommunications and Information ; the Director of Public Prosecutions and staff; the President and Vice President of the St. Vincent and the Grenadines Bar Association ; the President of the St. Vincent and the Grenadines Chamber of Industry and Commerce; and the Political Leader of the Democratic Republican Party, and opposition political party though not in Parliament but which has a huge and on-going interest in "freedom of expression and other inalienable human rights. The Select Committee has had several lengthy meetings on the Bill; it is conducting a detailed clause-by-clause examination of the Bill. The Select Committee is scheduled to report to Parliament on August 04, 2016, for further debate and possible passage.





Substantial amendments to the Bill have already been made at the Select Committee and its report to Parliament will reflect these amendments. Clause 16 of which you have expressed concern was already amended prior to your letter to me, and has been further reviewed consequent upon your intervention, but I am not sure that all your queries have been addressed to your satisfaction. You will see the final product in due course.





Now to the issue of "criminal defamation in the Bill itself and the pre-existing provision on "criminal libel in the Criminal Code. I do not share the view that the offence of "criminal defamation has "a chilling effect on freedom of press and freedom of expression. I understand RSFs position, but I consider it to be wrong in our circumstances.





I have long held this view on "criminal defamation for over 48 years as a political activist (in Opposition and in Government), as a defence and "human rights lawyer of 34 years standing, and as a tireless fighter for freedom of expression, justice, fairness, and a judicious balancing of rights and responsibilities . The offence of criminal defamation is not a fetter on professional, independent journalists; certainly, this has not been the case in St. Vincent and the Grenadines. But it protects citizens who may be the subject of deliberate defamation by irresponsible men and women of straw who have absolutely no means to satisfy a monetary judgment awarded in a case of civil defamation: It protects, too, society; and it certainly aids peace, tranquillity, and non violent responses by victims of defamation. In any event, the Director of Public Prosecutions is the explicit gate-keeper in any prosecution for this offence; clearly, only the most egregious cases would attract his prosecutorial attention.





Finally, I reiterate our governments thanks for your letter and your profound interest in "freedom of expression. Please keep in touch with us.

All the best to you, your family and the RSF. Please pay us a visit in St. Vincent and the Grenadines at your convenience.
Left:Murder accused Deshawn Slater (right) being led away without handcuffs from the Kingstown Magistrates Court last Monday. Right:Aninka Stowe was gunned down while closing her mothers shop in Green Hill.

by HAYDN HUGGINS





Almost two years after 23-year-old Aninka Stowe was shot dead reportedly in the presence of her boyfriend and her 8-year-old daughter Zenika Stowe, police have made a breakthrough in their investigations.





On Monday, Green Hill resident Deshawn Slater was taken before the Kingstown Magistrates Court charged with Stowes murder.

Stowe, who also resided at Green Hill, was reportedly shot while about to close her mother Esther Stowes shop at Green Hill, on the night of October 20, 2014.

Her mother had left her to carry on business at the shop from around 5 p.m. that day.

Reports are that she and her boyfriend had already turned off the lights and were about to close the business place when the shots rang out.

Stowe reportedly ran into the shop when she was hit and died where she fell.

Slater was not required to plea when he stood before Magistrate Bertie Pompey and was remanded.

The matter was adjourned to September 5 and transferred to the Serious Offences Court for a date to be set for a Preliminary Inquiry (PI).




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/By Azernews/

By Nigar Abbasova

European companies do not show any special interest to the purchase of assets of Austrian OMV Company in Turkey, OMV CEO Rainer Seele told Reuters.

He also mentioned that the sale-purchase deal will be completed until 2017.

OMV previously spread the information about the intention to put up its OMV Petrol Ofisi A.S. subsidiary in Turkey for sale as part of its strategy.

The company is planning to focus on growth of its upstream business which covers crude oil and natural gas production and its integrated downstream business which includes oil refining activities, sales and distribution. The company earlier said that the Petrol Ofisi, with its retail station network, does not fit the strategy.

In this regard, the OMV is planning to sell up to 100 percent of assets in OMV Petrol Ofisi A.S which owns one of the largest networks of filling stations in Turkey.

The company operates 1,785 refueling stations throughout Turkey and owns the countrys largest fuel storage and logistics business. The fuel sale by the company amounted to approximately 10 million tons in 2015.

Within the scope of its strategy, OMV sequentially sells its filling station networks located in different countries.

Earlier, head of SOCAR Turkey Enerji Zaur Gahramanov said that SOCAR will start studying the possibility of purchasing the gas filling stations of OMV in Turkey mentioning that the company has a special interest in the assets of OMV. The interest of SOCAR in the assets is also connected with the plans of the company to create a distribution network pegged to the Star Petroleum refinery, which will be the first oil refinery built by the private sector in Turkey.

OMV has not yet provided any information about the state of the assets to the market. The company is expected to provide the information in September, 2016.

OMV will be the second foreign company to sell its fuel distribution business in Turkey following French oil and gas giant Total, which sold its distribution operation and gas stations in Turley to Demiroren Group in 2015.

With its headquarters in Vienna OMV is one of Austrias largest industrial companies.
Swiss chess player Yannick Pelletier has been removed from the list of undesirable persons of Azerbaijans Foreign Ministry.

Yannick Pelletier, sending a letter to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, reaffirmed his full respect to the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Azerbaijan within its internationally recognized borders, inter alia, the laws and regulations of Azerbaijan, said the website of Azerbaijans Foreign Ministry.

He stressed that his visit to Azerbaijani territories occupied by Armenia was not intentional and he was unaware about the consequences of this visit.

Yannick Pelletier expressed his apology to the government and people of Azerbaijan for an illegal visit to the occupied territories of Azerbaijan and attested that he will refrain from such visits to the occupied territories of Azerbaijan in the future.

Against the background of aforementioned, he asked from the relevant authorities of Azerbaijan to give an authorization for his visit to Azerbaijan to participate in the 42nd World Chess Olympiad and the 87th FIDE Congress to be held in Baku from August 20 till September 20.

Yannick Pelletiers appeal was properly considered and the decision was made to issue a visa for his visit to Azerbaijan.

The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988 when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. As a result of the ensuing war, in 1992 Armenian armed forces occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan, including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and seven surrounding districts.

The 1994 ceasefire agreement was followed by peace negotiations. Armenia has not yet implemented four UN Security Council resolutions on withdrawal of its armed forces from the Nagorno-Karabakh and the surrounding districts.

/By Trend/
Interview of President of Russia Vladimir Putin to Azerbaijan State News Agency (AZERTAC)





Question: What is your assessment of the current level of Russian Azerbaijani bilateral relations, and what are the prospects of their enhancement?





President of Russia Vladimir Putin: The relations between Russia and Azerbaijan are those of a strategic partnership. They are rooted in our long-standing traditions of friendship and good neighborliness, equality, respect for each others interests, common history and culture, and millions of lives that are closely intertwined.





All these factors provide a solid foundation for developing trust-based relations between the leaders, governments and parliaments of the two countries. Mutually beneficial cooperation in such areas as trade and the economy, investment, energy, the transport infrastructure, the automobile industry and health care has been expanding.





Also noteworthy is the fact that cooperation between our regions has reached quite an advanced stage. Today, 17 constituent entities of the Russian Federation work together with their Azerbaijani partners to implement agreements on cooperation in trade and the economy, science and technology and culture. Besides, enterprises and companies from over 70 Russian regions are engaged in trade with your country.





We work closely together in the South Caucasus, as well as within the CIS and leading international organisations. We see great potential in increased cooperation in the Caspian Sea, primarily within the Caspian Five (comprising Russia, Azerbaijan, Iran, Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan) and the developing trilateral partnership involving Iran.





Humanitarian ties play an important role in strengthening friendly and good-neighborly relations. In this regard, I would note a steadily growing trend for broader contacts in education. Currently, there are about 15,000 Azerbaijani students in Russia, while branches of Russian universities operate successfully in Azerbaijan.





Our joint project, the Baku International Humanitarian Forum under the patronage of the Russian and Azerbaijani Presidents, has proven its relevance and importance as a platform for discussing key current issues. In a relatively short time (since 2011), it has become a major event in regional and international public life. Currently, together with our Azerbaijani colleagues, we are actively preparing the fifth Forum to take place this September.





I am confident that the further progressive development of Russian-Azerbaijani relations is of special importance for ensuring regional stability and security, maintaining peace and mutual understanding in the South Caucasus and exercising the fundamental interests of our peoples.





Question: The global crisis has affected bilateral trade between Russia and Azerbaijan, causing it to decline. You mentioned it at your meeting with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev in St. Petersburg last June. What do you think should be done to boost trade and, more broadly, to incentivize economic cooperation between the two countries, including industrial collaboration and mutual investment?





V.Putin: It is true that the adverse and challenging environment of the world economy has impacted our business ties as well. Nevertheless, Azerbaijan ranks fifth in Russia's foreign trade with the CIS countries (following Belarus, Kazakhstan, Ukraine and Uzbekistan). At the same time, Russia is a leading importer of Azerbaijani goods.





According to the Federal Customs Service of Russia, in 2015 Azerbaijan-Russia trade turnover shrank by 30 percent, to $2.8 billion compared to $4 billion in 2014. This year we have not managed to reverse the situation yet: in JanuaryMay mutual trade amounted to $568.5 million, which is 52.8 percent less compared to the same period of 2015.





We believe that an upsurge in the supply to Russia of Azerbaijani agricultural products, which are in demand on our market, as well as an upturn in exports from Russia to Azerbaijan of fertilizers and agricultural machinery necessary for the expansion of cultivation areas could all play a significant role in increasing mutual trade.





We expect full implementation of Uralvagonzavod's plans to supply railway vehicles to Azerbaijan, Krasnoe Sormovo's plans to build and deliver two tankers for the Azerbaijani State Caspian Sea Shipping Company, as well as plans to launch joint pharmaceutical production with the participation of the Russian R-Pharm group of companies.





Enhanced mutual trade in services in such fields as transport, the financial sector, insurance, telecommunications, culture and recreation could become yet another important track in the development of trade and economic ties. Today, they already add nearly 20 percent ($0.5 billion) to the total turnover.





Consolidation of Iran's and Azerbaijan's railway infrastructure under the International NorthSouth Transport Corridor project would offer new prospects for using Russia's and Azerbaijan's transit traffic capacities to their full extent.





We believe it is important to foster collaboration between business circles of our countries within the Russian-Azerbaijani Business Council set up under the Russian Chamber of Commerce and Industry. We hope that a similar agency would be established in Azerbaijan as well.





While there is a drop in trade turnover, our countries still witness rather stable investment cooperation development. Today, some 600 Russian companies operate in the Azerbaijani market, with about 200 of them with 100 percent Russian capital. Besides, Russia's direct investment in Azerbaijan amounts to about $1.4 billion.





We will continue our work to create an environment that would encourage our companies to switch to carrying out mutual settlements in national currencies. At present, these are mostly performed in USD.





There is no doubt that the current troubles in our bilateral trade and economic relations are but temporary. We are convinced that through concerted efforts and in close partnership we will be able to set our mutual trade on a path of sustainable growth.





Question: Today, a new integration paradigm is taking shape  a regional cooperation framework that involves Azerbaijan, Iran and Russia. The NorthSouth Transport Corridor project is believed to be the core element of this trilateral cooperation. What other projects, in your view, could make cooperation between the three countries sustainable and effective? Can this trilateral engagement help to remove some of the existing differences, for instance on such issues as the division of the Caspian Sea or the use of its energy and biological resources?





V.Putin: On August 8, 2016, we will meet for the first time at a summit of the three Heads of State in Baku, at the invitation of President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev, to discuss the prospects for developing long-term and mutually beneficial cooperation that would span diverse areas: from economic and humanitarian ties to security and the fight against terrorism.





Our talks will focus on a flagship project  the International NorthSouth Transport Corridor with a total length of 7,200 kilometers. It aims to provide the best possible opportunities for transporting transit cargo from India, Iran, and the Gulf States to Azerbaijan, the Russian Federation and further to Northern and Western Europe.





Notably, in 2015, the overall cargo traffic along the International NorthSouth Transport Corridor involving JSC Russian Railways amounted to 7.3 million tons, exceeding the level reached in 2014 by 4.1 percent, or by 0.3 million tons.





Other promising areas for cooperation include the implementation of strategic investment projects in the energy sector and the transport infrastructure. There are opportunities for expanding trade in the services, including those in tourism, healthcare and education.





Indeed, the trilateral dialogue will also cover the Caspian issue. It is common knowledge that in recent years, the Caspian Sea states have made headway in reaching a consensus on matters related to various aspects of cooperation in the Caspian Sea, including the use of its energy and biological resources. Relevant agreements were signed and are now being successfully implemented. Work on the core Convention on the Legal Status of the Caspian Sea is nearing completion.





Question: Following the decision reached on the settlement of the situation concerning Iran's nuclear program, there was a marked increase in contacts between Moscow and Tehran. Iran, in its turn, seeks to play a more proactive role in the region, particularly to consolidate its status within the SCO. What is your vision of the prospects for Russian-Iranian cooperation?





V.Putin: Iran is Russias longtime partner. We believe that bilateral relations will benefit from the reduction of tensions around Iran following the comprehensive agreement on the Iranian nuclear programme.





First of all, we intend to continue fostering trade and economic cooperation. During my visit to Tehran on November 23, last year, and my negotiations with Irans Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and Iran's President Hassan Rouhani, I found that Irans leaders genuinely share this approach.





Thus, through collective efforts we have managed to increase the volume of mutual trade. In the first five months of this year, it grew by 70 percent, reaching $855 million.





In certain areas, Russian-Iranian cooperation has already become strategic in nature. This is particularly true of the joint work in the field of peaceful nuclear energy. Irans first nuclear power plant, Bushehr was built on the basis of Russian technologies. Plans for the construction of 8 more nuclear power units by Russian specialists in Iran have been agreed.





We will further assist our Iranian partners in implementing the Plan of Action on Iran's nuclear program, including the processing of enriched uranium and the conversion of facilities to produce stable isotopes.





Large-scale joint projects in the oil and gas sphere, and the aerospace and electric power industries are being developed. For instance, Russia intends to grant two state loans to Iran to the amount of 2.2 billion to finance the construction of a thermal power plant near the city of Bandar Abbas on the Persian Gulf coast and the electrification of the GarmsarInce Burun railway section in the north-east of the country.





The creation of a free trade zone between the Eurasian Economic Union and Iran can give a strong impetus to trade and investment contacts between Russia and Iran. The joint research group, which will study in detail the parameters of a possible agreement, has already begun its work.





We are also interested in strengthening our partnership with Tehran in regional affairs. We consider it an important factor of maintaining stability and security across a large territory from Central Asia and the Caspian region to the Middle East. We will continue to support Iran's pursuit of full SCO membership.





Question: Recently, the world has faced an unprecedented upsurge of terrorism and violence, including in close proximity to our countries' borders. What steps could Russia, Azerbaijan and Iran take to ensure their common security and address the threats?





V.Putin: We are most certainly concerned about two hotbeds of instability, in Afghanistan and in the Middle East, that are situated in the immediate vicinity of the Russian, Azerbaijani and Iranian borders. They pose a grave threat of international terrorism and cross-border crime primarily due to the increased drug flow, arms trafficking and movement of fighters.





Let me specifically underscore that the recent terrorist attacks perpetrated in various regions of the world prove yet again that terrorism can be addressed solely through a common effort guided by the norms and principles of international law and coordinated by the UN. In this endeavor, there can be no double standards; terrorists cannot be divided into "good" and "bad" ones. And, of course, it is unacceptable and extremely dangerous to try to exploit terrorist and radical extremist groups out of political and geopolitical interests.





These are the very principles that our countries actively promote within the international community in an effort to broaden and strengthen as much as possible international cooperation at the political level as well as at the level of law enforcement bodies and special services.





Today, we can say that Russia, Azerbaijan and Iran are engaged in a close dialogue on this issue. Therefore, Russia collaborates with Baku both within the CIS Anti-Terrorism Center and on a bilateral basis. Russia and Teheran have similar key approaches as well. We see additional opportunities in enhanced multilateral anti-terrorism cooperation within the SCO.





Together with our Iranian partners, we are engaged in the Clean Caspian Sea operation aimed at cutting off drug trafficking routes. The Caspian Anti Drug Group of Five forum has considerable potential.

I believe there are also good prospects for intensifying interaction to counter terrorism and drug trafficking in a trilateral format.





Question: Lately, Russia has strengthened its mediation efforts aimed at finding a solution to the Nagorny Karabakh conflict. As is well known, it is through the mediation of the Russian side that the ceasefire regime along the line of contact was restored after the escalation of tension in April 2016. Russia also initiated the St. Petersburg meeting between the presidents of Armenia and Azerbaijan, which was considered useful and fruitful by the sides. There is a perception that Russia is the one to take on a crucial role in untying the Karabakh knot. Do you agree?





V.Putin: Russias bond with Armenia and Azerbaijan builds on deep historical roots, the strategic nature of our relations, and geographical proximity. Therefore, it is our genuine interest that the neighboring region is peaceful and calm again, that casualties stop, borders open, and economic ties are restored there.





We are doing our utmost for that. I recall that, in May 1994, the ceasefire agreement was signed with the direct assistance of Russia, and it is still the basis of the truce. The adoption of the 2008 Moscow Declaration was an important step. It confirms that a conflict settlement should be achieved through political means alone. By the way, this is the first and still the only document on the Nagorny Karabakh settlement signed by the presidents of Armenia and Azerbaijan. It was Russia again that played the crucial role in the cessation of large-scale hostilities at the beginning of April 2016.





I would like to particularly emphasize that we are not trying to impose some ready made solutions upon Armenia and Azerbaijan. The sides should reach an agreement and find mutually acceptable solutions independently, without external pressure. This is our firm position.





Reaching a compromise means finding an optimal balance between the principles of territorial integrity and the right of peoples to self-determination. We are fully aware of the responsibility that rests on the shoulders of the Armenian and Azerbaijani leadership. We welcome the constructive approach that prevailed during the latest summit on the conflict settlement held on June 20, 2016, in St. Petersburg.





The final goal of the settlement should be an agreement with no winning or losing sides, with mutual concessions and benefits for both sides that are clear to the public in both Armenia and Azerbaijan.





In its turn, Russia is ready to support a solution that would be acceptable to all parties involved and, together with other mediators, to act as a guarantor of the settlement.





I would like to touch on one more issue. We often hear that Russia is trying to monopolize the work related to the settlement of the Nagorny Karabakh conflict and push other mediators aside. That is a misconception. The trilateral summits on the Karabakh issue with the participation of the Russian President  there have been more than twenty such summits  perfectly complement the efforts by the OSCE Minsk Group co-chaired by Russia, the US and France to settle this conflict. It should be noted that US and French representatives attended the concluding part of the abovementioned trilateral summit in St. Petersburg.





The Russian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Sergey Lavrov, and the Minister of State for European Affairs of the French Foreign Ministry, Harlem Desir, were, in their turn, invited to the meeting between Ilham Aliyev and Serzh Sargsyan held on the initiative of the US in Vienna on May 16, 2016.





Such an approach is an example of how we can and should work to settle international conflicts. I hope that our joint efforts will help the sides to reach a consensual solution.
Iranian President Hassan Rouhani is to leave Tehran for Baku on August 7 to attend trilateral talks with Azerbaijani and Russian counterparts, Ilham Aliyev and Vladimir Putin.





Rouhani is expected to discuss the expansion of trilateral cooperation in commerce, energy, telecommunications, environment, fighting against terrorism and transportation, IRNA news agency reported. On the sidelines of the meeting, Rouhani will also hold bilateral meeting with Vladimir Putin to discuss expansion of cooperation in areas of mutual interest.



Rouhani is also scheduled to have a meeting with President Aliyev to follow up implementation of already reached agreements in commerce, industry, energy, culture, banking, consular facilities and telecommunications, mainly railway transportation.



During the visit, some joint venture projects on industrial units are expected to be implemented.
/By Azernews/

By Rashid Shirinov

The American analytical center Stratfor recently made a statement regarding the current state of Armenian government. While the hostage situation is over, protests against the government are not over, underscoring the broader political problems the president has yet to solve, the center states.

The April escalation on the contact line of Azerbaijani and Armenian troops, where Armenians lost part of the occupied Azerbaijani territories, was a serious blow to the image of Sargsyan, Stratfor states.

Persistent discontent at home and a standoff with Azerbaijan over Nagorno-Karabakh will continue to cloud the future of the Armenian government, the analytical center assumed, adding that more demonstrations against Armenian government are likely to happen in future.

The leader of the opposition party Heritage Raffi Hovannisian also warned the Armenian government. If we cannot achieve implementation of emergency decisions and special elections in Armenia through normal political processes, then the country will witness new armed groups like Sasna Tsrer, he said at a press conference adding that those will be not terrorists but anti-terrorists fighting against the real terrorists in ties who have captured Armenia.

Emigration, poverty, unemployment, non-compliance with laws and social injustice in Armenia obviously angered the countrys population. All this resulted into the attack of armed group Sasna Tsrer on the police station.

?n the meantime, Armenian people still hold rallies in support of Sasna Tsrer, demanding to release its members. The rally of August 4 passed by Northern Avenue, Republic square, Mashtots Avenue, and then the protestes returned to the Freedom square.

As soon as most of the protesters dispersed, police led by the chief of Police of Yerevan Valery Osipyan began to detain those who remained on the square. During the march, Armenian police detained 27 citizens on the Freedom square of the capital.

Meanwhile, strange things happen to the members of Armenian opposition. Harutyun Aglamazyan, who is a member of the radical opposition initiative Pre-Parliament, was brutally beaten on the night of August 5 in front of the building he resides. It is assumed that the attack was implemented by the instruction of Armenian government.

On July 17, a group of armed men entered the territory of the Armenian police patrol department in the Erebuni district of Yerevan and took several people hostage. The attackers demanded the release of Armenian opposition figure Jirair Sefilyan, who was arrested nearly a month ago on charges of illegal possession of arms. They also demanded resignation of Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan.

Following the long-lasting talks, the armed group on July 23 released all of the hostages. Nevertheless, they refused to lay arms down and surrender to the authorities. On July 27, the group took new hostages. They were four ambulance doctors who arrived at the police station to assist the wounded in the shootout between the police and Sasna Tsrer members. By July 31, they were also released, and the armed group surrendered. The two-week seizure took lives of two Armenian police officers.

From the first day of the seizure, Armenian people started their protest actions against authorities by gathering on Yerevans streets. Following the rally in Sari Tagh district of Yerevan, the police brutally dispersed the protesters and arrested 165 people. As a result, 73 citizens addressed medical institutions with injuries of varying degrees of severity. Currently, 15 of them still stay in hospitals.
Baku has hosted a meeting with participation of representatives of Azerbaijan Trade Unions Confederation and 24 NGOs with the purpose of creating an initiative group for the referendum scheduled for Sept.26, 2016.

The meeting was attended by 402 representatives of the initiative group consisting of 4,002 people.

The meeting participants praised the proposed amendments to the constitution and noted that Azerbaijan has significantly strengthened during the years of presidency of Ilham Aliyev.

Moreover, during the event, it was noted that amendments to the constitution are submitted to referendum in all countries.

The meeting participants noted that currently, there is a necessity to make relevant amendments to Azerbaijans constitution.

It was decided to call the initiative group the Civil Society.

Twenty-five authorized representatives of the initiative group and an authorized representative for financial issues were appointed during the meeting.

Moreover, it was decided to send a notification to the Central Election Commission (CEC) for registration of the initiative group.

Earlier, Azerbaijans President Ilham Aliyev signed a decree to hold the referendum on making amendments to the constitution Sept.26, 2016.

/By Trend/
/By Azernews/

By Nigar Abbasova

A decision on full transition to digital broadcasting will be made by late 2016, Nurshiravan Maherramli, head of the National Council of Television and Radio Broadcasting told Trend. He also mentioned that the majority of countries have already switched to digital broadcasting completely.

Azerbaijan has also carried out transition to the digital broadcasting, but analogue broadcasting has not yet been terminated, he said. He also mentioned that the process is dragging out because not all citizens of the country have decoders.

The problem mainly refers to the citizens of regions, therefore we are trying to prolong the process of disconnection from the analogue broadcasting, he added.

Currently, the signal of the digital broadcasting covers approximately 99 percent of the country. Subscribers should acquire decoders, the cost of which ranges from 40 to 50 manats ($26-$32) in the domestic market .

Earlier, Deputy Minister of Communications and High Technologies, Elmir Velizade said that a full switch to the digital broadcasting in Azerbaijan requires solving a certain number of technical and organizational issues.

Digital broadcasting works by translating sound and picture into digital data rather than analogue waveforms. Digital links use data compression which in its turn provides for more efficient bandwidth usage as well as higher-quality signal. Digital broadcasting provides crystal-clear picture and sound without fading or interference and enables TV stations to broadcast multiple channels with different programming.

Previously Trend reported that Teleradio production unit is planning to purchase low-power transmitters for the expansion of signal coverage of the DVB-T (Digital Video Broadcasting). The transmitters will be mainly established in the difficult-to-reach regions of the country with weak signal reception of the digital TV.

The regions will be defined as a result of a monitoring which will be held by the State Radio frequency service of the country.
This post is prompted by a number of things that have left me pondering how as Christians we are to bring about change in our churches. When we strongly b...

7 years ago
Indonesian authorities arrested six suspected militants on Batam island on Friday who were believed to be linked to the Islamic State group and plotting an attack on nearby Singapore, an Indonesian police spokesman said.



Singapore said it had stepped up security in response.



Indonesian police spokesman Agus Rianto told reporters the suspects had been plotting with a member of the Islamic State militant group in Syria to attack Singapore via Batam, which is about 15 km (10 miles) south of Singapore.



"What we understand so far is that they were planning to attack vital objects, busy areas including police offices," Rianto said.



The six suspects were suspected to have links to Bahrun Naim, an Indonesian fighting for Islamic State in Syria, police said.



Singapore said it had stepped up its internal and border security.



"This development highlights the seriousness of the terrorism threat to Singapore," a spokesman for Singapore's interior ministry said in a statement.



"The public are advised to remain vigilant."



Indonesian investigators believe that Naim was one of the masterminds behind an attack in January in the Indonesian capital of Jakarta, in which eight people were killed including the four attackers.



"There's a link to Bahrun Naim because there was communication with Bahrun Naim - but whether they were affiliated with Bahrun Naim's group or not - this is what we're investigating now," Rianto said.



Security officials fear that Naim and other Islamic State leaders were now asking supporters in Indonesia and other countries to launch attacks at home, instead of being drawn to the fight in the Middle East.



"One thing I think is clear is Bahrum Naim has been able to establish a lot of communication with a log of people through his social media network," said Jakarta-based security analyst Sidney Jones.



"This would be a departure for Bahrum Naim and his supporters if they were really thinking of attacking targets outside Indonesia," she said.



Southeast Asian militants fighting for Islamic State in the Middle East have said they have chosen one of the most wanted men in the Philippines to head a regional faction of the radical group that includes Indonesians and Malaysians, security officials said last month.



Indonesian forces were also on heightened alert following the killing of the country's most-wanted militant last month.



Santoso, among the first Indonesians to pledge loyalty to Islamic State, was killed in a gun battle with security forces on the island of Sulawesi. - Reuters
Air Berlin, Germany's second largest airline, is planning to introduce a business class service on short-haul flights in Europe, as part of a restructuring designed to return it to profitability.



Air Berlin, mostly known for its tourist flights to Majorca, has made a net loss in seven of the last eight years and has been trying to reduce debts and improve results by cutting routes and costs.



The carrier is 29 per cent owned by Abu Dhabi-based carrier Etihad, which has bought up stakes in several airlines across the globe to expand its own network.



Air Berlin is now trying to attract higher paying business travellers by increasing long-haul services, especially to the United States, as well as adding the short-haul business class service. It is also scrapping free drinks and snacks for economy customers on short-haul flights, and will now offer a buy-on-board menu.



Bringing in a business class will not require any refurbishment of its planes, because only the first row, which already has more leg room, will be used. The middle seat will be left free to give passengers more space. Other European carriers operate a similar business class on short-haul flights.



Air Berlin said it would introduce the business class and buy-on-board concept "this year", without being more specific.



"We are making key strategic decisions that will pave the way to a sustainable future for the company and that will clearly position Air Berlin in the premium sector of European airlines," chief executive Stefan Pichler said in a statement.



Air Berlin declined to comment on the costs involved.



It will expand its route network to the US from its main bases in Berlin and Duesseldorf by 50 percent for summer 2017 to destinations such as San Francisco and Orlando. Pichler said Air Berlin expected demand from start-ups for the Berlin-San Francisco routes, and highlighted Orlando's conference schedule as of interest for business travellers.



There has been speculation Lufthansa is interested in taking over some of Air Berlin's operations on routes outside Berlin and Duesseldorf to expand its Eurowings budget arm.



"We are not going to be cooperating with anyone and entering commercial deals with anyone who does not increase our profitability," Lufthansa CEO Carsten Spohr said on Tuesday.



Air Berlin will report second quarter results on August 11. - Reuters
A judge awarded $100,000 on Thursday to the family of a woman who died in 2014 when the car she was traveling in crashed into a concrete sign at Wyoming Medical Center.

The money will go to Amanda Stricklands three sons, who have since been adopted by her parents. Strickland died Sept. 21, 2014, while she was riding in a car driven by Jessica Carnline. Carnline crashed into a concrete sign in front of the hospital while high on Dust-off.

Another passenger, Brandon Avery, also died in the crash. A judge sentenced Carnline last summer to 12 to 16 years in prison after she pleaded guilty to two counts of aggravated vehicular homicide.

Last fall, Stricklands family filed a wrongful death claim and, last month, they asked for a settlement, court documents show.

Carnlines car was insured through Progressive Insurance at the time of the crash. Progressive offered to pay the $100,000 settlement. Natrona County District Judge Daniel Forgey decided Thursday to approve the settlement.

The settlement is the best avenue, really the only avenue, for any kind of recovery here, the Stricklands attorney, John Abraham, said during the hearing.

Stricklands family members signed affidavits waiving any rights to the settlement, the documents state. Instead, the funds will go to Strickland's children.

Natrona County District Judge Catherine Wilking in February approved a settlement from Progressive to establish a trust fund for Averys two children.

Carnline was driving a Chevrolet Cavalier when it struck a concrete sign in front of Wyoming Medical Center. She later told police that air duster she inhaled before the crash caused her to pass out.

From surveillance video, authorities estimated her car was traveling 76 mph when it struck the sign. They found an indication that she braked prior to the crash.

Carnline was 17 at the time, but authorities charged her as an adult.
Tianjin No 2 Intermediate People's Court sentenced activist Gou Hongguo to three years in prison with a three-year reprieve for subverting State power on Friday.

Gou pleaded guilty during the trial and said after the verdict announcement: "I accept the result and will not appeal to a higher court."

The trial is part of a series of high-profile cases involving lawyers and activists who are accused of spreading subversive thought and creating domestic conflict.

The verdict said that Gou was influenced by anti-China forces and went abroad to be trained in subversion after meeting Hu Shigen, the leader of an illegal organization, in 2013.

Gou provided money for Hu, lawyer Zhou Shifeng and activist Zhai Yanmin to organize protests and participated in discussions on spreading subversive thought, the verdict said.

Zhai, Hu and Zhou faced the same charges and were sentenced by the court earlier this week.
A man suspected of abducting a Montana girl remained jailed Friday in Casper while awaiting a court appearance.

Police arrested 60-year-old Rodney Zahn as he drove through downtown early Thursday evening. Authorities had issued an Amber Alert earlier that day that accused him of taking 16-year-old Sandy Moore from her home in Sheridan, Montana.

Moore has been returned to her family.

Authorities found the girl in a truck with Zahn, who is suspected of having taken the girl overnight Wednesday. Zahn is expected to make his initial appearance next week in Natrona County Circuit Court.

Officials have described Zahn as a registered violent offender who was violating probation.

Local authorities began receiving phone calls about 5 p.m. from people who said they saw Zahns pickup on Highway 20-26 heading east toward Casper. Natrona County sheriffs deputies stopped Zahns truck about 5:15 p.m. at First and Center streets, said Sgt. Aaron Shatto.

Casper police took over the investigation and arrested Zahn on two felony warrants out of Montana.

The abduction investigation is being led by the FBI and the Madison County Sheriffs Office.
Casper police safely reunited a hostage with his family Friday after a man with a knife held him for hours in an office building.

No one was injured during the incident, which led to the evacuation of the Aspen Creek office building. Police also blocked off streets in the area. Heavily armed officers were later seen entering the building with rifles.

SWAT team officers escorted a man out of the building around noon, about three hours after the hostage situation began. He was bald, heavy-set and wearing black. Police later identified the suspect as 35-year-old David Chavis.

Police did not release the identity of the 51-year-old victim or say what organization uses the office where the hostage situation took place. He was released safely to his family after being checked by medical personnel.

This is what you always want to have come out of these things, Lt. Chris Hadlock said.

A man who called the Star-Tribune identified himself as the brother of the victim. Cole Miller said he was grateful the situation ended the way it did.

The detectives and all the people that handled this did a very professional job, he said. They were really compassionate with all of us, and we appreciate that.

Miller said he is thankful his brother was unharmed and that the suspect was also not hurt. He said his brother did not want to identify himself.

The incident began about 8:45 a.m. and officers evacuated workers from the office building shortly thereafter. The Natrona County Special Response Team and Hostage Negotiation Team responded and were able to resolve the situation.

Chavis was being held Friday at the Natrona County Detention Center. Investigators are still working to understand Chavis motive in the incident. The district attorneys office will file charges against Chavis.

Tina Thompson, 62, who works for the Farmers Insurance district office, was in the building where the hostage situation took place.

Around 9 a.m., she said, someone with the sheriffs office came in and told workers in her office to evacuate. Thompson said they were instructed to use the main entrance, not the back entrance.

At around 9:40 a.m., she was at the Ramkota, near the side door.

She said she saw a sheriffs pickup enter a nearby parking lot and stop. About 10 heavily armed officers, in tactical gear and carrying assault rifles, were in the bed of the truck. They crouched low and moved very quickly into the lobby, she said. She couldnt tell which floor they were headed to.

One woman who said she worked on the third floor of the Aspen Creek building told a reporter that officers who evacuated the building said there was a hostage situation on the second floor.

About 30 to 40 evacuated office workers arrived at the nearby Ramkota Hotel shortly after 8:30 a.m., said the hotels general manager, Renee Penton-Jones.

An evacuee at the hotel who declined to be identified said officers entered his office suddenly and told people to leave.

They came in guns down, the sheriff, and said, Hey, got to go, the man said.

The Aspen Creek building remained closed Friday, but authorities were allowing workers in surrounding buildings to return to their offices.
Over the past few weeks, we have heard a lot about conventions, associations and committees, all of which are vital components of our precious democracy. However, I'd like to highlight the fact that many of these groups operate year round, not just during an election cycle, to insure that democracy is upheld and participation in our federal, state and local government is open to all. The Wyoming Trucking Association and American Trucking Associations are two of the aforementioned groups that operate year round. During passionate election cycles, associations are often negatively referred to as special interest groups. Now, I might be biased because I lead the Wyoming Trucking Association, but I think it's imperative to recognize the important work that these associations do in making sure that a small segment of societys voice is heard in front of legislators and regulators. Our interests may seem narrow, but they contribute directly to the larger economy. I think its also important to acknowledge the individuals who fight hard to build coalitions and represent the stakeholders and communities they serve. The Wyoming Trucking Association, along with trucking associations from each of the other 49 states, recently honored Wyomings own, Pat Thomas, with our federations highest award; the J.R. Bob Halladay Award. Throughout his tenure with UPS and his time as Chairman of American Trucking Associations, Pat Thomas has dedicated himself to building coalitions among state trucking associations and motor carriers, then going to Washington and advocating on our behalf - protecting many Wyoming businesses, helping to build better roads and making sure that our highways are safer each day. So, in the next few months, if you get disenchanted with the process of democracy, keep in mind that people like Pat Thomas are out building strong coalitions and bringing groups together so that Wyomingites can drive on safe roads and have access to everything that trucks deliver to our communities each day. Thats the important role that associations play, a role that is oftentimes neglected and misrepresented in our nations political discourse.
A fire burning west of Cody has more than tripled in size, burning two homes and forcing evacuations in some areas.

The latest mapping put the Whit Fire at more than 9,600 acres or about 15 square miles on federal, state and private land.

The blaze has burned two homes and six outbuildings, and evacuations are in place, said Shoshone National Forest spokeswoman Kristie Salzmann. The destroyed homes are on the North Fork of Sheep Mountain, she said, and several homes are inside the fires perimeter.

Evacuations are in effect in the areas of Whit Creek Road, Big Hat Ranch, Golden Key Ranch, Simek Ranch and County Road 6NS including Bear Creek Subdivision. Green Creek Trail and Twin Creek Trail area closed in Shoshone National Forest and the United States Bureau of Land Management closed Sheep Mountain Trail.

A Type 1 incident team is taking over management of the fire.

On Thursday afternoon, two Super Scooper fixed wing aircraft and five Chinook helicopters retrieved water from Buffalo Bill Reservoir to fight the fire.

Boating access was closed at the reservoir.

About 200 firefighters are working on the blaze, including three hot shot crews, one of which is from Wyoming, Salzmann said.

The fires cause is unknown.

Seasonal and permanent residences, several guest ranches and working ranches in the mostly rural area have been evacuated.

The Park County Office of Homeland Security and Park County Sheriffs Office attempted to contact about 120 residents to notify them of the evacuation order. However, only about 60 percent of those people were reached or had an active voicemail account, said Martin Knapp, Office of Homeland Security coordinator.

Park County Sheriffs deputies also went door to door in the evacuation area to notify residents of the order, said Lance Mathess, Park County Sheriffs Office public information officer.

Mathess said the order operates on a voluntary compliance basis. Despite the mandatory evacuation notice, Wyoming statutes do not allow officers to force people from their homes.
More firefighting resources and calmer winds are helping the fight against a wildfire near Cody that rapidly grew to about 15 square miles.

The Whit Fire is not contained and is burning on the north and south sides of Sheep Mountain about 15 miles west of Cody. The wildfire was reported Tuesday night and quickly grew to more than 9,600 acres by late Wednesday. The fires cause is unknown.

Fire officials say two rural ranch homes and six outbuildings were lost Tuesday and Wednesday. But the fire showed limited activity Thursday as weather conditions improved and more firefighters arrived with two special air tankers.

A news release from the fires interagency command team said the fire was very active Wednesday and the new mapping is the result of overnight flights with infrared cameras.

Evacuations remain in place in the areas of Whit Creek Road, Big Hat Ranch, Golden Key Ranch, Simek Ranch and County Road 6NS including Bear Creek subdivision. The Green Creek Trail and Twin Creek Trail areas are closed in the Shoshone National Forest, as is the Bureau of Land Management's Sheep Mountain Trail.

The fire is burning on BLM, state and private land. Neither the city of Cody or Yellowstone National Park is threatened.

There are 175 people assigned to the fire with three hand crews and 18 engines in addition to command and support personnel. Air support includes seven helicopters and three air attack planes.

Firefighters also continued to make progress on containing several large wildfires across Wyoming.

The Tokewanna Fire south of Mountain View has burned almost 1,300 acres and is about 90 percent contained. Evacuated residents were allowed to return home Wednesday.

The Lava Mountain Fire near Dubois has burned more than 14,000 acres and remains 60 percent contained. Firefighters focused their efforts Thursday on patrolling the fire's edge and mopping up hot spots.

Gusting winds fed the Cliff Creek Fire on Wednesday near Bondurant, and the total burned area stood Thursday at more than 31,100 acres. The fire is 84 percent contained and fire officials reported the lines are holding.
CHEYENNE  Hundreds of thousands of motorcycle riders are heading to South Dakotas Black Hills this week for the annual Sturgis Motorcycle Rally, and many will pass through Wyoming.

But some might not make it home.

Each year, several motorcycle fatalities are recorded on the way to and from Sturgis. But law enforcement and highway safety officials hope 2016 is different.

This year, we would like that to be zero, said Col. Kebin Haller of the Wyoming Highway Patrol.

For the first time, law enforcement and transportation departments across six states are teaming up for a campaign aimed at promoting motorcycle safety and reducing motorcyclist deaths.

Agencies from Wyoming, Colorado, Nevada, Utah, North Dakota and South Dakota are all participating, effectively making the campaign stretch from Las Vegas to Fargo.

On Thursday, regional law enforcement and highway officials held a press conference in front of the Welcome to Wyoming sign on Interstate 25. The goal was to bring awareness to the campaign as plenty of motorcycles, passenger cars and tractor trailers zipped by on the highway.

A disproportionate number of highway fatalities involve motorcycles in the region, said Gina Espinosa-Salcedo, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration Region 8 director.

Those figures rise during the weeks before, during and after the Sturgis rally.

There have been 54 highway deaths in Wyoming this year. Of those, Haller said 12 involved motorcycles.

Most motorcycle fatalities are the fault of the rider and dont involve other vehicles, said Glenn Davis, the highway safety manager for the Colorado Department of Transportation.

Officials are encouraging motorcyclists to be extra vigilant, wear proper protective gear and remain sober when operating a bike.

The more safety gear youre wearingthe more likely you are to not be killed, said Maj. Tim Keeton of the Colorado State Patrol.

Last year, the Sturgis rally saw an estimated 739,000 people  the largest ever. But 2015 was a milestone  the rallys 75th anniversary  and officials are expecting this year to be a more average year.

Still, that means around 500,000 people are expected to attend. With Sturgis only about 30 miles from the state line, many of those riders and travelers will pass through Wyoming.

Wyoming already has activated message signs across the state displaying safety messages. On Thursday, signs read Stay vertical all the way to Sturgis.

Officials emphasized that not only do passenger vehicle drivers need to be aware of motorcycles, but riders need to exercise caution as well.

Riders and bikers, we have to be better, said Christi Little of the Colorado Sportbike Club. We must be the better driver. We as motorcyclists must always continue to improve our skills.
When the Chuck Gray campaign sent out a flyer highlighting Ray Pachecos on and off affair with the Democrat Party, CST reporter Laura Hancock, came to Pachecos defense. While she did her best to distance Pacheco from his former party, the real revelation that Hancock stumbled onto but refused to examine is that Pacheco is a politician in search of a political philosophy. He gravitated towards the Democratic Party after it had grown increasingly hostile towards our energy industry, after it cheered the judiciarys circumvention of Congress to advance its liberal agenda, after it empowered administrative agencies like the EPA put an end to coal, after Obamacare, after the open borders policies had been revealed, and after President Obamas phony Benghazi explanation. When did Pacheco decide the Democratic Party wasnt for him? He has a pro-life stance, but the Democratic Party has been advocating for abortion on demand for decades. Serious pro-lifers left the Democratic Party long ago. I dont doubt his pro-family bona fides, but what does that mean today? The Democratic Party has spent a generation eroding traditional families at every opportunity. What was the catalyst that sent him back to the Republican Party at this point in his life? Or, is it simply a matter that Pacheco wants to be a politician and the Republican Party, while not his cup of tea, has the only ticket to Cheyenne.
At a glance

A snapshot of the states workforce, according to the National Partnership for Women and Families:

 46 percent of Arizonas workforce is made up of women.

 64 percent of Arizona children live in households where both parents work.

 45 percent of the private-sector workforce cant have a paid sick day.

 About 37.8 percent of Arizonas working adults are able to afford an unpaid leave under the Family and Medical Leave Act.
Children's director on icons

Note: This piece has been edited for length.

When people think about Christian icons, generally, they think of icons in terms of the Eastern Church. Iconography is the art of depicting scenes from the life of Jesus Christ, the Saints or Mary, the mother of Jesus, through paintings, sculpture, carvings, mosaics and other various media.

In recent decades, icons have been rediscovered by the Western Church, particularly among the mainline churches.

Icons date back to the fifth century, but they have not been without controversy over whether they are graven images. Icons, however, should not be compared to the golden calf created by Israelites who had turned away from God. Icons, as described by the Seventh Ecumenical Council in the eighth century, are believed to be supported by the Incarnation in which the Word of God not only becomes united with created human nature, but can be united with matter that exists in creation. The beautiful stories depicted in stain glass windows, for example, become icons when a believer gazes upon them in quiet contemplation of the Divine.

 Sandralyn Pierce, director of children and family at St. Philip's in the Hills Episcopal Church.
MCCOY FINDS WIFE BUT BABY IS MYTH

Tucson Woman Who Disappeared Recently Causes Arrest of Los Angeles M. D.

George McCoy, formerly of this city, who came hurriedly to Tucson from Ajo, several weeks ago after receiving a telegram that excited his suspicions as to the safety of his wife, and whose efforts here, seconded by the police, to find Mrs. McCoy were fruitless, has at last found his wife, according to Los Angeles newspapers.

McCoy had gone from Tucson to Ajo to get employment. He succeeded and wire his wife to join him, but the answer that he got was a telegram from another person, a woman whom he did not know and whom the police proved to be a fictitious personage, advising him to cease bothering his wife, saying that she was in a delicate condition and warning him that his insistent letters to her would have a harmful effect.

The telegram aroused McCoys suspicions and he took the first train to Tucson, where he showed the wire to the police and asked them to aid him in finding his wife, who was not at the place where they had lived before he went to Ajo. Efforts to find her were futile and after several days McCoy left the city, prosecuting the search for his wife, to whom he appeared greatly attached, alone.

McCoys anxiety to find his wife was aggravated by the thought that his wife was to become a mother, which she had, it seems, confided to him. Against the happening of this event, McCoy had sent to his home, in the east, for certain tiny articles of clothing that were heirlooms in his family.

The subsequent development in the disappearance of Mrs. McCoy are related by Los Angeles newspapers, which say, in substance, that a Los Angeles physician, Dr. S. A. Austin, has been arrested charged with filing a false certificate of birth for Mrs. McCoy, the charge being made by the superintendent of a hospital at San Bernardino, who said that Mrs. McCoy had confessed to her that the child named in the certificate had been adopted by her and was not born to her.

According to the superintendents story, Mrs. McCoy went to her the later part of July, shortly after her disappearance from Tucson, and asked her to find a baby for her to adopt, but she could find none. The next she heard from Mrs. McCoy, her story says, was a telegram from Los Angeles announcing that a child had been born to her, and a few days later she arrived at the San Bernardino hospital with a new-born baby.

Where McCoy himself had been in the meantime, is not stated in coast newspapers, but it is said that when Mrs. McCoy arrived at the hospital with the babe, the superintendent notified Mr. McCoy, who, it seems, also became suspicious. At that point the woman confessed, it is said, that the child was not hers. Later Dr. Austin was arrested charged with filing a false birth certificate.

It is said by Los Angeles newspapers that McCoy and his wife had left Los Angeles and it was believed that they went to New Mexico.

Officers here express the belief that Mrs. McCoys object in attempting to deceive her husband was that she wished to spare him the disappointment of wrecked hopes of fatherhood. Both are well known here, where they formerly resided.
Republican challenger John Winchester took a hard swing at incumbent Pima County Supervisor Ally Miller in a mailer sent to 10,000 District 1 homes last week.

KNOW THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN HILLARY AND ALLY? it says, picturing a laughing Clinton next to Miller behind Photoshopped prison bars. Ally Miller may be indicted  and go to prison  for her email scandal!

True or a low blow?

This all goes back to the convoluted story of the Arizona Daily Herald, a news website started in May by Millers then-employee Timothy DesJarlais. Because DesJarlais for weeks denied having started the site, which was touting Millers road-repair plan, reporters from the Star and other news outlets made public-records requests for emails between DesJarlais, Miller and other staffers.

We wanted to know if Miller knew that DesJarlais was starting this site that supported her or was ignorant of it, as she said. Importantly, we also asked for emails Miller and staffers sent each other on private accounts dealing with the public business of her supervisors office.

This is a big issue, as the Clinton email scandal has shown. Over the years, as public officials have grown used to having their official emails released via public-record requests, many have turned to hiding their communications with staff members and others by doing it on private accounts.

These are still public records, as long as they deal with the business of their public office, but theyre easier to conceal.

After the requests, on June 20, Miller denied having any emails on her Yahoo account that were subject to the records requests.

I dont conduct county business on my personal email account, she wrote to county clerk Robin Brigode.

This was a blanket denial, and it was false. Since then, several former staffers have come forward to release emails they exchanged with Miller on private accounts about office business.

The picture those emails paint is clear: Miller deliberately used private email accounts to hide the exchanges she was having from prying eyes, though she seemed less concerned with journalists records requests and more concerned about other county supervisors and employees spying on her.

On Nov. 11, 2013, she wrote from her Yahoo account to then-staff member Jennifer Coyles Gmail account: We also cant save things on computer at work or they will be ahead of us. So we will go with this at this time ... but we have to be more secretive ... sorry but that is the environment we are operating in.

She went on in the same email to say, I will handle that email list from here. But I need the updates emailed to me ... preferably from a private email address.

Assistant Pima County Attorney Thomas Weaver requested on July 21 that the Arizona Attorney Generals Office look into Millers handling of public records. That inquiry is being handled by the criminal division of the AGs office, but only because that division has the people to look into it, the spokeswoman for the AGs Office, Mia Garcia, told me. Its not necessarily a criminal investigation.

The idea that Millers acts were criminal is what inspired Winchesters mailer. In fact, he told me Thursday he didnt know the law but noticed in a Tucson Sentinel article that there is a potential prison sentence for certain violations of public records law.

Arizona Revised Statute 38-421 says this: An officer having custody of any record, map or book, or of any paper or proceeding of any court, filed or deposited in any public office, or placed in his hands for any purpose, who steals, or knowingly and without lawful authority destroys, mutilates, defaces, alters, falsifies, removes or secretes the whole or any part thereof, or who permits any other person so to do, is guilty of a class 4 felony.

One could argue that Miller secreted  in other words, hid  emails exchanged on private accounts by denying they existed. But the idea that this would be charged in a criminal court is remote, as our own public-records attorney told me.

I dont think shes going to be indicted and go to prison for it, Dan Barr said. If somebody steps up and sues her and the court orders her to produce those records, shes going to have to pay attorneys fees and other costs. Thats a long way off from being criminally prosecuted and incarcerated.

So, while Winchesters claim is theoretically possible, it is highly unlikely. That doesnt let Miller or any other official off the hook for hiding public records in private accounts, though.

Party vs. country

On Wednesday I argued that its time for Trump-averse Republicans to come out and say they wont support him, rather than criticizing individual Trump comments but maintaining, I support the Republican nominee.

Of course, thats a big thing to ask a Republican  such as U.S. Rep. Martha McSally, Sen. John McCain or Sen. Jeff Flake  to do. It makes it harder for them that Democrats are asking Republicans to reject Trump fully.

President Obama asked that Republicans abandon Trump earlier this week. On Thursday Democrat Matt Heinz, a candidate for the nomination in Congressional District 2, held a press conference with Jeff Latas, a Gold Star father and former Democratic candidate, who made a similar request of McSally.

Latas insisted his request wasnt a partisan thing  Before being a Democrat, Im an American, he said  but of course he made the request at a press conference held by Heinz, one of McSallys potential Democratic challengers. McSallys campaign responded by sending out comments from Gold Star parents who appreciated her criticisms of Trump, which have stopped short of rejecting his candidacy.

So, you cant really untangle the principle  whether Trump is so unfit to be president that even Republicans should oppose him  from its political effects. But you can ask our elected leaders to take a principled stand despite the political effects and appearances. I still think the danger of Trump demands that.

Johnsons back Feinman

The stories by my colleague (and wife) Patty Machelor about Colleen Johnson have been heart-rending  and tailor-made for Joel Feinman.

Johnson was sent back to prison by the Pima County Attorneys Office  unnecessarily, it seems  despite making significant progress in her recovery from drug abuse and mental illness. Then things got worse: She was diagnosed with cancer while in prison and soon died.

Dick and Roxy Johnson tell their story in a mailer Feinman sent out last week. They make just the sort of argument that the career defense attorney has been using against longtime Pima County Attorney Barbara LaWall.

Im not convinced that Feinmans experience lends itself to being our countys top prosecutor. But the Colleen Johnson case makes a strong argument for change.
The command of Davis-Monthan Air Force Base changed hands Friday as Col. Scott C. Campbell assumed the top post, flanked by an A-10 jet in a traditional ceremony in a D-M hangar.

With the ceremonial passing of the wing guidon, or flag, Campbell took over command of the host 355th Fighter Wing at D-M from Col. James P. Meger, who retired Friday after 24 years of service.

Lt. Gen. Mark C. Nowland, who oversees the 355th Wing as commander of the D-M-based Twelfth Air Force, said D-Ms reins are passing between two incredible leaders and cited D-Ms tradition of excellence.

D-M won the Commander in Chiefs Installation Excellence Award in 2012 and was a finalist for that award this year. The base also recently was the first to receive an outstanding rating from the Air Combat Command inspector general under a new base rating system.

The wing and this location at D-M are strategic for the Air Force, Nowland said. This base is strategically located and well-positioned for the future.

Campbell, 42, who previously served as an Afghanistan country director for the undersecretary of defense, is no stranger to Tucson.

He trained as an A-10 pilot at D-M in 1997, commanded the former 358th Fighter Squadron here from 2010 to 2012 and was deputy commander of the 355th Operations Group before leaving to attend the National War College in July 2012. Campbell commanded the 451st Air Expeditionary Group at Kandahar Airfield in Afghanistan in 2014 before moving to his Pentagon post in August 2014.

Campbell thanked Meger for his service and noted that he takes over command of a base already known for excellence.

The only outstanding rating the ACC has ever given in the new rating system pretty much speaks for itself of where the wing is right now, he said.

Meger thanked the wings airmen and officers and D-Ms community supporters for their work and assistance during his two-year stint as commander, recalling vivid images of his experience ranging from the frenzied spin-ups to combat deployment to Thanksgiving dinners with airmen.

Just watching this team that has done so much for this nation, and the community that has done so much for this installation, its just been amazing, he said after the ceremony. I got to be part of it, and it was my honor to serve them.

Meger, who is 46, said he isnt sure exactly what hell do now, though he and his family will stay put. Megers wife, Kari, grew up in Tucson, and the couple met here. Her parents attended the University of Arizona.

Jim Meger 2.0 hasnt been fully defined yet. Were going to sit back, soak it all in, and were trying to focus on the family and the kids right now, he said, noting the couples three children are getting ready to start a new school year.

Were planning on staying in Tucson and are excited about the possibilities  we love the community.
A Pima County grand jury has indicted six relatives in connection with the March beating death of a Tucson toddler, court records show.

While the uncle of 20-month-old Adam Mada was arrested in June, records show five more family members have also been charged with murder for failing to help the boy.

Adam was taken from his mother after he was reportedly born exposed to narcotics and had been placed with relatives, according to Arizona Department of Child Safety records. He died March 12 after his uncle, Erick Henry, 23, beat him to death, authorities said previously.

Henry was arrested June 7 on suspicion of first-degree murder, and is in the Pima County jail on a $250,000 bond.

On June 20, the jury indicted Henry and five others on charges of second-degree murder, child abuse for failure to seek medical attention and endangerment.

The others named in the indictment are Maria Alvarez, Leticia Elizabeth Henderson, Leticia Henderson, Alejandra Loretta Campas and Ambrosio Veranza Pavon, according to court records.

Leticia Henderson and Pavon are identified in court documents as Adams grandparents, and Maria Alvarez is Henrys wife. All four were living in Hendersons home near Three Points, with Henry and Alvarezs two young children.

Leticia Elizabeth Henderson, the boys aunt, was Adams kinship provider. It is unclear how the boys other aunt, Alejandra Loretta Campas, is connected to his death.

All of the suspects were arraigned last month, and Campas is in jail on a $10,000 bond.

The remaining suspects were released on bonds of the same amount.

The DCS would not provide additional information about the case other than an initial statement released in June.

Deputies were called to Leticia Hendersons residence shortly before 3 a.m. March 12. They found paramedics performing lifesaving efforts on Adam, but the child could not be revived and was pronounced dead at the home.

Adams autopsy report revealed he died of blunt-force trauma injuries to his abdomen, and a forensic exam revealed tearing to his gastrointestinal tract.

Multiple rib fractures in various stages of healing were noted ... as well as trauma to the head, and extremities. The childs brain was noted to be swollen, according to court documents.

Three days after Adams death, his 6-year-old half-sister told detectives that Henry was mean to Adam and would hit him, demonstrating how shed seen Henry punch Adam in the back, the documents say.

She told her mother and grandmother about Henrys behavior, which both parties confirmed in later interviews, the documents said.

One of Adams uncles also told police he had witnessed Henry grab him in a rough manner with both of his hands.

When detectives interviewed Henry, he denied ever having abused Adam, but told investigators that the child had been vomiting and had a fever earlier, and he thought they should have taken him to the hospital. When asked about the bruises on Adams face, Henry said that the boy had fallen on some steps leading up to the trailer earlier in the day, according to court records.

Alvarez told detectives in June that Adam had been lethargic and appeared to have cracked ribs that she could feel, the records say. The records note that Alvarez is a trained medical assistant.

She said that soon after, Adam stopped breathing. Court records show that when paramedics arrived, no one told them about the possible rib fractures.

As Adams kinship provider, Leticia Elizabeth Henderson was caring for the child before his death, Sgt. Sonia Pesqueira, of the Pima County Sheriffs Department homicide unit, said in June.

(Leticia Elizabeth Henderson) was supposed to have custody, but took the baby over to the house, where she should not have taken him, Pesqueira said, referring to the home where Adam died.

Leticia Elizabeth Henderson reportedly failed to protect Adam from abuse and neglect, and failed to seek medical care for him, the state child safety records say.

It is unclear when Adam began to stay at the Three Points residence with Henry, but the indictment indicates he was at the home from March 9 until his death.

In January, Leticia Elizabeth Henderson was investigated by the DCS for neglecting one of her children. That report was unsubstantiated.

DCS spokesman Bryan Pahia said he could not provide any additional information on the case, including when the boy left Leticia Elizabeth Hendersons home. A search of Pima County Superior Court records yielded no results for the case.

Arizona child welfare workers made 88 visits in Adams case and last had contact with the boy Feb. 3. Adam, his mother, father and the childs caregivers met with DCS workers an average of four or five times each month as the agency pushed to sever the rights of the childs parents.

All six defendants have a case management hearing in September with Judge Paul Tang.
PHOENIX  If money is an indication of support, Donald Trump has a lot more of it in a tony north Scottsdale area than anywhere else in the country.

An analysis of donations from the Center for Responsive Politics shows donations for Trump from ZIP code 85255 this year at $29,860. Thats the highest figure of any area in the nation, edging out even wealthy Newport Beach, California, and Palm Beach, Florida.

The ZIP code runs from Bell Road north to Jomax Road and from Scottsdale Road on the west to the McDowell Mountain Regional Park. And the folks in that ZIP code do have money to give.

According to the website Bestplaces.net, the median household income of residents is $109,087. Thats more than double the national average.

In fact, nearly a quarter of the residents have a household income greater than $200,000.

Overall, it appears that those who live there like Republicans and their causes more than Democrats.

The biggest beneficiary of financial largesse from residents is the Arizona Republican Party, which the Center for Responsive Politics says got more than $200,000 from 85255 residents. Another $100,000 went to the Freedom Partners Action Fund, which gives money to conservative politicians and groups, with nearly $82,000 to the Republican National Committee.

And while Trump got more money from this ZIP code than any other in the nation, the money trail would suggest he wasnt their first choice: Marco Rubio picked up close to $77,000 from area residents. And they gave another $55,400 to his Conservative Solutions PAC.

In general, the report shows that residents have a fondness for the Grand Old Party. Of donations to candidates, the Center for Responsive Politics says $463,500 this year went to Republicans; Democrats pulled in less than $98,000 from those in 85255.

But there apparently are some Democrats living there  or at least folks who dont want to see Trump in the White House.

According to the report, Hillary Clinton managed to raise almost $60,000 from area residents. Thats more than they gave to John McCain in his re-election bid.

But its not even close to what Clinton has been able to pick up elsewhere.

Her top source of dollars was the $1.6 million she got from the 10024 ZIP code in New York City, which encompasses the upper West Side of Manhattan.

The numbers out of 85255 suggest that its not necessarily just anti-Trump Republicans giving to Clinton. Democrat Congresswoman Kyrsten Sinema picked up more than $38,000 in the ZIP code.

A few other interesting facts about 85255:

More than 91 percent of the population is white, according to Nielsen, compared to just 71 percent for the state. Looking at it from another way, nearly 31 percent of Arizona is Hispanic; 85255 barely cracks 4.5 percent.

Residents are more likely to be older, with a median age of about 47, versus 37 for the state.
Pima Community Colleges possible future came into focus this week when its leaders learned new details of what could happen after a crucial visit from the schools accreditor next month.

Two potential outcomes loom for the school: a dreaded show cause order giving PCC one last chance to avoid shutdown or a best-case scenario in which the accreditor lifts its current sanction but puts the school on intensive monitoring for the next few years.

Show cause means we have a year as an institution to demonstrate to the (accreditor) why they should not pull our accreditation, Bruce Moses, the college administrator in charge of accreditation issues, told PCCs Governing Board at a study session this week.

Moses said he and Chancellor Lee Lambert arent expecting that to happen, but said it depends to a large degree on what occurs at the college over the next few months.

PCC has been under accreditation sanctions since 2013 for failing to meet, or just barely meeting, basic quality standards for higher education institutions.

Many of the fixes the college put in place, such as a new data tracking system to identify its strengths and weaknesses, are so recent theres no proof yet they work.

Others are far behind schedule, such as a program to improve student advising that was supposed to launch this school year but is stalled until next year.

The fall semester, which starts in three weeks, will serve as a brief test period that could help convince PCCs accreditor that the school is on the right track, Moses said.

This semester is the most critical semester in Pimas history, he told the board.

We understand that were not there yet, he said. We have a lot of areas we still need to improve in.

PCC learned this week that the Chicago-based Higher Learning Commission will send a review team to Tucson on Sept. 26-27 to see how much has improved since the last accreditation visit.

That visit, in 2014, identified 11 areas of concern ranging from high turnover among key employees to lack of attention to program quality.

Review teams typically meet with a wide cross-section during their visits, including students, employee groups, taxpayers and Governing Board members.

Board member Sylvia Lee asked Moses to provide the board with talking points so they can better answer questions from reviewers. He agreed to provide bullet points but said board members arent likely to need them.

The HLC is expected to make a final decision on PCCs fate in February.
OPINION: "My original thought was, 'Why would anybody vote for Kari Lake, or any other candidate if they had no faith in our election system?' Now I understand. Because nobody wants to be a loser. And, with her or the others they cant lose," writes Oro Valley resident Ray Lindstrom.
Help India!

By IANS,

Mumbai : Carrying a replica of an atom bomb with a slogan No Bomb  Save Earth, more than 3,000 students Friday led the peace march to commemorate the Hiroshima Day here and pledged to work towards peace and a nuclear-free world.

Support TwoCircles



Organised by an NGO, the Bombay Sarvodaya Mandal and the National Service Scheme (NSS) unit of Mumbai university, the anti-nuclear Peace March created awareness among students about the holocaust.

Students from various colleges held banners depicting slogans like No More Hiroshima and We want to grow up, not blow up.

About 3,050 students as against the anticipated 2,000 took the pledge. Ramesh Deokar, NSS Programme Officer, University of Mumbai, administered the pledge.

Students from 80 colleges along with social activists, Gandhian workers, peace activists, advocates, journalists and NGO members marched from the Azad Maidan to Hutatma Chowk in south Mumbai to support the cause.

This year will be the 65th anniversary of the bombings on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, two Japanese cities. The bombings took place in 1945 during the final states of World War II.

Apart from killing more than 1.5 lakh people, the bombings left thousands crippled claiming more than three lakh lives over the years.


Help India!

By Raqib Hameed Naik, TwoCircles.net

Srinagar: The unabated use of force and pellet guns in Kashmir, which has lead to the death of more than 50 people and injured thousands, has led to Valley-based human rights group Jammu Kashmir Coalition of Civil Society (JKCCS) initiating a campaign Messages From A Blind Spotin an attempt to make the whole world know about the illegal use of pellet shotguns being indiscriminately used by the Indian forces on unarmed civilians in Kashmir.

Support TwoCircles



Messages from a Blind Spot is a compassionate campaign to remind the international community of the sufferings caused by the aggression of the State in a region where peoples rightful demand to self-determination is trampled under the jackboots with brute force, the JKCCS campaign says on its website.

JKCCS is an amalgam of various non-funded, non-profit, campaign, research and advocacy organizations based in Srinagar. It is encouraging people to highlight the scourge of the state violence by writing to the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights and sharing the campaign widely on social media.

Terming pellet guns as lethal, the group have found that hundreds have met with grievous injuries including an estimated 300+ with eye-injuries of which an estimated 100+ civilians are partially or totally blinded by pellet shotgun injuries.

The indiscriminate use of pellet shotguns by its forces has resulted in an estimated 105 civilians being partially or totally blinded. These 12-gauge, pump-action shotguns first put to use during the 2010 uprising are maiming and blinding the unarmed civilians which include kids as young as 5 and elderly as old as eighty.

Digging further into the matter, JKCCS says that people are fearing profiling and reprisals of injured youths by police. The hospital officials have assigned serial numbers to pellet gun victims to hide their identity from undercover police officers who are roaming the hospitals hunting for injured protesters.

Giving an emotional touch to the campaign, the group has also shared stories along with photographs of the pellet gun victims. They shared one such story of four-year-old Zuhra Majeed, who was hit by pellets in her legs and abdomen after her family was targeted by police outside their home on the outskirts of Srinagars Qamarwari on July 10.

The group has further claimed that while dealing with protesters in Kashmir, India has violated its own laws in addition to international law, particularly the Geneva Conventions.

The violence coupled with no immediate sight of a solution has led to growing concern in Jammu and Kashmir, particularly on the limited role of the international community, the group said.

In addition, a Twitter campaign will also be run on August 6 at 6.30 pm IST to inform people about the loss of life and the use of pellet guns in the Valley.

Please tweet using #KashmirBlindSpot about loss of life, use of pellets to blind people, continued suffering of the people of Kashmir and a deafening silence from the citizens of the world. It feels like that the people being blinded in Kashmir are in the blind spot of the international community. Let us bring this back into focus, the campaign said on its Facebook page.
Help India!

By Shafeeq Hudawi, Twocircles.net

Kasargod: A Dalit woman in Kasargod district of Kerala has alleged that she was denied treatment by government hospital after she was unable to pay a bribe to the doctors.

Support TwoCircles



Saraswati, 26, a resident of Madhur panchayat, was recommended a surgery from Government General Hospital after she was diagnosed with a prolapsed uterus. Later, she was asked to pay a bribe of Rs 1,000 each to the hospitals anaesthetist Dr. Venkatagiri KM and gynaecologist Dr. Jyothi. When Saraswati refused to pay, saying she didnt have the money, the doctors discharged her from the hospital.

Saraswati first consulted the gynaecologist Dr Jyoti, at her private clinic at Pulikkunnu. The doctor told me that my uterus has slipped down and will have to be surgically removed, she said. The gynaecologist advised her to check into General Hospital for the surgery.

According to local media reports, she was admitted in the hospital two days ago. I had carried a tribe certificate with me. But the gynaecologist said the certificate was not enough and asked me to pay bribe to her along with anaesthetist Dr. Venkatagiri, she alleged.

She added that he doctor asked her to return when she had money.

The Vigilance and Anti Corruption Bureau confirmed that Dr Venkatagiri has been probed for corruption earlier too. We did a quick verification and recommended departmental action against him, VACB officers told to media persons.

Meanwhile, District Medical Officer (DMO) A P Dinesh Kumar has begun a probe into allegation of corruption against the two doctors. The probe was initiated following an order issued by District Collector E Devadasan.

The DMO told media persons that the allegations were serious, and he had informed the higher-ups in the department.

Dr Venkatagiri, who refused the bribe allegations, said the surgery did not take place because the patient did not have her case history with her and did not arrange for blood. The only person who accompanied her was her little daughter studying in class 8, he added.

When asked about the allegations of demanding bribe, he said: I have my private practice like all other government doctors. People think the consulting fee I charge at home is bribe, he said and added that patients were referred to him by other doctors.
Dhannideeh is a village in Shravasti (sometimes written as Shrawasti) district of Uttar Pradesh. On 10th of July 2007, a mob of upper caste Hindus attacked this village, they beat Muslims of the village, destroying or looting their property and raped 17 Muslim women who were disrobed and paraded naked in the village.

This page will track the progress of this case.

Support TwoCircles



Muslim women sexually attacked, paraded naked in UP: 14 July

10 arrested for Shrawasti gang rape: 16 July

NHRC team in Shrawasti to investigate mass rape of Muslim women : 27 July

Helpless Muslims of Dhanni Deeh village: 30 July

Shravasti attack: UP will not make commissioners report public: 5 August

Social and economic boycott of Muslims in Shrawasti: 23 September

FIR in Dhanni Deeh rape case names 36 people including a BSP min. brother: 10 October

FACT FINDING REPORT ON DHANNI DEEH, SHRAVASTI CASE

The Case:

On 7th July 07 a Hindu Brahmin girl Vandana d/o Mr. Krishna Narayan Dwivedi former Pradhan r/o village Dharmantapur, Sirsiya P.S. left with a Muslim boy Salim s/o Mr. Abdur Rehman @ Chunnu r/o village Dhanni Deeh, Sirsiya P.S., District Shravasti.

Nestled in the foothill of the Himalayas on the Indo-Nepal border Dharmantapur and Dhanni Deeh are adjacent villages some 4 kilometers off the main Bhinga road. The majestic mountain range forms the backdrop of both the villages. Coming from the main road one has to first cross Dharmantapur, the village of the girl before approaching Dhanni Dee, where the gang rape took place.

According to Vandanas father they immediately intimated the P.S. and started searching for the girl. On 8th July 07 the boys father was apprehended and taken to the police station for interrogation. The next day (9th July 07) he was released.

On 11th July the father of the girl lodged an FIR (Case No. 314/07 u/s 363, 366 IPC) against Salim, Abdur Rehman and others. Presently, two people namely Mr. Abdur Rehman @ Chunnu and Azmat are in police custody.

On 10th July 07, the Dhanni Deeh village was attacked in broad daylight (9.30a.m. -10.00 a.m.). The mob carrying arms (lathis etc.) ransacked the mostly kuccha houses, looting their belongings including jewellery and cash. Even food grain stored in deris was not spared. It lay scattered on the floor of the courtyards and inside the dark unlit rooms as a silent testimony of the incident.

Worst still, settling scores of sort against the entire women population of the mans village, member of the girls family publicly humiliated the women folk. According to their version they were disrobed, paraded naked in the village and some of them were dragged to the sugarcane fields behind the Mango orchard and near a massive peepal tree where they were sexually assaulted and gang raped.

Fearing retaliation close family members of the mans family had already left the village soon after the couple escaped. As such the wrath of the attacking mob fell on the womenfolk of the boys community in general.

As most able-bodied men of the community had already left the village after the police picked Chunnu, the boys father, the only who remained in the village, were the sick or the old. The mob described as between 400-1000 men targeted women of all age groups (10-70 yrs of age) belonging to a particular community. The women were brutally beaten and show bruises on their body parts including legs, back, thigh and neck.

In addition to gang rape and sexual assault they were stripped and paraded naked in the village and nearby areas. The incident came to light when two days later some villagers could gather enough courage to approach the local Congress leader Mr. Aslam Raini who took them to the then SP Luv Kumar at Bhinga and under whose pressure the FIR was lodged on the night of 12 July. It is here at Bhinga that the media learnt of the incident through an impromptu press conference where women for the first time admitted that they had been gang raped.

Consequently, an FIR (316/07 u/s 147, 323, 427, 504 and 506 IPC) was lodged against 100-150 unknown men but nobody was charged for committing sexual assault and rape. On 13th July (three days after the incident) medical examination of 16 (one refused from getting medically examined) women from Dhanni Deeh village was conducted but the report came negative. Presently, the police have arrested 10 persons in this case including the father of the girl.

Observations:

The role of police in the whole case needs to be re-looked. They apprehended Salims father Mr. Abdur Rehman and other persons even before the FIR was lodged. Despite the disappearance of the couple and the tension following that the police took no preventive measures whatsoever.

As a result the mob not only gathered at Dhanni Deeh but also the attacked the village in broad daylight and remained there for four hours committing the nefarious crime completely unhindered.

Yet the local Police Station (P.S.) did not register a case against anybody. Two days later, only after pressure came from a local politician did the SP direct them to lodged an FIR about the incident. Here again the perpetrators were not charged for rape and sexual assault though all the women complained about it.

Interestingly, the FIR did not include any charge/section of sexual assault. Yet the police conducted medical examinations three days late (13 July) of all the women who complained of it and the state is quoting that very medical report to insist that no woman was molested or sexually assaulted. The CHC doctor who conducted the medical examination says that prima facie rape was not established. The womens clothes were not made available to her.

Now on the basis of the defective FIR and medical examination report the state is adamantly refusing to admit that rape had in fact taken place.

The State Govt. upon receiving information about the incident terminated the services of SO Sirsiya P.S. Naveen Mishra on the ground of dereliction of duty as he intentionally failed to take any action against the perpetrators and resultantly the incident came into light after the lapse of 2 days.

The CO (Sirsiya P.S.) Mayaram Verma and SP Luv Kumar of Shravasti district were also suspended. Presently Commissioner Devipatan Division Ashok Singh has been asked to conduct an enquiry into the incident and present its report to the state government within a fortnight.

He is being assisted by DIG Dr. Sanjay Tarde and Bahraich (Add.) SP Rajesh Pushkar. In the process of investigating the incident Ashok Kumar is getting the statements of the survivors recorded. On the basis of the statements of the women survivors of Dhanni Deeh recorded on Sunday (15 July) six more women confessed of being raped and were sent for medial examinations today (16 July), six days after the incident.

Yet, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Lalji Verma speaking on behalf of the state government in the Vidhan Sabha on today (16th July) reiterated what he had said on Friday that no woman was raped in the whole incident as neither the FIR nor the medical examination report corroborates it!

Speaking on the floor of the house Mr Verma described the incident as mamuli ghatna (minor incident). He said that never before has any government taken such prompt action and dismissed a daroga (SO) and suspended a CO and SP over such a mamuli ghatna.

The only new fact mentioned by the minister on 16 July was that a team has been sent to Mumbai to recover the girl.

Mr. Verma took no cognizance of the probe report of Samajwadi Party delegation led by former speaker Mata Prasad Pandey that visited the village on 14 July to make an on-the-spot assessment of the situation.

Mr. Pandeys report clearly mentioned that women had not only been gang raped by even paraded naked in the village. Charging the local BSP MLA Daddan Mishra of complicity the probe report held him responsible for creating an environment in which a certain caste felt emboldened enough to commit such a heinous crime. Such gross violation of the rule of law could not have taken place without the protection of the local police in connivance of its political bosses, the SP leaders maintained.

Issues/Concern:

 Vandanas Age: According to her father Vandana is 15 year of age and had passed High School examination in 2005. However when the fact-finding team asked for a copy of her High School certificate he refused to share on the ground that it is still with the school.

 Mr. Krishna Narayan Dwivedi lodged the FIR against Salim on 11th July (9.35 a.m.), whereas according to his own statement the girl was kidnapped on 7th July 07.

 Conspicuous presence of political party representatives in the area (SP, Congress, BJP etc.)

 Dhanni Deeh village was attacked on 10 July whereas the FIR was registered on 12 July and did not include the charge of rape and sexual assault.

 The women were attacked on 10th July whereas the medical examination was conducted on 13th July and subsequently on 16 July.

 The state governments stand on the whole incident is truly deplorable as it is still in denial mode. Far from initiating the process of providing justice to the women by registering cases under relevant sections of the IPC, the state government did not even acknowledged the incidences of gang rape and sexual assault.

 Many women and children who ran away from the village during/ immediately after the gang rape are yet to return to their homes.

 Children of Dhanni Deeh have not returned to their schools or madarsas after the incident, as they fear that the villagers of Dharmantapur may attack them again when they cross the village to reach the main road.

Fact Finding Team:

A team comprised of Risha Syed (AALI), Manjari Chandra (AALI), Ravi Jeena (MASVAW), Puneet (Jan Vikas Sansthan), Shakeela (Aghaz -e- Insaaf) visited the area to conduct a fact-finding. They spoke with:

 Girls Family

 Residents of Dhanni Deeh village

 CO, Sirsiya P.S.

 Commissioner Devipatan Division

 DIG Dr Sanjay Tarpade

 ASP Bahraich Rajesh Pushkar

 Jan Morcha local Journalist Mr. Umesh Gupta

 Dr. Rabia Sultana, MO

Suggestions:

 The new police team is in place at the thana and district level, This however, does not automatically guarantee better law and order which constantly needs to be monitored.

 Need to mobilize public opinion so that the state government is forced to acknowledge the crime and the enquiry team or any further probe ordered by the government can fearlessly bring the culprits to book.

 Police and administration has to restore the faith of the people in the village so that they return to their homes, places of work and study.

 There is a need to understand and guard against the role of the politicians entering the fray to draw political mileage out of the unfortunate incident.

 It should be remembered that exercising the right to choice very often triggers such violence against the boys family irrespective of caste and religion. Hence every effort should be during advocacy on the issue not to let political parties and front organizations paint the violence as strictly communal and cause an escalation of communal tension.

 Need for relevant state bodies i.e. State Commission for Women (SCW), State Human Rights Commission (SHRC) and the Minority Commission to take pro-active measures to address and intervene in such incidences of mass violations.


PokerNews Cup Retrospective: An Ever-Changing Event

August 05 2016 Mo Nuwwarah

PokerNews is known worldwide as the leading website in poker media, but that's not the only offering of value from the iBus Media Network.

One thing many stateside poker players might know little, if anything, about is the PokerNews Cup, a tournament series presented by the very news resource they utilize on a day-to-day basis. That's about to change, as the PokerNews Cup is coming to the U.S. for the very first time from Sept. 20-21 at Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa in Atlantic City.

In advance of PokerNews Cup's stateside debut, as well as the upcoming PokerNews Cup at King's Casino, here is a brief retrospective on the Cup.

2007

The PokerNews Cup made its debut in 2007 at Crown Casino in Australia. It featured a six-event schedule capped off by an AU$3,000 Main Event that drew 428 players. In that Main Event, native Aussie Dory Zayneh emerged as the victor, claiming AU$300,000 in prize money after besting Kenny Ng heads up. Amazingly, it remains Zayneh's only live cash to date. Another notable finisher at the final table was third-place finisher Grant Levy, whose live poker career has seen him cash for more than $2 million to date.

2008

A new venue played host to the next stop of the PokerNews Cup: Montecasino in Johannesburg, South Africa. This time, it was a $3,353 Main Event and 175 turned up. Local players again showed out, with South Africans taking five of the top seven spots, including the $140,575 awarded to top finisher Darren Kramer. Sweden's Anton Bertilsson finished eighth.

Next, the PokerNews Cup headed to back to its roots in Australia for a seven-event series. There, Nali Kaselias continued the tradition of local victors, picking up AU$250,000 for beating a field of 410 in the AU$2,200 Main Event. Levy made it two PokerNews Cup final tables in a row in Australia as he finished eighth.

A final stop saw the Cup head to Concord Card Casino in Austria for a 650 Main Event that drew 55 runners. Estonian Stan Klaasen took it down for 4,070, still making him the second champ of the series with only the one cash still on his record.

2009

The PokerNews Cup kicked off 2009 with another new venue, this time Alpine Palace Card Casino, also in Austria. It was Marcus Naalden topping a field of 129 in the 1,500 Main Event, including a final table that included bracelet winner Mark Vos, for a first-place prize of 46,474.

A few months later, it was back to Australia for another AU$2,200 Main Event, with the series scaled back to a couple of special events and the Main Event. Aussies again dominated the 381-player field, taking the top nine prizes. Con Tsapkounis grabbed the AU$250,000 first-place prize when he beat Joe Cabret heads up. Sam Khouiss got fourth for AU$48,000.

2014

The PokerNews Cup was shelved for a few years before a return in 2014 at Montesino Pokertainment Centre in Austria. The new-look 250 Main Event was a rebuy that drew 403 total entries. Austrian Hanh Tran carried the day for a 19,010 prize.

2015

The successful return of the new, smaller-stakes PokerNews Cup continued in 2015 with two events, the first of which was at King's Casino in Czech Republic. The 250 Main Event was a big success with 1,230 entries and 235 rebuys, and a couple of Germans topped the field. Christian Krupp beat countryman Torsten Wichtrup for 57,473.

The turnout had been so encouraging that another PokerNews Cup was held later that very year at King's Casino, this time drawing 689 entries and 131 rebuys. Poker players aren't always the most agreeable sort, but they proved even in decent numbers they can be amenable at times, as the final table participants managed to agree on a nine-way chop before a single hand was dealt. Another German, Daniel Can, took the official win and 16,805 in prize money.

That wraps it up for the history of the PokerNews Cup. For a schedule of the upcoming event at King's Casino, beginning on Aug. 10, click here.

Get all the latest PokerNews updates on your social media outlets. Follow us on Twitter and find us on both Facebook and Google+!

Sharelines A historical look at the PokerNews Cup, which debuted in 2007 and has two events coming up.
Chinese lawyer gets seven years in prison for state power subversion Updated: 2016-08-04 19:23 (Xinhua)

TIANJIN -- Zhou Shifeng, a lawyer formerly managing the Fengrui Law Firm, was convicted of subverting state power and sentenced to seven years in prison Thursday.

He was also deprived of his political rights for five years, according to a ruling handed down Thursday by the No. 2 Intermediate People's Court in Tianjin Municipality.

Zhou, 51, pled guilty and told the court he would not appeal.

Two other men connected to Zhou's activities were sentenced by the same court on Tuesday and Wednesday.

More than 40 people, including lawyers and journalists from home and overseas, observed Thursday's trial. None of Zhou's relatives were present, at his request.

Zhou is originally from Anyang City, Henan Province. He was director of the Beijing-based Fengrui Law Firm, which was suspended from operation in 2015 after a police investigation into several of its employees.

Zhou has long been influenced by anti-China forces and gradually established ideas to overturn the country's political system, said a court statement.

Since 2011, Zhou has attacked the socialist system and the "one country, two systems" policy that applies to Hong Kong and Macao, the two special administrative regions, and incited confrontation, the statement said.

He used the law firm as a front for his subversive agenda, recruited like-minded lawyers and other staff and together they discredited judicial organs, attacked the judicial systems and promoted anti-government sentiment by interfering in and exaggerating sensitive cases.

Along with members of an illegal religious organization, paid protestors, lawyers and others, he plotted and established "strategies, methods and steps" to subvert state power and carried out a series of subversive activities, which endangered national security and social stability, it said.

"I plead guilty," Zhou said in his final statement, "My actions have brought instability and risks to society."

Zhou hired two attorneys, who met with him multiple times before the trial. A pre-trial conference was also held to hear the opinions of the prosecution and defense teams.

During the trial, prosecutors presented evidence and witness testimonies, and the defence team did not object.

According to a prosecution witness, Zhou had recruited two administrative assistants, surnamed Wu and Liu, who actually acted as Zhou's "civil and martial go-getters."

"Liu's duty was to analyze sensitive cases and to identify loopholes, while Wu was responsible for promoting them," said Huang who used to work in Zhou's firm, adding neither were lawyers.

Zhou hired them to distort facts, cause confusion and social instability, and attack the country's judicial system, according to Huang.

In March 2015, while a local court in Hebei Province was hearing an extortion case taken on by Zhou's firm, he instructed lawyers to take pictures of prosecutors and judges and posted them online, fabricating rumors on and questioning their moral characters.

Another case used by Zhou occurred in May 2015, when police officer Li Lebin shot dead Xu Chunhe after Xu had continued to attack the police officer despite multiple warnings. CCTV cameras and follow-up investigations confirmed that Li had acted within the law.

Zhou instructed his employees to post online articles that distorted the facts in an attempt to influence public opinion and misrepresent the incident as police brutality.

In a gathering in a Beijing restaurant in February 2015, Zhou and other suspects talked about how to oppose the Party and the socialist system, according to Gou Hongguo, who is expected to stand trial in connection with this case.

According to Gou, Zhou said "add some fire wood and load more sand to expedite the sinking of the giant ship of the government."

Zhou said his activities such as disrupting judicial orders aroused the interests of some overseas forces.

"They've been actively wooing me, and want to use us to challenge court hearings and China's entire judicial system, making trouble for the Chinese government," he confessed, adding that these outside forces want to overturn the leadership of the Communist Party of China.

"China will never allow anyone to forge evidence, disrupt judicial work, conceal the truth or instigate hatred for the government ... nor will it allow anyone to carry out subversive action in the name of 'rights safeguarding,'" the prosecutors said during the trial.
Reforms crucial for sustainable care, experts say Updated: 2016-08-05 08:02 By Shan Juan(China Daily)

On a recent work trip to China, Margaret Chan, director-general of the World Health Organization, said she hopes a well-trained family doctor will be available to provide medical services when she retires.

Chan, who is scheduled to leave her post in October 2017, said she will probably return to Hong Kong, where she was born and raised.

"A family doctor would help to take good care of my health and refer me to the right specialists at large hospitals, if necessary," she said.

Family doctors are the key to China's primary healthcare services and a hierarchical system the authorities are desperate to introduce to ensure the medical system becomes more sustainable and accessible. The ongoing reforms should solve that problem, she added.

Du Xueping, head of the Chinese Medical Doctor Association's general practice committee, said the need for reform is demonstrated by the fact that many community-level public clinics are empty, but large hospitals are crowded.

Zhang Deming, deputy director of the Ya'an People's Hospital in Sichuan province, said disorganized and unregulated medical practices mean 90 percent of patients seen by the hospital's leading specialists have only minor ailments.

"It's a waste of expert resources and patients' money," he said, adding that robust primary care backed up by qualified family doctors is the only solution to the problem.

"They can take care of most of the patients at the grassroots level and refer only the critically ill to large hospitals," he said, adding that family doctors target general health and not just illness.

Facing the double challenge of a rapidly aging population and a rise in chronic diseases, "prevention matters even more than treatment in the long run", he said.

Meanwhile, non-communicable diseases have replaced infectious diseases as the greatest health threat to Chinese people, accounting for more than 80 percent of the 10.3 million deaths every year, according to a joint study published in July 22 by government departments, including the National Health and Family Planning Commission and the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security, and the World Bank and WHO.

Non-communicable diseases are exacerbated by high-risk behavior, such as smoking, sedentary lifestyles and consumption of alcohol, and by environmental factors such as air pollution. At the same time, with China's recent higher economic growth and rising personal incomes, people are demanding more and better healthcare, the report said.

According to Du, of the doctors' association, those factors have led to rising healthcare costs, but as China's economy slows, it will be difficult to maintain the current level of growth in healthcare spending.

The study makes an urgent case for reform and the introduction of an integrated, "people-centered" healthcare system to meet new challenges. The family doctor system will be central to realizing that aim, she said.

(China Daily 08/05/2016 page6)
Activist accused of subversion pleads guilty Updated: 2016-08-05 09:35 By Cao Yin in Tianjin(chinadaily.com.cn)

An activist accused of damaging national security by spreading subversive thoughts and conducting anti-national activities pleaded guilty at Tianjin No 2 Intermediate People's Court on Friday.

Prosecutors said that Gou Hongguo went abroad to allegedly get training in subversion after met Hu Shigen, leader of an illegal organization, which claims to hold religious activities, in 2013.

Since then, Gou, led by Hu, allegedly took part in anti-China forums abroad and spread subversive thoughts after he returned home, according to prosecutors.

Gou allegedly provided money for Hu, lawyer Zhou Shifeng and other activists Zhai Yanmin and Le Heping to organize protests against the country, the prosecutors said.

Earlier this week, Zhai, Hu and Zhou were sentenced for subverting State power by the court. Zhai was given three years in prison with a four-year reprieve. Hu was sentenced to seven-and-a-half years and Zhou was jailed for seven years.

Li is being prosecuted in a separate case.
Guangdong police bust illegal fund-raising gang Updated: 2016-08-05 09:37 (Xinhua)

GUANGZHOU - Police in South China's Guangdong province have busted an illegal fund-raising gang, with seven suspects detained, local police said Thursday.

The major suspect, surnamed Wang, used the Internet to raise public funds with promises of high returns, according to the Public Security Bureau of Guangzhou, Guangdong's capital.

Wang promoted "investment projects" in gold mine, real estate and health-keeping to the public, which drew about 770 million yuan ($116 million dollars) since February 2015, police said.

The police said the gang operated in a pyramid selling way, and most of the victims' money ended up being controlled by Wang.
Multicultural factor behind terrorism Updated: 2016-08-04 08:12 By Wang Peiran(China Daily)

Yellow flowers are laid next to blood stains on the attack scene at the Promenade des Anglais in Nice, France, July 16, 2016. [Photo/Xinhua]

Europe has been suffering, not only because of a slowing economy but also at the hands of terrorism. It has been rocked by terrorist attacks, from the Charlie Hebdo shootings in Paris in January 2015 to the Brussels airport attacks and the massacre in Nice this year. But perhaps far more worrying than the terrorist attacks is the fact that many, if not most, of the attackers grew up in Europe.

In Europe, North America and East Asia, the image of Muslims has been hijacked by terrorism, and labeled "conservative", "extremist" or "anti-modernist" in the popular discourses. And the reason for that could be the growing divide between indigenous and migrant Europeans.

Europe faces rising ethnic, social tensions, which will not go away anytime soon. Amidst all this, it is receiving more refugees from North African and the Middle East, a majority of them fleeing the Syrian civil war. And Europe seems defenseless against this double-punch of terrorism and refugee problem.

Many blame this on multiculturalism across the continent, and multiculturalism (along with multiethnic and multi-religious factors) creates problems regarding social benefits, public security, traditional culture and identity politics. Compared with traditional liberalists who uphold individual rights and freedom of speech, multiculturalists emphasize the rights of groups, that is, they seek the help of dialogues to demand the same rights for all ethnic groups. Such dialogues, however, need a shield of liberalism, which includes freedom of speech, political and public participation rights, conscientious democracy and code of ethics.
Genial region, not THAAD, best for ROK's security Updated: 2016-08-05 08:01 (China Daily)

LUO JIE/CHINA DAILY

What the Republic of Korea truly needs to safeguard its national security is a friendly neighborhood rather than the US' Terminal High-Altitude Air Defense system that will pose a threat to surrounding countries such as China. The decision of Seoul and Washington early last month to deploy the system on the Korean Peninsula will break the strategic balance in Northeast Asia, threatening regional peace and stability and signal the beginning of a new Cold War.

With THAAD's X-band radar commanding surveillance of an area of more than 1,900 kilometers from the peninsula, the United States can spy on almost half of China's territory and the southern part of Russia's Far East, endangering the two countries' national security.

The ROK's move represents a departure from its courageous shift from confrontation to cooperation to break the curse of the Cold War, highlighted by Seoul hosting the 1988 Olympic Games. The Seoul Olympics was a turning point in its history, which opened the road to economic prosperity thanks to a better security environment.
Only self-control, talks can settle sea disputes Updated: 2016-08-05 08:06 By Swaran Singh(China Daily)

Missile frigate Yuncheng launches an anti-ship missile during a military exercise in the water area near South China's Hainan Island and Xisha islands, July 8, 2016. [Photo/Xinhua]

The July 12 ruling of the arbitral tribunal in the case initiated by the Philippines against China has raised tensions in the South China Sea. At first glance, these tensions seem to be driven by the enormous interest shown by world powers in the case, which reminds one of the rhetoric of the "China threat" fallacy. The aggressive media coverage of the ruling, too, appears to be driven by China's historic rise that has given it unprecedented leverage to reassert its claims.

On second look, however, it seems the rhetoric from both sides was triggered by the rather narrow legal nature of the tribunal and its over-ambitious ruling. The ruling is bereft of pragmatism, for it cannot be implemented. No wonder it didn't prompt Beijing to seek reconciliation, which has further raised tensions in the South China Sea.

Other than making China less compromising, the ruling will further polarize the Association of Southeast Asian Nations and the sinews of this polarization were evident at the Asia-Europe Meeting in Ulan Bator from July 15 to 16 as well as the 49th ASEAN foreign ministers meeting in Vientiane from July 24 to 27.

In principle, any mediation, adjudication or arbitration requires all parties to a dispute to participate in the proceedings. China neither recognized nor participated in the arbitration proceedings. More importantly, it views the case as one of territorial sovereignty dispute in the South China Sea and therefore asserts the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea cannot be used to resolve it.
Man may face charge in fatal road rage case Updated: 2016-08-05 11:34 By Ai Heping in New York(China Daily USA)

New York prosecutors may file homicide charges in the death of a 68-year-old Chinese man who was punched into a coma by a motorist in a fit of road rage.

Chun Tse's vehicle collided with 44-year-old Cleamon Anderson's car in front of Anderson's home in Flushing on July 22, according to the New York Daily News.

The two drivers got out of their vehicles and Anderson hit Tse in the head, knocking him to the ground a few steps from the senior center where Tse, a retired carpenter, volunteered five days a week, the newspaper reported.

Tse fractured his skull and bruised his brain, which then started bleeding and swelling. He was rushed to New York-Presbyterian/Queens hospital, where he died on July 30.

His death was ruled a homicide by the Medical Examiner on Monday.

Anderson was charged with assault following the initial attack and released on $50,000 bail, the News reported. His sister, Robin Anderson Scott, a New York Police Department school safety agent, was suspended after she was accused of lying to investigators about what happened to Tse, according to the newspaper.

She told responding officers Tse had accidentally fallen, but police later viewed video showing Tse being knocked out by her brother, officials said.

"This was a man twice his size, half his age and over a stupid dispute," state Assemblyman Ron Kim said.

"We should look at every measure to send a strong message that in this city in this town we are going to protect our seniors especially against bullies who are obviously unfit to be driving or walking around the street."

Jinsheng Jane Qiu, the program director at the center where Tse volunteered, told the News that Tse regularly contributed his skills as a retired carpenter. "He repaired our kitchen equipment. He repaired our ping pong table. He helped us... The seniors are angry, scared and upset."

"The family is pretty devastated - it's been a pretty rough 10 days," said Karlin Chen, a spokesman for the Tse family, told the News.

aiheping@chinadailyusa.com
Wilfried Eckstein, director of the Goethe-Institut in Washington, DC. His background in foreign service dates back nearly 30 years, including three years as director of Goethe-Institut in Shanghai. Allan Fong / For China Daily

Wilfried Eckstein, director of the Goethe-Institut in Washington, has spent his career traversing the globe, broadening his perspectives and opening his eyes to our increasingly connected global society.

His passion in life is to be a part of the exchange, creating cultural dialogues and exploring people's differing values and opinions on hot-button issues.

"It's about getting different perspectives into a dialogue - that's the main idea," said Eckstein. The Goethe-Institut is a German organization that promotes and fosters international cultural cooperation.

Eckstein has been posted in DC for five years as the director of the institute's Washington branch, but it has been just one stop in his travels. From 2009 to 2011, he was director of the Goethe-Institut in Shanghai.

"I was tasked with sustainability issues, and I felt very welcomed there," said Eckstein. "I liked the Chinese people's attitude toward intellectual interest, which is so common in big cities like Shanghai. We had very good cooperation with our project there."

Eckstein's first post with the Goethe-Institut was in Moscow from 1991 to 1996. He then moved to the Goethe-Institut in St Petersburg where he served as director from 1999 to 2003, before crossing the border to China.

Eckstein says that during his Shanghai residence, he found China to be a country open to debate and intellectual competition. "It was a very stimulating and eager situation moving forward in the country. It was a good experience."

He recalled a 2011 project in which he looked at the sustainability of an old Wuhan steel factory. "Chinese citizens were interested to see how German engineers and German architects approach a certain task," Eckstein said. "Everybody thinks China is so big, but everybody can have a share in it, and can contribute to its ideas."

Since being moved from Shanghai to Washington, Eckstein has not been back to China. But he remains tied to the country through recent and upcoming projects, working hand-in-hand with the DC Confucius Institute on various cultural exchange projects.

One of the largest projects is commissioning 18 playwrights from China, the US and Europe to each write a play on the theme of privacy in the digital age.

"The idea is to give a variety of approaches to what privacy means to people in different languages and different cultures," said Eckstein. "With culture, it's always subjective. So we thought why not bring representative voices of different language and cultural backgrounds into a dialogue?"

Eckstein believes that with the popularity of smart phones in the digital age, the issue of privacy and its meaning across cultures is a topic that bears further discussion, given people's cultural preconceptions of what privacy is.

"There are a lot of things changing in China, and there are interesting ideas about China regarding people's conception of Chinese citizens' privacy," said Eckstein.

Eckstein believes that the political dimensions of the plays' themes will create a form of dialogue between countries that has never happened before.

"The usual reaction that I get is that 'China is a collectivist culture, so why should they have an interesting notion about privacy?' And that's a valid point, but there is a privacy discussion in China," said Eckstein. "There are books published on privacy and privacy laws in China. So it will be interesting to bring that point into focus."

According to Eckstein, cultural dialogue is becoming more important as countries become more interwoven and interdependent on one another politically and economically.

"Each culture has its own history, language and values, so it is always worth having a dialogue with neighbors. Today, we are all neighbors. We do trade with each other, so if we take the notion of a global village seriously, we have to talk to everybody," said Eckstein.

Though Eckstein claims that his language skills were not proficient enough to converse with his Chinese neighbors, he certainly has found a way to create dialogue in other ways.

"We don't just show an exhibition like this for artistic value, that's not what we do. We are not just interested in this project as a work of art. We are interested in the role of art to reflect something of public relevance," said Eckstein.
Missile frigate Yuncheng launches an anti-ship missile during a military exercise in the water area near South China's Hainan Island and Xisha islands, July 8, 2016. [Photo/Xinhua]

The July 12 ruling of the arbitral tribunal in the case initiated by the Philippines against China has raised tensions in the South China Sea. At first glance, these tensions seem to be driven by the enormous interest shown by world powers in the case, which reminds one of the rhetoric of the "China threat" fallacy. The aggressive media coverage of the ruling, too, appears to be driven by China's historic rise that has given it unprecedented leverage to reassert its claims.

On second look, however, it seems the rhetoric from both sides was triggered by the rather narrow legal nature of the tribunal and its over-ambitious ruling. The ruling is bereft of pragmatism, for it cannot be implemented. No wonder it didn't prompt Beijing to seek reconciliation, which has further raised tensions in the South China Sea.

Other than making China less compromising, the ruling will further polarize the Association of Southeast Asian Nations and the sinews of this polarization were evident at the Asia-Europe Meeting in Ulan Bator from July 15 to 16 as well as the 49th ASEAN foreign ministers meeting in Vientiane from July 24 to 27.

In principle, any mediation, adjudication or arbitration requires all parties to a dispute to participate in the proceedings. China neither recognized nor participated in the arbitration proceedings. More importantly, it views the case as one of territorial sovereignty dispute in the South China Sea and therefore asserts the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea cannot be used to resolve it.
Kenya slams attack on Chinese rail workers Updated: 2016-08-05 21:14 By Lucie Morangi(chinadaily.com.cn)

The Kenyan government has strongly condemned the recent attack on Chinese workers of China Road and Bridge Corporation (CRBC) by locals and warned that the full force of the law will be used against the perpetrators.

In a statement issued to media houses, James Macharia, the cabinet secretary in the ministry of transport, infrastructure, housing and urban development, called the forceful entry into the Standard Gauge Railway (SGR) construction camp by more than 200 armed youths as barbaric and criminal. Fourteen foreign workers were wounded in the incident.

The incident came a fortnight after the Moran youths held demonstrations against the Chinese company accusing the firm of denying them jobs.

The Chinese camp is located at the Duka Moja trading Center on the Narok-Mai-Mahiu road, about 141.3 kilometers from Nairobi. Police had to violently disperse the attackers by shooting in the air.

CRBC, the company behind the construction of Mombasa-Nairobi rail, is currently undertaking survey of the Nairobi-Naivasha route after winning the contract last year. The route will pass through Kajiado, Nakuru and Narok counties.

While noting that the government was keen on ensuring that 40 percent of local contracts are awarded to area residents, it said opportunities such as training and skills transfer, supply of goods and services and work contracts among others will also be available.

So far the first phase has provided employment for well over 30,000 locals, presented business opportunities valued over $500 million, trained over 15,000 Kenyans as engineers, masons, mechanics, electricians among others.

The railway infrastructure is a mega flagship Vision 2030 project that will connect the port of Mombasa to hinterland countries such as Uganda and Rwanda along the northern corridor. It is expected to lower transportation costs, improve and create efficiency for freight and passenger services.

The government is at an advanced stage of securing a loan from China Export-Import (EXIM) bank for the construction of Phase two, said the minister.
The $500,000 card: Buyer beware Updated: 2016-08-05 23:04 By Chris Davis(China Daily USA)

The EB-5 visa investment program can't keep up with demand, but the process is fraught with hazards, Chris Davis reports from New York.

When it's completed in 2025, Hudson Yards on Manhattan's Westside will include more than 17 million square feet of commercial and residential space, more than 100 stores, 4,000 residences, 14 acres of public open space, a 750-seat public school and a luxury hotel with more than 200 rooms.

The largest private real estate development in the history of the US also will have created more than 23,000 construction jobs  and made 1,200 Chinese permanent US residents. All of them gained citizenship by using the most popular residency-for-sale program in the world, the EB-5 visa, collectively providing some $1.2 billion for the $20 billion development in exchange for green cards.

The green-card program was barely noticed when it was introduced in the early 1990s to attract foreign investment and create jobs in the US.

By 2007 it was issuing about 700 visas a year. But after the financial crisis  when businesses had trouble finding financing from traditional sources  EB-5 took off, reaching its annual quota of 10,000 for the first time in 2014 and overloaded with a waiting line ever since.

"We used to never reach the cap and now we do every year," said Sarah Poppy Alexander, a whistleblower lawyer at the San Francisco branch of Constantine Cannon. "The vast majority are Chinese."

The good news, according to the US Citizen and Immigration Services (USCIS), is that the program has pumped about $8.7 billion worth of investment into the US economy and created 35,150 jobs since 2012.

The fraud

The bad news is that when that kind of money flows, some of it comes with fraud. "This is one of those areas where fraud takes many faces and takes many forms," said Rosie Dawn Griffin, who also specializes in whistleblower law and works at the Washington office of Constantine Cannon.

EB-5 is controversial for a number of reasons, said Alexander. "It's under the Immigration and Customs Enforcement office, but they do not seem to have the resources right now to be able to track the program and make sure would-be investors are not being defrauded," she said.

Over the past year, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has been lending a hand.

Their highest-profile case came in April  the biggest EB-5 scam ever. Though it didn't target Chinese investors per se, it gives a glimpse of the scope that EB-5 abuses can expand to. A 52-count complaint alleges that two Vermont businessmen orchestrated an eight-year scheme "systematically looting" millions from a $350 million pool for a ski resort that was raised from hundreds of foreign investors in 74 countries.

The targets

Investor immigrants from China get about 90 percent of EB-5 visas, so they are the most common target of scams.

In California last November, physician Robert Yang, 45, and his office manager Claudia Kano, 45, were accused of siphoning off at least half of the $20 million they raised from 40 Chinese investors to build nursing homes in Pamona.

Earlier that month, the SEC went after Lin "Lily" Zhong and her company EB-5 Asset Manager LLC in Florida. The complaint said that Zhong had raised $8.5 million from 17 investors, mostly Chinese people hoping to immigrate to the US.

Instead of using the money for the real estate development as advertised, Zhong allegedly spent it on a $2.5 million "part-time" home (she is a permanent resident of New Zealand), a $55,000 year-old BMW SUV for her daughter, a new $98,346 Mercedes S550 for herself and a $175,495 48-foot Sea Ray muscle boat.

Last week, a district court judge in Northern California entered a final judgment against Luca International Group, a San Francisco Bay Area oil and gas company that promised investors annual return rates of 20-30 percent "knowing the operations were losing millions of dollars and the enterprise was sinking under a mountain of debt."

Aside from reaching out to Chinese-American investors through Chinese-language media, the SEC charged, Luca CEO Bingqing Yang and her chief fundraiser Lily Lei also targeted Chinese citizens who sought permanent US residence through the EB-5 program. The SEC said Luca comingled investor funds to prevent the scheme from collapsing and used money from new investors to make sham profit payments to earlier investors.

The court ordered Luca to pay $68.3 million in disgorgement for the Ponzi scheme.

"The SEC is doing as good a job as they can going after these companies," Alexander said. "The hard part is that oftentimes these frauds are very hard to detect and unless there's someone who knows something and brings insider information forward to the SEC, they don't know who has a legitimate investment opportunity and who does not."

US whistleblower laws allow anyone with information about fraud to help bring scammers to justice and sometimes get a cash reward of up to 30 percent of the amount recovered, even if they're not based in the US.

EB-5 investment fraud can be reported through the SEC's whistleblower program, which is part of the Dodd-Frank act and encourages anyone with knowledge of violations of US securities laws to step forward. Since the inception of the program, the agency has paid more than $85 million in awards to more than 32 whistleblowers.
Across America Updated: 2016-08-05 11:42 (China Daily USA)

Their kind of town - Chicago

China's Consul General in Chicago Hong Lei (second from right) meets with Mayor of Chicago Rahm Emanuel (center) while visiting Chicago City Hall on Monday. During the visit, they discussed bilateral trade, investment, cultural exchange, tourism and education. The two sides agreed to strengthen cooperation in the future. Provided To China Daily
Columbia U. honors Tao Xingzhi again Updated: 2016-08-06 04:00 By SHI XI in New York(China Daily USA)

Susan Fuhrman (front left), president of TC, and Zhao Yunfei (front right), president of CAFA, pose for a group photo with members of CAFA, faculty of TC and sponsors of the Tao Xingzhi Center for Chinese Education.

A century after Tao Xingzhi studied at Columbia University, the renowned educator now has a campus center named after him.

Columbia University's Teachers College, the first and largest graduate school of education in the United States, is renaming its 16-year-old Center on Chinese Education for Tao.

The Tao Xingzhi Center for Chinese Education is the result of a partnership between the college and China America Friendship Association (CAFA).

The association will lead fundraising eff orts to create a $3 million endowment for the center, ensuring that its legacy of innovation and progress will endure.

"It is creating a new chapter in the historic relationship between Teachers College and China," said Teachers College President Susan Fuhrman.

Xiao Yunfei, president of CAFA, hopes the center can help promote Tao's philosophy about education and innovation.

"I believe the Tao Xingzhi Center will bring more innovation to the Chinese education system, and encourage more people to follow Tao's legacy," said Xiao, who will also be director of the center.

Tao studied educational philosophy under American education reformer John Dewey from 1915 to 1917.

From left: Zhao Ting, executive secretary general of CAFA; Cheng Davis, advisor of Teachers College (TC); Suzanne Murphy, provost of TC ; Susan Fuhrman, president of TC; Zhao Yunfei , president of CAFA; and TC Mun Tsang, director of Center on Chinese Education, all pose for a photo. CAFA partnered with Teachers College to initiate the Tao Xingzhi Center for Chinese Education. PHOTOS BY NANCY KONG / CHINA DAILY

After returning to China, Tao co-founded the China Education Improvement Society, organized the National Association of Mass Education and founded Xiao Zhuang Normal College in Nanjing to train teachers and educators, most of whom became teachers at rural schools.

He was a leader in nationwide literacy campaigns and a pioneer in rural-teacher training in early 20th century China, and was referred to by many as "teacher of teachers" and "great educator of the people". It was the second honor this year for Tao at the Teachers College.

In January, a bronze bust of Tao was unveiled in the C.V. Starr East Asian Library. At that time, the Dragon Summit Foundation, a New York City-based non-profi t organization, established an endowment fund. The foundations is also among the sponsors of the Tao Xingzhi Center.

The center aims to facilitate the understanding of Chinese education and to promote educational exchange between the US and China.

"Hopefully this project can call on more people both in China and here in the states to focus on and to make more contributions to education," said Zhao Ting, CAFA executive secretary general. Zhao, who will attend Teachers College this fall, received her undergraduate education in China.

She said she has benefited from the two educational systems. "I hope the program would help students who want to benefi t from both educational systems, to build up themselves and also the society," she said.

Mun Tsang, founder and director of the original Center on Chinese Education, is optimistic about the new center's mission. "Currently we have four programs, research and development, education and training, outreach and exchange, and seminars," he said.

"With the new name and additional funding, we can better facilitate those programs," he said. Judith Burton, professor of art and art education at Teachers College since the 1990s, emphasizes the importance of cultural exchange.

"Education is based on culture, and culture shapes the value of people. So it's important that a college-level platform is provided for the cultural exchange activities between the US and China, two infl uential countries in the current world, especially when a Ivy League school joins," Burton said.

As director of the college's program in art and art education, she has collaborated with China's Central Academy of Fine Arts to create an art education master's degree program for Chinese students.

"The more people learn about different cultures, the more they are willing to talk to people with different backgrounds, and that is good for both countries," she said. "I've engaged in the Center on Chinese Education a lot, and I hope the new changes would help us do better." Nancy Kong in New York contributed to this story.
Leadership fellows graduate in DC Updated: 2016-08-06 04:12 By ALLAN FONG in Washington(China Daily USA)

From left: David Hinson, former National Director of Minority Business Development Agency, US Department of Commerce, Chiling Tong, ILF CEO; Sean Fisher, ILF Fellow; Congresswoman Amata Radewagen; Joel Szabat, ILF Founder; and Farook Sait, ILF Honorary National Advisor, pose for a photo at the ILF Civic Fellow graduation ceremony of 2016 in Washington last Friday. Photos provided to China Daily

As a small minority of the US population, Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders (AAPIs) have historically had a small voice in the country's government leadership. However, the next generation is working toward improving the community's standing.

"We need a greater representation of our community in government, and International Leadership Foundation's (ILF) goal is to train a new generation of successful leaders in their chosen fields and raise our community's profile as engaged American citizens who deserve to have our voices heard," said Chiling Tong, CEO of the ILF, a non-profit organization headquartered in Washington.

July 29 marked the ILF 2016 Civic Fellowship Graduation Ceremony, one of the nation's most prestigious civic leadership development programs, designed specifically to foster the next generation of AAPI leaders.

This year, the ILF accepted 26 undergraduates from across the nation into the civic fellowship program hosted in Washington. During their eight weeks with the foundation, the undergraduate students interned in various government agencies, being mentored by the nation's academic, community and political leaders.

This year's class is part of a 16-year history of ILF civic fellowships, consisting of over 400 undergraduate students mentored through this program. Each fellow is assigned an internship during his or her eight-week tenure, based on interests expressed in his or her application.

For example, Julia Duong, a Vietnamese student studying business at University of Michigan interned with the Minority Business Development Agency at the US Department of Commerce for eight weeks during her fellowship.

The ILF has matched students with positions in over 30 government agencies and departments, including the White House and US Senate.

The program has seen much success in grooming the next generation of business and community leaders. Jennifer Hsu, a 2005 ILF fellow, is the co-founder of Clairvoyant Technologies Inc, an innovative research company serving the federal government and commercial clients with a focus on systems engineering and design, scientific services, and information management solutions.

Congresswoman Amata Radewagen speaks to the ILF graduating fellows about staying passionate about ones work and the importance of community in Washington last Friday.

"ILF's true value lies not simply in the internship that it provides, but also in the unique opportunities for each student to learn something new every day, have lunch with prominent officials and inspiring leaders, explore a city that is teeming with our country's history and culture, and make incredible friends for life," said Hsu. "Today, three years later, I have started my own company and continue to work very closely with the government, and am in contact with the network I built in 2005. Regardless of where you choose to live, I feel that ILF empowers you with transferable knowledge and skills you can leverage in any field. "

Aside from their internship, the group of ILF fellows attended conferences around Washington to gain a better understanding of the broader challenges and issues the AAPI community is facing.

Sean Fisher, an international studies major at Boston College, wrote about his experiences in a blog post to the ILF website after attending a conference on elections and the AAPI community, a theme that AAPI political leaders have stressed the importance of in recent months.

"While all this positive change gives hope to the AAPI community, we must realize that broad and diverse coalitions involving all minority groups are needed in order to advance real and meaningful change in today's world," wrote Fisher. "When minority groups are able to achieve such solidarity, then all the diverse ways in which one can provide public service are able to make the biggest impact possible."

After eight weeks of hard work and dedication, these ILF fellows were each rewarded with a $2,000 scholarship and an experience filled with life lessons to carry with them for the rest of their lives.

US Congresswoman Amata Radewagen attended the graduation ceremony and gave some wise words of departure to the bright-eyed futureleaders. After a touching anecdote about her journey into Congress, Radewagen reminded the fellows to "Make sure to stay in touch with the three most important things in life: love your God, love your work, and love your people."

The future is bright for these young individuals and their communities, as AAPIs continue to search for a greater voice and leadership for the future.
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HCM CITY  The price of tra fish in the Cuu Long (Mekong) Delta has continued to fall, leaving large inventories of fish and causing losses for farmers.

Nguyen Ngoc Hai, chairman of Thoi An Tra Fish Co-operative in Can Tho City, said the price for fish meeting export criteria (0.7-0.9 kilo a fish) was VN18,500-19,000 a kilo, down VN1,500-2,000 compared to a fortnight ago.

At that price, farmers have suffered a loss of VN500-1,000 a kilo.

Tran Thi Lan in Can Tho City said her family had sold 100 tonnes of tra fish and lost VN100 million (US$4,500).

Tra fish processing plants havent bought my fish, so every day I had to sell a few tonnes to traders for VN16,000-17,000 a kilo, she said.

Other farmers have not been so lucky, as they have not been able to find a trader to sell their fish, she said.

In recent years, fish processing companies have spent funds setting up tra fish breeding areas, leaving fewer orders from farmers who raise tra fish.

When exports decline, processing companies usually give priority to process their own fish, so farmers without sale contracts face no sale outlets and price declines.

The recent decline of tra fish purchases from several large markets like the EU and China have also caused difficulties for Viet Nams tra fish exports, according to the Viet Nam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP).

The quantity of tra fish that processing companies that breed themselves, under sales contracts with farmers, accounts for 70-80 per cent of fish used for the companies production, according to Hai.

The processing companies now have enough fish, and as a result, will not have to increase the price paid to farmers without sales contracts when exports begin to rise.

The countrys tra fish exports reached US$718 million as of mid-June, up 5.5 per cent against the same period last year, according to Viet Nam Customs.

Vo Thi Thu Huong, deputy general secretary of the Viet Nam Pangasius Association, said that it would promote sustainable development of tra fish by organising the Mekong Chef contest in Can Tho City in September.

The contest aims to promote domestic consumption of tra fish and raise awareness about the value of tra fish.

By the end of this quarter, the association will also hold a seminar on SUPERSEAS project (Supermarket Supported Area-based Management and Certification of Aquaculture in Southeast Asia), according to Huong.

During the first half of the year, the delta bred 4,341ha of tra fish, down 4.1 per cent year-on-year, according to the Directorate of Fisheries. More than 545,700 tonnes of tra fish were harvested, up 2.3 per cent against the same period last year.

The price of tra fish has fallen in recent years, resulting in fewer breeding areas.

In the first months of this year, the price of tra fish was VN22,000 a kilo as China imported a large quantity of tra fish from the delta.  VNS
HA NOI  The State Bank of Viet Nam (SBV) on Tuesday approved in principle South Korean Woori Banks plan to set up a wholly foreign owned bank in Viet Nam.

Under Document 5829/NHNN-TTGSNH, SBV also approved a draft list of Woori Bank Viet Nams board of members, members of the supervisory board and general director.

For an official licence, Woori Bank was asked by the SBV to complete legal dossiers in accordance with the current regulations and submit them to the SBV governor for approval.

Once it receives the licence to operate, Woori Bank - South Koreas largest bank in terms of consolidated assets as of the end of March - expects to be a vehicle that will help to expand South Korean investment in Viet Nam, where it has been limited to operating two branches.

South Korea is now the largest foreign investor in Viet Nam, with Samsung Electronics Co Ltd and LG Electronics Inc bringing large investments to turn it into a Southeast Asian production hub.

Other major Korean companies in Viet Nam are Kumho Construction, Posco group, Hanjin Logistics and Kumho Tire.

A free trade agreement between South Korea and Viet Nam that came into effect last December gives more investment incentives to Korean firms. South Korea invested US$4.2 billion in Viet Nam in the first seven months this year, accounting for 32.5 per cent of Viet Nams total investment capital.

After receiving the official approval, Woori Bank will also seek to strengthen its localised services for Vietnamese retail customers through channels such as its mobile banking platform Wibee Bank and chat app Wibee Talk.

Viet Nam currently has six wholly foreign-owned banks. They are HSBC Viet Nam, ANZ Viet Nam, Standard Chartered Viet Nam, Hong Leong Viet Nam and Shinhan Viet Nam, besides Public Bank Berhad.

According to experts, more foreign banks are expected to enter Viet Nams market, especially after the establishment of the ASEAN Economic Community late last year.

They recommend that Vietnamese banks must operate on a larger scale, with huge investments in technology and products through consolidations and mergers, to create better and stronger banks that can compete with foreign banks.

By 2020, in accordance with the commitment to the World Trade Organisation, Viet Nam will have to completely open its doors in the banking sector. -VNS
HA NOI  Singapore governments investment fund GIC Private Limited (GIC) is negotiating to buy at least 7 per cent of the Joint Stock Commercial Bank for Foreign Trade of Viet Nam (Vietcombank).

That would be the second largest investment that the Singaporean sovereign fund have made this year in Viet Nam.

A successful deal would show investors high confidence in Viet Nams banking sector, which has been badly affected by bad debts.

Vietcombank has been planning to issue 360 million new shares, equivalent to 10 per cent of the banks existing stocks to foreign investors in a private placement.

The total value of the share issuance is US$600 million based on the banks current market value.

The stake sale to GIC could be at a lower price than the banks share price, according to Singaporean media reports. Vietcombank will have to submit details of the deal to its biggest shareholder, the State Bank of Viet Nam (SBV), for approval.

A successful deal would make GIC the third largest shareholder after the central bank, which holds 77 per cent of capital, and the Japan-based Mizuho Bank, which holds 15 per cent.

In the first half of 2016, Vietcombank recorded a pre-tax profit of VN4.27 trillion (US$189.8 million), an increase of 35 per cent over last year, and reduced its bad debt ratio to 1.74 per cent from 1.84 per cent.

Capital increase

Viet Nams central bank on Tuesday approved Vietcombanks proposal to increase charter capital by VN9.327 trillion ($416.38 million) to VN35.977 trillion.

After completing procedures related to the capital rise in accordance with the current legal regulations, Vietcombank will have to submit documents to the SBV, asking for a change in charter capital in its operation licence.

The added capital will come from the issuance of 933 million bonus shares at the rate of 35 per cent for the existing shareholders of the bank.

After raising the charter capital, the dominant share of the State would reduce from 77 per cent to 70 per cent.

Vietcombank said it does not just aim to be the No 1 bank in Viet Nam, but also to be placed in the top 300 financial banks with the best management in the world by 2020.  VNS
BAC NINH  Investigations of potential medical-waste dumping in Yen Phong Districts Van Mon Commune revealed the site contained normal waste, Nguyen inh Tam, deputy head of Bac Ninh Provinces Health Department, said.

Tam said, following claims that Bao Ngoc Limited Company was illegally gathering medical waste in the commune, a joint inspection team with representatives from the health department and the provincial police had examined the dump site in Van Mon Communes Quan o Village.

The waste includes mainly infusion bottles, empty medicine bottles, syringes and needles, inspectors said.

However, they havent found any medical bottles with warnings of hazardous waste on their labels. Some bottles were found without labels due to having been discarded a long time ago.

Inspectors have taken some samples for testing to check whether these bottles contained hazardous waste.

Bao Ngoc Company officials told Bac Ninh Police they had bought the waste from hospitals, such as Military Hospital 110, Thai Nguyen General Hospital and Quang Ninh Obstetrics and Pediatric Hospital. However, they failed to present any valid contracts to the police.

Police said the purchase of medical waste from hospitals by the company was illegal as it had not obtained a licence for collecting and treating waste in accordance with state law.

The investigation into the incident is still underway.

Under the Ministry of Healths regulations, medical waste must be properly classified for special treatment.

Healthcare clinics have to sign a contract with authorised waste collectors for the disposal of medical waste.  VNS
HCM CITY  Thirty-one young musicians from Myanmar, Thailand and Viet Nam will perform during the Saigon Chamber Music Festival 2016 from August 11-19.

The only festival of its kind in the city, it aims to foster young talent and provide them with international opportunities.

The event, which is held annually, is organised by the Transposition Programme and the HCM City Conservatory of Music in co-ordination with the Goethe Institute Viet Nam.

Musicians will receive instruction from international musicians during the one-week festival.

Pianist Antonia Koster and violinist Sindri Lederer from Germany, together with cellist Zoe Martlew of the UK and violist Juliet White-Smith of the US, will conduct courses at the summer academy this year.

The four musicians will demonstrate their talent at the opening chamber concert On Wings of Song in HCM City on August 11 and in a Nang on August 21.

On August 18 at the HCM City Conservatory of Music, the participants will play in the Young Virtuosi concert themed Dance away Time as the grand finale of the music festival.

Tickets are VN250,000-300,000 (US$12-14) for the On Wings of Song concert and VN100,000-150,000 for the Dance away Time concert. They are available at the HCM City Conservatory of Music.

Founded in 2014, Saigon Chamber Music is the first summer music festival providing professional training and opportunities for international exposure to gifted young artists as they begin their careers.  VNS
HA NOI  Designer Minh Hanh has been named one of the top 10 ASEAN Artisans of 2016 by the Support Arts and Crafts International Centre of Thailand (SACICT).

This year, SACICT is organising ASEAN Selection 2016 under the theme Innovative Craft Textiles in ASEAN, which selects 10 outstanding textile and fashion designers from ASEAN countries.

Hanh, from the Central Highlands province of Buon Me Thuot, was nominated to SACICT in addition to seven other Vietnamese artisans and designers.

They were selected by the Museum of Cultures of Viet Nams Ethnic Groups, located in the northern province of Thai Nguyen, at the request of SACICT.

The other artists include: the northern province of Cao Bangs Nong Thi Thuoc, the central province of Nghe Ans Sam Thi Bich, Ha Nois Le Thi Lan Huong, the northern province of Ha Giangs Vang Thi Mai, the southern province of Ninh Thuans Lam Nu Minh, and the central province of Quang Nams Vo Hoang Ha Uyen.

Im joyous because I represent Viet Nam and have been selected by the award organisation, said Hanh. This honour will give me more chances to showcase Vietnamese characteristics at an event gathering outstanding artisans and designers of ASEAN countries. It is important.

Hanh received a direct call from organisers in Bangkok and a request from the Vietnamese museum to send her profile to them, but she did not know much about the purpose and significance of the award.

She received a congratulatory letter from organisers along with a list of other selected artisans. When she saw the list of the top ASEAN artisans, she understood more about the awards value, which is described as highly prestigious by Thailanss Queen Sirikit.

Hanh will display her works at the ASEAN Selection 2016 exhibition from August 15 to 20 at Museum Siam Bangkok, and will also attend the ASEAN Selection 2016 Award Ceremony. The award will be presented by Thailands Minister of Commere.

SACICT was established to promote and support the creation of Thai arts and crafts, as well as to promote their marketing both domestically and abroad.

The selection process was held on June 10 at Siam Kempinski Hotel. The works were selected by experts and distinguished persons in textile and fashion design in Thailand and Japan.

Born in 1961, Hanh is the founder of Viet Nam Fashion Week, a professional biannual event in Viet Nam. She is one of Viet Nams leading designers and is globally known for pioneering designs honouring the beauty of Vietnamese brocade fabric made by ethnic groups in the northwestern and Central Highlands areas.

Her collections have been shown at many fashion shows around the world. She was awarded the French title Chevalier of Culture and Art and has won many international prizes, including New Designer at Asia Collection Makuhari in Japan in 1997 and the Japanese Fukuoka Prize for Arts and Culture 2015. -- VNS
QUANG NAM  The central province of Quang Nam has launched a photo contest on murals in the fishing village of Trung Thanh in Tam Ky Citys Tam Thanh Commune on August 17-20.

Tam Ky Citys information centre said the contest, entitled Next Journey-Follow Your Dream, is open for all Vietnamese and foreign residents in Viet Nam as well tourists visiting the city.

The contests organising committee said competitors can send as many original photos as possible.

Competitors can take photos and post them on their facebook page to join the contest before sending original photos to tamthanh.langbichhoa@gmail.com, or the Centre of Culture and Information at 56 Tran Cao Van Street in Tam Ky City in Quang Nam Province.

As scheduled, the contest jury will select the best photos for an exhibition in Tam Ky City on August 20.

The organising committee said all awarded photos will be under ownership of the provinces Peoples Committee, and the winning photos would be enlarged and published publicly.

The winners will walk away with VN5 million (US$222) and one night voucher at Tam Thanh Beach Resort.

Two runners-up will pocket VN3 million ($133) and one night free at the resort.

The organising committee will also present two third place awards and five runner-up prizes.

The village was decorated with colourful murals on the moss-covered walls under the Korea Foundation Community Art Exchange Programme last month.

Five artists from South Korea and 12 volunteers from both Viet Nam and Korea had turned the old walls of 100 houses in the village to colourful murals, depicting portraits of villagers and local scenes and more regional panoramas.

Earlier, photographers from South Korea, the Philippines and Turkey visited the mural village to take photos for an exhibition in Seoul and other cities later this year.

According to the contest organising committee, the mural village would lure tourists from Hoi An, a Nang, Hue and neighbouring provinces as well as locals from Tam Ky City.  VNS
Last week, Viet Nam News asked its readers what they thought about Ha Noi being named the cheapest international tourist destination among 39 cities worldwide by TripAdvisor. We also asked if Ha Noi should do more to attract more tourists for a longer stay.

Here are some of the comments:

Nhat Phuong - Ha Noi

I have travelled to many countries among the 39 places that TripAdvisor mentioned as the cheapest destinations from all over the world. I think the information and cost estimation given by TripAdvisor are reasonable. However, there are a variety of accommodations where tourists can choose the ones suitable for them. And the cost from TripAdvisor for two people to stay three nights in Ha Noi would be the lowest price. A very important issue is how to improve tourism services, attract more customers and keep them in Ha Noi longer. I think it is a very big job related to many factors and policies. From my view, there are some key strategies to fulfil tourism requirements. The first thing is to release a long-term and comprehensive plan for this sector. Another task is to improve infrastructure including transportation and tourist accommodations, and accelerate the single visa for ASEAN countries. Last but not least, Hanoians should be friendlier, easygoing and willing to help tourists efficiently, especially people working in hospitality sectors. All in all, Ha Noi is a very good place to visit with reasonable prices and enjoyable activities.

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Josie Weir, a reader

Im an ESL teacher in Ha Noi. I would change only a few things. First, the motorcycle pollution. If people could change to electric bikes, that would be nice. Secondly, Ha Noi needs more parks. I live near West Lake, but there is no park area.

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Andrew Burden, Canadian in Ha Noi

A retired economist on vacation in Thailand told me Asia is expensive. I said it was really cheap. He replied that was the illusion. In fact, people think its not expensive, so they relax their guard and spend more, buy more and stay longer.

Ha Noi is deceptively friendly, where the taxi driver at the airport smiles and says the bus service has stopped. Jump in, but negotiate the fare. At the market the saleslady smiles as she starts the negotiation price high and also cuts the exchange rate in her favour.

The hotel staff smiles while saying sorry for forgetting to tell you about the free breakfast. The cyclo driver smiles and says sorry, no change and keeps a generous tip, as you are too tired to argue and didnt carry small bills. Everyone smiles.

On the plus side, Asia is safe and full of interesting ethnic and cultural sites. I absolutely dare the Government to cancel visa fees. Thousands and thousands more tourists will visit. Look at the policy and TV ads from Indonesia. Their travel numbers are way up.

As I have said many times before, there should be a 24-hour phone hotline to report crime and theft, and to provide honest travel and tour guide advice. If you leave it to social media you will get one person complaining and many more gossiping about some small thing. Better to take advantage and manage your reputation in advance.

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Terry Christopher Taft, a reader

For tourists, it is probably a cheap destination, but that depends on what you want to do when you get here. Theres a wide range of food, from The Metropole to street food.

The best thing that can happen is to ban motorbikes from the centre of the city, as it was done in Yangon. There is a plan to do that by 2025. But unless they stop selling motorbikes now, that will never happen. Then, of course, theres the simple fact that many people simply do not follow the rules of the road, and I dont have to give details on that because weve all seen it, every day. There seems to be a perception that those rules are for you - not me.

Ive never felt stressed walking in Ha Noi. Careful, yes. Stressed, no.

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Jack Laurenson, a reader

For tourists to enjoy Ha Noi more, it needs to be made safer and more convenient for pedestrians because walking is such a great way to see new cities.

As for tourism attractions, sure there can always be more. Ive lived here for ages and there are still museums I need to visit!

But wouldnt things like pedestrian crossings, clearer pavements and more underground parking be cool, to make it safer and easier to walk? These are space issues and city planning issues. I think Ha Noi will get there in the end, but population levels will be a constant challenge.

Im in Yangon frequently, and the ban on motorcycles has accomplished nothing but make congestion (cars, taxis, SUVs) in the city absolutely unbearable. I really dont see what banning motorcycles will accomplish, unless theres a viable public transportation alternative. Im not sure if the metro or skytrain could work in Ha Noi. Possibly.

Well, there are two metro lines "under construction". So lets wait and see! The bus system isnt bad, but Ha Noi clearly needs more public transport.

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Le Manh Trung, Can Tho

Some people like city tourism; some people dont. Some prefer the mountains or the beach. In my opinion, you wouldnt want to stay in any of the cities for a long time if you really want to find interesting things when you come.

Yes, Ha Noi is cheap. I love Ha Noi, in particular the uniqueness of the Old Quarter. Street food is so delicious.

Local tourism businesses should create reasonably-priced tours that help visitors explore more areas of Ha Noi, like one-day trips to Bat Trang.

Youd have to make Ha Noi cleaner and greener while still keeping it as cheap as it is now.

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Joel Hartley, a reader

Ha Noi is a cool, bustling city, with everything you would expect from a major city in Asia, plus culture, architecture and people-watching. I dont know anyone who hasnt enjoyed their time here. Why go to Nha Trang, which is just tourism and bars. The problems expats have with Ha Noi dont really apply to tourists because they dont have to deal with them long-term. -- VNS
WASHINGTON  Viet Nam and the United States have pledged to effectively implement bilateral agreements reached during US President Barack Obamas May visit to Viet Nam in order to make their comprehensive partnership practical and effective.

The commitment was made at the eighth Viet NamUS Political, Security and Defence Dialogue, which took place in the US capital on Wednesday. The meeting was co-chaired by Viet Nams Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Ha Kim Ngoc and US Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for Political-Military Affairs, Tina Kaidanow. Other attendees included officials from Viet Nams Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Defence, Ministry of Public Security and their US counterparts.

The two sides discussed measures to make development co-operation the focus of their ties, as well as various economic and trade issues, such as American recognition of Viet Nam as a market economy, accelerating the adoption of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), and opening the US market for Vietnamese exports.

Deputy Foreign Minister Ha Kim Ngoc asked the US to intensify its help in searching for missing-in-action Vietnamese soldiers (MIA), demining, decontaminating dioxin-polluted areas and supporting war victims.

US Deputy Assistant Secretary Kaidanow said the US gives priority to co-operating with Viet Nam to mitigate the consequences of war and will continue its support in this area. She said there is more potential in other areas for bilateral co-operation, such as humanitarian aid, disaster relief and maritime security.

The hosts and guests shared their views on political and security situations in the region, including terrorism, human trafficking, cyber security, peacekeeping, drug trafficking and wild life trafficking.

The two sides also discussed peaceful measures, diplomatic and legal procedures in conformity with international law, including the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, to maintain peace and stability as well as to solve disputes in the East Sea (South China Sea).  VNS
HA NOI  Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc said Viet Nam is committed to accelerating friendship and is ready to share development experiences with Laos.

While receiving Laos Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance Somdy Douangdy in Ha Noi yesterday, the PM said Although Viet Nam is still developing, the Party, State and Vietnamese people always do their utmost to further promote the special friendship between the two countries.

Viet Nam is willing to share all experiences in the national development cause with Laos.

Potential for mutual co-operation remains huge, especially in trade and investment. I would call for you to pay heed to assisting Vietnamese enterprises in Laos, considering them as a sector of the countrys economy and have proper assistance policies in tax and fees, the Prime Minister added.

Without enterprises, production and business activities will stand still and there will be no resources for national budget, job generation and GDP growth.

Thus, the State should provide the most favourable business environment for economic sectors and for foreign investment to thrive.

PM Phuc reiterated that the Vietnamese Government would actively support enterprises doing business in Laos and called for the two sides to lift all existing difficulties and obstacles to boost bilateral trade

Viet Nam is considering developing a number of key traffic infrastructure projects connecting Viet Nam  Laos economies, PM Phuc said.

The Government leader informed the guest that he will assign a Government delegation led by Deputy Prime Minister Trinh inh Dung to visit Laos to seek ways to intensify bilateral co-operation in numerous fields, especially in energy.

Earlier during a meeting with Douangdy, Deputy Prime Minister Vuong inh Hue suggested that the Vietnamese and Lao finance ministries enhance collaboration.

He hailed the two ministries for signing a co-operation agreement for 2016-2020, which maps out important orientations in bilateral co-operation.

The deputy PM proposed that the two sides increase high-level delegation exchanges to share experiences on the macro-economic situation and fiscal policy in their respective countries. In particular, the two nations should focus on the handling of budget expenditures, establishment of legal systems and economic institutions, and training of financial officials, he said.

Deputy PM Douangdy said his visit aims to discuss co-operation plans that the two ministries signed in April.

He highlighted the economic, financial and budget situation in Laos and thanked the Vietnamese Ministry of Finance for its assistance in past years.

He also expressed his wish to receive more support from his Vietnamese counterpart to improve the capacities of Lao financial staff.

While reviewing co-operation between the two finance ministries in past years during their discussion yesterday, deputy PM Douangdy and Viet Nams finance minister inh Tien Dung held that the partnership has been fruitful, especially in policy-making, personnel and sectoral training, and infrastructure improvements.

Minister Dung shared Viet Nams experiences in the management of budget expenses and implementation of the Law on State Budget in 2015, as well as budget collection management and budget decentralisation.

He also shared lessons in managing import and export budget collection, preventing smuggling, operating the one-stop-shop mechanism and applying information technology to governing activities of the finance ministry and its affiliates.

Lao PM calls for more investment

Lao Prime Minister Thongloun Sisoulith has said his country wants more Vietnamese investment in consumer goods production and timber processing to diversify the trading portfolio between the two sides.

At the meeting with Vietnamese Minister of Industry and Trade Tran Tuan Anh yesterday on the sidelines of the 48th ASEAN Economic Ministers Meeting, the Lao leader asked his guest to ensure the progress of Viet Nams hydropower and mining projects in his country, while promoting the use of the East-West Economic Corridor, which traverses Viet Nam, Laos, Thailand and Myanmar, to augment bilateral trade.

The application of the one-stop-shop model at Viet Nams Lao Bao Border Gate and its Lao counterpart Densavanh also needs to be reviewed to extend this model to their other ports of entry, he said.

Anh said his ministry has strongly bolstered industry and trade co-operation with Laos and reaped encouraging outcomes, including the issuance of a circular guiding the implementation of the countries border trade agreement so as to soon put the deals special incentives into practice.

The ministry has also held a series of workshops to popularise the Viet Nam  Laos Trade Agreement and the border trade pact.  VNS
Foreign Ministry Spokesman Le Hai Binh

HA NOI  Officials need to speak and act in accordance with official statements as well as their countries obligations, Foreign Ministry Spokesman Le Hai Binh said at a regular press conference yesterday.

He made the remark while responding to information about the Chinese Defence Ministers call upon the countrys army, police and people to prepare for a war at sea.

Peace and stability in the East Sea [South China Sea] is the interest and aspiration of all countries within and outside of the region. Disputes in the waters must be resolved peacefully on the basis of international law, and without use of or threat to use force, he said.

Officials of countries need to speak and act in accordance with official statements as well as their nations obligations, which are respecting international law, not using or threatening to use force, and actively contributing to peace and stability in the region and the world, Binh added.

Regarding a statement from the Supreme Peoples Court of China saying that China will actively exercise jurisdiction to protect its territorial sovereignty and navigation interests, including jailing illegal fishermen, the spokesman said The treatment of fishermen working in the East Sea must comply with international law and agreements reached between countries, and take on the humanitarian spirit.

Viet Nam reserves the necessary measures for protecting its fishermens legitimate interests in line with international law and practice, he said.

In terms of Chinas construction of a cemetery in Hoang Sa (Paracel) archipelago, Binh reiterated Viet Nam has sufficient legal foundations and historical evidence testifying to its sovereignty over Hoang Sa archipelago.

All activities of other parties in areas within Hoang Sa, regardless of intentions, are illegal and do not change Viet Nams sovereignty over this archipelago.

Meanwhile, China recently opened a website on the East Sea which calls Viet Nams Hoang Sa and Truong Sa (Spratly) by the names Xisha and Nansha of China.

Spokesman Binh made it clear that This action by China does not change the fact that Viet Nam has indisputable sovereignty over Hoang Sa and Truong Sa archipelagos.

Consulate general boosts local exchanges

Chinas opening of a consulate general in Viet Nams central city of a Nang aims to step up economic and trade co-operation and friendship exchanges between its localities and Vietnamese peers in the central region, Binh said.

He added that the Chinese consulate general will also work with Vietnamese relevant agencies to tackle consular issues between the two countries.

At present, some countries have opened their consulates general in a Nang City, the diplomat added.

Nationals rights protected

Viet Nams representative offices in Cambodia and Indonesia have worked to protect the legitimate rights of Vietnamese nationals living and working there, the spokesperson said yesterday.

Fielding questions regarding many Vietnamese in Cambodia facing deportation at the ministrys regular press conference, Binh said Vietnamese agencies have worked closely with their Cambodian partners to handle issues facing Vietnamese nationals living in Cambodia.

We expect that Cambodian authorised agencies and local authorities pay attention, create all possible favourable conditions and work to ensure Vietnamese in Cambodia enjoy their legitimate rights and benefits and lead a stable life there, he said.

On Indonesias announcement on sinking a number of fishing boats, including some reportedly being Vietnamese boats, for illegal fishing, the spokesperson said the Vietnamese Embassy in Indonesia is working with the host countrys concerned agencies to verify the information and if so, it will take appropriate intervention measures.

In previous incidents relating to the arrest of Vietnamese fishermen and their boats, Vietnamese representative offices have always asked the Indonesian side to take on the humanitarian treatment of the violators, Binh said.

Cyber attacks must be condemned

All cyber attacks and hacking must be condemned and punished strictly, the foreign ministry spokesperson said.

Binh made the statement in reply to reporters queries on the recent attack on information systems and websites of several Vietnamese airlines by hackers who were said to be from China. The hackers spread messages related to territorial disputes over Truong Sa (Spratly) and Hoang Sa (Paracel) archipelagoes.

Viet Nams agencies timely implemented necessary measures to ensure security, safety and normal operations at the airports, he said, adding that the countrys cyber security offices also took part in investigations.

Viet Nam wants and is willing to co-ordinate closely with the international community in the fight against violations in any forms, including the recent incident, Binh said.

On July 29, the computer systems at Tan Son Nhat Airport in HCM City and Noi Bai Airport in Ha Noi were hacked at 1:46pm and 4:07pm, respectively.

Data on thousands of Vietnam Airlines Golden Lotus members were compromised and leaked.

According to the Civil Aviation Authority of Viet Nam, the attacks affected more than 100 flights, dozens of them were delayed for between 15 minutes and over one hour.  VNS
National Assembly (NA) chairwoman Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan meets voters in the Mekong Delta city of Can Tho yesterday.  Photo vov.vn

CAN THO  National Assembly (NA) chairwoman Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan, on behalf of other NA deputies of the Mekong Delta city of Can Tho, has promised they will make concerted efforts to fulfill their tasks in the parliaments 14th tenure.

She met yesterday with local voters who applauded the results of the election of deputies to the 14th NA and all-level Peoples Council for the 2016-21 tenure, along with the outcomes of the new parliaments first session, especially the election of the NA, State and Government leaders.

Many voters voiced their concerns about an array of pressing issues, including investment into the Mekong Delta, farm produce prices, the planning of industrial zones along the Hau and Tien rivers in relation to the environment, marine sovereignty protection, food safety and corruption.

The NA chairwoman said the new legislature will strive to make laws with better quality, transparency and feasibility that can create stable and long-term legal frameworks.

It will overhaul policies and laws to ensure the sense of responsibility will be upheld in all projects that relate to peoples livelihoods and the countrys sustainable development and security, regardless of being invested in by the State or by foreigners, she added.

She acknowledged that investment in the Mekong Delta is still modest. Hence, the NA and the Government will review general plans for the Mekong Delta, including those on transport infrastructure, so as to reduce the development gap among regions.

Viet Nam does not exchange the environment for economic growth, the chairwoman reiterated, adding that the NA will keep a close watch on the clarification of responsibility and handling of violators in the recent marine pollution along the central coast.

Policy targets fishermen

Meeting with voters in central Ha Tinh Province yesterday, Deputy Prime Minister Vuong inh Hue said the Government was working on a master policy package to help people in the four central provinces affected by the environmental incident stabilise their lives and recover production.

The Government pursues a long-term, synchronous and specific policy, thus, the Government has instructed provinces to provide full statistics and investigations of total damages, the Deputy PM said.

Beneficiaries are individuals, organisations and households that are involved in fishery activities, salt production and providing tourism services hit hard by the environmental incident in central coastal communes.

The policy package aims to revive fishery resources as well as inhabitation of marine fish species, loan local residents to recover production, support vocational training, create jobs and medical insurance for local people, the deputy PM said.

Policies will also be made to provide credit for building new fishing vessels, Hue said.

Specific orientations are being discussed, conveying opinions from provincial authorities to ensure that those in need will receive what they really need.

Also yesterday, Chairman of the National Fatherland Front, Nguyen Thien Nhan and NA deputies of the southern Tra Vinh Province met with constituents there.

The local people said they would like the central Government to better policies targeting those who contributed to national liberation and defence, to lower the age of pensioners, to develop vocational orientation and job generation solutions for university and college graduates, and to invest more in rural infrastructure systems, particularly electricity, traffic and irrigation projects.

They also called for the NA to strictly deal with establishments producing fake fertiliser, fake veterinary medicine, unqualified seafood and unsafe food whilst having policies helping sugar cane and rice farmers in response to climate change.

Constituents from Hiep My ong Commune, Cau Ngang District asked the Government to strongly punish corruption cases and to take hard and effective measures in dealing with the East Sea issue to protect national sovereignty over seas and islands.

Fatherland Front chairman Nhan said changes of crops and production modes to cope with climate change were a matter of common concern nationwide, thus, the Government would seek out ways to assist farmers. But he urged the farmers to participate in production cooperatives to have better access to technological and scientific advances, capital resources as well as consumption markets to mitigate risks whilst increasing profits.

Yesterday, politburo member and head of the Party Central Committees Publicity and Education Commission, Vo Van Thuong, and some NA deputies met with constitutents in the southern ong Nai Provinces Bien Hoa City.  VNS
HCM CITY  Britains exit from the EU should make ASEAN members think about the ramifications of the free movement of skilled workers, a senior economist has said.

Speaking at a seminar on Wednesday titled Brexit and the ASEAN Economic Community from the Perspective of Integration, Truong inh Tuyen, also a former industry and trade minister, said because of their different integration and decision making systems, the UKs decision would not have any impact on ASEANs integration process but offers lessons for the future of connectivity.

Highlighting the differences, he said the EU decides by a simple majority while ASEAN requires consensus and the EU is like a big nation but ASEAN is basically still 11 different nations.

What will the ASEAN Economic Community do next and what are the consequences of professional workers moving within the community?

He said there could be two consequences.

The first is that if the working environment is not comfortable, skilled professional workers would move around ASEAN, he pointed out.

Secondly, if Vietnamese human resources are not professional enough and cannot meet the countrys development needs, skilled workers from other ASEAN members would replace them, he warned.

Movement of professional workers is an international trend and this has become a long-term and basic trend. Viet Nam must learn how to adapt to it.

To improve the situation, Viet Nam should change the training mindset, fostering everyones capabilities, changing from passive to active learning, encouraging logical thought and imagination, making students stronger, promoting risk-taking abilities, and focusing more on soft skills, he said.

Updating knowledge, improving English and IT skills, effectively exploiting the internet and learning lifelong are very important.

The current human resource quality score for Viet Nam based on World Banks standards is 3.78 out of 10 while it is 4.94 for Thailand, 5.59 for Malaysia, 5.76 for India, and 6.91 for South Korea.

Its rate of trained workers remains low at 18.4 per cent.

Furthermore, the structure of the Vietnamese workforce last year was diametrically opposite to that of the international market: it had 1 university graduate for every 0.35 worker with a college degree, 0.65 worker with an intermediate diploma and 0.4 worker who attended primary school.

Dr Le ang Minh of the economics faculty of Van Hien University said The Government should immediately improve the quality and competitiveness of workers and this will require a thorough overhaul of the education and vocational training system.

Workers must be fully acquainted with the jobs information system so that they can get jobs rapidly as well as know about the regional job market, he said.

Labour demand prediction should be improved.

Effect on VN

Britain has invested US$4.7 billion in 239 projects in Viet Nam, second only behind the Netherlands in the EU.

Trade between Viet Nam and the UK is low, meaning the direct impact of the latters EU exit would be small though the indirect impact would be bigger, Tuyen said.

The devaluation of the euro will hit Vietnamese exports.

Vietnamese exports to the EU would also drop because of the economic impact on the bloc, he said.

Dr Luu Ngoc Trinh of the World Politics and Economy Institute said The clear impact will be on the free trade agreement between the EU and Viet Nam because it might have to be renegotiated as Viet Nam-UK and Viet Nam  EU (without the UK) deals.

The seminar was organised by Van Hien University.  VNS
HA NOI  Deputy Prime Minister Trinh inh Dung has called on ministries and agencies to closely supervise the countrys power demand to ensure national energy security and meet socio-economic development needs.

The deputy PM reaffirmed the heavy and challenging tasks for the countrys power industry after a meeting earlier this week with Electricity of Viet Nam (EVN) about implementing the adjustments to the 7th Viet Nam Power Development Planning (PDP7) in the period 2011-20 with an outlook to 2030.

The adjustments to PDP7 approved in March, 2016 replace a plan issued in 2011.

Under the adjusted planning, Viet Nams power industry is expected to meet socio-economic development objectives with an average yearly GDP growth of 7 per cent during the period 2016-30, 1.5 per cent lower than the GDP forecast in the original PDP 7.

The lower projections of economic growth reduce the demand for total electricity generation by about 20 per cent and 18 per cent by 2020 and 2030, respectively. As a consequence, the total power installed capacity of Viet Nam in the adjustment would reach only 265GW by 2020 and 572GW by 2030, compared to 330GW and 695GW in the original PDP7.

Early this year, former Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung said the adjusted planning was needed to adapt to changing circumstances and make Viet Nams climate change mitigation policies compatible with objectives of green house gas reduction to which Viet Nam committed within the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change in Paris last year.

Less coal-fired power

The adjusted power development planning emphasises the reduction of coal-fired power, the increase of renewable power and the availability of nuclear power in Viet Nam, said Nguyen Anh Tuan, deputy head of the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT)s Institute of Energy.

Accordingly, by 2020, coal-fired power will account for 42.7 per cent of all energy sources, about 5.3 per cent lower than stipulated in the original PDP7. Nonetheless, given the need to generate more power, the percentage of coal-fired power will be significantly higher than the current 33.4 per cent. Last year, the commercial electricity output reached 143.34 billion kWh but 2020 output is targeted to reach 245 billion kWh.

Renewable power would account for 9.9 per cent instead of 5.6 per cent as stated in original PDP7.

Viet Nams first nuclear power plant is expected to go into operation in 2028. By 2030, the nuclear power capacity could reach 4.6GW with electricity generation of 32.5 TWh per year, accounting for 5.7 per cent of total generation mix.

Tuan told the ien luc (Power) magazine that currently, the Government has empowered the Viet Nam National Coal and Mineral Industries Group (Vinacomin) as main contact in importing coal.

Other investors could actively import coal if their imported product meets requirements in quality, prices and of course, with approval from authorised agencies, he said.

He said the adjusted planning also revealed the need to develop groups of ports for coal transport near coal-fired power plants in order to minimise transportation costs.

The adjusted planning includes measures to mitigate impact of power generation on the environment. For examples, waste from coal-fired power plants could be used to make building materials or serve other industries. Environment-friendly technologies are encouraged.

Deputy PM Trinh inh Dung said that Viet Nam continues to seek investors for power projects, not only from State-owned corporations like EVN, PetroVietnam and Vinacomin - but also private or foreign investors.

He asked the Ministry of Planning and Investment to design policies to attract investors as well as to use overseas development assistance effectively in power projects.

The EVN has suggested that investors in power projects be allowed to import coal.

The major power supplier in Viet Nam called for a mechanism to control the process of power-producing projects, including those with Build-Operate-Transfer contracts.

Dung asked the MoIT to develop and issue sanctions to investors for falling behind schedule.  VNS
HCM CITY  HCM City lawmakers have demanded better management of food safety amid complaints that many eateries patronised by students, workers and others do not meet hygiene standards.

When many of them raised the issue at a session of the city Peoples Council yesterday, the director of the Department of Health, Nguyen Tan Binh, admitted food safety was a concern.

After inspecting kitchens in the city, officials from his department found more than 2,000 meeting safety standards, he said, without elaborating on how many they checked.

Of street eateries, a mere 53 percent meet food safety standards, he said.

His department has 712 teams to inspect 78,000 vehicles that transport livestock and poultry, and so far this year they have found 8,000 hygiene-related violations, he said.

The chairwoman of the house, Nguyen Thi Quyet Tam, told him that students complained to her that city leaders do not know how students eat.

She instructed him to investigate and find out who was responsible for maggots being present in food served in a dorm canteen at the Viet Nam National University  HCM City in June.

The cafeteria was shut down right away.

Binh replied that after the incident his department has been working with the Department of Education and Training to establish quality standards for canteens at university dorms and schools.

Tam said his department should ensure all food in the city is safe rather than just look to prevent food poisoning.

Nguyen Ngoc Hoa, deputy director of the Department of Industry and Trade, said in November and December this year the city would begin to use information technology to track the origin of pork sold in the city.

The project will be carried out at all wholesale markets and five other major markets -- Ben Thanh, Hoa Binh, Thai Binh, An ong, and Bau Cat -- as well as supermarkets like Sai Gon Coop, Satra, and Vissan.

The project would cover the entire city by next year, he added.  VNS
HA NOI  Ba inh District Police last night proposed initiation of legal proceedings in the case of a house collapse that claimed two lives on Cua Bac Street yesterday.

The proposed legal action will be for violation of construction regulations, leading to serious consequences.

House No 43, which collapsed, was owned by Tran Anh Tuan, 52, a resident of No 63, Ham Long St, Hoan Kiem District in Ha Noi.

The house collapsed before dawn yesterday, killing two people and injuring seven.

A neighbour, Nguyen Thi Van, living in house No 41, was re-building her old house and had got its foundation dug up.

Investigation police said the house No 43 collapsed because a water pipe broke while workers were digging up the foundation of house No 41.

House No 43 was built in the 1980s and had a weak structure.  VNS
HCM CITY  HCM City needs to hire 25,000 workers this month, the citys Human Resource Forecast and Labour Market Information Centre said.

Tran Anh Tuan, deputy director of the centre, said enterprises tended to hire workers with technical skills and work experience.

About 30 per cent of the workers in need will work in the basic services sector as security guards, household assistants, salespersons and receptionists.

About 40 per cent of the workers will work in the plastic, garment, carpentry and fine arts as well as electronics sectors.

The remaining 30 per cent of the workers will work in sectors of information technology, mechanics, architecture and marketing, besides import and export and real estate.

Reports on the citys labour market released last month showed that the labour market tended to need more workers with experience and professional knowledge.

About 46.7 per cent of the workers searching for work have university degrees.  VNS
AK NONG  ak Nong authorities yesterday denied that the recent alkali leakage had caused fish deaths and skin allergies among some residents in the affected area.

They said scientific confirmation of the impact of the leakage was awaited.

ak Nong Province Peoples Committee Office Chief Ngo Xuan Loc said at a press meeting yesterday that 13 people had developed symptoms of allergy, with blisters forming on their skin after they came in contact with the water in ak Yao stream, into which some amount of the alkaline fluid had leaked.

The ak Nong Department of Health said the patients, 10 of whom were children, were believed to have dermatitis, but the cause of the disease was not known yet.

Most of the patients have recovered and the local health stations have not found other similar cases.

Loc said there were dead fish in the stream, but it did not necessarily mean that the alkali leakage had caused the deaths.

It is true that a part of the chemical fluid flowed into the ak Yao stream, Loc said.

Yet, the answers to queries regarding the scale of the (leakages) impact, its consequences and how to handle them if there are any, will have to wait for the final result from the specialised agency, Loc said.

The natural resources and environment ministry is still testing the water samples taken from the ak Yao stream before it can conclude whether the alkali leakage at the Nhan Co aluminium manufacturing firm has affected the environment.

In a report on August 4, the Nhan Co aluminum manufacturers investor said that the alkali leakage incident late last month did not affect human health or the environment.

The state-owned Vietnam National Coal  Mineral Industries Corporation (Vinacomin) also said in its report, submitted on August 4 to the Ministry of Industry and Trade, that it would ask its subsidiary ak Nong Aluminum Company (DAC) to install CCTV and monitor 24/7 the area where liquid alkali is stored.

A line had broken in this area on July 23, letting concentrated alkaline fluid flow out into the environment.

A worker turned off the lines valve and managed to stop the leakage in four minutes, according to the report.

An inspection team led by the MoNREs Environmental Impact Assessment and Appraisal Department, along with the local department of the MoNRE, arrived at the scene the following day to determine the preliminary impact of the incident.

The team said 9.53cu.m of alkali had leaked, of which some amount was absorbed by 600sq.m of earth outside the manufacturers premises. Some of the alkaline fluid flowed into the neighbouring ak Yao stream via sluice gate number three.

After implementing a number of chemical measures for alkali neutralisation, the pH scale of the affected soil and water returned to levels permitted by Viet Nams standards.

The DAC, which is in charge of running the Nhan Co aluminum manufacturing firm, is working with Chinese contractor China Aluminum International Engineering Corporation (CHALIECO) to inspect all stages from design to operations to discover the cause of the broken line. CHALIECO is the only contractor of the Nhan Co aluminum project.

The Nhan Co manufacturing firm, located in Nhan Co Commune, had VN7.45 trillion (US$334.1 million) in investment as of August 2013. Construction began in 2010, with the aim of producing some 650,000 tonnes of aluminum oxide a year by exploiting bauxite minerals.  VNS
HA NOI  The Viet Nam Computer Emergency Response Team (VNCERT), under the information and communications ministry, on August 4, issued a warning about three domains containing malicious codes.

The alert came following analysis of some malicious code samples received by members of the response team during recent cyber-attacks.

The three dangerous domains are playball.ddns.info, nvedia.ddns.ino and air.dcsvn.org.

Such malicious codes are capable of stealing data and destroying the systems, Nguyen Khac Lich, deputy director of the VNCERT, said.

The VNCERT has requested units specialising in information technology in ministries and agencies, the department of information and technology in localities, and financial and banking organisations to monitor and delete files containing malicious codes to prevent similar attacks.

Instructions on how malicious codes should be handled can be viewed on the VNCERT website www.vncert.gov.vn.

Chinese hackers on July 29 carried out several cyber-attacks on Noi Bai and Tan Son Nhat airports websites and the official website of Vietnam Airlines.

The Civil Aviation Authority of Viet Nam (CAAV) said the attacks interrupted the airports check-in systems, resulting in check-in procedures being handled manually. The attacks affected more than 100 flights, with dozens of them being delayed. However, flight operations and security systems at the airports remained unharmed, it said.

At a press conference on August 2, Minister of Information and Communications Truong Minh Tuan said Internet users should not click on strange codes to prevent the computer and network from getting infected with malicious viruses. He also warned the users against provoking hackers to avoid unexpected responses.  VNS
A NANG  Japan received a record number of 183,000 visitors from Viet Nam last year, nearly double the previous years figure.

In the first five months of this year 106,000 Vietnamese visited Japan, according to figures released at a seminar to introduce the country by the Japan Travel Agency (JTA) held in the central city of a Nang on July 28.

Nhan Phuong, JTAs representative in Viet Nam, said Japan is one of the most attractive destinations for Vietnamese travellers while Viet Nam is considered a potential market by the Japanese tourism industry.

The easing of visa conditions for Vietnamese, the increase in the frequency of flights to Japan from Ha Noi, a Nang and HCM City and the depreciation of the yen are behind the increase for Vietnamese to travel increasingly to Japan, he said.  VNS
Virginia Techs Office of Undergraduate Research selected a new set of student ambassadors for the 2016-17 academic year. The students represent a diverse set of majors across the university as well as unique research experiences.

We launched the ambassador program a couple of years ago, allowing students to connect with their peers and learn about undergraduate research and ways our office can help them achieve their academic and professional goals, said Keri Swaby, coordinator of the Office of Undergraduate Research. This year, we have almost twice as many ambassadors, so we look to be even more involved on campus.

The ambassadors include:

Nala Chehade, of Annandale, Virginia , a senior majoring in international studies and history in the College of Liberal Arts and Human Sciences.

, a senior majoring in international studies and history in the College of Liberal Arts and Human Sciences. Dallece Curley, of Chesapeake, Virginia , a sophomore majoring in neuroscience in the College of Science.

, a sophomore majoring in neuroscience in the College of Science. Alexandra Flevarakis, of Fairfax, Virginia , a senior majoring in sustainable biomaterials in the College of Natural Resources and Environment.

, a senior majoring in sustainable biomaterials in the College of Natural Resources and Environment. Emily Garverick , a senior majoring in applied economic management in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences.

, a senior majoring in applied economic management in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences. Julia Gerow , a junior majoring in animal and poultry sciences and agribusiness in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences.

, a junior majoring in animal and poultry sciences and agribusiness in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences. Chentelle Guest , a junior majoring in psychology in the College of Science.

, a junior majoring in psychology in the College of Science. Eryney Marrogi, of McLean, Virginia , a sophomore majoring in biochemistry in the College of Science and philosophy in the College of Liberal Arts and Human Sciences.

, a sophomore majoring in biochemistry in the College of Science and philosophy in the College of Liberal Arts and Human Sciences. Ryan Mowrey, of Blacksburg, Virginia , a junior majoring in biological sciences in the College of Science and water: resources, policy, and management in the College of Natural Resources and Environment.

, a junior majoring in biological sciences in the College of Science and water: resources, policy, and management in the College of Natural Resources and Environment. Katherine Olson , a senior majoring in environmental science and biochemistry in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences.

, a senior majoring in environmental science and biochemistry in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences. Sara Peterson, of Santa Barbara, California , a senior majoring in biological systems engineering in the College of Engineering.

, a senior majoring in biological systems engineering in the College of Engineering. JNai Phillips, of Stafford, Virginia , a junior majoring in food science and technology in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences.

, a junior majoring in food science and technology in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences. Amina Rahimi , a senior double majoring in biochemistry and microbiology in the College of Science.

, a senior double majoring in biochemistry and microbiology in the College of Science. Kyle Titus-Glover, of Columbia, Maryland , a senior majoring in engineering science and mechanics in the College of Engineering.

, a senior majoring in engineering science and mechanics in the College of Engineering. Colby Weit, of Lititz, Pennsylvania, a senior majoring in aerospace engineering in the College of Engineering.

Four of the ambassadors served in the role during the 2015-16 year and will return this year: Flevarakis, Guest, Rahimi, and Weit. The 14 students earned their role through a competitive application, recommendation, and interview process.

The ambassadors responsibilities include hosting weekly office hours and offering presentations on undergraduate research to classes and student groups. By providing this peer relationship, students have the opportunity to come to the ambassadors to ask general questions about getting involved in research on or off campus, how to share research results broadly, and how to get the most out of these experiences.

The ambassadors will host office hours every day while classes are in session. Times will be advertised on the Office of Undergraduate Research website.
Heartbreaking family update after mother-of-six was killed in horror crash Hannah Fraser's father and stepmother are trying to make it from the United Kingdom to Australia in time for their daughter's funeral.

Firefighter unions latest message to Andrews Government More than a hundred fire trucks in Victoria will carry pointed messages about the Andrews Government as part of a union campaign in the lead up to next month's state election.

Family of Aboriginal teen who died in apparent suicide after sexual abuse back calls for inquiry Police believe 15-year-old Layla Leering took her own life after being raped in the Northern Territory community of Bulla in 2015.

Duttons declaration to voters amid Labors big mess The Opposition Leader said the Prime Minister "might write me off" but he believes Australians will vote the Coalition back into power in 2025 to clean up "the big mess" Labor will leave behind.
ORANGE COUNTY, Calif.  A Cedar Falls native was killed after the motorcycle he was riding in California collided with a stolen car.

Drew Ketter, 55, of Midway City, Calif.  a Cedar Falls native who graduated from Cedar Falls High School in 1979  died at a hospital after the crash Monday in Modjeska Canyon in Orange County, Calif., according to multiple California news outlets.

Ketters wife, Joanne Ketter, also was on the motorcycle and was taken to the hospital with injuries, according to the Orange County Register.

The driver of the Honda Accord, which was found to be stolen, apparently fled the scene, according to news outlets.

Law enforcement in southern California are asking for the publics help in finding him.
WATERLOO  The interview started with crayons.

A child protection worker sat down with the 6-year-old and made light conversation as the boy drew tigers and bald eagles, and eventually the topic turned to the time daddy shot Donald.

I was in the truck parked in the grass by aunt Nickys house. I couldnt see it because Im not allowed to see gunshots, said the boy, who said he heard the gunfire.

The court heard Steve William Fordyces sons account of the moments leading up to the August 2015 shooting death of 43-year-old Donald Harrington as Fordyces murder trial continued Thursday.

Prosecutors said Fordyce, 38 and of Denver, was at his sisters Waterloo home when Harrington, who was at a neighbors, became angry over fruit snacks dropped in the neighbors yard. Authorities said the children were present during a brief confrontation when Harrington attempted to enter Fordyces truck. But during the actual shooting they remained in the truck, which was parked around the corner, away from the scene.

On Thursday, Fordyce waived having his son testify live in court and instead allowed prosecutors to play a video of the boys interview with Child Protection Center workers that took place a month after the shooting.

Before the interview was played, Fordyce indicated he hadnt viewed the footage in advance because he didnt want to watch it. His attorney said Fordyce had read a partial transcript and was told what the remainder of the video contained.

As the video played on the courtrooms display screen, Fordyce smiled and occasionally dabbed at tears as he watched the footage for the first time.

Dad got out of the truck and told us to stay in it when he shot him because he punched the truck and almost broke the window, the boy said. Then the police showed up, and then he went to the police station to talk. And hes still there.

The boy said he makes pictures for his father every day.

He made me a paper airplane in a letter, he told the worker.

Fordyces attorneys arent disputing he was the one who shot and killed Harrington outside of 119 Locust St. on Aug. 14, 2016. But they say Fordyce was defending himself and his sister, who was also at the scene. Prosecutors said Harrington was unarmed.

In other testimony on Thursday, Carl Bessman, a criminalist with the Iowa Department of Criminal Investigation, said gunpowder residue surrounding apparent bullet holes on the blue T-shirt Harrington had been wearing when he was shot showed distances of two to four and three to five feet from muzzle to clothing.

Officer Eryn Hageman with the Waterloo Police Department said officers found two handguns in Fordyces truck  a .40-caliber Glock Model 27 used in the shooting and a 9mm Glock Model 17 that wasnt involved.

Trial is scheduled to continue today.
CEDAR FALLS  The city has ended up out of the money again in its efforts to obtain federal funding for the University Avenue reconstruction project.

City Administrator Ron Gaines said this week the citys application under the federal Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery, or TIGER, grant program was unsuccessful.

The application was submitted this past spring after an earlier application for $12.5 million in TIGER grant funding was turned down last fall. Gaines had said federal officials had encouraged Cedar Falls to reapply because its earlier, unsuccessful application had scored high.

However, only one Iowa project was funded in this newest round  $8 million for the city of Des Moines to rehabilitate several urban river crossings in that city.

The city of Cedar Falls has identified various funding sources for the University Avenue project, over and above $20 million from the Iowa Department of Transportation for transfer of the road from state to local jurisdiction. A combination of state road use tax, Cedar Falls Utilities, sewer revenue and tax increment financing would be used.

The project was originally estimated at about $32.5 million but that has grown to $38.5 million, after some $6 million in added costs were determined after the City Council approved the project design 18 months ago.

Work is in progress on the middle section of the road, in front of College Square, Black Hawk Village and Holiday Plaza shopping centers.

Were not happy. We wish we would have won the grant, said Stephanie Houk Sheetz, interim community development director.

Since the last city capital improvements plan approved last fall identified funding sources for only a $32.5 million project, Sheetz said city officials will have to huddle about where to come up with the estimated $6 million in added costs in preparing the new capital improvements plan later this year.

However, she emphasized the project is moving forward and the added costs are simply estimates based on additional expenses the city has encountered in the projects first phase.

City Council members will be updated on the projects progress and anticipated future costs this fall as the first phase nears completion. At that time, council members may consider options to hold down costs of the projects future phases such as spreading the work over a longer period of time. The work was to have been done in three phases over three years.

Sheetz noted federal officials typically offer local officials a chance to review unsuccessful applications. The city would be able to reapply next year.

Construction progress on the University Avenue project can be monitored online at http://www.cedarfalls-universityaveproject.com.
CEDAR RAPIDS  Ag means trade, so when he hears presidential candidates Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump express opposition to trade deals, Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Bill Northey gets concerned.

Iowa farmers and food processors produce way more than 3 million people can consume, the Spirit Lake corn and soybean farmer and third-term ag secretary said Thursday. Northey was in Cedar Rapids to welcome the National Association of County Office Employees convention. They are the people who staff the USDA Farm Service Agency offices.

Iowa annually exports $1 billion worth of pork, for example, and almost 40 percent of its soybean crop, Northey said.

Trade is hugely important to Iowa agriculture, Northey said. We ship almost 40 percent of our soybeans overseas and 70 percent of our exports go to China.

He understands some people have concerns with Chinese trade, especially enforcement of trade agreements.

But we dont want to lose them as customers, he said. I would argue they need our beans as much as we need to sell them.

So it worries him when the presidential candidates talk about trade, especially their opposition to the Trans-Pacific Partnership.

How serious are they? Northey said. Are they really looking at tariffs or blowing up NAFTA?

Trump has called trade a zero-sum game, meaning the U.S. is losing if it imports more than it exports. He has talked of levying high tariffs on companies that move jobs outside the U.S.

Clintons stance has shifted in recent year because of what she calls a different political environment. Although she supported the TPP as secretary of state, she now opposes it as a candidate.

If the TPP is defeated by Congress or never brought to a vote, I dont think anything changes very much tomorrow or next month or next year other than the loss of opportunity, Northey said.

Long-term, however, we will be on the less aggressive side of trade, with less opportunity to decrease barriers in the future and I think it has serious long-term effects.

Theres more, he added. The U.S. stands to lose its leadership on trade if it doesnt participate in the TPP.

Its not only important for the ag community but for the country, Northey said. It would seem like it would make sense for us to be very careful about things that could damage (trade) and try to be aggressive in those things that could improve that.

Northey also had meetings in Delaware and Benton counties Thursday.
WATERLOO -- The 10th annual Iowa Irish Fest stepped off in fine fashion Friday afternoon.

A parade led by the Sullivan Brothers Chapter of the Ancient Order of Hibernians, festival organizers and a battery of bagpipes from the Cedar Glen Pipe and Drum Corps playing "Garryowen" proceeded down Fourth Street though the middle of downtown, through Lincoln Park to the Nagle Stage in front of the Waterloo Elks Club on East Park Avenue to begin the festivities.

The Proud Image Chorus sang "God Bless America" and the Dublin City Ramblers performed the national anthem of Ireland - "Amhran na bhFiann" in Gaelic, or "A Soldier's Song" in English -- followed by the national anthem of U.S., the Star-Spangled Banner, complete with cannon-cracker fireworks shot from atop the Masonic Temple at East Park and Mulberry near the main stage.

A commemoration was held in observance of the 100th anniversary of the Easter Rising in Ireland in April 1916, a rebellion which was quickly crushed by ruling British forces but in subesquent years led to Irish independence from the United Kingdom.

Irish Fest founder Jim Walsh read the declaration penned by organizers of that uprising. Bells were tolled seven times from First Presbyterian Church across Franklin Street for each of the seven organizers of the uprising who were executed by the British. That was followed by a round of "Amazing Grace" on the bagpipes by the Cedar Glen corps.

Waterloo Mayor Quentin Hart, sporting a pair of fluorescent Kelly green sunglasses, took the stage to cheers, proclaiming Irish Fest as yet another statement and celebration of the city's diversity. He recalled his young son said, during last year's event, "I wish every day was Irish Fest."

The Greater Cedar Valley Alliance & Chamber Ambassadors presided over a ribbon cutting by Walsh to declare the festival open.

The fest was literally kicked off by a performance by perennial fair favorite, the Trinity Irish Dancers.

The fest continues through Sunday evening and includes an expanded family fun area near the Elks Club and larger cultural area on Mulberry between East Fourth and East Fifth street, including a centenary Easter Rising exhibit provided by the Irish Consulate in Chicago and Irish native John Gibney of Des Moines, whose ancestors participated in the Easter Rising.

A host of traditional and contemporary musical acts, including the Red Hot Chilli Pipers and Gaelic Storm, will play on several stages. A thunderstorm late Thursday afternoon destroyed several display tents and delayed set up preparations, festival chairman Chad Shipman said, but more volunteers stepped up to catch up, with the final touches being completed as festivities began.

A weekend pass costs $20, good for all three days, with children 12 and under free. For those attending 10 a.m. Sunday morning Catholic Mass at Lincoln Park and other activities, a non-perishable food donation is requested at the gates for admission prior to 11 a.m.; gate charge will occur after 11 a.m.

More information is available online at iowairishfest.com
Extra second

HEIDI NOONAN-DAY

CEDAR FALLS  How do you plan to spend your extra second? According to National Geographic, we are going to get one full second added to 2016. Because we should be efficient people who treasure every moment we are blessed to have on this planet, we need to plan your extra second carefully to maximize its impact.

Why not be like GISHWHES Team Hemingway (www.gishwhes.com) and use your second to do a random act of kindness in this community for a stranger? Pay for the person behind you in a drive thru, hold a few extra doors, give up your place in line to let a harried parent go ahead of you at the post office, or anonymously leave a $5 grocery gift card on the windshield of a person who could use it.

By improving the life of somebody else, even in a small way, you can impact how that person interacts with others later in the day. Kindness radiates outward, like ripples on a still pond. Our world could use some more kindness. It seems like the best way to grow out of the worlds current situation.

Being good to each other seems like a good way to spend our extra second. Please join us. Your family, your neighborhood, your city, and your world will thank you for it. Spread happiness and joy. Youd be surprised how much good it will do your own heart and soul.

Blums record

PETER OLAFSEN

CRESCO  Rod Blums failure to denounce the vile attacks on a fallen Army veterans family is just another example of his lack of commitment to our service men and women. He voted against increased funding for veterans medical services and against measures to protect veterans from predatory lenders. He also voted to drastically under fund the Veterans Administration by more than $1 billion, impacting 70,000 veterans and jeopardizing health and other critical services to our veterans.

When an amendment to provide increased funding for health services was introduced, Blum voted no. When Blum voted to shut down the government he again chose to turn his back on our veterans, risking delayed or reduced veterans benefit payments. This week has shown us Rod Blum cant even pay our veterans lip service.

More on Blum

LAURA HUBKA

RICEVILLE  As a Navy veteran and mother of an active duty service member the pain this Gold Star family has endured, and will continue to endure, is a painful reminder of the sacrifices our military families make. The Khan family has earned the right to ask the tough questions of our leaders, and for Trump to repeatedly attack them dishonors their sons sacrifice.

And for our Congressman (Rod) Blum to sit by silently in the wake of Trumps abhorrent comments is an insult to all Iowa veterans and their families. Vocal support of our military is the very least we should expect of our elected representatives.

Redistricting letter

MATTHEW ENGELHARDT

WATERLOO  This is in response to Bob Blacks Aug. 1 letter. You are totally within your rights to have your opinions, and I am not going to disagree with you. But you do have one error in your letter.

Redistricting or gerrymandering, does not work with U.S. senators. Each state is given two senators and the entire state elects their senators. Chuck Grassley and Joni Ernst represent every Iowan from Freemont County to Allamakee County and everyone in between.
US officials say two F-15 aircraft launched an airstrike against the Islamic States leader in Libya. [Photo/Agencies]

Pentagon Press Secretary Peter Cook issued a statement on Monday saying that on the request of the Libyan Government of National Accord, the US military conducted precision air strikes against Islamic State group targets in Sirte, Libya. He said Monday's action and those taken previously will help prevent the IS group from gaining a haven in Libya from which it could attack the United States and its allies.

The words seem carefully chosen to show that the US actions were not uninvited but "at the request of the Libyan" government, and that the air strikes were precise. But actually they reveal the problems with US air strikes, manned or unmanned.

The US has launched many air strikes in other countries without their governments' requests, even against their strong opposition. For example, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said US-led air strikes in al-Ghandour near Manbij, Syria, on July 28, killed at least 28 civilians, including seven children.

That attack took place just a day after the US announced a formal probe into the air strikes by the US-led coalition in the same area that might have left many civilians dead. According to Airwars, a non-profit project that monitors air strikes in Iraq and Syria, between 78 and 203 civilians were killed in suspected US raids on July 19. It seems the decisions to launch air strikes have been made at random. The US military does not look to have much clue about whom it targets while dropping the bombs and whom it kills and maims.

On July 28, the US Central Command said six separate US air strikes in Syria and Iraq from July 28, 2015, to April 29, 2016, caused 14 civilian deaths. A month ago, the White House had said in a report that from Jan 20, 2009, to Dec 31, 2015, the US had carried out 473 drone strikes outside of "areas of active hostilities", killing between 2,372 and 2,581 combatants and 64 to 115 civilians.

Yet both reports are widely regarded as grossly underestimating civilian casualties. Airwars figures show that between 773 and 1,180 civilians have reportedly been killed in the US-led coalition's air strikes in Syria since August 2014.

This heartbreaking news, sadly, has not hit the headlines of US mainstream media; some outlets covered it, though. While CNN America calls everything breaking news, it has not treated the deaths of civilians in US air strikes as one, at least not in my memory. Instead, most American cable networks cover 24x7 a shooting in a US city even if one person is killed.

The Pentagon, of course, is known for tightening the rules, making it more difficult for journalists to cover US military activities. And US leaders have not apologized or offered compensation for such civilian casualties. The only exception was when the US Air Force AC-130U gunship fired at a hospital run by Doctors Without Borders in Afghanistan on Oct 3, 2015, killing 42 people and leaving 30 wounded. US President Barack Obama offered a rare apology as the international medical organization called the US action a "war crime."

Most US citizens don't have any idea of the alarming number of civilian casualties caused by US air strikes. At the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia last week, protesters held exhibits outside the City Hall, calling for a halt to US drone attacks. The protesters singled out Obama and Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton as being responsible for those air strikes and for causing the mess in Libya.

The US not only needs to show more transparency about its air strikes and let the world know the civilian casualties. It also needs to show courage to apologize to and compensate families of innocent people killed or injured.

The author is deputy editor of China Daily USA. chenweihua@chinadailyusa.com
By WestKyStar and WKCTC Staff Aug. 05, 2016 | 07:43 AM | PADUCAH, KY

West Kentucky Community and Technical College is again offering science, technology, engineering, art and math (S.T.E.A.M.) opportunities for elementary through high school students.



Bill Kunnecke, WKCTCs Program Director of the STEAM Initiative, will teach the workshops that will be held in the colleges Emerging Technology Center (ETC). The cost is $150 for the four, six or eight-week courses.



Adult/Child LEGO EV3 Robotics Workshop - $150/pair

August 4  September 22, 5:30  7 pm

Age: 10  100 years old



This workshop meets eight consecutive Thursday evenings in ETC, Room 214. Participants are welcome to join the workshops through Thursday, August 11.



During these workshops, a young person with a NOT as young person will be paired to experience LEGO EV3 Mindstorm Robotics, learning the magic behind making robotics appear to have human characteristics.



Pairs of participants will start by building a basic mobile robot and use it as a tool to understand the Guided User Interface (GUI) software-programming interface. Next, pairs will systematically incorporate four different robotic sensors on the mobile robot.

Challenges for each sensor added will be provided. Finally, pairs will choose a non-mobile robot and create an interactive robot model to share in show and tell near the end of the workshop.



The workshop is ideal for those interested in the annual FLL/RCX robotics competitions. Learn more at USFirst.org or rcxrobot.org. Each year the FLL competition is held in December and the RCX competition is held March, both on the WKCTC campus.



The Magic of Minecraft

August 15  24, 4  5:30 pm

Age: 3rd  5th Grade



These workshops will be held every other Monday in ETC computer lab, Room 223.



Minecraft is a web-based education experience that has been compared to a virtual LEGO environment. Since August 2015, it has provided a supervised environment for educators to develop curricular goals at Minecraftedu.com. This six-week offering will extend the experienced Minecrafter into connecting their skills into topics such as computer programming math and science. Rich exploration of these and other appropriate topics will provide a creative outlet for participants.



Tynker with Coding

August 16 - October 25, 4  5:30 pm

Age: 3rd  4th Grade



These workshops will be held every other Tuesday in ETC computer lab, Room 223.



Students will develop basic skills in computer science through a virtual gaming platform using the web educational website Tynker.com.



During this six-week offering, students will develop characters, solve puzzles and create games while learning the seven basic tools of computer coding. Topics covered to create games include keyboard/mouse interaction, conditional loops, fluid motion, parallax scrolling, local and global variables, functions, and object cloning.



Maker Space Monthly

August 20  November 19, 10 am  noon

Age: 7th  10th Grade



These workshops will be held every third Saturday of each month listed above.



Students will be provided resources that facilitate them going through the design process of engineering while practicing the scientific method associated with the sciences.



They will walk through some pre-designed projects the first month but will be challenged to develop their own once they learn the resources provided in this makerspace. Sample of resources: Makey Makey Kits (Go to YouTube and type Makey Makey  An Invention Kit for Everyone), Brick Pi Robots, Lego Robotics Kits, and more.



Initial sessions will also include these experiences: How to make a banana music keyboard and How to create LED lighting on a five-cent budget.



Register for workshops at 270-534-3335 or online at ws.kctcs.edu/westkentucky, click on S.T.E.A.M. Opportunities.




Advertisement

By West Kentucky Star Staff

Aug. 04, 2016 | METROPOLIS, IL

By West Kentucky Star Staff Aug. 04, 2016 | 03:45 PM | METROPOLIS, IL

Authorities have released additional details about the arrest of a Massac County man sought by police since early Wednesday morning.



Massac County Sheriff Ted Holder said deputies found 26-year-old Benjamin Comer walking along Unionville Road late Thursday morning after getting a call from someone who spotted him. Comer had been the subject of an area-wide manhunt since just after 12 am Wednesday, after he allegedly stole merchandise from the southside Paducah Walmart and pulled a gun on a customer in the parking lot. Paducah Police officers pursued Comer until he fled across the Brookport Bridge into Illinois.



Holder said Comer, who was reportedly armed with a shotgun, is also a suspect in a home invasion later that morning at a home on James Cary Lane.



The hunt for Comer lasted nearly 36 hours, and involved dozens of officers from multiple local, state and federal agencies. Comer was taken into custody shortly after 11:00 am without incident, and was taken in for booking after receiving medical treatment at the scene. He is charged with aggravated home invasion, theft of a firearm, and criminal damage to property. Comer also faces 1st degree robbery and 1st degree fleeing or evading police charges in McCracken County for his alleged role in the Walmart incident.



Holder said more charges may be filed against Comer.
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Canl Bahis siteleri sektoru son derece onu ack ve farkl ozelliklere sahip bir sektordur. Elbette bahis secenekleri arasnda yuksek kazanc getiren alan kuskusuz canl bahistir. Peki, canl bahis nedir?

Canl Bahis Nedir?

Canl bahis adndan da anlaslacag gibi devam eden musabakaya bahis yapmaktr. Bu bahis musabaka devam ederken de yaplabilir olmasdr. Basta futbol olmak uzere voleybol, tenis, hentbol, basketbol, buz hokeyi ve masa tenisi gibi spor organizasyonlarna canl bahisler yaplabilmektedir. Canl bahis siteleri bu oyunlarn hepsine yuksek oranlara bahis yapmanza imkan tanr. En fazla tercih edilen futbol canl bahisleri diger alanlara gore daha fazla on plandadr. Siteden siteye degisen sartlar ve uygulama esaslar soz konusu olsa da kurallar sabittir.

Canl bahisi populer klan ve heyecan katan en onemli ozellikle musabakann basladg ana dek bahis yapabilmedir. Canl bahis icerisinde yer alan secenekler kazanma sansnz da dogrudan arttrmaktadr. Ilk korneri kim kullanr, ilk tac, gol, sar kart, krmz kart gibi futbol musabakas icerisinde olabilecek hemen hemen her seye bahis yaplabilmektedir. Normal bahisegore de son derece yuksek oranda olmas avantajl yonlerini ortaya koymaktadr. Nitekim dogru secenek ksa surede kazancl ckmanza etki edecektir.

Strateji ve dogru analizle 90 dakika gibi bir surede anaparanzkatlayabilirsiniz. Tabi bunu basarabilmek icin mutlaka musabakaya dair ayrntlar iyi degerlendirmek gerekir. Soz konusu musabakann detaylarn inceleyip, cezal, sakat oyuncu veya performans dusen takm oyunu gibi detaylar bilmek canl bahiste kazanc belirleyen onemli unsurdur. Guvenilir Canl bahis hem heyecanl zaman gecirmeyi hem de musabakalar takip ederken para kazanmay saglamaktadr.

Canl Bahis Nasl Oynanr?

Bahislerinizi guvenilir sitelerden gerceklestirdiginiz zaman herhangi bir sekilde para cekme de sorun yasamazsnz. Guvenilir bahis siteleri tespit edip sonrasnda da uyelik islemlerini tamamlamanz gerekmektedir. Belirlenen uyelik sartlarn yerine getirip hesabnza da paray aktardktan sonra bahis islemlerini sorunsuz yapabilirsiniz. Peki, canl bahis nasl oynanr?

Oncelikle bahis konusunda mutlaka dogru site arastrmas yapmalsnz. Yapacagnz arastrma neticesinde buldugunuz site uzerinden canl bahisislemlerini gerceklestirebilirsiniz. Bunun icin uye olup, hesaba para atp, canl bahis bolumune girmelisiniz. Sonrasnda dahil olmak istediginiz musabakann saatini ogrenip, gerekli analizleri yapmalsnz. Tahminlerinizi belirledikten sonra karsnza ckacak olan bahis sayfasndan istediginiz hamleyi yapmalsnz. Bahis tutarn belirledikten sonra musabaka baslayacaktr.

Canl bahis diger normal bahis esaslarna gore farkllklar icermektedir. Bunlardan en onemlisi musabakann gidisatna gore islem yapabilir olmaktr.Ayrca musabakann 2. Yarsna gore hamle yapp ayr bir bahisin soz konusu olmas da ciddi avantajdr. Dogru hamle ile sizde istediginiz bahisi yapp kazanc elde edebilirsiniz. Nitekim canl olarak yapacagnz bahis icin mac oncesi raporlara gore hareket etmek onemlidir. Cunku takmlarn durumlarn analiz etmek tahmin gucunu arttracaktr. Misal tamnn en iyi oyuncusu sakat ya da kart cezals ise takmn performansnda dusus yasanacaktr. Buna ek olarak takmn deplasman performans ile evinde ki performans ayr olacaktr. Burada da takmn musabakay nerede yaptgna bakmak gerekir. Bu ayrntlar da iyice analiz ettikten sonra bahsinizi yapp kazanmann keyfini yasayabilirsiniz.

Canl Bahis Siteleri

Son derece yuksek getiriye sahip bahis sektoru uzun zamandr faaliyet gostermektedir. Cok ciddi rakamlarn soz konusu oldugu bu sektor zamanla sanal ortamlara donusmustur. Elbette guvenli ve bir o kadar da avantajl olan bu siteler cok yonlu frsatlar sunmaktadrlar. Canl iddaa siteleri gerek yeni uyelere gerekse de hali hazrdaki uyelerine bolca bonus frsatlar vermektedir. Yatracagnz tutara gore belirlenen bonuslar site icerisinde rahat hareket etmenizi de saglayacaktr.

Canl bahis sitelerini kullanmadan once mutlaka guvenli olup olmadgna goz atmalsnz. Zira baz kullanclar guvenli olmayan sitelerden yaptklar islemlerden dolay magdur olmaktadrlar. Nitekim guvenli ve sorunsuz hizmet sunan yurt ds site tercih etmek en dogru secenektir. Sektorde uzun yllar faaliyet gosteren siteleri tercih edebilirsiniz. Bu alanda yer alan yabanc siteler musteri memnuniyetine onem vermektedir. Oncelik site kullanclarn sorunsuz sekilde bahislerini yapabilir olmasn saglamaktr. Bahis sitelerinde amac hem daha fazla kullancya hizmet vermek hem de sektorde emin admlarla ilerlemek onceliklidir. Dogru site tercihi ile sizde canl bahislerinizi sorun yasamadan gerceklestirebilirsiniz. Sizler icin hazrlams oldugumuz canl bahis siteleri listesi su sekildedir;

Mobilbahis Tempobet Bets10 Bahigo 1xbahis Betboo Youwin Superbahis

Sralams oldugumuz bu siteler sektorde basarl islere imza atms sitelerdedir. Canl bahis konusunda beklentileri karslayacak olan bu siteler sizlere kolaylk sunmaktadrlar. Bol bonuslu secenekle de sizlere farkl bahis yonlerini sunacaklardr. Sistemsel etki icerisinde her zaman etkin sonuc alabilmek icin surekli olarak faaliyet icerisindedirler.

Canl Bahis Taktikleri

Bahis sektorunun en fazla dikkat edilmesi gereken hususu dogru taktik ve dogru tahmindir. Elbette dogru tahmini yapabilmek icin analizi cok iyi yapmak gerekir. Canl bahis taktikleri arasnda ilk sra analiz gelmektedir. Analiz yapamadgnz zaman basarl tahminlerde bulunmanz pek de mumkun degildir. Cunku bahiste onemli olan konu musabakann analizini cok iyi yaplmas gerektigidir. Canl bahisin ozelliklerini iyi bilmek ve nasl bir hamle yapacagnz bilmek gerekir. Ozellikle riskli maclarda yaplacak degerlendirmeler cok daha onemlidir.

Canl bahis yapacaklarn takip edecegi degerler takmlarn durumlar ile alakal olmaldr. Performans uzerine kurulu bahis sisteminde takm degerlendirmesine iyi bakmak gerekir. Iki takmn son 5 macta nasl bir sonuc ortaya koyduguna bakarak hareket etmek onemlidir. Ayrca hangi takm evinde daha iyi performans sergiliyor diye de ayrca bakmak gerekir.

Analizlerle alakal puan durumlarna da goz atmak cok onemlidir. Puan degerlendirmesinde oncelikle takmlarn ihtiyaclar ile dogru orantl hareket etmek gerekir. Cunku olusturulan performans takmn da durumunu ortaya koymaktadr. Nitekim istenilen sonucu elde edebilmek icin tum ayrntlar bilmek gerekir. Takm ici duzenden tutunda da takmn son durumuna kadar her ayrnt onemlidir. Iki takmn birbirleri arasnda ki sonuclar da incelemek gerekir. Burada dikkat edilecek detaylarn basnda maclarda kac gol oldugu ve gollerin hangi dakikalarda atldgdr. Cekismeli gecen musabakalarda bazen goller ilk yarda daha fazla olurken baz maclarda da ikinci yarda daha cok gol olmustur. Iki takm arasnda ki maclarda gollerin cogunlugu ilk yarda geliyorsa buna gore bahis yapabilirsiniz.

Canl Bahis Siteleri Bonuslar ve Kampanyalar

Bahis yapanlar veya yapmay dusununler sitelerin sunmus olduklar frsatlar merak etmektedirler. Cunku siteler daha fazla kullancya erismek icin her donem kampanyalar duzenleyerek kullanc odakl hamleler yapmaktadrlar. Canl bahis bonuslar ve kampanyalar oldukca populer olup, siteler bu konuda adeta birbirleri ile yarsmaktadrlar. Birbirinden farkl ozelliklere sahip olan kampanyalar size frsatlar sunmaktadr. Daha cok kazanma ihtimalinizi arttran bu bonuslar daha cesur olmanza da dogrudan etki edecektir. Nitekim bonuslar sitelerin cekiciligini ve avantajlarn arttrmaktadr. En cok kazandran canl bahis siteleri bedava bonuslar ve kampanyalar icin http://www.milano2018.com/canli-bahis-siteleri-2022/ linkinden yardm alabilirsiniz.

Hos geldin bonusu ile baslayan ve sonrasnda para yatrdkca bonus veren cok sayda site bulunmaktadr. Canl bahis bonusu veren siteler yeni uyelere sunduklar frsatlar farkl kampanyalarla mevcut uyelerine de sunmaktadrlar. Hali hazrda siteyi kullananlarn da bonus frsatlarndan yararlanmalar icin donemsel kampanyalar olusturmaktadrlar. Boylece baska sitelere gidisler olmayacag gibi site de daha keyifli zaman gecirmek mumkun klnmaktadr. Bu tur eklentiler yapan sitelerde musteri memnuniyeti daha fazladr.

Bahis siteleri ozellik ve uygulama bakmndan farkllklar bunyelerinde bulundurmaktadrlar. Verilen bonuslarn olusturulmas ve kullanclar aktarlmasnda yatrlan para miktarlar belirleyici olmaktadr. 1.000 TL yatran bir kullanc yuzde 20 bonus frsat olan bir kampanyadan 200 TL bonus kazanabilmektedir. Yatracag tutar 10.000 TL oldugunda bu bonustutar 2.000 TL olabilmektedir. Gerceklesen ve uygulanan esaslar tamamen donemsel olarak yaplan kampanyalarla alakaldr. Iyi Canl bahis siteleri bonuslar ve kampanyalar icin sitelerin vermis oldugu oranlar takip edebilirsiniz.

Canl Bahis Siteleri Para Yatrma

Online Canl bahis yapacaklarn merak ettigi konulardan bir digeri de para yatrma islemleridir. Oldukca onemli olan bu konuda hata yapmamak cok onemlidir. Canl bahis sitelerine para yatrma islemi sanlann aksine son derece basittir. Oldukca basit ve uygulama esas dogru etki olusturan bu yapda sizde islemi rahatca tamamlayabilirsiniz. Para yatrma konusunda su yolu izleyebilirsiniz.

Guvendiginiz ve herhangi bir sekilde aklnzda soru isareti kalmayan bahis sitesine uye olmanz gerekmektedir. Uyelik islemini sorunsuz sekilde tamamladktan sonra para yatrma islemine gecebilirsiniz.

Kullanacagnz siteye uye olduktan sonra karsnza kullanc ad ve sifresini gireceginiz yer gelecektir. Buraya giris yaptktan sonra site icerisine islemlere devam edebilirsiniz.

Sitede yer alan para yatrma sekmesine tklayp sonrasnda karsnza gelen sayfay inceleyebilirsiniz. Para yatrma bolumunde yer alan ksma ne kadar para yatracagnz yazp devam tusuna basmalsnz.

Yatrmak istediginiz tutar girip sonrasnda da devam tusuna bastktan sonra karsnza kart bilgilerinizi gireceginiz sayfa gelecektir. Kredi kart kullanarak para gondermek isteyenlerin tercih ettigi bu sayfa tum bilgiler girilip islem onaylanmaldr.

Canl bahis sitelerine para yatrma islemini gerceklestirmek icin hesaba havale secenegini de kullanabilirsiniz. Site icerisinde musteri hizmetleri ile iletisime gecerek banka hesap numaralarn ogrenebilirsiniz. Belirtilen IBAN numarasna istediginiz tutar havale edebilirsiniz. Havale ederken acklama ksmna yazlacak bilgilere dikkat etmelisiniz.

Kredi kart veya banka havalesi ile gerceklesen para yatrma islemi sonucunda site hesabnzdan bakiyenize bakabilirsiniz. Bakiyenize gore dilediginiz sekilde bahislerinizi gerceklestirebilirsiniz.

Canl Bahis Siteleri Para Cekme

Canl bahiste dogru hamleler ve dogru tahminler sonucunda kazandgnz bedeli geri almak isteyebilirsiniz. Kazanclarnz istediginiz banka hesabnza cekebilmek icin uymanz gereken kurallar soz konusudur. Oncelikle bahis sitelerinden para cekebilmeniz icin uye olurken dogru bilgi paylasmnda bulunmanz gerektigidir. Cunku canl bahis sitelerinden para cekme islemi icin kullanc hesab ile talep edilen banka hesap bilgilerinin ortusmesi gerekir. Yani uye olurken verilen bilgi ile banka hesab kime ait ise o bilgiler ayn olmaldr. Bu uygulama sitenin hem kullancsn hem de kendisini guvene alma politikasdr. Ayrca frsatclarn onune gecerek yeni bir uye olusumunun da onune gecmek amac gutmektedir. Uye olan kisi farkl para cekilme talebi verilen hesap farkl oldugunda para cekme islemi gerceklesmeyecektir.

Bahisleriniz sonucunda kazanc elde edebilir ve bu kazancnz da hakknz olarak almak isteyebilirsiniz. Burada son derece basit uygulama soz konusu olurken siteler aras farkl gorunumler soz konusu olabilir. Fakat yine de tum sitelerde uyenin site icerisinde para cekme bolumune girmesi yeterlidir. Burada cekilecek olan tutarn belirlenmesi ve hesap numarasnn girilmesi ile birlikte islem onay gerekecektir. Para cekme taleplerinde sizden gerekli bilgiler istenmekte ve havale islemi istenilen bilgiler esliginde yurutulmektedir. Dogru bilgi paylasmak sorunsuz para cekebilmeniz en onemli kuraldr. Istenilen bilgiler girildikten sonra site sorumlular gerekli kontrolleri yapp herhangi bir sorun yoksa ksa surede hesabnza gerekli paray aktaracaklardr.

Canl Bahis Sitelerinden Para Cekmek Icin Istenen Belgeler

Bahis sitelerine uye olduktan sonra baz kullanclar para cekme taleplerinin karslanmadg konusunda sikayetlerde bulunmuslardr. Bu sikayetlersektorde uzun zamandr bulunan guvenilir bahis siteleri de yer almaktadr. Fakat sikayetlerin dayanaklarna bakldgnda ise islerin tamamen farkl oldugu gorulmektedir. Yasanan bu durum kullanclarn hatal bilgi girmesi ve uyelik bilgileri ile banka bilgilerinin uyusmamas ile dogru orantldr. Birde canl bahis para cekmek icin istenen belgeler eksik ya da hatal olarak sunulmus olabilir. Ortaya ckan karsklar neticesinde para cekme talebinde bulunan kisi istedigini alamadg icin sikayetci olmaktadr. Oysa ki istenilen bilgiler dogru ve istenilen evraklar eksiksiz sunulsa para cekme islemi sorunsuz olacak.

Sitelerin para cekme konusunda dikkatli hareket etmesi hilelerin ve illegal faaliyetlerin onune gecmek adnadr. Cunku baz kullanclar farkl bilgiler vererek ikinci hesap acabilmektedirler. Bazen de bilincsizce hatal bilgi girilebilmektedir. Hatal islemlerin cozumu konusunda islem yaptgnz sitenin musteri temsilcileri ile gorusebilirsiniz. Talepleriniz dogrultusunda para cekme islemlerinde ki sorunlar giderilecektir. Canl bahis para cekmek icin istenen belgeler listesi su sekildedir;

Kullanc bilgileri ile banka bilgilerini karslastrmak icin kimlik fotokopisi

Banka hesap bilgileri

Ikametgah ve kisiye ait herhangi bir fatura.

Kacak Iddaa

Turkiyede dogrudan bahis yapmak icin resmi kanallar kullanlabilmektedir. Fakat tercih edilen ve oran olarak cok daha fazla frsatlar sunan kacar iddaasiteleri bulunmaktadr. Bu siteler kanunlara aykr sekilde yaplmakta olup, yasal bir dayanag yoktur. Elbette bu sitelerin kurulus merkezi Turkiye olmayp, ds ulkelerdedir ve faaliyetler belirlenen siteler uzerinden yaplmaktadr. Kacak Iddaa oldukca riskli olup, cok dikkatli olunmas gerekir.

Kacak Bahis

Kanunlar cercevesinde istediginiz gibi bahis yapamayabilirsiniz. Bahis yapabilmek icin ya kanuni olarak sorun olmayan ulke dsnda ki kumarhanelere gitmeniz veya kacak bahis sitelerinden islem yapabilirsiniz. Zira bu durum tehlikeli olsa da cok sayda site guvenli sekilde bu alanda hizmet vermektedir. Kacak bahiste oldukca fazla secenek bulunurken yuksek oranda kazanc sunuyor olmas da ragbeti arttryor.

Illegal Bahis

Bahisin bircok alanda yasak oldugu Turkiyede bu alanda cok sayda yabanc merkezli siteler hizmet vermektedir. Illegal bahis sektorunde faaliyet gosteren siteler guvenli hizmet anlays ile kullanclarna frsatlar sunmaktadr. Yurt ds merkezli bu siteler sorunsuz sekilde hizmetlerini surdururken bulunduklar ulkelerde kanunlara uygun sekildedir. Elbette faaliyet noktasnda bulunduklar ulkelerde sorun teskil etmese de Turkiyede faaliyet gostermeleri kanunin yasaklanmstr.

Yasads Bahis

Gerek olusturulan etkenler gerekse de ortaya konulan riskler yasads bahis de oldukca tehlikelidir. Kanunlarn mudahil olduklar bu alanlar da hem kullanclar hem de populer bahis yaptranlar tum riskleri goze almaktadrlar. Fakat yasaklardan uzak sekilde guvenli hizmet sunan siteler de bulunmaktadr. Takipler neticesinde kapatlan sitelerin muhakkak alternatifleri kurularak yollarna devam etmektedirler.

Canl Iddaa Siteleri Nelerdir?

Dunya genelinde kabul gormus cok sayda guvenli hizmet veren populer bahis siteleri bulunmaktadr. Elbette bu siteler dunyann bircok ulkesinde faaliyet gosterse de Turkiyede yasaktr. Sektorde yer alan cok sayda legal iddaa siteleri bulunmaktadr. Herhangi bir kanunsuzlugun olmadg bu sitelerden hzl ve guvenli islem yaplabilmektedir. Tabi bu sitelerde uygulanan oranlar yasal olmayan sitelere gore daha dusuktur. Illegal sitelerin tercih edilme sebeplerinin en onemli etkeni de olusturulan oranlardr. Peki, Iddaa siteleri nelerdir? Faaliyetleri ve uygulama esaslar nelerdir?

Turkiyede faaliyet gosteren yasal iddaa siteleri listesi su sekildedir;

Iddaa

Bilyoner

Tuttur

Birebin

Oley

Nesine

Misli

Iddaa

2004 ylnda hizmet vermeye baslayan Iddaa Spor toto tarafndan kurulmus olup, ilk etapta bayilik seklinde calsmaya baslamstr. Elbette zamanla gelisen teknolojiye ayak uydurarak internet uzerinde de populer bahis severlerin hizmetine sunulmustur. Kuruldugu donemde devletin resmi kurumu olarak faaliyet gosterirken gelinen yeni donemde ozellestirilmistir.

Bilyoner

Turkiyede faaliyetine 2006 ylnda baslayan Bilyoner ilk ozel yasal bahis sitesi olma ozelligine sahiptir. Guvenilir bahis siteleri Turkiyede bunlardr. Ksa surede populer olan site halen faaliyetlerini sorunsuz sekilde surdurmektedir.

Tuttur

Ksa surede adndan bahsettirmeyi basaran Tuttur 2009 ylnda faaliyetlere baslamstr. Guvenilir bahis siteleri arasnda yerini almstr. Gunumuze dek bircok alanda populer bahis yapanlara frsatlar sunarken avantajlar ile de begeni toplamstr.

Birebin

Kullanc odakl calsmalar surdurse de 2011 ylnda sektore giren Birebindiger sitelere gore daha az ragbet gormektedir. Bahis oynamak ise bu sitede oldukca kolaydr. Elbette farkl yaklasmlara sahip olmasndan dolay ilerleyen sureclerde adndan sklkla bahsettirecek gibi gorunuyor.

Oley

2009 ylnda Dogus yayn gruplarnn istiraki olarak kurulmus olup yasal olarak herhangi bir sorunu olmayan sitelerdendir. Bahis siteleri arasnda hzl cks yapms bir sitedir. Oley yapms oldugu yenilikler ile kullanclarn da dikkatini ksa surede cekmeyi basarmstr.

Nesine

Birbirini takip eden surecte Nesine de yine 2006 ylnda hizmet vermeye baslamstr. Yasal bahis siteleri arasnda yerini almay basaran firma ksa surede sevilen ve ragbet goren bir site olmustur.

Misli

2009 ylnda sektore cok hzl giris yapan Misli cok sayda reklam filmi ile on plana ckmay basarmstr. Internet uzerinden hem yasal hem de sorunsuz hizmet veren bahis sitelerinden bir tanesi olmustur.

Canl Bahis Siteleri Kayt ve Uyelik Islemleri

Her zaman populerligini koruyan ve surekli gelisim gosteren canl bahis gun gectikce daha da gucleniyor. Bahis oynamak icin ise sitelere uye olunmas gerekir. Yuksek getirisi ve begeni toplayan faaliyetleri ile cok sayda site bu alanda faaliyet gostermektedir. Elbette sorunsuz sekilde uye olmanz ve faaliyetler gostermeniz de oldukca kolaydr. Canl bahis siteleri kayt ve uyelik islemleri dakikalar icerisinde gerceklestirilecek yapya sahiptir.

Uye olacagnz siteyi belirledikten sonra siteye girmeniz gerekmektedir. Girdiginiz sitenin ana sayfasnda uye ol ya da kayt ol bolumu bulunacaktr. Siteler arasnda degiskenlik gosteren bu alanda temel unsurlar bulunmaktadr. Elbette farkllklar olsa da temelinde benzer bilgiler uye olmak isteyen kisilerden talep edilmektedir.

Uye ol bolumune tkladktan sonra karsnza uyelik bilgi formu ckacaktr. Bu formda sizin kim oldugunuzu ogrenmek ve sitenin guvenligini saglamak adna islemler yaplmaktadr. Uyelik formunda yer alan ad soyad bolumunu eksiksiz ve dogru sekilde doldurmalsnz. Sizden bu formda istenen bilgilerin tamamn girmeniz istenecektir. Istenen bilgiler mutlaka dogru ve eksiksiz sekilde olmaldr. Eksik veya hatal bilgi uyelik islemlerinde sorun teskil edebilir. Yine de yanls bilgi girisine ragmen uyelik islemleri tamamlanabilir. Fakat boyle bir yol izleyenler sonrasnda buyuk skntlarla karslasabilirler. Bu skntlarn basnda da para cekme islemlerinde yasanan sorunlardr.

Uyelik islemleri dikkatli ve ozenle doldurulmas gereken yapdadr. Canl bahis siteleri kayt ve uyelik islemleri gerceklestirilirken verilen bilgiler site yonetimi tarafndan muhafaza edilmektedir. Herhangi bir sekilde 3. Sahslarla paylaslmas gibi bir durum soz konusu degildir. Bu faaliyetleri surduren sitelerin guven unsurlar arasnda bu nokta onceliklidir.

Bahis sitelerine uye olurken hatal bilgi paylasmnda bulunmak size faydadan cok zarar verecektir. Diyelim ki bilgileri hatal girdiniz ve uyelik onayland. Uyelik tamamlandktan sonra siteye para yatrdnz ve kazanc elde ettiniz. Kazancnz sonrasnda hesabnza almak istediginizde karsnza banka bilgileri bolumu gelecektir. Para cekme talebi gerceklestikten sonra site uyelik bilgileri ile banka hesap bilgileri ortusmez ise paranz alamazsnz. Boyle bir durumla karslasmamak adna bu hususa ayrca dikkat etmelisiniz.
"The key takeaway from the Ultrajaya transaction is the continued interest by global funds in high-quality companies." -- Mark Decker, Decker & Co. founder and CEO

SAN FRANCISCO, CA, August 05, 2016 /24-7PressRelease/ -- Institutional equities broker Decker & Co. announced today the completion of a stock offering for Indonesia-based PT Ultrajaya Milk Industry Trading Company Tbk (ULTJ.IJ), the leading dairy and Aseptic/UHT beverage manufacturer in Indonesia. Decker assisted its local partner SucorInvest, a leading Indonesian broker who led the transaction with Decker providing foreign fund interest from Singapore. Hong Kong, USA and Europe. SucorInvest was able to help Ultrajaya in the successful private placement of 197,000,000 shares at IDR 4,000 per share raised approximately $60 million. The placement was priced at a 2.4% discount to the market price per share.



In addition to strong local participation in the deal, the placement was also subscribed to by a select group of global funds through Decker. The placement increased the free float to approximately 80%, supporting improved market liquidity in the stock. Ultrajaya's founder, who remains actively involved in the business, agreed to sell shares in the company to make the offering possible.



Founded in 1975, Ultrajaya is headquartered in Bandung and has a strong presence in the UHT Milk and RTD Tea categories. With top rated brands like Ultra Milk and Teh Kotak, the company dominates its market segments with close to a 60% market share. Ultrajaya also produces and markets Sweetened Condensed Milk and has a fast growing line of Health Beverages which include Sari Asem Asli and Sari Kacang Ijo. In 2014, Ultrajaya announced a joint venture with Japanese beverage manufacturer ITO EN to form ITO EN ULTRAJAYA in Jakarta for the purpose of combining the best Japanese tea with the marketing and distribution strength of Ultrajaya in Indonesia. Ultrajaya is well positioned to benefit from increased consumer spending on quality health drinks in Indonesia in the years to come.



Commenting on its participation in the transaction, Decker & Co. founder and CEO Mark Decker said, "We are excited to participate in transactions where we bring placements of high quality companies from around the region and were privileged to assist our local partner SucorInvest in offering Ultrajaya shares to our global fund manager clients.



"We remain focused on building relationships with dynamic, high-quality local brokers like SucorInvest. We also continue to meet with quality companies throughout the region and are on pace to meet with more than 300 companies this year.



"The key takeaway from the Ultrajaya transaction is the continued interest by global funds in high-quality companies," Decker said. "Yet despite this interest from global fund managers, there have only been six transactions in Southeast Asia this year. Decker is pleased to have been involved with two of them. We continue to focus on bringing quality companies in the $1 billion market cap range and anticipate seeing additional transactions in the future given global investors' keen interest in quality names."



ABOUT DECKER & CO

Decker & Co. is the leading Emerging and Frontier Asia specialist broker in the U.S. Decker & Co. partners with leading local brokers in each market to provide U.S. institutional investors unparalleled access to the best local research and listed corporates. The firm's principals have been among the leading experts in Asian markets since the 1990s. The firm's clearing partner is Broadcort, a division of Bank of America Merrill Lynch. Learn more at www.deckerco.com.



SAFE HARBOR

The information in this release may be based on management forecasts and reflects prevailing conditions and our views as of this date, all of which are accordingly subject to change. Past performance is not an indication of future performance.



Source: Decker & Co.

Contact: Jody Lowe, The Lowe Group, (414) 777-1880



# # #
ORLANDO, FL, August 05, 2016 /24-7PressRelease/ -- The Law Firm of Michael T. Gibson, P.A. (www.autojusticeattorney.com) sponsored a mission trip to bring the Ministerio Teatro Rodante or mobile theater ministry to several communities in the Dominican Republic this summer. In addition, the firm generously donated food and school supplies to children in need in the surrounding communities.



"My greatest hope with this sponsorship is that the ministry was able to bring joy to the children throughout the communities in the Dominican Republic and the donations aid in their education and well-being this coming school year," said the firm's Managing Partner, Michael T. Gibson.



The Ministerio Teatro Rodante visited Villa Hermosa, Savica and Palo Blanco. A community event was held at each location with free movies for the children in the area. The ministry was able to provide food and school supplies donated by the Law Firm of Michael T. Gibson to approximately 300 children during the mission.



The Orlando-based personal injury law firm of Michael T. Gibson, P.A., is dedicated to cases involving auto accidents, nursing home abuse claims, premises liability and slip and falls. The firm also represents consumers and individuals in insurance disputes of all types. Attorney Michael T. Gibson's practice is grounded in his family's experiences. Having witnessed his own mother suffer through a horrific auto accident, he has personal experience fighting a large insurance company to obtain justice. He brings this experience along with his legal skills and training into every case he handles. Mr. Gibson is also the author of "Your Complete Guide to Florida Auto Accident Claims." Those interested in obtaining a free copy of his book, can download it on the firm's website. For more information, visit http://www.autojusticeattorney.com or call 1-855-What-Next (1-855-942-8639). Se habla Espanol.



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Elizabeth Anderson in Boston Review:

Uniquely among the worlds rich countries, the United States lacks a comprehensive, universal social insurance system. This is largely due to ideological opposition by Republican Party elites. It took nearly seventy years for Democrats to achieve the expanded, still-less-than-universal coverage provided by the Affordable Care Actagainst unanimous Republican opposition. Republicans have continued to sabotage the ACA, successfully blocking the extension of Medicaid coverage in nineteen states. The GOPs primary plan for Medicare is to shift costs to the elderly. It has resisted full funding of Social Security Disability Insurance and insists that the only acceptable plan for ensuring the financial stability of Social Security is to cut benefits. Meanwhile, thirty-three states, nearly all GOP-led, have cut workers compensation programs since 2003, often drastically.

What accounts for this extreme hostility to social insurance? Social Security and Medicare are popular programs, even among the GOPs base. Republican leaders, however, tend to think of social insurance as a socialist or communist scheme designed to undermine private property and free markets. Their arguments can be traced to Austrian economist Friedrich Hayek, whose 1944 book The Road to Serfdom warned that the emerging social democratic regimes of Europe were stepping onto a slippery slope to totalitarianism. Adapted into an illustrated booklet distributed widely by General Motors in the mid-1940s, The Road to Serfdom has fueled American opposition for decades now. Ronald Reagan, probably inspired by Hayek, made a recording opposing Medicare for the American Medical Association in 1961, predicting that it would lead to the state dictating to people what jobs they must perform and where they must live and work.

The ironies here are rich. Conservative criticisms of social insurance reflect profound misapprehensions of its relation to private property. Social insurance, in both theory and practice, arose in defense of private property and against communist and socialist threats. Exploring these origins is essential now because they contain important lessons that will help us strengthen social insurance to meet the challenges of post-industrial capitalism.

Thomas Paine, the great American revolutionary, proposed the worlds first realistic plan to abolish poverty. What he devised were universal social insurance and stakeholder grants, outlined in the 1797 pamphlet Agrarian Justice. (The relation of this work to later programs is not lost on the Social Security Administration, which reproduces the text on its website.)

More here.
Rachel Toor in the Chronicle of Higher Education:

Steven Pinker is about as close as you can come to being an academic celebrity. The Harvard professor of psychology has written seven books for a general readership in addition to his scholarly work, which is wide-ranging. Pinker frequently writes about language for The New York Times, The Guardian, Time, and The Atlantic, and also tackles subjects such as education, morality, politics, bioethics, and violence.

All of which makes him a prime candiate for this Q&A series, Scholars Talk Writing.Listing all his honors and awards could cause us mere mortals to feel inferior; you can find them on his website, Stevenpinker.com (where youll also see that he has a great head of hair).

Perhaps the most important thing for writers from across the disciplines to know about Pinker is that he has a recent book: The Sense of Style: The Thinking Persons Guide to Writing in the 21st Century, which should be required reading. (An excerpt can be found here.)

Who are the writers who influenced you in terms of your own prose?

Pinker: Since many people are under the misconception that you have to write badly in academia to be taken seriously, Ill just mention some renowned scholars in my own field whom I read as an undergraduate and who were sparkling prose stylists

More here.
Should you find yourself sitting in bumper to bumper on Napa's Highway 29 and feeling like a schmuckthis parade of tour buses isn't for a savvy local such as yourselfveer off toward the northeastern hills of Chiles Valley. In this sub-district of Napa Valley, cooler temperatures and higher elevation make for distinctive wines, and the handful of unpretentious family-owned wineries offer experiences so pure, you'll want to keep them a secret.





Volker Eisele Family Estate

Volker Eisele Family Estate was among the earliest Napa Valley vineyards to adopt organic farming practices, all the way back in 1974. The family's dedication to the land and mission to grow high-quality fruit is instantly apparent when you join a walking tour of the picturesque 400-acre estate. Depending on the time of year, you'll get a hands-on lesson in suckering the vines and get to taste and compare different varietals of grapes. Then, kick back for a private wine tasting in the historic 1800s winery. // Volker Eisele Family Estate, 3080 Lower Chiles Valley Rd. (St. Helena); by appointment, volkereiselefamilyestate.com

(Courtesy of Nichelini Family Winery)

Nichelini Family Winery

Established in 1890, Nichelini is Napa Valley's oldest family-owned winery, now six generations and counting, with a saucy historythe original stone winery operated secretly throughout Prohibition and still stands today on the edge of Sage Canyon Road. If the weather is nice, walk down to Nichelini's lush oasis of picnic tables and bocce courts, where the tasting bar is built beneath an enormous antique Roman wine press. The Nichelini family sources some of their grapes from 70-year-old vines and still makes a couple of California classics rarely seen today in Napa Valley, including like Primitivo and Muscadelle. // Nichelini Family Winery, 2950 Sage Canyon Rd. (St. Helena); appointments necessary on weekdays,nicheliniwinery.com





(Courtesy of RustRidge Winery & BnB)

RustRidge Winery & BnB

Animal lovers are bound to dig RustRidge, which is part winery and part ranch with an abundance of friendly felines, rambunctious labradors, and thoroughbred horses (don't forget to pack some apples). It's also part B&B, so you can turn a tasting stop into a chill country getaway. RustRidge visitors often enjoy the rare privilege of tasting with the owner and winemaker themselves, who might just offer you a sample of a new blend in the works. Take your vino out to Poppy's Platform for panoramic vineyard views. // RustRidge Winery & BnB, 2910 Lower Chiles Valley Rd., (St. Helena); by appointment, rustridge.com





(Courtesy of Brown Estate)

Brown Estate

The least rustic of the Chiles Valley bunch, Brown Estate is run by a family grape growers from Panama and Jamaica and who together have spent the past 35 years turning an overgrown ghost ranch into today's impressive estate. Known for their total mastery of zinfandel, Brown offers an hour-long tour through the estate's charming grounds, including a unique honeycomb cave, finishing in the tasting room that's housed in an elegantly refurbished barn. Sip fine zins, each paired with a cheesy delicacy. // Brown Estate, 3233 Sage Canyon Rd. (St. Helena); by appointment, brownestate.com





(Courtesy of Green and Red Vineyard)

Green & Red Vineyard

Smaller than a studio apartment, this unassuming tasting room sits on the only level ground of Green & Red Vineyards' 200 acres, where breathtaking mountains serve as the backdrop for sipping noteworthy and affordable zins. Named for its rust-hued iron soils veined with emerald serpentine, Green & Red sources grapes from three vineyards on the property, each with different elevations ranging from 1,000-1,800 feet. If you're lucky, owner and winemaker Jay Heminway, who was one of the first to grow grapes in this valley in the early 1970s, may take you for a ride up to Tip Top Vineyard where, on a clear day, you can spy a view of the city. Green & Red hosts only three tastings per week, so plan ahead. // Green & Red Vineyards, 3208 Chiles Pope Valley Rd. (St. Helena); by appointment, greenandred.com
Still Out There

* Designates a Movies for Grownups Editors Choice

Absolutely Fabulous: The Movie

Jennifer Saunders and Joanna Lumley return for a big-screen sequel to their long-running British sitcom, starring as a pair of hard-drinking, bad-mannered publicists. On the run after apparently killing Kate Moss (it was an accident!), they encounter dozens of star cameos. FULL REVIEW

* The BFG

Oscar winner Mark Rylance (Bridge of Spies) brings a ton of heart to the titular character, a Big Friendly Giant. Director Steven Spielberg expertly balances his appetite for sentiment with author Roald Dahls rascally sense of delightful danger. FULL REVIEW

* Cafe Society

Woody Allens latest, the story of a young New York man (Jesse Eisenberg) trying to remake himself in 1930s Los Angeles, starts out as a love letter to the Golden Age of Hollywood, then morphs into a meditation on life choices and regrets. Steve Carell is blustery at first, then appealingly melancholy as the heros talent-agent uncle. FULL REVIEW

Captain Fantastic

Viggo Mortensen is splendid as a latter-day Thoreau who raises six children in a Pacific Northwest forest, hectoring them about the superiority of their lifestyle compared with us space-age softies. After a while, though, the backwoods boasting starts to chafe like wood chips in your hiking boots. FULL REVIEW

* Finding Dory

Ellen DeGeneres leads an A-list of veteran stars  including Albert Brooks, Ed ONeill, Diane Keaton and Eugene Levy  giving voice to the endearing aquatic characters in Pixars latest animated masterpiece. There are laughs aplenty, but also  as in every Pixar epic  moments of poignance and beauty. FULL REVIEW

* Ghostbusters

Paul Feig (Bridesmaids) remakes the Gone With the Wind of supernatural comedies, this time with an all-female cast of ghost hunters: Melissa McCarthy, Kristen Wiig, Leslie Jones and Kate McKinnon. Look for appearances by original stars Bill Murray, Sigourney Weaver, Dan Aykroyd and Ernie Hudson. FULL REVIEW

* The Infiltrator

Bryan Cranston disappears into yet another character  this time a U.S. customs official who goes undercover in 1980s Miami to trap Colombian drug lord Pablo Escobar. John Leguizamo costars as his streetwise partner. FULL REVIEW

Jason Bourne

Matt Damon returns nearly 10 years after last playing author Robert Ludlums amnesia-stricken secret agent, and like the characters past, this update is instantly forgettable. The film adopts a determinedly humorless attitude: You know when the only guy who cracks a smile in the whole two hours is poker-faced Tommy Lee Jones, its one grim affair.

The Jungle Book

This live-action version of the 1967 Disney cartoon is about as close to Kiplings literary classic as Angry Birds is to Audubons Birds of America. Still, the computer animation is jaw-dropping, and Bill Murray enjoys himself as the voice of Baloo the Bear.

The Legend of Tarzan

After 98 years of movie Tarzans, theyre still coming up with new stories for the original swinger. Alexander Skarsgard plays Tarzan this time, returning from his adopted home of London to set things right in his old jungle digs. Christoph Waltz and Samuel L. Jackson costar.

The Secret Life of Pets

Albert Brooks, Laraine Newman, Louis C.K. and Dana Carvey are among the familiar voices in this animated tale of how the critters will play when the masters away.

Star Trek Beyond

Youd think by now they would have run out of places where no man has gone before, but in the 13th big-screen adaptation of the 1960s TV series, Captain Kirk (Chris Pine), Mr. Spock (Zachary Quinto) and company find themselves stranded on an unknown planet. There are, of course, bad guys hiding up there in the rocks.
As an actor on CSI: NY, I'd often get invited to address school groups, primarily because of my educational background. I was struck by how many of our young people are not finishing high school. I met teenagers who wouldn't consider planning for the future, because they felt they didn't have one: They assumed they'd either be incarcerated or dead by 19. In too many communities, our schools are failing our kids, and gun violence and incarceration rates are soaring. How could I  or anyone else, for that matter  look in the mirror and not try to do something about it? That's what motivated me to write books addressed to these young people, Letters to a Young Brother and Letters to a Young Sister. I want our young men and women to know how much they can achieve, if they have a plan and the discipline to stick to it, and if they know how to seek out the help they need  that we all need.

But books and speeches can only do so much, so I started the Manifest Your Destiny Foundation (MYD). At schools in Los Angeles and Washington, D.C., we work with groups of underserved youths. We teach them about all aspects of well-being: mental and physical health, academics, finances and self-esteem building. So far, we've worked with more than 200 kids, and each one has made it through high school. My dream is to spread our program nationwide.
Get to know the candidates seeking three spots on Brown Co. Commission

Four people are running for the three four-year seats on the Brown County Commission. Here's a little more about each candidate.
Documents stemming from an investigation into the shooting death of a Native American woman by an Arizona police officer describe a chaotic scene in which witnesses say the officer repeatedly told the woman to drop the scissors in her hand before he opened fire.

Officer Austin Shipley was nearly three hours into his shift on March 27, and operating on about four hours of sleep after working the night before when he responded to a report of shoplifting at a Circle K in Winslow, according to the Arizona Department of Public Safetys full investigative report.

In the report released Wednesday, Officer Ernest Cano told investigators he arrived on the scene and saw Shipley fighting and struggling with the 27-year-old suspect, Loreal Tsingine, before taking her to the ground.

Police video of the encounter shows Tsingine getting up, and then approaching Shipley with scissors in her hand, pointed downward, before she is shot.

I went to grab her and try to put her hands behind her back; she started pulling away from me, Shipley told the other officer in a conversation an investigation indicates was captured on police video. I tried to pull her to the ground, she fell to the ground. Thats when she came up with those scissors right there, so I tried just to push her, shove her away, when you rolled up.

The shooting has prompted protests by Native American activists who question Shipleys use of force in the encounter. The case has also led the U.S. Justice Department to open a review of the states investigation amid complaints from tribal officials over the treatment of Native Americans in towns such as Winslow that border their reservation.

The outcry over the small-town shooting comes as activists in major U.S. cities protest fatal police shootings of black men.

Earlier this month, a county attorney cleared Shipley in the shooting, saying a review of the documents determined he felt his life and that of Canos were threatened.

A Mesa Police Department internal affairs investigation is pending as he remains on paid administrative leave.

Documents previously released by Winslow officials show that two officers who trained Shipley had serious concerns about his work and that one of them recommended he should not serve the city as an officer.

Tsingines relatives have filed a $10.5 million notice of claim against the city, saying Shipley violated Tsingines civil rights and that Winslow was negligent in hiring, training, retaining, controlling and supervising Shipley.

Records show Tsingine had a lengthy arrest history, including an incident last year when she was accused of trying to grab an officers gun as he tried to arrest her.

On the day she was killed, Tsingine had been to the Circle K store five times, said a store manager who complained to authorities that Tsingine had taken beer on one visit, and thrown cash at the register as she took a lighter.

During her last visit, she attempted to take several packs of cigarettes, and walked out of the store with a hot dog, prompting the manager to call police, the manager said.

Ryanle Benally, who was at the cash register when Tsingine walked out with the hot dog, followed her from the store as a police vehicle approached, saying he wanted another person who was with him and whose name is redacted in investigative documents to see what happens when you steal.

After Shipley got out of his vehicle, Benally said he saw him grab Tsingine by the wrist, maneuver her to the ground and yell stop resisting. The officer backed away as Tsingine approached him, and then he fired five times, Benally said.

In another witness account, a woman who lived nearby said Tsingine charged Shipley like a linebacker, despite her petite frame.

Autopsy results released with the Arizona Department of Public Safetys report showed Tsingine stood just 5 feet tall and weighed 100 pounds.

Shipley didnt use a stun gun because he felt Tsingine was too close to him to use it and it was not the right level of force for the situation, he said.

The autopsy for Tsingine shows she was shot twice on the right side of her chest, and twice in the back. One bullet grazed her hand. There appeared to be alcohol in her system but no drugs.
SANTA FE  The New Mexico Department of Health came under fire Thursday for its handling of a backlog of applications for medical marijuana identification cards, with one Democratic senator suggesting the agency could face court sanctions in the case of a lawsuit and the state auditor calling the situation a public health emergency.

The average time for processing a medical marijuana ID card is now 43 days, continuing to exceed the 30-day limit set by state law, according to DOH.

But an agency spokesman said the department is making progress in processing a surge of requests for the state-required ID cards  both from new patients and those seeking renewals.

We take our mission to provide safe access to medicine for New Mexicos qualified medical cannabis patients seriously, agency spokesman David Morgan said.

However, although the agency submitted a written update to members of the interim legislative committee that met Thursday at the state Capitol, no DOH officials actually showed up at the hearing.

That prompted sharp criticism from Democratic lawmakers  just one Republican committee member attended the hearing  and several medical cannabis patients and growers.

Its obvious the Department of Health is not putting the focus on the patient, said Sen. Nancy Rodriguez, D-Santa Fe, vice chairwoman of the interim Disabilities Concerns Subcommittee.

Things do have to change  and they will, she added during a later stage of Thursdays hearing.

The number of people enrolled in New Mexicos medical marijuana program, which was launched in 2007 has skyrocketed in recent years  from roughly 14,000 a year ago to 26,568, as of June.

Most of those patients have been diagnosed with either post-traumatic stress order or severe chronic pain, which are among the nearly two dozen qualifying conditions under which patients are eligible for medical cannabis identification cards.

Current state law requires the Department of Health to approve or deny an application for ID cards within 30 days of receipt. The cards expire one year after being granted, so qualified patients must go through the renewal process annually.

The Department of Health has struggled to meet the 30-day deadline, but DOH spokesman Morgan told the Journal that the agency has taken recent steps to address the issue.

The 43-day average time for processing a medical marijuana ID card is down from 60 days in June, Morgan said.

He also said the department has doubled the number of full-time employees working on processing applications  from four to eight workers  and has three temporary employees helping out.

Asked why no agency officials showed up to the hearing, Morgan said that agency officials intend to take part in a separate legislative hearing on the matter later this month and that it would be a challenge to have to appear before two legislative committees in one month.

Meanwhile, the states auditor and attorney general are looking into the backlog, and state Auditor Tim Keller on Thursday called the situation a public health emergency.

The auditor, a Democrat, testified that the Department of Health has treated the issue as more of a bureaucratic headache than an emergency, saying, Its been a slow sweeping under the rug of this issue.

Keller also said the backlog, if not fixed, could lead to negative audit findings that would put the state at risk of potentially costly lawsuits.

That led to Sen. Cisco McSorley, D-Albuquerque, saying the Department of Health could possibly be held in contempt and its Cabinet secretary, Lynn Gallagher, jailed for failing to comply with the law.

Another legislator, Sen. Gerald Ortiz y Pino, D-Albuquerque, said lawmakers could pursue some changes to the states current medical marijuana laws during next years 60-day legislative session, including the annual ID card renewal requirement.

And Sen. Rodriguez, the subcommittees vice chairwoman, said the Department of Healths recent steps are not enough.

The law says 30 days  not 43 days, she said. To me, thats a violation of the law.
The Albuquerque Isotopes are among the 2016 New Mexico Humanitarian Award winners announced this week by the Jewish Community Center of Greater Albuquerque, which established the awards program in 2008 to honor individuals and organizations that have given back to the community.

For more than 13 years, the Albuquerque Isotopes, led by owners Mike Koldyke and Ken Young, and General Manager John Traub, have become one of the most well-respected organizations in the city, and have demonstrated an incredible commitment to the community through support for education and numerous charitable causes, according to JCC Executive Director David Simon.

The Isotopes management has used the ballpark to generate an average of $200,000 a year for charitable causes in the community, particularly literacy and education programs, said Simon.

Also singled out for Humanitarian Awards were Adelmo Del Archuleta and Diane Harrison Ogawa.

Archuleta, chief executive officer for the Molzen Corben engineering firm, is being recognized for his vision, purpose, commitment to education and economic development, as well as his leadership with several nonprofits and civic organizations for more than 40 years, said Simon.

He has served on the boards of United Way, Explora museum, Presbyterian Healthcare Services, the New Mexico state Board of Finance, as president of the New Mexico Board of Education and was a three-time board chairman of the Greater Albuquerque Chamber of Commerce.

Ogawa, executive director of Public Service Company of New Mexico Resources Foundation, is being recognized with the Common Good Investing Humanitarian Award for socially responsible investing in support of humanitarian purposes. The award is sponsored by the Bank of America/Merrill Lynch Albuquerque.

She has supported causes and projects focusing on environmental awareness, education, economic development and economic disparity. She has also invested more than 500 volunteer hours each year in support of numerous nonprofits, Simon said.

Ogawa has been president of the Albuquerque Community Foundation, sat on the boards of St. Martins Hospitality Center, the Golden Apple Foundation, the CNM Foundation and the Junior League of Albuquerque, helped organize the New Mexico Collaboration to End Hunger and co-founded the United Ways Center for Nonprofit Excellence.

The Harold B. Albert Community Service Award will be presented to Melvin and Paula Schwartz. The couple has played a leading role in nearly every major Jewish organization in New Mexico and donated the property now serving as Hillel House at the University of New Mexico. Paula is currently working on a feature-length documentary about the Jews of New Mexico, titled Challah Rising in the Desert.

The Harold B. Albert Community Service Award is named for one of the prime movers behind the establishment of the JCC and recognizes exemplary service to the Jewish community.

The presenting sponsor of the Humanitarian Awards is Dreamstyle Remodeling.
Ann Randolph has seen her share of ups and downs, some of her own making, some stemming from fate.

Consider this: She was taking classes with people like Will Ferrell and performing at The Groundlings in Los Angeles, considered by many to be a launchpad to Saturday Night Live.

But then she quit, even though it seemed to be pointing her in the direction she long dreamed of taking.

That was a huge turning point, she said. Carol Burnett and Gilda Radner had been my heroes.

But comedy wasnt enough. She wanted the addition of pathos, the funny but heartbreaking stories she had mined in her years working with residents of a mental health institution and down-on-their-luck women in a homeless shelter.

I felt I was cheapening their stories just doing comedy, Randolph said in a telephone interview. I could hear their voices, Im much more than a three-minute comedy sketch, and Speak my truth.'

Randolph is going to reveal how their stories taught her how to tell her own story in Inappropriate in All the Right Ways, a one-woman show shell be presenting 7:30 p.m. Monday at the Adobe Rose Theatre. This performance is in conjunction with a weeklong workshop near Santa Fe shes conducting with Tanya Taylor Rubinstein to help others learn how to write and perform their own stories.

As a matter of fact, after her own performance on Monday, shell invite audience members to tell their life stories in one or two minutes in a boo-yay style she gleaned from an old Arthur Godfrey song that summarized the ups (yay!) and downs (boo!) one encounters over the years.

And Randolph, just like the rest of us, has had her share.

She left the straight comedy route for longer theatrical shows, many of which she was told were inappropriate for regional theaters and their audiences, whom theater managers feared might not be able to tolerate stories of people like the crack whore she included in one of her shows, Squeeze Box.

But then actress Ann Bancroft saw the show, told her husband, Mel Brooks, he had to see it, and then the two went for a movie option and helped produce the show, taking it to performances on 42nd Street in New York City. Ann said she wanted to play that crack whore, Randolph said.

From her $8-per-hour job working at a homeless shelter in California, Randolph periodically was whisked to New York to present her show to people such as Liam Neeson and Chevy Chase to critique and help her fine-tune the performance. When the comedy couple deemed the show ready to open in New York, it did  but with a different producer and a hold placed on the film plans after Bancroft was diagnosed with cancer.

Brooks still took out ads and did some publicity, chatting up interviewers with comments about Randolph such as, She plays many characters and shes brilliant at it, and This woman is so gloriously gifted  I wanted the world to see this (show).

Bancroft said she was bowled over by the show, which made her laugh, cry and think.

But the Brooks/Bancroft train to fame for Randolph ground to a halt, along with the well-reviewed show, with Bancrofts growing illness and then her death.

It was devastating. She was my friend and mentor, Randolph said. With no money and no work, Randolph at age 40 went back to live with her parents in Ohio.

She was close to her parents, so that was not a bad thing but, just around then, her mother had a stroke and her father was diagnosed with untreatable lung cancer. It was a beautiful thing, I was able to be with my father as he was dying.

Its something she wouldnt have been able to do if she had been busy with a successful show and pending movie, but she also mourned the loss of those dreams, along with the thoughts of when she no longer would have her mother, Randolph said. During that low point, a friend gave her a book of poems by Sufi mystic Rumi.

One, which especially struck her, told of a chickpea being boiled and asking, Why are you torturing me? Its answer, as it was swept back into the middle of the pot, essentially was: Im giving you more flavor, more character, Randolph said.

That inspiration helped get her writing again. Writing has saved my life over and over and over again, she said.

That spate of writing led to Loveland, a show about grief and loss that she named after her Ohio hometown, located between Dayton and Cincinnati. The San Francisco Examiner called it the best solo show in the city, and it toured nationally and internationally. Randolph also was named Best Solo Performer by LA Weekly.

A return to Santa Fe

The show she is bringing to Santa Fe opened last September in San Francisco.

But it wont be the first show she performed here.

Randolph, now 52, said she was in her 20s when she stopped in Santa Fe to visit a friend on her way to New York and her friend convinced her to present a solo show in the City Different. With an image in her head of performing outdoors with the Sangre de Cristos in the background, Randolph got permission from St. Bedes Episcopal Church to have her contractor boyfriend build a rustic stage on some property the church owned among the pinons.

When she realized she had no place for the audience to sit, she mentioned it to a good ol boy she ran into while hiking. No worries. It turns out he had some bleachers in his backyard that he delivered the next day to the performance site. I got my first review in the Albuquerque Journal, she said, of that show titled Betsy Loves Snap Beans.

That performance site, she added, now is covered with homes.

She ended up staying in Santa Fe for a year at that time after riding a bike up Canyon Road, seeing an Airstream trailer parked in a yard and leaving a note asking if she could stay in it. She got a call back from the guys living at the adobe mansion where it was parked, three professors at the Santa Fe Institute, who offered to let her move in with them. I didnt pay rent all the time I was there, she said.

My hope would be to come back to Santa Fe, Randolph said. My dream is to make a destination theater, where people can come to a show and then experience writing their own stories.

Im all about audience participation, she continued, adding that she loved Meow Wolf CEO Vince Kadlubeks TED talk in which he sang the praises of art that regular people can participate in.

Noting that she has been touring a lot, she said, I would really like to stay in one place.

Shes booked through January, but hopes to return here in April to see if theres a chance to make that dream a reality.
The benefits of school choice are clear. Professional educators agree it is no longer acceptable or beneficial to force all students into a one-size-fits-all system from kindergarten through high school.

Our diverse student population functioning at different levels requires novel approaches to teaching and reaching students.

The debate, rather, appears to have shifted from the value of high-quality alternative educational approaches to a fight over who gets more money.

Lets be very clear. Contrary to what many public charter schools opponents suggest, public charter schools do not take funds away from the public school system.

Charter schools are public schools and are not in competition with traditional public schools. The objectives are the same: to provide our children with the best public education possible.

If a parent chooses to transfer his or her child from one traditional public school to another or to a public charter school, the funding will follow that student. This is the case when students transfer from a public charter school to a traditional school, as well.

Opponents of parental public school choice have presented a controversial proposal to impose a moratorium on public charter schools in New Mexico. This proposal is fueled by gross misinformation regarding how public charter schools are funded, and the actual cost per student between charters and traditional public schools.

As noted in a recent Albuquerque Journal editorial, the Legislative Education Study Committee report erroneously states that public charter schools receive almost $1,100 per student more than traditional public schools. If you want to accurately and honestly compare student funding, you must look at all public funding that goes to traditional public schools (including property taxes) and public charter schools.

What the LESC fails to acknowledge is that public charters must pay for their facilities out of these funds, while traditional schools do not.

Traditional public schools receive tens of millions of additional dollars for capital expenditures, from initial construction through long-term maintenance. Public charters also do not have the huge central office administration to go to for help.

Unlike traditional public schools, each public charter is responsible for its own human resources, accounting and other administrative functions.

Why do we want public charter schools? Because they are free to use innovation and new ideas to reach students.

Public charter schools reshape public education to meet individual students needs, especially where traditional public schools may have been unable to reach or challenge them.

The New Mexico Coalition for Charter Schools and our member schools promote excellence, but we also strive for accountability. We firmly stand behind the principle that public schools, traditional or charter, must be evaluated, that they meet open and fair performance standards, and that poor performing schools be targeted for improvement and, if they fail to provide a quality education for kids, that they be closed.

This also means high performing schools should be replicated to meet the needs of additional kids. In other states, public charter schools are looked to for new models of education delivery and successful ones are modeled by traditional public schools.

We support efforts to improve all public schools, and hold all of our school leaders accountable for results and professionalism. Charters are open to evaluations and we continue to want to be judged by the same standards as traditional public schools.

The truth is we can expand charters within the current budget and we should aggressively do so.

The politicizing of public charter schools is done at the expense of thousands of kids and their families directly, as well as the future of New Mexico indirectly.

Opponents to charters offer only one solution  additional funding to the status quo. Studies too numerous to mention promote the need for educational reform, to change the way education is functioning in our state.

Charters have raised the bar for success in the state while still being accountable, student-focused and far more cost-effective than many traditional public schools.

A moratorium on student achievement serves no one.
WASHINGTON  Jeff Flake and Mike Pence were the best of friends.

Both men ran conservative free-market think tanks before getting into politics and both were elected to the House in the Republican class of 2000. Both were affable young lawmakers, happy warriors inspired by Ronald Reagan.

Covering Congress, I came to know and admire both of them. Pence in 2012 went home to Indiana as governor. Flake won election to the Senate the same year.

He was my closest friend during my time in the House and I still see him whenever he comes to D.C., Flake told me this week. I think a lot of Mike.

But, in recent weeks, the two friends made very different choices. Flake became, arguably, the most outspoken critic of GOP presidential nominee Donald Trump among elected Republicans. And Pence agreed to be Trumps running mate.

The two met in Phoenix on Tuesday night. Pence had come to speak at a rally and hold a fundraiser for the Republican ticket. Flake declined to attend either. The two men and their wives met privately, avoiding politics. It was almost all family and memories, Flake told me.

Its becoming clear that Flake made the better choice. The Trump campaign seems to be imploding  and is likely to take down Pence and other Republicans who saluted Trump.

The attack on Gold Star parents. The botched statement about Ukraine. The refusal to support party leaders. His reckless remarks about the stock market and a rigged election.

The Republicans belatedly heading for the exits vindicate Flakes long and lonely stand against Trump. The senator welcomes the company.

I would have thought that it would have occurred earlier, he said. Its just the accumulation of it and, at some point, people say Thats enough.'

For all the ominous political developments, its worth pausing to remember that there are still good and courageous leaders  none more so in recent weeks than the self-effacing Mormon from Arizona. Somebodys got to push back and thats what Im doing, Flake said.

Earlier this month, Flake met Trump at a Senate Republican caucus lunch. Youve been very critical of me, Trump said. Yes, I have, Flake replied.

Trump threatened to work against Flake in November. Flake informed Trump that he isnt up for re-election until 2018.

Flake refused to attend the GOP convention, saying, Ive got to mow my lawn. During the convention, he took to Twitter to object to the Republicans lock her up attack on Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton.

When Trump proposed his ban on Muslims entering the country, Flake visited a mosque to highlight the contributions of Muslim Americans. Flake hailed McCains statement saying that Trump doesnt have an unfettered license to defame those who are the best among us.

Flake told me he gives a pass to McCain, Ryan and Pence for supporting Trump, but he acknowledged being surprised that more didnt join him sooner. His outspokenness has hurt him with donors and constituents. If youre looking at re-election, theres a clearer path not doing what Im doing, he said.

Flakes answer to his critics: Trump cant win and he could cause Republicans to lose the Senate, thereby offering no resistance to liberal Supreme Court nominees. But Flakes position is less a political one than a principled one. He said theres no excuse for Trump calling an Indiana-born judge Mexican and he said its a stake in the heart to see Republicans turn against immigration.

Flake thinks Republicans overpromising  for example, that they could repeal Obamacare  contributed to Trumps rise and hes not optimistic that Trumps defeat would fix things. Were inevitably going to have another autopsy, he said, and after again resolving to be more tolerant, some new populist will rise up and there we are again.

Pence, who has had pragmatic tendencies as governor, probably would have agreed with Flake, and perhaps he still does. Flake speculates that his friend thought he could influence Trump to take a more sensible course.

But time is running out and Pences imprint is yet to be seen. Theres little evidence, Flake said, that hes rubbed off on him.
The bulk of todays conventional corn ethanol carries grave risks to the climate, wildlife, waterways and food security.

 Natural Resources Defense Council

So much for the promise of ethanol saving the environment  now even the enviros are bailing.

For years, people outside the corn belt and green movement have questioned the true bottom-line value of ethanol. In 2012, New Mexico Gov. Susana Martinez joined the governors of Arkansas, North Carolina, Georgia, Texas, Virginia, Maryland, Delaware, Utah and Wyoming to ask the Environmental Protection Agency for a waiver from a 2005 renewable fuels law that required 13.2 billion gallons of ethanol be produced that year and 15 billion gallons by 2015.

The EPA denied the request, despite the increase in feed and food prices as corn was diverted from the food stream, despite the decrease in habitat as prairies were converted to cropland, despite the diversion of water to agriculture, a rise in agricultural runoff that made waterways dead zones and higher-than-expected carbon dioxide emissions.

Last month, Collin OMara, president of the National Wildlife Federation, told a House committee that the poorly thought out Renewable Fuel Standard has in fact wreaked severe, unintended consequences on the environment.

Wow. Huge negative unintended consequences from a massive government boondoggle based at the time on settled science. Imagine that.

And that turnaround from a segment that has long championed ethanol might finally get an RFS overhaul into gear. Rep. Peter Welch, D-Vt., is co-sponsoring legislation to revamp a program he says has truly been a flop.

The failed ethanol experiment should show lawmakers that any conversion needs to look beyond too green to be true dreaming and local politics for acceptable consequences and real, long-term benefits.

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

EL PASO  In a joint public address, top U.S. and Mexican diplomats called for greater cooperation during a U.S. political season in which rhetoric around border security and cross-border trade has often been active.

U.S. Ambassador to Mexico Roberta Jacobson and Carlos Sada, Mexicos ambassador to the U.S.  each sworn in to their posts in May  spoke about the importance of the two nations trade relationship.

Jacobson said trade and security are not mutually exclusive, while Sada said the countries should be building a lot of bridges and not walls.

Without mentioning his name, both ambassadors appeared to be taking aim at Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump, whose call for building a border wall and rethinking the North American Free Trade Agreement has ruffled some feathers in border communities like El Paso and Santa Teresa that depend heavily on binational trade.

Trump has said he wants to stop the unlawful flow of drugs and people to the U.S.

The ambassadors spoke at the Borderplex Alliance U.S.-Mexico Summit on Thursday.

About $1.6 billion in goods and services cross the U.S.-Mexico border daily, Jacobson said.

We know that trade between our countries strengthens our communities, strengthens our livelihoods and the rule of law, she said. All too often we hear only the negative voices. We hear only that the border isnt secure or that things are not going well. A community like yours, on both sides of the border, that understands and sees firsthand how trade benefits both countries and both citizenries has to be even more vocal right now when we have to push back against that negative narrative.

On average, 40 percent of the content of Mexican exports is produced in the United States, Sada said  evidence of how integrated the U.S. and Mexican manufacturing cycle is.

More than ever, we must unite in our efforts to show the positive outcomes, projects and benefits of our partnership as neighbors, he said. It is our job to highlight the importance of our continued interaction of building a lot of bridges and not walls.

New Mexico State University President Garrey Carruthers spoke at the summit and told the Journal that  some of the rhetoric right now is outrageous and outlandish, regarding border issues.

New Mexico Economic Development Secretary Jon Barela, who attended the summit, said the relationship with our southern neighbor is something a lot of people around the country dont understand.

New Mexicos exports to Mexico have surged over the past two years, according to the Department of Commerce  nearly doubling in 2014 to $1.6 billion and edging up to nearly $1.7 billion last year. The states exports to Mexico are tracking 40 percent higher in the first quarter of 2016 compared with the same period a year ago, according to the Santa Teresa-based Border Industrial Association.

Much of the export growth has been generated by businesses in Santa Teresa, the states fast-growing border industrial hub.

People in other parts of the country hear political rhetoric that does not accurately reflect the dynamic, economically speaking, and the vibrancy that exists along the border, Barela said. If you dont live here and you dont do business here along the border and you dont see it on a day-to-day basis, its hard to understand how job creation can be symbiotic.

Jacobson said, I do think we need to do a better job of explaining this relationship. Its one of the most important relationships on a daily basis to all Americans. And that should be pretty obvious, but its not. So we have to work that much harder to overcome misinformation.
SANTA FE  There will be another proposal in the mix when legislators resume their perennial discussion of whether and how to provide more state money for early childhood education.

State Land Commissioner Aubrey Dunn wants to create a new permanent fund, fed by revenue from leasing subsurface mineral acreage that the federal government would transfer to New Mexico.

He calls it a unique opportunity to grow the pie for education funding.

Under his plan, millions of unleased acres of federally owned minerals that are beneath private land would be shifted to the state. The State Land Office would lease them out  for oil and gas drilling, for example  with the revenue flowing into an Early Childhood Education Land Grant Permanent Fund.

Congress would have to approve the transfer of the minerals, and the state Legislature would have to pass a bill creating the fund.

Advocates have been pushing for years for the Legislature to endorse a constitutional change to increase the annual withdrawals from the states $14.6 billion Land Grant Permanent Fund for 10 years and funnel the extra money to early childhood programs.

Dunns proposal is somewhat akin to one promoted two years ago by his predecessor, Land Commissioner Ray Powell.

Powell had his eye on an estimated 1 million acres of federal lands that the Bureau of Land Management had designated for disposal; he wanted the feds to give the state a chunk of that surface acreage, so it could be leased for a variety of uses. The revenue would have fed a new early childhood education fund.

The Legislature approved $250,000 for Powells office to study and identify the best BLM land for the project, but Gov. Susana Martinez vetoed it.

A spokeswoman for Dunn said that, because the Powell proposal involved surface acreage, it could have hindered public access to the land, whereas Dunns plan would not affect public access.

Spokeswoman Emily Strickler also said the state would share royalties and other revenue from leases with the federal government for a 10-year period.

Allen Sanchez, the lobbyist for the states Roman Catholic bishops, said advocates of the constitutional change are very interested in Dunns proposal, although it would be a long-term solution that wouldnt provide immediate funding. Dunn, meanwhile, has agreed to take a closer look at the proposed constitutional change that will be introduced again in 2017, his spokeswoman said.

But among the hurdles for Dunns plan is the likely opposition of conservation and wildlife groups that see the proposal as a new twist on an ongoing effort to seize federal lands.

Leasing the lands to oil and gas interests will ultimately fence off and despoil those lands for future generations while worsening the effects of climate change, said Ben Shelton of Conservation Voters New Mexico.

John Crenshaw, president of the New Mexico Wildlife Federation, said the plan would set a West-wide precedent and negatively impact the national budget.
A large-scale mixed-use commercial and residential development has been proposed at a prominent location on Santa Fes south side, just southwest of the St. Francis Drive and Interstate 25 interchange.

Referred to as St. Francis South in documents filed with the city and county, the development would be located on 68.9 acres just outside the city limits between St. Francis Drive and the Santa Fe Rail Trail, and bordered by the interstate and Rabbit Road.

The preliminary plat and development plan for the property based a water budget for the project on a build-out of 150,000 square feet of office space to be used by 450 employees, 300,000 square feet of warehouse space and 120 employees, 50,000 square feet for a rehabilitation center, landscaping to include 5,000 trees and 5,000 shrubs, and 200 multi-family dwelling units.

Earlier this year, the Santa Fe County Commission denied a request for a master plan amendment that would have increased the residential density to 250 apartments or condos. The initial plans call for dividing the property into 22 mixed-use lots.

The agent for the development is JenkinsGavin Design and Development, Inc., a land-use consulting firm that often helps usher proposals through the process on behalf of land owners or developers.

Its an excellent location with high visibility. There are a multitude of uses that would work well there, said Jennifer Jenkins, one of the consulting firms owners.

Jenkins said the market will determine what would ultimately be built and there is currently no definite breakdown among various possible uses for the site.

There is a list of permissible uses in accordance with the approved master plan, she said. Nothing is planned. The key is to (first) get infrastructure and electricity.

Jenkins reiterated that what was listed for office, warehouse and residential uses on the more than 2-year-old water budget for the property was only conceptual.

But the development came one step closer to fruition Wednesday when the City Councils Public Utilities Committee approved an agreement between city government and Santa Fe County to connect water and sewer lines to the property.

The Memorandum of Understanding still needs approval from the respective governing bodies. Its scheduled to come before the citys Finance Committee on Aug. 15 before reaching the City Council on Aug. 31. A spokeswoman for the county said the earliest the MOU could be considered by the County Commission is at its Sept. 13 meeting.

The developments multi-family units could help ease the Santa Fe areas severe housing shortage. A recent survey conducted by the city government showed that Santa Fe, where more than half of the workforce commutes into town, was more than 2,000 residential dwellings short of demand.

Obviously, we need more housing, so that would help, City Councilor Chris Rivera, who chairs the Public Utilities Committee, said of the project. Its close enough to town that it could benefit both the city and Santa Fe County.

Not everyone is happy about the development. Residents of the area have spoken out against it during public hearings held by the county.

The Campo Conejos Homeowners Association, whose members live in a 75-lot subdivision in the area, outlined their concerns in a letter last November. The letter states that the density of the development was incompatible with the area and the development would become an undesirable presence by increasing traffic and lowering property values.

Links uncovered

Jenkins initially declined to disclose whom her company was representing with the development application, saying she didnt want to speak about the project without her clients permission. But she later confirmed that the name of the company is Vegas Verdes, LLC.

David Gurule, listed as operating manager of Vegas Verdes on county documents, did not return phone messages from the Journal. A company by that name does not come up on a search of corporations on the New Mexico Secretary of States website, nor does it have a business license with either the city or the county.

However, the county Assessors Office website shows that the property, officially listed at 199 Rabbit Road, is co-owned by Vegas Verdes, LLC and FFT, LLC. A memo of tenants-in-common agreement between the two was filed in the county clerks office in March 2014. It appears the property was purchased about the same time.

Sale prices for vacant land and commercial property are not recorded in the county Assessors Office. But the assessed value of this development site was $932,285, or about $13,500 per acre, on April 1, 2014, just a few weeks after the deed was recorded, and remains at that value today.

The Secretary of States website shows that John R. Fox is the registered agent for FFT, LLC. The West Marcy Street address listed for the company is occupied by the Sommer, Udall, Sutin law firm. Fox was a partner in the firm from 1991 to 2001 and is now president of Southwestern Title & Escrow, according to that companys website. Fox also did not return phone messages from the Journal.

Secretary of State records show that Fox is also listed as a director of Phase One Consulting, Inc., which appears to be connected to Phase One Realty, Inc., whose secretary/treasurer is David Gurule.

Connecting services

Jenkins said her client would be responsible for paying costs to install the water line, if the project is approved, although city-county MOU agreement states that all costs to connect the city and county water systems could be paid for by either the county or the developer. The county would bill and collect from customers within St. Francis South and remit the amount collected on a monthly basis until the infrastructure expansion charges are paid off.

The city would own the master water meter, vault and appurtenances, according to the agreement, and the county would own the part of the installed water system on the county side of the meter. The county would also own and operate the public sewer infrastructure up to the point of connection with the citys system.

But the county is not allowed to extend sewer or water services beyond the projects boundaries. The county is obligated to pay the city monthly service charges.

The countys request of the city to connect the infrastructure outside the presumptive city limits first gained approval of the Water-Wastewater Review Team, a panel made up of city and county staff, and formed as part of a 2008 settlement agreement between the city and county over annexation issues. The review team met in February and May, and determined the application was complete and met the necessary requirements.
Santa Fe is already short a few police officers, and one city councilor wants to make sure more vacancies on the force arent created by a recruiting effort underway by Albuquerque, the City Differents big neighbor to the south that is actually closer to home for many Santa Fe cops.

Councilor Ron Trujillo late last month introduced a resolution that directs City Manager Brian Snyder and the SFPD to work with the city Finance Department on a plan aimed at keeping officers working in Santa Fe, instead of transferring to the Albuquerque Police Department.

Trujillo says he has heard rumors that APD appears to be ready to offer heavy new incentives for officers to make the change. An APD spokesman acknowledged that a new set of hiring incentives will be announced soon.

Trujillos resolution will be discussed at the city Public Safety Committee meeting Aug. 16. If it passes there, it will move to the City Councils Finance Committee on Sept. 6 before heading to the full City Council, likely on Sept. 14.

Trujillo notes that dozens of Santa Fe officers already live in the Albuquerque metro area. According to SFPD Chief Patrick Gallagher, 35 SFPD officers live in Rio Rancho and another 18 live in Albuquerque. The department has 166 officers and is authorized for 178.

Officers get to use their patrol cars and city fuel to make the commute to work in Santa Fe, up to 60 miles one way for veterans who were grandfathered in under an old policy, and up to 45 miles for new hires under an agreement the City Council and police union struck in 2014.

APD spokeswoman Celina Espinoza said Thursday that the department plans to announce a new set of hiring incentives some time in the next week. The department is already offering a $5,000 hiring bonus and, for lateral hires  officers who transfer from other departments  100 hours of sick time and 120 hours of vacation time annually upon completing all necessary training.

Although she couldnt give specifics, Espinoza said she expects the new incentives to be greater than the current ones. APD has 855 sworn officers, but is allotted for 1,000 and has been pushing for recruits for months.

The goal is to never raid other departments, she said. We dont want to leave other chiefs and other departments wanting for police officers, but we know the applicant pool is small in New Mexico.

Trujillo said he has heard rumors that APD will offer up to $25,000 as a hiring incentive.

I want to at least be on top of this, Trujillo told the Journal on Thursday. If somebody entices them with that kind of money, we might lose them. Theres a good chance that some officers will leave with this incentive. I want the staff to come up with ways to keep them here.

Gallagher said he has met with SFPD staff internally to come up with a plan, but he said he hasnt met with Snyder or the Finance Department yet. He said he asked that the Finance Department be included in any planning, given the citys financial situation. Santa Fe faced a $15 million deficit for the current fiscal year that started July 1, and the council came up with a mix of budget cuts and new revenue generators  like higher parking rates  to create a balanced budget.

Gallagher said he hasnt heard of any officers who want to transfer to APD, and he said that transferring isnt as easy as it sounds.

(The money) sounds sexy, but its hard to move from one police department to another, he said. You have to learn all the new policies and procedures. Its stressful.

Still, Gallagher acknowledged that money is a huge motivator and that its important to have a plan to try to keep officers here in the face of incentives from other departments.

The officers here enjoy the department, but we all have our price and have to pay the bills, he said. Wed like to keep them, and I definitely appreciate the councilors forward thinking on this.
Outgoing state Environment Secretary Ryan Flynn said he has been contacted about job opportunities but will not interview for any position until after he leaves state government next week.

Ive had a number of people contact me when word started getting out that I was leaving, Flynn told the Journal during a phone interview from Farmington on Thursday. Im flattered Im being considered for or linked to certain positions. But I have not made any decisions about what I am going to do. I have not interviewed with anyone.

Flynn, 38, has served as state environment secretary for three years, a post that paid $125,000 annually. He was the Environment Departments general counsel from 2011 until 2013.

Last week, he released a statement saying he was resigning Aug. 12 and looking forward to spending more time with his family, which includes daughters ages 2 years and 4 months old. Flynn said he realizes that spending more time with my family is cliche and code for almost anything else, but that is exactly what motivated his decision.

It started to get hard to be in Carlsbad, in Las Cruces and (Washington) D.C., especially after my (younger) daughter was born in March, Flynn said. I told the governor in May I was going to transition on. He said he has no plans to leave New Mexico, but he definitely will be looking for another job.

Im young. I paid for my own college. I have kids. I need to work, he said.

Flynn was in Farmington on Thursday for a news conference on the eve of the one-year anniversary of the Gold King Mine spill.

It was one year ago today that an Environmental Protection Agency crew inadvertently unleashed 3 million gallons of water laced with heavy metals from the Gold King Mine north of Silverton, Colo. The polluted water poured into Cement Creek, which flows into the Animas River. The Animas carried the yellow-orange-hued plume of contaminants into New Mexico and into the San Juan River near Farmington.

Flynn listed his departments response to the spill  monitoring the polluted waters, which continues today, interaction with the affected communities, the filing of lawsuits against the EPA, mine owners and the state of Colorado  as among the efforts he is proudest of during his time as environment secretary.

Other achievements he mentioned include negotiating a $74 million settlement with the Department of Energy for the accidental release of radiation at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant near Carlsbad and getting the department on good financial standing.

But he said he is most proud of the part he played in starting the clean up of a fuel leak on Albuquerques Kirtland Air Force Base. The leak was discovered in 1999 but extraction of contaminated groundwater did not start until June 2015.

I went down there the first day I was appointed secretary, he said. It was a mess, just fits and starts not going anywhere. But everybody really came together. It has been a good model. Im proud of the small role I got to play in pushing that project forward.
New Mexico State Police arrested the former superintendent of the Mora Independent School District on Thursday evening for allegedly faking his credentials in order to get high-ranking positions, according to a State Police spokeswoman.

Sgt. Elizabeth Armijo said agents with the NMSP Investigations Bureau arrested Charles Trujillo, 43, in Albuquerque. He is charged with multiple counts of forgery and fraud and was going to be booked into the San Miguel County Detention Center. They had been working with the Public Education Department and the 4th Judicial District Attorneys Office in Las Vegas, N.M., to investigate Trujillo.

Armijo said State Police began investigating the former superintendent last October after the PED notified them of discrepancies in his personnel file.

The local newspaper, the Las Vegas Optic, first reported that Trujillo had faked education and work experience requirements on his resume to get an administrative license. He had served as the assistant superintendent in the Pecos school district before being hired to the $100,000-a-year position of superintendent in Mora in May 2015.

Trujillo resigned as superintendent in early November 2015.

Agents discovered Mr. Trujillo submitted multiple applications with fraudulent and falsified information in order to apply for and subsequently obtain job positions for which he was unqualified within the Pecos Independent School District and the Mora Independent School District, Armijo said. Mr. Trujillo also submitted forged licenses to obtain these positions indicating he had certifications and degree qualifications which he actually did not have.

From March 2013 to April 2014, Trujillo served as chief of the Public Education Departments Licensure Bureau, which is responsible for vetting the qualifications and issuing licenses to teachers, administrators and other instructional personnel in New Mexico.

After the allegations against him surfaced, the PED said a letter from the department verifying his credentials also appears to have been faked.
A judge penalized the city of Albuquerque this week for not releasing records to a former records custodian as part of the lawsuit he has filed against the city and its police department.

Second Judicial District Court Judge Alan Malott said in the order that the citys refusal to release the records demonstrates a lack of good faith warranting sanctions. He said the city has to produce copies of the records to Reynaldo Chavez and Tom Grover, his attorney, by Aug. 19 and pay $2,500 for Grovers fees.

Chavez had requested access to his old computer, an external hard drive and CDs he used when he was the police departments records custodian.

Grover said that Chavez is claiming he saved communications between himself and city and police officials in which Chavez was instructed not to comply with the states Inspection of Public Records Act.

City Attorney Jessica Hernandez said the city waited for a court order to copy and produce the records because other plaintiffs suing the city had made the same request.

While the city respectfully disagrees with the courts conclusions regarding the citys efforts, it will continue taking steps as it has from the beginning to properly preserve this evidence and will provide copies to requesting parties in a way that maintains the integrity of that evidence, Hernandez said.

Chavez was fired from the department in 2015 after he was put on leave for what police would only say was misconduct.

But Chavez claimed in his lawsuit that he was fired after raising concerns that the city was frequently violating IPRA by withholding documents from the public.

His lawsuit alleged that the city is still in possession of unreleased records from several high-profile cases, such as the shooting of James Boyd, the death of civil rights attorney Mary Han, the departments relationship with Taser International and the death of 21-year-old Ashley Browder, who died after the vehicle she was a passenger in was struck by an off-duty police officer who ran a red light.

The lawsuit also accuses the city of destroying surveillance records made of a protest against the police department

It said former Deputy City Attorney Kathryn Levy frequently stated simply there are items we just will not release and we will just pay the fines or lawsuits.  And that Chavez was instructed to come up ways to baffle people who were requesting records from the department.

Chavez is seeking unspecified damages, attorneys fees and other relief to be determined by the court.
LAS CRUCES  Members of the Las Cruces Public Schools Board of Education on Thursday discussed a letter sent to them by Rep. Steve Pearce, R-NM, offering his support in standing against recent U.S. Department of Education and Department of Justice guidelines pertaining to transgender students use of school bathrooms.

Pearces letter calls the action, yet another gross overreach by the Obama Administration, and he offers his full support to decide what is best for your schools and your students, even if that decision does not comply with this Administrations guidelines.'

Thanks, but no thanks, responded school board member Maury Castro.

The topic became a front-burner issue this week when the U.S. Supreme Court blocked a ruling by the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals which gave Gavin Grimm, a transgender boy, permission to use the public bathroom consistent with his gender identity. The Supreme Court will ultimately decide on the case, but the order suspends DOE and DOJ directives issued in May that schools treat a students gender identity as the students sex with regard to their bathroom and locker room policies.

The DOJ recently claimed that North Carolinas controversial HB2 legislation violated Title VII and Title IX of the Civil Rights Act, putting federal funding the state receives in jeopardy.

LCPS has a policy prohibiting discrimination on the grounds of gender identity, and the board has worked closely with Equality New Mexico to create Safe Zones for LGBTQ students.

LCPS spokeswoman Jo Galvan told board members the district has always addressed the needs of transgender students on an individual basis.

We talk to families about the needs of their child, Galvan said. More often than not, the nurses office bathroom is offered as an accommodation. We have kids already who are transgender. (As to locker rooms), they change somewhere else. So, individually, we have for many years been able to address that issue. But because there was a ruling from the president, it became a front-issue topic.

Galvan said she fielded numerous phone calls from parents who expressed concern over male students being allowed to use the girls bathrooms.

The board agreed it would continue with the practice of working closely with students and families to address the individual needs of each student. While no vote was taken, board members expressed their support for the districts current practice, and President Maria Flores recommended formalizing it by adding it to the districts regulations.

Finance update

The board also received an update from Chief Financial Officer Terry Dean on the districts budget outlook for the coming year. The district finished fiscal year 2016 with a cash balance of $10.6 million  $3.1 million more than Dean anticipated.

He said part of the savings came from the state Public Education Department agreeing to cover the cost of the districts PARCC testing, which saved $450,000. The district also saved money by discontinuing research services and underutilized software, which it no longer finds useful.

Dean previously said a cooler fall last year led to a savings of nearly $1 million in energy costs, and the district received about $250,000 more than anticipated from the federal eRate program, which subsidizes broadband internet connectivity for schools.

He said New Mexicos current budget deficit could signal choppy waters for the year ahead, particularly if the state Legislature decides in a special session to reduce funding for public schools.

It could mean a $4 million reduction in our budget  worst-case scenario, Dean said, adding that he felt it was unlikely.

Central Office shakeup

Interim Superintendent Steven Sanchez announced Crystal Valdez will take over as the districts chief financial officer on Sept. 1. Dean will retire on Aug. 31.

Sanchez also told board members former Mesa Middle School Principal Gabe Jacquez has been named associate superintendent for operations. That position has been vacant since June 2015, when Dane Kennon retired. Last year, Dean picked up the slack, serving as the districts CFO/COO.

Jacquez had been chosen to take over as principal of Lynn Middle School, which this year will become the districts first community school. Rey Gomez will now serve as interim principal of Lynn, and Jacquez will work closely with the community school project, Sanchez said.

An open house is scheduled for 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. Thursday, where the community school project will be discussed.

The board also heard updates on the ongoing community schools initiative, which is being spearheaded by Ngage New Mexico. Administrators told the board they havent yet heard the final results for the XQ: The Super School Project competition, but that LCPS design for Humanity High School is a finalist for the $10 million grant.

Damien Willis may be reached at 575-541-5468, dawillis@lcsun-news.com or @damienwillis on Twitter.



2016 the Las Cruces Sun-News (Las Cruces, N.M.)

Visit the Las Cruces Sun-News (Las Cruces, N.M.) at www.lcsun-news.com

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ALAMOGORDO  Public health professionals met with the community on Tuesday to discuss New Mexico raising the tax on alcohol.

The YMCA of El Paso/Southern New Mexico and the local health council invited Dr. Peter DeBenedittis, the director of Alcohol Taxes Save Lives and Money coalition, to speak to us about their efforts, said Holly Mata, local health professional. Specifically the impact on New Mexico of reducing alcohol consumption and reducing the problems associated with people drinking too much.

According to statistics from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, New Mexico leads the U.S. in alcohol attributable deaths and 16.4 percent of all deaths in New Mexico are caused by excessive drinking. The CDC reports that about one in six deaths among working age people in New Mexico are attributed to alcohol and includes violence, alcohol poisoning, motor vehicle crashes, liver failure, breast cancer and other fatal illnesses.

From a public health standpoint, raising alcohol taxes is a strategy recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the World Health Organization, Mata said. We know from a science standpoint that if theres one thing states could do to improve public health, in terms of reducing alcohol consumption, its raising taxes on alcohol.

Mata said alcohol taxes in New Mexico have not been raised since 1993 and alcohol taxes in Texas havent been increased since 1984. The Alcohol Taxes Save Lives and Money coalition believes now is the time to raise these taxes in an effort for public health as well as tax increase to balance the states budget. The Alcohol Saves Lives and Money coalition estimates that the proposed increase will generate $154 million in state revenues annually.

For decades, New Mexico has been No. 1 in alcohol-related deaths and thats not a No. 1 that we want, Mata said. I think the timing is good because we are trying to figure out ways in our state to meet economic needs and we really are long overdue for an alcohol tax increase.

Mata said the issue is not a question of will this tax increase improve public health, but rather an issue of New Mexicans thinking about whats really important.

The proposed increase will work by taxing the alcohol distributor, who will in turn raise prices of the alcohol for consumption. The proposed increase will raise alcohol by an estimated 25 cents per drink. Therefore a six-pack of beer would go up in price by $1.50.

About half of the population in New Mexico drinks, many people are surprised to find out that the other half doesnt drink at all, Mata said. Out of the other half, most people dont drink excessively. You only pay more if you drink more so many people wouldnt be affected by it at all. If the state is continuing tax increases, theyre probably considering them in other areas like gas or food. Given the choice, many people would rather see alcohol taxed.

The forum held in Alamogordo on Tuesday was also held in Las Cruces and Deming. Alcohol Taxes Save Lives and Money plan to present their proposed increase to legislators on the Health and Human Services committee session on Aug. 23 in Taos.



2016 the Alamogordo Daily News (Alamogordo, N.M.)

Visit the Alamogordo Daily News (Alamogordo, N.M.) at www.alamogordonews.com

Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

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Albuquerque police are searching for a woman who they say shot her boyfriend in the leg in Northeast Albuquerque and fled the scene Thursday night.

Police say the woman, Ranitra Howard, is armed and dangerous. They believe she may be in her silver 2005 Nissan Altima, license plate number NSD702, and officers asked anyone who spots her to call 242-COPS.

Officers were called to a shooting at an apartment in the 7800 block of Marble NE, near Lomas and Louisiana, around 11:30 p.m. Thursday, according to police spokesman Fred Duran.

Officers located a male victim with a single gunshot wound to the right leg, Duran said. He was transported to a local hospital and is expected to recover.

Officers learned the man had been fighting with Howard, his girlfriend, and she threatened the man with a knife and damaged the door to the apartment.

The man tried to leave but Howard armed herself with a gun and shot him, according to Duran.

The male reported she attempted to shoot him a second time in the head, however the weapon malfunctioned, Duran said.

She fled the scene before officers arrived.

Duran said she was on probation for armed robbery, kidnapping, aggravated residential burglary and conspiracy, but her probation has been revoked and officers issued an arrest warrant for her.
LAS VEGAS, NM  A man accused of preying on women released from the state psychiatric hospital has been charged with raping two more women.

The new charges against Benjamin Baca, 75, of Las Vegas, bring to four the number of women that Baca is accused of raping after they were released from the Behavioral Health Institute in Las Vegas and moved into area boarding homes.

He is charged with committing battery against a fifth woman and exposing himself to her. State prosecutors filed the additional charges Wednesday in Magistrate Court. Baca now faces 15 counts of criminal sexual penetration, five counts of criminal sexual contact, two counts of battery, one count of kidnapping and one count of indecent exposure.

At a preliminary hearing in the case scheduled for Tuesday in Magistrate Court, a judge will decide whether there is sufficient evidence to put Baca on trial. His attorney couldnt be reached for comment Friday.

Baca has been jailed since the initial charges were filed against him in March. A judge set bail at $100,000 cash only, in part because of his criminal history of violence and drugs. He pleaded guilty in 2000 to charges of aggravated assault against a household member and aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. He pleaded guilty in 2013 to possession of a controlled substance.

Baca is accused of forcing the four women to perform oral sex on him at his home or in his truck, sometimes while parked at a cemetery. Two women said Baca bought them cigarettes; a third said he gave her $20 to $30 and bought her sodas in exchange for oral sex.

For years, Baca cruised the streets of Las Vegas in a gray Ford pickup, befriending mentally ill women in boarding homes, according to managers of two homes.

According to a statement of probable cause filed in Bacas case Wednesday by prosecutors, the operator of a boarding home said a resident told her about three years ago that Baca had forced her to perform oral sex. Another boarding home manager told the Journal that she became concerned about Baca four or five years ago and told him to stay away from her residents.

The case against Baca presents challenges for the prosecution because of the mental illnesses of the women. The womens cognitive abilities are affected by their illnesses, according to the statement of probable cause filed in the case.
A group of business leaders is pressing the Legislature to continue supporting a state closing fund for economic development as lawmakers scramble to fill a huge budget hole.

The New Mexico Coalition for Jobs sent a letter Thursday to key lawmakers, asking them not to sweep Local Economic Development Act money into the states general fund.

The group says such a move would take New Mexico out of contention for future opportunities to improve the economy.

We want to get ahead of the curve (amid a looming special session) and point out

that these are revenue-producing programs unlike other state government outlays, said Terri Cole, president and CEO of the Greater Albuquerque Chamber of

Commerce, who is helping to spearhead the coalition, which represents 32 business, economic development entities and chambers of commerce.

The request comes as New Mexico wrestles with declines in the state general fund linked to falling oil prices. The state is confronting an estimated $159 million general-fund shortfall for the budget year that ended in June. State Sen. John Arthur Smith has warned that anywhere from $300 million to a half-billion dollars in projected state revenue could fail to materialize.

Since the governor has taken tax revenue increases off the table, we are very concerned that this program will be scaled back severely or, worst case scenario, be eliminated, said Cole.

In the letter, the organizations noted that New Mexico competes with other states when recruiting companies. Employers look for competitive incentive packages, and the availability of LEDA funding and other incentives can be the deciding factor, the letter states. That is why we encourage the Legislature to maintain the fund at $50 million and to make the fund recurring and non-reverting.

It goes on to say that even uncertainty about the availability of such funds can scare off potential recruits. New Mexico has missed out on other job creation opportunities when it didnt have LEDA dollars to pledge. We cant afford to take that risk again, it states.

The group also is concerned about the 2017 budget for the Job Training Incentive Program, which at $6 million is the second-highest amount granted in the last four years. The coalition also wants this to be a separate line item in the budget.

LEDA money, which flows through local governments, is generally used to help with land purchases, building improvements and other infrastructure needs sought by private companies. The fund has had recent successes  it was used to help Skorpios Technologies expand in Albuquerque and bring Safelite and IT solutions company PCM to Rio Rancho.

The states closing fund as been pivotal in not only incentivizing new companies to

set up shop in New Mexico, but also helps retain existing business  both small and big  to grow and prosper, said Jason Espinoza, president and CEO of the New Mexico Association of Commerce & Industry, which has 500 members statewide. One of the themes we continue to stress is that continued investment in economic development and growth is really whats going to help drive revenue to the state.
PHOENIX  A former Phoenix elementary school teacher accused of having a sexual relationship with a young girl has been sentenced to 25 years in prison.

Maricopa County Superior Court officials say 28-year-old Kenne Worthen also was sentenced Friday to lifetime probation after he serves his prison term.

Four months ago, Worthen pleaded guilty to one count of sexual conduct with a minor and two counts of attempted child molestation.

Worthen was arrested in April 2015 after police say he had been sending inappropriate text messages to the then 12-year-old girl for some time.

Authorities say the sexual relationship was discovered after interviews with the girl and Worthen.

Court records show Worthen previously worked as a teacher at Longview Elementary.
LONDON  British police on Friday charged a 19-year-old Somali-Norwegian man with carrying out a stabbing rampage in Londons Russell Square that killed an American woman and injured five others.

Londons Metropolitan Police said Zakaria Bulhan, of London, was charged with the murder of 64-year-old Darlene Horton, and five counts of attempted murder.

Horton, who was visiting London with her husband, a Florida State University professor, was stabbed to death by a knifeman in a busy tourist area near the British Museum on Wednesday evening.

Police officers arrived moments later and used a stun gun to subdue Bulhan.

Police initially considered the stabbings a potential terrorist attack. The rampage came just days after police warned Londoners to be vigilant, and hours after the force said it was putting more armed officers on the streets to bolster public confidence after a summer of attacks elsewhere in Europe.

But within hours of Bulhans arrest police said they had found no evidence of radicalization or links to terrorism.

Bulhan, who moved from Norway to Britain as a child, is due to appear in a London court on Saturday.

Neighbors in south Londons Tooting area, where Bulhan lives with his mother and siblings, said they were shocked to learn he had been accused of the crime.

Neighbor Parmjit Singh Bhamra described a quiet, academic boy who was a bit of a loner who liked soccer, basketball and music.

Florida State University in Tallahassee said Horton was married to psychology professor Richard Wagner, who had been teaching summer classes in London. The couple had been due to fly home on Thursday.

Two Australians, an Israeli, an American and a British citizen were wounded, none with life-threatening injuries.

A British man with a stab wound to his stomach remains hospitalized in serious but stable condition. The four others were treated and released.
IMGCAP(3)] As the world becomes more interconnected and firms adopt a global mindset, theres a growing trend to expand accounting servicesbe they in charity or businessto new and developing markets. Firms of all sizes are getting more involved with bringing their professional knowledge and services to developing countriesprograms such as EYs Earthwatch Ambassadors and Deloittes Global Internship Program, to name just a couple. However, it doesn't necessarily take a Big Four firm to make a global impact in the accounting profession.

Caleb Jenkins, staff accountant at RLJ Financial Services in Ceres, Calif., has been working with Christian Aid Ministries to set up QuickBooks for its SALT Microfinance Solutions program in Haiti. SALT, an acronym for Shared Accountability, Lending, and Teaching, reaches out to developing countries by teaching about microloans, savings groups and agricultural programs.

Ive always [wanted] to use my skills to benefit others, outside of the United States business context, who need that type of service and dont have the capabilities or resources to pay, says Jenkins. They dont have any background or teaching to get themselves off the ground, basically. Thats what got me excited.

Notably, Jenkins was named the youngest Certified QuickBooks ProAdvisor in the global ProAdvisor Program. At the Scaling New Heights 2016 conference, he was also named a Top 10 QuickBooks ProAdvisor and recognized as the Top Up-N-Comer ProAdvisor.

Jenkins' project in Haiti saw him travel to the country five times in the last three years (with another trip scheduled for the end of August) primarily working in Port-au-Prince, Titanyen and Petit-Goave. In addition to Haiti, the ministry does similar work in Ghana, Honduras, Nigeria, Ukraine and Nicaragua.

In Haiti, Jenkins built and maintained the accounting system for SALT's microfinance program, setting up its QuickBooks system over the course of multiple trips.

The first couple trips were to learn about the program [and] their needs [to] get a grasp of what the program does," he says. "The second trip was focused on getting them set up with QuickBooks and integrating it with their loan software that they built so they dont have to double their information and integrate it with other solutions that theyre doing. The third and fourth trips have [involved] going down and reviewing everything and shifting to teaching individual beneficiaries of the SALT program, reviewing whats going on and making sure the staff[ing] is continual.

[IMGCAP(1)]

The SALT microfinance program focuses on teaching essential business principles, such as budgeting, saving and business planning. We primarily teach the loan officers [and] hold meetings with the people getting the loans. Then they go out to teach the clients of the programs, says Jenkins. I really enjoy that part of itjust being able to pass on any intellectual capital that we have to them and basically helping them with their businesses.

The trips arent without their challenges, though, as developing countries are still gaining their footing in the modern business landscape.

Probably the biggest challenge for me is the consistent lack of Internet down there, says Jenkins. I'll remote it in a couple times a year and be kicked off half an hour into the call. Or they wont have Internet for two weeks because the power company pulled the power. The ministry Im working with has the best Internet and power available down there, [but] its a little bit frustrating.

[IMGCAP(2)]

The other thing, on the accounting side, is that all the workflows, all the processes they have in place, that people dont forget various things or miss procedures on accounting," he adds. "Thats been one of the challenges.

Jenkins says the ministry also focuses on familial issues, which is just as important in retaining financial independence and success as the more technical aspects they cover: A lot of people in Haiti have no basic family structure, so that interrupts their business life, which leads to lack of finances and more disruption. The loan [knowledge] is important, but without [the family knowledge], they just stay in the same cycle theyve been in in the past. They dont necessarily break free from the past generation of teaching. So when we go out and teach them a new waya better waythan what theyre doing now, its liberating to them to start a different pattern than theyve been taught in the past.

[IMGCAP(4)]

Jenkins recalls meeting a woman in Haiti in her mid-30s. She obtained a loan of about $150 while making $1.50-$2.00 a daynot enough to provide food for her family. After the loan cycle of approximately 18 months, she was making approximately $15-$20 a day, which was enough to provide clothing, food and shelter that she and her family needed. She was able to use leftover money to provide for her childrens education and medical needs for her parents.

[It] helped her out of her basic poverty and to reach out to those around her with the resources she now has," says Jenkins. "Its what these types of programs can do...to help others in their poverty or extreme needs.

For those looking to get involved in similar endeavors, Jenkins suggests professionals should be given more freedom to achieve their charitable goals.

I would just encourage [companies to] implement a program to enable their staff to get involved and make a difference around the worldwhatever that may bejust enabling them to make their own personal mission to fulfill their own personal vision and whatever type of program they get involved with.

Jenkins also recommends having the right mindset. You have to have a heart to help others; thats the first thing, he says. If you dont have that heart to help, then it just becomes another form of work, a different flavor of work. Theres a Bible verse: 'I was a father to the poor: and the cause which I knew not I searched out.' Basically, if you see a problem, find the causefind the real problem and youll find the solution for that problem. Look for those problems to solve, and when you find those problems, get involved and do what you can to fix them.

Caleb Jenkins is just one entry in our ongoing series on intriguing accounting professionals. If you have a submission that we should know about, email sean.mccabe@sourcemedia.com.

Other entries include:
The AICPA announced this week that Danielle Supkis Cheek, president of D. Supkis Cheek in Houston and adjunct professor at Rice University, was named winner of the Outstanding Young CPA Award in Honor of Maximo Mukelabai. Supkis Cheek was recognized for her volunteering efforts in the profession and commitment to financial literacy in her community.

The award was presented to Supkis Cheek by Dan Griffiths, director of strategic planning at Tanner LLC, at the AICPAs EDGE Experience conference for Young CPAs in Las Vegas this month. Griffiths was honored with the award in 2015.

The award is named after Maximo Mukelabai, a member of the inaugural class of the AICPA Leadership Academy and the youngest chair of the North Carolina Association of CPAs board of directors. The AICPA established the award in 2011 as a tribute to Maximo's life.

The Outstanding Young CPA Award looks to recognize a CPA under 40 who shows a commitment to the accounting profession via successful practices, community involvement and contributions.

The spirit of volunteerism has always been deeply embedded in the accounting profession and CPAs have a lengthy history of giving back to their communities, stated Cheryl Reynolds, AICPA vice president, communications, advertising & brand management. Helping Americans make better financial decisions is one of the causes of the CPA profession. Danielles work in the Houston area promoting financial literacy to people who have the opportunity to pay those lessons forward is a creative and innovative way to reach as many people as possible with her message.

As a CPA, people naturally come to me with questions about their personal finances. I was surprised and discouraged by how frequently people make poor financial decisions, regardless of their education level, and I wanted to help make them aware of how minor changes in their approach to money could have a big impact, said Supkis Cheek, in a statement. I elected to focus my outreach on females and small business owners, as they have a tremendous ability to influence the financial behaviors of their families and community and can help further the message and create more awareness about the importance of financial literacy.

A member of the AICPA, Texas Society of CPAs (TSCPA), Houston Chapter of the TSCPA, and American Womens Society of CPAs, Supkis Cheek is a frequent presenter and published author. She has served on the AICPAs GenNext Task Force, Womens Initiatives Executive Champions Task Force and as a committee member on the Private Companies Practice Section Technical Issues Committee. She was additionally honored by both The CPA Practice Advisor and National Association of Certified Valuators and Analysts on their 40 Under 40 list, and a 2014 Rising Star by the TSCPA.

Nominees for the Outstanding Young CPA Award are judged on the following:

Demonstrates passion and eagerness to encourage and pique students interest in accounting as a career

Contributes recommendations and best practices toward improving processes and/or activities

Performance in committee and/or other volunteer activities that relate to the engagement and advancement of the profession

Involvement in community-based organizations to improve the lives of citizens

Hold an active CPA license and be between the ages of 22  40.

To be considered for the award, candidates submitted applications detailing on their volunteer history, alongside professional references from peers, AICPA staff, employers, and state CPA societies. The AICPAs Young CPA Network Task Force reviewed the nominations and determined the winner.

The application period for next years award will open in early 2017.

For more information on the award, head to the AICPA's site here.
A federal judge in New York has refused to dismiss a $1 billion lawsuit against PricewaterhouseCoopers over its audits of the bankrupt investment firm MF Global.

The brokerage firm collapsed in October 2011 after former New Jersey Governor and Senator Jon Corzine took over as chairman and CEO in 2010 and pushed it to invest in risky sovereign debt from troubled European countries. The firm had $44.4 billion in liabilities and equity of a little over $1.4 billion before its failure. In the brokerages waning days, the firm borrowed approximately $1.6 billion from customer accounts in an effort to cover up the shortfall, though it later reimbursed the funds to investors.

MF Global was found to have resorted to off-balance sheet transactions known as repo-to-maturity, in which it used the sovereign debt bonds as collateral for the loans it took out, while earning money from the spread between the rate on the bonds and the rate it paid to the counterparty on the financing.

PwC settled another lawsuit involving MF Global in 2015 for $65 million for failing to detect problems with the firms financials during its 2011 and 2011 audits, without admitting wrongdoing (see PwC Settles MF Global Lawsuit for $65 Million). But the court declined to dismiss the damage claim for at least $1 billion from plan administrators overseeing the remains of the bankrupt brokerage.

The plan administrators, MF Global Holdings, claimed in their complaint that PwC had committed extraordinary and egregious professional negligence for approving MF Globals off-balance sheet accounting for the European sovereign debt transactions and approving MF Globals decision not to record a valuation allowance against its deferred tax asset before September 2011. Both of those decisions, according to the plan administrator, were substantial causes of MF Globals bankruptcy.

U.S. District Court Judge Victor upheld the claims Friday brought by MF Global Holdings against PwC for professional negligence, clearing the way for the case to proceed to trial. MF Global was represented by the New York law firm Kasowitz Benson, Torres & Friedman LLP, led by partner Daniel J. Fetterman.

We are pleased with Judge Marreros thoughtful and well-reasoned decision, Fetterman said in a statement. It is a significant victory for MF Global on all contested issues, and we look forward to presenting at trial the evidence concerning PwCs extraordinary and egregious malpractice alleged in the complaint and its role in causing MF Globals demise.

PwCs attorney continued to defend the firms work. "PwC stands by its work for MF Global, said PwC trial counsel James P. Cusick in a statement Friday. MF Global accounted for the repo-to-maturity transactions correctly. MF Globals collapse was caused by its own business decisions and adverse market events, not any accounting determination.
Wipfli LLP has merged in the health care consulting firm HFS Consultants, including HFSs marketing division, the Placemaking Group, effective August 1.

HFS, based in Oakland, Calif., provides health care consulting services to hundreds of hospitals and other health care facilities around the country, including services related to financial, strategic, clinical and management operations. The firm was founded in 1991 and has offices in Oakland, Fresno and Santa Ana, Calif.

Wipfli has 33 offices in the U.S., along with two offices in India, ranks among the top 20 accounting and business consulting firms in the nation. Wipfli, based in Milwaukee, ranked 19th on Accounting Todays 2016 list of the Top 100 Firms, with $227 million in annual revenue.

The combination with HFS Consultants presents Wipfli with opportunities to expand our physical presence in the western United States and to provide an even greater breadth and depth of services and resources to our clients in the ever-changing health care industry," said Wipfli managing partner Rick Dreher in a statement.

As part of the deal, over 70 professionals from HFS, including five shareholders, are joining Wipfli. The combined firm will have over 1,600 associates, including 192 partners, and 38 office locations in the U.S. and India, providing a wide range of audit, tax, marketing and consulting services to health care and other types of organizations.

Both HFS Consultants and Wipfli are well established and respected service providers in the health care industry with similar cultures and approaches to exceptional client service, said HFS Consultants CEO Rich Gianello. Together we will drive even greater value for our clients.
The Internal Revenue Service is making some important changes in the Individual Taxpayer Identification Number program that will require many ITIN holders to renew their numbers under a law passed by Congress last December.

The IRS plans to begin the renewals in October. The Protecting Americans from Tax Hikes Act, also known as the PATH Act, requires ITINs that have not been used on a federal tax return at least once in the last three years to be renewed. Otherwise they will no longer be valid for use on a tax return unless the taxpayer renews it. ITINs are frequently used by foreign nationals, resident aliens and undocumented workers.

ITINs issued by the IRS before 2013 that have been used on a federal tax return in the past three years will need to be renewed starting this fall. The IRS is putting in place a rolling schedule for the renewals to help taxpayers.

The first ITINs that will expire under the schedule are those with middle digits of 78 and 79 (Example: 9XX-78-XXXX). The renewal period for these ITINs begins October 1, 2016. The IRS will mail letters to this group of taxpayers starting in August to tell them they need to renew their ITINs if they need to file a tax return and explain steps they need to take. The IRS plans to announce the schedule for expiration and renewal of ITINs that do not have middle digits of 78 and 79.

The IRS pointed out that if taxpayers have an expired ITIN and they dont renew before filing a tax return next year, their tax refunds could be delayed and they might be ineligible for claiming certain tax credits, such as the Child Tax Credit and the American Opportunity Tax Credit, until they renew their ITIN.

The ITIN program plays an important role in our tax system, said Debra Holland, commissioner of the IRSs Wage and Investment Division, during a conference call with reporters Thursday. Its critical to helping millions of people meet their U.S. tax obligations. ITINs are used by those who have tax filing or payment obligations under U.S. law but dont have a Social Security Number. That includes people such as foreign nationals and resident aliens.

The IRS issued legal guidance in Notice 2016-48 explaining how the agency will implement the changes to the ITIN program in accordance with the PATH Act.

Holland emphasized the IRS is doing all it can to make the ITIN renewal process as simple and straightforward as possible. We want to make sure ITIN holders are ready for these changes, she said. Were committed to raising awareness about the new ITIN rules. Were working closely with our partners in the tax community, and with outreach groups, to share information about ITINs. In the weeks ahead, we will be adding more information and material about the renewal process on our special ITIN page on IRS.gov.

The changes apply to two groups of ITIN holders:

The first group encompasses people who havent used their ITINs on a federal tax return at all in the last three years, said Holland. That means they havent been used on a tax return in 2013, 2014 or 2015. If youre in this group, your ITIN expires at the end of 2016. The renewal period for this group begins October 1, less than two months from now. But you only need to renew if you plan to file a 2016 tax return next year.

The other affected group is those people who have an ITIN issued before 2013, whose numbers begin expiring at the end of this year. These ITIN numbers will be renewed on a rolling basis, with the first group starting on October 1, Holland noted.

The first ITIN holders up for renewal in this group will be people who have ITINs with middle digits of 78 or 79, she said. In the next couple of weeks, the IRS will begin mailing letters to these taxpayers explaining what they need to do to get their ITINs renewed. We expect to mail about 400,000 letters in the next few weeks.

The IRS website, IRS.gov, explains the guidelines in both English and Spanish, and the IRS plans to add more information in other languages in the next few weeks.

We dont need people to renew their ITINs at this time unless theyre in one of these two specific groups we mentioned, said Holland. However, if you have an ITIN thats going to expire soon, its important not to delay. You need to have a current ITIN in order to file your federal tax return in 2017. So its better to do it this fall rather than wait for tax time next year.

Taxpayers who are in one of the two groups only need to renew their ITINs if they expect to file a tax return next year, Holland emphasized. If you dont need to file a tax return, you dont need to take any action, she added.

To renew an ITIN, taxpayers need to complete a Form W-7, Application for IRS Individual Taxpayer Identification Number, following the instructions and including all the required information and documentation.

Theres one important exception to those procedures, Holland cautioned. To help reduce burden and make this easier on taxpayers, were waiving the requirement to attach a tax return to the W-7.

There are three options for submitting the W-7 application package to the IRS, she noted:

 Mail it in

 Use one of the many IRS authorized Acceptance Agents or Certified Acceptance Agents around the country; or

 Deliver it in person by calling ahead and making an appointment at one of the IRSs Taxpayer Assistance Centers.

To reduce the paperwork burden on households where several people will need to renew their ITIN, the IRS has created what it calls the family option.

Heres how it works, said Holland. If any individual having an ITIN with a middle digit of 78 or 79 receives a renewal letter from the IRS, they can choose to renew the ITINs of all of their family members at the same time starting Oct. 1. This help them avoids the hassle of doing these separately over several years. Family members include the tax filer, the filers spouse and any dependents claimed on their tax return.

The new requirements are unrelated to the problem the IRS had several years ago where managers ordered employees to avoid challenging the authenticity of foreign documents used to apply for an ITIN (see IRS Cant Authenticate Foreign Documents for ITIN Applications).

This has nothing to do with any of those past activities, said Holland. This is being implemented as a result of legislation that was passed as part of the PATH Act. The IRS took significant action back in 2012 to strengthen the ITIN program as a result of the report.

Although the IRS plans to send about 400,000 letters in the next few weeks to individuals who have middle digits of 78 or 79 in their ITINS, and there are roughly 11 million individuals who could be potentially affected, many of them will not need to renew if they have not been filing tax returns in recent years.

I think its important to emphasize that the taxpayers who are in those two groups that we described only need to renew if they need to file a federal tax return, said Holland. If, for example, they are individuals who have not used an ITIN on a tax return in any of the last three years and if they have no reason to file in this upcoming year, then theres no reason for them to renew. Its not everyone in those groups. Its only those taxpayers who need to file a return.

Going forward, the IRS hopes to make the renewal process as simple and straightforward as possible. Well continue working with our partners across the country, said Holland. We want to make sure that everyone with an expiring ITIN gets the renewal information and understands what steps they need to take to renew.

For more information, visit the ITIN information page on IRS.gov.
(Bloomberg) The U.S. Chamber of Commerce challenged an Internal Revenue Service rule change it claims improperly stymies the ability of U.S. companies to shift their headquarters overseas to shelter global profits from American tax collectors.

The Washington-based chamber and a Texas trade group sued the government Thursday, objecting to a policy the IRS implemented in April that they say wasnt made available for public comment first. The change makes it significantly less profitable for companies to merge with foreign partners to be considered foreign-based entities for U.S. tax purposes, a practice known as inversion.

Although it might seem esoteric, this action is a clear case of federal executive branch officers and agencies bypassing Congress and short-circuiting legislative debate over a hotly contested issue by unilaterally imposing the administrations preferred policy, the groups said in the complaint in federal court in Austin.

The new rule upends more than a decade of tax policy in order to stop otherwise lawful cross-border mergers of private companies that federal executive branch officers apparently do not want to occur, according to the chamber and the Texas Association of Business.

The Treasury Department said it would defend its regulations, which the agency said was based on strong policy interests and clear legal authority.

We have continued to urge Congress to enact anti-inversion legislation, which is the only way to solve this problem, the department said in a statement. In the absence of congressional action, Treasury proposed regulations to eliminate tax benefits for companies that acquire multiple U.S. firms over a short period of time.

The government has been clamping down on companies that use international addresses to avoid paying the U.S.s 35 percent corporate income-tax rate, the highest in the developed world.

Pfizer Merger

The IRS rule change has already blown up the planned $160 billion merger of Ireland-based Allergan Plc and New York-based pharmaceutical giant Pfizer Inc. The two companies cited the policy shift as the reason they abandoned their acquisition plans the day after the new regulation took effect, scuttling a deal that wouldve made the U.S. company a subsidiary of the European corporation.

The same day Allergan and Pfizer broke up, President Barack Obama gave a speech praising the IRS for altering the treatment of tax inversions, according to the complaint. He said while such tax-avoidance deals were legal, their legality was exactly the problem. The new regulation, Obama said, will make it more difficult and less lucrative for companies to exploit this particular corporate inversions loophole.

Congress has repeatedly refused to pass legislation Obama favors to restrict inversions. Lawmakers have tightened the practice to weed out so-called mail-box inversions where the foreign entity is a shell company with no operations other than a rented mailbox in an overseas tax haven.

The Obama administrations attack on inversions shrinks the pool of U.S. companies available for acquisition by foreign firms as well as limits the number of multinational corporations that can shop for deals in America, the trade groups claim. The Treasury Department tried to evade federal rulemaking procedures by labeling the change temporary, the groups complain, but certain features of the policy make it clear the change is intended to be permanent. Theyve asked the court to set aside the IRS policy to allow the former inversion rules to apply.

The case is Chamber of Commerce of the United States of America v. Internal Revenue Service, 1:16-944, U.S. District Court, Western District of Texas (Austin).
By MAY ZHOU in Houston and HEZI JIANG in Beijing (chinadaily.com.cn)

Students attending public colleges and universities in Texas are facing a new reality in the classroom: loaded concealed guns.

As of Aug 1, Senate Bill 11 (Campus Carry), allows holders of a concealed handgun license (CHL) to carry a loaded handgun at four-year colleges and universities and junior colleges. The law takes effect at private schools and two-year community colleges next year. Texas is one of just eight states that allows students to carry guns into college buildings.

Supporters of the law say an armed student body could prevent another mass shooting like the one that happened on Aug 1, 1966, at the University of Texas at Austin (UT-Austin). Charles Whitman, a Marine-trained 25-year-old engineering student, climbed to the 28th-floor observation deck of a campus clock tower and shot 49 people, killing 16.

Opponents of the law passed by the Republican controlled legislature and signed by Republican Governor Gregg Abbott see the potential for more violence.And for some Chinese students studying in Texas, the new law is alarming.

"My knowledge of guns comes from movies and news, and suddenly I realize that guns will be right next to me," said Xing Kaijuan, who will be a freshman at UT-Austin from Shandong province.

"I can't imagine that gun shots would be heard often on an Eden-like campus. A student or teacher could just shoot you when they find you disagreeable. I think tragedy will happen as a result."

Some are not that concerned. Yang Yiran, a senior at the University of Houston from Beijing, said:

"I don't think it will have much impact. After all, criminals can always get hold of guns. Banning guns only disadvantages lawful citizens. Students carrying guns will be a good deterrent to criminals. Some of my friends joked that maybe it's time we get a license so we can take guns to school."

Zeng Zijie, a sophomore and president of the Chinese Students and Scholars Association (CSSA)at UT-Austin, said many students in the organization find it unbelievable and ridiculous that guns are allowed on campus, and they said that their parents are worried.

"CSSA has around 1,600 members. We plan to hold a seminar on how to adapt to a gun-zone campus," Zeng said.

Zhang Jing, senior counselor at Beijing New Oriental Vision Overseas Consulting, a leading agency that prepares Chinese students for studying abroad, said the Texas law will discourage some parents from sending their children to the state's public colleges.

"Safety is the number one concern for parents. Most Chinese parents don't fully grasp the reality of the US gun situation. They tend to think it's more dangerous than it actually is. I think at least 30 percent of people in China will exclude Texas as a destination for higher education because of this new law," said Zhang.

Texas students who are residents said they also are concerned.

Natalie Teoh, who lives in Houston and is a sophomore at UT-Dallas, views the new law as utter stupidity: "Campus carry is a wonderful idea because who doesn't want a bunch hormonal and mentally unstable young people encouraged to walk around with guns."

"It's nerve-racking that the already existing form of concealed carry now extends to more public spaces like lecture halls. I hope this will deter potential wrongdoers given that others may be unknowingly armed as well," said WuRuochen, a Houston resident studying at UT-Austin.

Teoh's mother, Nancy Tran, who works at MD Anderson Cancer Center, said the new law "puts our kids in danger".

"This is a bad idea. Young people have a lot going on with their lives. To me, they are mentally and emotionally immature.Sometimes people don't make sound judgement when they have guns easily accessible. They use it for the wrong reasons."

Because the law requires that a gun holder be at least 21, it means most freshman, sophomores and juniors are not eligible to carry guns on campus.

Tran thinks that it's not fair to expose and subject younger students to such a potentially dangerous environment.

"Unfortunately, it's the law, it's passed, and there is nothing we can do other than tell our children to be aware of the surroundings. The law will not be reviewed and changed until something tragic happens, as always is the case," said Tran.

mayzhou@chinadailyusa.com

hezijiang@chinadailyusa.com
The International Advertising Association (IAA)  India Chapter encourages debates around hot button topics across industries. The next IAA Debates, presented by the Dainik Bhaskar Group, is on The quality of creativity in print advertising today is adversely impacting the efficacy of Print Medium.

The debate is being held today, August 5, 2016 at ITC Grand Central, Parel, Mumbai, 6 pm onwards.

Srinivasan K Swamy, President, IAA India Chapter and Senior Vice President, IAA Global, said, IAA Debates is an important property of IAA. Many industry leaders have taken the stand and debated on subjects that the industry always felt uncomfortable with. It has, therefore, become a must-attend event from all section of the advertising, media and marketing fraternity. I look forward to an intelligent fight between seasoned professionals.

Speaking for the motion are, Mitrajit Bhattacharya, President & Publisher, Chitralekha Group, President  AIM, and Sandip Tarkas, CEO, (Sports, Media & Special Projects) Future Group. Speaking against the motion are Rana Barua, CEO - Contract India, and Joy Chakraborthy, President, TV18 - Revenue & CEO Forbes. Nandini Dias, CEO, Lodestar UM, will moderate the debate.




In a bid to promote its educational unit  Colour Academy  Asian Paints recently came out with a long format digital film, titled Saroj  The Leader. The film, conceptualised by Ogilvy & Mather, narrates the story of Saroj, who makes a leap from a beautician to become a painter with the training received from Asian Paints Colour Academy.

In conversation with AdGully, Amit Syngle, President-Sales, Marketing & Technology, Asian Paints, speaks at length about the campaign, the concept behind Colour Academy, the making of the film, the road ahead, and more. Excerpts:

What is the concept behind the Asian Paints Colour Academy?

Asian Paints Colour Academy is a world class training institution to provide training to the youth in the field of modern age paint application and decoration. Asian Paints aims to empower the applicants with the right set of skills to become employable as professional painting and decorating specialists and also generate more skilled artists in the paint industry through the institution. Asian Paints Colour Academy also builds on the Governments Skill India initiative of providing people with training in life skills to channelise them for appropriate job opportunities.



The Colour Academy provides training for over eleven different vocational courses in different skill sets like Basic Painter Course, Interior Designer Finishes, Waterproofing, Wood finishes, etc. Participants are given theoretical as well as practical training at the academy. This includes training using modern painting equipments, knowledge on paint products and handling material along with awareness on health & safety practices for themselves and others.

Please share the ideation behind the 'Saroj - The Leader' film.

The first Asian Paints Colour Academy started in Chennai over a decade ago. From that humble beginning, we have come a long way. Colour Academy is now present in 10 cities and the mobile version covering 10 remote geographies. We realized that Colour Academies were not just training painters; it was doing something more fundamental. A well trained painter understands his customer better, delivers a better site and over time becomes a more respected professional. Colour Academy provides these hard working professionals a sense of identity, belongingness, confidence and respect they have always found missing in them. And that is why we are promising to give names to faces through our social initiative campaign  Naam hoga toh kaam hoga.

Individuals get inspired and learn from each other. We decided to showcase the stories of some of them and inspire interested participants to learn the skills of the trade and turn into professional experts and thus change their lives. Saroj is our first such story where we presented a story of an ordinary Mumbai girl who not only changed her life with Asian Paints Colour Academy but also inspired many others as well.

An ad or a documentary - what made you go for the long format film?

The intention of the piece of communication is to inspire people to have confidence in their own self and believe in the possibility of transformation and liberation that can come through vocational training. We really wanted to bring the story of building self-identity and confidence to our audience, because that is what they will relate to.

India loves to hear stories not sermons, because stories bring out the reality of the situation. The long format documentary film allows for a genuine and comprehensive storytelling. In our film, which is based on a real life story, we wanted to show how Saroj transformed her life at Colour Academy and not be constrained by time. Given that, the long format of the film works well. The documentary film is more about Sarojs story, than about the Asian Paints Colour Academy.

Why not use the real Saroj and her team for this film? Wouldnt it have made the communication more impactful?

The film production requires professionals who the technical of film making. Its a serious professional which requires trained and seasoned professionals to closely depict the story. We wanted the protagonist to present the story and not a narrator/ host. Hence, we opted for someone to depict the story as Saroj. We felt the story is the core of the film, not simply the character.

What was the brief shared with the agency?

The brief was to connect and relate to the audience to share with them an inspirational story of individuals who have taken steps to build their own identity and transformed their life. Core to the brief was the insight of the constant need of self-identity we as hardworking Indians face.

Through the brief we are able to give voice to the brand Colour Academy, the vocational training arm of Asian Paints that promises to transform unskilled labour into professional experts. The academy had anyways launched Naam Hoga Toh Kaam Hoga its first recruitment campaign a year-and-a-half years ago. We wanted the video to carry forward this message and inspire interested participants to join the academy and change their lives.

Please tell us about the making of the film - the storyboard, music, shoot, etc.?

The 5 minute, 43 second film created as part of the Naam Hoga Toh Kaam Hoga campaign shows the determination of a young girl who decides to put her career as a beautician on hold to take a leap of faith and explore the world of being a painter. On the advice of a close family friend who sees a beautiful rangoli made by Saroj, suggests that she explore the artistic side in her and encourages her to join Asian Paints Colour Academy. Saroj manages to convince a few women from her neighbourhood to enroll in the course and form an all-woman applicator team. The video goes on to show how Saroj and her team, after successfully delighting their first client on their first project, create more good work to impress hundreds of customers.

The film is directed by Rahul Dadda from the production house Filmicians. The background score and the anthem music have been composed by Rohit Sharma of Ship of Theseus and Buddha in a Traffic Jam fame. The film has been shot in Mumbai in real locations.

Will there be more such stories as part of the campaign?

Saroj is the first of a series of videos that we plan to release. Each story will be based on real life individuals who come from simple backgrounds and their lives change for the better after learning new skills and thus earn a better livelihood and respect.

What kind of brand traction has Asian Paints got with the Colour Academy?

Our aim was to connect to our secondary audience  the Indian middle class, who are really the guides and mentors of the working class of the country. The working class has been pivotal in seeding the ideas of modern living in the working class  like the importance of primary education, family planning, etc. We are banking on the secondary audience to spread the word about this initiative to our primary audience which is the working class or the labour class. Its a long term strategy.

We have been receiving splendid comments and reviews on social media, where it is spreading like wildfire. We have seen the video grown mostly through social media sharing and hardly had to promote it commercially.

How many painters has the Colour Academy trained till date?

Asian Paints has trained lakhs of people over the past decade and given people the opportunity of a better livelihood since that time. Colour Academy as a brand came to life in 2014 and has touched the lives of more than 30,000 people since taking its current inspiring form.

What next can we expect from Asian Paints?

Asian Paints has been always been alive and central to the lives of people and we understand them deeply. This is visible across all our initiatives. We always do things keeping society in mind and our stakeholders in consideration of all our actions. It can very well be expected that Asian Paints will continue to be the responsible and caring citizen of the society. We will continue to do and share things which will benefit the society.
Reservists assist aerial firefighting efforts

An Air Force Reserve C-130 Hercules equipped with a U.S. Forest Service Modular Airborne Fire Fighting System departed here Aug. 3 to support ongoing aerial firefighting efforts in the West.



The 302nd Airlift Wing received the request for assistance for one MAFFS-equipped C-130 and crew from the National Interagency Fire Center earlier this week.



We are mobilizing MAFFS to ensure that we continue to have adequate airtanker capability as we experience elevated wildfire activity in Idaho, Utah, Nevada, Montana, Oregon, Washington, California and elsewhere in the West, said Aitor Bidaburu, the chairman of the National Multi-Agency Coordinating Group in NIFCs Aug. 2 news release that announced the activation of MAFFS.



The Peterson AFB-based 302nd AW C-130 and aircrew will be joined by a second MAFFS-equipped C-130 from the 153rd AW from the Wyoming Air National Guard as they operate and support the Forest Service aerial firefighting efforts from the Boise Tanker Base in Boise, Idaho, in what is the first MAFFS activation of 2016.



MAFFS will provide a needed surge airtanker capability to the U.S. Forest Service with the increased fire activity in the West, said Col. James DeVere, the 302nd AW commander.



Our aircrews completed annual MAFFS training in May and are ready to support, DeVere added.



The MAFFS certified reservists are expected to fly fire containment missions based from Boise and other locations in the West as needed.



The MAFFS is a self-contained aerial firefighting system, owned by the Forest Service, that can discharge 3,000 gallons of water or fire retardant in less than five seconds, covering an area a quarter-mile long and 100 feet wide. Once the load is discharged, it can be refilled in less than 12 minutes.


A-10s land on highway in Estonia

Eight Air Force Reserve Command A-10 Thunderbolt IIs conducted highway landings on the Jagala-Karavete Highway in Northern Estonia Aug 1.



The A-10s are assigned to the 442nd Fighter Wing at Whiteman Air Force Base, Missouri, and according to Col. Gregory Eckfeld, the 442nd FW vice commander, it is important to practice landing on alternative runways in case primary runways are not available during a combat situation.



Eight successful landings and takeoffs from the highway not only displayed the Air Forces tactical capabilities, it also displayed the partnership between the U.S. and Estonia that allowed for the coordination of the event.



Overall, the Estonians were great in helping us out and getting our mission accomplished, and as far as the coordination went, it couldnt have gone smoother, said a 321st Special Tactics Squadron combat controller who acted as air traffic control for the event. This was a good experience and a good time and it definitely enhanced our capability and presence in the area.



This event marked the second highway landing to take place in Estonia; the first took place last June as part of exercise Saber Strike 16.



The A-10s design allows the aircraft to be able to land in a variety of locations, including semi-prepared landing strips and austere sites.



We can operate the A-10 anytime, anywhere, 24/7, said Eckfeld, adding that the A-10 has wide tires and high-mounted engines, which help avoid foreign object damage and allows the aircraft to land on many surfaces other aircraft cannot.



The 442nd FW arrived in Estonia July 25 and began a flying training deployment with the Estonian Air Force in support of Operation Atlantic Resolve. The exercise demonstrates the commitment the U.S. has made to European security and demonstrates joint force capabilities and readiness.
The new Blended Retirement System is a hot topic of conversation across the Defense Department, and most total force members have questions on how it will work and who is eligible.The online BRS leader course, released in June, is designed to educate leaders on the new retirement system. The training provides both military and civilian leaders of Airmen with a working knowledge of the BRS and the DOD plan to educate the force prior to implementation on Jan. 1, 2018.The course is available both online and through a mobile version for a smartphone or tablet via Joint Knowledge Online , course number P-US1330. The course is also available to those without a Common Access Card, to include family members, via an alternate website . The mobile version has a login option that provides a training certificate, which will be necessary for the required opt-in training next year, as well as a public access option for spouses and parents of current or prospective Airmen."The public access option of the JKO mobile app for smartphones also makes the BRS leader course an easily accessible pocket version of BRS for questions on the fly from Airmen seeking more knowledge," said Col. Brian Anderson, the military compensation policy chief at Headquarters Air Force. "Many leaders may not be eligible to opt-in to BRS themselves, but they will need to be knowledgeable about the new system in order to respond to questions from eligible service members."Leaders can download the app from their respective app store for free.The leader role is to provide information and access to education but not to provide specific financial advice. Leaders who take the course will gain an understanding of the new retirement system, educational opportunities that will be made available to Airmen and the available resources to answer questions."In the future, Airmen will be able to seek individual information and education from a personal financial expert at their Airman and Family Readiness Center before making a final decision," Anderson continued. "The Air Force has a plan to train personal financial managers and make them available to assist members and spouses on the financial aspects of the current and new retirement systems."According to Anderson, quality education and training are key to an Airman's ability to make an informed decision about retirement plans. Airmen will be encouraged to research their options during 2017 and may elect to opt-in to BRS on or after Jan. 1, 2018. Elections must be completed during 2018 and an online course, tailored to those who are eligible to opt-in, will be available soon.Stand-alone DVDs are also available for the BRS leader course for use at remote locations or locations with limited internet connectivity making it difficult to take the course online at JKO or Military OneSource. Ordering instructions were recently sent to all deployed locations by the Air Force Personnel Center.BRS information is available and continuously updated on myPers . Click "Retirement" from any military landing page. In addition, a live chat feature on BRS is available for Airmen. To chat live with a Total Force Service Center representative, go to the page and allow about 30 to 60 seconds to enable a representative to come online.For more information about Air Force personnel programs, go to the myPers website . Individuals who do not have a myPers account can request one by following the instructions on the Air Force Retirees Services website
Canadian officer gains experience through exchange program

Growing up, Capt. Damien Millers father was in the Royal Canadian Air Force, so he became used to constantly moving around and calling any place he ended up with his family home.



In 2004, Miller followed in his fathers footsteps, commissioning as an officer in the RCAF himself. In 2012 he pursued a path in aeromedical evacuation (AE) after eight years as a critical care nurse.



I attended the aeromedical evacuation course run by the Canadian Armed Forces at 8 Wing, Trenton, Ontario, Miller said. This course is similar to the one that the United States Air Force aeromedical evacuation crewmembers attend at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Ohio and is designed to teach nursing officers and medical technicians how to care for patients in the air.



During the course, Maj. Jac Solghan, a U.S. Air Force exchange officer stationed in Canada, and Capt. Carol Nicholson, a Canadian flight nurse, introduced Miller to the Air Force Military Personnel Exchange Program -- an opportunity that would extend his experience beyond the RCAF.



I admired their experience, knowledge and obvious passion for the AE world, said Miller. I spoke to both of them at length about their experiences in Canada and the U.S. and learned that it was something that I could eventually apply for. In 2014, a call for nominations was released, and I submitted my name.



Shortly after, Miller was selected for the program.



Miller arrived at Scott AFB in July 2015 to begin his assignment with the 375th Aeromedical Evacuation Squadron.



I enjoy the challenge of changing duty stations and considered it something to look forward to, Miller said. This move is very different because I have not just moved cities or jobs but have begun working within an entirely different organization -- one with different rules, publications, processes and even lingo.



Miller said he considers the greatest challenge he has had since arriving has been learning how the Air Force functions and how he can function within it. However, with support from his wingmen, he said he believes hes set up for success.



Almost everything from obtaining an af.mil email address to gaining access to online programs and computer based training, along with attending mission related briefings, has required some sort of extra effort to accomplish due to my status as a foreign exchange officer, Miller said.



Fortunately, the 375th AES and the people within it have been tremendously supportive, patient and understanding, and have consistently gone above and beyond to ensure that I have all the tools I require to fulfill my role as an aeromedical evacuation crew member, he continued.



Staff Sgt. Dasha Ermanova, a 375th AES evacuation technician, has worked with Miller for eight months now.



It is a tremendous honor to have Capt. Miller in our simulation and technology flight, Ermanova said.



He is not only highly clinically inclined but also extremely motivated. He has diligently worked to better our processes through improving our simulated scenarios and offering his vast medical knowledge. Aside from elevating our program, he has proven to be a respectable leader and mentor. He is honest and forward in a tactful manner, and knows how to find answers.



On May 14, 2012, the surgeon general of the United States as well as the surgeons general of Australia, Canada and Great Britain signed an international proclamation of understanding with the intent to promote cooperation and interoperability of AE assets between these nations in hopes of supporting each other when and if required.



I believe that exchange postings, such as the one I am privileged to have been offered, promote this goal, Miller said. Being such close neighbors, I feel it is incredibly important for both Canada and the United States to have programs such as this. I believe the exchange program not only provides individuals the opportunity to expand their own personal and professional knowledge, but also acts to keep the relationship between our armed forces as a whole strong.



Ermanova said she believes that a leader has to be the example and feels Miller is a mentor who will listen to his people while offering help and an opinion.



Capt. Miller knows the Air Force song, Ermanova said. That may sound insignificant and silly but, I find this to be pretty great because even though he is a very proud Canadian, he shows great respect for our country and our military. Bottom line, I would have to say I wouldnt mind having a Capt. Miller in every section.
-- On this look around the Air Force, B-1B Lancers deploy to Guam; a new issue of Airman magazine is out and features U-2 pilots; and in Germany, seven nations participated in International Jump Week. Hosted by Staff Sgt. Traci Keller.For previous episodes, click here Related links:
New AF violence prevention specialists training begins

Representatives from the major commands and more than 30 Air Force installations attended training at Dobbins Air Reserve Base July 18-29 to become violence prevention specialists.



The Specialists for the Primary Prevention of Violence is being set up as a new helping agency for Airmen and their families. By using advanced scientific techniques, the agency will be dedicated to preventing all aspects of violence, from domestic to sexual assault, and suicide. SPPVs will be in place on all Air Force bases worldwide in April 2017.



There has been increased interest over the past year and a half to focus on prevention rather than responding to situations after the fact, said Dr. Andra Tharp, an Air Force sexual assault prevention and response prevention expert. The Air Force heard that and created this position to address that issue.



Groups assisting with the training included the Division of Violence Prevention at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and Green Dot Etc.



When we learned the position was authorized by the secretary of the Air Force, we engaged the CDC to give the prevention specialists the strongest training possible into doing what works and using a public health approach to prevent interpersonal and self-directed violence," Tharp said. "We are thrilled that CDC has partnered with us for this training.



The CDC provided a background for the training to give the specialists a strong foundation in the prevention science underlying violence prevention, which will equip them in their roles, Tharp added.



When designing the training, the organizers thought about what key competencies the specialists needed in order to be valuable resources at their installation, Tharp said. One piece was the CDCs ability to provide the prevention background and research; the other was applying the public health to prevention practice, which was where Green Dot came in.



Weve never done training to this extent like we have with the Air Force, said Dr. James Mercy, the director of the Division of Violence Prevention with the CDC. We see the Air Force as a pioneer in prevention. We thought it would be a great opportunity to work together where we could learn from each other.



Dr. Dorothy Edwards, the Green Dot founder and organizer, said that for a long time, interpersonal violence prevention was solely focused on things like telling men not to do it and women not to walk alone at night.



We then realized there was a third role, the bystander, Edwards said. So, instead of focusing on what not to do, we started focusing on what can we do.



Both agencies had a past partnership with the Air Force, but on smaller level. This training allowed them to expand that partnership.



We had been working with the military on violence prevention for a while, Mercy said. We wanted to strengthen our partnership with the Air Force because they have been a pioneer in this, especially with suicide prevention. We thought this would be a great opportunity for us to learn from each other and prevent further violence in the United States.



Green Dot held training sessions at individual bases for few years, Edwards said.



When the (Air Force) decided to do a comprehensive approach, the dialogue began, she said. They didnt want to just wing it. They were driven by the research.



The research and expertise in violence prevention came from the CDC.



The CDC is the largest organization in the world in regards to preventing violence, Mercy said. We have subject matter experts in different types of violence, covering the whole range. That expertise includes how you measure, prevent and protect from different types of violence. Thats the information that was shared in our training, sharing what we have found out through several decades of research.



The CDCs experts taught how to take that information and use it to implement programs on the ground, Mercy added. They also spoke on the magnitude of the problem in the U.S. -- who is at a higher risk of violence, characteristics of victims, who is most likely to be a perpetrator and specific programs that seem to work.



Its a lot of information, but it is easily understood, Mercy said.



The research from the CDC was used to develop Green Dot, Edwards said. So, the flow from the CDC to Green Dot was easily followed as Edwards taught implementation.



The Green Dot strategy is to reinvigorate people and let them know they can do something, Edwards said. This is about being realistic about what the bystanders can do. Its not that easy to just step in. Part of this is acknowledging that good people can get stuck and have barriers. This gives bystanders more natural and realistic tools.



The training group was excited about the future of this position and how they have been able to empower the SPPVs.



The Air Force is so driven right now to getting this right, Edwards said. This is an extraordinary position, and it has been an exciting training to be part of.
Despite positive outcome, deployment challenges couple

A deployed Air Force reservist who used his limited free time overseas to finish requirements to become a schoolteacher learned some lessons of his own about how separations caused by military service affect GIs and those closest to them.



Prior to his six-month deployment to the Middle East, Master Sgt. Gregory Hicks of Travis Air Force Base, California, was a teaching aide in a post-secondary program for students with special needs. Now hes about to begin his first semester as a high school teacher.



When he wasnt working his daily 12-hour shift or resting, the 21-year Air Force veteran was focused on preparing to pass three intensive state exams that would allow him to become a certified teacher in California.



He balanced work, physical fitness, communicating with his family, and studying to reach his goal, finding ways to make the most of his time by exercising his body and his mind simultaneously.



I would put my books on the treadmill and do 30 to 45 minutes and study there (before work), Hicks said during a Yellow Ribbon Reintegration Program training weekend July 30-31 in Baltimore.



Hicks, an air transportation journeyman at the 82nd Aerial Port Squadron, also studied for an hour or two before bed each night while deployed. He eventually felt prepared to pass the exams, which he did while still overseas. He completed the paperwork to receive his certification, leaving him excited to go home and begin a new career.



But returning from deployment would prove to be a difficult transition for Hicks and his family. While he was moving forward with his career, things had changed at home. Despite being excited about her husbands return, Teresa Hicks admitted that she had grown accustomed to her daily routine without him.



It was rough adjusting to him coming home, she said. I feel as though Im still adjusting.



She said she initially felt a bit resentful toward her husbands deployment. She supports his military service, but said she couldnt help but feel somewhat abandoned.



Teresa Hicks said it was especially difficult caring for their two young daughters alone, something she had never done for such a long period before. Previously, the longest they had been separated during their seven-year relationship was in 2014 when Hicks attended a military training course in Texas for six weeks.



Six months apart proved to be a much tougher challenge for her. Eventually, however, she said she learned to cope and settled into what became her new normal. He and his wife, Teresa, said Yellow Ribbon training helped them address the situation.



The beginning was rough, but then in the third month I got into a routine, Teresa said. I had to figure out how to do stuff alone and find a balance between him being gone and what my new life was going to be.



Her husband also found it tough adjusting to the distance between them, even as he grew accustomed to his own deployment routine with his fellow Airmen.



(It) caused challenges, Hicks said. When I got home, I was wondering whether we really needed each other since we had grown accustomed to being apart.



Recognizing their difficulties adjusting to being together again, Hicks knew their relationship could use a boost. He decided to sign them up to attend training through Yellow Ribbon, which promotes the well-being of reservists and their loved ones by connecting them with resources before and after deployments. It began in 2008 following a congressional mandate for the Department of Defense to assist reservists and National Guard members in maintaining resiliency as they transition between their military and civilian roles.



They attended Yellow Ribbons Couples Enrichment Program, a class specifically designed to help partners communicate, reintegrate and enhance their relationship overall. Teresa Hicks said it was especially helpful for her to meet other spouses who understood her situation.

There were a lot of relatable stories, she said. It makes me feel like Im not alone, that many (spouses) have gone through what I have experienced.



Her husband said the class was helpful for him in similar ways.

The class really helped us to learn about each other again, he said. Its helping us understand each other better.



The couple said they are glad they attended the event and they are confident it can help others. They recommend eligible Airmen and their families attend Yellow Ribbon events both before and after deployments to manage changes more effectively.



I look forward to telling my unit about Yellow Ribbon, Hicks said. It definitely helped us. I know it will help others.



Besides reintegrating with his family, Hicks has another upcoming major transition: in the civilian workplace.



Pre-deployment I was a teachers aide; post-deployment Im an actual teacher with my own aides, Hicks said.



Hicks will teach high school special needs students with two teaching aides and a sign language interpreter, making accommodations for students based on their learning styles and physical abilities.

Im going to learn from my students, and theyre going to help me become a better teacher, he said.



Hicks said he knows he is capable of excelling in his new role because his passion for teaching, all he learned during his studies and even his military experiences will serve him well in the classroom.



There may be one more big change in store soon for Hicks. Senior Master Sgt. Shannon VanderZwaag, a first sergeant and Yellow Ribbon representative at Travis 349th Air Mobility Wing, has mentored Hicks to become a first sergeant. She said his knowledge, experience, compassion for others and natural leadership abilities make him an ideal candidate.



Being a first sergeant is like being a teacher, so in that way he is prepared, VanderZwaag said. He has the ability to lead a classroom and lead Airmen, which is really special.



VanderZwaag said shes also glad the couple came to Yellow Ribbon and believes their relationship is stronger for it.



They now have the tools they need to move forward together, she said.


The Maharashtra government, which has decided to regularise unauthorised constructions till December 2015 on a mass scale in urban belts, said criminal cases will be filed against builders responsible for illegalities.

Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis told the Legislative Assembly that criminal cases will be filed against builders who have undertaken illegal construction.

Action will also be taken against guilty officials, Fadnavis said, while replying to a discussion on a calling attention notice.

The policy to regularise unauthorised constructions is applicable to entire state and not just in Thane and Navi Mumbai, he said.

The Supreme Court had stayed the demolition of illegal constructions in Digha in Navi Mumbai till July 31.

On July 29, Minister of State for Urban Development Ranjit Patil had informed the Legislative Assembly that the government was planning a comprehensive policy to regularise unauthorised constructions till December 2015 on a mass scale in urban belts.
The Maharashtra government has decided to reconsider the No helmet, no fuel rule, Transport minister Diwakar Raote informed the state Assembly.

However, petrol pump owners will be asked to intimate vehicle numbers of two-wheelers where the rider was without helmet, to transport authorities, the minister said.

The decision, set to be implemented from August 1, had met with fierce opposition from pump owners.

Giving into the resistance from two-wheeler riders and petrol pump owners, the government decided to assess the feasibility of its implementation, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis had said recently.

Speaking in the Assembly on Thursday, Fadnavis had said the state government decided to implement strict road safety-related rules to reduce the casualties in road accidents.

Raote had announced last month that from August 1, no two-wheeler riders will be sold petrol at pumping stations if they are not wearing helmets.

These rules put the onus on petrol pump owners who had threatened to go on strike.

The Opposition had raised the issue in the Lower House, saying it was against public sentiments.

Former Deputy Chief Minister and Nationalist Congress Party leader Ajit Pawar said though the governments intention was sincere, the policy was not practical. Groups in Pune are preparing to make helmets available outside petrol pumps for Re 1, just for refuelling purposes. This will defeat the original purpose, he had said.
A Manipur-based radical social organisation has warned activist Irom Sharmila, who recently decided to end her 16-year-old fast against alleged army atrocities, against contesting elections and marrying an outsider.

The proscribed group Alliance for Socialist Unity Kangleipak said that some former revolutionary leaders were assassinated after moving away from the cause and participating in public life. All those who joined electoral politics did so knowing well that it was a dead-end, ASUK chairman N Oken and vice-chairman Ksh Lab Meitei said in a statement.

The duo also cautioned Sharmila against marrying a non-local.

It may be noted that Sharmila is in a relationship with a Goan-British activist, Desmond Coutinho.

Even though the man is an NRI, he is still an Indian in the eyes of the people of Kangleipak (core of Manipur), the statement said.

The outfit said the Indian intelligence agencies could have planted the NRI to weaken Sharmilas fight against AFSPA and colonial domination.

As per the report, the ASUK is fighting for a sovereign Manipur.

Sharmila, 44, had announced on July 26 that she would end her hunger strike against AFSPA on August 9.

The Iron Lady of Manipur started her strike on November 5, 2000, three days after she allegedly saw a group of army men kill 10 people at a bus stop in Malom near her home.

Sharmila, who has spent most of the last 16 years in custody in an Imphal hospital, is to be released on August 9.
The 19-year-old Norwegian national of Somali-origin, who is in police custody on charges of murder after going on a knife rampage in London, has been described as a quiet, nice schoolboy and initial probe indicate that tragic incident was triggered by mental health issues.

Zakaria Bulhan is yet to be officially named by Scotland Yard but UK media reports confirm the London schoolboy as the suspect being held over the murder of 64-year-old American retired teacher Darlene Horton.

A schoolmate, who went to Graveney School in Tooting, south London, with Bulhan told Daily Mirror: Its one of the most shocking things I have ever heard.

No-one would have expected that he would turn out like that.

He was a quiet, nice kid who had banter with people. He was just a nice kid. I have seen some reports that say he was bullied but it was just banter  he gave back as good as he got. It was a two-way thing.

Norwegian Police said in a statement that the suspect had emigrated from Norway to the UK in 2002 and they were assisting London police.

Scotland Yard had searched addresses in north London and another in south London and concluded that mental health issues were the most likely cause of the random attack.

After an initial indication that terrorism was one line of inquiry, the force confirmed that there was no evidence of radicalisation or anything to suggest the attack was in any way motivated by terrorism.

Whilst the investigation is not yet complete  all of the work that we have done so far, increasingly points to this tragic incident as having been triggered by mental health issues,?Metropolitan police assistant commissioner Mark Rowley said.

So far we have found no evidence of radicalisation or anything that would suggest the man in our custody was motivated by terrorism,? he added.

A British man who suffered a stab wound to his stomach in the attack at Russell Square, near the British Museum, remains in hospital in a serious but stable condition while an American man, an Australian man and Australian woman, and an Israeli woman were all discharged after receiving treatment for their injuries.

Horton, who died at the scene, was set to return to Florida with husband Richard Wagner, a psychology professor at Florida State University (FSU), after he completed his summer classes on the day of the attack.

It is understood that university officials have flown to London to support him.
[dropcap]A[/dropcap] Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sanghs (RSS) Swayamsevak, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Amit Shahs closed aide, Bharatiya Janata Partys Gujarat unit chief, Vijay Rupani is chosen as next Gujarats Chief Minister. Much speculated Nitin Patel will be his deputy. Rupani represents Rajkot West in the Gujarat Assembly. He was Transport, Labour and Water Supplies Minister in the Anandiben Patels Cabinet. His performance as a minister may not be holding much merits but he is very close to the two power holders this time and also no non-sense man. He is 60 years old, keeps low profile and is very humble.

Rupani began his political innings as a student activist attached to ABVP, the student wing of the RSS. After student life, he naturally moved to RSS and then to the BJP. He has been the Mayor of Rajkot and served as a minister in Narendra Modis cabinet when latter was the Chief Minister of Gujarat.

Rupani was made president of Bharatiya Janata Partys Gujarat unit in February this year. His appointment was delayed by almost a month owing to differences between Anandiben Patel and BJP President Amit Shah. He replaced the Leuva Patidar leader, R C Faldu, and his appointment came at a time when the party was facing serious challenges from the community. The appointment was seen as a mark of confidence, the BJP brass had on the leader from the Baniya community.

A Jain Baniya, Rupani belongs to the minority community in the state. Jains make up only one per cent of Gujarats population while Baniyas comprise three per cent. The BJP selected a non-other backward classes and non-Patel leader at the helm to avoid a tricky political situation. Many see Rupani as a close aide of Amit Shahd. Hence, his appointment hinted at the latters increased indirect control of the state unit, where rumours of factionalism are rife.

As I said earlier, he started his political career as a student activist, and eventually joined the RSS and thereafter the Jan Sangh in 1971. He is the only minister in the state Cabinet to have been jailed during the Emergency. He has also been the partys general secretary and was an active member of the students wing of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP). Vijay holds a Bachelor of Arts and LLB degree. Rupani is known to have Narendra Modis support and in August 2014, when Vajubhai Vala, the incumbent speaker of Gujarat Legislative Assembly, resigned as the MLA from Rajkot West, Rupani was nominated by the BJP to contest his vacant seat. He won the bye-poll in October 2014 by a handsome margin.

The new CM pick comes after days of speculation over whether Amit Shah would take charge as the Chief Minister. The air however was cleared on Wednesday when senior leader Venkaiah Naidu categorically stated that Shah would continue in his national role. Anandiben Patel tendered her resignation to Governor OP Kohli, hours after the BJPs parliamentary board accepted it. Patel had been at the receiving end of a string of high-pressure crises in Gujarat. She had received intense criticism for her handling of the protests demanding reservation for the powerful Patidar community. She has also been targeted over the protests by Dalit organisations in the aftermath of the beatings in Una.

Nitin Patel is nominated as a deputy Chief Minister. Patel is partys current second-in-command in Gujarat and had shown his interest in serving as the state Chief Minister during the 2014 Lok Sabha elections. Contesting his first assembly elections in the state in 1995, Nitin Patel has been a part and member of the BJP for the last 30 years. He has been serving at various important positions in every successive government. Belonging to the Patidar community, he has been designated as Dy.CM, especially to represent the party in the assembly elections, which will be held in 2017. Patel may be able to take the Patidar community into confidence in the aftermath of the Patidar agitation led by Hardik Patel. The 60-year-old minister has held senior positions in the government and also enjoys the backing of the party president Amit Shah and the Prime Minister Narendra Modi. In 2014, when in the national elections, Narendra Modi was predicted to win, Patel had said that he would be happy to take up the post of the chief minister of Gujarat when Narendra Modi becomes prime minister. However, today to set the correct caste equations in state politics, Patel is given deputy CMs post.

Two senior citizens are chosen for BJP in Gujarat. Lets see, how they can restore the glory of Modis legacy in the state.

(Any suggestions, comments or dispute with regards to this article send us on feedback@afternoonvoice.com)
They had worn black badge to protest against Prakash Mehta for behaving in an uncivilised manner with them.

Journalists fraternity strongly condemned the Maharashtra Housing Minister Prakash Mehta for his misbehaviour with a television journalist. They urged the state government to take stringent action against Mehta and demanded an apology from him. The association also said that the government should draft a code of conduct for legislators as they are representatives of the people. Members of Bombay News Photographers Association had worn black badge to protest against Mehta for behaving in an uncivilised manner with them.

Prakash Mehta had visited the site at Mahad where the bridge had collapsed but instead of taking stock of the situation he was busy clicking selfies. When some media persons questioned him on the matter and also the fact that he reportedly learnt of the tragedy after nearly nine hours, Mehta lost his cool and hurled abuses at a television channel reporter. He alleged that the reporters were raising non-issues for the sake of TRPs and that he will solve his departments problems on his own. His supporters later also allegedly heckled the TV reporter. Maharashtra Assembly Speaker Haribhau Bagade on Friday sought a clarification from Prakash Mehta.

While the media called for a boycott of Mehta, opposition Congress leaders like Vijay Wadettiwar and Abdul Sattar demanded his resignation for clicking a selfie when rescue operations were in full swing to locate two missing buses, other vehicles and their occupants.

An official from Mumbai Press Club said, Such type of unruly behaviour is not expected from a legislator like Prakash Mehta. The government must take action against him.

Leader of Opposition Radhakrishna Vikhe Patil, who raised the issue in the Lower House, said the government should apologise for Mehtas alleged rude behaviour with the journalist. He said, When Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis was briefing the media about the steps taken by the government to speed up relief work in Mahad, Prakash Mehta was seen clicking selfies. The video footage of this incident has gone viral on social media. Mehtas behaviour only shows that the government is least bothered about the problems faced by common man.

The incidence happened at Mahad where a TV journalist and Prakash Mehta had some hot exchange of words is unfortunate. However the journalist had visited the site to take stock of the situation and not as a political correspondent, we believe. His statement, people are angry with you as guardian minister was out of context, unwarranted and uncalled for, said Avadhut Wagh, Maharashtra BJP spokesperson. Understanding the seriousness of the tragic situation, journalists should also refrain from asking such political and biased questions. They are nonetheless free to ask any information about the incident which will be provided promptly, he added.

Initially, some 50 men and women stood surrounding Mehta as he patiently took questions. However, local residents and relatives were unhappy with the slow pace of rehabilitation and relief work. Mehta informed them that the government has ordered a probe for ascertaining the cause of the bridge collapse.

Where are the rest of the ministers? What are you doing as guardian minister? demanded one man. Later Mehta lost his cool and there was heated arguments between him and TV journalists.

At least two buses with 22 people and four to five private vehicles were washed away early on Wednesday in floodwaters after a British-era bridge collapsed on the Mumbai-Goa highway.
Vijay Rupani will take over as the new chief minister of Gujarat. Nitin Patel will be the deputy chief minister of Gujarat. The oath taking ceremony will take place on Sunday, 7 August, 2016.

Rupanis appointment comes after former CM Anandiben Patel resigned from the post earlier this week citing her age, adding that she wanted younger leaders to takeover the reigns of the party prior to the 2017 state assembly elections.

Mr. Rupani, a Jain leader, is close to both Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP chief Amit Shah, whose influence is seen in todays surprise decision. Nitin Patel was on Friday morning accepting felicitations and giving interviews on his plans as chief minister.

Like most BJP leaders, Rupani has had his roots in the RSS and the ABVP, the students wing of the BJP.

Prior to contesting the Rajkot West assembly seat that was vacated by Vajubhai Vala, who was appointed the Governor of Karnataka, Rupanis political career was confined to Saurashtra region of the state.

Nitin Patel was holding the health portfolio and is the state government spokesperson.

The new CM pick comes after days of speculation over whether Amit Shah would take charge as the Chief Minister. The air however was cleared on Wednesday when senior leader Venkaiah Naidu categorically stated that Amit Shah would continue in his national role.

Anandiben Patel tendered her resignation to Governor OP Kohli on Wednesday evening, hours after it was accepted by the BJPs parliamentary board. Patel had been at the receiving end of a string of high-pressure crises in Gujarat.

Anandiben Patel who put up a spirited fight on behalf of Nitin Patel in the BJP MLAs meet was finally asked to tell Nitin Patel to accept the post of deputy chief minister.
WASHINGTON, Aug. 5, 2016 - West Coast union dockworkers will vote next week on whether or not theyre willing to discuss an early extension of their contracts, a development that would be very welcomed by agriculture exporters.

If the International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) votes yes during a three-day meeting in San Francisco from Aug. 10 - 12, then members will begin a lengthy process to discuss details to extend the contracts beyond the current July 1, 2019, expiration date, Russ Bargmann, an ILWU director, said Friday.

Its a process that agricultural exporters will be watching closely after a nine-month contract dispute between the ILWU and the Pacific Maritime Association (PMA), a group that manages West Coast Ports, resulted in massive slowdowns that effectively halted trade in late 2014 through early 2015.

A spokesman for PMA declined to comment for this story.

We are encouraged by this development and strongly support any step that will result in a more long-term contract between the two parties, said Mike Steenhoek, executive director of the Soy Transportation Coalition. Such a contract extension will provide greater predictability of the supply chain for those industries, including agriculture, that depend upon West Coast ports.

Bulk shipments of agricultural commodities like soybeans and corn were mostly unaffected, but exporters of containers full of meat, fruit, vegetables, hay and other commodities were hit hard and lost billions of dollars.

Chilled meat exports to Asia were hit especially hard because of the labor dispute, said Joe Schuele, a spokesman for the U.S. Meat Export Federation. Frozen product is able to be stored in the ports for several weeks, he said, but chilled cuts have a much shorter shelf life. To prevent crates of rotting meat piling up at the ports in California and Washington, the product had to be diverted elsewhere  often sold back into the domestic market at a significant loss to the exporter.

Exporters ship about 200,000 metric tons of meat worth about $700 million to Asian markets through West Coast ports, according to data from the North American Meat Institute.

Did you know Agri-Pulse subscribers get our Daily Harvest email and Daybreak audio Monday through Friday mornings, a 16-page newsletter on Wednesdays, and access to premium content on our ag and rural policy website? Sign up for your four-week free trial Agri-Pulse subscription.





Schuele said exports of chilled beef and pork dropped by 18 percent in the first quarter of 2015, but some of that decrease was likely due to other market conditions.

Still, the entire industry felt the pain from the dispute that didnt end until February, 2015.

It also had an impact on prices, all the way back to the farm level because you start to see these swollen cold storage inventories, Schuele said. When those inventories start to get high, you start to see an impact on livestock prices.

There is no telling which way the ILWU will vote next week, but the Agriculture Transportation Coalition quoted PMA President Jim McKenna in a June article, saying he was hopeful that the union would agree to talks on an early contract extension.

McKenna was quoted saying: The logical thing is an extension of the contract for three to five years.

#30

For more news, go to www.Agri-Pulse.com
August 4, 2016

CAIRO  A controversy has erupted between Egypts Water Ministry and the countrys media outlets over this years Nile flood forecasting.

The ministry had declared a state of emergency from May to August of this year due to drought, the worst to hit the Nile Basin in the past 100 years. Cairo was relying on this crisis to ensure the success of its new campaign to rationalize water usage, demanding that the citizens and farmers reduce their water consumption as much as possible.

However, Egyptian media outlets began circulating reports in late July that the flooding rates for the year increased and that heavy rain had fallen on the Ethiopian highlands. The controversy has been centered on reports that were prepared by Sudans Ministry of Electricity and the Egyptian irrigation mission to Sudan.

The Ministry of Water Resources and Irrigation denied the presence of any data indicating that the water flooding rate is higher than the average for the new water year, which starts in early August, and demanded that media outlets stop circulating news on the flooding that are not issued by the ministry.

A source at the Ministry of Water Resources and Irrigation told Al-Monitor that the ministry is not disclosing to the Egyptian public data on the water reserves in Lake Nasser and annual floods on the Aswan Dam because the state is currently seeking to adopt tighter water curtailment measures through a new irrigation and wastewater bill that the ministry will submit to parliament. The source, who requested anonymity, added that the bill would double penalties on the unlicensed cultivation of water-intensive crops and pisciculture in the Nile waters and impose other penalties on what it terms water wastage. This is in addition to the completion of a plan designed to supply all of Egypts coastal cities with drinking water through desalination and to cut off the Nile water supply for their residents.

Mohamed Nasr Eldin Allam, the former minister of water resources and irrigation, told Al-Monitor that it is necessary that water use optimization be separated from the floods and their annual rates because Egypts share of the Nile waters does not meet the Egyptians needs. Dozens of floods will not be enough to resolve the water scarcity crisis in Egypt because at the end of the day, Egypt will only get a limited share, he said.

The Egyptian government should be honest with people regarding the embarrassing water situation in Egypt, he said. He added while focusing on the drought crisis and not disclosing the elevated flood levels may bring temporary success to the governments water curtailment campaign, credibility is more important in convincing the people of the necessity of optimizing water usage.

Allam warned against a farmers' revolt, as the government has failed to find them any alternatives after banning rice growing, which requires large quantities of water. He said that the crops allowed to be planted, such as corn, do not generate profits.

Walid Akiki, a representative of the Ministry of Water Resources and Irrigation, said that the publication of information and figures on the flooding and daily water rates that Egypt gets is a technical issue that means little to the Egyptian citizen. He said, Our message to the citizens focuses on the shift from the time where there was an abundance of water to a time of water scarcity, which requires them to optimize their water usage, because the quantities received from the Nile waters do not meet our needs for development and in drinking water.

Haitham Awad, the chairman of the Department of Irrigation and Hydraulics at Alexandria University, told Al-Monitor that by focusing on the drought crisis and hiding data on the flooding rates in order for its campaign to succeed in raising citizens' awareness of the importance of a drop of water, the Ministry of Water Resources and Irrigation is overstepping its role. He said it was shifting from its prescribed technical role to a political one.

Awad said the ministrys political approach may be designed to prepare the public for a serious wave of water shortages when the Renaissance Dam starts to operate and be filled.

In the past few days, Egyptian media outlets have once again raised the issue that Ethiopia is storing water behind the Renaissance Dam as the Nile flooding on the Ethiopian highlands has started and the drought has lessened. This caused the government to issue a statement explaining that no water was stored behind the dam and that the Ethiopian flood water increased the width of the Blue Nile bed, which through the eye of a satellite can be falsely seen as a water storage in front of the dam.

In an interview with Al-Monitor, Egyptian Minister of Water Resources and Irrigation Mohamed Abdel Ati said, We are not hiding information from the Egyptian public. However, we have reservations about what is being circulated in the media on the new Nile flooding. It is still [too] early to make a judgment in this regard.

He said, Even though the new water flooding rates were higher than average, the focus should be placed on the fact that the water level dropped down by six meters [roughly 19.5 feet] in the Aswan Dam last year due to the drought. The new flooding is our new hope for recovery. Egyptian citizens need to know that there is serious water scarcity problem requiring the doubling of water-curtailment measures.

He added, Unfortunately, the drought, which has lessened in the Nile Basin region and has affected Egypt, will not end the water-curtailment plan, because our share of the Nile waters remains limited and is not enough to meet our needs.

The minister said that Egypts water-curtailment plan is based on the following points:

The most important one is to raise awareness of the limited amount of water and promote optimal usage. He said that Egyptian state TV will start broadcasting information on how to rationalize water usage.

There will be increased penalties on water-wasting infractions.

The state will attempt to reduce pollution of water sources in order to ensure efficient water use.

Egypt should grow crops requiring less water, with more efficient technologies allowing the reuse of sewage water for agricultural purposes.

The media focus on higher Nile flooding rates has embarrassed the Egyptian government, which is sanctioning Egyptian farmers growing water-intensive crops despite the high profits such crops generate. The government is also heading toward tighter water-curtailment measures, as Addis Ababa is preparing for the operation of the Renaissance Dam, which will have a direct impact on Egypts share of the Nile waters, estimated at 55.5 billion cubic meters per year.
August 4, 2016

BAGHDAD  Many political and security leaders in Baghdad support digging a trench to insulate the hard-won city of Fallujah from infiltrators. However, those leaders might have to dig themselves out of a hole with the community's residents, who don't like the idea of being restricted.

The leaders blame bombings in Baghdad on the city's proximity to Fallujah in Anbar province. They say car bombs originate from Fallujah, where the cars were booby-trapped. Baghdad is roughly 40 miles (64 kilometers) east of Fallujah.

In response, workers are digging an almost 7-mile (11-kilometer) trench that will have a single crossing for Fallujah residents, according to Lt. Gen. Abdul-Wahab al-Saadi, deputy commander of the counterterrorism forces that led recent operations to liberate Fallujah from the Islamic State. The plan is also designed to prevent ousted IS fighters from returning. Saadi told Al-Monitor by phone July 31 that the trench will run between the Iraqi army's first and fourth divisions for security purposes, and is not intended to isolate residents.

Those residents, who will be issued electronic passes to come and go, still fear being cut off from the rest of Iraq.

Nearly 90,000 people once lived in Fallujah, and most of them have fled to western Baghdad. Security forces believe they need to monitor the displaced and prevent terrorist groups from infiltrating the Fallujah area as people begin to return. But many are wondering how much good a trench will do.

Writer and political analyst Omar al-Hamdani told Al-Monitor, Of course the security trench ... will not be a solution to maintain security there. It will perhaps be a reason for the people to be angry at the government. Thus, there is a need for the government to work on new plans to preserve security in Fallujah.

He added, Trust between the community and government security forces needs to be built in Fallujah. This is the most appropriate solution to create a safe environment in an area that was dominated by terrorism for 13 years. Besides, extremism may return and the gap between the residents and security services may deepen.

While some of Iraq's parliament members welcome the trench, others reject it. Their opposition or support does not, however, arise from security or social concerns, but rather from political reasons. This conflict could cause a political and social crisis that would intensify accusations that Fallujah residents are extremists who oppose the political system founded after a US-led coalition invaded Iraq in 2003.

The first leg of the trench is underway. That 4-mile (six-kilometer) leg will be north of Fallujah, running from the Euphrates River toward the main road to Baghdad. Fallujah Mayor Issa al-Issawi told Associated Press contributors that work on the 7-mile (11-kilometer) second leg to the south and southeast of the city will begin soon. He also said the entire trench will be about 5 feet (1.5 meters) deep and 40 feet (12 meters) wide.

Maj. Gen. Saad Harbiya, commander of military operations in western Baghdad, told Reuters July 23 that the barrier is meant to keep forces posted outside Fallujah from entering the city proper, following allegations that homes and public buildings had been looted and burned after the IS defeat.

While some observers view the trench as a positive step toward keeping terrorists out of Fallujah, Anbar province officials reject the idea, saying it will divide Fallujah's clans and agricultural lands.

Many people aren't convinced or comforted by the concept of a trench maintaining security. In addition to restricting citizens' movement in and out of Fallujah, the trench could be detrimental to the economies of areas in the city with limited access to the crossing. Though the community doesn't like the trench idea, the residents don't want to be accused of collaborating with terrorist groups. Observers say this will most likely prompt them to accept the trench and leave the task of resisting or accepting it to the Anbar government.
August 5, 2016

ISTANBUL  Clues about who may have been behind the coup attempt in Turkey increasingly point to US-based Turkish cleric Fethullah Gulen and his network of supporters. Yet the big picture will remain blurred until the movements anti-Iran stance, too often neglected, is considered.

Gulens anti-Iran posture is first and foremost rooted in ideology, as he hails from a tradition that views political Shiism as a threat. In a 1997 interview with Yeni Yuzyil, Gulen clearly laid out this tendency when he criticized the export of a sect and fanatical Islamic understanding in the name of religion and Islamic revolution, adding that the Iranians uphold their own sect and interpretations before the true religion. Gulen also pointed to Persian expansionism in the region while referring to Irans historic rivalry with [Turkey] as a certain danger.

Gulenists have over the years used Iranophobia as a tool in their power struggle with the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP). Turkish intelligence (MIT) chief Hakan Fidan, a close confidant of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, has been a major target, chiefly over the peace talks with the militant Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK). Gulen views the PKK as a threat to his networks existence, especially in Turkeys Kurdish-dominated southeast. As such, the first clash between Gulen and then-Prime Minister Erdogan  perhaps unsurprisingly  emerged over the Kurdish question in February 2012.

Fidan was called to give testimony on the so-called Oslo negotiations, the first series of talks between the MIT and the PKK in 2008-2009 that eventually led to the now collapsed peace process. Upon Erdogans advice, Fidan chose not to testify, since part of the probe was led by a prosecutor with alleged Gulenist links. Of note, the prosecutor later fled Turkey after being suspended over those links.

From this point onward, Gulen-affiliated media outlets began to openly target Iran. These efforts included allegations that Tehran supports the PKK, prompting the Iranian ambassador to Ankara to write a letter to Zaman in protest. The Gulen-linked press extensively circulated a 2013 Washington Post article that alleged that Fidan had handed over to Tehran the names of 10 Iranians who were working with Israeli intelligence agency Mossad. Fidan was also accused of having contacted an Iranian agent in the clandestine Gulenist-led Selam-Tevhid investigation in 2010-2014 that centered on an allegedly Iran-linked militant group active in the 1990s. In 2014, a prosecutor ordered the detention of those in charge of this probe, arguing that the case was essentially reinvented to justify a wiretapping scheme. Police officers linked to Gulen were accused of having wiretapped 2,500 figures for more than three years as part of this operation  including members of Turkish Shiite associations, journalists, ministers, MIT and even Erdogan. The prosecutors indictment, which was completed earlier this year, implicated Gulen-linked police chiefs, prosecutors and judges and labeled the whole thing a conspiracy. It further claimed that the target was not just the Kurdish peace process, but interestingly, also the 2010 nuclear fuel swap initiative with Iran that was jointly led by Erdogan and Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.

The latter point is perhaps not surprising. Al-Monitor spoke with Hakki Uygur of the Ankara-based center for Iranian studies. He recalled a high-level diplomatic meeting in Tehran in late 2014, saying that a Gulen-affiliated Turkish diplomat  who is still in active service  was behind an anti-Iran communique that was only thwarted after Erdogan intervened. In Uygurs telling, this incident indicates how Gulenists tried to sabotage bilateral relations [with Iran] using their own diplomats.

The orthodox Sunni Gulenists appear to have systematically used Iran as a scapegoat in their efforts to deal with the heterodoxy posed by Turkeys Alevi community. Most observers were surprised by the Turkish governments July 23 decree ordering 13 Alevi associations be shut down. However, according to pro-Kurdish former Peoples' Democratic Party lawmaker and Alevi-Bektasi Federation founder Ali Kenanoglu, these were in fact Gulen-linked associations. Kenanoglu told Al-Monitor that they were founded in cooperation with the AKP, and that their aim was to assimilate the Alevis.

Indeed, the head of one of these Alevi associations claimed in 2013 in Gulen-linked Zaman that 700 Alevi leaders had traveled to Iran in 2010-2013 and met with Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Kenanoglu denied the allegations and told Al-Monitor that the Gulen-linked associations were formed to make statements like these. In Kenanoglus telling, their goal was to push the line that the Alevis of Turkey cooperate with Iran and that they are organizing against Turkey with the support of Iran to create unrest.

Ankara-based Iran researcher Bayram Sinkaya from Yildirim Beyazit University disagrees with the notion that the Alevi institutions were formed to counter Iranian influence. Rather, he told Al-Monitor, Gulens move to influence Alevis may be evaluated as [an effort] to expand his base rather than balance Irans efforts.

Last but not least, benefiting from the prevalent anti-Iran sentiment in the United States and Israel, Gulen has prolonged his self-imposed exile in Pennsylvania by siding with  and perhaps trying to influence  Washington and Tel Avivs policy toward Tehran. Indeed, in addition to targeting Iran as a means to undermine Erdogan, Gulenists appear to capitalize on their anti-Iran posture to forge good ties with the United States.

Gulenists seemed to play a key role in the initial efforts to take down Iranian-Turkish businessman Reza Zarrab, who is now detained in the United States over alleged violations related to the bypassing of sanctions on Iran. In December 2013, Turkish police and prosecutors allegedly linked to the Gulen movement spearheaded graft allegations against Zarrab and three Turkish ministers. The effort revolved around an allegedly Zarrab-mediated arrangement to bypass US sanctions on Iran by organizing Turkish payment of Iranian natural gas imports via physical delivery of gold. This controversy was eventually quashed by Erdogan, but his ministers resigned. As Walter Posch, Austria-based Iran expert at the German Institute for International and Security Affairs, told Al-Monitor, Zarrab was a victim of his greed  him being Iranian came in handy.

Iranian journalist Abbas Aslani told Al-Monitor that Gulen is perceived as an agent of the United States in Iran, and that his network is not allowed to set up schools in the country. Khamenei recently pointed to intense speculation  that the coup was carried out with Americans planning and assistance.

Given the increasing tension between Turkey and the United States over Gulen and especially after its recent rapprochement with Russia, Turkeys path forward is something Washington needs to consider. As such, Gulens fate may ultimately influence the future relations of Turkey, the United States and Iran.
August 4, 2016

The head of Irans judiciary, Ayatollah Sadegh Larijani, made an interesting proposition to European countries during a speech Aug. 3 on the occasion of Human Rights Day in Iran. He said Iran is willing to hold talks on human rights as long as Europe is willing to also discuss the human rights situation in their countries.

It cannot be that only Iran is questioned, Larijani said. It has to be two-way. We have questions for Europe, too. He said that Iran wants to question Europe on the spread of Islamophobia, forced unveiling in schools and restrictions on discussing the Holocaust, specifically in France.

Iran, which has the highest number of people executed per capita in the world, has been on the defensive over the human rights reports issued by American and European organizations and the human rights sanctions issued by those countries. Iranian authorities, however, view this human rights pressure more as a political tool. The West applies double standards with respect to human rights, Larijani said. As examples, he raised the relationship of Europe and the United States with Bahrain despite its recent crackdown on clerics and dissidents. In regard to the recent scandal of removing a Saudi Arabian-led coalition from the child rights blacklist, Larijani said, With their own dollars, they silence the secretary-general of the United Nations over the violation of children in Yemen.

Addressing the United States and Europe, Larijani continued, Today it has become clear to the world that your defense of human rights is a tool. Are there no human rights violations in the United States? In the 30-something years we have accepted millions of Afghan and Iraqi refugees while subjected to sanctions. European countries with all their wealth have [only] accepted a few thousand refugees. Larijani also cited that Saudi Arabia beheads individuals in capital punishment, and that in the United States African-Americans are killed by the police, yet they are not punished on the grounds of human rights violations.

According to Larijani, the negotiations on human rights would be conducted by Irans Human Rights Council, the Supreme National Security Council and the Foreign Ministry. Mohammad Javad Larijani, who heads Irans Human Rights Council, said Aug. 4 that Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif has held preliminary talks on human rights with Federica Mogherini, the European Union's foreign affair minister. Javad Larijani, however, warned that Iran would not allow the West to impose its views of human rights onto Iran.

In other news, well-known conservative theoretician Hassan Abbasi has been arrested after an old video surfaced that showed him insulting Irans army. In the 2010 video, Abbasi had attempted to defend the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and the Basij Organization against American accusations, saying, You guys prefer something like the army that remains in its barracks without making noise. If the country is swept away by water, they will not make a noise or take a position. While only a short segment of the speech was shown on social media pages, Abbasis comments were in defense of the IRGC and the Basij during the 2009 post-election crackdown.

Habibollah Sayyari, the commander of Irans regular navy, and Ahmad Reza Pourdastan, commander of Irans army ground forces, condemned the comments by Abbasi. Pourdastan had said he would file a complaint. After he was summoned to a military court earlier, Abbasi had apologized for the comments.

A number of conservative analysts have come to Abbasis defense. Vahid Pouryamin argued that the statute of limitations for the charges against Abbasi, spreading lies and providing an atmosphere of skepticism against Irans armed forces, had expired according to the law. Afsaran website asked why Abbasi was arrested for his comments, yet Zarif was never arrested for his comments that the United States could easily take out Irans defense systems.
August 5, 2016

On July 28, Jabhat al-Nusra announced it was severing all ties with its parent organization, al-Qaeda, and changing its name to Jabhat Fatah al-Sham (Conquest of Syria Front). Al-Qaeda gave its blessing to the move, reflecting an evolution by both organizations in their international strategies and a deep understanding of local Syrian dynamics.

Jordanian Salafist expert Hassan Abu Haniya, however, questions how much distance the secession will really put between the groups due to their complex ideological, historical and personal links.

Jabhat al-Nusra leader Abu Mohammed al-Golani appeared on camera late last month declaring the complete cancellation of all operations under the name of Jabhat al-Nusra." He said the new organization has no affiliation with any external entity.

On July 28, al-Qaeda's second-in-command, Ahmed Hassan Abu al-Khayr, announced that Jabhat al-Nusras leadership had been instructed to go ahead with what protects the interests of Islam and Muslims and what protects jihad." Al-Qaedas No. 1 leader, Ayman al-Zawahri, added, The brotherhood of Islam  is stronger than any organizational links.

Yet Abu Haniya noted that Golani's announcement carried many references to al-Qaeda: Golani was dressed in military fatigues, like the late al-Qaeda founder Osama bin Laden, and used Arabic expressions and references used by the infamous leader.

Besides the framing of the actual announcement, Abu Haniya explained, Jabhat al-Nusras decision was backed by major jihadi ideologues such as Sheikh Abu Muhammad al-Maqdisi and Abu Qatada. Maqdisi and Abu Qatada are two influential Jordanian Salafist jihadi clerics with close links to al-Qaeda.

The move also garnered the approval of Saudi Sheikh Abdallah al-Muhaysini, the cleric of Jaish al-Fatah (Army of Conquest). Powerful Syrian rebel factions such as Ahrar al-Sham also applauded Jabhat al-Nusras decision, while figures such as Abu Hamza Hamawi, the head of the Salafist Ajnad al-Sham faction, said Jabhat al-Nusras decision could facilitate military unity.

In addition, al-Qaeda's second-in-command, Abu al-Khayr, who blessed the secession, is currently in Syria with the consent of Jabhat al-Nusra. What does this tell you of the supposed [split] in relations? If there was a real break of the pledge of allegiance between the two organizations, it is supposed to be [according to jihadi practices] condemned by death, said Abu Haniya. He said the groups' separation appears to be only tactical.

He added that the decoupling shows al-Qaeda prioritizes its affiliates survival. Al-Qaeda has witnessed several phases since its inception as it went from a local organization [in Afghanistan] to a global organization after the September 2001 coordinated terror attacks on the United States, which was followed by a period of indimaj, a period of mixed policies with a focus on both the far and close enemies. Now we are witnessing a return to the primacy of local dynamics, Abu Haniya stressed.

The expert added that the transformation also indicates al-Qaeda's move since the Arab Spring to an emphasis on Syria-centered politics.

That move to prioritizing local politics has translated into Jabhat al-Nusra adopting a pragmatic approach to external and internal pressures. On July 13, Russia and the United States discussed forming a Joint Implementation Group to share intelligence, to possibly direct operational cooperation against Jabhat al-Nusra and to keep Russia from targeting jointly designated, and presumably opposition-controlled, areas.

The new US-Russian partnership might have accelerated Jabhat al-Nusras departure from al-Qaeda. In his statement, Golani said the Syrian opposition to the regime has to remove the pretext used by powers, including the US and Russia, to bomb Syrians.

Internal pressures also might have influenced Jabhat al-Nusras leadership decision. In the past year, the group held various discussions toward that goal, with Jabhat al-Nusra member Abu Maria al-Qahtani of Iraq arguing for the Syrianization of Jabhat al-Nusra, according to Syrian Islamic sources. Syrian members of Jabhat al-Nusra who represent the large majority were also in favor of severance of ties with al-Qaeda, Sheikh Hassan Dgheim, a Syrian cleric who studies Islamic organizations, told Al-Monitor.

Aleppo-based journalist Ahmad Abi Zeid told Al-Monitor many Syrians within Jabhat al-Nusra do not necessarily espouse al-Qaedas ideology, but have joined the organization because of the power it projects.

However, Abu Haniya believes the break with al-Qaeda was the result of a simple opportunity-and-threat analysis. Jabhat al-Nusra felt it was losing popularity, and it affected their relations with other groups. Since the break, the rebel coalition was given new impetus with the Aleppo offensive. On July 31, rebel groups launched the Great Battle (malahem) on Aleppo, which is still underway.

Dynamics marking the fresh Aleppo offensive by a large rebel alliance, including Jabhat Fatah al-Sham, confirm Jabhat al-Nusras successful calculation to decouple from al-Qaeda. The separation allowed the new group to consolidate its presence on Syrian soil and form alliances with other rebel groups that previously were hesitant to join forces with them due to the al-Qaeda affiliation.

The rebranding and fresh victories will add credibility to Jabhat Fatah al-Sham. This will certainly have repercussions on factions that were previously afraid of being targeted by cooperating with [al-Qaeda]. Salafist and Islamic factions will definitely perceive this move positively, Abi Zeid said.

Nonetheless, severing ties with the global jihad movement may also place the organization at a disadvantage. Dgheim underlines that in the past three months, several members of the group defected to join the Islamic State. This phenomenon may indicate a wider dissatisfaction among Jabhat al-Nusras hard-liners, specifically its foreign fighters. Abu Haniya, however, disagreed.

The decision to break ties with al-Qaeda had the approval of foreign leaders within the organization. During the secession announcement, Golani surrounded himself with a Syrian national, Abu Abdullah al-Shami, and a foreign fighter, Ahmad Salama Mabruk, also known as Abu Faraj the Egyptian, which is highly symbolic and shows the prevalence of its foreign affiliation, Abu Haniya explained, adding that the number of defections to this date has been limited.

Regardless of the repercussion of its name change on the Syrian scene, Jabhat al-Nusras decision to rebrand is a clear indicator of al-Qaedas repositioning in the Levant. Jabhat Fatah al-Shams new coalitions and its view of the Syrian political system and the peace process will reveal the extent of the organizations pragmatism and whether it is really willing to evolve.
August 4, 2016

BAGHDAD, Iraq  Following the July 24 suicide attack in the Shiite area of Kadhimiya in Baghdad, member of parliament (MP) Awatef Naameh, a Shiite herself, asked why Kadhimiya had been targeted and not the neighboring majority Sunni suburb of Adhamiya as well. Naameh called the attack, which killed 21 and wounded 36, a genocide targeting Iraqs Shiites. Her statement raised the ire of Sunni MP Liqaa Wardi, who deemed it sectarian incitement. The Islamic State (IS) ultimately claimed responsibility.

The statements by the two MPs reflect the sectarian conflict that has simmered and sometimes flared in Iraq, at one point erupting in civil war, between 2006 and 2008, with Kadhimiya and Adhamiya serving as two opposing battlefields. These neighboring areas  which face each other on opposite banks of the Tigris River  date back to Baghdad's early days, some 1,000 years ago, and share a history of coexistence disturbed by bursts of violent conflict.

Kadhimiya is home to the shrine of Imam al-Kadhim, one of the Shiite's twelve imams, who was, according to Shiites, poisoned in prison in 173 A.H. (A.D. 790) at the order of the Sunni Caliph Harun al-Rashid. (Sunnis believe Kadhim died of natural causes.) The Baghdad suburb is also home to the shrine of Mohammed al-Jawad, Kadhim's grandson and the ninth Shiite imam.

Adhamiya, on the other hand, is home to the mosque of Abu Hanifa al-Numan, an eighth-century Sunni imam and founder of one of the four schools of Sunni jurisprudence, the royal cemetery (also Baghdad's main Sunni cemetery), and the Great Imam University College, a training school for Sunni imams, as well as the offices of the Sunni Waqf (endowment).

Five times a day, one hears two different calls to prayer emanating from the opposite banks of the Tigris. Hasasn Kadhimi, a Shiite cleric, told Al-Monitor, This started after 2003, i.e., following the fall of Saddam Hussein. Before that, all calls to prayer were made according to the Sunni branch, which reflects the extent of the injustice inflicted on Shiites before 2003.

Kadhimi further stated, Saddam had established a large intelligence center in Kadhimiya to intimidate people that was a symbol of oppression. He was executed in that same place in 2006. The intelligence center is located at al-Aimmah Bridge (Bridge of the Imams), linking the two areas. In 2006, the bridge was the site of the deaths of some 1,000 Shiites crossing it on a pilgrimage to Kadhimiya. Some jumped off the bridge into the river, and others were crushed in the stampede prompted by rumors of a suicide bomber among the crowd.

Residents of Kadhimiya also recall the death sentences handed to an entire class of 13 students at the middle school there in 1983 because of anti-Saddam slogans written on a classroom blackboard. Since 2003, the area has experienced sporadic bloody attacks by Sunni extremists, including by IS.

As for Adhamiya, Mohammed Qader, a local, told Al-Monitor, The area got lots of attention under Saddam, because many of its residents held high-ranking positions in the security apparatus, the army and intelligence. This perhaps helps explain why Saddam made his final appearance in Adhamiya on April 9, 2003, before fleeing Baghdad as US troops entered the capital. He stood on top of a truck near Abu Hanifah al-Numan Mosque and vowed to a crowd that he would defeat the United States.

Saddam's strong grip on Iraqi society had kept the peace between Kadhimiya and Adhamiya. With Saddam's overthrow, tensions flared between Sunnis and Shiites in the two areas, including erupting into armed clashes and bombings. This year, on May 14, as Shiite pilgrims made their way through Adhamiya en route to Kadhimiya, someone attacked and set ablaze a building affiliated with the Sunni Waqf.

The conflict has also at times shown signs of the Saudi-Iranian rivalry. On May 2, 2015, some Shiites residents were accused by the media of provoking Sunnis by waving an Iranian flag in Kadhimiya. Meanwhile, the current Saudi ambassador to Iraq, Thamer al-Sabhan, paid a visit to Adhamiya Jan. 25 of this year, and told Sunni residents there that they would not be abandoned.

Sunni MP Jamila al-Obeidi, like many other parliamentary, political and religious figures, has called for not allowing sectarian flare ups to occur and views bombings and suicide attacks as attempts by IS to fuel the conflict."

IS has extensions in Adhamiya and other areas and is seeking to deepen the sectarian split, she told Al-Monitor. The inflammatory sectarian statements by both MPs Naameh and Wardi]  further contribute to the disintegration of the social fabric.

There are steps for reconciliation to renounce sectarianism and establish the spirit of shared living and co-existence, she continued. Pilgrims to the city of Kadhimiya pass every day through Adhamiya, as sectarian sensitivities have dwindled. Sunnis in Adhamiya have been very welcoming of them and have also been offering them services.

Adel al-Saidi, a Shiite cleric and a member of Baghdads City Council, told Al-Monitor, There is a need to instill and consolidate civil peace. In 2015, the charter on peaceful coexistence and the fight against hatred was issued. The charter was adopted by the Committee of Religious Endowments and Affairs in parliament and called for renouncing those who reject peaceful shared living and respect of the other.
August 4, 2016

WASHINGTON  US President Barack Obama, reviewing progress in combating the so-called Islamic State (IS) with his national security team at the Pentagon on Aug. 4, said the group will inevitably be defeated militarily and driven from its remaining strongholds of Mosul, Iraq, and Raqqa, Syria. But a long-term solution to IS will require an end to the Syrian civil war, Obama said, and he rebuked Russia for backing the Syrian regimes advances on Aleppo, suggesting ongoing US-Russian negotiations on possible deeper cooperation in Syria are unlikely to reach agreement anytime soon.

IS forces have not had a major successful offensive operation in either Iraq or Syria in a full year, Obama told journalists at the Pentagon after convening a National Security Council meeting to review progress in the fight against IS on Aug. 4.

They are inevitably going to be defeated, Obama said. But the situation is complex. They are not going to be defeated [by the military] alone.

In Syria, defeating [IS] and al-Qaeda requires the end of the civil war, Obama said. The regime and its allies continue to violate the cessation of hostilities, including with vicious attacks on defenseless civilians, medieval sieges on cities like Aleppo.  It is deplorable and [shows] the depravity of the Syrian regime.

Russias involvement  raises serious questions  about their preparedness to pull the situation from the brink, Obama said.

So far, Russia has failed to take the necessary steps, Obama said. It is time for Russia to show it is serious about pursuing these [objectives].

As Russian-backed Syrian forces have made advances trying to surround and cut off rebel-held eastern Aleppo, US officials have in recent days deflected questions about US-Russian negotiations about possible deeper cooperation targeting IS and Jabhat al-Nusra in Syria and trying to restore the cessation of hostilities in the country, except to say the negotiations are ongoing. US Secretary of State John Kerry, speaking in Laos last week, said he hoped to be able to announce the details of a US-Russian understanding the first week of August.

But an agreement did not appear to be imminent midweek.

We are not there yet, State Department deputy spokesman Mark Toner told journalists at the State Department press briefing Aug. 4.

We believe the discussions we have had with the Russians in Geneva have made progress, Toner said. The goal is how to make sense of what groups are located where in and around Aleppo and  beyond.  Only then can we put in place a cessation of hostilities that is credible, and that will allow talks to get going again in Geneva.

That is where we are, Toner said. It is not an easy place to be. It has not been made any easier by this assault on Aleppo. That does not mean we still dont believe the effort is worthwhile. We are still talking.

Diplomats trying to restart Syrian talks in Geneva said they considered US-Russian agreement critical for the prospect of resumed Syria political talks.

On the Russian-American military talks, they are ongoing, I can confirm; were hoping that the results will be fruitful within short order because I think that would unlock the entire situation, Deputy UN Syria envoy Ramzy Ezzeldin Ramzy told journalists in Geneva Aug. 4.

We continue to believe that no one has an interest in further escalating the military situation in Aleppo in a way that would impede humanitarian aid and the chances of political settlement, Ramzy said. We need to do something about Aleppo, very quickly. I think that there is still a chance for that in the next days.

Russia will try to find a way to make political talks and US-Russia understanding acceptable when it is ready, said Michael Kofman, a Russia military expert at the Kennan Institute.

Assuming a rebel counterattack in Aleppo does not succeed, Aleppo probably has three weeks before it is a real humanitarian disaster and every newspaper has the same headline, Kofman told Al-Monitor Aug. 4.

As far as political talks go  you have to count on the Russians to find their own way out of this victory, and they will, because they tend to be better at this than we are, Kofman said. Our job is to stick around, with the understanding that they will wish to institutionalize as much as possible while this administration is still in office. John Kerry's challenge will be more to manage the refuseniks on this side of the Atlantic  mainly at the Defense Department, he said.

Asked at the conclusion of his Pentagon news conference why he thinks the United States should work more with Russia on Syria when many at the Pentagon think Moscow cannot be trusted, Obama said he understands the doubts, but he wanted to test it.

I am not confident we can trust the Russians and Vladimir Putin, Obama said. Russia may not be able to get there.  That is what we want to test.

If we are able to get a genuine cessation of hostilities that prevents indiscriminate bombing, that protects civilians  and creates some pathway to begin the hard work of political negotiations inside of Syria, then we have to try.

And the options are limited when you have a civil war like this, Obama said. When you have a ruler that doesnt care about his people, when youve got terrorist organizations that are brutal and would impose their own kind of dictatorship.

He continued, There are going to be some bottom lines that we expect for cooperation with Russia. That means restraint on the part of the regime that so far has not been forthcoming.

So we are going to test and see if we can get something that sticks, and if not, then Russia will have shown itself very clearly to be an irresponsible actor on the world stage that is supporting a murderous regime and will have to answer to that on the international stage.
August 5, 2016

GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip  The Palestinian left-wing forces announced their intention to run in the Palestinian local council (municipal) elections slated for Oct. 8, in a unified list of five parties.

This is the first time that left-wing factions run in Palestinian elections as part of a unified list. In the previous Palestinian legislative elections in 2006 these factions ran in separate lists, such as the list of Martyr Abu Ali Mustafa affiliated with the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), the Alternative list affiliated with the coalition of the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine (DFLP), the Palestinian Democratic Union (FIDA), the Palestinian Peoples Party (PPP) and the Independent Palestine list affiliated with the Palestinian National Initiative (PNI).

In a July 28, 2015, interview with a PFLP-affiliated website, Kayed al-Ghul, a member of the PFLP's political bureau, said, The five left-wing factions  the PFLP, DFLP, PPP, FIDA and PNI  agreed to form a unified list consisting of figures affiliated with the democratic current to participate in the Oct. 8 local council elections.

He explained that the list will include candidates that are competent and qualified to work in municipalities according to a service-based program that reflects the needs of the people and that makes positive and constructive contributions by exploiting all available resource in an optimal way.

Ghul added, What is required now is to break the acute polarization between Fatah and Hamas plaguing the Palestinian society since the Fatah-Hamas dichotomy. This pushed the left-wing forces to unite and provide a unified vision with social dimensions that serve all Palestinians and not a particular movement.

In regard to the possibility of an alliance between the left-wing forces and other Palestinian factions such as Islamic Jihad, Hamas or Fatah, Talal Abu Zarifa, a member of the DFLPs political bureau, told Al-Monitor, Contacts were made by Palestinian factions to participate [in the list] and form an alliance in the upcoming municipal elections, but the left-wing forces will not support or participate with any of those factions, and will only run in the elections in its unified list.

On whether the left wing would gain a larger number of the votes through the unified list, Zarifa said, Every stage has its specific circumstances. The 2006 elections are different from the 2016 elections. Today there is a [sharp internal] division and a deterioration of services provided to the citizens. We should not build on the number of votes obtained by the left-wing parties in the legislative elections in 2006, even if this serves as an indicator. The left-wing factions today are running in the elections in a unified list. There is a positive buzz in the media and the Palestinian street about this list.

Hanna Nasir, the head of the Palestinian Central Elections Commission had announced that the local council elections in the West Bank, the Gaza Strip and the outskirts of Jerusalem will be held on Oct. 8, and that all requirements necessary to ensure the freedom and independence of elections in the West Bank and Gaza have been met and the Palestinian factions are preparing their electoral lists.

Walid Awad, a member of the political bureau of the PPP, talked to Al-Monitor about the unified lists electoral program, saying, We are preparing our lists in the Palestinian cities in Gaza. We will encourage youth and women to assume top decision-making positions, especially since the municipal elections will pave the way for holding legislative and presidential elections at a subsequent phase. We will set up services councils and try to cut taxes. Taxes will be mainly collected from large companies and allocated to implement development programs and do justice to the workers and the poor.

Saleh Abdel Jawad, a professor of political science at Birzeit University, told Al-Monitor, No faction alone can achieve a breakthrough in the municipal elections. If the left-wing forces unite they can achieve some [good] results, but on the ground, the supporters of the left-wing constitute a small proportion of society and even if these forces ran in the elections in a unified list, they cannot achieve surprising results. In the legislative elections in 2006, the left-wing forces ran in separate lists and only obtained 8% of the percentage of the votes and 8% of the total of seats in the PLC.

All Palestinian political parties and factions signed a Charter of Honor on July 24 in regard to the local council elections. According to this charter, the parties shall see to the integrity of the electoral process, avoid all hindrances, respect freedoms and refrain from exerting any form of pressure or intimidation, levelling accusations of treason or atonement or committing violence against any of the lists and candidates, and respect the elections results.

Hani Habib, a political writer for Al-Ayyam newspaper, told Al-Monitor, This is the first time the left-wing parties run in the elections in a unified list. During the previous municipal elections in 2005, these forces were dispersed and failed, but this time the left-wing parties have to face Hamas and Fatah and create a state of balance by forming a unified list to compete against them. This is the demand of all Palestinians supporting the left-wing parties. This step  the first of its kind  is important since it united the left-wing factions.

Analyzing whether this unified left-wing list would break the polarization between Fatah and Hamas in Palestinian society, Habib said, All positions are already taken, since the majority of the votes are distributed between Fatah and Hamas and every citizen in Gaza and the West Bank has well-known political orientations. I doubt the left-wing list will obtain a large number of votes.

Writer and political analyst Talal Okal told Al-Monitor, The list will not be able to break the polarization, as hoped by the left-wing leaders, but it might get a larger percentage of the votes in light of the adoption of the full proportional representation system in the West Bank and Gaza according to Law No. 1 of 2007 on general elections. The list would be able to meet the 8% electoral threshold and qualify to enter into genuine partnerships after the results of the local council elections.

It should be noted that the Palestinian left-wing forces collectively obtained less than 10% of the votes in the second Palestinian legislative elections in January 2006, while some left-wing candidates did not meet the 2.5% threshold for individual candidates, which is the minimum share of the votes required to secure any representation in a legislature.
August 5, 2016

Addiction to Tramadol, a drug that affects the central nervous system and is used primarily to treat severe pain, is yet another symptom of the plight that so many Gazans face after nine years of living under closure, since June 2007. It appears that abusing Tramadol has become a way of dealing with the absence of any hope for change in the foreseeable future.

Frequent Israeli military operations against the Gaza Strip, economic duress, soaring unemployment and the day-to-day anxiety that is part and parcel of Gazans' harsh lives have led many residents  hundreds of thousands, according to Palestinian sources  to take Tramadol on a regular basis. Exact figures on the extent of the epidemic are not available, but sources in Gaza told Al-Monitor that there is someone in just about every household who regularly consumes the drug.

Tramadol first arrived in Gaza through the Rafah tunnels, after Hamas seized control of the territory in 2007, a time when smuggling through the tunnels flourished. A pharmacist from central Gaza who requested anonymity told Al-Monitor that from the time the Muslim Brotherhood took power in Egypt in 2012 until Operation Protective Edge in 2014, Tramadol was a hot commodity in Gaza. He estimated that some half a million pills were sold per day.

According to him, a single packet of 10 pills had initially only cost 10-20 shekels ($2.60-$5.00). At the time, many of the people living in Gaza were feeling a sense of existential angst because of the various IDF [Israel Defense Forces] military operations and the impossible economic duress, he said. This pill is given to patients after surgery. It is not recommended for daily use, but given the overwhelming sense of distress in the Gaza Strip and the cheap cost of a pack of Tramadol, it became a staple in every home.

It seems as if no one warned the many consumers of the range of serious effects that Tramadol can have on regular users, including the risk of addiction to the drug, which probably seemed like an innocent and effective way to suppress personal crises.

There are two types of Tramadol, the pharmacist said. There is a white pill, which is sold in pharmacies to people with a doctors prescription. Tens of thousands of people in Gaza use this medication, most of them for injuries they suffered during years of Israeli attacks. For the most part, they have regular prescriptions for the drug as a painkiller to help them cope with chronic headaches or the pains from burns and other injuries they endured. The second type of Tramadol, especially common in Gaza, is the red pill. It is particularly strong, and its effects on the body are devastating.

He confirmed that enormous quantities of the red pills were originally smuggled in from Egypt. Though smuggling has declined considerably because of the destruction of many of the tunnels, there is still an almost steady flow of the pills through whatever tunnels remain active.

The red pills caused widespread addiction throughout the Gaza Strip, he said. It is an addiction across social class and age [groups], though it is found mainly in the refugee camps. Users of the red pill include young people, students, university graduates and people with families, including both men and women. They even include teens in distress, searching for an emotional haven from the anxieties that hound them because of the overwhelming sense of hopelessness they feel living in Gaza under siege.

The smuggling market dwindled after Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi launched a campaign to eliminate the Rafah tunnels. One consequence of this is that the cost of a pack of Tramadol soared to 150-200 shekels ($40-$50) on the black market.

Yet, even the high price doesnt stop hundreds of thousands of Gaza residents from using Tramadol, the pharmacist added. These pills are a drug in every sense of the word, and addiction to them is just like any drug addiction. People smuggling these pills into Gaza employ the same methods used by drug dealers everywhere. They have ways to flood the market despite any obstacles or difficulties. The fact is that Tramadol can still be obtained in Gaza. It is readily available to anyone who asks.

A recent rumor making the rounds in Gaza was that chemistry students at the Islamic University had developed imitation Tramadol, which they were manufacturing in underground laboratories throughout Gaza. While Al-Monitor was unable to confirm the accuracy of the rumor, many local residents claimed that such pills are considerably cheaper, 80-100 shekels ($21-$26), and that regular users can identify the tablets by their lighter color, dark specks and gritty texture.

Hamas is currently waging a bitter war against the Tramadol epidemic. Al-Monitor has learned that tens of thousands of pills were found during raids on the homes of dealers and distributors. The supplies were confiscated, and the dealers arrested. At the same time, Hamas is trying to keep the extent of the epidemic under wraps. The movements leaders find it uncomfortable to admit to the circumstances that have led so many Gaza residents to become addicted to the drug. It would be an admission that the people of Gaza, under their regime, are actively seeking a remedy for or relief from their harsh circumstances.

A resident of Gaza told Al-Monitor on condition of anonymity about a rehab center in the Gaza Strip that treats drug addiction in general and addiction to Tramadol in particular. Most of the patients have families to support and had become addicted to the drug when it only cost a few dozen shekels. Because of its current steep price on the black market, they can no longer afford it.

The rehab center, located in the Jabaliya refugee camp, is staffed by dozens of volunteers. Nevertheless, when it comes to dealing with this crisis, even they are just a drop of water in the Gaza Sea.
August 4, 2016

If you want to see the likely national consensus in Turkey on the Western response to July 15's failed coup attempt, take a look at these lines by Soli Ozel, political scientist and columnist for the centrist daily HaberTurk:

Both EU politicians and Western media outlets preferred to see July 15 only in the context of the previous political developments. They neglected the invaluable democratic resistance shown by all political parties in a parliament bombed by war planes. That no one came to Turkey from EU institutions (with the exception of a UK minister) to offer solidarity with the Turkish parliament, the founding institution of the nation, shows a lack of sensitivity, empathy and solidarity that cannot be easily digested.

It might also be helpful to note that Ozel is not a pro-Erdogan Islamist. He is a Turkish Jew, a secular liberal and an outspoken critic of the Erdogan regime. Moreover, he is only one of the many prominent Erdogan critics in Turkey who stood up against the coup attempt and who now are very critical of the feeble Western response to it. Some even think that the West, in particular the United States, was complicit in the coup plot, given the continued support that Fethullah Gulen, who is now nationally seen as the leader of the coup, finds in the West.

The reason for these views is not that all Erdogan's critics have become Erdogan apparatchiks overnight. The reason is rather that they have all been aware of a fact that goes largely unnoticed in the West: Post-Kemalist Turkey, which began to emerge in the second half of the past decade, has been dominated by not one but two Islamist powers: One was Erdogans Justice and Development Party, which is a political party and mass movement with overtly authoritarian tendencies that are clear to everyone. The other one was the Gulen community, which is a hierarchical and secretive cult whose burning lust for power was concealed by its misleading facade of moderate Islam.

Since most Western observers have ignored the Gulenist factor and have focused only on Erdogan, they have interpreted the coup attempt only in terms of Erdogan as well. Was this perhaps a self-coup that Erdogan organized to deepen his authoritarianism? Isnt the post-coup crackdown nothing but Erdogans new purge of all opposition? Isnt this whole parallel state story nothing but a pretext to cleanse the government of non-Erdoganists? Given the history of other authoritarian regimes, these questions made sense to a lot of people who were not fully aware of Turkeys peculiar complexity.

Turkeys own liberals, leftists and Kemalists, however, know the more complicated truth: In the past decade, there have been two opposing Islamist powers at work. And the more secretive one proved far more dangerous on the night of July 15 with a bloody coup attempt that hit the nation at its heart. That is why they now side with Erdogan on this particular issue  the issue of cleansing Turkey of the parallel state of the Gulenists  while maintaining their reservations about the illiberal nature of the Erdogan regime.

None of this means that the anti-coup response in Turkey cannot indeed be a stepping stone to a more authoritarian future. First of all, the very secretive nature of the Gulenists makes it very possible to turn the Gulenist purge into a witch hunt: Since most Gulenists in Turkey hide themselves as a survival tactic, the search for them could easily unearth uninvolved individuals. There is a zeal among hard-core Erdoganists to blame every critic of Erdogan as a crypto-Gulenist. The more this fanaticism turns into action, the more it can make Turkey a very scary country.

That is why Turkey needs sensible friends at this very critical juncture  friends who will understand the severity of the threat the nation has faced, but will also urge it to respect the rule of law. Western governments, institutions and media organizations can play this critical role, but only if they begin by understanding what is really going on.

A rare Western opinion leader who grasped this key point is Carl Bildt, the former prime minister of Sweden, who recently wrote a notable piece, Europe, Stand up for Erdogan. Bildt explained the severity of the coup attempt and criticized Western institutions for only focusing only on the anti-coup measures. Europe risks losing its moral authority if it does not appear particularly engaged in dealing with the coup itself, he warned. Acknowledging the signs and risks of an excessive crackdown, he added:

The EU would be in a far better position today if EU leaders had gone to Turkey immediately to express their horror at the coup, congratulate the people of Turkey for defeating it and sit down with the president, the government, the leaders in the Grand National Assembly and others to discuss how to collectively ensure a democratic and European path for Turkey.

On the brighter side, Thorbjorn Jagland, secretary general of the Council of Europe, visited Turkey this week and acknowledged Turkey's need to take on those behind the coup. The chairman of the US joint chiefs of staff, Gen. Joseph Dunford, also visited Ankara and expressed solidarity. These are welcome steps, but much more is needed.

Otherwise, Turkey, a nation always too prone to conspiracy theories, may take Western negligence, ignorance or bias as evidence of Western enmity. The result could be a major fallout between Turkey and the West that would be disastrous for both sides. In particular, it would be disastrous for Turkish liberals who still hope to see the nation mature into a liberal democracy.
It's the Alabama acts that create the biggest draw at Secret Stages, one might surmise.

And for good reason. Birmingham - and our state as a whole - has been producing some remarkable musicians this century, and many of them have been on display throughout the festival's first five years.

But Secret Stages, which kicks off tonight in downtown Birmingham, isn't a locals-only festival.

Attendees of previous years know that well, as they've seen bands like Shovels & Rope, Futurebirds, Dawes, Seratones, Jacuzzi Boys, White Reaper, and William Tyler while they were still up-and-comers.

That's the beauty of this "festival of music discovery." For a really low price, you get to see a ton of bands - and then you get to brag about it years later when some of them get bigger.

Need a few recs for this year's Secret Stages? Here are seven acts that feel primed for a breakout.

(Natalie Baxter photo)

Ancient Warfare (Lexington, KY)

Don't let the name fool you - Ancient Warfare is not a metal band. Far from it.

What they are is fuzzy and atmospheric, a room-filling alt-rock sound. Like the kind of soundtrack you'd want when staring at the stars, or through a kaleidoscope, or both.

If that context is a bit vague, consider that they've toured with bands like Lucius, The War On Drugs, and The Raveonettes.

Sounds Like: Jenny Lewis, Jim James, Heartless Bastards

(Courtesy photo)

Bassh (Nashville, TN)

Well, there's not much to say about Bassh. In fact, they only have one song on Spotify at the moment.

Then again, that one song ("Body") has more than a quarter million plays, so they're doing something right. And once you hear the textured beauty of that lovely indie pop breakthrough, you'll want to hear more.

And this might be your only chance to hear more for a while! Because, you know, there's just that one song on the internet.



Sounds Like: The Shins, Band of Horses, My Morning Jacket

(Camille Gac photo)

Caddywhompus (New Orleans, LA)

It's hard to be a band when there's just two of you. That's what makes the music of Caddywhompus all the more impressive.

With just drums, guitar, and some dreamy surf pop vocals, this duo creates a sound that toes the line between beautiful harmonies and raw garage rock.

In the last year, they've toured with Thee Oh Sees and Parquet Courts, so you can bet they know how to put on a show.

Sounds Like: Surfer Blood, Japandroids, Cloud Nothings

(Courtesy photo)

Motel Mirrors (Memphis, TN)

Over the past several years, plenty of bands have rediscovered the beauty of pairing male and female harmonies. But few do it quite as well as Motel Mirrors.

John Paul Keith and Amy LaVere are the driving forces behind the four-piece folk pop outfit that's cool enough to impress your friends and familiar enough to impress your parents.

Sounds Like: Shovels & Rope, The Civil Wars, Fleet Foxes

(Sergey Golub photo)

Sleepwalkers (Richmond, VA)

This bouncy, pop-friendly band has a high-profile fan in Ryan Adams - the guy who just headlined another music festival in Birmingham - who called their debut album "the lost friend I was looking for but didn't know."

Which is no surprise if you've heard that album, "Greenwood Shade," which sounds more like a third or fourth album thanks to smart songwriting and tremendous production.

Sounds Like: Real Estate, Beach House, Spoon

(Courtesy photo)

Sydney Eloise & The Palms (Atlanta, GA)

This Southern songstress blends the best parts of alt-country and surf rock into a sound that'll have you swaying and waltzing throughout the night.

Eloise and her band only have one album under their belts, but they've already earned the approval of NPR, Paste Magazine, CMJ, The Village Voice, and plenty of other tastemakers.

In fact, they've only been touring less than a year. So now's the time to get in on the ground floor for this act.

Sounds Like: Best Coast, Neko Case, Rilo Kiley

(Courtesy photo)

Tef Poe (St. Louis, MO)

Nelly is probably the first thing you think of when you think of Missouri hip-hop.

Tef Poe is not Nelly. In a good way.

This St. Louis native is a balanced blend of everything you'd look for in a rapper - lyrical sincerity, adventurous production, and a steady delivery. Plus he's employed features from the likes of Killer Mike, Royce Da 5'9", and I-20, so don't be surprised if you see his own star rise in the near future.

Sounds Like: Jay Electronica, Black Milk, Talib Kweli
A Clanton man was killed late Thursday night in a fiery three-vehicle crash on Interstate 65 in Shelby County.

Authorities on Friday night identified the fatality victim as Robert Alan Gentry. He was 43.

The crash happened at 11:50 p.m. on I-65 one mile south of Alabaster, said Senior Trooper Chuck Daniel. The driver of a 2011 Mitsubishi Lancer was parked on the interstate shoulder when his vehicle was struck by a 2008 Nissan Altima. The Lancer was then hit again by a 2006 Hyundai Sonata, and then caught fire.

Gentry was pronounced dead on the scene. The driver of the Sonata was injured and taken to an area hospital.

The driver of the Altima, 28-year-old Daniel Joseph Robinson of Calera was not injured. Daniel said the preliminary investigation indicates alcohol was a factor in the crash.

Shelby County Jail records show Robinson was booked into the jail early today on a DUI charge.

Daniel said the investigation is ongoing.
The state Board of Education on Thursday interviewed six finalists for state superintendent of public schools in Alabama.

The nine-member board, headed by Gov. Robert Bentley, will meet again Aug. 11 and vote for the new superintendent.

The interviews each lasted about an hour.

Williamson Evers

Evers is a research fellow at the Hoover Institution at Stanford University.

As a U.S. Department of Defense civilian employee in 2003, he served as a senior adviser for K-12 schools in Iraq after the overthrow of Saddam Hussein.

Evers said the most important factors in the successful education of a child are teachers.

The biggest barrier to a successful education are teachers who are not motivated and engaged because they can undermine a child's potential, Evers said.

Asked about the fact that he has never been a teacher in a K-12 classroom, Evers said he was not interviewing for a job as a K-12 teacher.

Evers said he had taught in college.

"The head of a hospital is not always a doctor," he said.

Evers said one of his strengths is a deep knowledge of the history of education reforms and the ability to spot fads.

He cautioned against expecting fast results through any reforms.

But he said Alabama can make significant improvements in its schools and benefit from the economic growth that will produce.

Evers said he would not come into the job thinking he has all the answers.

Asked what he would do the first 100 days on the job, Evers said he would spend most of that time visiting schools and talking to teachers and principals.

Dee Fowler

Fowler has been the superintendent of Madison City Schools since 2007.

Fowler said he has been a teacher and administrator in elementary, middle and high schools. He said his core values include a love for children and service.

Asked about Alabama's low rankings on the National Assessment of Educational Progress, Fowler said the state changed the Alabama Reading Initiative even though it was working.

He said the state needs to return to the ARI focus that was getting results.

"It was like putting on a rally cap," Fowler said. "Reading was the rally cap that we put on in the state of Alabama."

Fowler said students learn more by participating in projects than they do from traditional pencil and paper classwork.

He said a key factor in the success of public education is sharing information effectively with the public.

"You cannot have the support of the community if you do not communicate with them," Fowler said.

Fowler said the most important factor in the successful education of a child is collaboration between home and school.

Fowler said poverty is the biggest barrier.

Craig Pouncey

Pouncey has been superintendent of the Jefferson County School system since 2014.

He was a classroom teacher for 15 years and has been an administrator for 21 years, including superintendent of Crenshaw County Schools and deputy state superintendent.

Pouncey said a quality principal is the most important factor in the successful education of a child because a quality principal will run a quality school.

He said the biggest barrier is poverty.

Pouncey proposed decentralizing the state Department of Education and operating five regional districts. He said that would help give local systems the kind of support that best fits their circumstances.

"You cannot create change unless people trust you and unless you build those relationships," Pouncey said.

Asked about the foundation program that allocates state funding to local school districts, Pouncey said it needs to be modified.

He said the foundation program needs to more fully account for the differences in the tax capabilities of local districts to make sure that smaller, poorer districts are adequately funded.

Jeana Ross

Ross is secretary of the Alabama Department of Early Childhood Education.

She is a former classroom teacher and administrator in local school systems.

Ross said parents are the most important factor in the education of a child. She said poverty is the greatest barrier.

One key to overcoming the disadvantages of poverty is to provide children opportunities to explore and discover as early as possible, Ross said.

She noted the high ratings received by the state's First Class prekindergarten program, which her department oversees. The National Institute for Early Education Research has credited Alabama's program for hitting all 10 quality benchmarks for 10 years in a row.

A study by the Public Affairs Research Council of Alabama found that participation in First Class prekindergarten helped close the achievement gap for students from low-income families.

Ross said it's a proven strategy that works and should be more widely available.

Increased funding for this school year will make it available to 25 percent of the state's 4-year-olds.

Ross said there are multiple state agencies that provide services to children but that some operate as "silos" and not in a coordinated and cohesive way.

Michael Sentance

Sentance has been an education leader in Massachusetts, serving as senior adviser to the governor and secretary of education.

He has also worked as a regional representative for New England states for the U.S. Department of Education. He has been a consultant on education policy and improvement since 2011.

Sentance said the most important factor in a child's education is a quality teacher, "someone who is extremely well prepared."

He said circumstances that a child can bring to school can be an impediment, but can be overcome.

Sentance stressed the importance of high standards for those who aspire to be elementary school teachers. He called for more emphasis on math courses for prospective elementary school teachers.

He said elementary school teachers need to be the most prepared of all teachers.

"Because if you set the foundation right, the upper grades will take care of themselves," Sentance said.

Sentance said education programs should be goal-oriented with the purpose of enhancing the lives of the people in the state.

Janet Womack

Womack has been superintendent of Florence City Schools since 2010.

She has also worked as a classroom teacher and administrator in Russell County schools and as an administrator in Auburn City Schools.

Womack said education initiatives should be based on proven results.

"I am a data geek," Womack said. "I love data and am absolutely driven by the numbers."

Asked about the state's low rankings on the National Assessment of Educational Progress, Womack said the state needs to regain the "laser focus" that produced solid gains through the Alabama Reading Initiative, raising the state to the national average five years ago.

She said during the early years of the ARI, school systems received the help with professional development and other assistance they needed.

Asked what was the most important factor in a successful education, Womack said the need for "wrap-around services" that go beyond academics.

"If you are looking for an instructional leader that's laser-focused on the data that will get results now and not waver in seeing excellence for today's students and not let a generation of students pass by, then I am your choice for Alabama's next state superintendent," Womack said.

Applications of the candidates are available on the Department of Education's website.
An investigation is underway after a man was shot this morning and drove to a Green Springs Highway package store for help.

Birmingham police and rescue workers responded just before 10 a.m. to the business. When they arrived on the scene, they found a man had been wounded. Birmingham police Sgt. Mike Collins said the victim was taken to UAB Hospital with injuries not believed to be life-threatening.

Investigators said they don't know where the shooting accidentally happened.

A Buffalo Rock deliveryman was in the parking the lot when the victim drove up in his SUV. The deliveryman, who asked not to be identified, said the victim got out of the vehicle and told him he'd been shot. He pulled up his shirt to show him several wounds on his left side, including one just above the man's heart.

He said he told the victim to sit down and save his energy. There was at least one bullet hole in the SUV window.

The shooting remains under investigation.
Orange Beach.PNG

Birmingham Fire and Rescue Lt. Andrew Johnson, who also works for Warrior Fire and is a children's minister, remains hospitalized a week after he suffered smoke inhalation in a July 29 Birmingham blaze.

(Orange Beach Fire Department/Facebook/)

A prayer vigil will be held this weekend for a Birmingham Fire and Rescue lieutenant injured one week ago while battling a blaze.

Lt. Andrew Johnson, who also is a children's minister and works for Warrior Fire Department, remains hospitalized at UAB Hospital after collapsing in the predawn hours of July 19. He received smoke inhalation, and now is battling an infection.

The husband and father of two sons was injured about 1:45 a.m. that Friday while firefighters were battling a blaze in the 8000 block of 6th Avenue North. Capt. Fire officials have said Johnson's breathing apparatus malfunctioned and he suffered smoke inhalation.

Authorities said his fellow firefighters could hear Johnson calling for help and pulled him from the home and he was rushed to the hospital. They don't think he was down for long because his Personal Alert Safety System, a device that attaches to the breathing apparatus and sounds an alarm if a firefighter is without air, did not activate.

The 33-year-old lieutenant serves on Rescue 19 and has been with the department for more than a decade, and also serves with the Warrior Fire Department.

Birmingham Fire and Rescue Chief Charles Gordon has said an investigation is ongoing into what led to the mask malfunction, but said an initial inspection shows no damage to the mask. He said he's relieved progress is being made. "Right now I'm thankful,'' Gordon said. "That's a tough call to get at 2 in the morning."

He remains sedated and intubated, and is being treated with a new bed that allows him to be on stomach to help clear his lungs. As of Thursday, he was still spiking a fever.

The vigil will be held at 7:30 p.m. Saturday and BFRS Station 2 at 600 11th Street South. Gordon will speak at the vigil, and Johnson's wife is expected to be in attendance as well.

Johnson is receiving widespread prayer and support. A GoFundMe account has been established to help with his medical expenses. The Orange Beach Fire Department posted this about Johnson on its Facebook page: "Many firefighters know Andrew via social media as a man of faith where he posts daily/weekly devotionals that have affected hundreds, if not thousands, of people by his walk and his words of encouragement. Lt. Johnson spends his life giving to others, and now he is in the fight of his life. Please join us as we encourage and pray for his full recovery and as an industry remember that anything can happen and nothing is routine.
A Georgia father is behind bars this morning after his twin toddler girls were left in a hot car on Thursday.

A 911 call sent Carrollton police to a home on Tillman Drive where the 15-month-old girls were found unresponsive. Fox 5 News in Atlanta reported that witnesses told police they saw the girls' father frantically trying to cool the little girls off in a kiddie pool. Neighbors told police they brought ice packs to put in the pool to help, the television station reported.

Authorities have identified the girls as Alaynah North and Ariel North. They were pronounced dead at Tanner Medical Center. Their father, 24-year-old Asa North, is charged with two counts of involuntary manslaughter and two counts of reckless conduct. Police told Fox 5 they do not believe the deaths were intentional.

The Atlanta Journal Constitution reported that the girls' mother was in Atlanta all day checking on a family member who was in a car crash. She later arrived to the hospital in Carrollton. She was described by police as "absolutely devastated" after learning of her daughters' deaths.
NYPD may have curtailed aggressive policing but the sense of resentment and mistrust it engendered remains strong.

Outside a public housing complex in Brooklyns Bedford Stuyvesant neighbourhood, Ellisha Garner has set up shop on a folding table.

She waves and shouts hello to people on the street and a couple of men wearing uniforms stop by for lunch, a heaped plate of her jerk chicken, beans and rice and macaroni salad.

They stick around to eat on the sidewalk in the shade of a tree, sharing laughs and conversation.

You cant judge a book by its cover, says Garner, whose main job is a city bus driver.

US: Black man shot by police while helping patient

She says she sells food on the side because her neighbours love her cooking.

But she is perhaps best known as the sister of Eric Garner, whose face adorns her red apron.

Two years after his death at the hands of the New York Police Department (NYPD), she and those gathered around her feel little has changed in terms of their communitys relationship with police.

They feel disrespected, if not for the colour of their skin then for the poor neighbourhood where they live.

You have to respect one another, she said. It dont go one way.

I see on a daily basis police just stop people, frisk you for no reason, said Tyrone Earl, who was buying chicken.

You ask them, why are you stopping me? They just make up a reason.

City statistics say otherwise.

Under a court order and the leadership of outgoing police Commissioner Bill Bratton, the city has dramatically curtailed its aggressive stop and frisk style of policing that overwhelmingly targeted poor minority communities such as Bed-Stuy.

But the sense of resentment and mistrust it engendered remains strong.

And while violent crime in the city continues to decline, critics say it is coming at the expense of neighbourhoods such as this where the department still follows a broken windows model of policing.

The idea, championed by Bratton, is that going after low-level offences such as vandalism or, in the case of Eric Garner, selling untaxed cigarettes, helps to keep communities safer.

READ MORE: US police officers killed in Baton Rouge shooting

This outmoded policing model of the 1990s is not effective, says Donna Lieberman, executive director of the New York Civil Liberties Union.

And thrusts millions of New Yorkers into the clutches of the criminal justice system.

A man who identified himself as Get Right agrees.

He says he has been hauled before a judge on trumped-up charges and, while ultimately exonerated, has had to take time away from work and family to straighten it out.

OPINION: Structural racism in the US wont diminish with time

You play with peoples lifestyle, he complained.

Tony Herbert, a community advocate, believes police shouldnt ignore crimes, however, even low-level ones.

He believes the NYPD has improved under Bratton and worries that the Black Lives Matter movement, which Garners death helped to inspire, is now stereotyping all police.





There are issues now where people are challenging the police, which is really bad for us all, he said.

We have to get back to the process of respecting the law and respecting individuals as human beings first and foremost.

Garner believes the police need to earn back respect with more old-fashioned community policing.

Come around, get to know everybody, she said with her nine-year-old son by her side.

See who is who, whats what and even if you see a couple of guys in the corner that you feel is disturbing, talk to them.

It was just after the two-year anniversary of Garners death that Commissioner Bratton announced he was stepping down from his post.

His successor is expected to continue his policies.

The conversation about race and policing continues at demonstrations, on the campaign trail and in the national media.

But the two sides have yet to come together in this corner of Brooklyn.
Children are dying at an alarming rate here but underneath the numbers lie tales of a region neglected and in ruins.

Tharparkar, Pakistan  More than 1,500 children under the age of five have died in the Tharparkar district of Pakistans Sindh province since 2011.

Each year, as the death toll climbs, reports are sought, commissions created and emergency plans announced by the provincial government. But none of these seem able to stop the recurring problems plaguing this vast 20,000sq km district.

In hospital pharmacies and storage rooms across the region, stocks of medicine are adequate  sometimes even overflowing  but the lack of operational facilities, on-duty specialists and access render them out of reach for most.

Tharparkars women  with their brightly coloured clothes and bangles worn from their wrists to their shoulders  balance earthen water pots on their heads, their skin darkened and prematurely wrinkled from working under the harsh sun.

Its a picture of beauty and adversity, for beneath the alarming mortality figures are deeper issues hampering human existence in this geographically, culturally and religiously complex district of almost 1.5 million people.

Poverty, population growth, lack of clean drinking water, unemployment and high illiteracy rates have seemingly trapped the region in a state of catastrophe.

Nothing could save our children

I sold my wifes jewellery, I sold my shop, my business, my motorcycle. I sold it all off. We came down to zero. But nothing could save our children, says Prem Chandar, who has lost four children in five years.

His lips quiver with grief. His daughter stands by his side. His wife, Sanjhari, sits on the floor inside their small chaunra (mud house). He recounts the details of their story vividly, having repeated it so many times to so many people, but to no avail.

Thirty-two-year-old Sanjhari has a hole in her heart. It took more than two years for it to be diagnosed, a period during which they visited numerous hospitals trying to save their babies and find out why they were dying.

The babies would die within 10 days of birth, Prem explains. Doctors blamed malnutrition  a common cause of infant mortality in the Tharparkar district  but failed to diagnose the underlying issue with Sanjhari.

The government is blind and deaf. It doesnt care about the poor. It gets into power through our votes but doesnt actually do anything for us.

Prem has saved hospital receipts, prescriptions, test reports and his sons death certificates as proof of the poor treatment he says they have received at government hospitals.

On a couple of occasions, the hospital staff would send us home right after delivery despite knowing the baby was underweight and my wife wasnt well. They inserted cotton inside her and discharged her. We could see the baby was not doing well, he says.

I then followed it up with trips to hospital in Hyderabad [more than 200km away] and thats when it emerged she had a heart condition. Those trips cost us everything. We lost everything, including our babies.

Sanjhari was skilled at making traditional hand-embroidered clothes, and made a small income that helped with the household expenses. Now, consumed by grief and in poor health, she is barely able to speak or help around the house.

According to government figures, more than 1,500 children under the age of five have died in Tharparkar since 2011. The district comprises around 2,300 registered villages and an estimated 2,000 unregistered ones.

Eighty percent of it is rural and inaccessible by most of the vehicles that the government has sanctioned for medical assistance.

The infant mortality figure is based on children dying in five government hospitals, including Civil Hospital Mithi, the sole district hospital serving 1.5 million people. Here, the wards are overflowing, families are camped in the courtyard and staff are overworked and underpaid.

There is no official record of deaths taking place outside these five locations.

Lack of food and clean water, malnutrition among mothers, early marriages and the absence of family planning  along with apparent government neglect  have left locals with little hope.

For the more than 500,000 children in the district, there are just six paediatricians. There are five gynaecologists. Even at the largest hospital, to which patients are referred from across the desert district, there is inadequate bed space.

The government hasnt even given us a single tablet, Prem says. Eight years ago, the local government gave cod liver oil to pregnant women and formula milk for infants. Now, this government doesnt even give kerosene oil for the poor man to pour and kill himself and his family.

Prem sobs as he shares their story. His wife, still sitting on the floor, looks at him, her face expressionless but her eyes wide in acknowledgement.

If its a boy, the parents will try to raise the funds

On a narrow road opposite a market that sells everything from medicine and human blood, to meat, cigarettes and tea, is the small entrance to Civil Hospital Mithi.

As you navigate the uncovered drains and motorcycle rickshaws that wait to transport patients home, the state of the regions health crisis comes into view. Crying children and their agitated parents lay on the floor of the courtyard.

Mohan Lal Khatri, a child specialist at the hospital, tries to explain the issues behind the rising number of deaths.

Untrained midwives in the villages, unhygienic conditions and widespread infections around which most of these kids are born means they come to us in a bad state, he says.

The early marriage concept in Tharparkar is also a huge factor. Girls get married as young as 12 and add to it a lack of family planning. The workload on these women is immense too. There is no rest for them. They get up at 4am, do household chores, look after the children, prepare food, fetch water, work in the fields among other things. All this while they are pregnant.

Around 300 to 400 children are admitted to the hospital each month. According to Khatri, around 15 to 20 percent of them die.

Inadequate facilities and a lack of specialists force staff to refer patients to Hyderabad or Karachi  a journey of more than 400km for people who may have already travelled for hours, on borrowed money, to reach Mithi. The government does provide ambulance transport in some cases, but for most, travel is not the only concern. They must also cover their living expenses while there and find accommodation, often sleeping in the courtyards of the government hospitals.

At times, if its a boy, the parents will try and raise funds and take him to bigger hospitals. But if its a girl, they will let things be, Khatri says matter-of-factly.

He stresses the need for education, especially for girls, the abolition of early marriages, improvements in vaccination routines, access to clean water (40 percent of diseases in children are contracted through contaminated water) and the implementation of family planning across the region.

We try and ensure no kids die but we are under so much pressure. We need more staff. We have been working non-stop for two years and there is no relief. That gets to us and, hence, the service that we provide to patients suffers too.

The issues arent inside the hospitals

Almost 80 percent of children in Tharparkar district are born underweight. Dr Aurangzeb of Nagarparkar Taluka Hospital says that complications from birth to the age of five months are mostly life-threatening.

The main cause: poverty.

There is no food, no source of income for these people, he says.

The mother doesnt get food. How can she? There is no food. If there are 10 members of a family, all 10 would be unemployed. You sell a goat, you have enough food for three days and then youre back to square one. The issues arent inside hospitals, they are outside. We will treat whoever comes here, but then the patients will go back to the same place and fall ill again.

The Sindh provincial government recently announced the opening of new dispensaries and the appointment of additional staff. The existing infrastructure lays abandoned, with a staff of 598 health workers unpaid for over 11 months.

The governments immediate response has also been to distribute bags of wheat among the locals. But what happens in the weeks and months after this has run out?

I dont want cash. I just want good treatment for my wife, Prem says as his eyes fill with tears. His wife looks up at him, pleading her case without saying a word.

In the hospital, they just throw us aside like rubbish. We are a minority, but were Pakistanis after all. We were born here, and we will die here.

Every patient has a story

In the courtyard of the hospital, there is the family of a 25-year-old who has just suffered a miscarriage, an extremely malnourished nine-month-old baby and attendants trying to figure out how to raise the required funds to take a patient to another hospital more than 300km away.

Inside, the labour rooms are in chaos, and the wards are packed. Attendants line up in the corridors. There is a smell of fresh paint, but the repairs under way in one of the wards do little to conceal the discontent here.

Every patient has a story to share, from non-operational dispensaries in their locality to a lack of food and water.

A health visitor looks up from the form she is filling out to say that she hasnt been paid for almost a year. Others complain of the lack of facilities and assistance while attending to patients needs.

At the entrance, a one-year-old boy sits with his father. His sister is a patient. Shes recovering now, but weve been here at the hospital for 15 days now, their father explains.

Another woman lost her baby during labour. She has seven children already. Her family was told to take her to Hyderabad. Hospital staff had recommended getting blood tests done, but the family cannot afford them.

They came to the hospital with 8,000 rupees ($76), but that money has already run out.

A few kilometres away, an air of optimism fills the office of Dr Chandar Lal, the district health officer. He was appointed to the post in May and is quick to claim that the situation has improved.

Colourful charts adorn the walls indicating the improvement in infant deaths that Dr Lal boasts of.

We have opened a number of facilities, appointed a number of additional doctors and opened 184 new dispensaries, he says. We now also have four mobile health units.

But the mobile units are incapable of going off-road, many of the dispensaries are locked with staff nowhere to be seen, and their complaints of not being paid are falling on deaf ears.

Unpaid salary is not an issue. They have other resources as well. Let it go, Lal says when asked about this.

There are no qualified doctors

Just over 120km away in Nagarparkar, a high-security town situated close to the border with India, Dr Aurangzeb complains of the lack of trained professionals in the dispensaries.

There are no qualified doctors in those places so the onus falls on the patients to visit hospitals, he says.

This hospital serves around 272,000 people, and we have much less space to cater to all those. This is a 25-bed hospital and with equipment from the trauma centre dumped in one of our wards for two years, we are severely hampered.

Accessibility is also an issue. For some living along the border, it could take two days for them to get here. Our fuel budget is 200,000 rupees ($1,909) from which we have to cover outbreak visits, referrals and [the] backup electricity generator.

Abdul Aleem, a resident of Mithrio Soomro village near Islamkot, bemoans the lack of facilities in his local dispensary.

The dispenser arrives late, the midwife follows but there is no sign of the gatekeeper who is supposed to be there first.

This dispensary serves around 10,000 people, and it doesnt even have a doctor, he explains. If someone falls ill, he or she wont get instant relief. A 24-hour working position needs to be established and at least one specialist doctor present.

Back at Nagarparkar, a pregnant woman lies on a charpai with her daughter under a tree in the sweltering heat.

She is very weak and not getting enough food. It took them four hours to reach the hospital, says her mother, who complains of not only a lack of clean water in her village but also a lack of health facilities.

Accessibility is a big problem for us. We live in an off-road village. We had to push the motorcycle rickshaw through the sand and pay the guy to drop us here. Its our third time at this hospital, and weve come with six members of the family.

In the abandoned trauma centre at the back of the hospital, tired attendants nap amid rubbish, discarded syringes and even human waste.

In the doctors accommodation, there are crumbling walls, open drains and no glass in the windows. A donkey roams around an abandoned quarter.

The women of Tharparkar

Dhayyani is a 14-year-old living in a remote, off-road village just outside Mithi.

She has seven brothers and four sisters in addition to the four that have already died. Her father does not work. They have four or five goats and a camel. The entire household is dependent on the income of her one working brother.

There is insufficient food for the family. The mother looks after the children, the livestock and goes to collect water and firewood several times a day.

A recent UN-funded survey found 90 percent of Thari women to be underweight, with a mean weight of 44.2kg.

Almost 93 percent of households do not have any food-buying powers, surviving mostly on seasonal harvests that are monsoon-dependent and the sale of livestock.

Pratab, an educationist and social activist in Tharparkar, describes the life of a Thari woman: A male does no work at home. He only works on the field during seasons. He will wake up in the morning and ask for tea. If there is no milk, the women will go next door to get milk. There is no milk for the kids to drink but for tea, it is a must. And cigarettes.

The female will eat whatever is left, if anything. She will wake up before everyone else, fetch water, cook, send the kids to school, among other chores. You look at their daily lives and you will be surprised how they are living. According to the males, a female does not do any work because they consider work as something that brings in money. It is a very sad and oppressed life for the women of Tharparkar.

The longer we keep an adolescent girl unmarried, the bigger our sins will be

Early marriage, teen pregnancies and an absence of family planning has become a norm in the district.

It is 9am on a hot, windy summers day in Mithrio Soomro village when local women gather around a well to collect water. Aqeela, who says she has 10 to 12 children, is pulling the thick, rough rope tied to the well along with a few other women  a job typically assigned to a donkey.

As the conversation turns towards the number of children each woman has, some shy away from the question while others respond with eight, six, 10 or 12.

Aqeela says with pride that she married her daughter off as soon as she turned 12. My girl was sitting in school aged 13 with a baby in her belly, she says with a chuckle.

The local mosques imam, they say, implores them to marry their daughters off as soon as they hit puberty. He [the imam] says the longer we keep a baaligh [adolescent] girl unmarried, the bigger our sins will be.

The Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (PEMRA) recently directed all TV and FM radio channels to stop airing family planning ads as the general public is very much concerned on the exposure of such products to the innocent children, who get inquisitive on features and use of the products.

The ban was later tweaked to allow such ads after 11pm.

Although the ban means little in Tharparkar, where few have electricity, Dr Najma Khoso, a gynaecologist at Nagarparkar Hospital, is irked by it.

What corruption can a family planning ad cause? she asks. This is awareness.

Sex education should also be preached on TV so that people know that this is a reality. We are still looking for Gods name in potatoes, but when someone with forward thinking comes out, we deem it un-Islamic.

Khoso is the only female doctor in the area. In the two years she has been at the hospital, she says she has witnessed a gradual change in the thinking of the locals.

There is lack of awareness as to when they should consult doctors or come to health facilities. If they do decide to come, transportation and limited finances make them think again.

Malnutrition is a major factor in the deteriorating health of Thari females. There are even some who are able to afford the right food but arent aware of what they need to eat. Others get nothing but bread and milk, she says.

There has been a gradual rise in awareness of family planning in registered villages. But almost half of the villages in the district are unregistered and hence, not on the map. But young women from those villages are now being taught about family planning.

In January, 759 females were trained and sent back to their communities.

Khadija, 35, is a midwife from the village of Mithrio Soomro. Her life is typical of many Thari women. But she is striving to make a difference.

I wake up, send [the] kids to school, milk the goats and send the milk away to sell, explains the mother of two.

I get help from my parents and uncles. Then I come to the dispensary at 9am and leave at 2pm. I do housework and take [the] livestock for grazing . While my salary on appointment was 14,000 rupees [$134], I havent been paid for a year, she says.

All of the women from the village come to Khadija. While there are no doctors at the dispensary, Khadija can complete basic check-ups and hand over medicine with the help of the dispenser.

Khoso says change is happening  but slowly.

There are some men in favour of family planning. But then Ive seen cases where a woman comes in with one kid in her lap, one holding her hand and one unborn child in her belly. We ask them how they feed the infant, do household chores or look after themselves during pregnancy.

They promise us theyll stop having children but are not able to do it. We do see some effect of our efforts, but its a very slow change.

It seems as if half our life is spent fetching water

The wells in our villages have dried up. People, mostly women and children, travel six to seven kilometres multiple times a day to fetch water. It seems as if half our life is spent fetching water, says Sandhu.

She is at a water filtration plant where she hopes to stock up.

The majority of Tharparkars residents have no access to clean drinking water. There are no water pipelines going deep into the villages. Wells have been dug up by the government, NGOs, social workers and by villagers themselves, but a lack of rainfall and inadequate maintenance mean they have either dried up or their contents are unsafe for human consumption. Still, most residents have no choice but to consume it.

Reverse osmosis water plants, which run on solar power, have been set up in the region. Residents flock to them multiple times a day, braving the heat, exhaustion and long journeys.

Ive been trained as a midwife, and I can say that water issues in the villages cause a lot of diseases and complications at childbirth, too, Sandhu says.

We used to have a major water crisis in the villages. And not just for us humans, but our livestock as well. We used to collect rainwater, but the scarcity of rain left us with dry lands.

A UN-funded survey by HANDS established that around 30 percent of women and children in the region travelled over an hour to a water supply.

Muhammad Irshad is an installation manager at PakOasis, the company which created the water plant and more than 700 smaller ones, in conjunction with the provincial government.

Irshad leads a tour of Asias largest desalination complex, which is located in Tharparkar.

There is too much salt, iron, sulphate and fluoride in the groundwater here, he explains. We dig up a well 800 to 1,100 feet deep in close vicinity to this plant and pump water here to be treated. Only Mithi gets water through pipelines. The rest of the district either uses our smaller plants, which are sparsely located, or they still rely on the traditional wells in their villages.

Irshad fills a glass with untreated water from the wells and asks us to drink it. It is unbearably salty and contains other harmful minerals that we cannot taste.

This, he says pointing at the water, is what the majority of Tharparkar residents had to drink.

At a smaller plant a few kilometres from the main road, women line up plastic water containers and earthen pots. Children are entrusted with making sure the donkeys get their share before the long journey home in the heat.

For most, it is not their first trip of the day  or their last.

Change will only come when you educate yourself

Almost half of Tharparkars 1.5 million population are children.

Of that, 165,000 are enrolled in the districts poorly-run education system, according to provincial government statistics from 2013-14, with only 30,000 of those staying in school beyond primary education.

Just under 1,800 are enrolled in college and only 350, out of the whole population, go on to attend university.

Ultimately, the entire population of Tharparkar is dependent upon 350 shoulders, Pratab tells Al Jazeera.

The districts literacy rate is below 20 percent. There are approximately 4,000 schools in the region and 90 percent of these are primary. The majority consist of a single room.

Every other school is closed. In villages, almost 80 percent of schools are closed. The literacy rate among girls is an appalling 6.9 percent. Thats because even fewer girls are sent to school, Pratab says.

Youll see a stark contrast when you reach urban areas. Schools are open, teachers are present and education is great.

According to a government survey, 973 schools are shut, and only 190 out of 4,045 schools have electricity, while 1,634 have boundary walls. Almost 2,500 have no toilet facilities. More than 5,000 teachers are registered, but many are not working where they are supposed to be.

I know of this female teacher who used to live 25km from the school. It would cost her 30,000 rupees [$287] per month to go back and forth. Her salary is a meagre 16,000 rupees [$153], Pratab explains.

When Al Jazeera visited the region, schools were closed for the summer.

But in one remote village, the children gathered for our visit and began counting in Sindhi. The board had the attendance marked on it in English, but none of the children were able to read it.

There are 18 children registered in this school, which runs for six hours daily, a local explained.

The kids are aged five to 12, and they all study in the same room. They only get taught in Sindhi. There are no English teachers or syllabus here.

There is only one English medium primary school in the district, according to the governments 2013-14 census, with three Urdu schools. The rest teach in Sindhi.

The shortfall in education is considered one of the main obstacles holding the region back.

The care provider at home is mainly the mother, and if she is not educated, there is no one to teach the kids anything, Mohan Lal Khatri, the childcare specialist at Civil Hospital Mithi, explains.

The government says it is willing to pay high salaries to the teachers and is already doing so.

We are making efforts to improve things, explains Nisar Ahmed Memon, Tharparkars deputy commissioner. And we realise theres a lot of work to be done. We are trying to fix the issues and make as many schools functional as possible. But we need community involvement as well. People do raise their voices, but only when we go and visit them.

Education will also help solve other matters in society, especially early marriages and frequent pregnancies. More awareness is needed and people need to be educated. So, hopefully, the generation now in school will grow up to be fully aware of these issues and consequences.

But with no incentive to keep them in school, more and more parents are pulling their children out to help with household chores.

In Mithrio Soomro, a large village accessible via a paved road, even when girls are sent to school, they are often pulled out and married off as young as 11.

For things to improve, that mindset needs to change, Pratab says.

Change will only come when you educate yourself, he adds.

Living off livestock

Every Sunday, Mithi plays host to a goat and sheep market.

Buyers come from as far away as Lahore, having driven for two days to cover the 1,300km distance. Trucks are loaded with goats of all sizes and colours before setting back out on the long journey.

One of the drivers explains that most of the meat will be exported around the world, fetching them thousands of rupees. Some will be kept for local consumption.

Most of those here are selling their own flocks and herds, but a few have come to sell the last of the little livestock they have.

The main source of livelihood for Tharparkars population is its livestock of 4.6 million animals  donkeys, camels, goats, cow, sheep and mules.

Some of it provides milk for consumption at home and also to sell on a daily basis. Mules are used to carry water from wells and water plants.

It is also a last-resort source of quick funds. Unemployment and poverty lead to forced sales, the money often lasting the family just days.

For a region and group of people so heavily reliant on livestock, there are only 12 vets in the entire district, according to Pratab.

Low rainfall over the last few years has not only produced a low yield of crops but also affected livestock in Tharparkar, too. In 2014, 88 percent of households in Tharparkar had no income due to those dry seasons, increasing their reliance on livestock.

But the dry season and diseases accounted for the deaths of over 300,000 livestock that year. Of those that survived, many ended up being non-lactating, weak and in poor health due to water scarcity and high temperatures.

In response, the government ran livestock vaccination programmes across 68 villages. But locals complain that it was not enough.

I just hope adequate rain is on its way this year; thats the best solution to our problems, says one local at the goat market.

Tharpakar received its first batch of monsoon rains in June followed by another set this week. It may temporarily help wash away some of the Tharis suffering, until the clouds start receding once again 
Followers of the Nigerian Shia cleric who has been detained since December say he stands for justice.

Abuja, Nigeria  Nearly 500 members of the Islamic Movement in Nigeria (IMN) hit the streets of the Nigerian capital, Abuja, in protest this week.

Young women wailed, while young men held up posters. From the citys central mosque to the federal secretariat, the throng marched and chanted, calling for the release of their leader, Sheikh Ibrahim el-Zakzaky, a Shia Muslim scholar.

For the past eight months, el-Zakzaky and his wife have been held at an undisclosed location in what the Nigerian Department of State Security Services refers to as protective custody.

El-Zakzaky was arrested in December 2015, during a three-day encounter in which the Nigerian army stands accused of killing hundreds of members of the Movement in the northern city of Zaria in the state of Kaduna. The IMN calls it a massacre.

READ MORE: One year ago, Buhari promised to change Nigeria

They are calling it a clash, says Musa Bangi, a 66-year-old retired civil servant and follower of el-Zakzaky. How is it a clash when it was mostly our members who were killed?

Abdullah Mohammed is a follower of el-Zakzaky and a recent chemical engineering graduate. He says: I was in el-Zakzakys house by the gate when they came to attack us on December 12, 2015. A soldier at the gate told me, There is God. This order came from above. Even he did not understand why they were told to kill us. He was just following an order. An 18-month-old baby in the house was shot in the stomach.

Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International and the Iranian government have condemned the killings.

While the IMN says that about 1,000 of their members were killed, a commission set up by the government of Kaduna state reported that the Nigerian army had used excessive force and killed 348 members of the Movement, who they then buried in mass graves.

They will block the road in the name of religion

IMN members had allegedly blocked a major road in Zaria to conduct a flag-hoisting religious ceremony. A military convoy carrying an army chief, Lieutenant-General Tukur Buratai, was unable to pass. The Nigerian army insisted that the Movement was trying to assassinate the army chief.

Buratai later told journalists that God had helped him escape.

The groups infamous road blockades during their processions have often put them at odds with local communities and travellers. Thousands gather on the streets for the pilgrimage to the groups headquarters.

They will block the road in the name of religion, says Godwin Amaana, a 30-year-old taxi driver in Abuja. I was going to Kaduna with a client and we were forced to stand still in the car for a whole two hours while these Shias blocked the entire road for their religious programme. Its nonsense.

But IMN members say there has been a misunderstanding.

We have never blocked any road in Nigeria. There is always room for people to pass, says Mohammed.

READ MORE: Through my eyes  Sunday mornings in Nigeria

Today, el-Zakzakys followers say that even his relatives do not know where he is. They say his health is failing and that he needs immediate medical attention.

As my father is systematically and slowly being reduced to total blindness, I am becoming desperate, says el-Zakzakys 30-year-old son, Mohammed Ibrahim el-Zakzaky.

In a pamphlet distributed at this weeks march, Mohammed Ibrahim says his father has been injured, physically, emotionally and worst of all, deprived of even the most basic of human rights.

Shrouded in mystery

El-Zakzaky has led the IMN, the largest group of the countrys minority Shia Muslims, for more than 30 years. He remains a controversial figure, whose name arouses strong opinions among Nigerians from all walks of life.

His followers say the Movement has five to 10 million members.

Shrouded in mystery, el-Zakzaky is usually heard but not seen except in photos where he is either wearing white robes, a turban and green scarves draped around his neck, or is lying on the ground covered in blood. He has been shot, beaten and jailed for at least nine years in different prisons across Nigeria.

They want to kill me. I will show them that I have God. That is what the Sheikh says, Mohammed explains.

El-Zakzakys followers say he is misunderstood and a man of peace. But successive Nigerian governments say otherwise.

In 2014, IMN members who were protesting against Israeli attacks on Gaza and observing a religious holiday clashed with Nigerian soldiers.

READ MORE: The life and death of a Boko Haram victim

The defence spokesman, Major-General Chris Olukolade, accused the Movement of stalling traffic and firing at the soldiers. He says the soldiers returned fire.

Soldiers opened fire on our people at Kuban bridge, killing 30 of our people, among which were three of my sons, el-Zakzaky said in a statement. He accused the government of ordering the attack.

The December 2015 attack left another three of his children dead. Now only three are still alive.

Local journalists, politicians and security officials have compared IMN to the armed Sunni group Boko Haram. It is commonly alleged that el-Zakzaky supported Boko Haram during the groups early years, although he has denounced it in several speeches.

Another popular belief is that el-Zakzaky has either already created a parallel state or intends to do so. A flurry of rumours alleged that the flag hoisted on December 12 was an Iranian one. Others claim it depicted the face of el-Zakzaky as the leader of some sort of Shia kingdom.

But the IMNs spokesman, Ibrahim Musa, laughs at these claims.

The flag is actually the same very flag that is at the gravesite of the grandson of the Prophet Muhammad. That gravesite is a mausoleum in Mashhad, Iran. The flag symbolises the green for peace, Musa explains. The flag is routinely changed and it is given to a worthy cleric. So this time it was given to Sheikh el-Zakzaky.

The importance of the flag is that we believe we will receive blessing because that is the flag at the burial site of the grandson of Prophet Muhammad, Imam al-Ridha. It is not the Iranian flag and this is what I have been telling people.

Nevertheless, the Movement has been criticised.

Considering the nature and the organisational structure of the IMN, where the leader has the total control of the members, Sheikh Ibrahim El-Zakzaky should be personally held responsible for all the acts of commission and omission of the entire membership of the Islamic Movement in Nigeria in its clashes with the Nigerian army for refusing to call his members to order when required to do so, declared the commission that investigated the December killings.

It also accused el-Zakzaky of radicalising his followers and encouraging them to defy the Nigerian government.

A common sentiment expressed in everyday conversation in Nigeria is that el-Zakzakys followers are troublemakers.

El-Zakzakys youth

El-Zakzaky was an economics student at Ahmadu Bello University in Zaria in the late 1970s. He became a leader in the Muslim Student Society, which called for Islamic law to be included in the Nigerian constitution.

As a young man, he followed the news of the revolution in Iran under the leadership of Ayatollah Khomeini, and later visited the country.

The relationship between Iran and the Islamic Movement in Nigeria can be compared to the relationship between Ayatollah Khomeini and Sheikh el-Zakzaky. Khomeini rose up and started calling for justice. In Nigeria, Sheikh el-Zakzaky is also calling for justice. Khomeini is an inspiration for all of humanity, Mohammed says.

Today, the IMN owns more than 300 primary and secondary educational institutions known as Fudiyya schools, mainly in northern Nigeria. The group also publishes the Al Mizan newspaper.

A polyglot who is said to speak at least five languages including Hausa, Persian, Spanish and Arabic, el-Zakzaky walks with a cane  a result of injuries inflicted during his stints in prison  flanked by security guards.

He colours his speeches with exaltations of the virtues of Islam, accuses the United States of instigating discord between Muslims, repeatedly denounces the evils of corruption and says justice must be fought for around the world.

In the eyes of his followers, el-Zakzaky is a leader calling for justice. Here, some share their views on their leader:

Abubakar Zaki, Quranic teacher  The Movement is for everyone

I joined the Movement in 1986  Back then, the [Nigerian government] would even send boys to attack us. The tension is not between us and the Sunnis. Or us and the Christians. It is between us and those who hate the truth. The Islamic Movement of Nigeria is for everyone who wants the truth. Its for anyone, Sunni or even Christians. We have a Christian forum. We have Christians who are members of the Movement. Sheikh el-Zakzaky is trying to unite everybody. Sheikh is very powerful. He has many followers.

People say we dont respect the Nigerian government, but then how is it that we are sending our children to government schools? Most of the children here are going to Western education and then in the evening time like this, they do their religious studies.

Once you stand on the truth, you face challenges 

 Buhari is the leader of Nigeria but el-Zakzaky is my leader. He is the leader of justice. We must continue to denounce the injustice of the Nigerian government.

Hafsat Husseini, 14  Sheikh el-Zakzaky has made my life beautiful

Sheikh el-Zakzaky has been a spiritual father to me. He taught me how to pray to God who made me. He taught me the ways to follow God. Sheikh el-Zakzaky has made my life a beautiful one. All I have to say is Sheikh el-Zakzaky is a good person. Many people dont understand Sheikh el-Zakzaky. People saying all these bad things about him dont know him. Some people are saying the Islamic Movement are not Muslims. They say we are just wearing hijab to hide sharp objects and bombs. They say we are not worshipping Allah.

The Nigerian government does not like the Islamic Movement. They are targeting us. Sometimes, I fear. I dont feel safe. Like yesterday when we were out protesting for the release of Sheikh, the way the police were shouting at us was not good.

I want to be a medical doctor because I want to help the members of the Islamic Movement and everyone in the world. I want to go to Iran. I hear about what is happening in Iran. I follow what is happening there, not every time. But I learn about what is happening there from the newspaper.

I would want a Shia to become president of Nigeria.

Adamu Salisu, businessman and local politician  I saw what was happening among politicians and I was disgusted

My brother was a Shia before me. My father is a Sunni imam and he told me if you practise what the Shia follow, people will turn against you. Evil people will go after you. My father told me that what the Shia are saying is not a lie 

I heard Sheikh el-Zakzaky and he speaks against stealing, corruption, and everything he mentioned is found in Nigeria. So I removed myself from politics. I saw what was happening among politicians and I was disgusted. The corruption was of the highest order. I still play politics, but I know my limits.

I joined IMN in 2012, but I had been researching IMNs teaching for six years.

God did not create humans to become presidents and ministers. He created us so we can bring justice to the world and help the downtrodden. Sheikh el-Zakzaky is doing that. Sheikh el-Zakzaky said, Justice. Its not only a Muslim who needs justice. Idol worshippers need justice. Christians need justice.

People are saying we are violent but look at what happened in 2014 and 2015. How many of our people were killed and how many Nigerian soldiers were killed?

Abdullah Mohammed, chemical engineering graduate from the University of Abuja  El-Zakzaky is against tyranny

Nigeria is a tyrannical government. You see, so many university graduates like me, do not have jobs. We pass through university and theres no job. People are suffering. President Buhari stopped the importation of rice into the country and there is not enough rice in the market. That is tyranny. The Nigerian government is against el-Zakzaky because el-Zakzaky is against tyranny.

Ayatollah Khomeini spoke against tyranny. Khomeini is an inspiration to all of humanity. President Buhari said he is worried about Iranian revolutionary ideology in Africa. He is just trying to justify what happened to our people in December 2015.

El-Zakzaky warns us against committing violence, especially during election periods because he said that is what the politicians want, violence. He told us that we should not fight the Christians because Christians are the minority in the north and we should be at peace with them.

Spiritually, Sheikh el-Zakzaky is someone who relies on his God. Even when the army killed his three sons in 2014, el-Zakzaky was calm. I was there at the funeral. He was telling us to remain calm.

The Nigerian army have shot him so many times. But he is still alive. It is God who is protecting him.
Old electoral alliances are cracking up, and the new have yet to clearly form.

Richard Seymour is a London-based writer and editor. He is author of The Twittering Machine (Indigo Press, 2019) and a founding editor of Salvage magazine.

Scarcely eight months ago, some influential Democrats were delighted by signs of Donald Trumps success.

The strategy was clear. See off Bernie Sanders, veer right, target moderate Republicans and wait for the landslide.

The appointment of conservative Southern Democrat Tim Kaine, admired by Republicans, as her running mate reflects this emphasis. Reprising Lyndon Johnsons famous anti-Barry Goldwater ad from 1964, Hillary Clinton seems to believe that Trumps awfulness is enough to pave the way to power.

Obamas crumbling coalition

In normal circumstances, this should work. Trump is behind on money and organisation. Major hedge-fund and business donors are backing Clinton, as are key figures in the Republican establishment.

Much of the right-wing media machine has turned against him. The electoral map does not favour him. Even though his projected popular vote is not that far behind Clintons, the geographical distribution of his vote means that the Electoral College system could play against him.

Clinton thus hopes to take over Barack Obamas electoral coalition, while adding new layers of Republican voters to it. But what if this is all horribly complacent? What if Democrats and their supporters have misjudged the situation and are in for a rude awakening?

The legacy of the Obama administration means that his coalition is crumbling. The record of stagnant wages, shrinking government spending, and no real infrastructural investment is likely to affect Democratic performances in the rustbelt, which Trump is targeting.

While Trump may be hated for being a bigoted loose cannon, Clinton's weakness is precisely that she's seen as an untrustworthy and coddled establishment hack. by

It is a cliche that Trumps base is the white working class  in fact, he draws support from across classes, and the average income of his supporters in the Republican primaries is far higher than that for the population. Nonetheless, there is a big chunk of white workers who are supporting Trump.

And with the record number of the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement raids and the increase in police violence, coupled with Clintons record of support for mass incarceration and deportations  particularly younger blacks and Latinos  voters may not turn out in the numbers that Clinton needs.

Currently, even amid the Clinton bounce, Trump is competitive in swing states such as Florida, Ohio, Iowa, and even Pennsylvania, where a rise in racism and economic insecurity could give Trump a way in. All of these states went to Obama in 2012, yet they are within a fingernails reach of being taken by Trump.

No excitement for Hillary

Trump has thrived on the reproval of the political establishment and the media. The very bullying, blow-hard, racist and sexist provocations that have astonished the political class have tended to play to his advantage.

Consider the aftermath of his racist remarks about Mexicans. His favourability ratings improved, and he went on to destroy his opponents to win the Republican nomination against the predictions of leading pundits such as statistician Nate Silver, as well as the betting markets.

OPINION: Welcome to the Trump show

Even today, while Trumps favourability ratings are poor, Clintons arent much better. While Trump may be hated for being a bigoted loose cannon, Clintons weakness is precisely that shes seen as an untrustworthy and coddled establishment hack  something not helped by her propensity to opportunistically change her political line at the drop of a hat, her continual whiff of scandal, and the Democratic leaderships extraordinary efforts to deny her rival, Bernie Sanders, the nomination.

As filmmaker and author Michael Moore put it, No Democrat, and certainly no independent, is waking up on November 8 excited to run out and vote for Hillary.

Trump has zeroed in on this, mocking Crooked Hillary. During the Democratic National Convention, Trump sent an attack ad to delegates mobile phones, accusing Clinton and the party machine of stealing the election, arguing that Bernie never had a chance.

Moving heaven and earth

And this isnt the only way in which Trump is targeting the Democratic base. As a populist, Trump can defend free markets and welfare and protectionism at the same time.

He has criticised the Trans-Pacific Partnership, sided with environmentalists on fracking, proposed to double Clintons spending on national infrastructure, and defended Medicare and social security.

These positions, alongside his attack on the Iraq war, have scandalised the traditional right, but they will be attractive to some white Democrat voters.

The political centre from which Clinton seeks to govern has been contracting for eight years. Recession, bailouts, declining living standards and a ruined infrastructure have destroyed the old free market governing consensus.

Old electoral alliances are cracking up, and the new have yet to clearly form. A voting prediction model developed by political scientist Alan Abramowitz indicates that, were it not for Trumps erratic messaging, these factors would be sufficient to give him a lead already.

This is Clintons problem. The centre-seeking strategy that once confirmed her husband in power, and led to NAFTA and the decimation of welfare, is no longer a winner.

When Democrats moved heaven and earth to stay rooted in an antiquated centre, the election became Trumps to lose.

Richard Seymour is an author and broadcaster based in London. He has written for The Guardian, the London Review of Books and many other publications.

The views expressed in this article are the authors own and do not necessarily reflect Al Jazeeras editorial policy.




The PKK claims to have shifted towards anarchism, but traces of authoritarianism are still visible in its Syrian lab.

Since its establishment in late 2012, the de facto autonomous region of Rojava in northern Syria has attracted the attention of European leftists, mainly because of the influence of Murray Bookchins theories about libertarian municipalism on the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) leader Abdullah Ocalan.

Ocalans writings gave way to a newborn political system in Rojava as the Syrian branch of the PKK, the Democratic Union Party (PYD), is in fact the driving force behind the institutions.

Bookchin envisioned a society founded on communalism and transnational direct democracy as an antidote to the bureaucratic nation state  a mission partially mirrored in the wording of the Rojava Charter of the Social Contract.

However, a balanced assessment of the achievements in this Syrian region should not overlook the grey areas, where there is still room for improvement against tribal, ethno-sectarian, capitalist and patriarchal structures.





Ignoring some libertarian aspirations

For example, there is an emphasis on the equal political representation of all ethno-religious components  Arabs, Kurds and Christians being the most sizeable ones  an approach which some have applauded as careful ethnic balance, although it rather resembles the sectarian quotas adopted in Lebanon and Iraq.

The emphasis on ethno-sectarian identities is further echoed in the foundational statement of the Federal Democratic System, which is based on the representation of community components.

As Syrian intellectual Jad Karim Jibai pointed out: Nobody knows how an entity, that is peoples and communities (ie, clans and ethno-sectarian communities), could transcend national borders.

In other words, the insistence on these communitarian boundaries betrays the libertarian transnational aspirations.

This contradiction is also evident from the authority bestowed upon tribal leaders. For instance Shaykh Humaydi Daham al-Jarba, the head of a tribal Arab militia and an outspoken supporter of the Assad regime, was appointed as the governor of the Jazirah canton in Rojava in 2014.

His son is now the commander of the al-Sanadid Forces, one of the main Arab militias fighting alongside the PKK-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), that is to say Rojavas army. The prominence of tribal leaders preserves their role as inhibitors of social change.

While the PKK has officially renounced its demands for an independent Kurdistan, it would be myopic to ignore the ongoing military expansion of the territories controlled by the Kurds, whose outcome means the de facto fragmentation of Syria along new borders.

Considering the rejection of the idea of nation-states in the Rojava declaration, this appears to be a move in the opposite direction, regardless of the threat posed by enemies in war times.

Moreover, private property is officially enshrined in the Charter, a provision that safeguards the privileges of landowners, while encouraging them to invest in agricultural projects sponsored by the Rojava authorities.

In order to reflect Bookchins views on how libertarian municipalism is expected to replace private property, the text should have been phrased quite differently.

A just order?

If this Syrian region is to stand as an alternative to capitalist federalist Iraqi Kurdistan, a significant effort is also needed to familiarise its inhabitants with its structures.

When I was living in Rojava with a Syrian Kurdish family in 2013, most of the people I met were busy dealing with the rising cost of living and had no idea of the difference between federalism and libertarian municipalism.

Peoples Houses (Mala Gel in Kurmanji), communal places where people gather, were already open, but I discovered their existence by reading the signs at their entrance, not because people mentioned it to me.

OPINION: Can we criticise the Kurds?

Another threat posed to democracy and decentralisation in Rojava is the PKKs Stalinist legacy. The party claims to have shifted towards anarchism a long time ago, but some traces of its authoritarian upbringing are still visible in its Syrian lab: Ocalans portraits are ubiquitous, often accompanied by the slogan Theres no life without a leader (be serok jiyan nabe).

The PKK supporters are not generally inclined to accept criticism of Ocalan, who has been often portrayed by his former comrades as a despot.

When I asked a PKK chief in charge of supervising education in Amuda, northern Syria, why they had decided to hang a party leaders portrait in schools, he told me that to him Ocalan was more a philosopher than a political leader.

Unfortunately, in Rojava, Ocalan looks like the only philosopher allowed to be portrayed everywhere.

I witnessed the PKKs worst crackdown on Syrian dissidents so far on June 28, 2013, in Amuda, after the partys armed forces had killed six protesters the night before.

It was only the main episode in a long string of violations committed against dissidents and journalists.

Still, as a foreign journalist in Rojava, I faced almost no restrictions and was never at risk of being kidnapped, especially compared with some opposition-held regions in Syria.

Nevertheless, the way the PKK deals with dissent is worrisome for any movement claiming to have established a democratic confederation.

The role of women

Lastly, women empowerment is undoubtedly part of the Rojava agenda. Civil marriages in Syria were introduced here thanks to a new legislation, a womans testimony was made equal to a mans in spite of widely accepted Islamic norms, and the presence of women is encouraged in both political and military institutions as nowhere else in the country.

However, the militarisation of women and society at large is an alarming trend enforced through conscription and sanctioned by the social prestige enjoyed by the fighters families. In fact, only the martyrs pictures are venerated with the same devoutness of Ocalans icons.

READ MORE: Why Syrias Kurds want federalism, and who opposes it

Consequently, women become worthy of respect as long as they turn into men of arms and sacrifice themselves on the battlefield.

Some would defend this militarised system of values with the current need to defend Rojava, but to assume that even minors should be forcibly enlisted to ensure the survival of a social utopia is a disturbing argument to say the least.

It should also be noted that European leftist solidarity cherry-picked the so-called Rojava revolution, whereas other revolutionary theorists, such as Omar Aziz in Damascus, went completely ignored, because they were neither endorsed by one of the best equipped militias in the region such as the PKK, nor did they phrase their social utopia according to a libertarian terminology.

Yet, the horizontally structured self-governing bodies that were envisioned in Azizs writings and established in opposition-held areas between 2012 and 2013 bear some similarities to the Rojava communes  with the difference that the latter were spared from government shelling.

The Rojava lab is definitely a politically innovative experience, but the social utopia narrative should not overlook the reality on the ground and its contradictions.

Andrea Glioti is an Arabic-speaking freelance journalist and a research consultant covering the Middle East.

The views expressed in this article are the authors own and do not necessarily reflect Al Jazeeras editorial policy.
Singapore steps up security after arrest of six people on Batam island for allegedly planning attack on Marina Bay.

Indonesian authorities say they have arrested six people on Batam island who were believed to be linked to the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) group and plotting an attack on nearby Singapore.

Agus Rianto, Indonesian police spokesman, said on Friday the suspects had been plotting with a member of ISIL, also known as ISIS, in Syria to attack Singapores Marina Bay, which is about 15km south of Batam.

What we understand so far is that they were planning to attack vital objects, busy areas including police offices, Rianto said.

Singapore said it had stepped up its internal and border security.

MHA (Ministry of Home Affairs) is aware that plans were being made by the six terror suspects arrested by the Indonesian authorities, a spokesperson for Singapores interior ministry said on Friday.

OPINION: The threats to Indonesia after the Jakarta attack

Our security agencies have been coordinating closely with the Indonesian authorities since the discovery of this attack plot, to monitor the activities of the group and to apprehend those involved.

The ministry said police and other agencies had been stepping up inland and border security measures in response to the threat.

The arrested men are suspected to have links to Bahrun Naim, an Indonesian fighting for ISIL in Syria, Indonesian police said.

Jakarta attack

Indonesian investigators believe that Naim was one of the masterminds behind an attack in January in Jakarta, in which eight people were killed including the four attackers.

Theres a link to Bahrun Naim because there was communication with Bahrun Naim  but whether they were affiliated with Bahrun Naims group or not  this is what were investigating now, Rianto said.

Security officials fear that Naim and other ISIL leaders are now asking supporters in Indonesia and other countries to launch attacks at home, instead of being drawn to the fight in the Middle East.

OPINION: The returning jihad  ISIL in Southeast Asia

One thing I think that is clear is Bahrum Naim has been able to establish a lot of communication with a log of people through his social media network, Sidney Jones, Jakarta-based security analyst, told Reuters news agency.

This would be a departure for Bahrum Naim and his supporters if they were really thinking of attacking targets outside Indonesia.

Indonesian forces were on heightened alert following the killing of the countrys most wanted fighters last month.

Abu Wardah Santoso, among the first Indonesians to pledge loyalty to ISIL, was killed in a gun battle with security forces on the island of Sulawesi.
US president outlines progress in fight against ISIL but cautions that the group can still inspire small-scale attacks.

US President Barack Obama has touted gains in the campaign against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), but cautioned that the group, also known as ISIS, can still direct and inspire damaging attacks.

Speaking after meeting with top aides at the Pentagon, Obama said on Thursday that ISIL will continue to be a threat, highlighting the groups ability to motivate so-called lone wolf supporters to launch small-scale attacks that are harder to detect and prevent.





What ISIL has figured out is that if they can convince a handful of people, or even one person, to carry out an attack on a subway, or at a parade or some other public venue, and kill scores of people as opposed to thousands of people, it still creates the kinds of fear and concern that elevates their profile, Obama said.

ISIL has claimed responsibility for a number of recent mass killings, including a lorry attack in the French city of Nice last month that left 84 dead, and the nightclub shooting in Orlando, Florida, that killed 49.

While they may not have been directed by the group, the attackers were reportedly inspired by ISIL.

Obama said the US must do a better job disrupting ISIL networks and intercepting the internet messages that can get to individuals and inspire them to act.

Those networks are more active in Europe than they are here, but we dont know what we dont know, and so its conceivable that there are some networks here that could be activated, he said.

Warning on overreaction

Obama cautioned against overreacting to such attacks and rejected efforts to demonise Muslims as a way to make the US safer, in a criticism of Donald Trump, the Republican presidential candidate, who has called for a ban on Muslims entering the country.

If we start making bad decisions, indiscriminately killing civilians, for example, in some of those areas, instituting offensive religious tests on who can enter the country, those kinds of strategies can end up backfiring, Obama said.





The US is leading a military coalition conducting air strikes against ISIL in Iraq and Syria, where the group seized broad swaths of territory in 2014.

Since then, the coalition has conducted daily plane and drone strikes  more than 14,000 so far  and worked with local forces on the ground to gradually reclaim the seized territory.

Yet, despite the massive effort, ISIL still holds Mosul, Iraqs second-largest city, and the Syrian city of Raqqa.

I am pleased with the progress that weve made on the ground in Iraq and Syria, Obama said, but added: Were far from freeing Mosul and Raqqa.

Back from the brink

He also criticised Russia for failing to take the necessary steps to try to reduce violence in Syria, saying it was time for Moscow to show that it is serious about bringing peace.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has supported Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, offering international cover, military aid and carrying out air strikes in opposition-held areas.

READ MORE: Assad says Russia not pressuring him to quit

Obama said the US remains prepared to work with Russia, adding, however, that he was not confident Russia or Putin could be trusted.

The depravity of the Syrian regime has rightly earned the condemnation of the world, Obama said.

Russias direct involvement in these actions over the last several weeks raises very serious questions about their commitment to pulling the situation back from the brink.

Earlier this week, Obama also announced a new front in the war, ordering air strikes against ISIL fighters positions in the Libyan city of Sirte.
Officials fear passengers and crew captured by fighters after aircraft goes down in Afghanistans Logar province.

Taliban fighters are believed to have captured all passengers and crew of a Pakistani government helicopter that crash-landed in eastern Afghanistan.

Afghan officials said the helicopter went down late on Thursday in Logar province, close to the Afghan-Pakistan border, an increasingly lawless area since a two-year Pakistani military operation pushed many Taliban and allied fighters further into Afghanistan.

The chopper was not shot but made the landing because of technical failure, Sameem Saleh, spokesman for Logars governor, told Reuters news agency.





Those detained by the Taliban are Pakistanis.

Nafees Zakaria, a spokesman for the Pakistani foreign office, confirmed that a helicopter belonging to the Punjab provincial government had gone down in Logar, but said the fate of those on board was not yet clear.

The Afghan authorities have assured they will investigate and learn the whereabouts of the helicopter and the passengers, he said.

Zakaria said that seven passengers were on board, six of them Pakistanis and one a Russian technician. The pilot was Pakistani.

The Russian-made MI-17 transport helicopter had permission to fly over Afghan airspace on its way to Uzbekistan further north, he said.

A senior Pakistani military official also said the helicopter was en route from Peshawar in northwest Pakistan to Uzbekistan for maintenance when it experienced technical failure and made an emergency landing.

The crash came a few hours after a van carrying 12 tourists from the UK, US and Germany was attacked in the Chesht-e-Sharif district of Herat province in western Afghanistan.

The Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack, which wounded at least seven people. In a statement, Qari Yousef Ahmadi, Taliban spokesman, said the foreigners were killed  a claim Afghan officials denied.

Pentagon decision

In a separate development, the US has withheld $300m in military assistance to Pakistan after the Pentagon concluded that the country was not taking adequate action against the Haqqani network, a Pakistan-based armed group aligned with the Taliban.

Relations between US and Pakistan have been frayed over the past decade, with officials in the US frustrated by what they term Pakistans unwillingness to act against armed groups such as the Afghan Taliban and the Haqqani network.

Pakistan rejects harbouring fighters but says there are limits to how much it can do as it is already fighting multiple armed groups and is wary of a blowback in the form of more attacks on its soil.

OPINION: US must challenge Pakistans duplicity on Afghanistan

The $300m was not released because Ashton Carter, the US secretary of defense, decided against making a certification that Pakistan has taken sufficient action against the Haqqani network, Adam Stump, Pentagon spokesman, said on Wednesday.

Pakistan is the largest recipient of the Coalition Support Fund (CSF), a US government programme to reimburse allies that have incurred costs in supporting operations against armed groups.

According to Pentagon data, about $14bn has already been paid to Pakistan under the CSF since 2002.
Houthi fighters used civilians as shields to avoid attacks and Arab coalition killed children while bombing a house.

A confidential UN report has concluded that Yemens Houthi fighters used civilians as shields to avoid attacks and the Arab coalition fighting in Yemen deliberately bombed a civilian house, killing four children.

Yemen descended into chaos after the 2012 removal of longtime president Ali Abdullah Saleh, whose forces are fighting alongside the Houthi fighters.

Security deteriorated further after the Houthis swept into the capital, Sanaa, and pushed south, forcing President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadis government to flee into exile in March last year.

This was a confidential report that was prepared by experts on Yemen for consideration by the Security Council, said Al Jazeeras Mike Hanna, reporting from the UN headquarters in New York.

It covers a six-month period and finds that all the parties in the conflict had been guilty of violating international humanitarian law.

READ MORE: Key facts about the war in Yemen

The panel has documented violations of international humanitarian law and international human rights law committed by the Houthi-Saleh forces, the Saudi Arabia-led coalition and forces affiliated to the legitimate government of Yemen, said the report presented to the Security Council.





The experts are conducting detailed investigations of four air strikes allegedly carried out by the Arab coalition. Three investigations are still ongoing.

In the fourth case, six people including four children were killed when the coalition bombed a village house in southern Lahij province on May 25 using precision-guided munitions.

It is almost certain that the civilian house was the deliberate target of the high-explosive aircraft bombs, said the report.

The panel concluded that the coalition failed to take precautions and thus violated IHL [International Humanitarian Law].

The Arab coalition, assembled by Saudi Arabia, fighting in Yemen acknowledged on Thursday shortcomings in two out of eight cases about air strikes on civilian targets that were condemned by the UN in the report.

A 14-member investigative team  made up of coalition states Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the UAE, as well as Yemen  investigated claims of attacks on a residential area, hospitals, markets, a wedding and World Food Programme aid trucks.

READ MORE: UN removes Arab coalition from child rights blacklist

We found shortcomings in two cases, while the rest were in line with international humanitarian law, Mansur al-Mansur, the teams Bahraini spokesman, said in Riyadh.

The coalition began the air campaign in March 2015 to push back Houthi fighters after they seized the capital, Sanaa, and many other parts of the country.

The Arab coalition has repeatedly denied that it has deliberately targeted civilians in the war, which has killed more than 6,400 people and displaced 2.8 million.

In civilian areas

In Taiz province, Houthi fighters have concealed their fighters and equipment near or in civilian areas with the deliberate aim of avoiding attack, said the report.





In doing so, the Houthis almost certainly deliberately endanger and expose the civilian population and civilian objects to the perils of conflict.

The report showed a photograph of a tank parked at Taiz University and said it was investigating several reports of civilian sites used as shields.

Meanwhile, Yemens al-Qaeda franchise, Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), has upgraded its bomb-making capabilities and could wage a sustained IED [improvised explosive device] campaign of attacks, the report said.

The first suicide attack using the refined bomb technique was recorded in Aden on May 1.

AQAP and the local branch of the Islamic State of Iraq and Levant (ISIL) group are competing for recruits in Yemen.

Influx of cash

In March and April, ISIL, also known as ISIS, received a significant influx of cash in Yemen, which it is using to attract recruits, finance operations and purchase equipment, said the report, without providing figures.

The report says there is a vacuum in governance across Yemen, a vacuum that has been filling by competing groups such as al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula and ISIL, said Al Jazeeras Hanna.

These groups it says are competing for recruits.

So very much a bleak picture of what is happening on the ground in Yemen.

READ MORE: More than 300,000 children going hungry in Yemen: UN

While the war grinds on, Yemens Central Bank is suffering a major haemorrhage of cash.

About $100m per month is being diverted to support the Houthis, who have gained access to the reserves, said the report.

Yemens foreign reserves have dwindled from about $4bn in November 2014 to their current critical level of $1.3bn.
Two people and over two thousand reindeer have been killed by the bacteria.

Russian authorities have confirmed that two people have died after an outbreak of anthrax in Siberia.

Unusually warm weather is believed to be behind the release of the bacteria, which has resulted in the death of a boy and his grandmother.

Another 90 people have been hospitalised on suspicion of infection and more than 2,300 reindeer have perished.

The defence ministry said it had sent more than 200 specialist troops to the region to decontaminate the infected area and burn the corpses of infected animals.

It stressed that there was no epidemic and the affected area had been sealed off.

Anthrax is caused by the spores of the bacterium Bacillus anthracis.

It is a deadly infection that has previously been used in biological weapons and in terrorist attacks in the US in 2001, when letters containing anthrax were posted to media offices and US senators.

It is naturally found in soil and occasionally infects livestock while grazing.

It is believed that the current outbreak came from the carcass of a reindeer that died in an anthrax outbreak 75 years ago and has been frozen ever since.

Anthrax can lie dormant in frozen soil such as permafrost for decades and only becomes a problem if the permafrost melts.

Once a grazing animal ingests the bacteria, it quickly starts reproducing in the animals blood.

It quickly kills, then uses the decomposing animal to spread. Once oxygen enters the rotting animal, the bacteria transforms into spores.

George Stewart, a medical bacteriologist at the College of Veterinary Medicine at the University of Missouri, explained to Live Science that spores are basically a bacterial cell in a really tough protein shell. He said theyre in a state of suspended animation and they stay that way in the soil until another grazer accidentally ingests them.

Over the past month, temperatures in Siberia have soared up to 35C. This has melted the upper layers of the permafrost and sparked wildfires. This heat is part of a global trend.

June 2016 marked the 14th consecutive month of record-breaking heat. Globally, it was the hottest June ever recorded, and every one of the 13 months preceding it was also a record-breaker.

The regions around the Poles are experiencing the fastest warming due to global climate changes.

This is causing an inevitable melt of the permafrost and there are fears that other pathogens might also lurk in the frozen soils of Siberia.

In 2015, researchers discovered that a 30,000-year-old virus isolated from permafrost was still infectious, although fortunately it isnt harmful to humans.

As the world continues to warm, other diseases may be uncovered, and these could be more of a threat.

Additional reporting by Steff Gaulter
At least 10,000 people, most of them civilians, have been killed in Assam state in the past three decades.

An armed separatist group is being blamed for killing at least 13 people and wounding more than a dozen during an attack on a busy weekly market in Kokrajhar town in Indias northeastern Assam state, officials said.

One assailant was killed during the attack on Friday and security forces were in pursuit of three or four suspects believed to be hiding in a nearby forest, Assam police chief Mukesh Sahay told reporters.

Though no group has yet claimed responsibility, Sahay blamed the attack on the outlawed National Democratic Front of Bodoland, an armed group that has fought for decades for a separate homeland for the indigenous Bodo tribespeople in Assam.

This attack is intended to destabilise peace in Assam, Himanta Biswa Sarma, the states finance and health minister, told the Reuters news agency.

A second police official said that six attackers arrived in a motorised rickshaw and opened fire with automatic weapons and lobbed grenades into the crowded market in Balajan, just outside Kokrajhar town.

Speaking to Al Jazeera via Skype from the states commerical capital Guwahati, local journalist Mrinal Talukdar said: The wounded and the dead were innocent villagers. Among the injured were two children as well.

Three days ago, police arrested members of the Bodoland front with a cache of weapons in the same area as Fridays attack.

The Bodos are an indigenous tribe in Assam, making up 10 percent of the states 33 million people.





Dialogue and discussion

Sanjoy Hazarika, director of the Centre for North East Studies and Policy Research in New Delhi, told Al Jazeera that the attack was a reminder that armed groups are still operating in the region.

This is as good a time as any to remind the public that groups like this are still around, Hazarika said, adding that such groups cannot be controlled just by the force of arms.

Hazarika said that dialogue and discussion would be required to bring such groups under control, just as other groups have done.

Dozens of rebel groups have been fighting the Indian government and sometimes each other for many years in seven states in northeast India. They are demanding greater regional autonomy or independent homelands for the indigenous groups they represent.

The separatists target communities they consider outsiders, including Adivasis, whose ancestors migrated to Assam more than 100 years ago to work on tea plantations  as well as Muslims, accusing them and the federal government of exploiting the regions wealth while neglecting the locals.

More than 60 Muslim settlers and Adivasi tribespeople in Assam were killed in separate attacks in 2014.

In 2012 there were clashes between Bodos and mostly Bengali Muslim settlers that resulted in hundreds of deaths. Hundreds of thousands were displaced.

Deadly riots erupted again two years later.
Opposition Democratic Alliance wins majority of votes in major cities such as Port Elizabeth and Cape Town.

South Africas ruling party appears to be headed for its biggest electoral blow since it won power at the end of apartheid 22 years ago, with 95 percent of votes counted in local elections.

According to the most recent result on Friday, the Democratic Alliance (DA) won the majority of votes in Port Elizabeth, Cape Town and the economically important Western Cape Town province, where Cape Town is located.





Results remained too close to call in the countrys largest city, Johannesburg, and the Tshwane metropolitan area around the capital, Pretoria, where the DA is also challenging the ANC.

Neither party appeared to be winning a majority in those two cities that would allow it to govern alone, raising the possibility of coalition governments.

Its a pretty humbling day for the ANC, which is trying to put a positive spin on things, Al Jazeeras Tania Page reported from the capital, Pretoria.

Our correspondent said counting for the last 5 percent of the vote slowed down in some areas, which are densely populated and hotly contested.

The ANC also lost a key municipality named after its star, Nelson Mandela Bay, to the DA.

The ANC, formerly the main anti-apartheid movement, has lost some support from people who say their hopes for economic opportunities have not been fulfilled since the end of white minority rule.

WATCH: Is Zuma turning South Africa into a mafia state?

The South African economy has stagnated since the global financial crisis in 2008.

Somododa Fikeni, a political analyst with the University of South Africa, told Al Jazeera that the result of the local elections could force the ruling party to listen and think more carefully about its policies.

In a statement, the ANC said we will reflect and introspect where our support has dropped.

Scandals swirling around President Jacob Zuma have also hurt the ANC.

A more radical opposition party, the Economic Freedom Fighters, also contested the local elections for the first time. The party, which advocates the nationalisation of industry and other measures it says will help the poor, has garnered almost 8 percent of the vote nationwide.
Government estimates that more than 80,000 people have been affected by flooding that has killed 76 people so far.

People made homeless by widespread flooding in Sudan that has killed 76 people in recent days are facing serious food shortages and threats from disease, officials say.

The Nile river is at its highest levels in more than a century and 13 of the countrys 18 provinces had been affected by flash flooding, the countrys Interior Minister Ismat Abdelrahman said on Thursday.

Heavy rains and flooding have completely destroyed 3,206 houses and damaged 3,048 others in the eastern province of Kassala, one of the worst hit areas, the interior ministry said.

According to the United Nations, the government estimates that more than 80,000 people have been affected by the flooding so far.

Heavy rains and flooding affect thousands of people across#Sudan. More::https://t.co/Z4dRBXawa5 pic.twitter.com/z8ORwRTQsw  UN OCHA Sudan (@UNOCHA_Sudan) August 4, 2016

We have nothing at all, a resident of Hamashkoraib town, which is located in the worst-hit province of Kassala, told Al Jazeera.

We badly need help. And we still fear the upcoming storms, he said.





Fears of continued flooding have forced some to flee to the mountains where they are struggling to find water and face a serious shortage of food.

There is also not enough medicine and the threat of disease is growing.

We have more than 3,000 families affected, said Mohamed Issa Taha, a deputy provincial governor.

Weve handed out some relief aid that will be sufficient for 72 hours, he said.
Group says it has bodies of five people shot down in helicopter, demands release of prisoners in exchange for corpses.

A group in Syria has reportedly demanded the release of prisoners held in Syrian and Lebanese jails in exchange for the bodies of five people who were shot down in a Russian military helicopter last week.

The Russian helicopter was downed in Syrias rebel-held Idlib province on Sunday, killing all five people on board in the biggest officially acknowledged loss of life for Russian forces since they started operations in Syria.

OPINION: Syrias civil war is a post-factual conflict

A Reuters news agency report said the demand was made on Thursday in a statement signed off by a group calling itself the General Foundation for Prisoners Affairs.

The group said it wanted the release of prisoners held in Syrian government jails and by Hezbollah in Lebanon, but did not specify who those prisoners were or how many it wanted freed.





It also demanded an end to the siege of areas blockaded by the Syrian army and its allies, and for the delivery of significant amounts of humanitarian aid to people living in besieged areas.

The groups statement showed what appeared to be identity cards belonging to those killed in the crash.

Franz Klintsevich, deputy chairman of the Russian Federation Council committee on defence and security, said Moscow was working on returning the bodies of the Russians.

Klintsevich told Interfax that the military can hold negotiations or use operative capabilities.

They can decide and reach agreements. Give them time, they will resolve this issue. It may take a week or a month, he said.

Russias defence ministry said on Monday the Mi-8 military transport helicopter had been shot down after delivering humanitarian aid to the city of Aleppo as it made its way back to Russias main airbase in the western province of Latakia.

No group immediately claimed responsibility for shooting down the helicopter.

The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant group (ISIL) group is not active in the area, but there are other rebel groups there, as well as fighters backed by the US and its allies.

Russia and Syria did not make any immediate comment on the demand.

Aleppo fighting

Separately, fierce ground battles are under way in Aleppo province between forces loyal to President Bashar al-Assad and rebel groups amid heavy air strikes believed to be carried out by the Syrian government or Russian warplanes targeting opposition-controlled neighbourhoods.

At least 10 civilians, including seven children, were killed early on Friday in air strikes against the rebel-held district of al-Marjeh in eastern Aleppo, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR), a UK-based monitor.





Separate air strikes, believed to have been carried out by Russian warplanes, hit two displacement camps in Aleppo on Thursday.

The SOHR said at least two children were killed and 30 other civilians were wounded near the town of Atareb in rebel-held territory.

One of the air strikes destroyed an ambulance and a number of tents were also damaged or burned.

Helicopters also bombed areas in Owejil village in the western countryside of Aleppo, which killed five people, including a woman, her son and two other children.

The violence and misery was the outcome of the latest round in the tit-for-tat fight for Aleppo  a battle many say could decide the war, said Al Jazeeras Reza Sayah, reporting from Gaziantep, on the Turkish side of the Syria-Turkey border.

In a major offensive earlier this week, rebel forces gained key ground in southwestern Aleppo, threatening to encircle government forces.

But government forces, backed by Russian air strikes, fought back, regaining the territory.

INTERACTIVE: Syrian Civil War Map

According to the SOHR, at least 112 civilians, including 33 children, have been killed in Aleppo since the rebel assault began on Sunday.

The UN has recently expressed its frustration at the lack of aid entering the country.

Despite that, UN officials said they were hoping for a breakthrough in negotiations to restart peace talks.

But, with a new opposition video showing rebel fighters preparing for another offensive in Aleppo and government forces continuing their own charge, any call for a ceasefire remains in doubt, said Al Jazeeras Sayah.

The Syrian conflict began as a mostly unarmed uprising against Assad in March 2011.

However, it quickly escalated into a full-blown civil war, with more than 280,000 people now estimated to have been killed in fighting between the government, the opposition and other armed groups.
Mevlut Cavusoglu, Turkeys foreign minister, has criticised Austria, calling it the capital of radical racism, following suggestions by Austrian Chancellor Christian Kern that the European Union end membership talks with Turkey.

European leaders have voiced concern over Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogans ongoing crackdown following a failed coup attempt last month, warning that reintroduction of the death penalty for coup plotters would be a red line barring Turkeys accession to the EU.

Chancellor Kern intensified the debate on Wednesday, saying that he would start a discussion among European heads of government to end talks with Turkey because of the countrys democratic and economic deficits.

We know that the democratic standards are clearly not sufficient to justify (Turkeys) accession, Kern said in an interview with Austrian broadcaster ORF.

Cavusoglu hit back on Friday in an interview with broadcaster TGRT Haber, saying the Austrian chancellor needs to take a look at his own country first.

Today Austria is the capital of radical racism, Cavusoglu said, adding that the chancellors comments were ugly.

It is ironic that a country in the middle of a racist stream like this is calling our citizens radicals, he said.

OPINION: Our quest for a European identity

Cavusoglu focused his attack on the success of far-right political parties in Austria.

A radical, racist candidate lost the latest election by a hairs breadth, he said.

Now that election is cancelled, there is a good chance that this candidate is going to get elected.

Austrias Foreign Minister Sebastian Kurz joined in the verbal sparring, saying Ankara should moderate its words and actions.

I sharply reject the criticism of Austria by Turkeys foreign minister, a spokesman for the minister said, quoting Kurz.

Ankara is called upon to moderate its choice of words and its course of action (at home) as well as to do its homework.

Dialogue with Turkey

Later on Friday, Germanys Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier resisted Austrias call to halt talks with Turkey. He said the EU needed to think more broadly about how to frame its relationship with Ankara in these challenging times.

I will work to ensure that the dialogue with Turkey does not occur solely via megaphones and microphones and cameras, Steinmeier said.

There is no alternative, even if it is difficult in these times, Steinmeier said, following a meeting with other German-speaking foreign ministers  including Austria  in Liechtenstein.

Steinmeier said he hoped to restore direct talks between Berlin and Ankara on EU accession.

For me a different question is of decisive importance, namely the question of how to manage the relationship with Turkey in this difficult situation and what we can do for those who have been arrested (following the coup attempt), he said.
UN refugee agency says it has received reports that ISIL has seized up to 3,000 internally displaced people in Kirkuk.

Fighters from the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) have reportedly captured up to 3,000 fleeing villagers in northern Iraq, according to the UN refugee agency, or UNHCR.

In its daily report on events in Iraq, UNHCR said on Friday that 12 of the captives were thought to have been executed by ISIL, also known as ISIS.

UPFRONT: Can Iraqs government defeat ISIL?

UNHCR has received reports that ISIL captured on 4 August up to 3,000 IDPs [internally displaced people] from villages in Hawiga district in Kirkuk governorate trying to flee to Kirkuk city, UNHCR said.

Reportedly, 12 of the IDPs have been killed in captivity.

The villagers were on the run from fighting in Kirkuk province and seeking safety in the nearby city of the same name, a UN spokesman also told DPA news agency.

The oil-rich Kirkuk province is divided between areas mainly controlled by the Kurdish autonomous region and areas held by ISIL.

ISIL overran large areas north and west of the capital, Baghdad, in 2014, but has since lost ground to Iraqi forces backed by US-led air strikes and other fighters.

The hardline group has responded to the battlefield setbacks by striking civilians, and experts have warned that there may be further attacks as it continues to lose ground.

Last last month, the International Committee of the Red Cross warned that up to one million Iraqis risk facing displacement in the coming weeks as fighting intensifies ahead of a government offensive to retake Mosul, Iraqs second largest city, from ISIL.

Mosul, which fell to ISIL in June 2014, was once home to some two million people, but the current population has been estimated at around half that figure, with the number of those fleeing their homes increasing.

UNHCR has begun building a site northeast of Mosul for 6,000 people and is preparing another northwest of the city for 15,000, a fraction of those expected to need shelter.

According to the UN, approximately 10 million Iraqis are in need of humanitarian assistance, with 3.3 million already displaced from their homes within the country.
Lack of development and economic opportunities blamed for unrest pitting regions ethnic groups against one another.

Security forces in Indias Assam state are still searching for fighters who killed dozens of villagers last week.

At least 72 people died and about 10,000 were displaced when violence erupted between ethnic Bodos and Adivasis.

However, as Al Jazeeras Faiz Jamil reports from Assams Sonitpur district, the cycle of brutality goes back decades.
We speak to the father of a US soldier killed in Iraq, and debate accusations the Indian government censors its critics

In this weeks UpFront, we speak to Khizr Khan, Donald Trump critic and father of a US soldier killed in Iraq.

In the Reality Check, Mehdi Hasan highlights how neither India nor Pakistan have the Kashmiris best interests in mind. And in the Arena, we debate whether Narendra Modis government is censoring dissent with the author of a controversial new book that implicates the prime minister in the Gujarat massacres of 2002.

Headliner

Khizr Khans speech at the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia last week has since dominated the US presidential election.

The father of Humayun Khan, a US soldier killed in Iraq, has been praised by many for his heartfelt and pointed words denouncing Donald Trump.

In this weeks Headliner, Mehdi Hasan sits down with Khan to discuss the Republican nominee, the Iraq war, Islamophobia and his son.

Khan says he is confident that Americans are not going to buy the snake oil [Trump] is selling.

In the wide-ranging interview, Khan reveals he was opposed to the 2003 Iraq invasion  his son was killed in action the following year.

That was a mistake that has not served American interest well, he tells Mehdi Hasan.

Khan also believes his son is supporting him in every which way.

Reality Check

Protests and tensions are high in Indian-administered Kashmir following the recent crackdown on demonstrators by Indian security forces.

Governments on both sides of the line have expressed interest in finding a solution to the dispute, saying they have Kashmiris best interests in mind, but some argue that their actions prove otherwise.

In this weeks Reality Check, Mehdi Hasan looks at the actions of both India and Pakistan in Kashmir.

Arena

In 2002, the Indian Western state of Gujarat witnessed some of the most violent religious riots in the countrys recent history. The number of those killed is disputed, but more than a thousand people, mostly Muslims, died.

Some human rights groups have pointed the finger at Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who was Gujarats chief minister at the time, for what they say was turning a blind eye to the violence.

While an Indian court cleared Modi of allegations that he intentionally failed to stop the riots, a controversial new book, Gujarat Files: Anatomy of a Cover-Up, makes stinging accusations and offers what it calls proof that links Modi and his allies to the violence.

The author of the book, Rana Ayyub, said she had to self-publish the investigation because mainstream media would not touch it. Critics, however, argue that there are serious flaws in Ayyubs investigations.

So is dissent being stifled in Modis India? In this weeks Arena, Ayyub debates with Sadanand Dhume, a columnist for The Wall Street Journal and resident fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, about whether the government is censoring dissent.

Editors note: The Arena was recorded prior to the recent spate of violence in Kashmir.

Follow UpFront on Twitter @AJUpFront and Facebook.
           2005     ..        
Amateurs expect to reel in a big fish just by casting a pretty lure. But as any serious fisherman knows, most of the hunt is done before the cast. The conditions  weather, tackle, location and temperature  must be right before seasoned fishermen even pick up a rod.

Many bankers, however, chase new accounts like amateurs tackle fishing. Too often bankers assume an ad or a mail solicitation inspires someone to apply for a bank product. But in a digital era, there are many other ways a potential customer interacts with the bank that can influence whether or not he or she becomes a customer.

Prospects may be interacting with the bank in numerous ways  including in person, on the phone and online  before filling out online applications. Bank marketers are not always fully aware of what online message or interaction with bank personnel made an impression on a prospect. Every point of contact  from rate advisory emails to credit improvement tip articles  influences whether someone will become a customer or not.

Sometimes something as indirect and impersonal as general content on the bank's website can make the difference.

Yet, these interactions are largely unknown and untracked by marketing personnel. Too often, banks rely on customer surveys to determine how the institution got the person's attention. But surveys are an old-school technique that will fail to deliver this degree of intelligence. Human nature, after all, throws a big wrench into the effectiveness of surveys. People responding to them may forget which interaction initially drew them to the bank and they frequently select the incorrect channel. At our community bank, survey respondents regularly credit television spots or billboards with prompting an action even though we rarely advertise on billboards or on TV. Complicating matters more is how surveys usually demand that customers only pick one channel.

In order to fill in the dots, banks must use data analytical tools. It's important to know what the customer did before applying for a product because understanding those steps help banks address the needs of prospects and the effects of marketing, and ultimately increase the number of people applying for a product.

During a one-month period in 2015, our community bank used analytics tools from Google to examine 108 mortgage applicants submitted through the bank's website, for instance. What we discovered surprised us: Each applicant interacted with the bank an average of nine times prior to formally submitting an application and each prospect's journey was unique.

In some cases, the process started with a telephone call, followed by a meeting with a branch manager and the registering of an emailed rate, before ending with an application three months later. Other applicants checked rates, visited the mortgage page on our website and made a pre-mortgage application. Still others saw external TV screens and plugged the bank name into a search engine. Virtually no two applicants followed the same route to applying for a product. Some made less than nine interactions, others made more.

By tracking these insights, we gleaned areas of our website we needed to improve. Subsequently, we modified website structure, increased calls to action and clarified confusing directions.

But we might not have known what to tweak if we had only used surveys.

Sure, we learn from surveys which media are mentioned as being most responsible for attracting customers. But we learn very little else. Customer surveys can't pinpoint inefficiencies in the application process, which is why banks should use digital analysis to track an applicant's path through the system.

That will get you ready to cast your lure.

Kevin Tynan is senior vice president for marketing at Liberty Bank for Savings, Chicago. Joshua Carter is digital marketing manager at Liberty Banking for Savings. Tynan can be reached at ktynan@libertybank.com.
Breaking News This Morning ...

RBS posts Q2 loss: Royal Bank of Scotland reported a loss of 1.08 billion, or $1.43 billion, in the second quarter versus a profit of 280 million in the year ago quarter. The bank, which is 73% owned by the U.K. government, blamed most of the loss on costs for litigation and potential settlements, which nearly tripled to 1.28 billion in the quarter. Wall Street Journal, Financial Times, New York Times

Wall Street Journal

P2P lender gets financing: Online lender Prosper Marketplace Inc. is in advanced talks to sell $5 billion worth of loans to a group of investment firms over the next two years. The buyers include Fortress Investment Group, Soros Fund Management, Third Point and Jefferies LLC. Prosper has also started selling loans to BBVA Compass, the U.S. banking unit of Spanish lender Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria. If completed, the deal would help resolve concerns about how online lenders like Prosper can fund their operations while emphasizing the critical role traditional financial institutions will play in so-called peer-to-peer lending.

BOE plan may help U.K. bank margins: Largely overlooked in Thursday's Bank of England interest rate announcement was the introduction of a new lending facility that could help British banks' bottom line more than their lending customers. The Term Funding Scheme will allow financial institutions to borrow from the central bank for four years at cheaper rates than they could get elsewhere. The cost of the borrowing will depend on how much the banks lend to households and businesses. "The immediate effect is a subsidy to banks," said one fund manager.

Citigroup continues to divest: The head of Citigroup's Brazilian unit said the bank plans to announce the sale of some of its South American retail operations by the middle of next month. The bank said back in February that it planned to sell its consumer operations in Brazil, Argentina and Colombia. The top five banks in Brazil together have about a 70% market share of assets; Citi controls about 1%.

Financial Times

Mission accomplished: BNP Paribas sold a 15% stake in its U.S. subsidiary First Hawaiian Bank for nearly $500 million, the biggest bank initial public offering in almost two years. The sale reflects regulatory pressures on banks to increase capital and liquidity while making them subject to more rigorous stress tests. That makes it more expensive for foreign banks to compete in the American market. The French bank previously considered a sale before switching to a spinoff using the IPO.

U.K. credit card battle: The average interest-free balance transfer offer in the U.K. has jumped to 18 months, the longest in at least four years, as banks compete aggressively for customers. At least half a dozen banks are willing to go out as long as 40 months or more, although they are charging steep transfer fees: as much as 4% of the balance and high rates after the introductory period ends. The average introductory interest-free period for new customers is 12 months. This comes just after the Financial Conduct Authority warned that too many Britons have too much debt.
Familiarity can breed comfort while considering a merger.

That was the case for Susan Ralston, who guided Bank @lantec's conversion from a credit union to a depositor-owned federal savings bank in 2004. When the time arrived to consider a merger, Ralston, the Virginia Beach mutual's president and chief executive, quickly zeroed in on Dollar Bank in Pittsburgh.

The mutuals agreed in June to a combination that will give the $7.4 billion-asset Dollar its first operations in Virginia.

Ralston grew up in Washington, Pa., just outside Pittsburgh, and has longstanding ties to Dollar. In fact, she frequently sought out the mutual's executives at banking conferences.

"I couldn't be happier" with the merger, which will likely close later this year, Ralston said in a recent interview.

Ralston has been an active and vocal advocate for mutual banks, serving on the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency's Mutual Savings Association Advisory Committee and the executive committee of the American Bankers Association's Mutual Institutions Council.

These days, though, her top priority is smoothing the path for her $112 million-asset institution's merger and figuring out the best way to putting the larger mutual's superior technology and deeper product set to work in her local market.

For Ralston, who plans to stay with Dollar, the best part of the agreement is the fact it didn't require compromising her steadfast allegiance to the mutual structure.

"We knew Dollar Bank is 100% committed to mutuality," she said.

Here is an edited transcript of American Banker's conversation with Ralston.

You grew up near Pittsburgh. Can you talk about your links to Dollar?

SUSAN RALSTON: Dollar Bank was in my hometown, and still is. Growing up, my family banked there. I have the deepest respect for them as a bank. It felt like home. They have a very down-to-earth culture.

How tough has it been operating as a small mutual today?

It's a very challenging environment. Right now, 20% to 30% of our resources are directed toward compliance and regulatory issues. Ten years ago, it was closer to 5% to 10%. It seems like we're in a defensive mode all the time instead of thinking about how we're going to add new products and grow.

You'll lead Dollar's Virginia operations. What will your priorities be?

Getting their technology and product line down here as soon as possible. From their products to human relations, they're so deep. We've been successful on our own, but I can only imagine the success we'll have as part of Dollar Bank.

You have been a very active lobbyist for the mutual industry. What is the motivation for your advocacy and what are some of the issues you've been working on?

I've been very vocal in Washington and meeting with [local legislators]. We want to keep the industry alive and competitive. There hasn't been a de novo mutual chartered since 1965.

We're very pleased with the support we've received from the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency and with the House's action on HR 1660 [which would give national bank powers to federal savings associations and was recently referred to the House floor by the Financial Services Committee]. Those aspects are very positive.

At the same time, we're trying to push the Mutual Capital Certificate concept. [Under a proposed statute, mutual banks could sell certificate's to investors with the proceeds counted as Tier 1 capital.] Having a capital instrument makes sense. Options are great, and this creates one more for mutuals.

Pittsburgh and Virginia Beach are miles apart. How will you manage the distance?

We'll do a lot of videoconferencing. But I've been driving back and forth between Virginia and Pennsylvania for 30 years. It is 434 miles from my house to my mother's front door.


Two senior legal executives at CIT Group in Livingston, N.J., are reportedly leaving the company, as it faces a new round of compliance headaches.

Bob Ingato, general counsel at the $67 billion-asset CIT, is expected to leave the bank at the end of the year, according to a report Thursday in The Wall Street Journal. He joined the company in 1999.

Additionally, Fred Springer, head of ethics and compliance, also recently departed CIT for a job at Banco Santander, the Journal reported.

The company has not announced a replacement for either executive. A call to the company Thursday was not returned.

CIT last month reported a plunge in quarterly profits, due to issues stemming from a federal investigation into its reverse mortgage servicing business, known as Freedom Financial. The company inherited the unit from its acquisition of OneWest last year.

CIT said on July 28 that it received a qualitative objection from the Fed over its capital plan.

Ellen Alemany took over as CEO of CIT in April, succeeding Wall Street icon John Thain. Shortly before stepping into her new role, she announced plans to turn the company around.

In an effort to boost shareholder returns, CIT has shed assets and is in the midst of a cost-cutting initiative.


As students head off to college this fall, one of the books they may encounter is Zora Neale Hurston's Their Eyes Were Watching God. This is not because Their Eyes Were Watching God is one of the Great Books on a par with Homer, Dante, or Shakespeare, nor because it is a work of profound moral imagination like Great Expectations or Moby-Dick.

Their Eyes Were Watching God is neither. It is not even a very good novel. What recommends it to college faculty is that it is a feminist diatribe by a black woman. It is not a book worthy of college classrooms, but it is politically correct in a way that none of the Great Books can ever be.

For those who've not had the pleasure of reading Hurston's novel, I will provide a brief precis. The novel's protagonist, Janie Crawford, tells the story of her victimization at the hands of whites, men, and the rich. That tale of woe begins with her forced marriage to Logan Killicks, an older farmer whom she deserts for Jody Starks, another financially secure but emotionally repressive older male who dies after a few years of unhappy marriage to Janie. Euphoric after her husband's death, Janie marries the much younger Tea Cake, with whom she resides poor but happy in a hut in the Florida Everglades  that is, until tragedy strikes, and Tea Cake reverts to male form. Maddened after being bitten by a rabid dog, Tea Cake attacks Janie, who kills him in self-defense and is acquitted at trial. Having shed three husbands by the time she is thirty, Janie moves on to happier times.

As told by Janie to her friend Pheoby Watson many years later, this saga of female desire, conjugal unhappiness, and spousal annihilation is distinctly antagonistic toward conventional models of family life and bourgeois society. Logan Killicks, a coarse but decent country man, is depicted as an aging oaf. Jody Starks (like Hurston's real-life father) is a successful businessman and the mayor of Eatonville, Florida (Hurston's real-life hometown), but Janie publicly denounces him as an impotent and insensitive hypocrite, berating him even on his deathbed. Tea Cake is both devious and violent. The lesson seems to be that so far as men are concerned, it's out of the frying pan and into the fire.

Academic critics like to portray this melodramatic saga as the struggle of a repressed black woman for independence, sense of self, and "voice." Presumably, Janie acquires all of these by surviving her three marriages (two of her husbands do not) and by fashioning and retelling her story to her close female friend, Pheoby. Here in one brief volume is everything a modern-day academic could desire: an oppressed black heroine, a blustering capitalist fraud, an indictment of the institution of marriage, and an ending that celebrates the ties of sisterhood and female independence. The novel supplies everything an instructor could wish for, except for great writing and a moral view toward human happiness.

General readers, those not enrolled in LIT101, recognize the limitations of Hurston's writing. Other than Their Eyes Were Watching God, which is required reading at many universities, Hurston's work is largely unread today. Hurston's other three novels were republished in a paperback series in 2008. The Amazon sales ranking for Moses, Man of the Mountain was number 179,837. Jonah's Gourd Vine came in at 279,919. Seraph on the Suwanee, her last novel, was recently at 317,987.

As for Their Eyes Were Watching God, it continues to be read only because it is assigned. According to the Open Syllabus project, the most recent assignment count for the novel was 1,198 classrooms. That's a lot of students still plodding through the dreary tale of Janie's murderous resistance to male repression. (By comparison, Moses, Man of the Mountain appeared in 24 syllabi, Jonah's Gourd Vine in one, and Seraph of the Suwanee in none.)

The persistence of Their Eyes Were Watching God on academic reading lists is not a tribute to the literary quality of the novel or to the moral imagination of the author. It is, I would say, evidence of academic groupthink. Hurston's novel is "approved reading" in a way that V.S. Naipaul's A Bend in the River (on 84 syllabi) or Flannery O'Connor's Everything That Rises Must Converge (31 syllabi) are not. Both of these are great works of fiction but works that offend correctness as a result of their strongly pro-Western and Christian sensibilities, respectively. Few untenured faculty, and few enough who are tenured, would risk assigning these brutally honest works in the intolerant, micro-triggered world of academe.

For a taste of exactly how Hurston's novel is being taught, one can turn to recently published academic articles. It's not difficult to locate academic treatises dealing with female desire, defiance, self-defense, and other feminist themes. Nor is there any shortage of essays addressing race and class in Hurston's novel. Their Eyes Were Watching God fits the race-class-gender paradigm perfectly, just as Alice Walker, who rediscovered Hurston's work for modern audiences, recognized back in the 1970s when she proclaimed Hurston an early example of the "womanist" author. With Walker's article "In Search of Zora Neale Hurston" in the March 1975 issue of Ms. magazine, Hurston's literary reputation was restored, and an academic cottage industry was launched.

To some, the assignment of books like Their Eyes Were Watching God might seem harmless enough. Professors can enjoy teaching the book, pointing out the evils of bourgeois society and the patriarchy. Students can read it, or the Cliff's Notes version of it, write their papers, submit, and forget about it.

There are just two problems with this scenario.

The first is that books like Their Eyes Were Watching God displace other, more meaningful assignments. Every time a politically correct seat-warmer like Their Eyes Were Watching God is assigned, it supplants truly great books that might contribute in important ways to the student's education. Instead of the usual trifecta of race, class, and gender, students need to learn about the rewards and responsibilities of adulthood, how human beings relate to one another in a workable society, and how crucial are marriage and other sacred institutions of civilization. Novels like Hurston's do not teach these lessons  they teach the opposite, and they crowd out the valuable works of great literature that might contribute to the student's development.

A second danger is that impressionable students  the very demographic that should not be reading Hurston  will assume that this required reading conveys the truth about marriage, capitalism, and self-responsibility. In Hurston's case, one finds a particularly dismal view of the relationship between the sexes. At a time when the institution of marriage has come under one assault after another, it doesn't need to be further weakened by this kind of assigned reading.

The marital brutality and feminist retribution that Hurston represents in Their Eyes Were Watching God, combined with her fantasy of a sexual relationship with a much younger male, makes this author a poor choice for college reading. Why not an author who portrays nobility and purpose within a lifelong marriage? (Hurston's two real-life marriages lasted four years and seven months, respectively.) Why not depict goodness and love instead of degradation and violence? Why not a writer who understands the workings of capitalist society and the virtues of responsibility and hard work? With reading of that kind, students would learn valuable lessons that would help them on their way to a purposeful life. Such writers exist, both among the classics and among contemporaries, but they have been cut from the curriculum.

But then, alienation and resentment are what much of academe is all about. What better writer for that purpose than Zora Neale Hurston?

Jeffrey Folks is the author of many books and articles on American culture including Heartland of the Imagination (2011).
Western Media Shuts Its Eyes to Persecution of Christians By IS

There is one minority group that is more persecuted than any other in the world, persecuted more frequently, more widely and with more intensity. There is indeed in one substantial region an explicit campaign of genocide being carried out against this group. Yet you will hardly ever hear about it in the Western media. The minority group in question is Christians. A terrible process of ethnic and religious cleansing of Christians from the Middle East is strongly in train. Although especially acute in Syria and Iraq, this reflects, and is a kind of grim culmination of, dynamics at work for decades, indeed for centuries. But the active persecution of Christians extends far beyond the Middle East. The Western media is imprisoned in a kind of psychotic fantasy loop that makes it all but ignore this historic drama. The postmodern ideological mindset of most Western media attributes all the world's international ills to Western colonialism, neo-colonialism, capitalism and militarism, and in all instances (except Israel) the villains are nominally, or formerly, Christian states of the West. Therefore the Western media cannot bring itself to describe, much less make moral judgments about, the savage persecution of Christians. According to a study by the non-partisan Pew Research Centre, Christians are the most persecuted minority in the world. In 2014, according to this study, Christians were persecuted and harassed by government or the general society in 108 countries, an increase from 102 the year before. Assuredly, Christians are not the only religious group being persecuted. In the Middle East, all religious minorities, such as the Yazidis and others, face very tough times. Sunni Muslims are persecuted in some Shia Muslim lands while Shia Muslims are persecuted in some Sunni Muslim lands. Even if the world cannot stop this persecution, it at least discusses such issues. There is very little open discussion of the systematic persecution of Christians. The most terrible and famous anti-Christian outrages have been carried out by Islamic State in Syria, Iraq and Libya, and by Boko Haram in Nigeria. But it is wrong to see today's atrocities in isolation from the historical trends, especially in the Middle East. A century ago, about one in seven people in the Middle East were Christian. Today the figure is less than one in 25, and the proportion continues to decline. The process resembles the savage persecution that led to the exodus of nearly a million Jews from Arab and Muslim countries in the region after World War 11. The modern phase of this process began with the famous Nazi-inspired anti-Jewish Farhud pogrom in Baghdad in 1941. Now, outside of Israel, there are only a few tiny Jewish communities in the Middle East. They exist as museum pieces or sometimes as highly protected species, Potemkin villages that local regimes can use to demonstrate their openness, although the communities are so tiny as to have no effect on national life. The eradication of Christians across the Middle East is well under way. The killings 100 years ago of Armenians, Greeks and Assyrians in what is now Turkey were indeed a complex matter and are much debated historically. But there is no denying that these killings, of perhaps 1.5 million people, resulted in the effective elimination of the Christian population of Turkey. It survives now as a few tens of thousands of people, demoralised and fearful, in a nation of nearly 80 million people which even 150 years ago was home to a big, thriving Christian community. And of course historically Istanbul, when it was Constantinople, was for centuries the centre of Christendom. No atrocities today are more savage than those committed by Islamic State. It is right that its atrocities against all the people it regards as its enemies should be recorded, have proper attention paid to them, and be opposed. But there is no doubt also that it is attempting to commit genocide against Christians. The acts of Islamic State barbarism recall the worst stages in human development. The world has witnessed horrific videos of its efforts, such as when Islamic State captured dozens of Coptic Christians, civilian workers in Libya, and took them to a beach and beheaded them on video. In parts of Iraq, Islamic State systematically went through towns and villages with substantial Christian populations and wrote the Arabic letter N on the homes of Christian families. The N stood for Nazarenes. In most cases, the male inhabitants of such homes were killed, although in some cases they were offered the chance to convert to Islam. The women were typically taken as sex slaves and the children given as labourers, or worse, to whoever wanted them. Amel Nona was the Chaldean Catholic archbishop of Mosul from 2010 to 2014. He now lives in Sydney. His predecessor in Mosul was assassinated by persons unknown. Mosul 1
Let's not waste time. At the direction of President Obama, the United States of America gave $400 million to Iran  it was Iran's money, after all, Obama said. In an unrelated move, Iran released four American hostages: a newspaper reporter, a former Marine, a Christian pastor, and a language student. It was a coincidence  no one negotiating the money knew anything about any hostages.

Over and done. OK? OK.

But what about the other hostages?

Siamak Namazi and Robert Levinson were left behind  and Namazi's father, Baquer, not an American citizen, was arrested trying to get his son released.

Nazar Taka, a Lebanese citizen with permanent American residence, was arrested in November; the Iranians proclaimed him a U.S. citizen.

Nazak Afshar, a French citizen, was arrested in March on her way into the country and sentenced to six years in prison.

Nanzanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, a British citizen, was arrested in April at the airport on her way out of the country.

Homa Hoodfar, a Canadian academic, was arrested in June.

Reza Shahini, an American citizen, was arrested just last month.

The Iranians appear to have skipped May, but they acknowledge one other American in custody.

Taking the U.S. government at its word that there was no ransom paid and will be no further ransom paid  I know, I know, but stick with the larger point  what is the benefit to Iran of taking Western hostages while the Iranian government is trying to take advantage of the partial lifting of Western sanctions? How does the Iranian government square its illegal behavior with its desire to be treated as if it is behaving legally? How does it square government-sponsored rallies chanting, "Death to America" with a desire to do business with the United States?

The same way the U.S. government does  by denying any link between this arm and that, this behavior and that, this law and that.

Karim Sadjadpour of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace told The Washington Post , "There's often a political and economic logic for Iran's hard-liners to imprison dual nationals. It deters diaspora businessmen from visiting Iran, which is less competition for the Revolutionary Guards. It sabotages improved relations with Washington, which Iran's hard-liners fear. Lastly, it undermines the agenda of the Rouhani government, who has encouraged dual nationals to return to Iran and bring with them foreign investment."

So, according to Sadjadpour, there is a "bad Iran," represented by the Revolutionary Guards, and a "good Iran," represented by the Rouhani "moderates." Could be. Certainly the Revolutionary Guards have benefited from their stranglehold on the economy, and a truly free economy would reduce their profits. But there will be no truly free economy in any event. The Republican Guard is a stakeholder in those businesses trying to do business with the West  and having trouble with financing precisely because the Guard is a stakeholder.

There is no "good Iran" and "bad Iran," just Iran. The same government that imprisons Western citizens is the one complaining because Western banks won't do business with it.

And lest one think this is only a problem for Iran with American banks, Valiollah Seif, governor of Iran's central bank, complained to the Guardian (U.K.) that U.K. banks  including Lloyds banking Group and Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS)  refuse to serve as clearing banks and are preventing Iranian firms from reopening their London branches. "Our first expectation from Britain is to provide assistance so that our Iranian banks can start operating in London again."

Seif also wanted help from the British government to have Iran removed from the blacklist of the Financial Action Task Force (on Money Laundering), or FATF.

Did he think holding Nanzanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe would help focus the British government's attention? Perhaps holding Nazak Afshar is to ensure that the French government helps Airbus's bid for Iranian airplanes if Boeing can't get financing? Are Shahini and Namazi trump cards on the Boeing deal?

Iran is, in many regards, an open book. The Islamic Republic declared war on the U.S. and Israel in 1979 and hasn't changed its mind. It is a nasty, dangerous, totalitarian place.

The Obama administration paid $400 million to the #1 financier and supporter of terrorism according to Obama's own State Department. In addition, Iran has more executions than any country except the People's Republic of China, including for homosexuality; exercises legal brutality against women; supports religious intolerance; has committed violations of the Geneva Conventions against American sailors; provides military support to Bashar Assad as he commits war crimes against the Syrian people; violates U.N. bans on weapons import and export and ballistic missile testing; and censors information going into Iran and coming out. That's only a partial list.

Even as he claims that it wasn't ransom for hostages (cough, cough), the president behaved as if there was a "moderate" part of the Iranian government with which to do business. This is why the administration hid the fact from the American public.
This years Democratic National Convention was all abloom with signs proclaiming Love trumps hate. Attorney General Loretta Lynch said recently that the most effective response to terror is compassion, unity, and love. Jeb Bush, too, in all his flabby RINO splendor, believes that illegal immigration is an act of love.

No one wants a loveless world. No one that I know. But there are some questions that cannot be answered with certain responses. If you say My house is on fire! and someone responds Just be happy -- it is fair to say that their response lacks a certain desirable quality rational people call efficacy. What actionable policies devolve from the mere invocation of the word love? Reasonable people can argue about the merits of building a wall on the southern border, or putting an end to Muslim immigration, but you cant argue that these proposals arent actionable or plausibly effective. On the other hand, how do we love away an enormous surplus of unskilled immigrant labor? How compassionate can we be toward someones desire to assure his place in paradise by gunning down a maximum number of Western infidels? The desire for a global Islamic Caliphate is a grand historical aspiration -- albeit an evil one. The people who want such a thing want it for their own reasons. It is not a passing whim -- the result of Western civilizations collective lack of love.

Moreover, the love narrative drips with hypocrisy. Do people in the Black Lives Matter movement love anyone outside the circle of their own supporters? Ask George Zimmerman or officer Darren Wilson, both acquitted of any wrongdoing after the most extraordinary scrutiny, if they were ever feeling the love from the liberal press. Did Debbie Wasserman Schultz treat Bernie Sanders with compassion, unity, and love? Do the Social Justice Warriors who prowl American campuses in search of something to be offended by do so in a spirit of love? I hardly think so. We now live in an Orwellian world where the meanings of words are twisted and often actually reversed. Free speech is hate speech. All Lives Matter is racism. Should we be surprised that real hate is being rebranded as love? Nor is this kind of rebranding anything new. Ordinary Russians that the Soviet State wanted to imprison or kill were branded enemies of the people -- not because they really were enemies of the people but because they were the enemies du jour of the Soviet State. Such things continue to happen in the surviving communist countries to this day. There is nothing new here -- nothing particularly imaginative in this years crop of statist demagogues. They can no more create love than they can create fairness, justice, equality or any other high-sounding ideal they give lip service to. The one, unwavering goal of statism is and always will be the centralization of power. This is true by definition. In pursuit of this goal any idealistic language is merely a means.

If we are the haters then they must be the opposite  the guardians of the ideology of love. This depressingly simplistic dichotomy is merely what remains when peoples political thoughts are reduced to nothing but their feelings. When, in other words, the drumbeat of indoctrination deprives the discussion of the life-giving oxygen or reason. From the perspective of regressives, the present political divide is a simple choice between love and hate  and that is obviously no choice at all. It truth, however, the present political divide is a choice between practical efficacy and poetic irrationality. One doesnt have to despise foreigners to understand that throwing open our borders to seven billion of them would amount to an erasure of our culture, our standard of living, and our civil society. Even liberals dont leave the doors on their own houses unlocked. One doesnt have to hate all  or even any  Muslims to understand that Islam is not, by any stretch of the imagination, the religion of peace. You cannot look at the history of Islam from any angle and see it as a peaceful religion. You can only see it as a peaceful religion by repudiating history altogether. Or by rewriting history to conform to your preconceived ideological assumptions. Islam is the religion of peace in exactly the same way that all lives matter is racism, free speech is hate speech, or hate is love.

What appears to be insanity is actually just the playing out of a deliberate strategy -- the undermining of cultural norms by making todays feelings more important than yesterdays reason or tomorrows safety. The lefts war on anything and everything that gets in its way. They will not and cannot talk about practical solutions to prevalent problems. Not when they have so much prior investment in boiling peoples blood. One wonders what percentage of leftist leaders are cynical manipulators of the publics emotions (particularly the emotions of the underclass and the young) and what percentage have simply gotten drunk on their own monotonous poetry. In the end, it doesnt matter. Functionally, there is no difference. Whether they are truly insane, or just pretending to be insane for certain short-term advantages, they wreak the same havoc now and leave the same predictable trail of wreckage in their wake. They are our enemies by their actions. Their intentions are irrelevant. We need not hate them to know they must be stopped. We need not be interested in what nonsense they call love.
Hillary Clinton appeals to women on the myth that she will shatter a "glass ceiling" that impedes women from high office. But that glass ceiling has already been shattered by women more talented and more courageous, who have fought political battles in male-dominated tribal nations where women are derided.

Hillary is no Ellen Johnson Sirleaf.

Ellen Johnson Sirleaf is president of Liberia. An economist by profession, she was educated in the United States and returned to Liberia to serve in the ill-fated administration of William Tolbert, who was killed in a coup in 1980. For the next 25 years, she lived in exile while Nigeria was ruled by Samuel Doe and subsequently by Charles Taylor, a brutal dictator and warlord convicted of war crimes. In 2006, after opposition to Taylor, she won election. Her presidency has been focused on fostering human rights and reconciliation and modernizing Liberia's economy. In 2011, Sirleaf was awarded a Nobel Peace Prize.

Hillary Clinton is no Margaret Thatcher.

Margaret Thatcher, the "Iron Lady," led Great Britain's economic renewal and regained stature as a world leader during the Cold War. She shepherded Great Britain with principles of "Thatcherism"  economic freedom and individual liberty, personal responsibility and hard work. She broke the power of the labor unions and forced the Labour Party to abandon its commitment to nationalized industry, redefine the role of the welfare state, and accept the importance of the free market.

Hillary is no Golda Meir.

In 1948, Golda Meir was one of the signers of Israel's declaration and was appointed diplomatic minister to Russia. That same year, she was appointed minister to Moscow, but when Israel was attacked by neighboring Arabs, she returned and was elected to the Israeli parliament. Israeli prime minister David Ben-Gurion sent Meir on a secret mission, disguised as an Arab, to plead with King Abdullah I not to enter in a war against Israel. Abdullah declined. At age 68, tired and ill, Meir contemplated retirement but was drafted to lead her party. When Prime Minister Levi Eshkol died, she served out the balance of his term and won election in 1969, becoming Israel's fourth prime minister, the world's third woman with that title. She was a tough woman with a tough job in a vulnerable and continually threatened democracy.

Hillary is no Angela Merkel.

Angela Merkel was a research scientist with a doctorate in chemistry. She began her political career serving as a deputy spokesperson for the first democratically elected East German Government in 1990, assuming many roles and government positions during unification. In the election of 2005, Angela Merkel was appointed Germany's first female chancellor. In 2013, Merkel won a landslide victory . Merkel has been described as the de facto leader of the European Union and was named the world's second most powerful person by Forbes Magazine in 2012 and 2015.

Hillary is no Corazon Aquino.

In 1986, Maria Corazon "Cory" Sumulong Cojuangco-Aquino became the eleventh president of the Philippines, the first woman to hold that office in the nation and in Asia. She toppled the 20-year authoritarian rule of Ferdinand Marcos and restored democracy, re-established a Congress, and promoted a constitution with limited powers of the presidency. She restored confidence in the economy with market-oriented reforms and was a staunch defender of human and civil rights and promoted many charitable initiatives. During her last two years, her nation suffered natural catastrophes  earthquakes, devastating volcanic eruptions, typhoons, and flooding. She navigated through these disasters with calm, determination, energy, and devotion to her nation.

Hillary is more akin to Argentina's former president, Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner, who was elected on the coattails of her husband, the previous president, Nestor Kirchner. Kirchner was a liar, a grifter, and a corrupt leader who enabled Iran in Argentina.

Hillary also bears a strong similarity to Dilma Rousseff of Brazil, who started her political career as a Marxist guerrilla in the 1970s against Brazil's military dictatorship. The disgraced President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva  president from 2003 to 2011  mentored her into becoming Brazil's first female head of state as well as in chicanery that led to impeachment. She was also an advocate for nationalization and big "progressive "government.

It may be high time for America to have a female president  but not in this election, and not Hillary Clinton.
As the West advances civilization with medical research that results in better health and longer life spans, Islamic health norms pull civilization backwards. And as the Muslim population in the West rises, the health implications are profound.

Lets start with what is likely the greatest blow to human development: inbreeding. Muslims do a lot of it. In fact half of the worlds Muslims (about a billion of them) are inbred. And many of those are the product of generation after generation of inbreeding, which further compounds the genetic impact.

Some of the negative effects of inbreeding include diminished IQ (at least 10-16 points lower than normal), mental illness, mental retardation, developmental disabilities, lack of emotional control, limited ability to perform basic educational and/or work-related functions, anti-social behavior, increased risk of birth defects, an array of diseases, and stillbirths. (See here, here, here, here, here, here, and here.

With the introduction of inbreeding among the populace, were confronting an increase in the number of people who have an array of physical, mental, and psychological deficits that significantly reduce their ability to be productive members of society.

In their home country (please stay home!), 70% of Pakistani marriages are between first cousins. Pakistanis who live in the West are less likely to engage in inbreeding, but not by much. In the UK, for example, the percentage of Pakistani couples who are first cousins is a shocking 55%. And while children born in the UK to Pakistani parents account for 3% of the total population, these children account for one-third of all genetic diseases in the country.

Nicolas Sennels, a Danish psychologist who has done meticulous research on the subject of Muslim inbreeding, published a seminal article a few years ago in which he notes that Muslims are overrepresented among the criminally insane and that in Copenhagen, alone, the number of disabled children increased 100% in just ten years, a trend that correlates with a spike in the Muslim population in the city. He hypothesizes that Muslim inbreeding might explain why non-Western immigrants are more than 300 percent more likely to fail the Danish armys intelligence test than native Danes, two thirds of all immigrant school children with Arabic backgrounds are illiterate after ten years in the Danish school system, and there is scant amount of scientific research performed in Muslim countries, among other outcomes that point to a population that has a high percentage of individuals who operate on a sub-par level.

And this is what the West is eager to import.

And not just import, but lie about. One dare not speak the truth about Muslim inbreeding (or any other truth about Islam). In our brave new world, the truth on such matters is not looked upon kindly. We are living in an age when blasphemy laws are upheld by useful idiots the world over, from Joe Shmo to the President of the United States and everyone in between. And so, a few years ago when Steve Jones, a world-renowned geneticist, tried to point out the fact that inbreeding isnt good and that a lot of Muslims engage in it, he was vilified. Apparently useful-idiot-politically-correct-Muslim-apologist-dhimmi Westerners need not be inbred to exhibit a classic symptom of the practice.

Another backward norm in the Muslim world related to health (or lack thereof) is female genital mutilation (FGM) -- a barbaric practice performed in a barbaric way with lifelong consequences that include premature death.

FGM is on the rise throughout the West, a phenomenon attributed to the influx from African nations. The number of people coming to the United States from Africa has doubled every decade since 1970. As a result, the number of girls living in the United States who are at risk for FGM is estimated to be at least half a million. Most of their families are from Egypt or Somalia. Nearly all, therefore, are Muslim. (See here, here, here, here, here, here, here, and here).

FGM is illegal in this country. Its also illegal to takes girls abroad to be cut, but that doesnt stop many families from doing so or from bringing someone here to perform the savage procedure in secret.

In the United Kingdom, where the proportion of Muslims in the general population is higher than here (though thanks to the political elites in America were catching up fast), the number of new cases of Muslim girls butchered by FGM is skyrocketing. Like here, most girls are cut during the summer when school is out and taken to their country of origin to be mutilated. Also, as here, its illegal to encourage or in any way participate in helping girls travel abroad to be cut. Despite this, families defy the law and Muslim clerics continue to advocate for FGM.

But Muslim clerics arent the only ones pushing depraved ideas. As the West persists in being willfully compliant with Islamic norms, you wind up with crazy things like Swedish doctors urging women who come from honor cultures to pierce their genitals with a needle on their wedding night to ensure they bleed, thus confirming in the husbands mind that his new wife was a virgin -- lest he question her honor and be compelled to murder her. In Canada, at the behest of Muslim men, doctors were performing virginity tests and issuing chastity certificates until the country finally banned them in 2013 after discovering the bodies of four Afghan women who were the victims of honor killings.

And who can forget when the American Medical Association came up with the first-harm-then-figure-out-the-rest-later idea of performing ritual nicks on Muslim girls in order to prevent families from bringing them overseas for FGM.

Yeah, thats the way to go. Lets embrace some variation of Islamic sickness. As long as its not quite as extreme and we use sterile instruments, its ok, right?

Also in the women-cant-catch-a-break-under-the-sharia category and related to health issues, the Muslim community in Italy promoted the idea that Muslim women seek medical care only with an imams consent. (I would venture to guess this is common and not unique to Italian Muslims.) The likely result? Increased disease among Muslim women in Italy that, in some cases, will affect the general population. The impact will be two-fold as contagious diseases will make others sick and the cost of care for these Muslimas will rise as diseases will have progressed to needless points of severity due to lack of medical attention early on.

And speaking of needless disease, another frontier where the Islamic world pulls civilization backwards is in the area of immunizations. Exhibit A for this is Dr. Abdul Majid Katme who urges Muslims not to vaccinate their children. Katme argues that most vaccines contain products that are forbidden according to Islamic law. Instead of vaccinating children, he suggests children develop their immune systems naturally and as long as they lead Islamically healthy lives they will be healthy. Vaccines are also viewed with suspicion in Muslim-majority countries. As a result, polio -- a devastating disease we long since eradicated in the West -- remains a very real threat (here, here, and here).

Additional examples of Islams backward influence on health in modern societies includes Muslim patients refusing palliative care based on the Qurans teachings that Muslims must be alert before Allah. Even when palliative care physicians ensure that supportive pain management will not make them drowsy, some patients persist in rejecting it -- a rejection founded in deeply held beliefs that pain is purifying and suffering is necessary.

Fine. Go for it.

Then there are Muslim visitors to hospitals who refuse to use alcohol-based sanitizing gels before entering patient units, despite the fact that signs are plentiful asking visitors to use the gel in order to reduce infection risk to patients. So while the West continues to battle increasingly deadly antibiotic-resistant pathogens, some Muslims put their holy book before patient safety.

And not to get into too much detail, but bathroom hygiene practices as written in the hadith are not exactly what one would consider reflective of infection control in public settings (here, here, and here).

How far back have we been pulled? To the 7th century yet? Not quite, but were headed in that direction.

Weve got invaders sweeping across Europe, and to a lesser degree (though not less enough) the United States, importing a host of highly communicable diseases, many of which had been eradicated in the West long ago, such as syphilis and tuberculosis, along with diseases unfamiliar to the West. And barbarians, being who they are, throw plastic bags filled with their infected urine at health care providers when they dont receive care when they want it, how they want it.

And if that doesnt quite yank us into the dark ages, theres always Ashura, a Muslim holiday when shirtless Muslim men (and boys) flog themselves in public with sharp chains and/or cut their scalps with knives and swords, as blood pours into the street. And yes, they do it here, in cities across the United States (here, here, here, and here).

Its sickness -- literally and figuratively -- as far as the eye can see.

(To read more about the intersection of Islam, medicine, and the West, see here and here.)

Hat tips: Atlas Shrugs for Ashura resources and Gates of Vienna for linking to the Sennels article
This has been an awful week for the Trump campaign. Trump engaged in an ongoing self-defeating fight with a Gold Star family, refused to endorse Republican leadership (who now barely endorse him), displayed ignorance of events in Ukraine, possibly made disturbing comments about the use of nukes, saw the public defections of prominent Republican politicians, and heard the doubts of friends and close supporters over his conduct. Plus, he practically ignored his opponent, mostly giving Hillary Clinton a pass on recent events that should hurt her (e.g., baldly lying to Chris Wallace on national television, bad economic reports, money for hostages.) All this no doubt cheered Clinton and the Never Trump crowd, but has dispirited many ordinary Republicans who swallowed hard and went along with his candidacy. Trump must quickly right the ship or face certain disaster in November.

Some of this whiff of catastrophe may well be -- to mix metaphors -- media and Democrat froth as they see a chance to deliver knockout blows. This was also all very predictable, once Trump faced off against the Hillary machine, her media helpmates, and a sitting (not terribly unpopular) president. However, other than complaining about how unfair things are, Trump has refused to take the practical steps necessary to protect himself from attack, which means remaining disciplined on the campaign trail, following the advice of his own staff and family, and trying to appear presidential.

Beating 17 Republican opponents who couldnt get out of each others way with a bare plurality is nothing like a national campaign against a Clinton. And while hes being battered Hillarys allowed to skate, just by keeping her head down. As Napoleon said, never interfere with an enemy when he is destroying himself.

Republicans who are not Trump devotees (which are most of them) have needed and still need three basic things from Trump, which so far he is not providing. If it becomes clear that he will not or cannot provide these things, they will not go to the polls for him, or may even vote for Hillary, particularly if he manages to alienate or scare them enough. And it goes without saying that Trump will not win independents and vulnerable Democrats in such circumstances.

What are the three basic things Trump needs to do?

First, demonstrate that he has a reasonable chance of defeating Hillary. Right now he is failing, behind in the polls, a longshot with the odds makers, and seeing important members of his own party disavowing him. If Trump has no chance of winning, Republicans who do not like his personality, style, temperament, background, or ethics, but who still think hes better than Hillary, have no reason to suck it up and support him. And he is not going to defeat Hillary running a disorganized, undisciplined campaign that is mostly about Trump and his personal pet peeves.

Second, Republicans have to be reasonably confident that if Trump wins, he will at least support a modest conservative agenda, starting with selection of Supreme Court nominees. Trumps wisest move in the campaign so far was announcing a list of acceptable selections if he wins, though he made no promises. But Trumps recent contretemps with the Republican leadership, including his personal and vengeful Im not there yet snub of Paul Ryan, offers no reassurance. In fact, Trump seems so wrapped up in his own personal vendettas and so free of principle that it is easy to see him selecting the most liberal justices he can find if elected, just to spite the GOP leadership. This seems particularly probable since in the increasingly unlikely event Trump prevails, he will see it as the result of his own efforts, and will find the Republican partys work on his behalf to have been half-hearted.

Third, Trump has to at least act somewhat presidential and not present himself as a sometimes incoherent, spiteful, arrogant, vulgar, ignorant and angry man. It is not only that openly expressing such traits turns off a lot of people, but that uncontrolled in a president, they are downright dangerous and frightening. For a short time it seemed that Trump was coming around, but in the past two weeks hes demonstrated little or no self-control, which is a basic requirement for the highest office.

In June I asked whether Trump was competitive, not in the sense of whether he could win the election, but whether he could discipline himself and alter his approaches in basic ways that would allow him to win. There is no question that Trump is combative, but being combative is different than being competitive. Trump is like a boxer with a lot of fight in him, who got used to beating up on weak opponents but is unwilling to do the hard things necessary to change his game against a better opponent, and now is taking hard shots as a result, heading for a KO.

Trump is a seventy-year-old man born into privilege who seems determined to do things his way, and ignore the advice of others, no matter how well meant. Its still not entirely clear that he really wants to be president as opposed to just having a good time, shooting his mouth off, and discombobulating people, supporters and opponents both. He certainly is not doing the things that suggest he really wants to win this election. This appeared to be the case right after he clinched the nomination, and apparently little has changed.

Trumps diehard supporters make excuses for his self-defeating actions, but there is no doubt that there is, and has always been, a certain nihilism in this support. Such an attitude is hard to square with anything but a fatalistic burn the whole thing down view toward the Republican Party and the electoral process. This ensures Trump support from a minority of voters who share these sentiments, but it that will not win him election or even something close.

As of now, Trump has failed on all three counts, and there is little prospect that he will do a remarkable turnabout at this point. Weve been down this road before. Trump may do the right things for a while, but always reverts to the mean.
There is an odd movement afoot. There seems to be entire ZIP codes of our co-workers and neighbors, Facebook friends and peers attacking only Donald Trump, without leveling a single critique against Hillary Clinton. It appears that a great swath of our tender electorate prioritize embarrassment or having their feelings hurt as a more significant problem than dealing with the actual order of evil itself. Even well organized evil, well financed evil, unsupportable evil as well as unrestrained or shameless evil is not as important to them as the perception or pretense of appearing uncouth to their peers.

I am no Trump fan. Trump is a boorish lout. Understood. He is habitually and perhaps clinically as abrasive as an oral surgical saw. The wet, wooden dry rot of his speech violates all of the well combed etiquette and dinner manners most of us were raised on these last 25 sensitive years, but he is not evil. He is not even soft evil or an evil by omission.

On the other hand, we have another candidate who is as morally inured as advance-staged arterial sclerosis, who can hide her appearance as effortlessly as a Decepticon and transform the mud of her past into perfectly edible audio cupcakes of misinformation.

The conclusion we are left with: your anti-Trump acquaintances and friends clinging to the politics of peer pressure (either on social networks or elsewhere) must prefer her cackle to his goonish guffaws. That is the only assumption we can make, even as they protest they are no fan of Hillary, either, and yet never cite one instance of her dozens of readily available transgressions, most of them serious as well as non-partisan. That is deliberate moral obtuseness, a one-sided moral criticism that is itself a perversity.

It is also a giveaway. It is the classic tell of an unspoken bias  that in actuality, not only do they not support Trump, but they are just as happily complicit in fealty to one of the most evil candidates of the 21st century. They complain incessantly about Trump but level not one solitary criticism about his opponent because that may presuppose an accidental backing of the man who lacks manners. Not civility, mind you, but mere table manners. They have no problem with the transformation of an entire country for an entire generation or more as the SCOTUS is transformed into a left-wing Berkeley sit in, but God forbid they should ever let one of their neighbors or Facebook friends know they aren't upward, sophisticated Americans.

Flattery is preferred to the blunt edge of truth in today's soft American dying culture. Pandering and paternalism and patronage, lies with benefits, are more attractive than the crazy guy spitting out commonsense realities and offering fixes to a dying economy of zero growth.

Trump is offensive. Hillary is criminal. America will fall because today people have misplaced priorities, favoring institutional lying over a guy who refuses to coo.
We just learned that Obama gave Iran $400 million to ransom four Americans. The Democrats and their media went ballistic in accusing Ronald Reagan of trading arms for hostages and wanted to impeach him. With Obama, the mainstream media yawned and returned to attack Trump on the Khan story.

Aside from setting a precedent that we will pay at least $100 million for a kidnapped American, which will endanger more Americans, Iran now has another $400 million to fund terrorism, in addition to the $150 billion Obama gave Iran as part of the nuclear deal.

There is no question that Iran has been the major source of funding for Hamas, Hezb'allah, and other terrorist groups. Iran has promised to destroy Israel. Americans and Israelis and others have died as a result of the Iranian funding of terrorism.

After we gave Iran all it wanted on the nuclear deal, Iran hijacked one of our Navy ships and humiliated our sailors. John Kerry then thanked the Iranians for releasing our sailors.

To give Obama the benefit of the doubt, he may believe that this "soft power" approach will work. But there is no evidence that Iran has stopped funding terrorism and has renounced its intent to destroy Israel. Hillary, running as Obama's third term and his secretary of state, who formed the policies in the Middle East, must be held accountable for giving Iran money and allowing it to develop nuclear weapons.

The obvious question is, why has Obama appeased Iran on every single issue? Does he really believe that doing what Iran wants will somehow make Iran stop funding terrorism and renounce its goal to destroy Israel?
A local Trump campaign coordinator and longtime friend, Tony Leadbetter, called to offer me VIP tickets to the Trump rally at the Ocean Convention Center in Daytona Beach, Fla. Tony's follow-up email gave directions to the designated VIP parking lot. His email also said the doors opened at 9am for the 3pm rally.

I thought, Mary and I will arrive around 2pm. Boy, was that a mistake. Folks, I have not seen anything like it. Streets leading to the convention center's numerous parking lots were blocked off with orange cones and orange vested personnel instructing cars to move on. Mary and I finally found a place to park five blocks away. As we walked back to the convention center in the sunny, humid, over-90-degrees Florida heat, we saw mobs of people with Trump signs doing the same, coming from all directions.

Hundreds, maybe even a thousand disappointed supporters were not permitted into the convention center. It was full. Still, the orderly yet electric crowd cheered when Trump's motorcade arrived an hour late, led by several motorcycle cops. Police were everywhere. Was Obama in town? No, Donald Trump.

There were protesters, around seven of them, totally ignored by the masses of Trump supporters.

What struck me most was the extremely broad range of Trump supporters, from young people covered head to toe with piercings and tattoos to distinguished, well dressed seniors  and every demographic in between. Clearly, these people were super-excited about seeing and hearing Trump.

More and more of my Florida Tea Party homeys are jumping aboard the Trump Train. Here is a simple reason why.

Republican PACs raised millions promising their donors (Tea Party consumers) that they would defend conservative principles and push back against Obama ignoring the Constitution, thus behaving as king. Instead, the GOP ignored their power of the purse and funded everything Obama wanted against the will of We the People.

Behaving like reasonable consumers, the Tea Party rejected their old ineffective product (professional politicians) and rallied behind a new product (Donald Trump). Even if Trump does not give them everything they want, Tea Party Americans believe that Trump will give them at least some of what they want. They also realize that Hillary is the devil. That's it in a nutshell, folks.

Exposing themselves for who they truly are, some Republicans say they will financially support and vote for Hillary. That is outrageous!

Mary shot this short video of me outside the Daytona Beach Trump rally.

Doug Balch, another longtime friend, put together a fun, campy music video of my Trump Train song. Please check it out. Feel free to post, share, and spread far and wide.

Oh, did I mention that Mary and I were not granted entry into the Trump rally? The convention center was filled to capacity. We told the guard at the VIP entrance, "I'm Lloyd Marcus, and we have VIP passes." He replied, "Sorry, Sir. We are full."

With my ego deflated, Mary and I went to the Hibachi Buffet. I overate.
In President Obama's news conference, he was correct that so many young people going to prison has devastated communities, but he fails to recognize that many of the policies that he and the Democrats advocate contribute greatly to the problem.

The anti-poverty Great Society programs from the 1960s contributed greatly to the breakup of families, especially minority families. The majority of minority children are born out of wedlock, and single parenthood is the greatest indicator of who will end up in poverty and dependent on government. Democrats generally want to expand these programs, even with their terrible results. It helps greatly to have two parents as role models.

Also, it is generally Democrats who block big box stores from building in inner cities. This takes away opportunities for inner-city youth to start moving up the economic ladder. This causes teens and young adults to be on the street more or join gangs, and this causes more young people to commit crimes and end up in prison.

Now Democrats want to massively increase the minimum wage which, along with other costly regulations like Obamacare, further takes away opportunities. Why would anyone think that is a good idea when minority and inner-city unemployment is already so high and the labor participation rate is at a 38-year low?

President Obama also uses economists who will idiotically say food stamps and unemployment benefits give the economy more bang for the buck than allowing businesses and individuals to keep more of their money to spend, save and invest throughout the economy. How possibly can taking money from businesses and individuals, running it through a government bureaucracy, and then redistributing a smaller amount be more fruitful than letting 100% multiply throughout the economy?

Government spending has consistently been up 50% versus what it was in 2007, debt is up $9 trillion, and we have the slowest economic recovery since 1949. The results show that Obama's and the Democratic theory is wrong.

The president also will not enforce borders or existing immigration laws, which also reduces opportunities.

Democrats also pledge to get rid of fossil fuels, which will raise costs and further reduce good paying jobs, and the Democrats are doing it based on inaccurate, manipulated computer models, not actual facts.

As for terrorism, President Obama says his policies have made the world safer, but actual statistics show that in 2015, around 28,000 died worldwide in terrorist attacks. In 2008, there were fewer than 16,000. That does not sound safer to me.

In 2011, President Obama pulled the last troops out of Iraq, leaving a vacuum for ISIS and other terrorist groups to fill. Then he has always announced his timeline in Afghanistan, which has allowed the Taliban to get stronger.

President Obama's Iran deal, which he lied to get done and which he calls a tremendous agreement, gives the biggest worldwide sponsor of terrorist groups access to hundreds of billions of dollars, of which a great deal will be used to spread terror. That makes the world more dangerous, not safer. Handing them $400 million in obvious ransom also made the world less safe for Americans.

Then, showing how thin-skinned and vengeful Obama is, the Obama administration spent $350,000 trying to defeat Isreali prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu in his re-election bid in 2015. Netanyahu is one of our strongest allies, and he campaigned loudly against the Iran deal. Why would we want a country that pledges death to America and death to Israel to get stronger?

President Obama always says his policies are correct and blames others when things go wrong. He is certainly arrogant, but his policies have been weak.
The administration's continued insistence that it didn't pay $400 million in cash to ransom American prisoners in Iran is looking ridiculous in the face of Iranian statements in the past and the way most other nations interpreted the payment.

Daily Caller:

The Obama administration has spent the last several days claiming that a $400 million cash payment to the Islamic Republic of Iran had nothing to do with the coinciding release of four American hostages, but Iranian officials stated quite the opposite seven months ago. This money was returned for the freedom of the U.S. spy [Jason Rezaian] and it was not related to the [nuclear] negotiations, said Iranian Brig. Gen. Mohammad Reza Naqdi, the head of Irans paramilitary Basij force, in January. Jason Rezaian, a reporter for the Washington Post, was one of the four American hostages released by the Islamic Republic. The Daily Caller News Foundation had previously reported on the alleged ransom in January. At the time, the event was considered a prisoner swap, as the U.S. had agreed to release seven Iranian nationals in custody for violating U.S. sanctions. President Barack Obama described the swap as a good day and the result of strong American diplomacy. Iran has taken two U.S. citizens captive since the January prisoner release and subsequent payment. The substantial sum was sent to Iran in the form of pallets of euros and Swiss francs in an unmarked cargo plane at almost the exact same time as the prisoners were released in January, according to a Wall Street Journal report. U.S. officials have not stated when the money arrived in the Iranian capital of Tehran, but Irans government-run Tasnim news agency has reported that the prisoners were released the same day. Administration officials have reacted indignantly to the claim that the payment was a ransom. President Obama reiterated that the U.S. does not pay ransom for hostages in a Pentagon briefing Thursday afternoon. The timing of this, despite administration protests to the contrary, suggests that this was a ransom payment, Jonathan Schanzer, an expert on terrorism finance and the vice president of research at the Foundation for the Defense of Democracies, told The Daily Caller News Foundation Thursday. And even if this was not what the administration intended, it certainly looks that way to the Iranians.

If the money wasn't ransom, why not send it via normal banking channels?

"I would also add that the way this was done looks like an illicit financial transaction, said Schanzer. He noted that transporting the cash, which was made up of mostly Euros and Swiss Francs, covertly as opposed to using standard banking channels was likely intended to evade U.S. sanctions. This was the sort of thing that used to earn our enemies new sanctions, said Schanzer. Now its being characterized by the White House as statecraft. Earnest has insisted that the mysterious cash transfer was due to the U.S. and Iran not having a formal banking relationship, and was not intended to be secret. He did not say how the remaining $1.3 billion would be paid out.

If it was not intended to be secret, why did the administration keep the transaction from the House and Senate intelligence committees?

One of the hostages claims that his plane sat on the runway for hours waiting for the plane with the $400 million in cash:

Saeed Abidini: I just remember the night at the airport sitting for hours and hours there and I asked police why you not letting us go  And he told me we are waiting for another plane and if that plane take off we gonna let you go. Trish Regan: You slept there at the airport? Abidini: Yes, for a night. They told us you going to be there for 20 minutes but it took hours and hours. And I ask them why you dont let us go, because the  was there, pilot was there, everyone was there to leave the country. And he said we are waiting for another plane so if that plane doesnt come we never let us go.

When the Iranians and most of the rest of the world believes that ransom was paid to get our hostages released, the administration simply doesn't have a leg to stand on. They can claim no ransom was paid until they are blue in the face and it won't change the facts.

President Obama is fond of saying Republicans refuse to accept reality. The administration not only refuses to accept reality in this case, they are actively lying to the American people.
The OnePlus 3 is the latest flagship smartphone released by OnePlus, a well-known China-based company. This smartphone was introduced back in June, and it has been in high demand ever since, OnePlus even plans to prevent people from Europe (certain regions) and some other regions from ordering the device until September 13th so they have enough time to replenish stock and actually deliver the phone in time. That being said, the company was expected to introduce the 2nd-gen OnePlus X this year as well, the companys mid-ranger offering, but the companys CEO officially announced that the device wont arrive at all. Carl Pei said this shortly after OnePlus 3s launch, and he also mentioned that the company plans to focus solely on OnePlus 3 this year.

That being said, the OnePlus 3 Mini surfaced yesterday on GFXBench, and it sported identical specs to the OnePlus 3, save for its display, which was reported to be 4.6 inches in size. This, of course, created quite a bit confusion amongst consumers, and we didnt have to wait long for OnePlus reaction. The companys CEO and co-founder, Carl Pei, sourced Phone Arenas article which reported that the OnePlus 3 Mini surfaced on GFXBench, and along with that link, Mr. Pei shortly added No. #rumorshutdown. This clearly explains the situation, OnePlus is not planning to release the OnePlus 3 Mini handset. As already mentioned, Carl Pei did not elaborate on the rumor, but he didnt have to, this sends a very clear message. We dont know how the OnePlus 3 Mini ended up on GFXBench, but there are a ton of possibilities for it, so it doesnt even matter.

As already mentioned, OnePlus is currently working hard to manufacture more OnePlus 3 handset so they dont have to face shipping delays. Some consumers had to wait for quite some time to receive their OnePlus 3 units, especially in Europe, and well see how long it will take OnePlus to fix that. The orders will be stopped starting August 9th for consumers in specific countries, and the device will become available once again starting September 13th. If youd like to read more about this, click here.
India currently has around 350 million internet users, and the number is expected to grow to 600 million by the end of this decade. However, if Google has its way, the country may well have a billion of its citizens online in the near future. This was revealed at an event in Mumbai by Googles Vice President for South East Asia and India, Mr. Rajan Anandan, who said that the company is looking at ways to make internet access more affordable for the poorer sections of society whore yet to get a taste of the capabilities of the world wide web and what it can do in terms of presenting opportunities to everyday citizens.

The company has already been working with the federal government to make low-cost internet access a reality for millions of commuters with its free Wi-Fi project that provides high-speed internet via Wi-Fi at dozens of railway stations across the country. The U.S. tech giant had launched the initiative earlier this year in association with a public sector enterprise called RailTel, and claims to have as many as 27 million daily active users at the 27 stations the service is currently available. The company says it has plans to eventually launch the initiative in at least 100 railway stations across the country.

Google has also been working to empower women in India by getting at least 300,000 of them online within the next three years. In a deeply patriarchal society where women are still struggling to assert themselves and get a fair and equal treatment from their male counterparts in almost every sphere of life, Google will be hoping that its work with underprivileged women will earn it some much needed positive press after the frequent spats with various government agencies over censorship and other related issues.

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To make its products and services accessible to a larger cross-section of society, Mr. Anandan said that Googles upcoming initiatives will be launched in multiple languages in the country, much like its search services that are available in a number of local and regional languages including Hindi, Bangla and Punjabi; the three largest languages in the Indian subcontinent. The company is also believed to be looking at the feasibility of launching its much talked-about Project Loon in the country at some stage going forward.
Busy, busy, busy. Thats the title of the latest Samsung Galaxy Note 7 ad promoting Samsungs upcoming flagship tablet and starring the famous Austrian-German actor Christoph Waltz. In it, the Oscar-winning star of Inglorious Basterds, Django Unchained, and Spectre showcases some of the premium features of Galaxy Note 7 while traversing the world and even ends up in space. While dressed as a stay-at-home mom, Waltz draws a parallel between USAs tireless ambition and eternal hunger for achievements and Samsungs aspirations towards greatness which the South Korean consumer electronics manufacturer is trying to translate into its product line. All in all, its an extremely entertaining commercial that covers all of the phones main features and generally does a good job at generating hype for Samsungs upcoming phablet. You can watch it for yourself below.

Waltz isnt the first celebrity hired to promote their devices, not by a long shot. Some of the companys previous ads also featured the likes of Lil Wayne, Wesley Snipes, James Harden, and William H. Macy. All in all, Samsung is betting a lot on its latest flagship being a commercial success and the marketing budget its spending on promoting it is clear evidence of that.

Looking at the device itself, its no wonder Samsung has high expectations as it came up with an all-around solid phablet that should appeal to a wide range of consumers. The Galaxy Note 7 features a fantastic 5.7-inch display (2560 x 1440), Snapdragon 820 or Exynos 8890 system-on-chip (SoC), 4GB of RAM and 64GB of internal storage. Its also equipped with an SD card slot and two high-quality cameras identical to the ones featured in Galaxy S7 and Galaxy S7 Edge. All of that is powered by a 3,500 mAh battery that can be quickly charged via a USB Type-C port. Despite serious hardware, Samsungs latest flagship isnt tough to handle and weighs just 169g, which makes it one of the lightest phablets on the market.

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Galaxy Note 7 is launching on August 19th and will be available in four colors: Gold Platinum, Silver Titanium, Blue Coral, and Black Onyx. Pricing details are yet to be revealed by all US operators but should be available soon.
Although virtual reality (VR) still seems to be largely in its infancy, it is an industry that HTC seems to be investing in more and more. Which is not that surprising really as HTC has not had the best of times in the mobile space recently and there is still enough time and room in the VR realm to establish itself as one of the leading contributors to this new and evolving field. Likely, one of the reasons as to why Google, Samsung, and a number of other manufacturers, also seem to be investing more time, money and effort into VR.

In terms of HTC, as well as introducing their debut product, the HTC Vive, the company has also already announced and introduced a startup VR program dubbed Vive X. This is a program which looks to help fund and mentor VR-based companies who might struggle without the additional support. Today at the VRLA show which has just kicked off in LA, HTC also announced Viveport. In short, Viveport seems to be a HTC Vive experience app store. Essentially, another avenue where VR customers can pick up more VR content. According to HTC, it will be the the premier destination to discover, create, connect, watch, and shop in VR.

While the details are still a little light on the actual content, HTC has confirmed that a beta version of Viveport will become available soon with a view to a wider and general release later in the fall. It seems the main bulk of the content that will be available through Viveport will look to be non-game based content, with a focus on education, design, art, social, video, music, sports, health, fashion, travel, news, shopping, creativity tools, and more. Interestingly, while the content will be accessible through Vive headsets, as well as PCs and web browsers, HTC has also confirmed that there will be a mobile app available as well. Although again, details on the actual app, its availability and even its purpose were not discussed during todays announcement. However, with an expected general release for this fall, it does stand to reason that more details on the mobile app side of HTCs Viveport will become available sooner rather than later.
In 2011, Apple sued Samsung claiming that the company copied various aspects of the iPhone and its technology and applied it to their own Galaxy S flagship. Apple won the case and Samsung were required to pay Apple damages of $548 million. However, this did not signal the end of the legal battle as Samsung appealed against the case, stating that the $399 million awarded for copying the design of the iPhone (including the rounded corner front, the bezel and grid of icons) is excessive. Samsungs belief is that the the similar design of the Galaxy S to the iPhone only marginally contributed to what they considered to be a complicated product. Back in March of this year, the US Supreme Court agreed to review the case, which is the first time a design patent has been assessed by the highest court for over a century. Today, a group of over 100 design professionals sided with Apple stating that the iPhones distinctive look persuades people to buy the product. Furthermore, these designers stated that Samsung offering a similar looking phone could hurt Apples sales.

They include famous fashion names Calvin Klein, Paul Smith and Alexander Wang, the industrial design director at Parsons School of Design, the design director for Bentley Motors, and Tony Chambers, the editor-in-chief of Wallpaper magazine. These designers stated that for consumers, the look of the product comes to represent the underlying features, functions, and total user experience. However, Samsung has a number of supporters in its defense, including two heavyweight technology companies, Alphabet and Facebook, plus a number of trade groups such as The Internet Association. A Samsung spokeswoman, Danielle Meister Cohen, explained that if the decision on the $399 million damages is not reversed this could lead to diminished innovation, pave the way for design troll patent litigation and negatively impact the economy and consumers but declined to go into additional detail.

Although the story is newsworthy because it highlights how the Apple versus Samsung battle is still ongoing even after a decision has been reached and five years have passed. The Supreme Courts decision centers around what exactly an article of manufacture is and how the appearance of the product could influence a consumers purchasing decision, and as Samsung state, have meaningful implications on the industry.
In 2016, its proving difficult to make money in the smartphone business unless you are one of the top selling manufacturers. We know that the two largest device manufacturers, Samsung and Apple, produce a profit from each smartphone sold. A little over a year ago, LG also produced a (tiny) profit from each device sold and every other non-Chinese manufacturer lost money  from HTC to Motorola to Sony. Chinese businesses are not required to disclose their earnings with the same amount of detail as other companies. In 2016, LG is losing millions from its mobile division. A similar story in 2013 saw the business losing money on its mobile division and LG reinvented its mobile products and this reinvigorated outlook helped the business in 2014, but just two years later the smartphone market is a very different, and difficult, place to be.

There are a number of reasons why its difficult to make money on smartphones in 2016. To simplify it, it is difficult for manufacturers to differentiate their products from other manufacturers. Some manufacturers, chiefly Chinese, are able or willing to sell their smartphones at a cheaper price than competitors for a similar on-the-box specification. This could be because the company is building market share, or simply operating the smartphone division on a very slender margin such as Xiaomi as it has other ways to generate profits. Some manufacturers offer less than full software support, so the device you might buy will probably never receive a software update, as a way to save money. We have seen the cost of hardware components falling as their abilities and specification improves and for the majority of people, a mid-range smartphone is very much good enough. We are also seeing customers stretch out the time between upgrades, moving away from the two year cycle to currently two and a half years. A device that was good enough in 2014 is likely still considered good enough in 2016 and perhaps even 2017.

To bring the topic back to LG, the company has a challenge on its hands. The companys 2016 flagship is a little different to the mainstream competition: LG used a box of similar or at least comparable components and decided to build something that made much of a modular ability. The G5 is not modular, but has a half-baked idea that customers can improve the device by adding in functionality to the device. Its a nice idea on paper that simply hasnt been adopted by customers and the few optional accessories made available are not very appealing. As such, then, the G5 is a fine device hampered by a less than premium build and some development costs to recoup. However, flagships should not be fine devices. They should be brilliant devices and give customers a definite wow factor when handled. We know that manufacturers can build a great device for not very much money, such as OnePlus and the OnePlus 3, so the big names need to offer a compelling reason why customers should pick their device.

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For 2017, LG may need to reinvent its G-range of devices, having relatively recently gone through the reinvention process after 2013s difficult year. LGs strategy of offering a number of mid-range models each with a particular strength, such as the processor speed or the camera, and cleverly marketed with X-Men advertising sounded good in isolation. Unfortunately, it does not appear to have worked when the devices are compared to the competition. LG are also facing the difficulty of turning a profit in a fiercely competitive market and to avoid becoming an also-ran in the smartphone industry. The industry needs strong, sharp competitors to encourage the ongoing evolution of the device.

At some point, if not already, the parent LG may step in and take action to stop the mobile division from racking up significant losses. This could result in the smartphone division being downsized so that it only releases relatively few devices a year. One of LGs weaknesses appears to be a lack of focus and direction and narrowing the companys development into a smaller range of products could address this. It could see an end of LGs side projects, such as developing their own mobile chipset (the Nuclun), but such action should hopefully avoid LGs smartphone division spending the next few years as an undead manufacturer: losing millions but propped up by the larger company to save face. We have already seen LGs new momentum plan within the business, which has restructured senior management, but we likely will not know the effect this has on devices and, ultimately, profits for some months yet.
Samsung is the worlds most successful smartphone manufacturer and the popularity of its smartphones are not limited to any particular region either. Russia is one country where the popularity of its smartphones has now forced a rethink for at least one wireless carrier that had started a boycott of its products last year after an unseemly spat with the South Korean company over the pricing of its products. VimpelCom Ltd., the countrys third-largest wireless carrier, has now announced that it will start selling Samsung devices again after a gap of over a year, because of the growing popularity of the companys handsets among Russian consumers.

While the second largest carrier in the country, MegaFon PJSC, also stopped selling Samsung products in a boycott simultaneously orchestrated by the two telecom operators in May, 2015, the company is yet to resume sales of Samsung devices on its network. The carrier, however, did confirm to the media that it is considering getting Samsung products back in its portfolio, but gave no specific timeline for that to happen. Euroset, a retail chain jointly owned by VimpelCom and MegaFon, has also been a part of the boycott, but theres no word right now on whether it will get Samsung devices back on its shelves any time soon.

Trouble erupted last year after VimpelCom and MegaFon expressed resentment over the large discounts being offered by Samsung to the countrys largest wireless carrier, Mobile TeleSystems PJSC. According to reports, the discounts allowed the market leader to sell Samsung smartphones at huge concessions that the two competitors failed to match. Rather than selling the phones at prices higher than what their largest competitor was offering, the two decided to stop carrying Samsung products on their networks altogether. However, that didnt seem to affect Samsung a whole lot, as the company sold 26.6 million smartphones in Russia last year as opposed to 27.5 million units the year before.

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While overall revenues fell from $6.3 billion to $4.4 billion over the same period, that was more a factor of the depreciation of the local currency than a substantial drop in sales on account of the boycott. What is pertinent, however, is that the South Korean company recently increased its market share in the country from 18% in Q4 2015 to 25% in Q1 2016, if a report from IDC is anything to go by. Although Russians have traditionally bought their handsets from independent retailers rather than getting bundled devices from carriers, the market is apparently moving to a carrier-led model much like the U.S. That means Samsung will be only too happy to get back on the shelves of all the major carriers in the country.
Samsungs next smartwatch is expected to make an official appearance in September at IFA 2016 in Berlin, and in all likeliness, the gadget will be known as the Samsung Gear S3. On the other hand, lately Samsung has been filing several patents and trademarks for wearable technology, and not long ago the Samsung Gear S3 Frontier moniker was reserved for Samsung in South Korea by the Korea Intellectual Property Rights Information Service (KIPRIS), indicating that the company might be working on more than one smartwatch, or that the Gear S3 will represent a bigger departure from the previous models. Whatever the case may be, even more recently  as in yesterday  a new Samsung patent application was discovered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) database, detailing a format for attaching wrist straps to a smartwatch. But what makes this patent application very unusual is the fact that it contains drawings based off of the Apple Watch.

Indeed, as odd as it may sound, a Samsung patent filed with the United States Patent and Trademark Office in January 2016 and published on August 4 describes a technology for attaching wristbands to a smartwatch that looks very similar to the Apple Watch. In fact, some of the line drawings almost look as if they have been line-traced from actual Apple Watch renders depicting the device from multiple angles. On the other hand, the same application contains drawings of other smartwatches (some that dont even exist, as seen in the gallery below), and at the end of the day, the patent is clearly describing a new method of swapping and attaching wristbands to smartwatches, rather than detailing a particular smartwatch model in development. The Abstract section of the patent application reads that A wearable device is provided. The wearable device includes a first strap portion attached or detached from a body portion and provided to allow the body portion to be worn on a human body, a second strap portion provided in the body portion to be exchanged with the first strap portion, electrically connected to the body portion [] and so on. Pretty abstract indeed, but what we can take from the description is that the patent doesnt cover a smartwatch, hence the part where a wearable device is provided. It also sounds like this new method of attaching wristbands will require electrical current to pass through the wristband, presumably for fueling certain sensors within the strap.

But before we get ahead of ourselves, its still very unclear why this patent exists, and more importantly, why it contains sketches depicting a product manufactured by one of Samsungs biggest rivals. Samsung and Apple have quite a history when it comes to patent lawsuits, and the latter was accused of patent infringement by Apple numerous times before. With that in mind, it doesnt make a lot of sense for Samsung to be using Apples designs in its patent filings unless Samsung is developing third party wristbands for the Apple Watch, which sounds rather far-fetched given that the company could focus on creating accessories for its own wearable products instead. Simply put, well have to wait and see how, and if the story will develop any further.
With the Galaxy S7 family having sold about 26 million units globally thus far and the Galaxy Note 7 expected to outsell the Galaxy Note 5, the future of the Samsung Galaxy brand looks pretty bright. At Tuesdays Samsung Unpacked event, where the Galaxy Note 7 was unveiled, the head honcho of Samsungs mobile division, Koh Dong-jin, took to the stage to make that bright future a bit clearer and say a few words about the mobile market, the Galaxy brand, and the future of both. His speech focused on market trends, the Galaxy brands effects on them and vice versa, and current and future plans for the brand.

Speaking about challenges in the global market, Koh made it clear that one of Samsungs biggest enemies is the group of Chinese manufacturers rising to prominence around the world and taking over developing and lower-end markets. In response to that competition, he said that the company would be upping its efforts in the worldwide budget sector. He also touched on the trend toward large screens on phones, and said that Samsung plans to continue to push this trend in the market along with their premium Galaxy Note brand. Koh also said a few words about the mainstream Galaxy S lineup, asserting that the Galaxy S7 familys success was at least partially due to meaningful innovations and improvements that ensured the phones large feature-set would appeal to a wide swath of consumers. One of those features, Samsung Pay, has become a popularity driver for Samsungs phones. He also said that a big part of the success story was great marketing.

Looking to the future, Koh said that the company will soon be able to put iris scanners like the one found on the Galaxy Note 7 into all of Samsungs flagship and mid-range devices. The curved screen trend propagated by the Galaxy Note Edge and popularized by the Galaxy S6 Edge will likewise become a staple of the brand, a sort of calling card. Koh also said that Samsung will work to produce improvements to their phones features and interfaces based on the edge design. Finally, he briefly touched on the matter of foldable screens. Recent patents may have indicated that Samsung is hard at work on a foldable flagship, but Koh said that the technology and software simply arent up to par for a consumer product yet, and that such advancements would take time.
Huawei has appointed a former Samsung Electronics China executive, Andy Ho, as vice president of its Chinese consumer business division. In the case of Andy, he left Samsung after his contract expired and was not renewed so Huawei do not appear to have poached him from Samsung to run their consumer business division, although we will likely never know the finer details of his appointment. Andy will join Huawei as they are experiencing rapid growth and are the worlds third largest smartphone manufacturer, behind market leader Samsung with Apple in second place, but have made significant progress in the last two years. Huaweis post covers the Greater China region, including Taiwan and Hong Kong.

Huawei have been on something of a global charm offensive over the last couple of years. In device terms, they have released the Huawei Watch and the Nexus 6P, which have been met with praise. The company has pushed sales into Western markets and has released a number of well received devices into many markets, such as the mid-range Honor 5X. As part of this push, the Chinese business is keen to recruit established and talented individuals from the industry to help drive things forward. Huawei appointed Abigail Sarah Brody, a former Apple creative director, in October 2015. Abigail Sarah worked on the user interface of the first generation iPhone. Weve also seen earlier appointments from Samsung, such as Yang Zhe in 2012, who joined Huawei as the Chief Marketing Officer after leaving Samsung working in a similar post. Huawei is working hard to bring a great product portfolio to the market and have tailored their devices to the particular markets they are aiming for.

As well as their charm offensive and indeed one of the reasons why they have been able to aggressively expand into Western markets, Huawei have also built up a comprehensive patent portfolio and have actively defended this. Earlier in the year the Chinese company filed a lawsuit against Samsung Electronics for alleged 4G network patent infringement and demanding approximately $12 billion in compensation. In return, Samsung sued Huawei in July for alleged patent infringement for the same amount. Samsungs case against Huawei revolves around the transmission of information in devices such as digital cameras, including picture storage solutions. We would hope that these cases can be solved in a relatively small amount of time and outside of the courtroom; electronics manufacturer executives are surely better equipped to develop new products rather than fight a legal battle.
The U.S. wireless industry has been in the news for a while not only for the much-publicized race to implement 5G networks, but also for their ramped up efforts towards offering mobile video services, bolstered by T-Mobiles acquisition of DirecTV not too long ago. Carriers have also been actively taking part in FCCs auctions and as such, need the best men at the top to drive their growth in a fiercely competitive market. Being the faces of their respective carriers, these men also benefit from fat paycheques that match their efforts. Fierce Wireless recently looked at at how much the top executives in the wireless industry make and if the rest rival those at Google and Apple.

Looking at the top 10 list, the top three positions are being comfortably held by executives at Google including CEO Sundar Pichai who takes home a $100 million in annual compensation, former CFO/advisor Patrick Pichette and CFO Ruth Porat. Among top executives at wireless carriers, Sprint CEO Marcelo Claure bagged the fourth place with an annual take-home compensation of $26,965,004 million, followed by AT&T CEO Randall Stephenson who made $25,145,914. While executives at Verizon and T-Mobile were not listed, the rest of the positions were taken up by top executives at Apple. However, Apple CEO Tim Cook, who takes home a meagre $10 million in total annual compensation, failed to make the list. Satya Nadella and Steve Mollenkopf, CEOs at Microsoft and Qualcomm, respectively, are featured in the top ten list for 2014, their compensations were around the same range as Tim Cooks in 2015.

Among other top paid executives in the wireless industry is Verizon CEO Lowell McAdam who made $18.3 million in 2015, but was still a long way off from making it to the top ten list. Given how richly Google rewards its finance directors followed by Apple, it seems unlikely that wireless carrier CEOs will break into the top ten in large numbers in the near future. However, if carriers do implement 5G capabilities by 2020, diversify to streaming services, invest in a number of IoT technologies and expand their user base in the coming years, their CEOs will surely have a lot to cheer about.
Yahoo, long mocked as a dinosaur of a web company, recently handed over all of their core assets which is essentially their entire business, to Verizon for the somewhat princely sum of $4.8 billion. This was the end result of a long, complicated transition that was just a little bit more down than up, with a mass user exodus being the final nail in the core business coffin. Attempts to ease the landing before Yahoo hit rock bottom were valiant, with efforts by CEO Marissa Mayer to do things like invest in Yahoo products for further development and to try to save Yahoos moonshot factory, becoming the hallmarks of what would come to be known as Yahoos final year as an independent company. Many insiders and industry watchers have been seeing the pieces click into place since the early 2000s, but there are a lot of people out there scratching their heads. What could have brought such an internet giant to their knees in an era like today, where the overwhelmingly dynamic legion organism that is the internet is the king of daily life? There are actually a very large number of factors, but whats important now is Yahoos uncertain future.

To see exactly what kind of pit Yahoo may fall into, one needs only to look at early rival AOL. This is a company that ruled the roost back in its heyday, much like Yahoo did. Once upon a time, when Google was just a couple of crazy college kids gathering some smart friends together to help with a search engine, Yahoo was what Google is today, and AOL still held all the cards. How? By being an ISP and a sort of hub all in one. AOL users from back then will remember the iconic sounds that prefaced a trip into AOLs browser. With the rise of low-cost, convenient competitors like NetZero, who let users choose their own browser and eventually ushered in the early rise of Opera and Firefox, AOL found their core business falling apart, and scrambled to save what they could. AOL Instant Messenger remained somewhat popular, as did AOL Mail, and AOLs various media properties. Some people even continued to use the site as a full-on hub. Their decline, however, was inevitable; in the face of a changing internet, they continued to try and rule by brute force, and they paid for it by being bought up. Verizon used them to expand their advertising, web presence, and media, and left them largely as they were. So, is this the fate awaiting Yahoo?

To know how things will play out for Verizon and Yahoo, we need to look to two sources; Yahoos path to their current shape, and how Verizon has historically treated acquisitions. On the first topic, its a tale that many are pretty familiar with. Over a decade in the making, Yahoos decline on the back of what were essentially a long series of right calls made at the wrong time is a story for the ages, culminating in a futile effort to buoy their sinking ship with Tumblr. So, after things went south, why exactly was it Verizon that Yahoo eventually sold out to? It was an arrangement of mutual benefit, according to at least one insider. Eric Jackson who is a Yahoo activist investor recently revealed a good bit about how the ship sank and how the deal worked out. Essentially, the mixed reaction to CEO Marissa Mayer and her relative failure to revitalize the company, which some said was a lost cause by the time she came over from Google, was a good microcosm of investor and user sentiment about the companys recent overall exploits. While a number of suitors popped up, Verizon stood out. They already had experience keeping an internet dinosaur, AOL, on life support, and had the mass appeal and mass media mission that Yahoo could use to boost public opinion. Verizon also had a ton of capital to burn, which could help Yahoo to keep some of their more experimental projects afloat on the back of a big money offer to buy. All of those factors considered, it was just a matter of Verizon exec Marni Walden looking at Yahoo with the same eyes she saw AOL with, and it was pretty much a done deal.

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So, on the matter of the future, whats in store for Yahoo? Will their stake in Alibaba play into any of this, since Verizon now owns that? For the closest thing anybody will be able to get to an answer for now, we should look to Verizons future plans. While Yahoo may now have an extra $4.8 billion to play with, any time spent in the tech industry will teach you in short order that money is meaningless, no matter the amount, unless its spent correctly. When the acquisition happened, Yahoo was busily expanding their enterprises and investing in improvements to products that used to get a lot of traffic; in all likelihood, this will continue. As for Verizon, theyre looking to use Yahoo as a media stock, a face, an advertising force to be reckoned with, and a foothold in the wild world of the web economy. Yahoos Alibaba stake puts Verizon in a unique position; this is the first time their rule crosses borders in any kind of major capacity, and nobodys quite sure yet how theyll react to and use that influence. Altogether, the future under Verizon looks fairly bright to a Yahoo that will be largely left to its own devices, but looks can always be deceiving.
Theres no doubt that this weeks hottest topic has been the latest device from Samsung, the all-new Galaxy Note 7. Samsung held their Unpacked event in New York on the 2nd which was Tuesday, and at the event was the official unveiling for the device that had been anticipated for months on end. It wasnt alone, of course, as it was announced alongside a new version of the of the Gear VR headset, which was also needed since the Galaxy Note 7 comes with a USB Type C port and isnt compatible with the older model. To be sure, the Galaxy Note 7 has a lot going for it and pre-orders have already started on all of the major carriers here in the U.S., as well as many other carriers globally, albeit with a fairly high price tag.

Even with its new features and improvements, the Galaxy Note 7 has a lot familiar features as it looks and feels to some like a Galaxy S7 Edge with an S Pen. That might be true on some levels, but it is a decent improvement over the Galaxy Note 5 launched last year. The outside design was not changed too much, but Samsung did add the curved edge display to it this year, not only bringing the edge screen back to the Note series, but also marking the first time that the Galaxy Note devices have had dual curved edges. Then of course, there is the iris scanner that lets you unlock the device with your eyes, which is sure to be a hit with a lot of consumers. With all that the Samsung Galaxy Note 7 has going for it, will you be buying one?

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The Xiaomi Mi Note and Mi Note Pro phablets were introduced back in January last year. These are still Xiaomis flagship phablets, and many people have been waiting for the company to introduce the Mi Note 2 handset. Xiaomi had released the Xiaomi Mi 5 flagship smartphone back in February, but the Mi Note 2 did not pop up just yet, even though it will before the end of the year. We dont know when exactly will the Mi Note 2 launch, but weve seen some rumors a while back, and it seems like the device just got certified in China, read on.

The Xiaomi Mi Note 2 just got certified at the Chinese 3C certification website, which essentially means that the charging side of things for the Mi Note 2 have been certified. The Mi Note 2 will, according to this listing, support a 5V 2.5A, 9V 2A and 12V 1.5A charging with the maximum wattage of 18W. This, of course, means that the Mi Note 2 will offer fast charging, and chances are were looking at Qualcomms Quick Charge 3.0 here considering the fact that the phone is almost certainly going to ship with either the Snapdragon 820 or Snapdragon 821.

Now, Xiaomis exec did confirm that the company is planning to launch a new flagship device in August, which suggests that the Mi Note 2 might land this month, though it was not specified which device that is. The Mi Note 2 is the only true flagship smartphone that were expecting Xiaomi to introduce before the end of the year, though the company might surprise us with all the curved display smartphone rumors that are flying around.

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The Xiaomi Mi Note 2 is expected to ship with a 5.7-inch QHD (2560 x 1440) display, 4GB / 6GB of RAM and multiple storage variants. Qualcomms Snapdragon 820 or 821 SoC will fuel this smartphone, along with the Adreno 530 GPU. This handset might sport a curved display, but were still not sure. It is possible that Xiaomi plans to include a 16-megapixel 4-axis OIS camera theyve utilized in the Mi 5 here as well, and Android 6.0 Marshmallow will almost certainly going to come pre-installed on the Mi Note 2, along with Xiaomis MIUI 8 OS.
Russell Square attack: armed police target Jihadi Zakaria Bulhan and the mentally ill

Russell Square attack: at look at reporting on the death of Darlene Horton and Zakaria Bulhans arrest.

Pamela Gellar knows all about it: Darlene Horton, American Murder Victim of Jihad Attack in London.

We do not know that the accused, one Zakaria Bulhan, is a jihadi. We also dont know if, as is alleged, he was driven by poor mental health to murder one and stab five more people in central London. Undeterred by fact, Gellar ploughs on:

This jihadi targeted tourists  those injured are Australian, American, Israeli and British.

No. The alleged killer targeted anyone. How he picked them out from the crowds, we dont know. London is a city of many creeds and colours. The idea that Bulhan could identity tourists from native Londoners is absurd. Granted, US tourists are fond of massive plaid shorts and location T-shirts, but Darlene Horton was wearing neither when she was killed. Moreover, despite efforts by members of the Labour party, Oxford University, the Left and BBC journalists, the Israeli victim was not wearing a huge Swastika on her arm, goose-stepping up the pavement and deserving of attack.

The Metro: Israeli teenager Yovel Lewkoswski says the killer was cool and clam when he struck.

The Guardian: the papers front page says an American woman was killed by a man. The paper sees fit to note the victims nationality but not that of the alleged killer.

Inside, the Guardian notes: A 19-year-old Norwegian of Somali heritage was arrested on suspicion of murder after the attack that also left two women and three men injured, one seriously.

It adds:

Police said there was no evidence the attack was terrorism-related and evidence to date pointed to mental health issues sparking a spontaneous knife attack on strangers selected at random.

There ere lots of people with mental health issues out there. Should we be afraid of them? The Guardian adds:

The number of police officers, including armed officers has been increased on the streets of the capital in the wake of the attacks as a precautionary measure. Police said that would continue for as long as we need it to.

Nothing to do with terror, Islamists and jihadis, then. This is about the fear of people with mental health issues. This is how we treat the mentally ill in the UK: we aim guns at them and treat them as suspects.

The paper also noted:

Although police say terrorism is just one possible line of enquiry in the Russell Square attack, its comes amid heightened fear of a terrorist attack in the UK. On Sunday, Britains most senior police officer, Met commissioner Sir Bernard Hogan-Howe, said an attack was a matter of when not if.

Does Sir Bernard-Howe think we should lock up everyone with mental health issues, just to be on the safe side?

The Telegraph features the news on its front page. Its a small story: man kills tourist. It also says the police fear terror attack.

The Times shows us the victim. It says Darlene Hortons alleged killer has a history of mental health issues. There is no focus on terror.

The woman who was killed in the knife rampage in central London on Wednesday night had been due to fly home to America yesterday. Darlene Horton, 64, was stabbed in front of her husband, a psychology professor in Florida. She bled to death despite the efforts of paramedics after a knifeman attacked six people in Russell Square. One witness reported that Ms Hortons last words were: Hes still here, hes still here. Richard Wagner, her husband, had brought students to the UK to study how the principles of psychology apply in different cultures and to immerse themselves in British culture, according to the programme on Florida State Universitys website.

In the Mail, Darlene Horton is the victim of a teenage migrants knife frenzy. To the Mail, this is an immigration issue.

The Indy leads with: Russell Square attack: London student Zakaria Bulhan named as suspect in stabbing that left American woman dead

Such are the facts.

Paul Sorene

Posted: 5th, August 2016 | In: Key Posts, Reviews Comment (1) | TrackBack | Permalink
(By Patrizia Vacalebri).

(ANSA) - Rome, August 5 - An exhibit to open at the National Archaeological Museum at Villa Badoer, in the north-western Veneto town of Fratta Polesine, will focus on the history of fragrances throughout 3,000 years.

''Profumi di Storia'', or perfumes of history, opens on September 16 through February 26, 2017.

The show is an initiative of the city of Fratta Polesine, the University of Ferrara and the Museums of Veneto, together with the foundation Fondazione Cassa di Risparmio di Padova e Rovigo.

Organized by curators Federica Gonzato, with Chiara Beatrice Vicentini, Silvia Vertuani and Stefano Manfredini, the exhibit focuses on different stories of fragrances and how the art behind their creation has developed over the centuries.

Perfume bottles crafted up to over 3,000 years ago from ancient Greece and Rome and made in alabaster and ceramics - small spherical Aryballoi or Lekythos vases and alabaster flasks - are on display, among others.

The journey continues with the luxury bottles produced today by global brands.

Visitors will also be able to discover ancient formulas to make fragrances and see books and various perfume-making equipment.

And the exhibit does not only showcase rare objects and documents but also offers visitors a sensorial experience, enabling them to discover different essences and imagine the composition of a fragrance.

Essences on show include Centifolia, or cabbage rose, which can be found in Grasse, in France's Provence, and is an essential part of Chanel's iconic perfume N. 5. The French house has an option for the next 100 years over the entire production of the Muol family's rose farm, the best producer of Centifolia.

Hundreds of thousands of roses are used - about one ton of petals - to obtain 1.5 kilos of the essence.

The essential oil made from Taif rose is also the most expensive in the world.

Only 16 kilos are produced every year for a cost of over 50,000 euros per kilo.

Most of the production is sold to Saudi Arabia's royal family.

Fragrances and the art of perfume-making have always fascinated royal families.

Both Caterina Sforza (1463-1509) and Caterina de' Medici (1519-1589) were extremely interested, along with Isabella d'Este, Marquess of Mantua (1474-1539), who made her own fragrances.

Venice was also a perfume-making hub where the rarest essences were sent from faraway lands.

Indeed the first official book on cosmetic art written in the West, I Notandissimi Decreti de L'Arte Profumatoria, a manual on secret fragrance recipes, was written in 1555 in the lagoon city.

The exhibit's section on the history of perfume, made in cooperation with perfume makers Mavive and the museum of fragrances and costume at Venice's Mocenigo Palace, embraces prehistory and Ancient Rome, focusing on the evolution of the relationship between fragrances and society.

It also focuses on Byzantine culture, fragrances of the Orient and West and has special sections on Venice, cosmetic art during the Renaissance and Eau de Cologne, among others.

Perfume ads are also on display, including 13 Liberty drawings, a billboard advertising the Migone company dating back to 1898 and the perfumed Bertelli calendars published from 1904 until 1939.


TEL AVIV - The armed wing of Hamas has secretly benefited for years from significant funding provided to Gaza for humanitarian ends by Christian organization World Vision, according to Shin Bet, the Israeli domestic security services.



Based on Shin Bet's documentation, the tribunal of Beer Sheba (Negev) yesterday indicted the director of the Gaza branch of world Vision, Mohammad Halaby. Halaby was arrested on June 15 at the Erez crossing, between Gaza and Israel, but his detention was announced only yesterday.



Today, the coordinator of Israeli activities in the Territories, Gen. Yoav Mordechai, met with representatives in Israel of World Vision and asked them to condemn the episode. World Vision, which has 50,000 employees, gives assistance in about 100 countries worldwide with annual revenues of 2.6 billion dollars.



Halaby is charged of forwarding Hamas over the years tens of millions of dollars intended for the immediate needs of Gaza's population. Those funds were allegedly used, among other things, to dig military tunnels. (ANSAmed).


CASERTA, AUGUST 5 - A Tunisian suspect arrested earlier in the day was "ready to strike in Italy", Carabinieri anti-terror police from the Special Operations Unit (ROS) said Friday.

Khemiri Mohamed Kamel Edine, 41, is one of eight foreign nationals arrested on suspicion of abetting illegal immigration in the Campania town of San Marcellino. Edine is also suspected of racketeering with intent to commit terrorist acts and of spreading Internet propaganda for the so-called Islamic State (ISIS) terror group, including a manual with rules for the "solitary jihadist".

"He's a highly dangerous individual, because he's smart and knows how to make people listen to him," said ROS General Giuseppe Governale. "He did not carry out concrete actions, but our investigations have found evidence he could strike".

The suspect, whom some had nicknamed 'Bin Laden', lives in an apartment above the local mosque where he works as a factotum. Police say he is the ringleader of a group that provided newly arrived migrants with fake labour contracts and pay slips from compliant textile companies so they could get residency permits in Italy, charging them 600 euros a pop. He is known to enthusiastically hail Islamist terrorist attacks such as a bloody January 2015 attack on Charlie Hebdo satirical magazine in Paris with comments such as "justice has been served". He also wrote on his Facebook profile that "I'll be an ISIS man as long as I live, and if I die I exhort you to join", with a picture of the French flag being trampled, and shared a so-called manual for lone wolf jihadists, which contains tips on how to avoid security cameras at chosen attack sites.
Migrants swim to France from Italy Force police cordon at Ventimiglia

(ANSAmed) - GENOA, AUGUST 5 - A group of 300 migrants and asylum seekers at the border town of Ventimiglia forced a police cordon, jumped into the sea and swam to France on Friday.



Some of the asylum seekers simply ran across the border, breaking through a French police cordon and onto the crowded beaches beyond.



Italian and French police fired tear gas but were unable to stop them. (ANSAmed).




Turkey: WSJ, U.S. not convinced on Gulen's extradition Gulen says Turkish judiciary not independent

(ANSAmed) - NEW YORK, AUGUST 5 - The United States are not persuaded on the extradition of imam Fetullah Gulen, the Wall Street Journal reported on Friday.



Turkey says the imam is behind the failed coup on July 15.



The paper cited sources claiming that evidence presented by Ankara in private talks between the two countries have not convinced US authorities.



Talks will reportedly continue for months.



Meanwhile Gulen was quoted as saying by international media outlets that the Turkish judiciary is not independent, in statements made after a court in Istanbul issued an international arrest warrant against him. (ANSAmed).




After Nigeria, Gentiloni in Ivory Coast for deal on migrants Ivorian arrivals less numerous but on the rise

(ANSAmed) - ABIDJAN (IVORY COAST), AUGUST 5 - The fight against illegal immigration was also at the center of Italian Foreign Minister Paolo Gentiloni's trip to the Ivory Coast. The foreign minister spoke about the issue on Friday during a meeting with Ivorian counterpart Abdallah Albert Mabri Toikeusse, who also asked for Italy's support for the candidature of the Ivory Coast as a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council in 2018-2019.



However, illegal immigration was one of the issues that were most central to the talks, in particular a mini bilateral 'migration compact'.



Ivory Coast migrants are fewer than Nigerians, as presented by Gentiloni during his trip to Nigeria yesterday, but they are still consistent.



From January 1 until July 20 this year, a total of 5,941 Ivorian nationals landed in Italy - 7% of the total - a sharp increase from the 2% recorded in the same period in 2015 and 2014, when there were 1,530.



Most of them are economic migrants, a 'particularly favorable' situation for the implementation of the migration compact philosophy: working so that development and employment are created in the Ivory Coast. (ANSAmed)
ABUJA/ABIDJAN - Stopping migrant flows through police operations is not possible and the only option available is to manage them by acting, or attempting to act, on the causes and contexts that lead tens of thousands of desperate people to leave, in cooperation with their home countries. This is what Italian Foreign Minister Paolo Gentiloni has started doing with a mission to Nigeria and Ivory Coast.

Nigeria is the home country of one out of five immigrants landing on Italy's coasts. A reported 12,163 migrants have hailed from that country in the first few months of this year alone. Ivory Coast migrants are fewer than Nigerians, but they are still consistent. From January 1 until July 20 this year, a total of 5,941 Ivorian nationals landed in Italy - 7% of the total - a sharp increase from the 2% recorded in the same period in 2015 and 2014.



The foreign minister explained to Nigerian leaders the meaning of the 'migration compact', initially supported by Italy alone, now shared by the European Union, which gave its official endorsement at a summit in June.



The time has now come to implement concrete actions and the foreign minister, first member of a European government to visit one of the countries of origin of a very intense flow of illegal immigrants, after the green light to the compact by the EU, hopes to reach a formal agreement with Nigeria by the fall.



''We can work together for a better management of migrant flows in the mutual interest of our countries'', Gentiloni said during the meeting in Abuja with his counterpart Geoffrey Onyeama.



The issue, according to Gentiloni, is not to ''eliminate'' arrivals but to manage them and ''be active on the causes of migration, for example by working together for the creation of jobs''.



On the EU front, in the short term the priority is to forge an accord for the readmission between the Union and Nigeria (Italy already has a bilateral accord).



The start of negotiations is scheduled in October, after a Frontex-Nigeria seminar scheduled on September 7-8 in Warsaw to focus on the issue of readmissions.

The fight against illegal immigration was also at the center of Italian Foreign Minister Paolo Gentiloni's trip to the Ivory Coast. The foreign minister spoke about the issue on Friday during a meeting with Ivorian counterpart Abdallah Albert Mabri Toikeusse, who also asked for Italy's support for the candidature of the Ivory Coast as a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council in 2018-2019.

However, illegal immigration was one of the issues that were most central to the talks, in particular a mini bilateral 'migration compact'. Ivory Coast migrants are fewer than Nigerians, as presented by Gentiloni during his trip to Nigeria yesterday, but they are still consistent. From January 1 until July 20 this year, a total of 5,941 Ivorian nationals landed in Italy - 7% of the total - a sharp increase from the 2% recorded in the same period in 2015 and 2014, when there were 1,530.

Most of them are economic migrants, a 'particularly favorable' situation for the implementation of the migration compact philosophy: working so that development and employment are created in the Ivory Coast.
(ANSAmed) - BRUSSELS, AUGUST 5 - A reported 90,000 migrants have arrived in Europe in 2016 through the central Mediterranean route, more or less the same number as during the same period last year, Tove Ernst, spokesman for immigration of the European Commission, said Friday.



The fact that the number of migrants has not increased in spite of the shutdown of the Balkan route ''proves that actions constantly undertaken at a European level and with international partners are giving results'', said Mina Andreeva, spokeswoman of the European executive. (ANSAmed)
Gabina VOA is designed to be an infotainment youth radio show broadcasting to Ethiopia and Eritrea in the Amharic language. The show brings varied perspectives on issues concerning young people in the Horn of Africa region. Gabina in the Amharic language is a front row taxi ridesymbolic of the shows content as a fun ride that takes audiences from point A to point B. Gabina VOAs main goal is Enlightening young people, introducing them to cutting-edge technological innovations, exposing them to new processes and ideas so they can be productive, informed and self-governing citizens.
Dubai Airports chief executive Paul Griffiths said at a Thursday evening press conference in Dubai. The aircraft ended off the runway threshold, so where it came to rest it wasnt actually on part of the operational surface of the runway. The aircraft caused very light damage to the runway."



The runway at Dubai International reopened at 5:45pm, but normal services will not resume for at least another 24 hours as it deals with a backlog of delays and cancellations.
Peace of Mind provides up to two years or 400 hours of Textron Aviations industry leading ProParts and ProTech programmes, as well as Pratt & Whitneys ESPecially engine maintenance programme, all free of charge for new King Air and Caravan turboprop purchases from July 25, 2016, through September 30, 2016, with delivery by the end of the year.



We are always looking at how we can make stepping into turbine ownership easier, and the Peace of Mind incentive eliminates any uncertainty around maintenance costs by providing comprehensive maintenance protection through industry leading programmes, said Kriya Shortt, senior vice president, sales and marketing. And, customers who choose to combine Peace of Mind with our ProOwnership programme can also receive assistance with other ownership intricacies, including mentoring services, pilot services, insurance, taxes and more. No other manufacturer can offer such a comprehensive solutions package for customers looking to make the transition to a new aircraft.
The Mikado

This duplicates entries in my journal, Funny the World , which I have been writing since March 2000. The reason for starting a mirror blog is for people who prefer to subscribe thru an rss feed.The title is a quote from, "Is this a time for airy persiflage?" (light banter).
Of mousers and men

When did cats graduate from convenient pest-control to one of the worlds most popular pets, and how can you tell the difference in the archaeological record? The answer, John Buglass and Jennifer West suggest, may lie in Roman Yorkshire.

Today, the image of a pet cat purring on its owners lap is the epitome of cosy domesticity  but this was not always the case. While the archaeological record suggests that dogs staked their claim to being mans best friend as long as 15,000 years ago (CA 301), felines were much slower in joining our households. But how far can we trace the evolution of this relationship, and how far is it possible to distinguish between cats that coexisted with humans for their own advantage (scavenging our settlements) or for ours (as resident pest control) and those cats that had taken the next step to achieve the status of a beloved pet? Again, archaeology may hold the key.

Pussycat went to sea

Excavations have uncovered cat remains all over the world, but genetic studies suggest that the domestic cat (Felis catus) first emerged as a distinct species from their ancestors, African wildcats (Felis silvestris lybica), in the Near East around 10,000 years ago. Since then they have spread around the world, being transported by humans (knowingly or otherwise) as we explored, traded, and settled. By 7000 BC, we can see evidence of cats cohabiting with humans in China, while some 5,300 years ago they had reached Cyprus  almost certainly introduced by humans, as the island had no indigenous cat population.

The first hints of actual integration with humans came later still, however, from Egypt around 4,000 years ago. This was a culture that revered cats as sacred, but felines also seem to have forged more worldly relationships with humans: an increased cooperation vividly illustrated in 18th Dynasty era (c.1350 BC) murals adorning the tomb chapel of a wealthy official, Nebamun, in Thebes (now on display in the British Museum). Here, a small striped cat is shown helping a hunter to catch or retrieve wild birds, much as we might employ a gundog today. But this is still clearly a working animal, rather than evidence of cats attaining a more sentimental status.

Moving into Europe, cats first appear in ancient Greek art in the 5th and 4th centuries BC  though never as an unambiguous pet  but in the Roman world they are shown in more clearly domestic scenes, including a mischievous moggy helping itself to the contents of a larder, captured in a 1st century AD mosaic from Pompeiis House of the Faun. Feline figures feature far less frequently in Roman art than dogs, however, which might suggest that if they were regarded as pets by now, they had not yet attained the heights of popularity that they enjoy today. Once again, few of these depictions allow us to distinguish between resident mousers and members of the family.

Perhaps the most convincing image of a potential pet from this period comes from the Musee dAquitaine in Bordeaux, which houses the gravestone of a Gallo-Roman child who died in the 2nd century AD. The stele bears an appealingly lifelike image of a little girl cuddling a cat to her chest. With a childish lack of concern for the animals comfort, she grips it under its front legs, leaving its lower body to dangle (and allowing an opportunistic cockerel, perhaps another pet, to seize the tip of its tail in its beak), all the while gazing out at the viewer as if posing for her portrait. An incomplete inscription identifies the girl only as the daughter of a man called Laetus, but it is tempting to fill in the gaps ourselves: might this be a loving depiction of a lost child, shown clutching a pet that she had played with in life?

Cats (and Romans) conquer Britain

Closer to home, our earliest clues to domestic cats in Britain also come mostly from the Roman period (again, much later than dogs, whose remains are known from sites as early as the Mesolithic hunter-gatherer camp at Star Carr, near Scarborough). Although their bones have also been found at a small number of Iron Age sites  notably seven 3rd-century BC skeletons excavated at Gussage All Saints hillfort in Dorset  our best evidence for their being adopted as household animals is found at villa sites like Bishopstone, Lullingstone, and Rudston, as well as in York.

In most of these cases, it once more remains unclear whether these animals were pest control or pets  but one site in the Mid Tees Valley seems more promising. This is a Romano-British villa at Dalton-on-Tees, North Yorkshire, which was first excavated by Teesside Archaeological Society in 1997. Their investigation revealed not only the remains of a substantial villa located beyond what was then accepted as the northern limit of such residences, but also a large and varied assemblage of over 3,700 well-preserved animal bones representing 28 different species. Almost 70% of these remains came from a well that had been backfilled sometime between the 2nd and 4th century AD, and among them were the remains of a small domestic cat.

Even a preliminary examination of its bones could tell that this was one unlucky feline: it had suffered devastating injuries to both the hind- and forelimb on its left side, with the entire head of the left femur missing, and the left elbow showing signs of having been badly broken. The fact that these wounds occur on the same side and  as we will discuss shortly  show similar signs of healing, suggests that they may have been inflicted at the same time, perhaps as a result of being kicked by a larger animal like a horse while hunting for food in a stable, or being hit by the wheel of a cart.

Whatever their cause, there is no doubt that they would have been disabling, potentially fatal injuries  and yet the cat had not died. Extensive new bone growth on both limbs shows clear signs of healing, while polished wear patterns on the affected joint surfaces indicate that the limbs had eventually returned to use, albeit with a drastically reduced range of movement. In other words, it appears that a friendly human may have, if not nursed the stricken feline back to health, at least tended it with food and water while its bones knitted back together  a level of care above and beyond what you might expect to be accorded to pest control or an opportunistic cohabiter.

Further analysis of the cats remains suggests that even after its fractures had healed the animal would no longer have been an effective hunter  one elbow was left partially fused, while its rear limb shows signs of an infection and healed break. Both injuries may (without all of the bones present to compare, we cannot be sure) have left the affected legs shorter than their counterparts.

If this stiff-legged, limping cat, which would certainly not have been able to earn its keep as a working mouser, had been allowed to continue living at the villa rather than being euthanised and replaced, might this suggest that its owner had felt a deeper emotional connection with the animal? If so, this could be our earliest evidence yet in Britain for a cat that was not just a household tool, but a cherished pet.

This article is published in CA 318  on sale now. Click here to subscribe.
YEREVAN, AUGUST 5, ARMENPRESS. The Human Rights Defenders Office has been informed that the gunmen Armen Lambaryan and Sedrak Nazaryan have been subjected to torture. Information has also been received that A. Lambaryans lawyer is unable to see him and to be involved in the criminal proceedings. The information on A. Lambaryans and S. Nazaryans tortures has also been released in the media.

By the Human Rights Defenders instruction, the Ombudsmans staff representatives have visited Erebouni medical center on August 4 at 20:00, "Armenpress" was informed by the Ombudsman's Office. They hold separate private meetings with Armen Lambaryan and Sedrak Nazaryan. During the private talks, the information on A. Lambaryans and S. Nazaryans tortures or any other ill treatment was denied. They had no complaint over the attitude of the medical staff.

As for the lawyers entrance, this issue has already been discussed with the lawyer, and in this regard a respective letter will be sent to the investigation body to clarify the case in the morning of August 5.
YEREVAN, AUGUST 5, ARMENPRESS. US President Barack Obama says there have been gains against so-called Islamic State in Iraq and Syria but warned the group still poses a threat, reports BBC.

As the jihadist group lost ground, he said, there were signs it was shifting to attacks abroad.

"The possibility of a lone actor or a small cell that kills people is real," he said, adding that networks in the US could be activated.

Obama was giving an update to reporters after a Pentagon meeting.

Separately, he strongly denied that a $400m (305m) cash payment to Iran was a ransom for the release of American prisoners in January.

The White House provided extensive comments on the issue on Wednesday.

Speaking after the meeting with top military and national security officials on Thursday, Obama said IS was "not invincible".

"In fact, they are inevitably going to be defeated," the president said, predicting that the jihadist group would lose its self-proclaimed capital of Raqqa in Syria, in addition to their stronghold of Mosul in Iraq.

Obama also said that IS "has not had a major successful offensive operation in Syria or Iraq in a full year".

While the militant group has been pegged back in those countries, it has carried out or claimed several high-profile attacks this year, such as in Iraq, France, Germany, Bangladesh and several other countries.

President Obama said it was important not to give in to fear.

"ISIL can't defeat the United States of America or our NATO partners," he said, using an alternative acronym for IS.

But he warned the US could defeat itself if its leaders made "bad decisions" - like indiscriminately killing civilians or introducing religious tests on who could enter the country.

"Those kinds of strategies can end up backfiring because in order for us to ultimately win this fight we cannot frame this as a clash of civilizations between the West and Islam," he said.

"That plays exactly into the hands of ISIL and the perverse interpretations of Islam that they are putting forward."

The US recently stepped up its efforts against IS, bombing one of the group's strongholds in Libya on Monday after a request by the UN-backed government.

Western powers have become increasingly concerned at IS's growing presence in Libya.
YEREVAN, AUGUST 5, ARMENPRESS. 27 citizens have been detained from the Freedom Square of Yerevan on August 4.

Those persons have been detained under the Article 180.1 of the Code of Administrative Offences of Armenia which includes violating the procedures of holding meetings, gatherings, rallies and demonstrations.

Relevant records have been prepared, the 27 detainees have been released, press service of the Police informed Armenpress.
YEREVAN, AUGUST 5, ARMENPRESS. On August 4 President of the Nagorno Karabakh Republic Bako Sahakyan visited Martuni region and convened a consultation with participation of heads of regional administration and communities devoted to the 2016 cereal harvest process in town Karmir Shuka, press service of the NKR Presidential administration informed Armenpress.

The President said with satisfaction that average index of the 2016 grain yield in the Martuni region was the highest in the republic and the region occupied the second place in terms of the gross harvest volume.

Bako Sahakyan noted that the registered indices allow securing high volumes of gross harvest in the future as well accentuating within this context efficient organization of relevant activities and giving concrete instruction for proper solution of the discussed issues.

Prime Minister Arayik Haroutyunyan and other officials accompanied the President.
YEREVAN, AUGUST 5, ARMENPRESS. The Ministry of Emergency Situations of Armenia received a call on August 5 at 12.51 regarding a gas station explosion in No. 1/1 Akhuryan Highway of Gyumri, "Armenpress" was informed by the press service of the Ministry.

A rescue crew left for the scene where two people A.H born in 1960 and A.M born in 1987 were injured in the explosion. They were hospitalized to the medical center of Gyumri.
YEREVAN, AUGUST 5, ARMENPRESS. Based on preliminary results of the ongoing internal investigations on the events of July 19 in Khorenatsi Street and overnight July 29-30 events in Sari Tagh, the Police Chief has ordered disciplinary actions against a number of police officers.

Over two dozen officers were brought to disciplinary responsibility.

The Police told ARMENPRESS internal investigation materials of this case have been sent to the Special Investigations Service for criminal-legal evaluation of their wrongdoings.
YEREVAN, AUGUST 5, ARMENPRESS. Prime Minister Hovik Abrahamyan visited Ararat Province on a working trip.

The trip began in Ayntap community, where the PM met locals and reviewed their issues and talked to them in person. Locals told the PM their main problem is the issue of potable water, which is being supplied with interruptions. Abrahamyan instructed responsible agencies to solve the issue as soon as possible.

Later the Prime Minister reviewed the construction of the Cultural Center of Ayntap, which will be completed during 2017.

Afterwards Hovik Abrahamyan visited Masis. A consultation took place in the City Hall, with the participation of community leaders. Governor of Ararat Rubik Abrahamyan said agricultural works are proceeding successfully.

Improvement works are ongoing in the Province in the fields of infrastructure, educational institutions, roads, water supply.

The PM visited the Golden Axe Armenian-Iranian slaughterhouse, which is operating since 2015. Approximately 3 million USD was invested in the slaughterhouse. Around 100 people are employed in Golden Axe. The resulting fur is being transported to an Armenian-Italian company, and after being processed it is exported to Italy.

Later Abrahamyan visited the Fruit-Drying Enterprise of Surenavan. The enterprise is operating since 2007, and around 250 million AMD have been invested. The factory is equipped with modern technologies. Around 300-350 tons of fruits and berries are processed here yearly.

Hovik Abrahamyan visited the Arts School of Vedi, and reviewed the current conditions.

Later Abrahamyan held a discussion in the Vedi City Hall on ongoing projects aimed at developing the infrastructure.

The PM also visited the Nor Kharberd and Aralez communities, met locals and talked about their issues.
YEREVAN, AUGUST 5, ARMENPRESS. The current leadership of Georgia attempt to contribute to the maintenance of regional balance, expert on Georgian affairs Joni Melikyan told ARMENPRESS. The expert underscored the prospects of development of Russian-Georgian dialogue in the context of consequences for Armenia.

We know how Saakashvilis party worked. I would like to note a fact: Saakashvili and his supporters were more in favor for the trilateral Georgia-Azerbaijan-Turkey relations development, which contradicted Armenias interests.

Though perhaps that trilateral format would include agreements and military cooperation, however the current leadership emphasis the Euro-Atlantic integration, NATO cooperation and EU membership. This way they cancel the possibility of forming a military-political alliance within this trilateral format, which Saakashvili aspired for so much, he said.

Regarding the upcoming parliamentary elections in Georgia, Melikyan said according to latest data 17 percent of citizens support the ruling Georgian Dream party.

Although there are some indicators, however recent surveys by the American Institute of Democracy and other agencies show that neither the leadership, nor the other parties have enough public support which would have allowed saying confidently that they will have majority votes in Parliament. I can say that currently a better opportunity is being created for smaller parties for being included in the Parliament. These indicators, are of course changing, as 50 percent of the population hasnt decided or is complaining, and they might even not take part in the elections, he said.

ARMENPRESS asked Melikyan if the Armenian community of Georgia is unanimously supporting any party, Melikyan answered:  That tendency, when 80-90% of Armenians of Javakhk or Tbilisi were supporting any particular political force, vanished during the 2012 elections, when the votes were divided. Work is being done with the communities; however I cant say that they are active. Comparably the Georgian Dream, Republican Party, Free Democrats, United National Movement of Saakashvili are active.

Parliamentary elections are set to take place on October 8 in Georgia.
By: Dezan Shira & Associates

Editor: Eugenia Lotova

For companies with several offices, whether regionally or globally, it is important to identify a headquarters that provides management, support, financial assistance, and other services to offices and operations. As a variety of Southeast Asian economies continue to experience rapid growth and barriers between nations are reduced, the advantages of multi-jurisdictional supply chains grows ever greater. Establishing a regional headquarters in a Southeast Asian country can prove to be a worthwhile investment because it will allow the company to have access to the massive (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) ASEAN market.

Singapore has been the traditional hub for regional management within the region, but as the ASEAN Economic Community comes into fruition, other countries are looking to increase their share of investment. Thailand has been at the forefront of this endeavor. With its highly developed infrastructure, strategic location, educated and cost effective labor source, Thailand presents itself as a great alternative to Singapore. Furthermore, Thailands government is incredibly pro-business and works hard to attract foreign investment. In May of 2015, the government authorized tax incentives for businesses in Thailand operating as an international headquarters (IHQ). This is the third law under the Regional Operating Headquarters (ROH) program. This article will explain the incentives offered under this law and how to qualify.

Incentives offered

This section enumerates some of the incentives investors can benefit from by establishing their IHQ in Thailand.

CIT: Companies can take advantage of many CIT exemptions for 15 accounting periods. It includes income from certain services related to overseas affiliates, royalties, dividends from overseas associated enterprises, income related to purchase and sales of goods from other branch offices, and sales income from out-out transactions.

Furthermore, investors may be applicable for a reduced CIT rate of 10 percent for 15 accounting periods on income related to provision of certain services and royalties.

Withholding Tax: Companies may be exempt from withholding tax for dividends sent from the IHQ. Non-treaty withholding rate on dividends is 10 percent and the interest and royalties rates can each be up to 15 percent.

Personal Income Tax: Expatriates employed by IHQs are eligible for reduced Personal Income Tax (PIT) at a 15 percent rate.

Qualifying for Incentives

As incentives are offered to both individuals and corporations, there are naturally slight differences in the requirements that each of these parties are subject to in Vietnam. For a company to qualify for the incentives, they must be incorporated in Thailand and comply with the following requirements:

Capital Requirements: all companies seeking to tap into incentives must have a minimum paid-up capital of THB 10 million (US$300,000). In addition, companies must be able to show and maintain annual operating expenses of a least THB 15 million (US$450,000).

Operational Requirements: Unlike a holding company which may be largely absent from the day to day operations of its subsidiaries, companies seeking to qualify for incentives, must prove that they provide support, management, or technical services to associated branches or companies. Examples of this include:

Acting as a regional hub for the planning and administration of regional operations

Acting as a hub for the sourcing of raw materials, components or finished products

Conducting R&D that is utilized by operations throughout the region.

Conducting marketing on behalf of regional subsidiaries

Conducting training of subsidiary staff

Providing accounting, marketing, and other services to subsidiaries.

Conducting economic, investment, and other analysis on behalf of regional subsidiaries.

The Application Process: For companies to receive approval from incentives, they must apply with the Director-General of the Revenue Department and comply with other applicable law and regulations.

Qualifying for Incentives as an Individual: to qualify for the reduced PIT rate offered under IHQ incentives, individuals must be working for an IHQ. To prove this, companies must submit an application to the Director-General of the Revenue Department. Once this has been received, incentives will be applied.

Key Things to Watch

While these incentives can prove too tempting of an opportunity to pass up, the entire process can become convoluted and incredibly time consuming. According to the World Bank Group, in 2016, Thailand ranks 49th in ease of doing business and 96th for starting a business. Before applying for incentives, it is important to have a thorough understanding of the application process and the bureaucracy involved.



About Us Asia Briefing Ltd. is a subsidiary of Dezan Shira & Associates. Dezan Shira is a specialist foreign direct investment practice, providing corporate establishment, business advisory, tax advisory and compliance, accounting, payroll, due diligence and financial review services to multinationals investing in China, Hong Kong, India, Vietnam, Singapore and the rest of ASEAN. For further information, please email asean@dezshira.com or visit www.dezshira.com. Stay up to date with the latest business and investment trends in Asia by subscribing to our complimentary update service featuring news, commentary and regulatory insight. 

Annual Audit and Compliance in ASEAN

For the first issue of our ASEAN Briefing Magazine, we look at the different audit and compliance regulations of five of the main economies in ASEAN. We firstly focus on the accounting standards, filing processes, and requirements for Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand and the Philippines. We then provide similar information on Singapore, and offer a closer examination of the city-states generous audit exemptions for small-and-medium sized enterprises.

The Trans-Pacific Partnership and its Impact on Asian Markets

The United States backed Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPP) includes six Asian economies  Australia, Brunei, Japan, Malaysia, Singapore and Vietnam, while Indonesia has expressed a keen willingness to join. However, the agreements potential impact will affect many others, not least of all China. In this issue of Asia Briefing magazine, we examine where the TPP agreement stands right now, look at the potential impact of the participating nations, as well as examine how it will affect Asian economies that have not been included.

An Introduction to Tax Treaties Throughout Asia

In this issue of Asia Briefing Magazine, we take a look at the various types of trade and tax treaties that exist between Asian nations. These include bilateral investment treaties, double tax treaties and free trade agreements  all of which directly affect businesses operating in Asia.
All the latest Ashbourne news. Ashbourne is an historic market town in Derbyshire. Situated on the southern edge of the Peak District, it is known as the 'Gateway to Dovedale' and the 'Gateway to the Peak District'. Ashbourne is famous for the annual Royal Shrovetide Football Match, which has been played since at least 1667, although its origins may date back centuries earlier. Ashbourne became a Fairtrade town in March 2005. The popular Tissington Trail, which follows the route of the former Ashbourne to Buxton railway, starts on the edge of town. Keep up to date with the latest news from the town by signing up for our newsletter.
Gou Hongguo was alleged to have met separatists from Xinjiang, Tibet and Inner Mongolia in Taiwan. He also participated in meetings with workers involved in labor disputes. Former head of the Fengrui law firm, Zhou Shifeng, also sentenced.

Tianjin (AsiaNews / Agencies) - Protestant Christian human rights activist,Gou Hongguo, was sentenced this morning to three years in prison for attempting to "subvert state power". The sentence was suspended for three years.

According to the indictment, Gou - who was part of Hu Shigen's community, also sentenced days before - took part in a meeting of interracial leaders in Taiwan. There were supporters of independence from Xinjiang, Tibet and Inner Mongolia.

The prosecutor acknowledged that the meeting wanted to implement a non-violent resistance and push for social and democratic change in China. But this entails an end to the supremacy of the Communist Party, which led to the charge of "subversion". Gou was also accused of having associated with protests related to workers' rights, that challenge Communist Party rule.

The arguments of the defense, that Gou had gone to Taiwan without knowing who the guests were and on his return did not publish any information about the gathering, were to no avail. The defense lawyer also noted that the meeting only involved 15 people and Gou had a marginal role.

Gou's ruling is the latest of four, which took place this week against human rights lawyers and activists arrested in July 2015.

Yesterday Zhou Shifeng, the former director of the Fengrui law firm,was also sentenced.

Fengrui took on about 100 lawyers and handled many sensitive cases: it represented the victims of the scandal of the melamine milk; the artist Ai Weiwei; the blind activist Chen Guangcheng, now in exile in the United States; the Christian lawyer Gao Zhisheng; Uighur academic Ilham Tohti.

The court ruled that Zhou has repeatedly expressed comments online and in person "attacking the socialist system, the one country two systems policy [that exists in Hong Kong], and incited people to go against state power".

His trial ended with an ironic scene: Zhou spoke for 10 minutes, then stopped by the judges. He "apologized to all 90 million members of the Communist Party" and the government, adding that "the legal system and democracy in China is greater than that of the state of Western law and above all far beyond that of the United States".
Family members of the Salesian priest kidnapped in Yemen have met the Foreign Minister, who assured them. The Delhi government is doing everything possible to secure his release. Vicar of Arabia: "So far no one has ever had direct contact with him.

New Delhi (AsiaNews) - Fr Tom Uzhunnalil, the Salesian priest kidnapped in Yemen five months ago, "is well and the Indian government is doing everything possible to secure his release, said Indian Foreign Minister, Sushma Swaraj, during a meeting last night with a priest's family. For his part, Msgr. Paul Hinder, Apostolic Vicar of Southern Arabia, invites people to caution because "we have no reliable information. We only know that something is happening, but we have no certainty".

The minister met with the families of Fr. Tom following the news of the capture of three men near Aden. They would be part of the extremist commandos who captured the priest, but have not disclosed information on the place of his detention or condition.

Since 4 March, Fr Tom Uzhunnalil has been in the hands of a jihadist group  in all likelihood linked to the Islamic State (IS) group  that massacred four sisters of Mother Teresa and 12 other people in Aden, in southern Yemen. So far, nothing is known of the fate of the 56-year-old priest born in Ramapuram, near Pala (Kottayam, Kerala) into a deeply Catholic family. His uncle Matthew, who died last year, was also a Salesian, and the founder of the mission in Yemen.

Msgr. Hinder emphasizes that "no one has ever had direct contact with Fr. Tom. We do not have any proof that he really is ok".

Over the months there have been various unfounded rumors of a plan drawn up by the kidnappers that included torture, murder and the crucifixion of the priest on March 25, to coincide with Good Friday. In late July, a video was circulated showing the kidnapped priest being abused and in poor physical condition. The foreign minister told his family that experts are still checking the authenticity of the images.
Mohammed Halabi, head of the humanitarian group projects in Gaza, is accused of giving $ 7.2 million per year to the Islamists since 2010. The man was arrested in June on the border with Israel. World Vision leaders: "No reason or evidence to believe the allegations are true".

Gaza (AsiaNews / Agencies) - The Israeli intelligence agency Shin Bet says the chief of World Vision in Gaza has funded Hamas with millions of dollars from the humanitarian organization. Mohammed Halabi is charged with having diverted about 60% of funds for Gaza to the Islamist movement's coffers since 2010. World Vision responded by saying that currently there is no evidence to believe the charges.

In a statement, the humanitarian group ensures that it carried out regular audits of its Gaza programmes and was "shocked" by the charges. "We will carefully review any evidence presented to us and will take appropriate actions based on that evidence," the statement said.

Hamas has denied any involvement and through one of its spokesmen has denied having contacts with Halabi.

The Shin Bet announced that Mohammed Halabi, 38, was arrested last June on the border near Erez on charges of terrorism. It said the aid money he funnelled to Hamas, and to its military wing the Izz al-Din al-Qassam Brigades, amounted to about .2m a year. It claimed he set up fictitious projects, falsely registered Hamas members as employees. The security service said these funds were used, amongst other things, for the digging of tunnels intended to be used for attacks on Israeli civilian communities, the building of military bases and for the purchase of weapons.

World Vision works in cooperation with the United Nations in various countries of the world. It has been present in Israel and the occupied Palestinian territories since 1975. In a 2015 document, the aid group said it had assisted some 90 thousand people in Gaza, home to nearly 2 million people dependent on foreign aid.

The UN leaders said they were "aware of the serious accusations" brought by Israel.
The Islamic leader, 77, has lost his appeal against 15 years in prison. He is a key member of Jemaah Islamiah group which claimed the 2002 Bali attacks. In January, hundreds of protesters had called for his release.

Jakarta (AsiaNews / Agencies) - Abu Bakar Bashir, the Indonesian Islamic leader sentenced to 15 years for funding a fundamentalist training camp, has lost his appeal and will remain in jail.

The cleric, 77, is suspected of being a key member of the jihadist Jemaah Islamiah network, the Indonesian al Qaeda cell. The group is responsible for the attack in Bali in 2002 which killed more than 200 people, mostly tourists.

Bashir was convicted in 2011 for having paid money to a paramilitary group Islamic Aceh, the only province in the country where sharia exists. According to authorities the jihadists were planning to kill the president, and Western tourists.

Last January, at the beginning of the appeal process, hundreds of people protested outside the court to for the clerics release. The defense said that the funds raised through Bashir were allocated to aid the population of the Palestinian territories, but then were diverted to Aceh without the cleric knowing.

The Supreme Court rejected the appeal for lack of new evidence.

Since 2000, Islamic terrorism has struck repeatedly Indonesia, whose special forces, however, have weakened the most dangerous jihadist groups. Last July 20 the terrorist Santoso was killed. He was the leader of East Indonesian Mujahidin (MIT), an extremist cell affiliated to the Islamic State (IS) and the government's most wanted man.
by Joseph Masilamany

The series, titled "When we are friends of nature" was developed by WWF Malaysia in cooperation with the Islamic University College (Iicu). Based on the precepts of the Koran, it tells the story of four friends who discover the secrets of the environment and how to protect it.

Kuala Lumpur (AsiaNews) - To teach respect for nature starting from the principles of Islam. This is the aim of a project launched by WWF Malaysia in cooperation with the Islamic University College (Iicu). The two institutions have financed the creation of an animated series called: "When we are friends of nature", which aims to teach children the basic principles of environmental protection.

The first series, which was launched under the title "Islam, the conservation of wildlife and you", is about the adventures of four friends who discover the secrets of the nature and their role in protecting it as a gift to humanity.

The cartoon is based on a book published by the Malaysian Institute for Understanding Islam (Ikim). This is the first book published in Malaysia with the theme of environmental protection based on Islamic principles and is designed for educators in areas with a Muslim majority.

Executive Director of WWF Malaysia, Dionysius Sharma,emphasized the importance of this initiative directed to the younger generation: "We hope that these early lessons, which are derived from the essence of various faiths, help them to consider the preservation of the environment from a wider perspective, so that it becomes an important part of the community".
by Sumon Corraya

Hasnat Karim and Tahmid Hasib are in jail in protective custody. They are accused of having directed the attack on the cafe in the diplomatic district of the capital. The first is a former teacher of one of the most prestigious private universities of Dhaka; the second fled from Canada last year.

Dhaka (AsiaNews) - The Bangladeshi authorities have confirmed the charges against two men arrested for the Dhaka massacre. Hasnat Karim, former professor of North South University (NSU), and Tahmid Hasib Khan, a Canadian of Bangladeshi origin, were brought before the judge, who transferred them to prison under a pre-trial detention regime.

The two men, the focus of investigations for over a month, are accused of having planned and directed the terrorist attack on the Holey Artisan Bakery Cafe last July that killed 20 people, mostly foreign.

Right away the suspicions had fallen on the former NSU professor, one of the most prestigious private universities in the capital. The manwas seen on the roof of the restaurant as he spoke with the six attackers. The complicit and cavalier attitude with which he addressed the terrorists raised the question of whether he knew them.

The second man, Tahmid Hasib, had disappeared from Canada last year. He was arrested in recent days on suspicion of also orchestrating the bomb attack on the feast of Eid al-Fitr, which marks the end of Ramadan. The investigation also revealed that he had ties with the nine militants killed by police in a gun battle on the outskirts of Dhaka, blocked while preparing other attacks.

The two were arrested on Monday night and appeared yesterday before the judge Nurunnahar Yesmin, who signed the order to transfer them to prison.
The heavy monsoon rains of India take over the country on an annual basis.

Yet amidst the damage and destruction, the monsoon season is filled with celebration, including dance, music, theatre, film and festivals. The welcoming of this captivating and spiritual force dates back thousands of years in India.

Vancouver is also known for its heavy rainfall. With the intersection of these two natural phenomena, albeit at different times of the year, the goal is to celebrate the monsoon here in the Lower Mainland by welcoming the storm with the 1st Annual Monsoon Festival of Performing Arts, presented by South Asian in its inaugural year, the Monsoon Arts Festival runs from August 11-21 in Vancouver and Surrey, with a deliberate spotlight on South Asian theatre.

South Asian Canadians are the largest visible minority group in Canada, yet a simple scan of Vancouvers performing arts community suggests that there are very few South Asian theatre professionals currently working in our industry.

Monsoon Arts Festival is a broadly-focused South Asian performing arts festival  one of its kind in Canada.

During a span of 11 days, festival highlights include; two critically acclaimed International one-woman plays, HONOUR: Confessions of a Mumbai Courtesan (New York) and Meenas Dream (Washington, DC); the return of the ever popular I Can't Believe It's Not Butter Chicken gang with their unique brand of hilarious sketch comedy; an Opening Night Reception (including sneak peek performances from the 10 days ahead) and Closing Night Celebration (with a Talent Night featuring Jiv Parasram); and to close the festival a special full-length play Kehar Singh Di Maut (The Death of Kehar Singh) performed in Punjabi at the Bell Performing Arts Centre in Surrey, presented in partnership with Surrey-based Rangmanch Theatre, directed by Roopinderjit Sharma, written by prominent playwright & theatre director Ajmer Singh Aulakh.

Aside from the presentations, community engagement is another key pillar of the festival. Multilingual development workshops on dramaturgy, playwriting, directing and acting, along with readings and an "industry" series are also in the pipeline.

In future years, audiences can look forward to a multidisciplinary arts festival inclusive of dance, music, visual, experimental and interdisciplinary arts, showcasing Canadian South Asian artists and talents, along with a few handpicked international productions.

For more information please visit: www.monsoonartsfest.ca

WHEN & WHERE

August 11  21, 2016

Venues: The Cultch, Surrey Arts Centre, Bell Performing Arts Centre

Produced by Gurpreet Sian & Rohit Chokhani

Tickets $20 (plus s/c & GST) | Double-Bills for only $30 (plus s/c & GST):

Cultch: www.tickets.thecultch.com or 604.251.1363 | Surrey Arts Centre: tickets.surrey.ca or 604.501.5566 | Bell. For shows in Surrey single tickets are also available at Kamal's Video Palace in Surrey. #103 - 8268 - 120 Street. Performing Arts Centre: tickets.bellperformingartscentre.com or 604.507.6355.

SCHEDULE

- August 11 @ 7pm: Opening Night Reception @ The Cultch

- August 12@ 7pm: HONOUR @ The Cultch, Historic Theatre

- August 13@ 6pm: HONOUR @ The Cultch, Historic Theatre

- August 13@ 8:30pm: I Can't Believe It's Not Butter Chicken @ The Cultch, Historic, Historic Theatre

- August 14 @ 6pm: I Can't Believe It's Not Butter Chicken @ Surrey Arts Centre, Main Stage

- August 19 @ 7pm: Meenas Dream @Surrey Arts Centre, Main Stage

- August 20 @ 6pm: Meenas Dream @Surrey Arts Centre, Main Stage

- August 20@ 8pm: Closing Night Celebration @ Surrey Arts Centre, Studio Theatre

- August 21@ 7pm: Kehar Singh Di Maut, Punjabi show @ Bell Performing Arts Centre (Surrey)

HONOUR: Confessions of a Mumbai Courtesan (New York)

"Memoirs of a Geisha" meets "Slumdog Millionaire" in Dipti Mehtas New One-Woman Play

Award-winning actress Dipti Mehtas new and acclaimed one-woman play, HONOUR: Confessions of a Mumbai courtesan visits India's red light district where we meet the eunuch, priest, pimp, mother and daughter who call it home.

A fun and poignant look at the exotic, dangerous life of Mumbai's real-life brothels and why they exist. This dark tale of pursuit of truth in modern day Mumbai is a testament to survival and pride and is a mothers gift to Dipti, who was born and raised in Mumbai and currently resides in New Jersey, also stars in the show. She has numerous film and television credits including The Blacklist (NBC), and The Golden Boy (CBS).

I Can't Believe It's Not Butter Chicken (Vancouver)

Sketch Comedy at its finest and funniest!

Having spent a couple years off the scene, the I Can't Believe It's Not Butter Chicken gang is back with a brand new show featuring some never-before-seen sketches.

Since 2010, the Butter Chicken gang has satisfied the palates of thousands of theatre-goers in shows like I Cant Believe Its Not Butter Chicken!The Best Of Show, The Butter Chicken Reloaded, The Butter Chickens Back Alright, and The Fellowship of the Butter Chicken. No topic is out of bounds as they serve up a gut-busting buffet of laugh-till-you-cry, edgy, racy, totally R-rated and fast-paced live sketch comedy.

Imagine taking a little bit of "Saturday Night Live", mixing it with some ol' skool "In Living Colour", throwing in a scoop of ethnic, sprinkling a little singing n' dancing, and topping it off with a whole lot of Bollywood. If you've never been to one of their sketch comedy shows, get ready for a show that tackles (and chuckles at) issues regarding race, sex, diaspora, village life, and pretty much anything else you can think of!

Aug. 13: The Cultch, Historic Theatre | August 14: Surrey Arts Centre, Main Stage

Meenas Dream

Actress and Playwright Anu Yadav performs a tale of nine yearold Meena, who wishes her mother had the medicine she cant afford.

By night, Hindu God Lord Krishna begs her to battle the Worry Machine to save the universe from destruction. Alternating between imagination and reality, Meena must face her deepest fears, and keep dreaming of a world where everyone has enough. A fantastical world Directed by Patrick Crowley and with an original score of South Indian classical traditions, jazz and indie folk.

Kehar Singh Di Maut (The Death of Kehar Singh)

Directed by Roopinderjit Sharma (Rangmanch Theatre), this play is based on a Punjabi folk tale of a young man, Kehar Singh, whose death is orchestrated by his greedy mother-in-law and her two sons. The drama is complemented by comedic characters and humorous dialogue, however the beauty of this play lies in the depiction of the simple-minded Kehar Singh and his wife Ram Kaur, who truly love each other.

Although not overly intelligent or worldly in the conventional sense, Kehar Singh wins us over with his pure heart and his declaration that wealth and riches are nothing in the face of true love.

Prominent playwright Ajmer Singh Aulakh is known as a rural dramatist as most of his plays display a real and root level picture of rural life in Punjab. His plays portray a heart touching pain of a low-level farmer who has less land than what he hopes to have. This section of rural Punjab is being defeated by the new economic system.

ABOUT: South Asian Arts

South Asian Arts Society is committed to creating performance and educational opportunities for professional and amateur artists, while developing artistic forums that act as a platform for building knowledge of South Asian culture via new projects, new ideas, and new collaborations. We are active in promoting South Asian dance, music, and theatre via dance and music classes, professional performances and workshops, guest lectures, as well as presenting comedic plays, musicals, and dance dramas across the Lower Mainland. www.southasianarts.ca.

We would like to acknowledge Government of Canada, City of Surrey, Canada Council for the Arts and The Cultch for their support of the Monsoon Festival of Performing Arts.
This is tricky. If you complain, you come across as the insensitive bastard that is denying a dying man of a compassionate kiss. However, I don't think you are wrong in feeling the way you feel.



I think you need to discuss this with her. Ask her, if it were a female friend of hers in the same situation, would she have comforted her in the same way? Or how about her father, would she have comforted him in the same way if he were dying? I seriously doubt it.



Also, ask her how she would feel if the roles were reversed, and you kissed a dying female friend that you wanted to comfort. If she denies being bothered by this, then tell her that you just so happen to have a female friend that is "suffering from an illness" and you are going to go "comfort" her tonight. Make sure she understands your pain by putting her in your shoes.



If she does actually realize that what she did was inappropriate, let her know that she made a mistake, and that she has damaged your trust in her, but that it's something that the two of you can get past if she's willing to adjust her behavior. Don't turn it into something that can never be forgiven, because then she will have nothing to lose, and she will probably "comfort" him again by sleeping with him.



You need to address this, and you need to make sure she understands what you consider to be appropriate behavior. If you can't find common ground, and you can't trust her, it may be time to consider either counseling or divorce.



Tell her you will not "get over it" and that she needs to realize that her actions were inappropriate. Don't tell her that she has to stop being friends with him, but get her to agree to never be in the same room with him going forward without you being there as well. Remember, he is dying, and you both need to show compassion, and abandoning him in his time of need would be cruel. But she is your wife, and you are not willing to share her with anyone, no matter how sick of a man or how small of a kiss it may be.



Stand firm on this, up to and including the start of divorce proceedings, otherwise she will not take you seriously. Getting her to go to counseling with you would probably be your best bet, since I'm sure a counselor would agree that her behavior was inappropriate. In fact, tell her that if a licensed marital counselor says that you should just "get over it" then you will do so. That will at least help to get her into counseling.



I hope things work out for you. Good luck.

Edited on August 3, 2016 at 15:56 UTC by the author
Morgan Freeman Narrates Unsuspecting Guy Crossing The Street

Trending News: Morgan Freeman Can Truly Narrate Anything - Even This Random Pedestrian Chewing

Why Is This Important?

Because this proves it  Morgan Freeman can narrate anything.

Long Story Short

Morgan Freeman appeared on Jimmy Kimmel's show on Thursday night and, as was proposed back in March, was asked to narrate some unsuspecting guy while he was walking the streets of Los Angeles. Freeman, of course, was up to the task.

Long Story

Morgan Freeman, a.k.a. the voice of penguins, God and Hillary Clinton's life can lend his voice to anything and make it riveting. This, my friends, is a fact. Whether it's a GPS navigation device or a guy walking around town with a selfie stick, as demonstrated in March on Jimmy Kimmel Live!

On Thursday night, Freeman was back on the show to promote Ben-Hur, and what did Kimmel make the poor 79-year-old elder statesman do? He made him narrate another unsuspecting pedestrian in Hollywood. This one? A bald guy chewing on something with his shirt buttoned up to the top.

"Ah, yeah. When I first saw the bald man, shirt buttoned all the way to the top, I didnt think too much of it," said Freeman in his riveting deep voice. "But then he took a bite of something. There he was, chewing something, chewing something, jaws working hard. Hm. Looked both ways, chewing something. There he was, chewing and crossing  chewing and crossing."

Watch the amazing clip below:

Own The Conversation

Ask The Big Question

If you could only pick one, who would you rather narrate have your life: David Attenborough, Morgan Freeman or Samuel L. Jackson?

Disrupt Your Feed

What did the guy do next? I need to know!

Drop This Fact

Freeman served in the U.S. Air Force, from 1955 to 1959.
Mayor Of Virginia Suburb Caught Dealing Meth At Group Sex Party

Trending News: This Guy Was A Mayor By Day, A Meth-For-Sex Dealer By Night

Why Is This Important?

Because his life is almost as crazy as Walter White's

Long Story Short

A mayor of a Virginia suburb was busted by police at a hotel with the intention to deal methamphetamine in exchange for sex at an all-male orgy gathering.

Long Story

Drugs, sex and politics  this made-for-TV scandal is so salacious it almost upstages the insanity that was Walter White's life in Breaking Bad (almost).

By day, Virginia Mayor Richard Silverthorne ran a rich Washington suburb of just 22,000 people. He also worked as a substitute teacher in the county public schools, according to CNN. But by night, the 50-year-old was dealing meth on a website used to arrange casual sexual encounters between men, according to Fairfax police.

In a sting operation, police had an undercover detective create a profile on the site and get in contact with the two-faced mayor. The detective and Silverthorne began exchanging messages and the mayor said he dealt meth in exchange for sex.

So, they organized a sex party at a hotel and Silverthorne showed up with the meth and some guys. When the mayor handed over the meth, Silverthorne along with two other suspects were busted and taken into custody. The disgraced mayor was subsequently arrested and charged with felony distribution of methamphetamine and misdemeanor possession of drug paraphernalia. He was taken to the Fairfax County Adult Detention Center and was later released on his own recognizance, according to a police spokesperson who spoke to CNN.

Mayor of Fairfax City & 2 others arrested for distribution of methamphetamine Read more here https://t.co/cIWN1zXkbo pic.twitter.com/n4JhrJjiYu  Fairfax Co. Police (@fairfaxpolice) August 5, 2016



Besides the meth, the seemingly affluent lifestyle by day and the teaching gig, Silverthorne's life draws other parallels to Walter White's in Breaking Bad. Silverthorne, too, was diagnosed with cancer, squamous cell carcinoma of the neck, according to reports. He'd also run into some big money troubles as of late, as in 2015 he declared bankruptcy and owed $58,000 to creditors and a bank foreclosed on his house.

"It's been a terrible year for me," the mayor told The Washington Post in December.

Own The Conversation

Ask The Big Question

Was Silverthorne a fan of Breaking Bad?

Disrupt Your Feed

Hey Showtime, here's your Breaking Bad spinoff idea.

Drop This Fact

Breaking Bad was actually based on a real person, as interviewed by VICE in this documentary.
Phil Shiner, who rose to prominence in the UK for representing Iraqis in abuse cases against the British military, will be fighting off a criminal inquiry by legal regulators.



Authorities are looking into whether Shiner, 59, knew of alleged bribes by his law firm Public Interest Lawyers (PIL) to Iraqis to lodge complaints, some proven to be bogus.



These bribes are said to have been claimed from taxpayer-funded legal aid masked as legitimate law firm expenses, The Telegraph reported.



Shiner founded Birmingham-based PIL in 1999 and owns all PIL equity. He has been recognised as a human rights lawyer, particularly for going after British troops under the Human Rights Act.



PIL have lodged nearly 200 compensation claims and more than 1,000 claims of alleged wrongdoing by British troops, according to The Telegraph. These cases include murder.



Shiner's high-profile cases include the inquiry to the killing of hotel manager Baha Mousa who was beaten to death while in British custody. The UK's Ministry of Defence compensated Mousa's family and nine other individuals 2.83 million in 2008.



Shiner has won awards and appointments for his work. He was named Liberty's Human Rights Lawyer of the Year in 2004, awarded the Law Society's Solicitor or the year in 2007, and appointed as honorary law professor of the Metropolitan University of London before being appointed law professor at Middlesex University in 2014.



However, his troubles also began in 2014 when the Al-Sweady inquiry, in which PIL represented claimants, found Iraqi witnesses falsified claims, casting doubt on PIL's numerous cases over the years.



The Al-Sweady report released December 2014 found that claims of the murder and mutilation of Iraqis following a fierce three-hour gun battle in 2004 were "reckless speculation".



While the inquiry  which started in 2009 and cost taxpayers 31 million  found that there was mistreatment, it concluded that it was not deliberate.



After the publication of the Al-Sweady report, the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA), the solicitors watchdog in England and Wales, began an investigation into the conduct of PIL and the law firm Leigh Day which also represented claimants.



It is understood that the Ministry of Defence provided the SRA with a dossier on PIL for the investigation.



After an 18-month investigation, the SRA endorsed the investigation to the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal (SDT) which can order solicitors be struck off the roll. The SRA also provided information to the Legal Aid Agency.



Shiner is fighting to have the SDT hearings closed to the public.



Meanwhile, the Legal Aid Agency on Tuesday revoked PIL's access to taxpayer money after its own 18-month investigation.



PIL has received 3 million from the agency to fund cases over the years. The Ministry of Defence has spent over 20 million in compensation in 324 abuse cases.



Legal Aid has also prepared a dossier on Shiner for the National Crime Agency which investigates serious and organised crime. The Telegraph quotes a source saying PIL's conduct "could be criminal."



In particular, PIL could have paid 'bribes' to Iraqis in exchange for abuse claims. These 'bribes' were possibly claimed by PIL from the Legal Aid Agency as travel and translation expenses.



PIL has vowed to fight the allegations which it maintains as baseless. PIL and Shiner have not been proven to have committed crimes and authorities investigating the matter stress that the allegations are still unverified at the moment.


By John Cook, Climate Communication Research Fellow, Global Change Institute, The University of Queensland

The notion that climate science denial is no longer a part of Australian politics was swept away yesterday by One Nation Senator-Elect Malcolm Roberts.

In his inaugural press conference, Roberts claimed that [t]heres not one piece of empirical evidence anywhere, anywhere, showing that humans cause, through CO production, climate change.

He also promoted conspiracy theories that the CSIRO and Bureau of Meteorology are corrupt accomplices in climate conspiracy driven by the United Nations.





His claims conflict with many independent lines of evidence for human-caused global warming. Coincidentally, the University of Queensland is releasing a free online course this month examining the psychology and techniques of climate science denial. The very first video lecture addresses Roberts central claim, summarising the empirical evidence that humans are causing climate change.









Scientists have observed various human fingerprints in recent climate change, documented in many peer-reviewed scientific papers.

Satellites measure less heat escaping to space at the exact wavelengths at which CO absorbs energy. The upper atmosphere is cooling at the same time that the lower atmosphere is warming  a distinct pattern unique to greenhouse warming. Human activity is also changing the very structure of the atmosphere.









Skeptical Science





Not only do these unique fingerprints confirm humanitys role in recent climate change, they also rule out other potential natural contributors. If the Sun caused global warming, we would expect to see days warming faster than nights, and summers warming faster than winters.

Instead we observe the opposite: nights are warming faster than days, and winters are warming faster than summers, which is a greenhouse pattern predicted by John Tyndall as long ago as 1859.

Similarly, if global warming were caused by internal variability, we would expect to see heat shuffling around the climate system with no net build-up. Instead, scientists observe our climate system accumulating heat at a rate of more than four atomic bombs per second.









Skeptical Science





Our scientific understanding grows stronger when many independent lines of evidence all point to a single, consistent conclusion. In the case of climate change, the consensus of evidence has led 97% of climate scientists to agree that humans are causing global warming.

The scientific consensus on climate change has also been endorsed by many scientific organisations all over the world, including the national science academies of 80 countries.









Skeptical Science





Is it a conspiracy?

How does one dismiss a global scientific consensus built on a robust body of empirical evidence?

There are five characteristics of science denial. These common traits are seen when people reject climate science, the benefits of vaccination, or the research linking smoking to cancer.

The techniques of denial are: fake experts; logical fallacies; impossible expectations; cherrypicking; and conspiracy theories. This is summarised in the acronym FLICC.









Climate science denial and conspiratorial thinking are often found together. A well-known example is that of Donald Trump, who has dismissed climate change by blaming it on a Chinese conspiracy.









@realDonaldTrump





Several studies have linked climate science denial and conspiratorial thinking. If a person disagrees with a global scientific consensus, theyll typically believe that the scientists are all engaging in a conspiracy to deceive them.

Malcolm Roberts conspiracy theories have been well documented and were once again on offer in yesterdays speech. He espouses a conspiracy that encompasses the CSIRO, Bureau of Meteorology, international banking families, the United Nations and Al Gore.

Unfortunately, I am not optimistic that the evidence for human-caused global warming will persuade Malcolm Roberts. The scientific evidence from psychology tells us that scientific evidence is largely ineffective on those who dismiss climate science with conspiracy theories.

My own research found that communicating the science of climate change to those who exhibit conspiratorial thinking can even be counterproductive, activating their distrust of scientists and strengthening their denial of the evidence.

Furthermore, conspiratorial thinking is self-sealing. When conspiracy theorists are presented evidence that there is no conspiracy, they often respond by broadening the conspiracy to include that evidence. In other words, they interpret evidence against a conspiracy as evidence for the conspiracy.

Our course on climate science denial will be much more useful to those who are open to scientific evidence and curious about the research into the causes and impacts of climate change and the psychology of climate science denial.

John Cook does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond the academic appointment above.

Originally published in The Conversation.
Hey guys, I'm applying for an 820/801 partner visa with my girlfriend from Japan.Will be here asking for tips
Benellis entry-level fully faired bike to launch in the last week of May with an estimated ex-showroom price tag of Rs 3.5 lakh.

The Benelli Tornado 302 is a fully-faired version of Benellis popular naked, the TNT 300, and will be Benellis entry-level fully faired motorcycle. It is finally all set for a market launch in the last week of May 2017.

The Tornado 302 shares much of its underpinnings with the TNT 300, including the engine  a 300cc, twin-cylinder, liquid-cooled unit with DOHC that produces 38.26hp at 11,500rpm and 26.5Nm at 10,000rpm. Considering the engine layout and specs, the Tornado 302 will directly compete with the Kawasaki Ninja 300 and the Yamaha YZF-R3.

The Tornado 302 rides on inverted forks up front and a monoshock round the back, and gets ventilated petal-type discs at the front and back.

Considering the TNT 300s ex-showroom, Delhi, price tag of Rs 2.8 lakh, we expect the Tornado 302 to be priced around Rs 3.5 lakh (ex-showroom).
Jeep to finally enter India with around six dealerships; SRT performance brand to debut as well.

After a series of delays, the iconic Jeep brand will finally see an official launch on Augost 30, 2016. The FCA owned off-road brand will initially sell two models, the Jeep Wrangler and the Jeep Grand Cherokee SUV.

The retro-styled Wrangler will be sold in India only in the long wheelbase Unlimited trim. It will come powered by a 2.8-litre diesel engine good for 197hp. The shorter, standard wheelbase Wrangler will not make it to our shores for now.

The second model from Jeep, the Grand Cherokee will for now be the mainstay for the Jeep brand in India. The manufacturer revealed details of the vehicle a few days ago on its Indian website. As per the update, the Grand Cherokee will go on sale in three trims  Limited, Summit and the high-powered Grand Cherokee SRT, which will also mark the debut of Jeep's SRT performance brand in India.

The Limited and Summit variants draw power from a 240hp, 3.0-litre V6 diesel motor paired to an eight-speed automatic gearbox. Instead of the diesel unit, the high-performance SRT gets a 475hp, 6.4-litre Hemi V8 petrol motor which also comes paired to an eight-speed automatic gearbox. All three variants come with a four-wheel-drive system, with the SRT additionally getting high-performance Brembo brakes and active damping suspension.

The Jeep Grand Cherokee's price in India is likely to start from around Rs 85-lakh mark while the full-blown Grand Cherokee SRT will be priced upward of Rs 1 crore (ex-showroom).

While the Wrangler and the Grand Cherokee will mark Jeep's entry in India next month and will be sold as completely built units, Jeep will locallymanufacture a third model which is due next year. This new SUV, currently known as the Jeep C-SUV will likely get the "Jeep Compass" moniker.

The C-SUV is expected to be priced between Rs 13-20 lakh. Power is expected to be between 107hp and 122hp from a 1.5-litre Fiat Multijet diesel engine (a downsized version the international 1.6-litre block) for the 2WD model. An all-wheel-drive version, powered by a larger 2.0-litre Multijet engine making 170hp, will also be offered.

Jeep will begin its India operations with around five-to-six dealerships all over India initially and the manufacturer is in the process of adding more dealerships in the near future.


The India-spec petrol Innova Crysta comes with a 2.7-litre engine, two gearbox options and in three variants.

Toyota has launched the petrol-powered Innova in India. Prices for the petrol Innova start at Rs 13.72 lakh for the base GX 7-seater manual variant and go upto Rs 19.62 lakh for the top-spec ZX automatic trim. The carmaker had begun taking bookings for the Innova Crysta Petrol a few weeks ago.

Toyota is one of the few mass-market carmakers who have been severely hit by the ongoing diesel ban on vehicles with engine capacities over 2,000 cc in Delhi and NCR. With the petrol Innova Crysta now on sale, Toyota will be able to cater to customers in these regions.

Heres all you need to know about the Toyota Innova Crysta petrol.

The engine powering the India-spec Innova Crysta petrol is a 2.7-litre, four-cylinder unit that delivers 166hp of power and 245nm of torque. The 2.7-litre unit (Codename 2TR-FE) is the same engine that powered the previous-generation Innova petrol in some international markets like the Middle East. However, for the Innova Crysta, the motor has been upgraded with Dual-VVTi and is slightly more powerful compared to the earlier output of 158hp.

Pricing, variant and equipment break-up:



All prices ex-showroom, Delhi

Toyota Innova Crysta petrol GX (Rs 13.72 lakh MT, Rs 14.83 lakh AT)

Gets the option of seven or eight seats

Available with a five-speed manual or six-speed automatic gearbox

16-inch alloy wheels with 205/65R 16 tyres

No touchscreen infotainment system (Four speakers standard)

Three airbags

Basic Multi-Information Display

Toyota Innova Crysta petrol VX (Rs 16.56 lakh MT only)

Will come only as a Seven-seater

Five-speed manual gearbox. No automatic gearbox option

16-inch alloy wheels with 205/65R 16 tyres

Automatic LED projector headlamps

Driver seat height adjust

Touchscreen infotainment with six speakers

Keyless entry and go feature

Auto up-down for all four windows

Front fog lamps

Toyota Innova Crysta petrol Z (Rs 19.62 lakh AT only)

Will come only as a Seven-seater

Will come only as a Seven-seater Six-speed automatic gearbox. No manual transmission on offer

17-inch alloy wheels with 215/55R 17 tyres

Seven airbags

Cruise control

Stability control and hill start assist

Leather seats with driver seat electric adjust

Touchscreen infotainment with navigation

Toyota Innova Crysta petrol complete specifications L/W/H 4735/1830/1795mm Wheel base 2750mm Kerb weight 1720-1790kg Engine 2694cc, 4-cylinder, DOHC, dual VVT-i Power 166hp @5200rpm Torque 245Nm @4000rpm Gearbox 5-speed manual/6-speed automatic Tyres 205/65 R16 / 215/55 R17 Fuel tank capacity 65 litres Suspension (F/R) Double wishbone with torsion bar/ 4-link with coil springs Brakes (F/R) Disc/Drum
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration

NHTSA

In Takatas case, the propellant is the main offender, the element which makes the airbag inflator rupture, then hurl shrapnel in the drivers face at high velocity. That said, lets focus on the problem over which ARC Automotive, the company which describes itself as the leader in propellant and inflator technology, could pay dearly for if proven guilty.According to the Office of Defects Investigation, a preliminary evaluation was opened in July 2015 due to two injury incidents involving a driver airbag inflator rupture. One incident involved a 2002 Chrysler Town & Country that utilized a dual-stage air bag inflator [manufactured by ARC Automotive]. The other involved a 2004 Kia Optima that utilized a single-stage inflator. Both of those defective airbags were made in Knoxville, Tennessee.In July 2016, Transport Canada has reported an incident involving a driver airbag rupture in a 2009 Hyundai Elantra. It was a fatal injury, unfortunately, with the airbag having ruptured in the same manner as the two previous incidents known to ODI. And now, brace yourselves for a plot twist. The ARC Automotive airbag inflator in the Elantra was manufactured in China Given the circumstances, the time is high for the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to upgrade the preliminary evaluation into a full-blown engineering analysis. If proven faulty, then the only thing left to do is to issue a recall and replace those airbag inflators.Thereports that as many as 8 million vehicles sold or leased in the United States of America have been equipped with the faulty airbag inflators from ARC Automotive. Specific models and model years have yet to be disclosed, but the safety watchdogs do mention that affected automakers include GM, Chrysler, Hyundai, and Kia.Before I wrap this up, it is worth highlighting that the airbag inflators made by ARC Automotive are different from those manufactured by Takata. As per the, the airbags are "a hybrid design that fills the air bag by releasing an inert gas mixture stored in the inflator at high pressure. The gas mixture is augmented by an ammonium nitrate based propellant. The pressurized gas mixture and propellant are contained entirely within a hermetically sealed steel housing isolated from external atmospheric conditions.
Weve first heard that the AM-RB 001 hypercar developed by Aston Martin and Red Bull Racing will inspire a mid-engine supercar from Marek Reichman. The chief creative officer at Aston Martin is now backed up by Dr. Andy Palmer, the head honcho of this bunch. He told Motor Trend that the AM-RB 001 is the start of a bloodline, a choice of words which suggest that a mid-engine supercar is in the pipeline. Ferrari should better watch out.Adrian Newey, the F1 engineer and chief technical officer of Red Bull Racing, adds more fuel to the fire: Id be interested [when AM-RB 001 is] done in developing beyond that into something thats slightly more mainstream that could be driven by more people. To my ears and in my mind, a mid-engine supercar from Aston Martin isnt merely a question of if but of when.The cited story also hints that the British manufacturer plans to bring seven models to market in the seven years. The DB11 is the first of those, while the AM-RB 001 is the second. The remaining five are the DBX Concept-inspired crossover , the supercar as mentioned earlier, the next-generation V8/V12 Vantage , the next-generation Vanquish, and not one but two Lagonda-badged sedans. Oh, wait, thats eight models in total, not seven, isnt it?The backbone of this ambitious plan for the future rests on the DBX Concept-inspired crossover. According to Palmer, this model could do the same thing to Aston Martin as the Cayenne did to Porsche. With a projected sales volume of 7,000 units per year, the DBX is a make-or-break bet for the Gaydon-based manufacturer. On that note, heres Palmer again: To me, hybridization is as inevitable as death and taxes, and it makes sense in the SUVs and sedans.If I were a purist, Id start hyperventilating now. Fortunately, Im not one of those guys who can't let go of the past and their tweed jackets.
MPGe

I'm not the biggest Toyota fan in the world, but even I know that the Prius Prime has "WOW" factor with the millions of loyal fans. The fact that this is the Japanse company that pioneered the hybrid segment and has transported millions of people reliably needs to be factored in.Sure, the Chevy Volt has a lot more electric range and so does the Audi A3 e-tron . But that's not the full story, is it? The Volt is rated at 106, while Toyota is waiting on an EPA number in the region of 120 MPGe. So the Prius Prime should be more efficient overall.One thing we do agree with is the fact that the portrait touchscreen is a giant mess. But then so is Cadillac CUE, to the point where some reviewers say nobody should ever buy their car. We're not trying to let Toyota get away with murder, but we are trying to look at the positives.The big one, and I waited a bit to talk about it, is the fact that the Prius Prime looks like a Lexus. It's got those insect eyes, that unique rear glass and a copy of the Tesla screen, even if it's a bad one. So if some people want a shitty Pontiac Aztek just because it's been in Breaking Bad, then they sure as hell will want this Prius.Unfortunately, we can't tell you the price of the Prius Prime, which might have made a great argument for or against it. But it should be around or just under $32,000. There are a lot of worse ways to spend your money and it should hold its value well.
If you dont remember Gogoro , well remind you its a Taiwanese manufacturer that made it onto the market with a cool little electric scooter featuring battery-swapping technology to cut recharging times and offer a viable green inner-city personal transportation solution.The company recently signed a contract with the new Bosch subsidiary, Coup, to provide it with e-scooters for rental in Berlin, Germany. The Coup platform will combine Gogoros design, innovation, performance and connectivity with a custom sharing cloud services that allow customers to benefit from an efficient, sustainable and quiet riding experience.Gogoro is collaborating with the new Coup sharing service because we share the same vision to realize advanced urban mobility in cities, said Horace Luke, co-founder, and CEO of Gogoro. Launching the Gogoro Smartscooter in Berlin as our first expansion market is special because it is a great two-wheel city and is also one of the most sophisticated, progressive and creative cities in the world.Around 200 Smartscooters will be available around Berlin for people to share starting at 3 ($3.32) for 30 minutes or 20 ($22.1) for the whole day via the Coup app. The scooters are speed-limited at 45 km/h (28 mph) and everyone over 21 years old holding a car or motorcycle driving license can ride them.So far, more than 10,000 Gogoro Smartscooters have been sold, and customers have already cumulated nearly 20 million kilometers in their saddle. With 225 GoStation stations deployed, more than 7,000 battery swaps are being registered every day. Overall, 850,000 liters (224,546 gal) of gasoline have been spared, the equivalent of 1,643,000 kg (3,622,195 lb) of CO2 not having been released into the atmosphere.
EV

He must be standing in his office wondering why the hell the researchers from the University of South Carolina and Zehjiang University in China picked a Tesla as their lab rat. Well, he probably knows the answer very well, and that's the flip side of the coin when you're the first to offer a certain type of technology.Well, there's no point in lingering over the motifs these scientists had in choosing a Tesla, but it's much more interesting to note what they've found out. During this year's DEFCON Hacking Conference in Las Vegas, they showed how using a bag of tricks, it is possible to fool the Autopilot system into believing some objects that don't really exist are there, as well as ignoring those that sit right in front of it.Needless to say, this can pose a serious safety threat to anyone using the feature. The Autopilot works with three types of receptors including radar, video cameras, and ultrasonic sensors. While the researchers attacked all three of them, the only real threat to the safety of those inside is the radar, which is used for high-speed cruising. An extensive report published by Wired said that using just two pieces of equipment - one of which did cost $90,000 - the hackers were able to make a cart placed in front of the Tesla "disappear" as far as the car's sensors were concerned.The good news? Well, there are two of them: first, fully-autonomous cars aren't ready to roll out yet, so whatever the hackers did the driver would still be able to control the car manually - which he's supposed to be prepared to do at any given moment. And second, it sounds like the jamming equipment is quite expensive, so somebody would have to want to cause a crash more than buy themselves a new car, so this danger would probably only apply to important, influent targets. Which, no matter how high our megalomania can get sometimes, we're definitely not.The fact that Tesla pays hackers to find flaws in its systems is no secret, but this endeavor wasn't backed by the Californianmaker. However, Tesla did comment on the findings: We appreciate the work Wenyuan and team put into researching potential attacks on sensors used in the Autopilot system. We have reviewed these results with Wenyuans team and have thus far not been able to reproduce any real-world cases that pose risk to Tesla drivers.
As you can see in the image above, Bugatti engineers, who are now completing the final stage of the hypercar's US landing, have a sense of humor we can easily relate to.We're not sure about the part of the country where that image was taken, but we do know the locations where the other two images you have here were snapped. And we'll have to thank Redditors Crtfd and RedditJr for this.We'll start with the 1,500 hp machine that's still covered, which played the Darth Vader role over in Michigan - to be more precise, we're talking about Northville and, given how bumpy the roads can get over there, we can only assume serious suspension tests were being performed.When it comes to the pair of Bugattis that seems to be more extrovert, this was spotted performing high-altitude testing at Pikes Peak. No surprise here, either.Then again, it's not like US-spec Chirons weren't tested on the Old Continent before being sent to America. And there was also the Chiron appearance at Manhattan Motorcars, Bugatti's dealer in New York.As for the debut mentioned in the intro, the Chrion will officially greet the US public at The Quail, a motorsport-themed event set to be held on August 19th. Two days later, the Chiron will join forces with the Bugatti Vision Gran Turismo concept at this year's edition of the Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance.And while we're all here, staring at these Chrirons, we'd like to remind you a Saudi Arabian prince has already acquired both a Chiron and a Vision GT, as Bugatti announced earlier this week, with the royal figure submitting "a convincing bid".
Photo of Buick Regal by IFCAR via Wikimedia Commons.

General Motors is recalling 42,984 2011 model-year Buick Regal sedans equipped with eight-way power adjustable front seats, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reported.

In these cars, the power seat wiring harness may contact the seat frame and cause the wires to chafe. The chafed harness wires, in turn, may cause a short circuit that increases the risk of fire, NHTSA said.

The recall covers vehicles manufactured from Nov. 3, 2009, to March 25, 2011.

Dealers will inspect and secure the wiring harness, and repair any chafed wires. There will be no charge for this service.

Vehicle owners can reach Buick customer service at (800) 521-7300. GMs number for this recall is 30710.
Photo of EPA fuel economy label via Wikimedia.

The average fuel economy of new vehicles sold in July increased 0.1 mpg to 25.4 mpg from June, according to the University of Michigan's Transportation Research Institute (UMTRI).

Fuel economy is down 0.4 mpg from the peak reached in August of 2014, but still up 5.3 mpg since October of 2007, according to UMTRI researchers Michael Sivak and Brandon Schoettle.

The University of Michigan Eco-Driving Index (EDI), which estimates the average monthly emissions of greenhouse gases generated by an individual U.S. driver, reached 0.82 in May, which was down 0.03 from the value for April (the lower the value the better).

This value indicates that the average new-vehicle driver produced 18% lower emissions in May than in October 2007, but 4% higher emissions than the record low reached in August of 2014 and August of 2015.
The mission of awwwards is to create the biggest community of web designers and developers on the Internet, as well as our platform, we also host conferences all over the world in iconic cities, where attendees can see inspiring talks from leading fi
5 August 2016 15:40 (UTC+04:00)

By Rashid Shirinov

After the events around the seizure of a police station by Sasna Tsrer group, another wave of protests raised up in Armenian. Hundreds of ordinary people and opposition members are making anti-governmental statements at rallies and in social networks. However, the government ignore the matter.

The rebels of Sasna Tsrer group in a very short time made a revolution in our public consciousness and achieved an incredible result, leader of the radical opposition initiative Pre-Parliament Garegin Chugaszian told in his recent interview.

The protesters demand from the government to put an end to tortures against political prisoners and to release them, to launch immediately political dialogue and reforms, to form the national transitional government. They also demand the resignation of President Serzh Sargsyan and holding of special election.

Sasna Tsrer is not just a revolutionary movement, it is the requirement and the movement of all Armenian people," said the Member of Armenian Parliament from party Heritage, Zaruhi Postanjyan. Regardless of the fact that Pavlik Manukyan and Araik Handoyan, the symbols of Sasna Tsrer, are wounded and arrested, the fight against the government will continue, she assured. "Armenian society should be ready for the second stage of the uprising."

The deplorable situation in the country was also mentioned by the first Ombudsperson of Armenia Larisa Alaverdyan. The Armenian authorities are doing everything to make society radical. Recent events revealed that the government does not want and is not ready to go to dialogue with society, she noted.

Moreover, protection of human rights in Armenia is at a low level. Our judicial system is unable to protect human rights, lawyer Seda Safaryan noted.

Canadian actress of Armenian origin Arsine Khanjian also raised this problem after she was without-any-reason detained by police during participation in a peaceful demonstration in Yerevan. The actress said then that she witnessed massive violation of human rights in Armenia.

The number of such statements of dissatisfaction among Armenian population is enormous. However, in spite of the demand for resignation of the government, the head of the country decided to dismiss the attorney General and the head of the Investigation Department of Armenian NSS. This was apparently made to calm down the population and as much as possible postpone his own resignation, Armenians believe.

---

Rashid Shirinov is AzerNews staff journalist, follow him on Twitter: @RashidShirinov

Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz
5 August 2016 17:40 (UTC+04:00)

By Nigar Abbasova

Azerbaijan, which has so far done much to improve its tax system, is currently engaged in the further development of the system in an effort to encourage entrepreneurship.

The recent decree of President Ilham Aliyev on the approval of reforms which will be held in the sphere of taxes in 2016 is expected to provide more favorable value-added tax (VAT) rates for the socially vulnerable layers of the population, reduce the tax burden on small and medium-sized business, and resolve problems during taxation of trade operations.

Oqtay Haqverdiyev, an expert, believes that the decision will open new opportunities for entrepreneurs.

He mentioned that the current tax system, which does not correspond to modern requirements, is obsolete.

Implementation of tax reforms is of great significance for the country. The changes will stipulate business doing in the country, particularly small and medium-sized entrepreneurship. They will lead to the creation of favorable business environment and increase the number of entrepreneurs in the country, he said.

Haqverdiyev underlined that the reformation of the tax system is of great importance, taking into consideration the current situation.

Oil prices in the world market are continuing to fall and such developments negatively influence economies. Therefore, it is very important to take practical measures to support sustainable state of economy, he said.

The changes envisage that differentiated VAT rates will be applied in the country, while single VAT rate of 18 percent is currently applied in Azerbaijan. One of other changes implies reducing the tax burden, which is aimed at provision of profitability for taxpayers and further improvement of investment climate in the country. Criteria that clearly differentiate the concept of wholesale and retail trade will also be defined, in accordance with the changes.

Special attention is attributed to the taxation during trade operations. A source in the countrys government recently told Trend that retail trade networks had some problems related to taxation, mentioning that the new amendments envisage calculation of the value-added tax on the basis of trade relations, while currently the value-added tax in the retail trade sphere is calculated on the basis of annual turnover.

Current trends in the economy, reduction of oil price on world markets and double devaluation that hit the national currency (the manat), negatively influenced the oil exporting country.

Thus, to ensure more transfers from non-oil sector, stimulate the economy and attract more investment to the country, the Azerbaijani government announced its intention to cut several taxes, examine reform options and in some cases cease the imposition of taxes to support entrepreneurs and introduce new privileges for them.

The country has taken certain measures to improve its tax system, including cancellation of all types of inspections (with certain exceptions) of entrepreneurial activities for a period of two years. Simplification of the licensing procedures has allowed the companies and entrepreneurs to get licenses in a simple way, which in its turn positively affected business environment.

With the approval of amendments proposed to the Tax Code, businessmen in Azerbaijan became eligible to get a document of the investment incentives. Under this document, half of the revenue of an individual entrepreneur, profits of legal entity are exempted from income tax for seven years.

The current decree of the president is considered to be a continuation of these reforms.

--

Nigar Abbasova is AzerNews staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @nigyar_abbasova

Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz
5 August 2016 20:37 (UTC+04:00)

Azerbaijan Export and Investment Promotion Foundation (AZPROMO) and the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade (CCPIT) have signed a memorandum of understanding to develop economic, trade and investment relations, and exchange experience in promoting export and foreign investment, Azertac reported.

During the signing ceremony representatives of AZPROMO and CCPIT also discussed prospects for expanding cooperation between Azerbaijani and Chinese businessmen in trade, investment, economic and technical fields.

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Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz
5 August 2016 21:25 (UTC+04:00)

By Laman Ismayilova

The 8th International Music Festival being held in the countrys Gabala region continues to entertain music enthusiasts with beautiful sounds of national and foreign musicians.

The Azerbaijani people have very beautiful music and great composers, participant of the 8th Gabala International Music Festival, chair of the jury panel of the 4th International Piano Competition, world-renowned pianist Oksana Yablonskaya has told Azertag.

She hailed excellent organization of the Gabala festival. Music lovers show great interest in this festival. My performance together with Ukrainian Kyiv virtuosi chamber orchestra was given a standing ovation from the audience.

An honorary academician of the UN International Art Academy and US Julianne Music Academy professor, Yablonskaya also shared her impressions about the piano competition. I`m very happy that we have so many young talents at this contest. They show off their skills together with celebrated pianists. And this is very important, she added.

The traditional Gabala festival started on July 30 will last until August 5, featuring many prominent musicians, art ensembles, soloists and conductors from Azerbaijan, Russia, Turkey, Ukraine, the U.S., Italy, France, Spain, Israel, Lithuania and Cuba.

The grandiose festival will be finalized with the concert of "Kyiv virtuosos" orchestra.

Launched by Heydar Aliyev Foundation in 2009, Gabala International Music Festival is an annual open-air festival of classical music, as well as jazz and mugham. The festival is held on the initiative of the Heydar Aliyev Foundation with the support of Culture and Tourism Ministry and Executive Power of Gabala region. Musicians performances take place under the open sky and in chamber concert halls of Gabala.

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Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz
5 August 2016 10:40 (UTC+04:00)

By Trend

Member of Irish Chess Federation delegation Kevin OConnell has been removed from the list of undesirable persons of Azerbaijans Foreign Ministry.

Kevin OConnell, sending a letter to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, reaffirmed his full respect to the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Azerbaijan within its internationally recognized borders, inter alia, the laws and regulations of Azerbaijan, said the website of Azerbaijans Foreign Ministry.

He stressed that his visit to Azerbaijani territories occupied by Armenia was not intentional and he was unaware about the consequences of this visit.

Kevin OConnell expressed his apology to the government and people of Azerbaijan for an illegal visit to the occupied territories of Azerbaijan and attested that he will refrain from such visits to the occupied territories of Azerbaijan in the future.



Against the background of aforementioned, he asked from the relevant authorities of Azerbaijan to give an authorization for his visit to the country to participate in the 42nd World Chess Olympiad and the 87th FIDE Congress to be held in Baku from August 20 till September 20.

Kevin OConnell's appeal was properly considered and the decision was made to issue a visa for his visit to Azerbaijan.

The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988 when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. As a result of the ensuing war, in 1992 Armenian armed forces occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan, including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and seven surrounding districts.

The 1994 ceasefire agreement was followed by peace negotiations. Armenia has not yet implemented four UN Security Council resolutions on withdrawal of its armed forces from the Nagorno-Karabakh and the surrounding districts.

---

Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz
5 August 2016 10:04 (UTC+04:00)

A new print edition of the AZERNEWS online newspaper was released on August, 5

The new edition includes articles about: Erdogan praises strategic, partnership relations between Azerbaijan, Turkey; Import of mobile phones to Azerbaijan may be restricted; Construction of BTKs Georgian section accelerated; Incredible sounds of music in Gabala Festival, etc.

AZERNEWS is an associate member of the World Association of Newspapers and News Publishers (WAN-IFRA).

The online newspaper is available at www.azernews.az.
5 August 2016 18:18 (UTC+04:00)

By Gunay Hasanova

Due to unfounded claims of Armenia about 'Armenian genocide' and the country's claims on the lands of neighboring Turkey and Azerbaijan, Ankara declared that it has no intentions on opening the border with Armenia. Apparently, recent statements of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on normalization of relations with neighboring countries do not apply to the case with Armenia.

Commenting on the issue of opening borders with Armenia, Turkish Ambassador Ismail Alper Coskun said that Turkey doesn't intend to open the borders with Armenia.

The reasons why Turkey closed its border with Armenia and after what it can open the border are obvious, he stressed. "Turkey as in the past favors peace and stability in the region since it is in the interests of all countries in the region, including Turkey itself."

The diplomatic relations between Armenia and Turkey severed in 1993, when Turkey announced on closing its borders with Armenia due to Yerevan's claims over Armenia's illegal "genocide" claims and occupation of Azerbaijani lands.

Turkey takes an active part in the efforts of OSCE Minsk Group, which seeks a peaceful solution to Nagorno-Karabakh conflict which emerged upon Armenia's territorial claims to neighboring Azerbaijan. Armenian keeps under control over 20 percent of Azerbaijan's internationally recognized territory and ignores four UN Security Council resolution on immediate withdrawal of Armenian armed forces from the occupied lands.

Political, military, social and economic relations are at the high level between the two friendly and brotherly countries, which are bounded with the principle of one nation, two states.

Turkey and Azerbaijan are in are in close cooperation in the areas of energy and transport as well. The two countries have conducted massive regional projects of strategic importance, such as the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan oil pipeline, Baku-Tbilisi-Erzurum gas pipeline and Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway project. The cooperation between two countries are expected to enhance further after the commissioning the Trans-Anatolian Natural sas pipeline (TANAP).

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Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz
5 August 2016 17:14 (UTC+04:00)

By Nigar Abbasova

Municipalities of Azerbaijan have created an initiative group for the agitation in connection with the constitutional referendum, scheduled for September 26.

The decision was taken during a meeting held with the participation of 348 representatives of municipalities functioning in different regions of the country. Participants of the meeting highly appreciated the proposed amendments to the constitution, mentioning that the last changes and additions to the constitution of the country were made on March 18, 2009. The initiative group that was created during the meeting was called Belediyye (Municipality). A notice on creation of the Belediyye initiative group was submitted to the Central Election Commitee for registration.

Participants have underlined the necessity of making changes, noting that the county has dynamically developed in the recent years and the changes that occurred in the socio-political, economic and cultural spheres of the country necessitated the changes.

Meanwhile, Central Election Commission of Azerbaijan has already approved the schedule of its principal activity for the conduct of nationwide voting (referendum). The Commission also plans to prepare and distribute special brochures among all participants of the referendum to enable them to get acquainted with the draft referendum act.

President Ilham Aliyev has signed a decree on holding a referendum on amendments to the countrys constitution on September 26, 2016. The Constitutional Court of Azerbaijan approved the draft amendments to the Constitution at its meeting on July 25. The Court concluded that the changes proposed by President Ilham Aliyev are in line with the requirements of the Constitution of Azerbaijan and may be put up for a nationwide vote. The results of the Referendum will be announced till October, 21

--

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5 August 2016 21:58 (UTC+04:00)

By Amina Nazarli

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani is to leave Tehran for Baku on August 7 to attend trilateral talks with Azerbaijani and Russian counterparts, Ilham Aliyev and Vladimir Putin.

Rouhani is expected to discuss the expansion of trilateral cooperation in commerce, energy, telecommunications, environment, fighting against terrorism and transportation, IRNA news agency reported.



On the sidelines of the meeting, Rouhani will also hold bilateral meeting with Vladimir Putin to discuss expansion of cooperation in areas of mutual interest.

The sides will discuss military-technical cooperation. The future perspectives of North-South Transport Corridor, primarily involving moving freight from India, Iran, Azerbaijan and Russia via ship, rail and road, will also be on agenda in the meeting.

Rouhani is also scheduled to have a meeting with President Aliyev to follow up implementation of already reached agreements in commerce, industry, energy, culture, banking, consular facilities and telecommunications, mainly railway transportation.

The Russian, Azerbaijani and Iranian presidents are expected to discuss the relevant issues of the international and regional politics, as well as the prospects for establishing practical cooperation, especially, in the spheres of energy and transportation,

During the visit, some joint venture projects on industrial units are expected to be implemented.

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5 August 2016 22:00 (UTC+04:00)

By Rashid Shirinov

Russian airline Komiaviatrans from Komi launches new flights from Nizhny Novgorod and Samara to Baku from August 25.

Flights to Azerbaijan will be implemented by aircraft Embraer-145. Every Thursday planes will fly from Samara and Nizhny Novgorod to Baku, while return flights will be carried out on Fridays, Trend reported.

Komiaviatrans is a regional Russian airline established in 1998 on the basis of the State aviation enterprise Komiavia. The airline has seven private airports, namely Syktyvkar international airport, airports of Vorkuta, Ukhta, Usinsk, Pechora, Ust-Tsilma and Inta.

The aircraft fleet of the Komaviatrans includes 32 Mi-8 and 33 Mi-2 helicopters, four L-410 aircraft and five Embraer ERJ-145.

In the past few days, several Russian air carriers have received permission to perform flights to Baku from such Russian cities as Nizhny Novgorod, Samara, Kaluga and Rostov-on-Don. Flights for the latter will be implemented by Pobeda low-cost carrier. This is expected to even more enhance the bilateral passenger traffic between the two countries.

Two other airlines received permission to operate flights from Zhukovsky to the Azerbaijani city of Ganja several times a week. Moreover, Russian company Ural Airlines opened a new flight Gabala-Moscow-Gabala from July 31, which will be operated every Sunday from now.

Over the past year, Azerbaijan received over 2 million tourists, 685,000 of whom were guests from Russia. Taking into account all mentioned above, this figure is expected to rise by the end of 2016.

---

Rashid Shirinov is AzerNews staff journalist, follow him on Twitter: @RashidShirinov

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5 August 2016 19:55 (UTC+04:00)

By Nigar Abbasova

Turkish Stream gas pipeline is not an alternative to the Trans Anatolian Natural Gas Pipeline (TANAP), said Director General of Turkish Angoragaz gas company Gokhan Yardim talking to Anadolu Agency.

He also said that the Turkish Stream doesnt prevent Ankara to implement other energy projects, underlining that the possibility that some European countries may oppose the implementation of the Turkish Stream is not ruled out.

Meanwhile, Vladimir Putin and Recep Tayyip Erdogan will discuss a number of important economic and political issues, including the implementation of the Turkish Stream project during the meeting in St. Petersburg, scheduled for August 9.

Turkish Stream project came under threat in late 2015 due to sharp deterioration of relations between Moscow and Ankara. The relations between the two countries are currently in the process of mending.

TANAP project, worth $9.2 billion, envisages transportation of gas of Azerbaijans Shah Deniz field from Georgian-Turkish border to the western borders of Turkey. The gas will be delivered to Turkey in 2018, and after completion of the Trans Adriatic Pipelines (TAP) construction, the gas will be delivered to Europe in early 2020.

Earlier, Turkey's Prime Minister Binali Yildirim said that the TANAP project is an important and strategic project not only for Turkey, but for the whole region.

TANAP shareholders are Azerbaijans state oil company SOCAR (58 percent), BOTAS (30 percent), and BP (12 percent). Vagif Aliyev, head of investments division at SOCAR recently said that some $2.091 billion have been invested in the project as of May 2016.

--

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5 August 2016 22:10 (UTC+04:00)

By Nigar Abbasova

New assistant general manager for procurement has been appointed at Turkeys Petkim petrochemical complex, said the message from the company.

Bilal Guliyev was appointed to this post in accordance with the decision of the companys Board of Directors. The previous assistant general manager for procurement at Petkim petrochemical holding Natig Damirov resigned July 29.

Azerbaijan state energy giant SOCAR began its activity in Turkey after privatization of Petkim Holding in 2008 and has been operating under brand name of SOCAR Turkey. The company was acquired by SOCAR as a result of a tender of privatization.

Following the recent developments in Turkey, the government of the country has started inspections in a number of companies operating in the country, including Petkim. Nevertheless, Turkeys Energy Minister Berat Albayrak recently said that inspections are not related to the activities of SOCAR in the country.

Earlier, Vagif Aliyev, head of the board of directors of Petkim said that 27 people have been dismissed from various departments at Petkim petrochemical holding (SOCARs Turkish asset) since July 27.

Moreover, former director general of Petkim petrochemical holding Sadeddin Korkut resigned and was later arrested on charges of being involved in Fethullah Gulens movement. Anar Mammadov, who is also head of SOCAR Greece (SOCARs Greek subsidiary has been recently appointed a new director general of the complex.

Earlier, some officials of SOCAR Turkey Energy (Turkish subsidiary of SOCAR) resigned.

The shareholders are SOCAR Turkey Petrokimya A.S. - 51 percent, SOCAR Turkey Enerji A.S. - 5.3216 percent, while 43.6784 percent of shares are in free float on the stock exchange. The complex is engaged in the in the production of plastic packages, fabrics, detergents, and is considered to be the sole Turkish manufacturer of such products, a quarter of which is exported.

--

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5 August 2016 16:27 (UTC+04:00)

By Gunay Hasanova

The European Commission called on not to close doors of the European Union to Turkey, which striving for the EU membership for many years.

Any measures taken by the EU aiming to rupture the relations with Turkey would be a big mistake, said the European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker on Friday, Anadolu Agency reported.

At the same time the EU urges Ankara to soften acting law on the fight against terrorism, the head of the European Commission said.

The EU, as in the past, condemns mass arrests in Turkey, he added.

Earlier, it was reported that the European Union strongly condemned the arrest of the generals and officials of state structures started in Turkey after the military coup.

Previously, the Secretary of General of the Council of Europe Thorbjorn Jagland visited Turkey.

One of the key topics discussed in the meeting was cleansing of Turkey from Gulen supporters, who was involved in failed coup attempt in Turkey on July 16.

Earlier, Turkish authorities said that cleansing in the state structures of the country will continue.

Turkey has along waited for its EU membership, while each application to accede to the European Union was frustrating for the government. Turkey, holding a status of an associate member at the Economic Community -- the predecessor of the EU since 1963 -- made an official application for entry on April 14, 1987.

On July 15 evening, Turkish authorities said a military coup attempt took place in the country. Meanwhile, a group of servicemen announced about transition of power to them.

However, the rebelling servicemen started to surrender July 16 and Turkish authorities said the coup attempt failed. Turkeys President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that the death toll as a result of the military coup attempt stood at 246 people excluding the coup plotters and over 2,000 people were wounded.

Erdogan declared a three-month state of emergency in Turkey on July 20.

---

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5 August 2016 19:16 (UTC+04:00)

By Gunay Hasanova

Russia and Turkey are closing the crisis chapter to restore their cracked relations after the incident of downed Russian aircraft.

Turkey pays special attention to Russian holidaymakers' security and it take all the essential measure in that sphere, Ibrahim Kalin, a spokesman for Turkish President Tayyip Recep Erdogan said on Thursday in an exclusive interview with TASS.

"There are no problems from the point of view of security," he said. "Its important for us to make sure that tourists and other visitors from Russia feel secure in Turkey."

"In addition, we have the relationship that strengthened over years. Many Russian citizens view Turkey as a second home and come here every year to spend vacations," he said.

In turn, Moscow is lifting travel restrictions on Russian tourists visiting Turkey after a period of diplomatic tension with plans to resume "mutually advantageous" trade relations.

The Russian authorities subsequent steps included a ban on chartered flights between Russia and Turkey and the sales of tours in the wake of a rise of the threat of terrorist acts there.

"Turks and Russians have centuries-old friendly relations. Unfortunately, a short-term turbulence in bilateral relations depressed the size of incoming Russian tourists but after the two countries leaders made certain steps, the incoming tourism from Russia reopened again," Kalin said.

He underlined the hopes the overall number of Russian tourists would return to last Novembers figures in the short-term and would grow further in the future.

Commenting on normalizing cracked relations with Turkey, Putin said that he wants to start with the question of tourism.

"We are lifting the administrative restrictions in this area," Putin told the ministers earlier.

Russian tourists travelling Turkey last month was down by more than 90 percent year on year, according to figures by Turkey's Ministry of Culture and Tourism.

Overall tourism in Turkey was down about 35 percent last month compared with the same period of last year, the ministry said.

Previously, Russia and Turkey held consultations regarding the visa-free regime with Turkey at the level of Foreign Ministries.

The crisis in relations between the two countries began after the incident with the downed Russian plane. After the incident, the Russian president signed a decree on measures to ensure national security and launch special economic measures against Turkey.

On June 29 the presidents of Russia and Turkey held a telephone conversation. The heads of two states agreed to work out the possibility of holding near-term personal meeting.

The two leaders talks last at the summit of "Big Twenty" in Antalya last fall.

The relations began to recover after President Recep Tayyip Erdogan sent a letter to his Russian counterpart, where he expressed condolences to the family of the deceased pilot of SU-24 and regret over the incident with the Russian aircraft.

In turn, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Arkady Dvorkovich at the meeting with Turkish Deputy PM Simsek said that apologies of the Turkish side served as a basis for the restoration of relations between Russia and Turkey.

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5 August 2016 16:57 (UTC+04:00)

By Gunay Hasanova

The United States are evaluating new documents sent by Turkey to push for the extradition of U.S.-based Islamic scholar Fethullah Gulen, the alleged mastermind of the country's recent failed coup attempt, a State Department spokesman said on August 4, Hurriyet Daily News reported

"The Turkish authorities made several deliveries of documents to U.S. and we are in the process of going through those documents," spokesman Mark Toner told a daily news briefing.

Toner said the first batch "did not, we believe, constitute a formal extradition request."

"We subsequently received more documents. We're looking through them ... and I don't think they have reached that determination yet, he added.

The U.S. Justice Department is the main agency poring over the documents to see whether they amount to a formal extradition request for Gulen, who has lived in self-imposed exile in Pennsylvania since 1999.

Turkish officials, including Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu, have warned that ties with the United States will be affected if it fails to extradite Gulen.

Previously, Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim said that "Turkey is disappointed by the lack of support from the Obama administration regarding the issue of extradition of Gulen.

The President's Administration of Turkey also noted that the extradition of Gulen would strongly weaken the terrorist organization, which is hostile to the interests of the Turkish people.

The NATO member plays an important role in the U.S-led fight against Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL). However, Washington has said Ankara must provide clear evidence of Gulen's involvement in the failed military coup attempt before any extradition process can move forward.

Gulen has denied plotting against Turkey and has condemned the coup attempt, calling on U.S. authorities not to extradite him to Turkey.

Toner said the United States had offered to help Turkey with investigating the coup attempt. He did not say whether Turkey had responded to the offer.

On July 15 evening, Turkish authorities said a military coup attempt took place in the country. Meanwhile, a group of servicemen announced about transition of power to them.

However, the rebelling servicemen started to surrender July 16 and Turkish authorities said the coup attempt failed.

Turkeys President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that the death toll as a result of the military coup attempt stood at 246 people excluding the coup plotters and over 2,000 people were wounded.

Erdogan declared a three-month state of emergency in Turkey on July 20.

---

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5 August 2016 18:30 (UTC+04:00)

By Rashid Shirinov

The EU is unwilling to delve into essence of Turkeys fight against the movement of Fethullah Gulen, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said in his interview to TGRT TV channel.

He said that Turkey tries in every possible way to explain the danger of Gulen movement to the country, but in vain. The EU believes it can criticize Turkey and perceives Ankaras all replies as an ultimatum, Cavusoglu noted.

Cavusoglu stressed that it is necessary to cleanse the Foreign Ministry from Gulen supporters. Earlier, the foreign minister said one of the diplomats, an employee of Turkish consulate in Kazan, Russia, fled to Japan.

More than 300 people have been dismissed from Turkeys Foreign Ministry as part of the fight against the movement of Fethullah Gulen, who is accused of organizing the military coup attempt in the country.

Istanbul court adopted a decision on August 4 to arrest Fethullah Gulen.

Moreover, as a part of the operation against the Gulen movement , 139 employees of Turkeys Scientific and Technological Research Council (TUBITAK) have been dismissed, Anadolu Agency reported on August 5. The operation was held on August 3 at TUBITAK. Additionally, 28 employees of the Council have resigned from the positions.

On July 15 evening, Turkish authorities said a military coup attempt took place in the country. Meanwhile, a group of servicemen announced about transition of power to them.

However, the rebelling servicemen started to surrender July 16 and Turkish authorities said the coup attempt failed. Turkeys President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that the death toll as a result of the military coup attempt stood at 246 people excluding the coup plotters and over 2,000 people were wounded.

Erdogan declared a three-month state of emergency in Turkey on July 20.

---

Rashid Shirinov is AzerNews staff journalist, follow him on Twitter: @RashidShirinov

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5 August 2016 21:37 (UTC+04:00)

By Rashid Shirinov

Normalization of relations between Russia and Turkey is important for the entire region, said President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in his interview to TRT Haber.

The two countries had experienced an unpleasant incident with a military plane of November 24, 2015, and its negative taste has remained during the following eight months.

We have sent a letter to Russia and stated that it is necessary to stop it, Erdogan said. He noted that Turkey expressed regret on the incident, and Russia reacted positively.

Earlier it was reported that Turkish President will visit Russia on August 9 in order to meet with President Vladimir Putin. The administration of the Turkish President announced that the presidents will discuss a number of important economic and political issues, including the fight against terrorism in Syria.

Additionally, they will discuss joint energy projects in Russia and Turkey, including Turkish Stream gas pipeline and the construction of nuclear power plant Akkuyu.

The sides will discuss ways of further development of relations between Ankara and Moscow, the administration of the President of Turkey noted.

Earlier, the Ministry of Energy and Natural Resources of Turkey said that Ankara can unfreeze the project of Turkish Stream gas pipeline. Currently, the question is under consideration, and the exact timing of the defrost of the project is still unknown.

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu also spoke on Turkish-Russian relations. Normalization of Turkey-Russia relations will have a positive impact on the settlement of a number of problems in the region, he said in an interview with TGRT TV channel.

Cavusoglu also added that Turkey and Russia will restore all mechanisms for settlement of the Syrian crisis. Although there can be disagreements between the two countries on the Syrian crisis settlement, it doesnt prevent them from discussions.

---

Rashid Shirinov is AzerNews staff journalist, follow him on Twitter: @RashidShirinov

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5 August 2016 19:30 (UTC+04:00)

By Amina Nazarli

Russian President Vladimir Putin and Turkish President Tayip Erdogan will meet on August 9 in Saint Petersburg, Russia to start a new era in Turkey-Russia ties, following months of tension due to the shooting down of a Russian warplane by the Turkish Air Forces in November.

Following Erdogans letter to Putin in late June to express his deep sorrow over the downing of the Russian jet and the killing of one Russian pilot, Putin informed the Cabinet on June 29 to begin the process of normalization of relations with Ankara.

Turkish ambassador to Russia Umit Yardim said that presidents of Russia and Turkey will outline roadmap for the development of relations between the two countries in the upcoming meeting. Leaders will discuss the full range of available issues. First, the negotiations will be held face-to-face, and then between the delegations, he told RIA Novosti.

The ambassador called the meeting historic. "I can quite confidently say that this is a historic meeting We have for almost a month to prepare for it," he said, adding that Russian-Turkish relations in a global context are particularly important, and they will be continued.

Our position is that both Russia and Turkey have a special status and no matter what the conditions are on global agenda, it is a special situation and the importance of our countries must be maintained. Of course, even in the face of political rollback, Turkey is a special country for Russia, as well as Russia for Turkey, Yardim stressed.

Moscow and Turkey are also holding negotiations on simplification of visa regime.

Negotiations on facilitation of visa regime are underway. It's not even the negotiations, but contacts and exchange of views. We have not yet designated any specific date, but we express our position, our desires, and our expectations, he said. We would be very pleased of any progress in this regard. Our position is that the Turkish citizens should learn more about Russia, whereas Russian get better acquainted with Turkey.

Another theme for discussion between the two presidents will be Turkish stream pipeline project, the ambassador emphasized, noting that the meeting could give impetus to the implementation of this and other projects in the energy sector.

The diplomat recalled that Turkish Stream as a project emerged during a visit of Russian President Vladimir Putin to Turkey last year.

In December 2014 Russia announced the rejection of the "South Stream", [which should pass through Bulgaria, Serbia and Hungary], in favor of a new Turkish Stream gas pipeline due to the unconstructive position of EU. However, this project was frozen on the background of the cooling of political relations between Moscow and Ankara.

"The project is of interest not only for two countries but also third countries and other markets. The project is at an initial stage and all the aspects and details are under discussions. At the moment, the parties have not started formal part as signing of any documents. I do not know the context of discussion of the Turkish stream on August 9, but energy issues and these projects will be discussed for sure, he said.

The ambassador also expressed his confidence that the meeting of the Russian and Turkish presidents "will give an additional impetus not only to Turkish Stream project, but all areas of the two states cooperation".

Umit Yardim also noted that Ankara is interested in the construction of Akkuyu nuclear power plant (NPP) and is firm in its implementation.

"The energy sphere is one of the most important for our countries, this applies to both the supply of Russian natural gas and oil, he said.

The intergovernmental agreement between Russia and Turkey on cooperation in the fields of construction and operation of the country's first NPP Akkuyu near the city of Mersin in southern Turkey was signed in 2010.

He confirmed that the implementation of Akkuyu NPP and Turkish Stream are of great importance for Turkey.

"With specific regard to the Akkuyu project, we are very happy to implement it and relevant work is underway. Development of nuclear energy has an important perspective for Turkey's energy policy, and we continue to move decisively towards the realization of this project, he noted.

--

Amina Nazarli is AzerNews staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @amina_nazarli



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Free-from bakery, Genius has expanded its bread range by bringing out the first gluten-free toastie loaf  Genius Toastie.

The exclusive product, priced at 2.90 and at 500g, has been launched into Tesco stores in the UK from the end of July.

The Genius Toastie loaf has no artificial preservatives and is also free from wheat and milk. It is designed to offer an alternative to the mainstream white bread loaf.

Dave Shaw, commercial director of Genius, commented: Genius Toastie takes another step towards bringing gluten-free products in line with those available in mainstream bakery.

He added: Genius continues to grow at a faster rate than the free-from market, as we expand our portfolio with delicious new gluten-free products to meet multiple requirements and meal occasions.

The launch will strengthen Genius white bread gluten-free range, which makes up almost a third of all gluten-free bread sales in the UK (source: IRI Worldwide MAT to 18 June 2016).

Genius was set up by Lucinda Bruce-Gardyne in 2009 and produces Genius White & Brown 400g loaves for UK supermarkets.

In July, Genius Gluten Free scooped the Ones to Watch award at the 19th annual Sunday Times Virgin Fast Track 100 awards.
Essex-based ADM Milling appears to have smashed the world record for the fastest time to turn wheat into 13 loaves of bread.

A seven-strong field to loaf team successfully completed the challenge in 12 minutes 42.32 seconds  beating the previous record of 16 minutes and 30.83 seconds.

The result is now pending authentication from the Guinness World Records.

British Bakers sales manager Sam White, who witnessed the event held in a field at Codhamhall in Brentwood, Essex this week, said: The team only had two attempts at the record. The first one failed as they did not mill enough flour to produce 13 loaves, which had to be edible, so everyone was on tenterhooks the second time around.

We were delighted when they beat the record. A huge cheer went up.

The event, attended by 50 baking industry representatives, was held in aid of Great Ormond Street Hospital.

ADM partnered with the London hospitals childrens charity earlier this year and aims to raise100,000 to fund an enclosed isolation recovery bay in the hospitals new post-anaesthetic care unit, due to open in 2017.

VIDEO LINK: British Bakers Sam combines business with pleasure at ADMs world record field-to-loaf challenge
A former Clearwater Fire and Rescue assistant fire chief who plead no contest on Monday to a retail theft charge has been charged with shoplifting twice before, according to court records.

Robert Gemsheim, 52, ticketed for shoplifting on February 22

Gemsheim resigned his post one week later

Gemsheim previously ticketed for shoplifting in 2007 and 2010

Gemsheim was dressed in his uniform February 22 when Clearwater Police said he was caught on surveillance video stealing a $3 energy drink from the 7-Eleven located at 657 Court St. Gemsheim was issued a ticket for retail theft.



Exactly one week later, Gemsheim resigned his position with Clearwater Fire and Rescue, where his annual salary was $85,000.



According to court records, a judge accepted Gemsheims no contest plea and adjudicated him guilty. The judge also ordered Gemsheim to six months of probation, 100 hours of community service and he must pay a $500 fine.



The 7-Eleven store manager, Thomas Bryan, told investigators that when he asked Gemsheim why would he steal an energy drink, the assistant fire chief replied that he gave money to a relative who was arrested for drugs, and he was going through a tough time with a divorce.



This incident marks the third time Gemsheim used divorce as an excuse when accused of shoplifting.



According to a Spotsylvania Sheriffs Office report, Gemsheim was caught on surveillance video walking out of a Virginia department store with a $90 iPod dock without paying for the item back on May 27, 2007. Gemsheim initially denied stealing the iPod dock, but later said he just bought a house, was going through a divorce, didnt have any money and just wanted one for a long time.



At the time, Gemsheim was issued a ticket for misdemeanor shoplifting.



Three years later, on May 28, 2010, Gemsheim was accused of stealing $181 worth of groceries from a Virginia store, according to a Spotsylvania Sheriffs Office report. Gemsheim told a deputy he needed an expensive dental procedure, was going through a divorce and thought he could save money by walking out with the groceries.



The report goes on to say Gemsheim said he was employed as a firefighter, was very sorry and would never steal again. He was issued another ticket for shoplifting following the incident, and he subsequently came to an agreement with the Commonwealth Attorneys Office



Clearwater Fire and Rescue hired Gemsheim two years later as the assistant chief of health and safety. Gemsheims attorney, Ricardo Rivera, did not immediately respond to a request for an interview.



Gemsheim was given the 2016 Public Safety and Service Award less than three weeks before he was ticketed for shoplifting at 7-Eleven.
There's a new school in Hillsborough County.

Cristo Rey Tampa High School will officially open its doors Monday. The Catholic college preparatory school is the first of its kind in Florida.

Doors open Monday at Cristo Rey

Students will participate in work-study programs

About 100 freshmen will be part of first class



Each student will participate in a work-study program, once a week, to off-set tuition costs and learn about future careers.

The students enrolled at Cristo Rey come from families who otherwise would not be able to afford the private school tuition.

"I want to better my future, and this school is giving me the opportunity to do that," said 14-year-old Joseph Alesandrini of Seminole Heights. "I'm getting experience that other kids can not get at this age."

Dean of Student Growth Cristo Rey said, "This has to be, in my opinion, the single most effective way to change the community environment right now. What's happening in our community is a lack of economic resources and workforce, and these kids are going to get it all."

Friday morning, each teen learned which company they would work for during the school year as part of the work-study program.

Aaron Mammah, 14, of Pasco County was excited to get the chance to work at Coca-Cola.

"It was one of my top three choices, so it felt good," Mammah said. "It felt great knowing that a company wants to invest their time. It really means a lot."

About 100 freshmen will be part of this year's inaugural class.

Cristo Rey Tampa High is part of a national network of 32 schools. The concept started in Chicago in 1996.


A former Baptist pastor in Sulphur Springs has been sent to federal prison after his conviction on child pornography charges.

Chad Calhoun, 33, was sentenced Wednesday to 11 years and three months, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office in Tyler. He must also serve 10 years of supervised release and must register as a sex offender.
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The West Orange-Cove school district plans to appeal the projected 2016 district and school accountability ratings when the Texas Education Agency releases the data later in August.

A coding error on the cover pages for the tests and incomplete test data could be the source for a successful appeal.

"Like many other school districts, West Orange-Cove has been impacted by problems associated with the administration of standardized testing in the state of Texas," said school district communications director Lorraine Shannon.

In a statement, the school district said Friday the results are not based on complete information.

"The possible 'improvement required' rating we anticipate will not accurately represent the hard work of our students, staff and our district. We will begin the appeals process as soon as the window opens Aug. 12," said Superintendent Rickie Harris.

West Orange-Cove reviewed preliminary STAAR results and utilized a third-party vendor to analyze the scores and predict ratings, according to Director of Communications Lorraine Shannon.

Those results reflect incomplete test data assigned to West Orange-Stark High School. The anticipated TEA rating is currently based upon 336 End-of-Course assessments. School district records show more than twice an amount of assessments were administered during the spring End-of-Course assessment window.

Also, West Orange-Stark Middle School accountability information also may be incomplete.

The district is in contact with TEA and the Educational Testing Service about the ratings.

The district notified TEA's Performance Reporting Division and Educational Testing Service immediately on learning of the discrepancies.

The high school problem traced to an Educational Testing Service school coding error on the cover page of West Orange-Stark High School tests. The cover page code assigned the test documents to West Orange-Stark Middle School instead of West Orange-Stark High School.

School staff didn't identify the cover page coding error in time to submit corrected information.

Ratings will be released Aug. 15. The window to appeal a TEA rating is Aug. 12 through Sept. 30.

Ratings could by modified by December if the appeal succeeds.
A formation of stones unearthed in Alamo Plaza may be part of a 1700s construction associated with the main gate of the Mission San Antonio Valero and 1836 battle compound.

We have uncovered something that we are tentatively identifying as an architectural feature. Weve got stone that has been placed in what appears to be a trench that would have been excavated, possibly as a footer for a Spanish colonial structure, lead investigator Nesta Anderson told reporters Thursday morning.
A Laredo police officer was arrested and charged with four counts of indecency with a child last weekend after the mother of a teen told authorities the officer touched her daughter inappropriately.

RELATED: Ex-NEISD coach gets probation in indecency with a child case

Victor Rodriguez, a 14-year veteran of the Laredo Police Department, was taken into custody on last Friday by a fellow LPD officer around 12 a.m. in the 2900 block of Fishers Hill in Laredo, according to online jail records.

Rodriguez was charged after a mother told police the officer touched her teenage daughter inappropriately last May and an investigation was launched, KGNS reported.

RELATED: Reports: 78-year-old man offered teen $5 for oral sex in Texas park bathroom

Rodriguez's attorney, Abundio Rene Cantu, released a statement on behalf of the officer that said he passed a polygraph test concerning the allegations and "submitted evidence to the

detectives of the Laredo Police Department explaining the 'motivation' for making these false

allegations," but did not elaborate on what the motivations were.

According to KGNS, Rodriguez was put on administrative duty as an investigation is conducted.

Cantu said he believes Rodriguez will be found innocent of the charges brought against him.

RELATED: Sex offender who asked state to castrate him after molesting kids released from jail in San Antonio

The Laredo Police Department said the report related to Rodriguez's case was not ready and that it would be a while before the details of the incidents would be released.

Calls to Rodriguez's attorney were not immediately returned Thursday morning.

MMedina@mySA.com

Twitter: @MariahMedinaaa
Fred Capozello, CEO of Valley View Medical Center in Fort Mohave, Ariz., has decided to step down from his position.

"We appreciate Fred's service and leadership for the past two years and wish him the best in future endeavors," a statement from the hospital reads.

Mr. Capozello was named interim CEO in August 2014 after serving as the hospital's CFO for about seven months, according to the Mohave Valley Daily News. He became the permanent CEO later that year.

Prior to joining Valley View, he was vice president of finance operations at Scripps Mercy Hospital in San Diego. Mr. Capozello also previously served as COO and CFO of Tulare (Calif.) Regional Medical Center.

Valley View said it has identified a strong candidate to replace Mr. Capozello.

More articles on executive moves:

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Verity Health System names new COO: 3 things to know
Torringon, Conn.-based Charlotte Hungerford Hospital and Hartford (Conn.) HealthCare have agreed to a formal affiliation.

The HHC Board of Directors officially approved the affiliation agreement August 5.

CHH officials began searching for a strategic affiliate in 2014. After considering multiple organizations, the board concluded that HHC most closely matched with the hospital's initiatives to cultivate a "patient-focused vision and culture."

If approved, CHH will constitute the center of a new Northwest Region for HHC, according to HHC officials.
State regulators are negotiating a consent agreement with Los Angeles-based Prospect Medical Holdings to close three deals to purchase healthcare facilities in Connecticut totaling $335 million, according to the Journal Inquirer.

Prospect officials said they hope to have the sales closed by Sept. 1.

Conn. state regulators approved the sale of Greater Waterbury (Conn.) Health Network and Waterbury (Conn.) Hospital to Prospect for $100 million, with an additional $55 million for capital projects at the two locations, according to the report. Prospect was also approved to buy Manchester, Conn.-based Eastern Connecticut Health Network, including Vernon, Conn.-based Rockville General Hospital and Manchester (Conn.) Memorial Hospital, for $105 million, with an additional $75 million to be spent on those properties in the next five years, according to the report.

As part of the agreement, the Connecticut state Department of Public Health's Office of Healthcare Access required Prospect to hire an independent monitor to oversee the facilities. The monitor will remain under contract and oversee both ECHN and the Waterbury facilities for at least two years, according to the report. Prospect officials said the position is currently vacant.

The monitor's responsibilities include making sure Prospect complies with state regulations and conducts on-site visits other affiliated sites. State regulators must approve the appointment, according to the report.

Members of the community expressed concern over Prospect's recent record of unsanitary conditions at one of its California hospitals. During a public hearing last spring, residents also expressed concern over whether Prospect would close Rockville General hospital, according to the report.

According to the agreement, Prospect is required to keep all services and facilities open for at least three years.
From Livonia, Mich.-based Trinity Health agreeing to pay $75 million to settle pension mismanagement lawsuits to a New York physician facing 40 years in prison for a Medicare billing scheme, here are the latest healthcare industry lawsuits and settlements making headlines.

1. Former Florida hospital employee gets 3 years for stealing patient information

A former employee of Tampa (Fla.) General Hospital was sentenced to three years in federal prison for wrongful disclosure of individual identifiable health information and wire fraud.

2. Ex-hospital CFO claims he was fired for blowing the whistle on chairman of the board

The former CFO of Sebastopol, Calif.-based Sonoma West Medical Center sued the hospital, alleging he was fired for reporting the chairman of the board's corrupt behavior to hospital officials.

3. Erlanger demands $8.7M in suit over $20M hospital loan

Chattanooga, Tenn.-based Erlanger Health System filed a motion for summary in its pending lawsuit against Walker County, Ga., in an attempt to recoup part of a $20 million loan Erlanger made to a Georgia hospital.

4. Trinity Health to pay $75M to settle pension mismanagement class-action lawsuits

Trinity Health will pay $75 million to resolve allegations that it mismanaged its pension plans, putting an end to more than two dozen class-action lawsuits that have been filed against the Livonia, Mich.-based system over the past three years.

5. Connecticut joins DOJ fight against Anthem-Cigna merger

Attorney General George Jepsen said Connecticut will join the U.S. Department of Justice and 11 other state attorneys general in filing an antitrust lawsuit to block a merger between Indianapolis-based Anthem and Bloomfield, Conn.-based Cigna.

6. Feds sue owner of medical device company for grant fraud

The federal government filed a civil suit against Jerome Hahn, owner of Lexington, Ky.-based Telehealth Holdings, for violations of the False Claims Act.

7. St. Joseph's Hospital Health Center to pay $3.2M to resolve false billing allegations

Syracuse, N.Y.-based St. Joseph's Hospital Health Center will pay $3.2 million to resolve allegations it submitted false claims for payment to the New York Medicaid program.

8. Humana sues drug testing company over allegedly improper billing

Louisville, Ky.-based Humana claims Baltimore, Md.-based Ameritox fraudulently sought and received millions for services not covered under Humana's health insurance plans.

9. 2 Mississippi hospital file suit over 2014 Medicaid underpayments

Gulfport, Miss.-based Memorial Hospital and Singing River Health System in Pascagoula, Miss., filed suit against the Division of Medicaid after the agency denied their appeal to recover underpayments from fiscal year 2014.

10. Physician charged with making terrorist threat after pointing gun at medical assistant

Jose Nazar, MD, is charged with simple assault and making terroristic threats after state police say he pointed a handgun at a medical assistant at Endless Mountains Health Systems, a 25-bed hospital in Montrose, Pa.

11. NY surgeon faces 40 years in prison for Medicare billing scheme

A surgeon who practiced at hospitals in Brooklyn and Long Island, New York, faces 40 years in prison for submitting more than $25 million in false claims to Medicare.

12. Boston co-op sues feds for $16.7M risk adjustment payment

Boston-based insurance co-op Minuteman Health filed a lawsuit against the federal government over the $16.7 million it owes under the Affordable Care Act's risk adjustment program.

13. Judge approves $12.5M settlement in UPMC antitrust case

A federal judge approved a partial settlement of an antitrust lawsuit that involves Pittsburgh-based UPMC.

14. Lawsuit alleges Arizona is denying full Medicaid benefits to eligible immigrants

A federal lawsuit against the state of Arizona alleges a state agency is providing low-income immigrants with only emergency coverage instead of the full medical benefits they are eligible for.

15. New Mexico insurance co-op sues feds over risk adjustment

New Mexico Health Connections sued the federal government for allegedly mismanaging the Affordable Care Act's risk adjustment program, under which the insurer owes $14.6 million.

16. Owner of Chicago clinic charged with conspiracy to commit Medicare fraud

Prosecutors charged three men in connection with a healthcare fraud scheme that allegedly involved prescribing and dispensing painkillers to patients who did not need them.

17. Judge OKs class-action suit against Minnesota for $1B in Medicaid services for disabled

A group representing 5,000 disabled Minnesota residents received a nod from a federal judge to proceed with its class-action lawsuit against the Minnesota Department of Human Services.

18. Anthem requests separate trial from Aetna-Humana

Indianapolis-based Anthem asked the U.S. Department of Justice to disconnect its case from a jointly filed lawsuit against Aetna and Humana.

19. University of California settles spine surgery lawsuits for $8.5M

University of California officials agreed to pay approximately $8.5 million to settle two lawsuits alleging a UCLA Health spine surgeon failed to disclose his conflicts of interest with a devicemaker before using its products in two surgeries.

20. Whistle-blower drops suit against KU Hospital, but patient refuses to release hospital of liability

A University of Kansas Hospital physician voluntarily withdrew his whistle-blower lawsuit against the hospital, stating he is "no longer afraid of retaliation."

21. New vaccination law draws federal lawsuits in California

A new California law designed to bolster immunization requirements for school children has inspired at least three lawsuits.

More articles on health law:

5 latest False Claims Act settlements

11 latest healthcare industry lawsuits, settlements




The former CFO of Sebastopol, Calif.-based Sonoma West Medical Center has sued the hospital, alleging he was fired for reporting the chairman of the board's corrupt behavior to hospital officials.

In his suit, former CFO Douglas Goldfarb claims he was fired after telling hospital officials that Chairman of the Board Dan Smith insisted Sonoma West use a "seriously defective" electronic medical records system designed by Mr. Smith's company, according to Courthouse News.

The system, HarmoniMD, "intermingles" patient records, causing one patient's medication to appear on another patient's record, and it once caused patients to miss their antibiotics because it reverted time back to the 1900s, according to Mr. Goldfarb. He claims that the flawed system also delayed patient billing and caused the hospital to lose money.

Mr. Goldfarb further alleges that Mr. Smith pressured him to falsely report that the hospital had an operating profit. "As CFO, I was expected to tolerate, and participate in, accounting and recordkeeping practices that absolutely did not comply with GAAP," Mr. Goldfarb said.

According to Courthouse News, Mr. Goldfarb's complaint mirrors a lawsuit filed by Sonoma West's former chief nursing officer in June.

Sonoma West operated at an $800,000 loss in June. In July, the hospital signed an agreement for Pipeline Health to manage its operations. Pipeline CFO Robert Heinemeier is serving as interim CFO of Sonoma West.

More articles on healthcare industry lawsuits:

Trinity Health to pay $75M to settle pension mismanagement class-action lawsuits

5 latest False Claims Act settlements

St. Joseph's Hospital Health Center to pay $3.2M to resolve false billing allegations
The following insurers made headlines this week. They are listed below, beginning with the most recent.

1. Humana posts large profits despite 24% decline in commercial members

Humana reported losses related to its Affordable Care Act plans in the second quarter of 2016, but growth in its Medicare Advantage membership provided a financial boost.

2. UnitedHealthcare pays out $148M in quality bonuses to 1.9k physicians

UnitedHealthcare awarded $148 million in quality of care bonuses to more than 1,900 physicians who hit particular performance benchmarks for Medicare Advantage members.

3. Despite positive Q2 results, Aetna halts plans to participate in more ACA exchanges

Despite operating income growth, Aetna plans to scale back its offerings on the 2017 Affordable Care Act exchanges.

4. Missouri Care inks deal with BJC after failing to reach contract with SSM Health

Missouri Care inked a deal with St. Louis-based BJC HealthCare and Washington University Physicians that will give 117,000 patients access to BJC facilities.

5. Molina Healthcare gains 328k members in 3 acquisitions

Molina Healthcare will add approximately 328,000 members to its roster through separate transactions with Aetna, Humana and Universal American.

6. New Mexico insurance co-op sues feds over risk adjustment

New Mexico Health Connections is the latest insurance co-op created under the Affordable Care Act to file suit against the federal government.

7. BCBS of Texas to drop 470 Kelsey-Seybold physicians, affecting up to 100k patients

Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Texas plans to terminate its in-network contract with Kelsey-Sebold Clinic, affecting 100,000 patients.
Charlotte, N.C.-based OrthoCarolina published an article in the New England Journal of Medicine Catalyst examining the practices process for creating a physician-owned bundled payment.

The group, which includes more than 100 physicians across several sites, was able to lower costs 10 percent to 30 percent and improve outcomes for hip and knee replacement surgery by creating a standardized coordinated care program and commercial bundled payment contracts. In the bundles, surgeons took primary financial risk, according to the report.

Before the program was in place, employers were incentivizing patients to go into narrow networks for surgery in other states and the health systems in the area werent prepared to enter into risk-baring contracts or lower prices.

However, OrthoCarolina was ready to explore bundled payments. Here are a few key steps they took:

1. Invested in technology to collect patient-reported outcomes at regular intervals before and after surgery.

2. Collected hospital-based data in addition to patient-reported data.

3. Invited all total joint replacement surgeons to develop evidence-based common care pathways for hip and knee replacements through a consensus process.

4. Eliminated things that didnt add value to the patient outcome or experience.

5. Obtained cost data and negotiated a 90-day bundled rate with one large payer with stop-loss protections and exclusions to limit the physicians risk to performance risk instead of actuarial risk. The practice negotiated facility fees with the hospital and professional fees with the clinicians in addition to fees for physical therapy and other providers.

6. OrthoCarolina acted as a third-party administrator responsible for paying all participants.

7. Achieved cost reductions with a hospital partner.

8. Produced a Joint Journal for the bundled patients and families explaining every step of the process to engage patients and families.

9. Assigned navigators to guide patients throughout the process and act as a first responder to direct questions.

10. Form a coordinated care team with the hospital to make sure the care pathways and expectations were met and communications were consistent. There were weekly huddles to deal with issues and improve patient care processes.

Four years after implementing the program, the practice had data on 200 patients who participated in the bundle. They found:

 0 percent reoperations

 0.5 percent deep vein thrombosis

 100 percent discharged home

 100 percent pain control

 One fewer days stayed in the hospital  2.5 days to 1.5 days

 98 percent patient satisfaction

After creating the program, OrthoCarolina launched a new company to scale the process and bring physician-owned bundled payments to other facilities.
An electronic border system is in the pipeline where vehicles wont have to stop

Officials in the Republic are working to develop a post-Brexit electronic customs system where vehicles and other hauliers will be able to cross the border from Northern Ireland without having to stop.

It's understood that informal contacts have already taken place between Irish customs officials and their counterparts in the UK about the possibility of developing an integrated, joined-up electronic border system.

Its a possibility that would be a welcome outcome for companies who regularly trade between Northern Ireland and the Republic.

The head of the Republic's customs division said staff were at the early stages of a scoping exercise, and that the plan could take a number of years to fully build. It's understood around 10 staff are involved.

Anthony Buckley, deputy director general of Irish Customs with the Revenue Commissioners, said the aim was to develop a system whereby a truck could drive from one end of the island to the other without having to stop.

"Even if there's a free-trade agreement (between the UK and EU), we'll still need to know what is being traded, what's crossing the border," Mr Buckley told a Brexit briefing organised by the Irish Exporters' Association (IEA).

"Our design challenge, as I like to term it, is that a truck should be able to drive from Cork to Belfast or from Holyhead to Galway without stopping. That would be ideal and we want to achieve that.

"We're starting the design process at the moment. We've already started the scoping and we will be building, but it will take us two or three years to build."

Revenue's aim is to ensure that information about a truck's load, for example, could be put into a computer on the Republic's side of the border, and then be automatically conveyed to the authorities in Northern Ireland.

The movement of the truck could then be monitored in an electronic camera system. Customs clearance facilities would have to be provided, Revenue believes, but they don't necessarily have to be at the border.

Taoiseach Enda Kenny has moved to allay fears of a return of a hard border between Northern Ireland and the Republic.

Speaking following a meeting with Prime Minister Theresa May, Mr Kenny insisted that he would not allow a scenario involving the erection of "customs posts every mile along the road".

Revenue is looking at the possibility of using existing tax offices in the border areas.

But at the border itself, vehicle examination areas may need to be established. Spot-checks of vehicles may have to take place to combat smuggling and fraud.
Indie kids Blossoms present their debut, rockers Wild Beasts return with Boy King, and theatre fans can enjoy the original cast of Funny Girl - including Sheridan Smith - on the soundtrack to the musical. We round up the best of this weeks CD releases.

WILD BEASTS  BOY KING

Wild Beasts are relatively prolific. In 2008 they released debut Limbo, Panto. Now the Cumbrian four-piece are giving us album number five. Boy King continues their exploration of more electronic, synthy sounds. Limbo, Panto was a gloriously extravagant, jaunty indie masterpiece, but since then the band have continuously evolved. Hayden Thorpes instantly recognisable high vocal range remains, supported as always by the deep, dulcet tones of Tom Fleming, but on Boy King Wild Beasts are a very different animal to that on their early work.

This is infectious, toe-tapping, body-moving electro-rock featuring flavours of Daft Punk, LCD Soundsystem and Yeasayer. Its brilliant. Boy King cements Wild Beasts place as one of Britains very best, always evolving, always pushing themselves. Long may they reign.

9/10

Stephen Milnes

ASYLUMS  KILLER BRAIN WAVES

Asylums full-length debut roars out of the blocks at full speed and barely lets up to bring a massive hit of melodic guitar-driven rock that fizzes with energy. The Southend band are the latest to do it all themselves, releasing Killer Brain Waves on their own Cool Thing Records, having previously won the backing of indie radio legend Steve Lamacq on BBC Radio 6 Music. The influences are more in the US rock scene than those of the UK  you can hear hints of bands like Weezer among others.

What they do especially well is marry a clear love for crunching guitars and socially-aware lyrics with pop sensibilities, to avoid becoming too heavy. The result is 12 often blistering three-minute tracks in 35 minutes. Highlights include opener Second Class Sex and Necessary Appliances.

8/10

David Wilcock

FUNNY GIRL (ORIGINAL LONDON CAST RECORDING)  ORIGINAL LONDON CAST & SHERIDAN SMITH

From the moment the Overture begins on the London cast recording of Funny Girl the musical, be prepared to be whisked away to theatre land to hear a captivating story of fame, love and heartbreak. Those lucky enough to have seen this run of the show at Londons Savoy Theatre  whether starring the endlessly talented Sheridan Smith or remarkable understudy Natasha Barnes as Fanny Brice  will be transported back to its dazzling glory through showstoppers including People, Im The Greatest Star and of course, Dont Rain On My Parade. Smiths witty delivery combined with the incredible voice she first unleashed, in addition to her brilliant acting skills, as Cilla Black in ITVs Cilla, is a breath of fresh air to the original 1964 Broadway musical. Darius Campbells dreamy tones as Nick Arnstein in songs including You Are A Woman, I Am Man, may also have musical fans weak at the knees.

Those who havent had the privilege of seeing the stellar cast perform live will be scrambling for tickets after listening to this. Just make sure you save the standing ovation for the theatre and not when caught in the moment, eyes closed on the morning commute.

9/10

Becky Barnes

BLOSSOMS  BLOSSOMS

Hailing from Stockport, this five-piece have been slowly building up a fanbase on the gig circuit since forming in 2013, notching up festival appearances and supporting big names such as The Charlatans. Their debut album bounces along from the summery first notes of opener Charlemagne  a radio-friendly earworm  to the sing-a-long chorus of Blow, slowing down for Honey Sweet and the moody, electro Smashed Pianos. Even the slower tracks, such a closer Deep Grass, have an edge with guitar and synth flourishes, so Blossoms style is solid pop rock that acknowledges Manchesters musical heritage without being a New Order tribute. Theres an Arctic Monkeys sound and Getaway is even mildly reminiscent of Taylor Swifts Wildest Dreams  plenty to enjoy.

8/10

Natalie Bowen

DAVID WEST  PEACE OR LOVE

New York-based Australian David West clearly has a lot on his mind, judging by this predominantly moody debut solo offering. West, who first established himself in his native country with various Australian up-and-coming outfits, is still a member of American guitar band Rat Columns, but on Peace Or Love, his musical musings are much more low-key.

Opening with Untitled, which segues into the title track, the album is a slow grower which reveals its charms gradually, although Wests mumbled vocals can be an acquired taste. Nevertheless, the centre piece, a trilogy of songs entitled Darkness In My Heart, Darkness In My Heart, Pt 2, and Darkness In My Heart, Pt 3, the latter which closes the album, are engaging and quite possibly autobiographical. An assured debut then, but not an immediate attention-grabber.

7/10

Kim Mayo
Courtney Mitchell has made a surprise return to EastEnders.

The character, the daughter of Grant and Tiffany Mitchell, arrived in Walford during Thursday night's episode as she attempts to get to the bottom of her father's unusual behaviour.

Courtney is keen to encourage Grant, played by Ross Kemp, to open up about some family truths but it soon becomes clear they are both keeping secrets.

Now a student at university in London, she has not been seen on the soap since departing for Portugal in 2006 with her dad, with whom she has an awkward relationship.

Her unexpected return to Albert Square is set to cause fireworks in coming days as she finds herself at the heart of her family's drama.

Previously portrayed by actress Megan Jossa until her exit in 2006, Courtney will now be played by Alice Nokes for her reappearance in a few episodes.

Fan favourite Grant returned to his role in the BBC soap in May after a 10-year absence.

Upcoming scenes will see Grant still struggling to come to terms with the death of his mother Peggy Mitchell (Dame Barbara Windsor) who took her own life after being diagnosed with terminal cancer.

A concerned Kathy Beale (Gillian Taylforth) will take it upon herself to help him, but viewers will have to wait to see if Grant accepts her advice to open up about Peggy.
The musical will follow Charlie And The Chocolate Factory's run at the Theatre Royal

Classic backstage musical 42nd Street is set to return to the West End after more than 30 years.

The show, which features classic songs We're In The Money, Keep Young And Beautiful, I Only Have Eyes For You and Lullaby Of Broadway, will return to the theatre of its original UK run in 2017.

The new production will preview at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, from March 20 2017, ahead of press night on April 4.

Its first UK run was at the same theatre from 1984 to 1989, starring a then-unknown Catherine Zeta-Jones.

There have been various regional and touring productions since.

It will follow Charlie And The Chocolate Factory, which has previously announced it would be ending next year, at the venue.

The Tony Award-winning musical follows young Peggy Sawyer's arrival in New York from small-town America as she joins the chorus line of Broadway's newest show and tries to get a big break.

The new production will feature a cast of more than 50 high-kicking performers and will be directed by the show's author Mark Bramble.

Bramble said: "The original production had the look of a Warner Brothers black and white film. This time we're doing an MGM Technicolor version of 42nd Street with additional songs and dances.

"The theme of the show speaks louder today than ever before: follow your bliss and with talent and hard work, dreams can come true. I'm delighted that Linnit/Grade are bringing our song and dance extravaganza to the magnificent Theatre Royal, Drury Lane."

The production will run until October 14 2017.
The Kingsmills massacre, which was carried out by the IRA in January 1976

A 59-year-old man has been arrested on suspicion of the murder of 10 men and the attempted murder of one - in the Kingsmills massacre in 1976.

Detectives from the PSNI's Legacy Investigation Branch arrested the man in Newry.

The 10 men were shot dead by the IRA on January 5, 1976 after their minibus home from work was pulled over on a remote country road in south Armagh.

After checking their religion, the gang ordered one Catholic to leave before opening fire.

The men who died were John Bryans, Robert Chambers, Reginald Chapman, Walter Chapman, Robert Freeburn, Joseph Lemmon, John McConville, James McWhirter, Robert Samuel Walker and Kenneth Worton.

Alan Black, a 32-year-old father of three at the time, was seriously wounded and spent months recovering in hospital.

No-one has ever been convicted in connection with the shootings.

In May it emerged the PSNI was reopening the investigation into the massacre after fresh evidence emerged.

A second inquest had been taking place into the atrocity however proceedings were halted in June following the matching of a palm print which was found on the gun men's getaway vehicle.

Detective Chief Inspector Ian Harrison said: The male was arrested in the Newry area today and is currently assisting with enquiries.

Today`s arrest is a potentially positive development in pursuit of the maximum level of justice for the Kingsmills Victims @DKennedy_UUP  Ulster Unionist (@uuponline) August 5, 2016

I would also appeal to anyone with any information in relation to the murders at Kingsmill to contact police on 101 or alternatively, contact the Crimestoppers charity anonymously on 0800 555 111.

Ulster Unionist MLA has described the arrest as a "potentially positive development in pursuit of the maximum level of justice for the Kingsmills victims".

Mr Kennedy, who represents Newry & Armagh, and who has worked closely with the Kingsmills relatives, said the families have waited more than 40 years for justuce.

The Kingsmills massacre in 1976 shocked not only Northern Ireland but much farther afield. The sectarian massacre of ten Protestant workmen by the IRA remains a stain on south Armagh," he said.

The families and sole survivor have waited forty years in their pursuit of maximum truth and justice for this brutal and barbaric crime.

The news that someone has been arrested in connection with Kingsmills must be seen as a potentially positive development. We must now wait and allow the police investigation to take its course.

It is my sincere hope that the police now have a realistic prospect of mounting a successful prosecution of some of those responsible.

DUP MLA William Irwin said he hopes the criminal case proceeds quickly.

"Forty years have passed since one of the worst sectarian atrocities of the Troubles," he said.

"The pain of the Kingsmills families has not diminished over those decades and they deserve to see someone brought to justice for the murder of their loved ones.

"There is obviously an active criminal case which must be taken forward and I would hope that can be taken forward swiftly.

"The Kingsmills atrocity was not planned and carried out by one individual alone however and it is vital that whilst the possibility of justice remains that all efforts should be expended to identify all those involved."
A car is damaged in a racist attack in Herbert Avenue in Larne

Graffiti is painted over the door of the house

The home of foreign nationals was daubed with paint and their car smashed during a hate attack in Co Antrim.

The words 'get out' were spraypainted on the front door of the house while the windows of the property were smashed and almost all of the windows of the Audi were also broken.

Police say they are treating yesterday's early morning attack in the Herbert Avenue area of Larne as a hate crime.

The two occupants of the house, who are understood to be Polish, moved into the area only weeks ago.

A neighbour of the victims said she was "disgusted" by the attack.

The resident, who did not want to be named, added that a number of foreign nationals live in the area but attacks of this kind are quite rare.

"The two men only moved into the street four or five weeks ago and now this has happened to them," she said.

"I was absolutely disgusted by this attack, they are probably so frightened.

"I heard smashing in the morning and away these people went.

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"There's quite a few foreign nationals living on this street so I don't understand it as nothing like this has happened here before.

"I tried to knock their door as I had milk and stuff for them but they wouldn't answer. They are just two hard-working men."

East Antrim DUP MLA Gordon Lyons condemned the hate crime describing it as an "appalling act".

"This was a totally unprovoked attack against two Polish men who worked here and I would strongly condemn those who carried out this despicable attack.

"Nobody should have racist graffiti daubed on the walls of their home and the windows of their car and home smashed. There can be no doubt that this attack had a sole purpose to intimidate innocent people in our community. However, this type of behaviour has no place here."
The Lisburn to Portadown railway line was closed for up to six hours yesterday while a major police search operation took place in Co Armagh.

The line was closed from mid-afternoon while the PSNI carried out searches in the Cornakinnegar Road area of Lurgan.

The road borders the nationalist Kilwilkie estate, and is bisected by a level crossing on the main Belfast-Portadown-Dublin rail route.

A PSNI spokesman said officers had been carrying out what they termed a "significant ongoing operation in relation to serious crime", but did not elaborate any further.

Last night just before 9pm the spokesman said the line had been re-opened, but added the security operation was expected to continue "for some time".

Detective Inspector Adrian Brown said: "The policing operation will continue in the area in order to ensure the safety of all.

"While we attempt to keep disruption in the area to a minimum I would again like to thank the community for their patience and co-operation.

"I would also appeal to anyone who has noticed any suspicious activity in the Cornakinnegar Road area in recent days to contact police in Lurgan."

Speaking to the Belfast Telegraph last night, Upper Bann MLA Carla Lockhart hit out at the people behind the alert which sparked havoc for residents, commuters, Translink staff and the PSNI.

"Once again, Lurgan people are being held to ransom by the actions of mindless individuals, who want to destroy, disrupt and ultimately take life," she said.

"We hear today again of a security alert on the railway lines which is causing major problems for Translink, commuters and brings the good name of Lurgan into disrepute again.

"This is costing the taxpayer an absolute fortune, with thousands of pounds being lost on policing such events.

"The vast majority of people in both North and South Lurgan want to live peaceably and get on about their business. "

Ms Lockhart added: "These individuals have little support and in fact this ongoing disruption further corrodes their position within the town of Lurgan.

She called on the PSNI to continue their efforts to thwart the plans of those who "seek to destroy" and appealed for anyone who had any information about such activities to pass it to the authorities.

The DUP MLA said that she would be meeting the PSNI for a discussion this week to ensure that sufficient resources were available.
A devoted mother diagnosed with a rare cancer has vowed to fight it for the sake of her two sons.

Doctors dropped the bombshell two weeks ago that Aundrea Bannatyne (42) had inoperable pancreatic cancer, and has up to a year to live.

Aundrea, a manager for Thomas Cook who lives in east Belfast, had been suffering an excruciating burning pain in the left side of her back and was diagnosed with kidney stones.

But she said she knew that there was something "more sinister", and has now vowed to beat it for the sake of her sons Jack (14) and James (10).

"It was the shock of my life when they first told me, I couldn't believe it," she said.

"I refuse to accept the diagnosis, I honestly believe I will beat it - I will fight this all the way - I need to be here for my sons.

"I am a positive person, so I can't accept there is nothing that can be done when I know that there is.

"I know it will be hard, but I won't give up.

"I am a mother and I need to look after my sons, who are the love of my life, they are my world."

It's the second cancer diagnosis to strike the family.

James was diagnosed with a medulloblastoma brain tumour at the age of two.

Eight years on he is nearly in remission and remains an inspiration to his mother as she now battles the disease.

"When James was ill I used to plead and beg that I could swap places, I'd have done anything I could to take the cancer for him," she said.

"Now that I have it, I still feel the same, I would willingly go through all this if it meant cancer would never touch my sons again."

Pancreatic cancer usually affects men over the aged of 65 who have been heavy smokers and drinkers, making Aundrea's diagnosis rare.

It is also a difficult cancer to treat, due to a lack of research and funding.

A non-smoker and keen walker who keeps in shape, Aundrea said she hopes to raise awareness by highlighting symptoms which include darkened urine, pale coloured stools, bloating, jaundice and severe back pain.

Aundrea, who is currently having to take 36 painkillers a day, is hoping to seek medical treatment in either Manchester or Germany.

Her friends have set up #Aundrea'sArmy to raise 100,000 to help.

So far nearly 9,000 has been raised on gofundmepage, with events planned to boost funds further. Aundrea and her family said they are grateful for everyone's support.

To donate, see https://www.gofundme.com/2gtranmq.
Plans to cut opening hours at 14 of Northern Ireland's busiest libraries have been scrapped after more than 8,000 people objected.

Many spoke movingly in a public consultation about how local libraries had helped those who struggled with literacy, unemployment and isolation.

An extra 225,000 has now been allocated to cover the costs.

Communities Minister Paul Givan said: "The views of people are important in any public consultation and the responses received during the Libraries NI consultation have been clearly heard, both by the organisation and by me as minister."

Chief executive of Libraries NI Irene Knox said she was overwhelmed by the public support, saying the services made a difference to people of all ages.

"It is heartening to read their stories and within the resources that are available to us, we will continue to develop and deliver services that meet identified need," she said.

The 14 libraries which faced opening times of just 45 hours a week were Ballymena, Bangor, Belfast Central, Carrickfergus, Coleraine, Derry Central, Dungannon, Enniskillen, Finaghy, Glengormley, Lisburn City, Lurgan, Newry City and Omagh.

The Labour Party in Northern Ireland welcomed the "significant U-turn" by Mr Givan, calling it a victory for community activism. "We have halted the 'death by a thousand cuts' to which our libraries have been subjected to by successive administrations, both at Stormont and Westminster," said party member Peter Dynes.

"We can't be complacent going forward, but this is an important victory for the communities which would have been affected by further cuts to these vital services.

"Like the recent reversal of plans to close day centres for people with mental health problems and learning difficulties in Belfast, this is an excellent example of what can be achieved when people organise to resist cuts, alongside the trade union movement."

Trade union Unison also welcomed the decision, but warned that Libraries NI still had to make cuts of 2m in 2016/17.

"Unison will continue to challenge any cuts to our libraries that will negatively impact on staff and on the service provided to the public," a spokesman said.

"The importance that the public places in our libraries, as seen through the level of response to this consultation process, must be recognised and our libraries must be protected."

Last year Ms Knox said budget cuts meant library staff were "living in a constant state of uncertainty" and officials could continue to "salami slice" the library service. Since Libraries NI was formed in 2009, 114 employees have lost their jobs through voluntary redundancies.

It was also expected that 19 staff would leave through the civil service voluntary exit scheme.

In 2015, it was revealed that 2.7m was spent on book stocks, down from 3.4m four years before.

"We have been through a number of strategic reviews; we have been reducing opening hours; we have been reducing programming; we are reducing the stock budget," said Ms Knox.

"Staff are being faced, all the time, with complaints from customers about reduced stock or it not being available.

"Losing stock, losing colleagues - all of that has a really negative impact on people."
Security concerns have been voiced after it emerged that the director of the Northern Ireland Prison Service lost her mobile phone in a Belfast restaurant.

Sue McAllister tweeted her thanks to the staff of Havana Bank Sq restaurant in Belfast city centre for helping her find it, making it public knowledge that she had lost it.

It comes as prison officers remain under threat by dissident republicans, and just days after an undercar booby trap bomb was found in Lisburn city centre - with speculation that it had fallen off the car of its intended victim.

Earlier this year, prison officer Adrian Ismay died from his injuries after a device exploded under his van in Belfast, and in November 2012 serving prison officer David Black was shot dead as he drove along the M1 towards work at Maghaberry Prison.

Ms McAllister, originally from Yorkshire, was appointed to lead the Prison Service four years ago.

A spokeswoman for the Department of Justice insisted the phone was a personal one which contained no sensitive information, however within minutes of the issue being raised by the Belfast Telegraph last night the tweet was deleted.

Ms McAllister broadcast on social media that she had left her phone behind in the popular Belfast restaurant close to the CastleCourt shopping complex.

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In a Twitter posting, the NI Prison Service director thanked staff at the restaurant for retrieving the phone.

"Thank you to the lovely staff at @HavanaBankSq who looked after my phone until my also lovely colleagues retrieved it for me #service" she tweeted.

As director general of the prison service, Sue McAllister's phone could have contained highly sensitive contact information, including confidential phone numbers for senior staff in a service which continues to be targeted by terrorists.

Finlay Spratt of the Prison Officers' Association said that the director "was not the type of lady to keep sensitive information on her private phone".

"I'd be very surprised if she had done anything like that," he said last night.

Sue McAllister was appointed director general of the NI Prison Service in 2012, replacing Colin McConnell, who lasted just a year in the job before accepting a post in Scotland.

The NI Prison Service remains under constant threat from dissident republican activists.
Granting her bail the judge said he did not want to disrupt her university education.

A student nurse was allegedly involved in a plot to import 5,000 worth of cannabis into Northern Ireland from Canada, the High Court heard today.

Dominika Orawska, a 21-year-old studying at Trinity College, Dublin, was arrested with a man after police seized drugs hidden inside a children's board game last week.

Officers recovered the package at a courier service depot in Co Antrim.

Orawska, of Alderwood Avenue in Tallaght, faces charges of importing cannabis and attempted possession of Class B drugs with intent to supply.

Granting her bail, a judge said he did not want to disrupt her university education.

Police seized the parcel from a UPS depot in Mallusk, just outside north Belfast, after being alerted on July 27.

Prosecutors revealed that it contained a children's board game, with 500g of suspected cannabis concealed inside.

The drugs, with an estimated street value of 5,000, are believed to have been sent from Canada.

Orawska and 23-year-old co-accused Graham Hayden, also from the Tallaght area of Dublin, were detained after officers were alerted to man and woman arriving at the UPS premises in a car.

A torn delivery docket, 4,700 euros and two phones were recovered from the vehicle, the court heard.

Counsel for Orawska said she is a Polish national who has lived in Ireland since the age of nine.

She is due to enter the final year of her nursing degree at Trinity next month, the court heard.

Her parents were in court for the hearing and confirmed they were willing to put up a 1,000 cash surety to secure her release.

Granting bail on that condition, Mr Justice Colton pointed out: "She is currently engaged in study for a degree at university and I don't want to interfere with that education pending the ultimate disposal of this case."

Hayden also mounted a successful application for bail. Both accused must surrender their passports and abide by a ban on contacting each other
Oliver Jeffers, an award-winning writer and illustrator from Belfast who now lives and works in New York

A leading author who died after battling a long illness has been hailed as a "champion" of children's books by literary figures.

Robert Dunbar (76), who was head of English at a Co Londonderry grammar school for several years after graduating from Queen's University, Belfast, was dubbed the 'Father Christmas' of children's literature.

The Co Antrim man was a leading critic, editor and educator and was credited for launching the careers of many writers.

He was a native of Dunseverick and attended Bushmills Grammar School. It was here where he attained the highest mark in English A-level in Northern Ireland, before studying the subject at Queen's University, where he was a contemporary of Seamus Heaney.

After teaching at Coleraine Tech and Rainey Endowed School in Magherafelt, Co Derry, he was awarded an MA in English and Education at Ulster University. He then lectured in children's literature at the Church of Ireland College of Education in Rathmines, Trinity College Dublin and St Patrick's College, Dublin.

He was also the first to offer a graduate diploma in children's literature.

Oliver Jeffers, an award-winning writer and illustrator from Belfast who now lives and works in New York, said that Dunbar had a passion for books.

Jeffers, who is the creator behind The Day the Crayons Quit, said: "Robert Dunbar loved stories. I have yet to meet an individual, anywhere in the world, who cared as much about books as he did.

"It was his keen eye for good literature that won him such respect by all of us in the picture book community.

"Robert especially embraced Irish stories. Not only those from our rich archives, but also the remarkable work being created today.

"He leaves behind him a hole in children's literature in Ireland. We should not attempt to fill this hole, because there will never be another Robert Dunbar. Rather let's remember what he gave us."

Eoin Colfer, the author behind the science fiction fantasy series, Artemis Fowl, described Dunbar as a champion of children's books.

He said: "Without his support there are many of us who would never have managed to sustain a career. He was literate, supportive, always fair but never mean.

"It is common to say at such times that so and so was irreplaceable. But Robert was that rare individual who actually can never be replaced. Nor would we want to."

Patrick Ness, the best-selling author of A Monster Calls, said: "Robert was right there at the very start of my career, reviewing the books with such brilliant, emotional intelligence and sympathy.

"At the launch of A Monster Calls in Ireland, he gave it a completely unexpected speech that took my breath away, not only just about the book, but about what he believed that books for young readers could accomplish: making the world larger, safer, better."

Robert Dunbar is survived by his wife, Carole (nee Redfern), their children, Grainne and Dominic, grandchildren, Jack, Matthew, Edie and Astrid, son-in-law Derek and daughter-in-law Carol.
The widow of a policeman murdered by the IRA during the hunger strikes has said the decision to make a new film about Bobby Sands left her "sick to the stomach".

In one of the most infamous incidents of The Troubles, Constable John Proctor was murdered by the IRA at a County Londonderry hospital in 1981 after visiting his newborn son while tensions were heightened throughout the country by the political situation.

Bobby Sands was the first of 10 republican hunger strikers to die in the Maze prison in the same year.

And now Mr Proctor's furious widow has weighed into the deepening row over the Bobby Sands documentary '66 Days' which is set to be shown in more than 30 cinemas across Northern Ireland this weekend.

June McMullin told the Belfast Telegraph: "I think it is disgusting that they would even consider making a film about that man. When I heard out about it I was sick to the stomach."

Controversy has raged over the film which is based on extracts from the republican prisoner's diary, eyewitness testimonies, unseen archive, reconstructions and animations.

Last month unionists reacted furiously when it emerged that public money from the BBC and Northern Ireland Screen had been used to fund the film. Mrs McMullin said that too much attention was being given to convicted terrorists when innocent victims were still seeking answers and, in many cases, justice.

Seamus Kearney was sentenced to life imprisonment in November 2013 for the murder of 25-year-old police reservist John Proctor but served only two years due to the Good Friday Agreement.

Mrs McMullin said: "Bobby Sands had a choice. My husband was an innocent man doing his job, he never had a choice.

"My son Johnnie never had the chance to meet his father, he had no choice.

Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Previous Next Close Bobby Sands' son Robert Gerald holds his mother's hand at the funeral of his father Bobby in west Belfast flanked by Masked IRA men. Picture by Martin Wright Hunger striker Bobby Sands' coffin, flanked by an IRA colour party, leaving his mother's home in Twinbrook. Tomboy Loudon, Gerry Roche, Denis Donaldson and Bobby Sands pictured in the Long Kesh prison, Northern Ireland. Hunger strike protesters outside the Dail in Dublin 1981 Brian Farrell/Photocall Ireland! Hunger strike marchers blocked by gardai as they approach the British Embassy in Dublin Eamonn Farrell/Photocall Ireland PACEMAKER BELFAST Rioting in west Belfast on the day hunger striker Bobby Sands died in 1981 A man walks past the Bobby Sands mural, in the Falls road area of Belfast Masked gunmen fire a volley of shots beside hunger striker Bobby Sands coffin, at Milltown Cemetery. Deceased hunger striker Bobby Sands (seated fourth from left). The Star of the Sea football team. Hunger striker Bobby Sands funeral procession making its way down Stewartstown Road on Route to Milltown cemetery Several unionist politicians have called for Maze cells which housed hunger strikers to be flattened PA Archive/Press Association Images Bobby Sands funeral Jonathan Porter/Presseye.com - Press Eye Ltd -Northern Ireland - 1st March 2011. Launch of the Hunger Strike 30th Anniversary Exhibition in the Linen Hall Library, Belfast. Ten republican prisoners died during the 1981 protest inside the Maze Prison. A letter written by Bobby Sands on cigarette paper which was smuggled out of the prison pictured at the exhibition. Michael Fassbender stars in Hunger, the film about the last six weeks in the life of Bobby Sands Kieran Doherty died in the Maze prison in 1981 after being on a hunger strike Former taoiseach Garret FitzGerald pleaded with Ronald Reagan to pile pressure on Margaret Thatcher over the hunger strikes / Facebook

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Whatsapp Bobby Sands' son Robert Gerald holds his mother's hand at the funeral of his father Bobby in west Belfast flanked by Masked IRA men. Picture by Martin Wright

"It is disgraceful that public money was used to make this film and that they are going to make profit out of it.

"The money would have been better spent on all those victims out there who are still waiting for answers and who will never get justice."

She added: "I was pregnant at the time of the hunger strikes, there was so much tension in the air, the whole area was on high alert all the time.

"I don't care what anybody says - when you make a film like this it glorifies terrorism. I think people should hear the other side of the story, I think it is the victims' stories which should be told."

Mrs McMullin is supporting an initiative from the South East Fermanagh Foundation which is showing an alternative film include the testimonies of those who have been directly impacted by the IRA terrorism.

The event takes place next Wednesday, August 10 at 7.30pm in the Lisgoole Suite, Killyhevlin Hotel, Enniskillen.

Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Previous Next Close Dougie Adams, Jane Adams, Cathy Gormley-Heenan and Ronan Heenan are pictured at the film premiere of Bobby Sands: 66 Days at the Omniplex Cinema at the Kennedy Centre in west Belfast. The premiere was hosted with Feile An Phobail and West Belfast Film Festival. Photo by Kelvin Boyes / Press Eye Gerry and Margaret Kelly are pictured at the film premiere of Bobby Sands: 66 Days at the Omniplex Cinema at the Kennedy Centre in west Belfast. The premiere was hosted with Feile An Phobail and West Belfast Film Festival. Photo by Kelvin Boyes / Press Eye Mary Nellis and Mary Kay Hinphey are pictured at the film premiere of Bobby Sands: 66 Days at the Omniplex Cinema at the Kennedy Centre in west Belfast. The premiere was hosted with Feile An Phobail and West Belfast Film Festival. Photo by Kelvin Boyes / Press Eye Hunger striker Bobby Sands' coffin, flanked by an IRA colour party, leaving his mother's home in Twinbrook. Sabina Cherek, Rabek Cherek and Alina Grychta are pictured at the film premiere of Bobby Sands: 66 Days at the Omniplex Cinema at the Kennedy Centre in west Belfast. The premiere was hosted with Feile An Phobail and West Belfast Film Festival. Photo by Kelvin Boyes / Press Eye Loretta Van der horst and Marco bij le Veld pictured at the film premiere of Bobby Sands: 66 Days at the Omniplex Cinema at the Kennedy Centre in west Belfast. The premiere was hosted with Feile An Phobail and West Belfast Film Festival. Photo by Kelvin Boyes / Press Eye Press Eye Belfast - Northern Ireland - 31st July 2016 Mary Nellis, Mitchel McLaughlin and Mary Kay Hinphey are pictured at the film premiere of Bobby Sands: 66 Days at the Omniplex Cinema at the Kennedy Centre in west Belfast. The premiere was hosted with Feile An Phobail and West Belfast Film Festival. Photo by Kelvin Boyes / Press Eye Bobby Sands' son Robert Gerald holds his mother's hand at the funeral of his father Bobby in west Belfast flanked by Masked IRA men. Picture by Martin Wright Press Eye Belfast - Northern Ireland - 31st July 2016 Alex Maskey, Liz Maskey, Patricia Maskey and Paul Maskey are pictured at the film premiere of Bobby Sands: 66 Days at the Omniplex Cinema at the Kennedy Centre in west Belfast. The premiere was hosted with Feile An Phobail and West Belfast Film Festival. Photo by Kelvin Boyes / Press Eye Press Eye Belfast - Northern Ireland - 31st July 2016 Pauline and Padraig Omuirigh are pictured at the film premiere of Bobby Sands: 66 Days at the Omniplex Cinema at the Kennedy Centre in west Belfast. The premiere was hosted with Feile An Phobail and West Belfast Film Festival. Photo by Kelvin Boyes / Press Eye Press Eye Belfast - Northern Ireland - 31st July 2016 John Darcy, Eamonn Mallie and John Darcy are pictured at the film premiere of Bobby Sands: 66 Days at the Omniplex Cinema at the Kennedy Centre in west Belfast. The premiere was hosted with Feile An Phobail and West Belfast Film Festival. Photo by Kelvin Boyes / Press Eye Press Eye Belfast - Northern Ireland - 31st July 2016 Leontia McKenna and Peter Lynch are pictured at the film premiere of Bobby Sands: 66 Days at the Omniplex Cinema at the Kennedy Centre in west Belfast. The premiere was hosted with Feile An Phobail and West Belfast Film Festival. Photo by Kelvin Boyes / Press Eye Tomboy Loudon, Gerry Roche, Denis Donaldson and Bobby Sands pictured in the Long Kesh prison, Northern Ireland. Hunger strike protesters outside the Dail in Dublin 1981 Brian Farrell/Photocall Ireland! Press Eye Belfast - Northern Ireland - 31st July 2016 Bairbre de Brun, Sile Darragh, Mary Doyle and Caral Ni Chuilin are pictured at the film premiere of Bobby Sands: 66 Days at the Omniplex Cinema at the Kennedy Centre in west Belfast. The premiere was hosted with Feile An Phobail and West Belfast Film Festival. Photo by Kelvin Boyes / Press Eye Press Eye Belfast - Northern Ireland - 31st July 2016 Brendan Byrne and Colm Scullion are pictured at the film premiere of Bobby Sands: 66 Days at the Omniplex Cinema at the Kennedy Centre in west Belfast. The premiere was hosted with Feile An Phobail and West Belfast Film Festival. Photo by Kelvin Boyes / Press Eye Press Eye Belfast - Northern Ireland - 31st July 2016 Brendan Byrne, Olivia Byrne, Sharon Darby and Greg Darby are pictured at the film premiere of Bobby Sands: 66 Days at the Omniplex Cinema at the Kennedy Centre in west Belfast. The premiere was hosted with Feile An Phobail and West Belfast Film Festival. Photo by Kelvin Boyes / Press Eye Hunger strike marchers blocked by gardai as they approach the British Embassy in Dublin Eamonn Farrell/Photocall Ireland PACEMAKER BELFAST Rioting in west Belfast on the day hunger striker Bobby Sands died in 1981 Press Eye Belfast - Northern Ireland - 31st July 2016 Michele Devlin and Brendan Byrne are pictured at the film premiere of Bobby Sands: 66 Days at the Omniplex Cinema at the Kennedy Centre in west Belfast. The premiere was hosted with Feile An Phobail and West Belfast Film Festival. Photo by Kelvin Boyes / Press Eye Press Eye Belfast - Northern Ireland - 31st July 2016 Sheila, Ella, Mia and Trevor Birney are pictured at the film premiere of Bobby Sands: 66 Days at the Omniplex Cinema at the Kennedy Centre in west Belfast. The premiere was hosted with Feile An Phobail and West Belfast Film Festival. Photo by Kelvin Boyes / Press Eye Press Eye Belfast - Northern Ireland - 31st July 2016 Colm Scullion and Peter Bryson are pictured at the film premiere of Bobby Sands: 66 Days at the Omniplex Cinema at the Kennedy Centre in west Belfast. The premiere was hosted with Feile An Phobail and West Belfast Film Festival. Photo by Kelvin Boyes / Press Eye A man walks past the Bobby Sands mural, in the Falls road area of Belfast Press Eye Belfast - Northern Ireland - 31st July 2016 Laurence McKeown, Michelle Beyers and Lachlan Whalen are pictured at the film premiere of Bobby Sands: 66 Days at the Omniplex Cinema at the Kennedy Centre in west Belfast. The premiere was hosted with Feile An Phobail and West Belfast Film Festival. Photo by Kelvin Boyes / Press Eye Press Eye Belfast - Northern Ireland - 31st July 2016 Michael and Betty Doherty are pictured at the film premiere of Bobby Sands: 66 Days at the Omniplex Cinema at the Kennedy Centre in west Belfast. The premiere was hosted with Feile An Phobail and West Belfast Film Festival. Photo by Kelvin Boyes / Press Eye Press Eye Belfast - Northern Ireland - 31st July 2016 Niall O Donnghaile, Irene Sherry and Dominic Adams are pictured at the film premiere of Bobby Sands: 66 Days at the Omniplex Cinema at the Kennedy Centre in west Belfast. The premiere was hosted with Feile An Phobail and West Belfast Film Festival. Photo by Kelvin Boyes / Press Eye Masked gunmen fire a volley of shots beside hunger striker Bobby Sands coffin, at Milltown Cemetery. Press Eye Belfast - Northern Ireland - 31st July 2016 Professor Siobhan O'Neill and Professor Deirdre Heenan are pictured at the film premiere of Bobby Sands: 66 Days at the Omniplex Cinema at the Kennedy Centre in west Belfast. The premiere was hosted with Feile An Phobail and West Belfast Film Festival. Photo by Kelvin Boyes / Press Eye Press Eye Belfast - Northern Ireland - 31st July 2016 Danny Devenny and Paddy Molloy are pictured at the film premiere of Bobby Sands: 66 Days at the Omniplex Cinema at the Kennedy Centre in west Belfast. The premiere was hosted with Feile An Phobail and West Belfast Film Festival. Photo by Kelvin Boyes / Press Eye Press Eye Belfast - Northern Ireland - 31st July 2016 Denzil McDaniel, David McDaniel and Trevor Birney are pictured at the film premiere of Bobby Sands: 66 Days at the Omniplex Cinema at the Kennedy Centre in west Belfast. The premiere was hosted with Feile An Phobail and West Belfast Film Festival. Photo by Kelvin Boyes / Press Eye Deceased hunger striker Bobby Sands (seated fourth from left). The Star of the Sea football team. Hunger striker Bobby Sands funeral procession making its way down Stewartstown Road on Route to Milltown cemetery Press Eye Belfast - Northern Ireland - 31st July 2016 Brendan Byrne, Aisling Higgins, Trevor Birney and Paul Higgins are pictured at the film premiere of Bobby Sands: 66 Days at the Omniplex Cinema at the Kennedy Centre in west Belfast. The premiere was hosted with Feile An Phobail and West Belfast Film Festival. Photo by Kelvin Boyes / Press Eye Press Eye Belfast - Northern Ireland - 31st July 2016 Brendan Byrne, Fran Rowlatt McCormick, Ben Rowlatt McCormick, Andrew Tully and Trevor Birney are pictured at the film premiere of Bobby Sands: 66 Days at the Omniplex Cinema at the Kennedy Centre in west Belfast. The premiere was hosted with Feile An Phobail and West Belfast Film Festival. Photo by Kelvin Boyes / Press Eye Press Eye Belfast - Northern Ireland - 31st July 2016 Brendan Byrne, Professor Siobhan O'Neill, Professor Deirdre Heenan and Trevor Birney are pictured at the film premiere of Bobby Sands: 66 Days at the Omniplex Cinema at the Kennedy Centre in west Belfast. The premiere was hosted with Feile An Phobail and West Belfast Film Festival. Photo by Kelvin Boyes / Press Eye Press Eye Belfast - Northern Ireland - 31st July 2016 Trevor Birney, Martin McCann and Brendan Byrne are pictured at the film premiere of Bobby Sands: 66 Days at the Omniplex Cinema at the Kennedy Centre in west Belfast. The premiere was hosted with Feile An Phobail and West Belfast Film Festival. Photo by Kelvin Boyes / Press Eye Press Eye Belfast - Northern Ireland - 31st July 2016 Brendan Wright, Catherine James, Jennifer Wright, Siobhan Wright and Trevor Birney are pictured at the film premiere of Bobby Sands: 66 Days at the Omniplex Cinema at the Kennedy Centre in west Belfast. The premiere was hosted with Feile An Phobail and West Belfast Film Festival. Photo by Kelvin Boyes / Press Eye Press Eye Belfast - Northern Ireland - 31st July 2016 Rita Harkin and Stephen Douds are pictured at the film premiere of Bobby Sands: 66 Days at the Omniplex Cinema at the Kennedy Centre in west Belfast. The premiere was hosted with Feile An Phobail and West Belfast Film Festival. Photo by Kelvin Boyes / Press Eye Press Eye Belfast - Northern Ireland - 31st July 2016 Sharon Curran and Eva Grossman are pictured at the film premiere of Bobby Sands: 66 Days at the Omniplex Cinema at the Kennedy Centre in west Belfast. The premiere was hosted with Feile An Phobail and West Belfast Film Festival. Photo by Kelvin Boyes / Press Eye Bobby Sands funeral Jonathan Porter/Presseye.com - Press Eye Ltd -Northern Ireland - 1st March 2011. Launch of the Hunger Strike 30th Anniversary Exhibition in the Linen Hall Library, Belfast. Ten republican prisoners died during the 1981 protest inside the Maze Prison. A letter written by Bobby Sands on cigarette paper which was smuggled out of the prison pictured at the exhibition. Press Eye Belfast - Northern Ireland - 31st July 2016 The audience at the film premiere of Bobby Sands: 66 Days at the Omniplex Cinema at the Kennedy Centre in west Belfast. The premiere was hosted with Feile An Phobail and West Belfast Film Festival. Photo by Kelvin Boyes / Press Eye Press Eye Belfast - Northern Ireland - 31st July 2016 The audience at the film premiere of Bobby Sands: 66 Days at the Omniplex Cinema at the Kennedy Centre in west Belfast. The premiere was hosted with Feile An Phobail and West Belfast Film Festival. Photo by Kelvin Boyes / Press Eye Press Eye Belfast - Northern Ireland - 31st July 2016 Michele Devlin, festival director, Belfast film festival pictured at the film premiere of Bobby Sands: 66 Days at the Omniplex Cinema at the Kennedy Centre in west Belfast. The premiere was hosted with Feile An Phobail and West Belfast Film Festival. Photo by Kelvin Boyes / Press Eye Michael Fassbender stars in Hunger, the film about the last six weeks in the life of Bobby Sands Press Eye Belfast - Northern Ireland - 31st July 2016 The audience at the film premiere of Bobby Sands: 66 Days at the Omniplex Cinema at the Kennedy Centre in west Belfast. The premiere was hosted with Feile An Phobail and West Belfast Film Festival. Photo by Kelvin Boyes / Press Eye Press Eye Belfast - Northern Ireland - 31st July 2016 The audience at the film premiere of Bobby Sands: 66 Days at the Omniplex Cinema at the Kennedy Centre in west Belfast. The premiere was hosted with Feile An Phobail and West Belfast Film Festival. Photo by Kelvin Boyes / Press Eye Press Eye Belfast - Northern Ireland - 31st July 2016 The audience at the film premiere of Bobby Sands: 66 Days at the Omniplex Cinema at the Kennedy Centre in west Belfast. The premiere was hosted with Feile An Phobail and West Belfast Film Festival. Photo by Kelvin Boyes / Press Eye Press Eye Belfast - Northern Ireland - 31st July 2016 The audience at the film premiere of Bobby Sands: 66 Days at the Omniplex Cinema at the Kennedy Centre in west Belfast. The premiere was hosted with Feile An Phobail and West Belfast Film Festival. Photo by Kelvin Boyes / Press Eye Kieran Doherty died in the Maze prison in 1981 after being on a hunger strike Press Eye Belfast - Northern Ireland - 31st July 2016 Aisling and Seamus Higgins are pictured at the film premiere of Bobby Sands: 66 Days at the Omniplex Cinema at the Kennedy Centre in west Belfast. The premiere was hosted with Feile An Phobail and West Belfast Film Festival. Photo by Kelvin Boyes / Press Eye Press Eye Belfast - Northern Ireland - 31st July 2016 Paul Mullin and Cathy Church are pictured at the film premiere of Bobby Sands: 66 Days at the Omniplex Cinema at the Kennedy Centre in west Belfast. The premiere was hosted with Feile An Phobail and West Belfast Film Festival. Photo by Kelvin Boyes / Press Eye Press Eye Belfast - Northern Ireland - 31st July 2016 Ciaran Morrison and Cath Kelly are pictured at the film premiere of Bobby Sands: 66 Days at the Omniplex Cinema at the Kennedy Centre in west Belfast. The premiere was hosted with Feile An Phobail and West Belfast Film Festival. Photo by Kelvin Boyes / Press Eye Former taoiseach Garret FitzGerald pleaded with Ronald Reagan to pile pressure on Margaret Thatcher over the hunger strikes / Facebook

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Meanwhile the producer of the film says it will be "challenging for all of us".

Trevor Birney from Fine Point Films told the Impartial Reporter: "We didn't go into this film without thought and recognised of course that, for many unionists and republicans, the hunger strikes remain a very difficult period.

"But my children know very little about this time, and they certainly won't learn anything about it in school, and yet this was a critical moment in our recent history.

"That's a very good reason to do a film like this."
The leader of the inter-denominational Corrymeela Community, Padraig O Tuama, believes that the current Maynooth situation "could provide an opportunity for mature reflection by the Catholic Church about the whole nature of sexuality".

His remarks come after the announcement by the Catholic Archbishop of Dublin, Dr Diarmuid Martin, to send his seminarians to the Irish College in Rome because of his concerns about "an atmosphere of strange goings on at Maynooth".

Dr Martin said: "It seems like a quarrelsome place with anonymous letters being sent around.

"I don't think that this is a good place for students."

There have been allegations of bullying and of a "gay subculture" in Maynooth, though this has been strenuously denied by the college.

Mr O Tuama, who is gay, believes that the idea of sending young seminarians to the Irish College in Rome "will not solve the problem if there is anything to solve".

In an exclusive interview, he told the Belfast Telegraph: "This is an opportunity for practical and theological reflection about the dignity of human relations, including intimacy between people, as well as sexual relationships."

Mr O Tuama said: "It cannot be taken for granted at present that those entering a life in the priesthood have been able to come to terms with what it will mean for them in personal and sexual terms.

"The pressure is put on them to adapt.

"Perhaps the pressure should be put on the Church to welcome married clergy across all its expressions and not only the few."

He added: "There is a rich gift that celibate clergy can give to their communities.

"I also believe there is a rich gift that married couples can give as well.

"I don't think that the situation in Maynooth is a crisis between gay or straight clergy or students.

"It really is an opportunity for further mature reflection by the Church for those who are going to be priests and religious."

Padraig O Tuama said that at one point he wanted to become a priest.

Mr O Tuama added: "I was put off from doing so by a ruling from Pope Benedict that it was not possible for a man to enter the priesthood if he had 'the homosexual tendency' for over two years.

"I was prepared to be celibate as a priest.

"However, I would not live in a state of secrecy pretending that I was not gay."

Local Catholic sources and individual clergy, former clergy and laity have remained tight-lipped about the Maynooth controversy.

The Press Office of the Diocese of Down and Connor has issued a one-line statement indicating that it will continue to send its seminarians to Maynooth.

A similar line has also been taken by the other diocesan authorities in Ireland, apart from Dr Diarmuid Martin's Diocese of Dublin.
A distraught mother has issued a heartfelt plea for help to find her missing son.

Curtis Higgins (29), from Manchester, was last seen by Denise Higgins at their home on Sunday morning. It is believed he bought a ticket at Holyhead port for travel to Dublin and is believed to be heading towards Belfast.

He boarded the ferry, but has not been seen since. Anyone with information about Curtis' whereabouts should call Missing People on 116000 quoting reference number 16-003616.
Category C Wayland Prison, near Thetford in Norfolk

Police are investigating an attack on a prison governor by an inmate.

Paul Cawkwell, governor of HMP Wayland in Norfolk, was targeted by a prisoner in the canteen of the Category C men's jail.

He reportedly needed hospital treatment for his injuries.

A Prison Service spokesman said: " We do not tolerate any violence against our hard-working and dedicated prison staff.

"Safety in prisons is fundamental to the proper functioning of our justice system.

"When incidents like this occur we work closely with the police to push for the strongest possible punishment.

"This incident is now being investigated by police, therefore we cannot comment further at this stage."

In its last annual report, the prison's independent monitoring board had voiced concerns about staffing levels.

But sources said the assault on the governor was an isolated incident which involved one prisoner and had nothing to do with staffing levels.

In May around 20 prisoners were involved in a food fight at the jail and in June an inmate attempted to grab a set of keys from an officer.

HMP Wayland opened in 1985 and has an operational capacity of more than 1,000.

A police spokesman said: "Norfolk Police are investigating an assault on a member of staff by a prisoner at HMP Wayland on Wednesday July 27 2016.

"The prisoner has been relocated to another prison and inquiries are ongoing."
Events this week in Belfast under the title of 'Pride' are, in reality, a reason for shame.

Pressure to normalise same-sex relationships may be unrelenting, but - in spite of wall murals, colourful parades and visiting celebrities - homosexuality remains unnatural, immoral and the subject of God's displeasure.

The Christian position on these matters is seen in the clear teaching of the Bible, which declares that all sex outside marriage is sinful.

Some 'Christian' spokesmen may give the impression that God has, somehow, changed his mind about human sexuality.

But it is no sign of Christian love to pretend that sin has no consequences and that people may continue in immoral behaviour, thinking that God will welcome them eventually into Heaven without true repentance. Believing such a lie does not make it true.

But, thankfully, the same scriptures tell us that God loves sinners of all kinds and offers forgiveness and new life by repentance and faith in Jesus Christ.

Sadly, you will search in vain for an event in this week's festival for former homosexuals to share their experiences, but it is a fact that an increasing number are finding freedom from the shackles of the 'gay' lifestyle (2 Corinthians 5v17).

REV PHILIP CAMPBELL

Coleraine, Co Londonderry
Villagers carry an injured person from the site of a militant attack in Kokrajhar district, in the northeast Indian state of Assam, Aug. 5, 2016.

A massive manhunt for suspected rebels who killed 13 civilians during a daylight attack on a busy market in Indias northeastern Assam state was under way late Friday, authorities said.

In the daring Friday morning attack, gunmen hurled grenades and fired indiscriminately at people who were shopping at the weekly market in Balajan Tiniali, Kokrajhar district, some 220 km (136.7 miles) west of state capital Guwahati, police said.

Officials said security forces killed one of the suspected separatists in retaliatory gunfire, as they rushed to respond to the attack. As of late Friday, the forces were hunting for three or four assailants believed to have fled into the thick forests of Kokrajhar, according to officials.

It is not clear how many militants were involved in the attack. We have launched a manhunt as we believe the ultras who escaped are hiding in the area, Mukesh Sahay, Assams director general of police, told reporters.

At least three men wearing army fatigues and with their faces covered in black cloth stepped out of an auto-rickshaw at about 11:40 a.m. and threw a grenade. Then they sprayed the crowd of shoppers with gunfire, according to eyewitness accounts.

At least 16 other people were injured in the attack that lasted about 45 minutes, police said.

Sahay said police had recovered enough evidence from the site to suggest that the National Democratic Front of Bodoland-Songbijit (NDFB-S), an armed group fighting for secession from India, carried it out.

Data from a mobile phone recovered from the slain attacker indicated that he was a cadre of NDFB-S, Sahay said.

Splinter group

The NDFB-S, led by Ingti Kathar Songbijit, is a breakaway faction of the NDFB, which has been demanding a sovereign Bodoland for the indigenous Bodo tribe in Assam since 1986.

The NDFB-S was formed in 2012 after a section of the main NDFB gave up the secessionist demand and agreed to hold talks with the Indian government. New Delhi has branded both the NDFB and NDFB-S, which is believed to number 270 cadres, as terrorist groups.

At least 200 people have been killed in assaults blamed on the NDFB-S since its formation four years ago.

Most notable among them was a series of attacks in May 2014 that killed 32 Bengali Muslims, and another attack in December 2014 that targeted a Christian tribe. More than 80 people, including 21 women and 18 children, died in that attack.

Unconfirmed reports suggested the NDFB-S had denied having anything to do with Fridays attack.

But Minister of State for Defense Subhash Bhamre said the group was involved.

While no terror group has claimed responsibility, a faction of the NDFB, a separatist outfit who seeks to obtain a separate Bodoland territory for the Bodo people in Assam, has carried out [the attack]. Army and paramilitary forces have launched a massive operation to nab the militants and they were around seven to eight militants in number, Bhamre told Indian news agency ANI.

We will not tolerate any threat

The attack was possibly done in retaliation for a zero-tolerance policy against armed separatism and militancy adopted by Indias ruling coalition, which is headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modis Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), according to northeast Indian security expert Wasbir Hussain.

The BJP government has time and again made clear that it will not engage any militant groups in peace talks. Maybe this is the reason, a splinter group like NDFB-S wants to make its presence felt by carrying out such an attack, Hussain told BenarNews.

Meanwhile, Assam Chief Minister Sarbanand Sonowal announced a compensation package of 500,000 rupees ($7,480) to each of the families of the people who were killed in Fridays attack and 100,000 ($1,496) rupees to each of the injured.

We will not tolerate any threat from any group. The government will not bow to any pressure while tackling terrorist groups, the Press Trust of India quoted Sonowal was quoted as saying.

He added that security forces across Assam were placed on high alert following the attack, and in view of the countrys Independence Day on Aug.15.

Ensuring protection to life and property of the people is the first and foremost duty of the government. I appeal to all people of Assam to exercise restraint and to maintain peace and harmony, he said.
Supachai Somcharoen, chairman of the Election Commission, casts a demo ballot during an event to promote Sundays constitutional referendum, Aug. 4, 2016.

Thai people go to the polls Sunday to vote on a draft constitution that would cement military control over Thailands political institutions and usher in general elections sometime next year, if passed.

As many as 40.4 million voters  80 percent of the electorate  are expected to vote on the proposed charter and on a clause it contains that would allow 250 appointed senators and 500 elected MPs to pick a new prime minister, according to Thailands Election Commission.

Polls are open across Thailand from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., with initial results announced that evening and official results three days later, officials said.

The military government has worked hard to promote the charter by various means, including intimidating critical voices and quietly lobbying community leaders at the village level.

Civil servants, military cadets and others have been sent out on foot and even on elephants as part of a door-to-door nationwide campaign to encourage people to go to the polls.

Observers say a yes vote is key to the legitimacy of the Thai junta that came to power in a May 2014 coup promising to end a decade-long political crisis and restore democracy.

There is no clear official position as to what the government would do if the referendum does not pass, yet the outcome of Sundays vote is hard to predict.

[B]ecause the junta has made it so hard to express dissent in Thailand, it has also created a situation in which voting no on the charter could be, for many Thais, the only way they have to show displeasure at the coup government, Joshua Kurlantzick of the Council on Foreign Relations, a U.S. think tank, wrote earlier this week.

Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-o-cha told reporters this week that he would not step down should the referendum fail to pass. He insisted that his administration was committed to a general election that he said can only come about with a new constitution in place.

Return to normalcy

If passed, the charter would increase the size of Thailands Senate by 100 members and allow the junta to hand-pick all 250 of its members. Six of those seats would be reserved for chiefs of the armed forces.

The constitution also opens the possibility of a non-elected person becoming prime minister, its critics say.

Authorities have been promoting a yes vote with the concept of return to normalcy, while in 2007 the last time Thais voted in a constitutional referendum  the slogan was vote yes and amend later.

The current draft charter makes future amendment extremely difficult, according to Supalak Ganjanakhundee, a senior editor at The Nation newspaper in Bangkok.

Besides obtaining a simple majority in the 500-seat Parliament, an amendment must have support from at least 20 percent of opposition parliamentarians and one-third of the 250 seats in the military-appointed Senate, he said.

Leaders of two leading political parties, the Pheu Thai Party and the Democrats, voiced objection to the draft constitution in recent days as the government relaxed its grip of freedom of expression and allowed town hall discussions on the draft charter across the country.

But there were still limits to what could be said. At least one forum in Ubon Ratchathanee province was called off when it was discovered that the organizer had invited an outspoken Pheu Thai Party politician, Chaturon Chaisaeng, as one of the panelists.

View from the south

In Thailands southernmost provinces, where ongoing insurgency violence has claimed 7,000 lives since January 2004, military officers urged community leaders to mobilize villagers to vote yes on Sunday.

While the military did not go as far as suggesting that a yes vote would restore peace to this historically contested region, they argued that the draft constitution would bring an end to the decade-old political crisis at the national level

Many experts agree that political stability at the national level would help make the atmosphere more conducive for peace talks in the far South.

A clause of the draft charter singling out Theravada as the branch of Buddhism to be promoted and supported by the state has drawn notice in this Muslim-majority region, according to Ismail Haji Wancik, a communications officer at the Patani Institute, a local civil society organization.

That clause could set an unwanted precedent if other religions start to demand that their particular sect be mentioned in the Constitution, Ismail said, voicing concern.

This point has provided ammunition for pro-Thaksin Shinawatra politicians in the South in their campaign for a no vote, he said. Thaksin was ousted in 2006 and his sister, Yingluck, in 2014, by military coups.

Amorn Wanichwiwatana, a spokesman for the Constitution Drafting Commission (CDC), told reporters on July 29 that Muslim politicians had been distorting the draft constitution in their attempt to persuade Muslim voters to reject it. He insisted that the draft charter was designed to protect Buddhism and other religions in the country.

Behind closed doors, Bangkok-based diplomats have expressed doubt that the charter would bring about political stability because the drafting process lacked inclusiveness.

But despite the repressive atmosphere in the lead up to the vote, balloting itself is likely to be fair, according to Kurlantzick, the Council on Foreign Relations scholar.

Though there may be some fraud, the actual voting will likely be relatively free and fair; there is little evidence to suggest that the coup government plans to blatantly rig the polls, he wrote.
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In this article I am going to explain twelve things you should know about the extreme-right hate group called Britain First. ...


No. 838, Aug. 4, 2016 Two New Litters of Wolf Pups Confirmed in Oregon

Oregon wolves have been gripped by pup fever.



Wildlife officials just released photos confirming that Oregon's famous wolf "OR-7" -- who founded the Rogue pack in the Oregon portion of the Rogue River-Siskiyou National Forest near the Oregon-California border -- has fathered his third litter of pups since the pack's establishment in 2014.



And it just so happens that the Rogue pack's neighbors in nearby Lake County -- a pair known as the Silver Lake wolves -- have also produced pups. The female of this pair is known to have dispersed westward from the Mount Emily pack, and the male wolf, OR-3, was born into the Imnaha pack and is OR-7's brother. This means Oregon's wolf population has reached the triple digits.



"It's incredibly exciting that Oregon's wolves are starting to find their way back to places this remarkable species once called home," said the Center for Biological Diversity's Amaroq Weiss. "This tells us how important it is to keep wildlands available for continued safe passage, and to keep legal protections in place for wolves."



See photos and read more in The Oregonian.

A Break for El Jefe: Army Corps Recommends Mine Permit Denial El Jefe, the only known wild jaguar in the United States, just caught a break: The Army Corps of Engineers' Los Angeles regional office recommended denial of an essential permit for the proposed Rosemont copper mine in southern Arizona.



The denial recommendation, made last week, has been forwarded to the Corps' San Francisco office, which has said it will issue a final decision within six months. The massive open-pit copper mine would destroy thousands of acres of public land in the heart of El Jefe's home territory, but it can't proceed without a Clean Water Act permit that Rosemont is seeking. The Center has been fighting against the mine for almost a decade -- and for jaguars for 22 years.



"The record is clear: The Rosemont mine would pollute Arizona's air, drain its water supply, and do tremendous damage to its wildlife and wild places," said the Center's Randy Serraglio. "The Corps has apparently concluded what we've known all along -- that this mine is simply not in the public interest."



Read more in the Arizona Daily Star.

3.7 Million Acres Protected for Pacific Northwest Seabird

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service on Wednesday finalized protections on nearly 3.7 million acres of critical habitat in Washington, Oregon and California for the marbled murrelet, a coastal bird unique to the Pacific Northwest. Unfortunately the final designation failed to protect old-growth forests on state and private lands or marine areas, all of which were called for by scientists and conservation groups, including the Center.



Marbled murrelets are shy, robin-sized seabirds that feed at sea but nest only in old-growth forests along the Pacific Coast. They have continued to decline since they were protected under the Endangered Species Act more than two decades ago because of ongoing logging of their habitat and increasingly poor ocean conditions.



"These protections simply don't go far enough," said our Endangered Species Director Noah Greenwald. "To save the marbled murrelet we need to protect all of its remaining old-growth forest habitat in Oregon, Washington and California, as well as the near-shore areas it needs for feeding."



Read more in our press release. Americans Call for End of Federal Coal Program

Bold action on climate is needed now -- so the Center and other groups have called on President Obama to permanently end the federal coal program. Ending leasing and mining of public-lands coal in the United States would keep up to 212 billion metric tons of carbon pollution in the ground -- equal to taking 45 billion cars off the road for one year and saving society more than $7 trillion in avoided climate damages.



More than 40 percent of all coal produced in the United States comes from publicly owned reserves -- mostly in the American West -- that are leased out to private companies and managed by the Interior Department. When mined and burned, this coal is responsible for more than 10 percent of U.S. greenhouse gas emissions. Last year scientists reported that to rein in global temperature increases, more than 90 percent of all U.S. coal reserves need to remain untouched.



"There's no reasonable path to avoiding the worst effects of climate change without the phase-out of coal mining and combustion," said the Center's Michael Saul. "It's time for the Department of the Interior to start being honest with itself and American communities and shift policies for a clean and sustainable future."



Read more in our press release.

Iowa Moves to Rein in Turtle Trapping A win for wild turtles: Iowa wildlife officials have proposed to restrict collection and killing of four species of wild turtles: common snapping turtles, painted turtles, spiny softshells and smooth softshells. If finalized the rules would impose seasons, daily bag limits and possession limits for the animals, which are under tremendous pressure from overcollection for the export market to Asia, where they're killed for food and medicine. More than 3 million wild-caught, live turtles are exported from the United States each year to feed Asian markets.



Right now Iowa allows year-round commercial collection of the four turtle species without any daily bag or possession limits. The proposed regulations protect them during their peak mating season by prohibiting commercial collection prior to July 1. But year-round recreational collection of common snappers is still allowed.



"The new proposals are a welcome step," said Collette Adkins, a senior attorney at the Center, which in 2009 sought a ban on commercial turtle collecting in the state. "But a complete ban on commercial trapping is needed."



Read more in the Miami Herald.

New Lawsuit Filed to Save Rio Grande Cutthroat Trout In response to a Center petition and two lawsuits, the Fish and Wildlife Service determined in 2008 that a rare southwestern trout, the Rio Grande cutthroat, deserved Endangered Species Act protection. The cutthroat is threatened by habitat loss, nonnative trout and climate change. But in 2014 the Service reversed course and denied it that protection.



Well, we've been fighting for this fish for two decades -- and we're not giving up. We sued the Service again last week over its denial of protection to the trout, which now survives in only 11 percent of its ancient home range in tiny headwater streams of the Rio Grande, Pecos and Canadian rivers in Colorado and New Mexico. Last week's lawsuit challenges a new Fish and Wildlife policy of disregarding species' historic ranges and instead assessing species' viability only within their current range -- regardless of how diminished those ranges are from historic levels.



"Congress decided imperiled wildlife should be afforded legal and practical protection before they're reduced to the point of looming extinction," said the Center's Michael Robinson. "What a travesty that we now have to file suit to get the government to protect the Rio Grande cutthroat trout when it's already gone from almost all its historic range."



Read more in the Albuquerque Journal.

Earth Overshoot Day Is Coming -- Are You Ready? You may not feel it, but sometime on Monday our planet will pass a critical threshold: the moment when we've used all the natural resources the planet can replenish in a year. It's got the catchy name of "Earth Overshoot Day," but put away those streamers and party hats. The last thing we want to do is celebrate the reality that everything else we use for the rest of the year is a debt we're leaving for our planet and future generations.



That doesn't mean we should despair, though: Let's use the day as a moment for action and awareness. This week the Center's Population and Sustainability team is posting a series of pieces on our Medium page about what our planetary budget means for food systems, energy resources, water, and population growth. Each article includes tips on what you can do to help rewrite the Earth's budget, starting with what you do in bed, what you put on your plate, and how you use your voice in our political system.



Check out the Medium pieces here, here and here, and watch this video from the Center's Leigh Moyer about what it all means.

Petition Calls on EPA to Force Data Disclosure on 'Synergistic' Pesticides

Following the Center's study showing that more than two-thirds of pesticide products approved for four major companies are dangerously "synergistic" -- that is, contain mixtures of two or more pesticides that together are even more poisonous to some plants or animals than they would be on their own -- we petitioned the Environmental Protection Agency to require those companies to release information on their products' synergistic effects when seeking EPA approval.



The EPA has approved more than 100 of these products from the four big pesticide companies (Bayer, Dow, Monsanto and Syngenta) in the past six years without accounting for their dangers.



"The pesticide industry has been gaming the system for too long, saying one thing to the U.S. Patent Office and another to the EPA," said the Center's Lori Ann Burd. "Our request is simple and just makes good common sense: The EPA needs to require pesticide companies to give it the information it needs to determine whether these pesticides are safe for use on our food and lawns."



Read more in our press release. Wild & Weird: The 4-billion-year-old Microbe That Unites Us All

It's a crazy election season out there, and we're all being exposed to excessive levels of vitriol. But buried in the constant news coverage of acrimonious Twitter battles and cheap shots, you may have missed a remarkable item that speaks to unity rather than difference: A massive genome analysis conducted by a team of scientists has resulted in a solid description of LUCA, the Last Universal Common Ancestor of all creatures living on Earth today.



Our distinguished common ancestor, according to the study, was most likely a hydrogen-gobbling, single-celled organism -- similar to bacteria -- that lived in the hard-knock environment of deep-sea thermal vents. This microbial Eve, as some have described LUCA, may well be the progenitor -- the unifying mother -- of all plants, animals, fungi, protists, eubacteria and archaebacteria (not to mention Democrats, Republicans and Bernie-or-Busters).



The new hypothesis is causing a bit of a stir in the scientific community. Darwin's belief that life began in "warm little ponds" on land doesn't jibe with the idea that it may have developed in more extreme environs like the flanks of deep-sea volcanoes. Sadly, life-origin Twitter battles aren't likely to dominate the news cycle anytime soon.



Read more in The New York Times. Kieran Suckling

@KieranSuckling

Executive Director View this message in your browser and share it on social media.



Photo credits: Rogue pack wolf pups courtesy ODFW; El Jefe courtesy UA/USFWS; marbled murrelet courtesy Rich MacIntosh/USGS; wolves by John Pitcher; coal mine by Parolan Harahap/Flickr; Rio Grande cutthroat trout courtesy Lloyde Hazzard/USFWS; painted turtle by Dmitry Mozzherin/Flickr; brown bear (c) Robin Silver, Center for Biological Diversity; pesticide sign by Dauvit Alexander/Flickr; Earth Overshoot day video still courtesy Center for Biological Diversity; bacterium by Allon Weiner/Wikimedia.



Donate now to support the Center's work.



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Because the oceans absorb man-made carbon dioxide (CO2) from the atmosphere, its pH declines. Effects of this chemical change on tropical coral reefs can be examined in laboratory or short-term field experiments. However, a team led by Dr. Marlene Wall, marine biologist at GEOMAR Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research Kiel, chose a different approach: In the framework of the German research network BIOACID (Biological Impacts of Ocean Acidification), they examined corals of the genus Porites, which grow at volcanic carbon dioxide vents in Papua New Guinea and have become a dominant species there.

"It is very difficult to foresee if tropical corals are able to survive global climate change. These organisms are very sensitive to a rise in water temperatures, ocean acidification and pollution", explains Dr. Wall. "The natural carbon dioxide vents give us the opportunity to study the scenario of the future already today. Previous studies have shown that Porites is among the winners. But up to now, no one knew how they manage."

Porites corals keep their internal pH at a level at which they are able to produce calcium carbonate and grow despite higher carbon dioxide concentrations and lower pH in the surrounding water - a significant advantage over many other species. In this way, they have established themselves under extreme conditions. "According to our observations, the pH regulation is a key feature when it comes to surviving under a lowered pH", emphasizes Dr. Wall. The findings about pH regulation in corals are published in the journal Scientific Reports.

To better understand the ability of pH regulation, the scientific team led by Dr. Wall examined corals using the boron isotope method. For these measurements, a laser is directed at the skeletons. Material that comes off during this procedure is analysed in a mass spectrometer. The isotopic composition of boron that is included in the skeleton reveals information on the coral's internal pH. "This method gives us new insights and allows for conclusions about the physiology of the coral skeleton at the time of calcification", says Dr. Jan Fietzke, a physicist at GEOMAR and co-author of the study. "You could say we look back into the future."

For the study described in the current publication, Fietzke examined the skeleton which had been formed a few days to weeks before sampling. Comparisons with pH measurements in the surrounding water proved that the boron isotopes reflected the internal pH of the coral and that it was different from the pH of the environment - pH regulation has taken place. Based on this knowledge, cores from several decades old corals are currently being evaluated. "So we can find out when and how quickly they have acclimatized."

By looking back to the future, the researchers found out that Porites corals have a remarkable ability to level their pH for decades and thereby counteract global climate change. "But we had to learn that regulation is only possible up to a certain degree. When carbon dioxide concentrations exceed values that are expected after the year 2100, calcification and growth are lower - and even the winner reaches its limit", according to Dr. Wall. "Our results prove how important it is to combine laboratory experiments with long-term field studies and observations. Controlled laboratory experiments provide an understanding of the pH control, but only in combination with field observations, they paint a more detailed picture about possible long-term consequences."

Source: Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research Kiel (GEOMAR)
Movie stars under the aegis of The Golden Movie Ambassadors of Nigeria (TGMAN), in collaboration with the United Nations Information Centre (UNIC) Lagos, took to the streets in a public awareness campaign on climate change, this week.

Celebrities march through Lagos streets in support of a climate change awareness campaign

Led by the president of TGMAN, veteran actor Saidi Balogun, and the national information officer of UNIC Lagos, Oluseyi Soremekun, the awareness campaign attracted the attention of passersby.

The campaign, which was anchored on the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 13: Take urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts, informed and educated members of the public about climate change mitigation, adaptation, impact reduction and early warning.

As the campaign procession meandered through the streets, information and education materials were shared with the public.

Speaking at the Egbeda terminus of the campaign trail, Soremekun noted that climate change remained a threat to all. He explained that the economy and peoples livelihoods were suffering due to unpredictable weather as lakes were drying up and dry lands were getting drier, while flooded plains were increasing. This, according to him, had serious health implications. He therefore urged the public be vigilant as flash floods have been predicted in some States of the Federation.

In his message, Balogun, urged the public to take tree planting as a way of life. Tree planting, he continued, was the best gift anyone could give to himself.

The SDGs awareness campaign was an outcome of a partnership meeting held between TGMAN and UNIC Lagos a few months ago and it is the first in the series of collaborative activities to leverage on creative arts and the movie industry for the promotion of sustainable development in Nigeria.
ROME, Italy - The World Food Programme's ShareTheMeal app will fundraise to support emergency food relief in Malawi, following one of the strongest El Nino weather events on record. The goal is to provide school meals for an entire year to 58,000 school children in Zomba, a district in southern Malawi severely affected by drought and experiencing high levels of food insecurity.

The children, aged 6-13 years, will receive a specially fortified porridge, through WFPs school meals programme that supports the Government of Malawis National Social Protection Programme. A daily hot meal at school has been shown to boost attendance and improve childrens ability to learn. Zomba district suffers from low enrolment, high dropout and repetition rates, and wide gender disparities in schools - all of which are likely to be aggravated during this time of crisis.

During a recent visit to a school in Zomba district that will benefit from ShareTheMeal, two thirds of children in the playground said they had had no food to eat that morning before leaving home.

ShareTheMeal joins what is set to become WFPs largest emergency response in the countrys history, as Malawis already strained food security has worsened following this years El Nino-related drought which caused widespread crop failure. Across southern Africa, it is estimated 18 million people will require emergency assistance - of these, WFP is planning to reach at least 11.9 million people with food assistance by early next year.

Through the free ShareTheMeal app, smartphone users can donate as little as US $0.50 to provide food to a vulnerable child for a day. Estimations in Malawi show that for every US $1 spent on school meals, at least US $6 are returned in better health and productivity when these children become adults.

Malawi is in an extremely vulnerable situation, with estimates showing that more than one in three people will be food insecure over the next nine months, says Coco Ushiyama, WFP country director in Malawi. People around the world who have enough to eat can easily imagine the terrible impact that hunger has on children in such a situation. I really encourage everyone to use the ShareTheMeal app and help now.

More than one third of children aged under five in Malawi are stunted (have low growth for their age) as a result of malnutrition. A Cost of Hunger in Africa study conducted in Malawi shows that child undernutrition costs Malawi more than 10% of Gross Domestic Product per annum.

Malawi also has high rates of HIV/AIDS infections and related deaths which have left many orphans and child-headed households. A quarter of Malawians live in poverty and the number of households experiencing food shocks increased from 20% to 83% from 2012 to 2014, according to latest national statistics. With the majority of livelihoods dependent on agriculture, the population is highly vulnerable to the effects of natural disasters and food insecurity.
DHAKA: Bangladesh has shut down dozens of online news services including those of pro-opposition media, an official said on Friday, sparking accusations of government censorship.

123RF

The head of the national telecoms regulator said he ordered the closures late Thursday night, citing "objectionable contents".

"We've shut down 32 news portals and websites following instructions from an intelligence agency," Bangladesh Telecommunications and Regulatory Commission (BTRC) chairman Shahjahan Mahmood, said.

He said the list included Sheershanews.com, a popular website known for its fast news coverage, and amardeshonline, a news portal linked to a pro-opposition Bengali daily that the government shut down in 2013.

The crackdown comes after the government banned live television coverage of Islamist extremist attacks in the wake of last month's deadly assault on a cafe in which 22 people were killed including 18 foreigners.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina publicly criticised the coverage of the attack and told private broadcasters to be more responsible.

The head of Sheershanews Ekramul Hoque said he was stunned by the move, which would mean about 100 journalists losing their jobs.

"We think it's a direct assault on the country's freedom of press. The government is shutting down the news organisations they don't like. They want total control of the media," Hoque said.

"By closing down these news portals, the government is sending a clear message to all media firms that they won't tolerate any news organisation that does not follow their line," he said.

Sheershanews was drawing up to 200 million hits a month this year.

Source: AFP
"The most common way people give up their power is by thinking they don't have any." - Alice Walker. This Women's Month, the National Children and Violence Trust (NCVT) reflects on the issue of women often made to feel powerless.

Diriye Amey via Wikimedia Commons

Since its inception in 1994, the NCVT has had vast experience in assisting women from impoverished areas such as Diepsloot, Zandspruit, and Cosmo City. These women often face seemingly hopeless situations, including physical and emotional abuse. With Womens Month approaching, NCVT reflects on these challenges and the supportive role that social workers play.

Poverty and domestic violence

Poverty remains one of the greatest challenges in South Africa, with around 20% of households reporting to have run out of money to buy food during 2015/2016 (Statistics South Africa Community Survey 2016). A large majority of women born into poverty often struggle to get themselves out of the perpetual cycle of poverty unless they have had access to education, says Nokwazi Dlamini, a senior social worker at NCVT.

A lack of financial independence often causes women to enter and stay in abusive relationships. When it comes to domestic violence, women have been found to be more proactive in seeking help from social workers than men, but this usually only happens when the violence has escalated too far. A woman should preferably seek help as soon as domestic violence occurs, not only once it has become the norm or she ends up in the hospital, adds Dlamini.

The burden of raising a family

A second challenge that women face is that they absorb most of the burden of raising a family. In our line of work, we have seen a rise in the number of female single parent headed households over the last few years. The resultant stress can cause chronic anxiety and other psychological disorders, says Dlamini.

Rape

Last, but by no means least, rape is an ongoing issue. Statistics show that most rape victims are raped by someone known to them, with 25.5% of sexual offenses being committed by the spouse or lover of the victim (Statistics South Africa Victims of Crime Survey 2014/2015). For this reason, these victims often do not report the rape or approach social workers for counseling, explains Dlamini.

The current social stigma in the areas where we work is that women are expected to keep family matters within the family. Approaching social workers is, therefore, seen as having failed to deal with the issue properly by oneself. We encourage women to nullify this stigma and seek assistance where necessary, motivates Dlamini. As social workers, we found that some women find it hard to confide in us, feeling that they will be judged or blamed for the violence inflicted on them; in contrast, other women feel that social workers will be able to solve all their problems, while failing to implement interventions after the counselling.

The role of the social worker

However, the work that social workers do remains an immensely powerful tool for helping women in difficulty. There are women who are optimistic and trust us enough to get the necessary guidance that will help them solve their problems. We provide the necessary counseling and they implement the steps that help them to recover from their experience and improve their situation  those women are the ones that really experience a difference, concludes Dlamini.

Under this years theme, Womens Wellness, NCVT will host two events focused on women in impoverished communities: A Womens Dialogue will take place at 10.30am on 12 August 2016 at St Mungos Church in Diepsloot, with a performance by the NCVT Choir to enjoy. A similar dialogue will also take place in Cosmo City on 26 August 2016

Come join us for our Womens Month and find out more about how we touch lives, Dlamini concludes.
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Facts About Ricegum  His Girlfriend, Real Name & Net Worth Ricegum is an online gamer and YouTube sensation who ditched college; took advantage of the digital era, and made a name for himself on the internet. Though he began as a gaming YouTuber, Ricegum soon gained recognition as a controversial internet star following his many diss tracks. Here is everything you need to know about the youngster ...

Joy Taylor Once Married MLBs Richard Giannotti  Inside Look At Her Love Life and Family The erosion of the sexist idea that women have no business in sports broadcasting created a host of women celebrities who attained fame outside of modeling and acting. One of them, Joy Taylor, a radio personality and TV host for Fox Sports 1, has been in the industry since 2009, becoming one of the most ...

What To Know About Conan OBriens Wife, Kids & Family Today The name Conan OBrien is one that jumps right at you almost immediately you start talking about the most popular television hosts in the USA and this is no surprise because the man behind that name has risen to become one of the most admired men in the business. Known for hosting the late-night talk ...

David Letterman  Net Worth, Wife & Son In all of American, one man whose face has been seen frequently by late night TV talk show lovers is none but David Letterman. The comedian and TV show veteran has been hosting late night talk shows for more than three decades. His Late Night with David Letterman show began on February 1st, 1982 aired ...

Demystifying Sssniperwolfs Family Background And The Boyfriends Shes Had Since she launched her eponymously named channel in 2013, Sssniperwolf has been on the rise when it comes to video game influencers. She is one of the biggest names in the online gaming subgenre of YouTube videos. Real name Lia Shelesh, she started with Call of Duty: Black Ops II but has diversified with other ...

Lester Holt  Wife, Family & Net Worth Lester Holt is a multiple award-winning journalist, newscaster, reporter, and actor who has worked for notable media houses like WCBS TV, CBS, MSNBC and among others. His remarkable feat in journalism has endeared him to the hearts of many and earned him some awards and recognitions. Read on to get acquainted with his biography, ethnicity, ...

What Is Louis C.K. Doing Now, Where Are His Family And How Much Is His Net Worth? It is not easy to make it in comedy. It takes more than a funny bone and the ability to elicit a few giggles from a listening audience. For all the complexities that go into making a successful career in comedy, Louis C.K, the Washington D.C-born comedian, did it. For years, he was at the ...

The Progression of Hoda Kotbs Career, Her Ancestry and Family Life Hoda Kotb gained fame as a television host and news anchor for NBC. She anchors the shows signature show Today, and it has been an excellent vehicle for her skills in front of a camera. Kotb has won several awards, including Daytime Emmys and Peabody Awards. Simply put, she is one of the most successful ...

Jerry Seinfelds Family: All About The Amazing Comedians Wife and Kids Apparently one of the highly important entertainers in America, Jerry Seinfeld is a man of many talents. A very funny man, he is considered to be one of the most successful comedians in the USA who has been in the business as a professional rib-cracker for more than 40 years. As an actor, he has ...

The Rigors Of Sarah Silvermans Rise To Prominence And Rundown Of The Men She Has Dated A comedian, writer, and actress, Sarah Silvermans art and craft is as unique as you would ever find. Her poignant use of comedy to discuss social issues such as race, sexism, politics, and religion has gained her an impressive following. As unorthodox as her style is, so is her life experiences. She previously suffered from epiglottitis ...

Who Is Hannibal Buress, Does He Have A Wife or Girlfriend & Why Was He Arrested? Making people laugh when they are tense or not in the mood is a tough order and to ply the trade, it must indeed take some guts and expertise, this is what the humor maker, Hannibal Buress has been able to achieve and sustain after his inital teething process. The African-American is a screen writer, stand-up ...

The Success of John Mulaneys Career Efforts Since His Work On Saturday Night Live and Facts About His Wife John Mulaney had been working as a professional comedian for years before Saturday Night Live changed his status for life and like many who are now his fans, you probably did not know of him then. However, that changed when he joined the sketch comedy show in 2008. Since then, he has been one of ...

Jeff Dunham  Wife, Children and Net Worth Ventriloquism is a very subtle method of making an inanimate object (like a puppet, doll or dummy) appear to be saying words which are actually coming from the person (holding the inanimate object). In effect, the individual throws his/her voice to the puppet and can even appear to be having a conversation with it. Not ...

Ellen DeGeneres  Net Worth, Wife  Portia de Rossi & Parents Ellen DeGeneres is an American female standup comedian who has proven that whatever a man can do, a woman can also do. Since her journey as a standup comedian started in 1981, she has held swirl as one of the finest comedians America and the world at large has seen. She is often referred to ...

Revisiting Joan Rivers Death  The Daughter, Husband & Net Worth She Left Behind Joan Rivers was a renowned American comedian, TV host, writer, and actress. Her brand of comedy consisted of scathing one-liners and no individual or topic is spared. She hosted her own talk shows in the 80s and 90s and was a pioneer for women in stand up comedy. She was the first woman to host a late night ...

The Struggles of Margaret Chos Childhood, How It Influenced Her Career Growth and Love Life Margaret Cho is best described as a comic star who knows how to maneuver everything related to life into a rib-cracking joke. She is also known to criticize every social and political problem, especially those involving race and sexuality. Apart from her talents as a comic actress, she does amazingly well as a singer and ...

Where Is Eric Bolling Today? Who Is His Son & What Is His Net Worth? Eric Bolling who was once a notable figure on Fox News, is an American TV personality, an author, and versatile Journalist. As a political and financial analyst/commentator, he anchored discussions bothering on finance for Fox Business Channel. Here is everything there is to know about his career, family, and allegations that led to his exit ...

Who Is Chelsea Handler and Does She Have A Husband or Boyfriend? Chelsea Handler is one of Americas top female comedians. She is also an actress, writer, television host, producer, and activist. She is known to be very outspoken even with things that are very personal. In separate interviews with The New York Times, Handler revealed that she had an abortion twice when she was 16. She has authored five books ...

How Did Laura Lee Achieve Fame, How Much is She Worth and Who is Her Husband? Laura Lee is a popular American YouTuber, make-up artist and beauty blogger. From posting videos of her makeup routines on Instagram, Lee has transformed into a beauty influencer and a YouTube sensation. Today, her YouTube Channel has over 630 million views and 4.5 million subscribers. Asides having millions of followers across all social media platforms, ...

Madison Gesiotto Bio  Ethnicity, Parents & Measurements Madison Gesiotto is no ordinary woman; although she excelled in quite a number of pageants and competitions while she was in school, it is her views on politics and issues in America that has made her name known to most people. She possesses beauty and intelligence in a seemingly equal measure and has been able ...

Who Is Lil Tay? Parents, Brother, Sister, Age, Net Worth, Ethnicity Child stardom is nothing new in the entertainment world. With the advent of social media, we have seen more stars made from the internet than ever before, and Lil Tay is one of them. Her uploaded rap videos trademark is cursing, swearing, cash-throwing, and use of obscene languages. Her fame went wild after she dropped ...

What To Know About Tig Notaros Wife, Kids and Family Today Tig Notaro is an American stand-up comic star, writer, actress, and radio analyst. Since she started her career in 2001, she has become one of Americas best comedians, particularly when it comes to observational comedy. One prominent aspect of her routine involves her family, which includes a wife and two children. Interestingly, Tig Notaro is part ...

Who Is Chantel Jeffries? What To Know About Her Age, Ethnicity & Net Worth Chantel Jeffries is a lady of many talents. Beyond being celebrated as a DJ, she has fared well as a model, an actress, musician, and as an artist. She first rose to fame on Instagram where she has a large following. However, in recent times, she has hit the spotlight for her rumored relationships with some ...

Is Ellen DeGeneres Married, Who Is The Brother  Vance DeGeneres and Family Members? Ellen DeGeneres is one of a kind celebrity in todays world as she has used her wealth for the greater good for many people. She has served a host of famous awards shows like the Grammy, Primetime Emmy and Academy Awards. Moreso, she is probably one of the most decorated entertainment personalities around the world and ...

Carli Bybel Bio  Height, Boyfriend & Net Worth Video blogging is now on the rise and YouTube is the place where most of it happens. If you are a lady who cares about her looks or a guy who likes to help his woman out with her looks, then one person whose name rings a bell when it comes to giving beauty tips ...

Who Is Lexy Panterra? What To Know About Her Ethnicity, Boyfriend & Net Worth Lexy Panterra is one of the YouTube personalities whose breakout came through the Twerk dance videos she posted on her social media handles and YouTube which has so far generated over 13 million views for her. From there on, she created her LexTwerkOut workout program in 2014. She is sure very talented as she as moved ...

Who Is AnneMunition? What Is Her Ethnicity & Does She Have A Girlfriend or Boyfriend? AnneMunition is a professional gamer and content creator of American origin. She is one of the most sought-after streamers on Twitch  a popular online platform for watching and streaming videos, especially video games. AnneMunition has almost half a million followers on Twitch and her channel has accumulated at least 13 million views. Her favorite games ...

Norm MacDonald  Former Wife, Son & Net Worth Recently, 59-year-old former Saturday Night Live stand-up comic Norm MacDonald caused a not-so-funny stir when he expressed his personal opinion about the #MeToo movement speaking in defense of Louis CK and Roseanne Barr. Following the backlash of his actions, he is diligently doing damage control for his questionable opinion by posting a public apology on ...

Inside Iliza Shlesingers Life With Husband and How Much She is Worth Now Witty, spontaneous, and truly humorous, Iliza Shlesinger is an American comedian who is clearly proving that the stereotypical claim that women are not really funny is not only incredibly wrong but completely outrageous. Having been in the game for more than 10 years, Shlesinger has grown bigger with each step, stunning fans with her incredible ...

Who Is Nessa Diab? Details of her Parents, Ethnicity & Relationship With Colin Kaepernick Nessa Diab has gained more fame as the girlfriend of different footballers than in her career. She is currently with the popular National Football League (NFL) player, Colin Kaepernick, and has stood by his side during his most trying times. Also known for her mononym, Nessa, she recently engaged in a tweet battle with the ...

Samantha Bee  Inside the Life of Full Frontal Comedian and Presenter We have over the decades seen various brands of humor and personalities who have walked the ropes. One of the formidable forces in the world of comedy is no other than the iconic Samantha Bee of the Daily Show who now runs her own television show on TBS channel. She is a Canadian-American political commentator, ...

What Happened To Jessica Williamss Boyfriend And Which Are Her Best Works? Jessica Williams is a woman who has a lot of feathers in her cap  and keeps acquiring more. The former senior political correspondent of the comic Daily Show, who is also a comedian and actress whose recent movie appearance include starring as a playwright just recovering from a recent split with her boyfriend, Damon, and ...

Who is Nicole Byer? Here are 5 Facts You Need To Know About The Comedian Nicole Byer, an American comedian, actress, and writer, made a name for herself after she played supporting roles on MTVs prank show Ladylike and the reality show Girl Code. The latter was a series that featured comedians who analyzed in minute details, all the issues that young women deal with daily, from period to dating, to weird friendship dynamics and questions about sex. Currently, ...

A Closer Look At Bart Kwans Ethnicity, Height & Personal Life Bart Kwan is one of few Asians who is known for being successful in the comic industry at an international level. His fame broke out after the YouTube channel which he created with his close pal Joe Jo garnered up massive followings. The talented duo has been running the channel since 2007 and their success ...

Heres How VanossGaming Achieved Fame Online, His Worth and Other Facts About The Gamer For many years, the decision to drop out of college to pursue an online career was considered to be foolish and self-destructive by conventional wisdom. It was no different when Evan Fong, popularly known as VanossGaming, dropped out of college to pursue a YouTube career. However, that radical move paid off, and he stands shoulder to ...

Desi Perkins  Ethnicity, Net Worth & Husband YouTube is littered with videos of makeup tutorials by different people but if you are interested in learning how to do your makeup like a pro, there is just one person on that platform who you must follow. She is none other than Desi Perkins! She is a popular make-up artist, Instagram star, and vlogger. Desi, ...

The Phases of Casey Neistats Pursuits and His Love Story With Candice Pool YouTuber, vlogger, filmmaker, and creator extraordinaire; these are just a few hats that Casey Neistat wears and the story of how he got here is incredible. A native of Connecticut, Neistat started out by making refreshingly-authentic short films and videos that featured content that was based on everyday life and called attention to serious issues. He ...

Connor Franta  Inside The Life of American YouTuber YouTube has produced a lot of young celebrities in modern times and Connor Franta happens to be one of them. Apart from being a YouTuber, the young American is also an entrepreneur, entertainer, and writer. His journey to fame began almost a decade ago when he started a self-named YouTube channel where he uploads content ranging ...

Rhett and Link  Bio, Who are Their Wives, Net Worth and Family Facts Rhett and Link refer to an American comedy duo who are very popular on YouTube. They are known for their comic songs, viral commercials, skits and the daily show, Good Mythical Morning. Good Mythical Morning is the most watched daily show online, averaging 100 million views in a month. The show has featured guests such ...

A Walk Through The Maze of Ryan Higas Career Pursuits And Relationship With Arden Cho Ryan Higa is not only celebrated as a YouTube star, but he is also famed for appearing on television screens as an actor and comedian. Nigahiga, his Youtube channel, has gathered over 20 million subscribers and billions of views with his different comic acts, short films, and music videos uploads. With the rise in his career, ...

What to Know About The Shows That Made Craig Ferguson a Star and His Family Ties Rising to the top of your profession can sometimes be a hard and difficult process. It requires days and nights of working consistently hard to be better than what you were yesterday. It requires not giving up when all of your experiences seem to be pushing you to quit. It is because of these challenges ...

David Dobrik Married Liza Koshy for One Month  Inside His Family and Relationships David Dobrik is a YouTube sensation who has garnered fame not just for his vlogs but his love life too. Given his career as a YouTuber, his channel is one place where he shares his romantic escapades. With a cute boyish look like his, this Slovakian young man is definitely a good catch, and not ...

Merrell Twins Bio  Ethnicity, Parents & Boyfriend One of the beautiful things about modern life is social media. As rudimentary as it might seem, it could turn out to be the greatest thing that would be invented in the next 50 years because of its impact on human life. Very few tools have revolutionized human behavior and culture as much as social ...

Who Is Bunny Meyer, Is She Married & What Is Her Net Worth? Bunny Meyer is a YouTube celebrity who has amassed over 8.8 million subscribers with 1.5 million viewers on her channel. She is popularly known as Grav3yardgirl and is one of the highest-paid YouTubers in the world. She initially started out as a fashion designer and later chose the path of a YouTuber. Grav3yardgirl has used her knowledge on fashion, makeup, ...

Ninja  Inside The Life of The American YouTuber and Internet Personality Ninja is a talented video game player known for his mastery of Fortnite and other seemingly difficult games he plays with ease. The video gamer made a career out of what is ordinarily the hobby of many people and has since then amassed a huge online following. Find out about him here, including the controversies that ...

What Is Eva Gutowskis True Sexuality and How Did She Rise So Fast As an Influencer? Ever since Eva Gutowski joined YouTube in 2011, it has been an interesting journey for her, moving from one milestone to the other. Backed by an army of young women and teenage girl fans known as Evanators, she has risen to become one of the most-talked-about personalities in the digital stratosphere. She has also leveraged ...

Emma Chamberlain Biography  Age, Height & Net Worth Before now, people in the entertainment industry could only achieve popularity after many years of dedication and hard work but since social media came into the scene, massive success and overnight popularity became possible. That is the story of Emma Chamberlain who encountered fame as a fifteen-year-old. Emma is one of the many young people who became ...

Anna Akana  Ethnicity, Boyfriend & Net Worth There is a new crop of YouTubers known by their different contents with a very strong uniqueness that stands every one of them out, some upload video games, some fashion while some others have comedy video contents to showcase on their channels. Anna Akana has used her platform to showcase her comedy contents to the ...

Revealing Truths About Lilly Singhs Ethnic Background, Family and Her Relationship With Yousef Erakat Lilly Singh is an Indian-Canadian YouTube personality, actress, and comedian also known as Superwoman. She kicked off her YouTube career in 2010 with the launch of her channel IISuperwomanII and followed it up with a vlog channel in 2011. This paved the way for her fame and success which led to a world tour. The ...

Who Is Andrea Constand, Is She Married and What Is Her Connection With Bill Cosby? Many people got sexually molested but could not voice out due to the stigma victims suffer and what will become of them thereafter. Very few of the victims danm every consequence to seek justice and bring the perpetrator to the book, like Andrea Constand. She never got any media buzz, not until her friend cum molester; ...

Who Is Lazarbeam (Lannan Eacott)? Here Are Facts You Need To Know Lannan Eacott became a person of interest after his YouTube channel, LazarBeam pulled him to the limelight. Initially, he started with uploads of Madden Challenge videos before deciding to build his own channel in January 2015. Within the space of three years, his YouTube channel had gathered over 7 million loyal subscribers. Today, he has not ...

Puzzling Facts About Wengies YouTube Success and More About Her Fiance Among the many YouTubers who have succeeded in winning the hearts of millions of people is Wengie. She is a Chinese-Australian YouTube personality, vlogger, singer, and voice actress. Wengie is famous for a lot of things, from her simple life hacks, DIYs, craft ideas to fun experiments, tricks and pranks. Her content portfolio also includes hair tutorials, diet & fitness tips, lookbooks, ...

Is Jeffree Star A Billionaire and How Much Does He Make On YouTube? If looks can be deceptive then theres no other person who proves this maxim better than Jeffree Star. A quick look at Stars pictures would likely leave you wondering whether or not to tag him a male or female. But who says being controversial has to be a curse? For Star, his looks have caught ...

The Place of Rosanna Pansinos Career Hats In Her Rise To Fame and Facts About Her Personal Life There are a few phrases that could summarize Rosanna Pansinos rise to fame. None of them can do it better than the famous axiom, no knowledge is lost. Her popularity YouTube comes out of her foray into other professions, specifically acting. Although acting now occupies one of the major professional hats in Rosannas resume, it was ...

Muselk (Elliott Watkins) Biography  Age, Girlfriend and Net Worth The new and best in-thing in terms of career is video gaming and we have over time seen young men and women make massive income from an activity that was purportedly designed to serve as a hobby or a relaxation activity. One of such individuals is the Australian-born YouTube Celebrity and Twitch streamer, Muselk, whose ...

PopularMMOs Biography: 5 Interesting Facts You Need To Know We have over the years seen social media millionaires, especially on the YouTube social platform. These celebrities cum millionaires have made names for themselves after carving out niches on the internet, and a typical example of one of such exciting media personality on the YouTube is American Minecraft gamer and YouTube star, PopularMMOs whose channel ...

Jason Nash Once Married Marney Hochman  What To Know About His Ex-Wife and Kids The now-defunct video-sharing app Vine was the path that led Jason Nash to fame. With it, he built an audience of over two million followers, which he parlayed into a significant YouTube career. That move has seen him become one of the most popular personalities on the internet, with the cash income to go with ...

Where Does Dantdm Live? What Do We Know About His Net Worth, Wife and Brother? Most parents buy video games for their kids to occupy their time leisure, while other parents frown at their kids when they play video games. Despite the disparity, every parent would be proud of their child if he/she eventually turns a celebrity or millionaire through playing video games like Dantdm. Biography of Dantdm Dantdm was born Daniel ...

LaurDIY  Biography: 5 Facts You Need To Know About The YouTuber LaurDIY is the YouTube channel of Lauren Riihimaki which she created on December 1, 2011, when she was still a college undergrad with the sole aim of giving Do It Yourself (DIY) as well as practical fashion and beauty tips to her followers. She has used the channel to establish herself as a YouTube personality ...

Lachlan Ross Power  Bio And Family Life Of Australian The YouTube Star It is amazing the varied sources of income that the internet has made possible in this day and age. Internet fame can get its holder a whole lot of monetary and social benefits, but it must be noted that it does not come easy or cheap. For those who desire fame, content is the sacrifice ...

Alfie Deyes  Bio and Net Worth: Everything You Need To Know Alfie Deyes is one internet personality you definitely would like to know about. He boasts of over 10 million subscribers on three of his YouTube channels and has three bestseller books to his name. He is probably the most renowned young personality on YouTube today and his vlogging empire continues to grow by the day. ...

Colleen Ballingers Love Story With Husband Erik Stocklin and How Much She Is Worth Now Colleen Ballinger is an American comedian and YouTuber who is a very funny, adventurous, and highly talented woman. She is also an actress, singer, and writer. Collen is widely known for her work on YouTube where she posts content on her channel, Miranda Sings. The comedian has gained many subscribers over the years and has ...

Who Are The Dude Perfect Members and How Much Are They Worth? Entertainment in the 21st century can be digested in many forms and with platforms like YouTube, the creators and purveyors of entertainment have been democratized. Today, one of the most popular platforms to exhibit ones creative talents is YouTube, even though there are other platforms like Twitter, Facebook, who suffer in comparison to YouTube because ...

Who Is Rudy Mancuso, What Is His Earning Power and What Do We Know About His Girlfriend? Rudy Mancuso started his internet journey on Vine. He would later transition to YouTube where he solidified his place among the internets most beloved comedic creators. He is now regarded as one of the renowned internet personalities in the world, with a presence in mainstream TV and film projects like Comedy Centrals Drunk History and ...

Vsauce (Michael Stevens) Biography and Net Worth: All You Need To Know The advent of YouTube and the internet as a whole revolutionized how human beings consume information. With each passing year, the percentage of learning that is done in a traditional classroom decrease as a seismic shift to internet-based learning happens in our education industry. From open courses online to YouTube classes and videos, there are ...

How did Jake Paul Make His YouTube Big Break and Who is His Wife? One of the most interesting Social Media personalities of the 21st century is the young and popular Jake Paul whose elder brother is the famed Vine star, Logan Paul. Jake has utilized the power of the internet to bring himself to the limelight with a channel named JakePaulProductions that has amassed up to six billion ...

5 Facts You Need To Know About Reaction Time (Tal Fishman)  The American YouTuber Before 2015, the leading meaning of reaction time was the amount of time it takes to respond to a stimulus, until Tal Fishman started his channel, Reaction Time on YouTube and the dominant meaning changed. Today, a google search of Reaction Time would deliver Tal Fishmans videos and YouTube channel link with a few physics ...

Grace Helbig  Net Worth, Boyfriend and Family Life of The YouTuber Grace Helbig is an American internet personality, comedian, actress, and writer. She became popular due to her daily vlog series, DailyGrace, which ran on My Damn Channel from 2008 to 2013. Helbig is also popular for her own indie series on YouTube, ItsGrace, which she launched in 2014. Her vlogs which feature random stuff such as ...

Mark Wiens Bio  Ethnicity, Wife and Parents Food is a great way to connect with people. We all love to eat, if not for the pleasure of food, the satisfaction of quenching hunger, and the very process of providing and sharing that food is part of the strongest bonds that bind humanity together. Maybe it is our historical connection to food, where ...

Is Filthy Frank Dead, What Happened To Him and How Much Is He Worth? As George Kusunoki Miller, he was a nobody. However, as Filthy Frank, George was one of the most famous internet personalities on the planet. The Filthy Frank Show, a sketch series on his YouTube channel, TVFilthyFrank, was one of the platforms most influential creations. He is the reason a crazy dance song, Harlem Shake, made it ...

CaptainSparklez Bio  Net Worth, House and Cars of The Famous YouTuber Sometimes, what society wants from its citizens is quite different from what the citizens want for themselves. This is evident in the life and career of video blogger and American YouTube personality, Jordan Maron famous for his YouTube channel CaptainSparklez. He dropped out of school after discovering his talent in playing an online game called Minecraft. ...

Who is Simply Nailogical (Cristine Rotenberg)? Here are Facts You Must Know Canadian Youtube personality, Simply Nailogical (Cristine Rotenberg) originally started out polishing and designing nails even before it became a trendy culture in the social media. Simply Nailogica started out her showbiz career in her early days as a child actress, acting in commercials for game and toy companies. Aside from acting, she is blogger, vlogger, specializing ...

5 Interesting Facts You Need To Know About Huda Beauty In the world of entrepreneurship, it is interesting when an individual has a mentor who he/she looks up to, this yield more productivity on the part of the individual. The iconic and rich American beautician and makeup artist Huda Kattan nicknamed Heida is the founder of the Huda Beauty blog which is number one Instagram beauty blog ...

Is Dino MasterChef Gay? Details About His Ethnicity, Girlfriend, Where He Is Now Food, for the better part of the early years of human life, was nothing more than what we needed for survival. There was no artistry or curation to the method of cooking. The scarcity of food left no room for artistic expression until we figured out agriculture and we could make as much as we ...

Who Is Gabbie Hanna And How Did She Become Famous? As the world shifts to digital media and depends more and more on streaming services for its news and entertainment content, YouTubers have become one of the leading creators in the new media world. Their understanding of the online audience: how to create, maintain, and increase followers, are all handy skills that have primed them ...

Jacksepticeye  Height, Girlfriend & Net Worth Jacksepticeye is a YouTuber and actor who gained popularity with a series of gaming videos he uploads on his channel to the delight of millions of his subscribers. He is Known primarily for his comic video game series titled Lets Play and his vlogs. His channel was formerly ranked 46th in the list of most subscribed ...

Chris Heria Personal Details: About His Wife, Height & Ethnicity Background In this generation, keeping fit has become one of the major criteria for being hale and hearty. In fact, most occupations these days are majorly concerned with ones body mass, weight and looks. Unlike the past where most people have to register in a gym to keep fit, social media has made it quite easy ...

Everything You Need To Know About Game Grumps Gaming is becoming incredibly popular on YouTube these days with game vloggers make millions of dollars out of them yearly. One of the most popular up-coming gaming YouTube channels is Game Grumps. The Lets Play series was created in 2012 and celebrated its fifth anniversary on July 18th, 2017. In six years of its existence, the ...

Daithi De Nogla Biography, Girlfriend and Net Worth YouTube has created an avenue for many to make wealth and become famous from the comfort of their homes while having fun. Many have built a career out of the platform, uploading numerous videos that have earned them the admiration of viewers across the globe. For Daithi De Nogla, he is loved for his humorous commentary on ...

Does Phoebe Robinson Have A Boyfriend or Husband and What Do We Know About Her Family? Phoebe Robinson is a New York-based comedian, writer, and actress. She is best known as the co-creator and co-host of the WNYC Studios podcast 2 Dope Queens. Just like some other female comedians, she never had any original plans of becoming a stand-up comedian even though, according to her, she took a class on a whim at Carolines on Broadway. After ...

Who Are Lex and Alana from Listed Sisters? What Is Their Ethnicity & Is the Show Cancelled? America is a country built on diversity. Everywhere you look all over the country, a countless number of immigrants or children of immigrants have become an integral part of the fabric of the country. From entertainment to business, immigrants are creating a niche for themselves and climbing to the summit of their respective professions. One ...

Riveting Facts About Danielle Lombard And What She Is Best Known For The American entertainment industry is one that provides many avenues for aspiring hopefuls to express their talents and become famous. From films to television shows and game shows, there is no shortage of ways for men and women who desire fame to pursue and earn it in the United States of America. Another tested medium ...

Unearthing New Details About The YouTube Success And Personal Life of Alex Burriss of Wassabi Productions Wildly hilarious and truly audacious, Alex Wassabi is an American YouTuber who has become a very popular face on the video-sharing platform after having garnered millions of subscribers over the years by keeping people glued to his channel with his witty parody video releases. If you have always loved parody videos, there is every chance ...

Everything You Need To Know About H2O Delirious H2O Delirious whose full birth name is reported to be Jonathan Gormon Dennis has successfully kept himself mystified by hiding his face behind the masks leaving his loyal fans speculating who he really is for many years. The American YouTube star is easily identified by the Jason Mask Style with make-up which he wears on his ...

Who Is HolaSoyGerman and What Happened To Him? German Garmendia has certainly seen it all when it comes to internet success. His channels, HolaSoyGerman and JuegaGerman are in the top twenty most subscribed channel on YouTube. The Chilean YouTuber found a way to tap into one of the worlds greatest inventions and make a living from it. He has been able to build ...

Who Are Glenn Becks Family, What Is His Net Worth And What Happened To Him? The American political commentary space is filled with different personalities. A few of them, through their rhetoric, charisma, and resources have been able to build a large following of men and women who listen to them for insight and direction for various political and social issues in the United States. For Conservatives, the story is ...

Following Charissa Thompsons Rise Through The Ranks Of Sports Casting and All About Her Boyfriend Superstar TV host and sportscaster, Charissa Thompson, has been hailed as one of the highest-profile women journalists in America, and the reason is there for all to see. She has worked for popular establishments such as Versus, Yahoo! Sports, ESPN, GSN, and Big Ten Network. She currently hosts the popular pre-game show, Fox NFL Kickoff, ...

Is Chris Kattan Gay or Does He Have A Wife? What Is His Net Worth? Chris Kattan is a popular American comedian and actor. He has appeared in several comic movies and TV series such as The Middle, A Night at the Roxbury and Bunnicula. Kattan is, however, most popular for his six-year stint as a cast member of Saturday Night Live. During his time on the legendary show, he ...

Everything You Should Know About the Rise of Insta Star Claire Abbott and Why She Gave It All Up A lot of young Americans have shot into the limelight for uploading different kinds of videos on YouTube. Some of these young stars include Connor Franta, Desi Perkins, Emma Chamberlain, the Dolan Twins (Ethan and Grayson), and Claire Abbott. The latter became a social media celebrity for uploading sexy bikini pictures of herself on social media. Apart from ...

5 Facts You Need To Know About The YouTube Channel  h3h3Productions H3h3Productions is a YouTube channel that specializes on Comic responses or reactions of other contents or trendy stories. The celebrity couple that created the channel has over time racked up sizable views for their commentaries and contents. Even though they had their own fair share of copyright cases, thankfully they scored an unprecedented victory in all ...

Lilypichu Bio  Height, Brother and Love Story With Albert SleightlyMusical Chang Like most popular internet celebrities, Lilypichu is one of those Twitch streamers who spend their lives on camera. From daydreaming about the possibility of becoming a full-time professional streamer, she grew to live out her dreams on the popular live streaming platform where people play games, make crafts, and showcase their day-to-day activities. Given the rise of ...

KSI  What To Know About His Girlfriend, Brother  Deji Olatunji & Net Worth Assuredly, when Internet inventors Vint Cerf and Bob Khan created the technological masterpiece, they probably did not know how massive the creation will be harnessed by many for different purposes including as a platform for earning money through content creation. One of such person who smiles to the bank regularly today for spending time creating ...

The Interesting Progression and Highlights of Carrie Keagans Career as a Host and Actress Carrie Keagan has garnered huge fame through her various stints on television. She is not just your regular TV host but one with a difference. Keagan has hosted several high profile events and TV shows, including VH1s Big Morning Buzz Live and Fox News Channels Red Eye with Greg Gutfeld. However, not many know she ...

The Gist On Elise Jordans Marriages And Her Rise To Prominence Political commentaries tend to be boring when it is handled by someone who does not have a knack for it. However, when you see the likes of Elise Jordan run the same commentary, you will have a lot of reasons to look forward to watching her again as the journalist is well-versed in the field ...

What Is Timmy Thick Best Known For and How Successful Is The Star? Thanks to the internet, many people whose talents would have ordinarily gone unnoticed have become famous. A very good example of this modern-day internet celebrity is Timmy Thick, an American social media star. He became popular on Instagram due to his penchant for posting raunchy pictures of himself. He also often posted videos of himself ...

What Does Heather Storm Do For a Living and Who Is She Dating? Reality Television is a great way to make a name for oneself as well as amass a fortune. Heather Storm can attest to this as she is one of those who have made a name and earned a lot from reality TV. She made her name appearing on shows like Car Fanatics, Awesome Autos, and, ...

Matt Carriker Biography  Net Worth, Wife & Height Unlike your regular veterinary doctor next door, Matt Carriker chose to spice up his noble profession with the unusual. Though he is known to many as a medical practitioner, Carriker is better renowned as a YouTube star and an animal lover. Having recorded huge successes on his various YouTube channels, the vet doctors name and ...

Jillian Mele of Fox News Career Achievements, Husband & Measurements There are quite a good number of presenters on radio and television who listeners and viewers may never wish to miss any of their shows because of their sensational golden voice, beauty or the special way or artistry they anchor their shows. Jillian Mele is one of such. She has been at the top of ...

Who is Gillian Turner of Fox News? Her Fiance or Husband and Net Worth Gillian Turner is well-known as a news correspondent for Fox News Channel but before she became a TV personality, she built an intimidating resume working for different institutions, including the American government. She served in different capacities at the White House National Security Council during the administration of former US Presidents  George W. Bush and Barack Obama. ...

Gloria Govan Bio  Age, Ethnicity & Height Even as Gloria Govan is famous as an American actress, author, a TV host, and reality television star, shes more popular as the wife of the former NBA player, Matt Barnes. She became known after appearing on the Florida version of the reality television series, Basketball Wives and later, Basketball Wives: LA  after Matt was traded to the Los Angeles Lakers. Sadly, ...

Michael Fishmans Interesting Start as an Actor and Why He Divorced His Wife of Many Years When one door closes, another one opens. As silly as that axiom may seem, it is the story of the resurgence of Michael Fishman, who plays D.J Conner on the popular show, Roseanne. Having played the character for several years as a child actor into his teenage years; when the show originally ended, Michael did ...

Who Is October Gonzalez  Tony Gonzalezs Wife? All You Need To Know October Gonzalez is a popular American TV host and media personality. Additionally, she is also a model. Gonzalez has hosted several TV shows such as Beat Shazam, Entertainment Tonight, and Rachel Ray. She has also featured in several reality TV shows. Gonzalezs fame is not just due to her profession but also because of her ...

Who Is Tony Berlin  Harris Faulkners Husband: His Children and Family Facts Tony Berlin is a popular American media guru. He has variously worked as a reporter, anchor, and producer for some of the biggest TV networks in America. They include CNN, CBS, NBC, and ABC (where he hosted the popular Good Morning America). Berlin has now diversified into public relations and owns his own PR firm. ...

The Progression of Gianna Tobonis Journalism Career and Details About Her Marriage to Kyle Buckley Gianna Toboni may not be your ideal newscaster but her unusual reporting is what made her a household name. The American journalist is renowned for her hard-hitting and authentic reportage. A motivator and activist for total press freedom, Gianna loves to explore pervasive cultural issues. Not only does this unique and ambitious journalist call for all ...

Dog The Bounty Hunters Family Including Details of His Late Wife and Kids Popularly known as Dog, a name which he got from the television series, Dog The Bounty Hunter, Duane Chapman, an American bounty hunter, and one-time bail bondsman, went from being convicted for a felony to being a reality TV star. He was brought to the limelight following the capture of the convicted criminal, Andrew Luster in 2003 and this eventually made ...

Vicky Karayiannis, Chris Cornells Wifes Bio, Children and Family The world of showbiz is made up of different people who serve different roles, and function in a variety of capacities, and one of the most important people are those in the background. Publicists are undoubtedly one of these background people yet they are vital to the life and fame of most of our favorite ...

Joe Rogan Has A Step-Daughter and 2 Other Kids With Wife Jessica Ditzel  Meet His Family Joe Rogan is a popular American stand-up comedian and TV host. His journey to stardom began in the late 80s and has seen him host several shows, the most popular is the game show titled Fear Factor. The exciting show dares contestants to face some of their greatest fears and embark on challenging stunts. The ...

Josh Gates and Wife Hallie Gnatovich Have 2 Kids But Who Has the Higher Net Worth? Best known for his explorations and adventures, Josh Gates, is a television presenter with a voracious appetite for seeing the world and the beauties in it. Some of that beauty, however, is in his home, in the form of two children he shares with his wife, Hallie Gnatovich. Not excluded is their marriage which has lasted ...

Holly Sonders Wiki, Plastic Surgery & Why She Divorced Her Husband  Erik Kuselias After trying everything within her capacity to have a low key wedding, Holly Sonders was drawn to the public because of her husbands controversy at his workplace. Well, the two are rumored to be divorced but the article below will give more light on how true these rumors are. Meanwhile, Holly Sonders is yet to ...

Nadeska Alexis Bio  Age, Boyfriend & Net Worth Journalism is one diverse profession that allows the practitioners to choose their area of specialty, build a career on it by reporting the truth and facts which in the long run will distinguish them as deserving commendation and recognition among their peers. Some choose to specialize in political journalism, while to others it is sports ...

Media Platforms Charlamagne Tha God Has Explored and All The Controversies He Has Courted Charlamagne Tha God is an American on-air personality, radio presenter, and more recently, author. He is popularly known as a co-host on New York radios nationally syndicated show, The Breakfast Club, a program he has been hosting alongside DJ Envy and Angela Yee since 2010. However, his early years had no connection to his current career ...

A Look At Jimmy Fallons Net Worth and Family Including His Wife & Kids Sometimes, a childs passion for something is a pointer to what he/she would become in the future. As a child, Jimmy Fallon was literally obsessed with watching the late-night comedy program, Saturday Night Live (SNL). Then, his parents would tape the clean parts for him to watch and later, he and his sister would re-enact sketches from the ...

Kay Adams Biography  Does The Sportscaster Have A Husband or Boyfriend? When you hear the phrase sports enthusiast, women are hardly the first group that comes to mind. Well, thats changing pretty fast. Especially with the rise of female sports analysts and broadcasters like Kay Adams who is famed for knowing more about sports than most men do. And why not, shes paid handsomely for it ...

Ben Shapiros Family  Meet His Wife, Kids and Sister Who is Popular for the Wrong Reasons A multi-talented man, Ben Shapiro is a man of controversial nature, an attribute that has made him an unusual public figure. An intellectual whose career path was clearly defined even before he became a man, the Jewish conservative commentator has always had his way with words. He became popular by sharing his critical and often ...

QVC Shawn Killinger Bio  Husband, Net Worth & Facts To Know Shawn Killinger is a prominent TV personality who has worked her way to the top. Though not initially a journalist by training, she defied the odds and today has established herself as a household name, as well as, worked alongside some industry legends. More than just being a reporter, newscaster, and anchor, heres all you ...

Liv Lo  Dissecting the Ethnicity, Parents and Personal Life of Henry Goldings Wife While many are aware that Liv Lo is the better half to Crazy Rich Asians star Henry Golding, only a few understand why his beautiful wife appears increasingly endearing to fans. A former model turned TV personality, and fitness star, Liv has an impressive resume which when combined with that of her statuesque spouse is considered a perfect ...

Stpeach Age, Husband and Other Facts About The Twitch Streamer Lisa Vannatta, famously known by her online alias, STPeach is a Canadian video game streamer cum vlogger who has garnered fame through her appearances on different video-sharing/social networking platforms such as Youtube, Instagram, Twitch, Reddit, and Twitter. The beautiful lady got her career to a start in August 2015 when she joined the live streaming video platform, Twitch. She rose to ...

Insights into Seth Meyers Wife, Family and What His Net Worth Is Celebrities are mostly remembered and known for the work they do. For Seth Meyers, his career as a comedian, writer, actor, TV host, and producer is his biggest identifier. He was on Saturday Night Live SNL show as a head writer and cast member for more than ten years during which he built a reputation ...

Who Is Jessica Gadsden  Age, Net Worth & All About Charlamagne tha Gods Wife Jessica Gadsden is an American fitness coach as well as a personal trainer. She is better known as the spouse of popular American media personality, Charlamagne Tha God. Charlamange Tha God is a well-known TV and radio personality in the U.S. He has featured in several shows (both on the radio and TV) and is ...

Who Is Collins Tuohy  Michael Ohers sister ? Her Wedding, Husband & Net Worth Collins Tuohy is an American entrepreneur, philanthropist, blogger, and social media personality. She is also better known as the adoptive sister of NFL player, Michael Oher, whose life story inspired the Hollywood blockbuster The Blind Side. The Blind Side tells the true life story of Oher who grew up in an impoverished background consisting of a ...

Eye-Popping Facts About The Personal Life And Career Success Of Sportscaster Heidi Watney Heidi Watney is a media personality who has created a niche for herself as a sportscaster. Starting out as a radio presenter, the brilliant young lady has gone on to work for several prominent sports networks, and currently, she is with the MLB. The sportscaster is also known to have been an avid sports lady right ...

Marty Lagina Bio  Siblings (Martina and Rick Lagina), Net Worth and Wife Marty Lagina is an American engineer and businessman who has risen to fame as a reality TV star. This is thanks to his involvement in the adventure TV series, The Curse of Oak Island. The Curse of Oak Island is a long-running TV series which airs on the history channel. The show aims to solve ...

Is Jordan Schlansky Just A Character or a Real Life Person and What Does He Do? The world of late-night television is an interesting one. Shows during that time are geared towards giving viewers comedic relief from a long day at work through interviews and comedy sketches. The often charismatic host of this show requires the balancing talent of a producer whose primary job is to deliver great episodes. It is ...

Heres How Wealthy Jimmy Kimmel Is From All The Phases of His Career, Marriages and Sons Health Jimmy Kimmel is a renowned late-night talk show host known for his charm, wit, and the A-list guests he features on his show. As the host of Jimmy Kimmel Live! On ABC, Jimmy has been serving comedy to television viewers for years which played a pivotal role in launching him into mainstream fame and enabled ...

Natasha Bertrand Biography  Is She Married? Who Is the Husband & What Is Her Age? Natasha Bertrand is not just a young prominent journalist but a first-rate investigative reporter. With her natural beauty and smile, Natashas sharp, insightful political commentary also makes her a thorough reporter. Her sound political perspective and coverage in the country have made her a force to be reckoned with in the profession. Renowned for her ...

What Happened to Shane Kilcher? His Injury Update, Net Worth and More Shane Kilcher is well-known thanks to the Discovery Channel series Alaska: The Last Frontier. It is a show that documents the daily lives of the extended Kilcher family, people who live without plumbing or modern heating. The episodes follow their routines as they rely on hunting and farming for their nutritional needs as well as ...

Is Stephanie Gosk Gay or Lesbian, Who is the Wife or Partner  Jenna Wolfe? In August 2013, NBCs Today viewers were greeted with two shocking news. Today weekend anchor, Jenna Wolfe, announced that she was as a lesbian, introducing her partner as NBC News correspondent Stephanie Gosk, and said the two are expecting their first child. A long time has passed since then and certainly, a lot of things ...

Nikki Mudarris  Bio and Net Worth: 5 Interesting Facts You Need to Know Nikki Mudarris, also known as Miss Nikki Baby, is a reality television star, model and fashionista. Shes best known for VH1s reality TV series Love & Hip-Hop: Hollywood. Her entrepreneurial skills enable her to create and run a successful lingerie line Nude by Nikki. Not only that, but Nikki has also successfully run the Las ...

5 Interesting Things You Need To Know About Kelly Nash Ever heard of the lady who gained national prominence for taking a selfie with a dangerous ball just a few inches away from hitting her? Its no other person than Kelly Nash, an American sports broadcaster currently working as host of The Rundown show which airs on MLB Network every weekday at 2 pm ET. ...

Understanding The Height of Fame John Oliver Achieved With The Daily Show and How He Met His Wife Without knowledge of who he is and his exemplary career, John Oliver cuts an unassuming figure of a regular man but he is one of the most influential personalities in America, especially on television. Since he began his career in 1998, he has been a loud and unapologetic agent of change, using his wit and ...

Why Did Big Chief Leave Street Outlaws, Where Is He Now And Why Did He Divorce His Wife? Justin Shearer, otherwise known by his professional name Big Chief is a famous street racer and television personality. He is famously known for being one of the main characters on the racing reality television series, Street Outlaws. Justin, who had been a significant part of the show since its premiere in 2013, appeared in a ...

Who is Josina Anderson of ESPN? Her Husband and Family Facts There has been a gradual paradigm shift in the world of sports which has today produced the likes of Serena Williams, Naomi Osaka, and other female athletes that are pulling great feats in different sporting fields. Their achievements have also been followed by the emergence of female sports journalists such as Jillian Mele, Eboni Williams, ...

Is Brittany Wagner Married, Who Is The Husband, How Old Is She? Brittany Wagner has been an inspiration to a lot of sports youngster. She has won the hearts of many athletic students with her role as a life coach and an academic counselor. She is well groomed in her career and has worked over a decade for The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and The National ...

Tati Westbrook Bio  Age, Husband & Net Worth With five videos dished out every week, alongside running her own brand, beauty guru, and YouTube superstar Tati Westbrook has proved to the world that theres utterly no impossibility or limit to whatever one is passionate about. Tati is best known for being the owner and manager of the worlds most-viewed beauty and lifestyle YouTube channel, ...

Cathy Areus Long Road to Becoming a Freelance Journalist and What to Know About Her Kids An American freelance journalist, news analyst, and author, Cathy Areu has built a lasting reputation for herself on cable television. Popular for her skillful and sassy presentation of professional views on varying topics including cultural and feminist issues, Cathy is an inspiration to many women across the globe. In addition to being a journalist, she ...

Tucker Carlsons Love Story With Wife Susan Andrews, their Children and Net Worth Today On the TV screens, Tucker Carlson is that fiery fellow who passionately dishes out his conservative and often controversial views on issues of national importance. Such brazenness has fetched him many enemies, especially on the left-wing, but it has also helped him cement a reputation as one of the foremost broadcast journalists in America. His ...

Paige Wyatts Net Worth, Boyfriend and Where She Is Now Paige Wyatt became popular after the Wyatt family began running the reality television show, American Guns. The Wyatt family comprises Rich Wyatt (father), Renee Wyatt (mother), Paige and Kurt Wyatt (children). Rich Wyatt originally ran a gun shop, the Gunsmoke Guns in Wheat Ridge, Colorado which is outside of Denver. The business which he ran together ...

The Progression of Howard Sterns Career As A Media Personality And Why He Divorced His First Wife Howard Stern is a legendary American radio host, who has also done some notable work as an actor, producer, author, as well as photographer. The radio personality achieved worldwide fame as a result of his self-titled radio program, The Howard Stern Show. As a professional radio personality, he has worked in different radio stations. Since 2006, ...

Lisa Joyners Biography  Ethnicity, Net Worth and Other Key Facts Lisa Joyner is an American Journalist, TV talk show host, and actress. Some of her well-known works are her correspondences for the Los Angeles based TV KCBS, inFANity show, Find My Family Show including her film and television appearances in Brimstone, American Sweetheart, The Bold and The Beautiful among others. Lisas passion for reconnecting people with their biological families ...

Amanda Balionis Rise Through the Ranks of Sportscasting and the Identity of Her Boyfriend Amanda Balionis is an American sportscaster currently working as a golf broadcaster for CBS Sports. Among so many of her works in the field of sports reporting, Amandas PGA Tour coverage seems to be the most popular so far. She covered the Super Bowl working with CBS Sports social media team in Atlanta, where she ...

Dissecting Charles Paynes Sexual Allegations, Its After Effects and More About His Wife Charles Payne had a respectable career as an analyst on Wall Street before he made the transition to television and became a contributor and later a host on Fox. In that time, his expertise has come under scrutiny, and he has been at the center of at least one major controversy. The major controversy in question ...

Erik Asla And Tryra Banks Split: Everything You Need To Know Tyra Banks and Erik Asla have called it quits! The couple, who began dating in 2013 and have a son named York Banks Asla, has decided to end what everybody taught was the perfect relationship. Neither person has come out to give a reason for the breakup, but what is obvious right now is that ...

What to Note About Dr Terry Dubrows Qualifications, TV Works and Marriage to Heather Kent In the realm of people that we expect to see regularly on our screens, medical doctors are closer to the bottom of the list. Aside from the fact that their work has little correlation with TV, they are presumably too busy to pursue life as TV personalities. Yet, a few of them have usurped this ...

Jessica Goch  Bio: 5 Things You Didnt Know About Ninjas Wife Jessica Goch is the Schofield-born American Social Media Influencer who has worked as a model but is now better known as a host and interviewer of prominent Electronic sports celebrities at popular gaming events/tournaments. The screen queen also serves as the manager of her famous husband Ninja aka Tyler Blevins whose exploits on Twitch and Fortnite has ...

CNNs Chris Cuomo Biography  Wife, Family & Net worth Chris Cuomo needs no elaborate introduction as he has starred graced many prominent Television cable networks and his voice has been heard through acknowledged radio shows. He is a television journalist and Lawyer who has previously worked for ABC News as Chief law and justice correspondent as well as a co-anchor on 20/20. If you still ...

Neil deGrasse Tyson  Family, Religion & Net Worth Neil deGrasse Tyson is a distinguished American astrophysicist and author who has been able to achieve so much after falling in love with astronomy at the age of 9. He has since attended and become an alumnus of prestigious universities such as Harvard, Princeton, and Columbia, and also recorded numerous achievements in his field of ...

Is Simon Cowell Gay? Does He Have A Wife or Girlfriend and Why is He Famous? Simon Cowell is a well-known talent show judge, TV producer, entrepreneur and one of the most popular TV personalities that Britain has ever produced. In conjunction with his company, Syco, Cowell is the brain behind hugely successful talent hunt shows such as The X-Factor UK, The X-Factor US, Britains Got Talent, Americas Got Talent and ...

Everything To Know About Joanna Gaines Life With Chip Gaines, Their Business Pursuits and Kids Joanna Gaines and her husband Chip Gaines became celebrities after their television show Fixer Upper began airing back in 2013. The show which was about home renovation and decoration ran for about 6 seasons with a total of 79 episodes before the couple bade farewell to it in April 2018. Apart from their appearances on ...

Who Is Larry The Cable Guy? What To Know About His Wife And Net Worth Larry the Cable Guy is a self-professed country kid renowned for his trademark Southern accent and sensational catchphrase Git-R-Done! The famous comedian who talks about anything under the sun has gone on to become one of the most memorable characters in comedy history. Join us in unearthing lesser-known facts about the former on-air-personality, standup comedy superstar, movie ...

Who Is Patrick Starr, What Is His Net Worth and Gender? The make-up industry over the years has grown to become a billion dollar industry not just because there are probably more women wearing make-up but because a whole lot of men, especially the young ones, have become bold enough to wear it unlike before. A few of these men, like Patrick Starr, have even gone ...

How Did Chris Jansing Become a Senior Correspondent at MSNBC and Who Is Her Husband? An award-winning American television news reporter and journalist, Chris Jansing has succeeded in carving a spectacular niche for herself in the field of TV journalism. Outstanding for not just her excellence in journalism, Chris is also cherished for her incredibly gorgeous looks post 60! For close to four decades, Jansing has continued to soar in her ...

Jaclyn Glenn Biography  Age, Height & Ex-Boyfriend American Youtuber, Jaclyn Glenn, rose to prominence through her self-titled YouTube channel Jaclyn Glenn. She has remained an acclaimed atheist and continues to air her views on hot issues from politics, religion, animal rights, to atheism. During the heated 2016 US Presidential elections, Glenn featured in Hump Trump: Official Donald Trump Song. Her parallel acting career ...

Is Pat Sajak Married to a Wife or is He Gay With a Partner? Pat Sajak is one of the most popular TV game show hosts in America. He commenced his career as a radio disk jockey as well as a TV weatherman before being tapped to host Wheel of Fortune, the longest-running syndicated game show in the United States. Sajak has hosted the popular game show from 1983 ...

Nayyera Haqs Bio  What To Know About Her Husband, Parents And Family Nayyera Haq can take anyone on political debates as well as discussions on social issues affecting many. Her ability to masterfully deliver her stance on every issue or political debate has made her a regular face in morning and evening news media platforms. This is not a common feat especially for someone from her kind ...

Inside Guy Fieris Family With Wife, Kids and Sister Who Died of Cancer Over the years we have seen men dominate the kitchen and churn out amazing delicacies from it. Some do it way better than their female counterparts and one of such men is Guy Ramsay Fieri  an American TV host, celebrity chef, restaurant owner, bestselling author of four culinary books, and game show host. His ...

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Jim Hoffer: Biography, Wife  Mika Brzezinski, Children and Net Worth Jim Hoffer is an Emmy Award-winning journalist who works as an investigative reporter for Eyewitness News, New York City. In his over two decades of investigative journalism, Hoffer has been at the front lines of several crucial stories from the 9/11 attack to the crash of American Flight 587 to the 2003 Blackout. On top of ...

The Ups and Downs of Erin Mcpikes Journalism Career and Other Facts About Her Personal Life Erin McPike is a journalist working for the Independent Journal Review (IJR) as a White House Correspondent but she gained widespread recognition for her coverage of general news. Whether its breaking news or some mainstream story, McPike has a reputation of baring the facts. As a journalist, her work as a White House Correspondent for Independent ...

Bert Kreischer Is Married To LeeAnn Kreischer With 2 Kids  Meet His Family Those familiar with Bert Kreischer mainly have the image of a large-bellied party man whose college life inspired the National Lampoon film, Van Wilder. It is an image that one would not naturally associate with a wholesome family. The standup comedian still maintains his wild party animal image on stage. But, back at home, he is ...

How Brendan Greene Became a Game Designer to Look Out For and Facts About His Failed Marriage The name Brendan Greene may not easily ring a bell in the larger society but for gaming enthusiasts, he is considered a god and this is because of his invention of the video game, Player Unknowns Battlegrounds, also called PUBG. Based on the popular last-man-standing/battle royale concept, Greenes creation has taken the gaming world by ...

WFAAs Sonia Azad Bio  Does The Reporter Have A Husband Or Boyfriend? Emmy Award-winning journalist and Health & Wellness reporter Sonia Azad is on the news segment News 8 Daybreak for the television station WFAA-TV in Dallas, Texas, a channel which she joined in October of 2015. Besides her time on the news, Azad is also a marathon runner and a certified yoga instructor. She has covered major news ...

This Is Everything You Should Know About Caroline Heldman, Her Career Portfolio and Other Facts Love it or hate it, there is no escaping the fact that feminism has come to stay in our world. The movement has continued to garner momentum over the years and this is due to the sustained push by several women, and even men, including the likes of Caroline Heldman. A Professor of Politics at ...

Understanding The Enigma That Is Gavin McInnes, The Controversies He Has Stirred and All About His Wife Gavin McInnes is a polemical English-born writer and TV personality, who is best known for his racist and fascist ideologies, as well as his co-ownership of Vice Media and Vice Magazine. He is also an actor a
Armed with a passion for healthcare policies that serve the people who need them the most, Colleen Khumalo, CEO of South African Clothing and Textile Workers' Union (SACTWU) Worker Health Programme (SWHP) has a vision of diversifying HIV and TB management and prevention to reach other demographics of our society, especially in hard to reach rural areas.

What leadership qualities would you say has allowed you to succeed as a woman in the healthcare sector and what advice would you give to other women?

Khumalo: Theres so much complexity to success in business, more so for women. But I think you should really absorb your own personal path. You must get as much of a formal education and experience as possible. In the healthcare sector specifically, I think its critical to understand things from both a private and public health sector perspective.

There is so much that can be achieved by creating bridges between the two but to do that, you need key people who understand the dynamics on both sides. You must always stay open to learning from others, and you must surround yourself with colleagues and independent thinkers who are great at what they do, and are not afraid to challenge you. You must treat yourself and others with respect. You must accept setbacks as inevitable and as an opportunity to learn and develop.

No great leader ever became great by surrounding themselves with timid yes people, nor did any of them beat a straight path to success without failures along the way. To be a woman, one must be resilient. The same is true in business.

Can you briefly explain the SACTWU Worker Health Programme, its objectives and successes?

Khumalo: South Africas organised labour movement mobilised relatively early on to attend to the scourge of HIV/ Aids as well as TB in the workplace. One such programme launched was SWHP.

Founded in 1998, the programme initially focused on helping the union to manage the effects of the disease on its membership. In 2003, SWHP registered as an NPO and broadened its reach, delivering services on a national basis to other communities affected by the HIV,/Aids and TB pandemics. It has provided life-changing health services to over 1,2m people directly, and many more indirectly.

How is gender inequality and violence contributing to the spread of HIV/Aids in the labour force and beyond?

Khumalo: Research in Southern Africa has shown an increased rate of infection in cultures with entrenched notions of masculinity. Moreover, when females are vulnerable in patriarchal societies  poor, uneducated, underage  they are more likely to have less information about sexual health.

They are also more susceptible to gender violence. Ultimately for some women, it is more difficult to negotiate safe sex, and to discuss and even to take advantage of the appropriate medical services.

What must still be done to fight against HIV/ Aids and TB?

Khumalo: We believe that the spread of HIV/Aids and opportunistic diseases like TB will only be halted through a comprehensive approach that focuses on the drivers of these illnesses in addition to implementing evidence-based biomedical prevention and treatment measures. The drivers that also need to be addressed include stigmas, poverty, gender inequality and violence against women.

We have focused on educating women and girls about their health and well-being. Any effort to fight gender inequality will also go a long way to helping women achieving the highest possible attainable standards of health.

Finally, it is also our view that collaboration has been critical to the progress that our country has made in the fight against HIV/Aids and TB. Stakeholders including national-, provincial- and district-level government departments, communities as well as local and international development agencies have made it possible for us to be effective in our work.
Use of factory capacity in SA increased in May from the same month in 2015, data from Statistics SA released on Thursday showed.

This was mainly due to lower maintenance downtime, with only a slight pick up in demand.

The use of production capacity by large manufacturers with turnover greater than R100m per year was at 81.6% in May 2016, compared with 80.3% in May 2015, an increase of 1.3 percentage points, the data showed.

Five of the 10 manufacturing divisions showed increases in utilisation of production capacity. The divisions with the highest rates of utilisation of production capacity were petroleum, chemical products, rubber and plastic products (84.7%); radio, television and communication apparatus and professional equipment (84.3%); motor vehicles, parts and accessories and other transport equipment (83.1%); food and beverages (82.4%); and wood and wood products, paper, publishing and printing (82.2%).

The results of the quarterly manufacturing utilisation of production capacity survey are used to assess the degree of capacity constraint experienced in the manufacturing industry.
China has made a name for itself in recent years in economic and quality aspects, which is why business people from across the world are flocking to have business involvement. With a population of over one billion and a fast growing economy; China is definitely the next best place to acquire quality goods from. In a wide market industry, such as that of China, there will always be lots of product choices to choose from when venturing into the business of importing. However, before you get excited and rush into this business, you must first know the basic tips and techniques on how to import goods.

Find products that are in demand

When importing from China, its advisable that you go for products which you have an interest in. Looking for possible supply sources is not the difficult task when starting with the importing process, looking for what product to import is. As an importer, finding a product or a line of products which you have an interest in will make selling the goods easier. It is also crucial to identify a product that is produced particularly well in China, and will be in demand in South Africa - this will provide you with a perfect business opportunity to import that product.

Moreover, if you have already decided the product to import, you can now proceed to look for sources.

Find the right market

In the early stages of your business, it is important to choose a target niche that you can focus on. The importing business covers a range of industries so it would be beneficial to your new business to focus on a single target or market in order to first gain experience and establish a reputation within that market.

It is advisable to do some research on your market of choice beforehand to locate the best potential for your product or service. Developing a knack for tracking and discovering trends within your market is also beneficial as it will allow you to stay abreast of which trends will make your business successful.

Find a good manufacturer or supplier

It is not enough that you find a good supplier, you must also be able to create a harmonious relationship with your supplier. The logic behind this technique is that the more comfortable and professional the relationship is between the importer and the supplier, the more the business venture will turn out to be successful. It is best to have face-to-face meetings with the supplier.

Once you have found a good manufacturer or supplier, it is important to not only establish a professional relationship with them but to work at building and solidifying that relationship so that it is mutually beneficial. You will have to develop a good one-on-one relationship with key people within the manufacturer or suppliers business and determine which of the product offerings of your suppliers best suit your importing business. This will also provide you with vital insights and information regarding the quality of the sellers product, product details and guarantees as well as shipping conditions.

Understand trade between China and South Africa

A very significant aspect you must never take for granted when it comes to importing from China is the trade terms or laws involving the two countries. It is a given fact that there are different rules and regulations that are implemented in different countries and China is no exception. Before you get excited and begin placing orders for products to be imported, you must first know the shipment terms, so as to avoid possible conflicts such as goods being forfeited by customs or violation of special laws. Though this is a lot of work, it can be easily done through a consultation with your logistics provider.

Hire a competent freight organisation

Hiring a competent forwarder and customs broker is the wisest decisions you will ever make when engaging in importation business, and the reason is because they are to be relied upon when it comes to transportation and customs clearance, things you wouldnt want to waste time on. In South Africa, it is easiest to use a logistics company with a preferred customs trader status, to ensure the process is smooth.

Understand the logistics

The import business thrives on logistics as it is a crucial component of ensuring that your products are presented to your market in a cost-effective, timely and efficient manner. However, this can only be achieved once you understand and have adequately researched the complexities, legalities and accompanying details that are involved in the importation of products across international borders and from destinations such as China.

The opportunity for small businesses and entrepreneurs to import directly from Chinese manufacturers and suppliers has not always existed. It has now become possible partly because big businesses around the world have come to recognise Africa as a strong and emerging economic powerhouse. If export-dependent countries like China must continue to grow, they will continue to sell more of their products to markets like Africa. Success in the importing business, even on a small scale, is determined by taking advantage of the different possibilities, needs, offers, qualities and markets that are provided by countries such as China.
WASHINGTON - Online giant Amazon unveiled its first branded airplane on Friday, part of what is expected to be a fleet of 'Prime Air' cargo planes.

Amazon over the past year began working with aircraft leasing firms and cargo operators to reduce its dependence on commercial carriers, but Friday's announcement is the first to show its own branded aircraft.

The company was set to unveil the plane, Amazon One, at the Seafair Air Show in its hometown of Seattle, Washington.

The Boeing 767-300 was to participate in a flight demonstration as part of the air show.

"Creating an air transportation network is expanding our capacity to ensure great delivery speeds for our Prime members for years to come," said Dave Clark , Amazon's senior vice president of worldwide operations.

"I cannot imagine a better way to celebrate the inaugural flight than in our hometown at Seafair alongside Amazon employees and Seattle residents."

With the Amazon Prime logo painted on the fuselage, Amazon One is one of 40 planes that Amazon has agreed to lease through air cargo partners.

There are currently 11 dedicated airplanes flying for Amazon with additional ones rolling out over time.

Amazon is moving to take greater control of its logistics to ensure speedy one- or two-day delivery for subscribers of its Prime service.

In recent years, UPS and Fedex have struggled with the high volume of goods ordered online to meet delivery commitments.
The Pan African Media Research Organisation (PAMRO) conference takes place 21-24 August 2016, at Elephant Hills Resort in Victoria Falls Zimbabwe. Themed 'Africa Media Research in a Globally Connected World', delegates will be able to hear international speakers tackling a variety of themes around audience measurement in Africa.

You had me at first swipe

This is a BBG/DW joint journey into using DWs VideoMetrics app for qualitative research in Russia: Anna Hofmann (DW) and Sonja Gloeckle (BBG).

In what may be the first ever fully collaborative qualitative study among international broadcasters, the BBG (Broadcasting Board of Governors) and DW (Deutsche Welle) conducted a joint research study in Russia to find out more about the news consumption habits and the media literacy of Russian target groups. Using DWs new real-time assessment app VideoMetrics, three TV services for the Russian speaking market were evaluated. This presentation by Werner Neven, director of Market and Media Research Deutsche Welle, shows the benefits and challenges of doing qualitative research jointly with another broadcaster, as well as the benefits of VideoMetrics.

Reaching African audiences through online, mobile and social media: which measurements really matter?

With the emergence of digital media, and the rise of online consumption in Africa, this paper seeks to explore the opportunities for audience measurement and investigate which measurements really matter, as more African consumers spend more time online, advertiser spending still lags behind on this media, compared to traditional.

Waithera Kabiru, digital manager, integrated, marketing and communication at Coca-Cola Central, East and West Africa speaks about how this could be due to the lack of attribution of digital media to transactional value. A marketers role is to deliver appropriate messaging at every stage of the consumer journey, from awareness, demand, acquisition, transaction and retention. During each of these stages, it is important to measure consumer behaviour to determine the effectiveness of the messaging.

The measurement needs to capture real business outcomes across the consumer journey, whilst measuring incremental lift and attribution. For CPGs such as Coca-Cola, researchers are curious to understand which measurements not only translate to brand love, but into value. Digital media has always boasted of its ability to measure accurately consumer actions or behaviour. This paper looks at the current measurement tools and research methods used to determine transactional value and assess the metrics that matter and those that do not.

Winning the brand game in Africa

With todays campaigns embracing paid, owned, shared and earned media, how should communications experts or brand owners measure campaign ROI in an integrated world? asks Oresti Patricios, CEO of Brand Intelligence Company Ornico. He presents an award-winning case study on the Barcelona Principle-inspired new measurement metrics, which shows how a smart metrics approach drives improved marketing campaigns.

Audience based buying - what is it and why does it matter?

Moving on to the realm of digital advertising, Milton Tshabalala, media director at Nielsen and Samkelisiwe Makhathini, commercial manager at Nielsen, consider why marketers still struggle to reach their audience, when digital advertising allows marketers an unprecedented ability to connect with their desired audience, however niche, and see how advertising performed.

The answer, they argue, lies in the way we measure and transact on digital media - our language still revolves around what happened instead of who I reached. Marketers need to shift to audience-based metrics, which measure who was reached, instead of what happened. The Nielsen team will illustrate this shift and how marketers are making this transition, as well as looking at best practices around how to use audience-based metrics to increase audience reach and maximise the efficiency of digital advertising spend.

For more information, click here.
According to Standard Bank insurance brokers, insurance for the trucking industry is becoming increasingly sophisticated with models being written to meet specific needs of fleet owners across the spectrum of the sector. In a time when owners are seeking innovative options to reduce operating costs caused by rising fuel and maintenance costs, as well as competition for loads, this is an essential requirement.

nessrider12 via pixabay

Moving the industry beyond the boundaries of conventional vehicle insurance and placing the emphasis on policies being written to manage the risk on behalf of transport owners is being driven by prevailing market circumstances, says Nigel Pillay, head of corporate and Business Insurance at Standard Bank Insurance brokers.

Owners opting to assume some of the risk themselves

Besides traditional comprehensive coverage, many owners are opting to assume some of the risk themselves to reduce premiums. One of the most common of these policies is those that offer aggregate limit cover, which stipulates the most an insurance company will pay for all covered losses over a year. This enables the company concerned to cap its premiums at a set level to the benefit of the trucker who assumes a fair portion of the risk.

The economic downturn has also had the effect of making insurance cover extremely price sensitive. As pressures to contain costs have mounted, so more customers are relying on strong relationships with their insurer or broker to keep premium and excess costs in check.

Taking control of insurance premiums to reduce costs

As control of insurance premiums is one of the costs that can be tailored or reduced, it is usually one of the first expenses examined when operating costs have to be reduced to maintain margins. Of course, one of the dangers is that values and cover can be excessively reduced-adding substantially to costs if a major accident or disaster occurs.

Reducing costs by accepting lower premiums with high excess payments is usually a defensive response to rising costs by smaller operators. This strategy contains significant risks as the transport owners have to make sure that their cash flows are strong enough to carry the higher excesses that need to be paid.

These actions, when not properly considered, contribute to one of the major problems facing road users across the country who do not realise that up to 70% of commercial vehicles on South African roads either have inadequate insurance or no insurance at all, says Pillay.

The voluntary adoption of standards such as the Road Transport Management System that commits a truck owner to the adoption of various safety and quality standards can also impact on premiums. The present economic situation adds further complexities to an industry that faces a myriad of risks whenever a vehicle takes to the road, says Pillay.

The fluctuating value of the rand means that the price of imported vehicles and the parts required to repair them are constantly changing. Most of this risk is assumed by insurance companies.

Most categories of routine insurance coverage written in South Africa usually include:

 Coverage for goods in transport

 Cross-border coverage for vehicles and load travelling through sub-Saharan Africa.

 Third-party liability

 Accident assistance that also covers the cost of wreckage removal and environmental damage caused by spilled loads that can range from oil and fuel to chemical spills.

 Sasria insurance which covers vehicles and loads for damage caused by civil unrest.

Although these categories seem to cover most eventualities, the reality is that the industry is never free of risk- even when a majority of the fleet is parked in a controlled area. Additional hazards like fire can reduce a multi-million Rand fleet housed in a secure site to ashes. Risks only increase when vehicles take to the roads and face hazards that can vary from inclement weather to crime and the fact that many drivers do have the requisite skills required to handle large rigs.

Although telematics were playing a role in reducing hazards by closely monitoring driver behaviour, abuse of vehicles and fraudulent activities, insuring South Africas heavy fleets - the lifeblood of the economy in the absence of a comprehensive rail network - will always remain a challenge, says Pillay. Insurance companies and responsible truck operators are playing their part in the equation by working together to identify and implement strategies to reduce risk and, therefore, the costs of operating a fleet. The beneficiaries of these actions are not only the parties involved but South African consumers as a whole, who rely on these vehicles for many of the goods and services that are taken for granted, says Pillay.
The South African Institute of Chartered Accountants' (SAICA's) annual Student Leadership Summit is open for entry. Run in partnership with Standard Bank, the aim of the summit is to emphasise the role chartered accountants play as responsible leaders in the South African business landscape.

"If there is one thing SAICA recognises it is that our economy needs leadership. As the custodian of a professional designation ranked No.1 in the world by the World Economic Forum for auditing and reporting  a designation whose very essence is based on trust and responsibility  we at SAICA believe that it is our duty to build our nation by actively developing the traits of a responsible leader at university level by instilling the values of responsible leadership in all those studying towards becoming a chartered accountant [CA(SA)]," says Byron Riddle, SAICA senior executive for Transformation and Growth.

What is the Student Leadership Summit?

The Student Leadership Summit is a competition open to all charted accounting stream BCom students currently studying at South Africas tertiary institutions. To enter, students are invited to submit a 1,000 word thought leadership essay on one of the topics below in order to win one of 30 spots at the annual business leader networking event.

This years topics are:



South Africa, as a mere 22-year-old democracy, is currently facing tough economic conditions, political turbulence and student unrest. Outline your views on the current university funding crisis under #feesmustfall and come up with ways in which funding for tertiary education can be made available to students. Discuss your thoughts on whether such funding should apply to all or only selected categories of students. Describe the role that SAICA (as a professional body) and other stakeholders outside of government can play in upgrading South Africas economic status in order to avoid reaching junk status. This was the second year of the introduction of the APC (Assessment of Professional Competency) exam; yet as a profession, we still witnessed poor behaviour from certain candidates. What should have been done better by SAICA, candidates and the training officers to stop candidates wanting to gain an unfair advantage? What parameters should be put into place to discourage ill practice from candidates?



The authors of the top 30 thought leadership essays receive an invitation to the 2016 Student Leadership Summit, held in Johannesburg from 6-7 October 2016, where they are given a chance to network, interact and engage with top SA business leaders, including SAICA CEO Dr Terence Nombembe, at an exclusive cocktail function held on the first night.

They will also take part in an intensive soft-skills workshop on the second day where they will be exposed to networking secrets, tips on how to build their own professional brand, cognitive and leadership sessions as well as presentations by leaders in business. In addition to this, the top three winning essays will also receive some amazing prizes as well.

Teboho Moephudi, project manager for university projects in SAICAs Nation Building department, explains why this annual event is so important: "Communication and the ability to write is a crucial skill that all business leaders need, including aspiring CAs(SA). After all, people need to be able to communicate and express themselves eloquently and this is an extremely important skill for those wishing to enter the accounting profession. This, together with the ability to network with key business role models who have already walked their path to success, provides valuable inspiration for students to persevere with their studies and to complete the training requirements to become a CA(SA)."

How to enter

This competition is only open to students who are studying towards a chartered accountancy degree. To enter, email your 1,000 world essay together with the following information (full name, contact number, name of university and degree you are studying, student number, email address and word count) to az.oc.acias@noititepmocsls by no later than 26 August 2016.

This years Summit is proudly sponsored by Standard Bank with Sage Pastel, Protea Fire and Ice Hotels and Tailor Me sponsoring some of the winners prizes.

For any queries regarding entries, please contact SAICA project manager, Teboho Moephudi at az.oc.acias@mohobet.
South African Airways (SAA) acting CEO Musa Zwane has dismissed the urgency of suspended treasurer Cynthia Stimpel's court application to halt a disciplinary hearing against her, and defended the airline's acting chief financial officer's actions in light of warnings about a dodgy deal with an unknown financier.

Stimpel stands accused of breaching SAA's code and ethics after she leaked documents to the Organisation Undoing Tax Abuse (Outa) that it used to institute court action against the airline in a bid to halt the carrier's suspect debt financing deal with BnP Capital.

BnP Capital had stood to make more than R200m from the deal in which it was hired to restructure SAA's debt and source R15bn in financing for the airline. However, it later emerged that BnP Capital's licence was suspended by the Financial Services Board.

In her founding affidavit, Stimpel revealed that she had made repeated calls to SAA acting chief financial officer Phumeza Nhantsi, flagging procedural flaws about the deal, as well as highlighting her discomfort about the cost implications for the airline when it could source the same services at a cheaper rate.

In his papers, Zwane said that Nhantsi denied Stimpel's claims that the treasurer was concerned about the process followed in inking a deal with BnP Capital, and it was clear from their e-mail exchanges that the treasurer was mostly concerned about the price.

SAA also disagrees that Stimpel's disclosures were protected.

Zwane also said that Stimpel's application to the Labour Court in Johannesburg was not urgent because she created the urgency by not filing for relief weeks ago.

Stimpel was suspended on 12 July 2016 and brought the application on 1 August, Zwane said.

In addition, Stimpel "did not make a protected disclosure" and that the disciplinary inquiry "is not related to any protected disclosure the applicant may have made".

Rather, she was suspended, he said, so that SAA could "investigate allegations that she had removed confidential documents and disclosed their contents without the necessary authorisation".

The acting CEO also said there was "not enough time to follow the standard procurement process to find an agent to source that amount of funding to fund the payment of loans maturing at the end of June 2015 (sic)".

It made "business sense to appoint BnP to assist in raising the funds as it was already steeped in (SAA's) financial affairs and was best-placed to assist SAA".

In its legal papers filed to a separate court, Outa had alleged there were 19 breaches of the airline's supply chain management that contravened sections of the Public Finance Management Act and the Preferential Procurement Policy Framework Act in the deal.

SAA eventually pulled out of the deal.

In Stimpel's affidavit, she said the airline's actions to discipline her made no sense as it only investigated the BnP deal after she blew the whistle to Outa.

Stimpel also argued that she felt forced to approach Outa.

This, she said, was after almost six months of warning Nhantsi about what was wrong with the BnP deal. She also argued that the disclosures she made were under the Protected Disclosures Act.

"Despite this, it is now apparent that SAA is intent on disciplining me for this very conduct, even though it prevented SAA acting unlawfully, and even though it prevented unlawful and unnecessary expenditure of public funds to the tune of R250m," she said.

The matter was postponed in the Labour Court to 22 August.

Source: Business Day via I-Net Bridge
While the issue of gender diversity in business is nothing new, the nature of the modern business environment has made this issue all the more important. In the run up to Women's Month, I feel it is important to look more closely at the benefits that gender diversity offers businesses operating in the modern business environment, and what businesses can do to ensure they remain successful in this regard.

Diversity on boards is critical to sustaining business performance. Not only does it assist to broaden the pool of eligible candidates for board positions, but also assist in expanding perspectives at a management level. While many businesses have recognised the importance of appointing members of different ages, races, educational backgrounds and expertise, the issue of gender diversity has often been overlooked.

Last year, a study carried out by Grant Thornton found that companies perform better when they have at least one female executive on their board. Analysis of the return on assets ratio (also known as return on investment) showed that, on average, companies with at least one female executive board member outperformed those with male-only boards in each of the three markets analysed. In the US, S&P 500 companies with diverse boards outperformed rivals by 1.91%. In the UK FTSE 350 the gap was 0.53% and for the Indian CNX 200, 0.85%. This translates into an opportunity cost of US$567bn, US$74bn and US$14bn in each of the three markets respectively - or around 3% of GDP in the UK and US.

As part of the 30% Club, Manpower SA strongly advocates for gender balance on boards, as it encourages better leadership and governance, and contributes to better all-round business performance.

The modern business environment also calls for businesses to actively empower the communities in which they operate, of which a large part is empowering women. Millennials entering the workforce are looking to enter into companies who care for the environment, are mindful of the communities in which they operate, operate sustainably and that are active in pursuing certain social causes. Advocating for gender diversity across their boards could increase the appeal of businesses to millennials and prosumers, thereby attracting and retaining multi-talented, tech-savvy individuals.

Also important in this regard is assisting young, previously disadvantaged individuals in their educational and career paths. This will ensure that the next generation of job seekers are equipped with the necessary skills and experience to become great business leaders.

There are several ways businesses can go about introducing and sustaining gender diversity in their boards and within their organisations. Manpower SA runs several initiatives, including a PhD programme for women, a graduate program, a BEE partnership and an educational career programme all aimed at assisting females and disadvantaged youth, and being part of the 30% Club  which aims to assist companies in achieving gender balance at all levels of their organisations.

In order to remain successful and relevant in the modern business environment, businesses must take the necessary steps to achieving gender diversity within their organisations.
The Thistle at the Royal St. Andrews Hotel in Port Alfred, opened less than a year ago, joins a handful of Eastern Cape restaurants featured in the annual Diners Club Winelist Awards. The Thistle received a platinum award for 2016.

From the left: Royal St. Andrews general manager Wessel Benson, executive head chef Debby van Wyk and senior assistant food and beverage manager Robin Hyde.

According to Diners Club Winelist Award convenor Jean-Pierre Rossouw the criteria for judging were content, balance, suitability, and presentation. Our brief to Et-Marie Fourie, who made the initial selection of wines for the Thistle was to reflect the character of the Thistle with estates and vintages which would make the dining experience at the Thistle unique, says Royal St. Andrews general manager Wessel Benson.

Wines are carefully stored in the Thistle Restaurants own temperature and humidity-controlled wine cellar. It is one of the only restaurants on the Sunshine Coast to have its own cellar.

The Thistles wine list includes a selection from DeMorgenZon, an estate which plays harmonious and melodious music through speakers placed in its vineyards and cellars. Another is Vergelegen, which in 2005 was South Africa's first Biodiversity in Wine Initiative (BWI) Champion. Both reflect the fine dining experience at the Thistle, where Chef Debby adds a special twist to all the dishes, says Benson.

Meals start with an amuse-bouche designed to wake up and excite the taste buds. The menu itself captures the flavours of the Sunshine Coast, with Chef Debby van Wyk sourcing the freshest and finest ingredients locally wherever possible. Fish is bought off the boat in Port Alfred, lamb and springbok sourced from the Karoo, venison from the surrounding farms and greens and vegetables from organic growers.
A GED book sits on a table in a housing unit at the Ozaukee County Jail. Credit: Journal Sentinel files

By ,

The classroom Patty Puccinelli teaches in is much different from the one she envisioned when she was earning her PhD in English from St. Louis University, where she also taught for 11 years.

Puccinelli no longer teaches college students. She took a break from teaching to become a full-time parent, moved to Milwaukee, and when her kids got older started looking for part-time work. She started teaching night classes at Milwaukee Area Technical College, and in 2013 heard about the Ozaukee County Jail Literacy Program.

"At first, I was a little hesitant. It was unnerving to have the doors slam with such force, but I really enjoy interacting with the students," said Puccinelli, who teaches a variety of classes to the inmates in the program.

"Many of the students did not experience much of any success in school, but in our program, because we can teach them individually based on their specific needs, they succeed."

Located in the jail itself, the small nonprofit literacy program aims to help inmates learn skills to get a job, improve their literacy and achieve their GED or HSED. It is the only private agency in Wisconsin that provides education at the jail level.

Since 1992, 297 students have graduated from the program with either a GED or HSED. More than 900 students have taken classes.

"The average inmate is only in here for a couple months, and most of the time it's not long enough to earn a degree, but some do because they are so motivated," program president Holly Ryan said.

In a recent study done by the jail, participants of the program have a 44% recidivism rate  the percentage of inmates who get arrested again. Inmates of the Ozaukee County Jail who do not participate in the literacy program have a recidivism rate similar to that of the national average, about 70%.

Puccinelli stayed with the program because of how rewarding it is to her. The best part of the job for her is watching the inmates take pride in their achievements and find smarts they didn't know they had.

She recalled a time when a young woman who hadn't finished the ninth grade was doing well in the program and yelled out loud in surprise, "I'm smart."

"A lot of people think they (inmates) made a mistake and they need to pay for it, but once they go to prison it only gets worse," Ryan said. "We try to help them and give them confidence, or we're not going to break the cycle. We feel education at the jail level is critical."

Launched in 1992

The literacy program was started in 1992 by two Milwaukee Area Technical College teachers, Nina Walker and Judy Johnson. They asked Sheriff Michael Milas whether the Ozaukee County Jail was doing anything to educate inmates and he said they were not. The two women proposed to come in once a week for about an hour to hold some classes for the inmates, and Milas agreed.

A year later, Ryan heard about the program and wanted in.

"It just grabbed my interest, I thought, 'Gee, this is cool,'" Ryan said. "We have just evolved ever since. The jail administrator realized these women weren't going away."

Capt. Jeff Sauer has been working at the Ozaukee County Jail for 26 years and remembers when Walker and Johnson first began teaching classes in the jail's roll call room.

"We weren't sure where it was going to go, but they won us over very quickly," he said. "It's one of our (jail's) staples. The staff is very supportive of the program."

Initially, money for the program was raised through "begging" local churches and other local organizations. Ryan said the program probably raised $1,000 her first year. The nonprofit brought in revenue of $90,000 last fiscal year and spent most of its money, which comes mostly from grants and donations, on part-time salaries for the six, mostly retired, teachers.

The program teaches students writing, reading, math, social studies and science. It also includes a mandatory skills class that teaches computer basics, Microsoft Office and how to create a resume.

Ryan said it is important to help inmates with job readiness. "Some inmates don't even know how to turn on a computer when they first come in."

"Many inmates are very creative. Whether it's through poetry or pen and pencil," Ryan said. "They (inmates) are like sponges, and a lot of them are really smart."

A family literacy course is also offered. They practice reading a book to their children, and sometimes the teacher will record them reading books and send the recordings to the inmates' children.

Ryan said the program operates more like an old one-room schoolhouse from the 1800s because the majority of the students are at different education levels. Some can only read at a second-grade level and some at a sixth-grade level. "Each student inmate is picked up where they are academically," Ryan said.

Class sizes are 10 or fewer with two teachers to provide individual attention. Students receive 12 hours of classroom instruction per week.

"We are a hidden gem in the county and we've been around for almost 25 years," Ryan said. "I couldn't be prouder of the program. The inmates truly enjoy it."
Faith Modipa is a woman on the go. She climbed the ladder from administrator to partner and co-director at Elegant Fuel and helped the company grow from a small, local fuel service provider to operating in seven provinces and expanding as she went about her business. We asked Modipa to tell us more about being a business woman.

Faith Modipa

What does a day in your life look like?

Faith Modipa: I spend my morning with the operation, sales and finance teams planning and strategizing with regard to daily orders and payments for the day and requesting an age analysis to follow up with clients regarding non-payments. I spend my afternoon visiting clients and ensuring that the company meets clients' expectations, I ensure that sales targets are met and the company brand is promoted.

What made you choose a career your industry? What inspires you?

Modipa: I didn't really choose this, it was something I was exposed to as a child. My father owned a filling station and so, because I looked up to him and I saw the success in his business, I grew interested in the industry.

Do you feel there is a glass ceiling for women in your industry?

Modipa: The fuel industry has always been male dominated which may be a threat to women interested in the industry. However, woman have an equal opportunity at being successful in the industry. I do not foresee any hinderances and have not come across any myself as a women.

Do you think its important to have a month dedicated to women?

Modipa: It is of paramount importance to have a month dedicated to women. In commemoration of the 20,000 brave women who marched to the union building in Pretoria in 1956 protesting the apartheid pass laws which was a success. Moreover, it also serves as a reminder to women of their ability to bring change regardless of the challenges faced and the importance of unity as women.

How do you feel about Women's Day in general and what it stands for?

Modipa: I'm proud to live in a country that women are acknowledged for who they are. The fact that our country acknowledges women encourage them to embrace themselves. Women's day simply means celebrating the strong and intelligent women, and it also stands for grooming young girls or upcoming women to grow up with the same values to become responsible and accountable for their actions.

What barriers did you face, as a woman, becoming successful in your field, and how did you overcome them?

Modipa: Starting a business is a challenge on its own, it requires resources and skills. I had to learn to invest in myself and the business in order to make it successful and that required a lot of passion and discipline. I had to sacrifice a lot and prioritise properly.

Based on your experience, what advice would you give to women pursuing a career in your field?

Modipa: Be hardworking, strategize, aim high, invest in yourself and always strive to be the best.

Who is your biggest influence/role model/icon?

Modipa: My late mother. She was strong,courageous, full of knowledge and always positive about life.

What is your message for Women's Month?

Modipa: I would like to urge women to be positive and ambitious, take initiative and make a difference. Always believe the sky is the limit.

Any words of wisdom you would like to share with women in business?

Modipa: The Bible states that "My people die because of lack of knowledge". On this note my fellow women, lets educate ourselves and acquire the necessary skills towards our advancement in business success. Set goals and work hard. Remain ethical and principled.
Khayelitsha is said to be the second largest and fastest-growing township in South Africa, home to roughly 1.5 million residents, 75% of whom are under the age of 35. Half of its people are unemployed, living below the poverty line and more than a third have no easy access to water. But what may have seemed like challenges reserved for government or big business, high school teacher and resident Luvuyo Rani viewed as an opportunity for social innovation.

Luvuyo Rani, founding director of Silulo Ulutho Technologies.

Eyeing opportunity

Witnessing his fellow educators struggling to cope with the newly-introduced outcomes-based education (OBE) system without access to computers, Rani quit his job and began selling refurbished computers out of the boot of his car. This marked the humble beginning of Silulo Ulutho Technologies as it's known today. But Rani says the computers sold often ended up collecting dust in teachers homes, due to almost non-existent computer literacy.

The lack of infrastructure and services offered in the community meant that residents had no affordable access to technology and were forced to travel to outlying areas for simple internet access. He knew he had to extend his reach within the area. The realisation led to Khayelitshas first internet cafe in 2006, opened by Rani and his partners Nandipha Matshoba and Sigqibo Pangabantu.

The cafe provided members of the community with email and CV assistance, access to basic software packages and the internet. But this was the start of something bigger. We realised that many people couldnt differentiate between fax and email so we knew that people needed training badly, Rani said during his talk at last weeks Internet and Social Media Summit in Cape Town. To address this deficiency, they established the first Silulo Ulutho training centre. Demand increased rapidly, and soon more of these one-stop IT shops were rolled out in other townships and rural areas in need.

Key business

Fast forward 10 years, and the company now has 40 branches to its name scattered between the Western and Eastern Cape, offering computer and phone sales and repairs, web development, CV creation, printing, scanning, faxing, binding, lamination, typing of letters and computer training. 15 of these are franchised. Central to the business model is affordability, so prices are kept as low as possible to cater to emerging markets.

Rani says training is quickly becoming their key business as Silulo grows into one of the largest computer training organisations in the Khayelitsha community. 25,000 students have passed through the companys training programmes, 80% of whom are female. Along with basic computer training, Silulo also offers certificates in office administration, graphic design, web design, end user computing, technical support, and digital video editing. He says that the training provided has greatly enhanced the possibility of employment, while some graduates become inspired to study further, and about 10% go on to start their own small business.

Cycle of employment

Sharing in Silulos success are the 178 staff members it employs, 60% of them being former students. Four of the 15 franchised branches are also owned by graduates. Commenting on this Rani says, We need to share part of the cake that were baking with our people. They need to benefit from the model that weve built, and we need to produce other entrepreneurs through our work.

He believes his entrepreneurial spirit was sparked at a young age assisting customers in his mothers shebeen after school. And when the police raids ensued (as shebeens were illegal at the time), he says that taught him the resilience needed for the demands of running his own business. As the only black recipient of the Schwab Foundation Social Entrepreneur of the Year award, Rani asserts that personal triumphs must be highlighted. He says, We need more entrepreneurs. As a country we need to create a culture of entrepreneurship and celebrate their success.

Silulo Ulutho's story is certainly one worth celebrating.
The Kenyan government has recognised that the mining industry is a key pillar for growth and economic transformation and is preparing the country for the next big wave of mining activity.

This is according to the countrys mining cabinet secretary, Dan Kazungu, who says he expects the countrys mining sector to grow significantly in the next 10 years.

Streamlining the sector

A new mining act was signed into law by Kenya's president in May and provides clear guidance on mining activities in the country.

The legislation is expected to streamline the sector and open the gates for its development as well as ensure environmental conservation.

This act injects predictability and certainty that will fuel rapid expansion and sustainable development of the mining sector, Kazungu said at the time, on what he termed as one of the most progressive mining laws in the continent.

The new law is aligned to Kenyas Vision 2030 and the Kenya Constitution 2010  repeals the colonial laws on mining that were counterproductive. It includes plans on principles of land policy, local content and environmental considerations, and rights to natural resources to name a few. It will attract investors and help make Kenya a mineral investment hub by providing transparency and good governance.

A new mining frontier

With just a handful of companies operating in the country, Kenya is an attractive mining destination which offers mining companies and investors vast opportunities to discover and tap into new Greenfield projects, he told Mining Review Africa. Tapping into potential mineral wealth could lead to the establishment of a new mining frontier.

Much of Kenyas mining potential is still unexploited, although it already ranks as the third largest producer of soda ash and the seventh producer of fluorspar in the world.

The country has a thriving gemstone sector, which is dominated by small-scale miners. Therefore the government is attempting to facilitate artisanal activities within the country as they are responsible for over 60% of annual gemstone production.

The minister will open the Kenya Mining Forum in Nairobi in September where the industry will discuss the new mining act and how it is expected to ease the way for investment into and development of the countrys burgeoning mining sector.
As South Africans, there are certain things we unashamedly just love: braais, biltong, boerewors and rugby tend to top the list. We also love a good scandal. We seem to be hooked on voting incompetent politicians into power, burning everything in sight when we aren't happy (see 'braais') and, lastly, we really love to complain.

In a country with more SIM cards than toothbrushes, mobile connectivity is a given. The latest statistics tell us we have more than 126% mobile penetration  that means there are more cell phones than people in SA and, with 26 million people connected to the internet, the potential for voicing our opinion has never been greater. And, oh, how we love to voice it.

Being a consumer brand in the age of the internet of things isnt easy. Our customers are clever. Theyre able to browse online, compare and purchase a product in less time than it takes to say pay back the money. Were also among the quickest on the planet to complain, according to the latest industry data.

Capitalise on complaining.

The old saying, were only human; we make mistakes means nothing when our consumers demand an always-on, always-available brand experience. The reality is that brands do make mistakes, they do get it wrong. Im not saying that Ive never complained about poor service myself and I definitely wouldnt be happy at all if, hypothetically, I found a mouse in my supermarket pie. The truth is that these unfortunate and often unintentional events do happen and, when they do, they afford brands an excellent opportunity to turn hate into heroism by rising to the challenge to become the brand hero.

So, when we have hate for a brand, where do we turn? Social media, baby. Facebook and Twitter are the new ways to make the old call your manager demand. If not managed correctly, social media can be one of the biggest external threats a brand can face, but used properly its an excellent opportunity for any brand seeking to safely de-mouse that pie.

Some suggestions in managing complaints voiced on social media:

When something goes wrong DO NOT take an argumentative or defensive stance and block users and repetitive user posts, or even hide any posts for that matter. The customer might have changed the channels they use to complain through, but the customer is still right. Face the fire head-on and try to extinguish as many flames as possible. Be the hero, admit your faults and use the incident as an opportunity to do good. Suffocate them with kindness the flames, of course. A classic case of #BrandFail would be the infamous social media disaster caused by the American restaurant chain, Applebees, where an already inflamed situation playing out over social media was mishandled into becoming a digital disaster. #Cringe

2. Never mix business and personal social media accounts

Ensure your employees keep their personal social media accounts far away from the companys social media accounts. Dont get personal and dont take comments or posts personally. Youre the hero and unhappy Sannie from Fochville is your damsel in distress. Its your job to save her.

3. Dont hesitate to blow your own trumpet



Make sure you document your heroism. The complaint is a gifted, potentially positive, PR move waiting to happen  and every move counts. Humour can be used to diffuse the situation, but #PleaseUseWithCaution.

When it comes to fixing your fluff-up, owning your mistake and manipulating content are part of your heroic superpowers. Keep your finger on the pulse when it comes to world events and be able to adapt, change or even cancel your content strategies. Don't use a hashtag which was meant to raise awareness about a social issue as an angle or a hidden agenda to punt your brand. Research! Understand the context of trends. Understand where a hashtag is coming from and its meaning, so you know why people are pouring buckets of ice over each others heads. Lastly, theres nothing worse than trying to identify with your market and getting it wrong; if you dont know how to use the meme correctly, then dont use it at all.

Remember, in a land where complaining is a national sport, rather than responding to complaints as an attack, treat every complaint as an opportunity to create a juicy piece of positive PR. Especially when its a juicy mouse in a pie.

About Mortimer Harvey

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Mortimer Harvey Advertising and communications, including above-the-line, below-the-line, promotions, shopper and retail marketing, digital, CRM and direct marketing. MH Africa Middle East OmniChannel services, plus go-to-market strategy development informed by data-driven insights operating across Africa and the Middle East. MH Digital Content development and implementation for online, social, mobile, app and digital platforms. MH Public Relations Public relations and media management. Boom.Studio A new record label that challenges traditional music marketing. Gravitate Multi Video Programming and content generation. Kulcha.Click Influential tastemakers creating authentic brand experiences at the intersection of culture and content. Loyal Solutions A state-of-the-art, Cloud-based loyalty programme management platform with real-time benefits. Stream.Digital Live and on-demand video streaming and content distribution. LM&P Brand promotions, events and experiential marketing.

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AUBURN  A man from Tompkins County was arrested in Auburn Wednesday night for allegedly attacking his ex-girlfriend with an ax and strangling her with a belt, police said.

Harry R. White, of 169 Old Stage Road in Groton, has been charged with three felonies  first-degree criminal contempt, second-degree assault and third-degree criminal possession of a weapon  and three misdemeanors  fourth-degree criminal mischief, second-degree menacing and obstruction of breath.

The Auburn Police Department said the 30-year-old showed up at a residence on Liberty Street around 9:30 p.m. Wednesday, violating an order of protection.

Police said they believe an argument ensued between the defendant and the victim, and White then followed the victim out of the residence to Lansing Street. That's where White allegedly took an ax out of his backpack and threatened the victim, wrapping a belt around her neck and pulling her down the street.

Police said the victim was able to get the belt off her neck, but White then went to one of the vehicles parked in a driveway and damaged it with a cinder block.

White is also accused of headbutting and punching the victim, as well as striking her in the head with the handle of the ax and a pellet pistol.

At that time, around 9:45 p.m., police arrived and took White into custody. The victim was taken to the hospital for treatment.

In addition, Auburn police said White was wanted on separate charges. He is accused of stealing someone's identity and using that information to withdraw money from an ATM on July 25 and July 27.

In that case, White has been charged with two counts each of first-degree identity theft, second-degree forgery and fourth-degree criminal possession of stolen property. Police said there was a different victim in that case.
The Union Peace Conference scheduled to happen at the end of the month will be the first time the new National League for Democracy (NLD) government sits down for peace talks with the armed groups. State Counsellor Daw Aung Suu Kyi said it would be all-inclusive, but its still unclear if the Burma Army will allow all the groups to participate after officially stating that several groups that it fought with in the last two years must surrender before ceasefire talks can begin.

Despite the NLD winning last years election in a landslide victory, the 2008 Constitution allots the army twenty-five percent of Parliament and control of three key ministriesHome, Border and Defense.

Representatives from the Ethnic Youth Alliance said that political dialogue about building a federal union must happen during the conference. They also called on the Burma Army to halt all offensives in contested areas of the country.

Clashes between the Burma Army and Kachin Independence Army have taken place recently in Tanai Township, Kachin State displacing over 200 civilians. Fighting is also happening in northern Shan State.

Over 700 youth from 26 ethnicities attended National Ethnic Youth Conference that went ahead despite a last minute suspension order by the Shan State government. Its still not clear why the conference was suspended. Surprisingly, no legal action was taken against organisers after they ignored the official warning.

Reporting by K.N.G.

Translated by Thida Linn

Edited by BNI staff
More than 1.6 million people in Myanmar have been displaced over the past 18 months, since last years military coup, according to the Institute for...
Hariyali Teej 2019: Importance of Celebrating Teej Festivals lekhaka-Staff

India is a pious land of festivals and occasions. Most of the festivals are religious and they give you an immense pleasure to perform all the rituals with your dear and near ones.

As this is the country of seasonal varieties, all six seasons are enriched with their own significances. Every season brings new festivals and celebration to make people realise only one truth that life is a gift of God.

You should enjoy every day of it. Teej is also one of those occasions which is celebrated in the month of Shravana (July-August), during the extended monsoon. This year, hariyali teej will be celebrated on 3 August. So, what is the importance of celebrating teej?

Also Read: 10 Vegetarian Recipes For Teej

Before knowing the significance of celebrating teej, you should gather a little more information about the festival. This is celebrated on Shukla Paksha, Tritiya, in the Shravan month.

This is also popular as Shravani Teej or Hariwali Teej. Though the whole country celebrates it, the pomp and vigour is seen in the northern part of the country. States like Rajasthan, Punjab, Bihar, UP, Hariyana and even Kathmandu (capital of Nepal) celebrate it gallantly.

Teej is mainly celebrated by women who keep fast for the welfare of their husband and marital life. On this occasion, Lord Shiva and Goddess Parvati are worshipped. Hence, read on to know more about the significance of celebrating teej, in this article.

1. Religious Significance While discussing the importance of celebrating teej, this point always come first. According to the Hindu religion, this was the day when Lord Shiva and Goddess Parvati reunited after hundreds of years. So, women keep Niraja Vrata' to commemorate this incident and for the well-being and long life of their husbands. 2. Significance According To Weather This is another symbolic significance of celebrating teej. As teej is celebrated in the Shravan masam, it is the festival to celebrate good monsoon. Women dressed in beautiful saree and ornaments, sing, dance and thus, welcome monsoon. 3. Freedom From Daily Humdrum This is the most underlying importance of celebrating teej. Women always get busy in their family life. To bring a change to their life, teej plays an important role. Married women can visit their paternal house this time, which also gives them joy and makes them enthusiastic to lead life again. 4. Strengthens Relationship During teej, married women keep fast for the well-being of their husbands. This brings them closer and be more dedicated to their husbands. On the other hand, when husbands watch their wives keeping a fast for them, it will obviously make them feel more special and thus, they become more loving and caring to their wives. 5. Three-day Rituals The importance of celebrating teej lies in the three-day celebration. On the first day, women enjoy a feast prepared by their husbands. The second day is the fasting day and the third day, they offer prayers to Lord Shiva and Goddess Parvati. 6. Mythical Significance In some parts of the country, women bathe with red mud on the holy occasion of teej. This signifies that a lady becomes completely purified after the bath by removing all her past sins. Then, she keeps a fast and with the moon, arising in the sky, she breaks her fast and joins in a delightful feast. The importance of celebrating teej lies in the giggling smile of the women, in their glittery eyes which smile with their ornaments and colourful apparels. The sawan ke jhoole' (swing, made on tree branches) reminds them of their childhood days. And with the memory of teej of the present year, they prepare to perform all their duties again.
In September 2015 New York Republican Congressman Chris Gibson introduced a resolution in the House of Representatives (H. Res 424) recognizing the impact of climate change and calling for action to reduce future risk. And last month our Congressman, Rep. John Katko took the very important step of joining the thirteen other Republican members of Congress who previously co-sponsored the resolution.

The resolution reads in part:

[T]he consequences of a changing climate have the potential to adversely impact all Americans ... [Congress should work] constructively, using our tradition of American ingenuity, innovation, and exceptionalism, to create and support economically viable, and broadly supported private and public solutions to study and address the causes and effects of measured changes to our global and regional climates, including mitigation efforts and efforts to balance human activities that have been found to have an impact.

These words may not seem exciting or even very interesting to the 55 percent of central New Yorkers who are worried about global warming. But the language is groundbreaking when it comes to the history of the U.S. Congress and particularly Republicans in Congress in relation to climate. Given that regrettable history, it has perhaps been easy to write off Republicans as hopelessly intransigent on the climate issue. And as elections approach, many environmentally-conscious voters might be tempted to reflexively vote Democratic for this reason.

It should be noted, however, that climate was not discussed at all during the primaries by the Democratic candidates competing to oppose Rep. Katko in the 24th District this November. And since earning the nomination in June, Colleen Deacon has remained silent on the climate crisis we face. One must go to her campaign website to find that Deacons climate plan is to push for major new investments in clean energy technology. . . [and] advocate for new energy efficiency standards and additional incentives to support improvements.

This is lip service, boilerplate offered up for a constituency that the Democratic Party generally takes for granted. No matter how aggressively such a plan would be implemented, the reductions in greenhouse gases that science says are needed would not be achieved in the U.S., let alone globally.

We central New York residents who are concerned about the climate should thank Rep. Katko for the courageous position he has taken on the climate with his co-sponsorship of the Gibson resolution. The resolution offers strong hope that Republicans are taking the first steps toward leadership on the climate issue. In the upcoming election, we must critically evaluate each candidates climate positions, and not default to party line voting, especially if that were to lead to support for a candidate offering solutions that are clearly not serious.

Policymakers, economists, and scientists are in broad consensus that a revenue-neutral, border-adjusted carbon tax is the optimal policy for achieving needed emissions reductions. We should demand that each of the candidates who seeks to represent us in Congress offers a legitimate climate plan that would demonstrably reduce greenhouse gases at the rate we must, and cast our votes for whoever responds.
The Most Extensive and Reliable Source of Information Related to the Mexican Drugs Cartels.



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HIT: To coming advancements to high-speed internet service in parts of Cayuga County.

Part of a new round of state spending to expand internet access to underserved areas will be directed to bringing broadband access to 1,000 homes in central New York, including some in rural parts of Cayuga County. A second round of funding is expected to advance the program even further.

MISS: To a worsening of drought conditions in Cayuga County.

There has been little respite to the lack of rainfall this summer, and conditions are only getting worse. The state issued a heightened drought warning this week for most of the central and western parts of the state and asked residents to do what they can to conserve water in the coming months.

Area farmers have been struggling with the dry conditions for several weeks, and one or two good rainstorms are not going to be enough to turn things around now.

HIT: To an untiring effort to honor area military veterans.

A wall being constructed in Shotwell Park will be dedicated to Skaneateles veterans of the Persian Gulf to the modern day. The wall will initially contain 55 names, with more being added in the future.

The committee in charge of honoring the newest generations of veterans was first established 30 years ago, with planning for this particular project beginning with a committee formed in 2011.
CYBERSPACEIn other "barrier protection" news, AIDS Healthcare Foundation has just put out a press release noting that "respected porn industry blogger" Mike South has come out in favor of California Proposition 60, which opponents assert would install AHF president Michael Weinstein into a lifetime government job unless both houses of the legislature vote to fire him, and would allow any California citizen to sue any adult content producer for failure to use barrier protections in sexually explicit content if Cal/OSHA decides not to pursue the case.

South has a storied history of being wrong with regard to the health of adult performers. In his early blogging days, South claimed, as did notorious molecular biologist Peter Duesberg, that HIV is harmless and does not cause AIDSa claim thoroughly discredited by all reputable healthcare providers and researchers. Then, after the 1998 industry HIV debacle involving HIV-positive performer Marc Wallice, when the Adult Industry Medical Healthcare Foundation (AIM) was formed and set the PCR-DNA test as the industry standard HIV test, South argued fervently that the previously used ELISA antibody test was just as effectiveeven though that test may fail to detect HIV infection for up to six months after exposure. (AVN published AIM owner Dr. Sharon Mitchell's responses to some HIV health claims by South in its September 2003 issue.)

Or as turn-of-the-(19th)-century American humorist Josh Billings put it, "It ain't so much what people don't know that hurts 'em; it's what they do know that ain't so."

And let's also not forget that South has an openly expressed hatred for Free Speech Coalition and everything it stands for, so opposing a ballot initiative that FSC supports is just icing on the cake for South.

And now South has decided to throw his support behind the AHF ballot initiative Proposition 60for reasons that many of those had been following the now 8-year-old controversy would take issue with.

For example, South puts great stock in the idea that citizens filing complaints with Cal/OSHA about condomless content will "[put] a fire under Cal/OSHA['s] ass" and somehow force them to investigate and deal with the complaints so that citizens won't even get the chance to invoke the proposition's "citizen attorney general" clause that would allow them to sue the producer on their own ... and get 25 percent of any monetary recovery.

Comments South, "To some degree it even allows performers to make the choice, in that if nobody files a complaint with OSHA  nothing happens."

Of course, since every single Cal/OSHA complaint so far about non-condom adult material has been filed by AHF or its associates, it's a good bet that citizens won't even get a chance to suebecause AHF will be standing in line at the court clerk's filing desk before them.

South also claims that performers who have contracted HIV during their time in the industry can expect no help whatsoever from the industryanother lie which, as Adolf Hitler noted in Mein Kampf, "The most brilliant propagandist technique will yield no success unless one fundamental principle is borne in mind constantly and with unflagging attention. It must confine itself to a few points and repeat them over and over. Here, as so often in this world, persistence is the first and most important requirement for success." In other words, tell a lie often enough and people will believe it's the truth.

In fact, despite AIM's limited resources, all of the performers who became HIV positive while working in the industry who actually sought help from industry resources like AIM were helped, though some were dissatisfied and went elsewhere. Current industry testing clinics are ready to assist anyone, industry or not, who tests positive for any STD, with treatment recommendations and help in obtaining actual treatment.

South has lists of people who became HIV-positive that he claims were "abandoned by the industry. Not to be heard from again" or were "quickly and unceremoniously dumped from the industry, never to be heard from again." In fact, most on South's lists never asked the industry for help; they simply left the industry and tried to deal with their infections in their personal lives through their own physicians.

"If you are a performer, make NO mistake about it, should you get HIV nobody in porn is going to help you in any way. PERIOD," South claims. "If you think otherwise ask any of the girls or guys mentioned in previous posts who contracted HIV any way you look at it I think that Derek Burts and Cameron Bay got HIV as a result of the business, they both make that claim and they both cite circumstances that would hold up in a civil trial."

Simply put, this is horseshit. Regarding Cameron Bay, everyone with whom she had sexual contact in the scene where she claims she was infected have tested negative for HIV. Burts has made several contradictory claims about contracting the disease during a gay shoot in Florida, but the fact that he also worked as an escort suggests that his infection happened off-set. In both cases, there is in fact no evidence that either performer was infected on an adult industry set.

South's commentary on Prop 60 can be read on his blog.

"We are glad to let Mike Souths own wordsa blistering indictment of the industry, if ever there was onespeak for themselves in exposing the hypocrisy, lies and misinformation continually promulgated by the porn industry regarding Proposition 60 and thank him for his bold endorsement of this important ballot measure," said pro-Prop 60 campaign director Rick Taylor.

If the best AHF can do is put forth the ravings of the incredibly ignorant Mike South to support their position, the industry must be in better shape, legally and philosophically, than anyone realizes.
The Republic of Japan has this week celebrated its diplomatic relations with Botswana in anticipation OF the latters 50th silver jubilee independence celebrations.



Speaking at reception ceremony in Gaborone, Ambassador of Japan to Botswana, Masahiro Onishi said his country established its diplomatic relations with Botswana on 30th September 1966 and this was worth celebrating.



Botswana and Japan share the same fundamental values, namely, democracy, rule of law and the respect of human rights. It is for that reason that we have been cooperating in the international arena to advocate those principles. For us Botswana is a true friend that one can trust wholeheartedly, explained Onishi. He further stated that both Botswana and Japan have rich natural resources, including tourism, which made the friendship between the two countries even stronger.



About 10, 000 Japanese people visited Botswana in 2014, and it is my wish that more Japanese people will visit this beautiful country, he said. Onishi also highlighted that Japan has previously assisted Botswana in the construction of infrastructure through grants and Yen loans over the years.

Currently, Botswana has already achieved the status of an upper middle income country so that, in general means our grants and Yen loans are no longer applicable to this country. Instead, we are now cooperating with Botswana through technical cooperation and grant assistance for Grass Roots Projects, he said. He therefore promised that he would commit to strive for further development of the relations between these two countries.
Botswanas High Commissioner to the United Kingdom, is the best performing among the countrys envoys, Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Pelonomi Venson-Moitoi has said.

The UK High Commissioner Roy Blackbeard is the only one who has served for long compared to other colleagues. Members of Parliament especially from the opposition have for long questioned the rationale for having Blackbeard serving for more than five years in one place. The answer has always been that he is doing a great job so there is no need to move him from London.



This week Venson-Moitoi reiterated this position stating that there is nothing amiss. The current High Commissioner in London is deployed where there is need and will be moved according to the exigencies of the service. He has stayed in one place as government remains satisfied with his performance, the minister told Parliament this week.



She stated that prior to his appointment as High Commissioner, Blackbeard served as minister of Agriculture and was also MP for Serowe North. Quizzed about Blackbeards contract, the minister said all the countrys envoys have the same contract of engagement. She said Blackbeard was not given a special contract and is not getting any special treatment. He is still in London because he was able to ensure that the relationship between us and our counterparts remains strong.

He ensures our programmes run smoothly. Batswana are well served under his leadership and nothing has come forth to suggest that our London office is failing, she said when responding to a question from MP for Francistown South Wynter Mmolotsi who wanted to know why Blackbeard has stayed in one place for long and when he would be transferred.



This year marks 18 years of his uninterrupted stay in London since he was appointed High Commissioner in 1998. Opposition parties have for long maintained that Blackbeard had made a deal with the ruling Botswana Democratic Party (BDP) to give up his Parliamentary seat for President Ian Khama. President Khama joined politics from Botswana Defence Force in 1998 the same year Blackbeard dumped his political career. BDP and government has denied that there are ties or a deal that was made for Blackbeard. President Khama went ahead and won the by-election under the BDP ticket.




There are plenty of issues in Rio de Janeiro, from Zika to contaminated water to poor athletes village conditions to lost stadium keys, but media bus drivers who cant find the drop-off area at the central Maracana stadium are a new one. Thats what happened to a bus full of journalists headed to the opening ceremonies Friday, though. Several of them, including Cam Cole of The Vancouver Sun and the Postmedia chain and Mark Purdy of The San Jose Mercury News, live-tweeted the experience of doing laps of Rio:

15 mins ago bus was close enough to touch #Maracana. Since then we've been cruising the neighbourhood. Did we decide not to go after all?  Cam Cole (@rcamcole) August 5, 2016

I think our bus driver to Opening Ceremonies is lost. Has circled central Rio 3 times w/out finding Maracana Stadium. Now soliciting advice.  Mark Purdy (@MercPurdy) August 5, 2016

Not sure why you can't find Brazil's most famous stadium but this would make a great "Laverne And Marta" sitcom episode.  Mark Purdy (@MercPurdy) August 5, 2016

We're making progress. Seem to be in a dedicated Olympic lane now. Stopping to ask soldiers for directions. It's why I always leave early.  Mark Purdy (@MercPurdy) August 5, 2016

Lap 3  Go! #Riobusolympics. Nobody, not cops, soldiers, volunteers appear to know where the bus dropoff spot is or how to get there.  Cam Cole (@rcamcole) August 5, 2016

Cam Cole stars in Speed 3: Bus in Brazil https://t.co/fvb0yFvtDv  Jeff Paterson (@patersonjeff) August 5, 2016

Weve seen lost bus drivers before, but one doing several laps of the city seems problematic, especially when headed to the Olympics largest venue instead of an obscure one. Oh well, at least these guys are unlikely to be held up as long as Toronto Star columnist Bruce Arthur, who wrote about the 42-hour odyssey he faced getting to Rio in the first place. Waitis Arthur on this bus, too?

As we get closer but somehow not closer to the Olympic Stadium, this bus driver is really starting to lean into the turns. Exciting!  Bruce Arthur (@bruce_arthur) August 5, 2016

Hopefully this bus will arrive at the stadium before 42 hours. If not, Arthur might want to watch out in case the other media members label him a Jonah

Update: They made it.

From my seat at #MaracanaStadium, on a lovely clear late afternoon. 80 minutes to #Rio2016 opening. pic.twitter.com/Z3ag5q5w5F  Cam Cole (@rcamcole) August 5, 2016
Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 05/08/2016 (2275 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Keystone Agricultural Producers is investigating whether a two-tiered pricing system at North Dakota elevators violates conditions set forth in the North American Free Trade Agreement.

Leslie Felsche, who farms near Ridgeville, said grain buyers are offering different prices based solely on the citizenship of the seller.

Ridgeville is south of Winnipeg near the Emerson port of entry.

In some places, they arent taking soybeans from Canadians, which they dont have to if they dont want to  thats their business, Felsche said. But when they have two different prices, thats different.

Felsche said he was sent an email from an elevator in North Dakota that clearly shows a discrepancy in what buyers are willing pay for American commodities versus Canadian.

KAP president Dan Mazier said the agricultural lobby passed a resolution at its most recent advisory council meeting to investigate why grain buyers in North Dakota are discounting Canadian grain, and whether it violates our countrys free trade agreement.

NAFTA came into force in Canada, Mexico and the United States in 1994.

Mazier said its not the first complaint KAP has received about two-tier pricing schedules south of the border.

Its also not the only form of protectionism used, according to Mazier.

They wont buy Canadian grain because it is competing with American grain or theyll buy it but only if you ship it another 100 miles, he said.

Creating additional transportation cost works as deterrent, Mazier said, keeping some producers from selling their product in the U.S.

If the practice is found to circumvent NAFTA, KAP can forward its complaints to the World Trade Organization.

A meaningful decision on the practice could be years away, however.

Last year, the WTO sided with Canada and Mexico in a trade battle with the U.S. over labelling rules.

That ruling allowed Canada and Mexico to impose up to US$1 billion in annual retaliatory tariffs after the WTO deemed country of origin labelling (COOL) restrictive.

The mandatory labelling required stickers on livestock cuts explaining where the animal was born, raised and slaughtered.

The WTO decision took more than five years, however, and cost Canadian producers billons of dollars after the U.S. appealed the decision and revised its labelling rules to try to find a loophole that would be perceived as compliance.

Doug Goehring, North Dakotas agricultural commissioner, said there is one possible explantation for the differential in the soybean pricing.

There is a long-standing agreement that when you buy Canadian soybeans, they should be going to local markets for crush and feed, because if you blend them with U.S. soybeans and export them, then youve misrepresented the product, he said.

Elevators selling to global markets would have to separate Canadian soybeans from U.S. soybeans, not dissimilar to how COOL forced slaughter plants to keep Canadian and American beef separate.

It could incur a different price and there could be a differential paid, Goehring said. Its not meant to discriminate, but the reality is they might not be able to have anything blended with American soybeans.

Producers should be made aware of those restrictions, he said.

He wasnt aware of any systematic downward price setting from grain buyers in the U.S. on Canadian commodities.

 ctweed@brandonsun.com

 Twitter: @CharlesTweed
And then there were three.

Members of the Flagstaff community came out to the High Country Conference Center Thursday evening to meet the final candidates for Assistant Director for Off-Campus Life and Community Liaison Programs.

Approximately 25 people applied for the job and were initially narrowed down by a selection committee made up of Northern Arizona University and City of Flagstaff representatives to nine candidates, who were then further cut after phone interviews to the finalists: Carolyn Burrell, Beth Hager and Karissa Morgan.

NAU and the City have been working collaboratively on addressing off-campus student issues, said Kimberly Ott, Assistant to the President for Executive Communication and Media Relations at NAU. With regular conference calls with the City of Flagstaff Police Department and the NAU Dean of Students office, off-campus student conduct issues are being addressed proactively. The collaborative work of the City and NAU will continue through this new position.

With NAU accepting more students each year and struggling to provide housing for them, spillage into the neighborhoods surrounding campus has become a growing annoyance for long-term residents.

We really want to bridge the relationship between longtime residents and students, said Stephanie Smith, assistant to the city manager.

The campus-community liaison will work on teaching students how to become better neighbors and get involved in the community during their time here.

After experiencing similarly fast growth at Colorado State University and implementing a neighborhood liaison program to work out some of the issues that came with its housing boom, Fort Collins worked with NAU and the City of Flagstaff to develop a position that would fit the communitys needs.

Thursdays meet and greet was the end of a long day for the candidates who had been interviewed by panels of students and community leaders throughout the afternoon. Each of them briefly described their qualifications before mingling with attendees, including NAU President Rita Cheng, Flagstaff Mayor Jerry Nabours and Vice Mayor Celia Barotz, among others.

THREE FINALISTS

Burrell, an ex-housing coalition member and recent addition to Flagstaff, was excited about the chance to make a difference here.

I dont see this position as being one thats in an office, she said. This is an opportunity to engage in the community, get out and meet people so that they recognize me. That couldnt be better for me because if I have to be stuck in an office all day, thats not the job for me.

During her speech, she also noted her extensive experience in leadership and education roles, including running a student conduct programming board and working in various roles within school housing facilities.

Hager, a 2003 NAU graduate, wanted to rejoin the NAU family after attending law school at Arizona State University to contribute her experience with school boards and passing legislation.

If Im fortunate enough to get this position, I would spend a lot of time -- before planning anything -- just listening, she said, reaching out to NAU folks, City of Flagstaff folks and other people who have a stake in the community to understand exactly what they need from me, how they want Flagstaff to look.

Morgan prepared for the position by reading notes from the local Good Neighbor Coalition meetings and other information online.

Because Im not from Flagstaff and have never lived here before, I figured that was the best thing I could do to understand some of the issues here, she said.

Her professional background includes hotel and restaurant management and a masters degree in higher education that led her to her most recent position at Arizona State University in university housing.

'EAGER TO GET STARTED'

Were hoping to get together a selection committee within a week and evaluate all the feedback weve gotten from the different panels and different engagement that the candidates have went through over the past day, Smith said. Were eager to get this started.

Attendees were asked to fill out feedback forms before leaving, rating their initial feelings on the candidates qualifications, which the selection committee plans to take into consideration during their process. The assistant director will be hired for a two-year term and report to both the City and NAU.

NAU students are a great resource for Flagstaff and the community provides extensive opportunities for our students, Ott said. Through this position we hope to minimize the challenges and maximize the benefits to the Flagstaff and NAU communities.

The City is very excited and grateful to partner with NAU on this important position, Smith added. The position truly demonstrates the leadership of both Flagstaff City Council and President Cheng to collaborate on building community at the neighborhood level.
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This article was published 05/08/2016 (2275 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

WINNIPEG  Its shaping up to be a Jekyll-and-Hyde-like harvest for Manitoba grain farmers, industry officials say.

Its been a year of extreme contrasts, where weve got some of the best-looking crops in peoples memory. But conversely, weve also got some of the worst-looking crops in peoples memory, said Doug Chorney, who farms in the East Selkirk area and is immediate past-president of the Keystone Agricultural Producers.

So you cant make generalizations about the state of Manitobas crop.

The Western Grain Elevators Association said early last month that it looked like this years crop in Western Canada could range anywhere from a low that exceeds the five-year average to a high that threatens to topple the record 76 million tonnes of grain farmers harvest in 2013.

Since then, there also have been other predictions of a near-record wheat crop, thanks to favourable weather conditions in many parts of the Prairies.

But while that might be the case in some parts of Manitoba, Chorney and current KAP president Dan Mazier said there are other areas where theres some crops have been drowned out this summer.

Thats why youve got to be cautious when youre talking about this and making broad assumptions that everybody is doing fine, Mazier added.

He and Chorney said crops conditions can not only vary from region to region, but from one farm to another within the same region.

Each individual farm can be impacted differently, Mazier said. One might get it (a heavy rain), and you might not.

In the East Selkirk area, for example, about 25 per cent of Chorneys canola crop was drowned out this year. And hes not alone.

In our area, our crops are generally poor, he said. Our best outlook is a below average crop at this point.

But on the other hand, his neighbour, Doug Martin, could be harvesting one of his best winter wheat crops ever  with yield estimates in the range of 90 to 100 bushels per acre. That would top the long-term, winter-wheat average for his farm, which is about 80 bushels per acre, and would far exceed what Mazier said is the long-term provincial average of about 50 to 60 bushels per acre.

Martin also said while his canola has suffered moisture damage, his spring wheat looks pretty good. And thanks to the recent spell of hot, relatively dry weather, his soybeans look a lot better than they did two or three weeks ago.

Although its been too wet this week for him to begin harvesting his winter wheat, the winter wheat and fall rye harvest is already underway in other parts of the province, according to the provincial governments latest weekly crop report.

Pam de Rocquigny, a cereal crop specialist with the province, said preliminary reports from the five regions of the province indicate winter wheat yields in the range of 60 to 95 bushels per acre, and fall rye yields of between 40 to 90 bushels per acre. The upper end of those ranges would be well above the long-term averages for both crops, she added.

However, because it will be two or three weeks before farmers begin harvesting their spring-seeded crops, de Rocquigny said its too soon to say if Manitobas overall crop will be above average, or approaching near-record levels.

Well have a better idea once those first fields start to come off what the yields will be like.

She also cautioned that yields may vary greatly from farm to farm and region to region.

There is such variability across the province. We have some areas that are reporting their crops are looking great, and others that have received excessive amounts of precipitation. And that has put a cap on the yield potential for those producers in those areas, she said.

Also, yield is one thing, but quality is the other part of the equation, she added. You can have good yields but if you have a poor-quality crop, that can impact a producers bottom line as well.

Mazier, who farms northeast of Brandon, said things like high winds, hail, heavy rains or an early frost during the harvest season can also have a big impact on both quality and yields.

Thats why we never really count on anything until we get it in the bin.

He also noted that, due to an anticipated glut of wheat on world markets, wheat prices are down about 30 per cent from a year ago. So farmers are going to need more bushels to make up for the lower prices, he added.

 Winnipeg Free Press
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This article was published 05/08/2016 (2275 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Manitoba municipalities have the opportunity to tap into $144 million in provincial and federal infrastructure funding  if they apply by Aug. 26.

The difference this time around is the application process. The Province of Manitoba announced Thursday in Brandon that they are accepting applications through a single-window for all four grant programs, in an effort to streamline the process.

This is an important step forward because it will reduce red tape, said Indigenous and Municipal Relations Minister Eileen Clarke. Its going to allow more efficient access to funding and help the municipalities to advance their infrastructure priorities. It is a first step in our commitment to provide all municipalities with a fair say on how their infrastructure funds are invested in their communities.

Bruce Bumstead/The Brandon Sun Mayor Rick Chrest joins Association of Manitoba Municipalities president Chris Goertzen and Indigenous and Municipal Relations Minister Eileen Clarke for an infrastructure announcement at the Civic Services Complex on Thursday.

The announcement was made at the City of Brandons civic services complex, in front of two new buses that were to hit the streets Thursday.

Each of these  cost in excess of $500,000, said Mayor Rick Chrest. It certainly draws attention to  the cost of running municipalities, for the benefit of our citizens and how difficult it would be if we did not have a partnership with the senior levels of government.

The 2016 Municipal Road and Bridge Program has a total of $16 million in provincial funding. The federal-provincial Small Communities Fund, will provide up to $10.26 million in provincial funding. It is cost-shared with the federal government, at up to one-third of total eligible costs. This fund supports projects in communities of fewer than 100,000 people.

The Clean Water and Wastewater Fund and Public Transit Infrastructure Fund are part of the

federal governments 2016 Infrastructure Phase 1 Plan.

Up to $47.6 million in provincial funding will support projects that provide communities with clean drinking water or better wastewater treatment, according to the province.

Manitoba will provide up to $41.4 million for public transit improvement projects such as new buses or upgrades to transit facilities.

Association of Manitoba Municipalities president Chris Goertzen said the new process, which can be done online, will simplify the intake for municipalities.

Having campaigned for a fair say for municipalities throughout the last election, it is really gratifying to see the new approach for infrastructure funding coming to fruition, Goertzen said.

Chrest said the top infrastructure priority is the proposed $60-million water treatment upgrade, as reported in Thursdays Brandon Sun.

He added there is constant road and street work to be done, plus major recreation and riverbank projects that they hope to secure funding for.

The more that we can partner with senior levels of government, the more we can stretch our dollars and the more work we can get done, he said.

 jaustin@brandonsun.com

 Twitter: @jillianaustin
Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 05/08/2016 (2275 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A man who crashed his car into a brick pillar on Princess Avenue and led Brandon police officers on a foot chase that ended with him being Tased this past spring was released after serving what amounts to a 177-day sentence on Thursday.

John Arvedo Manuel Felguiras, 36, pled guilty to four charges on Thursday: driving carelessly, leaving the scene of an accident, breaching a recognizance and resisting arrest.

The charges stem from April 9, when at about 9:50 a.m., Brandon police officers were stopped at the intersection of First Street and Rosser Avenue, preparing to turn north.

The officers watched Felguiras drive his car south through the intersection at a high rate of speed, according to Crown attorney Yaso Mathu.

Police began their pursuit, giving chase to the vehicle. Felguiras tried unsuccessfully to make the next right turn onto Princess Avenue and crashed his car into the brick Downtown Brandon pillar.

Police parked their cruiser right behind the crashed car and watched as Felguiras moved from the driver to the passenger seat and fled on foot, darting northbound down an alleyway  ignoring orders from the officers to stop.

The officers lost sight of the man as he turned west. Two citizens told the officers they saw the man in bushes along Second Street.

Another citizen saw the man in a yard on 2nd Street, and yelled to police  who eventually caught up to him near Rosser Avenue. Felguiras ignored more orders from police to stop, heading east on Rosser.

An officer shot the man with a Taser, hitting his back and buttocks, causing him to fall to the ground. The man was arrested and charged, taken to hospital to be cleared and then lodged at Brandon Correctional Centre.

Mathu proposed a six-month jail sentence for attempting to evade police, a 60-day concurrent sentence for the breach, and fine of between $500 and $1,000 and driving prohibition between one year and 18 months.

A strong message needs to be sent to Mr. Felguiras that his behaviors in the last little while has been completely unacceptable, Mathu said.

Felguiras, who is originally from Manitoba, has been in custody since his arrest, which gets him 177 days credit.

That jail term was appropriate, Felguiras lawyer Andrew Synyshyn suggested.

Judge John Combs agreed, sentencing Felguiras to the time hes served for resisting arrest, 60 days concurrently for breaching his curfew and a total of $500 in fines for the two driving-related charges, with $200 in surcharges.

Felguiras intends on returning to Alberta, court heard, where he has other outstanding criminal matters before courts.

Youve made a number of bad decisions, Combs told Felguiras.

The most serious aspect of what Im dealing with today is what you put the police through on that day back in April. Obviously the police spent lots of time and resources trying to pick up someone who was running around the community and involving citizens in arresting you, Combs said.

 tbateman@brandonsun.com

 Twitter: @tombatemann
Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 04/08/2016 (2276 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Following an intensive week-long survey of 47 Westman hospitals and health centres last month, Prairie Mountain Health has received national accreditation.

The survey, performed by Accreditation Canada, assessed the health regions performance in 21 different areas of organizational practices, service delivery and patient care and safety.

PMH met just over 89 per cent of the surveyed criteria.

I think we were very pleased, PMH CEO Penny Gilson said. Were identifying things that we need to continue to work on, but overall, it was a very positive survey report.

Provincial legislation requires that all Manitoba health regions must be accredited. This is the first time the region has been surveyed since it was formed in 2012, but the previous Assiniboine, Brandon and Parkland RHAs all had accreditation.

PMH has to report back to Accreditation Canada regarding improvements later this year and again next November. The next full survey will be conducted in 2020.

The quality improvement and patient safety work that we do should be embedded into our day-to-day operation, Gilson said. Its not just associated with a one-time survey every four years  its something that were always working on.

According to the accreditation report  which can be viewed at pmh-mb.ca  the region performed well in areas of regionalization, staff and community engagement, facility cleanliness, capital redevelopment, staff education, interdisciplinary teams and workplace wellness.

Areas for improvement include workforce substantiality, quality management, program goals and objectives, patient-centred care, management and physician leadership structures, required practices to enhance patient safety and minimize risk, balancing urban and rural areas and listening to staff.

Under the heading of patient flow, the surveyors noted that some of PMHs rural sites are running at 50 per cent occupancy and there is a lack of ability to place clients with behavioural issues  this was also an issue for long-term care facilities.

Some of the behaviour management types of clients, due to no fault of theirs, their behaviour can sometimes be very challenging to manage within some of our existing environments, Gilson said, adding that dealing with difficult or violent clients is easier with specialized facilities and additional staff. So how can we move forward creating environments  that they get the care they need?

I think every region is experiencing some of those challenges and there will have to be a provincial strategy.

 ewasney@brandonsun.com

 Twitter: @evawasney
Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 04/08/2016 (2276 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Two opponents to the Whitewater Lake water management project are voicing their concerns about the project currently before federal and provincial regulators.

Ducks Unlimiteds Rick Andrews, head of conservation programs for Manitoba, said his organization is opposed to the project on a number of fronts.

The flooding at Whitewater Lake is the symptom of a larger problem that needs to be addressed in this province  and that is unregulated and poorly regulated drainage, Andrews said. The solution is not more drainage.

The project, which was proposed by the Municipality of Deloraine-Winchester, includes the construction of two outlet channels from the lake. The west channel would discharge to the Medora Creek, which links up with the Souris River near Napinka, while the north channel would funnel water to the Elgin Creek, which links to the Souris River near Souris.

Both channels would be operated between May 15 and Oct. 31, and only when downstream flows were low with the goal of maintaining a target level on Whitewater Lake of 1,628 feet above sea level. The lake is currently closer to 1,633 feet above sea level and has swollen to the point where it is covering large chunks of private farm land.

The problem is this water has to go somewhere. Its going to go downstream, which is the Souris River, the Assiniboine River, Lake Manitoba and Winnipeg. The flooding issues are there, Andrews said. There is too much water in the system, so how can the solution be to put more water in the system?

Whitewater Lakes size and shallowness has made it one of the best birding areas in the province, which considers it a wildlife management area.

In the past, the lake has dried out numerous times, most recently in the late 1980s and early 1990s.

Andrews said part of the problem is that adjacent land has been drained into Whitewater Lake, and as natural marshland continues to dry up due to drainage, bodies of water continue to expand.

The water that used to be stored on the land is now moving very quickly and effectively into Whitewater Lake, Andrews said. The Prairies have been historically dotted with these potholes that would buffer these flood events. The data shows we have lost in excess of 100,000 acres of wetlands over the last 30 years. Thats a lot of storage.

Bob Miller, a councillor for the Municipality of Grassland, is also opposed to the project.

Miller, who represents the ward that the north channel would weave through, is concerned about additional water hitting the reservoir east of Elgin.

My concern is that our infrastructure cant handle it, he said. And once that ditch is dug, it will be open season for guys who want to drain their farmland into it  thats how these things work.

The Elgin reservoir was recently drained, according to Miller, to kill off predatory fish so it can be stocked with trout. Its an area that must be protected due to the tourism it creates, he said.

Deloraine-Winchester Head of Council Gordon Weidenhamer said Whitewater Lake needs to be managed in order to protect Deloraine.

He believes the lake could provide storage during major rain events and help offset the high flows by holding water back, provided there is room.

This is the headwaters of one of the watersheds that feed the Souris River Basin, and I think could be used as a storage in the peak years like in 2014 if there was some capacity there, he said.

The expansion has hurt birding habitat in some areas, according to Weidenhamer.

It is a lake now and there is no environment for the waterfowl to habitat, he said. No one wants to take away that habitat but everyone wants it where its supposed to be and be able to farm their land.

A spokeswoman with Sustainable Development said the environmental assessment and licensing process is still underway.

A final decision on federal environmental assessment requirements will be made by the Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency once details of the proposed operation of the project have been confirmed by the proponents, she said.

If approvals to manage lake levels are issued, the proposal would then undergo review from the water management perspective.

 ctweed@brandonsun.com

 Twitter: @CharlesTweed
Two dozen teens graduated from this summers First Jobs program, having gained insights into the world of work from a combination of special workforce development classes and practical experience in local businesses.

The graduation ceremony held Wednesday, July 27 in the commons of Coconino Community College campus at 2800 Lone Tree Road was highly attended by many excited about the opportunities ahead for all First Jobs graduating teens.

The program, presented by the college and Goodwill Industries of Northern Arizona, offers youths between the ages of 14 to 19 the opportunity to experience their first job in a supportive and safe, real-world environment.

Positive first work experiences are a critical component for preparing youth for transition into adulthood, said Christina Caldwell, director of Community and Business Engagement at Goodwill. We are helping to build Flagstaffs future workforce.

The teens worked for 15 to 20 hours each week for eight weeks at Goodwill retail stores; Second Chance Center for Animals; Little America Hotel; Satchmos BBQ; Soups & Cajun restaurant; Kingdom Kids Preschool & Play Center; Warners Nursery; and Jitters Lunch Box.

Additionally, they attended weekly classroom training at Coconino Community College, learning skills such as time management, work ethics, resume writing, communication and interview skills.

The program, now in its seventh year, is made possible in part by funding from the Arizona Community Foundation.
Opinion

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This article was published 05/08/2016 (2275 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Beaus All Natural Brewing has finally arrived in Brandon!

If you arent familiar with Beaus, they are a family owned brewery based out of the small town of Vankleek Hill, Ont., located an hour southeast of Ottawa. Its Canadas largest organic brewery and as of this spring, they gave their employees ownership of the operation.

Ever since I was in Montreal in June for Mondial de la biere, the folks at Beaus have been emailing me and tweeting me  well, breweries do email me once in a while, but usually its just media releases.

However, the folks over at Beaus are extremely engaged with their audience, to the point that Jen Beauchesne  Jens father and brother founded the brewery in 2006  started following me on Twitter because were both great friends of the folks at up-and-coming Torque Brewing and I happened to post a picture of Torques awesome cast iron bottle opener.

Seeing that Jen is Beaus media relations rep, I wanted her to tell me some cool tidbits about the brewery that would be interesting to beer drinkers here in Westman.

Beaus received its organic certification back in 2008 and being an organic brewery, the hardest thing is sourcing the ingredients for the beer. The organic barley malt used for Beaus beers comes mostly from Germany because its difficult to find good beer malt quality organic barley in Canada.

That being said, they recently started to source a small amount of organic barley, oats and rye from Malterie Frontenac out of Quebec whenever possible.

As for wheat, beer grade organic wheat is easier to come by in Canada, so when Beaus has access to it, they use it in their wheat ales.

Hops is another tricky area for an organic brewery. A few years back, the entire North American beer industry was going through a massive hop shortage, but now that more people are growing hops throughout Canada, Beaus uses 100 per cent organic locally-based hops whenever they can.

That amounts to 20 per cent of their total hop consumption per year as Ontario and Quebec just arent as great a hop-growing zone compared to Oregon, Washington and British Columbia.

For the more botanical beers they bring out seasonally, they source herbs  including bog myrtle for their Bog Water winter beer  through a local forager. Unfortunately he wasnt certified to be organic, so Beaus helped him get the needed organic credentials.

All in all, as you can see, thats a lot of work just to run a brewery  and that doesnt include the actual production, sales, distribution, marketing and whatnot!

Why did Beaus go organic in the first place? Jen says it was just the right thing to do  and that it makes a tastier beer.

So, on to the beer.

Beaus gets a lot of rave reviews by friends who have visited Ottawa  it is essentially the Ottawa beer, just like Half Pints is the Winnipeg beer and Steam Whistle/Mill Street are the Toronto beers.

Lug Tread Lagered Ale is the first Beaus beer to make it to Manitoba. It is described as a beer with light ale notes complemented by lager-like crispness, with notes of subtle fruit, graham cracker malt and fresh-cut hay.

The first time I ever had Lug Tread was three years ago when one of my buddies from Ottawa raved about it and brought me a bottle for our beercation in Quebec City. My initial thought was it tasted like Half Pints St. James Pale Ale, which is a German-style Kolsch  which I just recently discovered is the exact same style as Lug Tread.

Pouring the beer, it comes out as a light straw-yellow ale with a good amount of carbonation but minimal foam on top  just a light amount of bubbly white film.

The aroma is a bonfire on the Prairies beer smell  notes of grainy barley that gives it a bit of a grain bin scent, plus a hint of lemon zest, a sweet graham cracker maltiness, with a hint of toastiness in the malt, and light grassy hops.

For the most part the aroma

is comparable to my go-to summertime bonfire beers, Half Pints St. James Pale Ale and Labatt 50 (dont judge me!).

The flavour starts out malt forward as its a sweet lagered ale that gives off the flavours of graham crackers again as well as a hint of honey, crusty french bread, a light floral hoppiness thats similar to fresh-cut grass and a moderate amount of lemon zest thats perfect for this incredibly hot and humid summer weve been having.

Lagerized ales arent generally a style I review here, but once in a while, I have to review something that I think most of you will like. Many of you have let me know you simply arent fans of hoppy, bitter IPAs or rich, roasty chocolate stouts.

Lug Tread is a bit sweeter than Manitobas top-selling beers, Bud and Bud Light, but instead of that corn water taste, you get the taste of organic barley. Compared to St. James Pale Ale, this brew is a tad sweeter in the malt category.

Lug Tread is very smooth  and frankly, its a bit too easy for me to drink. The upside is that it is incredibly affordable at $4.74 per 600 ml bottle.

Im happy to see Brasserie Beaus All Natural Brewing in Manitoba because now some of my friends can quiet down and buy the beer instead of reminiscing about drinking it at Byward Market in Ottawa.

Also, Beaus has collaborated with B.C.s Tree Brewing to create a leap year-inspired smoked bock called Leap Beer, which can be purchased at local Liquor Marts while supplies last.

You can find Lug Tread at the Liquor Marts in Brandon (10th and Victoria, Corral Centre) as well as in Dauphin  heres hoping more Liquor Marts pick it up in the near future.

It packs 5.2 per cent ABV.
Opinion

Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 05/08/2016 (2275 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

To say I was excited would be an understatement.

It was to be a grand reunion with my longtime friends Marlene and Dean Gilmer, for whom Id been a bridesmaid 31 years ago. While wed seen each other occasionally over the decades (theyve lived in Alberta for most of their married lives), it certainly hadnt been often enough, and we calculated that the last time wed been together was for an all-too-brief lunch a dozen or more years ago.

Theyd been coming up to Clear Lake annually or biennially for ages, but I always seemed to be away when they made these jaunts to see family in Shoal Lake and the surrounding area.

But this time, things worked out. I was free, Mar and Dean and their daughter, Ayla, and her boyfriend, Josh, were free. The other members of the bridal party and friends who are still around these parts were free, her mom and dad and aunt and uncle were free (and Uncle Julian plays a mean accordion  that was one of the highlights of the night for me), so we all congregated near Grey Owl Estates for a celebratory bash.

And what a grand time it was!

My husband, Ken, had barely put our vehicle in park  in fact, he might not have  but I had my seatbelt unbuckled and was out of the car like a shot as soon as I saw my friends.

There was endless hugging and kissing and whooping and hollering  theyre two of the loveliest, kindest, sweetest, most generous, thoughtful and delightful people I know, so to say I was thrilled to be in their company again doesnt begin to cover it.

We eventually calmed down enough to go into the cabin they were renting to grab drinks. Naturally, Id brought some wine  two bottles of my favourite Chardonnay, the 2013 North Coast William Hill from California (more on that in an upcoming column)  and as quickly as I could, I pulled the cork from the bottle. Id brought a smaller-than-usual wineglass, so I couldnt get my nose in it, let alone swirl efficiently, so I just took a sip.

The look on my face was enough to stop Dean in mid-stride.

Are you OK? he asked, and then, glancing at the glass in my hand, quickly rephrased his question.

Is IT OK? he queried, indicating the wine.

Because wed just arrived, I didnt want their first memory of our reunion to be tainted by the image of me horking up a mouthful of wine in their sink. So I shook my head vigorously and forced the offending liquid down my throat.

And while the memory wasnt tainted, the wine most certainly was. Cork taint, or wine being off, is an unusual occurrence, but it does happen. I bet Ive opened more than 100 bottles of William Hill Chard, and theyve all been fine.

But Ive been told that cork taint affects one in 10 bottles of wine sealed with real cork (which the Bill Hill is), and not even one in 100 for wine thats stoppered with screw caps (more on that later, too).

We didnt plan to drink all the wine wed brought with us, but the party started mid-afternoon and ended after midnight, so I knew one bottle wouldnt do. And for the record, the second bottle of Bill Hill was absolutely fine  it was its usual smooth, refreshing, well-rounded, and fabulously flavoured self (more on THAT later as well).

But I really felt the air had been let out of my party-going tires, because now I was going to have to mete out the contents of that single bottle over an extended time. And I dont do well in the self-deprivation department. Although I could have switched to something else, wine is my beverage of choice, and I didnt want to be without it.

The issue, of course, is that we werent in Brandon. The nearest liquor outlet was in Onanole, 16 kilometres down the road. However, my ever-loving husband took pity on me  he knew this was an important day  and he made the jaunt back to Onanole so I could keep visiting.

When he returned, he had a bottle of the Lindemans Bin 65 Chardonnay from Australia (which is $12.99  I wrote about it in my late-July column) and the 2014 Monterey County Cupcake Vineyards Chard, a California product Id never tried before.

(He bought the two bottles just to be on the safe side. Wed learned our lesson.)

So later in the evening, when it came time to open that second bottle, I opted for the Lindemans, because I knew what I was getting and because it had a screw cap.

We had a more-than-fantastic time with our friends and I was able to sip Chardonnay all evening long, making it a perfect night. But the silver lining to the cork-taint cloud was this: Id always avoided the Cupcake Chard because I thought, Cupcakes are sweet. And any winery that calls itself Cupcake is likely to produce sweet wines. And a sweet wine fan I am not.

But when we opened the Cupcake the next evening at home, I was shocked. For $13.99, this was a non-sweet little gem. The flavour combination seemed like the perfect compromise among Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc and Pinot Grigio. It had a pinch of vanilla oak and spice like Chardonnay, the citrusy green-apple acidity of Sauv Blanc, and the lightness of Pinot Grigio.

A perfectly good sipper for days  and evenings  in the company of very special friends.
Opinion

Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 05/08/2016 (2275 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

CALGARY  Brandon University student Catherine Dubois does not allow herself to be bullied. Nor is she one to give up easily in the face of prolonged adversity, year after year. Last week, Catherine and two other business administration students, Kyle Coffey and Silas Lee, filed a court action against the Brandon University Students Union (BUSU). Asserting their free speech rights on campus, Catherine, Kyle and Silas are leaders of Brandon University Students for Life, a student club which BUSU has banned from campus.

BUSUs hostility towards the expression of pro-life opinion dates back to August of 2012, when BUSU claimed that the topic of abortion was already being addressed by the Brandon University Womens Collective. This is like banning the campus NDP club by stating that politics is already being addressed by the campus Conservative club. To designate one individual student club (e.g. the Womens Collective) as the only official spokesperson on a topic (e.g. abortion) effectively kills debate. Sadly, this student union does not understand the very purpose of the university: to facilitate frank discussion and vigorous debate on controversial issues.

Having banned Students for Life from campus for the duration of the 2012-13 school year, BUSU finally changed its mind in September 2013, in response to a legal warning letter. Since then, Students for Life have organized several events and activities on campus, to generate debate and discussion about euthanasia, abortion, suicide and other issues.

But Students for Life were not able to enjoy their campus free speech for long. BUSU revoked their club status in November 2015, without informing the club of its intentions to do so, and without providing any opportunity for the students to defend themselves against the proposed revocation.

The removal of student group recognition means that Students for Life can no longer book meeting rooms from either BUSU or Brandon University for clubs days and events, unless the club pays booking fees that no other campus clubs are required to pay. Students for Life are prevented from effectively engaging students during student clubs days, because they cannot set up tables in the Mingling Area to speak with fellow students. The club cannot apply for event reimbursement from BUSU, or access other BUSU services. Nevertheless, Catherine and her fellow club members must still pay mandatory fees to BUSU, year after year.

As Catherine explains it: We feel marginalized, censored and discriminated against by BUSU simply because we want to host events, share our views, and have discussions about life and death issues like physician-assisted suicide.

The student union is now being sued because it continues to insist on banning the peaceful expression of pro-life opinion at Brandon University. BUSU claims that the pro-life message makes some students feel uncomfortable. This is probably true, but so what? Whats a university for, if not to challenge conventional thinking, and encourage people to question their assumptions? Without discomfort, there can be no intellectual growth. Rather than respecting students as having strong minds that can weigh the merits of competing arguments, the student union treats its members as young children who must be protected from unconventional opinions.

Sadly, BUSU is not the only student union which censors ideas it disagrees with. The Mens Issues Awareness Society is suing the student union at Ryerson University in Toronto, which banned this student club for not adhering to the student unions particular brand of feminist ideology. Other court actions have been launched against student unions at the University of Toronto Mississauga and the Ontario University Institute of Technology.

Universities have become giant, taxpayer-funded day-care centres. Students are coddled by a new legal right not to feel offended by challenges to prevailing orthodoxies about race, gender, sexuality and other topics. Rather than using reason and logic to refute ideas they disagree with, our future leaders feel perfectly justified in silencing dissent by banning clubs, shouting down politically incorrect speakers and physically disrupting peaceful events on campus.

Like any bad trend, this problem will continue to get worse until its addressed, courageously and decisively, by enough people of good will.

 Calgary lawyer John Carpay is president of the Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms (jccf.ca), which represents Catherine Dubois, Kyle Coffey and Silas Lee in their court action against the Brandon University Students Union.
Opinion

Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 05/08/2016 (2275 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

National inquiries are as much about what they cant do as what they can do. The launch of a national inquiry into missing and murdered indigenous women wont bring missing women and girls back, and it will not be a panacea, a quick and easy solution to a painful and complicated problem.

Wednesdays announcement by Indigenous Affairs Minister Carolyn Bennett outlined the mandate of the inquiry that will begin Sept. 1. Marion Buller, the first female indigenous judge in B.C., will head the commission, joined by Michele Audette, the former head of the Native Womens Association of Canada, Qajaq Robinson, an Ottawa lawyer, Marilyn Poitras, a University of Saskatchewan law professor and Brian Eyolfson, a First Nations lawyer from Ontario.

Remarkably, all 10 provinces and three territories have agreed to the terms of reference that will allow the commission to do its work without barriers. While Manitoba was initially reticent to participate, concerned that the inquiry would go over already existing research, the mandate makes it clear it will build on existing knowledge.

This includes the pre-inquiry submissions along with the Truth and Reconciliation Commissions Final Report and the reports of the Missing Women Commission of Inquiry  the Oppal report, which examined how authorities investigated cases involving missing women in the wake of the Robert Pickton case.

But this inquiry wont be able to resolve the seemingly insurmountable problem of colonization, poverty and indifference toward women who are First Nations. This inquiry wont instill trust between First Nations families and the police investigating their relatives disappearance. It wont end sloppy police work, it wont stop institutional racism, it wont make little girls safe. It wont find criminal or civil wrongdoing.

Dont be surprised if the inquiry also points the finger back at the indigenous communities as well. As Joan Jack, an Ojibwa activist from Manitoba has stated, the inquiry will need to look at whats happening on reserves, where women are routinely oppressed and subjected to violence. That will be hard for some to hear, but necessary in order to move forward.

While inquiries may provide recommendations to move forward, it cannot compel authorities to comply with those recommendations. For cynics, that may be the largest concern. Hold an inquiry into missing and murdered indigenous women and girls with a price tag of $53.86 million and then little action is taken. It sits and rots on a library shelf somewhere while families question why. That would be the cruellest indignity to the memory of those women  over 1200 and counting  who have disappeared or have been found murdered between 1980 and 2013.

No doubt this inquiry will make Canadians uncomfortable much like the Truth and Reconciliation hearings did over the four years of testimony from survivors of residential schools. Thats to be expected because stories of racism and misogyny are difficult to hear. As Sen. Murray Sinclair said: We will learn of things that will be hard to believe, and we will be challenged to do what we cannot now imagine.

This is the third time indigenous people have told their stories: first to the Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples and second with the Truth and Reconciliation Commission. This latest inquiry will give families a voice, but Canadians do need to start listening.

 Winnipeg Free Press
Opinion

Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 05/08/2016 (2275 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Time for some transparency

I would suggest all taxpayers read Clinton Cash and have the federal government tell us why it is OK that a Canadian funnelled money and somehow managed to have uranium sold to Russia. If this is OK and we are safe by them doing that, then our government only has to step forward and say so. If we are not, they should be telling us who is doing this. People should know who is doing us harm and if they are transparent like they said they were going to be over the Conservatives, then they will step forward. And hopefully they will not be campaigning in the U.S. election. Britain didnt appreciate Obama stepping in their big boat and stated so.

Great memories of the Sanatorium

When I was 19 years old I had to leave a good job and go to the Ninette Sanatorium for treatment. I had no idea where Ninette was, nor had I ever been on a train which took me there. I treated it as a new adventure. There was definitely no abuse. The nurses were very kind as were the doctors. I especially remember a nurse named Mrs. MacDonald, Dr. Paine and Dr. Mari who were very understanding. I roomed with many nationalities including young native girls. So I learned at an early age to appreciate their customs. We had great times there, taking part in activities, walking by Pelican Lake and putting on concerts when we got better. The doctors also dressed up and put on silly skits. I was there for two years and worked part time, thus leading to a job with the Sanatorium Board in Winnipeg. Sure there were needles and pills to take but it was a wonderful experience and I cried when I had to leave. I am now 83 but still keep in touch with friends from the san.

City needs to crack down on unkept yards

I certainly hope the City of Brandon sprays for dandelions next spring as they have spread from ditches and unkept yards to yards that are kept looking good. Eighteenth Street and First Street are the worst in addition to some vacant lots around town. We do have bylaws which provide fines for unkept yards, but the city just ignores them. Some good our bylaws are, eh?

Shame that we need cameras in the cemetery

I read again today that more lights have been stolen from a grave at the Brandon cemetery. It sickens me to read this, but does not surprise me. I can tell you that the persons responsible are not stealing for their own use, they are simply punks with nothing better to do and no family values. Wonder if our city will ever look at surveillance cameras?
Summer is often a time for taking vacations and celebrating the end of the school year. But one group of people is not taking any time off this summer: scammers.

The Flagstaff Police Department has been receiving many fraudulent schemes reports lately, said FPD in a Facebook post this past week.

The police department is not alone. APS, the Internal Revenue Service and the Better Business Bureau have all issued warnings to the public in the past two weeks urging them to beware of fraudsters.

And they are also broadening their scope.

The stereotype of the little old lady as a scam victim is wrong, and millennials are actually more vulnerable to scams than baby boomers, said BBB Yavapai County Director Marilyn Huffman in a recent press release, citing new research by the BBB Institute for Marketplace Trust.

In Flagstaff, the police department has seen a broad range of ages among scam victims. Common victims this summer have included small business owners and tax payers.

APS scam

One of the big scams of the summer involves fraudsters posing as APS employees.

On July 24, a local business owner told Flagstaff police that a man claiming to work for the power company had called threatening to shut off the businesss electricity due to an unpaid bill. The scammer instructed the business owner to purchase $750 in prepaid GreenDot money cards to pay, which she did. Her insurance company later informed her she had been scammed.

The scam has become so common that FPD issued a warning on Facebook.

Criminals are using their telephone to convince people that they are late on their utility bills and that their electricity will be shut off if they do not pay immediately, the police department wrote. This is a scam and please do not pay these individuals.

APS sent out its own warning this Tuesday after small business and residential customers across Arizona reported another iteration of the scam in which the fraudsters direct their victims to pay their supposed overdue electric bill on a phony toll-free line designed to seem like an actual APS customer service center.

FPDs warning said Flagstaffs local utility companies, including APS, do not contact customers by phone to collect payment. Instead, most businesses opt to notify the customer about any money owed in writing.

To avoid being victimized, APS has recommended customers contact the actual APS Customer Care Center at (602) 371-1717 to verify the validity of any email, website or person claiming to be from APS. The police also recommend customers verify payment and customer service phone numbers through a legitimate source.

Customers who pay online at aps.com should be directed to the KUBRA EZ-Pay website, which asks the customer to enter a captcha validation code.

IRS scam

Scammers posing as IRS agents are targeting Flagstaff residents, and some of them are demanding an unusual form of payment.

According to one FPD police report, on June 21, a Flagstaff man received a recorded message on his phone saying he would be arrested if he did not pay the $6,500 he supposedly owed the IRS. When the victim returned the call, the scammer instructed him to pay off his IRS debt by purchasing iTunes gift cards. He had already given the fraudster $3,000 by the time he realized it was a scam.

That man was not alone. This week, the IRS office in Phoenix issued a warning telling taxpayers to beware of an increase in IRS impersonation scams using automated calls and demanding payments in the form of gift cards.

It used to be that most of these bogus calls would come from a live person, said IRS Commissioner John Koskinen in a press release. "Scammers are evolving and using more and more automated calls in an effort to reach the largest number of victims possible.

The IRS is reminding taxpayers that any no legitimate IRS agent would ever tell a customer to pay a tax bill using any type of gift card, nor will they require a customer to use any other specific method of payment, like a prepaid debit card or wire transfer. In addition, IRS agents are not allowed to demand immediate payment over the phone or threaten to immediately have a customer arrested.

The agency is reminding anyone who receives a suspicious call claiming they owe money to the IRS to hang up without providing any sensitive information. Taxpayers who think they might owe taxes should call the IRS directly at 1-800-829-1040.

IRS scams can be reported to the Federal Trade Commission on ftc.gov and to the U.S. Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration through its IRS Impersonation Scam Reporting webpage or by calling 1-800-366-4484.

Anyone who thinks they may have fallen victim to this or any other scam can contact the police department at (928) 774-1414 to find out if other residents have been making similar reports or if the suspicious contact included common methods criminals use to scam victims.
Puzzles hub



Visit our brain gym where you will find simple and cryptic crosswords, sudoku puzzles and much more. Updated at midnight every day. PS ... We would love to hear your feedback on the section right HERE
Revenue at Virgin Media Ireland increased by 2% in the second quarter of the year to 100m.

The company say they have added 13,000 new premises to their customer base in 2016.
Some potato thieves in England may get a nasty surprise.

A farmer has issued a health warning after potatoes recently sprayed with chemicals were stolen from his field.

Gloucestershire Police said 12 yards' worth of Crispin potatoes were stolen from the field adjacent to Foley Road, in Newent, Gloucestershire.

One set was taken last week and a second load was stolen sometime between August 2 and 4.

A police spokesman said: "The farmer says they've recently been sprayed with a chemical, which means they could be harmful to eat unless harvested for another three weeks.

"He claims anyone who eats the potatoes could become ill. Anyone who falls ill after eating one of the potatoes should seek medical advice."

Gloucestershire Police are appealing for witnesses to the thefts to come forward.
The pizza ATM has arrived and we need one in our office asap.

It's a dream come true! The first Pizza ATM is here & is being installed at Xavier University! #paline #pizzaatm pic.twitter.com/OMT06JBLSo

The ingenious invention has landed in Xavier University, Ohio just in time for those back-to-school blues.

Students can choose the type of pizza they would like via touchscreen. The pizza is then transferred from a refrigerated compartment of the machine to the oven, where its cooked before it is placed in a cardboard box and ejected through a slot - all in just three minutes!

Xavier University's FIRST 2 students eating from the very first #PizzaATM here in Cincinnati, Ohio! pic.twitter.com/uEuUTF2yKr  Pizza ATM Brand (@PizzaATM) August 3, 2016

*jaw drops*

One small step for pepperoni, one giant leap for pizza kind. The PizzaATM has landed @XavierUniv. #comingtoamerica pic.twitter.com/EwLc8UDv5x  Xavier Auxiliary Services (@XUAuxServices) July 28, 2016

The ATM can store up to 70 handmade pizzas and although unfortunately customization is not available, who doesnt love pepperoni, cheese and veggie - the three choices available.

Now this would have made writing our thesis much easier.

*cough cough* USI *cough cough*

H/T: Her.ie
Update - 9.15am: Gardai have said it was fortunate no one was killed in a rough and ready gun attack at a scrapyard in Dublin, according to Cormac O'Keeffe of the Irish Examiner.

Sources described the shooting in south-west Dublin as clumsy and reckless and said the gunman fled over walls, before escaping in a car.

Detectives suspect that the nature of the attack might suggest a grudge of some sort, but said it was too early to rule out other possibilities.

The man entered the gates of the yard, just off what is a busy road to Tallaght, brandishing a shotgun.

The guy comes in clumsily, like something from the OK Corral [wild west gunfight] and fires two shots, one source told the Irish Examiner.

This was real rough and ready, said a Garda source. If you use a shotgun, you are not talking about a marksman.

If you fire in the direction of a number of people you could hit anyone. Its reckless. Thankfully, no one is dead.

Sources said they will interview everyone in the yard as well as other staff to see if they know of any possible motive for the attack.

The injured man, aged 41, was taken to Tallaght Hospital and was described as being in a serious condition.

Earlier: Gardai are appealing for witnesses after a shooting incident in Dublin yesterday.

A man in his 40s was hospitalised after being shot in Walkinstown just after 11.30am in the morning.

The injured man remains in Tallaght hospital, where his condition is described as serious.

Gardai investigating the incident that happened at a premises on Greenhills Road in Walkinstown yesterday are appealing for witnesses to come forward.

Investigating officers are appealing to anybody who may have been in the Greenhills Rd area of Walkinstown between 11am and 1pm yesterday, and saw or noted the movements of a Seat Ibiza with Registration Number 97-D-44770.

The car was later located on Corrig Close a short distance from the scene of the shooting.

It is believed that there are two man suspects involved, the first man is described as tall and wearing a grey tracksuit, there is no description of the second man who was driving the car.

Gardai are asking anyone who has any information to contact to contact them at Crumlin Garda Station.
For years, a sign outside the fire lookout tower atop Mount Elden has warned visitors against climbing up the steep metal stairs to explore the structure above.

But now that sign is gone. The Forest Service is replacing it and other similarly-worded ones on forest watchtowers throughout the Flagstaff Ranger District with signs that encourage visitors to come on up.

Its part of a concerted effort to leverage the watchtowers not only as wildfire lookouts but platforms to increase Forest Service outreach to visitors, said Matt Engbring, a fire prevention supervisor on the Coconino National Forest who is spearheading this new direction. In an era when other lookout towers across the country are disappearing, expanding the uses of these historic structures helps make an argument for keeping them around, Engbring said.

To kind of help validate the existence of the towers, I've really pushed to allow the public up in there and take that as an opportunity to educate folks on fire practices, talk about your tower get them interested in whats going on, Engbring said. I just want folks to have a good experience, whether its educational or for tourists enjoyment.

Watchtowers on decline

Of the 8,000 fire lookouts that once dotted forests across the country, 700 are still in active use for fire detection, according to Gary Weber with the Forest Fire Lookout Association. Many of the structures are being replaced by more cost-efficient cameras that relay images back to a dispatch center where one person can monitor multiple locations, Engbring said.

Budget cuts have forced the closure of towers across the Coconinos Flagstaff Ranger District as well, he said. He named four that are no longer in use or are staffed very rarely.

When it comes to the four towers on the district that remain fully functioning during the summer season, Engbring said he doesnt see any immediate threat to their future existence.

Even so, it doesnt hurt to expand the towers function on the forest while enhancing visitors experience, he said.

Many people who have spent years hiking to the top of Elden and seeing the gate to the lookout tower closed are ecstatic that they can now go up, operator Rod Schaefer said.

People are really happy the tower is open now, I've gotten lots of comments about that, he said.

Schaefer, who has been a tower operator for 38 years mostly in remote areas of California and Montana, said the increased visitor traffic took some getting used to, but now he appreciates it.

As long as Im not real busy, I like it. It breaks up the day, he said. Schaefer estimated he gets about 250 visitors per month up in the tower and they come from all over the country as well as places like Korea, Siberia and Australia.

Guy Groeber, the operator at East Pocket Lookout at the end of Woody Mountain Road, said hes also a fan of Engbrings new direction to welcome visitors. Groeber said it helps pass the time to show visitors how he triangulates a fire with other lookouts and explain the workings of a sighting device called an Osborne Fire Finder. He also takes the opportunity to remind people to properly put out their campfires and educate them about the times when fire can play a beneficial role in the ponderosa ecosystem.

Its nice to touch base with everybody, he said.

Engbring also emphasized the valuable opportunity the lookout towers present for the Forest Service to make visitor contacts at a time and place when that otherwise wouldnt happen.

On the weekends there's not a lot going on as far as government employees interfacing with the public, he said.

He hopes to increase training for lookout operators so they can talk to visitors about topics like managing lighting fires for resource benefit and the major forest restoration projects ramping up in the region.

Historic structures

Many of the watchtowers across the country were built in the first half of the 20th century after the Forest Service shifted to a strategy of strict fire suppression, Engbring said. On the Flagstaff Ranger District, operating fire towers are located on top of Mount Elden, at East Pocket overlooking Oak Creek Canyon, at Turkey Butte south of Camp Navajo and on OLeary Peak.

The watchtowers are part of a robust fire prevention program on the Coconino that is among the largest in the country, Engbring said.

The towers are staffed from April through October by seasonal employees and cost about $16,000 per summer season to operate not counting structure upgrades, he said.

And while cameras are an option, the expertise tower operators bring to the job gives them an edge on machines, he said.

They can tell the difference between the volume, the amount, the color of the smoke, the frequency of how it puffs up whether its a fire or a campfire. Theyre really good, which is one of the reasons why we're still sticking with humans and employees in the towers versus going out and buying a bunch of cameras, Engbring said. That trained human eye is just invaluable.
Young people are to be consulted by a new task force on mental health issues.

The group is made up of representatives of youth groups, health experts and Facebook - and will be chaired by Junior Minister Helen McEntee.

The community-led task force will first meet early next month.

There are huge waiting lists to access mental health services in Ireland, as well as higher-than-average suicide rates among teenagers.

Junior Minister with responsibility for Mental Health Helen McEntee outlines the group's priorities.

"Prevention, prevention, prevention, and early intervention," she said.

"The second piece is to identify and make sure people are aware of the services that are actually there.

"The third piece is to make sure that when they actually try to access the services, that they can.

And fourthly, what's different I suppose, about this task force, is that we need to start this from a community setting."

CEO of the ISPCC Grainia Long said that hiring more psychologists is one of her top requirements.

"We're hearing all the time from children that they're struggling to get appointments, that it's taking 18 months for non-emergency appointments with psychologists, and sometimes up to four weeks for emergency, acute appointments, and that's not good enough," she said.

Minister McEntee agrees that increasing services is important, but young people also need to be supported to help themselves;

She welcomed the presence of representatives from Facebook are on the task force, and said that hearing young people's voices will be essential.

"To be able to say whether or not they feel something will work, whether or not they feel something is working at the moment, or if they have their own ideas about what they feel we need to do, that will very much feed into it.

"A key component to this task force actually working is the younger people's voices need to be heard."

The Union of Students in Ireland has welcomed the establishment of The National Taskforce on Youth Mental Health.

USI are honoured to be part of the body to increase awareness of mental illness and reduce the stigma surrounding it. Jack Leahy, USI deputy president, said.

It is extremely positive that mental health is a priority for the government and we are looking forward to working with Minister McEntee and the taskforce.
Hundreds of people in Cork have called for a crackdown on animal cruelty after a severely emaciated dog was rescued in the area at the weekend, writes Kelly O'Brien.

It is the latest in a number of horrific cases of animal abuse and neglect that have been discovered in Cork in recent weeks.

The dog, a young whippet, a breed of dog that looks like a small greyhound, was found collapsed on a street in Cork on Saturday.

She has since been taken into care by the Cork Dog Action Welfare Group.

A spokesperson from the organisation said the dog, who has been named Kylie, was very near starving to death when she was rescued and would not have survived much longer had she not been found.

Cork DAWG posted stark images of Kylie on its Facebook page in an effort to highlight the cruelty currently taking place in Cork city and county.

To see this post on Facebook, click here.

Hundreds of shocked, sickened and heartbroken users have reacted to the story so far, with many calling for the Government to crack down on those found to be abusing their animals and for increased laws to deal with the problem.

Meanwhile, the Irish Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals has also highlighted a severe case of animal cruelty in Cork.

Last week, inspector Lisa ODonovan, responding to a call to the ISPCA National Animal Cruelty Helpline, visited a premise in the city.

There she found a heavily pregnant Staffordshire bull terrier living in what she described as hazardous conditions.

Mia, a heavily pregnant Staffordshire bull terrier left in insecure and hazardous living conditions.

This heavily pregnant young dog was left to fend for herself in a communal area. This is a clear case of irresponsible ownership with no care for the needs and requirements of a female dog due to whelp, she said.

Fortunately, she is currently safe and secure in an environment where she will have her litter under supervision.

The dog, now named Mia, is currently in veterinary care and will be transferred to the ISPCA in Mallow once she has had her puppies.

Investigations are continuing to trace her owner as she was not microchipped.

A few days before Mia was discovered, Cork DAWG highlighted a further case of animal cruelty, where a wounded and mange-ridden Boston terrier pup was found running in traffic with an open, infected gash on its neck.

A young Boston terrier found running in traffic with an open neck wound.

Though the shelter had to temporarily close its doors only days before the dog was found, due to an overwhelming amount of animals being handed in, staff at the organisation said they could not turn the pup away.

Why anyone would do this we cannot understand. It feels like we are constantly writing stories of abuse and it never stops, said a spokesperson.

Every pound in the country is full, every rescue is massively under pressure, and yet the dogs keep coming.

Only a few weeks before these two cases, Cork DAWG rescued a springer spaniel puppy with rotting flesh from a missing limb and a small terrier that had been almost entirely covered in hot tar.

The dogs, named Belle and Evie, both survived and are now understood to be doing well in their new homes.

Anyone who wishes to donate money to Cork DAWG can do so via www.dogactionwelfaregroup.ie or by texting CDAWG to 50300 to donate 4.

This story first appeared in the Evening Echo newspaper.
Two gardai were hospitalised last night after being attacked by a gang of youths in Dublin's north inner city.

A male and female garda were set upon while on patrol on Manor Street just after midnight.
The Islamic State group will probably continue to be a threat to the US even after it is ousted from key strongholds in Iraq and Syria, Barack Obama has said.

The president warned that that lone-wolf believers will still be inspired to launch attacks that are hard to detect and prevent.

Speaking to reporters after meeting his national security advisers in the Pentagon, Mr Obama said the US has to do a better job disrupting terror networks and intercepting the internet messages that can get to troubled individuals and inspire them to act.

"What ISIL has figured out is that if they can convince a handful of people or even one person to carry out an attack on a subway, or at a parade or some other public venue, and kill scores of people as opposed to thousands of people, it still creates the kinds of fear and concern that elevates their profile," Mr Obama said.

He said terrorism will probably not be eliminated by his administration or his successors, and he is always pushing his team to seek out new ideas to battle the problem.

"I haven't gotten numb to it. It bugs me whenever it happens," he said.

But he added: "I do think that because of our extraordinary efforts the homeland is significantly safer than it otherwise would be."

'Islamic State' has claimed responsibility for a number of recent mass killings, including the Bastille Day attack in Nice, France, last month that left more than 80 dead, and the Orlando, Florida, nightclub shootings that killed 49.

While they may not have been directed by the group, the attackers were reportedly inspired by IS.

Mr Obama has beefed up the US military fight against 'Islamic State' in Iraq and Syria, recently authorising more troops to help Iraqi forces prepare to take back the northern city of Mosul, which has been under 'IS' control since 2014.

And this week the US expanded its campaign against the group with a new front of air strikes in Libya, to help the fledgling government there take back the city of Sirte.

The group, however, still maintains strongholds in the region, and the fight in Syria has bogged down.

Yesterday, however, Mr Obama said the anti-'IS' campaign is making progress in Iraq and Syria, because the group has not regained the territory it has lost in recent months.

But he noted that ousting the terror group from Mosul, and from its headquarters in Raqqa, Syria, will not eliminate its networks or its ability to encourage the smaller, more individual attacks.

He said: "It is so important for us to keep our eye on the ball and not panic, not succumb to fear, because ISIL can't defeat the United States of America or our Nato partners."

The US and its allies must "keep on grinding away" against the group, and take key operatives off the battlefield, and "eventually we will win".
Donald Trump has made a rare admission that he was wrong - in claiming he saw a video of a US cash payment going to Iran.

On the campaign trail this week, the Republican nominee has been dramatically describing a video he says shows the US paying off Iran as part of a deal to release US sailors from Iranian custody, but there is no evidence such a tape exists.

Early on Friday, Mr Trump appeared to finally acknowledge his mistake, tweeting: "The plane I saw on television was the hostage plane in Geneva, Switzerland, not the plane carrying $400m in cash going to Iran!"

The US paid that money to Tehran in January, in a publicly announced settlement of a decades-old international arbitration case dating back to when Iranians paid Washington for military equipment they never received.

The US government denies the payment was ransom for the release of Americans, which may or may not be true.

The admission marked a stark and unusual reversal for Mr Trump, who rarely admits to error, but it may end the brewing controversy around his false claim - one that recalls his unsupported contention early in the campaign that he saw video of Muslims in New Jersey celebrating the 9/11 attacks - instead of prolonging a potentially negative news story for the candidate.

To the frustration of Mr Trump's aides and fellow Republicans, the celebrity businessman has often proven unable to let go of a bad story, often instead fuelling it - like he did this week when he escalated a row with the parents of a killed US soldier who was Muslim - at the expense of the campaign's message.

Mr Trump first discussed the Iran video on Wednesday, telling supporters at a rally in Daytona Beach, Florida: "I'll never forget the scene this morning. And remember this: Iran - I don't think you've heard this anywhere but here - Iran provided all of that footage, the tape of taking that money off that airplane.

"Now, here's the amazing thing: Over there, where that plane landed, top secret.

"They don't have a lot of paparazzi. You know, the paparazzi doesn't do so well over there, right?

"And they have a perfect tape. Done by obviously a government camera. And the tape is of the people taking the money off the plane, right?

"That means that, in order to embarrass us further, Iran sent us the tapes, right?

"It's a military tape. It's a tape that was a perfect angle, nice and steady, nobody getting nervous because they're gonna be shot because they're shooting a picture of money pouring off a plane."

He added: "And Iran released that tape, which is of quality like these guys have. Iran released that tape so that we will be embarrassed."

Several senior US officials involved in the Iran negotiations have said they were not aware of any such footage. Instead, the campaign said Mr Trump was referring to footage "shown on all major broadcasts this morning".

A Trump spokeswoman told the Washington Post, the video he saw was grainy night-time footage of people getting off a small plane, holding bags.

"Geneva, January 17," the footage is clearly labelled.

Mr Trump apparently assumed that this footage depicted the cash transfer - and concocted the story on his own about how the footage was acquired and the motivations for its release.

Mr Trump then repeated his original claim yesterday at a rally in Portland, Maine - even after his campaign said he had been mistaken.
Friends of the teenager arrested over the murder of a US tourist in the Russell Square stabbing attack have spoken of their shock.

One former schoolmate said Zakaria Bulhan was a "nice, quiet kid".

Bulhan, 19, a Norwegian national of Somali origin who moved to the UK in 2002, remains in police custody after the knife rampage on Wednesday night in central London, which left US citizen Darlene Horton, 64, dead and five others injured.

Ms Horton was the wife of a university professor from Florida and was just hours away from flying home.

She was visiting the capital with husband Richard Wagner, who was teaching summer classes, when she was attacked.

Darlene Horton.

Florida State University said the couple had planned to return to their home in Tallahassee on Thursday.

University president John Thrasher said: "There are no words to express our heartache over this terrible tragedy.

"We are shocked that such senseless violence has touched our own FSU family and we will do all we can to assist Professor Wagner and his loved ones, as well as his friends and colleagues in the psychology department, as they mourn."

Scotland Yard has said no evidence has been found of radicalisation or anything to suggest the attack was "in any way motivated by terrorism".

The schoolmate, who went to Graveney School in Tooting, south London, with Bulhan and wished to remain anonymous, said: "It's one of the most shocking things I have ever heard.

"No-one would have expected that he would turn out like that.

"He was a quiet, nice kid who had banter with people. He was just a nice kid.

"I have seen some reports that say he was bullied but it was just banter - he gave back as good as he got. It was a two-way thing."

A British man who suffered a stab wound to his stomach in the attack remains in hospital in a "serious but stable" condition while an American man, an Australian man and Australian woman, and an Israeli woman were all discharged from hospital on Thursday after receiving treatment for their injuries.

The Israeli teenager who was injured in the attack has said she does not know whether to call it "luck or fate" that she escaped death.

Yovel Lewkowski, 18, who was visiting London from Tel Aviv and was stabbed in the upper arm, said she watched as Ms Horton "perished in front of my eyes".

In a moving Facebook post, she wrote: "I'm not afraid, I want to keep going with the trip.

"The last few hours have taught me to appreciate every second, I don't know whether to call it luck or fate, but no doubt it is some sort of miracle compared to the woman who stood right next to me and perished in front of my eyes: a matter of seconds, metres, breaths.

"I send strength to the family and ask that you take advantage of every moment - nothing is to be taken for granted.

"It's time to say thank you to the wonderful people in your lives... I thank everyone for their warm wishes."
HAMBURG: The lowest price offered in the tender from Pakistan to purchase 500,000 tonnes of wheat which closed on...
The big news takeaway from Donald Trumps rally Tuesday in Ashburn, Va., was that he got irritated by a crying baby and ordered the tot and its mother out of the hall.

This was sadly typical of the tendency of the Trump campaign press  and lets face it, the rest of us  to be distracted by the more childish elements of Trumps behavior. But its a shame, because as a consequence nobody paid any attention to the policy discussion that Trump wrapped around his moments of preoccupation with the baby. That discussion dealt with China, and it was a good illustration of the Republican candidates once-over-lightly, sound bite-oriented approach to the real issues.

So lets pick up Trump in the minute or so before he went on a tear about the baby. The exact topic was Chinas devaluation of its currency, the yuan. Well start just after his initial notice of the baby, when he seemed to give approval to having the infant in the hall.

When China devalues its currency, they make it impossible for our companies to compete.  When China devalues its currency they take our guts out. And they do it so often, they do it so often. Theyre constantly devaluing their currency and they always wait till like its a bad time like, we have a problem with Iraq, we have a problem with Afghanistan, every time we have like a big problem, they always devalue. And a year and a half ago they devalued, the biggest devaluation theyve done in 20 years. The biggest in 20 years. And I said, man, how did they get away  but we had a problem, we were doing other things. OK. So when China does that, we have to fight back. Now heres how you fight back. Because we cant fight back any other way. We have the piggy back. They have ripped us to shreds. Ripped us absolutely to shreds.  Actually, I was only kidding, you can get the baby out of here.

And, scene.

Much of this is right out of Trumps anti-China playbook. There are nuggets of truth and understanding sprinkled through, like fruit nuggets in a fruitcake. But the entire spiel adds up to unpalatable nonsense.

Yes, its true a devalued currency makes a countrys exports cheaper abroad and its imports more expensive, tending to reduce trade surpluses. Yes, China had a major devaluation recently  last August, not quite 18 months ago.

But the idea that China has in recent years been targeting the United States with devaluations, especially by waiting until the U.S. is embroiled in some crisis, is fantasy, currency experts say. So is the implication that the Chinese economy is controlled by a cadre of sinister masterminds who can manipulate it to their own domestic and international ends.

The truth is different and more mundane. Chinas currency valuation reflects more than ever before the condition of its economy, and thats not good. Devaluation is unwelcome to large sectors of the economy. Chinese policymakers, recognizing that devaluation is an issue of international politics, have been sensitive about accusations that theyre letting the yuan slide.

That showed up in January, when the yuan tumbled, setting off stock market losses around the globe. Chinese economic policymakers struggled to assure international trading partners that they were committed to supporting the currencys price. As it happened, international markets were concerned both that they might not be telling the truth and that they werent actually capable of supporting the currency.

More generally, the feeling in the market is that, if anything, the Chinese yuan is overvalued, rather than artificially cheap  that the weakness in the Chinese economy genuinely warrants a further devalued yuan.

Yet some economists say a devaluation would cost the Chinese economy more than it gains. Much of Chinese manufacturings parts and other inputs are themselves imported, so a devaluation raises costs for Chinese importers, potentially more than it cuts the prices of their goods abroad. Moreover, China has been trying to encourage consumption by domestic consumers, a goal that would be undermined by higher prices for goods from abroad.

Devaluation, furthermore, encourages capital flight out of China. The government already limits the sums that Chinese citizens can invest overseas, but current outflows arent close to the limit  devalue the currency, however, and the prospect is that the outflow in search of profitable investments elsewhere would become a torrent.

Put it all together, and the notion that China is in a position to manipulate its currency just to harass American manufacturers seems even more fanciful.

Trump didnt go into his remedies for Chinas supposed offense during the brief clip that emerged from his baby-hampered rally. But generally he has talked about imposing a tariff of 45 percent on Chinese imports if they dont behave. (He also has proposed a 35 percent tariff on Mexican imports.)

Economists across the ideological spectrum have expressed horror at the trade war with China this would trigger. Peter Petri of Brandeis University has observed that low-wage manufacturing would shift from China to other countries, forcing the U.S. to extend its tariff wall globally. Rather than cut our trade deficit, tariffs retaliating against the U.S. goods would lead to a higher trade deficit, not a reduction.

Any policies aimed at addressing imaginary foes and forces are doomed to fail. More frighteningly, they risk unleashing unanticipated consequences, and not good ones. And thats if they make sense even in their own terms. Trumps trade policies dont.

In order to qualify as a coherent set of policies, the policies have to not be cartoonish and the policies have to stand some chance of being actually enacted, Michael Strain, a resident scholar at the conservative American Enterprise Institute, told CNBC this spring. I just dont think Mr. Trumps trade policies meet either of those criteria.

That hasnt stopped him. That squalling you heard at Tuesdays rally wasnt just a baby.
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The ACT's attorney-general has given in-principle support to a set of national laws to keep convicted terrorists in jail indefinitely.

Simon Corbell had earlier raised concerns about the laws, reserving any support until the federal government had revealed more detail.

Attorney-General Simon Corbell has given in-principle support to the federal government's preventative detention laws for terrorists. Credit:Elesa Kurtz

Legal experts had also raised concerns, saying it was an "extraordinary" measure only justified in extreme cases.

But Mr Corbell emerged from a meeting of the attorneys-general on Friday to discuss the scheme, confident of safeguards in place.
As Pankaj and Radhika Oswal's battle with the ANZ Bank and receivers at PPB rages in the Supreme Court of Victoria, more than 3400 kilometres away in Perth a Federal Court order will make life a little easier for the billionaire couple.

The Oswals have been battling coast to coast legal actions in Australia over the past six years. In Victoria, ANZ Bank has accused the couple of siphoning off $150 million in company money ahead of the collapse of their Burrup Fertilisers business interest to furnish their lavish lifestyle which included sprawling mansions, luxury boats and private planes.

Pankaj and Radhika Oswal may have caught a break among the litany of accusations against them. Credit:Getty Images

The Oswals allege ANZ and receivers PPB failed to consider their interests when selling their business in an unfair receivership that short-changed the tycoons to the tune of $2.5 billion through a sweetheart deal with Burrup's other shareholder Norway's Yara Pilbara and the plant's gas supplier Apache Energy.

In Perth, it's the Australian Taxation Office that has been chasing the couple over millions in unpaid income taxes slapping freezing orders over the assets of Mrs Oswal for unpaid taxes of $186 million.
Not all super funds are looking after their members. Illustration: Matt Davidson It can also reveal potential conflicts of interests as super funds get rebates from life insurers if they keep a lid on claims. In 2014, for example, REST received a $20 million rebate from AIA, though it told Fairfax Media that it remitted $14.5 million back to AIA the following year (it said the rebates were returned to members through stable premiums or services). QSuper, which manages $60 billion of retirement savings, took the radical step of establishing its own life insurance company for members after it couldn't get a decent deal for members with an existing life insurance company. Mark Flannagan has a debilitating back condition and is unable to work, but had to battle one of his insurance companies. Credit:Wayne Taylor But not all super funds are looking after their members.

The investigation suggests some, but not all, super fund trustees have given too much ground in these crucial negotiations, potentially rendering some policies junk insurance. I have big concerns that we have four or five million Australians with life insurance in their super and they don't even know they have it. Senator John Williams Lawyers warn that some clauses may be breaching the law. These dud policies pose a problem for workers who might lose their ability to work in the future; threatening to erode this crucial financial safety net and worsen Australia's chronic under-insurance problem. This ticking bomb comes as the spotlight is already on the $44 billion life insurance sector following revelations that CBA's CommInsure was denying some legitimate claims by using out-of-date medical definitions and claims managers were allegedly "leaning" on doctors to change their medical reports.

One financial adviser described the issue of TPD and income protection insurance in super as "one very smelly dung heap" and to handle with caution: "wear gloves, a face mask and carry a long-handled shovel". Federal Minister for financial services Kelly O'Dwyer told Fairfax Media she has concerns about the lack of transparency in the financial arrangements between trustees and insurance providers. "[This] raises questions about whether some of these arrangements are in the best interests of members and whether members are receiving appropriate cover," she says. Ms O'Dwyer says the government supports transparency in the financial system, "and especially in respect of the compulsory superannuation savings system". Her comments come on the back of a draft report released this week by the Productivity Commission into the competitiveness and efficiency of the superannuation system. The report says it will look at the role of life insurance in super funds and whether trustees are offering the most "appropriate" insurance for their members, and whether the costs of insurance are minimised for the type and level of cover provided. Nationals Senator John Williams.

Nationals senator John Williams, an influential critic of Australia's financial services companies, says the life insurance industry needs cleaning up. He is appalled by the Donaldson case. As he puts it, if someone's home burns down and they have contents insurance, their claim doesn't depend on how much money they have in their bank account. "It is disgusting stuff," he says. Williams, whose re-election to the upper house was this week confirmed, told Fairfax Media that he would relaunch the Senate inquiry into life insurance that was announced before the election  but would broaden it to look at life insurance deals in super and the role of trustees. The Garrath Donaldson case has, in part, convinced him that the "opt-out" system of life insurance in super should be dumped in favour of an "opt in" system. "I have big concerns that we have four or five million Australians with life insurance in their super and they don't even know they have it," Williams says.

"I think it should be an opt-in [situation], especially when, as I said, we're seeing stories about insurers failing to pay claims." His comments will send a chill down the spine of those running Australia's super funds and the insurance industry. Complaints to the Administrative Appeals Tribunal have surged as more people enter the NDIS. Lost ground Maurice Blackburn partner Josh Mennen, who specialises in superannuation and insurance, warns the new contracts mean that many more claims will be declined, leaving thousands of people who would have previously been entitled to lump-sum payments lining up for Centrelink benefits.

"[In this country] we have an under-insurance problem [and] huge levels of mortgage debt, and so we need a safety net with TPD insurance," he says. "We need to get it right, but the pendulum has swung too far the wrong way." John Berrill, a life insurance lawyer with 25 years experience, points to a string of new conditions in group life insurance contracts that should pose "red flags" for members. Berrill, a principal at Berrill & Watson Lawyers, says the differences in the policies may come down to a few subtle word changes or phrases. The importance may be lost on an ordinary person. Features in some new contracts flagged as being of concern by legal experts include: "Sunset clauses": shorter time limits on how long after a "disablement" a person can easily claim TPD insurance, with at least one fund imposing a six-month limit.

Activities of daily living tests, in which a person must prove, with medical evidence, that they are incapable of two or three tasks like showering, dressing, eating, toileting and moving in and out of a chair without the assistance of another person.

Changes to what sort of work a person must be incapable of doing before they receive a payout, eg. instead of being unable to perform a suitable job given their background, qualifications and work history, they must be incapable of performing "any" other job for which they could be trained.

Unusual exclusions; for example, disablement caused by accidental injuries or illness, which would, Berrill says, exclude injuries caused by assaults.

New proposals to pay TPD claims in instalments, with the claimant needing to requalify every time to receive the next sum.

Harder words about what constitutes TPD, for example, instead of the person being "unlikely" to be able to return to work, they must prove that they are "unable, ever" to return to work.

Magnifying glasses The fine print Berrill points to the AIA Insurance contract offered through the BT Business Super and BT Lifetime Super Employer Plan, for example, which he says is difficult to qualify for anyone working in a long list of so-called "special risk occupations", including freelance journalists, property developers, radio announcers and musicians. People on this list must not only prove they cannot work  they must also get medical certification that they are "continuously and totally unable" to perform at least two "daily living" activities unassisted, for example, showering and dressing. "Very few people would be able to claim under this definition," Berrill says.

BT disagrees. In a statement it says members continue to be paid under the new definitions. A spokesman said the company sought to make insurance cover "more accessible" to members, including those working in special risk occupations "who otherwise may have been excluded". AIA says it is "simply false" to imply that it was seeking to make it harder for members to make claims. "The opposite is true," says chief executive Damien Mu. "We have actually invested to make the claims experience easier for claimants." MTAA Super, which kicked off a new deal with MetLife Insurance in March 2015, says members must be "unable to ever" engage in work for which they could "become reasonably suited by education, training or experience". Previously, members had to be considered "unlikely ever" to return to work. The current policy also excludes any incapacity not considered "accidental"  which Berrill said could exclude an assault or a repetitive strain injury.

MTAA said in a statement its current insurance offering provided "the most balanced, cost-efficient and appropriate insurance cover for all members". It said 87 per cent of claims had been paid out since March 2015 when the new TPD definition was introduced. Sunsuper's life insurance deal with AIA involves delivering TPD payouts in annual instalments, a five-year limit on lodging claims, and a tough test of incapacity by changing the wording to "unable ever" to work from "unlikely ever" to work. Sunsuper said in a statement its policy was aimed at providing "the right level of cover for members at the right time", as well as managing insurance costs. It pointed to research it had commissioned that found that 36 per cent of TPD claimants eventually returned to work or were seeking work. It said the changes to its insurance had resulted in a 30 per cent cut in premiums for members. A key issue is whether some of the new insurance contracts breach laws and regulations governing super, including those that define who should be considered "permanently incapacitated". Berrill argues that some insurance contracts go too far in defining the level of incapacitation a person must be suffering to qualify for a payout. For example, Commonwealth regulations say a person must be "unlikely" to again work to be considered permanently incapacitated, but multiple super insurance contracts require a person to prove that they are "unable ever" to work again.

He believes the regulator, APRA, has been too focused on the liquidity and profitability of life insurers and dropped the ball on ensuring the new insurance contracts comply with the law. APRA told Fairfax Media that it was aware of the recent "industry developments", and had advised the super and life insurance industries of the need to make sure arrangements complied with laws and prudential requirements. The super funds and insurers contacted by Fairfax Media insisted their insurance policies complied with all relevant laws. "The not-for-profit super industry recognises that insurance in superannuation needs to provide a meaningful benefit to superannuation fund members in a sustainable and affordable way," said Tom Garcia, chief executive of the Australian Institute of Super Trustees. "Trustees are very mindful of the need to address the current challenges in group insurance, such as rising claim rates and increasing premiums." Life insurance Credit:Tanya Lake

Back story It used to be easy to make money selling group life insurance. Millions of Australians paid for the products, but claims were low, partly because fund members didn't even know they could claim. By the late 2000s, competition for superannuation life insurance business became cut-throat. Premiums were reduced, policies became more generous. Super fund trustees held all the bargaining power. The crunch came in 2013, when life insurers were caught by surprise by a jump in claims for TPD payouts. Various reasons have been given for this spike  a rise in mental health claims related to redundancies and retrenchments, changes to workers compensation laws, greater awareness by members of their right to claim (often due to the advice of medical support groups and peak bodies) and the increased involvement of plaintiff law firms.

Because so few people had previously claimed, insurers didn't properly budget for what would happen if more people did. The industry's resulting plunge into the red was so dramatic that it alarmed APRA, which chided the industry for being too aggressive in chasing new business. It is a matter of debate whether the industry is now being too aggressive in trying to recoup the massive losses posted earlier in the decade  or whether it is simply trying to find a "sustainable" pricing structure. Jenni Baxter, head of consulting and research at Rice Warner Actuaries, says funds and insurers were trying to strike sustainable arrangements in the balance between contract terms and premiums, with the aim to keep premiums low enough that they don't "unreasonably erode" the growth of fund members' nest eggs. "Where you see premiums starting to [go too high], it's in everyone's interest to try and bring them down," she says. But Maurice Blackburn's Mennen says the knee-jerk premium increases and claims crackdowns by insurers have gone much too far the other way.

"The group life sector has blamed everyone but itself for the bad claims experience in previous years," he says. "It mis-sold its policies in a competitive market, what they are doing now is using that as an excuse to take draconian measures." Berrill points to several super funds who have renegotiated insurance contracts without narrowing TPD definitions, including CBUS (which uses TAL insurance) and the Alcoa Retirement Plan negotiated with MLC this year. Bad history Australia's life insurance sector is already reeling after being hit by a scandal inside the Commonwealth Bank's insurance arm, CommInsure, following revelations by Fairfax Media and Four Corners that it denied or delayed some legitimate life insurance claims, many inside super funds including HESTA and Kinetic Super. One included former star employee Matthew Attwater, who won a top award from the bank in 2010 for his performance at work, and was medically retired in 2013 following a vicious attack where he was beaten and his beloved dog decapitated. It took more than three years before a TPD claim was finally paid out.

Last year, APRA warned insurers that they couldn't simply "take a 'harder line" in considering claims in an effort to reduce claims costs. And in May this year, it wrote to all Australian life insurers requesting information, including about their culture, claims philosophy, and how boards monitor whether claims are handled fairly. Sally Loane, chief executive of the Financial Services Council (which represents life insurers), said life insurance was in the middle of the biggest reforms for decades, including the launch of a new Code of Practice, due in October, aimed at strengthening "community trust and confidence" in the sector. Life insurance is an important product, but it needs to be right. Trustees have an obligation to act in their members' best interests and that means not being bullied into policies that are unfair. The industry is scattered with examples of delays and denials. Look no further than FOS and the SCT. In the case of TPD payouts, it can be devastating for people adjusting to losing their livelihoods and work networks.

Mark Flannagan, from Kilsyth in Victoria, lodged a claim with MetLife through MTAA early last year. Flannagan had injured his lower back while working as a storeman in the early 1990s. But eventually, the pain got too much, to the point that even odd jobs around the house, like vacuuming caused severe pain. In 2013 doctors declared him unfit for the workforce  totally and permanently disabled  due to his chronic pain and the restrictions his back injury placed on his movements. For someone who loved his job driving trucks, and took pride in being a hard worker, it was a "bitter pill". Three insurers paid out after reviewing Flannagan's medical files, recognising the debilitating nature of his injury. But MetLife refused to pay for more than a year, with Flannagan's lawyers, Maurice Blackburn, accusing the insurer of "fishing" for information and engaging in semantics to deny his claim.
A new website encouraging women to talk about money has put a small-business woman front and centre, and its no coincidence.

Stylist and fashion creative director Grace Dlabik was forced to start her business Gidi Creative after a relationship breakdown.

Fashion boss Grace Dlabik says only a small business gives her the freedom to adapt to her industry.

Now she is the face of a new website by WIRE, Women Talk Money, aimed at getting women to talk about their financial health, especially with a romantic partner.

"When I was in a relationship with my son's father, I experienced a lot of feelings of guilt and disempowerment which we talk about on the site. Those feelings would turn into fights and finally the relationship ended. Then I became a single mother, and I needed to find a way to make ends meet, fast."
Victorian state politicians own nearly 240 properties across the state, Australia and even overseas, with three MPs owning 21 properties between them.

A Fairfax Media analysis of the MPs register of members interests  up to date as of June 22  show Labor's Hong Lim and Steve Dimopolous, and the Liberals Richard Dalla-Riva as parliament's property kings with seven properties each.

Victorian politicians own a lot of property Credit:Arsineh Houspian

Housing affordability is an increasingly important political issue, with much focus put on negative gearing during the recent federal election.

Melbourne has seen sustained property price rises over the past decade.
Jakarta: Trade Minister Steven Ciobo must have exhaled at a press conference on Tuesday morning when he heard his Indonesian counterpart utter the golden words: "There is no change with the schedule."

The timing of Mr Ciobo's trip to Jakarta last week to push a free trade deal with Indonesia - his top priority as trade minister - had been unfortunate.

Australian Trade Minister Steve Ciobo (right) meets with former former Indonesian trade minister Thomas Lembong (left) and new Indonesian Trade Minister Enggartiasto Lukita (centre). Credit:Jewel Topsfield

Just days before his arrival, Thomas Lembong, a Harvard-educated former investment banker who was committed to opening up the Indonesian economy, had been a surprise casualty of a cabinet reshuffle.

It was unclear if Mr Lembong's replacement as trade minister - businessman and long-term politician Enggartiasto Lukita - would share his predecessor's reformist zeal.
Dylann Roof, the white man charged in the shooting massacre of nine black parishioners at a church in Charleston, South Carolina, was assaulted in jail Thursday by a black inmate, officials said.

Roof, 22, had minor bruising to his face and back, according to a statement from the Charleston County Sheriff's Office. He was examined by medical staff at the jail and was cleared to return to his original housing unit, the office said.

The other inmate, Dwayne Stafford, ran down the stairs from his cell after Roof went to the shower around 7:45am and hit him, The Associated Press said, citing a police report.

An incident report initially indicated that Stafford would be charged with assault, but Roof told detectives through his lawyer that he did not want to press charges, the Sheriff's Office said.
Perhaps Donald Trump will come to America's rescue after all. The past week leaves no doubt, at least, that the biggest threat to Trump's campaign for the presidency is Trump.

For days, quite unbelievably, he's been criticising the Muslim parents of a US soldier who died a hero's death in Iraq.

Khizr Khan's attack on Trump at the Democratic convention was damaging and memorable, but needn't have made much difference to Trump's prospects. As deeply moving as Khan's words were, what he said was not all that convincing on the substance. "Have you even read the Constitution?" he asked.

Trump's fluctuating proposals on immigration might be dumb policy, but in their most recent versions they aren't unconstitutional. Obviously, though, this didn't matter. You don't disrespect the father of a fallen hero, even if he comes after you. You suck it up.
Ambitious target of a deal a day for brokers

The prudential regulator has a new chair, deputy chair, and members
Was there a murder 100 years ago at Yardley's Continental Tavern?

Frank Lyons began excavating the basement of the Continental Tavern in Yardley. He found a gun, bloody corset and part of a woman's purse.
Virtual reality surgery simulation company wins Buffalo Student Sandbox

The firms first product  a simulator for urologists performing kidney stone operations  is set to be tested in trials in hospitals in Buffalo and Toronto.

BUFFALO, N.Y.  Virtual SurgerySIM, a startup led by a PhD student at the University of Ontario Institute of Technology, took the top prize at this years Buffalo Student Sandbox contest.

The competition  run by Blackstone LaunchPad at UB and the Western New York Incubator Network  is the culmination of the eight-week Buffalo Student Sandbox summer program, in which student entrepreneurs gain valuable knowledge about starting a business through coursework and connections to experts at UB and in Western New York.

A panel of business experts picked Virtual SurgerySIM as the winner of the Sandbox contests top prize of $3,000 after hearing pitches from four student-led teams on UBs North Campus on Aug. 4.

The company is building virtual reality surgical training simulators that can be used to train and rehearse for operations. The firms first product  a simulator for urologists performing kidney stone operations  is set to be tested in trials in hospitals in Buffalo and Toronto, said founder Ben Sainsbury.

The Sandbox contests second-place prize of $1,500 went to Women Engineers Pakistan, a leadership development organization encouraging woman participation in STEM fields in Pakistan. The organization was created by Ramla Qureshi, a UB graduate student in civil engineering, and Jaganathan Raghupathy, a UB graduate student in supply chains and operations management.

Memory Fox, a company developing a cloud-based application to capture and preserve a familys oral history, took the third-place award of $500. The firm was founded by UB MBA students Lindsay Macaluso and Chris Miano.

The Buffalo Student Sandbox, now in its second year of operation, is open to companies led by students from UB and other colleges and universities. It pays participants $300 a week in exchange for attending classes, seminars and other events designed to help them navigate the dynamic environment of creating a successful business.

Teams work independently on their ventures and complete an eight-session course developed by the School of Managements Center for Entrepreneurial Leadership.

Last years winner, the student-led Buffalo Automation Group, went on to win UBs 2016 Henry A. Panasci Jr. Technology Entrepreneurship Competition, and also took home a first place prize in the information technology/software category at the 2016 annual New York Business Plan Competition. The company is developing self-navigation technology for ships.

The Buffalo Student Sandbox is funded by the Western New York Incubator Network, a group of nine incubators managed by UBs Office of Economic Development.

The Sandbox is led by Blackstone LaunchPad at UB, a university program thats funded by the Blackstone Charitable Foundations Entrepreneurship Initiative to help students, faculty, staff and alumni develop entrepreneurial skills and mindsets.
Lawsuit seeks $5M in wages for Great Adventure hourly workers

The class action lawsuit says workers should be paid for time spent walking across Great Adventure amusement park in Jackson.
Vijaywada-based regional airline resumed operations on friday after resolving its dispute with its lessor. The airline had cancelled all its 24 flights on Thursday raising fears about its financial health.
Not much is expected to change in pricing for the domestic industry, even as the government renews steps to protect it from foreign competition.
Motor India Ltd on Friday said it will increase prices by up to Rs 15,000 across models from August 16 to offset rising input costs and impact of rupee depreciation.

"The rupee depreciation and the increase in input costs have impacted our overall cost. We have been absorbing most of the cost. Now, we have been compelled to increase prices," Motor India Ltd (HMIL) Senior Vice-President (sales & marketing) Rakesh Srivastava told PTI.

The increase in prices will range from Rs 3,000 to Rs 15,000 across models, he said, adding that "we are currently working out the details".

He further said the price hike will be effective August 16, 2016.

HMIL sells a range of vehicles starting from entry-level small car Eon to premium SUV Santa Fe, which are priced between Rs 3.25 lakh and Rs 31.75 lakh (ex-showroom Delhi).

The company's announcement comes days after the country's largest carmaker Maruti Suzuki India hiking prices of its various models by up to Rs 20,000.

MSI had increased price of its compact SUV Vitara Brezza by Rs 20,000 while that of premium hatchback Baleno by Rs 10,000.

On a select range, the price hike was between Rs 1,500 and Rs 5,000.

Maruti Suzuki sells a range of models starting from hatchback Alto 800 to premium crossover S-Cross, priced Rs 2.45 lakh to Rs 12.03 lakh (ex-showroom Delhi).
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The countrys largest power producer, NTPC, raised Rs 2,000 crore through rupee-denominated green masala bonds from offshore markets. The company launched the bonds on Wednesday, with an initial target to raise Rs 1,000 crore. The company raised the size to Rs 2,000 crore and priced the bond at an annual yield of 7.48 per cent with five-year tenure.
British super luxury carmaker has said that India is a significant market for the company and South India is one of the fast growing.

After launching the new version of Rolls-Royce's convertible Dawn for the South Indian market for Rs 6.25 crore, Sven J Ritter, regional sales manager  South Asia said that in 2015, the company had reported sustained growth in India and was optimistic about 2016.
Japanese automobile giant Motor Corp on Friday introduced a new Corolla Axio Hybrid G "50 Limited" model, a special edition of its global best-seller to commemorate the 50th anniversary of its launch.

The model is currently exhibited at the Automobile Council Fair in Chiba till August 7 and will hit the showrooms on September 1, Efe news reported.

Based on the design of the current Corolla Axio sedan, the commemorative model will have a limited edition of 500 units exclusive to Japan, a official said.

The Corolla Axio Hybrid G "50 Limited", priced at $23,700, stands out for its red interiors, a nod to the first generation model launched on October 20, 1996.

The distinctive crown on the commemorative edition of the emblem is also a reproduction of the original.

Since the first model's launch, 43.6 million units of Corolla have been sold, 12.5 million in Japan and 31.1 million worldwide, according to the company.
Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) has come out with a consultation paper to review the current regime of inter-connection usage charges (IUC), a move that might lower the telephone call rates if the charges are further reduced.
At least 14 people were killed and 20 others injured on Friday when gunmen opened fire and lobbed grenades at a crowded market place in Kokrajhar district in Assams Bodoland. The site of the incident is Balajan, eight kilometres from Kokrajhar town. The police confirmed the role of Songbijit faction of the Democratic Front of Bodoland, a banned outfit, behind the killings. Some reports said the faction had denied any link with Fridays incident.
The comptroller and auditor general (CAG) of India has rapped the Maharashtra government for the continuation of collection of one per cent cess on petrol and three per cent on diesel in Mumbai and adjoining towns despite the recovery of cost of construction of 37 flyovers in Greater Mumbai in November 2010 with the securitised amount of Rs 2,100 crore. CAG has observed that the excess cess burden on the public was therefore financially not justified.
China has not constructed any road in Indian territory, the Lok Sabha was informed on Friday.

Responding to a supplementary during Question Hour, Defence Minister said he was not aware of China constructing any road "in our area" in the last two years.

He said 73 roads have been identified as strategic Sino-India border roads, of which 61 roads have been entrusted to the Border Roads Organisation (BRO) having a total length of 3417 km which are planned to be completed by 2020.

Out of these, 22 roads of 707.24 km length have been completed and according to the revised schedule, five roads will be completed this year, eight in 2017, 12 in 2018, eight in 2019 and six in 2020.

Parrikar cited delay in forest and wildlife clearance, hard rock stretches, limited working season, difficulty in availability of construction material and delay in land acquisition as key reasons behind slow execution of road projects.

Responding to a supplementary, he said funds would not be an issue for the BRO in completing the road projects and if need be, supplementary budget will be allocated.
Tibetan spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama, who is currently on a month-long stint in Jammu and Kashmir during which he will rest and deliver lectures, on Friday visited Ngagyur Dragthok monastery and delivered a sermon, his aides said.

On the invitation of the monastery's authorities, the visited the monastery, located about 40 km away from his Shiwatsel Phodrang official residence, to inaugurate its new prayer hall and address monks and local people, an aide told IANS.

In his address, he urged the public to study the Buddhist texts and called for a faith based in logic and reason.

He also spoke about inner development such as warm-heartedness and compassion, alongside material development.

The Ngagyur Dragthok monastery is a branch of the Chogkar Choekhor Namgyaling monastery of Ngagyur Nyingma lineage. The patron lama of the monastery was the late Taklung Tsetrul Rinpoche who died in December last.

The monastery currently has 28 resident monks.

The main attraction of the monastery is a giant statue of Guru Padmasambhava flanked by Guru Dorje Drolo on its right and Guru Pema Gyalpo on its left, with both the latter being two of the eight manifestations assumed by Guru Padmasambhava at different points in his life.

The Dalai Lama, 81, will offer teachings from August 11 to August 21 in two sessions, the aide said.

Two-day teachings from August 11 will be held at the Thiksey Monastery, located on top of a hill in Thiksey village, 19 km east of Leh.

He will also deliver teachings at Shewatsel Teaching Ground here from August 19 to 21.

Over 10,000 followers of the from aboard and India are likely to attend his teachings, the Tibetan government-in-exile in Himachal Pradesh said.

The has lived in exile in India since fleeing Tibet after a failed uprising against the Chinese rulers in 1959.
Chhattisgarh police have arrested a youth from Jammu and Kashmir on sedition charge for posting anti-India content on his Facebook account.

Tauseef Ahmad Bhat, who works with a mobile company in Chhattisgarh's Durg district, was arrested by the police last night, Durg range Inspector General of Police Dipanshu Kabra said.

A group of local youths had lodged a complaint on August 2 that Bhat had shared anti-India content on the social media, the IG said.

After a preliminaryinvestigation, a team of Durg police nabbed him from Jammu-Tawi Express at Sagar railway station in Madhya Pradesh when he was on his way to Kashmir.

A native of Sopore, Bhat graduated from a private engineering college in Bhilai in Durg district.

He has been booked under section 124 (a) of IPC (sedition), the IG said.
Key suspect in the 2008 Mumbai 26/11 terror attacks has been arrested by security agencies in Pakistan, it was announced late on Thursday.

The terror which evoked world condemnation the claimed over 160 lives, including foreigners, and 308 others were wounded.

Suspect Sufiyan Zafar, wanted in connection with the attacks, had reportedly assisted prime suspect Hammad Amin Sadiq financially, a sources close to the development said.

According to the sources, an anti-terrorism court granted eight-day physical remand of the suspect.

Sources further said that a Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) team, headed by Director Mazhar Kakakhel, was interrogating the suspect.
Even as intense rescue efforts are underway on Savitri river near Mahad  the site of the bridge collapse on Mumbai-Goa highway  hopes of finding survivors may be fading away. Torrential rains, strong river current, to name a few, are said to be the reasons hampering the efforts.
With the Opposition attacking the state government in the Legislative Assembly, Chief Minister did not find any merit in the protest over lowering of scholarship for SC/ST students.

He alleged an "out of work" BJP and other opposition parties were "instigating" youths for political gains.

"The protest over lowering of scholarship for SC and ST students has no merit as there is no logic in benefiting many dubious private professional colleges, which earn a fat sum of money out of this scholarship fund from state government," Kumar told reporters.

"While the meritorious students will pay in full for their study in such institutions, what is the logic of paying Rs 5-10 lakh as scholarship for students hailing from SC/ST students studying in many of such private colleges whose credentials are doubtful?" the CM asked, terming the argument as "bakwaas" (baseless talk).

Moreover, the scholarship amount has been lowered due to shrinking of central funds on this count and the state was paying scholarship at par with what was paid by other states, he said.

A vigilance probe has established that scholarship money paid to many of such educational institutions have "dubious" credentials, Kumar said.

He came down heavily on BJP for promoting the agitation launched by SC/ST students over the police lathicharge during a protest march yesterday after they resorted to pelting of bricks on the security forces.

"The BJP is shedding crocodiles tears for dalits to gain their votes...The party under whose rule dalits are beaten up mercilessly in Gujarat and which is blamed for the suicide of dalit student Rohith Vemula in Andhra Pradesh are trying to become champions of dalits," he said.

"If BJP is so pained at lowering of post matriculation scholarship amount for SC/ST students, they should impress their government at the Centre to enhance allocation of money," he said.

"The Bihar government has already announced to launch student credit-card scheme for higher studies from October 2 under which they will get Rs 4 lakh interest-free loan," Kumar said.
If you are planning a vacation or a leisure trip, here is a good news! ranks as the most budget-friendly city in India for a three-day break, followed by Jaipur.
Rattled by a slew of rape cases including the horrific Bulandshahr gangrape, the UP Police on Friday launched 'Operation Vishwas' here to instill confidence and sense of security among women.

"The Operation is being launched in Lucknow zone from Friday in which police will ensure strict action against those people involved in crime against women. The objective of the campaign is to instill confidence and sense of security among women," IG, Lucknow Zone, A Satish Ganesh told reporters.

The police have identified 1200 people accused of sexual offenses and the proceedings for imposing Goonda Act on them will be ensured during the operation, he said.

The month-long operation will also run in Hardoi, Lahimpur Kheri, Rarbareli, Sitapur, Unnao, Faizabad, Sultanpur, Barabanki, Ambedkarnagar and Amethi besides Lucknow, he said.

"We are expecting to get good results like 'Operation Milan', under which police rescued over 400 abducted youths and minors, including girls, and re-united them with their families," Ganesh said.

Operation Milan was launched on April 28 in Lucknow zone.

All the district police chiefs of the zone have been asked to direct police station in-charges concerned to concentrate on Operation Vishwas.

was recently in news for a number of rape cases including the Bulandshahr gangrape incident where a mother and a minor girl were raped by a group of men near a highway.
Back in 2002, the big screen introduced us to a man found floating in the Mediterranean Sea. This man, an American, had no memories of who he was when Italian fishermen rescued him from the water. All he had to tie himself to a completely wiped-out past were two gunshot wounds on his back, and a tiny laser projector embedded in his hip, which had the number of a safe deposit box in Zurich.
A day after extending the minimum import price (MIP) norms on select steel products, the government on Friday removed safeguard duty from another 37 products in the sector, such as flat rolled and hot rolled ones.
Companies engaged in apple trading and in marketing of branded apples are preparing for a harder time, due to tepid arrivals in this season, after a record crop in 2015-16.
Three nos. 155 mm x 45 Calibre Artillery gun Dhanush have been handed over to Indian Army in June 2016, for undertaking user exploitation. .

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Special features of Dhanush guns are: .

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8 km more range than BOFORS Gun. .

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Modified Double Baffle Muzzle Brake. .

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Modified Loading Trough to accommodate Bi Modular Charge System (BMCS). .

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Electronic Suite to include an Enhanced Tactical Computer (ETC), Intertial Navigation System (INS), Muzzle Velocity Radar (MVR) and Automatic Gun Sighting System (AFSS) for enhanced accuracy and auto laying of the gun. .

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An indent of quantity 114 guns has already been placed on Ordnance Factory Board (OFB). .

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This information was given by Defence Minister Shri Manohar Parrikar in a written reply to Shri C Mahendran in Lok Sabha today. .

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English rendition of the statement by Union Home Minister Shri Rajnath Singh in Parliament on his participation in the 7th SAARC Meeting of Interior/Home Ministers in Pakistan .

The Union Home Minister Shri Rajnath Singh today made a statement in both Houses of the Parliament on his participation in the 7th SAARC Meeting of Interior/Home Ministers in Pakistan on August 4, 2016. .

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Following is the English rendition of the statement: .

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I had participated in the 7th Meeting of Home Ministers held on 04.08.16. .

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The prominent items on the Agenda were terrorism, smuggling of narcotic drugs, cyber crime and human trafficking. Most of the participating nations strongly condemned terrorism in all its manifestations. .

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On Indias behalf, I laid special emphasis on the scourge of terrorism. I am sure all the members of this august house would agree with me that the biggest challenge to the peace and prosperity of South Asia is terrorism. I called for hardening our resolve to eradicate this menace of terrorism. .

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I also stressed on the need to ensure that terrorism is not glorified and is not patronized by any State. One countrys terrorist cannot be a martyr or freedom fighter for anyone else. I had clearly pointed out that strongest possible steps need to be taken, not only against terrorists and terrorist organizations but also those individuals, institutions, organizations or nations that support them. Only this will ensure that the forces engaged in promoting the heinous crime of terrorism against humanity are effectively countered. .

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In addition, on Indias behalf I had placed the following suggestions:- .

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(i) The will and the mandate of the international community against proscribed and wanted terrorists and their organizations must be respected and implemented. .

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(ii) Attempts to distinguish between good and bad terrorists should be done away with, as this would be a mistake. .

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(iii) Immediate and effective action is required against all those who support or encourage international terrorism in any way, whether they are state or non-state actors. .

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(iv) Effective measures to be taken to ensure that those involved in terrorist acts do not escape prosecution and punishment, and are extradited so that they cannot escape prosecution. .

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(v) All member states, who have not ratified SAARC convention on Mutual Assistance on Criminal Matters, need to ratify the same. .

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(vi) Member states who have not yet given their acceptance to set up SAARC Terrorist Offences Monitoring Desk (STOMD) should give their concurrence for the same. .

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I made a special mention at the Conference on the number of new initiatives taken in India such as Track Child" and Operation Smile". In addition, I brought to the notice of the participants the measures taken by the Indian Government for honest, transparent and accountable governance through schemes such as Jan Dhan Yojana" and Aadhaar". .

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The following initiatives were declared on Indias behalf in the SAARC meeting of Home Ministers and Home Secretaries:- .

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(i) Technical assistance for effective implementation of STOMD and SDOMD .

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(ii) To seek the concurrence of member states to participate in the second High Level Group of eminent experts to strengthen the SAARC Anti-Terrorism Mechanism being hosted by India on September 22-23, 2016. Fortunately all member states agreed. .

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(iii) Capacity Building Programmes in India to strengthen drug control mechanisms of member States. .

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(iv) Offered to host the first meeting of SAARC Computer Emergency Response Teams (CERTs). .

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In so far as our neighbour is concerned, Pakistan is yet to ratify the SAARC convention on Mutual Assistance on Criminal Matters. Pakistan is also yet to convey its concurrence on setting up of STOMD and SDOMD. Pakistan mentioned that they would act soon on these issues. I only hope and wish that the soon" would actually be soon. .

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The dark clouds of terrorism are enveloping not only South Asia, but the entire world. The entire world community is aware and extremely worried of this grave danger. India has clearly given out its message against this evil which endangers humanity. Most of the participating Member Nations also have expressed their concerns against the scourge of terrorism. Honble Speaker, I would like to emphasize that India had given this message for the sake of humanity and for protection of human rights. Honble Members of this august House would agree with me that terrorism is the biggest enemy of mankind." .

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Massive search operation by NDRF with other agencies in Maharashtra's Raigad District is continuing on third consecutive day today. Four NDRF teams have been pressed into action to trace the missing victims in the Savitri River and its surroundings. So far, NDRF has retrieved one body. Operation is still in progress. .

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Yesterday, NDRF team deployed at Aurangabad, Maharashtra for flood rescue and relief operation, rescued 57 persons from village Banzar Gaon and shifted them to safer places. .

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NDRF team deployed at Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh organised medical camps at Dashasumev Ghat and provided medical attention to 64 sick and needy pilgrims. The team at Purnia organised medical camp at village- Simrahi, Block- Baisi and carried out health check-up of 60 persons. In addition, NDRF team also distributed medicine to needy persons. .

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A 24X7, NDRF control room in New Delhi is closely monitoring the situation and in touch with other agencies. The flood rescue and relief operation by National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) in flood prone areas is still continuing. .

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Department of Agriculture, Cooperation & Farmers Welfare (DAC&FW) is implementing Crop Diversification Programme in Original Green Revolution States of Punjab, Haryana and Western Uttar Pradesh as a sub scheme of Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana (RKVY) since 2013-14 to divert the area of water guzzling paddy to alternate crops like pulses, oilseeds, maize, cotton and agro forestry system. The programme has been extended to tobacco growing states of Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Gujarat, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Odisha, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal to encourage tobacco growing farmers to shift to alternate crops/cropping system w.e.f. 2015-16. Under Crop Diversification Programme, assistance is being provided for four major components / interventions viz. (i) alternate crop demonstrations (ii) farm mechanization and value addition (iii) site specific activities and (iv) contingency for awareness, training, implementation, monitoring, etc. Under RKVY, State Government can undertake agriculture including allied sector activities depending on state specific needs/priorities with the approval by State Level Sanctioning Committee (SLSC) headed by Chief Secretary of the State. .

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Crop production technology of various agricultural and horticultural crops grown in different regions and ecologies are also promoted through other ongoing schemes of DAC&FW like National Food Security Mission (NFSM), Bringing Green Revolution to Eastern India (BGREI), National Mission on Oilseeds and Oil Palm (NMOOP), National Mission for Sustainable Agriculture (NMSA), National Mission on Agricultural Extension & Technology (NMAET), Soil Health Card Scheme, Paramparagat Krishi Vikas Yojana (PKVY), Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchayee Yojana (PMKSY), Mission for Integrated Development of Horticulture (MIDH). The technology support to farmers helps in achieving higher productivity, better management for increasing their income. .

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Government also support allied sector activities like dairy & poultry through Department of Animal Husbandry, Dairying & Fisheries (DAHD&F) for the benefit of farmers under various programmes viz., National Programme for Bovine Breeding & Dairy Development (NPBBDD), National Dairy Plan, Dairy Entrepreneurship Development Scheme (DEDS) and National Livestock Mission (NLM). .

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For boosting income of farmers, promotion and development of food processing sector in the country, the Ministry of Food Processing Industries is implementing a number of schemes, namely Scheme for Mega Food Parks, Scheme for Modern Abattoirs, Scheme for Integrated Cold Chain and Value Addition Infrastructure, Scheme for Creation/Expansion of Food Processing and Preservation, Scheme for Quality Assurance and Scheme for Human Resources and Institutions. .

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This information was given by the Minister of State for Agriculture & Farmers Welfare Shri Parshottam Rupala in Rajya Sabha today. .

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Loans to rural entrepreneurs are provided by banks and Financial Institutions (FIs). Government have several schemes for assisting rural entrepreneurs through interest subvention or capital subsidy to effectively reduce the extent of repayments. These inter-alia include, Prime Ministers Employment Generation Programme (PMEGP), Credit Linked Capital Subsidy Scheme (CLCSS), Amended Technology Upgradation Fund Scheme (ATUFS), etc. .

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Government have also taken several measures to increase lending to rural entrepreneurs which inter-alia include, priority sector lending targets to banks for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) and weaker sections, Pradhan Mantri Mudra Yojana (PMMY) Scheme, Stand up India Scheme, Credit Guarantee Fund Trust for Micro & Small Enterprises (CGTMSE), Differential Rate of Interest (DRI) Scheme, etc .

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This information was given by Minister of State for Finance Shri. Santosh Kumar Gangwar today in written reply to a Lok Sabha question .

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The Government of India is extremely concerned about the old age income security of the working poor. To encourage and enable them to take care of their old age, Atal Pension Yojana (APY)has been launched by Government of India in the year 2015 which is being administered and regulated by PFRDA. Though more than 31 lakh subscribers have joined the scheme in past one year, the support of State Governments is very crucial to expand the coverage of the scheme to all the eligible persons across the country. State Governments have many unorganized sector workers associated with various departments like Labour, Health, Rural, and Agriculture etc. who are not covered under any formal old age social security scheme..

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All the State Governments have been requested by PFRDA to consider registering such workers under APY as it is a guaranteed pension scheme of Government of India. APY paves the way for securing the old age income by saving regularly a small amount during the earning phase of life. The unorganised workforce attached with various State departments like Anganwadi, ASHA workers, Construction workers, Agriculture workers, MGNNREGA workers etc can be extended APY. The respective State Governments are also requested to co-contribute additional amount in the scheme along with the subscribers regular contribution. The amount contributed by the State Governments will enable enhanced pension to the subscribers at the age of 60 years. State Governments like Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh have already notified APY and are also co-contributing for the eligible subscribers of the State between Rs.500- Rs.1000 per annum..

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President of India condemns militants attack in Assam

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The President of India, Shri Pranab Mukherjee has strongly condemned the attack by militants in Assams Kokrajhar district today (August 5, 2016). .

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In a message to Shri Padmanabha Balakrishna Acharya, the Governor of Assam, the President has said I am extremely sad to learn about the attack by militants in Assams Kokrajhar district today in which a number of persons have lost their lives and several others are injured. .

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Such senseless acts of terrorism targeting innocent lives undermine the democratic base of society and deserve to be universally condemned. They must be met with determination and collective action. I call upon the State Government and all concerned other agencies to ensure that the guilty are brought to justice and law and order is maintained in State. I am sure necessary steps are being taken to provide all possible aid to the bereaved families who have lost their near and dear ones as well as medical assistance to the injured. .

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Please convey my heartfelt condolences to the families of the deceased. I also wish speedy recovery to the injured persons". .

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The Union Cabinet has approved proposals for the revival of closed fertilizer units at Talcher, Ramagundam, Barauni, Gorakhpur and Sindri. Details about Cabinet approvals and present status of revival at these locations are as under: .

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Talcher and Ramagundam:.

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The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) in its meeting held on 4.11.2011 approved the revival of these units on nomination route" through PSUs. Rashtriya Chemicals & Fertilizers Limited, Gail (India) Ltd, Coal India Limited and Fertilizer Corporation India Limited (FCIL) have been nominated to revive the Talcher unit while National Fertilizers Limited, Engineers India Limited and FCIL have been nominated to revive the Ramagundam unit. In order to facilitate the revival of closed units of FCIL, the CCEA on 9.05.2013 approved waiver of Government of India loan and interest on FCIL to make the net worth of FCIL positive and to seek its de-registration from Board for Industrial and Financial Reconstruction and paves way for revival of closed units of FCIL. Pre-Project activities to revive these two units are currently in progress. .

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Gorakhpur, Sindri and Barauni: .

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The Union Cabinet in its meeting held on 13.07.2016 has approved to revive these closed fertilizer units by means of a Special Purpose Vehicle of Public Sector Units namely, National Thermal Power Corporation, Coal India Limited, Indian Oil Corporation Limited and Fertilizer Corporation India Limited/Hindustan Fertilizer Corporation Limited, through nomination route" instead of bidding route as approved earlier. .

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This information was given by the Minister of State (MoS) in the Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilizers Sh. Mansukh L. Mandaviya in the Rajya Sabha today. .

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The Saudi-led coalition fighting in acknowledged today "shortcomings" in two out of eight cases it has investigated of UN-condemned air strikes on civilian targets in the country.

A 14-member investigative team  made up of coalition states Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, as well as  probed claims of attacks on a residential area, hospitals, markets, a wedding and World Food Programme aid trucks.

"We found shortcomings in two cases while the rest were in line with humanitarian law," the team's Bahraini spokesman, Mansur al-Mansur, told a briefing in Riyadh.

They found that the coalition, which launched an air war on Shiite Huthi rebels in in March 2015, guilty of "mistakenly" hitting a residential compound in the Red Sea port city of Mokha after it had received "imprecise intelligence information".

Human Rights Watch condemned as an "apparent war crime" the raid which it said killed at least 65 civilians in July last year.

The investigative team is calling on families of victims to apply for compensation by contacting Yemen's Saudi-backed government, Mansur said.

The team also held the coalition responsible for air strikes on Haydan hospital run by Doctors Without Borders (MSF) in the northern rebel stronghold of Saada.

The rebels were using the hospital as a hideout, which is "a breach of humanitarian law", said Mansur.

However, the coalition should have warned MSF officials before targeting the building, he said. No deaths had been reported in these strikes.

The team cleared the coalition of wrongdoing in the remaining six cases, including raids last year on a delivery by WFP trucks that had not coordinated with the coalition.

The trucks were also not marked to show that they belonged to an aid organisation, according to Mansur.

The 16-month-old war in Yemen has killed some 6,400 people and exacerbated a humanitarian crisis in the impoverished country, the United Nations says.

Saudi Arabia reacted angrily to a decision in June to blacklist the coalition after a UN report found the coalition responsible for 60 percent of the 785 deaths of children in Yemen last year.

UN chief Ban Ki-moon accused Saudi Arabia of threatening to cut off funding to UN aid programmes over the blacklist, a charge denied by Riyadh.
For the first time in 128 years, the Harvard Republican Club will not endorse the party's presidential nominee for the top post, condemning his "racist and misogynistic rhetoric" and repeated "belittling" of sacrifices made by uniformed personnel.

In a scathing attack on the 70-year-old leader, the Club, the oldest College Republicans chapter in the nation, said its members are "ashamed" of Trump just as President Ronald Reagan would be.

The Club called on fellow Republicans to withdraw their support to the "dangerous" man, describing him a "threat to the survival of the Republic".

Lashing out at Trump, the Club said he "simply" does not possess the "temperament and character" necessary to lead the US through an "increasingly perilous world" and in response to any "slight-perceived or real", he lashes out "viciously and irresponsibly".

The Club said it will not stand for his "vitriolic rhetoric" that is "poisoning" the country and its children.

"We call on our party's elected leaders to renounce their support of Donald Trump, and urge our fellow College Republicans to join us in condemning and withholding their endorsement from this dangerous man. The conservative movement in America should not and will not go quietly into the night," the Club said in a post on Facebook.

It said even as millions of people across the country are feeling despondent, their wages slashed, jobs shipped overseas, Trump does not have a plan to fix these problems but only to "exploit" them.

The Club said it will be for the first time in 128 years that it will not be endorsing the Republican nominee, strongly criticising Trump's views as "antithetical to our values not only as Republicans, but as Americans".

Alluding to Trump's remarks targeting the parents of Pakistani-origin US Army Captain Humayun Khan, who died while serving in Iraq in 2004, the Club slammed the billionaire tycoon for insulting the sacrifices made by veterans.

"The rhetoric he espouses, from racist slander to misogynistic taunts, is not consistent with our conservative principles, and his repeated mocking of the disabled and belittling of the sacrifices made by prisoners of war, Gold Star families, and Purple Heart recipients is not only bad politics, but absurdly cruel," it said.

The Club said that at home his "protectionist" trade policies and "draconian immigration" restrictions would enlarge the nation's federal deficit, raise prices for consumers, and throw the economy back into recession.

His foreign policy would "wreak havoc" on the established world order which has held aggressive foreign powers in check since World War II, it said.

The Club also strongly criticised Trump's habit of "incessant name calling and derision", his "complete" lack of knowledge on critical matters, meandering from position to position over the course of the election, and resorting to lies "in a manner more brazen and shameless than anything has ever seen".

He is looking to pit neighbour against neighbour, friend against friend, American against American, they said.
An Islamist extremist accused of carrying a deadly attack on Bangladesh's biggest Eid gathering was killed in a 'gun fight' when terrorists attacked a police van transporting him, police said on Friday.

Shafiul Islam, 22, was being driven to a police station on Thursday when the Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) vehicle carrying him was attacked by terrorists.

Lt Col Shariful Islam, Commanding Officer of Rab-14 said Shafiul was killed during the gun fight.

He said three security personnel were also injured in the clashes and two motorcycles, arms and bullets were recovered from the spot.

RAB claimed the gun battle took place while militants were trying to take Shafiul away, bdnews reported.

Bombs exploded near an Eid prayer gathering in Sholakia in northern Kishoreganj district on July 7 where at least 200,000 people had gathered. Four persons, including two policemen and a Hindu woman, were also killed in the attack.

Shafiul was a member of Jamayetul Mujahideen (JMB), which is accused of carrying out a wave of killings of foreigners and religious minorities.
fell by 1% on Friday as a crude and refined product glut weighed on and investors eyed a possible stutter in China's imports, ending a two-day short-covering rally.

US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures were trading at $41.50 per barrel at 0652 GMT, down 43 cents, or over 1%, from their last close.

Brent crude futures were trading at $43.77 per barrel, down 52 cents, or 1.15%.

Traders said oil came under renewed pressure from overproduction in crude and refined products that has left onshore storage tanks filled to the rims and triggered the chartering of tankers to store unsold fuel.

On the demand side, BMI Research said China's imports were weakening from records set in 2015 and this year.

"China's near-term crude imports will remain sluggish due to a combination of factors including brimming commercial fuel stockpiles, slower off-take growth among teapots (refiners) and a more gradual pace of strategic stock building," BMI said.

Friday's slump ended a mid-week rally driven in large part by those holding short positions booking profits from a more than 20%fall in between June and early August, traders said.

" rallied (Wednesday and Thursday) despite little fundamental data. However, with CFTC data showing investors increased their shorts positions the most ever for the week ending 26 July, this suggests a short covering rally," ANZ bank said on Friday.

In oil market news, Yahoo's standalone messenger software, the main tool used by traders to communicate since the late 1990s, is due to shut down on Friday, leaving market participants with a fragmented choice of alternatives, including Eikon Messenger, ICE Instant Messaging, Symphony, Bloomberg Messenger, Twitter and WhatsApp.

Also, in pricing and analytics, leading commodity price reporting agency S&P Global Platts has signed an agreement to acquire global energy market analysis firm PIRA Energy Group.
Dozens of staff, allies and advisers to former British Prime Minister received honours from Queen Elizabeth II a move criticised as cronyism by Cameron's opponents.

The "resignation honours," bestowed by the monarch but chosen by the government, are an established way for departing leaders to reward loyal lieutenants.

But the number and nature of names on Cameron's list much of it leaked to a newspaper over the weekend sparked accusations of improper patronage.

The list includes knighthoods and lesser honours for 46 people including Cameron's former spin doctor and his wife's stylist and appoints 13 new Conservative members of the House of Lords.

Cameron resigned after Britons voted June 23 to leave the European Union, against his advice.

The honours list rewarded several people who worked on the losing "remain" campaign, including Will Straw, director of the Britain Stronger in Europe group.

It also included knighthoods for Cameron's former communications director, Craig Oliver, and for several former Cabinet ministers.

Former Treasury chief George Osborne  who was fired by Cameron's successor, Prime Minister Theresa May  was made a Companion of Honor, a senior award limited to 65 people "of distinction."

There were honours for numerous Cameron staffers and aides, including Isabel Spearman, adviser and stylist to spouse Samantha Cameron.

Steve Hilton, a former Cameron adviser turned critic, said the honours list was a "serious type of very British corruption." Liberal Democrat leader Tim Farron said Cameron's list "is so full of cronies it would embarrass a medieval court" and called for recipients to be chosen by an independent panel.

This is the first resignation honours list since Prime Minister John Major left office in 1997. The two Labour prime ministers who followed him, Tony Blair and Gordon Brown, did not use the practice.

All the main political parties nominate members of the House of Lords, and there is one Labour appointee on the list. Shami Chakrabarti, former director of the human rights group Liberty, has been appointed to the House of Lords.
The board of Asian Development Bank has re-elected as the multilateral funding agency's president for a five-year term beginning November.

"The Asian Development Bank (ADB) Board of Governors has unanimously re-elected as President of ADB for a further 5 years beginning on 24 November 2016," ADB said in release.

Nakao was first elected as ADB president on April 28, 2013 to serve the three-and-half-years remaining term of his predecessor Haruhiko Kuroda.

Being the ninth president of ADB, he was the sole nominee after ADB's Governors were invited from May 31 to June 30, 2016, to make nominations for the organisation's presidency, the release added.

"It is a great honor to serve as President of the ADB for another 5 years. I will devote myself to continuing to lead ADB to an even more elevated standing as the primary development institution in the region that helps achieve inclusive and sustainable development in Asia and Pacific," Nakao said.

ADB said that during his first term, it has realigned its strategic priorities through mid-term review of 'Strategy 2020' and plans to increase lending capacity from $13 billion in 2014 to $20 billion by 2020.

"The scaling up of its operations has already made good progress. Last year, ADB's loan and grant approvals reached a record $16.3 billion, including private sector operations of $2.6 billion, which is also a record high," ADB said.

Manila-headquartered ADB also approved a replenishment of $3.8 billion fund in May this year.

Prior to joining ADB in 2013, Nakao was a senior official at Finance Ministry, Japan.

He also taught finance as a Visiting Professor at the University of Tokyo in 2010 and 2011.

Nakao holds a bachelors degree in Economics from the University of Tokyo and an MBA from the University of California, Berkeley.
Currency derivatives open interest turnover at on Friday crossed $2 billion (about Rs 13,400 crore) mark.

The open interest number of contracts stood at 19,44,203 in the previous session, with turnover at Rs 10,189.79 crore, according to data available with the .

Currency derivative contracts allow investors to take position on change in the foreign exchange rates between pairs of two currencies, such as rupee and dollar.

Open interest is commonly associated with the futures and options markets, where the number of existing contracts changes from day to day.
has surged around 6% to Rs 433 on the BSE after the company said that its board will consider share buyback on 10 August 2016.
has risen over 3% to Rs 168 on the BSE after the company said import and transit permits for the company's iron ore business at Goa was re-issued on 3 August 2016.
The companies engaged in trading and marketing branded apples are preparing for hard times due to tepid arrivals this season after record crop in 2015-16. The agri division of Mahindra & Mahindra, which sells branded apples, is planning to import more, while one of the largest players of trading Adani Agrifresh is most likely to crowd out other players even by offering high price in North India's bowl.
At least 13 civilians were killed while one terrorist was gunned down in an encounter between the terrorists and the security forces in Assam's Kokrajhar today.

The incident has also left around 18 people injured while the combing operations are currently underway to secure to area.

"Over 12 people have been killed, one terrorist has been gunned down. We have also recovered grenades and other weapons from him," Assam DGP Mukesh Sahay told ANI.

As per reports, an AK-47 has been recovered from the terrorist who was killed after an intense gun battle that lasted about 20 minutes.

The gunbattle ensued when the armed extremists opened fired at a market around 12 kms from Kokhrajar.

This sudden incident of firing on people at a public place in broad daylight is first of its kind in the militancy-ravaged state.
carrier Air India will bestow armed forces personnel with special offer on the occasion of Independence Day.

Armed forces officials (Navy, Army and Air Force) would be able to travel for free with their companions on its entire domestic route on August 15.

The passenger travelling with serving military personnel will only have to pay ticket taxes.

The scheme is applicable only on economy class tickets.
The Indian Army on Friday confirmed that they have neutralized two terrorists of Democratic Front of Bodoland (Songbijit faction) or (NDFB (S) who had opened indiscriminate fire at Balajan Tinali near Kokrajhar town in Assam, leaving 13 civilians dead.

"An Army Patrol which was in the vicinity, immediately reacted and cordoned the area. The Army troops neutralised one of the terrorists on the spot," the Defence PRO's statement said.

It said that the swift action by the Army troops prevented indiscriminate killings of civilians in the crowded market place.

"Any delayed action by the Army would have resulted in extremely high casualties amongst the un-armed, innocent civilians," it added.

The Army has also launched a massive combing operation, pressing into service specialised troops, tracker dogs and other specialised equipment.

"The Army has been carrying out extensive area domination operations in the strife torn District of Kokrajhar, thus ensuring swift actions," it said.

The Defence Pro said the Army will continue its relentless operations against terrorists, who try to disrupt the peace of the area.

As per reports, this sudden incident of firing on people at a public place in broad daylight is first of its kind in the militancy-ravaged state.
A leading Australian expert in high school science teaching is currently in India on a nearly month-long visit to deliver science education workshops to students and teachers in Indian schools.

A recipient of the 2015 Prime Minister's Prize for Excellence in Science Teaching in Secondary Schools for his leadership in science teaching, Dr. Ken Silburn, Head Science Teacher at the Casula High School in New South Wales, told ANI in interview that he come to share his experiences and exchange views with Indian teachers, and added that he has met about 50 of them so far.

He said that while had visited India for the first time in 2009, this visit was being undertaken under the Australia-India Education Council's (AIEC) Eminent Researcher Lecture Program.

He said so far he has visited two schools that form part of the Kendriya Vidyalaya Sangathan (KVS) and interacted with the science faculty and students of Delhi University's Miranda House and the Institute of Open Schooling (NIOS).

Dr. Silburn, who is also Australia's Coordinator for the development of the iSTEM (Invigorating Science Technology Engineering and Mathematics) program, which seeks to bring students out of their schools to a place where they can talk to their peers and science professionals, said there is a plan to make a presentation to 45 science teachers of Delhi Government-run schools, and also undertake visits to Jaipur, Hyderabad and Mumbai to participate in similar workshops and interactions. He said that he has already spent a fortnight in Ladakh.

Dr. Silburn said that he is keen advocate and promoter of a hands-on students approach to the subject of science and added that he would like to convert students into innovators.

"The response from the academic community in India so far has been fabulous. The reception in Indian schools has been very warm and welcoming. I am happy to see Indian teachers being so open and also impressed with the quality of the students and the kind of questions that they asked. We need students to be trained in innovation," Dr. Silburn told ANI.

He also made a special mention of the Ministry of Human Resource Development's Rashtriya Avishkar Programme, which that aims to inculcate a spirit of inquiry, creativity and love for science and mathematics in school children.

"This program highlights the direction in which science and innovation is going in India. The Prime Ministers' of India and Australia have spelt out their ideas and thoughts, and this programme is good for both nations both in the short and the long term. I also see a lot of similarities in the medium of instructions," he said

Dr. Silburn said that his visit to India will be used to have an exchange of science pedagogy between Indian teachers and himself, and added that explorations would also be made for new and substantive academic collaboration in the schools sector

The AIEC is a bi- body co-chaired by the HRD ministers of India and Australia and is one of the nodal bodies that drive Australia-India education, training and research agenda.
The Balochistan government has urged law enforcement agencies to make a joint strategy to enhance its efforts against terrorists and other criminals, in a bid to improve security measures in the province.

In a meeting presided by Chief Minister Nawab Sanaullah Zehri yesterday, the government decided new measures for improving security situation, reports the Dawn.

The meeting also reviewed the prevailing law and order situation in the province and stressed the need for further measures so that terrorists could not reemerge.

The Security agencies have also been asked to focus on the Sariab Road area and localities on the suburb of the city where most incidents of target killings occur.

Meanwhile, briefing about the, Inspector General of Balochistan Police Ahsan Mehboob said that the security plan of the province was once again being examined and flaws and weaknesses in it were being removed.
After getting thumbs up on the Goods and Services Tax (GST) Bill from the Rajya Sabha, the Centre will retable the indirect tax reform in the Lok Sabha on August 8.

A three line whip has been issued by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to all the Lok Sabha MPs for the crucial day.

Meanwhile, BJP president Amit Shah has called on Chief Ministers of the party ruled states to ratify the tax reform bill.

The meeting will take place on August 27 in New Delhi.

Shah is also scheduled to helm a meet of all BJP ruled state core groups in the capital on

August 23 to get a direct feedback about various states.

The bill was approved by the Upper House after a seven-hour debate with 203 votes in favour and none against on Wednesday evening.
The Congress on Friday said that the ruling of the Delhu High Court on the sanctity of the power of the Lt. Governor of Delhi should be seen as a victory of the Constitution of the India.

"Constitution is Supreme. No one have right to violate the constitution, no matter whatever position he holds. Yesterday's verdict was victory of the Constitution," said Congress leader Manoj Tiwari here.

In a major setback to the AAP Government, the Delhi High Court yesterday dismissed its set of petitions on the legal tussle with the Centre over control of administrative issues and distribution of power in the capital.

The AAP had filed a total of nine petitions in the Delhi High Court, contending that the power to make appointments and issue instructions did not rest with the Lieutenant Governor, but with the Chief Minister.

The petitions had risen out of a series of clashes between Lieutenant Governor Najeeb Jung and the Delhi Government.

Pronouncing the verdict, the High Court said the Lieutenant Governor is not bound to act as per the advice of the Delhi Cabinet.
Action Contre la Faim (ACF) or the Action against Hunger, a Paris-based aid organisation, has urged Sri Lanka to take action over the killing of its 17 aids workers during the conflict in Sri Lanka a decade ago.

Unidentified gunmen on August 4, 2006 executed 17 local staff members of Action Contre la Faim in their complex in Muttur of Trincomalee district, during the height of the battle to wrest control of Eastern Province from the Tamil Tiger terrorist group Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), reports the Colombo Page.

No one was ever prosecuted for the killing of the aid workers which included 16 ethnic Tamils, including four women, and one Muslim.

ACF has said it was time for the Lankan Government to act on its promises as the group marks the 10th anniversary of the massacre.
A Syrian gay refugee living in Turkey has been brutally murdered as his body was so mutilated that his friends could only identify him by his pants.

The refugee named Muhammed Wisam Sankari went missing on July 23 and was found two days later in the Yenikapi district of Istanbul, reports CNN.

According to the Kaos Gay and Lesbian Cultural Research and Solidarity Association (KAOS GL), Sankari had previously been threatened, kidnapped and raped.

"We identified him from his pants... They had cut Wisam so violently. So violent that two knives had broken inside him. They had beheaded him. His upper body was beyond recognition," said Sankari's friend Gorkem.

Sankari had been in Istanbul for about a year. It hasn't been confirmed whether he was killed for being gay and his killers have not been detained yet.

His housemates said this wasn't the first time Sankari had been kidnapped. He had been previously abducted about five months ago and taken to a forest, where he was beaten and raped.
The name of the next chief minister of Gujarat would be announced this evening after the BJP legislative party meeting here in this regard.

The meeting will be attended by BJP president Amit Shah along with central observers of the party.

This was announced by state BJP president Vijay Rupani last evening after the meeting of senior party leaders at the residence of Amit Shah.

Rupani said that all BJP MLAs including officer bearers of the sate BJP will also be present in the meeting.

She had tendered her resignation to the Governor on Wednesday. Governor O.P. Kohli has asked her to continue as the care taker chief minster till the alternate arrangement.

Patel, who took charge as Gujarat's first woman chief minister after Narendra Modi took charge as the Prime Minister, citing age issues had in her Facebook post earlier urged the BJP to relieve her from the coveted post.

Patel said that she had two months earlier sought to resign from the party to give "enough time to the new incumbent to prepare for important events like the upcoming 'Vibrant Gujarat Summit'.

Her government was criticised for its handling of the outrage created by the public flogging of four Dalit men by self-styled cow protection groups.
Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh on Friday clarified in Parliament that he went to Pakistan not to have lunch, but to deliver a firm message on terrorism at the seventh SAARC meeting of Home Ministers.

He also said, "I did not see whether my speech was covered live or not. The media personnel from DD, ANI and PTI reporters who had come from India were not allowed to enter. I will not comment whether Pakistan was right or wrong in not allowing coverage of my speech at the SAARC summit. About the 'blackout', I will need to ask the Ministry of External Affairs about protocol of past occasions. I have no knowledge of the protocol of past occasions."

On why Pakistan's Interior Minister Choudhary Nisar Ali Khan left the lunch organised by him for SAARC ministers, Singh said, "I don't want to comment on how they treated me. The Home Minister did invite everyone at lunch, but went away after that. I also left then. I have no grudges as I wasn't there to have lunch. I did not go there to have lunch. I did not register any protest there."

Singh appreciated the unity of the House on the government's stand on terrorism.

"It reflects the country's determination to fight terrorism. Every prime minister of this country has always tried to eradicate terrorism from its root. Our neighbour (Pakistan) is such that it never learns," he said.

Earlier, he told the Rajya Sabha about the statement he made at the SAARC conference, saying, "I gave suggestions during the SAARC meeting that ban on terror outfits by the United Nations must be respected. There is no good or bad terrorism. I said there's not only need to act against terrorism, but also against those who shelter terrorists. Terrorism should neither be encouraged nor should be patronised. Terrorists of a country should not be seen as a 'martyr' by other countries. There should be action against all those state and non-state actors which support terrorism."

Opposition parties rallied behind the government and condemned Pakistan for "the way the home minister was treated"; Mr Singh's speech was not broadcast by Pakistani media, but India's foreign ministry has denied that it was a blackout.

"I strongly condemn how Pakistan didn't maintain protocol and treated our Home Minister," Former Janata Dal United president Sharad Yadav.

"But there seems to be some discrepancy in what foreign ministry is saying about protocol issues regarding visit. I strongly condemn how Pakistan didn't maintain protocol and treated our Home Minister, the entire nation stands united," he added.

Trinamool Congress (TMC) leader Derek O Brien said, "We are completely on board and welcome the statement. I want the Home Minister to issue clarification on two stories that are there-one the Doordarshan and ANI, who went there, they were not given an opportunity, so actually your speech was deliberately blacked out. They were not allowed. Was that the case?"

"Or there are some people who are trying to say some other rumours saying that this was actually the precedence. If it was the first, it is a matter of serious concern," he added.

"If the Home Minister did not receive respect and honour due to him in Pakistan during his visit as per protocol, we condemn it. If last night's blackout actually happened, then it's a clear indication of dictatorship and not democracy," said senior Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad

Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) supremo Mayawati also urged the BJP-led Centre to reconsider its policy on India-Pakistan relations.

"In wake of recent media reports on behaviour of Pakistan, I would urge the Home Minister to speak to Prime Minister Narendra Modi to reconsider strategy on Indo-Pak relations," she said on the floor of the house.

Communist Party (NCP) leader Majeed Memon and Communist Party of India (CPI) leader D. Raja also condemned the protests which were held across Pakistan during his recent visit.

Singh arrived in Islamabad on Wednesday amid protests by supporters of the Hizbul Mujahideen and the Harkat ul Mujahideen. The protests were held at a distance of about 10 kilometers from the Assembly. Hizbul Mujahideen chief Syed Salahuddin was also present during the protests.

At the summit, the Home Minister used his address to further India's complaint of Pakistan inciting the recent unrest in Kashmir which has left at least 50 people dead in clashes that began with last month's shooting of 22-year-old terrorist Burhan Wani by security forces.
The Tech Rocketship Awards is an initiative by the UK's Department of International Trade (DIT) in India, aimed at identifying India's top young entrepreneurs and providing them with expert business advice and support to help them go global through the UK.

This year's awards were launched in April by Their Royal Highnesses, The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge at a high profile business event in Mumbai. Now in its third year, the competition has had a record number of applications with over 600 start-ups vying to be one of ten winners of an all expenses paid business development trip to the UK.

Thirty-six young entrepreneurs have been shortlisted from over 600 quality applications. Through the course of this month, these shortlisted applicants will battle it out in front of a live audience and panel of esteemed judges across four cities in India: Bengaluru, New Delhi, Pune and Chennai.

Kumar Iyer, Director General of Department of International Trade, India said: "We are really excited by both the staggering level and extremely high quality of the entries this year. It clearly demonstrates the immense talent that India has! The UK is open for business like never before and we are looking for the next batch of leading Indian young entrepreneurs who have the potential to be globally successful. The Tech Rocketship Awards provide an excellent platform for Indian entrepreneurs to grow their business overseas by using the UK as a springboard. We wish the competitors the very best!"

Indian Angel Network (IAN) has closely worked with UKTI to shortlist the applications.

Saurabh Srivastava, Co-founder and Director of IAN said:"I appreciate the vision of the UK government, which is aligned with ours. I am delighted to be a part of this program which will help create wealth for entrepreneurs and investors, drive economic growth in the region and build another track of early stage ventures between India and UK. This platform not only provides an opportunity for Indian entrepreneurs to network and identify trade opportunities, but also gives the UK based investors an access to the pool of India's most innovative businesses."

The competition will enable India's top young entrepreneurs to raise their profile with UK and Indian investors. The ten most promising businesses will win a week-long business trip to the UK. There they will experience the UK's world-leading tech ecosystem first hand, meeting with UK venture capitalists, mentors, entrepreneurs and incubators, as well as experts from DIT and leading professional services firms who will guide them on how to establish a firm footing abroad.

This year's high profile judges include Anand Mahindra; T.V. Mohandas Pai, of Aarin Capital; Saurabh Srivastava of the Indian Angel Network; self-made entrepreneur Kiran Mazumdar Shaw; and young entrepreneur Shradha Sharma of YourStory, a leading tech media platform.

Department of International Trade's Global Dealmaker Alpesh Patel and Technology specialist John Kat will join the Indian panel to judge the business ideas of the best tech start-up during the pitching sessions in the four Indian cities.

One winner will be selected from each of five categories - cleantech, edtech, fintech, medtech and smart manufacturing - and a further five winners will be selected under the 'Judges' Awards' section, from any sector. The final 10 winners will be announced at the India-UK TECH Summit in New Delhi, in November 2016. The competition is a GREAT for Collaboration initiative, seeking to form a lasting partnership between India's fast-growing start-ups and UK financing and support for entrepreneurs.

TECH Rocketships Pitching Session Dates:

Bengaluru

The Social, Church Street

5 August 2016

09:30hrs - 13:30hrs

New Delhi

The Social, Hauz Khas Village

10 August 2016

09:30hrs - 13:30hrs

Pune

Stone Water Grill, Koregaon Park

(Adjacent to Hard Rock Cafe)

19 August 2016

15:30hrs - 20:00hrs

Chennai

Gatsby 2000, Crowne plaza, 132, TTK Road, Chennai - 600018

26 August 2016

09:30hrs - 13:30hrs

Read more: A Rocketship-fuelled business trip to the UK

Tech Rocketship Awards Partners:

1. Social

2. British Airways

3. YourStory

4. Indian Angel Network

5.
Admitting that efforts to find a solution to the Syria crisis are turning his hair grey, U.S. President Barack Obama has said that Islamic State (IS) group is losing ground in the Middle East but it continues to inspire attacks around the .

Obama at a press briefing in Washington after meeting top military and security officials at the Pentagon said, "Two years ago ISIL was racing across Iraq to the outskirts of Baghdad itself and to many observers ISIL looked invincible."

"[But] in both Iraq and Syria, ISIL has not been able to reclaim any significant territory that they have lost. Even ISIL's leaders know they're going to keep losing," abc.net.au quoted Obama, as saying.

He said that Washington will keep hitting the militant group until it's pushed back.

"And their message to followers - they're increasingly acknowledging that they may lose Mosul and Raqqa. And ISIL is right. They will lose them. And we'll keep hitting them and pushing them back and driving them out until they do..In other words ISIL turns out not to be invincible. They are, in fact, inevitably going to be defeated," he said.

President Obama highlighted that U.S.-led forces continued to make significant gains against IS, recapturing key towns such as Fallujah and Ramadi, and preventing the group from recording any major military successes in a year.

Stating that U.S.-led coalition had carried out 14,000 air strikes against ISIS and 100 thousand sorties, he, however, said military force would not be enough to defeat ISIS.

He pointed out that the twisted ideology of the militant group persists and drives people to violence and that's why his country is working to counter violent extremism more broadly, including the social, economic and political factors that help fuel groups like ISIL and Al Qaeda in the first place.
The Egyptian army has announced that it has killed a key ISIS-allied leader along with 45 other militants in a military operation in the country's Sinai Peninsula.

The army in a statement said that head of the Ansar Bait al-Maqdis movement, identified as Abu Duaa al-Ansari, and a number of his aides were killed in airstrikes targeting the ISIS affiliate's strongholds.

"They managed to destroy a number of weapon and ammunition stores, and their explosives.. In addition they killed more than 45 terrorist insurgents and injured dozens of members," CNN quoted the statement as saying.

However, the army did not explain how it confirmed the death or provide any more details about Ansari.

Ansari's name has not been reported elsewhere in relation to Ansar Bait al-Maqdis.

Reports suggest that the group has adopted a different title after its alliance with ISIS in 2014.

It is still unclear whether the Egyptian army has characterised the jihadist group under its original name.

Ansar Beit el-Maqdes had pledged allegiance to IS in 2014.

The group claimed responsibility for downing the Russian airliner carrying people from an Egyptian resort last year that killed all 224 people on board.
America's new super jet crushes all foes in war game

David Axe July 4 2016

It's no secret that we at War Is Boring are skeptics when it comes to the F-35 Lightning II. The new, radar-evading, "fifth-generation" warplane is years late, over-budget and?  ?by virtue of its many, sometimes contradictory missions?  ?represents a design compromise, meaning it's okay at lots of tasks but excels at none of them.

Still, the U.S. military plans to replace nearly all of its current tactical jets with as many as 2,400 F-35s at a total program cost, including maintenance, of around $1 trillion.

The U.S. Air Force, one of the F-35's main proponents, is understandably optimistic about the single-engine, supersonic fighter?  ?at least in public. Perhaps the strongest recent endorsement came from William Redmond, the executive director of the Air Force Operational Test and Evaluation Center in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

In an unclassified presentation, Redmond claimed he was worried that the F-35?  ?along with its heavier, twin-engine cousin the F-22 Raptor  would be too sophisticated and capable for the Air Force's existing test facilities to handle.

"Raptors and Lightnings have voracious appetites," Redmond stated. "They chew through the adversary with volume and velocity."

In early June, seven F-35s from Hill Air Force Base in Utah?  ?where the flying branch is getting ready to declare the Lightning combat-ready at the end of 2016?  ?deployed to Mountain Home Air Force Base in Idaho to train alongside resident F-15Es and A-10s.

During mock combat, the F-35As reportedly shot down eight twin-engine F-15Es, for no losses of their own?  ?this despite the 2015 revelation that the F-35 is inferior to a single-engine F-16 in a simulated dogfight. It's possible that the Lightning pilots have devised special air-combat tactics that take advantage of the F-35's stealth and cutting-edge sensors.

According to Redmond, it's hard to adequately stress the F-35 and F-22 in a simulated combat environment. "Very difficult to generate the threat density and complexity to meet fifth-gen operational test requirements," he complained.

Of course, the testing problems aren't entirely a result of the F-35's alleged superior performance. The Air Force maintains dedicated "adversary" squadrons whose sole job it is to simulate enemy forces during training exercises. But with the F-35 eating more and more of a flattening budget, the flying branch shuttered one of its then-three adversary units, reducing the number of planes available to play the bad guys during war games.

Besides being short planes to fight the F-35 during tests, the Air Force also lacks realistic simulators for the latest surface-to-air missiles and radio jamming, Redmond stated.

"Creating a complex, threat-dense environment is key," Redmond stressed. But with its existing operational test assets, the Air Force simply can't put up a hard enough fight to discover the F-35's true strengths and weaknesses, he claimed.

There are "limits to what can be accomplished in the air," Redmond warned. "How do we crack this nut?"
The Congress on Friday described the militant attack in Kokrajhar, Assam, as a serious security issue that needs to be addressed by the Centre on a priority basis.

"This is a very serious security concern. I hope that the Government of India and Chief Minister of Assam will take immediate steps to ensure the safety of the people, not just of Kokrajhar but of the entire state of Assam," said Congress leader and Member of Parliament from Silchar (Assam) Sushmita Dev.

Dev requested the people to be careful and reminded the Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal of his poll promises.

"The Chief Minister of Assam had promised peace and prosperity of Assam, and within two or three month of governance, the Militant have challenged him. I hope he will rise to the occasion," she said.

At least 12 civilians have been reported killed today in Kokrajhar, Assam, by militants who were engaged in a fierce gunbattle with security forces.

The gunbattle ensued when the armed extremists opened fired at a market around 12 kms from Kokhrajar.

Reports said the attackers had lobbed a grenade in a crowded market place.

One of the attackers is also said to have been gunned down.

Further details are awaited.
Minister of State for Defence Subhash Bhamre on Friday confirmed that the militant attacks on Kokrajhar, where 13 civilians were killed, were carried out by a faction of the Democratic Front of Bodoland (NDFB).

Bhamre told ANI that one of the militants has been gunned down and Army and paramilitary forces have started a combing operation to weed out the remaining the militants.

"While no terror group has claimed responsibility, a faction of the NDFB, a separatist outfit who seeks to obtain a separate Bodoland territory for the Bodo people in Assam, has carried out attacks. Army and paramilitary forces have launched a massive operation to nab the militants and they were around seven to eight militants in number," he said.

He also said that Assam Chief Minister Sarbanand Sonowal met Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh and Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar, here, and briefed them about matter.

Security Advisor Ajit Doval also met Sonowal to discuss about the Kokrajhar attack.

Congress Chief Sonia Gandhi condemned the militant attack, saying it was a 'mindless and dastardly' one, adding that the perpetrators of such acts shall be dealt with in the severest possible manner.

At least 13 civilians were killed and more than 20 have sustained injuries after the Democratic Front of Bodoland (NDFB) fired indiscriminately on a crowd.

Speaking to ANI, Sonowal said that his government has announced Rs. five lakh to the families of the deceased and Rs. one lakh to the injured.

He said that stern action would be taken against the militants.

Assam Finance Minister Hemant Bishwar told ANI that the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), Assam Police and other Paramilitary forces are conducting a joint combing operation to neutralise the remaining extremists.

He said the army has been kept on standby and will be called in if necessary.

As per reports, an AK-47 has been recovered from the terrorist who was killed after an intense gun battle that lasted about 20 minutes.

The gunbattle ensued when the armed extremists opened fired at a market around 12 kms from Kokhrajar.

This sudden incident of firing on people at a public place in broad daylight is first of its kind in the militancy-ravaged state.
Nepali Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal on Friday held formal talks with the top leaders of Madhesi parties and expressed his government readiness to address their demands.

Nepali Congress President Sher Bahadur Deuba also took part in the tripartite meeting held at Dahal's office in Singhadarbar , reports the Himalayan Times.

Dahal, who was elected Nepal's 36th Prime Minister on Wednesday, assumed his office yesterday evening.

Prior to the prime ministerial election, Dahal's Communist Party of Nepal- Maoist Centre (CPN-MC), the alliance of Nepali Congress had forged a three-point agreement to meet the Madhesi parties' demand while securing their support to him.

As per reports, the Cabinet will today formally decide to announce those killed in the protests in Tarai-Madhes region as martyrs, provide a package to their families and bear expenses for treatment of those injured on the line of the three-point agreement.

During the meeting, amendment of Constitution as pointed out by the Madhesi parties were also discussed.

Leaders including Upendra Yadav of Federal Socialist Forum-Nepal, Mahantha Thakur of Tarai Madhes Democratic Party, Laxman Lal Karna of Sadbhawana Party and Raj Kishor Yadav of Madhesi Janadhikari Forum-Republican present in the meeting.
Bharatiya Janata party MP R. K. Singh on Friday condemned the manner in which the protocol norms were not observed by Islamabad at the seventh SAARC meeting of Home Ministers and said that their lack of courtesy was reprehensive.

"This is unprecedented, this has never happened before. Whenever there is a multilateral conference you don't have media gags, in fact the entire behaviour of Pakistan is condemnable and reprehensible. You are hosting the Home Ministers and you must behave accordingly. I think their lack of courtesy was reprehensive," Singh told ANI here.

Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh had earlier clarified in Parliament that he went to Pakistan not to have lunch, but to deliver a firm message on terrorism at the seventh SAARC meet.

He also said, "I did not see whether my speech was covered live or not. The media personnel from DD, ANI and PTI reporters who had come from India were not allowed to enter. I will not comment whether Pakistan was right or wrong in not allowing coverage of my speech at the SAARC summit. About the 'blackout', I will need to ask the Ministry of External Affairs about protocol of past occasions. I have no knowledge of the protocol of past occasions."

On why Pakistan's Interior Minister Choudhary Nisar Ali Khan left the lunch organised by him for SAARC ministers, Singh said, "I don't want to comment on how they treated me. The Home Minister did invite everyone at lunch, but went away after that. I also left then. I have no grudges as I wasn't there to have lunch. I did not go there to have lunch. I did not register any protest there."

Singh appreciated the unity of the House on the government's stand on terrorism.

"It reflects the country's determination to fight terrorism. Every prime minister of this country has always tried to eradicate terrorism from its root. Our neighbour (Pakistan) is such that it never learns," he said.

Earlier, he told the Rajya Sabha about the statement he made at the SAARC conference, saying, "I gave suggestions during the SAARC meeting that ban on terror outfits by the United Nations must be respected. There is no good or bad terrorism. I said there's not only need to act against terrorism, but also against those who shelter terrorists. Terrorism should neither be encouraged nor should be patronised. Terrorists of a country should not be seen as a 'martyr' by other countries. There should be action against all those state and non-state actors which support terrorism."

Opposition parties rallied behind the government and condemned Pakistan for "the way the home minister was treated"; Mr Singh's speech was not broadcast by Pakistani media, but India's foreign ministry has denied that it was a blackout.
The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) on Friday said denying media coverage of Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh's speech at the SAARC meeting in Islamabad is not helpful in promoting closer ties between countries of the region.

The Home Minister, said in Rajya Sabha today, that Indian journalists accompanying him were not allowed to cover his speech at the summit, but added that he was not aware of the protocol norms followed during previous events.

"Where is the contradiction between what was put out yesterday and what the Home Minister has said today. The point is that the media that accompanied the Home minister was not in the room and a number of you who had applied for visas did not get visas. Naturally, this restrictive approach by Pakistan even for a multilateral event is not helpful in promoting closer ties between SAARC countries," MEA spokesperson Vikas Swarup told the media here.

"There is no contradiction between what was said by the Home Minister in Parliament today and what is the general understanding of SAARC practices," he added.

During his speech at the SAARC meet in Islamabad, Rajnath Singh made veiled comments against Pakistan, saying mere condemnation of terrorism was not enough.

He categorically stated that there are no good or bad terrorists. Singh said strongest action should be initiated not only against terrorists but also against organisations, individuals and nations supporting terror.
The president of the Maharashtra unit of the Samajwadi Party, Abu Azmi, on Friday cautioned Pakistan to stay within its political and geographical limits and not attempt to disturb peace and tranquility in India.

He also said that Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh, who has just a concluded a two-day visit to Islamabad, could have been more emphatic in his criticism of Pakistan with regard to the latter not doing enough to curb terrorist activity from its soil.

"The people of Pakistan should stay within their limits and should not try to disturb peace and tranquillity in India or try to harm the economic growth of India. I want to convey it to Nawaz Sharif that Kashmir is an integral part of India and Kashmiris are Indian citizens. You should not bother for us, rather take care of issues of your own country. ," Azmi told ANI.

During his terse speech, Singh launched a veiled attack on Pakistan, saying mere condemnation of terrorism and individual acts by terrorists was not enough.

He categorically stated that there is no good or bad terrorist. Singh said that strongest action should be initiated not only against terrorists but also against organizations, individuals and nations supporting terror.

However, Singh's speech during the meet was blacked out. Members of the Indian media, who had come from New Delhi to report on the conference, were not allowed to cover the speech. They were reportedly kept at a distance by Pakistani officials.

Some reports said that there was an aggressive verbal exchange between officials of the two sides over the issue. Only Pakistan state PTV was allowed to cover introductory speeches of Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and Interior Minister Chaudhary Nisar Ali Khan. Even private Pakistani media not allowed to cover the event.
Acknowledging that has gone after militant groups 'selectively', the United States State Department has urged Islamabad to eliminate all militant groups which includes those that target its neighbours and said it must also close all safe havens.

"We believe that has taken and is taking steps to counter terrorist violence, and certainly focusing on those groups that threaten Pakistani or Pakistan's stability. They have - the military has shut down some of these safe havens. They've restored government control to parts of that were used as terrorist safe havens for years," Deputy Spokesperson of US State Department, Mark C. Toner said during the daily media briefing.

Toner said the steps taken by Pakistan in eliminating terrorists have come at a cost of Pakistani lives lost.

"We've been very clear with the highest levels of the Government of Pakistan that they must target all militant groups, and that includes those that target Pakistan's neighbors, and they must also close all safe havens," he added.

Regarding the proposed joint efforts against terrorism in the region, Toner said that Washington encourages a regional dialogue between Islamabad and New Delhi regarding counterterrorism efforts.

"We advocate for closer cooperation between India and Pakistan to deal with terrorist threats in both their countries.

Terrorism is obviously a reality in both countries, and they need to - in order to effectively confront it, they need to work together. And that's something we've long encouraged," he added.

On the quadrilateral counterterrorism alliance formed by China in association with Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Tajikistan, the Spokesperson said, "We don't view it as counterproductive that China pursues closer ties - certainly in the security and counterterrorism fields - with Central Asian countries.
Amid reports of the Pentagon withholding the share of military reimbursements to Islamabad, the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) has voiced concerns over the relationship between the two nations.

PTI leader Dr. Shireen Mazari demanded explanations at the National Assembly (NA) on Thursday, while referring to media reports related to the payment of $300 million by Washington and the participation of Pakistan in an aerial exercise in the U.S. alongside Israel.

"We do not recognise Israel. The defence minister should tell whether reports about the exercise in US are true. If this is true, then tell us why are we taking part in the exercise?" the Express Tribune quoted Mazari as saying.

Mazari, referring to other report, on Pentagon not paying Islamabad its share of military reimbursements asked the government for an explanation saying 'whether or not we would act as per the dictates of the US'.

Reports had surfaced that Pentagon will not pay $300 million in military reimbursements to Islamabad after U.S. Secretary of Defence Ash Carter decided not to tell Congress that Pakistan was taking adequate action against the Haqqani network.

Relations between the two countries have been strained as Washington feels Islamabad is not doing enough to act against extremist groups such as the Afghan Taliban and the Haqqani network.
Detailing out the efforts being made to help thousands of Indian workers stranded in Saudi Arabia, Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) spokesperson Vikas Swarup said on Friday the authorities in the gulf nation have promised prompt actions in addressing all the issues being faced by the workers.

Swarup said the priority is to first tackle the humanitarian issues that include providing food to the stranded Indian workers and ensuring cleanliness, health conditions, safety and security conditions in the labour camps they are living in.

He said that instructions have already been issued by the Saudi authorities to maintain cleanliness, provide electricity, water supply and medical facilities at these camps and the food is also being provided by a Saudi caterer.

Swarup added that the second set of issues that needs to be solved pertains to claims by the Indian workers.

The ministry will also appoint a lawyer and will inform about the exact procedure being followed to address these issues within the next two-three days.

Swarup further said that the workers who have not been paid for several months and who want to return to India, their cases regarding unpaid wages will be filed and pursued by the Saudi authorities.

The Saudi authorities have also conveyed that they are willing to renew resident permits and labour cards to the Indian workers who are willing to stay back and look up for other employments without any fee or charges or without needing the consent of the previous employer.

"Workers who wish to transfer their services can request the ministry of labour for grant of a three month temporary resident permit cum labour card," said Swarup.

He added that apparently, many companies including some Indian construction companies are interested in taking the services of the retrenched workers and if such a development does happen it would be a win-win situation for all.

Regarding repatriation of the workers who wish to return home, Swarup said that the Saudi authorities themselves will make all the necessary arrangements for the same.

He said that the workers returning to India can authorise the Indian consulate in Jeddah to follow upon their cases.

The Indian consulate has already given an initial list to Saudi authorities of workers willing to come back to India as well as those seeking transfer.

He said that it will take some time to disclose the exact number of workers willing to return and those willing to stay.

He said that due to friendly relations between Saudi Arabia and India, as well as the efforts made at the highest level, things are in control and the humanitarian issues being handled with utmost care and consideration.

Thousands of Indians are believed to be under severe financial crisis in Saudi Arabia after their employers laid them off without paying wages for months.

Minister of State for External Affairs V.K. Singh yesterday held extensive talks with Saudi Labour Minister Mufrej Al Haqbani in Riyadh to resolve the plight of stranded Indian workers.

Singh said things were not as bad as it was projected, adding that they were in touch with officials of Government of Saudi Arabia.

The drop in oil prices to around USD 50 a barrel from more than USD 100 a barrel in June 2014 has caused such a situation by undermining booming Gulf economies and leaving countries like Saudi Arabia with large budget deficits and delaying payments to government contractors.
The Supreme Court on Friday adjourned Aam Aadmi Party (AAP)'s original suit on administrative control of Delhi which was filed on June 29 to August 29.

The Delhi government informed the Supreme Court that it will file a Special leave Petition (SLP) against the high court order within a week.

The apex court will hear AAP government's original suit and SLP against Delhi HC's judgment on interpretation of 239 AA.

The Attorney General also said that the Delhi Government can't claim two remedies at a time.

In a major setback to the AAP government, the Delhi High court, yesterday, dismissed its petitions on the legal tussle with the Centre over control of administrative issues and distribution of power in the capital.

Pronouncing the verdict, the high court said that the Lieutenant Governor is not bound to act as per the advice of the Delhi cabinet.

The Delhi High Court also said the Lieutenant Governor is not bound by the council of ministers.

Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal-led Government alleged that they have been unable to function as most of its decisions were either annulled or changed by the Centre at the behest of the Lieutenant Governor on the ground that Delhi is not a complete state.

Meanwhile, the Delhi Government has said that it will approach the Supreme Court.
The Nebraska State Fire Marshal has recently become aware of reports from several communities in which individuals have made calls pretending to be a fire service or public safety representative.

Individuals have placed phone calls to restaurants and lodging businesses telling them to take actions regarding fire safety equipment or procedures, according to a press release from the fire marshal's office.

In one instance, a caller identified themselves as a member of the local fire department and told a restaurant employee the property's fire alarm system was malfunctioning. The caller directed the employee to pull a fire alarm to reset the system.

The employee activated the only manual pull device they were aware of and discharged the kitchen hood extinguishing system. The incident resulted in a financial loss and disruption of the business, the press release states.

Fire agency staff "operate in a much more professional manner than these callers," State Fire Marshal Jim Heine said in the press release. "Our inspection staff wear uniforms, carry credentials and drive in marked vehicles."

The agency operates through direct contact, not unconfirmed phone calls. If there is any doubt, those receiving calls should ask for ID and contact the State Fire Marshals Agency at 402-471-2027.
In a surprising move, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) state unit chief Vijay Rupani on Friday was appointed as the new Gujarat Chief Minister.

In a crucial meeting attending by BJP Chief Amit Shah and Union Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari at the party headquarters in the state, the decision to make Rupani as the next Chief Minister was announced.

Gujarat's health minister Nitin Patel was appointed as the Deputy Chief Minister.

The decision comes as a major twist as Patel was the frontrunner for the post after Rupani had bowed out from the race, saying he would like to work for the party.

Earlier, the BJP central leadership made it clear that a state MLA would be assigned the job.

Anandiben Patel had tendered her resignation to the Governor on Wednesday.

Governor O.P. Kohli has asked her to continue as the care taker chief minster till the alternate arrangement.

Patel, who took charge as Gujarat's first woman chief minister after Narendra Modi took charge as the Prime Minister, citing age issues had in her Facebook post earlier urged the BJP to relieve her from the coveted post.

Patel said that she had two months earlier sought to resign from the party to give "enough time to the new incumbent to prepare for important events like the upcoming 'Vibrant Gujarat Summit'.

Her government was criticised for its handling of the outrage created by the public flogging of four Dalit men by self-styled cow protection groups.
Stephen Rankin, a police officer in southern Virginia was convicted of manslaughter and jurors recommended a sentence of two and a half years in prison for his fatal shooting of an unarmed black 18-year-old over alleged shoplifting.

Jurors at Portsmouth circuit court on Thursday found Rankin guilty of voluntary manslaughter for killing William Chapman in April last year.

It was Rankin's second fatal shooting of an unarmed man, reports the Guardian.

Rankin had been charged with first-degree murder and using a firearm to commit a felony.

The jury of seven women and five men deliberated for 13 hours after hearing four days of detailed testimony from witnesses to the shooting, a series of experts and Rankin himself.

Rankin, 36, was terminated from his job at the police department after being indicted for murder.

Prosecutors argued that Rankin intentionally killed Chapman with premeditation after the latter resisted arrest and defied his orders.

The officer tried to stop Chapman in the parking lot of a Walmart superstore on the morning of 22 April 2015 to investigate a suspected theft from the store.

Rankin and his attorneys had however insisted that the officer opened fire only as a last resort after Chapman fought with him aggressively and then charged towards him.

Rankin had earlier shot Kirill Denyakin, an unarmed hotel cook, four years before his confrontation with Chapman.

Rankin said Denyakin, 26, reached into his waistband and charged at the officer during a confrontation outside an apartment building where Denyakin was banging loudly on a door. Denyakin was shot 11 times. A grand jury declined to bring charges.

The jury recommended a sentence of two and a half years in prison, as Chapman faced up to 10 years. Judge Johnny Morrison will formally sentence Rankin at a later hearing.

The rare trial of a white officer for shooting a young black man played comes amid an ongoing nationwide controversy over the use of deadly force by the US police against African Americans.
Bharat Forge rose 12.61% to Rs 814.75 at 14:50 IST on BSE after Chairman and Managing Director B.N. Kalyani said after the company's dismal Q1 June 2016 results that he believes that the phase of sequential sales decline has passed.

Meanwhile, the S&P BSE Sensex was up 248.95 points, or 0.90%, to 27,963.32.

On BSE, so far 9.44 lakh shares were traded in the counter, compared with an average daily volume of 83,462 shares in the past one quarter. The stock hit a high of Rs 819.95 and a low of Rs 719 so far during the day. The stock hit a 52-week high of Rs 1,292.50 on 20 August 2015. The stock hit a 52-week low of Rs 686.80 on 24 June 2016. The stock had underperformed the market over the past one month till 4 August 2016, falling 6.92% compared with 1.6% rise in the Sensex. The scrip had also underperformed the market in past one quarter, sliding 6.95% as against the Sensex's 10.41% rise.

The large-cap company has equity capital of Rs 46.56 crore. Face value per share is Rs 2.

Shares of Bharat Forge had edged lower ahead of Q1 results. The stock fell 4.69% in four trading sessions to settle at Rs 723.50 yesterday, 5 August 2016, from its close of Rs 759.10 on 29 July 2016.

Bharat Forge's net profit fell 37.7% to Rs 122.10 crore on 19.3% decline in total revenue to Rs 957.10 crore in Q1 June 2016 over Q1 June 2015. The domestic revenue registered a strong growth of Rs 10.8%, but it was negated by the 40% de-growth in exports that was affected mainly by a declining US heavy truck market and the commodity related sectors in the industrial segment.

Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) fell 31.3% to Rs 253.70 crore in Q1 June 2016 over Q1 June 2015. EBITDA was adversely affected by product mix with lower value addition and lower realisation. EBITDA margins declined sharply to 26.5% in Q1 June 2016 from 31.1% in Q1 June 2015. The result was announced during trading hours today, 5 August 2016.

Kalyani said that he expects demand for the company's products and solutions to be slightly higher in Q2 September 2016 on sequential basis on the back of positive demand in India across automotive and industrial segments. He expects the challenging exports demand environment in industrial sector to continue for some time as global economies adjust to lower commodity prices. The company's focus for the current financial year is on accelerating product development pipeline, broadening the customer base and cash conservation.

Bharat Forge is the flagship company of Kalyani Group. It is a global provider of high performance, innovative, safety & critical components and solutions to various industrial sectors including automotive, oil & gas, power, construction & mining, aerospace and rail & marine.

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Sales decline 20.21% to Rs 888.76 crore

Net profit of Bharat Forge declined 37.71% to Rs 122.06 crore in the quarter ended June 2016 as against Rs 195.97 crore during the previous quarter ended June 2015. Sales declined 20.21% to Rs 888.76 crore in the quarter ended June 2016 as against Rs 1113.87 crore during the previous quarter ended June 2015.888.761113.8727.5032.01253.03365.20179.07290.35122.06195.97

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Sales rise 7.64% to Rs 1103.22 crore

Net profit of Fortis Healthcare declined 74.07% to Rs 25.26 crore in the quarter ended June 2016 as against Rs 97.40 crore during the previous quarter ended June 2015. Sales rose 7.64% to Rs 1103.22 crore in the quarter ended June 2016 as against Rs 1024.95 crore during the previous quarter ended June 2015.1103.221024.955.684.7353.6354.176.070.9025.2697.40

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Sales rise 4.06% to Rs 52.06 crore

Net profit of Geojit BNP Paribas Financial Services declined 0.53% to Rs 9.36 crore in the quarter ended June 2016 as against Rs 9.41 crore during the previous quarter ended June 2015. Sales rose 4.06% to Rs 52.06 crore in the quarter ended June 2016 as against Rs 50.03 crore during the previous quarter ended June 2015.52.0650.0325.8727.4017.4117.0214.4314.549.369.41

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GlaxoSmithkline Consumer Healthcare fell 1.58% to Rs 6,254 at 12:17 IST on BSE after net profit rose 2.92% to Rs 160.61 crore on 0.91% decline in total income to Rs 1118.56 crore in Q1 June 2016 over Q1 June 2015.

The result was announced during trading hours today, 5 August 2016.

Meanwhile, the S&P BSE Sensex was up 287.41 points, or 1.04%, to 28,001.78.

On BSE, so far 555 shares were traded in the counter, compared with an average daily volume of 4,899 shares in the past one quarter. The stock hit a high of Rs 6,370 and a low of Rs 6,220 so far during the day. The stock hit a record high of Rs 6,800 on 23 December 2015. The stock hit a 52-week low of Rs 5,366.50 on 2 March 2016. The stock had outperformed the market over the past one month till 4 August 2016, rising 3.79% compared with 1.60% rise in the Sensex. The scrip had, however, underperformed the market in past one quarter, rising 8.28% as against Sensex's 10.41% rise.

The large-cap company has equity capital of Rs 42.06 crore. Face value per share is Rs 10.

GlaxoSmithkline Consumer Healthcare (GSK Consumer Healthcare) is a leading player in the malted food drinks segment. Its major brands include Horlicks, Boost, Viva and Maltova.

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Sales rise 25.19% to Rs 3.33 crore

Net profit of Gujarat Poly-Avx Electronics declined 37.50% to Rs 0.10 crore in the quarter ended June 2016 as against Rs 0.16 crore during the previous quarter ended June 2015. Sales rose 25.19% to Rs 3.33 crore in the quarter ended June 2016 as against Rs 2.66 crore during the previous quarter ended June 2015.3.332.667.8112.030.130.190.100.160.100.16

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Monsanto India fell 1.38% to Rs 2,268 at 11:20 IST on BSE after net profit fell 9.9% to Rs 56.60 crore on 9.1% decline in net sales to Rs 236.08 crore in Q1 June 2016 over Q1 June 2015.

The result was announced after market hours yesterday, 4 August 2016.

Meanwhile, the S&P BSE Sensex was up 286.02 points, or 1.03%, to 28,000.39.

On BSE, so far 5,920 shares were traded in the counter, compared with an average daily volume of 29,349 shares in the past one quarter. The stock hit a high of Rs 2,318.95 and a low of Rs 2,231.30 so far during the day. The stock had hit 52-week high of Rs 3,320 on 5 August 2015. The stock hit 52-week low of Rs 1,520 on 11 April 2016. The stock had underperformed the market over the past one month till 4 August 2016, falling 10.46% compared with 1.6% rise in the Sensex. The scrip had, however, outperformed the market in past one quarter, rising 31.50% as against the Sensex's 10.41% rise.

The mid-cap company has equity capital of Rs 17.26 crore. Face value per share is Rs 10.

Monsanto India, a subsidiary of the Monsanto Company, USA is a seed company focusing on maize and agricultural productivity. Monsanto Company, USA, currently holds 72.14% stake in Monsanto India (as per the shareholding pattern as on 30 June 2016).

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Sales decline 9.14% to Rs 236.08 crore

Net profit of Monsanto India declined 9.86% to Rs 56.60 crore in the quarter ended June 2016 as against Rs 62.79 crore during the previous quarter ended June 2015. Sales declined 9.14% to Rs 236.08 crore in the quarter ended June 2016 as against Rs 259.83 crore during the previous quarter ended June 2015.236.08259.8325.5227.4062.3873.6660.2571.5656.6062.79

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The annual Ready, Set, Go! back-to-school event brought a crowd of families to the Beatrice Armed Forces Reserve Center to receive free school supplies and health kits on Thursday.

Parents and students K-12 lined up to browse the items donated by Beatrice Community Hospital, the Salvation Army and other charitable organizations.

"It's an annual event for low-income children to help get them ready for school," said Lorna Hohbein, community event coordinator at Beatrice Community Hospital.

The event is sponsored by Beatrice Community Hospital and Health Center and the Beatrice Salvation Army. Students received vouchers for backpacks with school supplies, which they could pick up at the Salvation Army, shoe coupons, haircut vouchers, school physicals, and health kits filled with shampoo, a toothbrush, toothpaste and more.

Students were also given the opportunity to check out a variety of booths, which gave students specific items to take home and information to learn from.

"It's nice to see kids get excited over school supplies," Hohbein said. "We try to make it a family event by providing a home-cooked meal."

Hohbein hoped to see 100 families for the event on Thursday, with around 200 students. She said the event had decreased participation last year, and she would like to see it hit a similar mark to where it was at in 2014.

Students were allowed to browse the booths, and take home any of the items offered. Each student was limited to one item per booth.

Some of the items offered included free books from the Beatrice Public Library, information on the Special Olympics by Special Olympics Nebraska, information on healthy eating by the Beatrice Community Hospital Health Center, and more.

"The parents and families that come are very appreciative of everything that is offered," Hohbein said. "We think it's great that they find value in it."

She said she received calls from residents of nearby towns like Fall City asking if they could come, but had to turn them down because of residency requirements. She said they hang up upset because they don't have something like this in their town.

To qualify to attend the back-to-school event, students must be from low-income families, be in any grade between kindergarten and 12th grade, and be a resident of Gage County.
QIB category subscribed 2.21 times

S P Apparels' (SPAL) initial public offer (IPO) received strong response from investors. The IPO received bids for 1.74 crore shares. The IPO was subscribed 2.66 times. The bidding for the IPO ended yesterday, 4 August 2016.

Investor category wise data showed that the IPO received robust response from non institutional investors (NII). The NII category of the issue was subscribed 5.1 times. The IPO also got strong response from institutional investors and retails investors. The retail investors' category was subscribed 1.9 times. The Qualified Institutional Buyers (QIB) category was subscribed 2.21 times.

SPAL's IPO was a combination of fresh issue of shares aggregating to Rs 215 crore and an offer for sale (OFS) of 9 lakh shares from selling shareholder NYLIM, India Fund. The price band for the IPO was fixed at Rs 258-268 per share.

From the proceeds of the fresh issue, SPAL has earmarked Rs 70 crore towards expansion and modernization of manufacturing facility at Tamil Nadu, Rs 63 crore towards repayment of debt, Rs 27.85 crore towards opening of new stores for sale of Crocodile brand, Rs 4.90 crore towards balancing machineries for existing dyeing unit in Perundurai and rest towards for general corporate purpose.

SPAL raised Rs 71.73 crore from allotment of 26.76 lakh shares to a slew of anchor investors a day ahead of the opening of the IPO.

Promoted by P Sundarajan, SPAL is a leading manufacturer and exporter of knitted garments for infants and children in India. The company is the second largest exporter among manufacturers of knitted garments for infants and children in India in terms of revenues. The company sells the menswear products through a sales and distribution network that includes 40 exclusive brand outlets, of which 37 are company owned operated stores and three are franchise stores, and third-party e-commerce platforms. SPAL is also considering launching products in the women's essential wear category under the "Natalia? brand, which is owned by the company.

SPAL's consolidated profit after tax (PAT) jumped 245% to Rs 34.71 crore on 13% growth in net sales to Rs 532.83 in the year ended 31 March 2016 (FY 2016) over the year ended 31 March 2015 (FY 2015).

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Siemens rose 1.54% to Rs 1,274 at 10:09 IST on BSE after the company's announcement at the time of unveiling Q3 June 2016 results that its order inflow jumped 44.3% at Rs 3224.25 crore in Q3 June 2016 over Q3 June 2015

Meanwhile, the S&P BSE Sensex was up 251.66 points, or 0.91%, to 27,966.03.

On BSE, so far 17,000 shares were traded in the counter, compared with an average daily volume of 26,231 shares in the past one quarter. The stock hit a high of Rs 1,291.90 and a low of Rs 1,250 so far during the day. The stock hit a record high of Rs 1,558 on 6 August 2015. The stock hit a 52-week low of Rs 969 on 29 January 2016. The stock had underperformed the market over the past one month till 4 August 2016, falling 2.60% compared with 1.60% rise in the Sensex. The scrip had, however, outperformed the market in past one quarter, rising 10.60% as against Sensex's 10.41% rise.

The large-cap company has equity capital of Rs 71.22 crore. Face value per share is Rs 2.

Shares of Siemens had edged lower ahead of Q3 results. The stock fell 6.06% in three trading sessions to settle at Rs 1,254.70 yesterday, 4 August 2016, from its close of Rs 1,335.65 on 1 August 2016.

Siemens's net profit fell 22.72% to Rs 130.03 crore on 8.81% increase in total income to Rs 2648.28 crore in Q3 June 2016 over Q3 June 2015. The company said in its Q3 June 2016 results press release that the decline in bottom line on year on year basis in Q3 June 2016 was mainly due to one-time costs and adverse exchange rates.

Sunil Mathur, managing director and chief executive officer Siemens said that the company has delivered a satisfactory financial performance in a difficult economic environment. New orders continued to flow from railways, transmission and distribution projects though private sector capex is still muted, he added.

Siemens has declared a special interim dividend of Rs 27.50 per equity share for the year ending 30 September 2016 as it received funds from the sale of its healthcare undertaking. The company has sold the healthcare undertaking as a going concern on a slump sale basis to Siemens Healthcare, a subsidiary of parent Siemens AG, Germany. The gains on the sale will be reflected in the results for Q4 September 2016, the company said in a statement. The stock offers a dividend yield of 2.19% based on the closing price of Rs 1,254.70 yesterday, 4 August 2016.

The company has fixed 17 August 2016 as the record date for the purpose of payment of special dividend. The payment of special dividend will commence from 23 August 2016.

Siemens focuses on the areas of electrification, automation and digitalization.

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The Union Cabinet has approved proposals for the revival of closed fertilizer units at Talcher, Ramagundam, Barauni, Gorakhpur and Sindri. Details about Cabinet approvals and present status of revival at these locations are as under:

Talcher and Ramagundam:

The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) in its meeting held on 4.11.2011 approved the revival of these units on nomination route through PSUs.

Rashtriya Chemicals & Fertilizers Limited, Gail (India), Coal India and Fertilizer Corporation India (FCIL) have been nominated to revive the Talcher unit while National Fertilizers Limited, Engineers India Limited and FCIL have been nominated to revive the Ramagundam unit. In order to facilitate the revival of closed units of FCIL, the CCEA on 9.05.2013 approved waiver of Government of India loan and interest on FCIL to make the net worth of FCIL positive and to seek its de-registration from Board for Industrial and Financial Reconstruction and paves way for revival of closed units of FCIL. Pre-Project activities to revive these two units are currently in progress.

Gorakhpur, Sindri and Barauni:

The Union Cabinet in its meeting held on 13.07.2016 has approved to revive these closed fertilizer units by means of a Special Purpose Vehicle of Public Sector Units namely, National Thermal Power Corporation, Coal India Limited, Indian Oil Corporation Limited and Fertilizer Corporation India Limited/Hindustan Fertilizer Corporation Limited, through nomination route instead of bidding route as approved earlier.

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Vedanta announced that Directorate of Mines and Geology (DMG) of Goa has reissued to the company the permit for transportation of iron ore which was cancelled recently. The permit for the transportation of iron ore from Karnataka to the company's pig iron plant in Goa was cancelled recently by DMG of Goa due to procedural lapses from Vedanta. The company clarified that the delay in restoration of the permit for transport of iron ore from Karnataka to the pig iron plant in Goa is not likely to have any significant adverse impact on the operation of the plant. The announcement was made after market hours yesterday, 4 August 2016.

UltraTech Cement said it is planning to issue secured redeemable non-convertible debentures (NCDs) worth Rs 425 crore on private placement basis. The announcement was made after market hours yesterday, 4 August 2016.

Parsvnath Developers said that its board will meet on 12 August 2016, to consider the proposal to raise funds by way of issuing non-convertible debentures (NCDs) on private placement basis. The announcement was made after market hours yesterday, 4 August 2016.

Bharat Electronics, Bharat Forge, GlaxoSmithkline Consumer Healthcare, Pfizer, Aegis Logistics, Marico and NDTV are scheduled to announce their June quarter results today, 5 August 2016.

Rollatainers said its board approved splitting each stock into two. The announcement was made after market hours yesterday, 4 August 2016.

JMT Auto's board of directors at a meeting held yesterday, 4 August 2016, approved 2-for-1 stock split proposal. The announcement was made after market hours yesterday, 4 August 2016.

Deepak Fertilisers & Petrochemicals Corporation (DFPCL) announced its plan to enhance its nitric acid capacities by setting up a plant at Dahej in Gujarat. Land for this project has already been acquired and the company plans to deploy a state-of-the-art manufacturing facility with an investment of Rs 550 crore. This project is scheduled to be completed by the second half of 2018. With the increased capacity, the company will be able to provide an incremental 1.48 lakh metric tonne per annum (MTPA) nitric acid, DFPCL said. The announcement was made after market hours yesterday, 4 August 2016.

Castrol India turns ex-dividend today, 5 August 2016, for interim dividend of Rs 4.50 per share for the year ending 31 December 2016.

Godrej Consumer Products turns ex-dividend today, 5 August 2016, for interim dividend of Rs 1 per share for the year ending 31 March 2017.

Indiabulls Housing Finance turns ex-dividend today, 5 August 2016, for interim dividend of Rs 9 per share for the year ending 31 March 2017.

ICRA turns ex-dividend today, 5 August 2016, for dividend of Rs 25 per share for the year ended 31 March 2016.

Nestle India turns ex-dividend today, 5 August 2016, for interim dividend of Rs 12 per share for the year ending 31 December 2016.

Voltas turns ex-dividend today, 5 August 2016, for dividend of Rs 2.60 per share for the year ended 31 March 2016.

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At least 12 people were killed on Friday when militants dressed in military fatigues opened random fire at a busy market in Kokrajhar town in Assam, police said.

Witnesses said the attackers first hurled a grenade and then began to fire, killing a dozen people and injuring 18 others in the town, about 220 km from Guwahati.

Assam Police chief Mukesh Sahay told IANS that security forces shot dead one of the attackers. He suspected the National Democratic Front of Bodoland (Songbijit) for the attack.

Home Minister Rajnath Singh said he spoke on the telephone to Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal and added that the central government was closely monitoring the situation.

--IANS

ah-rup-py/mr/pgh
African-American activist DeRay Mckesson has filed a suit against the police and city of Baton Rouge, Louisiana, over mass arrests during protests against police killings.

Mckesson was among nearly 200 protesters arrested in Baton Rouge after the July 5 killing of 37-year-old Alton Sterling, a black man who was shot dead by two white police officers, ABC News reports.

The federal class-action lawsuit filed on Thursday, which names two other arrested protesters as plaintiffs, accuses police of using excessive force and violating the protesters' constitutional rights.

McKesson's arrest on July 9 was captured on live-stream on Twitter's Periscope after he protested Sterling's murder, NBC News reported.

The lawsuit said it will seek damages for civil rights violations for the "unlawful mass arrests" of almost 200 peaceful demonstrators made by the police without a probable cause.

Some of those arrested for highway obstruction were apprehended on sidewalks, the grass and residents' homes, NBC News reported citing the suit.

It said the plaintiffs were entitled to compensation for lost wages, bond expenses, administrative fees paid to the city and jail, court costs as well as past and future lawyer fees to clear records of their arrests.

--IANS

ksk/mr
India will be more appealing to Chinese firms after the clearance of much awaited Goods and Services Tax Bill in the upper house of Parliament, a state-run daily said on Friday.

An op-ed piece in Global Times said China was willing to work with India to make GST Bill a "reality".

It said the passage of the bill could boost Prime Minister Narendra Modi's political legacy and give him a better chance for a second term.

"This (GST) could certainly boost India's appeal to multi-nationals, including Chinese firms, as a myriad of existing federal, state and interstate levies in the country had previously increased their tax burdens and barred them from further exploring potentials in the world's fastest-growing major economy.

"China is more likely to see this reform, which aims to make India a better destination for investment, as an opportunity rather than a threat," the daily said.

However, the Global Times lamented that Chinese companies still faced complicated and cumbersome tax system in India.

"Chinese companies are certainly welcoming the move. Along with other restrictions, the country's complicated and cumbersome taxation system as well as bureaucracy related to tax-collection remains a hurdle for the firms doing business in India."

"China will be happy to see the reforms go through as it sees this improved investment environment as an opportunity rather than a threat and will be willing to work with India to make it a reality," the write-up said.

"The move is both politically and economically significant. Politically, it showed that the Modi government can compromise to get reforms made in the national interest.

"It could add momentum to the world's already fastest growing economy," it said.

--IANS

gsh/py/
Four to five terrorists dressed in military fatigues opened random fire at a crowded market in Assam's Kokrajhar town on Friday, killing 12 civilians. One of the attackers was also killed.

Assam Police chief Mukesh Sahay said he suspected the National Democratic Front of Bodoland (NDFB-Songbijit) was behind the attack whose victims were mainly Bodo civilians. Nearly 20 others were injured.

"A group of militants came to the weekly market, hurled a grenade and then fired indiscriminately at civilians," Sahay told IANS.

He said the security forces present in the area retaliated and killed one of the militants.

"It has been a tactic with the militants to attack soft targets," Sahay said. "We have started an operation in and around the area. We suspect the number of attackers was four or five."

Kokrajhar town in lower Assam is located about 220 km from Guwahati. It is Bodo tribal dominated area.

Security forces recovered an AK-56 rifle and grenades from the spot. The NDFB led by I.K. Songbijit is known as the "anti-talk faction" because of its opposition to peace talks with the government.

Hagrama Mohilary, Chief Executive Member of the Bodoland Territorial Council that runs the administration in four Bodo districts including Kokrajhar, said many people had been injured in the attack.

Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal denounced the killings and vowed to take "strict action" against the perpetrators.

He told the media here that he telephonically informed both Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Rajnath Singh about the killings.

The Chief Minister, who took charge of Assam in May heading the state's first BJP government, announced a compensation of Rs 5 lakh to the families of the dead.

"No one involved in the crime will be spared," he said, adding "a foreign hand" may have ordered the killings.

In a bid to avoid retaliatory killings, the Chief Minister appealed for peace and harmony and said his government was committed to ensuring the safety of civlians.

The anti-talk faction of the NDFB had killed over 70 Adivasis in December 2014, forcing security agencies to launch a sustained operation against the group.

In New Delhi, Home Minister Rajnath Singh said the central government was closely monitoring the situation.

--IANS

ah-ksk-pgh-py/mr/sar
Eight government doctors were expelled from service in Bihar on Friday for negligence of duty, officials said.

"A decision to expel eight government doctors posted at hospitals in different districts across the state was taken at a cabinet meeting chaired by Chief Minister Nitish Kumar," an official of health department said.

According to officials, the doctors expelled were found absent from duty for the last five years.

This is the first major action against government doctors in Bihar for negligence of duty.

--IANS

ik/rn/dg
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi will be on a four-day India visit from December 21 to attend the first people-to-people exchange agreed between Xi Jinping and Prime Minister Narendra Modi at their icebreaking meet in Wuhan earlier this year.

After witnessing chill in their ties over the military stand-off in Doklam last year, the two countries came closer later and pledged that bilateral ties would not be affected by a border dispute between them.

"At the invitation of India's Foreign Minister Sushma Swaraj, Chinese State Councillor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi will visit India from December 21 to December 24 and co-chair the first China-India people to people mechanism," Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lu Kang said.

The forum is the outcome of Modi-Xi meet at Chinese city Wuhan in April this year. The two countries stepped up their engagements after the Wuhan summit.

Wang is also likely to meet other leaders of the country given the current world situation, especially China's trade war with the US. This will be the last high profile visit by the Chinese leader this year.

India and China have the world's 9th longest border which is largely disputed. The two went to war in 1962 and have had military skirmishes since then.

Their latest and one of the most serious showdowns was last year at Doklam, a contested region between China and Bhutan close to India's arterial highway where the Chinese were building a road.

Both sides are in talks to set up a military hotline to avert a Doklam-like crisis in the future.

--IANS

gsh/soni/sed

(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
ASHLAND -- Gov. Pete Ricketts told business and civic leaders Thursday that he's prepared to propose improvements in Nebraska's package of business investment and job creation tax incentives.

Those possible improvements are on the table along with possible tax cuts as the governor begins to shape his 2017 legislative agenda, Ricketts said.

"We will do what we need to improve those incentives," Ricketts said during remarks at the annual federal legislative summit sponsored by the Lincoln Chamber of Commerce, Greater Omaha Chamber of Commerce and Nebraska Chamber of Commerce.

Several hundred participants, chiefly from Lincoln and Omaha, and a large contingent of state senators attended the event at the Strategic Air Command and Aerospace Museum along Interstate 80 near Ashland.

"My job is to grow Nebraska," the governor said, and along with that he has focused on cutting the rate of growth in the state budget.

Following his remarks, Ricketts said he has asked Courtney Dentlinger, director of the Department of Economic Development, to work with State Tax Commissioner Tony Fulton to see how increased tax incentives and additional tax cuts might work within the framework of anticipated state revenue.

Ricketts said he is not prepared to say whether he might recommend income tax cuts, perhaps along with additional property tax reduction, after focusing on property tax cuts during his first two years in office.

"We want to see how this can fit together," the governor said. It's a "process of continuous improvement," he said.

Revenue projections will be a key factor in determining what is possible, Ricketts said.

The governor's attention to business incentives appeared to run counter to a comprehensive tax reduction plan being developed by Sen. Jim Smith of Papillion.

Although Smith's proposal has not been revealed, he has talked about reducing tax incentives in order to help fund overall tax reduction.

Later, during the event's congressional forum, Sen. Ben Sasse and Rep. Adrian Smith of Gering spoke of the value of trade to Nebraska.

"Both our producers and consumers win with trade," Sasse said.

Past trade agreements have resulted in increased exports, Smith said.

While supportive of trade, the 3rd District congressman said, it's important to "try to get it right (so) our consumers and producers do well."

Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump has been sharply critical of U.S. trade agreements, opposes the proposed Trans-Pacific trade agreement and has said he would renegotiate the North American Free Trade Agreement.

Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton has said she does not support the Trans-Pacific Agreement in its current form.

Both Sasse and Smith are Republicans.

Democratic Rep. Brad Ashford of Omaha said Nebraska's congressional delegation works together without regard to partisan differences.

"We're too small to be divided by partisanship," he said.

"And (in Nebraska) we know how to govern in a nonpartisan way."
Hoping to realise his dream of getting Usain Bolt to visit the 'favela' or Brazilian slums, well known Rio restaurateur and chef David Bipso has launched a social media campaign inviting the Jamaican sprint star.

Taking to social media platform Facebook, Bipso has posted a series of videos featuring notable musicians, journalists and actors urging Bolt to "come to the favela" and inspire the children.

Joining the many voices for the campaign are Swiss synchronised swimmers Sophie Giger and Sacia Kraus who visited the bar and took a photo with Bipso.

"Like them and like me, Bolt comes from humble beginnings and found sport on his journey. We've lost a lot of children to drug trafficking and a visit like this could really change someone's destiny," Bipso said.

"Therefore, I say: come to the favela, Usain Bolt!"

Bipso, who runs the Bar do David, has also prepared a spicy dish named after Bolt.

Earlier this week, Bolt invited children from some of the favelas surrounding his training base.

"They say these children are from the most dangerous communities (favelas) here in Rio. They are our future and I'm very happy I got to meet them," Bolt wrote on Facebook, uploading pictures with the children.

--IANS

and/ssp/ajb/vt
The Congress on Friday attacked the Narendra Modi government for what it said were "insult and ill treatment" meted out to Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh during his two-day trip to Pakistan to attend a Saarc ministerial meeting.

"We are angry and saddened by the manner in which the Home Minister was treated in Pakistan," senior Congress leader Abhishek Manu Singhvi told reporters here.

"Never before has the Home Minister been insulted like this," Singhvi said.

"The question is: Why was he allowed to be mistreated like this?" the Congress leader questioned.

The Congress leader's remarks came a day after Singh returned to India after attending the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (Saarc) Home/Interior Ministers Meeting in Islamabad.

Pakistan hosted the Saarc meeting amid a bloody unrest in the Kashmir Valley in the wake of July 8 killing of militant commander Burhan Wani and resultant violence in which more than 50 people have died in clashes between security personnel and Kashmiri protesters.

Singhvi said there were terror groups openly abusing and mocking at India while Rajnath Singh was in Pakistan.

"Why were no guarantees sought by the Indian government before the Home Minister visited Pakistan?" Why has Modi government not moved beyond the sari-shawl diplomacy," he asked.

The Congress leader said there have been Saarc meetings before under the shadow of terrorism, but "never before have we seen such type of insults against India".

"Pakistan Prime Minister (Nawaz Sharif) said Kashmir was witnessing a new wave of freedom movement. Never before has the Pakistan government dared talk like this," the Congress leader claimed.

Taking a dig at Modi, Singhvi said: "Pakistan routinely insults India but the Modi government rolls out the red carpet -- first for the Pakistan Prime Minister and then for the ISI (Inter-Services Intelligence).

"Now, even China is officially talking about Kashmir in foreign policy matters."

India has blamed Pakistan for stoking trouble in Jammu and Kashmir after Nawaz Sharif hailed Wani as one who died fighting for the "freedom" of his state.

Pakistan also observed a black day against Wani's killing.

Singhvi said the country's foreign policy is lying in tatters. "We had no business to put ourselves in such positions where we can be embarrassed," he added.

--IANS

bns-aks/tsb/dg
All crew members aboard a Pakistani helicopter that crashlanded in Afghanistan were safe, Afghan Ambassador in Islamabad Omar Zakhilwal said on Friday.

Six people, including a Russian national, aboard were taken hostage by the Taliban as the helicopter landed in Logar province while on its way to Russia via Uzbekistan for repair and maintenance, Xinhua news agency reported.

Afghan officials said the Taliban took the crew members along with them and efforts were underway to secure their release.

Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said he was seeking information about the incident.

"All crew members are safe," Zakilwal said on Friday.

He confirmed the Taliban had taken the crew and President Ashraf Ghani has asked the security forces to assist in recovering the hostages.

"I am hopeful there will be a peaceful ending to this," Ghani said.

Pakistani officials said the helicopter belonged to Punjab province and permission to use the Afghan airspace had been sought.

Military spokesman General Asim Bajwa has said army chief General Raheel Sharif had spoken to General John Nicholson, the Resolute Support Mission's commander, hours after the helicopter made a crashlanding.

"The army chief called Nicholson, asked him to help in recovery of crew of Punjab government helicopter," Bajwa said on his official Twitter.

Bajwa said the Afghan government and the National Army have also been contacted for their assistance in recovering the crew members.

--IANS

py/vt
Indian women's archery team comprising, Deepika Kumari, L. Bombayla Devi and Laxmirani Majhi, finished seventh in the Rio Olympics, while individually all of them advanced for the Round of 32 here on Friday.

Deepika started off well to even hit the top spot in the early rounds before stumbling at the halfway mark to finished 20th with a total score of 640 while Bombayla accumulated 638. Laxmirani ended a disappointing 43rd with a total score of 614.

The top three spots were bagged by South Koreans, who also clinched the top spot in the group contest.

Deepika will now face Georgia's Kristine Esebua in the first round; Majhi to face Alexandra Longova of Slovakia while Laishram takes on Baldauff of Austria.

The trio started on a resounding note totalling 162 to be at the second spot at the end of the opening round with Deepika individually at ninth with a score of 56, Laxmirani at 19th with 54 and Bombayla at 35th with 52 points.

In the second round, the Indians dropped to the third place with a total score of 323. However, individually Deepika jumped a place to eighth scoring 110 while Laxmirani dropped to 21st with 107 and Bombayla jumped to 24th scoring 106.

The third round witnessed a drop to fifth in the team's score of 480 with Deepika retaining her eighth place with total score of 164. Laxmirani, however dropped to 40th to total 156 while Bombayla jumped to 23rd, totalling 160.

In the fourth round, Deepika helped India bounce back to third with total score of 649. The Ranchi girl vaulted to third individually after shooting a solid 58 to take her total to 222.

Laxmirani also recuperated to jump to 37th with a total score of 210 while Bombayla jumped to 15th with a total score of 217.

Deepika continued her upward march in the fifth round to top the individual standings with a score of 58 to take her tally to 280 as the team retained the third spot with total score of 813.

However, Laxmirani's continued her roller-coaster ride, dropping to 43rd with a total of 260 while Bombayla started constantly climbing to rise to ninth with a total score of 273.

The halfway mark witnessed India drop to fifth with total score of 962. Individually, Deepika could only manage just 49 to drop to fifth with 329 points.

Laxmirani also dropped to 49th with a total of 306 while Bombayla jumped to eighth with a total score of 327.

After the break, India further dropped to eighth with a total score of 1108 after the seventh round. It turned out to be a nightmare for Deepika, who could shoot just 46, to slide to 18th with a total score of 375.

Laxmirani too dropped to 54th with a total of 355 while Bombayla dropped three places to 11th with a total score of 378.

India managed to rise a place to seventh after the eighth round taking the total to 1268 while individually Deepika shot 54 to rise to 17th with a total of 429.

Laxmirani also gained four places to move up to 50th with a total of 408. Bombayla, however, dropped to 13th, totalling 431.

After the ninth round, India retained their seventh spot totalling 1427. Deepika crawled back to 15th to take her total to 483.

Laxmirani also went up to 45th with a total of 462 while Bombayla slipped to 17th with a total of 482.

The 10th round saw India slip to eighth with overall score of 1577. Deepika fell to 23rd with a total score of 531 while Laxmirani move up to 41st, totalling 515. Bombayla slipped to 22nd with a total of 531.

After the 11th round, India rose to seventh with the total score at 1734. Deepika shot 56 to rise to 18th with a score of 587.

Laxmirani slipped to 45th with a total of 563 while Bombayla dropped to 23rd with a total of 584.

The final round saw India retain the seventh spot with a total score of 1892. Individually, Deepika finished at 20th with a total score of 640.

Laxmirani had a disappointing campaign as she ended 43rd with a score of 614, while Bombayla sparkled in bits to finish 24th with 638 points.

--IANS

tri/pur/ahm/
Designer Anita Dongre in partnership with the government, will be launching handloom clusters across India soon.

The designer, who met Union Textiles Minister Smriti Irani on Thursday, says she is looking forward to work with the government.

"The meeting went very well. We are looking forward to start the work from next week where we partner with the government on working with some handloom clusters," Dongre told IANS.

Dongre in association with BJP's parliament member Poonam Mahajan has been working towards elevating and providing sustained employment to Charoti village on the outskirts of Mumbai. And she says they plan to launch clusters on the same line soon.

"We have had a very successful project at Charoti. We pulled it out successfully and we hope to repeat the Charoti format with handloom clusters," said Dongre, who is participating in the ongoing Vogue Wedding Show 2016.

She added that the locations will be finalised next week.

"We are looking at starting with at least four clusters and we will identify them by next week. We will definitely take one cluster to the northeast," she said.

--IANS

sug/nn/vt
Eight to 12 people were killed on Friday when suspected militants opened random fire at a busy market in Kokrajhar town in Assam, police said.

Assam Police chief Mukesh Sahay told IANS that one of the attackers was killed by the security forces. He suspected the National Democratic Front of Bodoland (Songbijit) for the attack.

Home Minister Rajnath Singh said the central government was closely monitoring the situation.

-IANS

team-mr/pgh
Former Istanbul Governor Huseyin Avni Mutlu was arrested on Friday over his link to the July 15 coup attempt in Turkey.

Along with Mutlu, 11 other suspects, including seven governors, a deputy governor and three district governors, were detained for being members of the Fethullah Terror Organisation, Xinhua news agency reported.

Fethullah Gulen, a Turkish cleric based in the US since 1999, has been accused of plotting the military coup attempt, in which at least 239 persons were killed.

Mutlu, after serving four years as Istanbul governor between 2010 and 2014, had been working with the Interior Ministry.

He was suspended from his position following the failed coup and detained on July 26 in the investigations into the plotters.

During his interrogation, Mutlu had denied having ties with Gulen's organisation, Anadolu said.

"On the coup attempt night I condemned the coup on Twitter and I obviously said they should pay the price before law," he said.

Mutlu confessed he had once spoken to Gulen over the phone but never met him, Anadolu noted.

Two books written by Gulen were seized in Mutlu's house, while the phone number of former Air Force Commander Akin Ozturk, who was arrested and dismissed from the Turkish Armed Forces over his link to Gulen's group, was found in his phone, according to the agency.

In his testimony, Mutlu said the books belong to his sister-in-law or her son, and the phone number of Ozturk existed because of their prior professional relationship in the southeastern city of Diyarbakir between 2007 and 2010.
Former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Friday urged the government to implement the promises made to Andhra Pradesh so as to "protect the honour of the house".

Participating in a debate in the Rajya Sabha on a private member's bill to give special status to Andhra Pradesh post its bifurcation, Manmohan Singh explained why the UPA government which he headed could not implement the assurance.

He said although an ordinance on Andhra Pradesh was drafted by the UPA government, it could not be issued as the parliamentary election process had started.

"On 20th February 2014 here in Rajya Sabha while passing the Andhra Pradesh reorganisation bill, I as the then Prime Minister made six promises on the floor of this august house. The then Leader of Opposition and now Leader of the House -- Arun Jaitley satisfied with the promises withdrew all the amendments he had proposed," Singh said.

"On 1st March 2014, Union Cabinet presided over by me considered and passed all promises made by me in this house. The cabinet sent a draft ordinance to the President but as the election process intervened, the ordinance could not be issued," he said.

--IANS

ao/in/vt
The government is all set to table the amended GST bill in Lok Sabha for passage on Monday with Prime Minister Narendra Modi likely to intervene in the debate.

The government has listed the bill for the next week's legislative business in the lower house.

The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has also issued a whip asking its members to be present in the house.

"The party whip has been issued for our MPs to be present in the house on Monday, August 8. The GST bill is likely to be taken up for consideration," a party source told IANS here.

The Prime Minister, who was under attack by the Opposition parties, especially the Congress, for his absence during the passage of the bill in the Rajya Sabha, is likely to intervene in the Lok Sabha, sources said.

The Rajya Sabha had on Wednesday unanimously passed the bill with amendments to enable consensus on the measure. The bill, which had previously been passed by the Lok Sabha, is now to go back to the lower house, where it is likely to get the nod easily as the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) has adequate numbers there.

Targeting Modi for not being present in either house of parliament when the GST bill was taken up, the Congress had said on Thursday that it was for the first time in independent India that a constitutional amendment bill was discussed, debated and passed without the Prime Minister being present.

--IANS

bns/vd/dg
In yet another attack on miniorities in Pakistan, a 56-year old doctor belonging to the Hindu community was shot dead in Karachi, it was reported on Friday.

"Pireetam Das was sitting in his clinic located in Hasrat Mohani Colony at midnight on Thursday when someone attacked him," Akhtar Farooq, SSP Investigation said.

The police official added the doctor's attendant had gone to buy a mobile card when the doctor was attacked in the Pak Colony area of the metropolis late Thursday.

"Hearing the gunshot, the assistant rushed to the clinic and found the doctor bleeding," added Farooq.

SSP Investigation said the suspect(s) did not take any valuables. He added police were investigation the incident.

Earlier, two members of the Hindu community were among three people shot dead in an attack on a wine shop in the Abbas Town area of the metropolis.

--IANS

ahm/
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You know its a presidential election year when the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) issues late summer press releases where nearly half the ink touts the Obamas Administrations past ag successes even as it announces actual news.

On Aug. 1 USDA issued just such a press release; 315 of its 635 words bragged about the White Houses latest example of USDAs ongoing efforts to knock down barriers to U.S. exports just as the past seven years have represented the strongest period in history for American agricultural exports ... totaling $911.4 billion.

And, oh, by the way, Brazil and the U.S. have agreed to a reopening of the Brazilian market to U.S. beef exports for the first time since 2003.

It was an odd announcement for another reason, too: Neither major party presidential candidate, Republican Donald Trump nor Democrat Hillary Clinton, sees expanding free trade as an election-turning issue.

In fact, both candidates spent more time at their respective nominating conventions running from the two biggest international trade deals on tap, the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) and the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP), than promoting or even explaining them.

Candidates and conventioneers in Cleveland and Philadelphia alike now see free trade like free cake  a small slice might be fine but too much is definitely not good for you.

To U.S. farmers and ranchers, however, free trade is the proverbial icing on that cake; in farm and ranch country its believed to be as important to success as soil and water. They point to the explosive growth of U.S. ag exports in the last generation to prove it.

USDA numbers show total U.S. ag exports have risen from nearly $56 billion in 2000 to about $155 billion in 2014. Last year, ag exports dipped to $133 billion as global commodity prices weakened and the U.S. dollar strengthened. Still, 2015s net U.S. ag trade surplus  exports minus imports  weighed in at a highly profitable $19.5 billion.

American voters, however, arent as convinced and they arent alone. A month ago, before either presidential nominee clammed up on trade, Politico reported that the European Unions almost automatic ratification of free trade deal with Canada  once considered an easy and uncontroversial agreement  was headed for the rocks.

The root cause of the sudden reversal, explained Politico, was political upheaval and growing protectionism. A simpler, one-word explanation might be Brexit, the June 23 move by voters in Great Britain to exit the European Union and go it alone.

This new push for national sovereignty can, to some extent, be traced to todays hard push for globalism and its ever-brooding stepchild, international trade deals. Current (but not ratified) agreements like the Canadian-EU trade deal, TPP, and TTIP contain broad new avenues for corporations to sue nations whose laws they believe harm corporate interests.

Voters both here and abroad now see ideas like this as more anti-national than international, as more bad trade than protectionism. To them, retaining a national identity is more important than gaining access to new international markets.

Whatever its called, its here and it has stopped the decades-long move to free (or at least freer) trade dead in its tracks. Following closely in those same tracks, however, are U.S. farmers and ranchers.

Indeed, American agriculture is more than tied to trade. In Fiscal Year 2016, estimates USDAs Economic Research Service (ERS), U.S. farmers and ranchers will export $7.8 billion of corn, $5.1 billion of wheat, $17.7 billion of soybeans, $3.1 billion of cotton, $33.5 billion of horticulture products, and $25.4 billion worth of livestock, poultry and dairy.

In fact, ERS forecasts, total U.S. estimated ag exports, presently estimated at $124.5 billion, will account for nearly 30 percent of this years total farm and ranch gross cash sales of $415.7 billion.

Thats a huge part of national economy riding on a topic that no one but USDA wants to talk about.
Hrithik Roshan-starrer "Mohenjo Daro" has been selected as the closing film of the 69th edition of Locarno International Film Festival, and the actor is filled with "great pride".

The ongoing film fest, taking place at the Italian-speaking resort on Lake Maggiore in southern Switzerland, will conclude on August 13.

Directed by internationally acclaimed filmmaker Ashutosh Gowariker, the film marks debut of Pooja Hegde and is produced by Siddharth Roy Kapur and Sunita Gowariker.

Is Hrithik going to attend the fest?

"I would love to go. I am not sure. They must have planned something. I don't know the schedule. But it's a matter of great pride and honour. 'Lagaan' also started its journey by being the closing film of the fest. This is a good sign. Hope 'Mohenjo Daro' gets the same success," Hrithik told IANS here.

Gowariker's Oscar-nominated film "Lagaan" was also screened at Locarno International Film Festival.

What is the actor expecting from the audience at the fest?

"Hope they like the film. The people behind the fest have seen the film and asked for the film, so that in itself is a very good feedback...especially when somebody who is completely new and a stranger to what we are doing sees the film and loves it and wants it as a part of a festival," he said.

The film brings an epic adventure-romance story on the silver screen. It is set in the city of Mohenjo Daro in the era of the Indus Valley civilisation which dates back to 2,600 BC.

It will release worldwide on August 12.

--IANS

nn/nv/vt
Students at IIT Kharagpur bagged as many as 53 pre-placement offers (PPOs) from top-tier organisations ahead of the start of its new academic session, a statement said on Friday.

"Samsung has made the highest number of offers standing at 20 while Texas Instruments and CITI have made six offers each till July 31," the statement said.

Students from the institute underwent summer internship during May and June and the PPOs matured from the internships. Many more PPOs are in the pipeline.

The internship season at the institute is starting on August 6 and the line-up includes top companies such as Google, Microsoft, Facebook, Goldman Sachs, Deutsche Bank, Hindustan Unilever, ITC, Nomura, Reckitt Benckiser etc.

"The institute is expecting public sector units to come forward for both internship and placements this year," it said.

--IANS

sgh/in/dg
An Indian prisoner was injured after being attacked by a Pakistani prisoner in a Pakistani jail, a media report said on Friday.

Hamid Nehal Ansari was attacked twice in the Peshawar Central Prison in the last two months, Dawn online quoted his lawyer as telling a court on Thursday. The lawyer said a jail official also daily thrashed Ansari.

Jail Superintendent Masoodur Rehman, however, argued that the injuries were of minor nature and that such incidents "kept happening" in prisons.

Ansari, serving a three-year term, is kept in a death cell. Rehman said the Indian "can't be kept in a normal barrack with other prisoners for the sake of his security".

The lawyer said he wanted security for his client but the jail official had refused to give such a guarantee.

The official had promised to shift Ansari to a hospital after the attack but did not do so. The lawyer also alleged that a prison warder used to beat Ansari daily.

Ansari, who reportedly possessed a fake Pakistani identity card, was arrested by intelligence agencies in Kohat district in November 2012. He was convicted by a military court in February this year.

--IANS

py/mr
How about a parasitic twist to a Khasi folktale from India's scenic northeast hills? An Indian researcher has done just that and bagged the award at the maiden International Parasite Film Festival.

Damanbha Lyngdoh from Meghalaya, who is pursuing a PhD on molecular taxonomy of liver fluke worm (Fasciola species), a parasite that inhabits the liver of animals and even humans, won at the festival at the 12th European Multicolloquium of Parasitology that was held in July in Finland.

In his nearly 10-minute animated interpretation of the popular folk tale "The death of Lapalang the Stag", Lyngdoh replaced key elements of the tale to depict the lifecycle of the liver fluke and showed how the parasite is important in restoring balance in nature.

In the story, a young archer of a clan is chosen to kill the stag after it comes from the plains to the Khasi hills (unheeding his mother's warnings) and uproots vegetation.

"To complete its life cycle, the parasite needs a snail and Mithun bull. I replaced the stage with the Mithun bull and replaced the young archer of a clan who kills the stag with a rusted arrow, with the parasite and its larvae which eventually kills the bull in the life cycle of the liver fluke," Lyngdoh, who is is pursuing his doctorate from the parasitology laboratory at the department of zoology, North Eastern Hill University, Shillong, told IANS from Shillong.

"The story has a moral. Pride comes before fall, everybody must heed and listen to the advice of the elders and that small and minute organisms such as parasites (Fasciola gigantica) viewed for their negative aspects can become heroes too by maintaining a balance in nature. All things are not bad," added Lyngdoh, also an assistant professor in St. Anthony's College, Shillong.

--IANS

sgh/vd
The Islamic State (IS) terror group has captured thousands of fleeing civilians in northern Iraq, the UN announced on Friday.

The UN said it could confirm that up to 3,000 internally displaced Iraqis were captured on Thursday as they attempted to escape villages in the IS-held district of al-Hawija, EFE news reported.

"They were attempting to flee to Kirkuk," UN spokesman, William Spindler said, referring to the Kurdish administered city, 66 km to the north-east of al-Hawija.

Between July 20 and 21, aerial bombings in the al-Hawija region triggered a massive displacement of people.

More than three million Iraqis have been displaced by the violence, with around 220,000 seeking refuge abroad.

The UN estimated that by the end of this year, some 11 million people in Iraq would require humanitarian assistance.

--IANS

ksk/dg
Indian airline major Jet Airways has announced resumption of normal operations to Nepal, with five daily flights, beginning from October this year.

The airlines said it will fly thrice a day on the Kathmandu-Delhi sector and twice a day on the Kathmandu-Mumbai sector.

The carrier had reduced its flight frequency to Nepal to three daily flights in August last year.

"Nepal is a key strategic market for Jet Airways. The number of students and pilgrims has been increasing from Nepal," said Colin Neubronner, Senior Vice-President (sales and marketing) of Jet Airways. "We are doing well on the Kathmandu-Delhi sector, so we have decided to increase our flight frequency."

The carrier is also planning to launch short holiday packages targeting officials of diplomatic missions in Nepal and Nepali expatriates who use Jet's connecting flights to different parts of the world.

The carrier also said it will launch flexible and transparent fare structure on August 17.

The scheme, which is being introduced for the first time in India, will provide guests with more choices and freedom when booking flights and allow them to customise their journey according to their needs.

"As of now, we have one airfare system. And we are breaking airfares in various categories," said Neubronner, adding that price ranges will be wider to cater to different classes of passengers.

Jet started its operations in Nepal in 2004. In terms of passenger carriage, Jet Airways slipped to the second spot in 2015 -- down 18.86 per cent from the previous year.

The carrier flew 311,666 passengers last year. However, it stood at the top spot in terms of bringing tourists to Nepal.

--IANS

anil/bim/dg
The new government in Nepal on Friday decided to provide Rs 1 million each to the families of those killed in Terai protest over the new Constitution.

A Cabinet meeting on Friday led by Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal Prachanda took a decision to this effect.

The government decided to release the compensation amount in keeping with the agreement reached with the agitating Madhes-based political parties on Wednesday.

The Madhesi parties and the ruling alliance of Nepali Congress and Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist Centre) reached a three-point agreement on the sensitive issue\ ahead of the Prime Minister's election.

During the nine-month long protest since September last year, 59 persons were killed and dozens injured.

The government has decided to provide all necessary medical treatment to those who were injured. It has already provided financial assistance for their treatment.

Under the agreement, the government will declare as martyrs those who were killed during the Madhesi protests.

A judicial commission will be formed to probe the alleged atrocities of the state agencies during the Terai protest. The cabinet has instructed the home ministry to initiate the process.

Prominent Madhesi leader Uprendra Yadav welcomed the government's decision.

Meanwhile, the government has also decided to withdraw the proposal that had named 14 ambassadors, Deputy Prime Minister Krishna Bahadur Mahara said. The proposal was forwarded by the previous K.P.Sharma Oli government.

--IANS

anil/bim/vt
We are banking upon the unique design and 100GB Cloud storage that comes free with our smartphone Robin in India, a top executive of San Francisco-based NextBit has said.

Cloud computing is the future and unleashing its power on a smartphone is the next big thing and "Nextbit has a style, a voice and a way of doing things that people want to be a part of and emulate," Shankar Parasaram, Head of India Operations, Nextbit, told IANS.

Asked about company's marketing strategy to boost sales in India, Parasaram said: "We are relying primarily on social media platforms such as Facebook and Twitter and online Google ads. We also have an exclusive tie-up with e-tailer Flipkart".

Nextbit is a startup backed by Google Ventures and Accel partners.

NextBit is not planning to release any new device but has rolled out some updates.

"We have no plans to introduce any new device in India as of now. But we will make Robin available in an ember colour variant as well," Parasaram said.

The "Cloud first" Android rectangular-shaped device Robin comes for Rs 19,999.

Robin runs on the custom Android 6.0.1 (Marshmallow)-Nextbit OS and delivers an optimum sound quality from its dual front-facing speakers with audio enhancements by Arkamys.

The device is powered by Qualcomm Snapdragon 808 processor with 3GB RAM and has 2,680 mAh battery.

--IANS

sku/na/vt
Goa Deputy Chief Minister Francis D'Souza on Friday said the coastal state, an important tourism destination, was lucky to be saved from terror strikes only because of divine blessings of the gods.

He also said that both Islamic and non-Islamic countries were affected by terrorism, a scourge that had spared neither the US, France or India.

"So terrorism is not about a particular area, it happens in the US, it happens in France and it happens in India... Goans are very lucky people. We have been saved by our gods. We say its God's country. Gods are saving us. That much protection we have," D'Souza said, even as the state legislative assembly, earlier in the day, discussed ways and means to make Goa prepared to counter a potential terror strike.

"Terrorism is in Islamic countries also, see what is happening in Pakistan. It is an Islamic country. What is Iraq, Islamic country, what is Indonesia, it is an Islamic country. It's happening there also. It is happening in Islamic and non Islamic countries also," D'Souza told reporters on the sidelines of an official function in Panaji.

"It sounds very simple, but there is no foolproof system which can stop terrorism... The Americans have failed, the French have failed, India has failed, everybody has failed because it is a type of an activity which cannot be controlled. We have a huge coastline, 105 km. It is very, very easy to enter that coastline. We have a very porous border. Anybody can come in, anybody can go. So how do you protect yourself," D'Souza also said.

Goa is one of the top beach tourism destinations in the country and attracts over four million tourists, of which half a million are foreigners, mostly from Europe.

--IANS

maya/rn/dg
Top Pakistani foreign advisor on Friday requested Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) - commonly known as "Doctors Without Borders" - to immediately provide medical assistance to thousands of people injured in the Valley due to "state aggression by Indian forces".

Adviser to Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on Foreign Affairs Sartaj Aziz made the formal request by writing a letter to the international president of MSF, highlighting the state of medical emergency in Jammu and Kashmir, said a statement issued by the foreign ministry.

It further notified MSF that the emergency situation in the developed as a "result of the atrocious Indian brutalities against unarmed and defenseless civilians".

Aziz particularly emphasised the urgent need of eye surgeons, as hundreds of people were suffering from severe eye injuries caused by the use of pellet guns on peaceful protesters.

Main hospitals in the improverished valley are struggling to treat hundreds of patients wounded in clashes by security forces, and many injured people have lost their eyesight from shotgun injuries.

Clashes in the Valley have erupted after security forces gunned down top Kashmiri militant Burhan Wani on July 8, nearly 60 people have been killed and thousands have been injured with many having life threatening wounds.

--IANS

ahm/
India on Friday said Pakistan's "restrictive approach" in denying visas to Indian journalists to cover a Saarc event in Islamabad went against the sentiment for closer ties between the member countries of the regional grouping.

External Affairs Ministry Spokesperson Vikas Swarup's remarks came amid a raging controversy after Home Minister Rajnath Singh's two-day visit to Pakistan for a Saarc ministerial meeting.

"The media that accompanied the Home Minister was not in the (meeting) room and a number of you who had applied for visas (to cover the event) did not get visas.

"Naturally this restrictive approach by Pakistan even for a multilateral event is not helpful in promoting close ties between Saarc countries."

Indian journalists accompanying the Home Minister to Islamabad on Thursday were denied entry inside the venue hall where Rajnath Singh lashed out at Pakistan over its alleged support to terrorism.

Reports said that the Pakistan government censored Rajnath Singh's speech and didn't allow it to be covered live.

However, the External Affairs Ministry on Thursday evening clarified that it not allowing a live coverage of a Saarc ministerial meeting was a norm and the reports of a "blackout" of our the Home Minister's statement were "misleading".

Rajnath Singh earlier told parliament that he was not aware if it was a norm or a deliberate attempt by Pakistan not to air his speech live. He said he needed to speak to the External Affairs Ministry over it.

Swarup said: "In so far as the practices regarding the live coverage of such Saarc meetings is concerned, this was clarified yesterday and we would naturally defer to the Saarc secretariat in such matters."

--IANS

sar/dg
Miffed over the treatment he received in Pakistan, Home Minister Rajnath Singh on Friday said India has always tried to be friendly with its reluctant neighbour but "yeh padosi hai ki maanta nahin" and continues supporting .

"We can change friends but not neighbours. Our Prime Minister (Narendra Modi) has been friendly with Pakistan. We have always tried to work out our ties with them," Rajnath Singh said.

He was speaking in both houses of parliament separately, a day after he returned from Islamabad where he attended a meeting of interior/home ministers of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (Saarc) nations on cooperation to fight crime and .

The regional conference was overshadowed by the India-Pakistan tension amid an ongoing bloody unrest in Kashmir. India has blamed Pakistan for stoking trouble in the valley where over 50 persons have been killed in nearly a month of turmoil. The unrest was triggered by the July 8 killing of pro-Pakistan Kashmiri rebel commander Burhan Wani.

"A terrorist in one nation cannot be a martyr or freedom fighter for anyone," Rajnath Singh said, referring to Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif's remarks describing the militant commander as a "martyr".

"They (Pakistan) should not make the mistake of distinguishing between good and bad terrorism. It is necessary to take all effective steps against states or non-state actors encouraging or supporting terrorism."

In Islamabad, the Home Minister made similar comments at the Saarc conference and criticised the Pakistan government for supporting terrorism and allowing ant-India activities on its soil. Terror groups had organized roadside demonstrations in Pakistan against the Indian minister's visit.

Journalists accompanying the Home Minister from India were not allowed inside the venue hall to cover the conference after which Rajnath Singh made a hasty retreat and skipped the lunch hosted by his Pakistani counterpart Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan.

As he briefed the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha on his visit, opposition lawmakers rallied behind the government and condemned Pakistan over the treatment meted out to Rajnath Singh there.

Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha Ghulam Nabi Azad said it was a "disappointing" behaviour on part of the host country.

Janata Dal-United leader Sharad Yadav "strongly" condemned "how Pakistan didn't maintain protocol and treated our Home Minister".

The minister, however, said he won't comment on whether the Pakistan government behaved "well with me".

"I did what I had to do to uphold the dignity of our country. It is true that the Pakistan Interior Minister invited everyone for lunch. But then he left in his car. I also left. I have no complaints as I had not gone there to have a lunch."

On reports that his anti-terror speech was blacked out, Rajnath Singh said "it is difficult" to say if it was deliberately censored from being covered live or it was a norm for Saarc events.

"I am not aware of protocol norms followed during (the) previous (Saarc) events. But it is true that the reporters from India were not allowed inside," the Home Minister said, as lawmakers in unison shouted "shame" on Pakistan.

He also urged Pakistan and other Saarc nations to ratify conventions against crimes and terrorism.

"It is important for nations who have not ratified Saarc conventions on mutual assistance. Pakistan has also not ratified this convention.

"I was told on behalf of Pakistan that they will soon act on ratifying these. I hope that 'soon' is actually soon."

He said India has asked all Saarc member nations, including Pakistan, to take effective steps against terrorism of all kinds and help extradite suspects hiding there.

--IANS

nd-ao/sar/dg
Russia is set to build another eight nuclear power plants (NPP) in Iran, Russian President Vladimir Putin said in an interview on Friday.

These new reactors come on the heels of the 2013 delivery of the first Russian nuclear facility in the coastal city of Bushehr, in the Persian Gulf, Putin said during the interview published on Friday by Azerbaijani state news agency AzerTac.

"Iran's first nuclear power plant, Bushehr, was built on the basis of Russian technologies," EFE news quoted Putin as saying.

"Plans for the construction of 8 more nuclear power units by Russian specialists in Iran have been agreed," he added.

Putin is set to travel to Baku on August 8 to participate in a trilateral summit with Iran's President Hassan Rouhani and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev.

Putin's visit to the Azerbaijani capital will include a bilateral meeting with his Iranian counterpart, where they will discuss in detail their joint work in the field of peaceful nuclear energy.

Russia, added Putin, "will further assist our Iranian partners in implementing the Plan of Action on Iran's nuclear program, including the processing of enriched uranium and the conversion of facilities to produce stable isotopes."

The Russian State Nuclear Energy Corporation, Rosatom, has already begun work on Bushehr's second NPP, which is expected to have a similar 1,000 mW output.

The Bushehr NPP began construction during the 70s, but was halted after the triumph of the Iranian Islamic Revolution(1979); work was not resumed until February 1998 after an agreement was reached with the Russian Federation.

Although its construction dragged on for years due to Western opposition, the NPP was finally completed in August 2010 and became fully operational in June 2013.

--IANS

ksk/dg
In Assam's worst terror attack since 2014, gunmen dressed in military fatigues opened fire at a crowded market in Kokrajhar on Friday, killing 13 civilians. One of the attackers was also killed.

The terrorists hurled a grenade and then opened indiscriminate fire after reaching the weekly market in Kokrajhar town, some 220 km from here, in an autorickshaw, police and military officials said.

Nearly 20 civilians were also injured, many seriously, in the ghastly attack. Both the dead and injured were mainly Bodos who dominate Kokrajhar and the surrounding areas.

An army patrol in the vicinity hit back, killing one of the terrorists. The others escaped, forcing security forces to launch a major operation to hunt them down.

Authorities blamed the "anti-talk faction" of the National Democratic Front of Bodoland (NDFB) led by I.K. Songbijit, who carries a reward of Rs 10 lakh on his head, for the massacre.

"Saddened by the attack in Kokrajhar," Prime Minister Narendra Modi said. "We strongly condemn it." He added the Home Ministry was in touch with the Assam government and monitoring the situation closely.

"Terrorists moving in an autorickshaw opened indiscriminate fire at Balajan Tinali area, killing 13 civilians and injuring 20 others," Defence Ministry spokesman Lt. Col. Suneet Newton said.

"The army has launched a massive combing operation, pressing into service specialized troops and tracker dogs. The army will continue its relentless operations against the terrorists," he added.

Assam Police chief Mukesh Sahay said the militants had chosen a soft target. He put the number of attackers at four or five.

Security forces recovered an AK-56 rifle and grenades from the spot.

This was the worst terror attack in Assam since December 2014 when the NDFB killed more than 70 Adivasis in Kokrajhar and Tezpur districts. This led to a major crackdown against the NDFB's "anti-talk faction".

Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal ordered a high alert in view of the Independence Day on August 15.

"We will not tolerate any threat from any group," he said. "The government will not bow to any pressure while tackling terrorist groups."

Sonowal, who took charge of Assam in May at the head of its first BJP government, vowed to deal with the terrorists "very sternly". He said: "No one involved in the crime will be spared."

He announced ex gratia of Rs 5 lakh to the families of those killed and told the administration to ensure that the injured got free treatment and to shift the seriously wounded to Guwahati.

A medical team from Guwahati was rushed to Kokrajhar.

The Chief Minister told the media here that he had spoken to Modi and Home Minister Rajnath Singh and suggested that "a foreign hand" may be involved.

In a bid to avoid retaliatory killings, Sonowal appealed for peace and harmony. Officials said additional paramilitary forces were being rushed to Assam.

--IANS

ah-team/mr/vd
Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu on Friday criticised Austrian Chancellor Christian Kern's remarks in which he suggested that the European Union (EU) should end accession talks with Ankara.

"The Austrian chancellor has to look at his country first. Austria is the capital of radical racism," Xinhua news agency quoted Cavusoglu as saying in an interview with local media.

Cavusoglu described the comments as "ugly", saying that he received them with "astonishment" and "regret".

On August 3, Kern called the accession talks with Turkey a "diplomatic fiction" and he wanted the EU leaders to reconsider their approach to Turkey.

Tensions between the two countries had been on the rise since last month.

Austria had summoned Turkey's ambassador on July 21 to explain Ankara's links to demonstrations in the country in support of the Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

Turkey has been a candidate country for EU membership since 2005.

--IANS

sm/ksk/dg
The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) has said it has removed Kenya from its list of anti-doping code violators.

WADA declared Kenya in breach of global anti-doping rules in May after a series of drugs and corruption scandals, reports Sputnik.

The decision was made a month after the country had passed a bill to set up a new national anti-doping agency, creating a legal basis for a national agency and introducing criminal sanctions for the use and supply of doping.

"Following a circular vote of its foundation board members, the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) wishes to announce that it has removed the Anti-Doping Agency of Kenya (ADAK) from the list of signatories previously deemed non-compliant with the 2015 World Anti-Doping Code (the Code). Kenya has drafted and adopted anti-doping legislation now deemed to be in line with the Code," WADA said in a statement on Thursday.

Previously, WADA said that 36 Kenyan athletes were accused of using banned substances between 1993 and April 2014.

The figure later increased, with over 40 Kenyan athletes disqualified over the past three years for violating the anti-doping code.

Until Thursday's decision, Kenyan participation in the coming 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro was in jeopardy.

--IANS

sam/dg
Royal Bank of Scotland's protracted dark ages will last much longer. The UK bank, 72 per cent owned by the government, faces higher costs after it resolved on August 5 to sell off its Williams & Glyn assets rather than turn them into a standalone business. Boss Ross McEwan's plan to turn RBS into a more domestically-focused lender once seemed sensible. But he now concedes the UK's vote to leave the European Union will make home-market profitability harder to come by.
Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee's visit here on August 9 will pave way for the defeat of ruling CPI(M) in Tripura, a senior TMC leader said.

"I am seeing the enthusiasm among the youths and people of all sections of the society to welcome . The writing is on the wall that with the visit, the days of the ruling CPI(M) are now numbered," Mukul Roy told a gathering.

Roy was on a two-day visit here to oversee the preparations for Banerjee's visit to the Left-ruled state.

Alleging that law and order has collapsed in the state and people have no safety and security, Roy said TMC would organise a movement against the ruling CPI(M) to oust them from power and free the people of Tripura from their tyranny.

"Development has come to a halt in Tripura. The youths are unemployed and farmers are getting poorer. There is no industry and lack of political will of the government has doomed the future of students. I do not see any future in Tripura. So, it is very natural that the people are waiting for a change, which is going to start August 9," Roy said.

Incidentally, a day before Banerjee's visit to Tripura, West Bengal CPI(M) state secretary Surjya Kanta Mishra would visit the state to deliver a lecture on the 'post poll violence in West Bengal let loose by TMC workers and leaders'.

Reacting to Mishra's visit, Roy said "Surjya babu is a failed minister, who performed miserably as state secretary of CPI(M) and in the recently concluded assembly elections."

He is coming here to see when the next alliance with Congress will take place here like that in West Bengal, Roy said.

"Congress is pretending like they are not with CPI(M), but their central leaders are all with CPI(M). Surjya babu is coming here for constructing a bridge between CPI(M) and Congress.
In what was no less than a nailbiting thriller finish, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) announced its state president as the new chief minister and Nitin Patel as deputy chief minister of Gujarat on Friday at Kamalam, the party headquarters in Gandhinagar.
Women are unsafe in Uttar Pradesh and the Samajwadi Party government must be suspended for its failure to maintain law and order, former Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit said after meeting the family of Bulandshahr rape victims at Khoda Colony here.

"Women are very unsafe in Uttar Pradesh and the Samajwadi Party government must be suspended as it has failed to maintain law and order in the state," said Dikshit, the chief ministerial candidate of Congress.

"I will talk to the chief minster to provide quick justice to the victim's family," she said.

Dikshit was accompanied by party leaders Jatin Prasad and Sanjay Singh.

Singh said Congress will raise the issue of woman security and deteriorating law and order condition in the UP Assembly.

Prasad said he, along with his party members, will meet President Pranab Mukherjee and demand the expulsion of the state government.

Dikshit also promised that Congress will bear the expenses for the education of the victim's daughter.

Meanwhile, protests were witnessed as Dikshit's cavalcade entered the colony with locals raising slogans like 'Sheila Dixit Vapas Jao'. They also staged a sit-in in front of them on the street.
More than 170,000 Russians have signed an online petition to President Vladimir Putin calling for the resignation of Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev over his recent comments on teachers' pay.

The petition posted on Change.org came after the premier advised a low-paid lecturer to go into business if he wanted to make money.

Medvedev's comments  seen as out-of-touch and uncaring  unleashed a torrent of criticism in the press and on social media.

"The cabinet should be led by a person who is competent, educated and cares about the country," wrote the petition's author, Alexander Li.

"We are seeing the opposite right now."



The Duma, the lower house of Russia's parliament, is obliged to debate any petition that gets 100,000 signatures.

At a youth education forum on Tuesday, Medvedev was asked by a university lecturer from the impoverished Dagestan region why teachers receive only around 15,000 rubles ($230) per month, while police are significantly better paid.

"There's no need to compare," Medvedev said. "The issue is what you choose in life."



Teaching, he said, "is a vocation. If you want to make money, there are a bunch of great places where you can do that quicker and better in business. And you didn't go into business."



Medvedev  who served as president from 2008 to 2012 between Putin's presidential terms  added that a "modern energetic teacher" should be able to find ways to "earn something extra."



Official statistics show the average monthly salary in is around 37,000 rubles ($566). Teachers make an average 32,000 rubles per month but the figure varies greatly depending on the region.

In the Dagestan region, teachers earn a monthly average of 18,000 rubles, Kommersant daily reported.

"The prime minister's impressions are completely understandable," said a wry editorial in tabloid Moskovsky Komsomolets.

"We all know very well of government officials who successfully manage to combine their main job with business, including big business."



Novaya Gazeta lashed out at the premier over his remarks.

"Cynicism cannot be at the foundation of the state's domestic policy. That usually ends badly for the state and the bureaucrats," it said.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov declined to comment on the petition.
: A two day 'National Conference on Agricultural Scientific Tamil' began here today at Tamil Nadu Agriculture University, with an aim to bring out agriculture and allied sciences and technology into Tamil language for the benefit of farmers.

The conference is being organised jointly by TNAU and Delhi-based Agricultural Scientific Tamil Society, with a theme 'Tamil can Do: Agriculture-Veterinary-Fishery.'



About 350 delegates are attending the conference and 16 books, containing nearly 800 research-articles in Tamil were released today, a TNAU release said.

A thematic session was held under chairmanship of Perur Tamil College Principal, Maruthachala Adigalar in which six eminent scientists and scholars addressed on feasibility of Tamil for agricultural education and research.

TNAU Vice-Chancellor K Ramasamy inaugurated the meet.
Two persons have been arrested for allegedly killing a farmer in Morta village here last month, police said today.

The two accused, who were looking for admission in civil engineering at HRIT institute in Morta area, came in contact with farmer Ram Kishore who lured them on the pretext of getting their problems solved through occult arts, Deputy Superintendent of police (Muradnagar) Pawan kumar said.

On 25 July, Kishore tried to sodomise one of them. Sensing his illegal advances, the youths stabbed him to death, the DSP said.

The accused were nabbed with the help of electronic surveillance, the officer added.
Launching the '2017 UK-India Year of Culture' campaign in Odisha today, British Council India today evinced keen interest in forging partnership for skill development and research programmes in the state.

Alan Gemmell OBE, Director of British Council India, who launched the campaign here, announced a series of new projects that the Council would be working on in the next couple of years.

Alan said he met Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik during his visit to Odisha. The Chief Minister expressed his government's desire for skill development of 11 lakh youths.

Stating that the British Council would be keen to forge a partnership with the state for skill development, Alan said these programmes can be taken up in manufacturing, healthcare and construction sectors.

Opportunities can also be created for English language skill development, which would enhance the employability of the youths, he said adding the British Council continues to be present in Odisha through a range of work in education and cultural sectors.

Speaking on his ambitions for the Council in East India, the new Country Director emphasised the need to promote cultural exchange and to create educational opportunities for stronger ties between India and the UK.

"I am thrilled to learn about the brilliant educational and cultural ties that exist between East India and UK. Also, the great work we do here and the opportunities for our work in the East and North East," Alan said.

The year 2017 marks the culmination of four years of Re-Imagine: a programme in the Arts designed to build creative connections in new ways between the people and institutions of the UK and India, he said.

It offers a chance to celebrate the achievements of the world's largest democracy, and consider how the future relationship between the UK and India might help both to address the challenges of the 21st century, said Alan.

The purpose of the Year of Culture is to increase the appreciation of contemporary UK in India, and vice versa, in order to give greater focus, depth and relevance to long-standing relationship between the two countries.

This will be done through events and projects, both face-to-face and digital in 2017, with a wider aim to reach out to newer audiences, not restricted to the metropolitan cities alone, he said adding UK-India 2017 would seek to challenge outdated perceptions of the UK with an inspiring programme that demonstrates the quality of contemporary British arts and culture.

The UK-India Year of Culture was announced during the visit of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to London in November 2015. The aim of this campaign is to highlight the vibrant cultural history of the two countries and celebrate the best 'cultural exports' together.
Three personnel were arrested on charges of raping a woman from Lakshadweep, outraging her modesty, robbery and criminal conspiracy, police said on Friday.

While Muhammed Salim, a sepoy with a Srinagar unit of the was arrested on charges of rape, Muhammed Misbah, attached to a Light Regiment in Kolkata, has been charged with outraging her modesty.

Iqbal Hussain, attached with the Army's Para FD Coy in Agra, has been charged with robbery and hatching a criminal conspiracy against her, police said.

All three, hailing from Lakshadweep, were arrested on Thursday by Kochi central police after the woman, an assistant at a city hostel, filed a complaint against them.

Salim called the woman to a lodge on the pretext of marrying her following which he raped her. Later, Salim called Misbah and Hussain to the lodge, they said.

Police said they are verifying whether the other two also tried to sexually assault her.

The woman has alleged that Misbah applied criminal force on her with an intent to outrage her modesty.

She also alleged that Iqbal snatched her mobile phone and some money.

We have informed the respective units in the about the incident.
Four teachers of a private schoolhave been arrested in Pakistan's Punjab province for allegedly sexually assaulting seven students during summer vacation, police said today.

The teachers of the school in Sargodha district, some 200 kilometres from Lahore, assaulted the students on the pretext of holding special classes.

"Only seven children were asked to attend the classes in the school during the summer vacation that led to suspicion by parents," a police official said.

The teachers had told parents that their children were being called to the school for learning of a holy book by heart.

Police have confirmed the arrest of four teachers who confessed to have committed the crime.

The action was taken on the complaint of some parents, police said, adding that they are also looking for the accomplices of the suspects.

The arrested teachers are being interrogated to confirm if they had sexually assaulted more students, the official said.

A few month ago, police had arrested over 20 people for allegedly sexually abusing about 250 children in Kasur district, some 50 kilometres from Lahore.

The case has been is pending in anti-terrorism court.
Over 5,000 police personnel will be deployed as part of the security arrangement for Prime Minister Narendra Modi's maiden visit to Telangana on August 7.

Around 1.5 lakh turnout is expected at the joint public meeting to be addressed by Modi and Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao at Gajwel in Medak district.

"Our priority is to maintain peace and security during the Prime Minster's visit. As many as 5,000 police personnel will be deployed during his visit. We have identified four specific locations where security will be at its peak. Security on the way from Hyderabad to Gajwel will be tightened," Deputy Inspector General of Police (Hyderabad range), Akun Sabhrwal told PTI today.

The officer said a total of 50 fixed metal detectors will be installed at all important entry points of the public meeting.

"The ground where the public meeting will be held has a capacity of 2.5 lakh. We expect the crowd to be around 1.5 lakh for the meeting," he said.

During his visit, Modi is scheduled to launch 'Mission Bhagiratha' at Komatibanda in Gajwel mandal. The mission is the water grid project which aims at providing safe drinking water to every household across Telangana in the coming four years.

Modi will also lay foundation stones for the renovation of Ramagundam Fertiliser Factory at Karimnagar, Kaloji Health University at Warangal, Kothapalli-Manoharabad railway line in Medak district and for the 1,600 MW thermal power project by NTPC.

The PM will dedicate to nation the 1,200 MW power project by state-run Singareni Collieries.

Modi will also address a meeting of BJP workers in Hyderabad later on Sunday evening.
Five killers have been identified in the hacking to death of Bangladesh's first gay magazine editor and his friend here in a gruesome machete attack following leads from an arrested militant from a banned terror group in the high-profile case, a media report said today.

Detectives are trying to arrest these five individuals who investigators have identified as taking part in the April 25 killing of Xulhaz Mannan and Mahbub Tonoy, an official of the Detective Branch (DB) told bdnews24.Com requesting anonymity.

"Police have gathered information on the killers after arresting and interrogating members of Ansar Al Islam (militant outfit which claims to be the Bangladesh affiliate of al-Qaeda) on various occasions. Then they identified the killers of Mannan and Tonoy," said the DB official.

"The killers are in the country. The effort to arrest them is ongoing."



Bahauddin Faruki, the DB officer in charge of the case's investigation, said the police have received some information on the murders after the arrest of Shariful Islam alias Shihab, a member of the Ansarullah Bangla Team, on May 15.

"Shihab supplied weapons to the killers. We got some important information after he was remanded twice in custody. He is now in prison," he said.

Mannan, 35, editor of a magazine for Bangladesh's gay and lesbian community, and 25-year-old fellow activist Tonoy were hacked to death by up to seven attackers carrying machetes and guns after entering their apartment here posing as delivery men.

Xulhaz was a US embassy staff and a leading campaigner for LGBT rights. He was also editor of Bangladesh's first LGBT magazine "Roopbaan".

Al-Qaeda in the Indian Subcontinent (AQIS) claimed responsibility for the killings, that took place amid a series of murders of intellectuals, writers and minorities in the Muslim-majority nation.

The US had condemned the killings of Tonoy and Mannan, who worked for US government aid organisation USAID.
There are about 55,000 villages in India that do not have mobile coverage with the highest number of such locations in the state of Odisha, Parliament was informed today.

"It is estimated that there are about 55,000 villages in the country that do not have mobile coverage. Mobile coverage to these uncovered villages is likely to be provided in a phased manner, subject to availability of financial resources," Minister of State for Communications Manoj Sinha said in a written reply to Rajya Sabha.

He added that the government has prioritised provision of mobile services in Left Wing Extremism (LWE) affected area, North eastern states, Islands and Himalayan states (Jammu and Kashmir, Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh) in the first phase.

Odisha had the highest number of uncovered villages at 10,398, followed by Jharkhand (5,949 villages), Madhya Pradesh (5,926), Chattisgarh (4,041) and Andhra Pradesh (3,812),



Karnataka, Kerala and Puducherry had no villages that weren't covered by mobile services.

The Minister said 5,81,183 out of 5,93,601 inhabited villages (97.9 per cent) of the country as per Census 2011 have been provided with Village Public Telephones (VPTs) with financial support from Universal Service Obligation Fund (USOF).

He added that a total of Rs 76,403.7 has been collected under Universal Access levy (UAL), while Rs 31,147.19 crore has been allocated and disbursed through USOF as on June 30, 2016.

In a separate reply, Sinha said of the targetted 400 new Branch Post Offices set for the current plan period, 344 have been opened by redeployment and relocation during the period from 2012-13 to 2015-16.

"The target for opening of Branch Post Offices during current financial year 2016-17 is 93," he said adding that no target has been set for the current plan period for upgradation of Branch Post Offices.
An International Conference on Aluminium (INCAL) will be held here in February next year keeping in mind the emergence of bauxite-rich Odisha as the aluminium capital of India.

Aluminium Association of India (AAI) would host the three-day global event from from February 15 to 17, 2017, said Dr Tapan Kumar Chand, president of AAI and CMD of Nalco.

"Odisha has emerged as the aluminium capital of India, with more than half of the bauxite reserves of the country and the gigantic presence of Nalco, Hindalco and Vedanta in the state.

So, in fitness of things, it has been decided that the temple city shall play host to a never-before international congregation of aluminium majors, primary producers and secondary producers," he said.

"We are expecting more than 1,500 exhibitors and 2,000 delegates, with logistic support from Reed Exhibitions of Germany. This is also an occasion to showcase the rich cultural heritage of Odisha," said Dr Chand while speaking at a function here last night.
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."
A day after the Delhi Police asked the Civil Lines SDM to withdraw order banning public meetings and protest near the Chief Minister's residence, the AAP government today sought legal opinion from its Law Department.

The party argued that a sub-divisional magistrate has the power to issue such order under the CrPC.

A government official said that a Ministry of Home Affairs 1978 notification gave Delhi Police power to issue prohibitory order but the SDM also enjoys concurrent power under Section 144 of the CrPC.

"In 1978, the Centre had given power to Delhi Police to issue prohibitory order but no order was subsequently issued to prevent SDM from doing so," a government spokesperson said.

Deputy Commissioner of Police (North) Madhur Verma wrote a letter to SDM B K Jha yesterday asking him to withdraw the order banning public meetings and protest near Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal's residence in Civil Lines pointing out that it was "unnecessary interference" in police's work.

"The Delhi government has forwarded the DCP's letter to the Law Department and asked it to give legal opinion on this matter," the government spokesperson said.

Yesterday, Lt Governor Najeeb Jung said the SDM's order was "illegal" and action would be taken against him.

Verma, the officer whose North Delhi police district covers Chief Minister's residence, had said the order issued by the Civil Lines SDM on August 2 is in violation of Ministry of Home Affairs' order, dated July 1, 1978.

According to the MHA order, powers and duties of Executive Magistrate and District Magistrate under section 144 CrPC in Delhi are given to Commissioner of Delhi Police, he said.

Slamming the AAP government, the BJP said it seems the ban has been imposed through SDM as Kejriwal is in no mood to "tolerate" any democratic protest against him.

Ruling AAP, however asked who will take responsibility if there is any untoward incident like the mob getting violent.

While issuing the prohibitory order under Section 144 of CrPC, the SDM had argued the ban was needed to "prevent public nuisance, obstruction to traffic and persons, danger to human lives or safety and public property".
Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump today said that achieving world peace "would be the best deal" for him and he "would know how to do it better than anybody else".

"Peace all over the world would be the best deal," Trump told the Portland Press Herald, which he gave during his visit to the city.

"And I think I would know how to do it better than anybody else, but peace all over the world," Trump said.

He was responding to a question as to what would be the best deal he could negotiate as president of the US.

Trump, 70, is facing a tough battle against his Democratic rival Hillary Clinton in the presidential elections.

The billionaire from New York said age is not a disadvantage for him and asserted this is a good age for presidency.

"Well younger than Ronald Reagan, younger than some, basically I guess Hillary is about that same age, a number of them are about that age. That seems to be a good political age for the presidency if you look it's all around that middle vicinity. I think Ronald Reagan was one of our great presidents and that was an older age, so that's the way we have it," he said.

Later addressing an election rally in Portland, which was marred by a number of protests, Trump spoke about illegal immigrants and terrorism.

"We have just seen many, many crimes, getting worse all the time, and as Maine knows, a major destination for Somali refugees. Right. Am I right?," Trump said.

"They're all talking about it. Maine, Somali refugees. You admit hundreds of thousands into Maine and into other places in the US. Hundreds of thousands of refugees. And they're coming from among the most dangerous territories and countries anywhere in the world. This is a practice that has to stop," he said.

"People are pouring into our country, we have no idea who they are. This could be the great Trojan Horse of our time," Trump said.

A number of protesters were removed from his rally after they interrupted his speech by standing and holding up pocket-sized copies of the US Constitution in the air.

"It's sort of rude, when you think about it. We want jobs, we want health care. We're looking for the same thing. You want to have a good life. You want safety. And then we have people interrupting constantly," he said.
Kazakhstan's President Nursultan Nazarbayev vowed today to send anyone working or studying at schools linked to US-based preacher Fethullah Gulen back to Turkey should they be found to have "terror links".

Erdogan blames the reclusive cleric for orchestrating the July 15 failed attempt to unseat him, and has asked Astana to "take a step" after handing over a list of Gulen-linked schools.

Erdogan has said there are 33 Gulen-run schools in the Central Asian republic.

Nazarbayev, who is the first head of state to visit Turkey since the putsch attempt, stopped short of saying he would shut the schools down.

"If anyone among them is linked with terrorism... We will respond to Turkey's demands," Nazarbayev told reporters during a joint press conference with Erdogan.

Gulen strongly denies the accusation that he ordered a coup, insisting that the movement he leads promotes peace, education and moderate Islam.

Nazarbayev said the schools in Kazakhstan "are under state control".

"We do not support anyone going against Turkey. This is not in our interest. Both sides' education ministries will control the schools by creating a working group," he said.

"If there are teachers with links, we will send them back and ask the Turkish government to send other teachers."



Nazarbayev said the schools educate their pupils in four languages -- English, Turkish, Kazakh and Russian.

Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan are the only two countries in the mostly Turkic-speaking Central Asian region where Gulenist educational institutions still have a significant presence.

Less than two weeks after the coup, Turkey warned ex-Soviet Kyrgyzstan of the risk of a coup, claiming Gulenists had infiltrated every state institution in the country.

Kyrgyzstan's foreign ministry responded by saying it would take note of warnings on education but reminded Ankara it was an "independent, sovereign state".
Andhra Pradesh Congress chief N Raghuveera Reddy today demanded the resignation of Union minister M Venkaiah Naidu for favouring a discussion on a private member bill on according special status to the state if it were a Money Bill as referred by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley.

If Congress member K V P Ramachandra Rao's bill was not a Money Bill then Jaitley should resign for "misguiding" the House, Reddy told reporters.

"If this is considered a Money Bill as referred by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, we demand resignation of then Parliamentary Affairs Minister M Venkaiah Naidu for forwarding it to President of India for admission and discussion in the House.

"And if it is not being treated as a Money Bill, then Jaitley should resign for misguiding the Rajya Sabha," he said.

Reddy claimed that BJP was "singled out" on the issue and therefore Jaitley referred the bill as Money Bill to "obstruct" its passage in the House.

"The bill was ready for voting. The Congress party had issued a whip in favour of the bill. We had a support from 11 parties for it. As BJP was singled out and the bill was being passed against their wishes, Jaitley reffered to it as Money Bill to obstruct and scuttle it," he said.

On Monday Congress is "going to make a genuine" attempt to move a resolution with 11 supporting parties for the implementation of special category status to the state for which an assurance was given by then Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, he said.

He said the "five crore people of Andhra Pradesh" have been "cheated" by the TDP and BJP alliance government by not allowing them to "get their right" of special category status for the state.

Earlier, Deputy Chairman P J Kurien reffered the matter - whether ' Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation (Amendment)) Bill' was money bill or not - to Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan for a decision on its fate.

Kurien had said that the Constitution "does not give any power to the Chair (of Rajya Sabha) to decide if it is Money Bill or not.

Finance Minister and Leader of the House Arun Jaitley had raised objections to the Bill, saying Money Bill cannot be introduced in the Rajya Sabha.
An illegal arms dealer was arrested from south-west Delhi's Dwarka and 19 locally fabricated weapons and 20 live cartridges were seized from his possession, police said today.

Asad Ali (27), a resident of Meerut, was arrested yesterday by a team of Special Cell from Dwarka area. He was involved in illegal trade and supplying consignments of arms in various parts of western UP, Delhi and NCR, DCP (Special Cell) Sanjeev Kumar Yadav said.

As many as 10 country made pistols, nine long barrel country made guns and 20 cartridges have been seized from his possession, the officer said.

Asad was earlier held on two occasions in UP last year for illegal possession of weapons, he said.
Assam Governor P B Acharya has condemned the attack on innocent people by terrorists at Balajan Tinali in Kokrajhar town today, which resulted in the death of 14 civilians and caused grievous injuries to several others.

Terming the incident as a "dastardly act of cowardice", the Governor said he has asked the government to take strict action against the perpetrators and no stone should remain unturned to nab the culprits, a Raj Bhavan release said.
Adani's controversy-hit 21.7 billiondollar Carmichael coal mine project in Australia faced another legal hurdle after a court today launched a judicial review of the Queensland government's approval to one of the world's largest coal mines projects, with the Indian-mining giant describing the case as "delaying tactics".

Conservation group Coast and Country (C&C), which had filed an appeal in the Supreme Court for a judicial review, argued that the state government's approval to the Indian mining giant's project was not made lawfully and should be overturned.

A one-day hearing as part of a judicial review was held at Brisbane Supreme Court today, Queensland Times reported.

The green group's spokesperson Derec Davies said, "C&C is of the view that the Queensland Department of Environment and Heritage Protection made an error of law and did not comply with an important environmental obligation when approving construction of one of the world's biggest coal mines."



He said the department failed in its obligation under state Environmental Protection Act to determine whether its decision would best achieve ecologically sustainable development.

CEO of Environmental Defenders Office Queensland (EDO Qld), the state's non-profit community legal centre for environment and lawyers forC&C, Jo-Anne Bragg said, "The licence, called an environmental authority, was granted by the state government department on February2,2016, and is one of two main Queensland Government licences the project for Central Queensland's Galilee Basin needed before it could commence operation."



"Our government is entrusted by the community to make lawful decisions, yet an examination of the reasons for deciding to grant this licence has revealed they failed to comply with Section 5 of Queensland's Environmental Protection Act (EP Act). This is a matter of law and it is very important government gets it right," Bragg said.

He said today'sjudicial review was an opportunity for the lawfulness of the government's decision-making on this matter to be scrutinised by the independent Supreme Court of Queensland.

"This judicial review follows, but is a separate legal proceeding from, a Land Court recommendation in late 2015 for tighter conditions to protect the endangered Black-Throated Finch. Last year, that Land Court case also exposed Adani's overinflated job figures to be 1,464 net jobs instead of the company's claimed 10,000 jobs," Bragg said.

Issuing asharp response to the latest legal hurdle, company in a statement said, "The suggestion by serial litigant Land Services of Coast and Country in statements that a five-year approvals process is rushed, or that approvals sought and given under successive governments of both political persuasions is anti-democratic, or that the government has erred in applying the legislation, defies common sense.

"At the heart of this approach is their consistent attempt not to seek their day in court, but years in court. Plainly, this politically-motivated, activist-led challenge is designed to delay the benefits of Adani's Carmichael mine that will flow to workers and communities in central and north Queensland crying out for job-creating major projects such as the company's mine, rail and port projects to proceed," the statement said.

The statement further stressed that the company wouldnot be deterred by such"delaying tactics", and once these challenges are resolved, it wouldstandready to build its long term future with Queensland and expressed confidence in state and federal processes.

Adani's project has been hampered time and again since its launch six years ago,



A federal court in August last year had revoked the original approval due toenvironmental concerns. In October last year, the project got a new lease of life after the Australian government gave its re-approval.
The Queensland Supreme Court will today reveiw Indian minining giant Adani's controversy-hit 21.7 billiondollar Carmichael coal mine project in Australia after a green group challenged the stategovernment's approval to one of the world's largest coal mines projects.

Conservation group Coast and Country, which had filed an appeal in theSupreme Court for a judicial review, will argue that the stategovernment's approval to the controversialproject was not made lawfully and should be overturned.

The green group's spokesperson Derec Davies said, "C&C is of the view that the Queensland Department of Environment and Heritage Protection made an error of law and did not comply with an important environmental obligation when approving construction of one of the world's biggest coal mines."



He said the department failed in its obligation under state Environmental Protection Act to determine whether its decision would best achieve ecologically sustainable development.

CEO ofEnvironmental Defenders Office Queensland (EDO Qld), the state's non-profit community legal centre for environment and lawyers forC&C, Jo-Anne Bragg said, "The licence, called an environmental authority, was granted by the state government department on February2,2016, and is one of two main Queensland Government licences the project for Central Queensland's Galilee Basin needed before it could commence operation."



"Our government is entrusted by the community to make lawful decisions, yet an examination of the reasons for deciding to grant this licence has revealed they failed to comply with Section 5 of Queensland's Environmental Protection Act (EP Act). This is a matter of law and it is very important government gets it right," Bragg said.

Bragg said today'sjudicial review was an opportunity for



the lawfulness of the government's decision-making on this matter to be scrutinised by the independent Supreme Court of Queensland.

"This judicial review follows, but is a separate legal proceeding from, a Land Court recommendation in late 2015 for tighter conditions to protect the endangered Black-Throated Finch. Last year, that Land Court case also exposed Adani's overinflated job figures to be 1464 net jobs instead of the company's claimed 10,000 jobs," Bragg said.

Issuing asharp response to the latest legal hurdle,Adani company in a statement said, "The suggestion by serial litigant Land Services of Coast and Country in statements that a five-year approvals process is rushed, or that approvals sought and given under successive governments of both political persuasions is anti-democratic, or that the government has erred in applying the legislation, defies common sense."



"At the heart of this approach is their consistent attempt not to seek their day in court, but years in court. Plainly, this politically-motivated, activist-led challenge is designed to delay the benefits of Adani's Carmichael mine that will flow to workers and communities in central and north Queensland crying out for job-creating major projects such as the company's mine, rail and port projects to proceed," the statement said.

The statement further stressed that the company wouldnot be deterred by such"delaying tactics", and once these challenges are resolved, it wouldstandready to build its long term future with Queensland and expressed confidence in state and federal processes.

Adani's project has been hampered time and again since its launch six years ago.

A federal court in August last year had revoked the original approval due toenvironmental concerns. In October last year, the project got a new lease of life after the Australian government gave its re-approval.
Movement of civilians from dusk to dawn along the international border with Pakistan in the district was banned from today, a senior district official said.

District Magistrate Pardeep Sabharwal said, "any type of movement of civilians within the 500 meters of fencing and 1000 meters of the Indo-Pak border has been banned from 8 PM to 5 AM."



However, the ban would not apply on the Army, BSF, CRPF, Home Guard and Centre Excise and Taxation staff which were deployed on the border for special duty, he said.

The ban would remain in force till October 3, he said.

The reason for banning the civilian movement along the border has not been specified.
In a crackdown on media, Bangladesh government has blocked over 30 online portals and websites, including some pro-opposition media.

The head of the national telecoms regulator Bangladesh Telecommunications and Regulatory Commission (BTRC) said the websites were shut down late last night on government orders.

BTRC chairman Shahjahan Mahmood, however, did not assign any reason for the action, the bdnews reported.

The list of blocked portals included Sheershanews.Com and amardeshonline, a portal linked to a pro-opposition Bengali daily that the government shut down in 2013.

The government had cancelled Amar Desh daily's licence accusing it of provoking religious hatred. It has been operating as an internet newspaper since then.

Sheersha News Editor Ekramul Haque told bdnews24.Com that their website could not be seen.

"I've heard that BTRC has blocked our website. But we have not been explained why the website has been blocked," he was quoted as saying by bdnews.

The crackdown comes after the government banned live television coverage of terror attacks following the last month's deadly assault on a cafe here in which 22 people were killed.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina had publicly criticised Bangladeshi TV channels over live telecast of the government's preparations during the country's worst hostage crisis.
Judge asked for quick response so that voters could select school board this year

Attorneys for legislative leaders have filed new maps with the U.S. District Court and are urging the judge handling the case to approve the maps for the 2016 election for Wake County commissioners and school board members.The maps divide Wake County into seven districts and two "super" districts. None of the districts varies in population by more than one person.The filings come the day after Chief U.S. District Judge James Dever III asked parties in the case to come to his courtroom and suggest how to proceed with the elections for those Wake County offices.Last month, the 4th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals ruled that the school board districts, adopted by the General Assembly in 2013, and identical county commissioner districts, adopted in 2015, violated the federal one-man, one-vote principal because of a wide variation in the population in the districts.At Tuesday's hearing, Tom Farr, an attorney for the legislative leaders, told Dever that he could have maps available for his consideration on Wednesday. Anita Earls, an attorney for the plaintiffs in the lawsuit, objected to allowing the new maps to be filed. She wanted Dever to order that the pre-existing districts - the ones in place before the General Assembly redrew the districts in 2013 and 2015 - should be used.Timing was a major consideration, since the Nov. 8 general election is about three months away and the Wake County Board of Elections needs time to open filing, prepare ballots, and send out absentee ballots.During an exchange with Earls, Dever expressed concern that the move from odd-year elections to even-year elections for the Wake County school board would not occur if the court reverted back to the previous maps.Dever said, adding that, unless the maps are set quickly, voters might not have an opportunity to elect school board members this year.
Bangladeshi police today detained 44 Nepalese citizens for allegedly overstaying in the country without valid visas.

"All of them were living in different houses of an apartment building at Mirpur area. They were kept inside the same building under police vigil," Mainul Kabir, inspector of Pallabi police station said.

"We informed the Nepalese embassy (in Dhaka) about their detention and await their response for our subsequent steps to send them back home," Kabir said.

Another officer familiar with the situation said only one of the detainees was found to have a valid visa on his passport while the rest were overstaying with expired visa as they came to Bangladesh as tourists.

"Until now we do not have any idea if they were involved in criminal activities," the officer said.

The Home ministry officials said 200,000 Nepalese were legally staying in Bangladesh with valid visa and work permit while police said 10,000 Nepalese were staying illegally after the tenure of their visas expired.
Defence PSU Bharat Electronics (BEL) today said it will buy back equity shares worth Rs 2,171 crore, a part of which will accrue to the government.

The board has approved a proposal to buy back 1.66 crore shares at a price of Rs 1,305 apiece, for over Rs 2,171.15 crore, which is not exceeding 25 per cent of the aggregate of the fully paid-up share capital and free reserves, BEL said in a filing to the BSE.

Government holds 75.02 per cent stake in BEL.

The buy back would happen on a proportionate basis through a tender offer route in accordance with the Companies Act, 2013, it added.

Shares of BEL closed at Rs 1258.55, up 2.27 per cent on the BSE.

The department of Investment and Public Asset Management (DIPAM), previously known as Department of Disinvestment, has been asking cash rich PSUs to utilise surplus cash in either capex or buy back.

Last month the board of Maharatna PSU Coal India had approved a buy back of 25 per cent of their paid up share capital and free reserves aggregating to Rs 3,650 crore.

While in June, NMDC and MOIL board had approved buy back of Rs 7,528 crore and Rs 863 crore, Nalco had in May said it would buy back 25 per cent equity for over Rs 2,835 crore.

The government aims to raise Rs 56,500 crore by selling stakes in state-owned enterprises in 2016-17, out of which Rs 36,000 is to come from minority stake sale in PSUs and rest through strategic sale.
A bill was introduced in the Lok Sabha today to include Nagaland under the jurisdiction of Imphal Central Agriculture University with an aim to help the state achieve higher growth in animal husbandry sector.

The Central Agricultural University (Amendment) Bill, 2016, was introduced by Minister of State for Agriculture Sudarshan Bhagat.

On July 27, the Cabinet approved the amendment in relevant clauses of the Central Agricultural University Act (CAU), 1992, to include Nagaland under the jurisdiction of CAU, Imphal.

The amendment will help Nagaland to reap the benefit of the Imphal Central Agriculture University, established for the entire north eastern region.

The bill seeks to amend the Central Agricultural University Act, 1992, that was enacted for the establishment and incorporation of a university for the north-eastern region in order to promote development and research in agriculture and allied sectors.

However, the definition of 'North-Eastern region' and the jurisdiction of the Central Agricultural University under the said Act did not cover the state of Nagaland.

"Therefore, it has been decided to amend the Central Agricultural University Act, 1992, so as to include the state of Nagaland under the jurisdiction of the Central Agricultural University, having its headquarters at Imphal," according to statement of objects and reasons of the Bill.

After the passage of the amendment bill, Nagaland would get all the facilities that other north-eastern states get under this Act.

"The proposed amendments will extend the benefit of facilities provided by the Central Agricultural University for the development of agriculture and for the furtherance of the advancement of learning and prosecution of research in agriculture and allied sciences to state of Nagaland as being done to the other North-Eastern states," it added.

After inclusion of Nagaland under jurisdiction of the Central Agricultural University, the College of Veterinary Sciences in Nagaland would produce the much-needed professional manpower in the fields of animal husbandry, which will facilitate socio-economic growth in the region.

The new college would help familiarise the farmers with new techniques, thereby contributing to the production and productivity of domestic animals in the State of Nagaland.
BJD, the ruling party of Odisha, today asked the union government to order stoppage of construction of a barrage by Chhattisgarh on the Mahanadi river pending a resolution of the disputed matter.

Raising the matter in the Lok Sabha, Bhartruhari Mahtab (BJD) said, "I would like to urge upon this government to intervene in the matter and tell them (Chattisgarh government) not proceed with the construction of the dam."



He said that although the central government had said that construction of dam would not allowed without the permission of the Central Water Commission, the Chhattisgarh government has started construction of dams over the tributaries of Mahanadi.

Regretting the statement of Chattisgarh Chief Minister Raman Singh that work on dam would be completed on warfooting, Mahtab said, "this is a blatant violation of law.

"I demand the union government to intervene in the matter and stop construction of dams when tripartite discussions are taking place between the states of Chattisgarh, Odisha under the tutelage of the Ministry of Water Resources in Delhi and interactions are taking place between all these three stakeholders. There is no necessity of making such statements in the public," he said.

Last month, the BJD members had staged a demonstration in the Parliament premises to protest against construction of barrage on Mahanadi.

BJD is of the view that Mahanadi flows across the two states, the matter should be resolved expeditiously to safeguard the interest of farmers in Odisha.
A BJP member in Lok Sabha today attacked the Centre over its handling of the Kashmir issue, saying its strategy was "totally wrong" and demanded that the terrorists and separatists be dealt with sternly.

R K Singh, a former home secretary, said a Jammu and Kashmir government minister was recently targetted in a bomb attack and some police stations and outposts were vacated by cops during the recent unrest.

"The current Kashmir strategy of the government is totally wrong... Its handling of separatists and some terrorists is not correct. It is wrong," he said during Zero Hour.

He said the majority of people in Kashmir wanted peace and harmony and were against violence. A handful of terrorists have scared the majority there, Singh said.

Separatists should also be prosecuted and measures taken to stop the flow of hawala money, he said, adding that border should be fenced to stop infiltration.
BJP's dalit member Udit Raj today demanded a discussion in the Lok Sabha on the recent incidents of atrocities against dalits, saying the community was being targeted across the country.

Udit Raj referred to a host of recent cases, including in Gujarat, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Kerala and Tamil Nadu in which dalits were attacked.

He also spoke about recent beating up of dalits in Patna and killing of a dalit couple in Mainpuri in UP for Rs 15.

"Incidents of atrocities against dalits are happening in various parts of the country...It should be discussed," he said.

The government had recently rejected the opposition's demand for a similar debate, saying the issue has already been raised in Parliament.
Activists from Britain's movement blocked the main road into London Heathrow, Europe's busiest airport, on Friday as part of a nationwide day of protests against racism.

Ten people were arrested during the demonstration, which brought traffic to a standstill at the peak of the holiday season, while another five were held for blocking a road to Birmingham airport in central England, police said.

UK had called for a national "shutdown" to mark the fifth anniversary of the police shooting of Londoner Mark Duggan, whose death in 2011 spark several nights of rioting in cities across England.

"Five years ago. One day after they killed Mark Duggan. One day before the riots. A moment for rage, reflection and rebuilding. A moment for coordinated nationwide action," said BLMUK on its Facebook page.

The group, inspired by the US protest movement against police shootings of black men, has highlighted British deaths in police custody and the fact that black people in Britain are more likely to be arrested and jailed.

Pictures circulating on social media showed a small number of protesters blocking the link road from a major motorway to Heathrow holding a banner reading "This is a crisis".
Aircraft maker Boeing today said it has given a contract to CIM Tools for the manufacture of complex titanium machined parts and aluminum assemblies for its 787 Dreamliner and 737 airplanes.

CIM Tools, an MSME, would supply over 57,000 complex titanium machined parts, aluminum details and assemblies for Boeing 787 and 737 airplanes in coming years, Boeing said in a release.

The contract is in line with "Boeing's strategy in India to develop an indigenous aerospace and defense ecosystem to further support the Make in India initiative," it added.

Boeing India President Pratyush Kumar said it is yet another step in fulfilling its commitment in the creation of a globally competitive aerospace supply chain in India that delivers to stringent global standards.

The plane manufacturer is expanding its collaboration with Indian industrial partners. Boeing in India has around 500 employees.
Actress Cara Delevingne revealed that she has been an unemotional person since her childhood and only yoga has helped her to fight difficult circumstances.

The 23-year-old star said she practices yoga that has completely changed her life and helped her to release the negativity from her body, reported Elle magazine.

"For me, yoga's the only way I can really feel things and check how I am. Because there is always pain somewhere, even if it's completely irrational pain, and it's always good to find it and get it out.

"If I don't cry pretty much every day I will hold it in, and it will manifest in me in things that are destructive, like my skin," Delevingne said.

The "Suicide Squad" star said she hardly remembers if she has ever cried in front of more than one person in her life.

"I don't think I have ever, ever cried in front of more than one person ever. Because I grew up in this very 'emotion is weak, head up, move on, onward and upward' kind of way. Which is not healthy.
Amid unease in ties, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi will arrive here next week to hold talks with his counterpart Sushma Swaraj on August 13 during which key regional and bilateral issues will be discussed, including the NSG issue.

Significantly, Wang's visit also comes just days after Chinese troops "transgressed" the border on land and by air in Chamoli district of Uttarakhand last month.

China also stalled India's Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) membership bid at the Plenary meeting of the 48-nation grouping in June on the grounds that it was a non-NPT signatory.

Announcing the visit, External Affairs Ministry Spokesperson Vikas Swarup said the leaders will discuss various issues of mutual interests including the upcoming multilateral meetings with G-20 Summit being held in China and the BRICS Summit being held in India.

In Beijing, sources said Wang will visit India from August 12-14 at the invitation of Swaraj.

When asked whether India will raise the recent incident of transgression in Uttarakhand at the meeting, Swarup said, all international, regional and bilateral issues of mutual interest will be discussed.

However, he added that the Defence Minister has already made a statement and there are mechanisms, including at army- to-army level, to take care of such incidents.

According to sources, the Indian side is likely to raise the issue of China scuttling India's NSG membership bid.

"Visit of Foreign Minister Wang to India is part of the regular high level dialogue between the two countries," Swarup said.

Apart from India, Wang will also visit Kenya and Uganda during his six-day trip starting from August 9.
Tom Campbell

"America has a heart problem," proclaimed Reverend William Barber at the recent Democratic National Convention. Combining the words and style of an old-time revivalist with a modern-day prophet, Barber stirred the audience and reverberated across America.Barber began by saying he wasn't there representing any group or organization but wanted to talk about faith and morality. He said he was concernedHe went on to say there have always been forces that wanted to harden the heart, even stop the heart of our Democracy, but called on us to conserve the divine tradition that teaches us to "do justice, love mercy and walk humbly with our God." Our constitution, he said, calls us to commit our government to establish justice, to promote the general welfare, provide for the common good and ensure domestic tranquility.Some issues, he said, are not left versus right or liberal versus conservative, they are right versus wrong, and at this moment we need toto push for a revival of the heart of our Democracy.Regardless of your political persuasion, race, religion, gender, sex or nationality you cannot deny that our nation has big problems, spiritual problems that require healing. There have been other moments in our history when we haven't lived into the ideals and dreams our founders had, but there also have been times when we have. Sadly, we are too quick to point fingers of blame, to retreat from honest civil dialogue, think of those with whom we disagree as enemies. We expect someone else to set the example and take the moral high ground. While a Roosevelt, Kennedy or Reagan can diagnose and even point us to solutions, the cure must come from within each of us.America needs a healthy exchange of ideas and policies but now is the time to call a truce on the angry, divisive rhetoric separating us, searching instead for the common ground that has historically and can today unite us. Going back to our Constitution we have been a nation able to compromise and find solutions, but unwillingness to even engage is a clear demonstration that Barber is right in saying we have a heart problem.When the heart is in danger, Barber said, somebody with a good heart will employ a defibrillator to work on a bad heart, to shock and revive that ailing heart.This nation needs to be shocked with the power of love, mercy and justice for all. Barber concluded,
Jharkhand Chief Minister Raghubar Das has assured investors that the government will provide all necessary amenities to them for investing in education sector as it wanted to make the state an education hub.

Addressing the CEOs and Chairpersons of educational institutions in the Round Table Conference in New Delhi, Das said irrespective of the field of work, "we should focus on nation building".

"Through imparting true and quality education in the state, one can be the co-partner in building the nation," Das was quoted as saying by an official statement.

He assured that the government will provide supportive ambiance for investment in the state.

For imparting quality education, the state government has given the responsibility of running 89 government schools to DAV group and 29 tribal schools under Welfare Department to Shishu Vidya Mandir.

Blaming political instability for not getting desired result in the educational field, Das said his government has undertaken many steps to impart quality education.

However, in order to make the state an education hub, the participation of private institutions is necessary, he said, adding that every student wants campus selection.
Alleging graft in the saffron-ruled Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation, the Congress and NCP today sought investigation by Central agencies into various "corruption" cases of last decade.

While Congress' Narayan Rane and others demanded the government give "voluntary retirement to those in power in BMC, dissolve the civic body and conduct a probe by CBI within next six months into the corruption charges", NCP demanded a probe by the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) of India and Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) in the graft cases of last 10 years.

The BMC, being ruled by the Sena and BJP, is going to polls early next year.

Without taking name of BJP MP Kirit Somaiya, NCP MLC Kiran Pawaskar during his address said, "an MP had levelled allegations of corruption against top Sena leadership, their relatives and their private secretary in the cases of alleged corruption in the BMC."



The mention of Sena leadership was vociferously contested by party member Anil Parab and others.

As the uproar continued in the Maharashtra Legislative Council, the Panel Chairman Niranjan Dawkhare adjourned the proceedings.

Initiating the debate on various issues facing Mumbai and the alleged corruption cases in BMC, Leader of Opposition Dhananjay Munde (NCP) said the ruling alliance in BMC did nothing except indulge in corruption.

"..How have the same tainted contractors got contracts for desilting of storm water drains and no action is taken against the blacklisted 24 contractors," he questioned.

Munde demanded the government order a probe by the Frauds Wing of the Registrar of Companies against these 24 contractors.

"The government should order a probe by the CAG of India and ACB into the corruption. If the government does not believe in the allegations of the opposition, then at least take note of allegations levelled by BJP MP Kirit Somaiya," he said.

Joining the debate, Rane said he wanted to know where the funds of Rs 38,000 crore in BMC budget have gone, as citizens got only "potholed roads and crumbling civic infrastructure".

"Why should Mumbaikars be walking on the pockmarked roads of Mumbai? The city has been destroyed by the nexus of civic officials, local police officials and political leaders," he said.

Referring to the desilting of Mithi river in the city, Rane said no work has been done on this front for the last nine years.

"The sewerage system in suburbs is just 60 per cent (complete)," he said.

Referring to the water-logging in various areas in the city, Rane asked whether all pumping stations were fully operational or not.
Congress senior leader Manikrao Thakre was today unanimously elected as the Deputy Chairman of Maharashtra Legislative Council after BJP nominee Vijay alias Bhai Girkar withdrew his candidature at the last moment.

Both the ruling party and Opposition agreed to the principle of holding the election unopposed in tune with the set traditions of the Upper House.

Despite his party lacking the numbers, Girkar had filed three nomination papers. The papers included signatures of Sena members Neelam Gorhe and Gopikisan Bajoriya.

As soon as the election, held by show of hands, was announced by Council chairman Ramraje Nimbalkar, parliamentary affairs minister Girish Bapat objected to the congratulatory messages attributed to Thakre, published already in a newspaper today before holding the poll.

"This is disrespect of the House," Bapat said.

A BJP member said the instance is the violation of Model Code of Conduct. However, Nimbalkar said that no model conduct of conduct existed for the said election.

Later congratulating Thakre, former state unit Congress president, on his win, Nimbalkar said Thakre has the ability to lead in trying times.

"I consider myself fortunate that I have had the opportunity of working with a colleague who has the capability of leading in trying times," Nimbalkar said.

Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said Thakre's "sporting" nature will help him defuse any tense situation between the treasury benches and opposition.

"I hope luck favours him and he becomes chairman in future," Fadnavis said, in an apparent jibe at the NCP whose leader Nimbalkar is the incumbent chairman.

Senior NCP member Sunil Tatkare said, "he (Thakre) will become chairman when he has to, but I thank you for expressing the confidence that our relations, both in the Upper as well as Lower House, will remain intact in future as well".

Tatkare said in run-up to election for deputy Chairman's post, there were various theories of NCP supporting a BJP candidate for the position, which have now been laid to rest.

"I, as the president of state unit of my party, feel relieved that all speculations and questions that if we will keep our word have been laid to rest. There were some with vested interests (who) were trying to portray that NCP and BJP have some kind of understanding, when there is none," he said.

The election was necessitated following defeat of Thakre's predecessor Vasant Davkhare in recently concluded MLC elections. Davkhare was defeated by Shiv Sena's Ravindra Phatak from Thane local bodies constituency.

NCP has extended support to Congress for the deputy Chairman's post as a part of earlier understanding.

The Sharad Pawar-led party, with its majority in the upper house, earlier held the posts of both chairman and deputy chairman (Ramraje Nimbalkar and Vasant Davkhare, respectively).
A court here has asked Delhi Police to file an action taken report on a criminal complaint seeking lodging of FIR against AIMIM President Asaduddin Owaisi for alleged offences of sedition and causing enmity between different groups.

The court's direction came after the complainant informed it that in pursuance to its earlier order, he has provided to police the copy of recording of All India Majlis-e-Ittehad-ul Muslimeen (AIMIM) leader Owaisi's alleged objectionable statement and other documents.

Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Munish Markan fixed the matter for October 7 for filing of police report and further proceedings.

On the direction of court, the official of Karawal Nagar police station in north east Delhi had earlier filed a status report saying the complainant has not provided it the copy of recording of Owaisi's alleged objectionable statement.

The report had also said that complainant Brijesh Chand Shukla, Swaraj Janata Party's national president, had not brought any person who had heard the alleged remarks given by the leader.

The complaint alleged that on March 13, Owaisi had voluntarily said that "even if somebody puts a knife at me, I will not say 'Bharat Mata ki jai'" and his expression showed "disaffection and includes disloyalty and all feeling of enmity".

Earlier, the complainant's counsel had said the matter comes under the definition of section 124A (sedition) of IPC as the statement made by Owaisi showed his disloyalty and disaffection towards the nation.

The complaint sought a direction to the police to lodge an FIR against Owaisi for the alleged offences under sections 124A (sedition) and 153A (promoting enmity between different groups on grounds of religion, race etc) of IPC.

The plea alleged that the act of Hyderabad MP showed he was not loyal to India and was trying to harm the country's reputation and his statement comes under the definition of sedition charge.

"...It is correct that our Constitution does not permit to say 'Bharat Mata Ki Jai' but the Constitution also does not allow to say 'koi meri gardan par churi rakh de tab bhi mai Bharat Mata ki jai nahi bolunga' (even if somebody puts a knife at my neck, I will not say Bharat Mata ki jai)," it alleged.

The complainant said he had filed the complaint in this regard with the Delhi Police but no action was taken and thereafter, he approached the court.
A girl who was allegedly kidnapped more than six year ago from southwest Delhi has been rescued from Haryana, police said here today.

The girl, 16 at the time of her alleged abduction in February 2010, had gone to a nearby market in Chhawla area to buy ice-cream but did not return.

A case of kidnapping was registered by the police and a search was carried out then but she could not be found, said DCP (southwest) Surender Kumar.

The girl was recovered from a village in Haryana on August 8 and produced before a court, where her statement was recorded under section 164 of the CrPC, he said.

In her statement, she claimed that she married without the consent of her parents as they were against her relationship, added the officer.
CBI today filed a supplementary charge-sheet against gangster Chhota Rajan in the J Dey murder case, claiming that he had the journalist murdered because Dey's articles and a planned book portrayed Rajan as 'chindi' (a small fry).

The 300-page charge-sheet was filed at the special Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act court here.

Dey, a veteran crime reporter, had planned a book, titled 'Chindi -- Rags to Riches', wherein he was going to write the stories of 20 gangsters with humble origins.

"Dey was going to expose the fake patriotic mask used by him (Rajan) to secure himself and to accumulate wealth for his family. The book was to have that Rajan had no concern for those who made him big," the charge-sheet says.

The book was also to portray Dawood Ibrahim, Rajan's friend-turned-foe, as being superior to him.

Dey was planning to write another two books before leaving journalism, and he had met several people for these book and visited Philippines and other countries.

Rajan, who was reportedly hiding in Malaysia, had called Dey for a meeting but the journalist refused, CBI says.

In an intercepted conversation after Dey's death, Rajan "declared" Dey as "traitor" and his rival journalist Jigna Vora, an accused in the case, now on bail, as the one who instigated the murder, CBI says.

Rajan's henchmen who executed the murder conspiracy here used to contact the gangster using international SIM cards which were activated only after midnight, it says.

The charge-sheet has statements of 41 witnesses. It names Ravi Ram Rattesar, earlier shown as a witness, as an accused, because he was found to be a key link between Rajan and other accused and had supplied some 20 SIM cards at Rajan's instructions, said a CBI officer.

A transcript of conversation between Rajan and Vora is



also a part of the charge-sheet.

Forensic reports showed that the recorded voice sample of Rajan matches with the voice in the conversation, it says.

Last month, adjourning the hearing, the MCOCA court had said it would go ahead with framing of charges as per the charge-sheet earlier filed by Mumbai police's crime branch if the CBI failed to do so by August 5.

Rajan was arrested at Bali airport in Indonesia on October 25 last year and deported to India.

He is facing around 70 cases in Maharashtra, all now handed over to CBI.

Dey was shot dead in suburban Powai on June 11, 2011.

The first charge-sheet filed in 2011 names Satiah Kaliya, Abhijeet Shinde, Arun Dake, Sachin Gaikwad, Anil Waghmode, Nilesh Shendge, Mangesh Agawane, Vinod Asrani, Paulson Joseph and Deepak Sisodia (all arrested).

Another charge-sheet was filed against Vora the next year. She is accused of instigating Rajan against Dey owing to professional rivalry.

(REOPENS LGB6)



Agency sources said during the course of investigation which took off from where Mumbai Police had stopped, CBI interrogated Rajan, took his voice samples and forensically matching them with his intercepted conversation relating to the murder.

Giving details of their probe, the sources said in New Delhi that in the proposed book there were articles, including the one titled 'Rajan's men are off to pilgrimage', that had irked Rajan who believed that these write-ups gave a picture that the South-East Asia based gangster was losing grip over his gang while Ibrahim was given a much grandiose depiction.

The sources said Rajan also allegedly tried to convey a message to Dey to adopt a balanced narrative of Mumbai underworld giving him due respect and stop lauding Ibrahim as he suspected that Dey was writing positive portrayal of Ibrahim while he was being shown as weaker don.
The incessant rains which lashed the city in the first half today affected operations at Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport (CSIA), resulting in diversion of a flight and delaying other flights by up to 30 minutes.

There were at least four "go-arounds" due to poor visibility, an airport spokesperson said.

The delays were the longest in the morning, when the city experienced a very heavy rainfall. The delays came down to up to 20 minutes by the end of the day.

Private carrier Jet Airways' Raipur-Mumbai flight had to be diverted to Vadodara because of the downpour and it arrived at CSIA later in the day.

Flights from Bengaluru, Chennai, Kolkata and Ahmedabad carried out the "go-arounds" or missed approaches.

A "go-around" is a procedure that is performed if a pilot is not completely satisfied that requirements are in place for a safe landing.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that US State Secretary John Kerry intends to visit this month, in what would be the first trip by a top Western dignitary since a failed putsch.

Kerry's visit, if confirmed, comes at a time of heightened tensions between Washington and Ankara in the wake of the attempted military takeover on July 15.

Turkey has been furiously demanding the extradition of Pennsylvania-based Islamic preacher Fethullah Gulen, whom it accuses of masterminding the coup.

The government has launched a crackdown in its wake that has seen over 60,000 people within the military, judiciary, civil service and education sector dismissed, detained or put under investigation.

"I think their secretary of state is coming on the 21th (August)," Erdogan said yesterday in a live interview with state-run TRT television.

Within the next two weeks, a delegation led by Turkey's foreign and justice ministers would also travel to the US to explain Gulen's alleged involvement in the coup bid, he added.

US State Department spokesman Mark Toner declined to comment.

An Istanbul court issued an arrest warrant for Gulen, accusing him of ordering the coup aimed at ousting Erdogan.

Ankara has frequently called on the United States to extradite the Muslim cleric, sending two sets of documents to Washington as evidence of his involvement in the putsch attempt.

Gulen strongly denies masterminding the coup and the movement he leads insists it is a charitable network promoting tolerant Islam.

Kerry said on July 18 that Turkey must present "genuine evidence" and "not allegations" against Erdogan's former ally for his extradition.

The crisis in Turkey has erupted at a time when the Ankara-Washington relationship is as important as ever, with the United States needing Turkish help in the battle against Islamic State militants in Syria.

US fighter jets have been using Turkey's southern base of Incirlik as a crucial launch point for lethal raids against IS targets in neighbouring Syria.
Donald Trump suffered more blows to his presidential campaign today when a CIA ex-director accused him of being an "unwitting agent" of Russia's Vladimir Putin, and the billionaire acknowledged erring about seeing cash transferred to Iran.

Trump's drive for the White House showed no signs of stopping the hemorrhaging after a brutal week of setbacks, with a new poll showing him vulnerable in November's election in Georgia, a traditional Republican stronghold.

Despite the stumbles, including Trump's refusal to back down in a confrontation with the parents of a Muslim American soldier killed in action in Iraq, his campaign chairman Paul Manafort told Fox it has been "an improving week."



But the latest setback came in the form of harsh criticism by Michael Morell, a 33-year veteran of the Central Intelligence Agency who served presidents of both parties and then helmed the agency in 2011.

"On Nov. 8, I will vote for Hillary Clinton," he wrote in a New York Times column, adding that Trump "may well pose a threat to our national security."



Morell said that as Russia's president, "Putin played upon Mr. Trump's vulnerabilities by complimenting him. He responded just as Mr. Putin had calculated."



Trump has praised Putin as a great leader, and taken policy positions "consistent with Russian, not American, interests" including endorsing Russian espionage against US figures like Clinton and greenlighting a possible Russian invasion of Baltic states, Morell said.

"In the intelligence business, we would say that Mr. Putin had recruited Mr. Trump as an unwitting agent of the Russian Federation," he added. Trump has also admitted he wrongly claimed to have seen secret Iranian footage of USD 400 million in hard currency being delivered to Tehran as payment for the release of US prisoners.

Trump raised eyebrows this week when he made that assertion and gave many details of what he said he saw in the film.

"Remember this: Iran -- I don't think you heard this anywhere but here -- Iran provided all of that footage, the tape of taking that money off the airplane," Trump said Wednesday at a rally in Florida. "Right?"



Early today, Trump made a rare backtrack.

"The plane I saw on television was the hostage plane in Geneva, Switzerland, not the plane carrying USD 400 million in cash going to Iran!" Trump tweeted.

Trump's campaign has insisted that the money was "a payment for hostages" held in Iran who were released in January.
Nepal's new government led by Maoist chief Prachanda today decided that the families of those killed during the Madhesis' protests over the new Constitution will be given Rs 1 million each in compensation.

The decision was taken during the new government's first Cabinet meeting, a day after Maoist chief Pushpa Kamal Dahal "Prachanda" was sworn-in as Nepal's new Prime Minister for a second time.

At least 50 people were killed during the six months-long protests in southern Nepal districts last year following the promulgation of the new Constitution.

It was decided that Nepali Rs 1 million will be given to the families of those killed in the protests. The cabinet also decided to provide free medical treatment to those injured in the agitation.

Those arrested during the protests will also be released immediately as per the decision.

The decisions were part of the deal ruling alliance Nepali Congress and CPN-Maoist Centre had signed with the Madhesis before the election of the Prime Minister in the Parliament.

The Madhesi parties had led the six months-long agitation, mainly to protest against the seven-province federal model enshrined in the Constitution.

The protests had also disrupted the supplies of petroleum products and cooking gas among other essentials to Nepal.
Stating that farmers are taking up crop insurance in a big way after two drought years, Agriculture Minister Radha Mohan Singh today said 30 per cent more farmers are expected to register under Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY) in the ongoing kharif season.

Some states, especially Karnataka and Gujarat have made good progress so far in implementing the scheme, but there was a delay in rolling out the scheme in Tamil Nadu and Kerala due to elections but the work now has been fastened, he said.

He, however, blamed the Bihar government for playing "politics in the name of farmers" and stopping mid-way through the implementation of the crop insurance scheme, especially after collecting the premium from farmers for this kharif season.

"Except for Bihar, there has been a good progress in implementation of PMFBY across the country. Last year, 3.07 crore had taken up crop insurance under earlier schemes. In this kharif season, we are expecting 4 crore farmers to enroll under the scheme," Singh told reporters here.

As many as 22 states, barring Bihar and Punjab, have introduced the new crop insurance scheme. The remaining states are in the process of implementing the scheme.

This being the first year of the implementation of PMFBY, there has been some delay in notifying the scheme in some states. So, the deadline for submitting the proposal has been extended till August 10 from July 31, he said.

Singh was speaking to reporters from 11 states including Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Tamil Nadu via video conference.

Stating that there has been good response from farmers to the PMFBY across the country, the minister said, "The coverage in some states is increasing. The exact data of coverage would be known after August 10."



However as per the latest available data, as many as 10.12 lakh farmers have taken up crop insurance for the Kharif 2016 crop in Karnataka under the PMFBY, which is higher than 8.72 lakh farmers in the year-ago period, he said.

"Farmers in Karnataka and some other states had faced severe drought last year and hence there has been good response to crop insurance this year," he said, while denying any special relief package to the state or any reduction in the premium rate of the crop insurance.

Under PMFBY, farmers premium has been kept lower between 1.5-2 per cent for foodgrains and oilseed crops and up to 5 per cent for horticultural and cotton crops. There is no cap on the premium, he said.

In Gujarat, 13.5 lakh farmers have registered under the crop insurance scheme for the 2016 kharif season, which is a sharp jump from 5 lakh farmers in the year-ago period. Similarly, the number of coverage has risen in Jharkhand.

On status of the crop insurance scheme in Bihar, the minister said the state has reservation in implementing the scheme despite been approved by the state cabinet and even collecting premium from farmers.

The Bihar government is asking for change in the name of the scheme and demanding the centre to bear the entire expenditure, thereby "playing politics in the name of farmers", he said.
A North Carolina man was arrested on accusations that he tried to recruit people to join the Islamic State group had communicated with one of two men shot dead by a police officer in Garland, Texas, during an attack at an event where the Prophet Muhammad was being depicted in cartoons, the said.

Erick Jamal Hendricks, 35, was arrested yesterday morning in Charlotte, North Carolina, on a charge filed in Cleveland of providing material support to a terrorist group. A federal magistrate in Charlotte ordered that Hendricks be detained and assigned a federal public defender, who did not return telephone messages.

An affidavit details online communications between Hendricks and an undercover agent posing as an Islamic State recruit who witnessed the attack at the suburban Dallas civic center in May 2015.

Two Phoenix men wearing body armor and carrying rifles drove to the center, exited a vehicle and began shooting at the entrance. An off-duty police officer providing securing for the event fatally shot both men before they could get inside. An unarmed security guard was shot in the ankle.

The Islamic State group claimed responsibility for the attack and referred to the two Phoenix men, Elton Simpson and Nadir Hamid Soofi, as "brothers." Shortly before the attack, the 31-year-old Simpson posted on his Twitter account: "May Allah accept us as mujahideen," or holy warriors. Simpson and Hendricks had communicated before the attack, the FBI said yesterday.

Hendricks also communicated with the undercover FBI agent in Garland, asking questions about security and how many people were there, the affidavit said. Hendricks told the agent that if he saw the organizer of the event that he should "make his voice heard against her," investigators wrote.

It appears that charges were filed in Cleveland because of Hendricks' communication with Amir Said Abdul Rahman Al-Ghazi, who was arrested in June 2015 in suburban Cleveland trying to buy an AK-47 rifle from an undercover FBI agent. Authorities said Al-Ghazi had pledged his allegiance to the Islamic State and expressed an interest in conducting attacks in the US

Earlier this year, Al-Ghazi pleaded guilty to providing material support to a terrorist organization and, according to the affidavit, has been cooperating with authorities.

Al-Ghazi told authorities that Hendricks said he needed people to join the cause and wanted "brothers" to meet and train together, the affidavit said. The undercover FBI agent confirmed in the affidavit that his communications with Hendricks were similar to Al-Ghazi's.

Hendricks told the undercover agent that he slept with his AK-47 and kept it by the front door, investigators said. He directed the agent to download a manual titled "GBS for the Ghuraba in the US" that discussed law enforcement surveillance and communication protocols for those planning to stage attacks, the affidavit said.
FTAPCCI has proposed establishment of two incubation centres in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana.

The Federation of Telangana and Andhra Pradesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FTAPCCI) has submitted proposals to NITI Aayog for starting incubation centre in the area of manufacturing and engineering for Telangana while for Andhra Pradesh the centres will focus on Agriculture and allied industries.

"We have applied to NITI Aayog for starting two Incubation Centres -- one in Telangana and another in Andhra Pradesh. Once we get approval from NITI Aayog we will start them. We are expecting NITI Aayog to approve our application in next three to four months," FTAPCCI President Ravindra Modi told reporters here today.

"For Telangana, the Incubation Centre will be set up in Hyderabad while it will be established either in Vijayawada or Visakhapatnam. In Telangana, we have selected to set up the Incubation Centre in the area of manufacturing and engineering because it is the strength of the state. For AP we are intending the Incubation Centre in the area of Agriculture and allied industries like food processing and sea food industry," he explained.

NITI Aayog will give a grant of Rs 10 crore for establishing each Incubation Centre over a period of five years, Modi said, adding "we have to provide matching grant.

"We have that sort of infrastructure and skill to start the Incubation Centres. There is no restriction on the number of start-ups in the upcoming Incubation Centres."



"FTAPCCI, turned 100 this year and we are celebrating our centenary year. President Pranab Mukherjee will address us during his southern sojourn in December this year," Modi added.

"To take FTAPCCI forward, we want to make the industry body 'Knowledge Chamber' and we will be conducting lot of studies and research on various subjects and suggest to our members and the government (in formulating industrial policies).
Puducherry Chief Minister V Narayanasamy today said the territorial government has taken steps to intensify efforts to introduce e-governance system in keeping with the Centre's directives.

Launching a new website of the District Collectorate of Puducherry,'collectorate.Py.Gov.In' here, he said the Centre had asked Puducherry government to earmark three per cent of the budget allocation for e-governance facility, which was being adhered to.

He said, very soon common service centres would be opened in Puducherry, Villianoor, Bahoor and Tirukanoor to enable the residents to obtain all certificates online without approaching the departments concerned.

The website launched would cater to all the requirements of documents, encumbrance certificates, land records and other details relating to properties.

He advised government employees to be punctual at their workplaces and warned that if any of them were found coming late to the office, they would be dismissed.

Later, Narayanasamy handed over appointment orders to around 130 candidates recruited on contract basis under the National Rural Health Mission, to work in suburban and rural areas.

Revenue Minister M O H F Shah Jahan, Health Minister Malladi Krishna Rao and District Collector Satyendra Singh Dursawat were among those present.
A bill seeking to raise the cap on disputed amount of compensation for appeal in high courts was introduced in Lok Sabha today.

Labour Minister Bandaru Dattatreya introduced the Employees' Compensation (Amendment) Bill 2016 in the lower house of Parliament.

Section 30 of the Employees' Compensation Act 1923 provides for appeal in high courts whenever the disputed amount (of compensation) is more than Rs 300. The bill seeks to raise this to Rs 10,000, which may be further increased through a notification later.

The one of the main objectives of the bill is to reduce litigation. The bill also provides for increase in penalty for contravention of the Act to Rs 50,000 from the current Rs 5,000, that may be later raised to Rs 1 lakh.

The Employees' Compensation Act, 1923, provides for payment of compensation to workmen and their dependants in the case of injury by industrial accidents, including certain occupational diseases arising out of and in the course of employment resulting in death or disablement.

The Bill also proposes to impose penalty for failure to display provisions of the Act. It provides for making it obligatory on the employer to inform the employee of his rights to compensation under the Act, in writing as well as through electronic means.

The Act provides under section 30A that the Commissioner could exercise discretion to withhold payment of an employee whenever an appeal in a high court is filed.

The legislation proposed to omit Sector 30A. With this omission, the amount can be withheld only when there is a stay or order to that effect by the high court where the appeal is filed.

The omission will provide relief to the employees as the amount can now be withheld only when there is a stay or order to that effect by the High Court in cases where the the appeal has been filed by the employer.

The Law Commission of India, in its reports in 1974 and 1989 related to the Workmen's Compensation Act, 1923, (now known as Employees' Compensation Act, 1923), recommended to review/amend/repeal various provisions of the Act.

The proposed Bill is based on the report of the Law Commission which intends to close more litigations at the level of Commissioner for Workmen's Compensation appointed by state governments for a particular area.

The other objective of the Bill is to put in more deterrence for better compliance.
The passage of GST Bill in the Rajya Sabha is "credit positive" for India's sovereign rating as the rollout of Goods and Services Tax regime will have a favourable impact on growth and tax revenues, Moody's Investors Service said today.

"The short-term sovereign credit implications of the GST bill will be limited, given that effective implementation will take some time, and as the GST rates are likely to be chosen as revenue neutral," Moody's said.

It added: "The GST will support economic activity and government revenues over the medium term by removing a key hurdle to the smooth movement of goods and services, and reducing corporates' and the government's tax administration costs, thereby improving compliance and raising tax receipts."



In a report titled, 'Upper House Passage Paves Way for GST Bill Implementation, a Credit Positive', Moody's said the new tax regime will be broadly positive for Indian non-financial corporates, although the overall impact will vary across sectors.

GST will lead to much simpler administrative framework, reducing tax governing costs for corporates, and over time, improving the overall cost competitiveness of corporate India.

It will also likely translate into swifter mobility of goods between states by removing the barriers present under the existing regime, it said.

"The overall impact is likely to vary across sectors, with some of the highest tax payers under the current regime, such as automotives, standing to gain the most," Moody's said.

Rajya Sabha on August 3 passed a constitutional amendment to allow implementation of the long-delayed GST. The Bill will now go to Lok Sabha next week.

The Bill will then have to be ratified by 50 per cent of the state legislative assemblies, and the actual GST bill will need to be enacted into law by the Lok Sabha and by state governments.

Moody's said the new GST structure follows a dual taxation model with powers granted to the central and state governments to tax both goods and services under a common structure.

It will replace the existing system of multiple taxes, imposed at different stages of the value chain, with a single unified tax.

Last December, a committee headed by the Chief Economic Adviser recommended a revenue neutral range of 15-15.5 per cent with a preference for the lower end of that range.

"While the goal is to strive towards one single GST rate in the medium term, the committee recommended a three-rate structure in the interim. The lower rates may be at around 12 per cent while standard rates are recommended to be in the range of 17-18 per cent," it said.

(Reopens DEL 25)



Moody's said GST will have a significant impact on relative prices since the effective total tax rate on some goods will fall as taxes are removed and replaced by a lower- rate GST while other goods and services will be taxed at a higher effective rate than under the current regime.

"However, we assume that the GST will have a negligible impact on overall inflation in line with the revenue-neutral objective. This is because the lower GST rate and the additional levies are likely to largely offset one another," it added.

Moody's said the GST is likely to have a positive impact on India's economy in the medium term.

The GST, a value-added tax, will replace various taxes, some of which are based on revenues.

"Value-added taxes are less distortionary as they incentivise corporates to focus their production on their core businesses and to rely on goods and services inputs that are produced more efficiently by suppliers," Moody's said.

"In this respect, an increase in the number of exemptions would be credit negative as it would distort choices for consumers towards GST-free goods and services," it said, hoping the list of exemptions will not be larger than current and will be more restricted.

Also, since goods and services are taxed at the point of consumption rather than production, corporates can focus their decisions on the location of production on operational considerations, including the availability of skills and the proximity of suppliers and distributors, rather than on the different tax regimes applied across states.

This may lead to productivity gains.

The current tax system is complex, with multiple taxes and excise levied within and between states, at different rates, on different bases and each with a set of exemptions.

Unifying a wide range of taxes under a much simpler system, even if it includes a few different rates and exemptions, would significantly reduce the tax filing costs of corporates and enhance their competitiveness, it said.

"Notwithstanding the expected lower tax rates, it is premature to quantify the precise impact on individual sectors, pending a seamless transition and likely challenges in the interim. The overall impact is likely to vary across sectors," it added.

The automotive industry is likely to be a chief beneficiary of the new GST regime. Lower GST rates will further support strong demand for the industry by reducing product pricing and stimulating consumer demand.

The effective GST rate is expected to be far lower than the multiple taxes currently imposed on the sector, including sales tax, excise duties, local taxes (known as octroi), and value-added tax.
The Delhi High Court today asked the police to provide security to expelled AIADMK Rajya Sabha MP Sasikala Pushpa on her plea seeking adequate protection for her and her family members on the ground that she is receiving death threats after being allegedly slapped by a party leader.

Justice Vipin Sanghi directed Delhi Police to escort her to Parliament so that she can discharge her duty safely.

"Let protection be provided for safe functioning of the Member of Parliament. Police should escort the petitioner (Pushpa) while she is attending the House (Parliament)," the court said.

It also issued notice to the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) and Delhi Police seeking their response by November 15.

The court passed the direction on the MP's plea which sought security for her while she is attending Rajya Sabha and participating in the monsoon session.

Senior advocate Sudhir Nandrajog, appearing for the MP, told the court that the petitioner faces a grave threat to her life and liberty due to her expulsion from AIADMK and her refusal to resign from the party.

"The petitioner has expressed her apprehensions on the floor of Rajya Sabha and despite that no action has been taken to provide the petitioner with adequate security in view of the threat to her life," her counsel submitted.

Senior standing counsel Rahul Mehra, appearing for Delhi Police, submitted that the MP has been given adequate security and it is looking into the issue seriously.

Mehra said that the police are waiting for an assessment report from the authorities concerned with regard to the threat received by the petitioner and if there is positive report, it will do whatever more is needed.

In her plea, the MP asked the high court to intervene and



direct the authorities to guarantee her life and liberty as enshrined under Article 21 of the Constitution.

"The petitioner is unable to perform her constitutional duty of attending Rajya Sabha and participating in the monsoon session of Parliament in view of the clear and present danger to her life," the petition said.

She said that she had informed the Rajya Sabha Chairman on August 1 "that she had been slapped by the leader of the AIADMK party at Chennai and that she faced death threats".

She said she had also written to the Station House Officer, North Avenue here, for police protection, but was only spared a constable.

Pushpa alleged that the ancestral house of her husband in Uvari village in Tirunelvelli district in Tamil Nadu was attacked by some unidentified people as she had refused to resign from Rajya Sabha.
Delhi High Court on Friday refused to interfere with the ban on a controversial BBC documentary, India's Daughter on the December 16 gangrape case, saying the issue of its telecast was pending before the trial court which was competent to deal with it.

A bench of Chief Justice G Rohini and Justice Jayant Nath also did not go into the validity of an advisory issued by the Centre against telecast of the short film, saying that it was only an advice to private TV channels and the documentary was not shown because of the restraint order of the trial court.

"So far as the judicial orders of March 3 and March 4, 2015 (banning telecast of the documentary) are concerned, since the matter is pending before the competent court of law and more particularly the investigation is still in progress, the interference by this court either under Article 226 or under Article 227 of the Constitution is not warranted," the bench said.

The court also said, "It is apparent from facts borne out from the record that the advisory dated March 3, 2015, was a mere advice to the private TV channels. It appears to us that the documentary in question has not been telecasted on account of the restraint order passed by the competent court of law... We, therefore, decline to enter into the various contentions advanced by the petitioners regarding the validity of the advisory issued by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting."



The decision came on the PILs by three law students seeking lifting of the ban on the documentary, which was shot inside Tihar Jail, on the ground that it was "a look at the mindset of one of the convicted rapists".

The bench disposed of the petitions while leaving it open to the trial court to proceed with the matter by following the due process of law and also granted liberty to the law students or any other aggrieved party to work out other remedies under the law.

On the night of December 16, 2012, Ram Singh, Vinay Sharma, Akshay Thakur, Pawan Gupta, Mukesh and a juvenile had gangraped a girl in a bus and beaten up her 28-year-old male friend, who was with her.

While the girl succumbed to her injuries on December 29, 2012 at a Singapore hospital, the victim's friend, suffered grievous hurt in the incident.

The juvenile accused was on August 31, 2013 convicted and sentenced to three years in a reformation home, while four others were handed down death penalty. The counsel for Delhi Government had earlier told the bench that video of the documentary was available on the internet and no one's fundamental right was affected due to this.

The documentary was made by Leslee Udwin and was broadcast by British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC). It was banned by the government after its contents, including the interview of one of the rapists who showed no remorse, triggered outrage.

Udwin had claimed that she took permission from the then Director General of Tihar Jail Vimla Mehra to interview Mukesh in prison for BBC. Police said it is probing the matter.

The Information and Broadcasting Ministry had on March 3 advised all news channels not to carry the story related to the interview of one of the convicts in the gangrape case.

The trial court had restrained airing or broadcasting the documentary in March last year.

The police, in its application filed before the trial court, had said that Mukesh Singh, the driver of the bus in which the girl was gangraped, has made insulting, malicious and derogatory statements about women.

They had said if the interview is telecast, it might lead to widespread public outcry and serious law and order problem as had happened in the aftermath of the gangrape case.

Police had registered an FIR in the matter and thereafter obtained an order from the court restraining the media from broadcasting, publishing or transmitting the interview.
The Calcutta High Court today stayed the investigation by Kolkata Police into the Narada sting tapes which purportedly showed people resembling senior Trinamool Congress leaders taking money in exchange for favours.

A division bench of Chief Justice Manjula Chellur and Justice A Banerjee ordered an interim stay into the probe launched by the police till the next date of hearing on August 19.

Passing the order, the chief justice observed that when the matter was already being probed by the high court, a parallel investigation cannot be held by the police.

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee had on June 17 ordered a probe by Kolkata police into the sting operation.

A report by the Central Forensic Science Laboratory, Chandigarh, on the veracity of the tapes was also received by the court, the contents of which were not made public.

The bench said that advocates on record involved in the matter may go through the report and submit in affidavit form any point they want to raise over its contents.

The high court had sent the Narada sting tapes to Chandigarh CFSL after its counterpart in Hyderabad had expressed its inability to analyse the genuineness of the recordings.

Mathew Samuel, the editor of Narada News, had claimed that the alleged sting operation was recorded using an iPhone 6, transferred to a laptop and then to a pendrive, all of which were sent by the high court to CFSL, Chandigarh for examination of the genuineness of the recordings.
One kg of heroin, estimated to be worth Rs 5 crore in the international market, was today seized here from a goods train that arrived from Pakistan.

Customs officials said the heroin was seized from 68 DN goods train that arrived at the Attari railway station.

During rummaging, customs officials detected two packets concealed in upper cavities in two wagons of the train.

When the packets were opened an off-white colour powder weighing approximately 1 kg was seized, officials said.

A case has been resgistered under the provisions of the Customs Act, 1962 and the NDPS Act, said Commissioner Custom Amritsar Captain Sanjay Gahlot.
Seth Conrad Rich died after he was shot multiple times three blocks east of Howard University Hospital, said members of the Metropolitan Police Department on Sunday, July 11.The victim's mother, Mary Rich, said police told her family her son may have been the victim of an attempted robbery. DNC Chair Debbie Wasserman Schultz issued a statement on Monday mourning the death of Rich, who worked as voter expansion data director.she said.said Wasserman Schultz, who is having political problems of her own thanks to a Wikileaks document dump.Meanwhile, presidential hopeful Hillary Clinton spoke about Rich:she said.Clinton added, even though police didn't identify the weapon in the few news reports on the killing.said police forensic expert Saul Levinson.He was talking on the phone with his girlfriend when she heard noise on Rich's end of the line, Mary Rich said. Her son told his girlfriend not to worry about it.she said.said LevinsonMary Rich said during a press briefing.Rich lived in the neighborhood, Acting Capt. Anthony Haythe of the Metropolitan Police Department's homicide branch said at a news conference Monday morning.Fifth District police officers were patrolling the area about 4:20 a.m. when they heard gunshots, police said. When police arrived on Flagler Place, they found Rich suffering from multiple gunshot wounds. Police have no witnesses and are searching the area for surveillance video footage, Haythe said. The acting captain said he could not comment on whether the killing was related to recent robberies in the area.Rich worked for the Democratic National Committee, his father said. He graduated from Creighton University in Omaha, Nebraska, and previously worked on Democrats' campaigns, for the U.S. Census Bureau and as a boating instructor at a summer camp, according to his LinkedIn page.Rich wrote on his social media page.Seth Conrad Rich was the Voter Expansion Data Director at the DNC and had been working on exposing the recent cases of election fraud and voter suppression during the recent primaries around the country, according to his LinkedIn.com listing. Some Internet web sites that cover politics have said Rich was a whistleblower who discovered irregularities in Democratic Party voting patterns.In addition, there are major questions being raised about the suspicious death of former United Nations (U.N.) official John Ashe last month. Serving as president of the U.N., Ashe had contact with both Bill and Hillary Clinton, according to news reports.A bombshell report shows that Ashe, who was found dead last month, supposedly due to a heart attack, is having the reason for death brought into question. Police officers in the city of Dobbs Ferry, New York have claimed he instead died from a crushed throat in a "workout accident."Ashe was scheduled to testify in court, along with Ng Lap Seng - a Chinese businessman and co-defendant - who received more than $1 billion during his term as president of the U.N. in donations.Sing also found ways to illegally funnel money to Democrats during President Bill Clinton's term in office.Ashe, who was accused of tax fraud, died in his home in Westchester County, New York. The U.N. said he'd had a heart attack. But the local Dobbs Ferry police said Thursday that his throat had been crushed, presumably by a barbell he dropped while pumping iron. Ashe was due in court with his Chinese businessman co-defendant Ng Lap Seng, who is charged with smuggling $4.5 million into the US since 2013 and lying that it was to buy art and casino chips.
Chinese officials say trans-Himalayan railway connecting Tibet with India and Nepal is economically and technically feasible as Beijing looks to make Tibet an economic and cultural hub connecting China with South Asia.

"The construction of a railway crossing the Himalayan mountains is now economically and technologically feasible," Zong Gang, Deputy Director of the Science and Technology Department at Beijing University of Technology, told a forum here run by the China Tibetology Research Centre.

The Himalayan railway would start from Xigaze, a city in Tibet, run to Gyirong, a land port on the Chinese border, and extend into Nepal, although it would not be a high-speed railway, state-run China Daily quoted Chinese researchers as saying at the forum yesterday.

China built a railway running for more than 1,100 km to connect the highland region of Tibet with the rest of the country in 2006 and extended it to Xigaze with an additional 250-km rail link connecting the city to Tibetan provincial capital Lhasa.

China now mulls a rail link to the both Nepal and Yadong, a Tibetan county close to Sikkim border. Chinese officials say that in future it can be connected to India.

The daily today published a map with railway line linking Xigaze with Yadong and Burang, both closer to Indian borders in Sikkim and Uttarakhand, and Gyirong, bordering Nepal.

The altitude at Gyirong port is 2,800 meters above sea level, while the Gyirong mountain pass to Nepal lies at about 1,800 meters, making the railway geographically feasible, Zong said.

In contrast, Lhasa where China has built a railway network is about 3,700 meters above sea level and the altitude at Xigaze is about 3,800 meters.

The rail line extension between Xigaze and Nepal border was agreed this year during visit of pro-China Prime Minister K P Sharma Oli, who signed transit treaty with China in a bid to reduce landlocked Nepal's dependence on India for supplies.

But the fall of the Oli government and the election of Pushpa Kamal Dahal alias Prachanda as new Prime Minister has raised anxieties in Beijing over the return of India's influence in the Himalayan nation and the fate of a number of connectivity projects.

"Once Prachanda takes power, he is bound to rectify Oli's pro-China tendency when in government and take India's interests into account, as India is sour about losing its grip on Nepal," according to an article in the state-run Global Times published on July 29.

"The fixed agreements between China and the Oli government are unlikely to be changed, or it will deal a heavy blow to bilateral ties, which is too much for the new government to bear," it said.

"Friendly China-Nepal ties benefit the people of both



countries, but that relationship may be affected by the possible lifting or resumption of an oil embargo India has imposed on Nepal, following the resignation Oli," Wang Dehua, director of the state-run Institute for Southern and Central Asian Studies, told Global Times on July 26.

Besides rail and road links to Nepal, China strategically looks to extend the connectivity to India and South Asia.

Ma Jiali, a researcher at the China Institutes of Contemporary International Relations, said a trans-Himalayan railway would be of great economic value as it could later connect China, the largest economy in Asia, with India, the continent's third-largest economy.

He said that landlocked Nepal is willing to have a more convenient link to China because it believes that China's development will offer great opportunities for Kathmandu.

Also China sees Tibet as cultural, economic and humanitarian hub to connect with India and other South Asian countries with Silk Road projects.

"With its beautiful thangka (Buddhist-themed paintings on cloth) and unique clothing, Tibetan culture is very attractive in the Himalayan region. Its influence can radiate through mountains and connect with other South Asian countries," Lai Shanglong, chief economic commissioner of the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, told the forum.

In June last year, China opened a new land route along Himalayan Nathu La Pass for Indian pilgrims to visit the holy sites of Mount Kailash and Lake Mansarovar in Tibet, considered sacred by Hindus and Buddhists.

Trade routes such as the Ancient Tea Horse Road have facilitated economic and cultural interaction for centuries, said Liu Zhifu, director of the South Asia Research Institute at Xizang Minzu University.

"There is huge demand for high-quality, authentic Tibetan goods, like incense and highland barley products," said Di Fangyao, executive deputy director of the institute.

However, most of the trading goods are not made in Tibet.

"It's high time that Tibet increase its exports of locally produced goods," Di said.

Di also spoke of the importance of infrastructure.

The border trading market in Yadong county at the Sikkim border can open for only six months before the harsh winter sets in.
A 31-year-old prisoner, sentenced by a military court for possessing a fake Pakistani identity card, was attacked at least thrice by inmates in recent months in a Peshawar jail, his lawyer told a court.

Hamid Nehal Ansari, a Mumbai resident arrested in 2012 for illegally entering Pakistan from Afghanistan reportedly to meet a girl he had befriended online, suffered injuries after he was attacked by inmates in the Peshawar Central Prison.

His lawyer Qazi Mohammad Anwar told the Peshawar High Court bench on Thursday that his client had been kept in a death cell with a hardened criminal awaiting execution for a murder.

Ansari was attacked and injured three times over the last couple of months and shifted to the hospital for treatment, the counsel added.

He said even the head warden would subject him to brutality and slap him on a daily basis without any reason.

Anwar said that Ansari lodged a complaint about this with the superintendent.

Superintendent of the prison Masoodur Rehman confirmed incidents but insisted they're of minor nature and that such incidents did happen in prisons, the Dawn reported.

Rehman also told the bench that Ansari, who was serving three years jail term, had been kept in the death cell.

"He (Ansari) can't be kept in a normal barrack along with other prisoners for the sake of his security," he said.

The superintendent also pointed out that the facility had a capacity for 350 inmates, but was housing 3,000.

Ansari's lawyer said the superintendent should give an undertaking to the court that attacks won't happen against his client in future. The jailer, however, said he couldn't give a written guarantee in this regard, the paper said.

The counsel requested the bench to order the superintendent to shift Ansari to a safer part of the jail where there were no threats to his life.

After hearing the arguments, the court asked authorities to provide protection to Ansari and asked the superintendent to sit down with social activist Rakhshanda Naz and Ansari himself to come up with steps for the inmate's protection.

"It is your duty to maintain law and order. As a jailer, you are responsible for protecting the lives and property of inmates," the bench told the superintendent.

The bench also ordered Ansari to decide himself over steps for his protection, the Express Tribune reported. A copy of the recommendations is to be submitted before the court.

Ansari had gone missing after he was taken into custody by intelligence agencies and local police in Kohat in 2012 and finally in reply to a habeas corpus petition filed by his mother, Fauzia Ansari, the high court was informed on January 13 that he was in custody of the Pakistan Army and was being tried by a military court.

He was convicted by the military court for possessing a fake Pakistani identity card and sentenced to three years imprisonment.
Pakistani authorities did not allow entry of Indian mediapersons, including those from PTI and Doordarshan, inside the venue of 7th SAARC Home Ministers Meeting in Islamabad, Home Minister Rajnath Singh said today.

Responding to questions in Rajya Sabha after making a suo motu statement on yesterday's conference, the Minister also said that after the meeting was over, Pakistan's Home Minister, who was the host, invited the participants for lunch but left in a car soon thereafter.

"Keeping in mind the country's prestige, I did what I should have done. I have no complaints. I had not gone there for lunch," he said amid thumping of benches by members.

He also said he was "hestitant to say if the host were courteous... I don't want to comment on it. I have no qualms or complaints". The Minister also said "India is known globally for its 'meheman nawaazi (hospitality)."



Several members had appreciated Singh for "boycotting" the lunch and criticised Pakistan for not showing due courtesy to the visiting Indian Home Minister.

To queries whether there was no telecast of his speech, Singh said he was not aware of the convention and would need to ask the Ministry of External Affairs regarding it.

"Since I was giving speech, I did not see if it was live telecast or not. But this is true that Doordarshan, ANI and PTI reporters were not given permission to enter inside (the venue)", he said as members condemned it by chanting "shame, shame".

Rajya Sabha members also criticised Pakistan for allowing protest against India and the visit of Singh.

The Minister said as per the original plan, he had to reach the hotel by road from Rawalpindi airbase, but probably security officials later decided to use helicopter.

"I saw people were protesting at several places in groups of 10-25 or 100," he said, adding "had I bothered about the protest, I probably wouldn't have gone to Pakistan". Singh also said he did not register any protest against these protests.

Reports had said that members of the Indian media, which went from New Delhi to report the conference, were not allowed to enter the venue and kept at a distance by Pakistani officials, leading to a verbal duel between a senior Indian official and a Pakistani official.

The Home Minister also skipped the official lunch as the host had left the venue, the reports had said.

Recalling former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee's



statement that one can change friends but not neighbours, Singh said Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his predecessor Manmohan Singh have expressed sympathy with Pakistan as it too has been a "victim of terror".

He said all Prime Ministers have made efforts to improve relations with neighbours.

"But the dilemma is...Padosi hai ki maanta hi nahi (the neighbour is not ready to change)...May God give sense to all", he said evoking laughter in the House.

Earlier Leader of Opposition Ghulam Nabi Azad, seeking clarification on Singh's statement, said his Congress party and ruling BJP may have differences, but when the Prime Minister or the Home Minister travel abroad, they are one.

He sought to know if local TV channels did not cover the Home Minister's visit and his statements and there was a media blackout.

He also sought to know whether protocol was not extended to him in accordance with India's standing among SAARC nations and the host being absent at his reception and added if all this was true, it was condemnable.

Subramanian Swamy (BJP) wanted to know if Singh took up with his Pakistani counterpart the "daily retort by their Prime Minister about disintegrating" India and Kashmir.

He wanted to know if he suggested to Pakistanis to take care of problems in their own backyard.

Derek O'Brien (TMC) wanted to know if the Indian media including official media DD were not given access to the Home Minister's speech which was blacked out.

He also wanted to know if this was the first instance of blackout or is there a precedence.

Asked whether paramilitary forces should be given a free hand to deal with terrorists, the Home Minister said that BSF has been asked to maintain "patience, but if a bullet is fired, then they do not need to seek permission for how they have to respond. This is the standing order".
Six Indonesian militants, including an ISIS fighter, were arrested today for plotting a missile attack at Singapore's Marina Bay, Indonesian police said.

The men, aged between 19 and 46, were arrested from various locations across Batam in . A stash of weapons was found at one of the locations, a housing complex, the Strait Times reported.

The suspects, who belong to Katibah Gigih Rahmat network, had planned to launch a rocket from Batam to Marina Bay, an Indonesian police spokesman said.

The group was led by 31-year-old Gigih Rahmat Dewa. One of his associates - Bahrun Naim - an Indonesian militant is believed to have fought alongside the ISIS in Syria, he said.

The plan to fire a rocket missile from Batam was hatched with the help of Naim.

"Yes, there were indeed plans for the attack. But the plans did not materialise," police spokesperson Boy Rafli Amar said.

He said police had yet to determine the motive behind the plot or when the suspects were planning to launch the attack with rocket missiles - evidence of which has not been found.

Marina Bay is an extension of the central business districtwith convention centres, hotels and posh officesas well as a highway with a bridge over the waterfront and another thoroughfare road-tunnel.
Software major has sought the Union government's approval to set up an IT special economic zone (SEZ) in West Bengal.

The company's application will be considered by the inter-ministerial body, Board of Approval (BoA), headed by Commerce Secretary Rita Teaotia, in its meeting on August 12.

has proposed to set up IT/ITeS SEZ over an area of 20.14 hectares in South 24 Parganas, the boards' meeting agenda said.

"Development Commissioner of Falta Special Economic Zone has recommended grant of in-principle approval subject to state government clearance which has been sought for from the applicant," it said.

Two more players -- Devbhumi Realtors and Phoenix Living paces -- have also sought approval from the BoA to set up It/ITeS zones in Telangana.

Further, Chhindwara Plus Developers has approached the government for setting up of a multi product SEZ in Madhya Pradesh, over an area of 1,320.06 hectares.

SEZs are exports hubs which contribute about 16% to the country's total outbound shipments.

The commerce ministry is taking steps to revive investors interest in these zones. It has asked the Finance Ministry to extend sops like rollback or reduction in the minimum alternate tax.

The 19-member BoA deals with SEZ related matters.

Exports from special economic zones (SEZs) logged a marginal growth of 0.77 per cent to Rs 4.67 lakh crore in 2015-16.

The exports from such 204 zones were Rs 4.63 lakh crore in 2014-15.

Highest number of SEZs are operational in states like Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Telengana and Maharashtra.
An Israeli court has charged the Gaza director of the World Vision non-governmental organisation with passing millions of dollars to the Palestinian Islamic movement Hamas and its armed wing.

Mohammed al-Halabi was alleged to have diverted $7.2 million (6.5 million euros) each year since 2010, with some of it funding the Gaza Strip rulers' military campaign against Israel, said the Shin Bet internal security agency.

Halabi, who was born in 1978, was arrested in June and indicted on a number of charges, including funding "terror".

The charge sheet said Hamas recruited him to infiltrate World Vision more than a decade ago, and that he rose to become the head of the US-based Christian aid organisation's Gaza operation.

Shin Bet said there was no evidence World Vision's main office was aware of Halabi's actions.

World Vision said it had "no reason to believe" the allegations against Halabi, while Hamas said it had no relationship with him.

Since Halabi took over operations in 2010, roughly 60 per cent of World Vision's annual budget in Gaza was diverted to Hamas, including its military wing, the Ezzedine al-Qassam Brigades, said Shin Bet.

This equated to $7.2 million per year, including about $1.5 million given in cash to Hamas combat units.

World Vision, which employs tens of thousands of people globally, said its programmes were subject to "regular internal and independent audits, independent evaluations" to avoid aid misuse.

"Based on the information available to us at this time, we have no reason to believe that the allegations are true," it said in a statement.

Major General Yoav Mordechai, head of the military body that coordinates Israeli activities in the West Bank and Gaza, met Thursday night in Tel Aviv with what his office called "senior World Vision officials from America," without identifying them.

"This is a grave incident," an English-language statement from Mordechai's office quoted him as telling the visitors. "Assume responsibility and set your house in order."

It said he gave the World Vision executives Israel's findings on the case and a copy of Halabi's confession and that they renounced "any support, direct or indirect for Hamas."

World Vision works in conjunction with the United Nations, often implementing its projects.

It has worked in and the occupied Palestinian territories since 1975.
The CBI on Friday filed its supplementary charge sheet against gangster Chhota Rajan in connection with the murder case of journalist at a special Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA) court.

On July 5, MCOCA court Judge S S Adkar had directed the probe agency to file the charge sheet latest by August 5.

According to CBI, the motive for killing Dey in 2011 was the book that he was writing on the underworld.

The agency, in its charge sheet, has recorded statement of 41 witnesses while it made witness  Ravi Ram  an additional accused in the case.

"Ravi Ram was a witness earlier but he has emerged as a key link between Rajan and other accused," said a CBI officer.

Ram had allegedly supplied 20 global sims on Rajan's instructions.

The CBI said they have also included transcripts of conversation between arrested journalist Jigna Vora and Rajan in the charge sheet.

The agency also said that FSL reports show that the recorded voice sample of Rajan matches with the intercepted conversations between Rajan and Jigna.

Last month, adjourning the hearing till Friday, the court had said that it would go ahead with framing of charges according to the charge sheet earlier filed by Mumbai Police's Crime Branch if the agency failed to do so.

Special Public Prosecutor Bharat Badami had then informed the court that the agency had got some more evidence against the wanted accused Nayan Singh Bisht, and will be annexing it to the charge sheet.

Rajan was arrested at Bali airport in Indonesia on October 25 last year and deported to India. He is facing around 70 cases in Maharashtra, which include the murder case of 2011. The Maharashtra government has handed over all these cases to CBI.

Dey, a veteran crime reporter, was shot dead in suburban Powai on June 11, 2011, allegedly at the behest of Rajan.

According to investigators, Rajan was upset with certain articles written by Dey about him.

The first charge sheet filed in 2011 names Satiah Kaliya, Abhijeet Shinde, Arun Dake, Sachin Gaikwad, Anil Waghmode, Nilesh Shendge, Mangesh Agawane, Vinod Asrani, Paulson Joseph and Deepak Sisodia (all arrested).

Another charge sheet was filed against journalist Jigna Vora the next year. Vora, accused of instigating Rajan against Dey owing to her own professional rivalry, is now out on bail.
Japan's foreign ministry today summoned China's ambassador to protest what it said were intrusions into its territorial waters by Chinese coast guard and fishing vessels.

The two countries are locked in a long-running dispute over uninhabited islets in the East China Sea known as the Senkaku in Japan and the Diaoyu in China.

Japanese vice foreign minister Shinsuke Sugiyama called in Cheng Yonghua, Beijing's ambassador to Tokyo, the foreign ministry said in a statement on its website.

Sugiyama "strongly protested" to Cheng that the incursions were a "violation of Japan's sovereignty", the ministry said.

Japan also issued separate protests to other officials at the Chinese embassy in Tokyo as well as through its own embassy in Beijing to China's foreign ministry, the statement said.

The Japan Coast Guard, meanwhile, said in a statement that two coast guard vessels from China's State Oceanic Administration entered territorial waters near the Senkaku islands during the afternoon before eventually departing.

One ship entered Japan's waters twice, it said, while a Chinese fishing boat was also seen in violation.

Japan's coast guard said that it warned all the vessels to leave.

Tensions over the islands reached their peak in late 2012, seriously harming bilateral relations.

The two sides have gradually taken steps to ease tensions through dialogue but the fundamental divide over the islands remains unresolved and tensions occasionally flare up.

Japan also lodged a protest in June after it said a Chinese navy frigate sailed close to territorial waters near the islands for the first time.

Japan said in an official annual defence report on Tuesday that China has been stepping up activities in the area, including flying aircraft closer to the islets.

China is also embroiled in an increasingly bitter dispute over territory in the South China Sea with several Southeast Asian countries.
A day after Congress uproar over shutting down of institutions in Amethi and Rae Bareli, HRD Minister Prakash Javadekar today justified the closure of Indian Institute of Information Technology (IIIT) in Amethi saying law did not permit off-campus centres and it was technically illegal.

In the Rajya Sabha, Javadekar said he wanted to respond to the issue of closure of IIIT, Amethi raised by some members yesterday and asserted that there was "no political vendetta".

IIIT, Amethi was sanctioned in 2005 and courses started in 2005-06. This was a full-fledged IIIT, but an off-campus facility of IIIT in Allahabad.

"Law does not permit off-campus centres of IIITs," he said, adding that the one in Amethi, called Rajiv Gandhi IIIT, was "technically illegal".

The campus had one permanent facility and one faculty would travel daily from Allahabad. "Students were unhappy and wanted all faculties to be present there," he said, adding that the students were agitating and wanted to be transferred to Allahabad.

A review by IIT Kanpur had also concluded that the students should be transferred to IIIT Allahabad.

"There is no political vendetta. It is the students who are starving for education," he said justifying the closure.

Students had on July 29 gheraoed the Allahabad IIIT faculty and demanded proper education as Amethi campus did not have permanent faculty and they had to rely on one teacher travelling from Allahabad to teach four classes, he said.

Pramod Tiwari (Cong) said if there was any legal lacunae why did the government not overcome it in two years it has been in office.

The BJP government, he alleged, has "political vendetta" in shutting down six institutes and factories in the Lok Sabha constituencies of Congress president Sonia Gandhi and vice president Rahul Gandhi.

He said it was the employees of IIIT Amethi which was on agitation against closure.

Javadekar replied saying a general science college of Dr Ambedkar University, Lucknow is being started in Amethi and the employees will be accommodated there.

He said in sanctioning Kendriya Vidyalayas after taking over as HRD Minister, he had sanctioned one for Rae Bareli, asserting "we work on merit".

Deputy Chairman P J Kurien told the minister that the Congress member was asking the government to look into any legal and technical lacunae in the Amethi IIIT campus.
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jayalalithaa today announced e-procurement of paddy at an outlay of Rs 13.43 crore to address systemic deficiencies which affect farmers at Direct Paddy Procurement Centres.

Stating that paddy procurement data will be fully digitised, she said sufficient infrastructure will be in place, including Point of Sale (PoS) machines, computers, printers and electronic weighing scales which would enhance the productivity of Direct Paddy Procurement Centres (DPPCs).

New buildings in 50 DPPCs will be built this year at Rs 20 crore.

In a suo motu statement in the state assembly, she said farmers could register their contact and paddy cultivation details through Common Service Centres and an SMS would be sent to them indicating the date and time for bringing paddy to DPPCs.

This would eliminate long waiting hours at DPPCs for farmers. Also, the payout will remitted to their bank accounts through ECS.

She said a modern rice mill with an annual milling capacity of 30,000 tonnes will be set up at Valangaiman in Tiruvarur district at an estimated cost of Rs 20 crore.

Also, two warehouses will be built with a capacity of 10,000 tonnes at Kottur and Needamangalam in Tiruvarur at a cost of Rs 40 crore to store foodgrains.

Such godowns will have conveyors, stackers and (mechanised) loaders to ease the work load of labourers. She said silos to store paddy will be set up in Thanjavur and Tiruvarur districts.

Additionally, a total of five godowns with a capacity of 16,600 tonnes will be set up in Tirunelveli, Vellore, Namakkal, Sivaganga and Cuddalore districts at a cost of Rs 18.50 crore for use of farmers, traders and Food Corporation of India.

She also announced new buildings for 90 Primary Agriculture Cooperative Credit Societies.
Recommendations to restrict outside compensation for treasurer would have to apply to other top elected and appointed officials, attorneys say



State Department of the Treasurer Investment Advisory Committee members on July 28 discuss possible conflict-of-interest guidelines for the state treasurer. From left are David Hartzell, Michael Mebane, John Aneralla, Neal Triplett, and Treasurer Janet Cowell. (CJ photo by Dan Way)

A recommendation that the state might impose ethics-related restrictions on secondary employment and corporate board memberships on the state treasurer - and possibly other Council of State officers - drew a mixed response from those officials.At a July 28 meeting of the Investment Advisory Committee, Blake Thomas, interim general counsel for the Department of the Treasurer, said his goal is tofor the IAC to consider regarding secondary employment and corporate board memberships. The IAC helps state Treasurer Janet Cowell develop investment strategy for North Carolina's nearly $90 billion in retirement funds.Thomas said.The ethics issue emerged earlier this year after Cowell accepted seats on two corporate boards for compensation. The state Ethics Commission approved the action, but Cowell did not advise the retirement board, and some members decided the issue was ripe for review.Thomas said of the Ethics Commission approval procedure. But in a June meeting with IAC members John Aneralla and Michael Mebane, Cowell insisted thatshould fall under any new guidelines.At last week's meeting, Cowell said IAC members must decide what they find objectionable, whether it involves service on outside corporate boards or secondary employment. "Is it time? Is it money?" she asked, and "what conflicts" demand action.Thomas said.Several members of Gov. Pat McCrory's Cabinet and Council of State members have held outside jobs or served on for-profit corporate boards while in office, he said.Thomas said.and limits imposed on the treasurer also are likely to apply to any Cabinet or Council of State member.said Secretary of State Elaine Marshall.Marshall does not have any secondary employment or private business ventures, and her only non-governmental board membership is as a volunteer on the North Carolina 4-H Development Fund Inc. Board of Directors.State Superintendent of Public Instruction June Atkinsonsaid spokeswoman Vanessa Jeter.State Secretary of Labor Cherie Berrysaid spokeswoman Dolores Quesenberry.BerryQuesenberry said.State Auditor Beth Wood said she hasbut would favor restrictions on constitutional officers' outside employment.Wood said.she said.In addition, many of Council of State officers are involved with national and state professional organizations, must attend job-related events, and tend to their families, along with political and campaign obligations.Wood said.Brian Long, spokesman for state Agriculture Commissioner Steve Troxler, said Troxler has a farm and agritourism operation, which are listed on his annual Statement of Economic Interest.Long said.TroxlerLong said.Long said.Lt. Gov. Dan Forest, an architect, defers his compensation while he is in office, said spokesman Jamey Falkenbury. He has a financial interest in two real estate firms, but he doesn't serve on any for-profit corporate boards.Falkenbury said.Noelle Talley, a spokeswoman for Attorney General Roy Cooper, said heNeither Falkenbury nor Talley responded to the question of whether Forest and Cooper would support or oppose a law or constitutional amendment restricting outside employment and corporate board service.McCrory and Insurance Commissioner Wayne Goodwin did not offer comment for this story.
Scouting different places within the state for last 11 days, joint teams of the Odisha Women and Child Development department and police have rescued at least 626 children, the police said today.

These children were away from their families either working as child labourers or begging at railway stations or bus stands.

This was part of Operation Smile, a programme launched by Union Home Ministry three years ago. Over 900 missing children were rescued and rehabilitated by the state government in 2015.

This year's programme started on July 24 and would continue till August 24. While the month-long programme would continue in the state, at least ten teams would go to other states to rescue Odia missing children from August 10, said special DG (crime), B K Sharma.

Personnel from WCD and Odisha Police would be part of these teams and were sensitised at an orientation session held at the police headquarters here today, where senior officials educated the team members about the procedures to be adopted for this sensitive exercise.

The teams would leave for different destinations in States like Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Telengana, Karnataka, New Delhi, Maharashtra, Haryana, Bihar, Jharkhand, Chhatisgarh and West Bengal to rescue the missing Odia children.
Various Kashmiri Hindu organisation today "blamed" the Indian government for its "failure" to protect the Kashmiri Pandit employees, who are staging a protest here against alleged stone pelting on their transit camp in the Valley.

"The Government of India and state government has failed to protect displaced Kashmiri Hindu employees from mob attacks and fear psychosis due to mob attacks, triggering their second migrant from valley. The government has failed to stop this migration", All Party Migrant Coordination Committee (APMCC) Chairman Vinood Pandita said today.

Flanked by the heads of 25 Kashmiri Hindu organisations and temple committees of the state, Pandita said "Does the Indian government want more Tika Lal Taploos, Lassa Kouls and Sarla among our youth employees to become martyrs in 2016 unrest and in future too?"



Criticising the state and central government, he said "The employees cannot go to the Valley in such condition. The honour, respect, dignity and safety of life is at stake. Now the government of India should instead give them a bond in writing about their safety, security and honour".

Over 26 Kashmiri Hindu Organisations, including Pann Kashmir, All State Kashmiri Pandit Conference (ASKPC), All India Kashmiri Samaj (AIKS), Kashmiri Pandit Sabha (KPS), Minority Cells office bearers of National Conference, Congress and BJP came out in support of the employees, who have been protesting for the past 22 days.

"Entire Kashmiri Pandit leadership came out in support of the agitating employees and vowed to intensify the protest if their demands are not met," he said.

The pandit leadership in the press conference organised by the All Parties Migrants Coordination Committee (APMCC), an organisation representing the displaced Kashmiri Pandits, accused the state government for ignoring the Kashmir Hindu employees.

Blaming the state government for betraying the people of the state, he said, "The PDP-BJP government has let down the Hindu community by not addressing their problems and instead activating its own administration to spread lies about the community."



Extending full support to the employees, they said, "No Hindu employee will return to Valley unless the government comes out with a comprehensive return plan for entire Pandit community".
Kerala is expecting a double digit growth in tourist arrivals in the current calendar year and restricted sale of liquor is not adversely affecting the inflow of travellers in the coastal state, an official said today.

"We are expecting a double digit rise in the tourist footfalls in our state this calendar year," Kerala Tourism Department Deputy director Nandkumar K P told reporters here.

He said 1,24,65,571 domestic and 9,77,479 foreign holidayers visited Kerala in 2015. The official, however, did not provide estimated figures of sightseers for 2016.

To a query, Nandkumar said the liquor restriction policy has not hit the tourist influx in the state, known for beaches, hill stations and backwaters.

"No ban has been imposed on liquor sale in Kerala. Its sale has only been regulated due to social reasons," he added.
The US Secretary of State John Kerry has ruled out lifting sanctions against Pakistan-based terrorist outfit Harakat-ul Jihad Islami (HUJI) which was designated as a Foreign Terrorist Organisation by his predecessor Hillary Clinton some six years ago.

Based upon a review of the Administrative Record and in consultation with the Attorney General and the Treasury Secretary, Kerry in a federal notification concluded that the "circumstances that were the basis for designating HuJI as a Foreign Terrorist Organisation have not changed".

As such it does not warrant a revocation of the designation, Kerry said in a statement dated July 20, which was published in the Federal Register today.

The statement does not give reasons for carrying out the review of foreign terrorist organisation designation of HuJI.

On August 6, 2010, the then Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, who is now the Democratic presidential nominee, had slapped sanctions on HuJI and its leader Mohammad Ilyas Kashmir.
The Sri Lankan government today welcomed as "reassuring" the International Committee of the Red Cross' findings on disappearances of people during the civil war.

"The fact the report highlights some of the issues we have taken up at various levels for resolution isreassuring while it also emphasises that a clear resolution on this subject is important to all affectedSri Lankans including more than 5,100 families of the military and police, predominantly from the south,as well as the war affected people primarily from North and East," said the Office of the National Unity and Reconciliation (ONUR), the government's reconciliation arm.

A survey numbering 34 pages and issued late last month said that over 516,000 people were still missing seven years after the conflict ended in 2009.

The report said that out of 395 families surveyed just over one-third believed their loved ones were dead while another third were convinced they were still alive somewhere. The remaining third were unsure.

ONUR headed by former president Chandrika Kumaratunga said as a measure towards relieving the uncertainties and agony the families are going through incoordination with the relevant institutions, has devised a plan of action to systematically look in to thecases of missing persons.

A mechanism has been put in place by the government which will see theestablishment of an independent Office of Missing Persons (OMP) following enactment by Parliament,expected to be completed by the end of August.

To facilitate access to services and benefits offered by the State to the families of the missingpersons in the absence of a Death Certificate, a mechanism to issue a "Certificate of Absence" hasbeen approved by cabinet and the relevant legislation is due to be approved by the Parliament laterthis month.

ONUR said that this legal and administrative remedy will benefit the families of themissing persons with their economic needs while dealing with the ambiguity of the status of theirloved ones in the interim.
Sri Lankan naval personnel today rescued three Tamil Nadu fishermen when their boat got stranded due to a technical problem near Neduntheevu in the island nation.

The fishermen from Kottaipattinam in Pudukottai district were taken to Sri Lanka along with their boat, where the problem was attended to.

Later, the authorities informed the Indian coast Guard personnel and handed them over at the international maritime boundary line along with their boat, Assistant Director of Fisheries Sekar said.
The 19-year-old Norwegian national of Somali-origin, who is in police custody on charges of murder after going on a knife rampage in London, has been described as a "quiet, nice" schoolboy and initial probe indicate that tragic incident was triggered by mental health issues.

Zakaria Bulhan is yet to be officially named by Scotland Yard but UK media reports confirm the London schoolboy as the suspect being held over the murder of64-year-oldAmerican retired teacher Darlene Horton.

A schoolmate, who went to Graveney School in Tooting, south London, with Bulhan told 'Daily Mirror': "It's one of the most shocking things I have ever heard.

No-one would have expected that he would turn out like that.

"He was a quiet, nice kid who had banter with people. He was just a nice kid. I have seen some reports that say he was bullied but it was just banter - he gave back as good as he got. It was a two-way thing."



Norwegian Police said in a statement that the suspect had emigrated from Norway to the UK in 2002 and they were assisting London police.

Scotland Yard had searched addresses in north London and another in south London and concluded that mental health issues were the most likely cause of the "random attack".

After an initial indication that terrorism was one line of inquiry, the force confirmed that there was no evidence of radicalisation or anything to suggest the attack was "in any way motivated by terrorism".

"Whilst the investigation is not yet complete - all of the work that we have done so far, increasingly points to this tragic incident as having been triggered by mental health issues,"Metropolitan police assistant commissioner Mark Rowley said.

"So far we have found no evidence of radicalisation or anything that would suggest the man in our custody was motivated by terrorism,"he added.

ABritish man who suffered a stab wound to his stomach in the attack at Russell Square, near the British Museum, remains in hospital in a "serious but stable" condition while an American man, an Australian man and Australian woman, and an Israeli woman were all discharged after receiving treatment for their injuries.

Horton, who died at the scene, was set to return to Florida today with husband Richard Wagner, a psychology professor at Florida State University (FSU), after he completed his summer classes on the day of the attack.

It is understood that university officials have flown to London to support him.

Floria State University president John Thrasher said: "There are no words to express our heartache over this terrible tragedy".

The Met police said there is an increased police presence in the area popular with tourists, which will remain in place for some time.
Bollywood actress Madhuri Dixit alongside Health & Family Welfare Minister J P Nadda today launched "MAA- Mother's Absolute Affection", a nationwide programme to promote breastfeeding.

The 49-year-old actress, who is a mother of two sons, is the brand ambassador of this campaign, which is an intensified program for the promotion of breastfeeding along with UNICEF India.

"I am delighted to be here today. I thank once again the minister and the ministry for Health & Family Welfare for organising this very important event," Madhuri said at the launch here.

Stressing on the importance of breastfeeding, the "Devdas" actress said, "The message of breastfeeding is necessary... When they spoke to me about this campaign, as a mother I was totally drawn to it.
Maharashtra government will hike the annual income limit of parents of non-creamy layer category OBC students seeking scholarships, to Rs 6 lakh from the current Rs 4.5 lakh, the Assembly was informed today.

The students, whose parents' annual salary stands at Rs 6 lakh (current limit Rs 4.5 lakh) can now apply for various scholarships, thus bringing more pupils under the scheme's ambit.

Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis informed the state Assembly that the decision will apply to Vimukta Jati, Nomadic Tribes, Other Backward Class and Special Backward Class.

Fadnavis also said there's a proposal to set up a separate ministry for development of OBCs.

Students seeking admission in academic year 2016-17 will benefit from the decision, Fadnavis said.
A man wounded in the Bastille Day truck attack in Nice has died of his injuries, hospital officials said, taking the death toll from the massacre to 85.

Mohamed Lahouaiej Bouhlel, a 31-year-old Tunisian, rammed a 19-tonne lorry into revellers enjoying a July 14 fireworks display on Nice's seafront Promenade des Anglais before he was shot dead by police.

The attack, claimed by the Islamic State group, left 434 people injured.

Nice's Pasteur hospital said the man who died yesterday had been on life support since the day of the attack.

Local newspaper Le Messager said he was a 56-year-old from France's eastern Haute-Savoie region, whose wife and son were also killed in the attack and whose 14-year-old daughter remains in hospital.

President Francois Hollande is facing mounting demands to improve security after a string of jihadist attacks, dating back to January 2015, when gunmen stormed the offices of Charlie Hebdo satirical magazine and a Jewish store.

Then in November, 130 people were killed at restaurants, bars and a concert hall in Paris.
is looking to revive efforts to put in place a comprehensive economic cooperation pact with India, close on the heels of sorting out long-pending issues related to the bilateral tax treaty.

The island nation, a major source of foreign direct investments coming into India, is also eyeing a preferential trade agreement.

Minister of Finance and Economic Development Pravind Jugnauth has said that would revive talks with India on Comprehensive Economic Cooperation and Partnership Agreement (CECPA).

"Now that the issue of DTA (Double Taxation Agreement) with India has been resolved, the government will revive and finalise the negotiations with New Delhi on the CECPA including a Preferential Trade Agreement," he said in his 2016-17 Budget speech recently.

India exports petroleum products, pharmaceuticals, cereals, cotton and electrical machinery, among others, to . The island nation exports to India include iron and steel, pearls and precious/semi-precious stones.

In 2014-2015, India exported $1.9 billion worth goods to Mauritius while the imports during the same period were to the tune of $21.19 million, as per official figures.

According to the Indian High Commission in Mauritius, the island nation was the "single largest source of FDI into India during the financial year 2014-15, with FDI equity inflows amounting to $9.03 billion  29 per cent of total inflows in 2014-15".

After long drawn negotiations, the amendment to the 1983 Double Taxation Avoidance Convention (DTAC) was signed by India and Mauritius in May. With the changes, India can impose capital gains tax on investments routed through Mauritius.

For two years starting from April 1, 2017, capital gains tax would be levied at 50 per cent of the prevailing domestic rate and after that, full rate would be applicable.

The three-decade-old taxation treaty, which came into force from April 1, 1983, is said to have been misused by many Indian and multinational companies to avoid paying tax or to route illicit funds.

The island nation was the biggest single source of foreign direct investment into India in 2014-15, accounting for about 24 per cent of $24.7 billion FDI.

In his speech, Jugnauth also expressed his gratitude to the Indian government for the "exceptional financial support of $353 million, that is some Rs 12.7 billion", which the island nation would be receiving over a four-year period.
School teachers in Meghalaya today decided to intensify their stir by calling a 14-day strike from August 22 to September 4 in protest against the state government's delay to provincialise the services of 14,000 teachers.

The decision was taken at a rally sponsored by the Joint Action Committee of All Teachers' Associations of Meghalaya (JACATAM) and attended by teachers from Khasi-Jaintia and Garo Hills at the Iewrynghep ground here.

"We have decided to call for a general strike from August 22 to September 4, in which no teachers will attend schools," JACATAM chairman E D Nongsiang said.

He said the teachers had to resort to this protest as the state government had pushed them to the wall.

Earlier, the teachers had also staged a three-day statewide dharnas against the attitude of the state government towards their demand.

The umbrella JACATAM has been demanding for the past three years for provincialisation of services of over 14,000 teachers working in 4,500 government aided schools under ad hoc, deficit system and deficit pattern.

The demand also assumes significance after the Directorate of Schools Education and Literacy (DSEL) had submitted the proposal for provincialisation of teachers' services to the state government on February 29 earlier this year.

Hitting out at the state government, Nongsiang said "If the government says it has no money for provincialising the teachers services then from where it gets so much money to organise festivals every now and then... Why is it for teachers it has no money?"



Echoing similar views, JACATAM secretary of the Action Committee in Garo Hills Elvis Marak claimed that the Assam government had completed provincialising the services of over 98,000 teachers working in privately run schools.

"If Assam can do it, why not Meghalaya, which is having only 14,000 teachers," he said.

Deputy chief minister in-charge education R C Laloo has maintained that the state government would only take a call on the demand after consulting with various school managing committees.
An Islamist extremist, accused of murdering a Hindu priest earlier this year and carrying a deadly attack on Bangladesh's biggest Eid gathering, was killed in a 'gun fight' when terrorists attacked a police van transporting him, police said today.

Shafiul Islam, 22, was being driven to a police station yesterday when the Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) vehicle was attacked by terrorists.

A second person, who was an associate of Shafiul and was among those who attacked the RAB convoy, was also killed in the attack.

Shafiul, suspect in the Sholakia Eid congregation attack in Kishoreganj being held by law enforcers on Eid day.

RAB personnel had detained Shafiul with a bullet wound right after the attack. He was one of the three motorcycle- borne assailants who killed priest Jagneshwar Roy, 50, with sharp weapons in the early hours of February 21, Daily Star reported.

Roy headed the Santo Gaurio temple at Panchagarh's Debiganj.

A RAB official said Shafiul had been undergoing treatment at Mymensingh Medical College Hospital (MMCH) under RAB custody since he was arrested.

After doctors discharged him yesterday, he was being taken to Kishoreganj to be handed over to the police, he said.

Three security personnel were also injured in the clashes and two motorcycles, arms and bullets were recovered from the spot.

RAB claimed the gun battle took place while militants were trying to take Shafiul away.

Bombs exploded near an Eid prayer gathering in Sholakia in northern Kishoreganj district on July 7 where at least 200,000 people had gathered. Four persons, including two policemen and a Hindu woman, were also killed in the attack.

Shafiul was a member of Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen (JMB), which is accused of carrying out a wave of killings of foreigners and religious minorities.
Expressing serious concern over adulteration of and dairy products, the Supreme Court today said "stringent measures", including amending the Food Safety and Standards Act and making it a penal offence, are needed to "combat" the menace.

Referring to earlier orders, the bench headed by Chief Justice T S Thakur said, "It will be in order, if Union of India considers making suitable amendments in penal provisions at par with the provisions contained in the state amendments to the IPC. It is also desirable that Union of India revisits the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006 to revise punishment for adulteration making it more deterrent in cases where the adulterant can have an adverse impact on health."



The bench, also comprising Justices R Banumathi and U U Lalit, referred to the amendments made by some states like West Bengal, Odisha in the IPC, enhancing jail term to the imprisonment for life with or without fine for the offence of food adulteration.

The court, while issuing a slew of guidelines to curb adulteration, said infants are "traditionally" fed and hence, stringent steps are needed.

"Union of India and the state governments shall take appropriate steps to implement Food Safety and Standards Act in a more effective manner," it said.

It asked the states to take steps to inform "owners of dairy, dairy operators and retailers" that if chemical adulterants like pesticides, caustic soda and other chemicals are found in milk, then stringent action will be taken against them.

The verdict, written by Justice Banumathi, asked the State Food Safety Authority (SFSA) to identify "high risk areas" where chances of milk adulteration are more during festivals.

"SFSA should also ensure that there is adequate lab testing infrastructure and ensure that all labs have/obtain NABL accreditation to facilitate precise testing. The state governments should to ensure that state food testing laboratories/district food laboratories are well-equipped with the technical persons and testing facilities," it said.

The apex court also asked SFSA to take steps to ensure



that sampling and testing of milk and milk products can be done at the spot by mobile food testing vans, equipped with primary testing kits, for conducting "qualitative test of adulteration in food".

"For curbing milk adulteration, an appropriate state level committee headed by the Chief Secretary or the Secretary of Dairy Department and District level Committee headed by the concerned District Collector shall be constituted as is done in the state of Maharashtra to take the review of the work done to curb the milk adulteration in the district and in the state by the authorities," it said.

It asked the states to set up a website, specifying the functioning and responsibilities of food safety authorities and also creating awareness about complaint mechanisms, to prevent adulteration of milk.

The websites, which will have contact details of the Joint Commissioners including the Food Safety Commissioners, would register such complaints.

"States should also maintain toll-free telephonic and on- line complaint mechanism," the verdict said.

To increase consumer awareness about ill effects of milk adulteration, the general public should be informed about the nature of risk to health and create awareness of food safety and standards, it said.

School children should be educated school by conducting workshops and teaching them easy methods for detection of common adulterants in food, keeping in mind indigenous technological innovations, such as milk adulteration detection strips, it said.

It also asked the Centre to evolve a complaint mechanism for "checking corruption and other unethical practices of the food authorities and their officers".

The verdict came on a PIL filed by Swami Achyutanand Tirth highlighting the menace of growing sale of adulterated and synthetic milk in different parts of the country.
West Bengal finance minister Amit Mitra today reacted sharply to Union finance minister Arun Jaitley's comment in the Lok Sabha that one should take loan as per its repaying capacity, describing it as "shocking".

"We are shocked... The people of West Bengal are stunned by this statement of the finance minister... How can he take the matter so lightly?" Mitra said at the state secretariat.

The erstwhile Left Front government had left a mammoth debt for the present Trinamool Congress government to repay, Mitra said and pointed out that it was the Centre which had granted loans to the state and so had the responsibility of looking after the repayment issue too.

"Without the Centre's sanction, the state cannot get loans... So the Centre has the responsibility in seeing the repayment issue also," Mitra said.

In the 2011-2016 period, the state had paid Rs 1,40,722 crore by way of repayment of loan to the Centre, Mitra said adding that the state government had paid Rs 42,312 crore as interest for the market borrowings, including bond and small savings, made by the Left Front government.

Referring to the Centre pledging USD 10 billion from the International Monetary Fund for debt restructuring to countries like Greece and others, Mitra said "They can give it for debt restructuring to other countries, but not to the states."



"The central government is witnessing that the loans taken by West Bengal are growing rapidly and is heading towards a fiscal crisis... It puts up a question on the existence of the federal structure," Mitra said.

State Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee had met Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Finance Minister Arun Jaitley seeking a loan waiver and adequate central funds for the state.

"The government should do some plan to restructure the debt. Otherwise, all states in the country will be heavily debt-ridden," Mamata said had said after the meeting.

Mitra pointed out that in the next five-year period (2016-17 to 2020-2021) the state government needed to repay around Rs 1 lakh crore as principal for the loans taken by the erstwhile Left Front government.

The total amount the state needed to repay inclusive of the principal and the interest would add up to Rs 2,53,910 crore in the next five years, he said.

The TMC government in the last five years had taken a loan of Rs 1,13,000 crore out of which Rs 94,000 crore was spent towards repayment of loans taken by the Left Front government, Mitra stated describing it as a 'debt-trap'.
Mizoram government (Police and Excise and Narcotics departments) and the central committee of the Young Mizo Association (YMA), the apex Mizo body, today inked an agreement to jointly combat drug menace in the state.

Minister for Excise and Narcotics and Home R Lalzirliana, addressing the agreement signing function, said firm and decisive action would be taken against drug traffickers.

Lalzirliana said though the YMA volunteers, while incurring huge expenses, had never asked for financial assistance from the government in their activities against drugs and narcotics, the state government sanctioned Rs 30 lakh to the central committee of the YMA.

He also said additional budgetary allocation to the tune of Rs 70 lakh would be made for the Police department and Rs 30 lakh for the Excise and Narcotics department for the expenses in fighting drugs and narcotics menace.

The minister later torched seized drugs worth over Rs 1.21 crore in the presence of senior home, police, excise and narcotics departments officials and YMA leaders.

Meetings were organised in all district headquarters, jointly by government officials and local YMA leaders today on the issue.
For Indian travellers, has been ranked the most expensive city in the country, but second least expensive in the world, according to a report.

The financial capital of the country, has been ranked the most expensive city in India, however, it is the second least expensive destination in the world to visit after Hanoi, according to TripAdvisor's sixth edition of annual TripIndex Cities.

Overall, the report revealed that New York (US), the most expensive city internationally for a three-day break for Indians will cost Rs 1,24,201, which is over three times costly than Mumbai, the most expensive city in India.

Capetown in South Africa has been ranked third globally least expensive city to visit followed by Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia), Bangkok (Thailand) and Moscow (Russia).

TripAdvisor's sixth edition of annual TripIndex Cities compares the cost of a three-night break during the summer travel from June-September in 27 key cities around the world.

Conducted by independent research firm TNS, TripIndex Cities also includes eight Indian cities, including New Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Chennai, Kolkata, Hyderabad, Pune, Jaipur, taking into account in-destination costs for two people.

These include a four-star hotel for three nights, a visit to three attractions, lunch each day, a taxi to and from dinner each day, plus the cost of dinner itself, the report said.

In India, Pune in Maharashtra is the lowest cost destination at Rs 26,595, followed by Jaipur, Chennai, Kolkata and Bangalore, the report revealed.

"Our research of booking rates on TripAdvisor shows that it is possible to budget for a full trip to Pune for little more than the average cost of accommodation in over the same dates. Such information helps travellers assess the various aspects of their trip before going ahead and making the final booking," TripAdvisor India Country Manager Nikhil Ganju said.

Globally when it come to eating out, Tokyo has emerged the most expensive city at Rs 40,587, which is almost three times the cost of Hyderabad that is the costliest in India at Rs 13,668.

In transport, the report revealed that Tokyo, which has the most expensive taxi ride at Rs 7,736 is six times more than the cost in New Delhi (Rs 1,224) and more than 12 times in Mumbai (Rs 628).

At the same time, New Delhi, which has the most expensive taxi fares in India is two-three times more expensive than the cost of taxi rides in international cities like Hanoi, Kuala Lumpur, Bangkok, Moscow and Bali.
As part of transforming Mumbai into a Smart City, the state government will provide as many as 1,200 wi-fi hotspots in the megapolis, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said today.

"We are making Mumbai a wi-fi city by May 2017 with 1,200 hotspots at important places," Fadnavis said during a debate on issues related to urban development in the state Assembly.

This was another important step after the CCTV project towards making Mumbai a Smart City, he said.

Of the total of 1,200 hotspots, 500 will be operational in the first phase by November 2016, Fadnavis said.

Talking about other Mumbai-related issues, he said BMC (municipal corporation) will treat all the sewage water before it flows into the sea.

A project to generate electricity from the waste was being set up, Fadnavis said.

The Union Government had sanctioned affordable housing projects under which 1,01,701 houses would be constructed in the state. Centre had allocated Rs 1,513 crore and the state Government Rs 967 crore, Fadnavis said.

"We have taken a decision to allow cluster development (of residential buildings) in suburban areas too. We are waiting for impact assessment report," he said.

Saying that his government had not spared anyone found guilty of corruption, Fadnavis said many corrective steps on waste management were taken after the Deonar (garbage) dumping ground fire incident in Mumbai.

Maharashtra had signed an MoU with HP for creating IT infrastructure in three Smart Cities, and was going to invest Rs 1,800 crore for this, he said.

Rs 4,000 crore had been made available for the development works in 44 AMRUT cities, Fadnavis said.

BJP MLA from Mumbai Ashish Shelar sought a probe into the alleged grant of excess FSI to 24 IT parks in Mumbai during the Congress-NCP regime. Fadnavis promised an inquiry.

Shelar also claimed that Rs 1,200 core were collected in excess from residents of Mumbai towards the property tax.
The "remarkable" success of National AIDS Control Programme has shown that the target of ending HIV/AIDS by 2030 is realistic and India has reinforced its commitment to fast track the progress on eradicating the pandemic, the government said today.

Minister of State for Health Anupriya Patel said in a written reply in Lok Sabha that the government is also increasing allocation of fund to fight HIV/AIDS.

"The remarkable successes of National AIDS Control Programme (NACP) have demonstrated that the target of ending the AIDS epidemic by 2030 is realistic and India is one of the leading partners in the global fight against AIDS epidemic," she said.

"India reinforced its commitment to fast track progress on ending the AIDS epidemic by 2030 at a high level meeting on HIV/AIDS at the UN General Assembly on June 8 this year," she added.

The government has proposed a five-point strategy for the next five years which include adoption of fast track targets proposed while keeping prevention also in focus, increase investments, ensuring access to affordable medicines and commodity security and creating an inclusive society that values every human life, the Minister said.

The strategy also includes showing global solidarity including all forms of cooperation including North South, South South, multilateral and bilateral cooperation and collaboration between governments, private sector and civil society, she added.

"The government is increasing fund allocation to fight HIV/AIDS. During financial year 2016-17, an amount of Rs 1,710 crore has been alloted to NACP, showing an increase of Rs 104 crore over previous year," Patel said.

The Indian Pharmaceutical industry supplies more than 80 per cent of low cost generic medicines and have been instrumental in scaling up access to HIV treatment not only in India but other parts of the world, she said.
A cycle expedition, which commenced from Nepal a month ago to create awareness about environmental and gender-related issues, reached Jammu today.

Around 500 monks and nuns had started the journey on July 3 from Kathmandu towards Ladakh in Jammu and Kashmir. It will cover a distance of over 2,500 kms.

"The expedition commencing from one of the monasteries of Drukpa Lineage has become an annual feature aimed at spreading awareness about environmental and gender related issues in both the countries (India and Nepal)," Gyalwang Drukpa, spiritual head of Drukpa Lineage, told reporters.

He said the expedition traversed through arduous routes in the Himalayan region amid adverse climatic conditions.

"It passed through quake-hit regions of Nepal to the monsoon-hit towns of Uttarakhand, Punjab, Haryana and Himachal Pradesh," he said, adding the expedition will culminate at Hemis Monastery in Ladakh.

He said a grand spiritual festival will be held in Ladakh to commemorate the 1000 birth anniversary of Indian saint Naropa, the patron of the Drukpa Lineage.

Drukpa, who is the founder of Druk Padma Karpo School in Ladakh, popularly known as Rancho School of 3 Idiots fame, said a lot more needs to be done to tackle environment and gender related issues in the country.

"It is good that the government has started Swach Bharat Mission and Beti Bachao and Beti Padhao Mission but a lot needs to be done on the ground to make these missions a success," he said.

While appealing the people of Kashmir to maintain peace and harmony, the spiritual leader said it was necessary for the development of the state.

"Peace has to be maintained from both the sides. It is not a one-way traffic. Bot the both parties need to sit and understand the importance of peace as nobody wants to be killed by gun," he stressed.

He also said people should stop fighting in the name of the religion.

Drukpa, who has been given the title of "Keeper of the Himalayas" by the United Nations, has given space to a large number of women in his monastery.
U.S. Sen. Steve Daines, R-Mont., is on the campaign trail for his former boss and Republican gubernatorial candidate Greg Gianforte.

Daines, Montana's most prominent statewide elected Republican, began campaigning for Gianforte on Thursday with morning radio appearances in Billings and a stop at Uberbrew to celebrate startup businesses.

We love the life that we have here in Montana, but youve got to be able to find a way to make a living and have a livable wage, Daines said. He brings that experience of creating jobs averaging over $90,000 a year, over 500 jobs created in Bozeman and this ecosystem of innovation and entrepreneurship thats starting spread.

Gianforte founded the software company RightNow Technologies in Bozeman roughly 20 years ago. RightNow software enabled governments and companies to answer frequently asked questions online. The companys global workforce ballooned to 1,200 before it was sold to Oracle for $1.8 billion in 2012.

Oracle kept those jobs in Bozeman after the purchase. Numerous Bozeman tech startups have sprung from RighNows sale, as former RightNow employees with shares in the company cashed out and started businesses.

Daines said Gianforte can take the efficiency and customer service in which RightNow specialized and bring it to state government.

Daines was pointed about what he said was Democratic Gov. Steve Bullocks inability to attract and retain good people. Bullock is on his third lieutenant governor in four years. One of those second in commands was John Walsh, Bullocks original running mate, who in 2014 the governor appointed to replace former Sen. Max Baucus in the U.S. Senate and eventually endorsed as the candidate to replace Baucus.

Daines challenged Walsh for the seat in the 2014 general election, but Walsh was exposed by the New York Times for plagiarizing the final research paper behind his master's degree at the Army War College. The War College rescinded Walshs degree.

Sunday will mark the two-year anniversary of Walshs decision to quit the Senate race. Democrats scrambled to replace Walsh as a candidate, selecting Amanda Curtis, a school teacher from Butte who had been a state legislator.

Daines won the race with 57 percent of the vote and captured a seat Democrats had held for three decades.

Bullock replaced Walsh with Angela McLean, former chairwoman of the state Board of Regents and school teacher. McLean took a job with the Montana University System after apparent discord with Bullock.

In May 2015, McLean relayed to Bullock that Tracy Stone-Manning, the governors chief of staff, had informed McLean that Bullock was looking for a different running mate.

"I guess I am learning ambition is a funny thing and realizing the full consequences of standing up for what you believe is right. It really is the hardest thing, McLean wrote Bullock.

Whatever McLean believed she was standing up for has never been explained. In December, after McLeans departure, Bullock told Lee Newspapers of McLeans departure, "this happens every day in businesses across the country, where the fit just isnt right. Angela is smart and ambitious, but seemed frustrated with the role of lieutenant governor, and that was disruptive to our work for Montana.

Current lieutenant governor and running mate Mike Cooney replaced McLean.

It is a bit concerning that the governor has gone through three lieutenant governors in his first term, Daines said. I think that says something about his inability to retain the people that work for him. That concerns me. And Im looking for a leader who has a bold vision for Montana to address this issue of jobs and wages. Greg brings that bold leadership, his vision, because hes actually done it.

Bullock campaign spokesman Jason Pitt responded for the governor: "Sen. Daines' real concern should be that the New Jersey multimillionaire he's campaigning for, Greg Gianforte, doesn't support the equal pay initiatives Steve Bullock announced this week. That's hardly leadership; I'd call it a thumb in the eye to all Montanans."
National Institution for Transforming India (NITI) Aayog is likely to unveil the new National Energy Policy in the next three months with a focus on air quality issue, renewable energy, natural gas, universal electrification and clean cooking fuel.

The policy will replace Integrated Energy Policy that envisioned a road map for sustainable growth with energy security over a reasonable period of time. It was approved by the Union Cabinet in December 2008 during the United Progressive Alliance regime.

"The work on National Energy Policy is in advance stages. would be able to bring out the policy in 10-12 weeks," a senior official said.

The official said, "The policy will replace the earlier Integrated Energy Policy. In addition to the areas covered under the existing policy, the new document will focus on air quality issue, renewable energy, natural gas, universal electrification and clean cooking fuel."

"Earlier policy did not cover natural gas exhaustively as the prices were very high in 2006-07. Secondly, the government is pushing renewables which would be covered under this. Since the government wants to provide electricity and clean cooking fuel to all. It will provide an outlook on these subjects," he said.

The official also said that the policy will also make a case of polluter pays in view of deteriorating air quality, industrial emission and vehicular pollution.

The new policy will also incorporate energy modelling, which in other words is computerised simulation of a building or complex that focuses on energy consumption, utility bills and life cycle costs of various energy related items.

It is also used to evaluate 'payback' of green energy solutions like solar panels and photovoltaics, wind turbines and high efficiency appliances.

is also working on a platform that will host all the data related to energy sector in the country including oil & gas, coal, solar & thermal energy etc.

The official said that it will take three to four years to develop this New Energy Data Agency. Aayog is in the process of inking a Memorandum of Understanding with US Energy Information Administration for this purpose.

In its run up to unveiling detailed road map for country's energy security, is organising National Conference On Energy Data Management, Modelling and GIS Mapping on next Wednesday.

During the conference, the US Ambassador and the UK High Commissioner will talk about India's collaborations with the USAID and the Department of Energy & Climate Change (UK).

Aayog is also working on geospatial map related to energy infrastructure to boost renewable sources.
No new judges were appointed to the higher judiciary for eight months when the Supreme Court was deciding on the validity of a new law on appointment of judges, the government said today and pointed out various causes such as increase in sanctioned strength of judges and retirements as reasons behind vacancies.

Minister of State for Law P P Chaudhary told Rajya Sabha that there are vacancies in the Supreme Court and the 24 High Courts and these "mainly occurred" due to increase in the sanctioned strength of judges from 906 in June 2014 to 1079 now, resignation, death and elevation of judges.

"Further, in view of the National Judicial Appointments Commission (Act) case from April, 2015 till the date of pronouncement of judgement on December 16, 2015, only those additional judges whose terms were expiring were given extension of three months as per Supreme Court orders...No other appointments were made," he said in a written reply.

The law, which sought to overturn the over two decade old collegium system where judges appoint judges and give the executive a say in judicial appointments, was struck down by the apex court.

He said at the initiative of the government, the matter was taken up with the Supreme Court and the process of appointment of judges has been resumed.

"During 2016, 110 additional judges of high courts have been made permanent. Four and 52 judges have been appointed in the Supreme Court and the high court respectively," he said.
The Centre today told the Supreme Court that it did not take a "rigid" stand in appointment of Vice Chancellor of AMU and forwarded three short-listed names to the President for approval as the varsity has kept the UGC regulations on the issue at abeyance.

The Ministry of Human Resource Development (HRD), in its reply filed before a bench headed by Chief Justice T S Thakur, said that three names were forwarded to the President under the relevant provisions of the Aligarh Muslim University Act.

The President appointed one of the short-listed persons as the VC, the ministry said, adding the varsity is yet to adopt the regulations of the University Grants Commission (UGC).

At the outset, the counsel for the UGC told the bench, also comprising Justices A M Khanwilkar and D Y Chandrachud, that the appointment of the VC should be as per regulations.

The reply of the HRD Ministry was filed in response to a plea of an alumni of the university seeking a direction to quash appointment of Lt Gen (Retd) Zameeruddin Shah as the VC.

"As far as the appointment of present Vice Chancellor of the AMU is concerned, the university has explained in its affidavit that the adoption of clause 7.3.0 of the UGC regulations was kept in abeyance at the time of processing the matter of the filling up of the post of Vice Chancellor.

"Since the university had not adopted the said UGC regulations pertaining to appointment of the Vice Chancellor, it sent the proposal containing a panel of three persons recommended by the court of University to the ministry for onward submission to the visitor (President), which was prepared in accordance with the prevalent statutes of AMU Act, 1920," the ministry said.

"The ministry did not take a rigid stand at the time of forwarding the panel to the visitor in May 2012 as the post of the VC was vacant and was required to be filled up without delay," the ministry said, adding that the post was filled up in May 2012 with the approval of competent authority that is visitor, who is the President, on the "basis of panel recommended by the court as per the relevant statutes of AMU Act".

The appointment of Shah as the VC of AMU on May 11, 2012



was challenged on the ground that according to the UGC regulations, the VC ought to have worked for at least 10 years as a professor in a university or on an equivalent post in a research or academic institute.

The petitioner, Syed Abrar Ahmed, had argued before the high court that the regulations -- which pertained to minimum qualifications and maintenance of standards in higher education -- had become binding on AMU when it had adopted these on December 6, 2010.

The ministry said that the UGC regulations on Minimum Qualifications for Appointment of Teachers and Other Academic Staff in Universities and Colleges and Measures for Maintenance of Standards in Higher Education, 2010 are mandatory for central universities.

"All the central universities should adopt these regulations without fail and as early as possible in order to ensure maintenance of standards in higher education," it said.

It said that the new UGC regulations cannot lead to an "automatic amendment to the university's Act and statutes given the autonomous amendment of the central universities as envisaged by the respective Central University Act passed by Parliament".

Earlier, the apex court had asked the Centre whether "a university can itself be termed as a minority institution."



The court has also sought Attorney General Mukul Rohatgi's assistance in the matter.
Residents of Oak Creek, Indian- Americans,members of Sikhcommunity and lawmakers today remembered the victims of the tragic mass shooting by a white supremacist four years ago that claimed the lives of six Sikhs at a Gurdawra in the Wisconsin city.

In Oak Creek, the local Sikh community would be organising the fourth annual Chardhi Kala 6K Run/Walk, blood drive, and food drive on August 6.

On Sunday the victims' families are expected to speak at a function.

"We hold this event to bring communities together, to bring people of various backgrounds together to show them who we are and to learn who they are in hopes of creating a stronger bond and preventing something like the August 5, 2012 shooting to ever happen again," said Navi Singh Gill, founder of the Chardhi Kala 6K event, and son of one of the founding members of the Sikh Temple of Wisconsin.

"Building safe and inclusive communities takes sacrifice, dedication, hard work, and deliberate practice," Pardeep Singh Kaleka, eldest son of the late Satwant Singh Kaleka, the president of the Sikh Temple of Wisconsin who was killed in the shooting, told NBC .

"If we don't bring people together because of fear, then we are cowards and have no business calling ourselves Sikhs," he said.

Six Sikhs were killed and three more were wounded, along with an Oak Creek police officer, when a white supremacist filled with hate and armed with a gun attacked the Oak Creek Sikh Temple in Wisconsin.

Responding officer Lt. Brian Murphy was shot fifteen times before the shooter was brought down.

"Four years ago today a man driven by hate and armed with a gun invaded such a place, took six innocent lives, and, in doing so, attacked an entire community of the faithful. Today's anniversary serves as another reminder of the importance of engaging in a national conversation about hate in America and the policies we can enact to disarm it by keeping guns out of dangerous hands," said Dan Gross, President of the Brady Campaign in a statement.

Congressman Donna Edwards in a tweet urged people to honour the six victims and four survivors by acting to end gun violence.

"We remember the victims of the Wisconsin Sikh temple shooting four years ago today," said Ant-Defamation League (ADL) in a tweet.

"Oak Creek reminds us all that backlash targets Sikhs, South Asians, Muslims, Arabs," said Sikh Coalition.
US President Barack Obama has expressed doubts whether to trust Russia to cooperate militarily with America in putting an end to the Syrian crisis, saying the proposition needs to be tested first.

"I'm not confident that we can trust the Russians or Vladimir Putin, which is why we have to test whether or not we can get an actual cessation of hostilities. That includes an end to the kinds of aerial bombing and civilian death and destruction that we've seen carried out by the Assad regime," Obama told reporters at news conference yesterday.

He said Russia may not be able to get there, either because they don't want to, or because they don't have sufficient influence over Assad and that will be tested by the US.

"We go into this without any blinders on. We're very clear that Russia has been willing to support a murderous regime that has an individual, Assad, who has destroyed his country just to cling on to power. What started with peaceful protests has led to a shattering of an entire pretty advanced society," Obama said.

"Whenever you are trying to broker any kind of deal with an individual or a country like that, you have got to go in there with some scepticism," he said while replying to a question.

Talking about the Syrian crisis Obama said defeating the ISIS and Al-Qaeda requires and end to the civil war and the Assad regime's brutality against the Syrian people that has pushed people into the arms of extremists.

"The regime and its allies continue to violate the cessation of hostilities, including with vicious attacks on defenceless civilians, medieval sieges against cities like Aleppo, and blocking food from reaching families that are starving."



"It is deplorable and the depravity of the Syrian regime has rightly earned the condemnation of the world," he said.

In a strong message to Russia, Obama said the country's direct involvement in these actions over the last several weeks raises very serious questions about their commitment to pulling the situation back from the brink.

"The US remains prepared to work with Russia to try to reduce the violence and strengthen our efforts against ISIL and Al-Qaeda in Syria, but so far Russia has failed to take the necessary steps."



Given the deteriorating situation, it is time for Russia to show that it is serious about pursuing these objectives," he said.
Country's oilmeal exports almost doubled to 87,944 tonnes in July on higher shipment of castorseed meal to South Korea, industry body SEA said today.

However, oilmeal export during April-July period of this fiscal fell 47 per cent to 2,74,237 tonnes compared to 5,17,914 tonnes in the year-ago period.

The country had shipped 44,238 tonnes of oilmeal, used as animal feed, in July last year.

Mumbai-based Solvent Extractors Association of India (SEA) attributed fall in oilmeal export during the April-July period to "lesser availability of oilseeds for crushing and continuous disparity in exporting oilmeal in international market".

As per the SEA data, the country exported 78,759 tonnes of castorseed meal, especially to South Korea, in July this year, which is a significant jump from 887 tonnes in the year-ago period.

Similarly, the shipment of soyabean meal increased sharply to 3,290 tonnes from 928 tonnes in the review period.

But the export of rapeseed meal declined to 4,197 tonnes in July this year from 8,647 tonnes in the year-ago period. Ricebran extraction shipments too dropped sharply to 1,500 tonnes from 33,628 tonnes in the said period.

Out of the total exports undertaken in July, a maximum of 78,000 tonnes of oilmeal was shipped to South Korea, followed by Thailand at 1,329 tonnes and Vietnam at 2,397 tonnes.

South Korea and Vietnam are the top two destinations for export of oilmeal for India.
Cab aggregator Ola has partnered with The World Resource Institute (WRI) to promote shared ride and reduce carbon emission in cities like Delhi and Mumbai.

Under the campaign, Ola will install a 'billboard' at prominent junctions in Delhi, Mumbai and Bangalore to display and track carbon emission levels saved in real time by commuters using 'Ola Share' rides in respective cities.

"Our goal is to help cities reduce on-road congestion and unhealthy traffic jams, by encouraging more and more commuters to opt for Ola Share," Ola Head of Categories and CMO Raghuvesh Sarup said.

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Univ of Chicago Booth launches programme for senior executives * University of Chicago Booth in collaboration with Northwest has launched its first-ever programme for senior executives in India.

The Chicago Booth Accelerated Development Programme (ADP)-India, would offer significant exposure to key business concepts and strategies in a format of over 10 months.

The programme will have three academic in-class modules at University of Chicago and Booth campuses in New Delhi, Hong Kong, and Chicago besides three workshop sessions, three online foundation programs and several peer assisted learning exercises offered by Northwest Executive Education.

It will begin in December 2016.

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Future Generali India Insurance launches 'Sukshma Hospicash' * Future Generali India Insurance Company (FGII) today launched 'Sukshma Hospicash', a micro-insurance cover specifically designed to take care of the incidental expenses in case of hospitalisation.

The policy will be available both for group and retail customers, the company said in a release issued here.

This is a package policy aimed at providing financial security to the economically vulnerable population of the country. The product will be available through the company's tie-ups with banks, micro-finance institutions, NGOs and through individual agents in rural areas.

**************



Sona Koyo Steering Systems Q1 net down 18.5% * Auto component maker Sona Koyo Steering Systems today reported 18.49 per cent decline in consolidated net profit at Rs 10.75 crore for the first quarter ended June 2016.

The company had posted a consolidated net profit of Rs 13.19 crore in the same period last fiscal, Sona Koyo Steering Systems said in a BSE filing.

Consolidated net sales during the first quarter of the fiscal stood at Rs 346.38 crore as against Rs 374.67 crore in the same period last fiscal, down 7.5 per cent.

**************



Online Seafood store 'Daily Fish' launched * Online seafood store 'Daily Fish' has been launched targeting a business of Rs 20 crore this fiscal from Kerala.

The brand promoted by Baby Marine group, one of the largest seafood exporters from India, has also launched its unique shipping app and delivery model, offering a variety of favourite seafood species cut, cleaned and delivered at the doorstep.

Thiruvananthapuram is the second city where it has been launched after commercial capital Kochi in February.
Accusing Maharashtra government of "disrespecting" the Legislative Council by not informing it about the passage of Cooperation Bill in Legislative Assembly, the Congress and NCP today stalled the proceedings of Upper House.

In his reply, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis admitted that it was "administrative mistake" on part of government to not inform Upper House about the passage of the said bill in Legislative Assembly yesterday.

He said the government did not list the bill in the business agenda of the Council today.

Creating an uproar, the Congress and NCP demanded that the bill should have been sent to the Joint Select Committee within six months instead of allowing its passage in Lower House, where BJP and its alliance partner Shiv Sena enjoy majority.

Quoting provisions of Article 197(2) of the Constitution, Fadnavis said, "Once a bill is passed in Lower House, it is transferred to Upper House for passage. The Assembly may or may not accept the amendments proposed by the Council."



Tendering an apology, he said, "the government had no intention of showing any disrespect to the Legislative Council. Also, there was no constitutional deadlock (on the issue)."



Conceding "administrative mistake", Fadnavis said the government will add a corrigendum to today's agenda and list the bill for passage.

Leader of Opposition in the Legislative Council, Dhananjay Munde said, "By passing the bill in Lower House, where the government referred it to Joint Selection Committee unlike in Council, the government has shown disrespect to Upper House."



Parliamentary Affairs Minister Girish Bapat apologised for the failure to constitute the Joint Select Committee.

"Yesterday the bill was passed in the Lower House very late in the day. It was a technical mistake on the part of the government of not listing the bill on the agenda," Bapat said.
Pakistan on Friday said it has formally approached medical relief charity Medecins Sans Frontieres (Doctors without Borders) for emergency health services in Kashmir.

Advisor to the Prime Minister on Foreign Affairs Sartaj Aziz wrote a letter to MSF chief highlighting the emergency health situation in Kashmir, Foreign Office spokesman said in a statement.

The advisor wrote about the state of "medical emergency" in that has developed as a result of "atrocious Indian brutalities against unarmed and defenseless civilians".

"The Advisor has requested MSF to immediately provide medical assistance to thousands of injured in Kashmir. The Advisor particularly emphasised the urgent need of eye surgeons, as hundreds of people are suffering from severe eye injuries caused by the use of pellet guns on peaceful protesters," it said.

It is not sure how the MSF would respond to the letter, which seems to be an effort to internationally highlight the issue of Kashmir.

Pakistan and India have been at loggerheads over the recent unrest in Kashmir.

The two sides exchanged barbs at South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (Saarc) security summit in Islamabad when Home Minister Rajnath Singh visited Pakistan on Thursday.
Pakistan today sought help from the US and Afghan government to ensure safe return of the crew of a Pakistani helicopter that crash-landed in a lawless region of Afghanistan and is being held by the Taliban.

An MI-17 helicopter owned by Punjab provincial government was on its way to Russia for routine maintenance when it was forced to make crash-landing yesterday in Logar, a province with large areas under Taliban control.

Pakistan army spokesman said that army chief General Raheel Sharif called NATO and US forces top commander in Afghanistan General John Nicholson and Afghan President Ashraf Ghani for help to get back the crew.

"General Nicolson assured all possible help in this regard," it said.

President Ghani also promised his support in locating and getting back the crew members, army said.

Afghan ministry of defence spokesman Dawlat Waziri said in a statement in Kabul that his country "ordered its security forces to use all force necessary to rescue the helicopter crew in question."



Afghan Taliban sources said that seven crew members, including a Russian national, were in their custody and the central leadership will make a decision for their return.

Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif said federal government is in constant touch with the relevant authorities in Afghanistan and the state's resources are fully utilised to rescue the personnel who were onboard in the helicopter.

"Formal and informal channels are being used to ensure safe recovery of the entire crew," he said in a statement.

"We are profoundly concerned about the safety of the whole team that was travelling on the helicopter. We have formally requested the Government of Afghanistan to help in their safe recovery, at the earliest possible," he said further.

It is not known what forced the plane to crash-land in the hostile terrain and region.
Among full-time, year-round workers in Montana, women only earn 74 percent of the median income earned by men. Thats 45th in the nation.

Its a problem that was highlighted by Gov. Steve Bullock and members of the Montana Equal Pay Task Force on Wednesday in Missoula.

Bullock announced an executive order encouraging businesses that work with the state to make it easier for employees to find out how much they are being paid and how their pay compares to their peers; the establishment of an equal-pay hotline to handle compensation complaints, and a statewide sticker and pledge campaign to raise community awareness on the topic.

Bullock and Lt. Gov. Mike Cooney have been traveling the state with members of the Equal Pay for Equal Work Task Force this week. They made stops in Butte, Helena and Great Falls.

Bullock was at the City Brew on King Avenue West in Billings on Thursday.

The plan for a business-state partnership includes:

 An executive order asking businesses large and small to lead by example and promote equal pay for equal work;

 A new www.equalpay.mt.gov website, where employers can get hiring guidance;

 1-844-550-FAIR, a new hotline to report wage discrimination.

The notion that women should be paid equally for equal work should be fairly common sense by now, Bullock said.

Narrowing the wage gap for Montana women not only boosts their earning potential, it strengthens Montana working families and opens up opportunities for a new generation of women in the workforce, Bullock said. Montanans believe in a fair days pay for a fair days work, and these initiatives give us more tools to ensure we are doing everything we can to close the wage gap across the state.

The executive order encourages contractors who do business with the state to post salary ranges in employment listings and discourages them from talking about wage history in employment interviews. It also discourages contractors from retaliating against employees who discuss or disclose their wages in the workplace. These are all considered best practices in decreasing wage disparity between men and women.

The website, www.equalpay.mt.gov, will provide a Self-Audit Pay Primer for businesses and other information for employers.

The equal pay hotline will be staffed by the Montana Human Rights Bureau to address complaints regarding equal pay, sexual harassment or discrimination based on sex, sexual orientation or pregnancy status.

State Rep. Diane Sands, a Democrat from Missoula, said she has been a womens activist for 50 years and this is one of the major issues she's tried to tackle.

She recalled how her mother was hopping mad when she came home from a job interview at a school after being told she didnt need to be paid as much as her husband for the same job. She also recalled working at a Bible camp and being told that men had to be paid more to be counselors because they simply wouldnt work for less.

Thats why Im thrilled that this governor is the only governor weve had who has actually cared about this issue and cared about making it a priority, Sands said.

Bullock established the Equal Pay for Equal Work Task Force in June 2013. During the 2015 legislative session, the Task Force proposed three bills. The only one that passed provides for unemployment insurance benefits for victims of domestic violence, sexual assault and stalking.

Sue Larew, a vice president at First Interstate Bank, was one of the first business leaders in the state to sign the Equal Pay pledge. The businesses who sign up are agreeing to include women on hiring committees and provide diversity and gender equity training, among other things.

If you are a female, whether you just graduated from college or are looking for a job through a job service, you are much less likely to negotiate for wages, she said. We know that there are cultural barriers that ultimately have nothing to do with legislation.

In 1919, Montana was the first state in the country to pass an Equal Pay for Equal Work bill. The federal Equal Pay Act didnt come until 1963. That means that even legislation doesnt get things moving swiftly.

And so its been on the books for a long time, Sands said. It did not make equal pay happen. You still have to do something about it.
In a veiled attack on Pakistan, RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat today said the neighbouring country hates India so much that it was ready to let itself down in order to harm India.

"There is so much hatred: 'our (Pakistan's) own condition is quite bad, but we (Pakistan) would let ourselves down to spite the neighbour (India).' This is how our neighbour is behaving," Bhagwat said while speaking at a book-launch here.

"Whenever we extend the hand of friendship, it (Pakistan) makes such circumstances that we can not offer friendship again," he said.

He also said that both developed and developing countries were getting caught in the crossfire as the tussle to become superpower was on in the world.

"Global thinkers are wondering if the race to become superpower continues like this then whether the world would survive. The world is looking at India with hope for answers. If we are able to answer these questions then we can become the number one country," Bhagwat said.

Hindi translation of Vijay Deshmukh-written biography of King Shivaji, "Shakkarte Shivrai", was launched on this occasion.

Bhagwat said during Shivaji's times words such as "communalism" and "secularism" were non-existent, yet he, as a ruler, treated everybody equally.

He also said the challenges to defend religion today were more or less the same as during Shivaji's times. Bhagwat however hastened to add that by religion he did not mean any particular community.
Union Minister and LJP President Ram Vilas Paswan today met the dalit students injured in police lathicharge and criticised Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar for being "insensitive" towards the deprived section of the society.

Accompanied by LJP Parliamentary Board chief Chirag Paswan and MP brother Ramchandra Paswan, he visited the students' hostel in Saidpur and Mahendru to express solidarity with the protesting dalit students agitating against the state government over lowering of scholarship amount for them.

"It (police lathicharge) was a painful incident and reflect anti-dalit approach of Nitish Kumar. He has crores of rupees for construction of International Museum, but does not have money to provide adequate scholarship to SC and ST students," the Union Minister of Food and Public Distribution, Consumer Affairs told PTI.

Ram Vilas said Chirag raised the lathicharge issue in the Parliament to highlight the plight of the downtrodden under the grand alliance rule in Bihar.

He said soon a party delegation would meet Governor Ramnath Kovind over the lathicharge on dalit students who were taking out a peaceful march against lowering of post-matric scholarship from Rs one lakh to Rs 15,000.

Launching a scathing attack on Nitish, Ram Vilas said earlier he divided the dalits between 'dalits' and 'mahadalits' (poorest among dalits) and now was preparing to stop toddy trade to harm the livelihood of the 'Pasi' (toddy traders) community.
Pension fund regulator PFRDA has requested all the state governments to consider registering unorganised workers under Atal Pension Yojana (APY).

"The Government of India is extremely concerned about the old age income security of the working poor. To encourage and enable them to take care of their old age, Atal Pension Yojana (APY) has been launched by Government of India in the year 2015 which is being administered and regulated by PFRDA," a statement from Finance Ministry said.

APY paves the way for securing the old age income by saving regularly a small amount during the earning phase of life, it said.

The unorganised workforce attached with various State departments like Anganwadi, ASHA workers, Construction workers, Agriculture workers, MGNNREGA workers etc can be extended APY, it said.

The respective state governments are also requested to co-contribute additional amount in the scheme along with the subscribers' regular contribution, it said, adding the amount contributed by state governments will enable enhanced pension to the subscribers at the age of 60 years.

State governments like, Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh have already notified APY and are also co-contributing for the eligible subscribers of the state between Rs 500-Rs 1000 per annum, it said.

Though more than 31 lakh subscribers have joined the scheme in past one year, it said, the support of state governments is very crucial to expand the coverage of the scheme to all the eligible persons across the country.
Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte acknowledged abuses in a war on illegal drugs, which has left more than 400 people dead in a month and alarmed rights activists, but refused to back down from a shoot-to-kill order for drug suspects.

Duterte said in a speech late yesterday that most drug dealers and addicts slain in gunbattles with police had put up a fight, but added that he was sure some were "salvaged," a local slang for extrajudicial killings usually by law enforcers.

In the case of illegal killings, Duterte said the government will investigate.

"They really fight back, I know that," Duterte said in a speech in southern Davao city, where he built a name as a mayor for his extra tough approach to crime before winning the presidency on June 30. "I'm sure there are some who were salvaged, I am also sure of that."



Early today, he told reporters that he gave "shoot-to-kill" orders against drug dealers, including politicians involved in the illicit trade.

"I'll really have you killed. Look at what you're doing to the Philippines and I'll forgive you?" Duterte told reporters, apparently enraged after visiting a town police chief who was shot in the chest by a suspected drug dealer and rushed to a Davao hospital.

"My order is shoot to kill you. I don't care about human rights, you better believe me," said Duterte, a 71-year-old former government prosecutor.

Duterte's centerpiece anticrime drive, focused on an ambitious campaign promise to end the widespread drugs problem in six months, has left more than 400 drug suspects dead, many of them either in firefights with police or under suspect circumstances. More than 4,400 have been arrested, police said.

The unprecedented killings have scared more than half a million drug users and dealers who gave themselves up to police, officials said. An overwhelmed Duterte has said he was considering to set aside some areas in military camps nationwide to build rehabilitation centers for those who surrender.

A legal expert, Jose Manuel Diokno, said Duterte's latest shoot-to-kill order is, at the least, legally questionable.

Adequate safeguards exist in the country's legal system, including requirements for court warrants for arrests, to protect the public and ensure law enforcers are not given "unbridled discretion" that can lead to abuses, Diokno said.

The government's Commission on Human Rights could seek to stop the anti-crime drive through a court petition, said Diokno, who heads the Free Legal Assistance Group, a nongovernment group that provides legal help to the poor.

Senator Leila de Lima, who led the commission previously, has sought a senate investigation of the killings but has faced opposition from Duterte's political allies. She said she supports the battle against drugs but condemned the widespread killings.
The manufacturer of Kamasutra condoms, J K Ansell, has moved the Delhi High Court challenging the government's decision to cap the price of its range of male contraceptives at Rs 8.12.

A bench of Chief Justice G Rohini and Justice Sangita Dhingra Sehgal is likely to hear the matter on August 12.

Ansell has challenged the Centre's March 2, 2016 order whereby the ceiling price for one unit of condom was fixed at Rs 8.21 plus local taxes with effect from April 1.

The company has contended that the decision was taken "without taking into account the different varieties of condoms available in the market and the costs incurred for manufacture of such varieties of condoms, thereby treating unequals equally".

It has claimed that the order came even as its plea was pending in the Supreme Court against a Delhi High Court finding that condoms are drugs.

The high court while giving its ruling had also set aside two price fixation orders of the government, Ansell has said in its plea which also seeks a declaration that the standards for contraceptives prescribed in the Drugs and Cosmetics Rules are ultra vires the Drugs and Cosmetics Act.

Apart from seeking quashing of the March 2, 2016 decision of the government, the company has also sought an order that only utility or basic condoms are covered by the Drug Price Control Order (DPCO), 2013 and "not pleasure and poly-isoprene condoms".

The company has also sought a declaration from the court that its 'Kamasutra Skyn' condoms do not come under the purview of the DPCO, 2013.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi today assured Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu that he was "serious" about resolving all issues, including granting of special category status to the state.

"I am also serious. I will complete all things at the earliest," Naidu quoted Modi as telling him when they met in New Delhi this morning.

Briefing reporters upon his return from New Delhi here tonight about his interaction with the Prime Minister, the Chief Minister said the latter was "positive" about their demands like grant of special status and implementation of the AP Reorganisation Act in letter and spirit.

"I reminded the PM about the specific promises he made during electioneering in 2014 and it was time he honoured them. I clearly told him there was no way injustice could be allowed. He was positive but that is not enough. It should convert into action," Naidu remarked.

"It is good if it happens in a week or as early as possible. They (Central government) have GST and other things to deal with in Parliament. Let us hope for the best.

"I have put forth various demands like grant of special status, establishment of railway zone at Visakhapatnam, development of port at Dugarajapatnam, setting up of steel plant in Kadapa district and also increasing the number of seats in the Assembly from 175 to 225," he said.

"Besides, I also wanted them to complete the Polavaram irrigation project by 2019 by ensuring adequate fund flow since it has been declared as a national project. I wanted all issues settled in a time-bound manner," Naidu said.

"Jaitley also said the same. We are waiting for it (to happen)," he said.

The Chief Minister said the proposed Good and Services Tax (GST) was a "revolutionary" fiscal reform.

"GST will deliver the same benefits over a period of time as economic reforms did a few years ago. Simplification of business is essential. Even international investors are seeking it.

"India is a cooperative federalism, so the Centre should ensure that the rights of states are not usurped," he added.
Congress today said Home Minister Rajnath Singh was "insulted" by Pakistan at the just-concluded SAARC meet there, and came down hard on the Narendra Modi- government for allowing it to happen.

"Such an insult had never been heaped on the Indian Home Minister in any bilateral or multilateral fora. It is a result of the flip-flops, U-turns and zigzag in India's Pakistan policy which has never seen in the past 70 years," party spokesman Abhishek Singhvi told reporters.

Noting that Congress was "angry and saddened" by the manner in which the Indian Home Minister was treated, he said it showed that India's foreign policy and, especially Pakistan policy, is "lying in tatters".

The government has to be held accountable and it should share the blame, he said.

"India's foreign policy is lying in tatters. We had no business to put ourselves in such positions where we can be embarrassed," he said, wondering why were no guarantees sought by the Indian government before the Home Minister visited Pakistan.

Singhvi contended that there have been SAARC meetings earlier as also the shadow of terrorism, "but never before have we seen such type of insult against India".

Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif in the meeting said that Kashmir was witnessing a new wave of freedom movement, Singhvi said insisting that "never before had the Pakistan government dared talk like this".

Tearing into the government's Pakistan policy, he said Pakistan routinely insults India, and the Modi government rolls out the "red carpet", first for the Pakistan Prime Minister and then for the ISI as was witnessed after the Pathankot terror attack.

"Never before has the Home Minister been insulted like this. The question is, why was he allowed to be mistreated like this?" he said expressing shock that there were terror groups which were "openly abusing and mocking" India while the Home Minister was in Pakistan.

Wondering as to why has Modi government not moved beyond the sari-shawl diplomacy, he said there is "huge difference" between the "pretended bonhomie" when the Pakistan PM had come for Modi's swearing in and the just concluded SAARC meet.

Singhvi was also critical of certain statements of the External Affairs Ministry when the Home Minister went to Pakistan saying that it should have kept quiet. "The whole thing shows that the left hand does not know what the right hand is doing in this government".

He noted that when Rajnath flew to Pakistan, he was received by Director General of SAARC, which was against the protocol. When Chidambaram had gone there as Home Minister, his Pakistan counterpart Abdul Rahman Malik had received him, he said.

Singhvi reminded the government that Bangladesh Home Minister had not gone to the SAARC meet despite the fact that their ties with Islamabad were "far better" than that of India.
A park ranger died while fighting a blaze in the Canary Islands allegedly sparked by a German man who set fire to toilet paper after defecating in the woods, authorities said.

Some 700 people yesterday were evacuated from areas near the blaze, which is sweeping through a wooded, mountainous area in La Palma, one of the lesser-known, unspoiled islands of the Spanish archipelago off the coast of Africa.

Emergency services said a further 1,800 were being moved from their homes yesterday night as the blaze showed no sign of abating.

"The fire has not come under control yet," Fernando Clavijo, regional president of the Canaries, told reporters.

"The situation may get more complicated throughout the night. It's not going to be easy."



The ranger, Francisco Jose Santana, died while working to put out the flames, said Spain's UGT union of which the 54-year-old was a member.

"He leaves a wife and five children," it added.

A spokesman for the Guardia Civil police force told AFP a 27-year-old German man was arrested Wednesday afternoon, suspected of having caused the fire.

The man, whose identity has not been revealed, "told officers he accidentally provoked the blaze when he defecated... And set fire to the toilet paper he used for that," the Guardia Civil added in a statement.

The man has been accused of causing a forest fire through negligence, and was expected to be questioned by a judge yesterday, it said.

Some 200 people are fighting the blaze, as are helicopters and planes, a spokeswoman for the Canary Islands' emergency services said.

Weather conditions are not making their task any easier, as high temperatures and strong winds fan the flames, she added.

Acting Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy sent his condolences to the park ranger's bereaved family.
Riding high on the success of its small car Kwid and SUV Duster range of models, French car maker Renault is well on its way to post its first ever double digit sales numbers this year, according to a top company official.

"First half of the calendar year (January to June) has been very good for us. We have witnessed good growth. Till June, I think we sold about 62,000 units. And in July, we sold about 12,000, I think the total will be 74,000 units. It is a milestone for us...," Renault India Country CEO and Managing Director Sumit Sawhney told reporters here.

The company, which has a joint manufacturing facility with Japanese-auto maker Nissan at Oragadam near Chennai, attracting investments of over Rs 5,500 crore, has recently commenced third shift operations taking the total number of Kwid range of cars produced to about 9,900 units in July.

"Last year, we sold about 48,000 to 50,000 units. This year, we are looking to double our sales volume (compared to last year)," he said.

Stating that the small car Kwid has a "three month" waiting period for delivery, he said, the company was working in reducing it to "one month" over the next few months.

According to him, there were more than 70,000 units of Kwid on road.

With the launch of Kwid, he said Renault India has 15 per cent market share in that (small car) segment.

To a query, Sawhney said, in August, Renault India would introduce a new variant in Kwid equipped with one litre engine and a special edition of its multi-purpose vehicle - Lodgy.

"The Lodgy, World Edition, will be introduced this month with more of personal features," he added.

On the exports front, he said the company began shipping of Kwid to Sri Lanka last month and would soon enter Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh markets.

"We have started exports to Sri Lanka. By this month end, we will start exports to Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh and South Africa. Early, next year we will be exporting to Brazil," he said.

On the company's previous target of 5 per cent market share in domestic auto market by 2017, he said Renault India has 4.4 per cent market share and they were working on achieving it in 2016 itself.

On its distribution network, he said, the company already crossed 215 outlets and by the end of December 2016, it will be taken to 270.

"Majority of our outlets will be in tier-II and III locations," he said adding that Renault India at the Oragadam factory has total capacity of 4.80 lakh units and the company was operating at 65 per cent of plant capacity.
British media say a prison chief has been beaten by an inmate during an attack in the prison canteen.

Police have confirmed they are investing an assault by an inmate on a staff member.

The BBC reported that prison chief Paul Cawkwell needed hospital treatment after the attack at HMP Wayland in eastern England. The Norfolk Constabulary confirmed that an inmate had assaulted a staff member at the prison on July 27. The prisoner has been transferred to another institution.

Wayland is a "category C" prison, housing less-serious offenders considered unlikely to try to escape.

The Prison Service said today it can't comment on the incident while police are investigating. It said it would seek "the strongest possible punishment.
Among the piles of bedding and clothing, a 25-pound bag of flour wins as the most unusual donation Lockwood Schools received Thursday.

The school called for people to drop off anything they could spare for Cloud and Alex Wiley and their six kids who lost their home in a fire Monday.

The Wileys made it out of the fire unharmed, which Alex Wiley credited to the family dogs who woke the family and alerted them to the danger.

Lockwood Schools began calling for donations the day of the fire, and DeeAnn Nielsen, assistant business manager for Lockwood Schools, said the response has overwhelmed the family.

Lockwood Schools Superintendent Tobin Novasio, Nielsen and Nielsen's 15-year-old daughter Addie, were among the Lockwood students and faculty who loaded the donations into one of the school's pickups on Thursday. Addie had already donated a couple bags of clothes for the Wileys' daughters.

The phones in the Lockwood Schools Administration building were ringing all day with people asking how to help and promising gift cards and cash donations, Nielsen said.

"It just shows that even when the bad things in life happen, people show so much humanity," Nielsen said.

Lifetouch, a Billings portrait studio that handles all of the Lockwood school photos, reached out to the school and said it was searching its archives for photos of the Wiley kids. The business said they would replace the pictures free of charge.

Working Person's Store, based out of Indiana, made a donation of fire-resistant pants and shirts to Cloud Wiley so he would have something to go to work in. They are also sending scrubs for Alex Wiley, who works at Billings Clinic, and threw some socks into the package for good measure.

Company CEO Eric Deniger said he has a Google alert set up on his computer for fire-resistant apparel so he can get news on the topic. He'd never seen someone asking for the apparel as a donation.

"A lot of guys can't go to work without this stuff," Deniger said.

He said fire-resistant clothing normally is about double the cost of regular pants and shirts. He said he couldn't imagine losing all that gear.

"Sending some pants was the least we could do compared to what was lost," Deniger said.

The public and government affairs manager for the ExxonMobil Billings refinery, Dan Carter, also reached out to the Lockwood schools and asked what Exxon could do to help. The company is waiting for when the family finds "a place to land" so they can help them with some of the larger furniture items they might need, Carter said.

Cloud Wiley works for one of ExxonMobil's contractors, but Carter said ExxonMobil likes to support not just its employees, but the communities they operate in.

"You never hear of that, a family of eight losing so much, except maybe in a tornado," Carter said. "You just think, what's the right thing to do?"

When the family does buy beds, the Little Ladies Guild of the Chapel of Hope told the school to pass along the bed sizes. They said they want to make individual quilts for everyone in the family.

"It really just shows what amazing community we have here," Nielsen said.

Jocelyn Alberts, who married into the Wiley family, said Cloud and Alex Wiley and their six kids are staying with Alex Wiley's sister and that they don't know what their next move will be. The basement of the Wiley home was still accessible after the fire, but there was severe water damage to everything not burned up.

The fire was sparked by the house's electrical box and was quick to spread through the house, Alberts said.

Alberts contacted friends at local radio stations, and a radio broadcast was scheduled for Thursday to call for anything people can spare. She also contacted businesses in her hometown, Bridger. Some residents are sending out donation jars for the family.

"I had someone call me and see if they needed a couch," Alberts said.

The family has asked for clothes for their kids, including everyday pants and shoes the kids can wear. The family could also use school supplies in the coming weeks.

In addition to the Lockwood Schools, the family has a GoFundMe page so people can make direct donations. People can also drop donations off at 1524 Chesapeake Lane in Billings.
Union Minister Nitin Gadkari, who was appointed as the BJP's observer for the selection of the new leadership in Gujarat, today said that Vijay Rupani was chosen as the new Chief Minister and Nitin Patel as Deputy CM through a "democratic" process and "unanimously."



Speaking to the media after announcing the names, Gadkari stressed that the names of Rupani and Patel were finalised after thorough consultation with the party leadership.

"After coming here, I held talks with the party chief (Amit Shah) and (former Gujarat CM) Anandiben Patel. Vijaybhai Rupani's name was finalised after taking into consideration everybody's opinion and after discussions...And as per Anandiben's proposal, Nitin Patel was made the Deputy CM," Gadkari said.

"The selection happens through a democratic process. So two names came up and they were selected. The decision was taken unanimously after taking into account different opinions of the party leadership and party workers.

"The BJP believes in a democratic process. And our observers put forth all the demands infront of me. All the MLAs, MPs, PM, and Anandiben Patel were consulted...I will again say that the selection process was totally democratic. And the names were selected according to the proposal submitted by Anandiben," he said.

Replying to a question how Rupani was selected, even as Nitin Patel's office had said that he would be the next chief minister, Gadkari said, "Under Rupani's leadership, the BJP will once again emerge victorious in the 2017 Assembly elections."



"In the leadership of both of them, Gujarat will further develop in the coming times. The yardstick set by Narendrabhai Modi will be taken forward very well. In the coming state elections, we will get a bigger victory than last time," he said.

He also praised Anandiben Patel for her contribution towards the state and party as the chief minister, a post she held for two years, before she resigned on Wednesday.

"For two years as Chief Minister and eighteen years in political life Anandibenji took responsibilities of different ministries and did a great job. Even as a CM, she contributed significantly to the yardstick of development set by Narendra Modi," Gadkari said.
Saudi Arabia has set up a crisis management group to address difficulties being faced by thousands of laid-off Indian workers while a separate panel has been appointed to look into their claims relating to unpaid wages.

The "humanitarian issue" is being handled with "utmost care" and consideration by the Saudi Government which conveyed to India that it has speeded up the exit of workers who wish to return home, External Affairs Ministry Spokesperson Vikas Swarup said.

He said a little more time will be required to have full clarity on how many Indians want to come home and how many would like to remain in Saudi Arabia to pursue employment with other companies etc.

Swarup categorised the problems being faced by Indian workers into four segments such as wage claims, relocation, repatriation and conditions of the Indians living in various labour camps.

Minister of State for External Affairs V K Singh had travelled to Saudi Arabia on Wednesday and held extensive talks with Saudi Labour Minister Mufrej Al Haqbani who promised urgent action to resolve the problems of around 7,000 Indians.

"Earlier, in accordance to Saudi Arabian law, individual complaints used to go to labour courts. Now, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia's Ministry of labour has set up a committee to look into the claims of the workers.

"A Crisis Management Goroup has also been set up by the Ministry of Labour to settle all issues related to Indian workers," Swarup said adding the Ministry of labour will now appoint a lawyer and we will know the exact procedure regarding this in the next 2-3 days.

On the issue of repatriation of the Indians, he said Saudi government has conveyed to India that they will make necessary arrangements for those who want to return to India.

The workers who want to leave Saudi Arabia can authorise the Indian consulate in Jeddah to follow up on their cases in labour courts and proceed on exit.

"Our Consulate has already given the list of workers willing to come back to India and those seeking transfer to Saudi authorities. As you can see, due to our excellent relationship with Saudi Arabia and efforts made at the highest level, things are in control and this humanitarian issue is being handled with utmost care and consideration," said Swarup.

The Saudi government also agreed to allow transfer of Indian employees, who have lost their jobs, to any other company within Saudi Arabia.

As per Saudi Arabia's kafala system, which is applicable



to foreign workers, employees are not allowed to move to a new job without approval of their bosses.

The rules also restricts foreign workers to leave the country without NoC by the employers.

"The Saudi authorities have conveyed that they are willing to renew resident permits and labour cards to the Indian workers without any fines or fees.

"Workers who are willing to be transferred to other employers would be transferred without payment of fee or charge and without needing the consent of the current employer. Workers who wish to transfer their services can request the Ministry of Labour for grant of a 3 month temporary resident permit cum labour card," said Swarup.

He said many companies, including some Indian construction firms are interested in taking the services of the retrenched workers. "Such a development will be a win-win for all."



The MEA spokesperson further said, "We are giving attention to the issue off Indian workers in Saudi Arabia the highest consideration possible."



On food crisis hitting workers staying in labour camps, Swarup said the Saudi authorities have taken responsibility of providing food to them.

He said Singh had pointed to Saudi authorities that care should be taken regarding the conditions in which the workers are living in, with special focus on their health and cleanliness.

"The Director General of the Ministry of Labour and social development met with our Consul General in Jeddah and assured him that Saudi Government has instructed concerned authorities to maintain cleanliness, provide electricity, water supply and medical facilities at the camps in which Indians are staying," the MEA spokesperson said.

Asked about denial of diplomatic passport to a Kerala minister who wanted to visit Saudi Arabia to meet those languishing in labour camps, Swarup said there seemed to be a misunderstanding on the issue.

"The matter is not about the issue of a diplomatic passport; it is about the timing of the ministerial visit. At this time, the focus of our Mission and Consulate is on helping the Indian workers who are facing hardships and also on helping the Indian pilgrims who have arrived in the holy city of Mecca for the sacred Haj pilgrimage.

"Surely, it cannot be anybody's case that the Mission should not pay attention to the requirements of the Indian citizens, including those in distress," he said.
A Saudi princess told police she was attacked in central Paris and robbed of a million-euro (USD 1.1 million) watch, authorities said today.

She reported to police she was "violently" robbed yesterday in the French capital's second arrondissement by two men, who then escaped with her high-end Swiss brand Richard Mille watch.

The woman was not hospitalised, police said.

A specialist police unit that handles armed robberies is investigating the incident.

The Saudi embassy could not be immediately reached for comment.
The Supreme Court will now hear together the Delhi Government's civil suit seeking a declaration that the national capital is a state and its petition against the order of the High Court which held that the city is a Union Territory with Lt Governor as its administrative head.

This was stated by a bench of Justices A K Sikri and N V Ramana today after the Arvind Kejriwal government informed the apex court that it will file an appeal shortly against yesterday's High Court verdict.

As AAP government's earlier suit came up for hearing, the court said that instead of pursuing its earlier civil suit, the city government should file an appeal challenging the Delhi High Court's decision.

"You have to challenge the order of the Delhi High Court. Whether the HC has decided the issue rightly or wrongly would be decided by the Supreme Court in a Special Leave Petition (SLP). What is the use of this suit now. What is the point in duplicating the proceedings," a bench of Justices A K Sikri and N V Ramana said.

The observation came when senior advocate Indira Jaising, appearing for the Arvind Kejriwal government, informed the bench that a fresh appeal would be filed shortly in the apex court against the decision of the High Court.

She sought adjournment of the proceedings on the original civil suit earlier filed by Delhi government seeking various reliefs including a declaration that the national capital is a state and not a Union Territory(UT).

She said that the law suit and the SLP, which will be filed shortly, be heard together.

Attorney General Mukul Rohatgi and Solicitor General Ranjit Kumar, both representing the Centre, vehemently opposed the plea of Delhi government saying that they cannot pursue parallel recourse for the same relief.

The bench termed one of the applications of the Delhi government as infructuous in which it had sought directions restraining the HC from pronouncing verdict on its petition on the conflict of power with the LG.

During the brief hearing, the bench asked the Delhi government to apprise it about the issues already addressed by the High Court in its verdict yesterday.

The bench considered the submissions of Delhi government and adjourned the hearing on the lawsuit to August 29.

It, however, clarified that the lawsuit and the SLP will be heard together. The Chief Justice of India will decide which bench will hear the matter.

The high court had yesterday held that Delhi will continue to remain a Union territory under the Constitution with the LG as its administrative head.

The special constitutional provision Article 239AA dealing with Delhi does not "dilute" the effect of Article 239 which relates to the Union territory and hence, concurrence of the LG in administrative issues is "mandatory", the bench headed by Chief Justice G Rohini had said.

The high court did not accept AAP government's contention



that the LG is bound to act only on the aid and advice of the Chief Minister and his Council of Ministers with regard to making laws by the Legislative Assembly under the Article 239AA and termed it as "without substance".

"On a reading of Article 239 and Article 239AA of the Constitution together with the provisions of the Government of National Capital Territory of Delhi Act, 1991 and Transaction of Business of the Government of NCT of Delhi Rules, 1993, it becomes manifest that Delhi continues to be a Union Territory even after the Constitution (69th Amendment) Act, 1991 inserting Article 239AA making special provisions with respect to Delhi," the bench said in its 194-page verdict.

The court, which had rejected almost all the contentions of Delhi government, however, agreed with its submission that the LG will have to act on its aid and advice in appointment of special public prosecutors.
Senseless acts of terrorism targeting innocent lives undermine the democratic base of society and deserve to be universally condemned, President Pranab Mukherjee said today, condemning the militant attack in Assam's Kokrajhar district, killing 14 people.

In a message to Assam Governor Padmanabha Balakrishna Acharya, Mukherjee said, "I am extremely sad to learn about the attack by militants in Assam's Kokrajhar district today in which a number of persons have lost their lives and several others are injured."



"Such senseless acts of terrorism targeting innocent lives undermine the democratic base of society and deserve to be universally condemned. They must be met with determination and collective action," he said.

He called upon the state government and all other agencies concerned to ensure that the guilty are brought to justice and law and order is maintained in state.

"I am sure necessary steps are being taken to provide all possible aid to the bereaved families who have lost their near and dear ones as well as medical assistance to the injured. Please convey my heartfelt condolences to the families of the deceased. I also wish speedy recovery to the injured persons," he said.

Terror struck Assam when a group of heavily armed militants dressed in army fatigues and suspected of belonging to a Bodo separatist outfit opened indiscriminate fire and lobbed grenades at a crowded weekly market killing 14 people.
Sri Lanka President Maithripala Sirisena-led SLFP has suspended an MP over 'derogatory' comments about the party leadership as it vowed to initiate a disciplinary whip against members who back Mahinda Rajapaksa, prompting a sharp reaction from the former strongman today.

At the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) central committee meeting last night, the party decided to take disciplinary action against members who back Rajapaksa, Sirisena loyalist and deputy minister of finance Lakshman Yapa Abeywardena said.

Accordingly, Sanath Nishantha, a member of parliament backing Rajapaksa, was suspended of his membership for making comments 'derogatory' of Sirisena over the national television.

"I do not accept Sirisena's leadership," Nishantha had said in response to a question by a party member on the same.

Action would also be taken against several members of the party's local councillors for defying party discipline, said Abeywardena.

Rajapaksa hit back at the move, saying: "MP Nishantha is a very popular member who had come up in the ranks due to his hard work with the people. This is no action to unite the party.

A party should not try to chase people out," he told reporters on the eve of a private visit to South Korea.

Sirisena, who succeeded Rajapaksa as the leader of the SLFP, now in unity government with its archrival United National Party (UNP) of Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe, has been struggling to get the Rajapaksa loyalists under his leadership.

The Rajapaksa group, who call themselves the joint opposition with three other fringe opposition parties, have taken Sirisena head on, challenging both him and Wickremesinghe.

Last week, the Rajapaksa loyalists held an opposition protest march which lasted over 5 days. They were charged of bringing disrepute to the party by hooting at party headquarters while on the way to the rally. So, more Rajapaksa loyalists would be under fire soon, party sources said.
Donald Trump's characterization of Somalis as dangerous and a drag on resources could undo years of work that they have done to establish themselves in the country's whitest state, Somali residents said.

Trump told a packed audience in Portland on Thursday that Maine is a "major destination" for Somali refugees and that they're coming from some of the "most dangerous" places. All told, about 10,000 Somalis lives in Portland and Lewiston, Maine's largest cities.

The Somali Community Center of Maine said the Republican presidential candidate's remarks were a setback for immigrants who have worked hard to become part of the state's fabric over the past two decades.

"It is damaging to the psyche of our youth to hear a major party presidential nominee insult our culture and religion, especially while standing next to the governor of our state," the community center said in a statement.

"We condemn his name calling, scapegoating and the lies perpetrated by his campaign."



Republican Gov Paul LePage, who supports Trump and has sparred with immigrant groups in the past, introduced Trump at Thursday's events. His office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Somalis began coming to Maine in the 1990s as part of a refugee resettlement effort in Portland. A housing shortage caused some to look to Lewiston, a former mill town 35 miles to the north, where apartments were cheaper and easier to come by.

Integration was not without challenges. Laurier Raymond, then Lewiston's mayor, told Somalis to stop relocating to the city in 2002 because of what he called a strain on social services.

A few years later, someone rolled a frozen pig's head into a mosque, drawing widespread condemnation from the community and eventually criminal charges.

These days, Somalis and immigrants from other African communities attend public schools and run local businesses. Portland school Superintendent Xavier Botana called the district's Somali students "a shining example" of the strength of diversity.

It's common in both cities to see hijab-clad mothers shepherding children around playgrounds, something no one would have fathomed decades ago in the state that still has the lowest percentage of non-whites in the US.

Other Somali communities have grown in places such as Minnesota and Columbus, Ohio.

Young men in Minnesota's Somali community have been targeted by terror recruiters in recent years, and three Somali men who were accused of plotting to go to Syria to join the Islamic State group were convicted in June of conspiracy.
Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal today briefed Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh about the situation in Assam where at least 14 people were killed by extremists.

Sonowal, who was in Delhi, met the Prime Minister and apprised him about the incident in Kokrajhar district and the steps taken to nab those involved in it.

The Chief Minister also informed the Home Minister, who assured full Central assistance to the state government, official sources said.

Sonowal has cut short his visit to the national capital and returned to Assam this evening after the violent incident and instructed state police to arrest those involved the in it.

The Chief Minister announced ex-gratia amount of Rs 5 lakh to the families of the deceased, Rs one lakh to those seriously injured and free treatment to other injured.

Terror struck Assam today when a group of heavily armed militants dressed in army fatigues and suspected of belonging to a Bodo separatist outfit opened indiscriminate fire and lobbed grenades at a crowded weekly market killing 14 people.
Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal today called on Prime Minister Narendra Modi and urged him to bail out the state from recurring floods and erosion that have crippled its people and economy.

Sonowal sought the Prime Minister's help to deal with the situation created by the recent waves of floods and urged him to deal with it as a national problem, a release issued by the Chief Minister's Office here said.

Assam has as many as 1,250 river embankments covering a distance of around 5,000 KM, which were built 30 to 50 years ago to save the rural populace and rural economy from recurring floods and most of the embankments have outlived their utility and need immediate repairing.

Sonowal sought Modi's help in strengthening the embankments as "a strong network of embankments and dykes" were prerequisites for the state's economy to flourish.

The Chief Minister made a plea to Modi for a special incentive to pave way for industrial growth in the state taking into consideration its locational disadvantage.

He also informed that after BJP came to power in Assam, several business houses and entrepreneurs have shown interests in investing in the state and a special incentive would catapult the industrial growth.

Referring to the ongoing NRC updation process in Assam, Sonowal said 68 lakh families have applied for it and the state government has submitted a revised estimate of Rs 882.61 crore for the exercise and requested the Prime Minister to accord early sanction of the amount.

On the Indo-Bangla fencing issue, Sonowal apprised the Prime Minister that of the 280 KM Indo-Bangladesh border in Assam sector, around 71 KM was still unfenced, of which around 60 KM falls in the riverine stretch of the Brahmaputra. He urged that the construction work of fencing be handed over to to the Army as was done along the Indo-Pak border in the Jammu and Kashmir sector.
Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi today mounted an attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi for "betraying" people of Andhra Pradesh on the issue of granting special category status to the state.

"Modiji a reminder: The decision 2grant Spl Category Status 2Andhra was taken by the Parl of this country in 2014.

"Today 5cr ppl of Andhra are watching BJP-TDP betray them," he tweeted on the micro-blogging site Twitter.

Gandhi's remarks came in the wake of slugfest in the Rajya Sabha over a Congress member's bill on reorganisation of Andhra Pradesh.

The 'Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Bill', moved by Congress member KVP Ramachandra Rao, was referred by the Upper House to Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan for a decision on its fate amid an uproar by Congress which led to premature adjournment of the House for the day.

Former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, who spoke up on the issue, asked the Rajya Sabha to fulfil the commitments made by him in this regard over two years ago as the House took up the bill.

It was perhaps for the first time that Singh had himself spoken on the issue over which NDA-ally TDP and its government in Andhra Pradesh has locked horns with the BJP-led government at the Centre.

TDP MPs have been agitating for the demand for a number of days, both inside and outside Parliament.

Finance Minister and Leader of the House Arun Jaitley raised objections to the Bill, saying Money Bill cannot be introduced in the Rajya Sabha.
The Billings energy sector is poised to lose around 100 jobs as SM Energy announced Thursday that it will close its Billings office as part of a plan to sell oil and gas operations in North Dakota, Montana and New Mexico.

A spokeswoman for Denver-based SM Energy said the Billings office will cease operations on Nov. 1.

In an effort toward building a more collaborative and flexible workforce and our companys continued effort to reduce costs, SM Energy will be closing its Billings office on Nov. 1, said an email message from spokeswoman Patty Errico. However, There will be opportunities for many of our employees to relocate to other SM offices.

On Monday, SM Energy announced that it has reached an agreement to sell two separate packages of non-core assets to unnamed buyers for $172.5 million.

The transaction is expected to be finalized in SMs third fiscal quarter.

Properties being sold were identified as SMs waterflood assets in New Mexico and a second group of oil and gas producing properties in Montana and North Dakota. The sale involves about 79,000 acres.

The two sets of properties had proved reserves of 9.5 million barrels of oil equivalent, composed of 87 percent oil and 13 percent from natural gas. The company produced about 3,300 barrels of oil per day from those properties during SMs second quarter.

These transactions were well-timed and well executed. We are committed to improving liquidity and debt metrics while managing our portfolio to focus on our highest return assets. Proceeds from these sales will be applied to the outstanding balance on our revolving credit facility and for general corporate purposes, Jay Ottoson, SMs president and chief executive, said in a statement.

SM Energy released its second quarter results this week. Despite boosting production during the quarter that ended June 30, SM reported a net loss of $30.1 million,or 44 cents per share.

Steve Arveschoug, executive director of Big Sky Economic Development, said he had learned of SMs financial challenges during conversations with company officials several months ago.

We knew they were facing difficult decisions, Arveschoug said. This is a very conservative and thoughtful company, and we knew from that conversation that they would have to make some important decisions."

Arveschoug said Big Sky ED plans to conduct an economic analysis to measure the effects of the closure on the local economy.

These are quality jobs that make a difference in your community, Arveschoug said. If you lose them its hurtful to your community. These are young, talented people.

Arveschoug said that Big Sky ED hopes to learn how the energy sector factors into the local job market as part of Billings Works, a coordinated effort to match workers with job openings.

In its State of the Workforce report released earlier this year, Billings Works mentioned that the oil and gas industry is slowing in the wake of a drop in oil prices.

SM Energy, previously known as St. Mary Land and Exploration Co., was founded in 1908 and was incorporated in 1915. It became a publicly traded company in 1992.

Over the past decade, the Billings economy benefited from hundreds of energy jobs resulting from a boom in production from the Bakken oil formation. But the energy sector started to lose jobs when oil prices tumbled from around $100 per barrel in 2014. Recently, prices for West Texas Intermediate crude have ranged between $40 and $50 per barrel.
Industry body ISSDA today came in support of government's Stainless Steel Quality Control Order and said there are some players with "unethical vested interests" running an agenda against the QCO.

"We condemn the smear campaign being conducted by handful of unethical vested interests against the government's QC Order on stainless steel flat products," Indian Stainless Steel Development Association's (ISSDA) said in a statement.

ISSDA's response assumes significance as other industry bodies like Metal and Stainless Steel Merchant's Association, All India Stainless Steel Industries Association and Process Plant & Machinery Association of India (PPMAI) have alleged that the QC Order has been implemented without discussions with end users.

The main objective of this QC Order is protection of consumer interest against sub-standard stainless steel. This irresponsible campaign against stainless steel QCO, amounts to slander against Prime Minister's vision for 'Zero Deficit, Zero Effect', manufacturing in India, it added.

"Opposing progressive government policies for suiting their own agenda is not only against public interest but also affects long-term competitiveness of the country," it said.

ISSDA President N C Mathur further said that "the stainless steel QCO serves the well-being of the industry in long-term and consumer interest at large and we condemn these unethical associations' allegations to term this order as 'arbitrary'."



ISSDA would like to bring this important fact in public domain that starting from first round of stakeholder's consultations on stainless steel QC Order, which began in August 2014, Steel Ministry invited all concerned stakeholders including end users like BHEL, EIL and utensils makers etc to seek inputs on the subject.

Secondly, the draft QC Order was put in public domain for seeking comments from all stakeholders within a period of 60 days. Not only the domestic but all foreign manufacturers were also given an opportunity to present their views on the draft as prescribed by WTO rules until October 2015.

"Thus, to term the stainless steel QC Order as arbitrary is a complete false allegation and this challenges the government bonafide decision in public interest after following due procedure," Mathur said.

Further, views of all stakeholders were considered before issuing the QCO. To say this exercise was conducted in isolation is a blatant false and misplaced allegation against the government, with deliberate intension of misleading the public, he added.
Sugar mills owed Rs 6,598 crore to cane farmers at the end of last month, Parliament was informed today.

Out of total outstanding, Rs 5,368 crore pertains to the ongoing 2015-16 marketing year (October-September), while Rs 577 crore relates to 2014-15 and Rs 653 crore for the 2013-14 marketing year and earlier.

In a written reply to Rajya Sabha, Minister of State for Food and Consumer Affairs C R Chaudhary provided state-wide details of cane price arrears for the current sugar season 2015-16, 2014-15, 2013-14 and earlier seasons.

"Payment of cane price to farmers is a continuous and ongoing process. Thus the number of farmers affected by such overdue payments changes from time to time. Further, the government does not maintain data relating to number of farmers affected by such overdue," he said.

In 2015-16, Uttar Pradesh millers have maximum outstanding at Rs 2,877 crore till July 31, followed by Tamil Nadu at Rs 1,030 crore.

In Maharashtra, the major producing state, the cane arrears stood at Rs 411 crore, Punjab Rs 226 crore, Uttarakhand Rs 209 crore, Gujarat Rs 203 crore, Haryana Rs 126 crore and Karnataka Rs 108 crore, the data showed.
Terror struck Assam today when a group of heavily armed militants dressed in army fatigues and suspected of belonging to a Bodo separatist outfit opened indiscriminate fire and lobbed grenades at a crowded weekly market killing 14 people.

One of the attackers who were believed to be about five in number was killed in retaliatory action by security forces, police said.

The police said that a group of heavily-armed militants, wearing army fatigues, came to the crowded weekly Balajan Tiniali market, about 12 km from here, in a van around noon and fired indiscriminately killing 12 persons on the spot and injuring more than 20 others.

Two other persons succumbed to their injuries enroute to the hospital, it added.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi strongly condemned the attack and said the Home Ministry is in touch with the Assam government.

"Saddened by the attack in Kokrajhar. We strongly condemn it. Thoughts & prayers with the bereaved families & those injured," he tweeted.

"The Home Ministry is in touch with the Assam Government & is monitoring the situation closely," Modi added.

The dead included a woman who was yet to be identified while six others have been identified as Mazhar Ali, Salam Ali, Danda Basumatary, Moniram Basumatary, Parmeswar Basumatary and Tapan Chakraborty.

Assam Director-General of Police Mukesh Sahay said the attack was suspected to be the handiwork of National Democratic Front of Bodoland (NDFB-S) and the operation was still continuing in the area. AK-56 and 47 series rifles along with grenades were also recovered from the spot.

Manik Debnath, a 30-year-old shop-keeper who was a witness to the mayhem, said that about five militants, wearing army uniforms and covering their faces arrived in a van and fired continuously, which continued for 15 to 20 minutes.

"A grenade was also lobbed by the militants which set on fire eight shops and screaming people began to run helter-skelter in a bid to escape," he said.

Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal denounced the attack and said the militants would be dealt with "very sternly".

Sonowal, who is in Delhi, said the militants would be dealt with "very sternly", a statement from the CMO said.

"We will not tolerate any threat from any group. The government will not bow to any pressure while tackling terrorist groups," he said, adding all deputy commissioners and superintendents of police across the state have been directed to be on high alert following the attack and in view of the Independence Day.

He announced an ex-gratia payment of Rs 5 lakh to the next of kin of the dead, Rs one lakh to the seriously injured and Rs 20,000 to those who sustained minor injuries in the attack.

Describing the incident as "very unfortunate", Union minister of state for Home Kiren Rijiju said in New Delhi, "We have to ascertain who are exactly behind this dastardly act".

He said, "Peace had returned to the Bodoland area and this incident has given us shock. We will ensure that the victims families are taken care of".

Home Minister Rajnath Singh was briefed about the attack by National Security Advisor A K Doval.
Tata Chemicals Group today reported 32.34 per cent growth in consolidated profit after tax at Rs 279.65 crore for the quarter ending June 30, compared with the same period last year.

The company's PAT stood at Rs 211.31 crore in the corresponding period of 2015-16, Managing Director R Mukundan told reporters here.

However, the revenue for the first quarter declined by 8.67 per cent to Rs 3,651.86 crore, against Rs 3,998.94 crore in the same quarter previous financial year.

"The quarter under review witnessed strong performance of the chemicals and consumer business in India. Our continued focus on improving operational performance has ensured better performance across geographies, along with strong performance of the Indian chemicals business.

"However, we remain watchful of the volatility in the markets. While the consumer product business continues its leadership in the branded salt segment, the Tata Sampann brand extended its reach through the pulses and spices portfolio," Mukundan said.

Tata Sampann spices are now being rolled out across the country in a phased manner, he said.

"The fertiliser business continues to be under pressure due to subsidy outstanding of Rs 1,479 crore. The delayed onset of monsoon impacted the results in the first quarter, however, we remain positive and expect conditions to improve in the next quarter," he added.

Going forward, he said, the company expects the Indian market to continue the overall growth momentum and also remain positive about the growth across businesses.

Company's Europe operations registered better margins and improved performance in energy business.

US production was restored with sustained production levels and Magadi continues focus on improving operational performance in Q1 FY16-17, he added.

Tata Chemicals Magadi is one of major soda ash producers in Africa and one of Kenya's leading exporters.

The company, he said, continues to be market leader in the national branded salt segment.

In the branded besan and pulses segment, revenues grew by 8 per cent over the year-ago period.
State Minorities Commission for Telangana and Andhra Pradesh is set to unleash an awareness campaign against ISIS by getting on board Imams of a large number of mosques across the two states to thwart the attempts of the terror group to lure youths.

The Commission will tomorrow hold a seminar, awareness programme and interactive session on "ISIS - Interpreting reality", which would be attended among others by Imams of nearly 300 mosques from the two states, its Chairman Abid Rasool Khan said.

"These guys (Imams) are going to listen to all this (speeches by security and legal experts and religious scholars on perils of ISIS) and they will say the same thing next Friday (Friday prayers) in mosques. So, that way we want to spread word throughout the states," Khan told PTI here.

At the event, they would discuss ways to wean away people from the violent and ultra conservative ideology of the terror group, and educate youth about serious repercussions of getting involved in its activities through social media.

Among the speakers would be a security expert on radicalisation, a scholar who has written a book on ISIS and an adviser to multi-national companies on cyber threat.

Deputy Chief Ministers of Telangana and Andhra Pradesh, Mohammed Mahmood Ali and K E Krishnamurty, respectively, and Telangana Home Minister Nayini Narasimha Reddy would also speak at the event.

"Muslim speakers would be speaking with reference to Quran...And how ISIS...Jihad how they are trying to entice. They (Muslim scholars) are trying to break the myth," he said.

Nearly 100 principals of colleges where Muslim students are studying and 100-200 "concerned parents" would also be among the attendees.

"Realising the serious threat of such terror groups to radicalise the youth, the Commission attempts to create awareness and provide solutions," Khan said.

The Minority Commissions of West Bengal, Maharashtra and Karnataka have approached Khan seeking help for organising programmes as the one taking place here tomorrow.

"We are happy, a lot of people are coming to us and saying they want to be part of it. The community has responded positively to this," he added.

The event is being organised against the backdrop of police in several states detaining men on suspicion of having links to ISIS or planning to join the dreaded outfit. Recently, NIA busted a module in Hyderabad whose members allegedly owed allegiance to ISIS.
Against the backdrop of Burhan Wani episode, India has told Pakistan that terrorist in one country cannot be a martyr for another and hoped it would soon ratify the SAARC convention on Mutual Assistance on Criminal Matters and set up SAARC Terrorist Offences Monitoring Desk.

Making suo motu statements today in Rajya Sabha and Lok Sabha on his visit to Islamabad to attend the 7th SAARC Home Ministers Meeting yesterday, Home Minister Rajnath Singh said he had urged the members not to glorify terrorism or give patronage to it.

"A terrorist in one nation cannot be a martyr or freedom fighter for anyone," he said, adding that effective measures should be taken to ensure that those involved in terrorist acts, do not escape prosecution and punishment and are extradited so that they cannot escape prosecution.

A number of Pak-based terrorists, including Hafiz Sayeed of LeT and Masood Azhar of JeM, are wanted in India.

Pakistan had recently made a statement against the killing of Hizbul Mujahideen commander Burhan Wani by security forces in Kashmir by dubbing him a "martyr" and "freedom fighter", inviting sharp rebuke from India.

"Pakistan is yet to ratify the SAARC convention on Mutual Assistance on Criminal Matters. Pakistan is also yet to convey its concurrence on setting up of SAARC Terrorist Offences Monitoring Desk and SAARC Drug Offences Monitoring Desk.

"Pakistan mentioned that they would act soon on these issues. I only hope and wish that the 'soon' would actually be soon," Singh said, informing Parliament about his speech in Islamabad.

All member states, who have not ratified SAARC convention on Mutual Assistance on Criminal Matters, need to ratify the same, he said.

"They should not make the mistake of distinguishing between good terrorism and bad terrorism," he said. "It is necessary to take all effective steps against states or non-state actors encouraging or supporting terrorism."



To ensure that terrorism is not encouraged, it was necessary that stringent action is not just initiated against terrorists but also against persons, organisations, institutions and states supporting them, Singh said.

He said he had suggested to the SAARC Ministers that sanctions and bans imposed against terrorists by the global community have to be honoured.

Stringent action should also be taken against persons involved in terrorism and their extradition should be ensured so that they can face the law, the Home Minister said.

Responding to questions in Rajya Sabha, Singh said "the



unity shown by the House on serious issues like terrorism reflects not only the unity of the House but unity of the country."



"I have full confidence that terrorism, which is trying to set roots in our country, we will be fully successful in uprooting it."



The Home Minister said the prominent items on the agenda of the SAARC meet were terrorism, smuggling of narcotic drugs, cyber crime and human trafficking and added that most participating nations strongly condemned terrorism in all its manifestations.

"I laid special emphasis on the scourge of terrorism. I am sure all the members of this august house would agree with me that the biggest challenge to the peace and prosperity of South Asia is terrorism.

"I called for hardening our resolve to eradicate this menace of terrorism. I also stressed on the need to ensure that terrorism is not glorified and patronised by any state," Singh said.

The will and the mandate of the international community against proscribed and wanted terrorists and their organisations must be respected and implemented, he said in a clear reference to such terrorists finding safe haven in Pakistan.

Singh said "dark clouds of terrorism" are enveloping not only South Asia but the entire world which is "extremely worried of this grave danger". India has clearly given out its message against this evil which endangers humanity, he said.

At the meeting, Singh said the initiatives announced by India included offering technical assistance to make STOMD and SDOMC more effective.

India has also offered to host a meeting of experts on SAARC Anti Terrorism Mechanism on September 22-23, he said, adding he offered provision of training to SAARC member nations on preventing narcotics trade.

New Delhi also said it was ready to hold the first meeting of member state on Computer Emergency Response Teams (CERTs), the Home Minister said.

Singh said he informed the SAARC ministers about recent initiatives by Government for women and child safety as also about financial inclusion schemes of Jandhan and Aadhaar to provide honest, transparent and accountable governance.
Three persons were killed and over 150 injured in fresh clashes which rocked at several places after Friday prayers, raising the death toll during the current unrest to 53.

The clashes took place even as curfew was extended to more areas of to thwart a planned march by separatists to Hazratbal shrine here even as normal life in the Valley remained paralysed for the 28th consecutive day.

Mohammad Maqbool Khanday was killed allegedly in action by security forces against mobs who indulged in stone-pelting after Friday prayers at Nagam in Chadoora area of central Kashmir's Budgam district, a police official said.

As the news of Khanday's death spread, protests erupted at several places along the Chanapora-Chadoora road and clashes were reported from Kralpora area, he said.

In another incident, three youth were critically injured in action by security forces against violent mob at Khansahib area of Budgam district, the official said.

He said the injured were taken to SMHS hospital here where one of them was declared "brought dead" by the doctors.

The death of the youth led to protests within the hospital and some youth started pelting stones on the nearby Karan Nagar police station.

One youth was killed in a clash in Sopore, he said.

Mobs also indulged in stone-pelting on the ancestral house of Asia Naqash, Minister of State for Health, in Habbak area of Srinagar. However, nobody was in the house.

The house of Independent MLA Hakeem Mohd Yaseen was also attacked by mobs in Khan Sahib area but nobody was injured, the official said.

The official said clashes between protestors and security forces were also reported from Sopore town and Palhallan town in north Baramulla district and Goshbug in Kupwara district.

More than 100 people were reported to be injured in these clashes but officials refused to comment on this, saying they were busy with law and order situation.

Earlier in the day, authorities had extended curfew to more areas of Kashmir to thwart a planned march by separatists to Hazratbal shrine.

Curfew was imposed in entire Srinagar district as also in Ganderbal, Budgam, Anantnag town, Awantipora, Kulgam town, Baramulla district excluding Sopore, Shopian town, Kaloosa in Bandipora and parts of Handwara, the police official said.

He said restrictions were also clamped on assembly of four or more persons in rest of the Valley as a precautionary measure to maintain law and order.

Security forces had been deployed in strength in sensitive and vulnerable areas to maintain law and order.
Britain's embattled Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn was accused of failing to provide a credible opposition to the government as he clashed with the man hoping to unseat him in the first debate of a bitter contest.

Owen Smith, a former member of Corbyn's top team, accused the veteran socialist yesterday of "sloganising" rather than holding the Conservatives to account, and of failing to campaign hard enough to prevent a vote to leave the European Union.

Corbyn hit back by accusing Smith and other Labour MPs who have rebelled against him in recent months of undermining their efforts to win the next election, telling his rival: "You walked away."



Labour has been plunged into disarray since the Brexit vote on June 23, when lawmakers dissatisfied at Corbyn's leadership seized upon the turmoil that followed to demand that he step down.

The 67-year-old refused, noting he was elected only last September on the back of strong grassroots and trade union support -- prompting his critics to back the relatively unknown Smith as an alternative.

Corbyn has the support of many Labour members, and since February 2015 party membership has surged from 200,000 to 540,000.

"People see in Corbyn a new form of politics, where people care for the poor and downtrodden," said Philip John Rosser, a 61-year-old former lecturer attending the hustings in Cardiff in Wales.

But Smith has strong support among Labour MPs, who argue that Corbyn, a long-time anti-war and anti-nuclear campaigner, cannot beat Prime Minister Theresa May's centre-right Conservatives.

In the debate, 46-year-old Smith repeatedly cited the latest opinion poll putting the Conservatives 14 points ahead, and another that found 29 percent of Labour voters would prefer May to Corbyn as premier.

For some party members, his message is getting through.

"I'd rather see Jeremy Corbyn but there's no point having him if he's not going to win," said Chris Jones, a 28-year-old civil engineer.

The battle for control of the party has exposed long-standing fault lines over Labour's core values, and led to fears that it could split, with Smith warning this week that it was "teetering on the brink of a precipice".

Local party meetings have been suspended during the contest due to allegations of intimidation levelled against Corbyn's supporters.
Demanding justice for their community following the Una flogging incident, hundreds of and members of various civil rights organisations Friday began the 'Dalit Asmita Yatra', a foot march from Ahmedabad to Una town of Gir Somnath district.

The foot march participants will converge at Una town on August 15 where the will hoist the tricolour on the occasion of Independence Day.

"The foot march is the first step towards liberating across India from the age old traditions. On our way to Una, we will request Dalits to give up their ancestral work of disposing of dead animals to give a strong message to the government," said Jignesh Mevani, one of the organisers of the foot march.

During this ten-day of foot march, the Dalit leaders will address several small gatherings on their way to Una to educate the community members about their rights.

"This padyatra is mainly aimed at giving a message to government that Dalits will not tolerate any atrocities on them. We will circulate the videos of this entire journey on social media platforms, so that the Dalit movement spreads across the nation. We want to bring all the Dalits under one roof," Mevani said.

During the journey, leaders will try to raise a strong pitch for the allotment of agriculture land to Dalits, for which forms will be distributed to them on way.

"Since Dalits don't want to continue the work of disposing of cattle and cleaning sewer lines, we want the government to provide us agriculture land, so that we can live a respectable life. We will collect these forms and submit it to the government after the yatra," said Mevani.

On July 11, four Dalit youths were beaten up by cow vigilantes at Mota Samadhiyala village in Una taluka of Gir Somnath district when they were allegedly skinning a dead cow.

Though the youths pleaded that they were from the skinner community, the gau-rakshaks' thrashed them alleging that they were involved in cow slaughter.

The idea of foot march from Ahmedabad to Una was floated by former IPS officer Rahul Sharma at a mass gathering of Dalits held in the city on July 31.

"We received support of many other civil rights organisations and people like Sharma, who will remain with us till we reach Una. The foot march is the beginning of a nationwide mass movement for the Dalit rights," Mevani said.
US President Barack Obama has asserted that America and its allies will continue to target the Islamic State "aggressively" across all fronts, as he vowed to be relentless in the fight against the terror group.

"As we've seen, it is still very difficult to detect and prevent lone actors or small cells of terrorists who are determined to kill the innocent and are willing to die. And that's why, as we discuss today, we're going to keep going after ISIL (ISIS) aggressively across every front of this campaign," Obama told reporters after a meeting with his national security team at the Pentagon yesterday.

He said the US and its coalition partners continue to be relentless in their fight against the Islamic State but the group still has the ability to direct and inspire attacks.

"In fact, the decline of ISIL in Syria and Iraq appears to be causing it to shift to tactics that we've seen before, an even greater emphasis on encouraging high profile terrorist attacks, including in the United States," he added.

"We continue to take out senior ISIL leaders and commanders. This includes ISIL's deputy minister of war, Basim Muhammad al-Bajari, the top commander in Mosul Hatim Talib al-Hamduni and in yet another significant loss for ISIL is minister of war, Umar al-Shishani. None of ISIL's leaders are safe and we are going to keep going after them," Obama said.

He said on ground in Iraq, the local forces keep pushing ISIS back and in a major success, Iraqi forces with coalition support finally liberated Fallujah.

"Now they're clearing ISIL fighters from more areas up the Euphrates Valley and Iraqi forces retook the strategic airbase at Qayyarah, just 40 miles from Mosul, now the last major ISIL stronghold in Iraq," Obama said.

"Given the success, the additional 560 US support personnel that I ordered to Iraq last month will help turn this base into a logistical hub and launch bed for Iraqi forces as a push into Mosul," he said.

The US President said the terror groups's leaders know they're going to keep losing and in their message to followers, they're increasingly acknowledging that they may lose Mosul and Raqqah.

"They will lose them. And we'll keep hitting them and pushing them back and driving them out until they do," he said.

Obama said the ISIS turns out not to be invincible and they will inevitably be defeated, but the US also recognises at the same time that the situation is complex and it cannot be solved by military force alone.

"That's why the United States and countries around the world pledged more than USD 2 billion in new funds to help Iraqis stabilise and rebuild their communities," he said.

In a strong message to Russia, Obama said that the



country's direct involvement in these actions over the last several weeks raises very serious questions about their commitment to pull the situation back from the brink.

"The US remains prepared to work with Russia to try to reduce the violence and strengthen our efforts against ISIS and Al-Qaeda in Syria, but so far Russia has failed to take the necessary steps."



"Given the deteriorating situation, it is time for Russia to show that it is serious about pursuing these objectives," he said.

Obama said beyond Syria and Iraq, the US will keep working with allies and partners to go after ISIS wherever it tries to spread and at the request of Libya's Government of National Accord, they are conducting strikes in support of government aligned forces to retake Sirte from the Islamic State.

We will continue to support the government's efforts to secure their country, he said.

At the same time, the US president insisted that military actions would not be enough for the same.

"So long as their twisted ideology persists and drives people to violence, then groups like ISIL will keep emerging. And the international community will continue to be at risk in getting sucked into the kind of global whack-a-mole, where we're always reacting to the latest threat or a lone actor," Obama said.

"That's why we're also working to counter violent extremism more broadly, including the social, economic and political factors that help fuel groups like ISIL and Al-Qaeda in the first place," he said.

Nothing will do more to discredit the Islamic State and its phony claims to being a caliphate, then when it loses its base in Raqqa and in Mosul, he added.

"We are going to keep working with partners, including Muslim countries and communities, especially online, to expose ISIL for what they are -- murderers who kill innocent people, including Muslim families and children as they break the Ramadan fast and who set off bombs in Medina," Obama said.
The Legislatures Energy and Telecommunications Interim Committee wants to hear from you. The committee has drafted seven bills intended to protect Montana residents and businesses from the impact of the closure of Colstrip Units 1 and 2. The panel has requested public comments on the drafts.

LCCOL1 would appropriate $100,000 in the biennium beginning in July 2017 to pay for Montanas intervention in proceedings before out-of-state utilities or regulators that involve the future of coal-fired power generating facilities in Montana.

LCCOL2 is a 24-page draft that would set requirements for decommissioning and remediation of coal-fired generating units.

LCCOL3 would transfer $50 million next July from Montanas coal severance tax permanent fund to a new fund from which the Department of Commerce would make grants to entities impacted by the closure of a natural resource business. Although written to help Colstrip, the draft proposal could help any Montana community that lost 100 jobs in timber, mining or coal-fired plants. Transferring money from the permanent fund requires support from three-fourths majorities in the Legislature.

LCCOL4 would replace the money LCCOL3 proposes to remove from the permanent fund. That repayment would occur over 25 years by nearly doubling the electrical energy producers license tax from $.0002 per kilowatt hour to $.00029. The portion of revenue produced by the rate increase would be deposited into the coal severance tax permanent fund. As drafted, LCCOL3 would be void if LCCOL4 didnt pass.

LCCOL5 would require owners/operators of coal-fired electric plants in Montana to continue to pay property taxes for five years after the plant or unit is retired. Except for 25 percent going to the state general fund, those payments would be split between county, school and workforce training funds in the county where the coal plant was.

LCCOL6 proposes to create a five-member task force to review federal law to determine if and how the state can protect private-sector employee benefits and pension funds when natural resource companies go bankrupt or leave the state.

LCCOL7 would allow large electric customers to use Universal Systems Benefits money to cover energy market transition costs. These large electrical users basically would get a credit for expenses of procuring new energy supplies that would be deducted from what they would otherwise pay for USB. The credit would carry over to future years till it was used up.

Two paragraphs in LCCOL3 sum up the reason for these drafts:

Whereas, the market objectives and policy directives of out-of-state entities rarely contribute to the long-term welfare of Montana communities.

Whereas, Montana has a long history of taking care of one another and investing in ways that help make Montana a place where people want to live and make a living.

The 2017 Legislature will be asked to decide how that goal will be achieved for Colstrip while balancing other Montana needs, and, of course, balancing the biennial budget.

The full text of those bill drafts is posted on the ETIC webpage and at a link with this Gazette opinion at billingsgazette.com.

Comments on the drafts should be emailed by Aug. 25 to Sonja Nowakowski, committee staff, at legresponse@mt.gov with Colstrip in the subject line. Comments also may be mailed to: Legislative Services Division, Attn: Sonja Nowakowski, P.O. Box 201704, Helena, MT 59620.

Interested citizens may also want to contact lawmakers on the committee. In the Billings and southeastern Montana area, they are: Sen. Duane Ankney of Colstrip, Sen. Robyn Driscoll of Billings and Rep. Daniel Zolnikov of Billings.

The committees next meeting is set for Sept. 8-9 in Helena where members will decide whether to introduce any or all of these Colstrip drafts in the 2017 Legislature.
President Barack Obama has said that the US has decided to keep a large number of American troops in Afghanistan wipe out the Islamic State terror group in the country.

"In Afghanistan, one of the reasons that I decided to largely maintain our current force posture was so that we could keep eliminating ISIL's (ISIS) presence there," Obama said yesterday.

"We delivered another blow last month when we took out a top ISIL leader in Afghanistan, Umar Khalifa," he said.

Recently Obama announced his intention to keep 8,500 American troops in Afghanistan till January next year as against the 5,500 decided earlier.

Obama said every time there is a terrorist attack he feels disappointment, because he would like to prevent all of them.

"That's true not just when the attacks are in Europe or in the United States. When you read stories about attacks in Lebanon, Iraq or Afghanistan, or distant parts of the world that don't get as much attention, they get my attention," he said.

"Because that is somebody's kid, somebody's mom, somebody who is just going about his business and mindlessly, senselessly, this person was murdered. So I haven't gotten numb to it. It bugs me whenever it happens, and wherever it happens," he said replying to a question.

"We are constantly pushing ourselves to see are there additional ideas that we can deploy to defeat this threat," he added.

"Now, it is important that we recognise terrorism, as a tactic, has been around for a long time. If you look at the 1970's, or the 1980's, or the 1990's, there was some terrorist activity somewhere in the world that was brutal," Obama said.

"As much as I would like to say that during my eight year presidency we could have eliminated terrorism completely, it is not surprising that it hasn't happened, and I don't expect that will happen under the watch of my successors," he said.

The US president said if the IS had not destroyed Al-Qaeda in the FATA (Pakistan), more Americans would have been killed and more attacks like 9/11 would have taken place.

He said the US has maintained vigilance, recognising those



threats still remain, those aspirations in the minds of these folks still remain but it is much harder for them to carry out large scale attacks like that than it used to be.

"That, I think, points to the need for us to not just have a military strategy, not just have a traditional counterterrorism strategy that's designed to bust up networks catch folks before they carry out their attacks, although those still are necessary and we have to be more and more sophisticated about how we carry those out. It still requires us to have much greater cooperation with our partners around the world," Obama said.

He stressed on the need for the US and its allies to do a better job in draining the ideology that is behind these attacks.

"That right now is emanating largely out of the Middle East, and a very small fraction of the Muslim world," he said.

"A perversion of Islam that has taken root and has been turbo charged over the Internet and that is appealing to even folks who don't necessarily know anything about Islam, and aren't even practicing Islam in any serious way," Obama said.

"But, they have all kinds of psychosis and latch onto this as some way of being important and magnifying themselves," he said, adding it is tougher because that involves both changes in geopolitics in places like Syria.

Obama said cultural changes are required in regions like the Middle East and North Africa that are going through generational changes and for that it is needed to think how do messages of hate reach the individuals and the ways in which we can intervene.
US President Barack Obama has said the United States would keep targeting the Islamic State group "aggressively across every front."

Speaking to reporters after meeting with security and military officials, the president acknowledged that pressure against the group had prompted the jihadists to increase attacks outside Syria and Iraq, such as in the United States, France and Turkey.

"As we have seen, it is difficult to prevent small cells of terrorists willing to kill the innocent and (who) are willing to die. We will keep going after them aggressively across every front of this campaign," he said at a Pentagon news briefing.

Obama also expressed concern about Russia's military action in support of the Syrian regime, and urged Moscow to cooperate with Washington to find a way out of the crisis.

"The US remains prepared to work with Russia to try to reduce the violence and strengthen our efforts against ISIL, Al-Qaeda and Syria. But Russia has failed to take the necessary steps. Given the deteriorating situation, it is time for Russia to show it is serious about pursuing these objectives," he said.
US President has said the $400 million given to Iran was not a ransom for the release of four American prisoners, saying the whole amount was given in cash as they do not have a banking relationship with the country.

"The reason that we had to give them cash is precisely because we are so strict in maintaining sanctions and we do not have a banking relationship with Iran, we couldn't send them a check and we could not wire the money," Obama told reporters at a Pentagon news conference.

Responding to questions about a report of 'The Wall Street Journal' that said the US transferred a plane loaded with hard cash amounting to $400 million to Tehran coinciding with the release of four American prisoners by Iran in January, Obama questioned the justification of writing such a story.

"It is not at all clear to me why it is that cash, as opposed to a check or a wire transfer has made this into a new story. Maybe because it kind of feels like some kind of spy novel or you know crime novel because cash was exchanged," he said.

After the story was first reported by The Wall Street Journal early this week, the White House is having a tough time in defending the decision as the opposition Republican party and the Trump campaign has made it an election issue and alleging that it was a ransom paid to the Iranians.

"This wasn't some nefarious deal. And at the time, we explained that Iran had pressed a claim before an tribunal about them recovering money of theirs that we had frozen," Obama said.

"That as a consequence of working its way through the tribunal, it was the assessment of our lawyers, that we were now at a point where there was significant litigation risk and we could end up costing ourselves billions of dollars."

"It was their advice and suggestions that we settle. That's what these payments represent," he added.

"It was not a secret. We were completely open with everybody about it. And it is interesting to me how suddenly this became a story again," the US president as he strongly refuted allegations that US aid any ransom.

"We do not pay ransom for hostages. We've got a number of Americans being held all around the world, and I meet with their families, and it is heartbreaking. We have stood up an entire section of interagency experts who devote all of their time to working with these families to get these Americans out, but those families know that we have a policy that we don't pay ransom," Obama said.

"The notion that we would somehow start now in this high profile way, and announce it to the world even as we are looking into the faces of other hostage families, families whose loved ones are being held hostage and say to them that, we don't pay ransom, defies logic," he said.

Obama said if the US did pay any ransom it would start encouraging any Americans to be targeted, much in the way that some countries that do pay ransom end up having a lot more of their citizens being taken by various groups.

He said the cash was paid so that Iran would ship a "whole bunch of nuclear material out" and close down facilities to make sure it does not have breakout nuclear capacity.
In yet another blow to drug maker Wockhardt, US Food and Drug Administration (USFDA) has banned import of products manufactured at its Ankleshwar plant for non compliance of manufacturing norms.

The company's Ankleshwar plant manufactures bulk drugs, the USFDA said in a notice on its website.

The import alert has been issued under 'Import Alert 66-40', which authorises the health regulator "detention without physical examination of drugs from firms which have not met drug GMPs".

Already the company's two plants at Chikalthana and Waluj have been banned from exporting drugs to the US by the US health regulator.

In November 2013, the USFDA had imposed restrictions on import of medicines produced at the company's Chikalthana plant at Aurangabad in Maharashtra.

Earlier in May, the USFDA had also issued an import alert on the company's Waluj facility which makes injectables and solid dosages.

Wockhardt shares ended at Rs 1,015.60 on BSE, up 0.49 per cent from the previous close.
Britain's longest-serving Indian- origin MP, Keith Vaz, today demanded a "full explanation" after a New Zealand judge resigned as chair of the UK's child sexual abuse inquiry, becoming the third chair to step down in the last two years.

Labour party MP Vaz, in his capacity as chair of the House of Commons Home Affairs committee, said the decision was "a big shock" and announced that Dame Lowell Goddard has been asked to appear before British MPs and explain whyshe resigned as chair of the independent inquiry.

"I've written to her today to ask her to come before the committee when we return at the end of August and share with us her thoughts about the setting up of this inquiry and why she resigned, and where she thinks we could go," Vaz said.

It is "not enough" for the judge to simply resign and leave, he added.

Goddard has not yet given full reasons, but she said conducting such an inquiry was "not an easy task".

In a statement, she said she was "confident there have been achievements and some very real gains for victims and survivors of institutional child sexual abuse in getting their voices heard".

The judge said she took on the role because of her "relevant experience and track record in the area" but admitted that running the inquiry had been difficult.

"Compounding the many difficulties was its legacy of failure which has been very hard to shake off and with hindsight it would have been better to have started completely afresh," she said.

The 67-year-old was appointed in April 2015 and now becomesthe third chair to step down as chair of the inquiry in the last two years.

UK home secretary Amber Rudd said the inquiry would continue "without delay" in the absence of a new chair.

The inquiry was announced in July 2014 to examine historic claims of child sexual abuse made against public and private institutions.

It had a budget of 17.9 million pounds in its first year, funded by the UK Home Office, with staffing-related costs accounting for 41 per cent of the total.

The original chair, Baroness Butler-Sloss, stood down just a week after being appointed amid questions over the role played by her late brother, Lord Havers, who was attorney general in the 1980s.

Her replacement Dame Fiona Woolf resigned following questions over her links to establishment figures.
Vijay Rupani, a devoted RSS member since his school-days who is known for hard work but keeps a low profile, is set to succeed Anandiben Patel as the Chief Minister of the high-profile Gujarat state.

The 60-year-old first time MLA trumped all other contenders for the post. What apparently weighed in his favour among other things is his closeness to BJP chief Amit Shah.

Rupani's elevation to the top post is also seen as a recognition of his Jain community, which was recently accorded minority status by the state government.

A leader who wields considerable influence in Saurashtra, a politically significant part of Gujarat, Rupani celebrated his birthday on August 2 with his wife and son at his house in Rajkot, his native town.

Born in Rangoon (now Yangon, in Myanmar) to Ramniklal Rupani in 1956, Rupani grew up in Rajkot where he joined RSS as a school boy. He pursued BA and then LLB.

As the chairman of the state tourism corporation, he headed 'Khushbu Gujarat Ki' campaign to popularise the state as a tourist destination.

Between 2006-12, he was a member of Rajya Sabha. During this period he was a part of various Parliamentary committees on water resources, food, public distribution, public undertaking, etc.

He was made the chairman of the Gujarat Municipal Finance Board in 2013. In October 2014, he won Assembly bye-election from Rajkot West with a handsome margin after the sitting MLA Vajubhai Vala resigned upon appointment as Karnatka Governor.

On February 19, Rupani became the state BJP president, replacing R C Faldu. It was seen as a victory for the Amit Shah faction in state BJP.
In a surprise decision, Vijay Rupani was today chosen as the new Chief Minister of Gujarat by the BJP legislators to succeed Anandiben Patel, who resigned on Wednesday.

Rupani emerged as the choice for the top slot at the legislature party meeting attended by BJP chief Amit Shah and Union Minister Nitin Gadkari, though it was widely speculated that the mantle would fall on Nitin Patel.

After the meeting Gadkari announced that Rupani would be the new Chief Minister of Gujarat.

Rupani would be tasked with leading the party in the assembly polls due next year, overcoming the multiple challenges faced by it in the home state of prime minister Narendra Modi.

Anandiben Patel announced her decision to resign through a Facebook post last week, saying she thought it fit to step down since as she will turn 75 this November, the age cap set by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the central and the state ministries.

BJP president Amit Shah has since yesterday held deliberations with party leaders to finalise the candidate.

BJP's parliamentary board accepted Anandiben Patel's offer to resign on Monday at its meeting in Delhi, setting in motion the process of choosing the new Chief Minister.

The BJP, in power in Gujarat for long, has been facing grim challenges like Patel quota stir and Dalit unrest in the wake of widely condemned dalit flogging incident in Una apart from reversals in rural areas in civic polls, which together seem to have dented its image and support base,prompting Aanandiben to quit.
Three Naxals, including a woman, were today killed in a fierce gun-battle with security personnel in a dense forest pocket in Chhattisgarh's Dantewada district, police said.

The encounter occurred early this morning in the forests of Kacheghat area when a team of state's District Reserve Group (DRG) was out on an anti-Naxal operation in the region, Dantewada Superintendent of Police Kamlochan Kashyap told PTI.

Based on inputs, a team of DRG had launched the operation in Faraspal's interiors forests, located on Dantewada-Bijapur border, around 450 kms from here.

A group of armed Naxals opened indiscriminate fire on the security personnel close to Kacheghat village following which an encounter broke out between the two sides, he said.

Bodies of three cadres, including a female, clad in 'uniform' were later found.

Besides, two 315 bore revolvers, a muzzle loading gun, some daily use items and two bags were also recovered from the spot, he said.

A thorough search of the area is underway and more details are awaited, the SP added.
Over the past year, Prime Minister Narendra Modi kept a sharp eye on the negotiations by his senior ministers with various national and regional political parties to ensure the passage of the Goods and Services Tax (GST) constitutional amendment Bill. But he himself stayed in the background. On Monday, the PM will intervene for the first time on the debate when the Lok Sabha takes it up for discussion.
Senior Union ministers have advised to as many as nine Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) ruled states to call special sessions of their legislative assemblies to ratify the Goods and Services Tax (GST) Constitution amendment Bill by the end of this month.
The law holds allure for songwriters. See, for instance: I Fought the Law by the Sonny Curtis, Lawyers, Guns, and Money by Warren Zevon, End of the Innocence by Don Henley and Bruce Hornsby, This Side of the Law by Johnny Cash, and Alices Restaurant by Arlo Guthrie. There are many more songs about the law.

This crossed my mind when one of my neighbors asked me recently about the rule of law and what that meant exactly. Of course, this was in the context of the decision not to prosecute Hillary Clinton for her email security lapses. While I have serious concerns about the decision not to prosecute, this article does not make a judgement about that call. As someone who has made thousands of decisions about whether to charge someone or not, I have read good reports about FBI Director Comey and his integrity, and do not know enough about the details to question his decision. The rule of law, however, is a critically important piece of our justice system and worthy of an article.

The rule of law, in its simplest form, is that nobody is above the law. All people, president and kings included, are treated the same under the law. The rule of law appeared in print in the Magna Carta in 1215. Article 39 stated: No freemen shall be taken or imprisoned or disseised or exiled or in any way destroyed, nor will we go upon him nor send upon him, except by the lawful judgment of his peers, or by the law of the land. While this language is hard to follow today, the intent was that no persons life, liberty, or property could be arbitrarily taken away by the king, nor was the king himself above the law.

In other words, no persons fate was in the hands of a single person (the king), nor could one person (the king) get away with not being subject to the law of the land. This is critically important to our society. This protects from having a dictator suspend the law to suit himself. As James Madison wrote in Federalist Paper No. 51, in 1788: If men were angels, no government would be necessary. In framing a government which is to be administered over by men, the great difficulty lies in this: you must first enable government to control the governed; and in the next place oblige it to control itself.

This is why the framers put in place three branches of government, to separate powers so no one branch could obtain absolute power over the law. For our system to work, the rule of law is all-important. Every member of Congress, every president, every judge, and every public official swears to uphold the Constitution when they take office. This is not a formality. Each branch of government swears to stay within its enumerated powers as set forth in the Constitution.

For the rule law to work, the World Justice Project has set forth four universal principles which must be present:

1. The government and its officials as well as individuals and private entities are accountable under the law.

2. The laws are clear, publicized, stable, and just; are applied evenly; protect fundamental rights, including the security of persons and property and core human rights.

3. The process by which laws are enacted, administered, and enforced is accessible, fair, and efficient.

4. Justice is delivered timely by competent, ethical, and independent representatives and neutrals who are sufficient number, have adequate resources, and reflect the makeup of the communities they serve.

These principles apply across cultures, nations, and governments. For a just society to exist, these core principles are essential. While the United States has arguably been the greatest country to ever exist, we need to hang on to these principles  accountability, personal rights, property rights, fairness, and independence  i.e. the rule of law, to continue to be a great country.
The Odisha government demanded payment of CST compensation up to 2016-17 year as new regime is likely to be implemented from 2017-18 fiscal.

"Since is likely to be implemented from the year 2017-18, we are demanding payment of CST compensation up to Financial Year 2016-17," Finance Minister Pradeep Kumar Amat told reporters while expressing pleasure over the passage of the Constitution Amendment Bill for in the Rajya Sabha.

Noting that the efforts of the Empowered Committee of State Finance Ministers have been fruitful, Amat said GST was an important milestone in the reforms of indirect taxes in India and Government of Odisha is in favour of GST. "It is a consumption-based taxation system," he said.

The GST implementation will bring uniform tax rate throughout the country and will help in seamless movement of goods and services across the states, Amat said.

He said that while the Centre would take steps for enactment of CGST and IGST Act, the states would enact SGST Act.

"Odisha has raised the issue to levy additional non rebatable cess like Green Tax on minerals and other polluting goods sold in course of interstate trade and commerce to compensate the adverse effect of pollution," the finance minister said.

Amat said: "We are also demanding levy of tax on tobacco products by the states over and above the GST as the central government will tax separately as per entry 84 of the Union List of the Constitution."

Noting that the GST Bill was introduced by the UPA government, Leader of Opposition Narasingh Mishra of Congress said the bill could not be passed then as BJP was opposing it.
Senior union ministers have advised to as many as nine Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) ruled states to call special sessions of their legislative assemblies to ratify the Goods and Services Tax (GST) constitution amendment Bill by month end.
The Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) is puzzled that not many claimants are coming forward to get back their money in the Sahara case, which had landed high-flying businessman Subrata Roy in Tihar Jail. There is a huge element of money laundering in illegal public deposit schemes across the country, a senior Sebi official said on Thursday

"So far as Sahara is concerned, we have a decent amount of money but not many claimants. That is a question mark as to why there are no claimants despite the fact that we have made multiple advertisements seeking applications to pay the money," Sebi wholetime member S. Raman told the media here.

According to the latest figures, Sebi has got Rs 11,272 crore inclusive of interest in its Sahara Refund Account while the money returned to investors is just around Rs 55 crore.

On the sidelines of the launch of a website under the State Level Coordination Committees scheme to tackle the menace of illegal money pooling activities, Raman said that there is a huge element of money laundering in such schemes. "Because of this, the ministry of finance's directorate of enforcement has also been made a part of the state-level coordination panels, which began working in 2014." Raman pointed out that in the Sahara case, Sebi was given truckloads of documents not connected to one another and undertook the gargantuan task of sifting through those, which has not been done by any regulator in the world. "Our entire endeavour is to distribute as much money as possible," he added.

Sahara is engaged in a dispute with Sebi over schemes involving raising of funds from the public through certain bonds and the Group was asked to return thousands of crores along with interest to the investors through the regulator. The Group claims to have already refunded 95 per cent of the money directly to the investors.

Mentioning another high-profile case involving Pearl Group entity PACL, which was asked by Sebi to refund more than Rs 50,000 crore collected from investors, Raman said that the recently constituted committee under the chairmanship of former Chief Justice of India R.M. Lodha is trying to collect details of properties owned by the Group. He, however, sought to clarify that in PACL, the watchdog had been proactive in barring the company from collecting funds as far back in 1996, but the company got a relief in its favour from a High Court. Sebi successfully challenged the order in the apex court, but an order from the Supreme Court came only in 2012 by which time it had raised the money.
Describing the passage of the GST Bill in Parliament as a major boost to India's appeal to attract investments from multi-national and Chinese firms, China's official media today said it will add momentum to Indian economy - one of the world's fastest growing economies.

The long-awaited tax reform plan "could certainly boost India's appeal to multinationals, including Chinese firms, as a myriad of existing federal, state and interstate levies in the country had previously increased their tax burdens and barred them from further exploring potentials in the world's fastest-growing major economy", the state-run Global Times said in an article.

"China is more likely to see this reform, which aims to make India a better destination for investment, as an opportunity rather than a threat," it said, adding that China will be happy to see the reforms go through and will be willing to work with India to make it a reality.

"Chinese companies are certainly welcoming the move.

Along with other restrictions, the country's complicated and cumbersome taxation system as well as bureaucracy related to tax-collection remains a hurdle for Chinese firms doing business in India," it said.

"While the reform is seen as a landmark move to transform India's USD two trillion economy into a true common market and bring it closer in line with the international market, whether these benefits will materialise will be a test of the Modi government's ability and political wisdom to push the reform through. An effective implementation of the unified tax is also vital to help India truly transform into a manufacturing powerhouse," it said.

Although details on how the Goods and Services Tax (GST) will be levied are yet to be worked out, the new system could help reduce taxes on goods transferred across the country and boost economic growth if it is given a green light from the national parliament and Indian states, it said.

"The move is both politically and economically significant. Politically, it showed that the Modi government can compromise to get reforms made in the national interest.

It could boost Prime Minister Narendra Modi's political legacy and gives him a better chance at a second term," it said.

"Most importantly, it could add momentum to the world's already fastest growing economy. According to HSBC estimates, the reform will add 0.8 percentage points to the country's growth within three to five years," it said.

"With 1.3 billion consumers, India's market has great potential. However, under the complicated tax system and perception of a challenging investment environment for foreign companies, India's potential is far from fully tapped. A well- designed GST could transform India into a more liberalised market and the second largest consumer market in Asia," it said.
The government has extended minimum import price (MIP) on steel, first imposed in February to provide relief to domestic producers battered by rising imports from China, Korea and Japan, by two more months but has trimmed the list of applicable items from 173 to just 66 items.

In February, the government had imposed MIP that was valid for 6 months and lapsed on Thursday. The directorate general of foreign trade issued the notification. "MIP for 66 steel products under chapter 72 of ITC (HS) 2012, has been extended till October 4," said Anup Wadhawan, director general of foreign trade.

The MIP ranges between $341-752 per tonne and has been instrumental in curbing steel imports in the country. Imports had grown over 20 per cent in FY2015/16 following an even more staggering 71 per cent growth in 2014/15. But in the first quarter of 2016/17, imports declined by over 30 per cent - steepest in over a decade - to under 1.8 million tonnes.

The extension saw a spurt in the shares of all major primary steel producers in the country. Shares of India's largest steel maker Steel Authority of India was trading at Rs 48.20, up 2.99 per cent at 2:30 pm at the Bombay Stock Exchange. Tata Steel's share prices were up 1.95 per cent at Rs 381.35 while shares of JSW steel and Jindal Steel and Power Limited were up 1.54 and 0.98 per cent respectively.

Wadhawan said the government trimmed the list as it was felt only 66 items that includes semi-finished products of iron or non-alloyed steel, flat rolled products, bars and rods, required protection from imports at this point of time. The government had already initiated anti-dumping duty investigations on a host of steel items. Industry experts said minimum import price has been used only as a stop gap arrangement till the WTO compatible anti-dumping duty is imposed in the sector.

The imposition of MIP, however, has caused much discomfort with the countries that had been exporting to India. Many of them led by Japan have threatened to drag into to WTO for non compliance.

"Japan has carefully watched the moves of the Indian competent authority concerning this issue (safeguard measures on hot rolled steel), since it initiated the investigation in September 2015, and has submitted government opinion letter, had bilateral consultations, and participated in a public hearing," says a report by Japanese industry ministry MIET on June 9.

"Japan suggested the possible violation of the WTO Agreement of the relevant safeguard measures and requested appropriate determination in the investigation. Japan will continuously make requests to India to ensure consistency of their measures with WTO Agreements," the report adds.

At a time when global steel industry is straddled with excess capacity all around, India has been only major country where consumption is rising and offers a readymade market to park that excess capacity. Any measure to thwart imports like MIP, does not go down well with the rest of the world.


As the world gears up for Rio Olympics 2016, Google has come up with a fruity doodle to mark the beginning of the Olympics season.

The Rio Olympics officially begin on August 5. To celebrate the occasion, Google has a more-than-a-minute-long video showcasing its own Fruit Games.

The doodle features colourful fruits, with strawberry in the lead, taking part in different sports. You will witness a watermelon rolling on the race track, coconut pedalling away, a lemon swimming and a pineapple smashing with all its might. This and much more.

"For the next couple of weeks, we'll journey to an otherwise unassuming fruit stand in Rio, where produce from all over the market competes for the title of freshest fruit.", said Google describing the idea behind their doodle.

Google has also introduced a mobile game 'Fruit Games' in the iOS and Android apps.
The Lord Mayor of Dublin, Brendan Carr has this week condemned what he says is an attempt by the employers umbrella group, IBEC to use the recent vote by the UK to leave the EU to "further its attack" on workers in Ireland.

At this meeting, which included representatives of estate agents, exporters, other leading companies and State agencies, Councillor Carr commented, "In its response to Brexit this week, IBEC claimed that the correct approach for the Government is to consider driving down workers wages and reducing the ability of the State to fund our already overwhelmed social supports.

"From its approach it is clear that IBEC does not care about ripping apart the already strained fabric of our society."



He added, "Of course the IBEC response to Brexit uses weasel words such as a need to overcome competitiveness issues relating to labour costs and the minimum wage to hide what is really a call for attacking the livelihoods of working people. It also calls for increased tax competiveness, which for IBEC is merely short hand for tax cutting."

Source: www.businessworld.ie

About us
Uber is finally in Montana. The app-based technology company connects people who need rides with certified, insured drivers with just a few taps on a smartphone, usually at a lower cost than typical taxis.

In 2015, Montana's Legislature passed a law allowing ride-sharing services to compete in Big Sky Country. One of the strongest points of this legislation was that it updated our previously restrictive laws so free market solutions could better serve Montanans.

This high-tech innovation is a real win for our state. By staying current with trends, cities like Billings will be able to better attract and retain younger workers. Ride-sharing will help towns across Montana alleviate parking shortages, especially during games, fairs, rodeos and concerts. It will be easier than ever for students to attend college without a vehicle. Tourists and out-of-state visitors will be able to get off the airplane and catch a ride immediately.

This will also create a balanced solution for distillers, breweries, bars and Montanans out enjoying a few drinks. Ride sharing services like Uber have great potential to help solve Montana's rampant DUI problem by providing an affordable and reliable way to get home safe.

Montanans know that cabs can take up to an hour to catch after 10 p.m. on a weekend, due to high demand. I have experienced this, along with many Montanans, including college students. Uber can fill the gap During peak times.

Driving for Uber will also give many Montanans the opportunity to earn extra income, something desperately needed in our low-average-wage state.

But with this change comes more responsibility. There will no longer be any excuses for people who drink excessively and then get behind the wheel. I supported and carried this legislation in the House because it created a solution, not more prohibitions. Too many lives have been lost due to drunken driving, and now we have a fast, cheap, accessible solution. It is our responsibility to hold not only our friends and family, but ourselves accountable, especially for the cost of a ride adding up to less than a round at the bar. I'm going to personally help set this example by being a part-time Uber driver myself.

In a time of political strife, it is worth mentioning the legislators who supported this effort. This bill passed with 50 Republican and 10 Democrat legislators voting in favor, and 31 Democrat and 9 Republican legislators in opposition. Other Billings area representatives that voted for the legislation include Jeff Essmann, Clayton Fiscus, Dave Hagstrom, Don Jones, Sarah Laszloffy, Kelly McCarthy, Dale Mortensen, Vince Ricci, and Tom Richmond. Representatives Jessica Karjala, Kathy Kelker and Margie MacDonald did not support the legislation.
HAMILTON  A lot of evacuees of the Roaring Lion fire were told they could go home Thursday night.

The mandatory evacuation area was cut nearly in half after the most active fire danger moved southward.

The new Stage 2 mandatory evacuation area now includes Roaring Lion Road west of Springhill road and everything south and west of Gold Creek Loop west of Highway 93, including Two Horse, Lupine Bridge, Highland Drive and Whispering Pines.

The new Stage 1 alert area includes the area from Blodgett Camp south to Gold Creek Loop, including the Westside Road and Highway 93 to Springhill Road. The area also includes both sides of Lost Horse Road.

Residents along Roaring Lion and Lost Horse roads will be allowed back into their homes after they obtain a permit.

Those permits could be obtained at a public meeting Thursday night or picked up at the roadblocks. People will need to show their proof of residence. The permits are designed to limit traffic to local residents and emergency vehicles.

Firefighters had a good day on the line Thursday.

The fire was pretty darned subdued all day, said Forest Service Fire Information Officer Mike Cole on Thursday evening. The inversion never really lifted.

As a testament to that fact, Cole said the demand by firefighters on the line for water drops by helicopters was down from the days before.

Thats a good thing, Cole said. Right now, everything seems to be going pretty much according to plan. We are making headway.

The fire is 7 percent contained, he said.

With some wind and potential thunderstorms expected to arrive later this weekend, the hope is firefighters will have the lines shored up on the southern end enough to contain any potential spread of the blaze.

The fire grew by more than 500 acres Wednesday and is currently estimated to cover 7,752 acres. The cost of firefighting efforts so far is more than $2.1 million.

On Thursday, the fire danger was moved to very high on the entire Bitterroot National Forest. That means any fires will spread rapidly and quickly increase in intensity.

Forest officials are likely to bump up fire restrictions to include a ban on campfires.

Heavy machinery and hand crews are building fire line on the southern edge of the fire. The goal is to connect that into line built earlier this year during the Observation Fire.

Cole said that crews are also working around homes to ensure that there arent any hot spots or snags that could endanger the structures that survived the fire.

Sometimes youll find smoke coming up a day or two later after the fire comes through, Cole said. Were checking those homes pretty thoroughly to ensure that nothing else gets started.

The fire has burned close to a mile south of the Ward Creek drainage. Cole said the goal from the onset has been to keep the fire out of Camas Creek.

Definitely the fire is most active on the southern end, Cole said. There is a lot of beetle-killed lodgepole, drought-stressed trees and some Doug Fir with root rot in that area.

There are still nine helicopters and two single engine air tankers assigned to the Roaring Lion fire. Helicopters have dropped more than 750,000 gallons of water on the fire so far.

As of Thursday morning, Cole said there were 629 people assigned to the fire.

That number will vary day to day as crews time out, he said. Were pretty staffed up right now.

The plan doesnt call for building a fire line completely around the fire.

The main issue is to keep the fire out of the valley, Cole said. Every fire in the Bitterroot is like that. Well build lines where we need to contain the fire and work to make them secure enough for that next wind event.

Fires like this one are teachable moments for people who live in the woods, he said.

You have a window of opportunity before the fire comes, Cole said. Once the fire starts, its too late to haul flammable material out. The only thing you can do is get the woodpile and other flammable material away from the house and then pray.
Contributed photo Jorge Alegria's "Osaian" will be on display at the Rockport Center for the Arts through Sept. 3 as part of the "Heaven" exhibit.

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By Esther Hackleman, Esther.M.Hackleman@caller.com

The Rockport Center for the Arts will celebrate the anniversary of its first merit show in 1985 with its latest exhibit "Standing Out" opening Saturday.

The merit show began by featuring five artists who were selected by votes from the public. Now, all five exhibitors are selected by a juror and the sixth is chosen by public vote. Assistant professor of painting at Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi Joe Pena selected this years artists Pena's during "Currents," the Rockport Center for the Arts' annual all-members exhibit.

"It is one of our great standing shows we have," Director of Visual Arts Taylor Hendrix said. "It's a great opportunity for our members to get a chance to interact with each other's work."

The show will open with a reception from 5-7 p.m. Saturday and will run through Sept. 3.

Running in conjunction with the merit show is the work of Jorge Alegria, an artist who participated in last year's merit show.

Alegria's exhibit, "Heaven" will feature more than 20 new, original works that tell spiritual themes of Bible stories from his youth, according to a news release.

The artist reception for "Heaven" will also be from 5-7 p.m. Saturday.

Twitter: @Caller_Esther

IF YOU GO

What: Artist reception for "Standing Out" and "Heaven"

When: 5-7 p.m. Saturday; both exhibits will run through Sept. 3.

Where: Rockport Center for the Arts, 902 Navigation Circle

Information: 361-729-5519, rockportartcenter.com
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By Elizabeth Riggle, Special to the Caller-Times

Longing for a vacation to the tropics, but you do not have the time or a passport? Blackbeard's Restaurant is the answer. Located on North Beach, this venue welcomes you in with a laid back coastal vibe.

Fresh seafood prepared in unique ways, cold tropical drinks and energetic live music give the impression that you have traveled to the tranquil beaches of Mexico or the Caribbean.

Relax and let the worries of the day slip away as you enjoy a frosty watermelon margarita, a chilled Chardonnay or an icy Tecate.

Check the white board for ever-changing lunch and dinner specials. Special options may include blackened swordfish, the bacon avocado burger or crawfish spinach crab cakes: Two crispy fried crab cakes topped with a homemade crawfish spinach cream sauce.

Plunge into Blackbeard's selections of appetizers.

Try the cold mahi ceviche, the flaming hot buffalo chicken wings or the walk the plank quesadillas created with shrimp, crab, mushrooms, cheese and pico de gallo.

Entrees are varied and include an array of seafood, American comfort food, Mexican and Italian.

A surfside salad is a great combination of blackened shrimp placed on a bed of fresh greens topped with cheese, sliced avocado, pineapple, purple onions, black olives and tomatoes.

Seafood entrees are the stars. It is difficult to decide between the garlic grilled shrimp, the blackened tilapia or the fried seafood platter with four fried shrimp, fried tilapia filet, fried oysters and fried clam strips.

Choose one of Blackbeard's signature dishes.

Featured entrees include pirate stew, the ribeye steak sandwich is a six-ounce ribeye topped with Swiss cheese, grilled onions and mushrooms served on a toasted French roll and border chicken Monterrey: eight-ounce grilled chicken breast with cheese quesadilla, charro beans, sour cream, pico de gallo and guacamole.

Lovers of Italian flavors will relish Blacky's garlic special Alfredo made with shrimp, fish and crab sauteed in a spicy tomato garlic pico and Alfredo sauce served over bowtie pasta.

End your tropical adventure with a slice of cold and tangy key lime pie finished with whipped cream.
GABE HERNANDEZ/CALLER-TIMES Coast Guard Petty Officer 1st Class John Calhoun rides a wave as he celebrates the service's 226th birthday Thursday, Aug. 4, 2016, at Hurricane Alley Waterpark in Corpus Christi.

SHARE GABE HERNANDEZ/CALLER-TIMES Coast Guard Capt. Tony Hahn addresses the crowd during the celebration of the service's 226th birthday Thursday, Aug. 4, 2016, at Hurricane Alley Waterpark in Corpus Christi. GABE HERNANDEZ/CALLER-TIMES Members of the U.S. Coast Guard gather as they celebrate the service's 226th birthday Thursday, Aug. 4, 2016, at Hurricane Alley Waterpark in Corpus Christi. GABE HERNANDEZ/CALLER-TIMES Members of the U.S. Coast Guard celebrate the service's 226th birthday Thursday, Aug. 4, 2016, at Hurricane Alley Waterpark in Corpus Christi. GABE HERNANDEZ/CALLER-TIMES Members of the U.S. Coast Guard celebrate the service's 226th birthday Thursday, Aug. 4, 2016, at Hurricane Alley Waterpark in Corpus Christi.

By Julie Garcia of the Caller-Times

To Chief Petty Officer Jason Scarborough, Coast Guard means family.

"They're definitely an extended family of mine. I've been in so long that I've been able to lean on the Coast Guard for support and advice," Scarborough, a chief boatswain's mate, said. "Being in the Coast Guard is all about serving the community."

The Coast Guard celebrated its 226th birthday on Thursday. It's the oldest continuing seagoing service in the United States, said Capt. Tony Hahn, section commander at Coast Guard Sector Corpus Christi.

"There's an unbelievable legacy of service to this country," Hahn said during Coast Guard Day at Hurricane Alley Waterpark.

About 500 local Coast Guard personnel and their families attended the downtown water park to celebrate the military branch's birthday. Rather than have a formal event, local officials wanted to promote togetherness with family fun in the sun.

"We want to celebrate the history of the Coast Guard, but celebrate with each other and blow off some steam," Hahn said. "The strength of the Coast Guard is our people and how much they love serving others in the country."

The Coast Guard was founded Aug. 4, 1790, to enforce tariff and trade laws on the water and protect the collection of federal revenue and prevent smuggling, according to Military.com. Over the years, duties expanded to humanitarian aid.

After wiping out on the surf simulator the "Flowrider Double," Petty Officer 3rd Class Graham Smith laughed with two of his Coast Guard buddies. In eight years, the rescue swimmer has been stationed in Virginia, New Jersey, North Carolina, Florida and now Corpus Christi.

"It's a very rewarding lifestyle," Smith said.

Twitter: @Caller_Jules
Under the Bridge

The new Corpus Christi Harbor Bridge cuts near the once bustling Hillcrest neighborhood. For those who didn't move away this is what life is like now.
HAVRE  A man who was shot to death by a Phillips County sheriff's deputy last week had been walking down the highway in the middle of the night wearing just underwear prior to the confrontation that led to his death, the sheriff's office said.

A motorist called 911 just after 3 a.m. on July 27 to report a man walking down the middle of U.S. Highway 191 south of Malta wearing only underwear, Sheriff Scott Moran said in a statement. The motorist said he stopped and asked the man if he could help. His offers were refused, but the motorist said he gave the man a spare sweatshirt.

Deputy Alan Guderjahn responded to the call and recognized Ambrose Mecklenburg, 20. He offered him a ride to Malta, but it was refused.

"While speaking with Mecklenburg, Mecklenburg pulled a knife and attacked Guderjahn without warning," the sheriff's statement said.

Guderjahn was unable to subdue Mecklenburg and was forced to shoot him, officials said.

Passing motorists aided Guderjahn, who sustained several cuts and stab wounds to his head, arms and torso, Moran said. The deputy was taken to the hospital in Malta and then Great Falls. He was released three days later.

The case is still being investigated by the state Division of Criminal Investigation.
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So the Made in Chelsea gang have gone to Cannes to lounge around being gorgeously rich in fresh, white shirts and flouncy, floral dresses. It's not fair. Why are they so posh and rich? Well, I've found out and here are nine of them ranked in order of poshness, from least posh to poshest.

Alexandra 'Binky' Felstead  Her mother is an agony aunt for the Mail Online and her father was something to do with computers before packing it in to run a pub. Posh factor 5.

Tiffany Watson  Her father owned City Pub Company before it was sold to Greene King for 70 million. And now he owns the Phene Pub in Chelsea. Posh factor 6.

Georgia 'Toff' Toffolo  She works at The Lady magazine and her parents are very rich but I don't know why. Posh factor 6.

Stephanie Pratt  She's the daughter of an American dentist to the stars. Posh factor 6.

Jamie Laing  He's the future heir to McVities biscuits, and also has his own range of sweets called Candy Kittens. Posh factor 7.

Victoria Baker-Harber  She's a successful swimsuit designer, so even though her family are loaded (not sure why), she has made lots of the money herself. So we'll let her off. Posh factor 9.

Francis Boulle  He's the future heir to a diamond-mining company. Posh factor 9.

Mark-Francis Vandelli  He's the son of Russian princess, Diane Bouting-Casserley-Vandelli and Italian industrialist, Marzio Vandelli. Posh factor 10.

Louise Thompson  She owns clothing line Pocket London. I can't find out anything about her family... Can you? Answers on a postcard. Posh factor unavailable.
| BY Ricki Green |

Artisan Spirit Merchants (ASM) has awarded its business to full service agency Noisy Beast. Effective immediately, Noisy Beast will now manage ASMs creative, media, social and event needs for brands Vodka O, Tequila Blu, Spicebox Canadian Whisky and Moss Creek Moonshine.

ASMs Vodka O was conceived in grassroots fashion in 2003, and sold out of an old mechanics garage in Sydney. Since then Vodka O had grown to be the 3rd best-selling vodka in Australia and the #1 Australian made and owned. ASM are looking to expand Vodka Os growth by aiming to be the first choice for all vodka occasions for their target market and have partnered with Noisy Beast to achieve this. Work for other brands, Tequila Blu, Moss Creek Moonshine and Spicebox will follow in the coming months.

Says Nick Mann, general manager of ASM said We were incredibly impressed with the fully integrated approach of the Noisy Beast team, their strategic and creative thinking, and particularly, their ability to get the job done.

Says Adam Hilton, managing director of Noisy Beast: Were delighted to be working with the passionate ASM team, and were really looking forward to helping them fulfill the enormous ambitions for their brands.
| BY Lynchy |

Former Saatchi & Saatchi New Zealand CEO Nicky Bell has been lured to the senior vice president, managing director role at R/GA Los Angeles.

Bell spent six years at Saatchis before deciding to leave in March, replaced by GM, Paul Wilson, who was promoted to managing director. Prior to Saatchis, Bell had an 18 year stint with Ogilvy, the first seven with the agencys Sydney office followed by 11 in New York.

At R/GA LA Bell will report to R/GA U.S. president Sean Lyons. Says Lyons: Nicky is a proven leader. Shes transformed cultures, refocused and realigned agency capabilities, and contributed to significant growth of client businesses. R/GA has big plans for its Los Angeles office and Nicky is exactly the right person to deliver on them.
| BY Ricki Green |

OTTO director Michael Beets is set to premier his Virtual Reality documentary, Jafri at the 65th Melbourne International Film Festival next week along side numerous talks and events. The VR documentary explores Jafri, a silent activist for racial equality utilising the immersive Virtual Reality technology that drops you into the world of Jafri as he guides us through his daily life and the intimate moments that shaped his views on the world and himself.

Learn more about the film here.

Beets work centres around immersive content, commercials, and digital experiences. He thrives on exploring how traditional storytelling can be converged with new media, and this VR documentary is a bold foray in VR narrative storytelling. Beets has a cinematic quality to his work and is also a beautiful visual storyteller.

Beets and OTTO worked with PLaTO Reality, the newly formed VR production company to produce this exciting new work.

Beets will also be speaking at MIFFs Virtual Reality masterclass; on a panel made up of Australian VR filmmakers to speak about the cutting-edge technology, immersive storytelling and the challenges of virtual reality. To learn more about the masterclass, click here.

Beets has also been invited to talk at Open channels Generation Next conference. Beets will join the conference in a Q&A discussing his career and how his process as a multidisciplinary artist and how its important to think outside the box when pursuing a career in the screen industry. Learn more about the conference here.

To add to Beets busy month Jafri has been added to the Kaleidoscope World Tour, a travelling virtual reality festival showcase the worlds best cinematic virtual reality as well as being invited to screen at Visa Pour Limage in Perpignan, France.

Tune in to the conversation hour with Jon Faine at 11am on ABC Radio Melbourne 774 to hear Beets discuss Jafri on the 11th of August or listen http://www.abc.net.au/melbourne/conversations/ after the show.
The majority of contributions to Montana campaigns this cycle have come from residents, although money from out-of-state individuals and organizations may play a bigger role closer to Election Day.

Contributions from outside the state have featured most prominently in campaign attacks swapped in the race between Gov. Steve Bullock, a Democrat, and tech entrepreneur Greg Gianforte, a Republican.

The House race between Republican Rep. Ryan Zinke and Democrat Denise Juneau has set campaign fundraising records, in part, by collecting beyond Montana. And although the majority of contributions to the nonpartisan Montana Supreme Court contest have been in-state, one national Republican organization has listed the race as a top priority that could translate into big advertising buys.

In the gubernatorial race, Bullock has repeatedly characterized Gianforte as an outsider seeking to undermine Montana values for personal gain, noting that the $2.3 million raised by the Republican to-date includes $200,000 in loans and nearly $1 million in cash he contributed to his own campaign.

Montanans deserve better than a wealthy copper king trying to buy the election, Montana Democrats spokesman Jason Pitt said in an email.

Gianforte spokesman Aaron Flint did not see his candidates loans and personal contributions, nor spending that outpaced fundraising last month, as a sign of weakness.

Greg is a job creator, a business man, not a career politician, Flint said. This is his first time running for office, and hes been working to get his name out there.

He described their overall fundraising as clear proof of momentum behind a high-wage job creator like Gianforte, noting the Bozeman businessman has raised more money from individual contributors than Bullock since he started fundraising last August. State records show Gianforte raised $1.4 million from 5,278 itemized contributions compared to Bullocks $1.3 million from 9,400 contributions in that period.

Its clear Montanans want a governor to stand up against special interests, Flint said, highlighting contributions to Bullock from individuals affiliated with groups that have lobbied against some natural resource projects on environmental grounds. Youve got Bullock taking money from Washington, D.C., and groups that are harming Montanas economy.

The reality is that both sides have, to some degree, overstated the contributions of outsiders, at least those made directly to their campaigns.

Of itemized individual contributions, 22 percent of those made to Gianforte were from out-of-state, as were 33 percent of donations to Bullock.

That doesnt sound like a very big difference to me, Montana State University Political Scientist David Parker said. Generally speaking, contributors outside Montana are not going to have an interest in donating in a governors race.

Flint suggested just 11 percent of Gianfortes contributions come from out-of-state when factoring in the donations less than $35, which are not itemized in the filings and therefore cannot be verified. A similar effect might be found in Bullocks numbers.

As Parker noted is typical of state-level races, most of the out-of-state contributors appear to have professional or personal connections with the candidates. For Gianforte, that includes family in Pennsylvania, administrators from charities his family foundation has supported and tech company executives from Florida and California. For Bullock, that includes Democratic political organizers from Washington, D.C., as well as former classmates and professors from his college days in California and New York. Others, Parker said, likely have family or business ties to the state.

The attacks on Bullock from the Gianforte campaign have centered on political and party committee contributions rather than money raised from individuals. Shortly after launching his campaign, Gianforte announced a campaign integrity pledge not to accept money from such committees, calling Bullock a career politician bought by special interests.

Of the $2.3 million raised by Bullock to-date, just $126,107.12 has come from committees, a little over half of which list out-of-state addresses.

Pitt downplayed Republican criticisms of those contributions and noted that Gianfortes pledge is deceiving.

"No wonder Montanans have a hard time trusting Greg Gianforte, he wrote. He benefits from out-of-state PAC money despite saying he wouldn't accept PAC money.

The Republican Governors Association has so far bought television advertisements critiquing Bullocks use of the state plane and the fundraising he did while leading the Democratic Governors Association. The Democrats group has likewise chipped in funding for an ad attacking Gianforte on public access issues.

Flint repeatedly criticized Bullock for supporting campaign finance reform then accepting support from the DGA, but he did not see the jabs as hypocritical given the RGAs backing of Gianforte.

Both campaigns critique the other for support from state and national party organizations beyond whats reported directly in their state filings. For instance, some of the staff working Bullocks campaign are listed as employees of the state party, posts funded in part by national group dollars, while the RGA has provided money to the state GOP for video tracking, presumably of Bullock for the benefit of Gianfortes campaign.

Out-of-state contributions to Montana campaigns have been larger and more straightforward in the race between Zinke, a first-term U.S. Congressman, and his Democratic challenger, Denise Juneau, who is term-limited from her post as the Montana Superintendent of Public Instruction.

Fundraising for both campaigns has outpaced contributions to previous House elections in Montana. For Zinke, that appears to have been largely because of donations solicited by consultants through mailer campaigns to known Republican contributors nationwide.

A little over 80 percent of $1.7 million in itemized individual contributions made to Zinke came from donors outside Montana, according to federal election filings submitted in July. By comparison, 38 percent of Juneaus $645,717 in individual donations have been from out-of-state. Looking instead at the number of contributors, 89 percent of those who donated to Zinkes campaign listed out-of-state addresses compared to 19 percent for Juneau.

Because contributions less than $200 do not have to be itemized, it is unclear how those percentages would change if Zinkes $1.3 million in small contributions and Juneaus $300,574 were to be included.

Campaign spokeswoman Lauren Caldwell said the fact more Montanans have donated to Juneaus campaign than Zinkes re-election effort is proof that residents want change.

The momentum and support for our campaign is remarkable, she wrote in an email. Everyday Montanans are contributing to this campaign because theyre ready for a real leader in the House.

The Zinke campaign has previously attributed the significant out-of-state support to the congressmans leadership, particularly on issues of national security and as he secured a speaking spot at the recent Republican National Convention, not as evidence of reduced local backing.

Rep. Zinke enjoys an incredibly wide base of support from Montanans and that will prove itself on Election Day, the campaign said in a Tuesday statement.

Parker said the overall level of fundraising and the large share of out-of-state contributions, particularly those to Zinkes campaign, more closely track with norms for U.S. Senate races.

National Democrats have listed the seat as one they need to flip in order to gain a majority in the House, suggesting groups will spend money on advertising in the race, contribute to the campaigns directly and provide on-the-ground political support.

To date, not much of that has materialized.

Juneau has so far only received $15,024 from party committees and $182,420 from other political action committees, while Zinke has received $2,000 and $473,797 respectively.

Another Montana election where big spending was expected by outside groups, but has not yet materialized is the race for Montana Supreme Court.

Cascade County District Judge Dirk Sandefur reports having about $75,000 left in the bank after spending more than $210,000 to-date, primarily on television and radio ads. Kristen Juras, an adjunct law professor at the University of Montana, has about $7,000 in the bank after spending nearly $90,000 so far, largely on print mailers and yard signs.

Although the race is nonpartisan, conservative-leaning groups have endorsed Juras. The same groups spent more than $1.1 million in a 2014 contest for a Montana Supreme Court seat. But so far this cycle, their related political action committees registered in Montana hold just a few hundred in the bank while the national organizations that fund them have spent most of their money raised to-date on other primaries.

Parker said its unclear why there has been limited outside spending so far, but there are two most likely reasons: The groups dont see the Montana races as competitive as initially anticipated and will scale down financial investments accordingly, or it is still too early.

The way you work a campaign, you schedule from November back, he said. The spending should start picking up soon, in August right around when kids go back to school.
Management of the centre says the Labor government always promised and planned for a second stage of which would be a live performance venue next to the centre, looking out over Lake Ginninderra, with seating for up to 400 patrons.
"Without giving too much away - there's a little bit of a psychological element to it that people often don't expect, and so as well as it being those big jump moments and those kind of scares, there's a little bit of a psychological undertone which encourages you to come back again and again to see the little bits you missed and work out how it all fits together."
The spokeswoman also confirmed Mr Cervo has two years to start the shopping complex and a further two years to complete it, meaning he had a total of four years to ensure the shops opened their doors.
"Obviously as Jeremy said, you don't build submarines here, but there may be parts of the system that a company like CEA might become involved in," he said, referring to Canberra based CEA Technologies' radar systems now being fitted to the Anzac frigates. "There's opportunities in the system side of it for small-medium enterprises with highly technical qualified people and we've got lots of those in Canberra."
"Anything that takes a driver's attention away from the road can have tragic consequences. Even a short glance, to look at your phone can lead to a fatal collision. If you're looking at your phone and not the road, you may as well be driving blindfolded," she said.
North Dakota will receive more than $80,000 from settlements with four insurance companies.

Hartford Life will pay $2.1 million, Securian Life $625,000, Great American Life $400,000 and Stancorp Insurance Company $277,000 to North Dakota and five other states over the companies use of the Social Security Administrations Death Master File, according to a statement by North Dakota Insurance Commissioner Adam Hamm.

Under the terms of the settlement, the life insurance companies will implement a number of business reforms to promptly identify when a policyholder has died and make payments to their beneficiaries.

Locating life insurance beneficiaries is a crucial part of this business, and these companies have agreed to improve their practices in doing that, Hamm said in a statement.

For more information, call the Insurance Department at 800-247-0560.
Our Promise: Welcome to Care2, the world's largest community for good. Here, you'll find over 45 million like-minded people working towards progress, kindness, and lasting impact.

Care2 Stands Against: bigots, racists, bullies, science deniers, misogynists, gun lobbyists, xenophobes, the willfully ignorant, animal abusers, frackers, and other mean people. If you find yourself aligning with any of those folks, you can move along, nothing to see here.

Care2 Stands With: humanitarians, animal lovers, feminists, rabble-rousers, nature-buffs, creatives, the naturally curious, and people who really love to do the right thing.

You are our people. You Care. We Care2.
Officials representing charities say granting North Dakotas five American Indian tribes exclusive rights to host online gambling could effectively end charitable gambling in the state. The tribes want Gov. Doug Burgum to approve the idea under tribal-state agreements known as compacts. The current compacts expire at the end of this year and only Burgum can approve them. The tribes argue that their casinos have been hurt by the explosion of the charities Las Vegas-style pull tab machines. Burgum heard arguments from the charities and tribes on Friday. He says the terms of the compacts are still being negotiated and should be completed next month.
Look at the stats, but keep in mind that these may not be a completely accurate way to tell which colleges are safer. Colleges with better safety resources often have higher crime rates, because students feel more confident reporting crime. To get you started, the department of education provides the "Campus Safety and Security Data Analysis Cutting Tool" (http://ope.ed.gov/security/) which allows you to search crime stats by institution, and also gives you a breakdown of the types of crime committed.

Research the surrounding area, because hopefully, you'll venture off campus once in a while and it'll be useful to know whether your college is surrounded by the relative safety of a few dozen cornfields, or shady back alleys and underground criminal organizations.

Research resources available on campus. You need to be aware of policies in place to prevent crime, and the resources available on campus to get help and spread awareness. For example, Grinnell puts all new students through an orientation that educates them about sexual assault, consent and substance use and how these things are dealt with on campus. Being ignorant or uncomfortable about the issues is unsafe too.

You also need to be aware of protocol in case of emergency; For example, in Grinnell and most other colleges your first point of contact in case you find yourself in a tricky situation is the Resident Advisor who makes a call on whether to call campus security/police. Campus security then makes a call on whether to involve the town police or medical professionals.

Campus Carry Law: University Students in Texas Can Carry Handguns

If you find yourself on the other side of a crime, perhaps you're being arrested for disorderly conduct, then you should immediately contact the International Students Office which will advise you on what to do from there. Post-crime help is also available on most campuses-Grinnell Advocates is a great resource we have on campus for victims of sexual assault. Most campuses will also have Spiritual advisors and professional mental health counsellors available for any help you might need after a trauma.

Try to get an insight into campus culture, because a lot of what makes a college safe or otherwise is determined by unmeasurable things, like the attitudes of students and faculty. One of the reasons for Grinnell's high ranking on the list of most dangerous colleges in the US is because of its high rates of sexual assault on campus, which I believe is a consequence of Grinnell's rampant drinking and hook-up culture.

Grinnell follows a policy called self-governance, which basically means that you can do whatever you want as long as it doesn't affect the community at large, and the students are responsible for their own actions. Students often get carried away with the freedom of it all, and this leads to accidents. So, for example, if you're a recovering alcoholic, Grinnell may not be the safest place for you. On the other hand, you also want to be aware of how openly issues like sexual assault and substance abuse are discussed on campus, because this can impact how comfortable you'll be asking for help in dangerous situations.

Glimpse into the American way of life for international students

Keep in mind that YOUR safety depends on YOU. Be careful. Really, it's as simple as that. Avoid situations where you might get in trouble, and behave responsibly when you find yourself in one. In the end, regardless of campus culture and policies in place to prevent crime, you are the one who decides how safe you'll be at any institution. More likely than not, you won't be mugged unless you're out alone at 3 am (hypocrisy noted) and you won't get into sticky situations with substances if you know your limits and stick by them.

What US-bound students should know about America?

Campus safety is slowly becoming one of the major criteria for picking colleges, especially for international students applying to the USA. Coming from a fellow international, I can tell you that although safety is a major concern for parents sending their kids thousands of miles away, honestly, the US isn't any less safe than your hometown. In fact, the US is far more proactive when it comes to keeping its students safe. Crime and safety are discussed far more openly in the states and more people are confident reporting crime, so the stats can be misleading.

Moreover, concerns about race based crime are quite unfounded-in my experience, college campuses are some of the most inclusive, diverse places you'll ever find yourself in. The USA is a conglomeration of cultures and races, and it's much easier to find a niche for yourself here than in most other places-including countries like the UK and Singapore where college communities are more homogenous. So be cautious; Do your research; but don't let fear stand in the way of an awesome educational experience.

Source Courtesy: www.collegify.com
The Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) has released the e-summon letters for personality test of Combined Medical Services Examination. Candidates who have qualified in the written examination of Combined Medical Services Examination can download their e-summon letter for interview test.

Candidates have to follow the below listed simple steps to download their e-summon letters:

Log on to the official website of UPSC

Click on the link e-Summon Letter for Combined Medical Services Examination, 2016

Candidates will be redirected to new page.

You will have to enter your 7-digit roll number and Captcha code to access your e-summon letter

On successful submission of the above details, your e-summon letters will be displayed on your screens.

The posts that will be filled with this examination are:
In connection with the leak of TS EAMCET-II, the Telangana State CID have arrested two more persons, taking the number of offenders held in the case to eight.

"Two brokers, Gudipalli Chandra Shekhar Reddy of Medak district in Telangana and Shaik Shakeera, native of Prakasam district in Andhra Pradesh were arrested by the CID today," an official release said.

"Chandra Sekhar Reddy secured four students and Shaik Shakeera secured two students. On the night of July 7, all the six aspirants were taken to Kolkata by air by Chandra Sekhar Reddy and three other brokers," it said.

In Kolkata, the students were made to practise two leaked TS EAMCET-II-2016 (Medical) entrance examination question papers at a hotel room.

Later, they all were returned to Hyderabad on the night of July 8 by air, the release by CID said.

TS EAMCET-II Paper Leak: Telangana To Schedule Re-Examination

Reddy collected signed blank cheques and copies of SSC and Inter Certificates of the six aspirants and gave them to a broker who conducted the practice camp in a hotel room at Kolkata, it said.

"Efforts are going on to apprehend the other brokers and the accused in the question paper leak case," the CID said.

Investigation also revealed that those appearing for EAMCET-II-2016 (Medical) examination in Telangana and Andhra Pradesh were taken to camps set up in at least five cities about two to three days prior to the exam and given practice with the leaked copies of two question papers consisting of 320 questions with correct answers, the CID had said.

At a review meeting held here on Tuesday, Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao was informed by CID officials that Delhi turned out to be the centre for leak and there were 34 brokers, who conspired to sell the paper and as many as 200 parents were in touch with the brokers to buy the question papers.

The Engineering, Agriculture and Medical Common Entrance Test (EAMCET-II) was conducted on July 9 and the results were declared on July 14.

In the wake of the Telangana state CID's probe report stating that the question papers were leaked, the government of Telangana state decided to hold a re-examination for TS EAMCET-II.
The government of Telangana has decided to hold a re-examination for TS EAMCET-II on September 11, 2016. In the wake of the Telangana state CID's probe report stating that the TS EAMCET-II question papers were leaked, the examination which was held on July 9, 2016 was cancelled.

The results for the examination held on July 9, 2016 was declared on July 14, 2016. Following complaints of question paper leak, Telangana CID conducted a probe and submitted a report recently.

The action came into light after parents and students' groups staged a protest demanding probe by the CBI. The students' groups and parents raised doubts after many meritorious students failed to get good rank while students who did not perform well in EAMCET-I secured top ranks.

As of today, 8 persons have been arrested in regards to the question paper leak. Investigation had revealed that as many as 200 students and their parents allegedly colluded with various brokers involved in the whole episode, the statement said. [Click here to read the complete story]
Sometimes its good to be reminded of just how good a car is by giving it go once more. In the case of the Mitsubishi Xpander, its the smal...
Last winter when Americans were warned about the Zika virus risk in Brazil and other areas of South America, U.S. public health officials said the disease would arrive in the United States this summer. This week, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported 15 cases of Zika that appear to have been contracted from mosquito bites in Miami.

Despite months of warning, the United States is not as well-prepared for this bug-borne virus as it should be and could have been. Congress failed to appropriate funds to combat this public health threat before lawmakers left Washington last month for their six-week summer break.

Back in February, the Obama administration asked Congress to appropriate $1.9 billion to prevent the spread of Zika. Thats the amount that the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases said is needed. The NIAID, which has been conducting Zika research at the Rocky Mountain Laboratories in Hamilton, Mont., told Billings Gazette reporter Tom Lutey in June that research money would run out this summer unless Congress provides more.

There is no vaccine against Zika yet, but thats what the lab in Hamilton is working toward.

The Senate approved $1.1 billion, and the House approved $622 million. Then in a conference bill, House Republicans tied Zika money to cuts in funding for family planning through Planned Parenthood, defunding part of Obamacare and reversing the ban on flying the confederate flag at U.S. military cemeteries. Senate Democrats refused to accept those add-ons. So theres no money for Zika this summer. Instead, CDC is using limited funds previously appropriated for Ebola response.

On Tuesday, the CDC announced it was awarding $16 million to 40 states and U.S. territories to fight the virus. The largest awards  for Florida and California  were $720,000. That is a small fraction of the cost of lifetime care for just one baby born with microcephaly  the birth defect that Zika can cause.

Fortunately, Aedes aegypti, the type of mosquito that transmits the Zika virus, doesnt live in Montana or Wyoming. However, folks in our region are at risk for Zika when traveling to states that do have the Zika-carrying mosquitoes. People infected while traveling can also transmit the virus to their sex partners back home. Montana has reported four cases of travel-acquired Zika, including one in Yellowstone County.

When Congress left on vacation, the U.S. had 1,000 Zika cases reported, including 320 in pregnant women and three cases of infants born with Zika-related microcephaly.

As of this week, the CDC had counted 1,658 cases, including 433 pregnant women. So far, those pregnancies have resulted in 13 babies born in the United States with birth defects and six pregnancies lost because of birth defects.

Both Republicans and Democrats voted in favor of Zika funding, but they failed to overcome the politics of gridlock. Regarding the latest attempt to defund Planned Parenthood, this is no time to reduce access to contraceptive services. Women who may be exposed to Zika need to have options for preventing pregnancy. Lawmakers who balked at spending more than a billion to fight Zika should consider the billions that Medicaid will spend to care for severely disabled babies  unless the United States finds a way to protect them from Zika.

Montanas Sen. Jon Tester spoke out early and forcefully in support of Zika funding. Tester recognized that although the disease wont be transmitted by mosquitoes in Montana, it will affect Montanans.

As Tester said: Every one of those children born with microcephaly is 10 million bucks, and that doesnt include the heartache that happens.

 Billings (Mont.) Gazette
DICKINSON -- Rep. Kevin Cramer says his role in Donald Trumps presidential campaign has been greatly exaggerated.

The second-term North Dakota Republican -- one of the first members of Congress to support the New York businessmans candidacy -- said multiple reporters in Washington hounded him for three weeks prior to Trumps visit to North Dakota in May, after it was learned Cramer was helping Trump write a speech about energy for the Williston Basin Petroleum Conference.

Therefore, Im going to be this secretary of something, Cramer said. Thats a big leap.

Cramer laughed off the assumption that he would have a cabinet position in a Trump administration, though he said a Trump presidency could be beneficial if he gets re-elected in November.

If I could be a third-term member of the House of Representatives from North Dakota on the Energy and Commerce Committee and have a friend in the White House, Im really good with that, he said with a smile.

Cramer said Thursday during a meeting with Dickinson newspaper editorial board that hes sticking behind Trump, though he conceded Trump should have run a more disciplined campaign coming out of the Republican National Convention.

While Cramer said he believes theres a concerted effort by the media to try to make Trump look bad, thats not an excuse that he doesnt seem to be very disciplined about what can help him win this election.

He urged Trump to stick to jobs, the economy and national security.

Thats part of what people like about him, is hes not a polished politician thats really politically correct, Cramer said. At the same time, theres a reason polished politicians are successful.

Cramer held a "Coffee with Cramer" town hall event Thursday evening at the Brew in downtown Dickinson, where about 30 people asked him about a range of topics, including immigration, retirement pensions, veterans' issues, programs for children with disabilities, the transgender bathroom issue and the Trans-Pacific Partnership.

It was the fifth of eight town halls hes holding across the state this month.
The recently unveiled AM-RB 001 is Aston Martins first full-on hypercar, but it will be a track-only offering. A real shame; can you imagine something that flamboyant on the public streets?



Italian designer Antonio Paglia did, and came up with the DBV concept before Aston Martin and Red Bull took the wraps off the AM-RB 001.

Its hard to believe that the closest thing to a series-production Aston Martin supercar was the One-77, but the British carmaker always kept things classy, as opposed to its striking rivals. In fact, due to Astons conservative style, a futuristic concept like Paglias wouldnt have worked if the company hadnt come up with its own bold creation.

Inspired by the world of aviation, the DBV concept is described as an extremely raw and pure. Unlike the AM-RB 001, which has a high-revving naturally aspirated V12 and a 1:1 power-to-weight ratio, the DBV is a fully electric vision. Antonio Paglia doesnt exactly describe the behemoths powertrain, but a sketch reveals that it has four electric motors, one in each wheel, and a battery pack located in the low, flat floor.

The vehicles shape is the result of a carefully crafted aerodynamic body. The DBVs unusual split front fascia, especially, was designed that way in order to channel air around the car. It is supposed to include some of British car makers iconic style cues as well (we can see the shape of the front splitter resembling the grille, for one), but give it a black paint and it could very well be the next Batmobile.

PHOTO GALLERY
Cartoon Brew spoke to Osborne about how this very personal feature got off the ground, how he nearly didnt make it, and the creative difference of working in stop-motion versus computer animation.

The long road to The Little Prince

Osborne hit it big early in his animation career with an Oscar nomination for his short film More and another nom for DreamWorks Animations Kung Fu Panda. The director left DreamWorks after Panda with what he says was a naive hope that I could get projects up and running very easily and push the boundaries of animation. I wanted to do projects that were in the $40 to $50 million range which were maybe a little darker and more challenging and more grown up.

The director went back to his independent filmmaking roots, finding the process of financing a tough one. Then a group of French producers approached Osborne for help in crafting an animated adaption of Antoine de Saint-Exuperys beloved classic, The Little Prince. They had convinced the estate that they could make an animated feature but they didnt know what to do or how to go about it, said Osborne.

He says he said no to making a film of the book, partly because of how deeply he knew the material. In fact, Osborne felt the book, which is about a young prince who has fallen to Earth from an asteroid and offers philosophical advice to a pilot stranded in the desert, was almost too close to him personally. My wife had even given me the book back when we were first dating more than 25 years ago. The book had become an important part of our relationship and our life. That meant when I was asked if I could make a movie out of it, I was like, No way! Its too big, too important.

Another issue he had was whether he could bring anything new to such a famous story. There had been illustrations and cartoon versions of the The Little Prince for many years and the director felt that everyone already had an idea in their minds of what the film would be.

But Osborne soon had a revelation about how The Little Prince might work as a movie. I thought maybe theres a way to make the movie about the power of the book and not just the book itself, he explained. We went down the road of telling a larger story thats really about how the book can change your life. That was the big idea I threw out to the producers. And they said they loved it, but then said, So whats the big idea? And I said, I have no idea!

Luckily, Antoine de Saint-Exuperys estate saw merit in Osbornes general approach, and gave their blessing to a film that was more a tribute to the book than a re-telling. It still took Osborne about nine months to crack the pitch and work out the core ideas, especially convincing people how he was going to represent and distinguish between reality and the world of imagination.

I was banging my head against a wall daily in CG

In order to create both worlds, while remaining an independent production, Osborne began production in Paris before overseeing two different studios in Montreal. One was a CG studio (formed via a partnership between Mikros Image Canada and TouTenKartoon) and the other a stop-motion studio (headed by Dragonframe co-creator Jamie Caliri). Working in both mediums was a challenge for Osborne, initially with the CG side.

I was banging my head against a wall daily in CG because Im making decisions out of context, admitted Osborne. Youre constantly looking at say a spoon in one meeting, and in another meeting youre looking at the color the spoon will be, and then in another meeting youre looking at the table where the spoon is going to fit. You beg to have all the pieces in one place, and sometimes you cantfor monthsuntil finally its like, Oh my God, the spoon is on the table! Its the most exciting thing.

The stop-motion side, which dealt directly with the well-known characters of The Aviator, The Fox, and The Little Prince, provided more immediacy, since the scenes were there in front of the camera. Theres a hell of a lot of work that goes on before that, of course, says Osborne, but thats why I fell in love with stop-motion so many years agoyou really have the results right there and you can judge the material right away. I would be working in CG and then sometimes Id go over to the stop-motion crew just to be reminded of what we were actually doing. You could just see such physical results, things you could hold in your hand. You could smell the hot glue and the paint, not only did it remind me of why I used to make films but it also reminded me that what we were doing had a result.

Evoking the Spirit

Osborne was conscious that his version of the Little Prince character had to evoke the memory of the book in the minds of his audience. But, he says, the character has in fact been represented many times in differing ways in various book illustrations and in animation. In the end, this new interpretation was about connecting with the spirit of the book. And one way that was achieved was by making everything in stop-motion out of paper.

That meant that even items such as grass and The Little Princes scarf and the foxs tail would be paperall of which would need to blow in the wind. The animators devised a way to put a tiny piece of wire in the edges of the scarf, for example, so that they could keep the scarf paper without having something plastered underneath it.

Light shining through the paper also gave what Osborne describes as a magical quality. I honestly didnt even think that was possible! said Osborne. I wanted to be as connected to paper as we possibly could because that was the linking element between the CG and the stop-motion.

Meanwhile, Osborne cast The Little Prince with several notable actors, among them Jeff Bridges, Marion Cotillard, James Franco, Rachel McAdams, and Mackenzie Foy. The directors own son, Riley, became the voice of The Little Prince almost by accident.

I was in Paris with my family and I brought them into the recording booth and Riley was reading for The Prince and my daughter read The Girl and wife was The Mother and I played The Aviator, said Osborne. At the time I felt like something magical was happening; it would just keep working when we test screened it. Its such a personal projectthe fact that my wife gave me the book and now my son is the voiceits almost too bizarre!




Photo: UBC Okanagan

UBC researchers are one step closer to identifying the biological personalities of the worlds greatest wines.

In a recent study, UBC researchers Dan Durall and Mansak (Ben) Tantikachornkiat developed a technique that combines a process to identify the full spectrum of DNA in yeast and bacteria samples with a technique that distinguishes between live and dead micro-organisms.

Since only live micro-organisms are relevant in the various stages of fermentation as they relate to the senses, this study provides some of the important tools that will be necessary to determine why different types of wine taste and smell as they do, said Durall, an associate professor of biology at UBCs Okanagan campus. While more research needs to be conducted, these findings could also lead to the identification and elimination of micro-organisms that are responsible for spoilage.

In undertaking the study, the pair used a number of different kinds of yeast and bacteria specimens, including those typically found in wine fermentations.

Key in the development of the new scientific technique was the use of a light-sensitive dye, propidium monoazide, which binds to dead DNA and prevents it from being detected. This allows scientists to identify and focus on the more relevant aspects of a test sample.

This technique allows us to quickly and accurately monitor in one experiment what previously could have taken multiple experiments and months of trial and error, said Tantikachornkiat. This will inevitably make research in this area faster, cheaper and more efficient.

The next stages of research will focus this technique on different types of wine making methods to see how they change micro-organisms that affect the final wine product.

Durall and Tantikachornkiats research was recently published in the International Journal of Food Microbiology.
Photo: Contributed

A prisoner at the Surrey Pretrial Services Centre has killed his cell mate.

The two prisoners got into a fight just after 7:30 p.m. on Wednesday. Correctional Services officers had to separate the 22-year-old man and his 25-year-old cell mate.

The 25-year-old was rushed to hospital with extensive injuries, but died hours later.

The Integrated Homicide Investigation Team has been called in to investigate  though homicide-related charges have not yet been approved by Crown counsel.

IHIT is working with police, corrections officials and the coroner's service "to help piece together the factors that led up to the altercation, and subsequent death of the male victim, says Cpl. Meghan Foster.

The men were awaiting court appearances on separate matters and did not know each other prior to being jailed.

Police say they won't name the victim.
Photo: Contributed

UPDATE: 4:40 p.m.

DriveBC says Highway 3 is now open to single-lane alternating traffic.

ORIGINAL

The route connecting the Okanagan and the Kootenays is closed in both directions.

DriveBC says a vehicle incident has closed Highway 3 five kilometres west of Midway at about 3:45 p.m.

There is no detour available.
Members of the Kelowna Yacht Club have been fighting a dirty battle for the last several months.

An influx of soot is landing on the boats in the marina, and it's coming from Tolko, according to Geoff Gowe Operations Manager at the Yacht Club.

There is a large amount of black soot on the boats and that shows up as sort of black dots, and if it sits on there for a while and dries, it sort of adheres onto the boats and is very difficult to get off, he said. Or if it is wet, that black soot will smear.

In the spring, when the soot seemed particularly bad, members met with a representative from Tolko who claimed there was a reason the soot seemed to be a issue at that time of year and they were working to mitigate the problem.

The problem did seem to get better for a couple months, but then on the July long weekend, members started to notice soot was falling quite regularly again, explained Gowe. It seems to be an ongoing thing, not a one-time issue.

The soot is apparently a problem every year, but this summer it seems particularly bad.

In 2006, it was a bad problem... and members of the community filed a class action lawsuit against Tolko and won. Some members did get money from Tolko to deal with cleaning their boats.

The problem isnt just dirty boats. Gowe and other members claim if there is soot in the water, there is soot in the air.

The soot on the boats is aggravating, but members are also concerned with it being in the air as well, said Gowe.

Ron Van Kampen is one of the members who has had to clean his boat several times this season due to the soot.

The chemicals that most people need to use in the basin here to clean up, I can't imagine are all that environmentally friendly and that is going into the water, said Van Kampen. I have a black line on my boat that I try and scrub and clean it up, but it reappears in a few days. I cant imagine the quality of the water and the effect that it has on that.

The board of directors is now initiating a campaign of letters to a list of recipients to bring attention to the damage caused by the soot and the environmental concerns the Yacht Club has for the greater community. These letters will be distributed to a broad list of political offices.

Tolko issued the following response:

Tolko Kelowna is aware of the concerns of Kelowna Yacht Club members, some of their letters having reached us just today, and we will be meeting with the general manager and members in the coming days to assess the situation and determine next steps.

Corporate citizenship is important to us and maintaining good relationships with our neighbours is a key part of that process. We work hard to find solutions that allow us to meet our operational requirements while acting as good corporate citizens in the community. We will do the same in this situation.
A former government official of the Mandan, Hidatsa and Arikara Nation accused of accepting bribes and kickbacks from a construction contractor has pleaded guilty to federal charges in North Dakota. Randall Phelan was an elected representative of the governing body of the Three Affiliated Tribes from the end of 2012 to the middle of 2020. Investigators say Phelan used his official position to help the contractors business by awarding contracts, fabricating bids and managing fraudulent invoices. His trial had been scheduled to begin Tuesday. Phelan and two others were originally charged with receiving hundreds of thousands of dollars from the bribery scheme on the oil-rich Fort Berthold Indian Reservation. The contractor has pleaded guilty to bribery.
Photo: Contributed

RCMP in Creston say charges may be laid after a nine-year-old boy was run over by a flatbed trailer on the B.C. Day long weekend.

Police say the youth was on one of two trailers bringing a large party to a picnic site on the Thompson Forest Service Road on Sunday. The child apparently fell from one of the trailers as he attempted to climb over the box of the moving truck, and was run over.

Police and ambulances attended the scene, and the boy was taken to the hospital in Creston with fractures and internal injuries.

He was medevaced to Vancouver for further assessment and care.

Police say they counted more than 30 people either on the trailers or in the cabs of the vehicles, and say there were numerous seatbelt and other safety violations.

The police investigation is continuing.
Photo: The Canadian Press

The second anniversary of a mining disaster in British Columbia's central Interior was marked with a First Nations protest and a pledge from the company that the situation has improved at the Mount Polley mine.

On Aug. 4, 2014, a tailings storage facility burst at the mine, sending 24 million cubic metres of waste and water into nearby lakes and rivers.

Outside the site on Thursday a group, which includes members of the Secwepemc Women's Warrior Society, protested. They said in a statement that the community is exercising its sovereignty by taking direct action after the B.C. government granted the mine owner Imperial Metals (TSX:Ill) a permit in June to resume full operations.

Kanahus Freedom, a spokeswoman for the warrior society, stated B.C. does not have jurisdiction to grant mining permits to companies "without the free, prior, informed consent of the Secwepemc Tribal Peoples."

"As long as Imperial Metals and the government that backs them continue to devastate our lands with no accountability, we will take whatever action necessary to defend our lands," said a statement from protesters.

Steve Robertson, Imperial Metals vice president of corporate affairs, said the protest is peaceful and is not disrupting company operations. The mine employs 325 people.

"The last report we have is we still have full use of the access road," he said.

Imperial Metals views the second anniversary of the tailings pond breach as reminder of the mine's continued efforts improve its business, Robertson said.

"We just continue to look at everyday as another day forward where we're actually able to improve things and get back to a normalized operation at Mount Polley."

An independent, government-ordered panel of experts concluded the cause of the tailings breach was an inadequately designed dam at the open pit copper and gold mine that didn't account for drainage and erosion failures beneath the pond.

The disaster prompted reviews and resulted in the province implementing world-leading regulatory standards for the mining industry, Mines Minister Bill Bennett said.

Robertson said the new measures put B.C. at the forefront of global standards for safety at tailings storage facilities at mines.

"I would suggest that the Mount Polley tailings facility is probably one of the best studied facilities anywhere in the world," he said.

The tailings storage facility at Mount Polley has been repaired and improved, Robertson added.

"We have a great deal of confidence that the current engineered design is more than adequate for the task it is required to do."

The Sierra Club of B.C. released a report this week by mining expert David Chambers that concluded the government could do more to ensure safety at tailings storage facilities.

Bennett said since the disaster, the government and Imperial Metals have held hundreds of meetings with First Nations, communities, unions and the mining industry.

Freedom said the protesters at the mine site are not behind the Williams Lake and Soda Creek Indian Bands, who supported re-opening the mine. She could not be reached for comment on Thursday.

Lisa Kraus, vice president of the Likely Chamber of Commerce, said residents of the tiny community closest to the mine site support the operation, but the disaster has created divisions among residents.
Photo: Contributed Missing chair is similar to the one shown in photo.

A Kelowna woman suffering from Multiple sclerosis (MS) is asking for the return of her electric chair.

I was returning from grocery shopping when the batteries died and I had to leave the chair until I could find a family member to help get it home, said the woman, 34, who does not want to be named.

She left the chair at the corner of Hollywood and Hollydell roads in Rutland between 11 a.m. and noon but when her brother-in-law went to retrieve it, the chair had gone.

The chair has a grey seat and wheels with a blue base.

This chair is my only means of transportation as I have MS and can no longer drive and walking is difficult for me. Sadly, my disability income is not enough to replace the chair and I am quite desperate to get it back.

The woman said she hopes someone took it by mistake and plans to turn it into the RCMP.

Meanwhile, a relative said the chair had offered her a bit of freedom.

We only got it up and running two weeks ago, he said of the secondhand chair. If someone knows where it is, just let me know and I'll pick it up. No questions asked.

Hopefully someone took it by mistake or turned it into the police.

Anyone with information is asked to contact Davis at 250-878-2938.
Photo: CTV Surveillance footage.

He plays Happy, one of the seven dwarfs, in 'Once Upon a Time' on CTV but Michael Coleman is currently very grumpy.

The actor discovered that Go Studios, a casting facility he runs in Vancouver, was ransacked Thursday morning and expensive production gear was stolen.

Its a disgusting thing, Coleman told CTV News. You dont even want to touch the stuff they left behind. It just feels tainted.

Technology, not magic, may help in the search for the culprits.

Surveillance cameras have captured footage of a man and a woman entering the building. The pair went through three different studios on the premises and rummaged through gear.

They left with cameras, computers and TVs that Coleman estimates are worth more than $100,000 combined.

While the footage should help find the two suspects, Coleman doesn't feel at all like his TV personality.

It doesnt make me happy yet. Ill feel happier when we find these guys and justice is served, he said.
Photo: City of West Kelowna

A water quality advisory has been issued for users of the Lakeview water system in West Kelowna.

The Rose Valley Reservoir is experiencing higher than normal turbidity levels, according to a city press release.

It warns that as turbidity increases, bacteria, viruses and microorganisms can attach themselves to the suspended particles in the turbid water. These particles can interfere with disinfection by shielding the microorganisms from the chlorine.

The city is continuing to monitor water quality and will advise residents when the water quality advisory is lifted.

It is recommended that children, the elderly, people with weakened immune systems and anyone wishing to seek additional protection, bring water to a rolling boil for at least one minute, or use an alternate, safe source of water.

Use boiled water for:
Photo: Google Maps

Drive B.C. reports Highway 12 has reopened following a mudslide, 30 km south of the junction with Highway 99 at Lillooet.

The highway was closed two days ago.

Geo tech engineers initially had trouble even assessing the problem due to storm activity.
You could have the missing piece of the puzzle that will help the RCMP put someone behind bars. Here are some recent crimes that Central Okanagan Crime Stoppers hope you can help solve by calling our anonymous tips line at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477), visit our website at www.crimestoppers.net or text to CRIMES (274637), keyword Ktown.

CRIME: SHOPLIFTING

DATE: July 22, 2016

RCMP FILE: 2016-42026

Kelowna RCMP were called on July 22nd when an employee of Mountain Equipment Co-op (located in Orchard Plaza on Cooper Road) tried to stop a couple from leaving with unpaid merchandise. The pair was observed leaving with womens clothing and a heart rate monitor strap. Once confronted, they continued out of the store and took off on bicycles in separate directions. If you can identify either of these persons of interest please contact police or Crime Stoppers.

Photo: Crime Stoppers

If you know anything about this crime, or any other crime, call the Central Okanagan Crime Stoppers anonymous tips line at 1-800-222-TIPS or visit our website at www.crimestoppers.net. Your information will be kept confidential and could lead to a reward of up to $2000.00.

CRIME: MOTORCYCLE THEFT

DATE: August 2, 2016

RCMP FILE: 2016-44594

Sometime between 5:30 and 8:30 p.m. on August 2nd a motorcycle was stolen from a parking lot at Orchard Plaza on Cooper Road. A suspicious character was noted in the area around 6 p.m.  a dark skinned male, approximately 6 tall wearing army green clothing and a toque or hat. The bike was parked in a stall at the north side of the building near Ambrosi Road. The missing bike is a blue 2006 Yamaha FZ6 with BC plate number W22673 and VIN JYARJ08N16A000754.

Photo: Crime Stoppers

You can help catch these suspects and qualify for a reward by calling Crime Stoppers anonymous tips line at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477), visit our website at www.crimestoppers.net or text to CRIMES (274637), keyword Ktown.

This article is written by or on behalf of an outsourced columnist and does not necessarily reflect the views of Castanet.
Photo: Contributed

Residents in West Kelowna's Glenrosa area are warning their neighbours to watch out for a cougar, after the cat was seen lurking near Webber Road, close to Glen Canyon Regional Park.

The animal was also spotted between McIver and McLeod roads.

Sightings have been reported to conservation officers; however, officer David Cox says there have been only a few.

There is no conflict or unusual behaviour to report on.

Conservation is monitoring the situation and encourages the public to report sightings or conflict to their office as quickly as possible.

Wildlife sightings can also be detailed at Wildlife Alert Reporting Program online, click here to find out more.
Photo: Instagram

An American actor who played a psychopathic villain in the television drama Prison Break has a soft spot for Vancouver and a love of Canadians  especially the geese.

Robert Knepper was in Vancouver recently to shoot a revival of the Prison Break series that ran on FOX from 2005 to 2009. In a post on his Instagram page, the 57-year-old describes how he saved one of Vancouver's feathered inhabitants.

Knepper says he and his wife were returning from dinner after "saying goodbye for awhile to one of our favourite cities," when they saw a Canada goose clipped by a car at a busy intersection.

The actor, who is reprising his role as the evil "T-Bag" Bagwell, says they pulled over and with the help of loaned gloves from a transit supervisor and a box provided by a nearby restaurant, scooped up the injured bird and took it to an animal shelter.

Knepper placed his own hoodie over the goose to keep it from struggling and says when the jacket was returned it wasn't full of goose droppings as he expected, but instead contained a single feather.

In his post, Knepper says he took that as a sign of goodwill from the injured bird.

"Hey, thanks for taking the time to help out somebody who took a wrong turn," Knepper writes, as he imagines what the dazed goose might have been thinking.

The Ohio actor, whose Prison Break character has few good outcomes in the TV series, also extends his own thanks to the transit supervisor, the British Columbia SPCA dispatcher and staff at the animal hospital for supporting roles in the happy ending.
Photo: CBC

If you snooze, you lose  the sanctity of your billboard.

That's what a Vancouver Island mayor found out the hard way after falling asleep during a council meeting.

The billboard image of Port Alberni Mayor Mike Ruttan was decorated by a prankster with a pillow and blanket for a while, items that would have been perfect for him after he nodded off during a presentation by a city engineer on July 11.

Local politicians didn't find the joke very funny, and the "vandalism" has since been removed.

Hes the hardest working mayor Ive ever seen. Ive been at early morning meetings and late-night meetings on the same day and hes at all of them, said Scott Fraser, MLA for Alberni-Pacific Rim.

Fraser told CTV Vancouver Island that he's never fallen asleep at a meeting, but sympathized, admitting to nearly needing a blankie and teddy himself at times.

A fellow councillor said air conditioning at city hall is busted and it can get a little warm.

That could create a perfect storm of heat and boredom to induce a much-needed nap.

 with files from CTV News.
CHAMBERLAIN, S.D. -- By sharing stories and igniting conversations, a new nonprofit is hoping to inspire hope for Native Americans in South Dakota.

Native Hope, housed on Main Street in Chamberlain, launched its website and operations in March and held its first youth council meeting last week, one of the groups first official programs.

Web- and social media-focused, Native Hope employs five people who administer programs, monitor the website and speak at events to spread the organizations message across South Dakota. Eventually, Native Hope would like to work with all nine reservations in South Dakota to some extent, Director Julie Muldoon said.

Along with its own programs, Native Hope partners with four area organizations: CASA, of Mitchell; St. Josephs Indian School, Chamberlain; Sacred Heart Center, Cheyenne Eagle Butte; and Wiconi Wawokiya Inc.

Native Hope is owned and operated by the congregation of priests of Sacred Heart, an organization which promotes missions around the world.

Theres something almost unexplainable about this generation that is so empowered  that they want to change the stereotypes and be who they are, said Native Hope ambassador Andrea Hearting. I would say Native Hope would really be that opportunity for them to be heard.

The youth council, which includes youth from the Chamberlain area, is tasked with being the voice of Native Americans and how they want to talk about issues and changes they want made in their communities. Hearting said members of the youth council will identify issues in communities across the state, which could include suicide rates, alcoholism and more. Theyll also discuss among each other and community leaders about how to potentially fix the issues.

The biggest thing about the youth council is definitely the voice it gives them, but its led by Native Americans for Native Americans, Hearting said.

And Native Hope will be flexible in its endeavors.

Since launching its website in March, Muldoon said the nonprofits vision has changed repeatedly, and likely will continue to change in the months to come. she said Native Hope has always had the same goal -- to inspire and instill hope in current and upcoming generations of Native Americans -- but the process, programs and partnerships to achieve that goal have taken unexpected turns along the way.

You think you want or should go in one direction, then you realize, Wait, this is where I really need to be. Weve done that a lot, Muldoon said. Were still molding who we are, but were on a really good track now. I think one of the main challenges is constantly keeping that ultimate question of How can we truly make an impact?

Ultimately, Native Hope is determined to break down and eliminate stigmas associated with Native American people, Hearting said.

Common stigmas the nonprofit has encountered thus far are that all Native Americans are alcoholics or poor. And, although true in some cases, as with any nationality, Hearting said, those stigmas dont apply to everyone. But shes noticed people seemingly make assumptions about Native American people based on one negative experience.

Until youve really lived in the community or really submerged yourself, you just wouldnt know how inspirational some of these people are, Hearting said. If you look at some of the things theyve been through and the fact theyre still hopeful and finding a way to provide for their families and see another day -- that, in itself, is a story worth telling.
Photo: Contributed

A Kelowna man is being charged with several sex-related offences and police are concerned there might be more potential victims who have yet to come forward.

An investigation into Simon Walter Rypiak started in September 2015 and spanned across multiple jurisdictions, including B.C., Alberta, Saskatchewan and Quebec.

To date, there are nine alleged victims who have been identified to police, and RCMP are asking for the publics assistance in finding any others.

Const. Jesse ODonaghey says the investigation revealed victims ranging in age from 15 to 20 years old, most of whom were believed to be recruited through social media.

Investigators also believe that the accused used physical violence to maintain control of his victims, whom he forced to work as escorts for him, said ODonaghey. The RCMP are concerned that there are more victims who have not yet come forward to police.

The allegations have yet to be proven in court.

Rypiak, also known as Simon Ross, faces multiple charges, including procuring a person to have sexual intercourse, material benefit from sexual services, assault, sexual assault, assault causing bodily harm and procuring a person under 18 years old to have sexual intercourse.

Anyone who may have been victimized, solicited, or has any information that may assist in the RCMP investigation is asked to contact Const. Greg Willcocks at 250-470-6317.
Photo: Contributed

The former owner of CrocTalk pleaded guilty Friday to illegally possessing wildlife.

Doug Illman had faced eight separate charges, including three counts of unlawful possession of live wildlife.

He pleaded guilty in a Kelowna courtroom Friday to one count of unlawful possession of live wildlife and three charges under the Wildlife Act.

He was handed four fines, two fines of $500 and two $750 fines.

The remaining four charges were stayed.

His partner Brenda Mae Bruce was also charged with three counts of unlawful possession of live wildlife; however, those charges were dropped.

llman was forced to shut down his business last summer after several temporary use permits obtained from the city expired.

The land Illman owns was not properly zoned for zoo activities. The permit, business licence and zoo licence all expired in 2014. They were never reissued.

Illman was being evicted from the property at the time he closed the business and was in the process of trying to find a home for his crocodiles.
UK: Breedon looks to the future with Hope

05 August 2016

The 200-strong team at the Hope Cement works in Derbyshire celebrated becoming part of Breedon Groupl Plc with a visit from group chairman Peter Tom CBE and group chief executive Pat Ward. They were accompanied by Hope Cement managing director Ashley Bryan, who took them on a plant tour to meet members of staff.



Hope cement works is a key asset in the Breedon Group network which has now grown to include around 60 quarries, 27 asphalt plants, just under 200 concrete plants and a major surfacing and road contracting operation. Its combined mineral reserves and resources are in excess of 750Mt, securing the future of the business for decades to come.



Peter Tom said: "Were delighted to complete the acquisition of Hope - its a great business and will add a lot of value to everything Breedon has achieved, giving us an even stronger platform for growth through a broader geographical footprint, increased scale, improved product mix, greater financial capacity and some highly talented people.

"We're especially pleased that the UKs biggest - and we think best - cement works is now part of the Group. In addition to its world class performance and high quality products, this operation makes a huge contribution to life the Peak Park and were keen to see that continue to develop."



Ashley Bryan added: "As part of the Breedon 'family', the Hope Cement team is looking forward to continuing the development of the cement business, to growing the already significant contribution we make to the Peak District National Park economy, and enhancing the benefits we bring to the communities around our operation."

Published under
Canada: McInnis Cement CEO quits after new plant cost overruns

ICR Newsroom By 05 August 2016

The chief executive officer of McInnis Cement, Christian Gagnon, has stepped down after it emerged that the cost of constructing the companys new 2.2Mta Port-Daniel integrated plant had gone over budget by CAD450m (US$346m).

McInniss investment was partly financed by government bodies, including Quebecois provincial authorities and also included a CAD360m (US$277m) loan from the National Bank of Canada.

According to Radio-Canada, when news of the spiralling costs of the project first emerged this June, Quebecs economy minister Dominque Anglade called on the company to review its management.

The company has appointed Ronald Bougie as interim CEO while it searches for a permanent replacement.

Published under
Zimbabwe: Future of proposed Charumbira plant remains uncertain

ICR Newsroom By 05 August 2016

Plans to build a US$50m cement plant in Charumbira have been called into question after it was admitted that the Chinese investor behind the project had yet to submit a feasibility report.

The plant is to be built by the Sino Zimbabwe Cement Company, which saw a 15 per cent fall in sales in the first quarter of 2016.

According to reports in News Day, provincial administrator Felix Chikovo said: The point of entry before any mining commences or any people are resettled is based on a report from the Chinese investor.

We are still waiting for an evaluation report that includes the number of jobs to be created and the viability of the project and this has not been carried out and we are yet to have feedback from the investor.

Published under
JACKSON, Mississippi -- All but $3.6 million of $377 million in rate refunds related to Mississippi Power Co.'s Kemper County plant are back in the hands of customers, auditors say.

The utility has complied with the refund order "in all material respects," the Hattiesburg accounting firm of Topp McWhorther Harvey told members of the Mississippi Public Service Commission on Thursday.

The remaining money represents uncashed checks that Mississippi Power issued. In some cases, the money belongs to customers who closed their accounts and moved away. The utility mailed a check to their last known address. Mississippi Power will hold the money for five years, then turn it over to the unclaimed property unit of the state treasurer's office.

Northern District Commissioner Brandon Presley urged the unit of Atlanta-based Southern Co. to take additional efforts, including publishing names of people who haven't cashed their checks, to convey refunds.

"There's $3 million sitting out there and we need to get it in the hands of private citizens," said Presley, a Nettleton Democrat.

Presley urged the company to publish the names of people with uncashed refunds, but commission lawyer Shawn Shurden said there were privacy concerns associated with such a move.

Mississippi Power spokesman Jeff Shepard said company officials are in discussions about options to find the owners of the remaining money with the Public Utilities Staff, the separate agency that develops policy proposals for the commissioners

Refunds were completed by Dec. 4. The audit states $117 million went to residential customers, $132 million went to commercial businesses, $128 million went to industries and $400,000 went to governments that pay for street lighting. The majority of the uncollected refunds, $2.4 million, belong to 20,000 residential accounts.

The state Supreme Court ordered Mississippi Power in 2015 to send refunds to its 186,000 customers -- money the court found was part of an illegal rate increase between April 2013 and July 2015 after a challenge by Hattiesburg oilman Thomas Blanton.

The court found the increase illegal because regulators didn't conduct hearings to ensure Mississippi Power was spending prudently on the $6.8 billion Kemper plant. It also ruled that regulators used an illegal rate structure, didn't notify all ratepayers and broke public meetings law by negotiating a deal in private.

Mississippi Power borrowed the refund money from parent Southern Co. After the company said it was strapped for cash, commissioners granted a 15 percent rate increase to pay for equipment now generating electricity at the plant.
BAY ST. LOUIS, Mississippi -- A Bay St. Louis man has been charged with murder in the shooting deaths of a former University of Southern Mississippi dance team captain and her boyfriend.

The Sun Herald reports that 27-year-old Myrick Laneaux made his initial court appearance Wednesday. Judge Stephen Maggio ordered Laneaux held on $1 million bond for each of two murder counts he faces.

Kristina Quintini a 28-year-old former captain of the Southern Miss Dixie Darlings dance team, and her 29-year-old boyfriend, Norris Demetrius Mueller, were found dead Saturday night. The couple's 6-month-old daughter, Mia, was shot in her shoulder but is recovering from the wound.

Laneaux had been charged Sunday with stealing a car belonging to Quintini's mother.

Laneaux's attorney, Damian Holcomb, said he will be speaking with his client in the coming weeks to prepare for a preliminary hearing scheduled for Sept. 21.

Autopsies showed Quintini died of multiple gunshot wounds, while Mueller died of a single gunshot to his head.

Bay St. Louis Police Chief Mike DeNardo said investigators were still waiting on forensic evidence and expect to bring more charges in the case.
PASCAGOULA, Mississippi -- A 33-year-old Vancleave man will spend the next two years in prison after he was sentenced Friday for touching of a child for lustful purposes.

Jackson County Circuit Court Judge Kathy King Jackson sentenced Michael Jacob Hilton to a total of 15 years in the custody of the Mississippi Department of Corrections. He will serve two years in the state penitentiary, followed by 13 years on post-release supervision.

In addition, Hilton will have to register as a sex offender after his release, pay a $1,000 fine, court costs, $1,000 to the Mississippi Children's Trust Fund and $100 to the Victims Compensation Fund.

Hilton touched the then- 15-year-old victim on her breasts inside his home in December 2013. Hilton was married at the time to the victim's cousin.

"When crimes involve family members, it heightens the emotions on both sides," said Jackson County District Attorney Tony Lawrence. "Too often we see defendants, who are either family members or in other positions of trust or authority, prey on unsuspecting victims in order to satisfy their lustful desires.

"In this case, the State's sentencing recommendation took into consideration numerous factors, which balanced the facts of the case, the Defendant's lack of prior criminal history, and the input of the victim and her family."

Assistant DA Kathlyn Van Buskirk praised the courage of the victim.

"I am proud of the victim for coming forward to report the abuse soon after it occurred," Van Buskirk said. "While the abuse was a one-time act, she will likely endure the repercussions of it for many years to come, as the defendant's actions caused a fracture in the family."
VANCLEAVE, Mississippi -- An 18-year old Vancleave man is in custody, accused of using his boss' credit card number to order more than $5,000 in goods online.

According to Jackson County Sheriff Mike Ezell, Christopher Andrew Meadows of Ware Lake Road in Vancleave turned himself in Thursday at the Jackson County Adult Detention Center after a warrant had been issued for his arrest.

Investigators say Meadows was an employee of Empress Audio in Pascagoula when he saw the business owner's credit card on a desk and copied the number. Meadows then used the number to order more than $5,000 in merchandise and had it delivered to his home.

The unauthorized purchases were discovered when the business owner received his monthly statement.

Meadows is due for an initial court appearance Friday afternoon.
bank robbery collage.jpg

At left is a photo taken from surveillance video showing a suspect robbing The People's Bank in Saucier in April. At right is a photo of the suspect who robbed a Hancock Bank in Ocean Springs Wednesday. Saucier resident Brittnei Farmer has been charged with both crimes.

(HCSO/OSPD photos)

Brittnei Michelle Farmer

GULFPORT, Mississippi -- The woman charged with robbing an Ocean Springs bank at knife point earlier this week is now facing an additional charge of robbing a bank in Saucier in April.

According to Harrison County Sheriff Troy Peterson, investigators from his department assisted Ocean Springs and D'Iberville police in the capture of Brittnei Michelle Farmer, who is charged with robbing the Hancock Bank on U.S. 90 in Ocean Springs.

During the investigation, evidence was uncovered linking Farmer to the robbery of The People's Bank on 2nd Street in Saucier on April 8. Peterson also said Farmer is a Saucier resident.

In both robberies, the suspect wore dark clothing and sunglasses and brandished two butcher knives. Ocean Springs Police Capt. Chuck Jackson said Friday investigators have recovered both knives used in the Hancock Bank robbery -- one found in the parking lot which Farmer reportedly dropped when she fell, and the other inside her vehicle.

Farmer, 28, remains in the Ocean Springs Municipal Jail. Harrison County has placed a hold on her until her court proceedings in Ocean Springs are complete.
We have lost a true lesbian pioneer in the passing of Leslie Cohen. Whether opening the first upscale lesbian club Sahara in NYC in 1976 ...
Hillary Clinton and Tim Kaine Campaign Stop in Pittsburgh

Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton speaks during a campaign rally with democratic vice presidential nominee U.S. Sen Tim Kaine (D-VA) at the David L. Lawrence Convention Center on July 30, 2016 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Justin Berl, For PennLive.com

(Justin Berl)

Good Friday Morning, Fellow Seekers.

So just how concerned is Mel Heifetz about the prospect of a Donald Trump White House?

Concerned enough to write a $1 million check to Democrat Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign, even though the longtime Democratic donor tells The Philadelphia Inquirer that he wasn't "particularly excited" about the former Secretary of State's White House bid.

Heifetz, a Philadelphia real estate developer and a prominent supporter of gay rights causes, tells the newspaper that the idea of a Trump presidency is too worrisome for major donors to not get involved.

"We don't have any choice," Heifetz told the newspaper "Donald Trump being president? God forbid. A lot of people have to step up."

Of Trump, he added, "You can't believe a word that comes out of his mouth. He is not presidential material - no integrity."

As The Inky's Tom Fitzgerald notes, in 2012 he gave $1 million to a super PAC backing President Barack Obama's re-election over Mitt Romney. The PAC, Priorities USA Action, was behind a series of campaign commercials attacking Romney's career in private equity.

And despite his ambivalence about Clinton's campaign, Heifetz still donated about $50,000 to committees supporting the former New York senator and First Lady, the newspaper reported.

The rest of the day's news starts now.

A single juror could 'make or break' AG Kathleen Kane during her upcoming trial, The Tribune-Review reports.

Pittsburgh's schools will offer more music, arts opportunities, The Post-Gazette reports.

Is Hillary Clinton considering former Philly Mayor Michael Nutter for a spot in her cabinet? PhillyMag considers the prospect.

Hillary Clinton is up 40 points in the Philly 'burbs in the new F&M poll. BillyPenn's Anna Orso explains why that's a very big deal, indeed.

Nope, that sure doesn't look like a war zone to us:

You'd think you wouldn't have to tell people some things - but Philly is nonetheless warning its residents not to swim in garbage dumpter pools, The Associated Press reports (via WITF-FM).

An essayist at NewsWorks/WHYY-FM explains why last week's DNC was a treat for those seeking civic engagement.

A developer wants to convert an old mill in downtown Allentown into 270 apartments, The Morning Call reports.

More than three-quarters of respondents to a new PPP poll support raising the minimum wage, PoliticsPA reports.

GOP insiders are now urging Donald Trump to drop out of the presidential race, Politico reports.

And veterans are now urging John McCain to revoke his endorsement of Trump's candidacy, Roll Call reports.

WolfWatch.

It's a busy Friday for Pennsylvania's chief executive as he hits the road for a bunch of events.

10 a.m.: FedEx Ground Lehigh Valley Hub, 550 Willow Brook Road, Northampton, for a "Jobs that Pay" event.

12 p.m: News conference on opioid abuse, Penn Foundation, Dr. Norman L. and Esther B. Loux Heathcare Center, Univest Community Room, 807 Lawn Avenue, Sellersville.

2:15 p.m.: News conference on opioid abuse, Thomas Jefferson University, Bluemle Life Sciences Building, 233 South 10th Street, Philadelphia.

Heavy Rotation.

We haven't done this one for a while, but we're gonna give it a whirl. Because some of you have asked for it, it's the return of The Friday Playlist. Here's the deal, hit "shuffle" on your personal music-playing device, then go to the comments and log the first 10 results. One firm rule: You can't edit or skip a tune. There's no making yourself look cooler than you already are. As ever, we'll go first:

1. "Part of the Queue," Oasis

2. "20 Yards Behind," Dr. Feelgood

3. "Dispear," Naz and Damian "Jr. Gong" Marley

4. "Paradise," Ana Laan

5. "Odds and Ends," The Weather Prophets

6. "Way Out West," Big Star

7. "Scarlet," Lush

8. "Jah Guide Us," Dennis Alcapone

9. "Fight for Your Right," The Beastie Boys

10. "Brimful of Asha," Cornershop

Friday's Gratuitous Baseball Link.

What goes around, comes around, we suppose. Texas beat Baltimore 5-3 at home at Camden Yards on Thursday.

And now you're up to date. See you all back here in a bit.
More than $75,000 has been donated by Tennessee attorneys to organizations that serve low-income individuals in need of legal assistance.

The donations come as part of the annual registration process that attorneys participate in to maintain their law licenses. Starting in 2015, attorneys were given the option to donate to the Access to Justice Fund when they were renewing their licenses.

The new fund was established after the Access to Justice Commission proposed an amendment to Rule 9 that has allowed attorneys to contribute funds for distribution to organizations that provide civil legal aid to low-income individuals. In its first year, Tennessee attorneys raised $76,577.

The Commission worked with the Supreme Court, the Board of Professional Responsibility, Tennessee attorneys, and legal aid groups to launch a tradition of generosity. Each year, attorneys will have the opportunity to donate funds for disbursement to agencies serving low-income Tennesseans needing greater access to justice.

One growing organization that will receive funding this year is Justice for Our Neighbors. The group provides affordable legal services to low-income immigrants and their families. As part of their mission, Justice for Our Neighbors provides direct representation to vulnerable young people and coordinates training and representation for interested pro bono attorneys. With the money donated by attorneys, they can bolster their program for immigrated unaccompanied minors.

Additional resources will be used to provide for the protection of unaccompanied minors seeking to remain in the United States, safely away from violence in their countries of origin, Executive Director Wade Munday said. We are extremely grateful that this unexpected funding can help more immigrant children experience the warm welcome of the Volunteer State.

The Commission approved this years beneficiary organizations that met the requirements laid out in Rule 9. The initial list of eligible organizations was developed in consultation with Tennessee Alliance for Legal Services and its statewide network of non-profit legal service providers. The funds have been apportioned according to each organizations size, based on the organizations revenue reported to the Internal Revenue Service. In the future, recipients will be reviewed on an annual basis to determine whether an organization remains qualified to receive funds. The Commission also will determine whether other qualified organizations should be added to the list.

Each organization is required to submit a fiscal report of how the donation is used. The Commission plans to evaluate the allocation method following the June 2017 distribution, after two years worth of distributions has made its way to organizations.

The Access to Justice Commission addresses topics such as education of the public, identification of priorities, and recommendations to the Supreme Court of projects and programs the Commission determines to be necessary and appropriate for enhancing access to justice in Tennessee.

The organizations receiving funding are:
Chattanooga State Community college was awarded a $329,548 grant from the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) to increase nursing education opportunities for individuals from disadvantaged backgrounds, including racial and ethnic minorities who are underrepresented among registered nurses. Chattanooga States Nursing Program is one of 13 nursing programs in the country to receive this nursing workforce diversity grant for 2016.

Chattanooga State has designed a comprehensive program called RN-REBOOT ( R etention, E nrichment, and B ridge O f O pportunities in T ennessee)to address the academic, economic, and social barriers that impact retention and graduation rates for disadvantaged nursing students enrolled in its program. This one-year project will target the critical transition point in Chattanooga States nursing program from the first to second year, which has historically had the highest attrition ratemore than double the attrition rate compared to first year nursing courses.

Dr. Martina Harris, director of nursing, will serve as the principal investigator and project director for the RN-REBOOT Grant. RN-REBOOT will impact more than 340 nursing students, with targeted intensive interventions impacting 25 academically at-risk disadvantaged students who were unsuccessful in the third semester nursing course.

I am extremely excited about the RN-REBOOT Program and the amazing academic and financial support it will provide to our currently enrolled nursing students, said Dr. Harris. This program will work to improve retention and on-time graduation rates for disadvantaged nursing students who fail or have marginal performance in particular nursing courses.

The key outcomes expected from this grant include increasing the number of academically at-risk disadvantaged students who pass Nursing III on their first attempt; improving academic performance in classroom and clinical assessments; improving understanding of cultural differences and social determinants of health that impact nursing practice; and increasing the two-year graduation rate for academically at-risk disadvantaged students who graduate and enter the nursing workforce.

The Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) under grant number D19HP29806, Nursing Workforce Diversity Program, support this project through the Department of Human Services (HHS), for $329,548. This information or content and conclusions are those of the author. It should not be construed as the official position or policy of, nor does HRSA, HHS, or the U.S. Government infer any endorsements.

For more information about the Chattanooga State Nursing Program, contact the nursing program office at 423-493-8740 or visit the website www.chattanoogastate.edu/nursing-allied-health.
After seven shirts, six wins, two days of filming and at least one utterance of Oh my god, Im an idiot, a 24-year-old Illinois Ph.D. student walked away with $137,088 in "Jeopardy" winnings in episodes that aired into last week.

Pranjal Vachaspati, originally from Shaker Heights, Ohio, is a third-year doctoral student at University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign studying computational phylogenetics  which he said entails building software for biologists.

He lost his seventh game in an episode that aired last week, but his streak landed him fourth place in the ongoing list of Jeopardy champions. If his record holds up, hell likely be invited to face off against other top winners in the next Tournament of Champions.

Vachaspati said he took an online test and auditioned for the show in San Francisco earlier this year, then began filming in April.

To prepare, he said he quizzed himself on past "Jeopardy" questions using existing computer programs. Since he was also working, he said he typically spent a few hours a day preparing for the taping.

You cant work 168 hours a week, he said. So I had some time that I wasnt working  I was just going to spend it on 'Jeopardy' instead of playing video games.

Vachaspati also spent time practicing for the buzzer.

The buzzer is really what makes or breaks you on 'Jeopardy,' he said. The question comes up on the screen and you read it as quickly as you can  maybe you dont know the answer, but you know that you know the answer. And then you have to decide basically very quickly whether or not to buzz in, based on whether you think you can figure it out.

He admits he was a little trigger-happy during his first couple episodes. But since five episodes film in a day, with a brief break and wardrobe change in-between, he said he learned quickly.

With the winnings, Vachaspati said he plans to kick-start his retirement fund.

Though he did splurge on one purchase: A red 1991 Mazda Miata.

mgraham@tribpub.com

Twitter @megancgraham
When Mayor Rahm Emanuel proposed a roll of the dice on a new water and sewer tax to provide needed support for a city pension fund and help alleviate Chicago's financial woes, it should have been clear if it wasn't already.

That's right. Rahm's working his way around the Monopoly board.

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Houses? The city property taxes have been jacked up. The tax on hotels? It's been expanded to vacation rentals and other accommodations. Free parking? Since Daley, um, no.

He's playing the classic rainy-day game to bail out a city that clearly didn't save for a rainy day.

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It beats playing Jenga, trying to take budget pieces away a little bit at a time, knowing at some point everything will come crashing down. It beats playing Sorry.

But you know Monopoly. Inevitably it drags on long enough to sap most everyone's enthusiasm, and, win or lose, it's not unusual to simply want to move on. Or in the case of Chicago businesses and residents, they may start wanting just to move.

Quality of life is measured in many ways. Things that aren't going great aren't likely to get better when funding is pared. But even people who recognize there aren't many alternatives to bail Chicago out of its obligations have to be growing weary and wary of taxes piled upon taxes.

This time Emanuel hit waterworks, proposing a new tax that will increase water and sewer bills by a whopping 30 percent hike over four years. Arguably, it's a necessary move. It's almost certainly not the last. There are a lot more possibilities still on the board and in the cards.

Look at the bright side. It beats Kick the Can, long the popular game at City Hall but merely a diversion and not winnable.

Here are the 10 biggest residential real estate tax hikes in Chicago. August 2, 2016. (Chicago Tribune)

The good news is that not even Moody's Investors Service, which last year pushed Chicago's debt rating into junk territory, believes the city is "on the brink of defaulting on its debt payments" or that its finances are "on the verge of collapse," according to a report it issued after a top analyst spoke at the City Club of Chicago last month.

"Chicago has a very different credit profile than governments that have defaulted on their debt," such as Detroit's, Moody's said. "Chicago's economy is healthy and growing, unlike other cities that have defaulted where the economies went through a long, steep decline, and where finances were in much worse shape than Chicago's."

But Moody's concern has been rooted in the fact that where the average U.S. city's debt load and unfunded pension obligation add up to 2.4 times its operating revenue, Chicago's is 9.4 times.

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There are other factors at play, including concern over how Chicago Public Schools will resolve its own financial problems and what effect that might have on Chicago, but the need to address the pension problem looms large.

It's hoped the water and sewer tax proposal, once it's completely phased in, can produce $239 million a year. That money can go toward the $18.6 billion Chicago owes the municipal workers fund that represents nearly all city workers who aren't manual laborers, firefighters or police officers.

But it's not meant to simply address the city's balance sheet woes. It's meant to address critics, such as Moody's, that believe Chicago hasn't been dealing with its issues with enough urgency.

Something less regressive would have been preferable, and Emanuel might have had more options if he were able to play ball with Springfield, but the state has its own financial problems it's not addressing urgently enough.

This turn Emanuel found something in the pipeline Chicago could tap, but it's a game that can't go on forever.

philrosenthal@chicagotribune.com

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Twitter @phil_rosenthal
Advocate Health Care will pay $5.55 million to settle allegations it violated federal patient privacy law  the largest such settlement paid by a single entity.

The settlement with the federal government follows an investigation that began in 2013 when Advocate reported three separate data breaches involving its physician-led medical group subsidiary, Advocate Medical Group. The breaches involved the electronic health information of 4 million people, including medical information, names, credit card numbers and birthdays, among other things.

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In July 2013, four unencrypted laptops with personal health information were stolen from an administrative office in Park Ridge. Also that summer, an unauthorized third party accessed the network of an Advocate business associate, potentially compromising the information of more than 2,000 patients. Then in November, Advocate told the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' Office for Civil Rights that an unencrypted laptop with personal information of more than 2,200 individuals was stolen from the vehicle of an Advocate Medical Group employee.

HHS' Office for Civil Rights investigated the breaches and found that Advocate failed to properly assess the risks related to the data. It also found Advocate didn't reasonably safeguard an encrypted laptop left in an unlocked vehicle overnight and it didn't adequately limit access to its information systems.

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Downers Grove-based Advocate, which did not admit any liability, said in a statement Thursday: "While there continues to be no indication that the information was misused, we deeply regret any inconvenience this incident has caused our patients.

"As all industries deal with the ever-evolving digital landscape and the impact it has on security, we've enhanced our data encryption measures to prevent this type of incident from reoccurring," Advocate said.

Advocate has 11 hospitals and a two-campus children's hospital.

Jocelyn Samuels, HHS' Office for Civil Rights director, said in a news release she hopes the settlement "sends a strong message" about the importance of comprehensive risk analysis and management to ensure electronic health information is secure.

The Office for Civil Rights said the settlement is a result of the "extent and duration" of the alleged noncompliance with the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, as well as the involvement of the Illinois attorney general in the matter, and the large number of people affected.

The Illinois attorney general's investigation into the breaches is also close to a resolution, said spokeswoman Eileen Boyce.

lschencker@chicagotribune.com

Twitter @lschencker
Tree House Humane Society's Interim Executive Director Kerri Burns and board member Christopher Ott take us on a tour of their $7 million coffeehouse and cat shelter, set to open in Chicago's West Rogers Park neighborhood late this year. (Abel Uribe / Chicago Tribune) (Abel Uribe / Chicago Tribune/Chicago Tribune)

The fur has been flying at Tree House Humane Society, the nonprofit behind Chicago's first cat cafe, which fired its top executives and still needs nearly $3 million in funding for the unusual project.

The $7 million coffeehouse and cat shelter is set to open in West Rogers Park late this year, behind schedule, overbudget and under new leadership.

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"I wish we were further along than we are right now," said Robert Marovich, vice president of the Tree House board.

Trouble began brewing earlier this year, when a number of staffers resigned and submitted letters alleging mismanagement, Marovich said. The board enlisted Chicago law firm Kirkland & Ellis for a pro bono investigation, which found no illegal activity but questionable management practices.

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"We just could not see how it could continue to go forward without taking action," Marovich said, citing "morale" issues but declining to specify the allegations or the findings.

Longtime Executive Director Dave de Funiak was fired May 23  the day the report was delivered  along with the shelter's directors of development and operations. Steve Dale, a board member and strong proponent of the cat cafe, resigned ahead of the executive purge.

De Funiak did not return a request for comment.

Expand Autoplay Image 1 of 8 Tree House Humane Society's new cat shelter and coffee shop  and eventual clinic. (Abel Uribe / Chicago Tribune)

Founded in 1971 as one of the nation's first no-kill cat shelters, Tree House is building the 15,000-square-foot, two-story facility at 7225 N. Western Ave. that will house about 200 cats. The cafe will feature a full coffee bar and adjacent lounge, where a dozen felines are free to roam among patrons sipping lattes and surfing the web.

Popular overseas, the cat cafe concept migrated to the U.S. several years ago. Early adopters include Cat Town, a nonprofit shelter in Oakland, Calif., which opened arguably the first stateside cat cafe in October 2014.

Tree House entered the year with $4 million in cash and pledges. The price of the project has since risen to $7 million, from $6 million, while the organization has raised only $300,000 more, leaving a $2.7 million funding gap.

The shelter secured a $2 million bridge loan in July that will see the project through to completion but needs to raise funds to repay the loan and furnish the new facility.

Kerri Burns, 53, a veteran leader of shelters in Orlando, Fla., and Tucson, Ariz., was coaxed out of retirement to serve as interim executive director of Tree House, beginning June 6. Her mission is to steer the organization for 12 to 18 months, long enough to complete the capital campaign and get the new shelter up and running.

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"The building is still being built, we are still planning on moving in by the end of this year and I am confident we can raise that $2.7 million to finish this off," Burns said.

Dale, a syndicated radio host and longtime Tree House board member, said the executive changes have hurt fundraising efforts and that he argued against the decision before resigning.

"I was pushed out because I stood up for what I believed in," Dale said.

Donors were notified of the leadership changes via an email, Marovich said. Most were assuaged when told there was no financial malfeasance, but he said one donor pulled a $35,000 pledge over the ouster of the longtime executives.

Marovich, 53, a gospel historian and fundraiser who has been associated with Tree House since 1999, said several donors have come on board because of the changes.

Tree House has operated in recent years with an annual budget of about $3 million. The new shelter, on land provided by an anonymous donor, has proved a major undertaking for the organization, which downsized its budget and staff this year to focus on the capital campaign.

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In the end, Marovich said, the team behind the ambitious cat cafe may have bitten off more than it could chew.

"Tree House was getting bigger, and you have a certain style of management that works at a certain level and when you get bigger than that, it gets overwhelming," he said. "Ultimately, it was too much."

rchannick@chicagotribune.com

Twitter @RobertChannick
Nurses Kim Schelling, left, and Jennifer Nemanius go over patients' charts Aug. 4, 2016, at Northwestern Memorial Hospital in Chicago. In the last two weeks, two major hospital ratings were released with different conclusions. The federal Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services gave Northwestern three stars out of five, but U.S. News & World Report ranked Northwestern the No. 1 hospital in the state. (Phil Velasquez / Chicago Tribune)

When Donald Ahlstrand was diagnosed with liver cancer last year, he didn't want to go to one of the hospitals near his home in Itasca for treatment.

Instead, Ahlstrand chose Northwestern Memorial Hospital in downtown Chicago, partly because of its high ratings.

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"I might be able to live longer," said the 60-year-old retired railroad engineer. "You go to some hospital that's not experienced with liver cancer, or say, throat cancer, it's possible the outcome might be different."

Like Ahlstrand, many patients consider ratings and rankings when choosing a hospital. But should they?

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More than half a dozen organizations  all with different interests and strategies  regularly release hospital ratings and rankings. The situation creates a confusing quagmire of claims about hospital quality, critics contend. Others, meanwhile, say ratings can be a useful tool for consumers struggling to make life and death decisions.

In the last two weeks alone, two major hospital ratings were released with different conclusions. In late July, the federal Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services gave Northwestern three stars out of five and awarded Rush University Medical Center four stars. Just a week later, U.S. News & World Report ranked Northwestern the No. 1 hospital in the state, just ahead of Rush.

That's not to mention ratings that pop up at other times of the year by groups such as Consumer Reports, health care nonprofit The Leapfrog Group, Truven Health Analytics and Healthgrades.

None of the hospitals rated by U.S. News, The Leapfrog Group, Consumer Reports and Healthgrades from 2012 to 2013 was rated a high performer by all four organizations, according to a study published last year in the peer-reviewed health policy journal Health Affairs.

Northwestern Medicine consistently scores well with U.S. News, but Cindy Barnard, its vice president for quality, doesn't believe any of the current rating systems are very useful to patients.

"Each one has unique components and methodologies, which result in wildly divergent conclusions," Barnard said. "From a patient's perspective, we think they find this very confusing. I don't think any of them are even close to what our patients really want and need."

Another facility, Jackson Park Hospital and Medical Center on Chicago's South Side, recently received only one star from the federal ratings system, though it got a B from Leapfrog.

Patients may struggle to stay healthy because of outside factors such as environment, housing, food security and an inability to buy prescriptions after being discharged from a hospital, said Jackson Park CEO William O.P. Dorsey in a statement.

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Hospital leaders have been critical of the federal star ratings system, saying it doesn't take socioeconomic status into account or adequately consider the complexities of the conditions some hospitals treat.

"You could send an asthmatic or someone back to their home, which has environmental triggers that cause them to then end up back in the hospital despite doing everything appropriately," said Jay Bhatt, chief health officer of the Illinois Health and Hospital Association.

In April, more than 250 members of Congress sent letters to the head of the federal agency behind the star ratings, asking for a delay in releasing them because of such concerns. The federal government waited until late last month.

U.S. News' ratings also inspire some mixed opinions. Many tout U.S. News for evaluating specialties and areas of care within hospitals and for basing the rating on reputation, according to physician survey results, in addition to data. That reputation component can help indirectly capture qualities such as clinical leadership and scientific advances, Barnard said. Many, however, prefer ratings based wholly on data and outcomes, not opinions.

Northwestern beat Rush in U.S. News' rankings largely because U.S. News took reputation into account, said Omar Lateef, chief medical officer at Rush. Though Rush still did well in the rankings, earning the No. 2 spot in the state, that reputation measure didn't likely help many smaller institutions, he said.

"Large academic medical centers are always going to have an advantage in that (reputation) category, even if a smaller hospital in the area provides better care for a disease," Lateef said.

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On the other hand, academic medical centers can do poorly in the federal government's star ratings because they sometimes care for patients with more complex conditions, Bhatt said. Teaching hospitals earned an average of 2.87 stars this year compared with nonteaching hospitals' average of 3.11 stars.

Some also question the interests of ratings organizations. One ratings group might rely on hospital advertising to generate revenues, while another might serve employers, noted Doris Peter, director of the Consumer Reports Health Ratings Center. The government, meanwhile, is trying to reduce health care costs, "so they have a different reason to pick the measures they do," Peter said.

That's not to say, however, that patients shouldn't still peek at a hospital's ratings before committing to care.

Richa Gupta, chief quality officer at Rush, said she believes the star ratings are a move in the right direction.

"There's plenty that can be criticized about it, but the goal is a noble one, to reduce the amount of confusion that comes from reviewing 64 points of data about a hospital," Gupta said.

More information is better for consumers, even when there's disagreement between different rating systems, said Ben Harder, chief of health analysis at U.S. News, which has been reporting hospital ratings since 1990.

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"Most consumers are smart enough to know that they have to figure out what aspects of the information available to them are most relevant and most reliable," Harder said. He said about 100,000 people visit U.S. News' website each day to look up information about hospitals or doctors.

Plus, the ratings could push some hospitals to improve, said Ashish Jha, a professor of health policy at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health.

Ratings can mean a lot to hospitals. Hospitals might use brag-worthy ratings to help recruit doctors and attract patients, Jha said. On the flip side, Peter, with Consumer Reports, said she's had hospital CEOs call her in tears over their ratings, complaining that patients canceled surgeries because of them.

Jha, who served as an unpaid member of an advisory committee for Leapfrog, said some ratings systems can give patients crucial, even lifesaving information.

"For consumers, the evidence is if you pick a highly ranked U.S. News hospital, you're probably going to do better," Jha said. "For more life-threatening conditions, you're more likely to survive."

Hospital leaders, however, caution that looking at ratings should be just one part of the decision when choosing a hospital.

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Some patients don't look at them at all. Many people still rely mostly on word-of-mouth, recommendations from trusted doctors and past experiences when choosing care.

Mathew McIntyre, of Chicago, said Northwestern's ratings are just one reason he and his wife chose it recently. They also chose the hospital because it's close to their home and, importantly, covered by their insurance plan.

"I would say it has some impact," McIntyre, 46, said of ratings. "It's not the ultimate decider."

lschencker@chicagotribune.com

Twitter @lschencker
JPMorgan Chase's contract to provide debit cards to inmates released from federal prison may have backfired after a former convict raised a ruckus.

The bank agreed to pay a total of $446,822 to thousands of ex-prisoners to settle a class-action suit claiming JPMorgan ripped them off with $10 fees to withdraw money from a teller window and $2 charges for using non-network ATMs, according to a filing on Monday in federal court in Philadelphia.

JPMorgan's contract with the Federal Bureau of Prisons was a scheme "to exploit one of the most vulnerable groups imaginable -- releasees from federal corrections facilities," according to the complaint. "Every cent counts for federal releasees who are coming out of prison without an immediate means of income."

The New York-based bank also agreed to pay as much as $250,000 in plaintiffs' attorneys' fees and costs, the filing said. The relatively small payout to inmates, which almost 50,000 ex-cons qualify to share in, doesn't faze the lead plaintiff in the case, 33-year-old Philadelphia artist Jesse Krimes.

"It's about the principle of the matter, and setting a precedent for future litigation against similar predatory practices," said Krimes, who made artwork from prison-issued sheets and soap while serving six years after pleading guilty to distributing cocaine. (The accord comes just in time for a solo exhibition in New York starting Aug. 4.)

"I left prison with $120," an unidentified former inmate said in the complaint. "Because of the fees, I was only able to use about $70 of it."

Plaintiffs' attorney David Stanoch said the settlement will return the fees charged to inmates under the contract, including 45 cents for balance inquiries and a $1.50 inactivity charge that the bank couldn't justify in court.

"It's unclear what, if anything, these fees are tethered to in terms of cost or administration of the program," Stanoch said of the inactivity charge. "It's simply money sitting there and not requiring Chase to do anything."

Joseph Evangelisti, a spokesman for JPMorgan, declined to comment on the settlement.

Krimes said that while the idea behind the debit cards may have been reasonable, the bank's behavior was ultimately predatory and illegal.

"The debit cards aren't necessarily problematic until they charge us these large fees that they don't charge normal civilians," Krimes said in an interview. "Chase was preying on a vulnerable population."

The complaint, filed in September 2015, said inmates released from all U.S. federal prisons since at least 2008 were required to get Chase debit cards to receive the balance in their accounts, which held money sent from family or friends for commissary purchases, as well as wages for prison jobs.

Under the bank's no-bid contract, prisoners weren't allowed to review or approve the terms and conditions, the plaintiffs' group said. The deal stemmed from an agreement between the bank and the U.S. Treasury Department to provide debit-card services to a variety of agencies, mostly as a means to replace checks.

Unlike employees of other federal agencies, prison inmates didn't have a choice about whether to use the cards, which weren't re-loadable, Stanoch said. That all changed, the attorney said, after Krimes challenged the fees upon his release.

"At some point he noticed a fee being charge, and that piqued his interest and caused him to question what it was," Stanoch said. "When he was unable to get a satisfactory answer from Chase customer service, it led down this path."

The Bureau of Prisons didn't immediately reply to a call and email seeking comment. The agency wasn't sued.

The debit-card dispute mirrors an earlier fight between inmates and the Bureau of Prisons over how much they were charged to make phone calls and fees charged to their families to receive collect calls. The Federal Communications Commission said last year it would cap the rates, which had been set under contracts with telephone companies.

Max Abelson contributed
Kraft Heinz Co., formed by a merger of two U.S. food giants last year, posted second-quarter earnings that topped estimates after budget cuts helped bolster margins.

Profit was 85 cents a share in the period, excluding some items, the company said in a statement Thursday. Analysts had projected 71 cents on average, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Revenue for the quarter was $6.79 billion, in line with the $6.8 billion estimate.

Kraft Heinz, run by the famously thrifty private equity firm 3G Capital, is trimming costs, following a playbook used at H.J. Heinz before the two food makers merged. The company also made a push into mustard and barbecue sauce over the past year and took steps to update its product portfolio. That included releasing an organic version of Capri Sun juice and removing artificial colors and flavors from Kraft Macaroni and Cheese.

"To sustain our momentum, we must remain focused on profitable growth, innovations to meet consumer needs in a challenging environment, and improving our operations," Chief Executive Officer Bernardo Hees said in the statement. "We're off to a good start, but there is still much work to be done."

The stock climbed as much as 5.1 percent to $89.93 in New York, the biggest intraday gain in three months. Kraft Heinz had advanced 18 percent this year through the close of trading Thursday.

Kraft also boosted its quarterly dividend 4.3 percent to 60 cents a share on Thursday, up from 57.5 cents. The payout will come on Oct. 7 to shareholders of record as of Aug. 26.

Kraft Heinz, which generates more than 70 percent of its sales in the U.S., has relied on staff reductions and other belt-tightening measures to cope with an industrywide slowdown. The strategy is a hallmark of 3G, which was founded by Brazilian billionaire Jorge Paulo Lemann.

The investment firm teamed up with Warren Buffett in 2013 in a buyout deal that took Heinz private. They got together again last year to engineer the merger that created Kraft Heinz.

Hees, who ran Heinz before heading up the combined company, cut more than 7,000 jobs in the 20 months after taking over at the ketchup maker. Since the 2015 merger, Kraft Heinz announced factory closings and more than 5,000 job cuts. The company has said it will eliminate $1.5 billion in annual expenses by the end of 2017.

3G's record of boosting margins at Heinz, and the assumption the company will do the same at the new combined company, has ramped up pressure among food-industry rivals to slash costs. There's also speculation that 3G will look to buy another food company. In May, David Driscoll, an analyst at Citigroup, said that Kraft Heinz could buy General Mills Inc. and increase the cereal maker's operating margins by 7.7 percentage points to 25 percent.

"We're always going to be looking for further opportunities," Hees said on a conference call Thursday, when asked about potential acquisitions. "But outside of that, we really don't comment."
Wal-Mart has rolled out a new scheduling system that aims to give employees more control and predictability in their hours, but advocates who have been calling for such changes as a key step in the fight to improve low-wage workers' lives expressed concerns that it falls short.

The new system launched late July in all 650 Wal-Mart Neighborhood Markets, the retailer's smaller-footprint stores, and if successful it could eventually expand to all 4,600 Wal-Mart locations, said company spokesman Kory Lundberg.

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Wal-Mart employs 53,600 people in Illinois, including about 1,700 at 18 Neighborhood Markets. As the nation's largest private employer, its example could influence other retailers.

Under the new system, some employees will be able to have fixed schedules for up to six months. Others will continue to get their schedules three weeks in advance, as is the policy now, but when they request their hours they will be able to see the times and departments where there is the greatest need, Lundberg said.

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The goal, he said, is to help associates better understand what's available so that "there are not as many questions and unknowns" while also improving the experience for customers with proper staffing. Employees will continue to have the option to add additional hours by filling open shifts once the schedules are out.

It isn't clear how many people will be able to secure fixed schedules.

"Everybody will have the ability to sit down, talk to their manager and figure out what helps their needs," Lundberg said. Wal-Mart officials plan to test the system through several retail cycles and convene after the holidays to discuss expanding it more broadly.

Scheduling practices in the retail industry have come under fire for disrupting workers' quality of life. Volatile shifts, little control and last-minute staffing changes to accommodate real-time customer demand make it difficult for people to plan for child care, go to school, work a second job or have comfort that they will earn enough to pay their bills.

OUR Walmart, which advocates for workers' rights, said the new policy makes some improvements, namely in offering fixed schedules. But the group said it doesn't address concerns about a shortage of hours overall. And it worries that people who desire fixed schedules won't be get a full 40 hours a week.

"Without detailing the percentage of the workforce who will have access to fixed shifts, ensuring that those with scheduling restrictions are eligible for full-time hours and adding hours to the stores, it is unclear if it truly addresses the need for consistent, full-time schedules," the group said in the release.

Lundberg said "we will have a large number of fixed schedules that are 40 hours."

Wal-Mart announced plans to make scheduling changes earlier this year when it also raised the minimum wage at its stores to $10 an hour. Other retailers including The Gap and Starbucks also have announced efforts to improve scheduling.

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aelejalderuiz@chicagotribune.com

Twitter @alexiaer
People pose inside the rings at Barra Olympic Park on Aug. 4, 2016 before the start of the Olympics in Rio de Janeiro. (Brian Cassella / Chicago Tribune)

RIO DE JANEIRO  Police in Rio de Janeiro said a Russian diplomat trying to repel an attempted robbery Thursday near the Olympic Park was involved in a shooting that left the assailant dead. The Russian embassy denied any of its employees were involved in the incident.

Rio police said a Russian vice consul wrestled with a gunman who was trying to rob him, causing the weapon to go off and killing the criminal. In a statement to The Associated Press, the Russians refuted the police report.

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"There must be a misunderstanding," the embassy said in an email late Thursday.

The Russian government also said its representatives are not armed. It pointed out that consulate officials are "Russian citizens with Russian names," contrary to media reports that gave a Brazilian-sounding name.

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Authorities did not officially identify any of the people involved in the incident, and only said the man who was attacked was a lawyer and a vice consul for Russia.

The O Globo newspaper and other local media said the Russian diplomat practiced Jiu-jitsu. They reported that he was driving with his wife and daughter when he got stuck at a traffic jam on a main highway of Barra da Tijuca, home to the Olympic Park. Two gunmen in motorcycles attacked, media said. The police only talked about the assailant, who was killed.

"The vice consul got into a physical confrontation with the aggressor, and during the fight, the assailant's gun was fired several times," said the police statement. The homicide unit opened an investigation.

Such street muggings are common in Rio de Janeiro streets, especially in areas with heavy traffic, where motorcycles can drive in between lanes, attack motorists and escape easily.

Houses in a hillside favela on Aug. 3, 2016 before the start of the Olympics in Rio de Janeiro. (Brian Cassella / Chicago Tribune)

Associated Press
One of restaurateur Rich Melman's gifts, I think, is his ability to identify niches, up and down the dining price scale, and fill them. The same mind that created Ambria, Everest and Avanzare also came up with Mon Ami Gabi, Tucci Benucch and Frankie's Scaloppine.

Apparently there's a gene for that sort of thing, because it's been passed down to his children, who have become serious restaurateurs in their own right. The three (RJ, Jerrod and Molly Melman), who already have the refined RPM Italian in their portfolio, went rustic-Italian to create Il Porcellino, which opened mid-March a block away from RPM Italian and just steps from the siblings' first venture, Hub 51.

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In creating Il Porcellino, the Melmans bid adieu to Paris Club, the previous restaurant in this space, which had itself replaced Brasserie Jo a few years back. (The concepts change, but the phone number remains the same; I've dined at this address so many times that 595-0800 is as locked into my memory as the number for Empire Carpet.)

I don't know if Il Porcellino is the least-expensive serious restaurant in River North, but it sure feels like it. Pastas, made in house, run from $14.95 to $16.95 in a neighborhood that charges $15 to valet your car. Signature cocktails are $12 or less (again, not bad for this ZIP code), including the "Goodfellas"-inspired Jimmy Two Times. (I really like that cocktail, really like it.)

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The charming dining room with oak-paneled walls and moody lighting sets the scene. There's an eclectic music mix -- plenty of Sinatra, mixed with R&B and Motown. (Abel Uribe / Chicago Tribune)

Wines are giddily affordable; all but three bottles are less than $60. If you really want to save, the "chianti del giorno," in a genuine fiasco (those straw-wrapped round bottles), goes for about $27. (Perhaps as a reminder, empty fiaschi bottles decorate the dining-room ceiling.)

"It's not easy to find a great chianti in a fiasco," said RJ Melman, "but we found a few we like."

Executive chef Doug Psaltis oversees the operation, as he does for the rest of the Melman-siblings restaurants, but day-to-day cooking falls to chef de cuisine Craig Degel, plucked from Eataly's Baffo. (Baffo was a refined Italian dining room that recently closed; Il Porcellino's future looks considerably rosier.)

You'll pony up five or six bucks for bread, and you won't be disappointed. A large, bowl-shaped loaf of garlic ciabatta boasts a crusty exterior and soft interior, helped along by liquid butter (added tableside) and a sprinkling of herbs. Tuscan cheese bread, with its crisped bottom and tomato-and-cheese topping, eats like a stealth pizza.

Appetizers range from well-executed cliches, such as stuffed mushrooms, fried calamari and meatballs (the surprisingly light meatballs are worth your time), to more thoughtful dishes, such as tuna carpaccio, roasted artichoke and cheese-sprinkled fried Brussels sprouts. Buttery mozzarella and gently acidic tomatoes make the Caprese salad, which will be a great selection as long as tomato season lasts.

Pastas, in addition to being a bargain, are extremely good. Orecchiette tossed with fennel sausage and broccolini is a hit, as was my pork-filled ravioli (since changed to pork tortellini), but the feather-light gnocchi Bolognese might be the best dish on the menu. The 1,000-layer lasagna is the Tuesday entry on Il Porcellino's daily specials; it's a massive portion (enough for two, easily), but too-limp noodles doomed my version. Stick to the regular pasta offerings, and you'll be much happier.

Secondi include a boneless brick-chicken Vesuvio that is a well-seasoned, classic version with the requisite peas and roasted potatoes. (I prefer bone-in chicken, but more and more customers prefer the easy-to-slice version.) A hefty piece of salmon is seasoned with plenty of oregano and black pepper, alongside sauteed kale. The flavor is fine on both dishes, and both of them were slightly overcooked.

On Sundays, there's a set-price ($30 or so; it varies) Sunday Supper consisting of bread, salad, antipasti, pastas and entree, served family-style.

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Desserts are wheeled to the table on a little cart (no easy feat when the dining room is crowded), which displays two tiramisu (one with a chocolate-banana bottom layer), lemon cookies, biscotti and the star: the zuccherati, a cannoli-shaped brioche doughnut filled with sweetened mascarpone. The chocolate-hazelnut semifreddo, a tall wedge with chocolate sauce and crushed hazelnuts, is plenty big enough for two.

The charming dining room features brick and wood-paneled walls. Glass doors swing open in warm weather, creating an open-air cafe for the front tables. At the very back of the room is a corner booth that looks inspired by Booth One in the original Pump Room (which Melman pere managed for a time), complete with vintage celebrity photos. "A lot of (the pictures) are from my dad's life," RJ Melman said. "The booth is an homage to him."

An eclectic music mix plays at a conversation-friendly volume. There are plenty of Sinatra and Sinatra-era tunes, mixed with R&B and Motown. One night the playlist went from "Too Darn Hot" to "Ain't No Woman Like the One I've Got," and from "I've Got the World on a String" to "Mustang Sally." Nice.

Il Porcellino literally means "little pig" and refers to a bronze statue in Florence, Italy. Legend has it that good luck will follow those who rub the pig's snout, and to that end, a replica of the statue sits by Il Porcellino's door. Consider rubbing the little fella on the way out; you might grab a little luck, and it doesn't look as if this restaurant needs any.

pvettel@tribpub.com

Twitter @PhilVettel

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59 W. Hubbard St.

312-595-0800

www.ilporcellinochicago.com

Tribune rating: One star

Eat. Watch. Do. Weekly What to eat. What to watch. What you need to live your best life ... now. >

Open: Dinner daily

Prices: Pastas $14.95-$16.95, entrees $21.95-$29.95

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Credit cards: A, DC, DS, M, V

Reservations: Strongly recommended

Noise: Conversation-friendly

Other: Wheelchair accessible; valet parking

Ratings key: Four stars, outstanding; three stars, excellent; two stars, very good; one star, good; no stars, unsatisfactory. The reviewer makes every effort to remain anonymous. Meals are paid for by the Tribune.






Washington (CNN) Donald Trump backed off a false claim Friday morning, admitting he had not seen a video of a $400 million payment being unloaded from a US plane in Iran.

The Republican nominee had claimed at rallies twice this week that such a video existed, saying in Maine on Thursday that it was provided by Iranians "to embarrass our president because we have a president who's incompetent."

What Trump had actually seen in news reports was video of three American prisoners who Iran had released arriving in Geneva, Switzerland.

Trump admitted his error in an early-morning tweet Friday, without actually saying he was wrong.

"The plane I saw on television was the hostage plane in Geneva, Switzerland, not the plane carrying $400 million in cash going to Iran!" he tweeted.

It was a rare reversal for Trump, who has stood by inaccurate or unproven claims previously -- insisting he'd seen videos of Muslim Americans in New Jersey cheering the September 11, 2001, attacks. His political rise began during the 2012 campaign, when he insisted that Obama release his birth certificate, questioning the President's American citizenship.

Democratic vice presidential nominee Tim Kaine hit Trump on Friday for the video claim, saying he seems "confused" on CBS' "This Morning," in an interview taped before Trump backtracked.

"I have no idea what he's talking about. It (the video) doesn't exist. He might be thinking about Iran Contra from like 35 years ago or something like this," Kaine said.

He pointed to Trump's recent criticism of Kaine, who Trump said in a late-July news conference "did a terrible job in New Jersey" -- despite Kaine being a governor and senator from Virginia, not New Jersey. Kaine said Trump must have confused him with Tom Kean, who was New Jersey's governor until 1990.

"He was confusing it with a situation from two or three decades ago. Maybe that's what he's doing with this bogus video claim," Kaine said.

Asked if he thinks Trump is confused, Kaine said: "I absolutely think he's confused."

Paul Manafort, Trump's campaign chairman, responded to Kaine on Fox News Friday morning, saying he's "not sure there was confusion" on Trump's part.

"The point that he was making is the cash-transfer took place and it was taking place consistent with the transfer of hostages," Manafort said.

"Again, what the Obama administration wants to do is get off of the point. The point is, $400 million in cash that most likely ended up in terrorist camps used against the west was given in exchange for hostages and the President of the United States lied to the American people, that's the point."

Trump has made criticism of the US delivery of $400 million in cash via a plane to Iran -- the first installment of $1.7 billion in payments related to a decades-old dispute over an unfulfilled us arms purchase before the Iranian revolution cut relations between the two countries and settled at the same time Iran released four American prisoners -- a staple this week on the campaign trail.

But Wednesday in Florida and Thursday in Maine, he went a step further, claiming he'd seen video of the cash actually being delivered in Iran.

"It was interesting because a tape was made. Right? You saw that? With the airplane coming in -- nice plane -- and the airplane coming in, and the money coming off, I guess. Right? That was given to us, has to be, by the Iranians," Trump said in Portland, Maine.

"And you know why the tape was given to us? Because they want to embarrass our country. They want to embarrass our country. And they want to embarrass our president because we have a president who's incompetent. They want to embarrass our president," Trump said. "I mean, who would ever think they would be taking all of this money off the plane and then providing us with a tape? It's only for one reason. And it's very, very sad."
Annoying Cubs fans were the inspiration for the Meegan and Andre characters in "Key and Peele" sketches, Keegan-Michael Key told Rolling Stone in an article posted online Thursday.

Jordan Peele played the high-maintenance woman Meegan, while Key was her love-whipped boyfriend Andre in various sketches that aired during the Comedy Central series' three-year run.

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"Jordan and I both came up through the Second City system and the ImprovOlympics system in Chicago, and when you go down to Wrigley Field, where the Cubs play, you'd see these very particular kind of women, and these very particular kinds of couples," Key said.

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"It's the woman who's a complete and utter mess, who leaves a disaster and in her wake. And then there's the boyfriend who, for whatever reason, just can't let her go. He can only negotiate his way through the refuse. He can wade through the debris she's dropping everywhere. That became the dynamic for Meegan and Andre. It was very much an observational thing. We saw real Meegans and Andres all the time."

Key, who spent four years at Second City e.t.c., explained the stories behind eight iconic "Key and Peele" sketches to Rolling Stone. The complete series, which aired from 2012-15, was released on DVD this week.

Key and Peele recently starred in the kitten comedy "Keanu." Key's new movie, "Don't Think Twice," was released last month. Peele wrote and directed the upcoming horror film "Get Out."

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Expand Autoplay Image 1 of 126 Woody introduces the gang to a homemade spork toy with self-esteem issues in "Toy Story 4." Read the review. (Pixar / AP)
After Kanye West declared that he is running for president in the 2020 election, Jimmy Kimmel put together a video clip cutting his speech up with those of Donald Trump's. The similarities are amusing.

Kimmel, though, wasn't the first to compare the two.

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As Time noted, "the hip-hop artist and current Republican candidate Donald Trump have been compared for their similar braggadocio and outsider status."

The New York Post published an article headlined, "What Kanye West has in common with Donald Trump."

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TechInsider stated, "Kanye West and Donald Trump have one absurdly powerful trait in common. ... Usually, when a public figure does something outrageously embarrassing or in devastatingly poor taste, they get punished. But in the curious cases of Kanye West and Donald Trump, it's all rewards," words written before Trump's latest battle with Khizr Khan.

The Week, Bustle, Newsday and The Hollywood Reporter have all followed suit.

Trump even addressed these comparisons in a video interview with Rolling Stone.

"Somehow there are comparisons made so often, which is interesting, comparisons with Kanye and myself," he said, "I don't quite get it."

Then he added, "He's actually a different kind of a person than people think. He's a nice guy. I hope to run against him some day."

One piece, a quiz created by CNN asking users to guess if various ego-centric, offensive or downright strange tweets belonged to Kanye West or Donald Trump, is genuinely difficult.

Guess, for example, which one tweeted: "Katy, what the hell were you thinking when you married loser Russell Brand. There is a guy who has got nothing going, a waste!" (Trump.)

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It doesn't seem like it should be. Pit Kanye's tweets against Obama's, Bush's, Clinton's or Reagan's, and the quiz would be easier than tee-ball.

Let's be clear, Trump is no Kanye and Kanye is no Trump. Apart from the fact that one is a petulant pop star and the other a man who might be president, no one thinks Kanye West is a danger to our prosperity, national security and democratic form of government.

But with so many finding sport in comparing their traits, there's definitely "something going on," as Trump likes to say.

But what?

Both men display insatiable egos and the need to live perpetually in the news even though both profess distrust and contempt for the news media.

Kanye has tweeted, "I'd like to address the false stories and noise that have been engineered by the media," while Trump has repeatedly said things like, "We have a media that is so dishonest ... These are among the most dishonest people you will ever, ever meet," going so far to bar The Washington Post (among others) from covering his campaign.

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Both men tweet in astonishingly similar fashions -- a mixture of overwhelming hubris, anger, personal attacks and barely intelligible stream-of-consciousness. Both will say almost anything to get attention.

They even both see themselves as masters of the tweet.

They're particularly adept at taking something that has absolutely nothing to do with them and, somehow, making the overarching public narrative about themselves, often at the expense of others.

A prime example is how both have used national tragedies as a way of garnering headlines.

In 2005, Hurricane Katrina decimated New Orleans, killing more than 1,800 people and causing an estimated $96 billion in damage. During a live NBC telethon to raise money for hurricane victims, Kanye went off-script while standing next to an uncomfortable Mike Myers. Kanye famously concluded, before the feed cut away, "George Bush doesn't care about black people."

Whatever his intentions, Kanye's name filled headlines during one of the country's worst natural disasters. It's important to note that his second record, "Late Registration," came out the day after Katrina struck New Orleans. The telethon came three days later.

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Similarly, Trump's name filled headlines after the deadliest mass shooting in American history, and not because he was offering condolences.

Instead, after a gunman killed 49 people in an Orlando nightclub, Trump used the opportunity to attack President Barack Obama, even seeming to connect him to terrorism.

Whether it's Kanye rapping lines in which he claims he'll have sex with Taylor Swift (while calling her "that b---") or releasing a music video featuring wax figurines depicting people like Swift and former President George W. Bush nude together in bed or Trump insisting that Obama is not American-born, the effect is the same: attention.

For example, two days before the scheduled release of his newest record, "The Life of Pablo," Kanye inexplicably tweeted this:

"BILL COSBY INNOCENT !!!!!!!!!!"

The Web filled with stories about his tweet. They all also mentioned his new record.

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Trump, meanwhile, fueled the "birther" movement, an act which McKay Coppins in a BuzzFeed feature suggested demonstrated to Trump the potential political rewards of being outrageous in the eyes of the "establishment." He wrote:

"While the conspiracy theory was not a hit with the ladies of 'The View,' it delighted conservative voters and cable news bookers alike - and soon Trump found himself climbing in the hypothetical 2012 presidential polls."

Another common trait: When criticized or confronted, both of these men often dodge the substance of the criticism, in favor of declaring the critic somehow ineligible to judge them and therefore to be disregarded, either because, in Trump's case, they're "losers" or "Mexican," or in West's case, because they're white.

After Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg publicly announced her opposition to a Trump presidency, the candidate tweeted this:

"Justice Ginsburg of the U.S. Supreme Court has embarrassed all by making very dumb political statements about me. Her mind is shot -- resign!"

And when some critics didn't like Kanye's newest album, he simply denoted their criticism as invalid:

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"To Pitchfork, Rolling Stone, New York Times, and any other white publication. Please do not comment on black music anymore."

In some ways, the comparison is an insult to Kanye.

Whereas Trump only pretends to donate generously to charity, Kanye actually does. Kanye has a reputation as a generous pop star, helping raise the profile of lesser known artists like then up-and-coming rappers Lupe Fiasco and Chief Keef to shedding light on old greats like British folk jazz musician Labi Siffre with each record. Meanwhile, Trump enjoys taking credit for seemingly everything.

Still, perhaps we can conclude that maybe Trump's campaign offers a sliver of insight into what a Kanye 2020 campaign might actually look like.

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Is this the beginning of the end for Donald Trump?

Sorry, Republicans. It's too late to withdraw your Donald Trump endorsements.







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Expand Autoplay Image 1 of 122 Sophie Turner as Jean Grey, anger management student, in "Dark Phoenix." The film, the latest in the "X-Men" franchise, costars James McAvoy, Michael Fassbender and Jessica Chastain. Read the review. (Twentieth Century Fox)
At one point in "Unelectable You," the very funny new political show at The Second City's UP Comedy Club, the host Cody Dove auctions off the next scene. Pay up, he says, and we'll improvise on anything in the world you want.

It was a smart crowd, careless with its cash: "Bill and Monica" ($3), "Trump University" ($4), "a British pound for Brexit," "Trump visits a proctologist" ($5, not me but could have been me), "the water in Rio" and, wait for it, "Gary Johnson."

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That would be the candidate for the Libertarian Party. That not-so-libertarian, no-bid-returned auction has ticked off a few people, who complained to this newspaper, pre-opening, that Second City was padding its pockets with their good-faith cash, but Dove has now added the line, "We're donating the money to Planned Parenthood, whether you like it or not."

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That funny bit  designed to make the point that pay-for-play is how the American political process works  mostly is a rip-off from a previous Second City show. That greatest-hit repeat is justifiable, perhaps, because "Unelectable You" actually is a made-in-Chicago show designed to tour several cities this fall, in the weeks leading up to the election.

It is a co-branded affair with Slate, which, like many media organizations, is looking to expand its revenue opportunities by showcasing its personalities and producing live events. Ah, the old boundaries are gone!

On Thursday night, the "special guest" from Slate was journalist and Slate news director Allison Benedikt (full disclosure, she used to work at the Tribune), who called in, from Brooklyn. She's a sharp observer and her disembodied voice offered up some of the very same Grade A snark that I used to hear, live, in my right ear, right in our newsroom.

Benedikt was a fun addition (there are others planned from Slate). But when Dove, who is a big, Late Night With-esque talent, starts saying stuff like "Hey, there was a great article on Slate about ...," or when that Slate logo starts to take over on the video board, it begins to feel too much like branded content to moi.

I say total creative freedom must remain sacred on Wells Street, touring show or no touring show. Sure, take a partner, take the check, use the brand, whatever. But don't suck up in the show. Not after all these years, folks.

All that said, I actually think "Unelectable You" deserves to do very well. It's an exceptionally smart and funny show, indicative of the formidable staging chops of Matt Hovde, the el primo director in today's much-morphing Second City. The Mainstage and e.t.c. shows right now actually do not contain much political stuff  these days, those shows run for too many months for that. But in an election year, that's a missed opportunity.

And it leaves a real hole for "Unelectable You," which has been nimble enough to include a scene (with newcomer Tien Tran) about Clint Eastwood.

So, dear reader, over the next month or so, I'd pick this very nonlocal show over both of the major revues, assuming you like to laugh at, say, the revealing Trump-Pence logo, or Bernie Sanders, here looking a lot like a socialist Muppet.

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Or if you live in fear of a dystopic Trump presidency: "What do you think of this abortion bill?" "Pay it."

"The first time he saw me," says Carisa Barreca's Melania Trump, "he looked at me and said, 'you will be my wife.' "

"Hillary did the same to me," says Frank Caeti's sad Bill Clinton, previewing how the former president likely will be characterized in talk shows. For, like, the next eight years.

Owens also does a decent Barack Obama, here seen preening in a parting address. "First off, America," he says, "You're welcome."

Other notable amusements include a live, group phone call placed to Rep. Mike Quigley, some well-earned trashing of comment-board trolls and, in a moment so golden for these Trumpian times that I briefly suspected a fix, the volunteer from the audience elected president during the show turned out to be a visiting actor from Mexico City. He ascended to the Oval Office, Alan Linic's Trump spluttering all the way.

For the record, a preshow poll revealed all of one Republican in the house. One. Wow. Out of a couple of hundred people. Tough times for the party of Abraham Lincoln, although Second City is the least of its current problems.

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Chris Jones is a Tribune critic.

cjones5@chicagotribune.com

Twitter @ChrisJonesTrib

"Unelectable You" - 3.5 stars

When: Through Aug. 28

Where: UP Comedy Club at Second City, 230 W. North Ave.

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Running time: 2 hours

Tickets: $26-$46 at 312-662-4562 or secondcity.com

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Expand Autoplay Image 1 of 122 Sophie Turner as Jean Grey, anger management student, in "Dark Phoenix." The film, the latest in the "X-Men" franchise, costars James McAvoy, Michael Fassbender and Jessica Chastain. Read the review. (Twentieth Century Fox)
Members of the Chicago Police department work at the scene of a double shooting in the 3200 block of North Sheffield Avenue on August 5, 2016, in the Lakeview neighborhood of Chicago. (Erin Hooley / Chicago Tribune)

At least seven people have been wounded in Chicago shootings since Thursday afternoon, police said.

Most recently, two people were shot in Lakeview just before 3:20 a.m. Friday  the third shooting in that neighborhood in the past week.

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A 16-year-old boy and a 25-year-old man were outside in the 3200 block of North Sheffield Avenue when they were each shot in the leg, police said. One of them ran around the corner to Belmont Avenue and came to rest in front of Blackwood BBQ, a witness said. He left a small pool of blood on the sidewalk there next to an overturned garbage can.

Both men went to Advocate Illinois Masonic Medical Center, and their conditions were stabilized.

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Two other men have been shot recently in the North Side neighborhood. A 27-year-old man was critically wounded Monday in an alley just two blocks from Friday morning's shooting. Early Saturday, a 23-year-old man was shot during a confrontation in a lakefront park.

Other shootings:

At 12:05 a.m., a 27-year-old man was robbed and shot in Lawndale. He showed up at Mount Sinai Hospital with a gunshot wound to the back and told investigators he was in the 4000 block of West 13th Street when two people approached him, robbed him and shot him. He was listed in serious condition.

About 11:30 p.m. Thursday, a 39-year-old man was shot in South Austin. He got himself to Mount Sinai Hospital with a gunshot wound to the leg after being shot in the 700 block of North Lavergne Avenue. He was in a parked vehicle when someone inside another vehicle fired shots. The man's condition was stabilized.

About 9:50 p.m., a 20-year-old man was also shot in South Austin. He was in a parking lot in the 5600 block of West Division Street when a male in black clothing walked up and shot him in the right leg. He went to West Suburban Medical Center in Oak Park, and his condition was stabilized.

At 8:20 p.m., a 24-year-old man was shot in the Homan Square neighborhood. He got himself to Mount Sinai Hospital with a gunshot wound to the buttock after being shot in the 3500 block of West Flournoy Street. His condition was stabilized.

About 4:30 p.m., a 17-year-old boy was shot in the Back of the Yards neighborhood. He was in the 4600 block of South Halsted Street when someone shot him in the leg. He was taken to Stroger Hospital, and his condition was stabilized.
Jack McCullough walks out of Judge William Brady's courtroom at the DeKalb County Courthouse in Sycamore, Ill., on April 22, 2016, with Crystal Harrolle, an investigator with the public defender's office. Brady formally dismissed a murder case Friday against McCullough, a retired Washington state police officer, who a prosecutor says was wrongly convicted in the 1957 killing of a 7-year-old Sycamore girl, but he put off a decision on whether to appoint a special prosecutor. (Danielle Guerra / Daily Chronicle)

The murder of young Maria Ridulph almost 60 years ago became further cemented as a cold case Friday when a DeKalb County judge declined a bid to review decisions that freed the man convicted of the girl's slaying.

Judge William Brady decided to not appoint a special prosecutor to re-examine the case against Jack McCullough, who in 2012 was convicted of the 1957 murder of the 7-year-old Sycamore girl and was then freed this spring in a stunning reversal.

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The judge gave a 15-minute explanation why he could not order a review of the actions of State's Attorney Richard Schmack, who became convinced that McCullough was wrongly convicted and then dropped the charges after McCullough's conviction was vacated in April.

Charles Ridulph, Maria's brother, had then asked for the appointment of a special prosecutor, saying Schmack, who was elected after McCullough was prosecuted, had predetermined his innocence.

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But the judge said those assertions failed to meet the "drastic" conflict-of-interest conditions required by law to appoint a special prosecutor. For the court to appoint under a lesser standard would represent the judicial branch overstepping its boundaries, he said.

"There are limitations and it should be done only when it is clearly warranted," Brady said. "And not when there is mere suspicion and speculation."

Schmack, who has argued that he had no conflict of interest, only a disagreement with the Ridulph family, said "the judge ruled correctly."

Charles Ridulph said he was disappointed, though not surprised by the decision, and said an appeal of Brady's ruling is unlikely.

Ridulph said he is hopeful Schmack would be defeated in the November election, and a new chief prosecutor could review the case. Although McCullough, 76, could, in theory, be re-indicted and re-tried by a new prosecutor, Ridulph conceded it would be unlikely.

"It was hard enough the first time," he said.

At the time of conviction in 2012, the McCullough prosecution was believed to be the coldest case in U.S. history to reach trial and result in a guilty verdict.

Maria Ridulph disappeared on the evening of Dec. 3, 1957, from a Sycamore street corner near her family home. Her abduction drew national attention and the involvement of the FBI and Illinois State Police, and it reached a sad conclusion in April 1958 when her remains were discovered in a wooded area in northwest Illinois.

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McCullough, a Seattle-area retiree who was a teenage Sycamore resident in 1957, was charged with the girl's murder in 2011 after the state police reopened the cold case.

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A St. Charles woman, who was Maria's childhood playmate, identified an old photo of McCullough as being the same man who approached her and Maria as they played on a street corner.

In 2012, a judge found McCullough guilty of murder, a conviction that was upheld on appeal.

The imprisoned McCullough filed several post-conviction petitions, and, in response, Schmack undertook a review of the evidence that led him to believe McCullough was innocent.

Ridulph said Friday he remained unconvinced by Schmack's contention that phone records show McCullough was in downtown Rockford about the time Maria disappeared. A special prosecutor could have re-examined Schmack's decisions, Ridulph said.

Ridulph said the apparent conclusion of the story will have a damaging effect on the investigation of cold cases.

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"I believe it has dashed the hopes of many people that state's attorneys are going to take a look at old cases after what happened in DeKalb County," he said.

Clifford Ward is a freelance reporter.
Jordan Cook, 18, escaped from the custody of Cook County sheriff's officers after a court appearance Aug. 4, 2016, and was fired upon by one officer, authorities said. No one was injured, and Cook was recaptured soon after by Chicago police. (Cook County sheriff's office)

A sheriff's officer fired shots at a man facing gun charges who escaped custody Thursday afternoon outside a Cook County branch court in the Fuller Park area, authorities said.

The man, Jordan Cook, 18, was recaptured about 10 minutes after escaping near the branch court at 155 W. 51st St., officials said.

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Cook, who had been at the courthouse to face various weapons-related charges, had been seeking a reduction of his bail amount, Cook County sheriff's spokeswoman Sophia Ansari said.

As prisoners were being loaded into a sheriff's vehicle about 4:30 p.m. to be taken back to Cook County Jail, Cook broke out of line, and a sheriff's officer fired two shots in an attempt to recapture him, Ansari said. No one was injured.

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Cook was captured by Chicago police officers about 4:40 p.m. near 51st and State streets, said Officer Kevin Quaid, a police spokesman.

Cook originally had been arrested about 9:25 p.m. in the 6600 block of South Aberdeen Street on suspicion of unlawful possession of a handgun, according to police records. He was charged with unlawful use of a weapon, reckless discharge of a firearm, and misdemeanor marijuana and ammunition possession, according to court records.

Cook, of the 11900 block of South Lowe Avenue, appeared Thursday before Cook County Judge Sandra Ramos and was indicted on a host of other weapons charges related to the original incident, according to court records. He's due back in court Aug. 11.
After nearly three decades, several attempts, a court battle and opposition by some nearby residents, a Lincolnwood gun shop has been cleared to open a shooting range.

Under court order, Lincolnwood issued a building permit Wednesday to Shore Galleries, allowing the gun dealer to construct a 10-lane shooting range on the second floor of its shop at 3318 W. Devon Ave., just north of the Chicago border.

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"Our hands are tied. We have to adhere to the court order," Village Manager Timothy Wiberg said.

Shop owners sued the village after it denied their most recent request to open the gun range. A Cook County Circuit Court judge sided with the village, which argued the range would violate local zoning code because it did not qualify as a recreational use.

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But owners appealed and won, with a state appeals ruling two years ago that a gun range does qualify as a recreational use, noting that shooting is an Olympic sport. A lawyer for shop owner Mitchell Shore at the time called the ruling "a total vindication of our position."

After a few failed attempts in the late 1980s and 1990s, Shore applied for a permit in 2012 to relocate to a local manufacturing district and add the gun range there. But he withdrew his request after an outcry among some residents because of the site's proximity to schools. Shore then applied for the permit to expand at his current location, eventually leading to the lawsuit.

Throughout the process, residents have signed petitions against the range amid public safety and noise concerns.

The latest court ruling requires the village to apply its 2012 zoning code to the gun range because that's the ordinance that was in effect when Shore applied for the permit.

Since then, Lincolnwood has revised its zoning code to specify where shooting ranges can be built. Wiberg noted that, under the current zoning code, a shooting range would not be allowed at the Devon Avenue location.

Village President Gerald Turry said his main concern is the noise the shooting range could bring to the area, which backs up to homes. But he said the village will closely monitor sound levels and strictly enforce its 65-decibel maximum.

If there's a violation, "we'll make him correct it, and we probably won't let him continue to operate if he doesn't," Turry said.

The village leader added that "most of the people who come to Shore are policemen, or retired military."

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"These days, you don't know anymore, but hopefully it will be law-abiding citizens interested in recreational shooting or honing their skills," he said.

Turry also noted the Shore family has been a local business owner for 60 years.

"The Shore family has been a wonderful family in Lincolnwood so I'm hoping this all works out," he said.

Shore Galleries website states the range will be completed by the end of 2016. It also specifies safety, ventilation and sound abatement features. A man who answered the phone at the shop Thursday declined to comment.

In Chicago, a ban on gun ranges was overturned by a federal appeals court in 2011.

kthayer@chicagotribune.com

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Twitter @knthayer
Members of the Chicago Police Department work near the body of a gunshot victim in the 2100 block of West Devon Avenue on Aug. 6, 2016, in the West Rogers Park neighborhood in Chicago. An 18-year-old man was shot in the chest and pronounced dead at the scene. (Erin Hooley / Chicago Tribune)

Four people were killed, including a 16-year-old boy, and at least 17 other people were wounded in shootings across Chicago between Friday morning and early Saturday, police said.

A 6-year-old boy was playing with a friend in his Park Manor neighborhood when the gunfire that fatally wounded the 16-year-old boy started around the corner.

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Standing with his father Friday afternoon, Zackariah Reed wore a Batman T-shirt and used his fingers to count out how many gunshots he heard.

"That's eight of them," he said. "I don't like gunshots."

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Police investigate the scene where a 16-year-old boy was fatally shot Aug. 5, 2016, in a vacant lot in the 6700 block of Wabash Avenue in the Park Manor neighborhood. (E. Jason Wambsgans)

The fatal shooting Zackariah heard happened about 12:40 p.m. in the 6700 block of South Wabash Avenue, said Officer Bari Lemmon, a Chicago police spokeswoman.

The 16-year-old boy was shot multiple times and was pronounced dead at the scene, Lemmon said. Officials identified the boy as Delance Price, of the 6900 block of South Wabash Avenue.

After the shooting, a handful of officers stood over the teen's body in the back of an overgrown vacant lot between two homes.

Neighbors watched police from their porches as a helicopter hummed over the otherwise quiet block. One woman read a book while sitting on her porch. A man near the end of the block mowed lawns. Next to the vacant lot, two men on a porch shared a cigarette.

Zackariah's father, Victor Reed, 64, said he was inside his apartment making Kool-Aid when he heard the gunfire. He counted 12 to 14 gunshots that could have been fired from three different caliber guns, he said.

A neighbor told Zackariah and his friend to get inside the gate of their apartment complex, Reed said. The children made it to Reed's apartment just as he was going outside to look for them.

"My concern is all the kids being shot," Reed said. "That's what brought me to the window. I came out to look for my baby to make sure he was safe."

Three other people have been killed in Chicago shootings since Friday morning.

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About 4:25 a.m. Saturday, a 29-year-old man was shot multiple times in the head and pronounced dead in the 11600 block of South Torrence Avenue in South Deering. The shooting may have been the result of a home invasion, and investigators are considering it domestic-related, police said. Police initially said he was 25. The medical examiner's office identified the man as Luis Marin, of the 3000 block of East 96th Street in Chicago.

Sometime after 3:10 a.m., a 32-year-old man was killed and another man was wounded in a shooting near the only still-occupied rowhouses of the former Cabrini-Green housing development. Police in the area heard gunfire and responded to the 800 block of North Cambridge Avenue to find a 32-year-old man with gunshot wounds to the head and chest.

The man was later identified as Maurice Selvy, of the 900 block of North Cambridge, according to the Cook County medical examiner's office. He was pronounced dead at 3:11 a.m. at Northwestern Memorial Hospital, according to the medical examiner's office.

Police said that the shooting took place at 3:25 a.m., but that information could not be correct if the medical examiner's pronouncement time was correct.

Members of the Chicago Police Department work at the scene of a fatal shooting in the 800 block of North Cambridge Avenue on Aug. 6, 2016, on the Near North Side in Chicago. A 32-year-old man with gunshot wounds to the head and chest was taken to Northwestern Memorial Hospital and pronounced dead. (Erin Hooley / Chicago Tribune)

Another man, 33, got himself to the same hospital with a gunshot wound to the abdomen after the shooting. He was listed in good condition.

Details about the circumstances of the shooting were scarce, and bystanders at the scene were being uncooperative, according to multiple law enforcement sources.

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At 12:30 a.m. Saturday, an 18-year-old man was killed in West Rogers Park.

He was walking in the 2100 block of West Devon Avenue when someone wearing a gray hoodie and light blue pants fired shots at him. He was shot in the chest and pronounced dead at the scene in the middle of the street, his body covered by a sheet. The Cook County medical examiner's office identified him as Miguel Bahena of the 5600 block of North Campbell Avenue.

A man at the scene described driving east on Devon and noticing Bahena's friend standing, hysterical, in the middle of the road.

"He was standing, screaming, throwing his shirt on the ground," he said.

The young man stayed at the scene of his friend's slaying for hours, with Bahena's blood on his jeans and smeared on his ankle.

At least 16 other people were wounded in Chicago shootings from Friday morning to Saturday morning.

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 Just before 4:30 a.m. Saturday, a 22-year-old woman was shot in Wicker Park. She got herself to West Suburban Medical Center with a gunshot wound to the arm and told investigators she had been shot in the 1200 block of North Ashland Avenue.

 About 2:55 a.m., a 29-year-old man was shot multiple times in South Austin. He was in the 100 block of North Leamington Avenue when someone fired shots from a nearby vehicle. He went to Stroger Hospital with gunshot wounds to both legs and the groin. His condition was stabilized.

 At 1:30 a.m., a 25-year-old man was shot in Lawndale. He was sitting on a crate in the 1300 block of South Lawndale Avenue when someone shot him in both arms. He was taken to Mount Sinai Hospital and his condition was stabilized.

 Just after midnight, a 24-year-old man was shot in South Chicago. He was driving south in the 8100 block of South Kingston Avenue when he was shot in the upper left leg. He was taken to Advocate Christ Medical Center in critical condition.

 At 11:45 p.m. Friday, a 27-year-old man was shot in the 3400 block of West Ogden Avenue in Lawndale. He told police he had been drinking and smoking all day and woke up at Mount Sinai Hospital with a gunshot wound to the left leg. His condition was stabilized.

 At 11:30 p.m., a 17-year-old boy was shot in West Woodlawn. He was in the 6300 block of South Cottage Grove Avenue when someone shot him in the leg; a bullet also grazed him in the back. He went to Northwestern Memorial Hospital and his condition was stabilized.

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 At 11:20 p.m., three men were shot in Logan Square. They were on the sidewalk in the 3800 block of West Diversey Avenue when two people approached from behind and fired shots. An 18-year-old man was shot in the right shoulder and went to Mount Sinai Hospital. A 19-year-old man was shot in the neck and a 21-year-old man was shot in the left arm. They both went to Advocate Illinois Masonic Medical Center. Their conditions were stabilized.

 At 8:30 p.m., a 16-year-old boy was critically wounded in the Humboldt Park neighborhood. He was in the 1000 block of North Harding Avenue when someone fired shots from a passing gray sedan. He went to Stroger Hospital in critical condition with gunshot wounds to the side and hand.

Daywatch Weekdays Start each day with Chicago Tribune editors' top story picks, delivered to your inbox. >

 At 7:10 p.m., a 28-year-old man was shot in the 1200 block of South Western Avenue. He was in a parked vehicle when he got into an argument with some males he did not know, who then shot him in the right arm. He went to Mount Sinai Hospital in good condition.

 About 3:50 p.m., an 18-year-old man was wounded in the right leg in the 1500 block of South Harding Avenue, said Officer Kevin Quaid, a Chicago police spokesman. The boy told police he was standing on the sidewalk when he heard shots and felt pain. He suffered a graze wound and was taken to Mount Sinai in good condition. Officials believe the wound to be self-inflicted.

 About 2:15 p.m. a 22-year-old man was shot in the left leg in the 7000 block of South Eberhart Avenue in the city's Park Manor neighborhood. He was walking in an alley when he heard four shots and felt pain in his leg, Quaid said. He was transported to Stroger, where his condition was stabilized.

 In a separate shooting about 9:20 a.m., a man and woman were wounded in the same neighborhood. That shooting happened in the 6800 block of South Stony Island Avenue, said Officer Nicole Trainor, a Chicago police spokeswoman. The man, 23, was shot in the back of the leg and was taken to Northwestern Memorial Hospital in serious condition. A 32-year-old woman was shot in the back, and someone drove her to the University of Chicago Medical Center in fair condition. Quaid said two male offenders were on bicycles when they saw the male victim and fired shots in his direction. The female victim was leaving a nearby store when she was struck in the shoulder, Quaid said, correcting earlier information that she might have been shot in the back. Both attackers fled the scene and officials did not know what kind of bikes they were riding.

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 Shortly after the South Side shooting, a man in his 30s was shot on the West Side, police said. The victim was shot in the legs, arms and back about 9:35 a.m. in a drive-by in the Lawndale neighborhood, Trainor said. An older model vehicle fired shots in the 1500 block of South Kostner Avenue. The victim was taken in serious condition to Mount Sinai, Trainor said.

No one was in custody, and police were investigating.

The Chicago Tribune's Grace Wong contributed.
A gas station camera at Route 53 and Boughton Road in Bolingbrook captured three vehicles that were stolen overnight: a 2009 Buick Enclave, a 2003 Honda Odyssey and a 2010 Nissan Rogue. Also spotted was O'Neal, along with three others suspected in the thefts.

A 2002 Jaguar XKR convertible is reported stolen, and one of the other stolen cars seen at the gas station is recovered nearby.

 In the video above, and linked here , the Jaguar is seen colliding with a police vehicle at 0:30. Clips from other body and dashcams later in the video also captures the crashes.

O'Neal, driving the Jaguar, drives north on Merrill Avenue. The Jaguar strikes a Chicago police SUV and a parked car just south of 74th after the officers attempted to stop the Jaguar. Two officers opened fire at O'Neal while he was still in the Jaguar, according to police sources.

 The second collision can be seen at about 0:35

As O'Neal continues driving north, the car strikes another police SUV north of 74th and O'Neal flees from the car.

O'Neal is fatally shot while fleeing

O'Neal is shot once in the back, according to the Cook County medical examiner's office. He was unarmed, police said. In videos released by IPRA, O'Neal is shown being handcuffed behind a house just north of both accidents.

A 17-year-old boy who was also in the car was taken into police custody.
UPDATE

States that want to ditch fill-in-the-bubble tests and replace them with new competency-based tests, take stock of how many tests they offer and get rid of those that are redundant, improve scoring, or otherwise bolster their assessment systems will get the chance, thanks to a new grant competition the U.S. Department of Education announced Friday.

The Enhanced Assessment Grants competition will allow states to compete for $8.6 million in funding to help improve their testing systems.

This competition is yet another step in the Obama administrations testing action plan , announced last fall. Applications are due Sept. 22, and the winners will be announced in January. The department is expecting that there will be somewhere in the range of three to six winners.

The Obama administration spent its first six years arguably doubling down on high-stakes standardized tests, by calling on states to tie growth in test scores to teacher evaluations, principal hirings and firings, and more. But about two years ago, the administration began to tilt away from those policies , and towards a push for better, fewer, and smarter tests. And the Democratic nominee, Hillary Clinton, has followed suit.

How does this new competition dovetail with language in the Every Student Succeeds Act allowing a small handful of states to get out from under the requirement that all students take the same test?

There are some similarities, said U.S. Secretary of Education John B. King Jr. on the call with reporters.

But he stressed that the grant competition is more immediate than the flexibility, since it will begin this fall. Most experts expect that the innovative assessment flexibility probably wont be offered until well into the new year.

King said that states that win grants could use them to find new and creative ways of testing students that might involve simulations or projects that could potentially replace annual one-time assessments.

This obviously isnt first time that the feds have poured resources into helping states revamp their assessment systems.

Back in 2010, Obama administration doled out $360 million to two consortia to develop what was supposed to be a new kind of richer, more performance-based test aligned to the Common Core State Standards.

So is the testing competition a sign that the feds have lost confidence in the tests that came out of that effort, PARCC and Smarter Balanced? After all, many states who initially joined those consortia have since backed out.

Nope, said Roberto Rodriguez, a senior White House aide on education issues.

This is not a reflection on that particular investment, he said. Were seeing really great progress. This is not meant to replace that large scale assessment work, its meant to augment and enhance. And he noted that improving testing is an iterative process, with constant refining and tweaking along the way.

UPDATE: The Council of Chief State School Officers praised the new grant program. Students, parents and educators deserve assessments that are high-quality, meaningful and necessary. Thats why state chiefs are committed to assessments that are aligned to high academic standards and offer information to help students improve academically, said Chris Minnich, the groups executive director in a statement. I am pleased the U.S. Department of Education is offering support in these endeavors.

But the National Center on Fair & Open Testing says this program is far too little, way too late. ... After wasting $360 million of taxpayer money to fund two Common Core testing consortia whose products most states have rejected, the Obama Administration is now touting a much smaller $8.6 million pot to divvy up among jurisdictions that want to improve assessment. In fact, many states and districts have already responded to grassroots assessment reform pressure by cutting back testing requirements and reducing high-stakes misuses, the organization wrote.

Follow us on Twitter at @PoliticsK12 .
Chicago police at the scene where a woman was killed in the 4500 block of North Sheridan Road on Wednesday, Aug. 3, 2016. (WGN-TV)

A woman killed in a drive-by shooting Wednesday afternoon in Uptown has been identified, authorities said.

Penny Gearhart, 57, was pronounced dead at 3:48 p.m. Wednesday at Advocate Illinois Masonic Medical Center following the shooting in the 4500 block of North Sheridan Road, according to the Cook County medical examiner's office. Gearhart, who lived nearby in the 4500 block of North Broadway, died from a gunshot wound of the arm that also traveled into her chest, the office determined following an autopsy Thursday.

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Gearhart and 58-year-old man were shot around 3:25 p.m. Wednesday as they stood at Windsor Avenue and Sheridan Road, police said.



A car drove past and someone inside opened fire, according to police. The man was hit in the leg and was in good condition at the same hospital, she said.



Police said earler this week that they were reviewing video but reported no one in custody.
Illinois Gov. Bruce Rauner, seen here in Chicago on July 25, 2016, took action on a number of bills in Springfield on Aug. 5. (Terrence Antonio James / Chicago Tribune)

SPRINGFIELD  Students enrolled in driver's education courses will be required to learn how to respond if they're pulled over by police under a measure Gov. Bruce Rauner signed into law Friday.

The change is aimed at preventing teens from panicking or doing anything that may be interpreted as a red flag by police, which could lead to a standard traffic stop escalating into a more serious situation.

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"I think it's really timely, so that teenagers and young drivers don't look at a police officer as a threat or a problem," said sponsoring Sen. Julie Morrison, D-Deerfield. "It's just a part of driving, and if they respond in a responsible, correct way, it should never escalate."

The new curriculum will be put in place for the 2017-18 school year at private and public schools that offer driver's education classes, or after June 30, 2017, for driver training schools providing instruction to teens younger than 18. It'll be up to the secretary of state's office to develop the specific guidelines.

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The measure was one of dozens of bills Rauner acted on while on vacation with family in Montana.

Another bill approved by Rauner would allow police to carry epinephrine auto-injectors to help those having severe allergic reactions. The measure is named after Annie LeGere, a 13-year-old from Elmhurst who died after having a severe allergic reaction at a sleepover.

The girl's mother, Shelly LeGere, made it her mission to equip first responders, saying the outcome for her daughter could have been different if the police officer who first came to the scene was allowed to carry the injectors.

Other new laws would create a special license plate that would raise funds to develop habitat areas for the monarch butterfly, which has had its numbers dwindle in recent years; and allow grocery stores to consolidate cartons of eggs. Previously, if one egg in a dozen was cracked, the whole carton had to be thrown out.

Rauner vetoed legislation that would have eased residency requirements for students seeking to run for student trustee at the University of Illinois. Current law requires students prove residence in Illinois for at least six months, have a valid driver's license and be registered to vote in Illinois.

The legislation rejected by Rauner would have changed requirements so students would have to meet only one of those factors to be eligible to run. The proposed change was inspired by a student who wanted to run but could not prove he was registered to vote in Illinois. But Rauner said the proposal "goes too far in eroding the residency requirement."

"The University of Illinois is a public institution supported by Illinois taxpayers, and therefore in-state student representation on its Board of Trustees should be a priority," Rauner said in his veto message. "Student trustees have the authority to influence decisions with lasting effects on the University and Illinois taxpayers, so it is therefore important to ensure that student trustees are residents of Illinois."

Sponsoring Sen. Iris Martinez, D-Chicago, said she was disappointed by Rauner's veto.

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"College is about helping students grow inside and outside of the classroom, and it should not be difficult for a student to be allowed to run for a leadership position at their university," Martinez said in a statement. "The governor had a chance to open up opportunities to students, but he unfortunately chose not to do so."

The governor also used his veto pen on a proposal aimed at helping the bottom line for Cook County when it uses private debt collectors to collect delinquent taxes and fees, such as tobacco taxes that went unpaid, or funds from a bad check.

As it stands, debt collectors charge the county fees on that debt, which is passed on to taxpayers. The proposal was aimed at allowing the county to ensure the scofflaw pays that fee, not the county.

Rauner said he could not sign the bill because it would add further burden to homeowners struggling with high property taxes. But supporters said the legislation was not intended to apply to the collection of property taxes. A spokesman for Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle, who backed the bill, said officials will study Rauner's veto message before determining any next steps.

Chicago Tribune's Hal Dardick contributed.

mcgarcia@chicagotribune.com
WASHINGTON  President Barack Obama vigorously denied on Thursday that a $400 million cash payment to Iran was ransom to secure the release of four Americans jailed in Tehran. He defended the transaction as evidence that the nuclear accord with Iran has allowed for progress on other matters.



"This wasn't some nefarious deal," Obama said during a news conference at the Pentagon.



The money was delivered to the Iranian government in January, at the same time the nuclear deal was settled and the Americans were released. The payment was part of a decades-old dispute over a failed military equipment deal dating to the 1970s, before the Islamic revolution in 1979.



Obama also answered political questions at the news conference, pushing back at Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump's suggestions that the November election might be rigged, calling the assertion "ridiculous." He said his advice to Trump, a candidate he has declared "unfit" for the presidency, was to "go out there and try to win the election."



Trump and Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton will soon be receiving classified briefings, giving them access to sensitive information about national security and America's military posture. Asked whether he was worried about Trump having access to such material, Obama said simply that those who want to be president need to start acting like it.



"That means being able to receive these briefings and not spread them around," he said.

The president's appearance before reporters followed an hours-long meeting with military leaders at the Pentagon on the fight against the Islamic State group.



Obama said there have been gains in weakening IS in Iraq and Syria, but he conceded the extremist group still poses a threat to the United States as it shifts its tactics to carrying out attacks elsewhere around the world. While those attacks may result in less carnage, Obama said IS knows they still create "the kinds of fear and concern that elevates their profile."



The rise of the Islamic State has kept Obama tied to the Middle East in a way he had hoped to avoid in his eighth and final year in office. While the U.S. has far fewer troops in the region than when he took office in 2009, Republicans argue that the drawdown of troops from Iraq created a vacuum that allowed the Islamic State to thrive.



Asked whether he feels any personal disappointment about not being able to do more to stop the Islamic State, Obama said "I haven't gotten numb to it. It bugs me."



On Syria, the president criticized Russia's support of government attacks against opposition forces and its sieges of cities such as Aleppo. He accused Russia of failing to take steps to reduce violence in Syria  where a civil war has raged for much of Obama's presidency  but said the U.S. would continue trying to push Moscow to focus on the fight against IS and other extremists.



On Iran, Obama expressed surprise at criticism of his administration's cash payment to settle a longstanding legal claim, adamantly rejecting claims that it was a ransom paid for the release of the four Americans.



He pointed out that the payment, along with an additional $1.3 billion in interest to be paid later, was announced by the administration when it was concluded in January, a day after the implementation of a landmark nuclear agreement with Iran. "It wasn't a secret. We were completely open about it," he said.



Obama allowed that the one piece of new information, first reported this week by The Wall Street Journal, was that the $400 million was paid in cash. It was delivered to Iran on palettes aboard an unmarked plane.

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Members of the National Security Council Meeting, back row, from left, Vice President Joe Biden, President Barack Obama, Defense Secretary Ash Carter, Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Joseph Dunford and Attorney General Loretta Lynch, attend a National Security Council Meeting on the counter to the Islamic State group campaign, Thursday, Aug. 4, 2016, at the Pentagon. (Jacquelyn Martin / AP)

"The only bit of news is that we paid cash," he said. "The reason is because we couldn't send them a check and we couldn't wire the money. We don't have a banking relationship with Iran which is part of the pressure we applied on them."



The payment has revived allegations from Trump and other critics of the Iran nuclear deal. Trump's campaign released a statement Thursday night accusing the administration of a "cover-up" and slamming "Obama's refusal to acknowledge that these funds will end up being used to subsidize terror."



The president's session at the Pentagon occurred as the U.S. was bombing targets in and around the Libyan city of Sirte, a notable expansion of the U.S.-led coalition's military mission against IS. At the urging of the Pentagon, Obama authorized the strikes that started this week and include precision attacks against IS tanks, rocket launchers and fighting positions.



Mired in chaos following the ouster of strongman Moammar Gadhafi in 2011, Libya became a target for IS extremists hoping to build a safe haven outside its initial territory in Iraq and Syria. Though the number of IS fighters in Libya has dwindled, the U.S. is hoping to help Libya's fledgling U.N.-backed unity government finish the job.

Associated Press
Four people, including one child, were pulled from the debris of East Street home in Vernon after an explosion led to its collapse. Three others were injured. (Hartford Courant)

VERNON  Police on Friday morning were still investigating the cause of the blast at a home in Vernon where seven people, including four children, sustained injuries.

As of Friday morning, one of the children had been evaluated and released. The other three children were admitted to the hospital and were being treated for blast injuries, said a medical center spokeswoman. The four children, a 7-year-old, a 15-year-old boy and two girls, ages 11 and 12, were taken to Connecticut Children's Medical Center in Hartford on Thursday night.

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Brendan Campbell, a pediatric surgeon and the director of the pediatric trauma program at the medical center said the remaining three children did not suffer life-threatening injuries and are expected to be OK.

"There could be delayed effects from the injuries so obviously we're watching them very closely," Campbell said.

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A 23-year-old man and 35-year-old woman were treated at Hartford Hospital. A 60-year-old man refused medical treatment.

Volunteer firefighters crawled into the wreckage of a house that exploded and collapsed Thursday afternoon and dug through the debris with their hands to rescue a woman and two boys.

Another team of Vernon volunteer firefighters rescued a man trapped in the front of the shattered house.

Seven people, including four children, were injured when the house at 4 East St. exploded about 4:15 p.m. A 7-year-old boy appeared to suffer the most serious injuries, police said.

The explosion blew out the home's walls and caused the second and first floors to collapse. The house's front door was blown 50 feet across East Street into a neighbor's yard. Shattered glass littered the roadway in front of the house. The cause of the blast is under investigation.

The first Vernon police, firefighters and EMTs to arrive went to work treating the people outside the house and trying to figure out how many more people needed help. There was smoke, dust and confusion in the air.

Vernon Assistant Fire Chief Stan Landry, joined by Lt. Dave Williams and firefighters Rich Harrison, Warren Boulette and Michael Levasseur, went to the rear of the house. The homeowner told them his family was still inside.

"We heard some voices coming from inside the building," Landry said. "We started following voices that were coming from the center of the house."

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The fighters crawled over shattered walls and crushed furniture toward a woman's voice.

"We worked our way down into an area  and at that point she says 'I feel like there's pressure around me,'" Landry said. "We started digging by hand  until the point where we found her."

The woman then pointed to where she thought her son was. The firefighters found him buried headfirst in a pile of debris. They pulled him out, then dug out the younger boy.

The house was unstable and creaking. Some debris was falling. "If we get there and there's a chance of saving people  we take the chance and go in," Landry said.

A man trapped in the front of the house was rescued by another team of Vernon firefighters.

Vernon police Chief James Kenny called the firefighters heroes. "They went in there not knowing if this house was going to come down on them," he said.

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What caused the blast remains under investigation by the state and local fire marshal. The house, according to Vernon tax records, was heated with oil. But there were three propane gas cylinders in the rear of the house that could have been used for cooking.

Eversource Energy gas crews were also at the scene checking for natural gas leaks.

"We don't know what caused this," Vernon police Lt. Bill Meier said.

Some neighbors reported hearing an explosion. Others said they felt a strong rumble.

"I never heard anything like it. It wasn't just a vibration. The house shook," said Alan Fisher, who lives across the street at 5 East St. He said he hurried outside and found the neighbor's house engulfed in dust and smoke. The 11- and 12-year-old girls waited in his front yard with cuts on their faces until EMTs arrived to care for them, Fisher said.

Victoria Walling, who lives at the nearby Loom City Lofts, said she heard a loud boom and thought a vehicle struck her building.

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Although police and firefighters believed all in the house were accounted for, they asked a state urban rescue team to check the collapsed house. The group's 47 members divided into three teams and searched the debris with dogs and cameras that could be extended into the debris. No additional victims were found.

Investigators and firefighters expected to remain on East Street through the night. By 10 p.m. the focus had turned to finding a cause of the blast. Federal agents from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the Drug Enforcement Administration were also at the scene, Meier said.

Gov. Dannel P. Malloy visited the scene late Thursday to meet with first responders and search-and-rescue crew team members.

Courant staff writer Sandra Gomez-Aceves contributed to this report.
Washington states battle-scarred charter school law is being challenged once again in court.

After being struck down by the states supreme court last fall and then resurrected by the legislature this spring, a group of parents backed by several organizations including the largest states teachers union, has filed a lawsuit this week challenging the constitutionality of charter schools.

The move doesnt come as a surprise. The Washington Education Association, which was a plaintiff in the last lawsuit, signaled soon after the legislature passed a bill this spring tweaking the charter law, that there would likely be another lawsuit .

The Tangled History of Washingtons Charter School Law

The original law allowing for charter schools in Washington was passed by voter referendum in 2012.

After a tour through lower courts, the states high court ruled the law unconstitutional last September on the grounds that charters did not qualify as common schoolsbasically, public schoolsbecause they were not overseen by locally elected school boards and, therefore, were not eligible to draw money from the general fund.

A bill that changes the funding source for charters and imposes more regulations on them, among other things, barely squeezed out of the legislature by the end of the session this spring. Although Gov. Jay Inslee did not sign the bill , he did not veto it, and it became law in April.

This latest lawsuit argues that the law still diverts crucial public dollars away from traditional district schools. The same year voters passed the ballot initiative to create charters, the states supreme court ruled in a case called McCleary v. Washington that lawmakers were failing to adequately fund public education.

That rulingand the legislatures failure to act on ithas led to the high court levying a daily $100,000 fine on the state, and the state superintendent to sue the state and seven school districts all in an attempt to goad lawmakers into addressing the funding problems.

Washington was a fairly late adopter of charter schoolsonly a handful of states, in mostly rural parts of middle America, remain without charter laws.

The legal fight over the constitutionality of charter school funding in Washington state may have inspired a separate lawsuit in Mississippi , another recent comer to the charter sector. The Southern Poverty Law Center announced a similarly-styled challenge to the states charter law last month.

Related Stories:
As the U.S. Supreme Court considers taking up a case about transgender student rights , many schools are asking questions about how to address the unique concerns posed by students who publicly transition between gender identities.

The question of schools legal obligations to transgender students has been the subject of sharp debate in recent months, and nearly half of all states are now in lawsuits with the Obama administration over the issue.

While much of the public focus has been on the bathrooms and locker rooms transgender students are allowed to use , the students themselves say belonging at school after a gender transition involves a much broader array of issues, such as having teachers and peers change the pronouns and names they use, and acceptance of new dress and hair styles.

Being trans is about so, so much more than the bathroom issue, Kentucky student Maddie Dalton told our Education Week team when we profiled her in a piece for PBS Newshour earlier this year.

While some schools are awaiting further legal clarity before they change their policies, some have alrady done so.

Daltons high school in Louisville worked with her to adjust its policies when she began identifying as female. Because Dalton, her teacher, and her principal all had such interesting personal insights on the experience, weve compiled this interactive collection of bonus videos that may help educators and administrators understand the transgender-student experience. They include Daltons thoughts on her own transition, insights from a teacher who leads her schools Gay-Straight Alliance, an explanation from her principal of the schools policy changes, and our original PBS Newshour piece.

If youd like separate, shareable video links, you can access them here:

Related reading on transgender students:

Follow @evieblad on Twitter or subscribe to Rules for Engagement to get blog posts delivered directly to your inbox.
North Carolina Vows to Appeal Voter ID Ruling -- Without AG Cooper

North Carolina is going to appeal the last week's predictable ruling that overturned the state's photo ID law, and it's going at it alone without its attorney general.

Yes, it's dissent within the ranks. North Carolina AG Roy Cooper has said that the state tried its hardest to defend the controversial photo ID law -- but it lost. Now his involvement in the suit has come to an end. Governor Pat McCrory almost immediately denounced Cooper (who will challenge him for his position in November) by painting the latter as a turncoat.

It's That Time of ... Election?

Nobody is daft enough to believe that the timing of any of these voter ID cases has nothing to do with the upcoming elections, an vacant seat in the Supreme Court, and the overall political rancor on Capitol Hill which has only gotten worse with time.

McCrory has vowed that the ruling will be appealed, but that the parties are trying to decide how best to proceed. Paper or plastic? En banc or SCOTUS cert. petition?

Benedict Cooper?

Seeing as Cooper is McCrory's opponent in the upcoming gubernatorial race, it makes sense that the sitting governor would want to paint the attorney general as something of a Benedict Arnold. In a news conference, McCrory used the ruling to stand on his soapbox and go Trump on Cooper. "We're very disappointed to hear that again his office is not willing to do his job. In fact, I question whether he should even accept a paycheck from the state of North Carolina anymore because he continues to not do his job, as his oath of office requires him to do."

Cooper: The Bottom Line

Cooper seems to have taken a more "let the crumbs fall where they may" sort of approach. "The bottom line is people will have more opportunities to register and vote," he said. In his view, the laws were designed to encourage people to vote anyway.

We can obviously see how taking his stance might benefit him in a few months.

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Univ. of Texas Professors Try to Ban Guns in Their Classrooms

On the 50th anniversary of one of the deadliest campus shootings in U.S. history, which incidentally happened at the state's premier university, a Texas law went into effect allowing students to carry guns into classrooms. Not everyone was pleased with the new legislation, however, least of all professors at the University of Texas. Three of them sued the school and the state, asking for the law to be overturned or to be allowed to ban guns in their classrooms.

Those professors were in court yesterday, arguing that permitted firearms in class would chill the free speech rights of both students and teachers. So how will those rights be balanced with the right to bear arms of others?

Lone Star Gun Laws

To be clear, the Texas law does not allow open carry on campuses, and only permits concealed handgun license holders 21 and over to bring handguns into classrooms. That cuts out a large portion of undergraduate college kids, as well as open carry, and professors can ban weapons from their private offices.

"There is no legal justification to deny licensed, law-abiding citizens on campus the same measure of personal protection they are entitled to elsewhere in Texas," Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton said in a statement this week. Both the state and the school are pushing back against the professors: Anna Mackin, an attorney for the university, argued that the school should be able to discipline or terminate professors who banned guns in their classroom, as they would be violating state law.

Don't Mess With Educational Dialogue

The professors, on the other hand, contend that they touch on some testy issues during classroom discussions, and the thought of college-aged kids carrying firearms into those classrooms would inevitably alter those discussions. Their lawsuit claims, "Compelling professors at a public university to allow, without any limitation or restriction, students to carry concealed guns in their classrooms chills their First Amendment rights to academic freedom." And Renea Hicks, a lawyer for the professors, told U.S. District Judge Lee Yeakel, "They don't fear, they know that the presence of guns in their classrooms ... would squelch (academic) discussions."

When passing the bill last year, Republican lawmakers argued that the campus carry law could help prevent future mass shootings. But there is little evidence to support that claim. An armed veteran who was on Oregon's Umpqua Community College campus during a mass shooting last year explained he didn't get involved because "we could have opened ourselves up to be potential targets ourselves, and not knowing where SWAT was, their response time, they wouldn't know who we were. And if we had our guns ready to shoot, they could think that we were bad guys."

And the University of Texas's own System Chancellor, former Retired Adm. William McRaven -- who just so happens to be a former Navy SEAL who coordinated the raid that killed Osama bin Laden -- lobbied against the campus carry law, telling lawmakers that allowing guns on campus would make them "less safe." Classes at UT begin on August 24 and both sides are hoping to have an answer before then.

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We would like to meet the ethnic armed groups (TNLA, MNDAA and AA) in the coming days. We are yet to decide the venue but it would be somewhere in Mongla, added Khing Zaw Oo.

It may be mentioned that TNLA, MNDAA and AA cadres have been involved in various military and political alliances. Many clashes among themselves and also with the Tatmadaw were reported in northern Shan and Rakhine State last year.

TNLA, MNDAA and AA are still excluded from the ongoing peace process as they allegedly denied to follow the peace guidelines, laid down by the Union Government in Nay Pyi Taw. The Burma Army accused that all these ethnic armed groups did not prefer to disarm their forces before joining the peace process.

Arakan Army is recognized as the largest armed group in Arakan which participated in the plenary session of ethnic armed organizations held in Mai Ja Yanng of Kachin State on 26 to 30 July 2016, where of course TNLA and MNDAA did not participate. The meeting discussed various issues emerging after the Union Governments preparation to organize the 21st Century Panglong Peace Conference.
AirAsia Bhd, Asia's biggest budget airline, will kick off the sale of a majority stake in its plane leasing unit this month, a deal that could value the business at about US$1 billion, people familiar with the matter said.

The Malaysia-based carrier, headed by tycoon Tony Fernandes, has hired three investment banks to run the sale of the Asia Aviation Capital stake, the people said. They declined to be identified as the discussions were confidential.

The deal would help AirAsia boost its finances and slash debt after it faced criticism last year for its accounting practices.

At an overall valuation of US$1 billion, the sale would be significant for a carrier with a market capitalization of US$2 billion.

AirAsia declined to comment.

The airline plans to tap potential suitors including the leasing units of China's HNA Group, China Merchants Bank, and the aviation leasing company backed by Hong Kong billionaire Li Ka-shing for the sale, the people familiar with the matter said.

AirAsia was also open to selling the unit completely, they said, and its final valuation could change depending on how talks with potential buyers proceed. The people said the carrier is considering paying down debt or paying a special dividend from the proceeds.

They said AirAsia expects to complete it by early next year.
Chinese Director of African Affairs Lin Songtian talks with African journalists at the coordinators' meeting, which ended in Suzhou, Jiangsu Province, on July 31. [Photo by Mary Poni Yugu/China.org.cn]

Chinese investors have identified a number of challenges that have led to a slowdown in the pace of development projects in Africa.

This statement came from the Chinese Director of African Affairs, Mr. Lin Songtian.

He maintained that the key players have changed from governments to private sector and financial institutions, which are ready and eager to invest in Africa.

"It's because of these changes that we call for projects that are visible, productive and sustainable, as win-win cooperation is very promising," he said.

Lin also said that these projects were signed to support each other in infrastructure, industrialization, agriculture and other fields, so that the various governments can raise money to pay back previous loans.

In conclusion, he stressed that China will not allow African governments to receive loans for free as it will be a burden on their budgets while they embark on intensive development projects.
Participants pose for a group photo during a meeting of G20 finance ministers and central bank governors in Chengdu, capital of southwest China's Sichuan Province, July 24, 2016. [Photo/Xinhua]

China plans to map out a landmark agenda in a bid to boost the global economy during the upcoming G20 Summit, which will be hosted for the first time in the country in less than a month.

The summit will concentrate on solutions that can bring an end to the economic problems that have been afflicting the world since 2008, echoing the meeting's slogan: "Toward an innovative, invigorated, interconnected and inclusive world economy".

During the past few years, the recession has impaired the progress of developed economies, deterred the growths of emerging economies and impacted global trade.

The highly anticipated summit will focus on macro-economic, fiscal and financial policies from around the world. Ruan Zongze, the deputy director of China Institute of International Studies, said he hopes they will make a concerted effort to combat the rise of trade protectionism while highlighting common concerns and mutual assistance.

Before the summit, China convened three meetings between summit coordinators, financial ministers and chiefs of central banks to outline structural reforms spearheaded in nine major areas following 48 guiding principles.

China will also try to push forward international economic governance reform by extending the roles of emerging markets in global financial institutions.

On the G20 platform, China has proposed the idea of building an orderly, fair, just, and inclusive world taxation system. Meanwhile, within Chinas endeavor, the G20 members agree to commit to the expansion of infrastructure construction for middle and-long-term economic growth.

Bringing new impetus to the world economy, the new industrial revolution and associated digital technologies, joint efforts in protesting trade protectionism and plans for the sustainable development are other issues that will be deliberated.
Police in China's southern city of Nanning fined two hotels 100,000 yuan (15,000 U.S. dollars) each for not registering guests' identifications, citing China's Counterterrorism Law.

Police in Nanning, capital of Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, told Xinhua that it was the first time that they had used the law to punish any hotels.

Article 21 of China's Counterterrorism Law stipulates that telecommunications, Internet, finance, accommodation, long-distance passenger transport, motor vehicle leasers, and other business service providers must register client identities. They must not provide services to any client whose identity is not clear or those who refuse identity checks.

The two hotels were caught using random checks, which showed they were not registering guests' identifications, Nanning police said.
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Police in south China's Guangdong Province have busted an illegal fund-raising gang, with seven suspects detained. [Photo / CNS]

Police in south China's Guangdong Province have busted an illegal fund-raising gang, with seven suspects detained, local police said Thursday.

The major suspect, surnamed Wang, used the Internet to raise public funds with promises of high returns, according to the Public Security Bureau of Guangzhou, Guangdong's capital.

Wang promoted "investment projects" in gold mine, real estate and health-keeping to the public, which drew about 770 million yuan (116 million U.S. dollars) since February 2015, police said.

The police said the gang operated in a pyramid selling way, and most of the victims' money ended up being controlled by Wang.
A spokesman for the State Council Taiwan Affairs Office on Thursday stressed that talks and arrangements for Taiwan's participation in international organizations must be based on the one-China principle.

Ma Xiaoguang made the remarks in response to a question about Taiwan's wish to attend the 39th session of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) Assembly.

"Our position is clear and consistent. That is such participation must be arranged through negotiations between the mainland and Taiwan based on the one-China principle," Ma said.

Ma said that since 2008, the mainland has made practical arrangements regarding Taiwan's participation in some international organizations and activities through negotiations with the island. Such arrangements were achieved on the basis of both sides adhering to the "1992 Consensus" and under the precondition that they would not cause "two Chinas" or "one China, one Taiwan."

The spokesman went on to say that Taiwan's authorities have yet to recognize the "1992 Consensus" or its essence, leading to a standstill of cross-Strait communication, "Taiwan bears full responsibility for this situation."

"Only by recognizing the political basis of one China could the two sides continue their institutional exchanges and make talks on Taiwan's participation in international organizations possible," Ma said.

The civil aviation authorities of Taiwan were invited to send staff as non-voting delegates to attend the ICAO Assembly's 38th session in 2013, after the mainland and Taiwan exchanged views on this issue.
The twin pandas are shown in this photo taken on Thursday, Aug 4, 2016. [Photo/chinanews.com]

A 10-year-old giant panda from the China Wolong Giant Panda Protection and Research Center gave birth to a pair of twins at a nature reserve in southwest China's Sichuan Province during the early hours of Thursday.

The newly born cubs are the heaviest newborn panda twins to ever have been born since weighs have been recorded. The male and female cubs weigh 181.7 grams and 220g, said Luo Bo, an official with the center's Bifengxia Panda Base in Ya'an City.

Generally, cubs weigh around 150g, according to Luo, who also noted that it is rare to find twins that both weigh more than 180g.

"The increasing weight of newborn cubs shows that the mothers are healthy and eating well," said Luo.

Follow China.org.cn on Twitter and Facebook to join the conversation.
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The Argentine government will put in place a plan to receive 300 Syrian refugees in the coming months, local media reported Thursday.

"The original announcement was to bring 3,000 refugees that were escaping the war in Syria. However, yesterday it was decided ... to advance gradually towards this ambitious plan, taking all the necessary steps in terms of security," said local daily La Nacion.

The publication, which cited the Government Palace and the Foreign Affairs Ministry, said the idea is to establish a team of advanced experts, intelligence agents and non-governmental organizations from Arab communities in Lebanon to carry out a vetting process for Syrian refugees.

The Syrian refugee plan will be one of the topics of the meeting between Argentina's President Mauricio Macri and U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry who is in the country for an official 24-hour visit, La Nacion said.

In July, Argentine Foreign Minister Susana Malcorra said she was "talking with the EU and the United States, because if they (financially) accompany (Argentina), it will make it easier" to receive refugees.

For over a century, Argentina has had an extensive Syrian community, which has mainly established themselves in the northwest of the South American country in provinces such as La Rioja, Catamarca and Tucuman.
When computer security expert and hardcore traveller Przemek Jaroszewski found that he couldn't enter an airline lounge in Warsaw because the automated reader mistakenly rejected his boarding card, he wrote a 600-line Javascript program that generated a QR code for "Batholemew Simpson," a business-class traveller on a flight departing that day.



It worked  and kept on working. In a presentation at Defcon, Jaroszewski showed how he was able to use the tactic to gain entry to lounges across Europe, exploiting the fact that the lounges' entry systems did not cross-check entrants with passenger manifests from the airplanes.

Ten years ago, computer science student Chris Soghoian won himself an FBI visit by creating a boarding-card generator that would get him through airport security. Soghoian is now chief technologist for the ACLU, and US aviation checkpoints now verify boarding cards by checking for a cryptographic signature from TSA  which means that Jaroszewski's hack will get ticketed, checked passengers into lounges, but won't let randos into airports.

Jaroszewski won't release his sourcecode, because he fears an FBI visit of his own, but he says it's easy enough to recreate. He also hasn't tried his attack against US airport lounges.



While traveling through airports, we usually don't give a second thought about why our boarding passes are scanned at various places. After all, it's all for the sake of passengers' security. Or is it? The fact that boarding pass security is broken has been proven many times by researchers who easily crafted their passes, effectively bypassing not just 'passenger only' screening, but also no-fly lists. Since then, not only security problems have not been solved, but boarding passes have become almost entirely bar-coded. And they are increasingly often checked by machines rather than humans. Effectively, we're dealing with simple unencrypted strings of characters containing all the information needed to decide on our eligibility for fast lane access, duty-free shopping, and more With a set of easily available tools, boarding pass hacking is easier than ever, and the checks are mostly a security theater. In my talk, I will discuss in depth how the boarding pass information is created, encoded and validated. I will demonstrate how easy it is to craft own boarding pass that works perfectly at most checkpoints (and explain why it doesn't work at other ones).



How to get good seats in the security theater? Hacking boarding passes for fun and profit.

[Przemek Jaroszewski/Defcon]

Fake Boarding Pass App Gets Hacker Into Fancy Airline Lounges [Andy Greenberg/Wired]





(Photo: Andy Greenberg)
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Brazil's Senate impeachment commission on Thursday recommended the full Senate remove suspended President Dilma Rousseff in an impeachment trial for alleged fiscal irregularities.

The report, compiled by Senator Antonio Anastasia, from the Brazilian Social Democracy Party (PSDB), received 14 votes in favor, five against and one abstention by the commission members, who are in charge of looking into the case against Rousseff.

On Aug. 9, the document will be sent to the entire Senate for a vote. Should the commission report be endorsed by a simple majority (41 votes out of 81), Rousseff will face a full impeachment trial later in August.

The report said Rousseff committed a "crime against the Constitution," by delaying government payments to banks and asking for additional loans from public banks without seeking Congressional approval.

The irregularities allegedly committed by Rousseff were linked to the deep economic crisis currently affecting Brazil, it added.

"The fiscal manipulations used to expand spending have led to a loss of trust among economic players, investors and the general population. Today, Brazil has lost its investment grade rating from the main credit rating agencies," said the report.

Rousseff was suspended from the presidency on May 12 for up to 180 days, with Vice-president Michel Temer taking over in an interim capacity.

Should Rousseff be permanently impeached, Temer will complete her mandate until late 2018 and Rousseff will be banned from public office for eight years.
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France sent home an Algerian who was suspected of having ties with terrorist networks, the interior ministry said on Thursday.

Addelkarim Mostefai was detained as soon as he had been spotted in French territory and was sent back to Algeria "given the serious threat" he may cause to the public order, the ministry said in a statement.

It also said the government is working to improve intelligence services and reinforce controls at borders.

Since 2012, some 80 people have been expelled as part of the country's security policy to handle growing terrorist risks.

Since Paris attacks in November 2015, the government has raised security alert to the highest level out of fears for recurring attacks, with security measures tightened at transport hubs, religious sites and department stores.
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Iran's Kurdistan province judiciary said Thursday that a number of Sunni Kurdish rebels who had killed local officials and civilians were executed recently, semi-official Mehr news agency reported.

The Takfiri members of the "Tawhid and Jihad" group committed the crimes in 2009, the judiciary said in a statement, adding that they were hanged on Tuesday morning.

Takfiri groups, in Iran's political and religious terminology, refers to the extremist Sunni Muslims.

The statement did not specify the number of the executed men, but some western media put the number at least at 20.

The terrorist acts of the "Tawhid and Jihad" group resulted in the death of 21 officials and people in Iran's Kurdistan province. They also injured 40 others in their terrorist operations, according to the statement.

On Wednesday, Iran's Intelligence Ministry said that it had dismantled a "terrorist" cell in 2012, in the western province of Kurdistan suspected of attacks on local officials and security forces.

The members of the "Tawhid and Jihad" group had killed 20 Iranian officials and people, injured 40 others, and were involved in armed robbery during the past years, the ministry said in a statement.

Some of the cell members were killed and some others were arrested in clashes with police and security forces, it said, adding that some of those who were arrested were executed recently.

Iran's seven million Kurds make up around 10 percent of the population. Most of them live in Kurdistan and other northwestern provinces on the border with Iraq. Many Kurds seek greater rights for their region.

The area has seen increased clashes between Kurdish militants and government security forces in recent months.
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China on Thursday vowed to deepen economic and trade cooperation with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).

The pledge was made during the 15th China-ASEAN (10+1) economic ministers' meeting which was held in the Lao capital on Thursday.

Speaking at the meeting, Chinese Minister of Commerce Gao Hucheng highlighted the fruitful cooperation between China and ASEAN over the past 25 years.

He said bilateral cooperation in trade and economy has all along been a "ballast" and "propeller" in China-ASEAN dialogue relationship.

Pointing out that there is immense potential for cooperation in industrial capacity between China and ASEAN, the Chinese minister called for more efforts in this regard and building cross-border industrial chains.

China stands ready to work with ASEAN on cluster cooperation in such fields as railway, information and communication, chemical industry, engineering machinery and agriculture, he said, adding that enterprises from both sides are encouraged to carry out all-round cooperation.

The Chinese minister called for greater synergy between China-proposed Belt and Road Initiative and development strategies of ASEAN member countries.

He said the two sides should actively implement projects in related areas for mutual benefit and win-win results.

Gao expressed China's willingness to support ASEAN's community construction and the ASEAN Community Vision 2025 as well as to participate in the region's integration.

He said China will continue to provide development assistance as its capacity allows and help narrow the development gaps between ASEAN member countries.

China will also participate in the formulation and implementation of the master plan on ASEAN's connectivity and its post-2015 agenda, he added.

According to Gao, China will vigorously promote China-East ASEAN Growth Area cooperation and the Lancang-Mekong cooperation and provide financial support via platforms like China-ASEAN Investment Cooperation Fund, the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank and the Silk Road Fund.

China will support ASEAN's centrality in pushing forward the conclusion of negotiations for the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) by the end of this year, he said.

China is also willing to expand cooperation areas with ASEAN by supporting economic and trade cooperation between China's provincial areas and ASEAN member countries, he added.

A joint communique on industrial capacity cooperation was approved at the meeting and it will be submitted to a commemorative summit marking the 25th anniversary of China-ASEAN dialogue relationship in September this year.
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U.S. President Barack Obama warned on Thursday the extremist group Islamic State (IS) continued to act behind lone-wolf attacks across the world.

"On the ground in Syria and Iraq, ISIL continues to lose territory. Tragically, however, we have also seen that ISIL still has the ability to direct and inspire attacks," said Obama at a press conference at Pentagon, referring to another acronym of the extremist group.

"In fact, the decline of ISIL in Syria and Iraq appears to be causing it to shift to tactics that we've seen before, an even greater emphasis on encouraging high profile terrorist attacks, including in the United States," said Obama.

According to Obama, unlike al-Qaeda, which had a much more centralized operation and tried to plan very elaborate attacks, the IS opted to inspire lone-wolf attackers whose less complicated attacks were harder to detect and prevent.

"What ISIL has figured out is that if they can convince a handful of people, or even one person to carry out an attack on a subway or at a parade ... and kill scores of people as opposed to thousands of people, it still creates the kinds of fear and concern that elevates their profile," said Obama.
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A U.S. drone strike targeted suspected militants of the Yemen-based al-Qaida offshoot at a checkpoint in Yemen's southeastern province of Shabwa on Thursday, leaving four killed, a security official told Xinhua.

"About four al-Qaida militants were killed and three others injured when their own tent and a checkpoint were targeted by U.S. missiles in Azzan town of Shabwa province," the Yemeni security source said on condition of anonymity.

Residents confirmed to Xinhua that U.S. drones kept hovering over the airspace of Azzan for several hours and huge blasts were heard in the area.

Elsewhere in Yemen's southern part, suspected al-Qaida militants hurled grenades on two police stations in the port city of Aden, causing only material damages.

According to government officials, large Yemeni-Saudi military preparations continued in Aden on Thursday to launch a new anti-terror offensive to flush out al-Qaida militants from Abyan in the upcoming days.

Last December, gunmen of the al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) took full control over two strategic towns in Abyan, about 45 km from Aden, where Yemen's internationally recognized government is based.

Yemen, an impoverished Arab country, has been gripped by one of the most active regional al-Qaida insurgencies in the Middle East.

The AQAP, also known locally as Ansar al-Sharia, emerged in January 2009. It had claimed responsibility for a number of terrorist attacks on Yemen's army and government institutions.

It took advantage of the current security vacuum and the ongoing civil war to expand its influence and seize more territories in Yemen's southern part.

Security in Yemen has deteriorated since March 2015, when war broke out between the Shiite Houthi group, supported by former President Ali Abdullash Saleh, and the government backed by a Saudi-led Arab coalition.

More than 6,400 people have been killed in ground battles and airstrikes since then, half of them civilians.
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A joint Syrian-Russian airstrike killed 40 rebels in the northern province of Aleppo Thursday, a military source told Xinhua.

The airstrikes as well as artillery shelling targeted a position of the rebels near the town of Khan Touman in the southern countryside of Aleppo, as the rebels were bracing to attack the Syrian military positions near that area, said the source on condition of anonymity.

The military forces received information about an imminent rebel attack in that area, the forth to be planned against the Syrian army, the source added.

Ahead of the airstrikes, rebels announced the launch of phase four of their attack to break the recently-imposed siege by the Syrian army on rebel-held areas in the eastern part of Aleppo city.

On Tuesday, the state news agency SANA said Syrian warplanes carried out 100 airstrikes against rebel positions in southern Aleppo, bringing to a halt the third phase of the rebel attack.

Late last month, the Syrian army stormed the Bani Zaid area, a main rebel stronghold in the eastern part of Aleppo.

The progress came days after the army severed the last rebel supply route connecting rebel-held areas in the northern countryside of Aleppo, with rebel-controlled parts in the eastern part of the city.

Severing the Castello road has dealt a strong blow to the rebels inside Aleppo.

With the progress made, the Syrian army has fully besieged eastern Aleppo, urging the rebels to surrender themselves and the civilians to cooperate.

Moreover, President Bashar al-Assad announced an amnesty for the rebels who surrender themselves and their weapons to the authorities.

The Syrian authorities in cooperation with the Russians also opened three safe passages for civilians wishing to leave eastern Aleppo. They also opened a fourth one for the rebels who would want to surrender themselves.

On Tuesday, state news agency SANA said dozens of families evacuated eastern districts in Aleppo, the second batch to leave the city since the government offered the safe passages.

SANA also said rebel fighters surrendered themselves to the authorities. Video clips of rebels surrendering were aired on several Syrian TVs.

With the Syrian army making all this progress in Aleppo, the rebels, including jihadi ones, unleashed several attacks over the past week to try to break the government-imposed siege.

However, all of their efforts have been rendered flat so far, as the government siege on rebel-held areas is still in place.

Aleppo, Syria's largest province and once a thriving economic metropolis, has witnessed intensified violent battles lately as the Syrian army advances against the rebels in the north.
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South Sudan hopes to use a regional summit of the Inter-Governmental Authority on Development (IGAD) to be held in Ethiopia to shore up the faltering peace agreement and back its rejection of foreign troops after recent clashes in Juba.

The deputy minister of information, Paul Akol told Xinhua in an interview on Thursday that the country will send a high level delegation on Friday to the summit led by its recently inaugurated first vice President Taban Deng Gai to Addis Ababa.

"We have received the invitation to attend IGAD extra-ordinary summit on South Sudan, but should they raise issue on foreign intervention, we shall not accept because the peace agreement is holding," Akol revealed.

IGAD is an eight-country bloc in Africa comprising Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia, Sudan, South Sudan and Uganda.

The leaders of its member countries are due to meet in Addis Ababa, for an extra-ordinary summit on the situation in South Sudan on Friday.

The summit comes in the wake of fresh fighting on July 8-11 between rebel forces, the Sudan People's Liberation Army-in opposition (SPLA-IO) led by sacked first vice President Riek Machar and troops loyal to President Salva Kiir that has left the signed August 2015 peace agreement in tatters after Machar fled the capital Juba with his troops.

The rebel leader was replaced in controversial circumstances as first vice President with Deng.

President Kiir cited Article 6.4 of the IGAD-brokered agreement to fill the position left behind by the elusive rebel leader.

Machar has since called for deployment of a third force to separate the two forces from fighting but President Kiir has since rejected any deployment of additional foreign troops, arguing that the 12,000 United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) peacekeeping force is strong.

The July fighting killed 272 people and forced about 60,000 South Sudanese into neighboring countries.

The number of refugees, according to the United Nations Refugee agency (UNHCR) has arrived at 900,000 since outbreak of the December 2013 conflict.

Meanwhile, Presidential spokesman Ateny Wek Ateny said they were willing to work with the regional leaders to sort out the intricate issues prevailing in the country, despite reiterating rejection of foreign troops.

"We have communicated and have written to them (IGAD) but they have not yet responded to us," Ateny said.

IGAD, AU and the UN have called for the deployment of third force to guard key government institution and act as the buffer zone between the two rival armies in July.

The regional countries are due to hold a summit in Ethiopia on Friday to finalise plans to send troops from East African countries to Juba.

But Juba has maintained that the action is not acceptable since it is not within the mandate of the organizations.

"There is no regional force going to come to South Sudan. They are coming to protect Machar who is not here. And if to protect the people we can protect them," Ateny vowed.
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Nearly 300 Hamas prisoners declared a hunger strike on Thursday after the Israeli Prison Service (IPS) cracked down on two prisons where they were held, the IPS said Thursday.

The prisoners were moved and reshuffled from two wings at the Nafah prison and the Eshel prison, both located in southern Israel, due to possible illicit communications between prisoners, IPS spokesperson Assaf Libarati said.

IPS guards will continue to scan the prisons and interrogate suspects in the upcoming week to determine the nature of these communications, which are done through mobile phones and carriers, Palestinian media reports.

Tensions started to arise around the Nafah prison by the end of 2015, when guards uncovered a network for smuggling mobile phones into the penitentiary, reported Times of Israel website citing a senior IPS official.

Guards then used stricter measures and started separating prisoners in order to disrupt the smuggling, the official was cited as saying.

There are more than 5,000 Palestinian prisoners jailed in Israel over security charges. About 1,700 of them are thought to be members of Hamas.

Many Palestinians view the Palestinian prisoners as freedom fighters combating the Israeli occupation.

Israel occupied the West Bank, East Jerusalem and Gaza Strip territories, where Palestinians wish to establish a state, in the 1967 Mideast War.

Israel's government passed a controversial measure last year enabling the forced feeding of hunger strikes at risk of death, fearing a death of a Palestinian prisoner would spark unrest and deteriorate the already-tense situation between Israelis and Palestinians.
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A special Lebanese army unit raided a post of the Islamic State (IS) outside the northeastern border town of Arsal on Thursday and arrested several terror suspects.

"An army intelligence patrol attacked an IS post in Arsal's Wadi Ata area where it managed to arrest several very dangerous terrorists," the National News Agency (NNA) reported.

"The detainees were transferred to a military barrack," it added.

According to media reports, the detainees are Lebanese nationals Tareq al-Fliti and Sameh al-Breidi and two Syrians who are yet to be identified. The attack did not incur any casualty.

The detainees were reported involved in taking booby-trapped cars into Lebanon, murdering an army major and a First Sergeant and fighting against the army in Arsal's clashes.

The army engaged in fierce battle with the IS and al-Qaeda linked al-Nusra front militants in August 2014 on the outskirts of Arsal.

Before withdrawing back to Syria, the militants kidnapped 31 servicemen and police officers, and later al-Nusra executed four of them and the IS beheaded another one.

Nine of the servicemen are still detained by the IS.

Militants from the IS and al-Nusra Front are entrenched in rugged areas along the undemarcated Lebanese-Syrian border and the army regularly shells their posts while Hezbollah and the Syrian army have engaged in clashes with them on the Syrian side of the border.
Phillip Turner was on his way to court to fight a traffic citation when he noticed a Texas State Trooper speeding past him. Turner followed him, flashing his headlights at the trooper until he pulled over. The trooper apologized to Turner, who recorded the encounter.

Turner said on YouTube:

I will say this officer was very respectful, honest and owned up to the mistake. He was very professional and I strongly believe this is how officers should behave when they are confronted for doing something wrong. However, the issue I have is that people get citations for speeding all the time I think everyone should be held to the same standards. Throughout all my encounters with police, I believe more cops should mirror his professional attitude.

Turner is a police accountability activist. From MyStatesman:
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The Egyptian army killed the head of a Sinai-based militant group affiliated with the Islamic State (IS) and dozens of other militants in a massive airstrikes in North Sinai, an Egyptian military spokesman said Thursday.

The security campaign accurately targeted hideouts of the IS-affiliate Sinai State group and managed to kill the group leader known as Abu Duaa al-Ansari and a number of his aides, Brigadier-general Mohamed Samir said in a statement.

Egypt has been battling a growing wave of anti-government terrorism since the military removed former Islamist president Mohamed Morsi in July 2013 and later blacklisted his Muslim Brotherhood group.

On Sunday, a police officer was shot dead by unknown militants near a police station in Arish city of restive North Sinai province.

The Sinai-based militant group claimed responsibility for most of the terrorist operations that killed hundreds of police and military men over the past few years.

In response, the Egyptian military has been launching a continuous massive security campaign in the peninsula that left over 1,000 militants killed and a similar number of suspects arrested.

The security raids in the peninsula, mostly in North Siani's cities of Arish, Sheikh Zuweid and Rafah, are part of the country's "war against terrorism" declared by ex-military chief and now President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi following Morsi's removal.
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An expected visit to China by a special envoy from the Philippines will offer direct channels for improving icy ties between the countries, but neither side should harbor hopes of an instant breakthrough, experts said on Thursday.

New Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte said on Wednesday that former president Fidel Ramos will visit China as a special envoy. He did not give a date for the trip.

Ramos, 88, served as Philippine president from 1992 to 1998 and has maintained good personal ties with China.

The Philippine Star newspaper quoted Duterte on Thursday as saying Ramos' trip is not part of the official negotiations on South China Sea disputes, and Ramos will not be meeting with Chinese officials but with "friends".

Ties between the two countries became deadlocked in 2013 after the previous Philippine government led by Benigno Aquino sought third-party compulsory arbitral proceedings against China.

Last month, an arbitral tribunal in The Hague issued a ruling in Manila's favor. Beijing has urged the Duterte administration to put aside this ruling before resuming political dialogue and negotiations.

Duterte said on Wednesday that when the time comes for negotiations, the Philippines will not stray from the arbitral award.

Zhang Jie, a researcher of Asia-Pacific studies at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, said it is unlikely that Manila will completely put aside the arbitral ruling as this gives it an effective tool or bargaining chip.

"China has political needs, while the Philippines has economic needs. Both countries should show flexibility to enable dialogue and negotiation," Zhang said.

"Such a resumption should start with unofficial, lower-level contacts before proceeding to negotiations requiring multiple rounds. So we should not have too great an expectation at first," she added.

Teng Jianqun, a researcher of US studies at the China Institute of International Studies, said China's recent responses have left plenty of room for the Philippine Cabinet to rebuild contacts.
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Death toll in Nice attack, in which a man drove a heavy truck into crowds on July 14 in the southern French city, rose to 85, Christian Estrosi, president of the Rivera region announced on Thursday.

People gather to mourn the victims on the attack scene at the Promenade des Anglais in Nice, France, July 16, 2016.[Photo/Xinhua]

According to the regional daily Nice Matin, Peter Hattermann, 56, succumbed to his injuries. His wife and 13-year-old son were also killed in the attack that occurred in the Promenade des Anglais during the Bastille Day celebrations.

His 14-year old daughter was still hospitalized, it added.

"All my thoughts for the girl, the family and relatives of Peter Hattermann who just died. (The) 85th (victim) disappeared after the attack of Nice," Estrosi, former mayor of Nice, tweeted.

On July 14, Mohamed Lahouaiej Bouhlel plowed a heavy truck into crowds that were celebrating National Day in Nice. The truck careered 2 km through mass of revelers before being stopped by police units who also shot dead the driver.

The Islamic State (IS) claimed responsibility for the attack.

Probing showed the 31-year delivery man had prepared his act for months with the help of accomplices. It also showed his "certain, recent interest to radical jihadist movements."
People gather to watch a whale carcass on Alue Naga Beach, Banda Aceh, Indonesia, Aug. 4, 2016. According to media reports, several fishermen found the already-dead whale in the water two miles off the beach. The whale was washed ashore later by the waves. (Xinhua/Junaidi)
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A Norwegian teenager of Somali origin is suspected of going on a knife rampage through London's tourist hub of Russell Square, killing an American woman and injuring five other people.

London police force sent extra officers into the city streets and mobilized counterterror detectives, but said the investigation suggested mental illness was the driving force behind the attack.

The attack came just days after authorities warned the British public to be vigilant in light of attacks inspired by the Islamic State group elsewhere in Europe.

Metropolitan Police Assistant Commissioner Mark Rowley said the investigation "increasingly points to this tragic incident as having been triggered by mental-health issues."

"So far we have found no evidence of radicalization or anything that would suggest the man in our custody was motivated by terrorism," Rowley said.

The name of the dead woman, thought to be in her 60s, has not been released. Rowley said the five injured people are British, American, Israeli and Australian, and none has life-threatening injuries. Two remain in a hospital, while others were discharged.

Rowley said it appeared to be a "spontaneous attack and that the victims were selected at random."

Officers used a stun gun to subdue the 19-year-old suspect, who was arrested on suspicion of murder. Detectives from the force's murder and terrorism squads interviewed the suspect, his family and witnesses and searched properties, and found no evidence of radicalization, Rowley said.

The National Criminal Investigation Service in Norway confirmed the suspect was a 19-year-old Norwegian national who had left the country in 2002.

Police said they received "numerous" calls from members of the public around 10:30pm on Wednesday about a man attacking people with a knife in the streets around Russell Square, a busy central area full of students and tourists.

Student Megan Sharrock, 18, looked out of her window and saw someone lying on the sidewalk under a blanket.

"There was like two rivers of blood running away from the person so we thought, yeah, someone has been killed," she said.

Helen Edwards, 33, who lives in the area, came out for a walk late on Wednesday and found armed police near a subway station. In a city with vivid memories of the July 7, 2005, attacks on public transport  two of which struck near Russell Square  she immediately suspected that an attack had occurred. "There is always that thing in the back of your mind," she said. "You live with that threat of terrorism or other crimes in the back of your mind. It wasn't a huge shock I guess."

Ellie Cattle, 21, a student staying in a hotel near the square, said she heard police shouting: "Put it down, put it down!'

"Then I heard what sounded like a gunshot, but it must have been the Taser," she said. "After that they just stopped shouting. I didn't hear any screams from anyone."

London Mayor Sadiq Khan urged the public to keep calm and remain vigilant.

"We all have a vital role to play as eyes and ears for our police and security services and in helping to ensure London is protected," Khan said.

Knives are the most common murder weapon in Britain. There were 186 knife killings in the year to March 2015, according to statistics  a third of all murders.

In the last three years London has seen two knife attacks by people inspired by radical Islam. In May 2013, two al-Qaida-inspired London men killed off-duty soldier Lee Rigby in the street near his barracks.

In January, a mentally ill person tried to behead a London Underground passenger, shouting that he was doing it "for Syria."
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Japanese Emperor Akihito will issue a video message expressing his thoughts on Monday, Japan's Imperial Household Agency said on Friday.

The announcement came amid growing speculation on the emperor's abdication after local media reported last month that the 82-year-old emperor wishes to hand over the throne to his 56-year-old son Crown Prince Naruhito.

The emperor is expected to share his view in the video message at 3 p.m. local time on Monday about fulfilling his duties in the future as a symbol of the state, but will not directly refer to abdication, said Kyodo News.

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is considering releasing comments after Emperor Akihito's video message, local media reported quoting sources close to Abe.

According to local media, if the emperor is to abdicate, the Imperial House Law might need revision, as the law, enacted in 1947 to rule for imperial affairs, does not include any provision for a reigning emperor to abdicate.

The process of revising the law, involving deliberations by an expert panel to the government, might require years, said earlier reports.


In 2014, undercover Congressional investigators set out to test the countermeasures put in place to test the regulatory system that is supposed to detect and interdict terrorists who are assembling a dirty bomb  countermeasures set in place after a red team found that it would be easy to do just that in 2007. They found that it was still very easy to beat all the detection systems.



The team used fake names to incorporate an LLC that they used to rent an empty storefront in Texas, then applied for a license to acquire and store nuclear material. The license inspector  a Texas official, operating under authority delegated by the federal Nuclear Regulatory Commission  bought their story that they would buy and install all the necessary safety equipment once they had their license, and he handed them a license on the spot.

The license entitled them to acquire small amounts of Class C nuclear material, considered to be relatively safe in small amounts. They used a scanner and an image-editing program to alter the quantities of material on the license and proceeded to acquire sufficient material to create a dirty bomb. Their report noted that the lack of any verification step for Class C material licenses meant that they could have duplicated their licenses, altered quantities, and acquired arbitrarily large amounts of nuclear material.





On the positive side, dirty nukes aren't particularly lethal. The major damage they do is infrastructural: nuking the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach could trigger a $250B cleanup and lots of public unrest.

Previous efforts to beef up the tracking of nuclear materials have been successfully resisted by nuclear industry lobbyists.

The NRC staff estimated that such a system would cost between $11 million and $14 million over a decade, with the federal government bearing 47 percent of the cost, licensees paying 39 percent and state regulators shouldering 14 percent. But companies that sell radiological materials complained in response that they couldn't even begin to guess how burdensome an expanded tracking system might be for them. "We do not consider that the supposed benefits of the expansion  justify this potential expenditure," Hugh Evans, secretary and treasurer of the Council on Radionuclides and Radiopharmaceuticals, a trade association that lobbies on behalf of companies that sell radioactive materials, wrote in a letter to the NRC on May 9, 2008. The co-chair of the Nuclear Sector Coordinating Council for Radioisotopes  an industry task force recognized by the government as a partner in combatting radiological terrorism  sent a separate letter with some wording identical to that in Evans's letter, suggesting a well-organized campaign. Regulators in 24 of the states that had been deputized by the NRC to issue licenses also registered their opposition to the expanded tracking, partly because the system for tracking more dangerous quantities was then not working well.

A secret group easily bought the raw ingredients for a dirty bomb  here in America

[Center for Public Integrity]

(Image: Fremont Solstice Parade 2011, Joe Mabel, CC-BY-SA)
In 2011 a crested macaque in Indonesia took a selfie using photographer David J. Slater's camera. After Slater claimed copyright of the photo, PETA sued on behalf of the monkey, claiming it was the copyright holder. But in January a federal judge tossed out the lawsuit, ruling that non-human animals are not allowed to own a copyright.

Earlier this week PETA filed an appeal to the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.

"In every practical (and definitional) sense, he is the 'author' of the works," argues PETA, in the appeal brief. "Had the Monkey Selfies been made by a human using Slater's unattended camera, that human would undisputedly be declared the author and copyright owner of the photographs. Nothing in the Copyright Act limits its application to human authors.  [P]rotection under the Copyright Act does not depend on the humanity of the author, but on the originality of the work itself."

PETA's brief also emphasizes that the Copyright Act should be interpreted broadly and was intended to expand to include new forms of expression unknown at the time that it was enacted.

If this lawsuit succeeds, it will be the first time that a nonhuman animal has been declared the owner of property rather than a piece of property himself or herself. It will also be the first time that a right has been extended to a nonhuman animal beyond just the basic necessities of food, shelter, water, and veterinary care. In our view, it is high time.



PETA is seeking the court's permission to administer and protect Naruto's copyright in the "monkey selfies," without compensation, with all proceeds to be used for the benefit of Naruto and his community.




China's Global Newspaper





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National Grid Plc, the electricity and natural gas network operator in the United Kingdom, has started an auction to sell a controlling stake in its domestic gas network that could value the business at more than 10 billion pounds ($13.3 billion), people with knowledge of the matter said.

National Grid, which is selling 51 percent of its four regional gas distribution networks, has sent information on the business to potential buyers, according to the people. The company has asked for first-round bids to be submitted by late September, the people said, asking not to be named because the deliberations are private.

Canada Pension Plan Investment Board is considering joining a consortium of Canadian investors and Middle Eastern sovereign wealth funds interested in the assets, one of the people said. Another group including Allianz SE, the infrastructure arm of Australian investment bank Macquarie Group Ltd and Amber Infrastructure Group may also bid, the people said.

Chinese investors, including sovereign fund China Investment Corp, may also join groups pursuing the assets, they said. Talks with potential bidders are ongoing, and the final makeup of the groups bidding could still change, according to the people.

The stake sale will be one of the first major tests of overseas buyers' appetite for UK utility assets since the country voted to leave the European Union in June. A deal would add to the $82.6 billion of UK acquisitions by foreign buyers announced this year, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

Representatives for Allianz, Macquarie, CPPIB, Amber Infrastructure and National Grid declined to comment. A Beijing-based spokeswoman for CIC couldn't immediately comment.

British utility assets historically attract foreign companies that favor steady income generation, such as pension funds and other asset managers. A consortium backed by Hong Kong billionaire Li Ka-shing in 2012 acquired Wales & West Utilities Ltd, a gas distributor serving 2.5 million customers, for 645 million pounds.

Bloomberg
CHONGQING - A highway corridor linking Chongqing municipality and Southeast Asia, to be completed this year, is expected to drive trade between the southwest China city and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).

The corridor consists of three routes. A route that opened in April runs from Chongqing through Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region to Hanoi, Vietnam. Another, stretching from Chongqing through the border crossing at Mohan, Yunnan to Vientiane, Laos, will open by September. A final route that goes from Chongqing to Yangon, Myanmar will also open this year.

Trucks travel 40 hours to complete the 1,400-kilometer trip from Chongqing to the Vietnamese capital, carrying mechanical equipment, building materials and auto parts to Southeast Asia, and bringing fruit, snacks and timber back to China.

More than 26 bus services have launched in the last two months, said Zhang Chunping, director of the management committee of the Chongqing Highway Logistics Base.

In the latter half of this year, two trucks will depart weekly from Chongqing, he added.

"The highway trade corridor has only started to take shape, but in three to five years, it will become a transportation artery and major trade route linking central China to ASEAN," said Li Muyuan, an expert with the China Communications and Transportation Association.

Chongqing authorities forecast that by 2020, regular truck services along the three routes will transport 20 billion yuan (about $3 billion) of cargo a year.

In 2015, trade between China and ASEAN reached 472 billion yuan, registering an annual growth rate of 18.5 percent for the past five years.

"Most of the trade, however, was between ASEAN and coastal Chinese areas such as the Pearl River delta in the south and Yangtze River delta in the east. Vast areas in the central and western provincial-level regions need to join," said Yang.

The Chongqing trade corridor will siphon cargo from the neighboring provinces of Sichuan, Hubei and Shaanxi.

"Chongqing is opening up to all directions, through Europe-bound railways to the west, Yangtze waterways to the east and highway transportation to the south," said Li.

Compared to shipping services, which take more than 20 days, highway transportation is cheaper and more convenient. Statistics show more than 80 percent of Chongqing's trade cargo is transported via highways.

"The trade corridor will bring new opportunities for cooperation between ASEAN and inland Chinese regions," said Allan Yang, director of the Laos-China Association for Promotion of Economy and Trade.

Laos has signed contracts with Chongqing to support cooperation in logistics.

ASEAN can also capitalize on Chongqing's Yuxin'ou rail network to Europe to expand the region's trade, Yang added.

China and ASEAN will need to cooperate more in customs inspection, clearing and port building to support the development of highway corridors, said Li.
An Airbus A330 jet plane of Hainan Airlines of HNA Group takes off from the Shenzhen Baoan International Airport in Shenzhen city, South China's Guangdong province, December 30, 2014. [Photo/IC]

Hainan Airlines Co Ltd, China's largest private airline and a subsidiary of conglomerate HNA Group, has bought a 23.7 percent stake in Azul SA, Brazil's third-biggest airline, for $450 million, the latest in a series of overseas acquisitions by the company.

Hainan Airlines became the single largest shareholder in Azul, and will appoint three new members to Azul's board of directors. The two sides have also agreed to launch more cooperation in code sharing, new routes, frequent flier programs, marketing programs and cargo handling.

HNA said both carriers will benefit from the substantial passenger traffic between China and Brazil. In August, around 3,000 Chinese visitors will travel to Rio de Janeiro for the Olympic Games, a 10-fold increase in the number of tourists over the same period last year.

"In addition to bringing more choice and convenience to customers of Hainan Airlines traveling to and from Brazil, we view Azul as a strong and lasting partner for HNA to explore further expansion and capital investment in Latin America," said Adam Tan, CEO of HNA Group.

"We look forward to working together to create a seamless travel experience between Latin America and China and to deliver further choice, value and excellence to worldwide travelers through our future cooperation."

Founded in 2008, Azul has been one of the best-rated low-cost Latin American airlines, which offers more than 800 daily flights to more than 100 destinations.

The carrier operates about one-third of the daily departures in the Brazilian aviation market. HNA said the cooperation will help both airlines to expand their international route networks.

"This investment demonstrates that we have a winning business model and that Hainan Airlines, as a large investor, has absolute confidence in Azul's team," said David Neeleman, founder and CEO of Azul.
In a series of easily digested, 2-minute videos, Vlogbrothers Hank and John Green explain how to vote  from registration to voter ID laws to absentee ballots to casting your vote.



It's a massive public service.





The main thing that makes gerrymandering work is low voter turnout  all the models about how to make a seat safe are predicated on the idea that many people won't vote. The thing that makes lawmakers complacent about failing to represent their constituents is low turnout.





I don't get a vote (I'm Canadian and British, though I live in California), but you might. Please, vote: not just for you, but for the millions of us in the USA whose lives will be determined by the outcome in this election even though we don't get a vote  and for the billions around the world whose lives will also be influenced by the election.



We've been working on this one for months! So excited that it's out! This might sound dumb, but I think one of the reasons some people don't vote in the US is because it's a bit of a pain to figure it out. For those people, regardless of your age, I can totally see that it can be complicated. And hey, let's be honest, in some places they're making it complicated in the hopes that young people will stay home. If this election seems especially intense or pressing to you, let me stress that every election is important.

How to Vote in Every State

[Vlogbrothers/Youtube]
BEIJING - The Ministry of Finance (MOF) said Thursday that this year it has allocated subsidies totaling 26.69 billion yuan (about $4 billion) to help farmers living in unsafe homes to renovate.

The subsidies will cover 3.14 million poor rural households, under a national pilot program for renovating unsafe houses in rural areas, the MOF said in a statement.

The MOF said that local governments must determine the allocation of subsidies for the rural housing program according to local economic needs.

The pilot program started in China's southwestern Guizhou province in 2008.
A Chinese mobile phone user uses the taxi-hailing and car-service app Didi Chuxing on his Apple iPhone smartphone in Jinan city, east China's Shandong province, Feb 22, 2015.[Photo/IC]

BEIJING - Chinese former Olympic hurdles champion Liu Xiang has filed a lawsuit against online ride-hailing service provider Didi for using his image without authorization in online ads, a Beijing court said Friday.

The Haidian District People's Court has accepted the case.

In the indictment, Liu said the company released news of Liu's retirement and six images of him through its official microblog account in April 2015, according to the court in a statement.

"My runway, my hurdles. Every ending point is a new start. Fighting," said the post, followed by content promoting its app Didi Chuxing.

Liu Xiang officially retired at Diamond League Shanghai on May 17, 2015. [Photo/Xinhua]

Liu said the company violated his rights of publicity for commercial use and misled the public to believe Liu had been hired as the company's brand spokesman or had cooperated with the company.

Liu requested the company apologize, immediately delete the related web links and photos, and provide compensation of 1.26 million yuan ($190,000).

The statement did not mention when the hearing is scheduled.
The under-construction Shanghai Tower, world's the second tallest building. The building was completed earlier this year. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

Through consistent research and study, Shanghai Construction Group, builder of the Shanghai Tower, is now capable of constructing supertall skyscrapers towering to 1,000 meters, sources said.

According to a press release sent to China Daily by Shanghai Construction Group, one of its demonstration projects recently passed the acceptance check in Shanghai, marking technological breakthrough in building supertall skyscrapers by a Chinese company.

"Before the building of Shanghai's Jinmao Tower, all the key equipment for high-rise construction was purchased abroad. But after undertaking construction of the nation's tallest skyscraper Shanghai Tower, we've made a rapid progress in both experience and technology," Gong Jian, chief engineer of Shanghai Construction Group was quoted as saying by ThePaper.cn.

Shanghai's Lujiazui district, the nation's financial hub, features 235 buildings considered high-rises, and its skyline is still expanding.

The integral steel platform has overcome the shortcomings of previous construction, and through the newly developed transfer pump, ultra-high strength concrete can be delivered to the height of 620 meters by a single pump.

Shanghai Construction Group's annual R&D investment reached 2.9 billion yuan during the 12th Five-Year Plan period (2011-2015).

The world's tallest building under construction is the Jeddah Tower in Saudi Arabia. Previously known as Kingdom Tower, it is designed at a height of about 1,007 meters, nearly 180 meters higher than the world's existing tallest building Burj Khalifa.

Of the 106 buildings taller than 200 meters completed last year globally, 62 were in China, and six out of the top 10 skyscrapers in the world nearing completion in 2016 were in China, according to a report from the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat.
China Zheshang Bank Co Ltd, a national joint equity commercial bank based in East China's Zhejiang province, increased its loan balance to small- and medium-sized enterprises by double digits in the first half of 2016, while keeping its nonperforming loan ratio low.

Wu Jianwei, vice president of China Zheshang Bank, told a news conference on Thursday that as of June 30, the bank's loan balance to SMEs rose 12 percent from the beginning of this year to 120.55 billion yuan ($18 billion), accounting for 29 percent of its total loans.

The number of SMEs that received loans from the bank increased by 8.7 percent from the end of last year to 51,273, with an average amount of loans of 1.72 million yuan per company.

The bank recorded a 1.4 percent NPL ratio to SMEs at the end of June, compared with an average NPL ratio of 1.81 percent for commercial banks, disregarding the size of borrowers.

Ye Haijing, general manager of the bank's small enterprise credit center, said it has formed 103 specialized institutions providing financial services to SMEs.

"We selected the companies we know best, which have high growth potential, stable operation and good reputation, and implemented a series of risk control measures," he said.

The bank is optimizing its credit orientation by giving stronger support to eight emerging industries including electronic information, e-commerce, modern agriculture, environment protection and high-end equipment manufacturing. Its loan balance to the emerging industries was 21.86 billion yuan at the end of June, covering more than 12,000 companies.

In 2015, it jointly set up a 500-million-yuan credit guarantee fund with six other banks and the government of Taizhou, a city on the eastern coast of Zhejiang province. With the help of the fund, Zhejiang Huantai Environmental Protection Equipment Co Ltd received a 1-million-yuan loan from the bank without collateral or guarantees.
ARCFOX-1, an new energy car model of BAIC Group, on display in Shunyi district, Beijing, July 30, 2016. [Photo/IC]

BAIC Group, one of the major Chinese automakers, is taking action to develop its South and Southeast Asian markets.

BAIC Yunnan Ruili Automotive Co Ltd signed an agreement for a strategic partnership last week with Kunming Yunnei Power Co Ltd, Chongqing International Composite Materials Co Ltd and Efort Intelligent Equipment Co Ltd.

Kunming Yunnei is a diesel engine producer, the Chongqing company is a leader in the research and development of vehicle-related new materials, while Efort is a robots manufacturer.

"Our goal is to produce and sell 50,000 units annually by 2019," said Chen Lei, general manager of BAIC Yunnan Ruili.

Founded in 2013 with total investment of 3.6 billion yuan ($543 mil-lion), BAIC Yunnan Ruili is a joint venture between BAIC and Yunnan Jingcheng Group Co Ltd, whose main businesses include auto manufacturing, construction and tour-ism.

The joint venture is building a vehicle manufacturing base in Ruili, Yunnan province. The base is expected to go into operation in March 2017. It will make multipurpose vehicles, pickups, sport utility vehicles and new-energy vehicles.

It aims to reach a production capacity of 100,000 units by 2020, half of which are for the domestic market, and one quarter of which would be exported to Southeast Asian countries.

According to BAIC, the base will create an output value of 20 billion yuan after going into full operation.

"The Southeast Asian market is not easy to go into," said Zhang Yu, managing director of Automotive Foresight (Shanghai) Co.

Zhang said Japanese automakers had already been there for several decades so the customers there have high standards for vehicles. Chinese carmakers should build factories there instead of only exporting to those markets.

Shi Wenzhi contributed to this story.
The Tesla Model S involved in the accident in Beijing, August 2, 2016. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

With Autopilot on and driver's hands off the steering wheel, a Tesla Model S was involved in an accident on Beijing's North Fifth Ring Road Tuesday morning, becoming China's first known Tesla Autopilot accident. No one was killed or injured in the crash.

Luo Zhen, the driver of the car, has been driving for seven years, and has never been involved in any accident before.

"My car hit the right side of a black Santana that was parked in the inner lane of the road after it had developed some mechanical problem," he told chinadaily.com.cn.

He added that before the crash happened, he could see almost half of the Santana's back through his naked eye and there was a reaction time of around five seconds, but Tesla's Autopilot system failed to spot the vehicle and crashed into it, while another car that was initially in front of him bypassed it successfully.

"After the accident, I had to manually stop the car, otherwise it would have kept going, as if it had just hit a speed bump," Luo said.

He thought the car's reaction was confusing because it did not conform to the car's priority reaction of automatically turning right and following the vehicle in front. Instead it kept going.

The damaged left front fender of the Tesla Model S is pictured in Beijing, August 2, 2016. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

The Santana's taillight and reflectors were damaged, while the Tesla Model S's left front bumper, left front headlight, left front fender and left mirror were crashed.

The accident has cost Luo 50,000 yuan ($7,525) on repairs. And when he bought the car, he spent more than 20,000 yuan on the optional Autopilot Convenience Features.

Believing there are technical bugs in the system of Autopilot, Luo said Tesla should take half of the responsibility, while the other half should be paid by the Santana's driver for illegal parking.

However, there is no law in China and many other countries that clearly states who should be held responsible in case a self-driven vehicle is involved in an accident.

"There are not many self-driven cars at the moment, so it is unrealistic to expect a law," said Fu Yuwu, chairman of Society of Automotive Engineers of China, according to a report by National Business Daily.

Luo contacted Tesla but all he got was the contact detail of the insurance company.

The interior of a Tesla Model S is shown in autopilot mode in San Francisco, California, US, April 7, 2016.[Photo/Agencies]

He posted an article telling details of the accident and his opinions on Twitter-like Sina Weibo on Wednesday, which has drawn dozens of comments and discussions.

Luo criticized Tesla for exaggerating the automatic driving function but only using a small space on the manual to warn users that it is only an assistance driving system.

However, a comment on his post said Tesla's manual specifically warned drivers not to remove their hands from the steering wheel, not to mention it is illegal to do this in China.

The world's first fatal Tesla Autopilot crash happened on May 7 in Williston, US. In a blog post, Tesla reiterated that customers are required to agree that the system is in a "public beta phase" and the driver is required to "maintain control and responsibility for your vehicle", according to a report by theverge.com.

Luo said a lawyer team has contacted him to support him to sue Tesla for false advertising, but he has not decided whether to do it yet.

Duan Zhengzheng, senior public relations manager at Tesla China, declined China Daily website's telephone interview request on Friday.

Hao Yan contributed to this story.
A small business being shut down in Beijing. OUYANG XIAOFEI/CHINA DAILY

In Beijing, changes take place fast, either for better or for worse. So overnight, a bustling section for businesses of all kinds has been shut down and turned into a messy construction site.

What I am talking about is a street hundreds of meters to the north of where I work. A dozen years ago, owners of the apartments on the ground floor of frontage residential buildings, mostly native Beijingers, started to rent out their spare rooms to businesses, which are often run by those from outside the city.

Within years, restaurants, property brokerages and stores that sell cigarettes and wine, as well as clothes and stationery began to line the street, providing lots of convenience to people in the neighborhood, myself included.

As I passed by each day on my way to work, and saw how one store would close down, only to be followed by another opening under a new name or for a different business, I could not but admire those entrepreneurs for their hard work, resilience and ability to adapt.

Actually, I often wonder how they could have made any profits given the high cost of living and doing business in Beijing. How many bowls of noodles or blue jeans would they have to sell to cover rents that could easily go above 10,000 yuan ($1,510) each month, in addition to other costs such as that for labor?

Such businesses are often short-lived because many of them have not registered with local industry and commerce agencies, or do not possess certificates for firefighting, safety or hygiene as required by authorities. Actually that is the official reason why they are being wiped out on such a large scale across the capital city, as is declared in notices put up on the sites where street-side businesses are meeting their demise.

Beijing officials have reportedly promised to restore all residential buildings to their original shape within this year, in a quest to build a "world class" and most livable city.

With many of its streets clean of business activities and the vigor that is associated with them, it is hard to imagine the city will meet the goal of having a lively essence.

It actually reflects poor governance, if not malicious intentions, in terms of how the problem is solved, given that those street-side stores have emerged and thrived under the gaze of those in charge for so many years.

Whatever pretext officials use to justify the ongoing overhaul of the streets, it cannot cover up the real intentions behind the move: to curb Beijing's population growth, which was already at 21.7 million at the end of 2015.

The small businesses provide many jobs, mostly to people from outside the city. By shutting them down, officials are striving to meet the goal of keeping Beijing's population below 23 million by 2020, as drafted in the city's development plan. Some experts have reportedly called the effort "sweeping away 'low-end population' through policies", referring to those manual laborers with neither capital nor education.

Actually the move has been going on for years, "to ease the population, traffic and environmental pressure" on Beijing. So rooms for rent in the basements of apartment buildings have been sealed; schools for migrant children closed; and wholesale markets of clothes and daily necessities in downtown areas relocated to neighboring Hebei province.

A US friend, who visited Beijing many years ago for the first time, told me one of the most memorable sights he caught on Beijing streets was peddlers selling jianbinga kind of pancakeon tricycles. He called it "a best example of entrepreneurship".

Yet nowadays such entrepreneurship is finding it increasingly difficult to take root in Beijing, where the astronomically high property prices have driven half its population to its verges outside the Fifth Ring Road.

In a society ruled by law, where ideas of harmony and people-oriented policies have been trumpeted, there should be a better way to strike a balance between keeping the city clean and functional while giving those on the lowest rung of social ladder a chance to move upward.

For many, this is a Chinese dream.
Lenovo Chairman and CEO Yang Yuanqing holds up the new Phab2 Pro phone during the keynote address at the Lenovo Tech World event in San Francisco.[Photo/Agencies]

Lenovo's Moto Z joining Samsung's model to head off new iPhone release

China's high-end smartphone market is expected to see a fierce battle in the fall as technology giants Lenovo Group Ltd and Samsung Electronics Co Ltd line up to release their latest devices to compete with new iPhones, due to come out later this year.

The Chinese edition of Lenovo's Phab2 Pro, the world's first smartphone to host argumented reality applications without the need of other accessories, has been spotted on the website of China's industry regulator, indicating that it will soon be launched in the country.

The new device, first unveiled in June, is based on Google Inc's Tango project and can host AR applications such as playing virtual dominoes on a physical table and shooting digital robots that inhabit users' living rooms, just like the popular Pokemon Go game.

Lenovo declined to disclose when it will release Phab2 Pro in its home market. But photos on the website of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology show that the new device will be equipped with three rear cameras and one front camera.

A source familiar with Lenovo's mobile business told China Daily that the Beijing-based firm will release its Moto Z modular handset in its home market at the end of September, as part of efforts to revive its faltering handset sales with highly differentiated products.

Moto Z has high-powered magnets on its rear with which users can fasten additional equipment, including extra battery power, speakers and projectors.

The news came shortly after Samsung on Tuesday launched the latest version of its large-screen Note 7 smartphone to maintain sales momentum.

James Yan, research director at Counterpoint Technology Market Research, said Moto Z and Phab2 pro can easily stand out in a crowded market where handsets look and work largely the same.

"Users in big Chinese cities will want to try them," Yan said. "But they would be a niche rather than a mass market because their features are too new and it will take a long time and resources to educate consumers in small cities."

"Also the Moto brand is, in fact, losing its appeal to Chinese consumers," he added.

Lenovo said earlier it would step up research and development and build more retail channels this year to regain the share it is losing to rivals Apple Inc and local player Huawei Technologies Co Ltd.

Jin Di, research manager at the research firm International Data Corp China, said Lenovo and Samsung's new devices will have limited impact on the sales of Apple's new iPhone.

"Apple still dominates the premium market," Jin said.

"Though its China sales are in decline, its newly released products will remain popular thanks to its well-established brand image."
BEIJING - Silicon Valley has long enjoyed a reputation for technological innovation, while times may have changed as industry insiders are currently seeing China as further ahead, especially in mobile tech, the New York Times recently reported.

The Times article took WeChat, Alipay, and YY.com -- all native Chinese social media giants -- as outstanding examples that first popularized barcodes-scanning payment and money transfer, mobile order services and video-streaming, among other hits, that some US tech giants, such as Facebook and Snapchat, are following suit.

In 2015, China has surpassed the United States in mobile payment. Also, more people in China, than anywhere else, are using mobile devices to order services, make friends and watch videos, according to the article.

Some business insiders interviewed by the Times shared the view that China has become the leader on many fronts in the mobile world. Ben Thompson, the founder of the tech research company Stratechery, told the Times that "the trope that China copies the US hasn't been true for years," and in today's mobile world, "the US often copies China."

The article also pointed out that in comparison with the idea among their US peers of making apps simple, Chinese tech firms often stuff several functions into one app -- you can chat, order food and car rides, do shopping, book trips and hotels all through a single platform. They also allow other companies to grow within them to directly offer services, which have created many successful business stories, the article said.

Meanwhile, Chinese tech giants are also exploring overseas markets themselves. On Thursday, WeChat, the most widely used mobile messaging app in China, announced it was entering the New Zealand payments market with its automatic payment app WePay.

WePay has 400 million active users in China, processing over 500 million payment transactions a day.


15 years ago, uptalk was ruining women's speech; five years ago, it was vocal fry (with accompanying, science-free warnings about damage to the larynx and vocal apparatus); in the First Century BC, Romans used the term "Afrania" to refer to unpleasant women: the term was taken from Caia Afrania, the first woman to be allowed to speak before the Roman Senate (Valerius Maximus called it "unnatural yapping," a "bark," and a "constant harassment of the magistrate").

Today, Hillary Clinton is criticized because her voice is "like an ice pick" (Glenn Beck, CNN), then "robot-like" (Donald Trump), then the NYT announced that she'd switched to her "quieter-but-confident speaking voice."

Remember when This American Life ran a special highlighting all the hate-mail they got for their woman announcers' voices "vocal fry" (but Ira Glass, king of the fryers, never, ever, ever gets this complaint). Black women in the public eye  Michelle Obama, NPR's Audie Cornish  are accused of talking white.





In an excellent New Yorker story, Jordan Kisner says that some women do affect a vocal fry, but that's because when they use their own, higher voices, they're treated like lightweights, so vocal frying can be an attempt to masculinize their voices (though, of course, some women's voices just come out that way, for the same reason Ira Glass's does). Similarly, some women have said that uptalking is a kind of pre-emptive apology to the mansplainer who will inevitably jump down the speaker's throat as soon as she voices her opinion. Jazmine Hughes confesses that, even though she is black, "white" voices sound more authoritative "because white people are always the ones in command."

The most interesting part of it all is the way that women police other women's voices, which reflects their own anxiety and self-criticism. It's perhaps the most pathological element of the whole mess: that women turn on one another, but nothing they do, no amount of policing, will ever make their voices acceptable to men, because the problem isn't fry, uptalking, being "nasal" or "bitchy"  it's that they're women, talking.



Ironically, vocal fry is an overcorrection for another female problem: a voice that's too high. The first women I ever heard speaking with the telltale gravel weren't reality TV stars like Kardashian but women in business. I noticed it while eavesdropping on a Lean In reading group meeting in a bookstore in Soho in 2011; every woman who spoke seemed to try to lower her voice farther than the last to sound more authoritative (read: more masculine). They sounded like a convention of jet engines. When I took a job in publishing, I heard the same affectation in conference rooms  voices lowered until they broke and dragged out, frazzled like a disaffected teenager's. As I navigated my first sexist workplace, I occasionally dropped my own voice, hoping to sound less girlish and more worthy of serious consideration. I took care to find a timbre that suggested gravitas without veering into fry. It was the most practical application of my vocal training yet: playing a young woman someone might take seriously. The comi-tragedy of this tactic is that after a point it backfires and makes you sound like an idiot. Critics of vocal fry often point to a study by Duke University's business school indicating that vocal fry undermines the success of young women in the labor market. While an earlier study concluded that millennials associated fried voices with upward mobility and sophistication even though older adults found them "less competent, less educated, less trustworthy, less attractive, and less hirable," the Duke study found that vocal fry was perceived negatively by everyone regardless of age. The demographic most irritated by vocal fry in younger women in their study, they added, was older women.



Can a Woman's Voice Ever Be Right? [Jordan Kisner/New Yorker]





(via Skepchick)

(Image: Billie Holiday, PD)
Beijing police have set up an interdepartmental health information system for foreigners, a move to make it easier to apply for long-term residence in the capital.

Under the new system, foreigners applying for the first time to live in Beijing for more than one year will need to submit just one health check certificate, instead of the multiple certificates required previously, the Beijing Public Security Bureau said on Thursday.

Three departments in the citythe Public Security Bureau, the Human Resources and Social Security Bureau and the Entry-Exit Inspection and Quarantine Bureauwill now share information on the health status of foreigners in Beijing.

The new policy took effect on Thursday.

Previously, foreigners first applying for longtime residence in Beijing had to submit a health check certificate to several government agencies. They were not required to submit such a certificate when they renewed their residence permit.

"The multiple submission of the certificate caused unnecessary financial expenditure and inconvenience for applicants," said Lin Song, an official with the Entry and Exit Department of the Beijing police.

For example, foreigners can apply for long-term residence in Beijing after getting a work permit from the city's Human Resources and Social Security Bureau. Previously, those who did not realize that they also had to submit the certificate to the police would have had to return to the Entry-Exit Inspection and Quarantine Bureau to get another certificate, Lin said.

Efforts to cut red tape for foreigners living in China have been stepped up in other government departments as well.

Gao Xiang, a senior official with the State Administration of Foreign Experts Affairs, said a national government department for issuing and organizing work permits for foreigners may be designated next year.

Overlapping functions of government departments in issuing work permits is seen as a pressing problem.

"A pilot program will start soon to standardize the qualifications and process for issuing a work permit for foreigners, and the national unified applications procedures are expected to be carried out," he said.

Currently, a foreign expert certificate is issued by SAFEA for those working at cultural, education, healthcare and research institutions, most of which are run by the government. An alien employment certificate is issued by the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security for those working in commercial sectors.
A woman glances over her shoulder as she walks alongside a pond in Xixi Wetland Park, in Hangzhou, Zhejiang province. FREDERIC DUFOUR/ for CHINA DAILY

Competition invited photographers from G20 countries to capture scenes of city life

Barely one month away from the start of the G20 Leaders Summit in Hangzhou, East China's Zhejiang province, final preparations are being made ahead of the main event.

As the city prepares for the eyes of the world to be upon it, many residents' lives are continuing as normal. They jog on the banks of the West Lake, dance on the public greens and shop in the bustling markets.

Both the city and its occupants were captured by participants in the "Beautiful China, Beautiful Hangzhou" Langshi Cup Global Photography Competition held earlier this year. The competition winners were announced recently in Hangzhou and their works will be included in a photo album.

A part of the competition, in May an on-site photography event titled "A Trip to Beautiful Hangzhou" was held, inviting photographers from G20 countries to visit Hangzhou for three days and focus on the city and its people. Some of them are well-known photographers from major international news agencies.

They visited the city's historic areas, its parks, temples and museums, as well as the local markets, small alleyways and remote neighborhoods, recording what they saw from different angles.

"We hope that these photos will display the charm of our city to the world," said a local government official, who was one of the co-organizers of the event.
ROK's Park may seek to ease Russia's concerns over deployment in talks with Putin, experts say

The visit to Russia by the Republic of Korea's president in early September is likely to address tensions between Seoul and Moscow over the THAAD missile defense system and seek to break Russia and China's united stance on the issue, experts said.

The ROK presidential Blue House announced on Wednesday that President Park Geun-hye will fly to Russia on Sept 2 to attend an economic forum on developing Russia's Far East and to discuss Pyongyang's nuclear program with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Washington and Seoul said in a joint announcement on July 8 that the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense system will be deployed to deal with the Democratic People's Republic of Korea's nuclear and missile threats.

China and Russia expressed strong opposition to the system, whose radar will be capable of monitoring missiles in the two countries, saying it will destabilize the balance of security in the region.

An official from Park's office told The Associated Press that he couldn't confirm whether THAAD will be discussed in the meeting between Park and Putin scheduled for Sept 3.

Nam Chang-Hee, an international politics professor at Inha University in Incheon, told ROK news agency Yonhap, "Park is likely to use her summit with Putin to ease Russia's concerns over THAAD."

Zhang Liangui, an expert on Korean studies at the Party School of the Communist Party of China's Central Committee, said that "China and Russia have been on the same line since the announcement of the system, which has exerted great pressure on the ROK".

Zhang said one target of Park's Russia trip is likely to be seeking to use economic cooperation documents in exchange for a softened stance by Moscow on the planned THAAD deployment, in order to influence the Chinese government.

The planned THAAD deployment could be an incentive for security cooperation between Russia and China, said Sergei Luzianin, acting director of the Institute of Far Eastern Studies at the Russian Academy of Sciences.

"The deployment of a new missile defense system (in the ROK) is the most serious challenge in recent years, above all, to China and Russia," he told Chinese media, warning that the action could be the start of an arms race in Northeast Asia.

Moscow and Beijing might use the "huge strategic potential of military deterrence" to counter the new tensions that the US is trying to create in the region, he said.

Moscow has warned that missile units could be deployed in eastern Russia in response to THAAD. On Wednesday, Pyongyang fired two ballistic missiles in an apparent response to plans to deploy THAAD.

The decision to deploy THAAD has drawn strong domestic opposition, particularly from residents in the ROK's southern town of Seongju, the site selected for the deployment.

Zhang Xiaozhong and Xinhua contributed to this story.


Zhou Shifeng was sentenced to seven years in prison on Thursday after being found guilty of subverting State power. Wang Ye / Xinhua

Head of Beijing law firm pleads guilty at trial; won't appeal

Attorneys should abide more strictly by the law and not use cases to harm the country, judicial specialists said after lawyer Zhou Shifeng was sentenced to seven years in prison on Thursday after being found guilty of subverting State power.

Zhou, 52, a native of Anyang, Henan province, had been director of Beijing Fengrui Law Firm. He was sentenced after being found guilty of using his firm to spread subversive thoughts and create social conflicts to damage national security, the Tianjin No 2 Intermediate People's Court said in its verdict on Thursday.

Zhou had pleaded guilty to the charges.

"I accepted the fair judgment and expressed much regret for what I had done. I will not appeal to a higher court," he said.

The verdict said that Zhou had long been influenced by anti-China forces and that he had plotted ideas to overturn the country's political system, especially after 2011, when he met Hu Shigen, the leader of an illegal organization.

Zhou used his law firm as a platform to manipulate public opinion by encouraging like-minded attorneys and residents to make noise over sensitive issues, the verdict said.

In December 2014, for example, Zhou asked attorneys and petitioners to go to Dali, Yunnan province, to influence a civil case that had been handled by his firm.

He asked activist Zhai Yanmin to post anti-China comments online and organized petitioners to shout slogans and drive a car decorated with anti-government banners to disturb judicial bodies from Jan 1 to 12 last year, it said.

Zhou's attorneys said his actions were influenced by Hu, and said Zhou had also performed charitable acts in the past.

The court said: "The defendant had very negative effects on the judicial system and the country."

Hu and Zhai faced the same charges as Zhou. Earlier this week, Hu was sentenced to seven-and-a-half years in prison and Zhai was given three years with a four-year reprieve.

Mao Hongtao, a Beijing lawyer who listened to the trial from the public gallery, said: "Zhou brought disrepute to lawyers. His behavior has not only damaged his clients but also himself."

Lyu Hongbing, a Shanghai lawyer who witnessed the trial, said lawyers and law firms needed regulation, as they play such a big role in the country's legal system.

As for the different penalties for the same charge - a topic heatedly discussed online - Gu Yongzhong, a law professor at China University of Political Science and Law, said it is reasonable.

Under the Criminal Law, leaders of subversive activities will be sentenced more heavily than participants, he said.

Ruan Qilin, another law professor at the university, said that Hu's sentence was heavier because he had been criminally punished in 1994.
A man who made a U-turn to ram another car in a fit of road rage in Zhongshan, Guangdong province, has been detained by police and is likely to face criminal charges.

A video clip of how he tried to get revenge on the other car went viral online.

The man, surnamed Zhao, 32, was rear-ended on July 28 when he changed lanes and cut in front of another car, driven by a man surnamed Peng.

After his car was rear-ended, Zhao jumped onto Peng's car and kicked it while quarreling with Peng.

Then he returned to his car, turned it around and deliberately rammed Peng's car several times.

Damage to Peng's car was estimated at more than 19,000 yuan ($2,900), according to Zhangshan's traffic police department.

Zhao, from Guang'an, Sichuan province, is the legal representative of a company in Dongguan, a Pearl River Delta city in Guangdong province.

"Zhao is also suspected of a criminal act, and at a minimum he is suspected to have endangered public safety," said local lawyer Zhu Mingyong.

"If Zhao is pronounced guilty, he will be seriously punished."

Peng Peng, a senior researcher at the Guangzhou Academy of Social Sciences, said the growing number of cases involving road rage indicated that many drivers have poor awareness of traffic rules.

"Relevant departments should do more to publicize traffic rules and educate drivers to respect the lives of both others and themselves," Peng said. "Meanwhile, drivers' should not be so impetuous."

It is easy to get rear-ended or cause other traffic accidents when drivers don't concentrate on driving, he added.

Xie Xintian contributed to this story
An activist accused of damaging national security by spreading subversive thoughts and conducting anti-national activities pleaded guilty at Tianjin No 2 Intermediate People's Court on Friday.

Prosecutors said that Gou Hongguo went abroad to allegedly get training in subversion after met Hu Shigen, leader of an illegal organization, which claims to hold religious activities, in 2013.

Since then, Gou, led by Hu, allegedly took part in anti-China forums abroad and spread subversive thoughts after he returned home, according to prosecutors.

Gou allegedly provided money for Hu, lawyer Zhou Shifeng and other activists Zhai Yanmin and Le Heping to organize protests against the country, the prosecutors said.

Earlier this week, Zhai, Hu and Zhou were sentenced for subverting State power by the court. Zhai was given three years in prison with a four-year reprieve. Hu was sentenced to seven-and-a-half years and Zhou was jailed for seven years.

Li is being prosecuted in a separate case.
BEIJING - A spokesman for the State Council Taiwan Affairs Office on Thursday stressed that talks and arrangements for Taiwan's participation in international organizations must be based on the one-China principle.

Ma Xiaoguang made the remarks in response to a question about Taiwan's wish to attend the 39th session of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) Assembly.

"Our position is clear and consistent. That is such participation must be arranged through negotiations between the mainland and Taiwan based on the one-China principle," Ma said.

Ma said that since 2008, the mainland has made practical arrangements regarding Taiwan's participation in some international organizations and activities through negotiations with the island. Such arrangements were achieved on the basis of both sides adhering to the "1992 Consensus" and under the precondition that they would not cause "two Chinas" or "one China, one Taiwan."

The spokesman went on to say that Taiwan's authorities have yet to recognize the "1992 Consensus" or its essence, leading to a standstill of cross-Strait communication, "Taiwan bears full responsibility for this situation."

"Only by recognizing the political basis of one China could the two sides continue their institutional exchanges and make talks on Taiwan's participation in international organizations possible," Ma said.

The civil aviation authorities of Taiwan were invited to send staff as non-voting delegates to attend the ICAO Assembly's 38th session in 2013, after the mainland and Taiwan exchanged views on this issue.
10-year-old He Yuanxi and her grandmother lead cattle home in Fengle Village of Yangjie Township of Xundian country, Southwest China's Yunnan province, Aug. 2, 2016. He Yuanxi, a typical "left-behind child" in Chinese rural area, has been living with her 60-year-old grandmother as her father chooses to work in big cities after divorce. The girl, who just completed the fourth year study in primary school, helps her grandmother to do housework, herd cattle and do farm work in this summer vacation. The phrase "left-behind children" is used in China to describe rural children whose parents work in other cities. Left-behind children usually live with relatives, often their grandparents, while their parents work away from home. [Photo/Xinhua]
A middle school student in Jiaozhou, Shandong province, may have missed out on going to his university of choice because his application was tampered with by a classmate.

Chang Sheng, 19, is from an impoverished farming family. He applied to study physical education at Shaanxi Normal University on July 5, and would have enjoyed tuition-free study if enrolled.

"I received notice on July 23 that I was not enrolled. This was a surprise because my college entrance exam scores met the standard," Chang told the local Huashang Daily. "Besides, the university didn't receive enough applications from the area."

Chang checked his records and found that his application had not been submitted to the correct university.

"I can recall the day that I submitted my application through my teacher's computer. The teacher told us to arrive at 8 am and gave us some instructions. I submitted mine around 10 am and my classmate Guo was sitting next to me. He must have used my username and password to log on to the system," he said.

Chang's suspicions were proved correct when he contacted Guo through their teacher. Guo admitted to changing the name of the university on Chang's form because they were both applying to the same college, and Chang had higher exam scores.

Chang's family reported the case to the police on July 25.

According to Chang's father, Guo's family had offered financial compensation or help finding Chang a job in the People's Liberation Army, but these offers were rejected because all Chang wanted was to go to university.

"I have worked part-time in a food factory since July 13, from 7 am to 7 pm, with only a half-hour break for lunch," said Chang.

"Every day I got 73 yuan ($11), but after July 23, I was in a bad mood and stopped working. If I could be enrolled and study tuition-free, it would be less of a financial burden on my parents. I have worked so hard to earn this. I cannot accept not going."

Local police said on Aug 3 that Guo has been detained for investigation. Guo's father told the local media that he and his wife regretted putting too much pressure on their son.

"He was too scared to tell us the truth. I heard from his classmate," said Guo's father. "My 18-year-old son hasn't slept for four days and has lost weight rapidly. He is very sorry. My son is not the only one that should be blamed. It is our fault. We didn't educate him well enough."

Chang said he did not want his classmate to be punished.

"I just want to be enrolled at Shaanxi Normal University. I don't want him to be punished. He is just a student," he said.

It is unknown if Chang will be allowed to submit a second application to the university.
China expressed its strong indignation over Japanese defense minister's remarks on the Nanking Massacre on Friday, urging Tokyo to face up to history and not challenge the world order.

Tomomi Inada, who was appointed as the defense minister on Wednesday, denied the existence of killing competition during the tragedy that left an estimated 300,000 people dead in an interview with local media on Thursday.

By ignoring history and fact, Inada was simply trying to whitewash Japan's history of aggression, challenge the world order and call back the spirit of militarism, the defense ministry said in a written statement on Friday.

More than seven decades ago, the Japanese troops carried out the massacre in Nanjing during World War II, and even used people for killing competitions.

"The evidence is ironclad and undeniable," the ministry said.

"Taking the history as a mirror and one would know the future," it added, noting that facing up to the history is the basis for solving historical issues, and manipulating the history would only repeat the same mistake.

If history is denied, there will be no future for the China-Japan relationship, it said.
A middle school student in Jiaozhou, Shandong province, whose application was tampered with by a classmate, has got his application restored and has been admitted to Shaanxi Normal University.

The Shandong Provincial Academy of Education, Recruitment and Examination said in its micro blog on Friday that it has negotiated with the university and decided to accept Chang's application. The university also agreed to enroll Chang.

According to The Paper, a Chinese media platform based in Shanghai, local police has confirmed that Chang Sheng, 19, failed to enroll into the university in the first place only because his application was tampered with by a classmate surnamed Guo.

Local police said on Wednesday that Chang's classmate Guo, who was suspected of tempering with Chang's application, has been detained for investigation after Chang's family reported the case to the police on July 25.

Earlier, Chinese media had reported Chang's story, triggering hot discussion online. Chang is from an impoverished farming family. He applied to study physical education at Shaanxi Normal University on July 5, and would have been exempt from tuition if enrolled.

"I received a notice on July 23 that I was not enrolled. That was a surprise because my college entrance exam scores met the standard," Chang told the local Huashang Daily. "Besides, the university didn't receive enough applications from the area."

Chang checked his records and found that his application had not been submitted to the correct university.

"I submitted my application through my teacher's computer. The teacher told us to arrive at 8 am and gave us some instructions. I submitted mine around 10 am and my classmate Guo was sitting next to me. He may have used my username and password to log onto the application system," he said.

Chang's suspicions were proved correct when he contacted Guo. Guo admitted to tempering with Guo's application because they were applying for the same college, and Chang's exam score was higher.

According to Chang's father, Guo's family had offered financial compensation or help finding Chang a job, but these offers were rejected because all Chang wanted was to go to university.

"I have worked part-time in a food factory since July 13, from 7 am to 7 pm, with only a half-hour break for lunch," said Chang.

"Every day I earn 73 yuan ($11), but after July 23, I was in a bad mood and stopped working. If I could be enrolled and study tuition-free, it would be less of a financial burden on my parents. I have worked so hard to earn this. I cannot accept failing to enroll into a university."

Guo's father told the local media that he and his wife regretted putting too much pressure on their son.

"He was too scared to tell us the truth. I heard from his classmate," said Guo's father. "My 18-year-old son hasn't slept for four days and has lost weight rapidly. He is very sorry. My son is not the only one that should be blamed. It is our fault. We didn't educate him well enough."

Chang said he suggests lenient punishment for Guo because he is still a student.
TIANJIN -- Four people were convicted of subverting state power and sentenced by a court in Tianjin after serial trials in the past four days.



Of the four, Hu Shigen, an illegal church leader, got the longest prison term of 7.5 years. He is the eldest at 61 and had engaged in state power subversion since the 1990s.



Zhou Shifeng, a lawyer who formerly managed the Fengrui Law Firm in Beijing, was sentenced to seven years in prison.



Zhai Yanmin, an unemployed resident of Beijing, was sentenced to three years in prison, suspended for four years.



Entrepreneur Gou Hongguo received a suspended three year sentence.



Zhai and Gou may not be jailed if they do not re-offend during the probation period.



All of them accepted the charges and expressed remorse. None chose to appeal.



The four met to "establish a systematic ideology, method and steps" to subvert state power, according to the court statements.



Hu masterminded, spreading subversive ideas and plans and training agents such as Gou; Zhou ran the law firm as a front to carry out subversive activities with Hu and others; and Zhai, the "enforcer," who was instructed by Hu to organize paid petitioners for illegal protests, according to the statements.



Chen Yaodong, vice head of the Law School of Nankai University who observed proceedings, came to the conclusion that the trials were "open and fair," and that China's judiciary handled these sensitive cases with order.

"There's no place for outlaws in our country under the rule of law, and any activities to subvert state power via violence, 'peaceful evolution' or 'street politics' will be punished by law," he added.



"SPIRITUAL LEADER" HU



Hu is a native of Nanchang city in east China's Jiangxi Province. He was a teacher in a Beijing university before engaging in subversive activities.



He was sentenced to 20 years in prison in 1994 for "counter-revolutionary" crimes. He returned to his subversive ways not long after he was released in 2008.



Hu has been spreading the idea of "pushing down the wall", namely overturning China's existing system and realizing a "color revolution."



"Hu Shigen is our 'spiritual leader,'" Zhai Yanmin said in his testimony, adding Hu greatly influenced his ideas and concepts.



According to testimony of witnesses, Hu has been engaged in "brainwashing" through alleged "missionary" activities. Hu was proud to make a fuss over sensitive legal cases, often, through conflicts raised by paid petitioners.

Hu even misled the petitioners that "it is an honor to be detained," promising them financial compensations if they were.



A witness surnamed Liu said, Hu regarded petitioners as a force to subvert state power, as they "are bold enough and readily stirred up," and "obey his orders."



Gou Hongguo said, petitioners have one thing in common which is a grudge against governments, therefore, if organized, they can be a powerful force against the government.



The Qing'an incident is one example of Hu's "pushing down the wall." In May 2015, police officer Li Lebin shot dead Xu Chunhe at Qing'an County Railway Station in Heilongjiang Province, after Xu attacked Li despite multiple warnings. CCTV cameras and follow-up investigations confirmed that Li had acted within the law.



But Hu instructed Zhai to organize protests at the railway station and in front of the county government buildings, influencing online opinion and misrepresenting the incident as police brutality.

"I just wanted to smear the judicial organs, police and government," confessed Hu.



Hu also put forward the idea of "three factors" -- stronger citizen power, an internal split within the ruling bloc, and interference of international society -- and "five plans" for "peaceful transformation."

"I instilled these ideas to others with the very aim of achieving a 'color revolution,'" Hu said.
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An expected visit to China by a special envoy from the Philippines will offer direct channels for improving icy ties between the countries, but neither side should harbor hopes of an instant breakthrough, experts said on Thursday.

New Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte said on Wednesday that former president Fidel Ramos will visit China as a special envoy. He did not give a date for the trip.

Ramos, 88, served as Philippine president from 1992 to 1998 and has maintained good personal ties with China.
National Grid Plc, the electricity and natural gas network operator in the United Kingdom, has started an auction to sell a controlling stake in its domestic gas network that could value the business at more than 10 billion pounds ($13.3 billion), people with knowledge of the matter said.

National Grid, which is selling 51 percent of its four regional gas distribution networks, has sent information on the business to potential buyers, according to the people. The company has asked for first-round bids to be submitted by late September, the people said, asking not to be named because the deliberations are private.

Canada Pension Plan Investment Board is considering joining a consortium of Canadian investors and Middle Eastern sovereign wealth funds interested in the assets, one of the people said. Another group including Allianz SE, the infrastructure arm of Australian investment bank Macquarie Group Ltd and Amber Infrastructure Group may also bid, the people said.
China is willing to work with all parties to build roads, railway lines, air and sea route networks in East Asia to improve regional connectivity and trade flows, Commerce Minister Gao Hucheng said on Thursday.

These goals can be achieved through the cooperative framework of the Belt and Road Initiative, the minister said in Vientiane, the capital of Laos while attending the Association of Southeast Asian Nations Trade and Economic Ministers' Meeting, which also involved China, Japan and South Korea.

China is keen to work with partner countries to draw support from financial institutions including the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, the Silk Road Fund and the Asian Development Bank, to obtain funding for the projects.
Mary Previte, a survivor of a prison-of-war camp, meets her rescuer, Wang Chenghan, in Guiyang.[Photo by Yang Jun/ China Daily]

A former New Jersey politician comes to Southwest China to find her hero, Xing Yi and Dong Xianwu report in Guiyang.

It is a cool afternoon in Guiyang, capital of Southwest China's Gui-zhou province, when Wang Chenghan puts on a traditional Chinese suit and waits to meet an old friend.

He hasn't seen Mary Previte in decades.

On Aug 17, 1945, two days after Japan had announced its surrender in World War II, a B-24 bomber took off from China's southwest. Onboard were six US soldiers and Wang, who was then a Chinese interpreter. The operation, dubbed "duck mission" was to rescue hundreds of people imprisoned by the Japanese in Weifang in East China's Shandong province.

Previte was in that camp, too.

"I never thought the day would come," Previte says, crying with joy upon seeing Wang, now 91.

Previte, 84, has come from New Jersey to Guiyang to thank Wang for the help that changed her life.

The Weihsien Interment Camp was one of the largest detention centers established by the Japanese for civilians from Allied countries living in northern China during World War II.

The rescue team did not know what to expect from the armed Japanese guards despite their surrender. The plane flew low while approaching the camp. Then, the door opened and they jumped.

"When I jumped out of the plane, the wind made me dizzy. I almost lost consciousness. Then a pain in my shoulder woke me up. I saw the ground," Wang recalls of his landing in a sorghum field near the camp. "It took fewer than 10 seconds."

And it was Wang's first time parachuting. Then 20 years old, he had only received basic simulation training on the ground. They didn't have to fight with the outnumbered Japanese guards to take over the camp, and were welcomed by thrilled internees, who didn't know they were free until they saw the US plane.

Recalling her memories of that day, Previte says: "I had a stomach pain and was in bed, but I heard people crying and shouting outside ... They rushed out of the camp gate to welcome the heroes.

"When I saw the American plane hovering, my ache disappeared."

In the following weeks, the rescue team registered the interned civilians by nationality, then coordinated with the Allies to send them back home.
Guy Saint-Jacques has spent 13 years in Beijing and Hong Kong.[Photo by Feng Yongbin/ China Daily]

Guy Saint-Jacques, Canadian ambassador to China, is an old hand when it comes to the country.

So talking to him can feel like chatting with an old friend.

The conversation flows seamlessly between diverse topicsfrom the late Canadian physician Norman Bethune's help to China in earlier decades to the origin of the diplomat's Chinese name, Zhao Pu.

The name was given by his Mandarin teacher in the 1980s at the Chinese University of Hong Kong, where Saint-Jacques enrolled during a diplomatic stint. For the briefness of his given name, Guy, the teacher suggested the Chinese character pu.

"It's very good for a diplomathumble, simple and that describes me well," Saint-Jacques says.

Saint-Jacques has spent 13 years in Beijing and Hong Kong.

Before his posting as ambassador here, the Canadian newspaper Globe and Mail said he was among the few high-ranking Canadian diplomats who spoke Mandarin.

Saint-Jacques says his Mandarin has made him a "better" ambassador. He recalls that in 2012, when he was presenting his credentials to then-Chinese president Hu Jintao, he was offered eight minutes for the meeting. But as he spoke in Chinese he gained more time with Hu, saved from the lack of translation.

And on CCTV, where an annual program for ambassadors sees them promoting their countries to Chinese investors, Saint-Jacques makes the most of the few minutes he gets on air by speaking Chinese.

"I sweated so much to learn the language, and if I have the advantage, I will use it every time."

Saint-Jacques got his degree in geology from the University of Montreal in 1974, and a master's in land planning and regional development from Laval University in 1976. A year later, he joined Canada's foreign ministry and his postings have taken him to the United States, Mexico, Britain and China.

He says his fascination with China goes back to his university days, but his first posting in Africa saw him make a number of friends among Chinese diplomats there.

"You have to hope that life will be a succession of happy coincidences," he says, adding that he and his wife, Sylvie, had wanted to come to China for a long time.

After learning Mandarin in Hong Kong for two years, he arrived in Beijing in 1984, where he was stationed until 1987.

"When I left in 1987, it (China) was a very poor country. And I still have the bicycle that I used to go to work then," he recalls.

He returned with his family in 1995, and found Beijing to be a completely different place.
Bose Krishnamachari [Photo provided to China Daily]

The capital city of Northwest China's Ningxia Hui autonomous region, Yinchuan, is set to host the first contemporary art biennial in the region starting on Sept 9.

The biennial will be held at the Museum of Contemporary Art Yinchuan. Bose Krishnamachari, an internationally acclaimed Indian artist will curate the event.

"The biennial's concept addresses to different themes including spiritual and social consciousness, an examination of political narratives and critical global engagement and an acknowledgment of a collective responsibility therein," he says.

Around 80 artists from across the globe will participate in the event by exhibiting their works. Some of the participants will conduct workshops for children to show the diverse spectrum of global artistic development. The event will run through Sept 18.

Related:

Chinese Arts Festival held in Sfax, Tunisia
Kitties, August 2006. Three cats hang out together but have zero interaction. One peeks over the cover of the wooden threshold. On each side of the threshold, a cat relaxes on carved stone.[Photo by Bai Hao/For chinadaily.com.cn]

At a library in a Beijing hutong (small alley), Bai Hao is seen talking to children from the nearby neighborhood in Xicheng district.

"Do you know why the area is called so? Do you know what it looked like before?" he asks them.

Apparently, the smiling children don't know the answers.

Bai, a 54-year-old Beijing native and photographer, seems to be always ready to tell people about the past. Not always in words thoughhe prefers pictures.

The library is hosting a show of Bai's works. The 40 exhibits offer glimpses of modern history, parts of which may have been forgotten by many people living in the capital.
[Photo provided to China Daily]

In the highly competitive fashion industry, Yang Lu's rise seems almost effortless.

The 30-year-old fashion designer has been invited to New York Fashion Week to showcase his 2017 spring/summer collection at ArtBeam on Sept 12.

Surprisingly, it is just a year since he launched his clothing line Lu Yang by Yang Lu in his hometown Chongqing, a metropolis of 30 million people in Southwest China, far from the country's fashion centers of Beijing and Shanghai.

So far, he has launched five collections and has also taken part in both Shanghai Fashion Week and Chongqing Fashion Week in 2015.

The New York shows, held at ArtBeam during the fashion week, have helped many independent designers in recent years. It is regarded as an incubator for fashion talents by the US media.

Before Yang, very few designers from the Chinese mainland have been invited to New York Fashion Week.

In 2014, Wang Tao from Shanghai was the first to showcase her works there.

Speaking of his invitation, Yang says: "I am surprised and excited."

Yang, who was in his studio, a loft in a quiet industry park in a northern suburb of Chongqing when China Daily met him, says: "Very few people know my brand here in Chongqing and now it is going to New York."

Though his works are bold in color and design, the young man appears humble.

Sporting a close-crop hair and wearing a T-shirt and jeans, he speaks softly.

Born into a well-off family, Yang has loved painting since childhood.

From 2006 to 2010, he studied watercolor painting at the Sichuan Fine Arts Institute, one of the top arts schools in China.

But during his undergraduate years, he fell in love with fashion designing and began to participate in local and national contests.
Chocolate buns, milk custard buns and deep-fried dumplings are displayed at Dim Sum Icon restaurant in Hong Kong.[Photo/Agencies]

At Dim Sum Icon in Hong Kong, diners are encouraged to play with their food.

Squeeze the lactating and defecating steamed dim sum bun with coconut cream inside, made to resemble one of the popular Japanese Kobitos characters, and you're in for a "hilarious" experience, customers say.

But far from grossing people out, Ray Kuo, assistant manager at the restaurant, says it's one of the most popular items on the menu.

"Actually we got a lot of good reviews from them," Kuo says. "That is the main one they post on Facebook and Instagram."

Another crowd-pleaser is a pooping Gudetama, the lazy yellow egg character from Japan's Sanrio, and a cartoon turd made out of cake.

The restaurant uses Japanese animations, such as the Kobitos by Toshitaka Nabata and Gudetama, but switches the main theme up every few months in addition to alternating menu items.

"We don't want the old traditional Chinese style of dim sum, so we want make it more fashionable," Kuo says, emphasizing the restaurant's appeal to teenagers and a "younger crowd".

Dutch exchange student Lineke Schrigver says she knew about the restaurants from social media before even setting foot in the city and happened to walk by it.

"I have seen it on Facebook and on Instagram already before I came to Hong Kong, but I didn't know this was like a famous thing or anything," Schrigver says. "I was like, I want to go there."

Schrigver says the food was "hilarious" but "really tasty".

A tourist from Taiwan, Miss Su, who had just arrived in Hong Kong, says her family had first eaten at a traditional dim sum restaurant but were disappointed.

"I think it is a novelty and special so I wanted to have a try," Su says. "And it does taste really good, cute and tasty."

Kuo explains that everything has been cleared with the copyrights holder, with a percentage of the profits going to the animation companies.

Dim Sum Icon opened its first restaurant two years ago and a second at the end of December. They are already in negotiations to open stores in the mainland and Macao, the company says.
Mary Taylor Previte was 9 years old when Japanese troops marched into Chefoo boarding school in 1941, a day after the deadly attack on Pearl Harbor. It was then that her life would change forever.

Three long years later on August 17, 1945, after being held in torturous conditions at Weihsein concentration camp in Weifang, Shandong province, Previte and 1,500 Allied civilian prisoners were liberated.

Mary remembers the day as if it was yesterday. She had been lying in a second floor hospital dormitory, withering in diarrhea, when she heard the drone of a B-24 bomber overhead.

"I jumped and looked out of the window and saw a plane flying low over the treetops and then parachutes started dropping," said Ms Previte.

"The people rushed out to the fields to these six Americans and one Chinese interpreter and picked up these heroes and carried them to the gates of the camp," Previte recalled tearfully.

1 1 1 In photos: w oman reunited with rescuer 71 years on

More than 70 years after the heroic deed saved her life, Previte has travelled half way around the world to thank the 91-year old Wang Chenghan in his hometown of Guiyang, Guizhou province.

"This is my hero!" exclaimed 83-year-old Previte when she saw Wang waiting for her outside his the door of his home. Tears and words of gratitude were then exchanged as the two became locked in a tight embrace.

It took Previte 18 years to track down Wang, after having already located and thanked the other six rescuers from the operation dubbed "Duck Mission".

Ms Previte brought Wang, the only man of the rescuers still alive, 18 thank-you letters written by New Jersey Congressman Donald Norcross, US Ambassador to China Max Baucus, and other internees of the concentration camp.

"If you and your brave comrades hadn't saved us, I would probably have died before I reached 19," wrote Pamela Masters-Flynn of Placerville, California, in a letter to Wang. "Thank you for giving me 70 more years of living here on earth with all the wonderful people who touched my life along the way."

US State Senate President Stephen Sweeney, another camp internee, wrote that Wang was "deserving of the highest commendation and praise," while US Congressman Norcross entered Wang's name into the US Congressional Record for his "selfless acts and service".

Wang led Mary to his home and the two sat down hand in hand, laughing and recalling the past. "It's the end of a dream to actually have found all of the heroes and have the opportunity to see them face to face," said Previte. "I never thought I could still meet [Mr Wang] in my life."

The nearly two-decade-long-search for Mr Wang, who Mary knew as "Eddie Wang", had left her with many questions about how he came to join the rescue operation.

Wang explained that he decided to join the army when he was still in sophomore year at Sichuan University in 1943. Two years later, he graduated from the army's interpreter training class and was assigned to rescue the foreign prisoners at Weihsein. Wang had never tried parachuting before, but felt it was his duty to carry out the mission.

It was not until March this year that Private discovered the last hero she had been searching for. The breakthrough came after a Chinese student studying in the US saw an article about her and realized that the missing man was his grandfather.

The two old friends talked and laughed for a whole afternoon. They even sang the song You Are My Sunshine which helped them pass the time during difficult periods of the camp.

"My life has been made so beautiful with these friendships," said Previte. "This is the last stop on my pilgrimage to find my heroes."

Wang Chenghan Biography Wang Chenghan at age of 23 (left) and now at age 91. [Photo provided to China Daily] Wang Chenghan was born in Chengdu, the capital of Sichuan province, in 1925. In 1943, Wang enrolled in a course at the Department of Physics of Sichuan University. However, in 1944, Wang dropped out of school and joined in the National Revolutionary Army. It was there that he received training to be an interpreter, before being enrolled by the US-controlled Office of Strategic Services (OSS) - the predecessor of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). After training in Yunnans Kaiyuan city, Wang was among the operatives that carried out Duck Mission, where some 1,500 internees were rescued from Weihsien Camp in central Shandong province in August 1945. Two months after in October 1945, Wang returned to school to continue his engineering degree and worked as an engineer in Shenyang, Liaonin province, after graduation. Fifty years later, Wang moved to Guiyang.
Photo provided by Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) on July 26, 2015 shows top leader of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) Kim Jong-un making a congratulatory speech at the 4th National Conference of War Veterans on July 25, 2015. [Photo/KCNA]

Together and independently, the Untied States, Japan and the Republic of Korea issued harshly-worded condemnations, and warnings, after the Democratic People's Republic of Korea test fired two mid-range ballistic missiles on Wednesday.

The "deeply upset" United Nations, which declared Pyongyang's act "seriously damages regional peace and stability" convened emergency closed-door consultations of the UN Security Council, where the US and its allies pushed hard for harsher sanctions against the DPRK.

It remains to be seen what degree of consensus can be reached, and whether or not the new, more stringent sanctions Washington, Tokyo and Seoul are calling for eventually get the UN's seal of approval. Unanimity is out of the question since the Security Council members disagree on the best approach to make DPRK leader Kim Jong-un behave.

The Chinese Ambassador to the UN, for one, has just reiterated Beijing's worry that the sanctions-only formula advocated by Washington, Tokyo and Seoul may only end up making things even more inflammable.

And as it has repeatedly asserted, Beijing will not sign up for any proposal that may result in chaos or war on the Korean Peninsula.

Not to mention that Beijing now has a substantive security threat on its doorstep with Seoul agreeing to deploy the US' Terminal High-Altitude Area Defense system, in disregard of China's security interests and strenuous opposition.

The THAAD anti-missile system insisted on by the US and the ROK is merely a nominal response to threats from the DPRK, but a real threat to China. How can they expect Beijing to pull their chestnuts out of the fire after suffering such a stab in the back at their hands?

Since the security landscape of Northeast Asia is in unprecedented disarray, Beijing certainly has to prioritize its own security. After all, Seoul is determined to proceed with the deployment of THAAD, Tokyo has just singled out China as a security threat in its defense white paper and installed a defense chief notorious for whitewashing the Japanese military's wartime crimes, and Washington is making trouble for Beijing in the South China Sea.

Security concerns once drove Beijing to join the Washington-led trio in implementing UN sanctions against Pyongyang. THAAD, however, has declared the death of that short-lived united front.

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, via a spokesperson, expressed hope that Pyongyang would "return to the process of sincere dialogue". But that is unlikely, with THAAD apparently dividing the international alliance against its stunts.

Pyongyang's nuclear and missile programs have thrived on such divides in the past. Chances are they will again.
A student gives a goodbye kiss to his teacher at Maotanchang High School in Maotanchang town of Lu'an city, East China's Anhui province, June 4, 2016.[Photo/Xinhua]

After this year's National College entrance exam in Jiaozhou, East China's Shandong province, a student stole the password for a classmate's online college application account and changed the college the classmate was applying to. Beijing News commented on Thursday:

Fearing that a classmate who applied to the same university would pose a threat to his own application, a Shandong student stole the log-in details of his classmates' online application account and changed his classmate's choice of college.

In fact, many young people are yet to realize that it constitutes a serious crime to alter other people's college applications, and it is not uncommon for the college applications of students to be changed by someone else without their consent. But whoever does this, regardless of his or her intentions, should be held accountable, as it is against the law.

The system plays a key role in students' college applications, but only requires an applicant's exam registration number and password to log in. Such digital loopholes can be easily exploited. So basic background checks such as mobile messages and email verification should be introduced to keep willful intruders at bay and inform the genuine users of unauthorized accessing of their accounts.

The victims of such "hacking" should also be compensated properly according to the law and their reports dealt with in a timely manner. That requires the local education authorities and police launch joint investigations into the violation of students' education rights.

On their part, universities need to provide a "fast track" for qualified yet wronged candidates.
Some colleges students in Beijing have been found to be renting their dormitory beds to people outside the campus via websites, such as Ganji.com and 58.com.

Some colleges students in Beijing have been found to be renting their dormitory beds to people outside the campus via websites, such as Ganji.com and 58.com. Southern Metropolis Daily commented on Thursday:

Unlike their counterparts in the West who have the freedom to live where they want, Chinese college students are often asked to stay in dormitory rooms which they share with three or five others. It is no surprise that those students who dislike sharing a room with others and prefer to live outside the campus are willing to "rent" their dormitory beds to others to make some money.

However, the beds are the property of the colleges and so the students have no right to rent them to others. Also students should not rent their beds because of security concerns.

True, many students are away from campus during summer and winter breaks, and are willing to make the most of their vacant beds, which the colleges exclusively offer registered students. But even putting the security risks aside, the students who share the rooms may not be happy about such deals made without their consent.

That some students still rent out their beds, although they are forbidden to do so, has a lot to do with lax dormitory management. Many college dormitories can be entered freely, and even those that require student cards are far from foolproof, because some "bed renters" will rent their cards as well.

Therefore, colleges have to strengthen their security checks, especially when an increasing number of them have opened their campuses to the public.

On the one hand, colleges should provide rooms with different numbers of beds to meet different needs and allow students to choose where they want to live. On the other hand, they could, under proper management, rent temporarily unused dormitory rooms to those in need and use the money to renovate campus facilities.
In its 2016 defense white paper, Japan interferes in the South China Sea. [Photo by Cai Hong/chinadaily.com.cn]

In its defense white paper issued on Tuesday, Japan says China has destabilized the regional military balance and some of its maritime claims are conflicting. It also voices concern over the future of the region.

Japan issued the defense paper a day after China's People Liberation Army celebrated its 89th birthday. A day later, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe appointed Tomomi Inada as defense minister.

In charge of the government's administrative reform from December 2012 to September 2014, Inada has visited Yasukuni Shrine, which honors 14 class-A war criminals, every year on Aug 15, the day Japan surrendered in World War II. And on Saturday (Aug 6) Japan will mourn the deaths of thousands of people in Hiroshima, a day which right-wing Japanese have turned into an annual event to portray Japan as a victim of WWII.

Using such excuses to change the pacifist Constitution, the Abe administration has prepared a file exaggerating the external threats Japan faces. The defense white paper follows the same pattern.

In a poll conducted by Kyodo News Agency last month, 48.9 percent of the respondents said they oppose the Abe administration's revision of the Constitution that allowed Japanese troops to engage in conflicts abroad; only 35.8 percent supported it. This shows the split in Japanese society on a key issue concerning the country's future.
LUO JIE/CHINA DAILY

What the Republic of Korea truly needs to safeguard its national security is a friendly neighborhood rather than the US' Terminal High-Altitude Air Defense system that will pose a threat to surrounding countries such as China. The decision of Seoul and Washington early last month to deploy the system on the Korean Peninsula will break the strategic balance in Northeast Asia, threatening regional peace and stability and signal the beginning of a new Cold War.

With THAAD's X-band radar commanding surveillance of an area of more than 1,900 kilometers from the peninsula, the United States can spy on almost half of China's territory and the southern part of Russia's Far East, endangering the two countries' national security.

The ROK's move represents a departure from its courageous shift from confrontation to cooperation to break the curse of the Cold War, highlighted by Seoul hosting the 1988 Olympic Games. The Seoul Olympics was a turning point in its history, which opened the road to economic prosperity thanks to a better security environment.
Looking at the world through the eyes of the Web
The law requires all employers to subsidize outdoor employees and those working indoors where the temperature is above 33 C.

Yet journalists in Wuhan in Central China's Hubei province recently found that some enterprises offered insufficient subsidies to their outdoor workers, lower than the provincial standard of 12 yuan ($1.8) a day; some even offered just a bottle of cola instead.

The insufficient high-temperature subsidies violate employees' rights.

Local labor rights protection departments said that those who get insufficient high-temperature subsidies can report it to them. But that is unlikely to happen as those who fail to receive the high-temperature subsidy they are entitled to are usually manual laborers, and if they report their employers to the government, they might lose their jobs.

In order to solve the problem, it is necessary for labor rights protection departments to be more proactive. They need to inspect enterprises and find out whether they are giving the high-temperature subsidy to their employees as they are legally required to do.

More importantly, the government must accelerate the ongoing reform and lighten the financial burden of small-and medium-sized enterprises, so that they can afford to issue the high-temperature subsidy as required by law.
Newly elected Nepalese Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal, also known as Prachanda, (L) greets outgoing Prime Minister Khadga Prasad Sharma Oli (R) upon their arrival during the administers of oath of office to the newly-elected Prime Minister at the presidential building "Shital Niwas" in Kathmandu, Nepal August 4, 2016. [Photo/Agencies]

KATHMANDU - Nepal's newly elected Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal, also known as Prachanda, has taken oath of office and secrecy from President Bidya Devi Bhandari, on Thursday.

Amid a function held at the President's Office Sheetalnibas in the capital, President Bhandari administered oath of office and secrecy to Dahal, who was elected as the 39th prime minister of the country on Tuesday through voting at the Parliament.

On the same occasion, President Bhandari also administered oath of office and secrecy to Deputy Prime Ministers Krishna Bahadur Mahara and Bimalendra Nidhi, who are key leaders of the CPN (Maoist Center) and Nepali Congress, respectively.

Mahara and Nidhi are likely to be appointed as the finance and home ministers respectively in the Dahal-led Cabinet, reports said.

The president also administered oath of office and secrecy to newly inducted ministers Daljit Sripali, Gaurishnaker Chaudhari and Ramesh Lekhak.

Ministers Sripali and Chaudhari belong to CPN (Maoist Centre) while Lekhak is a leader of the Nepali Congress party.

However, the CPN (Maoist Center) and Nepali Congress, who will run the coalition government for nine months as per their political understanding, have yet to finalize the portfolios of the ministers to be included in the new government.

Prime Minister Dahal will expand his cabinet after holding final consultation with Nepali Congress President Sher Bahadur Deuba possibly on Friday, according to officials.

Dahal replaced K.P Sharma Oli on Wednesday, who stepped down from the post of prime minister on July 24 to avoid a no-confidence vote.

Dahal won majority votes to become the head of the government in the prime ministerial election as he was backed by the largest party in the Parliament, Nepali Congress, Madhes-based parties and some other fringe parties.

Dahal, chairman of the CPN (Maoist Center), third largest party in the Nepalese Parliament, secured 363 votes when 573 parliamentarians cast ballots to become the prime minister while 210 parliamentarians voted against him.

Dahal was the sole candidate in the prime ministerial election as no other candidates emerged to vie against him.

However, the CPN (UML), second largest party in the Parliament and fourth largest party Rashtriya Prajatantra Party Nepal (RPPN) voted against Dahal.

This is the second time Dahal became the prime minister since his Maoist party joined the mainstream politics in 2007 after signing the peace deal with the then government ending the 10-year armed conflict that started in 1996.

The 61-year-old Dahal has become the first communist leader of Nepal who is now getting opportunity to serve as country's primer minister twice in Nepal's history.
VIENTIANE - China on Thursday vowed to deepen economic and trade cooperation with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).

The pledge was made during the 15th China-ASEAN (10+1) economic ministers' meeting which was held here in the Lao capital on Thursday.

Speaking at the meeting, Chinese Minister of Commerce Gao Hucheng highlighted the fruitful cooperation between China and ASEAN over the past 25 years.

He said bilateral cooperation in trade and economy has all along been a "ballast" and "propeller" in China-ASEAN dialogue relationship.

Pointing out that there is immense potential for cooperation in industrial capacity between China and ASEAN, the Chinese minister called for more efforts in this regard and building cross-border industrial chains.

China stands ready to work with ASEAN on cluster cooperation in such fields as railway, information and communication, chemical industry, engineering machinery and agriculture, he said, adding that enterprises from both sides are encouraged to carry out all-round cooperation.

The Chinese minister called for greater synergy between China-proposed Belt and Road Initiative and development strategies of ASEAN member countries.

He said the two sides should actively implement projects in related areas for mutual benefit and win-win results.

Gao expressed China's willingness to support ASEAN's community construction and the ASEAN Community Vision 2025 as well as to participate in the region's integration.

He said China will continue to provide development assistance as its capacity allows and help narrow the development gaps between ASEAN member countries.

China will also participate in the formulation and implementation of the master plan on ASEAN's connectivity and its post-2015 agenda, he added.

According to Gao, China will vigorously promote China-East ASEAN Growth Area cooperation and the Lancang-Mekong cooperation and provide financial support via platforms like China-ASEAN Investment Cooperation Fund, the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank and the Silk Road Fund.

China will support ASEAN's centrality in pushing forward the conclusion of negotiations for the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) by the end of this year, he said.

China is also willing to expand cooperation areas with ASEAN by supporting economic and trade cooperation between China's provincial areas and ASEAN member countries, he added.

A joint communique on industrial capacity cooperation was approved at the meeting and it will be submitted to a commemorative summit marking the 25th anniversary of China-ASEAN dialogue relationship in September this year.
Students attending public colleges and universities in Texas are facing a new reality in the classroom: loaded concealed guns.

As of Aug 1, Senate Bill 11 (Campus Carry), allows holders of a concealed handgun license (CHL) to carry a loaded handgun at four-year colleges and universities and junior colleges. The law takes effect at private schools and two-year community colleges next year. Texas is one of just eight states that allows students to carry guns into college buildings.

Supporters of the law say an armed student body could prevent another mass shooting like the one that happened on Aug 1, 1966, at the University of Texas at Austin (UT-Austin). Charles Whitman, a Marine-trained 25-year-old engineering student, climbed to the 28th-floor observation deck of a campus clock tower and shot 49 people, killing 16.

Opponents of the law passed by the Republican controlled legislature and signed by Republican Governor Gregg Abbott see the potential for more violence.And for some Chinese students studying in Texas, the new law is alarming.

"My knowledge of guns comes from movies and news, and suddenly I realize that guns will be right next to me," said Xing Kaijuan, who will be a freshman at UT-Austin from Shandong province.

"I can't imagine that gun shots would be heard often on an Eden-like campus. A student or teacher could just shoot you when they find you disagreeable. I think tragedy will happen as a result."

Some are not that concerned. Yang Yiran, a senior at the University of Houston from Beijing, said:

"I don't think it will have much impact. After all, criminals can always get hold of guns. Banning guns only disadvantages lawful citizens. Students carrying guns will be a good deterrent to criminals. Some of my friends joked that maybe it's time we get a license so we can take guns to school."

Zeng Zijie, a sophomore and president of the Chinese Students and Scholars Association (CSSA)at UT-Austin, said many students in the organization find it unbelievable and ridiculous that guns are allowed on campus, and they said that their parents are worried.

"CSSA has around 1,600 members. We plan to hold a seminar on how to adapt to a gun-zone campus," Zeng said.

Zhang Jing, senior counselor at Beijing New Oriental Vision Overseas Consulting, a leading agency that prepares Chinese students for studying abroad, said the Texas law will discourage some parents from sending their children to the state's public colleges.

"Safety is the number one concern for parents. Most Chinese parents don't fully grasp the reality of the US gun situation. They tend to think it's more dangerous than it actually is. I think at least 30 percent of people in China will exclude Texas as a destination for higher education because of this new law," said Zhang.

Texas students who are residents said they also are concerned.

Natalie Teoh, who lives in Houston and is a sophomore at UT-Dallas, views the new law as utter stupidity: "Campus carry is a wonderful idea because who doesn't want a bunch hormonal and mentally unstable young people encouraged to walk around with guns."

"It's nerve-racking that the already existing form of concealed carry now extends to more public spaces like lecture halls. I hope this will deter potential wrongdoers given that others may be unknowingly armed as well," said WuRuochen, a Houston resident studying at UT-Austin.

Teoh's mother, Nancy Tran, who works at MD Anderson Cancer Center, said the new law "puts our kids in danger".

"This is a bad idea. Young people have a lot going on with their lives. To me, they are mentally and emotionally immature.Sometimes people don't make sound judgement when they have guns easily accessible. They use it for the wrong reasons."

Because the law requires that a gun holder be at least 21, it means most freshman, sophomores and juniors are not eligible to carry guns on campus.

Tran thinks that it's not fair to expose and subject younger students to such a potentially dangerous environment.

"Unfortunately, it's the law, it's passed, and there is nothing we can do other than tell our children to be aware of the surroundings. The law will not be reviewed and changed until something tragic happens, as always is the case," said Tran.

mayzhou@chinadailyusa.com

hezijiang@chinadailyusa.com
A woman breastfeeds her baby as part of the celebration for World Breastfeeding Week in Caracas, Venezuela, August 4, 2016. [Photo/Xinhua]

CARACAS - Latin American countries have organized public breastfeeding events this week to commemorate World Breastfeeding Week from Aug 1 to 7.

In Venezuela's capital Caracas, some 200 women gathered at El Vena Plaza to breastfeed their babies on Thursday to tout the benefits of breastfeeding for both the baby and the mother.

The event also marked a national milestone, since Venezuela's breastfeeding rate has climbed from a mere 7 percent in 1997 to 52 percent today, Marilyn Di Luca, director of the National Nutrition Institute (INN), told state television network VTV.

The women gathered at the site to "promote breastfeeding as an act of love, equality, justice, health, well-being and above all food security," said Di Luca, urging Venezuelans to help meet the government-set goal of raising the rate to 70 percent by 2019.

The World Health Organization recommends mothers exclusively breastfeed infants from birth until they are six months old, citing the health benefits of mother's milk.

Venezuela's success has eluded Mexico, where the low breastfeeding rate has been considered as a public health crisis.

Officials and health workers in Mexico held press conferences on Wednesday to sound alarms and recommend ways to combat the stigma of breastfeeding in a country where baby formula is widely considered to be superior to breast milk.

"In Mexico, the number of children that die could be up to five times lower with something as simple as breast milk for the first six months ... and then complementing it with other foods until they are two years old," Isabel Crowley, representative of the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) in Mexico, told reporters.

The good news is that the breastfeeding rate in Mexico has doubled in the past three years, up from 14.4 percent in 2012 to 30.8 percent in 2015, according to UNICEF.

Crowley called for continued efforts to raise the rate to at least 80 percent, but noted that one major obstacle was the workplace.

"Mexican women who want to breastfeed their babies face many challenges when they return to work, among them the lack of support from co-workers and discrimination in the workplace," she said, whereas women should be encouraged to breastfeed because it reduces the likelihood of illness in the first year of infancy by 35 percent, and as a result reduces absenteeism of the parents by 30 to 70 percent.

Attitudes in Mexico are beginning to change, according to media reports.

The city government of Ciudad Juarez, in northern Chihuahua state, announced Thursday it would install a special breastfeeding nook for new mothers at its offices starting next month, local daily Norte Digital said.

"In all workplaces there should be an area where mothers can breastfeed their babies and get 45 minutes to feed them," said Hugo Staines, director of the city's health department.

In Colombia's capital Bogota, as many as 2,000 women gathered at a city park to breastfeed their babies, many more than last year.

"I think it's great for (the organizers) to support moms, because breast milk is the essential food for babies," said new mother Gabriela Mulfo.

"I urge all mothers to breastfeed. It is the first and greatest show of love we can present to our children," said Mulfo.

"Breast milk protects the baby, helps the mother recover (from childbirth) and on top of that it's free," UNICEF's Crowley said.
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About Censored News Censored News is published by Brenda Norrell. Since 2006, Censored News has received more than 20 million pageviews. As a collective of writers, photographers and broadcasters, we publish news of Indigenous Peoples and human rights. Contact publisher Brenda Norrell: brendanorrell@gmail.com

From the publisher Censored News is published by Brenda Norrell, a journalist in Indian country for 40 years. Norrell created Censored News after she was censored and terminated as a staff reporter at Indian Country Today in 2006. She began as a reporter at Navajo Times during the 18 years that she lived on the Navajo Nation. She was a stringer for AP and USA Today and later traveled with the Zapatistas through Mexico. She has been blacklisted by all the mainstream media for 14 years. Contact brendanorrell@gmail.com

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by Staff reporter

Europe's largest aerospace group Airbus representatives are currently in the country to negotiate new business deals with Air Zimbabwe.Transport minister Joram Gumbo yesterday confirmed the presence of the Airbus team in the country but could not shed more details.AirZim currently operates an airbus A320 which it acquired last year and plies the lucrative Harare Johannesburg route.The minister said the new facility will see Caaz competing with other international institutions in building a human resource skill base for the nation.
(Photo : YouTube) Chinese researchers are set to conduct Deep Sea exploration in the Solomon Sea, Papua New Guinea.

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China's first ship specially designed for deep-sea exploration, the Zhang Jian, set sail from Shanghai to the South Pacific on July 12. It will sail across the equator into the southern hemisphere for scientific research.



The 97 meters long and 17.8 meters wide ship is heading for the waters of the New Britain Trench in the Solomon Sea, off Papua New Guinea, which is more than 8,000 meters deep. The vessel is the mother ship carrying the landing device for Rainbow Fish - a submersible that can dive as deep as 11,000 meters. Chinese researchers are preparing to send the Rainbow Fish into the Mariana Trench late this year or early next year, Fang Jiasong, chief scientist of the mission, said.



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During Zhang Jian's two-month journey to the Southern Pacific, scientists aboard the vessel will study the terrain, water, and sediment in the 8,000 metre-deep trench of northwestern Pacific Ocean, which is believed to be very rich in resources.



"We will study the terrain of the trench, take samples of seawater, sediment and explore the bio-diversity, and increase our understanding of the Earth's deepest water," Fang explained. "Zhang Jian is China's first ship specially designed and built for deep-sea exploration. The journey is an important step in our efforts to take on the Mariana Trench. Scientists will test the navigation abilities of the ship and its scientific equipment."



The ship departed last weekend, ahead of the visit of the Prime Minister Peter O'Neill of Papua New Guinea to China. During his visit, O'Neill signed agreements for direct flights and to encourage investment.



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TagsZhang Jian, Rainbow Fish, Solomon Sea, china, papua new guinea
(Photo : Pixabay/PublicDomainPictures) A Chinese scientists has vowed to replicate his cutting-edge gene-editing technique after other scientists complained that they have not been able to achieve the same results.

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Chinese geneticist, Han Chunyu has defended the authenticity of his cutting-edge gene-editing technique called NgAgo after an Australian lab raised questions about it.



Han, 42, is a geneticist at Hebei University of Science and Technology. He came to the defense of his gene-editing technique after the head of a trans-genesis lab at the Australian National University said last week that the lab had been unable to replicate Han's results.



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In response, the journal Nature Biotechnology, which published Han's research in May, said it would investigate the criticisms.



Meanwhile, Han has vowed to repeat the experiment and share the details of his result.



Nature Biotechnology said on Tuesday that it would investigate criticisms of what was thought to be a breakthrough gene-editing technique developed by Han.



Han's paper describing his research findings on a cutting-edge gene-editing technique called NgAgo was published online on May 2. It drew international attention and immediately Han rose to prominence. There had been speculations that he will be a contender for a Nobel Prize.



Just three months later, the journal reported that it had been contacted by several researchers and some peer scientists who questioned the viability of the research because they have not been able to reproduce Han's results.



On Friday, Gaetan Burgio, who heads the Australian lab, wrote on his Twitter account that he had found no solid ground for genome editing using NgAgo after multiple attempts.



Burgio noted that Han's paper contradicted the conditions needed for a successful replication.



In a previous statement, Burgio had said the NgAgo technique was efficient in editing gene fragments of mice.



Meanwhile, Han has said that he smells a conspiracy. "It's like they ganged up against NgAgo," he said, according to Chinese media.



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TagsGenetic Engineering, germline genetic modification, CRISPR human genetic code
(Photo : Getty Images) China has formed a quadrilateral security group with Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Tajikistan to beef up its counter-terrorism measures.

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China along with Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Tajikistan on Wednesday announced the formation of a quadrilateral security group in a bid to beef up their counter-terrorism measures, Reuters reported.



The quadrilateral security group was formed after Fang Fenghui, a member China's Central Military Commission, hosted a meeting with army chiefs of Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Tajikistan in western Xinjiang region.



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Army chiefs from all the four countries recognized the serious threat posed by terrorism and extremism and jointly agreed to form a quadrilateral security group for intelligence sharing and training, Xinhua reported.



"All parties reaffirmed they will cooperate to respond to these forces, and safeguard all member countries' peace and stability," Xinhua said.



The decision to form the security group comes amid rising concerns over terrorism in China's Xinjiang region, where the Uighur Muslim community is fighting an insurgency battle to form a separate state.



Pakistan's Army Chief General Raheel Sharif assured Beijing of complete support from Islamabad in its fight against Uighur militants. China is especially concerned that violence in Afghanistan may spill over to the Xinjiang region.



Meanwhile, China is taking definitive steps to ensure the restoration of stability in Afghanistan. Earlier this week, reports emerged that a Taliban delegation had visited China last month to discuss the security situation in Afghanistan with Chinese officials.



China is also part of Quadrilateral Coordination Group that was formed to broke for peace with Taliban fighters. The Quadrilateral Coordination Group consists of Pakistan, the US, China and the Afghanistan government.



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Tagschina, China and Pakistan, China Counter Terrorism, China Xinjiang
R&D

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The Communist Party of China (CPC) is giving Chinese scientists more power to allocate research grants following unrest in the scientific community over the CPC's tight control over funding and high-level embezzlement of these funds.



The central committee of the CPC and the State Council, China's Cabinet, this week issued recommendations for government agencies overseeing research and development (R&D) funding doled out by the central government. The CPC streamlined the way public funds are assigned to R&D in a bid to foster innovation and weed out corruption.



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Under the new guidelines, scientists and researchers who lead R&D programs will have a greater say when deciding on direct expenses linked to key decisions such as staffing, purchasing equipment and international cooperation projects.



Research facilities and universities are required to craft their own policies in accordance with the state recommendations by the end of August.



This move followed protests by the scientific community over red-tape and the lack of transparency in how research funds are allocated. The catalyst for this change seems to have been a story by two of the China's top scientists published in September 2010 criticizing the CPC and saying "doing good research is not as important as schmoozing with powerful bureaucrats and their favorite experts."



Currently, research funding decisions are mostly left to communist bureaucrats or administrators at government-run research facilities such as universities with little expertise in science and technology. Inevitably, this practice has seen money doled out to the wrong people.



Outlandish government embezzlement of R&D funds was exposed in 2014 when 70 officials overseeing research projects in Guangdong were implicated in bribery and embezzlement scandal involving $7.5 million.



China's R&D spending grew by over 10 percent annually on average in recent years. Spending rose to $196 billion in 2014 from $106 billion in 2010, said the National Bureau of Statistics. Spending for 2014 was some two percent of GDP, which is low compared to R&D spending in many western countries.



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(Photo : Cai Linhai) Remains of 14 persons killed by the Great Flood.

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Fresh geologic evidence seems to confirm China's "Great Flood" on the Yellow River isn't myth and neither is the Xia Dynasty that gave rise to China's civilization and the dynasties that ruled it for centuries.



What's being claimed as the first evidence this ancient Chinese legend of the Great Flood is true was unearthed by a team of archaeologists and geographers led by Wu Qinglong at Peking University in Beijing. The team discovered sedimentary evidence the Great Flood really did happen and it occurred in 1920 BC.



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The Great Flood of Gun-Yu (also known as the Gun-Yu myth) was a major flood that continued for at least two generations. It caused great population displacements along with other disasters such as famine. The flood is traditionally dated to the third millennium BCE during the reign of Emperor Yao.



An earthquake some 4,000 years ago created a massive landslide in deep, narrow valley. That landslide blocked the gorge, forming a pyramid-like dam of rock and dirt that blocked the Yellow River.



Wu's team believes the dam held anywhere from six to nine months. As the riverbed downstream turned dry, a lake consisting of four cubic miles of water was formed and kept growing. Then the dam broke all at once, unleashing a terrible torrent of destruction.



The researchers say the terrific flood sent over four trillion gallons of water crashing down a corridor now known as the Jishi Gorge. The deluge that swept all before it then smashed into the Guanting Basin in central China.



The team mapped and dated distinctive sediments deposited downstream of a Qinghai Province dam when the dam broke. In further work, they determined the flood that broke the dam was of enormous proportions. Using radiocarbon dating techniques on samples that included human bone, they dated the flood to 1920 BC.



"The ... flood shares the main characteristics of the Great Flood described in ancient texts," said the authors. If their flood is indeed the event that came to be known as the Great Flood, researchers could propose a new start date for the Xia dynasty at 1,900 BC.



This date not only coincides with the major transition from the Neolithic to the Bronze Age in the Yellow River valley, possibly resolving a longstanding contradiction among Chinese historians about when Xia started in relation to this critical period in history.



It also coincides with the beginning of the Erlitou culture that dominated China in the early Bronze Age, supporting arguments this culture is the archaeological remains of the Xia dynasty.



Taken together, these results reveal how the concurrence of these major natural and sociopolitical events may be an "illustration of a profound and complicated cultural response to an extreme natural disaster that connected many groups living along the Yellow River.



The paper by Wu Qinglong is titled, "Outburst flood at 1920 BCE supports historicity of China's Great Flood and the Xia dynasty."



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(Photo : Getty Images.) New Zealands Zespri has temporarily stopped shipments of its Kiwifruit to China.

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New Zealand's Kiwifruit marketer, Zespri, said on Friday that it has temporarily halted all the shipments of Kiwifruit to China, citing quality concerns raised by China's quality regulator, stuff.co.nz reported.



Last week Friday, China's General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection, and Quarantine (AQSIQ) issued a notification against Zespri after officials found fungus in some of the Zespri containers through regular testing.



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"We are working with New Zealand kiwifruit suppliers and the Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) to develop additional pre-shipping measures in response to AQSIQ's risk notification issued after the find of the fungus Neofabraea actinidiae through routine testing on four containers of fruit which arrived at Tianjin Port on June 8," Zespri said in a statement.



Zespri added that it would resume export to China once its new protocol is approved by MPI, which is expected to be done in coming days.



According to reports, some additional Zespri pallets have been put on hold in China this week, due to the ongoing quality issue. However, containers that have been cleared according to the old protocol are being normally sold in China.



Trade Tension Between China and New Zealand Due to Steel Dumping Issue



Last month, speculations were rife that China might take retaliatory action against New Zealand companies. This was in response to a complaint by New Zealand steel companies against cheap Chinese steel imports into the country.



New Zealand's Prime Minister John Key downplayed the trade implications, adding that he did not expect any trade retribution from Beijing. However, reports have emerged in New Zealand's media that companies like Zespri and Fonterra have been heavily taxed by Chinese authorities.



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TagsZespri, china, China and New Zealand, Kiwifruit China
News / Local

by Thobekile Zhou

Matabeleland Liberation Organisation (MLO) leader Paul Siwela, who is on a self-imposed exile failed to attend his late mother's burial at the weekend.Siwela skipped bail while on treason charges in 2013 amid reports that State security agents were baying for his blood.His mother Gezephi Dube was 82.According to reports, Siwela said he could not risk returning to the country, as he feared being re-arrested or assassinated."I lost my mother and I am very devastated and pained that I could not attend her funeral because the Zimbabwe government could either arrest or kill me for my political convictions, which I am not ready to abandon," he is quoted saying."I am also told my father is ill. I am very devastated. However, all this does not distract me from my political goals."Zimbabwe has no future for me and the Matebeles and, thus, we are very determined to break away from Zimbabwe regardless of the cost. The means justify the end."
(Photo : Getty Images.) Japans new defense minister Tomomi Inada hassingled out China and North Korea for using force to settle longstanding territorial disputes.

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Japan's new defense minister, Tomomi Inada, courted controversy on her very first day on the job, as she issued a stern warning to neighbors North Korea and China, Japan Today reported.



Inada singled out both countries for using coercive "force" to settle longstanding territorial disputes. The newly appointed defense minister issued the warning as she performed a ceremonial review of Japan's Self-Defense Forces on Thursday.



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"China has rapidly become active in waters and airspace surrounding (Japan) and it continues its attempt to change the status quo through force," Inada said.



Inada's remarks were aimed at China for its construction in the disputed South China Sea waters.



Speaking on North Korea, Inada said: "North Korea is repeating militarily provocative acts such as nuclear testing and a series of ballistic missile launches." Inada's remark was made just hours after Pyongyang tested a ballistic missile that landed in Japanese territorial water.



Inada dodged questions on country's controversial wartime past while addressing a press conference on Thursday. "I'm not in a position to express my personal opinion here," she said when asked about Japan's act of aggression during World War 2.



China has often accused Japan of not acknowledging its wartime crimes.



Tomomi Inada is known for her Nationalist Views



Inada is considered to be one of the close confidantes of Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. The closeness between both leaders is largely due to their conservative nationalist views on security and foreign policy issues



Both leaders firmly believe in revising Japan's post-war pacifist constitution, considered by many Japanese politicianS as a symbol of the country's humiliating defeat in World War 2.



Inada's hawkish views on security matters have made her an immensely unpopular figure in China as well as in South Korea and North Korea.



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Are YOU on the Islamic State kill list for America? 05 August, 2016 by Gregory Tomlin , |

NEW YORK (Christian Examiner)  The Islamic State has issued a warning to American and British churches in the wake of the killing of a French Catholic priest in his church last month, according to a report from Charisma News.

The message is chilling: You are next.

According to the report, which references the SITE Intelligence Group's analysis of the communications of computer hackers who support the Islamic State's advance, ISIS loyalists have since the beginning of the year produced several "kill lists" with the names of as many as 15,000 Americans who are, in some fashion, to be eliminated.

The names are not exclusively those of Christians, but most are said to be "crusaders"  a common reference to westerners almost exclusively seen as Christians by ISIS.

According to SITE, 3,600 New York residents are on the list. There are 1,543 Texans on the list, as well as people in California and Florida.

Large cities are also listed as targets in other ISIS communications. Those include London, New York and Washington, D.C. Several photographs show the cities in various states of destruction. One photograph shows the Statue of Liberty in flames. It bears the caption in broken English:

"Our battle on your land has not started yet, be upon you only waiting."

ISIS is urging its followers, especially "lone wolves" who have pledged allegiance to the terror group, to target churches belonging to "Christian crusaders."

The presence of the so-called "kill lists" became known earlier this year when their existence was made public, not by the government but by computer hackers. However, the Federal Bureau of Investigation has not notified the vast majority of the people on the various lists.

Circa News reports that only certain, high-profile persons on the listed were notified of the danger. So the news service did the next best thing. It decided to check with individuals on the list to see if they were aware of the death warrant ISIS had issued for them.

Of the 24 people Circa News contacted, 22 were unaware that they were on the list, apparently compiled mostly from online church directory listings.

But others were there as well, such as Michael Synder of Charisma News. He said the FBI informed him and his wife they were on the list, and they later found out that their pastor and other church members were also on the list.

Members of the Jewish community are also on the lists.

A technology startup in Israel has also reportedly uncovered the latest iterations of the kill lists. According to one recent report, the company  IntSights  uncovered multiple lists while data mining for jihadist activity.

Interestingly, the church where a Catholic priest was recently murdered in front of the church altar was on one of the lists.

"This proves beyond any doubt that there is a direct link between cyber activity and actual terror attacks," the company's Vice President for Intelligence Alon Arvatz said.

Americans can find out if their name is on the list by clicking here.
Last words of priest killed in France by jihadists: 'Be gone, Satan!' 05 August, 2016 by Gregory Tomlin , |

ROUEN, France (Christian Examiner)  The last words of the Catholic priest murdered by two jihadists before the altar in a Catholic Church in France July 26 were, "Be gone, Satan!", Archbishop Dominique Lebrun told mourners at the priest's funeral earlier this week.

Thousands of mourners packed the Rouen Cathedral while many more waited outside in the rain as the archbishop described the last minutes of Father Jacques Hamel's life, the French newspaper L'Express reported.

Lebrun said Hamel had been confronted by evil and died an unjust death.

Evil is a mystery. It reaches summits of horror far beyond what is considered human. Is that not what you meant, Jacques, by your last words? After the first stabbing [of the knife] you fell to the ground and you tried to push away your attacker with your feet, saying, 'Be gone, Satan.' [Then] you repeat: 'Be gone, Satan.'

"Evil is a mystery. It reaches summits of horror far beyond what is considered human. Is that not what you meant, Jacques, by your last words? After the first stabbing [of the knife] you fell to the ground and you tried to push away your attacker with your feet, saying, 'Be gone, Satan.' [Then] you repeat: 'Be gone, Satan.'"

Hamel's throat was cut by one of the jihadists after they burst into the church in Saint-Etienne-du-Rouvray during the morning hours of prayer. The men forced Hamel, 84, who was retired but filling in for a vacationing colleague, to kneel and "perform a sermon in Arabic," one witness said, before he was killed.

But Hamel had the last word.

His attackers reportedly filmed themselves killing the priest. It is not known if that video was uploaded to the Internet before police arrived and shot and killed the jihadists as they exited the church. The video of the incident at least has not been made public yet.

Hamel's wooden casket was carried through the "Door of Mercy" at the Rouen Cathedral and placed beside the altar there.

His sister, Roselyne Hamel, spoke of his life before entering the priesthood. He had served in Algeria with the French military, but refused to take the rank of an officer because he would have been required to issue orders to kill. His sister said he was once the survivor of a desert battle.

"He would often ask himself: 'Why me?' Today, Jacques, our brother, your brother, you have your answer: Our God of love and mercy chose you to be at the service of others," she said.

"He chose to serve God so that he could cultivate love and sharing and tolerance among people of all faiths and denominations, believers and non-believers, throughout his life," she added.

Lebrun told Hamel's sister and other family members that the path laid before them was a difficult one, but he said the priest lived the sacrifice of Jesus Christ faithfully as "the devil put his claws in."

Lebrun urged the community to learn to forgive in the midst of the type of hatred expressed by the jihadists. At the beginning of the funeral, Lebrun also spoke to the Muslim community in France.

"You who are tormented by diabolical violence, you who are drawn to kill by a demonic, murderous madness, pray to God to free you from the devil's grip. ... We pray for you, we pray to Jesus who healed all those who were under the power of evil."
Churches are being targeted in Chile as political unrest increases and protests become more frequent.

ChristianToday.com reports that a Catholic church in southern Chile is the latest casualty from protests that have been targeting churches.

Police reported that at least 16 churches, both Protestant and Catholic, have been burned and desecrated in the past year.

Many of the protesters are students who want the government to restore native lands that were overtaken by Spanish invaders or more recent government authorities.

Back in June, protesters targeted another Catholic church and took a ten-foot tall statue of Jesus on the cross from the church and dragged it through the streets.

A spokesman for the student protesters, however, condemned the desecration of the statue and said it was committed by protesters who did not represent the true goals of the movement.

Chiles Interior Minister Mario Fernandez also condemned the destruction of the church and statue: "What we have just seen is a very troubling symptom of what some people are starting to do to our country," he said.

Chiles current president is socialist party leader Michelle Bachelet.

Publication date: August 5, 2016
Former Lakewood Church worship leader Israel Houghton has praised Gods unflinching love, despite his tough year.

Houghton was placed on indefinite leave from Joel Osteens Houston megachurch after he got divorced and began dating former Cheetah Girl Adrienne Bailon.

Houghton said at the time that Bailon did not have anything to do with his divorce.

After weathering the life changes and the scandal that came with his dismissal from Lakewood, Houghton says he has become a stronger person and can see Gods goodness amidst the trials.

On Instagram, Houghton posted:

"One day it just clicks.... You realize what and who is important and what and who isn't. You learn to care less about what other people think of you and more about what you think of yourself. You realize that you're better off with 5 true friends and loved ones who love you no matter what- than to have 500 friends who only love you when you/ your gift make them or their brand look good. You see just how far you've come and you remember when you thought things were such a mess that they'd never recover."

Houghton went on to praise Gods faithfulness:

"And then you smile... You smile because God is so good and faithful in His unflinching love - you smile because you are truly proud of yourself, and the person you fought hard to become. You smile because you have 5 people who helped you in that fight; and are still standing, or sitting... In Greece. In Peace."

Publication date: August 5, 2016
Bahija, 65, a housekeeper, told me she cries every day and suffers from headaches  two years after IS fighters raided her home in Tel Kayf (outside Mosul) in front of her, while her elderly father lay in bed upstairs. Kurdish security forces stationed near their house, by whom the family had expected to be protected, were absent when the jihadists arrived.

Exactly two years ago (6 and 7 August), IS invaded Qaraqosh, a town on the Nineveh plains, which, with Mosul, formed the biggest community of Christians in northern Iraq.

When it seized control of vast areas of northern Iraq two years ago, IS spray-painted the homes of non-Sunnis with the Arabic letter N for nasrani, a derogatory term for Christian; M for members of the military or police; and R for rafithi, a derogatory term for Shia Muslims, threatening them all with death if they did not convert or leave.

Church leaders estimated that between 100,000 and 160,000 Christians fled Mosul and its surrounding villages for Kurdistan in the summer of 2014. Many remain in camps there, while others have travelled to Jordan or Lebanon to join pre-existing Christian communities.

I wouldnt go back to Iraq if they paid me billions. No one is left for us, only God.

Bahija, her sister and their parents first fled to Kurdistan, where, a month later, her father died. The women lived for seven months in a room in a church, spent 11 months at the Ashti camp in Erbil, and, when hygiene levels in the camp deteriorated, moved to Amman, Jordan, where they share a sparsely furnished two-roomed house with three other relatives.

Bahija said their 80-year-old mother, Bahar, cries at night, has become very fearful and developed high blood pressure since the ordeal. Bahijas sister, Samira, lost her teachers pension as soon as they left Iraq because she worked for 23 years of the 35 years required to qualify. Bahija said: I wouldnt go back to Iraq if they paid me billions. No one is left for us, only God.

Levels of poverty, hunger and trauma are soaring among the thousands of Iraqi refugees who have sought refuge in Amman and are receiving little or no aid. Some women have turned to prostitution to make ends meet and some households are missing meals.

A 2015 census recorded 130,000 Iraqis in Jordan, among whom Christians appear to be disproportionately represented. In 2007, 12% of Iraqi migrants in Jordan were estimated to be Christian, compared to an estimate of 1.6% of Christians in the population in Iraq itself (Operation World, 2010).

Waves of Iraqis have been arriving in Jordan in the wake of the US-led invasion of 2003. However, Jordan is also sheltering 1.3 million Syrians, who have fled the horrors of their countrys four-year civil war. The big institutions and NGOs, such as Save the Children, Oxfam and the World Food Programme, are focusing their aid on Syrians. UNICEFs educational programmes focus on Syrians, although a spokesman said that some of their facilities are open to all vulnerable children.

Three years ago a spokesman for UNHCR said Iraqis registered with UNHCR were extremely impoverished because any savings they had arrived with had run out. A spokesman for the charity, CARE, told IRIN news: As the Syrian crisis grew bigger, the Iraqi case has become invisible. Since then, the number of Iraqi refugees and the scale of their needs has become more acute.

Many are living in basic private accommodation, paid for by local philanthropists or churches, whose resources are being stretched to the limit. A few local clergy are distributing food parcels, furniture, fans and cash-grants to families. They also help with medical care and are supported by a small number of Christian charities, aided by local Muslim individuals and organisations.

Some refugees have serious physical injuries from attacks by militias and require ongoing medical treatment. Safwan Hikmat, who owned a shop in Mosul before he fled, has had eight operations on his leg since militias beat him with their guns and ran him over in 2011. He was left unable to walk for two years. He said he was targeted in an attempted ID killing, which singled out non-Sunnis.

As the Syrian crisis grew bigger, the Iraqi case has become invisible.

There are considerable mental-health needs among the refugees. Justin Hett, a psychotherapist trainer at the Centre for Victims of Torture in Amman, which has seen a huge rise in the need for its services in the last ten years, said issues included post-traumatic stress disorder, suicidal thoughts, anxiety and relationship tensions.

Fr. Emmanuel al-Bana, a Syriac Orthodox priest in Amman  who oversees an informal aid network for hundreds of the 3,000 Iraqi refugee families he says fled to Jordan  said Iraqi Christians applications for asylum in the West were often rejected. This can add to their anxiety, if they are set on doing that. They are taking care of Syrians and Muslims, but not Iraqi Christians, he said, adding: We have no voice.

Another refugee from a village outside Mosul asked: Why are they [the Western world] letting Muslims in and not us? Europe doesnt seem to want us to travel legally. He said his nephew was in Turkey, trying to reach a relative in Germany. Hes tempted to go illegally, but he may be lost at sea or killed by border guards on the way, he added.

Hungarian Prime Minister, Viktor Orban, has said the size of the largely Muslim refugee influx threatened Europes identity and he now prepares to hold a referendum on the issue of mandatory migrant quotas, with voters expected to reject the forced resettlement of asylum seekers.

Yesterday (4 Aug.) the Czech Deputy Prime Minister, Andrej Babis, said his country will not accept refugees, after recent IS-inspired attacks in Germany and France. I say clearly that I don't want even a single refugee in the Czech Republic, not even temporarily, he said.

Last summer, these same Eastern European governments faced criticism for saying they wanted to prioritise taking Christian refugees.

Lord Alton, the respected British campaigner who has lobbied the British Government to describe ISs actions against Christians and Yazidis as genocide, said: Everyone is suffering in this situation [in Iraq], but not everyone is the victim of genocide. Rather than getting into a sensitive debate about accelerating one group because of their faith or denomination  we should simply give priority to those who are subject to genocide.

However, Fr. al-Bana said some opposition to resettling Christians came from his church's bishops, who fear the Christian presence dwindling to nothing in the Middle East.

Courtesy: World Watch Monitor

Publication date: August 5, 2016
In a new series of YouTube podcasts, Moroccan Christians are stepping out of the shadows, showing their faces, and telling their stories. Speaking to their countrymen, they proclaim themselves Moroccan and Christian.

The public testimonies counter the common view that to be Moroccan is to be Muslim and that all Christians living in Morocco are foreigners, not natives. The small religious minority faces community and government persecution.

In one video, a woman named Iman says her husbands relatives assumed she was foreign-born because they knew she was a Christian, according to Moroccan World News (MWN).

My name is Iman. I am Moroccan and Christian. Yes, I am Christian, but I am not a foreigner. My father is Sahraoui, and my mom is Amazigh. I was born and grew up in Morocco, she says, according to a translation by MWN. The website noted she spoke in perfect Darija, the colloquial form of Arabic spoken in Morocco.

Another video featuring a woman named Atika caused controversy because she implied Muslims live in darkness, according to MWN.

We grew up and learned to make the difference between both faiths, she says. We were able to bring down that wall surrounding us, and our lives became filled with light rather than darkness.

Although it is legal to change religion in Morocco, proselytizing remains illegal and persecution and harassment of Christians persists. Shaking the faith of Muslims or attempting to convert them can result in a three-year prison sentence and a hefty fine, according to US News & World Report.

Atika spoke of families rejecting members who left Islam and of Christians being harassed and followed.

The U.S. State Departments 2013 report on religious freedom supports her claims. It notes most Moroccan Christians worship secretly due to fears of government surveillance and other restrictions.

Local Christians stated the authorities made phone or house calls several times a year, asserting that the authorities did so to demonstrate that they had lists of members of Christian networks and monitored Christian activities, the report said.

In January 2015, police approached a former Muslim in a train station, searched, and detained him for 11 hours on suspicion of proselytizing, Open Doors reported. He had a Bible and other Christian materials with him.

Despite the persecution, Moroccan Christians are growing bolder. In December 2015, a group called Eglise Marocaine (The Moroccan Church) asked King Mohammed VI for permission to freely celebrate Christian holidays like Christmas, MWN reported. And some evangelize regardless of the potential punishment.

We dont know what might happen, some people want to keep it hidden, and we respect that, one 24-year-old man told US News. But at the same time we encourage people to do what God commands us to do, thats preaching and telling people.

Brother Rachid lived as a secret Moroccan convert to Christianity for many years. Now he hosts a satellite television program challenging Muslims to ask questions about Islam and Christianity.

He told CBN News the rise of Islamic State (ISIS) is driving many out of Islam.

Many Muslims are saying, If ISIS is Islam, Im leaving. Some are becoming atheists, Rachid said. There is a huge wave of atheism in the Arab world right now and many are turning to Jesus Christ. Islam was never faced with this crisis before.

Courtesy: WORLD News Service

Publication date: August 5, 2016
World Vision's Gaza branch manager Mohammed el-Halabi was accused by Israeli officials on Thursday of giving millions of dollars from World Vision's funds to the extremist group Hamas.

According to Israeli officials, Halabi admitted during interrogations that he had been a member of Hamas since his youth, and that he had joined World Vision staff on assignment from Hamas.

Shin Bet, the internal security service of Israel, said that Halabi had channeled over $7 million from World Vision's funds to Hamas each year, which makes up some 60 percent of the annual budget World Vision had set aside for the Gaza branch, and that Halabi additionally gave the extremist group $1.5 million each year in cash.

Halabi denied the charges, according to his lawyer, Muhamad Mahmud.

"He told me he never, ever transferred any money to Hamas and he has never been a Hamas member," Mahmud told NBC News. Halabi had also been denied a lawyer for over 20 days since his detention, Mahmud added.

"We just really want a fair process, where Mohammad, once charged, gets to present his side, because we want to know the truth about this," Tim Costello, the chief executive of World Vision Australia, told the New York Times. "The truth comes out when you hear both sides."

World Vision said in a statement that it was "shocked" about the charges, and emphasized that it "subscribes to the humanitarian principles of impartiality and neutrality and therefore rejects any involvement in any political, military, or terrorist activities."

"World Vision programmes in Gaza have been subject to regular internal and independent audits, independent evaluations, and a broad range of internal controls aimed at ensuring that assets reach their intended beneficiaries and are used in compliance with applicable laws and donor requirements," the statement continues. "We will carefully review any evidence presented to us and will take appropriate actions based on that evidence. We continue to call for a fair, legal process."

The terrorist group Hamas has also dismissed the accusations.

Israeli security services are using this issue to calm the Israeli society, while it is not true at all. Israel can arrest anybody at the Erez Crossing and claim he is a Hamas activist, but that doesnt mean it is true," Hazem Qasem, a spokesman of the Hamas group, told the Washington Post.

Halabi was arrested on June 15 on his way way home in the Erez Crossing, located between Israel and the Gaza Strip.
Update (August 9):

World Vision questioned Israels accusations that Gaza branch manager Mohammad El Halabi siphoned off tens of millions over the past decade, saying it still has not seen any evidence.

World Visions cumulative operating budget in Gaza for the past ten years was approximately $22.5 million, which makes the alleged amount of up to $50 million being diverted hard to reconcile, it stated.

Mohammad El Halabi was the manager of our Gaza operations only since October 2014; before that time he managed only portions of the Gaza budget. World Visions accountability processes cap the amount individuals in management positions at his level to a signing authority of $15,000.

World Vision has suspended operations in Gaza, the organization stated. We are conducting a full review, including an externally conducted forensic audit, and will remain fully engaged with the investigation that is underway.

Along with Australia, Germany has suspended donations to World Visions work in Gaza, World Vision confirmed to CT.

World Vision worked with almost 40,000 children in Gaza last year, providing psychosocial help, medical supplies, food relief, and the re-establishment of agricultural livelihoods, it said.

Meanwhile, Israel today accused a UN engineer of stealing aid meant for Palestinian civilians and giving it instead to Hamas. Wahid Abdallah al Bursh allegedly used UN resources to help build a maritime jetty for Hamas fighters and persuaded the UN to prioritize reconstruction in neighborhoods where Hamas militants lived, the Israel Security Agency said.

Israel said the investigation proves yet again the way in which Hamas exploits aid resources of international groups in the Gaza Strip which are meant for the civilian population.

But Hamas accused Israel of ulterior motives.

"These (allegations) are par for the course of an Israeli plot to restrict the work of international relief agencies operating in Gaza in order to tighten the Gaza blockade," Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri told Reuters.

-----

Original Post (August 5):

The manager of the Gaza branch of World Vision was charged yesterday by Israeli authorities with funneling millions of dollars to Hamas instead of to Palestinian children in need.

Mohammad El Halabi, who has directed World Vision's operations in the Gaza Strip since 2010, allegedly listed Hamas members as farmers with disabled children so they could receive assistance, according to an investigation by Shin Bet, the Israel Security Agency (ISA).

The ISA report, first broken by Israeli media, alleges that up to 60 percent of Halabi's budget ended up in Hamas's hands.

Both World Vision and Hamas deny the claim. World Vision is the worlds largest Christian humanitarian organization, and has worked in Israel and Palestine for 40 years. Hamas is a militant Islamist group elected to govern the Palestinian territory of Gaza and identified by the US government as a terrorist organization.

World Vision advocated for Halabis release after he was detained in June, initially unaware of the charges against him. We have no reason to believe that the allegations are true, it stated.

According to the investigation by the ISA, Halabi confessed to his involvement. His lawyer has stated that Halabi was looted by Hamas fighters.

The ISA report states that World Vision funds intended for fisherman instead bought diving suits and boats for Hamass navy, and money marked for building greenhouses was actually spent on digging military tunnelswhile the greenhouses hid the tunnel entrances. Trucks unloaded 2,500 World Vision food packages and 3,300 cleaning and personal hygiene packages directly into Hamas warehouses disguised as World Vision facilities, according to the report.

Another $80,000 from British supporters built a Hamas stronghold during the 2014 war and paid for Hamas members salaries, Israeli authorities said. Thousands also went to buy guns for Hamas in Sinai.

In all, about 60 percent of World Visions annual budget earmarked for Gaza ended up in Hamas pockets, according to the ISA.

While some of Halabis colleagues knew what was going on, World Visions top officials were kept in the dark, according to the report.

Humanitarian groups do good work in a large number of areas of assistance and we have no quibble about their intentions, one ISA official told Haaretz. Hamas knew how to exploit the weak oversight of [World Vision] regarding what happens with its resources. Israel's public security minister, Gilad Erdan, later claimed that such problems were widespread among NGOs working in Gaza.

World Vision, which has worked with more than 500,000 children in Israel and Palestine over the past 40 years, was shocked to learn of these charges, it stated. (Full remarks below.)

World Vision programs in Gaza have been subject to regular internal and independent audits, independent evaluations, and a broad range of internal controls aimed at ensuring that assets reach their intended beneficiaries and are used in compliance with applicable laws and donor requirements, the organization stated.

When Halabi was arrested in June, World Vision didnt know where he was being held or what he was accused of, but knew he didnt have access to a lawyer or his family. The organization stated it was extremely concerned about the safety of Mohammed, and asked for fair legal representation in order to get him released as soon as possible.

World Vision stands by Mohammad, who is a widely respected and well regarded humanitarian, field manager, and trusted colleague of over a decade, it stated then, before the ISA allegations were revealed. He has displayed compassionate leadership on behalf of the children and communities of Gaza through difficult and challenging times, and has always worked diligently and professionally in fulfilling his duties.

World Vision says it has not yet had a chance to review all of the evidence, but is still standing by Halabi.

Based on the information available to us at this time, we have no reason to believe that the allegations are true, it stated. We will carefully review any evidence presented to us and will take appropriate actions based on that evidence. We continue to call for a fair legal process.

Hamas denied the connection as well. We do not trust the occupation (Israel), nor the information coming from the occupation, one Hamas legislator in Gaza toldTheNew York Times (NYT).

Israeli authorities took a firm stance, telling the public in a video about the case that this exploitation of Israels civil policy harms you, and we will not stand idly by. Israel has the right to protect its citizens and its borders.

Halabi, who was born in a refugee camp in Gaza, previously stated that the suffering around himespecially during the regions uprising against Israelmotivated him to become a humanitarian. Last year, eight members of Halabis family were killed by Israeli forces that demolished their homes without any warning, according to World Visions website. He called for international support to help with a ceasefire as well as lifting Israels blockade of Gaza.

The coastal enclave of 1.8 million is cut off by a joint Israeli-Egyptian blockade and has been the scene of three wars between Hamas and Israel since 2009, wrote The Telegraph in summarizing the Gaza situation. Around 75,000 people are still displaced after the 2014 war and most Gazans have only four hours of electricity a day.

I am concerned that the values that we have instilled in these children will be swept by the devastating bombs from the [Israeli] F16s and drones, wrote Halabi, who also appears in a video posted by World Vision last week in honor of its 40 years of relief work in Gaza. We all have to pray for the protection of all children on both sides of this conflict.

But the ISA accused Halabi of coming to work for World Vision in 2005 on the orders of Hamas, which he allegedly joined in 2004, with the intent to funnel funds and supplies into Hamas coffers.

Halabis attorney, Mohammed Mahmoud, didnt deny that World Visions Gaza office had been looted by Hamas, but said that Halabi had no choice. When Hamas arrived in vehicles with machine guns, he gave them what they wanted.

Israel can link anyone living in the Gaza Strip to Hamas. Mohammad does not belong to the organization nor is he affiliated with Hamas, Mahmoud told Haaretz. I think this file started off very inflated, and the balloon has since been deflated.

Theres little evidence of that deflation yet. Major media outlets across the globe have carried the story, while officials in the United States, United Kingdom, and Australia have asked for details. The Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade has suspended donations to World Visions work in Gaza. World Vision Australia had provided $5 million for agricultural and child trauma projects in Gaza over the past five years, according to the Jewish Press.

We want to get to the bottom of this, World Vision Australia chief executive Tim Costello told the NYT. We want the truth.
News / National

by Thobekile Zhou

High Court judge Justice Joseph Musakwa on Thursday barred veterans' splinter group from convening a special meeting to elect the association's new leadership.Manicaland Provincial Affairs Minister Mandiitawepi Chimene is leading the splinter group, as its interim chairperson.Below is part of the judgment:"Pending the finalisation of this matter, respondents be and are hereby ordered not to interfere with the applicant's (ZNLWVA) activities or give Press conferences with regard to applicant and its leadership."Respondents and any other persons acting through them are hereby interdicted from holding themselves out as the interim or substantive leaders of the applicant."Respondents and any other persons are ordered to restore access and possession of the applicant provincial offices in Manicaland province and Midlands province forthwith from the service of this order upon them."Respondents and all other persons acting through them are interdicted from calling any election within the association or affecting the administration of the applicant.
home US New 'Boycott Target' campaign launched; AFA targets Back-to-School season over transgender bathroom policy

Conservative group American Family Association (AFA) urged American consumers to join them this back-to-school season to boycott retail giant Target as "frightening incidences" arise due to its inclusive bathroom policy.

AFA marked the new season on the first day of August with a new drive to garner another million signatures to force the retail company to abandon its bathroom policy.

"Target is dependent on a large back-to-school sales season," said AFA on its website. "Those who spend their money elsewhere will send a strong message to Target that the bathroom policy is bad for business."

In April, Target announced its new inclusive bathroom policy that allows employees and customers to use bathrooms and changing facilities based on their gender identification rather than their biological sex.

AFA considered the company's bathroom policy as "dangerous" for women and girls and that it only "opens the door to predators." The group then launched its first signature petition for the boycott Target campaign which amassed 1.3 million pledges.

However, AFA noted that Target remained adamant on its bathroom policy.

"[W]e welcome transgender team members and guests to use the restroom or fitting room facility that corresponds with their gender identity. ... Everyone deserves to feel like they belong," AFA quoted Target as saying on its website this spring.

"Not only does the loss of shoppers not matter but apparently, neither does news like what happened in a New Hampshire Target store matter either," wrote AFA President Tim Wildmon last month.

His statement came after Chief John Bryfonski of New Hampshire's Bedford Police confirmed the arrest of 22-year-old Zachery Bishop for allegedly recording juvenile girls as they changed in a dressing room of a Target store.

AFA created a Target page where it posted links to reports from different media outlets concerning incidences that Target's bathroom policy led to, including the incident in New Hampshire.

The conservative group also urged American consumers to take action in several ways, such as signing the pledge, printing their petition paper and passing it around, sharing the campaign's information on social media, voicing concerns on Target's official Facebook page and visiting AFA's website for further #BoycottTarget initiative.
home World 'Freed' human rights lawyer in China, Wang Yu, still under government control

Chinese activist Wang Yu's freedom still remains suspect even after her release on bail Monday when a video that captured her confessing to her alleged crimes circulated online.

According to The Wall Street Journal, Hong Kong and Chinese media released versions of the video where Wang answered questions from an off-camera interviewer. Wang said in the video interview that she's been released on bail for several days. She expressed remorse for what she's done against the State as a human rights lawyer and then attacked her boss and director of Fengrui law firm, Zhou Shifeng, for using human rights cases for profit.

Authorities arrested Wang on July 9 last year as the government launched its nationwide crackdown against human rights defenders and activists. They detained her in an undisclosed location for six months before they transferred her to the No. 1 Detention Center in Tianjin, according to China Aid. Authorities also detained her husband for "inciting subversion of state power," charges slapped on political dissidents, and kept under government surveillance her parents and 16-year-old son.

Families of other detained lawyers and activists, as well as the U.S. Embassy in Beijing, dismissed Wang's video interview as something that was done under coercion.

"The only message the video interview sends out is that when you are in detention in China, you could be put in front of the camera to confess any time the authorities want," said Patrick Poon, China researcher for the human rights organization Amnesty International. "It seems that the Chinese government wants to discredit all the human rights lawyers and scare other lawyers away from taking human rights cases."

Zhao Wei, the youngest human rights activist detained, also reportedly "confessed" to her crimes and was released on bail on the eve of the first year anniversary of the political crackdown. However, Zhao's husband said she's still missing after failing to find her.

"Many people think: 'China is rich, China is developing quickly, China has tall buildings, wide highways, fancy cars,'" The Guardian quoted Wang as saying three years ago. "They don't know that Chinese people are like animals that don't have any basic rights."
home World Iran charges prominent church leader as jailed Christian woman ends second hunger strike

Iran charged and released a prominent pastor but told him to raise a bond or face imprisonment again. Meanwhile, a jailed Christian woman ends her second hunger strike.

According to Christian Solidarity Worldwide (CSW), the 13th Branch of the Revolutionary Court in Rasht charged Pastor Youcef Nadarkhani of "acts against national security." The court released him July 24 and then gave him a week to raise 100 million Iranian toman (approximately US$ 33,000) in bail or return to prison again.

The Iranian Security Service (VEVAK) officers arrested the church leader and his wife, Tina Pasandide Nadarkhani, on May 13 in one of the raids targeting Christian households. They also arrested three other church members, Mohammadreza Omidi (Youhan), Yasser Mossayebzadeh and Saheb Fadaie, and then released them without charge after they posted US$ 33,000 in bail.

"We cannot speculate as to why his case was handled this way while the other three members of his church were detained pending bail. Conjecture may prove unhelpful, so we would rather not speculate," Morning Star News quoted Kiri Kankhwende, CSW's senior press officer, as saying.

The pastor of the Church of Iran spent a year in prison between 2012 and 2013 for evangelizing and also sentenced to death for charges of apostasy before the court acquitted him.

"It is deeply troubling to hear of the renewed harassment of Pastor Nadarkhani," Mervyn Thomas, chief executive for CSW, said in a statement. "The national security charges leveled against him are spurious and an indication that the authorities persist in criminalizing the Christian community for exercising their right to freedom of religion or belief."

Meanwhile, Maryam (Nasim) Naghash Zargaran, the jailed Christian woman in Evin prison, ended her second hunger strike "because of promises of authorities," according to Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA).

Zargaran resumed her hunger strike after authorities demanded her return to prison despite medical treatment still halfway to go. She received a temporary leave from prison on health grounds June 6 after going 11 days on hunger strike to protest the authorities' refusal to grant her medical treatment.
home World 'ISIS is not the problem' says escaped Christian convert thrown to dogs

A Christian convert who suffered torture and thrown to dogs said miseducation and the silence of moderate Muslims, not the Islamic State, should be blamed for radical terrorism.

Rev. Majed El Shafie, president and founder of international human rights organization One Free World International (OFWI), believes that the Islamic State of Iraq and Levant (ISIL, also known as ISIS) terrorist group should not be solely blamed for the random acts of violence happening across the world today.

"ISIS is not the problem, before them it was Al-Qaeda, before them it was Hezbollah and Hamas and before them there were other organisations," Shafie told Express.co.uk in an exclusive interview.

He cited at least one factor that perpetuates the survival and formation of various extremist groups, especially in the Muslim world.

"The dilemma facing Islam is not the rise of extremism but the silence of moderate Muslims," he said. "They have to speak up and say they have hijacked our religion and they'd to prove it."

"We cannot afford to be silent," Shafie added.

The 39-year-old activist believes education holds the key to a lasting solution for world peace.

"The problem is the ideology of the extremists and the Muslim community has to work with us," continued Shafie. "There needs to be a big focus on education."

The Muslim-born Egyptian converted to Christianity in 1998 and subsequently condemned to death by the Egyptian government for his Christian movement and evangelism. He described the different methods of torture and abuse that he suffered from the jail guards, including electrocution. He also considered it a "miracle" when sets of dogs thrown to maul him left him unscathed.

He only found freedom when he managed to escape after authorities placed him under house arrest.

While Shafie continues to help those persecuted religious minorities, such as the Yazidi people, Coptic Christians in his home country face ongoing persecution. Coptic Pope Tawadros II of Alexandria recently met with Egyptian leaders to urge national unity in the light of the growing unprovoked sectarian attacks against the Copts. He cited a report that revealed 37 incidences since 2013 or an average of one attack per month.
home Faith Pope Francis: 'Terrible' for children to be taught gender theory in schools

Pope Francis blasted the idea of teaching young children about gender theory in school, saying that it is "terrible" while more Americans accept the idea of changing one's gender as morally alright.

According to the Catholic Herald, the Vatican released a transcript last Tuesday on the pope's meeting with Polish bishops during last week's five-day celebration of World Youth Day. The 79-year-old leader of the Roman Catholic Church criticized gender theory or changing one's gender as "terrible" and accused some "very influential countries" of "ideological colonisation" and of funding the spread of the gender ideology.

"Today, children are taught this at school: that everyone can choose their own sex," Catholic Herald quoted the pope as saying. "And why do they teach this? Because the books come from those people and institutions who give money," he then added.

He considered gender theory as an exploitation of God's creation and of God's image reflected on mankind.

"God created man and woman; God created the world like this and we are doing the exact opposite," continued Pope Francis.

The pontiff also shared that he discussed this subject with his predecessor Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI who told him, "Your Holiness, we are living in an age of sin against God the Creator."

The transgender movement began to sweep the U.S. earlier this year when President Barack Obama gave a mandate to allow students to access bathrooms and changing facilities according to their gender preference instead of their biological sex.

According to the latest survey by LifeWay Research released a couple of weeks ago, more than half of American respondents or six in 10 Americans surveyed considered it morally acceptable to change one's gender and thought there's nothing morally wrong about it.

Only 35 percent of Americans surveyed thought it's morally wrong, six percent remain unsure on the matter while 14 percent thought the choice to change one's gender shouldn't be a moral issue, to begin with.

"A majority of Americans reject the view of a Creator giving them a gender that shouldn't be changed," said Scott McConnell, executive director of LifeWay Research.
home World Zimbabwe court dismisses case against pastor accused of inciting protests through Facebook

A Zimbabwean court dismissed the charges hurled against a Baptist pastor who used social media to incite the most widespread protest against the autocratic regime of President Robert Mugabe.

According to Reuters, Magistrate Vakayi Chikwekwe ruled on July 13 that the court cannot proceed with the trial after the National Prosecuting Authority changed the original charge against Pastor Evan Mawarire of inciting public violence to treason without even reading the charges to the accused.

"A great cry of jubilation went up," wrote Barnabas partner Ben Freeth, on the ruling. "People were dancing and singing and crying and hugging each other. It was a truly historic victory."

Freeth also described how thousands of the pastor's supporters turned the Harare courtroom into something else.

"The court room became a church with people singing and praying. Riot police with guns and water cannons were everywhere but everyone was peaceful," Barnabas Fund quoted Freeth as saying.

Pastor Mawarire took to Facebook on April 19 to express his frustration with the country's corruption, high unemployment rate, and shortages of money. He launched the #ThisFlag campaign that quickly turned viral and called for a one-day shutdown in early July that rattled the regime of the now frail 92-year-old Mugabe, who ruled the country since 1980. He also threatened to mobilise more and longer shutdowns before his arrest on July 12. According to The Guardian, the 39-year-old pastor started the protest after he failed to withdraw money from banks for his two children's school fees.

His movement demanded that Mugabe remove corrupt ministers, including roadblocks that police allegedly use to extort bribes, and for the due payment of salaries.

"The [government] has stolen our money," Pastor Mawarire told The Guardian before his arrest. "It is out of touch with the problems we have. It must begin to listen to the people and stamp out the corruption which has crippled our economy."

The pastor added, "The international community cannot help us if we do not help ourselves."
Australia suspends funding for World Vision after claims of channelling funds to Hamas

Australia is suspending funding for the Christian relief charity World Vision's operations in the Palestinian Territories following claims by Israel that the charity's Gaza representative channelled millions of dollars to Hamas.

Australia's Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) called the allegations "deeply troubling" and said in a statement that it was "urgently seeking more information from World Vision and the Israeli authorities."

"We are suspending the provision of further funding to World Vision for programs in the Palestinian Territories until the investigation is complete," the statement said.

Australia has paid World Vision approximately A$5.7 million (3.31 million) over the past three financial years for the provision of aid in the Palestinian Territories, a DFAT spokesman said.

World Vision is the world's largest evangelical Christian charity and has operated in Israel-Palestine for more than 40 years.

The organisation said yesterday that it was "shocked" at the allegations from Israel. "Based on the information available to us at this time, we have no reason to believe that the allegations are true," it said. A Hamas spokesman denied that the group had any connection to El Halabi.

Mohammad El Halabi, World Vision's manager of operations in Gaza, was arrested by Israel on June 15 while crossing the border into the enclave, which is under the de facto rule of Hamas, which is on the Israeli and US terrorism blacklists.

A senior Israeli security official said on Thursday that El Halabi, who has run the group's Gaza operations since 2010, had been under extended surveillance and had confessed to siphoning off some $7.2 million a year to Hamas.

According to the Israeli newspaper Haaretz, the Shin Bet (one of Israel's security services) is accusing El Halabi of being a member of Hamas' armed wing, Izzedin al-Qassam, and of having infiltrated World Vision.

Shin Bet also alleged that $80,000 worth of donations from British people have been diverted to pay for Hamas-related activities.

There was confusion and mixed reports over the nature of Israeli accusations about British money being used by World Vision.

A UK Government spokesperson stressed to Christian Today that the Department for International Development (DFID) has not provided any funds to World Vision since the Israel-Gaza war of 2014.

DFID has a centrally-managed Programme Partnership Arrangement with World Vision UK. However, this does not include the Palestinian Territories.

Following the 2014 conflict, DFID provided a 2m contribution the Disasters Emergency Committee (DEC), alongside contributions from the UK public, to a consortium of NGOS to provide vital humanitarian assistance in Gaza. World Vision were included as part of the NGO consortium.

A UK Government spokesperson said: "We are in touch with the Israeli authorities to establish the full details of the allegations against this individual and would not hesitate to act if wrongdoing involving UK government funding became apparent and was proven."

Gaza's Palestinian Christian population is ancient but tiny, at around 1,200 people out of a total of 1.8 million.

Additional reporting by Reuters.
News / National

by Staff reporter

With local regional small traders and transporters planning to shut down all the country's border from Monday next week onwards, unless the government lifts its controversial imports ban, Zimbabwe could be plunged into unprecedented chaos including suffering debilitating shortages of food and other basic goods.This latest dose of bad news for the country comes President Robert Mugabe's government is facing myriad crises, including a dying economy, worsening cash shortages, rising poverty and unemployment levels and growing citizen unrest, all widely blamed on Zanu PF's misrule of the past 36 years.
Blow to victims as Goddard quits as head of child abuse inquiry

The head of a public inquiry into decades of child sex abuse in Britain resigned on Thursday, the investigation's third leader to quit in the last two years.

The inquiry, which will last at least five years and is expected to cost about 18 million, was set up in July 2014 after a series of child sex abuse scandals dating back to the 1970s, some involving celebrities and politicians.

On Thursday its chairwoman, New Zealand High Court Judge Lowell Goddard, quit without publicly explaining her decision.

Her appointment was seen as an attempt to give the inquiry a credible head without links to the British political establishment after her two predecessors resigned amid criticism over conflicts of interest.

"Dame Lowell Goddard wrote to me today to offer her resignation as Chair of the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse and I have accepted," Home Secretary Amber Rudd said in a statement.

Goddard followed her brief resignation with a statement in which she said accepting the role as inquiry chair was " an incredibly difficult step to take, as it meant relinquishing my career in New Zealand and leaving behind my beloved family".

She added: "The conduct of any public inquiry is not an easy task, let alone one of the magnitude of this. Compounding the many difficulties was its legacy of failure which has been very hard to shake off and with hindsight it would have been better to have started completely afresh."

Phil Johnson, spokesman for the Minister & Clergy Sexual Abuse Survivors group, told the Telegraph: "This latest resignation is deeply disappointing and worrying and I fear for the future of the whole inquiry at this moment.

"The inquiry is already massively behind schedule.

"I am very surprised she has resigned. I don't know what the reasons are but I can't imagine it's the criticism in The Telegraph and the Times. It must go deeper than that.

"I am shocked and deeply concerned about the future of the inquiry. She was the third chair. This means pressing the reset button again and I don't know what the public appetite is for that. It is in danger of looking like a farce. We do need an inquiry to get to the truth and this does not help."

A report in the Times newspaper on Thursday criticised Goddard, saying she had spent three months of her first year in the role either on holiday or overseas. Goddard did not mention the report in her 32-word resignation letter.

Abuse victims have accused politicians as well as the Roman Catholic and Anglican Churches, councils and schools of failing to deal with allegations.

In a number of cases, they said institutions had actively covered up cases at the behest of powerful establishment figures including senior MPs, spies and police officers

"I want to assure everyone with an interest in the inquiry, particularly victims and survivors, that the work of the inquiry will continue without delay and a new chair will be appointed," Rudd said.

Additional reporting by Reuters.
Nigeria: Boko Haram leader threatens attack on Christians, bombing of churches, humanitarian missions

The leader of Boko Haram has recently issued a new threat, this time involving the extremist group's new mission to the fight the "Christianisation of Society."

Abu Musab al Barnawi, the leader of the Boko Haram, said that the group will perform this through bombing churches and attacking Christian humanitarian groups.

In a statement released by al Nabaa, an ISIS newspaper, al-Barnawi said that his organisation "remained a force to be reckoned with."

He also warned that they have been actively recruiting those who share like minds to fight "Christianisation of society."

The Boko Haram is shifting its focus on Christians after years of terrorizing Muslims by bombing mosques and marketplaces.

Now, the latest threat hints that they will be launching massive attacks on Christian groups who are helping those in the middle of conflict as the extremist group sees them as those who "exploit the condition of those who are displaced under the raging war, providing them with food and shelter and then Christianising their children."

Al-Barnawi said that in response to these actions, the Boko Haram will be "booby-trapping and blowing up every church that we are able to reach, and killing all of those (Christians) who we find from the citizens of the cross."

It seems that the group has already started its offensive with last week's attack on a humanitarian convoy, which resulted in the deaths of three civilians including a UN employee. The attack has temporarily suspended UN activities in northeastern Nigeria.

In a statement, Manuel Fontaine, UNICEF's regional director for western and central Africa said that their mission in the region plays an important role in saving civilians and children, who as a result of war have suffered from hunger and malnutrition.

"Some 134 children on average will die every day from causes linked to acute malnutrition if the response is not scaled up quickly," he said in a Reuters interview.

Since 2002, bombings by the Boko Haram has resulted in the deaths of 20,000 people and the displacement of over 2.2 million people in Nigeria, Cameroon, Niger and Chad.
Chile: Church burned down, at least 16 destroyed this year

A Catholic church has been burned down in southern Chile, according to police.

Unknown attackers burned the church and destroyed two high-tension electricity towers, the Associated Press news agency reported.

Police said that at least 16 Catholic and Protestant churches have been burned so far this year in the Ercilla region where Mapuche indigenous activists are demanding recovery of traditional lands lost to Spanish invaders and post-colonial governments.

A message referring to a Mapuche resistance movement was reportedly left near the church. Officials said the power lines were cut down with electric saws.

In June, a Catholic church in the Chilean capital of Santiago was ransacked by students who were protesting against the government of President Michelle Bachelet.

The student protesters accused Bachelet of reneging on a number of promises regarding social and economic reforms, especially a planned overhaul of education.

At the end of the march through downtown Santiago, masked protesters entered the church and destroyed a ten-foot tall statue of Jesus.

A spokesman for the student union Confech, Gabriel Iturra, said the act was inappropriate and had been committed by a fringe group with little understanding of the movement's principles.

Chile's Interior Minister Mario Fernandez condemned the statue's destruction, saying: "What we have just seen is a very troubling symptom of what some people are starting to do to our country."

Violent clashes between students and police were a regular occurrence during the previous centre-right government of Sebastian Pinera, who was president of Chile between 2010 and 2014.
Duress suspected as Egyptian Christian convert reverts to Islam

An Egyptian convert from Islam who fought a public battle to get his religion changed on his identification card has announced he is reverting to Islam.

Mohammed Hegazy  known after his conversion as Bishoy Armia Hegazy  sought to change his religion officially in 2007, the first Egyptian to do so, having become a Christian at the age of 16 in 1998. He suffered years of harassment and imprisonment, including torture.

Hegazy, his wife and two children moved to Germany but he was arrested in Egypt in December 2013 charged with "defamation of religion" and "protesting without permission" because he filmed clashes between Muslims and Christians. He has been in prison ever since, though a court has ordered him released on bail. According to his lawyer Karam Ghobrial, police and prison authorities have kept him in detention by losing the court order, requiring a new birth certificate and moving him secretly.

In the video, Hegazy describes Mohammad as "the chief-most among Allah's creation" and recites the Shahada, the Muslim declaration of faith which acts as a statement of allegiance to Islam.

He says: "I want nothing from this video. I have no desires. I will not appear again in the media. I will not appear again publicly."

He continues: "I say this out of my complete free will. I am under no pressures from anyone. I am not being held by any agency, nor am I under any pressure of any kind. And that's it."

However, human rights campaigners suspect Hegazy made the statement because he could not face indefinite imprisonment. Ghobrial told Morning Star News he thought Hegazy made his confession of faith because he was a terrified and broken man.

He noted Hegazy seemed stilted in the video and that the statement he gave seemed scripted.

"I personally think that he recorded this video to get out," he said.

Gobrial said of a previous visit to him in prison: "It broke my heart to see him crying at the police station today. I couldn't do anything to help him. He's lost hope in life and is thinking about suicide."
GAFCON head: Primates meeting failed, leadership weak on gay marriage

The head of the conservative Anglican group GAFCON has dismissed January's Primates meeting as pointless and a failure.

Peter Jensen, the General Secretary of GAFCON  Global Anglican Future  has written an opinion article on the website anglican.ink criticising the meeting called by Justin Welby, the Archbishop of Canterbury.

The gathering of the heads of 38 Anglican provinces around the world was aimed at trying to preserve their communion in the face of entrenched differences around attitudes to homosexuality. The starkest divisions were between north American Episcopalian liberals, and Anglicans in Africa and the powerful GAFCON over the acceptance of same-sex relationships. The Episcopal Church was removed from full participation in the Anglican Communion for its support of same-sex marriage.

But Jensen described this as "the mildest possible rebuke over the greatest offence for the greatest offenders, with the hope that there may be repentance."

He added: "It is now perfectly clear that the meeting failed in its intention. Far from being rebuked, the leaders of the Episcopal Church said that they intend to continue in their present course and indeed to export their ideas vigorously to the rest of the world."

Jensen went on to criticise the Church in the UK for compromising with secular society. "As the year has unfolded, attention has shifted to the United Kingdom. Almost weekly there has been a fresh indication of the power of the cultural forces which are opposed to the faith to capture and determine church outcomes," he wrote. "Episcopal leadership from those who stand for biblical truth is strangely muted, while those who wish to come to terms with the culture are making powerful symbolic gestures of accord with error. Most egregiously and most significantly, there is the decisive move in the Scottish Episcopal Church to provide for same-sex marriage."

The former Archbishop of Sydney pointed out that the General Synod of Canada has taken the first step towards allowing for same sex marriages by clergy. "It is as if the meeting in January never took place," he wrote. "No protest, no plea, no promise makes the slightest difference."

Jensen concluded his piece: "GAFCON exists to honour the word of God and to unite those who wish to stand unflinching by its teaching. We know of many in the UK who have the same aim and we encourage them to be faithful to the whole counsel of God as they enter a conflict not of their own making."
How does our use of money affect our hearts?

There are some phrases so well-known and well-worn in the Christian world that we can use them without even thinking about what they truly mean.

We've all probably said "I'll pray for you" without thinking of the commitment of actually doing it, or maybe we've quoted scripture at someone without thinking what it really means. "We know that all things work together for good." Well, yes. But don't forget the second half of the verse ("for those who love God, who are called according to his purpose"). Also, think how glib this can sound in the middle of someone's struggles.

One of these well-worn phrases is uttered by Jesus in Luke 12. He says, "For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also." Most of us will be familiar with it. Maybe we've heard it used by churches and charities who are seeking our financial support. Maybe it's been used as an encouragement that our giving will be noticed by God. Yet, often it can be used without thinking about just how radical Jesus' words actually are.

The first clue to just how drastic Jesus' statement is comes from the context. The preceding line says, "Sell your possessions, and give alms. Make purses for yourselves that do not wear out, an unfailing treasure in heaven, where no thief comes near and no moth destroys."

Not only is there the stark imagery of the thieves and the moths who will inevitably come after worldly possessions, there's also the blunt instruction to sell all we have. What Jesus seems to be suggesting is that if we want our hearts to be with God, then we need to put our money and possessions where God wants them to be.

Instead of operating on a principle of giving a part of our income, possessions and wealth to God and then doing as we please with the rest, Jesus is challenging us to do something far more radical. He's suggesting we give it all to God.

This sounds so counter-cultural to us, because we are constantly being told two things by contemporary society. The first one is that we must be sensible, save for a rainy day and be cautious with what we have. The second, more pernicious message our society gives is that wealth, possessions and money can make us more complete.

Not only do advertisers try to convince us that we need their products and services, they try to persuade us that we will be better people if we have them or use them. In fact, it's pretty well known that marketing people want us to aspire to be better, simply by buying their stuff.

This is obviously absurd when we stop and think about it. The problem is that we rarely stop and think about it. Our value simply cannot be defined by what we own  otherwise only the top one per cent of society would ever be happy. We would have to acquire a Donald Trump level of possessions simply to be content.

Jesus sees this and advises us to take a different path. "Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also" implies that if we put our treasure somewhere secure, then our hearts will feel that security. So, when we sell our possessions and "give alms" as the scripture has it (a better contemporary translation comes from The Message  "Be generous. Give to the poor") we are actually putting our treasure somewhere it can't decay.

When you buy food and give it to a food bank, when you offer support to a charity working with Syrian refugees, when you use your possessions for the common good  then they can't decay because they are being used for God's economy.

Jesus' advice goes beyond charity, though. His words resonate today because they demonstrate a different way of living. Don't simply search for the cheapest produce  because those goods may have been made by the slave labour. Don't invest your money in a high street bank which doesn't need it any way. Invest it in a local credit union which will lend it to a local person in need. Don't strive to acquire more and more things  instead, give things away!

This may sound attractive in theory, but how do we do it in practice? Theologian Eve Poole has one great idea. She says, "Perhaps next time your bank statement arrives you could pause to examine it in more detail. Who do you bank with and why?... Could you change your spending habits to more accurately reflect the kind of marketplace you want?"

In other words, yes Jesus' words are profoundly spiritual, but they are also intensely practical. Putting our hearts where our treasure is will involve giving away our possessions and income. But it will also involve sharing what we have with others, buying ethically and sustainably, and investing in businesses that have kingdom values rather than just a bottom line. This is a big challenge. But it isn't a chore  in fact, as Jesus says, it's good for us. Not only will we worry less, about the moths and thieves, but our hearts will be secure and in the place God wants them to be. That is a price worth paying.
ISIS using new undetectable car bomb: 'unique, strange and terrible' weapon kills 292 in Baghdad

The Islamic State (ISIS) has introduced a new weapon that has been described as "unique, strange, and terrible."

The weapon is an undetectable car bomb that the terrorist group used in Baghdad on July 3its deadliest attack yet that killed 292 Iraqis, the BBC reports.

"Daesh [known in the Western world as ISIS] used, for the first time, a new tactic which helped it to move undetected through checkpoints," a Western security source told the BBC.

"We've never seen it before, and it's very worrying."

The way the ISIS placed the explosives in the van and the amount of chemicals they put together to make a VBIEDvehicle-borne improvised explosive devicewere unique, according to the report.

"It's really difficult to make," an explosives expert said.

The bomb-makers are believed to have taken a formula "available on the Internet," and then adjusted the quantities of the chemicals and explosives to reduce the risk of detection and increase the bomb's impact at the same time.

"We are used to big fires but the chemicals in this bomb were used for the first time in Iraq," said Brigadier General Kadhim Bashir Saleh of the Civil Defence Force.

"It was unique, strange, and terrible."

The terrorists parked the van on a narrow street and detonated the bomb inside just after midnight shortly before the Eid Festival when the shops were packed with people.

Witnesses said the heat created by the first blast was "as hot as the surface of the sun."

Surprisingly, the huge explosion left no gaping crater, and its shock wave did not destroy the nearest buildings.

But the blast set off secondary fires which resulted in the inferno that trapped many people inside the buildings housing the shops. The buildings were later found to be in violation of safety regulations because of lack of fire escapes and other measures.

Perfume products that fuelled the flames, cheap styrofoam walls and bad wiring also contributed to the large fatality count.

One of the firemen who rushed to the scene said he had "never seen anything like it" in describing the blazing orange fireball that engulfed the entire street.

"We were ready to jump into the fire to save people. We did everything we could but this was an overwhelming attack," Chief Sergeant Habib Dewan said.
ISIS chop off man's hand with a meat cleaver apparently for stealing

Extremist militant group ISIS yet again amputated another man who they claim a thief and insisted in executing their divine intervention of justice to fulfill their belief of the Sharia law.

The man was reportedly dragged to a wide square in ISIS' stronghold of Raqqa in Syria and was surrounded by onlookers. He was blindfolded as masked men guide him to his place of reckoning where he would lose a part of his body. He was then seated on a chair facing a wooden table.

On the picture ISIS advertised, a masked man was behind him holding his right arm and keeping it stretched while another masked man was holding a meat cleaver aiming to chop off the said thief's right hand.

Another picture shows a masked man sealing off the chopped arm with bandage.

Amputations because of thieving is not only a practice of ISIS but is also implemented in Saudi Arabia and Iran.

Public amputations and killing for punishment are known misdemeanor of the extremist group claiming victims violated the Sharia law or they were speculated to be spies from rival countries.

ISIS continues to terrorize Western countries, particularly France and Germany, attacking innocent people and claiming the suicidal acts of their 'chosen' members.

According to an article by Dailystar, ISIS recently released a nine- minute video of a masked man addressing Russia and Vladimir Putin. "Listen Putin, we will come to Russia and will kill you at your homes," he said.

Different countries expressed zero tolerance on terrorist and terrorism attacks following the consecutive mass killings of the extremist group.

The militant group is reportedly losing ground in Syria and Iraq as the US forces together with the Syrian Democratic Forces teamed up to eradicate their control coming from the country side traveling north to reach the city.

In response to this reprisal, ISIS called for their supporters to perform jihad as retribution. Jihad, in Islam, is a struggle within oneself to abstain from sin.

However, ISIS' concept of jihad is to declare war against other religions, thus can perform a violent act to eradicate 'sinners' who don't follow their religion.
Muslim Brotherhood members from Egypt may be eligible for UK asylum

Members of the Muslim Brotherhood from Egypt could be eligible for asylum in the UK. The Sunni political organisation once boasted over 2 million member in Egypt alone.

The group, which has branches across the Middle East, was in charge in Egypt under President Mohammed Morsi. But since he was deposed in a military coup in 2013, the Brotherhood has been outlawed.

The Home Office document, reported by Middle East Monitor, says that some members or former members of the group may be eligible to claim asylum because of the risk of persecution by the current Egyptian regime.

"Those with a high profile in the MB [Muslim Brotherhood] or who have been politically active, particularly in demonstrations, may be able to show that they are at risk of persecution, including of being held in detention, where they may be at risk of ill-treatment, trial also without due process and disproportionate punishment." The report goes on to say, "Additionally, high profile supporters or those perceived to support the MB, such as journalists, may also be similarly at risk of persecution. In such cases, a grant of asylum will be appropriate."

Egypt's Christian minority have suffered various attacks since the Arab Spring began, especially during the Morsi Presidency. The Coptic Pope Tawadros II, was among those who supported the removal of Morsi.
Nigeria: Four women hospitalised in riot at Anglican church as synod begins

Five people are in hospital, two in a serious condition, after clashes between soldiers and protesters at an Anglican church in Nigeria where a synod meeting has been overshadowed by calls for a local bishop to resign over "financial recklessness".

The clashes came after soldiers were called last week to restore order at the St John's churchat Amukpe, in Southern Nigeria's Edo State in the Niger Delta. Protesters had barricaded the church and called on the Bishop of Sapele, Blessing Erifeta to resign.

As the synod began deliberations, protesters waving placards surrounded the church, preventing some delegates from entering and blockading the Bishop and other delegates inside.

The vicar of St John's called for assistance from the authorities, who dispatched a squad of soldiers assigned to protect a nearby oil pipeline to restore order, the anglican.ink website reported.

The soldiers disrupted the siege of the church last weekend and in the process four women and a youth were injured.

The Bishop and other members of the synod adjourned to a nearby school to pray while police cleared the area.

The incident is not the first in which members of the diocese have clashed with the authorities over the Bishop's administration of the diocese. Last July, members of the diocesan Youth League occupied St Luke's Cathedral there shortly before the start of the diocesan synod, locking out the clergy and congregation for several weeks.

In a petition delivered to Archbishop Nicholas Okoh, Bishop Erifeta was accused of "financial recklessness, mal-administration, disrespect to elders and embark[ing] on incessant trips abroad with the diocese funds." The diocese denies the allegations. Diocesan secretary Churchill Akure said in a statement last year: "The cathedral has been known for so many bad reports in the past and the bishop did not give them a room to continue in such bad light through regular caution and rebuke. This is what they called insult. They keep resisting correction and are not ready to adjust. I pray God will open their eyes of understanding."
News / National

by Staff reporter

The ouster of former Vice President and now Zimbabwe People First leader Joice Mujuru from both the ruling Zanu PF and the government was a well-choreographed move that was personally planned by President Robert Mugabe, a former Zanu PF youth official has claimed.Godfrey Tsenengamu said party followers including youths were pushed by Mugabe to attack the popular widow of the reverend late liberation struggle icon General Solomon Mujuru.A purged former Zanu PF youth leader has refused to go down without a fight, claiming President Robert Mugabe personally plotted former Vice President Joice Mujuru's ouster and forced youths to rehearse the trumped up assassination and witch craft charges before they took her head on at the State House on August 15, 2014.Godfrey Tsenengamu spilled the beans in a hard hitting statement, saying he now regretted being used as a pawn in Mugabe's power games. Mujuru was kicked out of the party in December 2014 following a sustained campaign led by Grace Mugabe.She is now the leader of Zimbabwe People First.
Suicide Squad review: Don't believe the hate

They say you should never judge a book by its cover, and that's probably doubly true within the Christian subculture. There's also a modern cinematic version of that old adage: never judge a movie by the Internet hype  and that holds whether it's positive or negative.

Suicide Squad, the latest instalment in the fledgling DC Comics Cinematic Universe, has received an absolute pasting in its first few days of release. At time of writing it has an average rating of just 27 per cent on Rotten Tomatoes, and such has been the furious outpouring of hatred against the film, writer/director David Ayer has been forced to come out and publicly defend it.

So it's safe to say that since the hot anticipation that had surrounded the film has now entirely dissipated, filmgoers who now find themselves in possession of a ticket to Ayer's 'super-anti-hero' flick will be going in with their expectations safely lowered. And perhaps, like me, they'll therefore be very surprised at what they find.

In case you've evaded both hyperbole and hatred, the plot is fairly simple. With Superman now unavailable, and the usual apocalyptic villainous threat laying waste to yet another American city, the mysterious government suits decide to employ a crack team of super-villains to take on the even greater evil. They include the screen-dominating Harley Quinn (Margot Robbie) and hitman Deadshot (Will Smith), and are corralled by Joel Kinnaman's law-abiding Captain Flag, who just happens to have planted co-operation-assuring mini-bombs in their necks. Somewhat reluctantly, Flag and his team descend into their probably-suicidal mission, and super-hero filmy stuff ensues.

The fascinating anti-hype that has preceded the film's general release is, in my opinion at least, a bit baffling. Much of it has been directed at Jared Leto, who has committed the cardinal sin of not being Heath Ledger while playing the Joker (I thought he was ok), and Smith, whose bad guy apparently isn't bad enough  although for a man who alternately wears a cross and a misquote of Jesus, maybe that's the point. Fans have been divided, but critics have been savage. It's almost as if they never gave the film a chance.

Suicide Squad isn't a masterpiece; it doesn't even come close to some of the stellar heights of the genre, hit by Marvel's recent Captain America: Civil War. But here's the big news: it really isn't terrible. In fact, there are some very good reasons to recommend it. Robbie, Smith and Kinsman all give decent performances, bettered by the wonderfully monstrous Viola Davis as the government agent behind the whole scheme. Many of the characters are pretty well drawn, with believable back stories that you actually start to care about, and there are subplots involving a couple of other DC comic characters which will pique fan interest.

But beyond that, the supposed plotless mess described by some of those early reviewers simply never materialises. The story is fairly generic when you get past the high-concept of the 'squad' themselves, but it's no worse than that seen is many other action films. The gun-toting bits get a bit grating, but that's a symptom of a tiring genre, not a reason for particular disgust for this film.

It's also refreshingly not dominated by white men  there are strong women and well developed non-white characters which make the Marvel films look tokenistic in comparison. There's a counter-argument that it's concerning that a film about levels of evil has been stuffed full of ethnically-diverse actors, but since the film gives most of them an opportunity to behave heroically, I'm not sure that holds.

Most interesting of all though is what the film has to say about the concept of evil. While it's clearly not going to be universally loved, Suicide Squad is still one of the most important and influential presentations of worldview to hit culture in 2016, and its central thesis is that some evil is worse than other evil; that violence can be redemptive; that two wrongs can make a right. I think it's fascinating that the film asserts this idea  rebuked by parents through the ages  so forcefully. While there's some talk of redemption and hope, really the film seems to believe that serial killers are somehow less bad than genocidal monsters, and that if one vanquishes the other, somehow society wins. In the context of the upcoming US elections and various other current world events, it's perhaps a metaphor in desperate search of deconstruction.

The best scenes in Suicide Squad all take place when the gunfire stops. In one, near the end of the movie, the assembled bad-but-not-so-bad guys sit in a bar and discuss their evil deeds. Again there's talk of hierarchy; of one sin being worse than another. In the midst of all the misery they cause, it's clear that none of them can find any peace, a conversation that belies the central theme of the movie: hate wins, but not really.

You might not care for this sort of thing anyway; the violence and bad language flow pretty freely throughout. But don't judge Suicide Squad on the basis of those early reviews; many fans will probably love it. And for all of us, it provides a salutary reminder not to allow the other people's opinions to dominate and coerce our own, especially where the Internet is concerned.

Martin Saunders is a Contributing Editor for Christian Today and the Deputy CEO of Youthscape. Follow him on Twitter @martinsaunders.
Swedish church to use drones to drop thousands of Bibles in ISIS-controlled Iraq

A major evangelical free church in Sweden is preparing to use drones to drop thousands of Bibles into areas of Iraq controlled by Islamic State.

The Livets Ord (Word of Life) church in Uppsala in the north of Sweden has said it will use drones flying at high altitude to release thousands of small, electronic Bibles into Iraq.

"The Bibles are the size of pill boxes and have a display. They require no electricity, but work on their own," the church's mission director Christian Akerhielm told Swedish broadcaster SVT, according to the newspaper The Local.

"Our ambition is to pass on the hope and love of the Christian gospel to a population living in closed areas where they are being denied human rights," the Livets Ord said on its Swedish homepage.

The church said that another organisation in the area would be carrying out the operation, but did not name the other group. "We start our project in a few weeks and hope to drop thousands of Bibles," it said.

A representative of the church confirmed to Christian Today that the plan will go ahead.

Livets Ord is the leading charismatic church in Sweden, and seen as in line with the Pentecostal movement in the US. It was founded in the 1980s, and is often criticised in secular Swedish society for being like a "cult".

It runs a series of evangelical schools for children.

The current leader of the Christian Democrat party, Ebba Busch Thor, who is from Uppsala, attended one until she turned 16.

Another criticism levelled in the Swedish press has been that the church has made donations to Israel that have gone towards building illegal settlements in the West Bank.

The church's founders, Ulf and Birgitta Ekman, leftin 2014 to convert to Catholicism.

The church says on its website: "We believe in an unfailing and never-ending love, given to us by God. And together we try to spread that love to as many people as possible. Both globally and closer to where our home is, here in Uppsala."
The former Goddard inquiry: Is it time for victims to trust the system again?

The Goddard inquiry into institutional child abuse, as we must get used to not calling it any more, has been beset by problems since it first started. It was a commendably ambitious plan to get to the bottom of what has been done to children in different kinds of institutions  including Churches. But it struggled to find direction and leadership after two eminently well-qualified chairs, Elizabeth Butler-Sloss and Fiona Woolf, resigned in succession because of allegations of conflicts of interest levelled at them by victims and survivors groups.

Lowell Goddard's departure came days after an update on progress which revealed a mixed picture. In spite of Home Secretary Amber Rudd's bullish declaration that the work would go on under a new chair, Goddard's deeply disappointing decision has given Rudd, new to her job, a huge challenge. She may, under her breath, be quietly cursing her predecessor, Theresa May, whose decision it was to set up the inquiry in the first place.

Now that Goddard has laid the groundwork, though, the picture for victims and survivors of child abuse ought to look very different. They were understandably and rightly suspicious of the 'establishment'. The big institutions, including government, were the ones responsible for the harm that was done to them. They had no reason on earth to trust them. But the time has surely come for that to change, in the interests of truth and justice.

Baroness Butler-Sloss was unacceptable because her brother had been attorney-general in the 1980s and had allegedly tried to persuade former Tory MP Geoffrey Dickens against naming an alleged paedophile on the floor of the House of Commons. Fiona Woolf was unacceptable because she turned out to have been an acquaintance of Leon Brittan, also accused of a cover-up.

Since then, though, it's become clearer that it isn't just the inquiry chair who's doing the work. It's a huge operation. Its 2015/16 budget is 17.9 million; it has hired 155 staff members; it is running 13 separate historic abuse investigations, and it is dealing with allegations from 2,000 abuse vicims so far. The idea that unpalatable findings could be covered up by a Machiavellian chair looks increasingly unlikely. There are simply too many people in the know, and there has been too much of a culture change, in the Churches as much as anywhere else: no one, now, could ever take an allegation of child abuse with anything other than the utmost seriousness. The days of bishops shuffling guilty clergy from parish to parish instead of reporting them to police are gone.

Whether the inquiry needs a single controlling mind of the status of Goddard, Woolf or Butler-Sloss is a moot question. It is not the only option on the table; some argued before it began that it would be better served by a panel.

Whichever way forward Rudd chooses, she will have to reckon with victims groups that have so far effectively exercised a veto over political choices. It is vitally important that the inquiry works with the grain of survivors' concerns and carries the assent of those affected. But in these new and strange times, it's vital too that this veto should be used responsibly. More muddle and delay will not serve the purpose of justice and it will not make children safer.

For everyone's sake, it's time to trust again.

Follow Mark Woods on Twitter: @RevMarkWoods
A longtime Houston police officer faces a charge of tampering with government documents.

Pedro Padilla was arrested on Thursday and relieved of duty pending the outcome of an internal affairs investigation, Houston Police Department spokesman Victor Senties said.

According to court documents, Padilla is accused of signing documents saying three people completed Texas Department of Public Safety classes required for a handgun license. The three did not complete the classes.

Padilla, an 18-year HPD veteran, posted a $10,000 bond on Thursday. He has a Monday court date.
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Don't let travel marketing lure you to an overrated honeymoon destination.

Personal finance site MoneyWise recently compiled a list of honeymoon trip ideas that have become cliche, overcrowded and, as a result, overpriced, according to survey respondents. (Warning: these travelers don't mince words!)

Among those are Las Vegas, Tulum, Mexico, Dubai, Paris and Venice. One MoneyWise reader denounced Los Angeles as a honeymoon spot: "Los Angeles is actually kind of lame if you're a tourist, which is how most people will experience it. A lot of our 'attractions,' like Hollywood and Venice Beach, are pretty boring. Everything else is so spread out that getting around is a nightmare. It's a better place to live than to visit."

>>See the gallery above for ideas on where and what to do on a honeymoon in Texas.

HoustonChronicle.com: How Galveston wound up with one of Houston's top craft-barbecue pitmasters (podcast)

Another great reason to opt for a road trip instead of paying inflated prices at tourist traps is that you'll likely save some cash, too. The average honeymoon expense is now $4,5000, according to a 2019 Wedding Wire report. Save thousands by filling up the gas tank and taking a drive to the scenic Texas Hill Country, west Texas mountains or coastal oases.

That same study said that staying close to home is the new trend in honeymooning. "(Newlyweds are) using the search term 'near me' on mobile," to seek out wedding-related expenses.

Whatever you do, don't skip the honeymoon. A study reported that couples who have a honeymoon are 41 percent less likely to get a divorce.

That's reason enough to at least take a post-wedding road trip.

NEWS WHEN YOU NEED IT: Text CHRON to 77453 to receive breaking news alerts by text message | Sign up for breaking news alerts delivered to your email here.
A Florida woman who dropped her luggage on herself at the end of an August 2014 flight is suing American Airlines for negligence.

Nima Ayyash asked a flight attendant to pack her carry-on luggage into the overhead compartment when she couldn't get it to fit herself on a flight from Chicago to Miami, according to the Miami New Times.
Kyle Naegeli, Katy's homegrown "fish whisperer," tells us that he's heading to Blinn College soon, but that doesn't mean his unique fishing videos will soon be ending.

For a few years now, Chron.com has been showing you Naegeli's exploits, which he posts to YouTube, amassing nearly 34,000 subscribers.
News / National

by Staff Reporter

President Robert Mugabe is reportedly scared to tackle head on his 'corruption tainted' deputy Phelekezela Mphoko.Mphoko recently caused a stir at Avondale Police Station in Harare when he personally ordered the release of the arrested duo of Zimbabwe National Roads Administration (Zinara), acting chief executive officer Engineer Moses Juma and non-executive director Davison Norupiri.Mphoko said the pair were his "boys".Mphoko was so angry when he arrived at the police station that he took off his jacket and threatened to assault police officers after they refused to release the duo.However, Mugabe who frequently preachers zero corruption is said to be reluctant to pursue the matter.Zinara is chaired by the president's nephew Albert Mugabe, while Juma and Norupiri are close associates of the vice-president and First Lady Grace.According to Zimbabwe Independent, Zimbabwe Anti-corruption Commission (Zacc) principal public relations officer Phyllis Chikundura "As of now I don't know because there were released by a higher office. There are currently investigations underway," Chikundura.Government officials from the Office of the President and Cabinet (OPC) visited Zacc offices last week to gather details on the corruption case, the publication added.
News / National

by Thobekile Zhou

Opposition MDC leader Welshman Ncube has applauded Zimbabweans for shrugging off passive nature and adopted an aggressive character. Ncube said the move has taken a short period to occur. The country is facing sporadic streets protests. Writing in his traditional Friday opinion, Ncube said "Zanu PF has predictably responded with shameless vindictiveness".Below is part of his opinion :In all but a short space of time, the landscape of civic and political activism in Zimbabwe has dramatically transformed. Us Zimbabweans, whose familiar trademark has for long been 'passive resilience' have assumed a more aggressive character of 'passive resistance', The ruling party, ZANU PF has predictably responded with shameless vindictiveness. President Mugabe and his band of faithfuls are applying the only panacea they know best - confinement by leg irons! We knew they would do that all along, yet there is a new angle to their repertoire of repression - roasting own sons of the revolution! The MDC and its kin - who traditionally have been so much used to being at the receiving end of ZANU PF's fiery sword - are watching with bemused anxiety as the ghost of Wilfred Mhanda spreads the incense of dissent amongst his former comrades - particularly those that publicly disowned him. However, just like you, I am caught between two contradictory forces: celebration or sympathy.The political democrat in me says after almost sixteen years of systematic victimisation, abuse and insults from the group that Douglas Mahiya (Zimbabwe National Liberation War Veterans Association (ZNLWVA) spokesperson) and Victor Matemadanda, ZNLWVA secretary general represent - I should restrain my sympathy and empathy. After all, is the misery experienced by Patrick Nabanyama, Paul Chizuze, Jestina Mukoko and of late Evan Mawarire not still fresh in our minds? Was the same ZNLWVA not conspicuous by its resounding silence? And that is not all. Since 1999, war veterans have been complicit in decimating property rights, relentless electoral intimidation, murdering, maiming and abduction of MDC activists - thus providing the chilling soundtrack to shameful oppression and repression by a ruthless system. Millions of Zimbabweans have been forced into exile; millions internally displaced and millions more hungry, unemployed and hopeless - thanks to the system that Douglas Mahiya and Victor Matemadanda have mortgaged their lives with. Wilfred Mhanda spoke against them but they despised, scoffed at and disowned him.The lawyer and human rights defender in me is screaming for the upholding of justice and rule of law. But my problem is that perhaps we lawyers and civil society ought to be asking ourselves whether or not the sudden transformation of ZNLWVA is democratic enough to warrant celebration, empathy and sympathy. President Mugabe and his erstwhile colleague Samora Machel were admonished by the Frontline States leaders for their dungeon retribution in dealing with internal dissent. As once prisoners of conscience, Wilfred Mhanda and his friends tried over many years to educate their ZNLWVA colleagues that even if Mugabe fell, the default position of the country would never be democracy. I still see the political vortex of ZANU PF remaining a magnet of vicious dictatorship. Thus, what seems to be a new awakening in the Douglas Mahiya - Victor Matemadanda scheme of things is in fact not a democratic transformation, but instinctive tendencies to replace one form of dictatorship with another. This brand of war veterans is genetically configured around autocratic dictatorship.Nonetheless, as democrats, both the MDC family and civil society ought to be aggrieved that Douglas Mahiya and Victor Matemadanda are being subjected to unfair and illegal treatment. Yet, these two have yet to evoke, in their so-called 'new enlightenment', the virtues and tenets of true democracy. They have not been calling for reform of electoral institutions, free and fair elections or an emergency ZANU PF congress to democratically elect a successor. Their clarion call is for Mugabe to step down and be replaced with Emmerson Mnangagwa. This is not what we have been fighting for since year 2000. If they truly believe in our values, they should come clean and be part of us not by mere coincidence of mission, but belief. But as long as they remain confined to the 'ideological safe side' of Zimbabwe's political Auschwitz, we can only cry (for them) with one eye and say "arbeit macht rei!" - democratic truth sets you free!What is my point? It is that the fall out between Mugabe and the war veterans leadership is not over a clash of values. It is a pure factional fight over who has a right to dictate who leads ZANU PF and the country. Mugabe and his G40 want Mugabe to continue as Zimbabwe's dictator while pretending to be awaiting a 'democratic' decision (by members of ZANU PF) to select a successor at some indeterminate point in the future. On the other hand the war veterans initially only wanted Mugabe to endorse Mnangagwa as his successor and crush the ambitions of the young turks in G40. Only when Mugabe would not accede to their undemocratic demands to anoint their favoured successor did they attack Mugabe himself, calling for him to stand down and opportunistically accusing him of masterminding historical crimes in which they were in fact his storm troopers. Their fight has so far not been framed as a fight for Mugabe to stand down and allow ZANU PF members to freely and democratically elect a successor but has been framed as a call for Mugabe to stand down and give way to Mnangagwa as anointed by them as opposed to the general membership of ZANU PF. They have not framed their struggle against Mugabe as a democratic struggle in solidarity with the people of Zimbabwe to be allowed to freely choose their leaders. It is for this reason that democrats must be wary of finding common cause with the war veterans who have so far failed to frame their struggle against Mugabe within the context of the values and principles of democracy. Thus it is easily conceivable that should they succeed against Mugabe they should simply revert to their storm troopers default mode of being anti democratic agents in the name of the old anti people and anti democratic ZANU PF but now under Mnangagwa. The resettlement areas would remain open prisons under the guard of the same war veterans for and on behalf of Mnangagwa's ZANU PF.As Zimbabweans we need not just be wary but need to popularise the habit of thinking. Thoughtless politics is what has brought us here. We cannot continue with it if we are to save our country. Allowing emotions and the politics of thoughtlessness and convenience to blind us from the dangers of our situation is something we need to avoid as we would a plague.
News / National

by Stephen Jakes

There has been an escalation of violation of people's freedoms in Harare according the Zimbabwe Peace Project.ZPP reported that during the month of June the province was a hive of activity as a number of violations were recorded. Section 58 (1) of the Constitution of Zimbabwe states that, every person has the right to freedom of assembly and association and the right not to assemble or associate with others."This was not the case in Zengeza West where residents were assaulted for 13 attending a feedback meeting. Section 59 of the Constitution was also violated when the police indiscriminately assaulted members of the Occupy Africa Unity Square who were staging a peaceful demonstration," said ZPP."The section clearly stipulates that every person has the right to demonstrate and petition as long as the processes are conducted in a peaceful manner."
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This article orginally appeared on KQED

The Sonoma County Sheriffs Office has promoted deputy Erick Gelhaus who shot and killed 13-year-old Andy Lopez just outside Santa Rosa to sergeant with an accompanying pay increase, KQED has learned.

The promotion came in May, nearly three years after Lopezs death in 2013. That case shook residents and county government alike, sparked massive protests and student walkouts and galvanized the local Latino community.

The shooting prompted investigations by local and federal authorities.

Sheriff Steve Freitas ultimately approved the promotion, which Gelhaus applied for, according to sheriffs office Sgt. Spencer Crum. In his new role, Gelhaus will typically oversee eight to 10 deputies per shift. His pay increased 10 percent, from $49.19 to $55 per hour.

Gelhaus was paid more than $134,000 in 2015, including overtime, according to state salary records on Transparent California.

The Sheriff is committed to following the law, rules and policy by promoting Sergeant Gelhaus, Crum wrote in response to KQED. He didnt treat him any differently than the rest of the deputies who tested for the position. The sheriff knows there are some people who are upset by his promotion but he is convinced that the vast majority of the public wants a Sheriff who follows the rules. Providing opportunities for his members is not only a moral duty, it is also a legal and human right.

Toy Gun Mistaken for AK-47 Rifle

Lopez was walking to a friends house near his home on Moorland Avenue on Oct 22, 2013. Gelhaus was on patrol with deputy Michael Schemmel, who was his trainee, when Gelhaus mistakenly identified the replica gun Lopez was carrying under his arm for a real AK-47 rifle.

He yelled to Schemmel something to the effect of do you see that and called for backup, according to the countys district attorney report on the incident.

Gelhaus got out of the car, which was parked 30 to 60 feet from Lopez and ordered him to drop the gun at least once, according to the report. As Lopez turned around towards the deputies while still holding the replica gun, Gelhaus began to fire. Lopez was shot seven times, including in the chest, hips, buttocks and arms. Lopez died at the scene.

An autopsy later revealed Lopez had traces of marijuana in his system.

Gelhaus told investigators with the Santa Rosa Police Department that he feared for his life.

Investigations Clear Gelhaus

At the time, Gelhaus had been a Sonoma County deputy for 23 years and had worked in the gang enforcement unit. He was an experienced firearms instructor and a U.S. Army veteran. A month before Lopezs death, Gelhaus had received firearms training on AK-47s. He knew that rounds fired by an AK-47 could penetrate the body armor he and Schemmel were wearing.

The Sonoma County district attorney determined criminal charges were not warranted because, given Gelhauss training and experience, he believed he was faced with a do-or-die dilemma. The U.S. Department of Justice also cleared Gelhaus of civil rights violations after their investigation.

Lopezs family filed a federal civil rights lawsuit against Gelhaus and Sonoma County in 2014. Sonoma County appealed a judges preliminary ruling, and the case is now before the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals.

Nearly three years after Lopezs death, the case remains an open wound for many Latinos in the area, particularly young people.

He was a good friend, and for him to just go like that, its not OK, said Christian Hernandez Reyes, 15, who was born and raised in Santa Rosa. I mean, he was still a little kid. He was 13. There was no reason to shoot him out of nowhere.

Hernandez Reyes, who met Lopez through school, said Gelhaus should not be patrolling the streets.

He could do that to another person, to another minor, where its going to be the same all over again, he said.

Gelhaus has not been exonerated in the court of public opinion, and many local Latinos fear and distrust him, said Caroline Banuelos, chair of a county task force that provided recommendations to improve community-police relations after Lopezs death.

Banuelos and a majority of task force members asked Sheriff Freitas to place Gelhaus in a desk job instead of returning him to patrol, she said. Gelhauss promotion, said Banuelos, sends an unfortunate message for residents who feel Lopez was killed needlessly.

That someone can kill a member of our community and there will be no repercussions or accountability, and on top of that they can be promoted, thats a really negative message, said Banuelos, a Sonoma County resident for over 30 years.

Deputy Sheriffs Association Backs Promotion

Deputy Mike Vail, president of the Sonoma County Deputy Sheriffs Association characterized Gelhaus as a rock-solid deputy who deserves the promotion.

We are proud of him, Vail said. He has a great reputation within our office for doing a good job.

Vail added that Lopezs death was a tragedy for everyone involved, including Gelhaus.

I cant even imagine what Erick must have gone through over the last few years dealing with what has happened, Vail said. The public scrutiny, the scrutiny by the office, his own personal conflicts with what has happened  its just terrible.

Vail said his association fully backs Gelhauss actions the day he shot Lopez, and he acted within the scope of law.

I dont think anybody would have responded any differently based on their training experience, he said.

This article originally appeared on KQED
News / National

by Thobekile Zhou

MDC-T Chinhoyi Mayor Test Michaels has reportedly defected to Joyce Mujuru's Zimbabwe People First party.According to a ZiFM radio bulletin, Michaels took along 20 councilors.It was not immediately clear when the defection took place.
News / National

by Staff Reporter

Vice President Emmerson Mnangagwa has implored Zimbabweans to be united and preserve peace and tranquillity to enable the country to attain prosperity and to uplift the lives of ordinary people.Vice President Mnangagwa held a news conference in his Munhumutapa offices on the subject of Heroes Day commemorations which will be held on Monday.In a wide ranging interview in the capital on Friday afternoon, Mnangagwa said Heroes Day aims at inculcating patriotism and selflessness to all generations.He said it is also a reminder to the heroes that they are not forgotten and that they did not die in vain.In the face of the current drought facing the nation and the whole of Southern Africa, Vice President Mnangagwa has been appointed to lead the Food and Nutrition Coordinating Committee under ZIM ASSET.In that regard he says government has launched a serious programme that will ensure that Zimbabwe attains food security through command agriculture.He said the committee is in the process of identifying 400 000 hectares of land where the project should be implemented and is confident that the country will achieve the goal in the next four harvesting seasons.The media briefing was attended by representatives of different media houses.
News / Regional

by Pamela Shumba

THE Government has built a $13 000 homestead for a Nkayi family that was relocated to pave way for the construction of the Cross Zenka transmission site in Nkayi District as part of the digitalisation programme.The construction of the homestead, a four-roomed house, a kitchen hut and a Blair toilet was funded by the Broadcasting Authority of Zimbabwe (BAZ).Speaking during a visit to the new transmission site and the new homestead, Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Information, Media and Broadcasting Services Mr George Charamba said the family had to be moved after it was discovered that the site was dangerously close to the homestead."When we were doing our site identification, somehow technology failed us. We didn't see that there was a homestead, next to where we had sited our tower."We realised when we moved to the site that there was a homestead, which was dangerously close to the tower. What was originally meant to be migration from analogue to digital then had this direct consequence of migrating human beings from the site," said Mr Charamba.He commended BAZ for funding the construction of the homestead, saying it went a long way in improving the lifestyle of the Moyo family."What made the story a happy one is that when we realised that there was that negative impact on a family, we immediately mobilised resources through BAZ and relocated the family to yield this beautiful homestead."When I look at the homestead, I don't see money that was sunk in, but I see our little contribution to improving the lifestyle of a family in Nkayi. If you remember from the documentation that we have from Government, Nkayi is rated as the poorest district in Matabeleland North," said Mr Charamba.When there is an intervention of that nature, added Mr Charamba, one realises that it's not money that always matters in life."As you see the joy that has been brought to the family you realise money is not all that matters in life. It's human satisfaction, safety and progress that we look at," said Mr Charamba.Mrs Thandiwe Moyo, a widow who stays with her three children, a daughter-in-law and two grandchildren said she was grateful to the Government for providing them with a new home."When the digitalisation team came to inform me that we had to be moved, I was terrified. But when they told me their plan and eventually started constructing the homestead, I was very happy.
News / Regional

by Nqobile Tshili

POLICE are looking for a former Bulawayo City Council accountant for allegedly swindling home seekers of $108 000 in a bogus residential stands scheme.Freddy Ndabalime Dube (42) allegedly misrepresented to home seekers that he was selling residential stands, but failed to deliver after being paid.Acting Bulawayo police spokesperson Assistant Inspector Abednico Ncube said Dube committed the crimes between January 2014 and June this year."He misrepresented to complainants that he had residential stands that he was selling in the western suburbs. He sold stands, drafted agreements of sale and collected payments and failed to avail the stands to the complainants. The complainants were defrauded of $108 860," said Asst Insp Ncube.He said Dube's victims later reported the matter to the police but he had long disappeared."The complainants later discovered that they had been duped and reported the cases to the police."However, the accused had already disappeared and his whereabouts are not known," Asst Insp Ncube said."Efforts to locate him have been fruitless hence the appeal to anyone with information on his whereabouts to contact the officer in charge ZRP CID Fraud Squad, Bulawayo Detective Chief Inspector Sibanda H on cell number 0772372/ 0712915307 or the investigating officer Detective A/Inspector Masenda on landline 09-78446 OR 0772747344/ 0713914946 or our toll free 110 or any nearest police station."Asst Insp Ncube said people who were defrauded in the same manner by Dube should make a report.In February this year, police said 16 people in Bulawayo lost more than $232 000 to a land baron in a stands scam that saw some individuals being swindled of up to $15 000 each in the fake housing development project. Police said a city businessman Munyaradzi Mazenge, a director at Net Seven Real Estate, who is on the run, allegedly sold stands to people on land that did not belong to him.Mazenge allegedly subdivided plot 12 in Willsgrove without the permission of the owner of the land and sold stands to different people.Police said the businessman allegedly attached a fake subdivision permit number SDC 05/2015 as if the land was owned by his company and gave it to buyers as if the plan was approved.He allegedly issued receipts to his clients and made them pay money in instalments of up to six months after promising them that the servicing of the land would be done within a year.
A wildfire in Galveston County is continuing to send a large plume of smoke toward the Houston area, authorities said Thursday night.

The fire broke out late Thursday afternoon in an isolated area that officials with the National Weather Service characterized as "extreme southwest Galveston County."
KTRK anchor Dave Ward, who earned a spot in the record books as the longest-running TV news broadcaster, announced on Thursday that he will be leaving the news desk for good in December.

The Houston TV station made the announcement on its website right before the 6 p.m. newscast. In a statement, Ward reflected on his 50-year run at KTRK.

IN THE RECORDS: Guinness World Records honors Dave Ward

"I am very proud of my work here at Channel 13 over the past 50 years. I will always cherish having witnessed firsthand the transformation of this great city," Ward's said during the 6 p.m. broadcast. "I leave Channel 13 with a lifetime's worth of memories, having reported on some of Houston's greatest moments of triumph and tragedy, including the Moon landing in 1969, the first and last space shuttle launches and many in between, and the recovery efforts following Hurricane Ike in 2008. I want to extend my heartfelt appreciation to my loyal viewers, my friends, without whom my extensive career would not have been possible. My 50 year tenure at Channel 13 represents the hallmark of my career, and at the end of this year I look forward to the next chapter."

REMEMBER THIS? Looking back at a golden era at KTRK

Ward has been with KTRK since 1966. He became one of its lead anchors two years later.

Back in 2014, Ward cut back on his workload, leaving the anchor desk in the 10 p.m. weeknight broadcasts and appearing only at 6 p.m. on weekdays.

ACCOMPLISHMENTS ABOUND: Crime Stoppers' building honors Ward

Throughout his time in Houston, he was a leader in investigative news and was awarded an Emmy Award and other honors.
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SAN ANTONIO  A report of a suspicious person with a gun prompted a lockdown and large police response at Methodist Stone Oak Hospital for about 45 minutes Friday afternoon, a security dispatcher and police said.

The far North Side hospital, located at 1139 E Sonterra Blvd., was placed on lockdown around 2:30 p.m. after reports of "a violent person with a gun" were made, said Nate Sigman, a security dispatcher for the hospital.

The reports were prompted by a patient who had a BB gun in a holster, Sigman said, adding he wasn't sure whether the patient had already been checked into the hospital or if they were a new arrival.

However, a spokeswoman for the San Antonio Police Department said the reports were prompted by a "suspicious" person call. Security for the hospital "located a gun case by the emergency room entrance and a male was seen going into the wooded area behind the location."

At 4 p.m., SAPD said the call "has been cleared, nothing was found."

MORE: City targeting East Side convenience store that has been magnet for crime

Several units from the San Antonio Police Department and Bexar County Sheriff's Office responded to the six-floor hospital.

The lockdown was lifted around 3:12 p.m., Sigman said, adding that he was not aware of any reports of injuries.

Maghally Davila said on Twitter around 2:30 p.m. that she was at the hospital when reports of a "violent person with a weapon" on the first floor emergency room were made by an Uber driver to a security guard.

RELATED: Family shares painful photos of fatal crash in San Marcos

"Police everywhere," Davila said. "No visual of suspect or weapon yet."

It isn't immediately clear whether any charges will be filed.

This developing story will be updated as soon as more information is available.

Text "NEWS" to 72727 to sign up for breaking news from mySA

Staff writer Tyler White contributed to this report.

kparker@mysa.com

Twitter: @KoltenParker
Opinion / Columnist

Dr Norman Vincent Peal was correct when he quipped; "the person who sends out positive thoughts activates the world around him positively and draws back to himself positive results". Zimbabwe has been facing a liquidity crunch for a long time due to its use of the American dollar, which is a reserve currency for almost every country on earth.Most nations , especially in Southern Africa, have recently experienced weakening of their currencies against the US dollar, resulting in nationals of these countries flocking to Zimbabwe to siphon the US dollar.As an intervention, the Reserve Bank Governor Dr John Mangudya mooted the introduction of bond notes in order to fund a 5 percent bonus export incentive, as well as to improve liquidity in a market that has been hit hard by currency externalisation.This is a positive step that should activate more economic transactions in the country. In search of relevance, Joice Mujuru, of the Zimbabwe People First (ZPF) project, this week approached the Constitutional Court challenging Government's decision to introduce bond notes as part of a raft of measures to stem the liquidity crunch.In her constitutional application filed in the apex court, Mujuru listed President Mugabe, Finance and Economic Development Minister Patrick Chinamasa, Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe Governor Dr John Mangudya and the Attorney-General Advocate Prince Machaya, as respondents.Mujuru is against the intended introduction of bond notes, which she has likened to "tissue paper".What is surprising is why Mujuru wants her application dealt with by the highest court in the land despite the fact that the High Court has inherent powers to hear such an application.Mujuru seems to overlook the fact that the notes will not be tissue paper as they will be backed by a $230 million facility from the African Export and Import Bank.The notes, which will be valued at par with the US dollar, are mainly intended to support the export sector.Finance Minister Patrick Chinamasa and RBZ Governor Dr Mangudya, explained in coruscating detail the issue of bond notes at various forums including the National Assembly. The introduction of bond coins, which are also pegged to the US dollar, initially met resistance from some sections of Zimbabwean society but were eventually accepted while the South African Rand is being rejected due to its volatility. The bond coins came as a big relief to Zimbabweans who felt short-changed by retailers as consumers were forced to buy trinkets, which they did not want, due to lack of change.The bond notes will not be similar to bearer cheques, which had no backing from the greenback. People will still have a choice between having the US currency, bank notes or even any other currency, which includes the Rand, Yuan, Euro and Pula.Zimbabweans are not fools, who some opposition formations intend to take for a ride. The opposition formations are so desperate for relevance to the extent that they will rubbish everything the Government does, including very noble intentions.An opposition political party is not formed just for the sake of opposing everything a sitting government does, but mainly to provide checks and balances as well as to proffer alternative solutions to national problems. What alternative solutions do Mujuru and her colleagues in the opposition have to alleviate the cash shortages currently facing Zimbabweans?Mujuru is said to have also petitioned the courts to rescind Statutory Instrument 64 of 2016, which seeks to regulate, and not to ban importation of locally available trinkets like coffee creamers, camphor creams, white petroleum jellies, body creams, baked beans, potato crisps, cereals, bottled water, peanut butter, canned fruits and vegetables, jam and maheu, claiming that the Statutory Instrument will negatively affect the poor people of Zimbabwe.The Statutory Instrument seeks to protect local industries from unfair outside competition. Most of the goods affected by the import regulations are Genetically Modified Organism (GMO) products which have negative effects on health.Promoting production and marketing of locally produced goods and services will go a long way in creating employment, which the opposition formations are ironically crying for daily, for Zimbabweans.The business community, including the Confederation of Zimbabwe Industries (CZI) and the Zimbabwe National Chamber of Commerce (ZNCC) have welcomed the introduction of bond notes and Statutory Instrument 64 of 2016, but Mujuru and her outfit are trying to throw spanners into all noble intentions meant to benefit all Zimbabweans in the long run.It is a waste of time and resources for misguided elements to organise demonstrations against the intended introduction of bond notes.Instead, Zimbabweans should call upon the monetary authorities to expedite introduction of the notes in order to alleviate the current cash shortages in the economy.
AUSTIN  A controversial proposal to turn a closed state school in Corsicana into a federal immigration center to house undocumented minors from Central America was blocked Friday.

By a vote of 8-1, the Texas Juvenile Justice Department's governing board turned back the plan promoted by Corsicana city officials to house up to 800 foreign youths at the site, in what they said could bring up to 1,100 jobs to the Navarro County community about 55 miles south of Dallas.

The state's conservative Republican leadership  including Gov. Greg Abbott and legislators  publicly opposed the transfer, saying they were unwilling to support what they consider to be illegal federal immigration policies that are resettling thousands of refugees -- including the minors -- in the United States.

Calvin Stephens, of Dallas, cast the lone vote for the plan at a meeting in Austin, where more than a dozen opponents showed up to urge the board not to transfer the long-shuttered facility to the City of Corsicana.

The Corsicana State School, which once housed more than 200 youths in state custody for crimes, was closed three years ago as part of a downsizing of the juvenile-justice agency. The center housed youths with serious mental-health issues, many of whom had been the victims of sexual abuse.

Corsicana officials recently had signed a tentative deal with a New York firm to operate a transitional housing center for undocumented minors.

The city would have gotten title to the center for free, and would have leased it to a private firm for $3,000 a month.

State officials, led by Abbott, state Sen. Brian Birdwell, R-Granbury, and other lawmakers, had urged the board not to approve the transfer. While part of the opposition was because they opposed federal immigration policies, other officials opposed the transfer as a bad deal for Texas taxpayers because the state is still paying off millions of dollars in construction bonds on the closed facility.
So long as obstinate members of Congress are willing to prioritize political showboating over the lives of actual, living people, Texas women and families will remain particularly vulnerable to the largely unknown health consequences of the Zika virus.

With at least 80 confirmed cases so far, the Lone Star State ranks among the top four most widely infected states in the nation. More alarming, experts on July 29 confirmed the first cases of local mosquito-borne Zika infection in the continental United States, meaning that an outbreak of - or at least a notable increase in - vector-based transmission is likely on the horizon. The virus and its pandemic potential have raised red flags among public health officials because it has the capacity to trigger the dangerous and sometimes fatal condition microcephaly in infants born to infected pregnant women; the first Texas baby with Zika-related microcephaly was born last month. Of all the vulnerable states, Texas purportedly has the highest number of pregnant women at risk: nearly half a million. Still, these risks may be just the tip of the iceberg, as scientists are only beginning to delve into the unchartered territory of Zika's possible long-term effects.

In the midst of this enigmatic fear, however, we know a few things for certain. First, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recognizes three primary modes of Zika transmission : mosquito bites, sexual transmission, and mother-to-fetus transmission. The Obama administration has consequently advised Congress to pass $1.9 billion in emergency funding to render robust both our prevention and response efforts. Because inhibiting transmission is paramount to prevention, public health experts have made two primary recommendations: increased caution with regard to mosquitos and delaying pregnancy, a strategy that requires access to and proper use of contraception.

The funding bill produced by a Republican conference committee before Congress left for summer recess, however, entirely excluded family planning and expressly restricted the funds from promoting access to contraception. A bill that was intended to be an attack on Zika, then, instead became an affront to women's health, sacrificing people's needs for the sake of making a political statement about the conservative stance against reproductive health care.

But Texas' geographic, social and political ideologies also render many among us uniquely vulnerable to consequences of a Zika epidemic. Reproductive freedom is highly restricted in our state, and harmful legislation almost always has a disproportionately negative impact on women of color and low-income women. Need was high before Zika; the Guttmacher Institute estimates that as of 2010, more than 1.7 million Texas women were in need of publicly funded contraceptive services. Between 2006 and 2010, one-fourth of all poor Texas women who did gain access to contraception did so through Title X sites - precisely the types of clinics that lawmakers excluded from the Zika funding bill. Now, contraceptive need has grown even more desperate, yet Republicans strive to move protection further out of the reach of those most in need.

Not so coincidentally, these vulnerable groups are more susceptible to Zika due to environmental conditions. Summer in the South is prime time for mosquitoes, and both species that can transmit the virus thrive here in Texas. Low-income communities, which tend to lack sufficient air conditioning and window screens and are particularly conducive to mosquito-breeding factors, frequently take the hardest hits in environmental and reproductive justice catastrophes. And as though that predisposition to environmental devastation was not enough, 22 percent of Texas women between the ages of 19 and 64 do not have health insurance, meaning they would have nothing to help cover the costs associated with Zika-related health complications.

Weeks ago, all of Texas' Republican congressional representatives voted to pass HB 2755, the Zika funding bill, but Democrats blocked the bill on the grounds that it allocated nothing to women's health, ignoring an opportunity to prevent fetal exposure to Zika and the possible resultant development of the birth defect microcephaly. Then Congress left for summer break until after Labor Day.

Texans' lives are on the line - I would hope we have an allegiance to each other before an allegiance to the futile art of political grandstanding. Let's call on the government to do better and provide our women with the tools they need to protect themselves and their families against Zika. And let's do it now.

Nesbitt is an advocate for reproductive justice and a student of Women, Gender & Sexuality Studies and African & African American Studies at Washington University in St. Louis, Mo.
HAPPY FRIDAY! The Olympics Opening Ceremony begins at 6:30 p.m. on NBC.

-- Confusion clouds hearing on UT professors campus carry lawsuit, by the Houston Chronicles Andrea Zelinski

Judge Lee Yeakel declined to rule on the plaintiffs' request for a preliminary injunction to block implementation of the law Thursday, asking for more information from lawyers on both sides.

What this is really about is the professors' disagreement with this law, said Anne Marie Mackin, an assistant attorney general representing UT. She argued the professors failed to meet the requirements to win a preliminary injunction and cannot show how the law would chill speech.

>> Texas GOPers press Obama on Zika dollars, by the Chronicles Kevin Diaz

-- In Texas, GOP angst rises as Donald Trumps poll numbers slip, by the Austin American-Statesmans Chuck Lindell

Hes a hard guy to understand where hes coming from on some of his outbursts and criticisms and off the cuff (remarks). Hes pretty much: This is what I am and take it or leave it, so its hard to like him, Ill be honest with you, Rep. Jim Keffer told the American-Statesman.

U.S. Rep. Roger Williams, R-Austin, said he doesnt believe Trumps proposed tax cuts go far enough, and on social issues I may be a little more to the right. But, Williams added, Ive endorsed Trump because hes our candidate. It comes down to the Supreme Court. I dont want Hillary Clinton nominating the justices. Whether you like him or not, the people voted for him. The people spoke.

-- Greens kick off convention with different views of success, by the Chronicles Andrew Kragie

Local party leaders boast of the 40 candidates seeking office in Texas. Their main goal is not to win, but to get at least 5 percent of the vote for Railroad Commission candidate Martina Salinas. Garnering 5 percent in a statewide race would assure the Greens a spot on future Texas ballots.

-- Gov. Abbotts Back Alley Abortion Politics are a Texas Tradition, by the Texas Observers Andrea Grimes

For as good as Texas is at coming up with new and interesting ways to make not getting (or staying) pregnant as difficult as possible, youd think our state leaders wouldnt be shy about sharing their innovations in this area. And yet, when health officials proposed significantly changing the way Texas abortion providers are allowed to handle fetal tissue and fetal remains in early July, nobody from the Texas Health and Human Services Commission (HHSC) said a word. The commission quietly published proposed rule changes in the Texas Register for a mandatory 30-day comment period and shuffled on its way.

-- S.A. congressman, a chief climate change skeptic, continues to battle environmentalists, by the Express-News Bill Lambrecht

Lamar Smith is considering his next steps and declared in a statement Thursday that the investigation of the attorneys general and environmental extremists will continue and that the Science Committee will consider using all the tools at our disposal. Their refusal to comply with issued subpoenas is based on a fear of what the information will reveal, he said in the statement. Rep. Eddie Bernice Johnson of Dallas, the ranking Democrat after nearly 24 years on the committee, referred to the subpoenas as harassment and abuse of power.

SPEED READ

Houston drags its feet on getting the most out of tax breaks, Houston Chronicle

DOJ: Harris County isn't providing adequate access to disabled voters, Houston Chronicle

John Wiley Price accused of using Dallas County employees to help with his criminal defense, Dallas Morning News ($)

Johnson: Feds looking at family immigration detention changes, Politico

Nesbitt: Congress' reluctance to fund Zika response harms Texans, Houston Chronicle

An Independent in the Texas Legislature? Not for Long., The Texas Tribune

Gay Corrections Officer Alleges Retaliation for Filing Suit, The Texas Observer

Willacy Co. Residents Asking for More DPS Presence, KRGV

Texas lawmakers look for ways to better help abused children, Fort Worth Star-Telegram

Unearthed stone may be tied to Alamos main gate, San Antonio Express-News

HISD reassigns ethics and compliance officer, Houston Chronicle

CAPITOL DAYBOOK: No meetings scheduled

RACE TO THE WHITE HOUSE

>> SIREN :: National poll: Clinton up 15 over Trump, by POLITICO

-- Clinton's charge raises issue of checks on nuclear powers, by The New York Times William J. Broad and David E. Sanger

If the United States appeared to be under nuclear assault, the president would have minutes to decide whether the threat was real, and to fire as many as 925 nuclear warheads with a destructive force greater than 17,000 Hiroshima bombs, according to estimates by Hans M. Kristensen, the director of the Nuclear Information Project at the Federation of American Scientists, a private group in Washington.

-- After delay, Pence endorses McCain, Ayotte, by CNNs Cassie Spodak

Hours earlier Thursday, Pence set off alarms inside the Republican establishment when he declined to back the senators from Arizona and New Hampshire.  A source familiar with the Trump-Pence relationship told CNN's Maeve Reston Wednesday that it's not unusual for the running mates to take opposite or differing positions by design. In fact, Trump has given Pence wide latitude to speak his mind and has personally encouraged him to stay true to his own ideas, believing Pence is loyal to the campaign.

-- Did Paul Ryan just predict that Clinton will win in a landslide? by The Washington Posts Jenna Johnson and Karen Tumulty

It goes back 20 years, to an infamous chapter in internecine Republican politics. In the weeks before the 1996 presidential election, as it became clearer and clearer that GOP nominee Bob Dole would not defeat incumbent president Bill Clinton, Republican operatives began urging their struggling congressional candidates to begin making the argument: Lets not give Clinton a blank check.

>> In heat of the campaign, White House and Clinton face questions about $400-million payment to Iran, Los Angeles Times
Opinion / Columnist

INTRODUCTION

LET US UNDERSTAND WHY OPPOSITION POLITICAL PARTIES ARE EASILY FOUNDED YET VERY WEAK



CONSIDER SOURCES OF CORRUPTION AND ITS ENTRENCHMENT



ZANU HAS SACRIFICED PEOPLE TO SILENCE INTELLIEGENT DISCOURSE FROM THE MASSES.

THE INEVITABLE WAY FORWARD

More than three and half decades ago Zimbabwe economy was almost in the first world category and the very same United States dollar Zimbabweans use today was equal to the Zimbabwe dollar then. Thirty-eight years, to be exact, Zanu has run the country down, poverty among ordinary people is at treacherous levels, and people then poor in 1980 are today millionaires and own houses and farms no white Rhodesian without inheriting from his/her parents owned. Simple questions baffling every honest person are: What must have gone wrong with our farming, industry and commerce and the mining sectors?Poor government attitude supported by no policy on indigenization and agricultural land distribution made Zanu government live in a honey moon happy disposition assuming everything will go well for ever until when the economy begun straining to support a government zero revenue fiscus. The old adage of milking a cow without feeding it is pertinently applicable. The problem with Zanu is, has and will always be of poor management, transparency and accountability coupled with persistent accusation of the defenseless poor and innocent.The people problem has been that of being a nation of wannabees. We have a million briefcase business persons beginning from the president of the country, his siblings, their families and relatives to his surrogates who sit in their offices willy-dealing making millions out of the poor man's income taxes. The economy created a false middle class who own no means of production, but who is artificially rich to cause price hikes in houses, consumer goods, land and food without any backing of a strong home manufacturing and/or agro-based industry. The economic degeneration has been unabated no wonder enough is now enough government cannot pay civil servants, the army, police and prison servicesFrom 1980s through to 2016 that Robert Mugabe and his surrogates baptized corruption and poor governance as modus-operands for future political strive in Zimbabwe no doubt shares in the outcome of the results showing in the formation of more than forty-two political parties assumedly to join in the grabbing competition for riches of Zimbabwe including people and other subterranean wealth. It is annoying to realize that unless as a nation Zimbabweans are sick, by now it should be clear why Mr. Mugabe finds it easy to keep in control of the people as President-using power catch bet to entrench corrupt practices.If political parties' formation was as risk as many paint in Zimbabwe, why would so many risk their life without much outcome in terms of changing the regime or being tortured as alleged. Consider 1990s and early 2000s when brutality on political parties took a real rough riding skype with more torture and arrests encouraged by the regime. We almost had zero political opposition parties. The importance is not in forming more opposition political parties but seeking a way of unifying positive forces so as to influence with impact that bring up change. If the objective is less risk but motivational to personal aggrandizement by actors than impressions given to followers, then we see a rise in deception and an ineffectual impact of opposition politics.The very participants in opposition politics always leave to form another organization meaning they see something lucrative normally this is receipt of funds which are not accountable. Evidence exist in many cases that the world is always taken for a ride to sympathise with a cause and be hoodwinked. Equally some international organizations aim at steering waters in countries and benefit from information and/or intelligence sourcing. The answer to any country avoiding being an appendage of another is dependent on the sincerity of leadership to its citizens and their commitment to the country. The attraction of making oneself richer as evidenced in all Zimbabweans surrogates to Zanu including opposition suggests corruption is endemic in Zimbabwean community supported clandestinely by leadership. The mistaken impression taken for a vision is rooted in the concept of either my tribe or family is richer than yours. Much vividly given in Chinua Achebe book as "My Mercedes Benz is bigger than yours, syndrome." The cancer is in love to be better than others using every short cut to the rules. Police road blocks are an example of governance decay. Admittedly no wonder why Zimbabwe economic performance continue to deteriorate as well as thinking outlook.It is true that some Zimbabweans have had too much education such this education has perhaps surpassed its productive levels for being a community benefit or service. Consider that before professing to knowing too much as children, we naturally knew and know that there is power in coming together in the face of a bully. That coming together is strength than divisive stand alone shows in quest for individual fame against national commitment. That ills in any community are always evident after a slight disagreement occurs when, in order to satisfy the pride of a few, some take off to forming a leadership splinter group. It is as though the vocabulary of social profit organizations that help align governance to the constitution and the rule of law is often taken as an enemy since she opens masses eyes to causes of corruption.Accountability and transparency are responsibilities specially made privy only to the executive president. The removal of check and balances by restricting a responsibility to one government arm invites open abuse of power by those assigned to apply the powers. Hence the Zimbabwe Central Intelligence's none accountability except to the president. Even if it is the case, would that not be playing to any regime control weakening opposition political parties influence and their impact on masses, policy and governance?Recently as a result of much social pressure from non political civic organizations; Mr. Mugabe accepted that during the struggle days in exile, Zanu isolated its opponents in an underground silo while giving them food. This admission is accidental admission of an aging man on how cruel a position the liberation struggle took on HUMANS who questioned social justice and their objectives, particularly when legal decisions on liberation struggle comrades lacked in natural justice etiquette. These and many other social ills that temporarily disappeared at independence to appease international community have emerged and reveal tendencies that earned Zimbabwe a poor human and people rights abusive records in successive years in the 80s, 90s including today.All Zanu high ranking party leaders own a piece of farm whether or not that farm is productive. Close study shows no payments were done for most of them except grabbing them from former owners who are whites. Labour in the farms has reduced increasing social unrest in the country. Businesses have been taken by ambitious but experience clueless who if it were not for funds coming out of corrupt practices they would be broke. So all these sectors which used to contribute much to National Gross product in the past has no contribution to make today and no wonder why the economy is sinking and people rising to rescue the country from total collapse while Zanu watches. Civil servants, police and military all have gone unpaid and yet billions of revenue from minerals still go unaccounted. It is false to hope Zanu can reform incompetence that has contributed to highest levels of corruption in the country.Today with a record so fresh on Itai Dzamara unaccounted disappearance under the custodianship of Mugabe government, the subsequent abuse of public participants in peaceful demonstrations can only help confirm that Zanu is dictatorial, cruel, abusive, unfair and treats citizens with callousness and punitively. The birth of #Tajamuka #ThisFlag and other civic endeavors to persuade Zanu to reason and uphold the constitution and meet ALL situations with justice, is very strong testimony that people of Zimbabwe need no FORCE OTHER THAN THEIR OWN RESOLVE to realize their objective; removing Zanu, Mugabe and surrogates from keeping power by force of violence through abuse of citizens.Numerous images of Zimbabwe police abusing citizens including pregnant women beating their feet while they are in a sitting and defenseless posture has become an ominous site on social networks. No doubt Mr. Mugabe and his party are losing it were it not for the little thread of force they keep employing through secret police who visit people by night and take them for harsh inhumane interrogations. I find it offensive to the extreme that the opposition parties who are meant to have the machinery somehow to take stock of people abuse are quiet and uncompetitive to individuals who use their WhatsApp's to connect the world through the Diaspora. Parties have access to press conferences while individuals and loosely organized civic clubs do not, yet more information comes through individuals than through institutions who are supposed to work hard in removing human oppression.With much respect for humanes it is possible to develop democracy that tolerate different views and accept change for the general good. Respect though comes from families built on solid values of tradition and Christian-Jewdeo family values. Our tradition neither exists nor has it disappeared, yet very few Zimbabweans love their culture or tradition if they are not cause for division from within. Our languages need to be a pride than source for division as it has been made to appear.There is no need for a negotiated table conference but a government REPLACEMENT plan called TRANSITIONL AUTHORITY if Zimbabweans have a commitment to the new order that will make a concerted effort to change entrenched corruption ways at home and abroad with international communities. The civic rights movement in its INNOCENCE OF PURPOSE HAS SHOWN IT IS THE ONLY WAY CITIZENS CAN CLAIM BACK WHAT IS RIGHTFULLY THEIR OWN. None corrupt citizens will agree with me that this is the only chance to review and settle differences caused mainly by a poverty thinking people misarranging as revolutionaries.It is not difficult unless we owe it to people who destroyed the country while we sheepishly watch as they slapped us using the armed forces, secret police and public police including auxiliary police reservist not registered yet getting paid from government fiscus and budget. The mentality to down trod on others by dictators has grown an underlined sense of a get-rich-quickly mentality driving everyone so competitively to engage in subservience and ingratiation with those in authority cementing the strong sense of covering wrong-lack of transparency and accountability. Zanu has set up numerous commissions on corruption and results are as though these helped endorse further strategies to smart up corrupt practices.Its necessary to radically review social justice systems, constitutional relevance and rule of law plus separation of powers to get a home grown democratic norms and values similar to universal systems. Deeper vision aught be based on a national interest concept which we have trashed in the last thirty-seven years gone by. Life as a value has lost value during Zanu rule. Policing has assumed very awkward picture in the minds of people particularly the youth. We need gain and build policing on respect and human sustenance on support than being undermined. It will not be difficult to realize that UNITY is our survival strategy founded on HUMILITY of purpose from what we have gone through so far. Any answer outside this solution prescription is caused either by ignorance or deliberate quest for selfishness in disguise of political party formation.
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.
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Opinion / Columnist

No one can deny that Zimbabwe is a democratic and peace loving country. It's true that real democracy prevails in Zimbabwe. Had it been that there is no democracy in the country, these chains of protests could not have taken place by any chance.This week the country has witnessed a number of protests by different pressure groups and opposition parties. For various reasons among them demonstrating against the introduction of bond notes, the protesters were given permission to do so by the High Court.Normally when protestors are permitted to demonstrate, they are first cleared by the security and given specific routes to follow when demonstrating, and this should be done peacefully.Thus, any march in the street will usually require a permit, regulated time, place and manner of street marches to avoid traffic problems and protect public safety.Reports from the recent protests proved that people are ignorant of the law. After being granted the permission by High Court to march, the protestors were also athourised a certain route of march where they're supposed to follow during the course of their protest. However, these protestors decided to turn a deaf ear on the law and took their march to their preferred route, disrupting traffic along the way. In simpler terms, the protestors broke the law.Even in most countries, people are only permitted to demonstrate at a given area or place, going against that will lead to an arrest. However, it is an embarrassment that it is those demonstrators who rush to say that they are being assaulted by security forces; while in actual fact they are failing to respect the law.The ZRP should be commended for dismissing these protests as the people involved were taking the law in their own pockets. To be on a safe side, people should always abide by the law, since no one is above it. In future, any person or group of people wishing to protest should do so but in the lawful manner.It is disgraceful that people go to the High Court and seek permission to stage a mass protest demanding a constitutionally elected government to step down.Zimbabweans must be discouraged from joining such kind of meaningless protests. It is common knowledge that President Mugabe was elected through the ballot box; hence who ever think that he must be removed from power must wait until the next election.It is known that organisers of these demonstrations are only singing for their supper. They are being motivated by funds from donors who are advocating for regime change in Zimbabwe. The general Zimbabweans are therefore being used to further the agenda of these sponsors.Police should continue doing their duties especially of maintaining peace and order in the country. Peace should continue prevailing in the nation. As wrongly claimed by detractors, Zimbabwe is not a lawless country. Anyone who goes against the law should be severely punished.In that regard, people should stop abusing their right to air their views through these demonstrations.--------------------Sibusisiso Ndlamini
Opinion / Columnist

Former Zanu PF Mash Central Chairperson Godfrey Tsenengamu who has been recently expelled from the party said President Robert Mugabe has privatised the party and that it will be difficult for him to find a place on the Heroes Acre, during his Press statement today in Harare.The youngster who has been in Zanu PF's system of atrocity for some time now is said to have expelled because he side-lined with the Vice President Emmerson Munangagwa who has been named all sorts of names by President Robert Mugabe' allies for leading a faction.He was recently charged with inciting public violence and provoking President Robert Mugabe's wife Grace but stood up today to clear his name and plead to the nation for what he did during the period he was visually impaired to this regime "..Yes I took part as many others did and innocently we were part to that moment of madness and I regret"".Personally I was one of President Mugabe's dogs of war, we defended his rule as we thought that we were doing the right thing for the part and the nation, little did we know we were grooming and nurturing an Ian Smith who would turn to haunt us"Tsenengamu told journalists that he will not allow President Robert Mugabe to use him anymore doing evil to the country and personalising the party.Also he apologised for attacking the Former Vice President Joice Mujuru, Nicholas Goche, Minister Sekeramayi during his friendly relationship with the President citing that he was following orders "I am sorry for what I did to innocent fellow comrades all we did to them was a practised peace with the President..he was behind all those factions"Publicly today he said that he remain a member of Zanu PF and appealed to the President's daughter Bona so that she could try and turn her father's heart "I am sorry to drag you into these political issues but I don't have any option. Please may you on our behalf engage Daddy and make him see reason in resigning while they are still few who can respect and hold him high dearly for they shall be none soon for if he can't realise that he has passed his best before date.he faces an embracement in the next polland will find it difficult to find a place at Heroes Acre" he said.
The latest progressive initiative to reduce inequality across New York City is rolling out in the form of massive, monolithic Internet kiosks. These ten-foot metal slabsinstalled where phone booths used to beare the face of LinkNYC, a Google-dominated communication network offering free super-fast Wi-Fi to New Yorkers.

Touted as a means of bridging the mythical digital divide that prevents poor people from accessing the Web, LinkNYC will eventually install more than 10,000 kiosks across the city. Each unit features a small tablet from which one can make free phone calls or access an Internet browser, and two USB ports for charging cell phones. The unsightly kiosks function as powerful Wi-Fi antennas, allowing anyone standing nearby to join the LinkNYC broadband network. Each slab also has two large advertising screens, the revenue from which will pay for the system, and supposedly generate $40 million for the city annually.

LinkNYC was promoted and coordinated by Mayor Bill de Blasios former chief counsel Maya Wiley, who articulated the establishment of LinkNYC in terms of rectifying racial inequity: With this hotspot, this city takes an important step toward a fairer distribution of broadband service. We know that low income New Yorkers, particularly African American and Latino residents, rely on their smartphones to get online. And now New Yorkers can reduce some of that broadband bill.

One has to ask, however, exactly how it is that surfing the Internet makes things fairer? In order to access the LinkNYC Wi-Fi network, New Yorkers with cellphones must stand on the sidewalk: the signal isnt designed to reach into most homes. The so-called digital divide supposedly plaguing New Yorks poor is often pitched as an impediment to job searches and an obstacle to obtaining government information such as school enrollment forms. How does free sidewalk Wi-Fi close this allegedly pernicious gap? Are we to believe that low income New Yorkers are going to leave their homes and walk the streets in order to work on their online resumes, or to file their taxes through their smartphones?

In fact, as the Village Voice has reported, LinkNYCs business model is built around capturing personal consumer data from people walking down the street. The free Wi-Fi is merely some rather stodgy bait that the de Blasio administration has swallowed whole.

Your reporter has been observing from a sociological perspective the actualas opposed to the theoreticaluse of the LinkNYC apparatus. The accompanying photos indicate that the new street furniture has quickly been adapted to the needs of the lowest common denominator of sidewalk traffic. Basically, the kiosks have become semi-permanent command-and-control stations for the citys burgeoning homeless population, and an annoyance to residents, businesses, and passersby. City councilmember Corey Johnson, who represents the West Village, Chelsea, and Hells Kitchen, says that he wasnt consulted about the installation of the system, but that his office is getting so many complaints, tons of complains about these things from his constituents, some of whom report people watching porn on the devices.

As is typical of the progressive mayor, the actual utility of the kiosks is secondary to the opportunity to get some press and appear equitable through the provision of somethinganything!free to his political base. Now, New Yorkers are stuck with ugly ten-foot digital advertising stands, where panhandlers can linger and watch YouTube videos, and which surreptitiously record all of our comings and goings.

Top Photo by nycmayorsoffice/Flickr
Supreme Court justice Ruth Bader Ginsburgs brief foray into partisan campaign politics earlier this summer drew attention mostly for her criticism of Donald Trump. But the presidential candidate wasnt her only target. She also took a gratuitous swing at congressional Republicans. Specifically, she criticized Senate Republicans for declining to act on President Obamas nomination of Judge Merrick Garland to fill the Supreme Court seat vacated by Antonin Scalias death. Thats their job, she told the New York Times. Theres nothing in the Constitution that says the president stops being president in his last year.

Ginsburgs answer parroted liberal political talking points. Thats their job echoes the Do Your Job bumper-sticker mantra weve heard all summer from liberal activists at MoveOn.org, Common Cause, and BarackObama.com (also known as Organizing for Action). The latter parttheres nothing in the Constitution that says the president stops being president in his last yearrepeats almost verbatim what Senator Chuck Schumer said on ABCs This Week the day after Scalia passed away. Ginsburgs comments were nearly indistinguishable from President Obamas own political speech announcing Garlands nomination: I have fulfilled my constitutional duty. Now its time for the Senate to do theirs. Presidents do not stop working in the final year of their term. Neither should a senator.

Those who argue that the Senate must vote on every Supreme Court nomination have a difficult case to make, especially since their assertion is neither supported by the Constitutions text nor in the ratification debates that followed its drafting. Yet, for months, presidential proxies like Schumer have contended that the Senate must give Garlands nomination an up-or-down vote. This spring, Robin Bradley Kar and Jason Mazzone published a paper titled, The Garland Affair: What History and the Constitution Really Say About President Obamas Powers to Appoint a Replacement for Justice Scalia. They argue that long-standing tradition has ripened into a constitutional rule that allows the Senate to reject or resist particular Supreme Court nominees on the merits but bars it from deliberately diverting President Obama of his constitutionally designated power to appoint a replacement for Justice Scalia.

What does it mean to reject or resist a nominee on the merits? Indeed, what does it mean to reject or resist a nomination at all? If a majority of senators decide not to vote for, say, ten months, have they broken the professors unwritten rule? What if they decide not to vote for just six months? Or what if the senators say theyre deferring a vote for the time being, but would happily act more quickly on a nominee who appeals more clearly to the senators own jurisprudential preferences?

These questions are ultimately superfluous, because the Kar-Mazzone argument rests on a more fundamental factual problem: what they describe as a long-standing tradition is nothing of the sort. Surveying the history of Supreme Court nominations, they arrive at their conclusion only by selectively excluding the very cases that disprove their point. Or, as Ed Whelan felicitously explained, Kar and Mazzone gerrymander their way around inconvenient facts. On multiple occasions, when a Supreme Court seat has been vacant in an election year, the Senate has refused to act on the presidents nomination to fill the vacancy. To evade those examples, Kar and Mazzone build caveats into their characterization of the historical record, reading a consistent long-standing tradition into the remaining data points that, they assert, establish a rule: Whenever a Supreme Court vacancy has existed during an elected Presidents term and the President has acted prior to the election of a successor, the sitting President has been able to both nominate and appoint someone to fill the relevant vacancy, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate.

Kar and Mazzone go on to define some of these terms narrowly, to sidestep the most glaring historical example of Senate inaction on an election-year vacancy: the Senates refusal to act on President Lyndon Johnsons nomination of Abe Fortas to replace the retiring Chief Justice Warren. Warren announced his retirement in the middle of an election year, June 1968; later that month, LBJ nominated then-associate justice Fortas to be promoted to the chiefs seat, and also nominated Homer Thornberry to fill Fortass seat. But the Senate filibustered Fortass nomination, and in October 1968, LBJ finally acquiesced, withdrawing the Fortas and Thornberry nominations. The next year, newly elected President Nixon nominated Justice Warren Burger to fill the chief justice position, and the Senate confirmed him.

Kar and Mazzone navigate around this well-known counterexample by contending that there was no actual vacancy, since Warren had announced that his retirement wouldnt go into effect until his successor was confirmed. In other words, faced with a well-known example that has long been cited to disprove the notion of a Senate obligation to vote on Supreme Court nominations, Kar and Mazzone simply reverse-engineer a narrower version of their rule to exclude the inconvenient fact. (Notably, Kar and Mazzone treat other contingent retirementssuch as the recent examples of Justice Sandra Day OConnor and Thurgood Marshallas actual vacancies when counting up the number of such vacancies that were filled in accordance with their rule.)

Whelan detailed these and other flaws in the Kar-Mazzone study over the course of six blog posts; the authors replied to some of the criticisms, but even on the Fortas point, their answer is unsatisfactory. They argue that Fortas was simply an example of the Senate blocking one particular nominee, and not the Senate attempting to block the president from appointing anyone.

Even on that point, Kar and Mazzone simply misread (or fail to read) the historical record. In the 1968 debate over the Warren vacancy, Senator Robert Griffin, a leader of the Senate Republican opposition, emphasized that the Republicans would filibuster any nomination by President Johnson in the closing months of his administration: If there are some who believe, even for purely political reasons, that the opportunity to make such nominations at this particular point in time should be reserved for the new President soon to be elected by the people, there is ample precedent for such a position. Citing historical examples, he concluded, There are times in the course of history when the great Senate of the United States must draw a line and stand up. This is such a time.

Kar and Mazzone dont acknowledge this, but others have: in the Senates debates on the Robert Bork nomination on October 8, 1987, Senate majority leader George Mitchell highlighted the fact that in 1968, 19 Senators committed themselves to voting against any nominee, regardless of his qualifications or his views.

Another example that Kar and Mazzone gerrymander around is President John Tylers failure to convince the Senate to confirm a replacement for Justice Smith Thompson after his death in December 1843. Tyler nominated a replacement, whom the Senate voted down. Then Tyler nominated (and re-nominated) Rueben Walworth, and the Senate simply refused to vote; nearly a year later, in February 1845, Walworth finally withdrew his nomination after having been stonewalled by the Senate.

Much like the LBJ example, Kar and Mazzone sidestep the Tyler example by defining it awaytheir rule applies only to elected presidents, and Tyler took office not by election but by succession. It would be one thing if the authors caveats bore a tight, inherent connection to the political and constitutional dispute at hand. Instead, the professors paper relies on arbitrary distinctions whose only purpose is to call forth a convenient result. Kar and Mazzone also refuse to say that todays Senate is merely exercising its own constitutional power. Rather, they accuse the Senate of constitutional theft: Instead, Senate Republicans deliberately seek to transfer President Obamas power to appoint Justice Scalias replacement to the next elected President.

The Constitution doesnt give the president unlimited power to appoint Supreme Court justices. The Constitution gives the president power to nominate justices, and then to appoint any justice who receives the Senates advice and consent. The Senate hasnt taken President Obamas appointment power away; President Obama could appoint a Supreme Court justice in a matter of weeks if he were to nominate someone in the mold of Scalia, such as federal judges Steven Colloton, Brett Kavanaugh, William Pryor, or Diane Sykes, all of whom would easily win confirmation by the Senate, a point that even Kar and Mazzone surely would not dispute. Of course, Obama will never nominate any of those prominent conservative judges; and knowing that, Senate Republicans say they wont act on the Garland nomination. But that is precisely the point: President Obama still has the constitutional power to appoint a justice, even if he wont exercise it.

Senator Griffin stressed this same point in his opposition to LBJs end-of-term nominations. I want to restate again, he said in a debate with Senator George Smathers, [t]he Senator and others keep saying that there is some question directed at the power of the President to make these nominations. There is no question about that power. What I have said over and over again, and I say it againthe question is, What is the Senate going to do?

In other words, Senator Smathers interjected, you say he has got the power, but you just do not want him to exercise it? Griffin replied: He has only half the power. And it is about time the Senate realized that, especially with regard to the Supreme Court of the United States. He only has half the power, and we have the other half, and we ought to assert ourselves. The Senate had a job to do in 1968, and it has a job to do today. Its just not the job that President Obamas supporters want them to do.

Photo by European University Institute/Flickr
For more than a quarter-century, the Chicago-based newsmagazine Catalyst has focused exclusively on the citys public school system, the third largest in the nation. Although it never had a large staff, Catalysts coverage of the schools was more detailed than most of the major news outlets, even those with dedicated education reporters. In 2013, the nonprofit newsroom broke one of the most consequential stories in its history, leading to the federal indictment last year of the citys schools chief.

That reporting was supported by a nonprofit business model, making Catalyst a precursor to the niche newsrooms that have sprung up around the country during the last decade.

But the long-term sustainability of many of those outlets is not yet clear, and in recent years, Catalyst itself has faced financial struggles. Now, it is being merged with the Chicago Reporter, its sister publication, which is also owned by Community Renewal Society.

Editors of the organizations say the post-merger publication will be poised to deliver big-picture education coverage through the lens of race, inequality, and poverty, the Reporters longtime areas of focus. The trade-off is a move away from some of Catalysts traditional strengths, such as oversight of the public schools bureaucracy.

It wont be the same, but the legacy of what weve done will live on in some fashion, said Lorraine Forte, Catalysts editor and interim publisher, who announced the merger in a column last month. Youd prefer to see that than to see it struggle.

[Its] a timely solution and one that will strengthen our efforts at investigating the many ways that racial and economic injustice are destroying the social fabric of Chicago.

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News of the merger follows a period of reshuffling and consolidation on the masthead. At its staffing peak, Catalyst had a publisher, two editors, a data journalist, and three reporters; it now has Forte and two reporters, who will stay on following the merger. Forte herself was laid off from Catalyst last year when the newsmagazines founder, Linda Lenz, merged Fortes position with her own as publisher. When Lenz retired earlier this year, the Community Renewal Society brought back Forte, a former staff reporter at the Chicago Sun-Times and Daily Southtown. In addition to her role at Catalyst, Forte is also now executive editor at the Reporter.

Curtiss Paul DeYoung, executive director of the Community Renewal Society, said the society provides in-kind support to both Catalyst and the Reporter. But publishers of the individual outlets have always taken the lead in fundraising, with most revenue coming from foundations and some from individual giving and subscriptions, DeYoung said.

Fundraising for nonprofit journals has become more challenging in the past few years, and the CRS board was concerned about the ability of an organization of our size to sustain two journals, DeYoung added. The idea of merging education reporting into the Chicago Reporter was embraced as a timely solution and one that will strengthen our efforts at investigating the many ways that racial and economic injustice are destroying the social fabric of Chicago.

The news comes as a disappointment to Sarah Karp, an education reporter for WBEZ, who was working at Catalyst when she broke the story about a no-bid contract that eventually led to the indictment of schools CEO Barbara Byrd-Bennett.

Losing Catalyst means [Chicago Public Schools] loses a watchdog with institutional memory, said Karp, who lobbied against the merger before she left Catalyst last year. Catalyst could get into the nitty-gritty. Things like teacher training that, while not easy to sell to an editor thinking about a general audience, are very important.

But Susan Smith Richardson, editor and publisher of the Reporter, sounded an optimistic note. The merger will mean bigger and more sweeping education coverage, she said, that looks beyond CPS, extending to the community college system and four-year schools.

The Reporter also plans to do more on the children and families beat, including juvenile justice.

We know education is an economic ladder issue, and its always been part of a civil rights agenda, Richardson said. What we really hope to do is sharpen the coverage at the intersection of opportunity and racial inequality, which is at the core of the Reporters brand.

While Catalyst has published its last print issue, it will continue to publish new stories on its website and on the Reporters website until the merger is complete next year. At that point, the Catalyst name will largely disappear, although it will live on as a separate presence on Twitter.

The brand may go away, but were still going to do and are committed to doing education reporting in a way that the dailies are not going to do, Forte said. Yes, were looking at it more through a social-justice angle and students of color, but thats mostly whats in CPS anyway. We see things happening in higher education that affect all students, but particularly black and Latino and first-generation college-goers. Theres plenty to write about.

Has America ever needed a media watchdog more than now? Help us by joining CJR today

Jackie Spinner is CJRs correspondent for Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, and Wisconsin. She is an associate journalism professor at Columbia College Chicago and a former staff writer for The Washington Post. Follow her on Twitter @jackiespinner.
All seemed normal to the 300 people aboard the Emirates airliner as it flew past the worlds tallest building in hazy skies and made a slow left turn over the waters of the Persian Gulf. But as soon as the plane touched down at Dubai International Airport, everyone knew something had gone wrong.

It was a big noise, said Shadi Kochuktty, a passenger from India. We hadnt heard any announcement but it was a big noise.

From that terrifying moment on, all those on board the Boeing 777 faced the nightmare all white-knuckle fliers fear: Smoke filling the cabin. People screaming. And the rush to escape.

The three-and-a-half-hour, nearly 3,000-kilometer (1,860-mile) flight itself began normally. It left from the Indian city of Thiruvananthapuram, the capital of Kerala state, where many of the United Arab Emirates construction workers, taxi drivers and laborers come from in search of a better life.

Flight EK521 took off at 10:19 a.m. and was scheduled to land at 12:50 p.m. local time, according to Emirates. The aircraft flew over the Arabian Sea and later Oman on a northwesterly course heading toward Dubai.

By the time it reached the skies over its destination, the scorching mid-day sun had raised temperatures to a humid 49 degrees Celsius (120 degrees Fahrenheit). Thats about average for this time of year. Winds of 39 kilometers an hour (24 mph) blew toward the northwest at the airfield, according to the UAEs National Center for Meteorology and Seismology.

As the aircraft made its descent, there were reports of wind shear at the airport, though it was unclear if it had any effect on what happened, Emirates CEO and chairman Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum later said. Wind shear is a sudden, dangerous downdraft encountered by aircraft that can be dangerous, especially for planes near the ground.

The control tower at the airport remained in contact with the flight as it slowed and descended toward Runway One-Two-Right, according to air traffic recordings made by aviation website LiveATC.net. The scratchy recording includes someone calling out the flights number and saying returning to 4,000, suggesting the pilot attempted to abort the landing and regain altitude.

But at that point, passengers inside the flight had no idea something was about to go wrong until the loud noise rang through the cabin as the plane hit the ground. The plane skidded across the airport runway, turning slightly as part of the wing tore away.

Smoke started coming through the cabin.

All the people were shouting, all the children, all the women, said Arun Krishna, a passenger from India.

Flight attendants jumped out of their seats as the plane screeched to a stop, opening emergency doors on the craft and inflating the emergency slides.

Asked what the flight attendants said then, Kochuktty offered one word: Escape!

As horrified passengers on other planes watched, people slid down the slide and began walking to safety. Some clutched bags and suitcases, though many left behind passports and money. Some passengers, barefoot, burned their soles on the hot runway.

In the control tower, a female controller ordered firefighters to respond immediately: Do not wait to proceed!  All fire vehicles, all fire vehicles proceed to the aircraft.

Trucks quickly surrounded the burning aircraft, spraying foam on it to try to contain the flames. An explosion struck one side and in the chaos, one firefighter was killed, Sheikh Ahmed, the Emirates CEO, said.

The fire burned away the top of the airplanes fuselage, singeing the Emirates name in gold.

The tower controller asked: Do we want to shut down?

Minutes later, the crash-landing had closed the worlds third-busiest airport, diverting flights for long-haul carrier Emirates and others across the UAE and into other countries.

Passengers and crew from EK521 made it inside a nearby terminal, with at least 10 requiring hospital care. By 4 p.m., some passengers onboard the flight began leaving, vouchers in their hands for hotels as they entered waiting taxis. Several said they needed assistance from the Indian Consulate as they had lost all their travel documents, but they remained grateful to be alive.

See, our belongings are gone thats no problem. Our family is safe, Kochuktty said. We have saved our life. Lord had mercy on us.

Copyright 2022 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
North Carolinas insurance commissioner had plenty of justification to reject a request by insurers to raise homeowners premiums by an average of 25 percent, the state Court of Appeals ruled Tuesday.

Instead, Insurance Commissioner Wayne Goodwin imposed a zero-percent overall increase beginning in June 2015 by increasing rates for renters and condominium policyholders while lowering them for homeowners.

Goodwin determined appropriately in late 2014 that insurers were achieving a fair and reasonable profit after North Carolina homeowners saw rates rise 7 percent on average beginning in 2013, the court said.

Goodwin was acting under established law by considering only what insurance companies were earning from policies, and excluding the gains or losses they made by investing the money, the court said.

The order reflects a careful, thoughtful, and thorough consideration of the evidence, Judge J. Douglas McCullough wrote for the three-judge panel.

Its too early for insurance companies to say whether they will appeal to the state Supreme Court, North Carolina Rate Bureau General Manager Ray Evans said Tuesday.

The Rate Bureau sought an overall increase of about $500 million in homeowners premiums in 2014 to cover expectations of a sharp rise in repair and replacement costs and the growing risk of catastrophic losses from severe weather. Insurers complained that premiums were inadequate to make their risk worthwhile.

None of this has stopped insurers from raising rates meanwhile. Insurers have increasingly refused to issue policies unless homeowners sign an agreement accepting rates higher than those set by Goodwins office.

Such policies expanded in 2013 to 30 percent of North Carolinas $2.4 billion homeowners market, up from 23 percent in 2010, according to state Insurance Department data.

Copyright 2022 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Some victims of a 2012 shooting at a Colorado movie theater are appealing a judges decision to scrap their lawsuits against the theater chain.

Judge R. Brooke Jackson dismissed the suits in June. He said they should not go to trial because a lack of guards and other security measures was not a substantial factor in the massacre.

Jurors in a similar state court case also sided with Cinemark, finding the company was not to blame and that there was no way the company could have safeguarded against the attack and is not responsible for victims life-altering injuries that require psychiatric care, medical equipment, prosthetic limbs, occupational and speech therapy, and other treatment.

In recently filed court documents, four people wounded in the attack asked the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to review the decision in favor of Cinemark. The survivors argued in lawsuits that the nations third-largest theater chain should have done more to prevent the shooting that left 12 dead and more 70 injured.

Shooter James Holmes is serving a life prison sentence for the attack that killed 12 people and injured more than 70 others.

Attorney Marc Bern, who represents the 27 plaintiffs  survivors and families of people killed  said a judge had kept jurors from seeing key evidence that would have changed their minds.

Without the lawsuits, victims have few other options to gain money for their recovery, said Jeff Dion, director of the National Crime Victim Bar Association.

Private donations and money from the states crime victim compensation fund probably wont be enough to cover all of their needs, Dion said. And, he added, they wont likely see any of the $955,000 in restitution Holmes was ordered to pay after he was sentenced last year to life in prison.

If hes in prison and making 26 cents an hour, thats not going to go a long way toward compensating all the people whose lives hes destroyed, Dion said. These people have such catastrophic and ongoing needs, there arent really resources in the civil justice system or crime victim compensation to pay for that.
Opinion / Letters

Dear editor.I agree with those who say there was a lot of social injustice in Rhodesia. They are correct. After independence there were a lot of positive changes on gender equal rights and on equal job equal remuneration.My problem is that when that was done worse problems were created.Money spent on training Gukurahundi and killing people should have been channeled to something on developing the economy.Skilled people were killed to get rid of the Ndebele tribe .I always ask myself what sanctions people are talking about when the Mafia system used by Zanu PF is sanctions to the people of this country.As I write this article people demonstrate peacefully and are beaten badly for exercising their Democratic right because police are operating on partisan basis.I believe when they are trained they are told that Zanu PF people are more equal than others as they commit crimes and go scot free.The problems in this country are manufactured by power hungry and greedy people who ate bankrupt when it comes to economic polices. When you tell them to stop what they are doing to them is treason.If people of Midlands and Matabeleland want their freedom as they wanted freedom from British rule. They say its tribalism and treason.They deployed Shona lecturers in Matabeleland to lecture in Shona and tell students that they don't care others do not hear Shona.Who is then a tribalist one who speaks Shona lecturing a class of mixed people and tell them this country belong to Shonas so he choose the language he wants to use.This country has been militarised that any legal desaturation by people is crushed to instil fear.I hear Zanu say there is peace in the country.There is a difference between peace and tranquility. Tranquility is a result of fear. One can mistaken a tranquil pool of water with an alligator with peaceful environment.Zimbabwe is tranquil not peaceful.I appeal to Zanu to change their method of addressing problems. To solve and not to create them.YoursConcerned Citizen
AKRON, Ohio -- A 38-year-old Akron man pleaded guilty Thursday to involuntary manslaughter in connection with the shooting death of a man during a home invasion, prosecutors said.

Terry Lee Tart, of Doty Drive, pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter with a gun specification in the Aug. 7 death of 25-year-old Marcus Glover. Tart will be sentenced Sept. 7.

Tart and Glover forced their way into a home in the 1500 block of Hilbish Avenue and attempted to rob 21-year-old David Hillis at gunpoint, police said. When Tart and Glover ran off, Hillis opened fire with his own gun, shooting Glover in the head.

Glover was about 70 yards away and no longer on Hillis' property when he was shot, prosecutors said.

Tart was charged because the burglary was a "proximate cause" of Glover's death, according to court records.

Hillis is charged with manslaughter with a gun specification. His trial begins Aug. 16.

Hillis' father, retired Summit County Sheriff's Deputy Michael Hillis, 52, fought with Akron police officers after arriving at the home about an hour after the shooting. Police eventually tackled Michael Hillis.

Michael Hillis pleaded guilty to disorderly conduct in September. He was sentenced to one year of probation.

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CLEVELAND, Ohio - It was only three years ago that the Cleveland Museum of Art announced with fanfare that it had completed new galleries for its collections of Japanese and Korean art as part of its eight-year, $320 million expansion and renovation.

It was a big moment because the two collections had been held in storage for eight full years during the big renovation project, and because they constitute some of the most important holdings in the museum.

The Japanese collection, with roughly 2,500 objects, is especially respected globally for the excellence of its paintings, many of which were gathered from 1958 to 1983 during the directorship of Sherman Lee, a widely respected expert in Japanese art.

But it was shortly after his arrival at the museum in the summer of 2014 that William Griswold, the institution's new director, began having serious second thoughts about the Japanese and Korean layout, designed under the previous director, David Franklin.

"I felt upon arriving that the existing installation was somewhat confusing," Griswold said Wednesday in an interview.

Sinead Vilbar, the museum's curator of Japanese and Korean art, who had arrived in Cleveland in 2013 from her previous job at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, too late to influence the previous installation, shared Griswold's concerns.

Among other things, they felt that the previous layout allowed too much natural light to penetrate through a doorway on the south side of the galleries that provided entry from the mezzanine walkway overlooking the museum's big central atrium.

The penetration of daylight limited the arrangements possible for extremely light-sensitive paintings on silk and paper, for woodblock prints on paper, and for polychrome lacquered sculptures.

And that, in turn, seriously hampered the way light-sensitive objects could be rotated in and out of display cases or hung on walls to make a continuously coherent interpretive statement about Japanese and Korean art.

Now, after a six-month, $1.5 million makeover completed in June, it's easy to see by contrast what was wrong with the previous iteration of the Japanese and Korean galleries.

Instead of looking as if they were divided into three separate spaces that felt like oversized stalls, the new gallery arrangement treats the Japanese and Korean area as a single unified space.

In addition to the pre-existing east-west corridor that connects the gallery to other portions of the museum, the Japanese and Korean area can also now be entered through glass doors from a stairwell rising directly from the museum's North Lobby, its main entrance.

Griswold described the new route - previously designed as a fire exit with an opaque door and wall panels - as "a rather beautiful shortcut," because it shows off the staircase in the museum's 1971 Education Wing, designed by the 20th-century modernist architect Marcel Breuer.

An elevator lobby and landing at the second-story level of the stairwell includes a display case filled with contemporary Japanese ceramics, emphasizing a connection between past and present in the country's artistic traditions.

The lobby will be the setting on Aug. 17 of an Ikebana floral arrangement by Hiroki Ohara, headmaster of the Ohara School in Tokyo, an event supported by the Women's Council Flower Fund.

The effect of using the new route to enter the renovated galleries is that of diving into a large, semi-darkened room in which Korean celadon ceramics and ceremonial garments, and Japanese porcelains and paintings, glow invitingly in well-lighted display cases.

Because the galleries are treated as a large, single space, objects from Korea are visible from the Japanese portion of the gallery and vice versa. The design subtly emphasizes the cultural exchanges between the two nations, and it encourages visitors to make those connections.

The new layout also includes larger and better-designed display cases with internal lighting capable of showing off light-sensitive folding screens and hanging scrolls in ways that make them seem more luminous than in the previous galleries.

On display now, for example, is a pair of 17th-century, six-panel folding Japanese screens depicting festival scenes that include children climbing a tree, sumo wrestlers in full combat and noblemen playing kickball.

The brilliant colors and areas of gold leaf in the screen seem to radiate light, making it easier to plunge into the richly detailed composition.

The same is true of a hanging scroll by the 19th-century Japanese artist Kawanabe Kyosai in a nearby display case that depicts "The Hell Courtesan Jigoku Dayu," a femme fatale whose highly detailed and richly colored gown illustrates Buddhist conceptions of hell and judgment.

The overall installation in the galleries is leaner than before, in part because Vilbar follows a less-is-more philosophy.

"It's incredibly important that people can take each object and give it their full attention," she said. "How much space something needs to be fully seen is a strong and important factor in the design of any gallery."

Vilbar's vision is especially apparent in the center portion of the Japanese gallery, where large sculptures dominate. They include the museum's much-beloved late 13th-century carved wood portrait of the Zen monk Hotto Kokushi.

The sculpture displays the seated monk as a serenely beatific presence whose closed eyes and relaxed but disciplined posture seems to indicate he has attained a state of enlightenment most museum-goers would envy.

The Korean portion of the installation, supported by funding from the National Museum of Korea in Seoul, features such objects as an exceedingly rare bronze sculpture of the Buddha of the Western Paradise seated on a lotus blossom, flanked by two similarly seated attendants.

The 15th-century sculpture is notable for its exquisite craftsmanship, probably indicating it was made for a royal patron, said Sooa Im McCormick, who joined the museum a year ago as an associate curator specializing in Korean art.

McCormick's contributions to the new installation included specifying the pale blue fabric panels lining the Korean display cases, which resonate with the celadon porcelains for which Korean is known, without imitating their color too closely.

McCormick also oversaw the installation of a large, eight-panel folding screen painting depicting in diagrammatic fashion a festival celebrating the reign of Korea's King Sunjo in the early 19th century, a special loan to the museum from the Samsung Museum of Art in Seoul in honor of the Cleveland museum's centennial.

An adjacent display case features the type of robe and accoutrements that might have been worn by a state official at such a gathering.

Despite the pomp suggested by the celebration of King Sunjo, the overall impression created by the Korean portion of the new galleries is one of calmness and tranquility.

The mood comes across through the refined silhouettes of celadon and bronze vases and vessels, and a collection of 18th-century epitaph tablets describing Yi Gi-ha, a scholar-official known for leading a simple and frugal life.

The blue Korean characters incised in the white porcelain tablets that describe Yi Gi-ha embody a sense of restraint, probity and diligent attention to duty.

"I hope this provides a sense of spiritual peace and tranquility," McCormick said of the installation. "People can have a moment and find peace."
Berea Midpark High School.JPG

A 17-year-old Brook Park girl returned home Thursday after she was missing for more than three months, police said. The girl was last seen April 20 leaving Berea-Midpark High School.

(File photo)

BROOK PARK, Ohio -- A 17-year-old Brook Park girl is home safe after she was missing for more than three months, police said.

The girl called her brother around 4 p.m. Thursday. The brother picked the teen up at an unknown location and took her home, Berea police Det. Chris Holmes said.

It's unclear where the teen has been or who she was with. She is scheduled to meet with detectives Friday morning.

Thursday's phone call was the first time the girl's family had heard from her since she left for school the morning of April 20.

Investigators believe she left through a back door at Berea-Midpark High School in the 100 block of East Bagley Road sometime before 10:30 a.m.

People reported seeing the girl on three separate occasions in the Berea-Brook Park area, but police were not able to confirm the sightings.

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Explorys Cleveland

Data scientists work surrounded by white boards at the Explorys offices in Cleveland in 2013. The company collects anonymized health care data and mines medical records to spy patterns and trends and offer treatment options to doctors and nurses.

(Lisa DeJong/Plain Dealer file)

CLEVELAND, Ohio - IBM Corp. could have moved a fast-growing health care data analytics company and 170 jobs out of Cleveland. Instead, the tech giant is looking to establish a long-term presence here.

The blue chip company is putting together a deal with the Cleveland Clinic and a local real estate developer to create a new home for Explorys, a Clinic spinoff that IBM purchased in April 2015.

Public records show that IBM is eyeing land at East 105th Street and Cedar Avenue, next to the Clinic's main campus, for a two-story building that could be finished late next year.

If Cleveland City Council signs off on an incentive package Wednesday, IBM will lease the entire building for a decade, with options to expand and the potential to create 125 additional jobs over the next few years.

The $11.1 million Explorys project would put IBM, a household name, at the eastern end of the city's health and technology corridor and at the northern terminus of the Opportunity Corridor, a road project meant to better link the city's major employment hubs of downtown and University Circle.

IBM's heightened profile here also could lend weight to Cleveland's attempts to recast itself as a city where high-tech, high-paying jobs can coexist with a more traditional manufacturing base. Explorys has access to anonymized records spanning more than 50 million people and has the capacity to sift electronic data to find meaningful patterns related to diseases, treatments, drug safety, costs and results.

"We want to make Northeast Ohio the epicenter of health care transformation worldwide," said Stephen McHale, an Explorys co-founder and the company's chief executive officer. "We think we can lead the way. ... This is our opportunity to really grow more health IT here and lead the market. It's really, really important and very exciting."

Construction project tied to city incentives

During a late July interview at the Explorys offices on Carnegie Avenue, McHale stressed that the building project isn't a done deal. It hinges on incentives that City Council is scheduled to discuss next week. Mayor Frank Jackson's administration is offering a partial property-tax break for the new building and a low-interest loan.

That's an unusual package.

Stephen McHale is a co-founder and the chief executive officer at Explorys, which IBM purchased last year.

Cleveland provides property-tax abatement for new housing, but it's much less common for the city to propose such a tax break for commercial construction.

In this case, though, officials say Cleveland will see $5 in new tax revenue for each dollar the city abates. And there's a less easily measured gain, a potential boost to the city's recruiting and retention efforts from hanging onto a seven-year-old company that IBM could have moved to Cambridge, Massachusetts, or another location.

"The mayor recognized that one of the important things for the city of Cleveland is to show that we're a great place not only to own a business but to start a business," said Tracey Nichols, the city's economic-development director.

Touting the marketing value of an IBM sign on a brand-new building, Nichols described Explorys as "the perfect story" that she can tell to lure other businesses to Cleveland and keep jobs here.

Founded by McHale, Charlie Lougheed and Dr. Anil Jain in 2009, Explorys sprung from technology developed and incubated at the Clinic. The health system maintained a stake in the company until the IBM buyout last year. Financial terms of that deal weren't disclosed.

Now Explorys, tucked into eclectic space at the former Cleveland Play House complex on the Clinic's campus, works with at least 360 hospitals and 317,000 health care providers. The company became an early cornerstone of IBM's Watson Health division, formed last year to invest in the intersections between health care and technology.

"We're now in the information age, and nobody's probably plugged into the information age any harder than IBM," said Dr. Delos "Toby" Cosgrove, the Clinic's chief executive and president. "This is a job stimulus. It's building on something that we already did. It's just a positive all around."

Discussions about new offices started soon after the IBM acquisition.

Explorys' publicly traded parent has buildings in other states that could have housed the business. But, McHale said, such a move would have distanced the growing company from the Clinic, which is both an Explorys client and a partner with IBM on research and education initiatives using the company's supercomputing Watson technology.

"We've built our platform under the wing of the Cleveland Clinic, and the architecture and knowledge and intelligence has been tremendous," said McHale, a Philadelphia native who moved to Cleveland as a child.

Building would rise on Clinic-owned land

The Clinic owns the potential Explorys site, currently a parking lot at 10500 Cedar Ave. in the city's Fairfax neighborhood. Under the proposed deal, the Clinic will enter a long-term land lease with Hemingway Development, which will construct a 43,000-square-foot building and lease it to IBM. If the tech company needs more space, the building eventually could expand to 80,000 square feet.

"My hat's off to IBM for being willing to partner up with us," Cosgrove said. "We think this is terrific. ... We have strategic partnerships with IBM which we are expanding on a regular basis. This is just part of it."

The Clinic had been marketing the office-building site through an arrangement with Dallas-based developer Trammell Crow Co. and the CBRE Group, Inc., real estate brokerage. But legislation prepared for City Council shows that the IBM project is coming together, instead, with a local development team.

Explorys co-founder Dr. Anil Jain leads a stand-up meeting at the company in 2013.

Nichols said Fred Geis and Jim Doyle of Hemingway, an offshoot of the Geis Cos. of Streetsboro, were the only developers who could hit the timeline and costs that IBM required. City incentives would lower the rent and operating costs for the building, making the price tag for new construction more competitive and manageable.

"We understand how the city works, and we were able to work with state, federal and local financial packages," Geis said, noting that the developers also have discussed the project with Cuyahoga County officials and representatives at JobsOhio, a quasi-private state agency.

A project summary prepared for City Council shows that the Jackson administration is suggesting 10 years of 60 percent tax abatement on the construction, plus a loan of up to $4.9 million through a federal program.

Cleveland expects Explorys to create at least 125 full-time jobs by the end of 2018, at an average salary of $106,000, according to documents prepared for council. A financial analysis from the economic-development department shows that Cleveland expects to keep more than $18 million in payroll and add $13.25 million in payroll if Explorys stays here and grows.

That shakes out to more than $625,000 in annual city income-tax revenues.

The project would be subject to laws and agreements related to local hiring and wages, according to public records.

Councilwoman Mamie Mitchell, who represents the neighborhood, said she hadn't seen the legislation yet. But, she added, she certainly wants to keep good jobs in the city.

Representatives for IBM and Watson Health didn't respond to requests for comment.

Early this year, IBM generated chatter in local real estate circles when the company signed a lease on the former Eaton Corp. executive offices in downtown Cleveland. Already strapped for space, Explorys does plan to move to that building, on Superior Avenue, later this summer. But that downtown address appears to be a temporary one, meant to satisfy short-term growth until the new building is complete in late 2017.

So far, the construction project has been a fairly hush-hush endeavor. But the people who helped build Explorys into a local success story and made a play to keep the company here are struggling to contain their enthusiasm.

"We are a platform company, and that platform attracts other developers and analytics companies to come in and build," McHale said. "We want to do a reverse brain drain in Northeast Ohio, and we've got the chops to do it."
CLEVELAND, Ohio -- An Akron attorney who once represented Tamir Rice's family is seeking payment for his legal work and is asking a probate court judge to award him $264,225 from a $5.5 settlement the 12-year-old's estate reached with the city of Cleveland.

Walter Madison, who represented the Rice family from December 2014 through roughly mid-2015, wrote in a filing last week that he spent more than 220 hours on the phone and more than 660 hours conducting research, going to meetings and performing other duties when pursing a wrongful-death suit against the city.

In his filing, Madison writes that his work included representing Rice's family members, as well "advancement of criminal justice reform, justice, and social change."

He wrote that while representing the Rice family, contacting journalists was important to ensure that more attention was paid to police shootings involving unarmed black people, and "but for much time, preparation, research, and counseling, Tamir Rice's death undoubtedly would have been quieted and swept under the rug."

He continued, "Counsel, felt an ethical obligation, to advance this important case via any and all means available including media. The public's right to have balance in the reporting was essential from the start."

The city in April agreed to pay $6 million -- $5.5 million to Tamir Rice's estate and $250,000 each to the boy's mother and sister -- to resolve the family's lawsuit.

Officer Timothy Loehmann shot Rice in November 2014 outside Cudell Recreation Center on Cleveland's West Side. The boy had an airsoft pellet gun at the time.

Of the $5.5 million the estate will receive, one third, or $1.83 million, will likely go attorneys the family hired for the lawsuit. A Cuyahoga County Probate Court judge must approve the settlement and award any attorneys' fees.

The Rice family had three legal teams throughout the 16 months the lawsuit was litigated.

Douglas Winston, the estate's administrator, asked Judge Anthony Russo in June to approve the settlement and payment for the family's last set of lawyers, which includes Cleveland attorney Subodh Chandra, New York attorney Jonathan Abady and Chicago attorney Billy Joe Mills.

A narrative included in the June request tried to minimize the work done by the estate's previous attorneys.

Madison worked with Florida attorneys Daryl Parks and Ben Crump. The narrative said those attorneys "failed to assert the essential causes of action for wrongful death and survivorship under Ohio (law)."

It also said their claims were brought under the wrong state law to ensure that the city and its employees wouldn't be immune from the lawsuit.

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Fellatio Cafe In London Will Sell You Blow Jobs

Trending News: London's Latest Pop-Up Cafe Will Serve Tea, Coffee And Oral Sex

Why Is This Important?

Because who doesn't like one-stop shopping?

Long Story Short

An escort social networking site called Bumpix plans to open a 'fellatio cafe' that serves coffee and oral sex. It would sit on Praed Street in Paddington. And yes, this is real.

Long Story

The sharp rise of pop-ups has given way to some niche-yet-oddly-appealing cafes over the last year or two; the cat cafe, the cereal cafe, even the crisp sandwich cafe. Well, there's now a new one planned that will surely make hipsters stand to attention. There are reports that an escort company called Bumpix want to open a "fellatio cafe" that sells you coffee, snacks and oral sex.

According to Bumpix, the Fellatio Cafe will exclusively serve men, with waitresses serving coffee and 'hostesses', who will try to make your mid-morning caffeine fix as pleasurable as possible. These hostesses will be made up of escorts, sourced by Bumpix's network.

As The Metro reports, Bumpix employee Bradley Charvert says, "weve already got a lot of girls who want to work on this new project."

Although plans on when and where to open are yet to stiffen up, they say they're looking at positioning the cafe on Praed Street in Paddington (they're already opening one in Geneva this December) and it will serve up to 100 customers. The only women inside will be those working at the cafe.

How has the news gone down? With controversy, which is hardly surprising. Bumpix employee Bradley Charvert reportedly addressed early criticism by saying, "If feminist groups are worried, we will offer something delicious for them too."

So that's ok then.

The biggest question on everyone's minds is the legality of it all  the last thing Bumpix want to do is fall foul of the penile penal system. Is selling oral sex illegal? Well, it's certainly a grey area. In the UK, prostitution is legal but 'pimping' and owning a brothel is not.

We haven't troubled the AskMen legal department with this, but it does sound like the cafe would be a brothel.

However, Bradley says, "Well let our lawyer do his job to make it possible. But be sure of one thing, we will launch this project only if everything is perfectly legal."

The cafe menu will consist of coffee, tea and, ahem, "treats," ranging from 50 to 70, depending on how long you can make them last.

As to whether Bumpix will have to pull out of the idea completely, depending on what the law states, watch this space.

Own The Conversation

Ask The Big Question

Will modern men seriously go for this idea?

Disrupt Your Feed

Anyone walking out of that cafe is going to look like a giant tool.

Drop This Fact

The word "blow job" originates from the 17th century, when the term 'blow' meant to bring someone to orgasm.
Banks across Europe have endured a choppy year, to say the least, and some experts say the effect on U.S. stocks is forthcoming.

Deutsche Bank hit an all-time low on Wednesday. Major Italian bank Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena received a poor rating in a stress test earlier this week. And , Italy's largest bank, saw its shares fall after results were relatively weak.

"It really is a disaster with these banks. I'll give you a good example: The IMF called Deutsche Bank the most dangerous bank in the world," Eddy Elfenbein, editor of the blog Crossing Wall Street, said Wednesday on CNBC's "Trading Nation." He added that turmoil across European banks "very well may" send shockwaves to international markets.

Elfenbein was referring to a report published by the International Monetary Fund in June noting that the key German bank, among the globally systemically important banks, "appears to be the most important net contributor to systemic risks, followed by HSBC and Credit Suisse ."

"Right now it's going for about a quarter of its book value; it's just a mess we see out there, these European banks. They have bad loans, bad assets, and they're not nearly capitalized like they ought to be," said Elfenbein.

He said the contributors to challenges faced by many European banks include troubling stress tests, which measure the resilience of banks in the case of hypothetical financial crises, risks associated with contagion, and, of course, Britain's decision to leave the European Union, which sent the pound plummeting to 30-year lows.
U.S. House Speaker Paul Ryan said on Thursday that he saw no point in bringing up the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade deal for a vote in any "lame duck" session of Congress later this year after November elections, because "we don't have the votes."

"As long as we don't have the votes, I see no point in bringing up an agreement only to defeat it," Ryan, a Republican, said in an interview with Wisconsin Public Radio.

Despite both U.S. presidential candidates bashing the 12-country Pacific trade deal on the campaign trail, Obama administration officials have pledged to make a major push in coming months to persuade the Republican-majority Congress to pass TPP.

Backed by dozens of business and industry groups, officials from the U.S. Commerce Department, the U.S. Trade Representative's office and the White House say they are continuing to talk with individual lawmakers about the merits of the deal, including its consequences for U.S. leadership in Asia.
New York state's financial regulator has sent a second request to Goldman Sachs Group for information about its fundraising for Malaysian sovereign wealth fund 1MDB, a person familiar with the matter said.

The New York State Department of Financial Services (NYDFS), in a letter sent late on Thursday, also requested a meeting with Goldman on or before Aug. 31, the person said. The request follows a letter the regulator sent to Goldman last month seeking details on the matter.

The source was not authorized to discuss the matter publicly.

"We are aware of their interest in this matter and have been in dialogue with them on it for some time," a Goldman Sachs spokesman said.

The Wall Street bank's work with 1MDB is under the spotlight after the U.S. government alleged that billions of dollars earmarked for investments were diverted for the personal use of 1MDB officials, their relatives and associates.
Thailand's military has ruled the country for large parts since constitutional monarchy was introduced just over 80 years ago. Its grip may be about to get stronger. Two years after the military last seized power, Thailand's citizens will vote on a new draft of the constitution on Sunday that if approved, would entrench the army's power and further delay a return to civilian rule, strategists say.

In May 2014, Thailand witnessed its twelfth successful military coup since it became a constitutional monarchy in 1932. Army chief Prayuth Chan-o-cha was installed as Prime Minister, toppling the elected but controversial government of Yingluck Shinawatra and abolishing the existing constitution. Prayuth, who referred to the coup as a peacekeeping effort aimed at ending political unrest, has said that democracy can only be restored once there is political stability, adding that the country would hold general elections once a new constitution was in place. The latter goal was tasked to the Constitution Drafting Commission (CDC), which Prayuth set up following the coup.

Civil servants and military school students attend a Thai constitution referendum promotional event organized by the Election Commission of Thailand, on August 4, 2016 in Bangkok, Thailand. Dario Pignatelli | Getty Images

The CDC's first draft was rejected in September last year by the now-defunct National Reform Council (NRC), a body set up by Prayuth to oversee economic reforms, which further postponed elections. Now, the CDC has now produced a second draft that will be voted on this Sunday, August 9. The referendum itself will not have any immediate impact on the country's political direction as the military will remain in control until the next election, regardless of Sunday's results, explained Prajak Kongkirati, visiting fellow at the Institute of Southeast Asian Studies (ISEAS), a Singapore-based research organization. What's more important is the voting sentiment. "If the draft constitution passes the referendum, Thailand will move towards semi-authoritarianism guided by the military. Such a result will also shore up the junta's rule," Kongkirati noted. "But an overwhelming no vote would diminish the legitimacy of the junta and the traditional elites who have backed the regime...It will send a strong signal to the junta that it cannot unilaterally impose a new political regime without a genuinely participatory process." The referendum's outcome is also directly tied to just how open elections will be in 2017. Whether or not citizens support the new charter, Prayuth has said he will go ahead with general elections by late 2017. If the 'no' vote prevails on Sunday, the CDC will simply go back to work on another draft and in that scenario, the junta will be able install any kind of charter without the need for a public referendum. But that could lead to widespread boycotts of the 2017 election, which isn't desirable for the military. So at this point, it's unknown whether the election will be free and fair or junta-influenced. "The broader question for Thailand is how to move beyond military authoritarianism and get back on the track towards democratic development. However, until a new consensus is forged among opposing political parties and civil society groups, the prospect for a return to civilian rule remains dim," summed up Kongkirati.

Details of the new draft

Last year, lawmakers rejected the CDC's first draft because it endorsed the creation of a committee that would effectively grant the military power over the executive and legislative branches of government in a crisis situation.

watch now

This time, the new draft allows for indirect influence of the junta and "increases the hurdles to further amendments of the constitution," Morgan Stanley economists explained in a Tuesday report.

The military will be able to appoint senators to the Senate and install a non-member of parliament (MP) as Prime Minister. If the lower house of parliament is unable to resolve the PM's appointment, the Senate can step in to break any impasse, the report said. A poll conducted last week by the National Institute of Development Administrationa Bangkok public universityrevealed 59 percent of 1,500 respondents were undecided on the new charter, with 33 percent in favor and 6 percent against it. Morgan Stanley doesn't anticipate a huge economic impact from the complex political situation. "We think the economy is likely to muddle through the upcoming referendum and political schedule regardless of the referendum outcome. Policymakers are likely to adjust their response to provide floor support for the economy, the domestic demand show signs of being affected by near-term uncertainty."

International criticism
Turkish cleric and opponent to the Erdogan regime, Fethullah Gulen, at his residence in Saylorsburg, Pennsylvania on July 18, 2016.

U.S. officials weren't likely to extradite Fethullah Gulen, an imam Turkey blames for plotting the recent failed coup, The Wall Street Journal reported Thursday, citing people familiar with the discussion.

Those people said the evidence presented so far by Turkey wasn't convincing and U.S. officials were also concerned about Turkish officials' threatening public statements, which made the fairness of his potential treatment questionable, the report said.

Gulen, who lives in Pennsylvania, has denied wrongdoing, the report said.

Read the full Journal report here

Separately, Reuters reported that Turkey's President Tayyip Erdogan pledged on Thursday to cut off revenues from businesses tied to the 75-year-old Gulen, which include schools, firms and charities.



Even before the failed coup, authorities in Turkey had seized Islamic lender Bank Asya, closed media businesses and arrested businessmen on accusations of funding the imam's movement, Reuters reported.

The failed coup, which took place on July 15, left more than 230 dead. Since then, more than 60,000 people across various branches of government have been detained, suspended or put under investigation, Reuters reported. That's spurred concerns Erdogan was cracking down on all dissent.

Follow CNBC International on Twitter and Facebook.


Futuristic shooter game "Overwatch" was key to the company's profits, gaining 15 million players globally after its launch.

Video game company Activision Blizzard reported on Thursday better-than-expected earnings for the second quarter, posting 54 cents per share of adjusted earnings on $1.61 billion in revenue, topping the 42 cents per share, ex-items, on $1.46 billion expected by a Thomson Reuters consensus estimate.

As video games become more like spectator sports, Wall Street could be reaping the gains in companies such as Activision Blizzard, an analyst told CNBC on Friday.

"They've had a lot of excitement recently," Michael Olson, senior equity research analyst at Piper Jaffray, told CNBC's "Squawk Box" on Friday. "Overwatch is a huge phenomenon if you look at the revenue it generated."

Overwatch was designed for competitive play, or e-sports, and is especially popular in China and South Korea, Olson said. Watching others play competitively can prompt consumers to go out and buy games and add-ons he said.

"It seems crazy that people are watching other people play video games, but it's a real thing," Olson said. "And we're definitely seeing a lot of different titles that are benefiting from it. Today it's hard to quantify the positive impact of e-sports from a financial perspective, but what we know for sure is that it's helping with player engagement."

The maker of games like "Call of Duty" "World of Warcraft and "Candy Crush" saw shares pop in early trading Friday, though they fell to trade nearly 1 percent lower mid-day. The stock ended the day modesty lower.



With an earnings beat under its belt, Activision's shares are up 41 percent over the past year. Given the rally, it's possible that the stock could pause in the near-term, wrote Stifel analyst Drew Crum. Plus, Activision's recent acquisition, King Digital, saw monthly active users fall slightly, wrote Wedbush analyst Michael Pachter.



It comes as more and more players are downloading games online, rather than physical disks, which can boost margins for publishers, Olson said.

Still, not all digital game companies have performed well: Zynga shares tumbled on Friday after forecasts for bookings missed estimates. The kind of gamers that play "bite size" games on phones are a separate audience than those looking for an immersive experience, Olson said.

"Overwatch is a phenomenon that demonstrate's Blizzard's creativity and the audience it has built over the last two decades," wrote Pachter.

Disclosure: Piper Jaffray makes a market in Activision Blizzard, and will buy and sell the securities of the company on a principal basis.
George Zimmerman Claims He Was Assaulted Last Weekend

Trending News: Some Hero Punched George Zimmerman In The Face

Why Is This Important?

Because the fun never stops with this guy.

Long Story Short

George Zimmerman claims he got into a physical confrontation with a fellow patron at a restaurant in Sanford, FL, which ended with the killer of unarmed 17-year-old Trayvon Martin bleeding and calling 911.

Long Story

As is so often the case when it comes to noted gun salesman George Zimmermans frequent run-ins with the law, this latest one features both a general murkiness about the facts and genuine disbelief at the stupidity of most people involved.

The Orlando Sentinel and CNN report several versions of what happened at the Gators Riverside Grill on Sunday evening, like an idiot version of Rashomon. They are all bad; you pick which one is worst.

Version 1: George Zimmerman is ordering food when he engages a conversation with another man about his Confederate flag tattoos. The tattooed man, Joseph Whitmer, asks if he is indeed George Zimmerman, to which Zimmerman responds positively. Zimmerman takes out his wallet to get his ID to prove it.

At this point, a third man, identified only as Eddie, approaches Zimmerman and demands to know if Zimmerman is bragging about shooting Martin. Zimmerman says no, he was merely explaining how he shot the unarmed teenager in self-defence. You better get the [expletive] out of here, Eddie reportedly said. Eddie approaches Zimmerman again, and then punches him in the face. Eddie then flees on a motorcycle. Zimmerman calls 911.

Version 2: According to witnesses, including Whitmers wife, Zimmerman approached Whitmer and said, Hey, I like your racist tattoos. He then starts bragging about shooting Martin. This annoys another person at the Whitmers table, who asks Zimmerman to leave. An apparently intoxicated Eddie then approaches Zimmerman and mistakes him for Matthew Apperson, the man who shot at Zimmerman during a road rage incident last year. The two have a verbal exchange, and then Eddie accuses Zimmerman of shooting George Zimmerman. This begins the fight.

Version 3: According to the Gators Riverside owner Ed Winters, Zimmerman approached a shirtless patron who had entered the restaurant from the river and said he didnt like one of his tattoos. The two exchanged a few words and then Zimmerman returned to his table, where he was dining with family to celebrate a 12-year-olds birthday. A friend of the first man then confronted Zimmerman, prompting a mutual shoving match but not blows were exchanged.

Version 4: After speaking with Whitmer about his tattoos, and having an exchange with Whitmers friend, who asks Zimmerman to leave, Zimmerman returns to his table with his friends. Five men then approach him and there is a heated exchange. Zimmermans dining companion Gregory Horne says one man punched Zimmerman. Horne then tried to separate them and took out his cell phone to record the exchange. One of the men knocks the cell phone out of Hornes hands, breaking it. Both Horne and Zimmerman call 911.

On the 911 call, Zimmerman is heard telling the 911 operator that We were standing right here eating. This man punched me in the face. He said he's gonna kill me. You need to send three or four cops. He adds that one of the men called him a [expletive]-lover. He tells the police to send police and an ambulance.

Police are currently looking for Eddie, who may face battery charges.

Gators Riverside owner Winters says Zimmerman is no longer welcome at his restaurant. Everywhere this guy goes he causes controversy. Youd think hed keep a low profile.

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Can George Zimmerman ever avoid getting into some kind of trouble?

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This has all the elements of a perfect Florida story.

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Zimmerman shot and killed Trayvon Martin on Feb. 26, 2012. He was acquitted of second-degree murder on July 13, 2013.
U.S. e-commerce giant Amazon Friday unveiled its first branded cargo plane, as it looks to speed up and take more control of its delivery process.

The "Amazon One" is a Boeing 767-300, operated by Amazon's air cargo provider Atlas Air. It is one of 40 aircraft that the company plans to lease from Atlas Air and ATSG. Currently there are 11 dedicated  so far unbranded  planes flying for Amazon with the additional planes rolling out over the next few years.

In an "ode" to its Prime members, the number on the tail of the aircraft is a prime number. Prime members pay a subscription for perks such as free two-day shipping and access to its music and video streaming service.

Amazon's customer base is big enough across the U.S. and globally that a fleet of cargo planes could help it reach customers quicker, something that it is continually trying to do.

"Creating an air transportation network is expanding our capacity to ensure great delivery speeds for our Prime members for years to come," Dave Clark, Amazon's Senior Vice President of worldwide operations, said in a press release.

The company has been on a drive to improve delivery speeds. It recently launched Amazon Flex, a scheme that lets people earn money delivering packages for Amazon. The U.S. e-commerce giant also has a network of 4,000 trailers to increase trucking capacity, as well as over 125 fulfilment centers globally and 20 sortation centers where robots can pick parcels, according to the company's press release.

Amazon also has plans to begin using drones for deliveries. Last month, the company struck a deal with the U.K. government to test its unmanned aerial vehicles in Britain.
Banca Popolare di Milano (BPM ) posted a small rise in net profits for the first six months of the year, the Italian bank reported on Friday.



First-half net profit reached 158.1 million euros ($176 million), up 2.6 percent on the same period a year before. Second-quarter net profit read 109.8 million euros, versus an estimate of 74 million euros in an analyst poll from the bank, according to Reuters

Shares in the bank jumped Friday morning after the results were out to trade 2.9 percent higher on the day.



Shares of BPM have been on a sharp downward run since mid-2015, knocked by fears regarding the large pile of toxic loans in the Italian bank sector.

However, its results in the European Banking Authority (EBA)'s recent stress tests placed it and Italian rivals Intesa Sanpaolo and UBI Banca somewhere in the middle of peers for perceived resilience to a big economic shock.

"This situation is so nervous and volatile and news is so different coming from different supervisory authorities," BPM CEO Giuseppe Castagna told CNBC on Friday.
This is how the monthly jobs report is calculated 9:19 AM ET Fri, 10 March 2017

The U.S. unemployment rate remained at 4.9 percent in July, the Labor Department said Friday. But relying on that one number as an indicator of the job market is an oversimplification of the complicated world of employment.

Each month on jobs Friday, the Labor Department's Bureau of Labor Statistics puts out a slew of employment-related data, each of which tells its own story about the jobs situation. Most economists look past the official unemployment rate  also known as the "U-3" number  to other metrics that provide other views of the state of jobs.

One of those figures is the U-6 rate, which has a broader definition of the unemployed. That rate rose slightly in July  to 9.7 percent.
Nella Bedford, 86, of Hurst, Texas, began working at a bank that would become part of JPMorgan Chase 60 years ago.

Forget 30 under 30, she's No. 1 under 90.



Chase has an employee who started working in the industry (and at a bank that is now part of Chase's nationwide web of consumer banks) before Jamie Dimon, the current CEO of JPMorgan Chase was even born.

Nella Bedford joined the bank that would become part of JPMorgan Chase in February 1956; the U.S. population was a not-so-whopping 169 million. Her path (which is still continuing) mirrors the tale of the banking industry as a whole, spanning decades as numerous institutions were ultimately merged up into one financial services monolith employing 240,000 people with a market cap of $241 billion.

People who take issue with the financial services industry's male-dominated composition today might be surprised at the workplace Bedford entered 60 years ago. When she started, she was the only woman working among a sea of male tellers at Fort Worth National Bank.

"The dress code is different, that's for sure," Bedford said. "I wasn't allowed to wear pants" when she started her job at the Fort Worth bank.

That would remain the case at some banks of that era for decades.
An oil derrick in Weld County, Colorado. Steve Nehf | The Denver Post | Getty Images

Two initiatives that would affect oil and natural gas extraction in Colorado could get on the state ballot this fall, and backers have until Monday to submit the required number of signatures. Opposition has been fierce, with more than $15 million raised to fight the proposed measures, which are seen as a threat to the state's energy industry. "The energy industry is very concerned," said David Tameron, an energy analyst at Wells Fargo Securities in Denver. "Essentially, it would grind drilling development to a halt in the state."

Ballot Initiative 78 would force mandatory setbacks for oil and gas development in Colorado, including requiring any development or fracking to be located more than 2,500 feet away from both an "occupied structure" or "areas of special concern" such as parks, playgrounds, public open space, lakes or rivers.

Big energy money raised in fight

Initiative 75 would give local government the authority to regulate oil-and-gas development, including banning, limiting or imposing moratoriums on such development. It would amend the state's constitution and give local officials more power to enact regulations that impact energy development and related companies.

Two energy companies, Anadarko Petroleum ($5.5 million) and Noble Energy ($5 million), are among those who have given millions to several issue groups opposed to the measures.

"This is bigger than any individual company, as these potential ballot measures would carry massive consequences for Colorado's economy, public education, public services and every consumer," said Anadarko spokesman John Christiansen, in an email to CNBC. Noble Energy didn't respond to a request for comment.

Other major contributors include Synergy Resources , PDC Energy , Bill Barrett Corp. , as well as the Denver Metro Chamber of Commerce, according to campaign finance records from the Colorado Secretary of State's Office.

The setback initiative would reduce an estimated 90 percent of the surface areas in the state for future oil and gas development or hydraulic fracturing operations, according to an impact report from the Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission. Also, around 85 percent of Weld County  an area with around 17,000 oil and gas wells at last count  would be unavailable based on their analysis.

Some analysts estimate the amount of money that will be used to fight the measures could double over the next few months if backers get enough signatures to put the measure on the Nov. 8 ballot. Supporters of the two current statewide initiatives need to obtain 98,492 valid signatures by Monday's deadline.

Proponents have raised less than $500,000, and it's unclear if they will get the required number of signatures to qualify for the fall ballot. "Given catastrophic implications for these companies, certain downside persists, though given limited likelihood that initiatives pass based on rational behavior, we would expect rally relief to ensue," said David Deckelbaum, an industry analyst at Keybanc Capital Markets.

The Sierra Club is one of the groups backing ballot measures 75 and 78. On the group's website, they make the case that the measures "are aimed at protecting our health, safety, property values and environment from the harms of fracking."

Pro-fracking group says $217 billion at stake

"These measures are really backdoor fracking bans that would be economically devastating for our state," said a spokesperson for Protect Colorado, an industry-backed issue committee fighting measures 75 and 78.

Protect Colorado, which has received funding from Anadarko and other energy companies, claims the initiatives would cost the state 140,000 jobs and $217 billion in economic activity over the next 15 years. "We see the worst-case-scenario (Initiative 78 being approved and passed) as a very low probability but because of the rapid transformation of Colorado's electorate and unprecedented nature of November's election, we believe that the low-probability high-impact risk event warrants investor concern until it can be ruled out," said FBR & Co. analyst Benjamin Salisbury in a note Thursday.

Fracking fight could go to courts
Food delivery start-up Deliveroo has raised $275 million in a round that involved early investors in Facebook and Airbnb, as it looks to expand its service to more markets. Private equity firm Bridgepoint led the round, while existing investor DST Global, which has also invested in the likes of Spotify, and General Catalyst, which counts Airbnb and Snapchat among its investments, also joined. Greenoaks Capital also invested. Deliveroo partners with restaurants in cities allowing them to deliver to customers. They are often mid-priced restaurants rather than cheap takeaways. The U.K. start-up has seen strong growth with revenues rising around 20 percent month-over-month. It currently operates in 84 cities across 12 countries and the founder and chief executive is looking to expand with the fresh injection of capital. "We want to expand more in markets we have a presence in and into other new markets," Will Shu, CEO of Deliveroo, told CNBC by phone on Friday, without naming specific cities or countries.

Mike Kemp | In Pictures | Getty Images

The company is also trialing a project to allow restaurants to expand. Earlier this year, Deliveroo began investing and opening up its own kitchen spaces nearer to places out of reach to a restaurant. For example, if a single restaurant in the center of London wanted to deliver to the suburbs, this wouldn't be possible via Deliveroo at the moment as the logistics wouldn't work. But having a kitchen away from the main restaurant could allow the establishment to cook food closer to areas where it previously couldn't deliver. Shu said we are now at "food delivery 4.0". "Food delivery 4.0 in my mind is us solving the harder problem for restaurants, physical infrastructure. We want to own more of the supply chain and it's really critical to help restaurants solve what is the toughest problem," Shu told CNBC, adding that building these off-site kitchens will be a "substantial investment" with the new funds. But food delivery is a very competitive and hot space. Rivals such as Delivery Hero and even Uber, which recently expanded its food delivery service to London, are putting up a fight. Uber, which has valuation of around $62.5 billion, has deep pockets and is known to sink money into projects it is trying to get market share in. In China, the company lost $2 billion over two years trying to catch up with local taxi app Didi Chuxing. Uber's China unit was earlier this week bought by Didi however. But Shu does not fear Uber and a potentially race to the bottom which could happen if Uber steps up its investment. "As long as we are heads down focused and obsessed with food delivery then we will be just fine," Shu said, adding that the company is profitable in some markets.



'Harder' to raise fund post-Brexit
In June I relayed the good news that the House had passed appropriations legislation providing funding for our nation's response to the Zika virus. It is important for Congress to ensure agencies like the Centers for Disease Control, the National Institutes of Health and others had the resources they need to combat the disease and prevent it from spreading.

Sadly, two months later, that compromise funding bill has yet to become law. Why? Senate Democrats led by Minority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) have twice blocked the legislation by denying the majority the 60 votes needed to allow a vote on the bill. The "Wall Street Journal" opined further that "they walked out on their own bill to use the issue as a campaign bludgeon against Republicans." Is that fair? Let's review their stated objections.

First, Senate Democrats take issue with temporarily waiving a requirement to obtain a permit from the Environmental Protection Agency to use certain proven mosquito-killing sprays like DDT. However, killing mosquitoes is exactly what we need to be doing right now and an emergency waiver of this kind can help states and communities quickly respond to the Zika threat without a bureaucratic permitting delay. Furthermore, the bill specifically requires any pesticide used to already be approved under and applied in compliance with The Federal Insecticide, Fungicide and Rodenticide Act.

Next, Senate Democrats objected to the bill offsetting the cost by reallocating $543 million from ObamaCare funding. However, the ObamaCare money in question is leftover funding meant for setting up healthcare exchanges in territories that became unnecessary - and unused - when Puerto Rico expanded Medicaid. Finding unspent funds to help offset the costs of emergency spending is basic fiscal responsibility, not a reason to block a bill.

Finally, and probably most importantly, Senate Democrats are upset that the Zika appropriations bill does not allocate funding for Planned Parenthood, arguing that it leaves women without care options. But, that's not true. The bill allocates $40 million for community health centers that are more plentiful and offer a wider range of care, plus $6 million for the National Health Service Corps and $95 million to the Social Services Grant Program that can distribute funds for preventive care to the most at-risk areas. It is simply not the job of the federal government to fund the nation's largest abortion provider, and it is unconscionable that Senate Democrats would block funding aimed to help protect pregnant women and babies because their friends at Planned Parenthood don't get a cut.

Of course, President Obama has taken the Senate Democrats' side for the most part. However, as Roll Call reports, the president's spokesmen are having a hard time explaining why, amid all the clamoring for more funding from Congress, the Administration has yet to tap into at least $385 million in unspent funds it could quickly access without congressional approval to combat Zika.

The Zika threat is real and it is here. Critical legislation is one step (and about four Senate votes) away from the president's desk. A public health crisis of this magnitude is no time to block emergency funding in the name of politics.
Tex-Mex food chain El Pollo Loco gained nearly 3 percent Friday after its second quarter results were stronger than analysts expected.



El Pollo Loco's system-wide comparable restaurant sales grew 2.4 percent including a 2.7 percent increase at franchise restaurants.



The restaurant chain beat estimates by a penny with adjusted quarterly profit of 19 cents per share. The company's quarterly revenues of $97 million were in line with forecasts, as was its full year earnings guidance.



On the company's conference call, CEO Stephen J. Sather said "The primary driver of margin performance was lower food cost, driven by commodity deflation and a favorable marketing calendar which more than offset higher labor costs."

Many analysts were pleased with the results, but remain cautious on the stock. Analysts at Jefferies, SunTrust, Guggenheim, Stifel and William Blair all made positive comments about it's second quarter, and pointed to El Pollo Loco's traffic rebounding, and Dallas and Houston franchise development as a bright spot.

In the company's quarterly release, El Pollo Loco plans to enter the Dallas market this year, and expects to open 17-20 company-operated restaurants and 10-15 franchised restaurants. It's also discounting aggressively and making additional investments in labor in support of the Houston market.

Out of 5 analysts, only SunTrust's Jake Barlett raised his price target on the stock to $15 from $14. In a note to investors, Barlett said "We are encouraged that management is aggressively addressing performance in Houston, but still see risk that the market will be difficult to turn around given heavy competition, which would call into question the portability of the brand."

More bearish analysts like Andy Barish of Jefferies expect more near-term challenges such as "rent costs rising, competition increasing, and slowing macro conditions/weather in TX," he said in a note.

Shares of El Pollo Loco closed higher for 10th straight week.
Holly Rehder grew up surrounded by drug addiction. Her stepfather was a dealer; she had a sister who married a dealer and became an addict by the age of 16. Now Rehder is fighting a new drug war  as a parent, business owner and state politician. At 17, Rehder's own daughter became addicted to opioids after receiving a legal prescription from a doctor. Later Rehder's grandson was born with opioids in his system. "We've had 13 years of ups and downs. ... This is not what you would think, a middle-class suburban teen going to church, with both parents working. ... That's not who you think about when you think about addiction," Rehder said. "All it took was that first prescription. After that, she started buying at work. ... There's a plethora of these pills on the street."

Oxycodone pain pills John Moore | Getty Images

A Republican member of the Missouri House of Representatives, Rehder has been the leader of a multiyear  and so far failed  effort to convince Missouri's government to put in place a prescription drug-monitoring program (PDMP), a system used nationwide to flag patients attempting to go to more than one doctor for opioids, known among addiction experts as "doctor shopping.' Missouri is the only state in the country that does not have a PDMP. As an entrepreneur  Rehder and her husband own a cable TV and internet contracting company that operates in seven states  she has seen the opioid crisis make running a business harder. "It's difficult finding people who pass drug screens and show up every day," Rehder said. Yet other than Mallinckrodt , a drug manufacturer, and retailers such as drugstores and grocers with pharmacy businesses  where there is a clear and rational self-interest in being proactive on the addiction issue  no individual companies in Missouri have been supporters of the PDMP campaign. "This has not gotten buy-in from companies around here," Rehder said.

Behind the scenes, big business is paying attention to the opioid addiction epidemic. Tracy King, vice president of government affairs at The Missouri Chamber of Commerce and Industry, which supports Rehder's legislation on behalf of area companies, said the addiction crisis is driving up the costs for businesses since companies are the predominant payers of private insurance. One recent analysis estimated that the cost to private health insurance plans stemming from opioid addiction rose by more than 3,200 percent in the years 2007 to 2014. Quality of life for employees and quality of workforce are also big business concerns. "When we go out and talk to members here, which we do all the time, we hear them say, 'We have the jobs; we just can't find the qualified, skilled workers,'" King said. "Part of that is having trained workers come in to run machines, but then many of them can't pass drug screens. ... Part of that is prescription drug abuse," King said. According to CNBC's 2016 Top States for Business ranking, Missouri does not have much margin for error in these key business attractiveness categories: It finished 49th among U.S. states in both the Quality of Life and Workforce categories.

More than 2M Americans in opioid addiction's grip

Nearly two-and-a-half million Americans are addicted to opioids, with 1.9 million addicted to prescription painkillers specifically, according to the most recent National Survey on Drug Use and Health.

Research published by Christopher Jones, PharmD, director of the Division of Science Policy in the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation of the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), looks at the opioid crisis across the 50 states using a classic business concept: supply and demand (see infographic below). The data measures a state's incidence of addiction per each 1,000 residents (the demand) against a state's supply of trained physicians and programs to treat addiction. Jones' data backs up a complaint he has heard from many state politicians who reference his research. "A common refrain from stakeholders in states like Ohio and Kentucky is, 'We've got jobs but can't fill them.'" In the vast majority of states, there is more need for addiction treatment than capacity to provide it. "We [HHS] have received communication from members on the Hill to get more funding to the states and work with the states and the National Governors Association among other key external stakeholders interested in closing the gap between treatment need and capacity," Jones said.



Rhode Island has a large number of middle-class, blue-collar residents in professions requiring work with heavy machinery. That work environment can lead to injuries that can be associated with chronic pain, surgeries, prescriptions post-surgery, and once back on the job with machinery, complete a vicious feedback loop, making drug issues more dangerous. Elinore McCance Katz, chief medical office for Rhode Island's Department of Behavioral Healthcare, Development Disabilities and Hospitals, said the message from Rhode Island Governor Gina Raimondo has been clear: a state's business environment isn't limited to resources like roads and construction. Health care access  the health of a state's population and how it addresses illness in its citizens  impact business decisions. (Before moving to Rhode Island late last year, she was the first-ever Chief Medical Officer for the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, part of HHS). "If you don't get enough of the drug, you go into withdrawal. It's physically painful and anxiety-provoking, and it's also painful for the people in your life, including co-workers," McCance Katz said. "We know employers look at how a state attends to a variety of issues, one being health care and how we treat the most vulnerable. States that do a good job of it will attract more business than states which don't." Rhode Island finished last in CNBC's 2016 Top States for Business ranking, but its Quality of Life (No. 23) and Workforce (No. 24) are middle of the pack.

By one of the only comprehensive measures available, a majority of U.S. states deserve a failing grade when its comes to fighting drug addiction. The National Safety Council (NSC), a nonprofit organization that focuses on the prevention of injury and fatalities, recently graded all 50 states on how they are handling the opioid crisis. The NSC outlined six key measures that it believes should be taken by all states to prevent and treat addiction  including implementation of a PDMP. Twenty-eight states were graded by the NSC as "failing"; 47 states were graded as "needing improvement."

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"Employers hold the cards," said Jane Terry, government affairs director at the NSC. "They can say, 'We will only move the plant here if you take this public health epidemic seriously.' Bringing these issues up can help move the needle. There are a lot of opportunities for states to do more," she said.

Only five states met 5 out of the 6 indicators: Vermont, New Mexico, Kentucky, Maine and Tennessee. Vermont and New Mexico are among the states with the highest incidence of heroin deaths. Prescription painkiller addiction can start with a legal prescription, proceed to buying painkillers illegally on the street and end with heroin, which is in many cases a cheaper option. "They've been so hard-hit, they are doing a lot to deal with it," Terry said. An estimated 600,000 Americans are addicted to heroin, according to the most recent national survey. Vermont is also one of the only states to have enough treatment capacity to handle the percentage of its population suffering from addiction. "Vermont's model is working and getting treatment to people," Jones at the Department of Health and Human Services said. Vermont finished at No. 47 in the Workforce category in the 2016 Top States for Business ranking. New Mexico's workforce ranked 42nd among states. McCance Katz said Rhode Island is now developing an addiction-treatment model based on Vermont's success. Three states  Missouri, Michigan and Nebraska  received the lowest grade possible from the NSC. A spokeswoman for the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services said the National Safety Council report did not capture any of the initiatives that Nebraska has under way to combat this problem, including prescription drug monitoring, access to the anti-overdose drug Naloxone, and several addiction prevention and treatment-related grants.

Michigan did not respond to a request for comment on NSC's evaluation.



The Show Me State's 'no show' issue

A spokesman for Missouri Gov. Nixon said the state disagrees with many aspects of NSC's evaluation and noted that the governor called for a prescription drug-monitoring program in his most recent State of the State address. He aslo signed legislation expanding access to anti-overdose drug Naloxone. Rehder herself noted that Gov. Nixon spoke in favor of the PDMP during his annual address but said he has not followed through with executive action or responded to Rehder's direct inquiries to his office. Rehder's frustration with Missouri's failure to enact a PDMP has made her more determined as a legislator. "This is my No.1 priority," she said. "It is too great to ignore." Standing in her way is Missouri's Republican Sen. Rob Schaaf. Rehder cited Schaaf, who is an M.D., as being the primary reason Missouri remains the only state to not have a PDMP. "I'm not the only legislator opposed," Schaaf told CNBC. Schaaf's argument, in a nutshell, is that a PDMP is an example of government overreach that infringes on personal liberty and also has the unintended consequence of opening up individual medical records to potential hacking. "This is a government database on which every citizen's private medical data will be placed and thousands of people will have access with a username and password," Schaaf said. He also said it won't have the desired outcome. "The rate of opioid deaths is going up in spite of PDMPs in 49 states," he said. "Catching the 1 percent of patients who are 'doctor shoppers' through a surveillance database isn't going to materially impact the productivity of the state."

Catching the 1 percent of patients who are 'doctor shoppers' through a surveillance database isn't going to materially impact the productivity of the state. Rob Schaaf Missouri Republican senator and an M.D.
When it comes to food and drink, it's hard to beat what Italy has to offer: pizza, pasta, ice cream, world-class cheese and wine the list goes on. A good cup of coffee is another hallmark of Italian gastronomy, and the Illy family has been at the heart of that particular tradition for 83 years.

Illy was founded in 1933 in the port city of Trieste, Italy, by Hungarian born Francesco Illy, who developed the Illetta espresso machine and used pressurization techniques to preserve the taste and aroma of packaged coffee.

Today, the business is a global concern, with Illy coffee now available in 140 countries and served in over 100,000 restaurants and cafes around the world. The company says it employs more than 1,080 people and reported gross revenue of 391 million euros ($436.73 million) in 2014.

"The company was born upon a dream of my grandfather, the founder, to offer the greatest coffee to the world," Andrea Illy, chairman of the company, told CNBC's Lasting Legacy. "He fell in love with coffee in Vienna and then he came to Trieste and decided to stay because he found the city, coffee and his wife. So this is why the roots are so deeply rooted."

Andrea has been around the business since he was a child and began working in the company's factory when he was just 13 years old. Today, several members of the Illy family are key cogs in the company.

With such a close connection between the family and the business that bears its name, setting boundaries and rules down to ensure everything runs smoothly is hugely important.

"We have very strict family rules, we could not have more than one (person) per family branch within the same company or area," Daria Illy, coffee systems director at the business, said. "So you would not find two brothers working in the same department, for sure, and for sure not under the direct responsibility of a family member," she added.
China's President Xi Jinping (L) and China's Premier Li Keqiang arrive for the third plenary session of the National People's Congress (NPC), in Beijing, China, March 13, 2016.

A closed-door meeting in a resort town on the Bohai Sea may be where China's future leadership begins to take shape, at a time when observers say there's tension at the top in Beijing.

President Xi Jinping is said to be hosting the very highest echelon of China's Communist Party this week in Beidaihe. No hard decisions on leadership are expected to come immediately from the annual meeting, but this year's conclave is expected to initiate those conversations among top officials.

The precise whereabouts of the meeting are not disclosed, but sources close to CNBC said the annual meeting typically takes places in four to five villas nestled in Beidaihe, a coastal town.

The Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs did not respond to a message left by CNBC.



Beijing watchers will closely monitor comments that trickle out over time after the meeting this year to discern what may have been discussed there. Xi is closing in on the last year of a five-year term that ends in October 2017. It's for that reason that experts say politics and leadership changes will likely be on the agenda.

The conclave also comes as rumors suggest rising tensions between President Xi and Premier Li Keqiang. If the president's role in China can be thought of as a sort of chief executive officer, then the premier is more like a chief operating officer, tasked with implementing specific policies and overseeing the government.

"We will be looking for signs that the successors to Xi and Li have been chosen, as this time 10 years ago it was clear that Xi and Li would come to power after five years," said Duncan Wrigley, head of China research at NSBO.
Federal health regulators this week touted the fact that they had obtained a record-breaking $5.55 million settlement with one of the nation's biggest health-care systems related to breaches that compromised about 4 million electronic patient records containing names, address, birth dates, credit card information and other data.

"These fines that people are seeing, and the fact that OCR is starting to play hardball," Ho said, will make hospitals "take these things seriously."

"We've definitely seen more recently, the OCR coming out and saying, 'You're in violation,' " Ho said. "They're finally saying, 'You've got to pay the piper. It's time for the OCR to step up and make examples."

Ho said that HHS for much of the time since the 1996 passage of the patient privacy law known as HIPAA, "didn't enforce any of the penalties," or imposed relatively few penalties. That reflected regulators' understanding that it would take time for health-care providers to make changes to comply with the law, Ho said.

"It's accelerating," said Bill Ho, CEO of Biscom , a provider of secure document delivery solutions. "We're going to see some big fines coming down the pike, for sure. This won't be the biggest for long."

Since last November, HHS's Office for Civil rights has obtained more than $16 million in settlements from just five entities related to electronic patient data breaches.

But that deal is just the latest of several other similar big settlements since late 2015, whose high dollar amounts put them in the top 10 of data breach settlements ever obtained by the U.S. Health and Human Services Department.

And there's certainly more opportunities for big settlements or fines.

In 2012 OCR resolved 9,407 HIPAA complaints. The number of resolutions grew to 14,293 in 2013, and then again to 17,748 in 2014, the last year that data is publicly available. It can take several years between an initial report of a data breach and a settlement with OCR.

Three of the largest data breaches for health providers ever recorded occurred last year, when hacking of network services affected nearly 79 million people at the insurer Anthem , and 10 million or more people each at the insurers Premera Blue Cross and Excellus Health Plan.

Earlier this week, the Arizona-based hospital system Banner Health revealed that 3.7 million patients, health plan members and customers of the system's food services might have had their private information compromised by a cyberattack. That attack targeted a system that handled credit card transactions for Banner's food services, but ended up potentially gaining access to patient information.

Banner Health's breach would be the eighth largest on record if the initial number of people reported turn out to have been compromised.

"My guess is that they will be fined as well," Ho said.

The potential number of affected people at Banner Health is just 300,000 or so less than the 4 million patients who had their records comprised at Illinois-based Advocate Health Care Network in three separate breaches in 2013. Advocate Health this week agreed to pay $5.55 million to settle OCR's probe of multiple possible HIPAA violations related to those breaches, without admitting wrongdoing.

Most of the 4 million patient records were compromised by the theft of four computers in 2013; the other breaches involved a stolen laptop from a staff member's car, and a third party gaining access to patient records through a billing services company for the physicians' group.

The previous record was the $4.8 million New York-Presbyterian Hospital and Columbia University agreed to pay in May 2014. That case related to more than 6,800 patient records becoming available online after the hospital deactivated a computer network server.

Advocate Health's deal came less than a month after OCR reached two separate settlements with health care entitles for large amounts of money.

On July 18, OCR said that Oregon Health & Science University had agreed to pay $2.7 million in a probe "that found widespread and diverse problems at OHSU."

That investigation began after the university informed OCR of multiple breaches affecting thousands of people, breaches that included two reports involving unencrypted laptops and a stolen thumb drive that was likewise unencrypted.

OCR faulted OHSU for not conducting risk analyses that covered all of the electronic protected health information in the university's systems, and for storing such information for more than 3,000 people on a cloud-based server without a business-associate agreement that such patient records be protected in compliance with HIPAA.

"OCR found significant risk of harm to 1,361 of these individuals due to the sensitive nature of their diagnoses," the agency said in a press release.



Three days after that settlement was disclosed, OCR said it reached settlement that required the University of Mississippi Medical Center to pay $2.75 million after a probe sparked by a breach affecting about 10,000 people. Those patients' information was contained on a laptop computer that went missing from the medical center's intensive care unit after a visitor asked about borrowing a laptop.

"During the investigation, OCR determined that UMMC was aware of risks and vulnerabilities to its systems as far back as April 2005, yet no significant risk management activity occurred until after the breach, due largely to organizational deficiencies and insufficient institutional oversight," OCR said.



Another big payout came in March, when North Memorial Health Care of Minnesota agreed to pay $1.55 million to settle charges that it potentially violated HIPAA by failing to enter into a business associate agreement with a major contractor and failing to implement a system-wide risk analysis. Almost 9,500 North Memorial patients had their record compromised when a laptop was stolen from the car of a worker at a business associate of the health-care system.

In November, a Puerto Rico-based insurance company, Triple-S Management Corp., agreed to pay $3.5 million to settle OCR probes related to deficiencies in the company's HIPAA compliance program that were uncovered after multiple breach reports.

Triple-S had reportedly experienced at least eight separate breaches since 2010, five of which occurred in 2014. The breaches exposed protected health information for more than 1 million people.
Brexit will have a positive impact on the core earnings of online luxury fashion retailer Yoox Net-A-Porter, the company's chief executive told CNBC on Friday.

Yoox Net-A-Porter reported first-half net revenues of 897 million euros ($999.4 million), a 15.8 percent year-on-year rise on a constant currency basis. Meanwhile first-half adjusted earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA), was 15.2 percent higher year-on-year at 76.5 million.

The U.K.'s vote to leave the European Union in June caused turmoil in financial markets and hit consumer confidence, but Federico Marchetti, the CEO of Yoox Net-A-Porter said it could help the company's earnings.

"Brexit for us in terms of revenues will have a negative impact because U.K. represents 15 percent of our total orders. But overall in terms of the margins, it will have a positive impact, because we have more cost than revenues, so we expect a slightly positive impact on EBITDA," Marchetti told CNBC in a TV interview.

"The point on Brexit is that up to July after the shock of the first few days, U.K. demand and consumer appetite went back to normaland again going back to Brexit, I think Yoox Net-A-Porter is uniquely positioned because we have a strong footprint in the U.K. and strong footprint in continental Europehaving said that it is going to be more difficult for European retailers to get into the UKas well as British it get into continental Europe, but we have a strong footprint in both markets."
AUBURN, N.Y.  Cayuga Community College and its faculty union have reached a new four-year contract agreement.

The schools board of trustees approved the new pact during a meeting held Monday night, Brian Durant, president of Cayuga Community College, said in a news release the school issued that night.

We are happy to report that the faculty association and the administration of Cayuga Community College have concluded negotiations on a new contract, said Durant.

The current contract expires Aug. 31. The new deal represents the first time in nearly 30 years that a new faculty contract is in place prior to the expiration of the current pact, the school said. No terms of the contract were disclosed.

The new agreement followed a three-day negotiating process that the Public Employment Relations Board (PERB) facilitated. The administration and faculty bargaining teams met to discuss, deliberate and negotiate the terms of the new contract during that process.

Founded in 1953, Cayuga Community College is part of the State University of New York (SUNY). The college offers courses and degree programs at campuses in Auburn and Fulton, and online.

Contact Reinhardt at ereinhardt@cnybj.com
The Lagos State Police Command has arrested a 42-year-old Islamic cleric, Rasheed Ayuba, for alleged car theft.

Ayuba, who hails from Igbesa, Ogun State, was apprehended along with a transporter in Ibadan, Oyo State, Falade Igbekele, who reportedly bought six of the stolen cars.

It was learnt that a bunch of master keys and about 13 other car keys, as well as charms, were recovered from Ayuba.

It was gathered that the suspect, who also teaches at an Arabic school in Ishasi, Lagos, was caught sometime in June after he entered into a hotel in the Ikotun area to steal a Toyota Camry parked on the premises.

He was driving out the car when he was caught by vigilantes in the neighbourhood, who handed him over to officials of the Special Anti-Robbery Squad.

Ayuba reportedly told the police that he bought the master keys for N9,000 from one John, a Beninoise.

He said, I finished from an Arabic school in Ikotun and started teaching Arabic in Ishasi. At about 11pm on June 8, I went to a hotel around Ile-Iwe bus stop to steal a Toyota Camry. But I was arrested by the security guards in the area.

I got the master keys I used from John, who is from Benin Republic. We met in 2013 in Lagos and he sold the master keys to me. Since then, I had been using them to steal cars. I usually sold the cars to my customers in Ibadan. One of them is Falade (Igbekele) to whom I sold six cars, and Friday, who bought a Toyota Camry.

It was only four cars I had stolen this year before I was arrested. I sold a Toyota Camry to one pastor Dare for N100,000, and a Honda for N80,000 to another pastor. But pastor Dare had just paid me N50,000. They all knew I stole the cars.

52-year old Igbekele confessed to have bought six cars from Ayuba, saying a friend introduced him to Ayuba. The indigene of Ondo State added that he used some of the vehicles for commercial purpose.

I knew Alfa Ayuba through a friend called Lucky Star. Lucky told me Alfa sells vehicles and I said I had interest in buying them. He had sold six vehicles to me so far, including a Nissan Sunny and a Nissan Primero. I bought them for N150,000 each.

I bought all the cars from Alfa three years ago. He told me he stole them and I asked if I would not get into trouble; he said yes, Igbekele said.

While the police said they were on the trail of the other accomplices, Ayuba and Igbekele were brought before an Ikeja Magistrates Court on Wednesday on six on stealing and receiving stolen property.

The police prosecutor, Sergeant Donjor Perezi, told the court that the offences were punishable under sections 98, 285 (10), 326 (a) (b) and 409 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State, 2011.

The defendants, however, pleaded not guilty to the charges before the presiding magistrate, Mrs. O.A. Olayinka, and were admitted to bail in the sum of N500,000 each with two sureties each in like sum.

The case was adjourned till November 8, 2016.

The Lagos State Police Command has arrested a 42-year-old Islamic cleric, Rasheed Ayuba, for alleged car theft.

Ayuba, who hails from Igbesa, Ogun State, was apprehended along with a transporter in Ibadan, Oyo State, Falade Igbekele, who reportedly bought six of the stolen cars.

It was learnt that a bunch of master keys and about 13 other car keys, as well as charms, were recovered from Ayuba.

It was gathered that the suspect, who also teaches at an Arabic school in Ishasi, Lagos, was caught sometime in June after he entered into a hotel in the Ikotun area to steal a Toyota Camry parked on the premises.

He was driving out the car when he was caught by vigilantes in the neighbourhood, who handed him over to officials of the Special Anti-Robbery Squad.

Ayuba reportedly told the police that he bought the master keys for N9,000 from one John, a Beninoise.

He said, I finished from an Arabic school in Ikotun and started teaching Arabic in Ishasi. At about 11pm on June 8, I went to a hotel around Ile-Iwe bus stop to steal a Toyota Camry. But I was arrested by the security guards in the area.

I got the master keys I used from John, who is from Benin Republic. We met in 2013 in Lagos and he sold the master keys to me. Since then, I had been using them to steal cars. I usually sold the cars to my customers in Ibadan. One of them is Falade (Igbekele) to whom I sold six cars, and Friday, who bought a Toyota Camry.

It was only four cars I had stolen this year before I was arrested. I sold a Toyota Camry to one pastor Dare for N100,000, and a Honda for N80,000 to another pastor. But pastor Dare had just paid me N50,000. They all knew I stole the cars.

52-year old Igbekele confessed to have bought six cars from Ayuba, saying a friend introduced him to Ayuba. The indigene of Ondo State added that he used some of the vehicles for commercial purpose.

I knew Alfa Ayuba through a friend called Lucky Star. Lucky told me Alfa sells vehicles and I said I had interest in buying them. He had sold six vehicles to me so far, including a Nissan Sunny and a Nissan Primero. I bought them for N150,000 each.

I bought all the cars from Alfa three years ago. He told me he stole them and I asked if I would not get into trouble; he said yes, Igbekele said.

While the police said they were on the trail of the other accomplices, Ayuba and Igbekele were brought before an Ikeja Magistrates Court on Wednesday on six on stealing and receiving stolen property.

The police prosecutor, Sergeant Donjor Perezi, told the court that the offences were punishable under sections 98, 285 (10), 326 (a) (b) and 409 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State, 2011.

The defendants, however, pleaded not guilty to the charges before the presiding magistrate, Mrs. O.A. Olayinka, and were admitted to bail in the sum of N500,000 each with two sureties each in like sum.

The case was adjourned till November 8, 2016.
Professional numismatist John J. Ford Jr. wrote that at a leading convention over half of the 1916-D dimes he saw were fakes  Philadelphia Mint coins with D Mint marks soldered on.

Decades ago, in the 1950s, many, if not most, 1916-D Winged Liberty Head dimes offered as genuine were counterfeit.

The Joys of Collecting column from Aug. 22, 2016, Weekly issue of Coin World:

When I started my coin dealership on a part-time basis in 1953 it was quite an adventure. For a year I did my best to study how to determine authenticity, grade, and value. There was no recourse if I bought a fake, overgraded, or overpriced coin.

I purchased two rare Proof half cents of the 1840s from one of the best-known dealers of the time, a prominent New England professional numismatist. I sent them to a private client, Lester Merkin, who years later would become a highly respected coin dealer. I am sorry, but both are very sophisticated electrotype fakes, Lester said.

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I mailed them back to the dealer. You looked at them before buying. There was no refund. Eric Newman and Ken Bressett told of a similar try to get your money back experience when the dealer knowingly sold A.J. Ostheimer two fake early silver dollars.

In another instance I bought a 1912-S Liberty Head 5-cent coin from a mail-order advertiser. The S Mint mark must have been glued on, as when I got it the Mint mark was a tiny piece of metal in the bottom of the coin envelope. Again, no refund.

John J. Ford Jr. wrote that at a leading convention over half of the 1916-D dimes he saw were fakes  Philadelphia Mint coins with D Mint marks soldered on.

This probably seems strange to you today, because if in the unlikely situation you buy a fake coin certified by Professional Coin Grading Service or Numismatic Guaranty Corp., they will give you your money back.

My suggestion: From common coins to rare, do not buy any coin on the Internet unless it is certified by a service that gives refunds or is certified by a dealer member of the Professional Numismatists Guild (who are pledged to give refunds on fakes).

Things remained wild and woolly in the marketplace for a long time.

The PNG was formed in 1955, and in time its members issued photographic certificates of authenticity. The American Numismatic Association in the 1970s set up the ANA Certification Service. I was a consultant-expert for both.

Dealers today can confine their business to certified coins and modern Mint products and dont have to know anything at all about authenticity! But I think they are missing something.
An ad by Chicago dealer Smith & Son in the February 1941 issue of The Numismatist offers a 1933 double eagle and writes that just three were known to exist.

Shown is one of 10 1933 Saint-Gaudens double eagles found by the Langbord family that have been in dispute since their discovery in 2002.

A decade-long legal battle over the ownership of 10 double eagles was decided in favor of the government and against the Langbord family. Only one example, supposedly once owned by Egypt's King Farouk (pictured), remains legal for private ownership.

It looks like the government will get to keep the Langbord familys 10 1933 Saint-Gaudens gold double eagles that were allegedly discovered in a familys safe deposit box shortly after the sole 1933 double eagle that can be privately owned was sold for $7.6 million in 2002. A decade-long legal battle between the family and the government followed to decide ownership of the valuable coins.

In an Aug. 1 ruling by the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, nine judges joined a 60-page decision finding that, while there were errors at the trial level, these mistakes did not affect the outcome. In doing this, the majority sided with a jurys 2011 decision awarding the coins to the government.

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The majority concluded its case by stating: This case is unique for many reasons. It involves iconic American gold pieces that apparently had lain dormant in a safe-deposit box for decades. Almost immediately after the 1933 Double Eagles surfaced in 2002, the right to possess and own them was vigorously disputed. The resolution of that dispute required the District Court to consider novel questions of constitutional, statutory, and common law. The able trial judge worked diligently through all of the issues and gave both sides a fair trial. Once the jury had spoken, the District Court declared that the 1933 Double Eagles had always been property of the United States. Although the benefit of hindsight has convinced us that certain errors were committed in the conduct of the trial, they did not affect the outcome. We will affirm the judgment of the District Court.

VOLUNTARILY SURRENDERED

The government has long argued, All 1933 Double Eagles are, and always have been, property belonging to the United States and that the Langbord family voluntarily surrendered the coins to the Mint. Joan Langbord said she found the coins in the back of a safe-deposit box alongside property that had belonged to her father, Philadelphia jeweler and occasional coin dealer Israel Switt. Her two sons, David and Roy, joined her in the lawsuit.

Shortly after discovering the coins, the Langbord family through their attorney, Barry Berke, presented the 10 coins to the government for authentication. The Mint did not return the coins, claiming them as stolen property. In December 2006 the family brought suit in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania against the Mint, the Department of the Treasury, and various federal officials, requesting that the government either initiate a forfeiture proceeding or return the coins.

That district court ruled in favor of the Langbords, finding that the Mint seized the coins unlawfully and that the familys constitutional due process rights were violated.

The case went to trial in July 2011 in which a jury ruled in favor of the government. On Aug. 29, 2012, the district court confirmed that the coins were not lawfully removed from the Mint and remained property of the government, regardless of how the coins came into the familys possession or applicable forfeiture statutes.

A contested point was whether the government appropriately filed its forfeiture complaint back in 2009 within a 90-day statutory deadline. In April 2015, two judges in a three-judge panel within the Third Circuit Court of Appeals overturned much of the district courts rulings, finding that the government missed a crucial deadline under Civil Asset Forfeiture Reform Act. The panels majority effectively overturned the 2011 jury decision and ordered that the coins be returned to the family. While agreeing that the government did not meet the deadline, one judge in the three-judge panel differed and was of the opinion that this should not result in the return of the coins.

The split decision likely emboldened the government, and it filed a petition for rehearing en banc on July 28, 2015. With this, all 12 judges in the Third Circuit Court of Appeals would hear the case and decide. Oral arguments followed on Oct. 15, 2015.

At the hearing, the Langbord family contended that the government filed its forfeiture action too late and the district court erred at trial with respect to evidence and its jury instructions. The government reiterated that it did not have to initiate forfeiture proceedings against the coins because it was not obligated to repossess its own property.

The most recent decision held that the coins were properly treated as seized government property and that seizure alone does not initiate a forfeiture proceeding because it does not implicate a transfer of legal title. In comparing the Langbord situation with another case involving drug money, the court wrote, A seizure is neither the same as a forfeiture nor does it automatically trigger forfeiture proceedings.

NO WINDOW OF OPPORTUNITY

Despite the Langbord family claiming that there was a window of opportunity in which someone could have exchanged gold for coins  including 1933 double eagles  the most recent ruling concludes that the governments experts established at the 2011 trial that no 1933 double eagles ever left the Mint through authorized channels.

At trial the government sought to prove that those 1933 double eagles that did leave the Philadelphia Mint had been stolen by the Mints Cashier George McCann, who held that role between 1934 and 1940, and that these coins were distributed by Joan Langbords father, Israel Switt.

The majority opinion sided with the governments numismatic expert David Tripp, summarizing Tripps argument as follows: The Mints records track the movement of each 1933 Double Eagle. These records were remarkably detailed, going so far as to show the payment of three pennies and their year of minting in one transaction. The records indicate that 445,500 Double Eagles were struck. Five hundred of those were sent to the Cashier, while the remaining 445,000 were sealed in a basement vault. Of the 500 held in the Cashiers office, 29 were destroyed in tests to determine the coins purity and weight, 2 were sent to the Smithsonian, and the remaining 469 were placed in the basement vault. Then, in accordance with the Gold Reserve Act of 1934, the 445,469 coins left in the vault were ordered melted into gold bars. By this accounting, it is clear that not a single 1933 Double Eagle was ever authorized to be issued to the public  a fact to which both a 1933 Double Eagle historian and a forensic accountant testified.

The U.S. Mint has shown a continued interest in reclaiming 1933 double eagles that left the Mint. The sole exception was a 1933 double eagle sold to Egypts King Farouk in 1944 that was granted an export permit; Mint officials quickly realized their mistake after further review, though by then the coin was no longer in the United States. An example that was acquired in 1995 by Stephen Fenton, an English coin dealer, was determined to be the lost Farouk coin. A lengthy legal battle between Fenton and the government followed and the Fenton-Farouk example was sold at auction in 2002 to an anonymous buyer for $7,590,020, with proceeds split equally between Fenton and the government.

A dissent in the Aug. 1 ruling penned by Judge Marjorie Rendell and joined by two other judges challenged the appeals court majoritys distinction between seizure and forfeiture, noting that seizure often includes forfeiture. The dissent concluded that the Mint would have been better off complying with the relevant forfeiture proceedings. Judge Rendell  who penned the 2015 decision overturning the District Court and finding that the government should return the coins  wrote, This case involves precisely the type of situation that CAFRA was enacted to prevent: the Governments seizing and taking ownership of property in derogation of the rights of ordinary citizens.

Today, of the 445,500 1933 double eagle minted, two are housed in the National Numismatic Collection at the Smithsonian Institution; the Fenton-Farouk example is in an unnamed private collection; the Langbords 10 1933 double eagles remain in the possession of the government, who has not announced plans for the coins; and a 14th piece also subject to confiscation is held in an anonymous collection, according to several prominent dealers who have either seen the coin or been offered it.

The Mint has previously said that it intends to use the 10 Langbord coins for educational purposes and not melt them down.

In addition to the 14 pieces identified, rumors persist that other examples exist that have escaped the governments notice, clandestinely placed in private collections.

After the Aug. 1 decision, Berke told Reuters, The Langbord family fully intends to seek review by the Supreme Court of the important issue of the unbridled power of the government to take and keep a citizens property. With this, the final chapter may yet remain to be written.
A general view of part of the Wold Newton Hoard. The pot contained 1,857 Roman copper coins known as nummi (singular nummus), the largest and most important Roman hoard to be found in the region.

This marble head of Constantine is all that survives of his statue erected in York. It is one of his earliest extant likenesses. It was found before 1823 at Stonegate, near the site of the principia of the Roman fortress, which now lies beneath York Minster.

One of the most recent coins from the hoard, a nummus struck at York in 307 A.D., features the portrait of Constantine the Great.

A metal detectorist with the Dunelm Metal Detector Club discovered a pot with 1,857 Roman copper coins known as nummi (singular nummus) in a farmers field near the village of Wold Newton, East Yorkshire.

York is a gem of a city in Englands north that is steeped in history. It has retained so many of its medieval buildings and narrow winding thoroughfares that visiting is like walking around in a living museum. Founded by the Romans in 71 A.D. as Eboracum, the city also has a Viking heritage and the ambience of the Middle Ages, all open to todays visitors to explore and embrace.

Many years ago it was rumored that, as York was so full of material of interest to archaeologists, the public utilities would only dig up the streets at night, so as not to have to halt work in progress. In more enlightened times this is not the case.

However, it is not just the city that is a dream for historians. Its environs have also proved to be a treasure house.

Connect with Coin World:

During 2007, in a field between York and Harrogate, 617 coins and 67 silver objects were found in a sheet of lead. Now known as The Vale of York Hoard, it is the largest Viking discovery in recent times that has been acquired in its entirety by a museum. It was valued at just over 1 million.

However, an even larger hoard is now reported, exciting archaeologists.

Metal detectorist finds

On Sept. 21, 2014, David Blakey, a semi-retired lab technician and amateur treasure seeker, was using his metal detector with the Dunelm Metal Detector Club in a farmers field near the village of Wold Newton, East Yorkshire.

The club had visited the area for the last six years and had found the odd Roman coin and medieval object. On this occasion, Blakeys detector uttered a loud warning that metal was underfoot. His fellow treasure seekers shouted encouragement, Keep digging  it could be a hoard!

Of course. Or it may have been only a piece of scrap metal that had been covered by soil generations ago.

At nearly a meter, Blakey discovered the top of a ceramic pot. As it later transpired, the pot contained 1,857 Roman copper coins known as nummi (singular nummus), the largest and most important Roman hoard to be found in the region.

Blakey, with some effort and assisted by fellow club members, managed to lift the pot from the ground. They resisted the temptation to empty it out, instead reporting the discovery to the local Finds Liaison Officer, who works as part of the national Portable Antiquities Scheme to record such finds made by members of the public. The hoards discovery was only made public at the end of July 2016.

Purchasing power

The contents of the pot was roughly equivalent to a Roman legionarys annual salary, three years salary for a carpenter, or six years for a farm laborer. It could have bought 700 chickens, 2,000 of the finest fish or 11,000 pints of ale. Handing over the pot intact meant that archaeologists had the rare opportunity to excavate the different layers to see how the coins were added to the vessel.

Insect remains attached to some of the coins also offered another way of dating the contents.

The hoard represents an evocative illustration of the power politics at the time, as the coins were issued by several co-emperors all jockeying for ultimate power.

Andrew Woods, curator of numismatics at the Yorkshire Museum, commented: The discovery of the Wold Newton hoard has the potential to reveal a huge amount about a crucial period of history. Buried in 307, the latest dating of coins in the hoard, it will provide new insights into the rise of who became Constantine the Great and the reshaping of the Western Roman Empire. From a local perspective, it will help us to better understand how these huge changes affected life in the farthest reaches of the Empire.

In 305 A.D., the Roman Emperor Constantius led his second campaign in Britain. His son Constantine accompanied him. Early in 306 the Romans defeated the Picts in northern Britain. York was one of the regional capitals in the Roman province of Britain and its legionary fortress was the headquarters of the northern military command.

When the emperor was in the north of Britain, the city also became the seat of the Imperial Court. On July 25, 306, Constantius died in York. At this time, sons did not automatically succeed their fathers to such positions of power, but on this occasion the late emperors loyal troops proclaimed his son Constantine his successor. Constantine reigned until his death in 337.

Constantines fortune

Elizabeth Hartley, who curated the Museums 2006 Constantine the Great exhibition, explained, The story of Constantine the Great began in York.

She is emphatic that had Constantine not been with his father when he died, he would not have been handed the greatest prize  the right of succession to his fathers title.

When his father was appointed caesar in 293, which was a junior member in the imperial college, Constantine was ensured a place at the imperial court. However, he did not join his fathers court at Trier, but that of the senior emperor, Diocletian, which was based principally at Nicomedia in Asia Minor. There he received training for high office, learning the skills of both statesman and soldier. He was therefore well placed to step into his fathers shoes.

Being groomed for the position is one thing, but how did Constantine earn the title Great?

Dr. Christopher Kelly, a leading expert based at Cambridge University, says there are three main reasons.

After nearly 80 years and three generations of political fragmentation, Constantine united the whole of the Roman Empire under one ruler, he said. He was responsible for restoring stability and security to the Roman world. Constantine also abandoned Rome as the most important city in the Empire. He built a new capital at Constantinople  now modern Istanbul. In the next two centuries Rome and Italy became vulnerable to barbarian invasions. The much more easily defensible Constantinople (renamed Byzantium) lasted for another 1000 years. But it was Constantines strong support for Christianity that arguably had the greatest impact on European history.

So why does the Yorkshire Museum want to raise 44,000 so that the hoard can be displayed in York?

Seeking funding

Woods explained, It contains coins minted in York from the time of Constantius who died in the city and then the first to feature Constantine rising to power. This was a pivotal moment in Yorks history, but also the history of the Western World. We hope to now save the hoard to make sure it stays in Yorkshire for the public to enjoy, but also so we can learn more about this fascinating period as well as why it was buried and to whom it might have belonged.

The hoard will be displayed at the Yorkshire Museum until Oct. 9. The museum has up until that date to raise the money.

To make a donation via Paypal, send payment via email. Donations are also accepted by cash or check in person at the Yorkshire Museum. Checks in sterling can be posted to the following address: Accounts Department, York Museums Trust, St. Marys Lodge, Marygate, York, YO30 7DR. Make check payable to York Museums Trust.
MU swine center to double its space for modified pigs

An $8 million grant from the National Institutes of Health will allow the swine center to double its space for animals.
Best of Business 2022: Learn Who Won Our 15th Annual Reader Poll

Local professionals chose their favorite business and professional services, products, healthcare, dining and more. Find out who their top picks are.
By Ted Evanoff of The Commercial Appeal

BioD, a Memphis tech firm that turns the placenta of new mothers into a healing product sold to orthopedic surgeons throughout the nation expects to double in size to about 100 employees following its purchase by a wound care company.

Derma Sciences Inc. of Princeton, New Jersey, disclosed last week it had acquired BioD LLC for $21.3 million up front and potentially nearly $78 million.

On Thursday, BioD chief executive Russell Olsen outlined future prospects for the 50-employee east-side firm.

BioD will stay in the city and most likely expand as Derma markets the healing products and opens new avenues by licensing BioD technology with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, Olsen said.

BioD will continue to operate in Memphis, said Olsen, who will remain CEO under the new owner.

Derma, which had marketed some BioD products for two years, acquired the Memphis firm to help fill its product pipeline. Sales milestones could lift the amount Derma pays for BioD to almost $77.8 million over the years, said former chairman Tim Brahm.

BioD was founded by Brahm, a Germantown entrepreneur, and local investors about a decade ago. Brahm has now stepped out of the business. Brahm and Olsen earlier worked in Memphis medical device industry.

Pregnant women in area hospitals agree to donate placentas after birth. The membrane continues its healing properties when turned into a substance that doctors can inject into patients.

BioD employees include tissue engineers, recovery technicians, product developers, sales executives and financial personnel. A sales force of about 300, including independent sales representatives, sells the firms six product lines.

Licensing through the FDA following clinical trials under Dermas auspices could enable BioD to advertise its products as quick-healing agents in the body.

Wed like to make specific claims, Olsen said. Right now we can only make very general claims.
A new McDonald's was built on Highland, part of the ongoing improvements near the University of Memphis campus. (Thomas Bailey Jr./The Commercial Appeal)

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By Wayne Risher of The Commercial Appeal

Highland Strip boosters want to establish an economic development zone funded by property tax growth generated by the area's ongoing resurgence.

The University Neighborhood Development Corp. proposes to include 601 tax parcels on or near Highland between Poplar and Park in a University District-Highland Row tax increment-financing or TIF district.

A TIF district, which would require Memphis City Council and Shelby County Commission approval, would divert a portion of increased city and county property taxes into improvements within the district.

The Economic Development Growth Engine of Memphis and Shelby County has scheduled an Aug. 17 public hearing on a proposed economic development plan supporting the University District-Highland Row TIF. EDGE published a public notice about the TIF this week and has a map available at its offices.

"We think we've got a compelling case, especially with the University of Memphis behind us and working in concert with the university and the surrounding neighborhoods," said development corporation president Mike Keeney.

"In order for this to be palatable, you want the increased development in the (Highland) area to benefit the entire city," Keeney added. "One thing unique about this is, the University of Memphis is a particular area and it's an extremely important area to this city. It's Memphis's primary public institution."

The plan, which is still being drafted, would allow the TIF to capture an estimated $37 million over 20 years, a result of new apartments, businesses and other development.

The district would receive 75 percent of the increase in tax revenues, after deductions for city and county debt service and a county trustee's fee. Both city and county would continue to receive 100 percent of the established base year taxes.

The development corporation wants to control the money and envisions spending it on street, sidewalk and related improvements, including measures to improve pedestrian flow across Highland, Keeney said.

"We've got to do something to Highland to control the (vehicle) speed. It's hard to go across the street. It's almost a highway. If we could do some speed control and really improve the safety and infrastructure of the area, hopefully other quality development could see the benefit of being around the university," Keeney said.

"We would like to go out and recruit developers," he added. "In the past we kind of had to react to what was coming into the area."

The district next to the U of M campus is expected between 2014 and 2018 to see about $145 million in private investments off campus and $204 million in public/private projects, mostly on campus, according to estimates by Loeb Properties, a developer in the area.

Ciara Neill, spokeswoman for Loeb, said the company supports the neighborhood group's work with the city and county on the TIF project.

If approved, the new TIF would be the second approved by the EDGE board, after Graceland/Elvis Presley Enterprises in Whitehaven, approved in 2014. The Graceland TIF was part of an incentive package to secure improvements including a 450-room resort hotel, The Guest House at Graceland, at the tourist attraction surrounding the Elvis Presley home.

The new Highland TIF would exclude the $58 million Highland Row development, 354 apartments plus retail under construction on the former Highland Street Church of Christ site on the west side of Highland. That development is covered by a separate TIF approved by the Memphis and Shelby County Community Redevelopment Agency.

TIFs originated in California in 1952 as a way of pooling local tax dollars to match federal money going into projects to curb urban blight, according to the Urban Land Institute.

The financing approach has been touted as a tool that helps municipalities attract development that wouldn't otherwise occur. But critics believe the tool sometimes aids projects that would have happened anyway, weakening commercial development in areas not covered by a TIF.
From upper left, clockwise: Malik Aziz, Branville Bard, Richard Bash, Patrick Melvin, Michael Rallings, Joseph Sullivan

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By Ryan Poe of The Commercial Appeal

Memphis Mayor Jim Strickland is poised to choose the city's next police director after finishing interviews with the six finalists Wednesday.

Strickland pledged months ago to complete a national search to fill the position and present his appointment to the City Council for confirmation at one of the two August council meetings  Tuesday or Aug. 23.

Chief Operations Officer Doug McGowen confirmed Friday that finalists were interviewed separately by four panels and Strickland, who could announce a decision anytime before Aug. 23.

McGowen added that the council's agenda for Tuesday is already set, but could be changed if Strickland makes a decision before then.

"He's got the information he needs to make a decision," McGowen said. "It's going to be tough because there are so many good candidates."

Among the candidates is Police Interim Director Michael Rallings, whose immediate appointment has been called for by leaders from the community and recent Black Lives Matter protests, the local chapter of the NAACP and the City Council.

Rallings currently earns $150,000, but McGowen confirmed the next director would make more, although he wasn't immediately sure how much more.

The International Association of Chiefs of Police advertised the post as having a salary between $190,577 and $247,750, depending on experience. The city is paying IACP $40,000 to conduct the search.

Candidates were separately interviewed by panels of community leaders, civic leaders, law enforcement leaders and administration leaders, in addition to an interview with Strickland, city spokesman Kyle Veazey said.

Sitting on the community panel were Mayor's Special Assistant for Community Relations Ken Moody, District 3 City Council member Patrice Robinson, Memphis Police Association President Mike Williams, District Attorney General Amy Weirich and Civilian Law Enforcement Review Board Chairman Ralph White.

The civic panel consisted of Memphis Tomorrow President Blair Taylor, state Commissioner of Safety and Homeland Security Bill Gibbons, and Harold Collins, Operation: Safe Community strategic planning coordinator.

On the law enforcement board were previous Memphis Police director Toney Armstrong, former police director Larry Godwin and IACP representatives Kim Kohlhepp, Jessie Lee and Joseph Blackburn.

The administration panel consisted of McGowen, Chief Legal Officer Bruce McMullen, Chief Human Resources Officer Alex Smith and Chief Financial Officer Brian Collins.

Here are the other candidates in addition to Rallings:

Malik Aziz, deputy chief of the Dallas Police Department;

Branville Bard, chief of police and director of public safety with the Philadelphia Housing Authority;

Richard Bash, deputy chief of police with the Columbus (Ohio) Division of Police;

Patrick Melvin, former chief of the Salt River (Arizona) Police Department and a member of IACP;

Joseph Sullivan, chief inspector/commanding officer with the Philadelphia Police Department.
SHARE Thomas Busler/The Commercial Appeal files Billy Hooper, 13, was the escort of Sheri Ann Robinson, 17, the newly crowned 1978-79 Choctaw Indian Princess. Miss Robinson was selected on Aug. 4, 1979, during the West Tennessee Choctaw Indian Powwow at Chucalissa Indian Village. The powwow features an exhibition of traditional Choctaw village life, with emphasis on music, dance and games.

Aug. 5

25 years ago: 1991

Shelby County's old jail will be renovated as office space, with construction probably to begin this fall. County Commissioner Charles Perkins, who will oversee the project as chairman of a renovation committee, said an architect is developing plans for the 40,000-square-foot building on Washington between Second and Third. The jail was built in 1925 and vacated in 1981 when a new county jail was opened adjacent to the Criminal Justice Center.

50 years ago: 1966

Tennessee voters yesterday turned aside John J. Hooker Jr.'s promise of a new era in state government and gave Buford Ellington what amounts to a second four-year term as governor. Commanding a mushrooming lead since early evening  and never losing it  the 59-year-old former chief executive overcame the Hooker camp's chant that the people would rebel against 14 years of rule in Nashville by Ellington and Gov. Frank Clement.

75 years ago: 1941

The hopes of the Mid-South to obtain a new bridge over the Mississippi River at Memphis were dampened yesterday when President Roosevelt vetoed the $320,000,000 Defense Highway Bill which would have provided funds for the project.

100 years ago: 1916

WASHINGTON  Purchase by the United States of the islands St. Thomas, St. Croix and St. John, lying to the east of Puerto Rico, and comprising the Danish West Indies, is provided for in a treaty signed today for the United States and Denmark.

125 years ago: 1891

The saloons all closed promptly at 12 o'clock last night and from that time until 4 o'clock this morning only the initiated and the man with a bottle could get a drink in Memphis. The restaurants were also closed and the hungry had no chance of appeasing their appetites.
May 25, 2016 - Shelby County Schools board of education member Stephanie Love (right) speaks during a Shelby County Board of Commissioners budget committee meeting on SCS funding. (Brandon Dill/Special to The Commercial Appeal)

By Jennifer Pignolet of The Commercial Appeal

Shelby County School Board member Stephanie Love survived a challenge for her seat Thursday night.

Five Shelby County Schools board members were up for re-election this cycle, but only Love faced opposition.

As of 9:45 p.m., incomplete and unofficial results showed Love with 58.9 percent of the vote over her District 3 opponent, Sharon Fields.

District 3 includes parts of North Memphis and most of Raleigh and Frayser.

Neither Love nor Fields responded to phone calls seeking comment Thursday night.

Running uncontested and securing another term were Teresa Jones, Kevin Woods, Scott McCormick and Miska Clay Bibbs.

The single contested race mirrored several state races, as education reform groups, which often advocate for charter schools, took an interest at both the state and local level.

Fields is the office manager and family coordinator for the Libertas School of Memphis, a charter school under the state-run Achievement School District. She had received $5,000 donations each from two PACs, Education Reform Now Advocacy and Tennesseans for Putting Students First. Similar groups have also funded candidates running for state office who have ties to either charters or the ASD.

Although Love has children in both ASD and SCS schools, she has frequently spoken out against the state-run schools and has even advised parents not to send their kids to them.

Love dropped out of high school but earned her high school equivalency degree and a cosmetology license and now works in Raleigh. She has four children and was first elected to the board in 2014.
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By Ron Maxey of The Commercial Appeal

The DeSoto County school board Thursday approved the district's tax rate for the coming year, setting the stage for presentation to county officials next week.

Board members OK'd the tax levy order, which makes official the millage rate included in the 2016-17 school budget approved previously. The order will now be presented to the Board of Supervisors Monday for inclusion in the county's total millage rate for the coming year.

The school budget calls for just over 55 mills for school system operations. The breakdown is 41.85 mills for operations, which represents the lion's share of school tax funding and is the figure most people look at when talking about school taxes. Another 10.22 mills will be used to fund general obligation bonds, and 3 mills will go to debt service.

The operations and general obligation bonds portions of the millage are unchanged from last year. The 3 mills for debt service represents a return to the full amount allowed by law after the district cut debt service millage by half, to 1.5 mills, for one year.

A mill is one-tenth of a cent, or $1 in taxes per $1,000.

The budget, which took effect July 1 even though the tax rate hasn't yet been presented to the county, calls for about $263 million in revenue and about $274 million in expenses from all sources.

The $11 million shortfall comes despite hard cuts, including more than $1 million in administrative salary reductions through attrition and consolidations. No teachers or programs are being cut.

Stacey Graves, the district's chief financial officer, said earlier that the shortage will be covered out of just over $70 million in reserve funds. She said it isn't unusual to have shortfalls that are covered by reserves because of projects beginning one budget year but finishing the next.

The biggest culprit, though, is less money than promised by the state through the Mississippi Adequate Education program. Legislators have fully funded the program only twice since its inception in the 1990s.
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By Jason A. Yaun

August is the time when we turn our attention from summer activities to the beginning of school. Whether it is pre-K, K-12 or postsecondary, families are making preparations, and as the new school year approaches for children in Memphis and Shelby County, parents should use this time to ensure that their children are up to date on their immunizations.

When making your back-to-school list, don't forget that students must have certificates of immunization from the Department of Health when they enter school. We know that vaccines are a safe and successful public health measure that save lives.

Please check with your child's health care provider to ensure your child is fully vaccinated. If you have questions or concerns regarding vaccinations or the vaccination schedule, be sure to discuss these with your health care provider or another reliable resource, such as the American Academy of Pediatrics or the Centers for Disease Control.

Immunization certificates can be obtained at the Health Department or at your child's health care provider. It is important to know Tennessee's requirements and guidelines for back-to-school immunizations.

With more than 150,000 students expected to attend schools in Memphis and Shelby County this year along with the area colleges and universities enrolling students from all over the globe, it is important to be reminded of Tennessee requirements and guidelines for back-to-school immunizations.

These requirements affect children enrolled in day care facilities, preschools and prekindergarten programs as well as new kindergarten students, all students entering the seventh grade, and children in any grade who are first-time students in a Tennessee school. And a new state law that was passed earlier this year impacts students enrolling in Tennessee colleges and universities.

We must know how to protect our students from life-threatening diseases such as measles, mumps, whooping cough and meningitis. Whether they are 8 or 18, we must be aware of the risks for students associated with these infectious diseases.

Colleges across the state have had to deal with the impact of meningitis in recent years, and the recent measles outbreak in Shelby County shows that we shouldn't get too comfortable and that these diseases are still a real threat to the health of our children.

Vaccination is a proven step to keep diseases from appearing or becoming epidemics.

The full list of requirements, which matches current national expert recommendations set by the National Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP), is available online at http://tn.gov/health/article/required-immunizations.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that vaccinations will prevent more than 21 million hospitalizations and 732,000 deaths in children born over the past 20 years (from 1994 to 2013).

Back to school is the time to make sure your children's immunizations and records are up to date, not only for the health of your children, but for all of our students in Memphis and Shelby County.

Dr. Jason A. Yaun is an assistant professor with the Department of Pediatrics at the University of Tennessee Health Science Center and practices at Le Bonheur Children's Hosptial.
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By Jonah Goldberg

One of my all-time favorite lines is from Henry Thoreau: "Some circumstantial evidence is very strong, as when you find a trout in the milk."

It came to mind this week when the White House and State Department insisted that the charge the U.S. paid a ransom to get back American hostages was purely circumstantial. Sometimes, a $400 million payoff in laundered money, delivered in the dead of night in an unmarked cargo plane isn't what it looks like.

Jan. 16 was "Implementation Day" for the nuclear deal between the United States and Iran, in which the state sponsor of terror received sanctions relief possibly worth as much as $150 billion  which would be roughly equivalent to 40 percent of its GDP  in exchange for some guarantees against developing nuclear weapons ... for a while. (The merits, and even the nature, of the Iran nuclear deal are hotly disputed, but that's a topic for another time.)

That same day, the Obama administration announced a prisoner swap between the U.S. and Iran, in which we traded seven Iranian criminals and removed another 14 from an Interpol "most wanted" list. In exchange, they returned four innocent Americans, illegally held by the Iranian regime. Back then, Secretary of State John Kerry boasted about what a masterful diplomatic breakthrough it was. Those Americans were freed thanks to "the relationships forged and the diplomatic channels unlocked over the course of the nuclear talks," Kerry preened.

Yes, well maybe. But few things really cement a solid working relationship like $400 million in cash. Kerry failed to mention that part in his press conferences or congressional testimony. In fact, the Obama administration kept the whole thing a secret.

The White House concedes that it all looks very bad. But it insists this was in no way a ransom payment; the trout got in the milk for perfectly normal reasons.

You see, the Iranians were suing for funds deposited with the Pentagon in 1979 for a weapons purchase that was later blocked when the ayatollahs deposed the Shah. The $400 million wasn't a ransom; it was simply the first installment of a $1.7 billion settlement of that dispute. "We would not, we have not, we will not pay ransom to secure the release of U.S. citizens," top White House flack Josh Earnest insisted. That the money was delivered to coincide with the release of our hostages is little more than a funny coincidence.

And shame on you for thinking otherwise, Earnest seemed to be saying Wednesday. The $400 million drop-off was actually a great success for smart diplomacy, because it saved taxpayers "potentially billions" more if the arbitration over the matter hadn't gone our way.

Still, one wonders why, if it was such a laudable and innocent money-saving maneuver, they kept it all secret from the American people.

Here's one possible reason from the Wall Street Journal expose. "U.S. officials also acknowledge that Iranian negotiators on the prisoner exchange said they wanted the cash to show they had gained something tangible."

Catch that? The Obama administration did not think the huge pallet of Swiss francs, euros and other currencies dropped off in the dead of night was a ransom payment  they just wanted the Iranians to think it was.

And they bought it! "Taking this much money back was in return for the release of the American spies," Gen. Mohammad Reza Naghdi, a Revolutionary Guard commander, boasted on Iranian state media.

Sometimes you just have to marvel at the way smart people can talk themselves into stupidity. The whole point of not paying ransoms to terrorists isn't to save money. The reason we don't pay kidnappers is that we understand that it will only encourage more kidnapping. So letting the Iranians think the $400 million was a ransom payment is doubly asinine, because it fooled exactly the wrong people, the wrong way. Who cares if the Obama administration "knew" it wasn't a ransom? What mattered was to make it clear to the Iranians that it wasn't a ransom, not give them every reason to believe it was.

Now, because of this pas-de-deux of asininity, not only have we given the Iranians untraceable walking-around money to give to its terrorist proxies, we've also given them every incentive to kidnap more Americans  which is exactly what they've been doing. But at least the folks at the State Department can sleep soundly knowing that they didn't really pay a ransom. It just looks that way.

Jonah Goldberg is an editor-at-large of National Review Online. Contact him at JonahsColumn@aol.com.
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By Michael Gerson

WASHINGTON  Donald Trump began Aug. 2, 2016, no doubt, determined to follow the advice of family and advisers to avoid fueling his own controversies and focus on Hillary Clinton's manifold failures.

By the end of that day, the Republican nominee had continued his fifth day of conflict with a Gold Star family. He had refused to support the re-election of the Republican speaker of the House and two senators in races essential to maintaining GOP control of the Senate. He had (strangely) urged Americans to dump equities in their 401(k) plans. He had joked that he "always wanted to get the Purple Heart"  the chances of which would have been increased if he had not taken five deferments during the Vietnam War. He had made a statement  "if there is not a better alternative, then you stay"  that seemed to dismiss the gravity of workplace sexual harassment.

Any of these would be judged a gaffe. Taken together, in a single day, they raise the prospect that Trump is being driven by compulsions that have nothing to do with politics.

It should now be evident that Trump's behavior as a candidate will not be changed (at least for long) by appeals to his rational self-interest, because he is not in full control of his impulses. This may be Trump being Trump, but it is utterly terrifying in a prospective president.

The fondest hope of regular, everyday Republicans has been to keep their heads down, work to maintain control of the House and Senate, and hope the next three months pass quickly so the rebuilding of the party can commence.

Now it is dawning that three months of Trump  a rapid-fire loose cannon  may make keeping congressional control impossible. It may, in fact, leave the national GOP in ruins, with the electoral earth salted among minorities, women and the young.

The unraveling of Trump's support has begun, and not just among moderates of the Meg Whitman variety. Before backtracking, Trump's vice presidential finalist Newt Gingrich admitted that neither Hillary Clinton nor Trump were "acceptable" at the moment. Even the sycophantic Chris Christie distanced himself from Trump's attacks on the Khan family: "It's just inappropriate for us in this context to be criticizing them, and I'm not going to participate in that."

But is such discontent a preview of dramatic defections? If they come, they are likely to arrive in a rush, as they did in August 1974. When President Richard Nixon's "smoking gun" tape was revealed, the wall of Republican resistance to impeachment quickly collapsed. A congressional delegation led by Sen. Barry Goldwater (who blamed himself that he had not acted earlier) informed Nixon it was over. Though his wife and daughters urged him to fight on, Nixon bowed to political reality.

In Trump's case, we are not dealing with criminality but with temperament, which is not less important. To quote myself from a January column: We are witnessing what happens when a narcissist who thinks he is at the center of the universe is actually placed at the center of the universe. Trump's political judgments seem mostly based on how others view him, making Vladimir Putin a friend and Paul Ryan an enemy. On policy, Trump claims to know more than the experts while displaying stunning ignorance. He lies with disturbing ease. He seems to lack the gene for empathy.

If Republican leaders believe these things to be true, they should not continue to support Trump for president. I suspect, however, that a principled stand will become more attractive if Trump declines further and consistently in the polls. Integrity is more reliable with the support of interest.

It is hard to imagine that a meeting with party elders in which they urge Trump to renounce his nomination would end well. Any friend bringing such a message to Trump would immediately be categorized an enemy. Trump's adoring, overflow crowds must provide him with intoxicating encouragement.

Trump, however, is not the only one being tested. We have seen that Trump is a sadist; now we determine if Republicans are masochists. On the current course, Reince Priebus will be judged the worst GOP party chairman in history. On the current course, Ryan will be discredited as a political and moral leader. On the current course, our children will look back in confusion and contempt, asking: How did you allow such a man to get so close to such an office?

Contact Michael Gerson at michaelgerson@washpost.com.
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By Ruth Marcus

WASHINGTON  Of all the dangerous things Donald Trump has said, perhaps the most concerning is his assertion that the election might be rigged. This irresponsible, unsupported suggestion augurs poorly for Trump's behavior in the increasingly likely event of his loss.

"The election is going to be rigged," Trump warned at a rally in Ohio. "I'm telling you, November 8, we'd better be careful, because that election is going to be rigged," he told Fox News' Sean Hannity.

Those comments set the stage for an explosive outcome the likes of which this nation has never seen. It is not far-fetched to imagine Trump inciting his partisans against accepting the voters' verdict, further inflaming our already toxic political climate.

As much as Republicans sought to ensure President Obama's failure from the moment of his election, their animus toward a President Hillary Clinton would be that much greater  even without Trump piling on. Clinton would enter office as a more divisive figure; after all, the GOP argument that she is disqualified to hold the office, whether by virtue of Benghazi or emails, preceded Trump's "Crooked Hillary" attack.

If Clinton is elected, Republicans will have been shut out of the White House for three elections in a row, for the first time since 1948. And if Democrats retake control of the Senate, Republicans eyeing the 2018 map  when 25 Democrats (and independents caucusing with Democrats) and only eight Republicans face re-election  would have every incentive to impede Clinton's initiatives. They would try to make her not just a one-term president but a two-year one.

Add to this predictable ugliness a losing nominee who rouses supporters with assertions that the election was somehow stolen from him and you have a recipe for turmoil of a most un-American variety.

Just how un-American can be judged by looking to Al Gore's gracious concession to George W. Bush. The Democratic nominee had won the popular vote; he had every reason to believe that, but for a botched election and butterfly ballot in Florida, he would have won the Electoral College majority as well.

Nonetheless, Gore, in the aftermath of the Supreme Court's ruling, spoke of meeting with Bush "so that we can start to heal the divisions of the campaign and the contest through which we just passed." He invoked Sen. Stephen Douglas on being defeated by Abraham Lincoln  "Partisan feeling must yield to patriotism" and added, "This is America, and we put country before party. We will stand together behind our new president."

There is every reason, from his current comments and his history, to think Trump would respond in a different, far less elevated manner. Consider Trump 2012, who unleashed a stream of unhinged tweeting about Mitt Romney's loss, unearthed by my Washington Post colleague, Stephen Stromberg.

The president "lost the popular vote by a lot and won the election. We should have a revolution in this country," Trump proclaimed, although Obama in fact won both the popular vote and the Electoral College. A few minutes later: "The phoney [sic] electoral college made a laughing stock out of our nation. The loser one!" A few minutes later: "We should march on Washington and stop this travesty."

Trump notwithstanding, the election was not "a total sham." The Electoral College, for better or worse, is specified in the Constitution. Calling for revolution? Imagine what Trump might do when the loser is himself.

In his interview with the Post's Philip Rucker, Trump offered an unsettling preview. The U.S., Rucker noted, has a tradition in which losers "concede graciously and try to get their supporters on board like Al Gore did in 2000. Would you?"

Trump: "I don't want to jump the gun. I don't want to talk about that. I'm just saying that I wouldn't be surprised if the election ... there's a lot of dirty pool played at the election, meaning the election is rigged."

Trump's evidence, such as it is, of prospective rigging involves the string of recent court rulings invalidating voter ID laws and the phantom menace of voter fraud. "The voter ID situation has turned out to be a very unfair development," Trump claimed to Rucker. "We may have people vote 10 times."

There is no such evidence. The provisions of North Carolina's restrictive voting law, a federal appeals court just ruled, "impose cures for problems that did not exist."

Trump is dangerous, and the threat he poses might not be extinguished by a loss at the polls.

Contact Ruth Marcus at ruthmarcus@washpost.com.
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Overseas fashion models working on H-1B visas is a peculiar part of the visa law. This visa is intended for high-skilled workers, such as those in computer-related occupations. But to work in the U.S. in the 1990s as a fashion model, the H-1B visa was Melania Trump's obvious visa choice.

Melania Trump, who in 2005 married Republican president nominee Donald Trump, has had a career as a fashion model and later became a citizen.

Today, Melania Trump's visa record is getting serious scrutiny. Did she have the right visa for working? (Her husband has made visa reform, including H-1B visa reform, a high priority in the campaign.)

In 1995, Trump was involved in a photoshoot in New York for a now-defunct French magazine, according to the New York Post, which published racy photos from it. That prompted Politico to ask about Trump's visa history.

The story pointed to her own comments around her use of a visa. In January, for instance, Harper's Bazaar quoted Trump saying: "Every few months, you need to fly back to Europe and stamp your visa. After a few visas, I applied for a green card and got it in 2001. After the green card, I applied for citizenship. And it was a long process."

The H-1B visa does not require people to get a visa stamped "every few months." The visa is issued for three years and can be renewed for another three. Visa holders who are seeking a green card can stay beyond the maximum six years.

The controversy prompted Trump to respond Thursday in a Tweet that said in part: "I have at all times been in full compliance with immigration laws of this country. Period. Any allegation to the contrary is simply untrue. In July 2006, I proudly became a U.S. citizen."

The Trump campaign hasn't released records to support Melania Trump's assertions, which has fueled the speculation about her immigration status in the 1990s.

A visa that is of short duration is the B-1, a business visa, and B-2, a visitors visa. The use of the B-1 is very limited and is not intended for employment. It's designed for short-term uses such as consulting with business associates, and attending a convention. But was Melania Trump actually employed?

The New York Post doesn't say whether Trump was paid for the photoshoot. If she wasn't paid, it may not be employment.

The inclusion of fashion models in the H-1B visa has always been eyebrow raising.

The H-1B visa, created in 1990 as part of an immigration reform effort, was intended for people with bachelor's degrees working in high-skill occupations. At the same time, Congress also created O and P visa categories. The O is for people of "extraordinary ability or achievement," and the P visa is used for athletes, performers and artists. Fashion models weren't mentioned.

This exclusion of fashion models from any visa category was considered an accident by lawmakers. There is no reason not to allow fashion models in the U.S. Having models shoot on location, for instance, in New York rather than in London is a plus. Photoshoots can employ many others in support of the effort.

In 1991, Congress passed an amendment adding fashion model to the H-1B visa category, but excluding it from any particular education requirement.

As demand rose on the H-1B cap, there have been efforts in Congress to remove fashion models from the H-1B category and make it a subset of the P or O visas, to free up more visas for computer occupations and other skill sets. But these efforts have all come up short, entangled in the broader immigration reform debate.
One must give Jeremy Corbyn his due. In a week when David Camerons resignation honours are being hammered in the press, it takes the touch of an auteur to turn it into a problem for Labour.

Yet that is precisely what the Labour leader has done. In a story nicely teed up by a series of graceless non-denials, he has nominated Shami Chakrabarti, the human rights barrister who was until March the long-serving director of Liberty, for a peerage.

There are several reasons that this decision has angered people, the first obviously being that it takes some of the heat off the Tories at a time when the Opposition are already applying precious little heat as it is.

Second, it represents a breach of one of Corbyns campaign promises: he said during last years leadership contest that: Labour will certainly not nominate new peers for the Lords, which risks undermining its legitimacy.

Ms Chakrabarti was the Labour leaders only nomination, but that only adds weight to the more serious problems: that the nomination looks a lot like corruption and has completely undermined Labours recent anti-Semitism inquiry  which was chaired by one Shami Chakrabarti.

Jewish organisations have reacted furiously to the appointment: the Times quotes the Board of Deputies of British Jews, the Chief Rabbi, and a Jewish party donor condemning the decision, as well as John Mann, the Labour MP who chairs the All-Party Parliamentary Group against Anti-Semitism.

Mann was not afraid to highlight the corruption angle either. The former said: Its cash for a report. Shes sold herself cheaply to get into the Lords.

Meanwhile Michael Foster, the aforementioned donor, went further:

Like it or not, a peerage comes with a guaranteed stipend and if the nomination committee lets this through then Jeremy Corbyn will have bought his report on antisemitism and Shami will have thrown away her spectacular career for fools gold. The Jewish community either way has been shamelessly betrayed by this pairs faustian pact.

Even by the low standards the Labour leader has set since being elected, the political ineptitude  to say nothing of the ethical shortcomings  on display here is immense.

Labour is dogged by allegations of anti-Semitic abuse, stemming largely from people who are Corbyns supporters. There is wide concern that he refuses to take this seriously  indeed, he set a previous low when he allowed a Jewish MP to be reduced to tears by abuse at the launch of his anti-Semitism report (during which he also appeared to compare Israel to Islamic State).

Now he has completely shredded its credibility by making a single exception to his no-peerages rule for the benefit of its chair, just over a month after it was published.

Its actually more astonishing that Chakrabarti actually went along with such a ham-fisted scheme. Corbyn at least has the excuse of having been thrust unexpectedly into the limelight, whereas she has been a prominent political campaigner for years.

All in all then, not a bad week for Number Ten: Cameron is giving May plenty of cover for a sharper break with his regime, and Corbyn is doing his best to minimise any residual damage the Tory Party might suffer during the row.
Iain Dale is Presenter of LBC Drive, Managing Director of Biteback Publishing, a columnist and broadcaster and a former Conservative Parliamentary candidate.

I thought Labour had become a laughing stock, but UKIP seem to be intent on giving them a run for their money.

What a shambles their leadership contest has become. Having disallowed the favourite, Stephen Woolf, from standing theyre left with five nonentitiesand Diane James. I rather like James and tipped her to succeed Nigel Farage following her outstanding performance in the Eastleigh by-election. However, her performance in the EU referendum debate was less than assured, and her praise for Vladimir Putin in a radio interview with me didnt do her any favours either.

So how on earth did UKIP manage to manufacture a situation where, apart from Diane James, none of their leading lights are standing? Suzanne Evans was inexplicably suspended. There was only one agenda  and that was to keep her off the leadership ballot. Douglas Carswell, Patrick OFlynn and Paul Nuttall all decided to keep out of it. The gobby Lisa Duffy certainly talks a good game, but no one has heard of her. Elizabeth Jones. Who? And then there is Bill Etheridge MEP, Jonathan Arnott and Philip Broughton. Nope  me neither.

         

Donald Trump. Where on earth do I start? How on earth has the Grand Old Party landed themselves with this narcissistic ignoramus?

In the last four or five days alone, he has said enough to disqualify him for even considering being President. Ive always thought him divisive and ignorant, but now I think hes positively dangerous. And the fact that he wont endorse Senator John McCains re-election campaign tells you all you need to know.

I may not like Hillary Clinton. I may not approve of many of her policies. But if I had a vote in this election, I know where Id be putting my cross. I predict a semi-landslide for Hillary. Maybe call it a Hillslip. Shes apparently three points ahead in Arizona, a state which Mitt Romney won by nine. Replicate that across the country, and its difficult to see how she can fail. But in this year of political surprises, I guess anything is possible.

         

Earlier this week I finished reading Iain Watsons Five million conversations. Its one of those books I have been meaning to read, but have never quite got around to it.

Im glad I persevered. Its essentially a book about how Labour failed to win the last election, but it also covers Jeremy Corbyns rise to the Labour leadership. It explains how this new system of electing a Labour leader is completely down to one man. Edward Miliband. He must be so proud that it looks like as though this will lead to the party he led either splitting or fragmenting.

What a complete Horlicks  and to think that not a single one of his advisers appeared to issue any warning at all as to what the consequences might be. Blaming Miliband entirely, though, is a bit harsh. He wasnt one of the Labour MPs to sign Jeremy Corbyns nomination paper  unlike Sadiq Khan, Margaret Beckett and Frank Field. Or a host of others. Corbyns useful idiots, one and all.

         

Earlier this week, I went to my first game at the Olympic Stadium to see West Ham take on the Slovenian giants NK Domzale. The atmosphere was good, but not quite as good as the last time I was there, which was the night at the Olympics when Greg Rutherford, Mo Farah and Jessica Ennis all won golds for Britain. It was a night I doubt I will ever experience again.

Im writing this before the West Ham game  so depending on the result you can imagine what my mood was like. The pitch is much longer and wider than the one at Upton Park, so I guess that will take a little getting used to. Of course tonight it is the opening ceremony of the Rio Olympics. This brings back some unhappy memories from London 2012. When my boss asked if I would like to present LBCs coverage of the opening ceremony, I though all my Christmases had come at once. I should have known better.

But what should have been the highlight of my broadcasting career so far, became a nightmare. Everything that could go wrong did go wrong. Our vantage point was supposedly overlooking the Olympic Park. Well, if you walked along the end of the balcony and craned your neck you could just about see the Olympic Stadium.

Just as I was about to go on air the line went down. The newsreader talked into packages which werent there. The opening bed music didnt fire. But the show had to go on. It started to rain. We had a gazebo, but it leaked. Onto my head. Down my back. While I was live on air.

Jo Phillips was my co-broadcaster. She and I got a cab home afterwards and sat in silence for most of the journey. Until I warned the cab driver (Addison Lee, since you ask) that he needed to slow down as there was a roundabout up ahead. He turned round and called me a motherf*****g c**t. Nice. I got him fired the next day.

         

Yes, ok, ok, I had a week in Spain in July  and now I am off for two weeks in August.

Some people seem to think that one weeks summer holiday is quite enough for a jobbing radio presenter. According to my Twitter followers, I should man up and get back to work. Seeing as I had a grand total of two  yes, two  days off during the first six months of the year, I think I can justify a couple of weeks R&R this month.

And R&R it will be. Im spending ten days in Norfolk doing absolutely sweet fanny adams, and then heading up to the Edinburgh Festival for my second visit. Im not sure that going to 17 shows in three days is going to be entirely relaxing, but Im sure Ill enjoy it as much as I did last year, especially Margaret Thatcher  Queen of Game Shows!

The key is to try to schedule in all the shows you really want to see. I left booking tickets too late to get to see Rory Bremner, and sadly I arrive too late on Monday week to fit in the show F*****g men. Well, theres a relief.
SHARE Jeff Rash of Fishers took a look at 65-inch ultra-high-definition televisions at HHGregg in November 2015. (Photo: Robert Scheer/IndyStar 2015 file photo)

By James Briggs / USA Today Netowrk / The Indianapolis Star

Consumers are snatching up ultra-high-definition televisions at huge discounts, causing HHGregg's electronics sales to sink.

The Indianapolis electronics retailer on Thursday reported a loss of $7.2 million, or 26 cents a share, during the three-month period ending June 30. That was an improvement from a loss of $8.8 million, or 32 cents per share, a year earlier. HHGregg's sales fell 4 percent to $423.6 million yet beat analysts' expectations.

Robert Riesbeck, who this week shed his interim title and became HHGregg's permanent CEO, attributed much of the recent loss to plummeting prices for ultra-HD sets, also known as 4K.

Former CEO Dennis May bet big on 4K TVs, calling it a product whose time has come. He was correct in terms of sales volume. HHGregg's 4K TV sales rose more than 80 percent in the company's first quarter, Riesbeck said.

But HHGregg is selling 4K TVs for as low as $330 and has more than two dozen models for sale at less than $1,000, according to its website. That's a dramatic price drop for a product that fetched thousands of dollars per television just a couple of years ago.

Riesbeck in a conference call with investors cited research by NPD Group Inc. showing the average price of 4K TVs dropped 30 percent during the most recent quarter. That price drop drove HHGregg's consumer electronics sales down 17.4 percent in stores that have been open for at least a year, Riesbeck said, adding the company "over-indexed in 4K TVs."

"Our 4K units as a percent of our total (video sales) was about 31 percent, where the market is about 18 percent," Riesbeck said in the company's conference call. "So with a 30 percent decline in average selling prices, that was our toughest challenge for the quarter."

Appliances were a bright spot, though. Same-store appliance sales rose 3.7 percent, in part because of the company's decision earlier this year to join its competitors inoffering free shipping, Riesbeck said. HHGregg grew its market share in appliances during the most recent quarter, he said, fulfilling a top priority for the company.

"I think in the past we were discounting to offset the fact that we did not have free delivery and that discounting exceeded our cost of free delivery," Riesbeck said. "So Im very pleased with our results from that standpoint."

Overall, same-store sales fell 3.9 percent during the company's first quarter. HHGregg had 229 stores as of the end of June. HHGregg shares on Thursday fell about 4 percent to $2.19.

Riesbeck said he's optimistic HHGregg will "build on this momentum to achieve our companys growth and profitability goals" yet acknowledged that losses caused by falling prices for 4K TVs will continue to be a problem.

"We will see that at least through the balance of this year," he said.
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INDIANAPOLIS  The drunken uncle is down in the basement, droning on and on about walls and Russian dictators and shooting people on Fifth Avenue and vicious Gold Star moms. He covets that Purple Heart his five Vietnam War era draft deferments denied him and basks at getting one the "easy" way from a soldier who earned it.

Floating above these sounds is a faint Mozartian oboe of a voice  "I'm a Christian, a conservative and a Republican in that order "

The emerging reality is that Pence has reordered his life priorities. He has become a Republican first. At a time when dozens of Republicans spent months sizing up Donald Trump, many decided no way, unsheathed their 10-foot poles, and wouldn't go anywhere near Cleveland, Ohio, in July.

Pence not only signed up for the veepstakes, he won the derby. The photos continue to be revealing. Trump comes off as the wolf, the viper with these sly smirks. Pence beams like a cheerleader. There's a bounce in his step. He and Karen Pence seem like Hansel and Gretel, heading to the Gingerbread House.

The hope was that the Christian and conservative in Pence would tug Trump into a more mainstream axis, or as RNC Chairman Reince Priebus observed, "He knows the pivot is important." Instead, Pence has emerged as the adult on the ticket as Trump becomes more bizarre and sophomoric. After Trump refused to endorse House Speaker Paul Ryan, Pence stepped in with a kind word for the man who introduced himself at the national convention. "I strongly endorse his re-election," Pence said of Ryan. "He's a longtime friend, he's a strong conservative leader."

But as Stephen Hayes of the Weekly Standard observed, "Instead, Trump has been more volatile, more bizarre, more mendacious, and more reckless. In the time since he accepted the nomination Trump has, among other things: Revived a crackpot theory on Ted Cruz's father and the JFK assassination; suggested his adopted party is filled with people who don't want to help others; invited Russia to influence the U.S. presidential election; smeared the parents of a fallen U.S. Army captain; trashed a retired four-star general; and appeared not to know that Russia had annexed the Crimean peninsula in 2014. Some of this is merely aggravating. Some of it is outlandish. Some of it is insulting. And some of it is frightening."

The Rev. Cruz/Oswald assassination revival by Trump came at a press conference on the day after the Republican Convention, with Pence standing by having a series of good laughs as Trump rambled on. It was a truly strange moment. Pence had endorsed Sen. Ted Cruz, cut a TV ad for him in the Indiana primary, then watched Trump on Election Day morning make the assassination link. It left Cruz fuming in Evansville that morning and Trump would mow him down despite the Pence endorsement.

Pence is shifting on core principles, now backing Trump's Muslim ban, which he once called "offensive and unconstitutional." On free trade, a long principled stance of Gov. and Rep. Pence, the Indiana governor told Laura Ingraham last Thursday, "I believe you can be convinced. You're absolutely right, I think throughout my career I've strongly supported free trade. But frankly, we're on the verge of electing one of the best negotiators in the world. As Donald and I sat down and talked earlier on, he talked to me about questioning the wisdom of these multi-country trade agreements that then, when they're not working out, the way that clearly NAFTA is not any longer, it's very difficult to unwind."

There are limits. When Trump seemed to invite the Putin Regime to hack the computers of the Hillary Clinton campaign, Pence stepped in with his own late night statement under the Trump banner, saying, "The FBI will get to the bottom of who is behind the hacking. If it is Russia and they are interfering in our elections, I can assure you both parties and the United States government will ensure there are serious consequences."

And then when things didn't seem they could get any more bizarre, Trump did the incomprehensible, blasting Gold Star mother Ghazala Khan. "If you look at his wife, she was standing there. She had nothing to say. She probably, maybe she wasn't allowed to have anything to say. You tell me," Trump said, in an interview with ABC's "This Week."

Enter Pence, who released a statement Sunday evening, saying, "Donald Trump and I believe that Captain Humayun Khan is an American hero and his family, like all Gold Star families, should be cherished by every American. Captain Khan gave his life to defend our country in the global war on terror." Trump didn't get the throbbing Pence hint, tweeting the next morning, "Mr. Khan, who does not know me, viciously attacked me from the stage of the DNC and is now all over T.V. doing the same  Nice!"

And then a stunning follow up, with a Virginia vet handing Trump his Purple Heart, prompting the billionaire who had five Vietnam draft deferments to say, "I always wanted to get the Purple Heart. This was much easier."

This is like watching a car wreck in slow motion. The governor riding shotgun has gulped down the Kool-Aid.
Auction gavel

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By Mark Wilson of the Courier and Press

A psychologist who reportedly admitted to falsifying a mental health evaluation that caused a mistrial in Vanderburgh County will face criminal charges.

An arrest warrant was issued Friday morning for Albert H. Fink, of Bloomington, Indiana, on felony counts of obstruction of justice and theft, Vanderburgh County Prosecutor Nicholas Hermann said on Friday.

A mistrial was granted Wednesday on the third day of Caleb Loving's trial on explosives and arson charges in Vanderburgh Circuit Court.

Hermann says Fink admitted falsifying Loving's evaluation, and others in different cases, after his involvement in a car crash.

Fink intentionally drove his car into a tree early Tuesday afternoon, and was taken to a hospital with cuts on his arms, according to an Indiana State Police report. Court officials became aware of the falsified report when an Indiana State Police trooper called the prosecutor's to relay something Fink reportedly said after crashing his BMW on Indiana 46. The trooper said Fink said he had to testify in Loving's trial that Wednesday and he was afraid it would be found out he had falsified his report, Hermann said.

When Loving's attorney, Vanderburgh County Chief Public Defender Stephen Owens, learned about it Tuesday, he examined visitor logs at the jail.

"I'm about 99 percent certain he didn't see Caleb (Loving)," Owens said.

The information prompted a mistrial, but also sparked an investigation that could have statewide ramifications.

Fink's involvement has extended to at least 70 Vanderburgh County cases going back to 2001, Hermann said. Those include an open murder case as well as attempted murders, child molestings, kidnappings and other felonies.

"These are all very serious cases," Hermann said.

Defense attorneys are being notified in those cases, Hermann said, as well as prosecutors from other counties. He said he expected challenges to arise in some but not all of the cases in which Fink filed reports.

Even if Fink had not falsified reports in other cases, Owens said, the possibility couldn't be discounted.

"I think probably every case he has done in the last few years is going to be required to be reviewed," Owens said. "Whether he did anything wrong or not, he is certainly going to be discredited."

State law requires courts to appoint at least two mental health professionals to evaluate defendants when there is a motion by the defense to do so. Judges then consider the reports, along with their own observations, to determine if defendants are competent.

If both evaluations reach the same conclusion, Owens said, it is usually excepted. When there are split opinions, a third evaluation is typically sought.

Owens said that is what he will ask for at Loving's court hearing next Friday .

"Now there is a very real concern that maybe he isn't competent," Owens said.

Although much of the reports are based on the defendant's mental health and medical records, obtained through the court, psychologists typically visit defendants to interview and test them too.

"We do not have evidence he met with the defendant in this case," Hermann said.

Hermann said he anticipated filing additional charges against Fink as the investigation unfolded.

"We thought it was important to file charges quickly in this case," he said.

Fink was one of two psychologists appointed by Vanderburgh Circuit Court to make reports used to determine if Loving was competent to stand trial.

Loving, 26, is accused of setting fire to his Evansville apartment and then taking a bag of explosives to a nearby fast-food restaurant. He is charged with possession of a destructive device or explosive; arson; criminal recklessness; and false informing. Owens argued that Loving should be found not guilty by reason of mental disease or defect.

Magistrate Kelli Fink (no relation to Albert Fink) granted a motion for mistrial Wednesday, the third day of Loving's trial, after the accuracy of the psychologist's report was questioned and he was unavailable to testify.

Loving is accused of starting an early-morning fire at Sugar Mill Creek Townhomes on North Green River Road on July 23, 2015. He then entered a nearby McDonald's several hours later and was arrested without incident as he sat at a table. Next to him was an open bag with what police said were two homemade bombs and a hatchet, according to his arrest affidavit.

Albert Fink has been licensed to practice psychology in Indiana since 1973, according to state licensing records, which list his address as Bloomington, Indiana. However, he has operated offices in Vincennes, Indiana, and Evansville.

A phone number associated with his Evansville office has been disconnected and the doors of that office  which has his name on the door were locked Wednesday morning.
SHARE Brett Sprinkle

By Shannon Hall of the Courier and Press

The town of Newburgh won't re-hire its former police chief.

Brett Sprinkle, who resigned last week on the final day of an unpaid suspension, can't be re-hired by the town in any position, according to a separation agreement between the town and Sprinkle.

Read the PDF: Separation Agreement

"Sprinkle agrees not to apply for any position with Newburgh or any affiliated entity at the any time in the future," the agreement states.

Sprinkle was suspended in July for "work performance issues," Newburgh Police Merit Commission President Tonya McGuire said last week.

"Since it was a personnel issue, we won't be commenting further, other than to wish him well," McGuire said Friday.

The Courier & Press obtained the separation agreement through an Indiana Access to Public Records Act request.

The agreement also states that the town will provide a "neutral response" to any employer references.

"Such a neutral reference will acknowledge the period of his employment with Newburgh, his title, and the responsibilities of his position without further comment," the agreement states.

Sprinkle was paid 185 hours of accrued personal time off, which totaled at $5,692.45. According to Indiana Gateway, Sprinkle's total compensation for 2015 was about $70,000.

The Newburgh Police Merit Commission will meet at 4 p.m. Monday in a public meeting. Nothing was schedule on the agenda about hiring a new police chief.

The police commission appointed Eric Mitchell as acting police chief after accepting Sprinkle's resignation.

"It has been an honor to serve the citizens of Newburgh for the last 20 years," Sprinkle wrote in a resignation letter dated July 27. "I would like to thank everyone for the support of my family and I have received during my tenure, and I hope the community continues to support the Newburgh Police Department."
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By John Martin of the Courier and Press

The No-Ruz Grotto building at 911 SE 2nd St. has a new owner who hopes to find tenants seeing potential in its history and character.

Owner Warren Investment Group LLC is hosting an open house from 6-9 p.m. Friday, to coincide with First Friday festivities at Haynie's Corner. The Honey Vines will perform, and Just Rennie's will serve refreshments.

The structure was built in 1868 by James Shackelford, an attorney who became a general in the Union Army. Born in Kentucky, Shackelford moved to Evansville in 1864 and resumed his law practice. He died in 1907.

A subsequent owner sold the building in 1912 to a men's social club, which built a small theater onto the original home. It was sold to No-Ruz Grotto in 1941, who owned it until the Warren family's recent purchase.

The family has been removing some nonhistorical features, such as drop ceilings and carpet. It has a kitchen area, and the theater remains. Original hardwood floors also are in place, although they remain covered in most of the building.

Warren family spokesman Otha Warren said plans for the building are still unknown.

"We'd love to see a fantastic restaurant and bar, see the theater utilized in some way  a wedding reception place, a stage for bands, open mic night, comedy night, we're open to all different types of things," Warren said.

For now, Warren said his family hopes the community will stop by and give the No-Ruz Grotto a look.

"We'd love to lease it to great restaurateur, bar operation. But we're open to ideas. It needs a spectacular operator to match the uniqueness of the property itself."
City-County Councilman Zach Adamson

(Photo: Michelle Pemberton/IndyStar 2014 file photo)

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By Tony Cook / USA Today Netowrk/ The Indianapolis Star

A special prosecutor has decided charges are not warranted against City-County Councilman Zach Adamson after a 19-year-old man accused him of rape.

From the beginning, we have maintained that the allegations against me were false, Adamson said in a statement. We are pleased that after 7 weeks of extensive investigation by the police, they have come to the same conclusion.

Chief Deputy Prosecutor Tami Napier of Marshall County said she spent about a week reviewing information police had gathered, listening to interviews and conferring with detectives in the case.

I determined criminal charges were not merited based on the information we had, she said.

Napier was appointed to the case after Marion County Prosecutor Terry Curry requested a special prosecutor, citing his personal and professional relationship with Adamson.

Adamsons accuser did not respond Thursday to a request for comment. IndyStar typically does not identify victims or alleged victims of sexual crimes.

The accuser filed a report with the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department on June 20. He told police the incident happened last September.

In a protective order petition filed in June, the man described Adamson as a family friend and father figure. He said Adamson sexually assaulted him during an overnight stay at a house shared by Adamson and his husband after volunteering for Adamson's re-election campaign.

Adamson strongly denied the allegation in June, calling it a political stunt.

The first openly gay councilman in the citys history, Adamson last year was elected to a second term in a landslide. In January, he was appointed vice president, the No. 2 position on the council. The Democrat also chairs the Public Works Committee. He represents District 17, which includes much of the east side and an eastern sliver of Downtown.

We look forward to putting this behind us so we can get back to the important work of improving the quality of life for the people of the 17th District and across Indianapolis, Adamson said.

IndyStar reporter Jill Disis contributed to this story.
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From his monastery in Poland, Kolbe published multiple religious journals, reminding readers that those goose-stepping assholes hassling Jews for existing really ought to go screw. The Nazis arrested him, but as soon as he was released, he went back to his anti-Nazi literature and started sheltering hundreds of Jews on top of that. There's poking the bear, and then there's continually slamming a barbed-wire bat into its skull.

As a result, Kolbe was arrested again and shipped off to Auschwitz, where he was beaten mercilessly for preaching to prisoners (which he kept doing). Two months later, angry about an escapee, Auschwitz guards randomly selected 15 prisoners for death by starvation and dehydration. None of them took the news well, including Polish army member Franciszek Gajowniczek, who implored guards to spare him for the sake of his wife and children. That's when Kolbe stood up and offered to take the man's place. The stunned guards allowed it, because they don't cover these types of situations in Nazi school.

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"How dare you volunteer for the death bunker?! Off to the death bunker with you!"

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And then Kolbe ... didn't die. Despite three weeks without food or water and most of his bunkermates dropping dead around him, Kolbe lingered on, just to piss off his captors some more. Finally, the Nazis lost their patience and injected him with carbolic acid, because this guy was pulling a full Rasputin on their asses. In the end, Gajowniczek died in 1995 at the ripe old age of 94, and Kolbe was canonized in 1982 as St. Maximilian "Stone" Kolbe.
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Cognizant Transfers $2.8B To The U.S. And Other Nations To Fund Acquisitions Around Next-Gen Technologies

Michael Novinson

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Cognizant has remitted $2.8 billion from India to other countries - including the United States - to pursue acquisitions in the digital, consulting and platform spaces.

"Digital is a broad area that has a lot of wind under its wings," Cognizant CEO Francisco D'Souza said during an earnings call Friday. "The world is becoming more technologically intensive, not less technologically intensive."

The Teaneck, N.J.-based company, No. 7 on CRN's Solution Provider 500 list, saw sales in the second quarter ended June 30 increase by 9.2 percent from $3.09 billion last year to $3.37 billion this year. That was in line with Seeking Alpha projections.

[RELATED: Cognizant Buys 170-Person Behavioral Research And Design Firm]

Net income, however, fell 39.9 percent from $420.1 million last year to $252.4 million (41 cents per share) this year, due to the repatriation of cash from India to the U.S. in May. On a non-GAAP basis, though, net income improved from 79 cents per share last year to 87 cents per share this year, beating Seeking Alpha estimates of 82 cents per share.

Wall Street reacted favorably to the results, sending Cognizant's stock up 2.2 percent to $60.04 per share shortly after noon Friday. Earnings were announced before the market opened Friday.

Cognizant remitted $2.8 billion of cash from India in May, transferring $1.2 billion  or $1 billion net of taxes  to the United States and $1.6 billion to other parts of the world. Cognizant's principal operating subsidiary in India repurchased shares from shareholders, which are non-Indian Cognizant entities, resulting in the $2.8 billion in cash in India.

The company wants to deploy the cash effectively to grow its business, particularly as it relates to ramping up the volume of mergers and acquisitions, chief financial officer Karen McLoughlin said during the earnings call.

Cognizant is actively examining acquisition opportunities that will allow the company to expand its industry expertise, geographic footprint, service lines or technical capabilities, President Gordon Coburn said during the earnings call.

Specifically, Coburn said there's a healthy pipeline of smaller, tuck-in acquisitions in the digital space and across several industries in the consulting space, as well as opportunities to strengthen its geographic footprint in Europe.

Cognizant is looking to pick up the pace of small, tuck-in acquisitions since the company has become good at integrating and capturing value from these deals, Coburn said. The company has made six investments in the digital space, D'Souza said, including July's acquisition of behavioral research and design firm Idea Couture and April's purchase of a stake in human sciences consultancy ReD Associates.

Although Cognizant's core growth in the digital space will be organic, Coburn said expanding the size of the team through acquisitions will supplement existing capabilities and make Cognizant stronger in the marketplace.

Cognizant will also continue to look at platform acquisitions such as its $2.7 billion purchase of Englewood, Colo.-based health care IT provider TriZetto, which was announced in September 2014. Coburn said platform acquisitions won't take place at such a regular pace, but the company will nonetheless continue to look at potential targets to cement its leadership position in the area.

The $1.6 billion of cash taken out of India to other overseas locations will be used for non-U.S. acquisitions or brought to the U.S. during future repatriation opportunities, Coburn said.

Cognizant's financial services segment enjoyed 8.1 percent year-over-year sales growth to $1.35 billion as the company helped insurance clients transform their claims and underwriting processes through managed services or other outcome-based arrangements, Rajeev Mehta, CEO of Cognizant's IT services practice, said during the earnings call.

Healthcare segment sales grew by 6.9 percent to $958.8 million, although growth in the number of life sciences clients leveraging Cognizant's cloud platforms and advanced data analytics was tempered by consolidation in the U.S. payer industry, driving down sales there. Cognizant is optimistic about its healthcare practice in the long run as clients need to drive efficiencies and adapt to regulatory and technological changes, Coburn said.

Sales for Cognizant's retail, manufacturing and logistics segment soared by 14.2 percent to $660.4 million thanks to Internet of Things (IoT) implementations across organizations and the optimization of data to address key business problems and drive revenue growth, Coburn said.

Sales from all other operations improved by 11.2 percent to $399.5 million and was driven by demand from telecom and technology clients for a wide range of support services, Coburn said.

Cognizant's North American sales increased 8.3 percent to $2.62 billion, Coburn said, while European sales jumped by 8.9 percent to $547.2 million, thanks to recent contract wins in Germany and the Nordics. Revenue from the rest of the world soared by 25 percent to $198.6 million thanks to strength in Singapore, India and Australia, Coburn said.

For the current (third) quarter, Cognizant expects to deliver non-GAAP earnings per share between 82 cents and 85 cents on sales ranging between $3.43 billion and $3.47 billion. Analysts had been projecting earnings of 86 cents per share on revenue of $3.54 billion.
Security News

CompuCom Launches Real-Time Threat Management Solution Via Cloud, With Intel's Help

Jimmy Sheridan

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CompuCom is expanding its managed security services through a new partnership with Intel that will allow the $1.9 billion systems integrator to deliver McAfee Enterprise Security Manager (ESM) as a fully cloud-hosted and delivered security information and event management (SIEM) service.

CompuCom, based in Dallas, will deploy McAfee ESM as its SIEM service via its custom delivery platform, which the company built on Intel's McAfee ePo Deep Command security offering.

The new offering is CompuCom's first security solution that provides real-time threat management, and according to Richard Steranka, Intel Security's head of global channel operations, building on Compucom's more traditional, network management offerings.

[Related: CompuCom Brings Artificial Intelligence To Midmarket Data Centers With Breakthrough Cloud-Based Managed Service ]

"It is really sort of a new service that we are offering here. We are pivoting off of the traditional network management services that [CompuCom] has been doing and moving more into proactive, real-time threat management," he said, "As [Compucom] begins to get more into security, it begins to move away from managing devices and managing logs to actually doing threat management as threats are reported, and not just reporting on it, but actually working on corrections after the detections occur. "

The technology allows CompuCom to provide real-time threat management on servers and desktops, either virtual or physical, and either on premise or in the cloud.

And because the service is delivered and hosted in the cloud, it will enable the company to provide what was once an expensive on premise-only service to a larger number of mid-sized and SMB clients, according to Steranka.

"Ultimately it's about ... moving towards being proactive," George Karidis, executive vice president and president of CompuComs Cloud Technology Services, told CRN. "We are looking for the best solution always and we believe that it is the right solution for our client base.  This is going to be big for us and our clients."

However, according to Steranka, the solution is only part of a fully integrated security management platform that the two companies are beginning to build together.

"This is really the first phase of a plan that we have to deliver a highly scalable threat analysis and threat management platform for them," he said.

The two companies will also supplement CompuCom's managed security solutions offerings with products that will help end users with protecting endpoints, data and the infrastructure.

In the end, Steranka said that Intel hopes to tie all those solutions together into a platform that will act as a one-stop shop for end users seeking managed security services.

"We are very excited about this relationship and the potential value that it offers for our mutual clients. I think this is a sign of a transition happening in the overall security landscape. More customers are demanding services from their vendors and delivery partners," he said.

Karidis said CompuCom is working on building more SaaS-like offerings in server monitoring and management.
To celebrate 180 years of globetrotting adventures since 1837, P&O Cruises has launched a come celebrate with us promotion for 2017 with extra onboard spending money for bookings made by September 30, 2016.

Valid on outside cabins and above, the special offer is available on a range of so-called Select Price holidays departing November 2016 to August 2017 and includes short breaks, school holidays, Christmas and New Year escapes as well as fly-cruises across the globe.

The extra onboard spending money can be used for spa treatments, specialty restaurants, wine tastings or in the ships shops.

Holiday options in the promotion include: Mediterranean fly-cruise: Select Prices start from 799 per person for a seven-night Croatia and Italy fly-cruise on Oceana departing April 27, 2017with up to 150 per outside cabin onboard spend. Departing from and returning to Malta, ports of call include Split, Venice, Ravenna and Dubrovnik.

Spain, Portugal & France ex-UK cruise: Select Prices start from 999 per person for a 12-night Spain, Portugal & France cruise on Oriana departing April 11, 2017 with up to 250 per outside cabin on board spend. Departing from and returning to Southampton, ports of call include Santander, El Ferrol, Oporto, Cadiz, Gibraltar, Lisbon and La Rochelle.


Following what it called an intensive, six-month evaluation, Crystal Cruises has announced  as was predicted by Cruise Industry News  that it has dropped its plans to rebuild and reintroduce the SS United States into service.

According to Crystal, while the SS United States is structurally sound, the technical and commercial challenges associated with returning the historic liner to service as a modern cruise ship have proven insurmountable.

As a show of support for the vessel, Crystal said it will be making a significant donation of $350,000 to aid in the Conservancys ongoing mission to save the ship. The Conservancy intends to resume its pursuit of stationary redevelopment opportunities.

In February, Crystal and the SS United States Conservancy announced they had entered into an exclusive option agreement with the goal of converting the iconic 1950s-era vessel into a modern, luxury cruise ship that would comply with all modern safety and technical standards  which would have been unprecedented for a single vessel refurbishment. Crystal said it commenced a comprehensive feasibility study and professional evaluation, convening a world-class team of engineers and experts while incurring over $1 million in costs.

Meanwhile, Crystal also gained valuable publicity.

While it has been determined that Crystals exciting vision for the ship would have required overcoming various technical hurdles and major changes to her historic design, the studies performed have confirmed the ship is structurally sound, said Susan Gibbs, executive director of the SS United States Conservancy. Americas Flagship continues to hold enormous potential as a stationary mixed-use development and museum in New York or another urban waterfront setting. The SS United States Conservancy remains deeply committed to saving this unique and powerful symbol of the nations strength, history, and innovation.

Led by retired U.S. Coast Guard Rear Admiral Tim Sullivan, Crystals team of maritime experts and engineers conducted numerous assessments on the ship in the Port of Philadelphia, where it has been docked for 20 years. The evaluation and testing included in-depth assessments of the ships structural condition; underwater inspections of the hull by divers; the examination of her fuel and salt water ballasting tanks; and a series of intensive engineering studies to deduce what would be needed to bring her back into service.

According to Crystal, the technical feasibility study regrettably concluded that while the ship is remarkably intact and structurally sound, modifying the ship for todays standards for oceangoing service (SOLAS) would require significant changes to the hull that would pose stability challenges. Additionally, the installation of a modern, state-of-the-art diesel electric propulsion plant would have necessitated altering of the existing shaft lines and rebuilding about 25 percent of the hull to reconfigure the ship to a twin shaft-twin rudder arrangement. While it was known that the vessel would need to have been essentially rebuilt from the inside out, these specific challenges, among others, collectively posed significant risk to the success of the project.

Our company has great affection for this historic and irreplaceable vessel, and we will be making a $350,000 donation which will help support the Conservancy preserve the vessel through the remainder of the year, said Edie Rodriguez, president and COO of Crystal. We firmly believe the SS United States is an American treasure and deserves to be preserved and redeveloped as a stationary destination for future generations to experience and enjoy.
A new technique allows attackers to hide malicious code inside digitally signed files without breaking their signatures and then to load that code directly into the memory of another process.

The attack method, developed by Tom Nipravsky, a researcher with cybersecurity firm Deep Instinct, might prove to be a valuable tool for criminals and espionage groups in the future, allowing them to get malware past antivirus scanners and other security products.

The first part of Nipravsky's research, which was presented at the Black Hat security conference in Las Vegas this week, has to do with file steganography -- the practice of hiding data inside a legitimate file.

While malware authors have hidden malicious code or malware configuration data inside pictures in the past, Nipravsky's technique stands out because it allows them to do the same thing with digitally signed files. That's significant because the whole point of digitally signing a file is to guarantee that it comes from a particular developer and hasn't been altered en route.

If an executable file is signed, information about its signature is stored in its header, inside a field called the attribute certificate table (ACT) that's excluded when calculating the file's hash -- a unique string that serves as a cryptographic representation of its contents.

This makes sense because the digital certificate information is not part of the original file at the time when it is signed. It's only added later to certify that the file is configured as intended by its creator and has a certain hash.

However, this means that attackers can add data, including another complete file inside the ACT field, without changing the file hash and breaking the signature. Such an addition will modify the overall file size on disk, which includes its header fields, and this file size is checked by Microsoft's Authenticode technology when validating a file signature.

However, the file size is specified in three different places inside the file header and two of those values can be modified by an attacker without breaking the signature. The problem is that Authenticode checks those two modifiable file size entries and doesn't check the third one.

According to Nipravsky, this is a design logic flaw in Authenticode. Had the technology checked the third, unmodifiable file size value, attackers wouldn't be able to pull off this trick and still keep the file signature valid, he said.

The malicious data added to the ACT is not loaded into memory when the modified file itself is executed because it's part of the header, not the file body. However, the ACT can serve as a hiding place to pass a malicious file undetected past antivirus defenses.

For example, attackers could add their malicious code to one of the many Microsoft-signed Windows system files or to a Microsoft Office file. Their signatures would still be valid and the files functional.

Moreover, most security applications whitelist these files because they're signed by trusted publisher Microsoft to avoid false positive detections that could delete critical files and crash the system.

The second part of Nipravsky's research was to develop a stealthy way to load the malicious executable files hidden inside signed files without being detected. He reverse engineered the whole behind-the-curtain process that Windows performs when loading PE files to memory. This procedure is not publicly documented because developers don't typically need to do this themselves; they rely on the OS for file execution.

It took four months of eight-hours-per-day work, but Nipravsky's reverse engineering efforts allowed him to create a so-called reflective PE loader: an application that can load portable executables directly into the system memory without leaving any traces on disk. Because the loader uses the exact process that Windows does, it's difficult for security solutions to detect its behavior as suspicious.

Nipravsky's loader can be used as part of a stealthy attack chain, where a drive-by download exploit executes a malware dropper in memory. The process then downloads a digitally signed file with malicious code in its ACT from a server and then loads that code directly into memory.

The researcher has no intention of releasing his loader publicly because of its potential for abuse. However, skilled hackers could create their own loader if they're willing to put in the same effort.

The researcher tested his reflective PE loader against antivirus products and managed to execute malware those products would have otherwise detected.

In a demo, he took a ransomware program that one antivirus product normally detected and blocked, added it to the ACT of a digitally signed file, and executed it with the reflective PE loader.

The antivirus product only detected the ransom text file created by the ransomware program after it had already encrypted all of the user's files. In other words, too late.

Even if attackers don't have Nipravsky's reflective PE loader, they can still use the steganography technique to hide malware configuration data inside legitimate files or even to exfiltrate data stolen from organizations. Data hidden inside a digitally signed file would likely pass network-level traffic inspection systems without problems.
BRIDGEPORTWhile Republican presidential nominee Donald J. Trump is pledging to deport immigrants as a centerpiece of his campaign, two fellow New York billionaires are making the case for letting them stay.

Led by former New York City Mayor Micheal Bloomberg and News Corp. Chairman Rupert Murdoch, The Partnership for a New American Economy initiative dubbed Reasons for Reform aims to resuscitate legislation that would provide a pathway to legal status for an estimated 11 million immigrants in the U.S. without legal permission.

On Wednesday, the group held a teleconference and Digital Day Of Action focused on Connecticut, and released aggregated research on the states immigrant population.

The report estimates that around 130,000 immigrants live in Connecticut without legal permission. Thats about 4 percent of the population.

In 2014, such workers made up nearly one-fifth of the labor in certain industries  17 percent of hotel and restaurant workers, 15 percent of administrative employees and 14 percent of those in the construction.

Broadening the discussion

The business focus of the group and its founders adds another facet to pro-immigrant advocacy efforts, whose Latino- and Asian-focused groups often dominate headlines and direct action on human rights issues related to immigration.

Unfortunately, one of the ways in which we can move our argument better is by having those people who can cater to the needs of, you know, white male Republicans, said Julio Lopez Varona, lead organizer of the Bridgeport-based Make the Road CT, who is from Puerto Rico. In that sense, its definitely a welcome voice to the discussion.

On Capital Hill, Politico reporter Seung Min Kim described The Partnership for a New American Economy initiative as giving cover to GOP lawmakers on the issue, which has split the GOP between Trump supporters who want to get tough on immigration and party leaders who want to diversify electoral outreach.

I understand why some Republicans might want to loosen up on immigration laws, said Mike Garrett, Chairman of the Bridgeport Republican Party. Its based on expediency, that they want to somehow reach out to Hispanic voters, those Hispanic ethnic groups that tend to exploit the open borders of the U.S.

Those groups, he pointed out, do not include Puerto Ricans, who are U.S. citizens and the largest group of Hispanics in Bridgeport.

An argument could be made that the Puerto Rican people are victimized by the liberalization of immigration laws, that an illegal immigrant can take advantage of the markets and underbid an African American or a Puerto Rican and put people like this out of business, Garrett said.

Disagreement about jobs

He agreed with with New American Economy proposals to maintain or expand temporary agricultural visas, yet he views other jobs as something closer to a zero sum game.

Like Trump, Garrett is skeptical of H1-B visas for foreign workers. According to the New American Economy report, the top cities for H-1B visas in Connecticut are Hartford, Stamford and Danbury, in that order.

In Garretts view, there are only so many jobs to go around.

I see America as a lifeboat, He said. You have people in the lifeboat; when you get too many people in the lifeboat the entire lifeboat will sink and everyone will parish. We cant get into a situation like that.

Immigration advocates disagree.

There are a lot of jobs that Americans cannot or will not do, said New American Economy Executive Director Jeremy Robbins, from New York in a phone interview. In the very short term there might be a few people who get jobs. But (reducing competition in the labor force) is highly destructive in a globalized economy.

While he welcomed the NEAs economic messaging, Lopez Varona cautioned against dividing people based on who is more or less (economically) productive.

Garrett also resisted a purely economic analysis, saying that part of his opposition to immigrants comes from resistance to cultures rooted in the Third World.

In the coming weeks, Connecticut residents might see the NEAs ads, but they wont be on TV. Instead, organizers say, they will target specific groups of media users on Facebook and Twitter.

That social media effort is two-way, not just advocating, but also collecting stories through user-submitted videos that may be recirculated later.

Its unclear how opponents might hit back with their own message.

I can tell you as far as I know there is no organized opposition, said Garrett. I would anticipate, though, that there would be pushback.
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GREENWICH  Thirteen Boy Scouts from Greenwich tested their wilderness skills this summer, roamed over rugged terrain and worked on an environmental restoration project.

They also had a blast, according to Boy Scout leaders who recently returned with them from the mountains of New Mexico, where the Philmont Scout Ranch is located.

Philmont is the pinnacle of the Scouting experience. The Scouts are responsible for the trek while being totally immersed in the wilderness  we got cellphone signal only three times in 12 days  which drives a certain level of leadership, risk management and teamwork that cannot be experienced in any other setting, said Dev Hawley, scoutmaster of Troop 9, in a summarized account of the journey released by the Greenwich Council of the Boy Scouts of America.

Five adults from Greenwich joined the New Mexico trek, which included Scouts from Greenwich Troops 5, 9 and 10. The trek took them through northern New Mexicos Sangre de Cristo Mountains. Two rangers affiliated with the Philmont nature preserve also helped out.

The Scouts prepared for the trip for weeks, learning how to filter impurities from water, first aid, bear safety and other wilderness skills.

Besides a 100-mile journey on foot, the group took part in mountain biking, shooting and horseback riding. The Greenwich Scouts helped rebuild a mountain-bike trail and worked on a historical simulation of the old Cimarron and Northwestern Railroad.

Philmont was an experience that brought out both the strengths and weaknesses in each of us, said Bennett Hawley, a 15-year-old sophomore at Greenwich High School. As a crew, we needed to work around the weaknesses and build upon our strengths. We did that well, leading to a great time at Philmont.

A.J. DeGrado, an 11th-grader at King School in Stamford, said, Even though our endurance was tested daily, we kept it fun.
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BRIDGEPORT  U.S. Postal Service carriers have rolled out a program that makes use of mobile scanners for a new purpose besides noting delivery of your package: They will indicate if you have a dog.

And when you visit the USPS website to schedule a package pickup at your home, a form will ask if a dog lives with you.

Letter carriers dont want to be bitten, and the new measures are designed to protect them.

There were 6,549 carriers attacked last year, a 13 percent increase from 2014, according to data from the postal services Washington headquarters.

The number of attacks is growing because there are more dogs than ever in American homes  70 million  the American Veterinary Medical Association says. And mail carriers are delivering more packages right to doorsteps.

Attacks have little to do with breed, size or temperament, the veterinary group said. They have to do with interactions. A stranger entering a yard or porch sparks a dogs protective instincts. If the stranger then extends a package, a dog may see the motion as threatening to its owner.

Mail carrier Raul Ruiz, who delivers mail on foot during his daily route on the East Side of Bridgeport, said he tries to make friends with the dogs on his route, and so far he hasnt been bitten. He is careful not to put his fingers through a doors mail slot, where a dog could reach them.

Bottom line: Any dog can bite.

Upswing in assaults

The Postal Service has data showing the number of attacks reported last year by 4,018 municipalities nationwide. Houston had the most attacks, 77, followed by San Diego andCleveland, each with 58, and Chicago and Dallas, each with 57.

Bridgeport has reported five dog attacks on postal workers so far in the current fiscal year, which started on the Oct. 1, 2015. Two of the attacks were categorized as serious, according to postal service spokeswoman Christine Dugas.

All carriers go through training, and we teach them to back away, use the satchel as a protector between their body and the dog, and never to stare into the dogs eyes, said Dugas. Carriers have spray on them as a last resort, but we have to protect our employees because some of these incidents are not just punctual wounds, they require multiple surgeries.

In 2014, there were eight attacks recorded in Bridgeport, and in the following year, the number was cut in half to just four incidents.

This issue is important because it can result in litigation or medical reparations, Dugas said. If a dog is loose, we will not just stop delivering to that house, but to the whole block, which means that there is a heavy impact placed on everyone.

You have to expect a dog to be unpredictable, she said.

Steps for consumers

The Postal Service asks homeowners to do two things:

Secure your dog in another room before opening the door to a carrier. Dogs sometimes break through screens and even glass to defend the home.

Teach children not to receive mail from a carrier in front of a dog.

The other thing to know is if a carrier feels threatened by your dog, your mail or packages may not be delivered and you may be asked to pick up your things at the post office. If your dog is loose and acting threatening, your next door neighbors mail and packages will not be delivered, either.

For all their risk taking, letter carriers are still not the most frequent victims of dog attacks.

There are 4.5 million Americans bitten each year, with about one in five requiring medical attention, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Half of the victims are children, who are more likely to be severely injured. Children most often are attacked by dogs they know.

The second most-attacked group is senior citizens, followed by letter carriers.
Section of GAP closed during bridge work

"The last time the bridges were re-decked was in 1995. They have become almost unsafe to be used," said Lindsay Baer.
Boo! What are the scariest spots in Lake County?

The old courthouse. A tea room in Mount Dora. Lake County has several places that are thought to be haunted.
Opinion Wordle

The next day I woke to find myself in a WhatsApp group titled Quordle is Awesome!! A small group of three. There was no getting out of it now.
Cameron has cynically devalued Britains honours system and the House of Lords

To his somewhat slender list of achievements while in office, David Cameron has now added another: the cynical devaluing of Britains honours system and the House of Lords.

Quite frankly, the resignation honours list of his aides, spin doctors, former ministers, donors, and assorted cronies, is a disgrace. Such utter contempt for public opinion shows the most unpleasant side of the ex-PMs character.

In what warped world is Mr Camerons former director of communications Craig Oliver, whose only virtue is that he wasnt Andy Coulson, worthy of a knighthood?

How is George Osborne a substantial enough figure to warrant the Companion of Honour, an award for a select few who made a major contribution to the UK?

There are also knighthoods or lesser honours for ten of Mr Camerons ministers, just one of whom backed Leave, in a clear case of Arise Sir Remain!.

It is far from obvious what Gabby Bertin, a former spin doctor, will bring to the already bloated House of Lords.

Samantha Camerons stylist Isabel Spearman is to receive an OBE, as is Thea Rogers, most famous for changing Mr Osbornes haircut.

Even more difficult to fathom is the CBE for Will Straw, 36, a failed Labour parliamentary candidate who also failed as director of the Britain Stronger in Europe campaign.

Samantha Camerons stylist Isabel Spearman (left) is to receive an OBE, as is Thea Rogers (right), most famous for changing Mr Osbornes haircut

But then this is a chumocracy and sofa government looking after its own in a way which will sicken most people. Indeed, this Dishonours System is corroding public trust in our Parliament.

It is surely time for honours to be dramatically reined in. The House of Lords, which is absurdly overpopulated, should be filled with individuals who have made major contributions in all walks of life, not placemen, cronies and ex-spin doctors.

As Mr Camerons former advisor Steve Hilton asked yesterday, isnt serving in government honour enough? As he rightly argues, this list exposes a very British corruption.

Our nation for sale

Every merger or takeover of a major British company by a foreign firm seems to follow the same depressingly predictable and cynical pattern.

First the deal is announced by grinning executives making solemn pledges that jobs will remain in this country. But after it is signed off by spineless ministers and toothless regulators, their vows are exposed as shameful lies, as jobs go overseas and the same bosses walk off with huge bonuses.

Remember when Kraft bought Cadbury in 2010, it promised to keep open a plant in Bristol, only to move manufacturing to Poland within weeks. It is then little surprise that we learn of the latest betrayal in the 79billion merger between UK-South African brewer SABMiller and a Belgian rival, Anheuser-Busch InBev.

Alan Clark, the boss of beer firm SABMiller, will walk off with 70million as 500 workers lose their jobs

Six days after more than 500 workers were reassured their jobs would remain in the UK, they now learn the posts will move to Belgium. As the Britons collect their P45s, Alan Clark, the boss of SABMiller, is walking off with 70million.

This deal will only increase fears about the proposed sale of ARM, the silicon chip designer, to Japanese firm SoftBank, which all too predictably insists it will retain ARMs headquarters in Britain.

How much can we trust these assurances, especially when the firm appointed to monitor their commitments is the accountants Grant Thornton, so heavily criticised by Parliament for signing off the sale of BHS to serial bankrupt Dominic Chappell?
We'll take the Men's 100m hurdles with extra chilli, please...

As the eyes of the world turn to Rio (and the British summer is predictably a wash out), we are all for adding a little spice to our lives.

The best way to convince yourself youre celebrating on Copacabana Beach and not in your dreary British sitting room is to fill your fridge with mouth-wateringly tropical LatinAmerican delicacies, such as sparkling Caipirinhas, sticky alfajores biccies, pulled pork fejoidas, and juicy empanadas.

After all, just because you cant go to the carnival, doesnt mean the carnival cant come to you. Here are 15 fabulous Latin American foods that win gold for flavour every time. On your marks... get set... go!

1. Dulce de Leche

Salted caramels sexy Latin American cousin, dulce de leche is sticky, gooey, creamy, molten loveliness made by heating condensed milk until it resembles pure, unadulterated heaven. M&S have created a ludicrously delicious Dulce De Leche Honeycomb Cheesecake (210g, 3) as part of their Spirit of Summer range, alongside their Brazilian, all-butter, dulce de leche-stuffed Alfajores biscuits (155g, 2), Dulce de Leche Eclairs (175g, 2.50) and a Banana & Dulce de Leche Slice (170g, 3.50)  a tropical twist on the classic New Orleans pudding, Banana Foster, made with brown sugar cookie dough, dulce de leche, a sponge soaked in dark navy rum and banana liqueur, all layered with banana and vanilla mousse. Yikes. (In a really, really, really good way.)

Brazilian alfajores biscuits, sold in M&S, are all-butter treats sandwiched with dulce de leche

2. Empanadas

If a Cornish pasty travelled to Latin America it would return with a spring in its step, colour in its cheeks, and saucy tales of a holiday romance with a feisty little empanada. These delicate pastry treats can be stuffed with either savoury or sweet fillings, such as meat, cheese, vegetables or fruit. Try M&Ss Handcrafted Sweetcorn Empanadas (120g, 2.80), bursting with black beans and summery freshness.

Empanadas are small pastries stuffed with all sorts of delicious fillings, both sweet and savoury

3. Anticuchos

Anticuchos (ox heart kebabs sizzled on a barbecue), are top dog on the Peruvian street food scene  the ones prepared by chef Grimanesa Vargas in Lima have earned her the nickname La Reina De Corazones (Queen of Hearts). M&S have crafted a slightly, er, milder version for British palates. Their scrumptious Peruvian Style Chicken Kebabs (250g, 4.50), inspired on anticuchos, are tender cubes of chicken thigh glazed with a sticky chilli, garlic and cumin marinade.

4. Malagueta peppers

Latin America is a hotbed (literally) of chilli peppers, including the malagueta, used in Brazil

Try out this scorcher in M&Ss sizzling Spicy Malagueta Chicken Wings (600g, 4)

A hot chilli pepper heavily used in meaty stew cooking throughout the Bahia state of Brazil, the malagueta (Capiscum frutescens malagueta, for those wishing to use its proper, scientific name) is closely related to the birdseye chilli and known as the piri piri pepper in Europe. It scores a whopping 50,000 - 100,000 on the Scoville heat scale, and is up to 40 times hotter than a jalapeno. Try out this scorcher in M&Ss sizzling Spicy Malagueta Chicken Wings (600g, 4), Spicy Malagueta Chilli Dip (170g, 1.50, heaven with cooling cucumber), Malagueta Chilli Hot Sauce (150ml, 1.85), and Malagueta Pulled Chicken Soft Corn Taco (2.80). Pra caramba!

5. Huacatay

Also known as Peruvian black mint, this indispensable Andean herb is a fundamental part of cooking all over Peru. A cousin of the marigold, its aromatic leaves are ground into a deep, flavoursome paste whose taste sits fruitily between tarragon, mint, lime and sweet basil  a wonderfully a refreshing counterpoint to chilli heat and other spices. Taste it in M&Ss Cooling Mint Yoghurt Dip (170g, 1.50), which provides the perfect dunk for their spicy, Peruvian Style Chicken Kebabs.

M&S have used Peruvian black mint 'huacatay' in their Cooling Mint dip, left, and chipotle chilli peppers, right, in plenty of their other Spirit of Summer range

6. Chipotle

You cant turn around in Mexico without knocking into someone pushing a cartload full of wrinkly little chipotle chillis: smoke-dried jalapeno peppers. Invented by the Aztecs who smoked ripe red jalapenos as a means of preservation, chipotles are now used to flavour sauces, stews, soups, salsas and meat marinades. Typically mild in spiciness but rich in deep, smoky, earthy, somewhat chocolatey savouriness, chipotles can be tasted in M&Ss Spirit of Summer Chipotle Chilli, Chia & Nigella Seed Flatbread (120g, 2.50); Chipotle, Broccoli and Cauliflower Cous Cous (155g, 2); and even their Mexican Chipotle Chilli & Ecuadorian Dark Chocolate Cookies (255g, 2).

Chipotle is used as a deep smoky flavouring across M&S's new Spirit of Summer range

7. Quinoa

Quinoa - which is actually a seed - has been used by M&S inventively as a crumb for their Quinoa & Turmeric Potato Wedges (550g, 3.75)

Before becoming the darling of the #eatclean brigade, this ancient grain was the darling of the Andean people of Peru and Bolivia as early as 5,000 BC. Spanish invaders of Latin America called it the wheat of the Incas. Curiously, quinoa (pronounced keen-wah) isnt actually a grain, its a seed, and belongs to the same family as beetroot and spinach. Similar to amaranth and buckwheat, quinoa is gluten-free, easy to digest, rich in protein and vitamin B, and has a nutty, earthy flavour. Delicious in salads, M&S have used it in a Rainforest Supergrain & Avocado Salad (160g, 2) with brazil nuts and a mango and Amarillo chilli dressing, as well as inventively as a crumb for their Quinoa & Turmeric Potato Wedges (550g, 3.75).

M&S have used the ancient Aztec grain quinoa in their avocado and Brazil nut salad

8. Sweetcorn

Sweetcorn is a seriously versatile vegetable, husk can even be used as a cooking pot  just try M&Ss fresh, bright, lime-zesty Seabass In A Corn Husk (281g, 7)

Yellow, black, purple, crunchy, soft, chargrilled, steamed, floured, buttery, spicy... Sweetcorn comes in many guises, and we love every darn one. A versatile cooking staple across Latin America, sweetcorn is ground into flour for the crunchiest nacho chips and the softest tortilla wraps imaginable, mingled with chillies and onions to make salsa, scorched quickly into popcorn or deep-fried as a fritter. Heck, the husk can even be used as a cooking pot  just try M&Ss fresh, bright, lime-zesty Seabass In A Corn Husk (281g, 7). Were addicted to M&Ss new Sweetcorn Fritter Wrap (2.50), and their Monterey Jack Refried Bean Corn Chips (150g, 1.50) dunked in Charred Sweetcorn Salsa (210g, 250). Mmmmm, double sweetcorn.

9. Coconut

Coconut doesn't always have to be virtuous... why not indulge in M&S's decadently creamy Chocolate & Coconut Slice (3.50, 165g)?

Britains love affair with the coconut doesnt end with coconut water  we want it in our cereals, our curries, our cakes, our biscuits, our smoothies, our soups, our snack boxes and even our shampoos. Technically a stone fruit (a drupe) not a nut, youve only got to glimpse one of these hairy, tropical, super-nutritious beasts to find yourself instantly transported to a white sand paradise.

Marks & Spencer have now brought out a refreshing Guava & Lime Caipirinha Sparkling Fizz (750ml, 6)

So lets gobble more! M&Ss Jalapeno, Key Lime & Coconut Cashews (180g, 3.50) are a great new way to snack on coconut  and they would go terrifically with an ice-cold glass of Coconut & Lime Rum (50cl, 14) or Costa Rican Pineapple & Coconut Water Sparkling Presse (750ml, 2). Maybe followed by a decadently creamyChocolate & Coconut Slice (3.50, 165g).

10. Guava

Proclaimed the ultimate superfood in 2011 after scientists found it contained a higher concentration of antioxidants than any other edible, the guava is up there with the coconut, the papaya and the mango when it comes to lending dishes a totally tropical taste.

Tricky to track down in the UK (unless in Rubicons guava juice drink), Marks & Spencer have now brought out a sticky BBQ Guava Ketchup (300g, 2), a refreshing Guava & Lime Caipirinha Sparkling Fizz (750ml, 6), and a Pineapple, Guava & Granadilla Jelly (560g, 3.50).

Now, where did I put my hammock?

Guava is up there with the coconut, the papaya and the mango when it comes to lending dishes a totally tropical taste

11. Watermelon

Watermelon is 2016s hippest fruit, thanks to Beyonce proclaiming her love for WTRMLN WTR from the rooftops. Several other companies have jumped aboard the cold-pressed watermelon juice wagon, including What A Melon, all insistent that watermelon is even more hydrating and electrolyte-boosting than coconut water. Which is fine by us, since were rather partial to Marks & Spencers new Mexican-inspired Watermelon & Lime Agua Fresca (750ml, 2.20), a fruity, refreshing, sparkle of a drink, and heavenly when shaken over ice. (Even more heavenly when shaken over ice and a shot of tequila...)

12. Tacos

Thomasina Miers won Masterchef in 2005, thanks to her adventurous take on Mexican food, later going on to open Wahaca, a chain of Mexican eateries, famed for their spectacular tacos. In homage to Mexicos street food dining scene, M&S have launched a line of taco treats, including a Malagueta Pulled Chicken Soft Corn Taco (2.80), laden with tomato and black bean salsa and coriander mayonnaise.

M&S have launched a line of taco treats, including a Malagueta Pulled Chicken Soft Corn Taco (2.80), laden with tomato and black bean salsa and coriander mayonnaise

13. Ancho chilli

A dried poblano chilli, the ancho is a Mexican flavour staple originating from the state of Puebla. Mild, sweet and fruity, ancho chillis add depth to sauces and stews. Taste it for yourself in Marks & Spencers scrumptious Ancho Squash & Guacamole Soft Corn Taco (2.60), or their Ancho Chilli Pulled Pork Pastry Taco (140g, 2.20).

Dragon Fruit & Watermelon lollies

14. Chocolate

The cocoa bean has been bringing people all over the world happiness for thousands of years, and for that Mexico  its first home  deserves a big pat on the back. Huge. Enormous. And this summer, to make chocolate even more celebratory of Latino culture, M&S have crafted a Single Origin Dominican Milk Chocolate loaded with Jalapeno Chilli Tortilla Chips (45g, 4). Yep, tortilla chips. Jalapeno chilli ones. Not a typo. Because jalapeno chilli tortilla chip chocolate is the new salted caramel. Trust us.

15. Dragon Fruit
Mothers-to-be are often told about the benefits of breastfeeding their newborns, but no one really talks about what women can expect doing it for the first time.

However, celebrity mums are now speaking out as part of a new campaign to debunk the myths and create realistic expectations.

Claire Sweeney, Giovanna Fletcher and Izzy Judd are just some of the women stepping forward for the #counto10 initiative.

Giovanna Fletcher, pictured with the couple's second son Buddy Bob, said: 'I wish I'd have known that it would take time and patience to get it right. It took eight weeks for me to stop having to squeeze my butt cheeks together every time my son latched on'

Mother-of-two Giovanna, an author who is married to McFly frontman Tom, admits the pain for her was so severe she had to clench her butt cheeks together every time her son latched on

It was launched by breastfeeding brand Medela, and aims to alleviate feelings of inadequacy associated with breastfeeding.

From clenching your butt cheeks to deal with the pain and a 'torture'-like sleep deprivation, the mothers reveal their toughest breastfeeding moments as part of the initiative launched by breastfeeding brand Medela.

Mother-of-two Giovanna, an author who has two children - Buddy, two, and Buzz, four months - with husband McFly frontman Tom, admits the pain for her was so severe she had to clench her butt cheeks together every time her son latched on.

'I wish I'd have known that it would take time and patience to get it right. It took eight weeks for me to stop having to squeeze my butt cheeks together every time my son latched on.

Claire Sweeney, pictured with her four-year-old son Jaxon, says she wishes she had been warned about the 'immense pain' of feeding

'But then suddenly it all fell into place. We both knew what we were doing, and it became effortless.'

Claire Sweeney, mother to four-year-old Jaxon, admits: 'I wish I had known about the immense pain of the first few days of feeding... leading onto the immense pleasure.'

But for the actress, the pain was worth it, describing breastfeeding as 'pleasure like I have never known in my life'.

'It created such a bond with my boy. I even get jealous when I see mothers still feeding,' she admits.

Francesca Hornak, journalist and author of Worry With Mother: 101 Neuroses For The Modern Mama admits: 'I wish that midwives and NCT would stop saying "If breastfeeding hurts you're doing it wrong," as I, and nearly every mother I know, found that it does hurt at first, even when you're doing it right!

'It wouldn't have put me off to know this, but it would have been better to be warned (also I wouldn't have panicked that I was doing it wrong, when I wasn't).

She adds: 'Women still opt for natural births, knowing that labour will hurt, so it's unnecessary and patronising to presume they won't try to breastfeed if they're warned it will hurt at first.'

Izzy Judd, pictured with husband McFly's Harry Judd whilst pregnant with daughter Lola, now six months, says her experience of feeding was even harder than giving birth

Izzy Judd, who is married to McFly's husband Harry Judd and who gave birth to daughter Lola six months ago, reveals her experience of feeding was even harder than giving birth.

'Breastfeeding has been harder for me than the labour, yet I had no idea this would be the case,' she admits.

'Learn how to get a good latch and don't be afraid to take baby off if the latch is painful. If at first you don't succeed try try try again.

Know that you can and ask for support and help. Don't be afraid to say if you feel it really isn't the best thing for you and your baby but don't give in if you don't want to

'Once it settles down the quiet moments in the middle of the night make it all worthwhile.'

Her best piece of advice: 'Keep a cabbage in the fridge and get a good nipple cream!'

Women say that putting a cold cabbage leaf in their bra after feeding as a pain relief.

Smooth FM radio presenter Nicola Bon, who is pregnant with her second child, says she struggled with breastfeeding and ended up expressing for 6 months.

'On reflection, I truly believe that with the right support from the right people around you and much self belief and inner strength, breastfeeding is possible and once it clicks, which it so often does, you'll never look back,' she says.

Parenting blogger Harriet Shearsmith contributed: 'Expect pain and expect moments when you think you can't do this.

'Know that you can and ask for support and help. Don't be afraid to say if you feel it really isn't the best thing for you and your baby but don't give in if you don't want to.'

Francesca Hornak (left) auhtors of Worry With Mother: 101 Neuroses for the Modern Mama and Lily Canter (right), lecturer at Sheffield Hallam University have both admit feeding was tough

'Though it is the most natural thing in the world, it's not the easiest and, like everything, takes time to learn and perfect.

'Your baby has to learn to latch, learn to suck and your body has to adjust.

Dr Lily Canter, a lecturer at Sheffield Hallam University warns mothers that the sleep deprivation when you are breastfeeding 'will probably be worse than you ever imagined and at times it may feel like actual torture'.

She says: 'Waking every 90 minutes or so all through the night to feed is immensely tough.

'But it is important to know that it won't last forever and just when you think you can't take it anymore things will get better.

'Once your baby is able to soothe itself to sleep around 6 months old your world will change completely. Hang on in there.'

Mother-of-three Heledd Lavender, who writes parenting blog, Running in Lavender advises mums to ditch the bra for the first few weeks after giving birth.

Reality check: Clench your butt cheeks, expect pain and know that the ensuing sleep deprivation will feel like 'torture' are just some of the nuggets of wisdom mothers have shared to help prepare pregnant women for the reality of breastfeeding

'If your nipples are sore, simply wear a super loose t-shirt, this'll help them breath and heal quicker,' she says.

'If your nipples are cracked and the pain is just too much (as it can be) express your milk for a few days, this will give your body (and nipples) a chance to recover. It'll also keep your milk supply up and your little one is still getting your milk.

'Once you're nipples are over the initial shock, the pain will go away and breastfeeding is a truly lovely experience.'

Fritha Tigerlilly, who writes parenting blog, Tigerlilly Quinn and lives in Bristol with her husband, son Wilf, and baby daughter Mabli, says her experience of breastfeeding Wilf was harder than it was feeding Mabli.

'Whilst I've been able to breastfeed them both, with my son it was a huge struggle and quite an emotional time. If I had one piece of advice is would be not to be ashamed of asking for help.
Crown Princess Mary has embraced the vibrant fashions of Brazil to attend a gala dinner on board a yacht.

The Danish royal is in Rio with her husband Prince Frederik for the Olympics, and appears to have embraced the country's culture through fashion.

The 44-year-old wore an orange and silver printed maxi skirt and large silver earrings for the event held on board the Danish training yacht at Rio de Janeiro Yacht Club.

Scroll down for video

Kaleidoscope of colours: Princess Mary has stunned in vibrant floor length skirt while walking the red carpet in Rio

Simply stunning: The Danish royal attend a gala dinner on board a yacht with her husband Prince Frederik

Mary stunned in a crepe silk skirt by Italian fashion house Etro.

The skirt, which retails online in a different print for $1,514, is a kaleidoscope of colour.

The high-waisted design finished just above the floor and was made up of orange and silver patterns.

When in Rio! The Australian-born royal paired the silk skirt by Italian fashion house Etro with a gold cardigan and over-sized earrings

Mary paired the statement piece with peep-toe nude stilettos and a white top.

She wore a shimmering gold cardigan over the top and carried a vibrant bunch of red roses in her hand.

To finish the look, the ever-stylish royal pulled her hair back from her face and wore large statement silver earrings.

Showing her support: Princess Mary visited members of the Danish swimming team during a training session

Princess of the people: mary visited a school in Rio's Jacarepague shanytown - or favela - where she presented boxes of Lego to the children

Mary and Frederik attended the gala dinner with Prince Joachim and Princess Marie.

Also in attendance were Prince Nikolai and Prince Felix of Denmark, Prince Joachim's children from his first marriage with Alexandra, Countess of Frederiksborg.

Mary and Frederik chose not to bring their four children, Prince Christien, Princess Isabella, Prince Vincent and Princess Josephine.

Kind-hearted: The mother-of-four sat down with the children, a smile on her face

All white: The 44-year-old wore a fitted white dress with pearl earrings and a matching bracelet

Forgotten your roots, Mary? The Australian born royal confessed she would support Australian athletes in Rio, but only as long as they are not competing against the Danes

The couple are in Rio for the Olympics.

Since being in the country Mary has visited a school in Rio's Jacarepague shantytown - or favela - where she presented boxes of Lego to the children.

She went on to show her support for the Danish swimming team by visiting them during a training session.
Would you wear a giant bow as a sexy treat for your partner?

E-commerce retailer ASOS thinks so, as they have some interesting lingerie that proposes just that for sale.

The site is currently stocking the 'Unwrap Me' body bow, for AUD$35 (16; US $26).

Your next Christmas present? ASOS is selling an unusual bow-themed lingerie set (above)

Cheeky: The 'unwrap me' bow is made by British lingerie brand Bluebella

Designed by British brand Bluebella, the bow crosses over at the back, just like a ribbon on a present, and is tied at the front over the breasts.

A thin piece of white ribbon covers the crotch and buttocks in a somewhat painful looking g-string style.

It's advertised as being made from 'silky satin fabric' and has an 'oversized design', although it does not look very oversized in the product photos.

Bargain? It's selling for only AUD$35, and is made from 'silky satin fabric'

Simple but effective: The product really seems to just be a giant bow

The bow can also apparently be tied 'a number of ways', although it is not clear what those ways are.

As well as selling the bow in white, ASOS has two other colour options of red and black, for those who prefer something a little more festive.

The bows are only sold in one size, but no measurements are given to indicate how big the bow actually is or the clothing size of models on the site.

Variety: It's also available in red and black, for those who like a splash of colour

Popular: The red colour is currently sold out, so some people have been buying the product

The bow is the creation of the designers at Bluebella, a British brand founded in 2005, and for sale in the UK, US and Australia.

The lingerie company claims on its website that it was 'designed to redefine sensuality' and admits its designs have a 'provocative edge'.

It's unclear how many of the bows have been sold, but the bright red colour is currently sold out, so we assume that someone out there is wearing one.
They have amassed a cult following for being always bold with their patterns, but has fashion label Gorman been stealing their designs from indie artists?

One of Australia's most successful brands for close to two decades, Gorman has come under fire from three women, who all claim the designer took inspiration directly from their works without any sign of compensation.

Melbourne designers Emily Green and Kirra Jamison, and Amber Ibarreche, from New York, each leveled the claims against the iconic brand this week.

And while Lisa Gorman, founder of the iconic brand, told Daily Mail Australia she 'stringently denies' the allegations, there's no doubting the similarities.

Cult fashion label Gorman has been accused of copying three indie artists' designs

Melbourne-based artist Kirra Jamison (pictured) said she declined to work with Gorman and then found the fashion empire producing clothes using similar designs to hers

According to Ms Jamison, her connection with Gorman began in 2015 when she was asked to collaborate with the company, an opportunity she declined before later discovering the similarities between her art and one of the brand's collections.

'When Gorman released their Jigsaw print many people mistook it for my work, specifically a series of paintings made between 2012 and 2014 that had been based on vinyl cut-outs,' Ms Jamison told Daily Mail Australia.

'It's my opinion that Gorman drew heavily on my work without permission.'

Of that opinion too is Ms Green, a jewellery designer, who said Gorman had gone as far as to copy the name she used for a pair of similar looking earrings.

Despite refusing to take legal action against the designer, Ms Green told The Age she was 'confident' her work had been copied.

'It's disappointing... I would collaborate with them if I had the opportunity,' Ms Green said.

With Gorman garments costing as much as $400, any deal with the prominent company could be lucrative, particularly for an up and coming artist.

Knowing such Ms Ibarreche, the United States-based designer, did pursue legal action.

Emily Green said that Gorman copied her 'terrazzo' drop earrings (left) in their 2016 collection (right)

Amber Ibarreche claimed that the company copied her artwork Gemz (left) and made it into a printed fabric (right)

She said her attention had been drawn to the similarity of her gem-inspired collage titled 'Gemz' and a dress from Gorman's Melbourne Museum collection this year by fans.

'I went through a legal process but there was nothing I could do because they added gems I didn't use in my collage,' Ms Ibarreche said.

'It's so similar and obvious that they pretty much stole my concept.'

Lisa Gorman, who started her fashion empire in the hipster Melbourne suburb of Fitzroy in 1999, said she vehemently denied all allegations.

'There are certainly trends and movements in art and design,' Ms Gorman told Daily Mail Australia.

Fashion designer Lisa Gorman (pictured) has vehemently denied the allegations against her

'Its without doubt that new concepts feed off old ones, and that within the world of design they will influence each other.

'I am completely against copying artists work and its clearly not in the interest of the brand to do so.'

The claims against Gorman are not the first against major designers by indie artist.
A Sydney mum has become an online sensation after photographing the lunches she sends her son to school with every day.

Tomoko Horrell posts photos of her incredible lunch creations on her Instagram account kanonsmama each day.

They're incredibly inventive, and her son Sean seems to enjoy them.

Delicious and cute: One mum has gone above and beyond to create incredible school lunches (above)

Spidy-sense is tingling: The Sydney-based mum makes characters out of food for her son to take to school

Come and play: She creates characters from Sesame Street like cookie monster (above) and Oscar the Grouch

Ms Horrell told MamaMia that she made them because she wanted her kids to eat and enjoy healthy food.

Each meal takes her around 20 minutes to make, but it can vary depending on what she is creating.

The mum says she gets inspiration from online and children's books, but just creates some of the characters from her imagination.

Fun and good for you: The mum, Tomoko Horrell said she started creating them because she wanted her children to eat healthy

Timely: She said each meal takes around 20 minutes to make, depending on the design

No quite M&Ms: Ms Horrell said she gets inspiration from online and children's books

The mum, who has Japanese heritage, said that whilst the creative lunchboxes raise eyes in Australia, the concept is common overseas.

'It's quite popular in Japan. Lots of mothers make kyaraben,' she said.

Kyraben is the Japanese word for the process of creating characters out of food, and is quite popular in the country.

Culture combined: Whilst the concept is foreign in Australia, it's common in Japan

'Lots of mothers make kyaraben': In Japan the creations are called kyraben, and some mothers take up to an hour making them each day

She's created everything from Sesame Street characters to Spiderman for her son, and all of the meals are very healthy.

Whilst much of the food is Asian-inspired, she told MamaMia that her son has slightly different tastes.
A 10-year-old boy who was bullied in the playground because he didn't own a trendy pair of trainers has shared an inspiring message that's now sweeping social media.

Nyeeam Hudson of New Jersey, who is known on Instagram for his motivational messages, took to social media after he was teased in the park for his footwear of choice.

In the short video, which has been viewed over 346,774 times on his Facebook page and shared by celebrities all over the world, he explains: 'I just came from the park and this kid was teasing me because I had FILAs on.

Nyeeam Hudson, 10, of New Jersey, was bullied about his uncool trainers in the park so shared an incredibly inspired response, which is sweeping the web

'Now, mind you, I am not a material person. I just wear FILAs because I like the color and I think they are cool. They might not be what's popular today, but that's what I like.

'So I told the kid, it's not about what I have on my feet, it's about what I have inside my head. No matter what I'm wearing, no matter what I have on, it's about my information, the knowledgeable things in life.'

The youngster, who has previously shared messages about gun crime and violence, continued: 'These sneakers are not even going to fit you in 20 years from now. So it's about what you have in your mind. Your wisdom. Your knowledge. The power to inspire others.

'And parents, please don't raise your children like the materialistic type cause once they don't have Jordans on or cool clothes, they are going to feel like they are not important. They are going to feel like they need the gold or the Jordans or the cool stuff, the popular stuff, to make them feel important.'

The youngster explains: 'I told the kid, it's not about what I have on my feet, it's about what I have inside my head. No matter what I'm wearing, no matter what I have on, it's about my information, the knowledgeable things in life'

The 10-year-old continued: 'These sneakers are not even going to fit you in 20 years from now. So it's about what you have in your mind. Your wisdom. Your knowledge. The power to inspire others'

His followers took to the comments section in their droves, hailing him 'inspiring' and 'amazing', with many saying they wished they had a child like him and shared his perspective on life.

His video was also shared by British actor Ikenna Obi, who captioned it: 'Another educating message from a young intelligent, knowledgeable kid to all other children, especially parents on raising their kids.

'I hope all children can think this way to ensure they have a positive mind set in life as opposed to wanting to be who you are not. Parents need to take notes. Not sure how this is going to affect Jordan sales, but the message is more crucial than anything.'

FILA - his footwear brand of choice - were also inspired by his message, telling 6abc: 'We couldn't be more pleased as a brand to have this young evangelist include FILA in any conversation when he speaks his mind about sneakers, the importance of independent thinking and most importantly, at a time when bullies seem to be winning everywhere we look, standing up for yourself with words of wisdom, not violence and vitriol.'

His video was also shared by British actor Ikenna Obi , who captioned it: 'Another educating message from a young intelligent, knowledgeable kid to all other children, especially parents on raising their kid'

Nyeeam shot to fame in 2014 when he was giving an anti-violence speech in New Jersey and was left stunned when the sound of gunshots rang out in the middle of his message.

Nyeeam, who was 8 at the time, was speaking to a crowd of people in a basement on Prince Street, New Jersey when a loud popping sound of gunshots occurred behind him.
He found fame conquering the music charts before making a foray into fashion but recently Kanye West has set his sights on interior design.

But after revealing that he wants to collaborate with budget home wear giant Ikea - Kanye has seen himself inundated with a number of hilarious ideas from imaginative fans.

Suggestions for his potential new range include a double cheeked chair dubbed the 'Kardash', the Kanye Frame - featured a signed picture of the rapper and the 'MirrorYeezy' featuring his image in the centre.

The butt of the joke! Kanye West has been trolled with fake furniture designs after he revealed he wanted to design furniture for Ikea.

How cheeky! One meme suggested the Kardash - a double cheek chair perfect for those with a large posterior

One person even suggested that Kanye could change the name of the Swedish home furnishings company from Ikea to Ikeanye.

Memes appearing on BoredPanda.com also include ideas for the bathroom - including a Kanye toilet with the warning 'Abandon all hope ye who go West'.

One social media user has also come up with the idea of Kanye shower - featuring a fetching print of the rapper wearing an Ikea swimming cap.

To Kanye, love Kanye: This picture frame comes with the rapper's portrait

Sing louder under a Kanye shower: The suggestions also included this shower curtain with a Kanye print

Mirror Yeezy: This mirror comes with a permanent sticker of the rapper in the centre that cannot be removed

New name: Others joked that Kanye could rename the brand IKEANYE

Kanye even found himself being trolled by the Australian Twitter account for the Ikea brand.

Along with an image of the 'Yeezy' bed, so wide it can fit the squad of people from his infamous Famous video, was the caption: 'Hej Kanye, wed love to see what youd create we could make you Famous.'

The ideas come after Kanye revealed that he was hoping to collaborate with Ikea during a recent interview.

In an interview with BBC Radio 1 Kanye said: 'I have to work with Ikea - make furniture for interior design, for architecture.

For those with a large head: The Rekanyer idea features an oversized headboard

Perfect for any room: The Kanye Hest horse shows the rapper smiling

Ingenious: This bottle stand is dubbed 'Hold My Liquor'

Kanye holding Kanye: This mug features a picture of Kanye holding a mug featuring a picture of himself

He said students would be particularly keen for him to create 'a minimalist apartment inside of a college dorm'.

Yo IKEA, allow Kanye to create, allow him to make this thing because you know what, I want a bed that he makes, I want a chair that he makes, the rapper said.

Joking around: The Twitter account for the Australian arm of the brand tweeted an idea for a Yeezy bed that fits plenty of people in

Big bed: The huge piece of furniture could fit all the waxworks seen in Kanye's Famous video

Modest: One suggestion included a piece of furniture dubbed 'The greatest bookshelf of all time'

'Quality floral ass': The 'Kardash' plant pot was one suggestion from an imaginative fan

Throwback: One meme made reference to Kanye storming the stage at the MTV music awards when he interrupted Taylor Swift to branded Beyonce's video as the best video of all time

Simple, but effective: Other ideas included normal homewear with imaginative names

West, who is married to Kim Kardashian, was pictured visiting IKEAs head office in Almhut, Sweden earlier this year.

After his visit the Life of Pablo rapper tweeted that he was 'super inspired' and that his mind was 'racing with possibilities'.

And in April Kanye tweeted a sketch of a bed writing: 'I've been trying to figure out the bed design for the master bedroom at our Hidden Hills compound'.

Alarming: One meme included a simple brass clock called 'Wake Up Mr. West'

Inspired: In April Kanye tweeted a sketch of a bed
Sometimes nothing suits the mood better than curling up on the sofa with your loved one to watch a nice romantic weepy. And if thats how youre feeling this Friday, you could do a lot worse than tuning into a heart-rending documentary about elephants. Yes, elephants.

Made by celebrated husband and wife film-makers Dereck and Beverly Joubert, Soul Of The Elephant reveals these giants to be just as loving as humans, and by the end youll feel an unashamedly sentimental glow.

When the film was shown at the Sundance Film Festival, Robert Redford said what a romance it was, says Beverly. Between us two, between the elephants themselves, and between the audience and the elephants.

Made by celebrated husband and wife film-makers Dereck and Beverly Joubert, Soul Of The Elephant reveals these giants to be just as loving as humans, and by the end youll feel an unashamedly sentimental glow

On one level, the film is a quest by the couple to solve the mystery of how two bull elephants met their deaths in the backwaters of the Selinda Spillway, a river linked to the Okavango Delta in Botswana. Beverly and Dereck were mystified to find the remains of the two bulls, both of which had been dead for some time and yet had their tusks intact.

When an elephant skeleton is found without tusks, it indicates that its one of 35,000 elephants poached each year for its ivory. However, these two had clearly died of some other cause. As Dereck says, its so rare to find a skeleton with its ivory that, though sad, it was a cause for celebration.

To establish what happened, the couple decided to paddle from one end of the river to the other. Its hard to think of two people more qualified to undertake such a journey, as the Jouberts have been filming and exploring in Africa for three decades.

But there was another object to their trip, and that was to find the soul of the elephant. If you told me you had a soul, says Dereck, I would say, So why shouldnt an elephant have a soul as well?

Even the most sceptical of viewers would have to acknowledge that elephants, despite their size, are some of the most loving creatures on the planet.

The film is a quest by the couple to solve the mystery of how two bull elephants met their deaths in the backwaters of the Selinda Spillway, a river linked to the Okavango Delta in Botswana

You only have to look at how profound and gentle they are, says Beverly. Theyre only aggressive when they have to save themselves or their offspring. Being in the presence of an elephant is very moving.

During the film, the Jouberts get very close to the elephants indeed. Some of the most powerful footage they capture is filmed facing an elephant charge  even from the safety of the sofa it will make you gulp. I find facing down a charge hypnotic, like meditation, says Dereck.

During the film, the Jouberts get very close to the elephants indeed. Some of the most powerful footage they capture is filmed facing an elephant charge  even from the safety of the sofa it will make you gulp

When youre in that situation youre on the edge between life and death and youre at your sharpest. At times, the only way Beverly and Dereck can see off a charge is simply to stare the elephant down and not show that theyre intimidated. This is easier said than done but, says Dereck, confidence is the only weapon we have.

However, what the film shows best is the elephants extraordinary compassion for each other and their young. As soon as a baby is born, the rest of the herd want to get to know it, and they gather around in delight at the wonder of a new life.

And then, as soon as the herd moves off, its collective pace adjusts to allow the newborn to keep up. Elephants are nothing if not compassionate and understanding, says Dereck.

When the film was shown at the Sundance Film Festival, Robert Redford said what a romance it was, says Beverly. Between us two, between the elephants themselves, and between the audience and the elephants

As well as caring so well for their young, elephants also seem to respond in a very human fashion when presented with the evidence of death. One of the most poignant scenes in the film is when a herd encounters some elephant remains. Beverly and Dereck were spellbound as they watched the elephants almost in mourning over the bones, their trunks hovering over the remains, gently sniffing as they try to gather whatever information it is theyre seeking. We were able to capture the most intimate scenes of an elephant wake, says Beverly. Neither of us wanted to so much as breathe, to break the spell.

But what also makes the film so touching is the affection Beverly and Dereck have for each other, and how well they work together. One can almost see the programme as a portrait of a successful marriage, rather than just a nature documentary.

We wrestled with how much we should include ourselves, says Dereck, as were a bit shy, and we feel that natural history films should be about the subjects. However, we thought that showing some of our journey was valid as it helps bring the viewer along.

By the end of the journey, the couple have a good idea of what may have killed the two elephants, though it would spoil things to reveal that here. On a deeper level, theres no doubt that the Jouberts have captured the most intangible part of the elephant  its soul.
Nothing shows off a strong sisterly bond more than dressing in sync.

Proving great taste runs in the family, Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen, Gigi and Bella Hadid, Kendall and Kylie Jenner and Beyonce and Solange Knowles, all tend to wear coordinated outfits.

To celebrate National Sister Day (Sunday, August 7th) we take a look at the famous siblings' chic style and reveal how you and your sis can re-create their fashionable ensembles.

THE SOPHISTICATED GROWN UPS: Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen, both 30, have come a long way since their days of matchy-matchy ensembles. The chic fashion designers now employ a grown up, minimalist aesthetic that often features long coats, low block heels, simple dresses and lady-like handbags with vintage flair.

SHOP IT NOW (Clockwise from top left) Toteme dress, $230, net-a-porter.com Mango coat, Now $108.99, mango.com Whistles earrings, $24.26, asos.com Zara bag, $39.90, zara.com Steve Madden shoes, $79.95, stevemadden.com Advertisement

THE ATHLEISURE CHAMPIONS: Supermodel sisters Gigi, 21, and Bella Hadid, 19, strut their stuff for high-end designers all over the world, but off-duty, the duo stick to sporty basics. They've have mastered the art of wearing activewear (i,e, hoodies, track pants, high-tops) from head-to-toe and looking uber stylish doing it.

SHOP IT NOW (Clockwise from top left) Perfect Moment jacket, $280, net-a-porter.com Heroine Sport bra, $95, carbon38.com Monday Active leggings, $110, farfetch.com APL sneakers, $165, athleticpropulsionlabs.com Neiman Marcus backpack, Now $33, lastcall.com Advertisement

THE TRENDSETTERS: From lipsticks to clothing and even books, everything Kendall, 20, and Kylie Jenner, 19, touch turns to gold. With a huge fan base, the young entrepreneurs start trends the second they walk out the door. This summer, the stylish duo have helped off-the-shoulder tops, skintight bottoms, and chokers fly off the shelves.

SHOP IT NOW (Clockwise from top left) H&M top, $12.99, hm.com House of CB skirt, $114, houseofcb.com Lili Claspe choker, $99, liliclaspe.com Gucci handbag, $980, saksfifthavenue.com Kendall + Kylie heels, $159.95, nordstrom.com Advertisement

THE RISK TAKERS: Beyonce, 34, and Solange Knowles, 30, are never afraid to take fashion risks. And it's no surprise, as the stylish songstresses can make anything look good. Who else can rock a 3D printed men's sweatsuit or silver crocodile printed leather pants and still look #flawless?
A teenager suffering from Type 1 diabetes has penned a powerful essay about the stigma associated with the disease and what it is really like to live with the condition on a daily basis.

Madeline Milzark, 18, from St. Louis, Missouri, took to Facebook last week to share a heartfelt post about why she struggles to find the humor in people using the hashtag #diabetes to joke about the decadent treats they are consuming when it is really a serious disease that can be life-threatening.

'Diabetes isn't your piece of cake, or that super sized McDonald's meal with extra fries, or anything you see coated with sugar,' she wrote. 'Diabetes is an 18-year-old girl sitting on her bathroom floor shaking and not able to breathe because her blood sugar dropped.'

Scroll down for video

Spreading the word: Madeline Milzark, 18, from St. Louis, Missouri, took to Facebook to raise awareness for diabetes after her sugar dropped and she collapsed

Type 1 diabetes is a chronic condition in which the pancreas produces little or no insulin, and Madeline was diagnosed with the disease 10 years ago.

'Diabetes is your mother, your neighbor, your cousin. Diabetes isn't the morbidly obese man you see on TV. It isn't something people ask for or give themselves,' she wrote.

Other forms of diabetes include Type 2, a chronic condition in which the pancreas produces little or no insulin and is usually caused by a combination of genetics and lifestyle, and gestational diabetes, which is a form of high blood sugar that affects pregnant women.

Raising awareness: The teen wrote that she was sick of people using the hashtag #diabetes on social media to describe the decadent treats they were eating

'It's a disease that isn't picky when it chooses who to attack, it doesn't care if you're two months old or if you're 73,' Madeline wrote. 'It doesn't care if you eat Big Macs and McChickens every day of your life or if you're a strict vegan who goes to the gym daily.

'Diabetes is me. Diabetes is a whole ton of people who fight for their life every single day and go to bed not sure if they're going to wake up the next morning. So before you tag your huge dessert #diabetes, think about what #diabetes really looks like.'

Madeline was inspired to raise awareness for what it is really like to have diabetes after her blood sugar crashed and she collapsed while alone in her home.

Struggles; Madeline has been battling Type 1 diabetes for 10 years, and she has to give herself an insulin injection every single time she eats

Scary situation: Madeline was inspired to raise awareness for what it is really like to have diabetes after her blood sugar crashed and she collapsed while alone in her home

The teen, who just graduated from Francis Howell High School, recalled praying that her grandmother was near her phone and got her text message to bring her some sugar because she was too 'too weak to yell'.

'If she didnt there was no telling how long it wouldve taken her to find me and it wouldve probably been too late by then,' she told Buzzfeed of the lifesaving sugar that her grandmother had brought her in the nick of time.

Madeline told the outlet that she has to monitor her blood sugar by pricking her finger up to 10 times a day, and she has to give herself an insulin injection every single time she eats.

Inspiring words: Madeline's powerful post has been shared nearly 10,000 times since it was posted on July 27

Positive response: Many people praised her for her message and sent her their well wishes

She explained that she used to have an insulin pump, but even with insurance prices, it was too expensive to replace after it broke.

Madeline's Facebook post has been shared nearly 10,000 times since it was posted, and many praised her for her message.

'I realized it was time to show people the reality instead of the perception that diabetes was simple, and just a disease where you avoided sugar,' she explained. 'The thing people think caused my disease actually saved my life, and thats what not many people realize.'

Madeline is now urging people to share their stories on social media using the hashtag #WhatDiabetesReallyLooksLike.
Hawaii is racing to control a growing outbreak of hepatitis A.

More than 90 people have contracted the infection in just one month - a staggering figure for the 1.4 million-strong state in such a short amount of time.

Fewer than 20,000 cases a year are documented in the United States.

It comes as the state also faces an uphill battle to control its growing number of Zika infections.

Fears over hepatitis A escalated on Wednesday when officials announced that a Hawaiian Airlines flight attendant is among the patients.

Hawaii in hepatitis A crisis: A Hawaiian Airlines flight attendant and a worker at Chili's diner on Oahu island (pictured) are among the growing number of patients who have contracted Hep A

WHAT IS HEPATITIS A? Hepatitis A is a highly contagious liver infection. There is a vaccine to protect against it. It spreads through food, water, or contact with an infected person. Fewer than 20,000 cases a year are documented in the United States. Symptoms include nausea, abdominal pain, lack of appetite, tiredness, and a fever. The illness will fade of its own accord within two months. Patients are advised to rest, drink water and avoid alcohol. Advertisement

It is possible the attendant has had the illness for weeks - during which they worked on 33 flights from Honolulu to California and Nevada, serving food and drinks.

A food service employee at a Chili's restaurant in Kapolei on Oahu has also been infected, officials revealed on Tuesday.

Hawaiian Airlines spokesman Alex Da Silva says the airline is screening all crew members who worked with the infected attendant.

He says no other crew members reported infections.

An employee at Chili's referred calls to an outside phone number, and a message left there wasn't immediately returned.

The federal government has awarded $3.7 million to the state Department of Health to fight infectious diseases like the Zika virus and Hepatitis A.

Health Director Virginia Pressler says the money will help Hawaii investigate its Hepatitis A outbreak.

Pressler said on Tuesday that the funds also will help the state prevent local transmissions of the Zika virus in Hawaii.

The health department urges Hawaii residents traveling to the Olympics to prevent mosquito bites to reduce the risk of contracting Zika and bringing it back to Hawaii.

Officials say anyone returning to Hawaii from areas affected by the Zika virus should see a doctor if they fall ill within two weeks of returning home.
Acupuncture may help elderly people retain their memory, research suggests.

Chinese scientists found that the ancient treatment  which involves inserting thin needles in different parts of the body  might even stave off decline during the early stages of dementia.

The Wuhan University team found that if used for at least two months, three times a week, it improved scores in a number of cognition tests.

The treatment is particularly effective if used alongside dementia drugs, their findings suggest.

Acupuncture may help stave off the memory loss that precedes dementia, research suggests

Scientists have long been divided about the benefits of acupuncture, a discipline which dates back 3,000 years.

Critics say its benefits have never been proven, and NHS watchdog NICE earlier this year removed the treatment from a list of recommended therapies for back pain.

But others say it is useful technique that should be utilised as much as possible, especially where no other effective treatments exist.

The researchers, whose work is published in the BMJ journal Acupuncture in Medicine, reviewed the findings of five previous studies involving 568 patients.

EXERCISING THE BRAIN DOES STAVE OFF DEMENTIA - BUT ONLY IF YOU DO THE RIGHT TRAINING It's long been said doing a daily crossword or Sudoku puzzle is key to keeping the brain active. But whether exercising the white stuff can stave off dementia is more hotly contested. Now scientists have discovered that the type of brain training programme we do is key to reducing the risks of the degenerative brain disease. Just 11 sessions of a specific technique called speed processing could help to cut the chances of older patients developing the disease - by almost half. And each exercise - aimed to improve the time and accuracy of someone's mental ability - could slash the risk by 8 per cent every time. Those who completed the speed processing training experienced levels of improved attention, experts found. They also had reduced symptoms of depression, a better functional performance and improved driving ability. But memory and reasoning training had no benefit on preventing dementia, experts found. Advertisement

The trials all involved people with mild cognitive impairment, a condition in which memory is declining and which often leads to a diagnosis of dementia.

The team found that those in receipt of acupuncture fared better than those who received common dementia drug nimodopine alone.

They scored better scores on two established tests of cognition - an examination of mental state and a test of picture recognition.

A combination of acupuncture and nimodipine also significantly improved exam scores when compared to nimodipine alone.

The researchers concluded that acupuncture has a significant positive effective on cognitive and memory function.

But they admitted that far more research is needed.

There were several potential limitations of this review, they wrote.

Although one trial was published in English, all the random control trials were conducted in China, which might implicate publication bias.

Chinese patients may have a preference for acupuncture treatment over medical intervention, and the design of the included studies did not control for potential placebo effects.

Therefore, rigorous clinical studies in Western settings should be considered before extrapolating the results to other populations.

British experts last night cast doubt on the findings.

Dr James Pickett, head of research at the Alzheimers Society, said: The lack of strong and convincing evidence makes it difficult to reach any meaningful conclusions. On this basis, acupuncture is not the answer to preventing memory problems or dementia.

Acupuncture is particularly effective if used alongside dementia drugs, the study found

Professor Edzard Ernst of the University of Exeter, added: This is a perfect example of the rubbish in, rubbish out phenomenon which is well-known to authors of systematic reviews - if the primary studies are flawed, the review of such studies will be flawed as well.

It has been shown repeatedly that Chinese acupuncture trials almost never report negative results. This means that, in the hands of Chinese researchers, acupuncture works for everything. For anyone who is able to think critically, this means that their data have to be taken with more than just a pinch of salt.
Michael Cull, 68, has died in hospital after his swollen leg started to bleed and turn blue

A pensioner dubbed 'the Elephant man' has died in hospital after his swollen leg started to bleed and turn blue.

Michael Cull's limb ballooned to three stone - double its normal size - due to a medical condition triggered by a car crash over a decade ago.

The 68-year-old from Fraserburgh, Aberdeenshire, pleaded with doctors to amputate it - but but dates for appointments and potential operations were continually pushed back.

He was admitted to hospital in Newcastle six weeks ago for emergency treatment after his leg began to bleed heavily while on holiday in England.

Last month, he was transferred to Aberdeen Royal Infirmary where he died with his close friend Christina Brooks, 65, at his bedside.

Ms Brooks said she was devastated to see his condition deteriorate over the past few weeks.

She said she was contacted by NHS Grampian staff on Wednesday to let her know that he was not getting any better.

She said: 'I rushed in to see him and his head was flopped over the bed like a rag doll.

'His speech was also starting to slur and I realised he was on his way out.

'The day before he died the doctor said he would need an amputation from his hip.

She said he was suffering a severe infection and was put on antibiotics through an IV drip.

Every time they moved his leg he would scream in agony.

She said: 'When I looked at his leg it was black and blue all the way up. It looked as if he had been in a German torture chamber.

'I could hear his screams from the bottom of the corridor, they had to give him morphine.

'I sat with him all night and he died at three o'clock in the morning.'

Mr Cull's leg began to swell after he was in a car accident 12 years ago until eventually it was three stone heavy.

Mr Cull's leg began to swell following a car accident 12 years ago, until it weighed three stone before his death

He was diagnosed as having gross lymphedema and later elephantiasis, which both cause the lymphatic system to become blocked, preventing fluid draining out and causing swelling

He was diagnosed as having gross lymphedema, where the lymphatic system becomes blocked, meaning lymph fluid cannot drain properly and collects in the limbs, causing swelling.

It is thought the car crash may have damaged the lymphatic system in his legs, triggering the condition.

As it became progressively worse, doctors suspected he also had elephantiasis, but blood tests at the London Hospital of Tropical Diseases failed to find any trace of the parasite which normally causes the condition.

ELEPHANTIASIS: A CONDITION AFFECTING MILLIONS AROUND THE GLOBE Elephantiasis is normally caused by a parasite from a mosquito bite and is usually found in tropical parts of the world, like India or the Amazon, where Mr Cull grew up. It is characterised by massive enlargement of an area of the body and is caused by the obstruction of the lymphatic system. This results in the accumulation of fluids in the affected part of the body. According to the World Health Organisation, nearly 1.4billion people in 73 countries worldwide are threatened by the condition, which is also known as lymphatic filariasis. WHO figures suggest that approximately 80 per cent of these people are living in Bangladesh, Democratic Republic of Congo, Ethiopia, India, Indonesia, Myanmar, Nigeria, Nepal, Philippines and the United Republic of Tanzania. Over 120million people are currently infected, with about 40 million disfigured and incapacitated by the disease, the organisation claims. Advertisement

Elephantiasis is normally caused by a parasite from a mosquito bite and is usually found in tropical parts of the world, like India or the Amazon, where Mr Cull grew up.

It is thought that it may have lain dormant in his body for 50 years before he was hit by the car.

The condition meant he was in constant pain and doing regular things like cooking, taking a bath or going up stairs were extremely difficult.

He also endured cruel stares and taunts of people in the street, who dubbed him the 'modern day Elephant man'.

The former Nasa computer technician had been battling with doctors to get his leg amputated so he could lead a normal life.

Doctors in Hull were discussing surgery to remove the deformed tissue from his lower leg and return it to a more manageable size.

After he was told it would not go ahead he considered trying to raise 12,000 pounds to go to India for private treatment.

This was on top of the expense of buying specially-made shoes and trousers.

Then, he was told he could have the operation in Scotland - but this operation was cancelled and he claims he was not told why.

Ms Brooks, who lives in London, said Mr Cull would have gone to India but was worried about the flight coming home after having an operation abroad.

She said: 'I think it could have been avoided, he has had this for more than 10 years and three or four years ago he was promised he could have it done.

'It was all put in place then someone pulled the plug.

For years he had begged doctors to amputate his leg - but various operation had been cancelled. He considered raising 12,000 to fly to India for a private operation

Mr Cull died last month after being rushed to hospital when his leg began bleeding. His friend Christina Brooks, 65, said he was in agonising pain and was given morphine

'Michael could have been alive today.'

Mrs Brookes broke down in tears as she described her late friend.

She said: 'He was my best friend and the loveliest man I had ever met in my whole life.

'He was a very intelligent bloke and loved doing his talks on astronomy. He was so kind, he did so many things for me, helping me paint and lay the carpet.

'We had a very special plutonic relationship and were planning out our old age and what we were going to do.

'Now his life has gone. I loved him to bits. I'm heartbroken, I really am.'

'Now his life has gone. I loved him to bits. I'm heartbroken, I really am,' Ms Brooks said of her friend's death

An NHS Grampian spokeswoman said they could not discuss Mr Cull's case due to patient confidentiality.

She added: 'NHS Grampian extends condolences to the family of Mr Cull.

'If Mr Cull's family or next of kin are in any way concerned about the care or treatment received, then we would urge them to contact our Feedback service and we will respond to them directly.'
Josef Martinec, pictured after the operation, had gone to hospital with bad back pain

A man who thought he was a bit overweight had a four stone cancerous tumour removed from his stomach.

Josef Martinec went to hospital with unbearable back pain - but thought it was because he had put on weight.

Doctors at Tomas Bata Hospital in Zlin, in the south-east of the Czech Republic, examined him/

Scans revealed he actually had a 60 lbs (27kg) malignant tumour in his abdomen - although details of what type of cancer he was suffering from have not been reported.

Medics said he needed surgery immediately - despite the fact this would be risky as his health was poor.

Mr Martinec said: 'The tumour was pushing at my kidneys, liver, and lungs and I had big problems with breathing some weeks before the operation.

'I felt the end and it was my own decision to undergo the surgery although the doctors told me about the risk.

'I told myself that I had nothing to lose.'

The six-hour operation to remove the tumour was successful, although he lost a lot of blood.

Surgeons removed the 4 stone tumour during a six hour operation at a hospital in the Czech Republic. Mr Martinec spent another six months undergoing cancer treatment

Dr Jiri Klein and his team successfully operated on the huge tumour at Zlin hospital

Afterwards, he had to stay in hospital for six months while oncologists treated his cancer.

It is not known if he will survive the disease, doctors warn.

Dr Jiri Klein, who runs the surgical ward at the Zlin hospital, said: 'The prognosis is very unclear due to the character of the growing tumour and its connection to the structure of the abdomen.'

Tumours of this weight are not common in the Czech Republic, he added.

However, in 2013 the same team of doctors removed a tumour weighing nearly sixstone (36kg) from the stomach of 47-year-old woman.
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT ZIKA

WHAT IS ZIKA?

The Zika (ZEE'-ka) virus was first discovered in monkey in Uganda in 1947 - its name comes from the Zika forest where it was first discovered.

It is native mainly to tropical Africa, with outbreaks in Southeast Asia and the Pacific Islands.

It appeared in Brazil in 2014 and has since been reported in many Latin American countries and Caribbean islands.

HOW IS IT SPREAD?

The World Health Organization says Zika is rapidly spreading in the Americas because it is new to the region.

People aren't immune to it, and the Aedes mosquito that carries it is just about everywhere - including along the southern United States.

Canada and Chile are the only places without this mosquito.

MOSQUITOES

It is typically transmitted through bites from the Aedes species of mosquitoes.

They are aggressive feeders, commonly biting multiple people in quick succession, fueling the spread of the virus.

The Aedes aegypti - which spreads other tropical diseases like dengue fever, chikungunya and yellow fever - is most commonly associated with Zika. It thrives in warm climates.

Its cousin, the Aedes albopictus has also been linked to Zika. Worryingly for Americans in northern states, this species can survive in cooler temperatures.

Unlike some other types of mosquitos, Aedes mosquitos are active during the daytime.

They are most active during mid-morning and then again between late afternoon and nightfall.

SEX

Scientists have found Zika can be transmitted sexually - from both men and women.

Couples should abstain or wear condoms for eight weeks if either partner has traveled to a country with a Zika outbreak, regardless of whether they have symptoms.

The first case of sexually-transmitted Zika during the current outbreak was reported in Texas at the beginning of February.

Pregnancy: The infection can take two routes - through the placenta and through the amniotic sac

The woman became infected after sexual contact with a man who had caught the virus in another country.

On July 15, it was confirmed that women can pass the virus to men after such a case was seen in New York City.

There are also reported cases of sexual transmission in France and Canada.

Prior to this outbreak, there was a case of sexual transmission of Zika in 2008 when researcher from Colorado, who caught the virus overseas, infected his wife on returning home.

MOTHER TO BABY

A mother can pass the virus to her unborn baby during pregnancy.

There are two ways this can happen, according to a recent study.

Through the placenta: During the first trimester, it can travel through the placenta by infecting numerous placental cells - something very few viruses can do.

This route is the most damaging to the fetus, and is most likely to leave the child with birth defects, including microcephaly.

Through the amniotic sac: In the second and third trimester, the virus can make its way through the amniotic sac.

This route is less likely. The baby would have a much smaller risk of birth defects at this stage than if it were infected in the first trimester.

During childbirth: Since the virus can live in the woman's womb lining, there is a chance the baby can become infected when it is born.

ARE THERE SYMPTOMS?

The majority of people infected with Zika virus will not experience symptoms.

Those that do, usually develop mild symptoms - fever, rash, joint pain, and red eyes - which usually last no more than a week.

There is no specific treatment for the virus and there is currently no vaccine to protect against infection, though several are in the developmental stages.

CAN THE SPREAD BE STOPPED?

Individuals can protect themselves from mosquito bites by using insect repellents, and wearing long sleeves and long pants - especially during daylight, when the mosquitoes tend to be most active, health officials say.
The majority of Americans support late-term abortion if tests show the fetus has Zika, a staggering new poll reveals.

Under normal circumstances, two thirds of US citizens oppose terminating a pregnancy after 24 weeks. In fact, 22 states prohibit it.

But a poll conducted by the Harvard School of Public Health and STAT last month found that 59 per cent favor abortions of Zika-infected babies at any stage.

The dramatic swing in opinion comes as officials struggle to contain the virus in Miami, where mosquitoes appear to now carry Zika.

Changing opinion? Under normal circumstances, two thirds of US citizens oppose terminating a pregnancy after 24 weeks. But in the case of Zika, 60 per cent would abort any time

As of Friday afternoon, there were 16 patients in the Florida city who have contracted the virus despite not traveling abroad or having sex with a Zika-infected person.

Officials are taking intense measures to contain the virus.

The CDC has aerial sprayed the one-mile outbreak zone with insect repellent.

Poll Would YOU abort a baby if it had a strong chance of Zika-related birth defects? YES NO Would YOU abort a baby if it had a strong chance of Zika-related birth defects? YES 426 votes

NO 117 votes Now share your opinion





Though they claim to have seen results of mosquitoes dying, it did not stop the spread.

Now the FDA has given the green light to a pharmaceutical company to release killer mutant mosquitoes into the infected zone in the hope that they can infiltrate and cripple the local population of insects.

Pregnant women have been urged to avoid Miami, and any expecting mothers who visited the city since June 15 should get tested.

The measures are all prongs of America's efforts to prevent Zika from inflicting as much trauma as in Brazil.

Brazil has seen the worst of the epidemic, with thousands of infections and thousands of babies born with microcephaly - a brain disorder linked to Zika.

The health crisis has forced the predominantly Catholic country into a difficult debate about abortion.

Couples have been advised to suspend trying to conceive.

But for some that were already expecting, delivering a severely crippled baby is not an option.

Harvard's poll suggests the Zika epidemic could also reignite the debate on abortion in the US.

It will undoubtedly be an awkward dialogue.

Scientists still know very little about the virus and how it affects a baby.

This are the results of the poll done by the Harvard School of Public Health and STAT

According to new research by Brazil's Ministry of Health, the infection may not carry as a high a risk as previously thought.

By now, the country - which has been the epicenter of the latest Zika epidemic - should have seen thousands more babies born with shrunken skulls.

However, medical records show all of these cases are restricted to a northern region of the country.

It suggests Zika alone may not cause birth defects - and climate or particular body types may play a part.

'We can see there is a kind of cluster in [part of] the northeast region with high prevalence and high severity, of miscarriage and congenital malformation that is really severe,' Fatima Marinho, co-ordinator of epidemiological analysis and information at the ministry, told the Globe and Mail.

HOW DOES ZIKA INFECT A FETUS? A mother can pass the virus to her unborn baby during pregnancy. There are two ways this can happen, according to a recent study. During the first trimester, it can travel through the placenta by infecting numerous placental cells - something very few viruses can do. This route is the most damaging to the fetus, and is most likely to leave the child with birth defects, including microcephaly. In the second and third trimester, the virus can make its way through the amniotic sac. This route is less likely. The baby would have a much smaller risk of birth defects at this stage than if it were infected in the first trimester. Since the virus can live in the woman's womb lining, there is a chance the baby can become infected when it is born. Advertisement

'But we didn't find this in other states  even the [adjacent] states didn't see the same situation as in the epicentre. We were preparing for an explosion and it didn't come.

'So we started to think that in this central area maybe more than Zika is causing this intensity and severity.'

A mother can pass the virus to her unborn baby during pregnancy.

There are two ways this can happen, according to a recent study.

During the first trimester, it can travel through the placenta by infecting numerous placental cells - something very few viruses can do.

This route is the most damaging to the fetus, and is most likely to leave the child with birth defects, including microcephaly.

In the second and third trimester, the virus can make its way through the amniotic sac.

This route is less likely. The baby would have a much smaller risk of birth defects at this stage than if it were infected in the first trimester.

Since the virus can live in the woman's womb lining, there is a chance the baby can become infected when it is born.

Even if the baby does become infected, however, it is not clear whether Zika alone can cause a birth defect.

The World Health Organization has speculated that Zika combined with strains of dengue fever - another mosquito-borne disease - could increase the risk.

The news may calm some fears as pregnant women are warned to avoid Zika-infected areas and to be hyper vigilant about mosquitoes.

Nonetheless, the number of babies born with microcephaly in the United States continues to grow.

On Thursday, authorities in California revealed two babies have been born with Zika-related microcephaly in recent days.

It means 13 babies have now been born with the condition in the United States since the Zika epidemic began last year.

Outbreak: 16 people have been diagnosed with Zika in this one-mile region of Miami, Florida, despite not traveling to a Zika-infected region or having sex with a Zika-infected person

Both mothers of the two newborns had contracted the infection while visiting countries where mosquitoes carry the infection.

Meanwhile, the US is racing to test and approve vaccines to protect against the virus.

This week, the National Institute of Health began human trials of a jab.

And on Thursday, researchers revealed three different experimental Zika vaccines being developed in the United States have worked well in monkey studies.

It paves the way for human trials in the coming months.

The news, published in a report in the journal Science, comes as researchers rush to find a way to prevent the mosquito-borne virus.

It is currently spreading in 50 countries and territories, mainly in Latin America, the Caribbean and the US state of Florida.

'Three vaccines provided complete protection against Zika virus in nonhuman primates, which is the best animal model prior to starting clinical trials,' said senior author Dan Barouch, professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School.
Suicide Squad Cert: 15 2hrs 3mins

Rating:

Remember how Samuel L Jackson used to pop up at the end of nearly every Marvel Comics film, slowly but surely assembling the assorted superheroes that would eventually become the Avengers?

Well, keep an eye on that Viola Davis because I suspect shes about to do something very similar for the rival DC Comics superhero universe. And yes, for those not entirely on top of such things, thats the one with Batman and Superman in it.

Playing the shadowy figure of Amanda Waller, Davis is there at the beginning of Suicide Squad (which seems to begin shortly after Batman v Superman ended in tragedy) and shes there again as the final credits roll, having a cosy chat with Ben Affleck and generally setting things up  I think  for Justice League, the Batman/Wonder Woman mash-up due out next year. And in between?

What a year 2016 has been for Margot Robbie. Whiskey Tango Foxtrot, The Legend Of Tarzan and now this  the former Neighbours star has definitely come a long way from Ramsay Street

Well, we get some of the best comic-book fun weve had in a long time. Yes, Suicide Squad is dark and fairly violent, which is why  for once, hurrah!  its been awarded with an entirely appropriate 15 certificate.

But its also stylish, funny and underpinned by hugely watchable performances from the likes of Will Smith, Margot Robbie, Jared Leto and Davis herself.

For Smith, who plays the lethal assassin known as Deadshot (he never misses), its a case of welcome back Will, with the Men In Black star giving one of his most charismatic performances since, er, well, Men In Black.

As for Robbie, whose scene-grabbing turn as the Jokers sexy but psychotic girlfriend, Harley Quinn, is one of the highlights of the film well, what a year 2016 has been for her. Whiskey Tango Foxtrot, The Legend Of Tarzan and now this  the former Neighbours star has definitely come a long way from Ramsay Street.

David Ayer takes on the dual creative role here and gets the grown-up comic-book tone pretty much bang on, with stylistic echoes of Deadpool, Watchmen and Hellboy

In terms of providing a plot summary for what is such a complex, character-packed fantasy thriller, its Daviss Waller  US queen of particularly dark ops, as far as I can see  who provides the most succinct version. I finally have them, she tells a doubtful-looking room of Pentagon bigwigs, the worst of the worst.

What she means is that she has rounded up (with some brief help from Batman) an unholy collection of lethal oddballs and mutant misfits (one who can summon up fire at will, another who looks and fights like a crocodile, you know the sort of thing) and locked them away in some ghastly Louisiana swamp prison.

Now, employing a mix of emotional blackmail  Deadshot will do anything for his 11-year-old daughter  and the persuasive powers of high explosives implanted in their necks, she plans to turn them into a force for US good. Theyre a team of very bad people who, I think, could do some good. Task Force X, aka the Suicide Squad, is on its way.

Suicide Squad is a film with confidence and swagger, a film in which the sharpness of its dialogue is matched only by the coolness of its (very loud) soundtrack

David Ayer, who wrote the screenplay for Training Day and wrote and directed End Of Watch and Fury, takes on the dual creative role again here and gets the grown-up comic-book tone pretty much bang on, with stylistic echoes of Deadpool, Watchmen and Hellboy.

With Jared Letos manic Joker (Dangerous tattooed on his forehead) also to the fore, the spectre of The Dark Knight and Heath Ledgers iconic interpretation of the role are never far away either.

But any film still introducing new characters 45 minutes in hasnt got everything right and Im wearying of demi-gods in superhero films, even when its Cara Delevingne as the all-powerful Enchantress.

Delevingne has impressed before but this isnt her finest hour. And her CGI-generated, omnipotent screen brother, pure Gods Of Egypt, is a step too far.

Ayer is clearly aware hes hardly breaking new ground. X-Men, Avengers, even Ghostbusters... they all seem to have been somewhere like this before. Let me guess, yells Deadshot as the action builds to a familiar climax. Were going to that swirling ring of trash in the sky. Yes, again.

So while its not perfect, Suicide Squad is very good and definitely worth catching, particularly if you have older teenagers to amuse.

Its a film with confidence and swagger, a film in which the sharpness of its dialogue is matched only by the coolness of its (very loud) soundtrack.

So heres to Viola Davis popping up at the end of the next one, too.

SECOND SCREEN

The Carer (15)

Rating:

Bobby Sands: 66 Days (15)

Rating:

The Carer is one of the oddest films Ive seen all year and almost impossible to review. At times, this Anglo-Hungarian production is amateurishly awful, but at others its moving and well acted, particularly by Brian Cox, who is in his absolute and noisy element as ageing thespian and curmudgeonly family tyrant Sir Michael Gifford.

But it is its very un-British directness in addressing one of the great taboos of the ageing process that lingers longest in the memory.

The subject of incontinence  and its bedfellow, chronic constipation  is raised so bluntly in one early scene that Im surprised the fragrant likes of Emilia Fox and Anna Chancellor (both good in supporting roles) didnt just turn tail and flee.

At times, the production is amateurishly awful, but at others its moving and well acted, particularly by Brian Cox, who is in his absolute and noisy element as an ageing thespian

Later it falls to Cox himself to deliver one of the films most memorable lines, as Sir Michael is asked whether forgetting his words is likely to be a problem as he prepares for one last big night on the London stage. Its not drying Im scared of, he thunders. Its wetting!

And wetting, alas, is only half of his problems, as one extraordinary scene makes clear: his stage-struck carer launches into the A rose by any other name would smell as sweet speech from Romeo And Juliet as she gently wipes the great theatre knights bottom.

Its such a bizarre scene  not to mention a potentially funny one  that at times I wondered whether Id dreamed it. But no, it really happened.

Normally at this point, Id suggest at least two-and-a-half hearty cheers for Janos Edelenyi, the films director and co-writer, simply for having the guts to boldly go where so few film-makers have gone before. But The Carer is too odd and dramatically uneven for that.

Its a shame because the underlying idea is a nice, if not totally original, one, with Sir Michaels physical frailties persuading his wealthy, control-freak daughter (Fox) that a new carer is the only answer.

What no one expects, however  least of all his protective and adoring housekeeper (Chancellor)  is how warmly the irascible thespian eventually takes to the young Hungarian woman who arrives in his chauffeur-driven Rolls-Royce.

Distant echoes of the Maggie Smith and Tom Courtenay film Quartet, a very good joke about the philosopher Kant, and a video cameo from a game Roger Moore are all on show here

Not only does Dorottya (Coco Konig) stand up to the old bully, but she lights his cigarettes, takes him to the pub and generally persuades him that his remaining life should be lived, not endured. He loves that idea; his daughter not so much.

Distant echoes of the Maggie Smith and Tom Courtenay film Quartet, a very good joke about the philosopher Kant, and a video cameo from a game Roger Moore are all on show here, along, sadly, with two big problems.

We never understand whether Dorottya arrives at Sir Michaels by chance or because, as it turns out, she has theatrical ambitions of her own, while Konig, despite serving up one or two touching moments, rarely convinces either as a kindly carer or as an aspiring actress.

The story of Bobby Sands, the IRA man who starved himself to death in the spring of 1981, is a powerful and compelling one. Its already been the subject of a tremendously evocative dramatisation, Hunger, made by Steve McQueen, who went on to direct 12 Years A Slave. And now along comes a feature-length documentary made by director/producer Brendan J Byrne.

With much of the historical footage coming from the grainy television archives of the Sixties and Seventies, I wouldnt be surprised if this production looks better on the small screen

Byrne has certainly assembled an impressive cast  from Lord Tebbit and Sandss former IRA colleagues to the H-block prison officer who recalls working in an open sewer with 40 people who want to kill you  and certainly covers the ground you would expect, together with some (Irelands long tradition of hunger-strikers, for instance) that you might not.

But Im not sure Bobby Sands: 66 Days really does enough to justify a theatrical release.
They were holding me so tight that it was difficult for me to even breathe. I kept screaming but no one came forward to rescue me.

They raped me for two days. I was brutally kicked and slapped, and sent to Mumbai. A police officer called Mr Chaurasiya asked the boys to dump me in the car and send me to a place from where I cannot come back.

If anyone wants to experience heaven and hell on earth, they should spend at least a day with one of these girls living in these brothels...

Scroll down for video...

Blush Originals' new documentary Gudiya (the Hindi word for Doll) narrates the devastating lives of sex workers in the brothels of Varanasi in Uttar Pradesh

This is no fictional drama, but a harsh reality suffered by thousands of girls trapped inside the brothels in Varanasi - one of the oldest religious cities in the world.

The voices of young girls (identified with fake names such as Roohi and Priya) are presented to haunting effect in the hard-hitting documentary by Blush Originals, titled Gudiya.

Ajeet Singh (left) and his wife Manju Singh (right) are counsellors and rescuers associated with the NGO Guriya Swayam Sevi Sansthan, which has rescued several girls from gross mistreatment in Varanasi brothels

The documentary has so far gathered 284,799 views on YouTube and the makers are being flooded with responses from viewers across the world.

Roohi and Priya were 13 and 17 respectively, when they were abducted by men in their villages.

Priya gives horrifying details of how she was abducted by two men and taken to Mumbai, were she was raped and assaulted every day.

But when she was about to be sold to a brothel, her captors learnt that her mother had visited the police station back home to lodge an FIR - and they abandoned her on an isolated lane in Mumbai.

"They threw me out of running vehicle near Kurla (a place in Mumbai), from where I randomly boarded a train to escape their clutches and somehow returned to my home," Priya explains in the film.

A girl rescued by Guriya was featured in the documentary narrating her horrifying story after she was abducted at the age of 13

The girls mustered the courage to appear on camera and speak of the world which they recall as 'worse than hell'.

Directed by young filmmakers Joyna Mukherjee and Aniket Tari, the documentary produced by Culture Machine, takes the audience to the unknown dark by-lanes of Varanasi, which host the seedy underbelly of Indian society.

Roohi narrated how she was tortured and raped while she was kidnapped and sold to a brothel

To begin with, it was hard for the filmmakers to convince the girls who suffered in this living hell to relive their traumas.

They were rescued by an NGO  Guriya Swayam Sevi Sansthan. The organisation is run by Ajeet Singh and his wife Manju Singh, who is a rescuer and counsellor.

The documentary narrates how the police, the local administration and the brothel owners are hand-in-glove

We are not moral police or judges of the society. Our motto is only to prevent human trafficking, child prostitution, and prevent second generation prostitution, tells Ajeet Singh.

He has been running the Guriya Sansthan since the 90s, and has been struggling to break the system which supports the brothel owners.

"The system is like a well-oiled machine, which is smoothly operating for decades now, says Ajeet.

Manju Singh describes how little babies are kidnapped from hospitals and given sex hormones in the brothels

Newborn babies from hospitals are kidnapped and sold into these brothels. They are brutally tortured, electrocuted, starved and given sex hormones. Within no time, these girls become a part of the miserable brothel life and start calling it their home."

"The living conditions are so bad that most of them suffer AIDS, STDs, and in no time start to look much older than their real age, says Ajeet.

His wife Manju reveals in the film how teenage girls are sold 'in the market', and society turns a blind eye to it.

Varanasi is a prominent religious destination for Hindu worshippers, and is the constituency of PM Narendra Modi

Varanasi has traditionally been the most important place for Hindu worshippers, a destination for millions of travellers for spiritual tourism - and it is the constituency of PM Narendra Modi.

This same city has been home to young girls who were forcefully made to join the red-light district.

The brothels in Varanasi have been a bustling hub for child prostitution and teenage sex slaves for many years - and the police, administration, brothel owners and the pimps are hand-in-glove.

Joyna and Aniket Tari realised that although the brothels have been running openly in Varanasi for decades, no concrete efforts had been made to stop it or give these girls a better life.

This is a topic which has been conveniently wiped under the carpet for long. We hope the film will at least make people think and talk about it openly, says Joyna.

Despite an endless search, we could manage to convince only two-three girls to come on the camera and speak about their life, as not many had the courage to talk about the life inside the brothels.

"These three courageous girls were rescued by Guriya Sansthan, and their mothers stood by them refusing to bow down to the pressures of society and the social system, says Aniket Tari.

Filmmakers Aniket Tari (left) Joyna Mukherjee (right) feel the documentary will make people think and talk about the issue

The film also narrates the anguish of the helpless parents, who fail to find justice and are shooed away by the police, who often refuse to lodge complaints.

"Most parents were abused and turned away by the police. They were threatened by them, or were told that their 'girl must have eloped with her boyfriend' - even if the girl in question is as young as six," reveals Manju in the film.

"Out of fear, even the girls admit that they had eloped willingly and were not abducted."

Guriya Vocational Training Institute, Shivdaspur, Varanasi, is trying to stop second generation prostitution by educating the children in brothels

The families were threatened by goons and the police, so that they stop searching for their daughters.

Ajeet and Manju have been trying to help the parents, and have so far been able to rehabilitate several girls and children of prostitutes born inside the brothels at the Guriya Vocational Training Institut in Shivdaspur, Varanasi.

Guriya is trying to prevent the prostitutes' children to follow their mothers footstep. We have been educating the children, many have taken up courses such as computers, fashion designing, beautician courses and more, says Ajeet.

He started the mission to rescue and rehabilitate women in prostitution as a youngster back in 1990, when he was a student of Delhis Hansraj College.

This malaise is flourishing because of the deep-rooted thought process of the society. We have been working hard to rescue girls tricked and sold to the red-light areas in Varanasi, Allahabad and other cities in North. We have to be patient to make the police take action or the court verdict to come out, says Ajeet.

Guriya Sansthan has so far filed 14 Public Interest Litigations (PILs) in support of the girls, and against the brothel owners.

As many as 17,000 cases have been filed by the organisation, but they have not been successful in saving many girls and children as they intend to.

In a recent verdict giving by the Allahabad court, nearly 500 traffickers arrested were denied bail.

This was one of the biggest victories we had in recent times, as every little step and achievement made in this direction counts," says Ajeet.

"The real problem is with the girls living in the brothels. They are mentally broken to such an extent that most of them begin to consider themselves safe inside the brothel.

Most of them are into drugs, or have been suffering from some deadly disease. After spending years in the brothel, returning home is never an option for them.

"They have lost faith in the system- particularly in police, who rarely support them.
I have been watching Janab Maulana Khalid Rashid Firangimahali Saheb on television defending Islam as a religion of peace, calling the so-called Islamic State un-Islamic, and expressing opinions with which I entirely agree.

But this has made me wonder, why does he keep completely silent when self-styled Khalifa al-Baghdadi and his followers repeatedly say - Islam has never been a religion of peace, not even for a day, and that [Islam] has always been a religion of war and conflict.

Path of terror

I didnt see Saheb or any other Ulema (scholars of Muslim religious law) questioning their Nadwi colleague from Lucknow - the influential Salman Nadwi - when he became the first Indian Muslim in July 2014 to openly convey his allegiance to the same Khalifa.

Why do progressive Muslims stay silent when self-styled Khalifa al-Baghdadi and his followers repeatedly say that Islam has never been a religion of peace, not even for a day"?

I didnt see Saheb questioning the notorious televangelist Dr. Zakir Naik when he said all Muslims should be terrorists.

Indeed, almost the entire fraternity of Muslim Ulema has come out in his defence after the discovery that his discourse inevitably inspired people to take the path of terrorism.

Worst of all, the Ulema kept quiet when the highly-respected Maulana Abdul Alem Islahi of Hyderabad asked Muslims to pray for the Islamic State.

He said: Condemnation of their action may be  against the spirit of Islam.  they have tried to fulfill the dream of a large section of Muslims.

Most disturbing of all is the Ulemas complete silence over a seemingly very well-reasoned, coherent fatwa, citing verses from the Quran and narrations of Hadith, of the Hyderabadi Maulana, seeking to prove that Islam asks Indian Muslims to fight when they perceive they are under attack by non-Muslims, whom he calls infidels and idol-worshippers - or kafirs and mushriks respectively.

Controversial Islamic Preacher Dr. Zakir Naik (on TV) addressing a conference in Mumbai

Duty to convert

In a booklet entitled Use of Force in the light of Quran, written in response to Dr. Nejatullah Siddiqis essay renouncing violence as Jihad, Maulana Islahi, says: The summary of whatever Dr Saheb has written is that  no matter what the flag-bearers of Hindutva may do, taking any step against them will be wrong from the point of view of Shariah and harmful for the Muslims.

On Page 10/11, in a chapter entitled Jihad is not violence, Islahi says: In the light of the Quran and hadith, calling punishment for violence is very wrong.

"It is an un-Islamic idea and is akin to striking a hard blow at the purpose of the prophet-hood of the holy Prophet.

"Please see Quran 9: 29: 'It is the duty (of Muslims) to struggle for the domination of Islam over false religions and subdue and subjugate ahle-kufr-o-shirk (infidels and polytheists) in the same way as it is the duty of the Muslims to proselytise and invite people to Islam'.

Televangelist Dr. Zakir Naik is reported to have said that 'all Muslims should be terrorists'

Maulanas entire essay is a call to arms for Indian Muslims. But none of the Ulema have refuted Maulana Islahi. Not even when it became known that Islahi had inspired the Indian Mujahideen group.

The Encyclopedia of Islam prepared in Kuwait by a consensus of Ulema defines Jihad as: Terminologically, Jihad means to fight against a non-zimmi unbeliever (kaafir) after he rejects the call towards Islam, in order to raise high the words of Allah.

Clearly, the consensus opinion is not wrong.

The truth

Islam is indeed a religion of peace and pluralism, as is repeatedly said these days. It does indeed teach harmonious co-existence.

But Islamic theology of today, as taught in madrasas and universities, doesnt. As such, Islam has become synonymous with terrorism.

Wake up, Maulana Saheb, and start taking remedial action. If you cant do that, at least stop deceiving the world through your peaceful pronouncements.

The Islamic State is making efforts to recruit Indian youths to carry out terror attacks in Iraq, Syria and even within India

We are now living in a world of internet. Scholarship is available at our fingertips. Everyone is a scholar. You cant hide anything.

To tell you the truth, Saheb is not deceiving any one, not least our children who are running away to join the so-called Islamic State, even though he calls it an un-Islamic State.

They all know the truth. Do you know how many children in India have started calling their parents kafir?

We teach children the virtues of Jihad, yet ask them to practice peace.

Be honest and call for war, or renounce your theology of violence and supremacism and develop a new and coherent theology of peace and pluralism.

Yours Sincerely,

A concerned Muslim.
India has delivered a blunt message to Pakistan asking it to stop glorifying terror groups, while also calling for strong action against nations supporting terrorism.

Home Minister Rajnath Singh, in his address to the 7th SAARC (South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation) Interiors Ministers' Conference, said that terrorism remains the biggest challenge and threat to the region.

Without mincing his words amid the strain of current Indo-Pak relations, Singh said the mere condemnation of terrorism and terrorists is not enough, and that there are no good terrorists or bad terrorists.

Rajnath Singh in Islamabad: India has delivered a blunt message to Pakistan at the SAARC Conference, asking it to stop the glorification of terrorists

Meanwhile, India described the reports of a blackout during Singhs statement at the SAARC ministerial meeting as misleading.

It is the standard SAARC practice that the opening statement by the host country is public and open to the media, while the rest of the proceedings are off camera. This allows for a full and frank discussion of issues, a government source said.

Pakistani PM Nawaz Sharif was in attendance at the SAARC Conference in Islamabad

Speaking in Hindi at the conference, Singh said there should be the strongest possible action taken not only against terrorists or organisations, but also against those individuals and nations supporting terrorism.

It also needs to be ensured that terrorism is not glorified and is not patronised by any state, Singh said in a veiled dig at Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif.

Singhs comments came against the backdrop of Sharifs praise of Burhan Wani - who was killed in an encounter in J&K on July 8 - and his description of the Hizbul Mujahideen commander as a martyr, much to Indias anger.

One countrys terrorist cannot be a martyr or freedom fighter for anyone. I also speak for the entire humanity - not just for India or other SAARC members in urging that in no circumstances should terrorists be eulogised as martyrs.

The current strain in Indo-Pak relations was apparently evident when Singh came face-to-face with his Pakistani counterpart Chaudhary Nisar Ali Khan for the first time, and the two leaders barely shook hands.

The two men barely touched their hands, not even giving a formal handshake, before Singh moved ahead to enter the meeting hall.
Impoverished children in Jharkhands Chelabera village clasp their arms around buoyant water containers and float down the river on their daily journey to school.

The Sanjay river in Chelabera has no bridge, and the relentless monsoon rains have cut off the vital paths between the town and 50 other villages across the swollen stream.

While senior school-children wade or swim down the river to get to school, the parents of younger pupils drop floating aluminium containers into the water to help the less capable swimmers make it in time for class.

Poor children in Jharkhands Chelabera village clasp their arms around buoyant cauldrons and float down the river on their daily journey to school

Like a swim ring, these pots are incredibly light helping the small children to float across the river to school.

At the shore on the other side, they take off their uniforms and wait for them to dry out.

A school student told Mail Today that if their uniform doesnt dry in time, they may miss a class.

Containers made from light aluminium float in water and are being used by Jharkhand parents to help their children swim to school

Barely a few kilometres from the state capital of Ranchi, dozens of villages face similar issues due to a lack of river bridges.

When heavy rain falls, residents have no choice but to cross the water on oar-less boats.

In Mesra, around 10 km from Ranchi, villagers hold on to over-head cords they have tied from one corner to another to steer their vessels ahead.

We are travelling in old boats as there is no other way to reach villages across, said Chandan Lohra, a student.

When heavy rains falls, residents have no other means but to cross the water course on oar-less boats

In the rainy season, it becomes really dangerous for us to cross the river. But there is nobody to resolve this situation. Its a huge risk but we have no option but to cross the river this way, he added.

Villagers argue that the state government has failed to build them vital infrastructure.

When confronted, Jharkhands urban development minister Neelkanth Singh Munda claimed he has taken note of the chronic problem.

Jharkhands urban development minister Neelkanth Singh Munda claimed he has taken note of the chronic problem, as villagers continue to struggle

He also promised to resolve this crippling infrastructure deficit soon.

Jharkhands chief minister Raghubar Das is known for his public statements about spending generously on development projects. But the monsoon appears to have scuppered his claims, especially in the villages.
The Supreme Court on Friday said that offenders found guilty of adulterating milk with harmful chemicals should spend their life behind bars and directed the central government to raise the penalty to deal with the menace.

The apex court said the present six-month imprisonment was hardly a deterrent and cited the governments own admission in parliament four months ago, which said that two out of three people in the country drink milk laced with detergent, caustic soda, urea and paint.

Since in India traditionally infants/children are fed milk, adulteration of milk and its products is a concern and stringent measures need to be taken to combat it. The consumption of adulterated milk and adulterated milk products is hazardous to human health, said the court.

The Supreme Court said it was forced to pass the directive as repeated reminders to make amendments in the Food Safety and Standards Act (FSSA), 2006, have not yielded any results

A three-member bench, headed by Chief Justice TS Thakur, was acting on a petition filed by religious guru, Swami Achyutanand Tirth of Haridwar, four years ago.

The court came down heavily on the government, and said it was forced to pass the directive as repeated reminders to make amendments in the Food Safety and Standards Act (FSSA), 2006, have not yielded any results.

The court asked the Centre to follow the norms that have already been laid down by UP, MP, Odisha and West Bengal.

As observed by this court earlier, it will be in order if the central government considers making suitable amendments in the penal provisions at par with the provisions contained in the State amendments to the Indian Penal Code. It is also desirable that Union of India revisits the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006 to revise the punishment for adulteration making it more deterrent in cases where the adulterant can have an adverse impact on health, the bench said.

In all, the SC issued ten directives, at a time when over 68 percent of milk sold is not conforming to the standards laid down by the food regulator FSSAI.

The directives include identification of high risk areas, setting up labs and milk testing vans and spreading awareness through a newly established website.

The three-member bench was acting on a petition filed by religious guru, Swami Achyutanand Tirth of Haridwar

The court has, earlier too, taken serious exception to the Centres refusal to amend the law.

What are you doing about it? In March we had given an ultimatum to the Centre to inform us if you are amending the law and we are now in December, an SC bench had said on December 12, 2014, when Anurag Tomar, lawyer for the petitioner pointed out the delay.

The court has repeatedly said it would be foolish to go lightly on adulterators just because no grievous illness or death has been reported immediately after someone drinks milk laced with such poisonous substances.
India's state ministers have money and muscle power in abundance, but when it comes to education, there are plenty of lessons to be learnt.

While 34 per cent of ministers from state assemblies have declared criminal cases against them, 76 per cent of them are crorepatis with average assets of Rs 8.59 crore, shows a recent study.

About 160 ministers out of the 609 covered have studied up to class XII or below.

Ponguru Narayana of Telugu Desam Party has assets worth Rs 496 crore, followed by D K Shivakumar (left) of Cong with Rs 251 crore.

The analysis by Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR) said 113 (19%) ministers have declared serious criminal cases including of murder, attempt to murder, kidnapping, crimes against women, etc.

In contrast, of the 78 ministers examined from the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha, 14 (18%) have declared serious criminal cases against themselves.

A total of 609 ministers out of 620 have been analysed from 29 state assemblies and two Union Territories.

The study said 462 (76%) of them are crorepatis. While there is no dearth of millionaire ministers in the states, Andhra Pradesh is at the top (20 ministers) with average assets of Rs 45.49 crore, followed by Karnataka (31 ministers) at Rs 36.96 crore and Arunachal Pradesh (7 ministers) at Rs 32.62 crore.

On the other hand, north-eastern state Tripura (12 ministers) is at the bottom with average assets of Rs 31.67 lakh, with Kerala (19 ministers) above it at Rs 78.72 lakh and then Manipur (11 ministers) at Rs 83.92 lakh.

Among the ministers with the highest assets is Ponguru Narayana of the Telugu Desam Party with Rs 496 crore, followed by DK Shivakumar of the Congress at Rs 251 crore, says the ADR report.

Three state assemblies  Arunachal Pradesh, Punjab and Puducherry  have the distinction of 100 per cent crorepati ministers.

They are followed by 97 per cent ministers of Karnataka and 92 per cent ministers from Rajasthan, Goa, Meghalaya and Chhattisgarh who also have declared assets valued at Rs 1 crore and above.

The states with the highest percentage of ministers with serious criminal cases include nine from Jharkhand, four from Delhi, nine from Telangana, 18 from Maharashtra, 11 from Bihar and two from Uttarakhand.

The study revealed a dearth of female ministers, as out of the 609 examines, just 51 are women.

The highest number of female ministers is from Madhya Pradesh and Tamil Nadu, with five each.

State cabinets of Arunachal Pradesh, Delhi, Mizoram, Nagaland, Puducherry, Punjab and Telangana have no female ministers.

Wealth does not guarantee good educational qualification.

There are nine ministers who have studied up to class V or lower. A total of 59 ministers have cleared class X while 77 have passed class XII.

Only 157 ministers have attended colleges and are graduates.

The list also comprises those ministers who have postgraduate (125) and doctorate (26) degrees.

As far as age goes, a majority of them are between 50 and 60 years old and a few are in the range of 80 to 90 years.
Near Khanabal village on the Srinagar-Anantnag highway stands a gutted building of the Forest Protection Force (FPF).

The structure was set ablaze by protesters after the killing of 20-year-old Hilal Ahmad Dar allegedly by security personnel about 500 metres away. Zubair Ahmad Dar, 16, is Hilals brother.

He suffers from a rare lung disease and needs an injection every seven days.

The parents of 19-year-old Jehangir Ahmad Ganai, who died at Hassan Pora village in Bijbehara on July 9, say their son was a victim of targeted killing

At about 5.30pm on July 13, according to the class VIII student of a government-run school, Hilal took him to a medical shop for the shot.

When we were returning from there, cops abused us. My brother objected to the abuses, says Zubair.

He said the cops insulted them when they took to the village road, where previously stone-throwing protesters and the police had fought pitched battles.

Zubair says his brother put on his earphones and they had walked a few metres when the cops shouts grew louder and one of them pointed a gun at his brother and fired a shot.

The bullet hit his face and he fell down. I opened my shirt and put it on the wound and tried to stop the blood rushing out.

For a few minutes, there was no aid in sight.

Then some locals rushed in and someone brought a car to move the wounded Hilal to hospital.

My brother was well-built. We put him in the vehicle and I held his head in my lap. He was bleeding from his face and back of the head, he said.

When they reached a bridge on the way to the hospital, says Zubair, CRPF personnel stopped the vehicle and broke all the windows despite seeing a wounded person in the vehicle.

His brother succumbed to the injuries after they crossed the bridge.

At Nandpora village, Mohammad Shafi Mandoo narrates a similar tale.

A day after Burhans killing on July 9, protests broke out in the area, but the demonstrations and stone-throwing at government forces had ended by around 4pm.

He said his son Imtiyaz Ahmad Mandoo was sitting at a roadside shop at 5.30pm when CRPF personnel returned to the village and fired at him.

It was a targeted killing and he died on the spot, says the father. After Imtiyazs death, there has been no thaw in the protests.

At Hassan Pora village in Bijbehara on the evening of July 9, hundreds of people razed a picket of J&K polices Special Operations Group.

The fence post was first torched and then torn down.

According to 25-year-old Sajjad Ahmad Mir, his elder brother Showkat went out to look for his son at about 2pm.

Sajjad said Showkat was walking alone when he was fired upon by the SOG personnel.

He died on the spot.

On the same day, Jehangir Ahmad Ganai, 19, who ran a medical shop, went to offer his last respects to Showkat.

According to his father, Mushtaq, SOG personnel fired at him from about 100 metres.

His killing evoked massive protests.

The SOG camp was on the land of our relatives. Our son Jehangir would regularly provide medicine to the personnel. And when they heard that they have killed Jehangir, they deserted the camp, Mehbooba, Jehangirs mother, said.
The choice of Gujarat BJP President Vijay Rupani as the states chief minister at the last minute, even as Nitin Patel was seen accepting congratulations throughout the day, has raised many eyebrows.

The inside story behind all the drama took place behind closed doors.

If reports are to be believed, Vijay Rupani, 61, is BJP National President Amit Shahs aide while state Health Minister Nitin Patel is considered close to former Gujarat chief minister Anandiben Patel.

If reports are to be believed, Vijay Rupani (left) is BJP National President Amit Shahs aide while state Health Minister Nitin Patel is considered close to former chief minister Anandiben Patel

Anandiben was pushing for Nitin Patel, refusing to listen to any argument against him.

She apparently said in a meeting that no candidate of Amit Shah should be Gujarats new chief minister.

After long arguments, Anandiben was told that Nitin Patel is not on good terms with the Patidars and, hence, cannot guarantee a win in the Gujarat 2017 Assembly elections.

Subsequently, with no solution in sight, Prime Minister Narendra Modi called Anandiben.

It was after his intervention that she agreed on Rupanis name for the chief ministerial post.

After a long meeting, that was attended by Amit Shah, Vijay Rupani, Nitin Patel, Anandiben and V Satish, both sides reached on a compromise and decided on Vijay Rupanis name for the chief ministers post, and Nitin Patels for that of deputy chief minister.

The BJP chief had reportedly promised Vijay Rupani that he will be the new chief minister of Gujarat.

Anandiben, who will turn 75 this November, handed over her resignation to Governor OP Kohli on Wednesday after announcing her decision to quit on Facebook.

Rupani belongs to the Jain community, which is a dominant social group in Gujarat politics.
The rotten state of affairs in Indias biggest province is symptomatic of the decay that has corroded the police, bureaucracy and even the lower judiciary across states (Pictured former UP Chief Minister Mulayam Singh Yadav)

Coincidence can be scarily spooky.

The closing days of the Samajwadi Party (Socialist Party) government in Uttar Pradesh in 2006-07 witnessed the unfolding of a grisly crime that exposed the lawlessness prevailing in Indias largest and most populous province.

The chance spotting of the skeletal remains of a child in the backyard of a semi-detached house at Nithari in Noida, barely 20 km from Delhi, led to a hideous discovery.

Children from poor immigrant families were routinely lured into the house, sexually abused, killed, bits of their flesh feasted upon and their remains buried in the narrow yard.

Police and forensic investigations revealed that at least 18 children and a young adult had entered that house, inhabited by a businessman and his domestic help, not to emerge again.

The number of children who had gone missing from the nearby immigrants shanties was twice that number.

Barbaric perversities are not unique to either Uttar Pradesh or India.

Such stomach- churning crimes are reported from all corners of the world.

What set the Nithari Horror, as this crime came to be known, was the sheer callousness of the district authorities and the police, and the cynical response of those in power.

Lethargic

Like the bureaucracy anywhere else in India, the officials at Noida couldnt be bothered about the nuts and bolts of civil administration.

That tedious task was left to clerks and peons, mostly corrupt and largely lethargic. So no senior official was even remotely aware that a large number of children had gone missing in one particular area under their watch.

Similarly, senior police officers, like their compatriots in uniform in other provinces, had outsourced policing to colleagues way down the pecking order.

Problem was they were busy recovering the money they had invested to get posted in a cash-rich industrial zone where pickings are good.

So they had no time to either register or pursue missing children reports.

All the glaring lapses that came to the fore at Nithari could have been explained away.

Police and bureaucratic indifference no longer shocks and awes India, least of all Indians living in Uttar Pradesh.

But that option was foreclosed by the then Chief Ministers brother and the current Chief Ministers uncle who brushed aside popular anger with the most uncaring of statements: Small things happen in a big state. At the first available opportunity, people booted out the socialists and voted in a party that primarily represents the Dalits, or the oppressed outcastes.

Their leader, perceived to have a rather elastic attitude towards white collar corruption, had the reputation of being tough on criminals.

In the event, Mayawati failed to live up to expectations. Within months of her return to power in 2007, a government engineer was beaten to death for not making a contribution to the leaders birthday party.

Through the next five years her much touted administrative skills were nowhere to be seen as law-breakers acted with increasing impunity.

In 2012, she got booted out, like Mulayam Singh Yadav five years ago.

Baggage

Akhilesh Yadav, son of Mulayam and inheritor of his Luddite socialist politics, came to power with a huge majority and little else other than baggage his father had lugged for years.

As his term in the Chief Ministers office draws to an end, a ghastly crime, the gang-rape of a young woman and her teenaged daughter, has left people angry and afraid.

Angry that a car can be stopped on the highway by thugs, and women and children raped, that the police failed to respond to repeated and desperate SOS messages (apparently the '100 distress call facility is maintained by the stateowned telecom firm BSNL and has been on the blink for ages), that between Nithari and Bulandshahr, where the outrage occurred a week ago, little or nothing has changed.

Afraid because the nightmarish ordeal of the victims could have been, indeed could be, anybody elses.

You may despise thugs, but you are also scared of them, especially when the police abandon you to their not so tender mercies.

Conspiracy

Worse, another uncle of the Chief Minister, a Muslim lawmaker and Home Minister of Uttar Pradesh, has crudely suggested that the gang-rape in Bulandshahr is a political conspiracy to defame the provincial government.

In the past, an entire contingent of policemen was deployed to find the missing buffaloes of this man.

Anybody who has made bold to protest against him through so much as a Facebook post has landed in jail. Writing from the twilight zone where rudimentary urban order ends and the badlands of Western Uttar Pradesh begin, I can only worry about what the future holds  for me, and others like me.

How soon before the bubble of assumed security bursts?

The rotten state of affairs in Indias biggest province, which also elects the largest contingent of Members of Parliament to deliberate and decide policies for India and govern the country, is symptomatic of the decay that has corroded the police, bureaucracy and even the lower judiciary across states, rendering them virtually worthless, while identity politics decides who gets to rule the roost.

Indias economic growth paints a bright picture. The chrome and glass malls spouting like mushrooms present a shining facade. Streets brimming with cars make India appear like a country on the move. Deceptively worded speeches by politicians would make us believe India is changing.

All thats far from the truth.

The ugly underbelly of India renders the countrys success story utterly, horribly meaningless.
The London Stock Exchange is preparing to fight off a European Union plot to snatch away its prized euro clearing business.

Chief executive Xavier Rolet yesterday mounted a defence of the foreign currency market, which is being sought after by rival European exchanges.

They believe that after Brexit the UK should not be allowed to host the vital euro currency clearing system, and that it should be taken back to the Continent.

LSE boss Xavier Rolet yesterday mounted a defence of the foreign currency market, which is being sought after by rival European exchanges

The clearing row has become a key battleground as the City prepares to fight off the threat of foreign cities such as Paris, Frankfurt and Amsterdam trying to pinch financial jobs.

Ironically, Rolets defence of the City comes as the London Stock Exchange is on the brink of a merger with German rival Deutsche Boerse.

Rolet yesterday said that the euro clearing exchange  a key jewel in the UKs financial crown  could not be moved abroad without a complex and time-consuming European Union treaty change.

Euro-based derivative trading is a 300trillion market and the vast majority of this is handled in London, supporting thousands of jobs.

France and Germany have long cast jealous eyes at this operation, but Britain last year won a landmark court ruling against a European Central Bank plot to move it to the Continent.

There were fears before the EU referendum that Brussels would not allow such an economically important activity to be handled in a non-member state.

Nut Frenchman Rolet insisted it would not be easily prised from the Citys grasp. An EU treaty change is not an easy thing, he said.

Thats not impossible, but I would say at this time theres no immediate threat.

The 2015 European Court of Justice decision found that the ECB had no power to decide where euro clearing took place, making it hard to reverse the decision without a new law.

It is just one battleground in a wider row over how much access to the EUs single market could be lost following Brexit.

The issue is expected to be at the heart of negotiations as ministers search for a balance between control over immigration and restrictions on trade.

Access to capital markets is clearly far more developed here than anywhere else in Europe, the chief executive said.

Both sides have an overriding interest in stability in the short to medium term, and a settlement that works for both sides.

If no deal was cut, he said, the cost penalty would be very high  not just, of course, for the UK but for the rest of the EU.

Rolet was speaking as LSE posted an 8.9 per cent rise in revenue to 721.9million for the first half of 2016.

Profits were down 6.9 per cent to 164.1million, partly due to one-off costs of 54.8million related to the potential takeover by Deutsche Boerse.

The 21billion deal  which both sides call a merger of equals  has attracted controversy in Britain and only scraped through the approval process for Frankfurt-based Deutsche Boerse shareholders due to waning enthusiasm since the referendum.
One of Britain's biggest insurers has urged the Government to press ahead with a crackdown on fraudulent injury claims.

Aviva bosses said Britain's vote to leave the European Union should not be allowed to delay a new law ending cash payments for minor whiplash injuries.

Aviva bosses said Britain's vote to leave the European Union should not be allowed to delay a new law ending cash payments for minor whiplash injuries

The legislation  which could save insurers 1billion a year  was promised in last year's Autumn Statement but there has been little progress since.

It would curb compensation for easily faked problems as well as limiting the amount of money solicitors could cream off.

Andy Briggs, chief executive of Aviva UK Life and chairman of the Association of British Insurers, said tougher laws would drive down premiums.

The business has pledged to pass on any fall in costs to customers, saying motorists would pay an average of 50 a year less.

Briggs said whiplash claims were 19 times higher in the UK than France, which is less indulgent of the compensation culture.

'Either people in the UK have necks 19 times weaker than people in France or there's some other factor.

'We're very keen to make sure this legislation still happens, with everything else that's going on,' he said.

He was speaking as the firm unveiled a 13 per cent rise in operating profits to 1.3billion for the first half of 2016. Aviva also hiked its dividend by 10 per cent to 7.42p per share.

This growth was driven by a 20 per cent rise in life insurance profits after the 5.6billion takeover of rival Friends Life last year.

General insurance profits were down 17 per cent due to a 23million charge for the Government's new Flood Re levy to support insurance for flood-hit homes, and higher natural catastrophe claims in Canada and France.

Fellow insurance giant RSA announced a similar boost, with first-half operating profits up 20 per cent to 312million. The dividend was raised by 43 per cent to 5p per share.

Chief executive Stephen Hester said he hoped to pay out 40 per cent to 50 per cent of profits as dividends.
Zimbabwe's ageing despot Robert Mugabe is losing his grip on power over teachers, nurses and the military who have propped him up over five decades live in poverty.

But for two Instagram loving sisters, the country's troubles are a world away from their luxury lifestyles.

Dubbed Zimbabwe's Kardashians thanks to their pouting, selfie obsession, Vanessa and Michelle are the daughters of flamboyant property mogul and politician Philip Chiyangwa, a 'nephew' of Mugabe, who is worth 215million.

But despite her father's wealth and high connections, Vanessa Chironga insists she lives a 'humble' life in the capital Harare.

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Zimbabwe's Kardashians: Vanessa Chironga (right) and her sister Michelle (left) have been dubbed the country's answer to the reality show family starring Kim, Kourtney and Khloe

'Humble': Vanessa, who celebrated a lavish wedding in the Seychelles last year, described the ceremony as 'low-cost', spending 50,000 on their 50 guests

Boss: Her little sister Michelle, styles herself as 'Boss Lady' and sells wigs from a plush hair parlour in Harare, while cruising in a Range Rover and indulging in Chanel shopping sprees

While the country is the poorest it has been in 20 years and violent protests are held against Mugabe on the streets, the 29-year-old is overseeing the construction of a new house in an exclusive suburb with four bedrooms, two bars, and an infinity pool with her new husband, Tanaka.

They scaled back their recent wedding in the Seychelles to 50,000. Gushing over her intimate ceremony of 50 guests, she said: 'It was actually a low cost wedding.

'We had a destination wedding because we were trying to avoid the 9,000 people that would come if we had a traditional one in Zimbabwe,' she said - admitting that the traditional wedding would of course have to include her father's 'uncle', President Mugabe.

The couple are now planning a 'budget' honeymoon to Cancun, Thailand or Bali, next month after overspending on the ceremony paying for their guests' alcohol.

But Zimbabwe's troubles where poverty-stricken protesters are taking to the streets to rally against Mugabe are not lost on Vanessa.

She said potholes in Harare's roads make it almost impossible to drive her 80,000 Victoria Beckham 2013 edition Range Rover.

And she cites the state of the country's roads as the reason Vanessa and her new husband only have two cars each.

'Currently I only have two [cars] to be honest, with the potholes and the road surface the amount of stuff you have to do to your car is ridiculous,' she told MailOnline.

High life: Vanessa thinks it's 'ridiculous' to have more than two cars (each) in Harare because the pot holes cause too much damage

Her father Philip Chiyangwa, who's worth an estimated 215 million, gifted her first car - a Chysler Crosshair - then the only one of its kind in Zimbabwe

Lavish: Vanessa is building her own four bed roomed house with two bars and an infinity pool in an exclusive Harare neighbourhood

'If you're smart you'll only have one or two cars. If you're OK with public transport then you'll do that, but I'm not very comfortable with public transport because there are so many deaths,' she said.

'When I was given my first car [by my dad] I cried forever  it was a Chrysler Crossfire  and it was the first one in Zimbabwe for about eight years so whenever I drove around I was like 'Oh my god!'

Despite her lavish, oh-so Instagrammable lifestyle of hotels, cocktails and extravagant shopping trips, Vanessa insists she earned everything she owns.

'Everything I've got now I worked hard for myself,' she declared.

'I worked for my dad three years, but after that there's no trust fund for me.'

Despite her lavish, oh-so Instagrammable lifestyle of hotels, cocktails and extravagant shopping trips, Vanessa insists she earned everything she owns

The entrepreneur used to run a lingerie and sex toy business but had to shut it down due to accusations over it's 'morality'. Vanessa now sells face cream aimed at adult acne

The newlyweds are now planning a honeymoon to Cancun, Thailand or Bali, next month after they depleted their wedding budget paying for their guests' excess alcohol

Vanessa used to run a lingerie and sex toy business after spotting a gap in the market on her return from a decade in the UK.

Her firm targeted woman looking to stay loyal to their travelling husbands, but was soon scrapped after questions were raised over its questionable Christian morals.

She now runs a skincare brand aimed at clearing up adult acne, as well as a daycare centre for Harare's miniature elites.

Her younger sister Michelle, who lists herself simply as 'Boss' on LinkedIn, runs a hair salon from a plush Harare suburb Bluffhill. She sells luxury wigs online for 200.

The 27-year-old entrepreneur  whose name doesn't appear publicly listed on the car rental and her father's property businesses she claims to run  says she studied acting at Canterbury Christ Church University in the UK.

Self-branded 'Lady MC-Boss Lady' posts pouting selfies, and gushing pictures of her luxurious lifestyle including a bed laden with Gucci bags tagged 'Feels like Christmas' and a shiny black Jeep with the personalised number plate 'BLESSED 1'.

The women have built a reputation in their home country where they are tagged 'The Kardashian sisters while their country crumbles.

The couple are now planning a honeymoon to Cancun, Thailand or Bali, next month after they depleted their wedding budget paying for their guests' excess alcohol

Sibling: Vanessa said she and her siblings had to do something special to earn gifts from their multi-millionaire father, flamboyant businessman Philip Chiyangwa. Above, with her brother

Selfie-queen: 27-year-old Michelle models the wigs she sells herself and posts glamorous shots on her Facebook page to drum up business in Zimbabwe's dire economic climate

The girls appear to be unfazed by the difficulties faced by their father Philip's friend President Mugabe as he launches a vicious crackdown on former allies who have turned against him.

The 92-year-old's desperate attempt to cling to power is causing tension as the country teeters on the brink.

Former freedom fighters who have turned on the tyrant after four decades of loyalty, are being rounded up by police and jailed for their 'traitorous' disloyalty.

Mugabe's men stormed the home of war veteran Douglas Mahiya and held his family - including his two-month-old grandchild - under house arrest until he surrendered, his son revealed.

President Mugabe's desperate attempt to cling to power is causing tension as the country teeters on the brink

After years of brutality, Zimbabweans of all ages are increasingly turning to smartphones - Facebook and WhatsApp in particular - to bypass strict curfews and protest bans to plot

The devastating statement from the powerful Zimbabwe National Liberation War Veterans Association likened Mugabe to a diseased tree - 'The rot needs to be uprooted, and right now'

Mr Mahiya, who is the spokesman for the group has languished in custody since his arrest after prosecutors claimed he posed 'a threat to national security'

Mr Mahiya has appeared in court for 'undermining the authority' of Mugabe  who has led Zimbabwe since 1980  for issuing a damning statement accusing him of 'presiding over untold suffering' and demanding his immediate resignation.

Mr Mahiya's son described the terrifying crackdown, saying he returned home to find his father in handcuffs and his family 'helpless' as the officers ransacked the property as they searched for 'subversive material'.

Mr Mahiya, who is the spokesman for the powerful Zimbabwe National Liberation War Veterans Association, has languished in custody since his arrest after prosecutors claimed he posed 'a threat to national security'.

The devastating statement from the veterans group last week likened Mugabe to a diseased tree. 'The rot needs to be uprooted, and right now,' the communique read.

The group's secretary general, Victor Matemadanda, who was also detained in the crackdown, faces similar charges but is yet to be hauled before court.

Observers believe the group's declaration that they are no longer supporting Mugabe could prove a 'tipping point' in his 38-year rule.

Reports claim he has presided over one of the most corrupt regimes the world has ever known.

Gems worth at least 1.25bn have been stolen by Robert Mugabe's ruling elite, international dealers and criminals, in 'perhaps the biggest single plunder of diamonds the world has seen since Cecil Rhodes', a watchdog claimed.

One of the largest diamond deposits ever found was discovered in Zimbabwe a decade ago and should have brought prosperity to the small population.

But funds from diamond sales never reached the country's treasury coffers, instead millions of pounds have lined the pockets of Mugabe's inner circle.

Revenue that could have revived the country's ailing economy has been channelled into a 'parallel government' of police and military officers and government officials loyal to Mugabe, according to Partnership Africa Canada (PAC), a group campaigning against 'blood diamonds'.

The girls appear to be unfazed by the difficulties faced by their father Philip's friend President Mugabe as he launches a vicious crackdown on former allies who have turned against him

But Vanessa has admitted that as a mother, she is considering leaving the country for her children's future - an option unavailable to the vast majority of Zimbabweans

After years of brutality, Zimbabweans of all ages are increasingly turning to smartphones - Facebook and WhatsApp in particular - to bypass strict curfews and protest bans to plot.

Last month, Mugabe's allies in China helped to briefly shut down the messaging networks, but protesters are becoming increasingly sophisticated at bypassing firewall.

Despite Vanessa's family links to Mugabe, she has not held back from criticising the dictator's party's anti-white agenda.

'Just letting all the white people know I'm requesting your friendships so that I seduce you into coming back to Zimbabwe,' she wrote on Facebook.

'Wait is seduce the right term!!! Well maybe not but if it works why no, so come back and help us rebuild this country', she added.

Vanessa's words caused a stir in Harare, but she backed them up, saying her 'white blood' on her mother's side qualified her comments, and admitted that perhaps she reveals 'too much' about her personal life on Facebook.

'Look at how the country was 20 years ago,' she said. 'I know in some cases people felt enslaved I don't know and that's why they were so against it, but I don't look at colour  I look at shades of grey.

Observers believe the group's declaration that they are no longer supporting Mugabe, 92, could prove a 'tipping point' in his 38-year rule

Despite Vanessa's family links to Mugabe, she has not held back from criticising the dictator's party's anti-white agenda

'We thought the government had been getting better and now we're at a time where it's getting worse,' Vanessa told MailOnline

'We have just come back from [a decade] in the UK and we thought the government had been getting better and now we're at a time where it's getting worse.

'So my frustrations were taken out of the fact that I don't want to be living in a country where there are too many uncertainties.
A heroic Russian soldier killed when he called an air strike on himself when he was surrounded by ISIS jihadis in Syria has become a father from beyond the grave after his widow gave birth to a baby girl.

Alexander 'Sasha' Prokhorenko's wife Ekaterina had their daughter four months after died in the bloody battle to save Palmyra.

The Russian air strike killed the 25-year-old special forces soldier but also wiped out the band of Islamic militants who had surrounded him.

Heartbreak: Alexander 'Sasha' Prokhorenko's wife Ekaterina (right) gave birth to a daughter about four months after losing him (left) when sacrificed himself battling to save Palmyra

Bravery: The special forces soldier (pictured on his wedding day) called in an airstrike on his position near the ancient Syrian city when he was surrounded by ISIS jihadis

Courage: 'They are here. This is the end, commander, thank you,' he said in his final communication from the battlefield second before he died

'They are here. This is the end, commander, thank you,' he said in his final communication from the battlefields second before he died.

'Please, tell my family and my country, whom I love. Tell them that I was brave and I was fighting, but I can no longer do anything.

'Please take care of my family, avenge my death. Goodbye, commander. Tell my family  I love them.'

Medal: His act of astonishing courage earned him the posthumous award of Russia's highest medal for gallantry in a decree issued by President Vladimir Putin

Delight: The birth of his daughter Violetta was announced by Yuri Berg, governor of Orenburg region, who said: 'This good news has brought sincere joy'

Protecting innocents: The governor said the self-effacing Hero of Russia perished seeking to make the world safe from terrorism, but her birth showed 'life goes on'

His act of astonishing courage earned him the posthumous award of Russia's highest medal for gallantry in a decree issued by President Vladimir Putin.

When he died on 17 March, Ekaterina, 28, did not know if she was expecting a boy or girl.

The birth of Violetta was announced by Yuri Berg, governor of Orenburg region, who said: 'This good news has brought sincere joy.'

He said the self-effacing Hero of Russia perished seeking to make the world safe from terrorism, but her birth showed 'life goes on'.

'He died so that little Violetta and millions of children worldwide would never see the horrors of vile terrorist attacks,' he said.

'For now Sasha's daughter does her main job - eating and sleeping.

'But after a few years, when she's old enough, she will learn about her father.

'And she will be proud of him, as we all are proud of our fellow countryman.'

Grief: A poem penned by Ekaterina and originally posted on the day she heard of her husband's death in Syria is now visible on her social media, showing her anguish at his demise

Remembered: When he died, a Russian military spokesman said: 'An officer of Russian special operations forces was killed near Palmyra while carrying out a special task to direct Russian air strikes at Islamic State group targets'

Joy: The lieutenant's old teacher Petr Rusinov said: 'I am very happy that my former pupil, Hero of Russia Sasha Prokhorenko, has a daughter.' Pictured: Ekaterina on her wedding day

The senior lieutenant's former teacher Petr Rusinov said: 'I am very happy that my former pupil, Hero of Russia Sasha Prokhorenko, has a daughter.

'I'm happy for the mother Katyusha [Ekaterina] that she is well....

'Hopefully, Violetta will inherit father's beautiful eyes - such a fiery burning.

'I wish her to be smart, with a sense of humour, a little mischievous, and like to sing, in the same way as her father Sasha.'

At his wedding almost two years ago, Alexander said that he felt 'the happiest man in the world'.

'His voice trembled as he said that everything he wished for was coming to him,' according to one account.

'He wanted to serve in the army and became a military, he wanted to have the best wife in the world, and there she was for him.'

No pictures have yet emerged of the child.

Daddy's eyes: 'Hopefully, Violetta will inherit father's beautiful eyes - such a fiery burning', said Rusinov

Hero: Sasha has been hailed as a national hero for his deed and that he died so 'little Violetta and millions of children worldwide would never see the horrors of vile terrorist attacks'

Beautiful memories: At his wedding almost two years ago, Alexander said that he felt 'the happiest man in the world'

But a poem penned by Ekaterina and originally posted on the day she heard of her husband's death in Syria - more than a week after he was killed - is now visible on her social media, showing her anguish at his demise.

When he died, a Russian military spokesman said: 'An officer of Russian special operations forces was killed near Palmyra while carrying out a special task to direct Russian air strikes at Islamic State group targets.

'The officer was carrying out a combat task in Palmyra area for a week, identifying crucial IS targets and passing exact coordinates for strikes with Russian planes.

'The officer died as a hero, he drew fire onto himself after being located and surrounded by terrorists.'

When his remains were finally returned to Russia in May, his coffin was saluted by Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu.

'We have lost a reliable combat comrade, a courageous and faithful son of the Fatherland. A true officer, a fearless combatant and a patriot, he performed his military duty with dignity.

Tribute: When his coffin returned to Russia, he was saluted by the deputy defense minister who called him 'a reliable combat comrade, a courageous and faithful son of the Fatherland'

Final words: 'Please, tell my family and my country, whom I love. Tell them that I was brave and I was fighting, but I can no longer do anything,' Sasha said in his last communications

'He sacrificed himself while defending the national interests of Russia and peace on Syrian soil,' said deputy defence minister Nikolai Pankov said at the farewell ceremony at the Chkalovsky aerodrome.

'The cherished memory of Hero of Russia, Senior Lieutenant Prokhorenko will always remain in our hearts.
President Obama is set to hit his target of admitting 10,000 Syrian refugees into the US by the end of September, despite criticism from Republicans citing national security concerns.

The State Department calculated 2,340 refugees entered the country in July - more than the total number for the seven months after the President's target was announced.

Obama instructed his administration to prepare for 10,000 refugees from the war torn Middle Eastern country back in September last year.

The vast majority of the 7,900 refugees taken in by the US in the current fiscal year are Sunni Muslims, the dominant religious group in Syria.

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President Obama is set to hit his target of admitting 10,000 Syrian refugees into the US by the end of September

It is expected that Obama should hit his symbolic 10,000 target with weeks to spare, if the rate of people moving in June and July continues this month.

The President will head to the UN in September to urge fellow world leaders to admit more refugees and increase funding for relief organizations.

The UN General Assembly is holding a summit to address the large movements of refugees and migrants that stems primarily from conflicts in the Middle East and Africa.

Obama would have been hard-pressed to make the case for other countries to do more with the U.S. failing to reach a goal that amounts to only about 2 per cent of the 480,000 Syrian refugees in need of resettlement.

Organizations that help relocate Syrian refugees said the White House and other administration officials have grown increasingly confident of hitting the target.

The State Department calculated 2,340 refugees entered the country in July - more than the total number for the seven months after the President's target was announced

'They put more resources on it, which is allowing more individual's to be processed and therefore able to travel,' said Stacie Blake, a spokeswoman for the US Committee for Refugees and Immigrants, one of nine groups that help resettle Syrian refugees.

Obama's call for 10,000 entries this year was criticized by most Republican governors and the GOP presidential candidates, who argued that the government lacked an adequate screening system to prevent suspected terrorists from slipping into the US.

Extremist attacks in Europe and the US have increased concerns about immigration.

An Associated Press-GfK poll conducted in early July showed that 69 percent of Republicans say they favor the temporary ban on Muslim immigration.

Obama instructed his administration to prepare for 10,000 refugees from the war torn Middle Eastern country back in September last year

Overall, Americans opposed such a ban by a margin of 52 percent to 45 percent.

Congressman Vern Buchanan, a Republican from Florida, sent a letter to Obama on Thursday calling on him to stop accepting Syrian refugees as a matter of national security.

'We are seeing a clear pattern in which a number of recent attacks have been carried out by ISIS terrorists with ties to Syria,' Buchanan said, using one of the acronyms for the Islamic State group.

He cited the killing of a French priest, the murder of a German woman with a machete and a bombing at a German music festival as examples.

The White House has emphasized that the screening process for refugees takes 12 months to 18 months and includes in-person interviews and a review of biographical and biometric information.

The administration also has said it is focused on bringing in refugees who are in the most desperate situations, such as families with children and those in need of medical care.

The vast majority of the 7,900 refugees taken in by the US in the current fiscal year are Sunni Muslims

In the year prior to Obama's new target, the U.S. accepted about 1,680 Syrian refugees.

Secretary of State John Kerry, speaking with reporters during a visit to Buenos Aires, Argentina, said the United States has developed 'sufficient methods' of screening would-be refugees.

'We are very comfortable that we are bringing people in who will be a great plus to our country.' Kerry said.

Kerry said that 'not one event in the United States, of terror' has been committed by a refugee allowed to resettle in the U.S.

But two Iraqi refugees were arrested in 2011 for plotting to send weapons and money to al-Qaida operatives fighting against U.S. troops back in Iraq.

The scheme was foiled, but the case did leave jitters about whether extremists could slip in among the Syrian refugees.

'We believe ... the people who are fleeing Syria are the most harmed by terrorism. They are parents. They are children. They are orphans,' Kerry said. 'It is very important that we do not close our hearts to the victims of such violence.'

Kerry also applauded Argentina's pledge to resettled 3,000 Syrian refugees in the South American country and said the United States is committed to working with the government there on security issues.
The Olympics might be about to open in Rio, but Philadelphia is urging residents not to swim in dumpsters after a rented trash bin was filled with fire hydrant water and transformed into a pool.

The pool was for the Cedar Street Block Party, which was held on Saturday, online news site Billy Penn reported.

The party's organizers told the site they power-washed the dumpster, lined the bottom with plywood and tarps and cushioned the corners with pool noodles.

Philadelphia is urging residents not to swim in dumpsters after a rented trash bin was filled with fire hydrant water and transformed into a pool

Party organizers say around 3,000 gallons of water were used to fill the makeshift pool. This photo from Instagram user dryrock_ was captioned '#nofilter #kenzo #ingenuity in service of a kickass #dumpsterpool. Yes, that's a real thing'

Organizer Justyn Myers told the website that he and Jake Long rented the dumpster for $250.

However, filling it with hydrant water caused the biggest issue with city officials.

The party's organizers told Billy Penn around 3,000 gallons of water were used to fill the makeshift pool.

The Department of Licenses and Inspections issued a statement saying the city won't issue permits for block party dumpster pools.

Agency spokeswoman Karen Guss said, 'you would think this decision would not require an explanation'.

Among the reasons: It takes water that should be available in the event of a fire; the strong water pressure could push someone into harm's way; and the huge amount of water released could cause a main break.

The Department of Licenses and Inspections issued a statement that said: 'The Streets Department will not issue any future block party permits to the 2400 block of Cedar'

'We are not screwing around, Philly,' Guss' statement reads.

It continues: 'The Streets Department will not issue any future block party permits to the 2400 block of Cedar, and officials have contacted the dumpster rental company regarding its failures to obtain the proper closure permits and to take mandatory measures to protect the street during placement of the dumpster.
A group of four teenagers have been charged over a series of home invasions and a kidnapping linked to Melbourne's Apex gang.

Detectives arrested the three men and a boy on Thursday afternoon after they allegedly carried out four burglaries in nine hours in Mitcham, Blackburn, Park Orchards, Officer and Clayton in Melbourne's eastern and south-eastern suburbs.

Police say three people were robbed at Arnott Street in Clayton by five offenders about 12.20am on Thursday.

A group of four teenagers were charged over home invasions and a kidnapping linked to Melbourne's Apex gang. It comes after the arrest of a 19-year-old man (pictured)

A Ford sedan was then allegedly stolen from a home at Fairwood Rise in Officer during an attempted aggravated burglary about 6.30am.

A series of aggravated burglaries were also carried out at Alva Avenue in Park Orchards at 7.55am and then Almondsbury Court, Blackburn about 9.50am.

In the Park Orchards incident, a man was forced to drive to an ATM and withdraw cash for the teenagers, police say.

A laptop and other items were allegedly taken from an unlocked garage at a home in Creek Road, Mitcham just after 9am.

Residents were home during the time of three of the burglaries.

As police part of Operation Cosmas arrested the men and the boy, three schools in Wantirna were placed in lockdown, with children told to stay inside for about two hours.

The court heard Mahmoud Taha, 19, had taken the stolen jewellery to be valued and met up with the teenagers beforehand to provide them with Target clothes for the heist

Taha, who police say mentored two young Apex gang members, was also charged with a third armed robbery outside a Broadmeadows bank in May

Police claim Mahmoud Taha supplied the boys with 'tools' for the heist and met up with them afterwards at Caroline Springs shopping centre (pictured)

The three 18-year-old men - from Frankston, Pakenham and Dandenong North - have been remanded in custody to appear at Melbourne Magistrates Court on Friday.

They were charged with kidnapping, aggravated burglary, false imprisonment, robbery and other offences.

A 16-year old Springvale South boy has also been remanded in custody to appear at a childrens court at a later date also charged with kidnapping, aggravated burglary, false imprisonment, robbery and other offences.

It comes after police arrested a 19-year-old organised crime figure who mentored two teenage Apex members on how to commit jewellery raids.

On July 7, the 17-year-olds armed themselves with sledgehammers and raided two jewellery stores on Russell St and Sydney Rd in Coburg, Melbourne's north, making away with $200,000 worth of goods.

Police claim Mahmoud Taha supplied the boys with 'tools' for the heist and met up with them afterwards to ask if they got 'the stuff,' the Herald Sun reported.

Taha was charged with both robberies.

Last month Daily Mail Australia spoke to one of the founders of the Apex gang who said the group started in Dandenong

John said the gang met up frequently as a way to escape their boring lives

The court heard Taha had taken the stolen jewellery to be valued and met up with the teenagers beforehand to provide them with Target clothes for the heist.

The 17-year-olds were arrested after being held down by a member of the public who stepped in following the robbery.

The pair were charged with armed robbery and criminal damage and fronted the Children's Court in Melbourne.

They were denied bail.

Taha was also charged with a third armed robbery outside a Broadmeadows bank in May.

Last month Daily Mail Australia spoke to one of the founders of the Apex gang who said the group started in Dandenong.

John said the gang met up frequently as a way to escape their boring lives.

'We go out together for thrills - it's our chance not to give a f***,' he said.
'Blue Lotus' is sold as a 'herbal' drug, but it's unknown what it contains

Twenty people have been rushed to hospital after taking a synthetic form of cannabis that caused them to go into a psychotic state.

In recent weeks Melbourne hospitals have seen a surge in patients being admitted with symptoms of 'ice psychosis' caused by the 'Blue Lotus' synthetic cannabis.

The Alcohol and Drug Foundation (ADF) have warned health professionals about the drug, which is known to amplify existing mental health conditions such as anxiety and paranoia.

In recent weeks Melbourne hospitals have seen a surge in patients being admitted with symptoms of 'ice psychosis' caused by the 'Blue Lotus' synthetic cannabis (stock image)

'Blue Lotus' is marketed and sold as a type of 'herbal' drug, but the ingredients is not clear what the product contains as manufacturers regularly change chemical elements to avoid the drug being banned.

'Nobody knows what's in these substances and they can be quite toxic,' ADF national program manager Julie Rae told Daily Mail Australia

'You do not know what are in these drugs and these synthetic versions are so far from original. We dont know how the long term impact they'll have on someone.

Ms Rae added taking the drug could cause severe harm and even death.

'What we're seeing (with Blue Lotus) is that it overstimulates the whole body.

'You're brains going 50 miles an hour, you're heart's racing and your blood pressure sky-rockets.'

Synthetic cannabis is relatively new on the market, so there is limited information available about its short- and long-term effects, including how safe or unsafe it is to use.

In 2015, three people died due to synthetic cannabis according the Victorian Institute of Forensic Medicine.
Ex-PM David Cameron has sparked an outcry with a crony-filled resignation honours list that 'would embarrass a medieval court'

David Cameron was ridiculed today for unveiling resignation honours which might have included a peerage for Larry the cat.

Lord Digby Jones, who was made a peer by Gordon Brown, said the former Prime Minister was packing the Lords with 'party fodder'.

Mr Cameron triggered a fierce backlash last night after the official version of his resignation honours emerged including 46 gongs and 13 new Conservative peers.

The 'toxic' nominations were published five days after a leak of a draft list triggered a major row over the inclusion of aides, cronies, donors and Remain campaigners.

The Electoral Reform Society blasted the gongs as a 'sorry legacy' that would lumber the taxpayer with a bill for even more unelected Lords.

Crossbencher Lord Jones today said his reaction to the list had been 'They're taking the mickey' and joked that the No 10 cat would be next.

Lord Jones told BBC Radio 4's World At One programme: 'They might as well make Larry the cat one - he's a good mouser.

'At the end of the day you have got to differentiate between reward and contribution and benefit to the nation.'

Lord Jones said it was right to award gongs for political and public service but peerages should be reserved for experts.

'Get them from business, like me, get them from the environment, from education, from medicine, from the armed services,' he added.

Lord Digby Jones said Mr Cameron might have made the Larry the Downing Street cat a peer based on the rest of his resignation honours

Lord Jones joked Larry - No 10's chief mouser - would have made a fine addition to Mr Cameron's list of allies

Lord Jones pointed out that had she still been working on The Times, new peer Camila Cavendish would have written 'waspish comments' about Mr Cameron's list.

'But as it is she's going to walk into the Tory lobby in the House of Lords saying ''Yes Prime Minister'',' he told BBC Radio 4's World At One programme.

'If the Lords is going to survive as this revising, advising, kick-up-a-stink chamber that I see it as, then it needs people with independent spirit, independent thought who are looking forward to be able to make a contribution.'

More than 30 special advisers and aides to Mr Cameron and his ministers received awards:

Two Tory donors  party treasurer Andrew Fraser and businessman Jitesh Gadhia  were elevated to the Lords, while engineering boss Andrew Cook received a knighthood;

Will Straw, director of the failed Britain Stronger In Europe campaign, and son of former foreign secretary Jack Straw, accepted his CBE despite pressure from Labour to turn it down;

Two of Mr Cameron's drivers were given gongs, while three of his closest aides received peerages;

A study for the Committee on Standards in Public Life said political parties had become 'dangerously reliant on mega-donors';

Civil rights activist Shami Chakrabarti was nominated for a peerage by Jeremy Corbyn after she compiled a 'whitewash' report on anti-semitism.

The full details of the awards revealed former chancellor George Osborne became a Companion of Honour, one of the most prestigious and rare awards that can be given.

His former spin chief Craig Oliver was handed a knighthood, along with pro-Remain Cabinet ministers Michael Fallon and Patrick McLoughlin. Also knighted was party donor Andrew Cook.

LAURA WYLD: A FORMER PR TURNED PM ADVISOR David Cameron's decision to make the head of his honours team a peer caused astonishment in Westminster. Laura Wyld was brought into No 10 to work with the then Prime Minister in 2013 - prompting concern from Labour that a Tory Party staffer was going onto the public payroll. As well as advising Mr Cameron on honours, Ms Wyld's job was also to ensure more Conservatives got top quango jobs. At Tory Party HQ, she worked as a campaigns officer. Advertisement

Samantha Cameron's 'stylist' Isabel Spearman and Mr Osborne's aide Thea Rogers  credited with his makeover  were given OBEs. Dozens of advisers and Downing Street aides were also honoured.

A total of 16 new peers will see the House of Lords exceed 800 for the first time and the number of appointed Conservative peers will leapfrog Labour  making it easier for the Tories to get legislation through Parliament.

Mr Cameron appointed his own senior advisor on honours, Laura Wyld, to the House of Lords - but she cannot take up the post until next year because she is currently a civil servant. Mr Cameron also found a seat in the upper house for ally Charlotte Vere.

Remain supporters were richly rewarded, while three donors who have given at least 1.5million between them to the Tory Party received peerages or knighthoods. On a night that shamed the honours system:

One of the most controversial new peers, as the Mail revealed yesterday, was Laura Wyld, former head of Mr Cameron's appointments unit which recommended public servants for honours.

The former Tory campaigns officer, whose job was also to ensure more Conservatives got top quango jobs, was told by a Whitehall advisory committee that she could not join the Lords until May 2017.

Last night, Lib Dem leader Tim Farron said: 'David Cameron's resignation honours list is so full of cronies it would embarrass a medieval court.

'He is not the first prime minister to leave office having rewarded quite so many friends, but he should be the last  such appointments should be handed over to an independent panel.'

The list was released last night after days of speculation.

Some suspected it was rushed out by No 10 to deflect attention from revelations about donations to Theresa May's leadership campaign.

The resignation honours consist of 16 peerages  13 Tory, one Labour and two crossbenchers.

A separate list comprises 46 knighthoods, damehoods, CBEs, OBEs and MBEs.

The list was denounced the Electoral Reform Society, which called on Mrs May to 'sort out this mess once and for all' by allowing voters to choose members of the Lords.

In an extraordinary move, Mr Cameron placed head of honours committee Laura Wyld into the Lords and gave his chief spinner Craig Oliver a knighthood

Also honours were Charlotte Vere who is joined the House of Lords and Andrew Cook, a party donor who has been knighted

Chief executive Katie Ghose said Mr Cameron's 'parting gift of 16 lords is a sorry legacy, both in terms of cost to the taxpayer and the quality of our democracy'. She said the ex-PM had 'packed the second chamber with former politicians, donors and party hacks'.

SNP spokesman Tommy Sheppard said: 'This list confirms what we already knew  the Westminster honours system is rotten to the core.'

But an ex-aide of Mr Cameron said his list was smaller than John Major's and a similar size to Gordon Brown's dissolution list.

Tom Watson, deputy Labour leader, said that if Mrs May was 'serious about governing for the many not the few' she would have 'vetoed' the list.
A new poll shows Hillary Clinton with her widest lead yet, enjoying a post-Democratic National Convention bounce boosted by a very bad week for Donald Trump's campaign.

The new McClathy-Marist poll has Clinton ahead of her Republican rival by 15 points, receiving 48 percent of the vote to Trump's 33 percent.

The poll was taken after Trump's feud with the Khans, the Muslim-American Gold Star family that stood onstage at the Democratic National Convention and shamed Trump for his planned Muslim ban. The couple had lost their son in Iraq.

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Hillary Clinton (left) is now 10 points ahead of rival Donald Trump (right) in a new poll out today from Fox News that shows her receiving 49 percent support to Trump's 39 percent

Poll respondents were more likely to see Clinton as presidential with 53 percent of those surveyed saying she'd be an acceptable choice for Commander in Chief, while 39 percent said that Trump fit the bill.

In the Marist poll, Trump had previously edged close to Clinton last month, receiving 39 percent to her 42 percent advantage, meaning that his support, overall, has dropped by 6 points.

Fewer Republicans are supporting their party's nominee with 79 percent of GOP voters saying they planned to vote for Trump this month.

Last month is stood at 85 percent.

The Marist poll was the worst for Trump of a number of bad news surveys released in the last 24 hours.

A brand new NBC News/Wall Street Journal polls has Trump down by 9 points to rival Clinton.

A Fox News poll, which was released last night, showed Clinton with a 10 point lead over the brash billionaire.

Three swing state polls that came out today had Clinton ahead by large margins.

The Fox News survey was an early indicator of this trend with Clinton receiving 49 percent support to Trump's 39 percent support, with a margin of error of 3 points.

Hillary Clinton seems to be holding together the Obama coalition, attracting large numbers of women, blacks, Latinos and voters under the age of 30

Still, according to Fox, 61 percent of those polled believed Clinton is a liar, but they also view the former secretary of state as being qualified and having the temperament and knowledge to serve as president, qualities that are giving her an edge over the Republican foe.

And when it comes to lying, Trump's numbers are slightly worse  with 62 percent of voters pegging him that way.

When Libertarians Gary Johnson. the ex-New Mexico governor, and his running mate, former Massachusetts Gov. William Weld, are added in they receive 12 percent support, siphoning off voters about equally from Trump and Clinton.

Clinton, however, still end up on top, with 44 percent support to Trump's 35 percent.

This is a reversal from mid-May, when Trump had scooted ahead of the Democrat. Then, the Fox News poll showed Trump receiving 45 percent support to Clinton's 42 percent.

However by early June she had retaken a very slim lead with 42 percent support to Trump's 39 percent.

By late June, Clinton was up by six points, receiving 44 percent to Trump's 38 percent.

This latest poll, however, shows her most commanding lead.

Donald Trump is leading Hillary Clinton by 10 points among white voters, however Mitt Romney won this group by 20 points in 2012 and yet still lost the White House

It's the first survey to account for Virginia Sen. Tim Kaine being on the Democratic ticket and Indiana Gov. Mike Pence's addition to the Republican.

Both candidates have just had their conventions, with Clinton's taking place last week in Philadelphia, which means she could still be experiencing a post-convention bump.

Now, 65 percent of voters say Clinton is qualified to be president, versus 43 percent who say the same of Trump. Fifty-eight percent say Trump is not qualified, with another 45 percent who say 'not at all' qualified about the political outsider who was in the real estate and reality TV business before making the jump to politics.

On 'temperament,' a quality that Clinton constantly calls into question when talking about her rival, 64 percent say Clinton has it, while 37 percent say Trump does.

Another 72 percent believe Clinton has the knowledge to be president, while 40 percent say Trump does.

She's seen improvement since last month among groups she'll need to win the White House including men, women, whites, Democrats, young voters and seniors, Fox News reported.

Clinton seems to be having no problem keeping the 'Obama coalition' intact. She's winning women by 23 points, 57 percent to 34 percent, African-Americans by 83 points, garnering the support of 87 percent of black voters to Trump's just 4 percent.

Latino voters are favoring Clinton by 48 points, 68 percent to 20 percent. While Clinton has an 18 point lead over Trump when voters under age 30 had their preference tested, 49 percent to 31 percent.

Obama won women by 11 points, blacks by 87 points, Latinos by 44 points and young people by 23 points when he won the 2012 election over Republican Mitt Romney.

Trump is leading Clinton among whites by 10 points, 49 percent to 39 percent. He's got a five point edge among men, 45 percent to 40 percent.

Donald Trump pulled ahead of Hillary Clinton in May, but now she finds herself 10 points ahead of The Donald

He crushes Clinton among evangelical Christians by 50 points, 69 percent to 19 percent.

And he has a double digit lead among whites who don't have a college degree, 52 percent to 36 percent.

According to Fox, Trump is lagging behind Romney with some of these groups, especially white people, which the former Massachusetts governor won by 20 points in the 2012 election.

Polling indicates that Trump has a firm grip on support from veterans too  earning 53 percent of the vote to Clinton's 39 percent.

Polling shows that there are a greater number of Republicans planning to support Clinton than Democrats who plan to cross party lines and vote for Trump.

The former secretary of state is attracting 12 percent support from Republican voters.

This week Republican fundraiser and Hewlett Packard CEO Meg Whitman said she counted as part of this group.

Donald Trump is doing well with white voters and especially well with evangelical Christians, where he's beating Clinton by 50 points

Meanwhile, 5 percent of Democrats are voting for Trump, who throughout the primaries touted his appeal to disaffected Democrats, suggesting he could pull enough away from Clinton to win the White House.

The Fox News poll also looked at some recent issues in the news and found that 77 percent of voters were familiar with Trump exchanges with the Khans, a Muslim-American Gold Star family who appeared on the Democratic National Convention stage.

When surveying voters from both parties, 69 percent said that Trump's criticism of the family was 'out of bounds.' However when just Republicans were sampled, 40 percent said Trump's words were 'in bounds' and another 41 percent said they were 'out of bounds.'

After the Democratic National Committee's emails were leaked, 37 percent of of Democrats thought their party's process was 'rigged' in favor of Clinton. Another 37 percent believed Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders would have won the nomination had the primaries been made fair.

Republicans remain split on whether they approve of their party's nominee, with 50 percent saying they're content with Trump and another 49 percent saying they would have liked someone else heading the ticket.

Moving out to the states, new polling out today from Pennsylvania, New Hampshire and Michigan all shows Clinton in the lead.

The Franklin & Marshall poll shows Clinton with an 11 point lead in Pennsylvania, which Trump is trying to tilt in his favor. She's earning 49 percent of the vote to his 38 percent.

A Detroit News/WDIV-TV poll has Clinton widening her lead in Michigan, where she now has 41 percent of the vote to Trump's 32 percent.

Finally, in New Hampshire, Clinton is 'enjoying a dramatic post-convention bump' and is now leading Trump by 15 points, according to a new WBUR poll, 47 percent to 32 percent, with Johnson and Green Party candidate Jill Stein factored in.

Without the two third-party candidates, Clinton leads Trump' by 17 points.
Pair kick, slap and pull as two men then start brawling before police arrive

The other woman then hands over the toddler before they launch into fight

She claims she's using a baby 'as protection' during row on Scottish estate

Footage has emerged of two women brawling in the street - but not before one of them hands over a young baby.

The video begins with one of the women, with blonde hair, shouting at the other on the pavement of a Scottish housing estate.

She can be heard goading the mother, shouting: ' Keep your baby for protection you f****** mink. What a disgusting piece of s***.'

The term 'mink' is used as a derogatory word to describe someone who lives in a Scottish housing estate.

The video begins with one of the women, with blonde hair, shouting at the other on the pavement of a Scottish housing estate

The other lady replies by accusing the blonde woman of being racist, with the pair finally coming to blows after the brunette woman has handed over her the baby

The other lady replies by accusing the blonde woman of being racist, with the pair finally coming to blows after the brunette woman has handed over her the baby to another person, thought to be her partner.

The pair kick and slap as they tug on each other's hair, leading to a pair of men to then come to blows as they fall onto the bonnet of a parked car.

As the video comes to an end, police officers are seen diving in to halt the violence and break up the fighting.
Cartoonist Bill Leak, who sparked outrage by depicting an Aboriginal father clutching a can of beer and unaware of his son's name, has defended his drawing and hit out at 'sanctimonious' social media users.

The cartoon, published in The Australian on Thursday, showed an outback scene in which a policeman is bringing an Indigenous child back to his neglectful father by the scruff of his neck.

It was labelled 'racist' by the The NSW Aboriginal Land Council, Indigenous Affairs Minister Nigel Scullion and scores of social media users.

Bill Leak's cartoon in The Australian on Thursday has been labelled 'racist' by some readers

Mr Leak took aim at the social media backlash in a cartoon and column on Friday.

He said the outrage of 'sanctimonious Tweety Birds' and 'tantrum-throwers' was preventing intelligent debate on 'on serious social issues, such as the rampant violence, abuse and neglect of children in remote indigenous communities.'

Mr Leak said the cartoon was inspired by Aboriginal men who spoke the truth.

'I was trying to say that if you think things are pretty crook for the children locked up in the Northern Territory's Don Dale Youth Detention Centre, you should have a look at the homes they came from,' he wrote.

Treatment of Aboriginal children is in the spotlight after The ABC's Four Corners aired footage of prison guards at the detention centre teargassing teenage inmates and strapping a half-naked, hooded-boy to a chair.

Mr Leak's cartoon on Friday used the same outback scene as the original but swapped the Aboriginal child for a caricature of himself.

This time the policeman says: 'This blokes been telling the truth and he thinks it's funny.'

To which an angry Twitter user - holding a bat and noose - says: 'Lemme at 'im'

Bill Leak hit out at 'sanctimonious' social media users in this cartoon on Friday

Thursday's cartoon, published on National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Children's Day (Children's Day), was strongly criticized by a number of Aboriginal groups and was the subject of at least one complaint to the Australian Press Council.

Roy Ah-See, the chairman of the NSW Aboriginal Land Council, said Bill Leak's cartoon insulted and denigrated Aboriginal people.

'Sadly, racism and discrimination is a fact of life for Aboriginal people who have lived on and cared for this country for more than 60,000 years,' he said.

NSW Reconciliation said the was no place for Mr Leak's racist cartoon in Australia

Reconciliation Australia chief executive Justin Mohamed said Australians should show zero tolerance for the racism and hurtful stereotypes depicted by Mr Leak.

'The appalling cartoon we have seen from Mr Leak today speaks to the racism, discrimination and denial of history that still mars the nation.'

But Paul Whittaker, editor-in-chief of The Australian, defended the cartoon.

Bill Leak has drawn controversy with his cartoons in the past, but his work has been described as 'insightful' by the editor of The Australian

He said he was 'proud' of the paper's coverage of Indigenous affairs.

'Too often, too many people skirt around the root causes and tough issues. But not everyone,' he said in a statement.

'Bill Leak's confronting and insightful cartoons force people to examine the core issues in a way that sometimes reporting and analysis can fail to do.'

Some social media users questioned how the cartoon was approved for publication

The caricature has been attacked on social media, with a number of users calling for Mr Leak to be sacked and questioning how the cartoon was approved by editors at The Australian.

Liberal Democrats Senator David Leyonhjelm said Mr Leak had a 'knack for pointing out the obvious.'
The world's biggest brewers have made a 'disgusting U-turn' on a pledge to save British jobs  within a week of a 79 billion merger.

British company SABMiller, which makes Fosters and Bass, and Belgian rival Anheuser-Busch InBev, which produces Budweiser and Corona, struck the deal last Friday.

In one of the crucial bargaining chips in the merger, workers were told SAB jobs in the UK would be protected. The firm has 523 staff at the back office in Woking, Surrey, and 51 at a small headquarters in London's Mayfair.

But yesterday  just six days later  the firms revealed the new headquarters will be in Belgium and New York, and that posts based in Woking will be moved to Belgium in about six months.

British company SABMiller, which makes Fosters and Bass, and Belgian rival Anheuser-Busch InBev, which produces Budweiser and Corona, struck the deal last Friday

In one of the crucial bargaining chips in the merger, workers were told SAB jobs in the UK would be protected

Meanwhile, SAB's boss Alan Clark is set to walk away with 70 million.

The U-turn is reminiscent of the takeover of Cadbury by US giant Kraft. Just days after this deal was completed in 2010, Kraft announced Cadbury's UK factory in Keynsham, near Bristol, would shut despite previous promises to keep it open.

The controversy throws a cloud over promises made around the takeover of British technology giant ARM Holdings, which is being bought by Japan's SoftBank. SoftBank has pledged to double the number of ARM staff in the UK and keep the headquarters in Cambridge.

Last night, the brewers were accused of despicable behaviour. Julia Long, national officer for food and drink with the Unite union, said. 'This is a disgusting U-turn from the company.

'More than 500 workers believed that they were safe in their jobs and to be told within six days that is not the case is despicable.'

The merger will create the world's biggest brewer, making one in three of all beers, but it has been fraught with difficulties.

More than 500 workers believed that they were safe in their jobs and to be told within six days that is not the case is despicable. Julia Long, national officer for food and drink with the Unite union

The deal has dragged on for months as SAB shareholders have forced AB InBev to increase the price it offered, and the firms have been forced to sell off a number of their key brands.

In documents outlining the merger, the brewers made this pledge: 'AB InBev has agreed that it will, for at least one complete financial year following completion, preserve the terms and conditions of employment of all employees who remain with the SABMiller Group.' This had been interpreted as a guarantee to UK employees that they would keep their jobs for a year.

However, documents yesterday revealed the Woking office would shut, and that roles would be moved to Belgium. They later added that Woking staff would remain for about six months.

Conservative MP Kelly Tolhurst, who sits on the Business Innovation and Skills Committee, said: 'Any merger where we are in a situation where we are losing jobs is not something I am happy about. On the surface of it, without looking at the details, it does sound quite disappointing and not what we would expect.'

The firms revealed the new headquarters will be in Belgium and New York, and that posts based in Woking will be moved to Belgium in about six months (file image)

The Takeover Panel, which regulates deals, can now step in and take firms to court if they break firm commitments made in takeover battles. However, the rules are untested. Prime Minister Theresa May has said foreign takeover bids must be assessed to determine whether they are in the national interest.

Workers are set to lose out, but SABMiller's boss Alan Clark, 57, is in line to pick up 70 million.

The South African was paid 7 million in salary in salary and incentives last year and will receive the mammoth payout because he holds 300,000 shares in the company.

On top of that, he will benefit from other generous share and option schemes.

The merger will also trigger a fee bonanza for bankers, lawyers and other advisers.

The full details will be set out in a document later this month, but experts estimate firms such as JP Morgan, Morgan Stanley, Robey Warshaw and other advisers will share 152 million.
A man from Georgia has been arrested on charges of bestiality after allegations that he had sex with one of his goat.

Freddie Wadsworth, 65, from Douglasville near Atlanta owns a number of animals including several goats.

It was last Friday morning when two witnesses spotted Wadsworth frolicking with the animal.

Police told TSG that the victim was 'a white in color, female goat.'

The couple that spotted Wadsworth in the alleged unsavory moment, live across the street from him.

According to the Paulding County Sheriff's Office, upon spotting the illicit union, one of the witnesses called 911 to report that a 'male was having intercourse with a goat,' said Sergeant Ashley Henson.

Wadsworth was spotted interacting with the goat by some neighbors who live across the street from him

The incident was initially logged as an indecent exposure call since there is no police code for man-goat interactions.

Wadsworth was allegedly spotted having sex with the animal on his own property in broad daylight. 'He has a lot of goats,' Henson said.
Parents that let their children, up to the age of 12, walk to school on their own could be charged and face jail time (stock image)

Parents who let their children walk to and from school unsupervised have been warned they face jail time if caught by police.

Sergeant Benjamin Wiltshire from Miles, 340 kilometres west of Brisbane, has already charged one parent and warned that 'others could easily face prosecution' after officers spotted children as young as five walking to school on their own.

In a primary school newsletter, the town's police warned that that 'kids under the age of 12' were not allowed to walk or ride to school alone, in line with Queensland law.

'Blatant disregard for this responsibility has already led to criminal charges against a parent in Miles and others could easily face prosecution,' the newsletter read.

The punishment for such an offence varies greatly according to state, but in Queensland it can carry a maximum penalty of three years behind bars.

In a Miles primary school newsletter, west of Brisbane, police warned that that 'kids under the age of 12' were not allowed to walk or ride to school alone, in line with Queensland law

LAWS FOR EACH STATE Queensland: Parent must not leave kid under 12 for an 'unreasonable' time without appropriate care and supervision. Whether the time is 'unreasonable' depends on all the relevant circumstances. Maximum penalty is three years jail. NSW: A parent cannot leave a child in a car for a period of time that makes the child 'emotionally distressed' or damages their health. Maximum penalty is $36,000. There is no specific legislation for leaving a child unattended, other than in a car. However, parents are bound by law and can be charged if they 'neglect to provide adequate and proper food, nursing, clothing, medical aid or lodging' for someone in their care aged under 18, according to the Care and Protection Act 1998. Victoria: A parent 'must not leave the child without making reasonable provision for the child's supervision and care.' Child meaning under the age of 18. Maximum penalty is 3 months imprisonment. Western Australia: Same as NSW, except if the child's health is permanently impaired as a result the penalty bumps up to 5 years jail. South Australia: Same as NSW. Advertisement

A Queensland Police media spokesman told Daily Mail Australia that the parent charged in Miles had let their children 'wander around town unsupervised' while acting in a 'feral' manner.

He said that a 33-year-old woman had been charged after police allegedly found a 6-year-old girl walking alone trying to make her way to a location far away with the use of a hand-written map last year.

'The article was written in response to several recent incidents of young children (five and six-year-olds) walking through the town without supervision,' the police spokesman said.

'The Officer in Charge wanted to highlight these concerns to local parents and issue a general reminder about their responsibility in relation to their supervision.'

Miles has a population of under 2,000 people and just one primary school.

Speaking with Ben Fordham on 2GB, Sergeant Wiltshire said the law covered children under the age of 12, but that a lot of it came down to 'common sense' and what was 'reasonable.'

'If you're riding across the road or 100 metres to school on a pushbike with a group of 11-year-olds it's certainly a different case to a five or six-year-old walking across town completely unsupervised,' he explained.

'There's a different expectation for a 11-year-old than a five-year-old, that's common sense. A lot of this comes down to what's reasonable.'

Sergeant Ben Wiltshire from Miles, Queensland, said a number of parents had been charged for not appropriately supervising their children (stock image)

Queensland legislation states a parent cannot 'leave a child for an unreasonable time without making reasonable provision for supervision and care'.

'Whether the time is unreasonable depends on all the relevant circumstances,' the law clarifies.

Today show co-hosts Karl Stefanovic and Lisa Wilkinson discussed the controversial laws on Friday morning after Sergeant Wiltshire admitted he had already charged parents for not appropriately supervising their kids.

When asked if he walked to school when he was younger, Karl said those were 'different times,' adding that he would not let his children walk to school on their own.

Lisa disagreed, saying the laws were 'raising a nanny state' and that her kids were made to walk three blocks to school from the age of eight.

Miles Police and NSW Police have both been contacted for comment.
Shami Chakrabarti has been given a peerage by Jeremy Corbyn weeks after her report on anti-Semitism in Labour was condemned as a 'whitewash'

Shami Chakrabarti has been given a peerage by Jeremy Corbyn weeks after her report on anti-Semitism in Labour was condemned as a 'whitewash'.

The Labour leader has broken a pledge not to nominate people for peerages by handing the lawyer and human rights campaigner a seat in the Lords.

Her appointment drew fury from Jewish leaders, with the Community Security Trust, an anti-Semitism charity, saying it was a 'shameless kick in the teeth for all who put hope in her now wholly compromised inquiry.'

Marie van der Zyl, of the Board of Deputies of British Jews, said: It is beyond disappointing that Shami Chakrabarti has been offered, and accepted, a peerage from Labour following her so-called independent inquiry.

'The report, which was weak in several areas, seems to have been rewarded with an honour.

'This whitewash for peerages is a scandal that surely raises serious questions about the integrity of Ms Chakrabarti, her inquiry and the Labour leadership.'

The inquiry avoided criticising Mr Corbyn for describing Hamas and Hezbollah as friends, and how this affected the debate on the issue in the party.

She also failed to question why he didn't clamp down quickly on perceived anti-Jewish comments by Ken Livingstone and online posts by MP Naz Shah before she was elected.

The report also recommended keeping suspensions secret and ruled out lifetime membership bans.

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Jonathan Sacerdoti, of the Campaign Against Antisemitism, said Miss Chakrabarti's inquiry was suspected of being a 'fraud from the moment she promised to conduct it in Labour's interests'.

Labour deputy leader Tom Watson said the timing was 'not great' and revealed he had not been told of the Labour leader's intention to nominate Shami Chakrabarti for a peerage.

The decision to give the former head of Liberty, the civil rights pressure group, a seat in the Lords has been met with fierce criticism from prominent Jews and Labour MPs.

The Labour leader has broken a pledge not to nominate people for peerages by handing the lawyer and human rights campaigner a seat in the Lords

She faced questions over her independence in the anti-Semitism investigation after she revealed she had joined the Labour Party.

Mr Watson said Ms Chakrabarti was 'precisely' the sort of person who should sit in the Lords but that Mr Corbyn's decision to nominate her alongside David Cameron's resignation honours was a mistake.

Mr Watson told the BBC Radio 4 Today programme: 'The timing is not great for the Labour Party, I wasn't aware, I wasn't consulted on whether Shami was going in, I didn't know that we'd provided citations for this particular round.

'And I do think it's a mistake because I don't think agree with resignation honours.

He added: 'Sure enough, she delivered a whitewash which failed to deal with Labour's anti-Semitism problem in any meaningful way.

'She did not tackle allegations of anti-Semitism in the Labour Party or their woeful handling by Jeremy Corbyn, and she even refused to adopt a definition of anti-Semitism.

'Having promised to never send anyone to the House of Lords, that is exactly what Jeremy Corbyn has done in return for a clean bill of health.'

Her appointment drew fury from Jewish leaders, with the Community Security Trust, an anti-Semitism charity, saying it was a 'shameless kick in the teeth for all who put hope in her now wholly compromised inquiry.'

The Chief Rabbi said the anti-Semitism report's reputation now 'lies in tatters' following Ms Chakrabarti's appointment to the Lords just a month after the inquiry reported back.

In a statement posted on Twitter, Ephraim Mirvis said: 'Shami Chakrabarti has a proud record of public service, but in accepting this peerage, the credibility of her report lies in tatters and the Labour Party's stated intention, to unequivocally tackle anti-Semitism, remains woefully unrealised.'

Keith Vaz, the chairman of the Home Affairs Committee and an MP since 1987, said the peerage did raise questions about the inquiry, and argued she was in 'the wrong House'.

'Shami Chakrabarti has made a mistake; she should have been in the House of Commons rather than the House of Lords,' he told Sky News.

'She is very suitably qualified to be either in the Commons or the Lords. I would have preferred for her to be with me in the House of Commons; she would have done a fantastic job.'

He revealed he had written to Ms Chakrabarti to ask when she was offered the peerage.

Miss Chakrabarti, who stood down as director of the human rights pressure group Liberty in January, said last night: 'I am honoured to accept Jeremy Corbyn's challenge and opportunity to help hold the Government to account.'

Labour MP Wes Streeting today claimed the timing of the appointment 'stinks' prompting shadow health secretary Diane Abbott to tell him to 'consider his position'

A spokesman for Mr Corbyn praised her 'legal and campaigning skills', adding: 'Shami Chakrabarti shares Jeremy's ambitions for reform of the House of Lords.'

No explanation was offered for why Mr Corbyn had broken his pledge about peerages. Miss Chakrabarti revealed she was joining the Labour Party the day her appointment to lead an independent probe into anti-Jewish prejudice was announced.

MPs later raised fears that Mr Corbyn may have been given access to the report before it was published, a claim he has denied.

Labour MPs condemned the timing of her elevation to the Lords.

John Mann, chairman of the All-Party Parliamentary Group Against Antisemitism, accused Mr Corbyn of 'appalling hypocrisy'. He told LBC radio that Miss Chakrabarti had 'sold herself cheaply' for a Lords seat.

Wes Streeting tweeted: 'Shami Chakrabarti will bring great experience to the Lords. But let's not pretend that a Labour peerage in these circumstances doesn't stink.'

Labour deputy leader Tom Watson said the timing was 'not great' and revealed he had not been consulted over the decision

Shadow Health Secretary Diane Abbott fired back at her colleagues this morning in defence of Mr Corbyn and Ms Chakrabarti.

She told Sky News: Shami Chakrabarti is one of the most distinguished people in public life. She would have had a peerage under a number of Labour leaders. To say her appointment stinks, what message does that give to young women of Shamis background about stepping into the public space.

Miss Chakrabarti, a divorced mother of one, has previously refused to deny that Mr Corbyn had offered to nominate her for a peerage. It was his sole nomination in the list last night.

The report said Labour was 'not overrun' by anti-Semitism, Islamaphobia or other forms of racism. It recommended that Labour members should not use terms such as Paki or Zio and should avoid of invoking Hitler in debates about Israel and Palestine.

The Board of Deputies of British Jews said it was 'weak on the demonisation of Israel' and 'omitted any mention of party figures who have displayed friendship towards terrorists'.

Its launch was overshadowed by Mr Corbyn comparing Israel to IS, and Jewish Labour MP Ruth Smeeth walking out in tears after leaflets were circulated calling for her deselection.
During her 13 years as director of human rights group Liberty, people could be sure of one thing: diminutive Shami Chakrabarti meant what she said, and said what she meant

During her 13 years as director of human rights group Liberty, people could be sure of one thing: diminutive Shami Chakrabarti meant what she said, and said what she meant.

True, some people found her certainty about issues rather trying, but in a world of political obfuscation and deceit, her views emerged with refreshing frankness and clarity.

Today, something has changed. Some put it down to the prospect of joining the House of Lords. Is this a fair assessment? Well, judge for yourself.

Among her many admirers, who had respected her years of independent-minded human rights work, there was dismay over her perceived whitewash of anti-Semitism in the Labour Party.

This did not seem to reflect the style of the bold, committed, occasionally megaphone Shami Chakrabarti that we have come to know and largely admire.

But there had been another low moment in her career.

In 2011, she agreed to become a panel member on the Leveson Inquiry into Press ethics.

It was therefore a shattering disappointment to her many admirers when she supported Levesons recommendation that newspapers, which had been free for 300 years, be placed under a form of statutory regulation.

Thus a woman who spent her professional life fighting to protect freedom of expression was seen as conniving with the great and good to muzzle the UKs Press.

The comprehensive schoolgirl and London School of Economics-educated lawyer, whose Hindu parents arrived in Kenton, Middlesex, from Bengal in the Fifties, took over at the Liberty pressure group in 2003.

She changed the National Council For Civil Liberties, to give it its full name, from the antiquated, anti-capitalist battering ram that existed when Labour luminaries Harriet Harman and Patricia Hewitt had been in charge to one that was no longer obsessed with forcing a political agenda but was simply about fighting for freedoms.

She successfully took on governments  challenging policies such as police stop-and- search powers, detention without trial, and ID cards  and described the police raid on the parliamentary office of Conservative MP Damian Green (arrested as part of an investigation into leaked Home Office documents) as politicised, even McCarthyite.

But the perceived failure to be independent in the anti-Semitism inquiry had another uneasy strand.

Among her many admirers, who had respected her years of independent-minded human rights work, there was dismay over her perceived whitewash of anti-Semitism in the Labour Party

Had her head been turned by suggestions that Labour would put her name forward for a peerage?

Asked on a Jewish TV channel if she had been offered a place in the Lords, she replied: You can ask the question and Im going to evade it at this point.

Not a no, then.

And when Kirsty Wark on BBC2s Newsnight asked her if a Labour peerage was in the offing, Shami shot back: I dont know  are you going to take one?

Ms Wark, who has friends in the Scottish Labour Party, retorted: I havent been offered one  have you? Ms Chakrabarti countered: Many times.

Says a friend of Chakrabarti: Thats quite true. She was offered peerages four or five years ago by all the main parties. But she didnt want one at the time.

Indeed, she had just passed her 40th birthday and, says her friend, was already wondering what do I do next?

The gamine, 5ft-tall lawyer would certainly be a welcome figure in the Lords. Off duty, she is described as enchanting company, relaxed and funny, and she likes a drink over lunch  she joins in.

But could this highly respected former Home Office barrister really be throwing in her lot with Jeremy Corbyn, after so many years of doughty independence, and risk being used, rather cynically, perhaps, as a political fig-leaf to help make Labour more electable?

Until now, one of the most fetching aspects of her character has been her refusal to be pinned down politically, even though her natural sympathies always lay on the Left.

For years, one of her closest political chums has been Right-wing Tory David Davis, the Brexiteer who has just re-emerged from the backbenches as Theresa Mays new Secretary of State in charge of Britain exiting the EU.

But could this highly respected former Home Office barrister really be throwing in her lot with Jeremy Corbyn, after so many years of doughty independence, and risk being used, rather cynically, perhaps, as a political fig-leaf to help make Labour more electable?

They were often seen at political book launches together, so it was perhaps understandable that it was Chakrabarti to whom Davis turned for advice in 2008 over a major issue of conscience when he was shadow Home Secretary.

He vehemently opposed the Labour governments plans to allow terror suspects to be detained for 42 days without charge, and he pondered whether to stand down as an MP and fight to retain his seat in the subsequent by-election to highlight that threat to civil liberties.

Shami Chakrabarti, of course, was implacably against the Labour proposal.

But in an article in the Labour magazine Progress, the partys then Culture Secretary Andy Burnham taunted Davis with a quip about how odd it was that a man who was, and still is, I believe, an exponent of capital punishment [should be having] late-night, hand-wringing, heart-melting calls with Shami Chakrabarti.

It was the heart-melting bit which really infuriated the Liberty leader, who was married to a fellow lawyer with a small son.

Chakrabarti angrily took Burnhams comments as a mischievous reference to Commons gossip that she was behind Daviss opposition to the 42-day detention proposal.

An incensed Chakrabarti accused Burnham of innuendo and attempted character assassination and demanded he apologise or be sued. He apologised.

In the meantime, Davis resigned his seat and won it back with a landslide majority of more than 15,000 votes.

As for his conversations with Shami Chakrabarti about the 42-day detention issue, I understand that she had been urging him, fruitlessly, not to stand down on this point of principle.

Whatever the truth, the fact is that her marriage is over.

Two years ago, she and her husband, the tall, bespectacled Martyn Hopper, parted.

He may have been the key to her joining Liberty  having commented to her once that there wasnt a significant voice on civil liberties in our country.

Soon afterwards, in 2001, she joined the human rights organisation as an in-house lawyer, and became its director two years later.

But it was a surprising end to a union about which she had talked with great happiness.

Martyn, a partner in a City commercial law firm when they married in 1995, was not only a great cook but one of her heroes.

They shared the school-run from their Southwark house with their son, now 13, whom she calls The Bean.

The mornings, she said then, were a happy time. Their little boy would get out his guitar and ask my husband to dance while he plays.

For his part, Hopper was immensely proud of his wife, describing her as courageous.

Theres an enormous amount of passion behind what Shami does, he said in 2009.

In an article in the Labour magazine Progress, the partys then Culture Secretary Andy Burnham taunted Davis with a quip about how odd it was that a man who was, and still is, I believe, an exponent of capital punishment [should be having] late-night, hand-wringing, heart-melting calls with Shami Chakrabarti

Then, in 2012, came change.

Hopper moved from law firm Herbert Smith to become a partner at the giant, grandiose Linklaters, where partners currently make in the region of 1.45 million a year.

In every way, that should have been a very special year for, during the London Olympics, Shami, wearing her mothers Indian pearls round her neck, carried a corner of the Olympic flag at the opening ceremony in front of billions of TV viewers worldwide.

Some of her critics think that the Olympic honour went to her head.

Certainly around this time, rumours circulated that her marriage was foundering and, by 2014, it was over after 19 years.

She was said to be very distressed, but it never showed in public.

Some say parting from her husband has changed her, made her even more reflective about life, and determined to play a bigger public role.

Just what that means is anyones guess.

She offered no reason for leaving Liberty when she announced her departure in January, though more than a dozen high-pressure years fronting the campaigning organisation would probably be enough for most people.

Perhaps being without Martyn has pushed her towards looking for fresh fulfilment, suggests one friend, and for her that would have to be in politics.
charity World Vision say the are shocked by the Israeli claims

The Shin Bet has accused Mohammed el-Habibi, the Gaza zonal manager with World Vision, of a sophisticated scam to help Hamas build tunnels and purchase arms

Australia has suspended World Vision aid after the charity's chief in Gaza is accused of giving donated money to the Hamas terror group

Mohammad El Halabi, a senior manager with the Christian aid charity, is accused of diverting up to $50million in donations to help starving people in Gaza to the Islamic militant group, Israel's internal security agency claims.

Australia's Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade said the report was 'deeply troubling', and officials would investigate the matter.

'Any diversion of the generous support of the Australian and international community for military or terrorist purposes by Hamas is to be deplored and can only harm the Palestinian people,' a spokesman said.

'We are suspending the provision of further funding to World Vision for programs in the Palestinian Territories until the investigation is complete.'

Australian had allocated World Vision $5 million over five years for agricultural projects and child trauma programs in Gaza.

World Vision Australia chief Tim Costello said the charity was shocked and puzzled by the charges.

'We have absolutely nothing to do with terror. We audit every cent that goes through,' Rev Costello said.

'I want to reassure Australians that World Vision's money in Gaza is being spent on reducing poverty for Palestinian people, not terrorism.'

The Shin Bet accused Mohammed el-Habibi, the Gaza zonal manager with World Vision, of a sophisticated scam to help the Islamic group build tunnels and purchase arms.

They added that he diverted millions to the group, which rules Gaza, creating fictitious humanitarian projects and doctoring inflated receipts.

Australia has suspended World Vision aid after the charity's head in Gaza (left) is accused of given donated money to Hamas terror group

El-Halabi, who is in his late 30s and from Jebaliya in the Gaza Strip, was arrested in June as he was crossing from Israel into Gaza.

The Shin Bet said he underwent Hamas military and organisational training in the early 2000s and was 'planted' by the group at World Vision in 2005, where he climbed the ranks to become director of the Gaza branch.

The Israel Security Agency said in a statement: 'He began to conduct security operations for Hamas' military wing which was essentially exploiting the organization's funds for Hamas' fortification.'

They also claimed that el-Halabi initiated fictitious projects meant to help farmers, the disabled and fishermen and would falsely list Hamas operatives as workers on those projects and write up inflated receipts.

Companies hired to carry out certain projects under fictitious tenders were 'made aware' that 60 per cent of the project's funds were destined for Hamas, the Shin Bet statement said, adding that some of World Vision's budget was used to pay the salaries of Hamas operatives.

The agency also said el-Halabi would transfer to Hamas materials such as steel, digging equipment and pipes that were meant for World Vision agricultural assistance.

El-Halabi, who is in his late 30s and from Jebaliya in the Gaza Strip, was arrested in June as he was crossing from Israel into Gaza

Thousands of packages with food and medical aid received monthly would allegedly be diverted to Hamas operatives and their families rather than reach Gazan civilians.

Beyond arms purchases and tunnel digging, the funds also helped build military bases, including one constructed in 2015 built entirely from British aid money, according to the statement.

The security agency said el-Halabi also divulged intelligence about employees working for United Nations agencies and other aid groups who were also assisting Hamas, without elaborating.

World Vision, a US-based aid group that works in nearly 100 countries, said in a statement on its website that it was 'shocked' by the allegations and said it has 'no reason to believe' they are true.

An Israeli Foreign Ministry official said that Kent Hill, a senior official with the organization, was holding meetings in Israel over the accusations. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because the meetings were private.
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George Osborne was last night at the centre of a furious row after he was placed at the top of the honours list with one of the most prestigious gongs in the land.

The former chancellor, sacked in the wake of his losing referendum campaign during which he was the architect of the so-called Project Fear, will become a Companion of Honour.

At any time, the rare award for nationally important service, ranked above a knighthood, can be held by only 65 people. Former members of this elite group include Sir Winston Churchill.

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George Osborne (pictured with Cameron) was last night at the centre of a furious row after he was placed at the top of the honours list with one of the most prestigious gongs in the land, the Order of the Companions of Honour

Physicist Stephen Hawking, Dame Vera Lynn, Sir David Attenborough and Dame Maggie Smith are among the current holders. David Camerons choice of his friend and ally for the award last night prompted anger from critics who accused Mr Osborne of wrecking his legacy with his ferocious espousal of Remain.

One Tory MP said: Hes a companion of dishonour after the Brexit project of fear.

Before the referendum, Mr Osborne enraged Brexiteers by issuing harrowing warnings about economic risks of leaving  topped by threatening an emergency Budget if people voted to leave.

He claimed he would be forced to cut public spending and increase taxes to tackle a 30billion black hole in the event of Brexit.

But 65 Tory MPs warned his position would be untenable if he tried to cut spending on the NHS, police and schools, or raise income and inheritance taxes. He was sacked by Theresa May.

Mr Osborne, chancellor for six years, is heir to a baronetcy, so will inherit the title Sir. But the award means he can add CH at the end of his name.

KING'S AWARD FOR SERVICE: ELITE LIST INCLUDING MAGGIE SMITH AND LORD COE Those on the elite list currently include actress Dame Maggie Smith, Lord Coe (pictured, with his gong), Stephen Hawking, Sir John Major and Sir David Attenborough WITH just 65 holders at any one time, the Order of the Companions of Honour is one of the most prestigious and rare awards that can be given. Founded by King George V in 1917, the gong is handed out to recognise services of national importance. According to Buckingham Palace, the recipients are those who have made a major contribution to the arts, science, medicine, or government lasting over a long period of time. A number of non-British nationals can also be made honorary members  but do not count towards the 65. Those on the elite list currently include actress Dame Maggie Smith, Lord Coe, Stephen Hawking, Sir John Major and Sir David Attenborough. Desmond Tutu is among the honorary members. Former holders include Sir Winston Churchill and the last recipient was Dame Vera Lynn in the Queens birthday honours in June. Induction into the order does not confer any title or knighthood, but Companions are entitled to add CH after their name. The orders insignia is an oval gold medallion depicting an armoured knight on a horse and an oak tree that hangs a shield of the Royal Arms. Its blue border bears the motto: In action faithful and in honour clear. Advertisement

Ukip MP Douglas Carswell said the award for Mr Osborne says something about how debased our honours system has become.

He added: It is an award that once was reserved for the likes of Sir Winston Churchill  now it is handed to a man who has been wrong about one of the biggest issues of our age.

Oliver Letwin (pictured), Mr Camerons right-hand man in the Cabinet Office, in charge of government policy during his premiership, will receive a knighthood

Mr Cameron used his resignation list to shower ten of his closest ministers with honours. OLIVER LETWIN, Mr Camerons right-hand man in the Cabinet Office, in charge of government policy during his premiership, receives a knighthood. The Old Etonian once had to apologise after disposing of secret documents in a park bin in London.

Defence Secretary MICHAEL FALLON, who ditched his natural Euroscepticism to back the Remain cause, will also become a Sir with a prestigious type of knighthood called Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath. The former miner who rose to become chairman of the Conservative Party, PATRICK McLOUGHLIN, also becomes a knight. Previously transport secretary, he became invaluable to Mr Cameron as chief whip, working to ensure legislation got through the Commons.

A leaked honours list at the weekend suggested Chancellor Philip Hammond was to be knighted  but he did not appear on the final list. Last night it was unclear why.

The leak also suggested former Europe minister DAVID LIDINGTON would get a knighthood. He appears on the list as a CBE. Mrs May made him Leader of the of Commons  a Cabinet job.

HUGO SWIRE, former Foreign Office minister, becomes a Knight Commander of St Michael and St George. He backed Mr Cameron during the referendum. A damehood is granted to CAROLINE SPELMAN even though she was sacked by Mr Cameron as environment secretary in his first reshuffle. She has remained loyal to him since.

Chief Whip GAVIN WILLIAMSON, the former PMs so-called bag carrier and his eyes and ears in the Commons, receives a CBE. The same goes to JOHN HAYES, who held four posts under Mr Cameron.

May's 35k from donors on Dave's list

DANIEL MARTIN, CHIEF POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT FOR DAILY MAIL

Theresa May was dragged into the honours row last night after it emerged her Tory leadership campaign received cash from party donors at the heart of David Camerons toxic resignation list.

The Prime Minister received 20,000 from a firm run by Michael Spencer, the millionaire put forward by her predecessor for a peerage but then blocked by a Whitehall committee over his links to the Libor rate-rigging scandal.

And she was given 15,000 by oil executive Ian Turner, who plunged Mr Camerons honours list into turmoil on Tuesday when he asked for his knighthood nomination to be withdrawn.

Theresa May was dragged into the honours row last night after it emerged her Tory leadership campaign received cash from party donors at the heart of David Camerons toxic resignation list

In total Mrs Mays leadership campaign attracted 275,000 within two weeks, according to the register of MPs financial interests. Much of the money came from companies which supported the failed Remain campaign in the EU referendum.

The revelation is embarrassing for the Prime Minister, who has made it clear that she wants to see a shake-up of the way Downing Street hands out honours.

The Prime Minister received 20,000 from a firm run by Michael Spencer (pictured), the millionaire put forward by her predecessor for a peerage

Critics claimed the presence of the names on her donations explained why she rejected calls to block Mr Camerons resignation list. Deputy Labour leader Tom Watson said it was obvious that these donations have influenced her decision.

Lib Dem leader Tim Farron said: The whole sorry saga has now landed on the Prime Ministers desk. She needs to get a grip on this and make sure the whole system is more open and transparent.

Mrs May has declared 18 donations from a two-week period linked to her Tory leadership campaign.

One of them is 25,000 from James Lupton, the former Tory treasurer and major party donor who was controversially given a peerage by Mr Cameron last year.

Some 20,000 came from IPGL, a firm of which Mr Spencer is listed by Companies House as a director and chairman.

Mr Cameron had nominated Mr Spencer, a former Tory treasurer, for a peerage but this has been blocked after opposition from the Lords Appointments Commission linked to his company Icaps role in the Libor scandal. Mr Spencer has protested his innocence.

The register also shows distribution firm Sun Mark  whose chairman Rami Ranger backed Remain  donated 25,000 to support Mrs Mays leadership bid. Pro-Europe electrical cable manufacturer Tratos UK gave 5,000.

Mrs May has faced questions over her desire to deliver Britains exit from the EU given her support for Remain during the referendum campaign. But she has adopted a Brexit means Brexit mantra before negotiations with the EU begin.
A drink-driving businessman who wrote off his 60,000 Bentley when it 'flew high up in the air' after a high-speed chase with police was jailed yesterday.

Kingsley Smith, 45, was nearly three times over the limit after a boozy night out when officers saw him crash his luxury car into a bollard.

They pulled him over to wait for a road-side alcohol kit but he revved his engine and jammed his vehicle between a parked vehicle and a wall.

Kingsley Smith, 45, was nearly three times over the limit after a boozy night out when officers saw him crash his luxury car into a bollard

Smith, who runs a kitchen fitting business, then put the Bentley Continental into reverse and narrowly avoided five police officers as he sped off.

The father-of-four - who had previous convictions before 'turning his life around'- led officers on a five-and-a-half mile chase at speeds of more than 80mph on May 13.

As he zoomed through Gloucester and on to a dual carriageway, a number of officers were forced to abandon their pursuit.

Smith crashed to a halt when he 'overcooked it' at a roundabout and was seen 'flying high up in the air', over the roundabout, through a wall and into a park.

The single father was yesterday jailed for four months, banned from the roads for two years, and ordered to pay 2,750 in fines and costs.

Judge Jamie Tabor QC told him: 'There is much to admire about the last 15 years of your life. You had a rocky start and after that you have done remarkably well.

'You have been a successful businessman and kept out of any more criminal trouble.

'You have employed people and taken on the difficult task of being sole parent of two young children.

'But Friday the 13th really was a bad day for you. You accept quite rightly that your driving was utterly appalling.

'It was over 5.5 miles and as you are the first to admit you could have so easily killed someone, and you would have gone to prison for nine or ten years.

'Had you just been sensible when you were originally stopped, I could have overlooked an immediate sentence of imprisonment, which would have ensured you could have gone back to your work - but this was very dangerous driving.

'It was at a high speed, in town, culminating in you going over a roundabout, the Bentley taking off, and smashing into a wall.'

The father-of-four - who had previous convictions before 'turning his life around'- led officers on a five-and-a-half mile chase at speeds of more than 80mph on May 13 in his Bentley

The judge, sitting at Gloucester Crown Court, added: 'It's just a miracle that no one was hurt.'

The court heard that Smith had been in trouble with police as a young man but 'turned his life around' and hadn't been in serious bother since 1999.

But the New Zealand-born businessman - who grew up in Gloucester but had moved to Windsor - returned to his home town and went out with old friends.

He intended to have a single bottle of Peroni, but drank more before leaving a bar and getting into his car at 1.20am.

Five officers in a nearby car watched him smash into a bollard, and then head the wrong way down a one-way street, so intervened.

But while they waited for a road side breath specimen test to arrive, Smith took off.

Prosecuting, Julian Kesner, told the court: 'He started the engine, and this is when things go badly, badly wrong.

'In his determination to get away, he [Smith] misjudges it, drives off, and crashes nearby. The Bentley is wedged between a parked Corsa and a low wall.'

The officers grabbed Smith, but he reversed - narrowly avoiding them - injuring the finger of a policeman who had his hand through the car window.

After losing sight of him, two further officers spot him, but are forced to give up the chase which at times exceeded 80mph in a 30mph zone.

Mr Kesner added: 'As he approaches a roundabout, he, to use a colloquialism, overcooks it.

'The Bentley Continental takes off. It is described as flying high up in the air, goes straight over the roundabout, and out of control it continued into a stone wall.

'It continues through that stone wall and into a park area for about 20 to 30 metres.'

Smith was arrested and a test at the police station revealed he had 94mcg of alcohol in 100ml of breath. The legal limit is 35mcg.

Defending, Jon Holmes, said Smith, from Windsor, Berkshire, was an 'extraordinarily successful' businessman who employed 14 people.

He said his next contract involved fitting the kitchens in 360 apartments, and his outgoings on wages totalled around 75,000 a month.

Smith admitted dangerous driving, assault, and driving while under the influence.

He was sentenced to four months imprisonment - of which he will serve half - and was disqualified for two years and ordered to pass an extended test.
A man has been charged with sex offences that he allegedly committed almost 25 years ago when he was only 13 years old.

The 37-year-old man is alleged to have been one of two males who broke into a house in Bunbury, two hours south of Perth in Western Australia, reported the ABC.

WA Police said in a statement it was alleged a 54-year-old woman woke in the early hours of the morning of August 4, 1992 after hearing intruders in her house.

Western Australia Police have charged a man with sex offences that he allegedly committed almost 25 years ago when he was only 13 years old. Stock image

After getting up to investigate, police said the woman was confronted by two males who both sexually assaulted her.

The pair are then said to have looted the woman's house, before ripping a landline phone from the wall and fleeing from the scene.

The woman's three children were asleep in the house when the offences were committed, according to police.

Detectives working for the State Crime Operations Squad identified the 37-year-old (one of the males involved) and charged him with two counts of aggravated sexual assault, one count of burglary and one count of stealing.

Police are still trying to verify the identity of the second offender.

The 37-year-old man will appear in the Perth Children's Court on Friday on charges of aggravated sexual assault, burglary and stealing.

He is being tried in the Perth Children's Court because of his age at the time of the alleged offences.
Mothers, look away now! Earlier this summer, 17-year-old Florence Sibary  daughter of Mail writer Shona Sibary  revealed that she had horrified her parents by abandoning her A-levels to work as an au pair for a French family in Lyon. Her hilariously frank diary exposed the realities of working for a foreign family  and how it temporarily curbed her wayward behaviour.

Here, in the second part of her diary, Flo has finished au pairing and joins hordes of British teenagers travelling to the Mediterranean in search of summer work (and cheap drinks) on the tourist strips.

In fact, after just five weeks on the Greek party island of Zante, she admitted defeat and headed home. Here, she lifts the lid on what went wrong  and reveals the truth about teenage summer jobs abroad . . .

17-year-old Florence Sibary went to the Greek party island of Zante to join the hordes of British teenagers travelling to the Mediterranean. Stock image of Zante

Thursday, June 2

Its 4am and Mum has just dropped me at Bristol Airport for my flight to Greece. I cant believe Ive persuaded my parents to let me do this! Im off to the resort of Laganas, on Zante, to try to find work for the summer.

Im going with a company called PlayaWay Abroad. You pay them 368 (Dad did this, but Ill pay him back) and, for that, I get four weeks shared accommodation in a flat and the use of one of their reps for a week to help me find a job.

I could have gone to Magaluf or Ibiza, but they advised me that, as Im only 17, a smaller resort would be safer.

Because of my age, I cant do bar work, but theyve promised itll be easy to get a job selling jelly shots (jelly soaked with alcohol) or Nos, nitrous oxide, otherwise known as laughing gas, in balloons to the tourists.

To be honest, it is a bit daunting going alone, but none of my friends were allowed to come with me.

Even as I was walking through customs, I expected Mum to suddenly come to her senses and yell: Over my dead body! But she just waved.

Party time: British teens have long been drawn to the strip of Zante. Above, Florence Sibary

Saturday, June 4

Im in an apartment on the main strip, above an English restaurant serving eggs and bacon.

During the day, its so ugly  just a long road of rowdy bars and closed nightclubs  but at night, it all comes alive, with smoke machines and lasers beamed out on the pavement.

The room itself is tiny: three single beds, a hob in the corner for cooking all our meals and a minuscule bathroom. I thought I was sharing with two girls, Chantelle and Kanal, but it turns out Kanal is a bloke.

Im not fussed, though. I just wish we had air conditioning  this heat is killing me.

Monday, June 6

Ive got a trial tomorrow night working as a PR for a bar.

Its a job all the English girls do out here and involves standing outside on the pavement and persuading tourists to come in and buy drinks.

Apparently, the police dont like us doing it, but most of the time, they turn a blind eye.

My rep has advised me to try to find work in Greek-run places, as British women have a terrible reputation with the Albanians who own many bars here. They think were all drunken tarts with no morals.

Ive been looked at with such disgust, I want to say: Actually, Im a nice girl from a respectable family  but because Im wearing skimpy clothes and lots of make-up, I know theyd never believe me.

I was in a bar last night and watched three British couples play a drinking game where they had to simulate as many sex positions as possible in the shortest time, but they were so hammered, they kept falling over.

Couple in the Greek island of Zante, famous for wild parties and cavorting. Stock image

Wednesday, June 8

I didnt get the job and, to my shame, I think I know why.

On Monday night, I got so drunk I threw up on the pavement outside a bar without realising it was the same place I was doing a trial the next day.

Im really cross with myself, but its just so ridiculously easy to lose control. Everyone is here for one thing only: to drink themselves stupid.

Ive never had a holiday without my family, let alone had to work in such a crazy environment. Im not allowed to drink or go clubbing yet in the UK because Im underage, but here anything goes. They have these places called free bars on the strip, where you can drink as much alcohol as you want all night for five euros.

I know after getting so sick the other night that the booze is terrible stuff. God knows what its got in it. But that was a rookie error and Im not going to make the same mistake again.

Shona Sibary gets regular updates from daughter Florence on her travels across Europe at 17

Friday, June 10

Ive got a job! Its in a bar called The Three Lions and they offered me PR work. They were very friendly and are paying me 20 euros a night for seven hours  and I get free drinks.

My boss, Stavros, told me: Get your boobs and bum out, target the boys and try to avoid the undercover police. Its all very exciting.

The deals I have to sell are: One cocktail, a pint and a Nos balloon for five euros or one cocktail and two shots for five euros.

The problem is that tourists on their first few days of holiday just want to go in the free bars, and Im finding it hard to persuade them that you get what you pay for.

Tuesday, June 14

Three girls I work with who came out here at the same time as me have already flown home because they cant handle the endless harassment.

We constantly get slapped on the bum and the guys behind the bar throw ice cubes down our tops.

It all seems more amusing if I prink before work  thats pre-drinking vodka bought from the local shop.

We start at around six in the evening and, by the time I get to work at 8pm, I feel confident enough not to care about the attention. Luckily, Im not too sensitive, but I can see that the girls who are find it all very difficult.

Saturday, June 18

This is my routine. Wake up at 3pm. Put on bikini and head to Lifes A Beach, a bar where all the British workers hang out. Eat a cheese and baked bean toastie (two euros).

Ive discovered a great drink that really helps me hydrate after the night before. Its called a juicy and is a mix of vodka, blackcurrant squash and water. I know its alcoholic, and I do worry about that.

My grandmother died of liver failure last year and I wonder if Ill be able to stop when I get home.

But here, everybody drinks like this, so it feels normal. I know Im not taking the best care of myself but its expensive to eat healthily. A pizza costs one euro, but a fruit salad is five, so its obvious which Ill go for.

Then its off to work from 8pm until 3am. After that, we go clubbing until well after the sun comes up. Sometimes, I actually get sunburnt walking back to the apartment to go to bed.

Younger years: Shona Sibary with her family; husband Keith, daughters Flo, 13, Annie, 11, Dolly, 2 and son Monty, 9

Wednesday, June 22

Had to phone home today because I realised, with a shock, that Ive blown almost all my money in just two weeks. Id saved up 450, which was supposed to help me get through the summer and supplement my wages, but its nearly all gone.

My parents were horrified that Ive spent so much. Ive pretty much ignored everything they said, so they are furious with me.

Theyd be even more cross if they knew what the money has gone on  mainly drinking, club entry and laughing gas. I can go through 20 euros a night just buying balloons to inhale.

Saturday, June 25

I nearly got arrested last night because the police decided to round up all the PRs on the strip. Most of the time they ignore us, but then theyll have a crackdown.

If you cant prove youre on holiday and produce a return ticket home, you get fined 3,000 euros. Luckily, I was warned by a text from another PR farther up the strip, so I had to rush inside and plonk myself down at a table with a couple of tourists. It was scary, but quite exhilarating.

Teenage times: Shona sitting with Florence before her daughter jetted off to Zante

Wednesday, June 29

By far the most dangerous thing here is that the strip is open to traffic all night.

Youd think, with the number of drunk people staggering off the pavement, that it would be pedestrianised, but cars drive at 40mph and Ive seen two tourists get hit. Also, in the past five days, Ive watched six drunk guys flip their quad bikes over on separate occasions. I cant believe how stupid some people can be.

Last night, an ambulance pulled over to attend to someone who had collapsed and this inebriated Irish guy leapt into the drivers seat and drove it off down the strip, eventually crashing into two parked cars.

Friday, July 1

Im such an idiot. I didnt eat very much yesterday  Im trying to budget  but then I drank so many cheap cocktails last night, I ended up on a drip because I couldnt stop being sick.

Mum is going to kill me because I had to pay 50 euros for treatment  theyll have to transfer the money. Ill tell her it was because of an allergic reaction to a mosquito bite.

Sunday, July 3

Still ill, and now I have a throat infection from all the laughing gas Ive inhaled. The nurse here, Elena, keeps telling me how stupid I am, then gives me a long list of medications to buy, which I can apparently claim on my travel insurance. But I need the money upfront and Mum and Dad are getting fed up with me asking.

Party time: Teenage Florence at home after getting ready for a night out

Tuesday, July 5

This is such a horrible place to be when youre not well, and I couldnt help breaking down on the phone today when I called home.

I just feel so sick, I dont know what to do with myself. Its way too hot to lie on the bed inside.

I cant put anything in our fridge because the boys in the flat below have filled it with beer and protein shakes, as their fridge is broken.

Mum has offered to put me in a hotel for a few nights to recover, but I feel so guilty about my behaviour (which she still doesnt know about) and I want to prove I can stand on my own two feet.

Thursday, July 7

The medication is finally kicking in and Im feeling much better. The doctor said I musnt drink while taking the antibiotics but my room- mate told me thats only true if they begin with an m. Mine begin with a  so I should be OK!

Saturday, July 9

Just when I thought nothing else could go wrong, last night my bag was stolen. I was with friends and we finished clubbing at 6am and went skinny-dipping.

I stowed my bag under a parked car with everything in it  my mobile, money and all my clothes  and it was taken by a gypsy.

Someone lent me a towel and I managed to get back to the apartment, but the police want 140 euros from me to report the crime.

Monday, July 11

My parents have bought me a ticket home tomorrow. If Im honest, Ive had enough anyway.

But I will miss Zante, even though the only bit Ive seen is the strip. I should definitely do some sightseeing next time I come because Ive heard that the island is beautiful.

MUM SHONAS RESPONSE...

everyone who has just read this must be thinking: Why the hell did you let her go?

And having heard Flos truthful account for the first time, I am, of course, wondering just that.

Keith and I did think long and hard about allowing our eldest, party-loving daughter loose in such a hedonistic environment but, at the time, quite frankly, I didnt think her behaviour could get any worse.

She was already breaking all the rules at home and I suppose I just thought: Maybe this will get it all out of her system.
George Zimmerman has been punched in the face by a man who accused him of 'bragging' about killing Trayvon Martin.

Zimmerman, 32, dialed 911 shortly after the incident took place and told police he was at Gators Riverside Grille in Sanford, Florida, when he was approached and hit.

According to transcripts obtained by WFTV, Zimmerman said the argument started when the alleged attacker 'recognized' him.

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George Zimmerman has been punched in the face by a man who accused him of 'bragging' about killing Trayvon Martin

Zimmerman, 32, dialed 911 shortly after the incident took place and told police he was at Gators Riverside Grille (pictured) in Sanford, Florida, when he was approached and hit

'He told me he was going to kill me he told me he'd shoot me and he punched me in the face,' the 32-year-old said.

He added he had told people sat around a table with him that he shot Martin in self-defense just before the alleged assault.

However, witness reports of the incident claim Zimmerman was bragging about killing the 17-year-old in 2012.

'I love your tattoos. My name is George Zimmerman, you know, that guy who killed Trayvon Martin?' he said to another person in the restaurant, according to WFTV.

Witness reports of the incident claim Zimmerman was bragging about killing 17-year-old Trayvon Martin (pictured) in 2012

'My name is George Zimmerman, you know, that guy who killed Trayvon Martin?' he said to another person in the restaurant on Thursday, witnesses claim

He allegedly then showed of his ID card to prove he was who he said.

Zimmerman was part of a neighborhood watch program when he shot and killed Martin on February 26, 2012, in Sanford.

He stood trial, but was acquitted of second degree murder and manslaughter.

Zimmerman (pictured in 2013) was part of a neighborhood watch program when he shot and killed Martin on February 26, 2012, in Sanford

Thursday's incident is not the first time he has faced hostility since the trial, with Matthew Apperson arrested and accused of trying to kill Zimmerman during a road-rage incident.

In one altercation between the pair, Apperson allegedly said to Zimmerman: 'You already know you're wrong for killing that little black boy'.
Advertisement

An ex-oil rig worker from New Zealand known as 'Captain Planet' is leading a team of commandos in the hunt for animal smugglers in the jungles of Malaysia and Indonesia.

Images from their latest mission in the Philippines show the group called 'The Operatives' busting a black market smuggling ring in a small village and releasing a rare exotic animal called a pangolin.

Pete Bethune, 51, has led the team made up of former Special Forces soldiers and extreme environmentalists for the past three years - and their conservation operations often descend into gunfights.

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'The Operatives' are a group of former military personnel brought together by New Zealand environmental warrior Pete 'Captain Planet' Bethune (pictured middle)

During their latest mission in Manila, Philippines the group found a pangolin tied up in a string bag during a raid on a small village

The pangolin was released back into the wild after being rescued by 'The Operatives'

Stephane, a member of 'The Operatives', searches a hut which was thought to contain pangolins and forest turtles for smuggling out of the Philippines

Among them is 33-year-old German Robert Marc-Lehmann who documented the latest bust and a recent training exercise in the region.

'It's pretty badass,' he said.

'Most of the people involved quit the military to become involved.

'This training exercise was to help train some of the local law enforcement and police, but we were using real guns. We normally do.'

Pangolins are considered an endangered species in the Philippines, and are often smuggled to China and Vietnam for medicinal purposes.

The animal was rescued from a small village run by the smugglers after being tied up in a small string bag.

Bethune is an environmental warrior who in 2010 famously clashed with Japanese whalers and was jailed for five months.

The ex-military operatives pictured during a training operation in south-east Asia

A warehouse raided by 'The Operatives' in the Philippines to stop a wildlife smuggling ring

Pete Bethune, otherwise known as Captain Planet, leads the group, christened The Operatives, which faces black market traders prepared to 'do anything to protect their illegal trade'

'Animals are captured and sold as exotic pets or for use in traditional medicines. The illegal wildlife trade is the third largest black market trade in the world, and therefore a huge problem,' he added.

'We rescued the pangolin along with a local animal enforcement group.

'Fortunately we did not have to use any guns for this mission, though we did capture two people with illegal chainsaws.

'The poor creature was strung up in a net and needed a lot of care.

Pete Bethune, otherwise known as Captain Planet, leads the group, christened The Operatives, which faces black market traders prepared to 'do anything to protect their illegal trade'.

While some rescues are relatively straightforward, others involve gun fights.

This pangolin was found starving and dehydrated by members of 'The Operatives'

'Captain Planet' Pete Bethune (left) prepares to release the pangolin back into the wild

'Of course, we make sure we have the permission of the authorities first, but they are often happy to have our help tackling the problem,' added Mr Marc-Lehmann.

'If ever we act on our own, we never take guns.

'The illegal animal and logging trade is a really high-stakes game.
His gang lured former state Sen Leland Yee into its clutches through money and campaign contributions in exchange for legislative help

He came to the US at 16 and was reportedly nicknamed 'Shrimp Boy' by his grandmother due to his small stature

Chow, born in Hong Kong in 1960, showed no reaction as the verdicts were announced and stared straight ahead in the court room

Today he was handed two life sentences and another twenty years in jail

A Chinatown gangster has been jailed for life for 162 charges including murder and racketeering, after a massive San Francisco Chinatown corruption case.

Raymond Chow, known as Shrimp Boy, was described as 'highly manipulative' by District Court Judge Charles Breyer who sentenced him to two life terms and an additional twenty years.

The case against Chow, who was born in Hong Kong in 1960 before moving to the US as a teen, exposed the underworld in one of the nation's oldest Chinatowns.

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Guilty: Raymond 'Shrimp Boy' Chow (above) has been jailed for life for 162 charges including murder and racketeering

Prosecutors said Chow, who was born in Hong Kong in 1960, ordered the slaying of the head of a Chinese fraternal organization with criminal ties that Chow then took over

Chow ordered the slaying of the head of a Chinese organized crime organization which he then took over, a court heard.

The fraternal group had ties to drug trafficking, money laundering and the sale of stolen cigarettes and top-shelf liquor such as Johnny Walker Blue Label and Hennessey XO.

Chow, wearing a dark suit and flashing a smile, insisted he was innocent and simply a victim of lying prosecutors, a biased judge and incompetent defense attorneys.

'I not apologize to the victims,' Chow, who used a translator during the trial, said in English. 'I feel sorry for them because they did not get the right guy. I'm not the man they're looking for. That is a total fail in the justice system.'

Lead prosecutor William Frentzen stood just a few feet away from Chow, shaking his head as the suspect addressed him directly at times.

Frentzen called Chow a 'highly manipulative, constant, perpetual liar.'

Chow was also charged him with conspiracy to murder another rival

'This is a man who is a parasite. He lived off of this organization and other people's criminal activities,' the prosecutor said during the sentencing hearing, pointing at Chow.

Chow moved to the United States at age 16 and was reportedly nicknamed 'Shrimp Boy' by his grandmother due to his small stature.

According to his testimony and news reports at the time, Chow - who stands at just 5ft 5in tall - became an enforcer for, and later leader of, the Hop Sing Boys - involved in shaking down gambling halls and prostitution.

After killing off his rival, Chow took charge of the Chinese organization he used the organization as a front for drug trafficking, money laundering and the sale of stolen cigarettes and alcohol, prosecutors said.

An attorney for Chow said during the trial that the prosecution case was built on secret surveillance and shady witnesses.

The prosecution's main witness against Chow was an undercover FBI agent who posed as a foul-mouthed East Coast businessman with mafia ties while infiltrating Chow's organization.

The probe also ensnared former California state Sen Leland Yee (above), who pleaded guilty to a racketeering count involving bribes

The years-long probe ended up snagging former state Senator Leland Yee, who was jailed in February to five years

The agent, who testified under a false name, said he wined and dined Chow and his associates for years.

Chow willingly accepted envelopes stuffed with thousands of dollars in cash for setting up various crimes, including illegal liquor and tobacco sales, the agent said.

Defense attorney J Tony Serra argued that the government set up his client by foisting the envelopes on him and courting him with expensive dinners and high-end liquor purchased with public money.

Chow said he was given the money because the agent was showing his respect, not in exchange for criminal activity.

He testified to dealing drugs and getting involved in a street gang but presented himself as a reformed gangster who went from dealing drugs and running an escort service to mentoring troubled youth.

Investigators say Chow used the organization as a front for drug trafficking, money laundering and the sale of stolen cigarettes and alcohol. Above an FBI agent removes evidence in 2014 related to the case

Chow moved to the United States at age 16 and was reportedly nicknamed 'Shrimp Boy' by his grandmother due to his small stature

An attorney for Chow said in his closing argument that the prosecution case was built on secret surveillance and shady witnesses

He denied involvement in the slayings and said he was given the money because the agent was looking out for him, not in exchange for criminal activity.

But federal prosecutor Susan Badger told jurors to disregard claims that Chow was a changed man after leaving prison in 2003, saying deception was part of his nature.

'He is not the victim here,' Badger said. 'He is not the world's most misunderstood criminal.'

The investigation of Chow's tong led to the indictment of more than two dozen people, including former State Sen.

Leland Yee  a gun control advocate who acknowledged in a plea deal that he accepted thousands of dollars in bribes and discussed helping an undercover FBI agent buy automatic weapons from the Philippines.

A federal judge sentenced Yee in February to five years in prison.
An woman was attacked by a man wielding a hammer as she waited at the bus stop.

The woman in her sixties was assaulted and received a neck injury while waiting for the bus in Lurnea, in Sydney's south-west, on Friday at 6.40am.

The victim contacted her husband, also in his sixties, after the assault and he arrived at the scene shortly after.

The husband approached the man - who is not known to the couple - who had entered a nearby service station, but was also attacked with the hammer, leaving him with a broken arm.

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An elderly woman allegedly sustained a neck injury after a man wielding a hammer attacked her as she waited at a Sydney bus stop

The woman, in her sixties, contacted her husband who arrived at the scene and approached the man at a nearby service station

'The woman's husband attempted to arrest this man at a nearby service station and he was also assaulted with the hammer,' a police spokesperson told Daily Mail Australia.

Police were called to the service station and arrested the man.

'He is still in custody assisting with inquiries at Liverpool Police Station,' the police spokesperson said.

The injured couple are in a stable condition at Liverpool Hospital.

The woman's husband was also allegedly attacked and was left with a broken arm as he made a citizen's arrest
Two men have been charged with her murder as police

Two men have been charged with murdering mother-of-three Peta Fairhead, whose body was found dumped in front of a Perth hospital.

The 27-year-old was left for dead in front of Joondalup Health Campus around 3am on Wednesday with gashes and grazes covering her head, face and body.

Police on Friday confirmed that two men, aged 19 and 20, had been arrested in relation to her death, WA Today reports.

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Two men have been charged with murdering mother-of-three Peta Fairhead. Pictured here with husband Scott on their wedding day

Two men have been charged with the murder of mother-of-three Peta Fairhead (pictured) whose body was found dumped in front of a Perth hospital.

The two men will appear in Joondalup Magistrates Court on Friday, where the face murder charges as well as three counts of kidnapping and three counts of armed robbery.

Police are still searching for a third person who they say is 'aware they are trying to locate him'

Ms Fairhead was pronounced dead around 3.15am on Wednesday after a car pulled in front of the hospital and allegedly pushed her her body outside before speeding away.

Police identified the 27-year-old after releasing pictures of her distinctive Lion King tattoos, which were recognised straight away by her family, Seven News reported.

Police on Friday confirmed that two men, aged 19 and 20, had been arrested in relation to her death

The two men will appear in Joondalup Magistrates Court on Friday, where the face murder charges as well as three counts of kidnapping and three counts of armed robbery

Police are still searching for a third person in relation to the death of Peta Fairhead (middle)

Danielle Hayden (left) said Ms Fairhead (right) left behind 'so many people that will miss her beautiful face'

Friends of Ms Fairhead said she was a 'loving, caring mother' who was always smiling.

Danielle Hayden told WA Today: 'I don't know why or who would do this to you.

'You have left behind so many people that will miss you and your beautiful face.

'I will always love you.'

Ms Fairhead leaves behind a daughter and two young sons.

Police identified Ms Fairhead after releasing pictures of her distinctive Lion King tattoos

In a bid to identify Ms Fairhead police also released images of tattoos on her left foot and right calf
Daniel Morcombe's killer has been taken to hospital after a fellow inmate threw boiling water over him.

Brett Cowan, 46, was rushed from Wocal Correctional Centre to Royal Brisbane Hospital, suffering burns to his head, chest and legs.

A Queensland Ambulance spokesperson confirmed that a man in his 40s was taken to hospital requiring treatment for 'scalds from boiling water.'

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Daniel Morcombe's killer Brett Cowan (pictured) was transferred from Wocal Correctional Centre to Royal Brisbane Hospital, suffering burns to his head, chest and legs

Daniel Morcombe was abducted in broad daylight from a bus stop and murdered in 2003

An ambulance was called at around 9.30am on Friday but it is not yet clear how severe Cowan's injuries are.

A corrective services spokesman said the 46-year-old was injured at around 9.15am and was 'conscious and lucid' when an ambulance arrived.

Police are interviewing another prisoner in relation to the incident.

Cowan's lawyer Tim Meehan condemned the attack and said it isn't the job of other prisoners to serve justice in jail.

'I understand that there's an awful lot of ill feeling towards him but vigilante justice is something that has never been condoned by the courts,' he told News Corp.

Pictured, a view of inside the prison compound. Cowan was released into a general unit earlier this year

The killer of the 13-year-old Sunshine Coast schoolboy had been confined to his maximum security jail cell because he feared attacks by other inmates

'He is in jail as punishment for his crime and it's not for others who are in jail  serving punishment for their crimes  to serve out summary justice.'

The killer of the 13-year-old Sunshine Coast schoolboy had been confined to his maximum security jail cell because he feared attacks by other inmates.

But he was released into a general unit earlier this year, according to News Corp.

Daniel Morcombe was abducted in broad daylight from a bus stop and murdered in 2003.

Cowan was handed a life sentence in 2014 and cannot apply for parole until he has served 20 years.

He launched a last-ditch appeal bid which The High Court rejected in March.
The shooting occurred in the McDonald's carpark on Friday

Police are looking for Zachariah John Hewitt, 26, who

Customers have been left terrified after a man fired a shotgun in a McDonald's carpark.

The incident occurred at North Mackay McDonald's, on the Bruce Highway in Queensland, at 9.30am on Friday morning.

Police have released a picture of Zachariah John Hewitt, 26, who they are looking to speak to in relation to the shooting.

Speaking to reporters outside the McDonald's, Police Inspector Ian Haughton said about 50 people were inside the restaurant when police shot at the gunman after he fired his weapon.

Police are on the hunt for Zachariah John Hewitt, 26, after reports of a shooting in a Queensland McDonald's carpark

A terrified store manager told the Daily Mercury how screaming customers ran towards her saying someone had a shotgun.

'I heard the bang just once,' she told the Daily Mercury.

'It was very scary, all I think could of is that they were going to come inside and shoot everyone.'

Another witness told the publication that they heard 'three shots' fired before a white Mitsubishi Magna sped away from the scene.

Inspector Haughton said the suspect manged to allude police and hit several cars during the escape.

'When that occurred there has been some vehicles damaged because the person was in a vehicle at the time.

'Police did disarm some firearms in an attempt to disable that vehicle but unfortunately were unsuccessful,' he said.

He added that there would be an internal investigation and McDonald's staff would receive counselling.

Hewitt has been described as a high risk offender. The public have been warned not to approach him.
David Jones has announced it will move headquarters to Melbourne by 2018, in a move hailed by the Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews as proof the city is Australia's 'fashion capital'.

However, the retailer is not completely abandoning Sydney, announcing flagship store on Elizabeth Street with undergo a $200 million redevelopment - with plans for 11 levels, a new basement and more retail space.

Victorian premier Daniel Andrew said: 'This is testament to Victoria's position as the nation's fashion capital and one of the best places in the world to do business.'

David Jones is upgrading its flagship store in Sydney in a $200m redevelopment and moving its Australasian headquarters to Melbourne

The 178-year-old department store is relocating its headquarters to inner-city Richmond, in the south of Melbourne (pictured)

The 178-year-old department store is also relocating its headquarters to inner-city Richmond, in the south of Melbourne.

David Jones' owner, South African retail giant Woolworths, said the decision to move their headquarters to Melbourne was based on the local retail industry, long term costs and development opportunities.

'A location in the heart of the region's fashion and retail capital will provide a unified sense of purpose that will foster a new level of co-operation and creative collaboration,' Woolworth's chief cxecutive, Ian Moir, said

The relocation is expected to be completed by mid 2018.

However, Sydney won't be totally deprived, with the city's flagship Elizabeth Street store to receive a $200m facelift, with plans for 11 levels, with a new basement and more retail space.

The redeveloped Sydney store will house gourmet food and dining and with a restaurant on level seven that will be developed in partnership with renowned Australian chef Neil Perry.

Shoppers take the escalator inside a David Jones department store in Sydney. The redeveloped Sydney store will house gourmet food and dining

Construction on the Sydney redevelopment will begin in 2017 and is planned to be completed halfway through 2019

David Jones' owner said the decision to move their headquarters to Melbourne was based on the local retail industry, long term costs and development opportunities

There will also be a new and larger David Jones Foodhall with a winder selection on offer.

Construction will begin in 2017 and is planned to be completed halfway through 2019.

The 178-year-old department store was opened by Mr David Jones, a Welsh immigrant, on the corner of George and Barrack Street on 24 May 1838.
Once a hotbed of late-night partying, Sydney's Kings Cross district will again be inundated with people this weekend as 8,000 Pokemon Go players prepare to descend for a party.

The Kings Cross Hotel is hosting a Pokemon Party on Friday for Pokemon trainers to compare their collections beginning at 9pm.

The party has garnered a lot of attention to their Facebook invite with at least 8,000 people interested in attending and almost 2,000 people confirming their tickets.

Sydney's Kings Cross district, once a hotbed of late-night partying until lock-laws were imposed two years ago, will again be inundated with people on Friday for a Pokemon Party

At least 8,000 people said on social media they are interested in attending the party at Kings Cross Hotel

Kings Cross has often been referred to as a ghost town since the NSW government implemented the highly criticised 1.30am lock-out laws in 2014.

The new restrictions stop patrons from entering bars in most of the inner Sydney CBD, Kings Cross, and the clubbing area along Oxford Street after 1.30am and prevents businesses from serving drinks past 3am.

The laws were imposed after the death of Thomas Kelly, 18, who was randomly punched and killed while out with his girlfriend in Kings Cross.

The Pokemon Party appears to be drawing patrons back to Kings Cross as it encourages attendees to 'partake in Pike-pproved Poke fun with fellow Pokefans'

Since the Pokemon Go app launched last month, groups of people have been seen swarming public areas while they furiously tap their phones (pictured)

NSW Premier Mike Baird has been widely criticised for the lock-outs laws that have been blamed for numerous businesses closing.

Customers have been flocking to suburbs sitting outside of the laws' perimeter, such as Pyrmont or Newtown.

The Pokemon Party appears to be drawing patrons back to Kings Cross as it encourages attendees to 'partake in Pike-pproved Poke fun with fellow Pokefans.'

Pokemon cocktails and Eevee Evolution shots will be served to accompany Pokemon themed music and prizes.

'King is coming to dominate this party! I'm rolling in with my CP 4000 Dragonite!' one excited man wrote on the hotel's Facebook.

Close to 200 people swarmed the Sydney Opera House during their lunch breaks on a wet and rainy July 20 in search of Pokemon

Crowds were seen holding umbrellas or hiding under cover as they meandered with their heads hung over their screens (pictured)

'Do you reckon I can increase my Pokemon go productivity and therefore my catch rate if I walk in the dead middle of the road in kings cross? Considering it will give me maximum efficiency as I can reach both sides of the road? As we all know. Partying is exp waste and therefore blasphemous. We much minimise such futile partying to catch them all [sic],' another man said.

Not everyone is sold on the idea.

'Yeah let's go to kings cross and walk around and not look where we are going, that sounds like a smart idea,' one woman commented.

Since the Pokemon Go app launched last month, groups of people have been seen swarming public areas while they furiously tap their phones.

Close to 200 people swarmed the Sydney Opera House during their lunch breaks on a wet and rainy July 20 in search of Pokemon.

Crowds were seen holding umbrellas or hiding under cover as they meandered with their heads hung over their screens.
Mike Pence has broken with Donald Trump again in order to endorse two incumbent Republicans despite the party nominee refusing to do so.

Pence spoke out on Thursday to endorse senators John McCain and Kelly Ayotte in their upcoming battles for Arizona and New Hampshire.

There was a stir earlier in the day when Pence gave a blanket endorsement to 'all Republican congressional incumbents' despite being specifically asked about McCain and Ayotte, though he later named both of them in a statement.

Mike Pence has broken with Trump for the second time in two days in order to endorse John McCain and Kelly Ayotte in their senate races after also backing Paul Ryan

Trump refused to back Ayotte and McCain on Wednesday while also declining to endorse Ryan in the latest split between himself and the Republican establishment

The Indiana governor told WTKR: 'Of course I support John McCain and Kelly Ayotte and all of our Republican incumbents.'

Thursday's endorsements mark the second time in two days that Pence has broken with Trump, exposing an embarrassing rift between the Republican establishment and the brash billionaire, despite both parties insisting the are united.

Trump previously told the Washington Post that he would not endorse McCain because of his record over veteran's issues.

The Republican nominee said: 'I haven't endorsed John McCain. And I've never been there with John McCain because I've always felt that he should've done a much better job for the vets.

'He has not done a good job for the vets and I've always felt that he should've done a much better job for the vets.

'So I've always had, I've always had a difficult time with John for that reason. Because our vets are not being treated properly, they're not being treated fairly.'

The two have butted heads on the campaign trial before, with Trump suggesting that McCain should not be considered a war hero because he was captured, and the former presidential hopeful criticizing Trump's attack on the Khan family.

Trump also blasted Ayotte as 'weak' after she criticized his treatment of the Khan family, and called for better leadership in New Hampshire, where she is running.

The businessman also singled Ayotte out for giving his campaign 'zero support'.

Trump criticized McCain, who is running for a Senate seat in Arizona, on veteran's issues, while branding Ayotte, who is fighting her Senate battle in New Hampshire, as 'weak'

In the past Ayotte has refused to endorse Trump, though said she would be voting for him as President over Hillary Clinton.

Pence's latest endorsements come a day after he backed House Speaker Paul Ryan in his showdown with Paul Nehlen as the pair prepare to go to the polls next week.

The vice presidential hopeful said he 'strongly' supported Ryan, while trying to play down any rift in the party by suggesting he got Trump's blessing to do so.

Trump refused to back Ryan at the same time he trashed McCain and Ayotte, saying he was 'just not there yet' on the Wisconsin Representative.

The billionaire's remarks echo Ryan's own comments after it became clear that Trump was going to win the primary race, before the two officially reconciled and Ryan threw his weight behind the campaign.

Since then, however, the Republican grandee has been forced to constantly defend Trump's outspoken views, often disagreeing with them.

On Wednesday Ryan flatly warned Trump that his endorsement is not 'a blank check' and said the presidential hopeful has 'had a pretty strange run since the convention'.

Even Trump's supporters have acknowledged that this week has been the most disastrous of his campaign so far, as the reality TV star staggered from one gaffe to the next.

First he was derided for attacking the parents of slain Army Captain Humayun Khan after they spoke out against him at the DNC.

Pence 'strongly' endorsed Paul Ryan on Wednesday while attempting to play down a rift in the Republican party by saying he got Trump's blessing to do so

He then joked about how easy it was to get a Purple Heart, kicked a crying baby out of a rally, and suggested the election will be rigged, all in the same day.

Since then he has twice insisted he saw film of $400million sent to Iran by the Obama administration being taken off a plane, despite his own campaign admitting the footage actually shows four U.S. prisoners getting off an aircraft in Geneva.

The incidents have combined with an anticipated post-convention bump in the polls for the Clinton campaign, leaving her with a ten-point lead over Trump nationally.

In fact the latest poll, the only one to be taken after Trump's feud with the Khan family, shows Hillary with a 15-point lead.

The new McClathy-Marist poll has the Democratic candidate leading Trump 48 to 33 per cent among registered voters nationwide.
The ex-wife of a multimillionaire hotelier has been forced to live with her family in a housing commission block in western Sydney, despite being owed $3 million from a court order made by a judge over three years ago.

The messy split between Les Young, the former owner of Wiley Park Hotel and the Guildford Hotel, and his second wife Joanne Young, has dragged on for ten years.

It began in 2006, when Ms Young was wrongly thrown out of her home after police acted on 'malicious' information provided by Mr Young that she had stolen $90,000 from him and was dealing drugs.

Ms Young's belongings were seized by Mr Young, including her two terriers Fluffy and Molly, who were both put down, the Sydney Morning Herald reported.

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Les Young, (pictured with current wife Josephine Smith), was ordered to pay his second wife Joanne Young a $3 million settlement by a Judge over three years ago

But Joanne Young (pictured), who lives in a housing commission apartment in western Sydney, has not received a cent of that settlement money

Mr Young's current partner, Josephine Smith, lives in a luxurious Pyrmont penthouse on Wharf 8 (pictured) with harbour views and three spacious levels

To make matters worse, Mr Young's current partner, Josephine Smith, lives in a luxurious Pyrmont penthouse with harbour views and three spacious levels.

In 2013, Mr Young transferred the $5 million penthouse apartment over into Ms Smith's name.

A year later, he declared bankruptcy, leading a Sydney court to freeze all of Ms Smith's assets, including the penthouse.

On Tuesday, Smith was found guilty of contempt of court after she used the apartment to secure a loan to buy the Lucky Australian hotel in St Mary's - going against direct court-orders to freeze all assets transferred to her by Mr Young.

Ms Young's lawyers are continuing to fight for the money owed to her by her former partner.

In 2013, Mr Young (pictured with Ms Smith leaving court in 2013) transferred the $5 million Sydney penthouse into Ms Smith's name, and then went bankrupt a year later
Raulli's stealing spree came to an end when police caught him on CCTV

He stole underwear from one clothesline on five

A Melbourne construction worker and serial underwear thief was filmed fleeing from court after pleading guilty to a four-year stealing spree.

Marco Adam Raulli, 35, was convicted of snatching women's underwear from clotheslines across Melbourne's inner suburbs.

His stealing spree came to an end when police caught him on CCTV sniffing a pair of women's panties before putting them in his pocket and fleeing.

Video footage captured the 35-year-old bolting from court and darting through traffic on Thursday after he pleaded guilty to five charges of theft and three of stalking.

Marco Adam Raulli was pictured bolting from court and darting through traffic on Thursday after he pleaded guilty to stealing women's underwear from Melbourne clotheslines

Raulli darts through traffic after he pleaded guilty to five charges of theft and three of stalking

Raulli, from Reservoir in Melbourne's north, was ordered to pay $790 in restitution to his female victims, whose stolen underwear valued at $900, has never been found.

The serial thief said he was sorry for the sordid spree, in which he snatched undies from clotheslines in Northcote, Richmond and South Yarra between 2012 and 2016.

Magistrate Duncan Reynolds said Raulli had behaved in a manner that was 'serious and concerning'.

Although Raulli did not know his victims, the magistrate said this was not a victimless crime.

Raulli, from Reservoir in Melbourne's north, was ordered to pay $790 in restitution to his female victims, whose stolen underwear valued at $900, has never been found

Raulli snatched underwear across Melbourne's inner suburbs, returning to one address five times (CCTV pictured)

He returned to one of the address five times, leaving his victims in fear and one was so distraught, she moved house.

'I had no idea what the person would do next,' one victim said, in her statement previously read to court.

Another suffered nightmares and continually checked her doors were locked, fearing the crimes would escalate: 'We felt like sitting ducks.'

Mr Reynolds sentenced Raulli to an 18-month community corrections order, which includes an offender behaviour program and counselling.

Although Raulli did not know his victims, the magistrate said this was not a victimless crime

'Mr Raulli should clearly understand the adverse impact of this offending,' he said.

Mr Reynolds noted Raulli had no prior convictions, a good work record and a desire to change.

'You believe you have the capacity to maintain the changes you've commenced through counselling undertaken by you,' he said.

'It's important for you to understand the need for that continued counselling.'
A 14-year-old girl accused of fatally shooting her own father has been praised by her mother as a 'hero' who saved the family from the clutches of an abusive drunk.

Bresha Meadows, from Ohio, has been charged with aggravated murder after she allegedly shot 41-year-old father Johnathan in the head just before 4am on July 28.

While cops do not know what led up to the shooting, witnesses say Meadows shot her father with his own gun, the same gun he regularly used to threaten the family.

Bresha Meadows, 14, has been charged with aggravated murder after shooting 41-year-old father Johnathan in the head just before 4am on July 28

Brandi Meadows, the girl's mother and wife of the dead man, has praised her daughter - calling her a 'hero' and saying she 'saved' the entire family

Sheri Latessa, one of Bresha's aunts, told WKBN that after the shooting the girl turned to her mother and said: 'Now mommy, youre free.'

Brandi Meadows, Bresha's mother who was married to Johnathan for 18 years, has since praised her daughter for helping the family escape him.

Speaking through tears, she told Fox 8: 'I am so sorry she had to go through this. She is my hero. She helped me; she helped all of us so we could have a better life.

'She is my hero; I wasnt strong enough to get out and she helped me.'

Ian Friedman, attorney for the Meadows family, said Bresha was born into an abusive home and often witnessed her mother being abused at the hands of her father.

Witnesses say Bresha shot father Johnathan (right) with his own gun that he routinely used to threaten the family when drunk

He said that the father would often drink, and used the firearm to keep those living in the house afraid of him.

Martina Latessa, a Cleveland police officer another of Breshas aunts, said Johnathan kept the family isolated from others, effectively imprisoning them away from help.

Latessa said that Bresha was 'born into a nightmare from day one', and even tried running away to her house for help, but the authorities insisted they could not act against Johnathan.

Brandi admits that she was completely terrified of her husband, and felt powerless to act against him for fear of recrimination.

In 2011 she did file for a protective order in order to keep him away from herself and her children.

Sheri Latessa, one of Bresha's aunts, said the family had suffered years of abuse at Johnathan's hands and after the shooting Bresha had turned to her mother and said 'you're free'

Johnathan was shot once in the head in the early hours of July 28 at his home in Ohio (pictured) before dying of his injuries

Police records show that officers were called to the property after reports that Johnathan had tried to kill Brandi and their three children.

Charges of domestic abuse were brought against Johnathan, but were later dropped by Brandi and he was never convicted.

On a GoFundMe page set up to help finance Bresha's legal costs, family friends say her 'childhood has been ripped from her hands by an abusive father'.

The page adds: 'Bresha has reached out in the past but the system has failed her. Let's not fail her this time.'
Disgraced former Labor politician Eddie Obeid, 72, was rushed to hospital on Thursday night after suffering a mild stroke.

Obeid was taken to the emergency department at St Vincent's Hospital, where he stayed overnight before being discharged on Friday morning, Fairfax reported.

The former MP is currently facing a possible 14 year jail sentence, after he was found guilty of wilful misconduct by a NSW Supreme Court jury on June 28.

He was accused of corruption by the states Independent Commission Against Corruption.

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Disgraced former Labor politician Eddie Obeid (main) was rushed to hospital on Thursday night after suffering a mild stroke. The 72-year-old spent the night in hospital and was discharged in the morning

During the 72-year-old's trial, the jury heard that in late 2007, Obeid spoke about the plight of Circular Quay leaseholders to then-deputy chief executive of NSW Maritime Authority, Steve Dunn, in an attempt to reap financial benefits.

But Obeid never disclosed his family's direct financial stakes in two restaurants along the prime foreshore strip.

'Mr Obeid said to Mr Dunn that there were a group of retail tenants at the Circular Quay wharfs that were being mistreated by the Maritime Authority,' Crown Prosecutor Peter Neil SC said during his opening address earlier this month.

'Mr Dunn took it that Mr Obeid had contacted him as a member of parliament.'

The former MP is currently facing a possible 14 year jail sentence, after he was found guilty of wilful misconduct by a NSW Supreme Court jury on June 28

Another former Labor Minister, Joe Tripodi, testified during the three-week trial that he too was approached by Obeid after he became the state's ports minister in 2006.

He said that he could not recall Obeid informing him that he had any interest in any of the retail businesses at Circular Quay.

'If he did have any kind of interest whatever in those retail tenancies while you were minister for ports, would you have wanted to know about it?' Mr Neil asked.

Mr Tripodi agreed he would have wanted a heads-up, and when asked why, he grinned and said: 'Well because I wouldn't be sitting here today.'

Obeid will remain on bail ahead of sentencing proceedings in August, when prosecutors are expected to push for a jail term.

He is likely to be sentenced to up to 14 years in prison.
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A haunted historic home that once housed Confederate Army General Robert Lee has gone on the market for $3.75million.

Glenfiddich House, originally called Harrison Hall, was built in 1780 and became famous in Leesburg, Virginia, for its unique history and links to the Civil War.

Today the one-acre estate, which boasts a new four-bedroom home, office, an 1800s spring house built and 1850s smokehouse, has gone on the market for $3.75 million with Engel & Volkers Lansdowne, Wall Street Journal reports.

A haunted historic home, Glenfiddich House, (pictured) that once housed Confederate Army General Robert Lee has gone on the market for $3.75million

Glenfiddich House, originally called Harrison Hall, was built in 1780 and became famous in Leesburg, Virginia, for its unique history and links to the Civil War (pictured is the living room)

Today the one-acre estate, boasts a new four-bedroom home, office, an 1800s spring house built and 1850s smokehouse (pictured is the original fire place)

The high-end property has gone on the market for $3.75 million with Engel & Volkers Lansdowne (pictured is one of the bedrooms)

And the property comes with something else; its own Confederate soldier ghost (pictured is one of its eight bedrooms)

The ghost is just part of the history of the estate which was used as a hospitality center during the Civil War (pictured is the long wooden dining table)

Glenfiddich House, originally called Harrison Hall, was later a military hospital for wounded Confederate soldiers

And the property comes with something else; its own Confederate soldier ghost.

Melanie Miles, who is selling her home, says she has seen the officer on numerous occasions - always appearing in full military regalia.

'He looked right at me,' she said.

She believes it is the spirit of Col. Erasmus Burt, a soldier who died at the house while it was being used as a military hospital after the Battle of Ball's Bluff in 1861, according to a Civil War-era diary discovered in the house.

However, she insists that potential buyers have nothing to worry about.

Burt is a friendly ghost.

The ghost is just part of the history of the estate which was used as a hospitality center and later a military hospital for wounded Confederate soldiers du ring the Civil War.

Its most famous visitor General Robert E. Lee who led the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia from 1862 until his surrender in 1865.

Its most famous visitor General Robert E. Lee (left) while the current owners believe its haunted by he spirit of Col. Erasmus Burt (right) a soldier who died at the house while it was being used as a military hospital after the Battle of Ball's Bluff in 1861

Lee held a war council with the likes of Generals Lewis Armistead, Thomas 'Stonewall' Jackson, and James 'Jeb' Stuart in the property (painting pictured)

Lee who led the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia from 1862 until his surrender in 1865 (pictured is the dining room he held the meeting in)

Lee was treated at Harrison Hall on September 4, 1862, for a broken hand and sprained wrist after his horse, Traveler, shied away from a courier

Glennfiddich is believed to have stemmed from local merchant Henry Harrison, who bought the property and built a grand mansion next to the simple cabin

Poet and author James Dickey also called Glenfiddich House in the 1960s and it was there he began his most famous novel Deliverance

The estate, based around 40 miles outside Washington, D.C., has eight bedrooms and is packed with original features including pine floorboards and a fireplace in nearly every room

Lee was treated at Harrison Hall on September 4, 1862, for a broken hand and sprained wrist after his horse, Traveler, shied away from a courier. Later that day he held a war council with the likes of Generals Lewis Armistead, Thomas 'Stonewall' Jackson, and James 'Jeb' Stuart.

There they planned the invasion of Maryland which resulted in the Battle of Antietam.

Poet and author James Dickey also called Glenfiddich House in the 1960s and it was there he began his most famous novel Deliverance.

The new name is believed to have stemmed from local merchant Henry Harrison, who bought the property and built a grand mansion next to the simple cabin.

The estate, based around 40 miles outside Washington, D.C., has eight bedrooms and is packed with original features including pine floorboards and a fireplace in nearly every room.

The dining room, where Gen. Lee held his war meeting, still boasts its original moldings and Tennessee marble fireplace while a painting of the historic scene hangs by the fireplace.

Miles and her husband, David, bought the house in the early 1990s for $690,000, public records show, and have since spent about $1.5 million to restore it.

'We hope we're going to pass this on to somebody who's going to have as much interest and respect as we do for the property,' Miles said. 'It's been a lot of fun.'

Miles and her husband, David, bought the house in the early 1990s for $690,000, public records show, and have since spent about $1.5 million to restore it

The estate, based around 40 miles outside Washington, D.C., has eight bedrooms and is packed with original features including pine floorboards and a fireplace in nearly every room

The grand building would have been one of the finest in Leesburg at the time it was built
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An image from the early 1920s has revealed one of the fascinating design submissions for the Sydney Harbour Bridge - a three-way structure with a 500ft high tower in the middle.

The three-part bridge was designed by architect and civil engineer Francis Ernest Stowe in 1922.

The design links Balls Head, Miller's Point and Balmain, meeting in the middle with a central tower on Goat Island which was designed to double as a war memorial.

Architect and civil engineer Francis Ernest Stowe's design for a three-part bridge between Balls Head, Miller's Point and Balmain, meeting in the centre at Goat Island

A map showing Ernest Stowe's design from 1922 meeting in the centre at Goat Island, compared to where the Sydney Harbour Bridge is located today

The view from Balls Head with the central business district of Sydney on the right, and the Sydney Harbour Bridge on the left

In the design, vehicles are able to drive from each of the three points, entering into a cathedral-like intersection before driving out the other side.

The arms of each bridge feature impressive pylons similar to those used in the design of the Brooklyn Bridge in New York.

Stowe's proposal also recommended changing Goat Island's name to 'Anzac Isle' and a miniature replica of Anzac Bays and a coastline be created on the shores of the island.

A blueprint for one of engineer, naval architect and inventor Norman Selfe's designs for the Sydney Harbour Bridge, which he submitted after the initial competition was announced in January 1900. The competition was later abandoned until after WWI

Another one of Norman Selfe's bridge designs from 1903 (pictured)

In the book 'Bridging Sydney' by Caroline Mackaness, it said Stowe's proposal, which was published in the Sydney Morning Herald at the time, was in response to Dr JJC Bradfield's scheme for a second bridge from Millers Point to Balmain.

Despite being 400ft longer than Dr Bradfield's design specifications, Stowe said the bridge could be completed more quickly and cheaply using Crown land.

At the time, Stowe argued 'the Milson's Point Bridge [Sydney Habour Bridge] means the practical destruction of the whole of the so-called North Shore'.

An image showing a bridge design across Sydney Harbour by Ted Hood, similar to that of the Manhattan Bridge in New York

He also said it would involve the wreckage of hundreds of houses and shops at Milson's Point.

While the earliest proposal for a bridge between the northern and southern shores of the city was in 1815, the NSW Government announced the international competition in 1900, before suspending it until after WWI.

Dr JJC Bradfield presented his design to the New South Wales Government after WWI and tenders were put out worldwide to present bridge designs for consideration.

The Matson liner Malolo going up Sydney Harbour, past the partially constructed Sydney Harbour Bridge circa 1930

Mr Stowe's design was one of many under consideration and according to his obituary, published in the Sydney Morning Herald in 1936, his three-armed bridge design was only rejected by a narrow majority.

Stowe unsuccessfully petitioned to appear before the Legislative Council as it considered the Sydney Harbour Bridge Bill in November 1922.

The contract to build the Sydney Harbour Bridge was awarded to English company Dorman Long and Co Pty. Ltd.

An image showing the construction of the Sydney Harbour Bridge. Upon its completion in 1932 it was the largest single-arch bridge in the world

The bridge's construction began on 28 July 1923 and over the next eight years 1,400 workers workers were employed to build it, costing more than 10 million pounds(AUD$17 million).

Approximately six million hand driven rivets and 52,800 tonnes of steel were used to complete the construction, and 272,000 litres of paint were required to give the bridge its initial three coats.

Also known as The Coathanger, the Sydney Harbour Bridge was opened on March 19th 1932 by Premier Jack Lang, after six years of construction.

A view down Pitt Street in Sydney in the early 1920s showing the construction of the Sydney Harbour Bridge in the background

The opening however, didn't take place without controversy, as just as the premier was about to cut the ribbon on the bridge, a man in military uniform rode up on a horse and slashed the ribbon with his sword - opening the bridge in the name of the people of New South Wales before the official ceremony had begun.

The Sydney Harbour Bridge now carries eight lanes of traffic and two rail lines, with more than 200,000 vehicles crossing each day.

The contract to build the Sydney Harbour Bridge was awarded to English company Dorman Long and Co Pty. Ltd.

The bridge's construction began on 28 July 1923 and over the next eight years 1,400 workers workers were employed to build it, costing more than 10 million pounds ($AUD17 million)

Approximately six million hand driven rivets and 52,800 tonnes of steel were used to complete the Sydney Harbour Bridge, and 272,000 litres of paint were required to give the bridge its initial three coats

Also known as The Coathanger, the Sydney Harbour Bridge was opened on March 19th 1932 by Premier Jack Lang, after six years of construction. Pictured is an aerial view of Sydney Harbour Bridge in the 1940s

The bridge opening in 1932 didn't take place without controversy. Just as the premier was about to cut the ribbon on the bridge, a man in military uniform rode up on a horse and slashed the ribbon with his sword - opening the bridge in the name of the people of New South Wales before the official ceremony had begun

The Sydney Harbour Bridge (pictured) now carries eight lanes of traffic and two rail lines, with more than 200,000 vehicles crossing the road deck each day
A 24-year-old P-plater, died at the scene and his friend was left fighting for his life after a horror high speed crash.

Emergency services were called to Ballarat Road, in Geelong, Melbourne, after the driver, Richard Lander, crashed into a power pole on Friday at 1am.

The driver was found dead and the 20-year-old passenger was airlifted to Alfred Hospital with critical head injuries, reported Seven news.

Paramedics arrived to high speed car accident in Geelong, Melbourne to find a P-plater was killed at the scene

Richard Lander, 24, (pictured above) is believed to have been speeding when the car went over a median strip onto the wrong side of the road before slamming into a pole

The exact cause of the crash is still being investigated but speed is believed to be the factor.

'Quite significant speed has been a factor in the cause of this collision,' Inspector Michael Baker said.

Mr Lander is believed to have lost control of his Holden Sedan causing the vehicle to go over a median strip and across to lanes of traffic before slamming into a power pole.

A 20-year-old passenger was flown to hospital with critical head injuries

Emergency services were called to the Geelong accident at 1am on Friday

Family and friends of Mr Lander have since taken to social media to pay tribute.

'This man was one of the best mates I have ever had we used to do everything together lived together partied together this news has shocked us all,' Haydn said.

'Had some good times with you at school, rest easy up there mate,' Aaron said.

The fatality brings Victoria's road toll to 179 deaths, up 29 from this time last year.

Police are urging anyone with information to contact Crime Stoppers.

Family and friends of Mr Lander have since taken to social media to pay tribute
Viennetta ice cream cake on a stick is coming to Australia after an uproar on social media.

The delicious dessert is currently only served the form of an ice cream cake in Australia, but not for long.

Streets Ice Cream have confirmed that after the 'overwhelming' response from social media users, Australians will be joining the likes of Malta, London and Beijing and be able to enjoy layers of melted chocolate and fluffy vanilla ice cream on a stick.

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The Viennetta ice cream cake on a stick is coming to Australia after consumers spotted the dessert being served conveniently on a stick online

A woman shows off one of the highly coveted ice creams that she picked up in Malta

Earlier this week, images of the Viennetta on a stick captured the hearts of dessert lovers Down Under, who were frustrated they couldn't enjoy the treat themselves.

'The reaction to Viennetta on a stick from Australians has been unbelievable,' Anthony Toovey, Marketing Director of Streets Ice Cream told the Courier Mail.

'It has clearly tapped into the deep love many of us have for this party classic. With so many clamouring to try such an ingenious addition to the range, it would be wrong of us to ignore.'

On social media, one woman proudly held up the adaptation of the popular dessert and captioned it with the hashtag 'yes please', while another showed off the packaging which bears the Streets symbol alongside Chinese characters.

'SHUT THE FRONT DOOR! mini Viennetta! On a stick!!' another wrote.

Streets have not confirmed when the sweet treat will hit Australia shelves, but theyre encouraging Viennetta fans to create their own in the meantime with a 'Viennetta on a Stick' Photo Competition.

Fans who come up with their own DIY Viennetta creations have the chance to win a trip to Shanghai, and try an authentic Viennetta on a stick at the Streets Ice Cream factory.

One woman shared an image of the intricate dessert which she purchased at Beijing Zoo

'SHUT THE FRONT DOOR! mini Viennetta! On a stick!!' one social media user wrote
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A buyer has paid in excess of $1 million for the 'air rights' above a heritage-listed Melbourne warehouse.

He made the bizarre purchase because a permit gives approval for a multi-storey penthouse to be built from Level 5 of 68 Oxford Street at Collingwood.

The plans will enable the buyer to erect a penthouse, already designed, above the existing apartments on the site of the old Foy and Gibson factory.

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A buyer has paid in excess of $1 million for the 'air rights' above this heritage-listed Melbourne warehouse

The buyer made the bizarre purchase because a permit gives approval for a multi-storey penthouse to be built from Level 5 of 68 Oxford Street at Collingwood

It will boast 360-degree views of Melbourne, including the city centre, according to Domain.

According to the reports the bid was placed ahead of Saturday's planned auction in which potential buyers would be expected to pay above $950,000.

The deal was completed by real estate agents Jellis Craig but they would not divulge any more details about the purchase.

It is known that contracts were exchanged just two days ago.

Buyers advocate Greville Pabst told the website that 'this is essentially the sale of air rights  the ability to build on a rooftop'

'They do come up from time to time, but not very often. It is popular in the US and Europe and that trend is coming here as well.'

The sale has equalled the record for the price paid per square metre for such a space for Collingwood, which is just three kilometres north-east of Melbourne's centre, at $4500.

Foy and Gibson was one of Australia's earliest department store chains.

The roof space will boast 360-degree views of Melbourne, including the city centre

According to the reports the bid was placed ahead of Saturday's planned auction in which potential buyers would be expected to pay above $950,000
A Sydney advertising agency has been forced to apologise after a job applicant claimed she was told she was 'too brown' to be hired.

Surungi Emily Hohol, a Sri Lankan Australian, said she was 'livid' at the 'injustice of racism' following a job interview with creative advertising company Banjo.

'I had an interview at a creative ad agency in Sydney and was told that due to being brown and Indian (though I'm Sri Lankan) and have lived in Australia for 27 years, I wouldn't be suitable for the role as they already had two other Indian people,' she posted on Facebook.

Creative advertising company Banjo is under fire after a job applicant,Surungi Emily Hohol (pictured) claimed she was told she was 'too brown' to be hired

The creative advertising company apologised for what it called a 'misunderstanding'

Ms Hohol said she was told the agency's clients 'might be alarmed by having three brown skin people attend a meeting'.

'Seriously, what is wrong with people,' she said.

Ms Hohol received messages of support on social media.

'Ignorance and stupidity is what's wrong with them. I'm really sorry to hear you had this experience,' one user posted.

Banjo released a statement apologising and said the comments were 'taken out of context'.

Ms Hohol said she was told the agency's clients 'might be alarmed by having three brown skin people attend a meeting'

'In the course of expanding the account management team at Banjo, an unfortunate misunderstanding has occurred during an interview with a candidate, for which Banjo would like to offer an unreserved apology,' Banjo CEO Andrew Varasdi said in the statement.

'The senior staff member who conducted what was a very positive interview, made a casual remark at the end of the interview, which was intended to set the person at ease.
Tasmania has been forced to ban all importation of strawberries from Western Australia after green snails were found in three separate punnets of fruit.

The green snail can breed extremely quickly, resulting in up to a thousand snails per square metre, and is known for its ability to devastate a wide range of plants.

The pest is native to Southern Europe and North Africa, but was found infesting 350 hectares of shrubbery in Perth in the 1980s, remaining there since.

Tasmania has banned strawberry importation from Western Australia after green snails were found in three separate punnets of the fruit

Neil Handasyde from the WA Strawberry Growers' Association told the ABC the presence of green snails could affect the industry months down the track.

'There are certainly some inspections going on on the farms of the growers that had dramas,' he said.

'I'm not sure if the growers involved had let the numbers build up or it's been quite wet in Perth this winter and obviously that is great for snails.'

With Tasmanian berries not yet ripe at this time of the year, WA growers can charge a premium fee for their fruit.

The pest is native to Southern Europe and North Africa, but was found infesting 350 hectares of shrubbery in Perth in the 1980's, remaining there since

Biosecurity Tasmania made the announcement on Wednesday after they became aware of the pest infiltrating strawberry crops at two different growers.

Tasmanians who have strawberries from WA at home are being asked to 'check the product carefully' for the pesky snails, which rarely exceed 25mm in length.

'Businesses operating land where green snail has been detected, or land that has been linked to a green snail detection must follow quarantine measures to reduce the likelihood of the pest spreading further,' according to Agriculture Victoria.

Contact Biosecurity Tasmania on 03 6165 3777 if you find a snail on your strawberries.
Paul Cawkwell was speaking to a prisoner at HMP Wayland when he was attacked

A prison governor was hospitalised after a 'brutal' unprovoked attack by an inmate in his jail's canteen.

Paul Cawkwell was speaking to a prisoner at the Category C HMP Wayland in Norfolk, when he was attacked and beaten.

His injuries have been described as serious and he was taken to hospital for treatment.

The Ministry of Justice said police are investigating the incident.

A source told the BBC: 'Out of anyone, you would have thought there would have been people around who would have been able to get him away quickly.'

A prison service spokesman said it would 'push for the strongest possible punishment'.

Mr Cawkwell has held a number of senior positions in Northern Ireland, HMP Whitemoor, HMP Bure and HMP Blundeston.

There has been an increase in violence at HMP Wayland over the last few months, including a food fight between 20 inmates in May.

In June two guards were attacked and one was bitten by a prisoner, who was later jailed for assault.

Wayland's Independent Monitoring Board has expressed concerns about staffing, with a report citing shortages of up to 22 per cent.

Wayland's Independent Monitoring Board has expressed concerns about staffing, with a report citing shortages of up to 22 per cent

A police spokesman said: 'Norfolk Police are investigating an assault on a member of staff by a prisoner at HMP Wayland on Wednesday July 27 2016.
A New Zealand breakfast show host was left red-faced after making an awkward blunder on live television.

Rawdon Christie, host of TVNZ's Breakfast program, told weatherman Matt Gibb to 'show us your rack'.

'Rig, sorry,' a visibly embarrassed Christie said after realising his error.

Rawdon Christie (pictured left), host of New Zealand's Breakfast program, asked weatherman Matt Gibb (right) to 'show us your rack'.

'Rig, sorry,' a visibly embarrassed Christie said after realising his error

Christie and co-host Nadine Chalmers-Ross broke into hysterical laughter after the gaffe.

'That's a rig Rawdon,' Gibb said as he flexed his muscles. 'It's very different from a rack.'

The veteran television host acknowledged that his mistake could have been far worse.

'I'm just so pleased it's a male weather presenter today,' Christie said.

Christie and co-host Nadine Chalmers-Ross broke into hysterical laughter after the gaffe
Owen Smith has been booed and jeered by supporters of Jeremy Corbyn after denying he was part of a 'coup' against the Labour leader.

At an angry first hustings of the bitter contest in which Mr Smith hopes to oust his rival as party leader, Mr Corbyn blamed Labour MPs for dividing the party.

The event in Cardiff laid bare the deep divisions within the Labour Party as MPs desperately try to dislodge a party leader who is trailing in the polls but adored by activists.

Owen Smith, right, denied being part of a coup against Jeremy Corbyn as he urged activists to hand him control of the party and get it on track for power

But in heated exchanges, Mr Corbyn slammed his rival for joining a mass resignation and supporters of the Labour leader booed and jeered Mr Smith

Mr Smith claimed Labour is failing to provide a 'powerful, credible opposition' with Mr Corbyn in charge.

The clash came hours after a poll revealed Theresa May's Conservative Party is 14 points ahead and less than one in five voters see Mr Corbyn as a potential PM.

But in fiery exchanges, Mr Corbyn hit back, blaming Mr Smith and others for undermining party unity when they quit the shadow cabinet in protest at his leadership.

Mr Smith accused Mr Corbyn of presiding over an increasingly fractious Labour Party and 'sloganising' rather than developing effective policies that would lead them back to power.

Addressing Mr Smith, Mr Corbyn said: 'What I don't understand is how you can complain about disunity in the party when you and others are the ones who resigned from the shadow cabinet at the very point when we could have taken it to them.'

The audience erupted into loud cheers at the Labour leader's remarks but were met with fury from Mr Smith.

At the first hustings of the Labour Party leadership contest, Mr Corbyn and Mr Smith were placed far apart on the stage in Cardiff

For much of the debate, the two contenders traded promises to fight austerity, boost employment and offer protections to workers

The Pontypridd MP said: 'Jeremy, I'm not having that because you know, you know Jeremy, that I wasn't part of any coup in the Labour Party.'

The leadership contender's remarks were almost drowned out with boos from the audience, which included a number of people wearing 'Team Corbyn' t-shirts.

For much of the debate, the two contenders traded promises to fight austerity, boost employment and offer protections to workers.

However, Mr Smith repeatedly stressed he did not think Mr Corbyn would be able to win an election and deliver on his promises to fight inequality.

Challenged on why he resigned as shadow secretary of state for work and pensions, he said: 'Because I don't think you're going to be able to deliver it. I don't think we can win, Jeremy, at the moment.

'Without being able to win and put our principles into practice, I don't see that we are going to be able to do anything other than protest.

'We've got to win in order to get this stuff done, otherwise it's just hot air.'

Mr Smith launched an official challenge to Mr Corbyn's leadership of the party last month amid fears from MPs he will never win an election

He also hit out at criticisms of the 172 Labour MPs who voted no confidence in Mr Corbyn's leadership, saying: 'They are not red Tories. These aren't people who want to see the Tories back in power. They are not Blairites. They are just Labour MPs, Jeremy.'

The former Labour frontbencher was accused by Mr Corbyn of having 'walked away' when the party should be rallying its support and opposing the Conservatives.

Mr Smith also accused Mr Corbyn of failing to do enough to campaign for Britain to stay in the EU or to stamp out anti-Semitism in the Labour Party.

A YouGov poll for The Times found the biggest Tory lead by the firm since November 2009, placing the Conservative Party on 42 per cent, 14 points clear of Labour on 28 per cent

While Mr Corbyn insisted he had campaigned to stay in the EU, he refused to back his challenger's calls for a second referendum on any Brexit deal.

Both contenders won big cheers at the end of the night by promising social and economic reform.

Mr Smith said he would enact 'the most radical programme ... since the great Labour government of 1945' and to lead the party back to power.
More than 20,000 at risk of losing 10 per cent of their pension income

- have to take apart computers and tills

As 11,000 workers get set to lose their jobs, they have been dealt yet another cruel and 'undignified' blow by BHS - by having to dismantle the stores before they leave.

After the retail empire collapsed into administration in April stores are gradually emptying before they disappear from the high street for good.

And staff have described it as a 'final kick in the teeth' after they were handed manuals on how to efficiently take apart tills and IT systems - and how to do it as neatly as possible.

Last blow: Staff members have been handed manuals on how to dismantle the closing stores

Sir Philip bought BHS for 200 million in March 2000, but last year the company was sold to city investors, Retail Acquisitions, for 1 by the Arcadia Group

Following the demise of the high street retailer, some 11,000 people are facing redundancy and more than 20,000 are at risk of losing 10 per cent of their pension income.

Founded in Brixton in 1928, BHS has for generations been a highly profitable fixture of the British high street - but as of August 30, all 164 stores in the UK will cease trading.

One furious staff member, who will be jobless in days, said the latest demand from bosses was a final 'kick in the teeth'.

The worker, who did not want to be named, told the Scottish Daily Record: 'You would've thought with all the carry-on and how busy BHS staff are prior to being made redundant, they would have some trained guys to come in and do this.'

Others had to use power tools in order to take the stores apart, while an IT removal guide is advising staff on how to take apart computers.

Fixtures, fittings - and even mannequins - have been sold to shoppers as the stores disappear from the high street

Workers have been made to use power tools to take apart units in the stores - describing the situation as a 'mess'

Another source told the Daily Record: 'The units are all screwed in. We were having to drill them out. It's a mess.

'They want everything packed up as neatly as possible to make their lives easier. That's not our job.

'The last thing we are bothered about is their equipment.

'You would think a company worth hundreds of millions of pounds like Arcadia could afford to send in their own IT guys.'

David Gill of shopworker's trade union Usdaw, said staff were having to face 'final indignities'.

'Sir Shifty': Furious protesters and MPs have called for Sir Philip Green to be stripped of his Knighthood in the wake of the retailer's collapse

Mr Gill added: 'Thousands of BHS staff have faced uncertainty and worry since the company went in to administration, and now to have to endure these final indignities of having to dismantle the stores around them, it's a cruel development.

'Usdaw wants the regulatory authorities to continue to investigate the circumstances surrounding the collapse of BHS.

'In particular we want to see the pension issue 'sorted', as promised by previous owner Philip Green, as soon as possible.

'We also want his Arcadia group to offer jobs to former BHS staff.

'We will continue to offer advice and support to our members at BHS during these very upsetting and difficult times.'

The 64-year-old tycoon has come under harsh criticism from MPs, with a report describing him as 'the unacceptable face of capitalism'

Sir Philip Green bought BHS for 200 million in March 2000, but last year the company was sold to city investors, Retail Acquisitions, for 1 by the Arcadia Group.

The 64-year-old tycoon - who has amassed a fortune of around 3.5 billion - came under harsh criticism from MPs, after a report by the Work and Pension's committee found the business mogul had extracted large sums of money from BHS - leaving the business on 'life support'.

The report last week described him as 'the unacceptable face of capitalism' and also found he did not give enough priority to the BHS pension scheme that now has a 571m pension fund deficit, which MPs say he has a duty to resolve.
The death toll from the Nice ISIS attack as risen to 85 after another victim died in hospital, three weeks after the massacre.

Authorities confirmed that 56-year-old Pierre Hattermann from France's eastern Haute-Savoie region, succumbed to his injuries yesterday despite the best efforts of medical staff.

It is believed that he had been on life support even since the massacre on Bastille Day, July 14.

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Authorities confirmed that 56-year-old Pierre Hattermann has died, three weeks after being caught up in the Nice attack

His wife Francoise and his son were also killed in the attack while his 14-year-old daughter still remains in hospital.

After authorities confirmed the news, Christian Estrosi, president of the French Riviera region wrote on Twitter: 'All my thoughts with the daughter, family and relatives of Pierre Hattermann who just died.'

Islamic State claimed responsibility for the attack which saw Tunisian-born Mohamed Lahouaiej Bouhlel ram a 19-tonne truck through a crowd of revellers on Nice's sea-front, who were watching Bastille Day fireworks.

Bouhlel was then shot dead by police after gun battle on the Promenade des Anglais in the French coastal resort.

lslamic State claimed responsibility for the attack which saw Tunisian-born Mohamed Lahouaiej Bouhlel ram a 19-tonne truck through a crowd of revellers on Nice's sea-front

Mr Hattermann's wife Francoise and his son were also killed in the attack while his 14-year-old daughter still remains in hospital. Pictured are people gathering around to pay tribute to the victims

As well as killing 85 people, the attack also left 434 others injured.

In the wake of the murders, security has been tightened at French holiday resorts with many beaches being protected by armed police.

Tourists to the country have also seen heightened security at festivals, fairs and beaches, as well as at train stations and airports.

Meanwhile in the southern resort of Cannes, people have been banned from taking bags on the beach, amid fears France could be hit with further terror attacks.

In the wake of the murders, security has been tightened at French holiday resorts with many beaches being protected by armed police

French police officers patrol a beach in Cannes, where people have been banned from bringing large bags on to the shore

Meanwhile French President Francois Hollande is facing mounting pressure after a string of jihadist attacks, dating back to January 2015, when gunmen stormed the offices of Charlie Hebdo satirical magazine and a Jewish store.

Then in November, 130 people were killed at restaurants, bars and a concert hall in Paris.
A new video has shown a US airstrike on an Islamic State tank in Libya, blowing up the vehicle hidden behind trees with surgical precision.

The strike came as part of a wave of US bombings in the country this month in a bid to remove the terror group from the northern city of Sirte at the request of the Libyan Government of National Accord.

The bombing of the ISIS T-72 tank in the video was one of five strikes on August 1 that also took out two military vehicles, an insurgent fight position, a second T-72 tank, and two construction vehicles.

Video shows a US strike on an ISIS tank focuses its cross-hairs before dropping the bomb

The ISIS tank is exploded by the bomb in the US Department of Defense video

It was not confirmed which of the T-72 tank bombings was captured in the video but it appears to be the one which the US Defense Department on Tuesday called 'a menacing problem' for GNA forces in the neighborhood of al-Dular.

This ISIS tank was hidden in a group of trees and close to buildings where civilians could have been.

Navy Captain Jeff Davis said: 'ISIL had used it repeatedly to beat back GNA forces, against civilians, and it represented a challenge and a problem for [GNA fighters] to be able to get into the city.'

Since the airstrike that took out the tank, GNA forces had moved into the neighborhood in their mission to drive out ISIL fighters, Captain Davis said.

Declaring that ISIS fighters in the city were losing power, Captain Davis added that th e US airstrikes in Sirte were being done 'in conjunction and coordination with, and in support of, the GNA'.

'The objective is to help the GNA retake Sirte,' he said.

The thank is exploded in the precision strike - as part of a 30-day campaign authorized by the Obama administration against ISIS in Libya

The aftermath of the strike as smoke hovers over the tank, still partially hidden by trees

US Navy Captain Davis said: 'The objective is to help the GNA retake Sirte'

'Over the past few months, the [GNA-affiliated forces] have worked to defeat ISIL, and they have been spectacularly successful.

'We have seen those forces work very effectively to collapse ISIL's control down to a very small area, which really comprises the city center of Sirte.

'As they've gotten that far, they needed help getting across the finish line. This is a chance for us to help them. '

The Pentagon said the raids were in response to a request from the unity government

It comes as a growing ISIS presence in the country causes concern among Western powers. Libyan fighters in Sirte are pictured

President Barack Obama authorised the bombings following Pentago recommendations

The strikes come as part of a 30-day mission, authorised by US President Barack Obama, for the U.S. military to conduct airstrikes against the Islamic State terror group in Libya, according to Fox News.

On Tuesday, Marine Corps Harrier jets launched from the USS Wasp, a Navy amphibious assault ship, had reportedly carried out two airstrikes against ISIS targets in Sirte.
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Black Lives Matter protesters intent on causing chaos in London blocked in a Waitrose lorry as they chanted 'hands up, don't shoot' at police officers - who were not carrying guns.

The group of so-far peaceful demonstrators marched through east London and stopped traffic in Whitechapel and Shoreditch, frustrating revellers heading to the trendy area for a Friday night out.

A Waitrose lorry was caught up in the drama on Whitechapel High Street, with police called in to guard it as officers allowed the march to continue.

Placard-waving activists in Manchester also brought trams and traffic to a halt outside Piccadilly bus station.

It followed a wave of protests this morning which saw protesters from the Black Lives Matter group bring transport routes to a standstill by laying down on motorways, blocking the entrances to airports and stopping trams.

The demonstrators are part of the British wing of a campaign set up in the US to protest about black Americans being shot by police.

Protesters are due to march through Tottenham today to mark the fifth anniversary of the Mark Duggan shooting and the subsequent riots.

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Furious Black Lives Matter protesters intent on causing chaos in London blocked in a Waitrose lorry as they chanted 'hands up, don't shoot' at police officers - who were not carrying guns

Peaceful demonstrators marched through east London and stopped traffic in Whitechapel and Shoreditch

A Waitrose lorry was caught up in the drama on Whitechapel High Street, with police called in to guard it as officers allowed the march to continue

'No justice, no peace': The protesters marched down Aldgate High Street, blocking traffic and frustrating motorists

People stand together with placards in Altab Ali Park in east London, as they attend yesterday's Black Lives Matter event

A woman lights a candle at a memorial during the Black Lives Matter protest in London. The event at Altab Ali Park in Whitechapel came after a day of protests across the country

Among the cases which were highlighted at the event in London was the death of Sheku Bayoh, 31, who died after being restrained by officers in Kirkcaldy, Fife, in May last year. Nobody has been charged in connection with his death

Shutdown: Placard-waving activists in Manchester also brought trams and traffic to a halt outside Piccadilly bus station

A protester stands on tram lines near Piccadilly Gardens in Manchester City Centre, blocking traffic on Friday evening

Scores of demonstrators gathered at Altab Ali park in East London last night

People chant and hold up with placards in Altab Ali Park in east London, as they attend the Black Lives Matter protest

The protesters say the Black Lives Matter message is as relevant in Britain as it is in America, although critics say the problem is statistically insignificant compared to the US

Police officers crowd round as members of the Black Lives Matter group are arrested outside Heathrow Airport

Police had to use power tools to cut open the concrete locks the group had put their hands inside before the protest

This was the scene as protesters from the Black Lives Matter group blocked the road to Heathrow Airport

An inquest jury decided in January 2014 that Duggan had been lawfully killed when he was shot by a police marksman on August 4, 2011.

Two days after the shooting riots erupted across London, with shops being looted, buildings set alight and clashes with riot police.

It quickly spread to Birmingham, Bristol and Manchester.

Members of the Justice for Mark Duggan campaign will be demonstrating and holding a vigil and will also be remembering other black people who have died in controversial circumstances, including Jermaine Baker, who was shot dead by police in Wood Green in December, allegedly while planning to spring a gangster from a prison van.

Today's event will begin this afternoon on the Broadwater Farm estate, followed by a march to Tottenham police station.

Last night's protest started at Altab Ali park in Whitechapel before blocking the high street there.

The protesters then moved to Shoreditch High Street - known for its trendy bars - where they were heard chanting: 'Hands up, don't shoot.'

The slogan has been synonymous with the protest group in America since the shooting of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri, in 2014 which sparked fury across the United States.

They also shouted 'I can't breathe' - words uttered by Eric Garner as he was put in a chokehold by a New York police officer in 2014 - as they held a sit-in in the middle of a crossroad.

Earlier activists chained themselves together and stood across approach roads to Heathrow and Birmingham airports, while in the centre of Nottingham, four protesters lay across tram tracks.

The coordinated actions across the country caused chaos for hundreds of people trying to catch holiday flights and on their way to work.

In Birmingham, an ambulance was delayed as paramedics tried to get a patient to Heartlands Hospital along the blocked A45.

Police arrested 10 people on the M4 near Heathrow Airport and five people on the A45 Coventry Road near Birmingham.

Four people were arrested in central Nottingham. The protest started around 8am and the tram route was reopened around midday.

A West Midlands Ambulance Service spokesman told MailOnline: We did have a minimal delay - a crew were on the way to hospital with a patient on board.'

The ambulance was allowed through after a few minutes with the help of police. Witnesses who saw the incident branded the protesters an 'utter disgrace'.

Protesters chained themselves together using concrete locks, causing further delays as police struggled to remove them

Videos from the scene show placard-waving protesters arguing with workmen and motorists eager to get the road moving

This is the scene near Birmingham airport where demonstrators blocked a main road while chanting slogans

Demonstrators were pictured laying across the usually busy road from the M4 beneath a banner reading: 'This is a crisis'

In Nottingham, demonstrators lay down on tram tracks outside the Theatre Royal to bring the city to a standstill

In Nottingham, commuters on their way to work looked on in shock as four demonstrators lay across the tram tracks

They unfurled a banner stating: 'Delays inevitable, injustice, system failure', while another sheet exclaimed 'shutdown Notts'

Police negotiated with the Nottingham group, who joked with supporters for their cause during the action this morning

Nottinghamshire Police said screens erected at the scene of the protest are to prevent distraction for motorists

The chaos came at one of the busiest times of the year for airports, with 100,000 passengers flying out of Heathrow as families head off on their summer holidays.

Black Lives Matter UK tweeted: 'We call a nationwide #Shutdown: 05.08.16. #Shutdown racism. #Shutdown violence. #Shutdown borders. #BlackLivesMatter'

Pictures posted on the organisation's Twitter feed show protesters lying in a row across the road beneath a banner which says: 'This is a crisis.'

Video footage showed police officers negotiating with the groups, while chants of 'black lives matter' ring out.

There were scuffles as motorists remonstrated with the group with vehicles queued up bumper to bumper in west London and the West Midlands.

Thursday was the fifth anniversary of Mark Duggan being shot dead by police in Tottenham, North London, which prompted widespread protests across the capital and in other cities across Britain between August 6 and 11, 2011.

Black Lives Matter said it wanted to commemorate the fifth anniversary of Mr Duggan's death.

The group stated: 'We stand in solidarity with the families and friends of all who have died at the hands of the British state. We take action because justice has not been delivered through conventional means: the police, the IPCC, the courts or the legislature.'

The group said it aims to highlight 'the struggle for Black Lives in the UK and shut down state-sanctioned racialised sexism, Islamophobia, classism, ableism, homophobia and transphobia'.

The blockage of the road near Birmingham airport started about 7am and the road was reopened by police at around 9am. The blockage of the M4 to Heathrow started shortly before 8:30am. Two lanes were reopened before midday, but one lane remains closed.

A Scotland Yard spokesman said: 'Police were called 08:25hrs on Friday, 5 August, to the M4 slip road at Heathrow Airport.

'A number of people were reported to be blocking the road leading to the airport. Four people have been arrested and taken to west London police stations where they remain in custody.

'A further six people have been arrested at the scene. Police are in the process of safely releasing these protesters who have 'locked on' to each other. One lane remains closed to ensure the safety of protesters and officers.'

Videos of the protests near Birmingham airport showed officers from West Midlands police moving in and making arrests

A woman holds up a banner claiming the Independent Police Complaints Commission, which investigates deaths in custody and police shootings, is staffed by ex-police officers and is therefore inherently biased

There were long tailbacks in Birmingham with the entire width of the A45 Coventry Road blocked

Earlier the road was packed with cars as motorists got out to see what was preventing them getting their flights

The group tweeted a picture of the M4 in west London with the message: 'Full #Shutdown in London. Motorway closed'

Police officers moved in on the road to Heathrow after demonstrators locked their hands together inside boxes

The demonstrations received an unsympathetic response from Twitter users, who said they were disrupting family holidays and people trying to work.

George Howe, wrote: 'All the families on their way to Heathrow that have worked hard all year round to have a holiday and you get a load berks with a banner.'

David Malley added: 'I'm all for equality but how does stopping hard working people from going on holiday at Heathrow help? #BlackLivesMatter'

Becca Anastasia tweeted: '#blacklivesmatter blocking Heathrow is pathetic, people work hard all year round to go on holiday..why aren't these people at work?'

And Lady Durrant wrote: 'How utterly selfish! Why ruin innocent people's holiday or work? Every life matters, not just #BlackLivesMatter'

CONTROVERSIAL NUS PRESIDENT BACKS 'BRAVE' PROTESTERS WHO CAUSED CHAOS NUS president Malia Bouattia praised 'brave' demonstrators The National Union of Students has backed the Black Lives Matter protesters who caused chaos earlier today. Its president, Malia Bouattia, praised the 'brave' demonstrators who stopped people getting to Heathrow Airport this morning. 'I extend my solidarity and respect to the Black Lives Matter protesters who have bravely blocked the M4 outside Heathrow Airport this morning and others who have held demonstrations across the UK,' she said. 'We have reached a crisis point where we have been forced into taking direct action and its obvious there is a desperate need for a Black Lives Matter movement in the UK. Todays disruptions are incomparable to the loss of a life and the damage this does to affected families and our communities. 'As long as Black communities aren't free to live, breathe and move, without the fear of intimidation, violence, or death at the hands of the state, we will continue to disrupt the status quo and ensure our voices are heard. We refuse to accept this as the norm or an unfortunate reality. We must come together to challenge this injustice and will not rest until those responsible are held to account for these actions.' Miss Bouattia has previously endorsed Palestinian 'resistance' against Israel, arguing that 'non-violent protest' is not enough, and called her own university a 'Zionist outpost'. When she was the NUS officer for ethnic-minority students, in 2014, she led efforts to stop the union officially condemning ISIS. The activist warned that speaking out against the barbaric terror group would be a 'justification for war and blatant Islamophobia', forcing union officials to clarify that 'NUS does not support ISIS'. She has also claimed that young Britons have 'no choice but to go off to Syria' to join Islamic extremists because they 'feel so disempowered'. Advertisement

The demonstrators received an unsympathetic response from holidaymakers, who were angry about the disruption

A spokesman for Nottinghamshire police wrote: 'Four people have been arrested on suspicion of causing the wilful obstruction of a highway following a protest in Nottingham city centre today.

'Police were called to the junction of Parliament Street and Goldsmith Street at about 8am to a report of four people blocking the tram line. Three women aged 30, 48 and 50 and a man, aged 30 were all arrested at the scene.'

A Heathrow Airport spokesman said: 'Protest activity is causing delays. We apologise for the inconvenience. The police is on sight and one of the four lanes is open.'

A Highways England spokesman tweeted: 'Spur road between M4 J4 and J4a (Heathrow Airport). Traffic released by Metropolitan Police. However two lanes of three remain closed with long delays.'

The model, the schoolgirl and the Socialist Worker: The ringleaders behind Black Lives Matter which shut down Britain

The ringleader behind the Black Lives Matter in Britain is an 18-year-old model who has already masterminded a major protest involving 3,000 people on Oxford Street.

The movement dates back three years but has only gained momentum in the UK in recent weeks thanks to several high-profile protests on the streets of London.

And a major driving force behind them has been student Capres Willow from Waltham Abbey, Essex, who organised last months huge march through the capital.

Capres Willow, one of the ringleaders of Black Lives Matter, speaks at a demonstration outside the US Embassy last month. She is pictured with Gary McFarlane (left) a member of the Socialist Workers Party who help organise the demo

She set up an event on Facebook and expected about 30 of her friends to join her in the march, which eventually saw the West End road shut down by the protesters.

Epping Forest College student Miss Willow, who is also a travel writer, led the July 10 protest calling for justice for the killing of two black men by white US police officers.

She told the Evening Standard: Ive been aware of [the movement] for a while. Im old enough to take control of my own life and impact on other peoples lives.

I was wondering, why hasnt London stood up and shown that they give a s***, basically? I understand were disrupting peoples lives but... thats life, isnt it?

Miss Willow, who has mixed race parents, added: I hate to say that, but one day maybe youre disrupted and late for something but its for something important.

Miss Willow is understood to be at the Edinburgh festival today and is not taking part in the roadblocks.

Demonstrators holding banners saying black lives matter and no justice no peace marched on July 10 and stopped outside the American Embassy in Mayfair.

Commenting on the previous protest in Oxford Street, she said: 'I understand were disrupting peoples lives but... thats life'

There, they chanted hands up dont shoot in reference to the killings of Philando Castile in Minnesota on July 6 and Alton Sterling in Louisiana a day before that.

During the embassy protest, prominent Socialist Workers Party member Gary McFarlane told supporters of police murders in Dallas: What do they expect?

He was recorded by Heat Street as saying: No pig went to prison. No wonder people are getting angry, no wonder people are saying an eye for an eye.

Of course I dont condone the killing of the police force. But they keep killing black people. What do they expect people to do?

The British side of the movement, known as UK Black Lives Matter (UKBLM), describes itself as a network of anti-racist activists from across the country.

Maryam Ali, a founder of the Black Lives Matter chapter in London, is an 18-year-old sixth form student from West London who has never experienced police violence.

The Black Lives Matter movement has gained support in the US in recent years in opposition police shootings

But speaking about her involvement to BBC News last month, she said: Part of it is solidarity with the US. I have family in America, and I fear for their lives.

They could just been walking down the street and their lives could be taken away. But the UK isn't innocent. There have been police killings here.

And referring to the movements marches, she told The Voice last month, she said: I think people forget that racism is a worldwide thing. Its still very prevalent.

This is ultimately a cry for help Sometimes people just focus on the now. It creates a buzz now, but in time youll forget it. Were going to keep showing our support.

The death of Michael Brown, who was shot dead by a police officer in Ferguson, Missouri, was the spark for the cause

The Black Lives Matter motto was founded in the US in 2013, but ignited a year later when Michael Brown was fatally shot by a white police officer in Ferguson, Missouri.

That incident on August 9, 2014 was followed by other high-profile killings of black men and boys by police in other American cities including Baltimore and Cleveland.

The various shootings sparked racial tensions and weeks of protests in the US and beyond that evolved into a global debate about alleged disparities in policing.

The motto is believed to have been coined in 2013 when California-based activist Alicia Garza said on Facebook: Black people. I love you. I love us. Our lives matter.

She was angry that neighbourhood watch volunteer George Zimmerman had been cleared of murdering black teenager Trayvon Martin in Florida in February 2012.

Since then the Black Lives Matter protests have spread to Britain in solidarity with US police shootings and to highlight stop and searches in the UK and custody deaths.

The Oxford Street rally came after two other marches in previous days that halted traffic for four hours in Brixton and outside the Houses of Parliament in Westminster.

And on July 19 a water fight in Londons Hyde Park spiralled out of control and led to three people being stabbed as members of a crowd chanted 'Black Lives Matter'.

But police said at the time that the violence was not related to the Black Lives Matter protests and was instead about people committing violent acts of disorder.

Earlier this week more than 60 organisations affiliated with the Black Lives Matter movement issued a list of demands calling for policing and criminal justice reforms.

There have been violent clashes with police in the US during protests across the country, like this in Baton Rouge, Louisiana

To address criminal justice reform, movement organisers are calling for an end to the type of militarised police presence seen at protests in US cities such as Ferguson.

They also want the retroactive decriminalisation and immediate release of all people convicted of drug offences, sex work related offence and youth offences.
This is the harrowing moment a 14-year old-girl was grabbed by an ex-prisoner who brutally attacked and killed her, and moments later sexually assaulted her body.

Popular teenager named in Russia as Ekaterina E was waiting for her brother on an almost deserted railway platform in the Russian resort of Sochi after a summer camp disco.

Sergey Tkhorov, 33, recently released from jail after serving a sentence for a violent attack and robbery, is shown on police pictures from the security camera apparently asking the girl for directions.

Teenager Ekaterina E was waiting for her brother at a desert train station in Sochi when she was approached by ex-prisoner Sergey Tkhorov

CCTV images from the train station show him suddenly assaulting the 14-year-old by putting his arms around her neck

Ekaterina E, pictured, was waiting for her brother on an almost deserted railway platform in the Russian resort of Sochi after a summer camp disco

She points to show him the way, but then he suddenly assaults her, putting his arm around her neck and strangling her.

The schoolgirl fought back but he forced her onto the railway track at Magri station in the Lazarevsky district of Sochi.

He grabbed a blunt object and struck her on the head.

Seriously injured, she continued to fight after he dragged her onto a patch of grass, striking him on his back.

Police said the man dubbed a 'maniac' by the Russian media then attempted but failed to rape her moments after killing her.

The man then appears to hit her over the head with a blunt object to knock her out

Afterwards he can be seen dragging his injured victim on to grass nearby where she was murdered and then raped

The man was arrested two and a half weeks after the murder thanks to a description given by the girl's 17-year-old brother Nikolay when he got to the station to meet his sister.

Nikolay had asked Tkhorov - the only person at the station - if he had seen a girl waiting on the platform, and he replied: 'No.'

His memory of the man's face led to an accurate identikit picture of the criminal, drawn by police experts.

Tkhorov was arrested in Rostov earlier this week, some 18 days after the attack.

Citing police, Russian news agencies report that Tkhorov 'confessed to the crime and told the full details.'

Tkhorov, pictured, was arrested in Rostov earlier this week, some 18 days after the attack and confessed to the murder

A criminal investigator said: 'The suspect tried to talk to the girl but decided she replied to him in a rude way.

'He got furious. The enraged man killed the girl and then tried to rape her, but did not finish it.'

The man faces a maximum sentence of life in prison after his confession to her murder.
Munich killer Ali David Sonboly went on a weapons training holiday to Iran with his father before embarking on his killing spree, it is claimed today.

A fortnight after the 18-year-old lured young people to a McDonald's restaurant in Munich and killed nine of them before taking his own life it has emerged that the German-Iranian youth travelled with his father Masoud to Iran in December last year.

The news magazine Focus said that he underwent 'weapons training' while there which included firing guns, although it was not specified where.

Munich gunman Ali David Sonboly (pictured) worshipped Adolf Hitler and shared the same birthday as the Nazi leader, it has been revealed

Sonboly, who was obsessed by violent computer games and mass school shootings in both Germany and America, bought a 9mm Glock handgun from the 'dark web' for 80 to commit the murders.

The Munich prosecutor's office refused to comment on the report saying: 'We cannot make any comment on this aspect of the case due to the ongoing enquiry.'

His father Masoud did not mention the Iranian trip, or gun firing while there, in an interview last weekend with the Bild am Sonntag newspaper.

He said that he and his wife and 14-year-old son had faced numerous death threats since his son's rampage on July 22.

He also told the newspaper he had no idea that his son was planning such an act.

Last week, it emerged that Sonboly worshipped Adolf Hitler and saw it as an 'honour' that he shared the same birthday as the Nazi leader, it has been revealed.

The German-Iranian considered himself 'Aryan' and had built up resentment against Arabs and Turks, who, it is claimed, bullied him at school.

It has now emerged that the teenager took the fact that he was born on the same day of the year as Hitler (pictured) - April 20 - as an 'honour'

It was revealed that the teenager took the fact that he was born on the same day of the year as Hitler - April 20 - as an 'honour'.

The Frankfurter Allgemeine newspaper said he was a racist who held extreme right wing views about foreigners and minorities.

Sonboly Iranian parents and held an Iranian as well as German passport.

Many of his victims in the bloodbath were of foreign origin and there are investigations into whether he deliberately targeted them.

A video emerged of the killer on the roof of a car park after the shootings in which he was insulted by a local from his balcony as being an immigrant, prompting him to shout back: 'I am German! I was born here!'

Police say the teenager was obsessed with mass killings - including Norwegian rightwing fanatic Anders Behring Breivik's 2011 massacre - and spent a year preparing for the shooting spree.

At least 35 people were also wounded during Sonboly's attack, which began at a McDonald's restaurant and ended with him turning his 9mm Glock pistol on himself.

Investigators have ruled out any link with ISIS jihadists, although he appeared to have planned the assault with chilling precision for a year.

Many of his victims in the bloodbath were of foreign origin and there are investigations into whether he deliberately targeted them. Young people are pictured mourning near the scene of the killings

German Chancellor Angela Merkel said the tragedy had plunged Germany into 'deep and profound mourning' that left a 'night of horror' lying behind the people of Munich

German Chancellor Angela Merkel said the tragedy had plunged Germany into 'deep and profound mourning' that left a 'night of horror' lying behind the people of Munich.

The lone killer, an 18-year-old German-Iranian named in reports as Ali Sonboly, is thought to have attempted to lure victims to a McDonald's opposite the mall with a fake Facebook profile promising free food.

It is unclear if those who died or were injured when he opened fire with a pistol had been enticed by message that is being probed by police.

Among the dead were two 14-year-old Kosovan girls, Armela Segashi and Sabina Sulaj, and their Turkish friends Can Leyla, 14 and Selcuk Kilic, 15, according to reports.

A 17-year-old named in reports as Hussein Daitzik, of Greek origin, is said to have been shot dead as he heroically shielded his sister.
The chairman of the schools watchdog has been urged to quit after he described the Isle of Wight as an inbred, poor, white, crime-filled ghetto.

Ofsted chief David Hoare said the islands school results  among the worst in the country  may be linked to its social problems.

While many go there for champagne holidays, the way ordinary islanders lived was shocking, he said, with ghettos within inches of sailing clubs for the rich.

Ofsted chair David Hoare has called the Isle of Wight a white 'ghetto', full of 'inbreeding'

Yesterday the former businessman apologised after his views were branded ill-judged and insulting, saying he was merely highlighting the problem of low educational standards in coastal towns.

Mr Hoare made the controversial comments during a speech to teachers at the Teach First conference in Leeds, the Times Educational Supplement reported.

The management consultant, who has a home just across the Solent, said his dinner party guests think of the Isle of Wight as a holiday land. He added: But it is shocking. Its a ghetto; there has been inbreeding. There is a mass of crime, drug problems, huge unemployment.

The Isle of Wight was the second worst local authority when it comes to secondary education and the third worst when it comes to primary education, he said.

But Isle of Wight Council leader Jonathan Bacon said Mr Hoares comments were an insult to the proud and hardworking community.

They are ridiculous and disclose a complete lack of knowledge of the Isle of Wight and its education system, he said.

Mr Bacon said he would complain to Education Secretary Justine Greening.

Official statistics show that the islands wealth is broadly in line with the UK average  although four small areas are considered especially deprived  and the crime rate is below average.

Only 3.3 per cent of the population is non-white.

Mr Hoare said that while many see the Isle of Wight (pictured) as an affluent area known for its sailing - in fact there are communities suffering from impoverished conditions

The Isle of Wight lies just off the Hampshire coast and is known for its sailing as well as its plush restaurants and bars

Public school-educated Mr Hoare, who is paid about 50,000, said yesterday: I apologise for any upset or offence that I may have caused by the comments I made.

My intention was to highlight how concerned I am about the unacceptably poor performance of schools on the Isle of Wight over many years and how this is damaging the prospects of young people who live on the island.

It is important that we draw attention to low educational standards, especially among low-income white British communities in our coastal areas, so collective action is taken to improve the situation.

ISLE OF WIGHT: HOLIDAY HAVEN OR 'WHITE GHETTO'? The Isle of Wight has a predominantly English population with 92 per cent of its residents having been born in England. The next largest group are immigrants from the European Union, which make up 3 per cent. Out of the 69, 972 households on the Isle of Wight - 4,000 of these are home to single-parent families. Almost two in five of these parents are not in full-time employment. The island has one area, the ward of Ryde North East, that is listed in the top 10 per cent of the most deprived areas of Britain for a number of concerning factors. It is listed in the most deprived 10 per cent for its crime, income, education and living environment. Advertisement

Green party education spokesman Vix Lowthion said: I am absolutely appalled that the chairman of Ofsted thinks it helpful, truthful or professional to describe our families and young people in that way. He should resign. Ofsted said: The chairman was expressing his personal views. They do not reflect the views of Ofsted or the chief inspector.

The island has faced previous Ofsted criticism. In 2013 primary school progress was found to be the lowest in the country and GCSE attainment well below average.

Experts blame a lack of aspiration among poor white communities for low achievement in schools in coastal areas.

The Government is parachuting the best teachers into underperforming schools, while Theresa May has vowed to help white, working-class boys who are less likely than others to go to university.
Indonesian police have arrested six suspected militants over a plot to fire a rocket at an upmarket Singapore waterfront district from a nearby island.

Singapore said it was stepping up security in response to the plan that was being hatched on Indonesia's Batam island, which is only about 10 miles to the south of the city-state.

The men, aged between 19 and 46, were detained by elite anti-terror police on Batam. The alleged leader of the Indonesian group is accused of planning the attack with a leading Indonesian militant who is now believed to be fighting with ISIS in Syria.

Crack-down: Indonesian anti-terror police conduct a raid at a house in Batam earlier today

It was the latest terror plot in the world's most populous Muslim-majority country, where there has been a surge in attacks and attempted attacks this year due to the growing influence of ISIS.

The pair 'planned a terror attack in Singapore. They wanted to attack Singapore with a rocket from Batam,' national police spokesman Agus Rianto told reporters.

Police said the target was Marina Bay, a district that is home to Marina Bay Sands, a luxury complex that includes shopping malls, hotels and a casino.

Rianto added police had 'preliminary data' and were still investigating the plot, and named the alleged ringleader as 31-year-old Gigih Rahmat Dewa.

Analysts said it was unclear whether the militants had the ability to carry out such a plan, which would involve firing a rocket over a distance of about 12 miles.

Singapore said it was aware of the plan and security had been stepped up inland and at the city-state's borders.

Indonesian police say they have foiled a plot to launch a rocket attack on the upmarket Singapore waterfront district, Marina Bay

'This does not come as a surprise,' said Home Affairs Minister K. Shanmugam.

'I have spoken several times, about plans being made in places just outside Singapore, to target Singapore - we were serious about the threats.'

Sidney Jones, director of Jakarta think-tank the Institute for Policy Analysis of Conflict, told AFP it was necessary to wait for further information about the plot before drawing firm conclusions.

But she added: 'I have no idea whether there was any capacity to do this. I think it highly unlikely that the plan had got very advanced.'

There have been signs of support for ISIS in Singapore.

Singapore in recent weeks jailed four Bangladeshi workers accused of planning to join ISIS for raising money to fund attacks in their homeland, and also detained an Australia-based Singaporean who allegedly glorified the jihadists and backed the establishment of a caliphate in the city-state.

A motorcade of armoured police vehicles, used to transport four Bangladeshi nationals prosecuted under a Singaporean anti-terror law, are seen outside the State Court in Singapore

Police suspect Dewa, 31, received and distributed funds sent by Naim. Naim has been linked to several recent terror plots in Indonesia, including a suicide bomb attack on a police station in the city of Solo last month that left one police officer injured.

Dewa is also accused of previously harbouring two members of China's ethnic Uighur minority, some of whom have travelled to Indonesia to join militant groups, and of helping extremists on their journeys to Syria.

Indonesia has long struggled with Islamic militancy and has suffered a string of attacks in the past 15 years, including the 2002 Bali bombings that killed more than 200 people.

A crackdown had weakened the most dangerous networks but ISIS has proved a potent new rallying cry for the country's radicals, and hundreds of Indonesians have headed to the Middle East to join the jihadists.
Hannah Debenham (pictured right), 42, of Uckfield, Sussex, was under investigation for two months following the accusation, before the case was dropped this week when no supporting evidence was found. The mother-of-two was asked to 'voluntarily' attend a police station where she was questioned by a modern day slavery inspector, which she branded 'the worst day of my life'. She and her husband were grilled for a total of four hours, first at their home and later during separate interviews at Eastbourne Police Station. She told MailOnline: 'It was just devastating. We just wanted to help. If I was charged I would have had to declare that and it would have been a permanent impediment to my career. They also spoke to my husband and told him that if I could face life in prison if I was found guilty. I've been an NHS mental health specialist for 15 years and have often worked with people being questioned and charged by police. It was the worst thing that has ever happened to me.' Ms Debenham said her solicitor described the action by Sussex Police as an 'outrageous overreach.' The Ukrainian family had been living with Ms Debenham for just three weeks when the accusation was levelled.
The father of a British aristocrat accused of smuggling 4.5million of cocaine into Kenya insists local police know his 'cool customer' son is innocent.

Sugar importer Jack Marrian, the eldest son of Lady Emma Campbell, 58, has been charged with smuggling more than 200lb of cocaine into the country.

But his father David has suggested police already know the 31-year-old businessman was not involved and that the 'truth will come out'.

Jack Marrian enjoyed a privileged upbringing in an affluent part of Nairobi and was educated at 35,280-a-year Marlborough College in the 1990s when the Duchess of Cambridge was a pupil

David Marrian (second left) the father of Jack Marrian insists local police know his 'cool customer' son is innocent

Mr Marrian was charged with trafficking the cocaine in sugar containers and remanded in custody until Monday

Police initially released Marrian on Monday due to a requirement in Kenyan law that suspects are charged within 24 hours. But he was re-arrested and charged yesterday. He denies the charges alongside a Kenyan national

According to the Guardian, David Marrian said today: 'I know, and Im pretty certain police know, he is innocent but this is Kenya and we are terrified of the repercussions.

'But we have good lawyers and we know he is innocent and the Kenyan judiciary has changed. We know the truth will come out. But its properly frightening.'

He said that his son was 'incredibly distressed' by the situation but that he was a 'cool customer'.

The arrest of the British aristocrat is the latest disaster to hit the family - 18 years after his mother held her lover as he was dying from a gun shot wound in Mombasa.

His mother Lady Emma suffered her own tragedy in 1998 when her lover, 32-year-old conservationist Giles Thornton was gunned down by robbers near Mombasa. She is said to have cradled him as he died.

Jack Marrian is the eldest son of Lady Emma Campbell, 58, whose ancestral home is Cawdor Castle  made famous in Shakespeare's Macbeth

Three men including Jack Marrian (pictured) were questioned in recent days by a special team of US anti-narcotics agents and their Kenyan counterparts following an Interpol tip-off about the shipment

Lady Emma Campbell (left) suffered her own personal tragedy in 1998 when her lover, 32-year-old conservationist Giles Thornton (right) was gunned down by robbers near Mombasa

At an inquest into the death of artist Tonio Trzebinski earlier this year, Mr Thornton was named as having had a fling with Mr Trzebinski's mistress Natasha Illum Berg.

Mr Trzebinski was murdered in 2001, 60 years after the killing of Josslyn Hay, 22nd earl of Erroll whose death was dramatised in the 1987 film White Mischief. The name of the film has since become a term to describe the lives of Nairobi's white elite.

Jack Marrian enjoyed a privileged upbringing in an affluent part of Nairobi and was educated at 35,280-a-year Marlborough College in the 1990s when the Duchess of Cambridge was a pupil.

Yesterday the businessman, whose full name is Jack Alexander Wolf Marrian, looked tired and strained as he stood in court in Nairobi flanked by security guards. He was charged with trafficking the cocaine in sugar containers and remanded in custody until Monday.

Jack Marrian denied the charges stemming from the $3million seizure of drugs found hidden in containers of sugar on a Venezuela-flagged ship on Friday

The haul was found on Friday by Kenyan police and US Drug Enforcement Agency officials at Mombasa port, in cargo from Brazil en route to Uganda.

Prosecutors say documents on the ship detailed Marrian as a director of Mshale Uganda Ltd, the firm due to receive the containers.

Police initially released Marrian on Monday due to a requirement in Kenyan law that suspects are charged within 24 hours. But he was re-arrested and charged yesterday. He denies the charges alongside a Kenyan national.

THE CURSE OF CAWDOR: A CASTLE STEEPED IN HISTORY Jack Marrian's grandfather was the late artist Hugh John Vaughan Campbell  the 6th Earl Cawdor, custodian of Cawdor Castle. Forever associated with Shakespeare's Macbeth, the castle near Nairn is one of Scotland's leading tourist attractions. It existed when Shakespeare penned Macbeth but his protagonist lived hundreds of years before the home was built. Instead of leaving the castle to his elder son Colin, who had long expected it, he left it to his second wife, Czech-born Angelika, sparking a family feud which became known as the Curse of Cawdor. She still lives there today. Vaughan Campbell was once the custodian of medieval Cawdor Castle (pictured) near Nairn in Scotland A few years after his death in 1993, the Earl's second daughter Liza wrote an autobiography in which she claimed her father terrorised his household with destructive drunken behaviour. Marrian's mother Emma Clare Campbell is the eldest of the five children the Earl had with his first wife Cathryn Hinde. Cathryn still lives on the Cawdor estate. Advertisement

After his arrest on Friday, Marrian had raised hopes the matter would be dropped, prompting his aunt, Lady Elizabeth Campbell to write on Facebook: 'Darling Jack. Thank goodness  you've been in our thoughts constantly.'

Today she told The Standard: 'Jack is a hard-working, loyal employee of a large, respectable sugar company. He ha been thrown into a nightmarish situation by a perfectly normal consignment getting contaminated by smugglers during international transit. He is completely innocent and we are confident that the Kenyan police will exonerate him soon.'

His mother, Lady Emma Campbell  daughter of the late Hugh John Vaughan Campbell, the sixth Earl Cawdor  said only: 'I am too busy to talk now.'

Marrian's father David, an artist, said yesterday that his son was innocent. 'The sugar in the containers was being sent to Jack's company but he has no involvement in either the packing of the ships or the unloading,' he said according to The Times' Anna Dubuis.

Marrian's grandfather was the late artist Hugh John Vaughan Campbell (pictured), the sixth Earl Cawdor

British sugar trader Jack Marrian (pictured) has appeared in a Kenyan court charged with trafficking 220lbs of cocaine from Brazil to the port of Mombasa

'The containers are not his. The ship is not his. The fact it is contaminated with cocaine has nothing to do with him.'

David Marrian said police raided his son's house in central Nairobi on Saturday night. 'He had dinner with me and then went back home  at about midnight there was a proper police raid at his house with ten policemen banging on his door.'

Marrian describes himself as living in London, far from his ancestral home near Nairn on the Moray Firth. But he is a regular visitor to Kenya, where his two brothers and father live as part of the close-knit white community.

THE 'WHITE MISCHIEF' LIFESTYLES OF NAIROBI'S ELITE It was a cold-blooded killing of a wealthy British playboy who scandalised Kenya's privileged expat community. The murder of British peer Lord Erroll, shot dead in his car in Nairobi after dropping his mistress at her husband's home, is still unsolved. But the investigation in to his death exposed the degenerate character of the rich but bored British colonial community known as the Happy Valley set. The murder of British peer Lord Erroll, shot dead in his car in Nairobi after dropping his mistress at her husband's home, is still unsolved. The story was recreated in the 1987 movie 'White Mischief' starring Charles Dance (left) and Greta Scacchi (right) And their affairs, wife-swapping and hard drinking would go on to be recreated in the 1987 movie 'White Mischief' starring Charles Dance and Greta Scacchi. In a chilling modern-day parallel, London-trained artist Tonio Trzebinski was fatally shot less than a mile from the spot where Lord Erroll was targeted. On the night of October 16, 2001, Trzebinski, 41, was driving his white Alfa Romeo towards the gates of the villa owned by his mistress, professional game-hunter Natasha Illum-Berg, in the affluent neighbourhood of Karen, when he was killed by a single shot fired at point-blank range into his chest. London-trained artist Tonio Trzebinski (pictured) was fatally shot less than a mile from the spot where Lord Erroll was targeted The shooting came after a furious row which ended Trzebinski's volatile marriage to his German-born wife Anna. His affair with Ms Illum-Berg had appalled many in the well-heeled white community in which he moved. Last year, 14-years after his death, an inquest was finally opened after the persistence of Trzebinski's mother. According to The Times, Mrs Trzebinski told the inquest, which is yet to be completed, that her son was killed by an assassin after a row with his wife. Advertisement

For the past eight years he has worked in Africa managing a string of companies including Kilombero Sugar Company, where he is listed as a director.

He is also managing director of importing firm Mshale Commodities Uganda and head of trading for east and southern Africa at ED&F Sugar Ltd which ships sugar, molasses and coffee.

As well as Marlborough, Marrian was educated at a prestigious prep school with three-time Tour de France winner Chris Froome.

He later went to Bristol University where he gained an economics degree. He is thought to be close to Lana and Stanislav Trzebinski, children of the artist Tonio Trzebinski, who was shot dead in a Nairobi suburb 15 years ago.

Marrian's case will revive memories of the death in police custody of Alexander Monson, the 28-year-old son of Nicholas, 12th Baron Monson, in Diani in May 2012.

The businessman, who is managing director of Kenya and Uganda-based Mshale Commodities, was remanded in custody pending a bail hearing on Monday

He was arrested for alleged cannabis and ketamine possession and police said he died of a drug overdose.

But a pathologist told an inquest there was evidence of a 'blunt force trauma' to Mr Monson's head.

The maximum penalty for drug trafficking in Kenya is a life sentence and a fine of more than 7,600.

Drug seizures are rare in Kenya, although the UN says the country has recently become a hub for cocaine trafficking in East Africa.

Last night a spokesman for the Kenyan importing firm which was due to receive the shipment containing the cocaine said: 'Mshale operates stringent procedures to protect the integrity of its supply chain. Until these investigations are concluded, we are unable to comment further.'

THE LINE OF SCOTTISH NOBILITY THAT CONNECTS ALLEGED COCAINE SMUGGLER WITH SHAKESPEARE Jack Marrian was born into the Clan Campbell of Cawdor, a line of Scottish nobility. His grandfather was the late artist Hugh John Vaughan Campbell, the sixth Earl Cawdor and once the custodian of Medieval Cawdor Castle near Nairn in Scotland. The name Cawdor connects the clan to Shakespeare's play Macbeth, in which three witches foretell that Macbeth, Thane of Glamis at the play's start, would become Thane of Cawdor and King thereafter. But the story told by Shakespeare takes extensive artistic liberties with history. The historical King Macbeth ruled Scotland from 1040 to 1057, after his forces killed King Duncan I in battle near Elgin. The real Macbeth was never Thane of Cawdor, and Cawdor Castle didn't exist during the lifetimes of Macbeth or Duncan. The fifth Earl Cawdor is quoted as saying 'I wish the Bard had never written his damned play!' The earliest documented date for the castle is 1454, when a licence to fortify was granted to William Calder, the sixth Thane of Cawdor  or Calder, as the name was originally spelled. Bizarrely, the castle was built around a small holly tree, the remains of which can still be seen in the lowest level of the tower. Advertisement




Has now been sacked with Stavisky's manager condemning 'divisiveness'

In 2011, Randell insulted Asians on Facebook and again on Twitter in 2013

Stavisky is standing in a New York district which is 54 per cent Asian

A Democratic aide who was hired to help attract the Asian voters posted racist rants online, saying they should 'wear name tags' to tell them apart.

Danny Randell, 23, was appointed field director in the campaign to get state Senator Toby Ann Stavisky re-elected in a district of Queens in New York City where 54 per cent of residents are Asian.

But he had previously insulted the racial group on social media, writing on Facebook in November 2011: 'Dear Asians, at least wear name tags or something. Sincerely, the rest of the world.'

Danny Randell, who was hired to help attract the Asian vote posted anti-Asian rants online, saying they should 'wear name tags' to tell them apart

And in 2013, he retweeted a post that read: 'What are Asian people always laughing about. If your [sic] so funny why are there more Asian comedians'

The former Clinton Foundation intern has now been fired by Stavisky after she was told of his online behavior by the New York Post, with her campaign manager saying 'expressions of divisiveness' would not be allowed.

Speaking to the newspaper, Randell apologized, saying the comments were posted when he was a teenager and he no longer found them funny.

The aide's Twitter account, begun in April 2009, is now listed as 'protected', meaning only confirmed followers can see his tweets.

Randell's Facebook profile also appears to have been suspended, with a link from his Twitter listing it as 'not available'.

Randell was appointed field director in the campaign to get state Senator Toby Ann Stavisky re-elected

Stavisky has previously focused attention on appealing to Asian voters in the district.

When campaigning in 2012, she consolidated the backing of every elected official of Asian-American descent in New York.

She recently announced a grant of money for the Taiwan Center Association, which was established in 1986 to help immigrants adjust to life in America.

On Twitter, the senator wrote: 'Happy to announce $100k in capital funds will go to Taiwan Center to renovate their auditorium.'
The ISIS European head of operations that planned the massacres in Paris and Brussels has fled the terror group from Syria taking secrets with him, according to an ISIS-infiltrator.

Frenchman 'Abu Soulayman, who orchestrated the wave of terror attacks on Europe has defected from the terror group and fled to Turkey.

The explosive allegations have been revealed to MailOnline by 'Abu Khaled' a veteran Syrian rebel who still maintains a network within the group.

The ISIS European head of operations that planned the massacres in Paris and Brussels has fled the group to Turkey taking secrets with him. Above, an ISIS propaganda video praised the attacks on Nice, where ISIS-linked plot massacred 84

Syrian ISIS infiltrator said he defected from Jarablus [the Islamic State-held city a few kilometres from the Turkish border] to the Turkish town of Karkamish (border pictured)

Replaced: Abu Soulayman is believed to have stepped in after 28-year-old Belgian citizen and Paris massacre ringleader Abdelhamid Abaaoud (pictured) was killed in a police raid

'He defected from Jarablus [the Islamic State-held city a few kilometres from the Turkish border] to the town of Karkamish on the other side,' told MailOnline from his base in northern Syria.

'They must have made arrangements of some kind with the Turkish authorities. He went with fourteen French nationals.'

The veteran Syrian rebel said he met the French head of ISIS overseas attacks during his time in the Islamic State cities of Raqqa and Aleppo between October 2014 and September 2015.

'For a time I was the effective second-in-command [of the Amni's]', said Abu Khaled, speaking exclusively to MailOnline. 'I still have contacts inside, and I'm still talking to them.'

It was from one of those contacts that Abu Khaled heard the news of Abu Suleyman's departure and apparent defection from the Islamic State in June  which, if true, would be a serious blow to the organization.

Terror Chief: In overall control of the intelligence organization is Abu Mohammed al-Adnani, a Syrian-born Islamic State leader

The veteran Syrian rebel said he met the French head of ISIS overseas attacks during his time in the Islamic State cities of Raqqa and Aleppo between October 2014 and September 2015

Abu Soulayman (not pictured) had arrived straight from Paris, where he formerly ran his own gym or wrestling cub and was a semi-professional wrestler. Above, Paris massacre ringleader Abdelhamid Abaaoud

Abu Soulayman had arrived straight from Paris, where he formerly ran his own gym or wrestling cub and was an excellent, semi-professional wrestler himself.

Thought to be in his 30's with either from Moroccan or Tunisian background, French intelligence reportedly know him as 'head of overall operations for Europe'.

His father is an Imam of a mosque in France and while at first he'd been a relatively lowly foot soldier it was only after his idea of a major attack in France came to grisly fruition in Paris in November 2015 did he win promotion to head of Amn al-Kharji, or ISIS's division for planning revenge terror attacks overseas.

The former wrestler has turned out to be a more formidable terrorist foe and the mastermind of all ISIS's recent terror networks in Europe and he may yet turn his knowledge against Islamic State itself.

While it's not clear why Abu Suleyman might have wanted to leave the Islamic State, the implication was that he and his fellow jihadis had cut some kind of deal with the Turkish authorities in return for their own safety.

Sources in Karkamis and Jarablus confirmed to MailOnline that Turkish police are believed to have arrested a series of French jihadis who have left ISIS over the last month.

The Islamic State group has a reputation for turning on even its senior leaders for alleged disloyalty and religious infractions. As the bombardment of Islamic State's territory continues, some foreign jihadis have also attempted to cut their losses and leave.

Following his own hasty departure from the Islamic State, says Abu Khaled, he attended half a dozen meetings with officials from French intelligence in Istanbul.

Sources in Karkamis and Jarablus confirmed to MailOnline that Turkish police are believed to have arrested a series of French jihadis who have left ISIS over the last month

While it's not clear why Abu Suleyman might have wanted to leave the Islamic State, the implication was that he and his fellow jihadis had cut some kind of deal with the Turkish authorities in return for their own safety

At one point he even had a plan to position a mole inside Abu Suleyman's family, taking advantage of medical complications faced by his wife to smuggle in a nurse, but it came to nothing.

While in Istanbul he also met officials from the British Embassy, who he presumes to be intelligence officers.

'They showed me pictures and I identified the two guys [the British Lebanese man and the British Somali] from the pictures that they had. They were keen to get more information.'

The British officials stayed in touch by text, and were keen to get more information, but communications soon dried up.

For nearly a year, he says, his job was to train fighters within a feared and highly secretive foreign operations and intelligence branch of Islamic State known as Amn Alkharji - whose graduates were often being sent back to Europe to plan and inspire ISIS terror attacks.

Shortly after his arrival in the Islamic State's de facto capital of Raqqa, says Abu Khaled, he himself trained two young British citizens were subsequently returned to Britain by Islamic State  one from a Lebanese background and the other of Somali origin.

'I knew these men, I trained them  they went back to the UK and they said 'we are going to be working there.' One was slim 19 year-old Lebanese white skin, the other a young man in his 20's from Somalia. Both were born and raised in Britain.

For nearly a year Khaled's job was to train fighters within a feared and highly secretive foreign operations and intelligence branch of Islamic State known as Amn Alkharji - whose graduates were often being sent back to Europe to plan and inspire ISIS terror attacks like in Nice

But the Islamic State group has a reputation for turning on even its senior leaders for alleged disloyalty and religious infractions

Ludovico Carlino, a senior analyst with IHS Conflict Monitor quoted believes Souleymane 'was promoted to be the top terrorism planner for Europe after Mr. Abaaoud's death'

The Lebanese guy joined ISIS with his older brother, who was an IT guy. The State were in urgent need of an IT expert, so his brother was deployed to their security service. But the younger one went back to the UK.'

The arrival of the Frenchman, however, shifted ISIS's ability to plan and perpetrate international terror attacks in Europe up several gears.

While MailOnline was unable to independently verify Abu Khaled's claims about his time among the 'Amni's' inside the Islamic State, our reporter met him on the Turkish Syrian border shortly before he travelled to Raqqa in the Autumn of 2014, and was aware of his plan to spend time there.

A Syrian in his 50's, he no longer wants to be identified by his real name; like anyone else who fled the Islamic State, he remains a marked man. Neither will he say much about how he managed to flee the Islamic State himself.

'It took a lot of time. I was clever; I worked quietly and told no-one.'

His claims about the leading role of Abu Suleyman find some circumstantial support in evidence left behind by the suicide attackers in the Batalcan building in Paris in November 2015.

'Should we call Souleymane?' one hostage who was held in the Bataclan building remembers the ISIS attackers asking, according to reports in the following weeks in the French media.

'We will deal with this our own way,' came the response from another attacker. A total of ninety hostages were killed in the subsequent massacre.

Abu Khaled's testimony about the growing power of the 'Amni's' is also supported by a new investigation by The New York Times, which holds it responsible for all recent terror attacks in Europe.

'The group', according to The New York Times report, 'has sent 'hundreds of operatives' back to the European Union, with 'hundreds more in Turkey alone,' according to a senior United States intelligence official and a senior American defense official, both of whom spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss intelligence.'

His claims about the leading role of Abu Suleyman find some circumstantial support in evidence left behind by the suicide attackers in the Batalcan building in Paris in November 2015

Shortly afterwards Abu Khaled returned to rebel-held Syria to take up a job training rebels from the Islamist group Ahrar ash-Sham, where he works under regular air-strikes from the Syrian army

Terror: The Frenchman was reportedly promoted to head of European operations after he impressed ISIS bosses with his plans for the terror attack on Paris

Ludovico Carlino, a senior analyst with IHS Conflict Monitor quoted by the paper, believes that this same Souleymane 'was promoted to be the top terrorism planner for Europe after Mr. Abaaoud's death.' [Abdelhamid Abaaoud was the lead attacker and strategist in the Paris attacks, and was killed in a shoot-outwith the French police shortly afterwards]

In overall control of the intelligence organization, according to both Abu Khaled and the New York Times report, is Abu Mohammed al-Adnani, a Syrian-born Islamic State leader whose terror career was forged in the Iraq war and who is now generally considered to be the organisation's overall second-in-command.

Adnani is in charge of everything that happens within the State in Syria, or Bilad al Sham as they called it. He never met Adnani himself, but spent time at one of the houses that he frequently uses in the Syrian Islamic State controlled redoubt of Al-Bab.
The United States workplace discrimination watchdog is considering if employees wearing clothing with a Gadsden flag logo are racial harassing African Americans.

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission is reportedly investigating the issue surrounding the 'Don't Tread On Me' snake logo after an African American employee of a federal agency complained they were racially harassed when a co-worker wore a cap showing the symbol.

The complainant said he found the cap racially offensive to African Americans because the flag was designed by Christopher Gadsden, who he described as a 'slave trader & owner of slaves'.

A supporter of Donald Trump, presumptive 2016 Republican presidential nominee, holds a 'Don't Tread On Me' flag while rallying at Settlers Landing during the Republican National Convention in Cleveland last month

The logo was created by Gadsden, a South Carolina soldier, in 1775 during the American Revolution.

The claimant complained about the cap to management but, despite assurances, the co-worker still kept wearing the offensive cap.

The complainant maintained the Gadsden Flag was a 'historical indicator of white resentment against blacks stemming largely from the Tea Party', according to a recent interim decision published by the Washington Post.

DON'T TREAD ON ME: A BRIEF HISTORY American soldier Christopher Gadsden The Gadsden flag was designed by South Carolina soldier Christopher Gadsden in the mid 1770s during the American Revolution. The Colonel had seen a yellow banner with a hissing, coiled rattlesnake rising up in the center, and beneath the serpent the words: 'Don't Tread On Me'. Colonel Gadsden made a copy and submitted the design to the Provincial Congress in South Carolina. Commodore Esek Hopkins, commander of the new Continental fleet, carried a similar flag in early 1776 when his ships went to sea for the first time. Source: www.usflag.org Advertisement

The complainant claimed that the the Vice President of the International Association of Black Professional Firefighters cited the Gadsden Flag as the equivalent of the Confederate Battle Flag when he successfully had it removed from a New Haven, Connecticut, fire department flagpole.

In its decision two months ago, the EEOC said it was clear the Gadsden Flag originated during the Revolutionary War in a non-racial context.

'Moreover, it is clear that the flag and its slogan have been used to express various non-racial sentiments, such as when it is used in the modern Tea Party political movement, guns rights activism, patriotic displays, and by the military,' the EEOC said.

But the watchdog said, putting the historic origins aside, the symbol had also since been 'sometimes interpreted to convey racially-tinged messages in some contexts'.

'For example, in June 2014, assailants with connections to white supremacist groups draped the bodies of two murdered police officers with the Gadsden flag during their Las Vegas, Nevada shooting spree,' the EEOC said.

The EEO described the current meaning of the symbol as ambiguous, saying this meant the claim must be investigated to determine the 'specific context in which (the co-worker) displayed the symbol in the workplace'.

'In so finding, we are not prejudging the merits of Complainant's complaint,' the EEO added.

A Democratic Theory and Practice class at Providence College, Rhode Island used the flag in 2007 to give presentations that helps explain their personal theory on democracy

'Instead, we are precluding a procedural dismissal that would deprive us of evidence that would illuminate the meaning conveyed by C1's display of the symbol.'

Eugene Volokh, who teaches free speech law at the UCLA School of Law, writes in the Post that could have implications for someone wearing material relating to Donald Trump's election campaign in the workplace if material such as a bumper sticker was displayed.

'He doesnt say any racial or religious slurs about Hispanics or Muslims, and doesnt even express any anti-Hispanic or anti-Muslim views,' Mr Volokh wrote.
A halal supermarket in France has been threatened with closure if it does not begin selling pork and alcohol products.

Soulemane Yalcin, the owner of the Good Price mini-market franchise in Colombes, was told by local authorities that the store had not been following the conditions of its lease.

The housing authority, from which Mr Yalcin rents his premise in the suburb of Paris, stated that the shop must act as a 'general food store' for the benefit of the entire community.

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Local authorities told Soulemane Yalcin that his store had not been following the conditions of its lease (file photo)

It claims that the store, which replaced a regular supermarket last year, is in breach of French republican principles by prioritising a certain group.

The Colombes housing authority has now taken legal action to bring an end to the lease, which is meant to run until 2019.

Nicole Goueta, the mayor of Colombes, visited the store to urge Mr Yalcin to begin selling both alcohol and pork, reported the Telegraph.

The mayor's chief of staff, Jerome Besnard, told the paper that she asked the owner to 'diversify' his range of products on sale following complaints from locals.

He added that the area wants a 'social mix' where everyone can get hold of a selection of products.

Many of the older residents have been unable to complete their entire shop at the new store, following the closure of the old supermarket.

This has forced them to travel to other shops out of their immediate vicinity to buy pork and alcohol.

Mr Yalcin defended his decision not to sell the products, saying he was simply catering to the demands of his customers in the area (file photo)

Speaking to Le Parisien, Mr Yalcin, who opened his shop in April 2015, defended his decision not to sell the products.

He claimed that he was simply catering to the demands of his customers in the area.

He said: 'I look around me and I target what I see. The lease states "general food store and related activities" - but it all depends on how you interpret "related activities".'

Mr Yalcin added that other stores selling alcohol in the area face 'security problems' and claimed Franprix sales figures showed there were 'losses in the deli department'.
The father of tragic Poppi Worthington is seeking legal aid to fund a top team of lawyers at his daughter's inquest.

Paul Worthington's 13-month-old daughter died after collapsing with serious injuries at the family home in Barrow-in-Furness, Cumbria, on December 12, 2012.

A family court judge earlier this year ruled that the little girl was probably sexually assaulted by the 48-year-old before her sudden death.

He has now applied for funding for a lawyer at the centre of some of the UK's highest profile cases, including representing families of Hillsborough victims.

Paul Worthington, 48, (right) who a judge ruled probably sexually assaulted his daughter Poppi (left) shortly before her death should have his human rights protected when he gives evidence at a new inquest, a court heard

The supermarket worker has already been given 117,000 of public cash to pay for a custody battle over his other children.

But he now hopes to secure extra legal aid to fund the services of award-winning London barrister Leslie Thomas QC as well as his solicitor, Paul Clark, during the three-week hearing in October.

An application for legal aid has been made by Mr Worthington to the government's financial support service.

Queen's Counsel Mr Thomas is a specialist in high profile legal cases such as that of criminal Mark Duggan, whose shooting by armed police officers in 2011 sparked the London riots.

He has also fought cases on behalf of 11 Hillsborough families and the parents of Christi and Bobby Shepherd, who died of carbon monoxide poisoning on a Thomas Cook holiday in Corfu in 2006.

Speaking at a pre-inquest hearing in Carlisle last week, Mr Thomas said: 'The impact upon the father here is profound.

'I know you assisted with a helpful letter to the solicitors for use in trying to seek legal funding. We still do not have it.

'This is a case we say is absolutely essential that Mr Worthington is represented at under his Article 8 rights.

'We would certainly be seeking the assistance of the court in relation to that issue which would strengthen our application.'

Mr Worthington, who denies any wrongdoing, was not at last Friday's hearing at Carlisle Coroner's Court.

A botched investigation by Cumbria Police meant evidence was not collected and no one has ever been prosecuted.

In January, a High Court judge ruled that on the balance of probabilities Poppi was sexually assaulted by her father (pictured last year) before her death

The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) last month ruled out charges due to lack of evidence following a second review of the case.

Mr Worthington was originally arrested on suspicion of sexual assault.

The child's death in December 2012 was shrouded in mystery after authorities sought to keep details private.

A post-mortem examination found she had a fracture to her right leg and suspected acute injuries to her anus.

Cumbria Police conducted no 'real' investigation for nine months as senior detectives thought a pathologist who examined Poppi's body 'may have jumped to conclusions' that the girl had been abused.

The first inquest into Poppi's death in October 2014 by then Cumbria coroner Ian Smith lasted just seven minutes and called no evidence.

It was later judged 'irregular' in the High Court and a new one was ordered.

The site of the little girl's grave in Thorncliffe Crematotium and Cemetery, in Barrow in Furness

In January this year during care proceedings in relation to other children in the family, the damning judgment by Mr Justice Peter Jackson was finally made public, prompting heavy criticism of Cumbria Police and Cumbria County Council and calls for a public inquiry.

The judge concluded that Mr Worthington had, on the balance of probabilities, abused his daughter shortly before her death.

An Independent Police Complaints Commission report into Cumbria Police's handling of the investigation is still to be published.
She was the NYPD's fourth ever female detective, credited with making more than 1,000 arrests in her career and once took down a man armed only with her pocketbook.

And Mary 'Dead Shot' Shanley made history by becoming the first policewoman in the NYPD to use a gun during a capture and arrest.

Born in 1896, she joined the police force in 1931, earning herself a fearsome reputation as a ruthlessly efficient crime fighter and her life is now set to be immortalized in a new stage production that opens next month in New York City.

The life of NYPD's fourth female detective is set to be immortalized in a new stage production that opens next month in New York City

Unlike many of her contemporaries during the interwar period, Shanley favored using her gun and earned the moniker 'Dead Shot Mary' in the papers and quickly became a minor celebrity in her day.

The Irish immigrant once chased a racketeer on foot through the crowds of Fifth Avenue brandishing a pistol before seizing him - to the astonishment of onlookers.

In an era of rampant sexism, the press were astounded that a a 5ft 8in, 160-pound woman was able to confront hardened criminals.

One report of her heroics, in the New York Times, read: 'Mary Shanley ordered two suspicious characters, neither of them weaklings, into the lobby of the Longacre Building in Times Square shortly after 10 o'clock last night.

Mary Shanley was born in 1896 and joined the police in 1931, earning herself a fearsome reputation as a ruthlessly efficient crime fighter

She is credited with making more than a thousand arrests during her career and quickly became a minor celebrity in her day

'They complied, for everything in the policewoman's mien indicated determination-even the firm grasp of her right hand on her service pistol.

It concluded: 'Searching them in the lobby and finding imitation pistols, she arrested them on charges of carrying concealed weapons.'

Shanley was supremely confident in her abilities as a police officer and in an interview with Panama City Herald said: 'I can usually tell in 20 minutes whether a suspect is legitimate or not.'

But in 1941 Shanley put her entire career in jeopardy when she shot her revolver while off duty and drunk in a bar in Jackson Heights, Queens.

Unlike many of her contemporaries during the interwar period, Shanley favored using her gun and earned the moniker 'Dead shot Mary'

The Irish immigrant made history by becoming the first policewoman in the NYPD to use a gun during a capture and arrest

In an era of rampant sexism, the press were astounded that a a 5ft 8in, 160-pound woman was able to confront hardened criminals.

In 1941 Shanley put her entire career in jeopardy when she shot her revolver while off duty and drunk in a bar in Jackson Heights, Queens

She was demoted from first-grade detective to policewoman and placed under suspension, but returned to duty after only a month and was later promoted to her original position.

The police officer kept her steel as she grew older and in 1950 - at the age of 54 - she arrested a 22-year-old mentally-ill man who burst into Macy's brandishing a .32 caliber automatic pistol.

As customers ducked for cover behind display counters, Shanley reportedly calmly approached the man from behind, gun in hand, and snapped, 'Drop that gun, boy,' which he did before being taken into custody.

The officer's niece, Mary Shanley Mullins, explained what motivated her aunt, who died in 1989 at the age of 93 and is buried in Long Island.

She was demoted from first-grade detective to policewoman and placed under suspension, but returned to duty after only a month and was later promoted to her original position

The police officer kept her steel as she grew older and in 1950 - at the age of 54 - she arrested a 22-year-old mentally-ill man who burst into Macy's brandishing a .32 caliber automatic pistol

Shanley became a minor celebrity in her day and was often featured in news reports

Speaking in the Mary Shanley Mullinss documentary, 'Sleuthing Mary Shanley' by Cherry Lane Productions, Mullins said 'She wasn't interested in a husband. She enjoyed her life. She had her freedom and her good salary. She was just different.'

'She was very outspoken, very opinionated. She didn't fit in then as well as she probably would now. She was born too soon.'

The play chronicling her life runs from September 9 to October 15 at the Bridge Theater in the Shetler Studios.

Directed by Stephen Kaliski, it stars Rachel McPhee who is a regular on the New York theater scene.

Her niece Mary Shanley Mullins explained what motivated her aunt: 'She wasn't interested in a husband. She enjoyed her life. She had her freedom and her good salary. She was just different.'

Mullins added: 'She was very outspoken, very opinionated. She didn't fit in then as well as she probably would now. She was born too soon.'

The play chronicling her life runs from September 9 to October 15 at the Bridge Theater in the Shetler Studios
An Australian-born model and fashion editor had her photos stolen by a university student who spent at least two years curating the woman's life through a Facebook account and forming relationships with her fraudulent identity.

Jasmine Garnsworthy was alerted to the Facebook account by a Melbourne photographer who recognised her picture after the fake account attempted to set up a photoshoot, she wrote in an article for News Corp.

Using the photographers login, as her own account had been blocked from seeing the profile, Jasmine scrolled through the profile which belonged to 'Hannah'.

Jasmine Garnsworthy (pictured) discovered her photos and life had been used to create a fake online persona by a Melbourne uni student

Jasmine was alerted to the pictures by a photographer who recognised her face after 'Hannah' contacted him to arrange a photoshoot

'Not only did this person seem to have access to all of my photos, from as recently as the previous day to as far back as my birthday party two years earlier, but she (or he) had used the bullet points from my life to design their own digital fantasy world,' she wrote.

Her family, close friends and pet Pomeranian had also been given fake accounts with changed names, and albums which appeared on Jasmine's profile were reimagined to fit in with 'Hannah's' life.

Jasmine contacted police regarding her predicament, but says she was 'basically laughed off the phone'.

However, a small slip-up where 'Hannah' had checked in at home - an address in Melbourne - allowed Jasmine to make contact with the identity thief, who turned out to be a 23-year-old university student living with her parents.

The girl behind 'Hannah' had added Jasmine on Facebook some years ago, and the former Miss World Australia finalist had accepted the request based on mutual friends.

Jasmine discovered fake accounts had also been made for her family, friends and even her pet dog

She contacted police regarding her predicament, but said she was 'laughed off the phone'

After carefully searching through the fake account, Jasmine was able to find out where 'Hannah' lived and found a corresponding phone number to call her on. 'Hannah' caved immediately and handed over the login details for the accounts

Jasmine said the girl told her she'd made the fraudulent account because she had strict parents and wanted attention from men.

She then revealed that she had a number of boyfriends while posing as Hannah before handing over the login details to all of the fake accounts.

Jasmine said she spoke with some of the more 'deeply involved' men who had been catfished by Hannah.

'They told me about hours of late-night phone calls, last minute cancellations of dates, and deeply-involved romantic relationships behind LCD screens,' she wrote.

'As far as these men were concerned, she'd been a very real part of their lives for the past two years.'

Jasmine, who now lives in New York, says she isn't mad at 'Hannah', but will think twice about future friend requests from strangers.
A social entrepreneur who launched a 25p shop empire in the second home capital of Britain almost quit after being spat at and abused.

Charlotte Danks, 21, started her own budget supermarket chain in Cornwall last year and now has five dotted around the south west.

The shops are an alternative to foodbanks and feature cast-offs from the main chains which are past their sell-by date but still perfectly edible.

Charlotte Danks, 21, started her own budget supermarket chain in Cornwall last year and now has five dotted around the south west

The shops are an alternative to foodbanks and feature cast-offs from the main chains which are past their sell-by date but still perfectly edible

But since her latest Affordable Foods store opened in Bodmin, three weeks ago, she has been the victim of a daily torrent of abuse and even spat at.

One passer-by told her 'We don't want you around here' and the driver of a flash Mercedes threatened to report her to the authorities.

She believes the campaign of hatred against her is prompted by a toxic combination of jealousy and snobbery.

Charlotte, from Newquay, said: 'Every day since I opened the Bodmin shop I've had people shouting, swearing and threatening to smash the shop up.

'It's a mixture of men and women. It's hard to say if they are jealous or snobs - probably both.

'I've tried explaining to them what Affordable Foods is all about, but they just don't understand the concept.

'It is so sad to hear that people who don't need my help are trying to stop me helping people that do.

'It has really got to me. The response from some is that they think I'm trying to poison people.'

Social media users took to Facebook to express their anger that Charlotte had been abused

Since Charlotte Dank's latest Affordable Foods store opened in Bodmin, three weeks ago, she has been the victim of a daily torrent of abuse and even spat at

Recalling one distressing incident, she claims a man turned up in an expensive car and threatened to report her to the authorities.

And recalling one particularly horrific episode, Charlotte said she was spat in the face by a man in his early twenties.

'He came past me when I was outside the shop and said: "That shop sells gone off food,"' she said.

'I said: 'That's my shop you're talking about, I'm quite proud of what I've acheived.'

'But he got louder and louder, he was swearing and he came closer and spat in my face.

'I have seen him since, walking up and down the road but he's always on the other side.'

Recalling one distressing incident, she claims a man turned up in an expensive car and threatened to report her to the authorities

The community-minded businesswoman said she wanted to help people struggling to feed their families by offering an alternative to foodbanks

On another day, Charlotte had to deal with a middle-aged woman objecting to her presence in the town.

'I had an incident when a lady was inside the shop and was throwing stuff on the floor.

'She was saying "this is disgusting, we don't want this shop round here - you shouldn't be allowed here"'.

'There are so many lovely people here, I've just had to deal with some of the worst.'

Charlotte says that if it wasn't for the overwhelming support she has received from the majority of people in the town, she would have closed the store.

She added: 'I did consider it, but I've had so much support and I'm going to try and stick it out.

Charlotte says the Bodmin store is the most expensive to run out of the five, as it is the only premises where she has to pay business rates

The items stocked in Charlotte's store, which include fresh meat, dairy, tinned foods and even hair dye are past their sell-by date but are still within their use-by date

'The Bodmin store has actually been the most successful to date, by far. I'm ordering three pallets a week of stock which are eight foot high.'

She added: 'Hopefully the abuse I get will stop. My haters are my motivators, but it's upsetting to have haters in the first place.'

Charlotte hit the headlines when she opened the first Affordable Foods in Newquay, Cornwall, a year ago.

The community-minded businesswoman said she wanted to help people struggling to feed their families by offering an alternative to foodbanks.

Since then she has gone on to open stores in St Austell, Truro, Bude and Bodmin.

Most of her stock comes from the main chains which they choose not to sell due to manufacturing defects, such as damaged packaging or incorrect labels.

The items stocked in Charlotte's store, which include fresh meat, dairy, tinned foods and even hair dye are past their sell-by date but are still within their use-by date.

Charlotte says the Bodmin store is the most expensive to run out of the five, as it is the only premises where she has to pay business rates.
Anti-narcotics and human rights groups have appealed to the U.N to condemn Duterte's war on drugs

Police say a staggering 565,806 have turned themselves in since the crackdown began

have driven drug users and small-time dealers into frantic mass surrenders to officials

Ordered drug pushers to be 'put behind bars ... or below ground if you wish' a

He ordered police to carry out summary executions and also urged citizens to kill drug users and dealers

Over 400 people have been killed since the start of July and the death toll is set to rise even further

Philippines president Rodrigo Duterte has vowed not to back down on his brutal war on drugs

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Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte has acknowledged abuses in a war on illegal drugs, which has left more than 400 people dead in a month and alarmed rights activists, but refused to back down from a shoot-to-kill order for drug suspects.

'My order is shoot to kill you. I don't care about human rights, you better believe me,' said Duterte, a 71-year-old former government prosecutor.

Duterte said in his speech late on Thursday that most drug dealers and addicts slain in gunbattles with police had put up a fight, but added that he was sure some were 'salvaged,' a local slang for extrajudicial killings usually by law enforcers.

In the case of illegal killings, Duterte said the government will investigate.

The corpse of a suspected drug lord and victim of a vigilante-style execution with his head wrapped in tape lies on a street on July 28

The corpse of a suspected house thief and victim of a vigilante-style execution with his limbs tied and head wrapped with tape is seen on an empty lot on July 27, in Pasay, Philippines. A sign next to the corpse reads 'I am a house thief, do not imitate me'

Police investigators inspect the corpse of a suspected drug pusher and victim of a vigilante-style execution with his body wrapped in plastic and tape on a street in Makati

Relatives weep over the corpse of a suspected drug pusher after he was shot dead following a police operation on August 3, 2016 in Manila

'They really fight back, I know that,' Duterte said in a speech in southern Davao city, where he built a name as a mayor for his extra tough approach to crime before winning the presidency on June 30. 'I'm sure there are some who were salvaged, I am also sure of that.'

Early Friday, he told reporters that he gave 'shoot-to-kill' orders against drug dealers, including politicians involved in the illicit trade.

'I'll really have you killed. Look at what you're doing to the Philippines and I'll forgive you?' Duterte told reporters, apparently enraged after visiting a town police chief who was shot in the chest by a suspected drug dealer and rushed to a Davao hospital.

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte has acknowledged abuses in a war on illegal drugs but won't change his 'shoot-to-kill' instructions

A member of the police's homicide division takes pictures of the corpse of a suspected drug pusher after he was shot dead following a police operation on July 18, in Manila

A police investigator shows recovered sachets of crystal meth known locally as 'shabu' and cash money next to the corpse of a suspected drug pusher after he was shot dead

Police investigators inspect empty bullet shells scattered on the ground as the corpse of a suspected drug runner is seen outside a store after he was shot dead by unidentified gunmen on August 1, in Quezon city

Police inspect the corpse of a suspected drug pusher and victim of a vigilante-style execution with his body wrapped in plastic and tape on a street on July 29, in Makati

A member of the police's homicide division inspects the corpse of a suspected drug addict and victim of a vigilante-style execution with his hands tied and head wrapped with tape on a street on July 27, in Pasay

Duterte pledged to kill thousands in an all-out war against drugs, an election promise that helped win him the presidency by a massive margin in a country where drugs and crime are deeply-rooted

A member of the police's homicide division takes pictures of the corpse of a suspected house thief and victim of a vigilante-style execution

Duterte's centerpiece anticrime drive, focused on an ambitious campaign promise to end the widespread drugs problem in six months, has left more than 400 drug suspects dead, many of them either in firefights with police or under suspect circumstances. More than 4,400 have been arrested, police said.

The unprecedented killings have scared more than half a million drug users and dealers who gave themselves up to police, officials said. An overwhelmed Duterte has said he was considering to set aside some areas in military camps nationwide to build rehabilitation centers for those who surrender.

A legal expert, Jose Manuel Diokno, said Duterte's latest shoot-to-kill order is, at the least, legally questionable.

Adequate safeguards exist in the country's legal system, including requirements for court warrants for arrests, to protect the public and ensure law enforcers are not given 'unbridled discretion' that can lead to abuses, Diokno said.

A resident covers the face of a suspected drug pusher who was shot dead following a police operation on July 18, as children gather around the grim scene

A sign that reads 'I am a carnapper and drug addict, do not imitate me' is seen next to the corpse of a suspected drug addict

The corpse of a suspected drug pusher and victim of a vigilante-style execution with his hands tied and head wrapped with tape is pictured under a bridge

Police inspect the belongings of a suspected drug lord and victim of a vigilante-style execution with his head wrapped in tape

Morgue personnel load the the corpse of a suspected drug pusher and victim of a vigilante-style execution

Relatives of a suspected drug pusher weep after he was shot dead following a police operation on August 3, in Manila

A women cries as she holds onto a young man after their relative was shot dead after being accused of being involved with drugs

The government's Commission on Human Rights could seek to stop the anti-crime drive through a court petition, said Diokno, who heads the Free Legal Assistance Group, a nongovernment group that provides legal help to the poor.

Sen. Leila de Lima, who led the commission previously, has sought a senate investigation of the killings but has faced opposition from Duterte's political allies. She said she supports the battle against drugs but condemned the widespread killings.

'There must be a way other than this method that brings us to our collective descent into impunity, fear, and ultimately, utter and complete inhumanity. We cannot wage the war against drugs with blood,' de Lima said in a senate speech this week.

A police officer stands guard outside a house where three suspected drug pushers were shot dead following a police operation in Manila

A picture shows members of the Philippine National Police (PNP) Scene of the Crime Operatives (SOCO) lifting a dead body following a police operation against illegal drugs in the town of Plaridel, in Bulacan province

Yury Fedotov, executive director of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) has condemned the 'reports of extrajudicial killing of suspected drug dealers and users' in the Philippines

She said the dead included those who were innocent and 'the proportion is rising.'

Horrific photos show men shot and left to bleed out on busy streets and mutilated corpses dumped in vacant lots.

Hundreds of people have died since Duterte won a landslide election in May, promising to rid society of drugs and crime in six months by killing tens of thousands of criminals.

Police figures showed this week that 402 drug suspects had been killed since Duterte was sworn in at the end of June. That figure does not include those slain by suspected vigilantes.

The wife of a suspected drug pusher and victim of a vigilante-style execution grieves over the corpse of her husband during a burial ceremony on August 3

Relatives of a suspected drug pusher and victim of a vigilante-style execution grieve while wearing white and as they carry flowers during a burial ceremony on August 3, in Pasay

Filipino widow Genair Bumagat (second right) is seen grieving next to the coffin of her husband, Police officer Edgar Bumagat, who was shot by an alleged drug dealer during an operation against illegal drugs, in Makati city

The country's top broadcaster, ABS-CBN, reported that 603 people had been killed since Duterte's May election, with 211 murdered by unidentified gunmen.

Anti-narcotics and human rights groups from different parts of the world, on Wednesday, appealed to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) and the International Narcotics Control Board (INCB) to condemn Duterte's war on drugs.

In statements from groups such as the Australian Drug Foundation and Canadian Drug Policy Coalition, they called on Duterte to stop the killings and ensure the protection and rights of people who use drugs.

In one viral image summing up the human cost, a young woman howls in pain as she cradles her partner's blood-soaked body under the glare of television lights as horrified bystanders look on from behind yellow police crime tape.

This man was attacked by anti-drug vigilantes as he drove his tricycle, his body left hanging from the humble vehicle as blood dripped onto the street

A Filipino crime scene investigator conducts an investigation where the body of a suspected drug dealer, who was shot dead by an unidentified gunman, lies in a street in Pasay City, south of Manila, on 04 August

Anti-narcotics and human rights groups from different parts of the world, on Wednesday, appealed to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) and the International Narcotics Control Board (INCB) to condemn Duterte's war on drugs

Filipino crime scene investigators conduct an investigation into a dead body as crowds gather around the police tape

This photo taken on July 8, shows police officers investigating the body of an alleged drug dealer with his face covered with packing tape, with a cardboard sign on him reading 'I'm a pusher', at a street in Manila

Police figures showed this week that the death toll in Duterte's war on drugs has risen to 402

'My husband was innocent. He never hurt anyone,' Jennilyn Olayres said of her partner Michael Siaron, 30, a tricycle driver - refuting the crude cardboard poster left behind by the motorcycle-riding gunmen killers saying 'drug pusher'.

Police raids of suspected drug dealers' hideouts have led to near-nightly deaths. Most of the dead suspects - often found face-down in pools of blood - had pistols lying next to them in the act of resisting arrest, according to authorities.

Suspected sympathy killings by anti-drug vigilantes have also left a trail of death. One man was attacked as he drove his tricycle, his body left hanging from the humble vehicle as blood dripped onto the street.

Groups such as the Australian Drug Foundation and Canadian Drug Policy Coalition have called on Duterte to stop the killings and ensure the protection and rights of people who use drugs

Filipino residents view a the body of a suspected drug dealer, who was shot dead by an unidentified gunman at a street in Pasay City

This photo, taken on July 28, shows police officers carrying the body of an alleged drug dealer shot dead by police during a drug bust operation in Manila

Jennilyn Olayres is pictured grieving beside the coffin of her partner Michael Siaron after he was found dead in the streets of Manila with a crude cardboard poster left behind by the motorcycle-riding gunmen killers saying 'drug pusher', a claim she refutes

Relatives of a tricycle driver are seen grieving after he was killed by unidentified gunman for being an alleged drug dealer in Manila

The distraught relatives of a tricycle driver are pictured after he was gunned down, his body left to hang over his vehicle

Other people have simply turned up dead in deserted streets and vacant lots at night, their faces cocooned in packaging tape and with cardboard signs accusing them of being drug dealers hanging on their chests.

At his first 'State of the Nation' address to Congress, Duterte defended his anti-crime campaign and described the scene at Siaron's shooting as a parody of Michelangelo's 15th century Pieta marble sculpture.

'And there you are, dead and portrayed in a broadsheet like Mother Mary cradling the dead cadaver of Jesus Christ,' the president said, describing the tableau as 'drama'.

Police officers investigate the dead body of an alleged drug dealer with his face covered with packing tape with a cardboard sign on him that reads 'I'm a pusher'

People have simply turned up dead in deserted streets and vacant lots at night, their faces cocooned in packaging tape

A police man is seen reeling out yellow crime scene tape around another dead body gunned down in the street

This photo shows a gun beside a body of an alleged drug dealer shot dead by police officers after a drug buy bust operation

A police officer ropes off the crime scene as the body of an alleged drug dealer shot dead lies in the street in Manila

For an alleged drug dealer, Siaron did not have a lifestyle like Mexican or Colombian cartel kingpins.

The rented hovel that was home to him and his girlfriend, made of scraps of plywood and iron sheeting, was not much bigger than a pig pen. It stood precariously on stilts atop a smelly, garbage-choked open sewer.

'At times we slept until late on purpose so we only had to worry about lunch and dinner,' Olayres, a street vendor, told AFP at her partner's wake.

Held in a hall at a local government office, two more of the dead were being mourned at the same time. Olayres said Siaron was among the more than 16 million Filipino voters who had catapulted Duterte to office.

The attacks have left wives and relatives crying and fainting at the carnage, but also driven drug users and small-time dealers into frantic mass surrenders to district officials. Police say a staggering 565,806 have turned themselves in.

Many of those who presented themselves with pledges to straighten out their lives wore rubber wristbands bearing Duterte's name - materials used during his election campaign.

Before the bodies started piling up, Manila police also launched a campaign, codenamed Oplan Rody - the incoming president's nickname - to rid the streets of drunks and shirtless men, who were made to do 40 pushups to avoid jail time.

A children's night curfew was also imposed in some districts, with violators and their parents made to undergo counselling.

This photo taken on July 15 shows a gun beside a hand of an alleged drug dealer shot dead by police officers

This photo shows a man detained after police officers saw him possessing a plastic of solvent in Las Pinas in southern Manila

This photo taken on June 1 shows men detained for drinking in a public place in Las Pinas, in southern Manila, and later made to do 40 push-ups, during a police operation called 'Oplan RODY'

Police say a staggering 565,806 have turned themselves in. Many of those who presented themselves with pledges to straighten out their lives wore rubber wristbands bearing Duterte's name

This photo taken on June 22 shows alleged drug dealers and addicts surrendering to authorities to undergo drug tests at Camp Karingal in Manila

Men detained in June for drinking in a public place in Las Pinas in southern Manila are seen doing 40 push-ups as police look on

This picture taken on June 8 shows children waiting their turn to sing karaoke along a street in the Divisoria market in Manila.Since winning the presidential election in May, Rodrigo Duterte has said he will impose late-night bans on children walking the streets, alcohol sales and the national passion of karaoke singing

Police officers stand in formation before the start of operation Oplan RODY, a campaign to rid the streets of drunks and shirtless men

This photo shows the shanty home in Manila of Jennilyn Olayres and alleged drug dealer Michael Siaron, a man who was recently shot dead by unidentified gunman

In his first state of the nation address to parliament Mr Duterte, dubbed 'The Punisher', ignored the outrage over the continuing death count, declaring that drugs were 'drowning his country' and had to be stopped at all costs.

'Double your efforts. Triple them if need be,' Mr Duterte told police.

'We will not stop until the last drug lord, the last financier and the last pusher have surrendered or been put behind bars ... or below ground if you wish,' he said.

Mr Duterte made it clear he would pardon police if they were charged with human rights violations for carrying out his merciless orders.

Two women cry in grief after armed assailants in a motorcycle shot their loved one in a main thoroughfare on July 23, in Manila

A young alleged drug dealer pictured with his hands and feet bound and his head wrapped in tape besides a road

Police examine the body of an alleged drug dealer in Manila, as shocked locals look on

The body of three alleged drug suspects lie inside a room littered with pink toys and a Hello Kitty cushion. A gun can be seen by one of the men's feet

A crime scene shows where an alleged drug dealer was killed. There have been hundreds of drug related deaths since the start of July

An alleged drug dealer and victim is found with his head wrapped in tape

A man is seen shot dead outside of a local shop in Manila and was another alleged drug dealer

A man in a blood soaked white t-shirt lays curled up on the ground next to a handgun

Another two bodies are seen in alleyways after being shot dead in Manila, The Philippines

An alleged drug dealer and victim is seen here with his hands bound and his head wrapped in tape

A woman clutches her dead husband in grief after armed assailants on a motorcycle shot him in a main thoroughfare on July 23

The wife of the victim said he was not a drug peddler and that he was nothing more than a pedicab driver plying his trade when he was shot in front of her

Mr Duterte won elections in May and immediately promised a law-and-order crackdown on drugs.

'These sons of w****s are destroying our children. I warn you, don't go into that, even if you're a policeman, because I will really kill you,' the president told an audience during a speech in the country's capital, Manila.

President Duterte has warned of widespread bloodshed as part of the government's war on drugs.

He vowed on one occasion during the election campaign that 100,000 people would die, and so many bodies would be dumped in Manila Bay that the fish there would grow fat from feeding on them, according to the South China Morning Post.

Duterte has also told police he would protect them from legal consequences if they killed drug dealers, the Post reported.

A funeral services worker in a yellow t-shirt is seen alongside police as another body of an alleged drug dealer is recovered in Manila

Local people line up behind a yellow police crime scene tape as police carry out an investigation in Manila

Funeral workers transport bodies of alleged drug dealers and victims of summary executions inside a funeral parlor on July 27

The body of an alleged drug dealer waits to be transported to a funeral home in Manila

This picture was taken at midnight after a drug raid in a large shanty community of the port area district on July 21, 2016 in Manila

A Filipino woman grieves the loss of her husband, next to a placard which reads 'I'm a pusher'. The man was shot dead by an unidentified gunman in Pasay City, south of Manila, Philippines

A Filipino funeral parlor worker wraps a body in in Pasay City, south of Manila

While women grieve the death of an alleged drug pusher in Pasay city, south of Manila (left), Filipinos carrying a wounded villager in Malabon City, east of Manila (right)

The body of a drug user is carried away in the town of Kawit, Cavite province, Philippines

Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte's war on illegal drugs has already killed over 400 people since the start of July

Filipino villagers grieve the loss of their relative, who was shot dead by an unidentified gunman in Pasay City, south of Manila

Nearly 60,000 drug addicts across the Philippines have handed themselves in to authorities after president Duterte promised a law-and-order crackdown on drugs

Filipinos allegedly involved in illegal drugs handcuffed together inside a police headquarters in Manila. Presidential Communications Office Secretary Martin Andanar said close to 60,000 drug dependents have surrendered to authorities

Filipino inmates are seen inside a jail in Manila. President Rodrigo Duterte has urged citizens to 'go ahead and kill' drug dealers and users

Police officers remove packing tape wrapped over the lifeless head of an alleged drug dealer on a street in Manila

The government's top lawyer called for police to kill more suspected drug criminals, as he defended president Duterte's brutal war on crime against mounting criticism.

As the official death toll has mounted, and other bodies not confirmed killed by police have been found with placards declaring them drug traffickers, human rights lawyers have expressed deep concerns about the war on crime spiralling out of control.

In response to the criticism, Solicitor General Jose Calida held a press conference at national police headquarters to insist on the legality of the police killings and to encourage more deaths of people suspected of being involved in the drug trade.

'To me, that is not enough,' Calida said of the killings so far.

'How many drug addicts or pushers are there in the Philippines? Our villages are almost saturated (with drugs).'

Picture shows the body of a killed Filipino allegedly involved in illegal drugs. Police have confirmed killing more than 110 drug suspects since president Duterte came to power

Police officers investigate the body of an alleged drug dealer, his face covered with packing tape and a placard reading 'I'm a pusher', on a street in Manila

At least 300kg of shabua, a highly addictive methamphetamine, has been confiscated

Pictured, arrested Filipinos allegedly involved in illegal drugs resting inside a shanty in Manila. President Duterte has warned of widespread bloodshed as part of the government's war on drugs

In one of the deadliest single incidents, police reported killing eight 'drug personalities' during a pre-dawn raid on in a small southern town.

One of the nation's top human rights lawyers, Jose Manuel Diokno, warned last week that Duterte had 'spawned a nuclear explosion of violence that is spiralling out of control and creating a nation without judges'.

Former senator Rene Saguisag, a prominent human rights lawyer during the regime of dictator Ferdinand Marcos, also criticised Duterte's statements naming and shaming alleged drug lords and police officers ahead of a formal investigation.

'Do we still probe and have a trial as part of due process? Useless, it seems to me,' Saguisag wrote in an online column last week.

Some opposition lawmakers have also called for a congressional investigation into the spate of killings.

Calida, a Duterte appointee, said he would protect police from or during congressional probes, while emphasising it was up to critics to prove allegations of abuse rather than base inquiries on speculation.

'I am here to encourage the (police) not to be afraid of any congressional or senate investigations. We will defend them ... I am the defender of the (police),' he said.

Filipino suspected drug users and pushers participate in exercises after voluntarily surrendering in Manila
Police knew a British beauty therapist allegedly murdered in an 'honour killing' was at risk two years before being lured to Pakistan, it was claimed today.

Samia Shahid, 28, from Bradford was allegedly hunted by her family in 2014 after she ran away from the cousin she had been forced to marry.

Today the Muslim cleric who helped with her divorce and blessed her second marriage said he went to West Yorkshire Police over threats he received.

Samia had been in hiding with Syed Mukhtar Kazam - who she later married and now insists she was murdered by her family because they disapproved of their union.

Shocking: Samia Shahid's dead body (left) shows a 7.5 inch red mark on her neck, and police say she was murdered while visiting her family in Pakistan

First marriage: Samia is pictured at her first wedding to cousin Mohammed Shakeel, the Bradford cleric helping her escape says he was then threatened

She suffered a 7.5ins gash to her neck in her ancestral Punjab village two weeks ago, which experts believe could have been inflicted by a rope.

She died suddenly when she went to see her sick father a fortnight ago. Her family said she died of a heart attack or a severe asthma attack and had her buried.

Heartbreak: Samia with her second husband Syed Mukhtar Kazam, who were forced into hiding because of threats in 2014

Islamic scholar Syed Sibtain Kazmi says he recorded threats from Samia's family as he refused to say where they were - and then gave them to the police.

He first met the murder victim when she came to the Anjuman-e-Haideria Shia mosque in Bradford for advice about to how to divorce Mohammed Shakeel.

He told the BBC: 'She told me under oath that her first marriage was a forced marriage, which happened without her free will as she was pressurised into the marriage by her family'.

Mr Kazmi said that when relatives found out he would help dissolve her first marriage and help with a second they said they would harm him, he claims.

He was allegedly told by one relative: 'Our daughter is missing from home and you know where she is. The issue will be resolved but you will have to pay a high price for your role'.

He said: 'I recorded all these threats and handed them over to police without any delay'.

West Yorkshire Police have declined to respond to whether they had offered to protect Samia at the time described by Mr Kazmi.

A spokesman said: 'West Yorkshire police is currently reviewing all previous contact with Samia Shahid, including any alleged criminal offences and the action taken as a result. Her death remains a matter for the Pakistani authorities and we are continuing to liaise with them.'

Samia Shahid's family insist she died of natural causes two weeks ago but police have since ruled out natural causes.

Arrested: Ms Shaid's father Mohammed, whom Samia had been visiting in Pakistan, has been arrested by detectives investigating the 23-year-old beauty therapist's death. He has been released on bail

Grief: Syed Mukhtar Kazam, pictured today, said he wanted to release the shocking photograph to prove that she had been strangled and was the victim of an honour killing. He married Samia in Leeds in 2014

Marriage: Samia's second husband Syed Mukhtar Kazam claims she was killed by her family because they refused to accept their marriage. He said he was made to feel like an outsider

Her husband released a shocking picture showing a 7.5 inch red mark around Samia's neck, which her husband said proves she was strangled.

The beautician, from Bradford, West Yorkshire, also has saliva and blood oozing from her mouth and nostrils.

Mr Kazam, 30, told MailOnline: 'I am releasing this picture of my wife's dead body because I want the world to know that she didn't die of natural causes. She was murdered.

'The police told the media and everybody here that the body did not have any visible marks on it.

'Well, this proves that it did. What sort of heart attack leaves a bruise like that? It is obviously murder. Her family killed her because they weren't happy that she had married me.'

Police said this week their latest forensic report had confirmed Shahid did not die of natural causes.

Abubakar Khuda Bakhsh, the chief investigator, said today: 'The forensic report has been received by a three-member special investigation committee set up by chief minister Punjab and according to it Samia Shahid's death occurred due to asphyxia'.

Bradford West Labour MP Naz Shah, who has campaigned for the case to be thoroughly investigated in Pakistan, told BBC Look North: 'We're actually very pleasantly surprised at the way the Pakistan authorities have responded to this and the urgency that they've placed on this investigation, which is quite impressive.

'The communication, to say we're so far apart, has been pretty good.'

The News newspaper, in Pakistan, said today a forensic report has confirmed that she was murdered.

It said the report 'stated clearly that her death had been caused due to suffocation, as she was stopped from breathing'.

Marks: A post mortem found a 7.5 inch wound on Samia's neck. Police in Pakistan initially claimed she had suffered no injuries and allowed the family to bury her. But detectives have now launched a murder probe

Her father Mohammed Shahid and her first husband Mohammed Shakeel have both been arrested on suspicion of murder.

A cousin Mobeen Mohammed has also been arrested in Pakistan. All three have been bailed.

Bradford West MP Naz Shah, who has called for Samia's body to be exhumed, said: 'I have seen some pictures which are quite graphic in detail - that does really really raise some serious concerns. We need to get to the bottom of it as soon as possible'.

The post mortem report said Ms Shahid suffered 'marks of violence' in the form of a 'reddish brown bruise' around her throat and was found dead with 'froth coming from her mouth'.

'The body of the deceased was found at midday in her home and froth was coming from mouth and nose. There is horrible mark on the right side of the neck of reddish discoloration,' it said.

The author added that her mouth and face may have been 'congested' - a technical term for being smothered.

An external examination of the body revealed she had signs of asphyxia.

A senior doctor at the Jhelum hospital where her body was inspected, who asked not to be named, said her neck injury was consistent with a murder.

He said: 'Cause of death looks like strangulation of the neck with a narrow rope-like object'.

Pakistan Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan has said the report confirms claims she died of natural causes are 'wrong'.

He said: 'The family's claims that she died of natural causes are apparently wrong and we have ordered a reinvestigation.

Tragedy: Her body was found in the family home in Pandori, a village in northern Punjab (pictured)

Grave: Samia's relatives reportedly said she died from a heart or asthma attack and buried her in the village (pictured). But her local MP wants her body exhumed

'The reinvestigation is aimed at a murder case rather than a natural death case. The new investigators are sure the family's claims about natural death are not true.

'I have been told to apply for permission to exhume her body. I will do that if necessary.'

Mr Kazam claims she was killed for marrying him against her parents' wishes after leaving her first husband from an arranged marriage.

Her family have claimed the large bruise was 'probably from a hair clip' and strongly deny the claims of an honour killing.

Police officer Aqeel Abbas said bruising found on Ms Shahid's neck could have occurred while her body was being moved or buried.
One of the four Americans prisoners released by the Iranian government earlier this year has voiced his belief that the U.S. paid a $400 million ransom for his freedom.

In an interview on Fox Business on Thursday, Saeed Abedini said that it was the strange timing of their release back in January that leads him to believe that the U.S. broke one of it's core principles not to pay ransoms.

Abedini recalled being brought to an airport to leave the country, but not being able to depart because their captors were waiting on another mysterious plane to take off.

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Saeed Abedini, one of the four American released in a prisoner exchange with Iran in January, believes a ransom was paid for his freedom

'I just remember the night that we'd been in a[n] airport, just take hours and hours there. And I asked one of thepolice that was with us, that, why are you not letting us to go to theplane? And he told me we are waiting for another plane, and if that plane take off, then we're going to let you go,' Abedini remembered.

When host Trish Regan asked him if the Iranians were 'effectively waiting for the money to come in' before letting him go, Abedini said 'Yeah'.

'They didn't talk about money. They just told us about the - they tole me about the place,' he said.

Abedini spent eight years holed up in an Iranian prison, after he was caught trying establish Christian churches in the country.

Watch the latest video at <a href="http://video.foxbusiness.com">video.foxbusiness.com</a>

He said he is grateful that the U.S. negotiated his freedom, but says there's many others still unjustly held prisoner in the Persian nation.

A report published earlier this week pointed to the almost simultaneous timing of the prisoner's release and the arrival of a plane with $400million in cash from the U.S. government.

President Obama said that the money was to settle an old debt, and had nothing to do with the prisoners.

He pointed out that the payment, along with an additional $1.3 billion in interest to be paid later, was announced by the administration publicly when it was concluded in January, a day after the implementation of a landmark nuclear agreement with Iran.

Obama allowed that the one piece of new information, first reported this week by The Wall Street Journal, was that the $400 million was paid in cash. It was delivered to Iran on palettes aboard an unmarked plane.

'The only bit of news is that we paid cash,' he said. 'The reason is because we couldn't send them a check and we couldn't wire the money. We don't have a banking relationship with Iran which is part of the pressure we applied on them.'

The payment has revived allegations from critics of the Iran nuclear deal. Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump even claimed that he viewed footage of the plane with the money arriving in Iran and blamed his rival, Hillary Clinton for the deal, even though she had long stepped down as Secretary of State when the prisoner exchange happened.

Trump walked back those comments with a tweet Friday morning, saying he mistook the plane with the money for the private jet that brought the four Americans to Geneva, Switzerland after their release

But he walked back those comments with a tweet Friday morning, saying he mistook the plane with the money for the private jet that brought the four Americans to Geneva, Switzerland after their release.
The two Year 11 boys escaped with a caution from Victoria police

Two private school boys who created an Instagram account inviting people to vote on girls as young as 11 for the 'S*** of 2016' have escaped with a slap on the wrist by police.

Brighton Grammar School in Brighton, Victoria, was made aware of the incident after a mother noticed her 12-year-old daughter was featured on the account.

The investigation into the Year 11 boys ended on Friday, a Victoria Police spokeswoman said.

Two Brighton Grammar School (pictured) boys who created an Instagram account inviting people to vote on girls as young as 11 for the 'S*** of 2016' have escaped with a slap on the wrist by police

'Police have cautioned two 17-year-old boys from the Bayside area in relation to inappropriate content on an Instagram account,' she said.

'A report was made to police on July 16 - the matter is now complete.'

She said the cautions would be on the boys' records.

The boys were initially suspended but later removed from the school by their parents to avoid a technical expulsion, the Herald Sun reported.

The mother who noticed her child was on the site said her daughter was walking with her friends to an arranged pick up point at a local shopping area when she was snapped unknowingly.

'As a parent, I don't know any other way I could have handled this. This is my youngest daughter who has been sexually violated through social media,' the mother said in a statement last month.

At the time Headmaster Ross Featherson (pictured) said 'the Instagram post is disgraceful and does not reflect the values of BGS'

At the time Headmaster Ross Featherson said other student were also involved and were disciplined.

'The Instagram post is disgraceful and does not reflect the values of BGS,' he said.
A Mississippi woman who killed her boyfriend and then dismembered him will spend the rest of her life in prison, without chance for parole.

Leah Bishop, 46, of Tupelo, entered the guilty plea Thursday before Circuit Court Judge Paul Funderburk, avoiding a jury trial and the possibility of the death penalty according to the Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal.

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Leah Bishop, 46, pleaded guilty to murdering her live-in boyfriend and dismembering his remains

Bishop says she was on drugs the night she shot Jesse Traylor, 65, and mutilated his body with an ax and hand saw - above, she enters court on Thursday in Tupelo

Jesse Taylor, above with unidentified woman in frame, was killed by his girlfriend Leah Bishop, who had only moved in with him two weeks before

Bishop was charged with shooting her live-in boyfriend, 65-year-old Jesse Traylor, three times in the head and twice in the chest in May 2015 and then mutilating his body with an ax and hand saw at his south Tupelo home.

Bishop had only moved into Traylor's home two weeks before she killed him.

Assistant District Attorney Josh Wise said after she murdered him, she planned to bring his remains to Tishomingo State Park to hide them but after she realized she couldn't move the body, she fled, taking his debit and credit card and 2005 Dodge Stratus.

Police say she drove to Meridian, stayed in a hotel for two nights under a fake name, and then called police and told them where they could find a 22-page confession letter in Laurel.

Bishop, 46, will spend the rest of her life in prison with no chance for parole

'Her letter was pretty detailed,' Tupelo Police Bart Aguirre said, according to the outlet. 'There (were) also included letters to her children, sister, her ex-husband and coworkers.'

Bishop blamed the murder on drug usage, saying in court, 'I made the choice to take drugs and be under their influence that night. The actions were selfishly mine alone. I ask forgiveness from the family. I deserve every day I receive in prison.'

'I'm sorry for everything that I've done," she said in court, reports WTVA. 'And for all of the ways I hurt so many people. God reached down and found me not long after I was arrested and I know he has forgiven me.'

Three days after the murder, she was stopped in Winnsboro, Louisiana, for speeding and jailed on a suspended driver's license.

When cops in Tupelo realized that Traylor's credit card had been used in Winnsboro, they called authorities there, only to find out she was already being detained.

She was returned to Tupelo and spent 14 months in jail before being sentenced.

Friends and family who spoke of Traylor at the plea hearing said he was a good man who was always trying to help people.

'He was a human being who loved his family,' said niece Carolyn Traylor Jamison. 'He didnt deserve to die, to be murdered in such an evil and violent way.'

She added that Bishop's remorseful words in court were needed. 'It was what we needed to hear because we kept wondering why. Why did you do this? Why?' she said.

Bishop agreed with Traylor's family's assessment of his character, saying he was good to her.

'Jesse never did anything wrong,' Bishop said. 'He was never mean to me. He was only trying to help me. He didnt deserve to die.'
Two fathers' rights campaigners who scaled Jeremy Corbyn's roof have been arrested after finally ending their stand-off with police.

Bobby Smith, 34, and Martin Mathews, 49, staged the rooftop climb on the Labour leader's home in Finsbury Park to campaign for the New Fathers 4 Justice group.

Following a seven hour demonstration, which saw police cordon off the road, the pair finally gave themselves up just before 6pm.

Martin Mathews (left) and Bobby Smith on the roof of Jeremy Corbyn's home.

Bobby Smith (pictured), 34, and Martin Mathews, 49, clambered onto the roof of Mr Corbyn's home in Finsbury Park, north London to campaign for the New Fathers 4 Justice group

The activists said earlier that there was no security outside the Leader of the Opposition's house nor did anyone try to stop them.

Father-of-two Mr Smith, from Stevenage, has not seen his two daughters for five years and said he is angered by the Labour politician's stance on shared parenting.

Mr Smith said: 'In 2011 Jeremy was part of an All Party Parliamentary Group that blocked shared parenting.

'In 2011 there was supposed to be a law to give fathers equal rights to their children, and Jeremy opposed it. He said it didn't work in Australia.

'I tried to speak to him in March and he was really rude, and I asked him why he blocked shared parenting, and he didn't want to speak about it.

'I decided this is a better way of getting his attention.'

Bobby Smith on the roof of Jeremy Corbyn's home which they got to using just a ladder

Police have cordoned off the road of terraced houses with paramedics on standby if any medical assistance is required

Police have cordoned off the road of terraced houses with two officers stopping people from walking down it as five paramedics win two vehicles on standby (stock image of Mr Corbyn)

The pair clambered on the roof at 10am, he said.

Mr Smith added: 'We brought ladders up. At the front there was no security. The ladder is still propped up against the wall. The police have closed the road both ways.'

Mr Smith is campaigning to reform family law and he is calling on Mr Corbyn to raise it at Prime Minister's Questions.

He said: 'I want to raise awareness of the need for family law reform, and also bring to Jeremy's attention the decision he made in 2011 was wrong.

'I would like to see him going into PMQs and bringing it up as a matter of urgency.

'I have been protesting for two years. Martin Mathews has been protesting for 15 years, and yet we are still billed as not worth engaging with.'

Mr Smith is campaigning to reform family law, he said, and he is calling on Mr Corbyn to raise it at Prime Minister's Questions

He added he had not seen his daughters, aged nine and 12, in five years.

He said: 'I went through the court for three years. I gave up and started protesting because I realised the only way is to get the law changed.

'We are going to stay up here as long as we feel it's necessary, until we have got our point across.

'The police are trying to intimidate us by closing the road but we are going to fall for it.

'They are trying to scare us like its a major operation but it's not. We are not breaking any law.'

Mr Smith's mother, shouted her support as the police van was driven away with the two men inside.

The siege saw police, firefighters and an ambulance crew on standby at the scene.

Sheila Doyle-Smith, the mother of HGV driver Mr Smith, said she was proud of her son.

The 60-year-old said: 'I am really, really proud of my son. It's unfortunate he has to go to these lengths.

'He doesn't ask for these resources, he is asking to see his children or get a fair hearing. Family courts are biased against fathers.'

She claimed her son's protest had been a success, adding: 'Every time he has done one it gathers momentum.

'A lot of the dads are coming out now supporting him. If I can, I go to all of them. He knows he is going to a cell for the night.'

But she claimed the propsect didn't bother him, adding: 'He sounded absolutely buoyant - really, really pleased.'

Mr Corbyn is believed to be away travelling the country to drum up support for the leadership contest, due to come to an end in September.

New Fathers 4 Justice are not associated with Fathers4Justice UK.
A cigarette smuggler who fled police by swerving around city-centre traffic queues before driving on the pavement has been jailed for eight months.

Shocking footage shows Kazim Mahmood Ibrahim, 27, of Haringey in north London, attempting to evade police dangerously by weaving around high-speed traffic.

In a black Mercedes he then embarks onto the pavement when he realised he had not outfoxed a chasing patrol car in Birmingham.

Hiding in plain sight: Dangerous driver Kazim Mahmood Ibrahim tries to escape the police

Officers recovered 40,000 illegal cigarettes in the car, with a value of over 10,000. He has been jailed for multiple offences.

Dashcam footage from the pursuing police car shows Kazim carrying out the dangerous manoeuvres on July 5.

At one stage he brings three-lanes of traffic to a halt as he cuts across a busy road.

Reckless: Kazim mounts the pavement in Birmingham city centre to flee from officers

In the boot: Officers recovered 40,000 illegal cigarettes in the car, with a value over 10,000

Behind bars: Kazim, 27, of Haringey in north London, was jailed for eight months

To overtake a stationary double-decker bus he moves onto the pavement and clips a sign.

Later West Midlands Police eventually brought him down with a stinger, and then raced after Kazim on foot.

In court the 27-year-old admitted dangerous driving, driving without a licence or insurance, and possession of cannabis.
A 78-year-old British travel company boss was among the seven people injured when Taliban fighters ambushed a convoy of tourists in Afghanistan.

Geoff Hann, who runs Hinterland Travel from his house in Brighouse, West Yorkshire - the company that organised the trip - is being treated for shrapnel wounds following the attack.

The tour operator was injured after militants used rockets to attack the tourists, who were being escorted by an Afghan army convoy as they passed through the western province of Herat.

Geoff Hann, (pictured) who runs Hinterland Travel from his house in Yorkshire, is being treated for shrapnel wounds following the attack

Mr Hann's business partner exchanged texts with a family friend of the travel operator and confirmed the convoy had been hit with an RPG

Family friend Rebecca Greaves, who spoke to Sky News, said she had a text conversation with Mr Hann's business partner shortly after the incident.

Reading the messages out loud, she explained the first text confirmed that Mr Hann had been attacked in the country.

The second read: 'He's (Geoff) alive, he was travelling in a police convoy; all passengers (are) alive but (with) shrapnel injuries and all belongings destroyed.'

Ms Greaves asked whether the convoy had been hit with a bomb or whether it had been targeted by people with guns. She was told that it was hit with an RPG.

Mr Hann claims to have more than 40 years of experience in the adventure travel industry and organises trips to countries including Iraq and Afghanistan.

The company website states that the firm is 'regularly re-visiting Afghanistan after the years of International and Internal conflict in this starkly beautiful country.'

It goes on to acknowledge 'internal dissension' in the 'desperately poor' country, but adds that it is 'at the cutting edge of adventure tourism.'

Trips to Afghanistan are advertised from 3,200 on the website.

Mr Hann claims to have more than 40 years of experience in the adventure travel industry and organises trips to countries including Iraq and Afghanistan

Up to seven foreign tourists were injured after a convoy was attacked in Afghanistan, it has emerged. Pictures show one of the burnt out vehicles

Militants used rockets to attack the tourists, who were being escorted by an Afghan army convoy as they passed through the western province of Herat this morning

A foreign tourist, wounded during a Taliban militant attack, is treated at a hospital in the western Herat province

The two mini-buses were driving along a main road when the rocket struck yesterday. There are reports that eight Britons, three US citizens and one German were travelling in the convoy.

Pictures show the burning remains of one of the vans in the aftermath of the attack.

A Foreign Office spokesperson told MailOnline: 'We are providing assistance to British nationals involved in the attack in Herat and are coordinating closely with local authorities.'

Some local media outlets had earlier claimed tourists had been killed in the attack.

But Jilani Farhad, the spokesman for Herat's governor, said: 'The foreign tourists - three Americans, six Britons, two Scots and one German - were travelling with an Afghan army convoy when they were ambushed by the Taliban in Chesht-e-Sharif.'

He said the insurgents had been repelled and the foreigners were being escorted to Herat city, adding that at least six foreigners and their Afghan driver were left wounded.

The tourists were on their way to Herat from Bamiyan and Ghor provinces when they were ambushed by Taliban gunmen, another spokesman said.

The Taliban have officially not claimed responsibility so far for the attack and the nationality of the tourists was not immediately known.

Two foreign tourists (centre) wounded during a Taliban militant attack, are treated at a hospital after the rocket attack on their vehicle

Target: The two mini-buses were driving along a main road when the rocket struck

A goverment spokesman said the insurgents had been repelled and the foreigners were being escorted to Herat city, adding that at least six foreigners and their Afghan driver were left wounded

The attack comes as Taliban militants intensify their annual summer offensive after a brief lull during the holy fasting month of Ramadan, which ended in early July.

Highways in Afghanistan passing through insurgency-prone areas have become increasingly dangerous, with the Taliban and other armed groups frequently kidnapping or killing travellers.

The United States has warned its citizens in Afghanistan of a 'very high' kidnapping risk after an American citizen narrowly escaped abduction in the heart of Kabul.

The latest attack follows a Taliban truck bombing on Monday at a hotel for foreigners in Kabul, which triggered a seven-hour gun and grenade assault that highlighted growing insecurity in the city.

The guests and staff of the Northgate hotel escaped unharmed, but one policeman was killed after the suicide truck bomber paved the way for two other armed insurgents to enter the heavily guarded facility near Kabul airport.

Afghan Police check people as they secure a highway on the outskirts of Herat, Afghanistan

The attack was a grim reminder of growing insecurity in Afghanistan since most foreign troops withdrew in 2014. The rising violence has resulted in large Afghan civilian casualties.

Foreigners are also increasingly being targeted as the conflict escalates.

American journalist David Gilkey and his Afghan translator were killed in June while travelling with an Afghan army unit that came under fire in southern Helmand province.

Aid workers in particular have increasingly been casualties of a surge in militant violence in recent years.

Judith D'Souza, a 40-year-old Indian charity worker, was rescued in late July, more than a month after she was taken at gunpoint near her residence in the heart of Kabul.

D'Souza's abduction came after Katherine Jane Wilson, a well-known Australian NGO worker, was kidnapped on April 28 in the city of Jalalabad, close to the border with Pakistan.
Alex James, 58, from Coventry, is hoping to lure a 'gambler' who could make millions from the picture  or nothing at all

A woman believes she has inherited an unknown painting by Manet and is offering to sell it for 500,000.

Alex James, 58, from Coventry, is hoping to lure a 'gambler' who could make millions from the picture  or nothing at all.

Her father Adolf Dabrowski told the family he was given the 32x26ins still his aunty in Paris in the 1950s.

He didn't display it and kept it hidden in sheets in a wardrobe in the bedroom of his Coventry flat.

Ms James inherited it after his death 10 years ago - and has been trying to prove its authenticity ever since.

Specialists have dated the impressionist work of fish and fruit to around 1880  three years before Manet's death  and the signature is near-identical to that on his later artworks.

There is no historical record of the work so experts have not been able to confirm or deny it is a Manet.

It would take extensive investigations to prove either way and Ms James said the can't afford to do that, despite, if proved to be a Manet, it possibly being worth tens of millions.

In 2014, a Manet painting sold for 50million.

Ms James said: 'My father always insisted it was real, and I have no reason not to believe him.

'My father was well-educated and well-travelled, and collected antiques, so it all adds up and adds credibility to the story.

'He was also a very generous man. If you saw something in his house and you said you liked it, my father would say "oh just have it".

'But the painting was different. He would quite often show it to people, but he kept it in the back of his cupboard in his bedroom.

'It isn't very attractive in my opinion, but then again art is about your personal taste and some people have said they really like it.'

Ms James inherited it after his death 10 years ago - and has been trying to prove its authenticity ever since

A verified signature by Manet (top) and the signature on a painting owned by Alex James

She added: 'I'd like to find some kind-hearted and wealthy person or company who are willing to take a chance and make me an offer to buy it.

'With any luck they'll be able to prove that it is a Manet and will have got themselves an absolute bargain.

'Either way they will help me set up a really worthwhile charity. I guess I'm after a king-hearted gambler.'

Ms James's father escaped Poland as a teenager in World War II after his own father was shot by soldiers and his mother was taken to a concentration camp.

With his extended family separated by the war, he came to England in the early 50s before visiting an aunt in Paris.

Alex James from Leighton Buzzard with the painting she believes to be a Manet

He became a professional wrestler and nightclub minder and said he was given the painting by an aunt and took it back to England.

'He told me that his aunt told him that all that was left of their family estate had been spent on the painting,' said Alex, a mum-of-two.

'He said she told him it had been bought in Paris.'

Due to ill-health, the French painter's final works were small-scale still lifes of food, and his last major recorded painting was completed in 1882, a year before his death.

Two experts at the National Gallery in London have dated the painting to between 1870 and 1890, but were unable to say whether it was genuine or not.

An auctioneer employed by Mr. Dabrowksi then took the painting to the Royal Academy of Arts.

In a letter about the visits, he said: 'He was not prepared to say that is was Manet, nor that it was not, but confirmed in his opinion the work could have been painted anytime between 1870 and 1890 and was in the style of Manet mentioning that after his death Manet's wife signed many of his paintings.

'Both (experts) were of the opinion that cleaning of the picture would give a better indication of authenticity.'

Her father Adolf Dabrowski told the family he was given the 32x26ins still his aunty in Paris in the 1950s

They advised he took it to the world authority on the artist - the Wildenstein Institute in Paris - which Alex did in 2008.

A letter from their founder simply said they could not include it in their catalogue of Manet's work - but that this shouldn't be taken as an indication of authenticity.

Ms James said: 'The curator there said it could be one of Manet's last works, but without a record of it, or a sketch of it, they couldn't say.

'It cost me a few thousands pounds so far to get to this point, but nobody will say one way of the other, and I can't afford to keep investigating.'

Around the same time she took it to Sotheby's who she claims said she 'couldn't say' whether it was a Manet and advised she hang on to it in case it was later proved.

Bereavement councillor Alex wants to use any money from the sale of the painting to fund her new charity, The Bucket List Charity to grant wishes to terminally ill adults.
Silverthorne met with the detective at 7pm thinking they were going to have group sex, but was arrested when he handed him the meth

and his friends in an all-male orgy

Police claim that Silverthorne then agreed to exchange 2 grams of meth for the participation of the

two days later and police claim he texted at one point to tell him he could supply him with meth for sex

The mayor of one of Virginia's biggest cities supplied a detective with methamphetamine in exchange for his participation in a group sex session, according to law enforcement officials.

Mayor Scott Silverthorne was arrested outside the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Tysons Corner Thursday night after he handed a man he had met on a casual sex website 2 grams of meth.

The Fairfax mayor was under the impression that he and the man, who had known one another for a few weeks but never met in person, would be joining other men for a group party after the drug exchange inside the hotel.

Silverthorne, 50, was unaware however that the man he met online was an undercover detective with the Fairfax County Police Department, and that just a few weeks prior local authorities had launched an investigation when they received a tip that he was exchanging meth for sex.

He commented on his arrest in a Facebook post on Friday, writing: 'I ask that you allow the process to proceed before rushing to judgement (as tough as that may be).'

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Behind bars: Scott Silverthorne, the mayor of Fairfax, Virginia, was arrested on Thursday night after a weeks-long police investigation (mugshot above)

Silverthorne allegedly reached out to the undercover detective last month after coming across his profile online, just two days after the detective set up a bogus account.

The men began to text soon after, and during one of their exchanges Silverthorne told the detective that he could supply him with meth in exchange for sexual encounters according to police.

Soon after this is when police say that Silverthorne texted to say that he would give the detective meth if he agreed to engage in sexual activity.

The detective agreed and said he would bring other men to the group gathering. Those men were also undercover detectives.

Silverthrone showed up on Thursday at around 7pm and was taken in by police minutes later on charges of distribution of methamphetamine and misdemeanor possession of drug paraphernalia.

He was not booked into custody however and released later that night.

Silverthorne has appointed Councilman Jeff Greenfield as acting mayor at this time.

His second job as a substitute teacher for the Fairfax County Public Schools was never in jeopardy because of his arrest as his position was already terminated earlier this year.

Rumors: The Fairfax County Police Department began an undercover operation looking into the mayor when they got a tip he exchanged meth for sex

Scene: Silverthorne was taken into custody outside the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Tysons Corner

In a press conference held Friday morning, Captain Jack Hardin of the Fairfax County Police Department said that the investigation specifically targeted Silverthorne.

'We were provided with information from a citizen that the mayor was involved with a web site,' said Captain Hardin.

'It was alleged he was exchanging meth for sex.'

He also revealed that the online profile created for the casual sex site by their detective was designed based on what they had learned Silverthrone was drawn to in a man.

Captain Hardin would not however reveal the name of the website, though he did note that while their detective was in contact with Silverthrone he was also engaging in another meth-for-sex relationship with a man he met online.

Silverthorne will be arraigned on Friday.

More arrests: Detectives also found Silverthorne's suppliers Juan Jose Fernandez (left) and Caustin Lee McLaughlin (right)

Press conference: Captain Jack Hardin (above) claimed on Friday Silverthrone he was also engaging in another meth for sex relationship with a man he met online

Detectives also found Silverthorne's suppliers Juan Jose Fernandez, 34, and Caustin Lee McLaughlin, 21, of Maryland, and arrested them.

Fernandez was charged with distribution of methamphetamine, possession with the intent to distribute methamphetamine and possession of drug paraphernalia.

McLaughlin was charged with distribution of methamphetamine, obstruction of justice and possession of drug paraphernalia.

As detectives arrested McLaughlin, police said he resisted and a detective used his stun gun. Police said there were no injuries.

All three men were taken to the Fairfax County Adult Detention Center for processing.

Silverthorne was re-elected in May for a third term of the city west of Washington after a tumultuous year in which The Washington Post reported he lost his job with the National Association of Manufacturers, filed for bankruptcy, lost his home to foreclosure and was diagnosed with cancer.

He announced in November that he'd been diagnosed with squamous cell carcinoma, and the Post said he underwent treatment that ended two months before the election.
A man says he will need to have one of his testicles removed after it became 'massively swollen' while he was forced to wait 11 hours for emergency surgery.

The Adelaide man, 38, who did not want to be named, blamed a shortage of surgeons at South Australia's Lyell McEwin Hospital for his situation.

His ordeal began when he was taken to the hospital via ambulance following a road accident in May, The Advertiser reported.

A man says he will need to have one of his testicles removed after it became 'massively swollen' while he was forced to wait 11 hours for emergency surgery (stock image)

The Adelaide man, 38, who did not want to be named, blamed a shortage of surgeons at South Australia's Lyell McEwin Hospital (pictured) for his situation

The man was told he would need an immediate operation as there was no detectable blood flow to the testicle.

He told the publication the doctor was on holiday so he was transferred to Royal Adelaide Hospital where he had to wait about 11 hours for surgery.

He said by this stage his testicle had 'swollen massively.'

Doctors later told him his testicle could not be saved and he would need to wait for it to die before it could be removed.

'I've been told to expect it to shrivel up I reckon if they'd operated when it wasn't as swollen it wouldn't have been a problem,' he said.

The man is now seeking legal advice.

The man said the doctor was on holiday so he was transferred to Royal Adelaide Hospital (pictured) where he had to wait about 11 hours for surgery

This is the second case of its kind to emerge this week after it was alleged a man in his 20s lost a testicle following a two-hour delay in emergency surgery.

A surgeon was ready to operate on the man at Modbury Hospital but he was transferred to Lyell McEwin Hospital under the South Australian government's new Transforming Health protocols.

Dr David Pope, South Australian Salaried Medical Officers Association president said the health system, in many circumstances, does not have the capacity to deal with emergency cases in a timely fashion.
Donald Trump has become a pawn of Russian President Vladimir Putin, presenting 'dangers' to American national security that would only grow if he obtains the White House, a former CIA head says.

Career intelligence official Mike Morell, an agent under both Democratic and Republican president, said Friday in a New York Times op-ed that he is endorsing Hillary Clinton in the presidential race because she is 'highly qualified' and Trump is not.

Morell warned in the op-ed that Putin, an ex-spy who has been accused of killing and jailing journalists and political opponents, is manipulating Trump.

'In the intelligence business, we would say that Mr. Putin had recruited Mr. Trump as an unwitting agent of the Russian Federation.'

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Career intelligence official Mike Morell, an agent under both Democratic and Republican president, said Friday in a New York Times op-ed that he is endorsing Hillary Clinton in the presidential race because she is 'highly qualified' and Trump is not

Donald Trump has become a pawn of Russian President Vladimir Putin, presenting 'dangers' to American national security that would only grow if he obtains the White House, the former CIA head says

Putin began his flirtation with the Republican presidential candidate early on in the race, praising Trump to draw him in, Morell contends.

A career intelligence officer, the Russian leader is' trained to identify vulnerabilities in an individual and to exploit them,' the former CIA head said. 'Mr. Putin played upon Mr. Trumps vulnerabilities by complimenting him. He responded just as Mr. Putin had calculated.'

Trump has responded in kind an called Putin a 'great leader' despite his violations of civil liberties and human rights, the incursion into Ukraine and a domestic policy that is driving Russia's 'economy to ruin,' Morell said.

'Mr. Trump has also taken policy positions consistent with Russian, not American, interests  endorsing Russian espionage against the United States, supporting Russias annexation of Crimea and giving a green light to a possible Russian invasion of the Baltic States,' he writes.

Already Trump is 'damaging our national security,' Morell argues, and not just because he's fraternizing with Putin.

'Mr. Trump has also undermined security with his call for barring Muslims from entering the country. This position, which so clearly contradicts the foundational values of our nation, plays into the hands of the jihadist narrative that our fight against terrorism is a war between religions.'

In taking a stand against Trump, Morell revealed that the CIA's Counterterrorism Center was directed for nearly a decade by a Muslim-American he is unable to name 'and who I believe is most responsible for keeping America safe since the Sept. 11 attacks. '

The 33-year veteran of the national intelligence agency was George W. Bush's briefer on September 11, 2001, when the Pentagon and World Trade Center were hit by hijacked planes.

He served as acting director of CIA twice, in 2011 and again in 2012. The first time Leon Panetta became secretary of defense. The second time Panetta's replacement David Petraeus resigned amid the airing of his dirty laundry. President Barack Obama appointed John Brennan to succeed Petraeus.

Morell served as acting director of the CIA twice for President Obama, in 2011 and again in 2012. Obama picked John Brennan, pictured, center, to be the permanent head of the agency the second time around. The first time, the job went to David Petraeus

Morell retired from government service in 2013. It is his first election as a private citizen.

'On Nov. 8, I will vote for Hillary Clinton. Between now and then, I will do everything I can to ensure that she is elected as our 45th president,' he said Friday.

In the Times op-ed Morell said he decided to endorse Clinton, the Democratic nominee for president, because he trusts 'she will deliver on the most important duty of a president  keeping our nation safe.'

'Donald J. Trump is not only unqualified for the job, but he may well pose a threat to our national security,' he wrote.

Morell worked with Clinton during the four years she served as secretary of state to President Barack Obama.

He recalled attending meetings in the Situation Room with her and said she was 'prepared, detail-oriented, thoughtful, inquisitive and willing to change her mind if presented with a compelling argument.'

'Mrs. Clinton was an early advocate of the raid that brought Bin Laden to justice, in opposition to some of her most important colleagues on the National Security Council,' he said. 'During the early debates about how we should respond to the Syrian civil war, she was a strong proponent of a more aggressive approach, one that might have prevented the Islamic State from gaining a foothold in Syria.'

In the Times op-ed Morell said he decided to endorse Clinton, the Democratic nominee for president, because he trusts 'she will deliver on the most important duty of a president  keeping our nation safe'

The retired spy chief said, 'I never saw her bring politics into the Situation Room. In fact, I saw the opposite. When some wanted to delay the Bin Laden raid by one day because the White House Correspondents Dinner might be disrupted, she said, Screw the White House Correspondents Dinner. '

'In sharp contrast to Mrs. Clinton, Mr. Trump has no experience on national security. Even more important, the character traits he has exhibited during the primary season suggest he would be a poor, even dangerous, commander in chief.'

'These traits include his obvious need for self-aggrandizement, his overreaction to perceived slights, his tendency to make decisions based on intuition, his refusal to change his views based on new information, his routine carelessness with the facts, his unwillingness to listen to others and his lack of respect for the rule of law. '

All of those things, he said, led him to conclude that 'our nation will be much safer with Hillary Clinton as president.'

We don't know why Trump and Putin praise each other so much and share many foreign policies.



We'll let you guess.https://t.co/N6ySNJ3zE5  Hillary Clinton (@HillaryClinton) August 5, 2016

Trump's running mate, Indiana Gov. Mike Pence responded to the op-ed on the Today show, telling host Savannah Guthrie that the billionaire businessman 'knows how to stand up and he knows how to stand strong.'

'I suppose this is the same CIA that told the president that ISIS was the JV team,' he said. 'I mean, come on Savannah, these people are playing politics. And I get all of that.'

Clinton's campaign subsequently posted a video to her Twitter account drudging up Trump's past statements about Putin, whom he invited last week to hack her emails.

Alongside the video was a statement that said: 'We don't know why Trump and Putin praise each other so much and share many foreign policies. We'll let you guess.'

Trump says he was only joking when he encouraged Russia to engage in espionage, but the comment did not play in the circumstances.

The Clinton campaign, national news outlets and even the White House were all suggesting the foreign government could be behind a hack on the Democratic National Committee's email system in a bid to influence the election.
A Maine sheriff's department is investigating whether the rights of Muslim protesters were violated when they were booked into a county jail.

Four Muslim women who were among the 18 people arrested at a Black Lives Matter protest in Portland last month had two mugshots each, showing them both with and without their hijabs.

According to Cumberland County Sheriff Kevin Joyce, a 2009 booking policy states that while a Muslim woman who chooses to wear a hijab will be photographed twice, the mugshot of her uncovered head will not be released to the public.

Protester Matthew Raymond claims two women appeared in the Press Herald without their headscarves, in a 'form of public shaming' that violated their First Amendment religious rights.

Four Muslim women were among the 18 protesters (pictured, not including one juvenile) who were arrested at a Black Lives Matter protest in Portland, Maine last month. Two were shown in the Press Herald with headscarves, but Matthew Rayond said two others were pictured without. Top, (L to R): Idman Abdulkadir, 22, Mariana Angelo, 20, Kennedy Barteaux, 38, Alba Briggs, 25, and Salma Hassan, 22. Middle, (L to R): Jennessa Hayden, 22, Shadiyo Hussain-Ali, 23, Kennedy Johnson, 22, Sable Knapp, 26, Leah Kravett, 25, and Karen Lane, 50. Bottom, (L to R): Sarah Lazare, 32, Llewellyn Pinkerton, 21, Leila Saad, 24, Nassen Sheikyousef, 25, Barbara VanDerburgh, 22, and Caitlin Vaughn, 29.

The Washington Post obtained a photo of Shadiyo Hussain-Ali (pictured) wearing a hijab in one mugshot (left), after she was shown in the Press Herald without (right). According to Cumberland County Sheriff Kevin Joyce, Muslim women who wear hijabs are supposed to be shown to the public with their heads covered

Joyce said the jail's policy requires women to remove their hijabs, but the process of checking for contraband is conducted in front of female officers, and temporary headscarves are offered if a threat is found,WGME reported.

Raymond, a student at the University of Southern Maine who was not arrested at the protest, claims jail officials promised the four women that mugshots showing their hair would not be released.

But a composite photo of the protesters who blocked a busy street in Portland to protest the deaths of Alton Sterling and Philando Castile, only show two women - Salma Hassan and Nassen Sheikyousef - wearing headscarves on the Press Herald website.

Raymond said among the group were two other Muslim women who choose to wear the hijab every day.

He did not identify them, but the Washington Post obtained a photo of Shadiyo Hussain-Ali wearing a hijab in one mugshot, after she was shown in the Press Herald without.

The sheriff's officials did not confirm Hussain-Ali, and failed to identify the fourth woman, according to Chief Deputy Naldo Gagnon.

Salma Hassan, 22, (left) and Nassen Sheikyousef, 25, (right), were among the four Muslim women arrested. Mugshots of them wearing hijabs were released to the public according to county jail policies

Raymond told the Press Herald: 'In our opinion, it was a form of public shaming and its a violation of their First Amendment religious rights.'

Ibrahim Hooper of the Council on American-Islamic Relations compared it to 'being shown naked', before adding: 'The implication is that its an act of intimidation to humiliate Muslim women who are exercising their right to protest.'

The Cumberland County Sheriff's Office has not received complaints from any of the women themselves, according to the Washington Post.

Gagnon said the influx of 18 people at the jail created a chaotic situation, while Joyce defended the jail's staff members, saying they followed the protocol.

'Most people, if it was an issue, would have been knocking on my door the next day. But once we heard the third complaint, indirectly, I was like, if theres smoke out there, I want to see if theres fire,' Joyce told the Post.

An investigator will interview all the protesters who were arrested.
An Afghan radical allegedly planning a terrorist attack in Paris was today found living rough in the city.

Traffic police working in the 18th arrondissement area of Paris recognised him from a picture that had been handed out to all officers.

'They called security agents supported by soldiers, and the man was arrested this morning,' said a source close to the case.

French security chiefs have found an Afghan asylum seeker they feared was plotting a terror attack on Paris (file picture)

'He was taken to a high-security police station, where he will be interrogated under anti-terrorism legislation.

The source said the man's name and other details would not be released publicly, and nor would his picture.

This means that only law enforcement officers know what the potential mass murderer looks like.

There had been fears that he might strike at targets in the capital including the public 'beach' which is set up alongside the banks of the River Seine every summer.

It follows French media deciding to stop publishing pictures of anyone connected to terrorist acts, because they believe the images help glorify the extremists.

The bizarre situation also comes after a photo of Abdelmalik Petitjean, a known ISIS sympathiser on the loose in France, was also kept hidden.

Only police were allowed to see his image last month yet, four days after the alarm was raised, the 19-year-old stormed into a Roman Catholic church and murdered a priest by cutting his throat.

It comes as France reels from two deadly attacks inspired by ISIS in under a month

'It looks as though exactly the same mistake is being made in France all over again,' said a leading security analyst in Paris, who asked not to identified.

'If a potential terrorist from Afghanistan is on the loose in Paris then his photo should be released immediately.

'This would happen as a matter of course in countries like Britain and the USA, yet here they are extremely cautious about it.'

The Afghan is said to have been in France for at least the last two months.

The authorities believe he is one of thousands who have arrived in Europe by claiming they are refugee asylum seekers.

While many say they are fleeing the Taliban, the ultra orthodox group, there are fears that some are actually terrorists themselves.

A succession of blunders by the French security services have contributed to the success of Isis and al-Qaeda operations in France over the past two years, which have left around 250 dead.

Paris has suffered worse, with130 killed on November 13th alone last year, when suicide bombers and attackers carrying AK-47s struck at the Bataclan concert venue, the Stade de France, and cafes and restaurants.

Last month, a Tunisian national linked to Isis drove a hired 19-tonne lorry along the seaside promenade in Nice, killing 84 people on Bastille Day.

It later emerged that all HGVs had been banned from the city on what was a public holiday, and that police had failed to ask why he was parked up so close to the crowds.

After Father Jacques Hamel was murdered in Normandy last month, it emerged that both his teenage killers were on terrorist watch lists after having tried to get to Syria.

The bizarre situation also comes after a photo of Abdelmalik Petitjean, pictured, a known ISIS sympathiser on the loose in France, was also kept hidden

Petitjean's accomplice, Adel Kermiche, also 19, was officially meant to be electronically tag, but the device was deactivated for four hours a day, so allowing him to strike.

With no positive sight of the Afghan, Paris is on particularly high alert, with soldiers and police flooding 'Paris Plage', which is made up of truck loads of sand which have been dumped by the Seine.

Following the Nice attack, vehicles and concrete blocks are being used to block entrances to the event, which also include hundreds of deck chairs and beach playgrounds and food outlets.
A party was thrown for them at Children's Hospital Los Angeles

This week the girls turned 15 and celebrated their Quinceanera

Both live with different adoptive parents in California

Josie is assisted walking by a scooter, while Teresa cannot move or speak

and separated in 2002 in a 22-hour surgery at the Mattel Children`s Hospital UCLA

Josie Hull and Teresa Cajas were born in 2001 connected at the skill.

But now, on their 15th birthday, the formerly conjoined twins are connected only by an unbreakable bond.

The unique sisters made headlines around the world when surgeons at Mattel Childrens Hospital at UCLA Medical Center separated them in a landmark surgery, however while Josie is a fun-loving, dancing and singing high school student, Teresa is unable to move or speak.

The two put on their party dresses this week to celebrate their Quinceanera and the medical miracle that separated them 14 years ago.

Birthday fun: More than a decade after their separation surgery, Josie (left) and Teresa (right) celebrated turning 15 this week at Children's Hospital Los Angeles

Josie explained to KTLA that she and her sister personally picked out their party outfits for the special gathering at Children's Hospital Los Angeles.

'I'm really excited. I picked out mine and she picked out hers,' she said.

The girls, who have underdone 32 surgeries and procedures since birth, now live with different adoptive parents, just a 20 minute drive from each other.

The pair's biological parents in Guatemela put them up for adoption so that the two could receive the medical treatment they needed.

'They are the heroes in this. They provided an opportunity for their girls to receive the best care they can and to really thrive in the world,' said Jenny Hull, Josie's adoptive mother.

Forever bound: In 2002 the twins made international headlines when surgeons at Mattel Children's Hospital at UCLA Medical Center separated them

While Josie (left) is a fun-loving, dancing and singing high school student, Teresa is unable to move or speak

The girls live with different adoptive parents, one of them being Jenny Hull (left), Josie's mom, after their biological parents in Guatemala gave them up for adoption

Josie is able to tell that Teresa is happy by seeing if she's smiling, which is the main way the two communicate.

She explained to People at the pair's 11th birthday: 'I like making her laugh by blowing in her face or holding her arm until she smiles'.

Born in a Guatemalan village joined at the head, the girls were not expected to live longer than one year.

However a nonprofit organisation called Healing the Children, of which actor Mel Gibson is a beneficiary, flew the twins and their birth parents, Wenceslao, 31 and Leticia Quiej-Alvarez, 32, to Los Angeles where they underwent a 23-hour separation surgery.

While the surgery was successful, Teresa contracted deadly meningitis after the twins returned home in Guatemala. She spent five months in 2003 in and out of a coma, which left her disabled and in need of round-the-clock medical care.

Josie fared better but was suffering from grand mal seizures and came down with hydrocephalus, fluid build up on the brain.

Growing up: Born in a Guatemalan village joined at the head, the girls were not expected to live longer than one year. They are seen here on their 11th birthday

Sisterly love: Josie has said of Teresa: 'I like making her laugh by blowing in her face or holding her arm until she smiles'

Small smiles: The nonprofit organisation, Healing the Children, of which actor Mel Gibson (pictured) is a beneficiary, flew the twins and their birth parents to Los Angeles where they underwent a 23-hour separation surgery in 2002

Their medical needs, primarily covered by insurance after they were flown by a private jet back to the U.S., convinced the twins' parents that in order to ensure their survival, they needed to remain with their American host families.

Jenny Hull adopted Josie, while Werner and Florie Cajas adopted Teresa.

'I light a candle for my sister every Sunday,' said Josie, who sees her twin several times a week for shared meals, physical therapy and sisterly hang-out time.

Despite living 50 miles apart, she added: 'My sister and I have been very blessed.'

Josie, who has been practicing synchronized swimming for three years, loves singing, history and computers, and walks with a cane for support, said: 'I want to walk without a cane, but my closer goal is walking while only holding my mom's hand.'

'Blessed': Josie gets around on this specially-made scooter and is constantly smiling

Natural talent: Josie has been practicing synchronized swimming, and loves singing, history and computers

Josie's doctor, Mark Urata, who will close the remaining part of her skull, currently covered by a skin graft, later this year, said: 'She has the capacity to achieve anything.'

The twins' biological parents visit twice a year, revealing: 'We're able to sleep at night knowing they are loved and cared for.'

Ms Hull says when the girls lie down next to each other, they often resume the position they held during their first year of life.

'Their heads come together. Teresa just lights up when they do that. They have a deep love. It is beautiful'.
The mother of a 17-year-old Michigan boy who was shot dead at a bus stop confronted her son's teenage killers at their sentencing Wednesday, calling them 'two cowards with a gun' who decided to 'play god.'

Convicted killer Mitchell Savickas, 19, was handed a mandatory life sentence and his co-defendant and half-brother, 17-year-old Daniel Benavides, received 20 to 40 years behind bars in the slaying of Isaiah Blue.

Savickas was found guilty of felony murder last month, while Benivades pleaded guilty to a lesser charge of second-degree murder.

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Mother's anguish: Claressa Seaton (left) lashed out in court at the two teens who killed her son, Isaiah Blue (seen left), calling Mitchell Savickas (right) and Daniel Benavides 'cowards'

Blue, seen on the far left in this screenshot from a CCTV video, was killed on the night of January 27 by Savickas (center) and Benivades (right) after getting off the bus in Wyoming, Michigan

Willing participant: Benivades, then 16 years old, was armed with a non-working gun but took part in Blue's robbery

Isaiah Blue was shot dead by the pair during a botched robbery in Wyoming, Michigan, on January 27, just two days after his 17th birthday.

Savickas fired at Blue multiple times with a rifle, later claiming he was in fear for his life. Benivades was only armed with a non-functioning gun, reported WZZM13.

During his trial, Savickas chose to represent himself, unsuccessfully arguing that he shot Blue in self-defense.

Savickas claimed he thought Blue and his friends were armed when they got off the bus after school near 44th Street and Division Avenue on the afternoon of January 27.

Savickas tried to convince the jury that when he ordered Blue to empty his pockets, he was looking to seize his gun, not to steal money from him.

'Final photo': Blue, pictured here on board the bus just before his death, was shot once in the chest and three times in the back

I thought I was going to die,' Savickas said during his testimony. It was just a matter of time before I was going to get shot.

He later added, I dont feel guilty, reported the station WOOD.

Police found that the 17-year-old victim was unarmed at the time of his death.

Mitchell Savickas shot Blue in the chest, then fired three additional rounds that hit the wounded teen in the back as he ran across the street, where he collapsed.

Prosecutors said that Savickas and Blue had clashed during their stay in juvenile detention, and Savickas admitted on the witness stand that he didn't like the other boy.

Claressa Seaton, Isaiah Blue's mother, addressed her son's killers, calling Savickas a 'coward' and warning him that now he would have 'to face real men without a gun.'

During his trial, Savickas said he did not like Blue, pictured left and right with his mother. The two boys had a feud while in juvenile detention

Savickas, 17, claimed he felt threatened because he believed Blue (pictured) was armed

'May you receive the mercy you did not show my son when you shot him,' the grieving mother tearfully told the defendant.

Turning to Benavides, Seaton said he was 'too young to be here' and said she was sorry for him. She also urged the 17-year-old to use his time behind bars to get an education and better himself.

During Wednesdays sentencing, which was attended by a large number of the victim's relatives, Daniel Benivades apologized for his actions.

'I can't imagine if I was his mother losing a son,' he said, looking at Isaiah blue's family in the audience. 'I'm not expecting forgiveness. I don't want forgiveness.'
A Chicago mother put clothes on her dead 4-year-old son, wrapped him in a blanket and set him on fire in an abandoned building because she didnt want Illinois state to take away her other children, according to prosecutors.

Alyssa Garcia, 27, reportedly starved and abused her little boy Manuel Aguilar, 4, so badly over about a year firefighters who found his burned remains last week thought he looked like a 9-month-old baby.

Garcia - a mother of week-old twins - her friend Christian Camerena, 19, and a 17-year-old boy faced court on Thursday charged with felony counts of concealed death and attempted residential arson over the death of Manuel.

Mother Alyssa Garcia (left) was charged on Thursday with her friend Christian Camerena (right) with felony counts of concealed death and attempted residential arson in connection to the death of her 4-year-old son Manuel Aguilar

However, other charges could be filed once the medical examiner's office determines a cause of death, police said.

The court heard Garcia admitted what she did in a video-recorded statement and said she didn't seek medical attention for Manuel or call police when she found him not breathing on July 29 because she feared the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services would take her other children away.

Garcia's week-old premature twins are currently hospitalized for monitoring, according to authorities.

Instead, Garcia and the 17-year-old allegedly washed Manuel's body, put clothes on him, wrapped him in a towel and took the body to an abandoned home and set the body on fire.

The Tribune reported that Chicago police responded to a call of arson at an abandoned property in Englewood - when they discovered the boy's body.

Police had taken Garcia and two teens into custody after seeing them running away from the back of the abandoned building, it was reported.

Chicago police responded to a call of arson at this abandoned house in Englewood

Prosecutors reportedly said that Garcia found her son naked and not breathing on July 29 after keeping him in a back room of her family home for about a year despite it reeking of feces and urine.

Witnesses told police his screams of 'Let me out' were either ignored or met with a beating, according to the Chicago Tribune.

Based on their initial observations of the body of the 4-year-old, investigators believed that they had found the body of an infant that was approximately nine months of age. Assistant State Attorney Jamie Santini

Assistant State Attorney Jamie Santini told Judge Maria Kuriakos Ciesil that Manuel had been kept in a room where his family's bicycles were also kept and was often was left naked because he would urinate on himself.

The boy was reportedly given a black eye, beaten with a shoe and was 'so skinny that his ribs were showing'.

Santini said the boy would have to knock on the door to be allowed to use the restroom.

'Witness stated that Manny didn't like being in the back room, and he would scream, `Let me out,'' Santini said, referring to the boy.

'Based on their initial observations of the body of the 4-year-old, investigators believed that they had found the body of an infant that was approximately nine months of age.'

Garcia was being held on $2 million and Camarena was being held on $1 million bond.

The 17-year-old is in juvenile custody.

It wasn't clear late Thursday whether they had attorneys who could comment on their behalf.

Garcia admitted what she did in a video-recorded statement and said she didn't seek medical attention for Manuel or call police because she feared the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services would take her other children away, Santini said.

The rear of the house where the little boy's burned remains were discovered

Camarena's mother, Candice Perez, is a neighbor of Garcia's and told the Tribune that she and her son had tried to help the children.

We have brought those kids to our house, we have fed them, we were there for them Camarena's mother, Candice Perez

'We have brought those kids to our house, we have fed them, we were there for them,' Perez said.

'Just because they weren't our kids and just because they weren't related to us, we treated them the same way we would any of our other kids. Even the little boy.'

The state Department of Children and Family Services had prior contact with Garcia.

In 2012, she was sentenced to 18 months supervision for endangering the life of a child.
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This newly released video shows the utter devastation of Hiroshima and Nagasaki shortly after atomic bombs obliterated the cities in August 1945.

Soviet Union researchers captured the harrowing footage of the flattened Japanese cities around a month after the US bombings took place.

The black-and-white video, which is around five minutes in length, was presented to Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in June this year by the chairman of the Russian State Duma, Sergei Naryshkin.

Soviet researchers captured the footage of the flattened Japanese cities around a month after the US bombings took place

The black-and-white video was presented to Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in June by the chairman of the Russian State Duma, Sergei Naryshkin

It is the first time the cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki have obtained footage of the aftermaths captured by the Soviet Union, reported The Asahi Shimbun.

The video is currently being shown at the Nagasaki Atomic Bomb Museum, as part of a feature exhibition to mark the 71st anniversary of the bombings this month.

The paper reported that the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum is also considering broadcasting the footage, which features Russian narration, to the public.

Captured in the video is the sheer destruction caused by the two atomic bombs that landed on Hiroshima and Nagasaki on August 6 and 9, 1945 respectively.

It also shows the US Trinity nuclear test on July 16, 1945, the first successful detonation of an atomic weapon, which took place in New Mexico.

Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum said the panning shots overlooking the destroyed landscape of the city were captured from the Hiroshima Fukokukan building.

It is the first time the cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki have obtained footage of the aftermaths captured by the Soviet Union

The video is currently being shown at the Nagasaki Atomic Bomb Museum, as part of a feature exhibition to mark the 71st anniversary of the bombings

Other footage was shot from a postal bank around a mile away.

According to The Asahi Shimbun, officials at the museum estimated that the section of the clip showing the city was captured between late September and November in 1945.

Meanwhile, officials at Nagasaki Atomic Bomb Museum stated that the portion of the clip showing Nagasaki was captured on September 16, 1945.

The museum added that it is the second earliest known video showing the devastation in the city. Another clip, captured by the US military, shows the flattened landscape at the beginning of September that year.

Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum is considering broadcasting the video, which features Russian narration, to the public

A section of the video showing Nagasaki captures the soviet researchers inspecting the ruins of the destroyed industrial facilities in the city

The video also captures the soviet researchers, who shot the video, inspecting the ruins of the destroyed industrial facilities in Nagasaki.

A staggering 140,000 people were killed when the atomic bomb named Little Boy was dropped on Hiroshima by a US B-29 bomber on August 6, 1945 with the intention to end the Second World War.

The impact of the uranium bomb caused the air pressure to drop, crushing those on the ground, as an ominous mushroom cloud rose, towering ten miles above the city.

The smell of burning flesh filled the air as scores of badly injured survivors tried to escape the inferno by diving into the rivers that criss-crossed Hiroshima.

A staggering 140,000 people were killed when the atomic bomb named Little Boy was dropped on Hiroshima on August 6, 1945

The acute effects of the atomic bomb, nicknamed The Fat Man, killed 60,000-80,000 when it was dropped on Nagasaki on August 9, 1945

For those who survived, there was the terrifying unknown of radiation sickness still to come - cancers, premature births, malformed babies and sudden deaths.

The Hiroshima attack was followed three days later by the Nagasaki bombing, an atomic weapon weighing more than 4,000kg.

Nicknamed The Fat Man, the bomb was dropped by parachute from a US B-29 Bomber and exploded 500m above ground. The acute effects killed 60,000-80,000 in Nagasaki.

In the wake of the overpowering twin bombs, Japan surrendered less than a week later, ending the Second World War.
Four children that were left orphaned after their parents died in a car crash on an icy road in Victoria are being raised by their eldest sister and living in cramped conditions at their grandmother's house.

In their first media appearance since their parents Jo, 39, and Michael, 41, died in June, the Glare children provided an insight into how their lives have changed to A Current Affair.

Rhiannon Glare, 18, told reporters she wanted to be 'exactly like mum and dad' in raising her younger siblings.

'I want to do as best as I can to be exactly like mum and dad and raise them how they would,' she said.

From left: Lochie, 12, Hayden, 16 and Tegan, 14, are primarily cared for by their eldest sister Rhiannon

The teenagers lost both of their parents in a tragic car crash on a Victorian highway in June

Rhiannon says she wants to be 'exactly like mum and dad' in raising her siblings

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Because their parents were renting, and did not leave too much behind, the children, who grew up in Swan Hill in north west Victoria, were left homeless as well as orphaned.

Rhiannon and her siblings Hayden, 16, Tegan, 14 and Lochie, 12, moved in to their grandmother's three-bedroom house, which has left Hayden, Tegan and Lachie sleeping in bunk beds in one cramped room.

Despite their imperfect living situation, the teenagers have all retained their sunny dispositions, telling A Current Affair they are 'best friends' who 'tell each other everything'.

Her three siblings currently share one very cramped bedroom at their grandmother's house (pictured)

However, the children are keeping a positive attitude and say they are 'best friends'

They are hoping to get their own house as soon as they can, so they can have their own space again.

The Glare's also said they were incredibly grateful for the support they received, not only from their local community, but from around Australia.

Michael and Jo Glare were killed after their car hit black ice on a Victorian Highway heading towards Daylesford and smashed into a tree at around 8am on June 25.

Rhiannon was also in the car at the time of the accident and she was taken to Ballarat Base Hospital.

Michael, 41, and Jo Glare, 39, leave behind two daughters and two sons, the youngest aged just 12

Black ice was blamed for the car accident which killed the Glare parents at Daylesford

Mr Glare's sister Kerrie Munro told the Sunday Herald Sun that her brother and his wife were taking Rhiannon (pictured) to a darts competition when the 'freak accident' occurred

The horrific accident occurred when the family's Holden Commodore lost control on a bend on the Midland Highway and struck a tree.

Police believe the car was travelling below the 100km/h speed limit but the presence of black ice made road conditions dangerous.

'It's not easily observable and will take a car off the road that weighs a tonne and a half easily,' Sergeant Robert Pama of Victoria Police said.

'The lower the speed, the lower the impact, the more chance that you'll survive.'

Baby Rhiannon pictured with her much loved parents: Michael and Jo were well respected and loved by their local community

Police believe the Glare's car was travelling below the 100km/h speed limit but the presence of black ice made road conditions dangerous
Private Joseph Bromwich was one of the 150 British soldiers who repelled Zulu warriors attacking a British station in South Africa

A hero of the defence of Rorke's Drift has finally been remembered after his pauper's grave was marked with a headstone.

Private Joseph Bromwich was one of the 150 British soldiers who repelled Zulu warriors attacking a British mission station in South Africa.

He accurately fired his rifle at them and was forced to fight with his fists as well.

The military veteran was buried in a cemetery in Wolverhampton in 1916 in an unmarked grave.

He has now been recognised after his great-grandson raised the funds for a headstone by selling Pte Bromwich's medals for 50,000 at an auction.

The headstone displays the badge of the 24th Regiment of Foot, states Pte Bromwich's rank and references his involvement in Rorke's Drift.

To the bottom there is a quote from the mayor of Durban, South Africa, in 1880 giving thanks to the heroic soldiers.

Pte Bromwich, who survived the 1879 defence, was awarded the South African General Service Medal which was then passed down through his family.

Last autumn Pte Bromwich's great-grandson saw a similar Zulu medal valued on the BBC's Antiques Roadshow.

The unnamed relative, who is aged in his 60s, dug his medal out of a drawer where it had been kept for years and sold it.

After the sale, the seller, buyer and auctioneer decided the valiant actions of Pte Bromwich should not be forgotten and decided to split the 750 cost of a new headstone and cemetery fees between them.

Nick Davies, of auctioneers Fieldings of Stourbridge, West Mids, said: 'It's a shame that nobody cared for such a long time but thankfully now he has the headstone he deserves.

'It's been lovely to be able to contribute to something like this 100 years later.

'The buyer was very interested in the history and after meeting the vendor decided that he wanted to be a part of it too.

'The medal had been stuck in a drawer for years and it wasn't until the vendor was cooking dinner one night and had the Antiques Roadshow on in the background that it emerged.

He has now been recognised after his great-grandson raised the funds for a headstone by selling Pte Bromwich's medals (left) for 50,000 at an auction. Pictured right is the poster for the film Zulu

'A collection of Zulu war medals were valued on the show and the vendor then thought it might be worth having someone look at his.

'An ordinary South Africa campaign medal would be worth about 200 but with the connection with Rorke's Drift it was worth way more than that.

'Rorke's Drift is one of the great British battles which has gone down in history thanks, in part, to the film Zulu.

'Joseph Bromwich returned to England after the Anglo-Zulu War and ran a shoe shop in Aston, Birmingham.

'He died from cancer of the tongue in 1916 and was buried in an unmarked grave.'

A wreath laying ceremony will be held at Bilston Cemetery in Wolverhampton on Sunday, August 14

Pte Bromwich, who survived the 1879 defence, was awarded the South African General Service Medal which was then passed down through his family

Eleven Victoria Crosses were awarded for the action in South Africa, including seven to men of the 2nd Battalion 24th Regiment of Foot, the most ever received in a single action by one regiment.

Pte Bromwich was in the same regiment.

A wreath laying ceremony will be held at Bilston Cemetery in Wolverhampton on Sunday, August 14.
A mother travelling with two young children has been arrested after close to $500,000 worth of cocaine was found in her vehicle.

The 25-year-old was stopped on Interstate 5 in San Clemente, south of Los Angeles, by Border Patrol officials on Monday morning.

A two-year-old girl and 11-year-old boy were in the 2001 Honda Accord, which was searched by agents.

A mother travelling with two young children has been arrested after close to $500,000 worth of cocaine (pictured) was found in her vehicle

Thomas Blanks, the patrol agent in charge of the search, said: 'It is very sad to see innocent children entangled in this shameful attempt to smuggle illicit narcotics.'

A sniffer dog alerted officers to the presence of drugs and 14 bundles of cocaine were discovered, including eight in the rear seat where the girl sat.

In the front passenger seat, where the boy was sat, three bundles of cocaine were stashed and three additional packages of cocaine were hidden inside the driver's seat.

The 14 bundles weighed a total of 38.25lb and have an estimated street value of $459,000.

The 25-year-old was stopped on Interstate 5 in San Clemente (pictured), south of Los Angeles, by Border Patrol officials on Monday morning

The woman, who has not been named, was arrested and taken into custody to be questioned by a task force led by the Drug Enforcement Administration and the vehicle was seized by US Border Patrol.

Both children were placed in the care of Child Welfare Services.
Donald Trump's running mate Mike Pence vowed that a Trump-Pence administration would stand up to 'Russian aggression'  in just the latest rhetoric that parts ways with his boss.

Pence, appearing at the Indiana state fair in Indianapolis along with his wife Karen, got asked about Russia on the Today Show after a tough op-ed in the New York Times by former CIA director Michael Morell.

The article charged that Trump would be a 'poor, even dangerous, commander in chief,' and added about his long-distance relationship with Russian President Vladimir Putin: 'In the intelligence business, we would say that Mr. Putin had recruited Mr. Trump as an unwitting agent of the Russian Federation.'

Pence countered Friday: 'People that know Donald Trump know that he knows how to stand up and he knows how to stand strong, and standing up to Russian aggression is going to be really different under a Trump Pence administration and everybody knows that.'

Donald Trump's running mate Mike Pence promised to stand up to 'Russian aggression,' in an interview with his wife Karen at the Indiana State Fair Friday

He added: 'The reality is that whether it be Putin or whether it be literally the dissolving of the map in the wider Middle East  the American people know weakness arouses evil is on full display in this administration. Donald Trump is going to be strong,' he said.

He pushed back in at Morell and the CIA in the interview with host Savannah Guthrie, saying, 'I supposes this is the same CIA that told the president that ISIS was the JV team. I mean, come on Savannah, these people are playing politics. And I get all of that.' He was referencing an early comment by Obama comparing ISIS to a junior varsity squad.

Trump has come under fire for several comments about Russia during the campaign. He has praised the leadership of Putin, said Putin is 'not going into Ukraine' even though Russia already has, and said he would be 'looking into' recognizing Russia's rule in Crimea, which Russia annexed in a move that prompted international sanctions.

Pence also spoke about the state of the race, after several post-convention shows giving Hillary Clinton a widening lead.

Today show host Savannah Guthrie asked Pence how he could talk up the campaign's unity amid defections with a 'straight face'

Indiana Governor Mike Pence has campaigned solo, and will rejoin Trump in Wisconsin and Iowa Friday

Pence has adopted Trump's 'Make America Great Again' slogan, but doesn't parrot all of his harshest insults

At the end of the interview, host Savannah Guthrie plugged watercolors penned by Karen Pence that are on display at the state fair

TEAPOT DOME: Karen Pence's watercolors are featured at the Indiana State Fair, and got a plug during an appearance with her husband on the 'Today' show

'It's very early in this campaign still. The only poll that really matters is on Election Day, he said, when asked if the campaign was 'climbing out of a big hole.'

'We're seeing tremendous crowds, tremendous enthusiasm,' Pence added.

Guthrie then asked Pence whether he could make his comments 'with a straight face,' given some high-profile Republican defections to Hillary Clinton.

'I can,' Pence responded. 'Donald Trump and I are standing shoulder to shoulder to say to the American people that we can be strong again. We can be strong on the world stage again. We can be strong with our allies and stand up to those that threaten us.'

At the conclusion of the interview, Guthrie put in a plug for Karen Pence's display of watercolor art at the Indiana State Fair in Indianapolis.

Karen Pence praised her husband's performance as VP, saying, 'Hes done a great job staying himself and staying humble.'
A shopper was allegedly stabbed by a knife-wielding man at a shopping centre this afternoon.

The man in his 20s was attacked at about 2pm at Westfield in White City, West London, before police and paramedics were called and he was taken to hospital.

His condition is said to be non-life threatening, and police - who have arrested two men following the incident - insisted the attack was not terror related.

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A knife (pictured) was found on the floor at Westfield shopping centre in White City, West London

'Stabbing': The incident is said to have happened this afternoon at Westfield in White City, West London, and Metropolitan Police officers are believed to have cordoned off an area

On the scene: Two men have been arrested by Metropolitan Police officers after the incident

Make-up artist Lei Sachelle said: 'Someone's been stabbed outside our store in Westfield. So our section of the building has been cordoned off.

'I just explained to a customer that someone got stabbed and that's why the door is closed, so why are you still trying to open the door?'

One smartphone user posted the scene on their Snapchat as police closed off the area (left and right)

A police helicopter was seen flying above the shopping centre after a man in his 20s was attacked

Another Twitter user posting as 'Ideh Designs', who also works at Westfield, said: 'Someone got stabbed in Westfield White City. Right underneath my store as well.'

A Metropolitan Police spokesman said today: Police were called at approximately 2pm on Friday to reports of a man stabbed at Westfield Shopping Centre, W12.

'Officers and London Ambulance Service attended and discovered a man, aged in his 20s, suffering stab injuries. He has been taken to hospital.

'An initial assessment states this is not life threatening. Two males - no further details - have been arrested in connection with this investigation.

'Officers from Hammersmith and Fulham investigate. Enquiries continue... Officers retain an open mind as to the motive but this incident is not terror related.'

And a London Ambulance Service spokesman said: We were called at 2pm today to reports of a stabbing at Westfield, White City.

The 1.6bn Westfield White City opened in 2008 and is one of two Westfield sites in London

Interior: Westfield White City (file picture) is a shopping centre located in West London

We sent an ambulance crew, a single responder in a car and an incident response officer to the scene.

'The first of our medics arrived at the scene in under four minutes. We treated a man at the scene and took him to a hospital in west London.

A Westfield spokesman confirmed part of the shopping centre has been cordoned off while police conduct inquiries.

She said: 'Westfield can confirm there has been an incident and is assisting the police. The centre is open with a small area cordoned off.'
A Saudi princess was attacked in central Paris and robbed of her 850,000 Swiss watch.

The unnamed royal was 'violently' robbed by two men on Thursday in the second arrondissement - near the Louvre Museum.

The assailants immediately fled the scene, making off with her high-end Richard Mille timepiece.

A Saudi princess was 'violently' robbed on Thursday in the second arrondissement - near the Louvre Museum (pictured) - by two men

The two men are still on the run and being hunted by the Brigade de Repression du Banditisme, (Banditry Repression Brigade) which deals with armed robberies.

The woman was not hospitalised, police said.

The Saudi embassy could not be immediately reached for comment.

This is not the first time a member of the Saudi royal family has been robbed during stays in the French capital.

In August 2014, Prince Abdul Aziz Bin Fahd, 41, was the victim of a 'movie-style' heist at Porte de la Chapelle, in the north of Paris.

The two men are still on the run and being hunted by the Brigade de Repression du Banditisme, which deals with armed robberies. File photo

The assailants made off with her high-end Richard Mille timepiece. File photo of luxury watch

His 10-car convoy, including armed bodyguards, was on the way towards a private jet at Le Bourget airport when it was attacked by a Kalashnikov-wielding gang who stole 200,000.

In May, Nine men were arrested by police in relation to the robbery.

Saudi prince Al-Waleed bin Talal is the 34th-richest man in the world, according to Forbes.
A Kentucky high school has lifted the ban on afros, dreadlocks and cornrow hairstyles after parents and students argued that the dress code policy was racist.

Butler Traditional High, in Louisville, came under fire when State Representative elect Attica Scott tweeted out a flier that outlined the new policy at her daughter's school.

The policy states that hairstyles that are 'extreme, distracting or attention-getting will not be permitted'.

It then goes on to specifically prohibit 'dreadlocks, twists, mohawks, and cornrows', the latter seemingly a misspelled reference to cornrows.

Butler Traditional high School in Louisville, Kentucky came under fire when this mother revealed a new dress code policy that banned dreadlocks, twists and 'cornrows'

State Representative elect Attica Scott (right) tweeted out the flier that her 15-year-old daughter Ashanti (left) had received. She said the dress code stunk of 'institutional racism'

'My daughter had registration today and let's just say she's not happy about the #JCPS no natural hair policy,' Scott tweeted, tagging the Jefferson County Public Schools district.

Scott said the policy, which was only proposed for the 2016-2017 school year, stunk of 'institutional racism'.

'I don't understand why we're going to focus on something like natural hair styles when we should be focused on education,' she told The Courier-Journal.

'They specifically outlined hairstyles that are worn most by black kids.'

'The policy last year was not as strict or as spelled out in a way that intentionally called out these hairstyles that can be attributed to black students,' she added.

Fellow parents rallied around Scott following her tweet, and called out both the school and district for the new policy.

Fellow parents , including the school district's own chief equity officer John Marshall (pictured), then shared pictures of their own daughters wearing the banned hairstyles

'This policy tells children their natural hair is something to be embarrassed and ashamed over,' tweeted Olivia Renfro.

'Don't know what offends me more: the policy or "cornrows"', another wrote.

'This isn't just run of the mill racism either, this is straight up profiling,' tweeted a user named Bethany. 'If hair is a certain way, you are a distraction.'

'Its just another way 2 find a reason to put young black students on a path to suspension leading 2 other issues,' added Hannah Drake.

Other parents, including the district's own chief equity officer John Marshall, also tweeted pictures of their daughters sporting the banned hairstyles.

Others rallied around Scott following her tweet, and called out both the school and district for the new discriminatory policy

'My Intelligent,STRAIGHT A, 4.0 daughter can't wear her natural hair in braids to school?' asked Cheryl Ford, tweeting a picture of her daughter and the policy.

Ashanti, Scott's 15-year-old daughter, was immediately offended when she saw the policy.

'Right before the part about braids and locs, it said that your hair must be "neat and clean"', the incoming sophomore told Yahoo! Beauty.

'(This) implies that these styles are not. I was surprised that the wording was so blatant. Everybody knows that I was "that freshman girl with the big Afro"'.

Scott, the first black woman elected to the Kentucky State Legislature in 20 years, realized even she wouldn't be permitted in the school - as she wears her hair in locks.

'To me, the clear message is, "Your culture and heritage is not welcome here, and we will police your hair rather than focus on your education,'" she said.

The JCPS soon responded to Scott's tweet, informing her that the dress code was not a district policy but one specifically made by Butler High School.

The policy, it said, had to have been approved by the school's school-based decision-making committee, which is made up of teachers, parents and administrators.

Some schools in the district do not mention hair at all in their dress code policies.

Following the controversy, Butler (pictured) quickly voted to suspend the policy and on Thursday approved a new dress code policy that would no longer ban the hairstyles

Scott also tweeted out the policy at Male High School, which does not mention afros or cornrows but bans male students from wearing ponytails or manbuns.

JCPS Superintendent Donna Hargens said the district reached out to each school's decision-making councils and encouraged them to review their dress codes.

'We will provide guidance to our schools to ensure their policies are not obtrusive, do not conflict with board and policy and most importantly do not infringe on the many cultures embraced across our school district,' she said in a statement.

Following the controversy, Butler's committee quickly voted to suspend the policy.

And on Thursday it reconvened to approve a new dress code policy that would no longer ban afros, dreadlocks, mohawks, or cornrows.

The dress code now states that hair must be 'well-groomed', 'well-kept' and at a 'reasonable length'.

Males are still banned from coloring, tinting or highlighting their hair, and cannot wear their hair longer than three inches.

Only females can wear headbands - and not across their foreheads - and bandanas are not allowed at all.
A man has been arrested by detectives investigating the sectarian murder of ten Protestant workmen in Northern Ireland 40 years ago.

The 59-year-old suspect was detained two months after police announced a major forensic breakthrough in the unsolved investigation into the mass shooting at the village of Kingsmill, Co Armagh.

At the end of May, the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) revealed a potential match had been found to a palm print left on a getaway vehicle used by the republican paramilitaries.

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Pictured, the minibus carrying the textile factory workers is left peppered with bullet holes

Father-of-three Alan Black was shot several times during the assault, but survived after receiving treatment (pictured, in hospital in January 1976)

The IRA was widely blamed for what was one of the most notorious outrages of the Troubles.

The factory workers were ambushed as they travelled along the Whitecross to Bessbrook road in rural south Armagh on January 5 1976 in an attack seen as a reprisal for loyalist killings in the same area.

The mens minibus was stopped by a man waving a red light and those on board were asked their religion by a camouflaged gunman with an English accent, whom the victims thought was a soldier.

The only Catholic workman was ordered to run away.

The killers, who had been hidden in the hedges, ordered the rest to line up outside the van and then opened fire.

A window on the workers' minibus is left smashed by a bullet after the terrorists lined up their victims and executed them outside their vehicle

JUSTICE FOR VICTIMS 40 YEARS ON FROM THE MASSACRE The Kingsmill attack was claimed by a little-known republican paramilitary group considered to be a front for the supposedly-on-ceasefire IRA. However, in 2011, the Historical Enquiries Team (HET) of independent detectives found the IRA had been responsible and had targeted the workmen because of their religion. The inquest was ordered by Northern Ireland's attorney general John Larkin QC. The first inquest was held shortly after the killing and was a very 'limited exercise', Mr Doran told the inquest. Victims: L-R top - Robert Chambers, John Bryans, Joseph Lemon and Joseph McWhirter. L-R bottom - Walter Chapman, John McConville, Kenneth Wharton and Reggie Chapman, who all died in the massacre Mr Larkin ordered the new hearing after the HET found members of the IRA were involved. He said the coroner could establish whether the Provisional IRA was involved and pursue information recently given by sole survivor Alan Black about the English accent of the armed unit's commander. The inquest is also expected to examine whether controversial British Army soldier Robert Nairac was involved, although he has already been ruled out by the HET. Fresh evidence has also emerged since the original inquest after a minibus driver said he saw a masked gunman along a road two miles from the scene. Mr Doran said 63 people were suspected of some involvement, although the quality of the intelligence varied. A total of 11 weapons were used at Kingsmill. Nine of them have been linked to 37 murders, 22 attempted murders and 19 non-fatal shootings, the lawyer told the coroner. Advertisement

The 10 who died were John Bryans, Robert Chambers, Reginald Chapman, Walter Chapman, Robert Freeburn, Joseph Lemmon, John McConville, James McWhirter, Robert Samuel Walker and Kenneth Worton.

The getaway vehicle used by the gunmen was left abandoned across the Irish border. The palm print was discovered later.

It was re-examined by forensic scientists only days after a long-delayed inquest into the deaths got under way in Belfast.

A lawyer for the PSNI told stunned relatives attending the hearing that a potential match on the polices database had been made.
Malaysian officials have admitted for the first time that one of the MH370 pilots had plotted a course on his home flight simulator the Southern Indian Ocean, where the missing jet is believed to have crashed.

Last month Australian investigators overseeing the search for the plane said data recovered from Captain Zaharie Ahmad Shah's simulator included a flight path to the Southern Indian Ocean.

Up until now Malaysian officials had refused to confirm the findings.

Australian authorities confirmed data recovered from a flight simulator owned by MH370 captain Zaharie Ahmad Shah appears to show 'someone' used it to plot a course similar to that followed by the plane before it vanished over the Indian Ocean

However, Malaysian transport minister Liow Tiong Lai told local journalists that the flight path was found on the simulator.

But he added that there were 'thousand' of destinations on the simulator and no evidence that Zaharie flew the plane in that area or deliberately crashed it.

He said: 'Until today, this theory is still under investigation. There is no evidence to prove that Captain Zaharie flew the plane into the southern Indian Ocean.

'Yes, there is the simulator but the (route) was one of thousands to many parts of the world. We cannot just base on that to confirm (he did it).'

Liow didn't say when the Indian Ocean path was flown on the simulator. He stressed that international experts and Australian officials have agreed that the most likely scenario was 'uncontrolled ditching' of the plane.

There has been confusion over what exactly was found on the captain's flight simulator since New York Magazine reported last week that an FBI analysis of the device showed Mr Shah had conducted a simulated flight to the southern Indian Ocean less than a month before the plane vanished along a similar route.

The simulated flight path that was allegedly practised by Mr Shah was similar to the one the plane is believed to have followed before it disappeared

A family member of a passenger aboard Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 holds a placard saying: 'The three governments have an obligation to the world to carry out their promise'

A man surnamed Lee whose said his son was aboard the Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 that went missing wears a t-shirt saying: 'Pray for MH370. Bring them home safely'

Relatives of Chinese passengers onboard MH370 protested at the Chinese Foreign Ministry after a Ministerial Tripartite Meeting involving China, Malaysia and Australia

Zhang Huijun, one of the relatives of passengers missing on Malaysia Airlines MH370, performs kowtow to appeal for help during a protest outside the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Beijing

The magazine cited the discovery as strong evidence that the disappearance was a premeditated act of mass murder-suicide at the hands of the captain.

Before the flight vanished it is understood Mr Shah had been distracted and withdrawn as he dealt with the break-up of his marriage.

Speaking in 2014 about the mystery, the wife and daughter of Mr Shah said the 53-year-old pilot had been desolate in the weeks before the aircraft's disappearance  and refused pleas to attend marriage counselling sessions.

WING PART FOUND IN TANZANIA 'HIGHLY LIKELY' TO BE FROM MH370 Australian officials are now reasonably convinced that a wing part found on the shores of Tanzania earlier this year is from the missing MH370 - and from it vital clues might now be gleaned. Greg Hood, chief commissioner of the Australian Transport Safety Bureau which has had experts examining the large wing part, said today that it was clear it was from a Boeing 777, leaving experts to declare it was 'highly likely' to have come from the Malaysia Airlines jet. Experts now hope to determine how MH370 hit the water in an area believed to be in the southern Indian Ocean 1,600 miles south west of Australia. They will examine whether the jet had the wing flap down for a controlled landing on water or whether it had not been deployed, suggesting the plane came down in a dive. If the flap - the largest piece of debris found among other pieces said to be 'highly likely' from the missing jet - shows signs of being torn off, it suggests it had been deployed, say officials. And that, they say, possibly means that someone was in control of the aircraft at the time it hit the water. The ATSB has been working on a theory that the jet ran out of fuel and then plunged into the sea, but other experts say it couild have been manually glided into the ocean to minimise damage and make it harder to find. 'We've got no evidence either way to say there was somebody at the controls,' said Commissioner Hood. Questions are now arising about the official search area, with oceanographers saying the discovery of the item in Tanzania is a further indication that the plane came down north of the current search zone. Mr Chester, however, said last night that he remained hopeful 'that the aircraft will be located in the remaining search area.' Virtually all of the 120,000 square kilometer search area has been covered with no sign of the main part of the aircraft. But pieces that experts believe are from the jet have washed ashore off the east coast of Africa and nearby islands. Advertisement

Three weeks after they split the plane went missing, with some investigators suggesting it was a deliberate and desperate ploy by Mr Shah.

Police Chief Bakar said the Malaysian police had never handed any document or information to any overseas authority, including the FBI.

However, Malaysia's own transport minister confirmed two years ago that Malaysia was working with the FBI to analyse data from the simulator's hard drives.

The search for missing Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 will be 'suspended' if the plane is not found in the current search area, a statement issued to the next of kin said

Malaysia's national police chief Khalid Abu Bakar said investigations will not be conclusive until the black boxes - the cockpit voice recorder and a data recorder - are recovered

A map showing where investigators have been searching for the plane for the last two years. It is believed it could be the wrong place and officials are yet to pinpoint a new area

WASHED UP DEBRIS: THE SEARCH FOR MISSING MH370 The first piece of debris believed to have come from MH370 was discovered last July on a beach on Reunion Island in the Indian Ocean. Experts believed that the debris was one of the plane's flaperon and that other debris that washed up on the shore was suitcase items from China and Indonesia. Later that year in December a grey piece of debris was found in southern Mozambique thought to belong to the aircraft. Two months later an object with the words 'no step' then washed up off the coast of the African country. Then in March this year, an engine part was found in South Africa while in Apirl the segment of a flap track fairing and part of a horizontal stabiliser were found off Mozambique. Officials say it was almost certainly from MH370. Meanwhile on Monday, investigators in Australia on said they were examining a wing flap found last month on an East African island The 'large piece of aircraft debris' arrived at the Australian Transport Safety Bureau headquarters in the capital, Canberra, for examination. Advertisement

Transport Minister Liow Tiong Lai insisted on Wednesday there was no evidence to prove that Mr Shah had plotted the same course as the doomed airliner into the machine.

Earlier this week, Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull declined to offer any details on what evidence had been found on the simulator, saying it was a matter for Malaysia, which is leading the investigation into the missing plane.

'I just note that even if the simulator information does show that it is possible or very likely that the captain planned this shocking event, it does not tell us the location of the aircraft,' Turnbull told reporters.

Officials have been hindered in their efforts to explain why the Boeing 777 carrying 239 people veered so far off course during a flight from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing on March 8, 2014.

Police carry a piece of debris from an unidentified aircraft found in the coastal area of Saint-Andre de la Reunion, in the east of the French Indian Ocean island of La Reunion

Reports of the discovery, that appears to indicate the captain practised crashing the plane, emerged in confidential police documents last week

Theories have ranged from a deliberate murder-suicide plot by one of the pilots, to a hijacking, to a mechanical catastrophe.

Similarly, search crews have been unable to find the main wreckage of the plane despite a sweeping underwater hunt of a remote stretch of ocean off Australia's west coast.

Last week, officials from Malaysia, Australia and China announced that the underwater search will be suspended once the current search area has been completely scoured.
Turkey has branded Austria the 'capital of radical racism' after Austria questioned whether the EU should continue membership negotiations with Ankara.

The spat came after Austrian chancellor Christian Kern warned Turkey was heading toward a dictatorship.

Mr Kern added it may be time to push the 'reset button' on the talks, adding he wants 'critical discussions' of the topic at next month's EU summit.

The spat came after Austrian chancellor Christian Kern warned Turkey was heading toward a dictatorship. Pictured, a pro-government demonstration in Ankara on July 29

He said 'there is no realistic perspective for membership' for Turkey. Instead, the Austrian leader calls for a 'new approach' based on the need for close economic ties between the EU and Ankara.

He spoke of 'signs that are unmistakable' that Turkey is moving toward a dictatorship under President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

But Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu accused Mr Kern of making a series of comments about Turkey that were 'each uglier than the other'.

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu accused Mr Kern of making a series of comments about Turkey that were 'each uglier than the other'. Pictured, President Erdogan (second left) and some of his ministers in Ankara on July 29

He further said he had made disparaging comments against Turkish people living in Austria, the state-run Anadolu Agency reported.

Austrian Foreign Minister Sebastian Kurz responded on Twitter: 'Urge the Turkish foreign minister to restraint & reject his criticism sharply. Turkey must moderate its choice of words and actions at home!'
Ahmad Elomar, pictured with a bruised face, was released from Goulburn jail on Thursday - but NSW Corrective Services Minister David Elliott has vowed to put him back

A minister has vowed he will do everything in his power to put the brother of a notorious Islamic State terrorist back behind bars.

Ahmed Elomar, thrust into the spotlight after bashing a police officer during the Hyde Park riots of 2012, was released from Goulburn jail on Thursday.

NSW Corrective Services Minister David Elliott said he is 'seeking advice' and what action can be taken after Elomar controversially walked free, reports Daily Telegraph.

Ahmad Elomar, the brother of reviled jihadist Mohamed Elomar, was freed by a parole board because it was 'not satisfied' by claims he had been radicalised.

'I am seeking advice on what further action, if any, can be taken against Elomar. The community can be assured that Elomar is being closely monitored.'

Hyde Park rioter Ahmad Elomar (pictured) was jailed after brutally bashing a police officer. After serving more than 3 years behind bars, he walked free on Thursday

Mr Elliott said he would make his 'parole period as difficult as possible' with close supervision until May 2018.

He will undergo psychological assessment along with counselling to monitor any possible radicalisation, as well electronic monitoring.

Elomar was freed by a parole board because it was 'not satisfied' by claims he had been radicalised.

In the same judgment, the NSW Parole Authority revealed he had been disciplined over 12 incidents in his four years behind bars - including serious threats to the life of an officer.

Elomar, 33, walked free from Goulburn jail on Thursday afternoon after the Supreme Court rejected a last minute bid to keep him in prison.

Elomar was jailed in 2012 after brutally bashing a police officer with a wooden sign during the Hyde Park riots.

Elomar did not say a word to reporters and spent some time wandering outside the prison on his own, without any friends or family

'Our dead are in paradise, your dead are in hell,' said the sign atop his weapon of choice.

Elomar, a former champion boxer, served three years of a four year term for the assault.

In granting his release, the parole authority noted his history of incidents in jail, but said his behaviour has improved recently and there has been an 'absence in violence in recent times'.

The incidents while in prison included threatening the life of an officer in August 2013, fighting with other inmates in a stoush where 'chemicals were used to impose control', and being involved in an incident which 'seriously compromised security' in February and March last year.

He is seen being taken away by officers after assaulting a senior constable

The board was chaired by Justice Graham Barr and made up of four other members, Ms E. Mulvany, Ms C. McComish, Mr L. Walker and Mr H Baqaie.

Justice Barr said: 'We are not satisfied that (Elomar) has radical beliefs, though we consider that if he remains where he is, he may be influenced by inmates who have.'

AHMAD ELOMAR: LIFE BEHIND BARS The State Parole Authority said Elomar was 'dealt with' over 12 incidents during his years in prison. They included: Possessing a mobile phone

Participating in inciting a disturbance

Serious threats to an officer

Fighting with other inmates leading to 'chemicals being used to impose control'

Being involved in an incident 'which seriously compromised security'

Intimidating prison staff Advertisement

'We also note that the offender is confined in the presence of inmates who may have radical beliefs.'

Justice Barr said Elomar was currently confined in prison with inmates who 'may have radical beliefs'.

The parole board argued it may be better for Elomar if he was taken away from them.

'We consider that the community will be better served if he is removed from the possibility of their influence.'

Before its ruling, the board heard evidence from NSW Corrective Services Commissioner Peter Severin that Elomar was already radicalised.

Ahmad Elomar was involved in 12 incidents while behind bars, the State Parole Authority said

Mr Severin argued he had been nearby when Middle Eastern inmates spoke about beheading in September last year.

He told the authority Elomar was part of a group of Muslim inmates, known as the Shura, who administered sharia law.

He also claimed as recently as June 1 2016 Elomar had photographs of his brother, who he 'regards... as martyr'.
Duke and Duchess of Cambridge visited the nature reserve in April

Park is home to two thirds of the world's one-horned rhino population

Twenty-one rare rhinoceros, including 10 calves, have drowned after monsoon floods devastated a wildlife reserve in northeast India.

Conservationists called the deaths of the one-horned rhinos in Kaziranga National Park in Asaam a 'catastrophic event' that could threaten the future of the rare animal.

The news comes a week after six baby rhinos were dramatically rescued from floodwaters at the park, which the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge visited in April.

Twenty-one rare rhinos have drowned after monsoon floods devastated a wildlife reserve in northeast India. Here, one of the surviving animals strays onto the Jagdamba tea estate

The news comes a week after six baby rhinos were dramatically rescued from floodwaters at the park, which the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge visited last April

Nearly three-quarters of the 3,300 one-horned rhinos in existence live in the protected area of forest in the state of Assam.

The species has been making a comeback after being hunted to near extinction in the 20th century.

A total of 270 animals, the majority of them hog deer, drowned in the floods.

However, 106 were saved in a rescue operation by the local community, divisional forest officer Suvasish Das told CNN.

At the worst stage of the flooding, 80 per cent of Kaziranga National Park was underwater.

This has now reduced to around 30 per cent of the 166-square-mile reserve, director Satyendra Singh told Sky News.

Nearly three-quarters of the 3,300 one-horned rhinos in existence live in protected area of forest in the state of Assam

The species has been making a comeback after being hunted to near extinction in the 20th century

He added: 'The devastation to the parks infrastructure, roads, and bridges has been very severe.'

According to Rathin Barman, deputy director of the Wildlife Trust of India, the stripping away of vegetation by the floods will cause problems for the future.

He believes extra food will need to be provided for animals once the flood waters have receded.

The floods that hit Assam every year have killed at least 24 people in Assam and left another 2.3 million homeless in recent days, said state flood control minister Keshab Mahanta.

Scores more have been killed in floods and landslides in the state of Bihar and in neighbouring Nepal and Bangladesh.

At the worst stage of the flooding, 80 per cent of Kaziranga National Park was underwater
A spurned lover murdered a married father after luring him with the promise of a birthday cake before stuffing the body into the boot of his car, a court heard today.

Tanveer Iqbal, 33, had been strangled to death with his remains found by a police officer crammed into a cardboard box for a widescreen television in Birmingham.

The box had been wrapped in blue nylon rope and silver gaffer tape. His mistress Zatoon Bibi and her husband Gul Nawaz both deny murdering the father-of-two.

Killed: Tanveer Iqbal, 33, was strangled to death with his remains found by a police officer crammed into a cardboard box for a widescreen television in Birmingham

At the start of their trial, jurors heard Mr Iqbal and 37-year-old Bibi had an unconventional and complicated domestic relationship lasting several years.

Both their spouses were fully aware of the relationship and Bibi and Mr Iqbals wife had even met and chatted as sisters by text, the court was told.

But, opening the Crowns case at Birmingham Crown Court, prosecution QC Sally Howes said: Even the most accommodating of arrangements will have its shelf life and the veneer began to crack under the almost inevitable strain.

In August last year, Mr Iqbal had banned the pair from contacting one another but he got angry after discovering in January they had continued to chat in secret.

The Crowns barrister added: It is clear that in the period leading up to January 31, Zatoon Bibi is stirring up trouble between Mr Iqbal and his wife Nasreen Bibi.

At one stage Zatoon Bibi sent a video message to Nasreen of a sexual nature, involving Mr Iqbal.

Trial: Mr Iqbal's mistress Zatoon Bibi (right) and her husband Gul Nawaz (left) both deny murdering the father-of-two. They are sketched above in Birmingham Crown Court today

If this behaviour was meant to cause a rift between Tanveer and his wife, then Zatoon Bibis plan backfired.

Mr Iqbal is said to have told his mistress their relationship was over, and instead began looking to the future with his wife

She said that as a result of that message Mr Iqbal told his mistress their relationship was over, and instead began looking to the future with his wife.

Mr Iqbal, in a series of messages to his wife, called Zatoon Bibi a snake and an evil b****, jurors heard.

He told his spouse: She played a dirty game and made you and me hate each other - lol, it didnt work.

But Ms Howes alleged that Bibi then feigned an attempted reconciliation with Mr Iqbal sending him a series of apologetic, contrite texts speaking of how ashamed she was at her behaviour.

In one message she allegedly told her lover: I didnt mean to hurt you and your family at all, and I hope all your family can forgive me for the stress I caused. Im sorry for everything.

Then, in what the prosecution has said was a lure to get Mr Iqbal to her house, she claimed to have made the 33-year-old - who had celebrated his birthday the previous day - a cake to mark the event.

Remembered: Floral tributes left by friends and family outside Mr Iqbal's shop in Smethwick

Hours before the killing, she texted him to say: Hope you like it.

Ms Howes told jurors that CCTV and mobile phone analysis allegedly linked Bibi and Nawaz, 44, to the killing, and the subsequent efforts to move and then abandon the victims remains.

Footage is to be played to the jury which is said by the prosecution to show Nawaz buying nylon rope, gaffer tape and two pairs of non-slip gloves at a Poundland store in Oldbury Green retail park in the West Midlands just after 12pm on the day of the murder.

Ms Howes alleged that the CCTV also shows Mr Iqbal parking his Renault Clio car outside Bibis home later that day at 6.27pm and, an hour later a woman said to be Bibi reversing the victims car with the boot facing her house.

Figures which are said by the Crown to be Bibi and accomplice Nawaz, of Oldbury, West Midlands, are then seen on camera loading the boot of the car, and taking two attempts to slam it shut.

A road in Edgbaston, Birmingham, where the body of Mr Iqbal was found in the boot of his car

At 8.59pm, footage allegedly shows Bibi pulling up in Portland Road in Edgbaston, Birmingham.

Ms Howes added: It is the Crowns case this is Zatoon Bibi abandoning the Renault Clio with Tanveer Iqbals body inside the boot.

The remains of Mr Iqbal, who ran a family music store business, were only then discovered on February 1 after a chance sighting of his parked car by a friend.

Ms Howes said that when a police officer opened the boot he could tell by the shape (of the box) it did not contain a television.

A post mortem examination by a Home Office pathologist concluded the victim died from injuries consistent with a ligature compression of the neck, including fractures of the thyroid cartilage.

Flowers: His remains were discovered after a chance sighting of his parked car by a friend

Ms Howes said the pathologists opinion suggested the blue nylon rope used to wrap the cardboard box was of the size and appearance to cause the marks around the victims throat.

Jurors were also told there was a one in a billion chance that DNA allegedly linking Nawaz to the gaffer tape used to wrap the box did not belong to the co-defendant.

The victim also had numerous areas of bruising to his body, shoulders, arms and legs consistent with what Ms Howes called a struggle before his death.

Ms Howes said: Mr Iqbal had been strangled to death and his body concealed in a large cardboard box, secured with silver gaffer tape and blue nylon rope.
A couple have been captured by the very CCTV cameras they were trying to steal in Seattle.

Authorities are now appealing for members of the public to identify the pair caught on film.

The five cameras were mounted outside a Pilates studio in the north of Washington state's largest city.

In the footage released a woman can be seen jumping to pull one of the cameras down before she goes to help the man take down another.

Myrle Carner, of the Crime Stoppers of Puget Sound non profit, told Q13 Fox reported: 'Although it's humorous. It is a felony.'

'We want to get them off the street because they're stealing your equipment that you put in to help catch guys like this,' he added.

The woman was wearing glasses and a dark body warmer while the man wore a checked jacket, over a grey hooded top and cargo pants.

There is a reward of $1,000 for information that leads to the arrest of the couple.

A couple have been captured by the very CCTV cameras they were trying to steal in Seattle
An Irish holidaymaker is seriously ill in hospital after he fell more than 20ft from a balcony following a night out in Marbella.

Police alerted paramedics after they were called to the Costa del Sol resort at 3am on Friday to find the 23-year-old man lying on the ground.

The man, who has not been identified, suffered head and face wounds and an injury to his knee after he fell from the third floor of the apartment block.

The man, who has not been identified, suffered head wounds after falling from the balcony (file photo)

He had been staying in an apartment overlooking the popular seaside promenade with his girlfriend in Spain.

She told police that the man had fallen from a height of more than 20ft after he returned from a night out and lost his balance on the balcony.

The man had apparently attempted to lean on a low-level wall while she opened the door to their apartment when he slipped and fell.

The holidaymaker, who travelled to Spain on an Irish passport, was admitted to an intensive care unit at Marbella's Costa del Sol hospital.

Police alerted paramedics after they were called to the Costa del Sol resort at 3am on Friday and found the 23-year-old man lying on the ground

Officials at the hospital were unable to provide any information on his condition on Friday afternoon.

But a routine inquiry into the incident has been opened by a court in Marbella, which will now study the police report.

A police source said: 'Everything is pointing to the tourist's fall being accidental.'
Two Muslim-American women claim they were kicked off of an American Airlines flight because a male flight attendant told the airline he felt unsafe and 'threatened' by their presence.

Niala Mohammad Khalil took to Facebook on Wednesday to share her story and posted a photo showing herself and her friend flanked by a pair of armed Miami-Dade sheriffs deputies who had escorted them off of American Airlines Flight 2239 at Miami International Airport overnight.

According to Khalil's account of the incident, which has been shared online more than 600 times as of Friday morning, she and her companion were singled out because of their Muslim faith.

Crying foul with a smile: Niala Mohammad Khalil, pictured smiling in the center, had this picture taken at Miami International Airport Tuesday after she and her friend were removed from an American Airlines flight because a crew member felt 'unsafe'

Khalil and her friend were taken off of AA Flight 2239 from Miami to DC after voicing their complaints about massive delays (stock photo)

Yup, the only two apparent Muslim girls on the plane got kicked off, she writes. Not sure if it was my friend's statement "evil-eye" bracelet, the fact that I was watching a Pakistani drama on my iPhone, or our obvious Muslim last names that made him uncomfortable, but here's the kicker, we both work for the United States Federal government.

Khalil is a senior multimedia journalist at Voice of America, which is a government-funded news outlet. Her friend works for the federal government and has not been named for that reason.

The two women were traveling from Miami to Washington DC, but due to delays caused by crew changes and a fueling problem, the plane remained on the tarmac for several hours.

After over 5 hours aboard the grounded plane, we were only offered one glass of water, a bag of pretzels, and told there would be no more food or beverage, Khalil writes.

In good company: Khalil is a senior multimedia journalist with the government-funded Voice of America. Here she is seen posing with Nobel laureate Malala Yousafzai

Khalil, seen here with Malala's father, Pakistani diplomat Ziauddin Yousafzai, believes that she and her friend were targeted by American Airlines staff because of their faith

Speaking to BuzzFeed, Khalil said that to pass the time, she put on her headphones and started watching a Pakistani soap opera on her iPhone.

Meanwhile, her friend struck up a conversation with a male passenger who was sitting behind her, and who was white, and voiced her frustration with the lack of customer care.

Khalil writes: Suddenly, a male flight attendant walking by singled out my friend and stated, "If you have a problem, you can get off the plane."

Her friend replied that she had no problem, but rather she was simply stating the facts: that they were given a single glass of water in five hours.

Khalil (pictured left and right) and her companion were removed from the flight after taking a picture of a crew member who was allegedly rude to them

The attendant responded by once again threatening my friend, "Well, I can have you removed for instigating other passengers, Khalil writes.

Since the crew member was not wearing a name tag, Khalil and her friend asked a female flight attendant for her colleagues name so they could make a complaint to American Airlines about his rude and aggressive tone.

Khalils friend later snapped a photo of the male crew member to show the stewardess so she could help them identify him.

A third flight attendant walked by and told us that by taking a picture, we were committing a "federal offense," Khalil said, explaining that while it is not against the law to photograph an airline crew member, American Airlines has an internal policy that crew members can enforce with customers when a photo is taken without their consent.

The female flight attendant whom Khalil and her friend had initially approached for help was later shown the photo and identified the male crew member as Rog as in Roger.

Khalil, pictured in the center alongside two activists from Baluchistan, said of her ordeal: 'I dont have to wear a hijab to be discriminated against'

She then asked the women to delete the picture, which they did, but the photo ended up being saved in the delete folder.

Khalil writes that 10 minutes later, an American Airlines customer relations representative Lourdes Broco boarded the plane and asked the two women to come to the front.

We happily consented, hoping we were finally going to be provided with water, but instead we were told to bring our belongings.

Waiting for us at the ramp were several armed Air Marshalls and Miami-Dade police officers. When asked why we were being removed, we were informed that it was because "Rog" felt threatened by us,' Khalil recounted on Facebook.

Her lengthy post about the incident points out that the white male passenger her friend had been talking to was ironically not removed from the plane.

The Voice of America journalist said the airline representative apologized to them and freely admitted that it was obvious that the flight attendant "exaggerated" the incident.

MUSLIM WOMEN DEPLANED: NIALA KHALIL'S FULL ACCOUNT OF AMERICAN AIRLINES INCIDENT Niala Mohammad Khalil, a senior journalist with Voice of America 'Last night my friend and I were removed from American Airlines (AA) flight 2239 traveling from Miami International Airport (MIA) to Washington-Reagan National Airport (DCA) because the main crew airline attendant felt "unsafe" by our presence. Yup, the only two apparent Muslim girls on the plane got kicked off. Not sure if it was my friend's statement "evil-eye" bracelet, the fact that I was watching a Pakistani drama on my iPhone, or our obvious Muslim last names that made him uncomfortable, but here's the kicker, we both work for the United States Federal government. 'This is the story. 'According to the flight attendants, our initial flight delays were due to two changes with the flight crew and then the ground crew forgot to fuel the plane. After those delays, we began experiencing heavy rains and were delayed indefinitely. After exceeding the 3 hour federal regulation, the only people allowed to deplane were those who wanted to cancel their flight or make other travel arrangements at their own expense. After over 5 hours aboard the grounded plane, we were only offered one glass of water, a bag of pretzels, and told there would be no more food or beverage. A flight attendant informed us we were not allowed to purchase in-flight food unless we were in the air and we were denied the right to deplane to get food or use the airport restrooms. Air fuel fumes also began to permeate the cabin space. At one point, a white male passenger sitting directly behind us initiated a private conversation with my friend about the lack of customer care. Suddenly, a male flight attendant walking by singled out my friend and stated, "If you have a problem, you can get off the plane." My friend replied, "I have no problem--I am simply stating facts. We were given one glass of water in 5 hours." The attendant responded by once again threatening my friend, "Well, I can have you removed for instigating other passengers." The flight attendant was not wearing his name badge and did not identify himself. 'Since I was wearing headphones (watching my Pakistani drama), I only realized something happened when my friend's demeanor changed. She appeared shocked and visibly upset after the attendant walked away. When she and the white male passenger behind us told me what happened, I suggested we write a complaint to AA. At that time, a number of AA personnel were on the plane allowing new passengers to board our delayed flight. A female flight attendant walked by and I asked for the male flight attendant's name, given his rude and aggressive tone to my friend. There was some confusion as to whether the male AA employee in question was a flight attendant, a pilot, etc so before walking away to assist other passengers, she directed us to "point him out to me when you see him." After she walked away, we saw him again and my friend took a picture so the female flight attendant could help identify him for us. A third flight attendant walked by and told us that by taking a picture, we were committing a "federal offense". (Disclaimer: taking a photo of an airline crew member is not a federal offense, but apparently there is a publicly unknown AA policy that crew members can arbitrarily enforce with customers when a photo is taken without their consent.) The initial female flight attendant came back, asked us what happened, and we showed her the picture. She identified the male flight attendant as "Rog as in Roger" and then asked that we delete the picture. We immediately obliged and deliberately showed the flight attendant that we were deleting the picture. Thankfully, we still had the picture saved because it went to the "delete" folder. 'Ten minutes later, AA customer relations representative Ms. Lourdes Broco boarded the plane and kindly asked if we could follow her to the front. We happily consented, hoping we were finally going to be provided with water, but instead we were told to bring our belongings. Waiting for us at the ramp were several armed Air Marshalls and Miami-Dade police officers. When asked why we were being removed, we were informed that it was because "Rog" felt threatened by us. However, the white male passenger my friend was speaking to was ironically not removed from the plane with us. We complied with all requests and provided Ms. Broco with our version of the events. She apologized and stated that under normal conditions, the male flight attendant would have been removed from the plane, but AA couldn't spare to do that given the extreme flight delay and the many issues with the crew. She freely admitted that it was obvious that the flight attendant "exaggerated" the incident. We also overheard Ms. Broco inform the security officers that when she boarded the plane to assess the situation, she was confused because we weren't creating a scene, we were sitting in silence playing on our phones. 'Without asking for anything, we were assigned to the next available flight to DCA, we were offered a $200 credit for future travel with American Airlines and a $24 food voucher, but the damage was already done. We appreciated both Ms. Broco's attempt to offer us some compensation and the 5 security officers good humor in deescalating the situation. However, it didn't take away from the fact that a rude AA employee got away with treating passengers with such utter contempt and discrimination. Although we were encouraged to document the incident to AA customer relations, we still experienced insult and embarrassment as two minority Muslim-American women. For being such a "threat" to an AA attendant, it's telling that the Miami-Dade police officers joked with us and posed for this picture with the "pretty harmless" airplane menaces. This was a fairytale ending in comparison to the other largely publicized AA incidents targeting Muslim Americans (one was actually a Sikh) that occurred earlier this year. Our story also has many parallels to an incident experienced by Internet political and social commentator Cenk Uygur, who was removed from an AA flight in April 2016. Could this be a trend? 'We eventually left MIA at 12:40 am the next morning on AA flight number 1486, which arrived at DCA at 2:50 am on 3 August. Consequently, we both missed work that day. This entire experience was not very "American" of AA and the incident demonstrated the ongoing, indiscrete racism that I was untouched by prior to 9/11. 'I guess it's now worthless to even complain about the inbound 3 hour flight delay we experienced departing from DCA to start our vacation to Miami. We hope that Department of Transportation will hold AA accountable given that new rules state that an airline can be fined up to $27,500 for each passenger on board a flight affected by egregious tarmac delays.' Source: Facebook Advertisement

Upon their removal from the aircraft, Khalil and her companion were put on the next available flight, offered $200 credit for future travel with American Airlines and a $24 food voucher.

It didn't take away from the fact that a rude AA employee got away with treating passengers with such utter contempt and discrimination, Khalil writes.

For being such a "threat" to an AA attendant, it's telling that the Miami-Dade police officers joked with us and posed for this picture with the "pretty harmless" airplane menaces, she added, referring to the photo with the deputies she shared on her page.

Khalil writes that she and her friend eventually boarded American Airlines Flight 1486 out of Miami at 12.40am and reached Washington DC just before 3am on Wednesday, which caused both of them to miss work that day.

Khalil, pictured in Dc, with the US Congress in the background, said she felt 'dehumanized' by American Airlines' treatment

In an interview with her colleague at Voice of America, Khalil, who grew up in Boston and attended University of Massachusetts, described the entire experience as 'humiliating' and 'dehumanizing.'

'I mean, if it could happen to me, it could happen to anybody,' she said. 'It doesnt matter how assimilated you are. I dont have to wear a hijab to be discriminated against.'

American Airlines spokesperson Alexis Aran Coello later stated that the passengers were removed not for photographing the flight attendant, but for refusing to comply with a flight attendant's request.

Coello also pointed out that the subject of Khalil's Muslim faith never came up in conversation between her, her friend and the AA representative, and that the two women did not complain of racial bias at the time.

Khalil responded to the statement on Facebook Thursday, directly challenging Coello's account.
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Two key players in the UK's 'Black Lives Matter' group which brought transport routes to a standstill this morning are an 18-year-old model and an Oxford University student.

Members of the British wing of a campaign set up to protest about black men being shot by police in the US caused chaos this morning when they lay in busy motorways outside Britain's main airports.

They chained themselves together and stood across approach roads to Heathrow and Birmingham airports, while in the centre of Nottingham, four protesters lay across tram tracks.

Protests were set to continue in London, Birmingham, Manchester and Nottingham tonight, with scores of demonstrators massing at Altab Ali park in the east of the capital this evening.

Capres Willow, one of the ringleaders of Black Lives Matter, pictured (left) speaking at a demonstration outside the US Embassy last month. Postgraduate geography student Adam Elliott-Cooper (right) has said the protests were justified

Another ringleader is believed to be a man named Joshua Virasami, who was arrested at the Occupy London camp in 2011

A protester is removed from the scene at Heathrow today, thousands were delayed by the activists's actions this morning

Police officers crowd round as members of the Black Lives Matter group are arrested outside Heathrow Airport

Police had to cut protesters free from concrete-encased hand locks as they attempted to allow traffic into Heathrow

Scores of demonstrators gathered at Altab Ali park in East London this evening, with protests set to continue tonight

People chant and hold up with placards in Altab Ali Park in east London, as they attend the Black Lives Matter protest

The public face of the group is Adam Elliott-Cooper, a postgraduate geography student at Oxford University.

The 29-year-old defended today's action, saying the Heathrow location was appropriate as 'many people are either being killed at our borders or being sent back to certain death'.

He is studying the organisation as part of his postgraduate diploma, and is working on research called 'the Struggle that has No Name' about 'black-led organising functions' and 'racialised spaces in the city'.

Another major driving force behind the group has been student Capres Willow from Waltham Abbey, Essex, who organised a major protest involving 3,000 people on Oxford Street through the capital.

Speaking of a previous protest, the 18-year-old travel writer said: 'I was wondering, why hasn't London stood up and shown that they give a s***, basically? I understand we're disrupting people's lives but... that's life, isn't it?'

Neither Miss Willow nor Mr Elliott-Cooper are understood to have taken part in today's actions, but both have made great play of their support for the organisation.

Another ringleader is believed to be a man named Joshua Virasami, who was arrested at the Occupy London camp in St Pauls in 2011 for allegedly assaulting a police officer.

Mr Virasami, who admits to 'being in and out detention, suspension and behavioural monitoring programs' as a teenager, has been part of a number of protest movements including demonstrations against the expansion of Heathrow. He has represented these caused in the media, including on BBC News.

In a vile tweet, he said the massacre of five police officers in Dallas who were patrolling at a Black Lives Matter protest in Dallas was 'chickens coming home to roost'.

Aside from protesting, Mr Virasami has also released a hip-hop album.

The coordinated actions across the country caused chaos for hundreds of people trying to catch holiday flights and on their way to work.

In Birmingham, an ambulance was delayed as paramedics tried to get a patient to Heartlands Hospital along the blocked A45.

This was the scene this morning as protesters from the Black Lives Matter group blocked the road to Heathrow Airport

Demonstrators were pictured laying across the usually busy road from the M4 beneath a banner reading: 'This is a crisis'

This is the scene near Birmingham airport where demonstrators blocked a main road while chanting slogans

Videos from the scene show placard-waving protesters arguing with workmen and motorists eager to get the road moving

Police had to use power tools to cut open the concrete locks the group had put their hands inside before the protest

Other key members of the group include prominent Socialist Workers Party member Gary McFarlane.

He was recently recorded by Heat Street as saying: 'No pig went to prison. No wonder people are getting angry, no wonder people are saying 'an eye for an eye'.

'Of course I don't condone the killing of the police force. But they keep killing black people. What do they expect people to do?'

Maryam Ali, a founder of the Black Lives Matter chapter in London, is an 18-year-old sixth form student from West London who has never experienced police violence.

Speaking about her involvement to BBC News last month, she said: 'Part of it is solidarity with the US. I have family in America, and I fear for their lives.'

Police have arrested 10 people on the M4 near Heathrow Airport and five people on A45 Coventry Road near Birmingham Airport. Both roads are said to be moving again although there are 'severe' delays on the M4.

Four people were arrested in central Nottingham. The protest started around 8am and the tram route was reopened around midday.

The chaos comes at one of the busiest times of the year for airports, with 100,000 passengers due to fly out of Heathrow today as families head off on their summer holidays.

Black Lives Matter UK tweeted this morning: 'We call a nationwide #Shutdown: 05.08.16. #Shutdown racism. #Shutdown violence. #Shutdown borders. #BlackLivesMatter'

Protesters chained themselves together using concrete locks, causing further delays as police struggled to remove them

In Nottingham, demonstrators lay down on tram tracks outside the Theatre Royal to bring the city to a standstill

In Nottingham, commuters on their way to work looked on in shock as four demonstrators lay across the tram tracks

They unfurled a banner stating: 'Delays inevitable, injustice, system failure', while another sheet exclaimed 'shutdown Notts'

Police negotiated with the Nottingham group, who joked with supporters for their cause during the action this morning

Nottinghamshire Police said screens erected at the scene of the protest are to prevent distraction for motorists

Yesterday was the fifth anniversary of Mark Duggan being shot dead by police in Tottenham, North London, which prompted widespread protests across the capital and in other cities across Britain between August 6 and 11, 2011.

Black Lives Matter said it wanted to commemorate the fifth anniversary of Mr Duggan's death.

The group stated: 'We stand in solidarity with the families and friends of all who have died at the hands of the British state. We take action because justice has not been delivered through conventional means: the police, the IPCC, the courts or the legislature.'

The group said it aims to highlight 'the struggle for Black Lives in the UK and shut down state-sanctioned racialised sexism, Islamophobia, classism, ableism, homophobia and transphobia'.

The blockage of the road near Birmingham airport started about 7am and the road was reopened by police at around 9am. The blockage of the M4 to Heathrow started shortly before 8:30am. Two lanes were reopened before midday, but one lane remains closed.

A Scotland Yard spokesman said: 'Police were called 08:25hrs on Friday, 5 August, to the M4 slip road at Heathrow Airport.

'A number of people were reported to be blocking the road leading to the airport. Four people have been arrested and taken to west London police stations where they remain in custody.

'A further six people have been arrested at the scene. Police are in the process of safely releasing these protesters who have 'locked on' to each other. One lane remains closed to ensure the safety of protesters and officers.'

CONTROVERSIAL NUS PRESIDENT BACKS 'BRAVE' PROTESTERS WHO CAUSED CHAOS NUS president Malia Bouattia praised 'brave' demonstrators The National Union of Students has backed the Black Lives Matter protesters who caused chaos earlier today. Its president, Malia Bouattia, praised the 'brave' demonstrators who stopped people getting to Heathrow Airport this morning. 'I extend my solidarity and respect to the Black Lives Matter protesters who have bravely blocked the M4 outside Heathrow Airport this morning and others who have held demonstrations across the UK,' she said. 'We have reached a crisis point where we have been forced into taking direct action and its obvious there is a desperate need for a Black Lives Matter movement in the UK. Todays disruptions are incomparable to the loss of a life and the damage this does to affected families and our communities. 'As long as Black communities aren't free to live, breathe and move, without the fear of intimidation, violence, or death at the hands of the state, we will continue to disrupt the status quo and ensure our voices are heard. We refuse to accept this as the norm or an unfortunate reality. We must come together to challenge this injustice and will not rest until those responsible are held to account for these actions.' Miss Bouattia has previously endorsed Palestinian 'resistance' against Israel, arguing that 'non-violent protest' is not enough, and called her own university a 'Zionist outpost'. When she was the NUS officer for ethnic-minority students, in 2014, she led efforts to stop the union officially condemning ISIS. The activist warned that speaking out against the barbaric terror group would be a 'justification for war and blatant Islamophobia', forcing union officials to clarify that 'NUS does not support ISIS'. She has also claimed that young Britons have 'no choice but to go off to Syria' to join Islamic extremists because they 'feel so disempowered'. Advertisement

Videos of the protests near Birmingham airport showed officers from West Midlands police moving in and making arrests

There were long tailbacks in Birmingham with the entire width of the A45 Coventry Road blocked earlier this morning

Earlier this morning the road was packed with cars as motorists got out to see what was preventing them getting their flights

The group tweeted a picture of the M4 in west London with the message: 'Full #Shutdown in London. Motorway closed'

Police officers moved in on the road to Heathrow after demonstrators locked their hands together inside boxes

The demonstrations received an unsympathetic response from Twitter users, who said they were disrupting family holidays and people trying to work.

George Howe, wrote: 'All the families on their way to Heathrow that have worked hard all year round to have a holiday and you get a load berks with a banner.'

David Malley added: 'I'm all for equality but how does stopping hard working people from going on holiday at Heathrow help? #BlackLivesMatter'

Becca Anastasia tweeted: '#blacklivesmatter blocking Heathrow is pathetic, people work hard all year round to go on holiday..why aren't these people at work?'

And Lady Durrant wrote: 'How utterly selfish! Why ruin innocent people's holiday or work? Every life matters, not just #BlackLivesMatter'

The demonstrators received an unsympathetic response from holidaymakers, who were angry about the disruption

A spokesman for Nottinghamshire police wrote: 'Four people have been arrested on suspicion of causing the wilful obstruction of a highway following a protest in Nottingham city centre today.

'Police were called to the junction of Parliament Street and Goldsmith Street at about 8am to a report of four people blocking the tram line. Three women aged 30, 48 and 50 and a man, aged 30 were all arrested at the scene.'

A Heathrow Airport spokesman said: 'Protest activity is causing delays. We apologise for the inconvenience. The police is on sight and one of the four lanes is open.'

A Highways England spokesman tweeted: 'Spur road between M4 J4 and J4a (Heathrow Airport). Traffic released by Metropolitan Police. However two lanes of three remain closed with long delays.'

How Black Lives Matter has gathered momentum in Britain after spreading across the Atlantic from the US

Black Lives Matter dates back three years but has only gained momentum in Britain in recent weeks thanks to several high-profile protests on the streets of London.

The motto was founded in the US in 2013, but ignited two years later when Michael Brown, 18, was fatally shot by a white police officer in Ferguson, Missouri.

That incident on August 9, 2014 was followed by other high-profile killings of black men and boys by police in other American cities including Baltimore and Cleveland.

The Black Lives Matter movement has gained support in the US in recent years in opposition police shootings

The various shootings sparked racial tensions and weeks of protests in the US and beyond that evolved into a global debate about alleged disparities in policing.

The motto is believed to have been coined in 2013 when California-based activist Alicia Garza said on Facebook: Black people. I love you. I love us. Our lives matter.

She was angry that neighbourhood watch volunteer George Zimmerman had been cleared of murdering black teenager Trayvon Martin in Florida in February 2012.

Since then the Black Lives Matter protests have spread to Britain in solidarity with US police shootings and to highlight stop and searches in the UK and custody deaths.

The death of Michael Brown, who was shot dead by a police officer in Ferguson, Missouri, was the spark for the cause

Last month the protesters caused Londons Oxford Street to come to a standstill as they demanded justice for the killing of two black men by white US police officers.

Demonstrators holding banners saying black lives matter and no justice no peace marched on July 10 and stopped outside the American Embassy in Mayfair.

There, they chanted hands up dont shoot in reference to the killings of Philando Castile in Minnesota on July 6 and Alton Sterling in Louisiana a day before that.

That London rally came after two similar marches in previous days that halted traffic for four hours in Brixton and outside the Houses of Parliament in Westminster.

And on July 19 a water fight in Londons Hyde Park spiralled out of control and led to three people being stabbed as members of a crowd chanted 'Black Lives Matter'.

But police said at the time that the violence was not related to the Black Lives Matter protests and was instead about people committing violent acts of disorder.

The British side of the movement, known as UK Black Lives Matter (UKBLM), describes itself as a network of anti-racist activists from across the country.

Maryam Ali, a founder of the Black Lives Matter chapter in London, is an 18-year-old sixth form student from West London who has never experienced police violence.

But speaking about her involvement to BBC News last month, she said: Part of it is solidarity with the US. I have family in America, and I fear for their lives.

They could just been walking down the street and their lives could be taken away. But the UK isn't innocent. There have been police killings here.

And referring to the movements marches, she told The Voice last month, she said: I think people forget that racism is a worldwide thing. Its still very prevalent.

This is ultimately a cry for help Sometimes people just focus on the now. It creates a buzz now, but in time youll forget it. Were going to keep showing our support.

There have been violent clashes with police in the US during protests across the country, like this in Baton Rouge, Louisiana

Earlier this week more than 60 organisations affiliated with the Black Lives Matter movement issued a list of demands calling for policing and criminal justice reforms.

To address criminal justice reform, movement organisers are calling for an end to the type of militarised police presence seen at protests in US cities such as Ferguson.

They also want the retroactive decriminalisation and immediate release of all people convicted of drug offences, sex work related offence and youth offences.
Three teenagers have been slammed for risking their lives on a stretch of railway tracks where trains speed through at 85mph.

The group were captured on CCTV taking selfies at a crossing in West Grimstead, Wiltshire, where almost 100 trains pass through each day.

Recent figures released by Network Rail showed that ten level crossing users were killed last year - as well as four pedestrian fatalities at footpath crossings.

And Network Rail Head of Health and Safety Priti Patel said: 'I cannot emphasise enough that the railway is not a playground.'

The alarming photo, released by Network Rail, shows a girl and two boys illegally stepping onto the track near the city of Salisbury, posing for a selfie.

Priti Patel added: 'While you might think there is enough time to stop for a picture, it is incredibly easy to be caught out by an oncoming train, especially if you are distracted.

'The last thing we want is for a family to lose their loved one over a selfie, so I strongly urge everyone to use level crossings safely and to stay alert.'

The incident has occurred as Network Rail launch their campaign aiming at cutting down the number of trespass incidents at crossings in the UK.

Graham Hopkins, Group Safety, Technical and Engineering Director said: 'We are urging parents to remind their children that if they are on the railway, they are on dangerous ground.

'It may seem like a good idea to take a shortcut, or like fun to play on the tracks, but this is not only illegal, it is also dangerous.

'Britain has the safest railway in Europe but still too many people lose their lives on the tracks.

'As the railway gets busier and we electrify more lines to improve services, we must work harder to keep young people safe by making them aware of the dangers that exist.
The two men did not work at the same volunteer fire department

Jurado and Walker trained at the same fire academy and were

Matthew Jurado, 39, has admitted to police that he burned down the home of firefighter Kenneth Walker, 28, because he was angry about being removed from his position at a local firehouse

A white man in western New York has admitted to burning down a black firefighter's house because he was angry about being let go from his job as a volunteer firefighter.

Matthew Jurado, 39, is expected to be charged on Friday with arson for burning down 28-year-old Kenneth Walker's North Tonawanda home.

Jurado was recently removed from Live Hose Co. No. 4 volunteer fire department because he didn't have the proper training, according to the New York Daily News.

Walker and Jurado trained together to become firefighters but worked at two different departments.

Walker's uncle, Robert Sands, told Buffalo News: '(Walker) is really relieved, but part of him is hurt because he trained with this guy at the fire academy and hes a neighbor ... Kenneth kind of thought of him as a friend.'

Despite admitting to officers he was the arsonist who burned down Walker's home, Jurado did not claim responsibility for a racist note threatening Walker two days before the fire.

Walker (left) trained with Jurado (right) at an upstate New York fire academy and lived across the street from him. Walker's uncle said his nephew considered Jurado a friend

Jurado, however, denies leaving a racist note on Walker's property two days before the fire

Jurado said 'it was not race related, but rather he was upset with the fire department because he has recently been removed from the volunteer fire department,' according to WGRZ.

Walker, who is also neighbors with Jurado, showed Buffalo media an anonymous letter he said was left in his mailbox on Monday.

The letter, typewritten on white paper, told him to resign because he's black and added 'n-word are not allowed to be firefighters.'

'Someone said that I wasn't welcome and that I needed to resign by the end of the week or I would regret it,' the volunteer firefighter told ABC 7.

He added: 'Still living my life, not changing my habits, and we're going to go from there.'

Walker says he received this racist letter two days before his house was burned down

Jurado claims he knows who wrote the letter but refuses to tell police who was responsible for it

Jurado adamantly denies writing the letter but said he 'he knows who wrote it'.

Police told WGRZ that Jurado 'didnt want to tell us who that person was'.

Police also said that Jurado's girlfriend is the person who called to report the fire on Wednesday.

Firefighters were called Wednesday afternoon to Walker's North Tonawanda home.

The place was destroyed.

The Walkers  Walker's wife Amanda and daughters Chloe, 4, and Harmoni, 6 months  were not home at the time.

But Walker's two cats died in the blaze.

Kenneth and wife Amanda (pictured)  as well as their young daughters  were not at home at the time

The Walkers said they have received tremendous support from the local community

Courtesy ABC 7/ WKBW

City police, federal prosecutors in Buffalo and the FBI are reviewing the letter.

Walker told WGRZ-TV he has never had any issues with co-workers or the public in two years as a firefighter.

He said the letter made him fear for the safety of his wife and two young children.

But Walker is not leaving his post.

'Resigning from the fire department would obviously please them and I don't want to please them,' he told the Buffalo News.

Community members drop by to check in on the Walkers and offer them assistance

'At the same time I am going to do what I have to do to protect my family. I am still going to live my life.'

He added to WKBW: ' I'm going to take a long hard look at the situation and see what's best for my family and the end result may be to resign or transfer to a different company, but as of now I'm going to stand fast and see what happens.'

Mayor Arthur Pappas says he wants the culprit brought to justice.

'We're totally disgusted that anyone would continue to do this,' Pappas told the Buffalo News.

'Whoever is responsible is certainly doing something that's very distasteful and hateful.'

A GoFundMe has been set up to help the Walker's recover from the fire.
A New York model who stood naked in Times Square while screaming nonsense for an hour has received a conditional dismissal in court.

Krit McClean, 21, had the first manic episode of his life that day and must now receive treatment before his charges are dismissed, the prosecution said on Friday.

McClean showed up in court and acted calm and well-mannered, according to the New York Daily News - a far cry from the behavior he displayed on June 30.

The Columbia University student, who has modeled for Dolce & Gabbana, climbed on top of the Father Duffy Square staircase in Times Square without any clothes nor shoes on, prompting police to close down the area.

Scroll down for video

Krit McClean (pictured outside of court in New York on Friday), 21, had the first manic episode of his life when he took off his clothes in Times Square on June 30, the prosecution said

Negotiators tried to soothe him for an hour as he shouted nonsensical sentences, including, according to the New York Post: 'Donald Trump where are you? Donald Trump where the f**k are you?'

He also mentioned his love of fashion and called out famous photographers.

McClean eventually jumped off the platform and was taken to the hospital. He was charged with public lewdness, disorderly conduct and exposure of a person.

But Assistant District Attorney Daniel Makofsky gave him a conditional dismissal on Friday, saying that McClean had suffered from newly-found psychiatric issues.

Negotiators tried to soothe McClean (pictured) for an hour as he shouted nonsensical sentences, including: 'Donald Trump where are you? Donald Trump where the f**k are you?'

McClean stood on the Father Duffy Square staircase for about an hour as police tried to calm him down (pictured). He eventually jumped off the platform

If McClean (pictured outside of court on Friday) continues to receive treatment and gives the court monthly updates, his charges will be dismissed

The Columbia University student shared this photo on Instagram Friday, saying he was 'out of court and back in the classroom'

McClean (pictured in a runway show in 2014) said he had a genetic predisposition to manic episodes and had spent seven days in a state of mania when he stood naked in Times Square

'It appears the incident likely took place while the defendant was experiencing a manic episode which was the first episode in his life,' Makofsky said according to the Daily News.

McClean must now comply with treatment, give authorities monthly updates and appear for at least one more court date before his charges are completely dismissed.

He is unlikely to suffer from a comparable manic episode again, his attorney Daniel Ollen said.

McClean, who also studies at Columbia University, posted a photo of himself on Instagram on Friday, with the caption: 'out of court and back in the classroom'.

He wrote in another post that he has been diagnosed with a genetic predisposition to manic episodes.

'My behavior in Times Square on June 30 was a culmination of an unaware seven days of mania which distorted reality,' he wrote.

'I respect the court's desire to understand what triggered my actions, and wish to thank the NYPD officers for their patience in handling the situation.

'I will continue working with my doctor to maintain a balanced well-being: becoming self-aware has been progress in itself.'

McCLean has a future court date on November 4 for an update on his status.
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Royal Navy sailors have been welcomed home by their loved ones in time for the school holidays after spending nine months aiding air strikes on Islamic State.

HMS St Albans sailed into Portsmouth Naval Base following its deployment to the Syria and Iraq where it worked alongside the French and U.S. carriers FS Charles de Gaulle and the USS Harry S Truman.

The 220-strong crew were welcomed by cheering families waving Union Flags as it pulled up at Portsmouth.

Leading Chef Stuart Trotman is welcomed home by daughter Nia, four, as HMS St Albans arrives at Portsmouth Naval Base following a nine-month deployment to the Middle East

Petty Officer Carl Girt, 33, from Gosport, is welcomed home by girlfirend Sophie Haynes, 33 as he arrives on board HMS St Albans to Portsmouth Naval Base following a nine-month deployment to the Middle East

HMS St Albans sailed into Portsmouth Naval Base following its deployment to the Syria and Iraq where it worked alongside the French and U.S. carriers FS Charles de Gaulle and the USS Harry S Truman

Commander Richard Hutchings, the ship's commanding officer, said: 'I am immensely proud of my ship's company and our achievements.

'Together we have been tested on operations and proved ourselves repeatedly in a demanding area of the world where Britain's reputation is strong.

'Our families and friends have given us superb support. It's now our chance to be re-united and show our gratitude.'

His son, Freddie, 11, said: 'I can't wait for him to be back, we are really happy.'

Leading Seaman Stuart Donnelly, 30, from St Helens, Merseyside, is welcomed home by Olivia, four

Commander Richard Hutchings, the ship's commanding officer, said: 'I am immensely proud of my ship's company and our achievements.' as Olivia Donnelly, four, (left) welcomes home her dad LS Stuart Donnelly and Ruby Gooderham, three, (right) welcomes home her dad PO Ryan Gooderhamafter 9 months at sea

Caitlin Leafe, 6, and her mother Katrina Leafe, 36, from Wetherby, West Yorkshire, wave home Katrina's brother Lieutenant Rod Milne

Katrina Leafe, 36, from Wetherby, West Yorkshire, was with daughter, Caitlin, six, and Cameron, three, to meet her brother Lieutenant Rod Milne.

She said: 'It's been a long time and my two have been missing him so much so it will be nice for them to spend time together in the summer holidays.'

Petty Officer Carl Girt, 33, from Gosport, Hampshire, was met with an emotional embrace by his girlfriend Sophie Haynes, 33.

She said: 'It's absolutely amazing to have him back, I have missed him so much.'

Leading Chef Alan Hamilton, 28, was reunited with fiancee Laura Herrity, 30, from Waterlooville, Hampshire, three weeks before their wedding day.

She said: 'It's great to have him back, he's got a job list as long as your arm.'

Royal Navy sailors have been welcomed home by their loved ones in time for the school holidays after spending nine months aiding air strikes on Islamic State

The Type 23 frigate sailed more than 38,000 miles during its mission, which also involved policing the seas and counter narcotics and weapon smuggling operations

The warship, nicknamed The Saint, made a seizure of 320kg of cannabis with an estimated street value of 1 million destined for European markets

Leading Chef Alan Hamilton, 28, from Waterlooville, Hampshire, is welcomed home by fiancee Laura Herrity, 30, ahead of their wedding in three weeks

St Albans has visited ports in 10 countries and worked with international partners on live operations and exercises

The Type 23 frigate sailed more than 38,000 miles during its mission, which also involved policing the seas and counter narcotics and weapon smuggling operations.

The warship, nicknamed The Saint, made a seizure of 320kg of cannabis with an estimated street value of 1 million destined for European markets.

St Albans has visited ports in 10 countries and worked with international partners on live operations and exercises.

Earlier this year the ship also came to the rescue of two Pakistani fishermen whose vessel had lost power and was slowly sinking.

The ship's engineers were unable to repair the stricken craft so both fishermen were safely returned to Pakistan.

And a specialist embarked detachment of Royal Marines from 43 Commando conducted numerous boardings of suspicious vessels, working closely with the ship's boarding team.
Members of the Italian coastguard rescued a one-month-old kitten off the coast of Sicily and an officer gave the drowning animal mouth-to-mouth resuscitation.

When a group of children at the port town of Marsala spotted the cat floating in the sea, having apparently breathed its last, a patrolling officer dived in to save him.

Massaging the kitten's chest, murmuring encouragement and using mouth-to-mouth resuscitation just as they would on a human, officers managed to coax signs of life and eventually a weak miaow from the soaking animal.

Port authorities were so touched they decided to adopt the kitten, naming it Charlie.

Last year a drowning cat was saved by firemen who brought it back to life - with a miniature oxygen mask.

The animal was seen struggling in a Cambridgeshire river by two passers-by who managed to reach in and pull it to safety.

But when they hauled it onto the riverbank it was barely breathing so they dialled 999.

Members of the Italian coastguard rescued a one-month-old kitten off the coast of Sicily and an officer gave the drowning animal mouth-to-mouth resuscitation

When a group of children at the port town of Marsala spotted the cat floating in the sea, having apparently breathed his last, a patrolling officer dived in to save him

A fire crew answered the alert and rushed to the scene in Wisbech.

Sara Rolse, veterinary nurse at Best Friends, said at the time: 'It's difficult to say how he got into the river, there could be any number of scenarios.



'He could have jumped over a wall and not anticipated what was behind it or he could have been thrown in by someone, we can't be sure.

'It's worrying that he has not been reported as missing despite having an owner, he clearly had one as he was wearing a collar at the time but there are no details about him and he isn't microchipped.

'When he came in he was in hypothermic shock from the cold water and had collapsed and was unresponsive with no reflexes.'
Hillary Clinton says she may have 'short-circuited' her response to a question about her emails last weekend but the point she intended to make stands - her public statements about the scandal were 'truthful' and FBI Director James Comey agrees.

'I was pointing out in both of those instances that Director Comey had said that my answers in my FBI interview were truthful. That's really the bottom line here,' she said, defending her claims in the interview with Fox News.

Clinton told a roomful of journalists, 'What I told the FBI, which he said was truthful, is consistent with what I have said publicly.'

'So I may have short-circuited, and for that, I will try to clarify because, I think Chris Wallace and I were probably talking past each other.'

Hillary Clinton says that she may have 'short-circuited' her response to a question about her emails last weekend but the point she intended to make stands - her public statements about the scandal were 'truthful' and FBI Director James Comey agrees

The former secretary of state then launched into a convoluted explanation of her behavior and how it fits into her past statements and FBI Director James Comey's testimony before Congress.

As she did on Fox News, Clinton asserted that Comey said her responses to the FBI when the investigatory agency interviewed here were 'truthful.'

'But I do think, you know having him say that my answers to the FBI were truthful, and then I should quickly add, what I said was consistent with what I had said publicly, and that's really...in my view, trying to tie both ends together.'

She also defended herself against claims that she sent and received classified information.

Of the 30,000 emails she provided the State Department, Comey said three contained classified markings.

At a congressional hearing on the matter, the FBI chief also said that those emails did not have the appropriate header, making it clear they were classified.

She pointed out that the State Department identified two of the three emails as having mistakenly contained classified markings. They were not 'in any way, confidential at the time that they were delivered,' she said.

'So that leaves the 100 out of 30,000 e-mails that Director Comey testified -- contained classified information but again, he acknowledged there were no markings on those 100 e-mails and so what we have here is pretty much what I have been saying throughout this whole year and -- and that is that I never sent or received anything that was marked "classified." '

Continuing, she said, 'Now if in retrospect, which is what is behind the 100 number, if in retrospect some different agencies said but it should have been -- although it wasn't -- it should have been that's what the debate about -- is about.

'But Director Comey said there was absolutely no intention, on my part, to either ignore or in any way dismiss the importance of those documents because they weren't marked "classified," so that would have hard to do.'

Twice in the interaction with NBC's Kristen Welker at a joint conference between the National Association of Black Journalists and the National Association of Hispanic Journalists Clinton expressed remorse for her actions.

'I regret using one account, I've taken responsibility for that but I'm pleased to be able to clarify and explain what I think the bottom line is on this,' she said at the end of the lengthy explanation of events.

Fox News Sunday's Chris Wallace and Clinton sparred on last week's broadcast about the Democratic presidential candidate's emails. She claimed during the discussion that Comey has proclaimed in his testimony that she 'truthful' in her statements.

PINOCCHIO, PINOCCHIO, PINOCCHIO, PINOCCHIO: The Washington Post called Hillary Clinton a liar on Sunday after she claimed that the FBI director said she had been honest about her classified email scandal

Clinton received a dreaded 'four-Pinocchio' rating from the Washington Post's fact-checking division the worst score possible  for suggesting that Comey had defended her honesty in the classified email scandal that has plagued her presidential campaign for more than 16 months.

Comey said in a July 7 congressional hearing that multiple statements the she made to the public were untrue.

In the rare Fox News Channel interview on Sunday, Clinton claimed that Comey 'said my answers were truthful, and what Ive said is consistent with what I have told the American people.'

The Post's fact-checker pored over the record and found 'Clinton is cherry-picking statements by Comey to preserve her narrative' about why she sent and received classified documents on a private email server in her house.

This, the paper concluded, 'allows her to skate past the more disturbing findings of the FBI investigation.'

'THAT'S NOT TRUE': FBI Director James Comey testified in Congress last month that some of what Clinton told the public and the press about her unprotected private email setup was false

Clinton was never placed under oath during hours of interviews with federal investigators, and a transcript of those conversations has not been made public.

Her campaign manager, Robby Mook, told MSNBC's 'Morning Joe' on Monday that Clinton remained apologetic about using a private system for her only email address while she was secretary of state, but insisted she was blind to the fact that thousands of messages she sent and received contained state secrets.

'She said this was a mistake multiple times. She's apologized for it,' Mook said.

'What Director Comey said was that he believes there was no basis for her to believe that the emails in question, that you're referring to, that she had any reason to believe they were classified at the time she got them.'

Host Joe Scarborough shot back that Comey concluded that 'any reasonable person in Secretary Clintons position, or in the position of those government employees with whom she was corresponding about these matters, should have known' that an unsecured system was the wrong place to have sensitive conversations.

The Post highlighted an exchange during the July 7 hearing between Comey and South Carolina Republican Rep. Trey Gowdy that showed the FBI director disagreeing with what Clinton has said in public interviews.

PASS THE BUCK: During a Sunday TV interview, Clinton blamed career officials at the State Department for her classified email scandal

'Secretary Clinton said there was nothing marked classified on her emails, either sent or received. Was that true?' Gowdy asked?

'Thats not true,' Comey replied.

'Secretary Clinton said, "I did not email any classified material to anyone on my email. There is no classified material." Was that true?' Gowdy continued?

'There was classified material emailed,' said Comey.

Comey ultimately decided not to recommend criminal charges to the Justice Department, despite calling her actions 'extremely reckless' and negligent.

Some Republicans cried that the fix was in, especially when it emerged that Attorney General Loretta Lynch had had a private meeting with Bill Clinton days earlier on an airport tarmac in Arizona.

WISHFUL SPIN: Clinton campaign manager Robby Mook insisted the FBI had concluded his boss had no reason to think the sensitive messages she was sending and receiving contained classified information

Clinton on Sunday ultimately blamed career officials at the State Department for her classified email scandal, suggesting they should have known better than to send her documents that could be considered classified.

'I relied on and had every reason to rely on the judgments of the professionals with whom I worked,' Clinton said on 'Fox News Sunday.'

'And so, in retrospect, maybe some people are saying, well, among those 300 people, they made the wrong call.

'At the time, there was no reason in my view to doubt the professionalism and the determination by the people who work every single day on behalf of our country.'

Clinton's decision to use only an unclassified email account, however, left her underlings with no other option when they wanted to communicate with her over long distances.

She originally claimed in a 2015 press conference that no classified materials at all were present on her server.
The parents of a 24-year-old who died in jail while withdrawing from heroin filed a lawsuit alleging corrections officers mocked her while she 'suffered needlessly'.

Lindsay Kronberger died in Snohomish County Jail in Washington on January 13, 2014 from probable heart problems and dehydration linked to opiate withdrawal, according to her autopsy.

Her family's attorney said Kronberger's request to be taken to the hospital was ignored, and staff members of the jail were captured on surveillance cameras mocking her hand motions as the young woman could no longer stand, court documents allege.

Lindsay Kronberger (pictured left and right) died in Snohomish County Jail in Washington on January 13, 2014 from probable heart problems and dehydration linked to opiate withdrawal, according to her autopsy

'Lindsay was medically fragile, vulnerable, and completely under their power and control,' attorney Karen Moore said in the civil complaint cited by the Seattle Post Intelligencer.

Staff at the jail 'ignored Lindsays deteriorating condition, failed to consult with more experienced medical staff, and failed to transfer her medical care to a hospital despite clear signs of imminent peril over the last few days of her life,' the lawsuit alleges.

A 'culture of indifference' also pervaded the jail and officers danced, joked and ridiculed Lindsay in front of her cell as she lay alone, 'suffering needlessly', according to court papers.

The 24-year-old was a high school athlete who married a man in the Navy two years after graduation.

Lawsuit alleges Kronberger was inadequately cared for and mocked by jail staff

But when she was booked in jail in connection to a domestic violence case, she weighed 95 pounds and told authorities that she was a heroin addict, Herald Net reported.

While Kronberger was given medication for nausea, vomit-filled bags were strewn across her cell and the 24-year-old said she suffered from panic attacks and insomnia.

Her medical requests, which included being taken to the hospital or given a wheelchair, were not granted, the lawsuit stated.

According to the lawsuit, the 'training and policies, if any, were wholly inadequate to meet the needs of any inmate suffering from withdrawal'.

A nurse told the sheriff's office detective: 'It was just a real uphill struggle to get a handle on what was going on,' court papers filed in late July state.

The lawsuit also alleges that jail staff 'ignored Lindsay's deteriorating condition' as her pulse reached 144 beats per minute, her weight dropped eight pounds in nine days, and she could no longer walk.

Conditions at the Sonohomish County Jail (pictured) have come under fire before - a September 2013 review by the US Department of Justice found the jail was inadequately staffed and overcrowded

A nurse who examined her hours before a corrections officer found Kronberger with face in the cell toilet also claimed her condition was improving, the lawsuit states.

Moore said Lindsay suffered 'tremendously' before her 'completely preventable' death.

Conditions at the Sonohomish County Jail have come under fire before - a September 2013 review by the US Department of Justice found the jail was inadequately staffed and overcrowded.

The report also stated: 'Health care staffing levels are simply undersized to ensure adequate assessment and care of inmate medical and mental health needs.'

Moore said Kronberger's family was fighting for reform, adding they wanted 'to ensure that no one else suffers this same fate.'
The devastated family of murdered jogger Karina Vetrano attended her wake on Friday afternoon in Queens, New York.

Her retired firefighter father Philip Vetrano was seen entering James Romanelli-Stephen Funeral Home on Rockaway Boulevard around 1pm.

Her sister, Tana, was seen carrying her baby into the funeral home on Friday afternoon.

Vetranos wake comes just after police investigating Vetranos murder found the joggers missing sneaker and earphones about 60 feet away from the womans battered body.

Philip Vetrano and other family members head to a wake for their murdered daughter, Karina Vetrano, in Queens, New York, on Friday

The family had a private visitation at James Romanelli-Stephen Funeral Home on Rockaway Boulevard during the early afternoon

Karina's sister, Tana, was seen carrying her baby into the funeral home alongside her husband, Cliff Medina

Karina Vetrano was murdered near her home in Howard Beach, Queens, on Tuesday after she went out for a run on her own. Police say she was strangled and sexually assaulted

The blue and gold New Balance sneaker and the earphones were found in opposite directions of each other in the tall-weeked park, sources told the New York Post.

The discovery of the items lead investigators to believe that the murderer threw Vetranos belongings during the attack. Police are testing the items for DNA and finger prints.

Police at the scene of her wake told Daily Mail Online that family visitation was from 1pm to 3pm and that public visitation would take place following this until 9pm.

Anywhere from 100 to 1,000 people were expected to pay their respects, the cop said.

Mourners embraced each other outside the doors of the funeral home.

Floral arrangements arrived throughout the day including a large pink and purple butterfly made of flowers. A priest arrived shortly after 2pm.

A heavy NYPD presence surrounded the entire block which had been closed off by barriers and police tape.

Maria Atwell, whose brother works with Philip Vetrano, attended the wake to pay her respects.

Philip Vetrano and a friend talk on their front porch of their home in Howard Beach, New York, ahead of Friday's wake

Friends and family embraced as they walked out of James Romanelli-Stephen Funeral Home on Friday

Two women embrace on the sidewalk ahead of the wake for Vetrano, which was held in Queens

The funeral home hosted a private wake for family members and held a public wake for other visitors later in the day

Many of men attending the wake wore dark suits while many women opted for dark-colored dresses and skirts

Friends and family gathered outside the funeral home before paying respects to the Vetranos

She broke down as she said: 'They are a very loving Catholic family. It's heartbreaking. She was a beautiful girl taken too soon. There are no words you can say to anyone.

'I hope they catch the b*****d who did this.'

Susan Marcetti spoke outside the funeral home. Her daughter was a friend of Karina Vetrano and planned to attend the wake later in the evening.

'She was just a beautiful person,' she said, adding that the family were distraught at the wake.

FDNY Commissioner Daniel A Nigro was seen arriving around 4pm while other fire trucks pulled up throughout the afternoon for crews to pay their respects. Philip Vetrano is a veteran of the FDNY.

Vetranos funeral is set for Saturday at 12pm at St Helen Church in Howard Beach.

NYPD Chief of Detectives Robert Boyce said earlier this week that the department believes there is a 'severe community threat' in the wake of the 30-year-old's killing in Howard beach, Queens, during her daily afternoon jog on Tuesday.

Boyce, according to NBC New York, added Vetrano 'put up a good fight' despite the horrific beating she suffered.

A police source told PEOPLE that Vetrano bit her attacker so hard, her teeth cracked.

The source added that investigators had recovered DNA from Vetrano's bruised body.

It comes after a used condom was found near where the jogger was attacked, police sources have said.

While Vetrano's wake was Friday, a funeral is set for Saturday at 12pm at St Helen Church in Howard Beach

A man carries a large bouquet of flowers from the trunk of his vehicle into the funeral home

Several bouquets were brought into the funeral home on Friday ahead of Vetrano's wake

One bouquet carried into the funeral home featured an array of flowers shaped like a butterfly

Police surrounded James Romanelli-Stephen Funeral Home in preparation for Karina's wake

Police patrolled the streets outside the Queens funeral home during Vetrano's wake on Friday

Her devastated father, who she described as her 'best friend', found her body covered in cuts, scratches and bruises and with her panties pulled down.

Police are now searching for her killer, but have no suspects, no leads and have not made any arrests. They believe a stranger committed the horrific crime and have upped the reward to $10,000, after receiving only three tips.

New York Mayor Bill de Blasio said: 'We really need the publics help on this one.'

Vetrano, an aspiring writer, is believed to have broken up with her boyfriend just two days before her death.

But police have already ruled him out as a suspect after providing an alibi.

According to the New York Post, the condom and a discarded wrapper were left near the scene - which was less than a mile away from where Vetrano lived.

NYPD sources told the New York Daily News there is evidence she was 'vaginally and anally raped'.

Officers also told the newspaper they believe a stranger was responsible for her death - but would not elaborate on the details.

Police sources added that there was bruising to her buttocks and the backs of her upper thighs.

The aspiring writer's panties were believed to have been pulled down below her buttocks.

Her headphones and one of her sneakers had been taken. But her cellphone was still at the scene and was left lying close to her battered body

The grisly new details emerged as her father Phil (left), a retired FDNY firefighter who was working during 9/11, returned to the scene on Thursday morning

Police examine a map of the area where Vetrano was found as new clues emerge about her murder

Police investigating Vetranos murder found the joggers missing sneaker and earphones about 60 feet away from the womans battered body

Her headphones and one of her sneakers were found strewn across the field, but her cellphone was still at the scene.

An autopsy late Wednesday confirmed Karina Vetranos cause of death was strangulation. The manner of death was a homicide.

Mr Vetrano, who was also spotted taking cops back to the scene on Wednesday, arrived in his Mercedes and spoke to detectives at around 8am on Thursday morning.

He then spoke with detectives before leaving again. He has not yet made any formal comment.

Cops have not made any arrests and have not made any advances in the murder probe.

Sources told the Daily News she broke up with her boyfriend just two days before her death.

NYPD Chief of Detectives Robert Boyce (pictured) said the department believes there is a 'severe community threat' in the wake of the 30-year-old's killing in Howard beach, Queens

Police were still scouring the scene for clues on Thursday as they continued the manhunt for her killer. A helicopter hovering above the area captured the spot where her body was found

He was already spotted going back to the scene where his daughter was left on Wednesday (pictured above)

Mr Vetrano had told his daughter not to run down the path near where her body was found - fearing she could be attacked by hobos and vagrants.

They would often run together, but a back injury meant he had to stay home.

A candlelight memorial vigil held Wednesday night drew more than 200 people to the nearby Vetro Lounge, where she worked as a caterer.

Mr Vetrano reported his daughter missing at 5pm on Tuesday night after she failed to return from her afternoon workout at Spring Creek Park, near the Belt Parkway.

He was worried when she didn't return, so called a police chief who lives nearby before phoning 911.

Mr Vetrano was later seen walking alongside a NYPD bloodhound smoking a cigar as they scoured the area for his daughter.

Vetrano's (pictured) devastated father found her body covered in cuts, scratches and bruises and with her pants pulled down, reports suggest

NYPD detectives have said Vetrano was texting a friend when she was attacked

Police officers found her cellphone near a bicycle path and then found her body closer to the shoreline.

After Mr Vetrano called the police, he led officers down the track where she could have been heading towards the beach.

He then spotted her phone and started running. Moments later he found her lifeless remains face down in the tall grass.

She was believed to be texting a friend when she was attacked.

Cops are believed to have questioned two homeless people who live in the area.

They are also looking at surveillance video from nearby homes in a bid to catch the killer.

Vetrano described herself as a 'thrill seeker' and a 'day dreamer' on her Instagram page.

She went to the Catholic Archbishop Molloy High School.

Cops are seen putting up posters, offering a $2,500 reward for anyone with information that will lead to the suspects arrest. It has now been upped to $10,000

Police do not have any suspects, have made no arrests and do not have any leads in the case

Police are now searching the thick marsh land, where grass can go up to 10ft tall, surrounding the area where her body was found. The area where the remains were left is circled

This map shows her body was found only a mile away from her home

A candlelight memorial vigil held Wednesday night drew more than 200 people to the nearby Vetro Lounge, where she worked as a caterer

She earned a master's degree from St. John's University in 2015, and worked as a caterer at the Vetro Lounge in Howard Beach, her neighbors told the Daily News.

Away from her work, she had a passion for writing. One of her pieces, The Paradox, was made into a short film in 2013.

TROLLS BLAME MURDER VICTIM FOR INVITING DEATH BECAUSE OF HER CLOTHES Social media trolls have been slammed for suggesting Karina Vetrano brought it on herself by going running in tight clothing. The 30-year-old keen runner, who was a speech therapist and aspiring writer, had been strangled and her pants had been pulled down to her knees, the NYPD said. She had been beaten and her teeth smashed in. Her horrific death led to a fierce debate on social media, including people to began blaming the victim for her choice of attire. Michael Pulaski wrote on Facebook: 'We are reminded everyday we live with savages, however you go jogging alone, with ear phones on, looking like that. I ask you where is common sense these days.' 'Sexual assault will always be here,' wrote Carlos Avarado on Facebook, The Sun reports. 'It is your responsibility to be aware... stop jogging or going to the dam [sic] gym half naked.' His comment was slammed by others, including one user who said: 'So what you're saying is men are SO dumb they're unable to control themselves? Stop victim blaming!' Another user, Sharjil Za commented: 'I always see attractive women running with their headphones on in secluded areas! How stupid can they be?' Mary Carter added: 'This is horrible. Why would a woman go running alone in the evening?' Advertisement

She had a blog made up of pieces of her work, Karina Vee.

In one post, she wrote: 'I think the most painful truth of existence is that nothing lasts forever.'

She also wrote: The majority of my life is on paper. I write to savor the moments that Im terrified will get lost and forgotten in time if I dont document them.'

She hadn't uploaded any new stories or posts since 2014.

A huge number of pictures on social media showed her partying with friends or in workout gear.

They include snaps of her enjoying lavish events in St Tropez and New York.

A picture on her father's Facebook page shows him in FDNY uniform, standing in at Ground Zero during the clean-up operation.

However she had recently been very close to another huge tragedy.

She shared a snap of her sitting next to a fountain in Nice on July 13 - a day before a truck ran down almost 400 people - killing 85.

Alongside the image, she wrote: 'I'm at a loss for words... This picture was taken less than 24 hours ago in Nice.

'We walked around the city for hours admiring how beautiful it was, & only a few hours ago I was still there.

'I can't believe this world, but I'm so grateful to be home. Thank you to everyone who has messaged to check in on me .'

After news of her death surfaced, tributes poured in for the fitness fanatic.

Nightclub promoter Jewels Ferrante tweeted: 'RIP KARINA. I am heart broken, mortified. You were amazing and full of life.'

In a recent photo, taken on her father's 60th birthday, Miss Vetrano called him her 'hero' and wrote: 'I'm so blessed to have a father I can call my best friend.'

Mr Vetrano has told his daughter not to run down the path near where her body was found - fearing she could be attacked by hobos and vagrants

NYPD patrol cars are seen on Wednesday surrounding the marsh where the 30-year-old's body was found on Tuesday night. Her father reported her missing after she didn't return home
Dr Kalyana Saripalli, 39, behaved inappropriately towards three separate female members of staff whilst working for Guy's and St Thomas' Hospital Trust, London, and Stoke Mandeville Hospital, in Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire

A text-pest doctor who bombarded female colleagues with sexually motivated messages including telling one nurse 'I'm like Jason Bourne - I will find you' has been suspended.

Dr Kalyana Saripalli, 39, behaved inappropriately towards three separate female members of staff whilst working for Guy's and St Thomas' Hospital Trust, London, and Stoke Mandeville Hospital, in Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire.

A tribunal hearing was told that on one occasion he told a colleague 'you make me horny' and on another occasion told a nurse 'If you can't accept the truth, that I long for you, I would rather be dead' before adding 'Do you fancy a date?'.

Appearing at the Medical Practitioners Tribunal Service in Manchester, Saripalli, had admitted allegations of harassment but denied that his messages were sexually motivated.

But the tribunal decided the behaviour was sexually motivated and he was banned from working as a doctor for 12 months.

He will have to undergo a review at the end of those 12 months if he wishes to return to medical practice.

Tribunal chair Michelle Codd told Dr Saripalli: 'Your actions did constitute harassment which the tribunal considered to be a serious failure on your part.

'You displayed a lack of self-control by continuing to send a significant volume of unwelcome messages.

'It should have been obvious to you that your actions were inappropriate and causing distress.

'The tribunal found that your persistence in sending the messages demonstrated a serious lack of maturity and awareness.

'The tribunal was satisfied that your behaviour towards your colleagues was entirely at odds with your role as an experienced doctor and represented a serious departure from the paragraphs of GMP set out above.

'It had no doubt, when viewed in aggregate, that your behaviour constituted misconduct that was serious.

'The public would not expect a doctor to act in the way that you did.

'Your behaviour towards these three female colleagues brought the medical profession into disrepute.

'On three occasions your actions betrayed an element of coercion and unwarranted persistence

'Your actions failed to show proper respect for your colleagues.'

The incidents took place at Guy's and St Thomas' Hospital Trust, London, (pictured) and Stoke Mandeville Hospital, in Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire

The behaviour started in September 2011 when Saripalli, a senior house officer with the spinal orthopaedic team at Guy's and St Thomas' Hospital Trust, began texting a nurse at the hospital, referred to as Colleague A, telling her he loved her after she tried to tell him to stop sending her messages.

When Colleague A did tell him to stop contacting her the doctor said 'I love u.ill miss u, thought I was getting a life, guess not, ill call u in half an hour', Colleague A responded 'I don't think that's a good idea... You don't know me to love me. I'm sorry you feel that way but it doesn't change anything'.

On another occasion, Saripalli said: 'Hope ur ok, as for me, every moment in ur absence seems like ages. I wish I was dead, u still have a hearty long life to live, ill manage, don't stress urself.'

Shortly after this he said 'Wondered if u fancied dinner on Tuesday evening/night'.

The doctor then moved to Stoke Mandeville Hospital and told Colleague D 'you make me horny' before explaining to her that he used to 'keep his girlfriend up all night'.

Saripalli asked Colleague D out for dinner and 'would not accept no as an answer' when she declined his offer he said 'what, do you think I am going to try and get you into bed after a cup of tea?'.

Tom Gilbart, for the General Medical Council, said: 'Colleague A began working as a nurse in August 2011 she was employed by a company that provides nurses and she complained about advances being made by the doctor.

'The text messages were sent to Colleague A by the doctor, he would ignore requests to stop contacting Colleague A, those (requests for him to stop) were made by Colleague A and Witness B.

'The text messages demonstrate that he continued to send messages, even though she made it clear she did not wish to hear from him.

She said 'I told you you were being too full on for me, I don't want to hear from you again, you have made me feel uncomfortable'.

'Contact from the doctor continued and he was also texting Witness B who told him the best thing he could do was back off, telling him it was not appropriate.

At one stage, Witness B sent a message saying 'you need to get over her, it's become the talk of the ward for all the wrong reasons, it's harassment'.'

The doctor sent Colleague A messages saying 'hey my room needs a clean up aswell, do u mind once ur done with ur's, ill b urs once its done', 'I still love you, lets build a future together' and 'I can't afford to miss those eyes'.

The messages continued with him saying 'I'm Jason Bourne in reality, I will find you, as I said before, you are my destiny.' and 'If you can't accept the truth, that I long for you, I would rather be dead' then, 'you fancy a date?'

The messages continued with him saying 'I'm Jason Bourne in reality, I will find you, as I said before, you are my destiny.' and 'If you can't accept the truth, that I long for you, I would rather be dead' then, 'you fancy a date?'

Saripalli then started sending text messages to another nurse, referred to as Colleague C, who was on placement at Guy's and St Thomas'.

She text him making it clear she only wanted him to speak to her about work, during work hours.

Mr Gilbart continued: 'He sent four text messages after that, which disregarded the clear request.

'Between August 2013 and August 2014, Dr Saripalli was working at Stoke Mandeville Hospital in the A&E department.

'On July 3 2014 he asked Colleague D out for dinner.

On July 10 he asked her where one could obtain ketamine and asked her about piercings and tattoos.

He then asked if he could speak to her in private and she agreed, thinking it was something confidential about a patient.

'He asked personal things which made her feel uncomfortable.

He told her 'it surprises me you're with a woman' and proceeded to ask her to go out for dinner and to go to his flat for a cup of tea.

He made her feel quite intimidated.

'As they walked out for a cigarette he said 'can you keep a secret? You make me horny' before telling her he used to 'keep his girlfriend up all night'.

The conversation made Colleague D feel extremely uncomfortable.

The GMC case is that his behaviour on July 10 was sexually motivated and that was denied.

'Colleague D would have nightmares and wake up sweating.

His behaviour was harassing and that matter has been admitted.
Both went to the same college and their paths probably crossed before

Hansen never knew her father; Steenbock says he was often absent

Realized they were related after winding down at the end of a long day

Two attorneys worked together for weeks at the same public defender's office before realizing they were sisters.

Julie Hansen, 47, and Kelly Mahoney Steenbock, 43, had gathered with three other colleagues at the end of a long day when they made the life-altering discovery.

The group, who worked at the federal public defender's office in Omaha, Nebraska was discussing plans for Saint Patrick's Day.

What begun as a casual conversation about bringing Irish soda bread took a dramatic turn when one of the attorneys began questioning Steenbock about her Irish-sounding maiden name, the Omaha World-Herald reported on Wednesday.

Julie Hansen (left), 47, and Kelly Mahoney Steenbock (right), 43, had gathered with three other colleagues at the end of a long day when they made the life-altering discovery

He asked whether Steenbock was related to any Mahoneys in South Omaha. She told him she wasn't and instead said her father was from Chicago.

Hansen asked her what Steenbock's father's name was, and a couple of questions later, the two were certain they shared a father.

They began crying and hugging as one of their coworkers took pictures of his phone, having guessed something important was unfolding before his eyes.

Both sisters realized their paths had probably crossed in the past unbeknownst to them.

Hansen (pictured right as a baby in the arms of an adult) was born in 1968 in Bellevue, Nebraska. Her mother was 16 years old and had dropped out of high school

Steenbock (pictured left as an infant) was born in 1973 to a married couple in Bellevue. Her aunt Terry (right) ended up being the missing element that confirmed Hansen was her sister

Hansen was born in 1968 in Bellevue, Nebraska. Her mother was 16 years old and had dropped out of high school.

She knew her father's name but had no relationship with him. Hansen had heard about her Aunt Terry, who had visited her when she was a baby, but Hansen didn't remember meeting her.

Meanwhile, Steenbock was born in 1973 to a married couple in Bellevue. She told the Omaha World-Herald that her father, a truck driver, didn't spend a lot of time with her growing up.

Both sisters unknowingly attended the same college and pursued careers in county public defense offices - Hansen in Lancaster County, Steenbock in Douglas County.

Both sisters unknowingly attended the same college and pursued careers in county public defense offices - Hansen in Lancaster County, Steenbock (pictured) in Douglas County

Hansen (pictured left) has now begun to learn more their father thanks to Steenbock. She grew up without him and only knew his name until recently

Then, both went to work in the federal system - which is how they ended up reconnecting at the federal public defender's office in Omaha.

Aunt Terry ended up being the missing element that confirmed the two were related.

Steenbock told Hansen she had an aunt named Leigh Ann, but that everyone called her Terry.

That is when Hansen realized the woman she had been working with for weeks was her sister.

'I've always felt she's more like me than anyone I've ever met,' Steenbock told the Omaha World-Herald. 'We share the same sense of humor, the same sensibilities. We see the world the same way.'

Meanwhile Hansen has begun to learn more their father thanks to Steenbock.

'Coming from this background of not having a history for my father and all of a sudden not only being able to ask questions but having someone that I respected and cared about and such an impressive figure as a sister was truly an amazing experience,' Hansen said.
PC Michael Graham, 49, was jailed for 16 years for his campaign of physical and sexual abuse

A sadistic police officer who was recorded repeatedly raping a woman after she installed a sleep app on her iPhone has been kicked out of the force.

PC Michael Graham, 49, was jailed for 16 years for his campaign of physical and sexual abuse against the victim on his houseboat in Uxbridge, west London.

He controlled his victim for months by telling her no one would believe her because he was a Met Police officer.

Booting him out of the police force, Assistant Commissioner Helen King praised the victim's 'courage and resilience' in reporting Graham to his colleagues.

At trial, the court heard how the officer tied the victim up, slapped her and choked her and also boasted that he would end up killing her.

He also branded her a 'slut' and a 'c***'.

Sound recordings of two of his attacks were captured on the victim's iPhone and were played to jurors during the Old Bailey trial.

Graham, a former Marine who saw action in Yugoslavia, insisted that her repeated screams and shouts of 'No' were just part of their sexual fantasies and role-playing.

He was convicted of seven counts of rape and one count of sexual assault over a nine-month period from 24 December 2013 after trial at the Old Bailey.

Graham was cleared of two specimen counts of rape which each alleged he raped the complainant on at least 10 occasions.

Assistant Commissioner King said: 'The conviction of a police officer is always a serious matter and in this case is very clearly a breach of professional standards so serious that dismissal is the only option.

'At a time when much work has been done to improve the confidence of victims to report sexual offences to the police, the negative impact of an officer being convicted of rape and sexual assault in these circumstances is very obvious.

'His actions have very clearly brought the police service into disrepute.

'It is immensely to the victim's credit that she had the courage and resilience to report these matters and see them through the traumatic process of a trial to achieve PC Graham's conviction.'

He added: 'These convictions are so serious, as is the impact on the victim and on public confidence more broadly, that there is only one appropriate outcome in this case. That is for PC Graham to be dismissed without notice.'

Graham, a former Marine who saw action in Yugoslavia, insisted that her repeated screams and shouts of 'No' were just part of their sexual fantasies and role-playing during trial at the Old Bailey

Jurors were told that Graham became increasingly violent and aggressive after giving up cigarettes and using the drug Champix.

The victim said she did not initially go to police because he told her: 'I'm a police officer, I can do what I want, I'll tell people you are mad.'

She said she finally decided to make a statement but in September 2014 after he made repeated threats to kill her.

The woman told officers: 'I would just say "No I don't like it. I don't want you to hurt me".

'But he just did it anyway. He made threats if I didn't do it. I was absolutely terrified of him.

'I knew I had to leave because he is going to kill me next.'

The victim started using the iPhone sleep app to record Graham's increasingly aggressive rants and captured two separate sex attacks.

Graham, who served in the borough of Hounslow, can be clearly heard slapping her as she cries out in pain and repeatedly tells him 'no'.

When she tells him: 'Don't hurt me', he replied: 'I like hurting you.'

Later he says: 'I am going to beat you to death in a minute I can see it coming.'

She is also recorded begging: 'No please, please no', followed by the sound of a slap.

Graham tells her: 'I'm going to kill you one day, do you think?'

Jailing Graham for 16 years, Judge Peter Rook said: 'You were domineering and controlling, it seems you obtained sexual gratification from arguing with her, punishing her and committing violent non-consensual sexual acts against her.

'It took extreme courage to report the matter to the police, no doubt you thought that you would be able to control her so that she would never do so.

'She felt you could do what you wanted because no one would ever believe her - you've caused untold and continuing psychological damage.'

The former officer was also barred from contacting the victim on his eventual release.

Graham initially denied hitting or tying up the woman but later claimed that he was too embarrassed to reveal details of his sex life to police officers, and claimed he had erectile dysfunction.

After being played the recordings, he said it 'appeared bad' but insisted that was how they had sex.

Graham, of Poole, Dorset, was convicted of seven counts of rape and one count of sexual assault.
Police said the waiter could be charged with criminal negligence

He suffered cardiac arrested and was hospitalized for five days total

Canuel ordered the beef tartare, but was served the salmon tartare instead

He told the waiter twice about his allergy, and asked him to double-check that the staff was aware of it

A 22-year-old Canadian waiter has been arrested after serving salmon to a patron who had disclosed his severe allergy - and almost died after taking one just one bite.

Simon-Pierre Canuel, 34, was dining with his boyfriend at tapas restaurant Le Tapageur in Quebec when he went into anaphylactic shock.

Canuel, who has a severe seafood allergy, immediately lost consciousness. He suffered cardiac arrest and was in a coma for two days.

Simon-Pierre Canuel, 34, was in a coma (pictured) for two days and suffered cardiac arrest after he was served salmon tartare despite telling the waiter he had a severe seafood allergy

Canuel was dining with his boyfriend (pictured) at tapas restaurant Le Tapageur in Quebec when he went into anaphylactic shock. The waiter has since been arrested

'The server almost killed me,' Canuel told the Globe and Mail. 'I know it was an error, but that error had almost taken my life.'

Canuel said he repeatedly told the waiter, whose name has not been released, about his allergy when he dined at the restaurant on May 29.

He first told the server about his allergy when he first sat down at Le Tapageur.

Canuel said he then placed his order for the beef tartare, and asked the waiter to double-check that the chef and kitchen staff knew about his allergy.

But the waiter did not take notes or write down Canuel's order and did not check with the staff, according to Sherbrooke Police Constable Martin Carrier.

And Canuel alleged that he instead saw the waiter chatting, laughing and drinking alcohol with other guests at the restaurant.

When the dish arrived Canuel had no idea that what he was about to take a bite of was actually salmon tartare, instead of beef.

'With the dim lighting, it's not easy to tell the difference between two dishes, especially if they use mayonnaise,' he told CBC.

Le Tapageur has tartare dishes made with both beef and salmon on the menu (pictured)

Canuel said the dim lighting made it impossible to tell between the two dishes (A file photo of beef tartare is pictured on the left, on the right is the salmon tartare)

'It can be confusing.'

The couple notified the waiter, who apologized and offered to bring him the beef dish instead.

But just seconds went by before Canuel began having trouble breathing before he lost consciousness. His Epipen was in the car.

His boyfriend, a doctor, began to conduct mouth-to-mouth resuscitation and CPR. Canuel would be hospitalized in the intensive care unit for the next five days.

Canuel said he attempted to contact Le Tapageur twice but never received any kind of response. He filed a formal complaint with the Sherbrooke Police in July.

It is believed to be the first time police in Canada have ever recommended a waiter to face criminal charges over such an incident.

'When you don't do something that is supposed to be your duty, and you show recklessness for the life or security of someone, that's a crime', Carrier said.

The restaurant has refused to comment on the case. Canuel said he has not been contacted by Le Tapageur since the horrific incident

The waiter, who could be charged with criminal negligence, was released from police custody on the promise he would appear in court if indicted.

It is believed Quebec's director of criminal and penal prosecutions will make the decision in the next two weeks.

Canuel, who is also considering filing a civil suit against the restaurant, said he is still feeling side effects from that one bite.

'I have anxiety attacks. There are times when I have heart palpitations and sweating attacks,' he said.
A woman stole a $70,000 Audemars Piguet watch from a man she met at a New York City nightclub before pulling a similar stunt with a different suitor a month later, prosecutors said.

Yulia Sedunova, 27, met a 29-year-old man at the upscale club Provocateur on June 12, before heading back to his apartment, where he woke up the next morning to find his luxury timepiece was missing, the New York Daily News reported.

A 25-year-old man then reported his $12,000 Rolex disappeared from his pants after he brought Sedunova back to his hotel on July 21, authorities said.

Yulia Sedunova (pictured in 2013 mugshots) stole a $70,000 Audemars Piguet watch from a man she met at a New York City nightclub, prosecutors said. She appeared in the Manhattan Criminal Court on Friday with blonde hair

Sedunova, a Russian native, met her first alleged victim in the Meatpacking District before heading back to his Madison Avenue apartment in Murray Hill.

The 29-year-old man said he made an effort to hide the watch, putting it on a 'high surface' before going to bed, the criminal complaint said.

But he woke up the next morning to find both Sedunova and his prized watch were gone.

A month later, she met a 25-year-old man from Boston and went back to the Wyndham New Yorker Hotel with him, authorities said.

He told the police his Rolex was in his pants before he fell asleep, but the watch, along with Sedunova, disappeared the next morning.

Attorney Ken Montgomery proclaimed her innocence, and prosecutors said during a court appearance at the Manhattan Criminal Court on Friday that Sedunova had not yet been indicted, according to the Daily News.
The grandfather of murdered Ellie Butler hit out last night at the injustice that allowed his daughter's killer partner to be awarded 2million in legal aid.

Neal Gray called the huge payments 'unbelievable' as it emerged that bullying monster Ben Butler and Ellie's cruel mother Jennie Gray received more than 1million just to fight to win custody of their daughter.

The rest of the bill was run up over 15 years of hearings, including a three-month Old Bailey murder trial which was repeatedly delayed as Butler twice sacked his legal team.

Ben Butler, 36, was given a 'blank cheque' to fund a 'Rolls-Royce' team of lawyers at the secretive Family Court and during his murder trial. Pictured, Butler with his daughter Ellie

Ellie's loving foster parents  her grandparents Neal (pictured) and Linda Gray - spent their 80,000 life savings battling their daughter for custody of Ellie

Killer Butler, 36, was handed a 'blank cheque' to fund a 'Rolls-Royce' team of lawyers at the under-fire and secretive Family Court.

By contrast, Ellie's loving foster parents  her grandparents Neal and Linda Gray  were left penniless after being denied any assistance.

They spent their 80,000 life savings battling their daughter for custody, taking up cleaning jobs to meet the spiralling legal bills.

But they ran out of cash in the final weeks of the Family Court hearing, leaving Butler and Gray's lawyers free to claim the case as Sutton Council also dropped its opposition.

We were willing to do anything to get her back. We fought tooth and nail. But it wasn't an even playing field. Ellie's grandfather Neal Gray

In October 2013, just 11 months after Ellie was handed over, Butler bludgeoned the six-year-old to death in a fit of temper at their home in Sutton, South London, and persuaded Gray, 36, to help him cover up the crime.

Last night, Mr Gray, 70, whose wife, 69, died of cancer on the first day of the murder trial in April, said it was 'unbelievable and shocking' that Ellie's parents were given so much money, while campaigners branded the payments a 'disgrace'.

He said: 'We spent our entire life savings and took two extra cleaning jobs to fight for Ellie. It was incredibly hard and all we wanted to do was look after our granddaughter.

'We were willing to do anything to get her back. We fought tooth and nail. But it wasn't an even playing field, we ran out of money and ended up not being represented in the case. It makes me very angry, it's just unbelievable.

Ellie's grandparents Neal and Linda Gray spent their 80,000 life savings battling to keep their granddaughter alive

Mr Gray, 70, whose wife Linda died of cancer on the first day of Ellie's murder trial, said it was 'unbelievable and shocking' Ellie's parents were given so much money. Pictured, Ben Butler with his daughter Ellie

SECRET COURT RULING THAT SEALED HER FATE The story of little Ellie's short life is one of the most shocking cases of abuse in recent years. She was taken into care aged just six weeks after suffering a serious brain injury, consistent with being shaken, when she was left alone with her father. While she was fostered by her maternal grandparents, Ben Butler was convicted of assaulting her and jailed, only for his case to be quashed at the Court of Appeal. On his release, he launched a relentless campaign to win her back, battling social workers, the police and the parents of her mother, Jennie Gray. In a fateful decision after months of legal argument in secret hearings, Mrs Justice Hogg ruled Ellie should be sent to live with her parents. Her decision came despite increasingly dire warnings, which culminated in her grandfather, Neal Gray, warning the judge she would have 'blood on her hands'. Eleven months later, on October 28, 2013, Ellie was found dead at home. Her skull had been smashed by Butler in a volcanic temper. It would take a team of Scotland Yard detectives another two-and-a-half years to bring Butler and Gray to justice. Butler was jailed for life for murder and must serve a minimum of 23 years. Gray was jailed for 42 months for child cruelty and pretending Ellie's death was an accident. Advertisement

'We were turned down for legal aid but because they were on benefits they were able to get it. I'm sure the ordeal killed my wife and now I don't have her or Ellie.'

The extraordinary payments will fuel the simmering row over the Government's decision to severely water down its reform of the legal aid system. Ministers boasted how the budget has been slashed from 2.4billion to 1.6billion but suspended further cuts and changes earlier this year.

Critics accuse them of being cowed from the most controversial changes by a vociferous legal lobby and series of complex court challenges.

The figures were obtained by the Daily Mail under Freedom of Information laws and reveal that in total the pair were handed 1,449,899 over 15 years.

This figure included 1,185,285 in 'civil representation', which includes cases at the Family Court. Of this, 223,266 paid for Gray's legal team during the fateful four-month hearing that led to the return of Ellie. Butler's final bill is yet to be submitted.

Other cases during his criminal career included benefits fraud, violence, attempted robbery and witness intimidation.

The bill could rise by at least another 500,000  as it does not include the cost of the long-running trial that finally brought Butler and Gray to justice. Proceedings were repeatedly delayed as the killer sacked two legal teams amid violent outbursts towards his barristers and judges.

At the same time, Butler and Ellie's cruel mother Jennie Gray (pictured, with Ellie) received more than 1million alone to win custody of their daughter  who was later bludgeoned to death by her father

The extraordinary payments will fuel the simmering row over the Government's decision to severely water down its reform of the legal aid system. Pictured, Ellie

And Butler, who has been sentenced to a serve a minimum of 23 years, has also threatened to take his conviction to the Court of Appeal, claiming key evidence was never shown to the jury, which will incur further cost to taxpayers. One source close to the Family Court battle said the size of the legal aid bill reflected Butler's ruthless determination to get his way.

This case shows the worst of the Family Court system and legal aid. It's a disgrace. Campaigner Marilyn Hawes, of Enough Abuse

'It funded a Rolls-Royce team of lawyers who were instructed to use every possible avenue to get Ellie back,' he said.

'When Butler did not get his way he quickly resorted to threats and violence. He is an extremely intimidating and cunning man.'

Campaigner Marilyn Hawes, of Enough Abuse said: 'I am horrified by this. This just shows how our system is skewed towards the offender who has got the lion's share of legal aid.

'Meanwhile the grandparents were left high and dry. This case shows the worst of the Family Court system and legal aid. It's a disgrace.'

In its response to the Freedom of Information request, the Ministry of Justice said legal aid is only available to those who cannot afford to pay their own fees.

Butler, who has been sentenced to a serve a minimum of 23 years, has also threatened to take his conviction to the Court of Appeal, claiming key evidence was never shown to the jury

A spokesman said that although there are 'merits of the case' tests in civil legal aid cases, parents in care proceedings are exempt.

'Legal aid is now only available for the highest priority cases, which includes care proceedings,' he said.

'The Government has taken action to reduce legal aid expenditure. It has been reduced by 20 per cent since 2010.'

Controversy continues to rage over legal aid handed to terrorists and criminals. Hate preacher Abu Hamza received almost 680,000 in legal aid during an eight-year battle against extradition to the US.
Kristian Nicole Guerrero and her newlywed husband, Fabian Guerrero-Moreno, had been looking forward to moving into their new apartment in Texas and hosting a gender-reveal party for their unborn baby this weekend.

Instead, at 5am on Thursday the five-month-pregnant woman delivered a stillborn baby after being severely injured in a collision with a suspected drunken driver that killed her husband.

Shana Elliot, 21, a student at Texas State University, has been charged with two counts of felony intoxication manslaughter and one count of intoxication assault.

Tragic loss: Five-months-pregnant Kristian Guerrero (seen left) delivered a stillborn son after losing her husband, Fabian (pictured left), in a head-on crash caused by Shana Elliott (right), a 21-year-old Texas State University student

Devastating impact: This is the newlyweds' mangled Toyota Corolla, which Mrs Guerrero was driving at the time of the crash

Guerreros aunt, Diane Castillo, told MySA.com that doctors at St. David's South Austin Medical Center, where her 24-year-old niece has been undergoing treatment since the fateful accident Tuesday, induced labor at around noon.

Nearly 24 hours later, the expectant mother delivered her lifeless son.

'The baby was just perfect,' Castillo told People Magazine Friday.' Kristian got to hold his hand for a while, and his paternal grandmother got to hold him as well.'

Castillo said Guerrero-Moreno had always wanted to have a son and died not knowing his wife had been expecting a boy.

Kristian called her and Fabian's son Fabian James, just like her late husband wanted. The newlywed died not knowing his wife was having a boy

The happy couple had been planning to host a gender-reveal party for their baby for Sunday

The newlywed couple, who got married last November, had been arguing about their baby's middle name, with the husband pushing for Fabian James, if it was a boy, and the wife giving preference to Fabian Michael.

In the end, the young widow named her stillborn son Fabian James, like her husband wanted.

Shana Elliot, still wearing her bikini, was arrested Tuesday. She admitted to police on that she had been drinking beer and liquor while floating down the river at Texas State Tubes with friends just before the car crash that killed Fabian Guerrero-Moreno and injured his wife at around 6pm.

Police reports state that the Guerreros were driving in the opposite direction down Highway 21 in San Marcos when the public relations senior, driving a Chevy Impala, drifted into oncoming traffic and collided with their car head on.

Mrs Guerrero was driving the vehicle at the time, while her husband was sitting in the passenger seat.

Mr Guerrero was killed and his wife injured when Elliott (pictured) drove her vehicle into oncoming traffic on Highway 21 in San Marcos

Just a day before the deadly crash, Mrs Guerrero proudly shared this photo of their unborn child. Police say that child is likely to die from injuries sustained in the crash

Mr Guerrero-Moreno was pronounced dead at the scene while his pregnant wife was rushed to St David's South Austin Medical Center, where doctors found bleeding on her brain.

Diane Castillo, her aunt, said that a short time after the crash, doctors performed an ultrasound and detected the baby's heartbeat.

'Kristian was so relieved that she would still have part of her husband after finding out he had passed,' the aunt explained.

But a repeat ultrasound showed that the baby had died in the womb.

Following the crash, witnesses told police that they saw a 'female in a bikini...roll a bottle of alcohol under a vehicle' at the scene.

In addition to her most recent arrest, Elliott was arrested twice this past spring for drug possession (pictured let and right in her previous mugshots). She is a senior at Texas State University, majoring in public relations and mass communications

Police who interviewed Elliott also noted that her breath had 'the strong odor' of alcohol, that her eyes were red and glassy, and that she was unsteady on her feet.

Elliott was taken to Central Texas Medical Center for minor injuries before she was booked on the charges.

Just hours before the crash, the Guerreros checked into a Joe's Crab Shack in San Antonio, celebrating Fabian's new US residency status.

And the day before, Mrs Guerrero proudly posted a sonogram image of their unborn baby to Facebook, writing: 'Is this the face of a little prince or a little princess?! We can't wait to find out Sunday! Are you team boy or team girl?! Taking bets now!'

Castillo has launched a GoFundMe page to help her niece with her husband and son's final expenses, and with her own medical bills. As of Friday afternoon, more than $10,000 has been raised.

Meanwhile, Elliott sits in jail in lieu of a $185,000 bond.

In addition to this most recent arrest, Elliott has a history of drug possession charges.

On March 22, she was arrested for three felony charges of possession of a controlled substance and marijuana.
A passionate protestor attempting to stop an endangered Torrey pine from getting torn down in San Diego has set up camp in the tree and is refusing to come down.

The 68-foot-tall tree, which is 75 years old, was scheduled to be cut down from the 4600 block of Saratoga Avenue on Thursday. The city deemed the Torrey - a rare tree in the US - unsafe and wanted to remove it before storm season.

However Crystal Rose Speros, 19, is not allowing that to happen, and by climbing up the tree she managed to turn away the contractors tasked with tearing it down on Thursday and Friday.

Still standing: The 68-foot-tall tree - an endangered species - was set to be removed Thursday, however the climbing efforts of protestor Crystal Rose Speros, 19, put a stop to that

The woman, Ocean Beach resident Crystal Rose Speros, began her sit-in at the tree around 11 am Thursday and successfully kept contractors at bay

'It's older than I am, so it's part of this community,' Speros told Fox 5 San Diego.

'It's an old soul that can't defend itself.'

Speros has the support of many locals, who gathered by the tree to cheer her on.

'These trees are family to us. They are old,' said Ocean Beach resident Kevyn Lettau.

A spokesperson for the city said the decision to remove the tree was taken lightly and came about after months of monitory.

The city's arborist and urban forester concluded that, due to root upheaval and decay, it was dangerous in its current state.

The city says strong winds from a previous storm weakened the root system and made the trees unstable, causing a hazard in the residential area

Passionate: Speros said she didn't plan to scale the tree, but felt it was her only choice

About a half-dozen residents on the ground joined Speros in protest, claiming the city was not transparent in its plans for the doomed tree

'There's 2,000 of these trees left in the wild and the fact that they are systematically removing the trees off this block is really just inappropriate,' John Ambert, chairman of the Ocean Beach Planning Board, told Fox.

'These trees, I believe, are protected at the state level so we haven't seen any type of permit in terms of the California Fish and Wildlife service to demonstrate that there is an absolute need to remove the tree.'
One toddler in Philadelphia proved why you should never go on air with an unruly child.

During a car seat demonstration on 'Good Day Philadelphia', which explained a new car seat law in the city, a 23-month-old baby named Noah refused to cooperate.

The segment begins with co-host Mike Jerrick in the field showing a child attempting to squirm out of his mother's arms.

'We have a minivan and a child who's about to throw a fit,' Jerrick says.

During a car seat demonstration on 'Good Day Philadelphia', which explained a new car seat law in the city, a 23-month-old baby named Noah (pictured) refused to cooperate

The segment begins with co-host Mike Jerrick in the field showing a child attempting to squirm out of his mother's arms

The child's mother, Tory, tries to get him into the car but he grabs the rubber door frame each time, pulling it off

The toddler's mother, Tory, is a producer for the show and tries to wrangle her rambunctious child as a doctor from a nearby hospital tries to explain that children under two or who do not meet the weight requirements have to sit rear-facing.

Noah calms down a little after Jerrick lets him hold the microphone, but soon that, too, bores him and he begins his epic squirm again.

At first Tory attempts to put Noah into his car seat but he grabs the rubber lining on the door of the minivan and rips it off.

'He's tearing the car apart. Is this part of the law?' Jerrick jokes.

Each time Tory tries to force little Noah into the car seat he kicks his legs in protest and grabs back on to the rubber door stop.

Jerrick asks for back up and another woman steps in to help get the child into the seat, but Noah is still miserable

'Now, should he be upside down like he is now?' Jerrick asks as the angry child continues to roll around in his seat

Then Jerrick asks for back up and another woman steps in to help get the child into the seat.

The doctor continues to try and explain what the new laws for Philadelphia are but it's clear everyone has stopped listening as Noah becomes the segment's star.

Finally, Tory gets Noah into the chair but the infant has other plans and slides into the chair upside down.

'Now, should he be upside down like he is now?' Jerrick asks as the angry child continues to roll around in his seat.

When Tory sits Noah up in his seat and puts his arms through his harness, the child begins to cry and throw a tantrum.

Noah kicks and wiggles, clearly unhappy with being volunteered to demonstrate the car seat rules

When Tory sits Noah up in his seat and puts his arms through his harness, the child begins to cry and throw a bigger tantrum

'Now what's the weight ... I'm sorry, I'm confused,' Jerrick says, clearly distracted by Noah's show.

Noah has had it at this point and begins to worm his way over the sides of the car seat.

'This is the best demo ever done on a morning television show. What is going on, Tory?' Jerrick says.

'Now what's the weight ... I'm sorry, I'm confused,' Jerrick says, clearly distracted by Noah's show

Ready to drive away: Once sitting in the front of the (off and parked) car, Noah puts on a smile and is finally content

'I don't know! I'm losing him!' she shouts back from inside the car.

With all the adults joking at Noah's expense, the toddler makes a dash for the front seat.

Once sitting in the front of the (off and parked) car, Noah puts on a smile and is finally content.

'Do you recommend he drive?' Jerrick asks.
Donald Trump lit into President Barack Obama on Friday in Iowa, calling his claim that a $400 million cash payment to Iran wasn't a ransom for four hostages 'a lie.'

And Trump compared the White House's official account of the January cash shipment to promises the president made before his Affordable Care Act was implemented.

The White house paid Iran '$400 million, the same day as the hostage release, and now they say, "It had nothing to do with it, just coincidence",' Trump told an audience of about 2,000 in Des Moines, Iowa.

'Just like he said 24 times, "You can keep your doctor for Obamacare, keep your plan, keep your doctor." Over and over and over again!'

LIAR, LIAR, PANTS ON FIRE: Donald Trump said when President Barack Obama denied paying a $400 million hostage ransom to Iran, it was 'just like the Obamacare lie'

'YOU CAN KEEP YOUR DOCTOR': Obama famously promised dozens of times that his health insurance overhaul would allow Americans to keep their existing health care, but it didn't turn out that way

Obama famously pledged that Americans wouldn't have to switch doctors or insurance plans once the Obamacare system took effect.

But tens of millions found themselves forced to do just that as physicians opted out of the government-brokered insurance policies and existing plans failed to cover services the government considered mandatory.

'Obama said yesterday, "It had nothing to do with it!"' Trump boomed, referring to the president's insistence that the $400 million cash payment was unrelated to the hostages' release.

'It's another lie. It's just like the Obamacare lie. It's just like so many other lies. It's another lie!'

'Same day. Just a coincidence, right?' he mocked.

Obama claimed Thursday in a press conference that 'we do not pay ransom for hostages.'

'We do not pay ransom. We didn't here,' he told reporters. 'And we don't  we wont in the future  precisely because if we did, then we would start encouraging Americans to be targeted.'

Trump claimed the money Obama sent to Tehran 'will be spent to attack our friends and allies. Terror.'

He also predicted that 'a lot of it is going to to their pockets.'

CASH DROP: An Iranian propaganda film broadcast in February included this shipping pallet stacked with cash and a suggestion that it was the money Obama sent to Tehran

GOING HOME: Four Iranian hostages including a journalist, a U.S. Marine and a pastor were released after the money arrived on January 17

Trump cited an account by pastor Saeed Abedini, one of the captives, who said he and the others were held on a plane and not permitted to leave Tehran until a plane  presumably the money  arrived first.

'So the $400 million comes in the same day as the hostages go out, or very close,' he said, 'and the hostages  do you all remember when they waited and waited, and nobody could understand, why were they waiting?'

A man in the audience shouted: "They were waiting for you, Mr. Trump!"

'They were waiting for me!; he chuckled. 'They wouldn't be getting four hundred [million], I'll tell you right now. They wouldn't be getting 10 cents.'

Trump also lashed out at Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton for 'lying' to the American public about her now-infamous email server, calling her 'pathological' and 'the queen of corruption.'

'She lied about it over and over and over again!' he said.

TRUST ME: Obama pledged dozens of times that 'You can keep your doctor' under Obamacare

DYNAMIC DUO? Trump and his vice presidential running make Mike Pence, the governor of Indiana, appeared together in Des Moines, Iowa on Friday

Trump said history will show that 'getting out of trouble' would be remembered as Clinton's greatest accomplishment.

But then he stopped and lowered his voice conspiratorially: 'Maybe it's not over yet.'

Trump suggested that the 33,000 emails Clinton deleted might resurface at some point.
Mrs Horton, 64, was stabbed in the back with a knife and bled to death

One woman, Darlene Horton, was killed with others were left hospitalised

Zakaria Bulhan (pictured) was arrested after dozens of armed police brought him down with a Taser stun gun

The 19-year-old arrested following the stabbing of an American tourist in Russell Square has been charged with her murder.

Zakaria Bulhan has also been charged with the attempted murder of five other people after they were attacked with a knife in central London on Wednesday.

The Norwegian national of Somali origin, who moved to the UK in 2002, was arrested after dozens of armed police brought him down with a Taser stun gun.

Mother-of-two Darlene Horton, 64, was stabbed in the back with a kitchen knife and bled to death on the pavement.

She had chosen to stay in London for an extra day to enjoy time in the capital because psychology professor Dr Richard Wagner had taught at a UK summer school for several weeks. They were due to fly back six hours after her murder.

She could not be saved, despite the best efforts of paramedics, and was pronounced dead at the scene. Witnesses said her shocked husband sobbed nearby as her body lay sprawled on the pavement overnight.

Dozens of flowers have been left at the spot where she was stabbed including bouquets with an American flag.
The body of beloved Utah defense attorney Kevin Hart, 50, has been found two weeks after he fell into a Norwegian waterfall

The body of a beloved Utah defense attorney has been recovered nearly two weeks after he fell into an 820-foot Norwegian waterfall.

Kent Hart, 50, was hiking with his two sons in Norway when he slipped into the Hivjufossen waterfall in Hallingdal on July 24.

Officials launched a heavy search and rescue effort with helicopters, divers, alpine rescue teams with dogs and even an underwater robot.

But the mission was hampered over the last two weeks by high water levels and strong currents, according to the Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation.

Authorities at the time said it was unlikely Hart had survived the fall.

The popular lawyer was on vacation with his new wife Giovanna and his two sons Evan and Anders. Evan was about to start college in Norway.

A body was found in an upper area of the falls around 3.30pm on Wednesday and removed by helicopter.

Water levels had dropped that day which allowed the body to be recovered, regional sheriff Paul Mikkelnud told NRK.

Hart, who was the executive director of the Utah Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, was the only person reported missing in the area.

Kathryn Nester, the Federal Public Defender for the District of Utah, said Hart's death was 'such a loss for the legal defense community', she told The Salt Lake Tribune.

Hart, who spent most of his career as a public defender, also mentored and taught other attorneys and championed for numerous reforms in the justice system, including a repeal of capital punishment.

Evan made a devastating video to inform relatives and friends about what happened two days after he watched his father's tragic fall.

Hart was on vacation with his new wife Giovanna and his sons Evan and Anders (all pictured on his wedding day) when he slipped and fell into the 820-foot Hivjufossen waterfall in Hallingdal

A body was found in an upper area of the falls (pictured) around 3.30pm on Wednesday and removed by helicopter after an extensive two week search

He said the family decided to stop at a hiking trail that leads up to the waterfall but that Giovanna, Evan's stepmother, decided to stop half-way because she was tired.

Hart and his two sons reached the top of the falls, and that's when Hart slipped.

Evan said they immediately called the emergency number and a helicopter came. When they couldn't find him, more helicopters, as well as divers, were sent in.

'It is well past the 24-hour mark and they still have not found him,' Evan said in the video, posted on July 25.

'We've talked with the chief of police and Red Cross, and they say it's practically impossible for someone to survive this long in that weather in those conditions.'

'So,' he pauses. 'That's what happened.'
A federal appeals court has put former Virginia first lady Maureen McDonnell's case on hold, giving prosecutors and defense attorneys more time to analyze a recent Supreme Court ruling.

The high court's decision to put her nine convictions on hold stemmed from the decision to overturn her husband's case in June.

Former Gov Bob McDonnell's 11 corruption convictions were overturned by the Supreme Court, which said his actions were distasteful but didn't necessarily violate federal bribery laws.

A federal appeals court has put former Virginia first lady Maureen McDonnell's case on hold, giving prosecutors and defense attorneys more time to analyze a recent Supreme Court ruling

The high court's decision to put her case on hold stemmed from the decision to overturn her husband's case in June. Former Gov Bob McDonnell's (pictured) 11 corruption convictions was overturned by the Supreme Court, which said his actions didn't violate federal bribery laws

The case was returned to the 4th US Circuit Court of Appeals to decide whether there's enough evidence for another trial.

McDonnell and his wife had been convicted in federal court of accepting $175,000 worth of cash and gifts while in office.

The former governor had been a rising political star before the explosive revelations.

A jury convicted McDonnell of violating bribery statutes for accepting the gifts in exchange for helping businessman Jonnie Williams, who ran a vitamin supplement company.

The company wanted assistance promoting its product, which contained anatabine, a compound that is found in tobacco.

McDonnell and his wife (pictured at the inaugural ball in 2010) had been convicted in federal court of accepting $175,000 worth of cash and gifts while in office. The former governor had been a rising political star before the explosive revelations.

A jury convicted McDonnell (right) of violating bribery statutes for accepting the gifts in exchange for helping businessman Jonnie Williams, who ran a vitamin supplement company

Williams, the CEO of Star Scientific, wanted state universities to perform studies on the product.

The gifts weren't prohibited under Virginia loose campaign finance laws.

But the feds argued that favors the governor performed  including setting up meetings and letting Williams hold a luncheon at the governor's mansion  ran afoul of bribery laws.

Part of the government's problem was that the things McDonnell allegedly did weren't straightforward legislative acts or executive actions.

The state-sponsored studies didn't happen.

They were tried together, but had different defense teams and their appeals proceeded separately.

The court previously agreed to give prosecutors and the former governor's attorneys until August 29 to file a proposed briefing schedule or joint status report.

On Friday, the court agreed to similar conditions in Maureen McDonnell's case.

Part of the government's problem was that the things McDonnell allegedly did weren't straightforward legislative acts or executive actions. Attorneys on both sides said the order signals court agrees with a defense analysis that the first lady's convictions can not stand

Attorneys on both sides said the order signals the court agrees with a defense analysis that the first lady's convictions can not stand, according to the Washington Post.

Federal prosecutors in Virginia said in a statement to the Post: 'At this time we are thoughtfully determining next steps in both cases.'

When McDonnell's case was overturned the court the court said in the opinion: 'If the court below determines that there is sufficient evidence for a jury to convict Governor McDonnell of committing or agreeing to commit an "official act", his case may be set for a new trial'.

'If the court instead determines that the evidence is insufficient, the charges against him must be dismissed.'
He's the world-famous designer idolised by luvvies such as actress Jennifer Aniston and Lord Mandelson, and best-known for the rocket-shaped lemon squeezer which adorns thousands of middle-class homes.

Philippe Starck, 67, mixes with the jet-set, and his creations include everything from bijou hotels in London and abroad, to watches, yachts and armchairs.

With a reputation as 'the rock star of the design world', he's been married four times and has five children  Ara, Oa, Lago, K and Justice  names that he says were computer-generated.

He has 18 houses all over the globe.

The Frenchman, who immodestly says his inspiration is Leonardo da Vinci, began his career as an apprentice to the fashion king Pierre Cardin.

Obsessed with having regular sex, he has a fastidious lifestyle  for example owning 300 grey T-shirts, imbibing only liquids for long periods and writing notes on plastic paper that is made just for him.

Over the years, he has given numerous interviews  describing his life in such a preposterous way that many would conclude from this amaglamation of quotes that he is surely the most pretentious man on the planet.

He's the world-famous designer idolised by luvvies such as actress Jennifer Aniston and Lord Mandelson, and best-known for the rocket-shaped lemon squeezer which adorns thousands of middle-class homes

SEX AT 6AM

'As soon as I wake up at 6am, I make love to my wonderful wife, Jasmine.

'It's obligatory.

'It keeps the creative machine in working order, it's pleasant and it's a proof of love.

'After making love, I fetch our daughter, Justice, and put her in our bed where we play, sing and read with her.'

GETTING UP

'I showerfor 15 minutes, under high-pressure jets that switch from hot to cold.

'Then I'll choose a T-shirt  I have about 300, in six tones of grey  pants and shoes, which in the summer are Nike Flyknit trainers.'

PETIT DEJEUNER

'We then have breakfast  a slice of gluten-free black bread with honey, walnuts, hazelnuts, Brazil nuts, almonds and pomegranate seeds, and a herbal infusion.

I take no pleasure in eating  breakfast is just the premeditation of a hard creative day. I hope pills will replace food.

'I have some royal jelly to boost immunity, an Omega 3 capsule for the brain, lemon juice, organic yogurt and an organic apple because 'an apple a day keeps the doctor away'.'

hilippe Starck, 67, mixes with the jet-set, and his creations include everything from bijou hotels in London and abroad, to watches, yachts and armchairs

HIS 18 HOMES

'We live in various places.

[His properties include a New York apartment, a property next to a nudist camp by the River Seine and 'a palace in Portugal'.]

'One is in Paris, in a wooden eco-home, the prototype from a series I designed.

'We also have homes on two islands  Formentera, off Ibiza, and a fisherman's house on Burano island, in the Venetian lagoon, where I can see fishermen bringing back their catches.

'They're mainly huts on the edge of, or in the middle of, water or forests, and they're filled with my own creations, from the beds and desks to the kitchens.

'I'd rather live in a poor room with my wife than in a castle alone.' [He employs staff to ensure each house has the same items as the others  even the same books.]

HIS WARDROBE

'When I buy shoes, I buy 20 pairs so I can have them in all my houses and when I buy a T-shirt, I get 80.'

HIS EDUCATION

'As a child, I didn't go to school; I just wasn't interested in it.

'And to this day, I can't do multiplications.

'I do not know my alphabet or the months of the year  I always have to start at January.

'Other things, too: if you ask me to make a phone-call, I'd have a problem with that.

'I'm not at all intelligent, but I have amazing intuition.

'And I have to be somewhere where I feel in the right state to receive the intuitions my subconscious sends to me.

'It may seem pretentious, but that's what it is.

'I turn around the magma, the mud in my brain and, slowly, oysters come out.

'Right now I'm working on my idea of "democratic ecology".

'It includes wind turbines for individuals, and a series of eco-friendly homes.'

With a reputation as 'the rock star of the design world', he's been married four times and has five children  Ara, Oa, Lago, K and Justice  names that he says were computer-generated

DAILY ROUTINE

'It takes at most 45 years for an idea to mature.

'And when it does, I see it to the point of completion.

'But of course, everything starts with a drawing and for this I've been using the same make of pencil  the Pentel Q1000  for the past 20 years.

'I love it so much I bought enough to last me for the next 1,000 years.

'I also use tracing paper made for me, which is indestructible.

'As a rough estimate, it would take me two-and-a-half hours to come up with a complete [design] drawing of a giant yacht, while a hotel never takes more than two-and-a-half days, and a chair never more than seven minutes.

'To function properly, I have to be detached from material things.

'I'm a bit like the recluse Howard Hughes  I've been living in a bubble for 40 years.'

PRIVATE PLANE

'The problem is, my life's quite schizophrenic because I travel so much.

'Sometimes, I'll fly to two or three countries in one day to see clients.

'Fortunately, we've got our own plane, a Swiss-made Pilatus cargo.

'It sometimes feels more like home than our other properties.'

HIS (4TH) WIFE

'Jasmine and I met at a party in Paris and it was love at first sight.

'I wasn't single then, but she stayed in my brain and I searched for her for three-and-a-half years until I found her again.

'We got married in 2008 and had our daughter, Justice, in 2011.

'We never leave each other's side.

'My wife is my inspiration.'

HIS FAMILY

'I have four older children, but it's difficult to see them as they are all over the place. My daughter Ara is in New York, two more live in Venice, and Oa lives in Paris.

'I've never been very present for them, but I have always tried to teach them good values in life.'

He has 18 houses all over the globe. The Frenchman, who immodestly says his inspiration is Leonardo da Vinci, began his career as an apprentice to the fashion king Pierre Cardin

HIS STYLE

'When I started, back in the Eighties, design was almost non-existent.

'Now it is so fashionable.

'A nice object will never change the life of somebody, but it helps.

'Everything has an influence on our subconscious.

'It will not bring back the husband, but it can send a sign of intelligence and poetry and humour.

'Over 40 years, I have created around me the perfect system that I wanted  a glass ball  which has set me up as a pure spirit who lays eggs. I lay eggs all day.

'I dream and I lay eggs.

'There is no relationship with the real world, no connection with materials, no connection with anything.

'I live all the time in this crystal ball and that is the beauty of it, just being a spirit.

[His most famous design is a polished aluminium lemon squeezer which is on long legs. Many say it doesn't work very well and makes a mess of the worktop. Starck is said to have remarked: 'It's not meant to squeeze lemons, it is meant to start conversations.']

WORK ETHIC

'My office is in Paris, but my real office is my brain, and I can work anywhere as long as it's secluded.

'I can spend 12 hours at a stretch at my desk, and all I need to work is good music, good light, something to draw with and a good chair.

'My work has always been varied, from designing kitchen utensils to homes and super-yachts, such as the one I did for Steve Jobs [creator of tech giant Apple].

'One of my latest projects is with the Brazilian shoe brand Ipanema.

'It's a collection of sandals made from 30 per cent recycled materials.

'Creativity is a drug addiction and a mental sickness.

'You can't retire from that.'

A VEGGIE LUNCH

'At one o'clock, I do 45 minutes of exercise, then I stop for lunch.

'I'm a vegetarian and everything's organic.

'I also drink sulphite-free wine.

'I never have business lunches.

'I like to eat with Jasmine and it's usually raw organic vegetables, with beans or quinoa.

'It's probably why I'm still alive.

'I've been a vegetarian since my son, Oa, was born, more than 20 years ago.

'After that, I have a siesta and then I make love again.'

Obsessed with having regular sex, he has a fastidious lifestyle  for example owning 300 grey T-shirts, imbibing only liquids for long periods and writing notes on plastic paper that is made just for him

HUMANITY

'All the things that we hold true, such as the moon, the sun, and the stars, do not exist.

'Nothing exists.

'My hero is humanity: Four billion years ago we started off as bacteria; we came ashore, and evolved into the super-monkeys we are today.

'But this is not the final state.

'Will we become a cloud? A vibration? A note of music? An aerosol? A wavelength?

'This clearly shows that we are mutants, and this is a beautiful and poetic idea.

'We can look forward to the next mutation.

'I apply this awareness in our strategy for the future.

'The obligation to continue the story of our mutation is not merely a poetic duty, but a technical necessity.

'In 4.2 billion years, the implosion of the sun will cause us to vitrify.

'We shall have to move on. Evolution is so beautiful, you have to admire us.'

SPLENDID ISOLATION

'From June 15 to September 15, I live secluded, working from eight in the morning to eight at night, or making my own biorhythm; work three hours, sleep 45 minutes, work three hours, sleep 45 minutes, for 24 hours, without eating.

'I'm like Dr Faustus. I signed a contract with the devil to sell my life for creativity. Before the summer, I always go to the Buchinger Wilhelmi health clinic on Lake Constance in Germany, where I will drink only liquids for 11 days.

'My period of creativity usually finishes in September, by which time I'm burnt out  I can't talk.

'It's usually back to the health clinic.'

PET HATES

'I AM totally uncorrupted.

'I don't watch TV. I don't go to movies.

'Our model is the Republic of Venice of the Renaissance.

'We are an ethical company.

'We don't work for weapons, oil companies, hard alcohol, tobacco, gambling or religion.

'I never collaborate, because I can't.

'I'm one of the fastest organic computers on the market, but I need to be alone.'

HIS LIBIDO

'To be creative, you have to have a lot of sex.

'I never relax.

'I am tense.

'I had a massage the other day and the guy said: "It is not possible. This guy is made of concrete and steel. His body is so hard inside, it's like steel cord."

Over the years, he has given numerous interviews  describing his life in such a preposterous way that many would conclude from this amaglamation of quotes that he is surely the most pretentious man on the planet

NO PHOTOS, PLEASE

Like most narcissistic selfie- takers, he knows his best angles.

He dislikes being photographed seated and side profiles are banned.

JOIN THE DOTS

He and Jasmine have identical tattoos on their arms  a single line of dots, one for each year they have been together, and a dash for the birth of daughter Justice.

FILTHY LUCRE

Although a multi-millionaire, he says: 'I hate money.

'I hate being obliged to work a lot, to make a lot of money.

'I avoid thinking about money.

'That is why I earn a lot in order not to have to count it.'

HIS HOBBIES

'If we're in Paris, we might go to one of the restaurants I've designed  Mori Venice Bar or Caffe Stern.

'In London, I like St John Bread & Wine or the Chiltern Firehouse.

'At home, though I don't like eating much, I love cooking.

'I'll have passion fruit, raw zucchini with lime and more quinoa with pomegranate.

'My sweet tooth likes to be satisfied with champagne.'

HIS LIFE SECRET

'When you work for the profit of humanity, you'll have success.'

AND SO TO BED

'We try to get to bed by 9.30pm and I don't like to wear anything at night  except my wife.

'I believe a couple is created by "the sublime instinct of creation and the continuation of the human species".

'The tool is sex, and sex is integral to a couple.
When it comes to finding a phone in five tonnes of rubbish, most would say it's like searching for a needle in a haystack.

But sanitation workers in Shanghai, China, accepted the challenge and managed to find a traveller's phone, reports Huanqiu, an affiliation with the People's Daily Online.

15 workers searched through the rubbish with their hands to help the woman who used a phone tracker to locate the whereabouts of her missing device.

I found it! A Sanitary worker holds up the phone after rifling through the rubbish

The woman thanks one worker for finding the device which had important information

Photos from the incident shows sanitation workers helping the woman find her missing phone.

According to reports, Zhang Xiaoliang from Beijing was in Shanghai for a business meeting on July 30 and had just eaten dinner with her boyfriend at a restaurant near the City God temple.

When she realised that her phone was missing, they had already left the restaurant. She panicked as the phone held important business information.

Workers wash down the area after searching for the woman's phone

She used another mobile phone to track her device and tracked it down to the rubbish outside the restaurant. When they arrived at the restaurant, they were told that it had been taken to the rubbish site near the temple.

When they arrived on foot, they found the sanitation workers and explained the situation. They got in touch with the manager of the site Han Yiming.

Han told them: 'We know that your information is very valuable and must be found. We will take every effort to try and find it.'
A panda base in China has welcomed two new additions to the centre and they're the heaviest twins yet.

Xidou, a 10-year-old giant panda at the Bifengxia Panda Base in Ya'an, gave birth to a male panda and a female panda on August 4, reports People's Daily Online.

The male cub weighs 181.7 grams (6.4 ounces) while the female cub weighed a whopping 220 grams (7.8 ounces).

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Weighty: They are the heaviest cubs to be born since weight was recorded by the centres

Welcome to the world: Xidou, a 10-year-old panda cub gave birth to twins on August 4 in China

The newborns are the heaviest panda twins to ever have been born since weight of panda cubs has been recorded, according to China Central Television Station.

The station has also released a video showing how the mother delivered her cubs in her enclosure.

Xidou's labour lasted for about half an hour, according to the footage.

A keeper can be seen coming in to pick up the cubs after they were born.

Panda cubs are usually born weighing between 90 and 130 grams (3.2 and 4.6 ounces).

According to Chinese media, it's extremely rare for a cub to weigh more than 180 grams (6.3 ounces) at the time of its birth.

Xidou, a 10-year-old giant panda at the Bifengxia Panda Base in Ya'an gave birth to the twins

Xidou's mother was killed in the 2008 Wenchuan earthquake.

She is the eldest son of Wang Wang which is currently residing at Adelaide Zoo in South Australia.

Luo Buo, an official at the centre told reporters: 'The increasing weight of newborn cubs shows that the mothers are healthy and eating well.'
Apple said it plans to offer rewards of up to $200,000 to researchers who find critical security bugs in its products, joining dozens of firms that already offer payments for help uncovering flaws in their products.

The maker of iPhones and iPads unveiled the plan, which includes some of the biggest bounties offered to date, at the Black Hat cyber security conference in Las Vegas.

The program will initially be limited to about two dozen researchers who Apple will invite to help identify hard-to-uncover security bugs in five specific categories.

The maker of iPhones and iPads unveiled the plan, which includes some of the biggest bounties offered to date, at the Black Hat cyber security conference in Las Vegas.

Those researchers have been chosen from the group of experts who have previously helped Apple identify bugs, but have not been compensated for that work, the company said.

The most lucrative category, which offers rewards of up to $200,000, is for bugs in Apple's 'secure boot' firmware for preventing unauthorized programs from launching when an iOS device is powered up.

Apple said it decided to limit the scope of the program at the advice of other companies that have previously launched bounty programs.

Those companies said that if they were to do it again, they would start by inviting a small list of researchers to join, then gradually open it up over time, according to Apple.

Security analyst Rich Mogull said that limiting participation would save Apple from dealing with a deluge of 'low-value' bug reports.

'Fully open programs can definitely take a lot of resources to manage,' he said.

Apple declined to say which firms provided advice.

Apple said it decided to limit the scope of the program at the advice of other companies that have previously launched bounty programs.

Such rewards are currently offered by dozens of firms, including AT&T Inc, Facebook Inc, Google, Microsoft Corp, Tesla Motors Inc and Yahoo Inc .

Microsoft, which has handed out $1.5 million in rewards to security researchers since it launched its program three years ago, also offers rewards for identifying very specific types of bugs. Its two biggest payouts have been for $100,000 each.

Not all bounty programs are as focused as the ones from Apple and Microsoft.

Facebook, for example, has an open program that offers rewards for a wide-range of vulnerabilities. It has paid out more than $4 million over the past five years, with last year's average payment at $1,780.
We've all been there - you spend hours driving to your destination only to spend another tortuous hour circling a brimming car park looking for a space.

But there is good news for people sick of wasting time looking for parking.

Google Maps' new update is set to include a feature which tells users where available parking is.

There is good news for people sick of wasting time looking for parking. Google Maps' new update is set to include a feature which tells users where available parking is.

WHAT MIGHT THE UPDATE INCLUDE? 'Keep map north up' function - keeps the orientation of the map, even when the device is rotated Areas categorised by available parking - areas will be itemised as easy, medium or hard Accidental swipe protection in 'North up' mode - as long as the map compass is in north-is-up mode, fast gestures that cause rotation of the map will automatically adjust back to the normal orientation. Advertisement

The beta version of Google Maps v9.34 has just been pre-released on Android, and is expected to have several new features.

The app will now tell users which areas are likely to have parking spaces available before they reach their destination.

According to Android Police: 'The categories are broken up into three obvious groups: easy, medium, and hard.'

There is no indication where the data comes from, or whether variables such as time of day or events in the area will be factored.

Instead, this may simply be a measure of how much parking there is in an area - not how many spaces are available.

Another update expected is to the system's navigation settings screen, which is one of the only immediately visible changes.

A new toggle has been added called 'Keep map north up', which forces the Navigation mode to launch with the compass locked in North position.

The previous version (left) had a 'tilt map' feature, however this has been replaced in the new version (right) by a 'Keep map north up' feature

Swipe protection has also been added which will automatically adjust fast gestures back to normal orientation.

This could help people who are using the map when driving, to ensure the map cannot flip and disorientate them.

In June, the app had a subtle makeover to have a 'cleaner look'.

Google removed unhelpful details from the desktop, Android and iOS versions of its mapping app to make landmarks and traffic stand out.

While the beta version of v9.34 has been released on Android, it is unclear when the official update release will be, and how many of these new features will really be included in Google Maps.
In May, a Tesla S car in Autopilot mode tragically crashed, killing the cars driver, after it failed to recognise a white trailer in its path.

The devastating event led people to question the safety of autonomous feature, and whether someone could sabotage a self-driving vehicle.

Researchers have now used off-the-shelf materials to trick a Tesla cars Autopilot sensors, showing just how easy it is to hack the technology into missing objects in its path.

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The cars Autopilot function detects the vehicle's surroundings in three ways  using radar, ultrasonic sensors, and cameras. Now experts have shown exactly how easy it is to hack

TRICKING AUTOPILOT The cars Autopilot function detects the cars surroundings in three ways  using radar, ultrasonic sensors, and cameras. By infiltrating all three, the researchers found that only the radar attacks have the potential to cause a high-speed collision. The researchers jammed the radio signals used by the Tesla cars radar sensor, which is located under the front grill, and showed that this caused a car in its path to disappear. A second attack targeted the ultrasonic sensors, which are used for self-parking. Using equipment which cost less than 30 ($40), the researchers were also able to trick the ultrasonic sensors, making the car park into an obstructing obstacle which it did not sense in its path. Other attempted attacks included pointing lasers and LEDs at the cars cameras, however these were detected by the car, which then alerted the driver to switch back to manual mode. Advertisement

The research comes from a group of scientists from the University of South Carolina, Chinas Zhejiang University and the Chinese security firm Qihoo 360, who plan to release further details in a talk this week at the Defcon hacker conference in Las Vegas.

Researchers used radio, sound and light emitting tools that they had bought off-the-shelf, to conduct the study.

The tests were performed on a stationary car, however the results do hint that hackers could easily infiltrate the technology on a moving vehicle.

Speaking to Wired, Professor Wenyuan Xu, who led the study, said: The worst case scenario would be that while the car is in self-driving mode and relying on the radar, the radar is obscured and fails to detect an obstacle ahead of it.

The cars Autopilot function detects the cars surroundings in three ways  using radar, ultrasonic sensors, and cameras.

By infiltrating all three, the researchers found that only the radar attacks have the potential to cause a high-speed collision.

The researchers jammed the radio signals used by the Tesla cars radar sensor, which is located under the front grill, and showed that this caused a car in its path to disappear.

A second attack targeted the ultrasonic sensors, which are used for self-parking.

Using equipment which cost less than 30 ($40), the researchers were also able to trick the ultrasonic sensors, making the car park into an obstructing obstacle which it did not sense in its path.

Other attempted attacks included pointing lasers and LEDs at the cars cameras, however these were detected by the car, which then alerted the driver to switch back to manual mode.

This photo provided by the NTSB via the Florida Highway Patrol shows the Tesla Model S that was being driven by Joshau Brown,who was killed, when the Tesla sedan crashed while in self-driving mode on May 7, 2016

Following the accident in May, Tesla has told drivers that they should not regard Autopilot as a self-driving mode, and they should always be ready to take control of the car.

In a statement to Wired, Tesla also downplayed the research which showed the Autopilot system could be hacked.

It wrote: We appreciate the work Wenyuan and team put into researching potential attacks on sensors used in the Autopilot system.

We have reviewed these results with Wenyuans team and have thus far not been able to reproduce any real-world cases that pose risk to Tesla drivers.

Despite this, the researchers argue that Tesla should make changes to ensure hackers cannot attack the Autopilot sensors.

In May, a Tesla S car in Autopilot mode tragically crashed, killing the cars driver, after it failed to recognise a white trailer in its path

Following the accident in May, Tesla has told drivers that they should not regard Autopilot as a self-driving mode, and they should always be ready to take control of the car

Professor Xu added: They need to think about adding detection mechanisms.

If the noise is extremely high, or theres something abnormal, the radar should warn the central data processing system and say Im not sure Im working properly.

While the attacks by the researchers were fairly complex and could not easily be replicated, Professor Xu warned that they could have deadly consequences.

She concluded: Highly motivated people could use this to cause personal damage or property damage.Overall we hope people get from this work that we still need to improve the reliability of these sensors.

And we cant simply depend on Tesla and not watch out for ourselves.'
Born one year before the ill-fated Titanic struck an iceberg, the world's oldest known killer whale has been spotted off the coast of Washington state.

Experts spied the 105-year orca nicknamed 'Granny' with other whales on 27 July in the Salish Sea.

Scientists have been studying the remarkable cetacean since 1971 when they estimated she was 60 years old and gave her the official name of J2.

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Experts have been studying whales in the North Pacific Ocean, called the Southern Resident Killer Whales (SRKW) since the early 1970s. Granny, pictured in 2014, is said to be the matriarch of the group and was spotted in the Strait of Georgia at the weekend

HOW DID EXPERTS DETERMINE GRANNYS AGE? Researchers began studying the resident orcas in the early 1970s. At that time they had photos of Ruffles, known as J1, and Granny, taken in 1971. Their relative size suggests they were both fully grown adults when the photo was taken, meaning they were both at least 20 years old in 1971. Experts at the time said Ruffles was the younger of the two, and due to their association, suggested Granny was Ruffles mother. If Ruffles was at least 20 in 1971, she would have been born in 1951, and since Granny was not spotted with any more children after this date, the researchers assumed Ruffles was her final calf. Female killer whales stop producing at around the age of 40, which means if Ruffles was born in 1951, and Granny was 40 at that time, her birth year would be 1911. Advertisement

Her presence has stunned scientists because killer whales, or orcas, typically live to between the age of 60 and 80 in the wild.

Granny is a matriarch of a group called the Southern Resident Killer Whales in the Pacific Ocean.

Experts from Ocean EcoVentures Whale Watching were able to identify her thanks to a marking on her dorsal fin, as well as as a half-moon-shaped notch.

They said in a blog post: 'J2 and and her family have spent the past few weeks foraging and travelling the Georgia Strait.'

Simon Pidcock, from the company, added: 'Granny has been swimming pretty much non-stop for over 100 years.

'The Southern Residents on average travel about 72 miles in a 24-hour period day in, day out.

'This means in Grannys lifetime she has swam around the world the equivalent of a 100 times.'

In 2014, Granny was spotted in the Strait of Georgia, when she was thought to have travelled up from California with her pod.

Her return to the area for the first time in years was announced by the Pacific Whale Watch Association (PWWA).

Granny, pictured in 2014, is thought to be 105 years old. Although her age is an estimate, studies into her reproductive history have plotted her birth all the way back to 1911

Experts spied the 105-year orca nicknamed 'Granny' with other whales on 27 July in the Salish Sea (marked on the map)

Executive director Michael Harris said J-Pod had travelled up from the coast of California, near the mouth of the Russian River, where it was spotted eight days before Pidcocks 2014 sighting.

This means the pod covered around 800 miles (1,287km) in just over a week.

Mr Pidcock captured the whale on camera. He said: We were thrilled to see her. And its mind-blowing to think that this whale is over 100 years old.

'She was born before the Titanic went down. Can you imagine the things shes seen in her lifetime?

Mr Pidcock said he recognised Granny in 2014 (shown) because she has a white patch on the dorsal fin alongside a half-moon notch. The same technique was used in July

The average lifespan of a wild orca is between 60 and 80 years, but other members of the Southern Residents have lived almost equally as long lives as Granny, including females Ocean Sun and Lummi, who died aged 85 and 98 respectively.

Other Southern Resident orcas including Tokitae, who lives in Miami Seaquarium, and Northern Resident orca Corky in SeaWorld San Diego, are both the oldest killer whales in captivity, aged around 52 years old.

The earliest photo of Granny was taken in 1967 and while experts began to study her pod in 1971, Dr Ken Balcomb, one of the leading orca experts in the world, beagn studying the Southern Resident Killer Whales in 1976.

The average lifespan of a wild orca is between 60 and 80 years, but other members of the Southern Residents have lived almost equally as long lives as Granny, pictured, including females Ocean Sun and Lummi, who died aged 85 and 98 respectively

When he first began documenting Granny and her familiy in that year, he saw that the mature female was almost always travelling with a mature bull.

'This mature bull was know as J1 or Ruffles due to the waves in the trailing edge of his dorsal fin,' Mr Pidcock explained.

Because offspring stay with their mothers for life, Ruffles was thought to be Grannys only living offspring in the pod.

Sadly, he died in 2010 at approximately 60 years old, leaving Granny to continue her voyage.
Whale watchers across the world have been spotting acts of animal altruism in the oceans, with humpback whales saving seals from packs of hungry orcas.

One photo, snapped by biologist Robert Pitman in 2009, shows a seal being nestled under the huge flipper of a humpback, out of the reach of hungry jaws.

The Weddell seal, which had been knocked off a chunk of sea ice, had narrowly escaped becoming dinner for a pod of orcas after the whale wedged itself between the predators and their prey.

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The striking image of a humpback whale saving a seal (pictured) has raised questions about the intentions of the humpbacks and whether they were heeding distress calls from the seal, or had an ulterior motive

WHY WOULD A HUMPBACK WHALE SAVE A SEAL? Researchers have observed a number of incidents in which humpback whales interfere with the feeding of orcas, by protecting their prey from harm. The evidence suggests that rather than acting out of altruism, the seals may be saved because of the humpbacks' own self interests. Researchers believe that rather than protecting a specific species, it may be an act of dominance over the killer whales. Advertisement

According to Live Science, the biologist  who works with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to tag and track whales  had seen a pair of humpbacks squaring up to orcas circling a seal just a week before the incident.

He captured the striking image on a research assignment in the Arctic Peninsula, with the image raising questions about the intentions of the humpbacks and whether they were heeding distress calls from the seal, or had an ulterior motive.

'The image appears to show a humpback whale protecting a Weddell seal from a pod of orca,' said Lucy Babey, survey and conservation manager at whale and dolphin conservation charity ORCA.

She told MailOnline: 'In fact there have been numerous accounts of humpback whales protecting an array of species from similar situations; for example a pod of humpback whales were observed in Monterey, California intervening and protecting a gray whale calf from an orca attack.

'Therefore, it is unlikely that the humpbacks are protecting a specific species.'

Dr Pitman and fellow biologist John Durban described seeing a pod of orcas going for the seal when an enormous humpback swept the animal onto its chest, lifting it out of the water.

Researchers have recorded multiple accounts of humpbacks mobbing killer whales as they hunt seals. Shown is a killer whale flipped a seal in the air during a brutal attack

Researchers believe the excited sounds made by killer whales in the final stages of the hunt ay attract the humpbacks (pictured), which disrupt the hunt and save the seals

Writing in Natural History magazine, the pair describe the maternal-like behaviour as allomaternal care  the term attributed to an animal providing maternal care to another which is not its own.

Orcas are intelligent pack hunters which use sophisticated hunting techniques. Documentary film-makers have captured orcas circling seals on ice flows, causing waves to break the ice into smaller pieces so they can go in for the kill.

But the cetaceans  which are members of the dolphin family  have been known to feed on humpback whale calves, if they have a chance to separate them from their mothers.

To deter their monochrome attackers, the adult humpbacks bellow and crash their enormous flippers and tails into the water.

And this could explain why the whales are so keen to come to the rescue of mammals in distress.

As part of the biologist's research, published in the journal Marine Mammal Science, he looked at a total of 112 interactions between humpbacks and killer whales recorded all over the world over more than six decades.

From these, and other research on the hunting behaviours of orca pods, researchers believe it could possibly be the excited sounds made by the killer whales in the final stages of the hunt which cause humpbacks to make a beeline for them.

Previous research from Dr Pitman and NOAA colleagues revealed a spate of at least 22 attacks by orca on Humpback groups - and on at least 14 occasions the prey was killed and left to mercy of opportunistic sharks.

During the attacks, the team also spotted a number of defensive techniques adopted by the Humpback whales.

Orcas are intelligent pack hunters which use sophisticated hunting techniques. But they have known to feed on humpback whale calves if they have a chance to separate them from their mothers

They used coral reefs as a form of shelter and protection, and the mothers were also seen pushing their calves into shallower water.

Mothers were also spotted lifting the calves out of the water and throwing them onto their backs to keep them out of harms way.

Speaking to Live Science, Dr Pitman explained: A simple behavioural rule like 'interfere with attacking killer whales' may prevent a related calf from being killedand it may also help out other species at times.

The evidence indicates that rather than acting out of altruism because saving a fellow marine animal is the 'right thing to do', the altruistic act may happen unintentionally from the humpbacks' own self interest.
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It may be a desolate land with little geological activity now, but at one point, Mars was covered with oceans, ice sheets and erupting volcanoes that created the mountains that towered over the planet.

Today, the surface of the red planet is filled with fascinating bumps and scratches, and each feature teaches us something new about our mysterious neighbour.

Now a team at Nasa has released more than 1,000 images of Mars, showing a range of gullies, dunes, craters, geological layering and other features.

Nasa team has released more than 1,000 images of Mars, showing a range of gullies, dunes, craters, geological layering and other features. A selection of the most stunning of these images is shown below. Shown in this image are sand dunes on Mars, which serve as unique indicators of the interaction between the atmosphere and surface

The Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter has been circling the red planet, capturing pictures using its High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) camera, since 2006.

The team, led by Nasa's Jet Propulsion Lab in Passadena and the University of Arizona, has published more than 1,000 new images from the instrument's archives.

Among the images are hundreds showing one of its most fascinating features: craters.

There are hundreds of thousands of impact craters on Mars, caused by encounters with other objects such as asteroids, but only some of them have names.

Other craters were formed in different ways, through volcanic activity, for example.

Some of these craters have provided clues to the most fascinating history of the Martian surface.

One of the most abundant and fascinating features on Mars are craters. There are hundreds of thousands of impact craters on Mars, caused by encounters with other objects like asteroids, but only some of them have names. An unnamed impact crated is pictured

Pictured is intracrater, east of the Hale Crater. Mars is now a frozen desert, but geological studies of rocks by previous missions to the surface have suggested the planet used to be warmer and wetter. Dark, narrow streaks on Martian slopes at Hale Crater are thought to be formed by seasonal flow of water on contemporary Mars

A crater in the Sinus Sabaeus region is shown. The Sinus Sabaeus quadrangle is one of a series of 30 quadrangle maps of Mars used by the United States Geological Survey (USGS) Astrogeology Research Program - an area in the southern hemisphere and near the equator of Mars

It may look more like the surface of the moon, but this image shows Mars' surface dotted with impact craters. The density of impact craters is used to determine the surface ages of Mars and other solar system bodies. The older the surface, the more craters present

Ridges in Nepenthes Mensae region are pictured. Between the highlands of Terra Cimmeria and the low plains of Elysium Planitia and Nepenthes Planum lies the rugged region called Nepenthes Mensae. Hills in this region vary in height and the surrounding surface can vary greatly in texture - from dune forms to low ridges to smooth

The surface of Mars is a well worn place in the Solar System, heavily pounded by countless meteor impacts. And some of these craters are hundreds of millions of years old. So its unusual for there to be a completely fresh impact on the surface o A very recent impact crater is pictured

A new impact size is shown. Some of these craters have provided clues to the most fascinating history of the Martian surface. Mars is now a frozen desert, but geological studies of rocks by previous missions to the surface have suggested the planet used to be warmer and wetter

Mars is now a frozen desert, but geological studies of rocks by previous missions to the surface have suggested the planet used to be warmer and wetter.

At one point, Mars was covered with oceans, ice sheets and erupting volcanoes that created the mountains that tower over the planet.

Some of these remain, like Olympus Mons - the largest-known volcano in the solar system, measuring 15 miles (24 km) high.

Olympus Mons, the solar system's biggest volcano, three times higher than Mount Everest, is thought to have had its last major eruption as recently as 25 million years ago.

The slopes of the Tharsis shield volcanoes has a 350 by 150 km north-south elongated central depression containing the calderas Nili Patera, pictured. The largest of the volcanoes in the Tharsis Montes region, as well as all known volcanoes in the solar system, is Olympus Mons

At one point, Mars was covered with oceans, ice sheets and erupting volcanoes that created the mountains that tower over the planet. Some of these remain, like Olympus Mons - the largest-known volcano in the solar system, measuring 15 miles (24 km) high. Olympus Mons flank pictured

Olympus Mons, the solar system's biggest volcano, three times higher than Mount Everest, is thought to have had its last major eruption as recently as 25 million years ago. Southwest flank of Olympus Mons pictured. The volume of Olympus Mons is about 100 times larger than that of Mauna Loa

The Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter has been circling the red planet , capturing pictures like this using its High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) camera, since 2006. The 143lb (65kg), 26.4 million ($40 million) instrument was built under the direction of the University of Arizona's Lunar and Planetary Laboratory

But billions of years ago Mars might have been home to even larger volcanoes.

Evidence collected by Nasa's Curiosity rover earlier this year showed these ancient volcanoes might have been a lot more powerful than we had thought.

Curiosity's instruments found a substance called tridymite - a kind of crystal that only forms on Earth as a result of extremely hot, silcic volcanoes.

The tridymite was found in the Gale crater, a crater that spans 96 miles (154km) in diameter and holds a mountain rising from the crater floor.

Silicic volcanism is a highly explosive form of volcanic activity, which happens as tectonics plates move from the Earths outer shell into the Earths mantle and force water into the molten depths.

The plates melt into magma, which is ejected out into the surface in a powerful eruption.

There has been no evidence found for plate tectonics on Mars so far, so how the silcic volcanism occurred is a mystery.

Curiosity's instruments found a substance called tridymite - a kind of crystal that only forms on Earth as a result of extremely hot, silcic volcanoes. The tridymite was found in the Gale crater, a crater that spans 96 miles (154 kilometers) in diameter and holds a mountain rising from the crater floor. A canyon in the Gale crater is pictured

The surface of Mars is filled with fascinating bumps and scratches, and each feature teaches us something new about our neighbouring planet. While other Mars missions have shown that water flowed across the surface in Mars' history, it remains a mystery whether water was ever around long enough to provide a habitat for life

After a seven-month cruise to Mars and six months of aerobraking to reach its science orbit, Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter began seeking out the history of water on Mars with its science instruments. Crater with steep slopespictured. Groundwater moving beneath a massive tectonic rift zone helped carve some of Mars' deepest basins

The instruments zoom in for extreme close-up photography of the martian surface, analyze minerals, look for subsurface water, trace how much dust and water are distributed in the atmosphere, and monitor daily global weather. Dunes in the Arkhangelsky crater, pictured

Groundwater moving beneath a massive tectonic rift zone helped carve some of Mars' deepest basins. A study published earlier this year claimed these basins may have been habitable, suggesting that life may have once existed on the red planet. The discovery could help future exploration missions decide where to look for evidence of Martian life

THE MARTIAN GULLIES The surface of Mars is also covered with narrow, deep channels known as gullies. Martian gullies carved into hill slopes and the walls of impact craters were discovered several years ago. Exactly how these gullies formed is not fully understood - it was thought the structures were a result of flowing liquid water, because water makes similar structures on Earth. But new research shows water is not behind the Martian gullies, instead suggesting they could be created by carbon dioxide freezing and thawing. Advertisement

Groundwater moving beneath a massive tectonic rift zone helped carve some of Mars' deepest basins.

A study published earlier this year claimed these basins may have been habitable, suggesting that life once existed on the red planet.

The discovery could help future exploration missions decide where to look for evidence of Martian life.

'The temperature ranges, presence of liquid water, and nutrient availability, which characterize known habitable environments on Earth, have higher chances of forming on Mars in areas of long-lived water and volcanic processes,' said lead author Alexis Palmero Rodriguez.

Sand dunes are among the most widespread features on Mars, serving as unique indicators of the interaction between the atmosphere and surface.

On a planetary body, dunes accumulate where a supply of sand-sized grains exists or may be abraded, is carried downwind by winds, and is subsequently deposited where these winds weaken below the threshold for sand transport.

Dunes can be preserved in rock over time. This means the deposits can reveal insights into the evolution of Mars' atmosphere from a more hospitable realm to the harsh, dry climate there today.

As a result, the study of dune processes contributes to both atmospheric and sedimentary science.

Hummocks, elevated mounds, are shown in the Southern Highlands of Mars. On Earth, the plates melt into magma, which is ejected out into the surface in a powerful eruption. There has been no evidence found for plate tectonics on Mars so far, so how the silcic volcanism occurred is a mystery

It might look more like bacteria growin in a petri dish, but this picture actually shows frosty dunes on Mars' surface. Sand dunes (pictured) are among the most widespread features on Mars. Dunes form where a supply of sand-sized grains exists or may be abraded then carried downwind by winds

Grains are then deposited where these winds weaken below the threshold for sand transport. Dunes can be preserved in rock over time. This means the deposits can reveal insights into the evolution of Mars' atmosphere from a more hospitable realm to the harsh, dry climate there today

Dunes on the top of a crater are pictured. According to a University of Colorado Boulder research team that recently finished counting, outlining and cataloging a staggering 635,000 impact craters on Mars that are roughly a kilometre or more in diameter

Parallel wave-like ridges caused by winds on the surface of hard snow, are especially common in polar regions. Some ridges in impact craters on Mars appear to be fossils of cracks in the Martian surface, which suggests they are formed by minerals deposited by flowing water

Several years ago, the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter revealed Martian rocks containing a hydrated mineral similar to opal. A false colour image of opal is shown

THE EXOMARS TIMELINE Launch: 14 March Mid-course correction: 28 July SchiaparelliTGO separation: 16 October 2016 TGO manoeuvre: 17 October 2016 Orbiter insertion into Mars orbit: 19 October 2016 Schiaparelli entry, descent and landing: 19 October 2016 Aerobraking: JanuaryNovember 2017 Science phase begins: December 2017 Advertisement

Others have been hiding precious materials. Several years ago, the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter revealed Martian rocks containing a hydrated mineral similar to opal.

The surface of Mars is also covered with narrow, deep channels known as gullies.

Martian gullies carved into hill slopes and the walls of impact craters were discovered several years ago.

Exactly how these gullies formed is not fully understood - previous research had suggested the structures were a result of flowing liquid water, because water makes similar structures on Earth.

Polar ice caps were discovered on the planet four decades ago, and erosion patterns on the surface strongly suggest rivers and oceans may have existed there in its early years.

With low gravity and a thin atmosphere, it was thought that this water largely evaporated out into space, instead of falling back down, as it would have done on Earth.

But new research shows water is not behind the Martian gullies, instead suggesting they could be created by carbon dioxide freezing and thawing.

The surface of Mars is covered with narrow, deep channels known as gullies. Martian gullies carved into hill slopes and the walls of impact craters were discovered several years ago. The term 'gully' on Mars refers to features with an alcove at the top, a channel, and an apron of deposited material at the bottom

Exactly how these gullies formed is not fully understood - previous research had suggested the structures were a result of flowing liquid water, because water makes similar structures on Earth. With low gravity and a thin atmosphere, it was thought that this water largely evaporated out into space, instead of falling back down, as it would have done on Earth

New research shows water is not behind the Martian gullies, instead suggesting they could be created by carbon dioxide freezing and thawing. A spacecraft designed to search the atmosphere of Mars for clues of life on the surface of the red planet successfully blasted off in March this year

Other researchers created computer models that show how sublimation of seasonal carbon dioxide frost can create gullies similar to those observed on Mars, and how their shape can mimic the types of gullies that liquid water would create

A spacecraft designed to search the atmosphere of Mars for clues of life on the surface of the red planet successfully blasted off in March this year.

The ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter (TGO) launched from Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan aboard a heavy lift Proton rocket at 9.31am GMT to begin a seven-month, 300 million-mile (483 million km) journey to the red planet.

It is due to analyse Mars' atmosphere to search for low levels of gases such as methane that may betray the presence of alien life on the planet's surface.

ExoMars 2016 is the first phase of an historic 1.2 billion (924 million) joint European-Russian mission to search for biochemical 'fingerprints' of past or present life high above Mars and on its surface.

Scientists believe the probe has the potential to find 'very strong evidence' of alien life when it arrives at Mars on 19 October.

Scientists hope to land the ExoMars rover in Oxia Palus, a plain located on the north east of Mars.

However, any new data won't be shared until the end of next year at the earliest, because the probe has to spend a year decelerating so it can graze the atmosphere at a slow enough speed.

In 2018, a robotic probe built by Lockheed Martin for Nasa, the Mars InSight mission, will set off for red planet.

It forms part of wider efforts to glean information about the planet's rich geological past.

The ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter (TGO) launched from Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan aboard a heavy lift Proton rocket at 9.31am GMT to begin a seven-month, 300 million-mile (483 million km) journey to the red planet. A candidate ExoMars rover landing site in Oxia Palus, a plain located on the north east of Mars is pictured
However there are many socioeconomic factors which benefit married couples, including tax breaks and protections in law

Also more likely to have a sense of continued growth and development'

Married couples were famously described as smug by fictional singleton Bridget Jones.

But it appears single people should actually be the ones feeling sorry for the Smug Marrieds'.

Single people have richer social lives, are more resilient and more positive than married people, psychologists have found.

Single people (stock image) have richer social lives, are more resilient and more positive than married people, psychologists have found

They are more likely to value meaningful work and are more connected to their families, friends, neighbours and co-workers  unlike insular married couples.

Bella DePaulo, of the University of California, Santa Barbara, analysed 814 studies on married and single people carried out over the past 30 years.

She found the studies showed singletons had a heightened sense of self-determination and they were more likely to experience a sense of continued growth and development as a person.

According to the Office for National Statistics, there are now more single people than married in England and Wales, with 51 per cent of the adult population describing themselves as single.

There is a similar trend in the US, where 50.2 per cent of people aged over 16 were single in 2014, compared to just 37.4 per cent in 1976.

Dr DePaulos research was presented today at the American Psychological Association's Annual Convention in Denver, Colorado.

There are many socioeconomic factors which benefit married couples, including tax breaks and protections in law, and Dr DePaulo said it was striking that single people are doing as well as they are

She claimed that many of the studies which concluded married people are happier were flawed and the notion was based more (on) ideology than science.

Increasing numbers of people are single because they want to be. Living single allows them to live their best, most authentic, and most meaningful life, she added.

But she warned they were targets of singlism  meaning they were stereotyped, stigmatised, marginalised and discriminated against by both the law and society.

There are many socioeconomic factors which benefit married couples, including tax breaks and protections in law, and Dr DePaulo said it was striking that single people are doing as well as they are.

She added: The preoccupation with the perils of loneliness can obscure the profound benefits of solitude. It is time for a more accurate portrayal of single people and single life - one that recognizes the real strengths and resilience of people who are single, and what makes their lives so meaningful.

But despite the advantages of staying single, she did not claim it was better than marriage.

There is no one blueprint for the good life, she said. What matters is not what everyone else is doing or what other people think we should be doing, but whether we can find the places, the spaces, and the people that fit who we really are and allow us to live our best lives.

More research is needed into single people, as the majority of the 814 papers she studied did not focus on the psychology of singletons but just used them as a comparison group to learn more about marriage.
Disappointed physicists from the Large Hadron Collider report that what initially could have been an intriguing new particle has turned out just to a statistical burp.

Last December, researchers at the European Center for Nuclear Research saw two readings of what could have been a new particle that might have upended the existing main physics theory.

The same centre in 2012 discovered the Higgs boson or "God particle."

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Two of the detectors, ATLAS and CMS, were counting particle decays that ended up in two photons, and found a potential new particle. If it turns out to be real, and not a blip, this would be a huge discovery. Two high-energy photons whose energy, shown in red, was measured in the CMS is illustrated

THE ELUSIVE PARTICLE Two of the detectors at the Large Hadron Collider - ATLAS and CMS - were searching for new kinds of physics by counting particle decays that ended up in two photons. Measuring photons is a way of detecting new and unknown events because photons are easy to detect and physicists know what to expect in terms of results from background events. When particles decay into photons, they release energy equivalent to their mass multiplied by the speed of light squared. The measurements saw photons with a combined energy of 750 GeV, making the potential particle six times heavier than the Higgs boson. If it turns out to be real, and not just a blip in the measurements, this would be a huge discovery. 'It would be something completely beyond the Standard Model, and the tip of an iceberg of a large new set of particles, if it exists!', the researchers said. Advertisement

The early unconfirmed new particle readings in December set the physics world abuzz.

Scientists poured over the more data from high-speed atom crashes while theorists tried to figure out what it all means.

At a Chicago physics conference Friday, Tiziano Camporesi, a CERN chief scientific spokesman, said more data show that what they saw was nothing, just a random statistical fluctuation.

The first signs of a particle heavier than the Higgs boson was seen at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) back in December

Unexplained by current models, its existence might lead to the discovery of a whole new set of particles and possibly even a fifth fundamental force.

But the first results were not enough to confirm the particle exists, and now a second run of tests have failed to find this mysterious particle, MailOnline has learned.

In data produced last December at the LHC in Geneva, two separate measurements found what looked like a particle six time heavier than the Higgs boson.

'We should have enough data by mid-July to either confirm the result or place serious doubt on its existence,' Professor James Olsen, CMS physics coordinator and a physicist at Princeton, told MailOnline in June.

Scientists have now gathered the evidence ahead of the International Conference on High Energy Physics (ICHEP) that will begin next week in Chicago.

A theoretical physicist working at CERN in Geneva told MailOnline the official results will be revealed at the end of next week.

But the source said the signal has not been confirmed by experiments starting from April this year.

Two of the detectors, ATLAS and CMS, were searching for new physics by counting particle decays that ended up in two photons.

Measuring photons is a good method for detecting new physics because photons are easy to detect and physicists know what to expect in terms of results from background events.

When particles decay into photons, they release energy equivalent to their mass multiplied by the speed of light squared. The measurements saw photons with a combined energy of 750 GeV, about six times heavier than the Higgs boson, something that has not been predicted by the current theory describing particle physics

They both separately saw photons with a combined energy of 750 GeV.

When particles decay into photons, they release energy equivalent to their mass multiplied by the speed of light squared.

We're all familiar with Einstein's most famous equation, and this observation is it in action. This means the particle that produced these photons is an as yet unknown with this exact amount of energy in the form of its mass.

'It weighs about 750 GeV, corresponding to about six times heavier than the Higgs boson, and almost 800 times heavier than the proton,' said Ellis.

But some scientists were skeptical all along.

'I don't see any statistically significant bump/signal/particle in last year's data,' Patrick Janot from the CERN physics department told MailOnline.

The detectors saw photons with a combined energy of 750 GeV. When particles decay into photons they release energy equivalent to their mass multiplied by the speed of light squared. This means the particle that decayed into them would have been about six times heavier than the Higgs boson

STANDARD MODEL OF PARTICLE PHYSICS The Standard Model says everything in the universe is made from the most basic building blocks called fundamental particles, that are governed by four forces: gravity, electromagnetic, weak nuclear and strong nuclear. The forces work over different ranges and have different strengths. This new particle, if it exists, would not fit into the description given by the Standard Model and so would lead to a whole new area of particle physics. Some have suggested it might even lead to the discovery of a fifth fundamental force. This development was exciting because the Standard Model has left some questions unanswered for years, so scientists are keen to break free of it and find new theories. It can't explain gravity, for example, because it is incompatible with our best explanation of how gravity works - general relativity, nor does it explain dark matter particles. The quantum theory used to describe the small particles in the world, and the general theory of relativity used to describe the larger objects world, are also difficult to reconcile. Nobody has managed to make the two mathematically compatible in the context of the Standard Model. According to the Big Bang theory, matter and antimatter were created in equal amounts at the start of the universe and so they should have annihilated each other totally in the first second or so of the universe's existence. This means the cosmos should be full of light and little else. But because it isn't there must have been a subtle difference in the physics of matter and anti-matter that has left the universe with a surplus of matter and that makes up the stars we see, the planet we live on and ourselves. But the observations seen so far are not enough to confirm the existence of a particle. Advertisement

'When you do 1000+ analyses, it would be totally unnatural - and actually suspicious - not to see one with a 3 sigma excess.

'The new data might confirm, or not, my impression. Either way, it'll be announced at CERN shortly before the ICHEP conference.'

This new particle, if it existed, was not predicted by the Standard Model, so would open up physicists to a whole new unexplored world and could lead to the discovery of a new set of particles.

Finding a particle like this would be exciting because the Standard Model has left some questions unanswered for years, so scientists are keen to break free of it and find new theories.

It can't explain gravity, for example, because it is incompatible with our best explanation of how gravity works - general relativity, nor does it explain dark matter particles.

A separate study published today offered a different explanation to these 750GeV signals.

'This was a very surprising announcement and a puzzle at the same time, because the lifetime and mass of the particle could reveal something else beyond simply one extra particle, if it turns out to be a real signal,' said Professor Kyoungchul Kong, associate professor of physics and astronomy at the University of Kansas.

'Yet we do not claim this as a discovery, and we need more data.'

The group suggested instead of a single particle decaying to produce the 750GeV signal, the researchers suggest there is a series of different particles.

'Every explanation of the 750 GeV excess needs a new particle. Most models assume one around 750 GeV.'

Rather than basing his theory on the existence of a 'resonance' particle with a straightforwardly corresponding mass to trigger the 750 GeV signal, Professor Kong's paper proposes a sequence of particlesat different masses, without one at 750 GeV.

Other researchers at CERN told MailOnline the idea could be proven or dispelled with further tests.

'This theory is rather speculative, and personally I would not pay it much attention,' one physicist said. 'To the extent that it does not predict a narrow peak, it could be tested.'

Professor Janot told MailOnline 'their explanation is as interesting as many others,' but added further tests could tell whether the theory is correct.

'We explore ideas,' Professor Kong said. describing theoretical particle physicists. 'Probably most of ideas are wrongbut we learn from them, and we propose better ideas.'
Deep inside of a black hole lies a region known as the gravitational singularity, where space-time curves toward infinity, and no matter passing through can survive  or so its been thought.

In a new study, researchers suggest there may instead be a way out through a wormhole at the centre of the black hole, which acts as a back door.

By this theory, anything traveling through the black hole would be spaghettified, or stretched to the extreme, but returned back to its normal size when it emerges in a different region of the universe.

In the new theory, anything traveling through the black hole would be spaghettified, or stretched to the extreme, but returned back to its normal size when it emerges in a different region of the universe. An artist's impression of a wormhole is pictured

Physicists from the Institute of Corpuscular Physics in Valencia propose a new scenario that considers the singularity as an imperfection in the geometric structure of space-time.

To test this idea, the researchers took uncommon approach, using geometric structures similar to those of a crystal of graphene layer, which better match the activity inside of a black hole.

For the study, published in the journal Classical and Quantum Gravity, the team focused on a type of black hole which is motionless and electrically-charged.

Black holes are a theoretical laboratory for trying out new ideas about gravity, says Gonzalo Olmo, a Ramon y Cajal researcher at the University of Valencia.

Just as crystals have imperfections in their microscopic structure, the central region of a black hole can be interpreted as an anomaly in space-time, which requires new geometric elements in order to be able to describe them more precisely.

We explored all possible options, taking inspiration from facts observed in nature.

In a new study, researchers suggest there may instead be a way out through a wormhole at the centre of the black hole, which acts as a back door. An illustration of a black hole is pictured

By analyzing the new geometries, the researchers found a center point with a small, spherical surface, representing a wormhole at the heart of a black hole.

Our theory naturally resolves several problems in the interpretation of electrically-charged black holes, Olmo explains.

WHAT IS SPAGHETTIFICATION? If you stray too close to a black hole, then you will stretch out, just like spaghetti, due to a gravitation gradient across your body. Imagine that you are headed feet first towards a black hole. Since your feet are physically closer to the black hole, they will feel a stronger gravitation pull towards it than your head will. You arms, by virtue of the fact that they're not at the centre of your body, will be attracted in a slightly different direction than your head is. This will cause parts of the body toward the edges to be brought inwards. The net result is not only an elongation of the body overall, but also a thinning out in the middle. Hence, your body or any other object, such as Earth, will start to resemble spaghetti long before it hits the centre of the black hole. Advertisement

In the first instance, we resolve the problem of the singularity, since there is a door at the centre of the black hole, the wormhole, through which space and time can continue.

The equations revealed that a wormhole at the centre would be smaller than an atomic nucleus, but increases in size relative to the charge stored within the black hole.

Researchers say the matter inside the black hole would not be lost forever as its previously been thought, and would instead be expelled into another area of the universe.

If any matter were passing through, it would be stretched to extreme measures, allowing it to enter the wormhole.

Then, it would be compacted as it comes out on the other side.

While its unlikely that a human would survive this process, the researchers say the matter inside the black hole would not be lost forever as its previously been thought, and would instead be expelled into another area of the universe.

And, the researchers say there would be no need for exotic energy to generate the wormhole, as Einsteins theory of gravity suggests.

In our theory, the researcher explained, the wormhole appears out of ordinary matter and energy, such as an electric field.
Just days after Facebook owned Instagram launched its 'Stories' that borrow more than a little form Snapchat, Facebook's own app has done the same.

The social network has begun testing a new 'selfie mode' in Canada and Brazil.

When people open the Facebook app, a prompt to open their phone's camera and take a selfie appears, giving them the option to add Olympics-themed face filters and post them directly to their profile.

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Just days after Facebook owned Instagram launched its 'Stories' that borrow more than a little form Snapchat, Facebook's own app has done the same. When people open the Facebook app, a prompt to open their phone's camera and take a selfie appears, giving them the option to add Olympics-themed face filters and post them directly to their profile

HOW IT WORKS When people open the Facebook app, a prompt to open their phone's camera and take a selfie appears. They can add Olympics-themed face filters and post them directly to their profile. Users can swipe to apply different Olympics face paint like Brazilian flags and Go Canada! that match the contours of their face. People can also add static graphic overlay filters like Team Canada, similar to Snapchats geofilters, to photos and videos they shoot or upload. Advertisement

The update is the first time Facebook has incorporated selfie filters from MSQRD, a Belarus startup it bought in March for an undisclosed sum.

Facebook didn't say if it plans to make the new camera prompt available outside of Canada and Brazil.

A spokesperson described the test as 'experimental.' Android and iPhone users of the Facebook app will have the feature in Canada starting Friday along with iPhone users in Brazil.

Facebook will let people use Olympics face masks to show support for their favourite teams.

Facebook admits the feature was 'inspired' by Snapchat.

'The modern composer is not going to be centered around a text box, its going to be centered around a camera,' Facebook product manager Sachin Monga told TechCrunch.

Facebook will let people use Olympics face masks to show support for their favourite teams

'I think they've [Snapchat] done a really good job of building a modern composer,'

'The thing that's created the change from text to visual sharing is that everyone has a phone and a camera in their pocket, but they've definitely done a really good job with it.'

It comes days after Instagram unveiled its new stories section.

The photo-sharing app is launching a new feature today that lets users create 10-second video clips and share them with a select group of followers.

Filters cover everything from celebrity 'masks' to animal faces, the poop emoji, and few demonic creatures. The app can even swap your face with someone else's, turning out results that are both horrifying and hilarious all at once

WHAT ARE 'STORIES'? The feature will let users create 10-second videos then apply filters, type text, add emojis and doodle over the clips. Unlike videos shared on someone's Instagram feed, exactly who has viewed the story will be able to be seen by whoever posted it. The company has named it 'Stories' because this is the name people have widely adopted for the format, most widely-associated with Snapchat. Advertisement

The feature will let users create 10-second videos.

They will be able to apply filters, type text and doodle over the clips.

The company has named it 'Stories' because this is the name people have widely adopted for the format, most commonly associated with Snapchat.

Unlike videos shared on someone's Instagram feed, exactly who has viewed the story will be able to be seen by whoever posted it.

Users can also choose to save the videos or post to their Instagram feed, where they will become permanent like normal Instagram videos.

To make an Instagram story, tap the plus icon within a circle, found on the top left of the feed. Then, hold down the button at the bottom for up to 10 seconds to record video. Options to add text and draw using a variety of colours will then be available

Now the format is about to reach Instagram's 500 million users. The photo-sharing app is launching a new feature today, that lets users create 10-second video clips and share them with a select group of followers

HOW TO CREATE A STORY To make an Instagram story, tap the plus icon within a circle, found on the top left of the feed. Then, hold down the button at the bottom for up to 10 seconds to record video. By swiping right a series of filters can be applied to the video. Options to add text and draw using a variety of colours, including some exciting neon colours, are also available. Then users can either specify which of their followers they want to hide individual stories from, or alternatively this can be specified in Settings to apply to all stories. To make an Instagram story, tap the plus icon within a circle, found on the top left of the feed (pictured) Advertisement

'With Instagram Stories, you don't have to worry about over-posting. Instead, you can share as much as you want to throughout the day  with as much creativity as you want,' the company said in a blog post.

'You can bring your story to life in new ways with text and drawing tools. The photos and videos will disappear after 24 hours and won't appear on your profile grid or in feed.'

Stories appear at the top of the Instagram feed. When someone has an unseen story, their profile picture will be circled with a colourful ring.

The accounts that users interact with most frequently will automatically be the first to appear.

Unlike normal Instagram posts, users cannot comment and like stories, but there is an option to leave a comment to whoever posted the story - this is sent to them as a direct message.

'Your story follows the privacy settings of your account,' the company said.

Facebook hasn't revealed how much it paid for Masquerade, but both companies have expressed enthusiasm in moving forward with the partnership.

'If you set your account to private, your story is visible only to your followers.

'However, you can also easily hide your entire story from anyone you don't want to see it, even if they follow you.

'When watching your own story, swipe up to check out who's seen each photo and video. You can even choose to feature a particular part of your story by posting it on your profile.'

The new feature is being rolled out globally.

US users will have it today if they update their app, and users in the UK should get it by tomorrow morning.

Stories appear at the top of the Instagram feed. When someone has an unseen story, their profile picture will be circled with a colourful ring
One of the most unusual stars in our galaxy, KIC 8462852, has been the subject of an immense amount of interest in the last few months.

Interest in the star, which is 1,480 light-years away, began last October when Yale scientists found unusual fluctuations in its light.

Now a new study has claimed the entire star has also been dimming in a dramatic way.

Caltech astronomer Ben Montet and Joshua Simon of the Carnegie Institute measured the light from the star that Kepler recorded during its four-year mission. Shown' an artist's impression of a Dyson sphere.

WHAT IS A DYSON SPHERE? A proposed method for harnessing the power of an entire star is known as a Dyson sphere. First proposed by theoretical physicist Freeman Dyson in 1960, this would be a swarm of satellites that surrounds a star. They could be an enclosed shell, or spacecraft spread out to gather its energy - known as a Dyson swarm. If such structures do exist, they would emit huge amounts of noticeable infrared radiation back on Earth. But as of yet, such a structure has not been detected. Source: All About Space magazine Advertisement

In the new study, which is not yet peer-reviewed, Caltech astronomer Ben Montet and Joshua Simon of the Carnegie Institute measured the light from the star that Kepler recorded during its four-year mission.

For the first few years,it dimmed at about 0.34 percent per year, they found.

However, then its light level dropped dramatically by about 2.5 percent in 200 days - before it returned to the original slow fade rate.

The astronomers looked at 500 other stars in the vicinity, and saw nothing else like it.

'The part that really surprised me was just how rapid and non-linear it was,' Montet told Gizmodo.

'We spent a long time trying to convince ourselves this wasn't real.

'We just weren't able to.'

'These results introduce us to another delightfully unexpected piece of the puzzle,' Tabetha Boyajian, one of the star's discoverers and the namesake of the Tabby's Star nickname, told Popular Science.

Some theories have suggested the dips in light are caused by an alien megastructure.

But the mystery of what is causing the light flickers might be soon solved, now that a fundraising campaign to investigate the star has reached its target.

The Kickstarter campaign, started on 18 May this year by Yale University researcher Dr Tabetha Boyajian, who first spotted the signals, has now reached its $100,000 (68,352) goal.

The project is hoping to investigate 'the most mysterious star in the galaxy' according to the Kickstarter page.

A series of bizarre readings from a star called KIC 8462852 is baffling scientists. Some have speculated it may be an alien 'dyson sphere' megastructure. A study out last month claims that the signals were in fact caused by group of breakup of 30 massive Halley-like comets which blocked the starlight from view

The Kepler mission monitored the star for four years, looking at two unusual incidents, in 2011 and 2013, when the star's light dimmed in dramatic, never-before-seen ways.

When a planet orbits a star, the star's brightness usually reduces by around one per cent.

But KIC 8462852 - nicknamed Tabby's star - has had a reduction of around to 22 per cent, which suggests something huge may be moving past it, according to a study by Louisiana State University (LSU).

In some cases, the flux dropped down to below the 20 per cent level and lasted anywhere between five and 80 days at a time.

Interest in the star, which is 1,480 light-years away, began last October when Yale scientists found unusual fluctuations in its light - with some suggesting the dips in light are caused by an alien megastructure. One theory that has got traction says the dips are caused by an alien megastructure, similar to a Dyson sphere (stock image)

The most remarkable of these fluctuations consisted of dozens of uneven, unnatural-looking dips that appeared over a 100-day period indicating that a large number of irregularly shaped objects had passed across the face of the star and temporarily blocked some of the light coming from it.

'We'd never seen anything like this star,' said Dr Boyajian, who first spotted the signals.

'It was really weird. We thought it might be bad data or movement on the spacecraft, but everything checked out.'

Scientists have been speculating on what could be causing such irregular dips since the paper was published.

'It's our first crowdfunding campaign and we are a small operation, so we just ask for your patience as we work out the logistics on what happens next,' Dr Boyajian said.

The group is using the Las Cumbres Observatory Global Telescope network (LCOGT) - a unique global network of telescopes operated by a network of scientists.

'We are currently monitoring the star with the LCOGT, and we are working with their staff to set up a custom data pipeline to streamline the data reduction and analysis,' Dr Boyajian added.

One theory that has got traction says the dips are caused by an alien megastructure, similar to the Dyson sphere first proposed by theoretical physicist Freeman Dyson in 1960.

'Over the duration of the Kepler mission, KIC 8462852 was observed to undergo irregularly shaped, aperiodic dips in flux down to below the 20% level,'Boyajian and her team at the crowdsourced astronomy site planet hunters found

The Dyson Ring, left, is the simplest form of Dyson structure. Creating a Dyson bubble would be an incredible engineering challenge but it is considered to be far more feasible than surrounding a star in a rigid sphere

Astronomers have been looking for answers about what is causing the bizarre light fluctuations around the star KIC 8462852 (pictured) for weeks. Some have suggested it is an alien megastructure such as a Dyson sphere. The strange structure was spotted by researchers from Yale

RULING OUT AN ALIEN STRUCTURE In order to explore the idea that such a structure could have been built by intelligent alien life, the Extraterrestrial Intelligence Institute, Seti, trained its Allen Telescope Array on the star for more than two weeks. Experts looked for two types of radio signal: narrow-band signals generated as a 'hailing signal' for alien societies wanting to announce their presence, and broad-band signals. These signals would be produced by 'beamed propulsion'. Seti said that if large scale alien engineering projects really are underway, the array would pick up signals made by intense microwave beams that could be used to power spacecraft. Scientists analysing the data found no clear evidence for either type of signal. They believe this rules out the presence of omnidirectional transmitters - large antenna - of approximately 100 times today's total terrestrial energy usage in the case of the narrow-band signals, and ten million times that usage for broad band emissions. So the presence of a Dyson sphere is unlikely. Advertisement

This theory suggests that a swarm of satellites or solar panels surrounding a star, known as a Dyson swarm, could harness the power of the star and this swam could be could be an enclosed shell, or spacecraft.

But other possible structures include artificial space habitats, or a planet-sized occulting object intended to provide a long-lasting signal to other galactic inhabitants.

A study using data from Nasa's Spitzer Space Telescope in November suggested the changes in light may be caused by a swarm of comets.

A study out last month claims the signals were in fact caused by the breakup of 30 massive Halley-like comets which blocked the starlight from view. Astronomers studied the star using the Submillimeter Array and the James Clerk Maxwell Telescope, on Mauna Kea in Hawaii.

They wanted to track down dust associated with a possible planetary collision, according a report in Discovery, but they found none.

The result is consistent with the break up of huge comets that would block the starlight from sight - although how such a huge amount of comets would disintegrate is unknown.

The latest results follow a study earlier this month by Vanderbilt University which found the observations of KIC 8462852 were tainted by the inconsistent use of telescopes on Earth.

It said the the presence of a Dyson sphere is unlikely.

As a planet passes in front of a star's light it causes the light to dim, and Kepler can capture these fluctuations. Typically this light dims in a relatively symmetrical pattern due to the nature of the orbits (examples pictured)

The oblate spheroidal shape of some stars cause them to be larger and darker at the equator, and lighter at the poles. As planets pass across the different regions during an orbit, the amount of flux dips in differing ways. This graphic shows five examples of different trajectories (top) and their respective flux readings (bottom)

Institute astronomer Seth Shostak said: 'The history of astronomy tells us that every time we thought we had found a phenomenon due to the activities of extraterrestrials, we were wrong.

'But although it's quite likely that this star's strange behaviour is due to nature, not aliens, it's only prudent to check such things out.'

Their observations will continue, but so far no evidence of deliberately produced radio signals has been found in the direction of KIC 8462852.

While the scientists have all but ruled out an intelligent alien society and comets, the truth behind KIC 8462852 continues to elude them.

Now Dr Boyajian and her team hope to unravel the mystery. 'We will keep you all in the loop as things progress, and will soon send out surveys to gather information for reward fulfillment,' she said.
The snapper's photographs reveal a quieter side to the city before capitalism and

Genevieve Naylor was sent to Rio to capture images during World War Two

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As the host city of the 2016 Olympics, Rio has spent the last few years ploughing millions into infrastructure to show the world that it is a modern force to be reckoned with, with shiny new buildings and first-class stadiums.

The busy cosmopolitan capital is a world away from its image in the mid 20th century, as shown in these fascinating pictures by American photographer Genevieve Naylor, who was sent to capture the spirit of the city in 1940.

The AP photographer was tasked with capturing propaganda-style images to help conjure support in South America for the Allied forces during World War Two, but the style and culture of the capital caught Naylor's eye instead.

As a result, her time in Rio was spent cultivating a catalogue of black-and-white images that covered every aspect of city life, from street buskers and Speedo-clad beach-goers, to elegant socialites and girls waiting in line for their Confirmation.

The series of pictures, which also cover some of beautiful Brazilian architecture, were a huge hit on Naylor's return to the US and she exhibited the collection at the Museum of Modern Art.

Read on for a mesmerising glimpse of Brazil in the Forties...

An older couple passing young beach-goers in 1940s-style swimming trunks on the boardwalk in Rio

People gathered for religious observance in the rain, left, and a paperboy walks along the mosaic sidewalk in front of the Teatro Municipal, right

Two fashionably-dressed women walk past a man in his bathrobe in front of the famous Copacabana Hotel. Prior to the glamourous 1940s in Rio de Janeiro, it was common for residents to sit outside their homes wearing only their pyjamas

Riders crowd the San Januario trolley, a cheap but infrequent means of public transportation in Rio de Janeiro. For those clinging to the outside of the trolley, falling off means a long wait for another car

Men and boys at the church of Bom Jesus de Matosinhos stand in front of an anti-leprosy campaign poster, left, while mirrors inside the Cafe Leiteria reflect patrons looking into the cafe from outside, right

A man makes his living playing a small accordion, or 'sanfona,' for tips at open air markets in the city

Squatting cowboys swap stories in a more remote part of the city, as their horse take a well-earned rest

Girls stand under ornate stairway landing, left, and a few men take a break from hauling items with their dollies on the Avenue Visconde De Inthauma, right

A couple sit on a lounge chair outside a hotel, left, while a disabled man poses for a photo on the street, right

A smiling northeastern Brazilian man, prematurely aged by the poor nutrition typical of his region. His height of 5ft 2in was much smaller than the southern Brazilian average. Pictured right are smiling schoolchildren in their uniforms

Young girls wearing veils stare into the camera as they wait in line during their Confirmation procession
A popular beach destination on the Spanish island of Ibiza has been named the most expensive resort in Europe by a French travel company.

Holidaymakers are spending an average of 215 a night for a double room in party hotspot Playa d'en Bossa, which is visited by thousands of Britons every year, new research has revealed.

It was followed by the cliffside village of Positano, Italy, (206) and the picturesque village of Oia on the Greek island of Santorini (205).

Holidaymakers are spending an average of 215 a night for a room in Playa d'en Bossa

EUROPE'S 20 MOST EXPENSIVE TOURIST RESORTS 1. Playa d'en Bossa, Spain - 215 2. Positano, Italy - 206 3. Oia, Greece - 205 4. Formentera, Spain - 203 5. Saint-Tropez, France - 194 6. Porto Cervo, Italy -190 7. St Ives, England - 189 8. Mykonos, Greece -183 9. Gallipoli, Italy - 180 10. Porto-Vecchio, France - 173 11. Imerovigli, Greece - 173 12. Monaco - 164 13. Capri, Italy - 156 14. Bahia De San Antonio, Spain - 155 15. Port of Pollenca, Spain - 146 16. Heringsdorf, Germany - 146 17. San Sebastian, Spain - 128 18. Westerland, Germany - 137 19. Otranto, Italy - 133 20. Santa Margherita Ligure, Italy - 131 Prices above are based on the nightly cost of a double room (minimum three stars) in August. Source: Allo Voyages Advertisement

French travel company Allo Voyages has published a list of the 20 most expensive resorts after comparing destinations across Europe.

Most of those that ranked in the top 20 were located in the traditional summer destinations of Spain, Greece and Italy.

Only one UK resort - St Ives, Cornwall - cracked the top 20. It was named the seventh-most expensive destination in Europe, with a double room costing an average of 189 a night.

Formentera, Spain, (203) and celebrity favourite Saint-Tropez, France, (194) ranked fourth and fifth, respectively.

St Ives, Cornwall, a popular destination for Britons on a staycation, ranked seventh overall

Porto Cervo, Italy (190) was sixth, followed by St Ives.

Rounding out the top 10 were Mykonos, Greece, (183) in eighth, Gallipoli, Italy, (180) in ninth, and Porto-Vecchio, France, (173) in tenth.

Allo Voyages said the prices are based on the average for a double room in a minimum three-star resort in August.
She's garnered an undeniably impressive collection of award nominations and wins throughout her decades in Hollywood.

And now it's been announced that Lily Tomlin has won another honour, in the form of a Screen Actors Guild Lifetime Achievement Award.

The 76-year-old started her career in New York City in the 1960s.

Crowning achievement: It's been announced that Lily Tomlin has won another honour, in the form of a Screen Actors Guild Lifetime Achievement Award

To supplement her job waitressing at Howard Johnson's, the Detroit, Michigan native began performing stand-up off Broadway in NYC, which ended up beginning her career in show business.

Her breakout role was a stint on Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In from 1970 until 1973.

She was recognized with her first Emmy nomination in 1971 for her work on the established comedy show that was watched by over 25 percent of Americans.

Multi-talented: She soon crossed over into feature films, with her performance in 1976's Nashville earning her first Golden Globe nomination

Things only skyrocketed from there, as she started winning Emmys for her comedy specials, which proved immensely popular.

She soon crossed over into feature films, with her performance in 1976's Nashville earning her first Golden Globe nomination.

Even the Academy recognized her work in the musical dramedy, and announced she was nominated for an Oscar in 1976.

Still going: More recently, the openly gay star was nominated in 2015 and 2016 for Outstanding Leading Actress Emmys for her Netflix hit Grace & Frankie

More recently, the openly gay star was nominated in 2015 and 2016 for Outstanding Leading Actress Emmys for her Netflix hit Grace & Frankie.

Of course the SAG award, which is the organization's highest tribute, also recognizes her humanitarian work as well.

Aside from her astounding career, Lily has also furthered the causes of Feminism and LGBT rights through numerous philanthropic efforts and charitable performances.
The Bachelor is the show that keeps on giving, if the recent influx of hilarious memes is anything to go by.

Fans of Australia's favourite dating show flocked to social media this week to poke fun at Richie Strahan's cohort of colourful contestants, with one meme even poking fun at Janey's dramatic eyebrow shape.

The meme, which was uploaded to an Instagram page titled The Bachelor Australia Memes, features a closeup of Janey's eyebrow turned upside down and compared to the famed Nike tick logo, alongside the brand's motto, 'Just Do It'.

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Tick of approval! Fans of The Bachelor Australia have been delighted by a meme comparing contestant Janey's dramatic eyebrow shape to the Nike logo

Janey isn't the only Bachelor contestant to have become the subject of online ridicule - the show's token 'villain' Keira has been subjected to a slew of unfortunate comparisons since the show debuted last week.

In one meme, Keira is pictured with her tongue slightly poked out while the accompanying text reads: 'Bachelor drinking game: take a shot when Keira licks her teeth.'

Choker necklace-loving Keira has also been compared to the character C. C. Babcock from the hit 90s sitcom The Nanny.

We lick it very much! Show's token 'villain' Keira has been subjected to a slew of ridicule since the show debuted last week

Taking a leaf out of Babcock's book? Choker necklace-loving Keira has also been compared to the character C. C. Babcock from the hit 90s sitcom The Nanny

Oh dear! In other memes, Keira is compared to the character Doris from Shrek

In other memes, Keira is compared to the character Doris from Shrek, Jabba the Hutt from the Star Wars films, Ursula from Disney's The Little Mermaid and even controversial Australian politician Pauline Hanson.

Mia has also become the butt of Bachelor-related jokes including memes that compare her to the character Neytiri from the Avatar films and to a Thai woman wearing neck coils.

The vivacious contestant Georgia was also ridiculed in a particularly harsh meme which labeled her as a pre-surgery version of Katy Perry.

May the force be with you! She was also compared to Jabba the Hutt from the Star Wars films

'I don't like it': Keira was even likened to controversial Australian politician Pauline Hanson

Meanwhile, many memes have emerged after contestant Sasha nibbled on a red rose during the first ceremony.

After Noni gifted Richie bacon roses, one meme reads: 'These aren't bacon roses.'

Another Facebook page, also called The Bachelor Memes, compared Keira to Shrek's Prince Charming character.

Long necks: Mia has also become the butt of Bachelor-related jokes including memes that compare her to a Thai woman wearing neck coils

Ouch! The vivacious contestant Georgia was also ridiculed in a particularly harsh meme which labeled her as a pre-surgery version of Katy Perry
It looked like she was all on board for one of the most exciting roles of her career.

But it seems there was a derailment during negotiations for it has now emerged Angelina Jolie will not be starring in the remake of classic mystery tale Murder On The Orient Express.

But fans of silver screen beauties have been handed a silver-lining, for Charlize Theron is now being lined up for a role in the Fox adaptation of Agatha Christie's famous novel.

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Trains passing in the night: Angelina Jolie will not be starring in Murder On The Orient Express but Charlize Theron could be getting on board

According to Variety the 41-year-old actress decided to pass on what would have been a much-needed meaty role on her resume.

The news will surely be a disappointment to the film's director Kenneth Branagh, who will also be appearing front of camera as the main character Hercule Poirot, the razor-sharp Belgian detective whose trip to London is ruined by said homicide.

But his mood no doubt perked up considerably when he learned 40-year-old stunner Charlize, a previous Esquire Sexiest Woman Alive winner, could be joining his production.

Kenneth, 55, is also producing the film as part of a heavyweight team which includes Ridley Scott, Simon Kinberg and Mark Gordon, while James Prichard, the Agatha Christie's great-grandson, is executive producing.

Adjusting the frequency Kenneth? The film's star and director Branagh will no doubt effortlessly adapt to the casting change

The book was first published in 1934, and its tale of an American businessman being killed aboard the famous train is perhaps the most famous of the Poirot canon.

It was famously adapted in 1974, with Albert Finney playing Poirot and a host of big names such as Sean Connery, John Gielgud and Vanessa Redgrave also appearing as suspects.

The film scored six Academy Award nominations, with Ingrid Bergman winning the best supporting actress gong.

Classic role: Heavyweight actor Albert Finney played moustachioed Belgian sleuth Hercule Poirot in the classic 1974 film

Unforgettable: The film is notable for Scottish hunk Sean Connery's even more impressive facial fuzz, while noted thespian Vanessa Redgrave also appeared

Today David Suchet, 70, is most associated with the character however, appearing as the pint-sized sleuth in the hit British show Agatha Christie's Poirot from 1989 until 2013.

It is particularly notable for by the time the show finished with Curtain: Poirot's Last Case, it had adapted every major literary work by Christie that featured the detective.

A literary detective whose success rivals that of Sherlock Holmes, he was the only fictional character to receive an obituary on the front page of The New York Times following his 'death' in the Curtain story in 1975.

The forthcoming film is expected to be released in November 2017.
David Huddleston, a character actor best known for portraying titular roles in The Big Lebowski and Santa Claus: The Movie, has died. He was 85.

Huddleston's wife, Sarah C. Koeppe, says he died Tuesday of advanced heart and kidney disease in Santa Fe, New Mexico.

Huddleston famously portrayed the blustery millionaire whose identity Jeff Bridges' character is mistaken for in the 1998 cult comedy The Big Lebowski.

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RIP: Actor David Huddleston has died at the age of 85

Other credits in his 55-year-long career include the films Blazing Saddles, The Producers and Santa Claus: The Movie, as well as such TV series as The West Wing, Gilmore Girls and The Wonder Years.

Huddleston was born in 1930 in Vinton, Virginia. He served as an aircraft engine mechanic in the U.S. Air Force before studying acting in New York.

The character actor had a sprawling list of credits both on the big and small screen as well as the stage, but it was the 'other' Jeffrey Lebowski he will be most fondly remembered for.

Jeffrey Lebowski: The character actor had a sprawling list of credits both on the big and small screen as well as the stage, but it was the 'other' Jeffrey Lebowski he will be most fondly remembered for.

Despite only having a handful of scenes in the Coen brothers' classic, they are among the film's most memorable, including the showdown between him and his namesake The Dude, as they debate over who is responsible for replacing the pee-soaked rug that really tied the room together.

As is the definition of cult movies, the film - which also starred John Goodman, Steve Buscemi, Julianne Moore, Tara Reid, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Sam Elliott and John Turturro - didn't do very well when it was first released.

But it has since gone on to become one of the most beloved films of all time

Classic: He played the big man himself in 1985's Santa Claus: The Movie

Speaking to the LA Times, Koeppe said that her husband would always say, 'I was in every cult film, but it never got the money when I needed it to.'

But, she added, 'things were not important to him  people were. He loved entertaining and would rather sit down and talk with someone over dinner.'

His last TV role was in the 2009 Christmas episode of It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia; his final film part was in the 2014 thriller Locker 13.
As a professional bikini model, she's used to flaunting her svelte figure in scant attire.

But Elyse Knowles concealed her assets with just rose petals as she channelled Mena Suvari's popular bathtub scene from 90s film American Beauty in a now deleted Instagram snap.

The 23-year-old posed seductively as she highlighted her lean legs and gave a glimpse of her cleavage.

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Flaunting it: Bikini model Elyse Knowles, 23, channelled Mena Suvari's popular bathtub scene in a now deleted Instagram snap, from 90s film American Beauty

'Could this get any more perfect for a cold morning!,' Elyse captioned the shot alongside two on point emojis.

She also added in the hash-tags #flowerpettles and #timetorest.

The Melbourne-based model crossed one toned leg over the other as she concealed her chest with just her arms and a bed of rose petals.

Smiling as she provided the camera with a view of her sleek blonde tresses, the image immediately brought to mind the iconic American Beauty scene.

Bed of roses: The scene saw Kevin Spacey's character Lester fantasising about his daughter's friend Angela, played by Mena Suvari

The scene saw Kevin Spacey's character Lester Burnham fantasising about his daughter's friend Angela Hayes, played by Mena Suvari, as she's bathed in just rose petals.

The ambassador has never been one to shy away from flaunting her impressive physique.

Earlier this month, the bronzed beauty took to Instagram, emphasising her toned derriere and lean limbs as she danced seductively in her Calvin Klein underwear.

Gym-honed: The ambassador has never been one to shy away from flaunting her impressive physique

Flawless: Earlier this month, the bronzed beauty took to Instagram, emphasising her toned derriere and lean limbs as she danced seductively in her Calvin Klein underwear

Hiding her torso underneath a comfy grey sweater, she let her signature locks fall effortlessly around her minimally made-up face.

Opening up to US GQ Magazine recently, the petite star revealed what makes her feel sexy.

'I feel sexy when I'm in my best shape. That is, feeling healthy and happy from the inside out.

'I feel sexy when I'm in my best shape': The beauty ambassador revealed to US GQ Magazine recently her secret to staying body confident

'Hard work in training really pays off, not only for my body but for my head, i.e. a positive mind.

'There's nothing better than a confident girl in her own skin. And, of course, when I put on a nice pair of lingerie,' she added.

Earlier this year Elyse spoke to Daily Mail Australia about her fitness regimen.

'I make sure that I can train at least once a day': The fitness enthusiast revealed to Daily Mail Australia earlier this year that consistent exercise is key to feeling healthy and happy

She revealed that she owed her fantastic body to getting up at 4.30am every day to work out with her boyfriend.

'I make sure that I can train at least once a day, but things happen,' she revealed.

The blogger also explained how she keeps fit while travelling.

'I travel with a skipping rope and runners,' she said, adding: 'When you travel you can't take your whole fitness regimen with you, so I literally have my stop watch on my phone and I skip and I jump on things, or I do push-ups and burpees.'

'I travel with a skipping rope and runners': Elyse also shared her secret to staying fit while on the go
He received a standing ovation at the Cannes premiere of his latest film Loving, sending Oscar rumours abuzz.

And so its no it's no surprise that Joel Edgerton has been asked to star opposite one of Hollywood's most high profile actresses, Jennifer Lawrence, in her upcoming film Red Sparrow.

According to Deadline, Joel is in 'early talks' to appear in Frances Lawrence-directed spy thriller, which is set to hit theaters in November 2017.

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In good company! Joel Edgerton has been asked to star opposite one of Hollywood's most high profile actresses, Jennifer Lawrence, in her upcoming film Red Sparrow

The flick will be an adaptation of Jason Matthew's espionage novel of the same name, which tells the story of a Russian spy.

According to Variety, 'the book is set in modern-day Russia in the intelligence bureaucracy with a young woman drafted against her will to become a sparrow, a trained seductress assigned to operate against a first-tour CIA officer who handles the agencys most sensitive penetration of Russian intelligence.'

'The two young intelligence officers fall into a spiral of attraction and deception that results in her leading life as a double agent.'

New gig: According to Deadline , Joel is in 'early talks' to appear in Frances Lawrence-directed spy thriller, which is set to hit theaters in November 2017

It comes after Joel received almost unanimous praise from critics for his latest film Loving.

The Australian star plays lead character Richard Loving, who is sentenced to prison in Virginia in 1958 for entering into an interracial marriage with partner Mildred, played by Ruth Negga.

Late last year, the Hollywood actor revealed that he wasn't deemed attractive enough to star in the heavily beach-centric Australian soaps at the beginning of his career in the late 90's.

One hit after another! It comes after Joel received almost unanimous praise from critics for his latest film Loving

Drama: The Australian star plays lead character Richard Loving, who is sentenced to prison in Virginia in 1958 for entering into an interracial marriage with partner Mildred, played by Ruth Negga (left)

He told the UK's Telegraph: 'I just wasn't that pretty, to be honest! They didn't want me on a surfboard'.

'And back then I was a little bit judgmental about the soapy stuff. I was working happily in the theatre', he explained.

'But I was losing the occasional really cool job to actors who'd been in those shows, because they sold tickets and I didn't.'
He's the most talked about radio shock jock in Australia.

And on Friday, Kyle Sandilands once again raised eyebrows when he appeared to take a dig at his KIIS FM co-host Jackie O's weight live on air.

During a bizarre discussion about 'sex with a fatty,' Jackie revealed she had never slept with an overweight person.

Rude: Kyle Sandilands and Jackie O Henderson both mocked each other's weight during a bizarre conversation about 'sex with a fatty' on Friday

'You've never had a fatty?' a stunned Kyle asked his co-host, before saying ' 'How hypocritical of you'.

Laughing off the insult, Jackie replied 'Let's establish this, have you had a fatty?'

'You guys wouldn't even be able to reach each other!' she chuckled hurling an insult back at him.

Awkward: Jackie, 41, told Kyle: 'You guys wouldn't even be able to reach each other'

Last month, Jackie was the subject of weight criticism when her father Tony said she had gained too much weight and 'let herself go.'

Jackie, 41, recalled their hurtful conversation live on-air, which prompted him to ask her: 'So why have you let yourself go?'

The offensive comments are just the latest in Kyle and Jackie's shock value approach to hosting Sydney's highest-rating breakfast show, The Kyle and Jackie O Show.

Not surprising: The offensive comments are just the latest in Kyle and Jackie's shock value approach to hosting Sydney's highest-rating breakfast show, The Kyle and Jackie O Show

In May, Kyle, 45, made jaw-dropping comments about his own sex life with his girlfriend of four years, Imogen Anthony.

The self-professed 'white trash royalty' was responding to a question about when they were last intimate.

'I got up and went to feed the animals and she grabbed my arm and said 'no, no' and I know what that means,' he told radio listeners.

Weight criticism: Last month, it was mother-of-one Jackie who was the subject of weight criticism when her father Tony said she had gained too much weight and 'let herself go'

Adding to his confession, Kyle added somewhat distastefully: 'So I thrashed her in there and then went to feed the animals.'

Even more inappropriate was Kyle going on to say the bedroom fun would have to stop due to 'that time of month' for Imogen, 25.

'Too much information?' Kyle asked his blonde co-host.

TMI: In May, Kyle, 45, made jaw-dropping comments about his own sex life with his girlfriend of four years, Imogen Anthony

Candid: The self-professed 'white trash royalty' was responding to a question about when they were last intimate and he did not hold back

'You're not one to hold back,' a bemused Jackie replied.

Imogen previously spoke to Daily Mail Australia about her partner's inability to censor himself, saying: 'He blurts out everything, but it's fine.'

The model did say that her beau does speak to her in advance if he plans to reveal an extremely private matter to fans on the show.

Success: Last month, it was revealed that the radio duo had signed a lucrative deal with Australian Radio Network (ARN)

'He has kind of spoken to me beforehand,' she confessed.

'Anything vulgar like that, he needs a pass. There has been a few things where he has said 'can I do this?' and I was like 'you cannot',' she explained.

Last month, it was revealed that the radio duo had signed a lucrative deal with Australian Radio Network (ARN).

The are each expected to earn up to $20 million over the next five years.
The evacuation from Dunkirk was one of the biggest operations of the Second World War and was one of the major factors in enabling the Allies to continue fighting.

It was the largest military evacuation in history, taking place between May 27 and June 4, 1940. The evacuation, known as Operation Dynamo, saw an estimated 338,000 Allied troops rescued from northern France. But 11,000 Britons were killed during Operation Dynamo, and another 40,000 were captured and imprisoned.

Described as a 'miracle of deliverance' by wartime prime minister Winston Churchill, it is seen as one of several events in 1940 that determined the eventual outcome of the war.

The Second World War began after Germany invaded Poland in 1939, but for a number of months there was little further action on land. But in early 1940, Germany invaded Denmark and Norway and then launched an offensive against Belgium and France in western Europe.

The evacuation from Dunkirk was one of the biggest operations of the Second World War and was one of the major factors in enabling the Allies to continue fighting

Hitler's troops advanced rapidly, taking Paris - which they never achieved in the First World War - and moved towards the Channel.

They reached the coast towards the end of May 1940, pinning back the Allied forces, including several hundred thousand troops of the British Expeditionary Force. Military leaders quickly realised there was no way they would be able to stay on mainland Europe.

Operational command fell to Bertram Ramsay, a retired vice-admiral who was recalled to service in 1939. From a room deep in the cliffs at Dover, Ramsay and his staff pieced together Operation Dynamo, a daring rescue mission by the Royal Navy to get troops off the beaches around Dunkirk and back to Britain.

On May 14 1940 the call went out. The BBC made the announcement: 'The Admiralty have made an order requesting all owners of self-propelled pleasure craft between 30ft and 100ft in length to send all particulars to the Admiralty within 14 days from today if they have not already been offered or requisitioned.'

It was the largest military evacuation in history, taking place between May 27 and June 4, 1940. The evacuation, known as Operation Dynamo, saw an estimated 338,000 Allied troops rescued from northern France

Boats of all sorts were requisitioned - from those for hire on the Thames to pleasure yachts - and manned by naval personnel, though in some cases boats were taken over to Dunkirk by the owners themselves.

They sailed from Dover, the closest point, to allow them the shortest crossing. On May 29, Operation Dynamo was put into action.

When they got to Dunkirk they faced chaos. Soldiers were hiding in sand dunes from aerial attack, much of the town of Dunkirk had been reduced to ruins by the bombardment and the German forces were closing in.

Above them, RAF Spitfire and Hurricane fighters were headed inland to attack the German fighter planes to head them off and protect the men on the beaches.

As the little ships arrived they were directed to different sectors. Many did not have radios, so the only methods of communication were by shouting to those on the beaches or by semaphore.

Boats of all sorts were requisitioned - from those for hire on the Thames to pleasure yachts - and manned by naval personnel, though in some cases boats were taken over to Dunkirk by the owners themselves

Space was so tight, with decks crammed full, that soldiers could only carry their rifles. A huge amount of equipment, including aircraft, tanks and heavy guns, had to be left behind.

The little ships were meant to bring soldiers to the larger ships, but some ended up ferrying people all the way back to England. The evacuation lasted for several days.

Prime Minister Churchill and his advisers had expected that it would be possible to rescue only 20,000 to 30,00 men, but by June 4 more than 300,000 had been saved.

The exact number was impossible to gauge - though 338,000 is an accepted estimate - but it is thought that over the week up to 400,000 British, French and Belgian troops were rescued - men who would return to fight in Europe and eventually help win the war.

But there were also heavy losses, with around 90,000 dead, wounded or taken prisoner. A number of ships were also lost, through enemy action, running aground and breaking down. Despite this, Dunkirk was regarded as a success and a great boost for morale.
There's high drama everywhere I look. Over there, the Queen is boarding a BOAC flight. Here's Winston Churchill presiding over a cabinet meeting. And look: the Duke of Edinburgh is wandering around in his pyjamas.

In a muddy field, I see perfect replicas of the frontages of Buckingham Palace and No. 10 Downing Street  although on closer inspection, they do look a little frayed.

Then the Queen swings her handbag at a courtier, and lets out a belly laugh.

It's as if I've been sent back in a time machine to view  first hand  the early years of Her Majesty's reign. But, in reality, the scenes unfolding before my eyes are part of the filming of the first series of The Crown  the most ambitious television programme ever made about Elizabeth II, and this autumn's must-see drama.

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It's as if I've been sent back in a time machine to view  first hand  the early years of Her Majesty's reign

'It's the story of this extraordinary family under extraordinary pressure trying to survive,' said Stephen Daldry, one of The Crown's executive producers and directors.

All ten hour-long episodes will be streamed, in all Netflix territories, from November 4 this year.

Viewers will be able to observe actress Claire Foy's portrait of Elizabeth from her wedding to dashing naval officer Philip Mountbatten (played by Matt Smith) in 1947, to the debacle that was Suez in 1956.

People forget that in the early years of her reign, the Queen looked like a movie star.

'She was glamorous and she was beautiful  but she had this extraordinary sense of duty as well,' Daldry added.

His ambition, and that of his collaborators  writer Peter Morgan (who worked on the play The Audience with Daldry and also wrote the film The Queen, both starring Helen Mirren), Philip Martin (who directs four episodes) and producers Andy Harries, Suzanne Mackie, Matthew Byam-Shaw, Andrew Eaton, Faye Ward and Robert Fox  is to shoot ten episodes for each decade of Her Majesty's 63-year reign.

The second series, covering the Sixties, starts filming next month.

Each show deals with a crisis: whether it's political (Suez) or domestic, such as Princess Margaret's desire to marry Group Captain Peter Townsend, her father's equerry.

One concerns the placement of the Duke and Duchess of Windsor at the funeral of King George VI.

Another explores the different experiences Philip and Charles had at Gordonstoun school. 'Why was it so powerful for Philip? And so horrid for Charles?' Daldry wondered.

Another episode examines the explosive debate around the cabinet table  and in the Commons  over whether the Queen's Coronation should be televised.

Philip Martin directed the Coronation episode. He said the argument about the perils of 'letting daylight in on the magic' (as 19th-century essayist Walter Bagehot put it), and of 'whether it was wrong for people to be able to sit at home and have a cup of tea and watch the Queen being crowned'  in his words  was fierce.

A highlight is the sequence concerning the Act of Consecration.

In 1953, the anointing of the Queen was blacked out, so viewers never saw it. But Daldry was adamant The Crown should show Elizabeth being daubed on the palms of her hands, her breast and forehead with special consecrated oils  and the scene with Foy (who played Anne Boleyn, in Wolf Hall) is solemn but spectacular.

'It explains so much about her, and how she sees her duties,' Daldry said, as we walked to one of several sound-stages being used at Elstree, in Hertfordshire, for the show.

Philip Martin directed the Coronation episode. He said the argument about the perils of 'letting daylight in on the magic', and of 'whether it was wrong for people to be able to sit at home and have a cup of tea and watch the Queen being crowned' was fierce

I mentioned that when I was being shown around, a senior member of the crew explained one set was Prince Philip's private rooms

He stressed that The Crown is not a historical documentary (although he said an incredible amount of research had been done).

'We're not making up a lot. But obviously it's not a docu-drama.

'The Queen has maintained a mystique: the most visible, invisible woman in the world.

'The dramas of her family affect our lives, as when Margaret wanted to marry 'the staff'  and a divorced member of the staff, at that. A lot of what's in The Crown is in the public domain, but it has never been put together like this before.

The Queen has maintained a mystique: the most visible, invisible woman in the world. Stephen Daldry, one of The Crown's executive producers and directors

'We're checking ourselves to make sure we're not stepping over the line.'

And what, exactly, would be 'stepping over the line'?

'Getting into areas that aren't warranted, or in bad taste,' Daldry said. 'I wouldn't be interested in seeing them in intimate circumstances.'

I mentioned that when I was being shown around, a senior member of the crew explained one set was Prince Philip's private rooms.

There was a corridor leading to another bedroom.

'That's the tunnel of love,' the person said, adding that it lead to the Queen's private chambers.

Daldry confirmed 'the tunnel of love', but insisted: 'We're not portraying anything that hasn't been said in biographies.

Smith said he would not describe himself as a royalist ('I like how bizarre and interesting they are') but admitted that since working on The Crown he has found himself feeling 'more affectionate towards them'

'You do see Philip in pyjamas, and there is a bare royal bottom. They were a very passionate couple. One doesn't want to be lurid or indiscreet in any way, but you also want to get a sense of how much in love with each other they were.'

Matt Smith was even more circumspect, and said he wasn't sure if the royal bottom would survive editing.

'I think what will come through is that they are real soul mates,' said Smith, who will also portray the Duke of Edinburgh in season two.

But, Smith told me, his Philip is not the prince of gaffes, as we sometimes see him today.

She stood under the archway in Horse Guards with her handbag, and I got this sense from her of: "This is our country. Don't f*** with me". Executive producer Andrew Eaton, on the Queen after the 7/7 bombings

'There's more to him than that,' he said. 'I think he's quite a complex man really. His mother was estranged, his sister died in a plane crash and his father was busy in Monaco. Then his career in the Navy was taken away when Elizabeth's father died and she became Queen.

'It's very odd when you start walking two steps behind your wife.'

Smith said he would not describe himself as a royalist ('I like how bizarre and interesting they are') but admitted that since working on The Crown he has found himself feeling 'more affectionate towards them'.

Several members of the cast and creative team had similar stories of discovering new levels of admiration for the Queen and Philip since embarking on the dramas, which were shot here and in South Africa.

Executive producer Andrew Eaton said he found himself crying when watching Foy in the Coronation scenes. 'I thought: 'What do I find that's so emotional?' And I think it's mostly about this country, and what's great about it.'

He remembered watching the Queen the week after the July 7 bombings in London. 'She stood under the archway in Horse Guards with her handbag, and I got this sense from her of: "This is our country. Don't f*** with me."
She has flooded her Instagram account with stunning images in Rio de Janeiro this week.

And on Thursday Adriana Lima didn't disappoint when she shared a breathtaking photo on the famous Praia Vermelha which translates to 'Red Beach.'

The 35-year-old supermodel wore a cropped top which revealed her sculpted abs as she posed with a green coconut.

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How about them coconuts? Adriana Lima shared a breathtaking photo on the famous Praia Vermelha which translates to 'Red Beach'

The Victoria's Secret Angel sported sexy new braided pigtails and looked radiant as she modelled in front of a picturesque landscape.

Her perfectly toned torso was on display in the tight-fitting VSX Sexy Sport workout gear.

Adriana's tiny top included a zipper detailing along the front and she added some sparkle with a few dainty gold necklaces and diamond stud earrings.

'Working hard': Ryan Seacrest, 41, shared an Instagram photo with Adriana and Alessandra Ambrosio, 35, who will act as special correspondents as he hosts Friday's Olympics opening ceremony

The Brazilian beauty posed for a photo shoot as she prepares to act as special correspondent for Friday's opening ceremony at the Olympics.

Adriana and fellow VS Brazilian babe Alessandra Ambrosio, 35, will make special appearances.

They will join host Ryan Seacrest, 41, who also shared a snapshot with the beauties sipping on the coconuts.

Feminine frock: Earlier in the day, the Victoria's Secret Angel stepped out in a denim kaftan with gold embroidered stitching

Bronzed beauty: The supermodel made sure to pull back the opulent garb while making her way up a staircase, giving an eyeful of her runway ready stems

'Working hard...' he humorously captioned the image.

Earlier in the day, Adriana stepped out in a denim kaftan with gold embroidered stitching.

Her tunic included tassels along the neckline, fringed sleeves and luxurious designs crafted into the garb.

She made sure to pull back the opulent frock while making her way up a staircase, giving an eyeful of her runway ready stems.

Mommy and me! Genetically gifted supermodel Alessandra was spotted with her four-year-old son Noah from the balcony of their apartment

Say cheese! The brunette beauty snapped photos of her adorable blonde boy from the balcony of their apartment

Genetically gifted supermodel Alessandra was also spotted as she gushed over her four-year-old son Noah.

The brunette beauty snapped photos of her adorable blonde boy from the balcony of their apartment.

Alessandra has dated businessman Jamie Mazur since 2008 and the couple share two children - daughter Anja, seven, along with their son Noah.
Even after an intense workout, she still looks glamorous enough to walk the runway.

Rosie Huntington-Whiteley left the gym on Thursday in West Hollywood with her svelte figure on full display.

She was spotted after a session at Body By Simone, a studio that stars such as Selena Gomez, Taylor Swift, Sarah Hyland and Lily Collins have frequented.

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Work that body! Rosie Huntington-Whiteley flaunts her enviable figure in West Hollywood on Thursday after an intense workout

The Victoria's Secret angel opted for an all-black outfit with Nike, skin-tight capri leggings paired with a rolled-up black tank top.

The 29-year-old accessorized with black-and-white sneakers, a long black clutch she carried in her arm, a black Nike hat, and a gold chain necklace.

Her blonde locks were all out, flying in the wind, kept back by her black aviator sunglasses.

Hair flip! The 29-year-old wore skin-tight black leggings and a rolled up tank top after a session at Body By Simone, a place frequented by Selena Gomez, Taylor Swift and Sarah Hyland

Rosie - who is engaged to Jason Statham - wore her engagement ring on her left hand.

The couple were dating for six years before they announced their engagement at The Golden Globe Awards back in January.

There is no word yet on when the power couple will set a date for their wedding.

I wanna hold your hand: Rosie and Jason have been a couple since 2010

The Mad Max: Fury Road actress continues to thrive in her personal and professional life, as she announced this past week that she scored the front cover of Harpers Bazaar UK's September issue.

The runway model also recently visited Lesotho in Africa to meet children and families affected by the current drought in the country.

She said of the critical conditions: 'Many of the families I met have literally nothing left. If the rains don't come soon then the situation will become even more devastating. Children are going to bed hungry, night after night, week after week.'

Adding: 'This crisis might not be on the news, but having seen the reality for children here I'd urge everyone to do what they can to support Unicef's work for children, in Lesotho and across the region.'

Congrats! Rosie shared her excitement last week on Instagram: 'September issue of @bazaaruk! Photographed by @AlexiLubomirski! Big thank you to @justinepicardie and the whole Harpers Bazaar team!'
Young Chekhov (National Theatre, Olivier)

Rating:

Signing up on a summers day for eight hours of 19th-century Russian drama might make you flinch. But when three theatre giants and a brilliant cast create a world so joyfully funny, vigorous and ruefully familiar, its a delight.

You can book separately for this triple-bill of Chekhov plays, adapted by David Hare and directed by Jonathan Kent, but at weekends there is a chance for immersion  well worth it.

For these are very early plays. PLATONOV is a rumbustious chronicle of an educated, thwarted widow and a Byronically handsome man who creates havoc in a family and within himself  James McArdle is more than irresistible enough to convince in this role.

Bavura turn: Anna Chancellor as Arkadina in The Seagull, part of the Chekhov trilogy

At 20, Chekhov never trimmed it down from six hours or saw it performed, but Hares version is tight, wickedly witty, emotionally honest and rife with snortingly funny one-liners, not least from the irresistible Nina Sosanya as Anna.

IVANOV was the young Chekhovs first produced play, more tightly focused on the central character. Geoffrey Streatfeild is depressive, disappointed, remorseful and broke, out of love with his dying Jewish wife and beguiled by the lovely Sasha, his creditors daughter.

Olivia Vinall (who is in all three plays) is luminous, blondely angelic and gloriously tempting, but here firmly bossy  a one-woman ambulance corps for hopeless Ivanov (My job in life is to understand him!). Her family elders, in a memorable upmarket party scene, are variously awful and hilarious. But Chekhov always allows gleams of redemptive humanity: Jonathan Coy is superb as the put-upon father, begging the pair of them just to live a normal flawed life and get on with it.

Darkness rears up in one horrifying three-word shout which makes the audience gasp. Then room and wife sink through the floor as if in despair and Ivanov reels off, wrecked, into the trees, reeds and water of the beautiful set which serves all three plays.

The last is best known, but still vibrates with youthful melodrama and fury. THE SEAGULL is the tale of geeky struggling author Konstantin (an intensely felt performance by Joshua James), his love for innocent Nina (Vinall, shining again) and his diva mother, a bravura Anna Chancellor with a pretentious, weak, famous lover, Trigorin (Streatfeild again). The moment when he stares helplessly over her shrieking head, mutely appealing to the audience, met gales of laughter.

All three plays have fireworks, real and emotional; all end in a single pistol-shot.

All three show us Chekhov not as we know him from plays such as The Cherry Orchard  as a gentle dispassionate observer  but as a fierce youth. He was starting on his lifetime themes of frustration, debt, passion, escape, city versus country values, human absurdity magnified by vodka, and suicide. The writer behind these early plays is young, not afraid to mix hilarity and satire with deep shafts of complicated feeling.

The final curtain call on the three-play day brings everyone on: McArdle (I am happy to say) back in his long underpants as the battered Byron of the first play, not as the sober prim doctor he plays in the second. We cheered them all to the echo.
She's known for showing off her incredible body and being proud of it.

But Susan Sarandon rocked a more modest look as she touched down at Melbourne airport on Friday.

Sporting a blue and cream bomber jacket with a dark denim trousers, the 69-year-old kept a low profile as she strolled through the terminal.

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First time visiting! Susan Sarandon touched down in Melbourne on Friday for her first ever visit to Australia

Susan's auburn locks were tied back in a ponytail and she wore a pair of wayfarer style sunglasses to shield her eyes from the cameras' flashes.

Despite being an award-winning Hollywood star, the actress wasn't above carrying her own bags.

The mother-of-three swung a bag over her shoulders and also carried a garment bag as she was escorted through the airport by staff.

Staying covered: The 69-year-old kept her famous figure covered up under a blue and cream bomber jacket and a pair of dark denim trousers

Earlier this year, the Hollywood siren caused controversy after she wore a cleavage-baring bra top with a white pant-suit to the SAG Awards.

The outfit was met with criticism from people on Twitter as well as Piers Morgan, who deemed it 'horribly inappropriate' for such an event.

Susan's son Jack Robbins jumped to the Oscar winner's defence, saying she has a 'right to be proud of her body.'

'If she wasn't 69 no one would be saying anything,' Jack said.

Va va voom! The Oscar-winning actress is famous for flaunting her incredible curves

Meanwhile, the Rocky Horror Picture Show star's visit marks her first time to Australia, where she will be attending two events run by the La Dolce Italia festival.

Susan will share stories of her life and career during the events, which will be the only appearances for her stay.

The actress, who has Italian heritage on her mother's side, will take part in a luncheon and evening presentation to support Bully Zero - a national charity committed to introducing a culture of zero-tolerance to bullying.

'I'm very excited to visit Melbourne for the first time, especially to participate in events that support such a worthy cause,' she said in a statement.
The Carer (15)

Verdict: Unoriginal, but likeable

Rating:

Up For Love (12A)

Verdict: Misjudged French rom-com

Rating:

Brian Cox isnt quite what youd call a giant of stage and screen, but he has nonetheless had a sufficiently illustrious career to blur the lines between himself and his character in The Carer, Sir Michael Gifford.

Sir Michael is a grand, rather monstrously irascible old theatrical knight now rendered lame and incontinent by a terminal illness. He spends much of his time re-playing his greatest hits, either in his mind or on TV, which is where Coxs own history comes in.

Brian Cox isnt quite what youd call a giant of stage and screen, but he has nonetheless had a sufficiently illustrious career to blur the lines between himself and his character in The Carer, Sir Michael Giffor

We see Sir Michael sitting wistfully in front of The Devils Crown, a BBC series from 1978, starring Cox himself and Jane Lapotaire.

Sir Michael lives in a country pile which, rather like him, is magnificent but crumbling. A faithful retainer (Karl Johnson) and a devoted housekeeper (Anna Chancellor), who was once his mistress, can no longer attend to all his needs.

So his bossy daughter (Emilia Fox) hires a sweet but self-assured young Hungarian woman, Dorottya (Coco Konig), who not only has experience in geriatric care, but is also a budding actress.

Hungarian director Janos Edelenyis film follows a well-trodden narrative path. None of Sir Michaels previous carers have lasted the course, but Dorottya rides his hostility and condescension (he calls her Tortilla and Burrito), and they end up bonding through a shared love of Shakespeare.

Up For Love is a French-language romantic-comedy, about an attractive lawyer, Diane (Virginie Efira), who is in the middle of a tricky divorce and badly needs a good man in her life

Thanks to her, he stops raging against the dying of the light, and in receiving a lifetime achievement award, summons up all his old stage charisma to tread the boards one last, momentous time.

Its a slight but touching story, and the film also makes some sharp observations about the immigrant experience. I liked it.

I might have liked Up For Love too, were it not for one crashing misjudgment. This is a French-language romantic-comedy, about an attractive lawyer, Diane (Virginie Efira), who is in the middle of a tricky divorce and badly needs a good man in her life.

Step forward Alexandre, who contacts her after finding her mobile phone. He is kind, charismatic, and dishy. Unfortunately, he is also only 4ft 5in tall.

There are some pretty feeble attempts at slapstick, but if director Laurent Tirard had cast a dwarf or midget as his male lead, this could still have been a thought-provoking as well as a funny film. Alas, he didnt

This is a reasonable premise for a romcom, as she goes about trying to overcome her reservations about his height. Though beguiled by his charm and obvious decency, she wonders whether she can withstand societys double-take.

There are some pretty feeble attempts at slapstick, but if director Laurent Tirard had cast a dwarf or midget as his male lead, this could still have been a thought-provoking as well as a funny film. Alas, he didnt.

Dianes pint-sized paramour is played by 5ft 9in Jean Dujardin, who has been digitally shrunk by the special-effects people.

I can see why the project might have needed Dujardin, who won an Oscar for 2011s The Artist. But the downsizing doesnt always work visually, and ethically it is questionable, too.
She is set to star in the 2017 movie, Baywatch.

And on Thursday, Izabel Goulart showed off the film's iconic walk in all its glory as she strutted from her hotel in Rio De Janeiro over to her studio.

The Brazilian native touched down in Brazil earlier this week for the 2016 Olympic Games.

Legs for weeks! Izabel Goulart showed off her fabulous figure on Thursday as she stepped out of her hotel in Rio De Janeiro

The 31-year-old turned heads in a stylish, olive green jacket, which she paired with a matching short skirt that had a slit on her upper left thigh and decorated with gold rhinestones.

She opted for skinny black sandal stilettos, adding extra height to her 5'10 figure.

Izabel accessorized with drop stud earrings, round-shaped sunglasses, and a simple gold bangle, while her silky brunette tresses were loosely curled and parted to one side.

Beauty in Brazil: The 31-year-old touched down earlier this week for the 2016 Olympic Games

Olive on olive: The former VS model looked radiant in an olive green jacket, with a thigh-high studded skirt and sandal stiletto heels

What a crew: The brunette beauty shared this photo to her Instagram on Thursday. From the left: Fernanda Souza, Thiaguinho, Gabriel Medina, and Fatima Bernardes

The former Victoria's Secret angel - who will be commentating at this year's games - joins a handful of models including Gisele Bundchen, Alessandra Ambrosio and Adriana Lima.

Alessandra and Adriana will serve as NBC's food and culture correspondents, hosted by Ryan Seacrest.

Izabel has been keeping busy as she was spotted on Sunday in a photo shoot, which she referred to as a 'special project.'

Touch down! Izabel excitedly shared her travels on social media saying: 'Fasten your seat belt !! Next stop ... Rio 2016 Olympics games!! Proxima parada ... Olimpiadas Rio 2016!!'

On top of the world: The Italian and Portuguese beauty was spotted during a photo shoot in Vidigal, Brazil on Sunday

Izabel's phenomenal figure is down to her love of exercising, and she recently revealed that she always finds the time for a workout.

'Often, I'll do a quick workout in my hotel room consisting of exercises for the legs, glutes, abs, and arms with my own body weight,' she told Style.com.

'Also, I always have a jump rope, a medicine ball I can inflate, and a band in my suitcase. It's a great kit to have for travel.'
Jared Leto plans to 'walk away' from acting.

The 'Suicide Squad' star can picture a day where he turns his back on his movie career as he wants to do other things, and doesn't think his work will be at the same standard it is now in a few decades time.

He said: 'I think I could just walk away. There's a big world out there. There's a lot to explore.

I'm out: Jared Leto has revealed he plans to one day 'walk away' from acting

'Some people have fun doing it into their 80s or 90s and there's great examples of directors and actors doing wonderful work as they're older, but I don't think that I would. But what the f**k do I know? I have no idea. I think it would be interesting to explore other avenues.'

This comes on the back of less than favourable reviews for his latest DC outing, which fell well short of many fans' expectations.

But while he can see himself giving up acting, the 44-year-old star can't ever picture a day without his band Thirty Seconds To Mars.

He told Rolling Stone magazine: 'I think of the band as an extension of our life.

Bye: he told Rolling Stone 'I think I could just walk away. There's a big world out there. There's a lot to explore'

'It's not our job - it's so much of who we are. I don't. It's so personal. I don't think that it would ever really be gone.

'But I don't know if we'll tour the way we toured in the past.'

As Thirty Seconds To Mars took off over the last decade, the 'Dallas Buyers Club' star scaled back his movie-making commitments and admitted taking time away made him question his abilities and wonder whether he even wanted to go back to acting.

Joke: This comes on the back of less than favourable reviews for his latest DC outing Suicide Squad, which fell well short of many fans' expectations.

Calling: But while he can see himself giving up acting, the 44-year-old star can't ever picture a day without his band Thirty Seconds To Mars

He said: 'I wondered whether I had anything to offer and if I was interested in pursuing it. I had a very full plate with music at that time, and I knew that I had to put everything into this one area in order for it to work.

'At that point, the impossible was happening. We were playing arenas around the world and headlining some of the biggest festivals in the world.

'We really watched something grow and build and it was like, you know, we knew we had to. It was necessary to do that sort of thing, to focus, to commit. And I'm glad I did that. I have no regrets. '
His bright blue eyes, wry smile and prominent eyebrow shape- there's no question Axel Bridges Willis is his father's son.

Steve 'Commando' Willis's nine-month-old baby was the spitting image of his famous father during a family outing to the park with his doting parents last month.

Little Axel appeared to be having the time of his life as he whizzed around the playground with his mother Michelle Bridges, 45, and father, 40.

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His bright blue eyes, wry smile and prominant eyebrow shape- there's no question Axel Bridges Willis is his father's son.

The adorable baby's wide blue eyes sparkled with elation as his mother hoisted the tot into her arms and took him for a spin on a wooden playground ride.

The strong resemblance between Steve and Axel has become ever prominent since the tot's birth in December last year.

Steve also has three other children from previous relationships, Brianna, 17, Ella, six, and son Jack, four.

The adorable baby's wide blue eyes sparkled with elation as his mother hoisted the tot into her arms and took him for a spin on a wooden playground ride.

You're never too old to play! Steve was also in attendance during the day out and appeared to be having just as much fun as his little tot

Uncanny! The strong resemblance between Steve and Axel has become ever prominent since the tot's birth in December last year

Earlier this week, Michelle made headlines when she revealed that she had enlisted the help of a night nurse to support Axel through the night.

Speaking to The Morning Show on Wednesday, the new mother revealed the decision to recruit professional help came after 'heaps of advice from lots of different people.

'I've been given heaps of advice from lots of different people saying I should do that,' Michelle told hosts Larry Emdur and Kylie Gillies.

Sleepless nights: Earlier this week, Michelle made headlines when she revealed that she had enlisted the help of a night nurse to support Axel through the night

Help needed! Speaking to The Morning Show on Wednesday, the new mother revealed the decision to recruit professional help came after 'heaps of advice from lots of different people

'I still haven't managed to get her to my place yet! But I'll still get her in this week,' she continued.

She concluded: 'I think that's pretty sound advice, from a lot of other ladies who have gone through the same thing.'

The Biggest Loser Trainer took to Facebook last month to open up about the struggles of motherhood, one of which being lack of sleep.

'I have not slept a full night in seven months,' she said.
She recently took a playful swipe at former flame Richie Strahan while watching his date with Megan Marx on The Bachelor.

And Tully Smyth showed the rope access technician just what he was missing as she stepped out in a little black dress on Thursday night.

The 30-year-old made sure to flaunt her model pins and work her best angles as she posed at the Heineken City Shapers Festival in Melbourne.

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Legs eleven! Tully Smyth flaunted her figure in a black mini-dress as she stepped out on Thursday night

Looking gorgeous in the off-the-shoulder number, the former Big Brother housemate wore her blonde locks in big glamourous curls.

The following morning, Tully took to Instagram to share a close-up snap of her hair and makeup.

Wearing a pair of oversized gold earrings, the social media enthusiast captioned the image: '#AboutLastNight... @heineken_au took us on an around the world trip & I am certainly paying for it today!'

Social butterfly: The 30-year-old wore her blonde locks out in loose waves for the event

Earlier in the day, the blonde beauty took to Twitter to joke about her previous date with Richie while watching The Bachelor, where he was wooing Megan with an epic outing.

'Feeling a little ripped off with our Dominos date. Couldn't have whipped up a floating perspex platform?' she Tweeted.

Tully and the Perth native set tongues wagging last year after they were spotted getting cosy at the races in November.

Dolled up: Tully took to Instagram on Friday to share a close-up of her hair and makeup from the party

The blonde socialite shared several photos of the pair in the days following the alleged hook-up, and they even attended a David Guetta concert together.

However, weeks later Tully seemed to confirm she was still single after complaining on Instagram that she could not 'get a date'.

But it was claimed the 'couple' had reunited in January this year after Tully posted Snapchat photos of her and Richie on holiday together in Bali, Indonesia.

Close: Tully and Richie were pictured getting cosy in several social media snaps since they were first spotted together during last year's Melbourne Cup

The Perth hunk downplayed his romance with Tully, who rose to fame after appearing on Big Brother in 2013.

'I wouldn't say I was in a relationship or anything like that. You come out of something like that and it's an absolute whirlwind,' he told KIIS 106.5's The Kyle and Jackie O Show, referring to his experience on The Bachelorette.

Last year, the oil rig worker placed third in the Network Ten reality dating show, after being sent home by Sam Frost.
They maintained their serious 'Blue Steel' stares as they strutted the David Jones catwalk on Wednesday.

But Jesinta Campbell and Jarrod Scott showed off their fun side backstage, posing together for some cute snaps.

The former Miss Universe Australia shared an animated video on Instagram of herself in exercise gear as the model hunk pretended to use her arm as a pull-up bar.

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Muscle up! Jesinta Campbell and Jarrod Scott showed off their toned model physiques in a backstage snap at the David Jones Spring-Summer launch on Wednesday

Both Jesinta and Jarrod looked incredibly ripped in the snaps, with the 24-year-old flashing her taut abs in a blue P.E. Nation crop top and black tights.

Jarrod meanwhile, flexed his bulging biceps as he grabbed on to Jesinta's arm, pulling a strained facial expression.

On Wednesday night, the pair took to the runway to show off the department store's upcoming season stock.

Legs eleven! The former Miss Universe Australia looked gorgeous in exercise gear while posing with the hunk

Genetically-blessed: Jarrod and Jesinta both took to the catwalk on Wednesday night

Fellow Australians Jason Dundas and Jessica Gomes also strutted their stuff.

Also making a special appearance was Gemma Ward, who showed off her 15-week baby bump as she walked the runway.

Jarrod took to Instagram to share a photo of himself with Gemma, praising the mother-of-one for her incredible figure.

'@gem.gems looks amazing,' he captioned the photo.

Hot stuff! The Italian-German hunk took to the catwalk along with fellow Australians Jessica Gomes and Gemma Ward

Star-studded event: Gemma Ward (L) posed alongside Jarrod before the runway show, where she also debuted her baby bump

Jarrod may not be a household name in Australia, but the stallion has landed lucrative campaigns in New York, where he is now based.

The model, who is of Italian and German descent, has worked with some of fashion's biggest names including Chanel, Giorgio Armani, Tom Ford and Hugo Boss.

The 2014 GQ Man of Style previously revealed he hadn't had much luck in love because potential girlfriends assumed they were out of his league.

'Girls always say to me, "Oh, Im not a model, you wouldnt be interested," and thats really a turn-off for me because it shows youre not confident in yourself,' he told The Telegraph.
He is known for his role as the unrelenting Demigod Thor in the popular franchise.

But Chris Hemsworth showed his softer side as he doted over his young son in a sweet snap shared to Instagram on Friday.

The 32-year-old carried one of his two sons in his muscular arms as he posed in front of a stunning sunset.

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Hands on: Chris Hemsworth, 32, showed his softer side as he doted over his young son in a sweet snap shared to Instagram on Friday

'A picture says a thousand words, my kid only says about 4 but he's still awesome and way cooler than this sunset,' Chris captioned the shot, alongside the hash-tag #kidsrule.

The buff star cut a relaxed figure in a snug black T-shirt that highlighted his muscular frame and sported a significant amount of facial hair as he looked adoringly at his boy, who was dressed in a khaki puffer jacket.

The Hollywood heavyweight is a patron for the Australian Childhood Foundation that aims to keep children safe from the trauma of abuse, violence and neglect.

Values: The Hollywood heavyweight is a patron for the Australian Childhood Foundation that aims to keep children safe from the trauma of abuse, violence and neglect

Chris is father to four-year-old India Rose and twin sons, Tristan and Sasha, two, and has been married to actor Elsa Pataky for six years.

While filming Thor: Ragnarok on the Gold Coast, Chris took to Instagram to wish his beautiful wife a Happy 40th Birthday, alongside a photo of the pair of them blowing out the candles.

'Happy birthday to the world's best wife, greatest mum and all round stunning human!! Love you loads and thanks for letting me help blow out the candles,' he wrote cheekily.

His love: While filming Thor: Ragnarok on the Gold Coast, Chris took to Instagram to wish his beautiful wife a Happy 40th Birthday, alongside a photo of the pair of them blowing out the candles

Loved-up: The couple met in early 2010, after being set up on a blind date, and later that year were married while on holiday with both of their families

The beginning: Elsa said she wasn't initially keen on starting up a relationship with the rising star, as she presumed 'girls were going crazy about him'

Elsa was born in Madrid, and after spending the first few years of married life with Chris in Los Angeles, the pair permanently relocated to Australia in 2015 with their children.

They now spend their time in Byron Bay, where they purchased a home for their family of five, with the couple expressing their desires to raise their children in Australia.

In a blog post for Spain's Glamour magazine, Elsa said their new home on the east coast of Australia is 'special' and that her style has been influenced by her new surroundings.

'As there is a tropical climate and a hippie lifestyle, you often see people walking barefoot on the street.'

Adding: 'I was quite surprised at first, but now even I walk barefoot sometimes!'

Happy family: The doting parents now have three children - four-year-old India Rose and twin sons, Tristan and Sasha, two

Elsa also regularly shares snaps to Instagram with her 907,000 followers.

Her love of the beach and wildlife are evident and it's clear her husband and children are her world.

And aside from being the doting mother of three that she is, she often appears to be busy working on acting and modelling projects of her own.

In 2014, she released her own fitness book titled Intensidad Max, co-written by fitness trainer to the stars Fernando Sartorius.

Picturesque: Elsa regularly shares family snaps with her 907,000 Instagram followers
Minnie Driver rocked an understated yet stylish look while promoting her upcoming show on Thursday.

The actress arrived at a Television Critics Association panel for ABC in Beverly Hills keeping it simple in a black mid-length dress.

A thin red belt cinched the frock in at the waist and she teamed it with nude heels with gold detail.

Understated: Minnie Driver was simply chic on Thursday as she attended the Disney ABC TCA Press Tour in Los Angeles

Minnie showed off her tanned limbs in the ensemble and wore her brunette locks curled as well as sporting a natural makeup look.

The 46-year-old actress was joined by some of her Speechless co-stars including Micah Fowler who plays a special needs child in the show which is set to debut on September 21.

The sitcom follows the DiMeo family as they move from a middle-class neighbourhood to a more upscale town to try to improve their way of life.

Glowing: The 46-year-old actress wore a simple black dress with thin red belt and sported nude heels to complete the look

Coming next month: Minnie posed with her Speechless co-stars (L-R) John Ross Bowie, Mason Cook, Micah Fowler and Kyla Kenedy

Panel talk: Minnie plays Maya, a take-charge mother-of-three, including a son with cerebral palsy, in the upcoming sitcom

Dazzling: Star of American Crime, Regina King, looked glamorous in a plunging black gown with thigh-high slit

Minnie plays Maya, a take-charge mother-of-three including a son with cerebral palsy.

During the panel talk the actress explained that Maya has to be a hard-driving mother in order to address her son's needs.

'You kind of blaze a trail and you do leave burned bridges. The things we take for granted, a person in a wheelchair can't take for granted,' she said.

Strike a pose: Hayley Atwell looked great in a slightly sheer dress with towering heels

If you've got it flaunt it: Chloe Bennet showed off her legs in a pastel pink mini dress with nude heels

Flattering cut: How to Get Away With Murder star Viola Davis looked lovely in a blue frock

On the same page: Karla Souza and AJ Michalka looked leggy in little black dresses with cut-out details

'Speechless refers to JJ but also Maya, who renders (people) speechless with what she says.' she added.

The Good Will Hunting star also said that speaking in her native English accent works well for the character.

'You can get away with a lot more when you speak with a British accent. You can say very rude things and make them sound charming,' she said.

'You can offend people and they will smile at you and only subsequently realize how offensive you are.'

Hourglass: Aimee Teegarden accentuated her curves in a tight navy mini dress

Bright and beautiful: Hayley Orrantia and Tracee Ellis Ross brought bold colour to proceedings

Sheer style: Piper Perabo opted for a more boho vibe in patchwork lace

Alright in black and white: Yara Shahidi and pregnant Caterina Scorsone showed off their flair for monochromatic style

Meanwhile Grey's Anatomy star Caterina Scorsone showed off her baby bump as she posed for photos.

The 34-year-old actress revealed to ET this week that's she's 'very, very excited' to be expecting her second child with husband Rob Giles.

'It'll be challenging. It's going to happen somewhere during the shooting season,' she revealed.

'But Shondaland is the best place for that to happen.'

Martha Plimpton and Jay R. Ferguson of The Real O'Neals larked about in front of cameras

Suited up: Kiefer Sutherland attended to promote his upcoming new show Designated Survivor

Co-stars: Kiefer, 49, posed alongside Natascha McElhone
She recently returned from a spiritual stay in Sri Lanka.

And on Thursday, Diane Kruger appeared to be in a relaxed state as she headed inside the Ed Sullivan Theater in New York for her appearance on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert.

The 40-year-old actress cut an elegant figure in a black-and-white number that highlighted her petite waist.

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Pleasant mood: Diane Kruger stopped by The Late Show with Stephen Colbert on Thursday in New York City

The Inglourious Basterds star opted to wear a cut-out dress, embroidered with stones and featured a slit in the front.

She paired it with white strappy heels that tied into a bow around her ankle.

The blonde beauty kept her accessories at a minimum with only a pair of small earrings, which were barely visible under her short blonde locks, styled in loose curls.

Elegant: The 40-year-old actress donned an elegant number in a black-and-white cut out dress

Poised: The blonde beauty opted for white sandal heels, adorned with a bow around her ankle, as she cut a petite figure

Diane recently made headlines after an unfortunate break-up with Dawson's Creek heartthrob, Joshua Jackson.

The couple made an announcement in a July 18 statement through People Magazine that they 'decided to separate and remain friends.'

Although there are no legal matters at hand, the couple have legal things to disentangle such as the homes they own in New York, Vancouver and Paris.

In March, Diane, who hails from Germany, revealed she had moved to New York to be with Joshua while he was appearing in off-Broadway play Smart People.

Flawless: The Unknown actress kept her make-up light and natural as she styled her blonde locks in loose curls

Head-turner: The German beauty recently made headlines after her unfortunate break-up with Joshua Jackson after 10 years

However, the Sky star - who also turned 40 last month - has been treating her new phase of life in an uplifting way.

The single actress posted reflective posts on Instagram last week of her overlooking a breathtaking view from her lodge in Sri Lanka to taking a train between cities.

The former model will next appear in Disorder, releasing August 12, and is currently shooting a French film titled Tout Nous Separe (Everything Separates Us).

Self-journey: Diane traveled to Sri Lanka a week ago for a 'workation' after her break-up with Dawsons Creak star

Living life: Diane shared this Instagram a week ago with the caption: 'Mood'

Working up a sweat: Former partner Joshua Jackson was seen exiting a Hollywood gym on Wednesday
She is The Bachelor's series 'villain' who will stop at nothing to win the heart of Richie Strahan.

And Keira Maguire, 29, caught plenty of attention when she forget her bra while wearing a skintight midi dress on Thursday.

The reality TV star, who recently returned to her day job as an account manager, was spotted buying a takeaway coffee at a Sydney cafe.

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Stiff competition! The Bachelor's Keira Maguire (pictured) caught plenty of attention when she forget her bra while wearing a skintight midi dress in Sydney on Thursday

Keira looked confident as she showcased her fabulous figure in the slim-fitting outfit, which she paired with a cropped cardigan and trendy lace-up heels.

She appeared to be wearing minimal makeup for the occasion, while adding a touch of bling with a thin gold bracelet.

The Lara Bingle lookalike was later seen chatting animatedly on the phone while clutching her car keys and iPad in her spare hand.

On the go: The reality TV star, who recently returned to her day job as an account manager, was spotted buying a takeaway coffee at a Sydney cafe

The sighting comes after Keira told OK! Australia she has been battling online trolls in recent weeks.

'I've been staying away from social media, but I did have a look at my page and someone called me a c***,' she revealed.

Keira said she was not happy with her TV 'villain' status, but has decided to ignore it because she does not want to be a 'miserable mess'.

Slinky: Keira looked confident as she showcased her fabulous figure in the slim-fitting outfit

Keira said she shared a room with fellow contestant Olena Khamula and described the Ukrainian as a 'gorgeous' person.

But she was not so complimentary about Alex Nation, who was given the 'white rose' by Richie on the season premiere.

She also described Megan Marx as 'timid', saying the Geraldton native was not used to dealing with strong personalities.

Speaking to Richie? The Bachelor hopeful was later seen chatting animatedly on the phone
They first sparked speculation they could be engaged last month when Kylie Jenner flaunted her brand new diamond ring on social media.

And Tyga, 26, has finally addressed the rumours in a rare interview with Hollywood Today Live, retorting, 'I dont wanna give it away', after being pressed as to whether he had proposed to the 18-year-old beauty.

The Ayo hitmaker was very coy when quizzed about the prospect of a wedding, insisting, 'I don't know'.

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Wedding bells? Tyga has finally addressed the rumours he has proposed to Kylie Jenner in a rare interview with Hollywood Today Live, coyly saying, 'I dont wanna give it away'

Secretive: The Ayo hitmaker was very coy when quizzed about the prospect of a wedding, insisting, 'I don't know'

'What do you mean you don't know? You gave her the ring?' the host told him, but Tyga replied, 'We got to see'.

Asked whether he was keeping quiet in order to avoid spoilers for Kylie's family show, Keeping Up With The Kardashians, Tyga dropped the biggest hint of all, saying, 'I don't want to give it away'.

Tyga has three-year-old son King Cairo with his ex-fiance Blac Chyna, who in a bizarre turn of fate is now pregnant and engaged to Rob Kardashian, Kylie's half brother.

Serious bling: They first sparked speculation they could be engaged last month when Kylie Jenner flaunted her brand new diamond ring on social media

Major hint: Kylie first shared this image of her sizable new ring on Snapchat with the caption, 'Bae spoils'

It's only in recent months that Rob's family have made peace with Blac, who was embroiled in Twitter feud with the Kardashian sisters when Kylie was first rumoured to be dating Tyga.

Explaining that he does his best to stay out of the family drama, Tyga said: 'I try not to judge people... My main focus and goal is just to make sure that my son has the best upbringing'.

He revealed that he would never get involved in a Twitter spat, stating: 'I'm just not a messy person'.

Loved-up: Kylie and Tyga, pictured on a date night in Beverly Hills earlier this week, recently got back together following a brief split and seem happier than ever

Family drama: Tyga has three-year-old son King Cairo with his ex-fiance Blac Chyna, who in a bizarre turn of fate is now pregnant and engaged to Rob Kardashian, Kylie's half brother

Kylie and Tyga sparked engagement rumours in July when she displayed her new bling on her ring finger, calling it, 'Bae spoils'.

The rapper had been spotted leaving high end jewellery store Polacheck's Jewelers in Calabasas just a day before Kylie posted the telling snap.

However, E! reported that the couple were not engaged.

'Kylie has brought up marriage with Tyga to her friends lately, both jokingly and seriously,' a source told the website.

'It wouldn't happen now but she's been thinking about it more and wants a future with him.'
She has a lucrative modelling career, ambassador roles and launched a successful blog after winning the first season of The Bachelor.

But Anna Heinrich has revealed she didnt go on the popular Network Ten reality TV series to become a celebrity.

If anything, the 29-year-old put her high-profile criminal lawyer job at risk to find love with chiropractor Tim Robards.

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'I had everything else to lose': Anna Heinrich says she didnt go on the successful Channel Ten reality TV series to become a celebrity - and even risked her blossoming legal career. Pictured with her boyfriend Tim Robards

Speaking to the Daily Mail Australia, she said: My experiences have mainly been positive since going on the Bachelor.

Before I went on it, I didnt think I had much to gain career wise. I already had a good career.

'If anything, going on it would lessen my career in criminal law. The only real reason to go on was to find love. I had everything else to lose.

But I love Tim. Hes the guy Im meant to be with Things just aligned.

'The only real reason to go on was to find love': Anna understood that going on The Bachelor 'would lessen (her) career in criminal law'

Double degree: Anna has a degree in law and another in arts

After The Bachelor: She has secured various modelling and ambassador gigs, including being the face of Pandoras Poetic Blooms range

But her law job was impacted as a result of her success on The Bachelor's debut series in 2013.

She began working as a model and ambassador, including being the face of Pandoras Poetic Blooms range.

As a result of her busy media duties , Anna has cut back on her legal career which had paid a daily rate of $2,200, according to a document by Watsons Lawyers.

Im working part-time at the moment as a lawyer rather than full-time, she said.

New direction: As a result of her busy media duties , Anna has cut back on her legal career which had paid a daily rate of $2,200, according to a document by Watsons Lawyers

Taking it easy: Anna told Daily Mail Australia: Im working part-time at the moment as a lawyer'

It got quite difficult when I was working full-time and so I became part-time.

I love both sides of what I do, the law and media-related things, equally, and like to prioritise both of them in different ways.

One of those media related things is her roles as ambassador for various fashion companies.

Winning smile! Anna's beautiful smile and pearly whites helped her land the latest Oral B 3D White campaign and was recently announced as the new face of the range

Model moment: The former reality TV starlet is juggling her work in law with a burgeoning media career

'Dinner date': Anna has recently returned home after spending a romantic weekend away with partner Tim Robards in Queenstown, New Zealand

Already fronting a campaign for jewellery brand, Pandora, Anna was recently announced the new face of Oral B 3D White.

Speaking of her love of the whitening products and her pearly whites, Anna said: 'Theres no better compliment than being told you have a great smile  and its so important as its generally the first thing that people notice about you.'

Anna has recently returned home after spending a romantic weekend away with Tim in Queenstown, New Zealand.
Her character The Red Woman famously gave birth to a 'shadow baby' in hit show Game of Thrones.

But now Dutch actress Carice van Houten is looking forward to the imminent arrival of her own child with her actor beau Guy Pearce.

The stunning actress, 39, showed off her prominent baby bump for the first time as the couple - who began dating last year - enjoyed a stroll in Amsterdam.

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And bump makes three: Game Of Thrones actress Carice van Houten showed off her blossoming baby bump for the first time as she enjoyed a stroll in Amsterdam with actor beau Guy Pearce

Wearing a long navy trench-coat tied in a bow above her bump, the actress looked happy and relaxed as she walked with her beau through the pretty streets.

The pair stopped during their walk to pack on the PDA, with Momento star Guy affectionately pulling his pregnant partner in for a passionate kiss.

The 48-year-old Aussie hunk kept his look equally comfy and cool in a bright white T-shirt and loose fitting black trousers.

The couple met while filming forthcoming western thriller Brimstone, which also stars Dakota Fanning and Kit Harington, who plays Jon Snow alongside Carice's Melisandre in the HBO series.

Smacker! The loved-up couple shared a kiss as they enjoyed a walk in Amsterdam, with a protective Guy holding his girlfriend's hand and cradling her neck

Tactile: Guy held his girlfriend as he gave her a kiss on the lips as they stopped on the street to pack on the PDA

Weekend casual: Wearing a long navy trench-coat tied in a bow above her bump, the actress looked happy and relaxed as she walked with her beau through the pretty streets

The L.A. Confidential star surprised his fans earlier this year with the announcement of his impending fatherhood, as he had previously said he didn't 'need' children.

In several interviews conducted during his 18-year marriage to Kate Mestitz, the actor spoke out about his hot and cold temperament and how he thought it would affect him being a father.

Casual: Guy, 48, kept his look equally comfy and cool in a bright white T-shirt and loose fitting black trousers

Hand in hand: The couple met during the filming of forthcoming western thriller Brimstone which also stars Dakota Fanning and Kit Harington

Taking the lead: In her role as witch Melisandre in Game Of Thrones, the 39-year-old star acted out graphic scenes in which she gave birth to a 'shadow baby'

Change of heart: The L.A. Confidential star surprised his fans earlier this year with the announcement of his impending fatherhood, as he had previously said he didn't 'need' children

'I don't even need them. There are enough babies in the world. Besides, I don't think I would be good for babies,' he told The Guardian in 2007.

Guy, who split from wife Kate in January 2015, has often narrowed his decision down to his temperamental nature and went on to add: 'I'd be on and off. I think they need more consistent affection than I would be able to give.'

However, he clearly had a change of heart, with Carice's rep confirming in March this year that '(she) and Guy are thrilled to be expecting their first child'.

New view: During his 18 year marriage to Kate Mestitz the actor spoke out about his hot and cold temperament and how he thought it would affect him being a father

In the past: 'I don't even need them. There are enough babies in the world. Besides, I don't think I would be good for babies,' he told The Guardian in 2007

New mindset: Guy went on to add: 'I'd be on and off. I think they need more consistent affection than I would be able to give'

New start: The Memento actor has clearly had a change of heart, with Carice's rep confirming in March this year that '(she) and Guy are thrilled to be expecting their first child'

Team effort: The couple walked arm in arm to their appointment, after taking a car to the exercise therapy clinic

Sealed with a kiss: Following the exercise session, the pair walked together and stopped for a snack

Meanwhile in Atlanta, Georgia, fellow Game Of Thrones star Nathalie Emmanuel took to the stage Fast8 panel discussion at The Gathering Spot on Thursday.

The 27-year-old actress rocked her trademark corkscrew curls and edgy septum ring as she chatted to moderator Chaka Zulu in front of fans.

Wearing a cropped khaki green jumpsuit and black pumps the pretty actress rocked a casual summer look.

Green with envy: Meanwhile in Atlanta, Georgia, fellow Game Of Thrones star Nathalie Emmanuel took to the stage Fast8 panel discussion at The Gathering Spot on Thursday

Ringing the changes: The 27-year-old actress rocked her trademark corkscrew curls and edgy septum ring as she chatted to moderator Chaka Zulu in front of fans

Sofa guest: Wearing a cropped khaki green jumpsuit and black pumps the pretty actress rocked a casual summer look

Known for her role of the interpreter Missandei on fantasy drama Game Of Thrones, the star has also made her mark on the big screen in the latest in The Fast And The Furious franchise in Furious 7 and Fast 8.

She will also be starring in Maze Runner: The Death Cure alongside Will Poulter and Aiden Gillan next year.

Fellow Fast And Furious actor Chris 'Ludacris' Bridges, and Mayor Kasim Reed joined Nathalie on stage for the film event.

Big entrance: Known for her role of the interpreter Missandei in Game Of Thrones, the star has also made her mark on the big screen in the latest in The Fast And The Furious franchise
She's blessed with envy-inducing toned curves that she's never afraid to show off.

And Sofia Vergara put her incredible figure on full display as she enjoyed a spot of well-earned retail therapy at Saks Fifth Avenue in Beverly Hills on Thursday.

The actress, 44, looked every inch the bombshell in a stylish black bardot pencil dress as a personal shopper helped her with her purchases.

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Shop 'til you drop: Sofia Vergara put her incredible figure on full display as she enjoyed a spot of well-earned retail therapy at Saks Fifth Avenue in Beverly Hills on Thursday

The Modern Family star accessorised with a spot of arm candy in the form of a Hermes Birkin bag and added height to her frame with a pair of towering tan leather strappy wedges.

While the personal shopper struggled with her multiple bags, Sofia flashed her mega-watt smile for the cameras.

The mother-of-one accentuated her plump pout with deep berry lipstick and wore her ombre locks falling around her shoulders in beachy waves.

Last week, Sofia reunited with her Modern Family co-stars to promote their eighth season of the popular show.

Retail therapy: The actress, 44, looked every inch the bombshell in a stylish black bardot pancil dress as a personal shopper helped her with her purchases

Treat yourself: The Modern Family star accessorised with a spot of Hermes arm candy and added height to her frame with a pair of towering tan leather strappy wedges

Posing for a group selfie, the Colombian beauty wrote: 'So happy to be back with my american family #modernfamily.'

The four-time Golden Globe nominee shot to fame after she landed the role of Gloria Delgado-Pritchett on the popular series in 2009.

Sofia tied the knot with hunky Magic Mike star Joe Manganiello in November 2015 in a romantic ceremony in Palm Beach, Florida.

And the actress has since revealed that the couple are keen to start a family together.

Hot couple: Sofia (pictured at the 2015 Emmy Awards) tied the knot with hunky Magic Mike star Joe Manganiello in November 2015 in a romantic ceremony in Palm Beach, Florida

'My husband is [four years] younger than me and he wants kids so we're trying to figure out what we're going to do,' Sofia told Net-A-Porter's weekly digital magazine The Edit in February.

'The idea of doing it all again doesn't scare me but, hey, it's not like it's going to happen naturally, is it?'

Sofia is proud mother to son, Manolo, 23, from her first marriage to high school sweetheart Joe Gonzalez.

The star will reprise her role as Gloria Delgado-Pritchett on the eighth season of Modern Family, which premieres September 21 on ABC.
Natalie Bassingthwaighte said she 'wouldn't mind (her) her 20-year-old body back' after having two children.

But the Rogue Traders star looked every inch the doing mother as she enjoyed a trip to the park with her three-year-old son Hendrix on Thursday.

The 40-year-old beamed with pride at her youngest child as he played on the swings and cradled his teddy bears in Brighton, Melbourne.

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Mummy duties! Natalie Bassingthwaighte looked every bit the doting mother as she played in the park with her three-year-old son Hendrix in Melbourne on Thursday

The mother and son began their fun day out by playing on the swings together, with the small child opting to lie on his stomach after struggling to sit on the seat.

Bundled up against the winter chill in a puffy dark jacket and patterned leggings, the TV personality kept a close eye on the toddler.

Afterwards, she and Hendrix walked over to the jungle gym, which was equipped with a slide and fireman's pole.

Fun: The 40-year-old beamed with pride at her youngest child as he played on the swings

Bonding: The mother and son began their fun day out by playing on the swings together

Comfortable? The small child opted to lie on his stomach after struggling to sit on the seat

Busy day: At one point, Natalie looked rather bored as her lively boy played next to her

Natalie suddenly starting smiling as she strolled across the playground, carrying a brown stuffed toy.

Her excitable son laughed as he clutched a teddy bear and made his way towards his next adventure.

She then watched Hendrix slowly make his way up a ladder onto the platform.

What's next? They walked over to the jungle gym, equipped with a slide and fireman's pole

Having fun! Natalie suddenly starting smiling as she strolled across the playground

Furry friend: Natalie was spotted carrying a brown stuffed toy

Good times! Her excitable son laughed as he clutched a teddy bear and made his way towards his next adventure

The patient mother encouraged him to climb each rung by positioning his favourite toys at the top of the slide.

When Hendrix finally made it up, Natalie joined him and they explored the play equipment.

The former So You Think You Can Dance host was later seen crouching with her son in the grass.

Taking care: Natalie watched Hendrix slowly make his way up a ladder onto the platform

You can do it! The patient mother encouraged him to climb each rung by positioning his favourite toys at the top of the slide

Encouragement: Natalie moved them around excitedly to get her son to the top

The pair then ran around the park together and Hendrix clearly enjoyed every minute of the family day.

The small boy held the teddy under his arm as his mother jogged along behind him.

They both had beaming smiles on their faces before walking back home side-by-side.

What's this? After Hendrix made it up, Natalie joined him as they explored the play equipment

Well equipped: The jungle gym included a slide and fireman's pole

Natalie told The Daily Telegraph on Friday that she tries to be 'more accepting of (her) body these days.'

'I feel empowered as a woman to have given birth to two healthy babies, but of course I wouldnt mind my 20-year-old body back  that would be nice!' she said.

Natalie explained she still keeps on top of her fitness while juggling family life with son Hendrix and daughter Harper, five.

Enjoying nature: Later, the former So You Think You Can Dance host crouched next to her son

Full of energy: The pair then ran around the park together

'I try and do Pilates one a week. I try to go to tennis once a week. I have a personal training session once a week and I feel that is my mind, body soul time,' she said.

National also revealed how motherhood has changed her outlook on life.

'The small things that used to bother me dont anymore,' she said.

Sunny day: Hendrix clearly enjoyed every minute of the fresh air and sunshine

Catch up, mum! The boy held the teddy under his arm as his mother jogged along behind him

Motherhood: Natalie told The Daily Telegraph on Friday that she tries to be 'more accepting of (her) body these days'

'Its about being about to support and encourage my kids, teach them right from wrong and watch them flourish,' she concluded.

Natalie shares two children with her husband and fellow Rouge Traders band member Cameron McGlinchey.

Earlier this year, their band reunited and performed at the Melbourne Grand Prix.

Life changing: She also spoke about how motherhood has changed her outlook on life

So much fun! They both had beaming smiles on their faces as they did their daily exercise
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They haven't been shy about showing their affection for one another while holidaying in Formentera so far.

And Ruby Rose and her girlfriend Harley Gusman couldn't resist indulging in a cheeky spot of PDA as they frolicked on board a yacht just off the shores of the Balearic island.

The tattooed Orange Is The New Black favourite, 30, was seen cuddling up to 24-year-old Harley on the boat, with the blonde nuzzling up to Ruby's neck.

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Cosying up: Ruby Rose and her girlfriend Harley Gusman couldn't resist indulging in a cheeky spot of PDA as they frolicked on board a yacht in Formentera on Thursday

The Australian beauty was displaying her seriously ripped figure in a white sporty bikini top, complete with cut-out detailing and black criss-cross stitching.

Her defined abs were on full display, with her impressive collection of tattoos further serving to enhance her rippling stomach muscles.

The revealing top allowed onlookers to admire her various tattoos, including a red and yellow koi fish tattoo on her upper right arm, and a set of playing cards on her upper left chest.

Meanwhile, Harley flaunted her peachy posterior in a simple black one-piece, which highlighted her trim frame.

Making a splash: Ruby (L) and Harley (R) both looked sensational in their sporty swimwear as they lapped up the sunshine

Romantic swim: The lovebirds were seen embracing in the water, clinging on to one another during their dip in the ocean

Killer body: The model and actress was showcasing her enviable abs and impeccably toned figure

All aboard! The lovebirds were joined by a host of friends on board the boat for the afternoon

Quirky look: The TV favourite was sporting eye-catching blue braids in her short hairdo

Simple swimwear: Harley flaunted her peachy posterior in a simple black one-piece, which highlighted her trim frame

Taking the wheel: The group of friends took it in turns to navigate the boat

All muscle! Ruby gave onlookers serious gym body envy thanks to her rippling stomach muscles

It was plain to see the passion between them as they cuddled up on board the yacht, where they were joined by a group of friends.

Earlier in the day, Ruby showed off her washboard stomach and silky, sun-kissed skin in a pair of oversized denim cutoffs.

With her bikini top acting as an anchor for her entire ensemble, she threw on a matching white button-up with black design elements, and she painted her perfectly manicured nails with matching white polish.

Jetting off! At one point, Ruby ditched her pals as she took to the waters on a jet ski

Selfie time! The group were seen taking endless pictures on their phones as they caught some rays on deck

Staying hydrated: Ruby was seen sipping from a bottle of fizzy water as she soaked up the sun

Natural beauty: Harley looked stunning, showcasing her natural beauty by going make-up free

Catching up: The gal pals chatted well into the evening as they enjoyed some rest

Capturing the moment: The tattooed star also shared some of her own pictures on social media

She and her girlfriend Harley went public with their relationship after frolicking on the beach as part of Taylor Swift's girl squad on the Fourth of July.

And it seems that they are still in the throws of their honeymoon period, as the pair stayed close both on the shore and in the sea, where they appeared to snuggle beneath the warm Mediterranean waters.

Born in Miami, Harley is the co-founder of Truly Organic, a luxury line of organic skin and hair products, which may explain her radiant complexion and even skin tone.

Washboard stomach: Earlier in the day, Ruby slipped into denim cutoffs and a white bikini top as she enjoyed the sand and sun of the Spanish island of Formentera

So happy together: The Orange Is The New Black star was inseparable from her girlfriend

Camera-ready: Accustomed to the spotlight, Ruby was happy to pose for photographs

Inked up: Rose's flowing white shirt exposed her decolletage, giving onlookers a glimpse of the tattoo of playing cards on her upper left chest

Can you take our picture? Harley seems totally at ease with Ruby's significantly higher profile, at times offering to take snaps of Ruby with her adoring fans

As Ruby flaunted her gym-honed body, Harley stayed under wraps, choosing a relatively modest black one-piece that kept her assets firmly under wraps.

She took to the water like a fish, at time straddling a water bike, all the while keeping her eyes on her much more famous girlfriend.

Harley seems totally at ease with the mismatch in their public profiles and happily watched as strangers and acquaintances asked for pictures with Ruby, some of which Harley was kind enough to snap herself.

Model in motion: Ruby was totally at ease with the water and dove right in

Come on in! Harley waited patiently for her lover in the water

Together again: Harley seemed to embrace Ruby beneath the water, helping her stay afloat while also offering some much-appreciated affection

Pops of colour: Ruby accented her black-and-white ensemble with blue braids in her hair and blue detailing on her shirt

Speed demon: Harley looked endlessly glam as she straddled a water bike

At ease: The American entrepreneur had a serene demeanor, at times seeming meditative as she waited for her girlfriend to join her on the bike and in the water

This doesn't get old: Harley frequently admired Ruby's taut form

Drying off: Rather than air drying, Ruby used a black towel to pat herself down after her swim

Tender: As they walked along the side of the boat, Ruby reached back to touch her girlfriend

Ruby has been making waves in Hollywood ever since her breakout role in the third series of Orange Is The New Black.

On Wednesday The Hollywood Reporter revealed that the Australian beauty is in negotiations to star alongside Fan Bingbing and Jason Statham in the sci-fi flick Meg.

Statham plays a former Naval captain and expert diver recruited to rescue Chinese scientists stranded at the bottom of the Mariana Trench and under attack by a prehistoric ancestor of the Great White shark.

Strength: Ruby demonstrated just how taut her core is as she lowered herself into the water

Let's ride! Harly loved steering her water bike through the choppy waters

My turn: Ruby exuded just as much confidence, at times running to get on board her bike

Body art: Throughout the day friends had the chance to admire Ruby's tattoos, including a red and yellow koi fish tattoo on her upper right arm

Full house: Ruby's boat was packed with endlessly cool friends, who seemed to share Ruby's edgy, boho vibe

Rose is slated to play Jaxx, described as a kick-ass engineering genius and member of the stranded marine research team.

Jon Turteltaub, perhaps best known for the National Treasure movies, will direct.

Producers plan to release the film on March 2, 2018.

Girls in black: As laid-back as she is, Harley took great care to make sure she looked turned out at all times, even ringing her hair dry before seeing her beloved

Wrap up: Aware that the breeze can greatly affect the temperature, Ruby wore layers so she could easily transition from day to night, land to water

Wedgie: At times Ruby's well-fitted briefs got lost in her pert posterior
She rarely puts a fashion foot wrong.

So it's probably not surprising that actress Kate Mara cut a stylish figure when she stepped out in Los Angeles on Thursday afternoon.

The House of Cards star, 33, looked typically cute in her seasonal choice of attire, which commanded attention during her jaunt to downtown Beverly Hills.

Cute! Kate Mara cut a stylish figure when she stepped out in LA on Thursday afternoon

Putting on a leggy display as she met a friend for lunch, the acclaimed performer - who originates from New York - looked casually classy in her retro dress.

Featuring a short hemline and lace detail, the burgundy-coloured number offered onlookers a sneak peak at her body through the material.

It also showcased her slender shape thanks to its pinched waist, while affording ehr the opportunity to put on a leggy display.

Old-school style: Putting on a leggy display as she met a friend for lunch, the acclaimed performer - who originates from New York - looked casually classy in her retro dress

The Captive star, who is the elder sister of Oscar-nominated Rooney, dressed the number down with a pair of slip-on trainers.

Accessorising with a white leather bag and Steven Alan Optical shades, the minimalist beauty kept her locks parted to the side and held in place behind her ears.

Keeping make-up to a minimum, she was proof that less is frequently more.

Indie: The Captive star, who is the elder sister of Oscar-nominated Rooney, dressed the number down with a pair of slip-on trainers

Loved-up: Kate was without her long-term boyfriend, Billy Elliott star Jamie Bell, whom she attended Paris Fashion Week with earlier this year

Clearly enjoying some down time, Kate has three upcoming projects this year; Leavey, Morgan and The Heyday of Insensitive B***ards.

The latter is based on short stories from Robert Boswell's collection and explores the difference between fantasy and reality, memory and history, plus the joy and agony of the human condition.

It will also star James Franco, Natalie Portman and Kristen Wiig.




With a modeling contract and work such as a campaign with jewelry brand Bartoli, she knows how to put her best foot forward.

And Sofia Richie did not disappoint as she was spotted solo on Thursday as she went shopping in Beverly Hills, California.

The 17-year-old showed off her fashion credentials in a Cotton Citizen cut-off mini dress, while also sporting colorful braids.

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Putting her best foot forward: Sofia Richie sported a Cotton Citizen cut-off mini dress while shopping at Barneys New York in Beverly Hills, California on Thursday

Sofia sported a short-sleeved, black sweatshirt dress for the outing, which hit at the model's mid-thigh.

Her legs were on full display, as she finished off the laid-back look with a pair of low-top, white sneakers.

She carried an eye-catching, fluffy, dark pink purse, and hid her eyes behind a pair of over-sized sunglasses.

Eye-catching: The model showed off her pink and blonde ombre cornrows as she shopped

Her long tresses were styled in pink and blonde ombre cornrows, and the daughter of Lionel Richie kept her make-up simple.

The model did top off her look with a bit of shiny, pink lipstick as she was spotted leaving the high end department store.

She sported a gold bracelet on each wrist, and looked to have been hitting the shops by herself on Thursday.

She's golden! Sofia accessorized with a pair of gold earrings and coordinating bracelets, keeping her make-up simple for the shopping trip

She recently celebrated hitting one million followers on Instagram, commemorating the occasion with, of course, an Instagram photo.

Sofia, sister to Nicole Richie, could be seen posing in a red, long-sleeved 'I Feel Like Pablo' T-shirt from Kanye West's line.

She covered her face with her hands as she held up the number one to celebrate hitting one million, captioning it: 'UHHMILLI.'
Bethenny Frankel and Jason Hoppy officially finalised their divorce last month following three years of a nasty settlement battle.

And it seems the 45-year-old could be ready to take another trip down the aisle in the near future.

Bethenny sparked rumours she is engaged to boyfriend of several months Dennis Shields this week when she showed off what appeared to be a dazzling engagement ring.

Something to tell us?: Bethenny Frankel sparked engagement rumours when she flashed a huge diamond on her wedding ring finger in an Instagram story earlier this week

The Real Housewives Of New York City star shared an Instagram story which showed her nuzzling the banker's neck while flashing a huge diamond on her wedding ring finger.

DailyMail.com has contacted Frankel's representative for comment.

A source told People that despite the dazzling diamond ring, Bethenny is not engaged, stating: 'Bethenny is happy and enjoying her summer.

Bethenny and Dennis confirmed their relationship on Twitter after a couple of months of dating rumours.

Finding love again: The 45-year-old has been dating the banker for several months, and the pair confirmed their relationship in June (pictured here on June 14)

The Skinnygirl founder also cleared up speculation about whether she was dating a married man, and revealed that she went to school with her beau's estranged wife Jill.

'I'm dating a separated married man,' she tweeted. 'I'm married. I went to high school w his ex wife 30 years ago. Any other questions?'

In June, the reality star gushed about her relationship during an interview with People, saying: 'I am in a really happy place right now.

Changing her mind: Bethenny has revealed on her show Real Housewives Of New York City that Dennis (seen with her in June) has changed her mind about the idea of re-marrying

'I haven't been this happy in a really long time, and I'm continuing with my policy of not involving [others] in my relationships, because it certainly has served me wrong in the past.'

Meanwhile in an episode of her Bravo show which aired that month, Bethenny confessed that Dennis had even changed her mind about the idea of re-marrying, after she previously vowed to never wed again.

Calling him 'smart and passionate,' she told Carole Radziwill: 'He's like, ''I'm in love with you and I'd marry you tomorrow.'''

Officially divorced: The reality star finalised her divorce from Jason Hoppy last months after a three-year settlement battle. They are pictured here in March 2012, shortly before separating

Despite saying it was 'too much' and she wanted to put on the brakes, she admitted: 'I did say that I would never get married again and I'm taking that back.

'I'm not saying I'm getting married. But I can't destroy everything because of one bad apple,' she insisted, referring to ex-husband Jason Hoppy.

The pair, who share six-year-old daughter Bryn, separated in 2012 after two years of marriage and spent three years coming to a divorce settlement.

Bethenny was previously married to Peter Sussman in 1996 for a year.
She's the Real Housewives of Melbourne star known for her outspoken, sassy character.

And Gina Liano didn't hold back when talking about husbands who encourage their spouses to get plastic surgery.

In her advice column for Be, the 49-year-old wrote: 'Maybe he should worry less about your boobs and focus on his own man boobs instead?'

Don't go there! Real Housewives of Melbourne star Gina Liano didn't hold back when discussing husbands who encourage their spouses to get breast enlargement surgery

'Ladies, when it comes to plastic surgery, its definitely not something to jump into,' she told her readers candidly.

'Its certainly not something someone else should be telling you to do  especially your husband!' she said, adding: 'Theres such a thing as being a little bit too close'

In June, Gina confirmed RHOM will 'definitely' be back for a new season, despite production company Matchbox Pictures putting filming on hold to develop spin-off Real Housewives of Sydney.

Candid: Gina spoke openly about plastic surgery, and claimed that husbands should not influence their wives' decisions

'Definitely there will be a season four,' she told The Sydney Morning Herald. 'Who comes back, I don't know.'

Filming for RHOS is now underway, while another spin-off, The Real Housewives of Auckland, is set to premiere on Bravo New Zealand in August.

Meanwhile, the third season of RHOM premiered in the US last month on Bravo.

Will they return? In June, Gina confirmed RHOM will 'definitely' be back for a new season

Recently, Gina released her signature fragrance in the UK, and plans to follow up with a second fragrance in Australia before Christmas.

And earlier this year she made her stage debut in the pantomime Cinderella at the State Theatre in Sydney.

Meanwhile, RHOS will premiere on Foxtels Arena in 2017.
She's been bemoaning her return to the UK following her Ibiza break.

But Charlotte Crosby cheered herself up with a stroll in the sunshine on Friday, heading out in Manchester for a spot of lunch at the newly-opened Menagerie restaurant.

The 26-year-old reality star was rocking a flirty sundress which made the most of her favourite asset, her long legs.

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Stepping out in style: Charlotte Crosby cheered herself up with a stroll in the sunshine on Friday, heading out in Manchester for a spot of lunch at Menagerie restaurant

Charlotte's cute off-the-shoulders number boasted a subtle pattern and a very short hemline.

She set off the cute dress with a pair of white strappy heels and a brown leather satchel.

The former Geordie Shore favourite went all out when it came to her make-up, sporting a heavy smoky eye.

Leggy lady: The 26-year-old reality star was rocking a flirty sundress which made the most of her favourite asset, her long legs

Glamorous look: The bubbly blonde took to social media to show off her brand new manicure

The previous day, Charlotte revealed she was suffering from post-holiday blues following her sunshine getaway, slipping into her bikini again as she lamented the fact she had returned to reality.

She displayed her toned and tanned figure in a colourful two-piece in a short video uploaded to Instagram.

Charlotte pans the camera over her slender waist and flat stomach, showing off the khaki swimwear with coral coloured strap detailing.

Pouting to perfection: Charlotte showcased her newly-plumped pout and enviable bikini body in a short video uploaded to Instagram the previous day

The blonde beauty's long flow loose over her shoulders, with short tendrils hanging in her eyes.

She can be seen letting out a huge sigh, blowing up her tresses and showing off her newly-plumped pout, highlighted with a slick of bright pink lipstick.

Charlotte's fans were quick to compliment her, chiming in, 'You look amazing babe  body goalsss' and 'Beautiful'.

Toned: Charlotte pans the camera over her slender waist and flat stomach, showing off the khaki swimwear with coral coloured strap detailing

Beachy hair: The blonde beauty's long flow loose over her shoulders, with short tendrils hanging in her eyes

Some of the bubbly TV personality's followers weren't quite as impressed with her video, however, with one reminding her, 'Your life is a holiday lol'.

Others warned her to stop over-plumping her pout, saying, 'leave your lips alone now babe'.

Charlotte has been moving on with her life since splitting from on/off boyfriend Gary 'Gaz' Beadle once and for all, branding him 'worse than a murderer' for his cruel behaviour.

The pair had a famously rocky relationship both on and off the screen, but it all came to a head earlier this year when Charlotte announced she would be quitting Geordie Shore as she couldn't be around her ex anymore.

Stunning: She can be seen letting out a huge sigh, blowing up her tresses and showing off her newly-plumped pout, highlighted with a slick of bright pink lipstick

Fan favourite: Charlotte's fans were quick to compliment her, chiming in, 'You look amazing babe  body goalsss' and 'Beautiful'

The announcement came after she revealed she had suffered an ectopic pregnancy whilst he appeared on Ex On The Beach in March and lost their unborn baby.

Gaz decided to stay and continue filming the reality series after hearing the news, but admitted he now doubts his decision.

Speaking to Daily Mail Australia, he explained: 'If shed said Im in the worst pain ever, I cant move Im dying, obviously Id be on the next plane home. But she was like Im okay, dont worry Im fine.

'Maybe I should have gone back. It still hasnt kicked in. I was like s***, if it hadn't happened I would have a kid. Obviously I was devastated.'

Little too much? Others warned her to stop over-plumping her pout, saying, 'leave your lips alone now babe'

Moving on: Charlotte Crosby seemed unfazed by her ex's claims he would have 'loved' a baby as she promoted her new In The Style clothing range in London on Thursday

When asked whether he would have wanted to have a child with Charlotte, he said: 'I would have loved it, I cant really say now what would have been or what would have happened.'

Despite dating on and off for years, Gaz ruled out any hopes of a reconciliation between the pair as he explained that she needed to 'move on'.

He revealed: 'She said I was worse than a murderer, that to me was the final straw, I dont want to talk to her or about her.

'Its done, Id never get back with Charlotte. It's done and dusted after five years.'

'Shes left Geordie Shore and I think shes dating other people. She needs to move on to the next chapter of her life and I want to do the same.'
Luisa Zissman has given birth to her second child, a baby girl.

The former Apprentice runner-up, 29, welcomed her daughter Indigo Esme Collins into the world with husband Andrew Collins on Tuesday evening.

Taking to her Twitter account on Friday she uploaded a sweet photograph of her perfectly manicured fingers clutching her newborn's tiny hand.

Proud mother: Luisa Zissman announced the birth of second daughter Indigo Esme via her Twitter account on Friday

She accompanied it with the caption: '02/08/2016 21.21pm 8.1lbs Indigo Esme Collins perfect in every way (sic).'

Luisa is also a parent to five-year-old daughter Dixie from her first marriage to Oliver Zissman, which ended two years ago.

Shortly after announcing the birth shared an cute Instagram snap of a welcome home banner - complete with pink balloons - designed by her first daughter.

Difficulties: The happy news comes after Luisa spent a night in hospital last week and had to be induced over the weekend - but it failed to start labour

Cute: After announcing the birth Luisa shared an Instagram snap of a welcome home banner - complete with pink balloons - designed by her first daughter Dixie

Captioning the shot, she wrote: 'Dixies welcome home to mummy & Indigo. too cute (not sure why she wrote Luisa & not mummy) (sic).'

The birth comes after Luisa spent a night in hospital last week and had to be induced over the weekend - but it failed to start labour.

She told a fan on her social networking site: 'I was induced Saturday but it didn't work! Not at the 42 week mark yet tho. Dnt wana b induced again she's not ready obvs (sic).'

Happy couple: Indigo Esme is Luisa's second child and first with husband Andrew Collins

Overjoyed: The TV personality previously revealed that she was 'absolutely thrilled' about the prospect of having a second daughter

The TV personality previously revealed that she was 'absolutely thrilled' about the prospect of having a second daughter.

My dream is to have four daughters who are all really into horse riding, like me. Im not sure Id know what to do with a boy! she told OK!

Luisa originally confirmed her pregnancy in a post added to her Twitter account on April 1.

Mum to be: The star shocked fans on Twitter by sharing a snap of a positive pregnancy test in April

The reality star posted a picture of her pregnancy test, which showed two lines, indicating she and millionaire businessman Andrew were set to become parents.

She did not include any words with her post, but simply posted two baby emojis alongside it.

Luisa began dating Andrew in October 2013 and, just a year later, they got engaged in October 2014.

They sparked rumours they had got married in France last July when Luisa posted a photograph of a bride walking down the aisle, but she's only just confirmed the reports.

The business tycoon proposed to her with a 1.5million ring in Paris in October 2014 before they tied the knot in France last July.
She usually embraces a more sombre and serious look.

But Victoria Beckham had a spring in her step as she ventured out in New York City on Friday, sporting a more vibrant ensemble than fans are used to.

The 42-year-old fashionista was clad in a pretty cream coloured separates with an elegant floral pattern, looking elegant as ever.

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Fashionista: Victoria Beckham had a spring in her step as she ventured out in New York City on Friday, sporting a more vibrant ensemble than fans are used to

Victoria's stylish co-ords featured a sportswear twist thanks to elasticated material on the hems and the sleeves.

The skirt was cut to below the calf, giving her attire a ladylike feel.

The Spice Girl turned fashion designer added some extra height to her attire with a pair of nude strappy heels.

Chic co-ords: Victoria's stylish ensemble featured a sportswear twist thanks to elasticated material on the hems and the sleeves

Coy smile: The mother-of-four seemed in great spirits as she ventured out in the Big Apple, flashing a rare grin

Natural look: Victoria's shoulder-length tresses were styled in loose waves, and she highlighted her pout with a slick of pale pink lipstick

She upped the glamour thanks to a statement gold watch and her trusty pair of designer shades.

Victoria's shoulder-length tresses were styled in loose waves, and she highlighted her pout with a slick of pale pink lipstick.

As ever, the business mogul has relocated to the US with her family - husband David and children Brooklyn, Romeo, Cruz and Harper - for the summer, making the most of the good weather for the duration of the children's summer holiday.

Putting her best foot forward:The Spice Girl turned fashion designer added some extra height to her attire with a pair of nude strappy heels

Stateside summer: As ever, the business mogul has relocated to the US with her family - husband David and children Brooklyn, Romeo, Cruz and Harper - for the summer

The move means the couple have plenty of time to relax with their best friends Gordon Ramsay and wife Tana, with whom they are frequently spotted out-and-about in sunny L.A.

Victoria sent her fans into meltdown earlier this week when she shared a snapshot of herself with her younger sister, Louise Adams.

Looking more like identical twins that sisters born two years apart, the siblings share the same dark eyes, button noses and striking jawlines.

Clearly enthused to spend some quality time with her little sis, the mother-of-four captioned the photo: 'So much fun with my sister last night! Family time is so precious.'

Summery style: Victoria was clearly feeling in a summery mood, embracing a lighter, brighter colour palette than usual
The Brazilian native is in Rio de Janeiro for the 2016 Olympic Games.

And Izabel Goulart sizzled in all white as she headed inside Maracan Stadium on Friday.

The 31-year-old showed off her cleavage and a hint of her flat midriff in a white blazer with matching trousers for the opening ceremony.

Stunner: Izabel Goulart looked happy to be in her homeland as she was spotted heading inside Maracan Stadium on Friday

The supermodel sported a plunging blazer that featured a zippered detail, revealing her cleavage and flat stomach.

Izabel complimented the risque cover up with fitted trousers that showed off her long legs.

The brunette beauty stepped out in silver strappy heels as she carried a black and gold clutch.

The cover girl finished off the chic ensemble with a gold choker and spiky earrings for pops of sparkle.

Gorgeous lady: The 31-year-old showed off her cleavage and a hint of her flat midriff in a white blazer with matching trousers for the opening ceremony

Fancy: The runway star sported a plunging blazer that featured a zippered detail, revealing her cleavage and flat stomach

Flawless figure: Izabel complimented the risque cover up with fitted trousers that showed off her long legs

On Thursday, the Victoria's Secret Angel put her tan legs on display in a tiny mini-skirt outside her hotel in Ipanema Beach.

Izabel looked sporty chic as she stepped out in the beautiful beach neighborhood located in the South Zone of the city of Rio de Janeiro.

The runway star's long and lean pins turned heads in a green thigh-high asymmetrical short skirt.

Happy to be home: Izabel Goulart flashed a wide smile as the Brazilian native was spotted outside her hotel in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on Thursday

Izabel fashionably paired the tiny bottom with a half-tucked white T-shirt and layered an olive green bomber jacket on top.

The Brazilian beauty teamed the relaxed look with a pair of white high-top trainers, and added a burgundy colored bag to match her fresh manicure.

Leggy look: The Victoria's Secret Angel put her tan legs on display in a tiny mini-skirt ahead of the 2016 Olympic Games

Fashionable details: She teamed the relaxed look with a pair of high-top trainers, an olive green bomber jacket, a burgundy bag, and chic cat-eye shades

Izabel accessorized with an eye-catching pair of spike starburst earrings which sparkled on her stylish lobes.

She shielded herself from the sunny day with a pair of chic black cat-eye shades and added a gloss to her smiley lips.

The brunette bombshell wore her lengthy voluminous locks down which cascaded past her shoulders in a messy wave.

Let the games begin! Izabel - who is representing Brazil as an ambassador for the 2016 Olympics had the great honor of carrying the Olympic Torch on Friday

So proud! She sported a white, yellow, and green matching shirt and shorts set as she strutted through the fan-lined streets with the giant torch

Sporty chic: Izabel teamed the official jersey with a pair of bright orange and yellow Nike trainers and pulled her tresses back into a high ponytail

This comes just before the model took to Instagram announcing that she is 'thrilled' to be sharing her 'Rio Olympics 2016 experience on Vogue.com.'

Her lengthy caption also included the same information in her native Portuguese.

Izabel - who is representing Brazil as an ambassador for the 2016 Olympics - shared a short video to her feed of the Vogue 'inside look' which showed the model clad in all white as she appeared as a tour guide and host in the short edited clip.

Brazilian beauty: The brunette bombshell happily posed with the official Olympic accessory and flashed the 'peace' sign

Big day! The 2016 Rio Olympic Games will continue through August 21

So cool! The supermodel looked genuinely excited as she checked out the iconic Olympic torch

The video shows the model enjoying a treat in a local restaurant, and taking a ride on the back of a motorcycle while excitedly welcoming her followers to Rio.

Vogue is also updating their official Snapchat story complete with Izabel's special behind the scenes footage.

On Friday Izabel had the great honor of carrying the Olympic Torch during its journey to the Olympic Stadium to officially start the 2016 Rio Games.

Big moment: The supermodel did a flawless job as she lit the torch with fire

All smiles! Izabel couldn't have appeared happier as she showed off her pearly whites and proudly held on to the torch

Cooling off: The supermodel took a break with a fresh coconut drink

Izabel sported a white, yellow, and green matching shirt and shorts set as she strutted through the fan-lined streets with the giant torch.

She teamed the official Brazilian jersey with a pair of bright orange and yellow Nike trainers and pulled her tresses back into a high ponytail.

Izabel couldn't have appeared happier as she showed off her pearly whites and proudly held on to the iconic Olympic Torch.

The 2016 Rio Olympic Games will continue through August 21.

'Only in Rio': Vogue gave a front row look to all their followers on Snapchat on Friday

Stunning: Izabel looked gorgeous as she held on tight to the Olympic Torch for Vogue's Snapchat story

She's also a tour guide! The model took to Instagram announcing that she is 'thrilled' to be sharing her 'Rio Olympics 2016 experience on Vogue.com'

'Welcome to Rio': The short video of the Vogue 'inside look' showed the model clad in all white as she appeared as a travel host in the short edited clip
Her daughter is a day away from being one month old.

And Ali Fedotowsky is not wasting a second of her infancy, grabbing all the quality time she can - and, of course, sharing the experience on Snapchat.

On Friday, the former Bachelorette posted a string of photos of herself cradling baby Molly in bed.

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'Morning cuddles with my little girl': Ali Fedotowsky posted a series of Snapchat photos on Friday of herself and her baby Molly

The 31-year-old wore a white tank top and pulled her hair into a ponytail as she gazed at her sleeping baby. The family dog, Owen, nestled in the covers near his newest owner.

Shortly thereafter, the Miss USA 2012 judge took her morning walk with her newborn in tow. She wore pink gingham pajama bottoms covered with darker pink circles, and carried Molly in a crepe baby sling.

Though Fedotowsky selected gorgeous insurance man Roberto Martinez at the end of her stint on The Bachelorette, the engagement fell to bits after 18 months.

Sibling rivalry: When the photos went online, Molly was a day away from being one month old

In the intervening time, the erstwhile E! correspondent struck up a relationship with TV and radio presenter Kevin Manno. After getting engaged last September, they announced her pregnancy with Molly this January.

On Thursday, it was Manno's turn to pose for Fedotowsky's Snapchat with their daughter, who rested on his chest in a black and white dress.

The couple's impending wedding has dealt with multiple postponements. They had initially planned a ceremony in Mexico, but this June, the Massachusetts native told The Knot that they had cancelled because of the Zika virus.

Exercise is important: Molly is the former Bachelorette's daughter by presenter Kevin Manno, to whom she announced her engagement last September

Father/daughter: Before Manno, Fedotowsky had been engaged for 18 months to her Bachelorette pick Robert Martinez

Bright-eyed and bushy-tailed: Molly's parents had planned a wedding date for this January, but delayed it upon discovering the pregnancy

'It was such a huge disappointment,' she said. 'Even though we wont be pregnant when we get married, we just didnt think it was fair to ask our guests to travel to a location with active Zika virus transmissions.

'Most of our friends,' she explained, 'are in "baby mode" and that just wasn't a fair ask.'

The California do they planned for this January had to be scuttled as well at the news of her pregnancy. 'Could we have kept the date? Sure,' she admitted. 'But I like to celebrate and celebrate with champagne!'

Baby love: Ali glanced down on her precious baby girl in another snap taken during a shopping spree

Game time: The reality star showed her excitement before a game

Baby makes three: Ali and Kevin brought their little bundle of joy to the baseball game

We got this covered: There was nothing to worry about as Ali had organised everything
He was a member of the notorious Bra Boys surfer gang who turned his life around to become a successful mixed martial arts fighter.

And now Richie Vas Vaculik has published an autobiography detailing his long days on the waves, longer nights out with mates, brushes with the law, and fighting career.

A whos who of the controversial group showed up to launch the book, Bra Boy, at the North End Cafe in the Sydney beachside suburb of Maroubra, where the Bra Boys grew up.

Reunited: Prominent Bra Boys member Koby Abberton (R) and NRL player John Sutton (L) attended the launch of Richie Vas Vaculik's memoir Bra Boy in Maroubra, Sydney

The guests included prominent members Koby and Jai Abberton and Mark Mathews, as well as NRL player John Sutton, who reunited to support their old mate.

Other guests were rugby league legend Andrew Johns, Victoria Cross war hero Mark Donaldson, model Michelle Leslie and local MP Matt Thistlewaite.

Andrew was the most dapper of the attendees, donning a burgundy shirt under a black jacket teamed with grey chinos. Koby also wore a light blue shirt as he hosted the launch.

Star power: They were joined by rugby league legend Andrew Johns (right) donning a burgundy shirt under a black jacket teamed with grey chinos

Local launch: A whos who of the controversial group showed up to launch the book, Bra Boy, at the North End Cafe

Rose among thorns: Model Michelle Leslie put on a busty display in a low-cut black top teamed with a leather jacket and matching pants

Michelle put on a busty display in a low-cut black top teamed with a leather jacket and matching pants.

The 35-year-old brunette completed her look with a full face of makeup including red lipstick.

The former Miss World Australia runner-up was sentenced to three months in a Bali jail in 2005 for possession of two ecstasy tablets.

Richie's fellow big wave surfer Mark Mathews (right) was also present

Ring life: The 33-year-old was an MMA fighter between 2006 and 2015 holding a 10-4 record, but won only one of his UFC bouts and never fought outside of Australia and New Zealand

TV career: He is now co-host of Fox Sports weekly UFC show, and one of the three stars of Foxtel series The Crew

Richie and fellow big wave surfer Mark Mathews were the stars of 2011 documentary Fighting Fear about their lives as Bra Boys and Richie's MMA career.

The 33-year-old was an MMA fighter between 2006 and 2015 holding a 10-4 record, but won only one of his UFC bouts and never fought outside of Australia and New Zealand.

He is now co-host of Fox Sports weekly UFC show, and one of the three stars of Fighting Fear follow-up Foxtel series The Crew.

According to publisher Allen & Unwin, he is described by friends as the only guy (they) know who gets punched in the head and gets smarter.

Public speaker: Leading Bra Boy Koby hosted the launch
She's known for being a style icon as well as a successful actress.

And Sienna Miller showcased her effortless flair for fashion for all to see on Thursday, as she enjoyed a night out with her gal pals in London.

The Layer Cake star, 34, looked radiant as she left the Chiltern Firehouse with friends in a classic shift dress and camel trench coat.

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Glowing: Sienna Miller, 34, looked radiant as she left the Chiltern Firehouse in London with friends in a classic shift dress and camel trench coat on Thursday night

The blonde beauty stunned in a blue and gold shift dress patterned with oversized flowers, its mini length keeping her famed model pins on full display.

She layered her outfit with a light classic camel trench coat, which she stylishly draped over her shoulders and tipped the collar up to her neck.

Adding to the chic look, Sienna added some funky monochrome art-deco style earrings and a chunky turquoise ring.

The British model, who has previously dated Jude Law, kept her trademark blonde tresses loose and her makeup dewy and natural, showing off her radiant, glowing complexion.

Relaxed: The former girlfriend of Jude Law kept her trademark blonde tresses loose and her makeup dewy and natural, showing off her radiant, glowing complexion

Beaming as she headed home from the famed celebrity hangout, the American Sniper star's enviable natural beauty was clear for all to see.

The star looked completely relaxed as she enjoyed a night off from her busy acting schedule.

She has just wrapped filming for new flick Live By Night, directed and written by Ben Affleck, which follows a bootlegger and his rise to gangster status in the late 1920s.

Girls night out: Beaming as she headed home from the famed celebrity hangout, the star looked completely relaxed as she enjoyed a night off from her busy schedule with friends

Off-duty: Sienna kept her lengthy, model pins in full view as she enjoyed a night off amidst her hectic schedule, having just wrapped filming new flick Live By Night

She is also anticipating the release of her new film The Lost City of Z alongside Robert Pattinson, which is expected to debut in October at the New York Film Festival.

The film, which was produced by Hollywood actor Brad Pitt, is set in 1925, and follows explorers on their search to find a British colonel who vanished on his quest to find the missing City of Z, in Brazil.

Looking in good spirits as she laughed with friends, the off-duty night is likely to have come as a distraction from her recent love woes.

It was believed last summer that she had split from her fiance Tom Sturridge, 30, with The Sun reporting that a make-or-break holiday in Ibiza had not been enough to save their troubled relationship.

Moving on: The star looked in good spirits, perhaps because of her recent reunion with ex-fiance Tom Sturridge, who she has daughter Marlowe with

The couple are said to have remained friends for the sake of their daughter Marlowe, 4, who was born six months before their engagement in 2012.

However, the pair fuelled rumours of a reunion earlier this month, having been spotted out and about together in Notting Hill with Marlowe in tow.

A pal close to the couple told People magazine at the time of the split: 'This year everything exploded with Tom in London and Sienna leading a separate life in the U.S. and Cannes.'

'They are over, but don't rule out a reunion.'
An intense if implausible week in EastEnders finished with the suitably sensational bombshell of Grant Mitchell announcing I love you Sharon !

Never mind that the day Grant had married her was so long ago now it was in the previous century, or that this was Grants first full episode back in Walford since Peggys funeral. Then there was the fact that Sharon was with his brother Phil.

No, Grant was helpless to resist revealing his feelings for the brassy, orange, female Weeble who has inexplicably transfixed him and Phil for decades, as if she was the scriptwriters idea of a contemporary, Cockney, Marilyn Monroe.

Back in time: An intense if implausible week in EastEnders finished with the suitably sensational bombshell of Grant Mitchell announcing I love you Sharon !'

Youve got to hand it to Ross Kemp. We know he likes to live dangerously from his documentaries investigating subjects such as Somali pirates, Caribbean druglords, and ISIS.

But risking a clinch with Sharon was a terrifying prospect. Not because it would incur the wrath of Phil. No, think of all that lip-gloss.

Still, Kemp must have known what he was letting himself in for when he made his latest return to the series. 22 years ago the original Sharongate storyline climaxed with 25.3 million viewers watching Grant and the other punters in the Queen Vic hear a tape of Grants wife Sharon confess she had slept with his bruvver. The chance of reprising the classic plot and have Grant turn the tables on Phil was a no-brainer.

So ten minutes after Grant had been trying to cop off with Belinda, there he was - sneaking in through Sharons back door (as it were) announcing he loved her.

Causing drama: Never mind that the day Grant had married her was so long ago now it was in the previous century, or that this was Grants first full episode back since Peggys funeral

It capped a dramatic, suitably sinister, week of tension. Pam told Claudette the identity of the person blackmailing her and Les. This was Aunt Babe, who had recommenced her demands for cash, despite the tragic death of the Cokers grandson Paul.

The Carter family had kicked Babe out of the Vic after Abi informed them that it was Babe who had come up with the plan of seducing some unsuspecting sod in the hope of getting pregnant and stopping her (gay) boyfriend Ben from discovering she hadnt been when she said she was. (Long story. You had to be there.)

Bad move today Abi ! Very bad move! Babe spat like a grumpy, ugly, fat, old, cat. Watch your back!

Yikes. Aunt Babe had already lightly pan-fried Abis wrist in the flames of the cooker. Bizarrely, even this wasnt enough to force Abi into quitting her job as Babes assistant or remember she had spent years studying to qualify as a vets receptionist.

Uh oh! Babe had Abi worrying over her latest move, insisting 'Bad move today Abi ! Very bad move!

Get out of my pub! The Carter family had kicked Babe out of the Vic

Chastising: Babe goaded Abi saying 'you dont get your meat where you get your potatoes'...

Admittedly Babe had not foreseen that Abi would select Lee Carter as the victim of a drunken wing-ding that resulted in his fiancee Whitney almost leaving him and spreading what Tina called a Chlamydia epidemic.

When Babe found out she chastised Abi: you dont get your meat where you get your potatoes  an aphorism that wasnt just obscure but sinister.

The tension was equally menacing in the storyline involving Ronnie and the builder-turned-nanny Andy/Gareth (who was, unbeknownst to Ronnie, the brother of her dead daughter Danielle).

Andy/Gareth had started the week telling Ronnies kids they were going to the zoo for the day but then taking them to a care home in Telford (to visit his sick father). Dont try this at home. In reality children arent that sweet or patient.

Tense: The tension was equally menacing in the storyline involving Ronnie and the builder-turned-nanny Andy/Gareth

Hitting boiling point! Things are about to get more psychotic between Andy/Gareth and Ronnie

Andys/Gareths plan to inveigle himself into Ronnies life, and avenge Danielle had one main flaw: namely that Ronnie was even more psychotic than he was.

Why dont you sit down GARETH? she carped. I found your stalking folder. When you came here you were Andy Flynn. That is full-on devious!

This was a bit rich coming from Ronnie  the woman who had duped her husband Charlie into kidnapping their baby and conned the square into thinking it had been Kats newborn who had perished from cot-death after Ronnie had swapped them and passed Tommy off as hers.

Youre not the only one whos confused ! Jack told Roxy, speaking for us all. Mind you, this wasnt saying much. He must have been the worst detective when he was in Walford CID. Not only did he have NO CLUE that Andy/Gareth was a wrong un, it was Jack who had brought him into their lives by giving the hapless builder a job in the first place.

Trouble ahead: Andys/Gareths plan to inveigle himself into Ronnies life, and avenge Danielle had one main flaw: namely that Ronnie was even more psychotic than he was

Death stare: Jack decked Andy/Gareth's on tonight's episode

Like us, he was even more bewildered when Ronnie forgave Andy/Gareth for duping them, allowing young Hannah Reynolds to be arrested for his death threats, and exploiting recent rape victim Roxy.

Theres something about him. Hes vulnerable, depressed, Ronnie defended Andy/Gareth, pleading with Jack to let him stay on the grounds: I want to get to know him better. Then I can put all this madness to bed.

Well she said it...

The expression on Andy/Gareths face remained the same throughout, even when Jack decked him: i.e. blank. He was so vacant he could have been a character from Call Of Duty.

Not for the first time, luckily Grant appeared to save things. We hadnt seen him for weeks  since he watched Peggys funeral from afar rather than say goodbye to his mother properly, prompting fears he was still hiding in the bushes.

I'm back! Not for the first time, luckily Grant appeared to save things

On Thursday though, Sharon found him sitting on the steps outside the police station, where it transpired he had spent the night after getting a bit drunk and mouthy with a copper.

Sharon had gone there to report Ben missing  rather than see Grant, as he hoped  but Kathy called to tell Sharon that Ben had returned home: news that was confirmed by a shot of Ben psychotically gripping some railings.

Call me ! Its Phil. Hes bad.

Bye Sharon! Grant snarled, with bitterness and disappointment.

After this, Grant had a busy episode  picking a fight in The Vic and charming Belinda.

Gone missing: Kathy called to tell Sharon that Ben had returned home

Youre better-looking than your brother, she purred.

It has been said, he purred back.

He then told his daughter Courtney he had been moody because her Uncle Phil had killed her grandmother, Peggy.

Ive been thinking about the past. Regrets. Chances I had...

He claimed he meant the way I never got a chance to say goodbye to my mum but Sharon seemed more likely, judging by his reaction when Courtney mentioned that while he had been banged up in Walford nick, Sharon had phoned him.

Trouble ahead: Grant then told his daughter Courtney he had been moody because her Uncle Phil had killed her grandmother, Peggy

Regrets: Ive been thinking about the past. Regrets. Chances I had... Grant admitted

Missed opportunity: I never got a chance to say goodbye to my mum he told Courtney

Sharon left me a message?! You should have told me from the beginning! he cried, like a hysterical teenager.

Grant, what are you doing here? Sharon gushed when Grant appeared in her kitchen.

When I saw you earlier, when I thought youd come for me, I realised... he began, reduced to a stuttering, lovesick, wreck.

Dont Grant, please ! Sharon implored him.

But it was too late.

His next four words confirmed: it was starting again.

Shocked: 'Grant, what are you doing here?' Sharon gushed when Grant appeared in her kitchen
Anyone for Morris dancing? announces an amplified voice. You Madam? Well, youll have to put your popcorn down first.

Elsewhere, I overhear the comment This is a big cow! Shes got a large udder, but shes got a lot of width and she carries it well.

Heads nod in expressions of Well I never! and Fancy that!.

A rare breed: The Countryfile presenting team at the Countryfile Live event at Blenheim Palace

The scene could be an agricultural show, perhaps, or a village fete. But, in fact, it is an extraordinary cultural phenomenon.

Taking place in the grounds of Blenheim Palace, the beautiful Oxfordshire stately home which was Winston Churchills birthplace, is the first Countryfile Live  a sprawling four-day festival set up on the back of the most watched factual programme on British TV.

Showcasing the British countryside, it attracts audiences of more than eight million an episode  with one earlier this year pulling in 9.5 million  thats 1.1 million more than Top Gear at its peak.

Last winter, ratings quietly beat hugely-publicised prime-time juggernauts The X Factor, Call The Midwife and War And Peace. It has spawned various spin-offs, including Secret Britain, Country Tracks and Countryfile Diaries.

Not bad for a programme which, when it began life as a half-hour Sunday morning show in 1988, drew audiences of around two million.

Presenter Ellie Harrison gets ready for the festival this weekend

Prince Charles  who guest-edited it three years ago  and the Duchess of Cornwall are said to be huge fans, while David Cameron has appeared on it twice.

Some viewers were not impressed that their favourite programme had been polluted by politics. After all, Countryfile remains, for the most part, soothingly free of ideology, as well as a refuge from the violence, swearing and general nastiness that fills so much of the TV schedules.

Here at Blenheim, the shows presenters  among them John Craven (whos been with the programme for almost 30 years), clean-cut Matt Baker (formerly of Blue Peter), smiling blonde Ellie Harrison and weatherbeaten reporter Tom Heap  used hedge-trimmers to snip a ceremonial ribbon as they declared the festival open.

It looks set to be a demanding weekend. There were reports of three-hour tailbacks as fans converged on the event in their tens of thousands.

Some of the ladies arriving admit to a certain affection for the men in the Countryfile line-up. Gaynor Allen, 53, from Leicestershire, who is queuing with her husband Rick, 66, is particularly enamoured of presenter Adam Henson, probably Britains most famous farmer.

I think its fair to say that Gaynor has only come to see Adam, says Rick. Well, hes definitely a bit of eye-candy on a Sunday evening, she replies.

Matt and Adam are both charming, says Nicky Ballard, who has travelled from Farnborough, in Hampshire, with old schoolfriend Mary Alexander, both 63.

Theyre also knowledgeable about a lot of important and interesting things, so I would far prefer having a conversation with them to, say, an actor.

Taking place in the grounds of Blenheim Palace, the beautiful Oxfordshire stately home which was Winston Churchills birthplace, is the first Countryfile Live

She could just as well be talking about the show as a whole. For Countryfiles appeal lies not simply in looking good  with its photogenic presenters or the stunning landscapes from all around the country  but also its range of subjects.

Recent episodes have included items as diverse as female mud-wrestling in Cumbria and the importance of cow-pats as a source of insects for bats. Neither does Countryfile shy away from controversial issues of the day, from the impact of wind turbines on the countryside to Brexits consequences for the rural economy.

Its clearly a winning combination.

I think one reason Countryfile appeals to people is that we live such busy lives. We like to see real people doing real things, Adam Henson tells me between signing autographs and posing for selfies with fans. Its also got a lot of honesty and integrity, and our viewers like that.

If that implies a hint of nostalgia, it is certainly what has attracted Nicky and Mary, now enjoying a cream tea in the pavillion. Gazing out on a replica village green, complete with maypole, Nicky recalls growing up in the Hampshire countryside in the Sixties.

There were fields around us and I was always riding horses and dragging hay bales around, she says.

Now, Farnborough is built-up with housing estates, like many places in the South-East, and people like me have a secret wish to be closer to that kind of life again.

That desire is recognised by John Savings, a 73-year-old volunteer with the National Hedgelaying Society and proud creator of a model showing the 30 or so different styles of hedge in the UK. These range from the Welsh Border  handy for keeping sheep in check  to the more robust Midlands Bullock, which, as its name suggests, is for larger livestock.

Vintage hay baling techniques are on display during Countryfile Live

It was John who taught Prince Charles how to lay hedges many years ago and he still receives a Christmas card from Highgrove every year.

Johns is one of many stands offering visitors a chance to try traditional pursuits, including dry stone-walling and thatching.

There are even bell-ringing lessons in the Lichfield Diocesan Mobile Belfry, which holds sessions at shows across the country for budding campanologists.

Although all these demonstrations, featuring shire horses, gun dogs and falconry, are all very popular, its the personal appearances by the Countryfile presenters which really pull in the crowds.

In a purpose-built replica of an old barn, they take turns on stage and the excitement proves too much for those waiting to see Adam Henson and Tom Heap.

Ooh, I thought the British were good at queueing, says the announcer as people break ranks and rush for the lines of hay bales which serve as seats. But that was more like a cattle stampede.

The ensuing discussion covers issues such as falling milk prices and rare breeds.

Inevitably, there has been a debate about how Countryfile approaches such topics when its audience is divided into those who are experts and those who are viewers with little knowledge of rural matters and want to learn.

Speaking about suggestions that the show sometimes dumbs down, Adam says: We have to remember that were talking to lots of people who dont know anything about agriculture.

For example, if he mentions steers, he says he is reminded in his earpiece to explain that they are castrated male cattle.

But as Tom says, the true skill of the presenters lies in being able to make even soil sexy.

Adam laughs off the idea that he might be eye candy.

Thats very flattering to my ego, but I think the lady who said it must have mixed me up with Matt Baker, he tells me.

That kind of endearing modesty seems typical of the Countryfile team, who have strong personal ties to the countryside.

Anita Rani, the shows newest recruit, says that as a child growing up in Bradford, venturing out to the surrounding countryside with her Punjabi father, it was unusual to see other ethnic minority families.

This is a pretty big event but its not like were standing on stage like rock stars, going Hello Wembley! says Ellie Harrison, who has her own Cotswold smallholding.

Matt Baker agrees: Countryfile is all about the viewers and giving them a programme they can really enjoy and learn from.

And its not just the humans who might be regarded as the stars of this show. Today, much fuss is being made of Queenie and Nicola, two Highland cows who are the daughter and granddaughter respectively of Eric, the breeding bull, retired from Adams Cotswold farm.

Eric is now living on Adams sisters farm, but his fans posing for selfies with his descendants hints at another clue  the British love of animals  to the remarkable success of a programme which spotlights all that is good about our country.
Saudi coalition, Huthis violate rights in Yemen: UN report

A confidential UN report has concluded that the Saudi-led coalition fighting in Yemen deliberately bombed a house, killing four children, and that Huthi rebels used civilians as shields to avoid attacks.

The actions amount to violations of international humanitarian law, according to the report by a panel of experts obtained by AFP on Thursday.

"The panel has documented violations of international humanitarian law and international human rights law committed by the Huthi-Saleh forces, the Saudi Arabia-led coalition and forces affiliated to the legitimate government of Yemen," said the report presented to the Security Council.

Forces loyal to the Saudi-backed Yemeni president stand guard on a road at the entrance to Abyan province as they take part in an operation to drive Al-Qaeda fighters out of the southern provincial capital, on April 23, 2016 Saleh al-Obeidi (AFP/File)

The experts are conducting detailed investigations of four air strikes allegedly carried out by the Saudi coalition, three of which are still ongoing.

In the fourth case, six people including four children were killed when the coalition bombed a village house in southern Lahj province on May 25 using precision-guided munitions.

"It is almost certain that the civilian house was the deliberate target of the high explosive aircraft bombs," said the report.

The panel concluded that the coalition failed to take precautions and "thus violated IHL," international humanitarian law.

The coalition began the air campaign in March 2015 to push back Huthi rebels after they seized the capital Sanaa and many other parts of the country.

The Saudi-led alliance has repeatedly denied that it has deliberately targeted civilians in the war, which has killed more than 6,400 people.

- Shielding tanks at university -

In Taez province, Huthi rebels have concealed their fighters and equipment near or in civilian areas "with the deliberate aim of avoiding attack," said the report.

"In doing so, the Huthis almost certainly deliberately endanger and expose the civilian population and civilian objects to the perils of conflict," it added.

The report showed a photograph of a tank parked at Taez University and said it was investigating several reports of civilian sites used as shields.

Meanwhile, Yemen's Al-Qaeda franchise, Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), has upgraded its bomb-making capabilities and could wage a "sustained IED (improvised explosive device) campaign" of attacks, the report said.

The first suicide attack using the refined bomb technique was recorded in Aden on May 1.

AQAP and the local branch of the Islamic State (IS) group are competing for recruits in Yemen.

In March and April, IS received a significant influx of cash in Yemen, which it is using to attract recruits, finance operations and purchase equipment, said the report, without providing figures.

While the war grinds on, Yemen's Central Bank is suffering a major hemorrhage of cash.

About $100 million per month is being diverted to support the Huthis, who have gained access to the reserves, said the report.

Yemen's foreign reserves have dwindled from about $4 billion in November 2014 to their current critical level of $1.3 billion.
Amid criticism, World Bank adopts new social, environmental framework

The World Bank has adopted a new set of policies aimed at preventing its projects from harming people and the environment.

The global lender dedicated to fighting poverty -- whose commitments rose to more than $60 billion this year -- said the new environmental and social framework had involved the "most extensive consultation ever conducted" by the bank.

"These new safeguards will build into our projects updated and improved protections for the most vulnerable people in the world and our environment," World Bank President Jim Yong Kim said in a statement.

The World Bank has introduced new rules on future projects whereby they will have to reduce environmental harm and avoid large-scale population displacements Karen Bleier (AFP/File)

The Bank last year acknowledged that its projects had sometimes resulted in forced population displacements. World Bank projects in regions around the world have been accused of underwriting human rights abuses.

The new rules are to take effect in 2018 and will require client states to conduct a "broadened social assessment and management of environmental and social risks," to guarantee labor rights and prohibit any form of forced labor.

Projects will have to reduce environmental harm and avoid large-scale population displacements, according to the new policy.

While welcoming some improvements, Nadia Daar, head of the Washington office at Oxfam International, said in a statement that her organization was "frustrated and disappointed" that the new policy had not gone further.

The Bank Information Center, an organization which lobbies to improve World Bank policies, said the new rules lacked "the strength and clarity that people negatively impacted by development so profoundly depend upon."

As the latest version of the rules became public last month, Human Rights Watch likewise said it "does not require the bank to respect human rights."

Kim, the Bank president, said the framework represented "the best possible compromise."

"We had to find a path down the middle where we can both ensure that abuses didn't happen and at the same time make it possible for borrowers to borrow," Kim told reporters in a conference call.

Overly strict criteria risked harming the economic prospects of poor countries, he said.
Obama turns up pressure on Putin over Syria

US President Barack Obama warned Russia faces fierce international rebuke if it continues to make common cause with Syria's brutal regime, signaling a renewed push to end the bloody five-year civil war.

Obama said Russia risked casting itself as an "irresponsible actor" on the world stage, after meeting with top aides at the Pentagon.

Eying a looming humanitarian catastrophe in Aleppo -- the besieged northwestern city of 250,000 people that was once Syria's commercial hub -- Obama said it was "time for Russia to show that it is serious" about bringing peace.

Residents gather at the site of a bomb attack in Syria's northeastern city of Qamishli on July 27, 2016, claimed by the Islamic State group Delil Souleiman (AFP/File)

For five years Russian President Vladimir Putin has steadfastly supported the regime of Bashar al-Assad, offering international cover, military aid and in the last year carrying out its own strikes in anti-Assad areas.

Without material Russian and Iranian support it is doubtful Assad could have held on to power.

Putin has shown little sign of ending that support through multiple rounds of international talks.

"I'm not confident that we can trust the Russians or Vladimir Putin," Obama said. "Which is why we have to test whether or not we can get an actual cessation of hostilities."

The United States hopes renewing a failed ceasefire would prevent a bloodbath in Aleppo, allow humanitarian aid missions to resume and open the door for negotiations that would end the civil war and turn the focus to defeating the Islamic State.

The White House is betting that Putin's preoccupation with Russia's position on the world stage could lead to a rethink before he travels to the G20 in China and UN General Assembly in New York next month.

Putin's decision to annex Ukraine's Crimea and support separatist forces in the east of that country have led to international sanctions and to Russia being expelled from the G8, much to the Russian leader's chagrin.

If the renewed ceasefire does not stick, Obama said "Russia will have shown itself very clearly to be an irresponsible actor on the world stage that is supporting a murderous regime, and will have to answer to that on the international stage."

"Russia may not be able to get there, either because they don't want to, or because they don't have sufficient influence over Assad. And, that's what we're going to test," Obama said.

As reports surfaced of a Russian raid killing two Syrian children and wounding dozens at a refugee camp near Aleppo, Obama said "Russia's direct involvement in these actions over the last several weeks raises very serious questions about their commitment."

- Reputational damage -

But it is not just Russia's reputation that is on the line in Syria.

By using chemical weapons, Assad crossed what Obama had said would be a "red line" -- only for the United States to never follow through on any attack.

Russian bombing of US trained groups in Syria has also dramatically undermined Washington's moral and military standing.

Critics accuse the Obama administration of failing to stand up for its allies and failing in its duty to protect innocent civilians from withering bombings.

As the country has fallen apart the Islamic State, Al-Qaeda affiliated groups and other assorted jihadists have flourished and a refugee crisis has destabilized the region and Europe.

Obama's political foes have accused his policies of leading to the growth of the Islamic State into a group that now carries out attacks in the United States and Europe with regularity.

Obama, who came to office promising to end the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, has hit the Islamic State with airstrikes and commando raids, but has steadfastly refused to bomb Assad or start another ground war in the Middle East.

On Thursday he admitted that Syria had been one of the most testing issues of his presidency, which will end in January.

"I've been wrestling with this thing now for a lot of years," he said. "I am pretty confident that a big chunk of my gray hair comes out of my Syria meetings."

"There is not a meeting that I do not end by saying is there something else that we could be doing that we haven't thought of? Is there a plan 'F,' 'G,' 'H,' that we think would lead to a resolution of this issue."

- The other theaters -

After meeting with advisors at the Pentagon, Obama said the Islamic State group would "inevitably" be crushed and said the US-led coalition would continue to aggressively target the jihadists "across every front."

But "the decline of ISIL in Syria and Iraq appears to be causing it to shift to tactics that we've seen before -- an even greater emphasis on encouraging high-profile terrorist attacks, including in the United States," Obama warned, using an acronym for the Islamic State group.

The jihadists swept across vast parts of northern Syria and Iraq in 2014, leaving a trail of human butchery and horrific destruction in their wake.

Since then, the coalition has conducted daily plane and drone strikes -- more than 14,000 so far -- and worked with local forces on the ground to gradually reclaim the seized territory.

Despite the massive effort, the jihadists still hold Mosul -- Iraq's second-largest city -- and the Syrian city of Raqa.

Earlier this week Obama announced a new front in the war, ordering airstrikes against Islamic State jihadists' positions in Sirte, Libya.

The battle for northern Syria Paz PIZARRO, Omar KAMAL, Jonathan WALTER (AFP)

Syrian volunteers, known as the White Helmets, dig out a young boy trapped under the rubble of destroyed buildings following reported air strikes on the rebel-held neighbourhood of Al-Mashhad in Aleppo, on July 25, 2016 Karam Al-Masri (AFP/File)

Smoke billows from buildings during an operation by Syrian government forces to retake control of the rebel-held district of Leramun, on the northwest outskirts of Aleppo, on July 26, 2016 George Ourlalian (AFP/File)
Research that mixes human cells into animal embryos could get US government funds for the first time under a new proposal that has stoked concerns about ethics and the limits of science.

Some say the research has the potential to spark major medical breakthroughs in diseases like Alzheimer's and Parkinson's or conditions like infertility, and could help grow organs for human transplant, which are in short supply.

Critics, however, worry that these mixtures, or chimeras -- named after the monster in Greek mythology with a lion's head, goat's body and dragon's tail -- raise complex moral questions and go beyond what is acceptable in modern society.

US National Institutes of Health could offer to fund research introducing human cells into certain kinds of animals, a move that raises complex moral questions Anne-Christine Poujoulat (AFP/File)

One year ago, the US National Institutes of Health placed a moratorium on research proposing to introduce human pluripotent stem cells into animal embryos, deeming it too controversial.

Since then, experts have met to discuss the state of the science.

Now, the NIH is offering to fund research introducing human cells into certain kinds of animals.

That could include experiments "where there could be either a substantial contribution or a substantial functional modification to the animal brain by the human cells," said a statement on Thursday.

The NIH will seek public comment for 30 days on the proposed scope of the research.

Oversight on funding decisions will be provided by an internal NIH steering committee, it said.

"I am confident that these proposed changes will enable the NIH research community to move this promising area of science forward in a responsible manner," wrote Carrie Wolinetz, NIH associate director for science policy, in a blog post.

- Brain modifications -

The prospect of altering an animal's brain to make it more human alarms some experts.

"Let's say that we have pigs with human brains and they are wondering why we are doing experiments on them," said Stuart Newman, a researcher at New York Medical College.

"And then, what if we had human bodies with animal brains, and then you say, 'Well they are not really humans, we can do experiments on them and harvest organs from them," he told AFP.

"I am coming up with extreme scenarios, but just making these chimeric embryos 15 or 20 years ago was considered an extreme scenario."

Indeed, Newman filed for a patent on a human-animal chimera almost two decades ago -- not because he wanted to make such a creature, but to make the point that such dangers lay ahead.

The US Patent Office rejected his application in 2005, which Newman saw as a victory of sorts.

But now, he fears his warnings are going unheeded.

"People get used to things gradually," he said.

Even though the NIH is starting small, and probably doesn't intend to allow animals with full human brains, "we don't have any laws in this country that would stop doing those things," he said.

"I think it is just a road that we should not go down."

- Potential benefits -

For some, the notion of brain experiments offers both the greatest promise and the most serious danger.

"If we want to do research on schizophrenia and Alzheimer's and depression, we can't readily do research on brain cells of humans with these diseases because we can't open up the brains of people while they are alive," said Robert Klitzman, director of Columbia University's Master's of bioethics program.

Klitzman said he views the NIH move as a "great step in the right direction" with "tremendous potential to help millions of people with various diseases."

Still, he urged the NIH to include ethicists on its funding oversight committee.

"We need to be careful with human brain cells," he said.

"What we don't want is a mouse or a chimp that suddenly has human-like qualities, because morally that creates a number of problems."

What rights would the creature have? How should it be treated? What if it escaped the lab and bred with wild animals?

"This is the stuff of science fiction," he said.

Far more tame research mixing human and animal cells has been going on for decades. Scientists regularly implant human tumors in mice, and heart valves from pigs and cows are commonly used in human heart patients.

"This area of research has been done in the United States for many, many years and certainly around the world it is commonplace," said Samuel Packer, chief of medical ethics at Northwell Health in New York.

Still, the notion of altering Earth's creatures may upset those who are religious, as well as those who support animal rights. Politics, too, may play a role in what gets funded and what does not.

The administration of President George W. Bush restricted federal funding for research using stem cells derived from human embryos. Bush believed the work devalued human life.

The NIH said its latest proposal is in line with the guidelines of the International Society for Stem Cell Research.

"There is a lot of infrastructure to this," said Packer.
Penned in on all sides, Syria Kurds in economic dire straits

Syria's Kurds dreamt of an economic success story when they declared an autonomous region in the country's north, an area rich in oil resources and known as a breadbasket.

But instead their proto-state has become an island, squeezed economically on all sides and dependent on aid to make up for shortfalls in basic goods including food and medicine.

In his pharmacy in Qamishli, Mustafa Ebdi examined his dwindling stock.

A Syrian man sorts mint at a street market in Syria's northeastern city of Qamishli Delil Souleiman (AFP)

"Most medication is missing," he told AFP, as a crowd of customers picked desperately through his sparse shelves.

"Our pharmacies are empty. We cannot find general anaesthetics or other medication used in surgery, as well as medication for diabetes," he added.

Location is largely to blame.

"The economic situation is bad because the Kurdish areas are surrounded -- to the south there is the Islamic State group, to the north Turkey," said analyst Fabrice Balanche.

To the east lies the fickle Simalka border crossing with the Kurdistan region of Iraq, whose leaders "close the border whenever (they) want", Balanche added.

Despite sharing a nominally common cause, Iraqi Kurdistan has tense relations with the ruling Democratic Union Party (PYD) in Syria's Kurdish regions.

It has close ties with Turkey, which considers the PYD to be the Syrian branch of Turkey's Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), designated a "terrorist" group by Ankara.

As a result, the sole official trade route in or out for the northeastern portion of the autonomous Kurdish region is frequently closed, often without warning.

- Spiralling prices -

And the result for residents of the area is shortages and economic hardship.

A kilogramme (two pounds) of sugar cost 175 Syrian pounds five months ago but now sells for 800 pounds ($1.60), and flour has shot up from 25 Syrian pounds per kilogramme to 125.

Strolling through the shopping market in Qamishli, Mohannad al-Jarba complained that with so few goods, shopkeepers can hike up prices as and when they please.

"We're beholden to the seller's conscience because he controls the prices," he said.

Syria's conflict erupted in March 2011 with anti-government protests across the country, but has since evolved into a complex war for competing zones of control.

Syria's Kurds largely declined to side with either regime or rebels, focusing instead on building a semi-autonomous region in Kurdish-majority areas.

More recently, the PYD's armed wing has become a key force against IS, fighting the jihadist group with support from the US-led coalition.

On the face of it, the Kurdish region has the resources to thrive, including oil fields from which the Kurds have extracted and refined sufficient crude for their own consumption and electricity generation.

The self-proclaimed Rojava region also includes large stretches of fertile land, particularly in northeast Hasakeh province, and was once the primary producer of wheat for consumption across Syria.

But production has plummeted because of falling soil nutrient levels and IS control over the key trade access routes in the adjacent provinces of Raqa and Deir Ezzor.

- Aid not a solution -

But residents and Kurdish officials alike lay the lion's share of the blame for their economic woes on the closure of the Simalka crossing in mid-March.

They accuse Iraqi Kurdish authorities of shutting the post in response to the declaration of a federal zone in northern Syria on March 17, a development which provoked Turkish anger.

The self-proclaimed "federal system" is intended to centralise governance in the three Kurdish cantons of Afrin, Kobane, and Jazire in north and northeast Syria.

Standing at his post under the beating sun at the border point, Siyamand Usman said the amount of goods entering Kurdish areas in Syria has plunged by 90 percent since March.

"We were surprised when the Simalka border crossing was closed at the same time as the announcement of the federal region," he told AFP.

"The only products that enter stay under the sun for several days and huge fees must be paid to make sure they come in."

In early July, the United Nations began airlifting humanitarian aid from Damascus into Qamishli to support nearly 300,000 people in need.

The first delivery carried 40 tonnes of food including rice, salt, and sugar, but Kurdish officials say the assistance from aid groups is only a temporary stopgap.

"We're suffering shortages of fruits and vegetables, and we're unable to export or import," said Badran Jiya Kurd, advisor to the autonomous administration.

"The Syrian regime never created the opportunities for economic advancement in the region, even though our area is rich. It was taking advantage of our resources," he said.

"The powers that are supporting Rojava militarily are not supporting Rojava economically."

Border guard Siyamand Usman told AFP the amount of goods entering Kurdish areas in Syria has plunged by 90 percent since March Delil Souleiman (AFP/File)

A kilogramme (two pounds) of sugar cost 175 Syrian pounds five months ago but now sells for 800 pounds ($1.60) Delil Souleiman (AFP/File)
David Huddleston, 'The Big Lebowski', dies at 85

American actor David Huddleston, who played The Big Lebowski in the film of the same name, has died in Santa Fe, a newspaper reported. He was 85.

Huddleston died on Tuesday of heart and kidney disease, his wife, Sarah Koeppe, told the Los Angeles Times.

A big man known for his tough guy characters, Huddleston's most famous role came late in life when he played opposite Jeff Bridges in the cult hit Coen brothers film "The Big Lebowski", which came out in 1998.

Actor David Huddleston died on Tuesday of heart and kidney disease, his wife, Sarah Koeppe, told the Los Angeles Times Bennett Raglin (Getty/AFP/File)

Portraying a millionaire, he had only a few but pivotal scenes as thugs confused the wealthy Lebowski with Bridges' character "the Dude".

Huddleston also had roles in TV series including "The West Wing", "Gilmore Girls" and "The Wonder Years".

On the big screen, he appeared in Mel Brooks' "Blazing Saddles", "Santa Claus: The Movie", and "The Producers".

Koeppe told the LA Times that her husband would always say, "I was in every cult film, but it never got the money when I needed it to."
China activist tried for subversion, 4th case in 4 days

A Chinese human rights activist was on Friday given a three year suspended prison sentence for subversion, a court said, in the fourth such case this week as authorities crack down on dissent.

Christian activist Gou Hongguo had gone abroad to be trained in "subverting state power", the Second Intermediate People's Court in the northern city of Tianjin said on a verified social media account.

He sought to turn public opinion against the government and attempted to overthrow the socialist system, among a litany of other offences, it said.

The Second Intermediate People's Court in Tianjin has tried four separate cases of sebversion in one week as authorities crackdown on dissent Fred Dufour (AFP)

Gou was given three years in prison, suspended for three years, the court statement said, adding he pleaded guilty and said he would not appeal.

The term is relatively light by the standards of dissident trials in China, where the courts are controlled by the ruling Communist Party.

But it was not clear whether he would be released. Another of the defendants tried this week, Zhai Yanmin, was also given a suspended sentence, but campaign groups said he had yet to return home and his whereabouts remained unknown.

Gou's wife Fan Lili, who gave birth to their son 16 months ago, told AFP: "Im happy as long as he can come home, and my child can have a father to raise him."

Gou, who had protested against forced evictions, was one of more than 200 activists and lawyers involved in cases the party considers sensitive who were detained in July last year in the so-called 709 crackdown -- named for its main date.

"The hardest thing was not knowing where my husband was and whether he was living or dead," said Fan.

She was not allowed to attend the trial, having gone to the courthouse earlier this week to demand information about his fate, only to be bundled away by security personnel and returned to her home province of Shanxi.

"I am very strictly monitored, and cannot accept interviews or meet with other family members," she said. "Otherwise there will be a lot of trouble."

- 'Showcase trials' -

Gou's trial was the fourth at the Tianjin court this week, and followed that of high-profile rights lawyer Zhou Shifeng, whose Fengrui law firm -- known for taking on cases of dissident scholars, victims of sexual abuse and members of banned religious groups -- has been at the centre of the 709 crackdown.

Zhou was on Thursday given seven years in prison for subversion.

Hu Shigen, a Christian campaigner who was a member of the same underground church as Gou, was jailed for seven and a half years on Wednesday.

That came a day after activist Zhai's three-year suspended sentence.

"Just because people are released doesn't necessarily mean that they will be completely free in China, where they can for example be released to a detention centre," Kit Chen, executive director of the China Human Rights Lawyer Concern Group, told AFP.

She cited the example of legal assistant Zhao Wei, detained in the 709 crackdown and released on bail last month according to police, but whose family have been unable to contact her.

"All the trials were pre-arranged showcase trials," Chen said of the Tianjin proceedings, adding that each one had taken a matter of hours from opening to verdict and sentence.

The court cited Gou as saying that he had "continuously reflected deeply upon my own crimes, and now believe that I was misled by so-called 'democratic' thinking from the West", adding he had been "used by foreign forces and people with ulterior motives".

The official Xinhua news agency quoted him saying: "I'm grateful to the government for saving me."

Only court-appointed defence lawyers were present.

Authorities insist the trials are open, with the court stating that about 40 people including politicians, legal scholars, and "civilian representatives from all walks of life", as well as mainland and foreign media outlets, were present.

US State Department spokesman Mark Toner said the charges were "vague and apparently politically motivated" and called on officials to release the remaining "709" detainees "and remove restrictions on their freedom of movement and professional activities".

The European Union said the trials were "contrary to Chinese and international law" and called for the activists to be released.
Fans mob Thai ex-PM Yingluck days before referendum

Hundreds of fans mobbed ex-premier Yingluck Shinawatra as she arrived at court Friday to give evidence at her negligence trial, where she implored supporters to vote on a contentious referendum this weekend.

Yingluck, Thailand's first female premier, was dumped from office by a court days before army chief Prayut Chan-O-Cha seized power in May 2014.

She was retroactively impeached over a financially ruinous rice subsidy scheme that funnelled cash to her farming base, and is facing a trial which could see her jailed for up to 10 years.

A Yingluck Shinawatra supporter takes a picture of her as she arrives at the Constitutional Court in Bangkok on August 5, 2016 Lillian Suwanrumpha (AFP)

The rice scheme was a major catalyst in the debilitating protests that presaged the military takeover.

In a sign of her enduring star power among supporters, Yingluck was met by several hundred people outside the court.

In a frenzied atmosphere, many supporters handed her red roses -- a nod to the colour of their grassroots movement.

She repeated her plea of innocence of the negligence charge to the crowd, saying the billions of dollars of losses occurred after she was booted from office.

Yingluck also urged Thais to vote on Sunday's referendum on a new military-scripted constitution, the first test of public opinion on army rule since its power grab.

"I want to invite all Thais to go for the vote," she said.

"I don't want small turnout otherwise the result won't be what we want, if we want to see democracy have a future."

Yingluck's Pheu Thai party has expressed fears of a low turnout -- with many among their rural support base unsure of how the new charter affects them.

- 'No' voters muzzled -

Campaigning against the document has been effectively banned and many have not seen the draft they are expected to vote on.

A low turnout is likely to favour the military, which says the document will bring long-term stability, rein-in avaricious politicians and prevent any party from becoming too dominant.

Junta chief Prayut Chan-O-Cha told reporters Friday he will vote for the document and hit out at his detractors.

"If I am dictator as they have accused me, why bother holding referendum and elections?" he said.

But opponents say the charter will lead to a straightjacketed democracy, weak coalition governments controlled by an appointed senate and enable courts and other agencies to hamper policy making.

Thailand has been deeply divided since the 2006 ousting of Thaksin Shinawatra by the military.

Shinawatra-led or aligned governments have won every election since 2001, powered to government by the working class and rural poor who laud the clan for recognising their changing aspirations in a deeply hierarchical and economically divided society.

But the military and its Bangkok-centric establishment allies have hit back with coups and court rulings.

This week the junta said the rice scheme cost the state $8 billion and threatened to sue Yingluck -- whose billionaire brother Thaksin sits at the heart of the country's caustic divide -- for compensation.

In court Yingluck told judges that Thai governments, both civilian and military, had long paid subsidies to farmers.

"This is not a new policy, it has been used for 30 years," she she said.

A conviction, she added, would set a precedent for future civilian administrations who might put off policy decisions for fear of prosecution.

Hundreds of supporters remained outside the courthouse as she gave evidence, many critical of junta rule.

"Now people are suffering, farmers are suffering," Mayuree Tohom, a 63-year-old woman sporting a hat featuring Yingluck, told AFP.

"In the past two years nothing has got better. Farmers have headaches and a lot of debt."
Thais fear poll will do little to heal 'lost decade'

From her flower stall, Lakana Ponsin has had a ringside seat to the protests, bloodshed and coups that have defined Thailand's last decade and drained enthusiasm for this weekend's vote on a new charter.

The 44-year-old sells marigold garlands at a shrine on the Ratchaprasong junction, a traffic-choked intersection in Bangkok's main shopping district.

It has been witness to some of the most painful acts in Thailand's recent history, from a bloody military crackdown to bomb attacks and paralysing street protests.

Lakana Ponsin (C) sells flowers at a shrine along a traff-chocked intersection in Bangkok, an area which has been witness to some of the most painful acts in Thailand's recent history Lilian Suwanrumpha (AFP)

For 10 years, power has flipped between elected governments led by or linked to billionaire Thaksin Shinawatra, and rule by an arch-royalist army and its establishment allies.

Sunday's vote will be the first time Thais head to the polls since the generals grabbed power from Thaksin's younger sister Yingluck in 2014.

But interest appears thin. Millions are yet to receive a copy of the draft charter, while the junta has effectively banned campaigning against the document.

The military says the new constitution will curb political corruption and bring stability after the dizzying political merry-go-round of recent years.

Critics say it is intended to reinforce the military's hold over democracy.

Whatever the outcome, few Thais expect the charter to last -- the country has seen 19 since 1932.

"I just want anything that brings peace to the country and encourages people to discuss their problems without violence," said Lakana.

- 'Lost decade' -

Dubbed the "lost decade", modern Thailand has seen democracy shunted aside, scores killed on Bangkok's streets and the air squeezed from one of Southeast Asia's best-performing economies.

"(Thailand) is deeply divided... worse than at anytime in its history," says Pavin Chachavalpongpun, a Thai academic and former diplomat.

"There is no single institution which is neutral that is respected by all sides."

The turmoil started in 2006 when the military ousted Thaksin, who went into self-imposed exile shortly after to avoid jail for graft -- a charge he claims was politically motivated.

Competing street protests then unfurled. In 2010 scores of Shinawatra-supporting "Red Shirts" were gunned down at Ratchaprasong by the military.

A year later Yingluck was elected by a landslide as the Red Shirts fought back at the polls.

In 2013 protests returned, this time by Bangkok's royalist elite who were intent on toppling Yingluck. Violence again hit the junction -- two children were killed by a grenade a few hundred metres from Lakana's stall.

A May 2014 coup ended the protests and brought the military back to power.

But the misery at Ratchaprasong was not over. Last August, a bomb killed 20 people, mainly tourists, at the shrine, sending a shudder through a city now permanently on edge.

From her spot, Lakana has been a reluctant witness to the turmoil.

"I am sad about all of the things that have happened here," she said. "I want Thailand to be peaceful, have good business and economy."

- Divisions run deep -

Experts say Thailand's political crisis has been made more urgent by the failing health of 88-year-old King Bhumibol Adulyadej, as competing elites jostle for power before the transition.

Most Thais know no other monarch and his successor, Crown Prince Maha Vajiralongkorn, does not draw the same level of respect.

Akanat Promphan, a Shinawatra critic who played a key role in the protests that prodded the army's most recent coup, said voting for a new constitution could usher in a fresh start.

"Many great countries have gone through tough times," he told AFP. "Thailand is one of them... it's just a process we must go through."

But some fear the charter's core aims are simply to expunge the Shinawatra family from politics and reinforce the generals' power.

One clause, for example, calls for an appointed senate, which could be manipulated by the army to keep it at the heart of politics for years to come.

Another lowers the bar for impeaching a civilian prime minister.

"There is nothing that looks forward" in the document says Khattiya Sawasdipol, a former lawmaker in Yingluck's government whose father was killed in 2010 for defecting to the Red Shirts.

"That means we will have problems in the future."

Sunday's referendum will be the first time Thais head to the polls since generals grabbed power from Yingluck Shinawatra in 2014 Lilian Suwanrumpha (AFP)
China willing to reach 'understanding' with Vatican: cardinal

The head of the Catholic Church in Hong Kong has said the Chinese government is willing to reach an "understanding" with the Vatican over the contentious issue of the appointment of bishops.

It comes amid unease among some Catholics who fear that a deal with Beijing may compromise the Church.

There are an estimated 12 million Catholics in China, but the Vatican has not had diplomatic relations with Beijing since 1951, two years after the founding of the communist People's Republic.

There are an estimated 12 million Catholics in China, but the Vatican has not had diplomatic relations with Beijing since 1951, two years after the founding of the Communist People's Republic Wang Zhao (AFP/File)

The bishop of Hong Kong, Cardinal John Tong, said progress was being made and defended dialogue with China.

"The Catholic Church has gradually gained the reconsideration of the Chinese government, which is now willing to reach an understanding with the Holy See on the question of the appointment of bishops in the Catholic Church in China and seek a mutually acceptable plan," Tong said in a pastoral letter published Thursday on the Hong Kong diocese website.

Tong acknowledged there were misgivings but said Pope Francis would not accept any agreement that would "harm" the Church.

China is suspicious of religion and the "official" Catholic Church is run by the government-controlled Chinese Catholic Patriotic Association -- but there is also an "underground" Church which swears allegiance only to the pope.

State-sanctioned bishops in China are chosen by the association, while the Vatican insists on its right to appoint all the Catholic Church's bishops.

Tong gave no detail on how close an agreement on a new selection mechanism might be, or the possible terms.

But Anthony Lam, senior researcher at Hong Kong's Holy Spirit Study Centre -- a branch of the diocese -- said hammering out the final agreement was likely to be a lengthy process.

Lam said current talks were not "formal negotiations" but that senior representatives were explaining their stance in regular face-to-face meetings.

"For the last few years, two or three times a year, they talk to one another," Lam told AFP.

"But it's still very preliminary."

Lam said Tong published the letter because he wanted to reassure that any agreement would be acceptable to both sides.

Tong was not immediately available for comment.

Previous attempts to restore ties have floundered over Beijing's insistence that the Vatican must give up its recognition of its rival Taiwan and promise not to interfere in religious issues in China.

But in May the Vatican's secretary of state, Pietro Parolin, said relations between China and the Catholic Church were "in a positive phase".

In February, Pope Francis lavished praise on China in a move widely seen as part of Vatican moves to improve relations, pointedly avoiding any mention of Chinese restrictions on freedom of worship.
Syria rebels in huge attack to break Aleppo siege

Jihadists and their rebel allies pressed an offensive Friday with a massive attack aimed at seizing a military academy south of Aleppo and breaking a three-week-old siege of insurgent neighbourhoods.

Their assault focusing on the artillery and armaments schools of the academy has sparked contradictory reports about the situation on the ground.

"The rebels have seized parts of these schools, but the army has begun a counter-offensive backed by air cover to chase them out," said Syrian Observatory for Human Rights chief Rami Abdel Rahman.

Once Syria's economic powerhouse, Aleppo has been ravaged by the war that began in March 2011 with anti-government protests Fadi Al-Halabi (AFP/File)

"If the rebels can take control of these schools, they will cut the supply route into regime-held districts of western Aleppo and they must seize the adjoining area of Ramussa to lift the siege on the rebel districts," he said.

"This is a battle of life and death for the regime and for Russia," its key ally, Abdel Rahman added.

State television in Syria said government forces had repulsed the assault, killing "hundreds" of attackers.

Once Syria's economic powerhouse, Aleppo has been ravaged by the war that began in March 2011 with anti-government protests.

The government siege of opposition-held districts began on July 17 and has raised fears of a humanitarian crisis.

The Observatory said at least 13 people, including nine children, were killed in air strikes on the rebel-held east of the city on Friday.

The Britain-based group said it was unclear if the raids on the Marjeh district were carried out by Syrian or Russian aircraft.

Moscow, meanwhile, hit back at US criticism over Syria, accusing Washington of lacking trust in Russia and not behaving as a true partner.

Russia and the United States support opposing sides in Syria's civil war, which has left 280,000 people dead and forced half the population to flee their homes.

- 'Wholly logical' policy -

But the two world powers have agreed "concrete steps" to revive a tattered ceasefire and tackle jihadist groups in Syria, although details have not been made public.

On Thursday, US President Barack Obama said Russia risked casting itself as an "irresponsible actor" on the world stage particularly due to its actions in Aleppo in recent weeks.

"The United States sometimes don't behave as partners when dealing with us on Syrian issues and are not always ready to negotiate on equal grounds," Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov told TASS news agency.

He said he thought Moscow's policy on Syria was "wholly logical" and set goals that are mostly "shared by most members of the international community".

In an audio message released Friday, Abu Mohamed al-Jolani, the head of Al-Qaeda's former affiliate in Syria, pledged that the rebel offensive which started on Sunday would soon succeed.

God had granted fighters "a glorious victory in the battle to break the siege of Aleppo", he said.

"This battle, the outcome of which will go beyond simply opening the road for the besieged, will change the balance of the conflict... setting the scene for a new stage of the battle."

After some initial rebel advances, government forces backed by Iranian and Hezbollah fighters as well as Russian air strikes have pushed back opposition fighters who include jihadists from Jolani's faction, now known as the Fateh al-Sham Front.

- Ravaged by war -

According to the Observatory, at least 115 civilians, including 35 children, have been killed in the city since the rebel assault began on Sunday.

The deaths include 65 people, among them 22 children, killed in rebel fire on government neighbourhoods, the Observatory said.

Another 42 people, including 11 children, have been killed in strikes on eastern Aleppo, it said.

It reported five more deaths in rebel fire on the Kurdish-majority Sheikh Maqsud district of the city.

Elsewhere in Aleppo province, the monitor said an alliance of Kurdish and Arab fighters was advancing inside the Islamic State group bastion of Manbij.

Abdul Rahman said the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) now held 70 percent of the town.

"The Islamic State has entered its final phase in the town of Manbij," he told AFP, adding however that IS was using a number of civilians there as human shields.

"The progress the SDF has made in the last week is more than it was able to achieve in previous weeks put together," Abdul Rahman said.

The SDF began its assault on Manbij in late May and entered the town proper on June 23, with support from the US-led coalition against IS.

Manbij sits on the route between the Turkish border and the eastern city of Raqa, the jihadists' de facto capital in Syria.

The battle for northern Syria Paz Pizarro, Jonathan Walter, Omar Kamal (AFP)
Toll in northeast India market attack jumps to 15

The death toll from an attack in India's northeastern Assam state, where gunmen opened fire on a busy market, jumped to 15 on Saturday as three more people succumbed to their injuries.

The dead included a militant from a faction of the outlawed National Democratic Front of Bodoland (NDFB), which has waged a decades-long campaign for an independent homeland for the indigenous Bodo people.

Police say that around six gunmen were behind Friday's attack, one of whom was later killed by security forces who were searching for the other attackers.

Bystanders gather near burnt-out shops following an attack on a market at Balajan Tinali, in the Kokrajhar district of India's north-eastern state of Assam, on August 6, 2016 Kulendu Kalita (AFP)

"One person died on Saturday morning and another two succumbed to their injuries overnight. The death toll from the attack is now 15 including one militant," Assam state health minister Himanta Biswa Sarma told AFP on Saturday.

Sarma said that around 900 soldiers and police reinforcements had reached the site of the attack in Balajan, around 220 kilometres (140 miles) west of Assam's main city of Guwahati and near the border with Bhutan.

"They have started a massive combing operation for the attackers and are being supported by the security forces on other side of the international border," he added.

Several security check points were put up a day after the attack, and there was a massive and visible presence of the security forces. The area was tense but peaceful early Saturday.

Assam's newly elected Chief Minister Sarbanand Sonowal, from Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), condemned the killings and pledged strong action against the perpetrators.

On Friday, Modi too expressed his grief at the loss of life on Twitter.

"Saddened by the attack in Kokrajhar (district). We strongly condemn it. Thoughts & prayers with the bereaved families & those injured," the prime minister said.

Northeast India, which is linked to the rest of the country by a narrow land bridge, has seen decades of unrest among ethnic and separatist groups.

Assam has been relatively peaceful in recent years, but tensions between the Bodo and other communities in the area persist, particularly over land rights.

Bodo guerrillas have in recent years launched ferocious attacks on both Muslim settlers and other tribal communities in the tea-growing state of Assam.

In 2014 thousands of people fled their homes in Assam after a series of coordinated attacks by armed rebels left at least 69 people dead, 18 of them children.

Two years earlier, ethnic clashes in the same area claimed about 100 lives and displaced more than 400,000 people.

Smoke rises from the site of a militant attack at Balajan Tinali, in the Kokrajhar district of India's north-eastern Assam state, on August 5, 2016 - (AFP)
Japan's emperor to address nation amid abdication reports

Japanese Emperor Akihito will address the nation next week, the imperial palace said Friday, following reports that the octogenarian wants to abdicate the throne of one of the world's oldest monarchies.

An Imperial Household Agency spokesman said Akihito's address, via video, would be broadcast at 3:00 pm (0600 GMT) on Monday.

The 82-year-old, who has been suffering from health problems for years, was not expected to announce explicit plans to step down, as he is constitutionally barred from making political statements.

Japanese Emperor Akihito will give an address via video at 3:00 pm (0600 GMT) on Monday August 8, an Imperial Household Agency spokesman said Kazuhiro Nogi (AFP/File)

"The emperor will express his feelings regarding his duties as a symbol" of the nation, the spokesman told AFP.

But Japanese media, including public broadcaster NHK, have widely reported that Akihito would likely hint at his desire to abdicate the Chrysanthemum Throne.

Major media said last month that Akihito expressed to close advisors that he wanted to pass the throne to his eldest son, Crown Prince Naruhito, in the next few years.

The reports came as a surprise to many in Japan where the last abdication happened in 1817, nearly 200 years ago.

Akihito, who has suffered from prostate cancer and heart problems in recent years, spoke of his growing limitations last year.

He acknowledged making unspecified "mistakes" in his duties, which range from native Shinto religious ceremonies to visiting residents in regions hit by Japan's frequent natural disasters.

Akihito's second son, Prince Akishino, a few years ago suggested that emperors should be allowed to retire.

The spokesman for the agency, the tradition-steeped government body that manages royal affairs, said no decision had yet been made on how the video would be released.

- 'Most suitable way' -

But Kyodo News reported that the video would be uploaded on the Imperial Household Agency's website and also broadcast on television.

The possible abdication is a complicated and sensitive issue in Japan, where current law put in place after World War II made the emperor the "symbol of the state" with no provisions for one to step down.

But the highly choreographed event on Monday could well set a process in motion for legal changes that would enable abdication.

According to NHK, the emperor is expected to speak for about 10 minutes.

An unnamed palace official told the broadcaster that officials discussed the possibility of Akihito expressing his feelings in December last year.

But they ultimately decided to continue discussions and secretly started a study session on the issue from the beginning of this year.

"We believe that having the emperor's feelings heard carefully is most important," NHK quoted a palace official as saying.

"We chose the most suitable way to deliver the emperor's words to the public in a secure, precise and comprehensive way," the official said.

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's government is planning to release a statement on the same day in response to the emperor's remarks, NHK reported earlier Friday.

The mass-circulation Yomiuri newspaper said last week that the government plans to set up a panel of experts to discuss revising the law governing the imperial family system as early as this autumn.

The throne is held in deep respect by much of the public, despite being largely stripped of its mystique and quasi-divine status in the aftermath of World War II.
US warns citizens on Nigeria travel over security concerns

The United States has warned its citizens against travelling to 20 states in Nigeria, including the insurgency-hit northeast, because of security concerns.

On its website, the State Department said US nationals should "avoid all travel to Adamawa, Borno and Yobe states because the security situation in northeast Nigeria remains fluid and unpredictable."

It said its ability to provide assistance in those three states was limited, and also named another 17 states which should be avoided due to the risk of kidnappings, robberies and other armed attacks.

Nigeria is battling a seven-year Boko Haram insurgency in the northeast that has killed some 20,000 and forced 2.6 million more to flee their homes Stefan Heunis (AFP/File)

US citizens should be vigilant around government security facilities, churches, mosques, hotels, clubs, bars, restaurants, markets, shopping malls and other areas frequented by expatriates and foreign travellers, it said.

"Security measures in Nigeria remain heightened due to threats posed by extremist groups and US citizens may encounter police and military checkpoints, additional security and possible road blocks throughout the country," it added.

Nigeria is battling a seven-year Boko Haram insurgency in the northeast that has killed some 20,000 and forced 2.6 million more to flee their homes.
Kabul seeks to free hostages in Pakistan chopper crash

Afghanistan scrambled Friday to free six crew members of a Pakistani helicopter taken hostage by the Taliban after it crash-landed in the country's volatile east.

Militants set the Mi-17 transport helicopter on fire and took the six crew to a Taliban-controlled area after it made an emergency landing in Logar province on Thursday, local authorities said.

The crew included retired Pakistani military officers and a Russian navigator, Pakistan's Dawn newspaper reported citing senior local officials.

Taliban militants set a Pakistani Mi-17 transport helicopter on fire and took the crew hostage after it made an emergency landing in Afghanistan's Logar province Luis Robayo (AFP/File)

"We have launched an investigation into the incident... and the government has instructed security forces to spare no efforts to secure the release of the crew members," the Afghan defense ministry said in a statement.

The ministry said Pakistan had sought permission to fly a helicopter, being sent to Russia for overhauling, over Afghan air space.

But it added it was investigating whether the crashed chopper was the one for which permission had been granted.

Kabul has long been suspicious of Pakistan, which it accuses of nurturing Taliban sanctuaries on its soil in the effort to maintain influence in Afghanistan.

Pakistani army chief General Raheel Sharif tweeted that he had telephoned Afghan President Ashraf Ghani to secure the release of the crew.

"President Ashraf Ghani assured all possible assistance in this regard," he tweeted.

Russia's foreign ministry said it was checking media reports that one of their citizens had been taken hostage, adding it was in contact with Afghan and Pakistani authorities to secure his release.

The Taliban have so far not commented on the incident.

Pakistan's military uses Russian-made MI-17 helicopters, several of which have crashed in recent years.

In February, an army officer was killed when a military helicopter crashed in northern Pakistan on a routine night training mission.
Senior Egyptian pro-government cleric Gomaa escapes shooting

Gunmen opened fire at former Egyptian mufti Ali Gomaa in a Cairo suburb on Friday, missing the pro-government cleric but wounding a bodyguard, the interior ministry said.

Gomaa was on his way to a mosque near his house in the October 6 suburb when the assailants hiding in a park started shooting, the ministry said.

His guards exchanged fire with the gunmen and forced them to flee, it said, adding that one of the guards was lightly wounded.

Ali Gomaa was Egypt's mufti -- the government's official interpreter of Islamic law -- for a decade until 2013 Khaled Desouki (AFP/File)

Gomaa later told Egyptian state television of how he had taken shelter behind a mosque wall when the shooting started.

After the attack, he "conducted the Friday prayers as a message to these people", the cleric said in a telephone interview.

"This attempt is a message aimed at creating fear," he said.

The private CBC Extra news channel showed footage of armed guards with pistols drawn escorting Gomaa out of the mosque after the shooting.

In an interview with the channel, Gomaa said this was not the first attempt on his life and derided the assailants as "very stupid".

"They blew up my house in Fayoum," he said, referring to a province southwest of Cairo. And assailants had also "tried before from the park" outside his Cairo home.

Gomaa was the mufti -- the government's official interpreter of Islamic law -- for a decade until 2013.

He strongly backed the army's overthrow of Islamist president Mohamed Morsi that year and the subsequent deadly crackdown on his supporters.

Since stepping down as mufti, Gomaa has remained one of the country's top Islamic scholars.

Gomaa is known for his moderate views on religion but is reviled by the Islamist opposition for supporting the crackdown against them that has killed hundreds of protesters.
Trump admits error in claiming he saw film of Iran cash transfer

Donald Trump acknowledged Friday he was wrong in claiming to have seen secret Iranian footage of $400 million in cash being delivered to Tehran as payment for the release of US prisoners.

Trump raised eyebrows this week when he made that assertion and gave many details of what he said he saw in the film.

"Remember this: Iran -- I don't think you heard this anywhere but here -- Iran provided all of that footage, the tape of taking that money off the airplane," Trump said Wednesday at a rally in Florida. "Right?"

Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump speaks during a campaign event in Ashburn, Virginia, on August 2, 2016 Molly Riley (AFP/File)

But that widely viewed footage is believed instead to show the moment in January when three of five American prisoners freed by Iran get off a plane in Geneva.

In a tweet Friday, Trump said this is indeed what he saw. It is rare for the free-wheeling Republican presidential nominee -- known for making provocative claims -- to admit making a mistake.

"The plane I saw on television was the hostage plane in Geneva, Switzerland, not the plane carrying $400 million in cash going to Iran!" Trump wrote.

The story of the seemingly cloak and dagger money transfer in an unmarked plane was broken this week by the Wall Street Journal.

In January, five American prisoners were released as Washington granted clemency to seven Iranians and withdrew arrest warrants for 14 others.

Soon thereafter, the United States helped airlift $400 million worth of Swiss francs and euros to Iran.

But President Barack Obama says the payment was not ransom for the release of US prisoners.
US trade deficit grows to $44.5 bn in June

The US trade deficit grew more than expected in June as imports jumped and the gap with China continued to widen, government data released Friday showed.

The country's trade deficit with the rest of the world climbed 8.7 percent in June to a seasonally adjusted $44.5 billion. Analysts had only expected a 3.9 percent increase.

The figures mark the third straight month the deficit has grown, weighing on US growth and possibly fueling the arguments of Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump for protectionist policies.

The US trade deficit grew 8.7 percent in June to a seasonally adjusted $44.5 billion Joe Raedle (Getty/AFP/File)

It now stands at the highest level since June 2015 due to a 1.9 percent rise in imports to $227.7 billion and only a 0.3 percent increase in exports to $183.2 billion.

Imports of industrial supplies, consumer goods and capital goods all rose in June.

Petroleum product imports jumped almost 20 percent to $13.3 billion due to higher oil prices.

At the same time, sales of American products overseas stalled, with exports of autos falling four percent to $12.2 billion.

In terms of bilateral trade, the US deficit with China continued to rise, reaching $29.8 billion, the highest level since November.

US officials have routinely accused China of manipulating its currency and taking other actions to boost exports at the expense of the United States.

The US trade deficit with the European Union dipped 4.4 percent to $12.8 billion. The two sides are locked in difficult negotiations on a vast trade accord.
Indonesia foils plot to fire rocket at Singapore

Indonesian police Friday arrested six suspected militants over an Islamic State-linked plot to fire a rocket at an upmarket Singapore waterfront district from a nearby island.

Singapore stepped up security after the elite anti-terror unit detained the men, aged between 19 and 46, on the Indonesian island of Batam, which lies just south of the affluent city-state.

The alleged leader of the group is accused of planning the attack with a leading Indonesian militant who is now believed to be fighting with the Islamic State (IS) group in Syria.

Indonesian anti-terror police conduct a raid at a house in Batam on August 5, 2016 Romy (AFP)

It was the latest terror plot in the world's most populous Muslim-majority country, where there has been a surge in attacks and attempted attacks this year due to the growing influence of IS.

The pair "planned a terror attack in Singapore. They wanted to attack Singapore with a rocket from Batam," national police spokesman Agus Rianto told reporters.

Police said the target was Marina Bay, a district that is home to Marina Bay Sands, a luxury complex that includes shopping malls, hotels and a casino.

Rianto added police had "preliminary data" and were still investigating the plot, and named the alleged ringleader as 31-year-old Gigih Rahmat Dewa.

Analysts said it was unclear whether the militants had the ability to carry out such a plan, which would involve firing a rocket over a distance of about 20 kilometres (12 miles).

Singapore, a financial hub which is home to many expatriates and the Asian headquarters of numerous global companies, said it was stepping up security inland and at its borders after the plot was uncovered.

"This does not come as a surprise," said Home Affairs Minister K. Shanmugam.

"I have spoken several times about plans being made in places just outside Singapore, to target Singapore.

"Our small size increases these risks... Our people have to be extra alert."

- Growing IS support -

Sidney Jones, director of Jakarta think-tank the Institute for Policy Analysis of Conflict, told AFP it was necessary to wait for further information about the plot before drawing firm conclusions.

But she added: "I think it highly unlikely that the plan had got very advanced."

Police suspect Dewa, 31, received and distributed funds sent by Bahrun Naim, the militant fighting in Syria with whom he was believed to have plotted the rocket attack.

Naim has been linked to several recent terror plots in Indonesia, including a suicide bomb attack on a police station in the city of Solo last month that left one police officer injured.

Indonesia has long struggled with Islamic militancy and has suffered a string of attacks in the past 15 years, including the 2002 Bali bombings that killed more than 200 people.

A crackdown had weakened the most dangerous networks but IS has proved a potent new rallying cry for the country's radicals, and hundreds of Indonesians have headed to the Middle East to join the jihadists.

In January IS-linked militants launched a deadly gun and bomb attack in Jakarta which left four attackers and four civilians dead.

There have also been signs of support for IS in Singapore.

Singapore in recent weeks jailed four Bangladeshi workers accused of planning to join IS for raising money to fund attacks in their homeland, and also detained an Australia-based Singaporean who allegedly glorified the jihadists and backed the establishment of a caliphate in the city-state.

Indonesian police say they have foiled a plot to launch a rocket attack on the upmarket Singapore waterfront district, Marina Bay Roslan Rahman (AFP/File)
Hundreds of Palestinians held by Israel on hunger strike

Hundreds of Palestinians in Israeli prisons were observing a hunger strike Friday, in a new wave of protest that Palestinian officials said was expected to grow.

Some of the strikers accused Israeli jailers of "harassment" while others refused food in solidarity with prisoner Bilal Kayed, who has been fasting for 52 days over his detention without trial, Palestinian officials said.

An Israeli prison official said that a large part of the protest seemed to be in response to a decision by authorities to hold prisoners from the militant movement Hamas in separate cells.

Supporters hold up posters bearing a picture of Palestinian Bilal Kayed during a demonstration against his detention by the Israeli authorities near the Red Cross offices in East Jerusalem on August 3, 2016 Ahmad Gharabli (AFP/File)

The Palestinian Prisoners Club said in a statement that 80 prisoners stopped eating on Friday, joining 325 who have been fasting for the past two days at various prisons in Israel and the occupied West Bank.

It said more were expected to join the hunger strike from Sunday.

The Palestinian Authority detainee affairs commission said inmates are protesting a prison crackdown this week in which a number were placed in solitary confinement, personal belongings seized and prisoners moved to other facilities.

It said that hunger strikers were being fined 600 shekels ($158, 143 euros) each and forbidden visits for two months.

The Israel Prisons Service said that during the week it had moved Hamas prisoners, searched cells and seized mobile phones, acting on "intelligence information about direction of terror from inside prisons".

A spokesman told AFP that there were currently 262 Hamas prisoners on hunger strike, along with 93 from leftist the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) fasting in solidarity with Kayed.

Kayed was to be released in June after serving a 14-and-a-half-year sentence for activities in the PFLP, labelled a terrorist organisation by Israel, the European Union and the United States.

Instead, Israeli authorities ordered that he remain in custody under the administrative detention law, which allows prisoners to be held without trial for renewable six-month periods.

Kayed, 35, is suffering from failing kidneys and has lost at least 30 kilos (65 pounds), Palestinian officials say.

Administrative detention is intended by Israel to allow authorities to hold suspects while continuing to gather evidence, with the aim of preventing further attacks in the meantime.

The system has been criticised by Palestinians, human rights groups and members of the international community.

Of more than 7,500 Palestinians currently in Israeli jails, around 700 are being held under administrative detention, Palestinian rights groups say.

Palestinians have regularly gone on hunger strike in protest at their detention.
South Sudan army slams UN report alleging killings, rape

South Sudan's army on Friday described a UN report alleging its troops carried out ethnically targeted killings and rapes as "baseless", saying not one victim had lodged a complaint.

The UN's top human rights official on Thursday blamed Sudan People's Liberation Army (SPLA) troops loyal to President Salva Kiir for deadly attacks on the Nuer people during a bout of unrest in the capital in early July.

Kiir is from the Dinka ethnic group.

SPLA spokesman Lul Ruai Koang says the UN's "baseless accusation" alleged attacks by men in uniform, who were not necessarily government soldiers Samir Bol (cds/AFP)

SPLA spokesman Lul Ruai Koang told AFP by phone that the UN's "baseless accusation" alleged attacks by men in uniform, who were not necessarily government soldiers.

He added that UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra'ad Al Hussein had not come forward to request that the force carry out an investigation based on his claims of hundreds of rapes and killings.

Nearly 300 people have died in South Sudan's latest bout of violence, and 60,000 have fled the country, many to refugee camps in neighbouring Uganda.

Those who fled have provided journalists and humanitarian organisations testimony of government troops killing family members, raping women as they tried to escape and looting homes.

But the SPLA said the force had not received "any complaint from alleged victims regarding the above mentioned issue."

- 'Violations continue unabated' -

Of 217 cases of sexual violence in Juba recorded by the UN between July 8 and 25, "those most affected were displaced Nuer women and girls and those responsible seem to have been mostly SPLA," Zeid said.

Hussein also stated on Thursday that although the government has established a court martial aimed at trying SPLA soldiers who commit right abuses, "the violations continue unabated".

This was also untrue, the spokesman said, as 19 soldiers were currently on trial for crimes varying from looting to loitering to murder.

Ruai did not explain how those charges were brought if no victims had accused SPLA soldiers of these crimes.

Hussein presented his findings as the 13,500-strong UN peacekeeping force -- known as UNMISS -- faces criticism for failing to stem the latest bloodshed or fully protect civilians during the fighting.

East African leaders gathered in Ethiopia on Friday to discuss a regional intervention force to back up UN troops in South Sudan, an initiative vehemently opposed by Kiir.

More than 1.6 million people are displaced within the borders of the world's newest country as a result of one-off fighting since 2013.
Japan summons Chinese ambassador over ship 'intrusions'

Japan's foreign ministry on Friday summoned China's ambassador to protest what it said were intrusions into its territorial waters by Chinese coast guard and fishing vessels.

The two countries are locked in a long-running dispute over uninhabited islets in the East China Sea known as the Senkaku in Japan and the Diaoyu in China.

Japanese vice foreign minister Shinsuke Sugiyama called in Cheng Yonghua, Beijing's ambassador to Tokyo, the foreign ministry said in a statement on its website.

A Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Force plane pictured in 2011 flying over the disputed islets known as the Senkaku islands in Japan and Diaoyu islands in China

Sugiyama "strongly protested" to Cheng that the incursions were a "violation of Japan's sovereignty", the ministry said.

Japan also issued separate protests to other officials at the Chinese embassy in Tokyo as well as through its own embassy in Beijing to China's foreign ministry, the statement said.

The Japan Coast Guard, meanwhile, said in a statement that two coast guard vessels from China's State Oceanic Administration entered territorial waters near the Senkaku islands during the afternoon before eventually departing.

One ship entered Japan's waters twice, it said, while a Chinese fishing boat was also seen in violation.

Japan's coast guard said that it warned all the vessels to leave.

Tensions over the islands reached their peak in late 2012, seriously harming bilateral relations.

The two sides have gradually taken steps to ease tensions through dialogue but the fundamental divide over the islands remains unresolved and tensions occasionally flare up.

Japan also lodged a protest in June after it said a Chinese navy frigate sailed close to territorial waters near the islands for the first time.

Japan said in an official annual defence report on Tuesday that China has been stepping up activities in the area, including flying aircraft closer to the islets.

China is also embroiled in an increasingly bitter dispute over territory in the South China Sea with several Southeast Asian countries.
Kenya acquits Chinese, Taiwanese cybercrime suspects

Forty Chinese and Taiwanese nationals held in custody since December 2014 were acquitted of running a cybercrime cell from an upmarket Nairobi suburb on Friday and will be deported.

The 35 Chinese and five Taiwanese were accused of running a hacking operation and mysterious "command centre" from upmarket houses in the Kenyan capital, and were denied bail for 18 months on the grounds they were a flight risk.

But magistrate Joyce Gondani ruled the prosecution had failed to prove the group was involved in running an unlicenced telecommunication system and was engaged in organised crime, charges they had denied.

Forty Chinese and Taiwanese nationals faced deportation after being acquitted over cybercrime charges in Kenya Thomas Samson (AFP/File)

Police raided the properties after investigating a house fire apparently caused by a computer that left one Chinese national dead. Police found people living in "military-style dormitories."

Several mobile phones, laptops, routers were found in the house.

According to local police at the time, the group was "preparing to raid the country's communication systems" and had equipment capable of infiltrating bank accounts, Kenya's M-Pesa mobile banking system and ATM machines.

In April Kenya deported dozens of Taiwanese accused of fraud to China, where they were put on trial, causing a diplomatic spat between Beijing and Taipei.
Fresh Indian Kashmir protests kill two, injure over 100

Fresh protests in Indian-administered Kashmir Friday left at least two protesters dead and more than 100 injured, taking the death toll from nearly a month of unrest to 54, a police officer said.

Thousands of residents clashed with government forces, defying a curfew authorities extended to large parts of the disputed territory, including the main city of Srinagar, for the 28th straight day.

Government forces fired bullets, tear gas shells and pellets from shotguns to break up demonstrations and thwart a protest march called by separatists opposed to Indian rule.

Kashmiri Muslims clash with security forces in downtown Srinagar on August 3, 2016 Tauseef Mustafa (AFP/File)

"Forces fired to disperse large crowds at two places in Budgam district in which two persons died," a senior police officer told AFP on condition of anonymity as he was not authorised to speak to media.

"Over 100 protesters (and) some policemen were injured in the day-long clashes," the officer said.

Indian Kashmir has spiralled into unrest with almost daily anti-India protests and clashes since the killing on July 8 of popular young rebel leader Burhan Wani in a gunfight with soldiers.

The Himalayan territory has remained locked down since then as authorities imposed a rolling curfew, cut internet services and suspended most mobile networks.

The unrest, the worst since 2010, has left 54 civilians and two policemen dead so far. More than 4,000 people have been injured, many with pellets in their eyes causing partial or complete blindness.

Kashmir has been divided between India and Pakistan since they won independence from British rule in 1947. Both claim the territory in its entirety.

Several rebel groups, including Wani's Hizbul Mujahideen for decades have fought hundreds of thousands of Indian troops deployed in the territory, demanding the region's independence or its merger with Pakistan.
JPMorgan denies having planned to buy Italy's BMPS

US bank JPMorgan Chase denied Friday that it ever intended to buy troubled Italian rival BMPS, as people close to the alleged deal had reported.

"This is not accurate and was never under consideration," a JPMorgan spokesperson told AFP.

Sources who asked to remain anonymous had indicated Wednesday that Jamie Dimon, chief executive of the largest US bank by assets, and Daniel Pinto, the London-based head of JPMorgan's investment and finance department, were behind the plan to bail out the Banca Monte Paschi di Siena unveiled last week.

The headquarters of the Monte dei Paschi di Siena bank on July 2, 2016 Giuseppe Cacace (AFP/File)

Their first idea, the sources said, was the outright purchase of the heavily indebted BMPS, which the European Central Bank last week cited as the financial institution most susceptible to bankruptcy according to EU bank stress tests.

JP Morgan had hesitated to pursue a bid, fearing US authorities would take an unfavorable view of a US bank rescuing a European firm.

The bank also feared a backlash to the acquisition in Italy and in Europe where big banks are not favorably viewed in the press, the other source explained.

The US bank ultimately decided the best solution would be an injection of funds, the cooperation of the Italian government and improved governance, the two sources said.
Malaysia says MH370 pilot flew Indian Ocean route on simulator

Malaysian officials have said that one of MH370's pilots plotted a path over the Indian Ocean on a home flight simulator, but warned this did not prove he deliberately crashed the plane.

The Malaysia Airlines jet was carrying 239 passengers and crew when it disappeared en route from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing on March 8, 2014.

It is believed to have crashed into the Indian Ocean, but an extensive hunt off Australia's west coast is drawing to a close without any sign of the plane.

Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 was carrying 239 passengers and crew when it disappeared en route from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing on March 8, 2014 Mohd Rasfan (AFP/File)

Pilot Zaharie Ahmad Shah had used a home-made flight simulator to plot a very similar course to MH370's presumed final route, said Transport Minister Liow Tiong Lai.

But he emphasised this was just one of thousands of practice routes discovered on Zaharie's hard drive.

"There is no evidence to confirm that (the pilot) flew the plane into the southern Indian Ocean," he told reporters at a press conference Thursday.

The discovery of the flight simulator data was first reported last month by New York Magazine, which said the FBI had recovered the deleted files.

But the end point of the simulated route was some 900 miles (1,450 kilometres) from the area where the plane is believed to have gone down, the report said.

Zaharie was the subject of intense media speculation when MH370 first vanished, with reports scrutinising everything from his political beliefs to his mental health for clues as to what could have happened.
Two Ivorian soldiers jailed over beach attack

Two Ivorian soldiers have been jailed for 10 years for having associated with the perpetrators of a beach attack that left 19 people dead in March.

A military court found sergeants Zanga Zoumana Coulibaly and Brice Toure guilty late Thursday of associating with criminals and disobeying orders.

The charges relate to the pair's meeting with Assane Barry, also known as Sam, one of the main suspects in the Islamist attack on the resort town of Grand Bassam.

Flowers on the beach in Grand-Bassam on March 15, 2016, a day after gunmen attacked the Ivory Coast resort town Issouf Sanogo (AFP/File)

Barry, a driver by profession, is awaiting trial in a civilian court on charges of terrorism and association with criminals.

The tribunal adhered to the military prosecutor's sentencing recommendation for the two soldiers, which also included a fine of 200,000 CFA francs ($330, 300 euros).

The prosecutor, Ange Kessi, said the pair "were involved, through their greed ... with criminal activities that led to a disaster, a catastrophe, a calamity, a massacre in Ivory Coast."

He had previously said the soldiers should have informed their superiors about the presence of the attackers' driver.

The two soldiers had denied the charges and their defence lawyers had said the pair should be released because investigations into the attack were "still in their infancy."

On March 13, three assailants armed with grenades and assault rifles stormed three hotels in Grand Bassam, a resort popular with foreigners that lies 40 kilometres (25 miles) from Abidjan.

The attack, the first of its kind in the Ivory Coast, was claimed by Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb, which has also carried out similar assaults on tourist hotspots in Mali and Burkina Faso.

In late June, Burkina Faso's interior ministry said around 10 people had been arrested in connection with the Grand Bassam attack and another attack in Ouagadougou that killed 30 people in January.

Three of those detained are thought to have been involved in both attacks.
Donald Trump's week of campaign woe

Donald Trump, the embattled Republican presidential nominee, has made a successful campaign out of incendiary rhetoric and defying political correctness.

But the plain-talking political outsider has stepped in it repeatedly over the past week, so much so that members of his own party are begging him to stay on message in his battle against Democratic rival Hillary Clinton.

Here are six of Trump's biggest gaffes since last week.

Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump listens while his son Eric Trump speaks during a campaign event at Briar Woods High School August 2, 2016, in Ashburn, Virginia Molly Riley (AFP/File)

- Russian hacks

Trump alarmed American voters and his own supporters when he urged Russia to find and release emails that disappeared from Clinton's private server while she was secretary of state.

"Russia, if you're listening, I hope you're able to find the 30,000 emails that are missing," Trump said during a July 27 press conference. "I think you will probably be rewarded mightily by our press."

Democrats  and some furious Republicans  seized on the comments to highlight how Trump invited a foreign power to conduct espionage against the United States.

Trump backtracked the next day: "Of course I'm being sarcastic."

- Gold Star gaffe

Trump's denigration of the family of a fallen Muslim American soldier was seen by many as a monumental mis-step.

Khizr Khan, a Pakistani immigrant whose son died in a suicide bombing in Iraq in 2004, pricked Trump by telling the Democratic National Convention last Thursday that Trump has "sacrificed nothing, and no one," for the country.

The Republican shot back on ABC News that he has made "a lot of sacrifices," then raised the stakes by tweeting: "Mr. Khan, who does not know me, viciously attacked me from the stage of the DNC."

The remarks, and Trump's refusal to apologize for suggesting that Khan's wife stood silently at his side at the convention because she was not allowed to speak, triggered an uproar within his party, with John McCain decrying the attack on a Gold Star family.

Trump stood firm, even as some Republicans openly vowed to vote for Clinton.

"I don't regret anything," Trump told WJLA-TV on Tuesday.

- Harassment?

Just as his campaign reeled under the Khan fallout, Trump invited fresh criticism for comments some branded as victim blaming.

In an interview with USA Today published on August 1, Trump was asked about the sexual harassment accusations against Fox News boss Roger Ailes, who resigned last month amid the scandal.

What if daughter Ivanka were similarly harassed, Trump was asked: "I would like to think she would find another career or find another company," he responded.

- Paul Ryan rebuff

Like many of his colleagues, House Speaker Paul Ryan issued a stern statement Sunday criticizing Trump's clash with the Khans.

In a move that highlighted Trump's vindictive reputation, Trump said Tuesday that he was "just not quite" ready to endorse Ryan, the nation's top elected Republican, in his congressional re-election. Ryan squares off next week against a primary challenger who has praised Trump.

Ryan then warned Trump during a radio interview that his support was not a blank check.

- Purple Heart

Trump had the opportunity to bounce back Tuesday after the Khan fiasco, when a supporter gave him a Purple Heart, the American medal awarded to soldiers wounded in combat, as a gift.

"I always wanted to get the Purple Heart," said Trump. "This was much easier."

Trump has never served in the military. The New York Times reported that he received five draft deferments in the 1960s during the war in Vietnam.

- Cry baby

The crying baby is an American presidential campaign staple. On Tuesday, when a baby repeatedly cried as Trump delivered a speech in Virginia, the nominee came across as unprepared.

"Don't worry about that baby. I love babies," he said. "I hear that baby crying, I like it. I like it!"

"It's young and beautiful and healthy and that's what we want."

Minutes later, when the baby cried out again, Trump sang a different tune.

"Actually, I was only kidding, you can get the baby out of here," he said.

How Trump rolls Laurence CHU, John SAEKI (AFP)

Khizr Khan, whose son Humayun S. M. Khan was one of 14 US Muslims who died serving the United States in the ten years after 9/11 speaks during the final day of the 2016 Democratic National Convention on July 28, 2016, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Robyn Beck (AFP/File)

US Speaker of the House Paul Ryan addresses his weekly briefing after meeting Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC, on May 12, 2016 Nicholas Kamm (AFP/File)
Son of C.Africa's ex-leader arrested

The son of the Central African Republic's ousted leader Francois Bozize was arrested on Friday in the capital Bangui, a minister said, as the country struggles to restore security after years of sectarian violence.

Jean-Francis Bozize, who was defence minister in his father's cabinet, "handed himself in voluntarily" to the UN peacekeeping mission deployed in the country, Justice Minister Flavien Mbata said in a statement.

Acting on an arrest warrant issued for Bozize in May 2014, the mission known as MINUSCA "arrested him and handed him over to the Central African authorities", the statement said.

Jean Francis Bozize was arrested in Bangui Edouard Dropsy (AFP/File)

The UN mission has a mandate to detain suspects of grave human rights and humanitarian law violations, and hand them over to the national authorities.

The ex-president's son will be brought before a judge to "answer to the charges against him", it added.

A source close to MINUSCA confirmed the details of the arrest. There was no immediate information on the charges Bozize faces.

Earlier, the gendarmerie security force backed by a police mission of MINUSCA said it had arrested him.

"Jean-Francis Bozize was part of former president Bozize's inner circle, (and) family members are under investigation by the Central African Republic's judiciary," a source in the prosecutor's office said.

Ex-president Bozize, who has lived in exile since being ousted, faces an arrest warrant for murder, torture and inciting genocide and hate.

Jean-Francis Bozize, who is in his 40s, had returned from Nairobi, where he had been living since 2013, to Bangui in recent days.

Like other members of the family and high-ranking officials from the old regime, the former defence minister's assets had been frozen.

"He was trying to return to the country where he still has some property," a relative of Bozize said on condition of anonymity.

Bozize's son fled the Central African Republic on March 24, 2013, when the mainly Muslim Seleka rebellion overran Bangui.
Turkey lacks proof for Gulen extradition: lawyer

A lawyer for US-based preacher Fethullah Gulen said Friday that Turkey had no proof he was involved in last month's failed coup attempt and would not succeed in its bid for his extradition.

"We haven't seen any evidence, direct or indirect... a scintilla of evidence, electronic or otherwise, implicating Mr Gulen," attorney Reid Weingarten told reporters in Washington.

Turkey has accused Gulen of masterminding the thwarted July 15 military coup to overthrow President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, and has asked the United States to extradite him.

Turkish cleric Fethullah Gulen is pictured at his residence in Saylorsburg, Pennsylvania Selahattin Sevi (Zaman Daily/AFP/File)

The Muslim cleric, 75, has lived in self-imposed exile since 1999 in the US state of Pennsylvania.

Gulen late Thursday condemned Turkey's judicial system after a court issued an arrest warrant that accuses him of ordering the putsch.

"It is well-documented that the Turkish court system is without judicial independence, so this warrant is yet another example of President Erdogan's drive for authoritarianism and away from democracy," Gulen said in a statement.

"I have repeatedly condemned the coup attempt in Turkey and denied any knowledge or involvement," he said.

Weingarten noted Friday that extradition was a legal process in the United States and subject to a treaty with Turkey.

"In extradition proceedings, evidence matters and due process matters," he said.

The lawyer directly addressed the tensions between Washington and Ankara over his client.

"The bottom line is that the conspiracy theories and the threats of Mr Erdogan are not strong enough to overwhelm the American legal system. And for these reasons, we believe that Mr Gulen should not and will not be extradited," Weingarten said.

He accused Erdogan of betting on "power and politics" to make Washington grant the extradition, but emphasized that the US makes decisions based on the rule of law.

"There is a collision of cultures here. I think Mr Erdogan believes that he snaps his fingers, people jump," he said.

Unofficially, the Obama administration's position on the extradition request for Gulen does not seem too far off that of his lawyers.

The US Justice Department is still reviewing the documents that Ankara submitted to see if they meet the criteria for a formal extradition request, the State Department said late Thursday.

Secretary of State John Kerry, who could visit Turkey in late August, according to Ankara, said just days after the coup attempt that Turkey must present "genuine evidence" and "not allegations" against the Muslim cleric for his extradition.
Israel defence ministry likens Iran deal to Munich accord

Israel's defence ministry on Friday likened the Iran nuclear deal to the 1938 Munich agreement with Nazi Germany and slammed US President Barack Obama for defending the accord with Tehran.

The rebuke came after Obama on Thursday defended the nuclear deal which was sealed in July 2015 between Tehran and six world powers led by Washington.

Obama told reporters that the year-old nuclear deal "has worked exactly the way we said it was going to work".

Women hold posters during a rally against the nuclear deal with Iran in New York in 2015 Kena Betancur (AFP/File)

"You'll recall that there were all these horror stories about how Iran was going to cheat and this wasn't going to work and that Iran was going to.... finance terrorism and all these kinds of scenarios, and none of them have come to pass," said Obama.

"It's not just the assessment of our intelligence community, it's the assessment of the Israeli military and the intelligence community, the country that was most opposed to this deal that acknowledges this has been a game changer and that Iran has abided by the deal and that they no longer have the sort of short-term breakout capacity that would allow them to develop nuclear weapons," he added.

Israel's defence ministry, lead by hardliner Avigdor Lieberman, on Friday compared the deal with Iran to the Munich agreement, which allowed Nazi Germany to annex parts of then Czechoslovakia.

"The Munich agreement did not prevent World War II and the Shoah (Holocaust) because it rested on the hypothesis that Nazi Germany could be a partner to an agreement," it said in a statement.

The defence ministry said the Iran deal was "harmful" and would also fail to stop Iran from developing nuclear weapons.

Tehran "clearly and proudly proclaims that its goal is the destruction of the State of Israel," the ministry said.

It said the Jewish state's defence establishment and the entire Israeli people "understand that such agreements are not useful and undermine the fight without concession against terrorist states like Iran".

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu released a separate statement, repeating the country's rejection of the Iran deal but stopping short of lambasting Obama.

"While Israel's view on the Iran deal remains unchanged... it firmly believes that Israel has no greater ally than the United States," said the statement released by the premier's office.

"Prime Minister Netanyahu looks forward to further strengthening the alliance between Israel and the United States with President Obama and with the next US administration," it added.
Man charged with US tourist murder after London knife attack

A man has been charged with the murder of a US tourist after a knife attack in central London earlier this week, police in Britain's capital said Friday.

Zakaria Bulhan, 19, was charged with the murder of 64-year-old Darlene Horton plus five counts of attempted murder following the incident which took place late Wednesday in Russell Square.

The Metropolitan Police added in a statement that he was in custody and would appear at Westminster Magistrates' Court in London for an initial hearing on Saturday.

An envelope addressed to 'The family of the American lady' is pictured amongst floral tributes left near a crime scene in London's Russell Square on August 5, 2016 Daniel Leal-Olivas (AFP)

Bulhan, of Tooting in south London, is a Norwegian national of Somali origin who moved to Britain in 2002.

Horton was the wife of a professor at Florida State University who had been teaching summer classes in London and was hours away from flying home.

A Briton injured in the attack is still in hospital while a man from the US, an Australian man, an Australian woman and an Israeli woman were released from hospital Thursday after receiving treatment.

The Briton suffered a stab wound to the stomach while the American and Australian men were stabbed in the chest.

The Australian woman was stabbed in the back and the Israeli in the bicep, police said.

US Secretary of State John Kerry described the attack as a "horrific mass stabbing" and said he grieved for the victims.

Russell Square is close to the heart of central London and is a popular location for tourist hotels.
US Navy throws much-mocked uniform overboard

The US Navy is ditching its much-maligned blue-and-gray camouflage uniform that sailors complained was uncomfortable and joked made them harder to spot if they fell into the ocean.

Enlisted sailors and naval officers alike invariably grumble that the "aquaflage" clothing makes them feel self-conscious, and some worry the colorful camo fatigues -- which are not flame retardant -- put them at greater risk of burn injuries.

Navy Secretary Ray Mabus this week said the so-called Type I uniforms -- also known as "blueberries" -- were to be phased out over the next three years.

Navy Secretary Ray Mabus said August 4, 2016 that the so-called Type 1 uniforms, also known as "blueberries," were to be phased out over the next three years, after sailors complained that they were uncomfortable MC1 David Kolmel (US NAVY/AFP/File)

"One of the issues (sailors) consistently want to talk about are uniforms," Mabus said in a statement.

"They want uniforms that are comfortable, lightweight, breathable... and they want fewer of them. We have heard the feedback and we are acting on it."

Sailors will instead wear a more muted "Type III" uniform, featuring a conventional green-and-black camouflage.

US lawmakers have criticized the proliferation of camouflaged uniforms in recent years.

Before 2001, American troops all wore the same camo, a green version for temperate climates and a beige model for the desert.
UN inquiry finds peacekeepers failed to defend South Sudan base

UN peacekeepers abandoned their posts and questioned an order to use force to repel heavily armed soldiers who stormed their base in South Sudan six months ago, according to the findings of a UN board of inquiry released Friday.

The board set up by UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon found that the mission "failed to manage the crisis effectively" when its base in the northeastern town of Malakal came under attack on February 17 and 18.

About 30 people sheltering in the Malakal base were killed in the violence and 123 injured.

People walk among rubble in an United Nations base in the northeastern town of Malakal on February 18, 2016 Justin Lynch (AFP/File)

The board said there was a "combination of causes" that led to the violence, including tensions between Shilluk, Dinka and Nuer ethnic groups who make up the 48,000 people living at the Malakal camp.

It concluded that it was "highly likely" that government forces planned the attack or at the very least supported local militia "to facilitate the ethnic reconfiguration of Malakal."

The violence erupted just hours after UN peacekeepers had confiscated weapons from two men trying to break into the UN base. During questioning, the men identified themselves as government soldiers.

After clashes erupted, targeting the Dinka sector, South Sudan soldiers stormed an entrance to the base.

Some 30 minutes later, peacekeepers on guard duty found themselves "unable to stop the intruders" and "abandoned their positions," the board said in a summary of its report released to the press.

- UN troops 'hesitated' -

A UN commander ordered troops to "engage the SPLA troops by firing back on them and (said) that under no condition should SPLA soldiers" enter the main base.

The SPLA is the Sudan People's Liberation Army, originally part of a guerrilla movement but now the country's regular army.

"Some troop commanders hesitated about the use of lethal force and sought written authorization for it," the report added.

The order was reissued by the mission's headquarters in Juba, and about two hours later the peacekeepers began an operation to push the gunmen out of the base.

The board also found that the peacekeepers failed to quickly repair a breach in a fence that could have been used to smuggle weapons into the camp.

"This combination of inaction, abandonment of post and refusal to engage made the situation harder to contain and contributed to the negative effects of the incident," the inquiry found.

Malakal is one of eight UN bases providing a haven since the war in South Sudan began in late 2013. The bases, sheltering around 200,000 people, are protected by razor wire and no weapons are allowed in them.

About 1,200 peacekeepers from the mission known as UNMISS are deployed at the compound in Malakal.

The board found that the United Nations had set "unrealistic expectations for the protection that UNMISS could feasibly afford" to the 48,000 displaced civilians living at the Malakal camp.
Obama: Islamic State likely to continue to threaten US

WASHINGTON (AP)  The Islamic State group will probably continue to be a threat to the U.S. even after it is ousted from key strongholds in Iraq and Syria, President Barack Obama said Thursday, warning that lone-wolf believers will still be inspired to launch attacks that are harder to detect and prevent.

Speaking to reporters after meeting with his top national security advisers in the Pentagon, Obama said the U.S. has to do a better job disrupting terror networks and intercepting the internet messages that can get to troubled individuals and inspire them to act.

"What ISIL has figured out is that if they can convince a handful of people or even one person to carry out an attack on a subway, or at a parade or some other public venue, and kill scores of people as opposed to thousands of people, it still creates the kinds of fear and concern that elevates their profile," Obama said.

President Barack Obama answers a question during a news conference after attending a National Security Council Meeting on efforts to counter the Islamic State, Thursday, Aug. 4, 2016, at the Pentagon in Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)

He said terrorism likely won't be eliminated by his administration or his successors, and he's always pushing his team to seek out new ideas to battle the problem.

"I haven't gotten numb to it. It bugs me whenever it happens," he said. But, he added, "I do think that because of our extraordinary efforts the homeland is significantly safer than it otherwise would be."

The Islamic State group has claimed responsibility for a number of recent mass killings, including the Bastille Day attack in Nice, France, last month that left more than 80 dead, and the Orlando nightclub shootings that killed 49. While they may not have been directed by the group, the attackers were reportedly inspired by IS.

Obama has beefed up the U.S. military fight against the Islamic State group in Iraq and Syria, recently authorizing more troops to help Iraqi forces prepare to take back the northern city of Mosul, which has been under IS control since 2014. And this week the U.S. expanded its campaign against the group with a new front of airstrikes in Libya, to help the fledgling government there take back the city of Sirte.

The group, however, still maintains strongholds in the region, and the fight in Syria has bogged down.

On Thursday, however, Obama said the anti-IS campaign is making progress in Iraq and Syria, because the group has not regained the territory it's lost in recent months.

But he noted that ousting the terror group from Mosul, and from its headquarters in Raqqa, Syria, won't eliminate its networks or its ability to encourage the smaller, more individual attacks.

So, he said, "it is so important for us to keep our eye on the ball and not panic, not succumb to fear, because ISIL can't defeat the United States of America or our NATO partners."
found that she died of arrhythmogenic cardiomyopathy, a rare disease of the heart muscle

A former Miss USA pageant contestant from North Dakota died of a genetic heart condition, an investigation has found.

The Hennepin County medical examiner's office said Thursday that Samantha Edwards died of arrhythmogenic cardiomyopathy - a rare disease of the heart muscle. The inherited condition causes abnormal heart rhythms.

Edwards was 37 when she was found dead in her home in north Minneapolis on June 14. The medical examiner determined she died of natural causes.

Former Miss North Dakota USA Samantha Edwards was found dead at a Minneapolis home in June. This is her final photograph, taken in March of this year

Samantha Edwards, pictured here when she won the competition in 2003

WHAT IS ARRHYTHMOGENIC CARDIOMYOPATHY ARVC is an inherited condition, which means that it's passed on through families. It is caused by a change or mutation in one or more genes. The chances of inheriting ARVC vary, and you might inherit the mutation but not develop the condition. How does it affect your heart? The cells of the heart muscle are held together by proteins. In people with ARVC, these proteins do not develop properly and so cannot keep the heart muscle cells together. The muscle cells become detached and fatty deposits build up in an attempt to repair the damage. ARVC usually affects the right side of your heart but it can affect both sides. The changes to the heart muscle mean the walls of the ventricle - one of four chambers in your heart - become thin and stretched. This means your heart doesnt pump blood around your body properly. ARVC can also cause abnormal heart rhythms, because your hearts normal electrical impulses are disrupted as they pass through areas of damaged and scarred muscle cells. It usually takes many years for this to happen so most people are not diagnosed until later in life. The condition is usually progressive, which means that it will get worse over time. Source: British Heart Foundation Advertisement

Edwards, known as Sami, represented North Dakota in the Miss USA pageant in 2003. She had been working as a freelance makeup artist in the Minneapolis area.

Her funeral was held June 24 in Grand Forks, North Dakota.

On her Facebook page, Edwards said she had studied at the University of North Dakota and the Aveda Institute, Minneapolis.

At the time of her death, the Miss USA Facebook page shared a message on Facebook, saying they were 'saddened' to hear about the death of 'one of the most vibrant, energetic, and full-loving titleholders' they've had.

'A conversation with her could either leave you full of adrenaline or utterly exhausted. She was a spitfire and with Sami you never knew what she'd throw your way -- but you ALWAYS knew she would be there for you. She was awesome like that,' wrote her friend Jessica Dereschuk.

She 'was one of the most vibrant, crazy, compassionate, loyal balls of energy you could ever come across in life,' Dereschuk said.

'To Samantha Edwards....I love you so much. You will always be my best friend and I'm still saving you a seat at the wedding,' Dereschuk wrote as part of her tribute to Edwards.

'You left us all way too soon, but in true Diva style, you will have us talking about you forever.....you left a positive mark on this world and in my life and I will continue to live life with passion and love because I know that is what you would want. I will see you again my beautiful friend'.

Samantha died of arrhythmogenic cardiomyopathy,a rare disease of the heart muscle. The inherited condition causes abnormal heart rhythms
Financial adviser pleads guilty to $21M Ponzi scheme

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP)  A Rhode Island financial adviser has pleaded guilty to orchestrating a $21 million Ponzi scheme.

The U.S. Attorney's Office in Providence says 47-year-old Patrick Churchville of Barrington pleaded guilty in federal court Thursday to five counts of wire fraud and one count of tax fraud. Sentencing is set for October.

Authorities say Churchville ran the Ponzi scheme between 2008 and 2011 as owner and president of ClearPath Wealth Management, stole $2.5 million of investor's funds to buy a waterfront home in Barrington and failed to pay more than $820,000 in personal federal income taxes.

Prosecutors say Churchville and his company hid losses in investments by paying clients in those investments with money from new investors.
What happens to North Korea missiles fired into the sea?

SEOUL, South Korea (AP)  North Korea has fired a barrage of missiles, artillery pieces and rockets into the waters off its east coast, including a medium-range ballistic missile that fell near Japan's territorial waters this week.

The launches are meant to test its weapons systems, express anger in times of standoffs with South Korea and the United States, or prove it has the capability to attack its archrivals.

But little is known about what happens to those weapons. Do they cause any environmental problems in the ocean? Are some countries trying to retrieve the missile parts to study them?

A mock Scud-B missile of North Korea, left, and other South Korean missiles are displayed at the Korea War Memorial Museum in Seoul, South Korea, Friday, Aug. 5, 2016. North Korea has fired a barrage of missiles, artillery pieces and rockets into the waters off its east coast, including a medium-range ballistic missile that fell near Japan's territorial waters this week.(AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)

Here is what we know about the likely fate of the weapons in the sea, which in some places is 3,000 meters (1.9 miles) deep or possibly deeper.

___

WHERE ARE THE MISSILES NOW?

North Korea's Rodong missiles are 15 meters (49 feet) long and most other weapons it has fired are shorter. The parts are scattered in the deep ocean, and Professor Roh Taeseong at South Korea's Inha University says "it's like throwing grains of sand into Seoul's Han River."

North Korea often launches its missiles from different sites and fires them for different distances depending on what it wants from each launch. This means there is little chance of missiles landing in the same area. North Korean missiles are also known for poor accuracy, so it's highly unlikely that many pieces would end up near each other, even if North Korea is aiming at the same area.

When missiles hit the ocean, they face a huge impact that can break them into multiple pieces. "It's like hitting a concrete floor," said analyst Chae Yeon-seok at South Korea's state-run Korea Aerospace Research Institute. He said the Rodong missile fired Wednesday must have shattered into more than 10 pieces.

Some other experts say the amount of damage can depend on the angle of impact, with missiles entering at straighter angles suffering less damage.

___

RETRIEVING MISSILE PARTS

In the case of a launch of a new or particularly threatening design, South Korea, the U.S. and Japan are likely to search for fragments and salvage what they can. Some parts from those rockets, particularly their first stages, can be fairly large. The three-stage Unha-3 rocket which North Korea used to send a satellite into space in 2012 was 30 meters (98 feet) long.

But it's virtually impossible to recover meaningful fragments of smaller missiles once they sink into the sea.

Even if South Korea or other countries were to successfully recover parts of a Rodong missile, it's unlikely they would learn anything new about the Soviet Scud-based weapon they have already analyzed for decades.

After Wednesday's launch, Japan still dispatched destroyers and P-3C Orion surveillance aircraft to search for any debris. Roh described the move as a "political show" by the conservative government of Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, which wants to build a stronger military by stressing to its people how dangerous North Korean missiles are.

___

CAN SHIPS BE HIT BY NORTH KOREAN MISSILES?

It's likely that North Korea uses dummy warheads when it test-launches missiles. They won't explode on impact, and the missiles are statistically highly unlikely to hit a ship, so that danger is negligible.

North Korea has announced danger zones in accordance with international rules when it launched rockets to place satellites into orbit, but generally doesn't do so when it fires missiles.

Washington, Seoul and Tokyo call the satellite launches a prohibited test of long-range missile technology.

___

CAN MISSILES CAUSE ENVIROMENTAL HARM?

Probably not. Most North Korean missiles use toxic liquid propellants, but experts in South Korea say most recent missiles appeared to have crashed into the ocean after burning all their fuel. The huge ocean would dilute any remaining fuel.

North Korean state media said some recent missiles contained trigger devices for warheads to practice possible atomic attacks on South Korea. But outside analysts say they likely used dummy warheads without any plutonium or uranium.

___

HOW DOES NORTH KOREA ASSESS ITS LAUNCHES?

It's not known how North Korea monitors and tracks its missiles. Analysts in South Korea say it must use radars to determine whether missiles land in targeted areas.

The best way would be to send ships near the impact zone to see the results of launches, but it's unknown if North Korea does so.

___

WHY DO NORTH KOREAN MISSILE TESTS MATTER?

Any country with a military conducts weapons tests. North Korea's tests make news because it is openly developing nuclear weapons and wants to place them on missiles capable of reaching faraway targets such as the mainland United States.

Under young leader Kim Jong Un, who took power in late 2011, North Korea has fired weapons more frequently than in the past.

It previously often deployed new missiles without flight-testing them to save costs. It may have felt that flight-tests weren't necessary when its missiles were slight redesigns of already-proven Chinese and Russian models, according to Kim Seung Jo, a professor at Seoul National University.

Earlier this year, North Korea suffered a series of failures before sending a new intermediate-range Musudan missile more than 1,400 kilometers (870 miles) high. It also fell into the ocean.

___

Associated Press writers Eric Talmadge and Mari Yamaguchi in Tokyo contributed to this report.

___

Follow Hyung-jin Kim at twitter.com/hyungjin1972 and Kim Tong-hyung at twitter.com/KimTongHyung

A mock Scud-B missile of North Korea, second from right, and other South Korean missiles are displayed at the Korea War Memorial Museum in Seoul, South Korea, Friday, Aug. 5, 2016. North Korea has fired a barrage of missiles, artillery pieces and rockets into the waters off its east coast, including a medium-range ballistic missile that fell near Japan's territorial waters this week.(AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)

South Korea's army K-9 self-propelled artillery vehicle moves during an exercise in Paju, South Korea, near the border with North Korea, Thursday, Aug. 4, 2016. A medium-range ballistic missile fired Wednesday by North Korea flew about 1,000 kilometers (620 miles) and landed near Japan's territorial waters, Seoul and Tokyo officials said, one of the longest flights by a North Korean missile. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)

South Korea's army K-9 self-propelled artillery vehicles take positions during an exercise in Paju, South Korea, near the border with North Korea, Thursday, Aug. 4, 2016. A medium-range ballistic missile fired Wednesday by North Korea flew about 1,000 kilometers (620 miles) and landed near Japan's territorial waters, Seoul and Tokyo officials said, one of the longest flights by a North Korean missile. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)

South Korea's army K-9 self-propelled artillery vehicle moves during an exercise in Paju, South Korea, near the border with North Korea, Thursday, Aug. 4, 2016. A medium-range ballistic missile fired Wednesday by North Korea flew about 1,000 kilometers (620 miles) and landed near Japan's territorial waters, Seoul and Tokyo officials said, one of the longest flights by a North Korean missile. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)
Australian prime minister explains why he vetoed UN bidder

CANBERRA, Australia (AP)  Australia's prime minister said Friday he vetoed a predecessor's bid for the top United Nations job because Kevin Rudd lacked the interpersonal skills and temperament to be a candidate.

Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull had previously declined to explain his reasons for rejecting Rudd's bid to succeed U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon beyond saying that Turnbull's former political opponent was not "well suited for that role."

But Turnbull confirmed the reasons Rudd gave The Australian newspaper in an interview published on Friday.

"He (Rudd) has said in the paper today ... I said to him the reason he was unsuitable for the job was his interpersonal skills and temperament  well, I wouldn't dispute that," Turnbull told Radio 3AW.

Rudd told the newspaper of their telephone conversation last week: "Mr. Turnbull said that in his judgment, I had neither the interpersonal skills nor the temperament to be a candidate."

Rudd said Turnbull would not discuss submissions to his conservative Cabinet from Australia's Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade or Australian diplomats in Washington and New York that supported his candidacy.

Rudd also said Turnbull had initially supported his bid as Rudd spent two years unofficially lobbying governments around the world to support his campaign.

Turnbull said he was aware that some of Rudd's former center-left Labor Party government colleagues had described their former prime minister as a "control freak" and a "narcissistic psychopath." But Turnbull declined to say whether he agreed with those descriptions.

"I have noted that. ... I'm not going to get into a commentary on Mr. Rudd. I was very frank with him," Turnbull said.

The government's decision to stymie an Australian's chances of becoming the world's top diplomat has been widely criticized as a triumph of petty domestic politics over national interest.

Australia traditionally gives bipartisan support to former politicians who seek international appointments in the interests of increasing Australian diplomatic influence.

The decision has also been interpreted as evidence of Turnbull's diminished influence within his conservative government after it was returned with a single-seat majority at elections a month ago.
A former high-ranking FBI agent was sentenced Friday to two years of probation for lying on the witness stand during Boston gangster James 'Whitey' Bulger's racketeering trial.

Robert Fitzpatrick, 76, was the assistant special agent in charge of the Boston FBI office from 1981 to 1986, during a time when Bulger led a violent gang responsible for more than a dozen murders and simultaneously worked as an FBI criminal informant.

During Bulger's 2013 trial, Fitzpatrick testified that he tried to end the FBI's corrupt relationship with Bulger, who was protected from prosecution by agents who saw him as a valuable informant on the New England Mob.

Robert Fitzpatrick, of Charlestown, R.I., walks from federal court in Boston with his wife, Jane, in 2015. The former FBI agent pleaded guilty to perjury and obstruction of justice for lying and overstating his professional accomplishments, including claiming he was the first officer to recover the gun used to assassinate Martin Luther King Jr. in 1968

Prosecutors said Fitzpatrick lied about trying to close Bulger as an informant and also overstated his professional accomplishments, in part to boost sales of a book he co-authored, 'Betrayal: Whitey Bulger and the FBI Agent Who Fought to Bring Him Down.'

One of his false claims was that he was the first law enforcement officer to recover the gun used to assassinate Martin Luther King Jr. in 1968.

Fitzpatrick's sentence, which spared him any prison time, was recommended by prosecutors and his defense lawyer under a binding plea agreement.

Fitzpatrick pleaded guilty to six counts each of perjury and obstruction of justice.

James "Whitey" Bulger in his 2011 booking photo. He was convicted in Boston federal court in August 2013 of multiple murders and other crimes

Bulger, left in an undated photo, ran a criminal mob in Boston during 1981 to 1986 but was simultaneously an FBI mob informant; FBI agent Fitzpatrick falsely claimed he was the first law enforcement officer to recover the gun that killed civil rights legend Martin Luther King Jr (right)

In recommending probation, both sides cited Fitzpatrick's age and multiple health problems, including cancer, kidney disease and diabetes. He was also ordered to pay a $12,500 fine.

U.S. District Judge F. Dennis Saylor IV accepted the sentencing recommendation, but noted that Fitzpatrick could have faced prison time for what he called 'a very serious offense.'

'This is not a happy moment,' Saylor said. 'Mr. Fitzpatrick has earned his punishment. He has perhaps earned something significantly more.'

Fitzpatrick left the courthouse quickly after the hearing, saying he just wants to move on with his life.

His lawyer, Robert Goldstein, said he doesn't view the sentence as a light punishment, despite the fact that Fitzpatrick won't have to go to prison.

'It's an appropriate, fair sentence,' Goldstein said. 'Mr. Fitzpatrick has been excoriated in the press.'

Bulger, now 86, is serving a life sentence after being convicted of a litany of crimes during his racketeering trial, including participating in 11 murders.

Janet Uhlar, one of the jurors who convicted Bulger, attended Fitzpatrick's sentencing hearing and said afterward that she believes he was unfairly targeted by prosecutors.
China's crackdown raises familiar specter of foreign forces

BEIJING (AP)  In halting televised confessions and emotional courtroom testimony, Chinese lawyers and activists held in a government crackdown have voiced the same ominous message: Shadowy foreign forces are funding, directing and encouraging activities bent on destabilizing China's government and smearing its reputation.

The familiar narrative of a country besieged by foreign enemies  with the United States implied as ringleader  is a key element of China's yearlong campaign to stamp out the country's burgeoning legal activism movement. That effort drew new attention this week with the carefully scripted trials of a lawyer and three activists on subversion charges.

Though the tactic is far from new, political observers say the trials are a reminder of how the administration of President Xi Jinping has wielded the specter of foreign threats with far greater frequency and force, a reflection of the leadership's deeply seated belief that China is locked in a pitched, strategic and ideological battle against the West.

In this Monday, Aug. 1, 2016 photo, Fan Lili, the wife of imprisoned activist Gou Hongguo, lies on the ground in tears as members of foreign diplomats trying to help her following an incident with plainclothes police officer outside the Tianjin No. 2 Intermediate People's Court in northern China's Tianjin Municipality. In halting televised confessions and emotional courtroom testimony, Chinese lawyers and activists held in a government crackdown have intoned the same ominous refrain: Shadowy foreign forces are funding, directing and encouraging activities bent on destabilizing China's government and smearing its reputation. (AP Photo/Gerry Shih)

The four facing trial this week were associated with the Fengrui Law Firm in Beijing, one of the country's best-known advocates for human rights. Its director, Zhou Shifeng, was sentenced Thursday to seven years in prison while two received suspended sentences and one a term of seven years, three months. All were accused of organizing protests outside courthouses, hyping cases via social and foreign media, and receiving training and funding from foreign nonprofit organizations.

Even if Fengrui's activist tactics crossed ethical or even legal lines, as some Chinese legal professionals believe, the government had scant evidence to level subversion charges, said Tong Zhiwei, a professor at East China University of Political Science and Law in Shanghai. Rather, the involvement of foreign actors served as the legal and political fulcrum in the cases, Tong said.

"If there were no foreign elements, it would have completely changed the complexion of the cases," Tong said, pointing out that while the prosecutors pointed to conversations the defendants had in a restaurant about ending Communist Party rule, they offered little evidence of an actual plot to topple the government.

"China has had legal education exchanges for decades with the West," Tong said. "Where do you draw the line of unacceptable interaction? Is being a visiting scholar at Harvard considered subversive?"

The crackdown on the legal profession, launched in July 2015 with a sweeping roundup of close to 300 activists and lawyers, is part of a far-reaching effort to stamp out suspected foreign influence since Xi took power in 2012. Most have been released although more than a dozen remain in detention.

Also in 2012, the Communist Party issued an internal communique, known as Document No. 9, aimed at limiting the penetration of Western-style "universal values," such as multi-party democracy and media freedoms, into Chinese society, especially its classrooms.

The government followed that up this year by passing a law to strictly regulate the work of thousands of international nonprofits working in China and place them under direct police supervision. In January, China detained and interrogated Peter Dahlin, a Swedish activist who had provided Fengrui lawyers training and support, for 23 days before releasing and deporting him  but only after he gave a confessional interview with the state broadcaster.

The government's message was vividly reinforced in statements from those similarly accused this week. In her televised interview, Wang Yu, a Fengrui lawyer, said she intended to refuse all international recognition, referring to an award from the American Bar Association and other Western groups she had received while in jail. "I am a Chinese," she said. "I can only accept awards from the Chinese government."

Four years into Xi's administration, the trials reflect how the party is leaning on nationalism as a pillar of legitimacy at a time of faltering economic growth, said Willy Lam, a history professor at the Chinese University of Hong Kong.

"Xi genuinely thinks China is in an existential crisis, and unless the administration can stamp out Western influence, the party may collapse," Lam said. "But there is also the angle of political expediency. A sizeable part of the Chinese public is very nationalist. If they change the narrative to 'human rights lawyers are stirring up trouble because the U.S. is behind them,' they get away from the lawyers' work on the lack of justice in Chinese society."

The cases sent party organs and state media into overdrive this week. The Communist Youth League and Supreme People's Procuratorate, equivalent to the attorney general, circulated on social media an ultra-nationalist video warning of an imminent U.S.-led revolution in China, garnering hundreds of millions of views.

The video's creator, a Chinese Middle Eastern studies student in Australia, told state media he was motivated to make the video after he perceived in the Fengrui cases the classic warning signs of "the early pre-penetration stages of a color revolution" underway in China, a reference to movements that have toppled authoritarian governments in Georgia, Ukraine and the Middle East.

Jerome A. Cohen, a Chinese law expert at New York University, pointed out that in Wang's supposed confession, the Fengrui lawyer said she would not "accept, recognize or acknowledge" international awards  the same language used by the Foreign Ministry in rejecting a June verdict by a Hague-based international tribunal against China's maritime claims in the South China Sea. That verdict prompted Chinese state media to denounce the arbitration process as an American-led ploy to deny China its historical territory.

"Increasingly, law is at the core of both the domestic and international challenges," said Cohen, who has previously consulted for provincial officials. "Xi is ill-equipped to deal with foreign legal claims, whether they concern international human rights, the law of the sea or economics, but he can slap down domestic purveyors of the rule of law."

The unmistakable message has been that, even as Chinese business and society integrates with the world, a hard line has been drawn between Chinese and foreign civil society groups.

"Chinese citizens who have formed relationships with foreign entities are the ones suffering," said John Kamm, director of the Duihua Foundation, a San Francisco-based nonprofit humanitarian organization. "That's the main point: Don't imagine for a moment that a foreign government or entity can save you."

___

Follow Gerry Shih on Twitter at twitter.com/gerryshih
Connecticut house explosion injures 7, sends debris flying

VERNON, Conn. (AP)  Investigators are trying to determine what caused a house to explode in Connecticut, injuring seven people, including four children, and sending debris flying.

Police, fire and rescue crews responded to the home in Vernon on Thursday afternoon. Three of the victims were outside when rescuers arrived, while the other four were trapped in the rubble. Crews dug through what was left of the house to pull them to safety.

All of the victims are expected to survive, authorities said.

The front of a house that exploded is seen on East Street in Vernon, Conn, Thursday, Aug. 4, 2016. Connecticut authorities say an explosion has destroyed a house in the north-central part of the state, and officials say seven people, including a young child, have been taken to hospitals. The cause of the blast isn't known. (David Owens/Hartford Courant via AP)

"It is truly a miracle that no one was killed inside this house," said Vernon police Lt. William Meier. "It was just a devastating scene of catastrophic damage."

When they arrived, firefighters heard screams coming from the flattened house and quickly went into the debris, Meier said.

Four children, all under the age of 16, were among the victims. They were taken to Connecticut Children's Medical Center, where two were treated and released. The other two remained hospitalized Friday.

A 7-year-old boy appeared to suffer the most serious injuries, according to police.

Two adults were taken to Hartford Hospital. Another adult at the scene refused medical treatment.

Vernon officials had not released the victims' names by Friday evening.

The blast blew the front door of the home across the street and into a neighbor's yard. Glass and other debris littered the roadway.

"I never heard anything like it. It wasn't just a vibration. The house shook," neighbor Alan Fisher told the Hartford Courant.

Vernon Fire Chief William Call said on Friday afternoon that a gas company crew was inspecting the blast site.

"I am pretty sure they are aware this was some sort of gas incident," Call said.

There were also propane tanks behind the home and neighbors turned off one of them after the explosion, Call said.

The rear of a house that exploded on East Street is examined by Vernon Fire department and members of the Connecticut Urban Search and Rescue Team in Vernon, Conn., Thursday, Aug. 4, 2016. Connecticut authorities say an explosion has destroyed a house in the north-central part of the state, and officials say seven people, including a young child, have been taken to hospitals. Authorities were searching what remained of the house for other possible victims. (David Owens/Hartford Courant via AP) MANDATORY CREDIT

Firefighters work inside the remains of a house that exploded on East Street in Vernon, Conn., Thursday, Aug. 4, 2016. Connecticut authorities say an explosion has destroyed a house in the north-central part of the state, and officials say seven people, including a young child, have been taken to hospitals. Authorities were searching what remained of the house for other possible victims. (David Owens/Hartford Courant via AP)

First responders help an injured person after a house explosion in Vernon, Conn., on Thursday, Aug. 4, 2016. Connecticut authorities say an explosion has destroyed a house in the north-central part of the state, and officials say seven people, including a young child, have been taken to hospitals. The cause of the blast isn't known. (David Owens/Hartford Courant via AP)
AP EXPLAINS: Feds still reviewing 2014 Wal-Mart shooting

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP)  Two years after a white policeman fatally shot a 22-year-old black man in an Ohio Wal-Mart who was carrying an air rifle that he had picked up from a store shelf, the U.S. Department of Justice has yet to conclude its investigation and won't say why, despite the family's push for an update. Some questions raised by the Aug. 5, 2014, shooting of John Crawford III at the Beavercreek store, near Dayton, have been answered, but others linger.

WAITING AND WHY

Crawford's relatives wonder why the review has taken this long and hasn't been finished, but federal officials won't say, citing the pending investigation by the Civil Rights Division of the Department of Justice.

FILE  In this Aug. 5, 2015, file photo, demonstrators hold a rally on the anniversary of the fatal shooting of John Crawford III, in the parking lot of the Wal-Mart store where he was killed in Beavercreek, Ohio. Two years after a white policeman fatally shot Crawford on Aug. 5, 2014, in a Wal-Mart store in the Dayton suburb of Beavercreek, as Crawford carried an air rifle picked up from a store shelf, the U.S. Justice Department has yet to conclude its investigation and won't say why, despite the family's push for an update. (Ty Greenlees/Dayton Daily News via AP, File)

The family holds police responsible and wants charges filed, but even if that's not the conclusion reached, they want the investigation wrapped up because it's delaying their civil lawsuit against police. In a letter last month, the family's attorneys asked U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch and the federal prosecutor in Cincinnati to update them on the status of the investigation and announce results soon.

A department spokesman couldn't confirm Thursday whether Lynch had received the letter.

AVAILABLE EVIDENCE

Officers went to the store after a man called 911 to report, in a recorded call, that someone was walking around waving an apparent rifle and "pointing it at people." Police said they believed Crawford had a real weapon and didn't respond to commands to put it down. The surveillance video of the shooting is soundless, so it can't prove what was said.

OTHERS INVOLVED

A group of people who took interest in the shooting used comparisons of the video and 911 audio to push for prosecution of the 911 caller  the only person to call police before shots were fired. The special prosecutor who presented the case to a grand jury said it concluded that the shooting was justified and that charges weren't warranted for the caller. The prosecutor said he found no evidence that the caller knew he was providing false information.

ALSO STILL PENDING

The Crawford case isn't the only fatal police shooting in Ohio that remains under federal review. A civil rights investigation also was launched after the death of Tamir Rice, a 12-year-old black boy who was shot by a white rookie policeman while playing with what turned out to be a pellet gun near a Cleveland recreation center in November 2014, just months after Crawford's death.

FILE  In this Dec. 16, 2014, file photo, in the front row from left to right, John Crawford III's mother Tressa Sherrod, attorney Michael Wright, Crawford's father John H. Crawford Jr. and attorney Shean Williams discuss the filing of a federal civil rights and negligence lawsuit during a news conference in Dayton, Ohio. Two years after a white policeman fatally shot John Crawford III on Aug. 5, 2014, in a Wal-Mart store in the Dayton suburb of Beavercreek, Ohio, as Crawford carried an air rifle picked up from a store shelf, the U.S. Justice Department has yet to conclude its investigation and won't say why, despite the family's push for an update. (Lisa Powell/Dayton Daily News via AP, File)
Erie Canal trip touts waterway's history, early depictions

ALBANY, N.Y. (AP)  In the fall of 1825, John Henry Hopkins traveled from Buffalo to Albany on the Erie Canal just days after the 363-mile waterway had opened. Along the way, the Episcopal minister from Pennsylvania drew scenes of what was then considered a marvel of modern engineering.

This month, the co-founder of a Vermont history museum is traveling by tugboat on the canal, stopping at about 30 communities over the next six weeks as he discusses the waterway's impact on the nation's growth in the 19th century and hands out prints of Hopkins' artwork, many of them never published and rarely seen by the general public.

"He left us an incredible series of images of the communities, of the canal, that fill in a tremendous amount of information," Cohn said in a telephone interview from aboard the C.L. Churchill, a 52-year-old wooden tugboat owned by the Lake Champlain Maritime Museum in Vergennes.

In this 1825 watercolor painting provided by the University of Michigan's William L. Clements Library, a section of the Erie Canal by Episcopalian minister John Henry Hopkins is shown. Arthur Cohn, director of the Lake Champlain Maritime Museum, and co-founder of a Vermont history museum, is traveling New York's Erie Canal and exhibiting prints of rarely-seen, nearly 200-year-old artwork of the waterway. (John Henry Hopkins via William L. Clements Library via AP)

Starting this weekend, Cohn and his fellow crewmembers will visit communities along the canal as far west as Rochester, giving public talks about the waterway and presenting copies of Hopkins' artwork to local museums and historical societies. Cohn was meeting Friday with state Canal Corp. officials to iron out the details of his itinerary, which will be posted on the museum and canal agency's websites starting early next week.

The voyage is aimed at bringing attention to next year's 200th anniversary of the beginning of construction of the Erie Canal, with events planned each year through 2025, according to Canal Corp. spokesman Shane Mahar.

The waterway was officially opened in October 1825 by Gov. DeWitt Clinton, who traveled on the canal by boat from Buffalo to Albany, then on to Manhattan. Once there, he dumped a cask of Lake Erie water into New York Harbor to signify the "wedding of the waters" linking the Great Lakes to the East Coast.

Around that time the Irish-born Hopkins, then a 32-year-old newly ordained clergyman from Pittsburgh, began his own voyage by canal boat from Buffalo to Albany, eventually headed for Manhattan to attend a religious conference. A talented artist and architectural illustrator, he created 37 watercolor and pencil sketches of canal scenes. They include a rendition of the Genesee River falls at Rochester and the elevated towpath built over the Cayuga swamp in central New York. The 1,300-foot-long timber structure was replaced by an aqueduct in the 1840s.

"It's a priceless document as well as a wonderful painting," Cohn said.

He came across the Hopkins collection last year while doing research at William L. Clements Library at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor.

One Erie Canal expert said he was "blown away" when Cohn showed him prints of the Hopkins drawings, considered some of the earliest images of the waterway before the invention of photography in the late 1830s.

"We don't have a lot of images of the very first version of the Erie Canal," said Duncan Hay, historian for the Erie Canalway National Heritage Corridor. "Finding drawings tucked away in a manuscript collection in another part of the country is pretty exciting."

In this 1825 drawing provided by the University of Michigan's William L. Clements Library, a sketch of a section of the Erie Canal by Episcopalian minister John Henry Hopkins is shown. Arthur Cohn, director of the Lake Champlain Maritime Museum, and co-founder of a Vermont history museum, is traveling New York's Erie Canal and exhibiting prints of rarely-seen, nearly 200-year-old artwork of the waterway. (John Henry Hopkins via William L. Clements Library via AP)

In this 1825 drawing provided by the University of Michigan's William L. Clements Library, a sketch of a section of the Erie Canal by Episcopalian minister John Henry Hopkins, is shown. Arthur Cohn, director of the Lake Champlain Maritime Museum, and co-founder of a Vermont history museum, is traveling New York's Erie Canal and exhibiting prints of rarely-seen, nearly 200-year-old artwork of the waterway. (John Henry Hopkins via William L. Clements Library via AP)

In this 1825 drawing provided by the University of Michigan's William L. Clements Library, a sketch of a section of the Erie Canal by Episcopalian minister John Henry Hopkins is shown. Arthur Cohn, director of the Lake Champlain Maritime Museum, and co-founder of a Vermont history museum, is traveling New York's Erie Canal and exhibiting prints of rarely-seen, nearly 200-year-old artwork of the waterway. (John Henry Hopkins via William L. Clements Library via AP)
Japanese PM Abe to attend closing ceremony of Rio Olympics

TOKYO (AP)  Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe will attend the closing ceremony of the Rio de Janeiro Olympics.

Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga said Friday that Abe will visit Brazil from Aug. 21 and will also meet with Japanese athletes taking part in the Rio Games.

Tokyo is host of the next Summer Olympics and Paralympics in 2020.

Suga said Abe's attendance will strengthen ties between Japan and Brazil and help the 2020 Games get off to a successful start.
'Yes' vote on new Thai constitution will entrench junta

BANGKOK (AP)  Sunday marks one of the most important votes in Thailand's history, yet there have been no political rallies, no independent campaigns and virtually no debates. The junta made sure of that.

"Yes" votes on a new constitution and an accompanying measure would keep the military government in control for several years and enshrine a watered-down democracy that gives much power to appointed rather than elected officials. More than 100 people who tried to campaign against the referendum on social media have been thrown in jail, and open criticism has been made punishable by up to 10 years in prison.

"The lack of open campaigning is effectively a one-sided campaign. The intention is to have campaigns for the constitution, not against the constitution, because a lot of credibility is on the line for the junta," said Thitinan Pongsudhirak, a political analyst at Bangkok's Chulalongkorn University. "But it also means it has boomeranged because the other side now has gathered some steam and now we are seeing more anti-charter movement rising."

FILE - In this Thursday, Aug. 4, 2016, file photo, government workers attend a rally to encourage people to vote in the upcoming referendum polling day in Bangkok, Thailand. On Sunday, Thailand is holding a referendum on a new constitution drafted by the military government with none of the trappings of democracy: no rallies, no campaigns and virtually no debate. After all, the new constitution, if approved, would allow the junta to keep it in control for several years and enshrine a watered-down democracy. (AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit, File)

The junta, which came to power in a May 2014 coup, claims the new constitution will usher in a new era of clean politics and stable democracy in a country chronically short of both in recent years, sometimes sliding into violent internal political conflict.

Critics of the draft constitution have a long list of objections.

Chief among them: for at least a five-year "transition" period, the Senate will be a 250-member body whose members would be appointed by the junta, and include the commanders of the army and other security services. A deadlock in the 500-member elected Lower House could trigger a combined session of lower and upper chambers that could select a prime minister who is not an elected member of Parliament.

Also, emergency decrees enacted by the junta without any parliamentary consent remain valid as law. So-called independent bodies, stacked with conservative appointees, would hold "disproportionately broad and unchecked powers" that hang like a Damocles sword over elected politicians, said the international human rights consortium FIDH and the Union for Civil Liberty in Thailand.

"The draft charter creates undemocratic institutions, weakens the power of future elected governments, and is likely to fuel political instability," they said in a report.

Even if Thais vote "no" Sunday, the military will remain in control for the foreseeable future. Junta leader Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha has promised to hold elections next year, without elaborating on how that would happen if voters reject the draft constitution.

"I have no intention of holding on to power. I always said that we will have an election in 2017. ... We want the country to move forward and figure out ways to have stability for at least five years," Prayuth said Friday.

"If I was a real dictator, I would have not allowed the referendum or promised to hold elections."

Thitinan said a "no" vote "would be a setback to the credibility of the junta, certainly, but it's not going to see the back of them. They have insisted to remain in power. A "no" vote will mean we start over."

Thailand has endured 13 successful military coups and 11 attempted takeovers since it replaced absolute monarchy with a constitutional monarchy in 1932.

Leaders of the latest coup say political conflict had made the country ungovernable and that military rule was necessary to bring stability. It set up hand-picked committees to craft a charter that would enshrine its declared goal of reforming politics by eliminating corruption.

Norachit Sinhaseni, a member of Constitution Drafting Commission, said Thai people "feel there is a lot corruption going on, money is being wasted and a lot of it is going into the pockets of politicians. So what they want and what we are trying to do is have a cleaner government, have better politicians who view the interests of the people at heart."

Some other observers believe the draft constitution has a different aim: to weaken allies of former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, the central figure in a battle that has roiled Thai politics since 2006.

Thaksin's political machine has easily won every national election since 2001, relying on the support of working-class and rural voters who benefited from the populist policies he implemented. Leading the other side is Thailand's traditional ruling class, royalists unnerved by the political support Thaksin commands, especially as it contemplates its future. King Bhumibol Adulyadej, whose righteous rule has anchored the kingdom since 1946, is 88 and ailing.

The army ousted Thaksin in a 2006 coup, saying it needed to keep order after his so-called "yellow shirt" critics took to the streets, accusing him of abuse of power, corruption and disrespecting the king. He has lived abroad since 2008 to avoid prison for a corruption conviction that he says was politically motivated. The 2014 coup ousted his sister Yingluck Shinawatra, who was elected prime minister in 2011 but buffeted by protests sparked by legislation that would have pardoned Thaksin.

Thaksin, a telecoms billionaire, came to power by taking advantage of provisions in Thailand's 1997 constitution, generally acknowledged as the most democratic in the country's history. Crucially, that charter sought to stabilize the polity by curbing smaller parties that routinely sold their support to join ruling coalitions.

Those who brought Thaksin down now seek to weaken major political parties, which would ensure that real power stays in the hands of what is dubbed the permanent bureaucracy: the military, the courts and other unelected guardians of the conservative status quo.

Thitinan, the political scientist, said their premise is that elected politicians are the root of Thailand's problems, so it is important to check their power.

The draft constitution would make it "very easy to disband parties, keep politicians in line, impeach politicians, and it will enforce a coalition government of weaker, smaller parties," he said. "As a result, we will see power and authority shifted away from elected representatives to appointed agencies and individuals."

Chaturon Chaisang, who served in the Cabinets of both Thaksin and Yingluck, told The Associated Press that his biggest objection is that "the draft charter will not allow Thai people to determine the future of this country."

The referendum vote, he said, "will be meaningless, so the government after the election will not respond to the needs of the people and so there will be conflict in the future."

___

APTN producer Tassanee Vejapongsa in Bangkok contributed to this report.

In this Thursday, Aug. 4, 2016, photo, Thailand's Election Commission Chairman Supachai Somcharoen demonstrates casting a ballot during a rally to encourage people to vote ahead of the upcoming referendum in Bangkok, Thailand. On Sunday, Thailand is holding a referendum on a new constitution drafted by the military government with none of the trappings of democracy: no rallies, no campaigns and virtually no debate. After all, the new constitution, if approved, would allow the junta to keep it in control for several years and enshrine a watered-down democracy. (AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit)

In this July 5, 2016 photo, detained members of the New Democracy Movement (NDM) group arrive in police custody at the military court after criticizing the draft constitution in Bangkok, Thailand. On Sunday, Thailand is holding a referendum on a new constitution drafted by the military government with none of the trappings of democracy: no rallies, no campaigns and virtually no debate. After all, the new constitution, if approved, would allow the junta to keep it in control for several years and enshrine a watered-down democracy. (AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit)

In this June 14, 2016, photo, trainee reservist officers from the Territorial Defense Command speak to a citizen about the importance of voting on the upcoming referendum in Bangkok, Thailand. On Sunday, Thailand is holding a referendum on a new constitution drafted by the military government with none of the trappings of democracy: no rallies, no campaigns and virtually no debate. After all, the new constitution, if approved, would allow the junta to keep it in control for several years and enshrine a watered-down democracy. (AP Photo/Vicky Ge Huang)
McCain sticks by Trump despite myriad reasons not to

PHOENIX (AP)  U.S. Sen. John McCain seemingly has every reason to oppose Donald Trump.

The Republican presidential nominee has attacked many issues dear to the Arizona senator, including the family of a fallen soldier, NATO and even McCain's own military service. Yet McCain, who faces a primary challenge and a strong Democratic opponent in the fall, has stuck by his support for Trump, at times seemingly through gritted teeth.

"I have said that I will support the nominee of the party, and let me just say to you that is the last time," McCain told reporters this week as they pushed for more insight into why he continued to back Trump. "If I change my view or my position, then you will be among the first to know."

FILE - In this Monday, May 30, 2016, Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz, looks on during a Phoenix Memorial Day Ceremony at the National Memorial Cemetery of Arizona in Phoenix. Eight years after stumping across the nation as the Republican Party's presidential candidate, McCain is back on the campaign trail in his home state as he faces a primary challenge and a strong Democratic opponent in the general election. (AP Photo/Ralph Freso, File)

Eight years after stumping across the nation himself as the Republican Party's presidential candidate, McCain wants to focus on Arizona, yet at nearly every step in recent weeks Trump has dogged him.

The billionaire businessman took aim at McCain personally Tuesday, saying he would not endorse him for re-election because "I've always felt that he should have done a much better job for the vets."

Trump earlier suggested McCain was not a war hero because he was captured during the Vietnam War.

Despite some concerns, the vast majority of Republicans in Congress are standing by Trump. But that hasn't stopped McCain from lashing out.

The five-term senator has slammed Trump for saying he might not come to the aid of NATO countries that failed to fulfill their financial obligations. And this week, he spoke out against Trump for attacking the parents of an Army captain killed in Iraq in 2004.

Trump drew the ire or many in his party for comments he made attacking Khizr and Ghazala Khan, who spoke at the Democratic National Convention.

"In recent days, Donald Trump disparaged a fallen soldier's parents," McCain said in a lengthy statement. "He has suggested that the likes of their son should not be allowed in the United States  to say nothing of entering its service. I cannot emphasize enough how deeply I disagree with Mr. Trump's statement."

McCain has spent the past two weeks crisscrossing the state, appearing in rural Arizona and before veterans groups, the state Chamber of Commerce and others.

His primary challengers include tea party activist Kelli Ward, who left the state Senate to take him on, and talk-radio host Clair Van Steenwyk, who in an odd twist is also seeking a U.S. House seat. A fourth Republican, Scottsdale businessman Alex Meluskey, suspended his campaign just days before early ballots were mailed to voters so his name still appears as a choice. The primary is Aug. 30.

Many political observers expect McCain to easily advance to the November election. The only head-to-head poll measuring McCain versus Ward, in late January, showed McCain so far ahead that another poll hasn't been done.

At 79, McCain remains a combative politician, jousting with reporters and using his post as chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee to criticize President Barack Obama's international policies, fight for veterans issues and support Arizona's defense industry and military bases. As one of the Senate's most well-known members, he has become an icon in Arizona.

Residents "know my record, and they know what I have done and what I can do for the state," McCain said Wednesday. "And they will make the decision on that basis. I am totally confident."

Ward says not so fast.

"That Trump wave, that wave of the outsider, is coming," Ward said Thursday. "And John McCain is crashing under in the tumult, and I am riding high on my surf, and I am going to come in first come Aug. 30."

Retired Green Valley resident Sidney Long is a longtime McCain backer who is considering voting for Ward. Long agrees with most of McCain's conservative views but likes that Ward is younger and supports term limits.

"I've supported (McCain) so long, and I didn't pay attention, frankly, to anybody else who was running until I heard a couple things on the radio that made me think, 'Well, maybe she's on the ball,'" Long said.

McCain has been spending his vast war chest on the Democrat in line to challenge him if he wins the primary. He had $5.8 million in the bank June 30, compared with just $240,000 for Ward.

Meanwhile, Democratic Rep. Ann Kirkpatrick is unchallenged in her primary and has $2.4 million in the bank.

___

Follow Bob Christie at http://twitter.com/APChristie

FILE - In this Aug. 29, 2008, file photo, Republican Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, right, delivers a speech as Republican presidential candidate, Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., introduces her as his vice presidential running mate at Wright State University's Ervin J. Nutter Center in Dayton, Ohio. Eight years after stumping across the nation as the Republican Party's presidential candidate, McCain is back on the campaign trail in his home state as he faces a primary challenge and a strong Democratic opponent, State Sen. Kelli Ward, in the general election. (AP Photo/Kiichiro Sato, File)
Another month of solid hiring could ease fears about economy

WASHINGTON (AP)  The U.S. government is expected to issue another solid jobs report Friday  and if it does, it would ease concerns that the economy is struggling.

Economists have forecast that employers added 175,000 jobs in July and that the unemployment rate dipped to 4.8 percent from 4.9 percent in June.

That level of job growth would be in line with this year's average monthly gains, which remain below last year's healthy pace of about 230,000. Despite the downshift, an increase of 175,000 would likely be enough to reassure investors  and perhaps Federal Reserve policymakers  that the economy will keep growing at its slow but steady pace.

The economy slumped in the first half of this year, with an annualized growth rate of just 1 percent. Growth has been powered by consumers, who ramped up spending in the April-June quarter at the second-fastest pace since the recession.

That figure underscored the importance of strong hiring, which puts more paychecks into more pockets and supports greater spending. Many analysts expect the economy to rebound in the second half of the year, with one of the most optimistic estimates coming from the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta: It predicts that annualized growth will reach 3.7 percent in the current July-September quarter.

Solid hiring in July would confirm that a sharp fall-off in hiring during May was only temporary. Job gains have swung sharply in recent months, from a meager increase of 11,000 in May to an explosive gain of 287,000 in June.

Still, the jobs report isn't likely to alter public perceptions of the economy, which have been largely negative during this election season despite low unemployment. A top adviser to Donald Trump said last week that the annual economic growth rate of just 1.2 percent in the April-June quarter was "catastrophic."

Hillary Clinton has tended to credit the Obama administration for rescuing the economy from the Great Recession but has also said "none of us can be satisfied with the status quo."

Overall, most recent economic data have been mixed. Americans are confident enough to step up home purchases, aided by near-record-low mortgage rates. Sales of existing homes reached a nine-year high in June, and sales of new homes accelerated to an eight-year high.

Services companies, which range from retailers to banks to shipping firms, expanded at a healthy pace in July, according to a survey by the Institute for Supply Management, a trade group. Their expansion slowed a bit from the previous month. But new orders picked up, a sign that growth could remain healthy.

But manufacturing continues to struggle and is weighing on hiring. Factories received fewer orders in June for a third straight month. Weak growth overseas and a stronger dollar have cut into many companies' overseas businesses. And auto sales have leveled off, according to data released this week.

The slowdown in manufacturing has cost jobs: Factory employment has fallen about 30,000 in the past year, depriving the economy of key middle-income positions.
Philippine president acknowledges abuses in drug war

MANILA, Philippines (AP)  Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte acknowledged abuses have occurred in his war on illegal drugs, which has left more than 400 people dead in a month and alarmed rights activists, but refused to back down from a shoot-to-kill order for drug suspects.

Duterte said in a speech late Thursday that most drug dealers and addicts slain in gunbattles with police had put up a fight, but added that he was sure some were "salvaged," a local slang for extrajudicial killings usually by law enforcers.

In the case of illegal killings, Duterte said the government will investigate.

FILE - In this Friday, July 1, 2016, file photo, Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte addresses the troops during a military ceremony in suburban Quezon city northeast of Manila, Philippines. President Duterte in a speech late Thursday acknowledged abuses in a battle against illegal drugs, which has left more than 400 suspects dead and alarmed rights activists, but is not backing down from a shoot-to-kill order for drug suspects. (AP Photo/Bullit Marquez, File)

"They really fight back, I know that," Duterte said in a speech in southern Davao city, where he built a name as a mayor for his extra tough approach to crime before becoming president. "I'm sure there are some who were salvaged, I am also sure of that."

Early Friday, he told reporters that he gave "shoot-to-kill" orders against drug dealers, including politicians involved in the illicit trade.

"I'll really have you killed. Look at what you're doing to the Philippines and I'll forgive you?" Duterte told reporters, apparently enraged after visiting a town police chief who was shot in the chest by a suspected drug dealer and rushed to a Davao hospital.

"My order is shoot to kill you. I don't care about human rights, you better believe me," he said.

Duterte's centerpiece anti-crime drive, focused on an ambitious campaign promise to end the widespread drugs problem in six months, has left more than 400 drug suspects dead, many of them either in firefights with police or under suspect circumstances. More than 4,400 have been arrested, police said.

The unprecedented killings have scared more than half a million drug users and dealers who gave themselves up to police, officials said. An overwhelmed Duterte has said he was considering setting aside areas in military camps nationwide to build rehabilitation centers for those who surrender.

A legal expert, Jose Manuel Diokno, said Duterte's latest shoot-to-kill order is, at the least, legally questionable.

Adequate safeguards exist in the legal system, including requirements for court warrants for arrests, to protect the public and ensure law enforcers are not given "unbridled discretion" that can lead to abuses, Diokno said.

The government's Commission on Human Rights could seek to stop the anti-crime drive through a court petition, said Diokno, who heads the Free Legal Assistance Group, which provides legal help to the poor.

Sen. Leila de Lima, who led the commission previously, has sought a Senate investigation of the killings but has faced opposition from Duterte's political allies.

"There must be a way other than this method that brings us to our collective descent into impunity, fear, and ultimately, utter and complete inhumanity. We cannot wage the war against drugs with blood," de Lima said in a Senate speech this week.

She said the dead included those who were innocent and "the proportion is rising."

In recent days, eight suspected drug dealers were gunned down in separate clashes with police in the provinces of Bulacan and Rizal and in southern Dipolog city, police said, adding most of the suspects drew firearms and opened fire when they sensed men who were buying drugs from them were policemen in disguise.

Three town mayors and a former mayor linked to drug syndicates surrendered Friday to national police chief Director General Ronald de la Rosa, fearing they may be gunned down by authorities.

The mayors, mostly from the southern province of Maguindanao, would be investigated, de la Rosa said.
Poll: Most young whites think Clinton knowingly broke law

WASHINGTON (AP)  Young Americans are divided over Hillary Clinton's handling of her email account while she was secretary of state, with most young whites saying she intentionally broke the law and young people of color more likely to give Clinton the benefit of the doubt.

The new GenForward poll of young Americans ages 18-30 also finds both Clinton and Donald Trump viewed negatively by a majority of those polled.

GenForward is a survey by the Black Youth Project at the University of Chicago with the Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research. The poll is designed to pay special attention to the voices of young adults of color, highlighting how race and ethnicity shape the opinions of a new generation.

Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton speaks at a rally at Adams City High School in Commerce City, Colo., Wednesday, Aug. 3, 2016. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)

Things to know about how young people view the presidential contest:

___

CLINTON'S EMAILS

Among all young adults in the GenForward poll, 43 percent say Clinton intentionally broke the law in her use of a private email address on a personal server while she was secretary of state, and another 20 percent think she did so unintentionally. As for the rest, 27 percent think she showed poor judgment but did not break the law, and 8 percent say she did nothing wrong at all.

More than half of young whites  54 percent  think Clinton intentionally committed a crime, and another 17 percent think she did so unintentionally.

Young African-Americans, Asian-Americans and Hispanics view Clinton's actions in a more sympathetic light, though few clear her of all wrongdoing. Just 32 percent of Hispanics, 29 percent of Asian-Americans and 21 percent of African-Americans think Clinton intentionally broke the law, with most of the remainder saying she either did so unintentionally or showed poor judgment that did not amount to lawbreaking.

___

NOT LIKING THEIR OPTIONS

Neither Trump nor Clinton is well-liked by young adults overall, with just 38 percent saying they have a favorable view of Clinton and even fewer  21 percent  saying they have a favorable view of Trump.

While majorities of young African-Americans, Asian-Americans and Hispanics do have a positive view of Clinton, 7 in 10 young whites have a negative opinion. Trump is viewed negatively by more than 8 in 10 young blacks, Hispanics and Asian-Americans and by about two-thirds of young whites.

Large majorities of young adults across racial and ethnic groups consider Trump to be unqualified to be president. On the other hand, most young African-Americans, Hispanics and Asian-Americans think Clinton is qualified to be president, but most young whites say she's not.

More than 7 in 10 young Americans don't see Trump or Clinton alike as honest and trustworthy. For Clinton, that perception is greater among young whites, while young people of color are more likely to doubt Trump's honesty than Clinton's.

___

SANDERS SUPPORTERS

The GenForward poll, which was conducted before the political conventions, showed an uphill battle for Clinton in consolidating support among young people. Young people across racial and ethnic groups were more likely to support Sanders than Clinton in their primary contest, the poll shows. And among those who supported Sanders during the primary season, less than half were prepared to say they'll support Clinton over Trump in the fall. Still, few said they'd support Trump. The rest said they were undecided, will vote for a third-party candidate, or will not vote.

___

WHAT'S THE ALTERNATIVE?

Young people are largely in agreement that the two major American political parties are lacking when it comes to representing the public. Just 28 percent of young adults, including 31 percent of African-Americans and Hispanics and 26 percent of whites and Asian-Americans, say the two parties do a good job of representing the American people.

Although they're not happy with their options, young people across racial and ethnic groups are mostly unfamiliar with their alternatives. Seven in 10 say they don't know enough about Libertarian Gary Johnson to have an opinion about him, and nearly 8 in 10 say the same about Jill Stein of the Green Party. An AP-GfK poll also conducted in July found similar levels of unfamiliarity among adults of all ages.

___

The poll of 1,940 adults age 18-30 was conducted July 9-20 using a sample drawn from the probability-based GenForward panel, which is designed to be representative of the U.S. young adult population. The margin of sampling error for all respondents is plus or minus 3.8 percentage points.

The survey was paid for by the Black Youth Project at the University of Chicago using grants from the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation and the Ford Foundation.

Respondents were first selected randomly using address-based sampling methods, and later interviewed online or by phone.

___

Online:

GenForward polls: http://www.genforwardsurvey.com/

Black Youth Project: http://blackyouthproject.com/

AP-NORC: http://www.apnorc.org/
Poll: Most young Americans say parties don't represent them

WASHINGTON (AP)  Most young Americans say the Republican and Democratic parties don't represent them, a critical data point after a year of ferocious presidential primaries that forced partisans on both sides to confront what  and whom  they stand for.

That's according to a new GenForward poll that shows the disconnect holds true across racial and ethnic groups, with just 28 percent of young adults overall saying the two major parties do a good job of representing the American people.

The poll shows that despite this across-the-board feeling of disenchantment with the two-party system, the Democratic Party holds a clear advantage in appealing to young people of color. But among young whites, majorities feel left out by both parties.

FILE - In this Sept. 22, 2014, file photo. the perimeter fence sits in front of the White House fence on the North Lawn along Pennsylvania Avenue in Washington. Most young Americans say the Republican and Democratic parties dont represent them, a critical data point after a year of ferocious presidential primaries that forced partisans on both sides to confront what _ and whom _ they stand for. A new GenForward poll also shows that disconnect holds true across racial and ethnic groups, with just 28 percent of young adults overall saying two parties do a good job of representing the American people. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster, File)

More than two-thirds of young adults, including vast majorities of young Asian-Americans, Hispanics and blacks, say the Republican Party does not care about people like them.

Democrats fare a bit better among young people overall, with a small majority  53 percent  saying the party cares about people like them. Among young African-Americans, Hispanics and Asian-Americans, most believe the party does care about people like them. But among young whites, majorities say both parties don't care much about them, including 58 percent who say that of the Republican Party and 52 percent who say it about the Democratic Party.

GenForward is a survey by the Black Youth Project at the University of Chicago with the Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research. The first-of-its-kind poll pays special attention to the voices of young adults of color, highlighting how race and ethnicity shape the opinions of a new generation.

The results of the survey of Americans age 18-30 reflect something of an identity crisis for both parties heading into the future, driven in part by deep antipathy toward the presidential candidates they nominated. Republican Donald Trump and Democrat Hillary Clinton, the two least-popular presidential nominees in the history of modern polling, were opposed by large and bitter swaths of their parties.

Young people aren't certain to fall in line behind the nominees, the survey found. Three-quarters of young adults say the billionaire real estate magnate is unqualified to be president even after he vanquished 16 GOP rivals. Half say the same of Clinton, a former senator and secretary of state, after unlikely rival Bernie Sanders forced her to fight for the nomination for a year.

Emiliano Vera, 22, of Bushnell, Illinois, says he isn't coming back to the Democratic Party that attracted him with Barack Obama's nomination in 2008. Ideology this year drew him to Sanders. But disenchantment with what seemed like an obviously rigged nomination process in Clinton's favor, he says, is what's pushing him to the Green Party. Leaked Democratic National Committee emails confirmed for him that the party had their thumb on the scale for Clinton, Vera said.

"This is the last straw for me," said Vera, part of the majority of young Sanders supporters on whom Clinton cannot depend for votes, the survey found. This year, he says, his friends agree that the Democratic Party generally is the "lesser evil" to the GOP's Trump. But the future, he says, is a different picture.

But for all the disenchantment, young adults across racial and ethnic groups are mostly unfamiliar with their alternatives. Seven in 10 say they don't know enough about Libertarian presidential candidate Gary Johnson to have an opinion about him, and nearly 8 in 10 say the same about Green Party candidate Jill Stein.

The 18-30 age group tends not to be a conservative constituency, so the survey contains critical data particularly for Democrats and Clinton, who has said she knows she has "work to do" to appeal to the young people who flocked to Sanders during the primary.

Rachel Mace, 20, is an example of the challenge faced by Democrats and Clinton in particular. The Farmington, Michigan, resident supported Sanders and says she wants to see one party make "a meaningful commitment" to public financing of campaigns. She doubts she'll ever see a party, or a candidate, seek that reform voluntarily.

"There's more hope, I think, for the Democratic Party, but we're going to have to force them," Mace said. As for Clinton, "I find her to be incredibly corrupt."

Young people across racial and ethnic groups were more likely to support Sanders than Clinton in their primary battle this spring, and among young Sanders supporters, less than half  43 percent  say they'll support Clinton against Trump in the fall election. Three percent say they'll support Trump, with the rest saying they're undecided, will vote for a third-party candidate or will not vote.

___

Follow Kellman and Swanson on Twitter at: http://www.twitter.com/APLaurieKellman and http://www.twitter.com/EL_Swan.

___

The poll of 1,940 adults age 18-30 was conducted July 9-20 using a sample drawn from the probability-based GenForward panel, which is designed to be representative of the U.S. young adult population. The margin of sampling error for all respondents is plus or minus 3.8 percentage points.

The survey was paid for by the Black Youth Project at the University of Chicago, using grants from the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation and the Ford Foundation.

Respondents were first selected randomly using address-based sampling methods, and later interviewed online or by phone.

___

Online:

GenForward polls: http://www.genforwardsurvey.com/

Black Youth Project: http://blackyouthproject.com/
Rare conviction made in shooting by Virginia police officer

PORTSMOUTH, Va. (AP)  Prosecutors in Virginia won a rare conviction of a white former police officer who shot and killed an unarmed black teen suspected of shoplifting.

But the guilty verdict Thursday was for voluntary manslaughter, a lesser charge than the original first-degree murder count. And the jury recommended a 2  year prison sentence for Stephen Rankin, a punishment far below the decade prosecutors had sought.

The outcome is typical of the rare conviction that follows a shooting by police, said Philip Stinson, a criminal justice professor at Bowling Green State University in Ohio.

In this image made from a video, former police officer Stephen Rankin listens to the proceedings after the verdict was read Thursday, Aug. 4, 2016, in Portsmouth, Va. A jury convicted Rankin of voluntary manslaughter on Thursday in the shooting death of an unarmed black man who had been accused of shoplifting. (The Virginian-Pilot via AP, Pool)

Juries are very reluctant to convict on-duty officers of murder "because they all recognize that policing is difficult and violent," Stinson said.

In a similar case in Baltimore on Thursday, a jury convicted a police officer of assault for shooting an unarmed burglary suspect. He was originally charged with attempted murder.

Stinson says too little data exists to predict any kind of trend. But the black community in Portsmouth, Virginia, hoped the murder trial of Rankin, 36, would be a turning point toward more accountability.

"The sentence was not enough," said Earl Lewis Jr., a cousin of the 18-year-old who died, William Chapman II. "This basically says to police officers that it's still all right to kill."

Rankin's formal sentencing is scheduled for Oct. 12. A judge cannot increase the jury's recommended sentence, but he could reduce it.

Rankin's attorneys said they plan to appeal. Among their concerns was their inability to use what they said was Chapman's violent juvenile history during the trial.

Rankin shot Chapman in the face and chest outside a Wal-Mart store last year after a security guard had called police to go after the young man.

No video recorded the actual killing, and testimony on the details of what happened was conflicting. But most witnesses said Chapman had his hands up, and prosecutor Stephanie Morales said the officer could have used force that was not deadly.

The officer "brought a gun into what is at worst a fist fight," Morales told the jury, which deliberated for nearly two days before returning its verdict.

Rankin, who was fired from the Portsmouth police force after being indicted, had already killed another unarmed suspect four years earlier. But he had been cleared of wrongdoing and the incident was inadmissible at trial.

Rankin's lawyers said Chapman's death had nothing to do with any other police shootings.

"I think this is a terrible tragedy; I wish it had never happened. I wish none of it had ever occurred," Rankin testified after being found guilty.

"I can't begin to fathom how much pain that family is going through. I wish I could have done more to keep him alive," he added.

During his trial, Rankin testified that he calmly approached Chapman to discuss the shoplifting accusation and was preparing to handcuff him when the teen refused to comply with orders and a struggle ensued. He said he used his stun gun on him, but Chapman knocked it away. Both men then faced each other from a short distance away.

That's when he drew his pistol, Rankin said, and repeatedly commanded Chapman to "get on the ground." Instead, he said Chapman screamed "shoot me" several times before charging at him from about 6 feet away. He said he experienced "tunnel vision" at that point and, fearing for his life, fired twice to stop him.

"I had no reason to think he was going to stop attacking me," Rankin said. "I was scared."

Rankin's attorney, James Broccoletti, argued that the officer had to shoot because "everything he tried to do didn't work."

Some witnesses backed Rankin's testimony. Paul Akey, a construction worker who was nearby, said Chapman "went after the officer with throwing fists, and it looked like he knocked a Taser out of the officer's hands."

But Gregory Provo, the Wal-Mart security guard who reported Chapman to police, testified that Chapman never charged at the officer. He said Chapman raised both fists like a boxer and asked if the officer was going to shoot him before Rankin fired at him from about 5 yards away.

Criminal justice professor Stinson said on-duty officers kill about 1,000 suspects a year in the United States, but only 74 have been charged since 2005. A third of these were convicted, a third were not and the other cases are pending.

The killing of Chapman "would not have gotten this kind of attention five years ago," Stinson said, but now use-of-force complaints are coming under more scrutiny.

In this image made from a video, former police officer Stephen Rankin answers questions from the prosecution during the penalty phase of the his trial Thursday, Aug. 4, 2016, in Portsmouth, Va. A jury convicted Rankin of voluntary manslaughter on Thursday in the shooting death of an unarmed black man who had been accused of shoplifting. (The Virginian-Pilot via AP, Pool)

In this image made from a video, Portsmouth Commonwealth's Attorney Stephanie Morales asks the jury to give former police officer Stephen Rankin the maximum sentence Thursday, Aug. 4, 2016, in Portsmouth, Va. A jury convicted Rankin of voluntary manslaughter on Thursday in the shooting death of an unarmed black man who had been accused of shoplifting. (The Virginian-Pilot via AP, Pool)
Kerry to visit Turkey amid strained ties after failed coup

ANKARA, Turkey (AP)  U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry is expected to arrive in Turkey later this month, Turkey's foreign minister said Friday, amid strained relations with Washington over the possible extradition of a Muslim cleric accused of being behind an attempted military coup last month.

The Turkish government has expressed growing annoyance with what it regards as a lack of solidarity from international allies in the aftermath of the failed coup, as well as increased frustration over perceived foot-dragging by the United States over a Turkish demand that U.S.-based Muslim cleric Fethullah Gulen be returned to Turkey to face trial.

Turkey accuses Gulen, a former ally of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan who lives in self-imposed exile in Pennsylvania, of masterminding the July 15 coup attempt by renegade officers in Turkey's military. It has designated his movement, which runs charities, schools and businesses across the world, as a terrorist organization and has launched a widespread crackdown on suspected members.

Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, reviews the military guard of honor before a meeting with the President Nursultan Nazarbayev of Kazakhstan at the Presidential palace in Ankara, Turkey, on Friday, Aug. 5, 2016. Nursultan arrives in Turkey, becoming the first foreign head of state to visit since the failed coup. (Kayhan Ozer/Presidential Press Service, Pool Photo via AP)

Gulen has denied involvement or prior knowledge of the violent coup attempt that left more than 270 people dead. Washington for its part, has asked for evidence of the cleric's involvement, and has said the extradition process must be allowed to take its course.

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said Kerry was scheduled to arrive in Turkey Aug. 24, the state-run Anadolu Agency reported. He also spoke of the possibility of a separate visit by U.S. Vice President Joe Biden.

Turkey on Thursday issued a warrant for Gulen's arrest for allegedly ordering the failed coup, a move seen as a prelude to a formal extradition request.

In New York, Taha Ozhan, chairman of the Turkish Parliament's Foreign Affairs Commission who is leading a delegation to brief U.S. officials on the failed coup, said "Gulen orchestrated the coup" and continued to pose threat to Turkey.

Ozhan said "many documents have been sent" and "we are doing our homework in Turkey" where "prosecutors are forming a case." He added that the FBI should be monitoring Gulen and he should be detained.

"He's still a threat and we don't want to have another tsunami caused by July 15," Ozhan said.

But Gulen's U.S. lawyers expressed confidence that he will not be extradited, saying the Turkish government doesn't have any evidence against their client that would satisfy the U.S. legal system. Speaking Friday in Washington, Attorney Reid Weingarten suggested that the only evidence the Turkish government may have against Gulen is testimony from his sympathizers in Turkey, possibly obtained through torture.

"We haven't seen any evidence, direct or indirect, that would be persuasive to a fact finder that there is a scintilla of evidence - electronic or otherwise - implicating Mr. Gulen," Weingarten said. "And these tortured confessions that they are expecting, that wouldn't work in a U.S. court either," Weingarten said.

Since the coup attempt, nearly 70,000 people suspected of links to Gulen have been suspended or dismissed from the civil service, judiciary, education, health care and the military. About 18,000 people have been detained or arrested, mostly from the military, on suspicion of being involved in the failed putsch.

European officials and rights groups have expressed concern over the crackdown while the human rights group Amnesty International has reported cases of mistreatment of detainees. Turkey has rejected the accusation and said allegations of mistreatment would be investigated.

Anadolu agency said the Istanbul chief prosecutor's office launched a probe into the death of a suspect who died in a hospital after being taken ill while in detention at the city's police anti-terrorism department. The suspect, identified as Gokhan Acikkolu, was previously hospitalized on July 28 but was returned to the detention center after treatment, the agency said.

On Friday, Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev became the first foreign head of state to visit since the failed coup and declared that his country stood in solidarity with Turkey.

Turkey is also pressing its allies to crack down on Gulen-linked schools and charities and has asked Kazakhstan to shut down schools which it says are associated with the movement.

Erdogan announced after talks with Nazarbayev that the two agreed that education authorities from both countries should carry out a joint review of 33 schools in the Central Asian nation which Turkey suspects to be linked to Gulen.

"The (Gulen movement) is not only a threat to Turkey, it is a threat to all countries in which it has a presence," Erdogan said during their joint news conference.

Nazarbayev said the schools in question were strictly controlled by the Kazakh state and that 90 percent of the teachers were Kazakh nationals. He added however, that any teacher found to be linked to the movement after the review, would be "sent back."

"We will not support anyone working against Turkey," Nazarbayev said. "This would not be in our interest."

Earlier, the ruling party instructed its local branches and party-led municipalities to purge themselves of suspected Gulen supporters.

Anadolu said the Justice and Development Party, founded by Erdogan, issued a circular ordering its members to "immediately start efforts to purge those linked to the (Gulen movement) or who gave support to the reprehensible coup."

Meanwhile, police in Ankara detained a comedian for questioning over his possible ties to the Gulen movement, Anadolu reported. The agency said Atalay Demirci had been in contact with two sports personalities who are believed to be followers of the movement.

The crackdown has also expanded to journalists and former employees of Gulen-linked media. On Friday, Anadolu said 12 journalists who used to work for Zaman newspaper were formally arrested pending trial, including columnist Mumtazer Turkone. Six other journalists were jailed pending trial last week.

Separately, Germany's Sueddeutsche Zeitung reported a German woman had been arrested in Turkey on suspicion of belonging to the Gulen movement. It didn't specify when or where she was arrested.

Germany's Foreign Ministry confirmed the report, without giving further details.

__

Edith Lederer in New York, Maria Danilova in Washington and Geir Moulson in Berlin contributed to this report.

Turkey's Prime Minister Binali Yildirim, right, shakes hands with the Turkey's Chief of Staff Geneneral Hulusi Akar at military headquarters in Ankara, Turkey, on Friday, Aug. 5, 2016. Turkey's state-run news agency says a court has issued a formal warrant for the arrest of U.S.-based Muslim cleric Fethullah Gulen. (Hakan Goktepe/Pool Photo via AP)

Turkey's Prime Minister Binali Yildirim, left, and the Turkey's Chief of Staff Geneneral Hulusi Akar signature in a book deal before their meeting at the military headquarters in Ankara, Turkey, on Friday, Aug. 5, 2016. Turkey's state-run news agency says a court has issued a formal warrant for the arrest of U.S.-based Muslim cleric Fethullah Gulen. (Hakan Goktepe/Pool Photo via AP)

Turkey's Prime Minister Binali Yildirim, right, and the Turkey's Chief of Staff Geneneral Hulusi Akar review a honor guard before their meeting at the military headquarters in Ankara, Turkey, on Friday, Aug. 5, 2016. Turkey's state-run news agency says a court has issued a formal warrant for the arrest of U.S.-based Muslim cleric Fethullah Gulen. (Hakan Goktepe/Pool Photo via AP)

Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, right, shakes hands with President Nursultan Nazarbayev of Kazakhstan at the Presidential palace in Ankara, Turkey, on Friday, Aug. 5, 2016. Nursultan arrives in Turkey, becoming the first foreign head of state to visit since the failed coup. (Kayhan Ozer/Presidential Press Service, Pool Photo via AP)

Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, right, with President Nursultan Nazarbayev of Kazakhstan during their meeting at the Presidential palace in Ankara, Turkey, on Friday, Aug. 5, 2016. Nursultan arrives in Turkey to become the first foreign head of state to visit since the failed coup. (Kayhan Ozer/Presidential Press Service, Pool Photo via AP)
Indonesian police: plot foiled to fire rocket at Singapore

JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP)  Indonesia's counter-terrorism police on Friday arrested six suspected militants who were allegedly planning to launch a rocket attack on downtown Singapore from nearby Batam island.

The Indonesian men were captured Friday on the Indonesian island, which is about 25 kilometers (15 miles) southeast of Singapore, said National Police spokesman Maj. Gen. Boy Rafli Amar.

He said the arrests, which included the 31-year-old alleged leader of the group, highlight the continued threat posed by extremists in Indonesia despite a sustained crackdown by authorities.

FILE - In this Wednesday, April 20, 2016, file photo, two kayaks are dwarfed against the skyline of the Marina Bay area, which is home to popular hotels, and tourist attractions such as the Singapore Flyer, the city-state's observation wheel seen at right, in Singapore. Indonesia's counter-terrorism police on Friday arrested six suspected militants who were allegedly planning to launch a rocket attack on Singapore's downtown from nearby Batam island. (AP Photo/Wong Maye-E, File)

"We have strong indications that the six men were planning to launch a rocket at Singapore's Marina Bay from Batam," Amar said. He would not confirm whether an actual rocket had been found in the police raid.

Marina Bay is a busy area close to the heart of Singapore's downtown filled with office towers, waterside eateries and tourist attractions, including one of Asia's biggest casinos.

Amar said all the men claimed they were members of Katibah Gigih Rahmat, a little-known extremist group that helps Indonesian militants travel to Syria. Police believe it has received funds from Bahrun Naim, an Indonesian fighting with the Islamic State group in Syria.

Naim has been linked to a succession of poorly executed attacks in Indonesia, including a suicide bombing outside police headquarters in the city of Solo last month that killed the bomber.

Singapore state media reported that local authorities were aware of the rocket plot.

The Ministry of Home Affairs said in a statement that Singapore's security agencies had coordinated with Indonesia to monitor the activities of the group and apprehend those involved.

Indonesia, the world's most populous Muslim nation, suffered a spate of deadly attacks by members of the Jemaah Islamiyah militant network, including the 2002 Bali bombings that killed 202 people, mostly foreign tourists.
UK Black Lives Matter protesters block Heathrow airport road

LONDON (AP)  Activists linked to the U.S.-based group Black Lives Matter blocked a road Friday leading to London's Heathrow Airport and held protests in other British cities.

Organizer Joshua Virasami told the BBC that the movement  founded to protest the killings of black people by American police  was needed "in Britain and all over the world."

U.K. Black Lives Matter said in a statement it was holding a "shutdown" of roads in London and other cities to "mourn those who have died in custody and to protest the ongoing racist violence of the police, border enforcement, structural inequalities and the everyday indignity of street racism."

A man shakes hands with one of the activists as they lay on the road outside Nottingham Theatre Royal during an attempt to shut down part of the city centre tram and bus network in Nottingham, England Friday Aug. 5, 2016 to protest for social justice movement Black Lives Matter. Activists affiliated with the U.S.-based group Black Lives Matter have blocked a road leading to Heathrow Airport, and Nottinghamand city centre along with protests in other British cities (Edward Smith/PA via AP)

London's Metropolitan Police said officers arrested 10 people blocking a road leading from a main highway to Heathrow on Friday morning, including six who were "locked" to one another.

Photos showed police moving a group of people attached together lying across the road beside a banner saying "this is a crisis."

Police said one lane of the road was open but traffic was backed up getting into one of the world's busiest airports. Heathrow said it was not aware of passengers missing flights because of the protest.

In other protests, a small group of demonstrators in the central England city of Nottingham disrupted public transport by lying down on tram tracks, and police removed protesters from a road near Birmingham Airport, 100 miles (160 kilometers) north of London.

The protesters said they were marking the fifth anniversary of the death of Mark Duggan, a 29-year-old black man shot by London police under disputed circumstances on Aug. 4, 2011. The killing sparked Britain's worst civil disorder in decades, several nights of rioting that spread from London to cities around the country.

Activists say black men in Britain are unfairly targeted by law enforcement and disproportionately represented among prison inmates. According to official figures, 26 percent of inmates in England and Wales are non-white, compared to 12 percent of the overall population there.
UK prison chief injured in assault by inmate

LONDON (AP)  British media say a prison chief has been beaten by an inmate during an attack in the prison canteen. Police have confirmed they are investing an assault by an inmate on a staff member.

The BBC reported that prison chief Paul Cawkwell needed hospital treatment after the attack at HMP Wayland in eastern England. The Norfolk Constabulary confirmed that an inmate had assaulted a staff member at the prison on July 27. The prisoner has been transferred to another institution.

Wayland is a "category C" prison, housing less-serious offenders considered unlikely to try to escape.
10 Things to Know for Today - 5 August 2016

Your daily look at late-breaking news, upcoming events and the stories that will be talked about today:

1. TENSION, EXCITEMENT SURROUNDS OPENING CEREMONY FOR RIO OLYMPICS

Brazil will display samba, culture and diversity but political turmoil, economic woes and environment concerns loom large.

David Vieira Bisbo, a bar owner in the Chapeu Mangueria slum, holds the Olympic flame after his Olympic torch run along the streets of Copacabana, as the torch makes its way to the opening ceremony of the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, early Friday, Aug. 5, 2016. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)

2. WHAT YOUNG AMERICANS SAY ABOUT THE GOP AND DEMS

Most feel neither party represents them, although the Democratic Party holds a clear advantage in appealing to young people of color, according to a GenFoward poll of Americans age 18-30.

3. OBAMA DENIES $400 MILLION PAYMENT TO IRAN WAS RANSOM

He defended the transaction as evidence that the nuclear accord with Iran has allowed for progress on other matters.

4. A NARRATIVE OF FOREIGN THREATS IS KEY TO CHINA'S CRACKDOWN ON LEGAL ACTIVISTS

The effort drew new attention this week with the carefully scripted trials of a lawyer and three activists on subversion charges.

5. WHAT HAPPENS TO THE MISSILES THAT NORTH KOREA FIRES INTO THE SEA

The AP explains what we know and don't know about the fate of the weapons.

6. MCCAIN SEEMINGLY HAS EVERY REASON TO OPPOSE TRUMP BUT DOESN'T

The Arizona senator wants to focus on his own re-election campaign but Trump has dogged him at every step.

7. WHY RALLIES, DEBATES HAVE BEEN MISSING AHEAD OF CRUCIAL THAILAND VOTE

The military junta made sure there was no campaigning ahead of Sunday's referendum on a new constitution that would enshrine a watered-down democracy.

8. U.S. GOVERNMENT EXPECTED TO ISSUE SOLID MONTHLY JOBS REPORT

If it does, it would ease concerns that the economy is struggling.

9. AMAZON UNVEILS CARGO PLANE AS IT TIGHTENS CONTROL OVER DELIVERY PROCESS

It is one of 40 jetliners that will make up the e-commerce giant's own air transportation network.

10. HOW A CHINESE DIRECTOR RESPONDED TO CRITICISM OVER MATT DAMON CASTING

Zhang Yimou said the lead role of his $150 million movie "The Great Wall" was never conceived for a Chinese actor.

In this June 14, 2016, photo, trainee reservist officers from the Territorial Defense Command speak to a citizen about the importance of voting on the upcoming referendum in Bangkok, Thailand. On Sunday, Thailand is holding a referendum on a new constitution drafted by the military government with none of the trappings of democracy: no rallies, no campaigns and virtually no debate. After all, the new constitution, if approved, would allow the junta to keep it in control for several years and enshrine a watered-down democracy. (AP Photo/Vicky Ge Huang)
Self-radicalized Tunisian held in Italy on terror suspicion

MILAN (AP)  A Tunisian resident has been arrested on terror charges after being identified as a self-proclaimed radical during a year-long investigation into an illegal immigration ring, authorities said Monday.

Police investigator, Gen. Giuseppe Governale, told a press conference Friday that the suspect, identified as a caretaker at a mosque outside of Naples, demonstrated an intention to carry out attacks in Italy but had not yet made any concrete plans. He had recently been radicalized and had celebrated terror attacks, including the one in Nice last month that killed 85 people.

Governale said the suspect had written in Arabic on his Facebook page: "I am a member of ISIS until I am dead, and if I die I will exult in being a part of it," and posted a photograph of a French flag being trampled.

Carabinieri (Italian paramilitary police) special unit's officers patrol the area next to the Colosseum, visible in background, in Rome, Friday, Aug. 5, 2016. Anti-terrorism measures have been tightened in Rome. They include the stationing of police cars and van at the end of a boulevard that runs past the Colosseum, and police patrols and surveillance along Via del Corso, a long street lined with clothing shops and which also runs by the premiers office. (Claudio Peri/ANSA via AP)

The Tunisian was among eight people arrested following a year-long investigation into a ring that procured false documents to help illegal immigrants, mainly northern Africans and Pakistanis, to obtain residency in Italy.

The arrest comes the day after Interior Minister Angelino Alfano announced the expulsion of two more Tunisians with suspected links to extremism, bringing to 106 the number of such suspects expelled since the beginning of 2015.

In the wake of recent attacks in Europe, Italy has intensified its vigilance in regard to suspected Islamic extremists, including expelling residents in cases lacking evidence to support charges, and visibly increased security in the capital, Rome.

Carabinieri (Italian paramilitary police) officers patrol the area in front of St. Peter's Basilica, visible in background, in Rome, Friday, Aug. 5, 2016. Anti-terrorism measures have been tightened in Rome. They include the stationing of police cars and van at the end of a boulevard that runs past the Colosseum, and police patrols and surveillance along Via del Corso, a long street lined with clothing shops and which also runs by the premiers office. (Claudio Peri/ANSA via AP)
Trump ends standoff with Ryan, strains to fix split GOP

GREEN BAY, Wis. (AP)  Donald Trump endorsed House Speaker Paul Ryan late Friday, ending a four-day standoff between the GOP's most powerful men that exposed deepening concerns about the New York billionaire's presidential candidacy.

Ryan, like other top Wisconsin Republicans, did not attend Trump's evening appearance in their state.

Having refused to endorse the speaker earlier in the week, Trump said, "We have to unite" as he vowed to support Ryan in next week's primary contest.

Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump speaks during a campaign rally, Friday, Aug. 5, 2016, in Green Bay, Wis. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

It was a stunning reversal for Trump, a candidate who is known for his refusal to admit mistakes and whose general election campaign has been defined by his constant attacks on fellow Republicans. His timing was a bit curious, competing with the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro.

Trump also threw his support behind Arizona Sen. John McCain and New Hampshire Sen. Kelly Ayotte, with whom he has sparred.

"We will have disagreements," Trump said. "But we will disagree as friends and never stop working together toward victory."

An aide to Ryan said Friday, "He appreciates the gesture and is going to continue to focus on earning the endorsement of the voters in southern Wisconsin."

Ryan reiterated his support for Trump hours before the endorsement, but the Wisconsin Republican noted his support wasn't a "blank check" and pledged to speak out against the businessman's divisive positions if necessary.

Party divisions were easy to find Friday in Wisconsin, a state that Trump's team insists he can win in November.

Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker skipped the evening rally, preferring to attend all-you-can-eat spaghetti dinner instead of appearing with his party's standard bearer. Wisconsin Assembly Speaker Robin Vos offered a blunt message ahead of the presidential nominee's arrival.

"Welcome to Wisconsin, Mr. Trump, but let's get something straight," Vos wrote in an open letter to his GOP colleagues. "We are Ryan Republicans here in Wisconsin, not Trump Republicans."

The Midwest mayhem underscored Trump's mounting challenges during one of the most tumultuous weeks of his unorthodox campaign. He has skipped from one misstep to the next, sparking a fresh wave of Republican defections among longtime party loyalists who refuse to support their presidential nominee  including some who even publicly support for Democrat Clinton.

Eager to change their minds, Trump unleashed a torrent of insults at Clinton.

"If Hillary Clinton becomes president," he said at an earlier rally in Iowa, "you will have really, in my opinion, the destruction of this country from within."

Trump called his Democratic opponent "a dangerous liar," ''an unbalanced person," ''pretty close to unhinged," ''totally unfit to lead," and lacking "the judgment, temperament and moral character to lead the country."

In Wisconsin, Trump added, "She's a monster."

The charges came soon after Clinton addressed her own political vulnerabilities while facing a group of minority journalists in Washington.

The former secretary of state sought to "clarify and explain" a recent statement on "Fox News Sunday" that FBI Director James Comey said her answers to the bureau about her use of a private email server were "truthful."

"I may have short circuited and for that I will try to clarify," Clinton said, though still insisting she "never sent or received anything that was marked classified."

She also acknowledged many people don't trust her.

"It doesn't make me feel good when people say those things, and I recognize that I have work to do," Clinton said. She added, "I'm going to work my heart out in this campaign and as president to produce results for people."

Yet Trump's own gaffes have largely overshadowed Clinton's problems as the Democrats work to recover from a bruising primary election season.

Complicating the Republican Party's 2016 challenge are fresh signs the nation's economy is strengthening under a Democratic president.

The Labor Department reported Friday that U.S. employers added a healthy 255,000 jobs in July, a sign of confidence that could point to a resilient economy.

Trump's approach to national security came under fire Friday as well, with former CIA Director Michael Morell contending the Republican nominee would make "a poor, even dangerous commander in chief."

Morell, outlining his views in The New York Times, also questioned Trump's praise of Russian President Vladimir Putin.

"In the intelligence business, we would say that Mr. Putin had recruited Mr. Trump as an unwitting agent of the Russian Federation," wrote Morell.

Trump conceded Friday he was wrong to claim repeatedly in recent days that he saw a video of a U.S. cash payment going to Iran.

The New York billionaire has cited a $400 million payment the U.S. made to Iran this year, delivered on the same day that Iran released four American hostages. Trump charged on Thursday in vivid detail that the Iranian government released a video of the cash exchange to embarrass America.

"The plane I saw on television was the hostage plane in Geneva, Switzerland, not the plane carrying $400 million in cash going to Iran!" Trump tweeted Friday morning.

The White House has insisted the payment had nothing to do with the release of the hostages. Friday night, Trump called that explanation "a lie."

In Iowa, he blamed the "dishonest" media for the fuss over an incident earlier in the week in which he asked a screaming baby to leave a rally.

"I don't throw babies out," Trump said. "I love babies."

___

Peoples reported in Washington. AP writers Scott Bauer in Madison, Wisconsin, Kyle Potter in St. Paul, Minnesota, Catherine Lucey in Des Moines, Iowa, and Lisa Lerer and Erica Werner in Washington contributed to this report.

Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton leaves her home in Washington, Friday, Aug. 5, 2016, after hosting a Latinos for Hillary dinner to head to Reagan National Airport to travel to her home in New York. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)

Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump speaks during a campaign rally, Friday, Aug. 5, 2016, in Des Moines, Iowa. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton speaks at the 2016 National Association of Black Journalists' and National Association of Hispanic Journalists' Hall of Fame Luncheon at Marriott Wardman Park in Washington, Friday, Aug. 5, 2016. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)

Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump pauses as he speaks during a campaign rally, Friday, Aug. 5, 2016, in Des Moines, Iowa. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton arrives at the 2016 National Association of Black Journalists' and National Association of Hispanic Journalists' Hall of Fame Luncheon at Marriott Wardman Park in Washington, Friday, Aug. 5, 2016. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)

Supporters of Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump cheer during a campaign rally, Friday, Aug. 5, 2016, in Des Moines, Iowa. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
Moldova: Russia military exercises undermine our sovereignty

CHISINAU, Moldova (AP)  Moldova's Foreign Ministry and its Defense Ministry have criticized recent Russian military exercises held in a separatist region, saying they undermined the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Moldova.

In a statement Friday, the ministry also called for fresh talks about transforming Russia's peacekeeping operation into a civilian mission. Some 1,000 Russian peacekeepers are stationed in Trans-Dniester, a pro-Russian region surrounded by Moldova.

Trans-Dniester broke away in from Moldova in 1990 over fears it would reunite with neighboring Romania. A war between Moldova and the separatists in 1992 in Trans-Dniester left 1,500 people dead.
Teacher charged with trying to solicit minor for sex

LINCOLNTON, N.C. (AP)  Police say a North Carolina teacher has been arrested in an undercover operation on charges of trying to solicit an underage girl for sex.

News agencies report Lincolnton police say 41-year-old Ricky Kelvin Carpenter Jr. was arrested Wednesday and charged with soliciting a minor for an illegal sex act.

Police say a Carpenter contacted a detective posing as a teenage girl on an internet site.

Investigators say Carpenter, who thought the detective was a teenage girl, discussed meeting to have sex.

Carpenter was arrested after arriving at an apartment complex to meet the minor.

Media outlets say Carpenter was a teacher at Pumpkin Center Intermediate School.
Suspect in teen killing shakes severely at his first hearing

ATLANTA (AP)  The suspect accused of killing two teenagers in an Atlanta suburb appeared before a judge for the first time Friday with his hands, wrists and legs shaking continuously.

Jeffrey Hazelwood, 20, jerked his head around as he shook, and said nothing to the judge at his first hearing at the Fulton County Jail, video from WSB-TV showed (http://2wsb.tv/2azsp9t).

Hazelwood was arrested Wednesday and charged with two counts of murder in the killings of Carter Davis and Natalie Henderson. The 17-year-olds were each shot once in the head.

In this Aug. 2016 photo released by the Roswell Police Department, Jeffrey A. Hazelwood of Roswell, Ga., poses for a booking photo, Hazelwood has been arrested on two counts of murder in the deaths of Natalie Henderson and Carter Davis, both 17. While investigators are unsure of the motive, they believe Hazelwood acted alone, the chief said. (Roswell Police Department via AP)

Hazelwood also mumbled to himself during the hearing and appeared to pet an imaginary animal, WSB reported.

"I can just surmise that being charged with such a heinous crime  that is a terrifying experience," his lawyer, Lawrence Zimmerman, told The Associated Press after Friday's hearing.

Zimmerman said he just recently joined the case, and has yet to learn details of the allegations.

A judge denied bond for Hazelwood, whose next court hearing is set for Aug. 19.

Shortly before Hazelwood appeared before the judge, classmates, friends and relatives of Henderson gathered Friday at a Roswell church for her funeral.

Henderson was funny, compassionate and incredibly giving, said her friend Alex Macchione, one of hundreds of mourners at the service.

"She did what she could to make you feel better. She would always make you laugh and she had the most beautiful smile you would see on somebody," Macchione told WSB. "She just cared about everybody all the time."

Investigators have the silver Honda Passport that belongs to Hazelwood, Roswell police said in a statement. But they say they're still hoping to hear from people with who may have seen it around the time of the killings as they continue to investigate.

Police have declined to discuss a possible motive for the killings, nor would they comment on the relationship, if any, between Hazelwood and the teens.

Henderson would have been a senior this year at Roswell High School.

Davis had lived in Rapid City, South Dakota, during part of his high school years before moving to Georgia. He was about to start his senior year at River Ridge High School in Cherokee County.

People hug near a crime scene, Tuesday, Aug. 2, 2016 in Roswell, Ga. Detectives on Tuesday were combing through video from multiple cameras and hoping to hear from any possible witnesses near a suburban Atlanta grocery store in the pre-dawn hours before a teenage boy and girl were both found slain, authorities said. The bodies of Natalie Henderson and Carter Davis, both 17, were discovered by a delivery driver behind the Publix supermarket shortly before 6 a.m. Monday, Roswell police said. (John Spink/Atlanta Journal-Constitution via AP)

Jeffrey Hazelwood, accused of killing two teenagers, appears before a judge on Friday, Aug. 5, 2016 in Atlanta. Hazelwood was arrested Wednesday and charged with two counts of murder in the killings of Carter Davis and Natalie Henderson. (John Spink/Atlanta Journal-Constitution via AP)
Britain to keep key EU anti-racism laws after leaving bloc

BERLIN (AP)  Britain says it will retain key parts of European Union anti-racism laws after leaving the bloc.

Britons voted narrowly to quit the EU in June. Anti-EU campaigners frequently cited EU legislation on a wide variety of issues as a reason to leave.

British officials sought Friday to reassure a Geneva-based United Nations anti-racism panel that EU law "is fully applicable" while the United Kingdom is still a member.

Delegate Ian Naysmith told the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination that "important elements of EU legislation have been transposed into U.K. law and will remain U.K. law even after departure from the European Union."
The Latest: Trump says Obama is lying about payment to Iran

WASHINGTON (AP)  The Latest on the 2016 presidential campaign (all times EDT):

8:55 p.m.

Donald Trump is accusing President Barack Obama of lying to the American people about the circumstances surrounding a $400 million payment to Iran.

Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump looks to the audience as he speaks during a campaign rally, Friday, Aug. 5, 2016, in Green Bay, Wis. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

The White House has insisted the payment had nothing to do with the release of four American hostages being held in the country. They say the U.S. was simply returning Iran's own money in a settlement of a legal claim that went back to the hostage crisis that ended in 1981.

But the timing has raised eyebrows, especially among Republican leaders, who claim the money exchange was a ransom payment.

Trump says of the president's explanation, "It's just a lie."

He adds, "You know, at least be truthful."

__

8:45 p.m.

Donald Trump is continuing to unleash new, deeply personal insults against his rival Hillary Clinton.

Speaking to supporters at a rally in Green Bay, Wisconsin, Trump says, "In one way, she's a monster."

He adds: "In another way she's a weak person. She's actually not strong enough to be president."

Trump is calling Clinton "totally unhinged" and "unbalanced" and says she lacks the integrity to serve in the White House.

The comments come as top Republicans have been begging Trump to focus his attention on attacking Clinton instead of members of his own party.

__

8:40 p.m.

GOP presidential nominee Donald Trump is striking a rare tone of party unity.

In addition to formally endorsing House Speaker Paul Ryan, Trump on Friday evening also threw his support behind Arizona Sen. John McCain and New Hampshire Sen. Kelly Ayotte, with whom he has sparred.

Trump says, "We have to unite."

He says that, as president, he will need a Republican Senate and House to accomplish all of the changes he wants to make.

He adds that, "This campaign is not about me or any one candidate," and says: "We will have disagreements. But we will disagree as friends and never stop working together toward victory."

__

8:25 p.m.

Donald Trump has formally endorsed House Speaker Paul Ryan, after saying he wasn't ready to do so earlier this week.

Trump made the announcement during a campaign stop Friday in Green Bay, Wisconsin.

He says, "I support and endorse our Speaker of the House Paul Ryan," adding that while they "may disagree on a couple of things," they agree on a lot as well.

The timing is unusual. The rally is being held on a Friday night opposite the opening ceremonies of the Olympics.

In an interview earlier this week, Trump said he was "not quite there yet" when it came to endorsing Ryan in his primary race. He also praised Ryan's opponent, Paul Nehlen, for running "a very good campaign."

Nehlen says Trump's decision "is appropriate and is a display of true leadership."

__

6:45 p.m.

Tim Kaine says Hillary Clinton's campaign is focused on jobs while Donald Trump is "shadowboxing with every last person" and ignoring the issue that matters most to Americans.

The Democratic vice presidential candidate on Friday held his first campaign rally in Michigan since becoming the nominee.

The Virginia senator told a crowd of hundreds in Grand Rapids that Trump should be talking about the economy but is too entangled in his dispute with an American Muslim family whose son was killed in Iraq and his flap over endorsing House Speaker Paul Ryan.

Kaine criticized Trump for calling the American military a "disaster," ''trash-talking" allies and making products overseas.

__

5:30 p.m.

Republican Donald Trump has a message for reluctant voters:

"If you don't like me. That's OK," he tells a rally crowd in Des Moines, Iowa. "Vote for Pence because it's the same thing."

Trump was referring to his running mate, Mike Pence, the conservative governor of Indiana.

Pence was chosen partially to help calm nervous Republicans still on the fence about Trump and to bring some establishment sensibility to the ticket.

The pair are campaigning together on Friday in Iowa and Wisconsin

___

5:25 p.m.

Donald Trump is promising Iowa that it will keep its spot as the leadoff state in choosing presidential nominees.

At a rally in Des Moines Friday, the Republican presidential candidate said "they are talking about putting you at the back of the pack. Not going to happen if I win."

Trump, who placed second to Texas Sen. Ted Cruz in the Iowa caucuses this year, said that Iowa has a very important history.

"You're going to keep your place in history. You're going to be that first state," he said.

___

5:20 p.m.

A big part of Donald Trump's talk in Des Moines is reading from a press release by a border agent group which describes Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton's immigration plan an invitation to rampant drug and terrorist violence in the United States.

Trump was reading from a July 28 statement from the National Border Patrol Council, which claims 16,500 members. He quoted it saying: "Simply put this plan is a catastrophe and will threaten countless Americans"

Clinton wants to allow immigrants in the U.S. illegally to be able to pursue citizenship through a series of fines, taxes and administrative procedures over time.

The group says Clinton's plan would allow infiltration of drug cartels and terrorists which "would quickly manipulate this chaos and further their plans to harm innocent American citizens."

5:10 p.m.

Donald Trump wants the world to know that he "loves babies," after being criticized for asking a screaming baby to leave a rally this week.

Trump said in Iowa Friday that the press misrepresented his comments, calling the coverage "so dishonest."

"I don't throw babies out. I love babies," Trump said.

When the baby cried, Trump initially said, "Don't worry about that baby." But as the crying continued, Trump said "Actually, I was just kidding. You can get that baby out of here." Trump still appeared to be joking.

Trump said Friday that everyone at the event was laughing and having a good time. He joked that the crying hit operatic levels. "We can take that baby to training school and it will be the next great Pavarotti," he said

___

4:50 p.m.

Republican Sen. Susan Collins of Maine says Donald Trump's comments about her state's Somali community were "disparaging" and "unhelpful."

Trump, the Republican presidential nominee, appeared at a rally in Portland on Thursday. He cited the state's Somali community as an example of refugees "coming from among the most dangerous territories and countries" and added that "has to stop."

The comments drew widespread criticism in Portland, a liberal city that has the largest population in the state. Collins released a statement Friday that said Maine has a long history of benefiting from immigration, "including our friends from Somalia."

Collins' says immigration to Maine has been "imperfect," but it also criticized Trump for taking aim at immigrants who came to America legally.

Collins has not endorsed Trump.

___

4:40 p.m.

Republican Donald Trump is lashing out at Hillary Clinton as he campaigns in Iowa, declaring her "pretty close to unhinged."

Trump told supporters at a Friday rally in Des Moines that, "if Hillary Clinton becomes president, you will have terrorism. You will have problems. You will have really the destruction of our country from within. "

He went on to label her as "unstable," ''a dangerous liar" and says she "lacks the judgment, temperament and moral character to lead this country."

"She's really pretty close to unhinged," he adds. "She's really like an unbalanced person."

The insults come as Trump has come under criticism from Republicans for getting sidetracked by other issues when he should be attacking Clinton.

Trump took the stage following an introduction from running mate Mike Pence.

___

2:20 p.m.

Hillary Clinton's running mate says a federal court ruling in Wisconsin that overturned a number of voting restrictions approved by Republicans will allow more people to vote.

Tim Kaine said at a campaign rally Friday in Milwaukee that he salutes the liberal groups that brought the lawsuit challenging more than a dozen laws backed by Republican Gov. Scott Walker and the GOP-controlled legislature. A federal judge last week ruled that limitations on early voting locations, hours and elements of the state's photo identification requirement were unconstitutional.

Kaine calls it a "big voting rights case."

Plaintiffs argued that the laws were designed to suppress Democratic votes and the judge agreed. Wisconsin's Republican attorney general has vowed to appeal so the changes won't take effect for the Nov. 8 election.

___

1:35 p.m.

Tim Kaine is taking a brewery tour on his first campaign stop in the battleground state of Wisconsin since becoming Hillary Clinton's running mate.

Kaine took a brief tour of Lakefront Brewery in the Democratic stronghold of Milwaukee on Friday before a campaign rally.

Kaine checked out fermentation tanks and got a brief history of the brewery along the shores of the Milwaukee River. Kaine admired an American flag-draped chalet used by the Milwaukee Brewers' mascot Bernie Brewer in the old Milwaukee County Stadium.

Kaine had asked during the brewery tour if Lakefront makes a kosher beer. Tour guide Dylan Mazurkiewicz told him that it does, something Kaine, who is Catholic, mentioned during the rally.

Reporters were led out of the tour before Kaine sampled any beer.

___

1:30 p.m.

Hillary Clinton says she knows that she has work to do to win over Americans' trust.

The Democrat presidential nominee has some of the highest unfavorable ratings of any presidential candidate in modern history. In many polls, a majority of Americans say they don't trust her.

She said Friday to a meeting of black and Latino journalists in Washington: "I take it seriously. It doesn't make me feel good when people say those things."

Clinton blames some of her low approval rating on Republican attacks, saying she gets higher marks from Americans when she is serving in public office.

She said, "Just maybe when I'm actually running for a job there is a real benefit from those on the other side with trying to stir up as much trouble as possible."

___

1:25 p.m.

Three Senate Democrats are pressuring Pennsylvania Sen. Pat Toomey and other Republicans to renounce Donald Trump, telling reporters that their wait-and-see stance is insulting to voters.

"This is an example of somebody who doesn't have the courage to stand up" to Trump, said Sen. Debbie Stabenow of Michigan, when asked about Toomey's campaign Friday.

Maryland Sen. Ben Cardin, the top Democrat on the Foreign Relations Committee, said Trump's "reckless, dangerous" remarks make clear Trump is unfit to be president.

Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, of New Hampshire, mocked Republicans who say they support Trump but don't endorse his candidacy. "That's baloney," Shaheen said. "We have seen what Donald Trump is doing to do," she said. He's not going to "straighten up."

Among those in the support-but-not-endorse category is Republican Sen. Kelly Ayotte of New Hampshire.

___

1:10 p.m.

Hillary Clinton says passing comprehensive immigration legislation will be a top priority for her administration if elected president, and her White House will be ready to introduce a bill "as quickly" as possible.

Clinton says her victory and Democratic wins in Congress will force Republicans to act on immigration.

She says, "There's nothing like winning to change minds."

Clinton was speaking Friday at a meeting of organizations of black and Latino journalists in Washington.

A bipartisan effort to overhaul the nation's immigration system passed the Senate in 2013, but died in the House in the face of strident Republican opposition.

Clinton says that, "I think the outcome will be very different this time."

___

12:40 p.m.

Hillary Clinton says President Barack Obama isn't getting the credit he deserves for leading the nation out of a crippling recession.

Speaking at an annual convention of black and Hispanic journalists, Clinton quoted the expression, "When the economy catches a cold, communities of color catch pneumonia."

She said "we are out of the ditch we were in" and should now focus on building upon progress. She said civil rights activist Rosa Parks may have opened up seats on the bus, but the nation's job is to make sure everyone can afford bus fare.

Clinton says she wants to invest more in infrastructure, generate more jobs for young people and help black entrepreneurs start businesses. She also promised in her first 100 days as president to propose comprehensive immigration legislation.

___

12:40 p.m.

House Speaker Paul Ryan says Donald Trump could cross a line that would prevent the speaker from backing him, but "Where that line is, I don't know."

Ryan reiterated his stance Friday that "With any endorsement of anybody, there's never a blank check."

Ryan was asked by host Charlie Sykes on WTMJ whether there's anything that would lead to Ryan "cancelling" that check.

Ryan responded: "Of course, but I'm not going to go down the road re-litigating past comments."

Trump shocked Republicans this week when he refused to endorse Ryan in Tuesday's Republican primary in Wisconsin, but Ryan is brushing it off. Ryan himself hesitated for weeks before ultimately endorsing Trump.

Ryan said: "I see no purpose in doing this tit for tat, petty back and forth with Donald Trump."

___

12:05 p.m.

Republican Sen. Pat Toomey of Pennsylvania says Donald Trump should be making the case against Hillary Clinton "rather than getting involved in other unrelated discussions."

Toomey, who is in a tough re-election race, is one of a handful of Republican senators who have not endorsed Trump. He says he is still "watching and waiting and evaluating."

But Toomey insisted on a conference call Friday that Pennsylvania voters understand that Trump "is in a category unto himself," and "will make a completely separate decision about the person they want representing them in the United States Senate."

Republicans are banking on that ticket-splitting theory in key Senate races, though Democrats dismiss it.

Toomey was also asked whether he would be more comfortable if Trump relinquished the nomination. He says it's Trump's decision.

___

11:35 a.m.

House Speaker Paul Ryan says his opponent in Tuesday's Wisconsin primary is backed by out-of-state interests peddling a "nasty virulent strain of something" that's not conservatism.

Ryan predicts voters will reject Paul Nehlen, a businessman and political newcomer who's benefited in recent days from Donald Trump's praise and refusal to endorse Ryan.

In an interview Friday on WISN radio in Wisconsin, Ryan also reiterated that the endorsement he cares about is from his own voters. Ryan said: "I'm just going to rise above this stuff and I'm not going to get involved in some sort of petty back and forth."

He says he will continue to speak out to condemn Trump's comments when necessary. Ryan says he wishes it weren't necessary but "that's just the way the cookie crumbles."

___

10:30 a.m.

House Speaker Paul Ryan's Republican primary challenger is on the defensive after saying he wants a discussion about deporting all U.S. Muslims.

Paul Nehlen's comments on a radio show this week have drawn derision from other Republicans. Asked for comment Friday, Nehlen released a statement that did not address what he said and instead called on Ryan to debate him.

Nehlen was asked whether he was calling for deporting all U.S. Muslims. He said, "I'm suggesting we have a discussion about it, that's for sure." He later said he wants to deport only Muslims who believe in Sharia.

Wisconsin Assembly Republican Majority Leader Jim Steineke tweeted that Nehlen was a "special kind of stupid." Assembly Speaker Robin Vos called him a bigot.

Trump has refused to endorse Ryan and praised Nehlen, giving him a burst of attention before Tuesday's primary.

___

9:25 a.m.

Republican Wisconsin Assembly Speaker Robin Vos says he is embarrassed about Donald Trump being the GOP presidential nominee, calling it a "sad day in America."

But he tells The Associated Press that he's not rescinding his support for Trump because he says Democrat Hillary Clinton would be worse.

Vos wrote a column in advance of a Trump rally Friday in Green Bay. He calls Trump out for saying "stupid things" and for praising House Speaker Paul Ryan's primary opponent. Trump said this week he was not ready to endorse Ryan.

Vos said "we are Ryan Republicans here in Wisconsin, not Trump Republicans."

In the interview, Vos said Trump needs to apologize for his comments about Ryan.

None of the top-ranking Wisconsin Republicans are attending the Trump event.

___

9:15 a.m.

Donald Trump has announced his team of economic advisers and it includes many of the people who have been already helping his campaign.

Among those on the team are John Paulson, a hedge fund billionaire; Dan Kowalski, a former staffer on the Senate Budget Committee; and Steven Mnuchin, a New York investor who is Trump's national finance chairman.

In the statement announcing the team, Trump's campaign also said he'll unveil a detailed jobs plan on Monday at the Detroit Economic Club. It said he will focus on "empowering Americans by freeing up the necessary tools for everyone to gain economically."

___

8:30 a.m.

Donald Trump's running mate, Mike Pence, is brushing off Republican concerns of turmoil in their campaign.

In recent weeks, Trump has angered fellow Republicans by criticizing parents of a soldier killed in Iraq and refusing to endorse House Speaker Paul Ryan and others for re-election. The feud has overshadowed Trump's criticism of Hillary Clinton.

Pence told NBC's "Today Show" that he is seeing "tremendous enthusiasm" for the Republican ticket. He said "Donald Trump and I are standing shoulder to shoulder to say to the American people, 'We can be strong again.'"

Pence also said Trump values the sacrifices made by military families: "This man has a heart for our soldiers."

___

7:28 a.m.

Donald Trump is making a rare admission he was wrong  in claiming he saw a video of a U.S. cash payment going to Iran.

Trump tweeted Friday that "The plane I saw on television was the hostage plane in Geneva, Switzerland, not the plane carrying $400 million in cash going to Iran!"

Trump has been expressing outrage about a $400 million payment the U.S. made to Iran this year. It was delivered on the same day that Iran released four Americans they had detained. Republicans call it ransom; the Obama administration says it was money the U.S. legally owed Iran.

Trump said Wednesday he saw video showing the money being delivered. The campaign acknowledged Thursday that this was incorrect, yet Trump repeated the claim hours later at a rally.

Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump shakes hands with his running mate, Republican vice presidential candidate, Indiana Gov. Mike Pence during a campaign rally, Friday, Aug. 5, 2016, in Des Moines, Iowa. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton speaks at a rally at International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 357 Hall, in Las Vegas, Thursday, Aug. 4, 2016. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)

Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump speaks during a campaign rally at Merrill Auditorium, Thursday, Aug. 4, 2016, in Portland, Maine. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump speaks during a campaign rally at Merrill Auditorium, Thursday, Aug. 4, 2016, in Portland, Maine. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton addresses the 2016 National Association of Black Journalists (NABJ) and National Association of Hispanic Journalists (NAHJ) joint convention, Friday, Aug. 5, 2016, in Washington. (AP Photo/Paul Holston)
US trade deficit hits $44.5 billion, biggest in 10 months

WASHINGTON (AP)  The U.S. trade deficit increased to the highest point in 10 months, driven up by a big rise in imports of oil and Chinese-made computers, cell phones and clothing.

The deficit rose to $44.5 billion in June, 8.7 percent higher than a revised May deficit of $41 billion, the Commerce Department reported Friday. It was the biggest gap between what America sells abroad and what the country imports since a $44.6 billion deficit last August.

Exports, which have struggled this year because of the strong dollar and global weakness, edged up 0.3 percent to $183.2 billion. Imports rose a faster 1.9 percent to $227.7 billion, led by a 19.4 percent jump in petroleum imports.

In this Wednesday, July 13, 2016, photo, the container ship Tropic Carib is shown docked at the Port of Palm Beach in Riviera Beach, Fla. On Friday, Aug. 5, the Commerce Department reports on the U.S. trade gap for June. (AP Photo/Wilfredo Lee)

The politically sensitive deficit with China increased to $29.8 billion, the highest in seven months.

A wider U.S. trade deficit acts as a drag on growth because it means the nation is earning less on overseas sales of U.S. exports while spending more on imported products.

America's deficit with China was up 2.5 percent to the highest level since a deficit of $31.3 billion last November. Through the first six months of this year, the deficit with China, the largest with any country, is running 6.5 percent above the same period in 2015, putting it on track to set another annual record.

Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump, seeking to tap into the economic anxiety of Americans who have seen jobs disappear in an increasingly global economy, has accused the Obama administration of failing to protect U.S. workers from unfair trade practices in China and other countries.

Trump has said he would exit from the North American Free Trade Agreement with Canada and Mexico if it were not renegotiated, kill the pending Trans-Pacific Partnership trade agreement and take a more aggressive approach with China, including charging the country as a currency manipulator.

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce, normally an ally of Republicans on trade, contends that Trump's approach would cost 3.5 million U.S. jobs and result in higher prices for American consumers and a weaker economy.

Through the first six months of this year, the deficit is 2.3 percent below the same period in 2015, a year in which America's deficit in goods and services trade rose 2.1 percent to $500.4 billion. The lower deficit so far this year reflects the fact that while U.S. exports are down, the value of imports is down by a larger amount, reflecting in large part lower oil prices.

While oil prices plunged at the beginning of the year, they have been rebounding more recently. In June, America's foreign oil bill rose 19.4 percent to $13.3 billion as the average price of a barrel of imported crude oil climbed to $39.38. The per barrel increase of $5.19 from the May level was the biggest one-month price gain since May 2011 and marked the fourth straight month that crude oil has risen in price.

America's deficit with the European Union fell 3.9 percent to $12.8 billion in June, the month that Britain sent financial markets tumbling with voters' support for a British exit from the EU. U.S. markets quickly regained those losses and economists do not expect a large impact on the U.S. economy from Britain's decision to leave the EU.
Steady hiring is now benefiting a broader group of Americans

WASHINGTON (AP)  Years of steady job gains have finally begun to benefit a wider range of Americans, including those with less education and in lower-paying jobs.

A second straight month of robust hiring  255,000 jobs added in July  pointed to employer confidence that suggested that the economy is powering through a slump that struck early this year. The unemployment rate remained a low 4.9 percent, the Labor Department said Friday.

Hiring has been solid for six years, but for most of that time there were caveats: Average hourly pay was stagnant. And millions were no longer either working or looking for work, leaving a smaller proportion of adults in the labor force.

In this Tuesday, July 19, 2016, photo, Reina Borges, left, stands in line to apply for a job with Aldi at a job fair in Miami Lakes, Fla. On Friday, Aug. 5, the Labor Department issues its jobs report for July. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)

Evidence is emerging that those long-running weak spots are finally improving. Many businesses are offering higher pay to attract workers as competition to fill jobs heats up. Average pay is up 2.6 percent from a year ago  matching the best 12-month gain since the Great Recession ended in 2009 and comfortably above inflation of just 1 percent.

The resilient job market is encouraging more Americans to begin looking for a job  a key trend that helps offset a drag from the growing retirements of aging baby boomers.

Taken together, the two trends suggest that the economic recovery, now seven years old, is finally benefiting a broad spectrum of the population.

Economists at Goldman Sachs have found that pay for workers earning less than $12.50 an hour has risen 4 percent in the past year, more than for any other income group. Those earning from $12.50 to $20 an hour have received the next-biggest increase, at just above 3 percent. Higher minimum wages may be bumping up pay for workers further above the federal minimum of $7.25.

"Wage growth figures indicate that the tide is turning," said Douglas Holtz-Eakin, a former director of the Congressional Budget Office and president of the conservative American Action Forum.

Stock investors seemed pleased by Friday's job figures, which raised hopes for the economy without seeming to compel the Federal Reserve to resume raising interest rates soon. The Dow Jones industrial average closed up 1 percent, and the Standard & Poor's 500 index and the Nasdaq composite both set record highs. Many Fed watchers think the central bank will raise rates later this year but probably not before December.

The jobs report also suggested that employers were unfazed by either Britain's late-June vote to quit the European Union or the U.S. economy's tepid growth in the first half of the year: Just 1 percent at an annual rate. Most analysts expect the solid hiring to help fuel an economic rebound in the second half of this year.

Consumers, who have driven the economy's post-recession expansion, ramped up spending in the April-June quarter at the second-fastest pace since the recession. Their spending, though, has been offset by a slowdown in business spending on machinery and equipment.

The economy's average annual growth rate since the recession ended in June 2009 is just over 2 percent, the slowest since the 1930s. But job growth  the backbone of the economy  has fared much better: 2014 and 2015 notched the fastest two-year hiring gains since the late 1990s.

Part of the disparity is explained by slow growth in worker efficiency since the recession ended. Stronger hiring amid a weak expansion suggests that the economy has grown less productive, with workers delivering less output per hour.

Many of the disparities that have fueled voter anger this election season remain. Just 54 percent of Americans with only high school degrees have jobs, compared with 72 percent of those with college or postgraduate degrees.

Still, minimum wage increases and competition for workers are elevating pay in many industries, including those with heavy concentrations of low- and middle-income jobs. Average wages in the leisure and hospitality industry, made up mostly of hotels and restaurants, rose in July from a year ago by 4.1 percent. That matches June's showing, the best in eight years.

Construction firms, which are scrambling for workers to meet demand for new homes, are paying 3.5 percent higher than a year ago. That's the biggest gain in nearly six years.

Jesse Singh, CEO of Chicago-based CPG Building Products, said his firm has had to raise pay 10 percent to 20 percent and ramp up recruiting to find the workers needed to staff its two factories in Pennsylvania and Ohio. Consumer confidence is boosting sales of his company's decking, trim and other products, Singh said.

"They feel comfortable enough to move forward with projects," he said of American homeowners.

Women have been receiving a solid majority of the new jobs this year, boosted by robust hiring in health care and education. Through July, 78 percent of the 1.3 million jobs added have gone to women.

Americans with less than a high school degree are also coming back into the job market, likely in response to rising wages in lower-skilled sectors. Forty-four percent of people without high school degrees have jobs  the highest proportion since July 2007, before the recession began.

"It certainly is encouraging," said Diane Swonk, founder of DSEconomics. "But is it enough to derail the anger we're seeing this election season? No."

___
WADA removes Kenya from non-compliant list

MONTREAL (AP)  Kenya has been removed from the World Anti-Doping Agency's list of "non-compliant" countries, three months after WADA described the nation's anti-doping regulations as "a complete mess."

WADA said in a statement late Thursday that the new anti-doping legislation introduced by Kenya's parliament is "now deemed to be in line" with the 2015 World Anti-Doping code.

At least 40 Kenyan track and field athletes have failed doping tests and been banned since the 2012 Olympics in London. Four senior officials at the Kenyan track federation, including the top two, have been suspended by the IAAF  track and field's international governing body  after being accused of trying to corrupt the anti-doping process.
Jury convicts Florida man of killing NY state trooper in '14

BINGHAMTON, N.Y. (AP)  A Florida man accused of deliberately driving his vehicle into a New York state trooper who was issuing a ticket has been convicted of first-degree murder.

A jury Friday found Almond Upton, of Melrose, Florida, guilty of the 2014 death of 42-year-old Trooper Christopher Skinner. He faces a possible punishment of from 20 years to life in prison at a Nov. 10 sentencing hearing.

Prosecutors say the trooper was issuing a ticket along Interstate 81 near Binghamton in upstate New York when Upton purposely drove his vehicle at 93 mph into the officer.
DC-area mayor faces drug charges after meth-for-sex sting

FAIRFAX, Va. (AP)  A three-term northern Virginia mayor was arrested on drug charges after he tried to trade two grams of methamphetamine for sex acts in what turned out to be an undercover sting operation, police said Friday.

City of Fairfax Mayor R. Scott Silverthorne was arrested Thursday night after meeting at a Tysons Corner hotel just outside the Capital Beltway with undercover detectives he approached through a website used to arrange casual sexual encounters between men, Fairfax County police said at a press conference.

Police Capt. Jack Hardin said they received a tip that Silverthorne had been arranging drugs-for-sex encounters. Police then set up an online profile on the website, and within two days Silverthorne made contact online with the detective who set up the profile, Hardin said.

These booking photos provided by the Fairfax County, Va., Police Department show, from left, City of Fairfax, Va. Mayor Richard Scott Silverthorne, Juan Jose Fernandez, 34, and Caustin Lee McLaughlin, 21, both of Maryland. Silverthorne is facing drug charges after police say he was arrested in a meth-for-sex sting. Police say detectives located Silverthorne's two suppliers and they were also arrested and charged. (Fairfax County, Va., Police Department via AP)

"We had information on what the mayor was looking for, what types of activities" he wanted to engage in, Hardin said.

Silverthorne, who also worked as a substitute teacher in Fairfax County Public Schools, was arrested and gave a full confession, police said. He was released on his own recognizance while he awaits a preliminary hearing Oct. 31 on a felony charge of drug distribution and a misdemeanor charge of possessing drug paraphernalia.

Silverthorne, in an email to The Associated Press, declined comment and referred questions to his attorney, Brian Drummond, who did not immediately return a phone call Friday morning.

The city announced Friday that Silverthorne appointed Councilman Jeffrey Greenfield as acting mayor, effective immediately. The city charter gives the mayor the power to appoint an acting mayor in his place in the event of a mayor's absence or disability.

Greenfield issued a statement saying he would serve as mayor "until further notice.

"The City of Fairfax City Council appreciates Mr. Silverthorne's longstanding dedication to the community. He has served the City of Fairfax as a Councilmember and Mayor for more than a quarter of a century. The community has benefitted from his dedication and his vision," Greenfield said.

Hardin didn't know how long Silverthorne had been using the website, which he did not identify. But he said drugs-for-sex encounters were common on the website, and that Silverthorne has set up a similar encounter at least once before.

In the sting operation, the undercover detectives agreed to meet for a group sexual encounter in exchange for methamphetamine, police said. Silverthorne, 50, would provide methamphetamine and the undercover detectives would provide the hotel room, Hardin said.

After detectives met Silverthorne at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in McLean on Thursday night, they saw him meet suppliers, Hardin said. Silverthorne was arrested after police said he gave detectives methamphetamine.

One person who was with the mayor was arrested and another person was released, Hardin said.

Detectives were able to find and arrest the suppliers, who were still in the area, he said. Detectives charged Juan Jose Fernandez, 34, of Takoma Park, Maryland, with distribution of methamphetamine, possession with the intent to distribute methamphetamine and possession of drug paraphernalia. Caustin Lee McLaughlin, 21, also of Takoma Park, was charged with distribution of methamphetamine, obstruction of justice and possession of drug paraphernalia. As detectives arrested McLaughlin, police said he resisted and a detective used his stun gun. Police said there were no injuries.

Calls to the office of the Public Defender, which is representing Fernandez, were not returned. No attorney is listed for McLaughlin on online court records.

Prior to serving as mayor, Silverthorne, a Democrat, also served nine terms on the Fairfax City Council from 1990 through 2008.

His father, the late Frederick Silverthorne, was mayor of Fairfax in the late 1970s and early 1980s.

Despite Silverthorne's long years of service, he was not an especially prominent public figure in the greater D.C. region, where local politics often take a backseat to federal politics.

Silverthorne was re-elected in May for a third term of the city of 24,000, about 20 miles west of the nation's capital, after a tumultuous year in which he filed for bankruptcy, lost his home to foreclosure and was diagnosed with cancer. He announced in November that he'd been diagnosed with squamous cell carcinoma.

Silverthorne defeated Tom Ammazzalorso in May with 58 percent of the vote. Ammazzalorso, a high school history teacher, raised questions about Silverthorne's fitness to serve as mayor given his personal financial problems.

Bu Ammazzalorso said in a phone interview Friday that he knew Silverthorne had personal and professional problems "but never in a million years would I have imagined this."

"My heart goes out to his entire family, he said. "He loves Fairfax City."
Wardens seize mounted polar bear from Oklahoma airport

TULSA, Okla. (AP)  Oklahoma game wardens have seized a mounted polar bear that had been on display at a Tulsa airport.

Wardens confiscated the taxidermied bear Thursday night from Jones Riverside Airport. Tulsa County game warden Carlos Gomez told Tulsa television station KOTV (http://bit.ly/2ammXLW ) that the bear was legally killed in 1969 in Alaska and brought to Oklahoma.

The hunter died decades ago. His family members recently tracked down the bear at the Jones airport, where it had been on display. Gomez says the person who had been in possession of the bear didn't have paperwork to prove ownership.

Gomez says charges or citations are expected. He says the bear is valued at about $50,000.

___
Syria rebels claim taking part of military college in Aleppo

BEIRUT (AP)  Syrian rebels and insurgents said on Friday they are edging closer to breaking the government force's siege of the opposition-held part of Aleppo, taking parts of the city's military college close to a strategic siege area.

The announcement from two ultraconservative factions, including al-Qaida's branch in Syria which is now known as the Levant Conquest Front, came on social media, saying they had pushed into the college, where artillery men trained in peace-time. The facility is located about 1.6 kilometers (1 mile) from the besieged opposition areas.

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitoring group confirmed that a part of the facility was captured. The activist group said fierce clashes had erupted around the college, with casualties on both sides.

FILE - In this Friday, July. 29, 2016 file photo, provided by the Syrian anti-government activist group Aleppo Media Center (AMC), shows Syrian citizens inspect damaged buildings after airstrikes hit Aleppo, Syria. Fierce fighting and airstrikes continue in Syria's northern city of Aleppo as insurgents try to break a siege on opposition-held eastern districts in a counteroffensive to government advances. But Syria's war, now in its sixth year, is raging beyond Aleppo, claiming dozens of lives every day. (Aleppo Media Center via AP, File)

The media office of Hezbollah, the Lebanese Shiite militant group fighting alongside Syrian President Bashar Assad's forces, denied reports of a rebel advance.

The rebels on Friday also shelled a nearby, government-controlled neighborhood of Aleppo, killing at least three civilians, according to the Observatory. Syrian state media said five civilians, including three children, were killed.

The U.N. estimates that between 250,000 and 300,000 residents have been trapped in the besieged, eastern part of Aleppo since pro-government forces cut the last supply route in July. The world body and numerous relief organizations have warned of a looming humanitarian catastrophe as conditions deteriorate.

Russia, a staunch Assad ally, had declared it was offering humanitarian corridors for residents to leave the area, but rights groups said such passages are not neutral and don't offer guarantees to civilians wishing to use them.

Also Friday, Denmark's armed forces announced their aircraft have for the first time dropped bombs in Syria's Raqqa province, where the Islamic State group has its self-declared capital.

Defense Command Denmark said the F-16 raid happened "in the past week" but did not give further details. The supreme military command said the Danish fighter jets also participated in operations over Iraqi provinces targeting IS command and control facilities, weapons stocks and fighters.

The Scandinavian country joined the international coalition fighting the Islamic State group in October 2014. Danish warplanes have previously participated in airstrikes on IS forces in Iraq, but not Syria. Those planes were brought back for repairs last year.

Denmark's present contribution to the anti-IS effort includes seven F-16 fighter jets, among others, with a mandate to bomb in Syria.

Meanwhile, the Local Coordination Committees reported late Friday that Syrian security forces opened fire when they stormed a prison in the country's south to put down a riot by the inmates, wounding several.

Fahd Musa, a lawyer who heads the activist Syrian Committee for the Release of Detainees, told The Associated Press that tensions had flared inside the prison in the town of Sweida on Thursday, after intelligence officers demanded the inmates hand over three political prisoners for interrogation. The inmates refused to hand them over and rebelled.

No other details were immediately available.

___

Associated Press writer Jan Olsen in Copenhagen, Denmark, contributed to this report.
Exiled Turkmen man jailed in Belarus, awaits extradition

MINSK, Belarus (AP)  The Border Guard Committee of Belarus said on Friday it has detained a Turkmenistan-born Swedish man and is preparing to extradite the former journalist to Turkmenistan which he fled more than a decade ago.

The committee's Alexander Tishchenko told The Associated Press that Chary Annamuradov was detained last month as he flew into Belarus since his name was on a wanted-list shared by several former Soviet republics.

His lawyer, Tatyana Savitskaya, said Belarusian authorities are now preparing for his extradition to Turkmenistan where he is wanted for fraud.

Swedish Foreign Ministry spokesman Johan Murray confirmed a Swedish national was being held in Belarus and the embassy there was providing him with assistance and judicial support. He declined to elaborate.

Annamuradov, who investigated drug trafficking between Turkmenistan and neighboring Afghanistan, was sentenced to 18 years in prison in Turkmenistan in 1991 for drug possession. He was released after serving a third of his sentence and fled the country. After living briefly in Moscow and Prague where he worked for the Turkmen-language service of Radio Free Europe Annamuradov moved to Sweden where he was granted political asylum in 2002.

The former Soviet republic of Turkmenistan is one of the world's most closed societies. Rights groups say it is impossible to determine how many political prisoners the government is holding, while some have simply disappeared in prisons, cut off from contact with their families and the outside world.

Jonathan Lundqvist, president of the Swedish chapter of Reporters Without Borders, told the AP Annamuradov had not been working as a journalist since he came to Sweden. His friend Murat Khanaliyev said Annamuradov has recently been working as a taxi driver.

Minsk-based Khanaliyev, who was waiting for him at the airport, said Annamuradov decided not to show his Swedish passport because he would have to pay for a Belarusian visa which he would not need if he was traveling on his Russian passport.

Savitskaya told the AP that her client is kept in a detention center in Minsk awaiting extradition.

"The worst scenario is that Chary will be sent to Turkmenistan which has confirmed the arrest warrant but has not sent the necessary paperwork yet," she said. "Nothing good awaits Chary in Turkmenistan."

Last year, the democracy watchdog group Freedom House listed Turkmenistan among the worst offenders when it comes to jailing journalists and tightening media controls.

___
US chamber chairman talks oil woes, election on Alaska trip

KETCHIKAN, Alaska (AP)  The chairman of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce made a visit this week to Ketchikan, where he called on the presidential candidates from both major parties to focus on growth amid low oil prices.

Chairman John Hopkins spoke to the Greater Ketchikan Chamber of Commerce about topics including the global energy market and international trade. The national chamber doesn't endorse presidential candidates, but it does take a stance on policy, he said.

It supports Republican Donald Trump's statement on energy production and Democrat Hillary Clinton's push for infrastructure spending, Hopkins said Wednesday.

He added the chamber is concerned about where the national political discourse on energy is headed, The Ketchikan Daily News reported (http://bit.ly/2aZYdHn).

"Our message is very clear to both candidates: If you want America to succeed, focus on growth," Hopkins said. ". That's how we pay our bills, defend our country and keep the American dream alive."

Hopkins is the head of NuScale Power, a 700-employee engineering firm developing compact nuclear reactors. He was in Ketchikan to attend a Waterfall Foundation fundraiser benefiting breast cancer patients.

Hopkins' visit came after an appearance in Anchorage in late July, when he announced the U.S. chamber's endorsement of Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski.

At the end of his remarks to the Ketchikan chamber, Hopkins took questions from the audience about Alaska, which is struggling with a multibillion-dollar deficit brought on by low oil prices.

He said the current state of affairs might be the "new norm" for the world.

"But where is oil going? I don't know," he said. "It's concerning to all of us."

___
A Florida man is accused of fatally shooting his ex-girlfriend's new boyfriend, an off-duty firefighter, after ambushing the couple outside his Lakeland home.

Polk County Sheriff's officials say Caleb McKinney, 31, was waiting for his ex-girlfriend, 27-year-old Kayla Stayner, and her boyfriend, Clifford Cofer Jr, to arrive at his home Wednesday evening.

Sheriff Grady Judd says when Coffer and Stayner pulled into the driveway of McKinney's residence at 202 Alderman Road at around 6pm, the man sprinted across the yard and started shooting a .40-caliber handgun at the windshield.

Scroll down for video

Jealous ex: Caleb McKinney, 31 (left), is accused of shooting to death his ex's new boyfriend, Sumter County Fire Department Lt Clifford Cofer Jr, 27 (right)

Ambushed: McKinney's ex-girlfriend and Cofer were dropping off medicine for her and McKinney's infant at his home in Lakeland (pictured) when the 31-year-old opened fire

Stayner was behind the wheel of her black Nissan Rogue. Her boyfriend was in the front passenger seat and her five-year-old son was sitting in the back, reported The Lakeland Ledger.

According to officials, McKinney fired five times, shouting to his ex-girlfriend that he was going to kill her.

Both Stayner and her son escaped unharmed, even though officials say the child was in the line of fire during the shooting.

When a deputy went to take the little boy from the scene, he told him, 'I dont want to get in the car, I dont want to get killed,' according to reporting by WFLA.

Cofer, a 27-year-old Sumter County Fire Department lieutenant, died at the scene from gunshot wounds to the chest and stomach.

Bad breakup: Kayla Stayner (left) and McKinney had been dating for more than three years, but the man allegedly broke up with her

McKinney faces multiple charges including first-degree murder, attempted first-degree murder, aggravated assault with a firearm and shooting into an unoccupied conveyance. He is being held without bail.

The 31-year-old had been scheduled to appear before a judge Thursday but was deemed mentally unfit.

According to officials, McKinney, who works as a parts manager at Lakeland Toyota, had no past criminal record but was upset about his breakup with Stayner.

The two had been dating for more than three years and had a baby together recently, but the boyfriend reportedly decided to end their relationship.

The station WTSP reported that in July, McKinney attempted to commit suicide by overdosing on drugs, but survived.

On Wednesday, Stayner headed to McKinney's home to drop off medicine for their infant. Prior to her arrival, she sent her ex a text message saying that Cofer will be coming with her.

McKinney allegedly told police that Cofer, a second-generation firefighter whose mother is a cancer survivor, 'didn't deserve this'

After allegedly killing Cofer, McKinney retreated back into the house and barricaded himself inside. Polk County deputies were eventually able to coax him out and he turned himself in without incident.

When questioned by police, McKinney allegedly admitted to the deadly shooting and said that Cofer 'didn't deserve this.'

The 27-year-old was a second-generation firefighter: his father, Clifford Cofer Sr, is the chief of the Frostproof Fire Department.

The victim's mother, Cynthia Cofer, is a cancer survivor.
The Latest: Lawyer: Client in teen deaths likely terrified

ATLANTA (AP)  The Latest on the killings of two teenagers whose bodies were found behind a grocery store in suburban Atlanta (all times local):

3:45 p.m.

A lawyer for the suspect accused in the gunshot killings of two teenagers in suburban Atlanta says his client was likely terrified during his first hearing before a judge.

In this Aug. 2016 photo released by the Roswell Police Department, Jeffrey A. Hazelwood of Roswell, Ga., poses for a booking photo, Hazelwood has been arrested on two counts of murder in the deaths of Natalie Henderson and Carter Davis, both 17. While investigators are unsure of the motive, they believe Hazelwood acted alone, the chief said. (Roswell Police Department via AP)

Video from WSB-TV (http://2wsb.tv/2azsp9t) shows 20-year-old Jeffrey Hazelwood jerking his head around, and his hands and wrists shaking continuously during Friday's hearing in the Fulton County Jail. He's charged with two counts of murder.

His attorney, Lawrence Zimmerman, said he can only surmise that being charged with such a heinous crime is "a terrifying experience."

Zimmerman said he just recently joined the case, and has yet to learn details of the allegations.

Hazelwood was arrested Wednesday and charged with two counts of murder in the killings of Carter Davis and Natalie Henderson. The 17-year-olds were each shot once in the head.

_____

1:15 p.m.

The suspect accused of killing two teenagers in an Atlanta suburb has appeared before a judge for the first time, his legs and hands shaking.

Video from WSB-TV (http://2wsb.tv/2azsp9t) shows 20-year-old Jeffrey Hazelwood jerking his head around, and his hands and wrists shaking continuously at his first hearing Friday at the Fulton County Jail.

Hazelwood was arrested Wednesday and charged with two counts of murder in the killings of Carter Davis and Natalie Henderson. The 17-year-olds were each shot once in the head.

WSB reports that Hazelwood talked to himself during the hearing and appeared to be petting an imaginary dog at one point, but said nothing to the judge.

Hazelwood's lawyer, Lawrence Zimmerman, did not immediately return a call from The Associated Press on Friday.

___

10:30 a.m.

A spokesman for a Georgia prosecutor says the man accused of killing two teenagers in an Atlanta suburb is scheduled to have his first hearing before a judge.

Police say 20-year-old Jeffrey Hazelwood was arrested Wednesday and charged with two counts of murder in the killings of Carter Davis and Natalie Henderson. The 17-year-olds were each shot once in the head.

Fulton County Jail records show that Hazelwood is charged with two counts of murder.

Dontaye Carter, a spokesman for the Fulton County District Attorney's Office, said Hazelwood's first appearance hearing is set for 11 a.m. Friday at the jail.

____

8:30 a.m.

Police investigating the killings of two teenagers in Atlanta's suburbs say they want to hear from anyone who saw a certain silver sport utility vehicle and became suspicious.

Roswell police said in a statement that they have the silver Honda Passport that belongs to 20-year-old Jeffrey A. Hazelwood, who faces murder charges in the case. But they say they're still hoping to hear from people with information about it as they continue to investigate the Monday slayings.

Hazelwood was arrested Wednesday and charged with two counts of murder in the killings of Carter Davis and Natalie Henderson. The 17-year-olds were shot once in the head.

Police have refused to discuss a possible motive for the killings, nor would they comment on the relationship, if any, between Hazelwood and the teens.

Davis had lived in Rapid City, South Dakota, during part of his high school years.

Jeffrey Hazelwood, accused of killing two teenagers, appears before a judge on Friday, Aug. 5, 2016 in Atlanta. Hazelwood was arrested Wednesday and charged with two counts of murder in the killings of Carter Davis and Natalie Henderson. (John Spink/Atlanta Journal-Constitution via AP)

People hug near a crime scene, Tuesday, Aug. 2, 2016 in Roswell, Ga. Detectives on Tuesday were combing through video from multiple cameras and hoping to hear from any possible witnesses near a suburban Atlanta grocery store in the pre-dawn hours before a teenage boy and girl were both found slain, authorities said. The bodies of Natalie Henderson and Carter Davis, both 17, were discovered by a delivery driver behind the Publix supermarket shortly before 6 a.m. Monday, Roswell police said. (John Spink/Atlanta Journal-Constitution via AP)
Moscow-bound passenger jet makes emergency landing in Greece

THESSALONIKI, Greece (AP)  A jet with 152 passengers on board heading from Greece to Moscow has made a safe emergency landing at Thessaloniki Airport in northern Greece.

The civil aviation authority says the plane, which belongs to Greece's Ellinair, took off from Thessaloniki at 14:15 local time (1115GMT) Friday, but the pilots soon reported that the landing gear was not retracting.
Family of Chicago boy found dead was reported for neglect

CHICAGO (AP)  Illinois' child welfare agency had prior contact with the family of a 4-year-old boy whose malnourished, partially burned remains were found by Chicago firefighters this week, agency officials said.

The Illinois Department of Children and Family Services said it received a report for neglect in 2012, and took protective custody of four children, including the boy, Manuel Aguilar.

The children were placed with foster parents but given back to their mother in 2015 after she complied with agency requests, including parenting classes, DCFS spokeswoman Veronica Resa said Friday. An abuse allegation was levied earlier this year for an older child, but the agency determined the claim was unfounded.

This undated photo provided by the Chicago Police Department shows Alyssa Garcia who was charged Thursday, Aug. 4, 2016, with felony counts of concealed death and attempted residential arson in connection to the death of her 4-year-old son Manuel Aguilar. Aguilar's burned remains were found in the basement of a vacant house by Chicago Fire Department personnel. (Chicago Police Department via AP)

The agency is now investigating allegations of abuse and neglect, and has taken protective custody of Manuel's five siblings, including newborn twins "who remain in the hospital for monitoring," Resa said. Bond has been set at $2 million for his mother, 27-year-old Alyssa Garcia. She faces felony counts of concealed death and attempted residential arson.

When firefighters found Manuel's body in an abandoned home on Tuesday, he was so small that investigators initially believed they had found a 9-month-old baby, Assistant State's Attorney Jamie Santini told a judge Thursday. Authorities said the child had been kept in a back room of his family's home that reeked of feces and urine.

The Cook County medical examiner's office said Friday that the boy's cause and manner death remained under investigation.

Also charged in the case are Garcia's friend, 19-year-old Christian Camarena, and a 17-year-old boy. Garcia and Camarena were represented in court by the Cook County Public Defender's Office, which didn't immediately return a message seeking comment Friday.

An assistant public defender said in court that in addition to Garcia's twins, who were born premature, her other children are ages 6, 8 and 10. In 2012, Garcia was sentenced to 18 months supervision for endangering the life of a child.

Prosecutors said Garcia found her son naked and not breathing on July 29. Garcia and the 17-year-old washed Manuel's body, put clothes on him, wrapped him in a towel and took the body to an abandoned home and set the body on fire, Santini said.

Santini said Garcia admitted what she did in a video-recorded statement and said she didn't seek medical attention for Manuel or call police because she feared the state's child welfare agency would take her other children away.

Other charges could be filed once the medical examiner's office determines Manuel's cause of death, police said.

Santini said Manuel had been kept in a room where his family's bicycles were also kept and was often was left naked because he would urinate on himself. The boy would have to knock on the door to be allowed to use the restroom, he said.

"Witness stated that Manny didn't like being in the back room, and he would scream, 'Let me out,'" Santini said.
Beyond Aleppo, Syria's war rages on with no end in sight

BEIRUT (AP)  The U.N. says it wants to resume Syria peace talks in late August, but more than five years after anti-government protests erupted in 2011, the country is still consumed by fighting.

Aleppo, Syria's largest city and once its commercial hub, is the focal point of the day's fighting after government forces closed off the last remaining opposition supply line, trapping tens of thousands of people inside with dwindling resources. But the civil war is also being fought daily beyond Aleppo, as Syrian government forces steadily claw back territory around the capital, Damascus, and the international community targets the Islamic State group, though with little visible success.

Here's a look at hotspots beyond Aleppo and general peace prospects for Syria:

FILE - This file photo taken on June 8, 2016 provided by the Syrian Civil Defense Directorate in Liberated Province of Aleppo, which has been authenticated based on its contents and other AP reporting, shows Syrian civil defense workers, left, gather at a street which attacked by warplanes, in Aleppo, Syria. Fierce fighting and airstrikes continue in Syria's northern city of Aleppo as insurgents try to break a siege on opposition-held eastern districts in a counteroffensive to government advances. But Syria's war, now in its sixth year, is raging beyond Aleppo, claiming dozens of lives every day. (Civil Defense Directorate in Liberated Province of Aleppo via AP, File)

ALEPPO

Aleppo is often viewed as the weather vane of the Syrian conflict, perhaps now more than ever. Four years after rebels captured much of the city's eastern districts, government forces aided by massive Russian air power and Iranian-backed militias have encircled the area and urged rebels to turn themselves in. It's a tactic the government has successfully used in Homs and other locations to force an opposition surrender.

Rebels have launched a fierce counteroffensive to break the siege, which has trapped tens of thousands of residents amid warnings of a potential catastrophe. The city, near the border with Turkey, is tied to regional geopolitics. The rebels are backed by Turkey and it remains to be seen how that country's recent political turmoil will affect the battle for Aleppo.

OTHER HOTSPOTS

While the world's attention is on Aleppo, rebels and the government are fighting in other areas as well  none more consequential than around the outskirts of the capital, Damascus.

After a ring of suburbs broke with Damascus rule early in the war, government forces have besieged the towns and bombarded them from the air and ground. The tactics, denounced by rights groups as collective punishment against the civilian population, are slowly paying off. In May, pro-government forces seized vital farmland to the east of Damascus, tightening the noose on already exhausted residents and rebels.

There are other fronts open between the rebels and the government as well, but none are seen as important as the ones around Aleppo and Damascus.

HUMANITARIAN DISASTER

In 2013, the U.N. labelled the Syria war as the worst humanitarian disaster since the Cold War. Things since then have only gotten worse.

Nearly 5 million Syrians are registered with the U.N. as refugees  that is, displaced beyond Syria's borders  in what is the largest refugee population today. The U.N. refugee agency says a further 6.5 million are displaced inside the country. Some 600,000 Syrians are trapped in sieges, needing urgent access to food and medical supplies, the U.N. says. A further 250,000 are trapped by government forces in eastern Aleppo.

Reliable casualty estimates are hard to come by. When the U.N. stopped tallying those killed in the summer of 2015, its count stood at a quarter-million dead. Other observers put the death toll between 280,000 and 470,000. Various charities and international organizations warn of a lost generation of Syrian children that suffers from psychosocial trauma and has been cut off from basic schooling and health services.

FIGHT AGAINST ISLAMIC STATE GROUP

The global war against the Islamic State group continues to be the priority for foreign governments involved in Syria. A U.S.-led coalition is working with predominantly Kurdish ground forces fighting IS, providing air and other logistical support. Despite significant loss of territory over the past year, IS still holds on to the city of Raqqa as the militant group's de facto capital of its self-declared caliphate over parts of Syria and Iraq, and still has the ability to launch surprise offensives.

The latest battles against IS revolves around Manbij, a vital border satellite to Raqqa. The Syria Democratic Forces, a U.S.-backed alliance of Kurdish and Arab groups, is spearheading the fight in Manbij and by some estimates has managed to secure control of around 60 percent of the town.

RUSSIA-US MILITARY TALKS

The United States and Russia are engaged in talks to boost military cooperation and intelligence sharing in Syria. Much of what happens next depends on whether Moscow and Washington seal the deal. Their coordination is focused on targeting al-Qaida's affiliate in Syria, the Levant Conquest Front, formerly known as the Nusra Front.

In a pre-emptive move, the group announced last week it had changed its name and disassociated from al-Qaida central  a move dismissed by the U.S., Russia and Syria as merely tactical. The group is embedded with other rebel outfits in Syria and is one of the most effective fighting forces against President Bashar Assad's troops. An air campaign against the Levant Conquest Front may ultimately be detrimental to the wider anti-Assad opposition. Underlining the group's major role in the fighting in Aleppo, its leader, Abu Mohammed al-Golani, issued an audio on Friday rallying his fighters and vowing to "crush Russian tyranny ... under the feet of the mujahedeen," or holy warriors, in Aleppo.

PEACE PROSPECTS

The U.N.'s special envoy for Syria has set late August as a target for resuming peace talks, but it's unclear who could represent the fractured opposition, and with the government on the front foot in Syria, it is unlikely to make any major concessions in Geneva.

This augurs more conflict for the country until the government can secure what some analysts call "useful Syria"  a portion containing the four largest cities and Syria's Mediterranean coast  while leaving the fates of the jihadi-controlled northwest, the Kurdish-controlled north, and the Islamic State-controlled east to the chess game of international diplomacy.

Looking past the shades of color on the map, there are practically no victors to this war. Even if, or when, the government retakes the alleged target stretch of Syria, it will still face the massive task of rebuilding a shattered economy and wrestling back control from militias and profiteers who have built robust patronage networks that rival the traditional hierarchies of the Assad family's authoritarian rule.

FILE - In this file photo taken on May 31, 2016 provided by the Syrian Civil Defense Directorate in Liberated Province of Aleppo, which has been authenticated based on its contents and other AP reporting, shows Syrian man carries an injured boy, in Aleppo, Syria. Fierce fighting and airstrikes continue in Syria's northern city of Aleppo as insurgents try to break a siege on opposition-held eastern districts in a counteroffensive to government advances. But Syria's war, now in its sixth year, is raging beyond Aleppo, claiming dozens of lives every day. (Civil Defense Directorate in Liberated Province of Aleppo via AP, File)

FILE - In this Tuesday, July. 26, 2016 file photo, provided by the Syrian anti-government activist group Aleppo Media Center (AMC), shows Syrian citizens inspect damaged buildings after airstrikes hit Aleppo, Syria. Fierce fighting and airstrikes continue in Syria's northern city of Aleppo as insurgents try to break a siege on opposition-held eastern districts in a counteroffensive to government advances. But Syria's war, now in its sixth year, is raging beyond Aleppo, claiming dozens of lives every day. (Aleppo Media Center via AP, File)

FILE - This Tuesday, July. 26, 2016 file photo, provided by the Syrian anti-government activist group Aleppo Media Center (AMC), shows Syrian stand as they watch a bulldozer removes rubble from damaged buildings after airstrikes hit Aleppo, Syria. Fierce fighting and airstrikes continue in Syria's northern city of Aleppo as insurgents try to break a siege on opposition-held eastern districts in a counteroffensive to government advances. But Syria's war, now in its sixth year, is raging beyond Aleppo, claiming dozens of lives every day. (Aleppo Media Center via AP, File)
2 Ivory Coast soldiers get prison for links with attackers

ABIDJAN, Ivory Coast (AP)  An Ivory Coast military tribunal has sentenced two soldiers to 10 years in prison for associating with, and not denouncing, al-Qaida-linked fighters who staged a March attack in the beach town of Grand Bassam that killed at least 19 people.

The tribunal on Thursday also imposed a fine of about 200,000 CFA francs ($400) on the two soldiers, who were arrested in July.

"These soldiers would not have directly participated in the attack, but are accused of not having denounced the commando members, as they were aware of the presence of these jihadists in Ivory Coast and did not inform their superiors," said chief military prosecutor Ange Kessi.

The soldiers had pleaded not guilty. Lawyer Raoul Gohi Bi said he would appeal, arguing that investigations are still preliminary.

Al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb claimed responsibility for the March 13 attack in Grand Bassam, a popular tourist destination near Abidjan.
Restaurant takes down Trump photo amid Yelp complaints

NEW YORK (AP)  The owners of a German restaurant in New York have taken down an autographed photo of Donald Trump because they say it was hurting the business.

The Brooklyn Daily reports Schnitzel Haus owners Fred and Amber Urban say the photo of the Republican presidential nominee had been there since the restaurant opened in 2007. The Urbans were friends with Trump's head of security at the time and they say Trump dropped by to wish them good luck. He sent an autographed photo the next day.

The photo is a topic among online reviews on Yelp, with diners saying they were uncomfortable or offended.
Wife of ex-Puerto Rico policeman charged in killing

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP)  The wife of a former Puerto Rico police officer who was shot and killed at his house has been charged with masterminding the slaying.

Police said Friday that Veronica Sastre is accused of hiring three people to kill Angel Jimenez. She faces charges including first-degree murder and destruction of evidence. It was not immediately clear if Sastre had an attorney.

One of the other suspects was an employee at a nursing home that Jimenez owned.
Somalis in Maine strike back after Trump's comments at rally

PORTLAND, Maine (AP)  Donald Trump's characterization of Somalis as dangerous and a drag on resources could undo years of work that they have done to establish themselves in the country's whitest state, Somali residents said Friday.

Trump told a packed audience in Portland on Thursday that Maine is a "major destination" for Somali refugees and that they're coming from some of the "most dangerous" places. All told, about 10,000 Somalis lives in Portland and Lewiston, Maine's largest cities.

The Somali Community Center of Maine said the Republican presidential candidate's remarks were a setback for immigrants who have worked hard to become part of the state's fabric over the past two decades.

Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump speaks during a campaign rally at Merrill Auditorium, Thursday, Aug. 4, 2016, in Portland, Maine. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

"It is damaging to the psyche of our youth to hear a major party presidential nominee insult our culture and religion, especially while standing next to the governor of our state," the community center said in a statement. "We condemn his name calling, scapegoating and the lies perpetrated by his campaign."

Republican Gov. Paul LePage, who supports Trump and has sparred with immigrant groups in the past, introduced Trump at Thursday's events. His office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Somalis began coming to Maine in the 1990s as part of a refugee resettlement effort in Portland. A housing shortage caused some to look to Lewiston, a former mill town 35 miles to the north, where apartments were cheaper.

Integration was not without challenges. Laurier Raymond, then Lewiston's mayor, told Somalis to stop relocating to the city in 2002 because of what he called a strain on social services. A few years later, someone rolled a frozen pig's head into a mosque, drawing widespread condemnation from the community and eventually criminal charges.

These days, Somalis and immigrants from other African communities attend public schools and run local businesses.

Portland school Superintendent Xavier Botana called the district's Somali students "a shining example" of the strength of diversity. It's common in both cities to see hijab-clad mothers shepherding children around playgrounds, something no one would have fathomed decades ago in the state that still has the lowest percentage of nonwhites in the U.S.

Other Somali communities have grown in places such as Minnesota and Columbus, Ohio.

Young men in Minnesota's Somali community have been targeted by terror recruiters in recent years, and three Somali men who were accused of plotting to go to Syria to join the Islamic State group were convicted in June of conspiracy. There have been no such arrests in Maine.

Rick Bennett, the chairman of the Maine Republican Party, said he did not think Trump's comments in Portland were a declarative statement that Maine's Somalis are dangerous. He added that the growth of Maine's Somali community is "an example of legal immigration working."

Earlier in his campaign, Trump said he would temporarily ban Muslims from entering the United States, though he more recently said people from certain countries would be subject to tougher screening. He has not identified which nations.

"As Maine knows, a major destination for Somali refugees, right? Am I right? Well, they're all talking about it  Maine, Somali refugees," Trump said Thursday. "We admit hundreds of thousands, you admit, into Maine and to other places in the United States, hundreds of thousands of refugees. And they're coming from among the most dangerous territories and countries anywhere in the world."

His Portland appearance attracted a group of counter-demonstrators, including a handful of African immigrants.

On Friday afternoon, Somali organizers held a rally on the steps of City Hall to respond to Trump. One read a statement from Sen. Susan Collins, a Republican, that called Trump's comments "disparaging" and "unhelpful."

Portland resident and immigrant organizer Pious Ali, originally from Ghana, said before the meeting that "an attack on one of us is an attack on all of us as a community."

Mahmoud Hassan, president of the Somali Community Center of Maine, pauses for applause during a rally at City Hall to protest comments by Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump, Friday, Aug. 5, 2016 in Portland, Maine, Donald Trump's characterization of Somalis as dangerous and a drag on resources could undo years of work that they have done to establish themselves in the country's whitest state, Somali residents said Friday. (Ben McCanna/Portland Press Herald via AP) MANDATORY CREDIT

Demonstrators with anti-Trump signs rally outside Portland City Hall, Thursday, Aug. 4, 2016, near Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump's campaign appearance at Merrill Auditorium in Portland, Maine. (AP Photo/Elise Amendola)
Gamblers signing up for addiction prevention effort

BOSTON (AP)  Massachusetts gambling regulators say they're encouraged by early numbers from a unique gambling addiction prevention effort being tested at the state's first casino.

The Massachusetts Gaming Commission said Friday the "Play My Way" program at Plainridge Park Casino has signed up 3,216 people since its June launch.

Commission spokeswoman Elaine Driscoll says that's about 7.4 percent of all regular gamblers visiting the Plainville slots parlor and harness racing track in the last two months. She says Cambridge Health Alliance is also evaluating the pilot program's effectiveness.

"Play My Way" is billed as the first of its kind in the U.S. Casino reward cardholders can set spending limits and they're sent automatic notifications as they approach them.
Filmmaker digs into lives of 'Curious George' creators

NEW YORK (AP)  It takes an inquisitive mind and a steady spirit to get the whole story about the creators of "Curious George."

Ema Ryan Yamazaki, 27 and a graduate of New York University's film school, has spent the last two years working on a documentary about H.A. Rey and Margret Rey, the husband-and-wife team behind the multimillion-selling children's franchise. The Reys were Jewish refugees during World War II, fleeing from Paris in 1940 on homemade bicycles. Eventually settling in Cambridge, Massachusetts, they would launch a series that has sold more than 30 million copies worldwide. (H.A. Rey died in 1977; Margret Rey in 1996.)

Yamazaki, whose previous credits include directing a short documentary about an 800-year-old Buddhist temple in Kyoto, Japan, and editing the HBO documentary "Class Divide," had read "Curious George" in Japanese as a girl and was surprised to learn that no one had made a film about the Reys. Through a mutual friend, she got in touch with the literary estate and received its cooperation.

This Aug. 1, 2016 image taken from video shows filmmaker Ema Ryan Yamazaki during an interview in New York. Yamazaki, 27 a graduate of New York Universitys film school, has spent the last two years working on a documentary about H.A. Rey and Margret Rey, the husband and wife team behind the multimillion-selling "Curious George" childrens franchise. (AP Photo/Bruce Barton)

Yamazaki plans a 75-minute documentary, which has the working title, "Monkey Business: The Adventures of George's Curious Creators," and will include original animation of the Reys themselves, and has begun a Kickstarter campaign to help with funding. She recently sat down and talked with The Associated Press about the project.

AP: What made you want to do a film about the Reys?

Yamazaki: I grew up in Japan reading 'George' in Japanese, and ... when I learned they were these German immigrants who had fled the Nazis on bicycles with the first Curious George book with them, it was enough for me to be interested. ... And I assumed there was already a movie out there and when there wasn't I was immediately in a car, headed to Cambridge to meet the lady who runs the estate.

AP: What sorts of materials have you found?

Yamazaki: There's ... 300 boxes (at the University of Southern Mississippi) of the Reys' personal archives, anything from their wartime journals to letters they wrote to each other, the process of how they created Curious George  so the rough sketches all the way through to the fine prints, (and) all this other artwork they did that they never published.

AP: What did you learn through your research?

Yamazaki: As I learned more about them, and I learned about their story, it's almost inseparable. Who they were is why they were able to make that monkey.

I love how Margret describes the monkey as someone that finds himself in trouble and through his own ingenuity gets himself out of trouble. That's her words and it might have as well been them, describing them, especially in their escape. They literally found themselves, the night before, it was too late to leave, with no cars, no trains to be had, not even a bicycle. All they had was a tandem bike. It was Margaret who had no patience basically to ride a tandem bike to flee the Nazis. And she said, 'Hans, my husband, do something about this.' And he cobbled together two separate bicycles out of spare parts.
The Latest: 16 homes destroyed by western Montana wildfire

HAMILTON, Mont. (AP)  The Latest on wildfires burning in the West (all times local):

7:20 p.m.

Authorities have found two more homes that were destroyed by a wildfire in western Montana, bringing the total to 16.

Tod McKay, spokesman for the Bitterroot National Forest, walks by a burned truck and shop at Dave Campbell's home in Judd Creek Hollow, Tuesday morning, Aug. 2, 2016, in Hamilton, Mont. Both were burned by a wildfire fire that blew up Sunday near Hamilton, however, his house survived the fire. "We're just trying to get people out of the way now," McKay told the Missoulian newspaper. "We can rebuild homes. We need to get people out of this area." (Kurt Wilson/The Missoulian via AP)

Ravalli County Undersheriff Steve Holton said Friday the homes were confirmed destroyed after crews were able to clear access to them. An additional 49 outbuildings and non-residential structures were damaged by the Roaring Lion Fire, which started southwest of Hamilton on Sunday.

The fire, which has burned more than 12 square miles, is 15 percent contained.

More than 600 homes had been evacuated, but residents of 400 homes were told Thursday they could return.

Fire crews are mopping up fire lines and conducting some burnouts to secure barriers to the fire's expansion. Crews are also working around homes to cool down any hot spots that could re-ignite.

___

2:20 p.m.

The 2-week-old wildfire churning through the ruggedly scenic coastal mountains north of California's Big Sur has grown to more than 84 square miles. But an army of 5,500 firefighters established containment lines on about a third of the perimeter.

Feeding on chaparral, tall grass and timber, the fire continued to burn Friday in steep and inaccessible terrain, making fuel-driven runs on its south and east sides.

Many evacuation orders and warnings remain in place, but residents have returned to some areas.

A total of 57 residences and 11 outbuildings have been destroyed and a bulldozer operator has been killed in an accident since an unattended campfire ignited the blaze July 22.

___

2:10 p.m.

Firefighters are using cooler, more humid weather to get ahead of a wildfire burning on over 50 square miles along the Colorado-Wyoming border.

Crews were working Friday to identify and protect structures in both states that might be eventually threatened by the Beaver Creek Fire, which started June 19 north of Walden, Colorado.

It's in an area with many beetle-killed trees prone to toppling, so firefighters are only actively fighting the fire in areas beyond those stands.

The cause of the fire is still under investigation. Officials say it started somewhere near the Beaver Creek Campground, but they haven't released any more details.

It's destroyed one cabin, but no one has been injured.

____

12:10 p.m.

Firefighters have started two simultaneous emergency burns in an effort to stop an 81-square-mile wildfire that on Friday moved to within a few miles of a small town in mountainous central Idaho.

The burnouts began late Thursday on the east and west sides of Rock Creek. They're intended to consume fuel in the drainage that funnels into the community of Lowman, where firefighters have set up sprinkler systems to protect homes.

Nearly 1,500 firefighters are battling the blaze burning timber in rugged terrain. No evacuations have been ordered, but the county sheriff has told residents to be alert.

About 25 miles of a state highway in the area remains closed.

___

10:35 a.m.

A mostly quiet day on a western Montana wildfire allowed firefighters to expand containment and make it safe for the residents of about 400 homes to return to the area.

The fire that started Sunday southwest of Hamilton has burned just over 12 square miles and 14 homes. It was 15 percent contained Friday morning.

Residents of more than 600 homes had been evacuated, but on Thursday residents of 400 of the homes were told they could return.

Fire crews planned Friday to mop up fire lines and conduct some burnouts to secure barriers to the fire's expansion. They also are working around homes to cool down any hot spots that could reignite.

Thunderstorms and wind are possible in the afternoon, which could increase fire behavior.

___

10:30 a.m.

Utah authorities say a rural wildfire near the Idaho border has torched about 30 square miles and destroyed three structures.

Box Elder County Fire Marshal Corey Barton said Friday the fire has burned a ranchers' cabin as well as a camp trailer and a mobile home.

All three were vacant, and no one has been hurt. A handful of isolated farmhouses and other structures in the mountainous area are threatened.

Barton says investigators believe someone accidentally started the blaze, but he couldn't immediately say exactly what sparked it.

Fire authorities say smoke has drifted into Pocatello Valley in Idaho and the Salt Lake City area, about 85 miles south of the fire.

Firefighters have contained approximately 30 percent of the fire west of Plymouth with the help of aircraft and bulldozers.

This photo, provided by the Montana Department of Natural Resources and Conversation, shows a plane dropping fire retardant on a fire line at the North Tullock wildfire near Hardin, Mont., Tuesday, Aug. 2, 2016. (Montana Department of Natural Resources and Conversation via AP)

A plane aids in firefighting efforts on the ridgeline of a wildfire Thursday, Aug. 4, 2016, near Plymouth, Utah. Officials say more than two dozen large wildfires are burning in the West. (Eli Lucero/The Herald Journal via AP)
Louisiana pols go to court blaming Big Oil for coastal ruin

ALLIANCE, La. (AP)  The oil industry has left a big footprint along the Gulf Coast, where a Delaware-sized stretch of Louisiana has disappeared.

But few politicians would blame Big Oil for ecosystem abuse in a state where the industry employs up to 300,000 people and injects $73 billion into the economy.

Until now.

FILE - In this June 15, 2010 file photo, a member of Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal's staff reaches into thick oil on the surface of the northern regions of Barataria Bay in Plaquemines Parish, La. Big Oil's legacy in Louisiana _ an industry long blamed for causing land loss in the coast, is now in dispute like never before. What's changed is the person in the governor's mansion: After eight years of Republican rule, a Democrat is in the mansion. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert, File)

Following the lead of Gov. John Bel Edwards, Louisiana political orthodoxy is being turned upside-down as prominent leaders of both parties join lawsuits seeking billions of dollars for environmental improvement projects.

Down in the pancake-flat bayou, it's not easy to see what made so much of the coast sink into the Gulf of Mexico.

Even when you climb onto the levee, buzzing with dragonflies, that keeps the old delta farming community of Alliance from being swallowed, all that's visible is marshland, stretching toward a green horizon.

But land's end is much closer now, and what remains has been disrupted. Access canals carved by the oil industry run straight as arrows, rusting signs warn of underwater pipelines and abandoned drilling platforms sink into the muck. As the Alliance refinery billows with fumes, the surrounding pastures are slowly sinking.

Louisiana remains the nation's second-largest crude oil producer and oil refiner after Texas, but the industry has been on the defensive since Edwards, a 49-year-old lawyer and Democrat, ended eight years of Republican leadership last November.

Publicly, he joined a campaign by local governments suing to hold the industry at least partly responsible for Louisiana's loss of 1,900 square miles of coast since the 1930s. Privately, he pushed for a pre-trial settlement to resolve all their claims.

"Our coast is in crisis," Edwards wrote in a letter to oil executives after their initial meeting in May, calling for an "amicable solution" to avoid years of litigation.

He was soon seconded by New Orleans Mayor Mitch Landrieu, whose family of Louisiana Democrats long supported Big Oil. Landrieu accused former state leaders of allowing the industry to cripple "in a generation or two what Mother Nature built in 7,000 years," and said the damage has spread "through the marsh like an infection.

In July, Vermilion Parish, deep in Louisiana's "Oil Patch," became the fourth local government to file claims against Exxon, Shell, Chevron and dozens of other corporations. The agency overseeing flood protection for New Orleans also is suing. Republicans have joined in, from GOP-led parishes to Attorney General Jeff Landry.

"It's absolutely new," pollster Bernie Pinsonat said. "The oil companies are taking it seriously because you're talking about billions and billions of dollars."

This political shift can be traced to Hurricane Katrina, which shocked the nation and exposed the dire state of ecology in the Mississippi River's delta. Katrina alone tore up about 60 square miles of marsh around New Orleans in 2005.

At issue are oilfields like the one in Alliance, in Plaquemines Parish, where oil companies are accused of routinely abandoning open waste pits, carelessly dumping toxic brine and oilfield waste onto the marsh and interrupting the delta's ebbs and flows by dredging thousands of miles of canals that weren't filled back in.

The oil industry blames the Army Corps of Engineers, whose levees deny the delta its natural deposits of silt and sand while channeling the Mississippi River out to sea. It also blames the clear-cutting of coastal forests more than a century ago, shipping channels that have sliced up the delta and even the invasive nutria, an oversized marsh grass-eating rodent.

"It's just such a vague attempt by the plaintiffs to throw a blanket over an entire industry and hold it singularly responsible for a problem that's got multiple causes," said Robert Meadows, a Chevron lawyer.

The legal case requires analyzing thousands of coastal drilling permits and oil leases, putting prices on the unmitigated damage caused by each company, and then dueling over demands for compensation.

Scientists generally agree that between 30 percent and 40 percent of wetlands loss is attributable to drilling and its associated activities, said John Day, a Louisiana State University scientist and expert on the delta's problems.

"The factual basis is terribly strong: If I were a plaintiffs' counsel, I'd put on a five-day slide show narrated by geologists and hydrologists and wetlands scientists, and it would be devastating," said Oliver Houck, an environmental law professor at Tulane University in New Orleans.

Geologist Sherwood Gagliano, who has studied the coastal crisis since the 1960s, contends that extracting millions of barrels of oil and gas from below the surface has caused vast swaths of the coast to sink.

"It's like an Atlantis oilfield," Gagliano said. "There are well-heads sticking out of the water. Abandoned production platforms now completely submerged. Oilfields developed on land are now under 5 or 10 feet of water. And that is happening all the way across the coast."

But F. Rivers LeLong Jr. calls the lawsuits a hypocritical "shakedown cruise" by the same governments that have long profited from drilling.

"They aren't the good guys any more than the oil companies were," said LeLong, whose father started the Kenmore Oil Co., which is named as a defendant because it worked the Alliance field before going out of business in 1973. "To act as though they were victims in the process is a fairly laughable characterization."

What's gone is gone, but the politicians hope to keep hundreds of other square miles from disappearing. They're envisioning huge projects to divert sediment flows from the Mississippi River and build up marsh flats, barrier islands, ridges and swamp forests.

It would cost between $50 billion and $100 billion, and Louisiana doesn't expect to have more than $25 billion to spend.

Suing oil companies "is probably the only new potential source of revenue," said Mark Davis, who directs Tulane University's Institute on Water Resources Law and Policy. "Before you tax anybody, you're going to be required, I think, to show that you've tried every other alternative. Is there anybody who owes dollars that have not been collected for this purpose?"

FILE - In this Wednesday, April 21, 2010 file photo, oil can be seen in the Gulf of Mexico, more than 50 miles southeast of Venice on Louisiana's tip, as a large plume of smoke rises from fires on BP's Deepwater Horizon offshore oil rig. Big Oil's legacy in Louisiana _ an industry long blamed for causing land loss in the coast _ is now in dispute like never before. What's changed is the person in the governor's mansion: After eight years of Republican rule, a Democrat is in the mansion.(AP Photo/Gerald Herbert, File)

FILE - In this Monday, June 7, 2010 file photo, patches of oil from the Deepwater Horizon spill are seen from an underwater vantage, in the Gulf of Mexico, south of Venice, La. Big Oil's legacy in Louisiana _ an industry long blamed for causing land loss in the coast _ is now in dispute like never before. What's changed is the person in the governor's mansion: After eight years of Republican rule, a Democrat is in the mansion.(AP Photo/Rich Matthews, File)
Turkey: Dollar bills seen as evidence of coup-plotter links

ISTANBUL (AP)  After raiding a home and business owned by someone suspected of loyalties to a banned Muslim cleric, police listed the incriminating evidence they found: two shotguns, a pistol, ammunition, a fake identity card  and three $1 bills.

The serial numbers, they noted, all began with the letter F.

In one of the odder twists in Turkey's failed July 15 coup and the subsequent crackdown, authorities are citing U.S. banknotes  and $1 bills in particular  as evidence that people are followers of Fethullah Gulen, a U.S.-based Muslim cleric whom Turkey accuses of orchestrating the coup. Gulen, whose broad but secretive movement runs schools, charities and businesses across the globe, denies any involvement.

Police collect cash money seized in raids on the home and business of one suspected follower of a Muslim cleric accused of instigating an abortive coup in Istanbul, Friday, Aug. 5, 2016. There were the two shotguns, one pistol, ammunition, a fake identity card, and three one dollar bills, among evidence seized in a series of raids, as the government conducts a sweeping crackdown in the wake of the July 15 attempted coup that left more than 270 people dead. ( (Sinan Bilgili/DHA via AP)

"There is no doubt that this $1 bill has some important function within the Gulenist terror organization," Justice Minister Bekir Bozdag recently told the A Haber television channel. "Prosecutors are asking as they investigate what these are. What does this mean? Why are they being carried? Does it signify a hierarchy to them? Is it some sort of ID that identifies them to one another?"

The minister said he had received information speculating on the banknotes' significance, "but contrary information may also surface, so I don't want to share it at this moment. This will be clearly revealed once the investigation is complete."

One idea making the rounds in Turkish news media is that the letters at the start of the banknotes' serial numbers correspond to ranks in the movement. According to a report in the Aksam daily, one theory is that F designates a high-ranking soldier or police chief; J and C represent low-ranking soldiers; E and S are for instructors and academics in Gulenist schools and B is for students.

"With one American dollar, this organization turned the children of this country into monsters," Prime Minister Binali Yildirim said Thursday in a speech.

A senior government official said "multiple" people questioned for suspected participation in the abortive military coup told prosecutors they received $1 bills from superiors within the Gulenist movement.

"They were told that Fethullah Gulen himself had blessed the banknotes," the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to discuss the matter publicly. Authorities' initial assessment, he said, was that the cleric's movement was using the banknotes "to simulate a physical connection with Fethullah Gulen."

The investigation is looking into whether specific banknotes were being used to send messages or designate the rank of the holder, the official said, adding that authorities believe the movement "uses an extremely cryptic language to operate secretly."

The banknotes discussion comes in an atmosphere of swirling speculation about Gulen, his movement's reach and whether or not he was truly behind the putsch.

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has vowed to eradicate his former ally's movement. Authorities have detained or arrested about 18,000 people in a post-coup crackdown, mostly from the military. Nearly 70,000 have been suspended or fired from the judiciary, education, health care, the military and the news media on suspicion of links to Gulen's movement.

Debate over who was behind the coup has led to a frenzy of theories, from the circumspect to the outlandish.

Ankara Mayor Melih Gokcek suggested Gulen used genies to control the minds of his followers.

Internet pundits note a Gulen-affiliated newspaper ran a television advertisement exactly nine months and 10 days before the coup, showing a city while an air raid siren sounds and then cutting to a smiling baby  with pundits suggesting the ad was a secret message setting the coup date.

One Turkish television reporter was lambasted on social media after excitedly showing a notebook from material thrown out by alleged Gulenists, which listed what she thought were coded messages between coup plotters with words like "weapons" and "helicopters."

She hadn't noticed the handwritten scrawl across the top: "GTA IV - cheat codes."

They were codes for the popular Grand Theft Auto video game.

___

Cinar Kiper and Ayse Wieting contributed.
The Latest: Memorial slated for slain San Diego officer

EL CAJON, Calif. (AP)  The Latest on a memorial service for a slain San Diego police officer (all times local):

9:50 a.m.

Hundreds of law enforcement vehicles and motorcycles are escorting a hearse from San Diego to suburban El Cajon where there will be a final memorial for a San Diego police officer slain in the line of duty.

FILE - This undated file photo provided by the San Diego Police Department shows San Diego Police officer Jonathan De Guzman who was killed in a shooting Thursday, July 28, 2016. De Guzman who was fatally shot in the driver's seat of his patrol car after his partner approached a man on the street will be buried Friday, Aug. 5, 2016. De Guzman's burial will follow the second memorial service in two days for the decorated officer, a 16-year veteran of the force. (San Diego Police Department via AP, File)

Thousands are expected to mourn 43-year-old Officer Jonathan De Guzman at Friday's memorial, including California Gov. Jerry Brown.

De Guzman was fatally shot July 28 in the driver's seat of his patrol car after his partner approached a man on the street. The partner, 32-year-old Wade Irwin, was shot in the throat but is expected to recover.

A funeral Mass was said for De Guzman at his family church on Thursday. He will be buried after Friday's memorial at Shadow Mountain Community Church.

___

12 a.m.

A San Diego police officer who was fatally shot in the driver's seat of his patrol car after his partner approached a man on the street will be buried Friday.

Jonathan De Guzman's burial will follow the second memorial service in two days for the decorated officer, a 16-year veteran of the force. The service at Shadow Mountain Community Church in El Cajon will follow a procession of law enforcement vehicles from San Diego's Qualcomm Stadium and include aircraft, bagpipes and a 21-gun salute.

De Guzman was a 43-year-old husband and father of two. He died in the shooting July 28 after being struck five times. His partner, 32-year-old Wade Irwin, was shot in the throat but was expected to recover.

A suspect, who was shot by Irwin, has pleaded not guilty to murder and attempted murder.
Belgrade Zoo claims oldest captive American alligator

BELGRADE, Serbia (AP)  In the Belgrade Zoo, special treatment is reserved for one elderly resident.

Muja, an American alligator, is the oldest animal in the Serbian capital's small zoo. Moreover, the zoo boasts that he is the world's oldest American alligator in captivity.

Aleksandar Rakocevic, who takes care of Muja, said Friday that information available from other zoos and animal rights groups support the claim that the alligator is the oldest of his kind in captivity.

A zookeeper Aleksandar Rakocevic feeds Muja the alligator in Belgrade Zoo, in Belgrade Serbia, Friday, Aug. 5, 2016. The American alligator called Muja is the oldest animal in the Serbian capital's small Zoo, and the employees at the zoo say he at least 80-years-old. (AP Photo/Darko Vojinovic)

At least 80 years old, Muja arrived fully grown from Germany in 1937  one year after the zoo opened. He has become one of its symbols and the favorite of many generations of keepers.

Muja has been a silent witness of the Serbian capital's turbulent history  he has survived a world war, three bombings of Belgrade and the Balkan crisis of the 1990s.

The Belgrade Zoo  which lies within the walls of the Belgrade fortress in the center of the city  was almost completely destroyed during the 1941 and 1944 bombings when many of its animals were killed.

Muja is the only survivor from that period, the zoo said.

"We all highly appreciate Muja and his age," reads an inscription outside Muja's pond, asking visitors to do the same.

Media have reported that Muja officially claimed the title in 2007, when another member of his species called Cabulitis died in Riga Zoo in Latvia at around 75 years old.

Muja's health "is excellent," Rakocevic said, beaming at the reptile resting in the pond on a hot summer day.

Usually motionless  sometimes prompting the visitors to ask whether he is alive  the alligator sprang to action to snap at a meal offered by his keeper.

Muja's only health problem occurred in 2012, when gangrene developed on his right front leg, resulting in a foot amputation that was performed by surgeons from Belgrade's orthopedic clinic.

The elderly alligator was separated from three young alligators that arrived recently from Cuba. He spends his days in a pond in the summer, while his winter chambers are currently under reconstruction to resemble a cave.

"Muja is a legend, and not only of our zoo, he's a Belgrade legend!" Rakocevic said. "Everybody knows Muja."
I would like to extend a heartfelt thank you to the Soddy Daisy, Sale Creek and north Hamilton County communities. Parkridge Health recently received approval from the state of Tennessee to build a freestanding emergency room in Soddy Daisy that will serve the northwest area of Hamilton County. This approval would not have been possible without the support of the citizens, businesses ... (click for more)

Amendment 1 is an important legislative item for us Tennesseans. Vote yes on keeping Tennessee a Right to Work state, where we get to decide if we want to keep our right to work anywhere we want, without being forced to join a union. Opponents of the amendment will tell you, Right to Work only guarantees the right of an employer to fire you. What they wont tell you is some ... (click for more)
Made its maiden voyage in 1952 and was

A historic ship that carried passengers across the Atlantic in the 1950s will not sail the high seas again after all.

Crystal Cruises, based in Los Angeles, abandoned plans to restore the SS United States after concluding it is not feasible.

The company will instead make a $350,000 donation to the conservation group that owns the ship, which has been sitting idle at a Philadelphia wharf for two decades.

Crystal Cruises had pledged to spend at least $700 million to return the ship, which is bigger than the Titanic, to its glory days as a luxury ocean liner.

Crystal Cruises, based in Los Angeles, abandoned plans to restore the SS United States (pictured in New York Harbor) after concluding it is not feasible

But the task proved too great, even though they found the ship structurally sound.

'Unfortunately, the hurdles that would face us when trying to bring a 65-year-old vessel up to modern safety, design and international regulatory compliance have proven just too great,' Crystal Cruises President Edie Rodriguez said in a statement.

It is the second time that plans to bring the SS United States back to its former glory have been abandoned.

Norwegian Cruise Lines announced a similar overhaul in 2003 that did not materialize for similar reasons.

On its maiden voyage in 1952 (pictured), the liner crossed the Atlantic in three days, 10 hours, 42 minutes, a record that stood until 1990

Crystal Cruises had pledged to spend at least $700 million to return the ship (pictured inside), which is bigger than the Titanic, to its glory days as a luxury ocean liner

The ship could still be turned into a waterfront attraction, perhaps with a museum component, in New York or elsewhere, Susan Gibbs, executive director of the conservancy, said.

In the 1950s, the SS United States carried everyone from royalty to immigrants across the Atlantic Ocean.

It was the biggest and fastest ocean liner that had ever been built in the United States at the time.

On its maiden voyage in 1952, the liner crossed the Atlantic in three days, 10 hours, 42 minutes, a record that stood until 1990. The ship was decommissioned in 1969.
UN diplomats: Portugal's Guterres tops poll for UN chief

UNITED NATIONS (AP)  Portugal's former prime minister Antonio Guterres topped the second informal poll to succeed Ban Ki-moon as the next U.N. secretary-general, but unlike the first round he got two "discourage" votes, leaving the contest in play, U.N. diplomats said Friday.

Serbia's former foreign minister Vuk Jeremic moved up from third to second place followed by Argentina's Foreign Minister Susana Malcorra who jumped from eighth place to third place, the diplomats said, speaking on condition of anonymity because voting was secret.

The 15 Security Council members decided not to reveal the results of their voting to "encourage," ''discourage," or express "no opinion" about the 11 candidates  unlike the informal "straw" polls 10 years ago, which were made public and led to Ban's election to the world's top diplomatic post.

But the results of Friday's vote quickly leaked, just as the results of the first informal poll on July 21.

By tradition, the job of secretary-general has rotated among regions and Asia, Africa, Latin America and Europe have all held the world's top diplomatic post. East European nations, including Russia, argue that they have never had a secretary-general and it is their turn. There has also never been a woman secretary-general and a group of 56 nations are campaigning for the first female U.N. chief.

Malcorra became the highest-ranked woman in the race, replacing Irina Bokova of Bulgaria who heads UNESCO. She dropped from third to fifth place.

Slovenia's former president Danilo Turk, who came in second in the first round, dropped to fourth place.

According to the U.N. Charter, the secretary-general is chosen by the 193-member General Assembly on the recommendation of the Security Council. In practice, this has meant that the council's five permanent members  the U.S., Russia, China, Britain and France  have veto power over the candidates.

In the first round of voting, Guterres, who was Portugal's center-left Socialist prime minister from 1995-2002 and served as U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees until the end of last year, received 12 "encourage" votes and three "no opinion" votes. In Friday's voting, he got 11 "encourage" votes, two "discourage" and two "no opinion."

Before the vote, several council diplomats said that if Guterres had no "discourage" votes in the second round he would almost certainly be recommended by the council. But not knowing whether his "discourage" votes come from one of the five veto-wielding council members leaves the race open, and additional "straw" polls are expected.

Jeremic, a former General Assembly president who was second, got eight "encourage" votes, four "discourage" votes and three "no opinion," the diplomats said.

Venezuela's U.N. Ambassador Rafael Ramirez told reporters after the vote that he expects several candidates to drop out of the race. Former Croatian foreign minister Vesna Pusic became the first of the 12 candidates to leave the race on Thursday.

Former Macedonian foreign minister Srgjan Kerim came in sixth followed by New Zealand's former prime minister Helen Clark who heads the U.N. Development Program, the diplomats said.
Sheriff's office: Deputy fatally shoots knife-wielding man

ALDIE, Va. (AP)  Authorities say a sheriff's deputy in northern Virginia fatally shot a man approaching him with a knife.

The Loudoun County Sheriff's Office said in a statement that it received a call early Friday from a person reporting that a male relative was damaging items at their home in Aldie, about 35 miles west of Washington.

When a deputy arrived, officials say the man moved toward him with a knife near the front door. The sheriff's office says the deputy fired a shot after the man failed to comply with his repeated orders to drop the knife.
Nevada mourns loss of 1st black woman to earn college degree

RENO, Nev. (AP)  Nevada's two major universities are mourning the loss of the first black woman to earn a college degree in the state at a time when most of the nation was still segregated.

A memorial service was scheduled for Friday evening in Las Vegas for Stella Mason Parson, who died July 29 due to complications from renal disease.

Parson graduated from the University of Nevada, Reno in June 1952 with a bachelor's degree in English. She later returned to school at UNLV, where she earned a masters' degree in marriage and family counseling in 1988.

This photo provided by the family of Stella Parson, shows Parson, the first black woman to graduate from college in the state of Nevada. Parson passed away at 86 on July 29, 2016. A memorial service was planned in Las Vegas on Friday, Aug. 5, 2016. Parson earned a bachelor's degree in English from the University of Nevada, Reno in 1952 at a time most of the nation was still segregated. (Courtesy of Stella Parson Family via AP).

"When we first came here, there were no black teachers, no black professional in anything," she said in the donated tapes collection for a project at UNLV's James R. Dickinson Library. "Most of the women worked as maids."

At UNR, Parson wasn't allowed to have a roommate. She worked at the school cafeteria and as a domestic on weekends to cover her living expenses.

"Reno, the city itself, was just as segregated as any other city," Parson said in the 1978 interview. "We couldn't eat in the cafeterias downtown. But as far as the campus was concerned, black people were more than welcome."

Parson taught school for 33 years in Clark County, where a Las Vegas elementary school is named after her and her late husband, the Rev. Claude H. Parson, Jr., whom she met while he was stationed at Nellis Air Force Base.

In 2002, UNR awarded her a President's Medal for her accomplishments and created a scholarship in her name.

"Mrs. Parson was a good friend of the university who returned to campus over the years to speak and interact with students," said John K. Carothers, the school's vice president for development and alumni relations and executive director of the University of Nevada, Reno Foundation

"Her many years of teaching and service to the Clark County area have influenced generations of Nevada students who have gone on to better themselves and their communities," he said Thursday.

Parson was able to enroll at UNR in 1948 thanks in part to a scholarship she received from the Las Vegas chapter of the American Association of University Women, Carothers said.

"In order to repay those who helped her and benefit others, the Stella Mason Parson Endowed Scholarship was established to encourage other female students of African American descent to pursue a college education," he said. "Stella will be very much missed on campus by those who knew and worked with her."

Parson was born Nov. 18, 1929, on a plantation in Lake, Mississippi  the daughter of sharecroppers, Fred and Matilda Parson.

Fred Parson ushered his wife and daughter to a new life.

"He stole them off the plantation and hid them on a plantation in Arizona before working to pay to move them to Las Vegas," said Tara Trass, an executive assistant to Stella Parson's daughter, Naida Parson, who is the senior pastor of New Antioch Christian Fellowship in Las Vegas.

The family moved to Las Vegas in 1942, and Stella Parson later graduated from Las Vegas High School.

In the interview conducted for an oral history project at UNLV in 1978, Parson said her family lived in west Las Vegas during World War II, where there were "no paved streets ... and almost no homes for blacks at all."

"They would build a floor and spread a tent over it, and we would cook on wood stoves outside. ... There were no bathrooms," she said in tapes for UNLV's project, "The Black Experience in Southern Nevada."
Speaker Ryan says House will not vote on Asia trade bill

WASHINGTON (AP)  Speaker Paul Ryan says the House will not vote this year on the sweeping Asia-Pacific trade deal backed by President Barack Obama.

The Wisconsin Republican is a longtime proponent of free trade, but he says Obama made mistakes in negotiating the deal with 11 other countries and that there aren't the votes for it.

Ryan tells radio host Jay Weber on WISN radio in Wisconsin: "I don't see any way in which that would be done."

FILE -In this June 14, 2016 file photo, House Speaker Paul Ryan of Wis. speaks s at the Republican National Committee headquarter on Capitol Hill in Washington. Ryan says the House will not vote this year on the sweeping Asia-Pacific trade deal backed by President Barack Obama. The Wisconsin Republican is a longtime proponent of free trade, but he says Obama made mistakes in negotiating the deal with 11 other countries and that there arent the votes for it. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, File)

Obama used a press conference this week to talk up chances for the Trans-Pacific Partnership even though it is opposed by most congressional Democrats and both major presidential candidates. Speculation has centered on passage during Congress' lame-duck session in November.
Israel rejects Obama's latest remarks on Iran nuclear deal

JERUSALEM (AP)  Israel is rejecting remarks by President Barack Obama contending it no longer opposes the nuclear deal that world powers struck with Iran in 2015.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Friday that "Israel's view on the Iran deal remains unchanged."

Israel's Defense Ministry reportedly compared the deal to the 1938 Munich Pact ahead of World War II, which Britain and France signed with Germany and which averted war at the time but effectively gave then-Czechoslovakia to the Nazis.

Obama said in remarks on Thursday that the Iran deal is working and that "it's the assessment of the Israeli military and intelligence community ... that acknowledges this has been a game-changer."
Clinton acknowledges trust issues, blames them on GOP

WASHINGTON (AP)  Hillary Clinton acknowledged Friday the challenge she'd face leading a country where most Americans don't trust her, saying she takes "seriously" the work she must do to build confidence in her character.

But the Democratic presidential nominee also claimed that a broad electoral victory over Donald Trump in November would give her the capital needed to push her plans through Congress with Republican support and appeared to blame her political opponents for her low approval ratings.

Clinton pointed to the high ratings she won as secretary of state and as a senator from New York, arguing that voters like her more when she's working than when she's campaigning  something she attributed to campaign attacks on her character.

Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton arrives at the 2016 National Association of Black Journalists' and National Association of Hispanic Journalists' Hall of Fame Luncheon at Marriott Wardman Park in Washington, Friday, Aug. 5, 2016. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)

"Were 67 percent of the people in New York wrong? Were 66 percent of the American public wrong?" Clinton said. "Just maybe, when I'm actually running for a job, there is a real benefit to those on the other side with trying to stir up as much trouble as possible."

Clinton's trustworthiness has emerged as her biggest weakness in the fall campaign, one worsened by her responses to questions about her use of private emails servers as secretary of state and her reluctance to take regular questions from journalists.

The questions-and-answer session Friday at a joint meeting of the National Association of Black Journalists and National Association of Hispanic Journalists marked the first time she's talked about how that political problem could impact her future administration.

Clinton attempted to "clarify and explain" a recent statement on "Fox News Sunday" that FBI Director James Comey had said her answers about her emails practices were "truthful."

"I may have short-circuited and for that I will try to clarify," she said. Comey was speaking solely about her responses in a closed-door FBI interview, and not her public comments on the issue, which have included inconsistencies.

Clinton has claimed she never sent or received anything marked classified. In reviewing the FBI's investigation, Comey said seven e-mail chains dealt with matters that were "that were classified at the Top Secret/Special Access Program level when they were sent and received."

During the short question-and-answer session, Clinton also detailed some of her plans should she win the White House, promising to make an overhaul of America's immigration system a "clear, high priority."

She argued that a broad victory, one that included Democrats winning control of the Senate and tightening their margin in the House, would put pressure on Republicans to come along.

"There's nothing like winning to change minds," she said. "I view the political landscape as increasingly favorable to us making this happen."

That logic would depend on Republicans changing the political calculus they've made over the past eight years. Even when President Barack Obama held majorities in both the Senate and House during his first term, he was still unable to find widespread Republican support for his plans.

Her comments Friday came before an unusual audience: the media. Clinton last held a formal press conference more than eight months ago. Aides says she's conducted over 300 interviews since launching her campaign, but she has shied away from open forums where reporters can ask questions.

Friday's event was carefully controlled, with Clinton taking just seven questions from preselected journalists.

___

Follow Lisa Lerer on Twitter at: http://twitter.com/llerer

Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton speaks at the 2016 National Association of Black Journalists' and National Association of Hispanic Journalists' Hall of Fame Luncheon at Marriott Wardman Park in Washington, Friday, Aug. 5, 2016. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)
Kuwait says it arrests Filipina who planned an IS attack

KUWAIT CITY (AP)  Kuwait said Friday it arrested a Filipina it accused of joining the Islamic State group through its affiliate in Libya and who planned to launch an attack.

The Interior Ministry said the woman, born in 1984, entered Kuwait last June as a house maid. Security forces monitoring the woman's email found messages by the woman to the Islamic State group's Libyan affiliate, pledging allegiance to the group.

"She confessed she was ready to carry out any terrorist attack once circumstances and means were ripe in order to undermine security and stability in Kuwait, as well as ignite sedition," the state-run Kuwait News Agency reported.

KUNA also published a photograph of the woman in a black abaya, a loose black dress.

The statement did not identify the woman, nor did it say if she faced criminal charges. It wasn't immediately clear if she had legal counsel.
Amnesty decries torture, confinement of an Egyptian detainee

CAIRO (AP)  An international rights group has decried the prolonged detention and torture of a young detainee in Egypt over allegations that he belongs to the banned Muslim Brotherhood group.

Amnesty International said Friday that Islam Khalil, held for 122 days at an undisclosed location before being taken to prison, was badly tortured with electric shocks into giving confessions that he belongs to the Islamist organization.

Amnesty says Khalil went on hunger strike when prison authorities punished him with solitary confinement and warned that his health is deteriorating.
Judge: 'Special accommodation' for Oregon standoff accused

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP)  A federal judge said in court papers that he has allowed six of the defendants accused in the armed occupation of an Oregon wildlife refuge earlier this year to meet with their attorneys  and sometimes with each other  at a special courthouse location after they complained about their ability to prepare for trial from a county jail.

The defendants are being housed at the Multnomah County Detention Center, and U.S. District Judge Robert E. Jones said in the declaration filed late Thursday he at first kept the meetings "off the record" because jail staff was concerned other inmates would request similar treatment.

The trial of Ammon Bundy and seven others charged in the 41-day occupation of Malheur National Wildlife Refuge is scheduled to start Sept. 7.

FILE - This Jan. 27, 2016, file photo provided by the Multnomah County Sheriff's Office, shows Ryan Bundy, one of the members of an armed group that occupied central Oregon's Malheur National Wildlife Refuge as part of a dispute over public lands in the Western U.S. U.S. District Judge Robert E. Jones said in the declaration Friday, Aug. 5, 2016, that he allowed six defendants accused in the armed occupation of an Oregon wildlife refuge earlier this year to meet with their attorneys, and sometimes with each other, at a special courthouse location after they complained about access to their attorneys. (Multnomah County Sheriff via AP, file)

The takeover lasted nearly six weeks and included the fatal shooting by police of rancher and occupation spokesman Robert "LaVoy" Finicum. The occupiers wanted the federal government to relinquish public lands and free two Oregon ranchers imprisoned for setting fires. Neither demand was met.

Under the arrangements, the defendants can meet with their attorneys and an investigator and have access to the internet, cellphones and can review evidence in the case electronically.

Agents with the U.S. Marshals Service observe the meetings on a screen, but the conversations are not recorded.

Ammon Bundy and his brother, Ryan, met under these conditions for two full days in June. A second meeting in July was canceled after their attorneys did not show up, Jones wrote, and they have not requested another one.

Four other defendants also used the location for meetings with their attorneys, Jones said. "The feedback from those who had met with their clients in the Marshal's lock up was uniformly positive," he wrote.

The Bundy brothers and others complained in court papers in May that they did not have a confidential phone line in jail, had no access to federal court files online and jailers sometimes read and confiscated their trial preparation notes.

"They want to direct their defense, with the assistance of their lawyers to do so," the papers read. "The current conditions of the jail make this impossible."

____

Follow Gillian Flaccus on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/gflaccus
Lee Universitys Department of Natural Sciences and Mathematics hosted Bring Life to Math camp for local students.

Middle schoolers from the Bradley and Polk counties area gathered at Lees Science and Math Complex to learn about maths real life applications.

The camp was an initiative of the BLT Math program, which aims to help break down barriers between students and the subject of math, allowing students to think for themselves while developing their critical-thinking and problem-solving skills.

We are pleased to have offered the BLT Math Camp again this year, said Dr. Caroline Maher-Boulis, camp director and associate professor of mathematics at Lee. Students really enjoyed learning mathematics in engaging and fun ways. It is our goal to show students that math is fun and very applicable to our everyday lives.

This years camp program included hands-on experiences such as creative explorations and intriguing puzzles and problems involving coding, algebra, geometry, and proportions. During the week, campers also worked on geometrical structures of the universitys buildings, logical problems, and three-dimensional geometry of rollercoasters to see how math applies to real life in a variety of situations.

For more information on Lees Department of Natural Sciences and Mathematics, visit http://www.leeuniversity.edu/academics/arts-sciences/ or call 614- 8275.








Off-duty deputy kills driver who stole, crashed truck

SPRING HILL, Fla. (AP)  Florida authorities say an off-duty deputy fatally shot a man who stole a Coca-Cola truck and was involved in three crashes.

The Tampa Bay Times (http://tinyurl.com/zmrbxt8 ) quotes Pasco Sheriff's officials as saying that a deputy prisons officer on his way to work Friday saw the truck swerving and followed it. The report says 30-year-old Ronald Michael Robbibaro suddenly reversed the truck, striking the hood of the sergeant's vehicle. It says Robbibaro sped off and crashed into another off-duty detention deputy. The paper reports that Robbibaro also was involved in a car crash prior to stealing the truck.

Authorities told the newspaper that Robbibaro charged at the deputy, the two fought violently, and the deputy fired two shots.

The sheriff's office did not identify the deputy, or release his race or that of the man shot.

___
Prosecutors ask appeals panel to rehear Bank of America case

NEW YORK (AP)  A federal appeals panel should reconsider its reversal of a fraud verdict against Bank of America Corp. and $1.2 billion penalty resulting from the bank's actions during the 2008 financial crisis, prosecutors say.

Prosecutors filed papers with the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Manhattan late Thursday, saying that a three-judge appeals panel overlooked "a wealth of evidence" that the Charlotte, North Carolina-based bank sold thousands of toxic mortgage loans while misrepresenting them as investment quality.

They also cited a recent Supreme Court ruling clarifying law affecting the fraud case as a reason to reconsider.

In May, the appeals panel reversed a jury's finding that Bank of America and its Countrywide Financial unit committed fraud by misleading government housing agencies Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac in late 2007 and 2008. The ruling vacated a $1.27 billion penalty.

Bank of America through a spokesman declined comment Friday.

In their papers, prosecutors urged the court to at least return the case to the trial judge for a new trial so the government can present evidence and arguments that address the issues that caused the appeals court to reverse the verdict.

The government noted that the four-week trial came after years of investigation as the government sought to vindicate public interests in the integrity of the financial system.

The jury found that Countrywide executives deliberately misrepresented the quality of the mortgages that were sold as safe investments. The 2nd Circuit, however, found a "basic deficiency" in proof.

The trial resulted from claims by a former Countrywide employee that a division of Countrywide Home Loans that had specialized in subprime loans acted fraudulently after it transformed itself into a prime origination division after the subprime market collapsed in 2007. The United States later joined the lawsuit.

Prior to the housing collapse, Countrywide was one of many mortgage companies selling risky mortgages to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.
UN says South Sudan forces likely behind Malakal attack

UNITED NATIONS (AP)  South Sudanese government forces were likely behind an attack on a U.N. camp for internally displaced people in order to foster the ethnic reconfiguration of the northern city of Malakal, according to a United Nations Board of Inquiry.

The board's executive summary released Friday blamed a combination of factors, including the political situation, for the February attack which left some 30 people dead and 123 injured.

The summary blamed the government's creation of new states within in South Sudan which members of Shilluk ethinic group perceived as a threat to their historical claims to land east of the White Nile, including Malakal.

"The board also found it highly likely that the attack was planned, or at a minimum supported by, SPLA and/or affiliated militia to facilitate the ethnic reconfiguration of Malakal as the capital of a Dinka state," the summary said, referring to South Sudanese government forces by their initials. South Sudan's President Salva Kiir belongs to the Dinka ethnic group.

The summary did not spare the peacekeeping mission from blame either, stating that it failed to effectively manage the crisis with some units failing to act and a lack of coordination among the mission's civilian, police and military components.

"This failure to manage the crisis, in particular, manifested itself in a lack of urgency to enhance the security ... culminating in the abandoning of sentry posts when armed elements were approaching the berm leaving the PoC (Protection of Civilian) site fully exposed and, ensuring that civilians would be placed in serious risk in the very location to which they had come for protection," the summary said.

The board recommended that the U.N. review the concept of Protection of Civilian sites to avoid the false expectation of protection when it may not be feasible among other things.
Kenya court frees 35 Chinese, 5 Taiwanese in wire fraud case

NAIROBI, Kenya (AP)  A Kenyan court Friday acquitted 35 Chinese nationals and five Taiwanese who were arrested two years ago on suspicion of wire fraud.

Senior Principal Magistrate Joyce Gondani said the prosecution had failed to prove its case, ruling there wasn't sufficient evidence to convict them.

The group had faced charges of running a telecommunication system without a license, conspiracy to commit felony and engaging in organized crime. They all denied the allegations.

In total, 111 people Chinese and Taiwanese have been arrested, but most of them were deported because they didn't have proper documentation to stay in Kenya.

Forty-five other Taiwanese nationals arrested on similar charges were draped in black hoods and deported to China upon their acquittal in April, despite expressing fears of human rights violations, rights group Amnesty International said in a statement. They are currently undergoing a second trial in China, it said.

The move was criticized by Taiwan, which is fighting China's claim to its territory and wanted its citizens returned there.

Analysts say China's specific goal for accepting the Taiwanese previously deported from Kenya is to extract concessions from Taiwanese President-elect Tsai Ing-wen, who has refused to endorse Beijing's position that Taiwan and the mainland are part of a single Chinese nation. The sides split amid civil war in 1949, and China has threatened to use force to gain control over the self-governing island

Kenyan authorities must not deport the five Taiwanese nationals released Friday to China, where they face a real risk of human rights violations, Amnesty International said.

"If deported to China, they could face serious violations of their fair trial rights. There is no doubt Kenya cherishes its relationship with China, but by no means should it sacrifice these individuals' rights for political expediency, the due process of the law must be respected" said Amnesty East Africa campaigner Victor Odero.
South Sudan accepts deployment of regional force, bloc says

ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia (AP)  South Sudan's government has accepted the deployment of a regional force it had first rejected, almost a month after fighting erupted between opposing army factions in its capital, an African regional bloc said Friday night.

The head of the Intergovernmental Authority on Development said the government had accepted a protection force "without any precondition." Mahboub Maalim spoke to reporters after several regional heads of state met on the crisis.

He said the timing of the deployment of the force, which is meant to protect civilians and help implement a peace deal, will be determined after regional defense chiefs meet in the coming days.

He also said the recently named first vice president, Taban Deng Gai, has agreed to step down if opposition leader Riek Machar returns to South Sudan's capital, Juba.

Machar, who had been first vice president under a peace deal reached in August 2015, fled the capital into hiding shortly after the fighting began last month. His rival, President Salva Kiir, replaced him with Taban, who had acted as the rebels' chief negotiator during peace talks to end a civil war that began in December 2013.

Tens of thousands of people have been killed since the civil war began, and fighting has continued despite the peace deal. The latest violence in the capital created a fresh wave of displaced people, many fleeing the country or into U.N. camps.

The U.N. human rights chief on Thursday said South Sudanese security forces had killed and raped civilians in the latest fighting.
Death of man after struggle with police ruled an accident

FAIRFAX, Va. (AP)  Authorities in Virginia say the death of a group home resident after a struggle with police last April was an accident.

Fairfax County police said in a news release Friday that an autopsy found 45-year-old Paul Gianelos of Annandale died from cardiac arrhythmia associated with police restraint. The report called it an accident.

Police say on April 20, Gianelos wandered away from other group home residents during an outing at a Falls Church park.

They say Gianelos became combative after an officer found him, and four officers restrained him, handcuffing him behind his back.

Police say Gianelos suffered what appeared to be cardiac arrest and died at a hospital.
Thousands denounce Turkey coup in Cyprus' breakaway north

NICOSIA, Cyprus (AP)  Turning a town square into a sea of red and white Turkish flags, several thousand demonstrators rallied in the Turkish Cypriot half of ethnically divided Cyprus' capital Nicosia to denounce the July 15 failed coup in Turkey and show support for President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

Demonstrators, including many mainland Turks who live in the island's breakaway north, chanted pro-democracy slogans along with Erdogan's name in an outburst of national fervor in Sarayonu Square Friday.

An eight-meter (26-foot) banner emblazoned with the image of modern Turkey's founder Mustafa Kemal Ataturk was flanked by the flags of Turkey and the breakaway Turkish Cypriot state. Images of Ataturk in military uniform and civilian clothes were also projected onto a massive screen behind a stage where speakers addressed the crowd.

Turkish Cypriot demonstrators wave Turkish and Turkish Cypriot flags during a mass rally in support of Turkey's Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erodgan following a failed coup that aimed to oust him, during a protest in the breakaway Turkish Cypriot half of the capital Nicosia on Friday, Aug. 5, 2016. Mostly right-wing political parties and groups urged supporters to turn up for the rally that follows similar pro-Erdogan and anti-coup demonstrations in other European countries. (AP Photo/Philippos Christou)

A rendition of a 17th-century Ottoman battle hymn blared while many in the crowd held aloft placards reading, "no to the coup, yes to democracy" and shouted "long live democracy."

"We're very happy to have Turkey always supporting us and being by our side, so we're here to show Turkey we're standing by its side and that it's not alone," Turkish Cypriot demonstrator Muzaffer Karabetca told The Associated Press.

A Turkish invasion in 1974 in the wake of a coup aiming at union with Greece split the island along ethnic lines. Only Turkey recognizes a Turkish Cypriot declaration of independence and gives tens of millions of euros in financial support to the north each year while maintaining more than 40,000 troops there.

Turkey's Deputy Prime Minister Tugrul Turkes praised demonstrators for turning out, adding that he hoped to see Greek Cypriots from the island's internationally recognized south to join the rally and show their support.

Cypriot President Nicos Anastasiades, a Greek Cypriot, and Turkish Cypriot leader Mustafa Akinci, who didn't attend the rally, are now engaged in talks aiming to reunify the island as a federation.

Sunat Atun, the Turkish Cypriot energy minister, said the rally sends the message that Turkish Cypriots are "hand in hand with motherland Turkey."

"The Turkish nation and the Turkish Cypriots stand as one," he told The Associated Press. "This also shows full support for the leadership of Recep Tayyip Erdogan, one of the most effective leaders in the world."

Erdi Safar, a 27-year-old mainland Turk, said Erdogan is a strong leader that won't allow Turkey to be plunged into chaos like what has happened in other countries.

The rally was organized by the "Support Democracy Platform," an umbrella group of many associations and right-wing political parties. One left-wing Turkish Cypriot party said it wouldn't participate in what it called a rally supporting "Erdogan's dictatorship."

Turkish Cypriot demonstrators wave Turkish and Turkish Cypriot flags during a mass rally in support of Turkey's Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erodgan following a failed coup that aimed to oust him, during a protest in the breakaway Turkish Cypriot half of the capital Nicosia on Friday, Aug. 5, 2016. Mostly right-wing political parties and groups urged supporters to turn up for the rally that follows similar pro-Erdogan and anti-coup demonstrations in other European countries. (AP Photo/Philippos Christou)

Turkish Cypriot demonstrators wave Turkish and Turkish Cypriot flags during a mass rally in support of Turkey's Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erodgan following a failed coup that aimed to oust him, during a protest in the breakaway Turkish Cypriot half of the capital Nicosia on Friday, Aug. 5, 2016. Mostly right-wing political parties and groups urged supporters to turn up for the rally that follows similar pro-Erdogan and anti-coup demonstrations in other European countries. (AP Photo/Philippos Christou)

Turkish Cypriot demonstrators wave Turkish and Turkish Cypriot flags during a mass rally in support of Turkey's Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erodgan following a failed coup that aimed to oust him, in the breakaway Turkish Cypriot half of the capital Nicosia on Friday, Aug. 5, 2016. Mostly right-wing political parties and groups urged supporters to turn up for the rally that follows similar pro-Erdogan and anti-coup demonstrations in other European countries. (AP Photo/Philippos Christou)

A boy holding Turkish and Turkish Cypriot flags take part at a mass rally in support of Turkey's Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erodgan following a failed coup that aimed to oust him, in the breakaway Turkish Cypriot half of the capital Nicosia on Friday, Aug. 5, 2016. Mostly right-wing political parties and groups urged supporters to turn up for the rally that follows similar pro-Erdogan and anti-coup demonstrations in other European countries. (AP Photo/Philippos Christou)

A woman holding a scarf take part at a mass rally in support of Turkey's Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erodgan following a failed coup that aimed to oust him, in the breakaway Turkish Cypriot half of the capital Nicosia on Friday, Aug. 5, 2016. Mostly right-wing political parties and groups urged supporters to turn up for the rally that follows similar pro-Erdogan and anti-coup demonstrations in other European countries. (AP Photo/Philippos Christou)

Turkish Cypriot demonstrators wave Turkish and Turkish Cypriot flags during a mass rally in support of Turkey's Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erodgan following a failed coup that aimed to oust him, in the breakaway Turkish Cypriot half of the capital Nicosia on Friday, Aug. 5, 2016. Mostly right-wing political parties and groups urged supporters to turn up for the rally that follows similar pro-Erdogan and anti-coup demonstrations in other European countries. (AP Photo/Philippos Christou)

A woman holding balloons take part at a mass rally in support of Turkey's Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erodgan following a failed coup that aimed to oust him, in the breakaway Turkish Cypriot half of the capital Nicosia on Friday, August 05, 2016. Mostly right-wing political parties and groups urged supporters to turn up for the rally that follows similar pro-Erdogan and anti-coup demonstrations in other European countries. (AP Photo/Philippos Christou)

Turkish Cypriot demonstrators wave Turkish and Turkish Cypriot flags during a mass rally in support of Turkey's Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erodgan following a failed coup that aimed to oust him, during a protest in the breakaway Turkish Cypriot half of the capital Nicosia on Friday, Aug. 5, 2016. Mostly right-wing political parties and groups urged supporters to turn up for the rally that follows similar pro-Erdogan and anti-coup demonstrations in other European countries. (AP Photo/Philippos Christou)

Turkish Cypriot demonstrators wave Turkish and Turkish Cypriot flags during a mass rally in support of Turkey's Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erodgan following a failed coup in Turkey, in the breakaway Turkish Cypriot half of the capital Nicosia on Friday, Aug. 5, 2016. Mostly right-wing political parties and groups urged supporters to turn up for the rally. (AP Photo/Philippos Christou)

Turkish Cypriot demonstrators wave Turkish and Turkish Cypriot flags during a mass rally in support of Turkey's Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erodgan following a failed coup in Turkey, in the breakaway Turkish Cypriot half of the capital Nicosia on Friday, Aug. 5, 2016. Mostly right-wing political parties and groups urged supporters to turn up for the rally.(AP Photo/Philippos Christou)
Another round of monsoon thunderstorms sock Phoenix

PHOENIX (AP)  The latest round of monsoon thunderstorms to sock Phoenix swept across the metro area Friday, swamping low-lying streets, knocking out power to thousands of customers and delaying airline flights.

Rain slowed traffic during the morning commute's tail end, and flooding closed stretches of several major roads in Phoenix and Scottsdale as firefighters rescued motorists from several vehicles stalled in washes or other areas with standing or flowing water.

News video showed an unoccupied car partly full of water and pushed by flowing water up against a guardrail on the side of a street. Other images showed pickups and other high-profile vehicles plowing through a foot or two of water at other locations.

Peoria Fire-Medical E192 firefighter Todd Childress pulls a stranded dog out of a canal Friday, Aug. 5, 2016, with the help of a ladder in Peoria, Ariz. The dog, which had previously been very difficult to round up, ran right to the firefighter who was able to get him into the waiting net of Animal Control officer. (Capt. Justin Gorospe/Peoria Fire-Medical Department via AP)

In suburban Peoria, a firefighter used a ladder to descend into a storm canal with about 7 inches of flowing water to rescue a small black dog which officials said had been missing from its home since Thursday night.

By late morning, street sweepers and other equipment were clearing mud and debris off streets that had been under water.

Multiple locations in Phoenix and Scottsdale had 1-2 inches of rain. Much of it fell on areas still damp from heavy rain earlier in the week.

Nearly 18,000 customers of Arizona Public Service were without power at one point Friday morning, but that number dropped to 13,000 by midday as crews worked to restore service.

Flights departing and arriving at Sky Harbor International Airport were delayed 15 to 20 minutes, and three flights were diverted to other airports during the peak of the morning's storm activity, airport spokeswoman Heather Lissner said.

Forecasts call for drying over the weekend but more wet weather next week.

Earlier this week, heavy monsoon rains Tuesday snarled afternoon rush hour traffic in Phoenix, closing a freeway underpass for about five hours.

No freeways were closed during the Friday morning storms, but several streets were closed at Interstate 17 underpasses because of standing water.
US approves GMO mosquito test, but no release imminent

MIAMI (AP)  Federal authorities gave final approval Friday to a plan to release genetically modified mosquitoes in Florida, but none of the insects will be immediately dispatched in the state's fight against the spread of Zika.

After considering thousands of public comments, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's Center for Veterinary Medicine concluded the proposal from biotech firm Oxitec to release its mosquitoes in an island neighborhood just north of Key West would not significantly affect the environment, according a statement from the agency.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Environmental Protection Agency also contributed to the FDA's review. Local officials will hold a nonbinding vote on the proposal for Florida Keys residents in November.

The FDA approval came hours before Florida's Department of Health confirmed a new Zika infection within a 1-square-mile zone encompassing Miami's Wynwood neighborhood. That brings the state's tally of non-travel-related Zika cases to 16, in addition to 351 travel-related infections.

In the Keys, Oxitec would release nonbiting male Aedes aegypti mosquitoes modified with synthetic DNA to produce offspring that die outside a lab.

The Florida Keys Mosquito Control District approached Oxitec after a dengue outbreak in Key West ended in 2010. The district wants new ways to eradicate Aedes aegypti mosquitoes, which it considers a significant and expensive threat in the tourism-dependent island chain.

Brazil and the Cayman Islands are releasing Oxitec's insects as part of other mosquito control operations. The company, a subsidiary of Maryland-based Intrexon, also has tested the mosquitoes in Panama.

In separate projects overseen by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Oxitec has tested genetically modified pink bollworms and diamondback moths to fight agricultural pests in the U.S.

Anti-GMO activists have criticized Oxitec for allowing the release of some modified female mosquitoes, which do bite humans. The company has said only a very small number of females are released, and no humans have reported any health problems from their bites.

Oxitec CEO Hadyn Perry said the FDA's approval of the field trial should lead to discussions about fast-tracking releases elsewhere during a public health crisis.

"The pathways that enable emergency use should be looked at because the crisis is here and now, and it would be an awful shame if we looked back in two or three years and say, 'Why didn't we do this?'" Parry remarked in a conference call with reporters.

Oxitec promotes its technology as a chemical-free way to control mosquitoes and reduce the risks of Zika, dengue fever or chikungunya. In Miami this week, the head of the CDC credited aerial pesticide spraying with killing a significant number of mosquitoes in an arts district where Zika was apparently transmitted by insects on the U.S. mainland for the first time.
Berkshire Hathaway profit jumps 25 percent

OMAHA, Neb. (AP)  Berkshire Hathaway Inc., the company led by Warren Buffett, said Friday that its second-quarter profit jumped 25 percent from a year ago as revenue from its insurance and financial products businesses grew.

The conglomerate reported net income of $5 billion, or $3,042 per Class A share, in the quarter, compared with $4 billion, or $2,442, per Class A share, in the same quarter a year before. Earnings, adjusted for investment gains, came to $2,803 per share.

Total revenue rose 6 percent to $54.46 billion in the period.

FILE - In this Tuesday, June 14, 2016, file photo, Berkshire Hathaway Chairman and CEO Warren Buffett addresses the White House Summit on the United State of Women in Washington. Berkshire Hathaway reports financial results Friday, Aug. 5, 2016. (AP Photo/Cliff Owen, File)

Revenue at its insurance business rose 10 percent. Revenue rose 6 percent at its financial products business, which includes mobile home maker and financing provider Clayton Homes. Revenue fell 10 percent at its railroad, utilities and energy businesses, which include BNSF Railway and Berkshire Hathaway Energy.

Class A shares of The Omaha, Nebraska-based company closed at $218,010 on Friday. Its shares have risen 10 percent since the beginning of the year.

Berkshire owns more than 90 subsidiaries, including clothing, furniture and jewelry firms. It also has major investments in such companies as Coca-Cola Co. and Wells Fargo & Co.

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Elements of this story were generated by Automated Insights (http://automatedinsights.com/ap) using data from Zacks Investment Research. Access a Zacks stock report on BRK.A at http://www.zacks.com/ap/BRK.A

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Two Lee University students took first and second place in the 13th annual Student Paper Contest in the History of Mathematics hosted by the History of Mathematics Special Interest Group of the Mathematical Association of America.

The purpose of the contest is to increase awareness and interest in the history of mathematics among undergraduates and to encourage students to learn more about an area in the history of mathematics of their choosing.

William Cole, mathematics major and Lee graduate from Winston-Salem, N.C., took first place for his paper, The Evolution of the Circle Method in Additive Prime Number Theory. Anne Kelton, senior chemistry and mathematics double major with an Education emphasis from Collierville, Tenn., took second place for her paper, Overcoming Obstacles: The Lives of Sophie Germain and Sonya Kovalevskaya.

Mr. Coles paper traced the development of the circle method and its application to the Goldbach conjectures, which states that every odd number greater than or equal to seven can be expressed as the sum of three prime numbers.

I agonized over this for innumerable hours, but I never thought that it would amount to much more than a good grade in a class, said Mr. Cole. Once I finished it, I thought I would be done with it for good, but, at the urging of the wonderful Dr. Laura Singletary, I submitted to the competition and still cant believe I took first place.

Ms. Keltons paper discussed the history of women in mathematics, with a focus on the lives and work of Sophie Germain and Sonya Kovalevskaya, from both the late 18th-early 19th century France and mid-late 19th century Russia. Her paper highlighted the conflict of womens rights and the rejection from society of womens participation in academia and describes the story of how each of these women had to go to great lengths to overcome these barriers, producing an advancement in mathematics in the process.

I really enjoyed learning about and writing about Germain and Kovalevskaya, said Ms. Kelton. Much of the work that these women did was in fields that I have not yet studied, so I ended up learning quite a bit of new mathematics during the writing process. All of that being said, when I found out that I had placed in the competition, I was shocked and excited.

Both Mr. Cole and Ms. Kelton will receive a one-year student membership to the Mathematical Association of America, and as a first-place contestant, Coles paper will also be published in the HOM SIGMAA annual online journal Convergence.

These students researched diligently and constructed impressive research papers, said Dr. Laura Singletary, assistant professor of mathematics. I am consistently impressed by their hard work and delighted by their success in this national competition.

The mission of HOM SIGMAA is to provide a forum through which those interested in the history of mathematics can meet, interact, exchange ideas, provide support for one another, and foster increased awareness of the historical background of mathematics. For more information about the HOM SIGMAA paper contest, visit http://www.maa.org/press/periodicals/convergence/hom-sigmaa-2016-student-paper-contest-winners.

For more information about Lees Department of Natural Sciences and Mathematics, visit http://www.leeuniversity.edu/academics/arts-sciences/ or call 614-8275.
Kansas panel's scolding gives Brownback preview of future

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP)  Kansas Gov. Sam Brownback's administration got a taste of what working with a less conservative Legislature could look like Friday in the form of an oversight committee's angry, bipartisan scolding over issues within the state's Medicaid program.

The public dressing-down of Department of Health and Environment officials came three days after voters in the state's primary election ousted a large number of Brownback's conservative Republican allies in the Legislature. Senate Majority Leader Terry Bruce and 10 other GOP lawmakers lost their seats; three others narrowly trail in unofficial results.

House-Senate oversight committee members were upset about budget-balancing cuts in payments to pharmacies, doctors and hospitals providing services to Medicaid participants. Lawmakers were frustrated with a backlog in Medicaid applications and angry that the state is still pursuing some changes opposed by many advocates and legislators.

Kansas state Rep. Jim Ward, D-Wichita, asks questions during a legislative oversight committee hearing on the state's Medicaid program, Friday, Aug. 5, 2016, at the Statehouse in Topeka, Kan. The panel's public scolding of state health department officials have given Republican Gov. Sam Brownback's administration a taste of what working with the Legislature could be like after the primary election made it less conservative (AP Photo/John Hanna)

The questions of health department Secretary Susan Mosier and Mike Randol, its director of health care finance, were unusually sharp coming from a GOP-dominated committee. Republican Sen. Jim Denning, of Overland Park, said during a break in the meeting that voters sent a clear message Tuesday that they're displeased with the governor.

"They want us to get the trains running back on time," Denning said.

Kansas has struggled to balance its budget since GOP legislators slashed personal income taxes at Brownback's urging in 2012 and 2013 in an attempt to stimulate the economy. While the governor blames national trends such as slumps in agriculture and energy production, even some Republicans acknowledge the tax cuts didn't work as anticipated.

The conservative governor has touted his administration's overhaul of Medicaid as a success that's controlled costs while improving health care for the 375,000 poor, disabled and elderly Kansas residents covered by it. The state in 2013 turned over administration of the program to three private health insurance companies and renamed it KanCare.

The companies initially lost money on their contracts, raising questions about whether the overhaul is sustainable. The state has faced persistent complaints that the companies are too slow in reimbursing providers and deny too many claims.

Some Democrats have questioned whether the applications backlog was created deliberately to control costs, though the health department said it will be remedied soon.

"I believe KanCare is working," Randol told the committee. "There's going to be a challenge in any system that we have. There were challenges prior to KanCare."

The committee's chairman, Rep. Dan Hawkins, a Wichita Republican, called cuts in providers' payments "devastating." Democrats accused Mosier and other officials of not advocating aggressively enough in budget discussions for the needy, disabled and elderly.

Lawmakers in both parties are angry that the health department continues to pursue a consolidation of seven programs providing in-home services to the disabled and elderly. Randol and other administration officials believe the move would lessen administrative hurdles to people seeking services.

But Hawkins said the health department should solve existing problems first and that a consolidation could be "botched." Advocates worry that services will be cut.

"Do you hear what these people are saying?" Sen. Laura Kelly, a Topeka Democrat, demanded of Mosier. "Do you have ANY emphathy?"

A flustered Mosier responded, "That would be an interesting kind of question  it's simply attacking character."

Hawkins said frustrations with the Medicaid program have been building for weeks. But Democratic Rep. Jim Ward, of Wichita, attributed what he called "much more aggressive questioning" from the committee to the primary results.

"Elections have consequences. I think the people said, 'There are essential services,' and we're talking about those right now."

___

Follow John Hanna on Twitter at https://twitter.com/apjdhanna .

Mike Randol, the Kansas health department's director of health care finance, answers questions during a legislative oversight committee meeting, Friday, Aug. 5, 2016, at the Statehouse in Topeka, Kan. Lawmakers have grilled Randol and department Secretary Susan Mosier about problems within the state's Medicaid program (AP Photo/John Hanna)
The Latest: Taj Mahal closing set for Oct. 10

ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. (AP)  The Latest on the planned closing of Atlantic City's Trump Taj Mahal casino (all times local):

6 p.m.

Atlantic City's Trump Taj Mahal casino plans to shut down on Oct. 10.

This Aug. 4, 2016 photo shows the exterior of the Trump Taj Mahal casino in Atlantic City, N.J a day after owner Carl Icahn said he will close the casino after Labor Day. (AP Photo/Wayne Parry)

That was the date listed in warning notices that were required by law to be filed with the state Department of Labor.

Owner Carl Icahn said this week he will close the casino, which is losing millions of dollars each month, sometime after Labor Day.

Notices filed on Friday set the date as Oct. 10

Nearly 3,000 workers will lose their jobs in the shutdown.

That's on top of the 8,000 who became unemployed when four other Atlantic City casinos shut down in 2014.

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9:15 a.m.

The impending closure of Atlantic City's Trump Taj Mahal casino may help bolster the arguments of both sides in the November referendum over expanding casinos to New York City's northern New Jersey suburbs.

Proponents say New Jersey casinos are already losing business in nearby states and needs new ones closer to these customers.

Opponents argue that Atlantic City's casinos are already so fragile that three or more may close when faced with new in-state competition.

Billionaire owner Carl Icahn says he will shut the Trump Taj Mahal down after Labor Day, saying it is losing millions of dollars a month. That would leave Atlantic City with seven.

Atlantic City's main casino workers' union has been on strike against the casino since July 1.

Voters will decide whether to add two new casinos.

This Aug. 4, 2016 photo shows the exterior of the Trump Taj Mahal casino in Atlantic City, N.J a day after owner Carl Icahn said he will close the casino after Labor Day. (AP Photo/Wayne Parry)

A worker carries out repairs to a facade of the Trump Taj Mahal casino in Atlantic City, N.J. on Thursday Aug. 4, 2016,a day after owner Carl Icahn announced he would close the casino after Labor Day. (AP Photo/Wayne Parry)
Federal agency enacts new plan for Oregon amid criticisms

BEND, Ore. (AP)  A federal agency enacted a plan Friday to manage about 2.5 million acres of land in western Oregon that would increase the potential timber harvest by as much as 37 percent. It immediately drew fire from both the wood-products industry and conservationists.

The Bureau of Land Management predicted the resource management plan would increase job growth, tourism and recreation.

BLM Deputy Director Steve Ellis said the agency "has achieved an extraordinary balance that will create predictability and sustainability in Western Oregon."

FILE - In this file photo taken Jan. 8, 2016, mature Douglas fir trees line a road through the Santiam State Forest in Linn County south of Mill City, Ore. A federal agency has enacted a plan to manage more than 2.2 million acres of land in western Oregon that would increase the potential timber harvest by as much as 37 percent, though a timber-industry association complained that the new logging levels are still too low. (Mark Ylen /Albany Democrat-Herald via AP) MANDATORY CREDIT

The BLM estimated 278 million board feet per year could be harvested once the plan is fully implemented. Sarah A. Levy, a BLM spokeswoman, said in a telephone interview that allowable sale quantities were being increased from 203 million board feet to 205 million board feet and that an additional 73 million board feet that are in reserves could also be harvested if special measures to protect fish, water and wildlife are met.

In those reserves, the BLM would protect stands of older forests, which have the highest value to northern spotted owl, the agency said in a statement.

But Steve Holmer of the American Bird Conservancy said: "The BLM is now planning to log mature forests that are needed to recover populations of the threatened Marbled Murrelet and Northern Spotted Owl, and that provide for clean water and carbon storage."

Levy also said that under the plan, which replaces the 1994 Northwest Forest Plan, 20 percent of the landscape is designated as recreational that local communities can use.

After the U.S. government around 1990 imposed restrictions on timber harvesting on federal lands to save the northern spotted owl, logging started to freefall in Oregon and in other Western states. Mills closed. Counties in Oregon that had received revenues from the logging under the O&C Lands Act of 1937 suddenly found themselves short of money to run services. It was unrealistic to steeply raise property taxes on residents, many of whom had lost their jobs, to compensate for the shortfall.

The American Forest Resource Council, a forest products industry association, said Friday the BLM plan "is doomed to fail because it starts from a false premise: that walking away from 80 percent of the O&C Lands is good for Oregon workers, rural communities, and our forests. The truth is, this plan will ... mean draconian cuts to public services in many rural counties."

The council noted that members of Oregon's Congressional delegation had advocated for annual harvests of from 450 million to 550 million board feet and said the BLM plan falls far short of generating these levels of harvests and revenues to county governments.

The council called on Oregon's Congressional delegation to legislate "a balanced solution" to management of the lands that stretch from the California border to Portland.

___

Follow Andrew Selsky on Twitter @andrewselsky

FILE - In this May 8, 2003, file photo, a Northern Spotted Owl sits on a tree in the Deschutes National Forest near Camp Sherman, Ore. A federal agency has enacted a plan to manage more than 2.2 million acres of land in western Oregon that would increase the potential timber harvest by as much as 37 percent. The plan immediately draws fire from both the wood-products industry and conservationists, with one group complaining that the new logging levels are still too low and another saying it endangers the Northern Spotted Owl and another protected bird.(AP Photo/Don Ryan, File)
Mayor, secretary slain in remote town on Brazil border

ASUNCION, Paraguay (AP)  Paraguayan police say two unidentified gunmen firing from a motorcycle have killed a mayor and his secretary in a town on the country's border with Brazil.

Authorities say Mayor Miguel Loutiero and secretary Celso Carballo were shot to death Friday in Bella Vista Norte, which is adjacent to the Brazilian town of Bela Vista. They were out visiting a public works project.
He will be sentenced on November 10

A former drama teacher at a prestigious New York high school has admitted in a plea deal that he subjected two underage students to sexual contact, say authorities.

Christopher Schraufnagel, 41, pleaded guilty to misdemeanor child endangerment charges Thursday, said acting Westchester County District Attorney James A. McCarty.

But the agreement is not final and still awaits approval from New Castle Town Justice Douglas Kraus, who told The Journal News that he would like to review the deal before signing off on it.

Christopher Schraufnagel, 41, (left and right) pleaded guilty to misdemeanor child endangerment charges Thursday

If it is agreed, Schraufnagel, who is battling cancer and has undergone surgery twice, will not go to jail.

A civil lawsuit filed against Schraufnagel, the former drama teacher at Horace Greeley High School in Chappaqua, alleged that he 'engaged in sexual acts with students' and plied them with alcohol and drugs.

He is alleged to have engaged in sex-themed games during his drama classes, one of which was called 'Train Wreck', where students would be asked to discuss intimate details about their sexuality.

Another perverse game was dubbed 'Sick Secret Santa' played by theater rep students which required them to give the most outlandish gifts possible, said the lawsuit.

These included a scone with pubic hair baked into it, a dead bird, a cup of semen and a coffee cup filled with feces.

The prosecutor says the incidents involved students at Horace Greeley High School in Chappaqua (pictured) between May 2011 and June 2015

The prosecutor says the incidents involved students at Horace Greeley High School in Chappaqua between May 2011 and June 2015. Schraufnagel resigned last fall.

McCarty says Schraufnagel will face three years of probation with sex offender conditions and will surrender his teaching certificate.

He will be sentenced on November 10.

Attorney David Engelsher represents four students who have accused Schraufnagel. Engelsher calls the guilty plea 'partial vindication' for them.

The 41-year-old was hired in 2003 and started work in 2006 after which he ran a successful theater program for 12 years.
Exec who helped steer Google's self-driving cars steps down

SAN FRANCISCO (AP)  An executive who has been helping steer Google's efforts to build self-driving cars is leaving the project after more than seven years on the job.

Chris Urmson disclosed his departure Friday as the project's chief technology officer in an online post. He wrote that he is leaving to find another "adventure."

Google lured Urmson away from Carnegie-Mellon University in 2009 to direct the once-secret effort to build a fleet of cars that can navigate the roads on their own.

Last year, Google moved the lab developing the autonomous cars into a new company called Alphabet Inc., which hired auto industry executive John Krafcik to oversee the project.
Judge lifts arrest warrant for Argentine human rights leader

BUENOS AIRES (AP)  An Argentine judge lifted an arrest warrant Friday for the 87-year-old president of the Mothers of the Plaza de Mayo human rights group in a highly politicized embezzlement case.

The investigating magistrate had ordered Hebe de Bonafini's arrest on Thursday. But hundreds of supporters massed outside the group's offices to prevent police from removing her. The judge agreed Friday to allow her to be questioned without being jailed. A date was not set.

De Bonafini had twice refused to submit to questioning in a case involving the alleged diversion of nearly $14 million in public funds earmarked for a low-incoming housing project registered under the Mothers' name.

Hebe de Bonafini, president of Madres de la Plaza de Mayo human rights group, sits in a van in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Friday, Aug. 5, 2016 as she waits to travel to Mar de Plata to attend a conference. Hundreds of supporters prevented Argentine police Thursday from executing an arrest warrant against the 87-year-old in a highly politicized corruption case. Bonafini has refused to submit to questioning into the alleged embezzlement of public funds meant for a low-income housing project registered in her group's name. (AP Photo/Jorge Saenz)

De Bonafini says the group's two legal representatives are to blame. She claims she is a victim of political persecution by Argentina's new president, Mauricio Macri.

But the magistrate, Marcelo Martinez De Giorgi, has told reporters that while his investigation is focusing on a number of current and former officials De Bonafini must explain a contract she supposedly signed authorizing payments for construction workers who never got paid.

The mother of two youths disappeared during Argentina's 1976-83 military dictatorship, de Bonafini is a close ally of former President Cristina Fernandez, who governed from 2007-2015.

.
Cameron's honours to donors and pals 'would embarrass medieval court'

David Cameron's final honours list has been denounced as "a sorry legacy" after it was confirmed he has dished out gongs to political allies in a move that critics claimed amounted to cronyism.

The former prime minister created 13 Tory life peers giving the Tories 207 - one more than Labour - in a round of rewards that has been described as " so full of cronies it would embarrass a medieval court".

Tory treasurer Andrew Fraser, and political aides Gabrielle Bertin and Camilla Cavendish who both worked at Number 10, are all being given peerages.

David Cameron used his final honours list to reward his political allies

Knighthoods have been given to Cabinet ministers Michael Fallon and Patrick McLoughlin and former ministers Oliver Letwin and Hugo Swire, while former chancellor George Osborne becomes a Companion of Honour.

Notable by their absence are former Conservative treasurer Michael Spencer, whose nomination for a peerage was reportedly blocked by an independent advisory committee, and Tory donor Ian Taylor, who asked for his name to be withdrawn after negative publicity.

Samantha Cameron's stylist Isabel Spearman received an OBE for political and public service.

There were awards, too, for Mr Osborne's aides, including OBEs for chief of staff Thea Rogers and her deputy Eleanor Wolfson, and an MBE for his constituency manager Jane Robertson.

And key campaigners in the EU referendum were also rewarded, with a knighthood for Andrew Cook, the treasurer of Conservatives In, and a CBE for Stronger In campaign director Will Straw.

In total 16 new life peers were created, including Shami Chakrabarti who was nominated by the Labour Party, and Sir Nicholas Macpherson and Sir Peter Ricketts who will sit as crossbenchers.

Democracy campaigners the Electoral Reform Society (ERS) called on new Prime Minister Theresa May to "sort out this mess once and for all" by allowing voters to choose members of the Upper House of Parliament.

Chief executive Katie Ghose said: "For a Prime Minister who promised to cut the cost of politics, David Cameron is leaving a big bill for the taxpayer as he leaves office.

"His parting gift of 16 lords is a sorry legacy, both in terms of cost to the taxpayer and the quality of our democracy.

"Mr Cameron's Lords legacy could have been about real, democratic reform.

"Instead, he has unfortunately chosen to follow the well-trodden route of every other PM and packed the second chamber with former politicians, donors and party hacks.

"These unelected peers will cost the taxpayer millions over the long-term - hardly a fitting goodbye."

Liberal Democrat leader Tim Farron said: "David Cameron's resignation honours list is so full of cronies it would embarrass a medieval court.

"He is not the first prime minister to leave office having rewarded quite so many friends, but he should be the last.

"For the reputation of future leaders, such appointments should be handed over to an independent panel."

Mr Cameron's former policy guru Steve Hilton has also criticised the list, branding it a "serious type of very British corruption" and a "symptom of a corrupt and decaying democracy".

Labour's deputy leader Tom Watson said the confirmation of the resignation honours list shows how "Theresa May has flunked her first test as Conservative Prime Minister".

"If she were serious about governing for the many not the few Theresa May would have vetoed this list of Tory donors, political advisers and ministers," he added.

"The fact she has allowed this cronyism to go ahead shows that the Tories will always put their own interests first."

Former Labour spin doctor Alastair Campbell tweeted: "If there was honour in our honours there ain't none now. Embarrassing to be British sometimes."

Ukip's Douglas Carswell described it as "like a loser list from team Remain" while Greens leader Natalie Bennett wrote: "David Cameron has with #honourslist demonstrated again that the 18th-century tradition of patronage has no place in 21st-century politics."

Crossbencher Lord Digby Jones, who was given a peerage by Labour, said his reaction to the list had been "They're taking the mickey" and joked that the No 10 cat would be next.

He told BBC Radio 4's World At One programme: "They might as well make Larry the cat one - he's a good mouser.

"At the end of the day you have got to differentiate between reward and contribution and benefit to the nation."

Lord Jones said it was right to award gongs for political and public service but peerages should be reserved for experts.
Teenager charged with murder after London stabbings

A 19-year-old man has been charged with carrying out a knife attack which left an American tourist dead and five other people injured in London's Russell Square.

Zakaria Bulhan, a Norwegian national of Somali origin who moved to the UK in 2002, is due to appear before Westminster Magistrates' Court on Saturday.

Darlene Horton, the 64-year-old wife of a university professor from Florida, was just hours away from flying home when she was killed in the attack on Wednesday evening.

A forensic officer leaves Robertson House in Tooting, south London

She was visiting London with husband Richard Wagner, who was teaching summer classes, and the couple had planned to return to their home in Tallahassee on Thursday, Florida State University said.

A British man who suffered a stab wound to his stomach in the attack remains in hospital in a "serious but stable" condition while an American man, an Australian man, an Australian woman and an Israeli woman were all discharged from hospital on Thursday after receiving treatment for their injuries.

Yovel Lewkowski, 18, who was visiting London from Tel Aviv was stabbed in the upper arm.

She said she did not know whether to call it "luck or fate" that she escaped death, adding that she had watched as Ms Horton "perished in front of my eyes".

In a moving Facebook post, she wrote: "I'm not afraid, I want to keep going with the trip.

"The last few hours have taught me to appreciate every second, I don't know whether to call it luck or fate, but no doubt it is some sort of miracle compared to the woman who stood right next to me and perished in front of my eyes: a matter of seconds, metres, breaths."

Florida State University president John Thrasher said: "There are no words to express our heartache over this terrible tragedy.

"We are shocked that such senseless violence has touched our own FSU family and we will do all we can to assist Professor Wagner and his loved ones, as well as his friends and colleagues in the psychology department, as they mourn."

Friends and neighbours expressed shock at the arrest of Bulhan, a former student at Graveney School in Tooting, south London.

Neighbour Parmjit Singh Bhamra described Bulhan as a "quiet, academic boy who was a bit of a loner" who liked football, basketball and music.

He said Bulhan, who is unemployed, lived at the flat with his younger brother Salah, who he thought was about 16, and his elder sister Segal, around 24 and known in English as Hannah, and their mother Safia, whom neighbours call "auntie".

Two police officers remained on duty outside the Bulhan family home on Friday, a council flat in Robertson House on a road adjacent to St George's Hospital in Tooting.
Do not be like Chamberlain, May urged over children in Calais Jungle camp

Lord Alf Dubs, who entered the UK after fleeing Nazi-occupied Czechoslovakia, has called on the Government to show "more humanity and intelligence" to child refugees "than the Chamberlain government did to the Jewish people".

In a letter, also signed by actresses Vanessa Redgrave and Aislin McGuckin, Lord Dubs requested Theresa May's "urgent intervention" in reuniting children living in the "Jungle" camp in Calais with their families in the UK.

The trio said post-Brexit Britain offered a "platform" for politicians to make progress with the refugee crisis, as they delivered the letter to Downing Street.

Lord Alf Dubs, Aislin McGuckin and Vanessa Redgrave deliver a letter to 10 Downing Street in London, calling for an amnesty to allow unaccompanied children into the UK who are currently in Calais migrant camps and have family in Britain.

Charity Citizens UK suggests there are 170 children in Calais "with a right to relocate to Britain in order to reunite with their families," the letter, addressed to the new Prime Minister, states.

"If the rights of these children are not upheld they are left with an appalling choice between train tracks on the one hand, and the very traffickers you have challenged every step of your career since you became Home Secretary in 2010," it says.

It adds: "I deeply hope that your government may show more humanity and intelligence than the Chamberlain government showed to the Jewish people until after Kristallnacht in mid-November 1938."

Lord Dubs said "political will" was needed to remove children from the "appalling" conditions in Calais.

"They have every legal and moral right to be with their families in the UK," he said.

"It is shameful that they remain stuck in a field, surrounded by strangers, between two of the world's richest countries."

The group dismissed suggestions that a rise in hate crimes meant less support for accommodating refugees.

"I believe public opinion is on our side to bring these children over here," Lord Dubs said.

"I'm convinced that British people have got this humanitarian wish that these children should be here. We can give some of them, at least, safety in this country."

Outlander star McGuckin added: "There is a platform here for the government to maybe take charge, bring leadership, give us some hope. Give hope to these 170 children."

"The majority of people in Britain are very, very conscientious people and they help whenever they can, and they donate money even if they've got nothing much themselves," Redgrave said.
If youve ever stepped foot on Bryan Colleges 125-acre campus, you quickly realized what beautiful and breathtaking scenery the school has to offer. ChristianUniversitiesOnline.com certainly thought so as they recently ranked Bryan the no. 7 Most Beautiful Christian Colleges and Universities in the South for 2017.

From the article:

Bryan College is situated on a beautiful, rural 125-acre campus which is nestled in the beautiful mountains of Tennessee. Bryan Colleges architectural style is more contemporary, favoring clean lines; the Colleges signature chapel building (featured in the logo) features three large arches with tall glass windows. Bryan Colleges campus is well planned, has lush green lawns, and an abundance of deciduous trees. Located next to Chickamauga Lake, Bryan College also borders the Dayton Municipal Park. The campus fits in well with its natural surroundings.

The ranking was based off criteria that included: continuity of campus, architectural style, signature building and natural setting. The scores in each category were standardized and combined to rank the top 25 schools. Many other schools from Tennessee made the list including Carson-Newman University, Union University, and Travecca Nazarene University.

The Lord has blessed us with a beautiful location in a wonderful part of the country and a quality staff that is truly committed to making our campus the best possible living and learning environment for our students, said Tim Hostetler, vice president of student services and ministries. I am glad to see the results of their efforts recognized by those outside the Bryan College community.

To take a virtual tour of Bryans campus, visit here.



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Girl, two, returned to UK from Guinea amid FGM concerns

A two-year-old girl thought to be at risk of being subjected to female genital mutilation has been returned to the UK from West Africa following moves by police and a family court judge in England plus Dutch embassy staff, lawyers say.

Alarm bells had sounded after the youngster - whose family have links to Holland - was recently taken from her home in England to Guinea, a High Court judge heard on Friday.

Lawyers said the Metropolitan Police had launched an investigation, a family court in London had made a female genital mutilation (FGM) protection order and Dutch embassy staff had made arrangements to get the youngster out of Guinea.

Details were revealed by lawyers representing the Metropolitan Police at a private hearing in the Family Division of the High Court

Detail of the moves made to ensure the girl's safety were revealed by lawyers representing the Metropolitan Police at a private hearing in the Family Division of the High Court in London.

Barrister Zimran Samuel, who led the police legal team, told Mr Justice Moylan that a man had been arrested and released on bail pending further investigation.

A judge is due to analyse the case again at another family court hearing in the near future.

Mr Justice Moylan said the girl would undergo a medical examination and he said all evidence from police and family members should be gathered so that facts could be established.

The judge said detail of the case could be reported - but he said the girl could not be identified.

Judges began to make FGM protection orders in the summer of 2015 following changes in the law.

Mr Samuel, a specialist in FGM litigation, had said last year that the orders could "make a very real difference".

He said they were aimed at protecting potential victims rather than punishing offenders.

T hey could put barriers in front of people who posed a threat and could give comfort and support to vulnerable females, he said.

"FGM protection orders, which were originally one of several recommendations made by the Bar Human Rights Committee, can make a very real difference where the criminal law has historically failed. The criminal law is intended to punish perpetrators after FGM has happened," Mr Samuel had said.

"The new civil orders allow for intervention to prevent potential victims from being subjected to FGM in the first place.

"Further, the underlying thinking behind civil protection is to encourage girls at risk to come forward without feeling that the full force of the criminal law will necessarily be brought against those closest to them.

"A judge in the family court has a high level of discretion and flexibility in how these cases progress, with the fundamental aim of protecting those at risk."

He had added: "Importantly, the new legal provisions protect girls who live in the UK not only from FGM which may be committed in this jurisdiction but in fact anywhere in the world. It is an offence to breach an order, regardless of where FGM is committed."

Children's charity Plan International UK said FGM was a fundamental human rights issue and a problem for the whole world.

"This case is yet another reminder that FGM doesn't respect borders: it's a problem with a global reach," said Kerry Smith, the charity's head of girls' rights.

"It's imperative that our response in the UK is seen as part of wider international efforts to tackle, once and for all, what is a fundamental human rights abuse."
Iranian asylum seekers win Home Office legal challenge

Two Iranians applying for asylum have won a legal challenge against Home Office decisions that it is "safe" for their applications to be dealt with in Hungary.

A High Court judge has ruled that there is "a significant risk" that Husain Ibrahimi and Mohamed Abasi could be in danger of finding themselves channelled back to Iran, where they fear persecution, through a chain of countries facing economic and social problems as a result of the turmoil caused by the mass movement of people fleeing strife in Afghanistan, the Middle East and Africa and heading for the EU.

In a decision which could affect many other asylum applicants, Mr Justice Green, sitting in London, said the Government must reconsider the case.

Mr Justice Green, sitting in London, said the Government must reconsider the case

Mr Ibrahimi and Mr Abasi travelled to the UK via Hungary. One claimed he was wanted in Iran for suspected involvement in an anti-government demonstration, while the other contended he had a history of detention and ill-treatment by the authorities after converting to Christianity.

The Home Office immigration authorities decided in September and October 2015 that, under EU law, Hungary was "a safe third country" capable of handling their asylum applications, and there was insufficient evidence that there was a risk of them being sent back to Iran.

But the judge ruled the analysis of the international situation was "a long way out of date" and there was currently a significant risk.

He said this followed the introduction in Hungary, in August 2015, of "a highly accelerated and abbreviated asylum processing system" under pressure from the mass movement of migrants.

The judge said the EU Commission had started infringement proceedings against Hungary on the basis that its new asylum rules created a risk of "refoulement" - asylum applicants being returned to their alleged persecutors - contrary to EU and international law.

Both men argued if they were removed to Hungary they would, in due course, be channelled back to Iran via a "refoulement chain" including Serbia, Macedonia, Greece and Turkey.

The judge ruled there was such a risk. He said refugee agency the UNHCR and NGOs and other bodies, such as the European Parliament, had identified "systemic or operational risks" in the asylum and judicial systems of those countries.
Owen Smith wins backing of steelworkers' union in Labour leadership contest

Steelworkers' union Community has nominated Owen Smith in Labour's leadership contest.

General secretary Roy Rickhuss said his members desperately needed a Labour party that speaks to the country as well as them, adding: "At the moment, I fear it does neither."

The announcement follows a string of decisions by unions to support Jeremy Corbyn, including the Communication Workers Union, train drivers' union Aslef, building workers union Ucatt and the TSSA rail union.

Owen Smith is bidding for the Labour leadership

Mr Rickhuss said: "Jeremy Corbyn's leadership now presents a significant barrier to a future Labour government. He very plainly cannot lead a party and his continued presence as Labour leader makes our ability to build an election-winning, social movement, the likes of which was saw in the late 90s and early 00s, harder not easier."

Mr Rickhuss said Mr Smith offered a " radical and pragmatic" agenda, adding: "In a short space of time he has laid out detailed plans to make workplaces fairer and more prosperous.

"He has shown a real understanding of what an active industrial strategy should look like. Owen clearly has incredible ambition in his plan for Britain while recognising the fundamental need for Labour to be trusted with the nation's finances.

"Owen's comprehensive policy platform is matched with an energy and enthusiasm that is currently sorely lacking within our party's leadership.

"I hope that other trade unionists will join us in supporting Owen's leadership campaign. We have a responsibility to ensure the political wing of our movement is not left impotent and that our members do not have to endure another generation of Conservative rule."

The two leadership contenders clashed last night in their first head-to-head debate, with Mr Smith saying that Labour was failing to provide a "powerful, credible opposition" to the Conservative government under Jeremy Corbyn.

In an often fiery exchange in Cardiff, Mr Corbyn hit back, blaming Mr Smith and others for undermining party unity when they quit the shadow cabinet in protest at his leadership.

Mr Corbyn won the backing of the party's official youth wing, Young Labour, whose national committee voted by 15-8 to nominate him for re-election.

Young Labour's chairwoman, primary school teacher Caroline Hill, said: "I voted to nominate Jeremy Corbyn because he is the only Labour leader in my lifetime who has a serious plan to fight for young people - a National Education Service will give everyone the chance to get the education they need, massive investment in jobs and social housing, and radical reform of workplace rights so that we can stop the scandal of exploitation and precarious work."
Man arrested over Kingsmill massacre of 10 workmen 40 years ago

A man has been arrested on suspicion of the sectarian murders of 10 Protestant workmen in one of the most notorious outrages of the Northern Ireland Troubles.

The 59-year-old suspect was detained in Newry, Co Down, by detectives investigating the mass shooting at Kingsmill, County Armagh, 40 years ago.

The development in the unsolved case came two months after police announced a major forensic breakthrough.

The bullet riddled minibus near Whitecross in South Armagh where 10 Protestant workmen were shot dead

At the end of May, the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) revealed a potential match had been made to a palm print left on a getaway van used by the republican paramilitary killers.

The sole survivor of the attack, Alan Black, who was shot 18 times, described the arrest as a "bolt from the blue".

The suspect is being questioned on suspicion of the 10 murders and Mr Black's attempted murder.

The IRA was widely blamed for what has become known as the Kingsmill massacre.

The factory workers were ambushed as they travelled along the Whitecross to Bessbrook road in rural south Armagh on January 5 1976 in an attack seen as a reprisal for a series of loyalist killings in the same area in the days beforehand.

The men's minibus was stopped by a man waving a red light and those on board were asked their religion by a camouflaged gunman with an English accent. The workers had initially mistaken the man for a soldier.

The only Catholic workman was ordered to run away.

The killers, who had been hidden in the hedges, ordered the remaining 11 Protestant men to line up outside the van and then opened fire.

A van used by the gunmen was later found abandoned across the Irish border. The palm print was discovered on that vehicle.

It was re-examined by forensic scientists this year, only days after a long-delayed inquest into the deaths got under way in Belfast.

A lawyer for the PSNI told stunned relatives attending the hearing that a potential match on the police's database had been made.

It emerged that a forensic scientist had asked to run fresh tests on the print after reading media coverage about the opening of the high-profile inquest.

Some relatives expressed concern about the timing of the PSNI announcement about the palm print, raising concerns it would sidetrack the inquest.

Mr Black said he was struggling to take in news of the arrest.

"I don't really know what to think to be honest," he said.

"I am still trying to take it in.

"For 40 years the police were not interested in Kingsmill but this, I suppose, is a development at least.

"We will just have to wait and see what happens and whether any charges are brought against this person."

Colin Worton, whose brother Kenneth was killed, said: "We were disillusioned when we were told at the inquest about the discovery of the palm print after 40 years.

"But I believe this has to be a positive development.

"We will have to wait and see the justice system take its course."

Karen Armstrong, who lost her brother John McConville, said: "We will have to wait and see how it all pans out."

Stormont Assembly member Danny Kennedy, a prominent supporter of the Kingsmill families' quest for justice, described the arrest as a "potentially positive development".

"The sectarian massacre of 10 Protestant workmen by the IRA remains a stain on south Armagh," said the Ulster Unionist.

"The families and sole survivor have waited 40 years in their pursuit of maximum truth and justice for this brutal and barbaric crime."

Democratic Unionist MLA William Irwin said the Kingsmill families deserved justice.

"Forty years have passed since one of the worst sectarian atrocities of The Troubles," he said.
Mexican business lobby goes to court against teacher protests

MEXICO CITY, Aug 3 (Reuters) - A Mexican industry lobby said on Wednesday it had filed a legal challenge to pressure the government into putting an end to a long-running protest by dissident teachers which it complains has hurt business.

Mexican employers' federation Coparmex said the government had breached the rights of business owners and citizens by failing to enforce the rule of law in protests against an education reform by the teachers' union known as the CNTE.

Coparmex said it had filed an amparo, a form of constitutional injunction, in a federal court to defend its rights against President Enrique Pena Nieto's government.

"What the amparo could do is force the judiciary to mandate authorities to meet their obligations," Coparmex president Gustavo de Hoyos said on Mexican television.

Earlier, de Hoyos said that protests have led to blockades of railways, port disruptions, and damage to public property, and demanded the government re-establish order.

The government has been unable to reach an accord with the CNTE over the reform, which imposes mandatory staff evaluations on the profession. The union says this is unfair towards many poorer teachers and will result in massive dismissals.
Cities rush to measure climate footprint after Paris deal

BARCELONA, Aug 4 (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - The number of cities reporting on their efforts to tackle global warming has risen 70 percent to 533 around the world since the adoption of the Paris climate change agreement in 2015, the group collecting the data said.

The cities - which provide annual information on their planet-warming emissions, the climate hazards they face, renewable energy targets, risks to their water supply and other environmental aspects - now represent 621 million citizens globally, CDP said on Thursday.

"When cities measure their climate footprint and seek a sustainable path to green growth powered by clean energy, they take us all further towards the global transition to low emissions and resilient development," said Patricia Espinosa, the new head of the U.N. climate change secretariat.

In December, 195 nations reached a deal to limit climate change by shifting from fossil fuels to green energies by 2100.

CDP, a UK-based non-profit formerly called the Carbon Disclosure Project, said more cities are doing an inventory of their greenhouse gas emissions, as a first step to managing their climate impact, amid growing awareness of climate risks.

Today four in 10 cities are measuring their emissions, compared with one in 10 cities in 2011, when CDP launched a programme to help them reduce their emissions and adapt to climate change.

CDP highlighted a nearly four-fold increase since last year in the number of African cities disclosing climate information, to 46 from 12.

Newcomers include Accra in Ghana, Kisumu in Kenya, Kinshasa in Democratic Republic of Congo and Antananarivo in Madagascar.

"Climate change poses a serious threat to the wealth and wellbeing of our city," Lorna Omuodo, Kisumu's chief officer for green energy and climate change, said in a statement.

"Delaying action will be costly, which is why we are taking steps now to ensure we build resilience."

Here are some facts and figures on the cities reporting climate information to CDP:
Sherritt, partners get deferral for Madagascar mine debt

TORONTO, Aug 4 (Reuters) - Canadian miner Sherritt International Corp said on Thursday that lenders for a large Madagascar nickel mine, which it holds with partners, will defer six principal loan payments totaling $565 million until 2021.

The agreement gives additional time for nickel prices to recover and partners to manage their funding requirements, said Sherritt, which holds a 40 percent stake in the Ambatovy joint venture. Japan's Sumitomo Corp holds a 35 percent stake and Korea Resources Corp (Kores) 27.5 percent.

They owe lenders, including Export Development Canada and the African Development Bank, $1.6 billion. But with nickel prices down nearly 80 percent since 2007, the mine is producing at a loss.

Semi-annual cash interest payments will continue under the deferral plan, Sherritt said, with principal and interest repayments starting in 2021 or earlier, depending on cash flow generation.

Sherritt Chief Executive David Pathe said in an interview last week he was "encouraged" by an increase in nickel prices to around $4.70 a pound, but that long-term prices of $8 to $9 a pound were needed to sustain an industry where about half of nickel operations are producing at a loss.

Prices of nickel, a top performer among industrial metals in recent months, are likely to retreat by the end of the year even though shortages are becoming more severe, according to a Reuters poll released last week.
Court denies North Carolina motion to stay decision on voter ID law

Aug 4 (Reuters) - A U.S. appeals court issued an order on Thursday denying North Carolina's motion to stay the court's decision last week striking down the state's voter ID law.
Colombia may vote on peace before final accord signed -president

BOGOTA, Aug 4 (Reuters) - Colombia could hold a public vote to approve a peace accord with Marxist FARC rebels and end more than five decades of war before the deal is formally signed, President Juan Manuel Santos said on Thursday.

It had been widely expected the plebiscite would take place after the government and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) had officially signed an accord at the close of negotiations in Cuba.

"When we finish the agenda points, that is to say, when everything is agreed, that is when we will send the texts to Congress and convene the plebiscite," Santos said during an event in the Pacific port city of Buenaventura.

"That moment won't necessarily coincide with the signing of the accords. The signing is a formality, it can be done afterward," the president added.

The constitutional court ruled last month that a plebiscite could be held to legitimize any deal and that at least 13 percent of the electorate, some 4.5 million voters, would need to vote 'yes' for it to be approved.

The country's principal opposition party, the right-wing Centro Democratico, said this week it would campaign for a 'no' vote.
Twitter loses another corporate communications executive

Aug 4 (Reuters) - Jim Prosser, Twitter Inc's head of corporate, revenue and policy communications, said on Thursday he was leaving the microblogging website to join online lender SoFi.

"Some news: after four years at @twitter, I'm joining @SoFi as VP of Communications and Policy." Prosser tweeted from an unverified account on Thursday.

Prosser confirmed the news of his departure in an emailed statement to Reuters.

Prosser is the second senior Twitter communications executive to exit this week.

Natalie Kerris, Twitter's VP of communications, is leaving the company after joining from Apple Inc in February, Recode reported on Aug. 1. (http://on.recode.net/2aLTqJS)
Jeremy Weaver, one of three owners of the successful Wind River Tiny Homes business, is set to go before the Planning Commission on Monday to make a plea for tiny homes zoning in Chattanooga.

At the same time, he and partners Travis Pyke and Caleb Knowles are planning to move the business from a barn in Bradley County to a two-acre site at Apison.

A rezoning request for the site at 5007 and 5011 Orchard Dr. is also on the Planning Commission agenda at 1 p.m. at the County Courthouse.

Mr. Weaver there is currently no minimum house size in Chattanooga as there are in many cities.

But he said many tiny homes are on wheels and that puts them in a different category.

Mr. Weaver, whose firm just completed a $105,000 tiny house that is going outside Boston, Mass., said the proposed zoning ordinance would require that the small houses be of the same character as the neighborhood and of the same quality.

He said more and more people are showing an interest in living in small homes that are of high quality.

His firm, which currently makes two tiny homes at a time, has orders backed up for six months.

He just quoted a tiny house with all the extras and a price tag of $153,000.

The Boston model includes a roof made of solar panels among the many custom features.



Wind River plans to construct a small facility at the Apison location for the manufacturing process and have an area where prospects can inspect the quality of the homes.

The firm now has 3-4 employees to construct the homes to order. Most are under 200 square feet.



The Boston model will be on public display on Sunday from noon to 7 p.m. at 1 W. 13th St.


NY regulator queries Goldman again on Malaysia's 1MDB fund -source

By Suzanne Barlyn

Aug 4 (Reuters) - New York state's financial regulator has sent a second request to Goldman Sachs Group Inc for information about its fundraising for Malaysian sovereign wealth fund 1MDB, a person familiar with the matter said.

The New York State Department of Financial Services (NYDFS), in a letter sent late on Thursday, also requested a meeting with Goldman on or before Aug. 31, the person said. The request follows a letter the regulator sent to Goldman last month seeking details on the matter.

The source was not authorized to discuss the matter publicly.

"We are aware of their interest in this matter and have been in dialogue with them on it for some time," a Goldman Sachs spokesman said.

The Wall Street bank's work with 1MDB is under the spotlight after the U.S. government alleged that billions of dollars earmarked for investments were diverted for the personal use of 1MDB officials, their relatives and associates.

Goldman Sachs helped 1MDB, which was founded by Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak in September 2009, raise $6.5 billion in three bond sales in 2012 and 2013 to invest in energy projects and real estate to boost the Malaysian economy.

Instead, more than $2.5 billion raised from those bonds was misappropriated and used to buy artwork, including paintings by Vincent Van Gogh and Claude Monet, luxury properties in New York and London and to pay off gambling debts in Las Vegas, according to U.S. Department of Justice civil lawsuits filed in court on July 20.

Goldman Sachs, which earned close to $600 million to arrange and underwrite the 1MDB bonds, was not accused of any wrongdoing in the lawsuits. But they allege investors were not properly informed about the use and nature of the bonds.

NYDFS considers the meeting it is requesting a type of "supplemental special report," the person familiar with the matter said. Details the regulator wants to discuss at the meeting include the timing of disclosures to NYDFS concerning Goldman's involvement with bond transactions involving the Malaysian fund.

The regulator also wants details about Goldman's due diligence in connection with transmitting the sale proceeds from the three bond offerings.
"You are handsome": Essential English as China scrubs up for maiden G20 summit

By Ruby Lian and Brenda Goh

HANGZHOU, China, Aug 5 (Reuters) - China is sparing no effort to ensure its first-ever G20 summit passes off perfectly, enforcing measures to close factories, offer English lessons to elderly residents and even a $1.5-billion giveaway to get some to leave town.

China is determined to impress the leaders of the world's 20 biggest economies due to attend the Sept 4-5 summit in the eastern city of Hangzhou, whose lakefront scenery has inspired generations of painters and poets.

Preparations range from a ban on flights by drones, or model aircraft sent aloft by hobbyists, to restrictions on the guests hotels may host, besides nearly 700 projects to refurbish expressways and waterworks.

Among the residents enthusiastic to help during the summit is retiree Yu Huier, 74, who plans to use her newly acquired English skills to help visitors find their way around her neighbourhood.

"If I see President Obama, I will say 'Welcome to Hangzhou!'" she told Reuters, unfurling a list of English phrases handed out by community officials that included remarks such as "Hangzhou is paradise" and "You are handsome".

Feelings range from glee to annoyance over the efforts to get ready the city of 9 million people, home to Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba Group Holdings, and highly polluting industries such as steel and textiles.

"The whole city has become a huge building site," said Quan Hao, a 24-year-old information technology worker, who bemoaned the scaffolding and fences crowding many streets.

"We have suffered from the dust and traffic for almost a year."

Foreign dignitaries will be the first to enjoy many of the improvements, however.

In a notice seen by Reuters, police have ordered hotels around the city's scenic West Lake to accept only summit-related bookings in the three weeks to Sept. 7, even if this means having to turn away tourists in the usually busy summer.

Authorities have declared a week-long holiday for the summit, and the government is giving away travel vouchers worth 10 billion yuan ($1.5 billion) to encourage city residents to visit tourist attractions elsewhere and to reduce congestion, regional media have said.

"It's painful to look for a place to live," said university student Xu Hailun, who passed on a summer internship after plans to rent a flat in Hangzhou fell through four times, because of a police crackdown on short-term leases.

About 250 factories in surrounding provinces have been ordered to shut from Aug. 24 to Sept. 6, a move reminiscent of Beijing's efforts to banish smog from its skies during the APEC summit of 2014 and the 2008 Olympics.

One taxi-driver said he would use the travel vouchers to leave during the summit, provided he got time off.

"The main roads will be blocked," lamented the man, who gave only his surname, Yao.
S.Africa's ruling ANC faces rejection from urbanites angry over poor services

By TJ Strydom

PRETORIA, Aug 5 (Reuters) - South Africa's ruling party was on track for its worst electoral performance since coming to power two decades ago, poised to lose control of a key metropolitan area in a reflection of rising anger over a stubbornly high jobless rate and a lack of basic services.

Support for the African National Congress (ANC) has waned particularly among urban residents whose lives have not improved much since it toppled oppressive white rule in 1994 and who accuse President Jacob Zuma of mismanaging the economy.

On Friday the ruling party was on the brink of losing control of Nelson Mandela Bay, named after the late anti-apartheid icon, to the Democratic Alliance (DA), which held 46.65 percent of the vote compared with the ANC's 40.99 percent, with 98 percent of ballots counted.

Victory in Nelson Mandela Bay would give the DA control of its second major city, and embolden the opposition ahead of national elections in 2019. ANC officials in the area, however, said they were lodging a complaint about 500 dumped ballot papers found there with votes marked for the party.

The DA held a narrow lead in the capital, Pretoria, with 66 percent of the votes in, while the two parties were on par in the economic hub of Johannesburg, with 64 percent counted.

This leaves the ANC with a tenuous hold on two more major cities where millions of impoverished blacks are now looking beyond its liberation struggle credentials and focusing on weak economic growth and the scandals embroiling Zuma.

"The results suggest that South Africa's political system is becoming much more competitive," said John Ashbourne, Africa analyst at Capital Economics.

"The DA, which has traditionally relied on the votes of white and coloured (mixed-race) South Africans, finally appears to be gaining support among the country's black majority."

The DA last year elected its first black leader, Mmusi Maimane, as part of continued efforts to shake off its image as a party that mainly serves white interests.

The ANC was still in the lead nationally, with 54 percent of votes versus 26 percent for the DA and nearly 8 percent for the radical leftist Economic Freedom Fighters.

But this was down sharply from 62 percent in the 2011 municipal elections, suggesting voters are losing patience with Zuma, who rattled investors in December by changing finance ministers twice in a week, sending the rand currency plummeting.

Zuma survived an impeachment vote in April after the Constitutional Court said he breached the law by ignoring an order to repay some of the $16 million in state funds spent on renovating his private home in Nkandla. Zuma has since said he will repay some of the money.
Taiwan stocks jump on BoE easing; TSMC leads

TAIPEI, Aug 5 (Reuters) - Taiwan stocks rose on Friday, in line with some other Asian markets, after the Bank of England launched a potent post-Brexit stimulus campaign, with TSMC leading technology shares higher.

As of 0150 GMT, the main TAIEX index rose 0.77 percent, to 9,093.85, after closing at 9,024.71 in the previous session.

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC), the world's top contract chip maker, jumped 1.4 percent. Smartphone maker HTC added 3.8 percent.

The electronics subindex rose 0.74 percent, while the financials subindex gained 0.65 percent.
Idemitsu may buy smaller stake in Showa Shell to counter opposition -Nikkei

TOKYO, Aug 5 (Reuters) - Japan's Idemitsu Kosan is looking to acquire a smaller stake in Showa Shell Sekiyu than planned, aiming to counter efforts by the former's founding family to block a merger of the two oil refiners, the Nikkei business daily reported on Friday.

An Idemitsu spokesman said that the heads of both companies met on Thursday to confirm their intention to merge despite the Idemitsu family's opposition, but that there had been no discussion between them of such a move and no decision had been made on any specific plan.

But he added that it was possible that such a move may be discussed in the future among various options that could be pursued.

The family has opposed the company's plan to acquire smaller rival Showa Shell, arguing the two companies are too culturally different for a merger to work.

Shosuke Idemitsu, Idemitsu's honorary chairman and 89-year-old son of its founder, said in an open letter dated July 22 and posted on the family law firm's website that he feels he has to pass on the tradition of Idemitsu that treats employees as a family and overcomes obstacles with no layoffs.

"I feel great apprehension about adding people from different backgrounds into Idemitsu's big family and taking care of them in the same way," he wrote, adding Idemitsu should tackle today's severe market environment in Japan as a team.

Speaking through a lawyer on Wednesday, the family said it bought a 0.1 percent stake in Showa Shell. This stake, if combined with the 33.24 percent that Idemitsu was planning to purchase in September, would mean the company and related parties' total shareholding in Showa Shell would exceed one-third.

Japanese law bars companies from acquiring stakes that large via private placements, raising the prospect that Idemitsu would, contrary to original plans, have to make an expensive tender offer for Showa Shell shares.

Having Idemitsu obtain a smaller stake than 33.24 percent is one possible solution, the Nikkei reported, citing unidentified officials from both companies.

Shares in Idemitsu were up 0.1 percent while Showa Shell shed 0.3 percent on Friday afternoon, in line with the benchmark Nikkei average which was flat. Shares of both companies had fallen sharply on Thursday.

Idemitsu would also have to prepare for negotiations with seller Royal Dutch Shell. The Anglo-Dutch group may balk, because selling fewer shares would mean lower proceeds, the Nikkei said.
Indonesia's Q2 growth surprise spurs optimism on path ahead

By Hidayat Setiaji and Gayatri Suroyo

JAKARTA, Aug 5 (Reuters) - Indonesia surprised with its strongest growth in 10 quarters in April-June, spurring some economists to predict it will outperform most Southeast Asian nations the rest of this year.

However, others cautioned that Indonesia needs more private investment to sustainably raise its growth rate, as a widening budget deficit means government spending - which helped lift annual growth to 5.18 percent in the second quarter - has to be contained.

The annual growth rate for April-June, announced on Friday, was the highest since the last quarter of 2013, nearly a year before Joko Widodo became president. A Reuters poll predicted 5.00 percent.

The new number "foreshadows what we expect to be Indonesia's ascent to be one of the outperforming economies in ASEAN," ANZ wrote.

Wellian Wiranto of OCBC in Singapore called Indonesia a "momentum play", saying the data "adds oomph to positive sentiment" about Indonesia.

The Jakarta stock exchange benchmark, up 18 percent this year, rose 0.5 percent after the gross domestic product data.

One reason markets have been upbeat is Widodo's recent cabinet reshuffle that saw Sri Mulyani Indrawati, a widely-respected reformer, leave the World Bank after six years and return to being finance minister.

ANZ said the reshuffle "suggests a cementing of the reform agenda".

DENTED EXPORT EARNINGS

The statistics bureau credited the second quarter's growth on higher commodity prices and government spending, solid consumption and better crops.

Low global commodity prices have hurt Indonesia for years, denting export earnings, investment, state revenue and purchasing power. It was the main reason growth slowed to six-year low in 2015 to 4.8 percent. The economy had annual growth of 4.91 percent in January-March.

Household consumption, representing more than half of the country's GDP, gained in the second quarter as people spent more money at the start of the Muslim fasting month, which this year began in June.

Gundy Cahyadi, DBS economist, said strong consumption should support growth but Indonesia needs more investment to sustain a solid pace.

He warned that the state's contribution to growth may fall in the second half as "the pace of spending may actually ease... as the government will attempt to keep fiscal deficit in check."

Indrawati announced on Wednesday the government will trim spending by 133.8 trillion rupiah ($10.20 billion) to make sure the budget deficit does not breach the legal limit of 3 percent of GDP.

TAX AMNESTY

To aid state finances and try to bring home billions of dollars Indonesians have overseas, the government last month launched a tax amnesty programme.

The amnesty could provide "an additional filip to growth," said Michael Wan, economist with Credit Suisse, which expressed a "positive view" of the Indonesian economy.

After Friday's data, RBS upgraded its outlook for Indonesia growth this year to 5.1 percent from 4.9 percent.

Not everyone thinks Indonesia is poised to much stronger growth in future, let alone reach the 7 percent target Widodo promised during his campaign.

"While we think the worst for Indonesia's economy is now over, a combination of fiscal tightening and low commodity prices will keep growth stuck at around 5 percent over the next couple of years," Capital Economics said.

Widodo has announced a series of reforms to improve the investment climate and the central bank has cut the benchmark four times this year totalling 100 basis points. Some analysts expect another cut this year.
Hezbollah sees no immediate end to Syria war, partition in Iraq and Syria a possible outcome

By Samia Nakhoul, Laila Bassam and Suleiman Al-Khalidi

Beirut, Aug 3 (Reuters) - Lebanon's Hezbollah said the partition of Iraq and Syria was a possible outcome of sectarian fighting across the region and there was no prospect of any end to the war in Syria until after November's U.S. presidential election.

Sheikh Naim Qassem, deputy leader of the Iran-backed group, whose forces are fighting alongside President Bashar al-Assad against rebels supported by Western and regional powers, said Hezbollah, Iran and Russia would stand by Assad until the end.

In an interview with Reuters, he said recapturing Aleppo, Syria's second major city where a decisive battle is unfolding, remained an objective but was not an immediate goal.

The U.S. and its allies say that by waging war against his own people, Assad can have no future in Syria, while Russia and Iran, wholly opposed to regime change, maintain he is the legitimate president, albeit of a state shrunk by rebel gains.

Both coalitions fear his sudden departure could destroy what is left of Syria after more than five years of civil war, bequeathing a shell state to the jihadis of Islamic State and Al Qaeda.

Qassem said both Syria and neighbouring Iraq, where Islamic State has also seized territory, could split.

"On the battlefield and in view of regional and international interventions I don't rule out that one of the ideas proposed is finding a state of partition in those two countries but will it succeed or not?

"So far the forces that want the unity of Iraq and Syria are able to prevent the idea of partition but we should remain worried about ... the possibility that some countries might push these two countries or one of them into partition."

Assad was the best protection against this, Qassem said.

"With President Assad the solution can be logical and rational in finding political parameters that can give the opposition its share and the regime its share and there could be coordination which allows for putting things back in order and reviving authority in Syria", the white-turbaned sheikh said.

DIE-HARD COMMITMENT

The intervention of Russia's air force since last September, after Iran, Hezbollah, and Iraqi Shi'ite militiamen had fought relentlessly to keep Assad in place, has confounded the designs of Washington and regional Sunni powers such as Saudi Arabia and Turkey, Qassem said, opening the way to a political solution.

"Iranian and Russian relations with Syria helped achieve steadfastness on the ground because both support Assad staying in power and back a political solution," the Hezbollah number two told Reuters.

The Syria war grew out of Arab spring-inspired protests in 2011 calling for democratic change. Before Iran, Hezbollah and Russia came to Assad's aid, his grip on power appeared to be failing. Their support was seen by diplomats and Middle East experts as key to Assad's survival.

Syria's civil war, now in its sixth year, has killed more than 250,000 people, displaced more than 6.6 million inside the country and forced another 4.8 million to flee, creating a huge influx into neighbouring countries and Europe.

Qassem said the months-long push on rebel-held Aleppo by Assad's government forces was aimed less at recovering Syria's major city than at separating the rebels from Idlib, their stronghold in the north-west, and choking their supply lines from Turkey.

Aleppo, with a population of more than 2 million people now, has been divided for years into rebel and government areas.

"The main objective of the Syrian state and allies was to cut the road between the city of Aleppo and Idlib. As for liberating Aleppo that's a different goal that may not be undertaken quickly..."

"Regaining Aleppo will remain one of the goals of the Syrian state and its allies but we're not tied to a timeframe", said the Hezbollah leader.

FIGHTING GLOBAL THREAT

The Lebanese group, a Shi'ite Islamist party with a powerful armed wing, describes its role as part of a struggle against the growing regional threat presented by Sunni Muslim jihadists, who it labels takfiris for their radical ideology, violent and uncompromising stance.

The conflict in Syria has further fuelled an old regional rivalry between the Shi'ite Islamist government of Iran and the conservative Sunni Muslim kingdom of Saudi Arabia, one of the main sponsors of the insurgency against Assad.

Qassem said the United States, one of the power brokers in finding a solution to the crisis, was distracted by its November presidential elections and not ready to commit to any action until a new president takes over next year.

"The US administration is convinced that the period ahead of the presidential elections is a wasted time, that it can await until the new president assumes power. Then, the prospects of a solution or of a prolongation of the crisis will be clear."

He said the sacrifices of Hezbollah, which has lost hundreds of fighters in Syria, were worthy, otherwise the ultra-hardline jihadists of Islamic State would have taken control in Syria and expanded into Lebanon.

"We have prevented the expansion of the crisis into Lebanon and this is a major achievement, we prevented the takfiris from disrupting the resistance and laid the basis for the steadfastness of Syria. These great achievements deserve every sacrifice," he said.

He said Islamic State, which is being targeted by coalition air strikes, will increase its attacks in Europe and beyond, adding that the group has an expansionist strategy and will use any means to achieve its goals.

"European pains are big and will increase more and more," Qassem said, adding that Islamic State "will not leave an opportunity in all the countries of the world without exception to attack when it can and when is able to."
LafargeHolcim beats forecasts with price hikes, merger benefits

By Michael Shields

ZURICH, Aug 5 (Reuters) - LafargeHolcim beat quarterly profit forecasts thanks to higher selling prices and efficiency savings, easing the pressure on management struggling to make a success of the mega-merger last year that created the world's biggest cement maker.

The Switzerland-based firm reported second-quarter adjusted earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) of 1.71 billion Swiss francs ($1.76 billion).

That was up 6 percent on a like-for-like basis and better than the 1.62 billion francs expected on average by analysts in a Reuters poll.

The company reaffirmed its forecast for at least a high-single-digit percentage increase in adjusted EBITDA this year.

Its shares jumped 5 percent in early Friday trading.

After a 17 percent fall in the first quarter, analysts had said the company would need to report at least a flat outcome in the second quarter if LafargeHolcim was to achieve the target, which is adjusted for merger costs and restructuring expenses.

"Our focus on pricing and synergies is delivering visible earnings momentum, driving a 210 basis points year-on-year improvement in operating margins," Chief Executive Eric Olsen said in a statement.

Underlying operating profit would have risen 13 percent if not for gas shortages in Nigeria that affected its plants, he added, saying the company was adapting plants to reduce dependency on gas in measures to take effect by the year end.

The company has already exceeded its 2016 goal of making divestments worth 3.5 billion francs and said it had extended the programme to 5 billion francs by the end of next year.

Sales in the quarter fell to 7.28 billion francs, below the poll average of 7.64 billion francs.

The results provided some comfort for Olsen and investors who have seen the stock fall 9 percent this year amid weak results, concerns about slowdowns in key markets in Europe and Latin America, and doubts the merger of France's Lafarge and Holcim will deliver the expected benefits.

"Improved EBITDA despite disappointing sales suggests the company is focusing on higher sales prices rather than defending market share," ZKB analyst Martin Huesler wrote in a note, adding a series of divestments had clouded earnings visibility.

The company has pushed through price increases and cut costs and benefited from lower fuel prices, as well as strong demand in the quarter in countries including the Philippines, Mexico, the United States, Algeria and Lebanon.

Olsen said overall demand in its cement markets was set to grow between 1 and 3 percent this year - a point less than it had seen before - with prices, that have recovered to end-2015 levels after a 2.2 percent quarterly rise, continuing to gain in the second half.

The company has booked more than 60 percent of its targeted 450 million francs in merger-related synergies in 2016.

German rival Heidelberg last week beat core profit forecasts and confirmed its guidance.

Olsen said it was too soon to judge the impact of Britain's vote to leave the European Union, but LafargeHolcim was committed to the British market.
Indonesian police arrest six suspects allegedly planning Singapore attack

JAKARTA, Aug 5 (Reuters) - Six Indonesians were arrested on Batam island on Friday for planning an attack on Singapore, an Indonesian police spokesman said.

"What we understand so far is that they were planning to attack vital objects, busy areas including police offices," police spokesman Agus Rianto told reporters.

"We also obtained information that these suspects with one ISIS terrorist in Syria now planned to attack Singapore via Batam," he said, referring to the Islamic State militant group.

The six were suspected to have links to Bahrun Naim, an Indonesian fighting for Islamic State in Syria. Naim is believed to be one of the masterminds of an attack in January in central Jakarta, in which eight people were killed including the four attackers.
As Yahoo Messenger shuts down, oil traders bid a fond farewell

By Henning Gloystein

SINGAPORE, Aug 5 (Reuters) - As European and American markets open on Friday, oil traders face a new era with Yahoo Messenger, the main tool used by traders to communicate since the late 1990s, shutting down.

Yahoo Inc said it would begin shutting down older versions of Yahoo Messenger on Aug. 5 and it will stop working on Aug. 31.

A raft of alternatives exist, but many oil industry users say they will dearly miss Yahoo Messenger, with even the odd tear being shed in memory of what became a much loved tool in an otherwise unsentimental industry.

"You have no idea how much I'll miss Yahoo Messenger. I built up hundreds of contacts on it over more than a decade. I have Yahoo friends I have never met, but with whom I spent many hours bantering and joking. It also made me a lot of money. Now that it's gone, I could cry," said a senior oil trader in Singapore who has been in the business for 20 years.

With Yahoo Messenger's end, the oil industry has to deal with a fragmented communication market, which some say will force the market back to the telephone.

"Yahoo was great as an aggregator for all commodity participants so I think any cross-broking from one messenger platform may mean people use the old friend - the phone," said Matt Stanley, a fuel oil broker at Freight Investor Services in Dubai.

"So in some kind of ironic way, you may see stronger relationships formed now people have to interact the old school way," he added.

FRAGMENTED AFTERWOLD

Yahoo, which in July announced the sale of its core business unit to Verizon Communications Inc, took the oil industry by storm in the late 1990s.

Its free, instant messaging technology revolutionized the industry, helping usher in a new era of high-speed communication that changed the way millions of barrels of oil traded daily.

The online, follow-up version to its standalone messaging software cannot be used by the industry as it does not meet compliance standards like saving conversations.

As a result, oil traders, brokers, analysts and also journalists covering the oil industry have been scrambling for alternatives, of which there are plenty, including Eikon Messenger, ICE Instant Messaging, Symphony, Bloomberg Messenger, Twitter, and WhatsApp.

The inevitable fragmentation of the market is seen as a nuisance by most: one study concluded that Eikon Messenger had done well in the power, natural gas and dry-bulk markets like coal or iron ore, while ICE Instant Messenger had managed to garner much support in oil, and Symphony was heavily supported by banks.

"Let's face it, it's not the end of the world. But Yahoo's beauty was that everybody used one platform," said one Asian fuel broker.

"Now, we all use several platforms, and that's a bit of a pain," he added.

Reuters News is a division of Thomson Reuters, which operates Eikon Messenger and competes with other systems to provide messaging services to financial markets.
Bank of England's Carney: UK not in a repeat of financial crisis

LONDON, Aug 5 (Reuters) - Bank of England Governor Mark Carney said on Friday Britain's economic problems today are not a repeat of the financial crisis and that Britons should not worry about the supply of credit.

Carney was speaking after the BoE cut rates to a new record low 0.25 percent and expanded its quantitative easing programme by 60 billion pounds ($79 billion).

"People should not worry about the supply of credit, this is not after the financial crisis, this isn't during the euro crisis - this is a modern financial sector that is working," Carney told LBC radio.
Singapore steps up security after Indonesia foils attack plan

SINGAPORE, Aug 5 (Reuters) - Singapore said on Friday it had stepped up its border and inland security after Indonesian police arrested six suspected militants on the nearby Indonesian island of Batam suspected of planning an attack on Singapore.

"MHA (Ministry of Home Affairs) is aware that plans were being made by the six terror suspects arrested by the Indonesian Authorities," the ministry said in a statement on Friday.

"Our security agencies have been coordinating closely with the Indonesian authorities since the discovery of this attack plot, to monitor the activities of the group and to apprehend those involved."

The ministry said police and other agencies had been stepping up inland and border security measures in response to the threat.
Hong Kong shares join Asia rally on UK easing; property shares jump

SHANGHAI, Aug 5 (Reuters) - Hong Kong's benchmark Hang Seng index posted its biggest rise in three weeks on Friday, joining a broad rally in Asian markets after the Bank of England launched a larger-than-expected monetary stimulus package.

Both the Hang Seng index and the China Enterprises Index gained 1.4 percent, to 22,146.09 and 9,131.52 points, respectively.

For the week, HSI was up 1.2 percent, while HSCE gained 1.9 percent

All major sectors rose on Friday.

Property shares were among the biggest gainers, aided by news that China Evergrande Group had bought a nearly 5 percent stake in rival developer China Vanke Co Ltd .

Evergrande jumped 5 percent, while Vanke rose 1.5 percent in Hong Kong.

HSBC Holdings Plc's Hong Kong-traded shares continued to rise, hitting six-month highs, in a rebound fuelled by the lender's announcement on Wednesday that it would buy back up to $2.5 billion of its shares in the second half of 2016.
Indonesia arrests six suspected of plotting Singapore "rocket attack"

By Fergus Jensen

JAKARTA, Aug 5 (Reuters) - Six suspected militants with links to the Islamic State group were arrested by Indonesian police on Friday while allegedly plotting a rocket attack on Singapore, authorities in Indonesia and Singapore said.

Singapore said it was stepping up security in response to the plan being hatched on nearby Batam island, which is only about 15 km (10 miles) to the south of the wealthy city-state.

Indonesian police spokesman Agus Rianto told reporters the six had been plotting with a member of Islamic State in Syria to attack Singapore, a major commercial, banking and travel hub that is home to many Western expatriates.

"What we understand so far is that they were planning to attack vital objects, busy areas including police offices," Rianto said.

Indonesian authorities did not give details of the alleged plot, and it was not clear if those arrested had the capacity to carry out an attack.

Asked whether police had recovered any physical evidence of preparations for a rocket attack, Rianto said "not yet".

In Singapore, an elite police unit patrolled the glittering downtown waterfront in vehicles and on foot on Friday afternoon. One officer said they were on routine patrol.

ISLAMIC STATE LINK

The six arrested on Batam were suspected of having links to Bahrun Naim, an Indonesian fighting with Islamic State in Syria, police said.

Indonesian investigators believe that Naim was one of the masterminds behind an attack in January in the Indonesian capital of Jakarta, in which eight people were killed including the four attackers.

"There's a link to Bahrun Naim because there was communication with Bahrun Naim - but whether they were affiliated with Bahrun Naim's group or not - this is what we're investigating now," Rianto said.

The Batam Pos newspaper quoted police as saying the six suspects were mostly factory workers aged between 19 and 46.

Batam is linked to Singapore by frequent ferries and its beach resorts and golf courses are a popular weekend getaway destination for Singaporeans, who are preparing to celebrate their National Day holiday on Tuesday.

Singapore said it is not surprised by the arrests.

"We were aware of the plans being made to attack us with rockets," Home Affairs Minister K. Shanmugam said in a statement.

He did not elaborate on what type of rockets the plotters planned to use or what evidence had been uncovered.

"The attacks can come from terrorists who seek to come into Singapore; and they can come from terrorists who locate themselves just outside Singapore. Our small size increases these risks," he said.

Multi-ethnic Singapore has never seen a successful attack by Islamist militants, though authorities did break up a plot to bomb several embassies soon after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on the United States, while jailed Singaporean militant Mas Selamat Kastari was accused of plotting to crash a hijacked plane into the city-state's Changi Airport in 2002.

SOCIAL MEDIA NETWORK

National police spokesman Martinus Sitompul said police and an anti-terrorist unit were in the early stages of their investigation.

Authorities in Indonesia and neighbouring Malaysia say dozens of men have gone from those countries to join IS in the Middle East, while Singapore has detained several people suspected of supporting the group.

Security officials fear that Naim and other Islamic State leaders were now asking supporters in Indonesia and other countries to launch attacks at home, instead of being drawn to the fight in the Middle East.

Southeast Asian militants fighting for Islamic State in the Middle East have said they have chosen one of the most wanted men in the Philippines to head a regional faction of the radical group, security officials said last month.

Jakarta-based security analyst Sidney Jones said it would be a departure for Naim and his supporters if they were thinking of attacking targets outside Indonesia.

"One thing I think is clear is Bahrun Naim has been able to establish a lot of communication with a lot of people through his social media network," Jones said.

Singapore's Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said this week that the financial centre was a target for IS as they saw it as "a rational, open, cosmopolitan country", even though it was not involved in the U.S.-led campaign against the group in the Middle East.

"So do not think that by lying low, we are not going to be a target," Lee told reporters while on a visit to the United States, the Straits Times newspaper reported.
Bangladesh says Philippines President commits to return heist money funnelled via Manila

By Krishna N. Das, Karen Lema and Neil Jerome Morales

MANILA, Aug 5 (Reuters) - Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte has given a commitment that $81 million stolen by cyber criminals from the account of Bangladesh Bank in New York and funnelled through bank accounts in Manila would be returned, the Bangladesh ambassador to the Philippines said on Friday.

A Bangladesh central bank team visiting Manila to recover the money said earlier on Friday that it was close to getting back $15 million of the loot frozen by the Philippines.

Cyber criminals tried to steal nearly $1 billion from Bangladesh Bank's account at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York in February, and succeeded in transferring $81 million to four accounts at Manila's Rizal Commercial Banking Corp . The money was then laundered through the city's casinos, according to investigators.

Only about $18 million, including $2.7 million frozen by the Philippines' casino regulator, has been accounted for.

The Philippines' Department of Justice (DoJ) has asked the Bangladesh Bank delegation to file a legal document staking its claim to $15 million of that, but the casino money will have to be pursued separately, said two sources close to the visiting team.

"We are very hopeful that we will get the total $81 million," said Ambassador John Gomes, who is helping the bank representatives on a four-day visit to Manila ending Friday.

"The reason is I got a commitment from the president himself," he said.

He added Bangladesh's finance minister might come to the Philippines to meet Duterte to help in the recovery of the money.

Gomes said the bank felt RCBC should be held responsible because it did not follow a stop-payment request from Bangladesh Bank, and its lawyer Ajmalul Hossain said it would sue RCBC if it was not able to recover the entire $81 million.

The Philippine central bank said on Friday it would fine RCBC 1 billion pesos ($21 million) in relation to failings over the heist, the largest amount it has ever approved "as part of its supervisory enforcement actions".

In March, RCBC's then president Lorenzo Tan acknowledged at a Philippines senate hearing there had been "some judgment error from the people on the ground".

RCBC said earlier on Friday that the transfers were made based on authenticated instructions over payments network SWIFT, and the hackers had used stolen Bangladesh Bank credentials.

"Going to court instead of the media and various Philippine government agencies is the proper procedure," it added.

PROVE IT

Ricardo J. Paras III, chief state counsel of the Philippines DoJ, told Reuters that it has already drafted court documents to begin recovery of the $15 million, but it was important for Bangladesh to prove it is their money.

The Bangladeshi delegation has prepared an affidavit citing a letter by the New York Fed to the Philippines' central bank, in which the Fed said the money was stolen from Bangladesh Bank's account. The affidavit will be given to the DoJ, the sources said.

The Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (PAGCOR), a government body that regulates casinos in the country, has promised to cooperate with Bangladesh Bank to help it recover the $2.7 million it has frozen, Gomes said.

"The money is with Solaire (Resort and Casino)," PAGCOR President Alfredo Lim told Reuters. "It will put us in a bad light if the money is not immediately released to them."

Solaire, operated by Bloomberry Resorts Corp, has said about $29 million of the funds came to the casino and most was transferred to the accounts of two junket operators.

Solaire declined to comment on Friday.

Bangladesh Bank is relying on internal RCBC documents to buttress its assertion that the bank's Jupiter Street branch in Manila ignored suspicions raised by some RCBC officials when the money was first remitted to the accounts on Feb. 5, and then delayed acting on requests from RCBC's head office to freeze the funds on Feb. 9.

Gomes said Bangladesh Bank would also sue Philrem Service Corp, a remittance company that anti-money laundering investigators said was used to transfer some of the $81 million.

"They have the responsibility to return the money or face the consequences," he said.
Ugandan police storm Gay Pride event, arrest at least 15 - activist

By Elias Biryabarema

KAMPALA, Aug 5 (Reuters) - Uganda's Police raided a night club where a Gay Pride event was underway and arrested at least 15 people, accusing them of staging an illegal gathering and promoting homosexuality, a rights activist told Reuters on Friday.

Gays and lesbians experience considerable hostility in the largely conservative east African country, one of 37 countries on the continent where homosexuality is illegal.

They often live secretive lives, fearful that coming out will attract stigma and hostility from family and friends, or the loss of a job or an apartment.

Clare Byarugaba, a gay rights activist, told Reuters Police showed up at a club in a suburb of the capital Kampala at about 11:30 p.m. on Thursday and accused the organisers of promoting homosexuality, before scuffles with revellers started.

"They (Police) were dragging people, they were beating people, they were undressing people," Byarugaba said. "They were undressing especially trans-gender women. Apparently they wanted to find out whether they were men or women."

Kayima Emilian, a police spokesman, said they had dispersed the gathering because the organisers had failed to notify them of the event.

"A large group of people gathering? They need to tell Police. But also they were likely to engage in promoting gay sex which is illegal in Uganda."

Uganda triggered widespread western criticism after it enacted a harsh anti-gay law that handed out life sentences for some homosexual offences.

A constitutional court later overturned the law because of legal technicalities.

Despite threats by some lawmakers that the bill would be re-introduced in parliament, that has not happened and analysts say it would be unlikely to succeed in the face of strong pressure from Western donors.

Police arrested at least 15 participants in Thursday's incident and took them to a nearby police station where they spent about two hours before they were all released without recording a statement or being charged with any offences.

At the station, Byarugaba said security personnel taunted the homosexuals, took their pictures without their permission and tried to touch them to "ascertain especially for trans gender individuals whether they were women or men." "It was a very, very degrading process," she said.

Uganda Police have raided similar events before with officials accusing organisers of assembling illegally and promoting gay lifestyle in Uganda.
Austria, called 'racist' by Turkey, tells Ankara to be moderate

VIENNA, Aug 5 (Reuters) - Austria's Foreign Minister Sebastian Kurz on Friday told Ankara to moderate its words and actions after his Turkish counterpart described Austria as a "capital of radical racism".

Turkish Foreign Minster Mevlut Cavusoglu made his comments after Austria's Chancellor Christian Kern said he would start a debate among European leaders to stop European Union accession talks with Turkey due to its democratic and economic deficits.
Gunmen kill 13 in market in India's northeast Assam state

By Biswajyoti Das

GUWAHATI, India, Aug 5 (Reuters) - Gunmen in military uniforms sprayed bullets and flung grenades into a crowded market in northeast India on Friday, killing at least 13 people in a rampage authorities blamed on a regional separatist group.

A further 15 people were wounded in the attack on the outskirts of Kokrajhar town, one of the deadliest in recent years in the state of Assam, a region with a history of sectarian and separatist bloodshed.

The assailants, one of whom was shot dead by security forces, arrived by auto-rickshaw, witnesses said. Troops were in pursuit of three or four others hiding in a nearby forest, Assam police chief Mukesh Sahay told reporters.

He attributed the attack - for which no one had claimed responsibility - to the outlawed National Democratic Front of Bodoland (Songbijit) group, a militant faction fighting for a separate homeland for the indigenous Bodo tribespeople.

Sahay said police had recovered an AK-47 rifle and explosives from the as yet unidentified dead gunman, as well as the assailants' three-wheeler.

A senior home ministry official in New Delhi also said preliminary reports indicated the attack was carried out by the group. "Police have launched a hunt to trace insurgents... It is a militant attack and we will be sending a team from Delhi to investigate further," the official said.

The dead included eight men and five women and several were members of the Bodo community, local senior police officer L. R. Bishnoi said.

Like much of India's remote and underdeveloped northeast, Assam has been racked by a hotchpotch of ethnic and tribal insurgencies for decades.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi's nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) won power in Assam for the first time in May after campaigning on a promise to disenfranchise Bangladeshi Muslim immigrants while also pledging to increase spending in the state.

"This attack is intended to destabilise peace in Assam," said Himanta Biswa Sarma, the state's finance and health minister and a member of the BJP.

Violence in Assam and the wider northeast has eased as several militant groups have called ceasefires, although attacks by one community against another are not uncommon.
Zimbabwe's army chief threatens to deal with anti-Mugabe protesters

By MacDonald Dzirutwe

HARARE, Aug 5 (Reuters) - Zimbabwe's army commander said on Friday that his soldiers will deal with threats from activists using social media to mobilise anti-government protests, the first time the military has commented on the demonstrations.

Lieutenant-General Valerio Sibanda, the Zimbabwe National Army Commander, said in an interview with state-owned The Herald newspaper that social media activism was cyber warfare that the army would deal with.

Neither the army, which has anchored President Robert Mugabe's 36-year rule, nor the police force have been paid on time since June.

Zimbabwe has seen several protests in recent months with unemployment above 80 percent, dollar shortages worsening as commodity prices slumped and as the region suffers its worst drought for 25 years.

The largest anti-government protest in Zimbabwe in the last decade was organised on social media last month, when a strike by #ThisFlag movement shut down businesses.

"As an army, at our institutions of training, we are already training our officers to be able to deal with this new threat we call cyber warfare where weapons - not necessarily guns but basically information and communication technology - are being used to mobilise people to do the wrong things," Sibanda said.

"The major task we are undertaking now is that of training and preparing the army for whatever eventuality."

Generals in Zimbabwe's military are veterans of the 1970s independence war, and while they publicly support Mugabe and his ZANU-PF, they have divided loyalties over who should succeed Mugabe, who is also under pressure from war veteran allies.

National leaders of the Zimbabwe National Liberation War Veterans Association (ZNLWVA) last month said Mugabe was responsible for Zimbabwe's economic problems, in a stinging rebuke that laid bare cracks within the ruling ZANU-PF party.

Mugabe has responded by arresting and firing war veterans leaders from ZANU-PF, but his plan to use a splinter group to elect a new ZNLWVA executive was blocked by the High Court.
Air Berlin adds business class on short-haul in drive for profits

BERLIN, Aug 5 (Reuters) - Air Berlin, Germany's second largest airline, is planning to introduce a business class service on short-haul flights in Europe, as part of a restructuring designed to return it to profitability.

Air Berlin, mostly known for its tourist flights to Majorca, has made a net loss in seven of the last eight years and has been trying to reduce debts and improve results by cutting routes and costs.

The carrier is 29 percent owned by Abu Dhabi-based carrier Etihad, which has bought up stakes in several airlines across the globe to expand its own network.

Air Berlin is now trying to attract higher paying business travellers by increasing long-haul services, especially to the United States, as well as adding the short-haul business class service. It is also scrapping free drinks and snacks for economy customers on short-haul flights, and will now offer a buy-on-board menu.

Bringing in a business class will not require any refurbishment of its planes, because only the first row, which already has more leg room, will be used. The middle seat will be left free to give passengers more space. Other European carriers operate a similar business class on short-haul flights.

Air Berlin said it would introduce the business class and buy-on-board concept "this year", without being more specific.

"We are making key strategic decisions that will pave the way to a sustainable future for the company and that will clearly position Air Berlin in the premium sector of European airlines," Chief Executive Stefan Pichler said in a statement.

Air Berlin declined to comment on the costs involved.

It will expand its route network to the United States from its main bases in Berlin and Duesseldorf by 50 percent for summer 2017 to destinations such as San Francisco and Orlando. Pichler said Air Berlin expected demand from start-ups for the Berlin-San Francisco routes, and highlighted Orlando's conference schedule as of interest for business travellers.

There has been speculation Lufthansa is interested in taking over some of Air Berlin's operations on routes outside Berlin and Duesseldorf to expand its Eurowings budget arm.

"We are not going to be cooperating with anyone and entering commercial deals with anyone who does not increase our profitability," Lufthansa CEO Carsten Spohr said on Tuesday.
Cleveland State has agreed to a Letter of Intent with Chattanooga State to develop a collaboration to ensure the seamless continuation of nursing education on the Cleveland State campus. Any agreement developed by the two colleges will be pending approval from the Tennessee Board of Nursing. This is in response to Cleveland States status with the Tennessee Board of Nursing that restricts the enrollment of new nursing student cohorts until the college reaches an 85 percent first-time NCLEX pass-rate. This status was reconfirmed earlier today at the Tennessee Board of Nursing meeting earlier in Nashville.



This arrangement provides a possible continuity plan for our nursing programone that encourages us to return our program to the reputation it has enjoyed for decades, stated Dr. Bill Seymour, CSCC President. Research has shown there is a strong demand for nurses and other allied health programs, so we remain committed to seek this growth. This remains a significant part of our strategic plan. This potential arrangement, while unique, is a statement of our commitment to the future of our nursing program.



At this time, the most recent graduating class has a first-time pass-rate of 87 percent on the NCLEX exam. Since the benchmark is based on all graduates of the previous year, the overall calculation includes the night nursing cohort that finished their program last December. Their pass-rate is less than 80 percent, pulling the overall rate for the year below 85 percent.



In the proposed agreement Chattanooga State will be the education provider for an entering cohort for the fall 2017 semester and provide training and credentials through the two-year program period. These students will be Chattanooga State students in all ways; however, the instruction for these students will take place on the Cleveland State campus.



The potential agreement will only involve one nursing cohort that will commence in August of 2017 and complete in May of 2019. CSCC will continue to provide instruction for all current pre-nursing and nursing cohorts and will resume admitting new cohorts as soon as the restriction from the Tennessee Board of Nursing is lifted.



Dr. Seymour continued, The status with the Tennessee Board of Nursing does not impact accreditation. The CSCC Nursing Program remains fully accredited.



Dr. Denise King, Vice President of Academic Affairs, stated, Taking care of our students and our community remains our number one priority. We will continue to work with partners to make sure that our students have access to a local program to assist them on their path to become nurses.



For more information on the nursing collaboration, contact Nancy LaBine, Director of Nursing, at (423) 478-6227.
Japan's Emperor Akihito to address nation on Monday following abdication report

By Stanley White and Elaine Lies

TOKYO, Aug 5 (Reuters) - Japan's Emperor Akihito will make a video address to the nation on Monday, the Imperial Household Agency said, amid media reports that the 82-year-old monarch wants to abdicate.

Public broadcaster NHK reported last month that the emperor, who has had heart surgery and been treated for prostate cancer, had expressed his intention to abdicate in a few years.

Ordinary Japanese sympathise with Akihito's desire to retire, but Japan currently has no legal provision for abdication. The idea faces stiff opposition from Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's conservative base, who worry abdication will trigger debate about allowing a woman to become emperor.

"I think the Japanese people want to allow the emperor to abdicate," said Miiko Kodama, a professor emeritus at Musashi University.

"However, it would be unfortunate for the Crown Prince if he takes the throne because the people do not have the same emotional response to him as they do to the Emperor."

The video address will be aired at 3 p.m. (0600 GMT), said the Imperial Household Agency, the government department responsible for imperial matters.

Akihito has been cutting back on official duties recently, his place taken by his heir, 56-year-old Crown Prince Naruhito.

Conservatives have raised objections to changing the law to let Akihito step down. Some worry that if the government even starts debate on changing the law, some liberal politicians will take that as an opportunity to push for women to be allowed to become emperor or other reforms.

Naruhito has only one daughter. Since only males can inherit the Chrysanthemum Throne, the throne after Naruhito would pass to his brother, Prince Akishino, and then to nine-year-old nephew Hisahito.
Philippine cbank fines Rizal Bank over Bangladesh cyber heist failings

By Manolo Serapio Jr and Enrico Dela Cruz

MANILA, Aug 5 (Reuters) - The Philippine central bank said on Friday it would fine Rizal Commercial Banking Corp (RCBC) a record 1 billion pesos ($21 million), after the bank was used by cyber criminals to channel $81 million stolen from Bangladesh Bank in February.

The central bank said in a statement that it was the largest amount it has ever approved "as part of its supervisory enforcement actions" on a bank.

RCBC said separately that it would pay the fine over a one-year period, in two tranches of 500 million pesos each.

Unknown hackers tried to steal nearly $1 billion from the Bangladesh central bank's account at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York between Feb. 4 and Feb. 5, and succeeded in transferring $81 million to four accounts at RCBC in Manila.

RCBC earlier on Friday challenged Bangladesh Bank to take it to court, telling Reuters that the "Philippine side has done its part" and that the transfers were made based on authenticated instructions over payments network SWIFT.

After the fine was announced, RCBC President and Chief Executive Officer Gil Buenaventura said in a statement: "With this payment, RCBC affirms its continued viability and determination to fulfil its firm commitment against money laundering, terrorism and other transnational crimes to ensure the stability of the banking system."

Bangladeshi officials say the money was able to disappear into the casino industry because of systemic failures at RCBC, not just individual errors by some of its officers.
Canada's Telus profit grows with wireless bounce; shares rise

By Alastair Sharp

TORONTO, Aug 5 (Reuters) - Telus Corp , one of Canada's three biggest telecommunications companies, on Friday reported surprisingly strong wireless subscriber growth and raised the low end of its profit outlook, helping push its shares higher.

The company's second-quarter results, which included higher earnings, rounded out a strong quarter for wireless growth across the industry. Vancouver-based Telus bounced back from a slow start to the year, brushing off weakness in the oil-rich province of Alberta, one of its primary markets, caused by lower crude prices and the aftermath of a major wildfire.

"Let's go out and see if we can leverage this crisis because one of the things our technology should be able to deliver for business customers is greater business efficiency and workforce productivity," Telus Chief Executive Officer Darren Entwistle said on a call with analysts.

Telus said it added 61,000 net postpaid wireless customers in the quarter, lower than the 76,000 who signed up a year earlier but much higher than the 8,000 in the first quarter.

In the same period, market leader Rogers Communications Inc added 65,000 such customers, and BCE Inc, Telus' network-sharing partner, signed almost 70,000.

RBC Capital Markets analyst Drew McReynolds wrote in a note that Telus' operational results should "ease fears around growth and execution" and that the robust wireless subscriber growth was a positive surprise.

The company's shares were up 2.4 percent at C$43.63 in afternoon trading.

Telus also competes with Shaw Communications Inc for landline internet, television and telephone subscribers in Western Canada, while Shaw also recently added wireless to its offering via its purchase of Wind Mobile.

Telus said it expected to spend more this year than earlier projected as it builds out an upgraded fiber-optic fixed-line network.

The company raised the low end of its full-year consolidated revenue forecast to C$12.78 billion ($9.82 billion) from C$12.75 billion. It maintained the high end at C$12.88 billion.

Telus said operating expenses fell 1.1 percent to C$2.46 billion.

The company's restructuring and other costs fell 61 percent, while its income tax dropped nearly 16 percent.

Net income for Telus rose to C$416 million, or 70 Canadian cents per share, from C$341 million, or 56 Canadian cents per share, a year earlier.

Analysts on average had expected earnings of 69 Canadian cents per share, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.

Operating revenue rose to C$3.15 billion from C$3.10 billion. Analysts had expected C$3.20 billion.
Pakistan seeks return of helicopter crash hostages from Afghan Taliban

By Asad Hashim and Jibran Ahmad

ISLAMABAD/PESHAWAR, Pakistan, Aug 5 (Reuters) - Pakistan's prime minister said on Friday his government is using "formal and informal channels" to seek the return of seven passengers of a crashed helicopter Pakistani helicopter who were captured by the Taliban in Afghanistan.

A Taliban commander claimed the seven were "in safe hands" with the insurgents.

The Pakistani government helicopter, en route to Russia for a routine overhaul, crash-landed in a Taliban-held area of Logar province in eastern Afghanistan on Thursday.

"Formal and informal channels are being used to ensure safe recovery of the entire crew," Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif said in a statement from his office.

Pakistan's army chief, General Raheel Sharif, called Afghan President Ashraf Ghani on Friday to request his country's help.

"Afghan President Ashraf Ghani assured all possible assistance in this regard," tweeted General Asim Bajwa, the Pakistani military's spokesman on Friday.

Logar province has been increasingly lawless since the launch two years ago of a military operation in neighbouring Pakistani tribal areas pushed many Taliban and allied fighters into Afghanistan.

On Friday, a senior Afghan Taliban commander, speaking on condition of anonymity, confirmed that the passengers - six Pakistanis and a Russian technician - were in their custody and that negotiations for their release were ongoing.

"They are being looked after, being provided tea, food, everything," he said. "We are in touch with the Pakistani officials. We conveyed to them that they are in safe hands."

He added that it was no use seeking help from the Afghan government or U.S. military, because the Taliban are in full control of the district.

The Pakistani government and military did not directly confirm direct talks with the Taliban, but officials said they were doing everything possible.

"Efforts are in top gear for early recovery of the crew & pilots of the chopper... Prayers for my dear friends safe return," tweeted Shahbaz Sharif, the prime minister's brother and chief minister of the Punjab provincial government that operates the helicopter.

The aircraft had permission to fly over Afghan air space on its way to Uzbekistan further north, said Nafees Zakaria, the Pakistani Foreign Ministry spokesman, on Thursday.
France sees wheat yields at 30-year low on weather toll

By Gus Trompiz

PARIS, Aug 5 (Reuters) - France's farm ministry cut its yield estimate for this year's soft wheat harvest to a 30-year low on Friday, confirming market concerns that adverse spring weather has ravaged crops in the European Union's biggest grain grower.

The ministry lowered its forecast of the average soft wheat yield to 5.57 tonnes per hectare (t/ha), from 7.07 t/ha last month. This would be 30 percent below last year's level and the weakest yield since 1986 when drought hit the harvest, it said.

The plunge in yields led the ministry to reduce its soft wheat production estimate to 29.1 million tonnes from 36.95 million forecast last month, now down 29 percent on last year's record 40.9 million tonnes and the lowest level since 2003.

This was within the range of current market estimates putting the crop between 28 and 30 million tonnes.

"Winter crops will see a historic drop in production this year due to the drop in yields," the ministry said in a crop report. "The soft wheat harvest has been particularly impacted by the poor weather conditions."

Like other observers, it pointed to a combination of torrential rain, unusually low sunshine and widespread plant disease that hurt crops during critical flowering and grain-filling stages.

The Ile-de-France region around Paris was expected to see yields fall 40 percent below the average of the previous five years. The Hauts-de-France region in the far north would see a 38 percent drop and Centre-Val-de-Loire a 31 percent decline, the ministry estimated.

Weekly crop data from farm agency FranceAgriMer on Friday showed another decline in the condition of soft wheat crops last week as harvesting passed the midway point.

In a separate harvest update, FranceAgriMer also pointed to unusually contrasting quality readings, a crucial factor for export markets, which would require careful sorting of grain.

It stressed erratic and generally low specific weights, one measure of wheat quality, without giving figures, while protein content was relatively high, with some northerly zones seeing levels above 12 percent.

Hagberg falling numbers, another quality measure of proved a headache for France after a rain-soaked harvest two years ago, were satisfactory so far, it said.

The ministry also cut its harvest outlook for barley, putting production at 10.2 million tonnes, down from 11.7 million estimated last month and 21 percent below 2015 output.

It also lowered its estimate of the rapeseed harvest to 4.5 million tonnes, from 4.8 million a month ago, now 15 percent below last year's crop.

FranceAgriMer, which gave the same soft wheat production figure as the farm ministry, put the rapeseed crop slightly higher at 4.7 million tonnes.

However, conditions for maize and sunflower crops that are harvested later in the year were more favourable for now, the ministry said.

In its first estimate for this year's grain maize harvest, it projected production at 13.5 million tonnes, stable compared with last year's crop as an expected recovery in yields after last year's drought-affected harvest offset a smaller area.
China slams Japan minister for ducking Nanjing massacre questions

BEIJING, Aug 5 (Reuters) - China on Friday accused Japan's new defence minister of recklessly misrepresenting history after she declined to say whether Japanese troops massacred civilians in China during World War Two.

Tomomi Inada, a 57-year old lawmaker known for her revisionist views of Japan's wartime actions, took up her post on Thursday and repeatedly sidestepped questions at a briefing on whether she condemned atrocities committed by Japan.

China consistently reminds its people of the 1937 massacre in which it says Japanese troops killed 300,000 people in its then capital.

A postwar Allied tribunal put the death toll at 142,000, but some conservative Japanese politicians and scholars deny a massacre took place at all.

China's defence ministry, in a statement on its microblog, expressed "indignation" over Inada's comments, and said there was ironclad evidence of the Nanjing massacre.

"Her open denial of the ... facts is simply an attempt to cover up Japan's history of aggression and challenge the international order by reviving militarism," the ministry said.

"We must point out that facing up to history is the basis for resolving historical problems," it said.

"If history is denied, China-Japan relations have no future."

Inada told reporters on Thursday that whether Japan's wartime actions should be described as an invasion "depends on one's point of view", and said she thought it was not "appropriate" for her to comment on the matter.

Inada has called for a revamp of Japan's war-renouncing constitution to ease constraints on its military operating overseas. She has been a regular visitor to Tokyo's Yasukuni Shrine for war dead that neighbours, including China and South Korea, see as a symbol of Japan's past militarism.

Inada has also questioned whether Japan forced women from Korea and other countries into military brothels.

Relations between the neighbours, haunted by the legacy of World War Two and conflicting claims over a group of East China Sea islets, have been strained in recent years as China's military modernisation has rattled Tokyo.
Thais risk "sub-standard" democracy, state-run Myanmar newspaper says

By Aung Hla Tun

YANGON, Aug 5 (Reuters) - A state-run newspaper in Myanmar said on Friday neighbouring Thailand risked "sub-standard" democracy if a military-backed draft constitution is approved in a referendum this weekend.

For decades Myanmar suffered economic stagnation under harsh military rule while Thailand was seen as an Asian "tiger" economy with extensive freedoms and a developing democracy.

But the tables have turned recently, at least to some extent, with Myanmar democracy champion Aung San Suu Kyi winning a landmark election last year while Thailand has been ruled by a military government tough on dissent since a 2014 coup.

But the militaries in both countries still play significant political roles.

Thailand holds a referendum on Sunday on a new constitution that critics say would enshrine military supervision over elected governments.

"If the draft of the constitution in Thailand were to be approved in the upcoming referendum, the democracy in that country would become sub-standard and limited," the state-owned Myanma Alinn Daily said in an editorial.

Thai political parties and organisations opposed the bill, saying democracy was best, said the newspaper, which is run by the Ministry of Information and rarely comments on politics in other countries.

Zaw Htay, a spokesman for Suu Kyi, asked if the editorial reflected the government's official position, referred questions to the Ministry of Information.

A senior ministry official, who declined to be identified, said of the newspaper: "As we all know, it is run by the government."

The official did not elaborate.

Myanmar emerged from decades of military rule in 2011 to a semi-civilian system and Suu Kyi's party won the November election, but the armed forces retain significant political power through a constitution the military drafted in 2008.

The Myanmar constitution bars Suu Kyi for becoming president because her two sons are British.

She has been trying to change it but the military has resisted her efforts.

Suu Kyi visited Thailand in June but did not publicly address its turbulent politics.

She, and many members of her National League for Democracy, were put under house arrest and imprisoned for speaking out against Myanmar's former junta.

Myanmar's military, which views itself as the only institution capable of holding together a nation that has been plagued by decades of civil wars, retains ultimate control over politics with 25 percent of seats in parliament.

Under Thailand's proposed charter an appointed Senate with seats reserved for military commanders would check the powers of elected lawmakers.
Turkey dismisses 167 staff from scientific research council - minister/NTV

ISTANBUL, Aug 5 (Reuters) - Turkey has dismissed 167 staff from its Scientific and Technological Research Council (Tubitak), broadcaster NTV cited Industry Minister Faruk Ozlu as saying on Friday, as a purge of state institutions continued after last month's failed coup.
Egypt's former Grand Mufti survives assassination attempt -security sources

CAIRO, Aug 5 (Reuters) - Egypt's former Grand Mufti Ali Gomaa, once one of the country's top religious authorities, survived an assassination attempt on Friday, three security sources said.

Two men on a motorcycle fired guns on Gomaa as he entered a mosque, the sources said. He was unharmed and one of his body guards received a minor injury to the foot. The gunmen immediately fled the scene.

Like many of the top religious figures in the Egyptian state, Gomaa is an adherent of a mystical school of Islam known as Sufism whose practices have sometimes set them at odds with more puritanical Muslims, including hardline Islamist groups.

Gomaa is an outspoken critic of Islamist groups, including the Muslim Brotherhood which the military ousted from power in 2013 after mass protests against former President Mohamed Mursi.

He is also close to President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, who led the military's ouster of Mursi, and campaigned for his election.

The grand mufti is in charge of issuing religious edicts as well as issuing a non-binding opinion on all capital sentences.

No group claimed the attempt on Gomaa's life.

Egypt is facing an Islamist insurgency led by Islamic State's local branch in North Sinai where hundreds of soldiers and police were killed. There have been attacks in Cairo and other cities as well.
Ivory Coast jails two soldiers for 10 years for al Qaeda ties

ABIDJAN, Aug 5 (Reuters) - Two soldiers in Ivory Coast have been jailed for 10 years for associating with, and failing to denounce, suspected members of an al Qaeda cell which killed 19 people at a beach resort town in March, the military prosecutor said.

Gunmen shot swimmers and sunbathers before storming into several hotels in Grand Bassam, 40 km (25 miles) from the commercial capital, Abidjan, on March 13. The attack was claimed by al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM), the Islamist group's North African branch.

Authorities in Ivory Coast and neighboring Mali have arrested a number of suspects since the raid.

The two soldiers, arrested in July and sentenced late on Thursday, knew members of the unit that carried out the attack and did not inform their superiors, said Colonel Ange Kessi.

Kessi said at the time of the arrests that the soldiers were not accused of participating directly in the Grand Bassam plot.

"(The soldiers) were sentenced for associating with criminals and violating orders. We recommended 10 years in prison, which the court confirmed," Kessi said.
Bluegrass gospel performers the Watkins Family will bring their distinct sound to Sacred Sounds Fridays, Aug. 12 at 7:30 p.m. at the Ringgold Depot at Depot Street and U.S. 41 in Ringgold, Ga. in a concert for the Share America Foundation, Inc. Also appearing will be Just Us Gals. Randall Franks, Officer Randy Goode from TVs In the Heat of the Night will emcee. Ticket donation is $6.



"One of Americas best loved acoustic music families  the Watkins Family  Judy, Lorie and Todd  have served as gospel music ambassadors from the state of Georgia to the world for more than three decades," officials said.



"We just thank the Lord for all Hes done for us and our work in music," Judy said.



The Atlanta Country Music Hall of Fame members made a name for themselves in the fields of gospel, bluegrass and country music.



Whether the Watkins are performing on a grand stage with country stars such as Randy Travis and Diamond Rio, bluegrass festival or National Quartet Convention in front of thousands, or in the pulpit of a small country church, the former Impact Award nominee raises spirits and hopes of the life to be led as servants of Christ through their harmonies, Mr. Franks said.



The family will include new music from their upcoming release as well as top hits from their latest and upcoming CDs.



"Awards, honors and amazing opportunities are blessings but there is no greater blessing than working each day sharing His story of salvation through song, Lorie said.



While the musical legacy of the Watkins family reaches back for generations in the mountains of northeast Georgia, their music today reflects the best in harmonies and musical instrumentation that can be heard, Mr. Franks said.



"Just Us Gals is a young-in-spirit and energetic 'all-girl' string band with a dynamic and natural stage presence, which they infuse in their ragtime, old-time, bluegrass, gospel, and fiddle tunes. The magnificent sounds created by their instruments and harmonious singing have captivated audiences at regional shows, bluegrass festivals, private bookings, and local churches," officials said.

Agene Parsons plays hammer dulcimer and autoharp; Evelyn Madewell plays fiddle; Linda Conliglio and Darleen Conley play guitar; Marilyn Reppond plays bass and marimbula; and Peggy Douglas plays mandolin and tenor banjo.



The event is a fundraiser for the Pearl and Floyd Franks Scholarship Fund. The Share America Foundation, Inc., a Georgia non-profit, presents scholarships to talented musicians who excel in the Appalachian musical arts.



Donations for tickets are: adults $6; children 5 and under free with adult. Tickets may be purchased locally in advance during business hours at SonShine Christian Books, 706-861-7675, in Fort Oglethorpe. For more information, Share America Foundation, Inc. P.O. Box 42 Tunnel Hill, Ga. 30755 or www.shareamericafoundation.com.
Italy arrests people smugglers led by alleged radical Islamist

ROME, Aug 5 (Reuters) - Italian police on Friday arrested eight people on suspicion of people smuggling and falsifying documents, saying that the gang's leader had sworn loyalty to Islamic State.

The group of eight, made up exclusively of non-Italians, used fake contracts and payslips provided by a complicit textile company north of Naples to obtain work visas for irregular migrants, Carabinieri police said in a statement.

Heading up the alleged criminal gang was 41-year-old Mohamed Kamel Khemiri, a Tunisian man who had previously been arrested on drug smuggling charges. Khemiri had become a radical Islamist and is under investigation on terrorism charges, police said.

"As long as I live I will be an Islamic State man, and if I die I call on you to join," Khemiri said, speaking Arabic, on a telephone call recorded by police in January 2015, prosecutor Luigi Alberto Cannavale told reporters.

Khemiri became more and more radicalised over time, investigators said after scouring his internet and social media activity.

He celebrated when militants, who later were said to have acted on behalf of Islamic State (IS), conducted a series of planned attacks in Paris in November that killed 130 people, police said.

"This investigation demonstrates that there is a risk that people close to jihadists can also control people smuggling operations," Franco Roberti, Italy's top anti-terrorism prosecutor, told AGI news agency.

On Wednesday, Italy said it is investigating whether IS is involved in organising the passage of tens of thousands of migrants across the Mediterranean Sea.
Turkey imposes import tax on thermal coal for power generation

LONDON, Aug 5 (Reuters) - Turkey imposed a tax this week on imports of thermal coal from Colombia, Russia and other major exporters, for use in power generation, to support domestic coal production.

The Turkish cabinet decided to impose the tax of $15/tonne on imports from the United States, Colombia, Russia and South Africa on July 18 and announced it in the Official Gazette this week.

The tax hits the biggest exporters of thermal coal but does not apply to imports from the European Union, Israel, Macedonia, Bosnia, Morocco, West Bank, Tunisia, Egypt, Georgia, Albania, Jordan, Chile, Serbia, Kosovo, South Korea, Mauritius and Malaysia, the government said.

The levy is equal to around a quarter of the current month's physical South African coal price of around $63.65 a tonne.

"The tax is be paid by power producers and is levied on a GAR (gross as received) basis for imported coal," said WoodMackenzie analysts.

"The law is an attempt to curb imports and deliver a stronger contribution from Turkey's domestic market. However, given weak alternatives (poor domestic supply, more costly gas) we do not see an immediate impact," they added.
Tropical storm Earl moves along Mexico's Gulf coast

MEXICO CITY, Aug 5 (Reuters) - Tropical storm Earl moved along Mexico's Gulf coast on Friday, dumping large amounts of rain in southern states after battering Belize, the U.S. National Hurricane Center said.

The hurricane center, in its 7 a.m. CDT (1100 GMT) update, said Earl was about 175 miles (282 kilometers) east southeast of Veracruz, with maximum sustained winds of 40 miles per hour (64 km per hour).

The storm will produce 8 to 12 inches (20 to 30 cm) of rain in parts of the states of Chiapas, Oaxaca, Puebla, Tabasco and Veracruz, the hurricane center said. It said the rains could result in life-threatening flash floods and mudslides.

Earl, which briefly reached hurricane status on Wednesday but was downgraded on Thursday, was expected to start weakening on Saturday as it moves into mainland Mexico.

Before crossing Mexico's Yucatan peninsula, Earl battered Belize earlier this week, smashing car windows and punching holes in the roofs of Belize City's wooden houses. It also downed trees and flooded parts of the coast.
Saudi woman reports theft of 1 million euro watch - police source

PARIS, Aug 5 (Reuters) - A Saudi woman filed a complaint in Paris on Friday for the theft of a watch that she said was worth 1 million euros ($1.11 million), a French police source told Reuters.

The source said the woman had introduced herself as a member of the Saudi royal family.
Share rout at Spain's OHL turns up heat on indebted owner

By Andres Gonzalez and Carlos Ruano

MADRID, Aug 5 (Reuters) - A slump in Spanish builder OHL's stock price this week has turned the spotlight on its parent company, an indebted conglomerate built up by one of Spain's richest businessmen and which has secured loans against its affiliate's shares.

OHL, one of few construction firms to have survived Spain's 2008 property market crash had, as of Friday afternoon, lost over a third of its market value this week following a credit rating downgrade and posting a second-quarter loss.

At 1430 GMT, OHL shares were up 6 percent at 2.25 euros in volatile trading, giving it a market value of around 670 million euros ($741 million). Its bonds hit fresh lows earlier on Friday.

The firm is majority owned by Grupo Villar Mir (GVM), a private holding built up by billionaire and one-time finance minister Juan Miguel Villar Mir, 84, over the past 30 years.

OHL is the crown jewel in the industrial and real estate conglomerate, having provided more than three quarters of GVM's core profit in 2015. The two entities have an intertwined financial structure, making the parent also potentially exposed to OHL's share price swings.

According to GVM's 2015 annual report, it had used a 43 percent stake in OHL as collateral to secure some 657 million euros in bank loans, though the group's chief financial officer said on Friday GVM had since cut its debt.

CFO Manuel Garrido said it now had bank loans worth 200 million euros which were backed by OHL shares.

"We are going through a process to transform those into a different structure which is not linked to the market," Garrido told Reuters in a phone interview. "We are trying to disconnect our financing from OHL's share price."

The falling stocks could otherwise put pressure on GVM to stump up more guarantees for its collateralised loans if creditors demand it.

Garrido also said GVM was "covered" on a complex share agreement it has with Monaco-based hedge fund Tyrus Capital, which bought 8.4 percent of OHL subscription rights from GVM last year in the middle of the builder's rights issue.

El Confidencial news site reported this week that GVM would have to compensate Tyrus for any losses in value incurred when it sold the OHL shares.

Garrido said the two firms had an agreement to "share the upside and the downside" in relation to OHL's stock when their share agreement ends in May 2017, but added this did not present a problem for GVM.

"It's something we've got covered," he said, without providing further detail.

According to company filings, GVM said at the end of 2015 it had a 180 million-euro liability with Tyrus.

SHEDDING ASSETS

An influential figure who sits on the board of Spain's biggest bank Santander, Villar Mir and his family have the fifth-biggest fortune in the country, valued at $2.6 billion according to Forbes. Villar Mir passed on the chairmanship of OHL to his son in July.

GVM, whose companies employ more than 33,000 people worldwide, already cut OHL's valuation on its books by 110 million euros last year.

It marked OHL shares on its books at 10.2 euros apiece at the end of 2015 when they were trading in the market at 5.27 euros.

Overall - and including consolidated OHL debt - GVM had 5.17 billion euros in bank debt at that point, or 4.6 times its core profit, or earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA).

OHL bounced back from Spain's property crash thanks largely to strong overseas operations, and its overall net debt shrank in the first half of this year. But recourse debt, which is backed by collateral, rose in the period, prompting ratings agency Moody's cut OHL's rating by one notch to B3 on Wednesday.

GVM also owns 57 percent of U.S.-listed silicon metal producer Ferroglobe, which has a $1.6 billion market value and whose shares it also used as collateral against loans, according to GVM's 2015 annual report.
Man arrested in Northern Ireland over 1976 minibus killings

BELFAST, Aug 5 (Reuters) - Northern Ireland police on Friday arrested a man over the shooting dead of 10 Protestant textile workers in 1976 in one of the deadliest of three decades of sectarian attacks in Northern Ireland.

No one has ever been convicted for the crime, which an inquiry said was carried out by the Provisional IRA who targeted the men because of their religion.

The IRA has always denied involvement in the attack near the village of Kingsmill, county Armagh, in January 1976, when gunmen forced workers from a minibus and shot them dead at close range. The one Catholic worker was instructed to run from the scene.

The incident was one of a series of tit-for-tat attacks by Protestant loyalist paramilitaries who wanted Northern Ireland to remain part of the United Kingdom and Catholic Irish nationalists who wanted a united Ireland.

A 1998 peace agreement paved the way for a power-sharing government of loyalists and Irish nationalists and mostly ended the cycle of violence, though some small armed groups remain.

Police on Friday said they had arrested a 59-year-old man in Newry on suspicion of the murders. Investigators earlier this year found a match with a palm print found on a getaway car.
Germany's Steinmeier says will work to restore dialogue with Turkey

VADUZ, Aug 5 (Reuters) - German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier said on Friday he hoped to restore direct talks with Ankara despite concerns about Turkey's use of mass arrests and dismissals to crack down on those suspected of engineering a failed coup attempt.

"I will work to ensure that the dialogue with Turkey does not occur solely via megaphones and microphones and cameras," he said after a meeting with other German-speaking foreign ministers in Vaduz, Liechtenstein.

"There is no alternative - even if it is difficult in these times - to return to a direct dialogue with Turkey."

Steinmeier said he was focused on "how to manage the relationship with Turkey in this difficult situation and what we can do for those who have been arrested." He said the reinstatement of the death penalty in Turkey would be incompatible with the values of the European Union.
Hungary weighs Turkish request to shut "coup-linked institutions"

BUDAPEST, Aug 5 (Reuters) - Hungary is considering a request from Turkey to shut local institutions Ankara suspects of having links to what it calls the terrorist group behind last month's thwarted coup attempt, the foreign ministry said on Friday.

More than 60,000 people in the Turkish military, judiciary, civil service and education have been detained, suspended or placed under investigation following the July 15 coup attempt that President Tayyip Erdogan has blamed on U.S.-based cleric Fethullah Gulen and his wide network of schools and businesses.

The purge has prompted fears among Western allies and rights groups that Erdogan is using the events to crack down on dissent. Turkey has issued an arrest warrant for Gulen, who denies any role in the failed putsch.

Gulen's "Hizmet" (Service) movement runs some 2,000 educational establishments in about 160 countries, teaching a secular curriculum in English. Ankara suspects these schools and other Gulen-linked businesses help fund the movement.

Kazakhstan announced earlier on Friday it would expel any Turkish teachers there found to have links with Gulen. Somalia has closed two Gulen schools and a hospital and Turkish pressure to shut down Gulen-affiliated institutions has been reported from countries as diverse as Germany, Kenya and Indonesia.

Hungary's foreign ministry said Turkey had requested the closure of "some institutions and organisations operating in Hungary which it says are linked with and provide intellectual and financial support to the terrorist organisation potentially associated with the coup attempt".

"Hungarian authorities will take measures against the institutions in question only if any connection between the institutions and terrorism is proved unequivocally," it said.

The ministry statement, emailed to Reuters, did not identify the institutions involved. Officials at the Turkish embassy in Budapest were not immediately available for comment.

Hungarian news portal index.hu reported the target could be the Orchidea International private school in Budapest.

Orchidea Assistant Principal Balazs Orosz told Reuters that the school, which has two units in Budapest, had not been approached by either the Hungarian or the Turkish government.

Orosz said the two units, which have about 500 pupils, were financed from Hungarian public funds and fees paid by parents.

"Our only link with Turkey is that there are Turkish colleagues in the board of trustees of the foundation managing the school and there are a handful of Turkish pupils in our two units," he said.

Efkan Unlu, a representative of the Prizma foundation that runs the school, denied to Reuters that the foundation or the Orchidea school had any links to Gulen.
Paraguay recalls ambassador in diplomatic dispute with Venezuela

ASUNCION, Aug 5 (Reuters) - Paraguay on Friday recalled its ambassador to Caracas after Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro made disparaging remarks about Paraguay amidst a leadership dispute in South America's Mercosur trade bloc.

Earlier this week, socialist Maduro accused Paraguay of being part of "an extreme right wing alliance" aimed at blocking Venezuela from assuming its role as head of Mercosur as scheduled during the second half of the year.

A statement by Paraguay said its decision to call Ambassador Enrique Jara back to Asuncion for talks was "based on the statements made by Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro about the government of Paraguay."

Maduro had accused Paraguay, Argentina and Brazil of entering "a triple alliance" against his government, a loaded term referring to the nineteenth century war in which Paraguay faced off against Brazil, Argentina and Uruguay, the bloodiest military conflict in Latin American history.

On state-run Venezuelan television this week, Maduro said, "now we are being pursued by the triple alliance or Latin American torturers. We are being pursued by the corrupt, drug-smuggling Paraguayan oligarchy."

Venezuela is under increasing international pressure to address an economic and political crisis in which Venezuelans are short of food and Maduro is accused of unfairly jailing opposition leaders.
Two dead as land protest hits ancient Ethiopian city - activists

By Aaron Maasho

ADDIS ABABA, Aug 5 (Reuters) - Two protesters died in clashes with police in Ethiopia's ancient city of Gonder on Friday, campaigners said, as anger mounted over the status of a disputed territory - a highly-charged issue in a nation made up of a patchwork of ethnic groups.

Violence broke out as police brought one of the leaders of a land campaign movement to court, according to one person who said he had been in the crowd and asked to remain anonymous.

Amhara region president Gedu Andargachew did not mention any deaths but told journalists the protests were illegal and said security services would take measures against anyone who took part.

Any sign of unrest is closely watched in Ethiopia, a major Western ally against Islamist militants in neighbouring Somalia and an economic power seen as a centre of relative stability in a fragile region.

"Two protesters were shot and killed in Piassa," said one campaigner by phone, referring to a central district in the city.

Clashes carried on into the evening, said another, a rare public protest in a country whose government has been accused of cracking down on dissent. Roads were blocked and access to social media limited, he added.

Tensions have been rumbling for around 25 years over the status of Wolkayt district - a stretch of land that protesters from Amhara say was illegally incorporated into the neighbouring Tigray region to the north.

The issue boiled over into violence two weeks ago when crowds came out in Gonder saying they were protesting against an attempt to arrest Wolkayt campaigners.

Government spokesman Getachew Reda said at the time six policemen were killed by the protesters and accused an "illegal committee" of stoking ethnic untest.

The dispute, while centred on a relatively small patch of land, is particularly sensitive because it challenges a division of Ethiopia along ethnic and linguistic lines, imposed by the core of the current ruling EPRDF coalition when it came to power in 1991.

After toppling Mengistu Haile Mariam's Marxist military dictatorship, the former rebels set up the boundaries that they said would recognise the country's different groups and prevent any one from dominating the others through a system of so-called ethnic federalism.

Protesters in Gonder - known as Africa's Camelot because of its ancient castles - say they had finally decided to take to the streets because they had got nowhere with years of petitioning senior officials, arguing that the Amharic-speaking people of Wolkayt belonged in Amhara.

The protests in the region come in the wake of months of unrest in the central Oromiya province, where demonstrators objected to having land incorporated into the boundaries of the capital Addis Ababa.
In preparation for its 50th anniversary this summer, Cleveland State has developed a 50th anniversary website. Officials said the site honors the history of the college, but also celebrates CSCCs role and service to the community.



The site has many features including a history of the college, a calendar of upcoming events for the year, profiles on faculty, staff and alumni, how to sign up for volunteer service opportunities throughout the five-county service area, how to donate to the college and a special section where people can share their CSCC story.



Im really pleased with how the site turned out, said Tony Bartolo, director of Communications. John Dezember, web and new media specialist, did a great job. The site is a good reflection of the colleges past, present and future. It was definitely a team effort, though. Spencer Culbreth, CSCC retiree, was kind enough to provide a great deal of the content for the site from his book that he is writing on the college, and we are very appreciative of his hard work and dedication to this project, as well.



Mr. Dezember said, This is an exciting time for the college. Id like to encourage anyone with a connection to the college to submit your story on the website and tell us how CSCC played a role in your life. He added that social media users can use the hashtag #CSCC50 when posting photos, videos or comments from any 50th anniversary events.

To view the new website, visit mycs.cc/50 or visit the CSCC home page at www.clevelandstatecc.edu and click on the 50th anniversary logo.
Portugal's Guterres leads U.N. chief race after second ballot

By Michelle Nichols

UNITED NATIONS, Aug 5 (Reuters) - Former Portuguese Prime Minister Antonio Guterres is still the front-runner to become the next United Nations Secretary-General after a second U.N. Security Council secret ballot on Friday, said diplomats.

The 15-member council cast a ballot for each of the 11 candidates, and the choice is encourage, discourage or no opinion. Guterres received 11 encourage, two discourage and two no opinions, diplomats said. In the first poll on July 21, Guterres received 12 encourages and three no opinions.

Former Serbian Foreign Minister Vuk Jeremic moved up to second with eight encourage, four discourage and three no opinion, edging out Argentinian Foreign Minister Susana Malcorra who got eight encourage, six discourage and one no opinion.

Former Slovenian President Danilo Turk dropped to fourth from second with seven encourage, five discourage and three no opinion, while Irina Bokova of Bulgaria, director-general of U.N. cultural organization UNESCO took fifth spot.

The Security Council will hold secret ballots until a consensus is reached on a candidate to replace U.N. chief Ban Ki-moon of South Korea who steps down at the end of 2016 after serving two five-year terms.

There are 11 candidates, six men and five women, vying for the post. Former Croatian Foreign Minister Vesna Pusic, who came last in the first ballot, dropped out of the race on Thursday. (Graphic - http://tmsnrt.rs/2aLr6IV)

Civil society groups and nearly a third of the 193 U.N. member states, led by Colombia, have pushed for the first woman secretary-general. Four of those countries, Japan, Spain, Uruguay and Venezuela are in the security council.

But hopes for a woman to lead the United Nations appear to be fading. Russia's U.N. Ambassador Vitaly Churkin said this week that was because "the people who have spoken so loudly about the need to support a woman have not done that when it came to the actual straw poll."

Guterres was prime minister of Portugal from 1995 to 2002 and served as United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees from June 2005 to December 2015.

Diplomats said the council aimed to recommend a candidate to the 193-member General Assembly for election by October. Ultimately, the five permanent veto-wielding council members - the United States, Russia, Britain, China and France - must agree on a candidate.
Germany seeks a way forward with Turkey after Austria row

VADUZ, Aug 5 (Reuters) - Germany's foreign minister on Friday resisted a push by Austria to halt talks with Turkey on joining the European Union, saying the bloc needed to think more broadly about how to frame its relationship with Ankara in troubled times.

Frank-Walter Steinmeier said their close political, economic and human ties meant both sides should find a way forward as neighbours, rather than focusing solely on the timing of the accession talks, which he said were "as good as deadlocked".

"For me a different question is of decisive importance, namely the question of how to manage the relationship with Turkey in this difficult situation and what we can do for those who have been arrested (following a coup attempt)," he said.

European leaders are concerned by the scale of Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan's crackdown on suspected dissidents after last month's failed coup.

Addressing a news conference after meeting with other German-speaking foreign ministers in Liechtenstein, Steinmeier said reintroducing the death penalty in Turkey - as Erdogan has suggested - would be incompatible with EU values.

Ankara's ties with the EU, and Vienna especially, descended into name-calling on Friday, with Turkey's foreign minister calling Austria the "capital of radical racism" after Chancellor Christian Kern suggested ending the EU accession talks, which have made minimal progress since they began in 2005.

Steinmeier spoke just after Austrian Foreign Minister Sebastian Kurz, referring to the promise of visa-free travel for Turks to the EU and accelerated talks on membership, told the same news conference: "I definitely don't see either of these."

Turkey has so far lived up to its side of a landmark deal with Brussels to stop illegal migration to Europe via its shores, in return for financial aid, the promise of visa-free travel to much of the bloc and accelerated talks on membership.

But Ankara has complained Europe is not living up to its side of the accord.

Steinmeier hoped to restore direct talks between Berlin and Ankara.

"I will work to ensure that the dialogue with Turkey does not occur solely via megaphones and microphones and cameras," he said. "There is no alternative, even if it is difficult in these times."
Syrian rebels say storm Aleppo artillery base, army says attack repelled

BEIRUT, Aug 5 (Reuters) - Syrian rebels said on Friday they had stormed an artillery base in the northern city of Aleppo in an assault to try to end the siege of opposition-held areas but the army said it had repelled the attack and killed hundreds of insurgents.

A quarter of a million civilians still live in Aleppo's opposition-controlled eastern neighbourhoods, effectively under siege since the army, aided by Iranian-backed militias, cut off the last road into rebel districts in early July.

Fighters from a coalition of Islamist rebel groups called "Jaish al Fateh" that includes Jabhat Fateh al Sham, the former al Qaeda-affiliated Nusra Front, Ahrar al Sham and other smaller groups, said they took part of the main fortress-like artillery academy in the Ramousah quarter in the southwest of Aleppo.

The artillery base, one of the largest in Syria, is almost 2 km from the besieged opposition area.

The rebels are trying to break through a strip of government-controlled territory to reconnect their encircled sector of eastern Aleppo with a swathe of insurgent territory in the west of Syria, effectively breaking the siege.

"There are two suicide bombers who have driven into regime posts inside the artillery base," said Abu al-Walid, a fighter with Ahrar al Sham, who said fighting was going on inside the base.

The army said it had foiled the attack on the artillery base and two major barracks and that hundreds of insurgents had been killed and much of their equipment and tanks destroyed. The army said it was the biggest assault by rebels against government-held areas in the last year.

A state television reporter said the army had foiled several suicide attacks by Islamist insurgents who approached the academy in Ramousah.

Rebels said jets flying at high altitude, believed to be Russian, intensified their strikes on the area but were unable to hold back rebel advances because of the terrain.

Aleppo, Syria's biggest city before the outbreak of the conflict five years ago, has been divided between government forces and rebels since the summer of 2012.

Seizing full control would be the biggest victory for Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in five years of fighting and demonstrate the dramatic shift of fortunes in his favour since Russia joined the war on his side last year.
Trump endorses Ryan, senators in effort to right campaign ship

By Emily Stephenson and James Oliphant

GREEN BAY, Wis./WASHINGTON, Aug 5 (Reuters) - Republican Donald Trump acted to steer his White House campaign back into favor with his party's establishment on Friday by endorsing U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Paul Ryan and two Republican senators seeking re-election, after expressing coolness toward them earlier this week.

"I need a Republican Senate and a House to accomplish all of the changes that we have to make," Trump said during a rally in Green Bay, in northern Wisconsin, Ryan's home state. He also endorsed Senators John McCain of Arizona and Kelly Ayotte of New Hampshire, calling Ayotte a "rising star."

"We will have disagreements, but we will disagree as friends," Trump said,

Trump earlier this week refused to endorse Ryan, telling The Washington Post he was "not quite there yet" - nearly the same phrase Ryan had used about Trump before finally endorsing him. Trump said in the same interview that McCain had not done enough for veterans and criticized Ayotte for distancing herself from him during the campaign.

Ryan, the top U.S. elected Republican, had no plans to attend the Wisconsin event, a sign of lingering frictions between the pair, even though Trump's running mate, Mike Pence, did endorse him. Ryan's Republican primary challenger, businessman Paul Nehlen, did attend, according to a spokesman.

Ryan is expected to win the challenge for his House seat in next week's Republican primary, and he is viewed by many Republicans as a possible presidential candidate in the future. The tension between Ryan and Trump caused deep frustration among party leaders and lawmakers.

Trump's endorsement came as one of several steps to get his campaign back on track after days of controversy and falling poll numbers that have given Democrat Hillary Clinton the advantage in the race to the Nov. 8 election.

In the latest Reuters/Ipsos poll released on Friday, Clinton's lead over Trump narrowed to less than 3 percentage points, down from nearly 8 points on Monday.

Trump said on Friday he wanted a "big tent" party with multiple viewpoints welcome. He said he was endorsing the Republican lawmakers due to their "shared mission to make America great again."

Trump also announced a new advisory team to help guide him on economic policy. The group relies heavily on hedge fund managers and investment bankers, a group Trump has railed against. There are no women on the team.

Trump plans to release his economic policy framework in a speech in Detroit on Monday, an event that will offer him a chance to avoid theatrics and detail how he would handle economic issues if elected.

Trump economic adviser Stephen Moore told Reuters that the candidate's plan would focus on four areas: tax, deregulation, energy policy and trade. "It's going to be an all-encompassing look at how we reform the economy," Moore said.

At events in Des Moines, Iowa, and Green Bay, Trump showed discipline that is unusual at his often free-wheeling rallies, calling Clinton the "queen of corruption" and defending himself against her charge that he is temperamentally unfit for the White House.

"All my life I've been told, 'You have the greatest temperament,'" he said in Des Moines. He also said voters should consider supporting him because of Pence, who appeared with him at both events.

"If you don't like me, that's okay. Vote for Pence because it's the same thing," Trump said.

Trump bashed the media as well, saying reporters over-hyped an incident earlier in the week and claimed he kicked a baby out of an event in Virginia. "I love babies," he said.

"SHORT-CIRCUITED"

Clinton sought to take advantage of Trump's dip in the polls at a conference of minority journalists in Washington, where she pledged an all-out fight for comprehensive immigration reform.

And she did what she has rarely done during the presidential campaign: take questions from reporters.

She addressed two of the largest issues that continue to dog her campaign: the controversy over her use of a private email server while she was U.S. secretary of state and continuing skepticism among voters about her trustworthiness.

Clinton conceded that she had "short-circuited" earlier in the week in interviews when she had asserted that FBI director James Comey had concluded that she had been truthful in her statements about use of the private server.

Clinton had repeatedly said she never sent emails containing classified material, a finding that Comey contradicted at the conclusion of the FBI's probe in July, when he rebuked her for "extremely careless" handling of classified information while recommending that no criminal charges be filed.

On Friday, Clinton maintained, "I never sent or received anything marked classified," while acknowledging that some material she sent may retroactively have been considered classified by other government agencies.

Republicans have repeatedly charged that Clinton endangered national security with her handling of classified material.

The email controversy has fueled a perception among a majority of voters that Clinton is untrustworthy. "I take it seriously," she said. Still, as she has often done during her career, Clinton attributed much of her low standing on this issue to attacks from Republicans.

FINANCE AND INDUSTRY LEADERS

Trump's campaign said his economic advisory panel included former steel executive Dan DiMicco; Howard Lorber, CEO of tobacco company Vector Group Ltd ; and Trump campaign finance chairman and investment manager Steven Mnuchin.

Hedge fund managers John Paulson and Steve Feinberg, Moore, the Trump economic adviser, and David Malpass, who has served in previous Republican administrations, were also named.

Trump's moves came after many Republicans urged the candidate to correct course following a tumultuous week.

The real estate mogul and former reality television star was caught up for days in a public spat with the parents of a Muslim American soldier killed in Iraq. The parents had criticized Trump at last week's Democratic National Convention. Many Republicans, including Ryan, McCain and Ayotte, were critical of Trump's insistent attacks on the pair.
South Sudan agrees to deployment of regional force, IGAD says

By Aaron Maasho

ADDIS ABABA, Aug 5 (Reuters) - South Sudan's government on Friday agreed to allow a regional protection force to be deployed in the country, a regional development group said, following fighting between rival groups last month in the country's capital, Juba.

Such a force has been a key demand of former vice president Riek Machar, the leader of one of the factions involved in last month's fighting.

The agreement was reached at a summit meeting in Ethiopia of the leaders of the eight countries in the group, the Intergovernmental Authority on Development.

"The government of South Sudan has accepted (the deployment of troops) with no condition," Mahboub Maalim, IGAD's executive secretary, told reporters after the meeting.

Fighting broke out in July between forces loyal to President Salva Kiir and to Machar, his long-time rival, who had been serving as vice president but who left Juba after the fighting. He has since been replaced as vice president.

Machar had also served as vice president from 2011, when South Sudan gained independence, until he was sacked by Kiir in 2013. After two years of fighting between his forces and Kiir's, Machar returned to Juba in April and resumed the position of vice president as part of a peace agreement.

He left again after the new clashes broke out, killing at least 272 people. He said he would return only if an intervention force was deployed to separate his forces and those of Kiir.

Politics in South Sudan have long been plagued by splits and rivalries as leaders switch allegiances in a complex contest for power and influence in the oil-producing nation, which gained independence from Sudan only five years ago.

Kiir sacked six ministers allied to Machar earlier this week, replacing them with people allied to the new vice president, Taban Deng Gai. That further widened the political division in South Sudan and threatened to lead to more violence .

IGAD's Maalim said Deng Gai, who attended the meeting in Ethiopia, had said he could step down for Machar if he returns to Juba. Deng Gai was not immediately available to comment.

Maalim said military chiefs from member states would travel to Juba, to work with the government there on the deployment of the new force, without giving more details.

Earlier in the day, South Sudan rejected accusations from the U.N. that its soldiers had raped and killed civilians during last month's clashes.

On Thursday, Zeid Ra'ad Al Hussein, U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights, said at least 217 cases of sexual violence in Juba had been documented during the period of July 8 to July 25 .
Advertisement

Hoards of African migrants clamour to be let passed on the street, some face the peril of the treacherous rocks by the beach in their desperation and all the while determined policeman dressed in riot gear stand their ground.

Dramatic footage from the Italian border town of Ventimiglia has captured the attempts of hundreds of men, women and children - mostly Sudanese, Eritreans and Ethiopians - to cross into France from Italy.

More than 100 migrants managed to break through police barriers at Balzi Rossi beach - despite officers' attempt to deter them with pepper spray as video from the town shows.

Hoards of African migrants clamour to be let passed on the street, some face the peril of the treacherous rocks by the beach in their desperation and all the while determined policeman dressed in riot gear stand their ground

Dramatic footage from the Italian border town of Ventimiglia has captured the attempts of hundreds of men, women and children - mostly Sudanese, Eritreans and Ethiopians - to cross into France from Italy

More than 100 migrants managed to break through police barriers at Balzi Rossi beach - despite officers' attempt to deter them with pepper spray as video from the town shows

Migrants stand on the rocks after forcing a police block and reaching Menton, a French town on the border with Italy

When failing to pass the riot police on the road the more adventurous men head down to the rocky beach, dashed by the agitated sea, in attempt to side step officials.

One man can even be seen swimming out in the Mediterranean.

It was not immediately clear how they got past police cordons.

After breaking through the 'successful' migrants stopped on rocks near the port at the French Riviera town of Menton.

They were still there in the evening under the surveillance of French police, said Ventimiglia police commander Giorgio Marenco.

'Both the Italian and French forces at the border were taken by surprise,' Marenco said.

Dramatic footage from the Italian border town of Ventimiglia has captured the attempts of hundreds of men, women and children to cross into France from Italy

More than 100 migrants managed to break through police barriers at Balzi Rossi beach - despite officers' attempt to deter them with pepper spray as video from the town shows

The French Interior Ministry and representatives of the Alpes-Maritimes region around Menton were not available for comment

After breaking through the 'successful' migrants stopped on rocks near the port at the French Riviera town of Menton

Most of the more than 94,000 people who have arrived in Italy by boat this year travelled from sub-Saharan Africa to Libya

When failing to pass the riot police on the road the more adventurous men head down to the rocky beach, dashed by the agitated sea, in attempt to side step officials

From Libya, people smugglers, who have taken advantage of the breakdown of order there, charged migrants hundreds of dollars for the passage, often in unseaworthy boats

The city of about 24,000 residents opened a reception centre to house the hundreds of migrants who had been sleeping rough under a bridge

The French Interior Ministry and representatives of the Alpes-Maritimes region around Menton were not available for comment.

Many of the hundreds of migrants who arrive by boat in Italy every day aim for northern Europe.

Ventimiglia's craggy seashore became the site of a temporary migrant camp last year, which was later cleared away by police.

Most of the more than 94,000 people who have arrived in Italy by boat this year travelled from sub-Saharan Africa to Libya where people smugglers, who have taken advantage of the breakdown of order there, charged them hundreds of dollars for the passage, often in unseaworthy boats.

When failing to pass the riot police on the road the more adventurous men head down to the rocky beach, dashed by the agitated sea, in attempt to side step officials

It wasn't at first clear how they got past police cordons. 'Both the Italian and French forces at the border were taken by surprise,' said Ventimiglia police commander Giorgio Marenco

One man can even be seen swimming out in the Mediterranean. Many of the hundreds of migrants who arrive by boat in Italy every day aim for northern Europe

Ventimiglia's craggy seashore became the site of a temporary migrant camp last year, which was later cleared away by police

Most of the more than 94,000 people who have arrived in Italy by boat this year travelled from sub-Saharan Africa to Libya where people smugglers exort and endanger them

'The migrants who have reached Ventimiglia over the past three years have one aim: to pass into France,' Marenco said

About 150 migrants left the centre shortly after midnight on Thursday and walked to the shore, where they remained for hours before heading for France

Another group of migrants who abandoned crossing at Balzi Rossi beach tried to reach France by walking along the rail tracks

One teenager was hit by a train during the treacherous journey and had to be transferred by helicopter to the San Martino Hospital in Genoa

A video posted on the website of Nice Matin newspaper showed a stream of people picking their way across rocks, followed by police in riot gear

The city of about 24,000 residents opened a reception centre to house the hundreds of migrants who had been sleeping rough under a bridge.

About 150 migrants left the centre shortly after midnight on Thursday and walked to the shore, where they remained for hours before heading for France.

Another group of migrants who abandoned crossing at Balzi Rossi beach tried to reach France by walking along the rail tracks.

One teenager was hit by a train during the treacherous journey and had to be transferred by helicopter to the San Martino Hospital in Genoa. He remains intubated and in a serious condition.

'The migrants who have reached Ventimiglia over the past three years have one aim: to pass into France,' Marenco said.
Virginia town mostly unfazed about arrival of Reagan attacker Hinckley

By Gary Robertson

WILLIAMSBURG, Va., Aug 5 (Reuters) - Many residents of the Virginia town where John Hinckley Jr. will settle after his release from a psychiatric hospital were unfazed by his expected arrival on Friday, though some were still wary of the man who tried to kill President Ronald Reagan in 1981.

Hinckley, a 25-year-old college dropout when he shot and wounded the president, will live with his 90-year-old mother in a gated community in Kingsmill outside Williamsburg, a historic town about 130 miles (210 km) south of Washington.

That was one of dozens of conditions imposed by a federal judge when he ruled last week that Hinckley, now 61, was no longer a danger to himself or others, and could leave the hospital as early as Friday.

Kingsmill Police Chief Jim West said he did not know who was transporting Hinckley to his mother's home or when he might arrive. Neither a spokeswoman for St. Elizabeths, the Washington hospital where Hinckley has been held since 1982, nor his lawyer Barry Levine could immediately be reached.

Hinckley, who was obsessed with actress Jodie Foster when he shot the president, Reagan's press secretary and two others, was found not guilty by reason of insanity after a trial that led several states to tighten rules on using such a defense.

Amanda Krems, a former teacher who has been taking time off to raise her children, said she has no issue with Hinckley being in Williamsburg.

"He has served his time," she said. "But I know he makes a lot of people nervous."

Suzanne Lanier, a homemaker at the local library, said she had a change of sentiment about Hinckley when her own child struggled with mental issues, an experience that gave her a better understanding of mental illness.

"I am sure the Reagan family and the Brady family would feel quite differently," she said, referring to the now-deceased former president and his press secretary, James Brady, who was severely wounded by Hinckley and died two years ago.

The decision to release Hinckley drew criticism from the Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation and Institute, which said the family believed he still poses a threat to others.

That sentiment was shared by Randy Newkirk, 61, who works for a distribution company.

"He should be in jail," Newkirk said while eating lunch at a Taco Bell. Newkirk, who lives outside Williamsburg, said his work frequently brings him to the town.

"If you're well enough to get out on account of mental problems, you're well enough to stand trial," he said. "You never know what might set him off."

Hinckley is no stranger to Williamsburg, a "living museum" known for its re-enactments of life during the American Revolution. Since 2003, he has spent increasingly extended furloughs there, visiting his mother, performing volunteer work and occasionally frequenting local shops.

Hinckley's behavior during those visits was mostly unremarkable, the federal judge wrote.

At a local Starbucks, a retiree who declined to give his name said he knew Hinckley but not very well.

"While I deplore what he did, I would have no problem with him being here," he said. "There are many mental health problems that can be treated successfully. He will be monitored closely. I would not anticipate any trouble."

After his admission to the hospital, doctors diagnosed Hinckley with depression and psychosis, but they say those conditions have been in remission for years.

Before the assassination attempt, Hinckley had become obsessed with Foster and the Martin Scorsese film "Taxi Driver," in which she played a teenage prostitute.

Hinckley began to identify with the film's main character, Travis Bickle, who planned to assassinate a fictitious presidential candidate, and spent years trying to make contact with Foster, who at the time was a Yale University student.

On March 30, 1981, Hinckley wrote Foster a letter detailing his plans to kill Reagan in an effort to win her over. Later that day, Hinckley approached the president outside the Washington Hilton Hotel and opened fire.

The judge's order imposes nearly three dozen conditions on Hinckley's release, including monthly meetings with his psychiatrist. Secret Service agents are likely to monitor his movements.

Jen Thurman, owner of Retro Daddio, a Williamsburg shop that sells old records and other goods, is not worried, saying she does not understand why anyone would get "twisted up" about Hinckley's release, pointing out that he has already spent a lot of time in the community.
Voters condemn South African ruling party to worst election outcome

By James Macharia

JOHANNESBURG, Aug 6 (Reuters) - South Africa's ruling party was in a close race early on Saturday in two major cities after losing one other key municipality in its worst electoral performance since the end of apartheid.

The African National Congress has ruled virtually unopposed since it ended white-minority rule in 1994 with Nelson Mandela at its helm. But its grip on power is being shaken against the backdrop of high unemployment, a stagnating economy and a series of scandals that have dogged President Jacob Zuma.

The party was still leading in the overall count in the nationwide municipal vote, with 98 percent of ballots counted.

But it lost to the main opposition Democratic Alliance (DA) in the municipality of Nelson Mandela Bay, which includes the city of Port Elizabeth, a key manufacturing hub and port city.

"We've lost Nelson Mandela Bay, we've conceded that we've lost it," Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa said.

The DA was also narrowly ahead in the country's economic hub of Johannesburg, while the ANC held a slim margin in Tshwane, home to the capital Pretoria.

The DA, which last year elected its first black leader, Mmusi Maimane, as part of its efforts to shake off its image as a party that mainly serves white interests, has retained control of Cape Town, which it has held since 2006.

"Now we've got to do everything in our power to make sure where we govern we govern well," said Maimane, who declared that his party had won in Tshwane, well before the final tally.

Final results are due late on Saturday.

The ANC has lost support among voters who feel their lives have not improved and the opposition has accused Zuma of mismanaging the economy. Millions of urban voters are now looking beyond its liberation struggle credentials and focusing on an economy teetering on the edge of a recession.

"The ANC may just become a rural party," said William Gumede, chairman of the Democracy Works Foundation, a think tank.

Voters are losing patience with Zuma, who rattled investors in December by changing finance ministers twice in a week, sending the rand currency plummeting. The rand has since recovered, and received a boost from the peaceful vote.

Zuma survived an impeachment vote in April after the Constitutional Court said he breached the law by ignoring an order to repay some of $16 million in state funds spent on renovating his private home. Zuma has since apologised and said he will repay some of the money as ordered by the court.

The radical leftist Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) party led by Julius Malema, Zuma's one-time protege but now arch-foe, was running a distant third with about 10 percent of the vote.

Malema has drawn support with promises to redistribute among poor black people wealth still mostly in white hands - policies that both the DA and the ANC have not found palatable.

But neck-and-neck races between the ANC and DA in Johannesburg and Tshwane mean the EFF could be needed for coalitions there, but Malema has not said whom he would back.

"If anyone comes to us, we'll talk," Malema told reporters when asked whether he would join a coalition.

Robert Besseling, head of the EXX Africa business risk intelligence think tank, said the EFF will play "a key kingmaker role" in coalition-building negotiations.
Syrian rebels storm Aleppo artillery base, army says attack repelled

By Suleiman Al-Khalidi

BEIRUT, Aug 6 (Reuters) - Syrian rebels stormed a major army artillery base in the northern city of Aleppo on Friday to try an end the siege of opposition-held areas but the Syrian army said it had repelled the attack and killed hundreds of insurgents.

A quarter of a million civilians still live 7in Aleppo's opposition-controlled eastern neighbourhoods, effectively under siege since the army, aided by Iranian-backed militias, cut off the last road into rebel districts in early July.

Fighters from a coalition of Islamist rebel groups called "Jaish al Fateh" that includes Jabhat Fateh al Sham, the former al Qaeda-affiliated Nusra Front, Ahrar al Sham and other smaller groups, said they had taken the main fortress-like artillery academy in the Ramousah quarter in southwestern Aleppo.

They were now fighting to take the other military academies adjoining the artillery base that are among the country's largest.

The artillery base is almost 2 km from the besieged opposition area. It has a huge supply of ammunitions and is used regularly to shell parts of the city held by opposition forces.

The rebels are trying to break through a strip of government-controlled territory to reconnect their encircled sector of eastern Aleppo with a swathe of insurgent territory in the west of Syria, effectively breaking the siege.

The fall of that strip would also cut off western Aleppo, which is in government hands.

"There are two suicide bombers who have driven into regime posts inside the artillery base," said Abu al-Walid, a fighter with Ahrar al Sham, who said there was fighting inside the base.

Hundreds of fighters were clashing with government troops only a few hundred metres from each other in parts of the artillery base after breaking into government defences around the heavily fortified compound, rebels said.

Aleppo, Syria's biggest city before the outbreak of the civil war five years ago, has been divided between government forces and rebels since the summer of 2012.

Seizing full control would be the biggest victory for Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in five years of fighting and demonstrate the dramatic shift of fortunes in his favour since Russia joined the war on his side last year.

Islamist rebels have poured in thousands of fighters mainly from the rebel-held province of Idlib in north western Syria and deployed dozens of tanks and armoured vehicles in the operation that was named the "Epic battle of Aleppo".

Inside the city, Free Syrian Army (FSA), among them vetted U.S.-backed groups, helped pile pressure on the army and its allies along other frontlines.

Foreign opponents of Assad including Saudi Arabia and Turkey have been supplying vetted rebel groups with weapons via a Turkey-based operations centre.

Some of these groups have received military training overseen by the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency. The vetted groups have been a regular target of the Russian air strikes.

Jabhat Fateh al Sham, which is believed to have carried out at least three suicide bombings so far, said it also killed a number of Lebanese Shi'ite Hezbollah fighters it said were defending the artillery school.

The militant Shi'ite group that fights alongside Assad's government forces is an ally of Iranian-backed militias and the Russians in trying to help Assad regain control of the opposition-held parts of Aleppo.

The deputy head of the powerful Lebanese Islamist group, Sheikh Naim Qassem, said in an interview with Reuters this week he saw no immediate end to the war in Syria.

The army said it had foiled the attack on the artillery base and two major military academies. Hundreds of insurgents had been killed and much of their armored vehicles and tanks destroyed, the army said. It said the assault was the biggest by rebels against government-held areas in the last few years.

"Today there was a large scale attack by the terrorist armed groups and they used all types of weapons but were are fighting this attack and will defeat them," said Brigadier General Deeb Bazi, the head of one of the military academies targeted.

The army said at least a thousand insurgents had been killed since the assault began earlier this week.

An army statement later said it had succeeded in containing the attack with help of allied forces and destroyed three explosive laden suicide vehicles. Reinforcements from pro-government militias were also coming to shore up army positions.

Rebels said jets flying at high altitude, believed to be Russian, intensified their strikes on the area but were unable to hold back rebel advances because of the terrain.

Both Moscow and its Syrian and Iranian allies see the outcome of the battle over Aleppo as decisive, counting on a crushing blow to insurgents who were on the march until Russia intervened, shoring up Assad's rule.
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)'s decision to appoint Vijay Rupani as chief minister and Nitin Patel as his formal deputy is a recipe for disaster. Barring ensuring that the administration passes off from the hands of Anandiben Patel and providing a token gesture to the alienated Patels, the decision smacks of a hastily cobbled up compromise formula.

What has been fulfilled is just Shah's aim of ensuring that the state was brought under his complete control.

For a state that was ruled with an iron fist between 2001 and 2014 when Narendra Modi was at its helm, this is the beginning of open factionalism in the state unit of the BJP.

Friday's decision also underscores the rise and rise of Amit Shah in Gujarat. From the time when Anandiben Patel was considered the closest aide of Modi, her sidelining is now complete and Friday's decision underscores the emergence of Shah as the chief deciding authority in the state.

With this decision, the BJP will find it tough to placate any of the communities that are estranged from it. The primary objective of making a change in the state leadership - to improve the party's prospects in the next Assembly elections in end 2017 - has not been fulfilled. What has been fulfilled is just Shah's aim of ensuring that the state was brought under his complete control.

Rupani's elevation as chief minister will see the end of the old guard in Gujarat and the old Modi loyalists will now slowly make way for those who are personally beholden to Shah. This does not necessarily mean that Modi faces a rebellion in his coterie, but the increasing stranglehold of Shah indicates that he too has indicated that he requires as much control as Modi had if the state is to swing back in favour of the BJP.

Losing day-to-day control of Gujarat is a price that Modi has to pay for retaining his hold at the Centre and also the result of his faulty style as chief minister. It needs to be recollected that during his tenure as chief minister, Modi did not allow a strong second-ranking leadership to emerge in the state.

Consequently, after his departure, primary controls were exercised through a clutch of bureaucrats. It is now widely expected that Modi loyalists in the state machinery will be slowly eased out from sensitive positions.

Rupani will have to immediately grapple with a series of political agitations. Topping the list is the threatened agitation by the Patel community which is now incensed after the high court quashed the ordinance issued by the Anandiben Patel administration to provide 10 per cent quota for the economically backward among the unreserved category, promulgated to appease the agitating Patel community.

The state government responded immediately that it will challenge the decision in the Supreme Court. Consequently, the HC stayed the order for two weeks so that the state can approach the apex court.

The Patels had previously decried the decision to issue the ordinance. They have now threatened to revive the agitation within a fortnight and are demanding that nothing less than being recognised as OBCs will satisfy them. A section of the Patel community that had expected someone from their community to be appointed chief minister viewed Friday's developments as a fresh snub to the community.

Added to the revival of the stir by Patels, is the crisis looming ahead on account of government employees who were hired on a fixed pay during Modi's tenure. They have been demanding regular wages and parity with other government employees. Government employees account for a significant vote bank because of the family members whose electoral views are shaped by the economic fortunes of the breadwinner in the family.

Rupani will also have to contend with the rising anger among the state's Dalit population which though is lower than the national average, is politically significant for the BJP in other poll bound states, especially Uttar Pradesh and Punjab. Being from the Jain Bania community, Rupani is being seeing as caste-neutral but in a state where several communities have been steadily getting alienated, he is seen as the best bet. The problem however is that in his attempt to maintain equidistance, the BJP may end up widening its gulf further with various communities.

As of now, BJP's hopes for staging a recovery would depend on the opposition's failure to get its act together. The Congress has not been in power in the state for more than a quarter of a century and many consider that rigor mortis has set in, in the party's organisational structure. Moreover, in the Modi era, he always had backchannels open with Congress stalwarts. As a result, the party never mounted a serious challenge to Modi.

The Aam Aadmi Party is still a new force in the state but its politics is suited in a state as urbanised as Gujarat. The AAP will get a shot in the arm if it is able to secure a credible performance in Punjab and Goa. Between now and March but when the results of UP, Punjab, Uttarakhand and Manipur will be out, the BJP will hope that Rupani and Nitin Patel are jointly able to douse the fire in Gujarat.
The public is invited to join Mark Making Studio at 2510 North Chamberlain Ave. on Friday from 5-6 p.m. for the premiere of a music video created by local teens.

The film, Stop the Violence, is the culmination of a two-week project that challenged teens to work collaboratively as apprentices to produce a film in ten days.

"Mentored by professional filmmakers, teens were responsible for all aspects of this project. We hope you will be able to join us for popcorn as we celebrate the debut of their creative visions," officials said. "Please join us. You will be exceedingly impressed by the talent and skills of these incredibly talented young people."
The Cleveland Police Department is hosting its second annual Career Showcase at 100 Church St., NE in Cleveland on Tuesday, Aug. 23 from 6:30-7:30 p.m.

"This event allows our specialty units such as S.W.A.T., K9, and EOD to spotlight their gear and allow participants to converse with our officers. After attendees walk through the lobby, they will convene in the courtroom to hear an introduction from the Chief of Police, and be a part of a discussion involving a variety of topics such as the application process, hiring timeline, qualifications, and job duties.

We will offer question and answer time to end the event," officials said.
Mother Accused Of Burning Body Of Abused, Neglected 4-Year-Old To Hide Death

By Gwendolyn Purdom in News on Aug 5, 2016 4:51PM



Screenshot of Google Maps / 1403 W. Marquette Road

A 4-year-old boy whose body was found in the basement of a burning building in Englewood earlier this week had previously been abused and neglected, prosecutors told reporters, and his mother didn't report his death because she didn't want her other children taken away. When authorities recovered the boy's body Tuesday night, it was so small and malnourished, he was thought to be a 9-month-old baby.

Alyssa Garcia, 27, Christian Camarena, 19, and a 17-year-old male have been charged with felony concealment of death and attempted arson, involving the death of 4-year-old Manuel Aguilar, the Cook County State's Attorney's office confirmed to Chicagoist Friday.

Cook County assistant state's attorney Jamie Santini reportedly told a Cook County judge Thursday that the boy had been kept in a back room, often naked, for about a year, starved and beaten. His mother had previously been investigated by the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services. In 2012, Garcia was put under supervision for 18 months for endangering the life of a child. This week, she told investigators that she didn't seek medical attention for her son when she saw he wasn't breathing because she was afraid her children would be taken away into protective custody again. After the 4-year-old's body was found, DCFS took custody of the woman's five other children, the Tribune says.

The mother and her male teenage friend are being held on $2 million and $1 million bonds, respectively, the State's Attorney's office said. They will appear in court again on Aug. 23 at noon. The 17-year-old is in juvenile custody and will appear in court again on Aug. 26.
3 Zika Cases Have Been Confirmed In Pregnant Illinois Women

By Gwendolyn Purdom in News on Aug 5, 2016 3:30PM



(Photo by Mario Tama/Getty Images)

The Illinois Department of Public Health announced Thursday that three pregnant women in the state have been confirmed as infected with the Zika virus out of 46 cases of the virus reported statewide.

Five other pregnant women showed signs of flavivirus, the genus of viruses that includes Zika and Dengue Fever, at the time of testing, IDPH public information officer Divya Mohan Little told Chicagoist Friday, but the CDC wasn't able to determine which virus the women had. Fears about the mosquito-spread virus that can cause severe birth defects in pregnant women have been especially stoked in recent weeks as the CDC has, for the first time, recommended pregnant women avoid a particular region of the country (a neighborhood in Miami) because of Zika risk, and the world turns its attention to the summer Olympics in Brazil, where the virus has been prevalent.

Mohan Little did not say whether any of the infected or potentially infected pregnant women live in the Chicago area, citing a department policy not to release regional information.

"[We don't release regional information] in order to protect patient confidentiality and because given the way Zika virus is transmitted, there is no additional risk, based on location in Illinois," she said in an email. At least one Chicago woman was confirmed to be suffering from the virus back in March, but she wasn't pregnant at the time and made a full recovery.

All 46 Illinois cases (31 female, 15 male), Mohan Little said, were acquired through travel to Zika virus-affected areas. "We encourage all travelers to Zika-affected areas to take precautions against mosquito bites and pregnant women or women who may become pregnant to avoid such travel," Mohan Little said in a statement.

While the IDPH's website echoes the CDC in advising Illinois women to avoid Miami's Wynwood neighborhood, as well as other Zika-affected regions, here in Illinois the risk of being infected by a local mosquito is nearly non-existent. Back in March, a Field Museum mosquito expert told Chicagoist the two types of mosquitos that carry the virus aren't present in the area and if the virus were to spread locally, it would be due to people bringing it back from other places. While the city has consistently been ranked among the top worst cities for mosquitos (Orkin ranked it at the No. 2 city for mosquitos in 2015, behind only Atlanta), when it comes to mosquito-born illnesses, West Nile is a much bigger local concern.

Anyone who has recently returned from a region where Zika is circulating (or who has a sexual partner who has), and is experiencing fever, rash, joint pain or red eyes is encouraged to contact their local health department for testing.
Two Men Shot On Lakeview's Sheffield Avenue Early Friday Morning

By Stephen Gossett in News on Aug 5, 2016 2:28PM



Crime scene tape (Photo by LukaTDB via Shutterstock)

Two men were shot in Lakeview early on Friday morning, according to police.

A 16-year-old and a 25-year-old, both males, were each shot in the leg. The shooting happened at 3:17 a.m. in the 3200 block of N. Sheffield Ave., police told Chicagoist. Both victims were treated at Advocate Illinois Masonic Medical Center and listed in stable condition.

The incident took place just north of the Belmont CTA station. Police did not have anyone in custody as of Friday morning.

The shootings were two of at least seven that took place between Thursday afternoon and Friday morning, the Tribune reports.
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Legendary American actress and comedienne Lily Tomlin is about to receive another prestigious honor at next year's Screen Actors Guild Awards.

File Photo of Lily Tomlin [Photo / mtime.com]

Tomlin who's already earned multiple Emmys, two Tonys, a Grammy, and an honor by the Kennedy Center has been named the 53rd recipient of the SAG Life Achievement Award for her onscreen achievements across a decades-spanning career.

Tomlin will accept the award in January next year in Los Angeles.

Lily found her breakout role in the early 1970s' variety show Rowan and Martin's Laugh-In, before later taking her comedic talents to the big screen and stage with a number of iconic characters.

Tomlin can be currently seen in the Netflix original series Grace and Frankie, alongside Jane Fonda.

The SAG is seen as the prep for the Academy Awards and its most coveted honor is the outstanding cast performance award.
The eastern city of Nanjing, Jiangsu Province, has put an end to a controversial waste incineration project following public uproar.

The government of Nanjing's Liuhe District announced on Thursday that it will stop the incineration project after widespread public disapproval. A scheduled public consultation on Thursday was subsequently canceled.

The announcement received a lukewarm, or even hostile, reception online with many netizens saying that they are not against the incineration plant, but rather where it is built, and whether it will operate in accordance with rules to avoid pollution.

Zhang Guoru, deputy head of the district's urban management bureau, said that there is currently only one incinerator in the district, which can dispose of about 150 tonnes of household garbage each day.

"As the district is developing fast, the amount of garbage has exceeded 380 tonnes every day, and is predicted to reach 500 tonnes per day in three years," he said.

Incinerators are considered the most feasible and effective means of disposing of garbage, but pollution concerns have led to public protests.

In 2014, a planned waste incinerator in east China's Zhejiang Province led to clashes with police.
A University of Virginia professor accused of possessing child pornography has been a fixture in the schools film studies department for decades.

Walter Francis Korte Jr., 72, has been director of UVas Film Studies program through the university's drama department since 1970 and was instrumental in the creation of the Virginia Film Festival in 1988. He received a Fulbright Scholarship and was published in numerous scholarly journals on film.

Now, he sits in the Albemarle-Charlottesville Regional Jail, awaiting trial on two counts of possessing child pornography.

University police made the arrest Tuesday after conducting searches of Kortes Albemarle County home and his office on Grounds.

UVa officials  including Vice Provost for the Arts Jody Kielbasa  declined to comment Thursday, although Anthony de Bruyn, a spokesman for UVa, said the administration is working to minimize any disruptions that will result from this situation.

Richard Herskowitz, director of the Virginia Film Festival from 1994 to 2008, said he was stunned by the allegations.

Herskowitz called Korte one of the most knowledgeable film professors Ive ever met. Korte was well-known and respected by other faculty, film scholars and the many students he taught, Herskowitz said.

So many times I was struck when Id meet someone in the film business who went to UVa, and they asked Is Walter Korte still there? He started my passion for film, Herskowitz said. I just heard that over and over again.

During Herskowitz's time as director of the festival, Korte served in an advisory role. Herskowitz said he always sought out Kortes input on new ideas. According to de Bruyn, Korte has not been affiliated with the Virginia Film Festival for the past eight years.

Herskowitz, now director of programming at the Ashland Independent Film Festival, said he doesnt know what to make of the charges.

I was shocked, and I thought, This is the most tragic thing Ive heard in a long time, he said.
 Aldersgate United Methodist Church and the Black Box Players present Joseph and the Technicolor Dreamcoat at 7 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. All performances are free. A special dinner theater, served by the cast, will be held at 5:30 p.m. Saturday. Reservations are required. $6 each, $24 families. A Zumbathon, benefiting Ready Kids and Brave Souls on Fire, will be held from 6 to 8 p.m. Aug. 13. 1500 E. Rio Road. blackboxplayers.com; (434) 973-5806.

 Bethany Seventh Day Adventist Church holds a community block party with free haircuts for children, eye screenings, health screenings, bounce houses, firetruck tours, face painting, games, food and more, from 1 to 5 p.m. Aug. 14. An evangelistic series, including refreshments, music, games and a Christ-centered message, will be held from 7 to 8:30 p.m. Aug. 15-27. 401 Harris Road. (301) 538-5990.

 Blue Mountain Brewery (Afton) holds Beer and Hymns from 6 to 9 p.m. Sunday. 9519 Critzers Shop Road. (540) 263-4000.

 The Flock Church (Madison) hosts a performance by The Birdsongs at 7 p.m. Aug. 17. 625 Orange Road. (540) 948-3553.

 Immanuel Lutheran Church holds Vacation Bible School for children in pre-K through rising sixth-graders from 9 to 11:30 a.m. Monday through Friday. 2416 Jefferson Park Ave. immanuelcharlottesville.com. (434) 295-4038.

 Mt. Alto Baptist Church (Howardsville) celebrates Homecoming with Pastor Joseph Jones preaching at 11 a.m. and Pastor Rickey White preaching at 3 p.m. Aug. 14. Revival services with Pastor Rickey White will be held at 7:30 p.m. Aug. 15-19. 4330 Mt. Alto Road. (434) 286-3956.

 Mt. Shiloh Baptist Church (Faber) holds a Back to School Picnic with face painting and outside water games, from 12:30 to 5 p.m. Aug. 14. Donations of canned goods will be accepted for the Nelson County Food Pantry. 614 Shiloh Loop. (434) 987-9600.

 Operation Esther Circle holds weekly meetings to pray and plan for new students coming to the University of Virginia and other colleges, 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. each Thursday in August. 3045 Ivy Road. (434) 227-0811.

 Scottsville United Methodist Church hosts Family Game Night with hot dogs, drinks and dessert, 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. Friday. 158 Main St. (434) 286-4736.

This calendar, published every Saturday, lists special events of a religious nature. Because of space constraints, notices about regular worship services cannot be included. Items intended for publication should be faxed to (434) 978-7252; mailed to Worship Calendar, The Daily Progress, P.O. Box 9030, Charlottesville, VA 22906; or emailed to ewood@dailyprogress.com. Material must be received by 4 p.m. the Wednesday prior to publication.
VIRGINIA BEACH  Amid a turbulent week for Donald Trumps campaign, vice presidential nominee Mike Pence brought a more focused Republican message to Virginias Tidewater region Thursday, where he highlighted military and veterans issues and framed the election as change versus the status quo.

The choice could not be more clear, Pence, the governor of Indiana, told a crowd of hundreds in a Virginia Beach ballroom on the campus of Regent University. We can elect someone who literally personifies the failed establishment in Washington. Or we can choose a leader who will fight every day to make America great again.

In his first solo trip to Virginia, Pence made two stops in the military-heavy Hampton Roads area that will be crucial to Trumps chances in what his campaign sees as a key swing state. Pence held an afternoon town hall in Virginia Beach, followed by an evening rally at a hotel in downtown Norfolk.

In the two speeches, each of which lasted a little less than half an hour, Pence said a Trump administration will rebuild the military and fix the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs to ensure veterans receive quality health care. A Trump administration, he said, will crush ISIS, repeal Obamacare, secure the border and boost the economy by cutting taxes and reducing regulation.

Pence went on offense against Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton and President Barack Obama, pointing to recent reports about a $400 million cash payment to Iran that coincided with Irans release of four American captives.

Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama have essentially put a price tag on the head of every American traveling abroad, Pence said. In a Trump-Pence administration, we will not negotiate with or compensate those who threaten our people. In a Trump administration, we wont pay ransom to terrorists or those who support them. They will pay the price.

Pence highlighted the 2012 attack on the American diplomatic compound in Benghazi, Libya, saying Clinton left American personnel there and downplayed the events in testimony to Congress.

As a proud father of a United States Marine, let me say from my heart, Pence said. Anyone who said that, anyone who did that should be disqualified from ever serving as commander in chief of the armed forces of the United States of America.

Pence briefly referred to his vice presidential rival, U.S. Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va.

Virginia will loom large in this decision. I understand Hillary chose my competitor from around these parts, Pence said. So be ready, Virginia. Get ready to tell the story. In Norfolk, Pence compared his economic record in Indiana with Kaines record as governor of Virginia and said hes looking forward to the Oct. 4 vice presidential debate at Longwood University.

Virginia Democrats criticized Pence as a cultural crusader in a fundraising appeal pegged to his visit, highlighting Indianas controversial religious freedom bill that Pence signed into law despite protests from critics who saw it as sanctioning discrimination against LGBT people. At Thursdays town hall, the first questioner to address Pence asked how he intended to balance his commitment to his Christian faith with the need to protect the rights of LGBT Americans.

I truly do believe that these are issues that are best worked out at the state level and not by dictates from Washington, D.C., Pence replied.

Derek Balderson, the 27-year-old Chesapeake resident who asked Pence the question, said after the event: The fact that he just wants it relegated back down to state level just demonstrates that he wants states to be able to continue to pass discriminatory laws like he signed into law as governor.

Balderson, who works on a cruise ship, said he supported Bernie Sanders in the Democratic primary and intends to vote for Clinton, though not enthusiastically.

Trump performed well in military-heavy Hampton Roads during Virginias March 1 primary. Corey Stewart, Trumps Virginia campaign chairman and a candidate for governor in 2017, said Thursday that the military vote is an ace up the sleeve for Trump.

Military service has also been at the heart of some of Trumps most potentially damaging campaign stumbles. Trump has battled criticism most of the week over his comments about Khizr and Ghazala Khan, the parents of a Muslim Army captain who died fighting in Iraq. The Khan episode also reopened an earlier dispute between Trump and U.S. Sen. John McCain, whom Trump mocked last year for his capture during the Vietnam War.

First lady Dorothy McAuliffe, the wife of Democratic Gov. Terry McAuliffe, on Thursday became the latest prominent Democrat to chastise Trump over his approach to the Khans. Noting that she is the mother of a Marine, McAuliffe said she was deeply disturbed by Trumps behavior and called on him to apologize to the Khans.

Jim Keiper, a 63-year-old Navy veteran from Chesapeake who said he appreciated the Trump-Pence tickets willingness to recognize who your enemy really is, said he supports Trump despite the war of words with McCain and the Khans.

If youre going to attack him, expect something back, Keiper said. He didnt start any of these arguments.

In an interview, Stewart called the controversies passing. When voters go to the polls, he said, theyll be thinking about an economy and military in decline.

Theyre going to vote to change that, Stewart said. Theyre not going to worry about whether Trump said something politically incorrect or was feuding with somebody inside the party come Nov. 8.

Stewart addressed the Norfolk crowd before Pence took the stage, as did E.W. Jackson, Virginia Republicans 2013 nominee for lieutenant governor.

We dont owe anybody an apology, Jackson said in a fiery speech in which he called for an end to the suicide pact of political correctness and said police are being scapegoated when focus should be on young black and Hispanic men shooting each other.
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A three-day international seminar on Tibetan studies concluded on Thursday in Beijing.

A total of 325 scholars and observers, including over 100 academics from 19 countries and regions attended.

The attendees suggested Tibet take advantage of the Belt and Road Initiative and favorable policies to improve its frontier infrastructure and formulate policies to boost border trade.

The seminar, the sixth of its kind since 1991, covered various topics such as economics, history, religion, culture and the environment.
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Gou Hongguo, an associate of an underground church leader, was convicted of subverting state power and sentenced to three years in prison with a three-year reprieve on Friday.

A screenshot shows Gou Hongguo, an associate of an underground church leader, is convicted of subverting state power on Aug. 5, 2016.

He has also been deprived of his political rights for three years, according to the No. 2 Intermediate People's Court in Tianjin, a northern port city close to Beijing.

Gou pled guilty and said at the court he would not appeal.
During the last year some international financial media, with Bloomberg playing a particularly active role, attempted to present a picture of the world economy that the U.S. is growing strongly while the rest of the world, including China, is relatively weak. Publication of new U.S. GDP data confirms the truth is the exact opposite: The U.S. economy has slowed drastically with China growing far more rapidly than the U.S. Indeed, the U.S. in the last year has grown more slowly even than the EU.

Total GDP growth

The wise Chinese dictum says "seek truth from facts." To establish the facts regarding the global economy, Figure 1 therefore shows the last year's growth, up to the latest available data, in the three largest centers of the world economy - the U.S., China and the EU. The pattern is unequivocal. In the year to the 2nd quarter of 2016 China's economy grew by 6.7 percent, the EU by 1.8 percent and the U.S. by 1.2 percent. The U.S. is therefore the most slowly growing major part of the world economy. Making a bilateral comparison, China's economy grew more than five times as fast as the U.S.' during the last year.

These three major economic centers together account for 61 percent of the world's GDP at market exchange rates. No other economies have remotely the same impact on the global economy. Therefore, there is no doubt that in the last year it is the U.S. which has been the biggest drag on the world economy.

Figure 1

Per capita GDP growth

The situation in terms of per capita GDP growth shows an even more dramatic advantage for China. Population growth in China and the U.S. is rather stable - at 0.5 percent a year in China and 0.8 percent in the U.S. China's and America's per capita GDP growth in the year to the 2nd quarter of 2016 is therefore easily calculated - 6.2 percent in China and 0.4 percent in the U.S.

An element of uncertainty, however, exists regarding the EU's population due to the refugee influx. Two estimates for the EU population are therefore used for calculation. One ("EU low population") assumes there has been an influx of 1 million refugees over and above the EU's 2015 0.3 percent population growth. The second ("EU high population") assumes a refugee influx of 2 million.

These assumptions regarding the EU population naturally affect its own per capita GDP growth rate - producing rates of increase of per capita GDP of 1.3 percent or 1.1 percent depending on which population assumption is made. But either assumption confirms the EU's superior per capita growth rate compared with the U.S. - in either case the EU's per capita GDP growth rate is much higher than the 0.4 percent in the U.S.

It is also clear that U.S. per capita GDP growth, at only 0.4 percent, was extremely stagnant. During the last year, EU per capita growth was approximately three times as fast as the U.S. But China's per capita GDP growth entirely outperformed both. China's per capita GDP growth was more than 14 times as fast as the U.S.!

Figure 2

U.S. economic deceleration

It may be argued against these factual trends that future revisions to the U.S. may raise its estimated growth rate. This is a factual question which requires watching future data releases - it is also possible future data will revise U.S. growth downwards. U.S. GDP growth is sufficiently close to the EU's, with a 0.6 percent gap, that is not impossible that U.S. GDP growth will be seen to be faster than the EU - although of course U.S. GDP growth will remain far slower than China. However, it may easily be demonstrated that huge revisions of the U.S. data would be required to alter the pattern that it is the U.S. economic slowing which has been the main cause of the downward trend in world economic growth.

To demonstrate this, Figure 3 shows year on year growth in China, the EU and U.S. for successive quarters since the beginning of 2015. The changes over that period are clear. The EU has maintained relatively consistent GDP growth of 1.8 percent. China's GDP has slowed slightly from 7.0 percent to 6.7 percent. U.S. GDP growth however fell sharply from 3.3 percent to 1.2 percent.

Compared to the beginning of 2015, EU GDP growth has not fallen at all, China's declined by a mild 0.3 percent but the U.S. decelerated by 2.1 percent. By far the most severe slowdown in the world economy has therefore been in the U.S. Only huge, and therefore highly implausible, revisions in U.S. data would be required to alter this pattern.

Figure 3

Conclusion

What therefore is the conclusion of the examination of the actual factual trends in the world economy?

 China continues to be by far the most rapidly growing of the major international economic centers. China's total GDP in the last year grew over five times as fast as the U.S., and China's per capita GDP growth was over 14 times as fast as the U.S.

 The chief cause of the slowing of the world economy in the last year is the slowdown in the U.S.

 The EU and above all China have outgrown the U.S. in terms of total GDP increase.

 U.S. per capita GDP growth, 0.4 percent on the latest data, is extremely slow.

 During the last year China and the EU have undergone either no or only mild economic slowdown while the U.S. has suffered a severe economic deceleration.

The factual situation of the world economy is therefore that not only has China been growing far more rapidly than the U.S. but even the EU has been growing more rapidly than the U.S.

Gross inaccuracy in international financial media regarding China is not unusual - they have, of course, been regularly predicting the "collapse of China" and a "China hard landing" for several decades. But the picture presented that the pattern of growth of the global economy has been strong growth in the U.S. and weak growth in China is therefore entirely false - it was the U.S. which showed to the weakest growth. Titles from Bloomberg this year such as "Fed Leaves China Only Tough Choices," "Why China's Economy Will Be So Hard to Fix," and "Soros Says China's Hard Landing Will Deepen the Rout in Stocks," coupled with claims of the strong performance of the U.S. economy, are shown by the data to be simply inaccurate.

But international and Chinese companies, as well as the Chinese authorities, require strictly objective information - not claims which are the opposite of the facts. Perhaps the wise Chinese dictum should be modified to read "seek truth from facts - not from Bloomberg."

The writer is a columnist with China.org.cn. For more information please visit:

http://www.china.org.cn/opinion/johnross.htm

Opinion articles reflect the views of their authors, not necessarily those of China.org.cn.
 Flash

Iran may launch an advanced uranium enrichment program in case the United States fails to fulfill its commitments under a nuclear deal reached last year between Iran and the world powers, Press TV reported on Tuesday.

The United States reneging on its promises under the nuclear agreement runs counter to the nuclear deal, the spokesman for the Iranian Parliament's presiding board Behrouz Nemati told Iranian state TV.

"The deal is a comprehensive collection and if the United States does not fully implement it, we will respond," he said without detailing the U.S. "failures" to meet its obligations.

Nearly six months after the implementation of the nuclear deal, big banks refrain from implementing the agreement and only small ones are conducting limited transactions with Iran, he added.

The lawmaker's words echoed Monday's remarks of Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei who said that the experience of Iranians about the failure of the United States in fulfilling its obligations pertaining to a nuclear deal showed that it can never be trusted.

"The United States has violated its obligations over the nuclear deal and is busy destroying Iran's economic ties with other countries," Khamenei said.

"The oppressive sanctions were supposed to be lifted quickly so that it could positively impact people's lives," he said. "However, after six months, no tangible changes have occurred."

The nuclear deal, reached between Iran and world powers in July last year, was implemented in January. The deal saw Iran scrapping major part of its nuclear program in return for the removal of Western and international sanctions.

The United Sates still maintains sanctions on Iran over alleged violations of human rights and support of terrorism, which Iran denies.

Also, Washington has recently blacklisted some Iranian and foreign entities for alleged involvement in Iran's missile program.

The restrictions bar U.S. companies as well as international companies from undertaking business transactions with Iran's government.
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China and Laos on Thursday vowed to promote all-round mutually beneficial cooperation as this year marks the 55th anniversary of the establishment of bilateral diplomatic ties.

The pledge came as Lao Prime Minister Thongloun Sisoulith met with visiting Chinese Minister of Commerce Gao Hucheng here on Thursday.

They spoke highly of the bilateral friendship and cooperation, stressing that they will earnestly implement the consensus reached by the leaders of the two countries.

They said they will make full use of the communication and coordination mechanism on economy and trade between their countries so as to further boost cooperation.

At the meeting, Gao briefed the Lao prime minister on the progress of the implementation of the consensus, and suggested the two countries accelerate the alignment of development strategies, expand cooperation in trade and investment as well as in economy in border areas and the whole region.

Thongloun, for his part, recalled his meeting with Chinese Premier Li Keqiang in Mongolia last month and sharing his opinions on economic and trade cooperation between the two countries.

Thongloun said he will direct the work of the Lao-China Joint Cooperation Commission himself so as to lift bilateral economic and trade cooperation to a new high.

The Chinese minister of commerce is here to attend the 48th ASEAN Economic Ministers' Meeting and related meetings,

Gao also met with Lao Minister of Industry and Commerce Khemmany Pholsenaon Thursday. The two sides hailed the progress in bilateral economic and trade cooperation and signed three cooperation documents on economy and technology.

Khemmany expressed gratitude to China for the support and assistance to Laos, saying Laos is willing to continue working closely with China to enhance cooperation.

As the rotating chair of ASEAN this year, Laos will also actively promote trade and economic cooperation between China and ASEAN within regional and sub-regional frameworks, she added.

At a separate meeting, Gao exchanged views with Lao Minister of Planning and Investment Souphanh Keomisay on bilateral economic and technological cooperation and the construction of cross-border economic cooperation zones.
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People from Seongju county hold banners to protest against the deployment of the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD), during a rally in Seoul, capital of South Korea, on July 21, 2016. [Photo/Xinhua]

The controversial deployment of the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system on the Korean Peninsula yet again betrayed Washington's deep-rooted Cold War mentality and its petty anxiety over the United States' declining global hegemony.

The Republic of Korea (ROK) last month announced plans for a US-made THAAD battery to be deployed in Seongju County, 300 km southeast of Seoul, by the end of next year.

Washington claims that THAAD can help defend the ROK against potential security threats from its neighbor, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK).

But as the missile shield is designed to intercept incoming inter-continental ballistic missiles at relatively high altitudes, the DPRK needs only short-range rockets and conventional arms to launch attacks on its southern neighbor.

This alone renders THAAD a completely ineffective deterrent, and suggest that there is a hidden agenda behind THAAD, an installation that barely covers Seoul but extends its reach to China and Russia's Far East.

With its X band radar commanding surveillance of an area that extends over 1,200 miles from the peninsula, THAAD can be used to collect radar data of warheads and decoys of Chinese and Russian strategic missiles by monitoring their tests, thus enabling the United States to neutralize their nuclear deterrence and put the national security of China and Russia at risk.

After years of trumpeting the fictional "China threat," Washington is now bringing real, strategic threats to China's doorstep.

Deploying THAAD in the ROK to counter the so-called "missile threat" from a "rogue state" is yet another Hollywood-style drama directed by and starring Uncle Sam as part of the United States' Pivot-to-Asia strategy.

What lies behind the scheme is Washington's insatiable appetite for global hegemony and its vain anxiety toward an imaginary enemy from a rising China.

Such anxiety is both economically and militarily motivated from the US side.

Last week's lower-than-expected US GDP data in the second quarter of 2016 continued to point to a significant loss of momentum that puts the economy at risk of stalling in a country that has seen growing anti-free trade sentiments.

More pertinently, it is the United States' declining military supremacy that constitutes the main driver behind its THAAD muscle flexing.

Deploying THAAD in the ROK is a crucial step to healing the Achilles heel of Washington's anti-missile missile system in the Asia Pacific, which has long been nagged by its inadequate recognition ability.

With the help of THAAD's X band radar, the United States can effectively and immediately raise recognition accuracy.

But this strategic upper hand comes at the cost of the security interests of other nations in northeast Asia.

Already, the DPRK has threatened to take "physical countermeasures" to deal with THAAD, which Pyongyang says would only exacerbate tension in the region, encourage a new arms race and even provoke another Cold War.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lu Kang also warned last month that China will take necessary measures to safeguard its own interests if the United States and ROK don't stop the deployment.

The United States is highly advised to stop building its own security at the cost of the security of other countries. The nearsighted actions will only destabilize the strategic balance and stability in northeast Asia, giving Washington more things to worry about.
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Chinese government called for a coordinators meeting on the implementation of the follow up actions at the Johannesburg summit for Chinese-African cooperation. The event took place at the Diaoyutai State Guest House in Beijing on July 28.

The event attracted more than 400 participants from Africa and China including 100 ministers and deputies from Africa and over 200 representatives from financial institutions, business associations and enterprises from 53 countries.

South Sudan delegations for the occasion included Minister of Foreign Affairs Deng Alor kuol , Minister of Finance and Economy Planning Philip Ajack Boldit and South Sudanese Ambassador to China Monday Semaya.

In an interview following his speech at the conference, Minister Deng said that bilateral relations between South Sudan and China are of great importance to South Sudan.

He said there are very many things needed for development, mentioning that South Sudan lacks many basic necessities for infrastructure.

He disclosed that the representatives from South Sudan presented their list of highest priority projects, which had been submitted to the Chinese Ministry of Commerce and the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

As President Xi Jinping proposed, ten cooperation plans will be implemented within the next three years with a focus in helping Africa to achieve industrialization and agricultural modernization by pledging US$60 billion financial support to Africa.

According to Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, the purpose of the coordinators meeting is to see how China can exchange ideas with African friends in order to create beneficial projects that can create employment.

Deng said that if the Chinese side gave them the right idea for their projects, it will greatly help South Sudan.

He pointed out that, based on the current situation in South Sudan, the country requires great support from the international community, because most of the countrys citizens are unable to grow food due to the countrys instability.

He added that the macro financial project list of US$50 million has been submitted to the Chinese Ministry of Finance to help women and young people.

Giving views in the area of security, peace and instability, Deng said its very important for every county to have peace, because no investor will go to a country without security, peace and stability.

According to him, many questions were raised regarding security in South Sudan. He said they have assured all the investors and fellow African leaders that although there have been security problems in the past, the current government is committed to peace and stability.
Bollywood actor and Tissot brand ambassador Deepika Padukone after the inauguration at the Tissot event in Hyderabad (Photo: DC)

Hyderabad: Swiss watch brand Tissots brand ambassador Deepika Padukone has launched one of the classic timepieces  Tissot Bella Ora  at the Tissot Boutiqueat Forum at Sujana Mall.

Priced between Rs 21,100 and Rs 23,300, Tissot Bella Ora takes its inspiration from Italy. In Italian, Bella Ora means beautiful watch. Speaking about the watch, Deepika said: To me, the name Bella Ora itself sounds very elegant and classy.

The watch that I launched is very minimal and simple. A watch is a very functional object. It is not only very practical, but when you find the right kind of watch, it can also make for a great accessory.
Hrithik Roshan has finally received some good news. The Mumbai High Courts verdict berating Akshaditya Lama for falsely accusing filmmaker Ashutosh Gowariker of plagiarising the script for Mohenjo Daro, has filled Hrithik with hope for justice, not only for Mohenjo Daro.

On a personal level too, Hrithik is now hopeful of finding closure to his unsavoury conflict with actress Kangana Ranaut. where she stated that the two were in a relationship, an accusation that Hrithik denies. A friend of Hrithik says, His friends and family know what the truth is. After Ashutoshs name was cleared by the court, Hrithik is more certain than ever that the legal system will provide him justice in the Kangana case too. When Hrithik was asked about Mohenjo Daro being cleared of plagiarism charges he said, Its always heartening and reassuring when you see truth succeed.
Mumbai: Orlando Bloom took the internet by storm by deciding to be indifferently in the buff at an Italian beach while paddle boarding with current flame Katy Perry.

The actor sent twitter-verse into a tizzy when images of him with his apparently not so precious manhood blurred out, were splashed across popular tabloids.

Calls for uncensored images were overflowing across networking forums until they final got leaked.

Orlando Bloom goes nekkid w/Katy Perry in Italy. News blocks out his peen.. but forgets its shadow LOL pic.twitter.com/JSjIP1NGQU  Roy (@splashroy) August 3, 2016

Okay but where is the uncensored picts of naked orlando bloom tho pic.twitter.com/LeLKi4QTEy  A (@HOLYZAYNMALlK) August 4, 2016

Twitter users including celebrities have been going all guns blazing when it came to ridiculing the actor.

Orlando Bloom gets to canoe naked with @katyperry & people are mocking him? I'm in awe of the man.  Piers Morgan (@piersmorgan) August 4, 2016

Orlando Bloom's penis is having a better vacation than me.  Zach Braff (@zachbraff) August 4, 2016

My favorite actor is Orlando Bloom.  billy eichner (@billyeichner) August 4, 2016

The GIF-army had a field day, as well.

Twitter: You missed the #OrlandoBloom nude pic party



Me: I don't care fam



Also me: pic.twitter.com/zIKxaH0Mgh  Mike T (@majtague) August 4, 2016

When you realise why #orlandobloom is trending pic.twitter.com/y7ggqQcUDn  Clair Buckley (@Clair_Buckley) August 4, 2016

So I thought I would have a look at why #orlandobloom was a 'thing' this morning. pic.twitter.com/gBPDo2Y17U  Becky (@shadylady222) August 4, 2016

The actor is yet to comment on the hullabaloo. Not like there is anything left to be salvaged.
Rating:

Cast: Will Smith, Margot Robbie, Viola Davis, Jai Courtney, Jared Leto, Jay Hernandez, Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje, Ike Barinholtz, Cara Delevingne

Director: David Ayer

In the world of Superman and Batman, various supervillains are locked up in Belle Reve penitentiary in New Orleans. US government official Amanda Waller (Viola Davis) wants to use these supervillains as a potential fail-safe against out of control threats, nicknamed the Suicide Squad, comprising of master-assassin Deadshot (Will Smith), the mutant Killer Croc (Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje), Harley Quinn (Margot Robbie) the Jokers girlfriend, Captain Boomerang (Jai Courtney) and the fire demon El Diablo (Jay Hernandez). An ancient Mayan sorceress called the Enchantress (Cara Delevingne) possesses a human host and sets out to unleash an age of darkness, and its up to these villains to become good guys.

Suicide Squad, much like Guardians of the Galaxy and Ant-Man embraces its C-list status. Its characters are losers, yet by exploring their motivations, it makes the argument that these psychos and freaks, in the right time and place, can become every bit as selfless and courageous as heroes, and perhaps more selfless since their actions will be unknown and unrewarded by the world. The visual style has a cohesiveness that is rare in the genre. Rather than multiple locations, we have a single city. Rather than a multi-stage confrontation between a hero and villain, we have action set in a small pocket of time (a single night), and most of the action is character-driven. If the film has flaws they are that it occasionally gets too caught up in itself, tackles too many subplots and it overuses pop-songs by inserting it awkwardly and using numbers that are perhaps too famous and overexposed.

The strength of Suicide Squad is its actors, namely the three leads  Deadshot, Harley Quinn and Waller. Deadshot is far darker than normal for Will Smiths characters, he still brings his charisma, wit and charm to the character, but the character is a sociopath who kills without remorse and is entirely amoral and remorseless. Robbie has become well known from The Wolf of Wall Street and last years Focus (also starring Will Smith), and shes incredibly funny and weird as Harley, a character who is simultaneously mentally ill, dangerous and as endearing as any bubbly girl with her head in the clouds for her boyfriend. Viola Davis Waller is a more realistic and scarier take on Samuel Jacksons Nick Fury character, ruthless and unsentimental, yet at the same time compelling, shrewd and convincing in her motivations. The rest of the cast is underused, especially Killer Croc, while Jay Herandezs El Diablo compensates for the lack of screen time by getting the films emotional highpoint.

One unexpected disappointment is Jared Leto, who cameos as the Joker in the films subplot. He does well in the part, but he simply doesnt hold a candle to Jack Nicholson and Heath Ledger. It seems that the best material for him is saved for a future movie, which is a shame. Suicide Squad is an ensemble action movie in the vein of The Dirty Dozen and Inglourious Basterds: unpretentious, irreverent, perverse and unexpectedly moving. It has little of the sentimentalism and pretentiousness of recent superhero movies like Batman v Superman and Captain America: Civil War, and like Guardians of the Galaxy it points the way forward for a less conventional outing in the genre.

The writer is programmer, Lightcube Film Society
Bengaluru: Inventure Academy, an international school located in South East Bengaluru had an unusual visitor early Thursday morning. A Slender Loris fell off a tree on the campus and landed in the safe hands of the schools watchman, who immediately brought it its administrative office.

Wildlife volunteers, were informed and they soon arrived to examine the animal that appeared to be about a year old. Satisfied all was well with it, they placed it safely back on the same tree it had fallen from.

The watchmans alertness in rescuing the Slender Loris, which is now on the verge of extinction, possibly saved it from being preyed on by birds or other small mammals in the sprawling 37-acre heavily wooded campus of the institute in Chikkavaderapura on the Whitefield-Sarjapur Road.

We at the school are very conscious about wildlife conservation. Three years ago, even elephants strayed into our grounds which are heavily wooded . But all our students are aware of the value of wildlife and conservation, said Mr Ramesh Hariharan, director of education services and dean of students at the Inventure Academy.

Once found in large numbers in South India, now only a few Slender Loris are spotted in Bengaluru , due to its rapid urbanisation. They are also hunted for use in black magic.
The rhythmic clatter of handlooms is making some enchanting noises on social media platforms visavis the newly minted textile minister Smriti Irani and her social media campaign #IWearHandloom ahead of the first anniversary of National Handloom Day on August 7. The movement according to the ministers office, made over 51 lakh impressions with over 58,000 interactions on Facebook in less than 24 hours. On Twitter, the campaign has reached more than 1.55 crore with 2.17 crore impressions of the hashtag  #IWearHandloom.

Sharing his personal experience of interacting with weavers, one of the top fashion bloggers in the country, Purushu Arie puts forth, I got an opportunity to document the Jamdani and Kim-Khab brocades of Benaras few years ago. Interacting with the weavers in person and experiencing the craft from ground zero opened me up to the world of handlooms. Several indigenous textile crafts of India are facing the threat of extinction if untouched. The major threat that the craft faces today is the high job dropout rate among weavers due to inadequate wages. Theres no bigger loss to the industry than the loss of these highly skilled weavers who form the very backbone of the textile industry that makes up around 12% of Indias export revenue. This is probably the first time that Indians from all walks of life lent their voice in support of craft and poor weavers. Fast fashion culture emphasises quantity more than quality. We dont need to stock our wardrobe with so many run-of-the-mill products. Investing in handlooms not only underlines your support for heritage craft techniques but also adds artisanal taste to your personality. The trending hashtag #IWearHandlooms is a small but significant step forward.

Senior designer Madhu Jain, on the other hand, is all praises for the minister  I think our textiles minister Smriti Iranis social media campaign is nothing short of brilliant! Through her campaign, the subtext is clear: Be proud of Indias heritage. Be unafraid to wear your pride in our rich legacy on your sleeve. By encouraging citizens to participate in this campaign, she has catapulted the handlooms industry onto Indias centre stage. On a more personal level, I was overwhelmed to see that the picture Irani posted to kick start the campaign also included Maneka Gandhi who is sporting an Uzbekistan-inspired Ikat handloom outfit. I worked on that line with my master weavers from Andhra Pradesh for a couple of years, innovating and blending two different weaving traditions into a composite whole. My labour of love seems to be paying off.

Designer Anita Dongre asserts that handloom is the need of the hour  It feels great to see that something I have always believed in has now become a national movement. Handloom is the need of the hour to save a dying art and to create employment in rural India. This movement will give a better future to the textile industry. Besides designers, a lot of youngsters like Shruti Kothari Tomar, a freelance writer by profession, have taken an instant liking to the movement. For someone who has sported fast fashion all her life (including Bangkok steals priced at pittance) and felt great about it too, its a pity I didnt discover Indian handlooms sooner, rues Shruti, adding, What helps the H&M generation is the fact that weve brought handloom with fabulous innovations and techniques into the western silhouette. Pants, jackets, skirts, brogues in Ikat, Benarasi brocade, bagh, block prints, kotpad, patola, kalamkari, the list goes on. Whats not to love! Dongre completely agrees and concludes, I truly admire how designers have made handloom chic. In fact this bold experimentation with textiles is a reflection of the essence of our culture where we straddle both the traditional and the modern worlds. The evolution of handlooms has not only helped magnify the reach of the design repertoire of our country but has brought about so many innovations that are not only refreshing but also awe-inspiring! Its incredible how these handlooms and handwoven textiles have transcended time and technological changes and continue to be as relevant today. Handloom comes in great silhouettes and contemporary styles now. Its the textile of today and the youth is surely embracing it.
The police constable was responding to a wireless message, sent around 3 am, that smugglers were transporting cattle in two vehicles. (Photo: Representational Image)

Jaunpur: A policeman was on Friday run over by suspected cattle smugglers while attempting to intercept their vehicle at a checkpoint in Kotwali area.

Triloki Tiwari, posted as head constable, sustained serious injuries after he was crushed by the van carrying cattle at Badlapur check point early in the morning, police said. Tiwari was rushed to the district hospital and then referred to Varanasi, where doctors declared him brought dead.

Superintendent of police Atul Saxena said Tiwari, who hailed from Kaimur district in Bihar, was posted at Saraipokhta outpost for several years. He was responding to a wireless message, sent around 3 am, that smugglers were transporting cattle in two vehicles. The SP said the smugglers escaped from the spot after the incident.
Masked Kashmiri throw stones at policemen during a protest after funeral of Riyaz Ahmad Shah, a civilian killed during protests in Srinagar. (Photo: AP)

Raipur: Chhattisgarh police have arrested a youth from Jammu and Kashmir on sedition charge for posting anti-India content on his Facebook account.

Tauseef Ahmad Bhat, who works with a mobile company in Chhattisgarh's Durg district, was arrested by the police last night, Durg range Inspector General of Police Dipanshu Kabra said.

A group of local youths had lodged a complaint on August 2 that Bhat had shared anti-India content on the social media, the IG said.

Police said Bhat has been booked for commenting on, forwarding and liking several anti-India posts on a social networking site.

After a preliminary investigation, a team of Durg police nabbed him from Jammu-Tawi Express at Sagar railway station in Madhya Pradesh when he was on his way to Kashmir.

A native of Sopore, Bhat graduated from a private engineering college in Bhilai in Durg district. He has been booked under section 124 (a) of IPC (sedition), the IG said.
Visakhapatnam: The wife of an Indian Navy engineer who lost her baby boy at the navy's hospital in Vizag due to alleged medical negligence at the time of delivery, wants authorities to take action against the careless doctors.

Madhu Pal, a media professional (BBC- Hindi) working in Mumbai, had shifted in April to Vizag for her delivery following her husband's transfer from Mumbai to Vizag's Naval Dockyard. She delivered a baby boy on July 29 with reported breathing problems. The baby was kept in the Neo-Natal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) and battled for life for four days and died.

"There were no complications in the case till the time of delivery. Due to non-availability of the doctor in the labor room, nurses were not able to take the decision for vacuum or cesarean. So they approached the doctor thrice who was in another room but had not turned up. Those three minutes of carelessness by staff and doctors to decide what to do, have taken away my son,'' Madhu told this correspondent.

She also wrote a letter to the Commanding Officer of Indian Navy Hospital Kalyani explaining the ordeal and the pain. "At 0730 hrs on July 29, I had been to hospital Kalyani with my husband. They admitted me and took me to labour room of the hospital. An MNS (medical staff) checked my blood pressure and scanned my baby's movement. My baby was perfectly fine and in the right position, she mentioned. As family members are not allowed to go inside the labour room, I was there with three MNS and other patients. I had severe bleeding now with back pain but not labour pain. I said the same thing to the MNS that I am not feeling any labour pain. But they asked me to 'push as hard you can'. I did what they said but after a few hours I requested them to use vacuum now as I was unable to push more, she said.
Lucknow: A 15-year-old girl, student of class 8, has been hospitalised in a critical condition after someone mixed phenyl in her water bottle.

The girl, a student of a prominent private school in Lucknow, was being stalked by some boys from her school and she had informed her parents about this.

In fact, the parents were in the visitors room, waiting to meet the school officials regarding the complaint, when the girl fell ill after drinking water from the bottle.

The girls uncle told reporters that the stalkers would often leave love letters in her school bag which proved that they belonged to the same school.

One of the notes said, Sorry for harming you but I have love. You have cheated me and you have to pay.

About a fortnight ago, the girl was waiting for the bus after school when she felt a sudden pain in her arm. She saw blood and realized that she had been attacked with a razor.

The girls family alleged that the school authorities were now pressuring them to hush up the matter.

However, an FIR has been lodged against unknown persons and the school management under the Posco Act.

Officer in charge of the Vikas Nagar police station, Arun Singh, said that the FIR had been registered against unknown person and school management under IPC sections 354(a), 324, 328 and 506 besides slapping Pocso (Protection of Children from Sexual Offences) Act.

He said that the police was scanning the video footage to identify the miscreants.
Hyderabad: Balanagar police nabbed a bike thief and seized two bikes worth around Rs 90,000 from him. Police said that Azhar was involved in two cases. Azhar Hussain, 38, was working as a driver. As his earnings were not enough, he started stealing vehicles. A week ago, he stole two bikes from Balanagar. On Thursday, during a check, police caught Azhar with a bike. He confessed he had stolen the vehicle. Police arrested him. He was sent to judicial custody.
Hyderabad: Two young girls committed suicide by jumping into the RK Puram lake in Neredmet on Friday. The girls were identified as Mounika and Sowmya Rajeswari. Police recovered two suicide notes from the spot, believed to have been written by Mounika and Rajeswari. Mounikas suicide note dated August 3 said that she was unable to tolerate the harassment of one Kamesh. She said that she was in love with one Nagarjuna, and after Kamesh entered her life, Nagarjuna dumped her and is getting married to another girl.

The main reason for my death is Kamesh. He blackmailed me like hell and I cant live without my lover, the note said. She said that her last wish is to get Kamesh punished for blackmailing her. My lover Nagarjuna is innocent. Please do not involve him in this issue, the note said. Rajeswaris note said that she had lost her parents in childhood and her relatives had put her in a hostel which she did not like. My aunt took me to her home at Akiveedu. She and her sister harassed me and created a negative impression about me in my brother, she said.

After completing SSC she joined Sri Chaitanya College in Hyderabad. My last wish is my brother should study well, the note said. Police recovered the bodies and sent them for autopsy. We have not found where they came from and the relationship between the girls. We sent information to all police stations, Neredmet inspector M. Jagadish Chander said.
During his visit, Modi is scheduled to launch 'Mission Bhagiratha' at Komatibanda in Gajwel mandal. (Photo: Representational Image)

Hyderabad: Over 5,000 police personnel will be deployed as part of the security arrangement for Prime Minister Narendra Modi's maiden visit to Telangana on August 7.

Around 1.5 lakh turnout is expected at the joint public meeting to be addressed by Modi and Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao at Gajwel in Medak district.

"Our priority is to maintain peace and security during the Prime Minster's visit. As many as 5,000 police personnel will be deployed during his visit. We have identified four specific locations where security will be at its peak.

Security on the way from Hyderabad to Gajwel will be tightened," Deputy Inspector General of Police (Hyderabad range), Akun Sabhrwal told PTI today.

The officer said a total of 50 fixed metal detectors will be installed at all important entry points of the public meeting.

"The ground where the public meeting will be held has a capacity of 2.5 lakh. We expect the crowd to be around 1.5 lakh for the meeting," he said.

During his visit, Modi is scheduled to launch 'Mission Bhagiratha' at Komatibanda in Gajwel mandal. The mission is the water grid project which aims at providing safe drinking water to every household across Telangana in the coming four years.

Modi will also lay foundation stones for the renovation of Ramagundam Fertiliser Factory at Karimnagar, Kaloji Health University at Warangal, Kothapalli-Manoharabad railway line in Medak district and for the 1,600 MW thermal power project by NTPC.

The PM will dedicate to nation the 1,200 MW power project by state-run Singareni Collieries. Modi will also address a meeting of BJP workers in Hyderabad later on Sunday evening.
New Delhi: After the Rajya Sabha gave its nod to the Goods and Services Tax (GST) Bill, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) national president Amit Shah has called on Chief Ministers of the party ruled states to ratify the tax reform bill. The meeting will take place on August 27 in New Delhi.

Meanwhile, Shah is also scheduled to helm a meet of all BJP ruled state core groups in the national capital on August 23 to get a direct feedback about various states.

The bill was approved by the Upper House after a seven-hour debate with 203 votes in favour and none against on Wednesday evening.

Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Thursday said the rolling out of the GST Bill will increase opportunities for ease of doing business in India as the tax rates are likely to come down.

"I am sure once the GST is rolled out, doing business in India would be easier, and it will help large body of traders, business people and citizen of India enjoy easy taxation," he told a press conference here.

With this major step in the direction of having a uniform tax in the country, Jaitley said the imposition of tax will eventually impact the cost of many goods and services in the country.

The biggest tax reform since Independence, the GST Bill, was approved by the Rajya Sabha to replace a raft of different state and local taxes with a single unified value added tax system to turn the country into world's biggest single market.

"The constitutional amendment was pending for a long time, predominantly because Rajya Sabha was not able to reach a consensus," said Jaitley expressing his delight over the passage of bill.

The 66-year-old Constitution, which gives power to Centre to levy taxes like excise and empowers states to collect retail sales taxes, was amended though the 122nd Constitution Amendment Bill.
Fumigation is carried out to repel mosquitoes in the view of spread of Dengue fever. (Photo: PTI)

New Delhi: The Centre has issued an advisory to all states to cap the the cost of dengue diagnostic tests in private hospitals at Rs 600, the Lok Sabha was told on Friday.

The move comes in the wake of media reports that some private laboratories and hospitals were overcharging from patients for dengue tests.

"To regulate the cost of diagnosis of dengue by the private laboratories and some hospitals, government has taken action by issuing advisory to all states and UTs on July 5, 2016...for capping the cost of dengue diagnostic tests in the private sector/hospitals to not more than Rs 600 per test," Minister of State for Health Faggan Singh Kulaste said in a written reply.

Union Health Minister J P Nadda had earlier said in Parliament that there were 21 dengue deaths in the country till July 24 this year.

Nadda had earlier said eight advisories were issued to states since January while three review meetings through video conferencing took place to review the training, update of laboratory facilities and bed strength.

At least 50 cases of dengue have been reported in the national capital this season with 22 of these recorded this month, according to a municipal report released recently.
22 roads of 707.24 km length have been completed and as per the revised schedule, five roads will be completed this year, eight in 2017, 12 in 2018, eight in 2019 and six in 2020, Parrikar said. (Photo: Representational Image/PTI)

New Delhi: China has not constructed any road in Indian territory, the Lok Sabha was informed on Friday.

Responding to a supplementary during Question Hour, Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar said he was not aware of China constructing any road "in our area" in the last two years.

He said 73 roads have been identified as strategic Sino-India border roads, of which 61 roads have been entrusted to the Border Roads Organisation (BRO) having a total length of 3417 km which are planned to be completed by 2012.

Out of these, 22 roads of 707.24 km length have been completed and as per the revised schedule, five roads will be completed this year, eight in 2017, 12 in 2018, eight in 2019 and six in 2020.

Parrikar cited delay in forest and wildlife clearance, hard rock stretches, limited working season, difficulty in availability of construction material and delay in land acquisition as key reasons behind slow execution of road projects.

Responding to a supplementary, he said funds would not be an issue for the BRO in completing the road projects and if need be, supplementary budget will be allocated.
Guwahati: Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal on Friday denounced the attack by suspected NDFB(S) in Korajhar that claimed 14 lives as "cowardly and dastardly" and said the militants would be dealt with "very sternly".

He announced an ex-gratia payment of Rs 5 lakh to the next of kin of the dead, Rs one lakh to the seriously injured and Rs 20,000 to those who sustained minor injuries in the attack.

Directing Assam Director General of Police Mukesh Sahay to beef up security and launch a vigorous drive to apprehend those behind the "heinous crime", Sonowal, who is away in Delhi, said the militants would be dealt with "very sternly", a statement from the CMO said.

"We will not tolerate any threat from any group. The government will not bow to any pressure while tackling terrorist groups," he said, adding all deputy commissioners and superintendents of police across the state have been directed to be on high alert following the attack and in view of the Independence Day.

"Ensuring protection to life and property of the people is the first and foremost duty of the government. I appeal to all people of Assam to exercise restraint and to maintain peace and harmony," he said.

The Chief Minister said Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh discussed the incident with him and have conveyed their deepest condolences to the family members of those killed in the attack.

Sonowal asked the district administration of Kokrajhar to ensure that the injured persons got proper treatment and the seriously injured were taken to Guwahati Medical College and Hospital for immediate treatment.
Leader of Opposition Rameshwar Dudi visited the centre and held the state government and its officers "responsible" for its "sorry state of affairs". (Representational image)

Jaipur: The Congress and the VHP on Friday blamed the BJP government in Rajasthan for the "poor" condition of cow shelters in the state and demanded a rescue campaign for sick cows at Hingonia Bovine Animal Rehabilitation Centre where several of the animals have died over the last few days.

Leader of Opposition Rameshwar Dudi visited the centre and held the state government and its officers "responsible" for its "sorry state of affairs".

"The situation is very bad and thousands of cows are living in a miserable condition. The Chief Minister should visit the gaushala and announce a rescue campaign for the animals," he told reporters.

"The BJP does politics in the name of cows but when it comes to their state of affairs, the government shows no interest. It is a matter of shame," he added.

Dudi alleged that hundreds of cows have died over the last few days due to "mismanagement and lack of facilities" at the gaushala.

Congress Jaipur district chief Pratap Singh Khachariawas said the party will take out a 'Gauraksha Padyatra' march from the PCC office to Govind Devji temple tomorrow demanding "result-oriented efforts" from the state government to protect cows.

The Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP) and the Bajrang Dal too targeted the Raje government for its "inhuman behaviour" with the cows at the shelter.

"The gaushala, instead of a rehabilitation centre, appears to be a graveyard for the cows. There are heaps of dirt and mud all over the centre in which the animals get trapped and killed. Despite more than 500 cows dying, no action and effort from the administration is highly condemnable," said VHP's senior office-bearer Narpat Singh Shekhawat.

The state government though claimed that the arrangements were well in place at the centre and the mud was being cleared.

Animal Husbandry department secretary Kunji Lal Meena claimed that the cows which died recently were either sick or had attained their age.
New Delhi: Union Minister M Venkaiah Naidu on Friday hit out at Congress over the issue of special status for Andhra Pradesh and accused it of practising "double standards and opportunism", citing party leader Veerappa Moily's speech in the Lok Sabha opposing such a status.

Naidu attacked Congress after it targeted the government in the Rajya Sabha with former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh asking the House to fulfil the commitments made by him in this regard over two years ago as it took up a private member bill on the issue.

Read: Special status to AP must be delivered, Chandrababu Naidu tells Modi

Moily, Naidu said, had said in the Lower House on March 16, 2015 that providing incentives to one state will lead to flight of capital in neighboring states like Kerala and Andhra Pradesh.

"This is nothing but double standards and opportunism of Congress party. These are its old habits," he told reporters.

The Union Minister said no government has done as much for Andhra Pradesh as the Modi government has and citied a number of central projects including setting up of IIT, IIM besides various other infrastructural initiatives.

The Information & Broadcasting Minister's remarks came on a day Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu met Prime Minister Narendra Modi and several Union ministers seeking special status for the state besides other benefits.

Sources said Naidu told the Prime Minister that a special status was assured to Andhra Pradesh after its bifurcation by his predecessor Manmohan Singh and also by the TDP and the BJP during the polls and the promise must be delivered.

The Chief Minister is also believed to have said that since several political parties supported the Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Bill, the chances of their resistance to special status to the state is likely to be little.
New Delhi: Delhi High Court on Friday refused to interfere with the ban on a controversial BBC documentary, 'India's Daughter' on the December 16 gangrape case, saying the issue of its telecast was pending before the trial court which was competent to deal with it.

A bench of Chief Justice G Rohini and Justice Jayant Nath also did not go into the validity of an advisory issued by the Centre against telecast of the short film, saying that it was only an advice to private TV channels and the documentary was not shown because of the restraint order of the trial court.

"So far as the judicial orders of March 3 and March 4, 2015 (banning telecast of the documentary) are concerned, since the matter is pending before the competent court of law and more particularly the investigation is still in progress, the interference by this court either under Article 226 or under Article 227 of the Constitution is not warranted," the bench said.

The court also said, "It is apparent from facts borne out from the record that the advisory dated March 3, 2015, was a mere advice to the private TV channels. It appears to us that the documentary in question has not been telecast on account of the restraint order passed by the competent court of law.

"We, therefore, decline to enter into the various contentions advanced by the petitioners regarding the validity of the advisory issued by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting."

The decision came on the PILs by three law students seeking lifting of the ban on the documentary, which was shot inside Tihar Jail, on the ground that it was "a look at the mindset of one of the convicted rapists".

The bench disposed of the petitions while leaving it open to the trial court to proceed with the matter by following the due process of law and also granted liberty to the law students or any other aggrieved party to work out other remedies under the law.

On the night of December 16, 2012, Ram Singh, Vinay Sharma, Akshay Thakur, Pawan Gupta, Mukesh and a juvenile had gangraped a girl in a bus and beaten up her 28-year-old male friend, who was with her.

While the girl succumbed to her injuries on December 29, 2012 at a Singapore hospital, the victim's friend, suffered grievous hurt in the incident.

The juvenile accused was on August 31, 2013 convicted and sentenced to three years in a reformation home, while four others were handed down death penalty.
Sasikala Pushpa and DMK MP Tiruchi Siva had got into a scuffle with each other at IGI airport on July 30 last. (Photo: PTI)

New Delhi: Delhi Police has provided security to expelled AIADMK MP Sasikala Pushpa who has claimed "threat to her life" and alleged that her party was pressurising her to resign from Rajya Sabha.

"Four policemen have been deputed to provide security to the AIADMK MP and a PCR van has been stationed at her North Avenue residence. Also, a threat assessment is being done as she has mentioned threat to her life," said a senior New Delhi district police officer.

Sasikala Pushpa and DMK MP Tiruchi Siva had got into a scuffle with each other at IGI airport here on July 30 last. She was expelled from AIADMK next day for bringing bad name to the party, next day.

In her complaint submitted to DCP (New Delhi) office, on August 1, Sasikala alleged "I was slapped and threatened by party supremo Jayalalitha and her aide Sasikala, and Thambidurai, Deputy Speaker of Parliament, and by all party MPs to resign."

"But I dont want to resign(from) my Constitutional post. If I dont resign then I may face life threat. Thus I place this criminal complaint before the DCP. So that me and my family may get complete protection with immediate effect at 135-137, North Avenue, New Delhi," she said.

The incident happened around 2 PM when flight 9W-854 was getting ready for departure, an airport source said.

Sasikala had allegedly scuffled with the DMK MP who was scheduled to travel on the same flight to Chennai. But he had later decided to leave it as she was also in the same flight.

While returning to the check-in area, the two lawmakers got into scuffle and the airport staff had to intervene.
New Delhi: Pakistani authorities did not allow entry of Indian mediapersons, including those from PTI and Doordarshan, inside the venue of 7th SAARC Home Ministers Meeting in Islamabad, Home Minister Rajnath Singh said on Friday.

Responding to questions in Rajya Sabha after making a suo motu statement on yesterday's conference, the Minister also said that after the meeting was over, Pakistan's Home Minister, who was the host, invited the participants for lunch but left in a car soon thereafter.

"Keeping in mind the country's prestige, I did what I should have done. I have no complaints. I had not gone there for lunch," he said amid thumping of benches by members.

He also said he was "hestitant to say if the host were courteous... I don't want to comment on it. I have no qualms or complaints". The Minister also said "India is known globally for its 'meheman nawaazi (hospitality)."

Several members had appreciated Singh for "boycotting" the lunch and criticised Pakistan for not showing due courtesy to the visiting Indian Home Minister.

To queries whether there was no telecast of his speech, Singh said he was not aware of the convention and would need to ask the Ministry of External Affairs regarding it.

"Since I was giving speech, I did not see if it was live telecast or not. But this is true that Doordarshan, ANI and PTI reporters were not given permission to enter inside (the venue)", he said as members condemned it by chanting "shame, shame".

Rajya Sabha members also criticised Pakistan for allowing protest against India and the visit of Singh.

The Minister said as per the original plan, he had to reach the hotel by road from Rawalpindi airbase, but probably security officials later decided to use helicopter.

"I saw people were protesting at several places in groups of 10-25 or 100," he said, adding "had I bothered about the protest, I probably wouldn't have gone to Pakistan". Singh also said he did not register any protest against these protests.

Reports had said that members of the Indian media, which went from New Delhi to report the conference, were not allowed to enter the venue and kept at a distance by Pakistani officials, leading to a verbal duel between a senior Indian official and a Pakistani official.

The Home Minister also skipped the official lunch as the host had left the venue, the reports had said.

Recalling former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee's statement that one can change friends but not neighbours, Singh said Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his predecessor Manmohan Singh have expressed sympathy with Pakistan as it too has been a "victim of terror".

He said all Prime Ministers have made efforts to improve relations with neighbours.

"But the dilemma is...padosi hai ki maanta hi nahi (the neighbour is not ready to change)...May God give sense to all", he said evoking laughter in the House.

Earlier Leader of Opposition Ghulam Nabi Azad, seeking clarification on Singh's statement, said his Congress party and ruling BJP may have differences, but when the Prime Minister or the Home Minister travel abroad, they are one.

He sought to know if local TV channels did not cover the Home Minister's visit and his statements and there was a media blackout.

He also sought to know whether protocol was not extended to him in accordance with India's standing among SAARC nations and the host being absent at his reception and added if all this was true, it was condemnable.

Subramanian Swamy (BJP) wanted to know if Singh took up with his Pakistani counterpart the "daily retort by their Prime Minister about disintegrating" India and Kashmir.

He wanted to know if he suggested to Pakistanis to take care of problems in their own backyard.

Derek O'Brien (TMC) wanted to know if the Indian media including official media DD were not given access to the Home Minister's speech which was blacked out.

He also wanted to know if this was the first instance of blackout or is there a precedence.

Asked whether paramilitary forces should be given a free hand to deal with terrorists, the Home Minister said that BSF has been asked to maintain "patience, but if a bullet is fired, then they do not need to seek permission for how they have to respond. This is the standing order".

All members who spoke in the House appreciated Singh for his bold statement in Pakistan.

Mayawati (BSP) wanted to know if India would review its policy towards Pakistan, while Ram Gopal Yadav (SP) suggested that BSF should be given free hand to deal with terrorists at borders.

Senior JD(U) leader Sharad Yadav criticised Pakistan for not following protocol while the Indian Home Minister was visiting there. He also wanted to know if there was a blackout of his speech.

A Navneethakrishnan (AIADMK) too criticised Pakistan for not showing courtesy to the visiting dignitary, while Majeed Menon (NCP) condemned the neigbhouring country for allowing protest against India. "It was a good decision to boycott the lunch," he said.

D Raja (CPI) wanted to know how India is going to engage with Pakistan, while Kanimozhi (DMK) drew attention of the House towards some youngsters joining terror groups.

Senior Congress leader Anand Sharma asked the Home Minister if there were any assurances on stopping drug smuggling and terror financing through money earned through these channels.
Ballari: Five of the 149 farmers lodged in Ballari central prison in connection with the Mahadayi agitation, were hospitalized on Thursday.

The five who include two farmer leaders, Mr Lokanath G Hebasur and Mr Subhashchandra Gouda B Patil, had sustained severe injuries in the alleged police atrocities during the agitation against the interim order of Mahadayi water tribunal in Dharwad district last week. They have been sent to Vijayanagar Institute of Medical Sciences (VIMS) Hospital for treatment.

The authorities said prison doctors are treating farmers who complained of minor injuries and other health problems. Those who required intensive medical care have been sent to VIMS hospital. According to the farmers who were admitted to hospital, they were beaten black and blue by the police at the police station after they were taken into custody.

We were not able to drink and eat for the past two days and are feeling feverish owing to the severe pain caused by police atrocities, they said adding that many of them had suffered fractures on their hands and legs during the caning and lathicharge. Of the 220 farmers arrested from Navalagund and Naragund, the epicentre of the Mahadayi protest, 149 are lodged in Ballari prison and the rest in Chitradurga prison.

On Thursday, many political leaders and seers of various maths lined up before the prison to meet the farmers and offer them food and fruits. Sri Rama Sene leader Pramod Mutalik too visited the farmers and demanded that they be released as early as possible.
Two buses and some private vehicles got swept away following collapse of the British-era bridge late on Tuesday night. (Photo: Rajesh Jadhav/DC)

Mahad: Twenty dead bodies have so far been recovered by the search teams along with the locals from Savitri river in the Mumbai-Goa highway Mahad bridge collapse tragedy.

Authorities have now made it clear that at least 42 people fell into Savitri River with the vehicles in which they were travelling and are reported to be missing.

Two buses and some private vehicles got swept away following collapse of the British-era bridge late on Tuesday night. Bodies were flown away with water current up to 120 kilometres from the spot of bridge collapse.

An NDRF team from Pune had on Wednesday started search and rescue operations at the spot. The team found seven bodies yesterday and they confirmed that seven more bodies were found by local fishermen trecovered bodies to 14. Six more bodies found later, out of which three were found near Ambet Khadi bringing the total death toll now to 20. No bus or car has yet been recovered from the river.

Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Thursday announced a judicial probe into the incident in the Legislative Assembly. He announced ex gratia of Rs five lakh to the kin of the deceased.
Vijayawada: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday assured Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu that he was "serious" about resolving all issues, including granting of special category status to the state.

"I am also serious. I will complete all things at the earliest," Naidu quoted Modi as telling him when they met in New Delhi this morning.

Briefing reporters upon his return from New Delhi on Friday about his interaction with the Prime Minister, the Chief Minister said the latter was "positive" about their demands like grant of special status and implementation of the AP Reorganisation Act in letter and spirit.

Read: Congress practices 'opportunism' on Andhra's special status: Centre

"I reminded the PM about the specific promises he made during electioneering in 2014 and it was time he honoured them. I clearly told him there was no way injustice could be allowed. He was positive but that is not enough. It should convert into action," Naidu remarked.

"It is good if it happens in a week or as early as possible. They (Central government) have GST and other things to deal with in Parliament. Let us hope for the best.

Read: Special status to AP must be delivered, Chandrababu Naidu tells Modi

"I have put forth various demands like grant of special status, establishment of railway zone at Visakhapatnam, development of port at Dugarajapatnam, setting up of steel plant in Kadapa district and also increasing the number of seats in the Assembly from 175 to 225," he said.

"Besides, I also wanted them to complete the Polavaram irrigation project by 2019 by ensuring adequate fund flow since it has been declared as a national project. I wanted all issues settled in a time-bound manner," Naidu said.

"Jaitley also said the same. We are waiting for it (to happen)," he said.

The Chief Minister said the proposed Good and Services Tax (GST) was a "revolutionary" fiscal reform.

"GST will deliver the same benefits over a period of time as economic reforms did a few years ago. Simplification of business is essential. Even international investors are seeking it.

"India is a cooperative federalism, so the Centre should ensure that the rights of states are not usurped," he added.
New Delhi: The Lok Sabha panel looking into the issue of Bhagwant Mann's parliament video on Thursday revisited the spots videographed by the AAP lawmaker to ascertain if there was any loophole in the security.

Starting from the first barricade at Vijay Chowk, four panel members, led by its chairman Kirit Somaiya, and officials of Parliament security and Delhi Police, inspected various security spots and held discussions with the personnel deployed there.

"We reconstructed the entire route filmed by Mann. We checked every chowk and spot, covering each barricade before entering Parliament and asked the security men deployed there how they missed the video being shot," Mr Somaiaya told PTI.

He said the committee will again meet next week and discuss how to tighten the security apparatus.

"The Committee will sit next week for three days starting Tuesday to ascertain if there is need to improve the systems and strengthen the security following its breach due to the videography. Suggestions from staff will also be sought and the issue will be discussed with top police officials and security experts," he said.

Somaiaya said the report that the committee will submit will be in two parts -- one part will look into the role of Mann in exposing Parliament security and the other to suggest corrective measures.

The nine-member panel was granted two more weeks with effect from August 4 by Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan, after Somaiya sought more time saying more witnesses were needed to be examined and certain critical issues to be probed in depth.

The panel was set up to probe into the incident of serious breach of security of the parliament house by the "improper conduct" of Mann by videographing and posting critical footage of parliament house complex on Facebook.

Since then, the AAP lawmaker from Sangrur has been advised not to attend the sittings of the house until a decision is taken.

Besides Somaiya, the panel has two BJP members -- Meenakshi Lekhi and Satyapal Singh. The others are Anandrao Adsul (Shiv Sena), B Mahtab (BJD), Ratna De (TMC), Thota Narasimham (TDP), K C Venugopal (Congress) and P Venugopal (AIADMK).
New Delhi: A day after Congress uproar over shutting down of institutions in Amethi and Rae Bareli, HRD Minister Prakash Javadekar on Friday justified the closure of Indian Institute of Information Technology (IIIT) in Amethi saying law did not permit off-campus centres and it was technically illegal.

In the Rajya Sabha, Javadekar said he wanted to respond to the issue of closure of IIIT, Amethi raised by some members on Thursday and asserted that there was "no political vendetta".

IIIT, Amethi was sanctioned in 2005 and courses started in 2005-06. This was a full-fledged IIIT, but an off-campus facility of IIIT in Allahabad.

"Law does not permit off-campus centres of IIITs," he said, adding that the one in Amethi, called Rajiv Gandhi IIIT, was "technically illegal".

The campus had one permanent facility and one faculty would travel daily from Allahabad. "Students were unhappy and wanted all faculties to be present there," he said, adding that the students were agitating and wanted to be transferred to Allahabad. A review by IIT Kanpur had also concluded that the students should be transferred to IIIT Allahabad.

"There is no political vendetta. It is the students who are starving for education," he said justifying the closure.

Students had on July 29 gheraoed the Allahabad IIIT faculty and demanded proper education as Amethi campus did not have permanent faculty and they had to rely on one teacher travelling from Allahabad to teach four classes, he said.

Pramod Tiwari (Cong) said if there was any legal lacunae why did the government not overcome it in two years it has been in office.

The BJP government, he alleged, has "political vendetta" in shutting down six institutes and factories in the Lok Sabha constituencies of Congress president Sonia Gandhi and vice president Rahul Gandhi. He said it was the employees of IIIT Amethi which was on agitation against closure.

Javadekar replied saying a general science college of Dr Ambedkar University, Lucknow is being started in Amethi and the employees will be accommodated there.

He said in sanctioning Kendriya Vidyalayas after taking over as HRD Minister, he had sanctioned one for Rae Bareli, asserting "we work on merit".

Deputy Chairman P J Kurien told the minister that the Congress member was asking the government to look into any legal and technical lacunae in the Amethi IIIT campus.
New Delhi: Over 70 per cent of the nearly Rs. nine crore spent by Indian diplomatic missions for Prime Minister Narendra Modi's public and community programmes have been spent on event management during his visits to 51 countries since he assumed office.

Nearly Rs. 6.4 crore were spent out of about Rs. 8.8 crore on the event management with the highest, Rs. two crore, being spent during his visit to France in 2015, Rajya Sabha was informed by Minister of State for External Affairs V K Singh.

However, it does not mention the expenditure on event management during many community functions including the famous Madison Square programme which was primarily organised by groups like 'Overseas Friends of BJP' along with some NRI outfits.

According to Singh, PM Modi has visited 51 countries in last 26 months after coming to power.
New Delhi: The Supreme Court will now hear together the Delhi Government's civil suit seeking a declaration that the national capital is a state and its petition against the order of the High Court which held that the city is a Union Territory with Lt Governor as its administrative head.

This was stated by a bench of Justices A K Sikri and N V Ramana today after the Arvind Kejriwal government informed the apex court that it will file an appeal shortly against yesterday's High Court verdict.

As AAP government's earlier suit came up for hearing, the court said that instead of pursuing its earlier civil suit, the city government should file an appeal challenging the Delhi High Court's decision.

"You have to challenge the order of the Delhi High Court. Whether the HC has decided the issue rightly or wrongly would be decided by the Supreme Court in a Special Leave Petition (SLP). What is the use of this suit now. What is the point in duplicating the proceedings," a bench of Justices A K Sikri and N V Ramana said.

The observation came when senior advocate Indira Jaising, appearing for the Arvind Kejriwal government, informed the bench that a fresh appeal would be filed shortly in the apex court against the decision of the High Court.

She sought adjournment of the proceedings on the original civil suit earlier filed by Delhi government seeking various reliefs including a declaration that the national capital is a state and not a Union Territory(UT).

She said that the law suit and the SLP, which will be filed shortly, be heard together.

Attorney General Mukul Rohatgi and Solicitor General Ranjit Kumar, both representing the Centre, vehemently opposed the plea of Delhi government saying that they cannot pursue parallel recourse for the same relief.

The bench termed one of the applications of the Delhi government as infructuous in which it had sought directions restraining the HC from pronouncing verdict on its petition on the conflict of power with the LG.

During the brief hearing, the bench asked the Delhi government to apprise it about the issues already addressed by the High Court in its verdict yesterday.

The bench considered the submissions of Delhi government and adjourned the hearing on the lawsuit to August 29. It, however, clarified that the lawsuit and the SLP will be heard together. The Chief Justice of India will decide which bench will hear the matter.

The high court had yesterday held that Delhi will continue to remain a Union territory under the Constitution with the LG as its administrative head.

The special constitutional provision Article 239AA dealing with Delhi does not "dilute" the effect of Article 239 which relates to the Union territory and hence, concurrence of the LG in administrative issues is "mandatory", the bench headed by Chief Justice G Rohini had said.

The high court did not accept AAP government's contention that the LG is bound to act only on the aid and advice of the Chief Minister and his Council of Ministers with regard to making laws by the Legislative Assembly under the Article 239AA and termed it as "without substance".

"On a reading of Article 239 and Article 239AA of the Constitution together with the provisions of the Government of National Capital Territory of Delhi Act, 1991 and Transaction of Business of the Government of NCT of Delhi Rules, 1993, it becomes manifest that Delhi continues to be a Union Territory even after the Constitution (69th Amendment) Act, 1991 inserting Article 239AA making special provisions with respect to Delhi," the bench said in its 194-page verdict.

The court, which had rejected almost all the contentions of Delhi government, however, agreed with its submission that the LG will have to act on its aid and advice in appointment of special public prosecutors.
As police could not firm up about cause of the death based on the FBI report, they requested a medical board of AIIMS to analyse the contents of the report. (Photo: PTI/file)

New Delhi: A Delhi Police team investigating the mysterious death of Congress leader Shashi Tharoor's wife Sunanda Pushkar, is likely to visit the US by the month end to bring back her viscera samples lying with the FBI for nearly an year.

Police sources said the step was being taken following a Ministry of Home Affairs letter reminding it to get the samples back as was asked by the FBI lab since samples were lying there despite a report by the US agency lab.

51-year-old Sunanda was found dead at a suite in a five-star hotel in South Delhi on the night of January 17, 2014, a day after her spat with Pakistani journalist Mehr Tarar on Twitter over her alleged affair with Tharoor, the Congress MP from Thiruvananthapuram in Kerala.

In January 2015, Delhi Police had registered a case of murder in connection with the death of Sunanda. An AIIMS medical board had earlier found poisoning as reason for her death following which the police had sent her viscera samples to an FBI lab in US.

The FBI lab report, sent to Delhi Police in November 2015, endorsed the findings of the AIIMS forensic report. As police could not firm up about cause of the death based on the FBI report, they requested a medical board of AIIMS to analyse the contents of the report.

During the investigation, several persons including Shashi Tharoor have been questioned in connection with Sunanda's death. The police have also conducted polygraph test on six persons, all prime witnesses in the case, including Tharoor's domestic help Narayan Singh, driver Bajrangi and Sanjay Dewan, a close friend of the couple.

In February this year, Tarar was questioned about her relation with the Congress leader and his wife, her fight with Sunanda over Twitter, and other issues revolving around Sunanda's mysterious death.
Hyderabad: State Minorities Commission for Telangana and Andhra Pradesh is set to unleash an awareness campaign against ISIS by getting on board Imams of a large number of mosques across the two states to thwart the attempts of the terror group to lure youths.

The Commission will on Saturday hold a seminar, awareness programme and interactive session on "ISIS - Interpreting reality", which would be attended among others by Imams of nearly 300 mosques from the two states, its Chairman Abid Rasool Khan said.

"These guys (Imams) are going to listen to all this (speeches by security and legal experts and religious scholars on perils of ISIS) and they will say the same thing next Friday (Friday prayers) in mosques. So, that way we want to spread word throughout the states," Khan said.

At the event, they would discuss ways to wean away people from the violent and ultra conservative ideology of the terror group, and educate youth about serious repercussions of getting involved in its activities through social media.

Among the speakers would be a security expert on radicalisation, a scholar who has written a book on ISIS and an adviser to multi-national companies on cyber threat.

Deputy Chief Ministers of Telangana and Andhra Pradesh, Mohammed Mahmood Ali and K E Krishnamurty, respectively, and Telangana Home Minister Nayini Narasimha Reddy would also speak at the event.

"Muslim speakers would be speaking with reference to Quran...and how ISIS...jihad how they are trying to entice. They (Muslim scholars) are trying to break the myth," he said.

Nearly 100 principals of colleges where Muslim students are studying and 100-200 "concerned parents" would also be among the attendees.

"Realising the serious threat of such terror groups to radicalise the youth, the Commission attempts to create awareness and provide solutions," Khan said.

The Minority Commissions of West Bengal, Maharashtra and Karnataka have approached Khan seeking help for organising programmes as the one taking place here tomorrow.

"We are happy, a lot of people are coming to us and saying they want to be part of it. The community has responded positively to this," he added.

The event is being organised against the backdrop of police in several states detaining men on suspicion of having links to ISIS or planning to join the dreaded outfit.

Recently, NIA busted a module in Hyderabad whose members allegedly owed allegiance to ISIS.
Srinagar: At least three people were killed and over 200 people injured in renewed clashes across Kashmir Valley on Friday.

Police identified one of the slain men as Muhammad Maqbool Wagay, who was hit in the chest when security forces opened fire to quell a violent protest in Chadoora area in the central district of Budgam. 37 others were also injured in the clash and seven of them who sustained critical bullet or pellet injuries have been admitted to a Srinagar hospital.

Another person identified as 26-year-old Danish Rasool was killed in pellet gun fire at Wagoora in north-western town of Sopore. Yet another youth, who wasnt identified immediately, was brought to Srinagars SMHS hospital dead from Beeru area, also in Budgam, doctors said.

Read: Clashes around Srinagar's Hazratbal shrine; Geelani, Mirwaiz arrested

Officials said scores of J&K police men and members of CRPF and other central forces were also injured in the clashes and stone-pelting incidents which were on in many areas across the Valley.

The fresh incidents amid extended curfews have occurred on a day when the Centre told the Supreme Court that the law and order situation in Kashmir Valley has improved considerably since the killing of Hizb-ul-Mujahideen commander Burhan Muzaffar Wani with violent protests having gone down from 201 on July 9 to 11 on August 3.

Earlier on Friday afternoon, clashes erupted around Srinagars Hazratbal shrine as security forces in riot gear came in the way of huge crowds marching towards the revered place of worship on the western shore of the Dal Lake.

Security forces fired teargas canisters and exploded stun grenades in the middle of slogan-chanting crowds which emerged of various localities including Lal Bazaar, Sadar Bal, Malla Bagh and Naseem Bagh. Earlier people from many localities converged in an open field at Malla Bagh to offer Juma Namaz after the weekly congregational prayers were cancelled at locality mosques.

Soon after the prayers, they while chanting pro-freedom slogans marched towards Hazratbal but were intercepted by the riot police midway. J&K police and CRPF reinforcements arrived at the scene and fired dozens of teargas canisters and also exploded stun grenades to push the crowds back. Amid loud sounds, the acrid tear smoke was ubiquitous as this correspondent was caught in the melee.

Similar clashes have been reported also from some other parts of the summer capital as people are making concerted efforts to relocate to Hazratbal in response to a call issued by an alliance of separatist parties as part of its extended calendar of protests and shutdowns.

Protests were held and/or clashes took place between the men in khaki and slogan-chanting surging crowds also in Sopore, Bandipore, Imam Sahib, Tral, Langaet, Hajin and over a dozen other places within the Valley and in Jammu region in Banihal and Surankore areas, leaving scores injured, police sources here said.
The Minister was captured taking photos at the collapse site in Mahad. (Photo: YouTube screenshot)

Mumbai: Maharashtra Housing Minister Prakash Mehta found himself in the eye of the storm on Thursday after he was reportedly captured taking selfies at the bridge collapse site in Mahad, with the Opposition demanding his resignation over the issue, but he has denied taking any such pictures.

The Opposition attacked him for his 'insensitive' behavior but his party has defended him, claiming he was merely taking pictures of Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis who was also at the site to review rescue work after the bridge collapse.

The minister is also accused of misbehaving with a reporter when he was asked about the status of those missing in the tragedy.

Two state transport buses and some four-wheelers were washed away in the river when the bridge collapsed near Mahad in Raigad district on Tuesday night.

When the TV reporter asked why state administration was treating the relatives of the victims in such a callous manner, the minister objected to the "pointless" question.

He alleged that the reporters were raising non-issues for the sake of TRPs and that he will solve his department's problems on his own. His supporters later also allegedly heckled the TV reporter.

Maharashtra Assembly Speaker Haribhau Bagade on Friday sought a clarification from Mehta after the opposition flayed the minister for his alleged arrogant behaviour with a TV journalist during the visit.

Leader of Opposition Radhakrishna Vikhe Patil, who raised the issue in the Lower House, said the government should apologise for Mehta's alleged rude behaviour with the journalist.

There should be a code of conduct for ministers, he said, condemning Mehta's behaviour in Mahad .

The Speaker asked Mehta to give a clarification over the allegations, who rubbished all the charges against him.
Officials should draft an action plan to declare Vizag city as an open-defecation free (ODF) city by this August 31. (Representational image)

Visakhapatnam: Officials should draft an action plan to declare Vizag city as an open-defecation free (ODF) city by this August 31, said GVMC Commissioner Harinarayanan on Thursday.

Mr Narayanan reviewed the progress of the construction of individual household toilets, operation and maintenance of public and community toilets and the plan to make Vizag an ODF city. Speaking on this occasion, Mr Harinarayanan said that about 9,369 individual household toilets were constructed in Visakhapatnam, attaining first place in the state.

Chief Engineer Dr V. Chandraiah explained the progress of the construction of toilets. WSUP project manager Uday Singh elaborated on the programmes taken up as part of the Swachh Bharat Mission. ALL Zonal Commissioners, superintending and executive engineers, AMOHs and others were present.
Hyderabads IT corridor suffers from intense traffic. Average speeds of cars during peak hours drop to as low as 6-8 kmph (Photo: DC)

Hyderabad: Employees from Information Technology, ITeS sectors and IT associations are planning to approach the Cyberabad traffic police to suggest traffic control methods that have been adopted by authorities in the United States and the United Kingdom.

Telangana IT Associations (TITA) founder president Mr Sundeep Kumar Makthala said that during a recent visit to the US, the TITA team had elaborately studied traffic management at the industrial sectors there.

Similarly, some of our associations members, during their official visit to UK, performed a study on the matter. We have observed that the massive IT corridor at Bengaluru has already adopted similar methods to curb traffic and we are going to meet traffic officials to tell them about the alternatives, he said.

Talking about the methods they have studied, Mr Makthala said, Implementing lane systems will be the best alternative. US, UK and Bengaluru are following this system wherein a free lane is exclusively dedicated to those who car pool, or for cars with full occupancy. Two-wheelers also have a separate lane, he said.

He however added that the separation system might not be successful in other parts of the city.

We are going to ask Cyberabad traffic police to implement the system at least at major IT centres like Raheja (Mindspace to Cyber Towers) and at Nanakramguda junctions, he said.

The officials here in the city are hopeful though, despite certain apprehensions about the proposed system. Cyberabad Traffic DCP A.R. Srinivas said that a solution might come up after all following their discussions with the techies.

The lane system may not be possible, but once we meet, there could be a solution, he said.

Mr Sundeep added, We have also been approaching IT company managements to change shift timings to avoid traffic jams, similar to private schools in the city, he said.
Hyderabad: The Hyderabad High Court on Friday advised the Telangana state government to formulate a policy in accordance with Section 108 of the Land Acquisition Act 2013 and place it before the court.

This provision provides state governments with an option to offer a better compensation package and include in it other groups affected by the sale of land. The case has been taken up on the request of TS advocate general K. Ramakrishna Reddy.

High Court: Whats fate of farm labour?

A division bench comprising acting Chief Justice Ramesh Ranganathan and Justice U. Durga Prasad Rao was hearing an appeal by the state government as a lunch motion challenging an order passed by a single judge quashing GO Ms No 123 which allowed state government wings to purchase land from farmers.

While making it clear that the court was not suspecting the government, Justice Ranganathan said, We do understand the urgency of the state, but it should also be ensured that the rights of the affected persons are protected.

The bench said that Section 108 of the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013 envisaged an option for the states to enact a law to enhance or add to the entitlements enumerated under the 2013 Act which confers higher compensation than payable under the Act or make provisions for rehabilitation and resettlement which was more beneficial than provided under the Act.

Advancing his arguments, Mr Ramakri-shna Reddy, Advocate-General of Telangana, submitted that the government was purchasing land only from willing owners and there was no coercion on farmers to sell their lands. He said that the lands were being purchased in the open market paying higher consideration and whenever land owners were not willing, under inevit-able circumstances, the state was following due course of law to acquire those lands.

While citing certain portions of the single judge order, the AG reminded that in an earlier occasion the High Court had refused to intervene in GO 123.

The acting CJ pointed out that the single judge had taken two grounds for quashing the GO. You have deleted the rehabilitation and resettlement of labour and artisans, and the enhanced compensation is also missing, which goes against the provisions of the 2013 Act.

The bench added: It may be good for the government and also the land owners, with the government buying lands at higher prices, but what would be the fate of the agricultural labourers who are depending on those lands for their livelihood? As per Section 108 it is the responsibility of the government to make a policy. What about such a policy?

Ours is a welfare state and it will take care of the poor labour, we are not pawn brokers. Our government is an elected one and we are accountable and answerable to the people for another three years, the AG said. He added that the government was going to provide rehabilitation to each and every displaced or affected person in this issue and urged the court to permit the government to go ahead with registrations till it came up with a proposal.

Mr K.S. Murthy, counsel for the petitioner, while opposing the contentions of the AG, said the petitioners were poor and landless artisans, peasants and agricultural labourers and they were not seeking charity, but their right. The bench adjourned the case to Monday.
Hyderabad: Traffic restrictions will be put in place for the BJP Workers Maha Sammelan at L.B.Stadium, which will be addressed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, on Sunday.

The curbs will last from from 3pm to 7pm on Sunday, August 7. Delegates and those with passes will be allowed at every diversion to proceed towards LB Stadium.

West Zone: Traffic congestion will be seen at S.P. Road, Greenlands, Raj Bhavan Road, Khairatabad junction and Begumpet. Commuters are being requested to take alternate routes from 2pm to 7pm on Sunday August 7.

In Central Zone: At the AR Petrol Pump Junction., traffic will not be allowed towards BJR Statue and will be diverted towards Nampally or Ravindra Bharati. Traffic from Abids and Gunfoundry side will not be allowed towards BJR Statue and Basheerbagh Junction, and will be diverted towards Chapel road.

Traffic coming from Basheerbagh Junction and going towards Abids will be diverted at Basheerbagh Junction. towards Hyderguda and King Koti road.

Traffic coming from Old MLA quarters towards Basheerbagh will be diverted at old MLA Qtrs towards Himayatnagar Y Junction.

Traffic coming from King Koti to Basheerbagh via Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan will be diverted at King Koti X Roads towards Tajmahal.

Traffic coming from Liberty towards Basheerbagh Junction will be diverted at Liberty Junction. towards Himayatnagar.

Traffic coming from Traffic Control Room towards Basheerbagh Junction. will be diverted at PCR towards Nampally road.
Fadnavis had said the state government decided to implement road safety-related rules to reduce the casualties in accidents. (Representational Image)

Mumbai: The Maharashtra government has decided to reconsider the No helmet, no fuel rule, Transport minister Diwakar Raote informed the state Assembly on Friday. However, petrol pump owners will be asked to intimate vehicle numbers of two-wheelers where the rider was without helmet, to transport authorities, the minister said.

The decision, set to be implemented from August 1, had met with fierce opposition from pump owners.Giving into the resistance from two-wheeler riders and petrol pump owners, the government decided to assess the feasibility of its implementation, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis had said recently. Fadnavis had said the state government decided to implement road safety-related rules to reduce the casualties in accidents.
TS, AP staff who were at loggerheads over bifurcation issues for the last few years came joined to celebrate Bonalu at Nalla Pochamma temple in Secretariat premises. (Representational image)

Hyderabad: Telangana employees on Friday have bid farewell to AP employees in Secretariat by celebrating Bonalu festival jointly in a grand manner. There were emotional moments as some employees broke down recollecting their memories of having worked together in the same premises for decades.

TS, AP staff who were at loggerheads over bifurcation issues for the last few years came joined to celebrate Bonalu at Nalla Pochamma temple in Secretariat premises.
It happened around 4 p.m when like other days, Nikhils mother was waiting for him in the car to take him to his tuition classes in Jayanagar.

Bengaluru: On the face of it , Nikhil Santhosh, 16, a Ist PU topper and a brilliant student, should have had no reason to jump to his death from the 9th floor of Mantri Tranquil Apartment Wednesday evening. And so when he did, he left his family and friends stunned.

It happened around 4 p.m when like other days, Nikhils mother was waiting for him in the car to take him to his tuition classes in Jayanagar. The boy made an excuse saying he had forgotten his books in the apartment and returned to his flat no 902 in Block I. And even as his unsuspecting mother waited in the car for him, he walked up to the rear balcony and jumped to his death. It appeared to have been a pre-meditated act as had even missed school that day.

A handwritten suicide note recovered from his pocket by the police read, Dear Mom and Dad, You guys were the best. You were right I dont deserve to go to the US as 1350 marks are the worst anyone could get. I am also sorry I didnt perform well in the 12th grade. You were right  You deserve a better child and I didnt make you proud.

A topper both in SSLC and Ist PUC, Nikhil saw his performance dip in II PUC and also scored relatively low marks in the private tests conducted in his tuition classes.

But pulled up by his parents and uncle for not doing as well as in the past, he seemed to have gone into a depression. The parents clearly put pressure on him to do well in school. They could have gone a little easy on him, said an investigating officer.

The trend of teenage suicides is alarming as not too long ago, Raunak Banerjee, a 14-year-old student of Baldwin High School took his life by jumping from the 10th floor of his apartment complex, leaving his family shocked and bereft. He was reportedly upset because his friends passed comments on his physical appearance.

These teen suicides only expose the lack of communication between parents and their children and schools and their students, believe psychologists. If trivial matters that can be amicably resolved by children opening up to their parents, are driving them to take their own lives, there is a clear need to bridge the communication gap, they stress.

Dr. Gururaj, assistant professor in the Department of Psychiatry at the Bengaluru Medical College and Research Institute observes that children have become lonely in todays fast paced world.

Earlier, the environment was friendlier for them and they could open up or share their inner feelings with their grandparents, cousins or siblings. Nowadays, the culture of having nuclear families has not only left the children lonely and isolated in dealing with their problems, but has also created a gap between them and their parents, he said.

When parents begin to question their childrens activities rather than spending time with them in a more friendly environment, their wards could possibly go into a shell and avoid mingling with people, he explains.

One needs to understand that this doesnt happen overnight. Its only after the process has been on for some time that the child begins to think the world is not good enough for him/her. There should be counselling sessions for parents and children. Parents need to drop an aggressive approach to their wards and make them feel comfortable, he advised.

Students admit depression is a cause for teen suicide

Various studies have revealed that depression is a major , if not the leading cause of teen suicide. The causes could be many, including the burden of parental expectations, say psychologists.

Sadly, the focus is so much on educational achievement, top of class performance, good marks, and getting admission in reputed institutions that the child gets the feeling that his worth is evaluated on the basis of his achievements," said Dr Kumarshri Saraswat, consultant psychiatrist at Mind Care Peace Centre and a mental health expert at Icliniq.com.

"Criticism and comparison are big trigger points. Teachers are nicely placed to pinpoint a change in behavior among their students and to raise the red flags on symptoms that could lead them to take an extreme step," said the health professional, who claims to see around 10 cases a month of students from junior and professional colleges suffering from depression for various reasons.

Dr Anitha Chandra, a psychiatrist from North Bengaluru, however, points out that not all parents are insensitive to their childrens needs. "I have seen many parents that are a lot more understanding and have a better insight into the well-being of their children. However, parental supervision needs to be tweaked as parents often struggle to attain the middle ground on when to approve or disapprove of a child's behaviour. An adequate school support system can make a huge difference, she underlined, suggesting that along with counselling, workshops and meetings should be held to educate parents on what is normal behaviour for a child at a certain age and what are the warning signs of depression.

Depression and crankiness or aloofness is not just a child's problem but of the parents as well. Schools should also aim at creating more resilient children and youth. Let us not forget that a child spends most of its productive time in school," she noted.
OU staff have not been getting wages on first of every month. The varsity has exhausted all resources to pay salaries from January to February.

Hyderabad: Furious over continuing delays in the payment of monthly salaries over the past four months, the OUTA (Osmania University Teachers Association) held a protest on Friday.

Professor Battu Satyanarayana, OUTA president said delays have been on for the past five months.

OU staff have not been getting wages on first of every month. The varsity has exhausted all resources to pay salaries from January to February. After protests for the release of Rs 58 crore grant, government released Rs 25 crore. Balance must be released immediately, he said.
Ahmedabad: Health Minister Nitin Patel is the front runner to succeed Anandiben Patel as Gujarat chief minister as the state legilsature party meets here this evening to elect its new leader.

Nitin Patel's office said his name is final, however, state BJP spokesperson Bharat Pandya said the name of Anandiben's successor will be announced after the meeting.

"We do not have any instruction. As per the procedure, the name will be announced in the party MLAs meeting to be held this evening," Pandya said.

Nitin had expressed his readiness to be the chief minister of the state in 2014 also when Narendra Modi gave up the post after the Lok Sabha polls.

BJP president Amit Shah, who is here to oversee the procedure, has been holding intense deliberations with party leaders to finalise the new chief minister.

Among others, he met state BJP in-charge Dinesh Sharma, national joint general secretary (organisation) V Satish, party treasurer Surendra Patel, education minister Bhupendrasinh Chudasama and former state BJP chief R C Faldu.

Shah had also met Nitin Patel yesterday. Among other names doing the rounds for the post are that of Union minister Purshottam Rupala and Assembly Speaker Ganpat Vasava, a tribal leader.

Anandiben, who turns 75 this November, handed over her resignation to Governor O P Kohli on Wednesday.
Vijay Rupani is the new CM of Gujarat and is known to be close to BJP chief Amit Shah. (Photo: PTI)

Ahemedabad: In a huge surprise for political pundits, the BJP on Friday named state transport minister Vijay Rupani as Anandibens successor for the Chief Ministers post. He is known to be a close confidante of BJP president Amit Shah.

Health Minister Nitin Patel who was the front runner to succeed Patel was made the deputy chief minister.

Rupani emerged as the choice for the top slot at the legislature party meeting attended by BJP chief Amit Shah and Union Minister Nitin Gadkari, though it was widely speculated that the mantle would fall on Nitin Patel.

Rupani would be tasked with leading the party in the assembly polls due next year, overcoming the multiple challenges faced by it in the home state of prime minister Narendra Modi.

Hailing from Jain Baniya community, the 60-year-old has scaled the party rungs from being a grass-root worker and was jailed at the age of 22 during the Emergency. He had a term in the Rajya Sabha from 2006-12 and served as mayor of Rajkot city.

Earlier this year, Rupani was elected unopposed as BJP's Gujarat unit president in the backdrop of the debacle in local bodies polls and the Patel quota agitation. His nomination was backed by former CM Anandiben Patel.

BJP president Amit Shah, who was in the state to oversee the procedure, had been holding intense deliberations with party leaders before he finalised the new chief minister's name.

Among others, he met state BJP in-charge Dinesh Sharma, national joint general secretary (organisation) V Satish, party treasurer Surendra Patel, education minister Bhupendrasinh Chudasama and former state BJP chief R C Faldu.

Other names that were doing the rounds for the post were that of Union minister Purshottam Rupala and Assembly Speaker Ganpat Vasava, a tribal leader.

Anandiben, who turns 75 this November, handed over her resignation to Governor O P Kohli on Wednesday.
Indias home minister went for a Saarc conference to Islamabad, where the Pakistanis received him in great style, with demonstrations led by the likes of Hizbul Mujahideen chief Syed Salahuddin, and Jamaat-ud-Dawa boss Hafiz Saeed, who is also the reigning high priest of the proscribed terror outfit Lashkar-e-Tayyaba. This is perhaps the first time that Pakistan has permitted and patronised anti-India rallies in the heart of its capital during a multilateral conference. Complementing the Pakistani belligerence has been the stream of rhetoric emanating from the Indian side, essentially underscoring the fact that there would be no bilateral engagement between India and Pakistan during the Islamabad visit. It then begs two obvious questions. First, why did the home minister travel to Islamabad? How did things come to such a pass so quickly once again in the undulant India-Pakistan tango?

South Asia is the worlds least integrated region, hostage to the zero-sum game between India and Pakistan. This non-relationship between the two also has a nuclear dimension for the past 18 years. If India and Pakistan are again talking at each other rather than trying to talk to each other, reiterating cliched positions, then the Saarc ministerial meeting itself is a futile exercise. The only plausible rationale for Rajnath Singhs visit to Islamabad can then possibly be the misplaced machismo that I can and have come to rant at you in your country. This doesnt at all augur well for the region.

In the recent, chequered history of the two nations, there have been innumerable flashpoints but has the situation been ever so bad in the absence of the high-voltage trigger that is intrinsic to such virtual conflagrations? No. If one looks back over the past 16 years since the Kargil conflict, there were three high-profile sparks that could have unleashed a disastrous chain of events between the two countries. The hijacking of IC-814 from Kathmandu to Kandahar in December 1999, the attack on the Indian Parliament in December 2001 and Operation Parakram launched subsequently by the Indian Army and, of course, the 26/11-terror attack on Mumbai in November 2008. All these outrages bore the indelible stamp of Pakistans deep state and the ISIs nexus with non-state actors.

But despite the grave and unwarranted provocation that were seen during the terms of Prime Ministers Atal Behari Vajpayee and Manmohan Singh, New Delhi avoided any escalation, much to the frustration of Indias inflamed public opinion, as there was an acute realisation in the government that there are no quantifiable benchmarks or predictable scenarios to an acceleration of hostilities. At which red line would the nuclear dimension come into play, and in an evolving confrontation were all red lines and thresholds not subject to continuous reappraisal?

The difference between then and now is that even in the absence of a trigger, both India and Pakistan seem hell-bent on a game of dangerous brinkmanship. Of course there has been a bout of violence in Kashmir that has claimed innocent lives and put the security forces under greater stress, but it isnt the first time it has happened. Its a cycle that will keep repeating itself till the time the Indian State doesnt look at options beyond the usual security solutions. At some point, and ignoring the jingoism unleashed by certain television channels, the Indian State must take a call on whether it simply wants to hold on to territory in Kashmir, or also keep the people on its side.

The essence of any counter-insurgency doctrine is to win over the hearts and minds of the people; for an insurgency can be isolated and brought to its knees only if it loses the oxygen of local partisan support. In Kashmir, we seem to have elevated alienation to a veritable fine art. To return, meanwhile, to the India-Pakistan conundrum, why are Narendra Modi and Nawaz Sharif pressing the hate buttons so cynically? Is it because of electoral calculations? In Pakistans case, it doesnt square up, as in its last national elections India was a non-issue. Also, to a large extent, Pakistan was not on the agenda during the 2014 general election in India.

If the idea is to once again tap into Partitions faultlines to dredge up and tilt at windmills of the two-nation theory, then both establishments are playing with fire. If Mr Modi wants to subliminally play the unreliability card vis-a-vis Indias Muslims, its an extremely myopic and dangerous game of smoke and mirrors, one with grave implications. Mr Modi played this number in the 2002, 2007 and 2012 Gujarat polls with a different cast of characters each time, but with the same divisive message. But its a very dangerous play to risk as Prime Minister. The Trumpification of politics in the South Asian context is fraught with large pits that can lead to huge falls.

For Mr Sharif to try ride this tiger is akin to cruising for a bruising. Theres a huge constituency of fanatics in Pakistan, far more rabid and venomously anti-India than the Pakistan Peoples Party and Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz) could ever be. By starting down that track, that countrys mainstream political parties would squarely play into the hands of the fringe; and unlike in India there are no significant minorities to beat up in Pakistan and generate xenophobia for electoral purposes. The somersaults, U-turns and flip-flops that characterised New Delhis approach towards Pakistan in the past 26 months could earlier have been put down to the new bunch in South Block being out of depth, that allowed the Pakistani deep state to run circles around them.

However, with each passing day, the desire to push the envelope further and ratchet up tensions in a calibrated way points to a more sinister and ominous gameplan aimed at playing the Pakistani card for domestic purposes. If Mr Modi believes he can sow this wind, he should be under no illusion that the resulting whirlwind would have catastrophic long-term consequences  both domestically and internationally. This is also true for Nawaz Sharif.
Rajnath Singhs Islamabad visit to attend the Saarc ministers meeting has predictably added to the frost in India-Pakistan relations in the aftermath of Pathankot. The expectations werent very high anyway, but what may have fouled the atmosphere further were the differing perceptions on Burhan Wanis killing in Kashmir. Pakistans glorification of terrorists and its propensity to see them as good or bad, such as the distinction it draws about the Taliban, have been noted internationally.

Ironically, Pakistan says it believes in resolving issues through dialogue, but simultaneously harps on the killing of civilians fighting for freedom in Kashmir. Given the varied Indian views on poster boy terrorist Wani, Pakistan was bound to take advantage. Despite this, India had no choice but to stress all this again at a meeting of key South Asian ministers under whose direct ambit comes the difficult task of tackling terrorism in the region.

It wasnt as if India said anything different on an issue it has raised across the world, through Prime Minister Narendra Modi and others. In that sense, the so-called blacking out of Mr Singhs speech by Pakistan was not particularly germane to the issue. Pakistans less than gracious behaviour as a conference host  its interior minister not attending the lunch he hosted  is a pointer to its defensiveness on terrorism and its pivotal role in the movement of drugs between southeast and southwest Asia. India may now have to realign its position vis-a-vis Pakistan given its hostile attitude to New Delhis overtures.
Are we ready to give up on the state being in charge of basics like safety? Security? Are we sick of law courts that take forever to hear a case? Have we lost patience with the regular channels that are supposed to keep things moving in a working democracy? Aha  the operative word is working. In India, democracy does work  but only for the privileged few. Lets call it a limited edition of democracy. Or better still  a designer democracy. If you can afford it, thats great. If not? Since there are no knock-offs  suffer! When did democracy become this expensive? Or, was it always this pricey? Look around you. Move your mind from the historic GST Bill, and examine other more maamuli reports in the media. What do those neglected stories say about our overburdened lives? Here in Maharashtra, we are enduring yet another untamed monsoon.

Yes, I know we cant tame the monsoon, but we can certainly prepare for what it unleashes on hapless citizens, year after year. Now, the monsoon is not exactly a freak phenomenon that catches the authorities off-guard. In todays technologically advanced, meteorologically accurate times, the advent of the monsoon is tracked closely, almost to the precise hour it hits Mumbai. And yet, the civic authorities behave like they have been ambushed. Millions of Mumbaikars suffer because of flooding. Mumbais unrepaired potholes regularly claim lives. Trains are hit because the tracks are under several feet of water. In earlier times, commuters would patiently wait for 10 hours or more in overcrowded stations, unable to reach their workplace or head back home. Today, they beat up the first person in authority they spot, before wrecking the station. Ditto for families of patients in government hospitals, who vent their rage on docs and nursing staff, if their loved one dies due to medical negligence or the malfunctioning of vital life-saving machines. Road rage claims several lives, as citizens refuse to accept the indifference and apathy of the traffic police. Crimes, big and small, are being dealt with swiftly by citizens themselves. Some of these methods of rendering instant justice are primitive, crude and brutal.

Young people settle scores without bothering about the consequences. They maim, torture, even kill anybody who has to be taught a lesson, completely bypassing the local police chowki. And this is just life in a metropolis called Mumbai. The rest of India is witnessing even more horror with stepped-up vigilantism and planned attacks across the board. Dalits have suffered the most from this form of bullying. And if the powerful dalit lobby is in a state of revolt against those who attempt to oppress, one wonders why it has taken them centuries to get to this inflexion point. Overnight, the skinning of cows has become a major political issue, though it has been around for hundreds of years. Scavenging is the other one that is at the centre of a national discourse. I was dismayed when a foreign diplomat narrated a story involving his governments initiative to provide modern latrines to several villages across Maharashtra.

This was done with the primary objective of making rural women feel a little more secure, considering their vulnerability each time they had to go behind a secluded rock to do their business. Months after inaugurating clean, flush toilets in remote villages, his team went back to check on how the scheme was working. It wasnt! The villagers were still going out into the fields and ignoring the new facilities. When they were asked why, they said simply, Wholl clean the latrines? When anger and frustration (suppressed for decades), meet inaction and plain corruption in high places, a monumental explosion is inevitable. There are complex social and cultural issues bubbling inside that cauldron. Some citizens foolishly state theyd prefer stricter laws, like the ones in Saudi Arabia. See how promptly and harshly they deal with criminals? they point out, quite forgetting how ruthlessly the same authorities mete out justice to Indians working there, while blatantly protecting their own. Call that justice?

India is at that sensitive point when it needs to figure out its own future path. Which version of democracy do we want to follow? Better still, why not craft one of our own? A bridge built by the British in 1927 at Mahad on the Mumbai-Goa highway got washed away this week, and at last count 22 people had drowned. The bridge had been certified safe by the state in May! Today, a meaningless inquiry has been ordered. It has zero value. Grieving families of the dead have no faith in the system. They will not wait passively for the report to be tabled. God help any governmentwalla daring to visit sites of similar accidents to console mourners. Chances are the person will be pounced on and severely beaten up. It wont bring back the dead. But, for that brief moment, the family members will feel a little better. This is happening at all levels and across the board. In cities and villages. Caste lines are being crossed with impunity, no matter what the cost. People like Hardik Patel have shown its possible to take on the mighty and push for change. In his own crazy way, Arvind Kejriwal has been at the forefront of widespread defiance.

The status quo does not  cannot  stop those who are ready to break chains and rewrite the rules. In as structured and hierarchal a society as ours, it boils down to basics  who will skin those dead cows? And who will clean other peoples shit? Once we find acceptable ways to deal with these two issues, the rest will fall into place somehow. Pelting stones on policemen and Army personnel is never the answer. But it sure as hell is indicative of whats simmering under the surface. If we refuse to acknowledge that there is deep disaffection and disillusionment threatening to spill over, with or without provocation, we will be digging a hole and playing ostrich yet again. Surely, our democracy deserves a better form of self-expression?
Google Maps offers satellite imagery, street maps, 360 panoramic views of streets (Street View), real-time traffic conditions (Google Traffic), and route planning for traveling by foot, car, bicycle (in beta), or public transportation.

Google is looking towards adding a whole new bunch of functions to its Map. Not only will the latter inform users of the traffic to be expected but it will also search and save the parking spots around the city.

While, Google cant actively track open spaces for parking; they will merely be informing users of the total number of spaces available in the area.

Moreover, the new update will also fix the issue where you accidentally reorient the map with a finger swipe. This beta includes an "Always point North" option that effectively locks the compass and prevents the map from turning.

These updates will only be confirmed after the official release.

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The Hear2Read app is available for free on Android PlayStore

A project from Carnegie Mellon University has given hope to millions of visually impaired in India to get their desired audiobooks in their native languages. This is all possible through a free Android app called Hear2Read.

The app can be quickly trained to read texts aloud in local languages, and supports Tamil, with Hindi, Bengali, Punjabi, and other languages and dialects.

Each language is different and historically TTS systems have been done one at a time. We looked at commonalities of Indian languages and developed tools to apply the same technology to multiple languages, said Suresh Bazaj, founder of the project

The app can be used offline without using an internet connection to translate texts and the language database is small enough that it can be stored on the phone.

The Hear2Read app also integrates with Android, allowing browsers, email and other apps translate text to audio.

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The following editorial appeared in Wednesdays Wisconsin State Journal.

After recent hot weather and with more on the way, air conditioners and fans are taxing Wisconsins electrical grid. Its a good thing the state is slowly but surely moving toward renewable energy, despite resistance from top elected officials.

More than half of Wisconsins electricity comes from coal, and a big share of the rest is natural gas. When we ramp up consumption, we spew more greenhouse gases into the atmosphere, contributing to climate change. That will mean hotter days in the future.

Granted, Wisconsins share of greenhouse gas emissions is small in the global climate. We could stop burning fossil fuels entirely, and it wouldnt come close to fixing the problem. But that misses the point. Climate change is the result of many such small greenhouse gas contributions that add up to something terrible. So Wisconsin must reduce emissions along with everyone else.

According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, only 8.4 percent of Wisconsins net electricity generation came from renewables in 2015. Under Gov. Scott Walker and Attorney General Brad Schimel, the state is stalling improvement. They continue to fight the Environmental Protection Agencys clean energy goals.

But the energy sector is making progress anyway. The most recent evidence is a wind turbine project approved for St. Croix County in western Wisconsin. A judge had halted the project once over some neighbors concerns.

But the Public Service Commission last month signed off on a revised plan that addresses the judges ruling. Highland Wind, the company behind the project, could start building by the end of the year, though additional litigation might delay that. At least two more wind projects are in the works.

Some concerns about renewable energy may warrant further investigation, such as the effects of wind turbines on humans, bats and birds. Those should not be deal breakers, though, as long as industry and academic researchers continue to honestly research and tweak the technology to minimize problems. Skyscrapers kill birds when they fly into windows, but we dont ban them.

Companies such as Highland Wind make free-market decisions, but the market exists in the context of those EPA goals and probably other federal mandates down the road. Power companies are prudently hedging their bets that the future is in renewable energy and required reductions in greenhouse gas emissions.

The energy industry has good fiscal reasons to pursue renewables, too. Costs are decreasing as the technology matures. Meanwhile, coal and other fossil fuels will likely cost more in the future.

Wind and other renewable power sources  especially solar, which can succeed in small-scale, dispersed uses  will be a big part of Wisconsins, Americas and the worlds energy future.

Some concerns about renewable energy may warrant further investigation, such as the effects of wind turbines on humans, bats and birds.
Mumbai: A couple of days after the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) announced its verdict to support net neutrality and ban differential pricing for data, a well-known Facebook investor and board member has lashed out at India on Twitter suggesting that anti-colonialism has been catastrophic for India.

Marc Lowell Andreessen, the companys board member, was extremely disappointed with the Indian telecom regulators decision to ban Facebooks Free Basics in the country.

Andreessen expressed his dissatisfaction publicly on Twitter and said that de-colonisation has been economically catastrophic for the country. "Anti-colonialism has been economically catastrophic for the Indian people for decades. Why stop now?" he tweeted.

A screen grab of Marc Andreessen's derogatory remark on Indian colonialism.The tweet was taken down by him after he received heavy criticism from Indians for his derogatory remarks on the country. Soon after, Andreessen offered a sarcastic apology and promised not to get involved in topics pertaining to India politics or economics.

I hereby withdraw from all future discussions of Indian economics or politics.  Carry on...  Marc Andreessen (@pmarca) February 10, 2016

And for the record, I am opposed to colonialism, in any country. https://t.co/3ommgZssMm  Marc Andreessen (@pmarca) February 10, 2016

TRAIs verdict comes as a major victory for supporters of net neutrality in India. The latest order disregards any pattern of differential data pricing which disallows platforms like Facebooks Free basics, zero-rating services, and special data packs.

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg has also expressed his disappointment regarding the Indian telecom regulators decision to ban Free Basics.

In a Facebook post, Zuckerberg said, Today India's telecom regulator decided to restrict programs that provide free access to data. This restricts one of Internet.org's initiatives, Free Basics, as well as programs by other organizations that provide free access to data.

While we're disappointed with today's decision, I want to personally communicate that we are committed to keep working to break down barriers to connectivity in India and around the world. Internet.org has many initiatives, and we will keep working until everyone has access to the internet, he added.

For readers who want to read TRAIs full order can click on this link.

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New Delhi: There are about 55,000 villages in India that do not have mobile coverage with the highest number of such locations in the state of Odisha, Parliament was informed on Friday.

"It is estimated that there are about 55,000 villages in the country that do not have mobile coverage. Mobile coverage to these uncovered villages is likely to be provided in a phased manner, subject to availability of financial resources," Minister of State for Communications Manoj Sinha said in a written reply to Rajya Sabha.

He added that the government has prioritised provision of mobile services in Left Wing Extremism (LWE) affected area, North eastern states, Islands and Himalayan states (Jammu and Kashmir, Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh) in the first phase. Odisha had the highest number of uncovered villages at 10,398, followed by Jharkhand (5,949 villages), Madhya Pradesh (5,926), Chattisgarh (4,041) and Andhra Pradesh (3,812), Karnataka, Kerala and Puducherry had no villages that weren't covered by mobile services.

The Minister said 5,81,183 out of 5,93,601 inhabited villages (97.9 per cent) of the country as per Census 2011 have been provided with Village Public Telephones (VPTs) with financial support from Universal Service Obligation Fund (USOF).

He added that a total of Rs 76,403.7 has been collected under Universal Access levy (UAL), while Rs 31,147.19 crore has been allocated and disbursed through USOF as on June 30, 2016.

In a separate reply, Sinha said of the targetted 400 new Branch Post Offices set for the current plan period, 344 have been opened by redeployment and relocation during the period from 2012-13 to 2015-16.

"The target for opening of Branch Post Offices during current financial year 2016-17 is 93," he said adding that no target has been set for the current plan period for upgradation of Branch Post Offices.

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Blantyre: A Malawi court Friday denied bail to an HIV-positive man who is facing charges of having sex with more than 100 adolescent girls as part of initiation rites into womanhood.

Eric Aniva, 45, was arrested last month, after he revealed that families paid him between four and seven dollars to have sexual intercourse with their children, in a traditional custom meant to prepare them to become good wives.

Magistrate Anderson Masanjala denied him bail saying "it is wise for Aniva to remain on remand so that police can finish their investigation."

He appeared before a packed courtroom without a lawyer, because he could not afford one. He could be jailed for life if found guilty of underage sex.

Aniva, who is from Malawi's southern district of Nsanje, is one of the men known as "hyenas" who are paid to have sex with young girls after their first menstruation.

He is said to have slept with at least 104 women, some girls as young as 12-years-old.

The ritual lasts three days.

Last month Malawi's President Peter Mutharika ordered Aniva's arrest, after he admitted to the act during a television interview.

The man who has two wives said he had also performed the so-called sexual cleansing act on widows and that he did not use protection, despite being infected with HIV, the virus that causes AIDS.

He claimed that custom did not allow him to use condoms.

It is believed that failure to perform the little-known ritual could lead to bad fortune for the families and the entire village.

Aniva's trial will resume on August 15.
The flight attendant also claimed that Faisal tried to hide his cell phone and that she had heard the couple use the word 'Allah'. (Photo: Representational Image)

Chicago: A Pakistani-American couple has claimed that they were removed from a US-bound flight as an on board crew member felt "uncomfortable" after noticing that they were "sweating", saying "Allah" and texting.

Nazia and Faisal Ali have accused Delta Air Lines of Islamophobia for throwing them off their flight from Paris to Cincinnati, Ohio.

Nazia, 34, had removed her sneakers, finished sending a text message to her parents and was putting on headphones and settling into her seat for the nine-hour flight from Paris to Cincinnati when a Delta Air Lines crew member approached her and husband, Faisal.

A flight crew member had complained to the pilot that she was uncomfortable with the Muslim couple, The Cincinnati Enquirer reported. The woman was wearing a head scarf and using a phone, and the man was sweating, she allegedly told the pilot.

The flight attendant also claimed that Faisal tried to hide his cell phone and that she had heard the couple use the word 'Allah'. The pilot contacted the ground crew and would not take off until couple was removed.

"We had been in our seats for 45 minutes," Nazia said yesterday in the Cincinnati area office of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR).

"The ground agent said, 'Can you step out with me? We'd like to ask you a few questions.' So I said, 'Do you want us to get our things?' And he said, 'Yes, please grab all of your personal belongings. You're not going to be on this flight'," Nazia said recounting the July 26 incident.

They were interrogated by a French police officer about their stay in Paris -- the couple had been enjoying a brief holiday in the capital city for their 10th wedding anniversary, media reports said.

After the interrogation, the officer said he had no problem with them and there was nothing else he could ask the couple.

In the wake of the couple's removal from the flight, the Muslim advocacy group has filed a religious profiling complaint against Delta Air Lines to the US Department of Transportation

"We call on the US Department of Transportation to conduct a thorough examination into the prevailing practices of major American air carriers, including Delta Air Lines, and to develop policy guidelines on the objective factors that are to be considered when determining that a passenger may legally be removed from a flight," CAIR-Cincinnati attorney Sana Hassan said.

The Delta Airlines, in a statement, said, "Delta condemns discrimination toward our customers in regards to age, race, nationality, religion, sexual orientation or gender."

"As a global airline that brings hundreds of thousands of people together every day, Delta is deeply committed to treating all of our customers with respect. Delta continues its investigation into this matter and will issue a full refund of these customers' airfare," it said.
New York: An American woman killed in a knife attack in London on Wednesday night was the wife of an eminent psychology professor at Florida State University (FSU), the university said in a statement on Thursday.

Richard Wagner, the Robert O Lawton Distinguished Professor of Psychology, and his wife were in London where he taught in the summer session at FSU's London Study Program, it said. Police in London have said she was in her 60s.

FSU did not name Wagner's wife, but Florida Governor Rick Scott identified her in a tweet as Darlene Horton and said that he and his wife were praying for her family and loved ones.

Horton died at the scene and five people were injured when a 19-year-old man with suspected mental health problems went on a rampage with a knife in central London's Russell Square. Police have said there was no evidence the attack was terrorism related.

"There are no words to express our heartache over this terrible tragedy," FSU President John Thrasher said in the statement.

FSU said its students had already left the program for the summer and that none were involved in the incident. James Pitts, director of FSU International Programs, said in the statement the couple had planned to return to Tallahassee on Thursday.
Australian officials overseeing the search for the plane last month said data recovered from the simulator included a flight path to the southern Indian Ocean. (Photo: Representational Image)

Kuala Lumpur: Malaysia has confirmed one of the pilots of Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 had plotted a course on his home flight simulator to the southern Indian Ocean, where the missing jet is believed to have crashed.

It's the first time Malaysia has acknowledged the route was on Captain Zaharie Ahmad Shah's simulator. Australian officials overseeing the search for the plane last month said data recovered from the simulator included a flight path to the southern Indian Ocean.

Transport Minister Liow Tiong Lai, who made the comments on Thursday, also cautioned there were "thousands" of destinations on the simulator and no evidence to confirm that Zaharie flew the plane in that area.

A recording of the news conference for local media was made available to The Associated Press on Friday.
London: Almost 33 years after committing the crime, Bristol Crown Court in UK on Thursday convicted a 60-year-old man for binding and raping a 15-year-old girl in a dungeon.

According to reports, the attacker, David Green, was convicted after police identified him as the culprit through advanced DNA samples and a tattoo on his forearm.

Green assaulted the survivor as she was walking to her workplace along the seafront at Weston-super-Mare in Somerset in the afternoon of July 17, 1983.

After approaching the victim on the pretext of asking for directions, he grabbed her and dragged her to a 'filthy, dank and dark' store building, where he bound her hands and mouth with tape and raped her for over an hour.

Green was not apprehended at that time, but the Somerset police initiated a reinvestigation into several such cases in 2015.

The police obtained Greens DNA samples from the clothing and swabs taken from the victim that were stored. By matching the samples with the national DNA database, the authorities were able to identify Green, leading to his arrest in February this year.

The police, meanwhile, had also contacted the victim, who recalled that her attacker had a tattoo in his arm that read Dave.

During the investigation, the police were successfully able to identify the tattoo in Greens forearm, tightening the case.

He was also discovered to have a string of convictions relating to sexual offences, dating from 1975 to 2002, and was even jailed for nine years after admitting charges of kidnap, sexual assault and false imprisonment.

The court also heard how the victim, throughout her ordeal, was terrified of being killed by Green.

As he was being led away to begin his sentence, Green was seen saying 'I'm sorry'. He was ordered to register as a sex offender for 10 years.
Zakaria Bulhan is yet to be officially named by Scotland Yard but UK media reports confirm the London schoolboy as the suspect being held over the murder of 64-year-old American retired teacher Darlene Horton. (Photo: AFP)

London: The 19-year-old Norwegian national of Somali-origin, who is in police custody on charges of murder after going on a knife rampage in London, has been described as a "quiet, nice" schoolboy and initial probe indicate that tragic incident was triggered by mental health issues.

Zakaria Bulhan is yet to be officially named by Scotland Yard but UK media reports confirm the London schoolboy as the suspect being held over the murder of 64-year-old American retired teacher Darlene Horton.

A schoolmate, who went to Graveney School in Tooting, south London, with Bulhan told 'Daily Mirror': "It's one of the most shocking things I have ever heard.

No-one would have expected that he would turn out like that.

"He was a quiet, nice kid who had banter with people. He was just a nice kid. I have seen some reports that say he was bullied but it was just banter - he gave back as good as he got. It was a two-way thing."

Norwegian Police said in a statement that the suspect had emigrated from Norway to the UK in 2002 and they were assisting London police.

Scotland Yard had searched addresses in north London and another in south London and concluded that mental health issues were the most likely cause of the "random attack".

After an initial indication that terrorism was one line of inquiry, the force confirmed that there was no evidence of radicalisation or anything to suggest the attack was "in any way motivated by terrorism".

"Whilst the investigation is not yet complete - all of the work that we have done so far, increasingly points to this tragic incident as having been triggered by mental health issues," Metropolitan police assistant commissioner Mark Rowley said.

"So far we have found no evidence of radicalisation or anything that would suggest the man in our custody was motivated by terrorism," he added.

A British man who suffered a stab wound to his stomach in the attack at Russell Square, near the British Museum, remains in hospital in a "serious but stable" condition while an American man, an Australian man and Australian woman, and an Israeli woman were all discharged after receiving treatment for their injuries.

Horton, who died at the scene, was set to return to Florida today with husband Richard Wagner, a psychology professor at Florida State University (FSU), after he completed his summer classes on the day of the attack. It is understood that university officials have flown to London to support him.

Floria State University president John Thrasher said, "There are no words to express our heartache over this terrible tragedy".

The Met police said there is an increased police presence in the area popular with tourists, which will remain in place for some time.
The youngest Obama is using her full name Natasha at the restaurant, where she is protected by six Secret Service agents stationed rather conspicuously on the takeout benches during her shifts. (Photo: AFP)

London: After living eight of her 15 years in the luxurious confines of the White House, the first daughter of the United States of America, Sasha Obama, is all set to learn other half of life this summer.

President Barack Obama's youngest daughter has currently taken up a summer job at Nancy`s restaurant on Martha's Vineyard, a local hot spot that serves fried seafood and milkshakes, reports the Daily Mail.

Sasha was spotted in her uniform of a blue t-shirt, hat and khaki banks, ringing up take-out orders for hungry customers.

Reportedly, the youngest Obama is using her full name Natasha at the restaurant, where she is protected by six Secret Service agents stationed rather conspicuously on the takeout benches during her shifts.

"She`s been working downstairs at takeout. We were wondering why there were six people helping this girl, but then we found out who it was," said a server at the restaurant.

Nancy's has always been a favourite joint for the Obamas whenever they visit Martha`s Vineyard. The Obamas are said to be friends with Nancy`s owner Joe Moujabber, who set Sasha up with her summer job.

She has reportedly been working the four-hour shift early in the morning and is believed to be there until Saturday, around when the rest of the family are expected to arrive for the president`s annual summer vacation.
President Barack Obama talks about the war on terrorism and efforts to degrade and destroy the Islamic State group, during a news conference at the Pentagon. (Photo: AP)

Washington: US President Barack Obama has expressed doubts whether to trust Russia to cooperate militarily with America in putting an end to the Syrian crisis, saying the proposition needs to be tested first.

"I'm not confident that we can trust the Russians or Vladimir Putin, which is why we have to test whether or not we can get an actual cessation of hostilities. That includes an end to the kinds of aerial bombing and civilian death and destruction that we've seen carried out by the Assad regime," Obama told reporters at news conference yesterday.

He said Russia may not be able to get there, either because they don't want to, or because they don't have sufficient influence over Assad and that will be tested by the US.

"We go into this without any blinders on. We're very clear that Russia has been willing to support a murderous regime that has an individual, Assad, who has destroyed his country just to cling on to power. What started with peaceful protests has led to a shattering of an entire pretty advanced society," Obama said.

"Whenever you are trying to broker any kind of deal with an individual or a country like that, you have got to go in there with some scepticism," he said while replying to a question.

Talking about the Syrian crisis Obama said defeating the ISIS and Al-Qaeda requires and end to the civil war and the Assad regime's brutality against the Syrian people that has pushed people into the arms of extremists.

"The regime and its allies continue to violate the cessation of hostilities, including with vicious attacks on defenceless civilians, medieval sieges against cities like Aleppo, and blocking food from reaching families that are starving."

"It is deplorable and the depravity of the Syrian regime has rightly earned the condemnation of the world," he said.

In a strong message to Russia, Obama said the country's direct involvement in these actions over the last several weeks raises very serious questions about their commitment to pulling the situation back from the brink.

"The US remains prepared to work with Russia to try to reduce the violence and strengthen our efforts against ISIL and Al-Qaeda in Syria, but so far Russia has failed to take the necessary steps."

Given the deteriorating situation, it is time for Russia to show that it is serious about pursuing these objectives," he said.
The Republican primary challenger to U.S. House Speaker Paul Ryan told a radio host this week that its time for a national discussion about deporting all U.S. Muslims  a step that almost certainly would violate the U.S. Constitution, according to a prominent Wisconsin conservative legal scholar.

Paul Nehlen, a Delavan businessman, made the comment on a Chicago-area radio talk show earlier this week.

Asked if hes suggesting the nation deport all U.S. Muslims, Nehlen responded: Im suggesting we have a discussion about it, thats for sure.

Later in the interview, Nehlen denied having said that, saying instead that he wants to deport only the U.S. Muslims who adhere to Sharia  the religious system of laws governing members of the Muslim faith.

Nehlen also characterized Islam as the only major religion that encourages lying.

Nehlens comments go beyond his partys presidential nominee, Donald Trump, with whom he has aligned his own long-shot challenge to Ryan, R-Janesville. Nehlens candidacy recently has gotten a crush of national attention after Trump used his Twitter account to praise Nehlen. Reports also show Trump supporters from outside of Wisconsin are coming here to help Nehlen oust Ryan, who has feuded with Trump.

Trump has proposed banning Muslims from traveling to the U.S., spurring criticism from officials in both parties, including Ryan and other top Republicans.

Nehlen is discussing going much further, targeting the more than 3 million Muslims who live in the U.S.  many of whom are U.S. citizens.

Rick Esenberg, a legal scholar who runs the conservative Wisconsin Institute for Law and Liberty, said any proposal to deport U.S. citizens based on their religious views likely would be unconstitutional on multiple fronts. It likely would violate the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment and the First Amendment, which guarantees freedom of religion, he said.

If youre talking about deporting U.S. citizens based upon their religion, I think youd have a constitutional problem, Esenberg said.

Nehlen also said in the interview that he wants 24-hour surveillance of U.S. mosques.

They should be monitoring all the mosques very closely, Nehlen said.

Nehlens comments drew a swift rebuke from one of the leading Republicans in the state Legislature. Assembly Majority Leader Jim Steineke said of Nehlen in a post to his Twitter account: Hes a special kind of stupid. You can quote me on that.

Steineke, R-Kaukauna, has been among the most vocal Trump critics among Wisconsin Republican elected officials.
Egypt's North Sinai, which borders Israel and the Gaza Strip, has witnessed many violent attacks by militants in the last few years, particularly since the January 2011 revolution that toppled ex-president Hosni Mubarak. (Representational photo: file)

Cairo: The leader of an Islamic State affiliated group in Egypt's restive Sinai province and 45 other militants have been killed in an army operation, officials said on Friday.

Abu Doaa el-Ansari, the leader of the Sinai-based militant group - Ansar Beit el-Maqdes - and 45 other militants, including some of his senior aides, were killed in el-Arish city of North Sinai in an operation by Egypt's armed forces, army spokesperson Brigadier General Mohamed Samir said in a statement on Facebook.

Many others were injured in the army raid while it destroyed depots where weapons, ammunition and explosives were stashed, Samir said.

Ansar Beit el-Maqdes had pledged allegiance to Islamic State militant group in 2014.

The group has also claimed responsibility for downing the Russian airliner carrying holidaymakers from an Egyptian resort last year, that killed all 224 people on board.

Egypt's North Sinai, which borders Israel and the Gaza Strip, has witnessed many violent attacks by militants in the last few years, particularly since the January 2011 revolution that toppled ex-president Hosni Mubarak.

The attacks targeting police and military personnel increased after the ouster of Islamist ex-president Mohamed Morsi in 2013 following massive protests against his rule.

Over 700 security personnel have been reported killed since then.

The military has launched security operations in the area, arrested suspects and demolished houses that belong to terrorists, including those facilitating tunnels leading to the Gaza Strip.
Thiruvananthapuram: Many passengers of the ill-fated Emirates aircraft that crashlanded in Dubai on Wednesday were more bothered about collecting their baggage from the overhead storage space than trying to get out of the plane fast.

In the process, they also blocked others from exiting although the crew were screaming for an emergency evacuation.

This has been shown in a two-minute video footage, probably shot by a passenger on board the aircraft. The video that has gone viral on the social media reveals the extent to which people can go these days with their mobile cameras even when human life is in danger. A woman is seen urging the co-passengers not to be panic, while some others were asking everyone to get out of the plane.

A person tells his son to take the laptop and everything, while many scream for their children and parents. As the members of the crew tell the passengers to jump out of the aircraft's emergency exits, many are heard crying God before rushing out.
Dhaka: In a crackdown on media, Bangladesh government has blocked over 30 online portals and news websites, including some pro-opposition media.

The head of the national telecoms regulator Bangladesh Telecommunications and Regulatory Commission (BTRC) said the websites were shut down late last night on government orders.

BTRC chairman Shahjahan Mahmood, however, did not assign any reason for the action, the bdnews reported.

The list of blocked news portals included Sheershanews.com and amardeshonline, a news portal linked to a pro-opposition Bengali daily that the government shut down in 2013.

The government had cancelled Amar Desh daily's licence accusing it of provoking religious hatred. It has been operating as an internet newspaper since then.

Sheersha News Editor Ekramul Haque told bdnews24.com that their website could not be seen.

"I've heard that BTRC has blocked our website. But we have not been explained why the website has been blocked," he was quoted as saying by bdnews.

The crackdown comes after the government banned live television coverage of terror attacks following the last month's deadly assault on a cafe here in which 22 people were killed.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina had publicly criticised Bangladeshi TV channels over live telecast of the government's preparations during the country's worst hostage crisis.
The Himalayan railway would start from Xigaze, a city in Tibet, run to Gyirong, a land port on the Chinese border, and extend into Nepal. (Representational Image: AFP)

Beijing: Chinese officials say a trans-Himalayan railway connecting Tibet with India and Nepal is economically and technically feasible as Beijing looks to make Tibet an economic and cultural hub connecting China with South Asia.

"The construction of a railway crossing the Himalayan mountains is now economically and technologically feasible," Zong Gang, Deputy Director of the Science and Technology Department at Beijing University of Technology, told a forum in Beijing run by the China Tibetology Research Centre.

The Himalayan railway would start from Xigaze, a city in Tibet, run to Gyirong, a land port on the Chinese border, and extend into Nepal, although it would not be a high-speed railway, state-run China Daily quoted Chinese researchers as saying at the forum yesterday.

China built a railway running for more than 1,100 km to connect the highland region of Tibet with the rest of the country in 2006 and extended it to Xigaze with an additional 250-km rail link connecting the city to Tibetan provincial capital Lhasa.

China now mulls a rail link to both Nepal and Yadong, a Tibetan county close to Sikkim border. Chinese officials say that in future it can be connected to India.

The daily today published a map with railway line linking Xigaze with Yadong and Burang, both closer to Indian borders in Sikkim and Uttarakhand, and Gyirong, bordering Nepal.

The altitude at Gyirong port is 2,800 meters above sea level, while the Gyirong mountain pass to Nepal lies at about 1,800 meters, making the railway geographically feasible, Zong said.

In contrast, Lhasa where China has built a railway network is about 3,700 meters above sea level and the altitude at Xigaze is about 3,800 meters.

The rail line extension between Xigaze and Nepal border was agreed this year during visit of pro-China Prime Minister K P Sharma Oli, who signed transit treaty with China in a bid to reduce landlocked Nepal's dependence on India for supplies.

But the fall of the Oli government and the election of Pushpa Kamal Dahal alias Prachanda as new Prime Minister has raised anxieties in Beijing over the return of India's influence in the Himalayan nation and the fate of a number of connectivity projects.

"Once Prachanda takes power, he is bound to rectify Oli's pro-China tendency when in government and take India's interests into account, as India is sour about losing its grip on Nepal," according to an article in the state-run Global Times published on July 29.

"The fixed agreements between China and the Oli government are unlikely to be changed, or it will deal a heavy blow to bilateral ties, which is too much for the new government to bear," it said.
Ansari had gone missing after he was taken into custody by intelligence agencies and local police in Kohat in 2012. (Representational photo: file)

Peshawar: A 31-year-old Indian prisoner, convicted by a military court this year for possessing a fake Pakistani identity card, was attacked twice by inmates in a Peshawar jail during the last two months, his lawyer has said.

Hamid Nehal Ansari, a Mumbai resident arrested in 2012 for illegally entering Pakistan from Afghanistan reportedly to meet a girl he had befriended online, suffered injuries after he was attacked by inmates in the Peshawar Central Prison.

Ansari's lawyer Qazi Mohammad Anwar told a Peshawar High Court bench yesterday that his client had been kept in a death cell with a hardened criminal awaiting execution for a murder.

Superintendent of the prison Masoodur Rehman confirmed the incidents but insisted they're of minor nature and that such incidents did happen in prisons, the Dawn reported on Friday.

Rehman also told the bench that Ansari, who was serving three years jail term, had been kept in the death cell.

"He (Ansari) can't be kept in a normal barrack along with other prisoners for the sake of his security," he said.

Ansari's lawyer said the jail superintendent should give an undertaking to the court that attacks wont happen against his client in future.

The superintendent, however, said he couldn't give a written guarantee in that regard, the paper said.

Ansari had gone missing after he was taken into custody by intelligence agencies and local police in Kohat in 2012 and finally in reply to a habeas corpus petition filed by his mother, Fauzia Ansari, the high court was informed on January 13 that he was in custody of the Pakistan Army and was being tried by a military court.

He was convicted by the military court for possessing a fake Pakistani identity card and sentenced to three years imprisonment.
Shafiul was a member of Jamayetul Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB), which is accused of carrying out a wave of killings of foreigners and religious minorities. (Photo: PTI)

Dhaka: An Islamist extremist accused of carrying a deadly attack on Bangladesh's biggest Eid gathering was killed in a 'gun fight' when terrorists attacked a police van transporting him, police said on Friday.

Shafiul Islam, 22, was being driven to a police station yesterday when the Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) vehicle carrying him was attacked by terrorists.

Lt Col Shariful Islam, Commanding Officer of Rab-14 said Shafiul was killed during the gun fight.

He said three security personnel were also injured in the clashes and two motorcycles, arms and bullets were recovered from the spot.

RAB claimed the gun battle took place while militants were trying to take Shafiul away, bdnews reported.

Bombs exploded near an Eid prayer gathering in Sholakia in northern Kishoreganj district on July 7 where at least 200,000 people had gathered. Four persons, including two policemen and a Hindu woman, were also killed in the attack.

Shafiul was a member of Jamayetul Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB), which is accused of carrying out a wave of killings of foreigners and religious minorities.
Seven passengers were on board, six of them Pakistanis and one a Russian technician. (Representational photo: file)

Islamabad: A Pakistani government helicopter crash-landed in Taliban-held territory in neighbouring Afghanistan on Thursday and all passengers and crew are feared captured by the insurgents, officials said.

The helicopter went down in Logar province, close to the Afghan-Pakistan border - an increasingly lawless area since a two-year Pakistani military operation pushed many Taliban and allied fighters further into Afghanistan.

Unconfirmed reports said that the Taliban group holding crew of Pak chopper wants to swap them for Mullah Baradar who was arrested by Pak in 2010. Mullah Baradar is one of the key figures in Taliban who was responsible for its inception.

"Those detained by the Taliban are Pakistanis," Sameem Saleh, spokesman for Logar's governor, said. "The chopper was not shot but made the landing because of technical failure."

A Pakistani Foreign Office spokesman confirmed that a helicopter belong to the Punjab provincial government had gone down, saying the fate of the crew was not yet clear.

"The Afghan authorities have assured they will investigate and learn about the whereabouts of the helicopter and the passengers," spokesman Nafees Zakaria said.

He said seven passengers were on board, six of them Pakistanis and one a Russian technician. The pilot was Pakistani.

The aircraft had permission to fly over Afghan air space on its way to Uzbekistan further north, he said.

Pakistani army chief General Raheel Sharif spoke with top US commander General John Nicholson on Thursday asking for the international military coalition's help in recovering the Pakistani personnel, military spokesman Lt General Asim Bajwa, said in a tweet.

Hameed Khan, district governor of Azra district of Logar, said the helicopter landed in his border district, which lies across from Pakistan's Kurram agency.

"They were detained by the Taliban," Khan said.

A senior Pakistani military official said the Russian-made MI-17 transport helicopter was en route from Peshawar in northwest Pakistan to Uzbekistan for maintenance when it experienced technical failure and made an emergency landing.

He said there was no information about the occupants.

Other military officials, also speaking on condition of anonymity, said three of those aboard the helicopter were retired security officials.
An MI-17 helicopter owned by Punjab provincial government was on its way to Russia for routine maintenance when it was forced to make crash-landing on Taliban control area in Afghanistan. (Photo: AFP/Representational Image)

Islamabad: Pakistan on Friday sought help from the US and Afghan government to ensure safe return of the crew of a Pakistani helicopter that crash-landed in a lawless region of Afghanistan and is being held by the Taliban.

An MI-17 helicopter owned by Punjab provincial government was on its way to Russia for routine maintenance when it was forced to make crash-landing on Thursday in Logar, a province with large areas under Taliban control.

Pakistan army spokesman said that army chief General Raheel Sharif called NATO and US forces top commander in Afghanistan General John Nicholson and Afghan President Ashraf Ghani for help to get back the crew.

"General Nicolson assured all possible help in this regard," it said.

President Ghani also promised his support in locating and getting back the crew members, army said.

Afghan ministry of defence spokesman Dawlat Waziri said in a statement in Kabul that his country "ordered its security forces to use all force necessary to rescue the helicopter crew in question."

Afghan Taliban sources said that seven crew members, including a Russian national, were in their custody and the central leadership will make a decision for their return.

Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif said federal government is in constant touch with the relevant authorities in Afghanistan and the state's resources are fully utilised to rescue the personnel who were onboard in the helicopter.

"Formal and informal channels are being used to ensure safe recovery of the entire crew," he said in a statement.

"We are profoundly concerned about the safety of the whole team that was travelling on the helicopter. We have formally requested the Government of Afghanistan to help in their safe recovery, at the earliest possible," he said further.

It is not known what forced the plane to crash-land in the hostile terrain and region.
IRD: Will 2016 Presidential Campaign Discourage Young Christians?

Contact: Chelsen Vicari, Institute on Religion & Democracy, 540-239-2170, cvicari@theird.org

WASHINGTON, Aug. 4, 2016 /Christian Newswire/ -- Amid ambivalence about the 2016 U.S. presidential campaign, there is a greater need than ever for young Christians especially to advocate a thoughtful Christian public witness.

Many young Evangelical Christians are especially distressed by the absence in this campaign of advocacy for sanctity of life, marriage, healthy families, religious liberty, the persecution of religious minorities abroad and other pressing social problems.

IRD President Mark Tooley urges young Christians with a political calling to shun despair and renew their passion for reforming society based on a Christian anthropology affirming dignity for all persons.

IRD President Mark Tooley commented:

"The current presidential campaign and political climate are justifiably discouraging to many Christians, especially young people, many of whom wonder if they in particular or Christians in general are relevant in American public life.

"The calling for Christians to witness to justice in every society is for all times and places, from China to Latin America, and certainly for American in 2016 and beyond.

"In many ways a robust Christian social witness is needed now more than ever. Many old ways of Christian political activism have failed or no longer work. A return to first principles of Christian teaching about the vocation of government is needed to address the future.

"Christian institutions, especially Evangelical, must show leadership by rediscovering the riches of Christian political traditions for equipping young Christians today to address the challenging years ahead."

www.TheIRD.org
Government school students have expressed their concern at the Delhi governments Chunauti 2018 programme.





Many of them have complained that the schools are forcing them to opt for the modified patrachar vidyalaya  the Education Department's correspondence division.



The project is aimed at arresting the drop-out rates in schools and improving learning levels from class VI to IX.



Under it, the department has divided students into three groups  Pratibha, Nishtha, and Vishwas  based on their learning achievements.



The students, who have failed class IX twice or more are being enrolled in vishwas and they will write their class X exam through the Modified Patrachar Scheme Examination (MPSE).

Forced to enrol



However, several students have alleged that they are being forced by their schools to enrol themselves in the vishwas group even when they have failed class X just once.

I was called by my class teacher who forced my parents to sign on the form requesting for patrachar or else I will be failed again, said Manju, a student of Government Co-ed Senior Secondary School, Shahbad Daulatpur.



Manjus mother said that her elder daughter is already studying through patrachar and has failed again and she doesnt think the programme can produce better results.



Similarly, parents of Manisha of class X from the same school, said that when their daughter asked for her Math paper, in which she had failed, the teacher asked to pay Rs 500 for reviewing the paper.



When we said we cannot pay the amount, she asked us to opt for patrachar, said Raghuvir, Manisha's father.



School Principal Mrinalini Gautam, however denied the allegations. We are not forcing anyone. Students have some doubts about the scheme and we will counsel and explain them its benefits. The students who opt for patrachar will be enrolled like regular students and will get all the benefits, said

Mrinalini.


Religious Colleges Under Attack in Calif.

NEW YORK, August 5, 2016 / Christian Newswire / -- Bill Donohue comments on an anti-religious freedom bill in California:

Los Angeles Archbishop Jose Gomez is sounding the alarm about SB 1146, the bill we recently warned would gut the religious identity of faith-based colleges and universities in California.



In a joint statement ( In a joint statement ( click here ) with Bishop Charles Blake of the 6 million member, worldwide Church of God in Christ, Archbishop Gomez warns that under the so-called "Equity in Higher Education Act," religious schools that receive state funds or whose students receive state aid would be forced to adopt practices "contrary to their beliefs and teachings."

The legislation, sponsored by Sen. Ricardo Lara, would mandate bathrooms based on "gender identity" rather than male-female. It would require that married dorms be opened up to same-sex couples. It "even has the government setting guidelines for what 'religious practices' and 'rules for moral conduct' will be acceptable," Bishops Gomez and Blake write. It could restrict a school's ability to teach its religious faith or require student attendance at worship services, and it could be used to require that gay and lesbian clubs and activities be allowed on campus.

This goes way beyond the issue of gay and lesbian rights. It is clearly an effort to use that agenda to attack and weaken the moral foundations of Christianity.

It would also gravely weaken faith-based institutions financially, by forcing them to either compromise their moral principles or incur costly litigation to fight the bill's oppressive provisions. And it would gravely harm low-income and minority families, millions of whom, throughout California, utilize faith-based colleges and universities, and depend on financial assistance to be able to do so.
home US U.S. Christian missionaries & 3 kids killed in car crash; Family were preparing for mission in Japan

A family of five planning to move to Japan for their missionary work died in a multi-car crash accident on Interstate 80 in Nebraska last week.

The tragic accident crushed the plans of Minneapolis couple Jamison and Kathryne Pals, both 29, who planned to move their family of five to Nagoya, Japan as missionaries. The couple traveled together with their three young children, three-year-old Ezra, one-year-old Violet and two-month-old Calvin, from Minnesota to Colorado for the final training of a five-week session on language to prepare for their deployment to the eastern Asian country.

According to Omaha World Herald, Keith County Court charged on Tuesday semitrailer truck driver Tony Weekly Jr. of five counts of felony for vehicular homicide and one count of reckless driving.

Nebraska State Patrol trooper reported in their arrest affidavit that the 53-year-old truck driver charged at the Pals' minivan "at a high rate of speed" and that Weekly was "inattentive and distracted by outside influences."

The collision also crushed into the Plymouth minivan driven by 56-year-old Terry Sullivan, the sixth person who died on Monday from the accident.

Andy Carr, vice president of the Christian nonprofit organization Feed My Starving Children, described the couple as "the most humble and selfless people that you could ever meet."

"In today's world where it's so much about me, me, me, it was never about them. It was always about others," he said.

Carr added that Jamison brought in more than $1 million when the latter worked for more than three years as a grant writer for the organization. The money provided food for the malnourished children across the world. Jamison also became the go-to person for small organizations that needed guidance.

"He would gladly assist them, and his impact went far beyond Feed My Starving Children," said Carr.

Ministry organization WorldVenture said the Pals' supervisors noted that the couple "were all about the people of Japan being reached for Jesus that they might know the joy of salvation."

WorldVenture also announced that the memorial service for the couple, who shared the good news of Jesus since their college days, and their children would be held at their local church, Bethlehem Baptist Church of Minneapolis, on Saturday.
LONGMONT, Colo., Aug. 5, 2016 -- IntelliProp, Inc., a leader in innovative Intellectual Property (IP) Cores and semiconductors for Data Storage applications, announced today the availability of a new, NVMe Host Accelerator IP Core, the IPC-NV164-HI. The NVMe Host Accelerator Core will find primary application with companies doing FPGA and ASIC designs who need connectivity with PCIe based NVMe storage devices. The new IP Core was developed at IntelliProp's Longmont, Colorado design center. The first customer deliveries have been completed.

The IPC-NV164-HI NVMe Host Accelerator IP Core allows companies to communicate with PCIe based NVMe storage devices. Compliant with the NVMe 1.2c specification, the NVMe Host IP Core provides a small footprint processor or hardware state-machine based register interface for data movement between a user-defined data buffer and an NVMe SSD. The simplified user interface of the NVMe Host IP core allows RTL Designers with minimal knowledge of the PCIe and NVMe specification, the ability to interface with high performance NVMe SSDs. The IP handles initialization of the PCIe Hard Block, building command submissions, parsing command completions, and initializing command queues. "We manage the command and completion queues in hardware so that the user does not require an embedded processor to talk to the NVMe drive," said Hiren Patel, VP of Business Development at IntelliProp. "Initial support is available today for the Xilinx Kintex UltraScale, Xilinx 7-Series, and Altera Arria 10 FPGAs with other FPGAs soon to be available," continued Mr. Patel. For additional information please visit our website at www.intelliprop.com or call (303) 774-0535.

IntelliProp will be exhibiting at Flash Memory Summit, held at the Santa Clara Convention Center, August 9-11, 2016. IntelliProp will be in booth #821. Stop by and see our demo of the NVMe Host IP core and other flash enabled products.

About IntelliProp - IntelliProp, Inc. develops IP cores, ASSP Products and highly integrated licensable IP Products for the Data Storage industry. Areas of significant expertise include SATA, SAS, PCIe/NVMe and RAID technologies. IntelliProp's headquarters, sales office, and design center are located in Longmont, CO. Please see our internet site for more information: http://www.intelliprop.com.






How does one keep a pet in Cuba? Animals are among those who bear the brunt of an economic crisis. They are the voiceless, right-deprived victims of a system that does not even work for their owners.

Animals are amongst those that bear the brunt of an economic crisis. They are the voiceless, right-deprived victims of a system that does not even work for their owners.

According to Ana, a Spanish resident in Cuba, the treatment some pets receive is a reflection of a society "impoverished by constant economic crises." She recounts how one night, while waiting at a veterinary clinic in Playa for her dog to be treated, another was brought in that had been stabbed by an irritated neighbor.

Hilda, another lover of dogs notes, "to have dogs at home one must be aware of the responsibility they entail."

"Dogs are not like cats, which take less time to train, and are more independent. They depend on us completely; otherwise they become a nuisance for which the State lacks any humane solution."

Zoonosis is the institution dedicated to animal control in Cuba, and the only solution it applies to abandoned animals is euthanization.

There are canine clubs, but to operate they must register with the Ministry of Agriculture and become part of a bureaucratic system that ends up exhausting their members. Such was the case with the Cuban Greyhounds Club, which, after many efforts, was ultimately shut down.

Irina Echerry's's fifth floor space in Alamar serves as a dog shelter. After getting them off the streets, she heals, feeds and tries to relocate them through PAC (City Animal Protection), the only organization that is currently doing work that is "worthwhile".

"One locates them by mail or phone, and the management is totally autonomous," she explains.

PACCUBA offers two channels through which interested parties can access the organization: Facebook, and at [email protected]. It depends entirely on the goodwill of supporters.

The State does not guarantee any legal status or economic support for these initiatives, nor does it have any kind of facility in which to house abandoned pets.

Zoila, a member of PAC, fears that if the issue of stray dogs in the city is handled superficially there will be "more executions at Zoonosis."

"It is a problem of public awareness; if we are weak in terms of how we treat each other, we can hardly expect much with regards to animals," she adds.

She is not the only one who thinks along these lines. "A State's indifference can only generate misery. And abandoned or abused animals are the worst manifestation of this situation," says Hilda.

Keeping a pet costs money

And it's not easy to keep a pet in Cuba.

Animal lovers, under certain circumstances, are capable of sharing their plate of food with them. Adriana goes to the fish seller weekly to buy catfish for her cat; Milay gives her dog what the State claims is "ground beef," issued to her with her son's ration card; Yenny buys her Pekinese dry dog food, paying 11 CUC for two kilos; and Eva makes a special menu for her Labrador: boiled rice with kidney, liver and other viscera.

Although not everyone can afford the same things, in most cases people make a "major effort to keep their pets clean and pretty," says Alina.

Among the stores opened by Cuban entrepreneurs in Havana are shops and private clinics for pets.

"It's a business that people consider a luxury, and there is a lot of money in it," says Alain Osorio, a veterinarian with over 15 years of experience.

"But there is also a lot of social work, because there are always those who show up, and you can tell that they have no money, so I, at least, tell them not to pay. And all self-respecting veterinarians do the same thing. That's an unwritten rule among us," he adds.

A consultation costs between 5 and 10 CUC, but customers can pay up to 20 CUC. Hexavalent and pentavalent canine vaccines used to cost between 8 and 10 CUC, but have now risen to between 15 and 20 CUC.

Dog sanitization, which including bathing and clipping nails, is charged depending on the animal's size, fur and the danger involved.

The price difference between services provided by private parties and the State is huge. The Carlos III Clinic, one of the most centrally located, only charges 8 Cuban pesos per consult, but drugs are usually scarce and the building's condition, at least in the on-duty area, is deplorable.

Alain, who also worked for a few years at the Carlos III Clinic, says that "the whole world is talking about comprehensive health," because "when a pet gets sick the owner is at risk of getting sick too."

"But here we have to put up with doctors who underestimate the issue, a health system that does not validate veterinarians' prescriptions at any pharmacies, and the fact that there is no animal protection law," he criticizes. "That's why people abandon them, without any mercy."

While some people cannot afford the services that are being provided by the self-employed, their products have been well received.

A flea collar costs 10 CUC; a muzzle, 5 to 15 CUC; and a dewormer, Parentel, 3 CUC.

Among the products that some might consider a luxury are a padded bed, costing between 25 and 30 CUC; clothes for dogs, 5 to 12 CUC; a trough, 25 CUC; a brush, 10 CUC; rubber toys, 4 to 7 CUC, and a crate, from 100 to 500 CUC.
LG V20 will be unveiled on September 6 with the tagline Play More

LG will be unveiling the V20 smartphone at an event scheduled to be held on September 6, in San Francisco. The announcement was made via an image shared on the company's social media channels. The image itself doesn't reveal much about the phone, only the launch date and the tagline - Play More. The only thing known for sure till now is that the phone will come with Android Nougat v7.0.

Considering the fact that the launch date is just a month away, it is possible for the LG V20 to become the first phone launched with Google's newest operating system. This would come as a big surprise considering that it's usually a Nexus smartphone that gets that honour. However, this does mean that Google should officially release Android Nougat v.7.0 either on or before September 6. This matches up to an earlier tweet by leakster Evan Blass, which stated that the company was planning to launch the new OS sometime in August.

Coming back to the LG V20, a leak from South Korean website, Sedaily, had suggested that the upcoming device may feature a 5.5-inch Full HD display. If true, this would mean that the display on the new phone would be inferior to its predecessor, the LG V10, which sported a 5.7-inch QHD display. However, as per the rest of the leak, the phone seems to be an improvement in every way. The device is tipped to be powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 820 SoC, and might be available in 3GB and 4GB RAM variants, along with 32GB and 64GB storage options. The device might also feature 20MP and 8MP cameras. The leak didn't mention if the V20 would come with a dual-screen or a dual-front camera setup, something that it's predecessor was known for.
Investment bank Goldman Sachs has expressed concerns that it may have to restructure its business in Britain after the country's decision to leave the European Union in June.

Goldman made the remarks in a US regulatory filing on Thursday, the most concrete sign that one of Wall Street's biggest players could be directly affected by the landmark referendum vote.

The bank, which employs around 5,500 people in the UK, said that the result of the referendum and its subsequent knock-on effects "may adversely affect the manner in which we operate certain of our businesses in the European Union and could require us to restructure".

Former EU chief Jose Manuel Barroso was recently appointed chairman of Goldman Sachs' London-based subsidiary.

In the filing, the investment banking giant said Brexit will "likely change the arrangements by which UK firms are able to provide services in the European Union".

Other Wall Street banks have also given indications that the fallout from Brexit will affect their operations, including the likes of JP Morgan, whose chief executive Jamie Dimon told an Italian newspaper last month that it may have to move some thousands of employees to other branches in the eurozone.

The framework of the UKs engagement with the EU, including trade agreements, will be negotiated over a period of years. For the moment, we will continue to serve our clients as usual, and our operating model in the UK remains the same, Dimon told staff in a memo.

Most banks have said that the possible inability of using the EU "passports" they have will make it difficult to conduct some operations within Britain.
Renault-Nissan chief executive said he was reasonably optimistic that after Brexit the country will continue to be an important partner with the European Union.

Carlos Ghosn said that the UK will be a big partner for the trading block but commented: "The question is what will happen to customs, trade and circulation of products. That will determine how, and how much we will invest in the UK.

He said to the BBC that Renault-Nissan was not ready to plan for its manufacturing plant in Sunderland, which employs about 6,700 people, as investment in the plant depends on how well Brexit negotiations go.

He also said that the prices of cars made in Europe and sold in the UK will rise and nothing could be determined once the sterling stabilises. Since the EU referendum the pound had plummeted against the US dollar.

The Franco-Japanese Sunderland plant is the biggest in the UK and last year made 500,000 cars, most of which was imported to Europe.
Frances trade balance worsened in June as shipments to the US registered a large decline, although the outcome was not as bad as feared.

The shortfall in the countrys trade increased from -2.7bn in May to -3.4bn in June.

Nevertheless, economists had been expecting to see -3.9bn of red ink.

Exports to the rest of the world declined by 1.8% month-on-month with imports little changed.

Sales to the UK and the remainder of the Eurozone improved slightly versus May.
Espinosa Cigars is about to unveil a major expansion to its 601 brand. This includes the addition of six new blends, the return of the 601 Black line, and line extensions to two existing 601 lines.

According to Hector Alfonso, Director of Factory Operations at the Espinosa La Zona factory, the blends were not showcased at the 2016 IPCPR Trade Show because the packaging was not ready. Alfonso also informed Cigar Coop these were projects in the works, but with the pending FDA regulations set to go into effect on August 8th, it precipitated the need to release these projects before the deadline.

The 601 line has its origins back to EO Brands, a company that was a partnership with Erik Espinosa and Eddie Ortega. When EO Brands dissolved, Erik Espinosa would take the 601 line and bring it to his new company, Espinosa Cigars.

The offerings below are all made at Espinosas La Zona factory in Esteli, Nicaragua.

601 Black

The 601 Black is a blend that has its roots back with EO Brands. The line was discontinued before the move of 601 to Espinosa Cigars. 601 Black features an Ecuadorian Connecticut Shadet wrapper over Nicaraguan binder and filler. According to Alfonso, with the trend toward the bolder Connecticut Shade wrappers, the time was right to bring back the 601 Black.

Robusto: 5 x 50

Toro: 6 x 52

Corona Gorda: 6 1/2 x 46

Churchill: 7 x 48

Packaging: 20 count boxes

Pricing $7.90  $8.45

601 Silver

This is a new offering that will be highlighted by a Sumatra wrapper over Nicaraguan binder and filler.

Robusto: 5 x 52

Toro: 6 x 50

Gordo: 6 x 60

Packaging: 10 count boxes

Pricing $8.35-$9.00

601 Sky

This is a new offering that will be highlighted by a Rosado wrapper over Nicaraguan binder and filler.

Robusto: 5 x 50

Toro: 6 x 52

Gordo: 6 x 60

Packaging: 10 count boxes

Pricing $7.95-$8.75

601 Yellow

This is a new offering that will be highlighted by a Mexican wrapper over Nicaraguan binder and filler.

Robusto: 5 x 54

Toro: 6 x 52

Churchill: 7 x 50

Packaging: 10 count Boxes

Pricing $8.25-$8.85

601 Orange



This is a new offering that will be highlighted by a Brazilian Habano over Nicaraguan binder and filler.

Robusto: 5 x 54

Toro: 6 x 52

Churchill: 7 x 48

Packaging: 20 count boxes

Pricing $8.55-$8.75

601 Gold

This is a new offering that will be an exclusive to JR Cigar. The blend features a Habano wrapper over Nicaraguan binder and filler.

Robusto: 5 x 50

Toro: 6 x 52

Gordo: 6 x 60

Packaging: 10 Count Boxes

601 La Bomba

Alfonso says more information will be forthcoming on an new addition to the line.

601 Blue

The existing Connecticut Broadleaf wrapped line adds its fifth vitola in the form of a 6 1/2 x 50 Box Pressed Churchill. Pricing will be $8.50.

601 Green

The existing Nicaraguan Habano Oscuro wrapped line adds its fifth vitola in the form of a 6 1/2 x 50 Churchill. Pricing will be $8.50.

Photo Credits: Espinosa Cigars
Markets in Asia finished Friday mixed, as traders kept their wallets in their pockets ahead of the key non-farm payrolls data in the US.

Japans Nikkei 225 was flat, closing 0.44 points lower at 16,254.45, with morning gains slipping from its grip in the afternoon, bringing losses for the week to 2%.

Stocks in the country had sold off this week as the yen strengthened, over disappointment with the first round of stimulus measures passed as part of prime minister Shinzo Abes big package.

The yield on the benchmark 10-year Japanese government bond fell to -0.089%, from -0.077% on Thursday.

Once again, the yen grew stronger, and it was last 0.26% ahead on the greenback at JPY 100.96 per $1.

On the corporate front, shares in imaging and electronics giant Nikon added 4.39%, paring some earlier gains of around 8%, after it posted its first quarter earnings.

Reported net profit improved 176.2% to JPY 11.49bn, with the firm leaving its full-year profit forecast at JPY 30bn.

On the mainland, the Shanghai Composite finished down 0.18% at 2,977, while the Shenzhen Composite lost 0.37% to 1,941.60.

In Korea, the Kospi added 0.9% to 2,017.94, while Hong Kongs Hang Seng Index rose 1.44% to 22,146.09.

Oil prices were weaker during Asian trading, with Brent crude last down 0.96% at $43.87 per barrel and West Texas Intermediate losing 0.82% at $41.59.

The Bank of Englands first rate cut in more than seven years had a small effect on the market, with the central bank also slashing its growth forecasts and adopting a new Term Funding Scheme weapon in its monetary policy arsenal.

The most important development overnight is the high expectations for global monetary and fiscal easing are steadily being met, said IG market analyst Angus Nicholson.

In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 finished up 0.39% at 5,497.40, though it booked a loss for the week of 1.17%.

It was bolstered by the energy and materials subindexes on Friday, which advanced 1.19% and 1.73% respectively.

Airline Virgin Australia posted a loss of AUD 224.7m for the year to 30 June, blaming pre-tax restructuring charges which it had not previously flagged.

Underlying profit before tax was AUD 41m, in line with guidance and up AUD 90.1m year-on-year.

Shares in the carrier finished up 2.08% in Sydney.

Of the major energy players, Santos was up 1.53% and Woodside Petroleum gained 0.98%.

In New Zealand, the S&P/NZX 50 rose for a second day running, by 0.1% to 7,308.41.

Specialist dairy exporter The A2 Milk Company lead the index higher, gaining 2% as investors continued to react to bullish expectations for the full-year from the firm.

The down under dollars were both stronger against the greenback, with the Aussie last 0.4% ahead at AUD 1.3057, and the Kiwi strengthening 0.53% at NZD 1.3869.
Poverty drags down economic growth and reduces tax revenue as it costs the taxpayer 1,200 a year, according to a social policy charity.

A report by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation said poverty affected different government services with NHS in particular affected.

The report, which contained research conducted by Loughborough and Heriot-Watt universities, said poverty costs the taxpayer 1,200 a year and the country 78bn in total.

About 69bn is spent on public services with knock on effects of child poverty costing a further 6bn and adult poverty about 2.7bn a year.

A large portion of what the government spends publicly is to deal with poverty, such as free school meals, which amounts to about 1 in every 5 spent.

"Poverty wastes people's potential, depriving our society of the skills and talents of those who have valuable contributions to make, Joseph Rowntree Foundation chief executive, Julia Unwin said.

This drags down the productivity of our economy, hinders economic growth, and reduces tax revenue."

Professor Donald Hirsch at Loughborough University, who co-wrote the Counting the Cost of UK Poverty report, said: "It is hard even to estimate the full cost of poverty, not least its full scarring effect on those who experience it.

"What our figures show is that there are very large, tangible effects on the public purse. The experience of poverty, for example, makes it more likely that you'll suffer ill health or that you'll grow up with poor employment prospects and rely more on the state for your income."

The report said that 29bn of public money is spent on treating health conditions linked to poverty, 10bn on schools providing free meals and pupil premiums, 9bn on the police and justice system dealing with crime in deprived areas, 7.5bn on children's services such as free childcare for deprived two-year-olds, 4.6bn on adult social care and 4bn on housing.
BGEO Group , the holding company of JSC Bank of Georgia, announced on Friday that the bank and Black Sea Trade and Development Bank have signed a GEL 60m (19.4m) loan agreement, with a 5-year maturity.

The FTSE 250 firm said this long-term local currency loan facility will be used to finance investments and the working capital needs of local businesses in rural and urban areas of Georgia.

It said it will further support the development of Georgian SMEs without creating foreign exchange risk.

This longer-term local currency loan facility reinforces BOG's commitment to support small and medium-size enterprises in Georgia and underpins its leading position in the SME sector, the board said in a statement.

BSTDB obtained the local currency funds through a private placement of GEL-denominated bonds arranged by Galt & Taggart, a wholly owned subsidiary of BGEO.
NatWest , Royal Bank of Scotland and Ulster Bank NI said they would cut their standard variable mortgage rate by 0.25% in line with the Bank of England base rate reduction.

This cuts he rate for customers to 3.75% from 4%, RBS said.

The 73%-taxpayer-owned bank slumped to a 2bn half-year loss, and was under pressure on Friday to cut the rate to match the Bank of England's historic rate cut to 0.25%. BoE Governor Mark Carney told retail banks on Thursday they had no excuse not to pass on the cut from 0.5%.

RBS chief executive Ross McEwan had said earlier on Friday the bank was reviewing its position on the rate cut.

Were passing on the base rate cut in full to our valued mortgage customers on our standard variable rate. We have been the fastest growing large UK bank with net lending growth of over 20bn in the first half of the year - higher than any other bank. Were open for business and ready to lend responsibly to homebuyers up and down the country, he said.
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Hungry for comfort food? Here are five destinations to try in Columbus
It is perhaps the most significant, but least talked about story at the 2016 IPCPR Trade Show  namely the Connecticut Shade releases coming from Tabacos Valle de Jalapa S.A. (TABSA).

TABSA is the factory in Nicaragua owned by Casa Fernandez. This is a factory that has become world-renowned for working with its Aganorsa farm tobacco from Nicaragua. The prominent offerings from those farms are Corojo and Criollo. Its almost a certainty that if you are smoking a cigar with Aganorsa tobacco, you are smoking one or both of those leaves in it. When it comes to the wrappers out of TABSA, its pretty much a given that its a Corojo or Criollo leaf from Aganorsa  with the exception of San Andres which TABSA uses for most of its maduros.

The 2016 IPCPR Trade Show was pretty much a coming out party to see TABSAs new Connecticut Shade releases  all using an Ecuadorian Shade-grown Connecticut seed wrapper.

Front and Center is the new box-pressed Aganorsa Leaf Connecticut. Its a cigar branded from Casa Fernandez, but its now branded with the Aganorsa name. As the name indicates it features a Connecticut Shade wrapper.

Illusione, who has used TABSA as its manufacturing partner for many years has also released its first Connecticut Shade cigars. The offerings come in the form of Connecticut Shade editions of the Illusione Rothchildes and Illusione Gigantes.

Warped Cigars actually got a little bit of head start in terms of the TABSA Connecticut Shade offerings with the Villa Sombra (not pictured). While Warped has used Connecticut wrapper before, it has been on its El Titan de Bronze offerings and not the ones made from TABSA.

It is worth noting that a shop exclusive, the Casa Fernandez Miami Reserva Connecticut went to Thompson Cigars earlier this year, but the cigars the TABSA Connecticut Shade cigars that were really at IPCPR are the first significant generally available releases.

Photo Credit: Cigar Coop
The New Trail of Tears: How Washington Is Destroying American Indians, by Naomi Schaefer Riley (Encounter, 197 pp., $23.99)

Observing the plight of American Indians on his trip to the United States in 1831, Alexis de Tocqueville noted that Americans conduct toward the natives . . . breathes the purest love of forms and legality. Apparently, not much has changed. In The New Trail of Tears: How Washington is Destroying American Indians, Naomi Schaefer Riley argues that Indians, the poorest racial group in the United States today, struggle under a morass of federal laws and policies conceived in the nineteenth century.

Most of Rileys book focuses on Indians living on reservations, the poorest of the poor. They exist in what seems like a time warp to the era before welfare reform, when adults received cash benefits with nothing expected in return. Alcoholism, teen pregnancy, and child endangerment are rampant in an environment resembling the developing world more than the United States. And even as conditions in some Third World countries have begun to improve, American Indians, living in places like the Pine Ridge reservation in South Dakota, still lack indoor plumbing.

Indians live under a separate system of entitlements than other Americans. These benefits cover everything from welfare to water, doled out by bureaucrats at the Bureau of Indian Affairs in Washington. At Pine Ridge, a reservation of 2.8 million acres, unemployment reaches about 80 percent. Those who do find work on reservations are employed almost exclusively in BIA-funded government jobs; part of their work is applying for more government grants. Washington politicians who represent Indian constituencies have an interest in keeping the money flowing.

On the reservations, Riley describes a centrally controlled, quasi-Soviet economy without private land ownership, capital, or incentive for labor. At Pine Ridge, she discovers that the motel has no coffee; the local coffee shop went out of business when it was unable to obtain BIA permission to advertise its existence with a road sign. The nearest cup is a 40-mile drive away. A byzantine system of land ownership involving trusts rather than standard property rights strangles economic growth. The trusts make it nearly impossible to develop, sell, or mortgage property, to start businesses, or to pass on wealth.

Things arent much better north of the border. In Canada, the government has a fiduciary responsibility to what it calls First Nations. But the government is reluctant to allow the building of mines or other enterprises on reservation land because if people get hurt, they can sue.

On U.S. reservations, some tribes exploit their sovereign-nation status with loophole businesses, such as tax-free gasoline or gambling casinos. Since 2002, the Seneca Nation of upstate New York has reaped $1 billion in casino profits, which it distributes in modest annuities to adult members. Yet the windfall has had decidedly mixed results and created or exacerbated problems, including gambling addictions and substance abuse. Young people often quickly blow through the lump sums they receive after turning 21. Financial education efforts havent proved successful.

Riley argues that loophole businesses are not a long-term economic solution to the tribes problems. Indians deserve genuine economic freedom, not just another source of checks. Reservation land is often rich in natural resources that go untapped because of onerous federal regulations. Tribes also dont lack for human capital, though it, too, goes undeveloped, because schooling remains abysmal.

At the heart of the trouble are limitless welfarism and the bloated Washington agencythe BIAwith a vested interest in keeping it going. Riley proposes an ambitious agenda including education and land reform and beefed-up law enforcement. She also calls for greater transparency at the BIA. Shining a light under that bureaucratic hood will require real political will, but could yield surprising results. Shifting the entitlement model in Indian country away from chronic dependency would likely lead to other policy reforms that could help foster full Indian participation in the economy, improved education and access to capital, and a host of rightsand obligations.

Rileys eye-opening book should launch a national dialogue on the federal governments dysfunctional relationship with Indian country. Its a conversation whose time has come.

Photo by David McNew/Getty Images
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Twenty enormous underground tanks  built 70 years ago  store 187 million gallons of fuel for military ships and aircraft.



By AUDREY McAVOY

Associated Press

AIEA, Hawaii  Anthony DeLuze keeps his ancestors' traditions alive in 21st century Hawaii by growing the staple crop taro on a suburban plot sandwiched between wings of a sprawling shopping mall.

But the aquifer that hydrates his starchy vegetables sits under 20 enormous underground tanks the Navy uses to store fuel for military ships and aircraft. One tank leaked tens of thousands of gallons of jet fuel into the ground in 2014, worrying DeLuze the tanks are a threat to his farm's natural springs and well.





. . .
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SEATTLE  A steep hillside parking lot in the International District sold for $4.4 million, according to King County records. The seller was Kakei Ventures LLC, which purchased the property in 2006 for $1.75 million.

The buyer was 6th & Yesler LLC.





. . .
New Air Force violence prevention specialists begin training at Dobbins

The Air Force began training for new violence prevention specialists at Dobbins Air Reserve Base, Georgia, from July 18 through 29.



The Specialists for the Primary Prevention of Violence will be a new helping agency for Airmen and their families dedicated to preventing all aspects of violence, from domestic to sexual assault and suicide, by using advanced scientific techniques. SPPVs will be in place on all Air Force bases worldwide in April 2017.



There has been increased interest over the past year and a half to focus on prevention rather than responding to situations after the fact, said Dr. Andra Tharp, an Air Force sexual assault prevention and response prevention expert. The Air Force heard that and created this position to address that issue.



Collaborating with the training was a group from the Division of Violence Prevention at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and Green Dot Etc.



When we learned the position was authorized by the Secretary of the Air Force, we engaged the CDC to give the Prevention Specialists the strongest training possible into doing what works, and using a public health approach to prevent interpersonal and self-directed violence," Tharp said. "We are thrilled that CDC has partnered with us for this training.



The CDC provided a background for the training to give the specialists a strong foundation in the prevention science underlying violence prevention, which will equip them in their roles, Tharp added.



When designing the training, the organizers thought about what key competencies the specialists needed to be a valuable resource to their installation, Tharp said. One piece was the CDCs ability to provide the prevention background and research; the other was applying the public health to prevention practice, which was where Green Dot came in.



Weve never done training to this extent like we have with the Air Force, said Dr. James Mercy, director of the Division of Violence Prevention with the CDC. We see the Air Force as a pioneer in prevention. We thought it would be a great opportunity to work together where we could learn from each other.



For a long time, interpersonal violence prevention was solely focused on things like telling men not to do it and women not to walk alone at night, said Dr. Dorothy Edwards, Green Dot founder and organizer.



We then realized there was a third role, the bystander, she explained. So, instead of focusing on what not to do, we started focusing on what can we do.



Both agencies had a past partnership with the Air Force, but on smaller level. This training allowed them to expand that partnership.



We had been working with the military on violence prevention for a while, Mercy said. We wanted to strengthen our partnership with the Air Force because they have been a pioneer in this, especially with suicide prevention. We thought this would be a great opportunity for us to learn from each other and prevent further violence in the United States.



Green Dot held training sessions at individual bases for few years, Edwards said.



When the AF decided to do a comprehensive approach, the dialogue began, she added. They didnt want to just wing it. They were driven by the research.



The research and expertise in violence prevention came from the CDC.



The CDC is the largest organization in the world in regards to preventing violence, Mercy explained. We have subject matter experts in different types of violence, covering the whole range. That expertise includes how you measure, prevent and protect from different types of violence. Thats the information that was shared in our training, sharing what we have found out through several decades of research.



The CDCs experts taught how to take that information and use it to implement programs on the ground, Mercy added. They also spoke on the magnitude of the problem in the U.S. - who is at a higher risk of violence, characteristics of victims, who is most likely to be a perpetrator and specific programs that seem to work.



Its a lot of information, but it is easily understood, Mercy explained.



The research from the CDC was used to develop Green Dot, Edwards said. So, the flow from the CDC to Green Dot was easily followed as Edwards taught implementation.



The Green Dot strategy is to reinvigorate people and let them know they can do something, she said. This is about being realistic about what the bystanders can do. Its not that easy to just step in. Part of this is acknowledging that good people can get stuck and have barriers. This gives bystanders more natural and realistic tools.



The training group was excited about the future of this position and how they have been able to empower the SPPVs.



The Air Force is so driven right now to getting this right, said Edwards. This is an extraordinary position, and it has been an exciting training to be part of.




Chevron looks to sell some assets in Asia worth up to $5 bn

US energy giant Chevron Corp, is selling some assets in Asia worth up to $5 billion, The Wall Street Journal yesterday reported, citing people familiar with the matter.

The paper said that Chevron is set an offshore oil field venture in China with the country's state-owned oil company CNOOC Ltd, to sell this month, for up to $1 billion.

Chevron had said late last year that it plans to sell assets worth about $10 billion by 2017, in an effort to weather a global slump in energy prices.

As part of this plan, the California-based company is also looking for buyers for its geothermal assets in Indonesia worth more than $2 billion, the report added.

It may also sell its natural gas field assets in Thailand, which may fetch around $500 million.

Chevron, the largest oil producer in the US after Exxon Mobil, is restructuring by selling assets, cutting jobs and delaying drilling projects after oil prices last year fell to the lowest level in more than a decade.

Its Canadian unit is selling its Burnaby oil refinery and fuel distribution network in British Columbia and Alberta. This move comes a few months after it sold its two gas storage facilities in British Columbia, including Aitken Creek, the largest in the province, to Fortis Inc. for $266 million.

In March, it also sold off the last 497 Esso gas stations for $2.8 billion.
Clinton campaign looking at alternative to US ethanol

Democratic US presidential candidate Hillary Clinton's campaign had called for advice from California regulators on how to revamp a federal regulation requiring biofuels like corn-based ethanol be blended into the nation's gasoline supply, campaign and state officials said.

The move comes as the clearest sign yet that, if elected, Clinton would seek to adjust the regulation, called the Renewable Fuel Standard, possibly risking votes in corn-growing states like Iowa where she faced a tough battle against Republican rival Donald Trump in the 8 November general election.

Under the Renewable Fuel Standard, created by Congress in 2005, transportation fuel sold in the US needed a minimum volume of renewable fuels content.

It was intended to cut greenhouse gas emissions and expand the US renewable fuels sector even as it lowered reliance on imported oil. It had been opposed by the oil industry and environmentalists and had been criticised as mere subsidy to corn producers.

Advisers to Clinton had contacted the California Air Resources Board (CARB) to discuss whether a policy like California's Low Carbon Fuel Standard, a market-based system rather than a mandate, could be applied at a national level to replace or augment the Renewable Fuel Standard, and other issues, according to CARB officials.

Meanwhile, The Renewable Fuels Association member company Al-Corn Clean Fuel celebrated its 20th anniversary this month.

The farmer-owned ethanol production cooperative was founded in 1994 and started production at its 50 Million Gallons Per Year ethanol plant in Claremont, Minnesota, in 1996.

''Al-Corn Clean Fuel has been a leader within the US ethanol industry and at RFA, with its CEO Randall Doyal our current chairman,'' said RFA president and CEO Bob Dinneen, who was at the celebration.

''The company has been a local economic engine, providing jobs and investment opportunities to the area. Even today, some 20 years since it began, almost all of the farmer coop members live within 20 miles of Claremont.''


Heartless vandals have targeted a popular Dunfanaghy area playground causing up to 1,000 of damage to the community facility.

The nautical themed playground next to the Dunfanaghy Workhouse tourism centre had their swing basket that is suitable for children with disabilites and other items including an outdoor musical instrument seriously damaged recently and they are left counting the cost of the repair and replacement of the items.

Sian McCann, manager of the Workhouse, said the vandalism is very disheartening as the repairs of the damage is a needless cost on the centre.

Sian told the Democrat: The Workhouse pays for all the maintenance, upkeep and insurance for the playground and we are happy to do so, as it is such an amazing asset for children and families in the area.

She said she believes the damage was carried out by adults who entered the playground at night.

It is very disheartening though when we have to spend money needlessly because people have no respect for the playground. We have had small amounts of on-going vandalism with the musical beaters for the musical instruments being stolen and this is the second time the basket swing has been damaged. Unfortunately this time we have had to replace all the cables that secure the basket swing to the poles, all the beaters and we had to repair the ladder on the pirate ship. We believe this to be adults coming in late at night and not the young people who like to sit in the park in the early evening. Everyone is welcome in the park from 9.00am to 9.00pm during the summer and 9.00am to 5.30pm in the Winter, but we do ask please respect the park and the local residents in the area, she added.

They are having a fun day on the 7th August from 1pm to 3.30pm to raise money for the maintenance and upkeep of the playground.

There will be pony rides, face painting, circus skills and lots more fun activities so please come along and support Dunfanaghys Community Playground, Sian said.
As many area communities will be observing Trick-or-Treating this weekend and Monday, the Wisconsin Department of Corrections advises you and your family to keep your children safer this Halloween by discussing ahead of time what to do if you are ever separated. A list of safety tips from state agencies is below to help ensure a safer Halloween weekend for everyone. You can also find the hours for trick-or-treating in Door and Kewaunee counties by clicking here.

-A parent or trusted adult should always accompany children

-Stay on well-lit streets and stick to neighborhoods you know

-Only stop at homes where the porch light is on

-Never enter a home or car for a treat

-Trick-or-treaters should carry a cell phone to allow for quick communication

-If the child carries a cell phone, activate location services prior to trick-or-treating

-Call 911 if you see any suspicious or illegal activity

Children should yell No! and run from any stranger who tries to take them somewhere

-Have a responsible adult check treats at the end of the night

Similarly, the Wisconsin Department of Health also suggests some tips for families with trick-or-treaters and families who are giving out candy.

Costume Tips

-Choose costumes that are light-colored and more visible to motorists.

-Use reflective tape to decorate costumes and candy bags to increase the visibility of children to drivers. Reflective tape may be purchased at hardware, bicycle, or sporting goods stores.

-Use make-up rather than a mask; if your childs costume does include a mask, make sure it fits snugly and that the eyeholes are large enough to allow full vision.

-Children should wear well-fitting, sturdy shoes.

-Costumes should be short enough that a child will not trip and fall.

-Choose costume accessories such as swords or knives that are made of soft and flexible material.

-Do not use novelty contacts such as cat eyes or snake eyes.

Pedestrian Safety

-Engage in Halloween activities during the daylight hours, if possible.

-Do not enter homes or apartments without adult supervision.

-Remind children to walk, not run, and to only cross streets at crosswalks.

-Be sure your children are accompanied by a responsible adult who has a flashlight. -----

-Flashlights or chemical light sticks should be used so that children can see and be seen by motorists.

Halloween Home Safety

-Remove obstacles from your lawn, porch, or steps if you are expecting trick-or-treaters.

-Make sure your front porch is well-lit.

-Avoid using candle-lit jack-o-lanterns if possible. If you do use candles, dont place them near curtains, furnishings, or decorations. Move them off porches where childrens costumes may ignite.

-Keep your pets in another room when you are expecting trick-or-treaters.

-Small children should not carve pumpkins; instead, allow them to draw the designs on the pumpkin and adults may carve.

-Turn on an outside light if welcoming trick-or-treaters.
For those journalists out there who feel the need to augment the comments of either presidential candidate, I simply ask, WHY?

Both Hillary What difference, at this point, does it make Clinton, and Donald Nobody knows the system better than me Trump are perfectly capable of giving any of the biased media outlets out there perfectly good opinion column fodder without spicing up their words.

As one columnist wrote, The truth is bad enough.

I actually feel for some politicians who have been wrongfully accused saying things that never came from their lips. Exhibit A is Sarah Palin, who, because of Tina Feys impersonation of the former Alaska Governor, is credited with saying, I can see Russia from my house. Palins exact words concerning Russia were: Theyre our next-door neighbors, and you can actually see Russia from land here in Alaska, from an island in Alaska." That is is actually true, if you happen to be on the practically unpopulated island of Little Diomede, Alaska.

Bill Clinton had plenty of tall tells as he tried to escape his sordid ways, but it was his former vice president, Al Gore, who is credited with saying, I invented the internet. Gore did say he took the initiative in creating the internet, but he never used the word invented and was trying to convey the fact that as a member of Congress he laid the foundation for those who did invent the internet with political contributions. And lo and behold it was a libertarian writer who claimed Gore had taken credit as father of the internet, and that he had taken credit for its invention.

I saw a spam mail recently that listed all of the great misquotes from movie history. Among those things never said included lines from Tarzan, Forrest Gump and even the classic Casablanca.

Tarzan never said, Me Tarzan, you Jane. It was taken in context from a much longer line in the movie.

From Casablanca, Humphrey Bogart never said, Play it again, Sam. It was actually Ingrid Bergman and the words were, Play it once, Sam, for old times sake

James Cagney never said, You dirty rat in Blonde Crazy. He did say That dirty, double-crossing rat.

From Star Trek, many of us incorrectly quote the line, Beam me up, Scotty. It was actually, Beam us up, Scotty.

During the trials of Apollo 13 trying to return to earth, the astronaut never said, Houston, we have a problem. Actually, he said, Ah, Houston, weve had a problem.

When Anthony Hopkins character in Silence of the Lambs greets Jodie Fosters character, he never said, Hello, Clarice. Instead, Hannibal Lector said, Good evening, Clarice.

Movies from all genres are apt to be misquoted. We grew up thinking the line was, Mirror, mirror, on the wall, who is the fairest of them all? It is actually, Magic mirror, on the wall, who is the fairest one of all.

From Jaws, Brody never tells Quint, Were going to need a bigger boat, rather he says, Youre going to need a bigger boat.

From Field of Dreams, I was shocked to discover that, If you build it, they will come, was never said. Rather, it was, If you build it, he will come.

From The Empire Strikes Back, Darth Vader never said, Luke, I am your father, rather No, I am your father.

Jack Nicholson never tells Tom Cruise, You want the truth? You cant handle the truth. Instead, the scene from A Few Good Men begins with Nicholson asking, You want answers?

As for the Forrest Gump line most often misquoted, its, My mama always said, Life is like a box of chocolates. What Forrest actually said was, My mama always said life was like a box of chocolates.
Home Four wheelers Jaguar Land Rover Announce Recall Over Faulty Takata Airbags oi-Rajkamal

Recalls seem to be very common and of them the Takata airbag related recall seems to be never ending. The latest carmaker to announce a recall over the faulty airbag is Jaguar Land Rover.

The Tata Motors owned British carmaker has issued a recall for the Jaguar XFs made between 2009 and 2011, and for the Land Rover Range Rovers made between 2007 and 2011. These models are being recalled for faulty front passenger side airbags.

Jaguar Land Rover is breaking up the recall into four phases, since it does not have enough parts to make a bulk recall. The affected airbags can get worse in heat or humidity, so the company is recalling vehicles in places that have high temperatures.

Places like Alabama, California, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Louisiana, Mississippi, South Carolina, Texas, Puerto Rico, American Samoa, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, and the US Virgin Islands fall under phase one of the recall.

Next phases will be announced as soon as parts become available and priority will be given to regions with high temperature since the propellant may have degraded, which will result in the airbag spraying shrapnel when activated.

A total of 1,08,000 vehicles are affected and the first phase of the recall will involve 54,000 vehicles. The company encourages vehicle owners to log on to www.safercar.gov to cjeck if your vehicle is included as part of the recall.
Home Four wheelers Volvo India Announces 6 Month Paid Maternity Leave For Employees oi-Abijith Vilangil

Volvo India has increased the maternity leave for its employees from the previously set 12 weeks to 6 months. Volvo made this announcement in an attempt to ease working atmosphere for its women employees.

Also, the women employees will get four weeks of additional leaves which they can opt during any maternity-related complications.

The new leave policy now allows the women employees to take up to 180 days leave, all while being paid. These leaves will not require any approval.

The new policy will apply to all women employees who are currently on or planning to go on a maternity leave.

In addition to that, Volvo will also provide counselling for expecting mothers. Depending on their requirements, the women employees are also granted flexibility in their working hours.

Volvo claims, it is the first automobile company in India to launch such benefits for women employees. These steps have been taken as an initiative to bring more women on board and retain existing employees.
Dundalk is to host one of the country's first adolescent festivals on 12 August 2016 at Bellurgan Park.

The event is organised by FOXX Promotions, featuring some of the best local, national and international DJs and MCs with some very well known acts to appear on the day.

Event organiser Conn Fox spoke to the Democrat about what festival goers can expect.

The main stage is Headlined by MTV Star Joel Corry with other acts such as MC Pat Flynn, MC Fabu D, Iradious DJ Justiy, Chris McDyre, Local DJ Eamon Bishop and Ali B and one of Irelands Rising DJs, Jamie Ennis.

Conn also went on to explain the plan for the second stage.

Stage 2 will have local acts such as Dundalk Group 19 Vibez and Drogheadas Matthew Nolan with more to be announced.

Speaking to local artists 19 Vibez, they explained what they are all about.

The aim of our music is to bring in real life situations and express them through our words and visuals. We became known by the catchphrase 'good vibes' only after we released our first single, good vibes,  says group member Emmet Nino Hayes, no stranger to the scene after his appearance back in 2012 at Jedwards gig in the town square.

19 Vibez is made up of Emmet and Isaac Ndlovu. When Emmet was asked what the crowd attending the fest could expect his answer was: They can expect an intimate energetic performance and consistent good vibez for the whole slot.

Conn also expressed how important the safety and welfare of the young people that will attend is to him and that parents can help to ensure their child can enjoy the event in a safe secure manner.

No access will be granted to anyone without a ticket, the whole event will be monitored from start to finish by professional licensed security personnel. A safe drop off and pick up traffic plan will be in place at the venue controlled by our staff. A strictly non alcoholic event.

"There will be an activity zone a chillout zone and a place to get food and beverages at the venue.

He added that the event management hold the right of to refuse admission to any intoxicated teens. The gates will be opened from 6pm on August 12th with the entire event expected to end at 11.30 sharp. A special pick up traffic plan will also be in affect by staff.

Mr. Fox also explained how stage 2 still have some space for local act slots. If interested you can contact him via email: conn@foxxpromotions.com
Indications are that the dumping of diesel sludge in Louth is in significant decline in 2016 compared to one year earlier.

So far in 2016 Louth County Council contractors - McQuillans - have been called out to sites of illegal dumping on just eight occasions, significantly lower than 2015.

There had been 28 incidents in the first three months of 2015, many of them hitting the same target areas repeatedly.

The huge number of dumpings resulted in the issue making the national media, and increased pressure being placed on those responsible, with promises by the Gardai and those in authority that more would be done.

In December of 2015 then Minister for Justice Frances Fitzgerald announced that a new cross-border taskforce would be established to investigate organised crime on both sides of the Border, including paramilitarism.

The new body is funded by Governments in Dublin and Belfast and will be led by senior officials within An Garda Siochana and the Police Service of Northern Ireland.

The results for this year so far suggest that sludge dumping is being curtailed, or at the very least fuel launderers are being more discreet.

Fuel laundering is not a victimless crime, and can have far reaching effects.

Environmentally, the dumping of toxic sludge is a very real threat to human safety. In the beginning of 2015 the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) launched an investigation following reports of lethal chemicals being dumped into the Fane River by the launderers .

Aswell as damaging the environment, it damages the vehicles that use fuel that has been laundered - whether knowingling or not.

It has serious impact on industries like haulage.

Fuel represents approximately 40 per of operating costs for a haulage company, therefore the illegal fuel trade makes it harder for compliant operators, who purchase their fuel from legitimate sources, to make a sustainable profit, costing the economy jobs and limiting investment and growth in the local logistics industry.
Yes, you can transfer your domain to any registrar or hosting company once you have purchased it. Since domain transfers are a manual process, it can take up to 5 days to transfer the domain.

Domains purchased with payment plans are not eligible to transfer until all payments have been made. Please remember that our 30-day money back guarantee is void once a domain has been transferred.

For transfer instructions to GoDaddy, please click here.
The amount of social media channels you should be promoting your business on can be overwhelming. There are mixed views on the value of Instagram and even though many marketers enjoy it on a personal level, they dont feel it is a useful platform for growing their business. I would argue that these brands arent using it effectively and as a result their accounts fall flat. The good news is there are many ways to maximise the potential of Instagram whether youre a small company or a global brand.

Its obvious when companies are on Instagram just to have a presence. The most common feedback I hear from companies is that it isnt a useful platform for them as they dont have the visuals that say, a tourist board or surf brand does. Some of the brands that are really nailing it on Instagram dont fall into these categories and in fact arent companies you would expect. A couple that come to mind are the Australian accounts of certain charities or sparkling water brands.

So how are they doing it?

Firstly, they are showing some personality  many brands are risk averse when it comes to their Instagram account and so they come across as sterile. Instagram isnt a place to repost promotional website or brochure images.

Effective brands also post regularly. This can be said for most social media channels and its just as true for Instagram. Tourism Australia is an Instagram superstar but theyve posted 6,000 times to help gain their two million followers.

If you cant imagine creating that much content, remember you dont need to do it all yourself. One of the ways Tourism Australia has grown their following that all brands can make use of is user-generated content.

In simple terms, finding great photos that have relevance to your brand and reposting giving the creator image credit. This can really help build your online community and it has the snowball effect of encouraging people to tag you in their photos in the hope theyll be featured. A key point here is to repost the images manually rather than use regram apps, which enable the sharing of another users image automatically on your account. Although its simple, the watermark that appears on the reposted photo will detract from the beauty of the original image.

One of the reasons Instagram remains so popular is its an outlet for creativity. When it comes to businesses and building engagement though its best to steer clear of anything too arty or obscure. The most effective photos for business accounts are clear, high-resolution and not filtered. People should also be able to quickly understand whats happening without having to stop scrolling to read the caption.

So I have pretty images, what then?

There is value in using Instagram solely as an awareness tool but businesses that are using it effectively are doing more than just getting a double-tap from their followers. To really leverage the potential you should also be thinking about the back-end strategy. Not many brands are currently tracking click-throughs and directing this traffic to meet business objectives such as newsletter signup or even to make purchases.

But hasnt Instagram usage peaked?

Not even close. People keep coming back to Instagram as its the cleanest and simplest platform. Globally it has 400 million users and these figures are still growing. It has almost doubled its reach in Australia in the last three years and I believe it will continue to grow as its usage and content strategies evolve and it reaches demographics and regions it has not even touched yet.

About the author

Andrew Green is the founder of Konichigram, a marketing agency that focuses solely on making Instagram work for businesses and brands. Andrew is currently a student at the Centre for Sustainability Leadership.
Hallelujah

Its no secret that the for-profit charter school industry is like the Wild West when it comes to being able to do just about anything they want. Michigan is one of the most permissive states in the country when it comes to oversight of charter schools and there are miscreants out there taking full advantage of that in order to maximize the flow of tax dollars directed into their bank accounts.

This week, however, a couple of them are finally being held accountable, a rare but important step.

First, theres Detroit Community Schools, an Orwellian-named run by former criminals that was called out in a scathing floor speech by Democratic State Rep. Adam Zemke last spring:

And, folks, more recently  that was three years ago or so  folks, just this year, like Sharon McPhail. Many of us may remember Sharon McPhail. She was part of the Kwame Kilpatrick administration. She is currently serving as the superintendent of a charter school called, ironically, Detroit Community Schools. She has no experience in education so when she was confronted that she had to be certified as an educator to be called a superintendent, she changed her title to Chief Administrative Officer. Sharon, sadly, is not the only problem in DCS. The CFO and the Dean of the school both have been thrown out of previous public positions for unlawful acts, as well. And last year, setting all of these things aside, last year how many DCS students passed the ACT, since were all concerned about academic achievement around here? ZERO. Zero students passed the ACT. Any of the sections. Not one. And since 2007, out of the hundreds of students theyve graduated, two have passed. TWO!

McPhail wasnt the only school administrator illegally running the school without the proper certifications. And now the school is facing the music:

Detroit Community Schools, a charter school located in a low-income, underserved corner of the city, will have to repay the state $144,000 after the school illegally employed two administrators who are unlicensed. The Michigan Department of Education found that Detroit Community Schools violated state licensing law last school year because it employed Sharon McPhail, a former city attorney and city councilwoman, as its superintendent since 2012, and employed Eschelle Jordan, as the high school principal, while both women were unlicensed. State law requires a superintendent, principal, assistant principal, administrator of instructional programs or chief business official to be certified. [] According to the state, MDEs findings mean the school can no longer employ McPhail and Jordan as administrators until they are properly certified. State law prohibits the continued employment of a non-certified individual as a school administrator, William DiSessa, a spokesman for MDE, wrote in an email to Bridge. Further, he said, the school cannot circumvent the law by firing and then rehiring them in an interim or temporary administrative position  a tactic used by some schools in the past to avoid rules that allow administrators to begin the certification process within six months of being hired. If a school official continues to employ administrators after having been notified that the administrators are unlicensed, then the official will be guilty of a misdemeanor punishable by $1,500 per offense, according to the MDE.

It turns out that the MDE wasnt buying the change of title, saying, In both cases, a change in title did not substantiate the change in responsibility or role that was held during the 2015-2016 academic year.

I encourage you to read the entire Bridge article which details the criminal pasts of two other administrators at Detroit Community Schools, the chief financial officer at the school, William F. Coleman III, and the schools dean, Sylvia James.

The other for-profit charter that is being held accountable is Universal Academy, a school run by Hamadeh Educational Services, an educational services corporation out of Livonia. Last winter, HES fired eight teachers, six of whom attended a January school board meeting to draw attention to mistreatment of students and other problems at the school.

I am struggling to understand how this incredibly bright, hard-working student who fully deserves a diploma from Universal Academy can be removed so suddenly from her education, [teacher Asil] Yassine wrote in a Nov. 14 email to Nawal Hamadeh, the superintendent of the school and CEO of Universal Academys management company, Hamadeh Educational Services. Could you please send me a copy of the federal or state law or HES board policy that describes why this student is too old to stay in school? Yassine says she received no response. As shed soon learn, this lack of transparency is a norm. Three months later, on Feb. 12, Yassine was one of eight teachers who were fired, via email, from Universal Academy. Just as she never received answers from Hamadeh as to why Etab was pushed out, she and the other teachers who were fired have yet to find out why they were let go. They have suspicions, sure  six of the eight teachers who were terminated attended a board meeting on Jan. 26, where they tried to draw attention to problems they believed were adversely affecting the school culture and students. But, nothing could be confirmed. Their termination letters simply reiterated that they were hired at-will and could be terminated at any time, with or without cause, and with or without notice.

The teachers filed a complaint with the National Labor Relations Board and the NLRB has now responded by upholding their complaint:

The National Labor Relations Board has issued a complaint against a charter management company that fired eight teachers in February without cause or reason, including several educators who spoke up at a board meeting weeks earlier about problems they were witnessing in their Detroit charter school. [] The NLRB complaint alleges that the management company interfered with and violated the teachers Section 7 rights  which guarantees employees the right to self-organization, to form, join, or assist labor organizations, to bargain collectively through representatives of their own choosing, and to engage in concerted activities for the purpose of collective bargaining or other or other mutual aid or protection  by, in addition to other things, referring to some teachers as trouble employees, and interrogating them about their protected concerted activities (such as speaking up at the board meeting).

The school is now compelled to respond to the NLRB complaint by August 10th. The complaint also requires HES to make the teachers whole, saying they must:

Offer Phillip Leslie, Tanya Mikho, Jacquelyn Sloan, Tracy Durandetto, Pam Mandigo, Joshua Kaye, Andrew Brown, and Asil Yassine immediate and full reinstatement to their former positions of employment, or, if their positions are no longer available, to a substantially equivalent position without prejudice to their seniority or other rights or privileges previously enjoyed, and make them whole for any loss of earnings or other benefits they suffered as a result of the discrimination against them by payment of backpay; reimburse them for any out-of-pocket expenses they incurred while searching for work as a result of the discrimination against them, with interest in accordance with Board policy; and remove from its files and records any reference to the discharge, and advice them individually, in writing, that it has done so and will not use the discharge against them in the future; and reimburse them for any reasonable consequential damages incurred as a result of the Respondents unlawful conduct.

Its worth noting that these teachers were supported in their effort to fight back against the discrimination they faced by the Michigan Alliance of Charter Teachers, the American Federation of Teachers-Michigan, and the AFL-CIO who filed the complaint with the NLRB. Without union protection and support, this restitution would not be taking place.

For-profit charter school operators are notoriously anti-union and this is Exhibit A as to why.
Facebook on Wednesday announced that the number of people using its Messenger app every month has surpassed 1 billion  a major milestone for what is arguably the most important tool in the companys growth strategy going forward.

A growing number of people are using Messenger to communicate with friends, send money, plan events, play games and tell jokes, the company said, claiming that its one of only a handful of apps worldwide with so many users.

The announcement follows a series of upgrades to the app, which averaged 800 million users per month in 2015. Among the major changes: Users no longer have to be registered Facebook members to use Messenger, and the service is a cross-platform experience  meaning users can pick up conversations where they left off using multiple devices.

The Messenger app had attracted 900 million monthly users by this spring, when the company introduced another batch of additional features, including bots that can provide automated traffic and weather updates, customized shopping communications such as receipts and shipping notifications, and live automated messages.

Facebook earlier this month announced a long-awaited series of tests for end-to-end encryption, which promises to revolutionize the Messenger app by allowing secret conversations.

E-Commerce Platform

The growth of messenger could signal an important transition for Facebook to become a major e-commerce player.

Messenger is a key tool in Facebooks strategy to become the consumers life companion, said Karol Severin, an analyst at Midia Research.

We are in an era when mobile messaging platforms have become places of digital user congregation, he told the E-Commerce Times.

The Messenger user base has become more important in part due to the emergence of bots, as Facebook now has the chance to insert itself into the mobile experience economy value chain, a space that has been dominated by Google Play and Apples iTunes App Store, Severin said.

Facebook has a realistic chance to disrupt this space in the future, he said, noting that Messenger has 1 billion users, while the App Store has about 1 billion active devices, and Android had about 1.5 billion as of 2015.

Go Global

Between WhatsApp and its Messenger tool, Facebook holds a dominant position in the global messaging app market, observed Jack Kent, senior principal analyst for mobile at IHS Markit.

The company has been cautious in terms of expanding the Messenger feature set, he told the E-Commerce Times.

Messaging apps in Asia  including WeChat in China, LINE in Japan and Kakao in Korea  have featured far more advanced content and services, but those apps have tended to focus either on a single country or a small group of countries as their key markets.

The challenge when providing a platform for content and services integration is that it requires local partner integration  meaning that even global scale needs local expertise, Kent pointed out.

Facebook would like to extend the use of Messenger into the business market with online publishers, chatbot developers and other entities paying fees to the company, Pund-IT Principal Analyst Charles King told the E-Commerce Times.

At the stage were at now, he said, the trick for Facebook is to devise ways for commercial customers to enter the Messenger experience without seeming intrusive.
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In the early morning of April 26, 1986, reactor four of the Chernobyl nuclear station exploded. It caused what the United Nations has called the greatest environmental catastrophe in the history of humanity.

Chernobyl was the accident that the nuclear industry said would never happen.

Twenty-five years later the Fukushima nuclear accident in Japan reminded us that the risk of another Chernobyl remains wherever nuclear power is used.

https://twitter.com/MikeFincken/status/718019496888385536

The long-lived radionuclides released by Chernobyl means the disaster continues 30 years later. It still affects the lives of millions of people. Here are 15 facts you may not know about the disaster:

1. Exactly 30 years ago, Chernobyls nuclear reactors, located in Ukraine, exploded. Nearly 5 million people still live in the areas considered contaminated.

Local family with wagon of potatoes in Ukraine. Photo credit: Denis Sinyakov / Greenpeace

2. The amount of radiation released is at least 100 times more powerful than the radiation released by the atom bombs dropped on Nagasaki and Hiroshima.

Remains of the kindergarten in the town of Pripyat. Photo credit: Steve Morgan / Greenpeace

3. People in the nearest town, Pripyat, were evacuated only two days after the disaster. By that time many people were already exposed to high levels of radiation.

Life in the 30 km zone of Chernobyl. Photo credit: Jan Grarup / Noor / Greenpeace

4. Radioactive rain fell as far away as Ireland. The Ukraine, Belarus and Russia were the most affected countries. They received 63 percent of the contamination from Chernobyl.

Decontamination center in Pripyat. Photo credit: Clive Shirley / Signum / Greenpeace

5. Since Pripyat was abandoned by people due to high radiation levels, wolves, wild horses, beavers, boars and other animals have populated the town.

Wild horses in Pripyat. Photo credit: Vaclav Vasku / Greenpeace

6. Animals living within the 30km exclusion zone around Chernobyl have higher mortality rates, increased genetic mutations and decreased birth rate.

Stray dog in Pripyat. Photo credit: Vaclav Vasku / Greenpeace

7. Youd think the other Chernobyl reactors would have been shut down right away, but the three other reactors at the site were restarted and operated for another 13 years!

Reactor 1 and 2 at Chernobyl Nuclear Plant. Photo credit: Stefan Fuglister / Greenpeace
Three decades after the worst nuclear power plant catastrophe in history, a site in

Chernobyl is being reimagined as a solar energy farmone that would be the worlds largest once built.

Thirty years after the nuclear disaster Greenpeace revisits the site and the Unit 4 with the New Safe Confinement (NSC or New Shelter). Denis Sinyakov / Greenpeace

The 1986 meltdown, which released radiation at least 100 times more powerful than the radiation released by the atom bombs dropped on Nagasaki and Hiroshima, rendered roughly 2,600 square kilometers of the area unsuitable for habitation. Greenpeace found that animals living within the exclusion zone have higher mortality rates, increased genetic mutations and decreased birth rate.

But in a twist of poetic justice, the Ukrainian government has expressed ambitions to turn 6,000 hectares within Chernobyls exclusion zone into a renewable energy hub. The proposed plant would generate 1-gigawatt of solar power and 400-megawatts of biogas per year, the Guardian reported. The country is pushing for a six-month construction cycle.

According to

PV-Tech, ecology minister Ostap Semerak has visited the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) with the plan. The proposal has since been issued to investment firms in the U.S., Canada and the UK. If it gets the green light, the renewable energy farm will generate about a third of the electricity that the former nuclear plant generated when it was running.

The Chernobyl site has really good potential for renewable energy, Semerak

said during an interview in London. We already have high-voltage transmission lines that were previously used for the nuclear stations, the land is very cheap and we have many people trained to work at power plants. We have normal European priorities, which means having the best standards with the environment and clean energy ambitions.

Three decades after the worst nuclear power plant catastrophe in history, a site in Chernobyl is being reimagined as a solar energy farmone that would be the

Semerak said that two U.S. investment firms and four Canadian energy companies have already expressed interest in the Chernobyls solar potential, the Guardian reported. The project is

estimated to cost between $1 and $1.5 billion.

The EBRD may consider participating in the project so long as there are viable investment proposals and all other environmental matters and risks can be addressed to the banks satisfaction, an EBRD representative said.



However nothing is imminent, the spokesperson added. We are keeping an open mind. But its important not to read too much into it at this stage.

The Ukraine has indicated it will open the exclusion zone, and we welcome that. Renewables are one of our priorities, and as soon and as long as they secure investment then we will discuss the project and provide co-financing, the bank rep said.

The renewable energy project isnt just good news for the environment, it will provide Ukraine some energy independence, as the country currently gets the bulk of its natural gas from Russia,

Business Insider pointed out.

If construction is approved, Chernobyls solar farm will hold the title of Worlds Largest Solar Plant before Dubais massive concentrated solar plant

catches up to it.

The under-construction Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park in Dubai will produce 1 gigawatt of electricity by 2020 with ambitious expansion plans of 5 gigawatts by 2030.
On March 12, 1930, Mahatma Gandhi and a small band of supporters set off on a 241-mile march across western India. Gandhi had devised the walk as an act of nonviolent protest against the British colonial governments salt monopoly, which placed tariffs on the mineral and forbid Indians from producing it. Upon arriving at the coastal city of Dandi in early April, he illegally collected salt from the seaside as a symbolic act of defiance against the British Raj. His actions sent shockwaves across the subcontinent, inspiring scores of Indians to flout the salt tax and launch strikes and boycotts against colonial institutions. Gandhi and some 80,000 others were soon arrested, but not before their peaceful protest had captured the worlds attention and demonstrated the power of mass resistance to British rule.  Remembering Gandhis Salt March, by Evan Andrews

The deed is done. On July 29, President Obama signed a bill that was written by corporations, paid for by corporations and that serves no one in this countryexcept corporations.

Join 500,000 consumers who are boycotting brands owned by companies that refuse to label. https://t.co/jRMur2lJLh pic.twitter.com/IuwKOyLyue  Organic Consumers Association (@OrganicConsumer) August 3, 2016

S.764, known by its opponents as the DARK (Deny Americans the Right to Know) Act, preempts Vermonts mandatory GMO labeling law and substitutes in its place a federal bill that, no matter how Obama and his Congress try to spin it, is not mandatory and does not require labelsat least not labels that anyone can read. Not to mention that most GMO ingredients will be exempt under this fake law.

I could, once again, list all the reasons this bill fails consumers. But I and others have already done that countless times, to no avail. The bill is a sham, a slap in the face to the 90 percent of Americans who support labeling. Its an attack on states rights. Its another gift to Monsanto and Big Food.

And, for anyone who still harbored any doubt, S.764 is proof that our Democracy is broken, that our lawmakers answer to Corporate America, not to us, the people who elect them.

It would be easy, after four-and-a-half years of non-stop fighting for labels, to cave in to despair. But lets not give Monsanto the satisfaction. Because the truth is, while we may not always be able to win in a policy arena awash in corporate money, we, as consumers, still have tremendous power to influence the marketplace.

Its time to wield that power. Against poison-peddling biotech corporations. Against food companies that hide the truth about whats in their products. Against those leaders in the organic industry who sold us down the river on GMO labeling.

Its time to launch a Gandhi-style boycott.

If Vermont mounts a legal challenge to the DARK Act, we will endorse that effort. But in the meantime, we will channel our anger, our disappointment and above all, our energy, into the marketplace. Because thats where we as consumers will have last word.

Retweet if you agree with Jane Goodall. #ThursdayThoughts pic.twitter.com/tvXKAeNWX8  Organic Consumers Association (@OrganicConsumer) August 5, 2016

What Weve Accomplished So Far

Before we get on to whats next, lets look at what the GMO labeling movement accomplished, despite passage of the DARK Act.

We educated a critical mass of American consumers about the health and environmental hazards of GMOs and the toxic chemicals that accompany them. When we started this battle, public awareness of genetically engineered food and crops and the damage they inflict on the environment and human health, was marginal at best. Today GMO, Monsanto and glyphosate are household words.

Weve doubled demand for organic and grass-fed food in the U.S. over the past six years. Organic food and grass-fed meat and animal products are now a $50-billion-a-year powerhouse, the fastest-growing segment of the food system. The market for non-GMO labeled products has grown to $25 billion. Organic, grass-fed and non-GMO foods now constitute approximately 10 percent of all grocery store sales and represent a growing segment of restaurant sales as well.

We forced multi-billion-dollar junk food conglomerates, including General Mills, Kelloggs, Campbells, Mars, Pepsi, Frito-Lay, Dannon, Con-Agra and others to start labeling their products as GMO or else remove GMO ingredients, ahead of the July 1 date for the (short-lived) enactment of Vermonts GMO labeling law. Now that Vermonts law has been preempted, we need to pressure these companies to keep labelingor well call for a boycott of all of their organic products, including their organic brands.

Weve alerted millions of consumers that they cant trust the mass media, regulatory agencies or the scientific establishment. If consumers or farmers want truthful information about food and farming they need to tune in to the alternative and social media. This alternative media includes the mass circulation newsletters, websites and Facebook pages of groups like Mercola.com, the Organic Consumers Association, Center for Food Safety, Food Democracy Now, Friends of the Earth, Pesticide Action Network, Moms Across America, Regeneration International, Seed Freedom and hundreds of others that refuse to regurgitate industry propaganda. We need to keep supporting the truth-seekers, like U.S. Right to Know, as they continue to expose Big Foods dark secrets.

Where We Go From Here

It was worth fighting for labels on GMO foods. But weve always known that labels were just one tool in the toolbox. And that the GMOs in the food in our grocery stores are just one piece of a big, bad, dangerous puzzle.

Only about 20 percent of GMOs go into the food we buy. The other 80 percent of all GMO crops go into either animal feed or ethanol fuels. The growing of those crops, which requires millions of tons of pesticides and chemical fertilizers, exacts a terrible toll on our soils, our waters, our health, our future.

Its time to mobilize public consciousness and market pressure and transform our entire degenerate chemical- and energy-intensive industrial food and farming system into a system that regeneratesa system that can restore biodiversity and revitalize public health, animal health, the environment, rural communities and the body politic, while drawing down billions of tons of excess CO2 from the atmosphere and safely sequestering this carbon in the soil and forests, where it belongs.

Its time to drive GMOs off the market, for good.

In the coming weeks and months, we will launch critical new campaigns, some of them international in scope, designed to pressure the bad actors in the food industry to clean up their actsor risk plummeting sales.

In the meantime, consumers can join the 500,000 people who have already begun exercising their marketplace clout by choosing to boycott brands, including organic brands owned by junk food giants who helped defeat labeling laws. You can download our Boycott/Buycott app here.

We also urge U.S. consumers to join citizens around the world in endorsing the International Monsanto Tribunal, a citizens tribunal which will take place October 15-16 in The Hague, Netherlands.

As we look to the future of this movement, lets not forget the past. Now would be a good time to take a page out of Gandhis playbook.

Ronnie Cummins is international director of the Organic Consumers Association and a member of the Regeneration International steering committee.
Humanity will hit

Earth Overshoot Day five days earlier than

last year. This coming Monday, Aug. 8, we will have officially used up natures budget for the entire year, according to the international research firm Global Footprint Network. Last years overshoot day was on Aug. 13.

Deforestation by humans is a major factor in climate change. When forests are cleared, first, carbon absorption ceases and, second, the carbon stored in the trees is released into the atmosphere as CO2 if the wood is burned. Flickr

We continue to grow our ecological debt, Pascal Canfin, the French head of the World Wildlife Fund, told

AFP in reaction to the news.

From Monday, August 8, we will be living on credit because in eight months we would have consumed the natural capital that our planet can renew in a year.

This is the quickest rate that humans have outstripped what the planet produces in a year.



But as you can see in this tweet, this unfortunate milestone has happened

every year since 1981 when Earth Overshoot Day was on Dec. 14. Whats concerning is that we hit this point earlier almost every time.

Compared to the 1960s, humankind only spent three-quarters of Earths annual resource allotment. However, by the 1970s, economic and population growth has driven Earth into this annual downward trend.

We are emitting more carbon dioxide into the atmosphere than our oceans and forests can absorb, and we deplete fisheries and harvest forests more quickly than they can reproduce and regrow, the Global Footprint Network said.



Carbon emissions are the fastest growing contributor to ecological overshoot, with the carbon footprint now making up 60 percent of humanitys demand on nature, which we call its Ecological Footprint.

At this rate, the world needs the resources of 1.6 Earths in order to sustain demand for natures resources, the Global Footprint Network calculated. It would take 4.8 Earths if everyone lived like people do in the U.S. and 5.4 Earths if everyone lived like Australia.

With a projected human population growth from 7.3 billion today to 11.2 billion by 2100, this will only put more strain on Earths limited resources even more as more carbon is emitted and more land is cleared to provide food.

However, the Global Footprint Network noted that the goals set by the

Paris climate agreement provides a ray of hope.

Such a new way of living comes with many advantages, and making it happen takes effort, Mathis Wackernagel, co-founder and CEO of Global Footprint Network, said. The good news is that it is possible with current technology, and financially advantageous with overall benefits exceeding costs. It will stimulate emerging sectors like renewable energy, while reducing risks and costs associated with the impact of

climate change on inadequate infrastructure. The only resource we still need more of is political will.



The Paris climate agreement is the strongest statement yet about the need to reduce the carbon Footprint drastically. Ultimately, collapse or stability is a choice, Wackernagel added. We forcefully recommend nations, cities and individuals take swift, bold actions to make the Paris goals an attainable reality.



The organization pointed out that many countries have taken steps in the right direction to reduce their ecological footprint:

Fortunately, some countries are embracing the challenge. For instance,

Costa Rica generated 97 percent of its electricity from renewable sources during the first three months of 2016. Portugal, Germany and Britain also demonstrated groundbreaking levels of renewable energy capability this year, when 100 percent of their electricity demand was met by renewables for several minutes or, in the case of Portugal, for several days. In China, meanwhile, the government has outlined a plan to reduce its citizens meat consumption by 50 percent, which it calculates will lower the carbon dioxide equivalent emissions from Chinas livestock industry by 1 billion tonnes by 2030.

The Global Footprint Network also encourages individuals to make a positive difference on the environment. The organization has launched a social media campaign with the hashtag #pledgefortheplanet where you can make planet-friendly pledges such as reducing waste, hosting vegetarian meal parties, lowering your energy consumption or more for special prizes.
By Karen Chapman

For a month now, South Florida Atlantic beaches have been blanketed by a sickly green, toxic algae sludge that has kept tourists away and businesses reeling.

Florida has a bigger headache this summer than most states, but algae blooms are hardly unique.

Last week, more than 100 people were sickened by toxic algae in a Utah lake fed by agricultural runoff and treated sewage water. Algae-soiled beaches are a perennial health threat in China and the Baltic region. And just two summers ago, an outbreak in Lake Erie forced the City of Toledo to ban city water for nearly half a million residents.

We know that climate change is further exacerbating our algae problembut also that there are ways to reduce the runoff that causes water quality issues and kills marine life, year after year.

Algae blooms can be minimized and maybe even prevented if we scale up existing efforts to improve fertilizer use and soil health managementpractices that can also save farmers money and boost their yields.

Two Efforts to Curb Runoff Ready to Scale

Two initiatives and private-sector partnerships are making significant headway today. If these efforts are replicated at scale, they could have a nationaland even internationalimpact.

Thanks, in large part, to Walmarts demand for more sustainable grains, food companies such as Campbells Soup, Unilever, Smithfield Foods and Kelloggs are helping the farmers in their supply chain to reduce fertilizer runoff through a rapidly growing program called SUSTAIN.

Spearheaded by the ag retail cooperative United Suppliers, the plan is to have 10 million acres of farmland using best practices for fertilizer management and soil health by 2020.

Precision agriculture tools can help farmers meet the growing demand for sustainably grown grains, but its difficult to tell which tools perform as advertised. Thats why we developed NutrientStar, an independent program that assesses the fertilizer efficiency claims of products on the market.

'Guacamole-Thick' Algae Takes Over Florida's Atlantic Coast, 4 Counties Declare State of Emergency https://t.co/r3n8BhYXD4 @TheCCoalition  EcoWatch (@EcoWatch) July 3, 2016

What Will It Take?

Supply chains are a powerful tool for igniting change. Companies can signal that fertilizer efficiency and good soil management are not just good for the environment, but also for improving water quality, protecting aquatic species and helping a farmers yields and bottom line.

But to get a handle on our growing algae problem in the U.S. and overseas, there is no one silver bullet.

We need more food companies to embrace sustainable sourcing, ag retailers to replicate the SUSTAIN model in order to reach millions of growers and farmers to use NutrientStar to understand how tools perform in the field. Agricultural policies must also align with and accelerate, adoption of conservation best practices.

To turn these initiatives into tangible environmental improvements, we must work with and not against farmers and agribusiness. The people who feed our rapidly growing populationand the companies that support themare and must be, our most important allies.
By Kim Knowlton

The news on Zika virus in the U.S. isnt good at all this week.

The outbreak in Puerto Rico is raising huge concerns. There have been more than 5,000 cases of locally-transmitted Zika virus reported to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in Puerto Rico, but its feared that number is an under-estimate and meanwhile, case numbers there are skyrocketing.

The Aedes aegypti mosquito, which can carry the Zika virus. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

There are now reports of locally-transmitted Zika cases in Florida.

Miami-Dade County is listed today as an area of active Zika transmission, meaning mosquitoes are carrying the Zika virus locally, biting uninfected people who have then become infected. That brings the number of people Zika-infected in Florida to 14. The CDC is urging pregnant women to stay away from certain neighborhoods of Miami.

Until now, the cases of Zika reported in the U.S. have been imported by travelersthis happens when people infected by Zika elsewhere return home and develop symptoms. As of July 27, more than 1,600 cases of this travel-associated Zika had been reported in the lower 48 states. This highlights the rapid connection between disease outbreaks and distant communities, with so many of us traveling internationally these days.

Babies are being born with microcephaly to Zika-infected mothers in the U.S., Puerto Rico and Central and South America. And just last week, we learned that Zika can be sexually transmitted both in mens sperm and from women to men.

The two mosquito species that can transmit Zika are notoriously tough to control. Zika is carried by Ae. aegypti and Ae. albopictus mosquitoes, aggressive daytime biters that bear a distinct white striping on their bodies and legs. Ae. albopictus is more widely found throughout the U.S. plus its range is expanding rapidly. Ae. aegypti is currently found mainlybut not onlyin the southern half of the country. According to the CDC, more than 26 states and the District of Columbia reported populations of Ae. aegypti andAe. albopictus was found in at least 38 states and the District.

Many people had assumed that Zika wouldnt be a widespread threat across much of the U.S., since most of useven in summerspend the majority of our time in screened-in or air-conditioned homes, schools and offices. The tragic stories of locally-transmitted cases of Zika virus in Puerto Rico and Florida show that U.S. communities are not immune to health risks from Zika infection. Besides its links to birth defects in babies, Zika-infected adults can develop Guillain-Barre syndrome, a condition in which the bodys immune system attacks its own nerves to potentially cause paralysis.

The main Zika carrier, Ae. aegypti, may be able to migrate to new cities more readily because of favorable summertime weather. An excellent map developed earlier this year by researchers at the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) and published in PLOS Currents-Outbreaks, shows that during the summer, many U.S. cities may risk low, moderate or high populations of the Zika-transmitting mosquitos. In addition, Zika risk may be elevated in cities that receive more air travelers from Latin America and the Caribbean who may have been exposed to Zika.

Climate Change Fuels More Hot Days and Longer Mosquito-Active Seasons

And into this complex picture, climate change seems to be fueling more warm-weather days when mosquitoes are active and biting.

A new analysis by Climate Central highlights that the number of days hot and humid enough for mosquitoes to be active and biting has increased in many big U.S. citiesand climate change will further increase those numbers, in most locations. In their analysis, the ten cities with the biggest increase in the length of the mosquito season over the last 30 years were: Baltimore, Maryland; Durham, North Carolina; Minneapolis; Myrtle Beach, South Carolina; Raleigh, North Carolina; Portland, Maine; St. Louis; Pittsburgh; Worcester, Massachusetts ; and Albany, New York. These cities cover a huge swath of the eastern U.S. Nationwide, 76 percent of major cities have seen their mosquito season get longer over that time.

This adds a whole other dimension to the public health challenges of Zika: climate change could make more areas of the U.S. more susceptible to this and other mosquito-borne pathogens in the future. Increased heat, disrupted precipitation patterns and higher humidity can allow mosquitoes to thrive in new places, as the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) reported in our Fever Pitch report about dengue fever, another infectious viral disease that can be carried by the same two Aedes mosquito species. Warmer temperatures enable mosquitoes to develop more quickly and to incubate viruses that can infect people faster. Thus, climate change can hasten the spread of many infectious diseases, including Zika.

What Can We Do to Contain the Spread of Zika?

While mosquito-borne disease is a real threat to public health, widespread pesticide use alone is not the best approach, as my NRDC colleague Jennifer Sass explains in her blog this week. There are commonsense measures we can take to limit our exposure to mosquitos and protect ourselves from the pathogens they carry:

Wear protective clothing such as long sleeves and long pants, in lighter colors.

Apply personal mosquito repellant, such as 20 to 30 percent DEET or other recommended formulations in the morning and early evening.

Use window and door screens to keep mosquitoes out of homes.

Every week, inspect the inside and outside of your home for standing water and eliminate it. This includes flowerpots, tires, buckets, planters, toys, birdbaths, empty garbage cans and lids, etc.

Stop infected people from getting further mosquito bites to prevent spreading the disease to more mosquitoes.

The federal government proposed a Zika response: developing a vaccine; diagnostic tests; and national tracking databases for the virus, mosquitoes and infected people. But Congress has yet to approve funding to respond to Zikas public health threat. Its urgent that our elected officials support the strongest possible action and funding on Zika.

Developing safe, rapid responses to the public health challenge of Zika could be huge opportunities to boost community preparedness against emerging infectious diseases, which are likely to increase under a changing climate. It stands to reason that taking action now to trim heat-trapping carbon pollution emissions also takes a bite out of climate change and helps limit its contribution to the emergence and spread of new mosquito-borne diseases.

Kim Knowlton is an assistant clinical professor in the Department of Environmental Health Sciences at Columbia University.
(Photo: REUTERS / Ibraheem Abu Mustafa)Palestinians chant slogans during the funeral of three senior Hamas commanders, who were killed in an Israeli air strike, in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip August 21, 2014. Israel killed three senior Hamas commanders in an air strike on the Gaza Strip on Thursday, the clearest signal yet that Israel is intent on eliminating the group's military leadership after a failed attempt on the life of its top commander this week. Hamas, which dominates Gaza, named the men as Mohammed Abu Shammala, Raed al-Attar and Mohammed Barhoum and said they were killed in the bombing of a house in the southern town of Rafah. All three were described as senior Hamas military figures.

Israel has charged a manager the Gaza office of the Christian relief and development agency World Vision's Gaza with passing millions of dollars to the Palestinian militant Islamist group Hamas.

Israel's Shin Bet security service, said El Halabi diverted around $7.2 million of World Vision money to Hamas each year, NBC news reported Aug 5. That amounts to some 60 percent of the charity's total annual funding for Gaza.

Israel considers Hamas to be a terrorist group.

World Vision said in an Aug. 4 statement it was "shocked" at the allegations against Mohammed El Halabi, who was arrested mid-June and held for 50 days (reportedly without access to a lawyer), IRIN, the news agency that covers emergencies, reports.

World Vision said it had "no reason to believe that the allegations are true." It said that its programs in Gaza were "subject to regular internal and independent audits, independent evaluations, and a broad range of internal controls."

El Halabi was featured as a "humanitarian hero" for the UN's World Humanitarian Day in 2014, but he diverted cash and supplies worth millions of dollars to the military activities of Hamas in Gaza, Israel's internal intelligence service said.

A 2015 evaluation of World Vision's operations in Gaza found that "financial management, supporting accounting and procurement systems and financial reporting were very detailed and rigorous," IRIN reported.

It further praised project managers for getting value for money in procurement.

Israel says the alleged fraud illustrates "Hamas' cynical exploitation of international humanitarian aid." A Hamas spokesman told the Reuters news agency it has "no connection" to Halabi.

Some of the money raised to support injured children in Gaza was diverted to Hamas families by "fraudulently listing their children as wounded," said Shin Bet.

"Money designated for psychological support, education and health in Gaza ... was used to pay the families of Hamas terrorists," the agency said.

"This is a grave incident," Israel's Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories Maj. Gen. Yoav Mordechai said in a statement, NBC reported.

ISRAEL CALLS ON WORLD VISION TO 'ASSUME RESPONSIBILITY'

Mordechai called on World Vision to "assume responsibility and set your house in order."

The value of the goods and cash allegedly involved is unclear  Israel's statements give a figure of $7.2 million and also say 60 percent of the charity's annual budget was diverted since 2010.

World Vision has operated in Gaza, Israel and the West Bank since 1975.

It's not clear however, how, the figures were arrived at. According to some reports, the allegations are that over $7 million was diverted each year since 2010.

IRIN reported that only fragments of public data are available to gauge the plausibility of fraud and deception on that scale, due in part to what it described as the opaque nature of charity finance.

It said World Vision receives substantial funds amounting to around 82 percent of its US revenue from private individual donations that do not require detailed financial reporting, including church-related fundraising and child sponsorship.

The International Aid Transparency Initiative encourages donors and aid agencies to share data on a voluntary basis, only has one record (a German government donation of $668,922) specific to World Vision's work in Gaza over the last five years.
NASHVILLE, Tennessee  New 2016 Nissan Leaf buyers in 10 new U.S. markets will get two years of no-cost public charging, courtesy of Nissan's No Charge to Charge program.

The new markets are:

Charleston, South Carolina

Charlotte, North Carolina

Colorado Springs/Pueblo, Colorado

Greenville/Spartanburg/Asheville/Anderson, N.C./S.C.

Jacksonville, Florida

Miami, Florida

Milwaukee, Wisconsin

Palm Springs, Florida

Portland/Auburn, Oregon

Tampa/St. Petersburg/Sarasota, Florida

The program is now available at Nissan Leaf dealers in 48 markets in the U.S. and is offered to those who buy or lease a new Leaf.

"Since the program kicked off in the summer of 2014, owners have saved over $4.2 million in public-charging fees," said Brian Maragno, director of Nissan electric vehicle sales and marketing, in a statement.

The promotion includes access to fast chargers that can charge a Leaf battery pack from empty to 80 percent in about 30 minutes.

The base 2016 Leaf has a driving range of 84 miles, according to the EPA. The 2016 Leaf SV and SL models with the 30-kWh battery pack have a 107-mile driving range.

Nissan sold 1,063 Leaf electric cars in July, a decline of 9.5 percent versus July 2015, according to the automaker's monthly sales report.

Low gas prices are a major influence on car shoppers.

On August 1, AAA reported that gas prices reached their lowest mark in 100 days.

The average price for a gallon of unleaded gasoline stood at $2.12 on Friday, compared to $2.63 a year ago, according to the AAA Daily Fuel Gauge Report.

The U.S. Department of Energy says there are 13,999 public charging stations for electric vehicles in the U.S., with 34,914 charging outlets.

Key competitors to the Nissan Leaf include the Chevrolet Spark EV, Fiat 500e and Kia Soul EV.

Edmunds says: Car shoppers in 10 new markets get another good reason to consider the Nissan Leaf.
Kelly, Pastore debate inflation, energy policy in congressional race

Kelly and Pastore went head-to-head in a debate Tuesday that was organized by WQLN and Erie News Now, which first aired the taped debate Thursday.
Ely, Cambridgeshire is best known for its majestic cathedral dubbed the 'Ship of the Fens' because it dominates the flat landscape. The city, which is the second smallest in England, is about 14 miles north-northeast of Cambridge and about 80 miles by road from London.

14:55, 28 OCT 2022
Big bridge grant for Austin Free Access Austin Borough has qualified for a state grant to cover construction of a new bridge near the towns northern gateway. A $518,400 allotment from the Multimodal Transportation Fund will allow...

Deeds filed in Cameron County Free Access Following are real estate transactions filed with the Cameron County Recorder of Deeds: Blair A. Lundberg to Alcohol & Drug Abuse Services, Emporium, $185,000; David Jeffrey Smith to Elk Mountain...

These are the best of times for deer hunters Free Access There has rarely been a better time to be a deer hunter in Pennsylvanias northcentral region. Not only has the whitetail population been steadily rebounding, but the deer are healthier...

DuBois family leaves millions for volunteer orgs Free Access Christmas came early to seven community organizations whose work was important to the late multimillionaire Arthur F. DuBois (shown in the inset) of Coudersport. Some $3.1 million in proceeds from...
A group of tourists from the United States, the U.K. and Germany were injured as they traveled through the Herat province in Western Afghanistan on Thursday. The attack, which injured six people, has been claimed by the Taliban.

Taliban spokesman Qari Yousuf Ahmadi has stated that it was the notorious terror group who was behind the attack. In a statement through a text message to journalists in the area, the Taliban spokesman explained why the group was attacked.

"The foreigners had come to Herat for a mysterious aim," Ahmadi stated.

Afghan Army spokesman Najibullah Najibi also spoke about the attack, stating that a rocket struck the van the tourists were traveling in at about 11 a.m. local time on Thursday. The group was about 16 miles away from the province's administrative center when the attack took place.

Among the injured were five tourists from America, Germany, Britain and Ireland. Their driver, an Afghan national, was also injured. Herat's district chief Farhad Khademi further stated that the five tourists who were injured were part of a group of 11 individuals.

The tourists were not traveling unarmed, either, as they were escorted by the Afghan Security Forces when the rocket struck their vehicle. Britain's foreign office has issued a statement about the incident, stating that the tourists were in the area for a humanitarian mission.

"We are providing assistance to British nationals involved in the attack in Herat and are in close contact with the local authorities," the office stated.

Afghanistan has been embroiled in a bloody conflict over the last few years, with many countries, such as the United States and the United Kingdom, issuing grave travel advisories for tourists attempting to enter the country.

Despite the dangers, however, people, especially those who are part of humanitarian organizations, still travel to the war-ridden country, in order to provide assistance.
St. Louis has become the center of attention among conspiracy theorists and UFO hunters, after a mysterious orb of light was caught on film hovering strangely above the Gateway Arch last Tuesday.

The incident, which was captured on film by Illinois man Chase Rhoads between 2:30 a.m. and 3:00 a.m. on Tuesday, immediately caught the attention of many. Though the orb of light was definitely there, it was not clear from the footage exactly what the object was.

"I've been out there for a little over a month now and I've never seen anything above that arch. I was sitting on my break just smoking a cigarette as normal and looked at the arch and the strobe light appeared. It didn't fly over, it didn't do any of that. It just appeared," Rhoads said.

What was particularly interesting was the fact that it was not just Rhoads who managed to capture the mysterious flying object on camera. In fact, surveillance cameras at the nearby Malcolm W. Martin Memorial Park were also able to capture not just one, but two of the strange, hovering lights.

What's more, the Scott Air Force Base, which is quite close to the area, has already issued a statement about the mysterious lights, stating that there were no unusual activities in the sky that night. Thus, the explanation behind the mysterious lights seems to be elusive still.

Mike Buehlhorn, director of the Metro East Parks and Recreation District, stated that he feels there is something strange about the object that was captured on film.

"There's something weird with that one," he said.

Considering the way the object moved, however, many who viewed the video stated that it looked and hovered very much like a drone. After all, modern consumer drones have become far more capable in terms of their range. Thus, the source of light could simply have been a machine from a nearby neighborhood.
After the rather ironic 53rd episode of Dragon Ball Super, which had Black Goku in its title but never once featured the villainous character, the next episode of the popular anime seems to be yet another character-building episode for Future Trunks.

The teaser trailer for Dragon Ball Super Episode 54, Inheritor of Saiyan Blood: Trunks' Resolve, featured a number of very interesting scenes. Among the clips shown in the brief video, however, one thing was very noticeable -- Vegeta was training Future Trunks and the Saiyan Prince was in his Super Saiyan Blue form.

This could only mean one thing, and that is Vegeta teaching Future Trunks to reach Super Saiyan Blue. Currently, only Son Goku and Vegeta can reach SSJB, thanks to the experience they gained during their previous fights. They have also honed their strength further, training under Whis, who is their strongest teacher yet.

As much the premise of Future Trunks reaching Super Saiyan Blue is interesting, however, the other scenes of the teaser seemed to point to the young fighter struggling heavily against pressure from his father. Nevertheless, it does make sense for Future Trunks to reach SSJB in the next episode.

This is primarily because of the current progression of the anime's plot. As noted by fans since the Future Trunks arc started, the idea of Son Goku once more being the man to beat the main villain has gotten a bit stale. After all, the most notable fights in the new series have so far been ended with the Z fighter.

Thus, many fans are clamoring for the anime to pursue something far different than before. One of the ways it could do this, of course, would be to allow another character to deal the killing blow in the final battle against the main villain of the arc.

Among the characters that fans believe are likely to finish the final battle are Vegeta and Future Trunks, simply because Black Goku was directly responsible for their losses in the future. Compared to Son Goku, who simply wishes to fight Black because battling him is fun, both Vegeta and Future Trunks have more valid reasons to fight the villain.

After all, during the first episode of the Future Trunks arc, Black was shown to have killed Bulma and Mai, two women that were dear to the father and son. This has affected both characters, with Vegeta specifically mentioning his loss in the future when he was training in the Gravity Room.

Currently, all signs are pointing to Future Trunks reaching Super Saiyan Blue in the next Dragon Ball Super episode. If he does reach SSJB, then Black would definitely have his hands full the moment he fights the young Saiyan again.
Considered as one of the best examples of regional integration (RI), the European Union (EU) is presently facing a number of crises that are making citizens of Europe wary about its policy objectives and long-term existence. Lately, there has been a rise in number of eurosceptics across the EU member countries and interestingly both right- and left-wing political organisations have their set of grievances against Brussels. The highly bureaucratic model of the EU and its centralised policymaking is criticised by the citizens of member states and on times these criticisms have translated into big protests. This was manifested in the United Kingdom (UK) where the majority (51.9%) voted against membership of the EU in a referendum on 23 June 2016.

The Brexit has not only shocked the whole of Europe, but people across the world are curious to know what exactly went wrong with the European integration process. It was the Conservative Party (Tory) that in its 2015 election manifesto promised an in-out referendum on Britains membership of the EU (Richardson and Tripathi 2016). The manifesto termed the EU as too bureaucratic and too undemocratic, and also blamed it for the scale of migration triggered by new members joining in recent years, which has had a real impact on local communities (The Conservative Party Manifesto 2015: 72). These allegations against the EU reverberated in the UK throughout the period of political debate on the referendum. The repercussion of this implicit hate-mongering, targeting the immigrants, was quite visible after the referendum. Immigrants were abused in Britain and the British parliament regretfully acknowledged it.
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DENVER - People who commit mass shootings in America tend to share three traits: rampant depression, social isolation and pathological narcissism, according to a paper presented at the American Psychological Association's annual convention that calls on the media to deny such shooters the fame they seek.

"Mass shootings are on the rise and so is media coverage of them," said Jennifer B. Johnston, PhD, of Western New Mexico University. "At this point, can we determine which came first? Is the relationship merely unidirectional: More shootings lead to more coverage? Or is it possible that more coverage leads to more shootings?"

Johnston and her coauthor, Andrew Joy, BS, also of Western New Mexico University, reviewed data on mass shootings amassed by media outlets, the FBI and advocacy organizations, as well as scholarly articles, to conclude that "media contagion" is largely responsible for the increase in these often deadly outbursts. They defined mass shootings as either attempts to kill multiple people who are not relatives or those resulting in injuries or fatalities in public places.

The prevalence of these crimes has risen in relation to the mass media coverage of them and the proliferation of social media sites that tend to glorify the shooters and downplay the victims, Johnston said.

"We suggest that the media cry to cling to 'the public's right to know' covers up a greedier agenda to keep eyeballs glued to screens, since they know that frightening homicides are their No. 1 ratings and advertising boosters," she said.

The demographic profile of mass shooters is fairly consistent, she said. Most are white, ostensibly heterosexual males, largely between the ages of 20 and 50. They tend to see themselves as "victims of injustice," and share a belief that they have been cheated out of their rightful dominant place as white, middle class males.

"Unfortunately, we find that a cross-cutting trait among many profiles of mass shooters is desire for fame," she said. This quest for fame among mass shooters skyrocketed since the mid-1990s "in correspondence to the emergence of widespread 24-hour news coverage on cable news programs, and the rise of the internet during the same period."

She cited several media contagion models, most notably one proposed by Towers et al. (2015), which found the rate of mass shootings has escalated to an average of one every 12.5 days, and one school shooting on average every 31.6 days, compared to a pre-2000 level of about three events per year. "A possibility is that news of shooting is spread through social media in addition to mass media," she said.

"If the mass media and social media enthusiasts make a pact to no longer share, reproduce or retweet the names, faces, detailed histories or long-winded statements of killers, we could see a dramatic reduction in mass shootings in one to two years," she said. "Even conservatively, if the calculations of contagion modelers are correct, we should see at least a one-third reduction in shootings if the contagion is removed."

She said this approach could be adopted in much the same way as the media stopped reporting celebrity suicides in the mid-1990s after it was corroborated that suicide was contagious. Johnston noted that there was "a clear decline" in suicide by 1997, a couple of years after the Centers for Disease Control convened a working group of suicidologists, researchers and the media, and then made recommendations to the media.

"The media has come together before to work for good, to incite social change," she said. "They have done, and they can do it. It is time. It is enough."

Session 1246: "Mass Shooters and the Media Contagion Effect," Symposium, Thursday, Aug. 4, 1 - 2:50 p.m. MDT, Mile High Ballroom 4F Level 3, Ballroom Level, Colorado Convention Center, 700 14th Street, Denver.

###

Presentations are available from the APA Public Affairs Office.

Contact: Jennifer Johnston at Johnstonjenny40@gmail.com or by phone at (575) 654-0052.

The American Psychological Association, in Washington, D.C., is the largest scientific and professional organization representing psychology in the United States. APA's membership includes more than 117,500 researchers, educators, clinicians, consultants and students. Through its divisions in 54 subfields of psychology and affiliations with 60 state, territorial and Canadian provincial associations, APA works to advance the creation, communication and application of psychological knowledge to benefit society and improve people's lives.

http://www.apa.org
PROVIDENCE, R.I. [Brown University] -- A new Brown University study projects that increasing the number of Rhode Islanders treated every year for hepatitis C virus infection (HCV) to about 2,000 by 2020 would reduce cases by 90 percent and prevent more than 70 percent of expected liver-related deaths in the state by 2030.

More moderate increases in treatment such as doubling the number treated each year could reduce death rates by less than 20 percent, the analysis showed.

"Hepatitis C virus-related morbidity and mortality can be reduced significantly in Rhode Island if an aggressive treatment strategy is implemented over the next decade," wrote public health Assistant Professor Brandon Marshall and colleagues in the journal Epidemiology and Infection.

"The medications available today are so effective that -- with increased treatment uptake -- we have the opportunity to all but eliminate the disease by 2030," he added.

Marshall's analysis comes as Rhode Island takes a deep look at the how the disease has impacted the state. July 28 was World Hepatitis Day. The Aug. 6 WaterFire marks that occasion. Meanwhile, next week the Rhode Island Department of Health plans to unveil an epidemiological report, in partnership with the Rhode Island Public Health Institute, describing key aspects of the state of the epidemic.

Hepatitis C can take decades to cause serious disease, but ultimately the liver damage it can cause can be fatal as it progresses to cirrhosis, liver failure or liver cancer. In recent years many baby boomers (infected as long ago as the 1950s, '60s and '70s) have been reaching those critical later stages of progression. One in 30 baby boomers in the U.S. has hepatitis C. At the same time, new treatments have made the disease curable in only a few weeks, very safely, but in the U.S. they are priced at tens of thousands of dollars.

"Hepatitis C kills more people in the United States than any other infectious disease," said study co-author Dr. Lynn E. Taylor, assistant professor of medicine, physician at The Miriam Hospital and founder of Rhode Island Defeats Hepatitis C. "In fact, hepatitis C causes more deaths than all other 60 infectious diseases reportable to the CDC, combined. This is the critical infectious disease epidemic of our time. Our goal is elimination. We need to scale up our testing and treatment with urgency to avert preventable illness and early death."

Modeling mortality

The new study sought to project the impact of expanding treatment by varying degrees using a sophisticated computer model loaded with data from Rhode Island's epidemic or, when that data wasn't available, from that of the U.S. more broadly.

Marshall's team, including lead author and Brown public health graduate student Dr. Ayorinde Soipe, included figures and estimates for the number of Rhode Islanders infected since 1950, the progression rate of hepatitis C's various strains and the rate of new infections. They also considered many other pertinent factors including how often people die of the disease vs. other causes over time, and the likelihood that they could clear the infection without treatment.

They then used the model to project the course of the next 14 years of the epidemic in Rhode Island based on four different treatment scenarios:

The Base Case: Treatment for 215 residents a year, restricted to patients with stage three fibrosis or worse.

Scale-up 1: Double treatment to 430 residents annually and treating patients with stage two fibrosis or worse.

Scale-up 2: Double treatment to 430 residents annually and treating patients irrespective of HCV disease stage.

The "Elimination" Scenario: Whatever the model says is needed to reduce infections by 90 percent by 2030, which turned out to be treating 2,000 patients a year by 2020.

The greatest reductions in liver-related deaths by 2030 occurred in the elimination scenario: a drop of 72.4 percent compared to the base case.

Scale-up 1 would reduce liver-related deaths by 19.3 percent, and Scale-up 2 would reduce them by 7.4 percent.

Similar patterns of reductions would also bring down the number of cases of cirrhosis, which could lead to more deaths after 2030.

Marshall said that the reason why maintaining a restriction on treating patients with more advanced liver disease would result in fewer deaths (as in Scale-up 1 vs. 2) is because with few people being treated, it would prevent more deaths if treatment resources were focused on those more acutely ill.

The study did not track the costs of expanding treatment, which would likely be in the tens of millions of dollars. The researchers noted, however, that while the upfront investment would be large, it would likely pay off eventually in preventing thousands of cases of cirrhosis, liver failure and liver cancer, which are expensive to treat and would drastically reduce the need for very costly liver transplants.

The study has other limitations, such as the need to make assumptions based on national rather than state data. It also might underestimate the prevalence of hepatitis C because it does not account for rising infection rates among young people amid the state's opioid and heroin epidemic.

Still, Marshall said, the study provides guidance for state policymakers, insurers and care providers about what it will take to bend the curve of the state's epidemic to result in far fewer deaths.

###

In addition to Soipe, Marshall and Taylor, the paper's other authors are Brown public health Assistant Professor Omar Galarraga and Drs. Homie Razavi and Devin Razavi-Shearer of the Center for Disease Analysis in Lafayette, Colorado.

The Rhode Island Foundation's support of R.I. Defeats HepC funded the research. Dr. Soipe was supported by a trainee award from the Lifespan/Tufts/Brown Center for AIDS Research (CFAR), and Dr. Marshall is supported by a Henry Merrit Wriston Fellowship from Brown University.
Washington, DC -- Offering a rare insider analysis of the climate assessment process, Carnegie's Katharine Mach and colleagues at the Department of Global Ecology examined the writing and editing procedures by which the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change creates summaries of their findings for policymakers. Despite recent critiques that these summaries are too difficult for non-experts, Mach and colleagues found them comparable to reference texts in terms of reading comprehension level. Their results are published by Science Advances.

"Using multiple tools for measuring reading ease, we found that IPCC reports are designed for grownups, but they are not harder to read than other science documents, including those written for the public by professional writers," said co-author Chris Field, who served as the co-chair of the second IPCC Working Group.

Nevertheless, Mach and colleagues also suggest ways that the summary reports could be improved by using less jargon and more cohesive language to link the ideas they contain. The summaries could also be enhanced by graphics, videos, animations, and online multimedia, in addition to extensive media availability by panel leadership.

Mach and Field, together with Carnegie's Patrick Freeman and Michael Mastrandrea, also suggest the possibility of getting professional science editors to participate in the review process to help keep the writing as accessible as possible without losing meaning.

The process by which IPCC summary reports for policymakers are generated is quite singular, and often a subject of fascination.

Scientific experts spend years generating a report assessing the current state of climate science and then create summaries of each section, which are intended to aid policymakers in making the most of the information. These summaries are approved line by line, by consensus by a group of hundreds of government representatives and scientists, working for days at a time and even through the night until they have agreed upon every word.

Mach and her team undertook an in-depth analysis of the process by which these summaries are revised and approved.

"Despite the importance of these policymaker summaries, and the interest in their creation, the revision process has not been comprehensively analyzed until now," Mach explained.

They found that the review process generally increases the length of text, unless there is an issue of great political sensitivity, in which case the summary text might be shortened. Changes during in-person government session tend to focus on the comprehensiveness of examples provided and on increasing policy relevance. This is in contrast to changes in the text prior to the government approval session, which emphasized clarity and scientific rigor.

"Despite the exhausting rigor of the review process, the method of discussing and agreeing upon every sentence builds ownership of the science by both participating researchers and governments," Mach said. "The creation and revision of these summaries is a vital part of making climate science relevant for decision-making. Although there is some room for improvement, the finished documents can certainly provide a lot of value to participants, scientists and nonscientists alike."

###

Support for this work was provided by the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation.

The Carnegie Institution for Science (carnegiescience.edu) is a private, nonprofit organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with six research departments throughout the U.S. Since its founding in 1902, the Carnegie Institution has been a pioneering force in basic scientific research. Carnegie scientists are leaders in plant biology, developmental biology, astronomy, materials science, global ecology, and Earth and planetary science.
Obstructive sleep apnea and intermittent nocturnal hypoxia are associated with NAFLD in both adults and children, according to a new report in the Journal of Hepatology

Amsterdam, The Netherlands, August 5, 2016 - Studies have shown that obstructive sleep apnea and low nighttime oxygen, which result in oxidative stress, are associated with the progression of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) in adults. Investigators have now established that these factors may also be important triggers in the progression of pediatric NAFLD to non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH), according to a new report in the Journal of Hepatology.

Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is the accumulation of extra fat in liver cells in people who drink little or no alcohol. It is a disease of epidemic proportions that is increasing worldwide in both adults and children. It is estimated to affect up to 30% of the general population in Western countries and up to 9.6% of all children and 38% of obese children across a spectrum of disease, including isolated hepatic steatosis, non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH, defined as steatosis, hepatocyte ballooning and inflammation), and cirrhosis. This parallels the growing incidence of obesity and type 2 diabetes, and is now considered to be the hepatic component of metabolic syndrome. Although isolated hepatic steatosis is considered a less aggressive form of NAFLD, patients with NASH can eventually progress to severe fibrosis and cirrhosis, with development of hepatocellular carcinoma in adults.

"There is emerging evidence that obesity-related obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) and intermittent nocturnal hypoxia are associated with NAFLD progression," explained lead investigator Shikha Sundaram, MD, MSCI, of the Children's Hospital Colorado, University of Colorado School of Medicine. "According to recent reports, pediatric NAFLD patients with OSA/hypoxia have more advanced liver disease and fibrosis, supporting a role for OSA/hypoxia in the development of NASH. However, the mechanisms underlying this relationship have not yet been explained."

Investigators studied 36 adolescents with NAFLD, along with 14 lean controls, to assess if oxidative stress induced by obstructive sleep apnea and low nighttime oxygen promoted the progression of pediatric NAFLD. Children cared for in the Children's Hospital Colorado Pediatric Liver Center between June 2009 and January 2014 were eligible for this study if they had suspected NAFLD and were scheduled to undergo a clinically indicated liver biopsy. NAFLD patients had significantly raised aminotransferases (a marker of hepatocellular injury), inflammatory markers, and evidence of metabolic syndrome, compared to lean controls.

Patients underwent a standard multi-channel sleep study (polysomnogram), which was scored by a research trained technician and interpreted by a single sleep medicine physician, both of whom were blinded to the liver biopsy results.

Investigators found that patients with the most severe NAFLD experienced more severe sleep-disordered breathing and significantly higher apnea/hypopnea index scores compared to those with less severe NAFLD. Patients with OSA/hypoxia also had more severe fibrosis or scar tissue in their livers than those without OSA/hypoxia. They also found a clear correlation between severity of the indexes of oxidative stress both systemically and in the liver and the severity of the indexes used to evaluate OSA. The two populations of obese NAFLD adolescents did not differ for other relevant serum liver indexes and liver histology scores.

"These data show that sleep-disordered breathing is an important trigger of oxidative stress that promotes progression of pediatric NAFLD to NASH," commented Dr. Sundaram. "We showed that obese adolescents with NAFLD who have OSA and low nighttime oxygen have significant scar tissue in their livers, and that NAFLD patients affected by OSA and low nighttime oxygen have a greater imbalance between the production of free radicals and their body's ability to counteract their harmful effects than subjects without OSA and low oxygen."

"Further proof of this hypothesis will require additional investigations to demonstrate prevention or reversal of NASH following effective therapy of OSA and low nighttime oxygen in obese patients. Nocturnal Continuous Positive Airway Pressure (CPAP) therapy may be a potential treatment by reducing intermittent nocturnal hypoxia-induced oxidative stress."

In an accompanying editorial, Maurizio Parola, PhD, of the Department of Clinical and Biological Sciences, Unit of Experimental Medicine and Clinical Pathology, University of Torino, Italy, and Pietro Vajro, MD, of the Department of Medicine and Surgery, Unit of Pediatrics, University of Salerno, Italy, commented that "the study by Sundaram and colleagues has merit and outlines a number of further relevant issues and perspectives. The investigators reported significant relationships between blood hematocrit (Hct) and NAFLD fibrosis stage, and anti-oxidant blood values, and between NAFLD and lipid peroxidation parameters. Their combined evaluation should help in deciding whether histological and polysomnographic evaluation are needed in order to recognize adolescent patients with more severe NAFLD and/or more severe OSA and hypoxia earlier."

"We definitely need trials designed to investigate whether CPAP treatment may significantly affect NAFLD progression in this age range. The only randomized controlled trial was of relatively short duration, performed on adult patients with mild OSA/hypoxia and normal baseline transaminases, and apparently did not demonstrate any impact on steatosis, NASH or liver fibrosis," they observed.

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Actual catches on the islands were an alarming 2.8 times, or 86 percent higher than that reported to the FAO, and this has very troubling implications

Marine fisheries catches have been drastically under-reported in the Turks and Caicos Islands in the Caribbean, threatening the marine environment and livelihoods of the local community, reveals a recent study published in the open-access journal Frontiers in Marine Science.

Actual catches on the islands were an alarming 2.8 times, or 86% higher than that reported to the FAO, and this has very troubling implications.

Lead researcher Aylin Ulman, recently based at the Sea Around Us, and her team call for urgent action from policy-makers to ensure the future sustainability of the fishing industry in this archipelago nation.

Fishing has historically been the main industry in the Turks and Caicos Islands and in some areas up to 75% of locals are involved in the fishing industry. The rise in tourism is creating more demand for locally caught seafood and is placing increasing pressure on local marine life.

The islands operate small-scale fisheries for queen conch, Caribbean spiny lobster, and finfish as the three main targets. The local government is required to report all catches to the Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) to be able to trade with signatory nations of CITES (Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora). The international trade of wild animals must be shown to not threaten the survival of local stocks.

However, the data that are passed on to the FAO are incorrect because they only account for commercial catches that will be exported, and do not include seafood caught and consumed by locals and tourists on the islands. This can put future stocks at risk.

"DEMA (The Department of Environment and Maritime Affairs) has done a great job of monitoring fish sold to the country's fish plants," said Ulman; "However, it seems they have not always had enough staff to monitor seafood being sold or given to locals and tourists, whether that be at the dock, in shops, or in restaurants."

For a better estimate of the amount of seafood caught around the islands, the authors assessed all catches between 1950 and 2012. More accurate records of catches for export, artisanal, and subsistence fisheries were identified from Turks and Caicos Islands Government reports. A recent and thorough seafood consumption survey from 2013 involving locals and tourists was additionally used to estimate the previously unreported local consumption of seafood.

The reconstructed data also included evaluations of recreational catches and illegal poaching. Using these data and mathematical models, Ulman and her team have made the most accurate estimates to-date of seafood consumption by residents and tourists on the islands.

Reported catches have been used to put regulations in place for sustainable catch limits. However, these limits have been unsustainable, leading to the over-exploitation of marine life.

In fact, local consumption of conch is close to the total number allowed to be caught under these 'sustainable' limits, and this is without taking into account the number of conch that are exported, which is almost equal to local consumption. As a result of this study, the authors hope that future catch limits will be based on total seafood catches from all fishery sectors.

"Local seafood consumption surveys should continue to be completed once every three to five years to track changing patterns, especially with the ongoing growth of tourism. Local consumption catches must be factored into the equation when calculating the total allowable catch limits, especially for key species of conch and lobster, to determine if it is even possible to continue the export business," said Ulman.

New legislation is needed to reduce seafood catches so that stocks are being fished within safe limits, and this study adds new weight to the urgency of this issue. The Turks and Caicos Islands Government have recommended a stop to the export of conch for up to five years to allow populations to recover, but they have been delayed in implementing this.

"While the results of this research may seem like bad news, we are quick to emphasize that this new data may actually present an opportunity," said co-author Edward Hind; "The staff at DEMA now have the knowledge to set catch limits that really will work. If the government supports the Turks and Caicos Islands fisheries scientists in collecting better catch data, then the country can have healthy fisheries for decades to come".

The under-reporting of fisheries catches is common in other regions and neighboring island nations. Haiti, the Dominican Republic, and Jamaica are facing the same the problems and urgent action is required to avoid further over-exploitation of marine life.

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Three physicists in the SU College of Arts and Sciences are using a major grant to study the dynamics and interactions of cancer cells

Three physicists in the College of Arts and Sciences are using a major grant to study the dynamics and interactions of cancer cells.

M. Lisa Manning, associate professor of physics; M. Cristina Marchetti, the William R. Kenan Jr. Distinguished Professor of Physics; and Jennifer Schwarz, associate professor of physics, have been awarded a three-year, $686,000 grant from the National Science Foundation to apply principles of soft-matter physics to cancer therapy.

The trio, whose research focuses on theoretical soft condensed matter and biological physics, will investigate new collective mechanisms that establish and maintain tumor boundaries in breast and cervix carcinomas.

Carcinoma is a type of cancer that usually begins in the tissue of the skin or in the lining of certain internal organs and then develops out of control.

"Understanding the mechanisms that confine carcinoma cells to a primary tumor or conversely facilitate their escape is of key importance in cancer therapy," Manning says. "In this framework, a confined tumor, in which cells retain the same neighbors, is solid-like. In contrast, malignant invasion, facilitated by cell rearrangement and escape from the primary tumor, can be modeled as a transition to a fluid-like state."

She continues: "Our goal is to provide quantitative support for these ideas, to shed light on tissue behavior, cell segregation and cell escape. Ultimately, we want to develop a better method for identifying tumor boundaries and predicting when a cancer becomes invasive."

Underpinning the project is what Manning labels a "paradigm-shifting conjecture"--that the transition from noninvasive to invasive tumors is governed by an unjamming, or solid-to-liquid, process. She and her colleagues plan to test their theory with new, active versions of a well-studied vertex model for confluent tissues and with fiber models for the extra-cellular matrix (ECM) surrounding the tumor.

"We will use our model to predict laws that govern cell motion in tissues," says Marchetti, adding that techniques and ideas from soft matter and statistical mechanics can be used to describe such biological systems.

Adds Schwarz: "We know the mechanical properties of a tumor depend on single-cell parameters, such as cell shape, cell stiffness and active forces generated by cell crawling. The behavior of a tumor is also influenced by the surrounding environment, including the ECM, which is a network of biopolymers."

She, Marchetti and Manning are collaborating with Professor Josef Kaes, a soft-matter physicist at the University of Leipzig (Germany), to develop methods for extracting important model parameters from experimental data from cancer cell lines and primary tumor samples.

In addition to developing tools to observe these processes more closely, the team will investigate how a cancer tumor regulates tissue stiffness and fluidity, and how cells escaping from a primary tumor boundary interact with the surrounding ECM.

"Although there is a physical barrier [called the basement membrane] that encloses most primary tumors, the boundaries are often maintained after the cells break through the barrier," says Manning, who recently returned from France, where she received the Young Scientist Award from the Commission on Statistical Physics of the International Union of Pure and Applied Physics. "We think fluid-solid transitions may be the key to understanding what holds such tumors together, and we've developed a theoretical framework that, for the first time, explains fluid-to-solid transitions in such tissues."

Cancer occurs when a normal cell mutates, or changes, but is unable to repair itself. The damaged cell keeps multiplying, and creates an abnormal growth of tissue called a tumor. Some tumors are cancerous; others are not.

"In a clinical setting, it's important to identify not only tumor boundaries to guide surgical resection, but also mechanical biomarkers for cancer aggressiveness," Marchetti says. "We will address these issues with ideas that are different from, and complementary to, ones being explored by traditional cancer biologists."

Designed to foster participation in the burgeoning field of biophysics, the project will involve graduate students, undergraduates and postdocs, and will provide professional development opportunities for young scientists.

Manning, Marchetti and Schwarz are members of the Syracuse Soft Matter Program, housed in A&S' Department of Physics. They also are active proponents of women in the STEM fields, as evidenced by a national conference they co-organized at Syracuse in January for undergraduate women in physics.

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UCLA professor, co-authors warn that steps must be taken now if gorillas, rhinos, lions and tigers are to be saved

Preventing the extinction of gorillas, rhinoceroses, elephants, lions, tigers, wolves, bears and the world's other largest mammals will require bold political action and financial commitments from nations worldwide. In an article in the journal BioScience, 43 wildlife experts write that without immediate changes, many of the Earth's most iconic species will be lost.

"The loss of these magnificent animals would be a tremendous tragedy," said Blaire Van Valkenburgh, a UCLA professor of ecology and evolutionary biology, and one of the article's co-authors. "They are all that is left of a once much more diverse megafauna that populated the planet only 12,000 years ago. And more importantly, we have only just begun to understand the important roles they play in maintaining healthy ecosystems."

Among the most serious threats to endangered animals are illegal hunting, deforestation, habitat loss, expansion of livestock and agriculture into wildlife areas, and human population growth, they write.

The scientists, who represent six continents, write that humans have "an abiding moral obligation to protect the Earth's megafauna," or large mammals. "We must not go quietly into this impoverished future."

In addition to their significance to ecosystems, animals such as tigers and elephants attract tourists and their money to parts of the world that have few alternative sources of income, said Van Valkenburgh, who holds the Donald R. Dickey chair in vertebrate biology in the UCLA College.

"This paper is a call for action at all levels, local to global, to halt the rapid decline of the megafauna," she said.

The paper reports that 59 percent of the largest carnivores and 60 percent of the largest herbivores have been classified as threatened with extinction, and that the situation is especially severe in sub-Saharan Africa and Southeast Asia, where the greatest diversity of extant megafauna live.

William Ripple, the paper's lead author, a distinguished professor of ecology in the College of Forestry at Oregon State University, said the animals' declines are occurring rapidly.

"The more I look at the trends facing the world's largest terrestrial mammals, the more concerned I am we could lose these animals just as science is discovering how important they are to ecosystems and to the services they provide to people," he said.

The scientists call for comprehensive action, including expanding habitats for the animals and changing conservation policy. The paper notes that some conservation initiatives have been successful and that, if measures are taken now, it may still be possible to rescue these animals from extinction.

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The article is published in seven languages: English, Spanish, Chinese, French, Malay, Portuguese and Thai.
The Open University and University of Leicester publish study determining the fluids once present in Martian Yellowknife Bay, Gale Crater

Results provide evidence for long and varied history of water in Mars Gale Crater

Sulphur and iron rich groundwater in Gale Crater was habitable by Earth standards

Mudstones in Gale Crater close in composition to rocks in Watchet Bay in North Devon, highlighting a terrestrial analogue

Mineral veins found in Mars's Gale Crater were formed by the evaporation of ancient Martian lakes, a new study has shown.

The research, by Mars Science Laboratory Participating Scientists at The Open University and the University of Leicester, used the Mars Curiosity rover to explore Yellowknife Bay in Gale Crater on Mars, examining the mineralogy of veins that were paths for groundwater in mudstones.

The study suggests that the veins formed as the sediments from the ancient lake were buried, heated to about 50 degrees Celsius and corroded.

Professor John Bridges from the University of Leicester Department of Physics and Astronomy said: "The taste of this Martian groundwater would be rather unpleasant, with about 20 times the content of sulphate and sodium than bottled mineral water for instance!

"However as Dr Schwenzer from The Open University concludes, some microbes on Earth do like sulphur and iron rich fluids, because they can use those two elements to gain energy. Therefore, for the question of habitability at Gale Crater the taste of the water is very exciting news."

The researchers suggest that evaporation of ancient lakes in the Yellowknife Bay would have led to the formation of silica and sulphate-rich deposits.

Subsequent dissolution by groundwater of these deposits - which the team predict are present in the Gale Crater sedimentary succession - led to the formation of pure sulphate veins within the Yellowknife Bay mudstone.

The study predicts the original precipitate was likely gypsum, which dehydrated during the lake's burial.

The team compared the Gale Crater waters with fluids modelled for Martian meteorites shergottites, nakhlites and the ancient meteorite ALH 84001, as well as rocks analysed by the Mars Exploration rovers and with terrestrial ground and surface waters.

The aqueous solution present during sediment alteration associated with mineral vein formation at Gale Crater was found to be high in sodium, potassium and silicon, but had low magnesium, iron and aluminium concentrations and had a near neutral to alkaline pH level.

The mudstones with sulphate veins in the Gale Crater were also found to be close in composition to rocks in Watchet Bay in North Devon, highlighting a terrestrial analogue which supports the model of dissolution of a mixed silica and sulphate-rich shallow horizon to form pure sulphate veins.

Ashwin Vasavada, Curiosity Project Scientist from the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory said: "These result provide further evidence for the long and varied history of water in Gale Crater. Multiple generations of fluids, each with a unique chemistry, must have been present to account for what we find in the rock record today."

###

The paper, 'Fluids during diagenesis and sulphate vein formation in sediments at Gale crater, Mars', published in Meteoritics & Planetary Science by Schwenzer et al. is available here: http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/maps.12668/abstract;jsessionid=C356059B3DF8928987AC75CBEB53FC03.f04t01

Notes to editors:

For more information contact Dr Susanne Schwenzer from The Open University on susanne.schwenzer@open.ac.uk or Professor John Bridges from the University of Leicester on j.bridges@le.ac.uk

About The Open University

The Open University (OU) is the largest academic institution in the UK and a world leader in flexible distance learning. Since it began in 1969, the OU has taught more than 1.8 million students and has almost 180,000 current students, including more than 15,000 overseas.

Over 70% of students are in full-time or part-time employment, and four out of five FTSE 100 companies have sponsored staff to take OU courses.

Space Science at The Open University

Space Science is one of The Open University's Key Strategic Research Areas. OU research into space contributes to major global challenges through scientific exploitation of imaging and detection technologies and to building the Space sector of the UK economy. For further information please visit: http://www.open.ac.uk/research/main/our-research/space

About the University of Leicester

The University of Leicester is led by discovery and innovation - an international centre for excellence renowned for research, teaching and broadening access to higher education. The University of Leicester is ranked among the top one per cent of universities in the world by the THE World University Rankings and also among the top 100 leading international universities in the world. It is among the top 25 universities in the Times Higher Education REF Research Power rankings with 75% of research adjudged to be internationally excellent with wide-ranging impacts on society, health, culture, and the environment.

Find out more: https://le.ac.uk/about-us
Baltimore, Md., August 5, 2016 - As world leaders increasingly recognize the Zika virus as an international public health threat, the Center for Vaccine Development at the University of Maryland School of Medicine's Institute for Global Health has been chosen as one of three study sites in a human safety trial of a new Zika vaccine. The early-stage study will evaluate the experimental vaccine's safety and ability to generate an immune system response in participants.

The selection of the University of Maryland School of Medicine (UM SOM) marks the second time in two years that the School's internationally-acclaimed Center for Vaccine Development (CVD) has been tapped to lead vaccine development efforts in the midst of a growing crisis. In 2014, the UM SOM was the only U.S. medical school asked to join an unprecedented international consortium formed by the World Health Organization. The Consortium resulted in the development of one of the first effective vaccines for Ebola. Recently, the CVD received FDA approval for the first vaccine approved in the U.S. for protection against Cholera. In July, the CVD began malaria vaccine trials in Burkina Faso.

The Zika vaccine trial, which will involve at least at least 80 volunteers at the sites in the United States, is being undertaken by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH). The early-stage study will evaluate the experimental vaccine's safety and ability to generate an immune system response against Zika.

Scientists at NIAID's Vaccine Research Center (VRC) developed the investigational vaccine--called the NIAID Zika virus investigational DNA vaccine--earlier this year.

Leading the effort at the UM SOM's CVD is the Center's Director Kathleen Neuzil, MD, MPH, Professor of Medicine and Deputy Director of the UM SOM's Institute for Global Health, who has extensive experience with vaccine research policy and introduction.

"As we learn more about the threat that Zika poses, and as it spreads further and further, the need for a vaccine becomes greater," Dr. Neuzil said. "Our center is gratified that we have been chosen by NIH to be part of this extremely important collaborative effort."

The study is part of the U.S. government response to the ongoing outbreak of Zika virus in the Americas. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, more than 50 countries and territories have active Zika virus transmission. In the United States and its territories, more than 6,400 Zika cases have been reported. Although Zika infections are usually asymptomatic, some people experience mild illness lasting about a week. However, Zika virus infection during pregnancy can cause a serious birth defect called microcephaly, as well as other severe fetal defects of the brain and other organs. There are no vaccines or specific therapeutics to prevent or treat Zika virus disease.

The NIAID Zika virus investigational DNA vaccine approach is similar to that used for another investigational vaccine developed by NIAID for West Nile virus. That vaccine candidate was found to be safe and induced an immune response when tested in a Phase 1 clinical trial.

The investigational Zika vaccine includes a small, circular piece of DNA--called a plasmid--that scientists engineered to contain genes that code for proteins of the Zika virus. When the vaccine is injected into the arm muscle, cells read the genes and make Zika virus proteins, which self-assemble into virus-like particles. The body mounts an immune response to these particles, including neutralizing antibodies and T cells. DNA vaccines do not contain infectious material--so they cannot cause a vaccinated individual to become infected with Zika--and have been shown to be safe in previous clinical trials for other diseases.

The Phase 1 clinical trial, called VRC 319, is led by Julie E. Ledgerwood, D.O., chief of the VRC's clinical trials program. Volunteers will be divided randomly into four study groups of 20 people each. After enrollment, all participants will receive a vaccination at their first visit via a needle-free injector that pushes the vaccine fluid into the arm muscle. Half of the participants will receive one additional vaccination eight weeks or 12 weeks later. The remaining participants will receive two additional vaccinations: one group of 20 participants will receive a second vaccine at week four and a third at week eight; the other group of 20 participants will receive a second vaccine at week four and a third at week 20. All participants will receive the same dose at each vaccination.

Following each vaccination, participants will remain at the study site for observation for a minimum of 30 minutes so clinicians can monitor for any adverse reactions. Participants will receive a diary card to use at home to record their temperature and any symptoms for seven days following each vaccination.

All participants will return for follow-up visits within a 44-week time period after the first vaccination so investigators can monitor their health to determine if the vaccine is safe. The study team will review patient data daily and weekly to monitor safety. A Protocol Safety Review Team will also conduct formal interim safety reviews.

At follow-up visits, investigators will also take blood samples for laboratory testing to measure the immune response to the vaccine. Participants will be asked to return for two follow-up visits at 18 months and two years following the initial vaccination so investigators can obtain additional blood samples to assess the durability of the immune response.

The other two study sites are Emory University in Atlanta and NIH in Bethesda, Maryland. Initial safety and immunogenicity data from the Phase 1 trial are expected by the end of 2016. If results show a favorable safety profile and immune response, NIAID plans to initiate a Phase 2 trial in Zika-endemic countries in early 2017.

"Zika is an urgent international public health threat, including, now, in parts of our own country," said UM SOM Dean E. Albert Reece, MD, PhD, MBA, who is also vice president for medical affairs at the University of Maryland and the John Z. and Akiko K. Bowers Distinguished Professor. "It is gratifying to see the University of Maryland's Center for Vaccine Development continue to be involved on the front lines of addressing these global threats, as we have done with Ebola and other infectious diseases."

###

About the University of Maryland School of Medicine

The University of Maryland School of Medicine was chartered in 1807 and is the first public medical school in the United States and continues today as an innovative leader in accelerating innovation and discovery in medicine. The School of Medicine is the founding school of the University of Maryland and is an integral part of the 11-campus University System of Maryland. Located on the University of Maryland's Baltimore campus, the School of Medicine works closely with the University of Maryland Medical Center and Medical System to provide a research-intensive, academic and clinically based education. With 43 academic departments, centers and institutes and a faculty of more than 3,000 physicians and research scientists plus more than $400 million in extramural funding, the School is regarded as one of the leading biomedical research institutions in the U.S. with top-tier faculty and programs in brain science, cancer, surgery and transplantation, trauma and emergency medicine, vaccine development and human genomics, among other centers of excellence. The School is not only concerned with the health of the citizens of Maryland and the nation, but also has a global presence, with research and treatment facilities in more than 35 countries around the world. http://medschool.umaryland.edu/

About the Center for Vaccine Development (CVD)

The CVD, which was founded by Dr. Myron "Mike" Levine in 1974, is one of the most recognized entities for developing, testing and implementing vaccines in the world. Within the IGH, the CVD develops and test vaccines to prevent infectious diseases that disproportionately affect people living in the least developed countries. For the past 40 years, the CVD has conducted a wide range of research relating to the development of vaccines for a variety of diseases, including cholera, typhoid fever, paratyphoid fever, non-typhoidal Salmonella disease, shigellosis, Escherichia coli diarrhea, malaria, and other infectious diseases, including influenza. The CVD also developed new delivery systems, as well as public health and vaccine policy around the world, including Africa, Asia and Latin America. Most recently, Dr. Levine received worldwide attention for leading CVD's direct involvement in the World Health Organization's global consortium for accelerated testing of a new Ebola vaccine candidate both in CVD-Mali and CVD-Baltimore. Other members of the consortium included the Vaccine Research Center of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the Jenner Institute of Oxford University and the Wellcome Trust.
Here's the scene: a suspicious package is found in a public place. The police are called in and clear the area. Forced to work from a distance and unable to peer inside, they fear the worst and decide to detonate the package.

New research at the University of Rochester might help authorities in the not-too-distant future be better informed in tackling such situations and do so more safely. Working with a special type of electromagnetic wave--called terahertz (THz)--that's capable of sensing and/or imaging objects behind barriers, the team demonstrated that they can detect a THz wave at a distance of up to 100 feet. The THz wave created by the researchers is more than five times stronger than what is generated by more conventional means, leading them to believe that a THz wave--and the image of a hidden object--can be detected at much greater distances in the future.

The research project was led by Kang Liu, a PhD student in optics, and Xi-Cheng Zhang, the M. Parker Givens Professor of Optics and the director of the Institute of Optics, in collaboration with a group from Greece led by Tzortzakis Stelios. The results have been published in the journal Optica.

"The use of an unconventional laser beam in our project goes beyond a scientific curiosity," said Zhang. "It makes possible the remote sensing of chemical, biological, and explosive materials from a standoff distance."

THz waves, which fall between microwave and the infrared band on the electromagnetic spectrum, can penetrate certain solid objects that are opaque to visible light to create images of what is hidden from view. Unlike traditional x-rays, the waves do so without damaging human tissue. All that makes THz waves a promising tool for Homeland Security and other law enforcement agencies. But before THz waves can be widely used, a number of obstacles need to be overcome, including how to make them more effective over greater distances.

One of the drawbacks is that the waves are absorbed by water molecules in the air and weaken significantly over longer distances, making them generally ineffective. One solution is to generate the THz waves near the target, so that they have only a short distance to travel. It's also important that the waves are intensive, because, as Liu points out, "The stronger the terahertz wave, the more work it can do."

The key to their results was the use of a specific exotic laser beam--called a ring-Airy beam--to generate a THz wave that has 5.3 times the pulse energy of THz waves created with standard Gaussian beams.

Ordinary beams of light spread out as they travel, but that's not the case with ring-Airy beams, which curve toward the center from all points.

To begin the process, Liu directed a laser beam onto a spatial light modulator (SLM), which formed the ring-Airy beam. As the name indicates, the beam is circular with a hollow center. Instead of spreading out as it travels, the beam collapsed inward, creating an intensely excited region of free electrons--called a plasma. Those electrons, in turn, generated the THz wave, which would be capable of penetrating a nearby target and reflecting images or providing vital chemical information about what is hidden.

"When the target is a suspected explosive device, it's important to get the work done at a safe distance," said Liu. "We believe our method could help THz remote sensing from more than 100 feet away by providing a more robust and flexible way to generate THz remotely."

The modulator allowed the researchers to change the size of the ring-Airy beam and fine-tune the dimensions of the plasma that is created. The next step, as Liu sees it, is to manipulate ring-Airy beams to create stronger THz waves over greater distances.

###

Funding for the research project was provided by the US Army Research Office, "Laserlab-Europe", and the General Secretariat for Research and Technology Aristeia project "FTERA."
MADISON. Wis. -- Imbed Biosciences today received clearance from the Food and Drug Administration to market its patented wound dressing for human use. The dressing it calls Microlyte Ag is a sheet as thin as Saran Wrap and can conform to the bumps and crevices of a wound, says company CEO Ankit Agarwal.

The dressing is now cleared by the FDA as a class II medical device, for prescription and over-the-counter use.

Like many dressings now used to treat burns and other persistent wounds, Microlyte Ag contains silver to kill bacteria - but in much smaller quantities.

"Silver is an excellent antimicrobial agent," says Agarwal, a co-founder of the company in the Madison suburb of Fitchburg, "as it is active against a broad range of bacteria and yeast. But the large silver loads found in conventional silver dressings can be toxic to skin cells. Our dressing uses as little as 1 percent as much silver as the competition, and yet the tests we submitted to the FDA showed that Microlyte kills more than 99.99 percent of bacteria that it contacts."

That kill ratio even appeared in tests against some of the nastiest hospital-acquired superbugs, including methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) and vancomycin-resistant enterococcus.

Microlyte overcomes a key problem with existing dressings: stiffness. Under a low-power microscope, a wound has bumps and fissures -- hiding places for bacteria. The Microlyte dressing inherently adheres to moist surfaces and is so flexible that it drops into the fissures, leading to the sweet combination of greater destruction of bacteria at much lower doses of silver.

Microlyte has several other advantages, Agarwal says. It retains moisture yet is ultrathin and breathable, allowing oxygen to reach the wound and gases to exit, all factors that promote healing. The slow release of the silver means the dressing can remain in place for at least one day. And because the material is a hydrogel (a water-based gel), it can simply be rinsed off as needed before replacement.

Experience with animals shows that the ultra-thin dressing simply sloughs off as the wound heals. All of these advantages should reduce the need to change dressings, which can be so painful that sedation is needed, especially for children.

"Reducing or eliminating dressing changes reduces the pain that the patient experiences," says co-founder Michael Schurr, chair of general surgery at the Mountain Area Health Education Center in Asheville, North Carolina, and adjunct professor of surgery at the University of North Carolina. "It also reduces costs in supplies and reduces the burden to the health care system that supplies visiting nurses to do the dressing changes."

"We are seeing in a limited number of cases that it does provide us with a remarkable new tool for dealing with chronic wounds" in dogs and cats treated at the UW-Madison School of Veterinary Medicine, says Jonathan McAnulty, chair of the Department of Surgical Sciences. "We certainly have no reason to think that this will be different with humans," adds McAnulty, who is also a company co-founder. "The principles are the same, and a lot of the problems are the same."

The dramatic closure of wounds that have resisted months of conventional treatment "suggests that chronic bacterial contamination of the wound surface, even when it looks relatively healthy, is a significant factor inhibiting healing in many cases," McAnulty says. "Once we treat with our dressing, we start to see very dramatic closure of these wounds."

McAnulty says he's starting to use Microlyte earlier in treatment. "Certainly it seems appropriate for prevention of infection as well as treatment."

The ultra-thin dressing material was invented in the lab of Nicholas Abbott, a UW-Madison professor of chemical and biological engineering, when Agarwal was a postdoctoral fellow and where he is now an honorary associate scientist.

The dressing will compete in the $2 billion market sector of "advanced wound dressings," which are used to treat diabetic ulcers, venous ulcers, burns, bedsores and other difficult wounds.

Imbed has 10 employees. The company is developing other ideas for wound treatment and discussing commercial-scale production of Microlyte. Currently, it plans to reach the market through licensing agreements with hospital suppliers.

###

Research reported in this press release was supported by the National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases of the National Institutes of Health under award number R44AR061913.

--David Tenenbaum, (608) 265-8549, djtenenb@wisc.edu
Castilla y Leon

Un guardia civil en practicas de Valladolid mata en Bruselas a su expareja y luego trata de suicidarse
Evolutionary biologists should spend more time talking with engineers and doctors  in other words, specialists who deal with large complex systems that work as wholes, and only as a wholes, to a certain purpose. Listening to evolutionists, you often get the impression that they forget life is such an exquisitely orchestrated performance (in Stephen L. Talbotts apt expression).

In a new episode of ID the Future, Todd Butterfield wraps up a great conversation with enterprise architect and Evolution News contributor Steve Laufmann. Their theme is biology as engineering. Laufmann offers his expertise in the interdisciplinary study of systems engineering, which has in turn inspired a new and highly suggestive field  systems biology.

Download the episode by clicking here:

Did I say new? Actually, while the name is new, the subject isnt at all. Rather, as Casey Luskin has observed, its a return to an era when ID-type thinking guided biology. For more background, see Caseys articles:

The parallel between engineered systems and biological ones iseerie. Draw your own conclusion.

Come to think of it, besides doctors and engineers, biologists might profitably chat with a symphony conductor, too. As in a performance by an orchestra, its not good enough if a bunch of musicians get together as individuals and start playing their instruments as they please. This will result in nothing but cacophony. Whats needed is a conductor to direct the artists in their work, from a preconceived vision of what the music should sound like.

Now listen to Steve Laufmann, and enjoy.

Image: Collage of engineered systems, by Betelgeuse [GFDL, CC-BY-SA-3.0 or CC BY-SA 2.5-2.0-1.0], via Wikimedia Commons.

Im on Twitter. Follow me @d_klinghoffer.
I stayed in the USA from Aug 2002 to Jan 2008.



Lets say I get an invitation for 189 (261313) in September 2016.

As per the policy, I have to provide PCC for the last 10 years (120 months).



So, should I provide PCC



Oct 2006 to Dec 2007 from USA 15 months

Jan 2008 to September 2016 (India) 105 months



And what is the process to get the PCC from USA. I have my sister in US. Would she be of any help to get it quickly?



Any help appreciated.

Rohan
Hi,



after 7 weeks of waiting finally got the spouse visa.



However, due to work requirement, I need travel out of the UK for a period over 30 days.



Want to ask will the continuous residence rules apply for spouse visa?



If the job is base in UK and travel outside UK for business travel will that be an exception?



Many thanks in advance!!
trotskor said: As a piece of advice, do you have any other concrete goals for a future move to France besides the "love for [the country]?" I ask that because it is important to have some kind of realisable project whose relative levels of success you can assess in clear terms (e.g. professional advancement or education.) The issue is that you will find that France is not an idea but a real place with people who will not fit the types of characters you see in Amelie, and that you're more likely to be stuck in the RER with someone smoking a spliff than you are to be whisked off on a moto-adventure (and trust me, those guys on the motos inspire more fear by their aggressive driving than adoration for their haircuts.) We have serious problems like any country does : the political scene is a complete mess right now, unemployment is high and economic growth is low, and attempts at reform are blocked (for different reasons) by the left as well as the right.



That's not to speak negatively about France (since I choose to live here) but just to bring some reality into the picture. I was watching the Senate's channel on the TV the other day with my boyfriend, and we were both irritated by the response from a senator from the right-wing party to a specialist researcher who had come to give testimony about the Syrian civil war and European intervention in the Middle East in general. The senator went on about how he had been to Tunisia "several times" and how "People over there just talk about how much they want to come to France" therefore "They must love the values of the Republic and the culture France stands for." No, they want to come to France for the work and personal stability the country offers - he can forget about playing up the whole Liberte Egalite Fraternite crap.



As for studies, if your French is not very good, there are a few programs offered by one of the Sorbonne Universities (there are three mainly, since the Universite de Paris was split up following the student riots of 1968), I believe it's Paris-IV, mainly about language and culture. In short, without a high level of French, so at least a B2 level on the European scale, you'll have a hard time getting into and succeeding in a program in the public university system. Moreover, the government is extremely reticent to open up degree programs taught in English, for political reasons as well as linguistic practices that have already been codified into law (hence why it took time for Netflix to come over.)



There are private universities (some "Grandes Ecoles") that offer degrees taught in English - Sciences Po comes to mind. They're harder to get into, although for a foreigner the admittance I believe is more relaxed than for those educated in the French system. The caveat is that tuition fees are higher - something like 6,000 depending on your income or parent's income (the way they calculate whether you are considered a dependant of your parents has nothing to do with your employment or whether you financially support yourself.)



I forget to mention an Au Pair visa, but frankly most families really just want a young woman for that job, and from what I've heard it's a fairly one-way street (difficult to renew) but other forumites probably have better information on that track. Click to expand...

Ah, I apologize - I'm not under the impression by any means that France is some sort of global safe haven or paradise where everything is sugar and rainbows - it's just that in terms of its problems, having grown up relatively "poor" (by America's standards) and in a very struggling city, it's easy for me to have not very much fear in terms of the dangers the society have problems with. I have since moved to a much better place, my situation is not perfect, but I don't forget where I came from simply because the circumstances are prettier. Not by any means am I nonchalant or disregarding my wellbeing nor am I turning a blind eye to the issues, but I am desensitized to a point where if I have to live in even similar conditions to what I grew up in - that would be no concern for me. Personally, I am not seeking any form of asylum in France because I believe there are greater benefits of living there in terms of work and health. Never will such a thing be what gives me enthusiasm to move to a place thousands of miles away.Now as far as my project, I do indeed have a realised concrete set of goals. My love of France is big part of why I want to make this move, but I will also be able to realise my dream of studying film. Film is a big part of my life, I only mentioned Amelie because it is my beloved French film however my passion for filmmaking is even bigger than that of my love for France. In France, is the most prestigious film school in Europe, '3is'. Not my "dream", but my life goal, would be to study in this school. Having looked into many film school and institutions in France, I am interested in a few alternatives given I am unable to attend 3is. There are at least five other universities or colleges I can name off the back of my hand that I have looked into extensively, but, my main goal is to enter this one. As a foreigner I know it is restrictive to start any sort of business in France - and my ultimate career goal is to create a production company - so I would initiate this by working film industry jobs in France during my degree and after. My goals are very clear and set, in terms of what schools I have been looking into for when I have the opportunity to study, I've searched about the career opportunities in this field as well and know very well none of this will fall into my lap. The work will be hard, but, I have a lot of motivation about this. Excuse me if this seems like a childish program to realise to you - but it truly is my life dream.I meant no disrespect to France; the last thing I want to do is to come and take any jobs away from natives or live as a tourist. I'm far from philistine and have nothing but respect for the culture and government of France, this is where my stress comes from. As a visitor, tourist, immigrant - whatever my official status or title may be - I certainly know my place. This is not derogatory to me at all. France would be adopting ME, not the other way around. My intentions is not to come as an ignorant America, but a man who has brightened his mind with the lifestyle and conditions of what it means to be "French".As far as education goes, I am not rich by any standard. Hearing my girlfriend enchant me with her hypnotic songs of having attended college for free doesn't blind me to the realities - I know it is not that simple, most certainly not for someone who is unfortunately a foreigner such as myself. Attending a university where courses are taught exclusively in French does not deter me - as I said, I have the ability to learn and thus will do so by any means achievable. I absolutely do not want to go into this country with the mindset that I can live there as an English speaking foreigner, wholeheartedly I wish to adapt as quickly and efficiently as possible. This is also part of the reason I vouched to postpone my education goals in France, so that I can increase my proficiency in the language before attending. Obviously this increases my chances and I believe that would be best, instead of attempting this with short knowledge of French. I am not opposed to studying at Sorbonne in a course on culture and language, and I would pay for this with my own funds - nothing can compare to the $40,000 a year my American university attempted to curse me with. Even if I did attend, my main goal will still be intact - and that is to enter a film school in Paris, preferably '3iS', and begin my career in the film industry. In a sense, I have to "start from the bottom" here. I'm not going into France as a rich smug kid who has had everything handed to him, I understand the value of a dollar and hard work - it took me far too long to realise my dreams and stop following what society told me I should be, and following my own mind.You have given me so much useful information I feel as if I owe you some money, at the very least a hug haha.I do have to decide this on my own - but for in your opinion, if I were to take any route to go about starting my projectWhat do YOU insist I take? Whether it be the ugliest of roads or the scenic route.
I went to an excellent immersion school near Dijon 16 years ago....it's closed now but it was good and interesting. Their format was 1/2 day in the classroom and the other half in the mini bus to see some tourist or other site. The profs were good, it the tourist guide said something, the prof might interrupt and ask one of us what the guide had just said. I bit hard, but it kept you on your toes.



I'd try to to find real "real immersion" rather than a 9 - 5 university course. When I searched 16 years ago there was a range of courses. Frankly I'd go for a school....



...That really offers immersion - breakfast;, lunch dinner etc. French is more than a classroom subject!



...That actively bans other languages. Again a bit hard, but you really want to leave your English behind you.



..A school that offers some form of evening activities (it's an immersion course). At the school I went were taken in the evening to the local (grotty) cinema. We had a 15 min lesson before t0 explain the story and the difficult words. The school chose the films with care,so that they were easy to understand.



...I've heard that at least one immersion school will organise football (in FRench!)



I'm an unnatural learner of languages - I find it VERY VERY hard, despite my love of France. On arriving in France I did the 3 week immersion as above. I then did Alliance Francaise 1 day a week for a year. Besides being excellent for my French I met interesting people and improved my social life. After a year I did the DALF course in 2 years (2 days/week). It's really excellent with its many modules and options.....the homework was b******y hard work.



Good luck.....DejW
Hi All,



I am facing a issue here while having critical skill visa with an employer name on it and it is valid till 2020.



One employer told me that they can not hire me as I have employer name on my critical skill visa.



Its getting very difficult to convince the employer.



Has anybody faced the same issue before with any employer?



We all know that critical skill visa will allow you to change employment during the duration of your visa and can be made upon any employer after offer.

I Had initial critical skill visa which was issued for 12 months till Dec -2016. But Now I have renewed it so it shows the employer name.

Having an employer name on your critical skill visa is a bad thing ? does it give wrong impression that you cant change your visa now?



Please help me
Thursday, August 4, 2016

Attract the Right Job or Clientele: Discounting Usually Leads to Lost Sales

We have all seen the process whereby the set price initially sounds steep. However, slowly but surely the price continues to drop. Why is that? More importantly, how do you believe this is perceived?

If you are desperately wanting to get a particular job, do you lower your asking salary? What will this say about the value you intend to bring to the company?

Its important to decide which path it is that you wish to pursue. After all, should you appear to be so anxious to make any sale, it comes across that the idea of a returning and referring clientele does not enter the equation. This is the exact juncture where money is lost.

Selling value out-sells lowering the price

My Story

Im particularly sensitive to those who only focus on price. A perfect example was of someone who desperately wanted me to become a show host. The initial price was high but understandable. I just didnt have a desire to have a show. So I said no. Within literally five minutes, the producer continued to drop the price until it was reduced by 84% to which I again said no.

My takeaways from the experience:

The producer himself did not see value in being a show host

At that cheap price, the focus was obtaining any money possible but not the quality of show hosts to come on board

The company must have been close to shutting down the show in its entirety

The improved approach would have been to find out if I had previous experience of being a show host or guest, and what the best and worst outcomes were. From there a conversation would have picked up to learn where my interests truly were. But none of this occurred. It was instead, similar to a sales auction in reverse order.

Your Story

After understanding why you are in meetings with prospective clients or hiring managers, it is time to relate your story and experience with what was conveyed by them. Do you have a story to share with clientele about why you are in the sales profession or are an entrepreneur offering the service you chose? Connecting the dots between what is told to you and how you see the match, given your unique experience, is what sells best. Focusing solely on price does not sell well at all.

Holding your value translates into holding self-esteem.

Questions to ask:

What is your budget?

Is service or price more important?

Are you able to pull funds from other sources should my offering appear to be what you are seeking?

These three questions produce a direct and honest dialogue that moves you swiftly to the end of the conversation. The next question is, when would you like to get started?

Sales Tips:

Gain insight as to why prospective clients are speaking with you Treat each prospect as a case study to learn precisely where they are today Come to understanding what their issues are and how they might be resolved Inquire as to how they see their problems being fixed in order to advance Inject creative ideas in the form of questions to read their interest meter Help the prospective client prioritize the more important solutions Ask the hiring manager how they see your expertise will help the team or company Questions lead to buy-ins or mini agreements Mini agreements have the client-to-be selling themselves on your services Ask for the preferred start date

Following these guidelines will lead you to the Smooth Sale!

For Business Consultation and Conference Speaking

Schedule an Appointment to Learn More: elinor@smoothsale.net

Visit Elinors Author Page

Sponsored By

googleplus


Friday, August 5, 2016

Community Friday: Compassionate Leadership Collaboration

Valeri Bocage CEO

Powerful Women International Connections

What if YOU changed the world to a place of peace and harmony where everyone and every country had all they needed? What if YOU were a part of a Bigger Plan and a Bigger Purpose? You can and you are.

Does this sound like you: You have felt a little burning inside to do something Bigger than yourself. Inside youve felt it; however, you either brush it off or question yourself on how or when. Then, you go on with your day-to-day life because youre busy.

Although you let go of the thought to do something bigger than you know yourself to be, many people have said you should either run for office, become an activist, or start a cause or organization. Youve probably thought about it and wanted to, but you think you cannot do it, you dont have the time, you are not the one, or you are just not good enough.

Well, those thoughts are your doubting voice, and, like so many other times, you fell for that crazy, doubting voice. Then, you might justify that voice by thinking that you are not a leader, you have not led anything. However, you have organized tons of stuff  your family get togethers and reunions, office projects, PTAs, and more. So, yes, when you really think about it, you are a leader. Now is the time to take your leadership to a new community because the world needs your leadership.

Some of you may have already made a huge difference in communities and you want to make a bigger difference or start something new. However, you may say or think that you are too busy or other things get in the way, right?

Theres no time like the present  Georgia Byng

Join Us in San Francisco, CA August 18-19 to make the world a better place, especially for children, our future.

You can Be That Change.

We are bringing leaders together to connect and collaborate on humanitarian projects and causes at our Global Impact Conference, August 18-19, 2016 in San Francisco.

We invite you to be a part of it. Compassionate leaders will be coming together who are or want to make their communities, states, countries, and this world a better place to live.

We will be collaborating with action plans that will showcase measurable results during the year and each year of the differences we have made around the world.

Delia Horwitz

One of our team leaders is, Delia Horwitz, who will be sharing how to powerfully collaborate to expand your team and contacts. Delias extensive experience spans over 40 years and includes consulting and facilitating hundreds of groups in a wide variety of circumstances. Her projects include strategic planning with non-profit Boards, team building with small and large corporations, goal setting with City Councils, corporate culture work with Fortune 500 senior leadership teams, and visioning with community stakeholders. She will show you how to collaborate successfully. You will want to be there!!

To view additional conference leaders, click here.

Conference Leader, Crystal Montanez Baylor, center, with women from Pakistan who she has helped bring out of poverty to become successful entrepreneurs through honey-bee farming.

Crystal Montanez Baylor: Honey-bee farming project

Conference Exhibitor, Burn Survivor, and Power House, Justina Page, top center in purple shirt, advocates for burn survivors and is shown here with the After Burns Care Club that she created. Compassionate Leadership Collaboration

After Burns Care Club

Sales Tips:

Commit a portion of time to community service Determine where your expertise fits a need or project Confer with other leaders to get your project off the ground Confer with other leaders to see how you might add expertise to their project Collaborate for a more powerful effort in place Continue the dialogue with many types of leaders Wider perspective brings about more powerful effort Advocate for other leaders to join in the mix Leadership defines your personal brand and empowers your effort The effort you put into empowering others will also exponentially raise the magnitude of your effort

Following these guidelines will lead you to the Smooth Sale!

For Business Consultation and Conference Speaking

Schedule an Appointment to Learn More: elinor@smoothsale.net

Visit Elinors Author Page



Sponsored By

googleplus


From: Randall Craig, Digital Strategy, Digital Transformation, and Social Media Expert For Immediate Release: Dateline: Toronto , Other Friday, August 5, 2016



What do eyeballs and friends have in common with each other? Except for the fact that your friends have eyeballs, not much. Or do they?

Lets go back to the year 1999, the time the unshakeable belief that so long as you had eyeballs on your website, unstoppable riches awaited you. This was the age of web page hits, greedy (or gullible?) venture capitalists, and the 24-year-old vice-president. Sadly, it was not the age of business models, integrated marketing strategy, or prudent financial management. When the dot-com crash happened a year later, there shouldnt have been a surprise.

I was there. I build my first company in 1994 and sold it in 2000. Like today, we were focused on helping traditional organizations with their Internet strategy and then implementing it. We did this for KPMG, The Toronto Star, The Globe and Mails Globefund & GlobeInvestor, McGraw-Hill Ryerson, what is now Workopolis, and many others. These venerable organizations are still around, and are highly reliant on Internet technology as a critical part of their real-world, revenue-focused business model. And as an advisor, we learned lessons along the way about building communities, discussion forums, relationships, and yes, transactions. Because our work was not rooted in eyeballs, but in real revenue and real expenses, we prospered along with our clients. Those agencies, consultants, investors, and companies who focused on eyeballs, crashed and burned.

Perhaps weve learned something over the last decade, but the evidence suggests otherwise. Instead of chasing eyeballs, people are now chasing Friends, Connections and Followers. We use terms like Twitterverse and Blogosphere, as if everyone truly understood what they meant. While it is true that the number of Friends may be a proxy for influence, unless there is a strong connection to the business model and bottom line, at best the chase is for a chimera.

And like the heyday of 2000, there is a sordid cast of characters who have become instant experts (Social Media Experts) who are whipping the gullible and the greedy into a frenzy. They used to be (and probably still are) experts in advertising, technology, selling information products, market research, and just about every other field. Some probably sold real estate, vacuum cleaners, and all manner of merchandise, before they too jumped on the bandwagon, started a blog, and are now the new gurus.

And what do we see when we look at the companies that are successful? Twitter still doesnt have a business model  yet they are able to raise millions of dollars without blinking. Groupon  which does have a business model, turned down a six billion dollar takeover bid several years ago. Facebook, which does have a business model, is a public company with $350 billion valuation: incredible. And explain the 26 billion recently paid by Microsoft for LinkedIn? (I did try in

What does this mean? I may be proven wrong, but I believe were in line for another huge tech crash. Yes, there will be a number of big deals, but we can only have so many Friends. And investors will eventually wake up.

This weeks action plan: Is your organizations strategy dependent on any particular social site? If you dont have a plan to collect your relationships in an owned-by-you database, now would be a good time to start.

Action plan #2: It might also be a good idea to look at your stock portfolio.

What do eyeballs and friends have in common with each other? Except for the fact that your friends have eyeballs, not much. Or do they?Lets go back to the year 1999, the time the unshakeable belief that so long as you had eyeballs on your website, unstoppable riches awaited you. This was the age of web page hits, greedy (or gullible?) venture capitalists, and the 24-year-old vice-president. Sadly, it was not the age of business models, integrated marketing strategy, or prudent financial management. When the dot-com crash happened a year later, there shouldnt have been a surprise.I was there. I build my first company in 1994 and sold it in 2000. Like today, we were focused on helping traditional organizations with their Internet strategy and then implementing it. We did this for KPMG, The Toronto Star, The Globe and Mails Globefund & GlobeInvestor, McGraw-Hill Ryerson, what is now Workopolis, and many others. These venerable organizations are still around, and are highly reliant on Internet technology as a critical part of their real-world, revenue-focused business model. And as an advisor, we learned lessons along the way about building communities, discussion forums, relationships, and yes, transactions. Because our work was not rooted in eyeballs, but in real revenue and real expenses, we prospered along with our clients. Those agencies, consultants, investors, and companies who focused on eyeballs, crashed and burned.Perhaps weve learned something over the last decade, but the evidence suggests otherwise. Instead of chasing eyeballs, people are now chasing Friends, Connections and Followers. We use terms like Twitterverse and Blogosphere, as if everyone truly understood what they meant. While it is true that the number of Friends may be a proxy for influence, unless there is a strong connection to the business model and bottom line, at best the chase is for a chimera.And like the heyday of 2000, there is a sordid cast of characters who have become instant experts (Social Media Experts) who are whipping the gullible and the greedy into a frenzy. They used to be (and probably still are) experts in advertising, technology, selling information products, market research, and just about every other field. Some probably sold real estate, vacuum cleaners, and all manner of merchandise, before they too jumped on the bandwagon, started a blog, and are now the new gurus.And what do we see when we look at the companies that are successful? Twitter still doesnt have a business model  yet they are able to raise millions of dollars without blinking. Groupon  which does have a business model, turned down a six billion dollar takeover bid several years ago. Facebook, which does have a business model, is a public company with $350 billion valuation: incredible. And explain the 26 billion recently paid by Microsoft for LinkedIn? (I did try in an earlier post .) Beyond these players there are 500+ other Social Networking sites that are clamoring to be our Friends. Its eyeballs all over again.What does this mean? I may be proven wrong, but I believe were in line for another huge tech crash. Yes, there will be a number of big deals, but we can only have so many Friends. And investors will eventually wake up.Is your organizations strategy dependent on any particular social site? If you dont have a plan to collect your relationships in an owned-by-you database, now would be a good time to start.It might also be a good idea to look at your stock portfolio. Note: The Make It Happen Tipsheet is also available by email. Go to www.RandallCraig.com to register.

Randall Craig

@RandallCraig (follow me)

www.RandallCraig.com: Professional credentials site

www.108ideaspace.com: Web strategy, technology, and development

www.ProfessionallySpeakingTV.com: Interviews with the nations thought-leaders

Media contacts: Jamie Ellerton, Principal, Conaptus Ltd., 416-837-6874, Jamie@ellerton.ca Sarah Kwan, Co-founder, Lean In Toronto Chapter, 416-317-0088, sarah.kwan@gmail.com Note to Media: Event agenda: 6:30-7:00 Networking 7:00-7:45 Karen Stintz Discussion and Q & A? 7:45-8:30 Networking


Friday, August 5, 2016

Today MicroTech's President and CEO, Tony Jimenez, will be featured in the STEMconnector List of 100 CEO Leaders in Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM)'s daily publication and can be found here: http://stemconnector.org/profile/anthony-r-jimenez.

STEMconnector, the "one-stop-shop" for STEM information, released the official list and cover for its 100 CEO Leaders in STEM publication back on April 28th. The publication presents 100 corporate CEO profiles including their thought-provoking views on the future of our national competitiveness and need for a STEM workforce. The CEOs center their discussions on technology; innovation; skills to careers; public-private partnerships; women, girls and diversity; global competitiveness; scalability and best practice.

The objective of the 100 CEO Leaders in STEM publication is to salute and celebrate an active group of CEOs that have contributed to making a difference by their dedication to advancing the STEM issue throughout their careers, their industries and their companies. The selection process included mapping over 300 CEOs and thorough research was conducted to collect material in three aspects: 1) CEO's background and career; 2) Company's STEM position within the industry and 3) Company's specific items and lines of action around STEM.
WASHINGTON - In June 2012, two dozen environmentalists, researchers and lawyers gathered at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography in La Jolla, Calif., to talk about raising awareness about climate change.

In an oceanfront cottage beneath cypress trees, they tossed around ideas about creating a compelling public narrative. They discussed whether tobacco companies history of misinformation might be comparable to the oil industrys public relations strategy.

Four years later, that meeting and others that followed loom large in a congressional investigation. And some who gathered on the Pacific coast are getting unwelcome attention in the form of subpoenas signed by U.S. Rep. Lamar Smith, chairman of the House Science Committee.

Smith, R-San Antonio, who has carved out a reputation as a principal climate change skeptic in Congress, is persisting in a broadly gauged effort aimed at protecting the rights of individuals who have different opinions on various scientific subjects, in this case climate change, as he puts it.

Some of Smith's main targets are state law enforcement officials, all of them Democrats, who are pursuing a fraud investigation against ExxonMobil related to allegations of suppressed findings back to the 1970s about a warming planet. The company has denied that it hid research or misled investors.

Smith issued formal subpoenas last month to attorneys general in New York and Massachusetts, six environmental groups, two Rockefeller family philanthropies and the firm of a lawyer who took part in the La Jolla gathering. He is demanding emails and various documents related to investigations or potential prosecutions of oil companies or individuals.

All have declined to give Smith and GOP colleagues on the committee what they want.

Smith is considering his next steps and declared in a statement Thursday that the investigation of the attorneys general and environmental extremists will continue and that the Science Committee will consider using all the tools at our disposal.

Those tools, he said, could include hearings, interviews and depositions as well as other actions the committee and House can take as a whole to compel cooperation. That would mean seeking a contempt of Congress vote on the House floor.

Their refusal to comply with issued subpoenas is based on a fear of what the information will reveal, he said in the statement.

The subpoenas are reminiscent of Smiths fight with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration beginning last year when he demanded internal documents related to a climate change study. He got little of what he sought.

Smith, 68, has built a base of power as a member of the House since 1987 and he would seem an odds-on favorite to remain. His Democratic opponent in the November election, Tom Wakely, is a former seminarian, union organizer and jazz club operator whose only elective office was as a school board member in Lake Geneva, Wisconsin.

Last month, Wakely reported to the Federal Election Commission that he had $2,432 on hand for his campaigns stretch run. Smith, by contrast, said he had $482,000 in the bank, after taking $1.28 million this election cycle.

Whichever course Smith chooses is likely to spur more objections like those already raised.

Such an invasive request for confidential law enforcement material under hazy authorization and without the slightest inkling of what the material may contain exposes the lack of a valid legislative purpose and suggest that the committees inquiry is nothing more than a fishing expedition, a lawyer for New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman responded on July 26.

Two of the advocacy groups subpoenaed, 350.org and Greenpeace, are responding with powerhouse legal assistance from Abbe Lowell, a Washington-based courtroom defender of politicians, business leaders and entertainers.

Bill McKibben, best-selling author and 350.org co-founder, referred to Smiths subpoenas as a backhanded tribute to the increasing effectiveness of the climate movement.

He added in an email: Perhaps the corporate mindset imagines that if they can just occupy a few groups with endless paperwork, or figure out some way to send their leaders to jail, then all this global warming stuff will be forgotten and they can go back to business as usual. Given the temperature outside, I doubt it.

Smiths subpoenas have aggravated Democrats on the Science Committee, known over the years for bipartisan dealings.

Rep. Eddie Bernice Johnson of Dallas, the ranking Democrat after nearly 24 years on the committee, referred to the subpoenas as harassment and abuse of power.

She asserted in an interview that on matters dealing with climate change, He (Smith) goes after people like they have committed a major crime. I tell him that its a waste of time, and he tells me that I dont believe in oversight.

But Smith has GOP support, and two Texans on the Science Committee, Brian Babin of Woodville and Randy Weber of Friendswood, were among members standing with him last month when he announced the subpoenas.

Babin called the state investigations of ExxonMobil the culmination of a four-year campaign started by environmental groups and activist lawyers in 2012 at a meeting in California.

That 2012 gathering drew little attention even after participants posted a 36-page report shortly afterward of what theyd talked about, complete with a group photograph. In late 2015, three and a-half years later, conservative publications started referring to it.

A Breitbart News Network post began with the headline, Exposed: The Green Activists Who Cooked Up The RICO Conspiracy Against Big Oil. (RICO is short for the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act.)

Richard Heede, one of the La Jolla participants, is a Colorado-based consultant who has spent much of his career studying global carbon emissions beginning in mid-19th century. His clients include an oil company that he declines to name.

Heede said that he was surprised when his nonprofit, Climate Accountability Institute, received a subpoena given that his work is devoted largely to research rather than advocacy. Earlier, Heede told committee staff that he would be happy to get together, he said.

I suggested that we have a meeting to discuss the results of my papers, but they didnt take me up on it. I think they regard this arcane research as threatening the well-being of corporations, he said.

bill.lambrecht@hearstdc.com
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Based on what doctors told him 11 years ago, Jason Wright should be dead right now.

Thats when Wright was diagnosed HIV-positive. He remembers being weighed down with shame every day when he took medication. Even though the medicine was fighting the disease, it reminded him of his death sentence.

Today, at 43, the physical, emotional and mental repercussions of the diagnosis still play out in Wrights life, but he has learned not to associate shame with getting the disease.

Im walking forward and not backpedaling as much as I used to, Wright said. I want to be a part of life rather than withdrawing from it.

The San Antonio AIDS Foundation, which is celebrating 30 years of service Sunday, has helped Wright with his personal turnaround. He said he meets regularly with one of the foundations case managers and makes use of its mental health services along with other resources the foundation provides to clients.

The foundation has about 1,200 clients who receive a variety of services, including counseling and therapy; about half have case managers. It also provides transitional housing when needed, a hot meal 365 days a year, arranges for transportation, offers testing and gives away 130,000 condoms annually, has an in-house pharmacy for its clients that opened in January and is scheduled to open an outpatient clinic in the fall.

Overall, the foundation reaches about 30,000 people annually through its educational and awareness efforts in addition to the services for clients who have HIV/AIDS. It partners with 15 school districts to promote prevention.

People think of HIV and AIDS as something that has been controlled, but thats not the case, said Cynthia Nelson, CEO of the San Antonio AIDS Foundation. The average person in San Antonio doesnt know its still an issue, but the stats are still high.

As of December 2014, 5,327 Bexar County residents were living with HIV. The rate of new HIV infections in Bexar County is 1.1 times higher than the statewide rate and 1.4 times higher than the national rate.

Wright is proud of his success in staying on his medication, and will share his journey of grappling with the disease at the foundations celebration fundraiser Sunday.

Just talking about AIDS takes away the stigma, Nelson said. Thats one of the goals of the fundraiser.

Cleve Jones, the veteran activist who started the famed AIDS quilt, said he wants more people to talk about HIV/AIDS, particularly straight people. Contrary to the ignorance of some, the disease is not exclusive to the LGBT community, he said.

There is an unfortunate amount of complacency on the issue, Jones said in a telephone interview. AIDS has dropped off the radar. The infection rate in 18- to 25-year-old men  the most at risk population  is unacceptable and we have to do a better job.

The AIDS epidemic in the United States began in the early 1980s, with 270 reported cases of severe immune deficiency among gay men by the end of 1981 and 121 of those individuals dying by the years end. This year, the Center for Disease Control and Prevention estimated that 50 percent of people living with HIV are unaware they are infected.

As part of its educational and awareness campaigns, the foundation is promoting a new preventative medication known as PrEP for Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis that has been hailed as groundbreaking. Supporters say its a vital tool in preventing HIV/AIDS from spreading.

If someone has an HIV positive partner or may still be participating in at-risk behavior, the pill is 99 percent effective, Nelson said.

PrEP contains some of the same medicines used to keep the virus under control in people who are already living with HIV. Its goal, according to a health agencys website, is to prevent HIV infection from taking hold if you are exposed to the virus.

Prevention is better than a cure, especially when you dont have a cure, Nelson said.

Jones, who will be a keynote speaker at Sundays fundraiser, was diagnosed with AIDS during the first decade the disease surfaced in the United States. He said the stigma of AIDS remains one of the biggest obstacles in providing education and service.

If there is one historical lesson to be learned, when we look back it shows the terrible consequences of homophobia, Jones said. Because the U.S. is the one country that has the resources to stop the epidemic, but we labeled HIV/AIDS as a gay disease.

Tickets to the 30th anniversary fundraiser are available at www.sanantonioaids.org for $100 each and $800 for a table. The event is 10:30 a.m. to 2 p.m at the Hyatt Hill Country Resort at 9800 Hyatt Resort Dr. and includes brunch, bottomless mimosas and a silent auction.

kcarlson@express-news.net
SALEM, Ohio  A group of Ayrshire dairy cattle owners who want to advance the red and white breed have formed a special outreach program.

Known as the Ayrshire Ambassadors Cooperative, the group hopes to promote the advantages of raising and milking Ayrshires while also promoting their own farms.

John Rodgers, a member from Belleville, Pennsylvania, described the effort as a group of breeders who feel like we can do more to market Ayrshires.

Gaining members

There are about seven ambassador members so far, but the program was just announced July 26, and the list is expected to grow as word gets around.

Rodgers said members will focus on promoting the qualities of the breed  including milk production for cheese, pasture hardiness  and hopefully increase the breeds population.

Rodgers said the ambassadors want to especially work with niche farmers, and those who are interested in Ayrshires but maybe need more information, or a mentor.

The objective is to hopefully find people who are really interested, who maybe have a couple other cows and want to try Ayrshires, he said.

Membership fee

To become an ambassador, a farmer must pay a $250 membership fee, and would then be able to promote and advertise his or her herd in the organizations directory. Members would also have full access to the directory of other members, and would have access to information about marketing and owning Ayrshires.

Retired Ayrshire breeders can become members for $50, and ag-related organizations can join for $500, and receive additional benefits.

Rodgers said the organization is not meant to compete with the U.S. Ayrshire Breeders Association, a national organization based out of Columbus.

That organization charges $25 a year for membership, but provides a different focus than the newly formed cooperative.

National organization

Becky Payne, executive secretary for the U.S. Ayrshire Breeders Association, said the two are separate entities, but the association supports the efforts of the cooperative.

She said she expects it will take on a regional focus, mainly in New England states.

The more people we have out there supporting the breed the better, Payne said.

She said the founders of the cooperative are active in the association, and she thinks both entities can benefit each other.

Growing the herd

Dan Baumgardner, an Ayrshire dairy farmer from Dillsburg, Pa., said he thinks the program will be beneficial for young farmers, who often have questions and need someone more experienced, for the answers.

Most of all, it will improve the Ayrshire cow and get more Ayrshires out there, he said.

According to information provided by the cooperative, Ayrshires are listed among the endangered livestock watch list by the Livestock Conservancy. Registrations for the breed, which originated in the county of Ayr, in Scotland, have been reduced by half since 1970.

The founders are eager and determined to turn this trend around and leave a growing legacy for Ayrshires, according to a statement issued by the cooperative. We are recruiting like-minded individuals, families, farmers, and others to join our cause.

To learn more about the cooperative, including membership options, visit ayrshireambassadors.com.
LONDON, Ohio  It wasnt the most glamorous topic for a national show, but for the attendees at the North American Manure Expo, held Aug. 3-4 in Madison County, the topic was fitting.

Farmers, custom manure applicators, equipment companies and researchers gathered at the Farm Science Review grounds for a two-day look at animal waste  and how they can better use it.

The event covered the ins and outs of this out-going material  and all facets of science and technology surrounding modern manure handling. Topics included water quality and regulations, liquid and solid manure handling and application, and safety.

Equipment in action

Attendees also got to see how the equipment worked  with farm tours that demonstrated manure agitation equipment, and field tours that demonstrated solid and liquid manure application.

One of the newest developments  side dressing corn with liquid manure  was especially popular. Its part of a broader effort to apply manure to growing crops, to reduce reliance on commercial fertilizer and ensure nutrient uptake  before the nutrients have a chance to move out of the soil profile, and reach the tile or a creek.

The manure that you have in the pit is money in the bank, and we want you to use it that way, said Sam Custer, an Ohio State Extension educator in Darke County, who is helping research ways to side-dress with manure.

Custer said OSU research is showing about an 18-20 bushel increase from using swine manure, compared to side-dressing with nitrogen. Part of the reason for higher yields, he thinks, is because with manure  theres also a lot of moisture being added to the field.

Better yields

The moisture could be more beneficial in a dry year, but Custer said the research is showing that side-dressing in a wet year works just as well.

The biggest challenge is the logistics  getting equipment and drag lines set up in a way that will cause minimal damage to the standing corn plants.

Equipment manufacturers are working on some new designs and new tool bars to make it easier to spread into standing crops  some of which were on display at the expo.

The Cadman Power Equipment Co. demonstrated their row-crop application equipment, which allows for continuous manure application into standing corn, while pulling a hose that can supply fields a half-mile long.

Custer also said incorporating the manure  instead of leaving it on top the soil  shows a tremendous yield incentive in corn, in addition to cutting down on nutrient loss.

In addition to side-dressing corn, he encouraged farmers to continue top-dressing their standing wheat with manure, versus waiting until the wheat is harvested, and then spreading on an empty field.

Nutrient concerns

Although studies have shown manure does not move through the soil as fast as commercial fertilizers, Custer said it gets a lot of bad views by the public.

He predicted that going forward, farmers will face continued regulatory scrutiny with nutrient applications  and that eventually, the western basin of Lake Erie will be declared impaired or distressed.

Know the data

Terry Mescher, ag engineer with the Ohio Department of Agriculture, said farmers need to pay close attention to existing soil nutrients  and analyze the exact manure theyre putting on, versus what the crops are using. Applying nutrients above what the crop uses in a growing year is more likely to result in nutrient loss, research has shown.

In some cases, crops may not need a phosphorus application for a year or more, and Mescher said some fields could take 15 years or more to reduce the phosphorus levels to acceptable levels.

Limiting factor

He warned that while phosphorus is like cash in the bank, because it is available for years to come  there is also a limit to how much a farmer can withdraw  because the crops only use so much each year.

If regulations continue to get tougher, fields with excess phosphorus buildup could come under increased scrutiny.

Mescher reminded farmers that the nutrient issue is not just limited to Lake Erie or Grand Lake St. Marys  and that last year  the biggest algal bloom was actually on the Ohio River. He said the future of water quality discussions will enter on all of Ohios lakes and rivers.

Rory Lewandowski, an OSU Extension educator in Wayne County, said the expo was a good way to expose manure applicators to a lot of new equipment, and procedures and processes related to manure management.

Its a great opportunity to network, said Lewandowski, who gave a presentation on cover crop opportunities and challenges.

About 1,000 people attended the manure expo, an event which originated with the University of Wisconsin, in 2001. Last years show was held in Chambersburg, Pa. The event will return to Wisconsin in 2017, to be held in Arlington, Wisconsin.
The Prairie Doc: We need to be more intentional with antibiotics
ASHLAND  Gov. Pete Ricketts told business and civic leaders Thursday that he's prepared to propose improvements in Nebraska's package of business investment and job creation tax incentives.

Those possible improvements are on the table along with possible tax cuts as the governor begins to shape his 2017 legislative agenda, Ricketts said.

"We will do what we need to improve those incentives," Ricketts said during remarks at the annual federal legislative summit sponsored by the Lincoln, Omaha and Nebraska chambers of commerce.

Several hundred participants, chiefly from Lincoln and Omaha, and a large contingent of state senators attended the event at the Strategic Air Command and Aerospace Museum along Interstate 80 near Ashland.

"My job is to grow Nebraska," the governor said, and along with that he has focused on cutting the rate of growth in the state budget.

Following his remarks, Ricketts said he asked Courtney Dentlinger, director of the Department of Economic Development, to work with State Tax Commissioner Tony Fulton to see how increased tax incentives and additional tax cuts might work within the framework of anticipated state revenue.

Ricketts said he is not prepared to say whether he might recommend income tax cuts, perhaps along with additional property tax reduction, after focusing on property tax cuts during his first two years in office.

"We want to see how this can fit together," the governor said. It's a "process of continuous improvement," he said.

Revenue projections will be a key factor in determining what is possible, Ricketts said.

The governor's attention to business incentives appeared to run counter to a comprehensive tax reduction plan being developed by Sen. Jim Smith of Papillion.

Although Smith's proposal has not been revealed, he has talked about reducing tax incentives in order to help fund overall tax reduction.

Later, during the event's congressional forum, Sen. Ben Sasse and Rep. Adrian Smith of Gering spoke of the value of trade to Nebraska.

"Both our producers and consumers win with trade," Sasse said.

Past trade agreements have resulted in increased exports, Smith said.

While supportive of trade, the 3rd District congressman said, it's important to "try to get it right (so) our consumers and producers do well."

Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump has been sharply critical of U.S. trade agreements, opposes the proposed Trans-Pacific trade agreement and has said he would renegotiate the North American Free Trade Agreement.

Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton has said she does not support the Trans-Pacific Agreement in its current form.

Both Sasse and Smith are Republicans.

Democratic Rep. Brad Ashford of Omaha said Nebraska's congressional delegation works together without regard to partisan differences.

"We're too small to be divided by partisanship," he said.

"And (in Nebraska) we know how to govern in a nonpartisan way."
Cattle and badgers rarely come into direct contact in the countryside and instead TB is transmitted through infected faeces and urine in pasture, a new study suggests.

Researchers in the UK have spent more than a decade studying how badgers transmit bovine tuberculosis (TB) to cows and have said contaminated pasture is to blame with significant implications for farm practices like slurry spreading.

Scientists claimed in their paper, published in Ecology Letters, that after tracking badgers and cattle using collars fitted with GPS devices in Cornwall the two species were never found in close proximity.

Since 2013, the government has sanctioned the culling of badgers in controversial culls to prevent further spread of the disease, which has an estimated cost to the countryside of 100 million.

"We are now beginning to identify how the transmission happens"

"There are loads and loads of things that farmers are being advised to do and there is no certainty that any of them will actually work and because of this, hardly any farmers implement any of these sorts of measures," Professor Rosie Woodroffe of the Zoological Society of London (ZSL) said.

"If we can focus on the things most likely to work on that massive array of things farmers are being advised to do more people will do them."

"We are now beginning to identify how the transmission happens and that ought to open up an array of finely tuned management approaches instead of the blunt instrument we have now," she said.

'Badgers avoid cattle'

Durham University research from 2013 said a widespread cull of badgers will have no impact on disease rates

With over 65,000 moments recorded in the study, there was not one occasion a badger and a cow, bull or bullock were within five metres of each other, and only one where the animals were less than 10 metres away from each other.

"Do badgers avoid cattle? Yes, they do, they significantly prefer to be at least 50 metres away from cattle, so they love cattle pasture but they hate cattle."

There is strong evidence that badgers transmit bTB to cattle, she said, as well as for cattle to cattle transmission and for livestock to give the disease to badgers.

"It's more likely this transmission is happening through the environment rather than direct contact."

In response to the findings of the study a Defra spokesperson said: "Our comprehensive strategy to beat bovine TB includes tighter cattle controls, good biosecurity and badger control in areas where the disease is widespread, and a number of measures are in place to prevent the spread of infection.

"These include frequent testing and rapid removal of infected cattle, pre- and post-movement testing and wildlife proofing of high risk units.

"To reduce the risk of cattle-to-cattle transmission from contaminated environment, farmers are required to carry out cleaning and disinfection and to keep cattle out of fields grazed by reactors for two months after their removal.

"There are also rules about the use of manure and slurry on infected farms to mitigate the risks associated with their spread."

'Cull will have no impact'

Research conducted by Durham University in 2013 claimed that a widespread cull will have no impact in solving the problem of TB in cattle.

Professor Peter Atkins, from Durham University's Institute of Hazard, Risk and Resilience has investigated the spread of the disease in their research.

"Badgers almost certainly play a part in spreading the disease, but my conclusion is that their impact over the decades has been far less than suggested" said Atkins.

"Very carefully arranged culling may have a part to play alongside other measures in areas of particular prevalence such as South West England and South Wales, but my research suggests that extending the policy elsewhere may neither be justified nor particularly effective. It certainly won't be a panacea."

However, after the October ban, the NFU wrote to the then Environment Secretary Owen Paterson to request a commencement of the cull.

'Utterly convinced badger control is right'

"Having looked at all the evidence over many years, I am utterly convinced that badger control is the right thing to do, and indeed the higher than expected badger numbers only serve to underline the need for urgent action.

"I remain fully committed to working with the farming industry to ensure that the pilot culls can be delivered effectively, safely and humanely next summer."

But Atkins claimed that 'no one' has yet proved which direction the infection travels between species and that the disease is a 'spillover' from cattle rather than an endemic condition. He also claimed a cull could even 'exacerbate the problem'.

"The Randomised Badger Culling Trial, which ran from 1998-2006 indicated complex, interwoven patterns of infection and concluded badger culling was unlikely to be effective for the future control of bTB."

"When badgers are disturbed, they seem to perceive they are being attacked and move from their original area by a kilometre or more and join other badger groups, which spreads the disease."
The government has released guidance for schools on how much milk or yoghurt can be claimed under the 'school milk subsidy scheme', and how to price subsidised milk in a school.

The EU school milk subsidy scheme encourages children to develop a lifelong habit of consuming milk and milk products.

It does this by subsidising the cost of milk and yoghurt products for school children in the UK so that it can be sold to them at a lower price.

The scheme allows eligible pupils to receive up to 250ml of subsidised milk products each school day.

Claims can be made by schools, local authorities, suppliers or organisations set up for this purpose.

In England, Scotland and Wales the school milk subsidy scheme is administered by the Rural Payments Agency (RPA).

Subsidy rates

The EU aid rate is 186.945 per kilolitre for milk and yoghurt.

These rates are converted to sterling using the exchange rate applicable on the first day of the month when the claim period starts.

The EU aid rate is topped up nationally for pupils in primary education and children over 11 receiving primary education in special schools.

This top up rate is 39.855 per kilolitre.

For children in Key Stage 1 education in Wales, the full cost of milk is reimbursed, plus a contribution to administration costs.

For children under 5 who are regularly attending a nursery or other pre-school establishment, the full cost of up to 189ml of milk per pupil can be claimed under the Nursery Milk Scheme.

Milk fully paid for under the Nursery Milk Scheme isnt eligible for the EU subsidy.
Moo Holland, a lifesized fiberglass cow painted to depict a countryside landscape by artist Jenny Leonard, has been unveiled at Countryfile Live.

The decorated cow is a member of the Surrey CowParade, a public art exhibition which raises money for charitable causes and community projects.

Moo Hollands UK tour got udder-way on the New Holland stand at Countryfile Live, which takes place at Blenheim Palace, Oxfordshire from 4th  7th August.

After the event Moo Holland will moo-ve to London where intrepid commuters, tourists and children can visit her in the peaceful courtyard of St. Brides Church, just off Fleet Street between the 8th and 31st August.

Visitors with Moo Holland at CountryFile Live

Moo Hollands sponsors include agricultural machinery manufacturer New Holland and south-east agricultural machinery dealership Oakes Brothers Ltd.

Once the exhibition ends the cows from the Surrey CowParade will be auctioned-off for charity with the proceeds split between a charity of the sponsors choice and Surrey CowParades charity, the Surrey Hills Trust Fund.

New Holland is supporting farming charity Addington Fund and money raised from the auction of Moo Holland will provide much-needed funds to help farmers in England and Wales.

The charity was among those who helped farmers affected by the flooding on the Somerset Levels in 2014 and In the north of England in December 2015.

Raising money is 'vital

Sara Sebastianelli, Brand Communications at New Holland Agriculture UK and Ireland says: "Farming families are very important to us at New Holland.

"We are really excited to be at CountryFile Live to meet members of the public and show off Moo Holland for the first time.

"We felt that the Addington Fund, who we have supported in the past, was the ideal charity to benefit from this initiative."

Ian Bell, Chief Executive of Addington Fund describes why raising money through initiatives like Moo Holland and Surrey CowParade is vital.

He says: "Its a sad fact that many farmers risk losing their home when they have to leave the agricultural industry, often through no fault of their own.

"The continuing dairy crisis with many farmers losing money on every pint of milk they produce had led to many thousands facing financial ruin and forced to leave dairy farming.

"Elderly tenant farmers who dont own the land they farm are particularly at risk of homelessness once they give up their tenancy.

"Many cannot afford the market rates for private rented properties and so they come to us for help."

CowParade

The CowParade is the worlds largest public art event and this years event includes over 50 bovine beauties at various locations across Surrey and London.

The exhibition runs until 3rd September when all the cows will be herded back to Surrey CowParade HQ to be on display at the Surrey Hills Festival of Food and Drink at Coverwood Farm, Ewehurst, Surrey, before being auctioned.

Measuring 84? long, 29? wide and 48? high, with a 83? girth, Moo Holland was brought to life by artist Jenny Leonard who painted her to depict an iconic countryside landscape at harvest time, complete with tractors, combine harvesters and fields of golden corn.

The artist was selected by Addington Fund for her experience in painting animal sculptures for public art trails.

Talking about Moo Hollands trip to London after Countryfile Live, Sara Sebastianelli, Brand Communications at New Holland Agriculture UK and Ireland says: "Were proud to be bringing the countryside to London and releasing Moo Holland into the city.

"Londoners will be able find her at St Brides Church on the world-famous Fleet Street, and admire the beautiful countryside-inspired artwork created by Jenny.

"Moo Holland loves a selfie and we hope that people will share snaps taken with her using the hashtag #MooHolland so we can see all of her new friends."

After the Surrey CowParade grand finale on 3rd September Moo Holland will continue her tour of the UK for a little while longer.
Overall growth of organic produce through supermarkets in the 52 weeks to 18 June has increased over 5% this year.

According to Nielsen data, organic growth has continued through the first half of 2016 and is now +5.2% compared to +3.2% at the end of 2015, against a decline of -0.9% in non-organic sales for same period.

The Soil Association, a trade body representing organic farmers, is confident that the organic market will reach and exceed 2 billion by the end of 2016.

This years Organic September aims to boost this even further.

The news comes at a poignant time with recent political change and uncertainty in the market.

However, with Organic September around the corner and more businesses, farmers and retailers than ever getting involved, the future remains positive for organic.

Soil Association is UK's leading membership charity campaigning for healthy, humane & sustainable food

'Positive about future of organic' despite Brexit

Clare McDermott, business development director at Soil Association Certification said that despite an uncertain market following Brexit, Soil Association Certification is positive about the future of organic.

"We expect this years Organic September to have an even bigger impact than before," said Miss McDermott.

"Market growth is already strong and there is a clear demand for organic, environmentally friendly and sustainable purchasing with many young professionals.

"The UK will still be required to comply with EU organic standards as minimum to maintain the flow of organic products to and from the EU.

"The Soil Association will continue to influence and improve the marketplace for organic businesses."

Increased interest in conversion to organic farming

Soil Association Certification has also reported an increased interest in conversion to organic farming in the last year.

Many businesses and retailers, including all the multiples have signalled support for Organic September.

Sainsburys, Tesco, Waitrose and Ocado are planning a range of activities, including on pack promotion using the Soil Associations Organic September stickers, range promotions, magazine features and sampling throughout September.

Big business in the produce industry are using the Soil Associations marketing materials, as are independent retailers and farmers selling direct to customers.

Mark Haynes, Managing Director at Gs Fresh said it is clear that there is a growing demand for organic at the moment.

"Organic September is a great way to focus customers attention on organic and link products right through the supply chain, from point of sale to producer.

"Organic fresh produce is doing very well so were really pleased that the Soil Association is continuing to support the whole industry for an added push in September."
A decade ago charity Yorkshire Dales Millennium Trust (YDMT) launched an ambitious scheme to save the declining species-rich hay meadows in the Yorkshire Dales.

Ten years and 600 hectares later they are still making meadows.

Over the last fifty years, 97% of meadows in the UK have been lost through agricultural intensification, making them one of our most threatened habitats.

Only 1000 hectares (less than 4 square miles) survived, putting hundreds of species of wildflowers and plants, bees, birds and other native wildlife species at risk.

YDMT has worked alongside farmers and with partners Natural England, the Yorkshire Dales National Park Authority and Forest of Bowland AONB to restore more than 600 hectares (over 2 square miles) of degraded meadows across the Yorkshire Dales and Forest of Bowland so far, helping to bring this precious habitat back from the brink.

When original funding for the project came to an end in 2013 YDMT set up the Hay Time Appeal which has raised a massive 186,500 over the last three years to help continue this vital work.

'Struck a chord with people'

Ambassador to the Hay Time project Chris Myers said: "YDMTs work to bring back wildflower meadows has really struck a chord with people.

"Not only because these meadows are vital habitats for native wildlife, but also because they are a beautiful and iconic part of our landscape, and a living piece of our cultural history."

Tanya St. Pierre, YDMTs Hay Time Officer said nothing would have been achieved without the support of farmers.

"Youve made it possible for us to keep the project going for so long."

The Hay Time project is not just about practical conservation. Through education and events it is also helping more people to experience the beauty of species-rich meadows, and helping them to understand the vital role they play as a habitat for pollinators and rare species.
Third series of Clarkson's Farm in production, Amazon confirms
LINCOLN  State Sen. Bill Kintner will pay a $1,000 fine for using his government-issued laptop to have cybersex with a stranger he met online.

But the embattled lawmaker refused to resign Friday, despite calls to do so by Gov. Pete Ricketts and Speaker of the Legislature Galen Hadley.

"Senator Kintner should resign his office immediately. Period," Ricketts said in a news release after the Nebraska Accountability and Disclosure Commission ordered Kintner to pay the $1,000 civil penalty.

The settlement deal, approved by Kintner's lawyer, brought little resolution to a case that had been under investigation for more than year but only became public last week.

Kintner, 55, acknowledged Friday that he used his state laptop to exchange sexually charged messages and live video of himself masturbating with a stranger he met online while attending a conference in Boston in July 2015.

He reported the situation to the Nebraska State Patrol after the woman threatened to share the video on YouTube if he didn't wire her money.

"I knew as a follower of Christ I needed to take quick and decisive action, and I did," Kintner said in a statement.

The woman later demanded Kintner pay $4,500 or she would release the video, according to investigative reports.

While having cybersex isn't illegal, Nebraska law prohibits public officials from using state computers and other resources for most non-work purposes.

The situation has left other lawmakers and members of Kintner's political circle struggling with how to proceed.

Omaha Sen. Ernie Chambers, who attended Friday's Accountability and Disclosure meeting at the Capitol, said he plans to pursue Kintner's impeachment, calling Kintner a "vulgar hypocrite."

"Sometimes an office needs to be purged immediately," Chambers said.

Others are weighing an attempt to expel Kintner from the Legislature until the next election, during which voters could decide whether to keep him. That's the direction Hadley said he's leaning if Kintner still refuses to resign.

"This puts his fellow senators in an exceedingly difficult position," Hadley said Friday.

The Legislature's Executive Board will discuss the issue during a meeting Aug. 19.

Hadley said he would prefer to address the situation this year. Asked if that means calling a special session before the Legislature reconvenes in January, he said, "It's a possibility."

The Accountability and Disclosure Commission's decision came more than a year after the Nebraska State Patrol launched an investigation into whether Kintner had fallen victim to an online scam.

Many, including top state Democrats, have questioned why Ricketts and high-level senators who were familiar with the situation didn't speak up sooner  particularly since Kintner is a political ally of Ricketts. His wife also works as the governor's top policy adviser.

Lauren Kintner, who married the senator in 2009, was diagnosed with ovarian cancer soon after her husband's trip to Boston.
"There is a reason why dairy is at the back of the supermarket - people have to walk to the back and the supermarkets know that there will be a lot of impulse buys along the way, but it is our product that gets customers through the door.
Spring Lake moves forward with town manager contract

State Local Government Commission to review Spring Lakes contract to hire a former Kenly town manager, but the state treasurer remains opposed.
Job Title: Federal Government Contracts Counsel (Deputy General Counsel)

Employer: CACI International Inc

Location: Arlington, Virginia, United States

Security Clearance: Top Secret

Clearance Status: Must be Current

Description:

CACI International Inc has an immediate opening for an experienced attorney with demonstrated ability to provide business-oriented legal advice to all levels of company management in connection with contracts and subcontracts on U.S. Government programs. This position, Vice President & Deputy General Counsel, supports the full range of work in CACIs Legal Division with a principal focus on classified work in the defense and intelligence sectors. Primary responsibilities include government contracts, export control, cyber and compliance with federal procurement laws and regulations. General support includes internal investigations, M&A due diligence, litigation management, and other aspects of the legal work load. . . . Continue Reading
A Naperville, Illinois man admitted in federal court that he intentionally failed to disclose his prior membership in the Chinese Communist Party when seeking naturalized citizenship in the United States.

Lu Lin, 59, pleaded guilty to one count of making a false statement to an immigration officer.

He faces up to five years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000. But the DOJ has agreed that under the sentencing guideline, Lins punishment shouldnt be more than six months in prison.

Lins plea agreement is here (pdf).

Hes a citizen of the Peoples Republic of China. On his application for naturalized United States citizenship, he reported that he had never used other names and had never been a member of the Chinese Communist Party.

He made the same assertions while under oath in an interview with officials in the Chicago office of the Department of Homeland Securitys U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services.

In reality, the DOJ said, Lin had been a member of the Chinese Communist Party from 1987 to 1997, and he had once received an identification document identifying him as Yeung Yung.

Lin admitted in the plea agreement that he made the misrepresentations so he would be granted U.S. citizenship.

He acknowledged that his misrepresentations were material to the United States subsequent decision to grant him citizenship.

U.S. District Judge Edmond Chang scheduled a sentencing hearing for November 9.

____

Richard L. Cassin is the publisher and editor of the FCPA Blog. Hell be the keynote speaker at the FCPA Blog NYC Conference 2016.
Whats going through Tyrones mind when Fiz and Tyrone read the first extract from The Gazette? After feeling like he has just got through e...
Ruby Rose has been stung by a jellyfish.

Ruby Rose (c) Instagram

The 'Orange Is the New Black' actress - who was born and raised in Australia - was attacked numerous times on Thursday (04.08.16) while splashing about in the ocean on holiday in Ibiza, Spain.

Taking to her Instagram account shortly after the attack, the brunette beauty uploaded a photograph of her sore sting on her toned abs alongside the caption: "Man down but also I've gone my whole life not getting stung.. As an Australian it was only a matter of time. #jellyfishblues (sic)."

The 30-year-old star was then left wincing in pain as her bikini-clad travel companion poured some liquid - believed to be vinegar - onto the sore spots in a bid to ease the sting.

Ruby posted a short video of her blonde friend gently dripping the slightly stained fluid onto her painful gashes.

She captioned the clip: "So.. This happened... jelly fish attack!!! (sic)."

However, despite the lethal attack, Ruby didn't let the incident ruin her holiday as just hours later she leapt off the luxury boat and plunged into the water in her skimpy two-piece.

Taking to her social networking site, the talented DJ uploaded a photograph of her plunging off the top deck of the boat.

She wrote: "Last jump shot I... Do not promise (sic)."
Kerry Washington has to have "big hair" when she's pregnant.

Kerry Washington

The 39-year-old actress - who is expecting her second child with her husband Nnamdi Asomugha - has admitted she "likes" to have voluminous locks when she is "expecting" because it makes her appear to have a smaller frame.

Speaking about her beauty hacks to InStyle magazine, the brunette beauty said: "When I'm expecting, I like to have big hair because I like to think the bigger the hair the smaller you look."

And the 'Scandal' star has revealed she thinks people get "too overdressed" for red carpet events, and would prefer to not adorn extravagant gowns for star studded events so often.

She explained: "I feel like sometimes we get way too overdressed for awards shows and there's too many of them."

Although Kerry has admitted the pink Prada ballgown she adorned at the Met Gala in 2015,a and the simplistic make-up, is her favourite ensemble she has worn to date.

She said: "I really liked that this look was so clean. I loved this look because it was really sophisticated and yet simple.

"The make-up was elevated and princess-like, but didn't distract from the gown."

Meanwhile Kerry - who married the former San Francisco 49ers cornerback in 2013, who she already has a two-year-old daughter Isabelle with - has revealed motherhood has completely changed her life.

Speaking previously, the New York-born beauty said: "You know it [motherhood] just turns your world upside down in the most beautiful way. She [Isabelle] makes me better, I hope, every day. I feel very lucky to be her mum.

"I will say I feel really, really blessed. I just feel really blessed that I'm kind of living extraordinary dreams come true in my work life and in my personal life."
A non-profit organisation is "delighted" Prince Harry is helping to transport 500 elephants across Malawi over the summer.

Prince Harry

Frances Read from non-profit African Parks has admitted it is a great help to the group that the 31-year-old royal is joining in with the project to move the beasts across the southern African state as part of a 500 Elephants initiative.

She said: "We are delighted that Prince Harry has joined us on this very important project."

While it is not known exactly what part Harry will play in the "human-assisted migration" process, Frances admitted it is a huge task.

She added to PEOPLE: "As you can imagine, everything is on quite a significant scale.

"A helicopter goes up with a vet and they identify a cohesive group of elephants, which is really important because you've got to keep the family groups together. Then they try to flush them out of the woodlands and onto the floodplains, which makes it a lot easier and safer to dart.

"As they are being darted, cars move in on the ground. So as soon as the elephants start to go down there are people to assist and make sure they are breathing properly and are positioned safely, so that they haven't fallen on their chest or against something, or on one another."

The animals are then lifted onto flatbed trucks and workers have no more than two hours to move the beasts until they wake up.

British High Commissioner Micheal Nevin recently confirmed Harry will be in Malawi for "quite a while" while helps move the animals to a wildlife reserve in what will be one of the biggest conservation projects in history.
James Norton will star in new BBC crime-drama 'McMafia'.

James Norton

The 'Happy Valley' actor has landed the role of Alex Goodman, the English-raised son of Russian exiles with a mafia past, in the drama, which is based on Misha Glenny's book.

Although Alex has tried to forge a life away from crime, he is drawn into the criminal world when his family's past returns to haunt them.

Billed as a hard-hitting look at global crime, 'McMafia' will be set in London, Moscow, Dubai, Mumbai, Africa and Mexico.

A source told The Sun: "James is the obvious choice for any drama right now. Everything he's been in since shooting to fame has been a ratings hit.

"'Happy Valley', 'Grantchester' and 'War & Peace' drew massive figures and the Beeb hopes this will too. It has all the hallmarks of another success."

The eight-part series will be directed by James Watkins, who is also co-writing the series.

Speaking previously about the project, creator and writer Hossein Amini, said: "I have always been a fan of mob sagas but Misha Glenny's McMafia is the first book I've read that captures the complexity and global reach of organised crime in the 21st century.

"The lines between gangsters, bankers, politicians and spies has been blurred and the whole world has become a battlefield in this global gang war."

And author Glenny said: "I am a huge fan of 'The Godfather', 'The Sopranos' and, more recently [Netflix's Pablo Escobar drama] 'Narcos'.

"Hoss and James's brilliant reworking of 'McMafia' takes this tradition onto a global canvas by revealing the immense possibilities open to an ambitious Russian crime family in an interconnected world."

The BBC added that the show will portray a "web of connections that join up money launderers in Dubai to cyber criminals in India, black marketeers in Zagreb to narcos in Colombia, Russian oligarchs in London to Bedouin smugglers in the Negev desert".
Marnie Simpson doesn't own any underwear.

Marnie Simpson

The 'Geordie Shore' star - who is no stranger to flashing the flesh on camera - has admitted she doesn't wear bra or knickers because they make her feel "uncomfortable."

She explained: "I don't own any bras or knickers. They make me feel uncomfortable. And I forget to flush the toilet ... "

The 24-year-old beauty is currently on 'Celebrity Big Brother' and thinks her bizarre habits - including her love for the mirror - will start to irritate her fellow housemates after a while.

Speaking to new! magazine, she said: "The feedback I've had from 'Geordie Shore' is I snatch things out of people's hands without asking and I hog the mirror."

And, although she could potentially spend four weeks in the infamous abode, Marnie has no plans to cook any meals.

She said: "I don't cook but I'll give it a good go. I'll try and make a family meal. I like to doss. Dossing, talking to people and getting p***ed is fine. I'll manage."

However, the beautiful babe believes she will be the life and soul of the party because of her love for drinking.

She said: "I'm going to get drunk as much as I can - there's nothing else to do. I'll just drink and smoke. But it will be fun because I'll be getting drunk with people I would never normally be with. I'll play drinking games with all the older ones and teach them to sl*t drop."
Things are on an upswing for Malaika Arora Khan and estranged husband Arbaaz Khans marriage as close friends tell Femina that divorce plans are now on hold.



While there have been rumours of the couple spending time together for their sons sake, we have proof that the couple are working on their relationship.



Happy bday Arbaaz ...happiness always A photo posted by Malaika Arora Khan (@malaikaarorakhanofficial) on Aug 4, 2016 at 12:36am PDT



Last night, family and friends of the couple were surprised to find Malaika by Arbaazs side as the latter brought in his 49th birthday at a get-together in Mumbai. A friend of the couple says, They have been working on their relationship to get where they are today.
Private equity firm L Catterton said it has acquired premium children's apparel and lifestyle brand Hanna Andersson, which since more than 30 years offers Swedish inspired children's clothing.Over the last ten years, Hanna Andersson has graduated from a catalogue brand to become a growing premium brand in the children's specialty apparel category, L Catterton said.

Private equity firm L Catterton said it has acquired premium children's apparel and lifestyle brand Hanna Andersson, which since more than 30 years offers Swedish inspired children's clothing. Over the last ten years, Hanna Andersson has graduated from a catalogue brand to become a growing premium brand in the children's specialty apparel category,...#

With a successful omni-channel platform, Hanna Andersson has been generating double-digit annual revenue growth since 2010 through a combination of its catalogue, e-commerce and store outlets.L Catterton will help Hanna Andersson to rapidly expand its retail store presence by adding to its footprint both domestically and internationally over the coming years.Nik Thukral, co-managing partner at L Catterton said, "Hanna Andersson is primed for even greater expansion as it continues to enhance its traditional product categories while adding new offerings.L Catterton has significant experience investing in premium retail brands and its investments include Pirch, Sweaty Betty, Worth, Tabi, Restoration Hardware, Baccarat, John Hardy, and Sandro & Maje. (AR)

Fibre2fashion News Desk - India
Provider of textile odour control and prevention technology, Microban International said it will relaunch its textiles division globally this month.As part of the initiative, the company will introduce a complete brand refresh, including a new website and revamped marketing collateral for its brand partners.

Provider of textile odour control and prevention technology, Microban International said it will relaunch its textiles division globally this month. As part of the initiative, the company will introduce a complete brand refresh, including a new website and revamped marketing collateral for its brand partners. The relaunch of its global textile division...#

The relaunch of its global textile division builds upon Microban's debut of its recent odour capture and antimicrobial products including Excalibur and Scentry.Microban recently also received Bluesign approval for its ZPTech, a wide-spectrum antimicrobial technology for textiles used by more than 60 leading sports, athleisure, apparel and footwear brands.According to the company, brand partners and consumers will see an entirely new Microban, from next generation technologies and freshness solutions to a new logo, positioning and tagline.The branding will debut at Outdoor Retailer Summer Market in a redesigned booth, where visitors will experience the latest in odour control science at the Microban 'Fresh Bar'. (AR)

Fibre2fashion News Desk - India
Governments development agenda for the new financial year in the province of Naitasiri will focus on the critical sectors of roads, water, electricity, and education.This was highlighted today by the Minister for Rural and Maritime Development and National Disaster Management, Hon. Inia Seruiratu, while opening the Naitasiri Provincial Council Meeting in Vunidawa.Speaking in the iTaukei language, Minister Seruiratu informed members of the council who represent the 16 districts in Naitasiri that development in these sectors is foundational in responding to the needs of their communities and in improving their livelihoods.He added that development in Naitasiri would only be successful if the people were willing to take ownership and work with government.RoadsIn the roads sector, Government will extend the road network from Nakorosule to Waibalavu, and ultimately to Nawaisomo at a cost of $1.5m. Government is also spending $7.5m to extend the road network from Sawanikula village to Nasauvere; $1.25m for the Sawani/Serea Rd; $0.6m for the Nakorosule Crossing; and $0.53m for the Wailoa Crossing.WaterMinister Seruiratu said that the water dam at Nakorosule District School would be upgraded at a cost of $153,000.00. This is in addition to the $4.2m water project covering eight communities across the country including Lomaivuna. A further forty-four communities and villages in Naitasiri vulnerable to droughts in the dry seasons will also receive 5,000ltr water tanks.ElectricityIn relation to power supply, Government will extend the grid to the Lomaivuna area at a cost of $0.82m and also construct the Qiolevu line costing $0.48m. Government has also lined up rural electrification projects for Naitauvoli, Waibau, and Vatulili.EducationFor education, Minister Seruiratu said a new kindergarten and a teacher quarters will be constructed at Naitavuni Primary School. Repair works will also be conducted at classrooms at Nadakuni Primary School and for teachers quarters at Nasele Catholic, Wainawaqa Primary, and Navuso District Schools. Other upgrading of education facilities throughout the province are totalled at $0.45m.Minister Seruiratu also emphasized to the members of the Council meeting that development is about partnership. He has urged the people of Naitasiri to work closely with Government in the identification of development needs for the province.Members of the Council also had the opportunity to raise their issues of concern directly to the Minister during a question and answer session this morning. The two day meeting ends tomorrow.
Prime Minister Bainimarama said that army day is an important part of the Chinese calendar and for both countries, experiences have defined the important role of the military in national development and also internationally through global peacekeeping.

Prime Minister Hon. Voreqe Bainimarama has sent a congratulatory note to the Premier of the Peoples Republic of China His Excellency Li Keqiang on the celebration of Army Day celebrated in China.In his message Prime Minister Bainimarama said that Fiji looks forward to strengthening bilateral relations with China.We remain steadfast in our endeavor to continue to expand our level of engagement and take our relations to greater heights through mutual understanding and cooperation, he said.He highlighted that he was happy the Fiji military took part in their victory day parade in 2015 as this was an opportunity to showcase the distinct characteristic of our military.Through this exercises, we have shown that we share common values and vision for our peoples. It illustrates the depth of our friendship and commitment to work closely together for the mutual benefit of our two countries.Army Day commemorates the founding of the Peoples Liberation Army on 01 August 1927.
Deepika Padukone is making India proud with her work in Hollywood. But for Deepika it is Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, who must be recognised first.

In an interview to Deccan Chronicle, Deepika Padukone said, "She, for me, is the torch bearer for putting India on the global map. But everyone who has managed to break through into the western market - whether it is Anil, Irfan, Priyanka, or myself - I think we have all done a great job."



"We got this opportunity at a time when all of us are working towards breaking stereotypes. We are all focused on being part of good content, and to be cast in films based on our talent and not because of the colour of our skin," Deepika Padukone added.



Also Read: Farah Khan Reveals Why She Is Not Working With Shahrukh Khan In Her Next

The stunning diva also talked about working in xXx: The Return Of Xander Cage. She said, "It was great fun working with Vin Diesel and Ruby Rose. From Monday to Friday, we would shoot and - during the weekends, we would meet for dinner and just hang out!''

Deepika Padukone further added, "We got along really well, despite never having worked with each other before. They were really welcoming from day one.''

When questioned about her Hollywood journey, she said, ''Honestly, I don't like dividing my projects into Hollywood or Bollywood - as an actor, the kind of effort and hard work that I put into any film is exactly the same, and the only difference is the language. So, I don't look at it as two separate journeys. I look at it as an extension of my career."

Well, Deepika said some really good things about Aishwarya and we totally agree with her!
Just like the calm before the storm, there are no notable Kannada releases this week, as we wait for the storm Kotigobba 2 to hit record number of screens next week, nationwide.

These days, producers are in no mood to wait for a good release date but are trying to sneak in their movie, whenever they get a free date.

This week we have only one Kannada release - 1944, starring Naveen Krishna and Shruthi. The movie is releasing in very few theaters and has got very less number of shows in multiplexes as well. There is not much buzz surrounding the project as well.

Advantage of this situation, would be for the previous week's releases such as Zoom and Kalpana 2, which are already doing good business and have been re-released in a few theaters. Also, movies like Godhi Banna Sadharna Mykattu and Karvva have re-released today, in a couple of screens around the state.

The movie Om, which holds a record for the number of re-releases, is releasing in a theater which is at the outskirts of Bangalore. Looks like movie's craze has not come down even after television premiere and the DVD release.

But, this is a difficult situation for producers and distributors of 1944 because theaters are ready to re-release the old movies but not ready to screen the new movie which is based on a novel. Same applies to the previous week release Putta Thirugisi Nodu, which got decent reviews.

Of course at the end of the day, star power or strong content matters. Unfortunately, 1944 or Putta Thirugisi Nodu, do not have neither of it. Let's hope the audience appreciate these movies like they have embraced a few good cinemas earlier this year.
Young actor Nivin Pauly, has seemingly expanded his fan base. Even the big stars have turned out to be the actor's fans after the release of the film Premam, which won the hearts of many.

Now, the actor has got another big fan and that is none other than Tamil actor Vikram. Chiyaan Vikram recently opened about his fondness for Nivin Pauly at the audio launch ceremony of Irumugan.

Interestingly, Nivin Pauly attended the function, which was held in Chennai. It was for the first time that the actor is attending an audio launch ceremony of a Tamil movie.

Vikram stated that he became a big fan of Nivin Pauly after watching the film Premam. He also said that he loved the film to the core and the movie did make a huge impact on him. He also added that his family members are also big fans of the star and they all were eager to meet Nivin Pauly.

Well, this indeed is a big applause for the young actor as it comes from one of the finest talents of the Indian film industry.

Vikram and Nivin Pauly had earlier associated for the album Spirit Of Chennai, which was conceived by Vikram. They also shared the stage during the Behindwoods Gold Awards 2016, in which Nivin Pauly was adjudged the Person Of The Year 2015.
CALGARY, ALBERTA -- (Marketwired) -- 08/04/16 -- Lightstream Resources Ltd. (the "Company" or "Lightstream") (TSX: LTS) announces second quarter 2016 financial and operating results. Our financial statements and management's discussion and analysis for the quarter ended June 30, 2016 will be available on the system for electronic analysis and retrieval at www.sedar.com and on Lightstream's website at www.lightstreamresources.com.

Three months ended Six months ended June 30, June 30, ($000s, except % % where noted) 2016 2015 Change 2016 2015 Change ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Financial Oil and natural gas sales 76,716 136,265 (44) 139,891 257,396 (46) Adjusted EBITDA(1) 37,262 94,747 (61) 60,146 174,202 (65) Funds flow from operations(1) 3,787 66,966 (94) (6,823) 118,894 - Per share - basic ($)(1) 0.02 0.34 (94) (0.03) 0.60 - - diluted ($)(1),(2) 0.02 0.34 (94) (0.03) 0.60 - Adjusted Net Income (loss)(1) 110,502 (51,533) - 137,578 (178,695) - Per share - basic ($)(1) 0.56 (0.26) - 0.69 (0.90) - - diluted ($)(1),(2) 0.56 (0.26) - 0.69 (0.90) - Capital Expenditures(3) 7,504 20,175 (63) 14,857 80,429 (82) Net capital expenditures(1) 6,216 18,324 (66) 13,287 67,255 (80) Total debt(1),(4) 1,574,576 1,668,123 (6) Basic common shares, end of period (000) 198,645 197,565 1 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Operations Average daily production (boe/d) Oil and NGL (bbl/d) 16,333 23,066 (29) 17,103 24,827 (31) Natural gas (mcf/d) 52,697 53,399 (1) 51,779 52,419 (1) ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Total (boe/d)(5) 25,116 31,966 (21) 25,733 33,563 (23) ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Average realized prices Oil and NGL ($/bbl) 47.36 58.71 (19) 40.17 51.50 (22) Natural gas ($/mcf) 1.32 2.68 (51) 1.58 2.74 (42) ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Total (boe/d) 33.56 46.84 (28) 29.87 42.37 (30) ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Operating netback(1) ($/boe except where noted)(5) Oil, NGL and natural gas revenue 33.56 46.84 (28) 29.87 42.37 (30) Royalties 2.73 4.47 (39) 2.73 4.54 (40) Production expenses 11.48 12.89 (11) 11.77 12.68 (7) Transportation expenses 0.25 0.30 (17) 0.26 0.30 (13) ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Operating netback 19.10 29.18 (35) 15.11 24.85 (39) Realized gain on hedging contracts 0.90 6.69 (87) 1.69 7.87 (79) ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Operating netback including hedging(1) 20.00 35.87 (44) 16.80 32.72 (49) ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------

SECOND QUARTER 2016 HIGHLIGHTS

-- Second quarter average production was 25,116 boepd (65% light oil and liquids weighted), a 5% decrease from the previous quarter. The decline is mainly attributable to our reduction in development capital spending, resulting in natural declines exceeding new production additions, and a continued third party pipeline outage in the Swan Hills area. -- Our second quarter operating netback was $19.10/boe, a 69% increase over first quarter 2016. This was primarily due to higher realized oil prices and lower production expenses. -- Funds flow from operations for the second quarter 2016 was $3.8 million ($0.02 per basic share), compared to negative funds flow of $10.6 million in the first quarter of 2016. As a result, our funds flow deficit for the first half of 2016 was lower than projected. -- Adjusted EBITDA for the second quarter and first half were $37.3 million and $60.1 million respectively; both above guidance, primarily as a result of lower production costs. -- Capital expenditures for Q2 2016 were $7.5 million, in line with Q1 2016 capital expenditures and slightly below our 1H 2016 forecast. -- We recognized a non-cash asset impairment charge of $789.8 million ($576.6 million after-tax) associated with our proposed Recapitalization (as defined below) announced on July 28, 2016 and an additional $15.1 million ($11.0 million after-tax) of impairment relating to the expiry of exploitation and evaluation assets. -- We have not released 2H 2016 guidance due to our pending Recapitalization plan. We anticipate capital spending to be minimal and production levels to decline until a new capital program is initiated, assuming the successful implementation of the Recapitalization plan.

OPERATING SUMMARY

Q2 2016 AVERAGE DAILY PRODUCTION ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Three months ended Six months ended June 30, 2016 June 30, 2016 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Oil & NGL Gas Total Oil & NGL Gas Total Business Unit (bbl/d) (Mcf/d) (boe/d) (bbl/d) (Mcf/d) (boe/d) ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Cardium 7,147 45,047 14,655 7,400 43,594 14,666 Bakken 8,412 3,160 8,939 8,669 3,390 9,234 Alberta/BC 774 4,490 1,522 1,034 4,795 1,833 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 16,333 52,697 25,116 17,103 51,779 25,733 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Q2 2016 DRILLING ACTIVITY Drilled Completed On Production Inventory(6) Business Unit Gross Net Gross Net Gross Net Gross Net ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Cardium 1.0 0.3 1.0 0.3 - - 1.0 0.3 Bakken - - - - - - - - Alberta/BC - - - - - - - - ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Total 1.0 0.3 1.0 0.3 - - 1.0 0.3 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Average production for the quarter was 25,166 boepd, 5% below the first quarter of 2016 and 21% below Q2 2015 levels. This is attributed to natural well declines exceeding new well production additions, given the reduction in our development capital program and a continued third party pipeline outage in the Swan Hills area of our Alberta/BC business unit. Natural gas production remained flat from second quarter 2015, as continued strong results from our Falher liquids-rich gas play have offset natural declines within our Cardium business unit.

Our Bakken business unit produced 8,939 boepd during the second quarter of 2016, representing a decrease of 6% from the previous quarter's production of 9,530 boepd; compared to the same period last year, average production decreased by 24%. The decrease is due to continued attenuation of investment in the area, given the challenging economic environment for drilling new wells.

Production in our Cardium business unit for the second quarter 2016 averaged 14,655 boepd, essentially unchanged from the first quarter of 2016. We did see a decrease in production compared to the second quarter of 2015 which is primarily attributable to natural declines and reduced new well spending. During the quarter we drilled and completed one (0.3 net) well, which was put on production early in the third quarter. There are currently no wells in inventory.

In our Alberta/BC business unit, second quarter 2016 production of 1,522 boepd, reflected a decrease of 29% from the previous quarter due to higher downtime, a third party pipeline outage and reduced new well spending in the area. The pipeline outage was rectified subsequent to end of the second quarter.

FINANCIAL SUMMARY

Second quarter 2016 financial results improved over the first quarter due to higher oil prices and lower production expenses. Average WTI prices increased 36% from US$33.52/bbl in the first quarter to US$45.59/bbl in the second quarter. In addition, our light oil differentials also narrowed by approximately US$1.70/bbl, further increasing our operating netback. As a result, funds flow from operations for the quarter was $3.8 million, compared to a deficit of $10.6 million in the first quarter. We recorded a funds flow deficit of $6.8 million for the first half, an improvement compared to our guidance of a deficit of $10 million.

Our adjusted EBITDA for the quarter was $37.3 million, down from $94.7 million a year ago, mainly attributable to the current commodity price environment and lower production. Our continued positive adjusted EBITDA demonstrates the resiliency and low cost attributes of our operations and asset base.

Our Q2 2016 operating netback was $19.10/boe, a 69% increase over the previous quarter due to the above mentioned WTI price improvement during the quarter. Compared to last year, our netback decreased by 35% which is mainly attributable to lower commodity prices, partially offset by lower royalties and production expenses. Royalties decreased on both a total and per-unit of production basis compared to last year by 52% and 39%, respectively. This reflects our decrease in revenue and a lower royalty rate, which is mainly impacted by benchmark pricing. Total production expenses decreased 30% compared to Q2 2015, primarily due to lower variable costs associated with decreased production levels and several cost reduction initiatives within our core operating areas. On a per-boe basis, production expenses decreased by 11% compared to Q2 2015. The most significant factors in this reduction were related to repairs and maintenance, field personnel, electricity and power, chemicals, trucking, workovers and treating and processing costs.

We recorded a non-cash impairment charge totaling $804.9 million ($587.6 million after-tax). This charge primarily recognizes the restructuring support arrangement we entered into in respect of our proposed Recapitalization plan and the prescribed value to our assets associated with the credit bid process in that plan.

Capital expenditures of $7.5 million for the second quarter continued to be minimal and essentially unchanged from first quarter levels but down significantly from 2015 expenditure levels, which is consistent with our capital plans in this depressed commodity environment. Total debt increased slightly from the first quarter primarily due to increased borrowings under the existing revolving credit facility (the "Credit Facility"). We continue to generate monthly oil and gas revenue through ongoing operations. At the end of the second quarter, we had a $31.2 million cash balance and currently have approximately $40 million cash on-hand. We are continuing to pay all service providers, suppliers and contractors in the normal course of business as we pursue our Recapitalization plan.

FIRST HALF GUIDANCE & RESULTS

---------------------------------------------------------------------------- First Half 2016 ($000s, except where noted and Revised Guidance First Half 2016 per share amounts) (May 4, 2016) Actual Results ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Production (annual average) Total (boe/d) 25,500 - 26,000 25,733 Light-oil and liquids weighting 66% 66% Adjusted EBITDA(1) $56,000 $60,146 Funds Flow from Operations(1) ($10,000) ($6,823) Funds Flow per share(1),(7) ($0.05) ($0.03) Capital Expenditures(8) $15,500 - $16,500 $14,857 Pricing Assumptions: Q2 2016 Q2 2016 Crude oil - WTI (US$/bbl) 45.00 45.59 Crude oil - WTI (Cdn$/bbl) 58.44 58.76 Corporate light-oil to WTI differential (US$/bbl)(9) 6.19 4.73 Natural gas - AECO (Cdn$/mcf) 1.37 1.40 Exchange rate (Cdn$/US$) 0.77 0.78 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Total average production for the first half ended June 30, 2016 was 25,733 boepd, in line with our first half 2016 guidance. Our capital expenditures of $14.9 million came in slightly below the low end of our guidance range and both our adjusted EBITDA and funds flow from operations exceeded our forecast. We will not be providing guidance for the second half of 2016 at this time due to the pending Recapitalization plan.

RECAPITALIZATION PLAN

As previously announced on July 28, 2016, the Company entered into a definitive arrangement agreement with a new wholly-owned subsidiary to effect a series of transactions which will result in the recapitalization (the "Recapitalization") of the Company's US$650 million 9.875% secured notes due June 15, 2019 (the "Secured Notes"), the Company's US$254 million 8.625% unsecured notes due February 1, 2020 (the "Unsecured Notes") and the Company's common shares (the "Common Shares"). The proposed Recapitalization is intended to be implemented by way of a corporate plan of arrangement under the Canada Business Corporations Act (the "CBCA Plan"). Under a support agreement entered into on July 12, 2016, holders of 91.5% of the Company's Secured Notes have agreed, subject to certain conditions, to vote their securities in favour of the CBCA Plan. In addition, in connection with the completion of the Recapitalization, we are working towards a replacement credit facility for the Company's existing Credit Facility. The Recapitalization is expected to reduce the Company's overall debt by approximately US$904 million (Cdn$1.175 billion) in principal and reduce our cash interest payments by over US$83 million (Cdn$108 million) per year.

As a result of the Company's failure to make the June 15 semi-annual interest payment on our Secured Notes by July 15, 2016, the Company triggered defaults under the Credit Facility, the Secured Notes indenture and the Unsecured Notes indenture. In anticipation of this, and as part of the CBCA Plan, on July 13, 2016, the Company received a preliminary interim order from the Court of Queen's Bench of Alberta (the "Court") containing a stay prohibiting any person, including the holders of Secured Notes and holders of Unsecured Notes, other than the lenders under the Credit Facility, from terminating, making any demand, accelerating, amending or declaring in default or taking any enforcement steps under any contract or other agreement to which the Company is a party. On July 12, 2016, the Company also entered into a forbearance agreement with the lenders under the Credit Facility. Pursuant to the forbearance agreement, as amended, the lenders have agreed to forbear from exercising their enforcement rights and remedies arising on account of existing defaults under the Credit Facility until August 5, 2016, including in respect of the Company's hedging liabilities. The Company has requested and anticipates receiving an extension to the forbearance relief period to August 12, 2016, however there is no assurance the Company will obtain this extension. Subject to obtaining the forbearance extension and satisfactory commitments to provide the new revolving credit facility, the Company anticipates entering into a second forbearance agreement with lenders prior to August 12, 2016 to extend the relief period through the anticipated completion of the CBCA Plan and implementation of a new revolving credit facility.

We will be seeking a further interim order from the Court on August 5, 2016 authorizing the Company to call, hold and conduct the required special meetings of the holders of Secured Notes, Unsecured Notes and Common Shares to consider and vote on the CBCA Plan.

Readers are urged to consult the Company's press releases issued July 12, 2016, July 13, 2016 and July 28, 2016 for further details respecting the Recapitalization.

2016 SECOND QUARTER FINANCIAL RESULTS CONFERENCE CALL

Lightstream management will not be hosting our usual quarterly results conference call while the Recapitalization plan is being advanced. We expect to host our next conference call once meeting materials for the proposed Recapitalization plan have been made public.

NOTES

1. Non-GAAP measure. See "Non-GAAP Measures" section below. 2. Consists of common shares, stock options, deferred common shares, incentive shares and convertible debentures (if applicable) as at the period end date. 3. Prior to asset acquisitions and dispositions. 4. Total debt includes secured termed credit facility outstanding plus accounts payable less accounts receivable, prepaid expenses and long- term investments plus the full value outstanding on the secured notes and unsecured notes converted to Canadian dollars using the period end exchange rate of 0.77 at June 30, 2016 (June 30, 2015 - 0.79). 5. Six Mcf of natural gas is equivalent to one barrel of oil equivalent ("boe"). 6. Inventory refers to the number of wells pending completion and/or tie-in at June 30, 2016. 7. Funds flow per share calculation based on 198 million weighted average basic shares outstanding. 8. Projected capital expenditures exclude acquisitions and divestitures, which are evaluated separately. 9. Differential includes approximately US$2.00/bbl cost for tariffs and quality adjustments charged from western Canadian benchmark prices to our realized wellhead prices.

Lightstream Resources Ltd. is an oil and gas exploration and production company focused on light oil in the Bakken and Cardium resource plays. We are committed to delivering industry leading operating netbacks, strong cash flows and consistent operating results through leading edge technology applied to a multi-year inventory of existing and emerging resource play opportunities. Our long-term strategy is to efficiently develop our assets and deliver an attractive dividend yield.

Natural gas volumes have been converted to barrels of oil equivalent ("boe"). Six thousand cubic feet ("Mcf") of natural gas is equal to one barrel of oil equivalent based on an energy equivalency conversion method primarily attributable at the burner tip and does not represent a value equivalency at the wellhead. Boes may be misleading, especially if used in isolation.

Non-GAAP Measures. This press release contains financial terms that are not considered measures under IFRS, such as funds flow from operations, funds flow per share, adjusted net income, adjusted net income per share, net capital expenditures, adjusted EBITDA, total debt, operating netback and operating netback including hedging. Profitability relative to commodity prices per unit of production is demonstrated by an operating netback. Operating netback reflects revenues less royalties, transportation costs, and production expenses divided by production for the period and operating netback including hedging reflects the impact of crude oil and natural gas derivative contracts on the operating netback. These measures do not have any standardized meaning prescribed by IFRS and therefore may not be comparable to those reported by other companies. These measures are commonly utilized in the oil and gas industry and are considered informative for management and stakeholders as they help evaluate performance and demonstrate the ability to generate sufficient cash to fund future growth opportunities, pay dividends and repay debt.

These measures should not be viewed as an alternative to cash flow from operations, net income or other measures of financial performance calculated in accordance with IFRS. Further information and reconciliations to the most directly comparable IFRS financial measures in respect of these non-GAAP measures is set forth in our MD&A.

Forward-Looking Statements. Certain information provided in this press release constitutes forward-looking statements. Specifically, this press release contains forward-looking statements relating to the proposed Recapitalization including the CBCA Plan and the matters related thereto, including the anticipated timing of certain events, the Company being able to receive all required court and regulatory approvals to consummate the CBCA Plan, the ability of the Company to obtain the required levels of approval from holders of Common Shares, Secured Notes and Unsecured Notes for the CBCA Plan, the ability of the parties to satisfy the other conditions to the CBCA Plan, the execution of a forbearance extension and second forbearance agreement with its lenders, the ability to enter into binding commitment letters for the new credit facility of the Company, and the size thereof, the potential and anticipated impact of the Recapitalization on Lightstream, the commencement of proceedings under the CCAA in the event that the CBCA Plan is not approved or otherwise does not occur, future capital structure, debt levels and annual interests costs, improved liquidity, release of guidance and anticipated timing, planned development capital spending and production levels for the remainder of 2016 and the sufficiency of cash to fund ongoing operations.

The forward-looking statements are based on information currently available as well as certain expectations and assumptions concerning anticipated financial performance, business prospects, regulatory developments and general market conditions. Although we believe that the expectations and assumptions on which the forward-looking statements are based are reasonable, undue reliance should not be placed on the forward-looking statements because we can give no assurance that they will prove to be correct. Since forward-looking statements address future events and conditions, by their very nature they involve inherent risks and uncertainties. Actual results could differ materially from those currently anticipated due to a number of factors and risks. These include, but are not limited to the Company's inability to complete the Recapitalization, including the CBCA Plan, on the timeline or on the terms currently contemplated or at all, that the Recapitalization may have an effect on the Company other than what is currently anticipated, that the pursuit of the Recapitalization, CBCA Plan and related activities may divert management time and attention away from other business matters, commodity price and exchange rate fluctuations, risks associated with the oil and gas industry in general (e.g., operational risks in production; delays or changes in plans with respect to capital expenditures; the uncertainty of reserve estimates; the uncertainty of estimates and projections relating to production, costs and expenses, reliance on industry partners, availability of equipment and personnel, changes in applicable regulatory regimes and health, safety and environmental risks)and general economic conditions. Certain of these risks are set out in more detail in our Annual Information Form which has been filed on SEDAR and can be accessed at www.sedar.com. Except as may be required by applicable securities laws, Lightstream assumes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements made herein or otherwise, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

Contacts:

Lightstream Resources Ltd.

John D. Wright

President and Chief Executive Officer

403.268.7800

403.218.6075 (FAX)



Lightstream Resources Ltd.

Peter D. Scott

Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer

403.268.7800

403.218.6075 (FAX)



Lightstream Resources Ltd.

Annie C. Belecki

General Counsel

403.268.7800

403.218.6075 (FAX)

ir@lightstreamres.com

www.lightstreamresources.com




Transaction Combines Three Leading Global Providers of Container Solutions

HOUSTON, Aug. 5, 2016 /PRNewswire/ --Hoover Container Solutions ("Hoover"), Ferguson Group ("Ferguson") and CHEP Catalyst & Chemical Containers ("CCC"), three of the leading global providers of container solutions products in the energy, petrochemical and general industrial markets, announce that they are merging to form Hoover Ferguson Group ("HFG").

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Global supply chain solutions company, Brambles Limited, the owner of Ferguson and CCC, and First Reserve, the owner of Hoover, a leading private equity and infrastructure investment firm exclusively focused on energy, reached an agreement on August 5, 2016 to form a 50:50 joint venture through the merger.

Hoover Ferguson Group brings together three industry-leading service providers with demonstrated commitments to world-class customer service, operational excellence and quality. The combined HFG business will provide their full range of customers with leading products and solutions through an unparalleled global network of more than 70 service centers and 550 expert team members.

The new company will have a leading market presence in every major energy basin and petrochemical manufacturing center, with more than 110,000 rental units worldwide. HFG will also be a worldwide leader in the manufacturing of a comprehensive range of intermediate bulk containers (IBCs) and offshore workspace and accommodation modules. This combination presents a leader in the IBC, cargo carrying unit (CCUs) and offshore modules segments by delivering a globally diverse platform providing customers with a full suite of products and services.

Donald W. Young, CEO of Hoover, will lead the new company, supported by a management team comprised of senior executives from Ferguson, CCC, Hoover and Brambles. He commented: "This strategic merger is a great opportunity for all three companies to expand complementary products and service offerings while also broadening our relationships with existing and potential customers. This will strengthen our product and service line offering worldwide. Hoover Ferguson Group combines the very best people, solutions and industry expertise which allows us to continue to provide quality products and unparalleled customer service to all of our clients."

Neil Wizel, Managing Director at First Reserve stated: "This is a great moment for Hoover, and we are excited to continue our support of Donnie Young and his team through this transformative merger. Hoover has proven to be an accomplished operator and reliable solutions provider for its customers. We believe this merger represents an opportunity for Hoover to expand its capabilities and offerings on a global scale, and we look forward to working in partnership with Brambles to grow the combined business and further enhance the company's offering to its customers."

Tom Gorman, CEO of Brambles, remarked: "Brambles is excited to partner with First Reserve in the creation of HFG, a new, truly-global provider of logistics services to the oil and gas and chemical sectors. Along with industry and supply-chain expertise, the enhanced scale and strong capital structure of HFG provide it with a solid foundation from which to grow and support its customers. We expect a smooth integration of Ferguson, CCC and Hoover that reflects the close cultural fit and long history of operational excellence and customer focus."

The merger transaction anticipates completion during October 2016, subject to regulatory clearance and the satisfaction of customary conditions. Please visit www.hooverferguson.com for more information.

For more information contact:

Hoover Ferguson Group

Brambles First Reserve Joan Carter Hoover Ferguson Group Tel: +1 832.295.6202 jcarter@hooversolutions.com

Steven McGhee Senior Director, Global Marketing & Cross Sector Sales Brambles Tel: +44 7831 678234 Jonathan Keehner / Julie Oakes Joele Frank / Wilkinson Brimmer Katcher Tel: +1 212.355.4449 joakes@joelefrank.com

Hoover Group, Inc. is an integrated service provider of chemical tanks, cargo carrying units, and other related products and services to the global energy, petrochemical and general industrial end markets. The company provides its customers with comprehensive liquid and cargo containment solutions as well as a range of complementary services including cleaning, refurbishment, remote tracking and recertification. Hoover was founded in 1911 and today has a rental fleet of over 60,000 units consisting of various chemical tanks and cargo carrying units. Hoover has been a First Reserve portfolio company since January 2015. www.hooversolutions.com.

Ferguson Group, founded in 1976 and headquartered in Aberdeenshire, Scotland, employs [200] people worldwide and is part of the global supply chain solutions company, Brambles Limited. From its bases in the UK, Norway, Australia, Singapore, UAE and partners globally, the team provides equipment rental solutions to the oil and gas industry. Ferguson Group's product portfolio includes offshore transportation containers, refrigerated containers (via IceBlue Refrigeration Offshore), as well as accommodation, workspace, and ancillary modules. The company is committed to providing exceptional customer service and the highest quality products designed to meet DNV 2.7-1/EN 12079 certification standards. Ferguson Group has also achieved ISO 9001, ISO 14001, and OHSAS 18001 accreditations. www.ferguson-group.com.

CHEP Catalyst & Chemical Containers (CCC), part of the global supply chain solutions company, Brambles Limited, provides a complete catalyst and chemical management solution for domestic and intercontinental supply chain movements. The petroleum refining, gas processing, and petrochemical manufacturing industries face challenging regulatory, safety and cost control environments and CHEP CCC's experience in these industries allows it to support its customers in various ways. These include the packaging and transport of hazardous and non-hazardous materials by road, rail or sea. CHEP helps the world's largest petrochemical companies improve their cost and asset visibility. www.chepccc.com.

Brambles Limited (ASX:BXB) is a supply-chain logistics company operating primarily through the CHEP and IFCO brands. Brambles enhances performance for customers by helping them transport goods through their supply chains more efficiently, sustainably and safely. The Group's primary activity is the provision of reusable unit-load equipment such as pallets, crates and containers for shared use by multiple participants throughout the supply chain, under a model known as "pooling". Brambles primarily serves the fast-moving consumer goods (e.g. dry food, grocery, and health and personal care), fresh produce, beverage, retail and general manufacturing industries, counting many of the world's best-known brands among its customers. The Group also operates specialist container logistics businesses serving the automotive, aerospace and oil and gas sectors. Brambles has its headquarters in Sydney, Australia, but operates in more than 60 countries, with its largest operations in North America and Western Europe. Brambles employs more than 14,000 people and owns more than 500 million pallets, crates and containers through a network of more than 850 service centers. For further information, please visit www.brambles.com.

First Reserve is a leading global private equity and infrastructure investment firm exclusively focused on energy. With over 30 years of industry insight, investment expertise and operational excellence, the Firm has cultivated an enduring network of global relationships and raised approximately USD $31 billion of aggregate capital since inception. Putting these to work, First Reserve has completed more than 575 transactions (including platform investments and add-on acquisitions), creating several notable energy companies throughout the Firm's history. Its portfolio companies operate on six continents, spanning the energy spectrum from upstream oil and gas to midstream and downstream, including resources, equipment and services and infrastructure. For more information, please visit: www.firstreserve.com.




DUBAI, United Arab Emirates, Aug. 5, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Global OConnect will hold a Procurement Fair on August8th in Speedex Complex showroom 3, Dubai, where its exhibition warehouse locates. The Dubai OConnect was officially introduced on April28ththis year, which has drawn wide attention from suppliers and buyers from China and Middle East.

Since the launch of exhibition warehouses overseas, a growing number of Chinese suppliers have shown great interests in participating, as they believe that OConnect provides a convenient platform to get acquaintance with trade partners.

One representative from Huoshan company disclosed that some Middle Eastern buyers had already contacted him through OSell App, an online communication portal partnered with OConnect, to inquire specific product information. Therefore, the coming fair would create valuable opportunities to communicate with buyers face-to-face. If everything goes well, they could sign the contract right on site upon agreements. According to colleagues in Dubai, transactions were already generated before the fair when local buyers visited the warehouse and chose Chinese watch.

On a larger scale, the fair also takes both countries' bilateral economic interests into consideration and would benefit local economies as a result. Trade between China and UAE is complementary due to economic structures. The fair will bring light industrial products to Middle East, which are normally imported by local economies.

Over ten companies from Huoshan City will introduce their home furnishing products ranging from light bulbs, floor boards to tableware, with support from Huoshan City Business Bureau, a trade department of Huoshan Municipal Government.

Besides the government supports, the fair is designed to accommodate Huoshan City's competitive advantages and Dubai's local needs. Huoshan City is located in a mountainous area with abundant bamboo resources and is famous for home decoration products historically, while Dubai enjoys a rapidly developing real estate industry which fuels a huge demand for household construction materials. Therefore, Huoshan enterprises' appearance in Dubai will lend local retailers a hand to purchase ideal products that meet their special needs.

From local buyers' perspectives, the fair works as a convenient way to reach out to Chinese suppliers and express their target needs specifically. More importantly, with a better understanding of Dubai's local market by assisting businesses from both sides, OConnect will also learn to adjust its business mode accordingly to improve service, which will ultimately benefits Chinese suppliers and overseas buyers.










PUNE, India, August 4, 2016 /PRNewswire/ --

ReportsnReports.com adds 2016 Global Locomotives Industry Market Research Report to Automotive Section of its online business intelligence library. Complete report on the Locomotives market spread across 109 pages, profiling 10 companies and supported with 103 tables and figures is now available at http://www.reportsnreports.com/reports/646377-global-locomotives-market-research-report-2021.html.

The "2016 Market Research Report on Global Locomotives Industry" is a professional and in-depth study on the current state of the Locomotives market with a basic overview of the industry including definitions, classifications, applications and industry chain structure. The Locomotives market analysis is provided for the international markets including development trends, competitive landscape analysis, and key regions development status. Development policies and plans are discussed as well as manufacturing processes and cost structures. This report also states import/export, supply and consumption figures as well as cost, price, revenue and gross margin by regions (United States, EU, China and Japan), and other regions can be added. Few key manufacturers included in this report are CSR, Bombardier, Alstom, General Electric, Siemens, CJSC Transmashholding, Stadler Rail, Kawasaki Heavy Industries, Construcciones Y Auxiliar De Ferrocarriles S.A and Hyundai Rotem Company. Order a copy of Global Locomotives Market Report 2016 research report at http://www.reportsnreports.com/reports/646377-global-locomotives-market-research-report-2021.html .

The report focuses on global major leading industry players of Locomotives market providing information such as company profiles, product picture and specification, capacity production, price, cost, production value and contact information. Upstream raw materials and equipment and downstream demand analysis is also carried out. The Locomotives market development trends and marketing channels are analyzed. Finally the feasibility of new investment projects are assessed and overall research conclusions offered.

With 103 tables and figures to support the Locomotives market analysis, this research provides key statistics on the state of the industry and is a valuable source of guidance and direction for companies and individuals interested in the market.

Another research titled "Global Traction Locomotive Market Research Report 2021" is a professional and in-depth study on the current state of the global Traction Locomotive industry with a focus on the global market. The report provides key statistics on the market status of the Traction Locomotive manufacturers and is a valuable source of guidance and direction for companies and individuals interested in the industry.

The report provides a basic overview of the Traction Locomotive industry including definitions, classifications, applications and industry chain structure. Development policies and plans are discussed as well as manufacturing processes and cost structures are also analyzed. This report also states import/export consumption, supply and demand figures, cost, price, revenue and gross margins.

The report then analyzes the global Traction Locomotive market size (volume and value), and the sales segment market is also discussed by product type, application and region.

The major Traction Locomotive market (including USA, Europe, China, Japan, etc.) is analyzed, data including: market size, import and export, sale segment market by product type and application. Then we forecast the 2016-2021 market size of Traction Locomotive.

The report focuses on global major leading companies providing information such as company profiles, sales, sales revenue, market share and contact information. Then the Traction Locomotive production market status is discussed. With 137 tables and figures the report provides key statistics on the state of the industry and is a valuable source of guidance and direction for companies and individuals interested in the market. Companies profiled this research includes General Electric, Brush Traction, AEG, EMD, ALCO, Lima Locomotive, H. K. Porter, English Electric Archive, Brookville, NRE, R. J. Corman Railpower, Railserve, BOMBARDIER, Caterpillar, Vossloh, Metso, Unilok, Clayton Equipment, Krauss_Maffei, SCI, LH GROUP, Siemens, DLW, BHEL, CLW, CSRGC and CNR. Read more at http://www.reportsnreports.com/reports/646378-global-traction-locomotive-market-research-report-2021.html .

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Bankers Petroleum Ltd. is a Canadian-based oil and gas exploration and production company focused on developing large oil and gas reserves in Albania and Eastern Europe. In Albania, Bankers operates and has the full rights to develop the Patos-Marinza heavy oilfield, has a 100% interest in the Kucova oilfield, and a 100% interest in Exploration Block "F". In 2015 Bankers acquired an 85% interest in the rights to explore the Puspokladany Block concession within the Pannonian Basin located in north eastern Hungary. The Bankers Shares are traded on the TSX and the AIM Market in London, England under the stock symbol BNK.

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.


BERLIN (dpa-AFX) - German luxury fashion brand Hugo Boss (HUGSF.PK) reported that its net income attributable to equity holders of the parent company for the second-quarter fell to 11.1 million euros or 0.16 euros per share from 70.6 million euros or 1.02 euros per share in the same quarter last year.



Due to the decline in sales, EBITDA before special items dropped by 13% to 108 million euros from 123 million euros last year. Special items amounting to 57 million euros (Q2 2015: EUR 2 million) were mainly related to the decision to close around 20 freestanding retail stores globally over the next 18 months.



In the second quarter, HUGO BOSS sales were down by 1% in currency-adjusted terms. In euro terms, the Group recorded a 4% drop to 622 million euros from last year's 647 million euros, due to negative currency effects. With a currency-adjusted 7% increase in sales, Europe performed very well. However, this was also attributable to a different timing of wholesale deliveries. In Great Britain, currency-adjusted sales even rose by a double-digit rate.



The Company has adjusted its sales forecast based on its performance in the first half of the year and the planned expansion of measures to improve distribution in the United States. The Managing Board now expects currency-adjusted sales to either remain stable or decline by up to 3% in the full year. Sales are projected to decrease in the Americas and Asia. On the other hand, Europe, the Group's largest region, should continue to grow. Sales in the Group's own retail business will be supported by the expansion of the store network and takeovers, while comp store sales are expected to be down. However, the full year decline should not exceed the level recorded in the first half of the year, when comp store sales fell by 7%.



Wholesale sales are expected to contract by up to 10%. This is largely due to an even stronger focus on high-quality and sustained profitable formats in the U.S. wholesale business compared to original plans.



The Company now expects operating profit (EBITDA before special items) to decline between 17% and 23% in the full year.



As a result of the drop in earnings, free cash flow will also be slightly down in 2016 compared to the prior year.



Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX

Kostenloser Wertpapierhandel auf Smartbroker.de
JONA (dpa-AFX) - LafargeHolcim (HCMLY.PK, HCMLF.PK) reported second-quarter net income to shareholders of 400 million Swiss francs compared to 263 million francs, prior year. Earnings per share from continuing operations was 0.64 francs compared to 0.74 francs. Adjusted operating EBITDA was 1.7 billion Swiss francs, up 6% on a like-for-like basis on the quarter. Adjusted Operating EBITDA margin improved to 23.4%, up from 21.3% in the prior year period. Second-quarter net sales were 7.28 billion Swiss francs, 2.1% lower on a like-for-like basis. Globally, cement sales volumes were down 3% year-on-year on a like-for-like basis. Eric Olsen, CEO of LafargeHolcim said: 'Our focus on pricing and synergies is delivering visible earnings momentum, driving a 210 basis points year-on-year improvement in operating margins and a 6% increase in like for like Adjusted Operating EBITDA in Q2. Without the effect of Nigeria, where our plants were affected by gas shortages, adjusted operating EBITDA would have increased by 13% in the quarter. we have exceeded our CHF 3.5 billion commitment for the whole of 2016 in a little over seven months. We are extending the program to CHF 5 billion. We expect to complete the remainder of this by the end of 2017' The company said 2016 will be a year of progress towards its 2018 targets. LafargeHolcim said its full year expectations remain unchanged. For 2016, the company expects at least a high single digit like for like increase in adjusted operating EBITDA. 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.
During July 2016 AB Klaipedos Nafta (hereinafter - the Company) reloaded 552 thousand tons of petroleum products into its storage tanks of Klaipeda oil terminal and Subacius fuel base (SFB), i.e. grater by 0.5 per cent compared to July 2015, when 549 thousand tons were reloaded.During January - July of 2016 the Company in total reloaded 4,977 thousand tons of petroleum products into its storage tanks or greater by 28.3 per cent compared to the same period of 2015 when 3,879 thousand tons were reloaded. The transhipment growth is mainly affected by the increased petroleum products freights from Byelorussia and increased transhipment volumes of AB ORLEN Lietuva.During July 2016 in the Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) Terminal of the Company 1,012 thousand MWh of the natural gas were re-gasified and supplied to the natural gas transmission system, i.e. grater by 3.1 times compared to July 2015, when 326 thousand MWh where re-gasified. During seven months of 2016 the Company totally re-gasified 10,220thousand MWh of the natural gas, i.e. grater 3.4 times compared to the same period of 2015 when 2,966 thousand MWh natural gas was re-gasified.The preliminary sales revenues during January - July of 2016 of the Company's oil terminal and SFB comprise EUR 25.7 million and are greater by 4.2 per cent compared to the same period of 2015 (EUR 24.6 million). The sales revenue of AB Klaipedos Nafta oil terminal and SFB for the July 2016 comprise EUR 2.5 million that is less by 19.4 per cent compared to the revenue of July 2015 (Eur 3.1 million).The preliminary sales revenues of the Company's LNG Terminal for July 2016 comprise EUR 5.5 million (July 2015 - EUR 5.4 million, increase by 1.9 per cent), which consist of the liquefaction and regasification activity revenues for the period calculated based on the tariffs approved by the National Control Commission for Energy control and prices. The preliminary revenue of the LNG terminal for the seven months of 2016 comprise EUR 39.6 million and are grater by 4.8 per cent compared to the same period 2015 (EUR 37.8 million).Total preliminary sales revenues of the Company for the first seven months of 2016 comprise EUR 65.3 million, i.e. 4.6 per cent grater compared to same period of 2015 (EUR 62.4 million).Petroleum products transshipment and LNG re-gasification:July January - July -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2016 2015 Change, 2016 2015 Change, % % -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Petroleum products transshipment, 552 549 0.5% 4,977 3,879 28.3% thousand tons -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- LNG re-gasification, thousand MWh 1,012 326 210.4% 10,220 2,966 244.6% --------------------------------------------------------------------------------Preliminary revenues of the Company, EUR million:July January - July ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2016 2015 Change, % 2016 2015 Change, % ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Klaipeda oil terminal activity 2.3 2.9 -20.7% 24.1 23.3 3.4% ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Subacius fuel base activity 0.2 0.2 0.0% 1.6 1.3 23.1% ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- LNG terminal activity 5.5 5.4 1.9% 39.6 37.8 4.8% ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Total: 8.0 8.5 -5.9% 65.3 62.4 4.6% ----------------------------------------------------------------------------Marius Pulkauninkas, Director of Finance and Administration Department, tel. 8 46 391763


NB Private Equity Partners Limited (the 'Company') announces that it held its Annual General Meeting at Lefebvre Place, Lefebvre Street, St Peter Port, Guernsey on 4 August 2016 and confirms that the following resolutions were unanimously passed as ordinary resolutions by the Company's sole Class B Ordinary shareholder voting in respect of its holding of 10,000 Class B Ordinary shares (representing 100% of those shareholders eligible to vote under the articles of incorporation):-



1. To receive and adopt the Audited Financial Statements, the Directors' report, and the Auditors' report for the year ended 31(st) December 2015.



2. To approve the Directors' remuneration for the year ended 31(st) December 2015.



3. To re-appoint John Falla as a Director of the Company, retiring in accordance with Article 26.2 of the Company's Articles of Incorporation.



4. To re-appoint Peter Von Lehe as a Director of the Company, retiring in accordance with Article 26.2 of the Company's Articles of Incorporation.



5. To re-appoint KPMG Channel Islands Limited, who have indicated their willingness to continue in office, as Auditors of the Company and to hold office until the next Annual General Meeting.



6. To authorise the Directors to determine KPMG Channel Islands Limited's remuneration.



7. THAT the Company be authorised in accordance with section 315 of the Companies (Guernsey) Law, 2008 (the 'Companies Law'), to make market purchases (within the meaning of section 316 of the Companies Law) of its own Class A Shares, provided that: a. the maximum number of Class A Shares authorised to be purchased shall be 7,313,705 Class A shares (being 14.99 per cent. of the Class A Shares in issue (excluding Class A Shares held in treasury) as at the date of this Notice of AGM); b. the minimum price which may be paid for a Class A Share is US$0.01; c. the maximum price which may be paid for a Class A Share is an amount equal to the higher of (a) 5 per cent. above the average market value of the Class A Shares on the regulated market where the repurchase is carried out for the five business days before the purchase is made and (b) the higher of (i) the price of the last independent trade and (ii) the highest current independent bid price, in each case on the regulated market where the purchase is carried out; d. such authority shall expire at the annual general meeting of the Company in 2017 unless such authority is varied, revoked or renewed prior to such date by an ordinary resolution of the Company; and e. the Company may make a contract to purchase Class A Shares under such authority prior to its expiry which will or may be executed wholly or partly after its expiration and the Company may make a purchase of Shares pursuant to any such contract.



8. THAT the Company be and is hereby authorised, in accordance with and to the fullest extent permitted by the Companies (Guernsey) Law, 2008, to hold any Class A Shares purchased by it as treasury shares provided that the aggregate number of Class A Shares held as treasury shares shall not at any time exceed 10 per cent of the total number of Class A Shares in issue at that time AND THAT the Company be and is hereby authorised to cancel any Class A Shares purchased by it as treasury shares.



9. To extend the power of the Board to issue Shares, under Article 4.12 of the Articles of Incorporation, for a further five years.



For further information, please contact:



Sonja Woods +44 1481 716000 Heritage International Fund Managers Limited (Company Secretary)



ABOUT NB PRIVATE EQUITY PARTNERS LIMITED NBPE is a closed-end private equity investment company with class A ordinary shares admitted to trading on Euronext Amsterdam and the Specialist Fund Market of the London Stock Exchange. NBPE has ZDP shares admitted to trading on the Specialist Fund Market of the London Stock Exchange and the Daily Official List of The Channel Islands Securities Exchange Authority Limited. NBPE holds a diversified portfolio of direct-yielding investments, co-investments and fund investments selected by the NB Alternatives group of Neuberger Berman, diversified across private equity asset class, geography, industry, vintage year, and sponsor.



ABOUT NEUBERGER BERMAN Neuberger Berman, founded in 1939, is a private, independent, employee-owned investment manager. The firm manages equities, fixed income, private equity and hedge fund portfolios for institutions and advisors worldwide. With offices in 18 countries, Neuberger Berman's team is more than 2,100 professionals and the company was named by Pensions & Investments as a 2013, 2014 and 2015 Best Place to Work in Money Management. Tenured, stable and long-term in focus, the firm fosters an investment culture of fundamental research and independent thinking. It manages $243 billion in client assets as of March 31, 2016. For more information, please visit our website at www.nb.com.



This press release appears as a matter of record only and does not constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to purchase any security.



NBPE is established as a closed-end investment company domiciled in Guernsey. NBPE has received the necessary consent of the Guernsey Financial Services Commission and the States of Guernsey Policy Council. NBPE is registered with the Dutch Authority for the Financial Markets as a collective investment scheme which may offer participations in The Netherlands pursuant to article 2:66 of the Financial Markets Supervision Act (Wet op het financial toezicht). All investments are subject to risk. Past performance is no guarantee of future returns. The value of investments may fluctuate. Results achieved in the past are no guarantee of future results. This document is not intended to constitute legal, tax or accounting advice or investment recommendations. Prospective investors are advised to seek expert legal, financial, tax and other professional advice before making any investment decision. Statements contained in this document that are not historical facts are based on current expectations, estimates, projections, opinions and beliefs of NBPE's investment manager. Such statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors, and undue reliance should not be placed thereon. Additionally, this document contains 'forward-looking statements.' Actual events or results or the actual performance of NBPE may differ materially from those reflected or contemplated in such targets or forward-looking statements.



This announcement is distributed by GlobeNewswire on behalf of GlobeNewswire clients. The owner of this announcement warrants that: (i) the releases contained herein are protected by copyright and other applicable laws; and (ii) they are solely responsible for the content, accuracy and originality of the information contained therein.



Source: NB Private Equity Partners Limited via GlobeNewswire [HUG#2033337]



A0MXLBB28ZZX8R2



Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX

Kostenloser Wertpapierhandel auf Smartbroker.de
LIMASSOL, Cyprus, August 5, 2016 /PRNewswire/ --

Global, award-winning forex broker FXTM is pleased to announce that it is continuing its ongoing expansion, with the broker having received a license from the Financial Services Board (FSB) in South Africa. The license was obtained on July 5th, 2016 (FSP no.46614) and provides the company with the opportunity to expand its strategic footprint, while reaching new customers and acquiring local partners in a market of high potential.

(Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160614/378942LOGO )



Commenting on this latest acquisition, Olga Rybalkina, CEO of ForexTime Limited, said, "This latest development represents another key milestone for FXTM, and falls directly in line with our mission to expand across the globe. We continue to experience growth on a stable level with our company having developed a strong reputation for a commitment to providing excellent trading terms and a transparent service.

"Since our inception, we have steadily established ourselves as an authority in this industry and developed a reputation as a trusted broker in the Asian, European and Middle Eastern markets. South African clients, affiliates and partners can now enjoy all of the benefits and advantages of trading with FXTM, and we proudly look forward to building lasting relationships with these traders as a global broker with a local touch."

The recently obtained license from the FSB adds to what has already been a busy 2016 for FXTM, with the broker having also announced the opening of its UK branch earlier this year, shortly following the appointment of CNBC Arabia's Hussein Al Sayed as Chief Market Strategist and the face of its brand for the Middle East region.

Away from international developments, FXTM has also focused on developing its product portfolio with the introduction of the Shares Account and, most recently, the updated MT5 platform with the option of hedging.

The broker will be announcing further company developments in the upcoming future.

For more information about this latest news, please visit the FXTM website at http://fxtm.biz/2aLvWH6.

Trading Forex involves significant risk and can result in loss of your invested capital. Please read FXTM's full Risk Disclosure (http://www.forextime.com/regulatory-compliance/risk-disclosure/ ).

The FXTM Brand consists of ForexTime Limited, regulated by Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySEC)with licence no. 185/12, licensed by South Africa's FSB with FSP number 46614, and registered with the UK FCA under reference number 600475, and FT Global Limited, regulated by the International Financial Services Commission (IFSC)with licence numbers IFSC/60/345/TS and IFSC/60/345/APM.


CANBERA (dpa-AFX) - The Canadian dollar weakened against the other major currencies in the Asian session on Friday amid oil price slide, as global crude oil supply glut has put a cap on prices and as investors are cautious ahead of the release of the U.S. monthly jobs report later in the day.



Crude oil for September delivery are currently down $0.37 to $41.56 a barrel.



The Labor Department's report is expected to show an increase of about 185,000 jobs in July after employment jumped by 287,000 jobs in June. The unemployment rate is expected to edge down to 4.8 percent from 4.9 percent.



Investors remain cautious ahead of the release of Baker Hughes U.S. oil rig count figure due later in the day, which is likely to give more clues on domestic oil output.



Thursday, the Canadian dollar rose 0.35 percent against the U.S. dollar, 0.19 percent against the yen and 0.54 percent against the euro.



Meanwhile, the Canadian dollar held steady against the Australian dollar.



In the Asian trading, the Canadian dollar fell to a 2-day low of 0.9977 against the Australian dollar, from yesterday's closing value of 0.9927. The loonie may test support near the 1.00 region.



The loonie dropped to 77.57 against the yen, from an early 3-day high of 77.86. On the downside, 76.00 is seen as the next support level for the loonie.



Against the euro and the U.S. dollar, the loonie edged down to 1.4511 and 1.3035 from yesterday's closing quotes of 1.4485 and 1.3017, respectively. If the loonie extends its downtrend, it is likely to find support around 1.47 against the euro and 1.32 against the greenback.



Looking ahead, the German factory orders for June is slated for release in the pre-European session at 2:00 am ET.



U.K. Halifax house price index for July is set to be announce later in the day.



In the New York session, U.S. and Canada trade data for June and jobs data for July and Canada Ivey PMI for July are set to be published.



Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX

Kostenloser Wertpapierhandel auf Smartbroker.de




SINGAPORE, Aug. 5, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- FrieslandCampina, one of the world's biggest dairy companies, was announced the winner of 'Best Use of CSR Practices' at CMO Asia's 6th Best CSR Practices Awards 2016 ceremony held in Singapore today. This is the second consecutive win by the Company.

Photo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160805/395923

The award recognises corporate sustainability and responsibility programmes that have made a positive impact on the lives of the communities in which companies operate. FrieslandCampina's multi-stakeholder approach to its CSR programmes, combined with its aim of Creating Shared Value across the entire dairy value chain from suppliers to consumers won over the judges for demonstrating sustainability and long-term commitment and impact.

FrieslandCampina actively works with multiple stakeholders from governments to businesses and civil society through public-private partnerships and stakeholder engagement activities in all of its initiatives with the aim of addressing food and nutrition security challenges in Asia. These initiatives are driven by the Company's "Nourishing by Nature" purpose, which is to provide better nutrition for the world, and better livelihoods for farmers now and for generations to come.

In its Dairy Development Programme for instance, FrieslandCampina works with 45,000 farmers across the region, local governments, employees and non-governmental organisations to raise the productivity, quantity and quality of milk produced by smallholder farms. These have led to increased incomes and improved livelihoods for smallholders in Asia.

Commenting on the award, Mr. Piet Hilarides, Chief Operating Officer Consumer Products Asia, FrieslandCampina, said: "Working together with our partners is integral to our CSR strategy and the way we do business.

"Via multi-stakeholder partnerships, we collaborate with and align our CSR goals with that of local governments and key stakeholders. This not only enables us to achieve food and nutrition security for the region, but also ensures that our license to operate in the countries we work in is maintained long into the future."

The 6th Best CSR Practices Awards 2016 is presented by CMO Asia.



For more information, please contact:

Media Contacts FrieslandCampina Ada Wong, Head of Public Affairs and Communications, Asia T: +65-6850-7931 Email: Ada.Wong@frieslandcampina.com Spurwing Communications Emma Thompson / Stephanie Tan T: +65-9107-5559

Email: FC@spurwingcomms.com

About Royal FrieslandCampina



Every day Royal FrieslandCampina provides millions of consumers all over the world with food that is rich in valuable nutrients. With annual revenue of 11.3 billion euros, FrieslandCampina is one of the world's largest dairy companies, supplying consumer and professional products, as well as ingredients and half-finished products to manufacturers of infant & toddler nutrition, the food industry and the pharmaceutical sector around the world. FrieslandCampina has offices in 32 countries and over 22,000 employees, and its products are available in more than 100 countries. The Company is fully owned by Zuivelcooperatie FrieslandCampina U.A, with over 19,000 member dairy farmers in the Netherlands, Germany and Belgium -- making it one of the world's largest dairy cooperatives.

For more information please visit: www.frieslandcampina.com.

About FrieslandCampina Consumer Products Asia



FrieslandCampina's Consumer Products Asia business group consists of operating companies that are active in the consumer products segment in Asia. FrieslandCampina has acquired excellent positions in many countries with strong brands and a wide range of products.These activities have a long and rich history. The export of dairy from Western Europe began back in the 1920s. The range of long shelf life products has expanded significantly: from milk powder, condensed milk, infant and children's nutrition to dairy drinks, yoghurts and desserts. FrieslandCampina has operating companies in China, Indonesia, Thailand, Vietnam, Malaysia, Singapore, Hong Kong and the Philippines. In Asia we market brands that have acquired strong positions. Dutch Lady is legendary in Malaysia and Vietnam, Foremost is a leading brand in Thailand, Frisian Flag is widely known in Indonesia.








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.




NANNING, China, Aug. 5, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Nanning-Zhongguancun Mass Entrepreneurship & Innovation Demonstration Base officially put into operation on July 24 in the Hi-Tech Zone of Nanning. Earlier, the secretary of Party Committee of Guangxi Autonomous Region Peng Qinghua met with the delegation headed by deputy mayor of Beijing Sui Zhenjiang, who is also the secretary of Party Committee of Zhongguancun management committee. Chairman of the autonomous region Chen Wu, together with Sui Zhenjiang, launched the base and witnessed the signing ceremony of the first batch of settled enterprises.

It is said that Nanning-Zhongguancun Mass Entrepreneurship & Innovation Demonstration Base will strive to build itself into an innovative ecosystem which is information technology-backed, intelligent manufacturing-oriented and dominated by champion enterprises through the Mass Entrepreneurship & Innovation Base and various supportive platforms, thus pooling together capital, talents and factors of innovation on a global scope. With all these efforts, the Base will replicate and expand the success of Zhongguancun, turning Nanning into a service-driven modernized city in China-ASEAN regions.

Member of the Standing Committee of Party Committee of Guangxi Autonomous Region and secretary of Nanning Municipal Party Committee Wang Xiaodong said that Nanning will spare all efforts to build the Mass Entrepreneurship & Innovation Demonstration Base and promote the transformation of science and technology achievements into practical productivity.

According to the plan, Nanning-Zhongguancun Mass Entrepreneurship & Innovation Demonstration Base will basically become an international innovative center in the neighboring region and a comprehensive international center for R&D, talents, communications and service in order to better serve central and south, west and south as well as ASEAN regions by 2020. Meanwhile, the Base will increasingly gain influence by grouping together high-end innovative factors.

Currently, Nanning has carried out enhanced cooperation with Zhongguancun in such areas as big data, cloud computing, intelligent manufacturing, energy conservation and environmental protection, and modern agriculture. Nanning-Zhongguancun Mass Entrepreneurship & Innovation Demonstration Base has introduced in more than 12 high-tech enterprises including CEIIF, Google AdWords Experience Center (Guangxi), Smart Cloud, Guangxi JieJiaRun Agricultural Science & Technology Co. Ltd and HIT Robot Group.

Image Attachments Links: http://asianetnews.net/view-attachment?attach-id=274379










WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - The AES Corporation (AES) released a profit for second quarter that decreased compared to the same period last year. The company said its earnings declined to $160 million, or $0.17 per share. This was lower than $260 million, or $0.26 per share, in last year's second quarter. Analysts had expected the company to earn $0.16 per share, according figures compiled by Thomson Reuters. Analysts' estimates typically exclude special items. The company said revenue for the quarter fell 11.7% to $3.23 billion. This was down from $3.66 billion last year. The AES Corporation earnings at a glance: -Earnings (Q2): $160 Mln. vs. $260 Mln. last year. -Earnings Decline (Y-o-Y): -38.5% -EPS (Q2): $0.17 vs. $0.26 last year. -EPS Decline (Y-o-Y): -34.6% -Analysts Estimate: $0.16 -Revenue (Q2): $3.23 Bln vs. $3.66 Bln last year. -Revenue Change (Y-o-Y): -11.7% -Guidance : Full year EPS guidance: $0.95 - $1.05 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.




GANZI, China, Aug. 5, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- On August 4, Ganzi Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture invited global investors to visit beautiful Ganzi (sometimes spelled as Garze or Kardze). Visitors are allowed to experience the unique and exquisite culture of Ganzi in the journey through appreciatingKangba art, listeningto touching love songs, watchingGuozhuang dance performed by thousands of people, and tasting Tibetan food on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau.

The 9th Kangba Art Festival will be held in Kangding, Ganzi Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture on August 9, and the 7th China Kangding International Love Song Festival will be held in September. The Kangba Art Festival, an important platform for cultural exchanges, brings together the cultural and artistic treasures of the Kangba region, transforming Kangba culture into a cultural tourism brand that is becoming well-known in its own right worldwide. The art festival will showcase cultural artifacts and traditions including historical sites in Kangba, colorful prairie tents, the exciting Guozhuang dance where thousands of people perform in unison, yaks, tribes and Kangba culture.

Accordingtochengduvip.cn, the organization and website responsible for overseas promotion of the event, on the occasion of the 9th Kangba Art Festival and the 7th China Kangding International Love Song Festival, the Holy Ganzi Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture welcomes global investors and visitors to this unique locale in China, to show them the charming Kangba culture that combines modern and traditional beauty. Visitors will enjoy an ultimate travel experience at the last destination of the journey, Shangri-La.

Ganzi was an important region in southwest China more than 1,000 years ago, as it was a necessary stopping point along the trade route for Tibetan and Han Chinese merchants traveling between Tibet and China. Long-term exchanges between multiple ethnic groups have resulted in the development of a rich culture in the region. The tourism industry in Ganzi has grown rapidly over recent years. Looking ahead, Ganzi plans to upgrade its services and provide more transparency in its dealings, so as to attract more tourists to the region, as well as investors who are interested in investing inthis emerging market.










VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA -- (Marketwired) -- 08/05/16 -- Euromax Resources Ltd. (TSX: EOX)(OTCQX: EOXFF)("Euromax" or the "Company") is pleased to announce that the Company's common shares were qualified for trading today on the OTCQX Best Market, a top tier public market in the United States, under the symbol "EOXFF".

Euromax has recently graduated to the Toronto Stock Exchange ("TSX") and will continue to trade on the TSX under the symbol EOX.

Berns & Berns will serve as Euromax Resources' OTCQX Advisor, responsible for providing professional guidance on OTCQX requirements.

Commenting on this announcement, Steve Sharpe, President & CEO stated:

"Having recently graduated to the main board of the TSX, we felt that it was important to also be part of a US market commensurate with that, as we raise awareness of Euromax in the U.S."

US Investors can find current financial disclosure and Real-Time Level 2 quotes for the Company at www.otcmarkets.com/stock/EOXFF/quote.

About Euromax Resources Ltd.

Euromax has a major development project in Macedonia and an exploration services company in Bulgaria. We are focused on building and operating the Ilovica-Shtuka copper/gold project in Macedonia, as well profitably deploying the wealth of exploration experience within our Bulgarian Exploration Services subsidiary.

Forward-Looking Information

This news release contains statements that are forward-looking, such as those relating to results of operations and financial condition, capital spending, financing sources, commodity prices, mineral resources and property evaluation plans and programmes. Forward-looking statements are frequently characterised by words such as "plan", "expect", "project", "intend", "believe", "anticipate" and other similar words, or statements that certain events or conditions "may" or "will" occur. Forward-looking statements are based on the opinions and estimates of management at the dates the statements are made, and are subject to a variety of risks and uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual events or results to differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements. The forward-looking statements contained in this document are as of the date of this document, and are subject to change after this date. Readers are cautioned that the assumptions used in the preparation of such information, although considered reasonable at the time of preparation, may prove to be imprecise and, as such, undue reliance should not be placed on forward-looking statements. Euromax disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

For more information, please visit www.euromaxresources.com.

Contacts:

Euromax Resources Ltd.

Steve Sharpe

President & CEO

+44 (0)20 3667 2970

ssharpe@euromaxresources.co.uk




TORONTO, ONTARIO -- (Marketwired) -- 08/05/16 -- North Sea Energy Inc. ("NSE" or the "Company") (TSX VENTURE: NUK) is pleased to announce that it has been advised by Premier Oil UK Limited ("Premier"), the Operator, that the 13/25a-1 well ("The Well") which was targeting the Bagpuss prospect on the Halibut Horst in the Outer Moray Firth has reached a total depth of 1,532 feet (TVDSS) in granite basement. The Well was drilled approximately 2 km from the 1981 Amoco well in the same structure.

The Well encountered 41 feet of hydrocarbon-bearing sands within a 68 feet hydrocarbon column. This is in line with pre-drill estimates. The sands have between 25%-33% porosity and initial indications are that the oil is heavy. The Well is now being plugged and abandoned.

Premier's Director of Exploration commented:

"The Bagpuss well has successfully proven a significant volume of oil in place. We will now work with our partners to carry out a full analysis of the hydrocarbons and reservoir encountered with a view to ascertaining whether commerciality can be established."

For further information on the Bagpuss and Blofeld Prospects in our Independent Prospective Resource Assessment, please refer to the press release dated June 27, 2013 posted on www.sedar.com.

NSE's costs relating to the Well have been carried by Maersk Oil UK. The Company is also funded for 50% of its costs on a Bagpuss subsequent well, should one be drilled, subject to a cap, through its farm-in agreement with Maersk Oil UK.

The joint venture partners in the Bagpuss prospect are Maersk Oil UK (25% Working Interest (WI)), NSE through its wholly owned subsidiary North Sea Energy (UK NO2) Limited ("NSE2") (15%WI), Premier (40.1%WI, Operator), EnCounter Oil (13.27%WI) and Groliffe (6.63%WI).

About NSE:

The Company, founded in February 2007, is a UK focused oil and gas exploration and appraisal company quoted on the TSX-V. NSE, through its wholly owned subsidiary NSE2, holds two high impact opportunities in the UK North Sea. These opportunities are the Bagpuss and Blofeld prospects located in blocks 13/24c and 13/25 of the UKCS.

Forward-looking statements

Except for statements of historical fact, this news release contains certain "forward-looking information" within the meaning of applicable securities law. Forward-looking information is frequently characterized by words such as "plan", "forecast", "expect", "project", "intend", "believe", "anticipate", "estimate" and other similar words, or statements that certain events or conditions "may" or "will" occur. Although we believe that the expectations reflected in the forward-looking information are reasonable, there can be no assurance that such expectations will prove to be correct. We cannot guarantee future results, performance or achievements. Consequently, there is no representation that the actual results achieved will be the same, in whole or in part, as those set out in the forward-looking information. Forward-looking information is based on the opinions and estimates of management at the date the statements are made, and are subject to a variety of risks and uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual events or results to differ materially from those anticipated in the forward-looking information.

In particular, there can be no certainty that analysis of the hydrocarbons and reservoir will result in commerciality being established. Factors which may cause commerciality not to be established include risks and uncertainties such as analysis concluding that the hydrocarbons are not of a commercially interesting grade, logistical challenges associated with extracting in the North Sea, oil prices, access to financing (for additional risks please refer to NSE's financial statements and management discussion and analysis published on SEDAR (www.sedar.com)).

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

Contacts:

North Sea Energy Inc.

J. Craig Anderson

Chairman & CEO

416-366-4700

canderson@northseaenergy.ca

www.northseaenergy.ca




Collaboration with Mayo Clinic includes Philips digital measurement technologies to understand how the body deals with oxygen deprivation potential biomarker clues

Royal Philips (NYSE: PHG AEX: PHIA) today announced it will be among the leading organizations collaborating with the Mayo Clinic to climb Mount Kilimanjaro on a research expedition to understand how the body reacts to the rigors of high altitude and how those learnings can be applied to improving human health. Because the lack of oxygen at high altitudes mimics oxygen deprivation in the body during a cardiac event, Philips researchers hope to understand how to better detect and prevent cardiac issues. The expedition, which will last about 10 days, starts on August 7 and will be chronicled on social media through the hashtag kiliclimb2016.

Mount Kilimanjaro is the highest peak in Africa at nearly 20,000 feet and the highest free standing mountain in the world. As a leader in digital health technologies, including devices to help save a life such as automated external defibrillators (AEDs), Philips researchers hope to use the latest in app-based and digital technologies to record the vital signs of the nearly 35 participants on the climb, whose ages range from 25 to 65, to find clues as to how the body adapts to lack of oxygen.

Among the technologies being utilized are:

Contactless monitoring: In many care settings, monitoring heart rate, arterial blood oxygenation, respiration rate and activity is a standard part of patient care to detect complications or deterioration. The current method for measuring these key vital signs requires the use of sensors on the skin or devices strapped to the body. Contactless monitoring solutions will offer clinicians a way to accurately measure vital signs for patients in a non-obtrusive way, and provide them with the data needed to know when to intervene. With every heartbeat, the cardiovascular pressure wave causes tiny 'micro-blushes' (small changes in skin color) in the face. While these changes are not visible to the human eye,

Philips' contactless monitoring algorithms can calculate an accurate pulse rate by quantifying these changes.

Philips CX50 xMATRIX and Lumify ultrasound systems: Philips portable CX50 xMATRIX is designed to bring premium ultrasound capability to a variety of care settings. Philips Lumify is a smart-device, app-based ultrasound designed to help make ultrasound more accessible. Lumify operates on compatible Android smart devices equipped with Internet and email functionality. The Philips CX50 xMATRIX will be used to study heart measurements while the Lumify will be used for pulmonary measurements, both of which will help provide researchers with insight on the effects of hypoxia on human physiology.

Sleep diagnostics At high altitude1, the lack of oxygen can impact the body in a number of ways, including increased work of breathing and heart rate. The Alice NightOne wireless home sleep testing system will enable the research team to gather data on sleep quality and possible sleep disturbances from reduced oxygen content in the blood at high altitudes.

"Cardiology is one of the critical areas of focus for Philips and as such, we continue to collaborate with industry leaders like the Mayo Clinic in taking a unique approach to research, which includes climbing Mount Kilimanjaro to understand how hypoxia, or lack of oxygen at high elevations, impacts people of different age groups," said Carla Kriwet, CEO of Patient Care and Monitoring Solutions, at Philips. "Hypoxia mimics what happens to the body in a cardiac event and can give us clues as to how to better diagnose, treat and prevent these conditions. As we uncover and better understand the body's biomarkers and how the body's mechanisms acclimate to high altitudes, we can continue to develop technologies that can make a meaningful impact in the diagnosis and treatment of cardiovascular care."

For real-time updates throughout the duration of the climb, please follow kiliclimb2016 via @Philips and @PhilipsHealth. For more information on Philips advanced technologies in cardiology care, please visit: http://www.usa.philips.com/healthcare/medical-specialties/cardiology.

About Royal Philips

Royal Philips (NYSE: PHG, AEX: PHIA) is a leading health technology company focused on improving people's health and enabling better outcomes across the health continuum from healthy living and prevention, to diagnosis, treatment and home care. Philips leverages advanced technology and deep clinical and consumer insights to deliver integrated solutions. The company is a leader in diagnostic imaging, image-guided therapy, patient monitoring and health informatics, as well as in consumerhealth and home care. Headquartered in the Netherlands, Philips' health technology portfolio generated 2015 sales of EUR 16.8 billion and employs approximately 69,000 employees with sales and services in more than 100 countries. News about Philips can be found at www.philips.com/newscenter.

1 *Philips medical devices being used in this research will be subject to environmental conditions outside of their normal operating ranges and performance may vary.

View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20160805005113/en/

Contacts:

Philips Group Communications

Kathy O'Reilly, 1-978-659-2638

kathy.oreilly@philips.com

or

Philips North America

Silvie Casanova, 1-978-659-7467

silvie.casanova@philips.com
OAKVILLE, ONTARIO -- (Marketwired) -- 08/05/16 -- Editors Note: There are three photos associated with this press release.

For over a year, visitors to Sheridan, Illinois have found an exciting pirate themed destination to enjoy fun in the sun any time of year, with the incredible Pirate's Cay Indoor Water Park at Fox River, originally built by Silver Leaf Resorts. Silver Leaf chose operable roof specialist OpenAire to build an enclosure for the Pirate's Cay after the success of its OpenAire enclosure at The Villages Resort in Texas. Silver Leaf was delighted that OpenAire's retractable solution extended The Village's peak season year-round and wanted to bring this all-weather design to Fox River. Now, after offering tropical aquatic fun since late 2014, Pirate's Cay Indoor Water Park has been purchased by Holiday Inn's Orange Lake Country Club, which will continue to operate this tropical getaway for families through all four seasons, thanks to the park's soaring retractable glass enclosure designed and installed by OpenAire.

The freestanding, double-sloped enclosure includes two 24-foot-high glass sidewalls and spans 132 ft. by 148 ft., with two gable ends connecting seamlessly with the building's 24-foot-wide cupola and 93-foot-wide entrance building. The modern-styled structure's motorized panels open to the warm sunshine and breezes of summer days, but close in cold or inclement conditions, keeping the entire 20,000 square foot park in a warm, brightly lit environment in any weather.

Upon opening in 2014, Pirate's Cay became the perfect retreat for guests looking to escape the cold Illinois winter and remained a hit all through the summer months. The park kept its popularity the following year as well. Guests can walk just steps from the main park to several restaurants, an arcade, event spaces and more, making the park a fully-featured destination that stays open in any weather. Even in heavy snowfall, the inch-thick insulated glazed polycarbonate and glass keeps the palm tree-lined park and its pools at a perfect 84 degrees F (28 degrees C). In warm weather, the opened roof eliminates the need for air conditioning and dehumidification, while the glazed panels remove the need for daytime lighting, creating a substantial savings for the park's owners.

"Our work to build the enclosure for Pirate's Cay was very rewarding," says OpenAire's President and CEO Mark Albertine. "We are proud to stand behind our work and continue supporting the resort under its new leadership. It was great to see the structure in the cold winter weather soon after it opened. The glazed, gently sloped roof directed accumulated snow down to the ground and gave guests a sunny, warm, outdoor atmosphere all season. We want to make sure that Orange Lake Country Club and Holiday Inn can continue operating Pirate's Cay uninterrupted for many years to come."

Maintaining the huge, soaring structure will not be a concern for Orange Lake Country Club or the Holiday Inn. The enclosure's thermally broken, rust-proof, extruded aluminum truss system is enamel-finished and withstands chlorine and other chemicals from the park's water systems. This cutting-edge technology ensures that humidity and condensation do not harm the structure at any time. All told, Pirate's Cay Indoor Water Park has become one of Sheridan, Illinois' great attractions and is sure to offer year-round tropical fun to guests for years to come.

About OpenAire

OpenAire has been designing and manufacturing beautiful, high-quality, environmentally conscious retractable roof structures and skylights for over 25 years. We bring unique visions to life from initial design to installation, transforming buildings into sunlit spaces customers love. Our 1,000 commercial projects include Zehnder's Splash Village in Frankenmuth, MI; Restoration Hardware "RH Gallery" in Chicago, IL; Aqua Sferra Water Park (the biggest aluminum dome in the world) in Donetsk, Ukraine; Kalahari in Pocono Mountains, PA; Tropicana Water Park in Stadthagen, Germany; the Rooftop Bar at the Refinery Hotel in New York, NY; and the Palms Casino & Resort in Las Vegas, NV.

Headquartered in Oakville, Ontario, OpenAire has worked throughout Canada, the United States, Europe (the United Kingdom, Germany and France), Azerbaijan, Russia, the Republic of Georgia, the United Arab Emirates, and Ukraine. To learn more about OpenAire Inc.'s projects and capabilities, visit www.openaire.com and follow us on Twitter. For more details on this project, please e-mail sales@openaire.com.

To view the photos associated with this press release, please visit the following links:

www.marketwire.com/library/20160802-piratescayinterior1px800.jpg

www.marketwire.com/library/20160802-piratescayinterior2px800.jpg

www.marketwire.com/library/20160802-piratescayexteriorpx800.jpg

Contacts:

OpenAire

905-901-8535 or Toll Free: 1-800-267-4877

Sales@openaire.com

www.openaire.com




BEDMINSTER, NJ -- (Marketwired) -- 08/05/16 -- CorMedix Inc. (NYSE MKT: CRMD), a biopharmaceutical company focused on developing and commercializing therapeutic products for the prevention and treatment of infectious and inflammatory diseases, today reported financial results for the second quarter ended June 30, 2016 and highlighted recent business updates. The Company will host a conference call today at 9:00 a.m. Eastern Time.

Key Business and Financial Updates:

Neutrolin Phase 3 LOCK-IT 100 study in hemodialysis patients: Continue to enroll patients and engage clinical sites; overall program remains on track. Anticipated milestones include:

4Q 2016: Blinded, interim safety analysis conducted by independent data safety monitoring board (DSMB)

4Q 2016/1Q 2017: Complete enrollment

3Q 2017: Report top-line Phase 3 data

Neutrolin Phase 3 LOCK-IT 200 study in oncology patients: Oncology patients receiving IV parenteral nutrition, chemotherapy and hydration via a central venous catheter.

4Q 2016: Anticipate meeting with the FDA to finalize the protocol

Medical Affairs and Pipeline Development:

Presented and published peer-reviewed pharmacoeconomic data demonstrating the clinical and economic need for products like Neutrolin that can prevent catheter-related bloodstream infections at the International Society for Pharmacoeconomics and Outcomes Research (ISPOR) 21st Annual International Meeting and in the Journal of Critical Care

Commenced feasibility testing with NanoProteagen of a novel combination therapy consisting of NanoProteagen's proprietary nanoparticle technology, NanoPro, in combination with CRMD-005 for pediatric oncology patients with neuroblastoma

Financial: Ended the second quarter of 2016 with $28.6 million in cash and short-term investments as of June 30, 2016, vs $30.2 million at March 31, 2016; Net cash burn in the second quarter was $1.6 million -- see selected financial results below.

"Neutrolin has the potential to be a game changer for the prevention of life-threatening catheter-related bloodstream infections in patients with implanted central venous catheters," said Randy Milby, CorMedix CEO. "Reducing infection rates is a major priority for hospitals and dialysis centers because of the impact infections have on patients as their health is already compromised and cannot risk additional complications. In addition, there is a tremendous health-economic burden of longer hospital stays and other associated complications. By reducing infections, Neutrolin is designed to protect both patients and hospitals from catheter-related infections."

"Executing on our Neutrolin Phase 3 program, as designed with input from the FDA, is our top priority," continued Mr. Milby. "LOCK-IT-100 in hemodialysis patients is the first of our two Phase 3 clinical studies to support filing for Neutrolin marketing approval. We remain on track with this study and anticipate the DSMB will conduct a safety review in 2016, and with continued progress, we anticipate reporting top-line data in the third quarter of 2017. We are planning to conduct the second Neutrolin Phase 3 trial, called LOCK-IT-200, in oncology patients receiving IV parenteral nutrition, chemotherapy and hydration via a central venous catheter. We continue our discussions with the FDA to finalize the protocol, at which point we will have achieved an important milestone in our pathway to potential Neutrolin approval."

Select Financial Results for the Second Quarter and Six Months Ended June 30, 2016

The Company reported a net loss of $4,887,000, or $0.13 per share in the second quarter of 2016 compared to a net loss of $4,135,000, or $0.13 per share in the second quarter of 2015, an increase of $752,000. For the six months ended June 30, 2016, the Company reported an operating loss of $9,118,000 compared to an operating loss of $9,633,000 for the same period last year, a decrease of $515,000. The loss in 2016 is primarily associated with activities to conduct and manage the Neutrolin Phase 3 clinical program.

The Company had $28.6 million in cash and short-term investments as of June 30, 2016, compared to $30.2 million as of March 31, 2016, a net reduction of $1.6 million. For the second quarter of 2016 the Company used $3.8 million to fund operations, primarily focused to fund activities that support the Neutrolin Phase 3 program. The cash used to fund operations was partially offset by financing activities of $2.2 million from the issuance of 736,746 shares under our ATM program, which resulted in net proceeds of $1.9 million and from the exercise of 400,000 shares related to stock options, which resulted in net proceeds of $300,000. There is approximately $8.4 million remaining under our ATM program as of June 30, 2016.

The Company had 37.3 million, 36.1 million and 36 million shares of common stock outstanding as of June 30, 2016, March 31, 2016 and December 31, 2015, respectively.

Mr. Milby concluded, "Our goal is to execute successfully on our Neutrolin Phase 3 program in order to announce the LOCK-IT 100 top-line data in the third quarter of 2017. Financially, we believe we are executing a strategy in a prudent and conscientious manner to maximize value for our shareholders upon potential Phase 3 clinical success."

Readers are referred to, and encouraged to read in its entirety, the Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended June 30, 2016, filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, which includes updates on the Neutrolin Phase 3 clinical program as well as the Company's business plans and operations, financial condition and results of operations.

Conference Call Information:

Please call five minutes before the conference call is scheduled to begin.

Dial-In (Toll Free) 877-407-9210

International Dial-In 201-689-8049

A replay of the teleconference will be available until August 12, 2016, 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time

Replay Number: 877-481-4010

Replay International: 919-882-2331

Conference ID: 10068

About CorMedix Inc.

CorMedix Inc. is a biopharmaceutical company focused on developing and commercializing therapeutic products for the prevention and treatment of infectious and inflammatory disease. The Company is focused on developing its lead product Neutrolin, a novel, non-antibiotic antimicrobial solution designed to prevent costly and dangerous bloodstream infections associated with the use of central venous catheters. Such infections cost the U.S. healthcare system approximately $6 billion annually and contribute significantly to increased morbidity and mortality. Neutrolin is currently in a Phase 3 clinical study in patients undergoing chronic hemodialysis via a central venous catheter. The company is planning to conduct its second Phase 3 study in patients with cancer receiving IV parenteral nutrition, chemotherapy and hydration via a chronic central venous catheter, subject to sufficient resources. If successful, the two pivotal studies may be submitted to the FDA for potential approval for both patient populations. Neutrolin has FDA Fast Track status and is designated as a Qualified Infectious Disease Product, contributing to potentially accelerated FDA review and up to 10 years of market exclusivity upon potential U.S. approval. It is already a CE Marked product in Europe and other territories. CorMedix is also seeking to unlock additional value for its taurolidine-based technology by establishing collaborative partnerships in oncology and medical device applications. For more information visit: www.cormedix.com.

For Investors & Media:

Tiberend Strategic Advisors, Inc.

Joshua Drumm, Ph.D.: jdrumm@tiberend.com; (212) 375-2664

Janine McCargo: jmccargo@tiberend.com; (646) 604-5150

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 that are subject to risks and uncertainties. All statements, other than statements of historical facts, regarding management's expectations, beliefs, goals, plans or CorMedix's prospects, future financial position, financing plans, future revenues and projected costs should be considered forward-looking. Readers are cautioned that actual results may differ materially from projections or estimates due to a variety of important factors, including: the cost, timing and results of the ongoing and planned Phase 3 trials for Neutrolin in the U.S. and the resources needed to commence and complete those trials; obtaining additional financing to support CorMedix's research and development and clinical activities and operations; obtaining regulatory approvals to conduct clinical trials and to commercialize CorMedix's product candidates, including marketing of Neutrolin in countries other than Europe; the risks associated with the launch of Neutrolin in new markets; CorMedix's ability to enter into, execute upon and maintain collaborations with third parties for its development and marketing programs; CorMedix's ability to maintain its listing on the NYSE MKT; the risks and uncertainties associated with CorMedix's ability to manage its limited cash resources; the outcome of clinical trials of CorMedix's product candidates and whether they demonstrate these candidates' safety and effectiveness; CorMedix's dependence on its collaborations and its license relationships; achieving milestones under CorMedix's collaborations; CorMedix's dependence on preclinical and clinical investigators, preclinical and clinical research organizations, manufacturers, sales and marketing organizations, and consultants; and protecting the intellectual property developed by or licensed to CorMedix. These and other risks are described in greater detail in CorMedix's filings with the SEC, copies of which are available free of charge at the SEC's website at www.sec.gov or upon request from CorMedix. CorMedix may not actually achieve the goals or plans described in its forward-looking statements, and investors should not place undue reliance on these statements. CorMedix assumes no obligation and does not intend to update these forward-looking statements, except as required by law.

CORMEDIX INC. AND SUBSIDIARY CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS AND COMPREHENSIVE LOSS (Unaudited) For the Three Months Ended For the Six Months Ended June 30, June 30, ------------------------ ------------------------ 2016 2015 2016 2015 ----------- ----------- ----------- ----------- Revenue $ 16,511 $ 119,973 $ 57,939 $ 151,237 Cost of sales (187,192) (101,798) (237,421) (119,117) ----------- ----------- ----------- ----------- Gross profit (loss) (170,681) 18,175 (179,482) 32,120 ----------- ----------- ----------- ----------- Operating Expenses: Research and development (2,772,959) (1,797,588) (4,862,551) (3,032,103) Selling, general and administrative (1,968,580) (2,355,176) (4,131,516) (5,048,279) ----------- ----------- ----------- ----------- Total operating expenses (4,741,539) (4,152,764) (8,994,067) (8,080,382) ----------- ----------- ----------- ----------- Loss from operations (4,912,220) (4,134,589) (9,173,549) (8,048,262) Interest income 29,426 8,778 61,062 9,321 Foreign exchange transaction loss (4,005) (5,597) (4,492) (6,026) Value of warrants issued in connection with backstop financing - - - (1,583,252) Interest expense (41) (3,692) (1,033) (4,550) ----------- ----------- ----------- ----------- Net loss (4,886,840) (4,135,100) (9,118,012) (9,632,769) Other comprehensive income (loss) $ (2,836) (9,078) 28,015 (6,268) ----------- ----------- ----------- ----------- Comprehensive loss (4,889,676) $(4,144,178) $(9,089,997) $(9,639,037) ----------- ----------- ----------- ----------- Net Loss Per Common Share - Basic and Diluted $ (0.13) $ (0.13) $ (0.25) $ (0.35) =========== =========== =========== =========== CORMEDIX INC. AND SUBSIDIARY CONDENSED BALANCE SHEET INFORMATION June 30, 2016 December 31, (Unaudited) 2015* -------------- -------------- Assets Cash, cash equivalents and short-term 28,611,824 35,385,804 investments $ $ Total Assets $ 31,212,838 $ 37,101,729 Total Liabilities $ 3,142,140 $ 3,090,241 Accumulated Deficit $ (103,509,607) $ (94,391,595) Total Stockholders' Equity $ 28,070,698 $ 34,011,488

*Condensed from audited financial statements.

For Investors & Media:

Tiberend Strategic Advisors, Inc.

Joshua Drumm, Ph.D.

jdrumm@tiberend.com

(212) 375-2664



Janine McCargo

jmccargo@tiberend.com

(646) 604-5150




NORTH CONWAY, NH--(Marketwired - August 05, 2016) - The Board of Directors of Northway Financial, Inc. (the "Company") (OTCQB: NWYF) has declared a semi-annual cash dividend of $0.32 per share, payable on August 22, 2016, to common stockholders of record on August 15, 2016. The payment of this dividend results in a 29% payout ratio based on net income available to common stockholders. Based on a share price of $22.25 on August 3, 2016, this semi-annual dividend, when annualized, results in a dividend yield of approximately 2.9%. The Company's common stock is available through brokers and is quoted on the OTCQB under the stock symbol "NWYF".

About Northway Financial, Inc.

Northway Financial, Inc., headquartered in North Conway, New Hampshire, is a bank holding company. Through its subsidiary bank, Northway Bank, the Company offers a broad range of financial products and services to individuals, businesses and the public sector from its 17 full-service banking offices and its loan production offices located in Bedford and Portsmouth, New Hampshire.

Forward-looking Statements

Statements included in this press release that are not historical or current fact are "forward-looking statements" made pursuant to the safe harbor provision of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, and are subject to certain risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from historical earnings and those presently anticipated or projected. Northway Financial, Inc. disclaims any obligation to subsequently revise any forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances after the date of such statements, or to reflect the occurrence of anticipated or unanticipated events or circumstances.

Contact:

Gary Laurash

Chief Financial Officer

603-326-7377


Company Announcement No. 639 Pursuant to the Danish Securities Trading Act notice is hereby given of the following transactions: Name Thomas Plenborg --------------------------------------------------- Relation Deputy Chairman of the Board --------------------------------------------------- Issuer DSV A/S --------------------------------------------------- ISIN DK0060079531 --------------------------------------------------- Nature of transaction Shares - Purchase --------------------------------------------------- Trade date 5 August 2016 --------------------------------------------------- Number of shares 5,099 --------------------------------------------------- Exercise price (DKK) 1,539,407 --------------------------------------------------- Any questions may be addressed to Flemming Ole Nielsen, Investor Relations Director, tel. +45 43 20 33 92. Yours sincerely, DSV A/S Attachment: https://cns.omxgroup.com/cds/DisclosureAttachmentServlet?messageAttachmentId=580905

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.
MIAMI, FL -- (Marketwired) -- 08/05/16 -- Ami James Brands, Inc. (OTCQB: AJBI) ("Ami James Brands" or "Company"), a licensing and brand management company with its core business rooted in the tattoo industry, is pleased to announce it will enter the temporary tattoo market. With the recent addition of Matthew Kirsh to the Company's Strategic Advisory Board and his accessory manufacturing expertise, the timing and opportunity were optimal to begin a rollout of temporary tattoos into the Ami James brands product portfolio.

Over the course of the last five years, temporary tattoos have gone from a staple of children's accessories and fashion to a mainstream and recognized canvas for adult body art. Companies like Tattly have recently pioneered the way for mainstream and corporate acceptance of temporary tattoos. Temporary tattoos gained more media attention when world renowned Christie's auction house gave collectors temporary tattoos at one of its famous auction events. Temporary tattoos have also been seen on fashion models at Vogue and Christian Louboutin events, as well as on celebs like Beyonce.

"At this point, with Matthew's backend support, we are looking at launching mass market 'decal style' tattoos by Ami James and specialty high-quality temporary tattoos that will provide a more exclusive feel. We also plan to explore more high-end and exotic options like metallic jewelry tattoos and henna based temporary tattoos," commented Ira Morris, Corporate Secretary and director of Ami James Brands. "The opportunity to develop an Ami James branded temporary tattoo product line with huge cross-demographic appeal is very exciting. With this strategy, not only can we appeal to children and parents in the multi-billion dollar children's accessory market, but we can also market temporary tattoo products to the 60 percent of North Americans who don't yet have permanent tattoos. The potential demand for Ami James branded temporary tattoos is enormous."

About Ami James Brands, Inc. (AJBI)

Ami James Brands, Inc. is a licensing and brand management company with its core business rooted in the tattoo industry. From apparel and fashion, to consolidating the fragmented tattoo industry, artist and entrepreneur Ami James is arguably the most recognizable face in the tattoo world. The Company is based in Miami, Florida, the home of the legendary "Miami Ink" tattoo studio, the Love Hate Social Club.

For additional information regarding Ami James Brands, Inc. visit www.amijamesbrands.com.

Notice Regarding Forward-Looking Statements: Certain statements in this news release may contain forward-looking information within the meaning of Rule 175 under the Securities Act of 1933 and Rule 3b-6 under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, and are subject to the safe harbor created by those rules. All statements, other than statements of fact, included in this release, including, without limitation, statements regarding potential future plans and objectives of the Company, are forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties. There can be no assurance that such statements will prove to be accurate and actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. The Company undertakes no duty to revise or update any forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances after the date of this release.

Contact:

Ami James Brands, Inc.

Investor Relations

(888) 481-5999 (Toll-free)

E-mail: ir@amijamesbrands.com

Website: www.amijamesbrands.com




SAN FRANCISCO, CA--(Marketwired - August 05, 2016) - Terraco Gold Corp.'s (TSX VENTURE: TEN) recently inked a royalty deal for Spring Valley with a private Waterton investment fund.

Included in this article is: Terraco Gold Corp.

Ben Kramer-Miller, in an article posted in MiningWEALTH, describes Terraco as a "a junior royalty company with a NSR royalty on Waterton's Spring Valley deposit." Though Kramer-Miller calls Spring Valley "a highly advanced, multimillion-ounce gold deposit in low-risk Nevada," Terraco's shares have yet to reflect the value of the Spring Valley asset. "As a result, we believe that there is a market disparity worthy of exploitation by shrewd investors," Kramer-Miller states.

As noted in an in-depth look at Terraco in an article posted by The Critical Investor, the company "made headlines with a game-changing deal based on the well-known Spring Valley gold project (next to the Rochester mine owned by Coeur Mining Inc.) in Nevada" in May, and closed the "US$19M transaction with Solidus Resources, a subsidiary of Waterton Precious Metals Fund II Cayman, LP (in short Waterton)" in June.

Continue reading this interview: Royalty Deal with Waterton Should Bolster Terraco Gold

About Streetwise Reports - The Gold Report

The Gold Report shares investment ideas for the precious, base and critical metals sector. The information provided above is for informational purposes only and is not a recommendation to buy or sell any security.

DISCLOSURE:

Terraco Gold Corp. is a billboard sponsor of Streetwise Reports. The companies mentioned in this article were not involved in any aspect of the article preparation. Streetwise Reports does not accept stock in exchange for its services. The information provided above is for informational purposes only and is not a recommendation to buy or sell any security.

The full disclosure is at the end of the published article.

Paul Guedes

Email contact


ROUND ROCK (dpa-AFX) - Network-1 Technologies, Inc. (NTIP) announced that it agreed to settle its patent litigation against Dell, Inc. pending in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Texas, Tyler Division, for infringement of Network-1's Remote Power Patent. Dell was one of sixteen original defendants named in the litigation. Under the terms of the settlement, Dell will license the Remote Power Patent for its full term which expires in March 2020, and pay a license initiation fee of $6,000,000 for past sales of its Power over Ethernet ('PoE') products and ongoing royalties based on its sales its PoE products, including those PoE products which comply with the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers ('IEEE') 802.3af and 802.3at Standards. In September 2011, the Company initiated patent litigation against sixteen data networking equipment manufacturers in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Texas, Tyler Division, for infringement of its Remote Power Patent. Network-1 previously reached settlement and license agreements with ten of the original defendants. The remaining five defendants in the lawsuit are Avaya Inc., AXIS Communications Inc., Hewlett-Packard Company, Juniper Networks, Inc., and Polycom Inc. Network-1 seeks monetary damages based upon reasonable royalties. Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX

Werbehinweise: Die Billigung des Basisprospekts durch die BaFin ist nicht als ihre Befurwortung der angebotenen Wertpapiere zu verstehen. Wir empfehlen Interessenten und potenziellen Anlegern den Basisprospekt und die Endgultigen Bedingungen zu lesen, bevor sie eine Anlageentscheidung treffen, um sich moglichst umfassend zu informieren, insbesondere uber die potenziellen Risiken und Chancen des Wertpapiers. Sie sind im Begriff, ein Produkt zu erwerben, das nicht einfach ist und schwer zu verstehen sein kann.
LONDON (dpa-AFX) - Royal Mail plc (RMG.L) noted that the Spanish competition authority, Comision Nacional de los Mercados y la Competencia (CNMC), has opened formal proceedings against GLS Spain, and other companies, for an alleged breach of the Spanish Competition Act. Royal Mail said it is fully cooperating with the CNMC in order to clarify the facts under investigation. On the basis of the alleged conduct and GLS Spain's annual turnover, Royal Mail does not expect any fine to be material. Royal Mail said, 'We continue to keep our processes under review to ensure we maintain appropriate oversight. In particular, we have completed a compliance review of the GLS Group and we are not aware of any other matter which could be the subject of any other investigation by a relevant competition law authority.' 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.
CANBERA (dpa-AFX) - The Canadian dollar extended slide against its major counterparts in early New York deals on Friday, as the Canadian economy lost jobs unexpectedly in July and trade deficit widened in June. Data from Statistics Canada showed that the economy shed 31,200 jobs in July. This contrasts with expectations for an addition of 10,000 jobs and follows a decline of 700 jobs in the previous month. The unemployment rate increased to 6.9 percent from 6.8 percent in June. The July jobless rate matched forecasts. Separate data showed that Canada's merchandise trade deficit widened to a record C$3.6 billion in June from C$3.5 billion in May. This was worser than the C$2.82 billion shortfall expected by economists. Canada's imports increased 0.8 percent to C$45.0 billion in June, while exports increased 0.6 percent to $41.4 billion. The loonie fell to 1.3194 against the greenback, its lowest since July 27. The loonie declined to a 2-day low of 1.4602 against the euro and near a 7-month low of 1.0062 against the aussie. The loonie retreated to a 2-day low of 76.98 against yen, off its early 3-day high of 77.86. If the loonie extends slide, it may find support around 1.34 against the greenback, 1.47 against the euro, 1.02 against the aussie and 76.00 against the yen. At 10:00 am ET Friday, Canada Ivey PMI for July is due. Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX

Werbehinweise: Die Billigung des Basisprospekts durch die BaFin ist nicht als ihre Befurwortung der angebotenen Wertpapiere zu verstehen. Wir empfehlen Interessenten und potenziellen Anlegern den Basisprospekt und die Endgultigen Bedingungen zu lesen, bevor sie eine Anlageentscheidung treffen, um sich moglichst umfassend zu informieren, insbesondere uber die potenziellen Risiken und Chancen des Wertpapiers. Sie sind im Begriff, ein Produkt zu erwerben, das nicht einfach ist und schwer zu verstehen sein kann.


WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - The Donald Trump Campaign has alleged that the Obama administration is engaged in a cover-up of a report that it secretly organized an airlift of $400 million worth of cash to Iran that coincided with the release of four Americans detained in Tehran in January.



The allegation doesn't take into consideration a denial by the US Government of paying any ransom to Iran for the release of American prisoners.



Stephen Miller, Senior Policy Advisor to Trump, said on Thursday, 'The Obama Administration is now engaged in a cover-up of their fly-by-night untraceable cash airlift to Iran, the world's leading state sponsor of terrorism.' President Obama's refusal to acknowledge that these funds will end up being used to subsidize terror is shameful, and Hillary Clinton's support for the President's actions are a national disgrace, he added.



Miller alleged that the Obama-Clinton foreign policy gave rise to ISIS, made Iran flush with cash, and is now admitting vast numbers of refugees and migrants into the United States from some of the most volatile regions in the world, including more than 100,000 migrants annually from the Middle East. 'They're now on track to hit their target of 10,000 Syrian refugees this year through dangerously expediting their admission (which Hillary Clinton wants to increase by 550 percent)'.



The Trump Campaign says none of this is surprising from an Administration that allowed its Secretary of State to threaten the country with a private email server, delete her records, and lie about it to us all.



Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX

Kostenloser Wertpapierhandel auf Smartbroker.de
VALLEY COTTAGE, New York, August 5, 2016 /PRNewswire/ --

Environment pollution legislation will continue to drive the adoption of vapour recovery units, especially in developing regions. Rising awareness on reducing the impact of pollutants, combined with regulatory pressures on providing workers with safer working environments will continue to influence installation decisions. Potential economic benefits of installing vapour recovery units are expected to drive adoption; however, high initial costs can impede growth. The prevailing oil crisis in the Middle East is expected to have a ripple effect on the global vapour recovery market, with global revenues declining to US$ 471 Mn in 2016, down from US$ 481 Mn in 2015. The long-term outlook on the market remains positive, with the global market expected to increase at a moderate CAGR of 3.2% during the forecast period 2016-2026.

Request a Sample Report: http://www.futuremarketinsights.com/reports/sample/rep-gb-993

North America, the largest market for vapour recovery units, will witness further proliferation of compressor-based VRU; however, the market will continue to have a low presence of players engaged in distribution of VRU at downstream process. John Zink, AEREON and ZEECO are key players in the production and distribution of VRU at downstream process.

VRU installations will continue to increase at a steady rate in Europe. While the current oil crisis will negatively impact the market in Middle East, the market will grow moderately in the long run. Asia Pacific and Latin America will witness moderate growth, and like North America, compressor-based VRUs will witness steady demand.

Free Analysis Global Vapour Recovery Units Market by Process Type: http://www.futuremarketinsights.com/reports/vapor-recovery-units-market

VRU installations will continue to remain higher in upstream process vis-A -vis downstream process. Increasing preference for VRUs over flare gas recovery technologies will continue to impact VRU installations for upstream processes. The upstream process will continue to account for leading revenue share of the global vapour recovery unit market. By application, storage tank vents will continue to account for leading market share at upstream, whereas marine loading will remain a key application segment at downstream process. By end-use, oil & gas will remain the most attractive sector for VRU manufacturers and distributors, followed by brewery & food processing.

Request for Table of Contents: http://www.futuremarketinsights.com/toc/rep-gb-993

Key market participants covered in the report include Hy Bon/EDI, PSG Dover, AEREON, Petrogas Systems, John Zink Company, LLC, Cimarron Energy Inc.,Wintek Corporation, Accel Compression Inc., Whirlwind Methane Recovery Systems, LLC.

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WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - While the deep unpopularity of both Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton suggests that third-party candidates could make some headway in the upcoming presidential election, the results of a new Gallup poll show that the candidates currently remain largely unknown. The poll found that a majority of Americans have no opinion of Libertarian Party presidential candidate Gary Johnson or Green Party presidential candidate Jill Stein. Sixty-three percent of Americans said they have no opinion of Johnson, while 19 percent view the former New Mexico Governor favorably and 18 percent view him unfavorably. Stein is even less well known, as 68 percent of Americans have no opinion of the physician and activist. Just thirteen percent view Stein favorably, and 18 percent view her unfavorably. While Libertarian and Green Party candidates typically receive 1 percent or less of the vote, Gallup Poll Managing Editor Jeffrey Jones said Americans may be searching for an alternative to Trump and Clinton. Jones pointed out that recent polls show Johnson averaging about 7 percent of the vote and Stein 3 percent, although he noted early polls often greatly overstate the support third-party candidates receive on Election Day. The poll showed that Johnson and Stein are better known than many former minor-party candidates, although they are not nearly as well-known as other third-party candidates such as Ross Perot or Ralph Nader. 'As long as they remain lesser-known, the record indicates Johnson and Stein will not be significant factors in the 2016 election,' Jones said. He added, 'At most, they have the potential to peel enough support from one of the major-party candidates to swing a close election or possibly alter the outcome in a few states.' The Gallup survey of 1,023 adults was conducted July 13th through 17th and has a margin of error of plus or minus 4 percentage points. (Photos: Gage Skidmore) 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.
VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA -- (Marketwired) -- 08/05/16 -- A British Columbia Securities Commission (BCSC) panel has found that William Raymond Malone, a Richmond, B.C. resident, breached an order prohibiting him from acting as a director or officer of any issuer and engaging in investor relations activities.

The panel's decision states that on January 29, 2009, Malone entered into a settlement agreement with the BCSC. As part of the settlement, Malone was subject to an order prohibiting him from acting as a director or officer of any issuer and from engaging in investor relations activities before the later of January 29, 2012, or the date Malone successfully completed a course of study satisfactory to the executive director concerning the duties and responsibilities of directors and officers.

During the time period when the order was in effect, the panel found that Malone breached the order by acting as a de facto director and/or officer of Lion King Resources Inc., a private B.C. company that was in the business of promoting and developing an iron ore property in the Atacama region of Chile.

In its decision, the panel stated, "the evidence overwhelmingly supports the conclusion that Malone was acting as a de facto director or officer of Lion King during the relevant time." The panel found that Malone acted as a de facto director or officer when he organized the creation of Lion King, had signing authority over corporate bank accounts, and negotiated for and secured rights to Lion King's Chilean property, among other things.

The panel also found that Malone breached the order by conducting investor relations activities on behalf of Lion King when he solicited a B.C. resident to purchase securities in Lion King. The investor testified that Malone introduced him to the investment opportunity and even showed him samples of sand containing iron ore taken from the property. In July 2010, the investor purchased 33,333 shares of Lion King for $5,000.

The panel directed the parties to make submissions on sanctions according to the schedule set out in the findings.

You may view the findings on our website www.bcsc.bc.ca by typing William Raymond Malone or 2016 BCSECCOM 257 in the search box. Information regarding disciplinary proceedings can be found in the Enforcement section of the BCSC website.

Please visit the Canadian Securities Administrators' Disciplined List for information relating to persons and companies disciplined by provincial securities regulators, the Investment Industry Regulatory Organization of Canada (IIROC) and the Mutual Fund Dealers Association (MFDA).

About the British Columbia Securities Commission (www.bcsc.bc.ca)

The British Columbia Securities Commission is the independent provincial government agency responsible for regulating capital markets in British Columbia through the administration of the Securities Act. Our mission is to protect and promote the public interest by fostering:

-- A securities market that is fair and warrants public confidence -- A dynamic and competitive securities industry that provides investment opportunities and access to capital

Learn how to protect yourself and become a more informed investor at www.investright.org

Contacts:

Media Contact

Alison Walker

604-899-6713



Public inquiries:

604-899-6854 or 1-800-373-6393 (toll free)

inquiries@bcsc.bc.ca




Technavio has announced the top nine leading vendors in their recentglobal school furniture marketreport until 2020. To calculate the market size, the report considers the revenue generated fromseating, storage, and lab equipment.

Competitive vendor landscape

According to the report, the global school furniture market is highly fragmented with the presence of many global and regional players. Based on product differentiation and pricing, the competition among the market vendors is intense. The competition is expected to intensify further owing to increased product offerings. Meanwhile, emergence of online retailers exerting pricing pressure on the players owing to wide range of products available across price ranges. Vendors are catering to users through packaged deals. For instance, Sebel offers bundled products for both primary and secondary schools.

"Vendors are trying to innovate with designs, materials, and technologies, and are involved in promoting their products extensively to survive in the competitive market. The market is opening a wide range of options for vendors offering various kinds of products and services. Besides adaptability and flexibility, vendors are recognizing the technology penetration in classrooms and are adopting multiple hardware to manufacture the appropriate furniture models," says Jhansi Mary, lead school and college essentials analyst from Technavio.

Request sample report: http://goo.gl/Fd1MBw

Top nine school furniture market vendors

Herman Miller

Herman Miller was established in 1905 and is headquartered in Michigan, US. It provides interior furnishings for office, healthcare, educational, and residential settings. As of May 2015, the company employed 7,510 people and is supported by an operational network in the US, the UK, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Australia, Singapore, China, Hong Kong, India, and the Netherlands.

Herman Miller offers a wide range of furniture and solutions for the education industry, which includes Swoop lounge furniture, Everywhere Tables, Caper Chairs, Meridian Storage, Setu Chairs, and Thrive Portfolio. The company has taken several initiatives to increase its market presence.

In October 2015, the company inaugurated its new facility in Bengaluru, India as part of its expansion plans in Asia. With the establishment of this facility, the company aims to accomplish sales revenue of USD 60 million in the next four years.

HNI

HNI was incorporated in 1944 and is headquartered at Iowa, US. The company is a provider of office furniture and hearth products. It has its operational presence in the US, Canada, China, Hong Kong, India, and Taiwan.

The company markets its school furniture products under two brands: The HON Company and Artco-Bell. It offers a broad range of products and accessories, including chairs, desks, tables, and storage facilities.

KI

KI was founded in 1941 and is headquartered at Wisconsin, US. The company is a manufacturer of furniture and architectural wall system solutions. It serves education, healthcare, government, and corporations. It operates its manufacturing facilities and sales offices in the US, Latin America, Canada, Europe, and Asia.

KI offers a wide range of products and solutions related to the furniture market. It offers its products for administrative offices, cafeterias, classrooms, computer labs, conference rooms, lecture halls, school libraries, and training rooms.

Steelcase

Steelcase was founded in 1912 and is headquartered in Michigan, US. It is a provider of office furniture, interior architecture, and space solutions for offices, hospitals, and classrooms. It markets its products through various brands Steelcase, Coalesse, Designtex, PolyVision, and Turnstone.

Steelcase has initiated several strategies for schools, colleges, and universities to create rewarding, effective, and inspiring active learning environments and meet the evolving needs of students and educators. It markets its products through PolyVision and manufactures ceramic steel surfaces for various applications, and includes static whiteboards and chalkboards sold in the primary and secondary education markets worldwide.

Ballen Panels

Ballen Panels provides furniture solutions to different industries. The company is based in London, UK. It has products under the categories of teaching walls, classrooms, libraries, wet benches, bespoke furnishing, cloakrooms, and office suites. It offers IT furnishing facility to support technology-aided classroom. The company also provides services such as consulting, designing, and project management.

EDUMAX

EDUMAX supplies furniture to multiple industries. The company was formed in 1963 and is headquartered in Doha, Qatar. It offers a wide range of products that includes school uniform, stationery items, and hardware such as IWB. It provides a suite of products such as classroom furniture, writing board and accessories, library furniture, computer tables, and laboratory furniture in the global schools furniture market.

Fleetwood Group

Fleetwood Group deals with the manufacturing of electronics and furniture. The company was incorporated in 1955 and is headquartered in Michigan, US. It offers furniture solutions for the education industry such as learning wall, library, science, computer lab, mobile cabinets, and tables. It has a strong presence in the domestic market with offices across the US. It offers customization services to its customers by working closely with architects and schools.

Hertz Furniture

Hertz Furniture is a manufacturer of school and office furniture. The company is headquartered in New Jersey, US. It offers a wide variety of products ranging from boards, bookcases, and chairs to library furniture. It caters to various industries such as healthcare, education, and corporate. It provides services in the areas of logistics, project planning, designing, delivery, and installation.

Knoll

Knoll designs and manufactures furniture, textiles, and fine leathers for office, school, and home. The company was founded in 1938 and is based in Pennsylvania, US. It has a wide geographical presence in Europe, the US, and Canada. It serves its customers through independent retailers, direct sales representatives, and independent dealers. It markets its furniture products by categories, rooms, and designers. It provides customers seating, tables, ergonomic desk and chairs, kids' furniture, and accessories in the school furniture market.

Browse Related Reports:

Global Office Furniture Market 2016-2020

Global Furniture Logistics Market 2016-2020

Global Furniture Wood Coatings Market 2015-2019

Do you need a report on a market in a specific geographical cluster or country but can't find what you're looking for? Don't worry, Technavio also takes client requests. Please contact enquiry@technavio.com with your requirements and our analysts will be happy to create a customized report just for you.

About Technavio

Technavio is a leading global technology research and advisory company. The company develops over 2000 pieces of research every year, covering more than 500 technologies across 80 countries. Technavio has about 300 analysts globally who specialize in customized consulting and business research assignments across the latest leading edge technologies.

Technavio analysts employ primary as well as secondary research techniques to ascertain the size and vendor landscape in a range of markets. Analysts obtain information using a combination of bottom-up and top-down approaches, besides using in-house market modeling tools and proprietary databases. They corroborate this data with the data obtained from various market participants and stakeholders across the value chain, including vendors, service providers, distributors, re-sellers, and end-users.

If you are interested in more information, please contact our media team at media@technavio.com.

View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20160805005010/en/

Contacts:

Technavio Research

Jesse Maida

Media Marketing Executive

US: +1 630 333 9501

UK: +44 208 123 1770

www.technavio.com
MOSCOW, August 5, 2016 /PRNewswire/ --

/OFF HOLD OFF HOLD OFF HOLD -- Mobile TeleSystems (MTS), PIV817710 The following release: "MTS Announces Sale of Shares in UMS LLC in Uzbekistan" is now OFF HOLD. Distribution time: 5 Aug 2016 16:00 GMT

PJSC MTS (NYSE: MBT, MOEX: MTSS), the leading telecommunications provider in Russia, announcedtoday that it has sold its 50.01% stake in the telecommunications operator Universal Mobile Systems (UMS) to the State Unitary Enterprise Centre of Radio Communication, Radio Broadcasting and Television of The Ministry of Development of Information Technologies and Communications of the Republic of Uzbekistan.

(Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20121115/AQ14468LOGO )



"Due to a variety of business reasons and other circumstances, MTS decided to sell its stake in the joint venture UMS LLC," said MTS vice president, and director of the Foreign Subsidiaries business unit, Andrei Smelkov.

Due to the sale of its stake in UMS, MTS expects to record a write-off in respect of assets of approximately RUB 3 bln in Q3 2016. The precise amount of the write-off will be specified afterwards.

On September 23, 2014, MTS received 50.01% of the share capital of UMS at no cost. The remaining 49.99% of UMS was owned by the State Unitary Enterprise Centre of Radio Communication, Radio Broadcasting and Television of The Ministry of Development of Information Technologies and Communications of the Republic of Uzbekistan[1]. The mobile communications network began commercial operations on December 1, 2014.

* * *

For further information, please contact in Moscow:



Joshua B. Tulgan

Director, Department of Corporate Finance and Investor Relations

Mobile TeleSystems PJSC

Tel: +7 495 223 2025

E-mail: ir@mts.ru





Learn more about MTS. Visit the official blog of the Investor Relations Department at http://www.mtsgsm.com/blog/



* * *

Mobile TeleSystems PJSC ("MTS" - NYSE:MBT; MOEX:MTSS) is the leading telecommunications group in Russia, Central and Eastern Europe. We provide wireless Internet access and fixed voice, broadband and pay-TV to over 100 million customers who value high quality of service at a competitive price. Our wireless and fixed-line networks deliver best-in-class speeds and coverage throughout Russia, Ukraine, Armenia, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and Belarus. To keep pace with evolving customer demand, we continue to grow through innovative products, investments in our market-leading retail platform, mobile payment services, e-commerce and IT solutions. For more information, please visit: http://www.mtsgsm.com.



* * *



Some of the information in this press release may contain projections or other forward-looking statements regarding future events or the future financial performance of MTS, as defined in the safe harbor provisions of the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. You can identify forward looking statements by terms such as "expect," "believe," "anticipate," "estimate," "intend," "will," "could," "may" or "might," and the negative of such terms or other similar expressions. We wish to caution you that these statements are only predictions and that actual events or results may differ materially. We do not undertake or intend to update these statements to reflect events and circumstances occurring after the date hereof or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events. We refer you to the documents MTS files from time to time with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, specifically the Company's most recent Form 20-F. These documents contain and identify important factors, including those contained in the section captioned "Risk Factors" that could cause the actual results to differ materially from those contained in our projections or forward-looking statements, including, among others, the severity and duration of current economic and financial conditions, including volatility in interest and exchange rates, commodity and equity prices and the value of financial assets; the impact of Russian, U.S. and other foreign government programs to restore liquidity and stimulate national and global economies, our ability to maintain our current credit rating and the impact on our funding costs and competitive position if we do not do so, strategic actions, including acquisitions and dispositions and our success in integrating acquired businesses, potential fluctuations in quarterly results, our competitive environment, dependence on new service development and tariff structures, rapid technological and market change, acquisition strategy, risks associated with telecommunications infrastructure, governmental regulation of the telecommunications industries and other risks associated with operating in Russia and the CIS, volatility of stock price, financial risk management and future growth subject to risks.



* * *



--------------------------------------------------

[1] Subsequently renamed as The Ministry of Development of Information Technologies and Communications of the Republic of Uzbekistan
BRIDGEWATER, NOVA SCOTIA -- (Marketwired) -- 08/05/16 -- Silver Spruce Resources Inc. (TSX VENTURE: SSE)(FRANKFURT: S6Q), due to an oversubscription, announces an increase in the number of units available in its non brokered private placement announced on July 13, 2016 of an additional 770,000 units. The total number of units to be available will now be 8,462,308 (the "Units") in the capital of the Company at a price of $0.065 cents per Unit for total proceeds of up to CDN $550,050. The placement has an expected closing date of August 12, 2016. Each unit will consist of one (1) common share in the capital of Silver Spruce and one share purchase warrant. Each warrant will entitle the holder to purchase one additional common share of Silver Spruce (a "Warrant Share") for ten cents ($0.10) at any time prior to the date which is twenty four months (2 years) from a particular Closing Date, at which time the Warrants will expire. All units acquired pursuant to the private placement, and shares which may be acquired upon the exercise of the warrants, are subject to a four (4) month hold period in accordance with applicable securities legislation.

The gross proceeds of the financing shall be used for 1st stage drilling on specific targets on the Pino de Plata Project in Mexico and for working capital. The Company will pay all reasonable expenses and fees incurred in connection with the Offering and Agents will be paid a negotiated cash fee as a percentage of the gross proceeds raised in the Offering. These financing, terms, and finder's fees are subject to TSX Venture Exchange approval.

About Silver Spruce Resources Inc.

Silver Spruce Resources Inc is a, well positioned, Canadian junior exploration company pursuing development of the Pino de Plata epithermal silver/ base metal/ gold project located in the prolific Sierra Madre Occidental region of Western Chihuahua State in Mexico. The company has recently completed an exploration assessment on the property. Silver Spruce also retains a portfolio of uranium and rare earth element properties in Labrador.

Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. The company seeks Safe Harbour.

Contacts:

Silver Spruce Resources Inc.

Gordon Barnhill

CFO and Director

902 527-5700

902 527-5711 (FAX)




Public funding for Carlisles redevelopment plans at the former IAC/Masland site continues to add up, as the U.S. Department of Transportation formally presented a $5 million TIGER grant to the project this month.

TIGER  short for Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery  is a federal funding stream established in 2009 as part of the post-recession economic stimulus.

This was one of the projects that really impressed us, said U.S. Deputy Transportation Secretary Victor Mendez, who attended Thursdays groundbreaking. As we move into the 21st century, these are the projects were looking for.

TIGER funds are a two-fold stimulus. The money goes toward infrastructure that improves transit access and makes it more feasible for businesses to re-invest in underused areas. The employment boost created by the construction work itself also helps to pump the local economy.

In Carlisle, the TIGER grant will be used to widen roads and improve intersections around the former IAC/Masland carpet factory, which closed in 2008 and was later demolished after a fire.

The site is now owned by Carlisle Events, host of the boroughs many car shows. The company recently unveiled plans for the site, which involves a hotel, restaurant, retail space and garage-condos to be used by show attendees.

The TIGER grant is so important because we cant do much on the site until the streets around it are improved, said Bill Miller, founder of Carlisle Events.

Miller had previously confirmed a deal with a hotel developer to put a Homewood Suites by Hilton on the site. Deals for a restaurant, and an investor for the condos, are almost there, Miller said, and will likely move along faster now that the borough has additional funding to improve the surrounding roads.

Redevelopment plan

The Borough of Carlisles urban redevelopment plan, developed closely with Carlisle Events in anticipation of the project, calls for a widening of Fairground Avenue, which runs up the west side of the site.

It also calls for reconfiguration of the complex intersection at the south point of the property, where Carlisle Springs Road intersects North Hanover Street, likely into a large traffic circle or roundabout.

Further, the borough anticipates rehabilitating B Street, which runs East-West between the IAC/Masland site and the former Carlisle Tire and Wheel site, which is itself under redevelopment as an office and housing complex.

This will create a transit and business hub through the northwest quadrant of town, an area that is one of the regions most intense pockets of poverty.

This is not just a real estate development deal, Carlisle Mayor Tim Scott said. This is fundamental change of a neighborhood.

The northwest side, Scott noted, has twice the unemployment rate of the rest of Cumberland County, half of the countys average income, and has half of its African-American residents living below the poverty line.

Critically, the work performed via TIGER funding will have a local hiring preference, putting local residents first in line for jobs. The borough has partnered with local colleges and trade schools to offer training.

This will relaunch careers and put people back to work improving their own neighborhoods, Scott said.

The $5 million in TIGER funds come on top of $1.5 million in multimodal transit grants from PennDOT, as well as roughly $4 million in environmental remediation work that was partially state-funded. The IAC/Masland site was heavily contaminated with chemical runoff from the carpet factory.

The state has offered hefty financial subsidies to landowners who want to develop so-called brownfield sites, meaning those that previously had an industrial use. Re-use of these sites is typically more expensive compared to developing virgin land, but also reaps more reward in terms of urban renewal.

When youre redeveloping former industrial sites, you have to mitigate all the environmental costs, said Scott Dunkelberger of the Pennsylvania Department of Economic and Community Development. There are very few real estate markets in Pennsylvania that are so strong that the private sector can absorb the environmental costs and still make money.

TIGER funding is extremely competitive, Mendez noted, with over $144 billion in funds requested since 2009.

The borough is also in the process of approving a Tax Increment Financing system for the project, whereby the increased property tax value incurred by the development would be used to service a bond taken out to pay for infrastructure work.

Up to $50 million in TIF financing is possible, Scott said, alongside an estimated $125 in private investment needed to complete the plans to Carlisle Events specifications.

Carlisle Events shows bring in roughly $100 million per year in revenue to local businesses, Scott said.
MAGOG, QUEBEC -- (Marketwired) -- 08/05/16 -- Department of Canadian Heritage

The Honourable Melanie Joly, Minister of Canadian Heritage, today announced $600,000 in funding for the Ville de Magog's redevelopment of Merry House, a historical residence located in the heart of Magog.

This funding, made by the Government of Canada through the Canada Cultural Spaces Fund, will enable the Ville de Magog to construct a new annex featuring a multipurpose space, as well as to purchase modern museum display equipment.

Quick Facts

-- Merry House-built in 1821 by the first permanent settler in Magog, Ralph Merry III-was handed down through the generations of the Merry family, who played an active part in the development of the town. -- Merry House is the oldest residence in Magog's urban area. It has great architectural and heritage value, and it serves as a symbol of the settlement and development of the Eastern Townships at the beginning of the 19th century. -- The planned redevelopment will enable Merry House to welcome the public and present temporary exhibitions on local history, as well as various types of cultural activities. -- With the acquisition of technological equipment, Merry House will become compliant with current professional standards and be able to give its visitors an immersive augmented reality experience.

Quotes

"The Government of Canada is pleased to help make Merry House a vital heritage and cultural site in the Eastern Townships. The work of redevelopment and the use of high-tech equipment will enable visitors to discover the history of Magog and its surroundings in a unique way."

- The Honourable Melanie Joly, Minister of Canadian Heritage

"Heritage institutions play a vital role in preserving our history and identity. Merry House, a jewel in the crown of the Eastern Township's built heritage, will be better able to welcome Canadians together and provide them with greater access to the arts and culture-two sources of inspiration and reflection."

- The Honourable Denis Paradis, Member of Parliament (Brome-Missisquoi)

"The Government of Canada's financial participation will serve as an extraordinary lever in the funding campaign that we launched a few months ago. This contribution also confirms the undeniable interest of what will become a 'citizen's memorial.' Once it gets redesigned according to a completely innovative concept, Merry House will make it possible to share the proud heritage and history of the settlement pattern, economic development and cultural practices of Magog and the region."

- Vicki-May Hamm, Mayor of Magog

Associated Links

Ville de Magog (French only)

Canada Cultural Spaces Fund

Stay Connected

Follow us on Twitter, YouTube, Facebook, Instagram and Flickr.

Contacts:

Pierre-Olivier Herbert

Press Secretary

Office of the Minister of Canadian Heritage

819-997-7788



Media Relations

Canadian Heritage

819-994-9101

1-866-569-6155

pch.media-media.pch@canada.ca




VANCOUVER, BC--(Marketwired - August 05, 2016) - TriMetals Mining Inc. (TSX: TMI) (TSX: TMI.B) (OTCQX: TMIAF) (OTCQX: TMIBF), reports the release of its unaudited condensed interim consolidated financial statements for the three and six months ended June 30, 2016 and the related management's discussion and analysis of financial position and results of operations ("MD&A"). In this press release, all amounts are expressed in U.S. dollars, unless otherwise indicated.

At June 30, 2016 the Company had $2,612,080 in cash and cash equivalents which included $1,699,747 (CDN$2.2 million) in cash received for the first tranche of a private placement that closed on July 5, 2016. Subsequent to June 30, 2016, the Company received additional CDN$2.1 million in cash for the second tranche of the private placement which closed on July 11, 2016.

On July 26, 2016 the Company announced the start of the 2016 drill program at Gold Springs (NR 16-17 dated July 26, 2016). The program, which consists of 20,000 feet of drilling (6,100 metres), is expected to cost approximately $1.3 million, and includes drilling, road and drill-pad construction, geochemistry, camp costs and environmental studies for permitting among other things.

The Company reported a net loss of $19,960,453 ($0.15 per share) during the three months ended June 30, 2016 (2015 - $2,062,047 ($0.02 per share)) and a net loss of $21,981,999 ($0.16 per share) (2015 - $1,350,031 ($0.01 per share)) during the six months ended June 30, 2016. The 2016 three-month loss includes a non-cash charge of $18,988,076 (2015 - $1,570,634) due to the significant change in the fair value of the Company's Class B shares during that period. Under International Financial Reporting Standards, the Company's Class B shares are considered to be financial instruments, not equity instruments, and classified as non-current liabilities in the Company's balance sheet. The Class B shares are measured at fair value at each period-end, which is based on the closing price of the Class B shares on the Toronto Stock Exchange ("TSX"), and changes in fair values are included in the determination of earnings/loss for the period. During Q2, 2016, the closing price of the Class B shares on the TSX increased from CDN$0.12 per Class B share at March 31, 2016 to CDN$0.33 per Class B share at June 30, 2016. This significant price increase during Q2, 2016 gave rise to the non-cash charge of $18,988,076. The non-cash charge for the six-month period ended June 30, 3016 amounted $20,490,977 (2015 - $432,557) as the closing price of the Class B shares on the TSX at December 31, 2015 was CDN$0.11 per share.

General and administrative expenses for the three-month period increased from $523,987 in 2015 to $720,145 in 2016 and for the six-month period from $1,071,341 in 2015 to $1,141,564 in 2016. Excluding the impact of share-based payments, which is a non-cash expense, and tend to fluctuate significantly between quarters in accordance with the timing of stock option grants and the Company's share price, general and administrative expenses decreased in 2016 by a factor of 18% in the six-month period and 12% in the three-month period when compared to the same periods of 2015, as the Company has continued to streamline its operations and administration in Q2.

Total exploration spending for the six months ended June 30, 2016 decreased to $565,105 from $1,100,653 incurred in the six months ended June 30, 2015. The current period costs included $466,987 incurred at Gold Springs which included costs associated with further analysis of exploration data, ongoing metallurgical testing and environmental studies for permitting. In addition, the Company expanded its Gold Springs property holdings by acquiring a 64.75 hectare Utah State mineral lease at a cost of $20,000. At Escalones, the Company incurred costs of $98,118 which mainly included land payments and supervision.

The comparative 2015 six-month costs included $872,634 incurred at Gold Springs which mainly included costs associated with updating the resource estimate and ongoing metallurgical testing to support the updated PEA. A total of $228,019 was incurred at Escalones, including a cash option payment of $100,000.

Arbitration

The oral hearing in the Company's subsidiary, South American Silver Limited's ("SASL") international arbitration against the Plurinational State of Bolivia ("Bolivia") was held in Washington, D.C., on July 11 to July 21, 2016 (NR 16-16, July 25, 2016). Pursuant to the procedural orders in place, both parties will submit post-hearing memorials, due on a date yet to be determined, after which the Tribunal will deliberate and issue a final award. It is typical for tribunals in this type of arbitration to require six to twelve months to finalize and issue a final award.

SASL seeks monetary compensation for damages in the amount of $385.7 million, which includes $307.2 million for all of its losses caused by Bolivia's breaches of the UK-Bolivia Treaty, plus $78.5 million in pre-award interest but excludes fees and costs incurred in connection with the arbitration proceeding. As an alternative, SASL had been seeking restitution of the Malku Khota project along with monetary damages for project-delay in the amount of $176.4 million, including pre-award interest, but after the second round of pleadings, SASL elected not to pursue its claim for restitution of the project itself along with the delay damages due to, among other things, the fact that restitution is rarely granted by tribunals (and even when it is, States are usually given the option of paying current fair market value in lieu of restitution), the changes in the Bolivian mining law since the expropriation impose onerous conditions on foreign investors, and Bolivia's conduct during the arbitration.

Outlook

The priorities of the Company are to (i) continue with the exploration program at Gold Springs with the intention of expanding the mineral resource and moving the project closer to production; (ii) seek an appropriate joint venture partner for the Escalones copper-gold porphyry project in Chile; (iii) continue international arbitration proceedings against Bolivia to recover full compensation based on the fair market value for the Malku Khota project; and (iv) diligently continue managing the Company's cash resources.

About TriMetals Mining Inc.

TriMetals Mining Inc. is a growth focused mineral exploration company creating value through the exploration and development of the near surface, Gold Springs gold-silver project in mining friendly Nevada and Utah in the U.S.A.

The Company's approach to business combines the team's track record of discovery and advancement of large projects, key operational and process expertise, and a focus on community relations and sustainable development. Management has extensive experience in the global exploration and mining industry.

The Company's common shares and Class B shares are listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange under the symbols "TMI" and "TMI.B" and the common shares and Class B shares also trade on the OTCQX market under the symbol "TMIAF" and "TMIBF". Additional information related to TriMetals Mining Inc. is available at www.trimetalsmining.com and on SEDAR at www.sedar.com.

Forward-looking Statements

Certain statements contained herein constitute "forward-looking statements". Forward-looking statements look into the future and provide an opinion as to the effect of certain events and trends on the business. Forward-looking statements may include words such as "expect", "seek", "continue", "typical", "will", "usually", "intention", "creating", "and similar expressions. These forward- looking statements are based on current expectations and entail various risks and uncertainties. Actual results may materially differ from expectations, if known and unknown risks or uncertainties affect our business, or if our estimates or assumptions prove inaccurate. Factors that could cause results or events to differ materially from current expectations expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements, include, but are not limited to, the outcome of the international arbitration process, including the timing and the quantum of damages to be obtained, management's expectation with regard to the final amount of costs, fees and other expenses and commitments payable in connection with the arbitration, and any inability or delay in the collection of the value of any award or settlement; and risks of the mineral exploration industry which may affect the advancement of the Gold Springs or Escalones projects, including possible variations in mineral resources or grade, recovery rates, metal prices, availability of sufficient financing to fund further required work in a timely manner and on acceptable terms, availability of equipment and qualified personnel, failure of equipment or processes to operate as anticipated, changes in project parameters as plans continue to be refined; and other risks more fully described in the Company's Annual Information Form filed and publicly available on SEDAR at www.sedar.com. The assumptions made in developing the forward-looking statements include: the ability of the Company to realize value from its investments in Bolivia; the arbitration proceeding in a customary manner and in accordance with Procedural Order No. 1 (as amended in April and June 2015 and in January 2016) and the third party funder honoring its contractual commitments, the accuracy of current resource estimates and the interpretation of drill, metallurgical testing and other exploration results; the continuing support for mining by local governments in Nevada, Utah and Chile, the availability of equipment and qualified personnel to advance the Gold Springs project; and the execution of the Company's existing plans and further exploration and development programs for the Gold Springs Project, which may change due to changes in the views of the Company or if new information arises which makes it prudent to change such plans or programs.

Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on the forward-looking statements contained in this news release. Except as required by law, the Company assumes no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events or any other reason. Unless otherwise indicated, forward-looking statements in this news release describe the Company's expectations as of August 5, 2016.

TriMetals Mining Inc. Contact:



Ralph Fitch

President & CEO

303.584.0606

ralphfitch@trimetalsmining.com



Matias Herrero

Chief Financial Officer

303.584.0606

mherrero@trimetalsmining.com
WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - American Airlines Group (AAL) Friday said it reached an interim agreement with TWU-IAM Association, the group that represents 30,000 ground workers, to provide 'significant pay increases' to its workers. The interim agreement provides average pay increases ranging from 15 to 36 percent for maintenance and related employees, 24 percent for fleet service employees, 31 percent for tower planners and 55 percent for weight and balance planners. The TWU-IAM Association is an alliance between the Transport Workers Union and the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers. 'We are pleased to reach this innovative and unprecedented agreement with the Association, which will provide immediate and significant pay increases for 30,000 of American's more than 100,000 team members,' said Robert Isom, Chief Operating Officer for American. Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX

Werbehinweise: Die Billigung des Basisprospekts durch die BaFin ist nicht als ihre Befurwortung der angebotenen Wertpapiere zu verstehen. Wir empfehlen Interessenten und potenziellen Anlegern den Basisprospekt und die Endgultigen Bedingungen zu lesen, bevor sie eine Anlageentscheidung treffen, um sich moglichst umfassend zu informieren, insbesondere uber die potenziellen Risiken und Chancen des Wertpapiers. Sie sind im Begriff, ein Produkt zu erwerben, das nicht einfach ist und schwer zu verstehen sein kann.
GATINEAU, QUEBEC -- (Marketwired) -- 08/05/16 -- On behalf of the Government of Canada and all Canadians, I offer deepest condolences to the family, friends and many admirers of Mel Hurtig.

Mr. Hurtig was a gifted author and celebrated publisher. He believed passionately in social justice, a subject that inspired many of his works as a writer.

He received several honours for his remarkable contributions to Canada, including the Golden and Diamond Jubilee Medals, as well as appointment as an Officer of the Order of Canada.

Mr. Hurtig will be remembered and honoured as a spirited defender of our country, which he loved so much. His legacy will live on in the impressive body of work that he wrote and published, including The Canadian Encyclopedia and The Junior Encyclopedia of Canada.

Stay Connected

Follow us on Twitter, YouTube, Facebook, Instagram and Flickr.

Contacts:

Pierre-Olivier Herbert

Press Secretary

Office of the Minister of Canadian Heritage

819-997-7788




VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA -- (Marketwired) -- 08/05/16 -- MX Gold Corp. (TSX VENTURE: MXL) (FRANKFURT: ODV) (OTCQX: MXLGF) (the "Company" or "MX Gold") is pleased to announce it intends to undertake a private placement financing of up to 4,000,000 units (each a "Unit") at a price of $0.25 per Unit for gross proceeds of up to $1,000,000. Each Unit will consist of one MX Gold common share and one share purchase warrant (each, a "Warrant"), and each Warrant will entitle the holder to purchase one additional share at a price of $0.75 per share for a period of three years from closing of the financing.

All securities issued in the financing will be subject to a statutory hold period expiring four months and one day after closing of the financing. Completion of the financing is subject to a number of conditions, including, without limitation, receipt of all regulatory approvals, including approval of the TSX Venture Exchange.

Proceeds of the financing are anticipated to be used towards advancing the Company's WillaMax project and for general working capital.

None of the securities issued in the financing will be registered under the United States Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the "1933 Act"), and none of them may be offered or sold in the United States absent registration or an applicable exemption from the registration requirements of the 1933 Act. This press release shall not constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy nor shall there be any sale of the securities in any state where such offer, solicitation, or sale would be unlawful.

About MX Gold

MX Gold Corp. is a junior mining company focused on the mining, exploration and development of advanced projects located in the Kootenay region of British Columbia. The Company's primary focus is its high-grade Willa gold and copper project located 12 kilometers south of Silverton, B.C. In 2015, MX Gold Corp. completed the accretive acquisition of the Willa project and the Max Molybdenum Mine and Mill Complex. This acquisition removed major costs and shortened timelines typically associated with mine project development with planned ore shipment from Willa to the Max Mill. The Willa mine is located 135 kilometers south of the Max Mill. MX Gold Corp. can also elect to reopen the Max Molybdenum mining operation once world Moly process improve.

On behalf of the Board of Directors,

Akash Patel, Vice President and Director, MX Gold Corp.

Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

Contacts:

SkanderBeg Capital Advisors

604-687-7130 Ext 104 or Ext105



Dan Omeniuk

CEO

204-697-7740

dano@trapperstransport.com



Ron Birch

250-545-0383 or Toll Free: 1-800-910-7711

604-926-4232 (FAX)

info@mxgoldcorp.com




Huuuge, Inc., a Palo Alto, California-based developer of social casino games, closed $4.6m Series B funding round.

The round was led by Woori Technology Investment with participation from Seoul Investment Partners and Kiwoom Investment.

The company intends to use the funds to further its global growth within the $3.4 billion social casino market.

Founded in 2014 and led by Anton Gauffin, CEO, Huuuge is a real-time mobile games developer, focused on social casino gaming market worldwide. Its flagship app Huuuge Casino offers a social gaming experience where players are able to interact, engage and play with other players in real-time in a free-to- play casino environment. It publishes on all major mobile gaming stores, including iOS App Store, Android Google Play and Amazon App Store.

The company also has studios in Poland.

FinSMEs

05/08/2016
Deliveroo, a London, UK-based on-demand food delivery service, raised $275m in Series E funding.

The round was led by Bridgepoint, existing investor DST Global, and General Catalyst with participation from existing investor Greenoaks Capital.

The company intends to use the new funds to expand the service in both new and existing markets, as well as invest in projects such as RooBox, a remote kitchen initiative which gives restaurants access to delivery-only kitchens in key locations, accelerating geographic expansion.

Founded in 2013 by William Shu and Greg Orlowski, Deliveroo works with over 16,000 restaurants as well as over 20,000 riders to provide food delivery experience to customers in over 84 cities across 12 countries, including Australia, Belgium, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Italy, Ireland, Netherlands, Singapore, Spain, United Arab Emirates and the United Kingdom.

The company has more than 800 employees in offices around the globe.

FinSMEs

05/08/2016
When Jason Bourne jumped off the building after being shot in the final moments of The Bourne Ultimatum, it signaled a completion of a circle for the franchise. In the first film Bourne was found underwater and was brought back to life, and in what seemed to be the final film he found his freedom by wading back into the waters. It was a perfect ending to an extremely rare franchise which kept getting better with every subsequent film.

But since the films made a lot of money it is no surprise that Bourne was pulled out of the water again by the studio for another round of action. After the middling The Bourne Legacy, the director Paul Greengrass and Matt Damon attempt to revive the magic in Jason Bourne, and largely succeed. The film is both exciting and disappointing at the same time  the former because it renders most of the thrills and the action set pieces of the original trilogy, and the latter because it doesnt really do anything more than that.

The story is proof that Hollywood wants to stick by the tried and tested formula. Jason Bourne is like a Xerox copy of the original films  Bourne is once again tortured by fragments of a traumatic memory that hes desperately trying to uncover, the CIA is trying to hunt down the man because he holds some sensitive information that might compromise their dirty secretive operations, Bourne threatens the exposure of the agencys top secret ultra soldier programs, a top honcho of the agency (Tommy Lee Jones) wants Bourne eliminated because his prestigious career is under fire because of his corrupt operations, and a super assassin from Bournes covert asset making programme is sent by the agency to kill him.

As the film progresses, it's actually quite frustrating that the filmmakers went about making something weve seen thrice before, but the action and thrills are ramped up to a familiar high so the cliches dont matter that much. Whether its nostalgia or hitting the right beats, its just very satisfying to watch Bourne punch people with mundane items and evade the CIA in a crowd. The performances are all top notch and Alicia Vikander makes a nice addition as this films version of Pamela Landy.

The real problem with Jason Bourne is not the recycled story, but the fact that it has characters that make some pretty stupid decisions. For example Bourne goes to a super hacker to decode some CIA files but the hacker leaves the internet on his laptop on, enabling the CIA to track them. The files themselves are called top secret CIA operations. The hacking exposition is poorly handled as well with dialogue like lets hack the CIA with SQL.

Contrast this to the earlier films where the movies were smarter than the audience, for the first time in the franchise this is a movie that is dumber than the audience. The shaky camera, which was a hallmark of the franchise now looks dated and frustrating as you hardly see any of the action in proper focus. Tony Gilroys The Bourne Legacy, surprisingly had ditched this style and was ultimately a more satisfying watch, at least in the action department and it also explored more of Bournes universe instead of reusing a tested formula. It just goes to show that Gilroy, and not Greengrass needed to write this film.
New Delhi: Advertising watchdog ASCI has pulled up Patanjali Ayurved, HUL, PepsiCo, Britannia, Pizza Hut, Amazon, LG Electronics, Voltas, Axis Bank, AirAsia and Flipkart, among others, for running misleading ad campaigns.

The Customer Complaints Council of Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI) received 155 complaints in May, out of which it upheld 109 cases, it said in a statement.

It upheld 10 complaints against yoga guru Baba Ramdev-promoted Patanjali Ayurved for products such as Jeera Biscuit, Kacchi Ghani mustard oil, Kesh Kanti and Dant Kanti, among others.

The advertising regulator had earlier upheld six cases against Patanjali in April and March 2016.

Patanjali Ayurved failed to substantiate its claim before the regulator regarding ads for products such as Divya Swasari Pravahi, Dant Kanti, Kesh Kanti and CCC upheld them "as misleading by exaggeration".

Queries sent to HUL and Pepsi did not elicit any response. However, Patanjali questioned the manner in which the decisions were passed and alleged that some rival MNCs are behind the move.

"They cannot pass any judgment against the non-members. There are several judgments against them (ASCI). Its order is not binding on any non-member," a company spokesperson said, adding that it is exploring legal options in this matter.

"Moreover, they do not have any expert on ayurveda and life sciences and are deciding the matter. They do not have any fact finding procedure or a laboratory and decide the case in a meeting only," he added.

ASCI also pulled up beverage major PepsiCo India for its campaign Har Bottle par Paytm Cash pakka as it was "misleading and luring the consumers to buy Pepsi bottles, with a minimum hope of getting some cash back through Paytm."

"The advertisement itself does not clarify the main condition for the offer of it being mobile number specific. Also, the disclaimers in the advertisement were not in the same language as that of the voice over," it said.

Britannia Industries' claim of "100 per cent whole wheat bread" was found "misleading by ambiguity as the whole wheat content in the product (Whole Wheat Bread) is in the range of 50 per cent to 65 per cent and other solid content in the product is coming from other sources."

Yum! Restaurants, which runs the Pizza Hut chain, was pulled up for its advertisement on 'Any Pizza Any Size @ 199 each when you buy 2 Pizzas' as "misleading by omission".

Tata Group firm Voltas' ad campaign claiming to run 'two air-conditioners at the cost of one' was found "misleading by omission of disclaimers giving reference to the comparison being made between a Voltas All Star Inverter AC and a conventional start-stop AC".

Similarly, LG Electronics' claims on 'The AC That Saves Every Day, LG - No.1 Air Conditioner' and 'Mosquito Away' were "not substantiated and are misleading", ASCI said.

Axis Bank's campaign on 'Complete business banking solutions' was found misleading as there are certain restrictions on the features offered by the bank.

It also found private carrier AirAsia's claim of 'Air Fare from Chennai to Australia available for Rs 4,999' as "false and misleading".

FMCG major Hindustan Unilever also failed to substantiate its claim made in a Sunsilk Shampoo ad ("3 months mein lambe baal"), which was held to be misleading.

Similarly, Kolkata-based FMCG firm Emami failed to substantiate its claims on Navratna Tel -- Sirf Do Minute Navratna Tel Ki Thandi Maalish, Dinbhar Ke Sardard, Tension, Thakaan Ko Jhat Se Bhagaye and 2 minute main tensionbhagaye, thakaan mithaye, sardard bhagaye, Anindra se chutkara dilaye, which were "misleading by ambiguity", ASCI said.

PepsiCo India said it had modified the ad campaign in question. "The terms and conditions of the promo were completely fair and clear; however. ASCI had recommended if we could make the offer clearer in the TV commercial.

"We acceded to their request and after the suitable modifications, put the revised TV commercial back on air," a PepsiCo India spokesperson said.
NEW DELHI State-run Steel Authority of India Ltd (SAIL) has earmarked 40 billion rupees ($600 million) for capital expenditure in the 2016/17 fiscal year and expects its annual sales to grow by more than 10 percent.

SAIL, India's biggest state-owned steel company, is trying to cut costs by producing more from its new efficient units and by adding value to its product line, Chairman Prakash Kumar Singh told Reuters in an interview.

"We're are going to cut down production from the inefficient units," Singh said.

SAIL has already closed some unproductive units such as the blast furnace at its Rourkela plant in eastern India, as it has embarked on a 600 billion rupee modernisation and expansion plan.

The company aims to produce 20 million tonnes of steel by 2018/19. Crude steel production was 14.3 mln tonnes in the year to the end of March 2016

Steel Minister Chaudhary Birender Singh last month asked SAIL to reduce costs, increase efficiency and exercise better capacity utilisation.

Margins of domestic steelmakers, including SAIL, have been hit due to a flood of cheap imports, especially from China.

The company swung into the red in its fiscal year to March 2016, posting a loss of 41.37 billion rupees, compared to a net profit of 21 billion rupees in the previous year. Its nearly 85,000 strong workforce accounted for over a fifth of its expenditure.

Sales fell 15 percent to 385 billion rupees in the last financial year.

"Downsizing may happen over a period of time but we will not take any extreme measures," Singh said.

SAIL has allowed 1,038 employees to retire on a voluntary retirement scheme, a move that will help it save 1.03 billion rupees. (bit.ly/2aXZSPp)

About 5,000-6,000 workers will retire annually for the next two to three years, Singh said.

Local steel prices, currently hovering around 26,000 rupees ($434.46) a tonne, are not sustainable, Singh said.

"If prices keep dropping, it is difficult to make profits," Singh said.

Import curbs may, however, help SAIL raise prices and recoup losses.

India has unveiled a series of measures this week to boost its steel mills and shield them cheap overseas shipment.

New Delhi this week extended a floor price on imports of 66 steel products for a further two months and government bodies recommended safeguard taxes and anti-dumping duties on imports.

($1 = 66.7488 Indian rupees)

(Reporting By Sankalp Phartiyal; Editing by Keith Weir)

This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed.
New Delhi: Congress President Sonia Gandhi on Friday described the militant attack in Assam's Kokrajhar town as "mindless and dastardly" and said the perpetrators of such acts should be dealt with in the "severest possible manner".

Condemning the militant attack on civilians at a weekly market at Balajan Tinali in Kokrajhar, Gandhi said: "The perpetrators of such acts that target innocent and unsuspecting common people shall be dealt with in the severest possible manner."

Gandhi is admitted to a private hospital here for treatment of fever and a dislocated shoulder.

Hoping that immediate relief measures were being taken, Gandhi instructed the Assam Pradesh Congress Committee and the frontal organisations of the party to reach out to the injured and bereaved with all possible assistance.

At least 13 civilians were killed on Friday when militants in military fatigues opened random fire at a busy market in Assam's Kokrajhar town.

Police said one of the raiders was also killed.
An anonymous girl student from Christ University, Bangalore, posted on her blog detailing past incidents of sexual harassment that was meted out to her by senior faculty members of the college. This anonymous blog was in solidarity with the student protest happening at the Bannerghatta campus against the "draconian dress code".

According to The News Indian Express, which had quoted from the blog, the blogger, on her very first day, had encountered harassment from a professor, who was also part of the college administration.

"He proceeded to peer at my rather fitting suit and commented that I looked smart. But, he wouldnt stop at that. He said he wished girls dressed as smart as I did in a tone that reeked of conceit, knowing fully that I wouldnt bring it up ever because he was an influential man. He was the very man who was said to have been accused of sexual harassment," she wrote in her blog.

While The News Minute reported that the blogger was again harassed by her English professor, who "flirted with me and wondered if I might be lured into watching a movie with him".

She further mentioned about the same professor who asked her male friend about the maal he managed to score among his female classmates.

Apart from the anonymous blogger, News18 also reported that a faculty member of Christ University was allegedly asked to quit after he decided to support the ongoing students protest against 'draconian' dress code, which includes a ban on growing a beard and rolling up the sleeves of a shirt.

"This is supreme injustice. If they did not want to give me the space to voice the concerns of my students, then why did they even make me the class teacher," the assistant professor of economics told News18.

Other complaints include students punished for having male friends, surprise checks at girls hostel at odd hours by authorities and a law student alleging that a teacher proposed her.
HARRISBURG  Its been nearly 19 months since Gov. Tom Wolfs inauguration.

I pledged to be a different kind of governor and I will keep that promise, Wolf said on that chilly day in January 2015.

Different, he has been. Soon after being sworn in, he was sworn at for requesting billions in new taxes and spending. He didnt get it after a protracted fight. Wolfs first budget was a record nine months late and left unsigned. It also left bitter feelings with a Republican-controlled legislature. That was different.

It was like the first day of school, Wolf said earlier this week while sitting behind his desk in his Capitol office. We were sort of eyeing each other, figuring each other out. I think thats part of what happened last year.

But then came a breakthrough. Agreement on medical marijuana, an important law passed, and good feelings began to grow.

The medical marijuana thing showed people how nice it is to get something done, Wolf said while crediting Sen. Mike Folmer, R-Lebanon, for his passion and persistence on the issue.

Legislative logjams were then broken and deals started flowing.

There was a fair funding formula for schools. Then came modernization of liquor stores.

Eighty-some years since Prohibition, this is the first time this has happened, Republican and Democratic governors, Wolf said with pride.

There was also bipartisan and broad-based recognition of the opioid epidemic and agreement from all sides that something must be done. Wolf has called for a special session and lawmakers have agreed to convene this fall.

The next big issue was a budget. There were fits and starts, but a $31.5 billion plan got done only two weeks late this year. It sent more money to schools and opioid prevention programs.

If you go by what conventional wisdom is, we shouldnt have gotten almost a billion dollars worth of recurring revenue in an election year, Wolf said, but we did and Im proud of that and Im proud of Republicans and Democrats joining together to make that happen.

Wolf repeatedly shares the credit with the legislature.

I think Ive developed and am building a working relationship with people in this building, he said.

As is always the case in Harrisburg, theres a yeah but ...

Hes gotten a few small victories, but its not the original agenda he set out to impose on the taxpayers of Pennsylvania, said Rep. Stephen Bloom, R-Carlisle. Im thankful for that because he wanted billions of dollars in new taxes and he didnt get that and hes not gonna get that.

Bloom credits legislative Republicans for reining in Wolf and protecting taxpayers. What grade would Bloom, a former Messiah College professor, give Wolf?

I wouldve literally given him a failing grade for his first year, literally a failing grade, Bloom said. I think now hed maybe get a C-minus. Hes coming to understand the system a little bit.

But Wolf is feeling good. He was the host governor for a successful Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia, which he called the thrill of his brief political career. He says hes delivered on most of what he promised during his campaign and will still try to push through a Marcellus Shale tax and minimum wage hike before his re-election campaign.

Yes, he says with certainty, he is running for re-election. He also says he feels great after treatment for prostate cancer.

As for that 18-month report card?

Im liking what Im seeing, Wolf said with a smile. As a former academic, I give myself a pretty good grade.
The valley of Kashmir is fast moving back towards 1990s when militants would attract crowds and enjoyed popular support among masses. In the past one week, armed militants have openly addressed gatherings in south Kashmir, with people fighting each other to touch them with their palms, as they would do at the Sufi shrines.

On Tuesday, two masked militants  one of them who wore a tradition Kashmiri cloak-(Phern) and was armed with weapons  addressed a huge public gathering in south Kashmir's Koimoh area.

One of the two men, according to Greater Kashmir newspaper, told the gathering to carry forward the ongoing struggle and remain resilient.

We have chosen our path and will strive till we achieve the martyrdom, one of the militant, according to Greater Kashmir, told an emotionally-charged gathering, some of whom jostled to kiss their palms. If you cannot be among us, at least dont betray us, the militant said.

According to senior police officials, since the killing of Hizbul Mujahideen (Hizb) commander Burhan Muzaffar Wani on 8 July, not a single anti-militancy operation was carried out anywhere in the Valley. The officials said the army has carried anti-infiltration operations along the LoC in Nowgam sector, around 120 km north of Srinagar, killing about four militants. Two army men were also killed during the operation.

However, in the south Kashmir region, which is hit by anti-India, pro-militant and pro-Pakistan protests, the army and the security agencies are confined to address what they call a law and order problem of highest magnitude.

Eyewitnesses said the militants, in past four days, addressed two small gatherings of people in Kulgam district of south Kashmir urging people to remain loyal to the movement. They also asked people to adhere to protest programme as charted out by a united front of the separatist Hurriyat Conference.

We dont know from where they come and suddenly disappear. Since the ongoing Kashmir unrest, people fight with each other to touch them and try to motivate them to take them along, Shariq Ahmad, a student who participated in many rallies since the beginning of the unrest and a Kulgam, told Firstpost on the phone.

The eyewitnesses also said wherever the militants appear in public youths follow them with an intention to join the militancy. Police sources say since 8 July they have reports that several youngsters have gone missing but it is not certain whether they have joined active militancy or not.

Last month, when the funeral procession of Wani was carried out in his native village of Tral the militants present in the rally reportedly gave 21-gun salute to their fallen commander. People said that around a dozen militants appeared at intervals in the Eidgah to join the funeral procession. According to those present at the venue, the scene reminded them of the 90s era when people jostled just for a glimpse of militants.

In the past few months, militants in south Kashmir have often appeared at funerals of their colleagues. In honour of their associates, they would fire bullets in the air similar to that of formal wreath-laying ceremonies conducted for formal armed forces across the globe.

Earlier this year, Jammu and Kashmir police said that out of the 143 active militants in the Valley, 89 are local and 60 are from SouthKashmir.

It is true they have appeared in many rallies, DIG south Kashmir, Ghulam Hassan Bhat told Firstpost. Bhat, said just on Thursday five hundred people marched towards the main town of Damhal-Hanjipora in Kugam district and when the police tried to stop them from entering the town, militants fired from the crowd.

Our SHO was fired upon by militants from the crowd and militants were present in the rally, and fired five bullets at his vehicle. After the firing, they managed to flee towards forests. Had the SHO retaliated and opened fire, it would have meant dozen of civilian killings, which we dont want, he said.

We would carry out operations against them at a proper place and proper time, he added. But carrying out an operation against the militants the middle of thousands of people could have disastrous results.

DIG also complained that the journalists were not confirming the reports from the concerned officials before reporting the news. Only twenty people were injured and ten treated locally but the newspapers said 120 people have been injured two days back, DIG was referring to the number of protesters injured in a clash in Kulgam district on Wednesday evening.

More than forty of our men sustained injuries in the clashes, but no one reported it. Are we not humans, he said.

Alarmed by the increasing frequency of appearances of militants during the protest marches and gatherings a conglomerate of militant organizations, Pakistan-based United Jihad Council has asked the militants to keep themselves aloof from protest rallies and political programs in the Valley.

The group headed by UJC chief Syed Salahuddin in a statement issued to Current News Service, a local news gathering agency, on Thursday said that "It was felt that militants, whose only aim to focus on Indian armed forces, should stay away from peoples protest rallies and marches."

The presence of militants among masses was unusual a few months ago. The army and government forces would carry out operations against the militants in deep forests of south Kashmir, but they seem to have overcome the threat of being getting caught or getting killed. This is an indication of how, since the death of Wani, the situation on the ground in south Kashmir has changed.

Fifty-three people have been killed and more than 4,000 injured, at least 1,000 of them have received pellet injuries and over 500 youth have been detained in Kashmir in last 27 days. As usual, the situation remains tense with curfew in most part of the Kashmir valley
Mahad: Search operations launched to trace the remains of the two buses and private vehicles

swept away in Mahad have run into adverse weather conditions coupled with high currents in the Savitri river, a senior NDRF official said.

NDRF joined other agencies including the Coastguard in relief operations soon after the tragedy struck on Tuesday night and has since then been scouring the swollen waters for vehicle remains and missing people.

"We are facing problems on three fronts. First the adverse weather conditions due to heavy rains, and then the extreme water current. Also, the water is so muddy that it has hindered the visibility to zero levels for our deep divers,"

Anupam Srivastava, a commandant of the 5th battalion told PTI. Srivastava said his team is not equipped with infra-red based technology that could help in locating objects in muddy water.

Another obstacle they have to contend with is the presence of crocodiles in the water.

"The latest obstacle is that our team jawans have spotted few crocodiles in the waters which means extra caution is needed while venturing out. But definitely these are not going to dampen our commitment," Srivastava said.

With his crew of 160 jawans, 12 deep divers and 13 boats, DIG of NDRF (South Zone) S P Selvan is personally monitoring operations on the site.

Elaborating on his team's efforts, Srivastava said, "One the first day, we lowered down a 150 kg hook as an anchor (into the river) but it could not stabilise at one place due to high currents. Then we got a 300-kg magnet from nearby MIDC but it too faced lot of resistance."

"During the process, this magnet anchor got stuck to a heavy object and we guessed that it could be the one of the buses. But the crane present on the spot could not pull it out," he said.

"Next day we got a big size crane from Mumbai which also failed to pull that substance out from the river. When we discussed this issue with the local administration, then we were informed that it could be a water pipeline which supplies potable water to nearby 14 villages. Therefore, for the time being, we have deferred our plans to pull out the magnet anchor until we get a confirmation about this," Anupam said.

He said the severity of the conditions at the rescue site could be gauged by the fact when anchors weighing 300 kg are not getting settled in the water due to the current, then how can divers go inside.

Three more bodies were today recovered from the Savitri river taking the mishap toll to 17.
Following the tragedy of the Mahad bridge collapse, the Thane Municipal Corporation on Wednesday decided to shut access to the 153-year-old British-era Kalwa bridge that runs over the Thane creek, reports The Times Of India.

As per the report, a few years back, a barge had rammed into the bridge, causing damage and weakening the structure of the old bridge. After this, heavy vehicles were not allowed on the bridge.

The bridge held great significance as it was the only link between Thane and the suburbs until the civic body built an alternative two decades ago.

Sandeep Palave, deputy commissioner of traffic said, The structural audit of the bridge was conducted in 2010, which declared that the bridge was dangerous for heavy vehicles. After this audit, there was no audit in the past six years. We had permitted only two- and three-wheelers on the bridge all these years.

reports Hindustan Times.

As per the report in Hindustan Times, Ratan Awsarmol, city engineer of Thane Municipal Corporation (TMC), contrary to Palave's claims, revealed that an audit that had been conducted a year ago, said that the bridge was weak and could not be repaired. However being a heritage site, the bridge could not be demolished, he reasoned.

The Thane Police following instructions, now ,will allow only pedestrians on the Kalwa bridge. Both light and heavy vehicles have been denied access.

Built in 1863, Kalwa bridge in Thane became a cause of concern for people, after the Mahad bridge collapse on 2 August, reports DNA.

Mahad bridge was also a British-era bridge located on Mumbai-Goa Highway, about 170 kilometres from Mumbai. The river that turned choppy due to the heavy downpour in its catchment area in Mahabaleshwar, weakened the foundations of the nearly-century-old bridge, which ultimately gave way on Tuesday night.

Devendra Fadnavis said that apart from two state-run buses, a Tavera and a Honda City car had also fallen into river after the bridge crumbled on Tuesday night. On Thursday, the Maharashtra Chief Minister announced that eight bodies had been recovered so far and 42 people were still missing.

According to the DNA report, Dayanand Nene, president of Alert Citizens Forum, concerned about the occurrence of a similar mishap, wrote to TMC and Public Works Department (PWD) and other authorities to put a complete stop on vehicular movement on Kalwa bridge.

The traffic department has asked the TMC to conduct a fresh audit of the bridge, as reported by The Times Of India.
Weeks after it was found emaciated with severe mange on a Lancaster County farm in July, Libre can now walk around the Dillsburg Veterinary Center where hes being cared for.

Libres breeder is not facing any charges. The Lancaster County SPCA ruled there was not probable cause to prove Libre was intentionally neglected.

The Lancaster County District Attorneys Office and Pennsylvania State Police are currently investigating.

Even severe animal cruelty is not a felony in Pennsylvania. A Midstate senator is hoping to change that.

High-profile cases like Libres allow us an opportunity to really take a negative situation and turn that into a positive one, said Kristen Tullo, Pennsylvania director of the Humane Society of the United States. We reached out to Sen. (Rich) Alloway to see if hed be interested in introducing legislation now that will be known as Libres Law.

Were one of three states in the whole nation that doesnt classify animal neglect, extreme neglect and abuse, as a felony, Alloway, R-Franklin, said.

Alloway is drafting Libres Law now, and it would change that. It would also clear up the definition of neglect.

The senator has two other animal cruelty bills.

Dogs are family, Alloway said. Would you chain grandma outside?

Senate Bill 373 would prohibit tethering a dog outside 24/7 or in extreme weather. It passed with a 45-to-four vote last year and has been in committee for more than a year.

Sen. Gene Yaw, R-Williamsport, voted against it.

While Sen. Yaw supported Senate Bill 373 in the Senate Judiciary Committee, he ultimately voted no on final passage after speaking with individuals that reside in his Senate district who train dogs for dog sledding, according to a statement sent from Yaws office. These dogs are specifically bred for performance, custom-made for the rigors of racing and hauling. SB 373 would have, in essence, prevented them from operating their business altogether. We are working with our state representatives to ensure that this issue is addressed before final passage in the House of Representatives.

Alloway, however, is confident the bill will pass.

Senate Bill 78 denies kennel licenses to the immediate family of those whove had theirs revoked. That passed unanimously in the Pennsylvania Senate.

Alloway hopes his animal-welfare bills sent a strong message to the state.

The message is that in todays civilized society, theres no tolerance, and theres no room for this kind of neglect and abuse, Alloway said.

Libre is known as the bug-eyed miracle. His adoptive mother Janine Guido is hoping for more miracles in the state.

Libres Law, setting harsher punishments for other Libres out there, thats really, really cool. Fingers crossed and paws crossed that it passes, Guido said.

Although this is a happy ending, there are thousand of other Libres out there that dont have this happy of an ending, and thats the purpose behind this law, Alloway said.

Alloway hopes to introduce Libres Law in early September. It would need to pass in both chambers by the end of November.
Raigad: Maharashtra Housing Minister Prakash Mehta on Friday denied clicking a selfie near a bridge that collapsed in the flood in Savitri river even as he came under fire on Thursday for misbehaving with media persons when they questioned him on the matter, reported NDTV.

Mehta -- the guardian minister of Raigad district -- was seen cliking a selfie when Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and opposition Leader Radhakrishna Vikhe-Patil visit the tragedy site on Wednesday afternoon.

When some media persons questioned him on the matter and also the fact that he reportedly learnt of the tragedy after nearly nine hours, Mehta lost his cool and hurled abuses at a television channel reporter on Thursday.

Defending its minister, the BJP said in a statement that Mehta was taking a picture of the chief minister and it was "wrongly being interpreted as a selfie," the NDTV report said.

While the media called for a boycott of Mehta, opposition Congress leaders like Vijay Wadettiwar and Abdul Sattar demanded his resignation for clicking a selfie when rescue operations were in full swing to locate two missing buses, other vehicles and their occupants.

Nationalist Congress Party leader Jayant Patil said that "this shows the seriousness of the government and its minister".

Even ally Shiv Sena raised eyebrows, with party legislator Neelam Gorhe urging Fadnavis to take cognisance of the matter. "It is surprising this has come from a senior minister," she said.

Irked by the minister's behaviour, several media organisations, including the Press Club of India, Mumbai Press Club, TV Journalists Association, Mantralay ani Vidhimandal Vartahar Sangh, Crime Reporters Association and others condemned him.

At least two buses with 22 people and four to five private vehicles were washed away early on Wednesday in floodwaters after a British-era bridge collapsed on the Mumbai-Goa highway.

With inputs from IANS
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"I will not accept that this problem is just one created by Pakistan or separatists," he said.

"You cannot escape the issue by just blaming Pakistan for the problems in Kashmir," he said. "Just because of good tourism in one season in Kashmir, you cannot think you solved the problem. If you do not pay attention to this problem, it will turn into a law and order problem."

"There must be a conspiracy being hatched by Pakistan. But you have to look at the measures you are taking to counter it," Yechury told the government in Rajya Sabha.

In response, a beleaguered Arun Jaitley said that BJP will take strict action against Dayashankar Singh. "I should tell Mayawati ji that the party shares her grief over this issue, I will look into this matter, we stand with her...I am personally hurt that a BJP party person used such derogatory words against Mayawati," he said.

"This is not only a woman's issue. This is a man's issue," said TMC MP Derek O'Brien.

Congress leader Renuka Chowdhury stressed on the fact that the man making such remarks was none other than the vice president of the UP unit of BJP and demanded that he be arrested. "A man speaks with such language on the day both houses are discussing issues on violence on Dalits?" she said.

"The nation will not forgive BJP for this, especially with what is going in Gujarat," ANI quoted Mayawati as saying. "There are wars of thoughts and ideas in the House, but never have I used derogatory words against anyone ever," she said.

"The insulting words used against me are against all of womankind," said Mayawati. "Dayashankar Singh should be arrested. Otherwise, if in response to this people get violent, it will not be on my conscience," she added.

UP BJP vice president Dayashankar Singh's cheap remark against BSP chief Mayawati created uproar in the Parliament as Opposition leaders attacked the Modi government over the issue.

In response, a beleaguered Arun Jaitley said that BJP will take strict action against Dayashankar Singh. "I should tell Mayawati ji that the party shares her grief over this issue, I will look into this matter, we stand with her...I am personally hurt that a BJP party person used such derogatory words against Mayawati," he said.

"This is not only a woman's issue. This is a man's issue," said TMC MP Derek O'Brien.

Congress leader Renuka Chowdhury stressed on the fact that the man making such remarks was none other than the vice president of the UP unit of BJP and demanded that he be arrested. "A man speaks with such language on the day both houses are discussing issues on violence on Dalits?" she said.

"The nation will not forgive BJP for this, especially with what is going in Gujarat," ANI quoted Mayawati as saying. "There are wars of thoughts and ideas in the House, but never have I used derogatory words against anyone ever," she said.

"The insulting words used against me are against all of womankind," said Mayawati. "Dayashankar Singh should be arrested. Otherwise, if in response to this people get violent, it will not be on my conscience," she added.

UP BJP vice president Dayashankar Singh's cheap remark against BSP chief Mayawati created uproar in the Parliament as Opposition leaders attacked the Modi government over the issue.

"On one hand, BJP did a lot of things to celebrate Ambedkar Jayanti and assured Dalits that they will do a lot to celebrate it. On the other hand, Dalits still do not have reservation rights in the private sector," she added.

"The legal rights which Ambedkar created for the backward sections of the society will only reach the society when honest work is done for providing those rights to them," she said.

"Even after the country got independence, whether it is Congress rule or BJP rule, the sad truth is that the Dalits are still suffering," Mayawati said in the Rajya Sabha.

"There is an urgent need to change the mindset of the major political parties of the country towards Dalits," she said. "I have to tell the Union government that this is a serious matter. I ask the government to give justice to the Dalit victims in Gujarat. It is not enough to just send the Gujarat CM to meet them. Action needs to be taken against authorities which were negligent. They should be arrested," she said.

"In the name of protection of cows, a lot of unfair things are being done. Injustice against Dalits is being done in the name of protection of cows," said Mayawati in the Rajya Sabha.

Crimes against Dalits being done in the name of cow protection, says Mayawati

"Instead of making Dalits a political weapon, Congress, BJP and other parties should be reminded that they should rise above petty politics and work for the development of backward sections," she said.

"The victims often do not get justice in case of a CID probe," said Mayawati in the Rajya Sabha. "Gujarat government did not act quickly enough. It was only when the media picked up this issue that some action was taken."

"This Una incident case should run in a fast track court. We also demand that one of the judges should be a Dalit," Mayawati said. "Forget about Dalits getting justice, even their FIR is not filed many times and the latest example is the Una (Gujrat) incident," she also said.

Deputy Chariman PJ Kurien denies that the House is taking the subject lightly. Rajya Sabha is currently debating Aam Aadmi Party lawmaker Bhagwant Mann's video of him entering Parliament by crossing several security layers. Mann then posted it on social media, inviting attack from MPs across party line, who termed his act as a security breach.

In the video, which went viral, Mann was seen showing entry gate through which MPs enter Parliament House and saying how strong is the security. "The car is registered with the Lok Sabha. It has a censor, which has the vehicle details. As soon as so you come near the gate, the censor identifies the car and announces the name and number of the car," Mann says in the video with him crossing several layers of the security.

On the fifth day of the Monsoon Session (Friday), Aam Aadmi Party MLA Bhagwant Mann's filmed a video entering Parliament by crossing several security layers, which eventually caused uproar in both the Houses. Mann, who posted it on social media, invited attack from MPs across party line, who termed his act as a security breach.

As soon as the House assembled, she informed it about the action being taken on the issue which had led to the adjournment of Lok Sabha proceedings on July 22. "The inquiry committee shall inquire into the serious security implications and related aspects.... (and) suggest suitable remedial measures to avoid recurrence of such incidents in future and recommend appropriate action in the matter," the Speaker said.

The member is "advised not to attend the sittings of the House" until a decision is taken in the matter, Mahajan said. Mann was not present in the House.

The panel has also been asked to "suggest remedial measures" so that such episodes are not repeated.

Mahajan has formed the nine member panel headed by BJP MP Kirit Somaiya which includes Anandrao Adsul (Shiv Sena), Meenakshi Lekhi, Satya Pal Singh (both BJP), B Mahtab (Biju Janata Dal), Ratna De Nag (Trinamool) and K. C. Venugopal (Congress) and other members.

Therefore, the "act of the member" has put the security of the Parliament in peril, she said. Mahajan said she had consulted leaders of all political parties and everyone supported her actions on this issue.

Describing Parliament as "sanctum sanctorum" of democracy, Mahajan recalled that on 13 December, 2001, security personnel had sacrificed their lives protecting the parliament and after that entire security system was reviewed and overhauled.

It put "security of the parliament in peril", Mahajan added. Mann has been asked to appear before the panel by 10.30 am tomorrow and make his submission.

Addressing the Lok Sabha as soon as it reassembled after the weekend break, Mahajan said taking audio video footage of security zones in the parliament by Punjab's Sangrur MP Mann on July 21 and putting them on social networking site was improper.

"The act of the member of audio-visual recording of the Parliament and posting it on the social media puts the security of Parliament in peril," the Speaker said, adding that several members had expressed concern over the issue on Friday last.

The panel, chaired by BJP member Kirit Somaiya, has been asked to submit its report by August 3, while Mann has time till tomorrow morning to submit his explanation to the committee.

Acting tough, Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan today said AAP MP Bhagwant Mann's videography of the Parliament House complex had put its security "in peril" and asked him not to attend the House till a decision is taken on the matter while setting up a nine-member panel to probe the issue.

The Lok Sabha is likely to discuss The Child Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Amendment Bill today. Apart from this, the Lower House is also slated to discuss The Institutes of Technology (Amendment) Bill.

Sasikala Pushpa began crying in the House over the issue of attacks on women in the country. She has alleged that she was harassed and was being forced to quit her post.

"So what if we disagreed with you? This is not the country we are used to living in," O'Brien said. "The Prime Minister needs to come in the House and say that we can live in the India we know, the India of unity and diversity."

"For Rs 15, they (Dalits) are being killed because they are Dalits. I am a gau sevak. But in the name of gau sevaks, don't cross the line. This is a sitaution which has gone beyond the border of this country. Since they are taking these decisions, they must listen to what the UN had to say about this country," he said.

"The curb on religious fundamentalism, this is a dangerous situation. If it happens and happens and happens, it is a decision. This is a decision of this government. Otherwise, the Defence Minister would not have said what he said yesterday," TMC MP Derek O'Brien said, referring to Parrikar's remarks that Aamir Khan needs to be taught a "lesson" because of his remarks on intolerance.

An angry Parrikar responded by saying that he did not take the name of any person in the video.

"Since the BJP government came to power, they targeted Muslims first. Now, they are committing atrocities against the Dalits. The Prime Minister should come to the Parliament and clarify on what is happening," Mayawati said.

CPI(M)'s Sitaram Yechury responded to Parrikar and said, "What he said is objectionable. That cannot be acceptable. Tomorrow, are you going to threaten me? If he is raksha mantri, kiska raksha ho raha hai?"

Defence Minister Parrikar responded to the uproar in the Rajya Sabha over his remarks against Aamir Khan and said, "Let them see the video themselves and make up their minds."

"We should think about the respect for women. In Bareilly, a teacher was abducted during daytime. This is not right. The government should speak. Why is the government silent?" she said.

"There are rapes taking place against Dalit women everywhere in the country. The government should take this matter seriously," Mayawati said.

Naqvi agreed with her and said the government was ready for a discussion.

"I am really embarrassed for standing here and talking about the same issue once again, even after the Nirbhaya gangrape...I want a discussion on women's protection. I do not care which place. I do not want politicising of this issue," Jaya Bachchan said in the Rajya Sabha.

An emotional Jaya Bachchan got up in the Rajya Sabha and demanded a discussion on the issue of safety of women.

"In view of seriousness of matter, Bhagwant Mann is further advised not to attend the sessions of Parliament for further two weeks," she said.

"The chairperson (of the committee) has sought extension of time for further two weeks. I have accepted the request for extension," Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan said.

On the issue of AAP MP Bhagwant Mann being barred from the Parliament for making a video of the Parliament House complex, Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan said that the committee probing this issue had asked for more time.

"This legislation will only be passed after a serious discussion. I hope the Finance Minister passes the Bill not on the strength of his numbers, but on the basis of logic," Chidambaram said.

"Government tried to pass the GST Bill without the support of the principal Opposition and I am happy they failed," he said.

"Many issues are still outstanding issues and still need to be resolved. We had earlier tried to pass the GST Bill with the support of the Opposition and we failed," he said.

"I welcome the friendly tone of the Finance Minister's speech. I think the tone and approach has changed over the last few weeks," Congress leader and former Finance Minister P Chidambaram said.

"People of India expect low indirect taxes. There are many voices in the government which speak for the corporate, but someone must speak for the people. I am doing that," Chidambaram said in the Rajya Sabha.

"When this Bill is passed today, we will prepare for the next stage of the debate, which is the Central GST Bill. I want an assurance from the Finance Minister....This is a very important legislation. I want an assurance that when that Bill is brought, that will be brought as a Financial Bill and not as a Money Bill," Chidambaram said.

"Persuade all parties and sections of the people that a standard of 18 percent is the most appropriate," he added.

"The worry that we have is creeping taxation. But that is what Parliament is for. Taxation is the exclusive power of the Parliament. It is ultimately Parliament which calls the shots in taxes," he said.

"I, on behalf of my party, loudly and clearly demand that the GST rate should not exceed 18 percent," Chidambaram said in the Rajya Sabha.

Bill in next stage of GST debate should be brought as a Financial Bill: Chidambaram

Chidambaram warns that a rate too high, something like 23 percent, will be inflationary. He insists that the Bill needs to be passed as a finance Bill. The critical point we shouldnt be miss here is that the Congress is pitching for 18 percent standard GST rate and isnt ready to give up on this point in any case.

This comment is crucial since the NDA government has not yet arrived on a single rate. Chidambaram attacks the Narendra Modi government, saying it does not care about the problems of the common people. Chidambaram stresses on the point that the rate should be changed only with the permission of Parliament, and thus makes Congress compromise formula that the GST rate should be included in the GST Bill, though his party is willing to compromise on the earlier demand that the rate should be included in the constitution.

According to Firstpost Financial Editor Dinesh Unnikrishnan, P Chidambaram has hit the core point in his speech  the final GST rate. Chidambaram positions Congress as the voice of poor and emphasises on the fact that standard GST rate should not exceed 18 percent on the lines of what governments chief economic advisor, Arvind Subrmanian, suggested.

"It (GST) violates states' autonomy. It results in permanent revenue loss to the state of Tamil Nadu. We strongly oppose this Bill," AIADMK MP A Navaneethakrishnan said in the Rajya Sabha.

"We have moved an amendment that the compensation should be for at least 5 years," he added.

"Tamil Nadu will lose Rs 9270 crore because of GST. This is not a small amount," he said.

"Till date, the revenue-neutral rate has not been fixed by the government," he said, adding that this was a problem in the GST Bill.

"Petroleum and petroleum products must be kept outside GST permanently. We can save our people only then," he said. "It is a well-known fact that Tamil Nadu is a manufacturing state. It is also known that this method of taxation is destination-based. We strongly oppose that," he said.

He then went on to elaborate on the changes which AIADMK wanted in the GST Bill.

"The composition of the GST Council is not fair. The weightage of each state's vote should be in proportion to their representation in the country," said the AIADMK MP in the Rajya Sabha.

"Now let me tell you about the ping pong match," O'Brien said

"I'm feeling like a teenager in the presence of these senior lawyers," O'Brien said. "There is the politics of the Bill. GST can also be interpreted as the Girgit Samjhauta Tax," TMC MP Derek O'Brien said in the Rajya Sabha.

TMC MP Derek O'Brien has always been dramatic in his speeches, and his speech during the GST Bill is a perfect example.

The money has to first come from Centre to states and then from states to local bodies. If the availability of funds to local bodies gets delayed, that can seriously hamper functioning of local bodies, Patel cites. In a larger context, this problem is not for MCGB alone. It would apply to all big and small local bodies across the country in the GST regime. Patels remarks suggest the magnitude of challenge the Modi government has while implementing the revolutionary tax regime.

Patel raises the challenge of GST implementation. Under the GST regime, when various indirect taxes including sales tax, VAT and Octroi get consolidated in one uniform tax rate, will large local bodies such as MCGB get funds on time for its daily functioning? Patel asks.

Firstpost Financial Editor Dinesh Unnikrishnan says that NCP Rajya Sabha MP Praful Patel raises an interesting case of states within the states, citing the example of Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai (MCGB), which under Octroi alone garners about Rs 8000 crore to Rs 9000 crore per annum.

"The Prime Minister should come to the House apologise to the nation. If he cannot come, we will be happy even if Finance Minister Jaitley apologises," Budania said. "It was Congress which forced you to follow the right path of this Bill."

"At that time, the then Gujarat CM had said that this Bill is against the welfare of the nation. Today, the same man who is now PM, said that this Bill is benefitial for the nation," he said.

"When the Congress had brought this Bill to the Parliament, then BJP had protested against it," said Narendra Budania, Congress MP from Rajasthan.

PM Modi should apologise to the nation for his U-turn on GST Bill: Congress in Rajya Sabha

"We have given this notice for discussion to wake up the government. It is unfortunate that the Taj of Hindustan is burning but the central government cannot feel the heat. Which kind of heat will wake up the Kashmir government?" Azad said.

"Today, it has been 30 days since curfew was imposed in Jammu and Kashmir. I do not think that any state in India has seen curfew for 30 days since Independence," Congress leader Azad said.

"Please call for an all-party meeting and send a delegation to Kashmir," he said.

"This cannot be solved through law and order machinery," he said. "The silence of the Prime Minister is more eloquent than words. He is sending the message that the government does not care about the situation in Kashmir."

"This is one of the most grave situations I have risen in to speak. I have not seen continuous curfew for 30 days in my life. How can we remain silent? More than 1000 incidents of firing have been reported in a month. More than 8000 have been injured. 60 are dead. It is inhuman and criminal. Why are we using pellet guns? I am told that even Israel does not use pellet guns against Palestinians," CPI(M)'s Sitaram Yechury said.

"If you (BJP) were not opposing this Bill at that time, this Bill would have been passed two years ago. So, you are actually responsible for delaying the Parliament passing this Bill, but we are taking the blame," he said.

"Why was it that in 2011, some ministers who are sitting on that side were opposing this Bill?" Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge said in the Lok Sabha.

"Today, the Parliament is going to take a big step for the freedom from tax terrorism," he said. "Some people will know the condition of taxation in our country," he added.

"Today is 8 August. On this day many years ago, Mahatma Gandhi had moved the nation with 'Bharat choro' slogan," PM Narendra Modi said in the Lok Sabha.

"Therefore, who won and who lost is not a matter of debate," the Prime Minister further said.

"But the credit for this Bill does not belong to one party. It belongs to the culture of Indian democracy," Modi said.

"It is true that someone created this Bill while someone else nurtured it," he said. "Just as someone gave birth to Krishna and someone else raised him," he said.

"The most important requirement was the creation of trust between Centre and the states. The most important thing was to not decide this on the basis of sheer numbers. That is why I have earlier said that democracy is not just about numbers," he said.

"We were successful in taking care of a lot of flaws with the GST Bill. 'Ek manch, ek manth, ek marg, ek manzil' is the mantra behind GST which all of us have experienced," the PM said.

"Sometimes, there were doubts about the GST. When I was the CM, even I had doubts about GST. And today, because of seeing GST continuously as a CM, my viewpoint changed when I viewed it as Prime Minister," Modi said.

"All Centre and states need to unite to create a mechanism for Ek Bharat," PM Modi said in the Lok Sabha.

I had different view of GST because I looked at it earlier from the point of view of a CM: PM Modi in Lok Sabha

"A message will go to the people through GST that the consumer is the king," Modi said. "GST gives a guarantee of security to small traders and businessmen. It will result in economic growth."

"Despite our differences, we made efforts to take GST forward," he said. "A uniformity in the processing of taxation will come through GST."

"In the entire discussion of GST, none of us used it as a platform for politics. We rose above politics for the welfare of the nation," Prime Minister Narendra Modi said in the Lok Sabha.

GST will send the message that the consumer is the king: PM Modi in LS

"Even during the all-party meeting, I had said that the credit for the GST Bill goes to all political parties," the Prime Minister said.

"It is a matter of great strength for Indian democracy that all of us are making efforts to take this forward together," he said.

"It is also true that we need to have IT-preparedness and legal preparedness. In the world, even the countries which are praised for their democracy find it tough to deal with Bills," he said.

"Because of GST, the taxpayer will realise that he will benefit from honesty. Therefore, we will succeed in bringing down the generation of black money," Modi said.

"There will be data integration. Because of a strong cross-checking mechanism, a seamless method which will help in catching any wrongdoing will be created," the PM said.

"GST will help in curbing corruption and black money," Modi said. "Corruption will move towards zero because of GST," he said.

"When something happens in Africa, the Prime Minister tweets about it. But when the Taj of India is burning, the heat is not reaching the central government," he added.

"We were told that he spoke on Kashmir issue in Madhya Pradesh because the CM told him to do so. This shows that the Parliament means nothing to the PM and he would not have spoken on the Kashmir issue if the Chief Minister had not asked him to do so," he said.

"This is the fourth time we are asking the Prime Minister to provide a statement in the House," Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad said in the Rajya Sabha.

PM spoke on Kashmir in Madhya Pradesh just because the CM told him to do so: Azad in RS

"When you truly feel pain from the heart, it will reach Kashmir," he said.

"When you say Kashmir is an integral part of India, it should not only be on paper. There should be integration of hearts and minds. What about the integration between federal and state government?" said Azad.

"Law and order in Kashmir in not just in the hands of Jammu and Kashmir police, but also in the hands of paramilitary forces," Azad further said. "If someone says that Mehbooba Mufti should alone solve the problem in Kashmir, that is not possible for her," he added.

"Kashmir is secular. The destruction of Kashmiriyat and insaniyat is not happening because of democracy but because of the pellet guns," he said.

"There is a difference between communalism and separatism. Militants are also targeting Muslims. Militancy has no religion," Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad said in the Rajya Sabha.

"You can only keep Kashmir in India when you treat Kashmiris as equals," he said. "Shoot the people but do not use pellet guns. Pellet Guns are worse than live bullets. It is worse than killing people," he further said.

"The Prime Minister said that the people of the country love Kashmir. But the people of Kashmir should also love the country," JD(U)'s Sharad Yadav said.

"Merely repeating what Atal Bihari Vajpayee said is not going to create that trust. Create that trust by stopping the communal polarisation that is taking place in the country," he said.

"If everyday you talk about abrogating Article 370, you talk about love jihad, ghar wapsi, are you creating trust?" said Yechury.

"Unless you address the central question of the promises made to the people of Kashmir at the time of independence, this problem will not be solved," he said. "The problem today can only be solved if you initiate a political dialogue. I have urging this government that this can only come through with an atmosphere of trust.

"The trust deficit exists (in Kashmir) because of the string of betrayals of the promises made," said the CPI(M) leader.

He also took a dig at the government's foreign policy and said, "When you want to wish Happy Birthday, you go to Pakistan."

"If other governments have engaged in dialogue in the past, what is preventing this government from initiating the political dialogue?" Yechury said.

"The threat we face today is not a mere question of autonomy. There is also an orchestrated terrorist threat in Kashmir," he said.

"Today, there is an attempt to create dual power in Kashmir," Dasgupta further said. "Let us remember that dialogue cannot be done if we are going to tie the hands of the executive."

"While I agree with Sitaram Yechury that we need a form of political approach, the form and time of that approach should be different," he said.

"We have been talking about development and healing hearts and unfortunately, we have come across a rather big emotional divide. At an earlier time, it was thought that Article 370 would facilitate the process of integration. But we may have actually hardened the emotional divide," he said.

"A lot of the people who have taken to the streets may be spontaneous. But there is also a large degree of pre-meditation in the protests," he said.

"That was the death of Burhan Wani. The death of any Indian should be a source of anguish. But Burhan Wani never considered himself an Indian. And what do you say about a person who glamourises terrorism?" Dasgupta said.

"The problem we face in Kashmir today is somewhat different from the problems we have faced earlier," he said. "Three months ago, Kashmir was peaceful. We had a unique political experiment. It was an alliance between the Valley and Jammu, something which was unique and encouraging. And then something broke loose," he added.

"While we try to evolve a consensus on this issue, we should sometimes be brutally frank about what we are dealing with," Swapan Dasgupta, nominated MP, said in the Rajya Sabha.

"I wish people in this Parliament talked about sending a delegation to AIIMS, where a girl injured by pellet guns is admitted," he said.

"Why do we only remember Kashmir when it is burning? Guns will not solve any problem," he said. "The people of this country should understand what the problem in Jammu and Kashmir is."

"Why wasn't there any problem in Kashmir until 1987?" said a dramatic PDP MP Nazir Ahmad Laway in the Rajya Sabha.

Why do we remember Kashmir only when it is burning? asks PDP MP in Rajya Sabha

Congress MP Jyotiraditya Scindia: When we are talking about Swachh Bharat, we should first clean our minds. Fringe elements have now turned into the Centre today. Why the Home Minister didn't visit Rohith Vemula?

PM made a strong statement: Shoot me, not the Dalits. But why he didn't include Muslims? Muslims can never be part of Hindu nationalism but they are a part of Indian nationalism.

Sexual violence against Dalit women has increased. About eight lakh Dalits are dependent on selling skins, bones of dead cows, what will they do now?

AIMIM MP Asaduddin Owaisi: No democracy in the world has prioritise animal life over human life. But the Indian democracy has. Why do gua rakshaks have come to power? The credit goes to the idealogy of ruling party. What right do so-called gau rakshaks have to look at what I eat?

NK Premchandran, RSP MP from Kollam: The attrocities against the Dalits is politics. Educational, economical and social upliftment is the need of the poor.

We all should work together and committ ourselves in taking action in order to stop the atrocities on Dalit. Also, I would appeal all the state governments to take strictest action against anti-social elements who try to disrupt the harmony of secular fabric of the country.

It is pointless to blame the other government. Why did we celebrate Ambedkar's 125th anniversary with such genuinty? Respecting Ambedkar is like respecting India.

Seva Bharati, an RSS organisation, is one of the organisations which has been majorly active at the grassroots for the upliftment of Dalits.

Dalit community has contributed a lot towards Indian heritage. When India was under the British Rule, no matter how atrocities were inflicted on them, still they stood by India. They never demanded a separate country. We in the government emphathise with the Dalits.

On PM Modi's silence, Singh said, "Has any PM spoken during all discussions in Parliament? When PM spoke on the atrocities, and gau rakshaks, I issued an advisory that strict action should be taken against such gau rakshaks.

Our biggest challenge is to counter the twisted mentality of the perpetrators. What happened in Una was extremely condemnable.

"This is rumour that after BJP came to power that the atrocities on Dalit have increased. Just ask yourselves if this is true. Show me the data records. I don't want to point fingers at any political party. But following figures would explain: In 2013, 39,346 cases were registered against atrocities, 40,300 and 35,564 were registered respectively," Singh said.

"We can make India world's best country if we consider humanity above all. There are many articles in our Indian constitution for Dalits. But there is a need for effective laws to act on these articles. Our government is working at socio-economic development of the Dalits."

"It is painful that even after 70 years of independence we are still discussing atrocities on Dalits. We cannot deny that there are people from several castes and religion. We should not politicise the atrocities on Dalits," Singh said.

On Friday, 12 August, 2016 the bills for consideration and passing in the Lok Sabha are Mental Health care Bill,2016 and Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Bill, 2016.

Congress leader Anand Sharma said that the government should not be hypocritical. He said, "When administrators have high salary, MLAs have a good rise, why don't we get the same treatment?"

Ram Gopal Yadav, SP, Uttar Pradesh raised the issue of the low wages of the members of Parliament. He said, "The pay of the MP's is only a fraction of ministers in Telangana Assembly or Delhi Legislative Assembly. We are asked to reduce our expenditure but we cannot do that when we have to entertain people of our constituency. The rising inflation also makes it difficult for us to sustain ourselves."

In the Question Hour in the Lok Sabha Congress leader Shashi Tharoor raised the issue of failing start-ups in India. He said, "The government has given tax incentives to the start-ups but everyone knows that they don't make any money in the first few years. Hence the tax incentives should be given to the angel investors."

After GST this is the second resolution which has been adopted unanimously.

She added, "This house earnestly appeals to all sections of society in India to work for the early restoration of normalcy and harmony. This is to restore confidence in people and youth in general. The resolution is adopted unanimously."

Lok Sabha speaker Sumitra Mahajan announced that the resolutions proposed on the Kashmir issue has been passed. She said,"This house expresses serious concern over the violence in Kashmir Valley. Everyone here conveys loss of life caused by the deteriorating situation. The house is of the firm view that there cannot be a compromise on security."

Dubbing passage of the GST Constitution Amendment Bill as historic, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Wednesday said that manufacturing taxes and VAT will come down with the new national sales tax but the same for services tax will be decided by states and Centre. The Goods and Services Tax (GST), which will subsume over a dozen central and state levies including excise duty, service tax and VAT, is "perhaps the most important" tax reform, he said soon after Rajya Sabha overwhelmingly voted for the legislation.

"Today is a historic day for the reason that Rajya Sabha has passed the GST bill which have been held up for a very long time. All members present at the time of voting, voted in favour of the bill," Jaitley told reporters in Parliament House.

Thanking Congress and other opposition parties for supporting the legislation, he said proceedings in the Upper House demonstrated to the world that this is a great day for Indian democracy and Indian federalism. "In fact Indian democracy and Indian federalism are at there very best in as much as all national political parties and regional parties, state governments have come together to usher a major taxation reform.. The government wanted to build a larger consensus, which we succeeded in doing," he said.

Asked if the implementation of the GST would mean rise in cost of air travel, mobile bills and eating out because of incidence of service tax going up in the new regime, he said that tax rate would be decided by the GST Council, comprising of the Centre and the states.

"Manufacturing taxes will certainly will come down, VAT will come down. What level services taxes are to be kept is a discretion of GST Council. It will depend on what states along with Centre will decide," he later told Times Now. On Congress demand for not converting the supporting GST legislation as Money Bill, Finance Minister said he has not pre-decided on bringing the Bills as Money or Finance Bills.

"Once the GST is implemented, it will bring basic changes as far as the Indian tax structure is concerned, it will converge India into one unified market, with one unified tax in the country, it will improve the base of taxation, it will make evasion extremely difficult.

"The central and state governments have to work together to make this a great success. Overall, I think we had an excellent debate," he told reporters.

He said although every state government is on board in order to implement one of the most important taxation reform in India, the fact is that it has been passed unanimously all regional and national parties have actively supported it.

Congress hoped that subsequent legislations for its implementation like CGST and IGST bills would be brought in the Winter Session as financial and not money bills. Former Finance Minister and senior Congress leader P Chidambaram said he was only half satisfied with the Finance Minister's promise made in the Upper House in this regard.

"It's a half promise. Therefore, I am half satisfied," he told reporters after the passage of the Constitution Amendment Bill. Chidambaram said Finance Minister Arun Jaitley has assured that he will hold discussions with the Congress party before bringing the bills. Senior Congress leader and former Law Minister Kapil Sibal cited the example of Aadhaar Bill to claim the new legislations could be converted into Money Bills to block voting.

"We have seen the Aadhar Bill was converted into a money bill and we were not given the right to vote on it. We have doubt that this GST bill will also be turned into a money bill whereby a discussion on it will take place in Rajya Sabha but members will not be allowed to vote on it. We are concerned over it," he said. "We hope that it will be a financial bill and there will be a discussion on it and we will be given the right to vote on it," he said.

Another Congress member Renuka Chowdhury said, "They have considered many of our aspects. Have to wait and see what happens in the winter session." NCP leader Praful Patel said it is very good that the Constitution amendment bill to bring GST was passed with general consensus.

"It is good for the country and states will also benefit, especially those which considered themselves as backward as they will get more revenue.

"We hope that the Bill to be brought by government in November will also be passed with general consensus. Finance Minister has given an assurance that whatever bill will be brought, it will be honoured," he said. Earlier in the day, Congress had made it clear to the government that firm assurances for keeping the GST rate capped at 18 per cent and bringing subsequent legislations needed for its rollout as financial bills alone could ensure its support to the long-pending Constitution Amendment bill.

"We also demanded an assurance that the CGST and IGST should not be moved as money bill. The Central GST and Integrated GST are bills which will apply on taxpayers, on common man. They must be debated and voted upon by both Houses of Parliament. We hope to get assurance from the Finance Minister. If these assurances are forthcoming, we will be able to support," Chidambaram told reporters.

The GST Bill will finally be taken up for discussion in the Rajya Sabha.

India Inc had said it is looking forward to introduction of the much-awaited Goods & Services Tax (GST), saying it would be a very significant step in the field of indirect tax reforms in India.

The government has circulated official amendments to the GST bill to drop 1 percent additional tax and include a definite provision in the statute for compensating states for revenue loss for 5 years as it gears up to discuss the long-pending bill in Rajya Sabha.

The eleventh day of Parliament's Monsoon Session on Monday began with AIADMK Rajya Sabha member Sasikala Pushpa's statement where she said that she was facing a "life threat" and was being "compelled to resign".

Sasikala, who hit the headlines for slapping DMK leader Tiruchi Siva at the airport on Saturday, said: "I am receiving an unconditional apology from Tiruchi Siva. Something was spoken against my party leader and I behaved like that."

The parliamentary proceedings over the day saw the passage of the Indian Medical Council (Amendment) Bill, 2016, and the Dentists (Amendment) Bill, 2016, that provide for putting the NEET in place for admission to medical and dental courses across the country from next year; and National Institutes of Technology, Science Education and Research (Amendment) Bill, 2016 in Rajya Sabha.

The Enforcement of Security Interest and Recovery of Debts Laws Amendment Bill 2016 was moved in the Lok Sabha for consideration and passing.

Key proceedings/issues discussed in Lok Sabha:

 Supplementary demands over additional spending

The government sought parliament's nod for additional spending of Rs 1.03 lakh crore, though the cash outgo will only be Rs 20,948.26 crore.

Presenting the Supplementary Demands for Grants for 2016-17 in the Lok Sabha, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley sought parliament's approval for a transfer of Rs 5,000 crore towards National Employment Guarantee Fund and Rs 1,000 crore for providing funds to Indian Strategic Petroleum Reserves for Sovereign Strategic Crude Oil Reserve at Vizag, Mangalore, and Pudur.

 Bill for speedier recovery of bad loans passed

The Enforcement of Security Interest and Recovery of Debts Laws Amendment Bill 2016 was moved in the Lok Sabha for consideration and passing.

Piloted by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, the bill seeks to amend four laws  the Securitisation and Reconstruction of Financial Assets and Enforcement of Security Interest Act, 2002; the Recovery of Debts due to Banks and Financial Institutions Act, 1993; the Indian Stamp Act, 1899; and the Depositories Act, 1996.

 Special status: TDP MPs protest in Parliament

Unhappy over the Centre's stand on special status to Andhra Pradesh, TDP, a partner in NDA government, staged protests both inside and outside Parliament. Seeking immediate announcement for special status, the MPs of Telugu Desam Party (TDP) tried to disrupt the proceedings in the Lower House.

Holding placards and raising slogans in support of their demands, the TDP members in the Lok Sabha began the protest as soon as the house met for the day. They rushed to the speaker's podium, demanding that the government fulfill its commitments under Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act.

Speaker Sumitra Mahajan repeatedly appealed to members to return to their seats but they continued the protest. The Speaker conducted the proceedings amid the uproar before adjourning the proceedings till 2 pm.

 Attack on Dalits and Muslims

Opposition members expressed concern over growing attacks on Dalits and minorities and called for stern action against cow vigilante groups which have been targeting them.

Raising the issue during Zero Hour, Trinamool Congress leader Sudip Bandopadhyay underlined the need for action against those targeting the Dalits and Muslims to uphold secularism and communal harmony.

Key proceedings/issues discussed in Rajya Sabha:

 GST Bill listed for Wednesday

The government has listed the GST bill for discussion in the Rajya Sabha on Wednesday, hoping it will be passed through consensus, but the opposition Congress said that consultation is still on over the issue and an agreement is not yet finalised.

In view of the development, the BJP has issued whip for all its Rajya Sabha members to be present in the house for the next three days.

"The GST bill is listed for Wednesday. We hope it will be passed through consensus," Parliamentary Affairs Minister Ananth Kumar said.

 Bills to put in place NEET passed

The Rajya Sabha passed by voice vote the Indian Medical Council (Amendment) Bill, 2016, and the Dentists (Amendment) Bill, 2016, that provide for putting the NEET in place for admission to medical and dental courses across the country from next year.

The bills provide for a Constitutional status to the 'National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET) and seek to amend the Indian Medical Council Act, 1956, and the Dentists Act, 1948.

Responding to a debate on the bills in the Rajya Sabha, Minister of Health and Family Welfare Jagat Prakash Nadda said the whole exercise was aimed to stop multiplicity of examinations, to bring transparency to curb corruption and to stop exploitation of students.

 Uproar over Manohar Parrikar's comments on Aamir Khan

Rajya Sabha witnessed a brief uproar by opposition members over alleged remarks by Manohar Parrikar against actor Aamir Khan even as the Defence Minister denied having said what was been quoted to him.

During the Zero Hour, Derek O'Brien (TMC) raised the issue of "dangerous" rise in religious fundamentalism in the country, saying the government, ministers and people associated with the ruling party were "shooting their mouths off every day".

"The Prime Minister needs to come and say these are in fact mistakes, this is not thinking of the government. Prime Minister come here and assure us that we can live in the India we know  Unity in Diversity".

As soon as he finished his Zero Hour mention, Leader of Opposition and senior Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad quoted a report which said 'Parrikar takes a swipe at actor Aamir; those who speak like this must be taught a lesson'.

"So may I ask him (Parrikar who was sitting in the House) what lesson he is going to teach us...The entire nation should be told what type of action and lesson he is going to teach the minorities of this conuntry," Azad said.

To this, Parrikar said: "I would only say one thing. Let the members see the video...and make up their mind". However, this did not pacify the agitated opposition.
During Brexit, one question often asked was what is the United Kingdom? And if Scotland was part of the UK, how come it had its own parliament?

Now, what is Delhi, for which the Aam Aadmi Party is seeking statehood, as others had before them but feebly? If Delhi is a state, or precisely, half-a state, what is New Delhi? New Delhi is the Lutyens-designed power centre of the country, the Capital of India, where the president lives, the Parliament is located. Then, what is Delhi?

Delhi is amid the National Capital Region (NCR), inside which is Delhi, and within it, the countrys capital, New Delhi, is ensconced. The correct description for Delhi state which is not a state is the National Capital Territory of Delhi (NCToD), over which the AAP wants the governments writ to run, not the lieutenant-governors.

They are like concentric circles, not independent of each other but with overlaps  overlaps that create governance issues, with multiplicity of agencies and authorities, some overarching, some limited to one. It is this that has been sought to be sorted out by making Delhi a full-fledged state, where the primacy is of the legislature, not the lieutenant-governor.

The Delhi High Court ruled on Thursday that the lieutenant-governor is the administrative head of the National Capital Territory, and thats it. Which means, Arvind Kejriwal had been pointlessly bashing heads with Najib Jung on issues such as services (meaning appointing and transferring officers), probes etc that are not under the legislatives purview. Read all about it here. Delhi was only a Union Territory.

The lieutenant-governor need not go by the council of ministers' advice. The states anti-corruption department cannot probe anyone under the purview of the Central government, nor can it appoint commissions of inquiry. Nor, as is the case, control the Delhi Police. In short, the likes of AAP and Kejriwal can only demand statehood, but the Delhi government cannot conduct itself like the government of a state.

It appears to be a highly personal battle between Kejriwal and Jung, but that is only so because only the AAP-led government has made a serious issue of statehood  more than any other party in the past. The Congress too had wanted it when Sheila Dikshit was the chief minister. Sahebsingh Varma, the BJPs chief minister had also asked for the Delhi Police to be brought under the states control.

It is significant that both the BJP and Congress have had their turns at NCToD and also at the Centre, where the matters could have been resolved, but were not. Apparently, the shoe pinches when worn at the chief ministers office, and not when worn as a prime minister in Lutyens' Delhi.

However, the issue never came up in the past as vigorously to the extent it has now. The reasons cited are important. A document by the present government  that is on the state governments portal while canvassing for full statehood  has listed three.

One, it asks, how  with the Delhi Development Authority, which under the Union Ministry of Urban Development  to deal with land and housing issues. How to ensure efficient and effective land usage and allocation for its people and welfare programs if it has no say in it"?

Two, in the absence of control of the police, the state government (or UT) finds it difficult to fix accountability for Delhis law and order when not the state, but the Union home ministry controls law and order. During the 2012 Delhi gangrape crisis, Dikshit too had said she could hardly ask anything of the police. That is why Varma had sat on a dharna demanding it, so did Kejriwal.

Three, the Municipal Corporation of Delhi  which covers all of the National Capital Territory minus Lutyens part  is supposed to work on health, education and sanitation, but the synchronisation in utilisation of resources is extremely poor. But the State (or the UT government) has no control to direct it.

There is a document on the Delhi government's website that, from page 5, lists the views of the various parties and their leaders, including speeches in the legislature, moving of a statehood bill during the Atal Bihari Vajpayee regime. It is exhaustive, but a matter that can be resolved only politically by legislating full statehood. The Delhi High Court has, as it would, gone by the technicalities of the statutes in force.

The Delhi High Court ruled on Thursday that the lieutenant-governor is the administrative head of the National Capital Territory, and thats it. Which means, Arvind Kejriwal had been pointlessly bashing heads with Najib Jung on issues such as services

These issues apart, there is the question of the larger NCR that surrounds the National Capital Territory which surrounds New Delhi. The NCR has a planning authority, but the NCR does not have a common building code, or else how could there be such a horrendous crisis that is the city called Gurgaon, now renamed Gurugram?

Outside the NCT but within the NCR, there are a large number of city governments  or civic bodies  that adjoin the NCT or the city of Delhi, but conduct their affairs as per the states to which they belong  Haryana and Uttar Pradesh. The quality of governance of the respective states impinges on the conduct of these areas.

So, when you mean Delhi, you may mean any or all of it, but ultimately, it means a large mess. No wonder Kejriwal with his huge promises finds himself trammelled and wants statehood to get Jung off his back. Although a chief minister, not a lieutenant chief minister, Kejriwal finds he is cramped.

It is more like being a mayor than a chief minister.
BJPs IT head Amit Malviya recently wrote an article accusing AAP of degrading the online discourse. I couldnt help but laugh but then thought that I should show him a mirror.

All of us who have been active on social media over the last few years know that BJP and its supporters have been constantly indulging in online abuse, slander, and rumour mongering. It also seems that he hasnt read my piece about how Thailand tweets for BJP. However, now that Malviya has levelled the charges against us and seems to be behaving like an ostrich oblivious to the filth around him, I cant help but put forth some facts.

The attitude of a top leadership of any political party towards abuse is the testimony of the partys stand on the issue. In the case of BJP, its top leader is our respected Prime Minister Narendra Modi. I would comfortably assume that anyone he follows has his patronage and he likes to see what they are tweeting.

On the evening of 28 July, the leadership of Aam Aadmi Party did a press conference in which we had showed how the prime minister endorses online abusers. Seems like Malviya had missed it and thus I would request him to watch the video of the press brief:

He still might find it tough to comprehend and thus Ill elucidate the four cases we discussed in the press conference one by one for his understanding.

Case 1) Nipun Sahu wants Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal to be shot dead. I would not have worried about him as baseless threats to political leaders by deranged individuals are something we see every now and then.

Sahus exploits are not only limited to death threats but also throwing all kinds of expletives on the mother of AAP Convenor and Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal. I would still pay little heed to him.

Then, I came across Sahus Twitter bio.

His profile says, IT Cell - @BJP4India.

Maybe, Malviya would be able to recognise him as he claims to work in the cell which Malviya heads. Or Malviya might say, as I expect him to, that he does not know the person and anyone can write IT Cell - @BJP4India in his Twitter bio.

In that case, I would ask, why does PM Narendra Modi follow Nikunj Sahu?

Using a very simple and publicly available follower finder tool, I found that Modi follows Sahu on Twitter.

Even after we did a press conference on 28 July, PM Modi has not unfollowed Sahu. He does patronise him at least on Twitter, if not in real life.

Case 2) There is one person called Mahaveer on Twitter who takes pride in describing himself as a Proud Hindu and Nation First person. His Twitter bio also says that hes blessed to be followed by PM Narendra Modi.

His Twitter exploits include bullying and abusing people, including Kejirwal. Many female Twitter users who have been abused by him will give testimony to the kind of online harassment they were subjected to my Mahaveer.

Sometime in mid-2015, Twitter took notice of Mahaveers exploits and banned him. The entire BJP Social Media team campaigned against Twitter to get Mahaveers account reactivated and no less than cabinet state minister for micro, small and medium enterprises, Giriraj Singh tweeted in his support using the hashtag #IStandWithMahaveer.

No wonder, Mahaveers account was reactivated by Twitter shortly thereafter. Even Twitter is vulnerable to pressure from such high and mighty.

One might ask again, why do I believe Mahaveer if he says hes followed by the PM. Thus, I again used the same tool and till 6 pm of 5 August, 2016. Modi was still following Mahaveer.

If this is not patronage, what is?

Case 3) StartUp India was inaugurated with much fanfare by PM Modi and many young entrepreneurs hoped that the initiative would help them fulfil their dream of having a successful startup.

With a verified Twitter handle and 38,000+ followers, it does have a strong social media presence as well.

We are not sure as of yet as to how many entrepreneurial dreams did Startup India fulfilled but its official handle did do something unexpected.

One fine day, it started retweeting some unexpected tweets.

Of course, we do know that the term Presstitutes was used first time in the public domain by current Union Minister VK Singh but a verified Government of India handle endorsing it was a bit too much.

Initially, some BJP office-bearers said that the screenshot was photoshopped but when Commerce and Industry Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, in a series of tweets, blamed an external agency that was hired to handle the Startup India Twitter account for the goof-up, they fell silent.

Malviya and his kind should check with the concerned ministers before making assumptions about images being photoshopped. After all, not everyone is as good as the BJP folks at photoshop.

I have shared just three of the innumerable examples. Every social media user who has ever tried to take a stand which is even remotely liberal would be able to tell you how s/he was hounded by the right-wing, RSS-leaning, BJP-supporting, anti-liberal army of bhakts!

My suggestion to Mr Malviya is that he should work towards making sure that the topmost leader of his party stops following abusers and then ensure that the message is passed onto others like Giriraj Singh.

Before I end, I would also advise Amit to improve his own image within his ranks as some of the BJP people I have met idolize him as a troll. May be he can try and improve that image before pointing fingers at others.

The author heads AAPs innovation and IT team
When Donald Trump announced his intention to run for President of the United States, not many took him seriously. But over the past year as his campaign ran roughshod over the other 15 candidates in the Republican primaries and he emerged as the GOPs presidential nominee, the jokes about his candidacy got less funny and the media got more serious about fact checking his speeches. What remained crazy, however, were his statements which prompted even US President Barack Obama to state that Trump is unfit to be president and people outside the US dont understand how the electoral race arrived at this juncture.

Mexico

Trumps craziness began with his very first announcement speech when he made this statement:

When Mexico sends its people, theyre not sending the best. Theyre not sending you, theyre sending people that have lots of problems and theyre bringing those problems with us. Theyre bringing drugs. Theyre bring crime. Theyre rapists And some, I assume, are good people.

He announced that he would build a wall between the two countries and make Mexico pay for it. Of course Mexico refused to do anything of that sort. As shocking as that statement was, it just got worse.

Muslims and the disabled

After the San Bernardino shooting, Trump claimed that US must ban all Muslims from entering the country. He also claimed that after 9/11, Muslims in New Jersey were celebrating the fall of the World Trade Center. Even when it was revealed that he was wrong, he was unrepentant. He simply went on to mock a disabled reporter, Serge Kovaleski, during a rally in South Carolina.

Women

He managed to offend Rosie ODonell ("If I were running The View, Id fire Rosie ODonnell. I mean, Id look at her right in that fat, ugly face of hers, Id say Rosie, youre fired"), Heidi Klum ("Sadly, shes no longer a 10") and Megyn Kelly ("You could see there was blood coming out of her eyes. Blood coming out of her wherever") with his statements, making it clear that he has no respect for women. Remember this remark he made during the primaries?

I think the only difference between me and the other candidates is that Im more honest and my women are more beautiful.

Because women are his possessions, of course. In fact, his anti-women stance got to such a point that The New York Times actually did an investigation into how he treats women in private.

And dont forget his stance on abortion rights, when he clearly said, there has to be some form of punishment for women who undergo abortion. The backlash he received was so furious, he was forced to retract his statement.

Every candidate has views on certain issues, so why is that Trump is being called crazy for his views? Well, thats not only because they are nonsensical but also because he has ended up alienating his own party with his statements. Not that he cares, of course, if his party colleagues dont support him, he doesnt support them either.

During the primaries, Trump repeatedly called Ted Cruz, Lyin Ted. Thats something Cruz did not forget and when he spoke at the Republican National Convention in July, he made it very clear that he was not endorsing Trump.

Ryan, McCain and Trump

In July 2015, respected Republican senator John McCain denounced Trumps comments about Mexican immigrants. Trump retaliated by saying that McCain, who was held prisoner during the Vietnam War, was not a war hero.

"He's a war hero because he was captured. I like people that weren't captured," Trump said.

Other Republicans immediately came out in support of McCain and denounced Trump.

The Republican presidential candidate also faced backlash from his party when he stated that Judge Gonzalo Curiel who was hearing a case against Trump University was biased because he was Mexican. The judge was actually born in the American state of Indiana. Prominent Republicans spoke up against Trump. Among them was Paul Ryan, Speaker of the House, who had just days before, endorsed Trumps candidacy.

Look, the comment about the judge, just was out of left field for my mind," Ryan said. "Its reasoning I don't relate to; I completely disagree with the thinking behind that."

When Trump criticised the Muslim parents of fallen US soldier Capt. Humayun Khan after the Democratic National Convention, Republican leaders lashed out. McCain issued a statement saying, It is time for Donald Trump to set the example for our country and the future of the Republican Party. While our party has bestowed upon him the nomination, it is not accompanied by unfettered license to defame those who are the best among us.

Trump of course didnt forget Ryan and McCains statements against him and when he was asked during an interview earlier this week whether he would endorse the two leaders who are contesting elections in their states, he refused to do so.

The friction within the Republican Party has reached a flashpoint with prominent Republicans publicly stating that theyll support Hillary Clinton instead. Richard Hanna became the first sitting Republican congressman to do so when on Tuesday, he wrote in an op-ed on Syracuse.com that he will vote for Clinton.

Later Tuesday, Hewlett-Packard executive Meg Whitman  a prominent Republican fundraiser  threw her support behind Clinton, saying, "Donald Trump's demagoguery has undermined the fabric of our national character."

Also on Tuesday, the woman who helped shape New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie's national image declared that she's voting for Clinton.

"As someone who has worked to further the Republican Party's principles for the last 15 years, I believe that we are at a moment where silence isn't an option," former Christie senior aide Maria Comella told CNN.

Both Jeb Bush and Mitt Romney have made it clear that they will not vote for Trump in the elections. In fact, the entire Bush family stayed away from the Republican Convention, the first time they have done so.

Republican Party leaders are yet to reach a point when they ask their voters not to choose Trump, but that became only clearer when Obama asked them why they are not doing so.

Addressing his remarks to Republicans, Obama said at a press conference, "If you are repeatedly having to say in very strong terms that what he has said is unacceptable, why are you still endorsing him? This isn't a situation where you have an episodic gaffe."

He went on: "There has to be a point in which you say this is not somebody I can support for President of the United States, even if he purports to be a member of my party. ...There has to come a point at which you say enough."

For once, the Republicans had nothing to say in their defence.

With inputs from agencies
Istanbul: Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that US State Secretary John Kerry intends to visit this month, in what would be the first trip by a top Western dignitary since a failed putsch.

Kerry's visit, if confirmed, comes at a time of heightened tensions between Washington and Ankara in the wake of the attempted military takeover on 15 July.

Turkey has been furiously demanding the extradition of Pennsylvania-based Islamic preacher Fethullah Gulen, whom it accuses of masterminding the coup.

The government has launched a crackdown in its wake that has seen over 60,000 people within the military, judiciary, civil service and education sector dismissed, detained or put under investigation.

"I think their secretary of state is coming on the 21th (August)," Erdogan said on Thursday in a live interview with state-run TRT television.

Within the next two weeks, a delegation led by Turkey's foreign and justice ministers would also travel to the US to

explain Gulen's alleged involvement in the coup bid, he added.

US State Department spokesman Mark Toner declined to comment. An Istanbul court on Thursday issued an arrest warrant for Gulen, accusing him of ordering the coup aimed at ousting Erdogan.

Ankara has frequently called on the United States to extradite the Muslim cleric, sending two sets of documents to Washington as evidence of his involvement in the putsch attempt.

Gulen strongly denies masterminding the coup and the movement he leads insists it is a charitable network promoting tolerant Islam.

Kerry said on 18 July that Turkey must present "genuine evidence" and "not allegations" against Erdogan's former ally for his extradition.

The crisis in Turkey has erupted at a time when the Ankara-Washington relationship is as important as ever, with the United States needing Turkish help in the battle against Islamic State militants in Syria.

US fighter jets have been using Turkey's southern base of Incirlik as a crucial launch point for lethal raids against Islamic State targets in neighbouring Syria.
PRISTINA An explosive device was thrown at Kosovo's parliament building on Thursday evening, a policeman on the scene said, adding that there were no casualties.

Kosovo media reported that two motorcyclists fired a rocket propelled grenade as they drove near the parliament building. The police did not confirm media reports.

The parliament is next to the government's building on a busy street in the centre of Pristina. After the explosion, a special police unit sealed off the area around the parliament, a Reuters witness reported.

In the past 10 months the landlocked state of 1.8 million has seen tensions rise among political parties. Opposition MPs released tear gas inside the parliament several times in a protest over an EU-brokered accord with Serbia giving more autonomy to Serb dominated municipalities. Opposition supporters clashed with the police several times during the same period.

On Thursday morning the Kosovo government asked the parliament to ratify a border agreement with Montenegro, disputed by opposition parties that have said it gives away some 8,000 hectares of Kosovo land.

A major opposition party called its supporters to protest against the border deal in front of the parliament earlier on Thursday, but the crowd quickly dispersed because the issue was not put on the agenda.

Adopting a border deal with Montenegro is a precondition for Kosovo to get a visa-free travel regime to the Schengen zone as other countries in the region including Serbia, Albania, Montenegro, Macedonia and Bosnia were given in 2010.

Kosovo declared independence from Serbia in 2008 and is still not recognised by Belgrade. It has signed a trade and political pact with the EU but it is still not recognised by five member states: Spain, Cyprus, Romania, Greece and Slovakia.

(Reporting by Fatos Bytyci; Editing by Ivana Sekularac, Toni Reinhold)

This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed.
Washington: Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump said on Thursday that achieving world peace "would be the best deal" for him and he "would know how to do it better than anybody else".

"Peace all over the world would be the best deal," Trump told the Portland Press Herald, which he gave during his visit to the city.

"And I think I would know how to do it better than anybody else, but peace all over the world," Trump said.

He was responding to a question as to what would be the best deal he could negotiate as president of the US.

Trump, 70, is facing a tough battle against his Democratic rival Hillary Clinton in the presidential elections.

The billionaire from New York said age is not a disadvantage for him and asserted this is a good age for presidency.

"Well younger than Ronald Reagan, younger than some, basically I guess Hillary is about that same age, a number of them are about that age. That seems to be a good political age for the presidency if you look it's all around that middle vicinity.

I think Ronald Reagan was one of our great presidents and that was an older age, so that's the way we have it," he said.

Later addressing an election rally in Portland, which was marred by a number of protests, Trump spoke about illegal immigrants and terrorism.

"We have just seen many, many crimes, getting worse all the time, and as Maine knows, a major destination for Somali refugees. Right. Am I right?," Trump said.

"They're all talking about it. Maine, Somali refugees. You admit hundreds of thousands into Maine and into other places in the US. Hundreds of thousands of refugees. And they're coming from among the most dangerous territories and countries anywhere in the world. This is a practice that has to stop," he said.

"People are pouring into our country, we have no idea who they are. This could be the great Trojan Horse of our time," Trump said.

A number of protesters were removed from his rally after they interrupted his speech by standing and holding up pocket-sized copies of the US Constitution in the air.

"It's sort of rude, when you think about it. We want jobs, we want health care. We're looking for the same thing. You want to have a good life. You want safety. And then we have people interrupting constantly," he said.
Rajnath Singh, who was in Islamabad to attend the Saarc meet of home ministers, sent out a strong message to the neighbouring country. Singh had delivered a stern speech asking Pakistan to stop encouraging terror groups and "glorification" of terrorists, while calling for "strongest action" against nations supporting terrorism and their isolation.

Singh said that mere condemnation of terrorism and terrorists were not enough and that there are "no good terrorists or bad terrorists"; his comments came against the backdrop of Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif's praise of Burhan Wani, who was killed in an encounter in Jammu and Kashmir on 8 July, and his description of the Hizbul Mujahideen commander as a martyr, much to India's ire.

After coming back to India, Singh briefed Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday on his visit to Pakistan.

Singh's Pakistani counterpart Nisar Ali Khan criticised the former's comments, according to The Times of India, saying that there was a difference between fighting for terrorism and freedom. Khan added that only brute force against children and "torture of civilians" is terrorism and that it was imperative that regional issues be solved through dialogue. "It's important to respect the fundamental human rights of people and not suppress freedom struggle in the name of fight against terrorism," he was quoted by TOI as saying.

Earlier at the meet, things were frosty with the ministers as they barely shook hands, and members of the Indian media, who came from New Delhi to report the conference, were not allowed to capture the moment and was kept at a distance by Pakistani officials, which led to a verbal dual between a senior Indian official and a Pakistani official.

Singh also skipped a lunch hosted by Khan, which was scheduled after the main meeting. The Pakistani Interior Minister left the venue immediately after the meeting got over, despite being the host of the lunch. Singh then took the decision to skip the lunch.

After the media blackout, Union Minister Venkaiah Naidu slammed Pakistan saying that this was their model of democracy, reported NDTV.

India later described the reports of media blackout during the Saarc meet as misleading. "With reference to the meeting in Islamabad earlier on Thursday, media reports of a blackout of our Home Minister's statement are misleading."

It is the standard Saarc practice that the opening statement by the host country is public and open to the media, while the rest of the proceedings are in camera, which allows for a full and frank discussion of issues," a government source said.

An Interior Ministry official source from Islamabad also confirmed that there was no such blackout of Rajnath's speech as none of the speeches of participating ministers was shown. "It is true that his (Rajnath's) speech was not shown live because (the) speech(es) of none of the participating ministers was shown live by the state media." He further said only the inaugural session was shown live when Sharif and Khan made welcome speeches.

At the Saarc meet, Sharif said that Pakistan is committed to jointly working with Saarc member countries for fighting terrorism, corruption and organised crimes. "Pakistan has always been supportive of initiatives taken by Saarc to advance its ideals and objectives as enshrined in its charter," he said.

With inputs from PTI
Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh was absolutely right in berating Pakistan at the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (Saarc) home ministers' meeting in Islamabad and staging some drama because thats the only utility of this regional body. With India accounting for 70 percent of South Asia and the India-Pakistan rivalry dominating South Asian geopolitics, Saarc has proved to be of absolutely no value except for conferences and symbolism.

In fact, for its economic and geopolitical gains, India doesnt even need Saarc. It has its bilateral treaties and Free Trade Agreements (FTA). If not to flex muscles with an unruly Pakistan, why should it spend any time or resources on Saarc?

With Pakistan actively pursuing terror against India, both within its borders and outside, India is well justified in using any multilateral forum to expose its darker side. The UN doesnt open its doors very often for geo-political statements and its agencies are engaged only in development work; so whats SAARCs best utility for India? Grab headlines and annoy Pakistan.

And Rajnath did it very well.

South Asia is not East Asia and Saarc is not the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean). Saarc meetings are routine, sleepy (sometimes culturally extravagant) affairs, while every single Asean conclave is robust and purposeful. Saarc, as a block dealing with the international community, is a dud (except in the UN and donor documents that need a grouping for convenience), while

Asean is the third biggest trade block after the European Union and the North American Free Trade Agreement (Nafta). It commands respect even from countries outside its region as the FTAs with countries such as China, Australia, New Zealand and India demonstrate. Moreover, South Asia is an artificial geopolitical classification where other than the colonial, socio-cultural past, common levels poverty (except in Sri Lanka) and the desperation of its people, there is nothing contemporarily common that binds them together  not even the idea and practice of democracy.

Then, why on earth is there a region called South Asia and a body called Saarc?

It's obviously so that India and Pakistan can fight or throw tantrums, for people to attend farcical conferences, and some civil servants and political appointees to garner diplomatic postings. The Saarc secretariat in Kathmandu is a favourite destination for officers (mostly from the Ministry of External Affairs) with the more connected ones landing the Saarc positions at the UN and the EU. There are also a few Saarc institutions including the university in Delhi, where the nominees from the member countries get fancy salaries.

And what of regional cooperation?

What one saw in Islamabad on Thursday was a good example. Whether its the grand summits, that countries such as Sri Lanka and Maldives get excited about, or ministerial meetings, the oft-repeated spectacle is India showing its muscle and Pakistan trying to match. Or Pakistan trying to throw barbs at India, and the latter shooing them away.

The funniest aspect of the Saarc farce is Sapta (the Saarc Preferential Trading Arrangement) or Safta (South Asian Free Trade Area). Indias exports to the countries of the region were less than seven percent of its total exports in 2014-15 and Sapta/Safta played no role.

In comparison, India is better off doing bilateral business. It has a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with Sri Lanka and the trade between the two has been rising forever. Indian goods account for around 14 percent of Sri Lankas imports, which is around 3.6 per cent of Indias exports. India also has FTAs with the Maldives and Nepal. With the Maldives, its exports have been growing steadily and there have been additional ties such as scholarships, development and technical assistance, and investments. In the case of Nepal, India is its major trading partner that accounts for around 66.4 percent (2011 figures) of its bilateral trade. India is also Nepals biggest foreign investor. For Bhutan, India accounts for 91 percent of its exports and 82 percent of its imports. India has also been the major financier of Bhutans Five Year Plans.

If Saarcs multilateralism was strategic to India, there was no need for these FTAs. It knows that as long Pakistan continues to be an envious, inimical neighbour, a regional body is only a symbol. Depute some officers, give some scholarships, host and participate in meetings and sign treaties that will just remain on paper. And if India is indeed spending some time on Saarc, it should make the best use of it: Bash Pakistan. And that is exactly what Rajnath did. As a supposedly convening body, it has no other utility.

Pakistan, in its counter-attack in Islamabad on Friday may have scored some points on the alleged human rights excesses by the Indian army in Kashmir. And there may be reverberations in India as well. But, unfortunately whats often masked by Indias military might or pellet strikes in Kashmir is its helplessness.

Indias political position that Kashmir is its integral part is strategically indispensable.

Had Saarc been of any relevance, Pakistan wouldnt be doing what its doing to destabilise India

Once it has taken such a stand, there is no other choice, but to defend it. If Pakistan is fostering terror and hiding behind the militants and unruly mobs, India doesnt have an option at all. Even if the majority of Kashmiris want to secede from India, it cannot accede because every single political party in the country subscribes to the position that Kashmir is part of India and will remain so. The only chance of peace is when the people of Kashmir accept it and reject Pakistans proxy war.

Unfortunately, Kashmiris have no other option either. Its unavoidable geopolitics. Non-stakeholders have the freedom to criticise because they are not governing a country and the affairs of its people and guarding its borders. The withering of the nation-state is an idea only non-stakeholders hallucinate about.

Coming back to the futility of Saarc, there are also a number of conventions that the countries in the region, including Pakistan, have signed. One of them is on terrorism. Had Saarc been of any relevance, Pakistan wouldnt be doing what its doing to destabilise India. So, India, if ever you go to Saarc again, do what Rajnath has done. Its perfectly justified.
United Nations: A confidential UN report has concluded that the Saudi-led coalition fighting in Yemen deliberately bombed a house, killing four children, and that Huthi rebels used civilians as shields to avoid attacks.

The actions amount to violations of international humanitarian law, according to the report by a panel of experts obtained by AFP on Thursday.

"The panel has documented violations of international humanitarian law and international human rights law committed by the Huthi-Saleh forces, the Saudi Arabia-led coalition and forces affiliated to the legitimate government of Yemen," said the report presented to the Security Council.

The experts are conducting detailed investigations of four air strikes allegedly carried out by the Saudi coalition, three of which are still ongoing.

In the fourth case, six people including four children were killed when the coalition bombed a village house in southern Lahj province on 25 May using precision-guided munitions.

"It is almost certain that the civilian house was the deliberate target of the high explosive aircraft bombs," said the report.

The panel concluded that the coalition failed to take precautions and "thus violated IHL," international humanitarian law.

The coalition began the air campaign in March 2015 to push back Huthi rebels after they seized the capital Sanaa and many other parts of the country.

The Saudi-led alliance has repeatedly denied that it has deliberately targeted civilians in the war, which has killed more than 6,400 people.

In Taez province, Huthi rebels have concealed their fighters and equipment near or in civilian areas "with the deliberate aim of avoiding attack," said the report.

"In doing so, the Huthis almost certainly deliberately endanger and expose the civilian population and civilian objects to the perils of conflict," it added.

The report showed a photograph of a tank parked at tTaez Universiy and said it was investigating several reports of civilian sites used as shields.

Meanwhile, Yemen's Al-Qaeda franchise, Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), has upgraded its bomb-making capabilities and could wage a "sustained IED (improvised explosive device) campaign" of attacks, the report said.

The first suicide attack using the refined bomb technique was recorded in Aden on 1 May.

AQAP and the local branch of the Islamic State (IS) group are competing for recruits in Yemen.
WASHINGTON The U.S. military killed three al Qaeda operatives in a strike on Thursday in Yemen, U.S. Central Command said on Friday.

The Central Command statement did not specify how the strike was carried out or the identities of those killed.

(Reporting by Eric Beech)

This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed.
WASHINGTON The World Bank approved new rules on Thursday that aim to expand protections for people and the environment in projects financed by the bank while making it easier for borrowers to comply with its standards.

But the first major update to the World Bank's safeguard policies in nearly 20 years has drawn fire from some non-profit groups for creating "loopholes" with more vague language and more reliance on borrower country laws and standards.

"The bank has effectively dismantled thirty years of environmental and social protections for the worlds most impoverished and vulnerable peoples," said Stephanie Fried, executive director of the Ulu Foundation, a non-profit group focussed on forest preservation.

World Bank President Jim Yong Kim defended the changes as a compromise that strengthens many protections while eliminating "onerous" requirements in countries whose environmental, labour and human rights standards match those of the World Bank.

The new standards, which are due to be fully implemented by 2018, will also bring the World Bank's safeguards more in line with those of other multilateral development banks.

Kim told reporters on a conference call that one key example of the changes will be increased protections for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender communities. The bank pulled out of a $90 million loan to Uganda's health system in 2014 after the government passed a law that imposed life sentences for certain homosexual activities and made it a crime not to report violations.

Kim said the World Bank had committed increased funding to work with its 189 member countries to lift their own environmental and human rights safeguards to match those of the Washington-based development lender.

The new standards come at a time when the World Bank is facing new competition from the Chinese-led Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, which announced its first loans of about $509 million in June.

Kim said the World Bank could create safeguards so onerous that borrowers might be unable to comply with them, or it could allow unacceptable outcomes for poor and indigenous communities.

"We had to find a path down the middle where we could both ensure that abuses did not happen and at the same time make it possible for borrowers to borrow," Kim said, adding that it was a challenge getting 189 countries to agree on the new standards.

(Reporting by David Lawder; Editing by Tom Brown)

This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed.
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eSignDesk: Aadhar-linked eSignature facility launched

Published: August 4, 2016

Aadhar-linked eSignature facility dubbed as eSignDesk was launched by LegalDesk, a Bengaluru based start-up in the online legal documentation business.

eSignDesk based on Aadhaar platform it is actually an initiative of the Union Government aimed at allowing all citizens (with Aadhaar) to remotely sign any document.

Key Features of eSignDesk

eSignDesk is the instant signing feature. It saves both time and money and also provides security as nobody can forge this signature unlike wet signatures.

The users of this facility need to have a registered mobile number associated with the Aadhaar card.

It also deters fraud and ensures that the content of the document also cannot be tampered or replicated (forged).

The documents signed electronically using it will be legally valid in the country. It will take digital signatures to the masses beyond companies and corporates.

Month: Current Affairs - August, 2016

Topics: Aadhar  National  UIDAI

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Google had released Gboard for iPhone and iPad in May following which it was launched in India in June. Now, the keyboard that lets you search and send information, GIFs and more is getting a couple of features in latest update.

First up, Gboard is getting support for five new languages  French, German, Italian, Portuguese (Brazil and Portugal) and Spanish (Spain). It is already available in English across the U.S., Europe, Canada and Australia. Gboard will default to your device language, so as long as its set to one of these six languages. If your phone uses a different language, Gboard will default to U.S. English. You can change the language from settings.

You can already search for GIFs on Gboard and now the keyboard will offer GIF suggestions as well. Next up, the update brings a dark keyboard so that Gboard can blend in with darker apps. You can also select a personal image from your camera roll to show behind your keyboard. The latest Gboard update bumps the app to version 1.1.0.

Gboard
         :          , CCTV  
A decades-long history of annual dividend increases is a good indicator of a high quality company. That kind of consistency often comes at premium: Many "dividend aristocrats" trade for lofty valuations. Some do stand out as great deals, though -- and three of our Foolish contributors are happy to share a few of them with you.

Drilling down for deals

Todd Campbell: This month might be the right time to step up and buy shares in ExxonMobil (XOM 2.47%), the global energy powerhouse.

Until recently, shares in ExxonMobil had been recovering some of the ground lost in the past year due to lower oil and gas prices, but that rally got derailed in mid-July when oil prices lost their footing again.

While no one can predict where oil and gas prices are heading from here, including ExxonMobil in long-haul income portfolios may be savvy. The company is involved in all aspects of energy production, from drilling to retailing, and that diversification has allowed it to rack up an impressive dividend history despite the industry's inevitable pops and drops. Over the past 33 years, the company has increased its dividend by an average of 6.4% annually.

Since ExxonMobil continues to make money in spite of the weak oil and gas markets (second-quarter earnings totaled $1.7 billion), it has financial flexibility to hunt for bargains as peers stumble. Its Goliath status also means it has the firepower to keep dividends flowing. Overall, if investors are looking to add a top dividend-paying stock to their portfolio on the cheap, this company may be perfect.

45 Years of dividend hikes

Tim Green: Most dividend aristocrats demand a substantial premium, but retailer Target (TGT -0.11%) is an exception. Analysts are expecting the company to produce earnings of $5.14 per share this year, and the stock price is now at about 14.7 times that number. That's well below the P/E valuations given to many other dividend aristocrats.

Target announced a 7.1% quarterly dividend increase back in June, marking the 45th consecutive year in which Target has raised its dividend. The stock carries a dividend yield of about 3.2%, based on the most recently announced payment, quite a bit higher than the 2.75% yield offered by fellow retailer and dividend aristocrat Wal-Mart.

Target's valuation is lower than most dividend aristocrats now for a good reason. The company's revenue has been stagnating over the past few years, and its operating income has been essentially flat for the past decade. Per-share profits have increased mostly due to share buybacks, as both gross and operating margins have contracted.

Based on these factors, Target stock is far from a bargain. But given the consistency of its dividend increases over the past four decades, Target is worth a look in August for dividend investors.

This dividend stock has huge upside potential

Neha Chamaria: If you haven't considered adding Illinois Tool Works (ITW 2.83%) to your portfolio yet, it's time to pay attention. Before I tell you why I'm particularly excited about this dividend aristocrat now, here are two mighty facts to consider:

Illinois Tool Works has raised its dividend for 52 straight years. Its dividend has grownat an average compounded rate of 11% annually since 2012.

So how does Illinois Tool Works afford a higher dividend year after year? By growing its cash flows even during difficult times, thanks largely to a diversified product portfolio that helps mitigate business risks. Take a look at how the conglomerate's cash flows have surged in the past five years despite the wild swings in profits.

Those cash flows should only head north if the company's operational performance so far this year is anything to go by. At a time when most industrial companies' profits are taking a hit, Illinois Tool Works just upgraded its full-year guidance for the second time, and now expects its earnings per share to grow a solid 9% at midpoint compared to 2015. At this growth rate, even if Illinois Tool Works wants to stick to its current dividend payout ratio of 40%, it can still easily bump up its dividend per share by 16%. Of course, there's tremendous room for upside if the company decides to pay out more to shareholders. Long story short, I don't see this dividend going anywhere but up in the years to come.
O sea, me esta diciendo que es dificil conseguir empleo porque los chino no vienen pobres. OK. Supongamos que vienen con plata, No hay problema.Supongamos que no tiene empleo por las rezones que dijeron anteriormente. Por ejemplo que la educacion es muy cara.Un amigo compro los libros de Cisco y estudio para CCNA en los ratos libres y luego se certifico.Les voy a ahorrar las respuestasPregunta: Ah pero yo no tengo plata para comprar los libros,,,, .Se pueden descargar gratis en Internet.Pregunta : ah pero no se InglesR/ Hay cientos de sitios gratis en Internet para aprender y aplicaciones para celular como Rosetta stone o Duolingo.Pregunta: Pero a mi no me gusta asi. creo que las aplicaciones no sirven. Yo quiero a alguien en personar/ En siitios como interpals.com puede buscar gente para conversar en vivo.Pero quiero estudiar otra cosa, no con libros y no tengo plata para ir a la U.R/ En sitios como https://www.edx.org/course/subject/computer-science se puede llevar cursos con titulo de universidades.Si pero estudio algo y nadie viene a ofrecerme trabajo a mi casa que hago?R/Hay monton de call center que bien que mal es algo para empezar. En Bolsa de trabajo, ofertas de trabajo | Buscar empleo en CompuTrabajo hay 300 empleos.Pero no quiero trabajar en call center, ni en nada de eso.r/Hay cursos de emprendimiento, de como comenzar empresasOcupo plataR/ ahi le ensenan como hacerlo con minima o nula inversionEsta bateando, eso no funciona.r/ Despues de que mi amigo lo hizo, yo hice lo mismo y he sacado todas mis certificaciones en linea de Linux, Microsoft etc.Luego mis amigos lo hicieron igual. No hay que inverntar nada, es seguir la receta.
Benefits of an UPREIT

There are several reasons why property owners may want to conduct an UPREIT transaction. Again, an UPREIT transaction allows the owner of an appreciated property to avoid capital gains tax, much like a 1031 exchange. This is because the investor is receiving an interest in the REIT's operating partnership, as opposed to shares in the REIT itself.

Capital gains taxes on the property are deferred for as long as the OP units are held. Once the units are converted to REIT shares or cash, capital gains taxes will be due. In the event of an investor's death, units can be inherited with a stepped-up basis, thereby eliminating any taxable gain. This feature makes UPREIT transactions appealing for estate planning.

In addition to the tax benefits, an UPREIT transaction has these potential benefits, to name a few:

Diversification: While a 1031 exchange requires you to purchase a new property, an UPREIT transaction gives you an interest in an entire portfolio of properties. In other words, the value and expenses of your investment will no longer depend on just one property.

Liquidity: Real estate isn't a liquid asset. However, you can convert partnership units to REIT shares, which you can then sell or convert into cash. (Remember that doing so can create a taxable gain.)This flexibility can be a huge benefit.

Steady income: Income from one rental property can vary significantly with vacancies and maintenance expenses. REITs can provide more predictable income distributions.

Hands-off investing: After disposing of an investment property through an UPREIT transaction, you won't have to worry about property management anymore.

An UPREIT transaction can be a great option if you own investment properties that would produce substantial capital gains if sold, and if you want to take advantage of the benefits listed here.

The $15,834 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 $15,834 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.
Pastor Saeed Abedini, one of four American hostages released from Iran earlier this year, revealed in an interview with FOX Business Networks Trish Regan that he and his fellow prisoners had to wait for hours at the airport until a second plane arrived on orders from police.

He told me we are waiting for another plane. And if that plane takes off then we are going to let you go, said Abedini.

He noted that the plane and pilot were there, and everyone was ready to go, but they didnt leave until 10 a.m. the next day. They eventually flew to the U.S. in the plane that had been sitting at the airport overnight.

The account comes amid controversy over a $400 million payment the Obama administration made to Iran when the American prisoners were released. Officials say the payment was strictly connected with a legal settlement in an unrelated case, and President Obama insisted Thursday it was not ransom.

But Republican lawmakers say the money was clearly used to buy the prisoners freedom.

Abedini could not say whether the other plane contained money. When asked whether he believes the U.S. paid the Iranian government a ransom for his release, Abedini said he has his suspicions, but they didnt talk about money.

We call them terrorists and I dont believe they are going to use this money for building orphanages, which I was arrested for, but I prefer that the politicians answer this question.

Abedini said he is more concerned about worsening human rights conditions in Iran.

Im very grateful about my release and freedom, but there are some people still left behind and Christians who are still in prison, he said. Two days ago some of my friends have been executed because of their faith. Every Wednesday they execute 100 people.

He also said, First of all, Im so thankful for my freedom. There is nothing like a life of being free.
Former Pakistan Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz weighed in on the U.S. presidential race, and mounting concerns over honor killings in Pakistan.

When asked if the Pakistani government was worried about the idea of a Donald Trump presidency in the U.S., Aziz explained how the general population typically looks at the businessman turned Republican presidential candidate.

Generically, what people say in a campaign and what happens when you actually take over are two different things. Obviously the people of the United States have to decide who will be the next president, thats what democracy is all about, he said.

Aziz explained how the Pakistani people viewed Hillary Clinton versus Donald Trump.

If Hillary Clinton wins, her name recognition in Pakistan will be much more than Donald Trump. Donald Trump was not a public figure in the context of the Pakistani mind. Here, he is very popular but globally Hillary Clinton is known because she was Secretary of State of the United States of America, Aziz continued.

Aziz then responded to outrage over honor killings in Pakistan.

The issue of honor killings has been there for a long time. Pakistan legal code is very clear that anytime you even attempt to take the life of anybody the system will come after you, he told the FOX Business Networks Stuart Varney.

Aziz explained further that despite the mindset of some that are taking the law into their own hands that it is a crime in Pakistan that will be prosecuted.

It relates to taboos in the minds of people who need to be told that you cannot take the law in your own hands. A crime is a crime and it will be dealt with Im sure with the full force of the law.
This month marks the one-year anniversary of the National Labor Relations Boards (NLRB) Browning-Ferris decision, which radically redefined employment rules for businesses nationwide.

Under the new definition, which overturned 30 years of precedent, a company may be held liable for labor violations by other employers they contract with, by merely exercising indirect control or possessing unexercised potential control over work conditions like hiring, supervision, and wages. This is a far-reaching change from the prior standard on when two companies would be deemed a joint employer. The previous standard required an employer exhibit direct and immediate control over another companys employees.

Labor regulators have a goal in mind: to make it far more likely that larger businesses are found liable for the labor violations of smaller businesses.

That means higher costs for larger businesses. The NLRB also desires to saddle larger companies with greater bargaining responsibilities of smaller businesses they contract with. Its an injustice that one business can now be charged with labor violations committed by another business - and be railroaded into bargaining with a union that is organizing another employers workers.

But even worse is the uncertainty caused by the vague and overly broad joint employer standard. The NLRB left open-ended what constitutes indirect and unexercised potential control. In Browning-Ferris, the majority at the NLRB explained that they will look at the facts on a case-by-case basis and would not address the facts in every hypothetical situation in which the Board might be called on to make a joint-employer determination. Nor has the NLRB issued any guidance in the year since to clarify the new standard. This leaves the business community near-clueless as how best to avoid joint employer liability.

Meanwhile, a recent case, in preliminary stages at the NLRB, indicates how unpredictably the Boards joint employer standard can be applied. In September of 2015, President Obama applauded Microsoft for implementing a supplier code of conduct, which requires that the company only do business with suppliers that offer workers 15 days of paid leave.

No good deed goes unpunished. Shortly after that, in October, the Temporary Workers of America (TWA) requested Microsofts (NASDAQ:MSFT) presence at a collective bargaining meeting as a joint employer with Lionbridge, a supplier of Microsoft. The TWA cited the Browning-Ferris decision to argue that Microsoft placing eligibility criteria on suppliers establishes a joint employer relationship with LionBridge - despite Microsoft never exercising any control over LionBridge workers.

Never before would placing general standards to qualify as a supplier establish joint employment. But Microsoft recently noted that its supplier code of conduct has led to substantial and growing legal expenses and great uncertainty. And Microsoft may not be the only ones getting caught in the NLRBs crosshairs. Facebook (NASDAQ:FB), for example, requires suppliers offer 15 days of paid leave, a $15 minimum wage, and a new child benefit for mothers and fathers estimated to cost the employer $4,000.

What will the Microsoft case reveal? Most recently, NLRB in July denied the companys petition to revoke the Boards subpoena seeking information on the relationship between Microsoft and Lionbridge. Incredibly, the Boards majority notes that the NLRB may issue subpoenas without an objective factual basis. The Board does not need facts to subpoena MicrosoftTWAs allegations are enough.

It is no wonder that the business community is up in arms over the Browning-Ferris decision. Even when businesses take actions that are praised by President Obama they cannot win. Many businesses will think twice about contracting with small businesses or placing any conditions on their suppliers. That cant be good for small businesses or job creation, a consequence our slowly recovering economy does not need.

Trey Kovacs is a policy analyst specializing in labor policy for the Competitive Enterprise Institute, a non-profit public policy organization dedicated to advancing the principles of limited government, free enterprise, and individual liberty.
Cara Delevingne went a little method when preparing for her role as June Moone in "Suicide Squad."

The model-turned-actress reveals to Esquire UK that in addition to researching mental health and addiction, she also spent a creepy night in the woods in order to embrace her role as the Enchantress. "What? You mean you actually walked naked into a forest at night, on your own?" Esquire's Alex Bilmes asks.

WATCH: Cara Delevingne Quits Modeling -- The Fashion Industry 'Makes Me Sick'

"Well, I wasn't naked when I walked there," Delevingne recalls. "I walked there with my clothes on, and then when I got there I took them off."

As for whether she got "chilly" during her naked night in the wild, the 23-year-old star adds, "Not really. It was summer."

Delevingne puts her modeling skills to work for Esquire UK, posing completely nude in the men's magazine. While she's been hailed as the next Kate Moss, Delevingne admits that she does not particularly enjoy modeling and isn't thrilled about working in the fashion industry.

MORE: 19 Times Cara Delevingne Was the Most Relatable World-Famous Supermodel Ever

"Modelling is not something I love," she confides. "It always felt like a job. It was never a passion. It was more like a part I played."

She also slams the fashion industry, calling it "surface."

"It's not about what's underneath, it's not about being yourself. You don't feel you matter as a person," she explains. "You feel like it's just about your looks -- and it is."

WATCH: Margot Robbie and Cara Delevingne Rock Matching Track Suits to 'Suicide Squad' After-Party

Delevingne talks about having issues with the industry from the get-go. "I just remember being like, 'This is insane. People need to lighten up. We're not f--king changing the world. I'm sorry. So everyone should stop taking themselves so f--king seriously and just laugh at it all.'"

While the British star's life seems on the up-and-up, she is very open about her struggle with depression. "I think I properly started dealing with depression when I was about 16," she shares. "As a kid I felt like I had to be good and I had to be strong because my mum wasn't. So, when it got to being a teenager and all the hormones and the pressure and wanting to do well at school -- for my parents, not for me -- I had a mental breakdown."

EXCLUSIVE: Cara Delevingne Chops Her Hair Right Before Comic-Con Panel, Dishes on Impulsive Fresh Cut

On a happier note, Delevinge says she's now madly in with girlfriend St. Vincent. "When you find a real love, you look back on the other loves you've had and you're like, 'Ooh, that was a bit destructive,'" she gushes.

WATCH: Cara Delevingne Talks Life-Changing Love With St. Vincent -- 'If People Want to Say I'm Gay, That's Great'
Americans strong aversion to late-term abortions drops precipitously if a developing fetus would likely be born with severe damage from the Zika virus, a new STAT-Harvard poll found.

It showed that 59 percent of respondents thought women should have the right to end a pregnancy after 24 weeks of gestation if testing showed there was a serious possibility the fetus had microcephaly caused by the mothers Zika infection.

Microcephaly is a condition in which a baby is born with an abnormally small head and often an underdeveloped brain, and it is typically diagnosed after the 24th week of pregnancy.

But most states have laws that restrict abortions either after a certain point in pregnancy  22 set the cutoff by the 24th week  or when the fetus is viable outside the womb (also about the 24th week), according to the Guttmacher Institute.

The poll also found that a majority of Americans are unaware that Congress left for the summer recess last month without approving new funding for the nations Zika response. Among those who knew the legislation had not passed, twice as many blamed Republicans for the impasse than Democrats. These numbers provide political context for President Obamas remarks at a press conference Thursday calling on Congress to do its job and approve the spending.

When asked which of the presidential candidates would do a better job handling the Zika outbreak, Democrat Hillary Clinton got the nod, with 41 percent. Republican nominee Donald Trump was named most capable of handling the outbreak by 30 percent. Fifteen percent chose neither, and 10 percent were undecided.

The issue of whether to permit late-term abortions in cases of Zika-related birth defects is becoming more pressing as Zika infections among pregnant women in the United States continue to mount. As of Thursday, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said 479 women have been infected while pregnant. Of those, 15 have given birth to a baby with Zika-related birth defects and 6 pregnancies have been lost to miscarriage, stillbirth, or abortion.

Generally, the vast majority of Americans oppose late-term abortions. In a separate poll conducted a week earlier by STAT and Harvard, only 23 percent said they favored allowing a woman to obtain an abortion after 24 weeks  when the question did not raise the possibility of microcephaly.

Among Democrats, support for late-term abortion increased from 34 percent to 72 percent when there was a strong likelihood of Zika-induced severe birth defects, the STAT-Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health poll found.

But even among respondents who identified themselves as Republicans, support for abortion after 24 weeks was surprisingly high, with 48 percent saying it should be allowed if Zika-induced birth defects were likely  compared with just 12 percent who felt that way about late-term abortion in general.

Read full STAT-Harvard poll results here

Linda Krause is one of those polled who feels that Zikas severe birth defects constitute a special case.

Krause, of Fredonia, Kan., normally disapproves of abortion after three months. But Zika is an exception. Thats a life-threatening illness for the mother and the baby, she told STAT in a follow-up interview.

Vivian, a Republican from Atlanta, said she favors late-term abortions in the Zika context  even though her own son was born premature at 24 weeks and two days  almost 16 weeks early. Now a healthy 20-year old, he spent months in a neonatal intensive care unit.

Told during her pregnancy that her son would have Down syndrome, Vivian, who asked that she be identified by her first name only, chose not to terminate. But she said the choice should be up to individual women.

Its personal for everybody. I cant speak for someone else going through a different situation if I havent been there, she said.

The degree of support for late-term abortions in the context of Zika was notable, said Gillian SteelFisher, deputy director of the Harvard Opinion Research program.

The data are clear that although people arent in favor of late-term abortion in general they are sympathetic to women when their pregnancies can be affected by Zika virus, she said.

Dr. Warren Hern, who performs abortions  including late abortions  in Boulder, Colo., said its not reasonable or logical to allow an exception when a fetus has been damaged by Zika, but not in cases where other serious birth defects are identified.

There are many, many reasons why women seek late abortion. And many of those reasons have to do with catastrophic fetal abnormalities that are not discovered until late in pregnancy, Hern said in an interview.

Infection during the first trimester of pregnancy can trigger devastating damage in developing fetal brains. But infections in the second trimester can also lead to brain damage, said Dr. Karin Nielsen-Saines, a professor of pediatric infectious diseases at the David Geffen School of Medicine at the University of California, Los Angeles. Nielsen-Saines is involved in a study in Brazil where researchers are following women who have been infected in pregnancy.

Even after the brain is formed, there are some problems that happen, she said.

Theres atrophy, theres damage, even later in pregnancy. So just because someones reached the second trimester, it doesnt mean that there couldnt be a problem if they were to contract Zika.

That type of damage can take several weeks to become apparent in prenatal testing. By the time some women learn what Zika has done to the fetuses they are carrying, their access to legal abortion could be blocked in most states.

The telephone poll of 1,016 adults was conducted July 20 to 24, during the week when Florida announced it had discovered two people who had possibly contracted Zika locally, most likely through the bite of an infected mosquito.

Since then, the number of cases in the Florida outbreak  believed to be centered in a one-square mile area just north of downtown Miami  has swelled to 15.

The poll  which had a margin of error of plus or minus 3.6 percentage points  also found that only 44 percent of Americans realized the Zika funding stalemate has not yet been resolved. Lawmakers left Washington last month after Senate Democrats wouldnt back a deal negotiated by House and Senate Republicans that included provisions affecting Planned Parenthood and the Affordable Care Act.

Of people who were aware that Congress has not yet provided Zika funding, 55 percent said not passing the legislation is a problem. More blamed the Republicans than the Democrats for the continued impasse  42 percent said it was the Republicans fault, compared with 22 percent who faulted the Democrats. Seventeen percent said both parties are equally to blame. The apportionment of blame generally followed party lines.

About one-fourth of those polled said funding Zika response efforts should be a top priority for the federal budget, nearly half said it was important but not a top priority, and 20 percent said it was not that important.

The poll also showed that in the third week of July, barely half of Americans  52 percent  felt Zika posed a public health threat in this country. And only 22 percent felt that it was a major threat.

But it is not known whether the growing outbreak in Florida has changed opinions on that question.

Well see what happens post-Florida and over time, SteelFisher said. But this is where were starting from and it is mid-mosquito season in much of the United States.
New York state's top prosecutor said on Thursday six companies have agreed to stop marketing products with claims that they can protect users from the mosquito-born Zika virus, just a day after his office sent them cease-and-desist letters.

New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman sent the letters to seven companies on Wednesday, warning them to stop touting bogus "Zika-preventative" products, ranging from wristbands and patches using botanical oils to ultrasonic devices.

Of the seven companies cited Wednesday by Schneiderman, only the maker of the Neor Mosquito Repellent Bracelet was not mentioned Thursday as having complied.

"We won't let fraudsters take advantage of a public health crisis, and this should serve as a warning to other companies who seek to engage in the same dishonest practices," Schneiderman said in a statement Thursday. He said his office's investigation into deceptive advertising practices related to Zika remain ongoing.

In announcing the cease-and-desist letters on Wednesday, Schneiderman said these primarily "fly-by-night" operations are trying to take advantage of public fear and concerns over Zika transmission. But the products they sell "simply don't work," he said, and in some cases can even attract mosquitoes instead of repelling them.

Schneiderman encouraged consumers to stick with insect repellants registered with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, such as DEET.

The New York attorney general's crackdown on Zika-related advertising claims comes amid growing concerns in the U.S. about the virus, which is spreading rapidly in the Americas.

New York officials have said 537 travel-related cases of Zika have been reported in the state. Florida authorities last week reported the first signs of local transmission of the virus in the continental U.S.

U.S. health officials have concluded that Zika infections in pregnant women can cause microcephaly, a birth defect marked by small head size that can lead to severe developmental problems.

The products targeted by the letters are sold primarily online, as well as in some local discount stores, Schneiderman said. The six compliant companies have removed misleading marketing claims and some have removed those products from online retailers altogether, according to the attorney general's office.
With the Rio Olympics starting Friday in the country where over 165,000 suspected Zika cases have been reported this year, and local mosquito-borne Zika virus transmission reported in Florida, its natural to be concerned about the infectious disease thats been dominating headlines.

While some information about the outbreak is available such as transmission, symptoms and containment efforts questions about the virus remain.

Should I be concerned?

According to the experts, the answer depends on where you live and if you are pregnant or considering becoming pregnant.

Certain areas of the country, specifically Florida and the Gulf Coast, particularly Louisiana and Texas, have a high concentration of the Aedes aegypti mosquito and may be more at risk of a Zika virus outbreak.

Zika is far more contained than people realize, Dr. Peter Hotez , Director of the Texas Childrens Hospital Center for Vaccine Development, told FoxNews.com. Areas of concern are cities like Brownsville, Texas, Corpus Christi, Houston, New Orleans, Tampa, Miami.

While there is an outbreak in a very circumscribed area of Miami, Hotez believes the whole city to be at risk, as individuals with Zika in their bloodstream are traveling to other parts of the city.

If youre living in a city at risk and are pregnant, you need to give a lot of thought to how youre going to alter your behavior maximizing your time indoors, talking with your obstetrician about how to apply DEET or an alternative insect repellent, Hotez, who is also Founding Dean of the National School of Tropical Medicine at Baylor College of Medicine, said.

While there are 1,825 Zika cases in the continental U.S., compared with other regions Puerto Rico has 5,582 its a drop in the bucket, said Dr. Federico Laham, medical director for pediatric infectious disease at Arnold Palmer Hospital for Children in Orlando.

If you are not pregnant or not an adult planning to have a partner who is pregnant, I dont think [theres] any reason for concern or any need for testing, Laham told FoxNews.com.Zika is believed to be an uncomplicated infection with self-limited symptoms that dont have any long-lasting complications.

How active are Zika-carrying mosquitoes?

The Aedes aegypti mosquito is an urbanized mosquito that has adapted to human habitats, especially urbanized areas where theres crowding, which could be a suburb or any area with a certain density of people.

Aedes aegypti tends to be a day biter, but once its inside houses, it could bite anytime, Hotez said, adding that West Nile virus is still a concern, as its prevalent in the same places that have Zika.

In their lifespan, mosquitoes that carry Zika generally travel less than 150 meters (164 yards), according to the CDC, though the World Health Organization reports an average flight range of 400 meters (437 yards). The average lifespan of an Aedes aegpyti mosquito is two weeks.

The Aedes albopictus mosquito can also carry Zika, but it is not as efficient in spreading the virus as Aedes egypti, because it also feeds on birds and other mammals, interrupting transmission.

Should women at all stages of pregnancy be worried about microcephaly?

Yes and no. While the effects of Zika on pregnant women and their unborn babies are still unknown, the most concerning stage is early pregnancy.

Because of its similarity to other infections and findings about microcephaly, many of these things take a long time to develop and may affect the fetus early in pregnancy, Laham said. A mom can pass the infection to the baby at the time of birth if she gets the infection later on, but we doubt that will result in any kind of congenital problems like microcephaly. It takes time to develop its not something that happens in a few days or weeks.

Studies have shown evidence of Zika in amniotic fluid, placenta and fetal brain tissue.

Hotez agreed that the effects on unborn fetuses and young children are still unknown, but said its too early to know determine there are any neurological effects.

Is everyone who gets Zika symptomatic?

No. Cautioning that there is still a steep learning curve for Zika, Hotez said that research suggests 80 percent of infected people do not show symptoms, but he believes the percentage to be higher.

In the recent cases of local transmission in Florida, four out of the five patients did not have symptoms.

That being said, one of Hotez's biggest worries is Zika cases that arent being reported.

My big nightmare scenario is were missing Zika transmission in certain cities and as a consequence we could start seeing microcephaly cases seven, eight, nine months from now, he said. That would be really tragic.

Can you be cured of Zika?

Yes, once youre infected youre immune to the virus.

The vast majority of [infected] people will develop antibodies and then youre fine, Hotez said. Youre basically self-cured and immune.

The lack of funding by Congress right before the peak infection period of July-September means the disease will be fought on the local level, leading to Hotezs worry that cases arent being transmitted.

[Congress] just left without making a decision, which was really shocking, he said.

Will Zika stay in my system forever?

No. Most infected individuals will have Zika in their system for a period of 2 to 3 weeks and in the bloodstream for about a week.

However, if pregnant woman is infected, there is the possibility that the virus could go into the fetus, then back into the mother, he added.

The CDC advises non-pregnant couples use condoms or abstain from sex for at least eight weeks after onset if a female partner is diagnosed with or experiences symptoms of Zika and for at least six months if a male partner is diagnosed or has symptoms.

Will kissing spread Zika?

Probably not. In June, a letter to the New England Journal of Medicine detailed a case of Zika potentially being transmitted through oral sex, bringing to question whether the virus could be spread by other biological fluids, such as saliva during kissing.

I dont think [transmission through kissing] has been well-established at all, Hotez said. We want to keep our eyes on the prize the overwhelming mode of transmission is still fro mosquito bites.

Does Zika cause paralysis?

Still unclear. Zika has been linked to Guillen-Barre, a neurological illness that mostly lasts a few weeks and causes muscle weakness, and, sometimes, paralysis. According to the CDC, researchers do not fully understand what causes the syndrome, but most patients report a bacterial or viral infection before they have symptoms.

Guillen-Barre is rare and is found in 1 in 1,000 Zika patients, with some estimating 1 in 500 cases, Hotez said.

Its a very, very unusual complication and that shouldnt really force any kind of fear, Laham said. Literally any virus like flu or the cold can cause all types of crazy infections.

Guillen-Barre is usually an immune response to a virus.

In the case of Zika, it happens so early on in the course of illness many of us are thinking Zika may cause Guillen-Barre by some kind of direct invasion of nervous tissue, Hotez said.

For more on the Zika epidemic, catch Fox News Reporting: Zika," featuring Dr. Manny Alvarez, Saturday, Aug. 6 at 8 p.m. on the Fox News Channel.
The "Don't Tread on Me" Flag just got trod upon  by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.

The EEOC is investigating whether the Revolutionary War-era Gadsden Flag could be considered a racist symbol in the workplace. In recent years, the yellow flag with its coiled snake has also become a symbol of the Tea Party.

Click here to join Todds American Dispatch: a must-read for conservatives!

Whatever historic origins and meaning of the symbol, it also has since been sometimes interpreted to convey racially-tinged messages in some contexts, the EEOC report states.

The distinguished writer Eugene Volokh first exposed this absurd story in the pages of the Washington Post. Heres the back story:

In 2014, a black government worker filed a complaint alleging he had been discriminated against by a coworker who wore a ball cap that bore an insignia of the Gadsden Flag.

The aggrieved government snowflake found the cap to be racially offensive to African Americans because the flag was designed by Christopher Gadsden.

The EEOC report goes on to identify Gadsden as a slave trader & owner of slaves.

The overly-sensitive employee maintains that the Gadsden Flag is a historical indicator of white resentment against blacks stemming largely from the Tea Party.

The EEOC conducted a thorough review and found there was no evidence that the flag was created in a non-racial context.

Moreover, it is clear that the flag and its slogan have been used to express various non-racial sentiments, such as when it is used in the modern Tea Party political movement, gun rights activism, patriotic displays, and by the military, the EEOC report states.

You can almost feel the but coming, cant you, good readers?

However, whatever the historic origins and meanings of the symbol, it also has since been sometimes interpreted to convey racially-tinged messages in some contexts, they declared.

Check out Todds new YouTube Channel  for unfiltered Conservative Commentary!

Citing the ambiguity in the current meaning of the Gadsden Flag, the EEOC has decided to investigate to determine the specific context.

The governments ruling is going to open up a great big can of worms, folks. They are basically suggesting that if an item is used in a racially-tinged context or if a worker thinks something may be racist  it is therefore racist.

What happens if a white guy shows up to work with fried chicken and collard greens in his lunch pail? Could he be accused of cultural appropriation  even if he simply enjoys finger-licking good cuisine?

As Mr. Volokh pointed out  there was no evidence the gentleman who wore the Gadsden Flag cap said or did anything racist to his coworker.

The workers sole objection was apparently just to the wearing of the flag, and the ideology that he thinks has become associated with the flag, Mr. Volokh surmised.

Well, using the governments logic, they could very well ban white bed sheets and reruns of the Dukes of Hazzard.


With the beheading of a French priest by members of the Islamic State (ISIS) still fresh in the minds of millions, ISIS is now following up that brutal assassination with a verbal assault aimed at Christians  calling Jesus a slave of Allah who will wage jihad upon returning to earth.

This sacrilegious tirade comes in the form of a new article in the English-language magazine Dabiq, which according to news reports calls on Christians to leave Christianity.

The cover story, Break the Cross, argues that Jesus will do precisely that upon his return: break the cross, kill the swine, and put aside the jizyah [infidels tax, assuming all the infidels will have been killed]. The true religion of Jesus Christ is a pure monotheistic submission  called Islam when he returns in the final days, the Messiah will adhere to the Law of Muhammad and wage jihad for the cause of Allah, the article argues, citing Islamic doctrine.

One thing becomes very clear as ISIS continues to strike out in Western Europe and the United States  the jihadist genocide against Christians is rapidly spreading across the globe.

What has been happening in Syria, Iraq, and Africa could now happen in any town or city in the United States or Europe. These jihadists are at war with us with one clear goal  eradicate Christians and any other group that refuses to bow its knee to its radical Islamic ideology.

Other recent reports reveal more atrocities and more evil of historic proportions. ISIS burned alive a 2-year-old girl and her family. They executed 19 Yazidi girls who refused to become sex slaves.

Children are crucified and buried alive. Dozens are executed by kneeling above explosives buried in the sand right before they are detonated. The atrocities are endless  and now they are expanding into the West.

As the atrocities expand, so must our vital international advocacy campaign to end the ISIS genocide and defend Christians and other religious minorities.

For years, we have been defending persecuted Christians at the UN, on Capitol Hill, and around the world. Our advocacy ensured that the Obama Administration recognized the ISIS genocide against Christians.

Our organization, the American Center for Law and Justice, has sent key legal letters to U.N. Secretary-General Ban ki-Moon, U.S. Permanent Representative to the U.N. Ambassador Samantha Power, the 47 Member States of the U.N. Human Rights Council, and to Secretary of State John Kerry.

Weve submitted key legal documents and made two oral interventions at the U.N. Human Rights Council.

We also filed written observations regarding ISIS atrocities against Iraqi Christians in a case before the European Court of Human Rights.

And we are seeing results. Congress, the European Parliament, and the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe have passed genocide resolutions. Secretary Kerry recognized the genocide against . . . Christians.

A representative of the U.N. Secretary Generals office raised the issue at the U.N. Security Council, and numerous countries called for action to protect religious minorities for ISIS genocide at the U.N. Human Rights Council.

But we cant stop there. We are actively preparing numerous legal letters and other advocacy measures  part of our 7-point plan  working in Congress, at the U.N., with world leaders, and pressuring the Obama Administration into action.

We have a moral and international legal obligation to act to stop this genocide and protect these Christians and other religious minorities.

We must destroy ISIS.

There is no other option.
This years presidential campaign has revealed much about the state of the union in 2016, but surely one of the most important revelations has been the existence of a stagnant economy with declining real wages and a great hollowing out of the Middle Class as millions of Americans are dropping out of the labor force.

As Jim Clifton of Gallup wrote last year, we need a minimum of 10 million new, good jobs to replenish America's middle class.

At the heart of the problem is a real gap between the skills many Americans have and the skills they need to get a good job.

According to the Department of Labor, there are nearly 6 million job openings in the U.S. Frequently, these positions are unfilled because businesses cannot find employees with the skills they need.

Bridging the skills gap is both a cultural and training challenge. The cultural challenge is that there have to be enough people willing to do the type of work required for the jobs that are available. The training challenge is that we have to have systems of education available to provide the skills these jobs require.

While graduates of top universities may have little trouble finding the highest-paying jobs, millions of other students are getting a far more questionable bargain from our current system of higher education. As Mike Rowe, host of "Dirty Jobs" on the Discovery Channel, has described the challenge, we are lending money that ostensibly we don't have to kids who really have no hope of paying it back in order to train them for jobs that clearly don't exist.

Americans who are past the typical age of an undergraduate student are in an even worse position. Traditional universities and community colleges focus intensely on academics over practical knowledge, which often makes them a poor choice for people who need to learn new skills at middle age.

Our political leaders are finally catching on to this reality.

The Republican Party platform called for new systems of learning to compete with traditional four-year schools, including technical institutions, online universities, lifelong learning, and work-based learning in the private sector. Public policy, the platform said, should recognize that a four-year degree from a brick-and-mortar institution is not the only path toward a prosperous and fulfilling career.

Hillary Clinton echoed the sentiment in her acceptance speech at the Democratic National Convention last month, acknowledging something we dont say often enough: College is crucial, but a four-year degree should not be the only path to a good job. We need, she said, to help more people learn a skill or practice a trade and make a good living doing it.

Those are excellent words from the Democratic nominee for president. Unfortunately, her partys platform explicitly attacks the programs and businesses that are necessary to make her words a reality.

The Democratic Party platform calls for special regulations targeting private sector colleges, universities and career education programs--and many of these appear designed to put the career-focused schools out of business. For instance, the Democratic platform lauds the Obama administrations Gainful Employment Rule, which requires only private-sector programs to prove that graduates, on average, earn enough money so that their loan payments are less than 8 percent of their monthly incomes.

They dont define programs by academic quality, simply by the debt-to-earnings ratio in year 3 of ones chosen career. What does that mean? If you are poor, and pursue an occupation with lower starting wages, your program soon will not exist!

The administration now supports a newly proposed defense-to-repayment regulation, which would require all schools to set aside funds to forgive student loan debts for those students who can claim that their schools made misrepresentations to them even if no harm resulted and even if no intent to defraud could be proven. The proposed regulation would be a dramatic expansion of the legal arguments trial lawyers could wield on behalf of their student clients to not pay back their student loans.

We all support students who are academically defrauded being able to seek appropriate loan forgiveness. But a regulation that imposes penalties before conviction and encourages class action law suits by trial lawyers would eliminate the good schools providing good programs.

Even the Washington Post editorial board has labeled this proposed regulation an overreach.

The regulation would also impose a significant cost on taxpayers. By its own estimate, the Department of Education believes the implementation of the proposed regulation could cost the taxpayer $43 billion over the next ten years in the form of student debt that would go uncollected and be left to the taxpayer to foot the bill.

Both Republicans and Democrats should be for accountability in higher education and reasonable regulations, including even some version of the gainful employment and defense-to-repayment rules. At the same time, accountability standards must apply to everybody equally--public and nonprofit universities, community colleges, and private-sector schools alike.

Any unequal application of federal rules in higher education should be taken as a clear sign that the regulations are not principled consumer protection measures. Instead, unequal application of accountability rules is a sure sign that one sector of higher education is being punished, and another benefited, strictly on ideological grounds. This double standard in enforcement of the law is inherently unfair and should face bipartisan rejection by Congress.

The Obama administration should realize that when they punish good, law abiding institutions that focus on skills training and career education, they are really punishing the forgotten middle class--the very people that the career schools are serving and that traditional schools arent serving. They are also punishing the very people who are in the best position to close the skills gap and help rebuild the Middle Class in this country one good job at a time.

In light of the historic gap between our comfortable elites and the rest of the country, we urgently need a renewed, bipartisan commitment to improving opportunity for all Americans. That will require new thinking about how we train people for careers that are available now, how we accredit the institutions that are helping students learn the skills they need, and how we hold schools equally accountable for producing results.

With her fine words about skills education in her acceptance speech last week, Hillary Clinton has the opportunity to lead her party in a new direction and away from an ideologically driven assault on career education.

Donald Trump and the Republican majorities in Congress have already signaled their clear commitment to career education in the Republican party platform. Congress has a rare bipartisan opportunity before it to help rebuild the Middle Class by closing the skills gap. It only has to make sure that new costly and punitive regulations out of the Department of Education are revised so that they dont destroy the very schools that will help make this happen.

If not, the real losers are those students, often adults, with only one road to the middle class  through a career program providing real skills leading to real jobs, real income and real place in Americas middle class.

Editor's note: Newt Gingrich is an advisor to Career Education Colleges and Universities.


Apples next iPhone and iPad operating system will no longer feature an emoji picture of a handgun. In its place will be an emoji of a green, plastic squirt gun.

There is nothing particularly threatening about the current handgun picture. You only see the side of the gun; it isnt pointed at the reader or anyone else. No bullets are even being fired. The whole idea to drop the handgun emoji came about through a lobbying effort started by New Yorkers Against Gun Violence.

The bomb, sword, knife, and axe emojis will stay. Apparently, a bomb with a lit fuse is OK but a nonthreatening handgun is too much.

So do you feel safer now?

Apples replacement of a handgun with a water pistol isnt its first foray into political correctness on guns.

Apple isn't the first tech company to be accused of liberal political bias. This year, Facebook was found to be leaving conservative sources out of its list of trending news stories.

Googles news searches have also favored Hillary Clinton and liberal sources.

Apple is a member of a non-profit organization called the Unicode Consortium, which sets a standard so that other computers know when your computer has sent them an emoji smiling face or a gun. Each computer operating system then has discretion in terms of how that emoji will actually look on your computer.

Apples replacement of a handgun with a water pistol isnt its first foray into political correctness on guns.

This past June, Apple successfully campaigned against the Unicode Consortium when it wanted to create a rifle emoji. The rifle was being given serious consideration since rifle shooting is part of this summers Olympic Games in Brazil.

Those who support the right to self-defense might be forgiven for believing that there is a War on Guns, with a concerted attack by everyone from Apple to the hundreds of millions of dollars being spent by the likes of billionaires Michael Bloomberg and George Soros in producing misleading information on guns to Hillary Clinton promising to again make it possible for government to ban guns.

Back in August 2004, Steve Jobs, a Democrat, didnt think that Apple should be taking sides in political debates. When Jobs was asked about George W. Bush, he replied: There are more Democrats than Mac users so Im going to just stay away from all that political stuff because that was just a personal thing.

Well, the Steve Jobs era is over. Tuesday, Apple announced more than a hundred new and redesigned emoji characters. Apple emphasized it was offering more gender options and that it wanted to ensure that popular emoji characters reflect the diversity of people everywhere. But Apples view of diversity is the equivalent of diversity in liberal academia. Diversity is acceptable as long as it fits between moderate Democrats and left-wingers.

Never mind that guns can be used for good. Never mind that police cant be everywhere and can't always protect people. Never mind that lots of Twitter conversations could use the emoji without actually having anything to do with violence: describing someone as a hired gun or sticking to their guns or jumping the gun. Are we really better off if we could exorcise this word from the English language?

Last week, it was announced that there are over 14.5 million adult concealed handgun permit holders in the U.S. Each year, this number has grown faster and faster. And, in recent years, more than half of the guns sold in the U.S. have been handguns.

Concealed handgun permit holders are probably the most law-abiding Americans. They are even much more law-abiding than police officers.

Yet, somehow, Apple doesnt even trust its users with a harmless emoji.
Syndicated columnist and Fox News contributor Charles Krauthammer said Thursday on "Special Report with Bret Baier" that the way the United States paid Iran cash in the middle of the night, clandestinely, was "the way it's done by gangsters."

"They were doing ransom, they didn't want anyone to know and they had to go around the law and the Congress," Krauthammer added. "The Congress didn't know."

President Obama, who spoke at the Pentagon Thursday, said that because the U.S. didn't have a relationship with Iran, it had to be done this way.

Krauthammer called the move 'highly embarrassing' and reacted to Obama's comments, saying "I have to admit, he's rather good with words, he made it sound like this had just completely natural."

He added the swapping of money and hostages was like a scene out of a movie.

"They had to wait for the ransom to arrive, that's what happens when you ransom a hostage, you wait until the cash arrives and then the guy, in all the movies, is released across the field, you know, where he's being released," he said. "For them to try and pretend this was anything other than a ransom is laughable, and I think it hurts their credibility."
The head of Missouri's public defender system said he is appointing Gov. Jay Nixon to handle a case in protest of withheld funding.

Michael Barrett, the director of Missouri's Public Defender System, wrote in a letter this week that his office lacks the funding to hire enough public defenders for people who can't afford representation. The letter to Nixon was dated Tuesday and posted Wednesday on the office's website.

Barrett said state law allows him to appoint any Missouri attorney to secure representation for indigent clients. He said he's starting with Nixon, a former attorney general.

"Given the extraordinary circumstances that compel me to entertain any and all avenues for relief, it strikes me that I should begin with the one attorney in the state who not only created this problem, but is in a unique position to address it," Barrett wrote.

Nixon spokesman Scott Holste said in a written statement Thursday that the governor has "always supported indigent criminal defendants having legal representation" and that "it is well established that the public defender does not have the legal authority to appoint private counsel." Holste cited a state statute that said appointments of private counsel are made after a circuit court judge determines that they won't cause "undue hardship."

In his letter, Barrett cited a U.S. Department of Justice report released in July 2015 on the St. Louis County Family Court, which in part said young people accused of crimes often lack proper legal representation. It also said black youths are treated more harshly than whites. Meanwhile, a 2014 American Bar Association study, conducted by the consulting firm RubinBrown, estimated Missouri's public defenders spend less than a quarter of the time needed to be "reasonably effective" on some felony cases.

"I'm not trying to jump up and down and get attention, but this is a constitutional right," Barrett said in a phone interview, adding that attorneys are juggling from 125 to more than 200 cases at a time.

Office of Administration spokeswoman Ryan Burns said the agency's budget has gone up roughly $5.4 million while Nixon's been in office, from about $35.7 million in fiscal year 2009 to about $41.1 million in fiscal year 2017. But the agency said it needs more and has been frustrated by withheld money.

The Missouri's Public Defender System last month filed a lawsuit over its funding, saying Nixon withheld $3.5 million of a $4.5 million increase. Lawmakers had approved the increase in June after Barrett warned that his office needs almost twice as many attorneys and that because of their large workloads, public defenders were spending 40 percent less time on cases than private defense attorneys would.

Nixon also withheld money from the system for the fiscal year that ended in June, 30, 2015. He later released the money, but it was too late to spend $2.97 million.

Barrett, who was hired by a Nixon-appointed commission, has asked the governor to handle an assault case in Cole County. He declined to offer the name of the suspect, and a court employee said there was no way to search for information about the case without a name.

Cole County prosecuting attorney Mark Richardson also said there was no way to know which case Nixon had been asked to handle without more information. Richardson declined to comment further about the situation.
Hillary Clinton tried Friday to clarify her widely disputed claim that the FBI director had declared her statements on her email scandal truthful  but may have ended up adding to the confusion, delivering a lengthy and at-times conflicting explanation that the Donald Trump campaign later called pretzel-like.

The Democratic presidential candidate addressed the controversy when she fielded questions from reporters with the National Association of Black Journalists and the National Association of Hispanic Journalists.

She was asked early on about her statement, on Fox News Sunday, that FBI Director James Comey had affirmed her answers on her email controversy were truthful and what I've said is consistent with what I have told the American people.

Fact-checkers have roundly slammed that claim, noting thats not exactly what Comey said.

Clinton, however, seemed to stand by her comments on Friday, saying she was referring to her answers in her FBI interview -- while also acknowledging she may have short-circuited her explanation.

In her clarification, though, Clinton gave a difficult-to-follow response.

I have said  that what I told the FBI, which he said was truthful, is consistent with what I have said publicly, Clinton said.

She added: Having him say that my answers to the FBI were truthful  and that I should quickly add what I said was consistent with what I had said publicly, and thats really in my view trying to tie both ends together.

This new explanation drew jeers from Republicans.

Clinton knows the actions she has taken are disqualifying for someone wishing to become Commander-in-Chief, and that is why todays painful, pretzel-like response to a simple question about her illegal server was obvious to everyone watching, Jason Miller, Trump senior communications adviser, said in a statement.

Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus said, Judging from the way Hillary Clinton kept lying at todays event, its not hard to see why she hasnt held a press conference in 244 days.

Priebus accused Clinton of yet again falsely claiming that what Director Comey said at his press conference is consistent with what she told the American people.

Comey did say last month the bureau had no basis to conclude she lied to the FBI.

However, the FBI director did not say the same about her statements to the American public.

And during testimony before a House committee, Comey said it was not true that nothing Clinton sent or received was marked classified. To the contrary, he said, there was classified material emailed.

After Clintons initial statement to Fox News Sunday  which she repeated later in the week  fact-checkers piled on. The Washington Post awarded her four Pinnochios. PolitiFact gave her a Pants on Fire rating. FactCheck.org declared her claims false.

On Friday, however, Clinton challenged the claims on the classified markings. As her campaign has argued before, she noted Comey has acknowledged the markings themselves were not properly marked. The State Department also has suggested those markings shouldnt have been there, which Clinton mentioned Friday.

She repeated: I never sent or received anything that was marked classified.

Comey, though, also challenged other statements by Clinton during his testimony last month. On her claim that she used one device, Comey said, She used multiple devices.

Clinton offered conflicting statements on that point Friday.

At the top of her answer, she said that using two emails accounts was a mistake.

But at the end, she said: I will go back to where I started. I regret using one account.
The Fourth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Friday agreed to place former Virginia first lady Maureen McDonnell's corruption case on hold until later this month.

Earlier this week, McDonnells lawyers requested the Richmond-based appeals court vacate her nine convictions in light of the Supreme Courts unanimous decision last month to overturn the 11 convictions of her husband, former governor Bob McDonnell.

The Supreme Court found Gov. McDonnell's conduct was unseemly but not a violation of federal bribery laws and returned it to the 4th Circuit Court for further review.

The court already agreed to give prosecutors and his attorneys until Aug. 29 to file a proposed briefing schedule and her lawyers followed suit.

The court Friday issued a one-paragraph motion for abeyance, which sets her case on the same schedule as her husbands.

The former governor and first lady were convicted of accepting more than $165,000 in gifts and loans from a wealthy businessman.
Nearly half of the detainees remaining at Guantanamo Bay are slated for transfer, a Pentagon official confirmed to Fox News.

Of the 76 remaining detainees, 34 have been approved for transfer to countries that have agreed to accept them, according to spokeswoman Valerie Henderson.

Thirty-two other detainees are slated to have their cases heard by a Department of Defense review board.

Not all the detainees that get transferred to other countries will go to prison, however, and the details of the terms of each transfer with other nations remain a secret.

Ten other detainees at Gitmo cannot be transferred based on the severity of the charges they face.

The developments continue to fuel concerns among critics that some of these detainees could return to terror. They cite statistics from the Director of National Intelligence that say nearly 30 percent of those who have been released have returned to the battlefield or have been suspected of doing so.

While President Obama has called those transferred to date low level individuals, defense officials with knowledge of the recent transfers and of those remaining at the detention center call these men the worst of the worst.

Some of the detainees approved for transfer out of Gitmo were involved in the 9/11 attacks, according to Thomas Joscelyn, a senior fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies.

Earlier this year, a detainee transferred to Uruguay in 2014 went missing. It is rumored that Jihad Ahmed Mustafa Dhiab, an Al Qaeda operative, traveled to Syria to rejoin his old cohorts, but other officials are concerned the Syrian national may still be in South America and could be plotting an attack in Brazil during the Olympics.

In recent months, Republicans on Capitol Hill have put forth legislation to prevent the transfer of the remaining detainees.

The Miami Herald first reported the new Gitmo numbers, though the Pentagons numbers differ slightly by one detainee.
The pace of Syrian refugees entering the U.S. has surged in recent weeks, government figures show, putting the Obama administration on track to meet its target of admitting 10,000 Syrian refugees before the end of September - and reviving Republican concerns about the security implications.

State Department reports show that 2,340 Syrian refugees arrived last month in the United States.

That's more than what occurred during the entire seven months after President Obama directed his team to prepare for 10,000 admissions from the war-torn country. Total admissions for the current budget year, which ends Sept. 30, now come to about 7,900, and the vast majority of them are Sunni Muslims, records show.

Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson said earlier this week the U.S. is on track to meet the 10,000-refugee goal.

If the pace from June and July continues this month, the target should be reached with a couple of weeks to spare, before Obama heads to the United Nations to urge world leaders to admit more refugees and increase funding for relief organizations.

But amid new predictions from FBI Director James Comey of a terrorist diaspora out of Syria, some Republicans are ramping up warnings that the flow of refugees poses a threat to America and Western Europe.

Rep. Vern Buchanan, R-Fla., urged President Obama in a letter Thursday to immediately stop accepting Syrian refugees as a matter of national security.

He wrote: We are seeing a clear pattern in which a number of recent attacks have been carried out by ISIS terrorists with ties to Syria, including: the July 24 bombing of a music festival in Germany; the July 26 killing of a French priest; and the July 24 murder of a German woman with a machete. Syrian refugees played a part, either as attackers or accomplices, in all three attacks.

In the context of this clear threat, your goal of admitting 10,000 Syrians as a part of a so-called surge operation is extremely troubling.  Terrorists are leaving Syria disguised as refugees and carrying out attacks in the West. The prudent course of action is to halt all admissions of Syrians into the U.S. until the safety of Americans can be guaranteed, he wrote.

In a statement Thursday night, the Donald Trump campaign said the administration was dangerously expediting their admission.

According to federal government data, the Syrian refugees are being re-settled in states across the country, including Arizona, California and New York.

The White House, though, has emphasized that the screening process for refugees takes 12 months to 18 months and includes in-person interviews and a review of biographical and biometric information. The administration also has said it is focused on bringing in refugees who are in the most desperate situations, such as families with children and those in need of medical care. In the year prior to Obama's new target, the U.S. accepted about 1,680 Syrian refugees.

Secretary of State John Kerry, speaking with reporters during a visit to Buenos Aires, Argentina, said the United States has developed "sufficient methods" of screening would-be refugees.

"We are very comfortable that we are bringing people in who will be a great plus to our country," Kerry said.

Kerry said that "not one event in the United States, of terror" has been committed by a refugee allowed to re-settle in the U.S.

But two Iraqi refugees were arrested in 2011 for plotting to send weapons and money to Al Qaeda operatives fighting against U.S. troops back in Iraq. The scheme was foiled, but the case did leave jitters about whether extremists could slip in among the Syrian refugees.

"We believe ... the people who are fleeing Syria are the most harmed by terrorism. They are parents. They are children. They are orphans," Kerry said. "It is very important that we do not close our hearts to the victims of such violence."

Kerry also applauded Argentina's pledge to re-settle 3,000 Syrian refugees in the South American country and said the United States is committed to working with the government there on security issues.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.
A Washington, D.C.-area mayor, who moonlights as a substitute public school teacher, was arrested Thursday in an undercover meth-for-sex sting operation.

Richard Silverthorne, 50, mayor of Fairfax City, Va., was charged in connection to a scheme that involved offers of methamphetamine in exchange for group sexual encounters with men, a Fairfax County police official told FoxNews.com.

Silverthorne allegedly provided meth to undercover detectives at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Tysons Corner. He was arrested and charged with felony distribution of methamphetamine and misdemeanor possession of drug paraphernalia.

Police say they started their investigation in July following a tip about a possible meth distributor. Based on information obtained during the investigation, police said a suspect was identified who was allegedly distributing (meth) through a website used to arrange for casual sexual encounters between men.

Police say an undercover detective created a fake profile on the website, and Silverthorne responded. The detective and Silverthorne then exchanged text messages in which Silverthorne allegedly said he could provide meth for sexual encounters.

They set up a meeting for a group sexual encounter in exchange for meth, police said.

When Silverthorne handed over the drugs to detectives, he was arrested.

Police say they also arrested Silverthornes alleged suppliers  Juan Jose Fernandez, 34, and Caustin Lee McLaughlin, 21. The men were taken to the Fairfax County Adult Detention Center for processing.
Modern technology has turned to the divine, recreating one of the Wonders of the Ancient World in the form of a 3D-printed statue of Zeus, the god that the original Olympic Games honored.

Beginning on Aug. 20, the printed model of Zeus will be on display as part of an exhibition at the Millennium Gate Museum in Atlanta, the city that hosted the Summer Olympics in 1996.

The modern statue of Zeus was born thanks to an industrial 3D printer made by Stratasys, which created the sculpture in layers from the bottom up, according to a video the company released showing the process.

But the original sculpture was much different, and its roots are in the Olympic Games of antiquity. Those games, which began in 776 B.C., honored Zeus as the Millennium Gate Museum explains in a statement about the new exhibit and a giant statue of the him was built by Phidias. That one was 43 feet tall, based on a wooden frame, and had ivory plates and golden panels, the museum said. While no one knows exactly how this Wonder of the Ancient World was destroyed, it did last for over 800 years.

The final replica of Zeus which Stratasys said stands 6 feet tall will be part of an exhibit at the museum that will include ancient Greek items that date to over 2,500 years old.

One of the virtues of 3D printing is that since the files the objects are printed from are digital, they can be preserved and recreated. Throughout history, there are always instances where the most precious works of art get destroyed or broken. In the past, this disappearance meant items were lost forever. Thats why were so heavily invested in the artistic value of 3D printing, Jeremy Kobus, the Millennium Gate Museums director, said in a statement.

The 3D printer that created the replica is a Stratasys Fortus 900mc. A company representative said in an email to FoxNews.com that it doesnt publicly release the cost of the machine.

Follow Rob Verger on Twitter: @robverger
The Navys most mocked camouflage uniform will be soon be a thing of the past, the service announced Thursday.

The Navy Working Uniform Type I, blue camouflage utilities commonly referred to as blueberries will be replaced everywhere in the service by the forest-green NWU Type III camouflage utilities developed by Naval Special Warfare Command as a tactical uniform.

According to an announcement today by Naval Personnel Command, sailors will have the option of wearing either the NWU Type I or III beginning Oct. 1 of this year, and will be required to wear the NWU Type III as the primary working uniform ashore and in port by Oct. 1, 2019.

As [Chief of Naval Operations Adm. John Richardson] and I travel to see sailors deployed around the world, one of the issues they consistently want to talk about are uniforms, Navy Secretary Ray Mabus said in a statement. They want uniforms that are comfortable, lightweight, breathable  and they want fewer of them. We have heard the feedback and we are acting on it. As a direct result of Sailors input, effective Oct. 1, we will transition from the NWU Type I to the NWU Type III as our primary shore working uniform.

Apart from the common criticism that the uniforms, introduced in 2009, added more weight to sailors seabags, the pattern has been mocked as a pointless use of camouflage.

The Navy blueberries  I dont know what the name is, thats what sailors call them  the great camouflage it gives is if you fall overboard, Mabus reportedly said in 2013, acknowledging the controversy.

Officials said the NWU Type III, now used by riverines and other expeditionary forces, would be issued to new recruits beginning Oct. 1, 2017.

Sailors will be able to keep wearing their black boots with the NWU type III, but Navy expeditionary forces, deployed or stateside will be allowed to wear boots in coyote brown or desert tan at the discretion of their unit commanding officer, officials said.

Navy officials also announced today a series of other uniform decisions handed down by the service. By 2020, all sailors will transition to the Cold Weather Parka as service and service dress uniform, with other outerwear including the Navy All Weather Coat, Pea Coat and Reefer coat becoming optional.

Beginning immediately, female chiefs will be able to wear the signature mens khaki pants, without belt and buckle, with khaki over-blouse. The Navy is still conducting wear tests of womens khaki pants for the chiefs uniform, and officials said they were expected to be available for purchase at the end of 2017 or beginning of 2018.

Navy sweats are getting a new logo: NAVY in silver reflective lettering, which is already featured on the Navy PT shirt and shorts.

And popular Dont Tread on Me and reverse U.S. flag patches are now authorized, at the discretion of the commander, on NWU Type II and III uniforms, officials said.

To cover the costs of uniform changes, the enlisted clothing replacement allowance will be adjusted. Commissioned officers, who only receive a one-time career uniform stipend, will not see an adjustment, officials said.

This story first appeared on Military.com.
Silicon Valley entrepreneur Blake Krikorian, who co-founded home video streaming company Sling Media, has died, according to Recode.

Recode reports that the former Sling Media CEO died Wednesday. While the cause of death is unconfirmed, Krikorian apparently suffered a heart attack while surfing in the San Francisco area, the report said.

The 48-year old entrepreneur had also served on the board of Amazon and worked at Microsoft during his career.

On hearing the news of Krikorians death, a number of tech industry figures paid their respects on social media.

Devastating news. Such an awesome guy. Hard to imagine, tweeted Zynga founder and Executive Chairman Mark Pincus.

Devastating news. Such an awesome guy. Hard to imagine. https://t.co/SAKwhpKgVl  mark pincus (@markpinc) August 4, 2016

Blake was an amazing friend. Wisdom, creativity, and child-like curiosity all in one. You'll be missed, Uncle Dude, tweeted PayPal co-founder and entrepreneur Max Levchin.

Blake was an amazing friend. Wisdom, creativity, and child-like curiosity all in one. You'll be missed, Uncle Dude. https://t.co/rvBzAFNg7z  Max Levchin (@mlevchin) August 4, 2016

Maker of the Slingbox streaming device, Sling Media was purchased by EchoStar Communications for $380 million in 2007.
Police in Dallas are warning drivers about a new method criminals are using to steal credit card information at gas pumps.

At least five Exxon stations in the North Dallas area recently have been targeted by tech-savvy criminals who installed Bluetooth-equipped skimming machines on gas pumps, authorities told Fox 4 News.

They're not visible from the outside of the gas pump and appear to be made by the same person or same group, said Lieutenant Tony Crawford, commander of the Dallas Police Financial Investigations Unit.

"The sophisticated technology is used with a Bluetooth connection, this is the scary part, to transmit the data, he added. What that means is the suspect does not have to go back into the pump to retrieve the information that he's looking for.

Police were alerted to the scheme after discovering the device attached to a pump with a malfunctioning screen.

To avoid becoming a victim, police told Fox 4 News that it is advised to pay inside and use cash when possible.

Click for more from Fox 4 News.
At the height of summer tourist season, law enforcement officials in Rome, Italy have established security perimeters around some of the city's most popular landmarks including the Colosseum, the Vatican museums and St. Peters Square.

The heightened security measures come amid a renewed terrorist attack threat after a Sinai-based faction of ISIS released a new video with repeated calls to jihadists to conquer the popular tourist destination on Monday.

Within hours of the video's release, Romes police commissioner, Nicolo DAngelo, pledged to increase security at the Colosseum, the citys most visited site, to the highest level in recent months.

Two weeks ago, Sairey Gernes, a tourist from Minnesota, stood in the Colosseums security line for 35 minutes. And that didnt include the time spent waiting in line for tickets.

And with more security checkpoints, tourists can expect even longer wait times at some of the city's monuments.



Since the release of the terrorist group's video, hundreds more carabinieri the citys police and military personnelhave been deployed to patrol new checkpoints at Rome's most popular attractions such as the Pantheon and Roman Forumall purported ISIS targets.

Kevin Newton, an Alexandria, Va.-based expert on Islamic Law says these ancient monuments are vulnerable because of their age and cultural significance.

ISIS is still stuck in the past, explains Newton. They draw on the greatest enemy of the Middle East during the Middle Ages, Rome.

Newton predicts that if terror is to strike Rome in the near future it will be in similar fashionsindividual attackers as well as groupsto what has happened elsewhere in Europe.

However, there will be one noticeable difference. While more secular targets have been chosen in past attacks such as Paris and Brussels, ISIS will seek to attack symbols of Western Christianity, namely the Vatican, as a way of appealing to its supporters.

The Swiss Guard has protected the Vatican since 1506 and it has yet to release any formal statements in response to Romes most recent ISIS threat. Travel blogger Andrea Larsen visited Vatican City last week and said St. Peters Square was accessible and everyone seemed relaxed. But Larsen did note several automatic weapon-toting pairs of carabinieri casually patrolling the area.

Teresa Tomeo, a talk show host for Catholic TV, has led numerous tours and pilgrimages to the Vatican this year. While shes noticed the growing presence of barricades preventing cars from coming as close as they could a few years back, shes quick to point out that some of the increase in security is a result of the increase in visiting pilgrims-- 2016 is the Churchs Holy Year of Mercy.

Most visitors feel better that security is taken so seriously and accept it, says Tomeo. We can either choose to live in fear and stay away from places weve always dreamed of visiting or we can be astute travelers attentive to our surroundings and willing to work with security forces trying to enhance safety.

Safety, in this case, implies the threat of terrorism, but also, a more rampant threat: tourism. And its not just the people that need to be protected. In July, three tourists dressed in bathing suits enraged locals when they opted to cool off in one of Romes historic fountains. It wasnt the famous Trevi Fountain, but still, the 17th century Fontana dell'Acqua Paola, deserves respect tweeted a local organization.

And a YouTube video uploaded in May that went viral late last month, purportedly shows two German tourists scaling the Colosseums scaffolding at night. The men didnt encounter any security guards but if the same stunt was attempted today, they'd likely be slapped with a fine of a few hundred Euros and possibly jail time.

Mike Fricchione, a Long Island-based political consultant has visited Rome frequently over the past decade. On his most recent trip that ended early August, he noticed an unprecedented level of security-- starting at Fiumicino Airport. Agents are no longer stamping passports without a second glance. Instead, theyre taking their time, giving travelers a much closer look.

But, says Fricchione, he's not worried and would-be tourists shouldn't be deterred from visiting the historic Italian capital.

Despite numerous invasions, Rome has survived for thousands of years. I always feel safe in the Eternal City.
In late July, a traveler about to board a Southwest flight was blocked from taking his seat because of a T-shirt. The would-be passenger said he was denied a seat because of the "political" message on shirt which featured the Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump.

Not so, said Southwest.

It was a word on the shirt (it began with the letter f) that was the problem, or as an airline spokesman put it, a word widely considered offensive." When the passenger refused to change, or even turn the shirt inside out, things escalated and he got the boot.

So, does Southwest have a dress code you should know about?

No, I was told. However, according to its contract of carriage  legalese for airline rules  passengers can be denied boarding if their clothing is lewd, obscene, or patently offensive. Who makes the call? Airline employees. There are other surprising rules that can keep you off a plane, too, and we found all of the ones below in airline contracts of carriage.

1. Not enough clothes

Almost every airline bans shirts with obscene messages, but Virgin America goes a step further on the fashion-front, telling travelers that they will not be transported if they are not wearing both top and bottom apparel. Hard to believe one could forget something like this but its happened.

2. Not enough deodorant

According to American Airlines contract of carriage, you will not be allowed on the plane if you have an offensive odor. You might be surprised to learn nearly every airline says the same thing, and yes, people have been kicked off planes for this, including a man forced off an Air Canada jet a few years back for exuding what one fellow passenger described as a brutal aroma.

3. If you are really, really sick

Many of us have flown with a cold or other minor ailment but Delta points out (as do other airlines) that you might run into trouble at the gate if you are seriously ill, and fail to provide a physician's written permission to fly.

Yes, this is rare, but we know of instances where it has happened including during the H1N1 flu-like virus outbreak in 2009. If you are very sick, dont make yourself miserable by chancing a flight  not to mention risking the health of fellow passengers.

4. If you travel with the wrong emotional support animal

Actually, you wont be kicked off but JetBlue will deny boarding to your unusual emotional support pet-- and if you must travel with your snake (or ferret or spider)-- you wont be along for the ride either. No reasons are given but presumably the airline is looking out for the emotional comfort of passengers who dont wish to be seated beside a supportive spider or pooping pig.

5. If you are doing time

Spirit Airlines will not transport prisoners in the custody of law enforcement under any circumstances with or without restraints. Some airlines do allow uncuffed individuals but just dont do the crime if you cant stand a nice long bus ride.
Delta Air Lines says it's investigating a claim from an Ohio Muslim that alleges they were removed from a flight after an airline employee said the couples presence made her uncomfortable.

Faisal and Nazia Ali are U.S. citizens originally from Pakistan. In July, the couple flew to London, and then Paris, to celebrate their 10 year wedding anniversary.

On July 26, the couple boarded a return flight home at Paris Charles De Gaulle. They faced no issues during the boarding process but after the couple was seated, Nazia Ali said, their ordeal began.

"We had been in our seats for 45 minutes," she told reporters Thursday from the Cincinnati area office of the Council on American-Islamic Relations. "The ground agent said, `Can you step out with me? We'd like to ask you a few questions.' So I said, `Do you want us to get our things?' And he said, `Yes, please grab all of your personal belongings. You're not going to be on this flight.' "

During the boarding process, a crew member on the flight had complained to the pilot that she was uncomfortable with the Muslim couple seated in the second row of economy class, reports the Cincinnati Enquirer. The woman was wearing a head scarf and using a phone, and the man was sweating and said the word Allah, the flight attendant allegedly told the pilot.

The pilot contacted the ground crew and said he would not depart until couple was removed from the plane.

Once the couple was escorted from the flight, they were questioned in a "rough manner" by a French security official.

"It was humiliating. We were treated like criminals. I thought, `We are American citizens. You can't do this to us.' " Nadia Ali said.

After being released, the Alis were rebooked on an another Delta flight departing the following day. The airline paid for a room that night at a hotel near the airport and says the company will issue a full refund of the couple's airfare for the July 26 flight from Paris to Cincinnati.

In the wake of the incident, the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-Cincinnati) is calling on the government and major carriers to evaluate circumcstances under which airline officials can legally remove passengers from flights.

"We call on the U.S. Department of Transportation to conduct a thorough examination into the prevailing practices of major American air carriers, including Delta Air Lines, and to develop policy guidelines on the objective factors that are to be considered when determining that a passenger may legally be removed from a flight," CAIR-Cincinnati attorney Sana Hassan said.

Delta did not say whether it would revise its own policies but issued a statement Thursday saying it will continue to investigate the Alis claim of racial profiling:

"Delta condemns discrimination toward our customers in regards to age, race, nationality, religion, sexual orientation or gender. As a global airline that brings hundreds of thousands of people together every day, Delta is deeply committed to treating all of our customers with respect. Delta continues its investigation into this matter and will issue a full refund of these customers airfare."

The couple hope their case will bring awareness to what they say is a growing problem among Muslims of being discriminated against on flights-- and bring about some industry change.

Said Nazia Ali, "I want people to be educated. This was an international flight crew. They should be more educated than to make assumptions based on appearance."

The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Police in a Buffalo suburb said Thursday that a recently fired firefighter has admitted to starting a blaze that badly damaged the home of an African-American ex-colleague who recently received a threatening racist letter.

North Tonawanda officials told the Buffalo News that Matthew Jurado, 39, had been arrested and charged with second-degree arson in connection with the fire at Kenneth Walker's apartment.

Police said Jurado, who lives across the street from Walker, denied writing an anonymous note that told Walker he should resign his position by the end of this week or he would "regret it." The letter contained two uses of the n-word.

Investigators told the News that Jurado gave them the name of a person he said wrote the letter, but they were still considering the possibility that Jurado wrote it himself.

Police officials said Jurado and Walker had trained together and noted that Jurado was "was upset about being removed from the fire department."

"Kenneth is really relieved, but part of him is hurt because he trained with this guy at the fire academy and hes a neighbor," Walker's uncle, Robert Sands, told the paper. "Kenneth kind of thought of him as a friend."

Walker, his wife and two daughters were not home at the time of Wednesday afternoon's blaze, which occurred two days after he received the letter. However, the apartment was badly damaged and the family's pet cats were killed.

Local residents and business have donated money, clothes and toys to the Walker family, who are currently staying with relatives.

Click for more from The Buffalo News.
George Zimmmerman, who was acquitted of murder and manslaughter charges in the 2012 shooting of a black teenager, says he was punched in the face over the weekend for discussing the case at a Florida restaurant.

The Orlando Sentinel, citing a report from the Seminole County Sheriff's Office, reported that Zimmerman claimed to be recognized by another patron, Joseph Whitmer, after Zimmerman complimented his Confederate flag tattoos.

Zimmerman said he confirmed that he had shot 17-year-old Trayvon Martin and was discussing the case when another man walked up, asked "You're bragging about that?", then told Zimmerman to "get the [expletive] out" of the restaurant.

After Zimmerman went back to his table, the report says the man walked over, said "Didnt I tell you to get the [expletive] out of here?" then punched Zimmerman in the face.

Zimmerman said the man who hit him fled on a blue Harley-Davidson motorcycle. A Sheriff's Office spokeswoman said the man could face battery charges.

However, the owner of the restaurant, Gators Riverside in Sanford, said Zimmerman argued with the other man, but no punches were thrown.

Ed Winters told the Sentinel that Zimmerman's 911 call prompted a full response from police and firefighters that he said was "blown out of proportion."

Everywhere this guy goes he causes controversy, said Winters, who added that Zimmerman was no longer welcome at the restaurant. Youd think hed keep a low profile."

Other witnesses told a different story. Whitmer's wife told authorities Zimmerman told Whitmer his tattoos were "racist." Another witness at Whitmer's table said Zimmerman "came to [the] table and proceeded to brag about how he was the one who killed Trayvon Martin."

Zimmerman was acquitted of second-degree murder and manslaughter in Martin's death, a verdict that caused protests across America. The neighborhood watch volunteer controversially cited Florida's "stand your ground" law to say that he had shot Martin in self-defense during a struggle.

Click for more from the Orlando Sentinel.
Its perhaps not a yuge surprise that the Republican nominee, Donald Trump (a businessman himself), enjoys significant support among entrepreneurs. However, in a recent survey of over 1,000 small-business owners, conducted by my company, Guidant Financial, in partnership with MyCorporation, many entrepreneurs revealed theyre still undecided in this tumultuous political climate. With the overwhelming sentiment that the primary candidates have not yet fully addressed the concerns of small business, this constituency is still looking for compelling answers to issues ranging from the U.S. economy to taxes and health care. Considering that small-business owners plan turn out to the polls in droves, who will step up to capture the small-business vote?

Our survey, conducted April 27 through May 2, assessed the existing primary candidates in the Republican and Democratic parties and explored the issues of greatest impact to small-business owners -- a significant force in the U.S. economy as well as an extremely engaged segment of the electorate. Small businesses with fewer than 500 employees employ about half of the private workforce in the U.S., or roughly 56.8 million people, most of these in firms with under 100 employees. Much fuss is made over the political clout of Wall Street, but what about Main Street?

Highly engaged but still undecided

A full 94.35 percent of business-owner respondents stated they were planning to vote in November, with 4.54 percent undecided and a mere 1.11 percent not intending to cast a ballot. For perspective, the U.S. turnout in the 2012 presidential election was only 53.6 percent, trailing most developed countries.

Related: Should You Tell Employees How to Vote?

Despite these firm intentions to turn out in November, only 54.91 percent of entrepreneurs had made a definitive decision on their choice for president at the time of the survey. An additional 29.69 percent had narrowed their choices down to two, but a full 15.40 percent remained undecided (note that Ted Cruz and John Kasich were still campaigning when the survey took place.) Even more significantly, among self-identified independents and those unenrolled in a party, fewer than half had picked their candidate.

The front runners

Small-business owners chose Donald Trump as the candidate who would best address their needs by a significant margin: 44.36 percent, as compared to Hillary Clinton in second place at 16.39 percent. Similarly, if the election were to be held now, 43.58 percent of respondents would cast their vote for Trump, compared to Clinton at 19.11 percent and Bernie Sanders at 10.73 percent.

The survey participants chose Clinton as the worst choice for president at 36.95 percent, followed by Sanders at 26.09 percent (Trump came in third, incidentally, at 23.74 percent). However, given that about half of the survey participants self-identified as Republican and only 20.67 percent identified as Democrat, these results arent much of a surprise. Of the registered Democrats polled, though, Clinton enjoyed a distinct advantage over her competitor in the primaries: 52.24 percent found she best addressed the interests of small businesses, as compared to 25.87 percent for Sanders.

Love or hate them, front runners Trump and Clinton shared one key characteristic: The survey participants found them the most likely to realize their campaign promises at 35.40 percent and 26.27 percent respectively. By contrast, only 6.88 percent thought that Sanders was most likely to accomplish his campaign goals, while 39.01 percent considered him the least likely to make those promises happen. (As a sign of the races polarization, 28.97 percent of respondents said Trumps promises were least likely to come true, with 24.24 percent saying the same for Clinton.)

Related: How Leaders, in Politics and Business, Use Influence Instead of Power

Honesty doesnt pay -- but does dishonesty?

Entrepreneurs considered John Kasich, who has since dropped out of the race, to be the most honest candidate (29.68 percent), with Sanders a close second at 27.65 percent. (Trump followed at 25.85 percent, with Ted Cruz at 10.95 percent and Clinton at only 5.87 percent.) However, truthfulness failed to correlate with political support. Even though Kasich fared well on questions about his ability to follow through on campaign promises and only 0.67 percent of survey respondents thought he was the worst choice for president, he came in last as top choice for president among the then Republican primary candidates -- a tepid showing for an honest and proven executive.

The survey found Clinton to be the most dishonest among the candidates at a resounding 64.45 percent, although Trump placed second at 22.01 percent. Among women, this margin narrowed to 55.44 percent versus 30.57 percent. Registered Democrats tend not to share this opinion about Clinton, since only 16.29 percent found Clinton the most dishonest compared to 52.81 percent distrusting Trump the most and 30.34 percent for Cruz. Perceptions of honesty followed partisan lines, logically enough. Thus, to gain ground, Clinton in particular must convince the undecided of her integrity, if not her effectiveness.

Do small-business women love Trump?

The female survey participants considered Donald Trump the top candidate to address the needs of small business over Clinton. However, they supported him at a smaller margin at 38.74 percent compared to 44.36 percent overall. If the election were to take place today, 40.82 percent of the women surveyed would vote for Trump and 28.06 percent for Clinton (compared to 43.58 percent and 19.11 percent overall). Women also chose Trump as the worst choice for president, at 33.67 percent, demonstrating how he has tended to polarize voters. In sum, women do not love Trump as much as men do, and in a contentious race, this will matter.

Related: Women Owned Businesses: 4 Stats To Know

What issues will win entrepreneurs over?

Of the entrepreneurs surveyed, 87.20 percent felt that the presidential candidates had not focused enough on small business in their campaigns. What issues are keeping them up at night?

All across the board -- regardless of gender, minority status or political leaning -- small-business owners wanted to hear the presidential hopefuls address the topics of small business (66.23 percent), the economy (59.10 percent) and tax policy (53.95 percent), first and foremost. These entrepreneurs named those same topics as the three that would ultimately sway their vote, but in a slightly different order: At 62.97 percent, the economy took priority over all other matters, followed by tax policy at 44.69 percent and small business at 41.57 percent. Only one candidate, Hillary Clinton, lists small business as a specific campaign issue on her campaign site, which touches upon access to capital, tax relief and incubators to foster entrepreneurial skills, but this survey suggests that winning the small-business vote will boil down to putting forth the most compelling vision of how to grow the economy.

The one policy change that the respondents said would support small business was strengthening the economy, at 52.28 percent, followed by tax cuts at 19.35 percent. Overall, the most damaging policy changes they named were tax hikes at 41.41 percent, followed by an increase in the minimum wage, at 31.92 percent. Concern over tax hikes cut across party lines. However, opinions about minimum wage increases contrasted starkly by political party -- 40 percent of Republicans yet only 14 percent of Democrats claimed minimum wage increases would hurt their small business.

Independents up for grabs

As a real estate mogul, Donald Trump enjoys a natural kinship with entrepreneurs, who repeatedly cite his resume as a businessman as the reason for their support, as well as his outsider status. But will his business record stand up to scrutiny? Whats more, his polarizing lack of political correctness can also work against him among women and minority businesspeople, leaving the door open to his rival Clinton, whose small business platform and reputation for getting the job done may very well win over undecided voters.

Small-business owners, with their strong voting records and firm intentions of hitting the polls in November, represent an untapped but potentially game-changing force in this presidential race, particularly if overall voter turnout comes in low. The significant numbers of undecided independent and unenrolled entrepreneurs suggest that this valuable constituency could tip the scales either way, and that the major party candidates will need to convince small business of the soundness of their economic plans above all.
Two 15-month-old twin girls died Thursday after they were found in a hot car in Carrollton, Ga., officials said.

Police told Fox 5 the twins were found in a car parked in an apartment complex.

The twin girls were placed in a small pool by neighbors to try to cool them down before rescue crews arrived at the scene, police told Fox 5.

Both were rushed to a nearby hospital where they were pronounced dead, according to police.

The twin's mother was in Atlanta at the time of the incident, WSB-TV reported.

Police are questioning the father of the girls, according to WSB-TV.

Click for more from Fox5Atlanta.com.
At least 11,000 hackers from more than 108 countries descended on Las Vegas this week for the 19th annual Black Hat conference. The message for everyone: You should be worried about cyber-security.

The hackers came together to show off their best hacking tricks -- in the name of security, of course. The goal is to help find bugs and loopholes in security systems so they can be fixed.

Last year, Charlie Miller and Chris Valasek made headlines after their remote hack into a Jeeps computer system. They even tested the hack on 60 Minutes. Fiat Chrysler had to recall 1.4 million vehicles because of the stunt.

This year, Miller and Valasek raised the stakes, and hackers around the world revealed their darkest secrets. Here are eight takeaways from this years conference that might scare you:

Related: Make Sure Your SEO is Wearing a White Hat.

1. Even your light bulbs can be hacked.

The Internet of Things undoubtedly can help you with day-to-day tasks, and thats what hackers are counting on.

A presentation by the CTO of NewAE Technology, Colin OFlynn, and Eyal Ronen, an Israeli graduate student, provided details on a cyber-security nightmare, a bug spreading between the Internet of Things and smart devices.

The team shared drone video of hacking office building lights -- and then they hacked the lights at the conference.

2. Be careful what you click on when using social media.

ZeroFOX senior data scientist Philip Tully and data scientist John Seymour showed that the content on your social media accounts may not always be what it seems.

The team built a bot that can phish social media users, sending messages that got them to hand over their personal information and ultimately, their money.

This phishing smart bot locates a target, gets to know the targets interests and then infiltrates his or her feed with a catered message. Its creators saw as high as a 60 percent click through rate.

3. Chip-and-PIN credit cards can be easily hacked.

Although banks are touting chip-and-PIN credit cards as being a safer alternative to the swipe versions, one of the highlights of this years conference was to prove the exact opposite.

Multiple researchers demonstrated that it actually takes only small modifications to equipment to bypass the protections on chip-and-PIN cards to enable unauthorized payments.

4. Your car still isnt safe.

Last year, Charlie Miller and Chris Valasek became hacking stars when they broke into a jeeps computer system, causing Fiat Chrysler to recall cars. This year the pair are back at it.

Instead of just controlling the speed of the car, the team demonstrated this year that they can turn the steering wheel from a laptop in the back seat, which caused the SUV to dramatically crash into a ditch. Its safe to say Fiat Chrysler is not happy.

Related: 5 Growth-Hacking Myths for Software Entrepreneurs

5. Nobody is safe, not even hackers.

You would think that the team that puts on one of the biggest hacking events in the world would be able to keep hackers at bay, but even Black Hat can get hacked.

In the network operations center of Black Hat, a team of volunteers worked to keep the Wi-Fi safe from the 11,000 hackers in attendance.

The Wi-Fi did get hacked, but it was just a practical joke. There was a spike in traffic for two and a half minutes, which was a string of text reading I <3 Grifter (Grifter being a comic book hero) and then Thanks for having a sense of humor.

6. Dont pick up USBs and plug them into your computer.

Yes, that shiny new USB laying on the ground might seem like a blessing, but its not, so please dont put it in your computer.

Google researcher Elie Bursztein ran a study where she dropped nearly 300 USB drives on a college campus. Of those dropped, 98 percent were picked up and 45 percent were plugged into a computer.

While this was just a study that had call home software on it, systems could be hacked with malware-infected USB drives.

7. Even Apple is asking hackers for help against hackers.

You might think youre smart enough to avoid getting hacked, but if Apple is requesting help, you might want to rethink that.

At this years conference, Apple introduced its first security bounty program, which offers hackers that found loopholes an up to $200,000 prize.

8. Short-term rentals are becoming a hot hacking destination.

Jeremy Galloway from Atlassian detailed how public trust for short-term rental companies such as AirBnB might help hackers.

install malware and even gain access to the networks traffic
Chicago Police Superintendent Eddie Johnson says the department is looking at training and tactics after an officer fatally shot an 18-year-old suspect last week.

Johnson said Friday that he applauds release of videos related to the shooting death of Paul O'Neal on July 28. The agency that investigates police misconduct made the videos public Friday morning. Johnson praised the Independent Police Review Authority for being "transparent and open" and said the department would fully cooperate with the investigation.

Autopsy results show O'Neal was shot in the back. Though the videos show officers saying they thought O'Neal fired at them, no gun was ever found.

Johnson has stripped three officers of police powers. He says the department will look at how police agencies elsewhere deal with such situations and promised that his department will be "open and honest" and will work with the community to implement solutions.
Night owls in and around Green Bay, Wis. have been on the lookout this week for a frightening figure.

A figure dressed in an unkempt clown costume with full face makeup and carrying four black balloons has put a scare into some residents of the city on the shore of Lake Michigan.

The clown, dubbed "Gags" by the administrator of a Facebook fan page, was first spotted early Monday morning. The page contains several photos of the clown purported to have been taken the following day.

Despite a number of phone calls, local police say there's nothing they can do.

"This person is not breaking the law," Capt. Kevin Warych of the Green Bay Police Department told USA TODAY. "He can walk in a clown costume anywhere he wants."
A northern Virginia mayor was facing drug charges Friday after his arrest in a meth-for-sex sting, police said.

Fairfax Mayor R. Scott Silverthorne was arrested Thursday after meeting with undercover detectives at a hotel, police said.

After receiving a tip about a possible methamphetamine distributor in July, Fairfax County police said in a statement that they began an inquiry and identified a suspect distributing methamphetamine through a website used to arrange for casual sexual encounters between men. An undercover detective created a profile on the site and police said within days the suspect, who turned out to be Silverthorne, made contact and they then communicated by text.

Silverthorne, 50, indicated that he could provide methamphetamine for sexual encounters and undercover detectives agreed to meet for a group sexual encounter in exchange for methamphetamine, police said. Silverthorne arranged to bring methamphetamine and other men, police said.

Detectives met Silverthorne at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in McLean on Thursday and he was arrested after he gave them methamphetamine, police said.

Detectives also found Silverthorne's suppliers Juan Jose Fernandez, 34, and Caustin Lee McLaughlin, 21, of Maryland, and arrested them, police said. Fernandez was charged with distribution of methamphetamine, possession with the intent to distribute methamphetamine and possession of drug paraphernalia. McLaughlin was charged with distribution of methamphetamine, obstruction of justice and possession of drug paraphernalia. As detectives arrested McLaughlin, police said he resisted and a detective used his stun gun. Police said there were no injuries.

All three men were taken to the Fairfax County Adult Detention Center for processing.

Silverthorne was re-elected in May for a third term of the city west of Washington after a tumultuous year in which The Washington Post reported he lost his job with the National Association of Manufacturers, filed for bankruptcy, lost his home to foreclosure and was diagnosed with cancer. He announced in November that he'd been diagnosed with squamous cell carcinoma, and the Post said he underwent treatment that ended two months before the election.

Police said he was also a substitute teacher for the Fairfax County Public Schools.

His father, the late Frederick Silverthorne, was mayor of Fairfax in the late 1970s and early 1980s.

Scott Silverthorne, a Democrat, also served on the Fairfax City Council.
In May of 2015, Andrew joined our team at Widen as popcorn manager. We bought a commercial popcorn maker and hired Andrew to make popcorn each afternoon. He came to us from Community Support Network (CSN), a nonprofit that helps people with developmental disabilities participate in the Madison, Wisc., community.

Some of Andrews peers, unable to join Widen due to their disabilities, made coasters like the ones at Brazilian steakhouses: red on one side, green on the other. We gave one to each employee. Andrew tallies the reds and greens to know who wants popcorn and how much to make. He is a Widen employee and earns hourly wages for his work.

If, as Peter Drucker claimed, The purpose of business is to create and keep a customer, how can I justify Andrews job? If The purpose of business is to maximize profitability for shareholders, as I was taught 20 years ago in business school, again, Andrew should not be an employee. The two most popular paradigms of business disqualify one of the most impactful roles our company ever has created.

Shareholder value as business strategy has been scrutinized heavily. Jack Welch, the former General Electric CEO who originally lionized the concept, called it the dumbest idea in the world in 2009. Druckers statement, however, has been taken for granted.

What is a CEO's true mission?

Businesses can create and keep customers at the expense of their own employees and communities, or even at the expense of customers. Over the course of history, brothels, sweatshops and other establishments have made moral compromises to create and keep customers. Alone, Druckers statement imposes no accountability on businesses.

If Druckers idea is good but insufficient, what might strengthen it?

Ive argued that championing what the ancient Greeks called eudaimonia -- happiness, health, and prosperity -- should be a CEOs mission. As Chief Eudaimonia Officer, the CEO should strive to help employees, partners, community and customers attain that state of being. To do so, CEOs should inspire advancements across six dimensions of wellness: social, emotional, spiritual, occupational, intellectual and physical. The idea is not mutually exclusive with creating customers and shareholder value.

Spreading eudaimonia begins with one bold action that moves multiple dimensions of wellness. I learned that from Andrew. He came aboard shortly after I met Deb Dove, CSN's executive director. I was convinced that hiring CSN members would be an important service to our community. When I announced the news to our team, the email message received more positive responses than any other email I have ever sent.

Andrew was the first of several CSN hires. Michael, Kristina, Rob and Justin joined us soon after. Along with popcorn-making and delivery, the team took over cleaning responsibilities and straightening up rooms. Later, when Andrew shared his love for growing things, he joined the team that purchases and takes care of all our beautiful plants. Kristina was our 100th employee, and we celebrated her hire with cupcakes, streamers and beach balls.

Related: 6 Ways to Foster More Happiness in the Workplace

How do we embrace differences?

So what happened when we welcomed our CSN team members? First, on a fundamental level, we socially integrated people into the workforce who normally are assisted in isolation. Work created a sense of purpose, community and responsibility that was absent in their lives.

Second, our team began to cultivate a rare form of empathy. Rob empties trash cans daily around the office, and he sometimes does it loudly. He gives elbow bumps to coworkers as he goes about the task. He calls people Momma or Hunk." Extra-special colleagues get a yo, yo, yo, yo! We know Rob isnt trying to be disruptive or offensive, and therefore we dont perceive it that way. We have context for why Rob shows affection the way he does.

It's an important differentiator. People struggle to react in positive or inclusive ways when context is missing. Do we ever consider that people might have a good but unseen reason for their actions? Maybe that driver cut you off in traffic because she's responding to a family emergency. Perhaps an acquaintance responded emotionally to something you said because he's struggling with finances. Or maybe your coworkers left an empty coffee pot without brewing the next one because they didnt want to be late for a customer call. We blindly judge by ignoring the unknown, yet we rarely seek to comprehend the why. Rob teaches us to be more understanding and accepting.

Third, weve learned deeper gratitude for one another. Andrew, our popcorn manager, loves gaming. He talks about Xbox all the time with another Widen employee who shares his passion for video games. Wed like to believe the nexus of our social life belongs outside the office. Yet we all spend at least eight hours a day together in the same building.

Andrews thirst for connection teaches us to be more grateful for our colleagues. It reminds us we are not political competitors or rivals. We are people bound by the same Creator, not numerals in an equation about maximizing profitability. People we assume to be different from ourselves are more like us than not.

Related: A Little Empathy Makes Good Leaders Great

Where do we find purpose in our work?

I can imagine a consultant telling me, This is wasteful. How does your popcorn manager help you create and keep customers? How is that activity helping you maximize shareholder value? Youre a business, not a social venture!

Heres my response: The purpose of business is deeper than that. Yes, those are important economic activities, but we also have a duty to one another. In his 1961 encyclical, "Mother and Teacher," Pope John XXIII reminded us of the important connection between our economic desires and human dignity. The dignity of the human person," he said, "realized in community with others, is the criterion against which all aspects of economic life must be measured.

Working with CSN spreads eudaimonia and thereby honors the dignity of human beings. We create emotional, spiritual, social and occupational wellness by building this bridge into our community. At Widen, this fosters empathy, camaraderie and moral consciousness -- all of which are traits a customer should prefer in a content technology vendor.

I would remind the consultant that Peter Drucker also said, The purpose of an organization is to enable common men to do uncommon things.

Related: 3 Steps (and the Reasons) to Prioritize 'Purpose' in Your Business

Uncommon things (such as spreading eudaimonia) achieve uncommon financial performance. Here's a good example: In one study, companies certified by WorldBlu, a firm that teaches organizational democracy, saw an average cumulative revenue growth rate over a three-year period that was 6.7 times greater than that of the S&P 500 companies.

So if you must justify eudaimonia with financial results, there you have it. But Id prefer CEOs to give back because they choose a higher responsibility than the numbers in their financial statements.

You cant create eudaimonia by tackling every dimension of wellness all at once. Start with one thing. Youll be amazed at what happens when you reject maximizing profitability and hire a popcorn manager.
As a social entrepreneur, I love finding companies and products that help me give back to my community. Thats why these six apps and platforms have become part of my personal and professional toolkit. Theyre easy to use as I go about my day -- whether I'm exercising, grocery shopping or working on my site.

Related: When Should Entrepreneurs Pursue a Social Good?

And each one, in its own way, helps make the world a better place.

Charity Miles

I find its way easier to motivate myself to get going on my morning run when I know that the miles I get through are directly helping charity. Free app Charity Miles allows you to raise money and awareness for a cause just by running, biking or walking. As you exercise, Charity Miles measures your distance and donates 10 cents to your chosen charity for every mile you bike, and 25 cents for every mile you walk or run, up to the companys initial million-dollar corporate sponsorship goal.

If helping others motivates you to help yourself, Charity Miles is great for helping keep fitness goals on track -- and feeling positive about your health and social impact.

Rebel.com

If you're a social entrepreneur looking to revamp or improve your web presence, check out Rebel. It offers simple, useful tools like website builders, web hosting, custom emails and hundreds of different domain endings -- everything you need to make your mark online -- and offers discounts to charitable organizations and nonprofits. After all, Rebel's philosophy is that bravery should be high fived. Technology should excite and conversations should ignite. Authenticity should be revered. And those who contribute make us better.

One of Rebel's biggest draws is that the site's creators love to work with other makers, creatives and innovators. By choosing Rebel for your web domains, hosting and business or personal websites, you support a company that's all about inspiring contribution in the world's bravest communication space -- the internet. Its blog is a hilarious must-visit for entrepreneurs, too.

eGood

If you're looking for another reason to feel good about a shopping spree, heres one. What if every purchase you made triggered a donation to a local charity? eGood is making this possible by connecting consumers with businesses in their community that want to give back, too.

When I use eGood to check in and shop at eGood businesses in my area, the business will donate a percentage of my purchase to a charity of my choice. eGood is constantly working to add new businesses to its network by asking users to recommend their favorite shops. The best part is youre giving back at no extra cost: Its all included in what youre already spending. So, get shopping!

Related: 10 Tech Companies That Are Making the World a Better Place

Horyou

Social entrepreneurs should also look up Horyou, a social network where members and organizations can connect around the world to promote solidarity through action. Horyou provides a place for people to share valuable ideas and innovative projects with like-minded individuals.

On its own, a great idea isnt enough to change anything. But Horyou helps turn ideas into concrete actions. If you're looking for a place to talk about your company and learn how to do more good in the world, Horyous your spot.

GoodGuide

Its frustrating when I don't know if a product is safe, healthy or socially and environmentally responsible. That's why I keep the GoodGuide app handy. Its barcode-scanning software instantly tells me if a product I scan lines up with my environmental and social values.

The free app has a database of science-based health, social and environmental ratings for over 170,000 items. Its a great tool to help you make purchases that you can feel good about.

Fundly

As any entrepreneur knows, it can be tough to find the funds to get your project off the ground, no matter how good your idea is. Fundly is a fundraising platform thats helped non-profits, creative projects, campaigns and individual fundraisers raise over $300 million to date. It has no upfront costs and is trusted by millions of users. When youre looking to raise money for a project or cause, this is an invaluable tool.

Related: Prepare for Happy Tears: 5 Times Tech Improved People's Lives

Life as an entrepreneur is wonderful, but it can also be hectic and crazy, which makes it hard to find the time and resources to contribute to the causes you care about. That's why these six tools are so valuable. With a variety of creative ideas and techniques, they make it easy for you to give back, while pushing you and your business ahead.
This story originally published on Feb. 10, 2016.

Generally, demand for bug-repellent products in the U.S. is low in February. One upside to the wintery weather currently blanketing swathes of the country is it keeps insect-related worries at bay. But this isnt your typical February.

Compared with last winter, sales for Invisabands signature blue wrist band, which repels mosquitos, were up more than 400 percent so far this month.

Why? Zika.

The virus, which is spread via mosquito bites, was initially discovered in the 1940s, but did not spread widely in the western hemisphere until this spring. Recently, the virus has flared up in tropical regions throughout South and Central America. So far no one has contracted the disease through a mosquito bite in the U.S., but there is a growing concern it will spread throughout the country with the arrival of mosquito season in the spring.

Related: The Biggest Mistake Is Ignoring the Law of Supply and Demand

For companies that produce mosquito-repellent products such as Invisaband -- which launched on Indiegogo in November 2014 and has since made $1 million in revenue -- this means recalibrating demand. Already the increase in orders, an uptick founder Matthew Kostanecki says neatly lines up with the dramatic increase in Google searches for Zika in the U.S., has him scrambling to keep up.

"We are going to run out of stock, he says. Because Invisabands manufacturer is in China, and wont open for production until mid-February, new orders cant be delivered until early March.

He plans on ordering double the number of wristbands he originally intended from his manufacturer. Bigger companies are also working to ensure they wont run out of inventory. S.C. Johnson, the maker of Off products, is ramping up production at its factories.

"We have purchased more components and more ingredients than we would ever have at this point," Kelly Semrau, the companys senior vice president of corporate affairs and sustainability, told USA Today.

Related: This Mosquito-Repelling Wristband Might Just Save Your Summer

In addition to higher volume orders on its bands -- which Kostanecki is careful to stipulate do not contain DEET, and therefore cannot make claims to prevent Zika infection -- Invisaband is planning to release new products, starting with a mosquito net. Because the vast majority of Invisabands customers are in the U.S., the original idea was to come out with a portable model, primarily intended for international travel. However, with news of the Zika outbreak, Kostanecki says the company may also produce a permanent, more traditional net. I could see people using it, especially in the lower states like Texas and Florida, he says.

Since news of the Zika virus began to dominate headlines last month, sales of Seattle-based travel apparel company ExOfficio's BugsAway clothing, which are treated with Permethrin to protect against bug bites, are up 30 percent since the same period last year.

Brian Thompson, the companys general manager, predicts the uptick will continue into the spring, summer and beyond.

That said, the company is not changing its strategy. For more than a decade, it has worked to create bug-repellent clothes not just for exotic vacations, but for everyday life. The more urban style Lumen hoodie is one of the companys best-selling items. Thats unlikely to change.

I dont think the [Zika] virus is going away, Thompson says. If anything, it raises awareness of bug-borne diseases.

And that amounts to big business.

Related: New Product Makes You Invisible to Mosquitoes and May Save Lives
Did you ever wonder, why NAPLES, Florida? Or MILAN, Ohio?

One Italian journalist turned this puzzle into an enlightening voyage across the United States, from Venice, Calif., to Verona, N.J., and six other towns or cities in-between.

Alberto Giuffre, who works for Foxs sister network Sky Italia in Milan, talks about how his recent odyssey came about.

I have always been fascinated by the United States -- of course -- I knew about Venice, California, but once I spotted on the map other towns with these names that sounded familiar to me, I decided I would like to learn much more about it.

Venice became the starting point for Giuffre. Before being incorporated into Los Angeles, it was a seaside town, built up by a tobacco baron to channel the Italian Venice as a gimmick to draw tourists. Now its better known as Silicon Beach.

From there, it was on to Genoa, Nevada; Palermo, North Dakota; Milan, Ohio; Florence, Alabama; Rome, Georgia; Naples, Florida and finally, Verona, New Jersey. In 20 days, he took planes, rented cars, got lost, made friends, and took lots of pictures.

Giuffre hails from Palermo, Sicily. The Palermo in North Dakota, with just about 80 inhabitants, he tells me, was named after the Italian workers who built its railway. The man who surveyed Florence, Alabama, was a native of Tuscany, where the original Florence sits. Rome, in Georgia, was pulled out of a hat of possible European names.

What Giuffre loved more than the stories behind the names of these American towns was the simple act of discovering them. As he points out, not many American tourists seek out these places. Much less foreigners.

Thats the best part, I think, because you can discover a lot of beautiful people, a lot of secrets in these towns, little stories.

For each stop he sought out an angle -- the oil boom around Palermo, North Dakota; a visit to Thomas Edisons grandson in Milan, Ohio; friendship with Italian-American actor Alex Corrado in Verona, New Jersey; and a visit to the Muscle Shoals recording studios in Florence, Alabama.

I love music, so it was very wonderful to have the chance to visit Muscle Shoals studios which is a studio where many artists -- just to name a few: the Rolling Stones, Aretha Franklin -- recorded their music down in Florence, Alabama.

His friends thought he was crazy to set off on such an ambitious trip all by himself, but now, they cant get enough of his stories, laid out in his book, UnAltra America (Another America).
Cash-strapped schools across America are demanding that parents spend hundreds on supplies, even requiring bulk purchases of cleaning materials that benefit the entire class, in a move that is fomenting anger among moms who say the lists are real budget busters.

Elizabeth Shatz, a PTA parent from Mineola, N.Y., said she was required to purchase three 20-count boxes of pencils, multiple containers of baby wipes and boxes of tissues to be distributed among her childs entire classroom. She also had to search store shelves for folders and notebooks in very specific colors  often hard-to-find hues  and was instructed to buy the more expensive plastic, not paper variety.

Although she adhered to most of the precise listings, the mother of two found some of her purchases were redundant, as evidenced by the unused notebooks and folders her children brought home. Shatz spends around $175 on supplies, but this figure does not include her additional contributions of tissues and wipes for classroom use, as requested by teachers throughout the school year.

My kids are 10 and 12 and I dont see the need for baby wipes in the classroom, she told FoxNews.com. Also, the damn pencils -- they ask for too many!

Shatz says parents who are generous pay the price  literally  to make up for freeloading families who refuse to purchase supplies.

Across the nation, parents are lamenting items appearing on supply lists that they feel schools themselves should fund, like copy-machine paper and household cleaning supplies. Expensive headphones and name-brand materials are also frequently required.

A single package of Staples copy paper costs more than $7, and at close to $5 a container, Clorox wipes add up. Even the most standard set of headphones sets parents back around $15, according to data from the Huntington Backpack Index.

Spending on back-to-school supplies is expected to increase by 10 percent in 2016, averaging $108 per child. About 64 percent of those funds are driven by list requirements from schools, according to an annual survey conducted by Prosper Insights and Analytics for the National Retail Federation.

Given that the majority of supplies spending is influenced by classroom requirements, rising planned spending could possibly be due to specific demands from schools, Pam Goodfellow, a principal analyst for Prosper, told FoxNews.com in an email.

The burden of purchasing these items could certainly fall on teachers and parents, she wrote.

After reviewing items on her daughters hyper detailed list, Anne Johnson-Endy of Westfield, N.J., asked herself, How many notebooks are 11-year-olds supposed to carry?

Although hand sanitizer and tissues are a typical requirement, she called the addition of mandatory rubber gloves for biology class alarming. Also listed were earphones, memory sticks and three specific types of calculators -- the most lucrative of items.

It would have been better if they had just asked for the deluxe one to begin with. I think the last one cost close to $200, the mother of two told FoxNews.com, adding teachers in other classes have even requested used iPhones and iPods.

At Public School 107 in Brooklyn, N.Y., supply lists require kindergarten parents to forgo cheaper, generic brands for Kleenex tissues, Bounty paper towels and Pampers baby wipes for a total of nine household items.

Mid-year requests for additional supplies utilized by the entire classroom are often directed at parents who are habitually generous.

In addition to spending more than $150 on supplies for her daughters personal use, Johnson-Endy typically contributes about $40 each school year for communal items like paper towels, tissues, hand sanitizer, napkins, wipes and Band-Aids.

On the one hand, budgets are tight, but on the other I am sure that not all parents participate -- those who do usually get asked more than once a year, she said, referencing supply requests she has received every year without fail.

As school districts in the U.S. face rising operating costs, administrators become increasingly dependent on parents for funding, according to Steven McCullough, Chief Operating Officer at Communities in Schools.

On average, districts provided a mere $247, combined with $300 from the individual schools, to K-12 teachers annually, according to the results of a 2015 survey.

Although the brunt of scant funding can fall on parents, teachers are also heavily affected. Last year, teachers contributed an average of $490 from their own wallets, 57 percent of which was spent on classroom supplies -- as opposed to books or instructional materials.

To the extent they can, districts and schools are asking more from parents to support academic and non-academic expenses, McCullough told FoxNews.com, citing demands that can be financially debilitating.

Fifth-grade teacher Alexa Romanos experience working in a lower-income district was very different. There, tissue boxes were banned from school supply lists and classrooms were only provided brown paper towels that were rough in texture and painful on the noses of students.

Romanos verbal requests to parents at orientation to provide their children with personal tissue packets were largely ignored.

I had to buy tissues for my class all year, especially during the winter months, said Romano, who teaches in New York and admits spending hundreds of dollars on boxes of tissues during the cold and flu season.

Amy Rhine, a kindergarten teacher in Las Vegas, Nev., also spent her own money, withdrawing $1,200 from her personal bank account last year to purchase materials ranging from hand sanitizer to baby wipes, which arent supplied by her school.

I understand that parents feel they have to spend their hard-earned money on what they feel are unnecessary supplies for their children, she told FoxNews.com, encouraging parents to contribute supplies as an investment in a better and brighter future for their kids.

Rhine insisted citizens must voice their concerns to their state governments to increase school funding if they want to see an improvement in supply quantities.

In a perfect world we wouldnt ask for parents to buy anything except a backpack, she said.
DNA tests show that a body exhumed from a pauper's grave last fall is almost certainly that of a 13-year-old Pittsburgh girl last seen in 1967, Pennsylvania State Police said Thursday.

The badly decomposed body was found in a landfill in Salem Township, Westmoreland County, in September 1967 not long after Teala Patricia Thompson was last seen.

Authorities weren't able to identify the body then, so it was buried in a grave for unclaimed remains along with the unidentified body of a baby found in a sewer pipe in Penn Township around the same time.

But in October, a cold-case investigator got permission to exhume the remains. Shortly after that was publicized, Thompson's family came forward and gave DNA samples.

The Westmoreland County coroner had the samples tested by The University of North Texas Health and Science Center, which determined it's 47.5 billion times more likely the remains are related to the Thompsons than not.

"We now have a homicide investigation," state police spokesman Trooper Stephen Limani said.

Mary Thompson, 53, was Teala's 4-year-old sister when the teen was last seen. She said the family is "deeply grateful" for the work police have done  even if no one is ever charged in Teala's death.

"Although we may never know all the details of exactly what happened, we know this is her and we now have closure," Thompson said Thursday.

The family believes a man Teala worked for at a dry cleaner might have been responsible for her death, or at least know how or why she disappeared after school one day, though police have never charged anyone in the case, Thompson said.

"It haunted all of my family," Thompson told Pittsburgh's Action News 4. "From what I understand she went to school and never came home."

Teala's siblings didn't know much about the investigation because their mother  who had 10 children and died in 2005  kept to herself what she had learned from police, Thompson said.

"In my heart, I don't believe the man who did this to her is still here," Thompson told the Associated Press. "I think the guy who did this to her was an old man" and has since died.

It wasn't until the family contacted police last fall that Thompson learned that police had urged her mother to view the remains shortly after they were found in hopes of confirming Teala's identity.

"They called my mom to come identify the body, but my mom would not go identify the body," Thompson said. "She kept that to herself. She just kept saying that 'That's not my daughter, my daughter's coming home. She'll walk through this door anytime.'"

"But we was young, so we didn't know that," Thompson said. "It was always kept kind of quiet. But my mom, deep in her heart, she knew Teala was gone, but she didn't have the heart to tell us."

Trooper Brian Gross, the cold-case investigator, said he had a "mixed emotion" when announcing his findings because he had to tell the family that Teala was deceased.

"But on the other hand for 48 years nobody knew who this young girl was, and now we know, which is remarkable," Gross told reporters on Thursday.

Gross didn't exhume the remains because of any tips or new leads, but because of "the simple fact that two children were involved in this case (and) it seemed like nothing had been done up to this point to try and identify them" he said last fall.

A forensic examination determined that Teala Thompson likely died from a blow to the head. It's unclear whether police have made any progress in identifying the 20-ounce baby boy who was found drowned in the sewer about a month before Thompson's remains were found.

Gross said before the bodies were exhumed that police hoped to compare their DNA against a database of family members of missing people.

Anyone with information on Teala Thompson's murder is urged to call investigators at 724-858-1590.

Click for more from Action News 4

The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Authorities in Florida say a 27-year-old man fatally shot his ex-girlfriend's new boyfriend, an off-duty firefighter.

Polk County Sheriff's officials say Caleb McKinney was waiting for his ex-girlfriend and her boyfriend, Clifford Cofer, to arrive home Wednesday night. Sheriff Grady Judd says when the couple pulled into the driveway, McKinney ran across the yard and started shooting at the windshield. The sheriff says McKinney fired five times, shouting to the woman that he was going to kill her.

She and her 5-year-old son, who was also in the car, were not injured. Cofer, a Sumter County Fire Department lieutenant, died at the scene.

The Ledger (http://tinyurl.com/j22wogk ) reports McKinney faces multiple charges including first-degree murder, attempted first-degree murder, aggravated assault with a firearm and shooting into an unoccupied conveyance. He is being held without bail.

___

Information from: The Ledger (Lakeland, Fla.), http://www.theledger.com
A taxpayer watchdog group is calling on the Veterans Affairs Administration to showcase work by veteran artists, after it was revealed the VA spent some $20 million on lavish art at facilities around the country.

The group, Open the Books, released an oversight report last week on spending at the VA -- showing the administration purchased millions in luxury art at the height of the health care scandal during which thousands of veterans died waiting to see doctors.

The $19.7 million tab included a $700,000 sculpture to adorn a California facility for blind veterans. The VA also spent $21,000 for a 27-foot fake Christmas tree; $32,000 for 62 "local image" pictures for the San Francisco VA; and $115,600 for "art consultants" for the Palo Alto facility.

The watchdog group, as well as several U.S. lawmakers, are now calling on the VA to feature the work of their own.

No one tells the veterans' story better than a veteran," said Adam Andrzejewski, founder and CEO at OpenTheBooks.com.

"Veterans themselves should benefit from art displays, not vendors who sell the VA pricey art," Andrzejewski said in an email Thursday.

"For example, veterans have their own art museum. Why is the VA spending millions on lavish art when veterans are already producing great art? he said.

Andrzejewski's group has started a social media campaign on Twitter with the hashtag #vetsart4va. Veterans can upload their art and "show the VA what theyre missing," he said.

Such art can be found by members of the group, Veteran Artists Program, or VAP, a New York City-based nonprofit that takes artists who are also veterans and propels their works and careers into the mainstream creative arts community.

VAP covers the performing arts and fine arts -- showcasing many talented painters, sculptors and photographers whose work portrays the struggles and triumphs of America's brave.

Shawn Ganther, for instance, dreamed of becoming an artist prior to serving in the Air Force from 1998 to 2002.

"I want Americans to see soldiers as the heroes who fight and die in the name of freedom -- and to stop and reflect on the privileges they sometimes take for granted," said Ganther, who served with U.S. security forces in Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Qatar.

Yvette Pino, an Army veteran, served as a cook from 2002 to 2008. While in Iraq, Pino found a sense of solitude in producing artwork and earned the unofficial title of "Division Artist."

Veteran Artists Program has previously displayed artwork by veterans at the Pentagon and U.S. Senate office buildings. BR McDonald, founder and president of VAP, said his organization is currently working with at least 10 VA hospitals around the country to feature work by veteran artists.

McDonald said spending such money on veteran artists gives them a "voice to tell their story" and helps them transition into civilian life.

"The amount of good will that could be spent around this is tremendous," McDonald said.

Cristina Corbin is a reporter for FoxNews.com. Follow her on Twitter @CristinaCorbin.
The long running civil war in Syria appears to be entering a new and even grimmer stage, with troops loyal to President Bashar Al-Assad intensifying a widespread offensive on the city of Aleppo and elsewhere, including, according to residents, renewed use of chlorine barrel bombs.

Opposition forces were fighting desperately to break a now solidly-established siege of eastern Aleppo, the largest remaining center of resistance to the Russian-backed forces of Bashar Al-Assad, where food, fuel and medical supplies for some 350,000 people are dwindling.

An opposition offensive that began earlier in the week was renewed Friday morning, according to humanitarian workers in the city who were contacted by Fox News, though they could offer no sense of how the battle was going.

Meantime, regime forces were on an offensive of their own, not only in Aleppo but at besieged areas throughout the devastated country, with strong Russian air support.

There is a regime offensive across the board, said Valerie Szybala, executive director of the Syria Institute, a non-partisan think tank studying the conflict. It undermines the possibility of getting back to the [negotiating] table.

It has also created a de facto blockade against humanitarian relief efforts that U.N. officials say they are ready to deliver, if only given a chance.

We are ready, able and willing to go, if there are pauses in the fighting, declared Jan Egeland, a Norwegian politician acting as special advisor to the U.N. Special Envoy for Syria, on Thursday.

Except the pauses arent happening. There is fighting in too many places, Egeland said. As a result, humanitarian reliefhe did not say how muchhad reached only 40 per cent of some 1.2 million people the U.N. hoped to reach in July.

Earlier U.N. sponsored deliveries to besieged areas were sparse, sporadic and often limited by the Assad regime to supplies that the government forces decided were acceptable, which often excluded vital medical supplies, for example.

A key factor in the battle is incessant Russian air strikes, which have, according to military observers, continued at a high pitch, even as Russian officials remain involved in international ceasefire talks and claim to be holding open humanitarian corridors to allow Aleppo residents to escape from bombing and artillery barrages.

We have seen Russian airstrikes go up to pre-cessation-of-hostilities levels, and not only in Aleppo City, said Genevieve Casagrande, an analyst at the Washington-based Institute for the Study of War, referring to a watery cease-fire agreement negotiated last February, which began to erode almost immediately.

They are targeting neighborhoods where everyone knows there are only civilians, said Hamza Al Khateeb, director of the Al Quds hospital in Aleppo, who spoke with Fox News by telephone. He said opposition forces were able to identify Russian MiG warplanes not only by sight but by air chatter as they they made bombing runs.

The Russian attacks have often been aimed at civilian targets, including hospitals, clinics and other health facilitiesincluding Al Quds, which was attacked seven times in April, according to Al Khateeb. More recently, two improvised barrel bombsused by Assad regime forceshad landed across the street, no more than 50 ft. from the battered hospital.

Air attacks had also targeted morgues, he said, killing at least two medical workers and injuring five.

Another doctor was reported injured by Dr. Osama Abo El Ezz, General Surgeon and Aleppo Coordinator of the Syrian American Medical Society, who had to break off a phone call with Fox News to attend to a 15-year-old severely injured in the chest and abdomen by bombing. The teenager died.

( All told, 44 health facilities were reportedly hit in June alone, according to the U.N.s Egeland, who said we are investigating all of these.)

Abo El Ezz called the general situation horrific, and said medical workers were treating as many as 100 people on some days, with 20 of them requiring work in intensive care units. I think the Russians will do their best to kill more and more to make the opposition break, he said.



Abo El Ezz also made the assertion that chlorine bombs had been dropped on the north side of Aleppo City.

We are running out of many things, said Al Quds director Al Khateeb. We have medical supplies for about one month, echoed Abo El Ezz. Electricity at their hospitals is provided by generators, which run for only part of the day, and fuel supplies for them are running low.

Other items in short supply included purified water and just about any kind of fresh food, as well as milk powder for children.

As for the so-called humanitarian corridors, Aleppo residents considered them a fraud. They remain under Russian control and do not offer access to any of the badly needed humanitarian supplies.

Indeed, admitted Egeland, we do not have classical humanitarian corridors at all, in Aleppo, but were working with everybody, including Russia, to get those.

Nonetheless he added that the discussions have been very positive, in a sense that everybody now says that we are working towards the same goal of having two-ways humanitarian corridors, of having better protection of civilians, including medical installations.

Egeland admitted that the number of civilians taking advantage of the escape corridors was very limited so far.

That was hardly surprising, according to medical workers, who told Fox News the corridors were targeted by regime snipers and were considered death traps to those who even came close to them.

Al Khateeb reported that a nine-year-old girl who strayed close to one of the corridor areas on Friday was shot in the stomach. She survived. Medical workers reported other recent anecdotal cases of civilians shot down in the corridors who were less lucky.

You cannot trust anyone who is besieging you, said Bakri Al Halabi, the head of an eastern Aleppo cultural Center, about claims that civilians could use the corridors safely. Its just a lie from the government in front of the United Nations.
JEFFERSON CITY  August marks a time of change not only for humans, but wildlife as well. Children head back to the classrooms for a new school year and in the wild, its time for young skunks to strike out on their own. The Missouri Department of Conservation encourages people to discover nature by learning more about Missouris smelliest mammal.

Pioneers called this small black and white animal a polecat, but the Algonquin Indians gave it the name everyone uses todayskunk.

The skunks reputation precedes it, and so can its smell. Though the skunk itself is a clean animal with little body odor, it is able to produce an incredibly foul scent that is long-lasting and distinct. The scent-producing glands are under the skunks tail, and by using muscle control, the skunk can accurately shoot its oil-based musk up to 10 feet.

Prior to spraying, skunks usually warn intruders by stamping their feet and holding their tails high in the air. A skunk will also hiss, growl, or click its teeth together. Despite all the warnings, some animals entice the skunk to spray. Large owls, coyotes, badgers, foxes, and bobcats will occasionally attack skunks. But in the long run, skunks are not commonly preyed upon because of their ability to retaliate with smell.

Skunk litters are born from early May to early June. In August, the young skunks begin to venture out under the watchful eye of their mother. As it gets colder in late autumn, more time is spent in dens. When its near freezing, skunks become drowsy and sleep intermittently, but they do not truly hibernate.

Despite the skunks smelly reputation, the animals are good mousers and help control insects. They are interesting and valuable members of a farm wildlife community. This Missouri mammal is more than meets the eye, or rather, nose.

Learn more about Missouris smelliest critter in MDCs online Field Guide at: http://on.mo.gov/2aU3boX.
Jacob Bannister, 17, began the Scouting program as a Cub Scout in first grade. It wasn't long after that, however, that he started telling family and friends that one day he would be an Eagle Scout.

"Unlike many youth who reach Eagle Scout and fade away from Scouting with jobs, girlfriends and other interests, Jacob has remained active as a member of Boy Scout Troop 417," said Bannister's father and Scoutmaster, Gene Bannister. "He serves as a junior assistant Scoutmaster and mentor to his fellows, and was also a founding member of our co-ed Venturing Scout crew, serving as crew president for two years now.

This year Jacob begins his senior year at Central High where he has been a member of the school's marching, jazz and concert bands, as well as served on the school's competitive scholar team.

"Jacob has had an incredibly busy summer," said Bannister. "He was one of only four Central

High School juniors chosen to attend the 78th Annual American Legion Boys' State weeklong program at the University of Central Missouri in Warrensburg. The next day after that he began his seventh and final year as a youth at Boy Scout Summer Camp held at the S-Bar-F Scout Ranch in Knob Lick."

Despite earning the rank of Eagle Scout two years ago, Jacob continues to earn merit badges  exploring both hobbies and various future career fields  which ultimately earn him Eagle Scout Palms.

"He receives one Eagle Scout Palm for each five merit badges earned over the 22 that are required for Eagle," Bannister said. "Jacob is working on finishing a total of five palms before he turns 18 in November."

The teen returned from Camp Gamble at S-Bar-F for a week before attending a second week of summer camp at Camp Famous Eagle, along with two other members of Crew 2417, where he helped teach inner-city youth from St. Louis basic camping skills. They was visited by staff from the Boy Scouts of America's Northern Tier High Adventure Base. The group left July 28th for Ely, Minnesota, to spend a week canoeing the boundary waters between Minnesota and Canada.

Both Jacob and his father  accompanied by fellow Crew members Kwinton Burnett, a Central High School junior; and Garrett Knox, a junior at West County High  took part in the Greater St. Louis Area Council's Northern Tier adventure. Bannister said the three Scouts were the first from this area in decades to attend Northern Tier where they canoed around 50-miles over a period of five days.

"Oh, and before he began his journey to Boys' State, Jacob was interned at the Farmington office of U.S. Representative Jason Smith," Bannister said. "That's not exactly the kind of job I or my friends ever even considered at his age.

"I know it sounds like I am just a proud father, but this young man  who has already earned 17 college credits as he heads into his senior year of high school and is in the top 11 percent of his class  wants to take his history of community service and one day pursue a career in law and or politics. I believe this story of this incredible summer can be an inspiration to others that may find opportunities afforded to them through dedication, hard work, and commitment to helping others."
Sherrell Suzanne Reed Sherre Orrock, 73, of Richmond died Wednesday, Aug. 3, 2016, from frontotemporal dementia.

Born in Washington, D.C., on Dec. 10, 1942, she was preceded in death by her parents, J. Nelson Reed and Wilma Stewart Reed. She is survived by her husband of 50 years, John Ryland Orrock, son Timothy Reed Orrock and daughter Heather Suzanne Orrock, all of Richmond; and her sister, LynAnn Reed Anderson (Sheldon) of Charlottesville; well as nieces and nephews.

Sherre graduated from McLean High School in Northern Virginia in 1960, attended Emory and Henry College and later obtained a Bachelor of Science in Social Work from Richmond Professional Institute in 1966 and a Master of Science in Vocational Rehabilitation Counseling from Virginia Commonwealth University in 1970. Her career was varied and included working as a Vocational Rehabilitation Counselor, a handbuilt clay potter exhibiting for several years at Arts in The Park, in human resources and sales at Blue Cross/Blue Shield and subsequent sales work. She gave back to the community as an English as a Second Language instructor and volunteered with other nonprofit organizations, including serving on the board of A Grace Place, an adult day care facility located in Henrico County.

The family expresses their gratitude for the compassionate care provided for the past four and a half years by the staff at Parkside at Beth Sholom, the hospice staff from At Home Care and private duty aides from Bright Star.

Friends and family will be received from 2 to 4 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 7, at Blileys Staples Mill, 8510 Staples Mill Road. A private memorial service will be held at a later date.

In lieu of flowers, memorial gifts may be made to A Grace Place Adult Care Center, 8030 Staples Mill Road, Richmond, VA 23228; or The Alzheimers Association; or to a charity of your choice.
2016 Charlotte School Supply Donation Drive Event Schedule Announced

E.R. Plumbing Services of Matthews, NC provides details to the events of the annual Channel 9 School Tools drive. The school supply donation drive runs through August and benefits kids in need.

--

Matthews plumber, E.R. Plumbing Services, is sponsoring a Charlotte school supply donation campaign in conjunction with local television station WSOC TV. The campaign is the annual Channel 9 School Tools drive, and the details are as follows.

The kick off event for the school supply donation drive will be held on Wednesday, Aug. 10 from 11:30 a.m. - 1 p.m. at 400 E M.L.K. Jr Boulevard in Charlotte, which is the NASCAR Hall of Fame. NASCAR driver AJ Allmendinger, honorary ambassador, will be there to kick off the campaign. Activities for adults and kids alike will be provided, and Charlotte Hornets, Charlotte Knights and Charlotte Hounds mascots will be present at the event, posing for pictures and joining in on the fun.

On Wednesday, Aug. 17th, staff from E.R. Plumbing Services will join forces with Channel 9 volunteers for the Channel 9 School Tools Special Collection Day at the WSOC-TV studio at 1901 North Tryon Street. Drop off donations between 10 a.m. - 7 p.m. and show support for local kids in need. Donors can also meet E.R. Plumbing Services staff, Eyewitness News anchors Erica Bryant and Scott Wickersham, plus other members of the Channel 9 news team.

Multiple donation sites have been set up around the Charlotte metro area. E.R. Plumbing Services accepts donations at their office at 648-C Matthews-Mint Hill Road in Matthews, NC. Donation locations are listed on Channel 9's School Tools page.

The donation drive is also partnering with the U.S. Postal Service. On August 20th, simply label and place school supply donations into any mailbox and a U.S. Postal Service worker will deliver the donated items to the main collection location. All supplies will be distributed to kids in need in the county in which the supplies were donated.

Most needed school supplies include: colored pencils, composition books, crayons, glue sticks, filler paper, markers, pencils, pocket folders and scissors.

To learn more about E.R. Plumbing Services, visit the company website.

For more information, please visit http://erplumbing.com/

Contact Info:

Name: David Parker

Organization: E.R. Plumbing Services

Address: 648-C Matthews Mint Hill Rd Matthews, NC 28105

Phone: 704-269-1066

Release ID: 126589

For more information visit r



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Ashburn VA Moving Help Service Launched By Furniture Moving Helpers

Furniture Moving Helpers is a department of Furniture Assembly Experts which was founded to fill up the gap of missing qualified furniture movers. Furniture Assembly Experts LLC specializes in the assembly and disassembly of Flat pack furniture at customers' Homes and Office.

--

Furniture Assembly Experts do not rest on their laurels, therefore the company is in a constant state of expansion and evolution to meet better the needs of their clients. Furniture Moving Experts recently announced the launch of Ashburn VA moving help service. Their team of highly experienced professional Ashburn VA movers will now be serving clients in Ashburn.

The company spokesperson said: "Our company provides moving help service with moving labor in Washington DC, Baltimore Maryland and Virginia to help you pack your belongings, load and unload the moving truck, storage unit or pod. We make furniture relocation simple so you do not have to worry about them. Let the professionals with the muscles do the heavy lifting of your fully loaded boxes and furniture while you relax and supervise them. This is the only service we provide at an hourly rate."

The Ashburn moving company Furniture Moving Helpers is associated with Furniture Assembly Experts and has been actively serving in various areas of Washington D.C, Maryland and Northern Virginia. Furniture Moving Helpers is a certified company and has been rated as one the best moving company but their clients. The team of movers working at the company has been formally trained to handle large and heavy objects with complete professionalism. Their expertise allows them to move furniture and other items that are fragile and require special care when moving from a property to the moving bus or to another location within the property.

The company will be providing Ashburn VA moving help to commercial and residential clients. The Furniture Moving Experts have developed an affordable price tariff for it clients that is highly competitive according to the market.

The company spokesperson further said: "Rent your truck from penske, budget, uhaul, enterprise or any other truck rental place and let the professionals load or unload it for you in no time. Please email us for a quote! Also if you need help packing and unpacking your furniture; we can also definitely assist you. Our team of moving helpers is always on time and qualified for the job."

About: Furniture Moving Helpers is a department of Furniture Assembly Experts which was founded to fill up the gap of missing qualified furniture movers. Furniture Assembly Experts LLC specializes in the assembly and disassembly of Flat pack furniture at customers' Homes and Office. For details log on to http://www.furnituremovinghelpers.com/

For more information, please visit http://www.furnituremovinghelpers.com/

Contact Info:

Name: Furniture Moving Helpers

Organization: Furniture Moving Helpers

Address: 9418 annapolis rd

Phone: 240-764-6143

Source: http://marketersmedia.com/ashburn-va-moving-help-service-launched-by-furniture-moving-helpers/126626

Release ID: 126626

For more information visit r



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Sentinel Safe Floor Solutions Vows to Keep People Safe

Sentinel Safe Floor Solutions, LLC located in North Attleboro, MA announced availability of a product providing safety services to Massachusetts and Rhode Island businesses. The unique treatment brings floors up to OSHA compliance without changing the appearance of the floor and making it slip resistant.

--

New Business Helps Commercial and Industrial Accounts Increase The Bottom Line while maintaining OSHA Compliance

Sentinel Safe Floor Solutions, LLC announced the start-up of the business providing for safety services to Massachusetts and Rhode Island businesses. The unique treatment can bring dangerously wet floors up to OSHA compliance without changing the appearance of the existing floor and making it slip resistant. The service, which includes a free floor safety assessment, can be done quickly and affordably.

"With a slip and fall accident taking place every 8 seconds, businesses feel the crunch their bottom line with increased insurance rates, litigation costs and government regulatory expenses." said Bob Giammarco, President of Sentinel Safe Floors. "The company will help all businesses reduce these costs and provide piece of mind." Giammarco, who spent the last 6 years in corporate America, said He started the business because for most of my career, my goal was to assist other businesses become more profitable and efficient. That certainly was worthwhile but it lacked the purpose that I was looking for in my professional life. I've now started a business which not only helps businesses retain profits but also saves countless people from the risk of injury or worse."

Sentinel Safe Floor Solutions offers free safety assessments to Massachusetts and Rhode Island businesses to determine whether all the floors are OSHA compliant. If yes, Sentinel Safe Floors will provide the business with a certificate stating such. If not, the business can hire Sentinel Safe Floors to treat the existing floors affordably to make the floors slip resistant and OSHA compliant. The treatment has no odor and minimal drying time and works on virtually every surface. The company is insured and bonded and certified to use the Nano-Grip Floor Safety System, the #1 anti-slip floor safety treatment on the market. Concerned business owners can reach Sentinel Safe Floors at http://www.sentinelsafefloors.com

For more information, please visit http://www.sentinelsafefloors.com

Contact Info:

Name: Bog Giammarco

Organization: Sentinel Safe Floors

Address: 152 Orne Street North Attleboro, MA 02760

Phone: 508-535-5000

Release ID: 126609

For more information visit r



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Pierson Wireless Opens New Headquarters Office

Pierson Wireless Corporation announces the grand opening of its new headquarters location in Omaha, Nebraska. The new headquarters is a multi-story, 24,000 square feet office facility with an attached 38,000 square feet warehouse.

--

OMAHA, Nebraska - August 5, 2016. Pierson Wireless Corp. Announces the grand opening of its new headquarters located in Omaha, Nebraska. The new headquarters is a multi-story, 24,000 sq ft office facility with an attached 38,000 sq ft warehouse. The new facility will consolidate offices for corporate leadership, accounting, HR and engineering operations. The state of the art facility is designed to simplify collaboration amongst teams and to enable the utilization of technology to improve the overall quality and value of Pierson Wireless products and services. The new facility will also increase overall capacity for inventory storage and project material staging.

"We are extremely excited to move into the new office," said Ross Pierson, CEO of Pierson Wireless. "The new office allows Pierson Wireless the space and technology to more efficiently deliver products and services."

The new facility is equipped with a training center where Pierson Wireless engineers and technicians will receive hands-on instruction on wireless equipment, testing tools, installation techniques and general RF or network performance fundamentals.

The facility is also host to a wireless solutions lab that engineers will use to test new equipment configurations. As wireless technology continues to evolve, this lab will provide Pierson Wireless' engineers the ability to assemble and test new wireless components in a controlled environment.

Lastly, in addition to adding capacity, the new warehouse also has a state of the art inventory tracking system. This new system integrates procurement and project order systems, thereby improving the speed and accuracy of material processing.

About Pierson Wireless Corp.

Pierson Wireless Corp. is a firm specializing in the design, construction and maintenance of wireless solutions including Distributed Antenna Systems (DAS) for Public Safety or Carrier network enhancement. Pierson Wireless employs a diverse team of industry specialists, operates in all 50 states and has multiple offices across the United States.

For more information, please visit http://piersonwireless.com

Contact Info:

Name: Roderick Maddox

Email: roderick@piersonwireless.com

Organization: Pierson Wireless

Address: 11414 South 145th Street, Omaha, Nebraska 68138

Phone: 888-660-6888

Release ID: 126693

For more information visit r



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African athletes performance at Rio 2016 won't be enough for rebranding Africa

Rebranding Africa Forum NGO, organizer of the new Rebranding Africa Forum, announced their Forum event will be held in Brussels- Belgium on 13-14-15 October 2016.

--

Business Owners, Investors looking for the latest information on Meeting the challenges of industrialization in Africa can register to attend Rebranding Africa Forum scheduled for 13-14-15 October 2016. Rebranding Africa Forum NGO is sponsoring this year's event, which will cover key issues such as:

Investing and financing the second industrialisation of Africa: highlight the economic potential of the identified sectors, the benefits of investing in them, their recommended financing sources and modalities and also the types of partnerships;

Future technologies and energy issues challenges:Understanding better its deficiencies, hence the environmental challenges of Africa, related techno-scientific, socio-economic and political issues and how to handle them;

The agro-industry issues: how to raise agro-industrial vocations and attract investors in the sector.

Full details on the event can be found on the company website at www.rebrandingafrica.com.

When asked about the reasons behind creating this event, the host of the event, Rebranding Africa Forum NGO in partnership with the panafrican magazine Notre Afrik said:

Meet new partners and build new connections during the Business Day and the business meetings organised in close collaboration with the Trade and Investment Promotion Agency.

As meeting and exchange platform, Rebranding Africa Forum will also be the unprecedented rendez-vous that brings together many political and economic decision makers,

patrons of African and European institutions during the highlights of the event .

Infact, The Rebranding Africa Forum will be heightened by the participation of Guests of Honour: Roch Kabore President of Burkina Faso, Patrice Talon President of the Republic of Benin, and Charles Michel Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Belgium.

The Rebranding Africa Forum NGO website has full details about the sessions at this year's event. Interested parties can visit the website at: www.rebrandingafrica.com.

The inscriptions are already open and can be claimed directly on the Rebranding African Forum website, here.

For more information, please visit http://www.rebranding-africa.com/

Contact Info:

Name: Paule Renee ETOGO

Email: contact@rebrandingafrica.com

Organization: Rebranding Africa Forum Asbl

Address: 28 Rue du Duc- 1150- Bruxellles-Belgique

Phone: 0032 2 77 09 756

Release ID: 126691

For more information visit r



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This California Rotisserie Chicken Club Sandwich makes use of leftover chicken paired with applewood smoked bacon, avocado, caramelised onions and more! Great Lunch idea!

I love to keep it local when I can and consume Canadian grown products because I know the high standards of quality that Canadian chicken farmers follow. I know, when it comes to chicken, that I am supporting Canadian chicken farmers by looking for the Raised by a Canadian Farmer logo when shopping.

Im excited that now I can support Canadian farmers while dining at Swiss Chalet. You will now see the Raised By a Canadian Farmers logo being used at Swiss Chalet which means that the chicken they serve has been raised to meet a set of national standards. That means the chicken you eat from Swiss Chalet has been raised without the use of hormones  like all Canadian chicken.

We dont eat out often but sometimes we have no choice. Either its too late to thaw out meat from the freezer or we just cant adult enough to cook from scratch. When that happens we love to order from Swiss Chalet as the dishes have a definite home cooked feel to them. Also because I have an addiction to chalet sauce. I know, chalet sauce is somewhat controversial. Kind of like pineapple on pizza. I am definitely on the side that loves chalet sauce. I like to dip my entire meal into the sauce and usually have to borrow someone elses sauce because I tend to dip very generously.

The chicken from Swiss Chalet is so good too, the rotisserie action makes for a very tender chicken as the juices are constantly flowing as it cooks. I love to order the white meat when we order from swiss chalet, its so juicy and tender and pairs so well with the sauce. Plus, there are usually some leftovers which I like to make into a rotisserie chicken sandwich for lunch the next day.

I was inspired by the Rotisserie Chicken sandwiches on the Swiss Chalet menu to make my own sandwich with the leftover Swiss Chalet chicken influenced by Californian flavours.

California Rotisserie Chicken Club Sandwich

Ingredients:

4 Gourmet Hamburgers Bun or Kaisers

1 Avocado, Sliced

2 Breasts from Rotisserie Chicken, Sliced

4 Tbsp Habanero Aoli

8 Slices Crisp Applewood Smoked Bacon

4 Tbsp Carmelised Onions

1 Cup Bean Sprouts

2 Leaves Boston or Romaine Lettuce

1 Tomato, Sliced

Salt & Pepper

Directions:

Lay out buns and top with ingredients, in the order listed.

Enjoy.

Continue to Content California Rotisserie Chicken Club Sandwich Print Ingredients 4 Gourmet Hamburgers Bun or Kaisers

1 Avocado, Sliced

2 Breasts from Rotisserie Chicken, Sliced

4 Tbsp Habanero Aoli

8 Slices Crisp Applewood Smoked Bacon

4 Tbsp Carmelised Onions

1 Cup Bean Sprouts

2 Leaves Boston or Romaine Lettuce

1 Tomato, Sliced

Salt & Pepper Instructions Lay out buns and top with ingredients, in the order listed. Enjoy. Nutrition Information: Serving Size: 1 grams

Amount Per Serving: Unsaturated Fat: 0g Did you make this recipe? Tag your creations with #FrugalMomEh on Instagram & subscribe for more!

Connect with Chicken Farmers of Canada on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Pinterest.

Disclosure: I am participating in the Chicken Farmers of Canada campaign managed by SJ Consulting. I received compensation in exchange for my participation in this campaign. The opinions on this blog are my own.

Elizabeth Lampman is a coffee-fuelled Mom of 2 girls and lives in Hamilton, Ontario. She enjoys travelling, developing easy recipes, crafting, taking on diy projects, travelling and saving money!
The new chief executive of European Wealth has said his company is starting to see organic growth, which he would like to gradually replace acquisitions.

Mr Morton, who was previously executive chairman of the company, said European Wealth is trying to grow organically and through acquisition.

We are starting to see organic growth now, he stated. From the last set of figures I have seen, from what we would consider as new money coming in, a good 25 or 30 per cent of that is organic growth, where we are taking on new clients.

I dont think we could be firing on all cylinders, growing organically and through acquisition, and keep all our back office staff sane.

We are not going to do what we think are expensive deals, he added.

Last July, the group bought Greensnow Limited (trading under the name of ISM Solutions) which added 70m of funds under influence.

In September it acquired the financial planning clients of Bells Solicitors, which added 43m of funds under influence, and in November the firm bought XCAP Nominees Limited, the client list of Hume Capital, bringing 30m of funds under management.

In June, European Wealth reported a loss before tax of 1m for 2015, compared with a 0.3m loss in 2014. This was attributed to the costs associated with the three acquisitions made last year, plus lower than expected trading volumes.

Mr Morton said he was a bit concerned about some of the prices being paid for financial advice businesses at the moment.

Private equity is normally very good at finding industries that are attractive, but are going through a period of change and that has driven prices up, he commented.

We have also reached a point where there are more buyers than sellers and that inevitably has the effect of pushing prices up.

European Wealth was founded in 2011 and has funds under management of 1.2bn, up 20 per cent from 1bn in 2014.
AlphaGo recently played against 9-dan professional Go player Lee Sedol. The AI won the first three games against the human opponent, achieving victory in the best-of-five tournament. With this challenge accomplished, the DeepMind team is looking for new problems to use as a testbed for the system. Demis Hassabis, co-founder of DeepMind, expressed interest in StarCraft as a challenge.

Building expert-level AI for StarCraft: Brood War remains an unsolved research challenge. The best performing bots achieve a D+ rating on ICCup, which is impressive given the level of play on this system, but still far from the skill of even the B-team members on professional teams. I started the AIIDE StarCraft AI Competition in 2010 with the goal of getting more researchers to evaluate their bots against each other and the challenge of evaluating bots against human players. The competition is now organized as an annual event, with a man-versus-machine exhibition. The best performing bots still have a long way to go to defeat expert players.

The AIIDE 2010 Man-Machine Exhibition match

Before discussing the challenges in StarCraft, Id like to briefly discuss how I understand that AlphaGo works. The system is powered by DeepMind, which uses a convolutional neural-network and a form of Q-learning. AlphaGo extends this by using Monte Carlo tree search to evaluate board states. The neural network is bootstrapped using examples from expert human players, and then self trained using reinforcement learning. One of the breakthroughs in AlphaGo is in the knowledge representation. The system uses autoencoders to create knowledge representations that significantly outperform hand-crafted solutions. Additional details on DeepMind are available on Googles publication page.

StarCraft is a great testbed for AI, because it presents many of the challenges necessary for performing real-world tasks. As part of my dissertation, I classified StarCraft in terms of Russell and Norvigs task environment properties. The results from this analysis are shown in the figure below, with real-world properties highlighted as bold. The only difference between StarCraft and real-world activities such as taxi driving is that StarCraft is a deterministic environment. This example lists Chess as a conventional AI challenge, but all of the properties are the same for Chess and Go.

Here are the main challenges I see in applying DeepMind to StarCraft.

Fog-of-War: StarCraft is an imperfect information environment. You can only view areas of the map where you currently have units positioned. This is why the environment is said to be partially observable, while games such as Chess and Go in which the full game state is visible at all times are said to be fully observable. In order to deal with this challenge, DeepMind will need to be able to deal with the possible space of actions that the opponent may be performing, both at strategic and tactical levels. An expert AI needs to be able to predict what build order the opponent is pursuing, as well as identify where the opponent is likely to launch tactical strikes.

Decision Complexity: StarCraft has an enormous state space. Analysis is often done in terms of decision complexity, which is the number of different actions that can be performed at any given time. In StarCraft you can have hundreds of units, which can each perform different tasks, resulting in a huge decision complexity. This decision complexity is reduced by human players by following initial build-orders and using squads to group units together. DeepMind will need to develop novel knowledge representations that enable the system to efficiently reasons about the possible space of actions, using different levels of abstraction.

Evolving Meta-game: StarCraft has an evolving meta-game in which new build-orders become popular over time, and then phase out as new counter build-orders are developed. This is a property of StarCraft that also holds true for Go, since strategies in Go have evolved over time. One of the key differences in expert StarCraft gameplay is that there is a rotation of maps used each season, where different maps are better suited for different types of gameplay. For example, when I was a big Brood War spectator in 2010, Flash was able to take advantage of the macro-favored maps that reward early expansion. DeepMind would need to develop capabilities for adapting to new pools of maps, which could be done through bootstrap learning, or by identifying common patterns across maps.

Cheese: In order to do well in StarCraft, you need to be prepared for a wide variety of tactics from your opponent. Some of these techniques are referred to as cheese, because they are all-in approaches that attempt to achieve an easy win. For example, cannon rushes are a common way to try to get a quick victory over an unprepared opponent. An expert player needs to be able to handle a wide variety of exploitive tactics from players in order to consistently win. Generally, high-level players are less likely to uses these techniques, but they are commonly used in multiple-game series in order to surprise opponents. Essentially, these means that an AI needs to handle a lot of different edge cases for what an opponent might be doing. In over to overcome this challenge, DeepMind should be trained against a wide variety of different opponent skill levels, in order to make sure the space of possible strategies and tactics is covered.

Simulation Environment: StarCraft is closed source, making it quite challenging to run simulations. One of the techniques used by AlphaGo is reinforcement learning, which involves a huge amount of simulation. In order for DeepMind to overcome this limitation, its likely that novel abstractions of the state-space will need to be developed.

Real-time: StarCraft is a real-time strategy game, requiring players to perform a variety of actions in real-time. One of the aspects of high-level StarCraft gameplay is a large number of actions per minute (APM). High APM is necessary in order to maximize the utility of your units. For example, kiting enables players to deal damage to enemy units while minimizing damage to the attacking units. In order for DeepMind to play effectively, the system requires capabilities for performing tasks in real-time with precise timing. One possibility is combining other AI techniques, such as behavior trees or finite-state machines with deep learning.

Applying DeepMind to StarCraft would present a number of interesting research challenges. I think this would be a great challenge for Deep Mind to take on, because StarCraft is a testbed with many real-world properties. Heres the main breakthroughs I would expect to see in a version of DeepMind that could defeat Flash or Jaedong:

New mechanisms for handling uncertainty in the world state.

Novel abstractions for reducing the decision complexity of the game.

New bootstrapping methods for tracking the evolving meta-game.

Extensions with other AI techniques for handling real-time actions.

StarCraft may be hard to solve, because the competitive players have mostly moved on to new titles. However, there is still an active competitive community on ICCup that can be used for training.

A great overview on the current state of AI for RTS games by Ontanon et al. is available here.
Vikings Season 4 Episode 11 Air Date, Spoilers, News & Update: Lagertha Defeats Aslaug To Become Queen of Norway?

"Vikings" Season 4 Episode 11 will be more than just a sausage party where Ragnar Lothbrok's sons fight over Kattegat. The second half of the series will also feature a major power struggle between two of the strongest women in TV history. Will Lagertha (Katheryn Winnick) steal the throne from Aslaug (Alyssa Sutherland)? Is Lagertha destined to become the Queen of Norway?

"Vikings" Season 4 Episode 11: Lagertha V Aslaug: Dawn Of Norse Girl Power?

The Comic-Con trailer for the "Vikings" Season 4 midseason premiere has already revealed that Lagertha is so done with Aslaug. "I want you to know that I could never forgive you for taking away my husband and my world," Lagertha says to Aslaug. Let the catfight begin.

The trailer also features Lagertha leading an army. There are speculations that the former shieldmaiden will bring her army to attack Kattegat and finally unseat Aslaug as Queen. However, that might not be as easy as it sounds.

Aslaug's Sons Take On Lagertha's Army In "Vikings" Season 4 Episode 11?

Aslaug's sons with Ragnar Lothbrok are not just ordinary Vikings. These men eventually became more legendary than their father in Norse history. So it looks like Lagertha may have some difficulty reaching Aslaug if her sons are protecting her.

Lagertha herself is one of the best-known warriors in Norse legend. According to Norse sagas, Lagertha SAVED Ragnar when he was close to defeat. She even made sure that one of Ragnar's sons was tended to properly when he was injured during battle.

So is it possible that Lagertha will defeat Aslaug in "Vikings" Season 4 Episode 11. Katheryn Winnick fans are already expecting the character to emerge victorious. There are even speculations that Lagertha will eventually become the Queen of Norway in the second half of "Vikings" Season 4, which will air on History this fall.
iPhone 7 Release Date, News & Update: 'Waterproof' Apple Smartphone Arriving in September? Coming With Dual Lens Camera ?

Apple's much awaited iPhone 7 is expected to be released on Sept. 16, 2016, according to Business Insider. Although Apple did not formally announced the launch date as of yet, one thing is for sure: iPhone 7 is currently on mass production.

Many factories in Asia are producing the parts and testing what the company could reveal for iPhone 7 in a matter of weeks. There is a group of Chinese leakers that posted photos and videos of what iPhone 7 fully looks like. The photos and video were posted in a Chinese social media account called GeekBar.

So, if the photos of the iPhone 7 were real, we would be expecting a bigger camera that could boost low-light performance. However, the leaked photos did not feature a headphone port as it has been replaced by a second speaker. Its design, on the other hand, looks fairly similar to the current iPhone 6S with a few cosmetic differences, like its antenna lines.

iPhone 7 may also have a 256 GB variant. Aside from that, reports suggest that it will feature a new home button and a new color, which is probably deep black. The iPhone 6s may have been a huge hit for the technology giant, but it didn't change much when it comes to design.

In other news, both Samsung and LG have embraced curvy screens with the LG G Flex 2 and the Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge respectively. But, most probably, Apple will not follow the trend and apply it to iPhone 7 because Apple previously had problem with bending phones.

According to a report in Mirror, iPhone 7 might have dual lens camera. The dual lens camera will allow iPhone 7 users to snap SLR quality photos to 3D images on a smartphone.

Moreover, the iPhone 7 could also be water proof, as stated in the report. Reports say Apple is working on a new compound material that repels water. This suggests that the body of the iPhone 7 will not be made of metal at all, but of other material that allows radio waves to pass through it.
Rick and Morty Season 3 Air Date, Spoilers, News & Update: Interdimensional Cable 3 Confirmed Happening? More Plot Details Here

The good news is that Rick and Morty are expected to return for a third season. The bad news is that showrunners are still at a loss on what to focus on next.

Justin Roiland and Dan Harmon did touch on the state of Rick and Morty season 3 at the San Diego Comic Convention 2016, unveiling two new clips that hint at a possible release later this year.

For those who are not familiar with series, the first two season covered more on storytelling but Roiland and Harmon seem to be angling at something different for the "Rick and Morty" season 3.

'Rick and Morty' Season 3 to follow Interdimensional Cable plot?

One of the possible thing to look forward to is an interdimensional cable plot for Rick and Morty season 3. Storytelling will still be done though the difference is that both characters would end up reacting to what they are actually watching.



Admittedly, Adult Swim is currently working on the possible plot for season 3. To help out, Roiland went as far to include the fans on their take. With audience participation, Rick and Morty season 3 could turn out different and improved.

But the reality of it all is that the writers behind Rick and Morty season 3 are currently busy trying to pen out their ideas and eventually connect them. Until some form of affirmation on how season 3 will go, the release date of Rick and Morty will likely be held off.

'Rick and Morty' Season 3 air date



With much of Rick and Morty roll in the air, fans can look as early as November for a possible "Rick and Morty" season 3 release. If the showrunners are still undecided, the worst case scenario could be by February 2017. That window should be reasonable with the more important factor being the show itself.
A second route, which will service downtown to Alamitos Beach, will launch on Nov. 10.
Two months after construction started, the Albany Historic Carousel & Museums new $5.6 million building downtown is progressing on schedule, and seemingly on track to open on June 1, 2017.

The concrete stem walls for the 12-sided centerpiece of the structure, which will house the carousel and its 50 steeds, was poured over the weekend.

There have been some unexpected curves as the Historic Carousel & Museum reaches for the brass ring, however.

Dr. Gary Goby, who is helping the organizations board oversee construction, said that during excavation for the basement area of the building, workers discovered, and then had to chip out, an ancient lava rock bed.

Most people dont realize that when you go down a ways in Albany, there are lava flows. Its nice that we have some very hard rocks to set the building on, but it took a bit of extra work to get there, he added.

During excavation, a natural gas line also had to be moved and a wall was re-engineered as a fiber optic cable for Southern Oregon was right next to it. We couldnt excavate around that, Goby said.

Otherwise, its been a piece of cake, he added.

The carousel, at 503 First Ave. W., attracted 2,000 to 2,500 visitors a month to see woodcarving and check out progress on the project before its building was demolished.

Now, the site gets visitors eager to view the construction progress on the new building, said Wendy Kirbey.

Theres always somebody down there looking through the fence, added Kirbey, who came up with the idea of the local carousel to draw visitors after seeing Missoula, Montanas carousel in 2002.

Goby said that a Pokemon hotspot by the U.S. Post Office means that curious kids and their parents will wander over to check out the construction work as well.

Were getting a lot of kids nearby hunting Pokemon, and all that is a bit interesting. Its nice to see them out and getting some exercise, Goby said.

The Historic Carousel & Museums new building will be 22,000 square feet. The first floor of the building will be 14,000 square feet and the 8,000-square-foot basement will include a workshop, storage area and volunteer break room.

Until the new buildings completion, the carousel animals are on display at various locations around downtown Albany, including at Two Rivers Market, 250 Broadalbin St. S.W., where woodcarving and other work on the animals also is continuing.

Kirbey said additional funding from donors still is needed.

For more information, call the Albany Historic Carousel & Museum office in Two Rivers Market, 541-791-3340, or check out construction updates on the organizations Facebook page.
A new $50 million building that will house labs and classrooms for Oregon State Universitys marine studies program will be built at the universitys Hatfield Marine Science Center in Newport, the university announced Thursday.

The site for the new Marine Studies Initiative building is in a location where it could be flooded in event of a tsunami, but the university intends to build it to withstand both a major Cascadia subduction zone earthquake and the high waters that would follow.

Steve Clark, the universitys spokesperson, said the building will be tall enough that the 27 feet of inundation forecast in a worst-case-scenario earthquake would not reach its upper level, so that people who are not physically able to evacuate to high ground in the 30 minutes before the water arrives could instead evacuate to the top of the new building.

Clark said the building has not yet been designed, and he does not know exactly how tall it will be.

Clark said this would actually make the existing facilities at Hatfield safer, because it would give employees, students and visitors there who may not be able to reach higher ground before a tsunami the option of moving to the upper floors of the new building. Even visitors to the nearby Oregon Coast Aquarium would be made safer with the alternative of evacuating to the top of the new building, he said.

The student housing planned for the program will all be built at elevations above the potential inundation zone, the university said in its press release.

Clark said the hope is that the new building will serve as a national and global model for how coastal communities in seismically active areas can prepare for earthquakes and tsunamis.

Clark added that since alternative proposals of building the structure at higher ground involved purchasing additional land, the increased expense of building to withstand a tsunami will not increase the cost of the project.

In a statement from the university, OSU president Edward Ray said safety was his overriding concern in the decision for where to locate the building.

In my view, by locating this new building at the Hatfield Marine Science Center, life and safety prospects and services for employees, students and visitors will be much improved, relative to locating the marine studies building somewhere else, Ray said in the statement. The building might also serve as a safe destination for others who work at or visit nearby businesses or attractions, but who could not physically reach (high ground).

Newport Mayor Sandra Roumagoux said the universitys announcement was excellent news.

I have been much in favor of this from the start and feel things can now begin in earnest, she said. I believe everything that can be done has been done in terms of safety.
Thank you for reading!

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Welcome to my genealogy blog. Genea-Musings features genealogy research tips and techniques, genealogy news items and commentary, genealogy humor, San Diego genealogy society news, family history research and some family history stories from the keyboard of Randy Seaver (of Chula Vista CA), who thinks that Genealogy Research Is really FUN! Copyright (c) Randall J. Seaver, 2006-2021.
Cologne-Bonn Cryptoparty : Into the Darknet

Bonn. Participants learn what it means to get a glimpse into an anonymous network when they meet at regular Cryptoparty sessions.

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Jochim Selzer says his goal on this evening of the Cryptoparty is to disappoint participants. In the past weeks, the darknet received lots of attention because the young gunman in the Munich shooting rampage had purchased his weapon on the darknet. Selzer says people like to think of it as a place where one can just press a button and a weapon materializes, but this is wrong and brings false expectations.

Oh, here I can buy heroin, calls out a participant. Organizers of the Cologne-Bonn Cryptoparty created the event to enlighten people about what the darknet really means, who uses it and how. Most of the 20 participants brought their own laptops so they could try getting into the darknet themselves. Either the appropriate software or an installed USB stick is needed to make it work, and after only five minutes, anyone is in.

The darknet has content which is not accessible through search engines and is known as the anonymous internet. With special software, one can access privacy networks such as Tor. Information is exchanged without anyone seeing who sent which information to which party. A search machine like Google is not found in the darknet. Instead there are lists and one can quickly find drugs, fake IDs, weapons and hitmen. If someone wants to buy an illegal weapon, however, it may not be so easy to find a trustworthy dealer in the darknet.

Illegal transactions arent the only use of the darknet. In countries such as China, Syria and Iran where the internet is highly censored, it allows users to get around that. Even normal internet sites can be reached over the Tor browser, and the location where the search originated is kept under wraps. Journalists also use the darknet to get in touch with whistleblowers. People who have an illness and want to search for a self-help group can do so with anonymity.

Selzer is leery of all the data collected on the internet and has been concerned with data privacy for decades. He believes that a person can only use the internet openly when they dont have the feeling that what they do is being observed. Any accusation that such a Cryptoparty plays right into the hand of terrorists is rebuffed by Selzer. He says they are not giving out any information that cant be found with a couple of questions on a search engine. The group meets every month in Beuel.
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Interview with Matt Damon : "Rise of Trump into the presidency is quite a realistic scenario"

Bonn Jason Bourne, the ex-agent without a memory is back. In a GA interview, Matt Damon talks about the locations, the new story and the difference to James Bond.

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Matt Damon slips back into his legendary role: Jason Bourne, the ex-agent suffering from amnesia. The film is coming out in German cinemas next week. Director Paul Greengrass sends Damon not only to Las Vegas this time, but also to Berlin. Says Damon, In fifty years, people will say Berlin was the place where the most important changes of the millennium happened. GA spoke to Damon about the locations, the new story and the difference to James Bond.

Why has it taken almost ten years for a new Bourne movie to be filmed?

Matt Damon: Actually, Universal Studios had in mind doing a second episode in 2012, but we simply did not have a story at that time. Still, we never abandoned the idea. There were many people who asked again and again, and it seemed that the fans were waiting for a sequel. I have made enough films in my career which no one wanted to see. Thats why I am very aware of how nice it is when the audience appreciates my character and the film in which I am playing.

What distinguishes Bourne from his big competitor Bond?

Damon: For us it was always important that the Bourne films are very current and feel connected to the world we live in. The first three films were from the era of George W. Bush and are anchored in his War on Terror. In Bourne Ultimatum, we showed the American torture method of waterboarding and all action scenes were located in Madrid, London or New York - the cities that had been plagued by terrorist attacks in the previous years.

And in the new Bourne?

Damon: The new film begins at the Macedonian-Greek border, the scene of a current refugee stream. We show demonstrations in Athens against EU austerity politics, and it goes into the relationship between privacy and security - one of the central questions of our time. When we thought about all that has happened since the last Bourne film in 2007, we realized all the tremendous changes that have taken place in the world in the past decade. In 2007, Bush was still president. Many financed their high standard of living with borrowed money. The economic crisis was not yet in sight. Companies like Facebook were still small start-ups and not the powerful global concerns they are today. At that time, it was not clear to what extent they spied on our digital lives. When we saw all these changes, we thought it would be a good idea to let the Bourne figure make his way through the new political landscape.

The monitoring methods of intelligence services in the digital age are a central theme in this new Bourne. Does the film also reflect an increased awareness in American society in the post-Snowden era?

Damon: Snowdens revelations were a great scandal in the U.S. But I think we are slowly awakening and beginning to understand what implications the digital communication technologies have - that they have really overrun us. I think this is one of the most important public debates we need to have. Each security apparatus will always try to get as much information as possible. Because of that, as a society we need to set clear boundaries and create laws that define what is allowed in this area and what not. How we deal with this issue will define how our democracy looks like in the future.

Do you sometimes suffer from digital paranoia?

Damon: I am just as dependent on my smartphone as any other person. But Im not on social media and I write terribly boring e-mails. But recently, there was a really disturbing article in the New York Times: An elderly lady agreed to let them hack into her computer and smartphone for an article they were researching. It was unbelievable what the hackers were able to find out about this womans life. But the most disturbing thing was that they found out - wherever they hacked into, someone had already been there before them. And that was just a harmless old lady from Oregon, in whom no one would have a special interest.

In the film, there is a figure who is a hacker appearing similar to Wikileaks founder Julian Assange. But Jason Bourne treats him with suspicion...

Damon: Bourne is skeptical of all institutionalized powers. Whether its the government, corporations or political organizations. In principle, Bourne doesnt trust people who accumulate too much power.

Part of the film was shot in Berlin. Why is Berlin such an interesting place for spy films nearly thirty years after the end of the Cold War?

Damon: I think in fifty years, people will say Berlin was the place where the most important changes of the millennium happened. For the scene we talked about with the hacker, Berlin was just the right place. Germany has the best privacy laws worldwide, which is why there is a big hacker scene in Berlin.

Will there be another sequel?

Damon: One cant really say yet. Director Peter Greengrass has one or two other projects on the pipeline, and then we have to see if Jason Bourne can save the world from Donald Trump.

Do you think its possible that Trump will become president?

Damon: After the Brexit vote in Great Britain, which really shocked me, the rise of Donald Trump into the presidency is quite a realistic scenario. The emotions and anger of the people in the U.K are the same in America. The extreme right is gaining more and more ground everywhere. The retreat into nativism, the idea of building a wall to keep out the supposed foreigners - this mentality is unfortunately becoming widespread.
7 Steps to download Microsoft Windows 10 Anniversary Update smoothly Features oi -Harshita

Microsoft has started rolling out the Windows 10 Anniversary Update for its Windows 10 users, around the world. The company announced the Windows 10 Anniversary Update back in March during its annual Build conference.

The Windows 10 Anniversary Update is loaded with new features, specs improvements and bug fixes. It brings features such as Windows Ink and improved Cortana virtual assistant, and a faster and more power-efficient Microsoft Edge browser. The update also has advanced security features, new gaming experiences and more. The company has also announced that the Windows 10 Anniversary Update will start rolling out to Windows 10 Mobile phones in the coming weeks.

Do These 10 Things to Save Your Smartphone During Rainy Season

The Windows 10 Anniversary Update will start rolling out to Windows 10 Mobile phones in the coming weeks. Window OS powers around 300 million devices around the world, thus, the roll out of the latest update will be done in phases. It means that the update might not reach you right away.

However, the update will be compatible only with those devices that meet the hardware requirements to run the new version of Windows 10. If you are looking forward to update your Windows OS tablet or laptop with Windows 10 Anniversary Edition, take a look at these 7 things you will need for it:

How to begin:

Check that you have switched on automatic update downloads to get the update installed automatically whenever it arrives. You can also look for the update manually by going to Settings option in the menu, go to Update and security, and Check for updates. The Windows 10 Anniversary Update will be available as 'Feature update to Windows 10 (v. 1607).

LeEco EcoTV Super3 Max65, Super3 X65 and Super3 X55 Super TVs launched in India

Does your device have 7-inch screen and above?

Do ensure that you have a big screen devices as the Windows 10 Anniversary Update is available only for those devices that sport a display size of 7-inch or larger. Your device will not be Windows 10 update compatible if it does not feature a big screen.

Do you have Windows 10 on your device?

The Windows 10 Anniversary Update is available to only thos devices running on Windows 10. If your device doesn't run Windows 10, you can first update your device to Windows 10 and then, can install the Anniversary edition.

CONFIRMED! LG V20 launch to happen on September 6

Is there enough storage space?

The latest update requires your device to have at least 2GB of RAM. According to the company, if you have a 32-bit Windows 10 installed, you'll need at least 16GB of storage. For those who have the 64-bit version installed, you will need at least 32GB of storage. However, if you want everything on your device to run smoothly, ensure that you have at least 4GB of free storage space on board.

Have you backed up important data and files?

Before installing the update, it is recommended to you to back up all your files and data. After all, you would not want to lose your important data, just in case something goes wrong!

Google India showcases cloud-centric enterprise solutions

How to download the update right now!

You can manually get the update on Microsoft's support page, where you can download the ISO image file. Follow the instructions to install the update. For those who have a Windows 10 PC at work, should ask their administrators on how they plan to update.

HOW TO: 4 Steps to Know Which Apps Are Killing Your Smartphone's Battery!

Is there enough battery charge?

Before you download the update, make sure that your device's battery has enough charge to support the update. If the battery of your laptop or tablet is not enough, charge it first to ensure a smooth downloading of the update!

Best Mobiles in India
Vodafone Celebrates SuperNetOffers with 10-minute Free talk Time News oi -Vigneshwar

Vodafone, today announced a novel initiative under its ongoing Vodafone Delights bonanza- free 10-minute talk time to all customers whose conversation gets interrupted for any reason.

To avail this talk time benefit, customers need to just SMS 'BETTER' on 199 and talk time of 10-minutes will be credited immediately (within 30-minutes) to their number.

FAREWELL: Torrentz Shuts Down Forever!

This initiative on voice follows close on the heels of the up to 67% data benefit to customers, announced earlier this week.

Speaking about this Vodafone Delights bonanza, Sandeep Kataria, Director - Consumer, Vodafone India, said, "We are proud of Vodafone SuperNet, our best network ever. Each conversation on our network is important and must carry on uninterrupted. At times, however, conversations do get interrupted. To continue such conversations, we are offering 10-minute talk time benefit, no questions asked. With benefits concurrently running on both voice and data, we want our several million customers to enjoy the experience of Vodafone SuperNet, our best network ever, to the fullest."

For prepaid customers, the free minutes will be valid until next day midnight and for postpaid customers, until the end of the billing cycle.

MediaTek announces two new system-on-chips

The free talk time credit can be availed once during the month-long bonanza and is applicable only when calling from your Vodafone connection to another Vodafone number within the same circle.

Vodafone is launching this campaign in August, which is the Vodafone Delights month and this 360-degree campaign, built on the key premise that 'conversations should always continue' will be seen across the country

Best Mobiles in India

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'Feels Like Home Season 2' offers something real and tangible to think about; takes home a pertinent point - if your intentions are good, there is nothing in life that isn't achievable.
ISIL Knows It Will Lose, Already Shifting Strategy, Obama Says at Pentagon

By Jim Garamone DoD News, Defense Media Activity

WASHINGTON, Aug. 4, 2016  After presiding at a meeting of his National Security Council in the Pentagon today, President Barack Obama said Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant leaders know they will lose in Syria and Iraq, and they are already shifting their strategy in advance of that sure defeat.

This was the most recent of the president's meetings to emphasize the whole-of-government approach needed to defeat ISIL.

Local forces have made significant progress against ISIL in Iraq and Syria, the president said. They have taken key territory from ISIL and are preparing campaigns against ISIL in Mosul. In Syria, he said, they are choking off the last entry to the ISIL stronghold of Raqqa.

Tactics Shift

"In fact, the decline of ISIL in Syria and Iraq appears to be causing it to shift to tactics that we've seen before -- an even greater emphasis on encouraging high-profile terrorist attacks, including in the United States," Obama said at a news conference after the meeting. "As always, our military, diplomatic, intelligence, homeland security, and law enforcement professionals are working around the clock, with other countries and with communities here at home, to share information and prevent such attacks, and over the years, they've prevented many."

Still, nothing can be certain or foolproof, the president said. "It is still very difficult to detect and prevent lone actors or small cells of terrorists who are determined to kill the innocent and are willing to die," he added. "And that's why, as we discussed today, we're going to keep going after ISIL aggressively across every front of this campaign."

The military portion of the counter-ISIL strategy is showing great progress, the president said. The coalition air campaign continues to hit ISIL targets wherever the terrorists try to hide. American pilots are doing their absolute best to avoid civilian casualties, he said, in stark contrast to ISIL, which uses noncombatants as shields.

"With our extraordinary technology, we're conducting the most precise air campaign in history," Obama said.

Coalition and local forces continue to take out senior ISIL leaders and commanders, the president said, and this is having an effect on the organization's command and control and its discipline. "None of ISIL's leaders are safe, and we are going to keep going after them," he said.

ISIL Losing Ground

The terror group continues to lose ground in Iraq and Syria, Obama said. Iraqi forces have taken Fallujah and are pushing up the Euphrates River valley. They are also pushing up the Tigris River, taking Qayyarah, and are poised to launch an offensive against Mosul  the largest city still under ISIL control.

"Meanwhile in Syria," Obama said, "a coalition of local forces backed by our special operations forces and airstrikes continues to take the fight to ISIL as well. The coalition is fighting its way into the town of Manbij, a gateway for ISIL fighters coming in and terrorists heading out to attack Europe, which is why ISIL was fighting hard to hold it."

The successes against ISIL mean more intelligence the coalition can exploit to further take the fight to ISIL, the president said. "We also continue intense fire efforts against al-Qaida in Syria, which, no matter what name it calls itself, cannot be allowed to maintain a safe haven to train and plot attacks against us," he added.

Two years ago, many in the Middle East saw ISIL as invincible, the president said, but not so much today. "ISIL has not had a major successful offensive operation in either Syria or Iraq in a full year," he said.

ISIL Knows It is Losing

"Even ISIL's leaders know they're going to keep losing. In their message to followers, they're increasingly acknowledging that they may lose Mosul and Raqqa, and ISIL is right," he continued. "They will lose them. And we'll keep hitting them and pushing them back and driving them out until they do."

A plan is in place for the "day after" ISIL is gone, the president said. The Iraqi government, aided by coalition countries, will provide services to its people in areas formerly held by the terror group, he explained.

In Syria, the situation is more complex, Obama acknowledged, because ISIL and al-Qaida can hide in the clutter of the civil war going on there. The Assad regime has earned the condemnation of the world, he said, and Russia must work with the world community to pull the situation back from the brink.

"The U.S. remains prepared to work with Russia to try to reduce the violence and strengthen our efforts against ISIL and al-Qaida in Syria, but so far Russia has failed to take the necessary steps," the president said. "Given the deteriorating situation, it is time for Russia to show that it is serious about pursuing these objectives."

ISIL has raised its hateful flag in other areas, the president said. In Libya, U.S. airstrikes are helping forces loyal to the Government of National Accord in taking the ISIL stronghold of Sirte. Obama said U.S. aircraft will continue the mission.

In Afghanistan, American service members will work with Afghan forces to find and eliminate members of the group, he added.

Whole of Government

As he has been saying for years, Obama told reporters, military power alone is not enough, and more is needed to get to the root of this extremist ideology.

"So long as their twisted ideology persists and drives people to violence, then groups like ISIL will keep emerging, and the international community will continue to be at risk in getting sucked into the kind of global 'whack-a-mole,' where we're always reacting to the latest threat or a lone actor," he said.

The United States and allies  including most of the countries in the Islamic world  are working to counter violent extremism more broadly, Obama said. This includes addressing the social, economic and political factors that help to fuel groups such as ISIL and al-Qaida in the first place.

"Nothing will do more to discredit ISIL and its phony claims to being a caliphate than when it loses its base in Raqqa and in Mosul," he said. "And we're going to keep working with partners, including Muslim countries and communities, especially online, to expose ISIL for what they are: murderers who kill innocent people, including Muslim families and children as they break the Ramadan fast, and who set off bombs in Medina near the Prophet's Mosque, one of the holiest sites in Islam."

The president said the United States must do a better job of "draining" the ideology that is behind the attacks. The ideology emanates from the Middle East and appeals to a very small proportion of Muslims, he said, but the ideology "has been turbocharged over the internet, and combating that will take time as old orders collapse and new ones are born."

How Americans respond to this threat is as important as the efforts to destroy ISIL and prevent these networks from penetrating, the president said. "The reason it is called terrorism, as opposed to a standard war," he said, "is because these are weak enemies that can't match us in conventional power, but what they can do is make us scared.

"When societies get scared, they can act in ways to undermine the fabric of our society," he continued. "It makes us weaker and more vulnerable and creates politics that divide us and hurt us over the long run. If we remain steady and steadfast and vigilant, but also take the long view and take the perspective and remind ourselves of who we are and what we care about most deeply and cherish and what's good about this country,  then we'll be OK."

Vice President Joe Biden, Defense Secretary Ash Carter, Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew, Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson, Director of National Intelligence James Clapper and Marine Corps Gen. Joe Dunford, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, were among the 32 people who attended the meeting. Secretary of State John Kerry attended via secure video connection.

Others from DoD were Deputy Defense Secretary Bob Work, and Air Force Gen. Paul Selva, the vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs. Army Gen. Joseph Votel, the commander of U.S. Central Command, attended the meeting via secure video.

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Rights experts 'deeply disturbed' at erosion of media freedom in Venezuela - UN human rights office

4 August 2016  The United Nations Special Rapporteur on the right to freedom of opinion and expression, David Kaye, and the Inter-American Special Rapporteur on freedom of expression, Edison Lanza, expressed concern at the eroding media freedom in Venezuela, citing a number of reported incidents of harassments of journalists and media groups.

"We are deeply disturbed by the recent reports of attacks against journalists and independent media groups, escalating the pressure over the Venezuelan media," they said in a news release issued today by the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR).

"This is especially alarming given the country's food and medicines shortages, economic crisis and heightened social and political tensions," they stressed.

The experts have also sent a joint letter to the Venezuelan Government expressing their concerns and have requested clarifications.

According to the news release, the Government confirmed the receipt of the letter. The experts now hope that the response to their communication will enable a dialogue on these and other topics related to the exercise of the right to freedom of expression.

Citing recent reports, the news release also mentioned that a number of journalists have been arrested, threatened, attacked or had their work equipment retained, especially when they were reporting on looting or covering protests.

It added that radio stations, newspapers and a news website too have had to face obstacles in carrying out their work.

"Threats or attacks against journalists and the media not only violate the rights of these persons but undermine the ability of Venezuelans and others elsewhere to be informed on events of critical importance," Mr. Kaye said, highlighting the importance of the work of the media.

Furthermore, referring to allegations that attackers were loyal to groups supportive to the Government, the experts underlined that the authorities must urgently respond to the reports of violence and intimidation.

The two rights experts stressed that law enforcement agencies have the obligation to protect journalists rather than harass them.

The experts also drew attention to recent judicial decisions, voicing concern that these greatly increase the pressure over media and restrict them from carrying out their work with independence.

On 8 June, the Supreme Court of Venezuela ordered the La Patilla and Caraota Digital news website to cease disseminating videos of a lynching through its webpage and social media.

This decision can be extended to other media in the country, the OHCHR press release noted.

"This recent Supreme Court's decision establishes a disproportional and unreasonable restriction confronting Inter American and global standards for the right to freedom of expression," Mr. Lanza said.

"The exercise of the right to freedom of expression cannot be subject to prior censorship," he stressed.

The experts further said it was disturbing that a number of requests by radio stations for concession renewal remain ignored for unreasonable periods and that they were operating under expired permits.

In particular, they noted great concern at the closure of the La Barinesa radio station, on 10 June, reportedly because of its expired licence.

On this closure, Mr. Kaye said, "International standards are also clear on this matter: precisely to prevent abuses, procedures for licensing broadcasters must be reasonable, objective, clear, transparent and non-discriminatory."

"The adoption of extreme measures such as the closure of a radio station must be grounded on very firm grounds and only used as a last resort," Mr. Lanza pointed out.

Special Rapporteurs are appointed by the Human Rights Council to examine and report back on a specific human rights theme or a country situation. The positions are honorary and the experts are not UN staff, nor are they paid for their work.

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South Africa Voters Rebuke Ruling Party at Polls

by Anita Powell August 04, 2016

Election results released Thursday show South African voters turning away from the long-dominant African National Congress party in large numbers, and denying them an outright win in major urban areas.

While the ANC  the party credited with leading South Africa out of apartheid  will continue to hold more local government seats than any other party, this election has yielded decisive gains by the opposition Democratic Alliance, especially in metropolitan areas like Johannesburg, the economic hub; Pretoria, the capital; and the seaside city of Port Elizabeth. The DA already holds the city of Cape Town and surrounding Western Cape Province.

The far-left Economic Freedom Fighters also made gains nationally, but not enough to dominate any major urban areas.

Voters said they were dismayed by numerous scandals within the ANC, the corruption allegations that persistently swirl around President Jacob Zuma, and the enduring inequality and unemployment that they feel the ANC has not remedied since it came to power in 1994.

The election results could have major effects in the future, according to Susan Booysen, a professor of governance at the University of the Witwatersrand and author of Dominance and Decline: The ANC in the Time of Zuma.

"It has huge implications, I think, for governance in South Africa and for party politics," she said. "It probably means, in the first place, that the ANC will be  forced to step back and reflect on how they will be approaching national and provincial elections in 2019."

That's when the nation will return to the polls for national elections. Zuma's second  and final  term ends in 2019.

In the meantime, the opposition parties will have a chance to show their mettle  but, Booysen notes, they may still be under the thumb of the ANC.

"It is inevitable that there will be coalition governments in some of these cities, where even the EFF and the DA in most of these metro cities remain only the second-biggest party after the ANC," she said.

It is clear the ruling party has been given a wake-up call, and many critics say the ANC's fall from grace can be directly attributable to one man: the president.

Zuma's hometown of Nkandla, where he remodeled a family home using about $20 million in government funds, offers a stark example of his unpopularity.

As of Thursday, the ANC no longer controls Nklanda. Zuma's party soundly lost his hometown to the relatively obscure Inkatha Freedom Party.

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US to Continue Fighting Al-Qaeda, Al-Nusra Front and Daesh - Obama

Sputnik News

00:22 05.08.2016(updated 01:21 05.08.2016)

The United States will continue to fight al-Qaeda and Daesh, US President Barack Obama said during a press conference at the Pentagon.

WASHINGTON (Sputnik)  In July, the al-Qaeda linked al-Nusra Front announced that it changed its name to Jabhat Fatah al-Sham.

"We also continue to intensify our efforts against al-Qaeda in Syria, which, no matter what name it calls itself, cannot be allowed to maintain a safe haven to train and plot attacks against us," Obama told reporters on Thursday.

US Gets Vast Amounts of Intelligence as Daesh Driven From Manbij

As the Daesh group is driven back from its stronghold in the Syrian city of Manbij, the US-led coalition is obtaining significant amount of intelligence left behind by the terrorists, US President Barack Obama said during a press conference at the Pentagon.

"As ISIL [Daesh] is beaten back, we're gaining vast amounts of intelligence," Obama told reporters on Thursday. "Thousands of documents, thumb drives [and] digital files which we will continue to use to keep destroying ISIL's networks and stop foreign fighters."

US to Continue Going After Daesh Leaders

The United States will continue to pursue Daesh leaders and commanders, US President Barack Obama said in a press conference at the Pentagon.

Obama noted that the US-led coalition has recently killed Daesh deputy war chief Basim Muhammad al-Bajari, Mosul commander Hatim Talib al-Hamduni and its Minister of War Omar al-Shishan, or Omar the Chechen.

"We continue to take out senior ISIL [Daesh] leaders and commanders," Obama told reporters on Thursday. "None of ISIL's leaders are safe, and we are going to keep going after them."

US Still Ready to Work With Russia on Syria, Waiting for Constructive Steps

The United States is still ready to work with Russia on resolving the conflict in Syria, and urges Moscow to show its commitment and take the necessary steps, US President Barack Obama said during a press conference at the Pentagon.

"US remains prepared to work with Russia to try to reduce the violence and strengthen our efforts against ISIL [Daesh] and al-Qaeda in Syria, but so far Russia has failed to take the necessary steps," Obama said on Thursday. "Given the deteriorating situation, it is time for Russia to show that it is serious about pursuing these objectives."

 Sputnik

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Stoking the Fire: Australia May Spy on Chinese-Russian S. China Sea Drills

Sputnik News

00:13 05.08.2016(updated 02:11 05.08.2016)

With Russia and China set to conduct joint naval drills in the South China Sea next month, the Australian military may be preparing to spy on the exercises.

"Based on the consensus reached by the parties, the Chinese and Russian navies will hold joint Sea Cooperation-2016 exercises in the South China Sea in September," Chinese Defense Ministry spokesman Yang Yujun said last month, stressing that the drills "are not aimed at third countries."

Despite the stated neutrality of the drills, the Australian government is gearing up to eavesdrop on the exercises.

"It would be foolish for [Australian] Defense to miss an opportunity like this," a source told Fairfax Media, adding that the Canberra planned to have military assets in the region.

While the source did not specify what these "assets" would be, Fairfax Media points out that the P-3 Orion surveillance plane, Collins Class submarine, and surface warships are all possibilities.

The South China Sea has been a growing source of tensions over disputed territorial claims. While China claims ownership over most of the region, there are overlapping claims by the Philippines, Malaysia, Brunei, Taiwan, and Vietnam. While the Hague-based Court of Arbitration recently ruled against Beijing's claims, the Chinese government has refused to recognize the decision as legitimate.

Dr. Adam Lockyer, a security expert with Macquarie University, told News.com.au that whatever form Australia's surveillance operations take, they are unlikely to provocative.

"The US and other countries are already spying," he said. "All we're doing is putting up with the other countries lined up against China. We probably wouldn't make an aggressive move like trying to buzz their artificial islands."

The Pentagon has regularly conducted provocative maneuvers near Beijing's land reclamation projects in the region. The US Navy has sailed "freedom of navigation" patrols within the 12-mile territorial limit of the islands, and US spy planes  some operating out of Australia  have flown over the reefs.

Washington has routinely encouraged Pacific allies to take a more active role in countering Beijing's growing influence in the region. According to Lockyer, Australia's role in this alliance is the primary motivator for the surveillance mission.

"It's becoming increasingly difficult to do nothing," he said.

"Our military is just there to be a part of it without being too provocative. This is what we do. It's a symbolic gesture. For the most part, we stand to do as little as we can get away with."

Australia has no territorial claims in the South China Sea, but has nevertheless called on China to recognize the Court of Arbitration's ruling. An op-ed published in China's state-run Global Times over the weekend warned Australia against any attempt to "suppress China so as to gain a bargaining chip for economic interests."

"Australia's power means nothing compared to the security of China. If Australia steps into the South China Sea waters, it will be an ideal target for China to warn and strike."

 Sputnik

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South Sudan Soldiers Killed Civilians, Raped Women - UN Human Rights Chief

Sputnik News

16:09 04.08.2016(updated 16:32 04.08.2016)

South Sudan soldiers executed civilians and raped women and girls from ethnic groups during last month's fighting in the capital of Juba, the UN humanitarian chief said Thursday.

MOSCOW (Sputnik)  Fierce clashes between forces loyal to President Salva Kiir Mayardit and those supporting First Vice President Riek Machar started in Juba on July 7 and lasted for five days, claiming the lives of over 300 people.

"While some civilians were killed in crossfire between the fighting forces, others were reportedly summarily executed by Government (SPLA) soldiers, who appear to have specifically targeted people of Nuer origin," Zeid Ra'ad Al Hussein said in a statement.

According to the United Nations, the Juba fighting and its aftermath resulted in the deaths of at least 73 civilians and widespread sexual violence, attributed mostly to government soldiers.

"We have documented at least 217 cases of sexual violence in Juba between 8 and 25 July," Zeid said. "According to the information we have gathered so far, those most affected were displaced Nuer women and girls and those responsible seem to have been mostly SPLA."

An armed ethnic conflict erupted in South Sudan in December 2013, one year and a half after the nation gained independence from Sudan, when Kiir accused Machar of preparing a military coup. Over a million people have fled their home due to the conflict.

In August 2015, Kiir and Machar signed a peace deal that envisaged the formation of the Transitional Government of National Unity.

 Sputnik

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Tajikistan Sentences 170 People for Last Year's Failed Military Coup

Sputnik News

09:04 04.08.2016(updated 09:19 04.08.2016)

Tajikistan authorities have convicted 170 people of being involved in last year's coup attempt, the Central Asian nation's prosecutor general said Thursday.

DUSHANBE (Sputnik)  The putsch was orchestrated last September by Tajik Deputy Defense Minister Abduhalim Nazarzoda, who was killed alongside some 60 loyalists by security forces in his hideout in mountains.

"Criminal cases were launched into some 200 people We gathered solid evidence against them," Prosecutor-General Yusuf Rahmon said, adding 170 had been convicted of having played a role in the failed coup.

The country's secular government started a crackdown in the aftermath of the coup, banning the Islamic Renaissance Party of Tajikistan (IRPT) as a terrorist organization and arresting a dozen of its senior members.

 Sputnik

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War at Sea': Chinese Defense Chief Calls on Country to Be Ready for Combat

Sputnik News

22:00 04.08.2016(updated 02:17 05.08.2016)

In a sign of growing escalation, China's Defense Ministry has called on the country's military, police and general population to be ready to defend territorial claims in the South China Sea.

In the wake of the Hague-based Court of Arbitration's decision to deny Beijing's nine-dash-line territorial claims, tensions in the South China Sea have increased. The United States claims it will continue aggressive military action in the waterway, a move sternly opposed by China.

During a tour of military installations in the coastal Zhejiang Province, China's Defense Minister Chang Wanquan appeared to raise the bar, calling for "recognition of the seriousness of the national security situation, especially the threat from the sea."

He also called for preparations for a "people's war at sea," according to state-run Xinhua news agency.

Chang's statements reiterate similar claims made by Chinese officials recently. Earlier this week, one military official speaking on condition of anonymity said that, "We should go in and give them a bloody nose."

"The People's Liberation Army is ready," he added.

A separate source with ties to Chinese leadership described the PLA as combative.

"The United States will do what it has to do. We will do what we have to do," he said. "The entire military side has been hardened. It was a huge loss of face."

A highly-disputed region through which roughly $5 trillion in international trade passes annually, most of the South China Sea is claimed by China, though there are overlapping claims by Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei, Vietnam, and the Philippines.

While the Court of Arbitration ruled against China's claims, Beijing does not recognize the decision as legitimate.

The US and its Pacific allies have expressed opposition to China's construction of a series of artificial islands, claiming Beijing is attempting to establish an air defense zone. China maintains it has every right to build within its own territory and that the islands will be used primarily for civilian purposes.

 Sputnik

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What Hong Kong's Loyalty Pledge Says About Its Future

by Steve Miller August 04, 2016

Voters in Hong Kong will be electing members of the territory's Legislative Council September 4. During past election cycles, candidates only needed to attest they would uphold the freedoms guaranteed in Hong Kong's Basic Law and pledge allegiance to the territory; this time, however, candidates running for office needed to sign an additional pledge saying Hong Kong was an inalienable part of China.

Chan Ho-tin and Yeung Ke-cheong refused to sign the pledge, which then resulted in the Hong Kong Electoral Affairs Commission banning them from the election. Edward Leung, who in the past had advocated for Hong Kong's independence, won a seat in the Legislative Council during a by-election in February of this year. He also signed the new pledge proclaiming one China, but was informed this week that he was barred from participating in the election.

"It is very obvious that Hong Kong nowadays is not a place of rule of law," said Leung. "It is a place ruled by men, ruled by the communist party. This decision is illegal but they are still doing so because they dare to do so, they dare us that we would not do anything against this authority, but that's not true. Hong Kong people will still continue to fight for our autonomy."

Leung also told reporters that "Communist China rules [Hong Kong]; every day there is the Basic Law, I won't be able to enter the Legislative Council. So what else can I do? Revolution."

VOA contacted the Electoral Affairs Commission, but it declined an interview request.

Pledge in line with Beijing objectives

"I do think that what we see, in a broader sense, with Beijing's policy towards Hong Kong, is that in some sense [Beijing] is coming to realize what a liability even the concept of Hong Kong autonomy is to Beijing's larger political goals," says John Minnich, East Asia analyst for private strategic intelligence firm Stratfor.

Part of those political goals, Minnich says, came to light when Beijing detained Hong Kong booksellers through extrajudicial renditions, something he calls "extreme measures that we haven't seen before and I think they indicate that the government [is] moving to a position where Beijing has larger political goals it's pursuing and it's willing to step back, or draw back, against the 'one country two systems' principle if it needs to in order to achieve those goals."

David Lampton, director of China Studies at the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies, likens the pledge now required of Hong Kong candidates to the McCarthy-era pledges made in the United States - something he calls "sad times."

Lampton says China had been trying to instill confidence in its governing practices, especially with regard to Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan, but he notes their latest moves are having the opposite effect.

"Since (President) Xi Jinping has come into office, there's been a similar political tightening in the People's Republic of China, and I think as the tolerance for dissent in China itself goes down, of course the tolerance for dissent in attached cities, such as Hong Kong, is also going down," Lampton says.

Future implications

David Lampton is unsure where Beijing's "tolerance" will end up, but thinks "the space for civic activity and citizen participation in meaningful governance unfortunately that's going down in both China and I'm afraid to say, Hong Kong."

While there remains a lack of clarity of the impact this kind of move will have on Hong Kong, John Minnich says that this is a "concrete move toward curtailing Hong Kong's political autonomy and the prospects for Hong Kong's independence. This move is not a one-time event - not a one-time shot - but a node in a larger process that we see unfolding and the same basic trend going forward."

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South Korea Claims Pyongyang Has Plan to Improve Missile Technology

Sputnik News

07:50 04.08.2016(updated 09:10 04.08.2016)

South Korea's Permanent Representative to the United Nations Oh Joon says North Korea has a systematic plan to upgrade and refine its missile technology.

UNITED NATIONS (Sputnik)  The South Korean ambassador warned that North Korea's actions pose a grave challenge to the security of all regional states.

"This year alone, North Korea conducted its 13th round of ballistic missile tests and it test fired a total of 29 missiles of a variety of types, ranges and trajectories, including intermediate range missiles and short-range missiles. So obviously by now, what they're doing is not just separate, random missile tests, I think they are doing all of this with the systematic comprehensive purpose of upgrading and refining their missile technologies," Oh Joon said on Wednesday.

Meanwhile US Ambassador to the United Nations Samantha Power said that Washington is committed to protecting South Korea against North Korea's provocations.

"The actions we have taken with the Republic of Korea [RoK] are purely defensive, they are about protecting the people of South Korea, protecting alliance forces who are stationed in the RoK and they are focused  in the case of the THAAD system  focused squarely on ballistic missile defense as it relates to the threat posed by the country we have gathered yet again to discuss," Power told the UN Security Council on Wednesday.

She also pointed to Pyongyang's recent ballistic missile tests as evidence of North Korea's plans to enhance its missile capabilities.

"These defensive measures come about because, as you all know as well as we do, again and again, you see the DPRK [North Korea] seeking to enhance its capabilities. Firing short and medium-range ballistic missiles, failing sometimes, refining capabilities, succeeding in firing them farther and farther, and we, the US and the RoK and all of us who are allied have a responsibility to our citizens to ensure that we can defend against this threat," Power said.

North Korea fired a ballistic missile from its eastern shore early on Wednesday. It traveled hundreds of miles before plunging into the Sea of Japan not far from the northern Japanese coast.

Earlier in the day, NATO called on North Korea to swiftly cease all nuclear and ballistic activities which violate UN Security Council resolutions and refrain from undermining global security through its provocative actions.

North Korea is currently under pressure from the international community since its January nuclear test and a long-range rocket launch in February, which resulted in sanctions against Pyongyang being tightened in a UN Security Council resolution in March.

In July, the US Department of Defense announced it would deploy the Terminal High Altitude Air Defense (THAAD) anti-missile in South Korea to counter the threat from Pyongyang.

 Sputnik

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India, Russia Sign $300Mln Deal on Upgrade of 10 Ka-28 Helicopters - Indian Navy

Sputnik News

14:35 04.08.2016(updated 14:47 04.08.2016)

According to navy spokesman, Indian Navy and Russian state arms exporter Rosoboronexport signed a deal worth nearly $300 million to modernize 10 Russia-produced Ka-28 anti-submarine helicopters.

NEW DELHI (Sputnik)  The Indian Navy and Russian state arms exporter Rosoboronexport signed a deal worth nearly $300 million to modernize 10 Russia-produced Ka-28 anti-submarine helicopters, Indian Navy spokesman Capt. D.K. Sharma said Thursday.

"The amount is approx 2K Crores for [the] upgrade of 10 Ka-28 ASW helicopters. The helicopters will be fitted with [the] latest sensors, details of which are not available to me and the job shall be done in 42 months approx," Sharma told RIA Novosti.

The Ka-28 helicopter is an export modification of the Ka-27, designed for anti-submarine warfare missions and capable of docking on various types of ships.

India purchased these helicopters in 1980. According to reports, only four of them are currently suitable for use.

 Sputnik

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India Eyeing Deal With Russia to Buy Project 21300C Rescue Ship

Sputnik News

10:07 04.08.2016(updated 10:27 04.08.2016)

India is considering buying Russian ships and submarines, a source close to the Indian Defense Ministry told RIA Novosti on Thursday.

NEW DELHI (Sputnik)  India is considering buying a Russian-made deep-sea rescue vessel used to salvage ships and submarines, a source close to the Indian Defense Ministry told RIA Novosti on Thursday.

"India is indeed exploring the possibility of buying a ship of this class," the source said.

Russia's Project 21300C rescue ship, the Igor Belousov, called on the eastern Indian port Visakhapatnam on Wednesday to restock food, water and fuel. During its four-day stay, the Indian military will have an opportunity to insect the vessel.

India's Economic Times daily reported last year that India was in talks with a Russian ship-building firm to purchase a rescue ship.

The outlet said that the nation had no means of helping its nuclear and conventional subs should they run into trouble at sea and had to rely on foreign assistance for deep-sea rescue operations. The Igor Belousov has recently assisted the Indian Air Force in searching for a missing jet in the Bay of Bengal.

 Sputnik

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US Payment of $400Mln to Iran Not Negotiated by Nuclear Deal Team - Kerry

Sputnik News

19:13 04.08.2016

US Secretary of State John Kerry said that Washington's nuclear deal negotiator team did not discuss with Tehran the $400-million cash payment made by the United States.

WASHINGTON4 (Sputnik)  The $400-million cash payment the United States made to Iran in January was not negotiated by the same team that settled the Iran nuclear deal, US Secretary of State John Kerry said during a press conference in Argentina on Thursday.

"What was negotiated was an agreement in the Hague tribunal. It was separated by a professional, career team, not by some political group or anything to do with the Iran group. We did not negotiate it," Kerry told reporters.

On Wednesday, White House spokesperson Josh Earnest said the payment aimed to reimburse funds the Iranian government paid to the United States in 1979 for military equipment that had never been provided.

Kerry explained that the negotiators reached an agreement at a time when Iran needed money because the country was cut off from much of the world banking system.

Furthermore, Kerry said that it was to the benefit of the United States to settle the case for $400 million, because Tehran could have been awarded billions of dollars if the case had been adjudicated.

 Sputnik

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Pakistan Brushes Aside Skepticism of Anti-terror Campaign

by Ayaz Gul August 04, 2016

Pakistan again brushed aside U.S. skepticism of its anti-terror efforts Thursday, saying Pakistani security forces are attacking militant groups without distinguishing between "good and bad" terrorists.

The statement comes a day after the U.S. Defense Department announced it would not pay Islamabad $300 million in military reimbursements because of insufficient action by Pakistan against the Haqqani network of terrorists and the Afghan Taliban.

The funds come from the Pentagon's so-called Coalition Support Fund (CSF) program for allies that incurred costs in supporting the U.S.-led fight against terrorism and extremism.

Pakistan has received around $14 billion since 2002, making it one of the largest recipients.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Nafees Zakaria, in responding to the decision, told reporters in Islamabad that the CSF "serves shared interests" of both Pakistan and the United States, enabling them to build on the gains achieved over the past years that have improved security in areas near the Afghan border.

"We have taken decisive action against terrorists and extremists and also cooperate widely with other countries to defeat it. Our sincerity and resolve is unquestionable.  It is our firm resolve that we will take action against any terrorist in Pakistan, whatever color or shape it manifests itself in," he said.

Allegations against Pakistan

Recent tensions in bilateral relations mainly stem from Washington's frustration over Islamabad's alleged unwillingness to act against the Haqqani and Taliban insurgents.

U.S. and Afghan military commanders allege leaders and fighters of these groups use sanctuaries on Pakistani soil for plotting and staging attacks against local and foreign troops in Afghanistan.

They maintain that while Pakistani counterinsurgency operations are targeting anti-state militants, including the so-called Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan or TTP, they have spared insurgents linked to the Haqqani network and the Afghan Taliban and instead covertly support their violent campaign.

Pakistan's response

Islamabad rejects the charges.

Zakaria said that over the past decade, Pakistan has concluded a large number of military operations that have "sequentially dismantled and destroyed terrorist infrastructure" on its side of the border with Afghanistan.

He said tens of thousands of Pakistanis, including security personnel, have lost their lives in the war against terrorism, in addition to the billions of dollars in losses to the national economy.

Zakaria welcomed a decision Wednesday by the U.S. Department of State to designate a TTP splinter faction, Jamaat-ul-Ahrar, as a global terrorist organization.

Pakistani officials say the extremist outfit operates out of Afghan border areas and has been behind deadly terrorist attacks on civilians  including religious minorities  and security forces.

Bilateral tensions between the United States and Pakistan were exacerbated after a U.S. drone strike in May killed the leader of the Afghan Taliban, Mullah Akhtar Mansoor, on Pakistani soil.

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US, South Korea to Boost Joint Maritime Security Ties in Western Pacific

Sputnik News

20:58 04.08.2016

South Korean Chief of Naval Operations Admiral Jung Ho-sub said that he agreed with US Chief of Naval Operations Admiral John Richardson the importance of alliance, particularly navy-to-navy, to deal with the "threat from the North Korea," as well as the instability that may take place in the South China Sea.

WASHINGTON (Sputnik)  The chiefs of naval operations for the United States and South Korea agreed to increase bilateral efforts to ensure maritime security, especially in waters near North Korea and in the South China, the US Navy said in a press release on Thursday.

"I agree with the importance of our alliance, particularly navy-to-navy, to deal with the threat from the North [Korea], as well as the instability that may take place in the South China Sea," South Korean Chief of Naval Operations Admiral Jung Ho-sub said, according to the release.

Jung and his counterpart, US Chief of Naval Operations Admiral John Richardson agreed during a Wednesday meeting at the Pentagon that enhanced cooperation and information sharing between the navies, particularly in anti-submarine and mine warfare, will help counter threats across the Indo-Asia Pacific region, the release explained.

The US and its allies have conducted a number of exercises in the South China Sea to emphasize international opposition to Beijing's claim of sovereignty over the key waterway for commercial shipping.

 Sputnik

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Russia's State-of-the-art Tu-214R Spy Plane Successfully Passes Syria Test

Sputnik News

15:40 04.08.2016(updated 15:42 04.08.2016)

Russia's Tu-214R reconnaissance aircraft fitted with cutting-edge optical and electronic equipment and radar systems has successfully fulfilled all of its tasks in the Syrian sky, according to Russia's Defense Ministry.

"Russia's Defense Ministry has completed a report on the results of the Tu-214R operations in Syria," Russia's newspaper Izvestiya quotes one of the ministry officials, familiar with the situation, as saying on Thursday.

"The aircraft has performed to its best abilites. All the tasks set by the military commanders have been completely fulfilled, the equipment worked without any malfunctions. Upon the results of its operations, the aircraft has been recognized as fully mission capable," the newspaper quotes the official as saying.

The major achievement, according to the newspaper's source, is that for the first time the spy plane was operating not from its home base in the eastern-central Russian city of Kazan, but from Russia's Hmeymim air base in Syria.

"The aircraft on-board equipment and its reconnaissance systems require careful maintenance by experts and special infrastructure. And if in Kazan everything necessary is always at hand, in Hmeymim the plane was serviced and maintained by the crew and the experts of the airbase. And there were no malfunctions," an expert in radio-electronic systems who participated in maintenance works told the newspaper.

Upon completion of its operation in Syria the leadership of the aircraft developer, Tupolev Public Joint Stock Company, filed a request with the leadership of Kazan Aviation Plant, Radio-Engineering Corporation Vega and a number of other enterprises who have been servicing the aircraft in Syria, to reward the employees who have been working in Syria.

Tu-214R is a joint project between the Tupolev Public Joint Stock Company, Radio-Engineering Corporation Vega and a number of other enterprises of the United Instrument Manufacturing Corporation, the Roscosmos State Corporation and the Almaz-Antey defense company.

The Russian Tu-214R is a state-of-the art plane based on the Tu-214 commercial transport aircraft which was modified under the codename 'Project 141' to replace the Ilyushin IL20M ELINT.

The aircraft are configured to carry the MRC-411 multi-intelligence payload, to include electronic intelligence (ELINT) sensors, side-looking Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) and other Signals Intelligence (SIGINT) and Communications Intelligence (COMINT).

The antennae of the Tu-214R can intercept the signals emitted by enemy systems (radars, aircraft, radios, combat vehicles, mobile phones etc) to build an EOB (Electronic Order of Battle) of the enemy forces: where the enemy forces are operating, what kind of equipment they are using and, by eavesdropping into their radio/phone communications, what they are doing and what will be their next move.

These radars, included in the MRK-411 multi-frequency radio engineering system, are the eyes and ears of the aircraft: Operators receive information in active and passive (without revealing their location) modes and can intercept the enemy's radio communications.

The main feature of the Tu-214R's radars is ground-penetrating radar (GPR) scanning.

In other words, the aircraft can see through the ground. Any objects hidden under the ground, covered with snow or sand, or disguised by trees, will be detected by the Tu-214R. It will take a radar snapshot and immediately transmit the information to the command post.

The radio engineering system is complemented by the Fraktsiya electro-optical imaging system, used by the Tu-214R's crew to receive real-time, high-precision images of the terrain in the visible and infrared ranges.

 Sputnik

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Russia Ready to Discuss Baltic Sea Region Security - Defense Ministry

Sputnik News

12:27 04.08.2016(updated 12:50 04.08.2016)

Moscow is ready to discuss security issues in the Baltic region, as soon as "the partners are ready for such dialogue," according to the statement of the Russian Defense Ministry.

MOSCOW (Sputnik)  Russia reaffirms its readiness to discuss security issues in the Baltic Sea region as soon as partners are ready for dialogue, the Russian Defense Ministry said Thursday.

Chief of the Main Directorate for International Military Cooperation Sergei Koshelev said the ministry was surprised to find media reports in Latvia that its defense ministry officials have not been invited to address the Baltic republics' military concerns at consultations scheduled to be held in Moscow next month.

"Koshelev reiterated Russia's readiness to discuss security issues in the Baltic region, as soon as the partners are ready for such dialogue," the ministry said.

 Sputnik

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OPCW, UN Should Probe Recent Syrian Chemical Weapons Attack Reports

Sputnik News

23:19 04.08.2016

The US wants the (OPCW) and the UN to investigate allegations of recent chemical attacks in Syria even though Washington has not seen conclusive evidence to back up the claims, US Department of State deputy spokesperson Mark Toner said in a press briefing on Thursday.

WASHINGTON (Sputnik)  On Wednesday, Russian Center for Syrian Reconciliation commander Lt. Gen. Sergei Chvarkov stated that the opposition group Harakat Nour al-Din al-Zenki used poisonous gas in Aleppo city on August 2.

"[We] are looking into these allegations as well as the allegations of chlorine gas that was used by the regime in the town of Saraqib," Toner told reporters. "We would call on the OPCW [Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons] as well as the UN to use existing mechanisms to investigate these allegations thoroughly."

According to media reports, dozens of people were affected by toxic gas dropped in the Idlib province city of Saraqib on Monday.

The United States, Toner explained, has not yet seen conclusive evidence to suggest that either attack took place. When asked, Toner stressed that "we want to see both investigated."

Toner also noted that Moscow had alerted Washington of the second report, explaining that he was unaware of the briefing when asked on Wednesday.

On January 4, the OPCW announced that all chemical weapons in Syria that had been declared by Damascus had been destroyed. In April, reports emerged that Daesh militants could be using and producing chemical weapons in the country.

 Sputnik

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Syrian Democratic Forces Seize Strategic Locations in Daesh-Held Manbij

Sputnik News

14:57 04.08.2016

The Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) alliance of militias recaptured strategically important locations in the northern Syrian city of Manbij, according to the SDF's press service.

MOSCOW (Sputnik)  The Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) alliance of militias has taken control of strategic locations in the northern Syrian city of Manbij, which is partially held by the Islamic State (ISIL or Daesh) jihadist group, the SDF's press service said in a statement Thursday.

"Strategically important locations in Manbij have been taken under control. The IS militants' ring in the center of Manjib is shrinking," the statement reads.

It was added in the statement that SDF militia forces have also liberated Al-Tall district of the city.

In late May, SDF, backed by the US-led coalition, began an offensive to retake the Syrian city of Manbij from Daesh, which is banned in many countries, including Russia.

 Sputnik

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Aid agencies ready to help ease suffering in 'iconic' Aleppo, once truce is secured - UN envoy

4 August 2016  As fighting in and around battle-scarred Aleppo intensifies, along with diplomatic efforts to secure a truce, United Nations agencies and their partners are "ready, willing and able" to rush aid to the desperate people trapped there, a senior UN envoy said today, stressing that a humanitarian pause is critical, both to allow relief workers to enter the area, and for civilians to leave voluntary.

"We are ready to go as soon as we have the pause, and we have a two-way corridor with supplies going in to the people in Eastern Aleppo, but also Western Aleppo, which has now become much more exposed to problems, and which has enormous access problems as well," Jan Egeland, Special Advisor to the UN Special Envoy for Syria, told reporters in Geneva today.

Stressing that supplies have to go in, and voluntary evacuation out of Aleppo has to be possible, Mr. Egeland said humanitarian pauses and a temporary end to the fighting are badly needed now, more than ever, "for the iconic and much suffering city of Aleppo," where unimpeded access is "desperately needed." Voluntary evacuation of civilians, plus wounded and sick, should take place to the places of their choosing and where they feel safe.

"So indeed, we do not have classical humanitarian corridors at all, in Aleppo, but we're working with everybody, including Russia, to get those, and I think the discussions have been very positive, in a sense that everybody now says that we are working towards the same goal of having two-ways humanitarian corridors, of having better protection of civilians, including medical installations," he said, referring to Russia's plan, announced last week, to set up so-called "exit corridors" to allow for the distribution of food, as well as provide an opportunity for civilians to flee Aleppo.

Mr. Egeland noted to his knowledge, the number of civilians leaving the area is "very limited so far." The UN estimates that more than 250,000 people are trapped in the city.

As for the wider humanitarian situation, he said that while the UN had hoped to reach 1.2 million people in Syria's besieged and hard-to-reach areas affected by conflict in July, only some 40 per cent of that number had actually been reached. "It is heartbreaking really, for humanitarian workers that are ready with supplies, with trucks and people who are willing to risk a lot, that we were prevented from reaching 60 per cent of [those] we had hoped to."

"The main reason for this is the fighting. There is now cross-fire. There is fighting in too many places and that affects, more than anything else, the besieged areas. We were able to reach four besieged areas  Al Waer, Moadamiyah, East Harasta, and with air drops, Deir ez Zor, Mr. Egeland stated, explaining that this was just about 38 per cent of the people in these besieged areas and that 14 such areas were not reached at all.

At the same press briefing, which took place after the latest meeting of the Humanitarian Taskforce of the International Syria Support Group (ISSG), which is co-chaired by Russia and the United States and comprises the UN, the Arab League, the European Union and 16 other countries that have been working on a way forward since late last year, Ramzy Ezzeldin Ramzy, UN Deputy Special Envoy for Syria, gave a general overview of the situation with a particular emphasis on the political process.

Noting that last week UN Special Envoy Staffan de Mistura had announced his intention to hold the intra-Syrian talks towards the end of August, he said the UN remains committed to that and "we will do everything possible to make sure that these talks are fruitful."

He explained that for the talks to be fruitful, the cessation of hostilities has to stand and be reinforced, and in that regard, the US and Russia, as co-chairs, are in discussions on that very issue. "Also, the humanitarian situation has to improve. Not much has been accomplished over the past month, largely due to the intensification of the military activities. That is why we attach great importance to the discussions between the co-chairs on that issue."

Asked by a reporter if "time is slipping away" from the UN to alleviate the suffering in Aleppo, Mr. Ramzy said he did not believe that was the case and indeed there are "intensive consultations" going on between the co-chairs regarding the cessation of hostilities.

"We continue to talk to all the interested parties to make sure the cessation of hostilities is in place to allow us to move ahead. So I think there still is time, we have not given up hope, we cannot give up hope," he said, adding: "So, bear with us, and I think in the next few days there might be some movement."

Further, he said the UN believed it is important is to have credible talks, in which parties will engage in a serious manner, "and that requires the regional parties to be on board, but also the situation on the ground  whether the humanitarian side, or the military  and we are all working very hard on that."

In related news, a UN human rights expert today called on the warring parties to take urgent actions to urgently ensure the rights of all those in Syria's besieged areas and allow rapid and unimpeded passage of humanitarian relief, while calling for the safe and unhindered evacuation of civilians who wish to leave.

"Residents are unable to access adequate food for their daily needs in many besieged areas, where UN agencies have estimated hundreds of cases of malnutrition," Dainius Puras, the UN Special Rapporteur on the right to health, said in a news release. He added that people struggle to access safe, clean water, and in some areas residents are drinking highly polluted water with harmful chemicals that have significant health risks.

More than five million people live in UN-classified 'hard to reach' areas of Syria. Of these, almost 600,000 people live in 18 besieged areas in Syria, 15 by the Government of Syria or its allies, and three by armed opposition groups or the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), according to the UN.

In opposition-controlled areas of Aleppo, approximately 250,000 civilians are completely encircled and at risk. In areas besieged by the Government of Syria or its allies, humanitarian agencies cannot deliver assistance without its approval, a cumbersome procedure subject to rejections and delays, according to the news release.

"They are absolutely prohibited from depriving civilians of basic goods such as food or medical assistance needed for survival, said Mr. Puras, underscoring that "all people in Syria must have their fundamental human rights guaranteed."

"All human rights  including the rights to life, to health, to food, to water, to education and to freedom of movement  must be protected in Syria," the Special Rapporteur concluded.

Meanwhile, World Food Programme (WFP) Executive Director Ertharin Cousin, UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) Filippo Grandi, UNICEF Executive Director Anthony Lake, and International Organization for Migration (IOM) Director-General William Lacy Swing announced the successful completion of a relief operation to provide more than 75,000 people stranded at the Syria-Jordan border with food and humanitarian relief items.

In a joint press statement the agencies said that they had completed the urgent relief operation to provide a one-month ration of desperately-needed food and hygiene supplies to.

"Unable either to cross the border or turn back, the situation facing these women, men and children has grown more dire by the day," the agencies stated and explained that sheltering in makeshift tents in harsh desert conditions with temperatures of up to 50 degrees Celsius and sudden sand storms, the people are without sufficient food and have barely enough water to survive.

"Life-saving health care is also urgently required. Pregnant women, children, the elderly and the sick are especially vulnerable," they added, thanking Government of Jordan for supporting the critical operation, and looking forward to further efforts to reach people at the berm with humanitarian assistance "in time to save their lives."

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Obama 'Not Confident' Russia Can Help End Syrian War

by Carla Babb August 04, 2016

President Barack Obama on Thursday cast extreme doubt on whether the United States could trust Russia as a partner to end the Syrian civil war.

"I'm not confident that we can trust the Russians and Vladimir Putin, which is why we have to test whether or not we can get an actual cessation of hostilities," Obama told reporters at the Pentagon after meeting with members of his National Security Council to discuss the fight against Islamic State.

The president said Russia might not be able to help end the violence, "either because they don't want to, or because they don't have sufficient influence over [Syrian President Bashar al-] Assad."

"That's what we're going to test," Obama said, "We go into this without any blinders on."

The Syrian government and its Russian allies are battling rebels for control of an area in and around Aleppo. Fighting has raged for more than two months, and monitors from the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights report at least 6,000 people have been killed or wounded in the past 80 days.

"We're very clear," Obama said, "that Russia has been willing to support a murderous regime and an individual, in Assad, who has destroyed his country just to cling on to power."

The president said any cessation of hostilities in Syria must include an end to aerial bombings and other methods used to kill civilians that have been carried out by the Syrian regime.

For nearly two years, the U.S. has been supporting local forces in Syria and neighboring Iraq as they work to push Islamic State terrorists out of their countries. The U.S. started launching strikes against IS in Afghanistan in January and began supporting local forces aligned with the government in Libya earlier this week as they fight to push IS out of its stronghold, Sirte.

"The finish line is in sight," Pentagon spokesman Jeff Davis told reporters this week, "and we are helping [the Libyan Government of National Accord] get there."

US threat?

The president held an hours-long meeting with military leaders at the Pentagon about the fight against Islamic State. He later told reporters there have been gains in weakening IS in Iraq and Syria, but he conceded the extremist group still poses a threat to the United States as it shifts its tactics to recruit members, train them and encourage "lone wolf" attacks.

While those attacks may result in less carnage, Obama said IS knows it still can create "the kinds of fear and concern that elevates their profile."

Libya air operation

A Pentagon official said the air operation in Libya, dubbed Operation Odyssey Lightning, probably will last weeks, rather than months.

The forces aligned with the U.N.-backed GNA have spent several months whittling down IS territory along the coastline of the Gulf of Sidra from Tripoli to near Benghazi. Davis said thanks to GNA-aligned fighters, IS control in Libya has essentially collapsed to the city center of Sirte.

The Pentagon estimates that IS fighter numbers have been reduced from thousands in the city to fewer than 1,000.

After Libyan strongman Moammar Gadhafi was ousted in 2011, IS extremists targeted Libya as a safe haven outside its initial strongholds in Iraq and Syria.

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Turkish-NATO Relations Under Strain Over Gulen Extradition Request

Sputnik News

18:32 04.08.2016(updated 18:34 04.08.2016)

Relations between Turkey and NATO are becoming increasingly strained, following the attempted military coup in July, however, NATO will continue to deal with Turkey for strategic military reasons, Sputnik has been told.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has blamed the failed coup on the US and the 75-year-old US-based cleric, Fethullah Gulen, who Turkey wants to extradite. It is understood the Turkish Minister of Justice Bekir Bozdag is expected to go to Washington to negotiate the extradition of Gulen. Bozdag has said the US is well aware Gulen is behind the attempted coup.

The move will put further strain over Turkish-NATO relations. Turkey has been a member of the alliance since 1952 and NATO relies strongly on its military, as well as airbases  particularly Incirlik. In southern Turkey, which has a massive NATO presence and is critical to Middle East operations.

Mehmet Ugur, Professor of Economics and Institutions at the Greenwich Political Economy Research Center told Sputnik:

"[Turkey] is very important  strategically  and you can understand why. More than one third of the nuclear warheads [of NATO] are stored in Incirlik. Turkey has got the [second] largest army [in NATO]."

"Turkey is a partner in the fight against Daesh, (also known as ISIL). NATO doesn't have a viable alternative for Turkey at the moment. I think Erdogan will want to maintain [links with NATO] as it pays off for Turkey. But I think the other factor here that there are some sections within the US administration and the security and defense establishment which want to maintain strong links with Turkey," Professor Ugur told Sputnik.

"They want to give sweeteners, even during this period of repression, ruling by decrees and ruling by mobs, to see that NATO connections continue. NATO will stick with Turkey, but this will tarnish the claim by NATO that it is a collection of nations ruled by democracy and rule of law."

Gulen Extradition

Gulen, the inspiration behind the Gulen movement, initially supported Erdogan ahead of him becoming elected in 2014. However, the two fell out over a massive corruption scandal in 2013 that cost the country US$100billion. Erdogan accused Gulen of being behind the corruption investigations.

Gulen is currently on Turkey's most-wanted-terrorist list, accused of leading what the current Turkish officials call the Gulenist Terror Organization (FETO), which Erdogan believes staged the failed coup.

The questions to be asked over the coming weeks, is how will the US react to the requested extradition of Gulen and how NATO will save face  and its strategic requirement for Turkish assets  as the reaction to the failed coup unfolds.

 Sputnik

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Canada Sending 200 Troops to Ukraine to Continue Military Training

Sputnik News

22:44 04.08.2016(updated 23:45 04.08.2016)

Ottawa has started the deployment of some 200 troops to Ukraine to continue military training, Canadian Armed Forces said in a press release on Thursday.

WASHINGTON (Sputnik)  The ministry added that the deploying soldiers will relieve their counterparts already in Ukraine to continue military training activities requested by the Ukrainian government.

"Starting today and continuing throughout the month of August, approximately 200 Canadian Army soldiers will be deploying to under Operation UNIFIER as part of the Government of Canada's ongoing commitment to support Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity," the release said.

 Sputnik

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Russian Troop Buildup Along Ukraine Border Raises War Fears

by Victor Vladimirov August 04, 2016

Russia's steady buildup of military forces along its border with Ukraine is raising concerns that Moscow, which annexed Crimea in 2014 and then began backing separatists in eastern Ukraine militarily  including with Russian troops  may be considering an overt military campaign against its southwestern neighbor.

Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said in televised remarks last week that the military had created four new divisions, nine brigades and 22 regiments since 2013 and deployed them in the Southern Military District, adjacent to southern Ukraine, as well as in Russia's restive North Caucasus region.

"In recent years, the military-political situation on the southwestern strategic direction has become more acute," Shoigu said in citing the rationale for Moscow's military buildup in the region. "Mainly, this is due to the growing military presence of NATO in eastern Europe, the situation in Ukraine and the activities of international terrorist groups, including in the North Caucasus."

In an interview with the newspaper Vedomosti, Russian military expert Ruslan Pukhov noted that along with reactivating the 1st Guards Tank Army in Russia's Western Military District, near its border with northern Ukraine, Moscow plans to form two other armored groups for deployment near the Ukrainian border.

According to Pukhov, along Russia's border with northern Ukraine "where three years ago there were absolutely no troops," Moscow seeks to deploy three major groups for forces "capable of, if the need arises, mounting a rapid attack in the direction of Kyiv, which is only 270 kilometers from the border through [the northern Ukrainian city of] Chernigov."

Further south, wrote Pukhov, Moscow wants to "create two powerful pincers to flank and strategically encircle the main group of the Ukrainian army in Left-bank Ukraine." That is the historic name of the part of Ukraine on the east bank of the Dnieper River.

'Enemy' seen as easy target

An article that appeared last week in the Nezavisimoye Voyennoye Obozreniye  a publication which frequently features material reflecting the official position of the Russian authorities  was headlined: "Ukraine has become Russia's strategic adversary: Moscow does not exclude the possibility of a major war."

Alexander Golts, an independent Russian military analyst who is a visiting researcher at Sweden's University of Uppsala, says it is not surprising that Ukraine is now openly being referred to in Russia as an "enemy."

"It is clear that Ukraine now is anything but a state friendly to Russia," he told VOA's Russian service. "In and of itself, the Ukrainian army, of course, is not a strategic problem for Russia. In Moscow, however, they are guided by phantom scenarios, in which Ukraine will eventually become part of NATO. One of Russia's excuses for its actions in Crimea and the Donbas is that it was acting to prevent Ukraine's possible entry into the North Atlantic alliance."

According to Golts, Russian Defense Minister Shoigu already considers Ukraine part of NATO.

In addition, some observers say there is a widespread belief among Russian military officials that Ukraine's capital Kyiv could be "taken easily and with little bloodshed."

Konstantin Sivkov, a Russian military reserve officer who heads the Academy of Geopolitical Problems, a Moscow-based research institution, told the newspaper Vzglyad back in April 2014 that the Russian army could be in Kyiv in "two or three days." Later that year, then-European Union Commission president Jose Manuel Barroso was quoted as saying that President Vladimir Putin told him in a telephone call that he could "take Kyiv in two weeks."

Russian officials later claimed Putin's comments were taken out of context.

Golts said the comments about Russian forces easily taking the Ukrainian capital are not too far from the truth, but added, "The main problem is that a militaristic type of strategic thinking prevails in Russia today, unfortunately."

Global 'challenge, threat'

Observers say such comments explain why Russia is widely accused of being aggressive and unpredictable.

Earlier this year, U.S. Secretary of Defense Ash Carter named Russia first among five global strategic challenges facing the United States. Around the same time, then-British Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond said Russia represented "a challenge and a threat" because it "ignores the norms of international conduct and breaks the rules of the international system."

Russian liberal politician Leonid Gozman told VOA that bellicose Russian rhetoric should be taken "very seriously."

"You can argue about the truth of the specific assessments made by our specific international opponents concerning the level of threat from Russia," he said. "But, unfortunately, it is impossible [to ignore] that we annexed Crimea and support a hybrid war in the Donbas that has killed nearly 10,000 people, and who knows how many more will die."

'Spiral of hate'

Still, Gozman expressed hope that the Russian government would not embark on something "as stupid as a direct war with Ukraine and the capture of Kyiv"  which, he said, would lead sooner or later to a "world war."

"We have treated Ukraine like an enemy, starting a war on its territory," Gozman said. "Citizens of Ukraine were killed at the hands of our volunteers and vacationers," he added, referring to Russian military personnel who have fought alongside Russia-backed separatists in eastern Ukraine, ostensibly volunteering during their vacations.

"Of course, Ukraine treats us accordingly," Gozman said. "It's a vicious circle, a spiral of hate. If we don't want that, we have to stop the war."

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Nuclear Combat - August 1945

President Roosevelt died on April 12, 1945 and Harry Truman assumed the Presidency and inherited the responsibility for final nuclear weapon decisions. The first was regarding plans to drop an atomic bomb on Japan. The Target Committee, composed of Groves' deputy, two Army Air Forces officers, and five scientists including one from Great Britain, met in Washington in mid-April 1945. Their initial intention was to select cities that had not previously been heavily damaged by the Twentieth Air Force's conventional-weapon bombing campaign, but such pristine targets had become scarce. Finally they tentatively chose 17 cities, in a list that included Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

For several years there had been dissent among scientists and political leaders over the morality and necessity of using atomic bombs against Japan. There was no ignoring, however, the fanaticism of Japanese soldiers, demonstrated at Tinian, Iwo Jima, Okinawa, and other Pacific islands. An invasion of Japan would be extremely difficult and would inevitably result in the loss of thousands of American lives, as well as Japanese, civilians as well as military.

By August 1945, U.S. Navy submarines and aerial mining by the Army Air Forces (AAF) severely restricted Japanese shipping. The AAF controlled the skies over Japan and the AAF's B-29 bombing attacks crippled its war industry. A plan for the invasion of Japan had been drawn up; Operation Olympic was scheduled for November 1945. Estimates of Allied casualties ranged from 250,000 to a million with much greater losses to the Japanese. To repel invaders, Japan had a veteran army of some two million ready, an army that had already shown its ferocity and fanaticism in combat. Some 8,000 military aircraft were available that could be used for devastating Kamikaze (suicide) attacks on U.S. ships. The draft had been extended to include men from age 15 to 60 and women from 17 to 45, adding millions of civilians ready to defend their homeland to the death, with sharpened sticks if necessary.

Experience throughout the Pacific war had shown that Japanese combat casualties had run from five to 20 times those suffered by the Allies, particularly in the battles of the Philippines and Okinawa. Whatever the predicted Allied losses, the potential Japanese military and civilian casualties would have been staggering. Whether Japan would have surrendered prior to invasion without the use of the atomic bombs is a question that can never be answered. Using the history and projections available to him, President Truman made the grave decision to use the atomic bomb in an effort to end the war quickly, thus avoiding a costly invasion.

The directive releasing the atomic bomb for use was sent to General Carl Spaatz, commander of the Strategic Air Force in the Pacific. The directive had been approved by Secretary of War Henry Stimson and Army Chief of Staff George Marshall, and presumably by President Truman. It listed the targets to be attacked and included Hiroshima and Nagasaki, among others; and it referred to the possible use of more than one bomb. Hiroshima was an industrial area with a number of military installations. Nagasaki was a major port with shipbuilding and marine repair facilities. In general, the participants in the decision to use multiple bombs considered that such employment would enhance the psychological effect on the Japanese government and would be conducive to ending the war without the need for an invasion, a paramount objective.

The world entered a new era when on August 6, 1945 the crew of the B-29 Enola Gay released an atomic bomb over Hiroshima. The yield was 12.5 KT.

The devastation caused by the bomb brought no response to the demand for unconditional surrender, and conventional bombing raids continued.

On August 9th, with Sweeney at the controls, B-29 Bockscar took off before dawn from the island of Tinian with a second atomic bomb aboard (only two bombs were available). The primary target was the city of Kokura, but clouds obscured it. With fuel running low due to a fuel transfer problem, Sweeney proceeded to the secondary target, Nagasaki, a leading industrial center. The yield was 22 KT.

Even after the second atomic bomb attack, disagreement raged within the Japanese government between peace advocates and those who urged continued resistance. Shortly after the attacks on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan's Emperor Hirohito was convinced that further resistance was futile and took an unprecedented step in modern Japanese history by intervening to bring about the surrender of his nation to save the lives of his people from additional attacks and the bloody land invasion that was sure to come.

Some attribute Japan's final demise to the atomic bomb attacks on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Others maintain the fire bomb raids, continued naval blockade, and entry of the Soviet Union into the war against Japan would have had the same effect within a few weeks-forcing Japan's leaders to recognize their nation's grim fate. President Truman had authorized use of the atomic bombs in an attempt to shock the Japanese and avoid Allied troop casualties [one million or more, by one estimate] that would result from invading Japan.

An attempted coup by militant extremists failed and on 14 August 1945 Japan surrendered unconditionally. In a break with tradition, Emperor Hirohito announced the surrender in a recorded radio message. Japan accepted the terms of the July 26th Potsdam Declaration calling for unconditional surrender, terms which the Japanese had rejected previously. This was the first time the Japanese people had ever heard their emperor's voice, and some Japanese officers committed suicide upon hearing his decision.

On August 28th, U.S. aircraft began landing the first occupation forces at Tokyo. B-29s now were flying relief missions, dropping food, medicine, and other supplies to U.S. Allied prisoners at some 150 Japanese prisoner of war (POW) camps.

Most [though far from all] Americans generally felt no moral dilemma over the dropping of the atomic bombs. The surrender ended more than a decade of Japanese aggression in Asia and the Pacific. After three and one-half years of brutal warfare following Pearl Harbor, Americans anxiously awaited the homecoming of surviving service personnel and a return to peacetime normalcy. To an American POW working in a coal mine near Nagasaki when the atomic bomb detonated, the bomb meant survival. He weighed only 98 pounds after 40 months of captivity.

After almost four years of war, resulting in the loss of three million Japanese lives and the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan signed an instrument of surrender on the USS Missouri in Tokyo Harbor on 02 September 1945. As a result of World War II, Japan lost all of its overseas possessions and retained only the home islands. Manchukuo was dissolved, and Manchuria was returned to China; Japan renounced all claims to Formosa; Korea was granted independence; the USSR occupied southern Sakhalin and the Kuriles; and the United States became the sole administering authority of the Ryukyu, Bonin, and Volcano Islands.

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Alan Burkitt-Gray speaks to Don MacNeil, chief operating officer of GTT, about its company restructuring after coming out of Chapter 11 and its strategic roadmap for the next 12 months.
Ringgold residents will have another chance to have questions answered on a proposed solar farm.

A neighborhood meeting will take place at 6 p.m. Aug. 17 at Dan River High Schools cafeteria.

Danville Utilities  the supplier of electricity in Danville and southern Pittsylvania County  wants to be the sole customer of a 6 megawatt solar power project by Colorado developer TurningPoint Energy in Ringgold.

TurningPoint will provide food and drink in consideration that this meeting is planned around the dinner hour for the upcoming meeting.

The land is roughly 76 acres, which would hold around 1,300 solar panels and would be surrounded by a fence. The facility would be unmanned, with an access road and minimal equipment, according to Jon Frazier at the first meeting.

Many residents had questions about how it will look, given that it is proposed to be located at the intersection of Kentuck and Kentuck Church roads, right next to Dan River high and elementary school. Many also had reservations about the impact on neighboring properties regarding water quality and heat and glare generation, as well as the safety of these panels.

TurningPoint is anticipating up to 30 attendees, similar to the first meeting. Jared Schoch will be in attendance with a visual presentation to show what the farm will look like, including the changes that were made after the first meeting.
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TORONTO, ONTARIO--(Marketwired - Aug 4, 2016) - Denison Mines Corp. ("Denison" or the "Company") (TSX:DML)(NYSE MKT:DNN) today filed its Consolidated Financial Statements and Management's Discussion & Analysis ("MD&A") for the period ended June 30, 2016. Both documents can be found on the Company's website at www.denisonmines.com or on SEDAR (at www.sedar.com) and EDGAR (at www.sec.gov/edgar.shtml). The highlights provided below are derived from these documents and should be read in conjunction with them. All amounts in this release are in U.S. dollars unless otherwise stated.

David Cates, President and CEO of Denison commented "Our team in Saskatchewan is busy in the field as part of our summer exploration and project evaluation programs. Already, results from the summer exploration program have reinforced the potential for both resource expansion and development at the Wheeler River project. We've extended the recently discovered D series lenses, discovered new basement-hosted mineralization 500 metres west of the Gryphon deposit, and confirmed high grade results previously reported for the Gryphon deposit with initial infill drilling.

The Company has also been very active outside of the exploration portfolio, launching an initial pre-feasibility study work program at Wheeler River, completing a flow-through equity financing, closing a transaction with GoviEx Uranium to combine uranium assets in Africa, and entering into an option agreement with Skyharbour Resources Ltd. to fund additional exploration on the Moore Lake property. While the uranium market may appear muted today, we continue to believe in the strong long term fundamentals of the nuclear energy industry, and we're focused on advancing our assets and positioning our brand to be ready to take advantage of a rising market in future years."

2016 SECOND QUARTER PERFORMANCE HIGHLIGHTS

Continued exploration success at the Wheeler River property

Initial results from the ongoing summer 2016 drilling program have included multiple new mineralized intercepts of the recently discovered D-series lenses, located immediately north of the main Gryphon deposit, and have extended the collective length of the lenses to over 200 metres along plunge. These lenses remain open to the northeast and southwest along plunge. The D-series lenses were first discovered on Section 5200 during the winter 2016 drilling program, and are a top priority for the summer 2016 drill program. The program kicked off in May 2016, and is expected to include approximately 28,000 metres of drilling. In addition to the continued success on the D-series lenses, exploration drilling on the K-West conductor, approximately 500 metres west of the Gryphon deposit, has discovered new basement-hosted mineralization, intersecting weak fracture-hosted uranium associated with significant structure and alteration. This intersection occurs on a different geological trend than the Gryphon deposit, but in a similar geological setting, and demonstrates the fertility of this relatively unexplored trend.

Initiation of Wheeler River pre-feasibility study

Denison initiated a work program to support the completion of a pre-feasibility study ("PFS") for the Wheeler River project and to ultimately advance the project another step towards production. Activities to date have included the launch of an infill drilling program at the Gryphon deposit, initiation of extensive geotechnical and hydrogeological data collection programs, commencement of engineering evaluations, retention of an Environment Manager, the initiation of environmental baseline data collection programs, as well as stakeholder consultations with local communities.

Successfully completed combination of African-based uranium interests with GoviEx Uranium Inc.

On June 10, 2016, GoviEx Uranium Inc. ("GoviEx") and Denison completed the combination of their respective African uranium mineral interests (the "Africa Transaction"). Concurrently, GoviEx completed a non-brokered equity financing on a private placement basis, in which Denison provided the lead order of approximately $500,000. Following the Africa Transaction and the concurrent financing, Denison held a total of 65,144,021 common shares of GoviEx or approximately 24.6% of GoviEx's issued and outstanding common shares.

Closed CAD$12.4 million private placement of flow-through shares to fund 2017 Canadian exploration

In May 2016, the Company completed a private placement offering of 15,127,805 common shares issued on a flow-through basis, at a price of CAD$0.82 per share, for aggregate proceeds to Denison of CAD$12,404,800.

Earned $2.4 million in toll milling revenue during first half of 2016 from McClean Lake

The McClean Lake mill, in which Denison holds a 22.5% interest, packaged approximately 8.6 million pounds U 3 O 8 during the first half of 2016, for the Cigar Lake Joint Venture ("CLJV"), generating toll milling revenues for Denison of $2.4 million. The Cigar Lake mine's expected annual production for 2016 is 16 million pounds.

Received approval for annual production of up to 24 million pounds U 3 O 8 per year at the McClean Lake mill

The Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission ("CNSC") has authorized an increase to the annual rate of production at the McClean Lake mill, from 13 million pounds U 3 O 8 to up to 24 million pounds U 3 O 8 per year. The regulatory approval supports a progressive ramp-up of the mill in line with the Cigar Lake mine's expected annual production of up to 18 million pounds U 3 O 8 per year starting 2017.

Entered into an agreement to option Moore Lake property to Skyharbour for cash and stock

In July 2016, Denison executed an agreement with Skyharbour Resources Ltd. ("Skyharbour") that grants Skyharbour an option to acquire 100% interest in Denison's 100% owned Moore Lake property, in exchange for 4,500,000 common shares of Skyharbour and cash payments totaling CAD$500,000 over the next five years. Skyharbour also agreed to spend CAD$3,500,000 on exploration at the Moore Lake property over the next five years and to grant Denison various back-in rights to re-acquire a 51% interest in the property.

ABOUT DENISON

Denison is a uranium development and exploration company focused in the infrastructure rich eastern portion of the Athabasca Basin region in northern Saskatchewan, Canada. Highlighted by its 60% owned Wheeler River development project, which hosts the high grade Gryphon and Phoenix uranium deposits, Denison's project portfolio covers over 350,000 hectares and includes a 22.5% interest in the McClean Lake uranium mill, which is permitted for annual production of up to 24 million pounds U3O8 and is currently processing ore from the Cigar Lake mine under a toll milling agreement. Denison's interests in the eastern Athabasca Basin also include a 61.55% interest in the J Zone deposit on the Waterbury Lake property, a 25.17% interest in the Midwest deposit, and a 22.5% interest in the McClean lake uranium deposits - all of which are located within 20 kilometres of the McClean Lake mill.

Denison is also engaged in mine decommissioning and environmental services through its Denison Environmental Services division and is the manager of Uranium Participation Corp., a publicly traded company which invests in uranium oxide and uranium hexafluoride.

EXPLORATION AND EVALUATION

The Company's continued focus remains on the eastern portion of the Athabasca Basin region in Saskatchewan, Canada, with a significant portfolio of projects covering over 350,000 hectares in total. Denison's share of exploration and evaluation expenditures were $2,126,000 during the three months ended June 30, 2016.

Wheeler River Project

The Wheeler River property is host to the high-grade Phoenix and Gryphon uranium deposits, discovered by Denison in 2008 and 2014 respectively. The Phoenix deposit is estimated to include an indicated resource of 70.2 million pounds U 3 O 8 (above a cut-off grade of 0.8% U 3 O 8 ) based on 166,000 tonnes of mineralization at an average grade of 19.1% U 3 O 8 , and is the highest grade undeveloped uranium deposit in the world. The Gryphon deposit is hosted in basement rock, approximately 3 kilometres to the northwest of Phoenix, and is estimated to contain inferred resources of 43.0 million pounds U 3 O 8 (above a cut-off grade of 0.2% U 3 O 8 ) based on 834,000 tonnes of mineralization at an average grade of 2.3% U 3 O 8 .

Further details regarding the Wheeler River Project are provided in the current Technical Report, dated March 31, 2016, a copy of which is available on SEDAR and EDGAR.

Exploration Programs

Denison's share of exploration costs at Wheeler River amounted to $897,000 during the three months ended June 30, 2016. The summer exploration program began on May 30, 2016, and is expected to continue into September 2016.

Gryphon Deposit Expansion Potential

During the winter 2016 drill program a new mineralized zone was discovered within 200 metres north and northwest of the Gryphon deposit. The new zone of mineralization is interpreted to occur as another set of stacked, parallel lenses which are broadly conformable with the Gryphon deposit A, B and C lenses. The lenses, designated the D series lenses, have not been included in the Mineral Resource Estimate Report dated November 25, 2015, or the PEA dated March 31, 2016, and form a compelling mineralized zone for resource expansion, with assay highlights announced on May 26, 2016 including 5.3% U 3 O 8 over 11.0 metres, 11.9% U 3 O 8 over 1.5 metres, 2.9% U 3 O 8 over 6.0 metres, 2.3% U 3 O 8 over 4.0 metres and 6.2% U 3 O 8 over 2.5 metres.

To date, the D Series mineralization is interpreted to occur as 16 individual lenses which occur deeper into the stratigraphic sequence, or footwall, to the Gryphon deposit. The collective D series lenses currently measure (including initial summer 2016 results) approximately 215 metres long in the plunge direction, 130 metres wide across the plunge and range in thickness from 2 to 11 metres. By comparison the Gryphon deposit A, B and C lenses collectively measure 450 metres long in the plunge direction, 80 metres wide across the plunge and range in thickness from 2 to 9 metres.

Three priority 'D Series' target areas were identified for drill testing this summer as follows:

Between the newly defined D series lenses (Section 5200GP and 5150GP) and the previously identified D series lenses (Section 5100GP and 5050GP), which occur approximately 100 metres up plunge to the southwest, and were intersected in 2014 but were not included in the Mineral Resource Estimate Report dated November 25, 2015 for the Gryphon deposit, due to insufficient drilling at the time; Up plunge and along strike to the southwest of the D series lenses identified in 2014 (Section 5100GP and 5050GP), roughly parallel to the Gryphon deposit - which extends approximately 250 metres in this direction. Down plunge and along strike to the northeast of the newly delineated D series lenses (Section 5200GP and 5150GP).

The highlights for the summer 2016 drill program, to the end of June 2016, are provided in the table below.

Highlights of mineralized intersections from summer 2016 on

Section 5100 GP, 5250 GP and 5300 GP Section Drill Hole From (m) To (m) Length

(m)(3) eU 3 O 8 (%)

(1)(2) 5100GP WR-665 683.1 685.6 2.5 0.11 and 692.3 693.7 1.4 0.15 and 717.3 722.7 5.4 0.10 5250GP WR-657 550.9 551.9 1.0 0.10 and 629.3 630.3 1.0 0.18 and 698.0 700.1 2.1 0.39 and 711.7 712.9 1.2 0.68 WR-661 554.0 555.0 1.0 0.27 and 694.4 695.5 1.1 1.5 5300 GP WR-667A 572.2 573.3 1.1 0.28 and 688.8 689.8 1.0 0.42

eU 3 O 8 is radiometric equivalent uranium from a calibrated total gamma down-hole probe. All intersections will be sampled for chemical U 3 O 8 assay Intersection interval is composited above a cut-off grade of 0.05% eU 3 O 8. Composites compiled using 1.0 metre minimum ore thickness and 2.0 metres maximum waste As the drill holes are oriented steeply toward the northwest and the basement mineralization is interpreted to dip moderately to the southeast, the true thickness of the mineralization is expected to be approximately 75% of the intersection lengths

New Intersection of Mineralization at K-West

Drill hole WR-663, which is located 500 metres to the west of the Gryphon deposit, was designed to test basement potential on the largely unexplored K-West conductive trend. The drill hole intersected basement-hosted mineralization including 0.039% eU 3 O 8 over 1.1 metres, 0.04% eU 3 O 8 over 2.0 metres and 0.021% eU 3 O 8 over 5.2 metres (using a 0.01% eU 3 O 8 cut-off and 0.5 metre minimum thickness). Although no high-grade mineralization was intersected, the intensity and extent of the alteration zone, with an estimated true thickness of approximately 50 metres, indicate significant fluid flow with potential for higher grades along strike, and up- and down-dip. The zone is mostly open within the basement and, given the close proximity to Gryphon and similar favorable geological setting, follow up is warranted.

As the drill hole was oriented steeply toward the northwest and the basement mineralization is interpreted to dip moderately to the southeast, the true thickness of the mineralization is expected to be approximately 75% of the intersection lengths. The results are reported as radiometric equivalent U 3 O 8 ("eU 3 O 8 ") derived from a calibrated total gamma down-hole probe using a cut-off of 0.1% eU 3 O 8 , a minimum mineralization thickness of 1.0 metre and maximum waste of 2.0 metres. All mineralized intersections will be sampled for chemical U 3 O 8 assay.

Illustrative Figure

A plan map of the northeast plunging Gryphon deposit mineralized lenses is provided in Figure 1. The map indicates the location of the D series lenses interpreted from winter 2016 drilling results, the summer 2016 mineralized intercepts shown as red stars and the K-West mineralized intercepts shown as green stars. The simplified basement geology at the sub-Athabasca unconformity is provided as the backdrop.

Gryphon Infill Drilling Program

An infill drilling program commenced on the Gryphon deposit in early July 2016. The objective of the infill drilling program is to increase the level of confidence of the previously released inferred resources estimated for the Gryphon deposit to an indicated level - an important step in completing the PFS. The resource estimate for the Gryphon deposit includes the A, B and C series lenses - a set of parallel, stacked, elongated mineralized lenses that are broadly conformable with the basement geology and dip moderately to the southeast and plunge moderately to the northeast.

Results from the first infill drill hole WR-668, as announced on July 19, 2016, intersected 0.93% eU 3 O 8 over 14.1 metres (including 2.1% eU 3 O 8 over 3.7 metres and 1.4% eU 3 O 8 over 1.3 metres) from 754.7 to 768.8 metres, and 2.4% eU 3 O 8 over 7.3 metres (including 3.7% eU 3 O 8 over 4.5 metres) from 772.6 to 779.9 metres, which reinforces the high grade results previously reported for the Gryphon deposit. The results can be correlated with previous intersections of the A, B and C lenses in neighbouring holes and the high grades were consistent with previous results, demonstrating good lens and grade continuity. As the drill hole was oriented steeply toward the northwest, consistent with previous Gryphon drill holes, and the basement mineralization is interpreted to dip moderately to the southeast, the true thickness of the mineralization is expected to be approximately 75% of the intersection lengths. The results are reported as radiometric equivalent U 3 O 8 ("eU 3 O 8 ") derived from a calibrated total gamma down-hole probe using a cut-off of 0.1% eU 3 O 8 , a minimum mineralization thickness of 1.0 metre and maximum waste of 2.0 metres. All mineralized intersections will be sampled for chemical U 3 O 8 assay.

Evaluation Program

During the three months ended June 30, 2016, Denison's share of evaluation costs at Wheeler River amounted to $39,000, and were mainly related to the internal evaluation, field investigations and engineering studies completed for the Preliminary Economic Assessment ("PEA") released early in the second quarter, and the initiation of PFS activities.

PEA Results

The results of the PEA were announced by the Company on April 4, 2016 and included a base case pre-tax Internal Rate of Return ("IRR") of 20.4%, an indicative post-tax IRR to Denison of 17.8%, and a pre-tax Net Present Value ("NPV") of CAD$513 million (Denison's share - CAD$308 million), based on a long term contract price for uranium of $44 per pound U 3 O 8 . The PEA also included a production scenario based on a uranium price of $62.60 per pound U 3 O 8 , resulting in a pre-tax IRR of 34.1% and a pre-tax NPV of CAD$1,420 million (Denison's share - CAD$852 million).

The PEA is preliminary in nature and includes inferred mineral resources that are considered too speculative geologically to have the economic considerations applied to them to be categorized as mineral reserves, and there is no certainty that the PEA will be realized. Mineral resources are not mineral reserves and do not have demonstrated economic viability. Additional definition drilling is required to improve the confidence in the existing mineral resources estimated for the Gryphon deposit, and is expected to be completed as the Company advances the project towards the completion of a PFS. The PEA is posted on the Company's website and is available on SEDAR and EDGAR.

PFS Activities

In the second quarter of 2016, Denison initiated a work program to support the completion of a PFS for the Wheeler River project and to ultimately advance the project a further step towards production. Initial PFS activities to date included:

Launch of an infill drilling program for the Gryphon deposit;

Initiation of extensive geotechnical and hydrogeological data collection programs to support mine designs, water treatment designs and environmental assessments;

Commencement of engineering evaluations for shaft sinking and mine designs;

Retention of Pam Bennett as Environment Manager, responsible for the preparation of the Environmental Impact Assessment ("EIA") for the project. Pam comes to Denison with an M.Sc in Environmental Toxicology and is a registered Professional Biologist (P. Biol). Pam has over 15 years of international experience in the environmental sciences field, including experience with both Cameco Corp. ("Cameco") and AREVA Resources Canada Inc. ("ARC") on EIAs for uranium projects in Saskatchewan;

Initiation of environmental baseline data collection programs (archeological, terrestrial, aquatic) required to support project designs and environmental assessments; and

Initiation of stakeholder consultations with local communities.

Exploration Pipeline Properties

During the second quarter of 2016, the Company managed or participated in three other exploration drilling programs (two of which were operated by Denison). Highlights include the following:

At Waterbury Lake (Denison 61.55% interest and operator), six holes drilled in the second quarter successfully intersected graphitic pelites, faulting and associated alteration in the Oban target area. Potential exists along strike and follow-up drilling in this area is expected to be planned once the geochemical assay results have been received.

At Turkey Lake (Denison 100% interest), three holes were drilled to test a soil uranium anomaly and coincident electromagnetic conductors. As expected, no Athabasca sandstone was encountered and basement lithologies comprised predominantly granites or pelitic gneisses. The highly anomalous soil uranium results were attributed to pegmatites with highly elevated radioactivity. An additional hole intersected favourable graphitic faults in the basement, but lacked alteration and radioactivity. Follow-up along strike may be warranted.

At Mann Lake (Denison 30% interest), a three hole program was completed. One hole intersected weak uranium mineralization. The other two holes intersected significant structure and alteration in the lower sandstone associated with an unconformity offset related to the GC fault.

SELECTED ANNUAL FINANCIAL INFORMATION





(in thousands) As at

June 30,

2016 As at

December 31,

2015 Financial Position of Continuing Operations: Cash and cash equivalents $ 17,835 $ 5,367 Debt Instruments (GICs) - 7,282 Cash, cash equivalents debt instruments $ 17,835 $ 12,649 Working capital $ 14,201 $ 12,772 Property, plant and equipment $ 194,554 $ 188,250 Total assets $ 229,044 $ 212,758 Total long-term liabilities $ 39,581 $ 38,125

Three Months Ended Six Months Ended

(in thousands, except for per share amounts) June 30,

2016 June 30,

2015 June 30,

2016 June 30,

2015 Results of Continuing Operations: Total revenues $ 3,663 $ 2,929 $ 6,993 $ 5,257 Net loss $ (3,832) $ (3,982) $ (8,277) $ (7,835) Basic and diluted loss per share $ (0.01) $ (0.01) $ (0.02) $ (0.02)

RESULTS OF CONTINUING OPERATIONS

Revenues

During the first half of 2016, the McClean Lake mill packaged approximately 8.6 million pounds U 3 O 8 for the CLJV and the Company's share of toll milling revenue during the three months ended June 30, 2016 totaled $1,147,000.

Revenue from Denison Environmental Services ("DES") and the Company's management services agreement with UPC during the three months ended June 30, 2016, were $2,144,000 and $372,000, respectively.

Operating expenses

Operating expenses in the Canadian mining segment include depreciation, mining and other development costs, as well as standby costs. Operating expenses during the three months ended June 30, 2016 were $800,000 including $583,000 of depreciation from the McClean Lake mill, associated with the processing of U 3 O 8 for the CLJV.

Operating expenses in DES during the three months ended June 30, 2016 totaled $1,830,000. The expenses relate primarily to care and maintenance and consulting services provided to clients and include labour costs.

General and administrative expenses

Total general and administrative expenses were $1,227,000 during the three months ended June 30, 2016. These costs are mainly comprised of head office salaries and benefits, office costs, audit and regulatory costs, legal fees, investor relations expenses, project costs and other costs related to operating a public company with listings in Canada and the United States.

Impairment of mineral properties

During the second quarter of 2016, the Company recognized an impairment of $2,174,000 against the value of its Moore Lake property.

RESULTS OF DISCONTINUED OPERATIONS

Loss on sale of African-Based Uranium Interests

During the second quarter of 2016, the Company recognized a loss on disposal of the Africa mining division of $70,000, which includes $637,000 of cumulative foreign currency losses recognized as translational foreign exchange losses in the period of disposal. The total consideration received on the disposal amounted to $4,978,000 at fair value and includes the fair value of the GoviEx shares received of $3,954,000, the fair value of GoviEx warrants received of $1,162,000 and offset by transaction costs of $138,000.

Sale of Mongolian Mining division

On July 22, 2016, the Mineral Resources Authority of Mongolia ("MRAM") issued mining licenses to the Gurvan Saihan Joint Venture ("GSJV") for the Hairhan, Haraat, Gurvan Saihan and Ulzit projects. The GSJV was acquired by Uranium Industry as part of the November 30, 2015 sale of the Mongolia Mining Division. Under the licensing process, the GSJV has ten working days from the license issuance date to remit the required first year mining license fees to the Mongolian Government in order to receive the mining certificates required as proof of holding mining licenses in Mongolia. In accordance with the sale agreement with Uranium Industry, certain contingent payments are due to Denison within 60 days of the issuance of a mining license.

No expenditures were incurred in the Mongolian Mining division in the quarter.

LIQUIDITY AND CAPITAL RESOURCES

Cash and cash equivalents were $17,835,000 at June 30, 2016. The Company holds the large majority of its cash, cash equivalents and investments in Canadian Dollars. As at June 30, 2016, the Company's cash, cash equivalents and current investments amount to CAD$23.0 million. The Company's CAD$24 million credit facility is fully utilized for non-financial letters of credit in relation to future decommissioning and reclamation plans. The facility contains a covenant that requires the Company to maintain a minimum cash balance of CAD$5 million on deposit with the Bank of Nova Scotia.

OUTLOOK FOR 2016

The Company's Outlook for 2016 remains largely unchanged, except for the expected revenues from the sale of uranium inventory, exploration and evaluation expenditures planned in Canada, and the plans for Africa, each of which has been modified for the remainder of the year and incorporated into the Company's current Outlook.

(in thousands) 2016

BUDGET 2016

OUTLOOK Actual to

June 30,

2016 Canada (1) Toll Milling Revenue & Mineral Sales $ 5,440 $ 4,540 $ 2,330 Development & Operations (2,400) (2,400) (720) Mineral Property Exploration & Evaluation (13,000) (12,000) (7,150) (9,960) (9,860) (5,540) Africa Zambia, Mali and Namibia (1,290) (520) (520) (1,290) (520) (520) Other (1) UPC Management Services 1,530 1,530 670 DES Environmental Services 920 920 570 Corporate Administration & Other (4,250) (4,250) (2,340) (1,800) (1,800) (1,100) Total $ (13,050) $ (12,180) $ (7,160)

Budget figures have been converted using a US$ to CAD$ exchange rate of 1.30. The Company budgets on a cash basis. As a result, actual amounts represent a non-GAAP measure and exclude non-cash depreciation and amortization amounts of $1,560,000.

The sale of approximately 25,000 pounds U 3 O 8 , currently held by Denison in inventory, has been deferred until market conditions improve.

The 2016 outlook for Canadian exploration program, inclusive of the evaluation work planned for Wheeler River, has been updated to reflect a reduction in winter exploration activities actually completed during the first half of the year.

In June 2016, Denison announced the completion of the Africa Transaction to sell its African assets to GoviEx. The current outlook reflects the activities completed during the first half of the year. No additional expense are expected in relation to the African assets during the remainder of the year.

Qualified Person

The disclosure regarding the PEA was reviewed and approved by Peter Longo, P. Eng, MBA, PMP, Denison's Vice-President, Project Development, who is a Qualified Person in accordance with the requirements of NI 43-101. The balance of the disclosure of scientific and technical information regarding Denison's properties in this press release and the MD&A was prepared by or reviewed and approved by Dale Verran, MSc, Pr.Sci.Nat., the Company's Vice President, Exploration, a Qualified Person in accordance with the requirements of NI 43-101. For a description of the data verification, assay procedures and the quality assurance program and quality control measures applied by Denison, please see Denison's Annual Information Form dated March 24, 2016 available under Denison's profile on SEDAR at www.sedar.com, and its Form 40-F available on EDGAR at www.sec.gov/edgar.shtml.

Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

Certain information contained in this press release constitutes "forward-looking information", within the meaning of the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and similar Canadian legislation concerning the business, operations and financial performance and condition of Denison.

Generally, these forward-looking statements can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as "plans", "expects", "budget", "scheduled", "estimates", "forecasts", "intends", "anticipates", or "believes", or the negatives and/or variations of such words and phrases, or state that certain actions, events or results "may", "could", "would", "might" or "will be taken", "occur", "be achieved" or "has the potential to". In particular, this press release contains forward-looking information pertaining to the following: the likelihood of completing and benefits to be derived from corporate transactions; the results of the PEA and expectations regarding further studies, including the PFS; expectations regarding the toll milling of Cigar Lake ores; expectations regarding revenues and expenditure from operations at DES; capital expenditure programs, estimated exploration and development expenditures and reclamation costs and Denison's share of same; expectations of market prices and costs; supply and demand for uranium; and exploration, development and expansion plans and objectives and statements regarding anticipated budgets. Statements relating to "mineral reserves" or "mineral resources" are deemed to be forward-looking information, as they involve the implied assessment, based on certain estimates and assumptions that the mineral reserves and mineral resources described can be profitably produced in the future.

Forward looking statements are based on the opinions and estimates of management as of the date such statements are made, and they are subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause the actual results, level of activity, performance or achievements of Denison to be materially different from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Denison believes that the expectations reflected in this forward-looking information are reasonable but no assurance can be given that these expectations will prove to be accurate and may differ materially from those anticipated in this forward looking information. For a discussion in respect of risks and other factors that could influence forward-looking events, please refer to the factors discussed in Denison's Annual Information Form dated March 24, 2016 under the heading "Risk Factors". These factors are not, and should not be construed as being exhaustive. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements.

The forward-looking information contained in this press release is expressly qualified by this cautionary statement. Any forward-looking information and the assumptions made with respect thereto speaks only as of the date of this press release. Denison does not undertake any obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking information after the date of this press release to conform such information to actual results or to changes in Denison's expectations except as otherwise required by applicable legislation.

Cautionary Note to United States Investors Concerning Estimates of Measured, Indicated and Inferred Mineral Resources: This press release may use the terms "measured", "indicated" and "inferred" mineral resources. United States investors are advised that while such terms are recognized and required by Canadian regulations, the United States Securities and Exchange Commission does not recognize them. "Inferred mineral resources" have a great amount of uncertainty as to their existence, and as to their economic and legal feasibility. It cannot be assumed that all or any part of an inferred mineral resource will ever be upgraded to a higher category. Under Canadian rules, estimates of inferred mineral resources may not form the basis of feasibility or other economic studies. United States investors are cautioned not to assume that all or any part of measured or indicated mineral resources will ever be converted into mineral reserves. United States investors are also cautioned not to assume that all or any part of an inferred mineral resource exists, or is economically or legally mineable.

FIGURE 1- Wheeler River Property Map and Basement Geology: http://media3.marketwire.com/docs/1064948.pdf
Decade gold deposit down-plunge and along strike extensions;

Rod Zone Extension (Pam, Blindman and East Zones);

Star  Kahn Structural Trend;

Pointy Lake and Thin Lake Structures;

Blindman Structures;

Soil Anomaly Target A, B, C.

VANCOUVER, Aug. 4, 2016 - Golden Band Resources Inc. ("Golden Band" or the "Company") (TSXV (NEX Board): GBN.H) announces that further to the news releases dated May 1, 2015 and July 7, 2015, it has filed a technical report dated August 1, 2016 entitled NI 43-101 TECHNICAL REPORT JOLU PROJECT AREA (the "Technical Report") prepared by Frank Hrdy, P. Geo., Eugene Puritch, P. Eng, and Mike Yakimchuk, P. Eng, all independent Qualified Persons under National Instrument 43-101 ("NI 43-101").At the time of writing this report all exploration activity on the Jolu Project is on hold and the infrastructure is on care and maintenance due to economic factors. Subject to court approval, Procon Resources Inc. or its nominee is expected to acquire the shares of Golden Band on August 12, 2016 (see news release of July 22, 2016).A number of named prospects are still considered to have significant potential to lead to a new discovery, namely:

NOTE: THERE ARE NO CURRENT MINERAL RESOURCES IN THE JOLU PROJECT AREA.

QP Conclusions and Recommendations:

The Decade gold deposit is the most advanced exploration target on the Jolu Project at present and the last drill program conducted in 2014 indicates good potential to establish a significant mineralized zone if additional drilling focuses on expanding the know extents of the gold mineralization. A database exists and includes all mine workings, topography, surface trenching, surface sampling, underground and surface drill holes and sample results all converted to UTM grid coordinates. There is also recommendations for a 815 m (6-hole) surface drill program designed to test for:

The possible existence of additional higher grade mineralization down-plunge and beneath the existing mine workings; The possible existence of an extension to higher grade mineralization recently intersected in drill hole DC-60-14; The possible existence of an extension to higher grade mineralization recently intersected in drill hole DC-64-14.

Once this proposed drill program is completed, and if it is successful, a geological model and resource estimation should be completed. The geological model and resource estimate would serve as a foundation to guide future drill programs with the goal to outline a mineral reserve.The most notable historic mineral prospects are the Rod Structural Zone and the Kahn-Star Structural Zone. These were extensively drill tested at shallow depths, generally under 100 m depth, in the 1980's. Significant but localized areas of mineralization were identified at various locations along their strike length. All of these areas have mineralization that is open at depth, along strike and to some extent, internally.Regardless of what targets are chosen (with the exception of the Decade deposit), the existing drill data will need further compilation and brought into a usable geological database for the creation of new sections and plans. The historic logging was done by a variety of individuals and using a variety of longhand and early stage computerized logging forms; therefore, translation of the logs into something more coherent will be required. The level of detail need not be onerous, but consistency and usability of the updated information is an absolute requirement. Ground checking of old drill sites and proper tie-in of the Blindman grid should also be undertaken. It is understood that most of the drill sites will be unrecognizable but those that can be identified should be located more accurately.The other two areas of interest include the Pointy Lake and Thin Lake features. Although neither area has yielded any economically significant mineralization, the limited drilling to date has identified significant structural zones accompanied by ribbony quartz and anomalous gold values. The exact orientation and dimensions of these target areas are unknown at this time due to the constraints of limited drill information. Because of the limited information available and their admittedly tenuous on strike length with known mineralization in the vicinity of the Tamar Zone, these zones remain prospective early stage drill targets.The most prospective drill targets (besides the Decade deposit) from an immediate exploration point of view would be the Pam, Blindman, East Zone (Rod Zone Structural Trend). The best of these from the perspective of grades and proximity to the tailings pond area is the Pam Zone.Please refer to the Technical report, which is available under the Company's profile at www.sedar.com for further details.Frank Hrdy, P. Geo., a Geologist of CanMine Consultants and an independent consultant to the Company, is the Qualified Person as defined in NI 43-101 for this disclosure and has reviewed and approved the scientific and technical information contained in this release.The technical reports for the Company's other Material Properties (the Jolu Area and Greywacke properties) have been issued. Golden Band Resources Inc. is a former gold producer operating in the La Ronge gold belt in northern Saskatchewan and is listed on the NEX Board of the TSX Venture Exchange in Canada under the symbol GBN.H. Commercial production was declared on April 1, 2011. The Company has suspended mining operations (see news release of June 30, 2014); but has been exploring the La Ronge Gold Belt since 1994 and has assembled a land package of 870 km, including 13 known gold prospects and five former producing mines, being Jolu, Decade, Star Lake, EP and Komis. On April 15, 2016, the Company filed a Notice of Intention to make a Proposal to its Creditors under section 50.4 of the Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act (Canada) to assist its restructuring efforts (see news release of April 15, 2016). On July 22, 2016, the Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act proposal by Golden Band to its creditors was approved by creditors (see news release of July 22, 2016).On behalf of the Board of Directors of Golden Band Resources Inc.,"Paul Saxton"Paul Saxton, CEOCaution Regarding Forward-Looking Information and Statements: This news release includes certain forward-looking statements or information. All statements other than statements of historical fact included in this release, including, without limitation, statements regarding the updated technical reports, operational plans, restructuring plans, estimates and costs of production, and other future plans, objectives or expectations of Golden Band Resources Inc. (Company) are forward-looking statements that involve various risks and uncertainties. There can be no assurance that such statements will prove to be accurate and actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from the Company's plans or expectations include risks relating to the actual results of operations, current exploration activities, fluctuating gold prices, possibility of equipment breakdowns and delays, cost overruns, general economic, market or business conditions, regulatory changes, timeliness of government or regulatory approvals and other risks detailed herein and from time to time in the filings made by the Company. The Company makes all reasonable efforts to update its corporate information on a timely basis.Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.Investor Relations: 604-682-6852Email: info@goldenbandresources.comwww.goldenbandresources.comOr contact: The Bowra GroupTrustee: Kristin Gray: 780-809-1224Email: kgray@bowragroup.com
Toronto, Ontario (FSCwire) - West Red Lake Gold Mines Inc. (West Red Lake Gold or the Company) (CSE: RLG) (FWB: HYK) (OTC: HYLKF) announces that it has completed a non brokered private placement of common share units for aggregated gross proceeds of $1,300,000.

The Company issued 5,200,000 common share units (the Common Share Units) at a price of $0.25 per Common Share Unit for aggregated gross proceeds of $1,300,000. Each Common Share Unit consists of one common share in the capital of the Company and one common share purchase warrant (the Warrant). Each Warrant issued in connection with the financing entitles its holder to purchase one common share in the capital of the Company at an exercise price of $0.40 per share for a period of 18 months from the date of issuance.

Proceeds from the financing will be used for exploration on the Company's gold exploration project located in Red Lake, Ontario and for general working capital purposes.

In connection with the financing, the Company paid finders fees to eligible persons in the form of $79,825 in cash and 143,000 warrants to purchase Common Share Units at $0.25 for 24 months.

West Red Lake Gold Mines Inc. is a Toronto-based minerals exploration company focused on gold exploration and development in the prolific Red Lake Gold District of Northwest Ontario, Canada. The Red Lake Gold District is host to some of the richest gold deposits in the world and has produced 30 million ounces of gold from high grade zones. The Company has assembled a significant property position totalling 3100 hectares in west Red Lake (the "West Red Lake Project") which contains three former gold mines. The Mount Jamie Mine and Red Summit Mine properties are 100% owned by the Company and the Rowan Mine property is held in a 60%-owned joint venture with Red Lake Gold Mines, a partnership of Goldcorp Inc. and Goldcorp Canada Ltd. The West Red Lake Project property covers a 12 kilometre strike length along the Pipestone Bay-St Paul Deformation Zone and the Company plans to continue to explore the property both along strike and to depth. To find out more about West Red Lake Gold, please visit our website at http://www.westredlakegold.com.

______________________________________________________________________________

For more information, please contact: John Kontak, President and acting CFO, Phone: 416-203-9181 Email: jkontak@rlgold.ca

The Canadian Securities Exchange has neither approved nor disapproved the contents of this news release. Certain statements constitute "forward looking statements". When used in this news release, the words "anticipated", "expect", "estimated", "forecast", "planned", and similar expressions are intended to identify forward looking statements or information. These statements are based on current expectations of management, however, they are subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause actual results to differ materially from the forward-looking statements in this news release. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these statements. West Red Lake Gold does not undertake any obligation to revise or update any forward-looking statements as a result of new information, future events or otherwise after the date hereof, except as required by securities laws.

To view this press release as a PDF file, click onto the following link:public://news_release_pdf/WRedLakeAug52016.pdfSource: West Red Lake Gold Mines Inc. (CSE:RLG, OTC Bulletin Board:HYLKF)

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It's here! That most wonderful time of the year known as Ekka. Ferris wheels, dodgem cars, prize pigs, proud hens, giant pumpkins, shiny ponies, clown's mouths, stunt cars, wood chopping, craft shopping, whip cracking and lots of snacking.

Lots of snacking. Here's ten food and drink must-dos for the 2016 Royal Queensland Show. Time your run for the morning and you can knock 'em all over by the arvo, easy.

And yes, I am aware there is no fairy floss on this list. Does anyone really like fairy floss though? Really? Sure, it's fun to walk around with, but it also stickies fingers, colonises teeth and, on a windy day, gets caught in beards.

Blokes with beards eating fairy floss is a winning look, though, true.

Balter Brewing ALT Brown Ale, Craft Beer Taphouse

The promise of an Ekka-branded XXXX stubbie holder if you buy two or more Golds at the Cattleman's Bar is tempting, I'll give you that. And I'll probably own 20 by the time the show's over. But, for a slightly more rounded, balanced, tastier, toastier and nuttier beer, hit up Craft Beer Taphouse in the back corner of the Woolworth Pavilion for a tinnie of Balter Brown. Not only is it delicious, the brewery is based in Queensland and owned by surfing ledge Mick Fanning and his mates. Support your local brewer today!

The taphouse is also pouring local beer from Tenerife's Green Beacon plus brews brought to you from Two Birds, 4 Pines, Feral, and Napoleone cider.

Bertie Beetle showbag, Showbag Pavillion



A beetle rarely seen outside its natural habitat. Photo: Paul Harris

Ever seen a Bertie Beetle in the wild? Neither have we. This milk chocolate arthropod has been an exclusive to royal and regional shows since 1970 and the price hasn't changed too much since then, either - a bag of Bertie love will still only set you back $2. Dip your honeycomb-laced insect in a strawberry sundae for the ultimate Ekka experience. Maybe get some chips in there, too.

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Dagwood Dog, pretty much everywhere

EKKA YOU ARE THE BEST A photo posted by callanboys (@callanboys) on Aug 4, 2016 at 6:20pm PDT

Let's be honest - the sausage meat in these savs is far from the quality of the purebred Berkshires competing for best swine in show. This doesn't make a Dagwood Dog (or, if you will, a Pluto Pup) any less of a must. If you can still see batter through a curtain of tomato sauce, you don't have enough sauce.

Devonshire tea, Country Women's Association

I'm all for disregarding the rulebook when it comes to eating. Food is supposed to be fun. Have at it. But please promise the lovely ladies from the Country Women's Association (located under the John McDonald Stand) that you will always spread jam on your scone first, then cream? ALWAYS. Warm CWA scones are like edible hugs and they're a necessity for Ekka and life.

Ekka Strawberry Sundae, various locations

Sorted @penny_grant A photo posted by callanboys (@callanboys) on Aug 4, 2016 at 7:10pm PDT

Orrite. If there's one Ekka food essential it's these bad boys. No-nonsense wafer cone, locally made vanilla and strawberry ice-cream, fresh Queensland whipped cream and a Wamuran strawberry on top. This is the 27th year legends from the Prince Charles Hospital Foundation have volunteered to make the sundae and all proceeds fund research into health problems such as lung cancer, heart disease, dementia, mental illness and arthritis. Sundaes for a cause!

Hot chips, also pretty much everywhere

Don't skimp on the chicken salt. Photo: Paul Harris

When you turn your nose up at show chips, you're turning your nose up at life. It's like declining the opportunity to pop bubble wrap or resisting the urge to wear a tea cosie as a hat when Nan's left the room. This is Ekka, not a health retreat, so get in there and stuff your face with blistering hot batons, preferably covered in chicken salt and enough vinegar to preserve a small donkey.

Queensland wine, Woolworths Fresh Food Pavilion

Best for sangria. Photo: Paul Harris

There's a Sirromet Wine Bar, which is OK I suppose, but for a better selection of Granite Belt belters head over to the Woolies Pav. Golden Grove, Ballandean Estate, Summit and Riversand are all representing and pouring by the taster and full glass. I'm loving the pinot noir from Summit that's all black cherry and berries, and Golden Grove's durif that tastes like dusty licorice in the best possible way.

And if you're feeling festive, why not make a Sirromet Sangria? Grab one glass each of three Sirromet plonks (sauv blanc, shiraz and sparkling, say) and mix together in a decent-sized cup. An empty slushie vessel works well. Top up with Coke and a couple of strawberries before pouring back into the original wine glasses and sharing with mates. Delish!

RNA tasting plate, Gourmet Plaza

Can't decide which gold medal-winning animal to eat at the Royal Queensland Steakhouse? No meat sweats. The Royal Queensland Food and Wine Show truck has a $15 tasting plate featuring Tajima wagyu and carmelised onion sausage, Western Darling Downs 100-day grain-fed rib fillet, and a Milly Hill lamb cutlet that will have you frothing for juicy shiraz. Lucky there's plenty of the stuff around.

Tim-Tam-coated caramel apple, City of Logan stand

Yeah, you read that right. Just like a toffee apple, only with 100 per cent more Tim Tam. They're from Carcamos Gourmet Apple and the caramel is made from a secret recipe in a traditional copperpot. If you want one (and believe me, you do want one), you'll need to visit the City of Logan stand inside the Agricultural Hall and purchase a growers showbag for $20.

The bag also includes radishes, a punnet of strawberries, chocolate, a recipe book and spice courtesy of The Spice Exchange - a social enterprise where all products are proudly designed, produced and packed by refugee women in Queensland. Nice work, Logan.

Triple-cream cheese on toast, Bunya Cheese

There's cheese on toast, and then there's cheese on toast. The good folks from Queensland's Bunya Cheese company (you can also find them in the Woolie's Pav) are happy to toast their super creamy Bunya Gold cheese on garlic and herb sourdough for your pleasure. It's $5 and it's amazing.

If you fancy a meal-sized toasted sandwich instead, the Woombye Cheese Company champs an aisle over grill three types of cheese on bread with chutney and free-range pork. It's $12 and St Johns has defibrillators at the ready.

The Royal Queensland Show (Ekka) runs from August 5-14 at Brisbane Showgrounds, 600 Gregory Terrace, Bowen Hills. Tickets are available online at ekka.com.au
















Aria in Circular Quay is one of many business-friendly lunch spots in Sydney. Photo: Supplied

Close the deal over charcoal roast king prawns at Rockpool Bar & Grill. Photo: Christopher Pearce

You can still do business over a burger - especially if it's the wagyu burger and Martinez cocktail at Rockpool Bar and Grill.

The moody interiors at Restaurant Hubert make for a discreet meeting spot.

One of the dishes from Glass Brasserie, which is conveniently located in the Sydney CBD. Photo: Supplied

The classic interiors at Est. Photo: Supplied

The Boathouse on Blackwattle Bay has good views to match your excellent meal.

Bistrode CBD

The Opera House pavlova at Bennelong. Photo: Edwina Pickles

The interior of The Bridge Room. Photo: Dominic Lorrimer

You can get boozy at Bentley or try the inspired non-alcoholic drinks (such as the the Aloha, desert lime and wood sorrel spritz and wattleseed buttermilk drink) if you have to get back to the office. Photo: Christopher Pearce of





















Make it work-related, in the best way possible, with these top dining experiences from the upcoming edition of The Sydney Morning Herald Good Food Guide 2017.

Aria

It's magnetic in every sense here at chef/restaurateur Matt Moran's flagship restaurant. Sommeliers Matt Dunne and Paul Beaton know how to read a table flawlessly, and will pitch it perfectly. From glass to plate, the kings of plush continue to pad Sydney's well-and-aspirationally-heeled with the sort of comfort only 17 years of solid service can provide.



1 Macquarie Street, Sydney, 02 9240 2255, ariarestaurant.com

The striking surrounds at Bentley Restaurant and Bar. Photo: Dominic Lorrimer

Bentley Restaurant and Bar

It was an inspired move by the Bentley team. First there's the location at the Radisson Hotel in the financial business heartland. The eye-catching fit-out imitating construction site scaffolding is pure Sydney CBD. Then there's chef/owner Brent Savage's inventive, exciting menu, where the portions are made-to-measure for the time-poor Hermes tie brigade, in bar snack size and regular.



Corner of Hunter and Pitt streets, Sydney, 02 8214 0505, thebentley.com.au

The Moreton bay bugs with roasted chilli paste, tamarind palm hearts and celery salt at The Bridge Room. Photo: Christopher Pearce

The Bridge Room

Ross Lusted has an extraordinary ability for harmonising flavours in a confident, considered, thoughtful way where if you're not paying attention you might miss how highly engineered the cogs are in the kitchen. Same for the black-clad service team, who panther around the Nordic-chic room placing Lusted's creations on custom made felt mats.



Ground Level, 44 Bridge Street, Sydney, 02 9247 7000, thebridgeroom.com.au



The bar at Bennelong. Photo: Edwina Pickles

Bennelong

Peter Gilmore and head chef Robert Cockerill are serving up brand new flavours in a room that remains as luxe as ever, with tweaks. Say bye to the starched tablecloths but hi to a piece of Murray cod, the protein just set, on an umami-rich ginger-fragrant congee. Slow cooked quail is soft - almost silken - the richness lifted with the tartness of Davidson plum jam.



Bennelong Point, Sydney Opera House, Sydney, 02 9240 8000, bennelong.com.au

Bistrode CBD

Dear Jeremy Strode, for many years, we've appreciated your pared back menu with its roots firmly planted in traditional French technique with sturdy British sensibilities. Take note when it comes to that juicy Mayfield Farm pork chop, served very slightly pink with perfect lardons (double pig!) or the tried-and-true corned beef with throat searing English mustard.



1/52 King Street, Sydney, 02 9240 3000, merivale.com.au/bistrodecbd

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The Boathouse on Blackwattle Bay

Chef Colin Barker's menu is ever-changing, from translucent fingers of alfonsino ceviche dotted with smoked buffalo milk, to a fleshy, crisp-skinned fillet of bass groper robustly paired with cabbage, ham hock and lentils. Only the signature snapper pie is firmly anchored to the menu. All the better to enjoy looking out over the working harbour.



123 Ferry Road, Glebe, 02 9518 9011, boathouse.net.au

Est

This is the home of the famous waiter 'swoop' where dishes for the table appear at once as if by witchcraft (or, at least, a lot of hands). In fact, if you were to pinpoint some of the most en pointe service in the city, all signs would point to Est: the Champagne trolley, the impressive wine service, that swooping.



Level 1, Establishment, 252 George Street, 02 9240 3000, merivale.com.au/est

Top class: The Glass Brasserie restaurant. Photo: Supplied

Glass Brasserie

"You're so money baby and you don't even know it." So goes the quote from the '90s indie comedy Swingers. Glass Brasserie is the opposite. They're money. And they know it. Planted up in the Sydney Hilton overlooking the Queen Victoria building, the ceilings are cavernous. The walls are literally made of wine bottles and when night falls, the sexy lighting is set firmly to "make out" mode.



Level 2, 488 George Street, Sydney, glassbrasserie.com.au

Clams Normande served at Restaurant Hubert. Photo: Dominic Lorrimer

Restaurant Hubert

It starts with the stairs. Down they go, lined with nearly 4000 miniature liquor bottles, spiralling around and around until they tip you out into post-war Europe. The Swillhouse Group's wood-panelled basement dining room, small bars and cellars are an homage to all that we love about restaurants.



15 Bligh Street, Sydney, restauranthubert.com

Rockpool Bar & Grill

If Bruce Wayne was dating Alfred the butler this is where they'd dine, in all its moody, Gothamite splendour. The building is an Art-Deco landmark, and Neil Perry's old-school steakhouse, heading into its eighth year now, a fine fit. A delicately breaded Kinkawoonka king prawn cutlet in the clubby adjoining bar requires the use of a martini and then it's to the Batcave.



66 Hunter Street, Sydney, 02 8078 1900, rockpool.com

The Sydney Morning Herald Good Food Guide award night, presented by Citi and Vittoria, is on September 5. The Guide will be on sale in newsagents and bookstores from September 6, with all book purchases receiving free access to the new Good Food app.
Red Flag (Joel Kinnaman, left) and Deadshot (Will Smith) are among the leaders of the "Suicide Squad," supervillains recruited out of prison to confront a magical enemy. Clay Enos/ Warner Bros. Pictures

SHARE Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje plays the reptilian Killer Croc, one of many memorable characters in "Suicide Squad." (Clay Enos/Warner Bros. Pictures) Margot Robbie, left, and Jared Leto are among the breakout stars in "Suicide Squad." Robbie plays Harley Quinn while Leto is the Joker. (Clay Enos/Warner Bros. Pictures)

Bad guys make for memorable characters in Suicide Squad

By Brian Truitt, USA TODAY NETWORK

The fantastic felons of "Suicide Squad" have got soul and they're superbad.

There's both undeniable sincerity and an over-the-top punk rock vibe to writer/director David Ayer's completely bonkers ode to supervillains (in theaters Friday) tapped to contribute to the greater good.

It helps flesh out the comic-book world of Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, plus makes a bunch of obscure outsiders just as engaging and fun to watch as that well-known Dark Knight.

With powerful metahumans and vigilantes inhabiting the Earth (Ben Affleck's Batman turns up more than you'd expect), the government needs a plan to deal with them. Enter the ruthless Amanda Waller (Viola Davis), who has taken it upon herself to recruit Enchantress (Cara Delevingne), an archaeologist possessed by an ancient witch, as the first member of Task Force X. Its modus operandi is to send its members on deadly missions. And if they don't come back? Oh, well.

With shades of Guardians of the Galaxy and the original Ghostbusters, "Suicide Squad" takes its ne'er-do-wells  led by the assassin Deadshot (Will Smith) and oddball bad girl Harley Quinn (Margot Robbie)  from their Louisiana supermax home to battle a magical enemy. Alliances are formed, bonds are shaken, and the group is constantly on the edge of implosion.

Because of the size of Ayer's cast, some of the more interesting characters are shorted, especially samurai warrior Katana (Karen Fukuhara) and Australian hoodlum Captain Boomerang (Jai Courtney)  though the latter has a quick run-in with a superhero that knowing comics fans will adore.

Deadshot is the movie's emotional heart, and it's Smith's best role in years  he gets to showcase some of Concussion's deep emotion but with that old Independence Day swagger. Jay Hernandez similarly impresses as El Diablo, a fiery L.A. gang leader with a horrific back story.

Harley, a psychiatrist turned unhinged moll with an undying love for the Joker (Jared Leto), is finally Robbie's star-making turn. And Leto's weirdo take on the Clown Prince of Crime is a far cry from the late Heath Ledger, though it definitely works. A tattooed Tony Montana type, this Joker is a nightclub owner with a thing for bling and a psychopathic determination to find his main squeeze. His relatively brief screen time leaves you wanting more, and Leto and Robbie make a distinctly dynamic duo in their fleeting scenes together.

Another relationship that's intriguing but ultimately overshadowed is that of squad leader Rick Flag (Joel Kinnaman) and Enchantress' human alter ego.

While their romance drives one of the many subplots, Delevingne spends most of the film in freak mode, leaving Kinnaman as the guy keeping the fires burning. No matter the character, though, Ayer has a keen way of making you care for them, even the Joker.

Like The Dirty Dozen for the Hot Topic generation, the team gets in-your-face introductions and things just grow more mental from there.

But compared to its ilk, Suicide Squad is an excellently quirky, proudly raised middle finger to the staid superhero-movie establishment. Review: hhh

Suicide Squad

Rating: PG-13 (violence and action, disturbing behavior, suggestive content and language)

Running time: 2 hours, 3 minutes

Director: David Ayer

Cast: Will Smith, Jared Leto, Margot Robbie, Joel Kinnaman, Viola Davis, Cara Delevingne, Jai Courtney, Adelae Akinnuoye-Agbaje, Karen Fukuhara, Jay Hernandez, Adam Beach
associated press The Basilica of St. Francis rises from a ridge at the lower end of Assisi's old town.

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By Rick Steves

Located in the hills of central Italy, Assisi is the hometown of St. Francis. It's where he was born, lived and worked  and where he died. Today, tourists flock to this town, which sits atop a hill just outside of Tuscany in neighboring Umbria, to visit the basilica that's dedicated to him and to celebrate his teachings: chastity, obedience, harmony and a beautiful promise of your reward in heaven.

Francis taught by example, living without worldly goods and aiming to love all creation. He and his "brothers" ("fratelli," or friars) slept in fields, begged for food and exuded the joy of nonmaterialism. Known as the "Jugglers of God," Franciscan friars modeled themselves after French troubadours ("jongleurs," or jugglers) who roved the countryside singing and telling stories.

Perched on a ridge at the bottom of the old town, the grand Basilica of St. Francis is one of the spiritual and artistic highlights of Western Civilization. Built between 1228 and 1253, the church has three parts: the upper basilica, the lower basilica and the saint's tomb. In the lower basilica, a fresco of the Crucifixion by Giotto, a follower of St. Francis himself, was considered radical at the time for its unprecedented realism and its depiction of holy people expressing emotion (such as Mary fainting in despair). Below the lower basilica is the tomb, with a humble elegance and beauty befitting the saint's message.

The upper basilica  the first Gothic church in Italy  is slathered with frescoes by Giotto and his followers, showing 28 scenes from Francis' life. One scene depicts a nearly naked Francis  the rich kid tossing his fancy clothes to his father  befuddling high society by trading a life of power and luxury for one of simplicity and poverty. Perhaps the most endearing scene shows Francis preaching to the birds, who represent the diverse flock of humanity and nature, all created by God and worthy of love.

Every time I'm here, I learn something. On my last visit, a friar named Daniel helped me clarify some points: To call St. Francis a monk is technically wrong. Monks live in solitude in a monastery  it's just them and God. Franciscans are friars (from the Latin word for "brother")  their calling is to be with people as brothers. And they stay in convents, which are not just for women (and monasteries are not just for men). It's all about whether you're social or solitary  like the words "convene" and "monologue," whose roots they share. As always, I left inspired by the friars' gentle and loving approach to life. In a hyphenated word, they are Christ-like.

The story of St. Francis starts in the Basilica of St. Mary of the Angels, located in the modern town in the valley below Assisi. This marks the spot where Francis lived, worked, and died. It's here that Francis restored a small chapel and established the Franciscan order. Centuries later, to accommodate the many pilgrims wanting to pay homage to St. Francis, a grand church was built surrounding the chapel, which now sits directly under the dome. (I wonder what humble Francis would think of the huge church built over his tiny chapel?) Nearby is the small cell where Francis died.

Especially in a stony and historic town like Assisi, I enjoy spending the night so I can take in the ambience after the day-trippers disperse. There's history everywhere, such as the Temple of Minerva  the centerpiece of Roman Assisi 2,000 years ago. I love hanging out in what was the Roman forum (today's main square), marveling at the beautiful fluting on the temple's Corinthian columns.

Walking through town, you may also see some creches, which are extremely popular here. It's said that St. Francis, a master at teaching Bible lessons with clever props, created the first Nativity scene to help people relate to the Christmas message more vividly. Ever since then, the Baby Jesus has been shown on his day of birth in a humble setting, in local scenes that have not a hint of Bethlehem  an Italian setting for Italian viewers (or an Arctic scene for Eskimos)  to connect more intimately with the story of the Nativity.

In Assisi, my favorite ritual is to sit quietly on the rampart of the medieval fortress high above town. I look down at the basilica dedicated to the saint, then into the valley at the church where Francis and his "Jugglers of God" started the Franciscan order. Hearing the same birdsong that inspired Francis, and tasting the same simple bread, cheese, and wine of Umbria that sustained him, I calm my 21st-century soul and ponder the message of a saint who made the teaching of Jesus so accessible.

Rick Steves (www.ricksteves.com) 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 Lindsey Mcpherson, CQ-Roll Call (TNS)

WASHINGTON  Congress will have plenty to do when it returns in September after seven weeks away. Here are five issues to watch before members leave Washington in October to campaign:

ZIKA FUNDING

Increasing concerns about the Zika virus after transmissions from mosquitoes in Florida prompted a few lawmakers to call on Congress to return to Washington early to address funding to combat the virus. But that looks unlikely as the standoff over funding continues. Senators will once again consider the package when they return after Labor Day. In June, the House adopted a conference report on Zika that would allocate $1.1 billion, but it includes language Democrats find objectionable.

Before the summer recess, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky set up another procedural vote for September. Democrats have twice blocked the package

APPROPRIATIONS/CONTINUING RESOLUTION

The most pressing issue Congress will face this fall is how to fund the government beyond the end of the fiscal year, Sept. 30. Since the House has passed only 5 appropriations bills and the Senate has passed only 3 of 12, members do not have time to complete the appropriations process. Ryan and McConnell have said they'll continue to pass as many bills as possible, while acknowledging that a temporary continuing resolution will probably be necessary to keep the government running.

The debate among House Republicans is whether such a resolution should last through December, while President Barack Obama is still in office, or through March, when there will be a new president. "Trying to get something done with this president is not likely to have a preferential outcome," House Republican Study Committee Chairman Bill Flores said.

GUN CONTROL

Expect House Democrats to keep fighting for votes to keep people on terrorist watch lists from buying guns and to expand background checks. Although it's unlikely they will succeed, previous Democratic floor protests have delayed legislative business.

Even a Republican-backed bill lacked the support to pass, so leadership indefinitely delayed a vote on the measure. It's unclear whether Republicans will reintroduce their bill in September or simply ignore the issue. The Senate is not likely to take up any gun control measures, having rejected four bills in June.

CRIMINAL JUSTICE

Ryan said last month that the House will take up in September legislation to overhaul the criminal justice system. He said the Judiciary Committee has already approved four bills and is hoping to mark up two more as part of the package that would come to the floor.

However, the package could be larger. The Judiciary Committee has approved 11 bills to change criminal sentencing requirements, the prison and re-entry system and federal criminal procedures.

INTERNAL REVENUE COMMISSIONER IMPEACHMENT

On the last day of the July session, House Freedom Caucus members attempted to force a vote to impeach Internal Revenue Commissioner John Koskinen. Leadership had two legislative days to schedule a vote on the matter. Those two days expired last month.

Freedom Caucus members said in July they were likely offer the resolution again when they return.

Ryan said the House Republican Conference would discuss the matter issue in September.
Michelle Gaitan/Standard-Times State Rep. Travis Clardy speaks about education during Thursday afternoon's Legislative Panel at the West Texas Legislative Summit at Angelo State University.

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By Rashda Khan, rashda.khan@gosanangelo.com / @Rashda_SAST

The 13th annual West Texas Legislative Summit emphasized the importance of investing in education and working together as keys to the future success of Texas.

"There's not a part of our society that's not touched daily by public education and higher education," said State Rep. Drew Darby, who is from San Angelo. He explained that people live in places with good jobs, while businesses locate where they can find qualified workers, so the two go hand in hand.

A lot of people think public education stops at the 12th grade, but that's not the whole truth, he added.

Speaker after speaker at the daylong summit, appropriately held at Angelo State University, stressed that educational institutions  whether they be public schools, community colleges or universities  need to work with each other and partner with the private sector. There is also need to bridge the gap between public education and higher education in Texas, they said.

"We have taken down a lot of barriers between ISDs and community colleges and higher education," Darby said. "It's not separate silos. They all need to work together along with private enterprise to make sure the end objective is reached  to have a qualified and trained workforce."

State Rep. Eddie Lucio III from the Brownsville area said although public education has improved a lot from the past, the problem is "we don't have as many engaged students and we really need to do so."

Working together is again the answer. "If you look at public education, you say it stops at the 12th grade, then picks up again in junior college, a community college or a four-year college  that's not true," Darby said. "We have to blend it all together so these kids don't lose their enthusiasm, they stay motivated, they want to obtain that certificate or degree and get that good job because in the end we all benefit and win by that."

A good example of such partnerships are courses offered for dual credit. According to the dualcredittexas.org, dual-credit courses are created by agreements between high schools, universities and community colleges to allow a high school junior or senior to enroll in a college course and simultaneously earn college credit and high school credit for it.

Some of the benefits of the dual-credit system are better rates of graduation, earlier graduations and possibly easier transitions to college.

Chancellor Robert Duncan of the Texas Tech University System, a former state senator, shared some of the challenges faced by the Texas educational system: balancing the need for change and the need for stability, getting a greater return on investments, expanding infrastructure to handle the growing and changing Texas population, adequately funding financial aid and providing affordable education.

Darby said the challenge for the Legislature will be to figure out how to find the money to do what needs to be done for education and other necessary government services.

Other concerns mentioned by the panel of state legislators included mental health care issues, foster care and Child Protective Services in Texas.

See video interviews with Darby and San Angelo school board member Ami Mizell-Flint at facebook.com/gosanangelo.
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By Federico Martinez, Federico.Martinez@gosanangelo.com @Federico_SAST

Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick is more interested in lining the pockets of his rich friends than educating the children of Texas, said Charles "Charlie" Johnson, founder and executive of Pastors for Texas Children.

Johnson made his comments while speaking at a community forum, "The Truth About Education Vouchers," held Thursday night at Stephens Central Library. Johnson was the keynote speaker for the event, which focused on whether adopting a voucher system would enhance the education of children in Texas.

"The truth is Lt. Gov. Patrick is controlled by interests far outside of Texas," said Johnson, whose comments drew loud applause from a majority of about 100 people in attendance  about half of whom are educators or former educators. "The lieutenant governor wields a lot of power, but he does not have the best interests of schoolchildren at heart."

Johnson's comments come on the heels of Patrick's recent vow to continue to make private-school voucher legislation a major priority when the next regular legislative session convenes next year. Patrick has championed the voucher program since being elected to the senate in 2007.

"There's a reason that the voucher system has failed 12 times before in Texas," Johnson said. "It's a bad idea and voters know it."

Johnson said proponents are lying when they try to argue that a voucher program would provide more educational opportunities for people living in poorer communities. Under the voucher system being proposed, private schools would receive about $4,400-$4,800 per child enrolled. Those taxpayer dollars would pay a small portion of the tuition private schools charge, Johnson added.

"What it does is subsidizes tuition for affluent families," Johnson said. "It doesn't go to the poor children of a single mom who is not going to carry her child across town and be able to come up with the rest of the tuition."

The forum series, which usually focuses on a different issue each month, is sponsored by the Tom Green County Democratic Party. Party Chairman David Currie said vouchers are such an important topic, the issue will be addressed again in September with other speakers addressing more specific financial details of how vouchers affect public schools.
Doyle McManus is a columnist for the Los Angeles Times. Readers may send him email at doyle.mcmanus@latimes.com.

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Donald Trump has found a new target for his anger: fire marshals. Over the months, the Republican nominee has attacked undocumented immigrants, Muslims, Mexicans, the media, the polls, big business  even Gold Star parents who dared to criticize him. Now it's the firefighters' turn.

Twice in the last five days, Trump has publicly attacked local fire officials for limiting the number of people he can pack into his indoor rallies.

"They don't know what the hell they're doing," he told supporters in Colorado Springs, Colorado. "This is why our country doesn't work."

"Maybe they're a Hillary person," he added. "Could that be possible? Probably." (Actually, probably not. Colorado Springs is run by Republicans.)

Trump didn't mention that only a few minutes earlier, the same fire department had freed him from a stalled elevator in a hotel. Or that the fire marshal who capped his audience at 1,500 raised the limit by 100 after he decided it was safe to do so. Or that the same fire marshal, a man named Brett Lacey, won an award last year for helping to save wounded civilians at a 2015 mass shooting.

"It doesn't upset me," Lacey told a local television station. "We're just doing our job." Exactly.

But Trump doesn't seem to get that. Two days later, he lashed out against another fire marshal, this time in Columbus, Ohio.

"They said in this massive building you're not allowed to have any more than 1,000 people, and that's nonsense," he said. "It's really politics at its lowest." (Officials said they told Trump's staff days earlier that the facility could only handle that many because of construction outside.)

Here's why it's worth pausing to consider the way Trump handles minor frustrations like safety regulations: It's another window into his worldview  and the way he would handle the much larger frustrations that come with being president.

To Trump, everyone is either for him or against him  not just other politicians like Ted Cruz or Hillary Clinton, but ordinary civilians like Brett Lacey and Khizr Khan.

Anything that stands in his way  a difference of opinion, a local fire regulation  is "probably" a conspiracy by his opponents.

Last week, he accused the bipartisan Commission on Presidential Debates of working with the Clinton campaign to rig the debate schedule. (The commission announced the debate schedule in September, long before the nominees were chosen.)

Earlier, he said authorities should investigate federal Judge Gonzalo Curiel, who ruled against him in lawsuits over the defunct Trump University. (He also said the Indiana-born Curiel should recuse himself from the case because "he's a Mexican.")

And for anyone who really does oppose Trump, his standard response is to threaten retaliation.

During the primaries, he warned Joe and Marlene Ricketts, GOP donors who gave more than $5 million to a group opposing his nomination, that they would regret the decision. "They better be careful," Trump tweeted, "they have a lot to hide!"

He threatened even more bluntly to retaliate against Jeff Bezos, owner of Amazon and The Washington Post, because of the newspaper's critical coverage. "If I become president, oh, do they have problems," he said in February. "They're going to have such problems."

It's possible, as some have, to look at this record and conclude that Trump is simply thin-skinned.

But if he's elected, we'll find ourselves governed by a man who lets petulance and his sense of victimization take over his judgment.

Those are unattractive traits in a candidate and dangerous ones in a president, who has all the machinery of the White House  plus federal law enforcement, the intelligence community and the military  at his command.

The Constitution places limits on the powers of the president, but Trump doesn't always seem to understand that.

All the red flags have led many Republicans, as well as Democrats, to worry about the GOP nominee's fitness for office.

"I would like some assurances  that he's not going to be an autocrat, that he's not going to be an authoritarian," Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, told the conservative Newsmax network.

Here's a simpler, homier test. An adage says you can judge a person's character by the way they treat the waiter in a restaurant  in other words, by the way they treat people with less power. Like the Khans  or all those fire marshals.

Doyle McManus is a columnist for the Los Angeles Times. Contact him at doyle.mcmanus@latimes.com
FILE - In this Aug 3, 2011 file photo, Texas State Park police officer Thomas Bigham walks across the cracked lake bed of O.C. Fisher Lake, in San Angelo, Texas. A combination of the long periods of 100 plus degree days and the lack of rain in the drought -stricken region has dried up the lake that once spanned over 5400 acres. From Dallas to far-flung ranches and rice farms, Texans and officials are trying to capitalize on heightened drought awareness by adopting conservation plans that will ease the next crisis. (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez, File)

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By Dave Mcneely Is A Longtime Texas Political Columnist. Contact Him At Davemcneely111@Gmail.Com.

There have always been fights over water in Texas. But as population increases and rain doesnt, times are getting tighter and more contentious.

Rice farmers along the Gulf Coast complain about the water theyve relied on for years being cut back on behalf of cities like Austin. But, according to Dr. Andrew Sansom, rice growers use more water in one year than it takes to water lawns in Austin for 15 years.

But as there are more Texans, and not more rain, the oddities in Texas water allocation are becoming more vivid.

This is a big deal, said Sansom, who heads up of the Meadows Center for Water and the Environment at Texas State University in San Marcos.

One major problem is that the state treats underground water differently than surface water, Sansom said.

Our population in Texas is going to double over the next 50 years, Sansom said. Yet weve already committed more water than is in our rivers.

His presentation at the Unitarian Church in Austin last month was titled, The Texas Drought: We Cant Build Our Way Out of It.

Sansom knows this stuff. Before he took his current post a decade ago, he served more than a decade as executive director of the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department.

Before that, he headed the Texas branch of the Nature Conservancy. He has dedicated his life to preserving Texas lands for the future.

The drought of the 1950s, which inspired San Angelos Elmer Kelton to write a book called The Time It Never Rained, has been the basis for presumptions on water in Texas since, Sansom said.

But things have changed vastly since then.

In the 1950s, much of our population lived in rural areas, he said  about 85 percent. Now, 85 percent live in urban areas.

Back then, everyone understood the water shortage. But now, people turn on their faucets or flush their toilets and take it for granted that the water is going to be there.

Yet the Texas drought in 2011 was as bad in the 1950s, he said. The only difference it was shorter.

But were beginning to realize the current drought could go on even longer than the one in the 1950s, Sansom said  with potentially dire consequences.

We have to base our planning on the worst-case scenario, Sansom said. The whole state, except along the Sabine River (Texas eastern border with Louisiana), is in drought.

While saying Texas cant build its way out of the difficulty, with more dams and thoughts of moving water from wetter East Texas to parched areas further west, Sansom nonetheless says state attention is very important.

Thats why he favors the $2 billion water bond for infrastructure development the Texas Legislature put on the November ballot, he said.

To say that we should not be spending money on water infrastructure is irresponsible, Sansom said.

He said 20 percent of it is set aside for conservation, which he considers very important.

In dry El Paso and San Antonio, and Las Vegas, Nev., you dont have to explain conservation, he said. They get it, and look for inventive ways to reduce water consumption.

But some cities, with antiquated water delivery systems, lose as much as half the water in moving it underground. The easiest water to save is the water we already have, Sansom said.

Sansom is a huge advocate for public land. With former Texas Land Commissioner Bob Armstrong and former Lt. Gov. Bill Hobby, Sansom was a major driving force in convincing the Texas Legislature to double the size of the Texas park system, by purchasing what is now the Big Bend Ranch State Park, next to Big Bend National Park.

But Texas, where 99 percent of the land is in private ownership, has fared better under private ownership than it might have otherwise, Sansom said.

Private landowners in Texas have done a remarkable job in managing the lands, Sansom said.

But as private ranches are being handed down, and broken up, Texas is losing that land to development faster than any other state, he said.

With the vast majority of Texans now living in cities, the state must depend upon private landowners to protect water quality.

Weve got to find ways to keep private landowners on their land, Sansom said. That should include incentives to protect against runoff  the major source of pollution  and replenishing underground aquifers, which dont suffer the huge evaporation rates of surface reservoirs.

Theres an old saying that you never miss the water until the river runs dry. Sansom doesnt want Texans to have to learn that the hard way.
Starting this fall, college students throughout Minnesota will be required to complete training on sexual-assault prevention within their first 10 days of school.And for the first time, their campuses will have to publicly disclose how many sexual-assault complaints they investigate each year, as well as how many result in disciplinary action.Those are two of the new mandates in a state law, which takes effect Monday, designed to combat sexual violence on campus.The law, which was approved by the Minnesota Legislature in 2015, reinforces what many colleges already have been doing, said Amy McDonough, government relations director for the Minnesota Private College Council.Most schools already offer sessions on sexual assault as part of student orientation, either online or in person, she said. But the new law "requires schools to make sure that students take it."The law doesn't spell out what will happen if students skip the required training. But they could be barred from registering for future classes until they complete the assignment, McDonough said. "Every campus is going to handle that differently."The law also requires campuses to provide online options for anonymous reporting of sexual assault.The goal is to encourage victims to come forward, even if they're not ready to identify themselves, said Yvonne Cournoyer of the Minnesota Coalition Against Sexual Assault, who was an adviser on the new law. "The idea was to open it a crack and reduce some of the fear around reporting," she said.That's already an option at some schools, including the University of Minnesota and many private colleges, officials say.As part of the law, campuses will be required to report statistical data on sexual-assault complaints for the first time. Starting in October, they will have to provide annual reports to the state on the number of cases investigated, as well as breakdowns on whether anyone was disciplined or received more than a warning at the close of the investigation.The data will not include details of individual cases because they are protected by confidentiality.But Cournoyer said the reports should help shed some light on what happens after complaints are filed. "That was kind of a black hole mystery," she said.The Minnesota Office of Higher Education, which will collect those reports, said it expects to make the information public by December.In addition, the new law requires schools to have better coordination with law enforcement agencies, and to conduct "comprehensive training" for staffers who work with victims or investigate complaints of sexual assault.Katie Eichele, who heads a victims' advocacy center at the University of Minnesota, says she hopes the new law will pay off. The goal, she said, is "a safer campus for our students."
Backers of ColoradoCare  the state ballot initiative that would establish universal health care in Colorado  think they have the perfect job for former presidential candidate Sen. Bernie Sanders.With the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia behind him, Sanders comes to Colorado and campaigns for single-payer  and we win, said T.R. Reid, one of the architects of ColoradoCare. The initiative aims to provide every resident of Colorado with affordable health insurance. Sanders made universal coverage one of the cornerstones of his presidential bid.The proposal comes with a $38 billion annual price tag  to be paid by a tax on workers and businesses. The program would eliminate the need for insurance premiums and deductibles, and proponents claim it would save the state and individuals a lot of money.Reid said the backers of ColoradoCare have pitched Sanders team, hoping he will campaign on behalf of the measure that will come before voters in November.Sanders has already championed the issue in the state  he pushed for a single-payer system during his Democratic primary campaign in Colorado. It was one of his key health care positions, and it got thousands of his supporters cheering at an event in Denver in February.I believe that healthcare is a right, not privilege, Sanders told cheering crowds.He also beat that drum during a TV appearance with MSNBCs Rachel Maddow in May. Sanders pointed out that Canada started what would eventually become its nationwide system of universal health care by persuading lawmakers in each province  one at a time.So if youre asking me, do I think if a major state  whether its Colorado or California or whatever  goes forward and it works well, [will] other states say Hey, you know, I got a brother over there in Colorado and hes getting health care, great health care and its less expensive than the current system,  Sanders said. Yeah, I think that is one possibility.The whole concept of ColoradoCare  or Amendment 69, as it will appear on the ballot  appeals to Andrew Kleiman, a 35-year-old Sanders supporter from Grand Junction.I think were just at such a tipping point, Kleiman said. The momentum of Bernies campaign carried over into something like this would be a perfect fit and pretty necessary.Kleiman said if Sanders actively backed the proposal in Colorado it would help motivate millennials like him to vote.Reid agrees. The last poll showed 60 percent of millennials support ColoradoCare, he said. Those are Bernie people and if he can turn them out to vote, we win.But a coalition of opponents, including conservatives, insurance firms and business groups have come out against the initiative, which is expected to draw big money from both sides.I dont think the economics of it work out, said Nina Anderson, a small business owner in Grand Junction. She said the proposed program would be too expensive for small businesses and employees.Colorado has been on the cutting edge of some other big policy changes, like legalizing recreational pot. Anderson said shes not ready for the state to take the lead on a huge government-run health care system, and does not think Sanders should jump in.That is the scary part, I think, about being in Colorado and being on the forefront of anything that is attempting to move to socialized care, Anderson said. You do get everybody with outside interests coming in and playing in your sandbox.Cody Belzley, who served as senior health policy analyst to former Democratic Gov. Bill Ritter, opposes the proposal and said shes not sure what difference Sanders would make  if he did visit.Its such a strange political year, Belzley said. I think its really hard to know whats going to impact Colorado voters or the outcome of Amendment 69. I think this is a decision to be made by Colorado voters, based on whats going to be best for them and their families.Colorado voters havent passed a general tax increase in years. The health law cut the states uninsured rate in half, but many residents still struggle with high premiums and deductibles.Belzley, who works for group opposing the amendment, Coloradans for Coloradans, urges voters to look at the details. I think when folks look at that, she said, they come to understand this is just too risky a proposal.Sanders presence in Colorado could motivate voters on both sides, said Seth Masket, a political science professor at the University of Denver.Thats kind of the mixed message of initiatives, Masket said. They can really draw out both sides, depending on how passionate people are on the subject. The key for supporters of this initiative would be to translate passion for Sanders into passion for this initiative. Sanders is probably the best equipped to actually make that case.A representative from the Sanders campaign, Michael Briggs, said the topic is something that, interests Bernie very much. We dont have a trip scheduled yet, but he has been keeping a close eye on this.
A longtime Opa-locka manager who oversaw the city's troubled public works department was charged Thursday in the first federal corruption case brought by prosecutors after a three-year FBI investigation into alleged bribery schemes at the highest levels of government.Gregory Harris, who resigned this week as assistant director of public works, is accused of conspiring with a city commissioner, city manager and other employees to extort thousands of dollars in cash payments from Opa-locka business owners seeking occupational licenses, water connections and other permits.The 44-year-old North Miami resident was charged by "information," which means he is cooperating with the U.S. attorney's office and the FBI in the sprawling corruption probe and is expected to plead guilty to a conspiracy in the future. Harris plans to surrender to authorities Friday for his first appearance in Fort Lauderdale federal court.His defense attorney, Nathan Diamond, declined to comment about his client, who also is pastor of an Opa-locka church and leads Bible studies.Harris agreed to help FBI agents with their investigation in March, when authorities led a dramatic raid on Opa-locka City Hall to seize public records, financial documents and other evidence. Harris is accused of conspiring with "Public Official A" and "Public Official B" in the bribery scheme from March 2014 to March 10, 2016, the day of the raid.The following month, the Miami Herald published a detailed story on how Harris and other top city officials shook down business owners who were working undercover for the FBI in a series of backroom bribes recorded on video. The investigation is among the largest corruption probes in South Florida history.Although the two officials are not identified by name, the Herald has learned that one of the public officials is City Commissioner Luis Santiago and the other is former City Manager David Chiverton, who resigned on Monday after taking a three-month leave of absence for "personal reasons." A longtime Miami resident who once ran for the City Commission, Chiverton previously worked as an assistant city manager in Opa-locka.Chiverton's defense attorney, David Garvin, told the Miami Herald that the 51-year-old administrator plans to surrender to agents on Monday, noting he has been cooperating with the FBI and prosecutor Edward Stamm, and plans to accept responsibility for his conspiracy charge involving bribery."He tried to do a good job, but he got caught in a situation where he faced enormous pressure from elected officials," Garvin said. "He couldn't get out of the way and still have a job. It's sad, but that's where it ended up."According to information filed in federal court, Harris conspired with Public Official A, Public Official B and other government employees "to unlawfully enrich themselves by using their official positions and authority within the city of Opa-locka to solicit, demand and obtain payments and other things of value from businesses and individuals in exchange for taking official actions to assist and benefit [them]."Public Official A, Santiago, solicited and obtained "illegal payments" from businesses and individuals who were seeking occupational licenses and other permits for their properties in 2014 and 2015.In exchange for cash bribes, Santiago directed Harris and other Opa-locka employees to take care of the requests for occupational licenses, water connections, zoning benefits and code enforcement violations, according to the information. Neither Santiago nor his defense lawyer, Rod Vereen, responded to interview requests.Public Official B, Chiverton, also solicited and obtained "illegal payments" in the same scheme, the information said. In exchange, the city manager also directed Harris and other employees to take care of the businesses' licensing requests."Public Official B [Chiverton] also would make payments to Harris for his assistance in taking official actions to benefit the paying businesses and individuals," court records said. It noted that Harris also obtained "illegal payments" from businesses and individuals "by taking official actions relating to their water service."On April 10 of last year, Public Official A, Santiago, told a businessman working undercover as an FBI informant to meet him outside the commissioner's house to resolve his water bill to avoid service being shut down, the charging document said. Later that day, Santiago met with the informant outside the commissioner's house and "accepted $850 in cash" from him to prevent the water from being turned off, it added.Four days later, Public Official A, Santiago, asked Harris to go to the informant's place of business "to stop an Opa-locka employee from shutting down" his water services and also "instructed Harris not to talk to anyone about his request."On April 15, Harris told Public Official B, Chiverton, that he "attempted to collect additional money" from the informant "in connection with the business' water-service billing issues."A month later, Harris met with another businessman-turned-FBI informant and "accepted a $300 cash payment in exchange for having the water service turned back on" at his business on, according to the information. "After accepting the $300 payment, Harris directed two Opa-locka employees to turn the water back on" at his business.Longtime Opa-locka civic activist Alvin Burke said be believed the arrests will help the city, now under the control of a state oversight board, to move forward. "We're finally seeing some headway," he said.
On Thursday, in the morning, at Government House, His Excellency the Honourable Paul de Jersey AC received Mr Hugo Llorens, Consul General of the United States of America to New South Wales and Queensland.

In the afternoon, at the Royal International Convention Centre, Bowen Hills, Mrs Kaye de Jersey attended the 2016 RNA Charity Fund Raiser.

In the evening, at Brisbane Showgrounds, Bowen Hills, His Excellency attended the RNA Cabinet Dinner.

Earlier, at the Executive Building, Brisbane, the Honourable Chief Justice Catherine Holmes, Acting Governor of Queensland, presided at a meeting of the Executive Council.
Description

GIS - 05 August, 2016: A series of measures geared towards consolidating the development of Rodrigues and the Outer Islands are outlined in the 2016-2017 budget. The allocation for the Rodrigues Regional Assembly is being increased to Rs 3.3 billion and a further amount of Rs 1.1 billion will be provided to the different Ministries and Departments, bringing the total amount to Rs 4.4 billion. A series of measures geared towards consolidating the development of Rodrigues and the Outer Islands are outlined in the 2016-2017 budget. The allocation for the Rodrigues Regional Assembly is being increased to Rs 3.3 billion and a further amount of Rs 1.1 billion will be provided to the different Ministries and Departments, bringing the total amount to Rs 4.4 billion.

As regards the extension of the runway, the project is estimated to cost Rs 2 billion. The design is under preparation and construction works will start by next year. A sum of Rs 40 million is being provided for the extension of the Rodrigues Airport Terminal.

Other measures include:

 Finalisation of the Port Master Plan by next year

 Construction of a new Warm Up Track at Camp du Roi stadium

 Finalisation of the guaranteed purchase over a period of ten years of bandwidth through undersea cable

 Increase in the purchase of the satellite bandwidth from 200 to 500 megabytes per second until the end of 2018

 Construction of two Police stations at Petit Gabriel and Grande Montagne

In view of the implementation Marshall Plan against poverty in the Republic of Mauritius, the budget makes provision for Rs 50 million which will go into the construction of social housing units in Rodrigues. The plan is to construct 1,000 units over the next three years.

Outer Islands

As regards Agalega, Rs 4 million has been earmarked for the acquisition of two new generators to secure continuous electricity supply for the population. A sum of Rs 6.5 million will be provided for the construction of a cold room to store food items and fish catch for exports to Mauritius.
Description

GIS  0 5 August, 2016: The new economic development strategies propounded by the Government rely heavily on the adoption of emerging technologies . The development of Smart cities, the port development and, again, the Ocean economy, are just three such thrust areas that will pose a big human resource challenge, which challenge will inevitably give a fillip to new and novel technologies as drivers of change.

This statement was made on 3 August 2016 by the Minister of Education and Human Resources, Tertiary Education and Scientific Research, Mrs Leela Devi Dookun-Luchoomun, at the opening ceremony of the 2016 IEEE International Conference on Emerging Technologies and Innovative Business Practices for the Transformation of Societies (IEEE EmergiTech 2016) held at the Ravenala Attitude All Suite Hotel, in Balaclava. The four-day event is jointly organised by the University of Technology, Mauritius, and the Mauritius Chapter of the Institute of Electronics and Electrical Engineers, the IEEE.

According to the Minister, it is undisputable that Mauritius has today to keep abreast of the major advancements, educational as well as technical that are taking place in the different domains of engineering, computer engineering, telecommunications and allied disciplines .

Speaking about knowledge societies, Mrs Dookun-Luchoomun, pointed out that innovation and creation of new knowledge will enable countries to leapfrog generations of technology. This explains the importance that the Ministry attaches to research, she said.

Although Mauritius research potential is enormous still research output is far from legitimate expectations, said the Minister. There is a deficit in research and the Universities are not contributing enough to the socio-economic development of the country. This has to change. The much-vaunted triple helix interaction among Universities, Industry and Government is called upon to play its role more effectively, she added.

The Conference

The objective of the Conference is to provide an interdisciplinary forum where industry, Government, and academia meet to discuss the most recent innovations, trends, and concerns regarding the evolution of technology and its impact on societies and businesses.

The conference includes 10 symposia reflecting the latest technological developments and research interests. The program also features a rich set of workshops and tutorials as well as a featured exhibition space to provide attendees with a distinctive conference experience.
Description

GIS - 05 August, 2016: The Government of Japan has reiterated its interest to set up of an Embassy in Mauritius by the end of this year. This will help further strengthen both bilateral and economic ties as well as bring the relationships between the two countries to new heights. The Government of Japan has reiterated its interest to set up of an Embassy in Mauritius by the end of this year. This will help further strengthen both bilateral and economic ties as well as bring the relationships between the two countries to new heights.

This matter was at the fore of discussions yesterday during a courtesy call by the newly appointed Ambassador of Japan to Mauritius with residence in Madagascar, Mr Ichiro Ogasawara, on the Prime Minister, Sir Anerood Jugnauth, at the New Treasury Building in Port Louis.

In a statement Ambassador Ichiro Ogasawara spoke about the opening of the Embassy shortly in Mauritius, which he said bears testimony to the importance that Japan attaches to deepening both bilateral relations with Mauritius in various spheres. He underlined the crucial role of Mauritius not only in this part of the region but also for hosting several headquarters of regional and international organisations.

Ambassador Ichiro Ogasawara also expressed appreciation with regard the participation of the Mauritian Prime Minister at the 6th Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD VI) to be held on 27 and 28 August 2016 in Nairobi, Kenya. According to him, Mauritius has a crucial role to play during the conference as it can serve as model in the region and for other African countries with regard to its strategy of economic diversification.

Other issue discussed pertained to the construction of a meteorological radar by the Japanese Government. The radar will be equipped with state-of-the-art technology for early warning purposes against natural calamities. It will be the first radar to detect the approach of a typhoon or cyclone in the whole part of the region.
(TNS)  A cab company owner had a strong opinion about Uber on the first day the company started providing its ride service in Westmoreland County.We don't want to see Uber in Westmoreland County. Tell them to stay in Pittsburgh, said Lou Falbo, owner of Veteran's Cab Co. in Latrobe.The San Francisco-based ride-sharing company, which has been operating in the Pittsburgh area, started service at 5 p.m. Thursday throughout much of Western Pennsylvania. In addition to Westmoreland, Uber announced it is moving into Washington, Greene, Fayette, Indiana, Armstrong and Butler counties.It's definitely a detriment to our business and it's an unfair playing field, Falbo said of Uber's business model of having drivers use their own cars to pick up riders.But Westmoreland County transit officials hailed the arrival of the service as something to augment the public transportation system of local and commuter buses. They also expect it to fill a gap left when most taxi service was halted about two years ago in the central part of the county, including the Greensburg and Jeannette areas.I don't see Uber as competition. I just see it as an alternative transportation option in the county. It's a great thing, actually, said Alan Blahovec, executive director of the Westmoreland County Transit Authority.Jason Rigone, director of the county's planning department, said Uber will benefit residents.Having additional options to public transportation can only be viewed as a positive for the residents of Westmoreland County, especially for the younger demographic who want to access these types of services, Rigone said.Traditional cab service has been limited throughout the county, where only Veteran's and Byer's Taxi Service in Vandergrift operate. Manor Valley Taxi in Irwin has a very limited cab service, according to a dispatcher.Greensburg Yellow Cab provided service in the Greensburg area until a few years ago when National Express Transit Co. purchased the company. National Express discontinued taxi service to focus on operating the transit authority's shared-ride and paratransit programs.For the first two years of the authority's paratransit service, it contracted the county's three taxi companies to provide the rides. A consolidation of service last year under National Express resulted in Byer's and Veteran's being shut out of the system.Julie Martin, owner of Byer's Taxi, which operates mostly in northern Westmoreland, wasn't sure what the Uber competition will mean.I don't know how much of a problem it will be for me, Martin said.As part of its statewide growth plan, Uber also has started service in DuBois, Gettysburg, greater Williamsport, Johnstown and Altoona, among other places.With this expansion, we're now covering 93 percent of Pennsylvania, Jennifer Krusis, Uber's general manager for Pennsylvania expansion, said in a statement.Uber officials said there are encouraging signs about the company's future in Pennsylvania. The company recently reached an agreement with Philadelphia Parking Authority to continue its services there, and the newly passed state budget contains language that lets Uber operate in that city through Sept. 30.Spokesman Craig Ewer said Uber officials want lawmakers to pass permanent, statewide ride-sharing legislation as soon as possible.The state Public Utility Commission granted Uber and its competitor Lyft two-year experimental certificates for statewide operation in early 2015.
(TNS) -- For years, cities like Rock Hill, Gastonia, N.C., and Concord, N.C., have marketed themselves as cities near Charlotte in order to attract businesses.Now, local officials are seeking to change the narrative.The Rock Hill Economic Development Corp. is hoping to unveil a new job portal website this fall that will try to attract high-tech businesses to the city  and keep white-collar workers from commuting to Charlotte for work."It's a chicken and the egg thing," said Stephen Turner, RHEDC executive director. "You can't have tech businesses to relocate here unless they can have talent, and you can't get talent to be here if companies aren't here. So we're trying to build up the credible argument that the talent is available here, but they're going elsewhere to work."To that end, Turner said he has had positive communications with about 50 businesses who said they would be likely to post their job needs on the portal. Prospective employees would also be able to post their resume and information on the website.Once the general website design is approved and developed in September, the office will likely begin rollout in November.Turner said he'd like to see a few hundred businesses join the site over the course of the next two years in order to deem the idea a success.The portal is intended to promote Rock Hill as both a technological and knowledge-economy hub. Knowledge-economy jobs are seen as careers in internet technology, engineering, design, finance and marketing.Officials say their efforts are supported by last year's research study by the Social & Behavioral Research Lab at Winthrop University, which found that the city can support such jobs with the available workforce. The findings, overseen by lab director Scott Huffmon, determined that of more than 21,000 advanced knowledge workers who commute out of Rock Hill/York County, almost 65 percent of them would be willing to take a job in Rock Hill for the same salary."I was surprised at how many people with these sought-after skills that York County is losing every day," said Huffmon. "It makes me, frankly, that much more hopeful about South Carolina's growth."Turner's office has already started the advertising campaign to promote the future portal he's booked out spots along Interstate 77 with billboards that remind drivers of what they're missing back home. "You Could Have Hit Snooze" and "You Could Have Finished Your Coffee" read two mockups, with space to list the jobs page address.The city is seeking to attract more businesses like SPAN Enterprises or Revenflo, according to the RHEDC head, which specialize in software development and website design and have offices in Rock Hill.Focusing on "quality employment" is critical for growing the concept of Knowledge Park in Rock Hill, says Cathy Murphy, the city's downtown development manager. Developers and city officials have been detailing plans to build a mix of commercial properties and urban housing in the 23-acre area around the former site of the Rock Hill Printing & Finishing Co., also known as the Bleachery.She said that she hopes the portal can be used by Winthrop University students in the near future."It can give businesses the pool of talent that are critical to the success of Knowledge Park," said Murphy. " It's a direct goal of Knowledge Park to create jobs.
(TNS) -- Michigans August primary election went late in Ottawa County.Tuesdays voting decided the party nominations in a number of local races for the upcoming general election. It also approved some high-profile millage renewals, including for the Herrick District Library and county parks system. But Ottawa County residents had to wait a little longer to learn how it all turned out.The goal, according to Ottawa County Clerk Justin Roebuck, is to have results ready in time for the 11 p.m. news hour, giving local clerks three hours to gather results following poll closures at 8 p.m. Election results from the city of Holland and Park Township, however, werent published on the countys site until 12:15 a.m. Wednesday.For us, its a frustration with our programming limitations in this election, Roebuck said, noting the county hopes to have a new system in two years.Holland Deputy City Clerk Anna Perales said the city had its election results finished by 10:41 p.m. Tuesday, but was instructed to wait for a runner, rather than send them by secure email transfer.Roebuck said there were two issues. The first was the countys election results website was unusually slow to update Tuesday night. The second is the way results must be reported during a primary from cities and townships.In primary elections  due to the partisan nature of the ballots  all of the results in every race from each precinct must be transferred to the county office at the same time. Its different than a general election, when results can be transmitted to the county on a precinct-by-precinct basis (which speeds the flow of information).The Ottawa County elections office sent runners to some of the larger municipalities like Holland, Georgetown Township and Park Township to intercept some of the precinct results to attempt to speed up the process, Roebuck said.It was about getting the results as quickly as possible, Roebuck said.But the countys website was lagging Tuesday night, causing a slow release of results.It was a software issue on our end getting it up on the website. It wasnt working as well as we hoped last night, said Steven Daitch, the countys elections coordinator. Were doing the best we can without data technology.The county technology for elections is 12 to 15 years old, and still has a dial-up modem at the county office with a computer system running on Windows XP, Daitch said.Its a software that we have to use and it works  it counts votes real well  but its cumbersome and its time for an upgrade, Daitch said.- Referencing the restrictive requirements for primary reporting, Roebuck said he expects the county's November general election to run smoother, even with the much higher voter turnout."It's more flexible in how the local jurisdiction can report," Roebuck said. "I think we will see a smoother process in our reporting overall."Voter turnout in Ottawa County for Tuesdays primary was slightly higher than the last two major primaries. Of the countys nearly 200,000 registered voters, 43,700 cast ballots, coming out to just more than 22 percent.Allegan Countys turnout was similar  about 20 percent, said Deputy Elections Clerk Jason Watts.Ottawa Countys southern neighbor posted more than three-quarters of its election results by 10:20 p.m. Delay on the rest of the results was a standard one: Ottawa and Allegan counties operate incompatible voting systems.Its kind of like a Windows and Apple situation, Watts said. Holland and Ottawa County have one type of machine and they cant talk to our machines.As a result, runners have to hand deliver results from these precincts every election. On Tuesday, they arrived in Allegan just before midnight.Relatively early, Watts said.All-in-all, Watts described Tuesday as relatively low-key.It was sort of underwhelming, Watts said. But for an August primary, pretty typical.
over the Cedar River at the end of an old dirt road deep within the Adirondack Park in upstate New York. The road is in the town of Indian Lake, and he is town supervisor. For years, Wells has fought to build a bridge over the river to a connecting trail on the other side as a way to attract snowmobilers, horseback riders and hikers.Like many other rural municipalities within the park, Indian Lake has seen its economy suffer a slow and steady decline over the past several decades. A large furniture manufacturer left long ago, and few jobs in the logging industry remain. When Wells was growing up, there were many more diners and gas stations all along the main throughway. The mild winter this past year meant fewer skiers and snowmobilers, leading both a local motel and a diner to close their doors for good. Twice as many students were once enrolled at the local school as there are today.Whats left of the economy is largely tied to tourism, so Wells has worked with the state government and other nearby towns to try to lure more people to the region. The bridge and proposed trail system would give Indian Lake a direct link to other towns, and, it is hoped, prop up the areas businesses by attracting more tourists. We have to have that connection, Wells says. Its not going to be the total answer for us, but its going to be huge.But construction of the bridge and trail are on hold for now. Environmental groups have filed a lawsuit to block the project, arguing it violates state law and is redundant given the existence of other trails in the area. Its just the latest in a long line of debates over development that have been playing out in the park for several years.All across the Adirondacks, small towns and villages find themselves in a struggle for survival. With mining and logging jobs nearly gone, with businesses closing and with the population growing older, the towns are looking for any way they can find to halt the decline. Frequently, though, efforts to revive local economies come into conflict with concerns over preserving the park. The battle between conservation groups and pro-development town officials amounts to a dramatic test for a park long viewed as one of the countrys grand experiments in conservation.The Adirondack Park is, in many ways, unlike any other in the nation. Roughly the size of Vermont, it is the largest publicly protected area in the contiguous United States. Its a patchwork quilt of public and private property; the state of New York owns just under half the land. It is distinctive in another important way: There are 102 towns and villages within its boundaries, and it is home to more than 130,000 year-round residents.The most contentious battle these days between conservation groups and town officials concerns the future of the large Boreas Ponds tract, the most scenic and highly coveted parcel in a recent land purchase. The tract borders a wilderness area and is flanked by several of the states tallest mountains in the High Peaks region. When a paper manufacturer put the tract up for sale in 2007, a nonprofit raised money for the purchase with the intention of protecting it from development until the state could work out its finances. In May of this year, the state formally announced acquisition of the nearly 21,000-acre parcel.Knowing that the classification of the land would be hotly contested, the surrounding five towns formed a coalition about five years ago to bolster their interests. The supervisors of Indian Lake, Long Lake, Minerva, Newcomb and North Hudson have outlined a proposal that would classify half the land as wilderness, but would leave the area surrounding the ponds and much of the other territory open to various forms of recreation. Part of the proposed trail system through Wells town of Indian Lake would connect with the Boreas Ponds land. Its something unique in the region we can promote, Wells says.Green groups, though, would like to see the state designate more of the Boreas land as wilderness, a classification with the strongest protections. In the past, theyve been on the winning side in many fights over development. The groups often outnumber local officials 3-1 at public hearings, and they have more resources than the towns do to deploy lobbyists to the state Capitol.But in the past few years, the five towns have enjoyed more success. Economic development is not an afterthought like it had been, Wells says. State officials realize youve got to do something to keep these towns alive or there wont be anyone here. Theyve secured a corridor to allow for snowmobiles in the Essex Chain Lakes area, and the state has approved funding for construction of the Cedar River bridge.A big reason for the shift toward economic development has been Gov. Andrew Cuomo. The governor, who has vacationed in the Adirondacks since he was a teenager, has taken an interest in park affairs that locals say exceeds that of any other recent governor. Hes been instrumental in influencing policymakers to look at the park not just from the recreation and conservation standpoint, but also from an economic standpoint, says Long Lake Supervisor Clark Seaman. The governor appoints and the state Senate approves eight out of the 11 members of the Adirondack Park Agency, which has ultimate responsibility for decisions like the Boreas Ponds land classification.Cuomos efforts have at times provoked condemnation from environmental advocates who say hes wrongly placed recreational access above wilderness protections. In March, park agency board member Richard Booth accused the Cuomo administration of rigidly controlling agency staff following a vote that amended the parks State Land Master Plan to open some areas for bicycle use and maintenance vehicles. For many months, the governor and the governors staff have forced the agency toward the result reached today, Booth told the board.The supervisors of the five small towns, most of whom represent fewer than 1,000 residents, have met with the governor multiple times. The mostly Republican supervisors representing one of the states most conservative regions see the Democratic governors time in office as a pivotal window of opportunity. We have to strike while the iron is hot, Wells says.In arguing their point, the town supervisors say they try to seek a balance between preserving the park and making it more accessible. Environmental groups, they contend, are too one-sided. We go in there with a nice balanced plan, then they go in with all these friggin extremist views all the time, says Minerva Town Supervisor Stephen McNally. After a while, they lose their credibility because they dont search for balance.Peter Bauer, executive director of Protect the Adirondacks, counters that the state should take advantage of a historic opportunity to create the second-largest block of wilderness lands east of the Mississippi River. Multiuse trails like the proposed network through the five towns, he says, wont draw many new visitors. Snowmobilers, hikers and mountain bikers tend to prefer trails that are specifically designated for their use. [The towns] need to be smarter in how they go about pursuing what real balance is, says Bauer, whose group is one of the parties in the Indian Lake bridge lawsuit. There are lots of opportunities in the Adirondacks for economic development in the developed areas and hamlets in the park.Cuomos background as an avid snowmobiler, Bauer says, shapes his vision for the park. He is a real enthusiast for motorized recreation because he believes that motorized recreation somehow equals more economic development and more tourism. As he walks down a newly constructed snowmobile trail, Bauer points out the toll that cutting down trees takes on the forest. The number of trees cut and the width of the trails, he says, exceed whats permitted under historic case law.In the dispute over classification of the Boreas Ponds tract, as in similar debates elsewhere, the main points of contention center around motorized access. The local governments want to allow visitors to drive up and park near the ponds. Conservation groups argue that there are already numerous large lakes throughout the park with direct access. They have offered various proposals requiring people to hike or carry their canoes about a mile from a parking area.Much of the tug of war between conservationists and pro-development groups started with the creation of the Adirondack Park Agency in the early 1970s. It provoked deep resentment among park natives who didnt like the idea of being told what they could do with their property. Lani Ulrich, whose term as the agencys chairwoman ended in June, says she pushed to make it more approachable. But the agency still serves at times as a punching bag for interest groups and residents wanting to gripe about park policies. I can tell when its fundraising season for nonprofit groups and when its election season for elected officials, Ulrich says. Sometimes our agency gets caught in the middle of it.Business owners such as Mike Lenhard, who runs the Yogi Bears Jellystone Park Camp-Resort in North Hudson, are quick to express their disdain for park rules. Lenhard says he has fought for 25 years to have a sign for his campground along the nearby interstate. Im overregulated, overtaxed and I dont need the government to make decisions for me, he complains.On private lands, designated commercial centers throughout the park known as hamlets have few development restrictions, while those in most other areas often require permits. Town officials express frustration with the attempt to concentrate development in hamlet areas, which make up only a tiny fraction of park land. They do say, however, that their working relationship with the agency has improved from decades ago when the two groups didnt want to be in the same room together.has experienced a setback quite like North Hudson has. Tourists from around the country once visited Frontier Town, a Wild West theme park in the small community of about 240 residents. More than 3,000 cars lined the now vacant parking lot back in its heyday in the 1960s and 1970s. Its closure in 1998 dealt a devastating blow, and all the local motels and diners eventually shut down as well.The remains of Frontier Town have been neglected for years, but North Hudson Supervisor Ronald Moore thinks they may yet find use if the area can attract more tourists. It will take an enormous amount of money to do anything with it, but the potential is there, he says. He believes the towns location could make it a gateway to the proposed trail system or a southern approach to the High Peaks region. As he drives through the town, Moore points out recently restored cabins and other businesses that could reopen. Weve got to prove that the people are going to come, he says.The towns view four-season recreation as key to their survival, says Dan Kelleher, who works with the park agencys economic services unit. As it stands today, many businesses close during the winter months, and the unemployment rate doubles every winter in some parts of the park. One project the five towns are pitching envisions a hut-to-hut trail system utilizing new and existing accommodations. Theyre hoping cross-country skiers and snowshoers could traverse the network of trails and that this, along with the new snowmobile routes, would give businesses a much-needed boost over the winter.New York state has made significant investments in tourism, including a $50 million marketing campaign in the current budget. Many visitors make the drive down from Montreal to the top tourist draw, the High Peaks region -- one cant hike very far without hearing French. On nice afternoons, a couple hundred hikers occupy the summit of Mt. Marcy, the states tallest peak. Conservationists such as Neil Woodworth, who heads the Adirondack Mountain Club, say its time for the state to rethink its spending on tourism. Weve got to begin to shut off the faucet because were just going to overwhelm that resource, he says.Environmental groups contend that opening more areas of the park to motorized recreation wont reverse the towns economic woes. The reality is that some communities in the Adirondacks will never regain their former size and population simply because the extractive industries they depend on no longer exist, says Woodworth. Green groups particularly worry about all-terrain vehicles that can tear up trails or forested areas if riders go off routes. While these vehicles are currently banned from public lands in the park, Woodworth worries that calls for opening trails to ATVs could intensify if mild winters persist.Parts of the park are starting to look beyond tourism. A select few municipalities have seen growth in newer industries, such as Saranac Lakes emerging biotech sector. The primary challenge for a lot of communities, though, is that they simply dont have much of a workforce. The youth of today are migrating to urban areas, says Seaman, the Long Lake supervisor. But there have to be people out there who would like to live in an area like this if they could just make a living. study by the local governments projected the number of park residents under age 30 to drop an average of 14 percent each decade between now and 2030. Rather than target large employers, the towns are looking to support new small businesses that might hire five or 10 employees. The park agency has launched a Hamlet Economic Planning and Assistance Initiative to help the localities retool their economies.Lake George, a tourist destination on the southern end of the park, has fared better than most other areas. Even there, however, town officials feel pressure to diversify the economy. Weve played out the resort industry in this town, says Councilwoman Marisa Muratori. We still have the lake, but at the same time, it would be shortsighted to think we could bank on that year after year. But many residents dont want to see more development, such as a new six-story hotel under construction set to become one of the towns tallest buildings. There are a lot of people saying were a rural community, lets not try to reinvent ourselves, Muratori says.Ulrich, the former park agency chair, has witnessed her share of painful disagreements. In 2006, tired of watching competing factions in the park fight year after year, Ulrich co-founded the Common Ground Alliance to help bridge the divide. The alliance brings together an informal group of local officials, environmentalists and citizens to seek solutions to the parks challenges. Last month, they held an annual forum to discuss the parks aging demographics, distributed power generation and park policy changes and other issues.The greatest threats to the park, Ulrich says, are actually external: climate change, invasive species and acid rain. In her view, these are issues local governments and environmental groups all agree on, and in order to confront them, all the parties will need to work together. The leadership of the park must continue to find ways to stay in dialogue, Ulrich says. There are too few of us in this park to be cutting off communities.
On Aug. 3, the District of Columbia put a name behind the promise of a renewed data focus announced early this year. As of last June, Barney Krucoff became the district's new chief data officer, working under the Office of the Chief Technology Officer (OCTO), which is responsible for leading D.C.'s commitment to expand data access for entrepreneurs and academia, and ultimately delivering insights that will assist government's missions of public health, transit and service delivery.According to an official blog post introducing the new official, Krucoff will lead a team of 26 employees who worked together previously in an unofficial capacity as they were spread across the enterprise. The district "plays above its weight, leading to lots of opportunity to build upon what the city has already done," Krucoff said of D.C.'s potential in the realm of data.Krucoff joined OCTO as the geographic information officer in 2004, joined the state of Maryland also as a geographic information officer in 2011, and then returned to D.C. for his present position.In April, featured D.C.'s work around tree management, which began as a query around a single data point and branched into a much broader application for government. Data, these days, seems to be on the mind of most forward-thinking government leaders.
(TNS) -- The Pullman Police Department, Washington State University Police and the Latah County Sheriff's Office all have policies in place requiring officers to activate their body cameras whenever they are physically interacting with the public.Doing so serves to protect both officers and the public."Some people act better, and some of my officers act better when the camera is present," Pullman Police Cmdr. Chris Tennant said. "Overall, the nice thing about cameras is if there is a question about an incident, prior to cameras we didn't have that, it was someone's word against someone else's word. There is a lot of transparency that is brought to the system by cameras."Cameras weren't recording on Nov. 1 when two deputies from the Adams County Sheriff's Office allegedly shot and killed an armed rancher in southern Idaho, and now the man's family has filed a tort claim alleging he was gunned down without provocation.While the technology could have helped clear up what exactly happened in Adams County, Tennant said the relatively new technology is not always as reliable as one may think."You're dealing with a mechanical device and sometimes cameras don't work," he said. "We have roughly 30 cameras deployed - at least once a month I send a camera in for repair."Tennant said most of the time an officer doesn't know a camera is malfunctioning until he or she attempts to download video clips at the end of the shift.He said it was also common for officers to forget to turn cameras on when the department first started using the devices."Even now there are times officers still don't turn cameras on," Tennant said. "It's not intentional - usually, when there is a lot of stress included, they are worried about the incident, not turning the camera on. It's human nature."Latah County Sheriff's Office Lt. Brannon Jordan said his department has had cameras for 10 years, and he acknowledged deputies sometimes forget to activate the cameras. He also said the batteries for the devices only stay charged for a few hours, and can only hold so much data.Tennant and Jordan said to avoid running out of memory and dead batteries, as in the Adams County shooting, officers download their footage at the end of every shift and charge their devices daily.Both said they would prefer to leave the cameras on all day, but the limitations of the batteries and memory make that impossible."Most of it would be nothing but guys driving down the road or eating lunch," Jordan said.Tennant and Jordan also noted that finding needed clips could take lots of time for police to dig through hours and hours of footage, which would come at a high cost.That's one of the very reasons the Moscow Police Department hasn't got on board with body cameras.MPD Chief James Fry said his department would likely need to hire someone to index the videos and make needed redactions if it began using the devices."The cameras aren't that expensive," Fry said, "But you almost have to hire someone to manage all the IT video stuff."Fry said Idaho's Legislature could help the situation by passing laws to provide guidelines and limit what footage is public.A Washington bill passed in early March limits broad requests for police body-camera videos, as well as protects sensitive footage of dead bodies, minors or scenes shot in someone's home."Until Idaho does, it becomes a video nightmare," Fry said.Tennant and Jordan said having the cameras also keeps officers and the public honest, as all parties know the are being recorded.The prosecutors for Latah and Whitman counties understand the trouble with the cameras, but both said they are mostly helpful."Sometimes they don't record; sometimes the officer forgets to turn them on; sometimes the officer forgets to turn them off," Latah County Prosecutor Bill Thompson said.Thompson said new technology is being introduced in which cameras will begin recording one minute before an officer hits the button to begin recording.He said best practice would be to have the camera recording during any public interaction, as most Palouse agencies seem to follow.Whitman County Prosecutor Denis Tracy said there are problems with body cams but when it comes to providing a jury information on what happened at a particular incident, nothing portrays that incident like body cameras do.The Daily News was unable to reach Whitman County Sheriff Brett Myers to discuss his department's policies.
(TNS)  WASHINGTON  The Department of Homeland Security is preparing advice for election officials to better protect electronic voting machines, online ballots and vote counts from hackers, following the high-profile breach of Democratic National Committee emails, the head of the department said Wednesday.We are actively thinking about election cyber security right now, Jeh Johnson said at a breakfast with reporters in Washington hosted by the Christian Science Monitor.Any effort to guard election computers from being breached is complicated by the fact that there are more than 9,000 different voting jurisdictions in the U.S., and each has its own leadership and way of operating, he said.There are some short-term and long-term things I think we should do to bolster the cyber security around the election process, Johnson said, stopping short of detailing what kinds of weaknesses hackers could find to influence election results. There are various different points in the process we have to be concerned about, he said.After the problem of hanging chads on punch cards confounded vote counters in Florida during the 2000 presidential election, Congress moved to overhaul the electoral process. Since 2002 it has allocated more than $3 billion in grants to help local officials upgrade voting processes and equipment.In some areas, officials purchased computerized voting systems to replace punch-card machines. But some digital voting booths dont leave a paper trail, and a few are connected to the Internet in order to receive software updates from the manufacturer, which has lead to concerns that results could be altered by hackers.In addition, some voting jurisdictions allow military service members stationed overseas to vote online, a system that experts believe could be vulnerable to hackers.The 2002 law raised the bar for securing ballots, Johnson said. But there is more to do, he added. The nature of cyber threats has evolved.Anxiety about outside influence over election results is high. Supporters of Hillary Clinton have expressed concerns that Russian hackers, who are believed to have infiltrated a computer network of the Democratic National Committee, might try to adjust tallies in Trumps favor. Some suspect Russia might prefer Trump because he has vowed to improve relations with Russia and said he would reconsider U.S. commitments under NATO to protect former Soviet Bloc states in Eastern Europe.Trump told voters in Ohio this week that he, too, was afraid the November election is going to be rigged.Homeland Security officials are debating whether the U.S. election system should be considered critical infrastructure, a designation that could prompt the department to spend more time and resources on protecting the integrity of vote tallies, Johnson said.We should carefully consider whether our election system, our election process, is critical infrastructure, like the financial sector, like the power grid, Johnson said. Theres a vital national interest in our electoral process, he said.
Former team president Luca di Montezemolo has struggled to resist commenting on Ferrari's current situation.

Now past the mid-season point in 2016, sections of the Italian press and beyond believe the Maranello marque is in crisis.

Kimi Raikkonen admits: "We were ahead of Red Bull and now they're ahead of us.

"It has been a bit painful, but we will improve," said the Finn.

New Ferrari president Sergio Marchionne is also bullish, even though technical boss James Allison has left and there are calls for new engineers to be recruited and team chief Maurizio Arrivabene to go.

Marchionne said this week that Ferrari already has "phenomenal talent", and that suggestions the team needs "a transfusion of technical intelligence is excessive".

The latest word from La Gazzetta dello Sport is: "Ferrari will not give up or raise the white flag, but they are only the third force."

And Corriere della Sera added: "Ferrari's free fall continues, but the team bosses keep the faith."

Amid the turmoil, former Ferrari president Luca di Montezemolo arrived late this week in Rio, in his new role promoting Italy's 2024 Olympic Games bid.

La Gazzetta quotes him as saying: "I love Ferrari, so the best thing is not to say too much."

But he didn't keep up the silence for long, telling the Ferrari-linked insider Leo Turrini in Rio: "I do not speak about Ferrari, except to say that it pleases me that Marchionne claims there are formidable people within the company.

"In fact, they were there even two years ago, as they are all people I appointed," Montezemolo added.

(GMM)
DAKAR (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - Human rights activists on Thursday demanded clemency for a Senegalese maid who was trafficked to Saudi Arabia and may face the death penalty after being charged with killing her employer.





Mbayang Diop, 22, was arrested in June, weeks after arriving in the world's largest oil exporter, and accused of stabbing her employer to death in the capital of Riyadh, rights groups said.





Senegalese civil society groups say Diop may have killed the woman she worked for in self-defense after a dispute, and that the Saudi authorities had not properly investigated the case.





On Wednesday, the Senegalese ambassador to Saudi Arabia visited Diop in prison in the eastern city of Dammam to provide assistance, Senegal's foreign ministry said in a statement.





The Saudi embassy in Dakar was not immediately available to comment on the case.





Diop left Dakar without telling her family, having been approached and offered work as a maid, said her brother, Fallou.





"If she had consulted us, we would have told her not to go," he said, explaining how other women from their neighborhood in Dakar had also moved to Saudi Arabia with the promise of work.





"She said she couldn't rest - that the work was very hard."





Diop, who is in jail awaiting trial, is one of a growing number of Senegalese women heading to the Middle East for domestic work, lured by the prospect of a salary and a chance to escape joblessness at home, according to Amnesty International.





But many have their passports confiscated by their employers and face abuse, said Amnesty's regional director Alioune Tine.





"These women are of victims of violence and rape ... they are at the mercy of their employer, they are the property of their employer," Tine told the Thomson Reuters Foundation.





"They are the victims of a system of modern slavery."





CRACKDOWN





Diop has not yet seen a lawyer, appeared in court or entered a plea to the charge of murder, which is punishable by death in Saudi Arabia, said Bara Gaye, the mayor of Yeumbeul, a suburb on the outskirts of Dakar that is home to Diop's family.





Senegal's foreign minister Mankeur Ndiaye described Diop last week as "a victim like many others", and said the West African nation's government would crack down on traffickers.





Traditionally, domestic workers in the Gulf have come from Asia but the number of African migrants is increasing, driven by the lack of opportunities at home, human rights activists say.





Women are often trafficked to Saudi Arabia, one of the world's largest employers of domestic workers, and forced into domestic servitude, said the annual Trafficking in Persons (TIP) report, which grades countries on their anti-slavery efforts.





Civil society groups and protesters this week gathered in central Dakar to demand clemency for Diop.





Boubacar Seye, head of migrant rights group Horizon Sans Frontieres, called for an investigation into the case, saying none had taken place so far.





"Everyone knows the conditions these women live in - they're like slaves," said Iba Sarr of the human rights group Raddho, urging the Senegalese authorities to pursue the case.





Source: Reuters , August 4, 2016

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"One is absolutely sickened, not by the crimes that the wicked have committed, but by the punishments that the good have inflicted." - Oscar Wilde
GREENSBORO  If the Rio Olympics have sparked your interest in Brazilian rhythms and dance, the Dance Project might have just the thing for you.

Dance Project will host an evening of tap master classes with internationally renowned Brazilian tap dancer Leonardo Sandoval while he is in town to perform at the National Folk Festival.

Classes will be Sept. 8 in Studio 323 in the Greensboro Cultural Center. A class from 5 to 6 p.m. will be geared toward cultivating musicality in dancers ages 7 to 12.

From 6:30 to 7:30 p.m., Sandoval will lead a more advanced tap class on improvisation and Brazilian rhythms for ages 13 and up.

The evening will close with a brief Q&A session from 7:30 to 8 p.m.

Class prices are $15 for the musicality class, $20 for the tap class and $5 for an observer/Q&A pass. To register, go online to www.danceproject.org.

Space is limited to 35 students per class.

Sandoval will perform at the National Folk Festival when it returns from Sept. 9-11, for the second year in its three-year residency in Greensboro.

Sandoval is described by the Chicago Sun-Times as strong yet fine-boned, capable of authority and nuance, and is praised by the New York Times for his spontaneous aura of thinking.

He began his dance studies at age 6 in Piracicaba (Sao Paulo State). At 18, he was invited to Los Angeles to attend the Debbie Allen Dance Academy for the Summer Intensive program, as well as the L.A. Tap Festival.

Sandoval co-founded the Cia Carioca de Sapateado in Rio de Janeiro to bring tap dance to a wider audience in Brazil by incorporating Brazilian rhythms, music and dance styles.

In 2013, he moved to New York, where he now works with Michelle Dorrances company, Dorrance Dance.

He also undertakes solo projects as a dancer and choreographer. Recent credits include performances at Jacobs Pillow and the Lincoln Center.

Since September 2014, Sandoval has been an artist in residence at the American Tap Dance Foundation.
Destiny Christian Center will hold a back-to-school supplies event from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday. Also, health screenings, courtesy of Community Connections and UnitedHealthcare, will be offered.

Registered nurses will conduct blood pressure and glucose screenings to detect health issues.

The event is for low-income children.

The center is at 2401 Randleman Road in Greensboro. For information, call (336) 235-0880.

Top officers to discuss policing, race relations

Greensboro Police Chief Wayne Scott and Deputy Police Chief James E. Hinson Jr. will speak to the Episcopal parishes of Saint Francis and Church Holy Spirit at 10 a.m. Sunday at Saint Francis Episcopal Church, 3506 Lawndale Drive in Greensboro.

Scott and Hinson will lead a conversation within the context of worship about local policing and race relations.

For information, call (336) 288-4721.

Piedmont Classical High breaking ground

Piedmont Classical High School will hold a groundbreaking ceremony at 1401 Lees Chapel Road at 3:30 p.m. Aug. 12.

American Charter Development is building the $9.5 million school over the next year. In August 2017, PCHS will open at the new 34,000-square-feet permanent facility. Until the permanent site is ready, classes are being held at C3 church on N.C. 68 in Greensboro.

Guilford Countys first classical charter high school, PCHS opened with ninth and 10th grades in August 2015. This fall 11th grade will be added, and by 2017 PCHS will have 725 students in grades 9-12, eventually growing to 900 students.

PCHS is accepting applications for rising ninth, 10th, and 11th-graders; to apply, visit www.piedmontclassical.com.

Entrepreneur event at Nussbaum Center

An Encore Entrepreneur Summer Roundtable will be held from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Aug. 17 at the Nussbaum Center for Entrepreneurship, 1451 S. Elm Eugene St. in Greensboro.

The event is free and sponsored by the U.S. Small Business Administration, AARP, Score, Guilford Technical Community Colleges Small Business Center Network, and the Nussbaum Center.

To register, visit https://www.ncsbc.net/workshop.aspx?ekey=230360130.

Backpack giveaway Aug. 20 at coliseum

A backpack giveaway, Operation Pass Back 2 School, will be held from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Aug. 20 at the Greensboro Coliseum Complex, 1921 W. Gate City Blvd. in Greensboro.

Children must be accompanied by an adult.There will be music, bounce houses, coupons for free haircuts and more.

For information, call (336) 273-7930 or visit www.mtzbc.com.
North Carolina students performed the worst theyve done in more than 20 years on national tests of reading and math performance  showing how much achievement has declined since the pandemic. Reading and math scores in the state dropped from three years ago for fourth- and eighth-grades on the National Assessment of Educational Progress, or NAEP. The results released on Monday by the U.S. ...
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A new collection of homes is about to take shape in Houston's Fifth Ward, and it will be made almost entirely out of portable containers.

Houston native Jerry Hartless, owner of Houston-based contracting company Build-A-Box, says he will build a 42-unit residential complex in that neighborhood  specifically in the Denver Harbor area.

Hartless was inspired when his telecommunications business Dhi Group Limited, LLC  formerly known as SniperHill Internet Services, LLC  was providing internet and phone access to soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan. Network materials from China were delivered to him in shipping containers that were too expensive to ship back. Instead he converted them into makeshift offices for himself and his staff. (Story continues below.)

RELATED: Go inside a Dallas home made of shipping containers

When Hartless returned home to Houston, he wanted to implement the idea in the form of residences in a pre-gentrification, up-and-coming part of the city.

"I chose that area because it's a transitional area close to downtown," Hartless explains. "It's the last of the wards being updated."

One completed Build-a-Box house currently on the market  at 1709 Dan St.  offers a glimpse of what he's planning to create on a much larger scale. The two-bedroom, 1,280-square-foot house is unlike the standard tiny home. Its facade tricks the eye into imagining a Craftsman-style bungalow. A look just beyond the structure's small front porch reveals it to be a royal-blue-hued shipping container, the kind that typically transport industrial and consumer goods of all types across the world.

SEE MORE: Texas-based organization builds unique homes out of trash

The home, which sits on 3,000 square feet of land, is currently listed at $189,995. Hartless says the houses could cost anywhere between $80 and $120 per square foot, depending on how the outside will be outfitted.

Though Hartless adds that the costs can vary widely.

"(Shipping container houses) can be cheap if you do it yourself and cut corners," he explains. Include the cost of permitting, proper construction and land costs, and "you're probably looking at about the same amount" it costs to build a traditional home.

In the long run, however, homeowners will save money because, Hartless says, these low-maintenance structures are resistant to fires, water damage, hurricanes and termites.

"It can last 100 years," Hartless says.

MORE TEXAS HOMES: Texas custom home builder Erin Wright forges ahead in male-dominated industry

His next project, already in the works, is the 42-unit complex.

The structure will be comprised of a series of uniformly renovated shipping containers stacked to look like duplexes. Each of the 42 apartments will average 960 square feet, putting the entire building at around 40,000 square feet.

Hartless hopes the housing style will appeal to locals and draw them to the area.

"(The houses) are cool, they're trendy and people are looking for different housing," Hartless says.
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If you still think of Don Ho and Tiny Bubbles when you hear the word ukulele, you are hopelessly behind the times.

The Hawaiian string instrument has become a hot commodity in the music world, with bands of all types finding ways to use its simple, enchanting sound to spice up rock, jazz and country music.

Greenwich musician Peter Kozak fell in love with the sound of the ukulele when a mutual friend from Brooklyn, N.Y., started the band Cousin Earth, putting the uke at the center of many of their arrangements. What was intended to be a jazz band quickly turned into an eclectic, hard-to-pin-down mix of rock and pop, with a repertoire ranging from original material to songs from Broadway shows and music from Star Wars.

As a result, Kozak is juggling the work he does with his own group, Fikus, with booking Cousin Earth into clubs throughout the tri-state area. Hes created a company called Something Electric, which produced three shows at the Sundown Saloon in Greenwich, and will be bringing the band to Bridgeport and Hartford in August.

Some people might think the ukulele is gimmicky, but when the band kicks it up into high gear, its an amazing dynamic, Kozak says of what a ukulele can add to a song.

Cousin Earths Joey Calfa is the self-described Ukulelien who first experienced the instrument as a teenager on a trip to Hawaii for his parents anniversary. Back in New York City, Calfa heard someone do a uke version of While My Guitar Gently Weeps and couldnt believe the unique sound it added to The Beatles classic. He really shredded it.

A subsequent immersion in YouTube convinced Calfa that the beauty of the sound could take him far beyond Hawaiian music.

A uke is like a guitar, but the chords end up sounding completely different. Its also easy to learn and to apply it to everything, Calfa says.

When hes not playing music or ovcrseeing Cousin Earth, Kozak has worked as a tutor for special needs children, an experience that has amplified his interest in the ukulele. Music can speak to these children in an immediate way that words cannot express, he says. It hits them in an emotional rather than intellectual manner, the same way an old tune can transport us right back to the time and place where we first heard it.

Almost everybody loves music, Kozak says of the way the children he has worked with connect with the songs. And its easy to turn kids from passive listeners to active participants with the ukulele because it doesnt require special training.

To play a song you like, you can look it up on YouTube and the next thing you know youre playing it for your family, he says of simply strumming a ukulele along with almost any song.

Kozak has seen the way the ukulele-powered Cousin Earth produces a sound equally appealing to audiences of all ages. You can bring grandma or your 2-year old cousin, he says, laughing. People cant help but sing along with the songs they know.

The universal appeal of the ukulele dovetails perfectly with Cousin Earths desire to explore a global musical culture that includes Klezmer, Middle Eastern and South American material. Terry Brennan of Cousin Earth says the ukulele is one of the tools that has allowed the band to forget about what labels might be applied to their sound.

I think thats one of the things we have going for us, Brennan says. Theres really no genre we cant tackle with the range of instruments we have.

We dont want to be pigeon-holed, vocalist and percussionist Tara Lawton adds. We like to think we can can play whatever interests us.

jmeyers@hearstmediact.com; Twitter: @joesview
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Jonathan Tolins and husband Robert Cary wan ted the Connecticut experience.

Married in California in 2008 and having adopted their first child, the couple in 2009 moved from Los Angeles for family circumstances, as well as the need to get away from the Hollywood grind.

They found the perfect place in Fairfield, a salt-box home on several acres that includes a swimming pool, gazebo and footbridge over a running stream. The home dates back to pre-Revolutionary days, when it was the Sherwood Tavern and over the centuries the now-residence has been renovated and expanded. But the house is still filled with Colonial-era details like wide plank floors, an eight-foot fireplace (there were five originally) with a beehive oven and tiny closets with the original wooden pegs.

We always preferred houses that have some kind of character, says Tolins, 49, a playwright best known for the off-Broadway hit, Buyer and Cellar, and a writer-producer for the CBS series, BrainDead.

Its a house with quirks, personality and flaws  and it has plenty of flaws, says Cary, 48, also a writer, who sometimes teams with Tolins. (They scripted TVs Grease Live! and wrote additional material for the Broadway revival of On the Town.)

On this days visit, an infestation of bees on a gable is the latest homeowner challenge, which their son, Henry, 6, seizes as an opportunity for his super-soaker. (Daughter Selina, 12, was away at summer camp.)

I was told it would be terrible for my career if I left L.A., says Tolins, settled in his living room decorated with comfortable good taste from mostly HomeGoods and Crate & Barrel. But everything got better.

When asked how the two places differ, Tolins, a studious-looking, wry man who resembles Leonard on The Big Bang Theory, quotes a visiting friend from L.A.: Sometimes you just have to get out of the casino.

Tolins says working in Hollywood sometimes feels like youre in a closed-off world without clocks or seasons, working on a slot machine and just pulling on the one-armed bandit over and over again and all you hear around you is other people winning.

Not in quiet Fairfield, where Tolins can go to a Starbucks and find that he's the only person working on a script  though he prefers to write in the nearby libraries, as well as his home study, which adjoins Carys writing room.

Connecticut represented a Hollywood idea of a certain kind of ideal, picket-fence, civilized, Americana lifestyle that lived in my mind, even as a kid, says Cary, who grew up in an arts and show biz family in Studio City, adjacent to North Hollywood.

If you were an accomplished and glamorous New Yorker, he says, you would have an apartment in Manhattan and a place in Connecticut  not Long Island (where Tolins was raised) or New Jersey.

Cary, a gregarious man with an easy smile, still has the lean figure from his days as a Yalie, Joffrey II dancer and an actor. (He starred in Goodspeeds Lucky in the Rain in 1997.) I was young enough to withstand it all, he says, but I don't miss dancing or acting  but it was the perfect way for me to meet people and learn about the business.

The two men met at a taping of a Bette Midler TV pilot in 2000 that happened to feature their now-neighbor Joanna Gleason.

He was reading Arthur Laurents' autobiography, says Tolins, and I said to him, You'll go blind reading in this light and besides, Farley Granger stories arent worth it. That's what started the conversation.

Happy Pride! says Cary with a laugh, referring to the number of gay icons in the tale.

Both of us being writers has afforded us a kind of domestic scene that we would not have gotten otherwise, and being writers together is really the icing on the cake.

A musical that Cary wrote years ago at La Jolla Playhouse, Palm Beach, is getting a revival at Kansas City Rep in January and Flashdance the Musical, for which he wrote the book, is on tour. He is working on several projects with Tony Award-winning director Des Mcanuff (Jersey Boys), who resides in Weston, including Independence, a rock musical Cary describes as a modern-day twist on a Jacobean tragedy.

Tolins's new play, The Forgotten Woman, recently premiered at the Bay Street Theatre in Sag Harbor, N.Y. Back-burner projects for both include a musical based on Ed Sullivan and another using the music of ZZ Top. Also on tap is a musical based on the film Take the Lead, with director-choreographer Christopher Gatelli and the musical and producing team of First Date, about a ballroom teacher working with inner-city kids. Tolins is also working on a six-hour mini-series based on the abduction of newspaper heiress Patty Hearst.

Most significant to their new life, Tolins is writing a play called Connecticut.

It's a big-ass, serious play and very compassionate, says Cary, adding that its based on his grandfather at the end of his life assisted by a health care worker when he lived in the state.

It's about Connecticut being a state of being, he says. It's not a place you live. It's a place to which you aspire.

Frank Rizzo has covered Connecticut arts for nearly 40 years. He is a theater critic for Variety and has contributed perspectives to the New York Times and American Theatre magazine.
GREENWICH  Police arrested a woman  a lawyer from the Upper West Side of Manhattan  who tried to rob a bank Thursday afternoon, authorities said.

Meighan Marie McSherry, 46, of New York City, was being held in connection with a holdup at Wells Fargo Bank at 137 W. Putnam Ave.

According to Greenwich police Lt. Kraig Gray, The suspect reportedly provided a note to the bank teller demanding money and stating that she had a weapon. The suspect left the scene with money stolen from the bank. The alarm went out around 3:20 p.m.

A description of the suspect and her vehicle was broadcast to area officers. ... Within a few minutes, the suspect vehicle was observed on East Putnam Avenue near Church Street, a short distance from the bank. Officers stopped the vehicle and detained the female operator. Witnesses to the robbery subsequently positively identified the operator as the suspected bank robber, and she was placed under arrest. Evidence of the crime was found in the suspects vehicle. There were no injuries during this incident, Gray said.

McSherry was charged with first-degree robbery and second-degree larceny. The amount of money was not disclosed by authorities.

McSherry was brought before state Superior Court Judge Auden Grogins Friday morning.

Her defense attorney, Jennifer De Castro Tunnard, spoke of her clients legal career and said, I am shocked by the allegations.

DeCastro Tunnard told the judge her client had no knowledge of the alleged criminal behavior. She said McSherry had spent the previous evening in Pound Ridge, N.Y., and she had no memories after that and no knowledge of how she ended up in Greenwich.

McSherry did not post the $250,000 bond set by Grogins, and remained in custody. She did not speak during the court appearance.

McSherry has been listed as working for the Legal Aid Society of New York, but court records filed Friday said she is currently unemployed. According to legal databases, McSherry was working as a public defender in the Bronx.

Her address was listed as West 72nd Street near Central Park in New York City.

Her next court appearance was set for Sept. 8.

Robert.Marchant@scni.com
 AFP 2016/ STR / JIJI PRESS Okinawa Residents Stage Sit-In Protest Over US Helipad Construction

Earlier this week Okinawans staged a series of sit-ins protesting the resumption of the construction of six helipads. They fear that the Osprey transformer heli-planes could start falling down on their heads.

In an interview with Sputnik, Andrei Fesyun, a Moscow-based expert on Japan, said that Okinawa has been used by the Americans as a sort of an unsinkable aircraft carrier ever since Japans 1945 defeat in WWII and the start of the Cold War between the US and the Soviet Union.

Many in Japan dont like this, but, on the other hand, the US forces in Okinawa ensure the countrys security, thats why during the 1940s and 50s the locals had nothing against the sizeable US military presence on their island, he said.

Many of them earned money working at and around the US military bases, manning local stores, restaurants and bars.

When in 1972 Okinawa became a Japanese prefecture again, the US bases didnt go anywhere and the overall psychological atmosphere began to change. The Okinawans were getting tired of the disproportionate presence of US military personnel on their island and the Americans often contemptuous disregard of the indigenous population. By the mid-1960s the situation had come to a head with local residents holding rallies protesting against crimes committed by the US military personnel, Andrei Fesyun continued.

He added that regional authorities always side with the local dwellers in their bid to keep their American guests in check. In other words, to lock them up inside their bases with only occasional trips to the city.

In Tokyo, meanwhile, the government continues to view the US military presence in Okinawa as a guarantor of national security, and there have been cases of the Prime Minister refusing to meet the Okinawa governor face-to-face.

And still, regional authorities enjoy considerable freedom of hand including the right to prevent a relocation of a military base. Thats why Tokyo has to look for negotiated solutions to the conflicts that occasionally arise between the central government and local administrations.

The majority of people in Okinawa fear that the Futenma base could cause irreparable harm to the islands flora and fauna and the local tourism industry, which is the islands sole source of income.
GREENWICH  The climate has been getting warmer, guest speaker Jonathan Chanis told a crowd of more than 120 people at the Retired Mens Association meeting this past week. Thats undeniable and fossil fuels have contributed. But what do we do about it? Thats the difficult question.

Channis, with more than 25 years in energy and finance, is a managing member of New Tide Asset Management, which focuses on global and resource investing. He is also a member of the non-partisan think tank the Council on Foreign Relations.

The biggest challenge about climate change, Chanis said, is people not always wanting to do what it takes, pitting environmentalists who want to halt all fossil fuel exploration and consumption against residents who dont want their energy bills to triple because there is more demand than supply.

People really do not want to radically change their lives, Chanis said. Most of you probably drove here and thats typical of most Americans. Most people drive to work. Most people like to drive fast Even the simplest of steps like slowing down are things people do not want to change.

Progress is being made, he said, noting that the United States has cut its CO2 emissions by 13 percent since 2005.

That is really nice, Chanis said. Obviously the people who are really aggressive on climate change say 13 percent isnt nearly enough, which one could argue is correct.

Chanis spent much of his time discussion the future of fossil fuels, which he said comes with a very big It depends attached to it.

Are we talking about five years? 20 or 30 years? Or 100? Chanis said. I would assert the answer to that question would be very different depending on the timeframe.

Even focusing on 30 years in the future was difficult, because the prognosis for the different fossil fuels is different: coal has a different future than petroleum and theyre both different than the future for natural gas.

The future for coal in the United States is pretty bleak, Chanis said. Coal production has collapsed over the last five years and the coal industry is not doing well. People confuse the major companies filing for bankruptcy with end of coal but its not that simple. The United States will be producing coal for the next 20 to 30 years and it still supplies almost a third of our energy for electricity generation. Coal is not going to just disappear, but it has a bleak future.

Because the demand for energy continues to grow as more countries upgrade their electric grids, Chanis said there was no way conservation and efficiency alone would address climate change. He said there are critics of his view who believe that better and more efficient use of energy will meet current and future demand.

To get energy to the developing world you have to have a reliance on fossil fuels, Chanis said. That is contested by a lot of environmentalists but I would defend that.

Chanis said a major reason why gasoline and diesel are still being used is because battery technology has not advanced enough to supersede them. The challenge for alternative energy like solar and wind is storage  a problem especially for air travel, which he said accounted for 10 percent of the average Americans carbon footprint.

You cant fly jets on batteries, Chanis said. Theyre just too heavy. That means they still need jet fuel. That transition will take place but it will be in 70 or 80 or 100 years.

Because of that and the demand for mobility, he said, petroleum is still the field to be.

He said great progress was being made in integrating solar and wind into energy generation but a number of challenges still exist, particularly the cost, especially since fossil fuels continue to be cheaper.

The full video of Chanis remarks and more than 200 other speakers is available online at www.greenwichrma.org .

kborsuk@scni.com
Khizr Khan Challenges Donald Trump To Take A Naturalization Test

I challenge Trump to take the naturalization test with me any day. His is demagoguery and pandering for vote. A divider like Trump can never be the steward of this country, he said.

Khizr Khan, the father of a Muslim American war hero who gave Donald Trump a lesson on citizenship at the Democratic convention last month, wants the GOP nominee to take the U.S. naturalization test.Khan, who became a United States citizen after emigrating from Pakistan in 1980, issued the challenge on Monday in reaction to a Trump foreign policy address in Youngstown, Ohio, in which the businessman proposed instituting an ideological test to visa applicants before allowing them to enter the country. Under the test, Trump said, applicants would be subjected to extreme, extreme vetting in order to screen out any who have hostile attitudes toward our country or its principles.But Khan, who lives in Virginia with his wife Ghazala, rejected such rhetoric.This is my country too, Khan told The Huffington Post in an email. We must make it safe  as Muslim Americans it is our obligation to keep our country safe. We reject all violence. We support better immigration policies. We stand as a testament to assimilation and being part of patriotic America as anyone else.He then challenged Trump to take the U.S. naturalization test along with him.
The now Trump-less dining area.

The owners of a popular German restaurant in Brooklyn have (somewhat begrudgingly) removed a photo of Donald Trump. The picture has hung on Schnitzel Hauss wall in Bay Ridge since 2007, but, of course, its suddenly drawing loud complaints, like this one posted last week on Yelp:



I just couldnt stop thinking about me, a black man with plenty of Mexican friends, supporting a business that supports such a racists and disgusting person as he is. Imagine going to a place and they having a picture of Hitler just because he visited them at one point in time. Just not cool. Should be removed.



Owners Amber and Fred Urban received the photo from Trump  who, as any John Oliver fan knows, has Teutonic heritage  after he visited the eatery in its early days as a German American ambassador to wish them success. His way of doing this was (no big surprise here) to promise them an autographed photo they could hang prominently in the restaurant. The next day, a courier dropped off a large head shot that read, To Fred + Amber, best of luck with Schnitzel Haus! Best wishes  Donald Trump.

Ridge's Schnitzel Haus under fire for signed Trump photo on wall https://t.co/bQ6RyVXjg7 pic.twitter.com/1TCVKFoXHX  Brooklyn Paper (@brooklynpaper) August 3, 2016

Fred says he was honored to hang the photo because, back then, Trump was just a prominent businessman and a big supporter of German-American heritage.

His reputation today is  slightly different, and the Hitler Yelp review pushed things over the edge, the owners say. At first, they defended the photo (theyre still struggling to understand how posting a picture on the wall is promoting hatred), but by Wednesday the Urbans decided Trump had to go. When youre hurting my income and taking food off my familys table, were forced to make changes, Amber tells the Brooklyn Daily. Honestly, I was very upset.


Definitely not what he ordered. Photo: Ryzhkov/Getty Images

A server in Canada could pay for what appears to be a costly order snafu that almost took the life of a customer. An employee at a restaurant in Sherbrooke, Quebec, faces possible criminal prosecution  a big step up from the usual punishment of a bad tip and a managers reprimand  after allegedly giving Simon-Pierre Canuel raw salmon instead of the beef tartare he ordered. Canuel says he couldnt see very well in the dim light, so he ate a bite by accident, then felt his throat close up. He didnt have his EpiPen on him and ended up receiving mouth-to-mouth resuscitation until an ambulance transported him to the hospital, where he remained in a coma for two days before being released.

Police arrested the server after Canuel filed a criminal complaint. In it, Canuel claimed that from the beginning he informed the waiter that seafood was a real danger for him. He says he mentioned his allergies again when ordering the tartare, going as far as asking the server to make a note of it and advise kitchen staff. The employee allegedly did neither, and Canuel says part of the problem may have been the servers interest in socializing with another table, where Canuel even reportedly observed him doing some shooters.



Canuel says he doesnt want the man to go to prison, but admits a conviction would send a strong message that allergies are serious. He adds: Its easy to say, Oh, I thought he ordered a salmon tartare. But what if I had died? My family would have to live with that.
No, its not a carefully organized cyberattack. There seems to be something wrong with the Motorola Nexus 6 as of late. Many owners of the 6 inch Shamu have been experiencing LTE outages on carriers around the world. In the US, T-Mobile customers are the ones affected by this strange occurrence.

The issues were reported to Googles Product Forums and an engineer from Google has acknowledged the problem in the corresponding thread. Many users on Reddit have been reporting outages from other countries and a list was made up this morning with carriers from Canada, Australia, Finland, The Netherlands, Sweden, Mexico, Germany, and Hong Kong.

@micweis we hear you - it's affecting Nexus 6 users worldwide! We're engaged with Google and Motorola, so we're trying to get... *EvanB  T-Mobile Help (@TMobileHelp) August 4, 2016

At first, the culprit was thought to be the August Security patch, but Nexus 6 users with old and new firmware, with both official and after-market ROMs have all been affected by the same problem - lack of LTE.

Not every single Nexus 6 user is having these issues. Since the stirring of these issues, T-Mobile has acknowledged the issue and is already working on a solution for its subscribers.

What do you think is causing the issues?

Via 1 | Via 2
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At this point, after many leaks on the matter, it seems pretty clear that the 2016 Nexus lineup will consist of two smartphones, both made by HTC. The smaller, 5-inch model has been referred to by its codename Sailfish, while the 5.5-inch handset goes by Marlin. Both should have pretty much the same high-end specs, save for screen size, resolution, and battery capacity.

The two devices might launch in early October, and you'll obviously be able to purchase them unlocked from Google's online hardware store. However, according to a new rumor, the HTC Nexus Sailfish and Marlin will also be offered by Verizon, marking this carrier's return to partnering with Google for Nexus device sales.

This information has been shared by notorious leakster Evan Blass (aka @evleaks), and it's been sort of confirmed by another source speaking to Android Police. Verizon will thus sell the phones in its stores, and not just activate them on its network if you ask it to.

The 2016 HTC Nexus handsets may end up looking like what the render above shows - the subdued design of the Nexus line might be "enhanced" by Verizon's well-known propensity for plastering its logos everywhere. Or not. Hopefully the latter. There's no telling whether other carriers will join Verizon in selling the new Nexuses, as we haven't heard anything about such moves yet.

Source 1  Source 2
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Yes, you read that correct! Obama is giving advice on how to keep the American Government from catching people who cross our borders illegally and in the process endangering our school children by sending them to any of our public schools!This administration has systematically and maliciously attacked and deconstructed all phases of border enforcement, said Dan Stein, president of Federation for American Immigration Reform. Its to the point now where virtually nobody has to go home. ICE is no longer carrying out its core mission, of finding, identifying and removing illegal aliens from the country.So true! Obama is a traitorand an idiot! How is Obama working out for you now liberal parents?
Norwegian oil & gas sector service company branches out into tourism

With the low oil price depressing activity in the Norwegian oil & gas sector, service company Edda Accommodation has come up with an ingenious way of making money from its underemployed assets. In July, the company ran the first ever rig spotting trips in the North Sea aboard the flotel Edda Fides.

The Edda Fides - Image: Edda Adventures

According to a Reuters report, the trip was a great success with one passenger saying: "It's just wonderful, just wonderfulI was amazed."

The first North Sea trip departed Haugesund in south-western Norway and visited the Edvard Grieg, Johan Sverdrup, Balder and Ringhorn, Oseberg, Troll and Gja fields, before arriving at Molde further up the coast five days later, with the opportunity to attend the Molde Jazz Festival.

The second departed Molde and visited Nyhamna, Draugen, Kristin, Asgard, Heidrun, Skarv and Norne in the Norwegian Sea, finally arriving at Svolvaer in the Lofoten Islands.

Highlights included close encounters with some of the largest structures ever built, including the Troll A platform, which has an overall height of 472 metres, weighs 1.2 million tons with ballast and has the distinction of being the tallest and heaviest structure ever moved by mankind when, in 1996, it was towed over 200 km from its construction site in north Rogaland to its final position in the Troll field, 80 kilometres north-west of Bergen.



The cruises are operated by a dedicated subsidiary, Edda Adventures, and take place aboard the state of the art flotel Edda Fides, which has a displacement of 20,000 tonnes. The 120 passengers are shown around the vessels advanced technology and take advantage of features normally used by its usual complement of offshore oil workers, including a gym, restaurant and cocktail bar.


The head of Australias largest national resource industry employer group has called upon the government to move forward on fundamental workplace relations reform.



Speaking at the Australian Mines and Metals Association (AMMA) National Conference, the associations chief executive Steve Knott said it was disappointing that, during the election campaign, the government had failed to acknowledge the Productivity Commissions recommendations for workplace reform.



There is a need to look beyond the double dissolution triggers of the Australian Building and Construction Commission (ABCC) and the Registered Organisations Commission, Knott said during the conferences closing address yesterday (4 August).



The governments commitment to combating union lawlessness and corruption is positive, but to assume this should be the last word on workplace reform would do Australian employers, employees and the wider community a profound disservice.



Stopping at the five workplace relations bills foreshadowed by the government should not be acceptable. There are additional, widespread and longstanding problems with our workplace system that need to be addressed.



These five bills include two involving the ABCC as well as others introducing registered organisation reforms, implementing new protections for workers, and protecting volunteers affected by Victorian governments collective deal with the firefighters union.



AMMA is calling on the government to pursue its clearly foreshadowed changes while simultaneously implementing the Productivity Commissions recommendations to improve Australias workplace relations framework.



Talking to HC, Knott highlighted key areas that the government should prioritise.



AMMA would like to see better focusing of enterprise agreements on employment matters most relevant to employers and employees and not on claims relating to how the unions do business, he said.



Another priority must be restoring balance and practicality to the powers of trade unions to enter employer workplaces.


(Reuters) Billionaire investor William Ackman has exited his hedge funds investment in railway company Canadian Pacific CP.TO, freeing up roughly $1.5 billion in cash to make other future investments.

Pershing Square Capital Management and Canadian Pacific Railway Ltd on Wednesday said the New York-based hedge fund had sold its remaining 9.8 million shares in the Canadian railroad, representing a 6.51 percent stake, through trades organized by J.P. Morgan, Credit Suisse and BofA Merrill Lynch.

To read this article:
(HedgeCo.Net) The Securities and Exchange Commission today charged a cardiologist with insider trading on confidential developments as he worked on a clinical drug trial.

The SEC alleges that Dr. Edward Kosinski of Weston, Connecticut, traded in advance of two negative news announcements by Regado Biosciences, which was pursuing a drug called REG-1 to regulate clotting in patients undergoing coronary angioplasty. Kosinski, who served as principal investigator of the drug trial, got advance notice that patient enrollment in the trial was being suspended because patients had experienced severe allergic reactions. He allegedly sold all 40,000 shares of his Regado stock the following day to avoid approximately $160,000 in losses when the news became public and the stock price dropped.

A month later, Kosinski received advance notice that enrollment would be permanently halted because a patient had died, and he profited through options trades by betting the stock price would drop again. Kosinski allegedly made more than $3,000 when he exercised the options after the companys stock fell by 60 percent upon the negative news.

We allege that Dr. Kosinski illegally sold all of his stock in the company to avoid thousands of dollars in losses when the bad news came out, said Joseph Sansone, Co-Chief of the SEC Enforcement Divisions Market Abuse Unit. Not content with avoiding heavy losses, Kosinski allegedly further enriched himself by placing options trades to profit when the companys stock price dropped again on more bad news.

In a parallel case, the U.S. Attorneys Office for the District of Connecticut today announced criminal charges against Kosinski.

The SECs complaint filed in federal court in Connecticut charges Kosinski with violating antifraud provisions of the federal securities laws and related rules.
The result published by the network equipment manufacturer last week is an indication of problems underlying the entire wireless network industry, estimates Bengt Nordstrom, the chief executive of Northstream. Nor is a turn for the better on the horizon, he adds in an interview with Tidningarnas Telegrambyra (TT), a news agency based in Stockholm.

Both analysts and investors have expressed their disappointment with the second-quarter performance of Nokia.

Nokia's poor result is further confirmation of the deep crisis of network suppliers. Additional cost-cutting programmes are to be expected, he says.

Nokia reported on Thursday that its net sales fell by 11 per cent year-on-year to 5,676 million euros and its operating profits by as much as 49 per cent to 332 million euros in the second quarter of the year. The network equipment manufacturer said it will consequently accelerate its streamlining programme and raise its cost-cutting target from 900 million to 1,200 million euros.

Even that, however, will not be enough, estimates Nordstrom.

All network suppliers must reach an entirely new, low level of costs if they intend to survive. I see no signs of future growth in the market. It's very hard to see how you could get a good result in the industry. All of this will translate to more rationalising measures and staff reductions. It's no longer enough to cut costs and hope that growth will re-start soon. Suppliers will have to dig deeper than that, he says.

Rajeev Suri, the chief executive of Nokia, admits that conditions in the market remain challenging.

The decline in our top line remains a concern and reflects challenging market conditions. While we do not expect those conditions to improve in the near term, we believe we are well-positioned given the scope of our portfolio, focus on operational discipline, strengthening sales execution and opportunities in the evolution from 4G towards 5G, he says in the interim report.

Analysts at Inderes regardless estimate that this is a bad time to be holding shares in Nokia.

The share is valued relatively high, while the outlook for market recovery remains weak. Better times to buy will probably come up later, once the outlook for the company's operations brightens, they tweeted on Friday.

Aleksi Teivainen  HT

Photo: Antti Aimo-Koivisto  Lehtikuva

Source: Uusi Suomi
Wind sculpture honors Dr. Volk

Dr. James Volk cuts the ribbon on a wind sculpture that honors his 41 years of service in pediatric medicine.

A sculpture that spins in the wind will now remind youngsters and their parents of a physician who advanced pediatric care in Hendersonville over the past two decades.

Related Stories

A crowd of 45 well-wishers, business leaders and medical colleagues gathered on Monday to dedicate the wind sculpture to Dr. James Volk, who spent 41 years caring for his patients from infancy to adulthood.

Hes done so much, said Dr. Ora Wells, one of 10 pediatricians at Hendersonville Pediatrics, which has offices here and in Brevard. He was always the innovator, he was always pushing the envelope. He started the office in Fletcher. He started the office in Brevard. If it wasnt for him, wed still be just an itty-bitty practice.

A graduate of Valparaiso University and Wake Forest University School of Medicine, Dr. Volk arrived in Hendersonville in 1975, joining Drs. Donald Thomas and Fletcher Raiford at the small practice. Challenging cases and premature babies often had to be treated in Asheville or Greenville, S.C.

Volk pushed to elevate the quality of care for preemies and helped establish a pediatric care intensive care unit at Pardee Hospital. He served as chief of pediatrics at both Pardee and Park Ridge hospitals and helped expand Hendersonville Pediatrics into the largest childrens practice in Western North Carolina.

Saying this feels strange, Mayor Barbara Volk read a proclamation honoring her husband. It was James Volk, MD, Day.

Active in the Four Seasons Rotary Club, Mount Pisgah Lutheran Church and the Boys Scouts of America, Volk has served on a medical missions to Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, Haiti ad Madagascar. Volk retired from practice in March.

The wind sculpture, purchased from Grovewood Gallery in Asheville, is the work of Lyman Whitaker, who works out of Provo, Utah. His kinetic art can he found all over the world.
City Council OKs Fairfield Inn at Upward interchange

Map shows location of Fairfield Inn & Suites on Upward Road.

The Hendersonville City Council on Thursday unanimously approved building plans for a new Fairfield Inn & Suites on Upward Road but not before an area landowner denounced the citys annexation requirement as anti-growth.

Related Stories



The council approved the annexation and rezoning of the land on Upward Road at Education Drive and south of the Hendersonville campus of Biltmore Baptist Church. The council also OKd two zoning code variances that the applicant said was needed to keep costs down and make the project doable.

Bob Quattlebaum, who sold the property to hotel developer Satis Patel in 2015 for $800,000, told the council that Henderson County officials approached him and another property owner, Dan Waddell, in 1994 and asked the landowners to put up $20,000 each and grant a land easement along their property for the Upward Road sewer line.

Patel and building contractor Chris Cormier, owner of Carolina Specialties, completed a zoning and building permit process through the county.

All fees were paid, requirements met, construction was about to begin, Quattlebaum said. Then the city got involved and things started to fall apart.

Although the North Carolina Legislature has virtually outlawed involuntary annexation, cities may still require voluntary annexation when a property owner seeks city services like water and sewer. Quattlebaum, who owns other property in the Upward Road, depicts that as hardly voluntary, since failing to be annexed would block a development permit.

Quattlebaum suggested that the closing of the BiLo grocery store at the Hendersonville Crossing shopping center and the pending auction of the East Ridge shopping center were symptoms of a failing city. He criticized an editorial in the Hendersonville Lightning that supported the annexation requirement, saying the editorialist failed to research property tax inequities and burdensome requirements the city imposes on commercial landowners.

The Hendersonville Lightning reported last month that council members became aware of the Fairfield Inn dispute and helped to guide the applicant and city to a compromise on the development requirements.

On Thursday night, when Mayor Barbara Volk asked if council members had any advance communication about the development request, three members said they had.

Mayor pro tem Steve Caraker said that he helped shepherd the applicant through the process once he became aware of the conflict.

I ran into Chris at lunch and listened to his feelings on it, said Councilman Jeff Miller.

Councilman Ron Stephens said: Chris came to my office and we met and talked about it early on."

After Quattlebaums excoriation of the city as anti-development, the council approved the annexation, rezoning, special-use permit and land-use code variances the developer says is needed to proceed.
LEBANON  Charges against a mid-valley man are pending following a chase early Friday morning that ended when a police dog routed him out of his hiding place.

Lebanon police gave this account:

Officer Eric Stein stopped a 2001 Dodge Ram pickup at 1:31 a.m. in the parking lot of the Knot Hole Market in Lebanon. Stein reported he had seen the truck and its two occupants traveling slowly in an industrial area where no businesses were open.

The vehicle made a "moving violation," which police did not specify, and Stein pulled the driver over. Backup officer Sgt. John Trahan recognized him as Randy Edward Drake, 51, and ran his name, finding Drake's license was suspended and he had two warrants for his arrest.

The driver fled in the truck and officers pursued him south on Santiam Highway, then on back roads around Mountain Home Drive and Northern Drive. Deputies from the Linn County Sheriff's Office joined the pursuit. Speeds on the the highway topped 100 during the chase.

Spike strips were put out on Mountain Home Drive near Northern Drive, Brownsville, but the driver continued, going through a closed gate and then through two fences off the road near the 37000 block of Northern Drive.

With a deputy and K9 unit helping, the officers tracked the driver's path and located the truck stuck in a creek bed. The driver, hiding in the bushes, refused to come out or show his hands.

Police reported the K9 was sent in "on bite" until the man could be detained. His passenger also was located hiding in the bushes and complied with officers' commands.

Drake was taken to Samaritan Lebanon Community Hospital to receive treatment, then transported to the Linn County Jail on his outstanding warrants. Charges related to the pursuit are pending.

The passenger was interviewed and released at the scene. Police said the Linn County District Attorney's Office will review the case for possible charges against the passenger.
Gardai at the scene of the shooting on the Greenhills Road. Photo: Steve Humphreys

The latest shooting victim in the capital had a "miracle escape" after he was targeted in a case of mistaken identity.

Sources said last night that John O'Connor (41) survived because of the way he was standing when the gunman struck.

Mr O' Connor, who was in the Cullen's Car Spares premises on business, was injured in the attack with the gunman then fleeing on foot into a waiting getaway car.

The victim - who was not the intended target of the attack - was approached from behind by the gunman but turned slightly, meaning he was hit with shotgun pellets in the chest.

Mr O'Connor, from Westbourne Avenue in Clondalkin, was in a serious but stable condition in Tallaght Hospital, and a source said he is "extremely lucky to be alive".

The incident occurred at 11.35am yesterday at the car parts yard on Greenhills Road, Walkinstown.

Incident

A man armed with a shotgun made his way on foot into the scrapyard and discharged a number of shots.

He then escaped into the waiting car, which was later located a short distance from the scene on Corrig Close.

It is understood that gardai have recovered excellent CCTV footage of the incident, and are appealing for information on two suspects - the driver of the car and a tall man wearing a grey tracksuit.

It is understood that Mr O'Connor is involved in the car dismantling and scrap trades.

Cullen's Car Spares is one of three different car parts businesses located in the same area of the Greenhills Road and the owners of the three businesses are related to each other.

Gardai sealed off the scene in the aftermath of the gun attack yesterday. Large numbers of partly dismantled cars were stacked in the yards. The area where the shooting took place had a bright blue security fence, a CCTV camera at the entrance and a sign which stated "all customers please report to office".

Resident

A local worker said he had no idea anything was wrong until he saw the garda helicopter hovering overhead, and a resident living nearby said she had no idea what happened until she saw an ambulance parked beside the road.

"It had been raining very heavily and I was minding a three-year-old girl. I didn't hear anything," she said.

"I've lived here for over 30 years and nothing like this has happened before. The guards came and told me a chap was after being shot. They asked me if I saw anything, but I didn't. Thank God no one was killed."

Another man working nearby said: "The ambulance crew worked on the man who was shot for about 20 minutes before they took him to hospital, but we heard he wasn't seriously wounded."
Irish Autism Action CEO Brian Murnane has been forced to admit the charity has received over 600,000 from the Government - despite claiming it receives "no state funding".

Mr Murnane caused a storm this week when he admitted there was no written budget for 2016.

He claimed budgeting was a "hazardous occupation" for a charity because "you're at the mercy of fundraised income".

A Herald investigation found how the IAA received grants from various government departments, including at least 678,066 from the Department of the Environment between 2008 and 2014.

When contacted, Mr Murnane at first claimed "we receive no state funding," apart from a contribution from the HSE for staff - which he said was "insufficient" to cover the cost.

He also said the charity "received a fixed-term, once-off grant from Pobal", the Irish language body, but added this was not a "perpetual" grant.

However, when put to him the Irish Autism Action (IAA) had received other substantial state grants, he conceded "the information is correct on the grants" having "double checked" the figures.

Scheme

The Department of the Environment said grants were made under the Scheme to Support National Organisations for seven years, but that IAA did not apply for a new round of funding in July 2014. It is unclear why it did not apply.

Annual accounts for the charity for 2012, showed 6pc of its funding listed under "government grant", while 4pc was under the heading "contract work for HSE".

That year, its total income was just over 1.7m. During the year, the IAA received a grant of 90,000 from the Department of Community Affairs.

"This money was provided under a grant scheme to support national organisations," the accounts said.

The charity conducted assessment and diagnosis of 178 children in 2012, under contract from some HSE regions, according to the report.

The following year, the IAA's accounts said it received 77,083 under a Department of Environment grant scheme.

The same accounts broke down the charity's 1.4m income for 2013, including 6pc listed under "government grant" and 5pc under "HSE contracts".

The last accounts filed with the Company Records Office for the IAA were for the year 2014.

Those accounts don't list a government grant, though the Department of Environment confirmed it was granted 37,303 that year. The charity's income was 969,320, including 5pc from 'HSE contracts'.

The HSE did not respond to questions about its funding of the IAA yesterday.
Paedophile Eamon Cooke has not been ruled out as a suspect in the disappearance of Philip Cairns despite his DNA not being found on the teenager's schoolbag.

DNA samples were analysed by Forensic Science Ireland but no match was found to Cooke, who died in a hospice in June while serving a 10-year sentence for sex abuse offences against young girls.

Philip was only 13 when he disappeared as he returned to school after having lunch in his family home in Rathfarnham on October 23, 1986.

The only trace of him was his schoolbag, which was found in a nearby laneway a week later.

Gardai have been investigating whether one or more young girls may have been forced by Cooke to leave the bag there after he had buried Philip's remains elsewhere.

Cooke, a pirate radio DJ who was found guilty of 42 counts of sexual abuse in 2007, was nicknamed the 'Cookie Monster'.

He became linked to the Philip Cairns case when a woman told gardai that she saw Cooke kill the schoolboy at his radio studio in Inchicore.

She said she was at the studio and saw Cooke hit him with an implement.

When she went into the room, she saw Philip bleeding and unconscious. She then passed out.

The woman told this to gardai in Terenure in May. Her detail of events is still being treated as credible.

"Cooke is still being investigated in relation to this case, but there has been no-thing yet to link him with it," a source said.

Gardai are still examining several items that were owned by Cooke, including diaries, documents, letters and tapes.

Detectives interviewed Cooke twice in the weeks before he died, and he admitted knowing the missing schoolboy but did not confess to murdering him.

In an interview with the Herald in June, Philip's mother, Alice, said she did not think her son knew Cooke.

Hoping

"He never mentioned him, and as far as I know he didn't know him," she said.

"I never saw him before and never heard Philip talk about him.

"Philip was only sort of getting into music, but he wouldn't have been that involved that he would be going to radio stations.

"He'd hardly ever been into the local record shop. He was just starting secondary school and left here to go back to school.

"You're always hoping there will be something, a new lead, but when it happens you have more questions."

Cooke owned several plots of land in remote parts of the Dublin-Wicklow mountains and in rural Ireland.

It was previously revealed that gardai are to examine five properties in counties Dublin and Sligo in a bid to find Philip's remains.

It is understood that digs at these sites have not yet taken place.
The court heard there was no bus service to his home from Beaumont and he did not have the money for a taxi. Photo: Stock photo

A hospital patient had to be arrested when he refused to go home because he did not think he was ready to be discharged, a court heard.

Leonard Daly (41) felt he needed psychiatric help, had no taxi fare to get home and was "terrified" to make his own way.

He was fined 200 when he admitted a public order offence at Dublin District Court.

Daly, with an address at Hampton Street, Balbriggan, pleaded guilty to failing to comply with the directions of a garda at Beaumont Hospital.

The court heard that gardai went to Beaumont at 12.45am on May 16 this year. The defendant had been discharged from the hospital and failed to leave the building.

He wanted to re-admit himself and was asked to leave several times while gardai were there. He was not aggressive or violent, but "just wouldn't go".

"He wanted to be admitted to hospital because he needed some psychiatric help," his lawyer said.

A garda told the court that Daly had been seen by the psychiatric staff having been given a referral letter.

"He needed help on the night in question and was terrified to make his own way home," his lawyer said.

The court heard there was no bus service to his home from Beaumont and he did not have the money for a taxi.

He couldn't make the journey home and his solicitor asked the judge to be as lenient as possible.
Firefighters battle the blaze at the derelict building, just yards from a petrol station.

Portmarnock residents are in shock after a derelict building went up in flames just yards from a petrol station.

Gardai are investigating the fire on the Strand Road, Portmarnock - which some locals fear was started maliciously by a gang of youths.

The blaze was spotted shortly before midnight on Saturday last week and firefighters are understood to have fought the fire throughout the night.

It is believed the initial fire in the building spread to some large trees nearby.

reduce

Treasurer of the Portmarnock Residents Association, David Kelly, filmed the inferno and said that nearby residents were lucky that Dublin Fire Brigade (DFB) got the blaze under control before it spread to the petrol station.

"There was a big crowd there on Saturday night and a lot of people were worried - they didn't expect a fire like this so close to a petrol station," Mr Kelly said.

"The other side of that wall [where the fire was] is where they store the gas canisters. The cylinders could have gone up, they were in a cage.

"Any petrol station that I've seen go up there is [always] a serious fire anyway - the owner was looking out, I'm sure he was very worried.

"Like any fire, people are shocked and for all the residents at the back, they were probably the most worried.

"Somebody said the flames were up to 30-feet high," he added.

Independent Councillor Jimmy Guerin, who used to live in the area, said he believed the estate at the back of the building is at a serious risk from fires.

"The estate behind has had to put up with a lot of potential danger... I'd say it's a bigger danger now than it ever was," he said.

Mr Guerin referred to the recent fire at Belcamp House in Darndale and said he is worried that fires at vacant buildings are becoming an unwanted trend.

"It's recurring, and it would be a cause of concern if derelict buildings are being attacked," he said.

"That would seem to be more than a coincidence that two of them have been attacked."

An application has been made by a developer to build four houses at the location, which is known as St Helen's.

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The plans include building two detached three-bedroom homes and two detached four-bedroom units on the site, with an application made in November 2015.

Fingal County Council is awaiting a further response from the developer after it requested the application be amended in order to reduce the overall height of the proposed dwellings.
Jefferson City Council members expressed their frustration with Senate Bill 1573 during a special meeting on Thursday night, saying that it superseded the city charter and eliminated the ability of voters to determine annexations.

I do believe voters should have a choice, said Councilor Judi Day.

Its a slap in the face to home rule, said Councilor David Jones.

But councilors also said they were bound by oath to follow the new state law, whether or not they agreed with it.

The City Council voted unanimously to annex nearly 15 acres to the south end of town, which brings the possibility of 60 new houses.

Several opponents of the annexation request held up signs that said Honor Your Oath! They hoped councilors would follow the city charter over the new state law. Some attendees ripped up those signs after the vote.

The annexation takes effect in 30 days, though there is a 21-day period to appeal the decision to the Oregon Land Use Board of Appeals.

The 14.76-acre property is owned by the Hamby family.

We need some growth here, said Nancy Hamby, who added that she didnt see voters approving any annexation or ballot measure in the near future.

The Hamby property had been the subject of an annexation request in 2010 that voters shot down.

Joan Hamby, Nancy Hambys mother, said that opponents of the annexation all lived on land developed by her family.

The annexation property was viewed as land for future residential development when the citys comprehensive plan was created in 1979.

Proponents of the annexation have said that it will bring more homes to Jefferson, which in turn would increase the tax base and draw more businesses to the city.

City staff and the planning commission recommended the annexation, saying that it met the applicable criteria.

Opponents said the new houses would put stress on utilities, public safety and local schools, but officials have said this isnt the case.

Jefferson has a population of 3,165, and if 60 houses are built, that could boost the towns population by about 150 people, based on average household size data from the U.S. Census.

Senate Bill 1573, passed by the Legislature this year, allows cities to annex land without a public vote, provided certain conditions are met. The bill affected 35 cities in Oregon, including Jefferson, whose charters require public votes on annexations.

After the meeting, Nathan Hightower of Jeffersonians for Jefferson, a local group against the annexation, told councilors that the city could have actively fought Senate Bill 1573 like Corvallis and Philomath.

Last week, the Philomath City Council voted unanimously to let voters determine a 159-acre annexation request. The city of Corvallis has filed a lawsuit against Senate Bill 1573, saying that the legislation goes against the states constitution.

My right to vote has been stripped from me today, Hightower said.

If Senate Bill 1573 falls flat on its face, what is everybody in this room going to say then? he added.

Hightower wasnt sure whether Jeffersonians for Jefferson would appeal the annexation decision by the council.

The question is whether we want to recall some of those people, he said.
Junior Minister John Halligan's proposal to regulate the sex industry would not benefit women, campaigners have said.

Ruhama, a Dublin-based body which works with women affected by prostitution, has criticised the Minister's approach.

CEO Sarah Benson told the Herald that there is "no evidence" to back up the Minister's claim that legalised brothels would create a safer environment for women.

In an interview with Hot Press magazine, Mr Halligan said that regulating the industry would "take it away from pimps that run prostitution rings".

He suggested that well-run brothels known to gardai, monitored by cameras and where men and women could get health checks would be a positive move.

The Waterford TD said that opening up the industry would help "lonely" men and the disabled, explaining: "I'm a healthy man and I have a good sex life, but would there not be lonely men out there?

"Would there not be men who have a disfigurement or who are disabled? What do they do? So they're told 'no'. So, there's an opportunity for them maybe to pay for it and we're saying 'no'. That's cruel.

"For men or women, that's cruel. So I think, absolutely, it should be regulated," Mr Halligan said.

Privilege

However, Ms Benson said that international research contradicts the Minister "however well-meaning or well-intentioned" he might be.

She said his comments appear to be more about the protection of male privilege to buy sex than the protection of those in prostitution.

Ms Benson argued that the sex trade is inextricably linked to exploitation and organised crime. She pointed to a study in the Netherlands where the ban on brothels was lifted in October 2000.

The research found that there has been no significant improvement in the situation of persons in prostitution and that prostitutes' emotional well-being is now lower than in 2001 on all measured aspects.

Ms Benson said the sex trade "is one that does not constitute normal work" and that, while people selling sex should not be criminalised, but those buying it should be.

In the same interview, Mr Halligan described himself as an atheist who lost his virginity at 15 and dropped out of school at 16.

He also said that he doesn't believe a God could exist because nobody could create a world of raging war, murders and rapes.
This is the young woman accused of going on a 25,000 spending spree after a sum of money was mistakenly lodged in to her bank account.

Margaret McDonnell (25) is alleged to have spent the money on jewellery, shoes and clothing as well as groceries and bed linen.

She is facing more than 40 charges of theft, relating to stealing in excess of 25,000 in cash belonging to Bank of Ireland.

McDonnell is facing trial by judge and jury in the circuit court after the DPP ruled that matters were too serious for the district court.

Judge David McHugh adjourned the case for seven weeks to a date in September for the service of the book of evidence.

The accused appeared before Blanchardstown District Court charged with more than 40 counts of theft.

The thefts are all alleged to have taken place over a two-week period in March 2013.

The injured party in all the alleged thefts is Bank of Ireland.

Jewellery

It is alleged that McDonnell spent more than 9,000 on jewellery and gifts in Tierney & Co Gift Shop.

She is also alleged to have spent money on goods in New Look, Dunnes Stores, Tesco, Heatons, The Nike Store, Shoe Rack and the Bedlinen Warehouse.

McDonnell is further accused of withdrawing large sums of cash during the same two-week period in March 2013, ranging from 100 at AIB in Santry to 5,000 at Bank of Ireland in Finglas.

The money was allegedly withdrawn by McDonnell from a number of ATMs across west Dublin.

McDonnell was due to be served with the book of evidence when she appeared on bail before Blanchardstown court, however the court heard the book was not yet ready.

The defence said there was consent to a date in September for the book of evidence.

The court previously heard that McDonnell, with an address at Rathvilly Park in Finglas, is a lone parent with two children.

She has not yet indicated how she is pleading to the charges.
Attacker who assaulted Nancy Pelosi's husband with hammer was targeting House speaker

House Speaker Nancy Pelosis husband was violently assaulted after an attacker broke into their San Francisco home, her office said in a statement.
The Florida Democratic Party has been pretty moribund in recent years, confining itself in a few small urban ghettos and leaving progressive ideas and values without champions in vast swathes of the state. Southwest Florida is pretty much all red now thanks to Florida Democratic Party neglect and negligence. Monroe county still votes Democratic nationally but most of it is comprised of water and most of the population (99%) lives in the Keys and isn't technically part of southwest Florida. The mainland part of the county that is part of southwest Florida is part of Everglades National Park and has virtually no inhabitants. Just above it is Collier County where registration figures now show Republicans with 50.3%, independents with 23.7% and Democrats in third place with 23.4%. Obama only took 35% of the vote there. Up the coast is Lee County, Charlotte County and Sarasota County, all red bastions. All 5 county commissioners for Charlotte are Republicans. The GOP also dominates Sarasota County; the last time the county went blue in a presidential race was for FDR! Lee County is the population center with Cape Coral and Fort Meyers as the biggest cities. In 2012 Obama only won 41% of the vote. Voter registration numbers in Lee County's 79th House District are approximately 34,000 Republicans, 30,000 Democrats and 27,000 Independents.





Blue America has a candidate running for the 79th state House district, entirely in Lee County, John Scott, and he offers the Democratic Party it's best shot of picking up a red seat in southwest Florida. The district includes Alva, Buckingham, Charleston Park, Fort Myers Shores, Lehigh Acres, Lochmoor Waterway Estates, North Fort Myers, Olga and Palmona Park. 23% of the residents are Latino, and in a year where registration has soared and turnout is expected to be high because of Trumpophobia, this could make the difference. It also doesnt hurt that John Scott is part Cuban.





There are approximately 7,000 Union households (active and retired) and the Florida AFL-CIO is enthusiastically backing Scott, whose family has a long union legacy and he is an outspoken supporter of unions and workers rights. The district was recently re-drawn (slightly more favorable toward Democrats) but has only been around since 2010, the first time the six year incumbent Republican Matt Caldwell won the seat against ConservaDem Cole Peacock. Caldwell has yet to be truly challenged, only having Republican primary opponents in 2012 and 2014, the most recent being Tea Party Candidate Matt Miller, who decided to run this time as an NPA after losing to Caldwell 60-40 in 2014. John Scott is a candidate with whom the predominantly middle and working class people of the district can really identify, especially with the two Republicans splitting the vote.





The most pressing issue is the environment-- and water quality is front and center in this election season. Even local Republicans, who rarely even mention environmental issues, are running clean water TV ads and talking tough on water. Its a metric that cant be measured but is having a huge impact on many races in the area. You may have seen the national coverage of the South Florida coastal algal blooms that shut down beaches during the 4th of July weekend. Yes, Gov. Rick Scott and incumbent GOP Rep. Matt Caldwell had a major hand in creating the dirty-water policies (along with corrupt Sugar Industry-owned Democrats like Debbie Wasserman Schultz and Patrick Murphy). Caldwell is the local "bag man" for Big Sugar in Lee County and has a horrible track record on environmental issues. An ideological, so-called "constitutional conservative," here is a sampling of Caldwells track record:

 Voted to roll back responsible growth management laws, allowing developers and polluters to do more of what they want without regard for environmental impact

 Voted yes on pro-fracking legislation (HB191) in 2016 to legitimize and regulate fracking (we all know how that works in other states with corrupt administrations and/or agencies) while taking away the ability of local government to enact their own local fracking ban ordinances and protect its citizens.

 In 2014, a resounding 75% of Florida voters approved Amendment 1, a Constitutional amendment which re-allocated a portion of doc stamp taxes (approx. $800 million per year for 20 years) to be used for environmental projects, most notably for purchasing lands south of Lake Okeechobee to begin real Everglades restoration. Caldwell has voted to misuse those funds for other purposes such as vehicles, insurance and balancing the budget, which should be done from general revenue, in both legislative sessions since Amendment 1 passed.

 Authored the 2016 water bill, which passed the Florida legislature and was signed into law by Gov. Rick Scott, and rolls back polluter controls, removes certain reporting deadlines and makes pollution less enforceable. In other words, it puts polluters on an honor system. What could go wrong?

 Caldwell took an all-expenses paid (by Big Sugar) trip to King Ranch with Governor Scott and other dirty GOP state legislators, where they held secret closed door meetings, likely deciding which of the chosen legislators would take what career path while crafting ALEC-style legislation to further help their campaign donors.

Needless to say, Caldwell hasnt found a special interest polluter he doesnt like: Big Sugar, Big Ag, Big Oil, Big Tobacco, Big Pharma and Big Utilities all funnel hundreds of thousands of dollars into his campaign account and PACs. He is probably the best Return On Investment in the State Legislature and passionately does the bidding of those corporations at the expense of everything and everyone else in Florida.





John Scott, a progressive Democrat, and native, lifelong Floridian wants to represent the people of District 79 and all of Florida as a public servant. To be clear, John Scott is NOT related to Rick Scott in any way. We asked him to write a guest post on why the explosive water problems have become so pivotal in south Florida now. Please give it a read and consider contributing to his campaign by tapping on the Blue America state legislative races thermometer on the right.





Water Is The Reason For A Progressive, Democratic Pulse In Lee County

-by John W. Scott





I was born in Hialeah and I've been a Lee County resident since 1979. Ive had a successful career in the Information Technology field for the past 23 years. My wife Ruth and I live in North Fort Myers with our two rescue dogs and were proud to call Southwest Florida our home.





My parents are both longtime educators in the Lee County Public School system and I am a product of public schools and college. My great-grandfather, grandfather and father worked as IBEW Local 349 union electricians. My father served in the U.S. Air Force in Vietnam.





Having grown up here, Im a passionate advocate for Floridas amazing and unique environment. Ive served as group Chair of the Sierra Club Calusa Group, currently serve on the board of Caloosahatchee River Watch and co-founded a small advocacy group called Clean Water Initiative of Florida. Ive worked tirelessly as a citizen advocating on a wide range of environmental issues:

 Ive been working for years against the Big Sugar political machine to facilitate the purchase of land south of Lake Okeechobee to begin moving clean, treated fresh water south (as it originally was) instead of sending polluted freshwater discharges east and west, killing the estuaries and eco-systems on both coasts. While Big Sugar may not be the only polluter of our environment, they are the worst polluter of our political system.



 Worked together with other organizations and groups to enact local fracking ban ordinances in the City Of Bonita Springs and Villages of Estero. Directly responsible for a local fracking ban ordinance in the City Of Cape Coral. As a newly elected State House Representative I will introduce legislation calling for a statewide fracking ban.



 Mark Ruffalo endorsed me at a screening of "Dear President Obama" in Sarasota, FL because he appreciated my work as a fracktivist and my willingness to run for office and create the type of change we all seek.

Our rivers, lakes, beaches, oceans and other various waterways, as well as national treasures like the Everglades, are what brings millions of people here each year to visit and some of them stay permanently. During Matt Caldwells time in the Florida State House, weve seen a steady decline in the condition of our environment and water quality.





The health of our environment is inextricably linked to the health of our economy. Floridas biggest industry, our 70+ billion per year tourism industry, affects jobs, property values, fishing, and other facets of our economy. One of the few things we must do to ensure it continues to thrive is conserve and protect Floridas environment and natural resources. Rick Scott and Matt Caldwell have overseen some of the worst environmental policies our state has ever seen.





I am inspired and encouraged by this years grassroots uprising but now I need YOUR grassroots support, even if you cannot vote for me. A win in this David vs. Goliath race would send shock waves through the Florida legislature and send a message to Big Sugar that theyre wasting their money running full page ads in newspapers across the state assuring everyone that "family farmers" (read: agribusiness) are "under attack" and that Lake Okeechobee and surrounding water quality is the best its ever been. Nobody around here is buying their propaganda and neither should you. If you care about the Everglades or anything else that makes Florida"paradise," and/or youre tired of corporations and dark money being the only voice that matters, this race should be important to you.





I can win this race because Matt Caldwell is not only vulnerable on the environment but many other issues as well. This race is a microcosm of our national politics and what weve seen so far in 2016 with Citizens United money versus the will of the people. The people can and will win. Bernie Sanders created an amazing grassroots movement and others, like my friend Tim Canova (who has endorsed me), have successfully followed.





I need your vote and/or support to restore the Peoples Voice in Tallahassee after November 8th. Click here to donate to my people powered campaign through Blue America!




Export value surged by 107 percent in the first half of this year.

The Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (Vasep) said that the country fetched $225 million from tuna exports over the first six months of this year, decreasing by a mere 0.01 percent against the same period last year, mainly thanks to China.

Export value to China saw a massive jump of 107 percent on-year to hit $12.2 million.

The growth rate reached 253 percent in the first three months, making China overtake Japan to become Vietnams third largest tuna market.

According to Vasep, Chinese companies have increased tuna imports from Vietnam to ensure raw materials for their manufacturing plants. Exports to the two largest markets, the U.S. and the E.U. showed signs of a slowdown, forcing Vietnamese companies to look to potential new markets like China.

Although contributing 41 percent of the total export value, equal to $93 million, U.S. expenditure on Vietnamese tuna products fell by 0.2 percent on-year.

Exports to the E.U. fell even further by 10.5 percent to $52 million.

Vasep predicts in the third quarter of this year, Vietnams tuna exports will generate about $123 million, up five percent on-year. This should equate to an export value of $455 million in 2016, the same figure as last year.

Related news:

> Tax arrears could drown Vietnamese shrimp firms

> Drought and fish deaths drown Vietnams seafood exports

> U.S. detects banned substances in Vietnamese seafood exports
The only problem is that conflicting ideas of what constitutes an SME may lead to confusion.

The Ministry of Finance has sent a proposal to the National Assembly presenting a number of tax solutions to boost small and medium enterprises (SMEs).

One of the solutions is to cut corporate income tax from 20 percent to 17 percent. If approved, the proposal will be valid from 2017-2020.

The ministry said that the adjustment will encourage SMEs to grow and use the extra capital for further investment to improve their competitiveness.

The ministry cited examples from other Asian countries like South Korea, Thailand and Singapore, which have made SMEs their top priorities in economic policies.

The ministry added that cutting corporate income tax would not have a major impact on state budget revenue as SMEs only make a small contribution to government coffers.

However, the definition of what constitutes an SME remains unclear.

The Saigon Times quoted a new draft by the Ministry of Planning and Investment as saying that companies recording annual revenue lower than VND100 billion ($4.5 million) will be regarded as SMEs.

Based on this, 95.2 percent of Vietnamese enterprises are SMEs, contributing about VND8.7 trillion ($391 million) to the state budget each year. Should the 17 percent tax duty be approved, the country would lose VND5.2 trillion over four years.

However, the Ministry of Investment's news portal views SMEs as companies whose annual revenue dont exceed VND20 billion. Under this definition, about 86.2 percent of the local companies are SMEs, paying some 2.7 trillion in corporate tax each year. This would leave a hole in the state budget of around 1.6 trillion over the four-year period.

In addition to measures aimed at SMEs, the Ministry of Finance also suggested a plan to reduce income tax for start-ups, making them exempt for four years and levying a rate of 10 percent for the next 15 years.

Related news:

> Tax incentives cause Vietnams public services to suffer: ActionAid
What's the secret to Small Favors' sell-out pizza?

Bottle Shop Mondays include options for wine carryout curated by owner Nick Detrich and his staff. However, the real star is the pizza pie.
It would be rash to blame the leak for mass fish deaths, authorities say.

A leak at an alumina plant in the Central Highlands province of Dak Nong Province is under total control, Ngo Xuan Loc, chairman of the provincial Peoples Committee, said at a press conference on Thursday.

Local people who waded into Dak Cao Stream to remove dead fish and experienced itchiness and a burning sensation on their skin are recovering well, Loc said.

At least 13 people reportedly came out in rashes after wading in the stream close to the alumina plant.

The provincial official, however, said it would be rash to assume that the mass fish deaths in Dak Cao Stream and the allergic reactions some locals experienced are attributable to the sodium hydroxide leak.

Authorities will wait for test results of samples taken from the stream and the dead fish before making any official conclusion, said Loc.

Initial tests seem to confirm that the water in Dak Cao is normal. Provincial environmental officials said that high levels of iron and chromium in the stream that are beyond the permissible limits are due to natural factors.

They said that deposits of bauxite in the area along with the steep terrain and heavy rainfall were to blame.

A local man's skin turned red, sore and swollen after he waded into Dak Cao Stream. Photo by Thien Nhan.

The incident occurred on July 23 when a pipeline transporting the corrosive chemical sodium hydroxide to the production area at the Nhan Co alumina plant suddenly burst.

Some 9.6 cubic meters of sodium hydroxide leaked out, posing serious environmental threats to nearby residents.

The leaked chemical has reportedly penetrated an area of 600 square meters, and some of it has been flowing into a stream, state media reported.

The management board described the incident in a report as "unprecedented" and "uncontrollable".

On July 23 and 24, local people reported that the stream had turned abnormally opaque and a large number of fish were dead.

Local people have blamed the chemical leak from the Nhan Co alumina plant for poisoning Dak Cao Stream. Photo by Thien Nhan.

Local authorities said they are taking the incident seriously and have stepped up efforts to keep the leak under control and prevent a similar spill from occurring in the future.

The pumping system for the sodium hydroxide had been on trial for about a month before the chemical leak was detected. The amount of the chemical used in the trial phase was low so the impact of the leak is limited, according to the local authorities.

When the plant comes into full operation, it will use hundreds of times more sodium hydroxide, which is used at high temperatures to wash aluminum ore, so it would be much more difficult to control a leak in the future, said provincial officials.

Nhan Co alumina plant, with an estimated capacity of 600,000 tons of alumina a year, has been under construction since 2010. It is part of a bauxite and aluminum complex 300 kilometers northeast of Ho Chi Minh City.
In last months FYI column, we talked about the importance of community-to-community relationships, which are especially critical in a time of increased conflict. Those relationships are built on person-to-person mutual respect and understanding. At this time of so much global and local anguish and anxiety, it is easy to feel that we, as individuals, cannot do anything, that we are powerless to make positive changes in the face of the upsurge of anger, violence and mistrust that has impacted us all. But we can do something. We are not powerless. The change starts with a very simple proposition: to reach out to someone you dont have much in common with, and ask them how they are feeling. Listen to what is important to them, and why it is important. Do not argue. Do not contradict. Just listen.

Its been well-documented that most people get their news and information from sources that align with their values, and that we are most comfortable talking to others who share our beliefs. If you are conservative or progressive or somewhere in between, when was the last time you actually sat down with someone with an opposing political view and really tried to process why that persons values matter so much to them? As a Jew, when was the last time you reached out to someone non-Jewish and asked to learn about what makes a Christian, a Muslim, a Buddhist live their faith in a certain way? If you are a native-born American, when was the last time you asked an immigrant how that experience colors their views? And if you are Caucasian, when was the last time you looked into the eyes of a person of color, and listened as they explained how the world feels to them these days? You do not need to agree or to change your own mind. But to listen, to really listen, is to begin to understand.

There are many opportunities in Central Florida to begin these individual listening tours. Valencia Colleges Peace and Justice Initiative hosts Community Conversations on Race as well as Orlando Speaks, a collaboration between the City of Orlando and the Orlando Police Department. The Interfaith Council of Central Floridas newsletter offers multiple options to engage with those from other faiths; in fact, the Interfaith Council partnered with the Holocaust Memorial Resource & Education Center to host The Faith, Peace and Justice Summer Series on this very topic this summer. JCRC itself is co-hosting an event with the Diocese of Orlando and the Interfaith Council in November looking at how the changes in the relationship between the Catholic Church and the Jewish people may serve as a guide for how other faiths can overcome fraught relationship histories. But you need not attend a formal event or facilitated series to be part of the solution. All you need to do is look beyond your comfort zone, have the courage to have your assumptions challenged, keep an open mind and listen.

We look forward to seeing you here in this space again next month. In the meantime, should you have any questions, please contact JCRCs staff director, Marli Porth, at mporth@jfgo.org.
Young people surfing the Internet at a cafe in Vietnam. Photo by Reuters

The capital looks to follow in the footsteps of Ho Chi Minh City and Da Nang.

Hanoi is all set to install free public wi-fi hot spots in many outdoor spaces and street corners city-wide in a bid to build a smart city transport system, the city's mayor has said.

The city expects the free wi-fi internet access will make it easier for people in Hanoi to navigate around the heavily congested city, Nguyen Duc Chung, the chairman of the Hanoi's People's Committee, said at a meeting on Thursday.

Netizens, however, have expressed skepticism, saying they doubt its feasibility.

It will be like in Ho Chi Minh City," a VnExpress reader wrote. "Wi-fi is available, but it takes a whole day to load just one page of a newspaper.

Hanoi first mooted the idea in 2010, when the city celebrated its 1000th birthday. Back then authorities were considering installing free wi-fi hot spots around Hoan Kiem Lake at the heart of the city, but the proposal was rejected.

In the latest attempt, the citys largest bus operator Transerco has announced it will install 200 free wi-fi transmitters on its buses.

The countrys southern business hub Ho Chi Minh City said last month that it was about to launch a free wi-fi network as it takes a step closer towards a municipal e-government system.

Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City are not the only cities to provide free wi-fi coverage. Tourism hubs including Hoi An, Hue and Da Nang in the central region and Hai Phong and Ha Long in the north have been wireless since 2012.

Nearly 49 million people, more than half of Vietnam's population of 90 million, are online as of June 30, 2016, according to statistics compiled by Internet World Stats.

Related news:

> Get connected with free Wi-Fi on Hanoi bus routes

> Saigon gets connected with free wi-fi across the city
On July 11, the History Channel reaffirmed its commitment to accuracy and truth by revising its Albert Einstein: Fact or Fiction? webpage to replace erroneous wording tending to negatively portray Israel: Though he (Albert Einstein) was very sympathetic to Israel, he was never an ardent Zionisthe believed in friendly and fruitful cooperation between Jews and Arabs.

There were two problems here: the erroneous characterization of Einsteins attitude toward Zionism, and the erroneous implication that Zionism and Israel from the outset did not believe in cooperation between Arabs and Jews.

The History Channels revised wording reads, Einstein was, however, very sympathetic to Israel. In 1947 he expressed his belief in Zionism as well as the importance of friendly and fruitful cooperation between Jews and Arabs. The case for revision was made by the Committee for Accuracy in Middle East Reporting in America (CAMERA) in correspondence with Kimberly Gilmore, the networks historian and director of corporate outreach.

The revised paragraph reads:

Did Einstein really almost become the president of Israel? Yes. In 1952, Israels first president, Chaim Weizmann, asked his friend Albert Einstein (the greatest Jew alive, Weizmann said) if he would be willing to lead the young nation. Though the Israelis assured him that complete facility and freedom to pursue your great scientific work would be afforded by a government and people who are fully conscious of the supreme significance of your labors, Einstein turned down the offer. Einstein was, however, very sympathetic to Israel. In 1947 he expressed his belief in Zionism as well as the importance of friendly and fruitful cooperation between Jews and Arabs. Despite his dedication to political issues, Einstein worried that he lacked the interpersonal skills to be a world leader. Still, Einstein added, my relationship to the Jewish people has become my strongest human bond, ever since I became fully aware of our precarious situation among the nations of the world, and he was deeply moved by Weizmanns offer.

Citing authoritative sources, CAMERA had made the case (stated in the next three paragraphs) to the History Channel for the need to correct the original tendentious wording.

Contrary to the assertion that Einstein was never an ardent Zionist, Einstein expressed great admiration of and identification with Zionism. In Einsteins letter to Jawaharlal Nehru, prime minister of India, on June 13, 1947, he wrote, Long before the emergence of Hitler I made the cause of Zionism mine because through it I saw a means of correcting a flagrant wrong... The Jewish people alone has for centuries been in the anomalous position of being victimized and hounded as a people, though bereft of all the rights and protections which even the smallest people normally has...Zionism offered the means of ending this discrimination. Through the return to the land to which they were bound by close historic ties... Jews sought to abolish their pariah status among peoples... The advent of Hitler underscored with a savage logic all the disastrous implications contained in the abnormal situation in which Jews found themselves. Millions of Jews perished... because there was no spot on the globe where they could find sanctuary...The Jewish survivors demand the right to dwell amid brothers, on the ancient soil of their fathers.

The implication in the History Channels initial phrasingthat Zionism from the beginning did not believe in cooperation between Jews and Arabsalso is contradicted by the words of David Ben-Gurion, certainly an ardent Zionist, who was the primary founder of the State of Israel and its first prime minister. He said in a speech on Dec. 13, 1947, [I]n our state there will be non-Jews as welland all of them will be equal citizens; equal in everything without any exception; that is: the state will be their state as well... The attitude of the Jewish State to its Arab citizens will be an important factorthough not the only onein building good neighborly relations with the Arab states. If the Arab citizen will feel at home in our state, and if his status will not be the least different from that of the Jew, and perhaps better than the status of the Arab in an Arab state, and if the state will help him in a truthful and dedicated way to reach the economic, social, and cultural level of the Jewish community, then Arab distrust will accordingly subside and a bridge to a Semitic, Jewish-Arab alliance, will be built.

So what can be learned from this example? For one thing, conventional wisdom tends to hold that the Israeli-Palestinian conflict amounts to something like cruel Israel victimizes the weak Palestinians, a false understanding that too often influences writers and speakers to oversimplify, distort, or even falsify historical information about the conflict. Then, its often up to an outside watchdog like CAMERA to uphold traditional historical and journalistic standards of accuracy and set the record straight.

Myron Kaplan is a senior research analyst with CAMERA, the Boston-based 65,000-member Committee for Accuracy in Middle East Reporting in America. Any opinions expressed above are solely those of the writer.
BOSTON (JTA)-James Schamus remembers the block he faced while writing the screenplay for Ang Lee's 1994 film "Eat Drink Man Woman." Creating the right voices for the film's Taiwanese characters was not going well "and Ang Lee was getting very nervous."

In a desperate effort to turn the script around, Schamus, who is Jewish, decided he would "just make them all Jewish in my mind," changing the names to Jewish ones during the writing and then changing them back to Chinese names afterward. The technique succeeded; the result was a modern cinematic classic.

That capacity to bridge cultural differences while working within one's own idiom is evident in "Indignation," Schamus' adaptation of Philip Roth's 2008 novel. The film traces the effects of subtle institutional anti-Semitism on a "nice Jewish boy" and stellar student from New Jersey attending a conservative, Christian-influenced college in the Midwest in 1951. In his directorial debut, the veteran screenwriter ("The Ice Storm," "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon") and producer ("Brokeback Mountain") manages to remain empathetic to all his characters, even the most seemingly anti-Semitic one.

"Indignation," which was screened at the Sundance Film Festival in January, arrived in theaters July 29. Schamus, along with star Logan Lerman, sat down with JTA in Boston on July 18.

Roth's novel is set in the middle of the Korean War. Marcus Messner, 19, a bright Jewish kid from Newark, flees his neurotically controlling father, a kosher butcher, by transferring from a local college to the fictional Winesburg College in Ohio. (Though not explicitly autobiographical, "Indignation" draws from Roth's parallel experience transferring as a sophomore to Bucknell College in Pennsylvania from the Newark campus of Rutgers University.) Though serious and studious, Marcus finds himself in a strange land. Obligated with other students to attend chapel regularly, he is newly constrained and cornered by completely different forces than those that forced him out of Newark.

At Winesburg, Marcus also encounters the beautiful but troubled non-Jewish beauty Olivia Hutton. Living somewhat dangerously for the first time, Marcus is lured by another Jewish student into dodging chapel attendance and by Olivia into dark sensual corners, leading him eventually to clash with Winesburg's patrician dean, Hawes D. Caudwell. The dean's insinuating and vexing cross-examination effectively draws out Marcus' indignation and defines his fate. (The novel is explicit about the nature of that fate early on, but the film does not reveal it until the very end, so we'll avoid the spoiler here.)

A central but daringly extended scene in the film depicts the charged encounter between Marcus (a penetrating and simmering performance by Lerman, the boyish heartthrob from the "Percy Jackson" adventure series and the 2012 film "The Perks of Being a Wallflower") and the dean (played tautly and convincingly by Tracy Letts, also a Tony Award-winning playwright). Schamus' script manages to expose the subtly prejudicial indictment by the very non-Jewish dean of the Jewish kid, demonstrating the dean's sincere admiration as well as his scorn.

Director Schamus, who grew up in a strongly identified Jewish family in Southern California and now lives in New York, and 24-year-old star Lerman, who also is Jewish and was raised in Beverly Hills, remain empathetic to the dean character, while acknowledging the systemic if subtle form of anti-Semitism he embodies.

For Lerman, Caudwell's version of anti-Semitism doesn't crudely exhibit "hostility or ill intentions," but rather "a sincere prejudice."

Schamus agrees.

"Caudwell doesn't get up in the morning and say 'how can I hurt the Jews?'" Schamus says. "He thinks he's doing a good thing-'we'll expose them to the Christian part of the Judeo-Christian tradition and it'll be good for everybody. It's a great country and we can accommodate these people as long as they toe the line.'"

Schamus says he was drawn to Roth's novel by the appeal of the characters, including Caudwell. That is not to say that Schamus condones Caudwell's subtle version of anti-Semitism, but places it in the context of a complex of qualities demanding more nuanced assessment. For Schamus, Caudwell responds warmly and enthusiastically to Marcus "knowing that this is the smartest kid who's walked in there in a long time," yet still can't keep himself from pursuing an insinuating cross-examination of him.

In his explicitly autobiographical 1988 work "The Facts," Roth recalled how his time at Bucknell constrained both his Jewish identity and artistic sensibility. In his student writing he set out to prove "that I was a nice boy, period," he wrote. "The Jew was nowhere to be seen; there were no Jews in the stories, no Newark, and not a sign of comedy... I wanted to demonstrate that I was 'compassionate,' a totally harmless person."

In portraying Marcus, Lerman echoes the spirit of the young, decent, inhibited author ready to ripen into the funny, indecent, vivid one.

"To a certain extent, I know Marcus Messner very well," Schamus observed. "There's a little of him in me. There's a little of him in any good Jewish boy who went on to try to do well in school."

Schamus says that among those expressing the strongest appreciation of the film are young people of color who relate to its portrayal of the subtleties of prejudice. And, while many barriers have been removed, minority students at colleges and universities continue to identify its effects.

In somewhat idiosyncratic cinematic terms, the film distills Roth's view of how justifiable fury sprouts, how that sense of indignation can simmer over time and how it can eventually boil over.

Charles Munitz publishes the blog Boston Arts Diary.
The Virgin islands is a favorite tourist spot for Caribbean cruises. For Jewish tourists, there is an extra added attraction in the historic synagogues, cemeteries and active Jewish communities. The former Danish West Indies sold to the United States in 1917 has had a fascinating and little known Jewish presence to the point that in the 1830s some visitors coined the expression that the islands should properly be called The Jewish West Indies.

Alone of all the Nordic countries, Denmark aspired to become a great maritime power with a colonial empire extending into the tropics. The three islands, of what today are known as the American Virgin Islands, St. Thomas, St. Croix and St. John (called Sankt Thomas, Sankt Croix and Sankt Jan in Danish) were acquired by a Denmark anxious to acquire precious metals, spices, sugar, tobacco, rum, cotton, indigo, ginger, cacao and coffee. No other colonial outpost in the New World proved so hospitable and advantageous for Jews. They played a major role in stimulating trade during the era of sailing ships and contributed greatly to the islands development.

Few Danes had been enticed to settle in the West Indies voluntarily. The Danish colonies were nevertheless handicapped in spite of a well developed merchant fleet by the scarcity of manpower at its disposal. Settlers to farm new lands or even administrators to manage the colonies were in short supply. Danish rule was limited to a few forts, plantations and trading posts. Similar footholds in Africa and off the coast of India were given up as simply too remote, dangerous and unpromising.

Jewish contribution to island prosperity

A good deal of the technical expertise for the establishment of the sugar industry was due to Sephardi Jews of Spanish and Portuguese origin who had been driven out of Northeastern Brazil when the Portuguese retook the area from the Dutch. Eventually the sugar industry became quite important for Denmark where distilleries turned it into rum. In 1755, all three islands came under direct Danish rule instead of through the offices of the West India Company and were treated as overseas colonies.

Many Sephardi Jews who had already been granted full equality by the Dutch were active in establishing the sugar industry and served as administrators, bankers, merchants and helped established markets for the islands products. By 1820, the islands population totaled 40,000, about 10% white, 20% free coloreds and 70% black slaves. It is estimated that the Jewish population of the islands constituted almost half the white population of Sankt Thomas in the period 1820-30 when the community established a beautiful synagogue with a sand-covered floor. The free white population was divided among English, Scottish, Irish, Danish, Dutch, French and Sephardi settlers.

Every free inhabitant of the Danish possessions in the Caribbean had to belong to a religious community. Thus, the entire Jewish population was organized and they were accorded full citizenship. All male children celebrated their bar-mitzvah and all marriages were performed according to the Orthodox Sephardi rite during the greater part of the 19th century.

By 1837, the port of Charlotte Amalie on Sankt. Thomas had become the second largest city in the Danish Empire, second only to Copenhagen. This was largely due to it important crossroads position as a transit harbor. This role was gradually reduced with the construction of larger and faster ships sailing on established routes between Europe, Latin America, the Caribbean ports or Southern United States. Jewish prominence in the Dutch and Danish islands was due to their linguistic abilities and expertise in the cultivation of sugar and in the distilling of rum.

Many Sephardi Jews of the Danish West Indies eventually emigrated to the United States and became eminently successful. Among the prominent Sephardi Jews who were born and spent their formative years in the Danish West Indies wee Judah Benjamin (born on Sankt Croix) who became the Secretary of State of the Confederacy and three others (all born on Sankt Thomas) David Levi Yulee (after whom Levy county in Florida is named), who helped engineer the annexation of Florida, and became the first Jew to serve in the U.S. Senate, the French impressionist painter Camille Pissaro and the renowned physician Jacob Mendes da Costa.

The growth of the port of New Orleans and the development of Florida provided two powerful magnets that attracted many Jews of the small West Indian islands. The lure of the powerful United States and the growth of its own shipping, sugar industry, relations with Cuba and the promise of building a Panama Canal for the newer much larger and faster steamships all pointed to economic decline for the Danish West Indies and the eventual drift away from the islands of the Sephardi element. The economy of the islands had come to depend on slave labor and was thus directly damaged by the slave revolt in 1848 threatening the abolition of slavery.

Sale of the islands to the United States

At a New years eve festivity at the White House in 1865, President Lincoln warmly addressed the Danish ambassador Valdamar Rasslff. Shortly thereafter, Secretary of State Seward spoke to him and made it clear that the United States was interested in purchasing the islands. Since the ambassador had no direct instructions to negotiate, he requested time to communicate with his government. He also reminded Seward that the islands population was content with Danish rule. The government, and even more King Christian IX were not happy at the news of the American initiative even though it promised economic relief. In reality, both the government and king felt that there was no need to rush and that time would be their ally and only help to increase the price. In this they were mistaken.

Interest quickly waned following the assassination of President Lincoln. On April 14, 1865. Seward had been seriously wounded in the attempt and took months to recover. Instructions were given to the Danish ambassador in the United States to ask the Americans what price they had in mind. The Danish negotiators hinted that $25 million would be acceptable as a fair price. Seward became coy at this stage and expressed the wish to actually visit the islands to see their condition before any further negotiations could take place.

He returned from an inspection trip only to become embroiled in a crisis over Reconstruction, which led to an impeachment trial against the new president, Andrew Johnson. Moreover, Congress was in a sullen mood and had already objected to the purchase of Alaska from Russia that Seward had engineered for the astronomical price of $ 7 million! The intended sale fell through and interest lapsed for another thirty years.

Finally, the realization of their strategic importance as a possible German submarine base with the outbreak of World War I stimulated American interest to make sure the Danish colonies did not fall into the wrong hands. In the end, the sales price of $25 million was approved and the U.S. took possession on March 27, 1917. Although the islands have had two Jewish governors under American rule, the memory of the Jewish West Indies is a quaint curiosity of Caribbean history.
Congregation Beth Sholom, Lake County's oldest synagogue, will celebrate a Kabbalat Shabbat on Friday, Aug. 12, at 7 p.m.

Unlike a traditional Shabbat service, the Kabbalat Shabbat features a welcoming of Shabbat with music and song. The service, led by Rabbi Karen Allen's vocals and keyboard along with the music of world-class violinist Zoriy Zinger (formerly of the Russian Symphony Orchestra), is a warm, joyous, and festive Shabbat Service celebrating the Jewish Spirit.

Founded in the 1950s, Congregation Beth Sholom was the first synagogue to serve Lake County and the Tri-County area of The Villages. Services are held in the original building, which was completed in 1954. The congregation prides itself on the warm, welcoming atmosphere felt as soon as you enter the sanctuary. Rabbi Allen and the board of directors strive to provide a spiritual home to the synagogue's members and guests by blending Reform and Conservative liturgies, so that everyone will find something familiar in the service.

The public is invited to join with the members and experience the friendly environment of Congregation Beth Sholom, located at 315 North 13th Street in Leesburg, alongside The Melon Patch Theater. Please note that the entrance is on Center Street.

More information is available on the synagogue website: http://bethsholomflorida.org/ or by calling the synagogue at 352-326-3692.
AMSTERDAM (JTA)  To the millions of tourists who visit Nice annually, the city in southeast France is an ultimate holiday destination that offers inviting beaches and luxury casinos, stunning architecture and world-class museums.

Sandwiched between the Maritime Alps and the Mediterranean Sea, Nice is Frances largest tourist destination after Paris, with 5 million arrivals each year and the countrys second largest domestic airport. Nice sees $1.6 billion in annual tourism revenue -- 40 percent from its region known locally as Cote dAzur and abroad as the French Riviera.

But Nice has a dark side, as demonstrated in the terrorist attack of July 14, when a Muslim extremist killed 84 people on the Promenade des Anglais by plowing his truck through the crowds gathered for a fireworks show on Frances national holiday, Bastille Day. After the attack, thousands of tourists checked out hurriedly from hotels that had not had occupancy issues in years.

The attack came as no surprise to many locals, including many of the citys 20,000 Jews, who for years have been the targets of anti-Semitic attacks and harassment by members of a growing minority of fundamentalists from within the citys large Muslim population.

The only Jews you see walking around with a kippah are the foreign tourists, said Chalom Yaich, a caretaker at the Michelet Jewish community center and synagogue. One of Nices dozen-odd shuls, Michelet is located next to a car repair shop at the northern downtown area about a mile and a half from the glitzier beachfront area.

We locals have stopped wearing it years ago or covered it with a hat for safety, said Yaich, 53.

He was considering immigrating to Israel before the attack, he said, and is even more inclined to do so now.

Many have left already because Nice is especially affected by Frances problem with Islam, Yaich said, noting that its young Jews are especially prone to leave, either for Paris or Israel.

We have an aging local population with an average age of 50 or 60, he said.

Nice has at least 60,000 Muslims, or 17 percent of the citys population, according to estimates published in Le Monde, compared to a national average of about 8 percent of the population. Indeed, more than a third of those killed in the attack were Muslim, the head of a regional Islamic association told The New York Times. Other estimates say 30 to 40 percent of the citys population is Muslim.

One Jew, Reymonde Mammane, was killed in the attack.

The attacker, who was shot dead by police while carrying out the rampage, was identified as a Tunisian immigrant, Mohamed Lahouaiej-Bouhlel. Although Lahouaiej-Bouhlel, 31, was a petty criminal with no known links to terrorism and little apparent interest in religion, the Islamic State terrorist group has claimed responsibility for the attack, which French police believe involved several accomplices.

Local Muslim leaders denounced the attacks and organized a blood drive for survivors, saying the attacker was hardly representative of their community. Yet several other terrorist cells have emerged from the community in recent years.

In February, a Muslim man with suspected terrorist ties stabbed three soldiers outside a Jewish community center in Nice. Like other Jewish potential targets throughout France, the center has been under armed guard since January 2015, when four Jews were killed by an Islamist at a kosher supermarket near Paris. The following month, Nice police raided several homes of alleged Islamist terrorists who were in advanced stages of preparing an attack, prosecutors said at the time.

In recent years, Nice was among the five most troublesome areas listed in the annual report of the Paris-based SPCJ, a watchdog group on anti-Semitism, with an average tally of 15 to 20 violent incidents per year.

In relative terms, Jews in Nice are twice as likely to experience such an attack than their coreligionists in Marseille, a nearby city with 220,000 Muslims and 80,000 Jews that sees approximately 25 to 35 physical anti-Semitic attacks annually, according to SPCJ.

The difference is felt on the ground, according to Yves Kugelmann, the Swiss editor-in-chief of the Tachles Jewish weekly, who is among hundreds of non-French Jews with pieds-a-terre in and around Nice.

There is more tension and apprehension in Nice than in Marseille, where even despite all the trouble weve seen in recent years, you still also have cafes with a mixed clientele of Jews of North African descent and Muslims from the same place, said Kugelmann, who was in Nice when the attack happened.

It didnt fundamentally change things for the local Jewish population because, firstly, in France today terrorist attacks are no longer surprising, he said, and secondly because it wasnt aimed at Jews. Hours after the attack, Yossef Yitschok Pinson, the rabbi of Nices Chabad House, told JTA that synagogue services and community events would go on as planned in Nice.

Amid growing concern about Islamism, Nice has become a bastion for the French far right, where Marion Marechal-Le Pen, a niece of party leader Marine Le Pen, garnered a whopping 34 percent of the vote in the second round of voting in the 2015 regional elections, losing by fewer than 10 points to another right-wing candidate, former Mayor Christian Estrosi.

In Nice, the French Jews live among Arabs in and around the city center, between the Jean-Medecin neighborhood and Gambetta. And while this creates more familiarity than in other French cities with Muslim and Jewish enclaves, it also generates more friction than in Marseille, where Jews and Arabs interact but live mostly apart as a result of Jewish migration to the suburbs in recent decades.

Many Jews also live in the affluent towns around Nice and in pricey villas atop the lush cliffs overlooking the Nice Cape east of the city, not far from the borders of the Principality of Monaco, located approximately eight miles from the city. And while they will sometimes attend services at the Chabad synagogue or the Ashkenazi shul, they are not exactly the synagogue crowd, Kugelmann said.

Traditionally a cosmopolitan and tolerant port city near the Italian border, Nice has had a Jewish presence since at least the 12th century, according to Leon Alhadeff of Sefarad, a French organization promoting Sephardic culture.

It drew them because it was a crossroads of cultures, he wrote on the Sefard website.

Ironically, perhaps, it is now drawing Islamists for the same reasons, according to Philippe Granarolo, a writer and historian who wrote about the truck attack in the Le Figaro newspaper.

The city was targeted, he wrote, because Nice, by far the best-known French destination in the world after Paris, for over a century has symbolized Frances touristic appeal; Mediterranean culture and openness to the other banks of the Mediterranean Sea.
Debbie Wasserman Schultz sitting for an interview at the Wynn Resorts Ltd. before the first Democratic presidential debate in Las Vegas, Oct. 13, 2015.

PHILADELPHIA (JTA)-When Debbie Wasserman Schultz spoke to the Florida delegation as the national Democratic convention got underway, some delegates cheered.

Other delegates booed.

The chaos at the Marriott Hotel here demonstrated the degree to which the Florida congresswoman, perhaps the party's most prominent Jewish leader, had become a divisive figure since she emerged a decade ago as the tyro no one in the party could praise enough.

Wasserman Schultz, 49, was forced over the weekend to step down as the chairwoman of the Democratic National Committee, a post she has held since 2011, after leaked emails revealed that she and other DNC insiders had little love lost for Clinton's primary campaign challenger, Sen. Bernie Sanders.

Wasserman Schultz appeared game at the breakfast, overcoming the noise to say she appreciated "a little bit of interest" in her presence.

"We know that the voices in this room that are standing up and being disruptive, the Florida we know is united" in backing Clinton, she said over cries of "Shame!"

It couldn't have been easy for Wasserman Schultz: The political leader most out front with her Jewishness must now contend with the fact that the most significant setback in her career came in part because an aide had questioned whether Sanders, the first Jewish candidate to win major nominating contests, was Jewish enough.

The chaos July 25 was a radically different scene from the first day of her second term in Congress, in January 2007, when Wasserman Schultz commandeered one of the larger rooms on the ground floor of the Cannon U.S. House of Representatives Office building for her reelection party.

Snagging the room was a bold move for a sophomore just turned 40 in a congressional pecking order that at times seems like high school in perpetuity, but she could get away with it: She was the third top fundraiser among Democrats that election year, pulling in $15 million, trailing only Reps. Nancy Pelosi of California, the first female speaker in House history, and Rahm Emanuel of Illinois.

Pelosi rewarded Wasserman Schultz with a spot on the powerful Appropriations Committee, rare for a sophomore, and with the title of deputy whip.

But the theme of the party in Cannon was unmistakably Jewish. Staff approached guests to reassure them that the pastrami, imported from a deli in Wasserman Schultz's South Florida district, was kosher. And the walls were lined with headlines touting a triumph that meant more to her than all the titles Pelosi could confer: Wasserman Schultz, in her freshman term, had passed a law-itself extraordinary -- establishing Jewish American Heritage Month.

During her spectacular rise, Wasserman Schultz has made her Jewish identity abundantly clear. A typical refrain for her was that she considered her policies not merely as a lawmaker but as a "Jewish mother." She took time out to attend Jewish events, appearing in 2011 at a roast for Ira Forman, who had retired as the director of the National Jewish Democratic Council-where she had one of her first political jobs in the early 1990s as a gofer.

At the 2012 convention in Charlotte, North Carolina, she spent an inordinate amount of time working with Jewish Democrats to push back against the inroads that Republicans were making among Florida Jews. The efforts paid off: Those gains showing up in internal polls were rolled back by November, helping President Barack Obama win the key state.

The organized Jewish community sometimes appreciated her attentions and sometimes was wary of them. National Jewish leaders learned to expect her scorching dressing-downs if she did not deem them sufficiently responsive to perceived Republican sins against the Jews.

Still, for Democrats, and Jewish Democrats particularly, she could do little wrong. Wasserman Schultz kept hidden her battle with breast cancer, but starting in 2009, spoke about it with eloquence and force. She said the health plan she had as a member of Congress was critical to her care-and one she wanted to extend to all Americans through Obama's signature legislation, the Affordable Care Act.

In 2011, when her close friend Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, a Jewish Democrat from Arizona, was shot, she joined with New York Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand in maintaining a bedside vigil. In their media appearances, Wasserman Schultz and Gillibrand became the best friends everyone wanted during that drama-fierce, loving and protective.

Soon thereafter, Wasserman Schultz achieved a new pinnacle, chairing the DNC. She brought to the job her prodigious fundraising skills and what had been a talent for balancing effective attacks against Republicans with a sympathetic (to her allies, anyway) presence.

Turns out, maintaining that balance was harder than it seemed. Republicans pounced and Democrats and feminists winced in 2014 when she likened Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker to a wife beater while criticizing his policies. She later said she regretted the analogy.

Her fundraising lagged. This election cycle, the DNC has raised just short of $130 million to the Republican National Committee's $180 million, according to Open Secrets.

Democrats have been all too eager over recent years to leak details of her alleged excesses, which included demanding that the party pay for her wardrobe for special occasions and naming unskilled loyalists to inside jobs (she denied the allegations).

These pressures mounted as differences between Obama and the pro-Israel community sharpened, especially during the debate over the Iran nuclear deal. She became one of the most-watched Democrats as the American Israel Public Affairs Committee and Obama's surrogates took opposite sides over a Republican bid to kill the deal. When Wasserman Schultz finally announced in favor of the deal, appearing on CNN just days before the vote, she again said she was doing so "as a Jewish mother" and wept.

The deal out of the way, Wasserman Schultz set about contending with an election season in which the conventional wisdom was that Clinton would be the inevitable nominee.

Sanders proved a more formidable candidate than anyone-Sanders included-had anticipated, and there soon arose tensions. The senator accused Wasserman Schultz of tilting the scales against him with a debate schedule he said favored Clinton, as well as a reluctance to deliver the assistance that parties must evenly distribute to all candidates.

Wasserman Schultz vigorously denied the accusations-until last week's dump by WikiLeaks of emails believed to have been hacked by Russians. There was no smoking gun showing an actual attempt to sabotage Sanders, but there were proposals to do so-the most damaging by Brad Marshall, the campaign's finance boss, who suggested depicting Sanders as an atheist alienated from his Jewish heritage. (Sanders says he believes in God, and he celebrates his Jewish background.)

Wasserman Schultz is down but not yet out of the '16 campaign. Negotiating her exit from the DNC, she secured a senior surrogate spot on the Clinton campaign, and she insisted in sticking out the week. She also said she wanted to speak at the convention, despite the Clinton campaign seeming none too enthusiastic about the prospect, before opting to stay away from the stage just two hours before she was set to open the gathering.

"I have decided that in the interest of making sure that we can start the Democratic convention on a high note that I am not going to gavel in the convention," Wasserman Schultz told her hometown newspaper, the Broward County edition of the Florida Sun-Sentinel.

Wasserman Schultz faces a Sanders backer, Tim Canova, a law professor, in her district in the primary next month. Canova, spurred by Sanders' enthusiastic endorsement, has raised more money.

Ron Klein has known Wasserman Schultz since they were both elected to the Florida House of Representatives in 1992, when Wasserman Schultz was 26. He is now consulting with Democrats, and said he expected her to triumph, in part because she remains a hyperactive campaigner who is still beloved in her district.

"First thing's first," he told JTA. "She has to fight hard and win this next election."

And don't count out the return of Wasserman Schultz to a leadership role, Klein said.

"Maybe she will go forward and try to run within the House leadership down the road," he said.
During a roundtable with community leaders in Orlando on Friday, Hillary Clinton condemned the terrorist attack against the LGBT community that killed 49 Americans and injured dozens more at The Pulse nightclub in June. Clinton reiterated her commitment to addressing gun violence and disrupting global networks that terrorists use to execute these attacks. Pointing to the need to pull together against hate and bigotry, Clinton said, We have to stand against hate and bigotry. I was really moved by everyone who stood in solidarity with the victims and families here in Orlando, with the LGBT community, the Latino community, the Muslim community, with law enforcement and others, who have been truly tested and tried in the face of such horror and evil. People from all walks of life came together to help and support one another.

Clintons remarks, as transcribed, are below:

Well Mayor, thank you for that because thats exactly why I am came here. To listen and learn from this community that has shown such grace and commitment to those who were lost, to their families and to all who were affected by this terrible event. I want to start by thanking you for your leadership. You were a steady and very compassionate voice throughout this terrible ordeal. I thank everyone who is here representing various aspects of the Orlando community.

I am pleased that my longtime friend and former colleague Senator Nelson is here as well. I want to just say a few words because I really am here to listen to what your experiences have been and what we do need to do together. We need to acknowledge and be very clear who this attack targeted: the Latino LGBT community, by any measure was the community that was most severely impacted by this terrible attack. What does that mean? Well, among other things, it means that it is still dangerous to be LGBT in America. I think its an unfortunate fact, but one that needs to be said, that lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people are more likely than any other group in our country to be the targets of hate crimes. They face a very complicated, intersecting sets of challenges in general, and specifically even more so as people of color.

So after meeting with several representatives of the families, including a mother who lost her beloved son, I want to underscore what I have heard from so many across our country, but particularly from here in Orlando. We have to stand against hate and bigotry. I was really moved by everyone who stood in solidarity with the victims and families here in Orlando, with the LGBT community, the Latino community, the Muslim community, with law enforcement and others, who have been truly tested and tried in the face of such horror and evil. People from all walks of life came together to help and support one another.

There are several things I think we do have to do at the national level to support communities like this one. We do have to take on the epidemic of gun violence, particularly assault weapons, the havoc and horror that they bring in their wake is just no longer tolerable. And we have to be willing to stand as one and demand changes from lawmakers at the federal, state, and local level.

Second, we have to disrupt and dismantle the global online network that radicalizes people here in the United States, that even unfortunately, infects the thinking and attitudes of people in our communities, in their homes. They are communicated with, they are inspired, and they are even directed, and weve got to do a better job to stop that.

So we have a lot of work ahead of usand I am very much looking forward to hearing from the panelists who are with us who represent a fraction of the community that has responded so lovingly. And I will do everything I can, both in this campaign, but after it, to stand with you and to support you and to try to promote the kinds of changes that will prevent this from happening to other people, other families and other communities in the future.
In the aftermath of Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump's selection of Indiana Governor Mike Pence as his running mate, Democratic contender Hillary Clinton tapped U.S. Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.) as her vice presidential candidate.

Kaine, Virginia's former governor, is being touted by his supporters as a moderate Democrat with considerable domestic and foreign policy credentials from his experience serving on the Senate Foreign Relations and Armed Services Committees as well as formerly heading the Democratic National Committee.

Rabbi Jack Moline, executive director of the Interfaith Alliance, has known Kaine personally for many years and told JNS.org that Clinton's running mate was a "terrific governor" who as a senator has continuously tried to "reach across the [partisan] aisle for potential solutions."

Kaine's critics in pro-Israel circles, meanwhile, point to his outspoken support for the Iran nuclear deal, his decision to skip Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's March 2015 speech to Congress about the Iranian nuclear threat, and the support the senator has received from the controversial left-wing lobby group J Street.

Tevi Troy-a presidential historian and former White House aide for the George W. Bush administration, and author of the forthcoming book "Shall We Wake the President? Two Centuries of Disaster Management from the Oval Office"-told JNS.org that there are "some worrisome aspects about [Kaine] from an Israel perspective," specifically citing his boycott of Netanyahu's speech and "enthusiastic support" from J Street.

"Both of these facts make me want to see and learn more before being assuaged about the Democratic ticket's views on Israel," Troy told JNS.org.

Below, JNS.org gives an overview of Kaine's record on election issues that are prioritized by Jewish and pro-Israel voters.

Israel

Moline said that Kaine supports Israel as the "national expression of the Jewish people," but also supports a two-state solution to "ensure the security and dignity of both Israelis and Palestinians."

In a 2015 interview with The Forward, Kaine described himself as a "strongly pro-Israel Democrat," while downplaying concerns about the eroding support for Israel among Democrats.

"Our party has a long tradition of being pro-Israel, and being pro-Israel doesn't mean we agree on everything, but we're friends, we're allies, we're partners and to the extent we have disagreements we try to work them out productively," Kaine said.

As governor of Virginia from 2006-10, Kaine made promoting ties between his state and Israel a priority. In 2009, Kaine was part of efforts to boost economic and high-tech ties between the Jewish state and Virginia, praising Israelis as "spectacular innovators" who can play a key role in a high-tech "knowledge transfer" with America, the Washington Jewish Week reported.

Kaine was also directly involved in the decision by the jointly Israeli-American-owned Sabra hummus company to build a $61 million production plant in Virginia.

After being elected to the U.S. Senate in 2012, Kaine continued to influence U.S. policy toward Israel, especially in the Senate Foreign Relations Armed Services Committees. He co-sponsored the U.S.-Israel Strategic Partnership Act of 2014 and supported U.S. funding for Israel's Iron Dome missile defense system.

Kaine has also received financial support from groups such as J Street, which endorsed his selection as Clinton's running mate and called him "a champion of pragmatic, proactive American foreign policy." While describing itself as a "pro-Israel, pro-peace" lobby, J Street has garnered ongoing controversy in the Jewish community for its frequent criticism of Israeli government policies. J Street also states that it opposes the anti-Israel Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement, but the lobby's college campus arm-J Street U-has come under fire for partnering on campus events with pro-BDS groups.

Iran

Kaine was an enthusiastic backer of President Barack Obama's efforts to negotiate the Iran nuclear deal and played a key role in garnering the necessary support to thwart the Republican-led campaign to reject the deal in Congress.

Though he visited Israel in early 2015 as part of a bipartisan congressional delegation, Kaine was one of the first Democrats to announce the decision to boycott Netanyahu's speech to Congress about the then-emerging nuclear deal on March 3 of that year.

"As a long-time supporter of the U.S.-Israel relationship, I believe the timing of Prime Minister Netanyahu's address to Congress-just days before Israeli elections-is highly inappropriate," Kaine said at the time, referring to the Israeli national election of March 17, 2015.

Kaine co-authored the Iran Nuclear Review Act as part of his efforts to ensure that the nuclear deal would not be rejected by Congress. But he was also one of 21 U.S. senators who sent a letter to Obama in late 2015 to express their "deep concern" over Iran's decision to test a second ballistic missile in November 2015, in violation of U.N. Security Council Resolution 1929.

Terrorism

Amid growing concerns about the influx of Middle East migrants in Europe and their ties to terrorism, particularly emanating from the role of Islamic State in the Syrian civil war, Kaine told Vox Media that Mideast refugees are "people who are terrorized, not terrorists" in an interview that followed the series of coordinated Islamist terror attacks in Paris in November 2015.

Kaine believes that Congress must authorize the U.S. government to use force against Islamic State, and he has worked with Republican counterparts on a bill to block suspected terrorists from being able to buy guns.

Yet critics of Kaine have raised concern about his past ties to controversial Muslim figures who have been connected to radical groups such as the Muslim Brotherhood and Hamas. Politically conservative organizations and news outlets have pointed to 2007, when as governor of Virginia, Kaine was criticized for his decision to nominate then Muslim American Society (MAS) President Esam Omeish to the state's Immigration Commission. Federal prosecutors later determined that MAS was "founded as the overt arm of the Muslim Brotherhood in America."

Omeish was also the vice president of a mosque in which an Al-Qaeda operative had served as an imam, and which was frequented by two 9/11 hijackers, and served on the national board of the Islamic Society of North America, which has been labeled by the U.S. Justice Department as being involved with both the Muslim Brotherhood and Hamas.

In 2011, Kaine made an appearance at a dinner in which a lifetime achievement award was awarded to a man listed by the FBI as a leader of IKHWAN, an Arabic reference to the Muslim Brotherhood. The event was held by New Dominion PAC, which calls itself the "Voice for Arab Americans in Virginia" and had donated $43,050 to Kaine's gubernatorial campaign.

Faith

Kaine is a Roman Catholic who was raised in a devout family, leading to public discourse regarding his stances on abortion and same-sex marriage-both of which are opposed by the Catholic Church. On abortion, Kaine has said, "I have a traditional Catholic personal position, but I am very strongly supportive that women should make these decisions and government shouldn't intrude." On marriage equality, Kaine has supported extending marriage rights to same-sex couples and campaigned against a 2006 amendment to the Virginia Constitution banning same-sex marriage in the state. He has articulated that he respects American legal precedents, such as Roe v. Wade on abortion, despite his personal religious views.

The Interfaith Alliance's Moline told JNS.org that Kaine resides in a multi-faith neighborhood and has participated in an annual communal Passover seder, which Kaine and his wife once hosted at the Virginia governor's mansion.

Kaine is "a deeply religious man" who "respects and loves others for their faith," Moline said, adding that he has watched Kaine work "efficiently and compassionately to address issues."
According to U.S. Rep. Hank Johnson (D-GA), I am a termite.

Speaking to an anti-Israel group on the sidelines of the Democratic convention in Philadelphia, the congressman said, There has been a steady [stream], almost like termites can get into a residence and eat before you know that youve been eaten up and you fall in on yourself, there has been settlement activity that has marched forward with impunity and at an ever increasing rate to the point where it has become alarming. So much for brotherly love.

Why should I care? What difference does it make that a man with little knowledge of Israel and the Middle East should say or think such a thing?

Rep. Johnson serves Georgias 4th Congressional district. Its been a long time since I went to Emory and lived in Georgia, but the area he represents is very close to where I used to live, if not the very district. I loved living in Atlanta and have a fondness and affinity for Georgia to this day. So, albeit from far away, when something happens in my former home, and relates to my current home, I care.

But I dont live near Stone Mountain anymore. I live in the Judean Mountains south of Jerusalem. I hear church bells and the mosques of Bethlehem. I am an Israeli Jew who has returned to the Land that God promised our ancestors. Im privileged to raise my children in the Land of our forefathers, to be part of building a Jewish future on the foundation of our biblical past, not to be mutually exclusive to that of our neighbors. I live here because Gods gift to us is too special to take back for a figurative exchange for another style.

But some people call me a settler, a pejorative term that evokes an abundance of negative stereotypes. Branded such, people expect I am a gun toting, olive tree uprooting, Arab hating, Jewish extremist whose sole purpose is to disenfranchise the lives of our neighbors. People imagine my community to be a series of trailers cast about hilltops as a land grab to steal from our Arab neighbors.

Nothing could be further from the truth. While we dont have peace in the utopian sense, we have very good relations with our immediate Arab neighbors. No wall or fence separates us from the villages to our east, and to the north we abut Arab communities that are suburbs of Bethlehem, perhaps a mile across the valley from my front door.

Palestinian Arabs farm their land adjacent to and within our towns borders, land thats very valuable as the demand for housing, schools, and synagogues grows. Palestinian Arabs also freely come to work here, and in fact in most cases, are the ones building our houses, schools and synagogues, the very kind of settlement growth which Rep. Johnson disdains.

Rep. Johnsons remarks are offensive, wrong, and inappropriate on a host of levels. His portrayal of us is akin to the dehumanizing of Jews by Nazis several decades ago. Modern Arabs and Islamists continue this anti-Semitic hatred by calling us descendants of apes and pigs. I dont know if Johnson harbors anti-Semitic feelings, but given the audience to which he was speaking, I dont suspect he loves us. However, his words were offensive and anti-Semitic, period.

With this use of words he also displays a knee jerk bias that there is only one narrative, that of the Palestinian Arabs being wronged, and our presence here somehow is an obstacle to peace and to the Palestinians having their own state. Thats nonsense and a gross display of ignorance, which I say not as an insult, but just as a reality. Rep. Johnson does not know the facts.

Its too much for any one article, but lets start in 1947 when Jewish leaders accepted a partition of the Land of Israel for two states and the Arabs rejected it. Many continue to do so. More recently, when Israel withdrew from Gaza in 2005, what followed was not peace or the embryonic emergence of a Palestinian state, but a launching pad for terror and missile attacks against Israel, which continue to this day. Its important to note, too, that neither in 1947 nor in 1967 was there ever a Palestinian state that was occupied. Had the Arabs accepted the 1947 Partition Plan, there might have been one, in which case thered have been no need for the wars which have been forced on us since. But one cant live the present without an accurate sense of the past, nor hope for the future based on how you want it to be, irrespective of these facts.

The fact is, Israelis desperately want to live in peace and most of us would make painful concessions on land in order to get that. Yes, even many of my settler neighbors. But what prevents that is outright rejection and delegitimization of Israel (like that of those to whom Rep. Johnson was speaking), and Palestinian refusal to make peace with us.

Some defend Johnson saying that he was referring to the settlement process and not the people. However, other than being dehumanizing, Rep. Johnsons use of the word termites is telling. The implication is that settlers, like termites, invade other peoples homes. How is it possible that anyone, with any integrity could say that Jews returning to Jerusalem, or biblical Judea and Samaria, where our forefathers lived, herded their flocks, worshiped, and thrived is anything but returning to our home?

I dont know if Rep. Johnson is a Christian, and I suspect hes not a Jew, but someone should educate him on the Bible. Our living here doesnt mean we cant live together or that we shouldnt, but to imply that somehow we dont belong here is absurd.

Im not sure if Rep. Johnson has ever been to Israel much less a settlement. Ive invited him to visit. If and when he does, I will show him how things really are: how on a daily basis Israeli settlers interact and show mutual respect for our neighbors; how we interact with one another in our communities and in our homes; how we shop and work together in retail establishments as well as professional environments; how we share waiting rooms in hospitals worrying about our respective loved ones, or celebrating a birth.

There may not be love, but theres mutual respect and coexistence that we can and should build upon. And despite the reality that too many of our Palestinian Arab neighbors simply want us dead or gone, this reality continues.

To his credit, Rep. Johnson tweeted clarification, and apparently apologized to a well-known LA rabbi who called him out publically. Despite this, the damage is done. Hes infected and made worse a dialogue thats difficult enough. Those prone to believe the negative stereotypes, which apparently he does, will only take his further dehumanizing of Jews in general, and specifically those of us who have the hubris to live in the original Bible Belt, as being OK.

Anyone in, or aspiring to, serious leadership and involving him/herself in issues that are foreign (literally) should at least do so based on facts, not on myths, and certainly not on offensive rhetoric. I learned a lot about the Middle East at Emory, and am learning more every day. I dont expect him to be an expert, but do expect that if he or others are going to be addressing matters close to my home, that they do so based on reality. I hope Rep. Johnson will come and see for himself, and anyone else looking for the facts to be in touch and Ill gladly share my experiences and sources that are accurate.

Jonathan Feldstein was born and educated in the U.S. and immigrated to Israel in 2004. He is married and the father of six. Throughout his life and career, he has been blessed by the calling to fellowship with Christian supporters of Israel and shares experiences of living as an Orthodox Jew in Israel.
In the 1930s in Germany, many caved to the dangerous political agenda of the time. They wanted power, peace, and prosperity, to reclaim their country from the ravages of World War I. Christians were no different. But in doing so, they embraced the words of Martin Luther. In 1539, in his book The Jews and Their Lies, he wrote, Next to the devil, you have no more bitter, venomous and vehement foe than a real Jew... Even if the Jews were punished in the most gruesome manner so that the streets ran with blood, so that their dead would be counted not in the thousands but in the millions.

Christians, he said, are urged to burn down Jewish synagogues and schools and warn people against them; [to] refuse to let Jews own houses among Christians; for Jewish religious writings to be taken away; [for] rabbis be forbidden to preach; [to] offer no protection to Jews on highways.

In his autobiography, Mein Kampf, Adolf Hitler lauded Martin Luther. To this group (great protagonists) belong not only the great statesmen, but all the great reformers as well. Beside Frederick the Great, we have such men as Martin Luther and Richard Wagner, he wrote. Whether it be their military prowess, theology, or music, all three men were known for their anti-Semitism. Luthers book paved the way for Hitler and was used as a strategy for the horror of Kristallnacht, and opened the door for the Shoah. For centuries, those words were used by many to persecute the Jewish people.

In 1930, the British newspapers The Guardian and The Observer did not take Hitler seriously. They saw him as a weak man spouting his rhetoric with a loud voice; dramatic and egotistical. Both believed Hitler had Christian ideals that were a perfect fit for German Christians. Some saw him as an outsider who was only stirring the pot of those in power. History would prove them wrong.

In 1933, Hitler became chancellor of Germany and soon after, the churches were told to put the swastika alongside the cross. The horrible truth is that most of them did. Soon after, the swastika was all that remained; the cross had been taken down. The German church cared more about its reputation than about human lives. The Christians scattered the seeds of Jew-hatred, seeds that were planted and grew in German hearts.

As the Third Reich grew, the German Faith Movement capitulated and embraced Nazi ideology. Hanns Kerrl, the Reichs minister for church affairs, said, Adolf Hitler gave us back our faith. He showed us the true meaning of religion. He has come to renew for us the faith of our fathers and to make us new and better beings... Adolf Hitler is the true Holy Ghost.

It must also be said that there were many unnamed Christians who hid Jews in their homes, sheltered them from the Nazis, and tried to fight the evil. During pogroms, raids, ghettos, and death camps, true Christians risked their lives for their Jewish sisters and brothers. Many of those in the professing church also gave their lives for Jews. Yet sadly, there could have been greater numbers of Christians who actively helped stand up for what is right. Needless to say, this is more than a history lesson. The quotes in this article speak for themselves. The question is, what will we do during our slice of history?

Today, we see Christians who make the choice to sit in churches and turn away when they hear the newest forms of anti-Semitism. There are Christians of the emergent church who join other peace and justice activists and embrace a cause they think is good and right. They are being swayed by the fashionable attitudes of the progressive left when the truth is that anti-Semitism is beginning to shake the world again. Never having gone away, it is currently escalating faster than anyone would have ever thought possible.

Anti-Semitism can be found on campuses, in the marketplace, within government agencies, and at the United Nations. It is found in churches where the deceit of replacement theology/supersessionism plays itself out. Hatred of Jews has been taught for generations under the guise of mere doctrinal difference.

Christians must be more engaged in learning not only about the historical oppression of Jews, but about the current overt hatred of Jews through the promotion of lies and misinformation about Israel. Today, the voices of anti-Semitism are once again risingthis time through the anti-Israel boycott movement. The memories of those murdered by the Nazis must be shared among those who do not know, to serve as a warning to those who are as clueless as the ordinary Europeans were in the 1930s.

Elie Wieselthe recently deceased Holocaust survivor, author, and human rights activistsaid, To forget would be not only dangerous but offensive; to forget the dead would be akin to killing them a second time. I would add that it would be not only dangerous and offensive, but unconscionable if Christians like me make the mistake of not learning from the past.

Whether the State of Israel is surrounded by guns or hostile rhetoric, Christians must make the decision now to take action. Tomorrow will soon become today. One cannot assume that they will suddenly become a voice when the rhetoric turns to violence. It doesnt happen that way. May we all choose the right side of history and be counted among the righteous.

Carla Brewington, PhD, earned her doctorate at Fuller Theological Seminary in Pasadena, Calif. She is a Christian volunteer speaker for the pro-Israel education organization StandWithUs.
The three Iranians in police custody for their alleged involvement in a number of robberies in Vietnam. Photo courtesy of police

A brave taxi driver got caught up in a scene from a Hollywood movie.

Three Iranians have been arrested by Ho Chi Minh City police and handed over to enforcement authorities in the central province of Ninh Thuan for questioning about their alleged involvement in two robberies.

On August 3, Phan Minh Phung, the driver of a 16-seater taxi, said he was hired by three foreigners to transport them to HCMC for $200. While Phung was driving, he received a call from Ninh Thuan police informing him about the trio and ordered him to take them to the nearest police station.

Phung intended to stop the car but the foreign group allegedly used weapons to threaten him, forcing him to keep going.

After traveling for hundreds of kilometers to Suoi Tien, a tourist site in District 9 in Ho Chi Minh City, Phung saw a traffic police unit. The driver quickly jammed on the brakes before jumping out of the car and running to the officers. The three Iranians tried to flee the scene but were captured shortly after by the police and local people.

A preliminary investigation found the three Iranian men, who have not been identified, had driven a car from HCMC to Ninh Thuan on August 3. There the trio, disguised as customers in need of currency exchange, robbed money from a local grocery store.

They then abandoned the car and hired the 16-seater to return to HCMC the same day. Authorities suspect that the group is responsible for a number of other robberies.

Ninh Thuan is 350 kilometers (217 miles) to the northeast of HCMC.

Related news:

> Two Chinese use fake guns to rob car in HCM city

> Robber brought to justice thanks to a selfie
(JTA)Last week, Pope Francis made a pilgrimage to Poland, visiting Auschwitzthe notorious death camp in Poland where 1.1 million Jews were murdered during the Holocaust. Auschwitz is comprised of two camps: Auschwitz I and Auschwitz II, also called Birkenau. Birkenau is the actual theater of death, where the vast majority of Jews were murdered.

At Birkenau, there is a large church in what once was the Nazi commandant headquarters. The church is in direct violation of a 1987 agreement signed by four European cardinals and European Jewish leaders that declares there will be no permanent Catholic place of worship on the site of the Auschwitz and Birkenau camps. Pope Francis must recognize this affront and ask that the church be moved.

This is not the first time that a Catholic place of worship was established at Auschwitz. In 1984, Carmelite nuns took over a building at Auschwitz I that once stored the Zyklon B gas used by the Nazis to murder Jews. With the full support of Polish Cardinal Franciszek Marcharski, local authorities granted the nuns a 99-year lease to convert the building into a convent, where the nuns sought to pray for the souls of the murdered. It was around this time that the local Catholic community established the church at Birkenau, called the Parish Church of Brzezinka.

As a rabbi, I have deep respect for all places of worship. I also feel that Christian houses of worship do not belong at what is in effect the largest Jewish cemetery in the world. And so in July 1989, I joined a group of seven activists protesting the Carmelite convent. We climbed over the fence surrounding the convent and peacefully assembled. Polish workers inside the convent poured a bucket of water mixed with urine on us as nuns watched from the windows. In 1993, Pope John Paul II himself ordered the nuns to leave and the convent was shut down.

Though that closure was a victory, the larger affront, the Birkenau church, remains. A former priest, James Carroll, eloquently describes this offense in his book Constantines Sword: The Church and the Jews, writing, When suffering is seen to serve a universal plan of salvation, its particular character as tragic and evil is always diminished.

[T]he elimination of Jewishness from the place where Jews were eliminated, Carroll continues, makes the evil worse.

And so in 1995, on the 50th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz, I again joined activists, this time for a sit-in at the Birkenau church. After a standoff with church officials that lasted throughout the day, we were arrested and taken to a police station, where a doctor summoned there asked that we strip. Flabbergasted, I blurted out, You mean you havent stripped enough Jews in this place? We were held for several hours before being released. Our protest and arrest won no concessions from the church or Catholic hierarchy.

The church remains, and its very existence at this sacred Jewish space is inappropriate, misleading and a violation of Shoah memory. A hundred years from now people will look to the camp for evidence of what occurred there. If the church structure remains, its large cross casting a shadow over Auschwitz II, the site could suggest to the uninformed that the Holocaust was either an attempt at Christian genocide or that the church defended Jews at that timewhen in fact the church turned its back on the large-scale attempted annihilation of the Jewish people.

If we as a humanity are to learn from our history, to strive for a better future, we need to know what has passed before us. Otherwise, we perpetuate the possibility that the atrocities of the past will repeat in the future and untold suffering will prevail.

Its up to people of moral conscience to raise a voice for the sake of Holocaust memory and declare loud and clear: A church has no place at Auschwitz II. As Pope John Paul II moved the Carmelite convent, Pope Franciswho has shown himself to be a great friend to the Jewish communityhas the power to order the Birkenau church be moved. The building should become a museum, specific to Birkenau, showing how the Nazis carried out their atrocities there. The large crosses in front of and on top of the building should be removed. The memory of the Jews murdered theremurdered because they were Jewsmust be recognized with historical accuracy.

With each passing year, fewer survivors remain. The time is not far off when there will be no living witnesses to share their part in this story, to say: Yes, this happened, and this is how. We cannot allow evidence of the Holocaust to be co-opted by other groups for other purposes.

Rabbi Avi Weiss is the founding rabbi of the Hebrew Institute of Riverdale-the Bayit, and founder of Yeshivat Chovevei Torah and Yeshivat Maharat. He is the author of the forthcoming book Journey to Open Orthodoxy.
The Jewish communitys polarization in reaction to the selection of Sen. Tim Kaine (Va.) as Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clintons running mate illustrates the political chasm that divides American Jewry.

Predictably, the J Street lobby, which had shilled for President Barack Obamas deceptive Iran deal, sprang into support mode. Still touting its role in bringing the deal to a successful conclusion, J Street has been undeterred by recent revelations of Irans hunt in Germany for materials to build an aggressive nuclear weapons program or by its testing of intercontinental ballistic missiles that threaten not just Tel Aviv, but the very heartland of America. Kaine himself was not only an enthusiastic supporter of the Iran deal. He was also a whip for its successful passage.

J Street embraces Kaine for his work in helping bring it to fruition. But J Street and Kaine dont only share a common bond through the Iran deal. J Street is also beholden to the Obama administration for bringing the organization to the White House conference table on Jewish issues. Obama used J Street to replace AIPAC, the truly pro-Israel lobby.

J Streets endorsement of Kaine coincided with that of the leftist Forward newspaper that, like J Street, seldom can find an Israeli policy that should not be harshly criticized or a Palestinian act of terrorism that should not be sympathetically rationalized.

In contrast, the Republican Jewish Coalition criticized Kaine for both his role in the Iran agreement and for being one of a handful of senators who boycotted Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahus address to Congress on the Iran deals existential threat to Israel.

Whether any of this will influence the Jewish communitys traditional support of the Democratic ticket is a big question. After all, Hillary Clintons embrace of Suha Arafat (Yassers wife)following Arafats speech accusing Israel of poisoning the West Banks water supply and landhad almost no impact on Clintons Jewish support in her race for a U.S. Senate seat from New York.

The photo of the embrace was a significant victory for the Palestinian propaganda machine and gave credibility to Mrs. Arafats false and reprehensible allegations. Some nine hours elapsed before the Clinton spin machine repudiated the allegations. She let an entire news cycle pass with the embrace and affirmation of Mrs. Arafats libelous speech being the story.

Hillary Clinton had it both ways. In the Arab media, she was pictured embracing the despicable Mrs. Arafat, while revisiting the gesture after the damage was done. Something for everyone, and Clinton partisans in the Jewish community were given a convenient fig leaf to hide their shame and rationalize their support for Mrs. Clintons run for the Senate seat.

Bernie Sanderss progressive anti-Israel policies caused him to lose big in the Jewish community, which correctly viewed him as a Jew in name only whose sojourn in Israel was spent on an Israeli kibbutz that venerated Stalin. The Orthodox-Jewish community came out in big numbers to demolish Sanders.

But inferring that Jewish support for Clinton in the primary will translate into Jewish support for her in November is a leap of faith. Clinton is no longer running against the un-Jew, as Sanders was derisively called. She is running against Donald Trump, whose party put the strongest pro-Israel plank into its platform in the history of any party.

For Jews concerned about the survival of their Israeli brethren, the Iran deal, which unravels daily, will have a negative impact on their support for Hillary Clinton. Her choice of Tim Kaine will not help. Kaines role in the passage of the Iran nuclear agreement is already becoming an issue.

Whether this will overcome the strong predisposition of the Jewish community to vote for the Democratic ticket, no matter who is on it, remains to be seen. Nonetheless, the choice of Tim Kaine gives ammunition to those who stand firmly on the non-traditional side of the political divide in the Jewish community.

Abraham H. Miller is an emeritus professor of political science, University of Cincinnati, and a distinguished fellow with the Haym Salomon Center (@salomoncenter).
China's Defense Minister Chang Wanquan, accompanied by Thailand's Deputy Prime Minister and Defense Minister Prawit Wongsuwan (not pictured), reviews a guard of honour during his visit to Thailand, at the Defense Ministry in Bangkok February 6, 2015. Photo by Reuters/Chiwat Subprasom

The two countries continue to trade diplomatic barbs over the flashpoint South China Sea.

Officials of other countries need to speak and act in accordance with official statements as well as their nations obligations, that is, repecting international law, refraining from using or threatening to use force, and actively contributing to peace and stability in the region and the world, Vietnams Foreign Ministry spokesman Le Hai Binh said at a press briefing on Thursday.

The comments follow a Chinese ministers call for the countrys army, police and people to prepare for a war at sea.

China's Xinhua news agency on August 2 reported that Chinese defense minister Chang Wanquan had urged preparations for a peoples war at sea to counter offshore security threats and safeguard what he called Chinese sovereignty.

Changs comments came after an international tribunal on July 12 dismissed Chinas claim to most of the waters in the South China Sea, which Vietnam calls the East Sea. China has angrily rejected the judgement.

All countries within and outside of the region have a common interest and desire to maintain peace and stability in the East Sea, Binh said. Disputes in the waters must be handled peacefully on the basis of international law, and without using or threatening to use force, the Vietnamese spokesman said.

Related news:

> China, Russia navies to hold drills in South China Sea

> Vietnamese television halts Chinese movie starring actor who protests intn'l court ruling
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The quiet in Assams Bodo heartland was shattered on Friday with rebels launching a daylight attack at a weekly roadside market at Balajan, just outside the district town of Kokrajhar, killing 13 civilians and injuring 16 others.

The Assam Police was quick to say the rogue Songbijit faction of the National Democratic Front of Bodoland (NDFB-S) was behind the assault.

No one is surprised at fingers being pointed at the NDFB-S because the outfit had carried out several murderous raids in the past, but the question today is whether it did it so alone or whether there were other rebel groups and terror elements providing its cadres assistance.

The deceased include seven Bodos, and, perhaps, therefore, the question has cropped up as to whether the NDFB-S could indulge in an attack on people whose interests it seeks to protect. But, the NDFB-S, like a few other rebel outfits in the region like the Garo National Liberation Army (GNLA) in Meghalaya, has degenerated into a pure terror group, killing unarmed civilians and indulging in kidnapping for ransom.

The timing, too, is critical. Independence Day is round the corner and it has been a ritual among insurgent groups in the Northeast to step up attacks ahead of key days in the national calendar or call boycott of all functions associated with the occasion.

This is the first insurgent attack in Assam after the BJP-led government of Sarbananda Sonowal assumed office in May.

One has to see whether the new governments counter-insurgency strategy will be any different from the previous Congress dispensation. Most importantly, the Narendra Modi governments stated policy on combating terror has been one of zero tolerance.

Whether this comes into application in Assam after Fridays attack remains to be seen.

Chief minister Sonowal said that a clear directive has been issued to the security establishment to deal with the insurgents with a firm hand. This should not turn out to be another routine call.

The Centres peace policy has also come under a cloud. Already, New Delhi is engaged in peace talks with two factions of the NDFB, one of them headed by Ranjan Daimary.

This despite Daimary himself being accused by the security establishment of involvement in the October 2008 serial blasts in Assam that had killed 100 people.

Now, the NDFB-S, the key suspect in Fridays raid, was involved in the 2014 Christmas-eve serial attacks in Assam that killed more than 80 people.

Prior to this, 46 people were gunned down by the same outfit in Baksa and Kokrajhar districts in May 2014. Will New Delhi at some point in the future come forward to hold so-called peace talks with the NDFB-S as well?

Can there be more than one peace agreement with different factions of the same rebel group? Can the government not declare a moratorium on peace talks with newer rebel groups or factions while carrying the ongoing talks, like the one with the NSCN-IM, NDFB etc, to their logical conclusion? Militants need a safe staging area and logistical support. This is where the nations bordering northeast India becomes critical for them.

The Modi governments neighbourhood push is notable but commerce aside, New Delhi must also work out institutional mechanisms with Thimphu, Naypyidaw and Dhaka to deal with insurgents.

Can India work out an anti-terror strategy that transcends its borders and work together with the security establishments in Myanmar, Bangladesh and Bhutan? There has been cooperation on this front but one is talking of something with standard protocols in place.

(Wasbir Hussain is executive director of the Guwahati-based Centre for Development & Peace Studies, and a former member of the National Security Advisory Board. Views are personal.)
Actor Purab Kohli recently finished shooting for his next film in Meghalaya and Shillong. Now that he is back in Mumbai, he wants to go for a road trip to the North-East on his new bike.

The actor, who will soon be seen in the sequel to the film Rock On!!! alongside Farhan Akhtar, Arjun Rampal , Shraddha Kapoor and Prachi Desai, has bought a new bike, which specializes in off road tripsand the actor is thrilled about it. He also plans to invite some friends along for this trip.

Read: Purab Kohli to tie the knot with fiancee Lucy?

The north-east has always excited me. I was so happy during the shooting for Rock On. And now I just cant wait to take my White Tiger out there. I think theres no better way to road trip than on a motor bike, says Kohli, who was last seen in Airlift (2016) alongside actors Akshay Kumar and Nimrat Kaur.

Actor Purab Kohli plans on taking some friends along with him for this trip.

It is not just simple sightseeing on Kohlis mind, he plans to really make this ride as difficult as possible.

In 2004 for I drove a lot around the Northeast for a channel. Now with this bike I can really push the boundaries and explore areas which everyone has not seen, says the actor.

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Model-actor Waluscha De Sousa was last seen in Fan alongside Shah Rukh Khan. While she is currently concentrating on her acting career, Waluscha still works with her friends from the fashion industry for modelling assignments. She recently teamed up with a popular designer duo for their new collection, and did a shoot for them. The designers were so impressed with the pictures that they want to get the photos painted on canvases now.

Read: I got a dream debut with Fan, says Waluscha

A source says, They want to convert the pictures into paintings, and organise an exhibition. They are still thinking about the various methods that will be used for the paintings. Waluscha is excited about the concept.

Read: Waluscha De Sousa not keen on taking up TV roles

When contacted, the actor said, It was a pleasure working with them. I have been wearing their stunning designs for many years.
For companies, both domestic and international, India is the biggest bet when it comes to e-commerce. Pegged at $16 billion in 2015, it is expected to cross $100 billion by 2020.

Still, since the beginning e-commerce firms have been struggling under regulatory problems as taxes and duties differ in each state.

For example, for delivery of goods in Uttar Pradesh above the price of 5,000 an application has to made to the VAT department. Kerala does not allow cash-on-delivery. States such as Bihar, Assam and Meghalaya charge entry tax or octroi from a seller if he doesnt belong to that state. Octroi is also charged when trucks laden with goods when they enter municipalities such as Delhi, Mumbai and Bengaluru.

On a whole e-commerce companies face five indirect taxes including service tax, central sales tax (CST), value-added tax (VAT), customs duty and excise duty. At present the centre taxes the sale of services and states tax the sales of goods. Therefore service tax, CST and customs duty have to be paid to the centre while VAT and excise duty have to be remitted to the state governments. After the implementation of GST, it will become simple. Sellers on e-commerce will have to pay tax in the state where the delivery happens.

In the long-run the creation of a unified marketplace will reduce the tax burden, inventory cost and logistical issues, and ensure seamless movement of goods across the country, said Hari Menon, CEO, BigBasket.

The biggest change is perhaps easy delivery across the country. Lakhs of producers and sellers and consumers will have easy access to an all-India market and there will be development of seamless national supply chain, said a Flipkart spokesperson.

However, e-commerce firms will have to make significance changes in the ways of auditing and technology is done.

They should be able to provide real-time information to the tax collectors of goods sold in any particular state. It would be interesting times ahead with considerable changes to the enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems of e-commerce players to accommodate the requirements of GST, said Sreedhar Prasad, partner, e-commerce, KPMG.

But, there is one problem  firms will have to collect tax at source, in addition to what is being paid in the state. This will be reconciled later. The draft GST model provides for tax collection at source on payments to vendors . This will lead to working issues for small vendors and needs to be re-examined, said a Snapdeal spokesperson.
The country wants to join the global fight against cyber-terrorism.

Vietnam wants to join the international community to tackle cyber attacks that can cause damage to national security, Le Hai Binh, Vietnams foreign ministry spokesman, said in a statement on Thursday.

The move comes after screens displaying flight information and loudspeakers at the international airports in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City were taken over on July 29 by hackers to broadcast messages insulting Vietnam and the Philippines over their stance on the dispute in the South China Sea, or the East Sea as it is known in Vietnam.

All cyber attacks must be condemned and punished," Binh said. "Vietnamese authorities have taken swift measures to ensure security and safety at its airports, and cyber police are investigating the incident.

Last Friday, the official website of Vietnam Airlines also came under attack with the same derogatory slogans that appeared on the airports screens. The customer database of 400,000 members of Vietnam Airlines frequent fliers club, Golden Lotus, was hacked and the names and other personal information of customers were later leaked on the internet.

The hack affected some 100 flights which were delayed by between 15 minutes and two hours, the Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam (CAAV) said in a statement, after the attack interrupted the airports electronic check-in systems.

Security at the airports was tightened shortly after the attack, the CAAV added.

The hackers claimed to be a group known as 1937CN from China, which has a history of hacking websites in Vietnam and the Philippines.

Related news:

>Don't hack back: Vietnam's cyber community told to show restraint after attack

>Vietnamese banks freeze online payments after cyber attacks at 2 major airports

>Vietnam Airlines under cyber-attack since 2014: security group
Grocery delivery startup Grofers, which got into a legal tangle for revoking 67 offer letters of graduates just two days prior to their joining date, has denied promising jobs to the students.

In a response to the legal notice sent to them by 17 of the 67 affected students, Grofers has clarified that the letters issued to the students were only letters of intent and their employment was subject to confirmation from the company. HT has a copy of the legal notice as well as Grofers response.

From the wordings of this particular offer it seems that even accepting it would not constitute an acceptance. We work with clients who practice the highest ethical standards and with every one of them, acceptance of an offer is seen as a completion of the recruitment cycle, unless the company has specific conditions, including qualification checks or background verifications. In several cases, companies issue appointment letters on the date of joining. However, irrespective of the legalities, an ethical commitment is made on the acceptance of the offer and is unfailingly adhered to, says Dony Kuriakose, director, EDGE Executive Search.

Rahul Singh (name changed), a graduate of the National Institute of Technology Karnataka, Surathkal, was one of the 67 students, whose job offer was revoked by the company. Grofers came to our college in August last year in the first month of placement. As they were one of the first companies to come for placements, they made us an above-average offer, and due to their constant communication, we trusted them completely.

We were made to believe for months that we have a job in Grofers due to the constant communication between us and the company. We even got an email on June 10, asking us to bring all documents on the day of joining. But on June 28 Grofers HR called us, informing us of their decision to revoke the offer letter.

Singh, who lives in Noida sector 3, even booked a flat in Gurgaon, for which he had to shell out a security deposit of Rs 50,000 and an advance rent of Rs 13,200. Grofers had provided students with temporary accommodation for 14 days from July 1 onwards. It led to huge monetary loss, Singh said.

Some students even travelled from Bangalore, Lucknow and even Dubai to relocate to Gurgaon, according to sources.

Such situations have become a trend, and strict legal action can hopefully set the right precedent going forward. Grofers in their response to the legal notice has denied any liability towards the students. The students are now going to consult their lawyers and are likely to file a case against Grofers, said Vasundhara S, legal head at MyAdvo.in, the legal tech startup assisting students on the matter.

Stand-offs between colleges and startups have been in the news ever since Indias largest e-tailer, Flipkart, deferred offer letters of about 15 graduates from IIM-Ahmedabad.

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The Goods and Services tax (GST) will bring about the biggest tax reform since Independence as it will stitch together a common market by dismantling fiscal barriers between states.

Government officials, however, feel the real battle to bring the tax structure into a reality actually begins now. Passing of GST bill: This is only end of a beginning. The real hard work starts now, revenue secretary Hasmukh Adhia tweeted.

There are major milestones which need to be covered before April 1, 2017, the likely rollout date for GST. At least 15 of Indias 29 states have to ratify the bill followed by the assent of the President. After which, the GST Council will be constituted.

GST COUNCIL AND ITS TASKS

States and the Centre will collect identical rates of taxes on goods and services. For instance, if 18% is the GST rate on a good across India, states and the Centre will get 9% each, called the CGST and SGST rates, respectively. The Centre will also levy and collect the Integrated Goods and Services Tax on inter-state supply of goods and services.

However, there has been no agreement yet on rates of various goods and services.

A panel under chief economic adviser Arvind Subramanian has recommended a revenue-neutral rate (RNR) of 15% to 15.5%, with a standard rate of 17% to 18% on most goods and all services. RNR is the single rate at which there will be no revenue loss to the Centre and states in the GST regime.

The panel has recommended a three-tier rate structure  some essential goods will be taxed at a lower rate of 12%; so-called demerit goods, such as luxury cars, aerated beverages, pan masala and tobacco products, at a higher 40%; and all remaining goods at a standard rate of 17-18%.

According to the bill, the rates will be decided by a GST Council headed by the central finance minister with state finance ministers as members. Apart from rates, the council will also have to develop consensus on exemptions, threshold limits and dual administration.

OTHER LEGISLATION

GST legislation, including central GST law, integrated GST law and 29 state GST laws (allied rules and notifications), would need to be passed by the relevant bodies.

During this process, the government will need to engage with industry bodies, traders, service providers and almost every local trade bodies and associations for the training and the acceptance of the new tax regime. The steps will require a lot of time, patience and constant deliberations both at the level of states and the central government. Only then, the April 1, 2017, deadline would be met.
Former finance minister P Chidambaram  who first announced plans in his 2006-07 budget speech to shift to a new indirect tax regime  has said there is a still a long way to go before the unified goods and service tax (GST) becomes a reality on the ground. Excerpts.

How real is the risk that the government will bring in subordinate GST legislations as money bills?

I wouldnt want to question their intentions at this stage. They have a majority in the Lok Sabha. Presumably, with friends and allies, they also have a simple majority in the Rajya Sabha. So if they want a genuine debate, they should bring these as financial Bills.

Do you still have any political bargaining power left on the issue?

Let the Bills come and we will tell you what bargaining power we have. If they are brought as financial Bills we would debate and vote on them. There is a known provision in the Constitution that requires them to bring a Bill as a money bill. If he wants to bring a Bill as a money bill, to be certified as a money bill, then he can ask the Speaker to certify it as a money bill. Even if he brings a bill without seeking the speakers certificate, it will go through as a money bill. I am not denying that Tax changes are brought as money bill. What Im saying is that GST Bills are too far reaching, too transformational, too important as laws to be brought as money bills to avoid a discussion and vote in the Rajya Sabha.

So, what is the road ahead?

Its a complicated exercise. The approach should be of conciliation and negotiation. I hope they continue on the path they took in the last two weeks.

You want the standard GST rate capped at 18%. Why?

I have reflected the report of the committee headed by the chief economic adviser. Its based on sound economic facts and logic. The committee members included officers from Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Gujarat, Karnataka and the Centres department of revenue. The government hasnt rejected the report. So why should I not accept it?

How confident are you about the April 1, 2017 deadline being met for GSTs rollout?

Much of these clauses were drafted when I was the minister. There is a lot of work to be done; many milestones to be crossed. I would be pleasantly surprised if they can cross all these in three months. Two laws have to be passed by Parliament. One law modeled on the model GST law has to be passed by 29 state governments. The GST Council has to be established. The Council has to establish a dispute resolution mechanism. The Council has to agree on the rates and recommend the rates to the Union government and the state governments. Then the governments must make up their minds about what rates will find a place in the Bills. On the administrative side, the GSTN network has to be fully established. Once its ready, it has to be tested in live intra-state transactions and live inter-state trade in goods and services and live trade in goods and services during the course of import.

There is a fear that GST will make services costlier?

Even if you fix it at the standard rate of 18%, it is an increase of three percentage points over the current level of 15% of service tax. On products, it depends on how many people register, how many transactions are captured in the GSTN. It is work in progress. There will be glitches, there will be difficulties. One should not lose heart. One should persevere.

How does one convince states that have demanded a higher cap?

That is the finance ministers burden. He has to convince them that exemptions will be limited, efficiency will be enhanced and tax evasion will be considerably lower. A lower standard rate will ensure their revenues are protected. The CEA has calculated the revenue neutral rate as 15-15.5%. Unless you demolish that calculation, why do you say at 18% you will lose revenue?
LUCKNOW: Chief minister Akhilesh Yadav on Thursday accused the BJP and BSP of trying to derive political advantage over the gang rape of a woman and her minor daughter near Bulandshahr, seeking to deflect criticism over alleged lawlessness in the state.

The Samajwadi Party government has come under attack from opposition parties after the gang rape on Friday night sent shock-waves across the country and raised questions over the law and order scene in the poll-bound state.

I want to know what kind of politics the BJP leaders, including Union ministers, are trying to play? What kind of political suggestions are they (BJP leaders) giving to the victims family? the chief minister told reporters on the sidelines of a programme at the Raj Bhawan.

He described the incident as painful and shameful and said the government has acted fast to nab some of the accused.

He linked the criticism of his government to the forthcoming elections and said the opposition parties were playing politics over the gang rape case after failing to corner the government.

Uttar Pradesh is going to have assembly elections. These people (the BJP and BSP) have nothing to say about their contribution to the states development, Yadav said.

Though leaders of all political parties have made a beeline to meet the two survivors, the chief minister was yet to visiting the family which has threatened suicide if police fail to deliver justice within three months.

Sources said Yadav cancelled a planned visit after the family criticised one of his ministers and senior SP leader Azam Khan who said whether people, with the opposite ideology or those who want to come to power, are behind this incident in order tom align the government.

Khan later said his comments were miscontrued.

The chief minister did not criticise Khan for the comment but instead chose to accuse central ministers of conspiring against the Samajwadi Party.

Yadav said his government was ready to hand over the case to CBI as demanded by opposition parties.

We will also make a request for trial of the case in fast track court. We acted promptly and sent senior officers to monitor the situation. We also acted against the officers who did not respond to the situation.
NEW DELHI: The April 1, 2017 deadline for the implementation of the goods and services tax (GST), Indias biggest tax reform since Independence, is a stiff target, finance minister Arun Jaitley said on Thursday.

Making no commitment on the rollout date, Jaitley told a press conference, I think we are going to try to make it as reasonably quick as possible. Now, whats the date by which we are able to make it will have to be seen. It is always good to set stiff targets and try and meet them rather than have no targets at all.

His remarks came a day after Rajya Sabha passed a bill to amend the Constitution, paving the way for the reform that aims to replace various local and central taxes with a single tax. The bill now needs to be passed by Lok Sabha and then ratified by at least 15 states.

Revenue secretary Hasmukh Adhia said the government was doing its best to meet the deadline. We are prepared with the IT but the implementation of GST by April 1, 2017 will depend on the GST council and the time the states take to come to a consensus, he told HT.
NEW DELHI: In another blow to AAP, the high court on Thursday said the Delhi government could not set up any commission of inquiry without the approval of the lieutenantgovernor.

A bench of chief justice G Rohini and justice Jayant Nath quashed two high-profile commissions of inquiry set up to probe the alleged CNG fitness scam and the alleged irregularities in DDCA. It said the panels were set up without the L-Gs approval.

T wo former transport department officials and the Centre had challenged the Delhi governments decision to constitute a commission to probe the CNG fitness scam, contending only the L-G could take such an action. Former CM Sheila Dikshit is also named in the scam.

The Delhi government appointed the commission of inquiry, consisting of justice SN Aggarwal, retired high court judge, in August last year. It was to probe the allotment of work regarding the CNG fitness certificates in the Delhi transport department.

The court agreed with the submission of Additional Solicitor General Sanjay Jain that the L-G acting through the Central government is competent to appoint a commission of inquiry regarding the administration of Delhi that is a Union Territory.

T he procedure followed by the Delhi government in issuing the notification for appointing the panel is ex facie illegal being in violation of the constitutional scheme, since the decision of the cabinet was not communicated to the L-G, the bench said.

The Delhi governments move to appoint nominee directors in BSES Rajdhani Power Limited, BSES Yamuna Power Limited and Tata Power Delhi Distribution Limited was also termed illegal by the court, which said it was made without the prior approval of the L-G.

The court quashed the Delhi governments direction to the Delhi Electricity Regulatory Commission to compensate consumers in case of unscheduled power cuts. It said such policy directions could not be issued without informing the L-G.

The court also quashed the August 4, 2015, notification of the AAP government, effecting a major hike in circle rates for agricultural land since L-Gs approval was not taken. It, however, said the Delhi government had the power to revise the circle rates.

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NEW DELHI: Lieutenant Governor Najeeb Jung said on Thursday that the Delhi High Court verdict was about following rules and not about personalities or victory or loss.

It (court verdict) is not a victory of anyone. It is not a win for Najeeb Jung and loss for Arvind Kejriwal Kejriwal and Najeeb Jung are immaterial, Constitutional norms are important. The court order is a kind of clarification that incorrect things will have to be corrected, Jung said.

In a setback for the Kejriwal government, the Delhi High Court on Thursday held that the L-G was the administrative head of the National Capital Territory of Delhi and the AAP governments contention that he was bound to act on the advice of Council of Ministers was without substance.

The L-G said a number of Delhi governments decisions had to be corrected as they did not have his approval. In this context, he mentioned the governments proposal to impose cess on discoms for power cuts, appointment of government representatives on the board of discoms and certain orders relating to taxes.

Jung was responding to questions about the road ahead following the high courts verdict on administrative jurisdiction between the L-G office and the chief ministers office.

Speaking at a press conference at his office -- the first since he took office in July 2013 -- Jung said he was open to considering proposals of Delhi government on issues that were struck down by the high court on. He said he will consider them on merit.

The Lieutenant Governor, who has had a long running battle with the AAP government on a host of jurisdictional issues, read out the oath of office to state that he was only protecting the Constitutional provisions. Jung said his disagreement with some decisions of the AAP government was restricted to the extent where they were at variance with the rulebook.

I do report to the Centre, but (it is) wrong to say we act against interest of Delhi government, he said to the oft-repeated allegation of the AAP government that Jung was acting as an agent of the Centre.

Jung played down criticism that the continued stalemate over jurisdictional issues has affected governance in the Capital. Ninety-nine per cent matters that came to us have been cleared. What has been stuck could be counted on fingers, he said.

He clarified there was no ill will behind the Centre not clearing several bills passed by the Delhi Assembly. Jung said all the 14 Bills that were sent to him were forwarded to the Centre, which is looking into it.

Any bill that has a financial implication or chance of being repugnant with a central law should get prior approval of the Centre. As far as the five bills relating to enhancing salaries of MLAs are concerned, following communication on them by the Centre, I had sought certain clarifications but the government has not responded. I have sent three reminders. I am yet to hear from them, Jung said.

Responding to the personal attacks on him by the AAP leaders, including chief minister Arvind Kejriwal, Jung said he did not start the slugfest and his office has never used abusive language against anybody.

My DNA is such that I dont get affected by abusive language, he said.

Asked about AAP governments decision to challenge the high court verdict in the Supreme Court, Jung said, They (Delhi government) do not have a case.
NEW DELHI: For the second time, Delhi University on Thursday notified that the Faculty of Laws counselling schedule could not be released due to legal hurdles, leaving students who appeared for its entrance test in the lurch.

The university cannot begin admissions without a go-ahead from the Bar Council of India (BCI)  the authority that controls legal education in India. The BCI is yet to submit a report based on its July 19 inspection of the new building.

The university had proposed to shift the three law centres  Law Centre 1, Campus Law Centre (CLC) and Law Centre 2 to a new building at Chhatra Marg in north campus, near the law facultys current location. CLC student Tarun Narang had filed a case in the high court against the decision, saying the building lacked space and infrastructure to fit all three centres.

A university official said the BCI will decide on three centres intake capacity because of which the process was stalled.

We have to wait for a go ahead from the BCI and the court. The only option for us is to wait, said a senior university official.

Till last year, the university took 2,100 students in the first year. If the BCI rule is followed, the number could be reduced to 900.

The students are worried that they may not get a seat owing to the capacity reduction.

The admissions to all other colleges have been closed. In case I do not qualify to DU, the entire one year will be wasted . There is still no clarity on when the counselling will begin, said an aspirant from Punjab.

However, DUs notice said the counselling schedule will be updated by August second week.

The next date of hearing in the court is on August 22. Is DU going to wait for it? Even if the session does start by August, when will the syllabus be completed? said Narang.

The university on July 21 issued a circular saying that the session was being postponed due to unavoidable circumstances.

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ISLAMABAD/NEW DELHI: Home minister Rajnath Singh used a meeting in Pakistan on Thursday to seek the strongest action against countries that back terrorism and pilloried those who eulogise terrorists, delivering a terse message that was not covered by the Pakistani media.

Singh did not name any countries or individuals in his speech at the meeting of Saarc interior ministers but there was little doubt he was referring to Pakistan.

The remarks were an apparent reference to the stance adopted by Pakistan on slain Hizbul Mujahideen commander Burhan Wani and the subsequent unrest in Kashmir that left about 50 people dead last month. Islamabad angered New Delhi by referring to Wani as a Kashmiri leader and a martyr besides describing his death as an extrajudicial killing.

If we are to rid ourselves of terrorism, we will have to genuinely believe that attempts to distinguish between good and bad terrorists are misleading, and thus, no type of terrorism or support to it can be justified on any grounds whatsoever, Singh said in his speech.

Strongest possible steps need to be taken not only against terrorists and terrorist organisations but also those individuals, institutions, organisations or nations that support them.

Singh said mere condemnation of terrorism was not enough and that terrorists must not be eulogised or glorified as martyrs. Singh, who returned to India late Thursday afternoon, said he would speak in parliament about his visit to Pakistan.

As the SAARC meeting began at Serena Hotel in Islamabad, the frost permeating bilateral ties was plain for all to see. Pakistans interior minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan was receiving participants at the entrance of the venue and shaking their hands. When Singh and a grim-looking Khan came face-to-face, their hands barely touched before the Indian minister moved into the hall, witnesses said.

Khan brought up Kashmir in his speech and criticised what he said was the use of excessive force to suppress protests in Jammu and Kashmir.

He also said there was a difference between fighting for freedom and terrorism.

Using torture against innocent children and violence against civilians qualifies as terrorism, Khan was quoted as saying by the Dawn.

Visiting Indian journalists were not allowed to capture the moment as they were kept at a distance by Pakistani officials. This led to an angry exchange between an Indian official and a Pakistani official.

Both Singh and Khan stayed away from a lunch hosted for the SAARC ministers.

Pakistani media, including the vibrant private TV news channels, did not cover Singhs speech.

Pakistani officials said there was great anger in the country against the Indian government over the violence in Jammu and Kashmir, and that was why the media blacked out Singh.

We are respecting public sentiments, one official said. TV news channel directors said on condition of anonymity they were advised by official quarters not to cover Singhs speech.

Pakistan tried to downplay the SAARC meet and only staterun Pakistan Television covered the introductory speeches by Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and interior minister Khan.

But India dismissed the blackout controversy over Singhs speech as misleading, suggesting only host country ministers remarks are aired.

It is the standard SAARC practice that the opening statement by the host country is public and open to the media while the rest of the proceedings are in camera, which allows for a full and frank discussion of issues, a government source said.

During his speech, Singh also said terrorism had been greatly amplified by the misuse of digital technology.

He asked governments to look at all aspects of cyber crime and called for immediate ratification of the SAARC convention on mutual assistance in criminal matters.

Prime Minister Sharif also touched on terrorism in his opening address but from a different point of view.

Sharif said Pakistan had registered remarkable gains against terrorists at the national level through the armys operation Zarb-e-Azb and the implementation of a National Action Plan.

This reflects our governments determination to eliminate the scourge of terrorism from our soil for good, he said.

Let me reaffirm that Pakistan remains committed to jointly working with the SAARC member states in fighting terrorism, corruption and organised crime among others.

Singhs arrival in Pakistan has coincided with protests at several places by radical organisations and extremist leaders such as Jamaat-ud-Dawah chief Hafiz Saeed and Hizbul Mujahideen head Syed Salahuddin.

Some protesters gathered at a distance of about 10 km from the National Assembly, located close to the venue of the SAARC meet.

Security was high for Singh, who was taken to the hotel in a helicopter.

Singh also called on the Pakistani premier with other SAARC ministers.
One of the four death row convicts in the sensational December 16 gang rape and murder has sought permission from Chief Justice of India TS Thakur to attend the hearing in the appeal against death penalty in Supreme Court, his counsel said on Friday.

Copies of the letters written by convict Akshay, lodged in Tihar Jail, were sent to President Pranab Mukherjee and SC judge Justice Dipak Misra.

In the letter, Akshay alleged that the trial court and the Delhi High Court did not give him a fair hearing by denying copies of the judgments and hearings in Hindi.

Justice Misra is heading the three-judge bench which is hearing his appeal. The four convicts have challenged the March 13, 2014, Delhi High Court verdict upholding the trial courts death sentence to them.

The move comes almost three weeks after two convicts -- Pawan and Vinay -- wrote to the CJI demanding removal of two senior advocates appointed by the SC as amicus curiae in the case. The fourth convict is Mukesh.

A 23-year-old paramedic was gangraped by six people in a moving bus in south Delhi and thrown out of the vehicle with her male friend on the night of December 16, 2012. She died in a Singapore hospital on December 29, 2012.

The prime accused, Ram Singh, was found dead in a cell in Tihar Jail in March 2013.

On August 31, 2013, another accused, a juvenile at the time of the crime, was convicted and sentenced to three years in a reformation home. He was released from observation home in December last year.
The ladies that nurture street food culture.

The coastal city of Da Nang, together with its well-known young vibe, is the place to be for snack and junk food lovers. And like everywhere else in Vietnam, the best treats come from the lovely dames who put their names up as guarantees for the culinary experiences they provide.

These dames are called 'ba' in Vietnamese, a pronoun reserved for grandmas and respected women, but also the way to address the kind lady owners of street food places who treat customers like their own grandchildren. Now, let us tell you the stories of five 'ba' who have spent decades serving up delicacies in Da Nang.

'Banh xeo ba Duong'

Actually, Duong is the name of the owners husband, not hers. But it doesnt seem to matter for a 30-year business. 'Banh xeo' is actually the Vietnamese version of the crepe with savory rather than sweet toppings and a thinner, crispier base thanks to the use of rice instead of wheat. It can be eaten alone or wrapped in the versatile 'banh trang'. 'Banh xeo' here is just the best version of a dish sold everywhere in Vietnam, with high-quality rice flour from nearby Quang Nam Province, river prawns, tender beef, bean sprouts, egg and a sweet'n'sour dipping sauce that settles the score.

At VND40,000 ($1.8) for a plate of four, its definitely a no-brainer for those looking for a taste of Da Nang.

'Banh trang dap ba Tu'

For 20 years, Madame Tu has been serving Da Nang's street gourmets her special crunchy treat. A thin sheet of banh trang, which forms the cover of the famous spring roll nem, is grilled over a charcoal fire until reaching the desired crunchiness, then gently broken ('dap' in Vietnamese) in order for the sheet to fold. 'Banh uot', a silky and soft thin sheet made of rice flour, is then stuffed between the crunchy layers to add a break to the crispy texture.

Banh trang dap is eaten with a special fish dipping sauce. Each house distinguishes itself mainly through the sauces they boast, and it may be Tus dip whipped up from fish sauce, peanut oil, chopped pineapple, garlic, chili and fried shallots that keep customers coming back.

'Oc ba My'

Sucking snails is all the rage on the streets of Da Nang. Opening at 4 p.m. at a busy intersection, Madame Mys place offers all kinds of snail dishes, characterized by the addition of green papaya salad dashed with fried shallots. Snails here are caught in streams, and bear a distinct aroma and preferred chewiness. The pointy ends are also chopped off, allowing one to suck, instead of dig the snail out with a fork.

A decent meal for two here costs only around VND50,000 ($2.3).

'Nem lui ba Ngoc'

At VND5,000 ($0.2), the finger-size nem lui here are always ordered in tens. Famous from Hue to Saigon, nem lui are made of seasoned minced pork, shaped around a stick and grilled over a charcoal fire. Though said to have a dipping sauce less savory than other places, Madame Ngocs nem lui still makes it onto our list thanks to the lovely flavor of the meat, which is still the spirit of the dish no matter how hard they emphasize the importance of sauce.

'Banh beo ba Be'

A veteran with 10 years of experience, Madame Bes is the place to come if one is still on the fence about where to taste a piece of Da Nang.

Snacks from central Vietnam like 'banh loc' (the see-through dumpling that reveals with an alien-like whole prawn stuffing), 'banh nam' (a soft snack that comes wrapped in leaves with a filling of prawns and minced pork), 'banh ram' (a combination of both chewiness and crunchiness) converge here, giving eaters a chance to taste as much as possible without having to move.





Related news:

> Vietnamese crepe, lovely to see and crunchy to eat

> Rooftop romance in Da Nang's lofty bars
After a delay of more than a month, Delhi University is announcing the results for the first-year and second-year final examinations.

The university declared the results of a few second-year subjects this week. The rest will be announced soon, said officials. The first-year results are likely to be out next week.

The results are available on the universitys website www.du.ac.in.

We have already started announcing the second-year results. Almost 50% results have been announced and the rest will be announced soon, an official from the exam department said.

The first-year results are likely to be prepared by next week and will be announced then, officials said.

University teachers protest over a University Grants Commission notification had delayed the evaluation as they had boycotted the process for all three years.

The teachers started their boycott on May 24, a few days after the evaluation had started. The were protesting a notification that will, teachers say, bring down the number of teaching positions by 50% with unreasonable terms of promotion.

Read: Heres why DU teachers are not evaluating answer papers since May 24

The notification had increases the workload for assistant professors from 16 hours per week to 22 hours per week (including tutorials). The work hours of associate professors will go up from 14 to 20 hours. This had meant that the number of teachers required per subject will be lowered.

Initially, teachers agreed to check the answer sheets of final year students only. But Delhi University Teachers Association called off the boycott for all years on July 18 after the human resource development ministry and UGC officials agreed to set up a committee to address their demands.

Officials said invigilators began checking answer sheets of second and third years only from July 19. Evaluation is a long and tedious process, especially in a university the size of DU. At least 54,000 students are admitted to DU every year. There are a minimum of 162,000 students enrolled.

Each student writes five papers in a semester taking the total number of answer sheets to be checked to at least 800,000.

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Shavez, one of the three arrested in the Bulandshahr gang rape, has a voter identity card in the name of Javed from Dehpa village near Pilkhuwa. He ran a kiosk selling puri-sabji near his house till he was picked up by police the night after the incident.

His family claims the young man is surviving on a single kidney as it had to be taken out in an operation.

Police came here in 4-5 vans and entered the house. Javed was sleeping and they asked him to come out. When his mother Famida resisted, she was trashed, which caused injuries on her mouth and head. She is bed-ridden now. Javeds brother has been in jail 3-4 months back in connection with a cow slaughter incident and his father, Aas Mohammed, died two years back, said Tayyaba, his sister.

We dont know Raees from Sutari in Bulandshahr or Jabar Singh (the two other accused arrested in connection with the Dostpur incident). My brother is implicated and police even dont know his correct name. He is Javed Qureshi, said Saleem, Javeds cousin.

Read more: 3 men were identified by Bulandshahr victims: Police

Javed is among 11 siblings,including three sisters who are married. Police claimed he was among the three persons who were arrested and sent to judicial custody in connection with the incident.

We are tracing the crime history of these men. Jabar Singh, as far as I know, is involved in one robbery incident in Noida. I have asked the Bulandshahr officials about the remand. They said that they will be applying for it soon, said Sujit Pandey, Inspector General of Police, Meerut Range.

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A visit to Sarojini Nagar Market in the next few days may leave shoppers disappointed as traders here have threatened to go on an indefinite strike. The bone of contention is the unrestrained encroachment in the market. The shop owners had, after a recent drive, removed extensions from their shops and the market association now wants the authorities to act against vendors encroaching the market area. The association has threatened that the market may remain shut for some time if the authorities fail to take action. Reports of possible shut down of Delhis favourite shopping destination had set the social media abuzz.

For six months now, traders have been complaining to the New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC) about rampant encroachment by unauthorised hawkers who crowd the narrow market lanes. They say that the unchecked movement of such vendors makes the market congested and vulnerable. In 2005, about 43 people were killed and 28 were injured in a bomb blast that rocked the market on the eve of Diwali. Besides, Ashok Randhawa, president of Sarojini Nagar Mini Market Association said the vendors are also eating into their business.

Justifying their decision to strike, traders claimed that NDMC had joined hands with them to form a self-regulation plan to decongest the market. According to the plan, the civic body had asked the traders to remove their shop extensions, after which NDMC would have taken action against the vendors. After several meetings with NDMC officials, the traders who legally own shops decided to clear extensions in front of their shops. The shop owners who had extended their counters up to eight feet agreed to retreat to at least two feet. In return, they demanded clearance of illegal tehbazari (vendors).

However, Randhawa said the council did not keep its word. As a result, illegal tehbazari and movement of touts remained unchecked. He said, We will now speak to NDMC officials on August 10 to reach a consensus, otherwise we will go on a strike.

The NDMC conducted a drive here three weeks ago and cleared more than 70% encroachments. However, shopkeepers claim most of them are back.

A senior NDMC official said, We had removed encroachers a couple of weeks ago but several of them returned with a stay order from the court. Hence we could not initiate action again. The other problem we face is that as touts keep roaming in the market, it is difficult to track them. The town vending committee will complete a survey in the next 15 days, after which a decision will be made. A plan for redevelopment of the market has also been submitted by the traders association which is being examined by the NDMC.

Pramod Sharma, president of Sarojini Nagar Mini Market Association, said the authorities have allowed about 400 vendors to work in the market; whereas, at present more than 500 vendors operate here. Sharma said the traders had extended their shops to compete with illegal vendors who sold the same goods at lesser price. Shopkeepers are bearing the brunt of the councils inaction. We pay rent and taxes but the vendors make higher profits. Our business has suffered a lot in the past few years, he said.

Randhawa said, All the shopkeepers of Sarojini Nagar, including those of Babu Market, main market and mini market, now do their business only within the space that has been earmarked by NDMC. Most of us have agreed to the terms and others will follow. But, as the illegal vendors continue business, it is getting difficult for us to convince shopkeepers to remove their extensions.

Rajasekhar YVVJ, director, NDMC enforcement wing, said, We support the idea of self-regulation as it will bring transparency. This will help pedestrians to move freely and provide a fair shopping experience. We are committed to remove squatters.

Sharma said their unchecked movement is also a security threat. There is no rescue plan in the market in case of an emergency. There is no way for fire services or ambulances to enter as all pathways are blocked by vendors. With around 60 embassies located in the neighbourhood, the area is always on high alert, yet nothing has been done, he said.

Nupur Prasad, additional DCP (South) said, It is the NDMCs duty to remove encroachments. We will provide adequate security when NDMC raises a demand.

There are four markets in Sarojini Nagar  Sarojini Nagar main market (200 shops), vegetable market (65 shops), Babu market (120 shops) and Mini market (120 shops). Randhawa said that over the years footfall in the market has increased but the agencies are apparently not bothered about security measures.

He said, For years, we have been asking NDMC to remove squatters. We decided to discipline ourselves but we also expect the civic body to look into our demands of making the area encroachment-free and initiate redevelopment plans here.

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To keep a tab on the quality of education in the municipal schools, South Delhi Municipal Corporation (SDMC) has decided to conduct regular inspections. However, to make this exercise more effective, inspectors will not visit the schools in their zones. Rather, they will be sent to other zones. For example, the school inspectors deployed in west zone will visit the schools in central zone and vice versa. The decision was taken at a recent meeting of the education committee.

SDMC has four zones  central, south, south-west and west. Each zone has about eight school inspectors who visit schools once in a week in their respective areas. But, it was observed that the problems at these schools were often ignored by them. Hence, the agency decided to send inspectors to other zones. This inspection would be carried out once in a fortnight.

Yashpal Arya, chairman of the education committee, said, The decision was pending for some time as we were waiting for the newly appointed teachers to join. We gave them some time to settle at work. The initiative will help in removing the anomalies in the education system and getting an actual report about the schools status.

Read: Recruitment of 1,000 teachers cleared for municipal schools

The school inspectors are responsible to verify the maintenance, cleanliness and infrastructure in schools. They are also supposed to authenticate the quality of the mid-day meal and the education imparted to the children. Besides, examining the surroundings is also the job of a school inspector. They submit their reports to the deputy director (education), who discusses it during the education committee meeting held each month, said an official from the education department.

According to Arya, the inspectors will especially keep an eye over the schools where the performance of students is declining. We will not consider the teachers of such schools for SDMC awards. Teachers should work hard with children to ensure they perform well in classes, he said.

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A day after the Delhi High Court ruled that the lieutenant governor is the administrator of Delhi, Najeeb Jung talks about his experience with the AAP government and the road ahead.

What are the ramifications of the Delhi high court verdict on the governments functioning? What impact will it have?

The impact should have been negligible had the elected government followed norms and the Constitution and the transaction of business rules. As they did not, this clarity of process will make a big difference. For instance, files that were stopped at the secretariat level, which should have come to us, will now have to come to us.

Last September, we pointed this out to the government when it was resisting it. The ministry of home affairs issued an exclusive order on September 19, 2015, making individual officers culpable if they did not follow the transaction of business rules and the constitutional provisions. Despite that, all the papers were not sent to us. With this clarity, even if officers would be advised to the contrary, files would come to us. So what will happen henceforth would be legitimate and constitutional.

Does that mean officers who have not followed orders will be made culpable and accountable?

I do not intend going after officers for what has happened in the last one year. They worked under enormous compulsions. On many occasions when they were not at fault, they were unnecessarily harassed and punished. I dont have to mention names here. They are all out in public domain. But for the future, I would make it absolutely clear that these are senior officers, secretary-level officers, commissioners they would certainly be held accountable if they do not follow the legal provisions. But I would also clarify that what has happened in the past needs to be rectified.

Read | After high court ruling, L-G Jung has a message for Delhi CM Kejriwal

Will you review the decisions taken so far?

Yes. We are in the process of requesting the Government of National Capital Territory of Delhi to send us all those files on which clearance was required and they have not got so far.

The stalemate over the past one year has also been due to the political demand for full statehood for Delhi. You are not only the administrator of Delhi. You are also a citizen of Delhi. Do you think the demand for full statehood is justified or is the present arrangement good enough for the national Capital?

This thing has been dealt at length in Parliament. This matter has been dealt with in this high court judgment. This matter was dealt at length by a committee in 1989, which concluded that Delhi as the Capital of the Union occupies a unique position for the nation and it has special features inherent in the national Capital. It is in the national interest that the central government has a comprehensive control over the affairs of the Capital to secure a high degree of security and a high level of administrative efficiency.

At the same time, the demand of a large and articulate population for the democratic right of participation in the government is too important to be ignored. That is how the assembly came in. The structure of the administration to be devised for Delhi should therefore be such as to strike a balance between the need to be with the Centre and the need to satisfy the democratic aspirations of the people. Then you come to the alternatives.

So even as a citizen of Delhi, two or three years ago not knowing the system, I may have said as a layman that make Delhi a state, whats bad in that? But today, as an insider in the system and having studied it, I would say Delhi must continue to be a UT. It just cannot be made a state.

Many officers brought in by the Kejriwal government in positions that are cadre posts may be from other states and services. What do you intend to do with such super-time appointments?

The rule is very clear. If any non-cadre person comes into a cadre post, he can stay in the position for three months. Subsequent to that, he needs the Centres permission. Currently, there are 4-5 officers in the secretariat holding cadre positions. Three readily come to my mind. I will be writing to the chief secretary against those (appointments). They have to be moved out immediately.

So your director (vigilance) goes?

I think, he came as OSD to the chief minister. He would go back as OSD to the chief minister, which is a non-cadre post.

The chief secretary was served six memos by the Delhi government. The law and homes secretaries ran into problems with the government. The secretary (services) was locked out of his room. How do you intend to reverse this trend and put the system back in place?

These 17 months have been tumultuous for the bureaucracy. They had never faced such a situation. It was Tsunami where officers were confronted with a slew of words, which are not normally used against civil servants. The word civil servant comes from civility. They are expected to be civil and they expect people to be civil towards them.

What happened was unfortunate. There are officers who have capitulated out of fear. There are some who thought they would benefit out of it. But there were many who withstood the onslaught. And they were indeed punished. It was unprecedented when DANICS officers went on casual leave for a day. The IAS officers worked half day in protest. Delhi bureaucracy is not a trade union. I am also a former civil servant. It doesnt occur to a civil servant to go on a mass strike. A civil servant is used to working in natural calamity. They do not look at work hours. Annual leave is a rarity. All this amounts to a request for polite action with us. That didnt happen and it has hurt them very deeply.

Look what happened to the lady who was to be chief secretary for a short period of time? There was a case of having two home secretaries at the same time. This has hurt the civil service. With this (HC verdict) clarity, I am convinced that this would help to recreate the spine of the civil service.

The CM recently said the prime minister was out to get him killed. They accused you of taking a bribe.

Its completely laughable. The chief minister of Delhi gets a very high-level of security. His level of security is just next to what an SPG protectee gets. So this threat is coming from a strange paranoia, a remark that shouldnt be coming from a chief minister.

The ration shop business was complete rubbish. There was a case in my court. I function as an appellate court. The ration shop was allotted to a widow. The local MLA of the area had gone to the shop and bullied the shopkeeper and had the ration distributed. That was the evidence put before us. I said the ration shop should be restored. I also said the chief secretary and the police should investigate whether this complaint against the MLA was correct or not. The honourable CM felt that his man should be protected. The assembly resolution is quite meaningless.

You have been called Modis agent. Has the prime minister ever called to tell you what to do against the current (Delhi) government?

No one in this current government has ever asked me to do things this way or that way. Prime minister to bahut badi cheez hain. No one in this government has ever called me. But I am in contact with the home ministry to which I report on various issues. But the home minister has never called me to give any specific direction. He has never even interfered in the transfer of any DCP, joint CPwhich is well within his mandate.

Najeeb Jung say Delhi must continue to be a UT. It just cannot be made a state. (Arvind Yadav/Hindustan Times)

After this verdict, do you intend to meet the chief minister once he comes from his retreat to sort things out?

The CM used to meet me once in two-three weeks till about two months ago. Every time I meet him, it is my constitutional duty to tell him that he should work with us. I have never had a falling out or a nasty bickering one to one. Everything happens after he goes back and he rethinks whatever has been discussed here.

So, it is my constitutional duty to request him to make a visit to this office and tell him that this is what the high court has so far said.

But it is his privilege and his decision to approach the Supreme Court. It is my duty to show the high court order to him and request him that it is in the interest of democracy, interest of Delhi, interest of this Union Territory, the great national Capital of India. He should work with us in line with the Constitution.

How do you think the police have been functioning under the new commissioner? How do you intend to make Delhi safer for women and curb non-heinous crime such as snatching, burglaries and car-thefts? Can we have a better conviction rate in non-heinous crimes?

I told the police commissioner this week that conviction rates must improve. Because when you arrest someone, you have some evidence. Once we file the chargesheet, we need to ensure conviction happens.

It has been reported widely that 99% of rapes happen in the confines of homes. Father, brother, uncle and immediate neighbours are the ones behind such crimes. Unfortunately, you cant have eyes in the bedroom.

But there is the other 6-7%, which is happening in the unauthorised colonies where living conditions are difficult. We have to work to change the mindset. Now that does not rest entirely with the police. It rests with parenting.

But the police also need to make the roads, public places safe.

We need to immediately do certain things. Like installation of CCTVs. The week the new police commissioner came, the CM said that he would provide funds for the installation of CCTV cameras. We welcomed it. The police commissioner said he will provide a list. The CM wanted to install and monitor them. We agreed. Its been about six months but nothing happened.

The role of a beat constable has to be much better. The thanedar has to be more sincere. And that is all coming from repeated training programmes that we are trying to give.

After the lone-wolf attacks, the London Police decided to set up a special unit to deal solely with such terror acts. Are we even thinking on those lines?

We are conscious of it. We are trying many things I cant put in print. The intelligence has improved. We are in very close contact with the police in neighbouring states. We are keeping a close watch on all potential areas, institutions and organisations that have the potential of throwing up such things. We are keeping a watch on those who might not be under serious watch earlier.

Delhi is a very dirty city. Now that the hierarchy is clearly defined, can we have a cleaner Capital?

The municipalities have to do a much better job. But we all have to pull up our socks. I will have to call the commissioners, speak to them. Dhalaos must be cleaner. We need an efficient sewage system.

Shah Jahan made the walled city to accommodate around 3-4 lakh people. Today it caters to nearly 40 or 45 lakh people. But the sewerage system still holds. So what we have to do is to ensure proper maintenance. Something is wrong in the way we construct roads, sewage lines and the brutality with which we have concretised earth.

Read: SC to hear together AAP govts civil suit, appeal on statehood
Engineering students of Atal Bihari Vajpayee Hindi University in Bhopal will soon trace the roots of modern science in Indian ancient texts  the Vedas, and writings of bygone-era mathematician Bhaskaracharya and sagescientist Acharya Kanad.

The university, in a first, is preparing a curriculum in Hindi, which will allow students to gain knowledge of engineering that prevailed in the sub-continent in ancient times, and chronicled by seers and sages who doubled up as men of science.

Whenever we talk about our rich legacy of Hindu rishis and munis, people oppose it. But it is a fact that Indian seers came out with many inventions in engineering, medical science and astronomy thousands of years ago, vice-chancellor Mohan Lal Chhipa said.

We will teach about Indian scientists before any western scientist.

University sources said the sole purpose of the programme is to promote Indian science and culture, which has been overshadowed by western science.

Read more | Rewrite history to focus on Vedas: Hindutva activist

Students will be taught how Indian sage-scientists were in no way inferior to, if not greater than, western greats such as JJ Thomson, John Dalton, Gerhard Bernsee, George Stibiz, and Lord Kelvin.

The neo-nationalistic approach stems from the lack of knowledge of modern students about the scientific shlokas or couplets in Sanskrit mentioned in the Vedas.

Hence, the Hindi curriculum. In India, students are aware of John Dalton, but not Acharya Kanad (considered the father of atomic theory in Sanskrit), a university official said.

The programme will be an additional subject, titled Bharatiya Gyan aur Parampara (Indian knowledge and tradition), to be introduced this academic session. But the students will not have to take any examination on the new subject.

Besides the Vedas, the earliest scriptures of Hinduism, works of sage Bhrigus Shilp Samhita on engineering science and metallurgy, the Narad Shilp Shastra on arts and crafts, and Charaka Samhita that deals with Ayurvedic healing, will be part of the reading material.

Experts called the programme an attempt to promote Hinduism, not engineering.

This additional subject will create confusion among students and is also going to distort their view on the subject, a professor with a national institute said. This could trigger debates because international-level examinations demand a student to write what has been scientifically proven and established, not untested theories that spring from mythology, he added.

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A day after Congress uproar over shutting down of institutions in Amethi and Rae Bareli, HRD Minister Prakash Javadekar on Friday justified the closure of Indian Institute of Information Technology (IIIT) in Amethi saying law did not permit off-campus centres and it was technically illegal.

In the Rajya Sabha, Javadekar said he wanted to respond to the issue of closure of IIIT, Amethi raised by some members on Thursday and asserted that there was no political vendetta.

IIIT, Amethi was sanctioned in 2005 and courses started in 2005-06. This was a full-fledged IIIT, but an off-campus facility of IIIT in Allahabad.

Law does not permit off-campus centres of IIITs, he said, adding that the one in Amethi, called Rajiv Gandhi IIIT, was technically illegal.

The campus had one permanent facility and one faculty would travel daily from Allahabad. Students were unhappy and wanted all faculties to be present there, he said, adding that the students were agitating and wanted to be transferred to Allahabad.

A review by IIT Kanpur had also concluded that the students should be transferred to IIIT Allahabad. There is no political vendetta. It is the students who are starving for education, he said justifying the closure.

Students had on July 29 gheraoed the Allahabad IIIT faculty and demanded proper education as Amethi campus did not have permanent faculty and they had to rely on one teacher travelling from Allahabad to teach four classes, he said.

Read more: IIIT Amethi campus shifted to Allahabad

Pramod Tiwari (Cong) said if there was any legal lacunae why did the government not overcome it in two years it has been in office.

The BJP government, he alleged, has political vendetta in shutting down six institutes and factories in the Lok Sabha constituencies of Congress president Sonia Gandhi and vice president Rahul Gandhi.

He said it was the employees of IIIT Amethi which was on agitation against closure. Javadekar replied saying a general science college of Dr Ambedkar University, Lucknow is being started in Amethi and the employees will be accommodated there.

He said in sanctioning Kendriya Vidyalayas after taking over as HRD Minister, he had sanctioned one for Rae Bareli, asserting we work on merit.

Deputy Chairman P J Kurien told the minister that the Congress member was asking the government to look into any legal and technical lacunae in the Amethi IIIT campus.
From booking a cab to buying groceries from the comfort of your home, mobile applications have become an integral part of our everyday lives. Indian Institute of Technology Madras (IIT Madras) is offering an opportunity to all those with basic programming skills to learn app development in just five weeks. The institute will start a free online course on Introduction to Modern Application Development (IMAD), from September 5, 2016, which will be open to all. Registration for the course can be done here. The website also has resources required to learn or to brush up required programming basics.

Besides being free for everyone, anywhere, the course strives for the right balance between theory and practice by focusing on building an application quickly while also ensuring that it never breaks. Short 20-minute course videos will be available on YouTube and can be at watched anytime. You can take the course even from the comfort of your home. The course will have graded assignments, and a final test to help one remain focused through the course.

The course will be broken into five modules:

Module (i) will give you an introduction to the Internet, and its common network protocols

Module (ii) You get to build a basic but complete web application

Module (iii) Learn the how and why of modelling data for your application using databases

Module (iv) Learn about performance and how to ensure security for an application

Module (v) will teach you how to build your own mobile application.

The course will be conducted by Dr Gaurav Raina, faculty in the Department of Electrical Engineering at IIT Madras, and also a visiting research fellow in the Statistical Laboratory at Cambridge University along with Tanmai Gopal, chief technology officer and co-founder of Hasura, a core technology startup. He is also an alumnus of IIT Madras from the Department of Computer Science and Engineering.

Talking about the motivation of the instructors for giving such a course, Professor Raina says,Our larger objective is to get the youth excited about technology, and about building solutions for both local and global problems. The course will teach students some of the technology skills that are integral to the modern digital economy.

Gopal added, In this new space of application/web development almost everyone is self-taught because the technical underpinnings are not taught anywhere, and universities are yet to catch up. Our motivation is to address this gap. In the true spirit of education, we want to address the hardest challenges that people face in this field - getting started on a solid foundation.

This course will help in developing skills crucial to someone wanting to develop apps and get started on their own. It is aimed at equipping one with the ingredients to get started with an idea. There is also the tangible benefit of internships at some of the top tech startups/companies in India such as ChargeBee, CloudCherry Analytics, PickYourTrail, SolverMinds, USP Studios, and Playfiks who have tied up to provide interview opportunities to students who complete the course.

In addition, an examination (optional) will be conducted on completion of the course and on successfully clearing it, one can obtain a certification from IIT Madras.
Applications are invited for the Chevening Scholarship and Fellowship programmes for 2017-18. These fully-funded programmes are offered by the UK government. They offer a unique opportunity for future leaders, influencers, and decision-makers from all over the world to develop professionally and academically, network extensively and experience UK culture.

Chevening is the UK governments international awards scheme aimed at developing global leaders since 1983. Funded by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and partner organisations, Chevening offers two types of awards  Chevening Scholarships and Chevening Fellowships  the recipients of which are personally selected by British embassies and high commissions throughout the world through a rigorous selection process. Click here for details.

The Chevening India programme is the largest in the world offering up to 65 fully paid scholarships and 65 fully paid fellowships every year. One-year masters scholarships are given to outstanding Indian graduates with a minimum of two years work experience to study any subject of their choice at any recognised UK University. HSBC sponsors three scholars from India annually to study in fields related to environment and sustainability.

Speaking about Chevening India programme, British High Commissioner to India, Sir Dominic Asquith KCMG, said: UK in India hosts the largest Chevening country programme in the world, with a 2.6 million (Rs 26 lakh) budget to fund about 130 fully funded scholarships for future Indian leaders. Once you are chosen as a Chevening Scholar, you get into a special relationship with the UK. There are over 46,000 Chevening alumni in the world and over 2,300 in India.

Chevening Scholarships are awarded to outstanding emerging leaders to pursue a one-year masters at any UK University. It offers financial support along with the opportunity to become part of the highly regarded and influential Chevening global network. Applicants from India can choose any course of study, but applicants from the field of energy security, climate change, urban development, defence, security, foreign policy, trade and investment, economic reforms as well as research and innovation are given preference.

Application dates: August 8, 2016 to November 8, 2016

Programme dates: September 2017  August 2017

The Chevening fellowships are customised courses aimed at mid-to-senior level professionals who are looking to expand their knowledge and expertise in their specific field of work. The programmes are tailored, short courses which usually run for 8-12 weeks at a designated UK university. Applications for the following fellowships are open now:

The Chevening Cyber Security Fellowship is aimed at mid-career Indian professionals with demonstrable leadership potential in the field of cyber security or cyber policy in India. This programme is running since 2014. Six fellows are sent every year to the UK for a 12 week fully funded residential programme delivered at Cranfield University at the Defence Academy of the United Kingdom.

The course enables a small yet significant group of Indian cyber experts to get professional training on the subject, enabling them to come up to speed with the best British practices. This goes a long way in contributing to developing mutual understanding between the two countries in mitigating cyber security threat and defence cooperation.

Application dates: August 15, 2016 to September 30, 2016

Programme commences: March 2017

The Chevening Rolls-Royce Science and Innovation Leadership Fellowship started in 2011 and has since run in partnership with Rolls Royce. The 11-week programme is designed for high calibre mid-career professionals and is delivered at Said Business School, University of Oxford. Twelve Indians are among those chosen for the cohort every year. They work in the field of science, innovation, manufacturing, technology, business and related public administration with links to public policy and belong to a variety of sectors and are mostly corporate executives, entrepreneurs, research scientists, academics and public sector employees.

Application dates: August 29, 2016 to October 16, 2016

Programme commences: April 2017

The Chevening South Asia Journalism Fellowship Programme started in 2011 and is especially designed for deserving journalists from South Asia, including seven from India. It provides an informed and evidence-based context to key policy debates and mutual understanding of international positions (including an appreciation of UK approaches), supply practical experience, and encourage dialogue on key issues.

The eight-week fully-funded residential programme at the University of Westminster is customised for future media leaders and opinion formers working in the areas of political, economic and business journalism in India. The programme focuses on Good Governance in a Changing World: Media, Politics and Society.

Application dates: August 29, 2016 to October 16, 2016

Programme commences: March 2017

The Chevening Standard Chartered Financial Services Fellowship is customised to build expertise in specialist skills such as risk management, actuarial sciences, investment management and financial regulation, which will increase the talent pool in the Indian market and provide a fillip to growth in the sector.

The objective is that the fellows return to their professional positions of influence and continue engagement with the UK to strengthen cooperation between the two countries in their field of work. The fellowship will offer a high quality professional development opportunity which will provide specialist skills to encourage innovation and help improve industry capability in India. Fellows will also gain an appreciation of the value of cost-benefit analysis of financial regulation and leave with a positive impression of the UK.

The fellowship is designed for eight high ranking mid-career professionals working in the financial sector who can potentially contribute to policy making, including the ministry of finance and associated entities, financial regulators such as Reserve Bank of India, Securities and Exchange Board of India, Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority, Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority, influential academics, think-tanks, entrepreneurs, particularly in areas such as financial technology and asset management.

Application dates: August 29, 2016 to October 16, 2016

Programme commences: March 2017
Stick your neck out for this seasons fashion trend, chokers. The versatile and popular 90s accessory can be found around everyones necks. Theyre the one fashion trend you can get for cheap.

Now, they come with a modern update. These days, besides metal you can find chokers made of fabric, leather, crochet with quirky elephant, star and sphere pendants and life-sized flowers.

The chokers that in 90s are now a statement piece of jewellery that work well with every look, be it Indian, western and contemporary, says Shillpa Purii, jewellery designer.

Chokers are versatile and can be paired with any clothing style. To start out, says fashion designer Sanjana Bubber, wear a minimal choker to keep your look simple. Make sure the neckline of the garment is low to show off a choker accessory, she adds.

Read: Must-have accessory this season - chokers

Leather

Leather chokers, either embossed or plain, look best when paired with leather pants and a long jacket. (Amazon.in)

Plain leather chokers get an upgrade with pearls or crystals attachments.

Leather chokers, either embossed, plain or with vertical metal stripes look the best when paired with high-waist leather pants and a long jacket. They can also be paired with the full-length dresses, says Salonee Kothari, stylist.

Another option is black leather tattoo chokers with pearl tassels or a hand-shaped pendant.

Where: Flipkart.com, amazon.in

Cost: Starts at Rs 285

Metal chokers

Metal chokers can be styled with colour-block outfits or with printed sarees. (Amazon.in)

Read: From Aishwarya to Sonam, the ladies who slayed at HT Most Stylish 2016

Give plain metal a miss and opt for chokers with pendants in the shape of stars or skulls, or a witch-craft themed tattoo choker - a pendant of a star enclosed in a circle.

These can be styled with colour-block and printed sarees. You can also team a metal choker with a solid-colour plunge neckline top for a gothic glam look, says Priyanka Desai, the owner of Praia Couture, a fashion startup. You can layer the choker with different necklaces of varying lengths for a stacked look.

Rashi Rochwani, designer and owner of Colorbox jewellery studio in Bandra pairs up her Jaipur couture metal choker - a silver wide chain with a pendant of an elephant head. I wear it with a little black dress. It gives the look an extra oomph and turns many heads, she says.

Where: Flipkart.com, amazon.in, kraftly.com

Cost: Starts at Rs 250

Lace chokers

A pretty lace choker goes well with an off-shoulder top or a dress. (Pipa Bella)

Think of pastel-coloured lace embellished with plastic red roses, pearls and diamonds.

Kothari suggests teaming a pink, pearl studded lace choker with an off-shoulder top. The big flower on the choker can add style to the most basic tee, she says.

Or a black lace choker with a red rose can work as a layering piece paired with other necklaces. You can pair a black choker with a long gold chain and wear it with gowns or plain sarees, says Kothari.

Where: Pipabella.com, kraftly.com, amazon.in

Cost: Starts at Rs 100

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At a time that on this side of the Atlantic we are obsessing about the likely outcome of our November elections, political storm clouds are gathering over Europe that could undermine the very existence of the European project. In the wake of the recent Brexit setback, over the next twelve months Europe has important elections scheduled in Italy, France, Germany, and the Netherlands. On present trends, those elections could bring further fundamental change to the European economic and political landscape that could cast a long shadow over Europes long-run viability.

Despite the seeming ease with which global financial markets have to date absorbed the June 23 Brexit referendum result, that referendum should be sending an urgent warning to European policymakers about the precarious state of European politics as well as about the need for early and fundamental change to the way in which policy is conducted on the continent. Since, aside from the likely damage that the referendum will have done to both the UK and European economies, the Brexit vote represented the clearest of repudiations to both the UK and international political elites that were remarkably united in cautioning voters about the grave economic risk of a Brexit.

Following the Brexit vote, the most immediate political challenge to Europe will be the Italian referendum on constitutional reform which is most likely to occur at the end of October. The importance of this referendum cannot be overstated. Prime Minister Matteo Renzi has repeatedly indicated that should he lose this referendum he would resign, which would presumably cause his government to fall. The last thing that a fragile Italian economy now needs is another period of political instability. Similarly, the last thing that a wobbly European economy needs is an economic and political crisis in a country that has more than 2 trillion ($2.2 trillion) in public debt and whose economy is simply too big for Europe to save.

Sadly, the prospects for a favorable outcome in the Italian referendum do not look good. After all, the referendum will be taking place against the backdrop of an Italian economy that is still some 7 percent below its pre-2008 peak and where unemployment still exceeds 11 percent. It will also be occurring at a time that the Italian banks are saddled with some 360 billion ($400 billion) in non-performing loans or around 18 percent of their balance sheets. The most recent polls suggest that this dismal economic backdrop is fueling support for the populist Five Star Party, which is vehemently opposed to the Euro and which has now pulled ahead of Mr. Renzis Democratic Party in the polls.

If Europe does manage to dodge the Italian bullet, it will next be tested by the French presidential election which is scheduled for April next year. In France also populist anger is all too much in evidence. That anger is being fueled by public displeasure about a sclerotic French economy and by an anti-immigrant political backlash. The politician most benefiting from this backlash is the National Fronts Marine Le Pen, who is hostile to Frances continued membership of the Euro. Most recent opinion electoral polls suggest that there can be little doubt that Mrs. Le Pen will make it to the second round of the presidential election and that she could benefit further from any worsening in Frances economy or in its immigration crisis.

A further major risk to the European project in the year ahead is German Chancellor Angela Merkels waning political fortunes. Over the past six years, Mrs. Merkel has been the dominant European political figure. She has successfully dealt with the Eurozone sovereign debt crisis and has successfully managed to keep the Euro together. Yet now, as indicated by the disturbing rise of the far-right Alternative For Germany Party and by the growing dissent within her ruling coalition government, Mrs. Merkel is now paying a heavy political price for her liberal Syrian refugee policy. This is likely to constrain Mrs. Merkels room for maneuver in dealing with any future European economic crisis in the run-up to the German presidential elections scheduled for September 2017.

Europes crowded electoral calendar in the year ahead would suggest that there can be no room for complacency about the European projects long-run prospects for survival. Hopefully, the recent Brexit setback to Europe will galvanize European policymakers to address the fundamental causes underlying Europes increased signs of political fragmentation before it is too late.

Desmond Lachman is a resident fellow at the American Enterprise Institute. He was formerly a Deputy Director in the International Monetary Funds Policy Development and Review Department and the chief emerging market economic strategist at Salomon Smith Barney.

Interested in real economic insights? Want to stay ahead of the competition? Each weekday morning, E21 delivers a short email that includes E21 exclusive commentaries and the latest market news and updates from Washington. Sign up for the E21 Morning Ebrief.
Suspected Bodo rebels killed 13 people at a crowded marketplace in Assams Kokrajhar district on Friday, police said, potentially throwing up the first major militancy-related challenge for the new BJP-led government in the northeastern state.

Sixteen people were injured in the attack at Balajan Tiniali, nearly 220 km west of Guwahati.

Police said the two militants suspected to be from a breakaway faction of the National Democratic Front of Bodoland (NDFB) arrived at the spot on an autorickshaw along with civilian passengers.

Read | Govt sees Kokrajhar attack as bid to derail peace and development in Assam

One of the militants was shot dead by security forces who responded within minutes to the attack. The other managed to escape in the melee.

The style of operation also points to NDFB-Songbijit. We have launched counter-operations to nab the militant(s). Situation in the area is under control, said Assam director general of police Mukesh Sahay from Kokrajhar.

The outfit, however, denied its involvement in the incident. In a statement issued in Kokrajhar, NDFB-S general secretary BR Ferenga condemned the police for tarnishing its image. HT could not verify the authenticity of the statement.

The incident is the first major militant strike in the state since the BJP government led by chief minister Sarbananda Sonowal assumed power in May.

Though most of the militant groups in Assam are in talks with the Centre, the NDFB-S and the United Liberation Front of Asom-Independent led by Paresh Barua have repeatedly turned down peace overtures from the government.

The NDFB faction suspected to be involved in Fridays attack is led by IK Songbijit who split from the parent group in 2012 to carry on the armed rebellion for an independent Bodoland, the NDFBs original goal.

Read | How and why the Kokrajhar attack in Assam took place

Though Songbijit was reportedly thrown out of the outfit last year, he still commands a small group of loyal followers, police said. Sources said that he was trying to float a new outfit with a separate identity.

Officials said two women were among the dead which include six members of the Bodo community. The condition of two among the injured is stated to be serious.

Damaged shops after an attack by suspected NDFB (S) militants in the market area at Balajan Tinali near Kokrajhar town in Assam on Friday. (PTI)

Television footage showed gun-toting security personnel guiding people out of their shops towards safety and smoke billowing out of damaged tin-roofed shanties where the grenade might have exploded.

One unused grenade was recovered from the area while security forces found an AK- assault rifle on the slain militant.

Read | Kokrajhar attack: Centres peace policy comes under cloud

CM Sonowal, who is in Delhi, denounced the attack and said militants would be dealt with very sternly.

He also announced an ex-gratia payment of Rs 5 lakh to the next of kin of the dead, Rs one lakh to the seriously injured and Rs 20,000 to those who sustained minor injuries.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi too condemned the attack and said the home ministry was in touch with the Assam government.

Saddened by the attack in Kokrajhar. We strongly condemn it. Thoughts & prayers with the bereaved families & those injured, he tweeted.

Union home minister Rajnath Singh met National Security Adviser Ajit Doval over the Kokrajhar incident. Sources said both Modi and Singh spoke to Sonowal separately. Later, Doval also met Sonowal.

Spoke to Assam CM Shri @sarbanandsonwal who apprised me of the situation in Kokrajhar. MHA is closely monitoring the situation.  Rajnath Singh (@rajnathsingh) August 5, 2016

Kokrajhar is the headquarters of the Bodoland Territiorial Area District (BTAD), formed in 2003 to grant more autonomy to the Bodos.

The ruling party in BTAD  the Bodo Peoples Front  is part of the BJP-led government in Assam.

In 2012 and 2014, large scale communal riots and violence had rocked the BTAD areas, where the Bodos are in a minority despite making up 10% of the states 33 million population.

Bodo leaders say the frequent friction between Bodos and other communities is largely due to the dispute over land rights.

Read more | Kokrajhar attack: 8,000 insurgency related killings in Assam in last 3 decades

(With inputs from Rajesh Ahuja in Delhi)

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Three civilians were killed and scores wounded in Kashmir on Friday as authorities extended a curfew in the face of fierce protests. Senior separatist leaders were arrested in order to thwart their scheduled march towards the popular Hazratbal shrine in Srinagar.

Kashmir has been under rolling curfew since the killing of Hizbul-Mujahideen commander Burhan Wani on July 8. His death has sparked violent protests in the Valley that have killed at least 56 people, including Fridays victims, and wounded thousands.

Mohammad Maqbool Wagay of Nagam in Chadoora of Budgam district died of a bullet injury after security forces fired at protesters. Another youth, identified as Zahoor Ahmed, was declared dead at Srinagars SMHS hospital.Daanish Rasool of Wagoora area in Baramulla succumbed to injuries suffered during clashes in Sopore.

A paramilitary soldier watches graffiti mentioning slain Hizbul commander Burhan Wani in downtown Srinagar during a curfew on Friday. (Waseem Andrabi/ HT Photo)

Anger gripped the SMHS hospital complex after protesters offered funeral prayers for Zahoor and raised pro-Azaadi slogans, even as ambulances rushed inside the hospital with injured from across Kashmir.

Severe clashes were reported across the Valley -- from Shopian, Kangan, Anantnag, Budgam, Pulwama, Tral and Sopore -- leaving close to 150 wounded, according to reports.

Head of hardliner Hurriyat faction Syed Ali Shah Geelani and the chief of the moderate faction, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, were arrested near their residences as they tried to march to the Hazratbal shrine.

A strict curfew was in place across the city, especially around the famous shrine, as the police disallowed the march and even the afternoon congregational prayers.

Authorities also kept a close eye on the Dal Lake since Geelani had urged people to travel to the famous shrine on boats and shikaras.

Separatists extended their shutdown call till August 12, saying there will be no relaxation after 6pm. They asked people to assemble and occupy local chowks and centres from Asar to Magrib in the vicinity of mohallas, villages and localities on Saturday.

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Its show time for prisoners in Rajasthan.

The Supreme Court on Friday upheld a lower courts directive asking the state government to introduce humane living conditions in eight central jails in the state. The state government had challenged the Rajasthan high courts January order.

The court had asked the government to screen the latest films for prisoners in Rajasthans eight central jails every fortnight.

These measures are part of the reforms the HC has asked you to carry out. There is nothing wrong in them, a bench headed by chief justice TS Thakur said.

Besides the latest blockbusters, prisoners will also have to be given one sweet dish in lunch every Sunday.

The bench found it funny for a state government to oppose the direction asking it to purchase 100 new books every year for the inmates.

You must encourage people to remain occupied. Reforms in jails are always welcomed, it said. The HC order also provides for circulation of four daily newspapers and four monthly magazines in Hindi in each barrack of the central jails.

The states request to grant it relief from appointing permanent psychiatrist was also turned down.

According to Rajasthan government, there is acute shortage of psychiatrist in the region and it is struggling to even fill up vacancies in state-managed hospitals.

But, it is important to have psychiatric in the jail or else jail inmates will turn into psychics, the Supreme Court said.

To provide healthy and properly-cooked chapatis to the prisoners, the court had also asked the government to purchase new roti makers.
When social justice minister Thaawarchand Gehlot tabled the transgender rights bill in the Lok Sabha on Tuesday, it appeared to be the glorious culmination of a long struggle by one of Indias most marginalised communities.

But within hours, as copies of the draft bill was circulated, it became clear that the legislation diluted several key provisions of previous versions of the bill, while injecting harmful new language that could undermine protections extended for transpersons in India.

Activists and lawyers complained the bill encouraged corruption, was full of provisions open to abuse and directly opposed the spirit of a 2014 Supreme Court verdict that recognized the third gender and called for a raft of rights and measures for transpersons.

It is difficult to be calm and hopeful reading the bill. It stinks of callousness and ignorance, said activist Vyjayanti Vasanta Mogli.

By the looks of it, the transgender community and allies may have to gear up for a long struggle.

Many now want the government to revert to what they call a better bill on the issue by DMK member Tiruchi Siva, which was passed by the Rajya Sabha last year.

Definitions Used

The first chapter of the bill seeks to define a transgender and lays down three main criteria  neither wholly female nor wholly male; a combination of female or male; neither female nor male.

This, activists say, insults transgender people and propagates the bias that trans identities arent whole by themselves.

The LS bill is perpetuating the very violence/discrimination it seeks to address, said Nadika N, a non-binary writer from Chennai.

The provision might stop many from identifying as just men or women  contradicting the right to self-determination of identity guaranteed by the Supreme Court. What is a complete male? asked Delhi-based lawyer Danish Sheikh.

Moreover, throughout the bill, the pronoun used is his  a slip that many have objected to.

If this provision is interpreted literally, it leaves most trans people out of its ambit, said Karthik Bittu Kondaiah, a professor at the University of Hyderabad.

Activists say the new provisions of the bill would leave most transpeople out of the ambit of the legislation. (Raj k Raj/Hindustan Times)

Absence of Key Provisions

The top court had called for reservations as other backward classes for transgender people but that provision is wholly missing from the bill.

Safeguards in education and employment are also vaguely lumped together under a welfare provision.

Employment and education discrimination are mentioned in one liners with nothing remotely concrete, Kondaiah said.

Whats worse is the lack of clarity of who to approach in case of harassment or discrimination. There is not even a single mention of what justice a trans person can seek, said Nadika.

Chapter 8 of the bill lists out four types of offences ranging from denial of right to public spaces to sexual assault, but says the punishment cannot be more than 2 years. This is discriminatory, activists say.

The bill has no definition of discrimination. It is unclear if a transperson gets fired, who they should approach to file a complaint, said Sheikh.

The bill does not also mention police violence. This is a huge gap since so many transgender persons face police violence, said Bengaluru-based lawyer Gowthaman Ranganathan.

Contrary to Supreme Court Guidelines

One of the highlights of the 2014 apex court verdict was the right to self-determination of identity.

This meant that people could identify their own genders without having to seek certification and was meant to do away with years of oppression and torture at the hands of state actors who refused to recognize transpeople.

It also aimed at smoother delivery of government benefits  such as ration cards  to transgender people without the bottleneck of gender certification.

But the new bill appears to replace that with an elaborate structure comprising the district magistrate and a screening committee  that will have doctors on board  to be constituted by an appropriate government.

This has infuriated activists, who say the provision encourages gatekeeping of identities, will lead to corruption and favouritism as many will be forced to compete for meagre resources.

Who on earth is appropriate government and why should it usurp individual autonomy and right to self-identify gender?Mogli asked.

Many fear that the elaborate structure will intimidate people and the thousands of transgender people who have sought gender certificates from smaller districts in the past two years may be stranded.

The gatekeeping will exclude many transpeople, including those who havent yet or dont want to undergo operations, said L Ramakrishnan from the NGO Saathii in Chennai.

The Supreme Court said transgender is not about body parts. This is a draconian provision open to abuse.

Harmful Provisions

Two provisions have angered activists in particular.

The first constitutes enticing transgender people to beg as an offense. This, activists, say will lead to police targeting working-class transgenders as many of them are involved in beggary and could even be used to jail Hijra gurus or leaders.

What other employment opportunities are being created? We have seen in Bangalore how the prohibition of beggary act is used to criminalise trans women, said Bengaluru-based Gee Imaan Semmalar.

The second provision is a stipulation that transgender people cannot be separated from their families, a tricky ask in a world where the family or home is the source of discrimination, violence and denial of identity for a transperson, activists say.

The provision makes it impossible for people to be removed from abusive families without moving court.

The ministry has clearly not understood that for most trans people, families are sites of violence and many leave home in their adolescence due to torture, said Semmalar.

Road Ahead

Activists have now reached out to the government and demanded a radical overhaul of the bill and a return of several provisions of Sivas bill.

The new legislation negates much of the progress made since 2014 and may not have any effect once it becomes law, lawyers say.

The terms, phrasing and wording of the bill  very ignorant, ill-informed and inadequate  are things to worry about, and may hurt the transgender community more than it helps, said Nadika.

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After a long time, the NDA government on Thursday tasted legal victory in a major case with the Delhi high court upholding its position on the power tussle between the lieutenant governor and Arvind Kejriwal government.

The victory, coming after a series of severe setbacks in courts, is significant as a bench of chief justice G Rohini and justice Jayant Nath agreed with the Centres contention that the L-G is the real boss in Delhi.

Be it declaring the L-Gs superior status or the control over central government services, the anti-corruption branchs power to probe central employees or setting up of commissions of inquiry without the L-Gs nod, the high court upheld the Centres position throughout.

The honourable high court upheld almost all our contentions. The underlying message of the verdict is that political leaders should attempt to realise their ambitions within the constitutional framework and they cant go beyond it, said additional solicitor general, Sanjay Jain, who represented the Centre in this case.

Starting with the October 16, 2015 Supreme Court verdict quashing the National Judicial Appointments Commission, the Narendra Modi government has had a series of embarrassing legal debacles that fed the oppositions on the government, both in Parliament and outside.

After initial bickering, the NDA government accepted the constitution bench verdict but its tussle with the judiciary over judicial appointments continued, particularly over drafting of the memorandum of procedure that emerged as a contentious issue.

Twenty-five days after the Harish Rawat-led Congress government was dismissed in Uttarakhand, the state high court on April 21 set aside Presidents rule, declaring it unconstitutional. After a floor test on May 10, the Supreme Court revived the Rawat government even as the Centres petition against the high court verdict remains pending.

The NDA governments January 26 decision to impose Presidents rule in Arunachal Pradesh too didnt find favour with the Supreme Court declaring it unconstitutional. On July 13, a constitution bench headed by justice JS Khehar ordered restoration of the Congress government and indicted the governor.

The Governor must keep clear of any political horse-trading, and even unsavoury political manipulations, irrespective of the degree of their ethical repulsiveness. Who should or should not be a leader of a political party, is a political question, to be dealt with and resolved privately by the political party itself. The Governor cannot make such issues a matter of his concern, it said.

The SC verdict was seen as an indirect indictment of the Centre that had chosen to impose Presidents rule in the northeastern state.

In the drought case, the court criticised the NDA government for delay in relief work. Its meaningless to have welfare schemes if affected persons do not receive assured benefits on time. Thousands of crores are announced from the PM Relief Fund but the money reaches after three years, a bench headed by justice MB Lokur had said.

But after Thursdays Delhi high court verdict, the NDA government can aggressively take on the AAP and the Kejriwal government  which has been quite vocal in their attack on BJP and Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Reacting to the appointment of Vijay Rupani as the new chief minister of Gujarat, Congress on Friday said one must appreciate his courage for agreeing to steer a sinking ship.

Congratulate Sh Vijay Rupani on becoming CM Gujarat. Must appreciate his courage for agreeing to steer a sinking ship. Best wishes (sic), senior Congress leader Ahmad Patel said on Twitter.

Rupani, a Amit Shah loyalist, was chosen to succeed Anandiben Patel, pipping Nitin Patel who was considered a sure pick for the top job in the poll-bound state.

Patel, seen as the front runner for the top slot after Anandiben offered to resign, was made deputy chief minister. It is for the first time that Gujarat will have a deputy chief minister.

The decision to make Rupani the chief minister and Patel, the incumbent health minister, his deputy was taken at hectic parleys involving BJP President Amit Shah and Union minister Nitin Gadkari, who was assigned as the partys observer.
Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi will arrive in New Delhi next week to hold talks with his counterpart Sushma Swaraj on August 13. During the visit key regional and bilateral issues will be discussed, including Indias entry into the Nuclear Suppliers Group, which the Chinese had opposed on procedural issues.

Wang's visit comes just days after Chinese troops "transgressed" into the Indian territory on land and by air in Chamoli district of Uttarakhand last month.

China also stalled India's Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) membership bid at the plenary meeting of the 48-nation grouping in June on the grounds that it was a non-NPT signatory.

Announcing the visit, external affairs ministry spokesperson Vikas Swarup said the leaders will discuss various issues of mutual interests including the upcoming multilateral meetings with G-20 Summit being held in China and the BRICS Summit being held in India.

Wang will visit India from August 12-14 at the invitation of Swaraj. When asked whether India will raise the recent incident of transgression in Uttarakhand at the meeting, Swarup said, all international, regional and bilateral issues of mutual interest will be discussed.

However, he added that the defence minister Manohar Parikkar has already made a statement and there are mechanisms, including at army- to- army level, to take care of such incidents.

According to sources, the Indian side is likely to raise the issue of China scuttling India's NSG membership bid.

Visit of foreign minister Wang to India is part of the regular high level dialogue between the two countries," Swarup said.
A head constable promotee was killed after cattle-smugglers allegedly drove a pick-up van over him during a vehicle check near the Sarai Pokhta outpost in Jaunpur early on Friday.

Police said 56-year-old Triloki Tiwari and two constables were inspecting vehicles on the Kalichabag-Badlapadav route when they noticed a pick-up van loaded with cattle coming their way around 3.30 am. Tiwari signalled the vehicle to stop, but it picked up speed instead, running him down.

A policeman told HT on the condition of anonymity that Tiwari was thrown 10 metres into the air, suffering critical injuries in the process. As the constables rushed to his aid, the cattle smugglers drove away.

The officer was rushed to the district hospital, which referred him to a Varanasi medical institution. However, Tiwari succumbed on the way to the city.

Confirming the incident, additional superintendent of police (Jaunpur) Ramji Singh Yadav said: A case has been registered at the Kotwali police station. Several teams have been deployed to trace the offenders.

Station officer Kotwali Rambharose Kushwaha said, A case has been registered against unidentified people under relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code. We are trying to trace the persons who committed the crime. We will ensure that strict action is taken against them.

Tiwari was recently promoted to the post of sub-inspector.

Another sub-inspector, Manoj Mishra, was murdered by cattle smugglers in Faridpur area of Bareilly district in September last year.
The central government told the Supreme Court on Friday that curfew had been lifted from most parts of the Kashmir Valley because of improvement in the law and order situation since the killing of Hizbul Mujahideen commander Burhan Wani.

In a status report filed before a bench of Chief Justice TS Thakur and Justices AM Khanwilkar and DY Chandrachud, the Centre said that the number of violent protests has gone down from 201 on July 9 to 11 on August 3.

Solicitor General Ranjit Kumar said due to persistent efforts of the security forces and Jammu and Kashmir Police, the curfew is in force only in certain areas of three districts in the Valley.

A total of 872 incidents of violence were reported mainly from south Kashmir and parts of central and north Kashmir, Kumar said, adding that 42 civilians and two security personnel were killed, while 2656 civilians and 3783 security personnel were injured.

He further said 28 government establishments were set ablaze and 49 were damaged, and due to such incidents curfew was initially imposed in 10 out of 22 districts of the state.

The violence started after Wani and two other militants were killed by the security forces on July 8, leading to large-scale protests and law and order problems in different parts of the Valley.

Inimical and anti-social elements exploited the news on social media platforms to inflame passions and incite sentiments. Public address systems of some of the local mosques were used to raise to pro-freedom slogans and incite the youth to indulge in stone pelting/protests, the home ministry report said.

The report came in response to direction of the SC asking the Centre to submit a status report detailing ground realities prevailing in Jammu and Kashmir after Wanis killing.

The top court was hearing a petition filed in public interest by senior advocate and Jammu and Kashmir National Panthers Party (JKNPP) leader Bhim Singh seeking imposition of Governors rule in the state.

The petitioner had said that due to the use of pellet guns by the security forces, people were becoming blind and there was a shortage of medicines and medical facilities available to the citizens.

The report said 58 people underwent major eye surgeries and 240 people were treated for injuries on and around the eyes, while 51 people were admitted in hospitals for eye injuries. Kumar further said government health institutions have continued to provide treatment to the injured persons.

The bench asked Singh to submit his response on Centres report and posted the hearing on August 22.
At around 8.30am on Friday, a framed picture of Dr Bhimrao Ambedkar was put on a stage at the crossroad near Vejalpur railway crossing in Ahemedabad. First came onlookers, but in 90 minutes the crowd in front of the stage swelled to more than 300 people.

People had come to see off Dalits as they began their Azadi Kooch (Freedom March), a 350-km foot march from Ahmedabad to Una, where on July 11 members of a cow vigilante group flogged four Dalit men for skinning a dead cow. The perprtrators filmed the incident and their video went viral.

Student leaders, members of the civil society and lawyers were seen exchanging views on the Dalit agitation in Gujarat, its reasons, timing and consequences.

Ahmedabad to Una: The great Gujarat Dalit march for freedom set to begin

All were unanimous in extending their support to the cause of the marginalised. But No, I am not going all the way to Una, was the response of those found most vocal at the flagging off venue.

Around 12.30pm, the sound of Jignesh tum aage badho, ham tumhare saath hain made it impossible to hear anything. Jignesh Mevani, face of the current Dalit unrest across the state, gave a speech in Gujarati, listing the charter of demands on which he will mobilise people during the foot march.

As the yaatra kickstarted, members of the civil society and scheduled caste community in Gujarat told HT that age-old discrimination meted out to Dalits, changing aspirations of the community members and political crisis in the state have contributed to the current wave of Dalit anger across the state.

While Dalits have traditionally been victims of various forms discrimination, this the first time in the recent history that the community has mobilised on a large scale.

But unlike previous incidents of violence on Dalits which go unnoticed, the Una episode instigated a wave of unrest among the community. More than 20 members of the community have attempted suicide to register their protest. One of them died. In a mahasbha (grand assembly) in Ahmedabad, Dalits pledged to boycott their occupations of disposing carcasses and manual scavenging.

Mewani, a lawyer and founder of the Una Dalit Atyachar Ladai Samiti, said that unlike previous agitations which are backed by Dalit leaders, NGOs working for the rights of the marginalised and political parties, the current movement is being built by the youth of the community. Dalit protests in different states involve Dalit literature, folk songs and philosophy. The result is that those protests remain confined to limited number of people. The current round of protest has reached to the downtrodden Dalit. It has touched them like no other protest, he said.

Dalits see mainstream media as Brahmanical- a medium that does not care about them. This is why we built this movement through social media, he added.

There is a belief political unstability in the state-Anandiben Patel resigned as Guajarat chief minister on Monday- has a role to play in the agitation.There is a faction in the BJP that wants Guajarat to remain unstable. The Patidar agitation and Dalit unrest will work in favour of that faction, said, Harinesh Pandya, an Ahmedabad-based activist.

An upsurge in atrocities against Dalits and the impunity enjoyed by the perpetrators is also seen as a significant reason for the Dalit unrest. More than 500 Dalits were murdered in Gujarat between 1990 and 2015. The conviction rate in cases of atrocities on Dalits, was 3.4% in 2014. In 2012, four Dalit men were killed in police firing in Thangarh, Surendranagar. The case remains unresolved. The flogging of Dalits in Una was not an isolated case. Soon after, another video, shot in May, emerged. It showed people thrashing Dalits, accused of slaughtering a cow, at a tannery in Saurashtra.

Tolerating discrimination is a way of life for Dalits in Gujarat like elsewhere in the country. But since the NDA government came to power at the centre, cow vigilantes started enjoying impunity across the country. It made things worse for Dalits, said Pratik Sinha, a member of Manav Sangharsh Samiti, a civil society group in Ahmedabad.

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(Photo: REUTERS / Keith Bedford)Members of the United Nations Security Council raise their hands as they vote unanimously to approve a resolution eradicating Syria's chemical arsenal during a Security Council meeting during the 68th United Nations General Assembly in New York on September 27, 2013.

A top official from the Holy See has urged the U.N. Security Council to "affirm and support families of children who are victimized in armed conflict" in a special debate on Children and Armed Conflict.

The charge d'affaires of the Holy See's Permanent Observer Mission to the United Nations in New York, Monsignor Simon Kassas spoke on behalf of the Catholic Church, Vatican Radio reports.

"The year 2014 was described as the worst year for children affected by armed conflict.

But as the Secretary-General's Report on Children and Armed Conflict covering the year 2015 illustrates, the 2014 horror-list has been surpassed by the number of children caught in armed conflicts and the scale and severity of violations in 2015," the Holy See official said.

The Catholic Church has constantly advocated the role of families in the prevention of child victimization in armed conflict zones and in the reintegration of children into society, he said.

Families "must be assisted in overcoming prejudices against child survivors of armed conflicts, in particular against women and girls who are victims of rape, and in welcoming back children into the family fold," he asserted.

Kassas noted that while the reintegration of child survivors "into society requires that we recognize the atrocities they may have committed, we must also build pathways for counseling and reconciliation with a view to accomplishing fully that reintegration."

During the U.N. Security Council's Open Debate on Children and Armed Conflict Kassas also affirmed the Catholic Church's role in the cessation of violence against children caught in armed conflict.

"The Holy See has been a constant partner of the United Nations in opposing not only the use of children as combatants, but the many other forms of violence against children caught in armed conflict.

"Through its various structures operating in most of the conflict zones, the Catholic Church is actively engaged in taking care of the victims of such violence.

"Over the years, Holy See structures and numerous Catholic institutions have collaborated with U.N. Peacekeeping Missions and Agencies to help alleviate the sufferings of children in armed conflict and to share best practices to address this ongoing scourge."
One of the four death row convicts in the December 16 gangrape and murder case wants to attend hearing on his appeal against his sentence in the Supreme Court.

Akshay, who is at present lodged in Tihar Jail, has written to chief justice of India TS Thakur seeking permission to be present in the courtroom during hearings, his counsel said on Friday.

The letter  copies of which have also been sent to President Pranab Mukherjee and SC judge Justice Dipak Misra -- alleged that the trial court and the Delhi high court did not give him a fair hearing.

Justice Misra is heading the three-judge bench which is hearing his appeal.

The move comes almost three weeks after two other convicts -- Pawan and Vinay -- wrote to the CJI demanding removal of two senior advocates appointed by the SC as amicus curiae in the case. The fourth convict is Mukesh.

Akshay said he wanted to attend hearings in the SC to see how his case was being heard.

He said since the telecast of a BBC documentary on the gangrape incident his entire family had been traumatised and his son had stopped going to school to avoid being harassed.

The documentary showed only the victims side of the story due to which his family was feeling humiliated and he feared a mishap in the family, he added.

Alleging that the sessions court and the high court didnt do justice to the convicts by denying them copies of the judgments and hearings in Hindi, Akshay said he should be heard properly by the top court.

The four convicts have challenged the March 13, 2014 Delhi high court verdict upholding the death sentence awarded to them by the trial court.

A 23-year-old paramedic was brutally assaulted and gangraped by six persons in a moving bus in south Delhi and thrown out of the vehicle with her male friend on the night of December 16, 2012. She died in a Singapore hospital on December 29.

The prime accused, Ram Singh, was found dead in a cell in Tihar Jail in March 2013.

On August 31, 2013, another accused, a juvenile at the time of the crime, was convicted and sentenced to three years in a reformation home. He was released from observation home in December last year.
The Food Corporation of India (FCI) -- a lifeline for nearly 800 million poor Indians who rely on its food handouts -- is sinking under debt year after year, stoking fears that the state-run behemoth could face its financial reckoning soon.

The governments main grain-handling arm, the FCI fulfills a key mandate: it provides subsidised wheat and rice to 67% of the population through a countrywide network of fair price shops, as required under the National Food Security Act.

Despite budgetary allocations, under-funding and unpaid dues have prompted the FCI to borrow more and more each year to carry out its key operations. In 2013-14, it raised loans amounting to Rs 35,150 crore. In 2014-15, it borrowed Rs 59,415 crore, while in 2015-16, its loans stood at Rs 70,820.

The FCI is a linchpin in the farm economy, which supports two-thirds of Indians. It buys farm produce at government-guaranteed prices (known as minimum support prices), which act as a key incentive for farmers. It then sells the procured foodgrains at discounted rates to the poor. This difference is the food subsidy bill.

In 2016-17, against a subsidy bill of Rs 1,29,000 crore, the government has paid Rs 1,03,300 crore so far, which means it may have to borrow again if the full amount isnt released during a final-settlement process known as revised estimates and supplementary grants. The corporation has been going to a consortium of commercial banks for loans.

The FCI is a linchpin in the farm economy, which supports two-thirds of Indians. (HT file photo)

Due to short budget provision, the FCI has to raise its working capital through short-term loans. But this is becoming a trend. Thats worrying. It cant be perennial, an official said, who wished anonymity.

This apart, mounting arrears are another concern, he said. Unpaid dues by the government currently stand at Rs 61,000 crores, enough money to build 5000km of expressways.

In 2011, a financial crisis threatened to cripple the FCIs operations. The FCI had to twice stop payments to state governments, grain-purchasing agents and millers who buy wheat and rice from millions of farmers, a former official said, requesting anonymity.

The governments food subsidy bill accounts for over half of all subsidy payouts. Food handouts are critical to vulnerable section in a country where more than a third of children are malnourished.

These debts raises the economic cost of grains and ultimately adds to the governments overall fiscal burden. You are not only selling grains cheap but on borrowed money that come with interests, the official said. Economic cost denotes charges of buying, stocking and distributing grains.

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The government is planning to hold an annual national cultural festival in Delhi as well as the Prime Minister Narendra Modis constituency of Varanasi this year to showcase the citys heritage ahead of polls in Uttar Pradesh, sources said on Friday.

The Centre wants to use the week-long Rashtriya Sanskriti Mahotsav in Varanasi to tackle Opposition criticism that the BJP was neglecting its poll promises to the city, especially in areas of cleanliness and development of ghats. Till now, the festival was held only in the Capital.

The issue was discussed in a meeting and it was decided that apart from Delhi, another city should be selected and considering Varanasi has rich cultural heritage it was short-listed. The festival is likely to run for a week, said a source.

Artists from across India will participate in the festival that is aimed at showcasing folk arts and likely to be held in October.

Sources said people from Varanasi had suggested the move to culture minister Mahesh Sharma during his visit to the city. The first Saturday of every month is spent listening to peoples problems in the area.

All the seven zonal cultural centres of the country are likely to participate in this mahotsav. More than 500 artists are likely to perform. Right from the Sahitya Akademi, Natak Akademi, and other organisations will participate in the festival which will be held at various locations in the city, said a senior official from the culture ministry.

If held in Varanasi, the festival would be part of the BJPs broader plan to reach out to the politically significant state, where the party is looking to trounce regional rivals and return to power after more than a decade.

The government has been emphasising on highlighting the rich culture and heritage of the city and the festival is aimed at achieving the same target.

Preserving and documenting the cultural diversity through its popularisation among the new generation and involving them through various forms of active participation is a significant dimension of this festival, said a senior official.

The ministry wants to showcase to the country and the world its soft power of unity in diversity. This is the second time that such a festival is being held to highlight the cultural richness of India.

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The Delhi high court on Friday asked the police to provide security to expelled AIADMK Rajya Sabha MP Sasikala Pushpa on her plea seeking adequate protection for her and her family members on the ground that she is receiving death threats after being allegedly slapped by a party leader.

Justice Vipin Sanghi directed Delhi Police to escort her to Parliament so that she can discharge her duty safely. Let protection be provided for safe functioning of the Member of Parliament. Police should escort the petitioner (Pushpa) while she is attending the House (Parliament), the court said.

It also issued notice to the ministry of home affairs (MHA) and Delhi Police seeking their response by November 15. The court passed the direction on the MPs plea which sought security for her while she is attending Rajya Sabha and participating in the monsoon session.

Senior advocate Sudhir Nandrajog, appearing for the MP, told the court that the petitioner faces a grave threat to her life and liberty due to her expulsion from AIADMK and her refusal to resign from the party.

The petitioner has expressed her apprehensions on the floor of Rajya Sabha and despite that no action has been taken to provide the petitioner with adequate security in view of the threat to her life, her counsel submitted.

Senior standing counsel Rahul Mehra, appearing for Delhi Police, submitted that the MP has been given adequate security and it is looking into the issue seriously.

Mehra said that the police are waiting for an assessment report from the authorities concerned with regard to the threat received by the petitioner and if there is positive report, it will do whatever more is needed.
Fridays militant attack at Assams Kokrajhar could have been a desperate attempt by Nationalist Democratic Front of Bodoland-Songbijit faction to stay relevant and increase extortion activities.

Police say the breakaway faction of NDFB had lost several cadres in recent weeks in counter operations by security forces and the money collection drive had got affected.

Three NDFB-S militants were involved in the attack. Two of them, who were wearing black raincoats, took an auto rickshaw, which had other passengers, to reach the attack site, LR Bishnoi, ADGP, Bodoland Territorial Area District (BTAD) told journalists.

Once they reached Balajan Tiniali they got down from the vehicle and started firing indiscriminately at the crowd gathered in the weekly market. One of them also lobbed a hand grenade.

Security forces present in the town were able to reach the spot within minutes and started firing at the militants. One of them succumbed in the counter attack, while the two others managed to escape.

Read | 8,000 insurgency related killings in Assam in last 3 decades

Smoke rises from the site of a militant attack at Balajan Tinali in Kokrajhar. (AFP)

Besides an AK56 assault rifle, a Chinese made hand grenade, 49 rounds of live ammunition, the police recovered a mobile phone and two SIM cards from the dead militants possession.

Call details of the SIM card established that the slain militant was a NDFB-S cadre and was in constant touch with senior members of the outfit.

The call details of the SIM cards confirm that the militants involved in Fridays attack belonged to NDFB-S, said Bishnoi.

Five NDFB-S cadres had been killed in two separate operations by security forces in July and four other cadres of the outfit had been nabbed earlier this month from the district.

On Thursday, Assam Police, army and CRPF had launched a large-scale operation against the outfit in the jungles of Indo-Bhutan border.

Fridays attack could be an attempt to divert attention from that operation and also to revive extortion drive affected after cadres involved in extorting money were killed by security forces, he added.

Bishnoi assured that the police have details of the two escaped militants and they will be nabbed soon. Additional companies of army and Assam Police personnel have been deployed to comb the area.

Police have appealed to people across the state to remain vigilant and inform local agencies if they notice anything suspicious in their areas.

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New Delhi: Government on Friday launched National Breastfeeding Promotion Programme MAA (mothers absolute affection) to ensure adequate awareness is generated among masses, especially mothers, on the benefits of breastfeeding.

Despite breastfeeding being one of the most important interventions for child survival, a dismal 64.9% children are exclusively breastfed for the first six months in India.

Around 20% newborn deaths and 13% under-five deaths can be prevented by early initiation of breastfeeding, said CK Mishra, secretary (health), government of India.

Besides it can also prevent child deaths associated with diarrhoea and pneumonia.

The goal of the Programme that will continue for a year, is to enhance optimal breastfeeding practices, which includes initiation of breastfeeding within an hour of birth, exclusive breastfeeding for the first six months, and continued breastfeeding for at least two years.

The government will train nurses in government hospitals, Accredited Social Health Activists (ASHA), Auxiliary Nurse Mid-wives (ANM) to provide relevant information and counselling support to mothers for breastfeeding.

Monitoring and impact assessment is also an integral part of MAA programme. Progress will be measured against key indicators, such as availability of skilled persons at ground for counselling, improvement in breastfeeding practices and number of accredited health facilities.

Dedicated funds Rs 4.3 lakhs per district, have been allocated to states for the programme, which is in addition to the funds approved under National Health Missions annual project implementation plans.

To ensure effective roll-out of the programme ministry of health has established MAA secretariat and a steering committee will be created in all states and at the district level.

The programme will be monitored by UNICEF and other partners.

Unicef has roped in actor Madhuri Dixit as brand ambassador to promote breastfeeding.

Importance of breast feeding

*13%: children die below 5 yrs of age, owing to poor breastfeeding practices

*823 000: child deaths can be averted every year.

*1,56,000: child deaths could be reduced in India with breastfeeding

*3.4 million: respiratory infection episodes can be reduced

*3.9 million: Diarrhoea episodes can be reduced

*15 times: children are more likely to die of pneumonia who are not breastfed

*11 times: children are more likely to die of diarrhoea

*20,000: mothers deaths due to breast cancer can be averted globally f mothers breastfeed for more than a year

*3 to 4 points: Increase in IQ, depending on the duration of breastfeeding

Yet in India

*78.7%: deliveries take place in hospitals

*44.6%: children receive breastfeeding within one hour of birth

*64.9%: exclusively breastfed for the first six months

*50.5%: children between 6-8 months given complementary foods

Optimal Breast feeding Practices

*Breastfeeding within an hour of birth

*Breast-milk alone is the best food and drink for an infant for the first six months of life

*But allow infant to receive ORS, drops, syrups of vitamins, minerals and medicines when required

*After 6 months, introduce semi-solid, soft food along with breast feeding up to two years

*From 6 up to 12 months, breast milk provides half of the childs nutritional needs

*From the age of 68 months a child needs to eat two to three times per day and three to four times per day starting at 9 months  in addition to breastfeeding

*The baby should be fed small amounts of food that steadily increase in variety and quantity as he or she grows

*During an illness, children need additional fluids and encouragement to eat regular meals, and breastfeeding infants need to breastfeed more often
The manufacturer of Kamasutra condoms has moved the Delhi high court challenging the governments decision to cap the price of its range of male contraceptives.

A bench of chief justice G Rohini and justice Sangita Dhingra Sehgal is likely to hear the matter on August 12.

The company, JK Ansell, has challenged the Centres March 2, 2016 order whereby the ceiling price for one unit of condom was fixed at Rs 8.21 plus local taxes with effect from April 1.

The company has contended that the decision was taken without taking into account the different varieties of condoms available in the market and the costs incurred for manufacture of such varieties of condoms, thereby treating unequals equally.

It has claimed that the order came even as its plea was pending in the Supreme Court against a Delhi HC finding that condoms are drugs.

The high court while giving its ruling had also set aside two price fixation orders of the government, Ansell has said in its plea which also seeks a declaration that the standards for contraceptives prescribed in the Drugs and Cosmetics Rules are ultra vires the Drugs and Cosmetics Act.

Apart from seeking quashing of the March 2, 2016 decision of the government, the company has also sought an order that only utility or basic condoms are covered by the Drug Price Control Order (DPCO), 2013 and not pleasure and poly-isoprene condoms.

The company has also sought a declaration from the court that its Kamasutra Skyn condoms do not come under the purview of the DPCO, 2013.
Even as Doda, Banihal and Kishtwar observed partial to complete shutdown in view of Kashmir turmoil, the state administration, on Friday morning, suspended mobile internet services in all the 10 districts of Jammu region.

The services were earlier suspended on July 9 following the killing of Hizbul militant Burhan Wani and restored on July 25.

Jammu divisional commissioner Dr Pawan Kotwal, however, said only GPRS operated WhatsApp was blocked as a precautionary measure to keep a check on rumour mongers.

Other services on mobile internet are on, he added.

As per reports from Banihal, Kishtwar and Doda on Kashmir highway, the Bandh was peaceful by 11.45 pm. The government has deployed adequate security personnel to ensure law and order.

Kishtwar senior superintendent of police Sandeep Wazir said, In Kishtwar town the bandh so far is peaceful. Some people are staging protests at the bus stand area. Pro-azadi sloganeering is on.

Official sources said some mischievous elements in Doda, Kishtwar and Ramban districts were trying to vitiate peaceful atmosphere in Jammu region.

There have been attempts by some anti-national elements in Muslim-dominated districts. including Rajouri and Poonch but the administration is alive to the situation, they added.

A senior police officer said there were announcements from local mosques in Kishtwar, Bhaderwah and Doda towns asking the people to observe bandh in protest against the killing and injuries to civilians in pellets firing by security forces in the Valley.

Definitely there have been attempts to vitiate the atmosphere in Jammu region but we will not let it happen, he added.

While in Kishtwar and Bhaderwah, bandh was partial with only Muslims keeping their shutters down, there was complete shutdown in Banihal and Doda. The vehicular traffic was also off the roads.

Pro-azadi and anti-India slogans were also raised in Poonch, Surankote and Mandi a few days back after Friday prayers compelling a delegation of Hindus to meet Poonch deputy commissioner MH Malik.
A Manipur-based radical social organisation has warned activist Irom Sharmila, who recently decided to end her 16-year-old fast against alleged army atrocities, against contesting elections and marrying an outsider.

In a threat to the living icon of mass struggle, the secessionist Alliance for Socialist Unity, Kangleipak reminded her that some former revolutionary leaders were assassinated after deviating from the cause and getting elected as peoples representatives.

The lesser-known ASUK backs the idea of a sovereign Manipur, free from Delhis control. Two secessionist militant outfits -- Kanglei Yawol Kanna Lup and Kangleipak Communist Party -- have also asked Sharmila to continue the fast.

Read | Irom Sharmila: The Iron Lady who waged a war against Afspa

The 44-year-old on July 26 surprised everyone, saying she would on August 9 end her hunger strike against the armed forces (special powers) act, which gives security men powers to search, enter property and shoot on sight. She also told media that she planned to marry.

But her decision has not gone down with some rights activists as well as members of her family.

All those who joined electoral politics did so knowing well that it was a dead-end, ASUK chairman N Oken and vice-chairman Ksh Lab Meitei said in a statement on Wednesday.

They also said Sharmila should not marry a non-local man. Sharmila is in a relationship with Desmond Coutinho, a Goan-British activist.

Read | Irom Sharmila has done the right thing by ending her fast

Even though the man is an NRI, he is still an Indian in the eyes of the people of Kangleipak (core of Manipur), the statement said.

Increasing cases of inter-marriage between Indians and people of Kangleipak and incessant influx from India were responsible for the ongoing mass movement for the protection of the indigenous peoples, ASUK said. Kangleipak is the ancient name of Manipur.

Read | Irom Sharmilas decision to end hunger strike draws surprise, respect

The NRI Sharmila wanted to marry could have been planted by the intelligence agencies to weaken the fight against Afspa and colonial domination, ASUK said.

The Iron Lady of Manipur started her strike on November 5, 2000, three days after she allegedly saw a group of army men kill 10 people at a bus stop in Malom near her home.

Sharmila, who has spent most of the last 16 years in custody in an Imphal hospital, is to be released on August 9.
Rajnish Kumar Tiwari is a part-time electrician and Umadut Haldkar a small-time employee of a private clinic. Both are BPL (below the poverty line) card holders and struggle to make ends meet.

Yet, they are doing the rounds of the income tax department, trying to give an explanation for the crores of rupees they supposedly held in their bank accounts some years ago.

Tiwaris three accounts with the Katni branch of Axis Bank had Rs 16.93 crores. Haldkars account with the same branch had Rs 2.26 crores.

Both men have no clue how the money came into their accounts between 2006 and 2009. They are equally clueless about who withdrew the staggering sums.

I was poor and remain poor. I have no idea where the money came from and where it finally went, says Tiwari.

Haldkar, whose monthly income rarely exceeds Rs 4,000, is also scratching his head in disbelief. Employed as a laboratory assistant at a private clinic, Haldkar says the money deposited in his account was beyond his wildest dreams.

Perplexed with the large sums, the income tax department served the two men with notices to explain the source of the money. Unable to furnish answers, the two dazed men lodged a complaint with the Katni police last month.

Situated some 350 kilometres from the state capital Bhopal, Katni  the second biggest town after Jabalpur in the Mahakoshal region  is now abuzz with the mens surreal brush with wealth that they held, but never came to enjoy.

Police investigations reveal someone or some people opened three bank accounts in Tiwaris name, identifying him to be the managing director of a company called SK Minerals, and then made a series of deposits totaling Rs 16.93 crores into the accounts.

Haldkar also had an account opened as the director of one Mahadeo Trading Company with unexplained deposits following shortly. The money was withdrawn through ATMs at Delhi and Haryana as mysteriously as they were deposited.

The banks manager RK Singh is refusing to divulge any further details. We are cooperating with police in every possible manner, he says.

According to Gaurav Tiwari, the Katni superintendent of police, the questionable money trail hints at the role of hawala operators parking black money in the accounts of unsuspecting people and then withdrawing it to make it white.

We are probing this angle. We are also gathering details of bogus companies used in this mega fraud. Role of some bank insiders cannot be ruled out, the SP added.

A similar case surfaced in May when an Uttar Pradesh farmer found out that he was a director of the now-defunct Kingfisher Airlines and that his two bank accounts were being seized for recovering the crores of rupees industrialist Vijay Mallya owed creditors.

As police dig deeper, Tiwari and Haldkar are continuing to do the rounds of the income tax office, protesting their innocence. When the two occasionally meet, they try to figure out how many zeroes make up a crore.

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Last year was the hottest year on record. This is partly due to an exceptionally strong El Nino, and partly because of global warming resulting from human activity. El Nino departed in early June, but the heat continues, and the resulting drought has left nearly 100 million people around the globe facing a bleak and hungry future.

Some of the hardest-hit regions are in southern Africa. Around 18 million people there are expected to suffer crisis food insecurity, meaning a crisis has resulted in hunger and diminished nutrition. This and other impacts on livestock, water access, and treatment for those living with HIV will last well into 2017.

This drought is having a devastating impact on the southern Africa region, and we know things could get even worse, said Rebecca Sutton of Oxfam, an international confederation of charitable organizations that work toward ending global poverty. People are struggling now. They have watched their crops wither and their animals starve to death. Even in the best-case scenario the next major harvest is not expected until early next year.

The Southern African Development Community has launched an emergency appeal for $2.4 billion to help those most severely hit by the drought, and protect development gains. The Regional Inter-agency Standing Committee has released an action plan targeted at the seven most-affected countries: Angola, Lesotho, Madagascar, Malawi, Mozambique, Swaziland and Zimbabwe, which requires $1.2 billion in funding.

In response, the United States announced an additional $127 million to this effort, bringing the total the United States has provided to the region to over $300 million in humanitarian aid. This includes emergency food assistance, nutrition and health support, access to safe drinking water, and seeds. The funding will be delivered through the United Nations and our NGO partners.

Based on early warning and careful tracking of the progression of El Nino, the United States mobilized an integrated response earlier this year to ensure El Ninos impacts do not negate the progress we've already made in reducing hunger and poverty. We have also adjusted development investments to lessen the drought's impacts, speed recovery, and to help build resilience in southern Africa.

The United States applauds the many fellow donors who have contributed to the southern Africa drought response, and encourages others to join this international effort. Mobilizing a robust and coordinated global response will be critical to protect the region's gains against chronic hunger and poverty, and to ensure early recovery.
RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat made a veiled attack on Pakistan on Friday saying the neighbouring country hates India so much that it was ready to let itself down in order to harm India.

There is so much hatred: our (Pakistans) own condition is quite bad, but we (Pakistan) would let ourselves down to spite the neighbour (India). This is how our neighbour is behaving, Bhagwat said while speaking at a book-launch in Indore.

Whenever we extend the hand of friendship, it (Pakistan) makes such circumstances that we can not offer friendship again, he said.

He also said that both developed and developing countries were getting caught in the crossfire as the tussle to become superpower was on in the world.

Global thinkers are wondering if the race to become superpower continues like this then whether the world would survive. The world is looking at India with hope for answers. If we are able to answer these questions then we can become the number one country, Bhagwat said.

Hindi translation of Vijay Deshmukh-written biography of King Shivaji, Shakkarte Shivrai, was launched on this occasion.

Bhagwat said during Shivajis times words such as communalism and secularism were non-existent, yet he, as a ruler, treated everybody equally.

He also said the challenges to defend religion today were more or less the same as during Shivajis times. Bhagwat however hastened to add that by religion he did not mean any particular community.
Heavy rain delayed the resumption of rescue operations on Friday to find those missing in the Mahad bridge collapse over the Savitri river on the Mumbai-Goa highway on Tuesday.

National Disaster Relief Force (NDRF) officials said the search and rescue operations which were to resume early Friday morning, could start only after 8 am.

It was raining the whole night in Mahad on Thursday and the river has once again become tough to tackle. We are putting all our efforts to trace the missing vehicles and the people who were travelling in them, said an NDRF official.

Read | 42 feared killed in Maharashtra bridge collapse, Fadnavis announces probe

Around 150 NDRF personnel have been scanning the river on speed boats. But the strong current in the swollen river has made their task difficult.

By the time rescue operations ended on Thursday, rescuers had recovered 15 bodies from different places, one of them 150 km downstream. A total of 42 people are feared dead in the bridge collapse. Raigad deputy collector Satish Vagal told Hindustan Times that the casualty estimate was based on information provided by family members of people missing since the accident. There were also reports of a couple of two and three-wheelers missing from the highway and feared drowned in the bridge collapse, he said.

NDRF jawans battle strong river currents during the rescue operation at a collapsed bridge near Mahad in Raigad district on Thursday. (Satish Bate/HT Photo)

Despite the massive search operations rescuers have not been able find any of the missing vehicles so far.

Among the deceased whose bodies have been found are Shrikant Kamble (53), who was at the wheel of Jaigad-Mumbai bus, and Rajapur-Borivali bus conductor, Prabhakar Baburao Shinde. While Kambles body was found 150 km away Anjarle in Ratnagiri district, that of Shinde was found at Kemburli near Mahad.

The bodies of two women  Shevanti Mirgal and Sneha Baikar  who were travelling in Tavera car were recovered from Harihareshwar in Raigad district and at Rajewadi near Mahad while the body of the third woman, Ranjana Vaje, was recovered from Kemburli, Vagal told PTI.

Read | British-era bridge near Mahad washed away in floods, 29 feared dead

The British-era bridge on the Mumbai-Goa highway caved in on Tuesday night, sending two buses, an SUV and a car plunging into the flooded river near Mahad town, about 170 km from Mumbai.

In the state assembly on Thursday, Maharashtra chief minister Devendra Fadnavis announced a judicial probe into the incident.

Families of those killed will be assisted with the ex-gratia of Rs 5 lakh each, he said.

Maharashtra chief minister Devendra Fadnavis reviews the operations at the Mahad-Poladpur bridge on Wednesday. (PTI Photo)

Transport minister Diwakar Raote announced either a government job to a family member of the deceased staff of the two MSRTC buses that were washed away or compensation of Rs 10 lakh each.

As the government came under opposition attack for the accident, said to be result of lack of the maintenance of the 88-year-old bridge, Fadnavis said a structural audit of old bridges will be completed at the earliest.

About 20 boats are involved in the search and rescue operations. The Coast Guard, Navy and local fishermen are part of the rescue operations.

On Thursday, a 300-kg magnet was also lowered into the river with the help of a crane to trace the missing buses, a state disaster management official said. But it drew a blank.
Congress on Friday came down hard on the Narendra Modi- government for allowing home minister Rajnath Singh insult by Pakistan at the Saarc meet in Islamabad.

Such an insult had never been heaped on the Indian home minister in any bilateral or multilateral fora. It is a result of the flip-flops, U-turns and zigzag in Indias Pakistan policy which has never seen in the past 70 years, party spokesperson Abhishek Singhvi told reporters.

Noting that Congress was angry and saddened by the manner in which the Singh was treated, he said it showed that Indias foreign policy and, especially Pakistan policy, is lying in tatters.

The government has to be held accountable and it should share the blame, he said.

Indias foreign policy is lying in tatters. We had no business to put ourselves in such positions where we can be embarrassed, he said, wondering why were no guarantees sought by the Indian government before the Home Minister visited Pakistan.

Singhvi contended that there have been Saarc meetings earlier as also the shadow of terrorism, but never before have we seen such type of insult against India.

Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif in the meeting said that Kashmir was witnessing a new wave of freedom movement, Singhvi said insisting that never before had the Pakistan government dared talk like this.

Tearing into the governments Pakistan policy, he said Pakistan routinely insults India, and the Modi government rolls out the red carpet, first for the Pakistan Prime Minister and then for the ISI as was witnessed after the Pathankot terror attack.

Never before has the Home Minister been insulted like this. The question is, why was he allowed to be mistreated like this? he said expressing shock that there were terror groups which were openly abusing and mocking India while the home minister was in Pakistan.

Wondering as to why has Modi government not moved beyond the sari-shawl diplomacy, he said there is huge difference between the pretended bonhomie when the Pakistan PM had come for Modis swearing in and the just concluded Saarc meet.

Singhvi was also critical of certain statements of the External Affairs Ministry when the Home Minister went to Pakistan saying that it should have kept quiet. The whole thing shows that the left hand does not know what the right hand is doing in this government.

He noted that when Rajnath flew to Pakistan, he was received by director general of Saarc, which was against the protocol. When Chidambaram had gone there as home minister, his Pakistan counterpart Abdul Rahman Malik had received him, he said.

Singhvi reminded the government that Bangladesh Home Minister had not gone to the Saarc meet despite the fact that their ties with Islamabad were far better than that of India.
Here are the top news of the day on Hindustan Times:

NATION

Vijay Rupani - New CM of Gujarat

Gujarat BJP chief Vijay Rupani was chosen to lead the government in the state on Friday, days after Anandiben Patel offered to step down as the chief minister. Nitin Patel will be the deputy chief minister. The new government will be installed on Sunday.

Bodo rebels open fire in Assams Kokrajhar

Damaged shops after an attack by NDFB (S) terrorists in the market area at Balajan Tinali near Kokrajhar town in Assam on Friday. (PTI)

Suspected Bodo rebels in Assam opened fire at a crowded marketplace in Kokrajhar district on Friday, killing 13 people and injuring 16 others. It was the first major militancy-related challenge for the new BJP-led government under Sarbananda Sonowal in the northeastern state.

Media blackout of Rajnaths speech in Islamabad

A day after his return from Pakistan, home minister Rajnath Singh told the Rajya Sabha: Indian DD (Doordarshan), PTI and ANI (news agencies) reporters were not allowed to cover my speech. He was responding to the lawmakers asking him if there was a deliberate media blackout. Congress said the Modi governments Pakistan policy was responsible for insult of Rajnath Singh in Islamabad where he went for a Saarc meeting.

Death threat to Irom Sharmila

A Manipur-based radical social organisation warned activist Irom Sharmila against contesting elections and marrying an outsider. They reminded her that some former revolutionary leaders were assassinated after deviating from the cause and getting elected as peoples representatives. Sharmila had recently decided to end her 16-year-old fast against alleged army atrocities in Manipur.

Mystery millionaires of Madhya Pradesh

Rajnish Kumar Tiwari, a part-time electrician from Madhya Pradeshs Katni, had no clue of a bank account in his name until the income tax department served him notices. Police investigations revealed someone opened an bank accounts on Tiwaris name, forging his identity to make a series of deposits into the account totaling Rs 16.93 crore.

WORLD

Whats Ms Obama doing this Summer?

Natasha Obama departs Nancy's Restaurant, in Oak Bluff, after working her shift . (AP)

Fifteen-year-old Natasha works at Nancys restaurant, a local hot spot in Washington. But why is she accompanied by six secret service agents? Who is she? Obamas daughter or something? Well, Yes!

Prachanda begins implementing Madhes deal

Nepals new government under Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal Prachanda began implementing a pact signed with agitating Madhes-based parties on Friday. The Prachanda government announced it will pay Rs 1 million to the next of kin of nearly 60 people who died in violent protests against the new Constitution last year.

BUSINESS

Amazons Prime Air

Amazon.com boxes are shown stacked near a Boeing 767 Amazon "Prime Air" cargo plane (AP)

Amazon took its fast delivery network to another level with the introduction of Prime Air, its very own cargo fleet. With that smile from the logo perched on its tail fin, the 40 leased Boeing 767 jets will be used to speed up its deliveries across the globe, after many Christmas orders were delivered late by air freight services like UPS and FedEx last season.

Hyundai cars now more expensive

Days after Indias top carmaker Maruti Suzuki raised its vehicle-prices by up to Rs 20,000, Hyundai Motor India Ltd. (HMIL) announced a price rise across its models by up to Rs 20,000, effective August 16.

SPORTS

(AP)

As worlds biggest sporting extravaganza begins in Rio de Janeiro on Friday, all eyes will be on 119 athletes representing India, dreaming of a medal. Full coverage Rio Games here

For latest news and updates, follow Hindustan Times on Facebook and Twitter
The state capital remained under a curfew on Friday ahead of a march proposed by separatist leaders towards the famous Hazratbal shrine, four weeks after militant Burhan Wani was killed in an encounter with security forces in south Kashmir.

Senior Hurriyat leader and chairman of the moderate Hurriyat faction, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, is expected to lead the Dargah Chalo march from his residence at 2pm.

The leaders had called on locals to hold congregational prayers at the holy place by the Dal Lake.

The move comes amid an appeal to people by Syed Ali Geelani, who chairs the hardliner Hurriyat faction, to march towards the Hazratbal from early Friday morning in large numbers. This prompted authorities to enforce strict restrictions on movements in places across the city since the wee hours.

Besides barricades and barbed wires, security personnel were deployed at the commercial centre of Lal Chowk and nearby areas.

On Thursday, Geelani exhorted people residing around the Dal and the Nigeen lakes to march towards the shrine in shikaras and boats.

The separatist leadership further stepped up their schedule of protest, extending the shutdown call till August 12, saying there will be no relaxation after 6 pmas was the case in the last three days on alternate days starting August 6.

Apart from the regular shutdown, the leaders asked people to assemble and occupy local chowks and centers from Asar to Magrib in the vicinity of mohallas, villages and localities on Saturday.

On August 8, the protest calendar asked people to block all roads towards and around Civil Secretariat Srinagar, DC and Tehsil offices and ensure that no employee is able to join the duty on the day.

The calendar also laid out schedule for cleanliness and sanitation drive, protests by women and playing of Islamic and pro-Azaadi songs in mosques.

Two deaths, earlier this week, pushed the region to the brink just as it was limping back towards normalcy.

The state police arrested 349 persons and detained 122 more as it launched a crackdown against hooligans and miscreants.

Several protest rallies broke out in different parts of the Valley on Thursday, with scores injured in clashes with security personnel. Local media reports said nearly 80 persons were injured.

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The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) named Vijay Rupani as Gujarats new chief minister and Nitin Patel his deputy on Friday, entrusting two of its most powerful state leaders the responsibility of reviving the partys popularity among voters.

Rupani, who takes charge on Sunday, has his job cut out. He has to placate angry Patel and Dalit communities, battle two decades of anti-incumbency and repair ties between the government and the party. And all this before the state elections that are due by December, 2017.

In choosing Rupani over Patel, who was seen as a front-runner for the top job till Thursday, the BJP hopes that his non-dominant Jain background would help neutralise caste equations in a state where the Patel and Dalit communities are crucial vote banks.

Rupani, 61, hails from Rajkot, the heartland of Saurashtra which has a significant population of both Patels and Dalits.

On the other hand, Nitin Patel enjoys significant clout in north Gujarat, which was the epicentre of last years violent protests by the Patidar or Patels demanding quotas for the community in colleges and jobs. His appointment could help woo back the Patels, the BJPs traditional backers who had begun drifting away.

The responsibility I have been handed is great and we are thankful for this, Rupani said after being named the chief minister. (I) will put in all the efforts to make Gujarat the role model of India.

Union minister Nitin Gadkari announced the appointments after chief minister Anandiben Patel resigned earlier in the week. Fridays meeting to choose her successor was attended by party MLAs as well as BJP president Amit Shah. Rupani, seen as close to Shah, was the state transport and water supply minister and Patel the health minister.

Gujarat minister Nitin Patel speaks with the media in Gandhinagar in Gujarat. (Siddharaj Solanki/ HT File Photo)

The BJP has been in power in Gujarat for two decades but the past two years have seen the partys fortunes slide in Prime Minister Narendra Modis home state.

Anandibens two-year tenure was marked by deadly protests by the Patidars seeking quotas in colleges and jobs, and more recently, over the public beating of four Dalit men by self-styled cow protectors.

Many accused her government of being out of touch with peoples aspirations, and blamed her leadership for the partys dwindling support in both rural and urban Gujarat.

The BJPs vote share in panchayat polls dropped from 50.26% in 2010 to 43.97% last year. Its hold over semi-urban and urban civic bodies also weakened during the period, helping to revive a moribund Congress party in the state.

On Friday, Anandiben proposed Rupanis name in the meet attended by 121 state BJP lawmakers.

Sources said Shah believed that replacing a Patel chief minister with a non-Patel would not go down well with the Patidar community. This led to the party settling for a new arrangement of a deputy chief minister.

In selecting Rupani, a first-time MLA, the BJP has kept up its tradition of bringing in a non-Patel leader after the untimely exit of a Patel leader. Twice, when Keshubhai Patel had to go unceremoniously without completing his terms in 1995 and 1998, the BJPs choice was from non-dominant castes -- Suresh Mehta, a Jain in 1996 and Narendra Modi, an OBC in 2001 -- to neutralise caste considerations.

This is also the first time the BJP has selected a Kadva Patel leader in Nitin Patel.

The party was forced to reconfigure its caste calculus after the Congresss successful social engineering experiment in consolidating what became known as the KHAM -- Kashtriya, Harijan, Adivasi and Muslims  votes.

At the same time, the two sects of the Patels -- Leuvas and Kadvas -- tilted toward the BJP in and brought the saffron party to the power for the first time in Gujarat in 1995.

Since then the Leuvas have dominated the party. The BJP had so far two chief ministers, including Keshubhai and Anandiben, several ministers and even party presidents from among Leuva Patels.

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The state minorities commission for Telangana and Andhra Pradesh is set to launch an awareness campaign against Islamic State (IS) by getting on board the imams of several mosques across the two states. They aim to thwart the terror groups efforts to lure youths.

The commission will on Saturday hold a seminar, awareness programme and interactive session on ISIS - Interpreting reality, which would be attended among others by Imams of nearly 300 mosques from the two states, its chairman Abid Rasool Khan said.

These guys (the imams) are going to listen to all (speeches by security and legal experts and religious scholars on perils of ISIS) and they will speak on the matter during Friday prayers in mosques. We will spread the word throughout the states, Khan said.

At the event, the imams will discuss ways to wean people off violent and ultra conservative ideology of the terror group, and educate youth about the repercussions of getting involved in such activities.

Read: Maharashtra ATS arrests suspected Islamic State mediator

Among the speakers will be a security expert on radicalisation, a scholar who has written a book on ISIS and an adviser to multi-national companies on cyber threat.

Deputy chief ministers of Telangana and Andhra Pradesh, Mohammed Mahmood Ali and K E Krishnamurty, respectively, and Telangana ome Minister Nayini Narasimha Reddy would also speak at the event.

Muslim speakers would be speaking with reference to Quran...and how ISIS...jihad how they are trying to entice. They (Muslim scholars) are trying to break the myth, he said.

Nearly 100 principals of colleges where Muslim students are studying and 100-200 concerned parents would also be among the attendees.

The event is being organised against the backdrop of police in several states detaining men on suspicion of having links to IS or planning to join the outfit. Recently, NIA busted a module in Hyderabad whose members allegedly owed allegiance to ISIS.
Home minister Rajnath Singh confirmed on Friday that Indian media was not allowed to cover his speech at a Saarc meeting in Islamabad.

Indian DD (Doordarshan), PTI and ANI (news agencies) reporters were not allowed to cover my speech, said Singh in the Rajya Sabha after MPs asked him if there was a deliberate media blackout.

I am hesitant to say if they (Pakistanti authorities) had behaved as per the norms and protocol, he said. Singhs statement contradicts what the government had said on Thursday.

I do not want to comment if Pakistan was right or wrong in not allowing coverage. I did not register any protest there. I have to ask the foreign ministry about past precedence of such meetings, Rajnath said.

The government had played down the controversy over Pakistans state-run news channel PTV not airing Singhs speech saying only host country ministers remarks are shown on live TV.

Rajnath also spoke about why he skipped a lunch hosted by the Pakistan government. I do want to say that the Pakistan home minister invited me for lunch but then he went away in a car. I also did what was necessary to maintain the prestige of India. I dont have any grudge. I didnt go there for lunch, he said amid appreciation from the treasury benches.

Our Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee had famously said that friends can change but neighbours cant change. Our former PM Dr. Manmohan Singh had expressed solidarity and said Pakistan is also a victim of terror. But after all these, they (Pakistani establishment) dont consider itself as our neighbours, Singh said.

The home minister said that in Pakistan he sought the strongest action against countries that back terrorism and pilloried those who eulogise terrorists.

There should be strongest action against terrorism. The entire world is worried about this extreme threat, he said in Rajya Sabha while addressing the House about his speech at a meeting of Saarc home ministers in Islamabad.

I urged Saarc members that terrorists should not be glorified or patronised, he said.

Singh, in Islamabad, did not name any countries or individuals in his speech in Islamabad but there was little doubt he was referring to Pakistan.

The remarks were an apparent reference to the stance adopted by Pakistan on slain Hizbul Mujahideen commander Burhan Wani and the subsequent unrest in Kashmir that left about 50 people dead last month. Islamabad angered New Delhi by referring to Wani as a Kashmiri leader and a martyr besides describing his death as an extrajudicial killing.

If we are to rid ourselves of terrorism, we will have to genuinely believe that attempts to distinguish between good and bad terrorists are misleading, and thus, no type of terrorism or support to it can be justified on any grounds whatsoever, Singh said in his speech.

Cutting across political lines, all parties supported Rajnaths stand in the Saarc home ministers meeting.

However, the Congress held the government responsible for the insult to Singh. Such an insult had never been heaped on an Indian home minister in any bilateral or multilateral fora. It is a result of the flip-flops, U-turns and zigzags in Indias Pakistan policy that have never been seen in the past 70 years, party spokesman Abhishek Manu Singhvi said.

He said the Congress was angry and saddened by the manner in which Singh was treated.

Bahujan Samaj Party chief Mayawati asked if the government would now reconsider its Pakistan policy while the Samajwadi Party and RJD favoured a strong message to Pakistan.
Vijay Rupanis appointment as the Gujarat chief minister has not come as a surprise. For the last few months, he had been virtually calling the shots though Anandiben Patel headed the BJP government in the state.

The 61-year-old MLA from Rajkot is known for being extremely close to Amit Shah, the BJP national president.

Rupani, who was the transport and water supply minister in Patels cabinet, is also the state BJP president. That he was allowed to hold two posts despite the partys much touted one-man-one-post policy underlined his unmatched clout within the state BJP.

Read | Vijay Rupani is the next Gujarat CM, Nitin Patel is the deputy CM

Hailing from Saurashtra  dominated by Patidars - Rupani belongs to the Jain community. Starting as a RSS volunteer, he became the Rajkot mayor and later the partys general secretary.

He was made the Gujarat BJP chief in February this year.

Rupanis influence on party decisions was on display when he announced the state governments decision to grant 10 percent reservations for economically backward classes, including the Patels, some months ago. Chief minister Patel was present but remained a mute spectator. Though struck down by the high court later, it was a big political decision aimed at pacifying agitating Patels ahead of next years assembly elections.

Speculations had been rife since then about an impending change of guard in the state.

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Entering Masterda Surya Sen station in south Kolkata without undergoing security checks is easy.

The X-ray machine does not work, and has been lying covered for about a month. At 10.15 am on Wednesday (July 13), three men in khaki sat beside it, equipped with two hand-held metal detectors, engrossed in chatting among themselves. It was entirely voluntary for the commuters to get their bags checkedand to pass through just ahead of the door-frame metal detector (DFMD).

In short, the countrys oldest metro is a sitting duck.

To add to the infrastructural inadequacies, even the existing mechanism to apprehend terrorists lies underutilised due to a casual approach by the security personnel. The personnel posted at the stations, too, have few sophisticated weapons to deal with attackers before reinforcement arrives.

UNPROFESSIONAL GUARDS

The unprofessionalism of guards at Masterda Surya Sen station was caught in HTs camera a week after the RPF conducted a Suraksha Sammelan to review the security arrangements and issued directives for the security staff to remain on the maximum alert.

This correspondent captured the scene at Masterda Surya Sen station in a video despite a prohibition on photography and videography. Operating since the start of the Kolkata Metro 1984, its 27-km stretch is the citys lifeline, carrying five lakh passengers every day.

The security arrangement at metro stations is full of loopholes. The metro rail is unprepared to combat a terror attack, said Bikash Kumar Chattopadhyay, former assistant commissioner of Kolkata police, who is a daily commuter on metro rail.

During his career as an officer in Kolkata police, Chattopadhyay had investigated the 1993 Bowbazar blast and the American Centre attack of in 2002. A 2013 awardee of the Presidents Police Medal for Distinguished Service, he accompanied Team HT to the station to assess the loopholes.

Read all the stories in this series here.

SECURITY LAPSES

The security lapses observed at Masterda Surya Sen station are more or less the same at nearly half of the 24 stations  starting from Noapara at the northern fringes of Kolkata to Kavi Subhas at the southern fringes of the city. This reporter found that none of the security guards at Sovabazar metro station in north Kolkata was interested in scanning the luggage of the persons who passed through the DFMD.

With each metro station having two entrances, there should be at least 48 X-ray scanners. Until last week, only four of the 23 scanning machines were operational. Eight of the defunct machines were repaired in the first week of July after metro authorities got an agency for the job. That was one year after the termination of contract with the agency responsible for maintenance of the integrated security management mechanism between 2012 and 15.

We were forced to terminate the contract in July last year after the company repeatedly failed to provide the service it had committed, a metro railway spokesperson told HT. Since then, we did not get anyone. Finally, last week, an agency was given the task of repairing eight scanners, he said, while admitting that a section of the security personnel are casual in their approach.

We regularly identify those personnel at metro station with casual approach; we penalise them. Our officers

pay surprise visits, while the activities of the security personnel are also monitored through CCTV cameras, the metro rail spokesperson said. The metro authorities first want to make its existing infrastructure operational and then plan to upgrade the system, he added.

Read | Red alert: Why alarm bells should be ringing at Mumbai airport

ORDERS NOT FOLLOWED

On July 5, Kolkata Metro said it reviewed the security arrangement in the aftermath of the Dhaka terror attack. Chaired by V K Dhaka, IG-cum-CSC/RPF, Eastern Railway, Kolkata, the Suraksha Sammelan was attended by the security commissioner, his assistant and 110 railway protection force (RPF) personnel, the Metro said.

All officers and staff have been instructed to remain on maximum alert during their duty period to avoid any untoward incident and to counter any terrorist attack, it added.

It is obvious the instructions had little effect on those working on the ground. HT found security was loose at Geetanjali and Kavi Nazrul stations, too.

There, again, it was voluntary upon the commuters to undergo security checks.

The RPF is responsible for security. They coordinate with Kolkata police and are posted on platforms as well, but they mainly focus on ensuring no one commits suicide. Recently, Kolkata police formed a Quick Response Team comprising 100 personnel for fast response to possible terror attacks. Yet, most of its personnel are unarmed. The members are posted at the Specialised Force Training Centre at Hastings. Kolkata metro has also decided to raise a commando platoon out of its existing force.

Read | Cyberabad IT Parks guards cant hold off terrorists for even 3 mins: Expert

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The international community is facing a formidable challenge in the Lake Chad Basin region in defeating the terror group Boko Haram, while, at the same time, helping those whose lives have been thrown into chaos by the group and are in desperate need of humanitarian support.

In remarks at a UN Security Council Briefing, U.S. Ambassador to the UN Samantha Power spoke of the horrors she heard from individuals when she visited regional camps serving those who had fled Boko Harams violence: the looting and burning of homes; the murder of men and boys; the rape and abduction of women and girls.

A robust military effort against Boko Haram is critical, said Ambassador Power. The Multinational Joint Task force, composed of units from Benin, Cameroon, Chad, Niger, and Nigeria, is playing a growing role in improving coordination between countries, as well as in planning and intelligence sharing.

These efforts have produced important gains in recent months, including freeing thousands of hostages, destroying dozens of terrorist camps, and recovering around 75 percent of the territory Boko Haram once controlled. Ambassador Power emphasized that the military fight against Boko Haram must also include respect for human rights.

Ambassador Power applauded the European Union and the United Kingdom for their contributions to the Multinational Joint Task Force, noting that the U.S. has supported the MNJTF with more than $71 million of assistance, including advisors, logistics support and non-lethal equipment. She urged other member states to step up and support this critical effort.

Ambassador Power stressed that in addition to strengthening the military operation, much more is needed to address the dire humanitarian situation. In the last two years, the U.S. provided more than $281 million in humanitarian aid for the countries affected by Boko Haram, but they remain grossly underfunded. There are 2.5 million people displaced within their nations, and some 150,000 pushed beyond their borders. A key point: more than 90 percent of displaced people have been taken in by extended family members--a testimony to the goodness and altruism alive in the region, even as it is beset by Boko Harams brutal evil.

Now is the time, said Ambassador Power, for the international community to step up and assist the suffering people of the Lake Chad Basin region -- to empower the good and defeat the evil of Boko Haram.
The Bharatiya Janata Partys (BJPs) decision to choose Vijay Rupani, a non-Patidar leader, to replace Anandiben Patel as the Gujarat chief minister took many by surprise on Friday.

Rupani, a Jain, did not fit the bill as per conventional political wisdom. Jains are numerically insignificant, constituting barely 1 % of the states population. But Rupani was the first choice of BJP president Amit Shah, who has been camping in Ahmedabad for the past 48 hours.

In the backdrop of prolonged agitations by the Patels, or Patidars, demanding reservation, political observers expected the BJP to pass on the reins of the state to another Patidar.

Hardik Patel, leader of the Patel quota movement, is out on bail after spending months in jail on sedition charges. He cant enter the state as per the court ruling. He is staying at Udaipur in neighbouring Rajasthan, planning his next move.

Read: Vijay Rupani: The man calling the shots in Gujarat is now the CM

Nitin Patels name -- the senior leader was chosen as Rupanis deputy on Friday -- as the possible replacement of Anandiben gained currency after the Gujarat high court quashed 10% reservation for the poor among upper castes on Thursday. Anandibens government had played the reservation gambit last April to placate Patels.

But Shah, party sources said, had his reasons to appoint Rupani. For one, Patidars have been loyal to the BJP and the party expects them to rally behind it by the time the state goes for assembly elections in December next year.

Besides, neither Anandiben nor Nitin Patel, the No 2 in her cabinet, succeeded in stopping the Patidar agitation, said Ahmedabad-based social scientist Achyut Yagnik.

Patidars have been loyal to the BJP but the younger generation is not happy with the government. They are not interested in agriculture any more. They want employment in public or private sector. Patel votes will be divided (among different parties) in the next elections, said Yagnik.

Patels, who constitute 18% of the state population, are divided into two major sub-castes: Kadvas and Levas.

Anandiben is a Leva and married to a Kadva. By appointing Nitin Patel, a Kadva, as the deputy chief minister, BJP leaders believe the party would be able to counter the influence of Hardik, also a Kadva.

Rupani, as the new chief minister, will be confronted with a daunting task. The most dominant community, Patidars, and the most oppressed, Dalits, are showing signs of disillusionment with the BJP.

The Dalits have been on a warpath against the state government since the flogging of four youth at Una in Rajkot district last June.

Rupani, the state BJP chief and the CM-designate, is a Shah confidante. He will have the organisational backing. But the lack of administrative experience could be a handicap.

Rupani, a first-term MLA from Rajkot (west), was the transport minister in Anandibens government. Incidentally, it was he who had announced the 10% quota for the economically backward class among upper castes at the state BJP headquarters.

Under the leadership of Shah, the BJP has been making experiments in choosing non-dominant community leaders as chief ministers -- a non-Jat in Haryana, a non-tribal in Jharkhand and a non-Maratha in Maharashtra.

Its a non-Patel CM in Gujarat now. It might arguably be Shahs biggest political gambit in his and Prime Minister Narendra Modis home state.
New Delhi

Thursdays crash of an Indian Air Force Hawk advanced jet trainer (AJT) in Kalaikunda air base in West Bengal is the fourth of the fleet.

The IAF inducted the British-origin Hawk Mk132 aircraft in 2008 to simplify the training of its fighter pilots.

Heres all you need to know about the AJTs:

NUMBERS: India had placed orders for a total of 123 Hawk AJTs. Twenty four planes were delivered by British aerospace firm BAE Systems in fly-away condition, while Bengaluru-based Hindustan Aeronautics Limited is licensed to produce the remaining aircraft.

ROLE: The Hawks were inducted to meet a long-standing need of the IAF. The planes are crucial for the training of combat pilots as they serve as a bridge between subsonic trainers and supersonic fighters such as Sukhoi-30 MKI, Mirage 2000, Jaguar and MiG variants. Pilots carry out the final stage of their training on Hawks for one year at Bidar in Karnataka.

ACCIDENTS: The first Hawk crash took place in April 2008, just two months after the IAF inducted the planes. This was followed by another crash in May 2011. The IAF concluded human error (air crew) was the reason for both accidents. A third plane went down in June 2015. Luckily, pilots have managed to eject safely in all cases.

COST: The four planes that have gone down during the last eight years represent a loss of around Rs 280 crore. Close to 100 IAF planes have been involved in accidents since 2007.

FEATURES: Hawks come with modern avionics, advanced navigation systems and multi-function displays to ease pilot training. Other features include cockpit video recording, heads-up displays and mission computers. Modified Hawks can be used as lightweight fighters for air combat and ground attack.
Kailash Singh Choudhary, 44, had rushed to the rescue of two calves stuck in the muck on Hingonia cow rehabilitation centre premises on Friday. At least 500 bovines starved to death in the Jaipur Municipal Corporation-run centre after they were caught neck-deep in cow dung and fodder that had turned slushy due to rainwater seepage.

I have been coming here for the last few days to help in the rescue operation, but what I saw today has left me shaken. Two newborn calves trapped in the mud were bawling and their mothers were nowhere to be seen, probably because they were dead. I have been trying to feed them milk ever since they were rescued, but one of the calves is very sick and I dont think it will survive, said Choudhary, who runs a small cow shelter at Vidhyadhar Nagar that nurses sick cows.

I have no words to describe what I am seeing here. It is a shame that because of the mismanagement of the authorities, these animals have to suffer, he said.

Dhaba owner Babulal Saini, who also had rushed to the rescue of the animals from the quicksand-like mud, said: In some of the places I saw crows and dogs feeding on the dead cows. There is no one to dispose the carcasses.

According to sources, there was no one to take care of the cows for last 15 days as the 266 caretakers responsible for the feeding the cows at the shelter went on strike to protest against the non payment of salaries for May and June.

Blame game

Chairman of animal control and conservation committee of the Jaipur Municipal Corporation, Bhagwat Singh Deval, blamed mayor Nirmal Nahata for the deplorable condition at the shelter house. No facilities have been provided by the JMC and even after our repeated attempts cows are dying every day. The administration and bureaucracy of the JMC are directly responsible for this sorry state of the cow rehabilitation centre Since the mayor is at the helm of the JMC, it is his responsibility to assure that the animals dont suffer, he said.

The Congress also targeted the BJP government over the issue. The BJP asks for vote in the name of gau mata, but the government is doing nothing even as countless bovines are dying daily here. I would say that the BJP government is a government of cow killers. We will raise this issue in the upcoming monsoon session of the parliament and will corner the government until we get a satisfactory answer, said leader of Opposition in the state assembly Rameshwar Dudi. He along with other Congress councillors of the JMC inspected the Hingonia cow rehabilitation centre on Friday.

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Youre probably done with the annual monsoon rituals  shopping for neon raincoats and trendy gumboots, getting steaming chai and spicy pakodas, hunting down the perfectly roasted corn on the cob.

Ever wondered what the pitter-patter means for the rest of the world? While in India, it means kickstarting cravings for spicy, crunchy munchies, in China and Ethiopia, rainy days arent about chai or samosa.

Step up to the plate this season  make yourself comforting dishes that have brightened up many a cold, rainy day in other parts of the world. Weve got you a bunch of recipes to start with. Take the Doro Wat from Ethiopia  a long-simmered sour and spicy stew, traditionally served with flatbread called Injera. Lentil soup from Turkey will leave you with a warm soup belly on a windy day, and Chinas Dan Dan noodles could make up for your spiced cravings. Elevate your cup of chai to Hong Kongs Kopi Cham, a heady mix of tea and coffee.

Stews and soup make for warm, hearty meals, perfect for the rains, says Ananya Banerjee, home chef and author of Planet Gastronomy: 100 Most Popular Global Recipes.

In the monsoon, you want to eat hot dishes that are umami-rich and full of flavor, says chef Kelvin Cheung, owner of Bandra restaurants One Street Over and Bastian. Noodles are a good way to go, as they are known to be comforting mood-lifters.

Its time to travel the world, one bowl at a time.

Dan Dan Noodles, with roots in Chinese Sichuan cuisine

Serves four

Chef Kelvin Cheung says Dan Dan noodles are perfect mood-lifters in the rains.

For the soup base, add a kilo of de-stemmed mushrooms to 2 litres of vegetable stock. After boiling, add 2 stalks of lemongrass, 50g each of green chillies and dried red chillies, 2 cups of peanuts and 2 cans of coconut milk. Gently simmer for 2 hours. Blend until smooth, then strain the mixture.

For the mushroom mixture, heat half a cup of oil of your choice in a large pan, on a medium to high flame. Add cleaned mushrooms and roast until golden brown.

Then add 100g of chopped garlic and 50g each of green and dried chillies. Add 50g of szechuan peppercorns. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Once cool, add the mushroom mixture to the food processor and lightly chop.

When ready to serve, drop soaked rice noodles into boiling soup base. Top with a heaping spoon of mushroom mixture. Garnish with roasted chopped peanuts, chilli oil, and chopped scallions.

Recipe: Chef Kelvin Cheung, owner of Bastian and One Street Over, Bandra

Read: How Chinese food has taken over the Indian palate

Mercimek Corbasi from Turkey

Serves four

The lentil soup from Turkey will leave you with a warm soup belly on a windy day.

Heat a large tablespoon of butter in a pot. Chop 1 large onion and a carrot and fry them till soft. Then add 1 cup of boiled red split lentils, 6 mugs of chicken or vegetable stock and season with salt and pepper to taste. Simmer gently until lentils are soft. Blend the mixture in a food processor till smooth. Once the mixture is ready, season with salt, pepper and cumin to taste. Serve steaming hot with wedges of lemon and crusty bread.

Recipe: Ananya Banerjee, home chef and author of Planet Gastronomy: 100 Most Popular Global Recipes

Doro Wat from Ethiopia

Serves four

Traditionally served with the crusty Injera bread, this spicy Ethiopian chicken stew can be eaten with the Maharastrian amboli or a thick uttapam.

For the berbere paste, mix a cup of chopped onion, 1 tbsp each of ginger, minced garlic and paprika. Add 1 tbsp each of cumin, turmeric, chilli flakes, cardamom, fenugreek seeds, peppercorn and cloves. To this, add 2 to 3 dried red chillies and a pinch of nutmeg powder. Add half cup of oil, a cup of water and salt to taste. Dry-roast mixture and grind all the ingredients in a food processor. This paste can be used in most Ethiopian cooking.

For the stew, marinate 4 pieces each of chicken drumsticks and thighs in 1 tbsp of lemon juice and salt for 30 minutes. Puree 1 cup of onions and 1 tbsp each of minced garlic and ginger.

Heat 1/4th cup oil and 1/4th cup butter in a large pot. Add 2 tbsp of paprika to color the oil. Stir in half cup of berbere paste and cook for 2 to 3 minutes. Add the onion-garlic-ginger puree and saute until oil leaves the side of the pan. Add half cup of water or stock and 1/4 cup red wine, and stir-in the chicken pieces. Add salt and pepper to taste. Bring to a boil.

Cover and let it simmer for 25 minutes. Add 4 whole hard-boiled eggs and cook for another 10 to 15 minutes, or until the chicken is very tender. Served best with a traditional Maharastrian amboli or a thick uttapam.

For vegetarians, the stew can be made with soya chunks instead of the chicken, without the eggs.

Recipe: Ananya Banerjee, home chef and author of Planet Gastronomy: 100 Most Popular Global Recipes

Roti Helicopter from Malaysia

Serves two

You could coat Malaysias Roti Helicopter with jam or eat it with ice-cream.

For the coconut jam, whisk four eggs with 200g of demerera sugar, 150g coconut cream and 200ml of coconut milk. Strain the mixture. Set up a double boiler. Caramelise 50g of castor sugar, and add into the bowl on the double boiler. Slowly add the egg mixture and continuously mix using a spatula, making sure the paste doesnt curdle. Add 3 knotted pandan leaves and cook on the double boiler, stirring constantly for 20 minutes, till the mixture thickens slightly. Make a slurry of 10g of cornflour and add to the mixture. Cook for another 2 minutes. Take it off the flame and transfer to another container and let it cool.

For the roti, take 70g of naan dough and roll to make it paper thin. Apply 2 tablespoons of oil on it. Place the flattened dough on a hot griddle. Cook on each side and sprinkle a mixture of salt and sugar on one side. Cut the roti in half on the griddle and roll into two cones. Finish on a plate with a drizzle of 20g coconut jam and a scoop of vanilla ice cream. Garnish with a mint sprig.

Recipe: Chef Atul Kochhar, owner of Michelin-starred restaurant Benares in London and NRI and Lima in BKC

Read: Home run: Chef Atul Kochhar is bringing back Indian food that went international

Kopi Cham from Hong Kong

Serves one

Kopi Cham, a heady mix of tea and coffee, can be served hot or iced.

Boil 2 cups of water. Add 1/4 cup black tea leaves and simmer for 3 minutes. Add 1 cup of milk or condensed milk and simmer it for 3 minutes.

Stir in 2 cups of strong coffee, add sugar to taste. Strain and serve hot or chilled over ice.

Recipe: Roopanshi Bhat, owner, Tea Villa Cafe, Bandra

Read: This monsoon, have chai-pakoda delivered to your door

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Its a bird. Its a plane. No, its a kite! Come August, and the Captials skyline is dotted with colourful kites, cutting through the clouds and competing with the monsoon winds. On one such breezy day, we went to Delhis biggest wholesale kite market  Lal Kuan Bazaar to witness the lanes lined up with shops selling kites  some frilly, some plain and some with messages of patriotism.

Lal Kuan market is filled with kites, and the most popular designs here display the colours of the national flag. (Shivam Saxena/HT)

The owner of shop No. 41, Mohammed Altaf, said, Kids as young as five visit us. Kites with impressions of Prime Minister Narendra Modis face and the national flag are in demand.

Read: Experience kite flying in Dilli 6

At shop No. 1042, a 10-year-old young boy, who came with his family from Rohini, was excited to buy kites in bulk. I like Doraemon and Salman Khan. Main 500 patang loonga, alag alag design ki (I will buy 500 kites, of different designs). I can cut four kites with just one kite said Krrish. Posing with his treasured buy, his eyes twinkled with excitement.

Krrish Luthra, 10, came all the way from Rohini to buy kites in bulk. (Shivam Saxena/HT)

The variety and the cheaper rates have made people from all across Delhi flock to this market to buy kites. Gurgaon resident Yatin, who always goes to Bishan Chand and Sons to buy kites, said, Kite-flying is my hobby. Now, Ive come to stock up for Teej. Later, I will come again to buy for Independence Day.

Read: Nylon thread used for kite-flying to be banned, Delhi govt tells HC

Yatin (third from left) , a resident of Gurgaon, buys kites only from Bishan Chand. (Shivam Saxena/HT)

The traders, however, are worried about the dwindling nature of the business. Annu Qureshi of AB Kite Shop said, By this time, our business should have been 100%, but its gone down to 30%. Kids have mobiles and television now. They dont come out and play.

Bollywood actor Salman Khan, and pop culture icons such as Ben 10, are in high demand. (Shivam Saxena/HT)

Just as we were about to wrap up work, we spotted three kids outside shop number 1862 checking out kites. Saeed and Salman were 12 years old, while Rafi was just 10. Saeed said, Jab se hum chhote the, tab se patang udhaate hain (We have been flying kites since we were toddlers). With the future of kite-flying in young hands, we hope that we dont have to witness a kite-less Independence Day.

Follow @htlifeandstyle for more.

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The Legend Of Michael Mishra

Cast: Arshad Warsi, Aditi Rao Hydari, Boman Irani

Director: Manish Jha

Rating: 1/5

There is nothing legendary about this film which glorifies a Patna-based kidnapping kingpin. It is a forgettable affair. But, what may stop you from wiping out this film completely from your memory is that its made by the same director who gave us the brilliant Mathrubhoomi in 2003.

Full Pant (Boman Irani) welcomes a group of touring students into a roadside eatery (dhaba), and forcefully narrates them the story of Michael Mishra (Arshad Warsi).

Read: Punjab bans The Legend of Michael Mishra for hurting religious sentiments

Read other film reviews here

Our guy wields knife like a pro and is in love with aspiring actress Varsha Shukla (Aditi Rao Hydari). But their relationship is headed to a dead end unless Michael leaves the world of crime.

Aditi Rao plays the love interest of Arshad Warsi in the film.

From reality show Bihar Is Full Of Talent to a jail named Bhairon Ghati Ka Kala Pani, this film showcases the highest level of mindless buffoonery. An utterly bored Warsi sleepwalks through the film and keeps mumbling something in a dialect no Bihari has ever used.

Its a complete mockery of the viewers sensibilities.

Boman and Kayoze Irani in a still from the film.

Warsis sidekicks, including the chief one Half Pant (Kayoze Irani), take the films absurdity many notches higher. It shocks you even if you stop caring. Theres no escaping.

Its banality knows no boundary and every actor contributes to it. The conversation between Boman Irani and the visiting students is shockingly lame. But, lets not mark out just one scene as the others are equally sappy.

Watch: Our FB Live chat on Budhia Singh, The Legend Of Michael Mishra and Chauthi Koot

The lack of hype around The Legend Of Michael Mishra isnt going to help it either as its clumsy beyond expectations.

Even the most optimistic of us would find it difficult to sit through this cheerless drama.

Interact withRohit Vats at Twitter/@nawabjha

Follow @htshowbiz for more

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Thirunaal

Director: PS Ramnath

Cast: Jiiva, Nayanthara, Karunas, Sharath Lohithaswa

Rating: 1/5

Ramnaths Thirunaal in Tamil can at best be summed up as a romp of rowdies, punctuated by pelvic thrusting, horribly vulgar dances, swing of sickles, spurting blood and a love affair between a school teacher and, well, a lungi-clad goon.

One never completely understands the head or tail of a plot in which the heroine (played here by Nayanthara, and called Vidya), an affectionate schoolteacher from a modest but respectable family, flips for a rowdy, unlettered and uncouth, essayed by Jiiva. His screen name is blade, and if this was not horrendous enough, he keeps a blade in his mouth, and when he spits it, it hits the jugular!

Read: Tamilselvanum Thaniyar Anjalum review | An important subject handled with inanity

If all this was not adequate to paint the canvas red, Blade is an orphan who has been reared by a notorious goonda, Naga (Sharath Lohithaswa), whose partner in business (though this is clean) happens to be Vidyas father. When he is cheated by Naga, lover-boy Blade is not happy -- leading to his friction with his boss.

Watch the trailer of Thirunaal here:

Read: Dhilluku Dhuddu review | Santhanam loses out in the ghostly mishmash

We know where the story will veer to after this with a script that is often crowded with characters and floundering without direction. Thirunaal, however, does have some above average performances. As a roadside rowdy, Jiiva often emotes with flair and feeling, and Nayanthara, though meant to be a flower-vase on the mantlepiece, manages a nuanced piece of acting, conveying with a fair degree of conviction her dilemma in the arms of a man, who is, at best, a societal outcast with a crime on his conscience.

What, to me, appears as a no-no is the kind of extolling that takes place in Tamil cinema -- of anti-social elements. They are put on a pedestal and celebrated to the hilt, and offences like stalking are given a clean chit -- making them look like perfectly acceptable social behaviour. Thirunaal is just one example.

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Mumbai: Heavy downpour and waterlogged roads made schools in the city cancel classes and send students back home early. The school bus owners association (SBOA) too refused to ply buses in the afternoon.

Schools near Hindmata in Parel that run classes in two sessions  morning and afternoon  cancelled the former and alerted parents sending their kids for latter as the neighbourhood roads were experiencing waterlogging. There is heavy waterlogging in the school premises, so we sent the children home early. We are asking parents in the afternoon session to send children at their own risk, said a staff member of Social Service League School, Parel.

In such cases, the schools can declare a holiday if it is inconvenient for students to reach school. The education department has given powers to the teachers to take a call during such situations. The lost teaching hours are adjusted later on, said Anil Bornare, a teacher with Swami Muktananda School, Chembur.

The schools that decided to call off classes for the afternoon batch include Balmohan Vidaymandir in Dadar (for both Marathi and English medium), Podar International School, Santacruz and HVB Global Academy at Marine Lines.

Since traffic jams were being reported in areas like Kandivli, Andheri and others, the SBOA declared a holiday for the afternoon session of schools, which use their services. Only children in the morning were dropped home at their convenient stops wherever possible, said Anil Garg, president of the association.

The pupils parents were informed that since road and rail traffic flow were hit due to heavy rainfall, attendance on Friday was not compulsory and they could take their children home if they wish to. The school has left it to us. They were holding classes, but we were informed that attendance was not compulsory, said a parent from IES Modern English School, Dadar.

Meanwhile, some schools faced dearth of buses to send children home. We faced a practical problem. There were not many buses available to take the children home, so we continued with the regular school schedule, said Father Francis Swamy, principal, St Marys (ICSE) Mazgaon.

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A village near Karad in Maharashtras Satara district lost its power supply on Wednesday night after a leopardess fell from a tree on high tension cables and was electrocuted.

Forest officers took help from Maharashtra State Electricity Distribution Company Limited (MSEDCL) to remove the 7-year-old big cats carcass on Thursday.

We were informed around 1pm on Thursday by villagers from Vanwas Machi village, four kilometres away from Karad that an animal was spotted hanging from a 30-metre high tension wire, said VM Mule, assistant conservator of forest, Satara.

We rushed to the site to find out that it was a leopard but could not pull the body down from fear of being electrocuted ourselves.

Forest officials try to remove the carcass of the leopardess from the high-tension wire. (HT Photo)

Mule said that the leopard was sitting on top of a tall tree when it slipped and fell on the power lines. When the carcass was brought down with the help of wire managers from MSEDCL, the left side of the leopards mouth, stomach and claws were found burnt, he said, adding that the carcass was finally burnt in the evening.

Locals from the village said that on Wednesday night, they observed fluctuation in the power supply. We first thought that it was due incessant rainfall but later there was power outage and loud growling noise around 11.30pm, said Sunil Bhende, a farmer from Vanwas Machi village. Officials from MSEDCL said that our electricity would be restored by Friday.

Forest officers said that the nearby areas of the village had four other leopards that frequented the 20 sq kilometre area, mostly consisting of sugarcane fields, in search of dogs that make up their prey base.

The leopard that died left behind two cubs. We have told villagers to inform us immediately if they are spotted, said Baba Shinde, range forest officer, Satara.

According to the Wildlife Protection Society of India (WPSI), 38 leopards had died in Maharashtra in 2015. While most of them died of natural causes, 11 were killed after being hit by trains or vehicles and six were electrocuted.

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The states lawmakers on Friday passed a bill raising their own salaries, and that too substantially. While ministers will now draw a salary of Rs1.80 lakh to Rs2 lakh every month from the Rs57,000 they received till now, MLAs and MLCs will earn Rs1.60 lakh to Rs1.70 lakh every month as against Rs75,000. The move is expected to out an annual burden of Rs60 crore on the cash-strapped exchequer, which has a debt burden of around Rs3.5 lakh crore.

Both houses of the legislature cleared the bill, which governs the salary of MLAs, ministers and presiding officers of the legislature. Besides the MLAs and ministers, 1,500 former legislators will also get a hike in their monthly pension. It has been raised to Rs50,000 from Rs40,000 every month, and Rs10,000 per term served. Further, even personal assistants will now earn Rs25,000 a month instead of Rs15,000.

The ministers and legislators, while demanding the hike, pointed that the salary of IAS officers is higher than that of the elected representatives.

The legislators demanded the salary to be raised on par with the salary drawn by top bureaucrats, after the implementation of the seventh pay commission.

Post-hike, the salaries of ministers would be equivalent to that of the chief secretary, while those of the legislators will be equivalent to what is drawn by principal secretaries of the state government.

The demand for the rise in the salary was deferred for the past two years in the wake of the drought in the state.

The last revision of salary of legislators and ministers was done in July 2010, with effect from April 1 of the same year.

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After a First Year Junior College (FYJC) aspirant killed himself because he did not get through a college of his choice, parents of students have demanded an inquiry into the manner in which the online system allotted seats this year.

A majority of the 2.2 lakh applicants were allotted seats in their least preferred colleges. The colleges were either too far from their residence, charged high fees  as the institutions are not aided by the government - or did not offer subjects of the students choice. HT had highlighted this issue in its August 4 edition.

Read: FYJC admissions mess: Many score well, but fail to get colleges of choice

Parents said that the students have been depressed because of this. My daughters ask me what is the point of studying so hard if they will have to attend colleges whose cut-offs are far lower than their scores, said Munaf Shaikh, a parent from Crawford market. His daughters, Nabiyaah and Mehreen were allotted Lala College, Worli and BM Ruia College, where the cut off is 35%, despite scoring 77% and 84%.

The parents said that the government needs to examine what went wrong in the system and provide relief to the students. There is certainly something amiss with the system and unless that is rectified, students will face the same problems in the special rounds, said Azhal Merchant, a parent from Bombay Central.

Merchant suggested that the government must increase the number of seats in coveted colleges in the special rounds like they did for degree college admissions recently so that more students get admission into better colleges. So far, 7,200 new seats have been added to junior colleges but these are small institutes attached to schools, for which there are not many takers.

Since the special rounds are kept towards the end and new applicants were allotted seats first, the government is punishing students who want to change their seats as all the good colleges will be filled by then, added Merchant.

Officials from the department admitted that the special rounds were kept towards the end to penalise students for not filling their forms correctly. Despite telling them repeatedly, students do not list out the colleges in the order of their preference or check whether the listed college is offering the subjects that they want or not. They even make mistakes in selecting the ward and zone, said BB Chavan, deputy director of education, Mumbai region. We are giving them another chance but they also need to learn a lesson so that they do not repeat this, he said.

Speaking about the student who committed suicide, Chavan said that he had scored 43% in SSC and was allotted the college of his second preference. The student, however, had not claimed his seat after third round. In the first round he was allotted a college of his 10th preference and then in third list he got a betterment to his second preference but he was still unhappy, said Chavan, adding that the department had spoken to the students principal.

In the last three weeks, two FYJC students have committed suicide

On August 3, Durgesh Tapan, FYJC aspirant, killed himself because he did not get admission to the college of his choice. The police said that he was depressed as he was not allotted a college in Bandra and did not want to wait for the next cut-off list

On July 21, a 16-year-old girl from Kalamboli, committed suicide after a college assured her offline admission, took money but later cancelled it. Pushpa Suryavnanshi, who had scored 81.40% in SSC examination wanted to take admission in Sudhagad Secondary school and higher education, the junior college near her home. She had also given `20,000 to the principal of the college for offline admission. Education minister Vinod Tawde has initiated an inquiry against the college.

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The state government finally withdrew its proposed No Helmet No Fuel rule after petrol pump operators and two-wheeler owners opposed it. Petrol pump operators will now have to furnish the details of the two-wheeler riders not wearing a helmet to the local Regional Transport Officers (RTOs) at regular intervals. The officers are expected to take the action against the violators based on the information.

Petrol pump operators, however, are against compiling such information and submitting it to the government. Instead, the operators have suggested the government install CCTV cameras at petrol pumps to catch errant riders.

The state government had announced the rule was to be implemented from August 1. After the pump operators opposed it citing the safety of their employees, chief minister Devendra Fadnavis, on July 28,

stayed the decision. Concerns were raised by the opposition in the state legislature claiming the decision was impractical.

Clearing its stand on the policy, transport minister Diwakar Raote said on Friday that instead of refusing fuel, tpumps will have to give the state government the details of the violators.

We are not for any such responsibility put on us because it will lead to flashpoints between our employees and two-wheeler riders. Secondly, it will be difficult to subsequently prove violations

based on our report and may lead to the dispute with our customers, said Ravi Shinde, Mumbai president, Petrol Dealers Association. We have suggested the state instal CCTV cameras and RTO officers can monitor feed from RTO officers. It would be convenient for officers to take action against the errant two-wheeler drivers.

Shinde said because the government was mulling introducing an e-chalan system, providing information about violators will not be required at all.

According to the sources, the transport minister was made to withdraw the policy after leaders from almost of the parties met the CM and convinced him about its impracticability.
MUMBAI: Two days after the collapse of a bridge over the river Savithri at Mahad on the Mumbai-Goa highway, there is growing evidence that it was the result of official apathy and callousness cutting across party lines. This government, and the one before it, ignored repeated warnings that the 100-year-old bridge built by the British could crumble at any moment.

In July last year, Mahads MLA, Bharat Gogawale of the Shiv Sena, raised a question in the state assembly saying it could collapse anytime and result in a major tragedy.

In its response in January this year, all the State government did was to uproot some vegetation growing out of the bridges joints and declare it structurally sound.

Gogawale had said the vegetation had grown and eaten into the foundations of the bridge. In words that now sound prophetic, he had said that the bridge might collapse during the monsoon and result in a major tragedy.

But public works department (PWD) minister Chandrakant Patil had dismissed Gogawales fears. The British-era bridges joints had some outgrowth of vegetation, which has been pulled out manually. Every monsoon, an audit is done and such vegetation is pulled out. However, the bridge is structurally sound and traffic flow is smooth, Patil said, in a written reply.

Patil wasnt alone. In 2013, a Shiv Sena leader, Shashikant Paryekar, wrote to the then chief minister, Prithviraj Chavan, warning him of the delicate condition of many bridges on the Mumbai-Goa Highway.

British-era bridges on this highway have not been replaced nor have boundary walls been built next to them. If this is rectified, we will not have to face any sort of tragedy, Paryekar wrote.

However, the letter was not even acknowledged by Chavans office in 2013. I had hoped, with the letter, that his office would take note of this issue. But, it did not elicit a single response till date, Paryekar told Hindustan Times.

Similarly, a former Congress MLA from Mahad, Manikrao Jagtap, has been issuing similar warnings to the state government for at least seven years now. I have been telling them that the bridge is way past its age and have been pushing them to shut it down. I have written several letters but they did nothing, he said.

In the legislative assembly, the issue resulted in a slanging match between the ruling BJP and the opposition. Responding to the oppositions allegations of negligence, chief minister Devendra Fadnavis said that even the Congress-NCP government had ignored the issue, raising the 2013 letter.
In a bid to increase the population of indigenous cows as a nationwide drive, Punjab will artificially inseminate 5000 desi cows in the state on the birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi, October 2.

Punjab Livestock Development Boards chief executive officer (CEO) HS Sandha said this was a central government initiative to encourage farmers to prefer indigenous breeds, such as Sahiwal, Tharparkar and Rathi, over exotic breeds such as Holstein Friesians (HF). The government will carry out this mass synchronised breeding in the whole country on Gandhi Jayanti, he said, adding that a stated aim is to increase the population of desi breeds to compensate for their low yield per cow.

Also read | Gau rakshaks harass us, cops shield them: Punjab traders point at Hindu Right

As of now, a Sahiwal cow produces 7-8 litres of milk a day as compared to 25-30 by HF cows. Also, their population is just 1.5% of all cows in the state. Since the Centre decided to push for rearing indigenous cows, Punjab farmers were losing out on revenue.

How it works

It was only last month that the state government began the drive to identify desi cows and employ the estrous synchronisation technique for breeding. This is the process of targeting female mammals to come to heat at the same time period, which is achieved through the use of one or more hormones. This method is mostly used on HF breeds.

The desi cows are expected to be ready for insemination by the end of September, and, on October 2, they will be injected with the best quality of semen from a pedigree breed to produce an elite variety of indigenous cows that could compete with exotic breeds in producing milk. Though indigenous breeds produce less milk, the quality in terms of fat content is better at 5% as compared to HF cows 3% fat.

Status check

The identification process is over and activities like de-worming and preparation for synchronised breeding are underway. Under the project, the PLDB will also assess the success rate of synchronised breeding on desi breeds under field conditions. After inseminating, we will check how many cows conceived and further the production of milk will be assessed, said Gurmeet Singh, deputy director, animal husbandry, Moga.

The cows for the Gandhi Jayanti programmed were selected on the basis of their body condition, milk yield and reproductive status. Among districts, Fazilka had the highest target of 1,000 , Bathinda 800 and Faridkot 600. The targets are high in these district as desi cows are mostly reared here. Other districts got a target of 100 to 400 cows each. Each veterinary officer has been given a target to cover 20 to 25 cows.

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The mastermind behind the Rs 15 lakh bank robbery, arrested on Thursday, had his savings bank account in the same branch where he executed the robbery on Monday. The man also has a criminal background.

On Thursday, police said Sukhwinder Singh, who is a resident of Jawahar Nagar Camp, holds a savings account in same branch of Punjab National Bank, where he executed a robbery on August 1 with accomplices.

The accused, remanded to police custody for three days for questioning, told police that he would often go to the bank and that is where it struck him that the bank did not have proper security.

He noticed that no one turned up at the bank after lunchtime, so it could be a soft target, said one of the investigating officers.

The accused told police that they were expecting only Rs 5 lakh in the bank, but the cash they found exceeded their expectations as it was thrice the amount.

Also read | Heres what happened

After the crime, they parked their bikes and fled to Ferozepur, where they distributed the cash into four parts. As he was the brainchild behind the robbery, he got a lions share of Rs 6 lakh.

Inspector Beant Juneja, SHO at police station Division number 5 said the police recovered one pistol and one motorcycle used in the crime.

Efforts to nab the rest of the accused is on. The police have been also verifying to know whether the motorcycle recovered from the accused belongs to him, or he has stolen it from somewhere.

He added that police have scanned more than 500 CCTV cameras in the area. One of them captured the accused preparing for the robbery.

Read: Security takes a backseat: No guards in 50% PNB branches in Ludhiana

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Chandigarh and Haryana on Thursday banned screening of The Legend of Michael Mishra till further orders. The film was to release at various cinema halls in Chandigarh and at Amravati Enclave in Panchkula.

There were two shows. The message had come around 11 am from Panchkula administration. So we cancelled the shows, said Kulbhushan Goyal, owner of the Amravati Enclave multiplex, Panchkula.

Punjab had already banned the film. In Chandigarh, a protest was staged near Tribune Chowk on Friday morning by the Valmiki Samaj. Police handed us over the order of deputy commissioner, banning the film, said Swami Chanderpal Anarya, director, Bhartiya Valmiki Dharam Samaj Bhavadhas Bharat, Manimajra.

Manish Jha has directed this comedy film that features Arshad Warsi, Aditi Rao Hydari, Kayoze Irani and Boman Irani.

Deputy Commissioner, Chandigarh, Ajit Balaji Joshi, confirmed the ban for two months, claiming that the screening could have breached peace. According to deputy commissioner, Panchkula, Garima Mittal, the ban shall remain in force for two months, but the government can extend it. The Valmiki Dharam Samaj alleged that the film had certain scenes where Lord Valmiki has been addressed as Daaku (dacoit).

Meanwhile, in Punjab, situation remained tense in Ludhiana on Friday as activists of Balmiki community blocked many roads protesting against the screening of Arshad Warsi- and Aditi Rao Hydari-starrer comedy film The Legend of Michael Mishra for hurting their religious sentiments. The activists forced the city shops to shut down and blocked major roads, including the Dugri road, Ghumar Mandi, Clock Tower chowk, Chaura Bazar, Kochar Market and areas of Model town and Bharat Nagar chowk. There were protests in other towns too.
A day after Punjab deputy chief minister Sukhbir Singh Badal accused the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) of charging Rs 1 crore for giving tickets to candidates, senior AAP leader HS Phoolka lashed out, saying it was the Akalis who were well-known for such practices.

It is the Akalis who are known for exchanging huge sums of money for tickets. They keep dreaming about money and do not give tickets without taking money. They are now accusing us for a practice that is synonymous to their name, Phoolka said on the sidelines of his road show in Ludhiana on Friday.

Dont miss: Meet the 19 AAP candidates

Asserting that the selection of 19 AAP candidates was purely on merit basis, Phoolka said that only those who want work towards the betterment of the society had been selected.

He added that the people of Punjab were feeling betrayed by Congress and the Akalis who had engulfed the state in corruption.

People will throw out corrupt people and mandate in favour of our party will be clear in the forthcoming elections, he said.

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Punjabi University that always remains in news for favouritism in appointments, has been hit by a fresh controversy in the recent contractual appointment of assistant professor in the department of commerce.

Research scholar Neha Singla, who was awarded chancellors medal for excellence in academics (highest honour) has alleged that two other candidates were selected for the position and her merit was ignored.

In a letter to the university, she stated, I received this honour from the Punjab governor in 2014 for my outstanding academic records. I am the first one in department of commerce at Punjabi University to get such an honour since its inception in 1987. Despite all this, I have not been selected for the contractual post by the university. So, I have decided to return this worthless medal, as someones backing is more important than medals to get a job in the university.

She alleged that two candidates doing PhD under the head of department Navkiranjit Kaur and brother of a university professor were selected even though their academic achievements are much lower than mine.

This letter has stunned the academia in the university.

A university professor, requesting anonymity, said, I also feel bad, as Neha scored 42 marks out of 50  12 more than the nearest candidate, still she could not get a job. But, commerce department is proud of her academic achievements.

Singla wrote to Punjab Governor Kaptan Singh Solanki, Kindly let me know the date and time of returning this medal to you, sir.

I qualified UGC NET-JRF in the first attempt even before completion of MCom. I have five research papers to my credit. As a research fellow, I have also been teaching postgraduate classes in the department. But when it comes to selection, they ignored my merit during the interview. Even the dean academic affairs Gurnam Singh, who was heading the panel, was not present in the interview. It was a shame as candidates were selected before the interview, she said.

V-C Jaspal Singh and dean (academics) Gurnam Singh could not be contacted despite several attempts. Despite being contacted on phone, commerce department head Navkiranjit Kaur evaded the queries and hanged the phone.

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Although Bhai Mohkam Singh Satellite Hospital boasts of a good building and a footfall of over 120 patients every day, the hospital lacks basic amenities to facilitate the patients.

Situated at Sakatri Bagh area, the hospital having 12 rooms, a laboratory, an X-ray room and four beds, is however not up to mark in maintaining hygiene, resulting in threats of infection.

The hospital caters to around 20, 000 people of the surrounding areas and is easily accessible to the slum-dwellers living nearby.

The hospital falls short in maintain the upkeep required in a medical institute. For example, the building is surrounded by wild grass on all sides. Secondly, in a few cases, some necessary medicines were also unavailable at times of need.

Jasbir Kaur, who was accompanying a patient said, We had to purchase the injections and other medicines from outside. Also, the bathrooms are dirty and the furniture is old.

Another complainant Rajwant Kaur of Guru Nanak Colony said, When we arrived at the hospital, there were no bed sheets and the washrooms are also dirty. My sister-in-law delivered a child here and the child was wrapped in an unclean cloth.

Talking about the problems faced by the staff, Harpreet Kaur, a nurse on duty said, There is no security for the female staff as there are no guards at night. We also need an ultrasound machine. However, a new operation theatre will start functioning soon.

Meanwhile, Dr Balbir Singh, medical officer on duty said, We are committed to provide better health care and plan to hold meetings with the authorities for better furniture. The wild grass will be managed soon. We also need staff four employees here.
Retirement is the end of employee-employer relationship, so a retired employee cant be dismissed, the Punjab and Haryana high court has held. The bench of justice Kuldip Singh stated that the employer reserves the right to withhold pension, permanently or for a specified period, and use this money for recovering a loss, if the pensioner is guilty of grave misconduct or negligence during service. But the employee cant be fired after superannuation.

The order came on the petition of a retired doctor, Sohan Lal Arora. He superannuated in May 2007 but the Punjab principal secretary for health passed his dismissal orders in October 2007. The doctor moved the high court seeking directions for the payment of his retirement benefits, including the general provident fund.

The government submitted that he had embezzled Rs 95 lakh by submitting fake documents and misusing a letter from the Patiala civil surgeon to claim four increments based on house job and postgraduate degree. He committed the alleged fraud between 1995 and 1999 during his postings in Mansa, Muktsar, and some other places. The department found him guilty of the charges and dismissed him in 2004. He challenged the order, which the high court quashed in 2006. In October 2007, the department passed the second dismissal order on the inquiry report after he moved court to seek retirement benefits.

The high court bench observed that instead of dismissing the doctor months after retirement, the government could have deducted the money from his pension. The government now must release all his pension with 9% interest, starting three months from his retirement. It is free to release provisional pension in case it plans to invoke the Punjab Civil Services Rules to cut retirement benefits.

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A day after a 18-year-old youth was murdered in broad daylight after being dragged from his Activa in Sector-25 market on Wednesday evening, police have arrested seven people, including four juveniles from their hideouts in Dhanas, Sector 56 and Mullanpur.

The victim, Vikas, of Bhaskar Colony, Sector 25, who had come out of jail just 15 days ago, had assaulted one of the accused Ashu following enmity.

The two other accused are Vikas (no connection to victim) and Vishal.

All three are residents of Bhaskar Colony.

Sources added that Police had arrested five accused on Wednesday late night itself.

Vikas was arrested for assaulting Ashu, who had to be admitted to hospital. Ashu, along with his accomplices, attacked Vikas with sharp edged weapons, which led to his death, said Ram Gopal, DSP (central).

Vikas was rushed to the Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education and Research (PGIMER) on a motorcycle by his cousin and friend, where he was declared brought dead.

The area residents are angry and have been blaming the police for failing to maintain law and order in the area.

COMMUTERS FACE THE HEAT

Accusing the police of inaction, hundreds of residents of Bhaskar Colony blocked the Sector-25 Chowk on Thursday morning, raising anti-police slogans. Some of the protesters even pelted stones.

A posse of policemen had to be deployed to maintain law and order in the area. After a stand-off, kin of the deceased went to meet senior police officials.

As the roads were choked, traffic was diverted leading to major jams on city roads  including the stretch from Sector 42 to Sector 22.

It took me around an hour to reach my office in sector 17 from Sector 40. It usually takes only 20 minutes, said a commuter SS Dhillon.

Sunil, a cousin of the deceased, alleged that the police was still favouring one accused  who is a juvenile  and have not even arrested him yet.

We will not bring the body home until the police arrest the main accused. My cousin had raised his voice against sale of illegal liquor and thus the conspiracy was hatched, said Sunil. A murder case has been registered.
September 25 is going to be the most important date for two city girls as they will receive an award from President Pranab Mukherjee for their innovative minds.

Manpreet Kaur and Harjinder Kaur of Class 12 studying in PAP Government Model Sr Sec School here have been selected by the Council of scientific and industrial research (CSIR) for giving an innovative idea.

Around 20,000 entries with different ideas from all over the country had been received for the programme CSIR innovation award for school children-2016 organised by the Innovation protection unit of the council. As many as 35 ideas from these 20,000 entries were shortlisted of which one idea was on Preparing herbal bandages and sanitary pads with orange peels by the city school.

Those, whose ideas were selected were invited for training on April 25-26 and the duo from the city also got an opportunity to visit the centre along with their guide Monia Jain, a lecturer of chemistry, who inspired the girls to prepare the project.

Monia Jain said, The training period was a learning experience in itself as we got to meet senior scientists.

She said, After training we had to send the final project to the council and in the final 15 ideas got selected of which ours got 4th position.

Only two students from Punjab have been selected to take award from the President. They will be getting a cash prize of Rs 20,000 along with the award.

Manpreet Kaur and Harjinder Kaur while discussing the idea said that the idea was based on the condition of the girls living in slum areas.

As they dont give attention to hygiene, we thought of giving an idea where citrus peels present in abundance as waste could be used as sanitary napkins for girls when mixed with another natural product (the product they refused to disclose till patent).

They said, Citrus fruits have an amazing quality to absorb liquid and has healing property, if used as bandage or napkins, they will lock blood and blood will not come out.

Baljinder Singh, district science supervisor, said, it was a proud moment for the district as two girls from Punjab has made it to national level. I am happy that my districts girls have shown the capability, he added.
I was offered the Chandigarh Project at the Indian Coffee house at London in 1949 by the first high commissioner of Independent India, VK Krishna Menon, says Chandigarhs first Indian chief architect MN Sharma in his memoirs  Making of Chandigarh: Le Corbusier and after.

UT administrator Kaptan Singh Solanki released the memoirs on the 93rd birth birthday of the architect on Thursday.

Presenting an eyewitness account of the making of Chandigarh, Sharma says in the memoirs that French architect Le Corbusier was initially reluctant to take up the assignment of designing the new Capital CityChandigarh, due to travel distance and offered to design the city from his Paris office. He adds that Corbusier took up the project on the condition that he would visit the site twice a month for a year and his cousin Pierre Jeanneret would work fulltime.

In 1950, Corbusier agreed to design all the buildings in the Capitol Complex while his team of noted British architects Maxwell Fry, his wife Jane B Drew and Jeanneret were designated as senior architects. Sharma was the first Indian architect to be involved in the project and worked mostly on public buildings. Sharma recalls that the paucity of money was a challenge in the citys creation and Corbusier viewed the project as building a Radiant City.

CAPITOL COMPLEX

The memoirs state that each form, interior or exterior, of the building was minutely calculated.

The innovation of unplastered concrete surfaces or rough concrete at the secretariat was not initially acceptable to engineers. However, the low budget made it acceptable, the book says tongue-in-cheek.

In another anecdote, he says 21-metre high arches were initially painted offwhite and Corbusier solicited their advise. When they said these should not be painted, the piers were painted green, yellow and red!

OPEN HAND

Le Corbusier was obsessed with the idea of Open Hand and first tried to place the monument of open hand over the Bhakra Dam. After the idea did not get nod, the open hand was set up at Capitol Complex. Yet, Corbusier could not see the Open Hand. Three years after his death Sharma got the Open Hand made in Bronze at the workshop of the Punjab irrigation department in Nangal.

VISION INCOMPLETE

The Raj Bhawan or the Governors Palace designed by Corbusier, which never came up was smaller than secretariat, the high court and assembly buildings, but its location at the crown of the Capitol Complex had considerable importance. He adds that former Prime Minister Jawahar Lal Nehru during his visit in 1959 did not consider it appropriate to build the Governors palace keeping in view the democratic state of the nation.

Sharma adds the absence of the Museum of Knowledge, approximately the same size as governors palace means that Corbusiers vision for the Capitol Complex site has not yet been completed.

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A nameless patient infested with maggots lies unattended at Guru Nanak Dev Hospital here, and while theres all kinds of help and sympathy being offered, no one is ready to keep him.

A day after social worker moved him in with the help of Majitha Road shopkeepers, the short-of-hands hospital has appealed to non-government organisations (NGOs) to take him away. The foul smell from his body is making other patients in the orthopaedic ward uncomfortable. We dont want to stay here, said visitor Devinder Kaur. My patient might get infected. The other cringing attendants were outside the ward, with their mouths covered.

We dont want him around. Keeping him here is dangerous, said visitor Jaswinder Singh. He lies in the bathroom but the foul smell from him is all over the ward. Attending physician Dr Himashu said: The difficulty in treating him is that he doesnt keep still. The moment we take our eyes off him, he crawls to the bathroom or goes here and there. We know he needs care but we cant tie him with a rope. I pay for his food and other necessities.

Also read | Woman delivers child without medical supervision at GNDH

Medical superintendent Dr Ram Sarup Sharma said: The hospital doesnt need money for nameless patients but people to take them into their care. We are short of manpower to deal with our rush. Rajendra Sharma, the Right to Information (RTI) activist who brought the man to the hospital, said: I have done my duty as social worker.

Attendants of patients cover their noses due to foul smell from the unidentified patient (below). (Sameer Sehgal/HT Photos)

We have written to the All-India Pingalwara Charitable Society to take care of this man and appealed to more volunteer organisations to adopt nameless patients, he said. Pingalwara chief administrator colonel Darshan Singh Bawa (retd) said he was unaware of the case but as soon as I receive the letter, we will start the procedure to admit the patient.

A few helpers at Pingalwara said on the condition of anonymity that referring nameless patients to the society has become a regular practice with this hospital. They dont have good treatment facilities. We try to accommodate them as much as we can but, at times, even we have too many patients at our hand, said a helper.

A Red Cross Society representative offered financial help to the patient for medicines. But we cannot give him shelter.

Also read | Wrong tests, overcharging; patients endure PGI staffs negligence
Baba Farid University of Health Sciences (BFUHS), Faridkot, on Thursday, told the Punjab and Haryana high court that, due to various discrepancies, as many as 14 questions were declared invalid in the Pre-Medical Entrance Test (PMET) conducted by the university for admission to MBBS/BDS courses in the states private and government colleges.

University registrar Dr SP Singh told the court that the petitioners claims that as many as 110 questions were wrong had been falsified by experts reports, which examined the question papers.

Fourteen questions were declared invalid for which equal weightage was given to all the candidates according to the recommendations of subject experts. In the case of Zoology Set-I, a necessary change in the answer key had been made as recommended and marks given accordingly, the university said.

The university has engaged senior advocate Anupam Gupta to argue before the court on its behalf. Gupta was counsel of university in 2015 as well when the exam had courted similar controversy but was later upheld by the high court after ordering minor changes.

The court was told that it opted for the percentile system of score normalisation as it was used by most prestigious examinations, including the one conducted by the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), New Delhi. The Central Board of Secondary Education has also used the same method in the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET) conducted for admission to MBBS and BDS courses for various medical colleges in the country. To the argument that the exam should not have been held in two shifts, the university said that the NEET was also conducted in two shifts.

The percentile system of score normalisation is done when paper is conducted in shifts, and to account for the difficulty level papers in different shifts it is an established academic practice, the university argued. The hearing on the petition would resume on August 9. The petition has been filed by Ravneet Kaur and others and they have sought quashing of the PMET-2016 result stating that it was declared on the basis of the percentile system in contravention to the provisions of the exam. The petitioners have also sought to re-conduct of the June 10 examination.
Situation remained tensed in Ludhiana on Friday as activists of Balmiki Samaj blocked many roads protesting against the screening of Arshad Warsi- and Aditi Rao Hydari-starrer comedy film The Legend of Michael Mishra for hurting their religious sentiments.

The activists forced the city shops to shut down and blocked major roads, including the Dugri road, Ghumar Mandi, Clock Tower chowk, Chaura Bazar, Kochar Market and areas of Model town and Bharat Nagar chowk.

Commuters struck in a traffic jam due to protest at Dholewal bridge in Ludhiana on Friday. (Gurminder Singh/HT Photo)

The movie, scheduled to be released on Friday across the nation, was suspended by the Punjab government for two months keeping in view the prevailing strong resentment among the Balmiki community over some references to Maharishi Balmiki.

Read: Punjab bans The Legend of Michael Mishra over religious references

The members held protest at Bharat Nagar Chowk against the screening of the film.

Protesters brandishing swords and sharp-edged weapons at Mall road in Ludhiana on Friday. (Gurminder Singh/HT Photo)

The protestors were seen brandishing swords and creating a terror in some areas.

A series of protests have also been erupting in Jalandhar the past one week. Assistant inspector general intelligence, Jalandhar, Mandeep Singh said on Thursday, We requested the filmmakers to delete some scenes that the Balmiki community members are raising objection on, but the scenes are still a part of the movie. They have only muted the volume. Nearly 50 people of Balmiki community had watched the movie along with the officials in Jalandhar and demanded the ban.
Railway authorities will ask members of Parliament (MPs) to contribute funds from their local area development quota funds for development of railways related infrastructure in their concerned constituencies.

General Manager (GM) of Northern Railway (NR), AK Puthiya said in a press conference at Bathinda Railway Station after a routine checkup of Sri Ganga Nagar-Bathinda rail route on Thursday.

AK Puthiya along with NR chief commercial manager Mani Anand and Divisional Railway Manager (DRM) of Ambala Division, Dinesh Kumar visited the railway stations of Sri Ganga Nagar, Hindumalkot, Abohar, Malout, Gidderbaha, Balluana and Bathinda and checked about various issues at Railway stations.

Puthiya announced that railway would construct railway over bridges (ROB), railway under bridges (RUB) and subways at unmanned crossings on the routs. There are as many as 21 unmanned crossings on the route from Sri Ganga Nagar to Bathinda, which will be constructed in the coming times.

Puthiya said that the conditions of tracks were satisfactory in the section but platform sheds were not of sufficient length. The railways would send proposal to improve the length of platform sheds of railway stations.

Puthiya also talked about the pending project of installing escalators at Bathinda Railway Station that it would take more time to be completed. The toughest task is to get approval of any project for railway, and after getting the approval, it definitely would be completed but, will take time.

On doubling of RajpuraBathinda and Bathinda-Delhi rail tracks, Puthiya also said the same that the projects have been approved and have started, but will take about two years to be completed.

On Central Vigilance Commissions (CVC) report about the complaints of corruption by railway officials, he said, Railway is the largest department of union government and has more than 13 lakh employees working in it, so the number of complaints could be largest but the proportion as compared to other departments is less in railway. We are working on the complaints and taking actions against the accused people.
Two days after registering a rape case against the Superintendent of Police (SP) rank officer Salwinder Singh of Punjab Police Service (PPS), the Gurdaspur district police on Friday claimed that the accused officer was on the run.

Police parties have been sent to the possible hideouts of Salwinder Singh to arrest him, but he was not found anywhere so far, Jagdeep Singh Hundal, senior superintendent of police (SSP) Gurdaspur district told Hindustan Times.

However, Salwinder Singh, who is currently posted as assistant commandant of Punjab Armed Police (PAP) at Jalandhar, called up this newspaper three times on Friday, claiming that he was very much in Punjab and not in hiding.

I am unwell and watching television. I am not absconding. I have been booked with ulterior motives at the behest of some police officers. Last year, I was given clean chit by an IPS officer who held inquiry into this 2014 complaint. Now they have registered a rape case against me, Salwinder, the controversial cop who was subjected to a lie-detector test by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) in the January 1 Pathankot airbase terror attack, said.

Also read: Pathankot terror-tainted Punjab cop Salwinder booked for rape

The FIR was registered under section 376-C (sexual intercourse by person in authority) of the Indian Penal Code at the Gurdaspur city police station following an inquiry conducted by Pathankot SP (headquarters) GS Khurana into the complaint of a woman who had accused Salwinder of exploiting her when he was posted in Gurdaspur as SP (headquarter).

Another case under the Prevention of Corruption Act was also lodged against him late on Wednesday night.

The allegation against Salwinder is that when he was posted in Gurdaspur, the name of the husband of the complainant allegedly figured in a rape case. The woman had sought help of Salwinder, who allegedly accepted Rs 50,000 bribe from the complainant, besides harassing her sexually.

On Friday Salwinder Singh had to appear before Inspector General (IG) Gurpreet Deo, who is the head of the Sexual Harassment Committee of the Punjab Police, at Chandigarh in connection with a complaint of sexual harassment five women cops had lodged against him during his posting in Gurdaspur.

I informed the inquiry officer that I am not well and sought one week time, the accused police officer said over phone.

As Salwinder was speaking to mediapersons over phone, the police claim that he was not found in his hideouts raises doubts over the police theory in view of the fact that Punjab police first put cell phones under surveillance to track down and to find out the location of the accused on the run.

Dont miss: Controversial cop Salwinder Singh in news mostly for wrong reasons
A team of vigilance bureau (VB) raided the local veterinary hospital near Modi College on Thursday, and conducted checking for about six hours.

Patiala vigilance SP Paramjit Singh Virk said, The hospital records regarding medicines and other medical facilities were not preserved as per directions.

The hospital has a mobile ambulance to provide medical facilities in far and near areas. But, in the ambulance records, the staff has only mentioned the name of the livestock owner. No record of semen distribution has been maintained for past three months, Virk said. Only the attendance record was maintained properly.

He said, Records were checked for availability of doctors/staff on duty and emergency medicines. Physical verifications of essential equipment were also done. Entries made in the register were checked for authenticity. Measures for sanitation in the hospital were also inspected.

He said it was a routine check on the directions of higher authorities of the vigilance department. We verified local purchases done by the hospital. A report on this will be submitted to the higher authorities.

Recommendations will also be made to the government regarding deficiencies in services, and shortage of medicines and equipment in the hospital, said Virk.
Thanking the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) for giving him ticket from Amritsar (south) constituency, Dr Inderbir Singh Nijjar said he was restless by the current system and after seeing the leadership of AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal, he decided to jump into politics.

Dr Nijjar, who runs a scanning centre in Amritsar and joined the party last year was greeted congratulatory calls as soon as the ticket was announced.

The AAP leader, who claimed that he will start the campaign on Thursday itself, said the successive governments in Punjab have failed to perform and AAP was the best option for the people.

The 61-year old leader told the media that taking up the public issues will be his major focus in the south constituency.

He even maintained that Aam Aadmi Party will be forming the next government in Punjab, as people are fed up with the prevailing scenario and policies of the government.

On a question of joining politics, Nijjar said, I was impressed by AAps working in New Delhi and wanted to contribute in bringing a change. But to change, we have to be in the system, so I joined.
RENO  Newmont Mining Corp.'s Carlin Team beat out 35 teams from 16 states nationwide to finish first at the 2016 National Metal and Nonmetal Mine Rescue Contest in Reno.

The Carlin team came in third in the field competition, first place for first aid and second for team tech (BG4) during the four-day event held July 25-28 in Reno.

Barrick Golds Turquoise Ridge Regulators from Golconda, came in first in the bio technician team competition.

Co-hosted by the U.S. Department of Labors Mine Safety and Health Administration and the Nevada Mining Association, mine rescue competitions gauge the readiness of teams and their individual members  sharpening skills and testing their knowledge in a series of simulated emergency scenarios, such as a mine fire, explosion or roof collapse.

MSHA highlighted the winner of the field competition in a press release. The Waste Isolation Pilot Plants "Blue Team" came in first in the field.

Three members of the WIPP team were represented by the United Steelworkers District 12, Local 9477  illustrating the key role labor plays in helping develop mine rescue teams across the country, said said Joseph A. Main, assistant secretary of labor for mine safety and health.

We ask mine rescue teams to respond to some of our nations most difficult emergency situations, Main said. We owe them the best training, equipment and support to help them be successful and to stay safe.

Main noted that MSHA has devoted considerable attention to developing new mine emergency response systems with the latest mine rescue communications and tracking systems, as well as mapping and atmospheric monitoring equipment, to improve and streamline communications between the surface command centers and underground mine rescue teams. The agency has located these systems at four mine emergency operations sites in Madisonville, Kentucky; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; Price, Utah; and Beckley, West Virginia.

At the 2016 event, top honors also went to Doe Run Companys Gray Team from Viburnum, Missouri; and Barrick Golds Turquoise Ridge Regulators from Golconda, in the technician team competitions; and Morton Salts Team Texas from Grand Saline, Texas, in the team trainer competition. Newmont Minings Carlin Team finished first in overall standings.

In the field competition, five-member teams are required to search and account for all missing miners following standard mine rescue procedures. The two-man technician team must ensure that multi-gas and self-contained breathing apparatuses are in proper working condition. In the first-aid competition, teams must be prepared to deal with medical emergency techniques, such as cardiopulmonary resuscitation and control of bleeding, as well as the treatment of physical shock, wounds, burns and musculoskeletal injuries. The team trainer test consists of multiple-choice and true-false questions.

Data show that last year was the safest year on record, with the lowest number of mining deaths at 28, down considerably from 45 in 2014; fatal and injury rates are down to historic lows, according to MSHA.

We are currently working on improving related mine rescue technologies including seismic detection and the use of robotics to remotely find missing miners, and use of video communications with helmet mounted cameras for advancing mine rescue teams, Main said.

For miners emergency use there is a need to develop improved refuge alternatives and adding voice communications capabilities in self-contained rescue devices that allow miners to communicate with each other without breathing poisonous air during mine emergencies, MSHA stated.

On mine emergency response, the number of metal and nonmetal mine rescue teams has increased from 102 in 2010 to 117 in 2016. The considerable support and preparedness of metal and nonmetal mine rescue teams has been noticeable across the country, according to the agency.

However, there is real concern about the strength of mine rescue teams in the coal sector, Main said. In 2010, there were approximately 214 and that number has dropped dramatically to less than half this year, with 103 teams nationally.

The continued support for mine rescue training contests in both metal and nonmetal and coal is essential for the future of mine rescue readiness, he said.

We have achieved new levels of safety and health that rivals any we have seen in the past, Main said. Last years historical low mining deaths and injury and fatal rates, respirable coal mine dust levels and list of chronic violators have become the new benchmarks in mine safety and health. We must build upon this roadmap that has delivered those successes so miners can go to work and return home safely each and every day. We owe our nations miners that much.
Next weekend, cultural space Godrej India Culture Lab is celebrating Marathi Cinema Now, a festival of eight Marathi films released in the last two years.

The lineup includes this years blockbuster Natsamrat and the National Award winning Ringan (the Quest); the 2015 film of the iconic play Katyar Kaljat Ghusali; smaller successes like Highway Ek Selfie Aarpar and Vakratuna Mahakaya; and Daaravtha and Mitra, which explore LGBT themes. The event kicks off with the premiere of Halal, well received at several international festivals.

We wanted showcase the different facets of contemporary Marathi cinema, says the Labs curator Kevin Lobo. The recent films, both big and small, have explored subjects that mainstream cinema often doesnt.

A still from Daaravtha, which explores LGBT issues.

Saurabh Devendra Singh, founder of 1018mb, the online viewing platform that has curated the films, says that the variety is what makes Marathi cinema so compelling today. The Maharashtra government has played it smart by keeping film costs low. This gives younger filmmakers a chance, allows for pathbreaking creation, offers more exhibition spaces, and makes it easy to invest in a project. The result is a wealth of amazing films. We thought, Why not showcase that? he says.

Read: Sairat isnt a fluke, Marathi cinema has consistently produced such gems

The screenings of Halal, Ringan and Natsamrat will be followed by a discussion with that films cast and crew.

What: Marathi Cinema Now, a festival of contemporary Marathi films

Where: Godrej ONE, Pirojshanagar, Vikhroli East

When: August 12 to 14

Cost: Entry is free; registration is mandatory

To register, go to indiaculturelab.org

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Director Hari and actor Vikram will begin work on the sequel of their hugely successful 2003 film Saamy, once he is done with his current Tamil film, Garuda. Im really happy to be reuniting with Vikram for Saamy 2. However, the project will only roll from next year after Vikram completes shooting for Garuda, said Hari.

In Saamy 2, Vikram will return as the foul-mouthed police officer, and Hari says that the project will be bigger in terms of scale vis-a-vis the prequel.

We will definitely make it bigger. Were reuniting after a decade and the expectations will be much higher, he said.

The project will be bankrolled by Thameens Films, and Harris Jayaraj has been roped in to compose the tunes.

Vikram, meanwhile, awaits the release of Tamil thriller Iru Mugan.

Watch the trailer of Iru Mugan here:

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An Islamist extremist, accused of murdering a Hindu priest earlier this year and carrying a deadly attack on Bangladeshs biggest Eid gathering, was killed in a gun fight when terrorists attacked a police van transporting him, police said on Friday.

Shafiul Islam, 22, was being driven to a police station on Thursday when the Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) vehicle was attacked by terrorists.

A second person, who was an associate of Shafiul and was among those who attacked the RAB convoy, was also killed in the attack.

Shafiul was a suspect in the Sholakia Eid congregation attack in Kishoreganj. RAB personnel had detained Shafiul with a bullet wound right after the attack.

He was also one of the three motorcycle-borne assailants who killed priest Jagneshwar Roy, 50, with sharp weapons in the early hours of February 21, Daily Star reported.

Roy headed the Santo Gaurio temple at Panchagarhs Debiganj.

A RAB official said Shafiul had been undergoing treatment at Mymensingh Medical College Hospital (MMCH) under RAB custody since he was arrested. After doctors discharged him on Thursday, he was being taken to Kishoreganj to be handed over to the police, he said.

Three security personnel were also injured in the clashes and two motorcycles, arms and bullets were recovered from the spot.

Bombs exploded near an Eid prayer gathering in Sholakia in northern Kishoreganj district on July 7 where at least 200,000 people had gathered. Four persons, including two policemen and a Hindu woman, were also killed in the attack.

Shafiul was a member of Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen (JMB), which is accused of carrying out a wave of killings of foreigners and religious minorities.
The seven-member crew of a Pakistani helicopter that crashed in a lawless region of Afghanistan is being held by Taliban fighters, officials said on Friday.

Hamidullah Hamid, governor of Azra district in Afghanistans Logar province, said all seven people aboard the helicopter were detained by the Taliban after Thursdays crash.

The government has no control of the area where the helicopters crashed and burst into flames, he said.

Pakistani military spokesman Lt Gen Asim Bajwa said the Russian-made helicopter was being flown to Russia via Uzbekistan for maintenance. The crew includes one Russian and at least two Pakistan Army officers.

Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said an investigative team is being sent to the area as it is not contactable by phone.

Taliban sources also confirmed all crew members of the helicopter, which belonged the government of Punjab province, were in their custody, The Express Tribune reported.

All crew members, including a Russian national, are in the custody of the Taliban commanders in their controlled areas in Logar, a source was quoted as saying. They all are safe and a final decision will be taken by the leadership.

Afghan President Ashraf Ghani instructed security forces to recover the crew of the helicopter, his special envoy for Pakistan, ambassador Omar Zakhilwal, said.

The President has been in the loop from the outset and has instructed the governor of Logar as well as our security forces to assist in recovering of the hostages. I do believe there will be a peaceful ending to this, he said.

Pakistan Army chief Gen Raheel Sharif called Ghani and sought his help in the recovery of the crew. Afghan President Ashraf Ghani assured all possible assistance in this regard, Lt Gen Bajwa tweeted.
Fears are mounting in the European Union that its months-old pact with Turkey to curb migrant flows could collapse as a rift deepens over Ankaras crackdown following a failed coup.

Turkey angrily rejects EU criticism that its post-coup purges might violate rights norms Ankara must meet under the agreement in return for visa-free travel for Turks and accelerated negotiations for bloc membership.

The risk is big. The success so far of the pact is fragile, European Commission chief Jean-Claude Juncker told Austrian daily Kurier last weekend.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has already hinted several times that he wants to scrap it, Juncker said. If that happens, he added, then we can expect migrants to start coming to Europe again.

If the pact collapses, cash-strapped EU member Greece would be the first to feel the heat as it was the main gateway for some one million asylum seekers entering Europe last year.

Clearly we are concerned, Greeces immigration minister Yannis Mouzalas said.

But for now the number of people arriving on the Greek islands does not indicate that the deal is not being respected.

Since the migrant deal was agreed in March to break the business model of smugglers, the numbers of Syrians, Iraqis and others fleeing war and turmoil via Turkey to Greece has slowed to a trickle.

Under the plan, Turkey stops refugees dangerous sea journeys and takes back illegal migrants from Greece. For each Syrian it accepts back, it can send one to the EU in a more orderly redistribution programme.

In return, Ankara was promised not only visa-free travel for its citizens and accelerated negotiations for membership but also 3.0 billion euros ($3.4 billion) to help the three million migrants on its territory.

But Ankara accuses Brussels of failing to stick to its side of the bargain.

Erdogan on Tuesday lashed out at the EU for dragging its feet in releasing the promised funds and on visa-free travel.

Foreign minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said in an interview with the German daily Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung that Ankara could withdraw from the accord if Europe failed to allow visa-free travel for Turks by October.

The EU vows not to compromise on its human rights benchmarks, including requiring Ankara to amend its anti-terrorism laws to meet European standards, particularly by narrowing their scope.

However, Turkey rejects the demands and has arrested dozens of journalists under anti-terror laws since the July 15 coup attempt.

More than 60,000 people in military, judiciary, civil service and education sector have been dismissed, detained or are currently under investigation.

Serious foreign policy mistake

Erdogan has also alarmed European leaders by suggesting Turkey might reinstate the death penalty to punish coup plotters.

Let me be very clear...no country can become an EU state if it introduces the death penalty, EU foreign affairs chief Federica Mogherini said bluntly in response.

Turkey abolished the death penalty in 2004 as part of its efforts to join the EU, which makes its removal a non-negotiable pre-condition for membership.

EU enlargement commissioner Johannes Hahn warned Turkey last week the bloc would freeze the countrys accession talks if its post-coup crackdown violates EU rule of law norms.

Austrian Chancellor Christian Kern then called on Thursday for the EU to discuss ending accession talks, saying Turkeys democratic standards are far from sufficient to justify membership.

Turkeys EU affairs minister Omer Celik denounced Kerns comments as extremely disturbing.

Seeking to calm things down, Juncker swiftly rejected Kerns call and warned that ending the negotiations would be a serious foreign policy mistake.

He did not elaborate what the consequences would be but the EU not only needs Turkeys cooperation on migrants, it is also a bulwark against the Islamic State group in Syria and Iraq.
Indonesias counter-terrorism police on Friday arrested six suspected militants, believed to be linked to the Islamic State, who were allegedly planning to launch a rocket attack on downtown Singapore from nearby Batam Island.

The Indonesian men were captured on the Indonesian island, about 25 km southeast of Singapore, said National Police spokesman Maj Gen Boy Rafli Amar.

We have strong indications that the six men were planning to launch a rocket at Singapores Marina Bay from Batam, Amar said. He would not confirm whether an actual rocket had been found in the police raid.

Marina Bay is a busy area close to the heart of Singapores downtown filled with office towers, waterside eateries and tourist attractions, including one of Asias biggest casinos.

The arrested men claimed they were members of Katibah Gigih Rahmat, a little-known extremist group that helps Indonesian militants travel to Syria. Police believe it has received funds from Bahrun Naim, an Indonesian fighting with the Islamic State in Syria.

Naim has been linked to a succession of poorly executed attacks in Indonesia, including a suicide bombing outside police headquarters in Solo city last month that killed the bomber.

The arrests, which included the 31-year-old alleged leader of the group, highlight the continued threat posed by extremists in Indonesia despite a sustained crackdown by authorities.

Singapore was not surprised by the arrest of the suspected militants for plotting an attack on the city-state, a minister said. We were aware of the plans being made to attack us with rockets, home affairs minister K Shanmugam said in a statement.

The attacks can come from terrorists who seek to come into Singapore; and they can come from terrorists who locate themselves just outside Singapore. Our small size increases these risks, he said.

The statement said Singapores security agencies coordinated with Indonesia to monitor the activities of the group and apprehend those involved.

Indonesia, the worlds most populous Muslim nation, suffered a spate of deadly attacks by members of the Jemaah Islamiyah militant network, including the 2002 Bali bombings that killed 202 people, mostly foreign tourists.

In recent years, smaller and less deadly strikes have targeted government agencies, mainly police and anti-terrorism forces. Many Jemaah Islamiyah members say they no longer support violent jihad but some have aligned themselves with the Islamic State.
A Muslim American couple was thrown off a Delta Airlines flight by its crew because the man was sweating and said the word Allah several times.

Faisal and Nazia Ali, who are of Pakistan descent, were escorted off the plane in Paris for their return journey home to Cincinnati, Ohio by a Delta Airlines employee on July 26.

They told The Independent newspaper the employee told them he wanted to them to get off. A French police officer waiting outside was satisfied with their answers.

The Delta employee then explained that the pilot had decided to ask them to leave as one of the crew members had felt uncomfortable in their presence, as the crew member had reportedly seen Mr Ali hide his phone as they walked by, and that Mr Ali had been sweating and saying Allah, The Independent said citing the couple.

They were put on a flight the next day, but not before being interrogated again, this time by a US customs agent, who told them, according to The Independent, You have done nothing wrong, unfortunately this is the way the world is right now. It is Deltas word against yours.

The airline said in a statement it is investigating the matter and will issue a full refund of these customers airfare.

The Council for American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), an advocacy group, lodged a complaint against the airline, and staff lawyer Sana Hassan said, By falsely construing their simple and normal actions into something scary and threatening, it is clear that Mr and Mrs Ali were being singled out due to their Muslim appearance and name.

CAIR also sought a thorough examination into the prevailing practices of major American air carriers, including Delta Airlines, and to develop policy guidelines on the objective factors that are to be considered when determining that a passenger may legally be removed from a flight.
Nepals new government began implementing a pact signed with agitating Madhes-based parties on Friday, announcing it will pay Rs 1 million to the next of kin of nearly 60 people who died in violent protests against the new Constitution last year.

In line with the agreement signed with the Madhesi Morcha, the cabinet decided during a meeting chaired by Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal Prachanda that the compensation would be paid within a week.

A total of 59 people, including security personnel, lost their lives and dozens more were injured during the nine-month protest by Madhes-based parties against provisions in the new Constitution.

The cabinet also decided to declare those who died in the protest as martyrs and to bear the cost of treating those who were injured.

The decisions came just a day after Prachanda was sworn in along with a small cabinet, and observers said it reflected the governments intention of dealing with the demands of groups from the Madhes region bordering India.

The Morcha, which has refused to join Prachandas coalition government, described the initiative as a good gesture.

After the pact was signed on Wednesday, the Morcha agreed to vote for Prachanda in the election to choose the new premier. Ahead of the cabinet meeting, Prachanda, Nepali Congress president Sher Bahadur Deuba and top Madeshi Morcha leaders met to discuss the implementation of the deal.

Officials briefed the leaders about the treatment of injured and pending cases against Madhesi leaders.

Differences between the Morcha and authorities over the number of deaths and injured people had held up the distribution of compensation and free treatment in the past. Under the agreement, the Morcha will provide details about deaths and injured people to the government.

Prachanda told the Madhesi leaders that a judicial commission will be formed soon to probe alleged atrocities by state agencies during last years protest. The government also decided to form a task force that will focus on demands to amend the new Constitution.

These demands include making the Constitution more inclusive, ensuring proportional representation for Madhesis and other marginalised groups in state organs, revising the boundary of seven provinces and formation of a commission to look into fixing the boundaries of local bodies on the basis of population and geography.

The way the government took the lead in (addressing) our concerns, it is a good gesture, Upendra Yadav, a prominent Madhesi leader, said after the meeting with Prachanda and Deuba.

We hope that the rest of our demands will be addressed in the spirit shown by the government, he said.

Raj Kishor Yadav, another Madhesi leader, said a convincing foundation had been created with Fridays discussion but the groups want to see more progress.

Krishna Bahadur Mahara, the deputy prime minister and finance minister, said the cabinet also decided to withdraw 14 ambassadors proposed by the former government led by KP Sharma Oli.

Prachanda became prime minister after Oli resigned when the opposition filed a no-confidence motion against him.
Nepals new government announced on Friday that it will pay Rs 1 million as compensation to the next of kin of nearly 60 people who died in violent protests against the countrys new Constitution last year.

The decision came just a day after Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal Prachanda was sworn in along with a small cabinet, and observers said it reflected the governments intention of dealing with the demands of groups from the Madhes region bordering India.

A cabinet meeting chaired by Prachanda made the decision, which was in line with an agreement reached with protesting Madhes-based political parties on Wednesday.

During the nine-month protest by the Madhes-based parties against provisions in the new Constitution, a total of 59 people, including security personnel, lost their lives and dozens more were injured.

The government also decided to provide necessary treatment to those who were injured during the protest. The government has already doled out millions of rupees for their treatment.

According to the pact between the Madhesi parties and the ruling alliance comprising the Maoists and the Nepali Congress, the government will declare those killed in the protest as martyrs.

A judicial commission will be formed soon to probe alleged atrocities by the state agencies during the protest.

According to Krishna Bahadur Mahara, the deputy prime minister and finance minister, the cabinet also decided to withdraw 14 ambassadors proposed by the former government led by KP Sharma Oli.

Prachanda became prime minister after Oli resigned when the opposition filed a no-confidence motion against him.
President Barack Obama has pushed back hard against criticism that the US paid Iran $400 million in ransom to secure the freedom of Americans being held hostage by it.

He told reporters on Thursday the US doesnt pay ransom as a matter of policy and the $400 million paid to Tehran was part of $1.7 billion of Irans money frozen in America.

This wasnt some nefarious deal, he said. These payments were announced months ago in January. He went on to slam criticism of it by Republicans as manufacturing of outrage.

Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump went on to recount for his supporters at a rally a video he said he had seen of how this money was handed over - all fiction, which he has since disavowed.

Obama said the only new development in this was the handing over of the money in cash, and in foreign currencies as the US has no banking ties with Iran.

And it is not at all clear to me why it is that cash, as opposed to a check or a wire transfer, has made this into a new story. Maybe because it kind of feels like some spy novel or some crime novel because cash was exchanged, the president said.

The timing of the transfer, which some people found suspicious, was dictated by legal advice that waiting longer would have sent the owed sum into billions.
ELKO  The County is another step closer to installing enhanced 911.

The commissioners approved the first reading Wednesday to create an ordinance to impose a fee on telecommunications to fund enhanced 911 in the county. To fund the system, residential, commercial and cellphones will be charged 25 cents a month for each line, and each trunk line will be charged $2.50 a month. The estimated revenue would be $170,928 a year.

Elko County is one of three counties in Nevada that still has only basic 911. An enhanced 911 system would allow Elko Central Dispatch and West Wendovers dispatch to know where someone is calling from when he or she calls 911 from a landline. Phase II of this type of system would allow dispatchers to find cellphone callers.

Commissioner Glen Guttry asked staff what still needed to be done before the system can be up and running.

We need to collect some money to pay for that stuff first, responded Assistant County Manager Cash Minor.

I thought Dispatch had a bunch of money in there, like $200,000 that they could get started with, that would cover most of it, Guttry said.

They have some funds available if they want to go down that road, Minor said. The first order of business is going to be to create the surcharge board.

At a previous meeting, Bill Hance said to get enhanced 911 going would cost an estimated $250,000.

Minor said the County has to approve the second reading of the ordinance in September and appoint the board to oversee the surcharge and how it will be used. The commissioners will have final say on the funds.

Minor said if the Dispatch wanted to put funds toward the system it could, but that would be determined by the dispatch board.

So if somebody asked me, Ive had several questions, I can say six months and we probably ought to be pretty close? Guttry asked.

Well be working on it, Minor responded.

West Wendover Police Chief Burdel Welsh asked the commissioners to remember the countywide tax will be used to enhance the dispatch center in Elko and in his city.

Guttry asked if West Wendover has capital already to put in equipment. Welsh said his city doesnt have much capital to put in new equipment. He said he is still waiting on an answer from Frontier Communications to know what is needed in the Wendover dispatch.

In other business, commissioners:

 Approved the Northeastern Nevada Regional Development Authority to apply for supplemental funds from the 2016 Community Development Block Grant for an economic development plan.

 Modified an existing lease with Barrick Gold Corp. to allow KGM employees to use the parking lot for transportation needs to and from Bald Mountain Mine.

 Appointed Shawn D. Mathis to the Jackpot Advisory board to fill a vacated position.

 Approved an agreement and operating plan between the Elko County Fire District, U.S. Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management.

 Approved a cooperative agreement to allow Ubimet North America to place lightning detection equipment on Spring Creek Station 1.
US President Barack Obama has said Donald Trumps approach to dealing with the Islamic State could end up backfiring and playing into the hands of the terrorist group.

If we start making bad decisions  indiscriminately killing civilians, for example, Obama told reporters at a briefing on Thursday, in some of these areas, instituting offensive religious tests on who can enter the country  those kinds of strategies can end up backfiring.

Though he didnt name Trump, it was clear he was addressing the Republican nominee who has said he would bomb the shit out of them (the IS), and has proposed denying entry into the US for immigrants from areas of the world compromised by terrorism.

Trump is also being attacked for his comments on Russia and admiration for its president ,Vladimir Putin. A former acting head of the CIA, Michael Morell, wrote in an op-ed in The New York Times on Friday, In the intelligence business, we would say that Mr Putin had recruited Mr Trump as an unwitting agent of the Russian Federation.

Obama has been extremely critical of Trump, openly in recent days. He called the real estate mogul unfit for the office of president at a news briefing earlier this week.

After a long meeting with his national security team at the Pentagon to review the war against the IS on Friday, Obama said, In order for us to ultimately win this fight, we cannot frame this as a clash of civilisations between the West and Islam. That plays exactly into the hands of ISIL and the perversions -- the perverse interpretations of Islam that theyre putting forward.

Asked if Trump could be trusted with Americas nuclear weapons, he said, Just listen to what Mr Trump has to say and make your own judgment with respect to how confident you feel about his ability to manage things like our nuclear triad.

Trump is reported to have asked a foreign policy expert recently why the US cant use its nuclear weapons. If we have them, why can't we use them? he is said to have asked.
Amid charges of cronyism in British politics after former prime minister David Cameron recommended his aides for peerages and other honours, a row has erupted over Labour proposing a peerage for noted human rights lawyer Shami Chakrabarti.

Banker Jitesh Gadhia is among 13 peerages recommended by Cameron as part of a resignation honours tradition of outgoing premiers proposing honours for politicians, advisers and supporters. Prime Minister Theresa May has refused to block his list.

But it is Chakrabartis nomination by Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn that has hit the most headlines, with some party MPs opposing it. Once opposed to the honours system itself, Corbyn made hers the only recommendation from his party to the House of Lords.

Chakrabarti led a recent Labour inquiry into anti-semitism in the party. Her nomination has been opposed not only by Labours deputy leader Tom Watson but also by a Jewish group, which believes her nomination compromised the independence of the inquiry.

Watson described her nomination as a mistake and told BBC: The timing is not great for the Labour party. I wasnt aware, I wasnt consulted whether Shami was going in. I didnt know that wed provided citations for this particular round, and I do think its a mistake.

Marie van der Zyl, vice-president of the Board of Deputies of British Jews, said: It is beyond disappointing that Shami Chakrabarti has been offered, and accepted, a peerage from Labour following her so-called independent inquiry.

The report, which was weak in several areas, now seems to have been rewarded with an honour. This whitewash for peerages is a scandal that surely raises serious questions about the integrity of Ms Chakrabarti, her inquiry and the Labour leadership.

Labour MP Wes Streeting said: With just one Lords appointment, Corbyn has undermined criticism of Camerons list and the remaining credibility of his anti-Semitism inquiry.

However, a spokesman for Corbyn said: Shami Chakrabarti shares Jeremys ambition for reform of the House of Lords. Her career has been one of public service and human rights advocacy.

Her legal and campaigning skills, and the trust that she has gained from many ordinary Britons, will be a considerable asset to the House of Lords. Brexit will put many hard-fought rights at risk, so it is crucial that those equipped with the right skills are given the opportunity to hold this government to account.

Chakrabarti said: I am honoured to accept Jeremy Corbyns challenge and the opportunity to help hold the government to account. This is a dangerous moment for our country and we share vital human rights values that need defending more than ever before in my lifetime.

A former director of the rights group Liberty, Chakrabarti was awarded a CBE in 2007, chosen to be one of eight Olympic flag bearers at the London Games of 2012 and served on the Leveson inquiry into the British press and phone hacking.

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A Pakistani-American couple has claimed they were removed from a US-bound flight when a crew member felt uncomfortable after noticing that they were sweating, saying Allah and texting.

Nazia and Faisal Ali have accused Delta Air Lines of Islamophobia for removing them from a Paris to Cincinnati, Ohio, flight.

Nazia, 34, had removed her sneakers, finished sending a text message to her parents and was putting on headphones and settling into her seat for the nine-hour flight when a Delta Air Lines crew member approached her and husband, Faisal.

A flight crew member had complained to the pilot that she was uncomfortable with the Muslim couple, The Cincinnati Enquirer reported.

The woman was wearing a head scarf and using a phone, and the man was sweating, she allegedly told the pilot.

The flight attendant also claimed that Faisal tried to hide his cell phone and that she had heard the couple use the word Allah.

The pilot contacted the ground crew and would not take off until couple was removed.

We had been in our seats for 45 minutes, Nazia said on Thursday in the Cincinnati area office of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR).

The ground agent said, Can you step out with me? Wed like to ask you a few questions. So I said, Do you want us to get our things? And he said, Yes, please grab all of your personal belongings. Youre not going to be on this flight, Nazia said recounting the July 26 incident.

They were interrogated by a French police officer about their stay in Paris -- the couple had been enjoying a brief holiday in the capital city for their 10th wedding anniversary, media reports said.

After the interrogation, the officer said he had no problem with them and there was nothing else he could ask the couple.

In the wake of the couples removal from the flight, the Muslim advocacy group has filed a religious profiling complaint against Delta Air Lines to the US Department of Transportation.

We call on the US Department of Transportation to conduct a thorough examination into the prevailing practices of major American air carriers, including Delta Air Lines, and to develop policy guidelines on the objective factors that are to be considered when determining that a passenger may legally be removed from a flight, CAIR-Cincinnati attorney Sana Hassan said.

The Delta Airlines, in a statement, said, Delta condemns discrimination toward our customers in regards to age, race, nationality, religion, sexual orientation or gender.

As a global airline that brings hundreds of thousands of people together every day, Delta is deeply committed to treating all of our customers with respect. Delta continues its investigation into this matter and will issue a full refund of these customers airfare, it said.
The Afghan Taliban said on Friday they were holding the crew of a Pakistani government helicopter that crash landed in the eastern Logar province.

The helicopter was overflying Afghanistan on its way to Russia for overhaul. The six-member crew included one Russian national and five Pakistanis. The helicopter belongs to the government of Punjab province but most of the crew members were serving or retired Pakistani army or air force personnel.

The Afghan Taliban told the local media the helicopter had crashed on Thursday and the crew were safe. Their fate will be decided by the local Taliban leadership.

Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif said his government is using formal and informal channels to ensure the safe recovery of the crew, according to a statement from his office. Pakistan Army chief Gen Raheel Sharif also called Afghan President Ashraf Ghani to request his countrys help.

All crew members are safe, Afghan ambassador Omar Zakhilwal, who is Ghani's special envoy to Pakistan, told The Express Tribune newspaper.

Zakhiwal said Ghani was in the loop and had instructed the governor of Logar province and Afghan security forces to assist in recovering the crew. "I do believe there will be a peaceful ending to this," he said.

The helicopter either caught fire after the crash-landing or was damaged beyond repair. The Taliban have taken the crew to Wach Lagad area after the helicopter went down at a place called Matrai, Zakhilwal said.

The Afghan defence ministry also confirmed the Pakistani government had sought permission from the foreign and aviation ministries to use the countrys airspace. The Afghan government has instructed the defence and security agencies to investigate whether or not it was the same helicopter for which permission had been sought, defence ministry spokesperson Daulat Waziri said.

Pakistani military spokesman Lt Gen Asim Bajwa tweeted that Gen Sharif had called Gen John Nicholson, the Resolute Support Missions commander, hours after the helicopter made the crash landing and sought his help.
A 14-year-old Ohio girl fatally shot her father in the head as he slept to stop him from abusing her family, her attorney said on Friday.

The girl denied a charge of aggravated murder on Wednesday in Trumbull County Juvenile Court. She has been held in juvenile detention since the early morning shooting on July 28 at her familys home in Warren, about 55 miles southeast of Cleveland.

This was a classic situation of a battered woman as it relates to mom, said Cleveland attorney Ian Friedman. The girl and her siblings witnessed this every day. It reached a point where its self-defense and defense of others.

Prosecutors havent determined if they will ask a judge to order the teen tried as an adult. Trumbull County Assistant Prosecutor Stanley Elkins said Friday that his office and police continue to investigate.

Asked about the abuse allegations, Elkins said hed only heard about them from the media.

Im not finding any evidence of that, Elkins said.

The girls 41-year-old mother told WJW-TV in Cleveland on Thursday that she filed for a protective order against her husband five years ago but later dismissed it. The mother called her daughter a hero for her actions.

The girl shot her 41-year-old father once in the head with his .45-caliber handgun as he slept on a living room couch and her mother sleeping on the floor next to her husband, Friedman said. He described the father as controlling and said he required his wife to constantly remain near him.

The shooting was a reaction to abuse that had occurred the previous day and evening, Friedman said. In her mind, this was the only opportunity she had to defend her family and her mother.

The Associated Press generally does not name juveniles accused of crimes.

Two of the teens siblings, a 20-year-old brother and a 19-year-old sister, were in the home when the shooting occurred, Friedman said.

A pretrial hearing has been scheduled for August 30. Friedman said he would be cooperating with prosecutors in their investigation.
In a strong message, the US has asked Pakistan to act against terror groups targeting its neighbours and not just the ones that pose a threat to it, virtually endorsing the stand taken by India at the Saarc ministerial meet.

We have been very clear with the highest levels of the government of Pakistan that they must target all militant groups and that includes those that target its neighbours. They must also close all safe havens, the state department deputy spokesperson Mark Toner said on Thursday at his daily briefing.

He said Pakistan was going after terror groups selectively.

...Theyre going after groups, but selectively. We need to see them go after all groups and as I just said, even those groups that might not threaten Pakistan itself but threaten its neighbours, Toner said.

We obviously believe that Pakistan needs to do all it can to confront all terrorists operating on its soil. We have seen it make progress; we want to see more progress on its part, Toner said when asked about home minister Rajnath Singhs visit to Islamabad for the Saarc meeting.

Addressing the Saarc home ministers meeting in Islamabad, Singh had said mere condemnation of terrorism and terrorists is not enough and that there are no good terrorists or bad terrorists, while asking Pakistan to stop encouraging terror groups and glorification of terrorists.

Asked about the Saarc meet, Toner said it was important to have a forum where countries can talk about in a candid way on the areas of disagreement and concerns and advocated closer cooperation between India and Pakistan to deal with terror threat in both the countries.

We encourage that kind of regional dialogue regarding counter-terrorism efforts. We advocate for closer cooperation, certainly, between India and Pakistan to deal with terrorist threats in both countries.

Calling the two countries to fight together against terrorism, Toner said, Terrorism is obviously a reality in both countries, and in order to effectively confront it, they need to work together. Thats something we have long encouraged.

So it is important that these have these forum, rather, to talk about in a candid way some of the areas of disagreement and some of the areas of concern between the two of them, he insisted.

Asked about Pentagons decision to withhold 300 million dollar military aid to Pakistan after defence secretary Ashton Carter declined to give a certification to the Congress that Islamabad is taking sufficient action against Haqqani network, Toner said, Weve urged Pakistan to address this and to pursue closer counterterrorism cooperation with Afghanistan against all groups that pose a long-term security threat to the region, not just to Pakistan.

We believe that Pakistan has taken and is taking steps to counter terrorist violence and certainly focusing on those groups that threaten Pakistani or Pakistans stability, he said.
The streets of a southern French town were flooded with wine as a protest group broke open vats, spilling thousands of litres, local media reported.

Basements and nearby homes were flooded in Sete, a port town in Languedoc-Roussillon, one of Frances biggest wine producing regions.

Emergency services were called in to control the deluge that spilled into underground car parks as well.

The vandalism was claimed by the Regional Action Committee of Winemakers (CRAV), a militant group of French winemakers, media reports said.

In the past, Crav has claimed several attacks, apparently alarmed by the rise in cheap wine imports to France.

Why this action? Because we are never listened to, a CRAV representative told France 3, adding the imported tipple was being marketed at prices that were driving them out of business.

Earlier this year, French farmers had seized Spanish lorries and drained their cargo of wine, leading to the French ambassador being summoned by Spain.
BEIJING: China, Pakistan, Afghanistan and Tajikistan issued a joint statement on counter-terrorism at the end of a military dialogue in Urumqi, the capital city of the restive Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region.

According to Chinas defence ministry, the four parties agreed that terrorism and extremism pose serious threats to regional stability, and fully recognised the unremitting efforts made by their militaries on fighting terrorist and extremist forces.

The four parties agreed to establish the quadrilateral mechanism to coordinate with and support each other in a range of areas, including study and judgment of counter terrorism situation, confirmation of clues, intelligence sharing, anti-terrorist capability building, joint anti-terrorist training and personnel training, and that the coordination and cooperation will be exclusive to the four countries, the ministry said on Thursday.

The four parties agreed that the quadrilateral mechanism should abide by the principles of the Charter of the United Nations and other recognised principles and rules of international law, especially the principles of preserving international peace and security, maintaining independence and equality, mutual respect to sovereignty and territorial integrity, mutual non-aggression and mutual noninterference in each others internal affairs, it said.

Pakistans Army Chief Gen Raheel Sharif and his Chinese counterpart General Fang Fenghui took part in the dialogue.

Delivering the keynote address, Fang said: Currently, the three evil forces of terrorism, extremism and separatism are frequently creating disturbances, seriously affecting regional peace and stability.

The purpose of establishing quadrilateral mechanism was to implement the important consensus reached by heads of state of the four countries.
TEHRAN: Iran said on Thursday it had hanged 20 terrorist Sunni prisoners, in one of the Islamic republics biggest mass executions in recent years. The men were accused of carrying out attacks against civilians and religious leaders.

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PULI ALAM : A Pakistan government helicopter crash-landed in eastern Afghanistan on Thurday, the Pakistani embassy in Kabul said, with local authorities saying all six people on board were taken hostage by the Taliban.

The insurgents have not so far commented on the incident in Azra district in the restive province of Logar.

An Mi-17 transport helicopter belonging to the Punjab government was scheduled to fly to Russia for repair. We think the same chopper crash-landed in Logar, Pakistani embassy spokesman Akhtar Munir told AFP.

We dont know anything about the fate of those on-board or why it crash-landed.

The local district governor Hamidullah Hamid said six people on board had been taken hostage by Taliban insurgents.

They have been taken to an unknown location, he said.

The helicopter caught fire after it crashed, said Logar governors spokesman Salim Saleh.

Those detained by the Taliban are Pakistanis, Saleh said. The chopper was not shot but made the landing because of technical failure.

Two senior Pakistani officials confirmed that a helicopter belong to the Punjab provincial government had gone down in Afghanistan, saying the fate of the crew was not yet clear.

There was no official comment from the Pakistani military or Afghan defence ministry officials.

Kabul has long accused Pakistan of supporting the Taliban and continuing to nurture sanctuaries on its soil in the hope of maintaining influence in Afghanistan.
WASHINGTON: The US will not pay Pakistan $300 million in military reimbursements it was supposed to due to Washingtons continued dissatisfaction with Islamabads counter-terrorism efforts.

The payment was incumbent upon Defense Secretary Ash Carter certifying to Congress that Pakistan was acting against the Haqqani Network that targets US-led coalition forces in Afghanistan.

The funds could not be released to the Government of Pakistan at this time because the secretary has not yet certified that Pakistan has taken sufficient action against the Haqqani network, Pentagon spokesman Adam Stump said Wednesday.

The United States pays partners for aiding in operations in Afghanistan from the Compensatory Support Fund, from which Pakistan has received $14 billion since 2002.

But financial aid and reimbursements to Pakistan have faced close scrutiny and opposition in recent months because of deep dissatisfaction with Islamabads counter-terrorism efforts.

The US Senate blocked recently a proposal from the Obama administration to sell Pakistan eight new F-16 fighter jets in a heavily subsidised deal for the same reason.

Lawmakers from both parties have been increasingly critical of Pakistans counter-terrorism record, specially its failure to move against all terrorists operating from its soil.

They intend to make all payments to Pakistan  aid or compensation  incumbent upon certification from the administration that Islamabad was doing enough.

Pakistan claims it is doing all it can, but worries about a blowback in the form of retaliatory attacks from terrorists, of which there have been plenty in recent months.

Pakistan does not draw any distinction between any terrorists and we have taken up the fight against terrorism and the terrorist elements within Pakistan, Foreign Office spokesman Nafees Zakaria told reporters in Islamabad on Thursday.

These reimbursements enable the United States to support Pakistans ongoing counter-terrorism efforts in a manner that serves shared interests of both the countries.

But Washington seems to have run out of both patience and sympathy for a non-NATO ally which is increasingly described as duplicitous and frenemy now. The New York Times recently called for a squeeze on aid to Pakistan.

(With agency inputs)
MANILA: Images of hellish conditions at an overcrowded Philippines jail triggered calls on Thursday from lawmakers and rights groups for swift reforms to the penal system which is under strain from an anti-drugs crackdown. Describing images of the jails as terrible, lawmaker Leila de Lima said she would file a resolution in the upper house Senate calling for a review of the state of detention facilities in the country.

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HERAT: Taliban militants attacked a group of 12 American and European tourists escorted by an Afghan army convoy in western Herat province on Thursday, leaving at least seven people wounded as the insurgents step up nationwide attacks. The tourists  eight British, three Americans and one German national  were ambushed by Taliban gunmen in the restive district of Chesht-e-Sharif, while they were en route from the neighbouring provinces of Bamiyan and Ghor. Local authorities released photographs of some of the foreigners being treated in a district hospital for apparently minor injuries.

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DHAKA: Bangladeshi police on Thursday said they had formally arrested two foreign nationals of Bangladeshi origin in connection with the July 1 attack on the Holey Artisan bakery that left 20 hostages dead.

Hasnat Karim, a university teacher with British citizenship, and Tahmid Hasib Khan, a student of the University of Toronto have been detained by security agencies shortly after the attack but their whereabouts were not known for the past few weeks.

Dhaka metropolitan police spokesman Masudur Rahman said the duo had been arrested.

They were produced before a court in Dhaka on Thursday and police sought their remand for 10 days.

Dhakas Metropolitan Magistrate Nurunnahar Yasmin granted police permission to interrogate both for eight days.

Khan and Karim were present in the cafe in the elite Gulshan area on the day of the attack.

Karim was a former teacher of North South University of Dhaka, where at least one of the attackers had studied.

Amateur videos shot by people living near the cafe had shown Karim speaking with the attackers even while the siege was on.

Police also said there were photographs showing Karim smoking on the rooftop of the building with two of the attackers standing behind him.

The families of both the arrested had complained that they were not informed of their whereabouts. Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch had called on Bangladeshi authorities to clarify about their status.

The IS had claimed the attack. It had emerged that Tamim Chaudhury, a Canadian national of Bangladeshi origin, was the leader of IS in Bangladesh.

The Bangladesh government had rejected the claim, saying that local militants were responsible for the attack.

Hours after his arrest, Karims family said he was innocent and should be released immediately. He and his family were celebrating his daughters 13th birthday when they became victims of a terrorist attack, the family lawyer said in a statement.

Karim lived in UK for nearly 20 years and returned to Bangladesh a few years ago. Later, he was under investigation for his alleged involvement with the banned Hizbut Tahrir.Khan was a permanent resident of Canada.

His father was a businessman in Bangladesh and Khan had arrived in Dhaka a day before the attack.

(With agency inputs)
ISLAMABAD : The United States has added the Pakistani militant group Jamaat-ur-Ahrar to its list of global terrorists, triggering sanctions against the organisation that had staged multiple attacks on civilians, religious minorities and soldiers. Jamaat-ur-Ahrar claimed responsibility for at least five major attacks in Pakistan since December, including the Easter Sunday bombing in a public park that killed 70 people in the eastern city of Lahore. It is a splinter faction of the Pakistani Taliban movement that has also declared loyalty to Islamic States leadership in the Middle East. The group also claimed responsibility for the killing of two Pakistani employees of the US Consulate in the northwestern city of Peshawar in early March. The designation announced on Wednesday means anyone who supports Jamaat-ur-Ahrar could have their assets frozen by the US government.

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Thoughts on History

One of my fondest memories from the 15 years that my family and I lived on Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia, is of a summer day in 1975 when we and several carloads of friends set out to do what is known as the Cabot Trail, a scenic coastal drive that winds its way through Cape Breton Highlands National Park. Near its northernmost point, we left the Trail for a while to picnic at Cabots Landing, reputed by some to be the spot where in 1497 the Italian-born explorer John Cabot first raised the English flag in the New World.

Although almost half of the people on that 1975 outing were professional historians, I doubt that any of us gave a second thought that day to John Cabot or his landfall. But during this anniversary yearI discovered while visiting to Cape Breton this past springeveryone on the island was concerned about where the explorers course had steered him.

Both Cape Breton and Newfoundland, its rival for the distinction of having been the place where Cabot first discovered North America for Europe, have become increasingly dependent on tourism to bolster their economies, and so the right to stage a celebration in honor of this important milestone in the history of our hemisphere gave the issue a whole new meaning. Beginning on page 16, Alan Williams examines what little is really known about Cabot and his voyages and presents the arguments put forth over the years by historians and geographers to support the cases for both landfall claimants.

As we were completing this issue of American History, three modern-day explorers, two Russian cosmonauts and one American astronaut, were trying to salvage Russias aging Mir space station, damaged a few weeks earlier in a mid-space collision. Having been assuredwe hope correctlythat the men are in no danger and can return to earth at any time if their situation worsens, the American public has followed their plight with only passing interest. On page 24, Bryan Ethier recounts Chuck Yeagers breaking of the sound barrier just fifty years ago in a flight that not only opened a new era in aviation but also paved the way for our now almost commonplace excursions into space.

This issue also contains other fine articles that help to illustrate the adventure of the American past, but I wish to take this opportunity to say good-bye to the readers of American History. After more than seven years with the magazine, I am leaving to pursue other avenues.

My time with American History has been a wonderful experience for me, in large measure because I have found that so many of you believe, as I do, that only by knowing about our nations historywarts and allcan we fully appreciate the accomplishments of those who have gone before us and understand the complex challenges that face our generation and those to come.

Margaret Fortier is the editor of Womens History and American History magazines and a historian with extensive experience in research and writing for historic sites and museums.
The Other Dodd

Within hours of Ephraim Dodds hanging on January 8, 1864, in Knoxville, 17-year-old David Owen Dodd, apparently no relation, met the same fate nearly 500 miles away, in Little Rock, Arkansas. Both were Rebels convicted of spying. Both were believed innocent by personal acquaintances. Both were condemned on evidence found in their own diaries. The similarity of the cases may be one of the wars eeriest coincidences.

Two years earlier, David Dodd, too young and sickly to join the Confederate army, decided to serve the Confederacy as a telegraph operator. He filled that role for much of 1862 and 1863 in Arkansas and Louisiana, and also assisted his father as a sutler for the 3d Arkansas Dismounted Rifles in Mississippi and Alabama. Unlike Ephraim Dodd, David Dodd probably did gather intelligence for the Confederate army, though he did so without fully appreciating the potential consequences of his actions. One theory holds that Brigadier General James F. Fagan persuaded David to gather information about Union troops in Little Rock. More likely, a genuine Rebel spy named Frank Tomlinson, whom David knew casually, recruited the boy for intelligence work.

In any case, David visited Little Rock on business for his father in December 1863. While trying to return south through Federal lines, he was questioned and searched. The Federals found a derringer pistol and a memorandum book. The book contained a description, disguised in Morse Code, of Union infantry and artillery strength in the city. A two-day trial produced a guilty verdict, and a final appeal for clemency was refused.

On the morning of January 8, at the very hour Ephraim Dodd plunged through the gallows drop, David penned a consoling letter to his parents, in language strikingly similar to that written by Ephraim to his parents the previous evening. I am prepared to die, David wrote. I expect to meet you all in heaven do not weep for me for I will be better off in heaven. I will soon be out of this world of sorrow and trouble. Unlike Ephraims letter, however, Davids contained no final claim of innocence.

Some reports suggest a similar end for the Dodds, too. When David dropped through the gallows trap, the rope apparently was too long. As it stretched, his toes touched the ground, preventing a clean break of his neck. Some people speculated that he died as much from strangulation as from neck trauma. Friends claimed his body and buried him in nearby Mount Holly Cemetery. Today he is remembered as an Arkansas folk hero.
Minuteman Isaac Davis, shot by the British at Concord Bridge in April 1775, was one of the first to die in the cause of American Independence.

By Jeanne Munn Bracken

There can never be but one man who headed the first column of attack on the Kings troops in the Revolutionary War. And Isaac Davis was that man. So spoke Reverend James Trask Woodbury of Acton, Massachusetts, in 1851. The occasion was a debate in the Massachusetts House of Representatives upon the question of granting two thousand dollars to aid the Town of Acton in building a monument over the remains of Captain Isaac Davis, Abner Hosmer, and James Hayward, Acton Minute Men killed at Concord Fight, April 19, 1775.

Strictly speaking, Davis was not the first to die in the struggle for American independence. He was not even the first to die that bright April morning when the kings troops, marching to Lexington and Concord to seize the rebel leaders and destroy the arms and ammunition stockpiled there, fired what poet Ralph Waldo Emerson immortalized as the shot heard round the world.

The colonists had been keeping an eye on the British troops quartered in Boston. They had noticed unusual activity that suggested the kings men planned to strike out into the villages to capture those who would lead their neighbors into open revolt and to seize the guns, field pieces, powder, and flour they had hidden around the countryside.

Samuel Adams and John Hancock, staying with Reverend Jonas Clarke at Lexington, had to be warned. That difficult chore fell to Paul Revere and William Dawes, joined later by young Doctor Samuel Prescott, who was returning home from a visit with his lady friend in Lexington.

After the alarm carried by the three reached Lexington, then Concord, messengers fanned through the countryside warning the scattered farmers that the British were on the march. An unknown rider, perhaps Prescott himself, arrived at the home of Captain Joseph Robbins, leader of one of Actons two troops of militiasoldiers supposedly under allegiance to the king, although that had ceased to be the case.

The messenger did not dismount, but banged on the corner of the house, shouting Captain Robbins! Captain Robbins! Up! Up! The regulars have come to Concord! Rendezvous at old North Bridge quick as possible! Alarm Acton!

Aroused from his bed, Robbins fired three shots with his musket to warn the town. Then he sent his 13-year-old son John to alert Isaac Davis and others. When he received the news, Davis sent word that he would leave for Concord as soon as thirty men had mustered in his yard.

The call echoed around Acton and the minutemen rushed to Daviss yard, where they made bullets and prepared for a battle that some, making jokes about finally getting a hit at old [General Thomas] Gage, relished. Davis rebuked his men, reminding them that the day had brought a most eventful crisis for the colonies. Blood would be spilt, that was certain; the crimson fountain would be opened; none could tell when it would close, nor with whose blood it would overflow. Let every man gird himself for battle and be not afraid, for God is on our side.

As certain as Davis was about the righteousness of their cause, he was equally pessimistic about his own chances for survival. Several days before that fateful dawn, he and his wife had returned home from an excursion to discover that a large owl, a symbol of death, had flown into the house and perched on Daviss favorite gun, which hung over the mantel. No one was allowed to disturb the brooding presence, which stayed for days and was interpreted by the captain as an omen that, if the struggle became a full-pitched battle, he would not survive.

What kind of man was this Isaac Davis, and how did he come to lead the group of men who would march down the Concord path and into the history books?

The thirty-year-old son of Ezekial and Mary Gibson Davis, Isaac was a gunsmith by trade and lived with his wife Hannah and children in the small farming village of Acton, a town that had broken away from Concord four decades earlier. A thoughtful, sedate, serious man, a genuine Puritan like Samuel Adams, Davis was said to have been so moved by a Sunday sermon on the state of the colonies that he applauded at its conclusion and asked the minister to repeat it.

Some months before this April day, Davis had been elected captain of Actons company of minutemen. Thomas Thorpeone of his menwould later swear in a deposition that the captain was esteemed, a man of courage and prudence and had the love and veneration of all his company.

Thanks to his trade as a gunsmith, Daviss troops were fully equipped with guns, cartridge boxes, and bayonets. They drilled regularly, assembling twice a week (their efforts were noted by their fellow townsmen, who voted to pay them for their training).

Now, in response to the messengers call to arms, Davis rallied about thirty men in his yard. Some of them had floured their hair while they waited so that they might meet the kings troops as gentlemen. Finally, Davis ordered his company into line and stepped off down the path.

As they reached the road, he halted his men and turned back toward his wife, who was watching from the doorway of the house where their four young children lay sick. Taking one last look at Hannah, he admonished her to Take good care of the children. Then he was gone.

The company marched up the lane and over Nashoba Brook by an old stone bridge to Strawberry Hill and then into neighboring Concord. Their thoughts must have been sobering, for they knew that if their cause failed, their defiance would brand them as traitors. Undeterred, Davis was heard to say as they walked: I have a right to go to Concord on the kings highway, and I will go to Concord. Fifer Luther Blanchard and drummer Francis Barker struck up the companys signature tune, The White Cockade, as they strode along.

Shortly after entering Concord, they paused near Colonel James Barretts farm, where a contingent of redcoats was breaking up gun carriages and setting the pieces afire in the yard. But Daviss orders had been to rendezvous at the bridge, so the Acton men passed by, marching between newly-plowed fields planted with a strange crop indeedhidden cannon and muskets!

When the Acton company arrived at the colonial forces gathering place on Punkatasset Hill above the bridge, the men took their places at the extreme left of the line (the companys place dictated by the fact that Davis was the most junior officer present). While the men waited, their captain hurried farther up the hill to a meeting with fellow officers to decide on a course of action.

As Colonel Barrett and the others conferred, they were unaware that when General Gages British troops arrived at Lexington Common earlier that day during the pre-dawn hours, they had found several dozen defiant rebels waiting for them. Although commanders on both sides later insisted that their men had been ordered not to fire first, blood had been shed. The finger that first pulled the trigger remains shrouded in mystery. But there is little doubt that the colonials, being outnumbered by three to one, obeyed the order to disperse. The British fired into the breaking ranks, killing eight and wounding ten more.

The several hundred colonials already mustered at Punkatasset Hill when the Acton men arrived were being augmented by troops from communities such as Bedford, Lincoln, and Westford. Surely, they thought, this force could take the bridge, guarded only by a small troop of redcoats, and drive the British forces back toward Boston. But if they did not act now, British reinforcements were certain to arrive, and the colonists might be dangerously outnumbered.

Meanwhile, a troop of British soldiers, which had stayed behind in Concord village searching for hidden munitions and other stores, found and set fire to more gun carriages. In the excitement, the blaze accidentally spread to the town house. An elderly widow living nearby, realizing that several residences were sure to burn as well, begged the British to help put out the fire. At her urging, the troops joined the bucket brigade to douse the flames.

When the colonials massing on Punkatasset Hill saw the smoke, they mistakenly concluded that the British were on a rampage. Will you let them burn the town? cried adjutant Joseph Hosmer of Concord. Answering with a resounding No, the officers decided upon a defiant show of strength. One account states that the lead was offered to a Concord officer, who declined it, but historians have questioned whether a local man would have refused to march to save his own town.

Whatever the preamble, Isaac Davis was then proffered the lead. This honor may have been offered because his men were fully equipped with bayonets, an advantage in hand-to-hand combat. In any event, Davis accepted, declaring that I havent a man that is afraid to go. The colonial forces formed up, with Daviss company in the lead, and advanced down the hill to the strains of The White Cockade. Their orders were to hold their fire unless fired upon.

Seeing the colonials coming, the British retreated over the bridge. The last men across began to tear up planks in order to stop the advancing force in its tracks. Major John Buttrick, the British commander, called out, ordering the colonists to halt. His soldiers, meanwhile, assumed battle formation. When the colonists neared the bridge, the redcoats fired a random volley that wounded fifer Luther Blanchard and Jonas Brown of Concord.

The next British volley fell short, but served as proof that they meant to fight. As the colonists prepared to fire their muskets, the British fired again. Davis, just then raising his gun at the kings men, fell dead, shot through the heart. A private in his company, Abner Hosmer, received a mortal bullet wound in his head.

Buttrick, seeing blood flow, shouted to the troops. Fire, fellow soldiers! For Gods sake, fire! As the British scattered, the colonials returned fire, striking two and putting the rest to rout. The fray lasted only three minutes. But the shots fired that day would echo for all time.

The kings troops straggled into Concord, then gathered with reinforcements for the march back to Cambridge. Along that route, they were harried every step of the way by the colonials. The British mission was a failurethe rebel leaders were safe and the colonists had salvaged most of the stores. And most important, the war was on; the American colonies march to independenceone that would only find its end with the Treaty of Paris eight years laterhad begun.

The 1783 treaty may have ended the war, but the controversy over what happened at Concord on April 19, 1775 raged on for more than a century. One disgruntled historian wrote that Davis had usurped the lead. Another retorted that he was the heart and soul of the Concord fight and that when he died, the fight was over. A latter-day wag, mindful of the wrangling, quipped that it was a Lexington battle, fought in Concord by Acton men. History seems finally to have settled on the matter by concluding that there is enough glory to go around.

Isaac Davis and Abner Hosmer were carried home that afternoon, and Hannah remembered many years later that Isaacs countenance was little altered. But his courage had helped to change the course of history; as Woodbury pointed out, the highway over which his body was carried was not the kings any longer.

Today, Davis himself is well revered in Acton. The local chapters of the Minutemen, of the Daughters of the American Revolution, and many other groups bear his name. His line of march from Acton to the bridge is now a National Historic Site, retraced each April 19 by swarms of ordinary citizens. Near the site where he fell, now within Minutemen National Historic Park, stands Daniel Chester Frenchs statue of the Minuteman. Since no image of Davis is known to exist, the artist fashioned the figure after studying the likenesses of some of Daviss descendants who were said to favor him. President Ulysses S. Grant was guest of honor when the statue was dedicated at the centennial of the fight in 1875.

The monument in the town of Acton, for which the Reverend Woodbury pleaded so eloquently, was erected in 1851. The bodies of Isaac Davis and Abner Hosmeras well as that of James Hayward, who was killed at Fiske Hill in Lexington later that April daywere moved from the old burying ground to the base of the monument on the town Common.

Isaacs widow Hannah married twice more, both husbands also preceding her in death. In 1818, when she was 71 years old and impoverished, she sought a pension from the federal government. Her first attempt failed, and it was not until more than twenty years later that Hannah, then in her nineties, finally was granted a pension. Some senators, notably John C. Calhoun of South Carolina, objected, fearing a torrent of similar claims.

But Hannahs cause found an eloquent champion in no less a statesman than Senator Daniel Webster, who declared that her husband Isaac had fallen in his early manhood, one of the very first martyrs in the cause of liberty, and, if I mistake not, the first American officer who sealed his devotion to the cause with his own blood. . . . An early grave in the cause of liberty has secured to him the long and grateful remembrance of his country.

A freelance writer based in Littleton, Massachusetts, Jeanne Munn Bracken is a contributor to the 1996 issue of Womens History magazine.
The editorial that recently appeared in the Elko Daily Free Press authored by Ted Koch, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Nevada Field Supervisor and three other state U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service managers on the presumed compatibility of livestock grazing with sage grouse and sagebrush ecosystem recovery appears to be based more on wishful thinking and perhaps political expediency than on valid scientific research.

Basically the authors assert that good livestock management can benefit sage grouse recovery.

While its true that there are better and worse ways to graze livestock, it does not follow that livestock grazing is compatible with healthy sagebrush ecosystems any more than it would be accurate to imply that smoking cigarettes contributes to human health. Sure if you are a smoker and reduced your consumption of smokes from three packs of cigarettes a day to one pack a day, most doctors would agree this will improve your health.

But doctors would be remiss in their responsibility to their patients if they didnt advise one to eliminate cigarette smoking entirely. Any doctors who did not inform the public that cigarette smoking was damaging ones health is guilty of omission.

Similarly, these state directors by omission of the full negative impacts of livestock grazing and sagebrush ecosystems, particularly with regards to recovery of the sage grouse, are not providing the best information to the public. It is analogous to doctors acknowledging that lung cancer kills a lot of people, but without mentioning that smoking cigarettes is the prime factor in lung cancer development.

For instance, while these state field directors acknowledge that the spread of cheatgrass across the Great Basin has altered fire regimes (cheatgrass is highly flammable), by omission they do not directly connect the dots  cheatgrass spread is greatly enhanced by livestock grazing.

Even moderate livestock grazing contributes to the spread of cheatgrass for two reasons.

First, preferential grazing of native perennial grasses by livestock gives cheatgrass a competitive advantage in the struggle to obtain water, nutrients and space for growth.

Second, and perhaps the most important factor contributing to the spread of cheatgrass is soil disturbance, in particular, livestock trampling of bio crusts.

Bio crusts, by covering the soil surface in between native bunchgrasses, makes it difficult for the seeds of cheatgrass to successfully germinate and grow. Bio crusts also contribute nitrogen to soils, and can act as a mulch reducing soil moisture losses due to evaporation  both of which enhance survival of native bunchgrasses. Since cows dont fly, it is impossible to graze without damaging these bio crust and thereby helping to spread cheatgrass.

Similarly, the authors acknowledge that trampling of wetlands, riparian areas, and springs by cattle harms sage grouse. Sage grouse chicks, in particular, depend on these moist areas for feeding during the first month or so of their lives.

By grazing these sites, cattle both reduce the hiding cover for sage grouse chicks, and compact soils which reduces its ability to hold moisture, contributing over time to an overall shrinkage of these ecologically important sites. Indeed, in many Great Basin ecosystems, the bulk of all available forage is found in these thin slivers of green.

Yes, it is possible reduce cattle impacts to riparian areas by reducing livestock use of these areas. However, all solutions have additional collateral damage to sage grouse.

First, if you were to fence cows out of these wetlands and riparian areas you are basically eliminating the most productive grazing sites in the arid Great Basin  something most ranchers cannot afford to do.

Second, fencing itself poses a problem for sage grouse because of high mortality due to sage grouse collisions with fences, and the use of fences by avian predators that feed on sage grouse.

Third, providing alternative water developments like troughs and pipelines to move cattle out of riparian areas also harms sage grouse. The troughs provide breeding habitat for mosquitoes that carry West Nile Virus that has in some areas greatly increased sage grouse mortality. Other studies have shown that alternative water sources tend to increase raven populations that prey upon sage grouse.

I have only responded to the specific issues these state directors mentioned in their commentary and could add additional impacts from livestock production that harms sage grouse. The question is whether the public is best served by having privately owned livestock damaging public resources. I expect public servants like these state field directors to be advocates for my public lands.

The most efficient way to help recover sage grouse, as well as improve hundreds of millions of acres of western ecosystems, is to remove all livestock production from public lands. This can best be accomplished by permit retirement.

Given the hundreds of millions of dollars we are currently wasting on other programs that are marginally effective at best, a west-wide permit retirement program focused on core sage grouse habitat would bring about the most comprehensive and effective sage grouse recover, not to mention improvement for many other species currently impacted by livestock production.
News, events, history, and other mid-week tidbits.

Tuesday, October 25, 4:30  7 p.m.

Orr Area EMS Open House

Brats and burgers will be served. Event includes a new ambulance tour and blood pressure screenings. For more info: 218-780-3798.

Orr Fire Hall

4540 Lake St., Orr

Tuesday, October 25, 12  6 p.m.

Essentia Health Job Fair

Talent recruiters and department managers will be on-site at Essentia Health-Virginia. Candidates from all backgrounds are encouraged to attendnurses, nursing and clinical assistants, surgery technicians, radiology technicians, respiratory therapists, human resource professionals, and those interested in environmental services or nutrition services. Essentia staff will greet candidates, conduct an initial screening and filter them to appropriate hiring managers for interviews. Select candidates will be verbally offered a position before leaving. Candidates are asked to bring a resume, but its not required. Attire is business casual. For more info: www.essentiacareers.org.

901 9th St. N., Virginia
CMITE, held in partnership with SITE, the Society for Incentive Travel Excellence, brings fully hosted North American meeting planners and incentive buyers together with Caribbean suppliers for two and a half days of exclusive networking opportunities and prescheduled one-to-one meetings in luxury suites.

For more information please contact Danielle Cirami-Gillis

212-895-8278
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The Summer Olympics are upon us and brands across the board are looking to cash in on the patriotism of sneakerheads who want to support the USA, despite the fact that many of them probably wont be tuning in for the Mens 400M Individual Medley or the Womens Single Sculls Rowing event.

Needless to say, there are plenty of USA colorways of sneakers releasing this month, including a special edition Olympic Air Jordan 7 that Michael Jordan originally turned down in favor of the classic Olympic 7s that he wore during the Dream Teams run in 1992.

Additionally, Jordan Brand and Adidas will be releasing some more inclusive Olympic-themed kicks inspired by the medals that will be handed out throughout the next two weeks.

There are plenty of sneakers dropping in August but weve narrowed the list down to our 10 favorites- hit the slides to see what release dates you need to keep your eye on.

Note: The Barons Air Jordan 12 GS, as the name suggests, will only be releasing up to a size 9.5 so Ive kept it off the list. That said, its definitely one of the best sneakers releasing this month so if you can squeeze into a 9.5, you can find everything you need to know about that release right here.

Air Jordan 7 Tinker Alternate

Release Date: August 6th

Price: $190

The Opening Ceremony of the Summer Olympics begin tonight, August 5th in Rio [assuming the Zika virus doesnt ruin everything] and in celebration of the event Jordan Brand will be releasing this special edition Olympic Alternate Air Jordan 7; a sneaker which Tinker Hatfield originally designed back in 1992.

With its design, Tinker Hatfield initiated some firsts: removing the Nike Air branding visible on the previous six Jordan models and adding a neoprene Huarache bootie for support. Hatfield also sought to add a new, more international flare to the line through the incorporation of a fresh geometric pattern inspired by a poster for the long-running Afropop Worldwide radio program.

To make a long story short: I stopped in my tracks, saw the poster and thought Thats it, that should be the inspiration for the next pair of Jordans, remembers Hatfield.

Styled in patriotic colors like the iconic Olympics Air Jordan 7, the sneakers include Michael Jordans Team USA #9 on the heel along with a revamped star spangled heel tab.

Similar to the Olympics Air Jordan 7, this upcoming Olympic Alternate rendition also includes gold aglets, gold text on the tongue and a gold Jumpman on the upper ankle.

This one was in the works for a while, says Hatfield of the patriotic basketball version of the Air Jordan VII. I did one that was more white based and one that was much more contrasted. My recollection is that MJ thought the contrasted one was really cool. Ultimately, I left it up to him.

Of course, MJ opted for the white-based version which left this more contrasted version in the Nike vault until now.

Air Jordan 1 Premium Essentials

Release Date: August 6th

Price: $160

In addition to the new Olympics Air Jordan 1 and the returning Banned Air Jordan 1, Jordan Brand is rolling out two pairs of the Premium Essentials aka Yin Yang Air Jordan 1s this weekend.

The yin yang themed kicks feature alternating colorways of white and black with matching red Nike Air tabs on the tongues. Of all the Air Jordan 1s releasing later this year, this Premium Essentials collection might be the cleanest of them all- especially that white pair.

As weve said time and again, keeping it simple is often what works best and that goes double for the iconic Air Jordan 1 silhouette.

Adidas UltraBoost Triple White & Core Black

Release Date: August 10th

Price: $180

Both the Triple White and Core Black Adidas UltraBOOSTs have already released a number of times but fans of the super comfy kicks will have another chance to cop this month at major retailers like Foot Locker.

The UltraBOOST is far and away one of the most popular, and comfortable, sneakers on the market right now so you can expect these classic colorways to be snatched up the second they release, again.

Air Jordan XIV Indiglo

Release Date: August 13th

Price: $190

The Air Jordan XIV has flown under the radar this year thanks to plenty of Air Jordan 12s releases, and a number of other classic Js.

But fans of the XIV silhouette will be happy to know that Jordan Brand hasnt forgotten about the beloved kicks and the rare Indiglo XIV, which hasnt been seen since it debuted way back in 1999, will be returning this month.

Official images of the returning Indiglo XIV showcase the sneakers OG look- constructed on a combination of leather and nubuck, highlighted by indiglo green accents.

If youre a lover of the ferrari inspired Air Jordan XIV, youll be happy to know this Indiglo pair will be returning next weekend for $190.

Reebok Question Mid A5

Release Date: August 12th

Price: $140

In 2001, Reebok produced one of the greatest sneaker commercials of all-time featuring Jadakiss and Allen Iverson in promotion of the Reebok Answer 5. Many of you can probably still recite some of Jadakiss bars from the ad which was voiced over a beat consisting of squeaking sneakers, a bouncing basketball and the sweet sound of swishes.

15 years after that iconic commercial, Reebok is paying tribute with this special edition A5 Question.

Styled like one Iversons go-to colorways of the Answer 5, the A5 Reebok Questions are built on a black leather upper with supporting grey accents and hits of red on the sole, inside of the tongue and Question branding.

Adidas UltraBoost Olympic Medal Pack

Release Date: August 18th

Price: $180

With the Summer Olympic games kicking off tonight its only fitting that Adidas rolls out a special edition pack featuring their most popular silhouette on the market- the UltraBoost.

The Olympic Medal Pack features three similarly styled Adidas UltraBoosts, each built on black uppers with the familiar, white boost soles. As youd expect its the gold, silver and bronze accents on each of the sneakers heel counter that separates them from each other.

Adidas NMD

Release Date: August 18th

Price: TBD

The Adidas NMD is one of the most popular sneakers on the market today and Adidas continues to please their consumers with more and more colorways of the beloved shoe- including the upcoming collab with BAPE.

The latest news about the Adidas NMD reflects the wild popularity of the sneaker, as the brand has plans to release 19 new colorways later this month.

All of the new NMDs, including the NMD XR1, will be dropping on the same day- August 18th.

Select stores across the country will require you to register for your chance to buy a pair, beginning today, August 5th through August 9th. Check out that list of stores below.

CALIFORNIA

Melrose Ave

Santa Monica

South Coast Plaza

San Francisco Centre

Westfield Santa Anita



FLORIDA

Aventura Mall

Miami Beach



GEORGIA

Lenox Square



ILLINOIS

Rush St, Chicago



NEVADA

Las Vegas Strip



NEW JERSEY

Garden State Plaza

Menlo Park Mall



NEW YORK

Broadway & Houston St, NYC

Fulton & Hoyt St, NYC



TEXAS

Houston Galleria

Air Jordan 5 Olympic

Release Date: August 20th

Price: $190

In celebration of the Summer Olympics in Rio, Jordan Brand is releasing this gold medal inspired Olympic Air Jordan 5 which we recently saw on the feet of Jimmy Butler at the Nike Air Hangar event in California.

The kicks will officially be hitting retailers on August 20th for the standard retail price of $190.

The use of metallic gold on the tongue and shark teeth of the shoe is enough to give it some pop from the mundane white and black color scheme, but not overly gaudy like the Pinnacle Metallic Gold Air Jordan 6s that will be releasing later this year.

Nike Air Foamposite Pro Ben Gordon

Release Date: August 26th

Price: $230

Nike will be releasing a couple of special edition Foamposites this Summer, including two pairs dedicated to former Bulls (and Pistons, Bobcats, Magic) guard, Ben Gordon.

One of the Foams, shown above, is decked out in royal blue with black accents, very similar to the pair that Gordon received after making the jump from the UConn Huskies to the NBA.

This Varsity Royal colorway of the Nike Air Foamposite Pro Ben Gordon is as clean as they come, with nothing other than blue and black throughout the iconic Nike silhouette. Its always nice when The Swoosh keeps it simple with their foamposite colorways.

Air Jordan 11 Low Closing Ceremony

Release Date: August 27th

Price: $170

The regal metallic gold Air Jordan 11 Low has finally been officially unveiled and reports suggest the kicks will be arriving on August 27th, just after the Summer Olympics wrap up.

Sneakerheads will liken this pair of kicks to the extremely rare Ring Night Ray Allen Air Jordan 11 PE, although this pair sticks strictly to the white and gold color scheme with no hits of red.

Unlike most of the other Air Jordan 11 Lows before it, this Metallic Gold joint features a tumbled leather upper which looks pretty, pretty smooth IMHO.
Director of Batman Begins and Inception releases teaser for his upcoming historical epic

Dunkirk recounts the events of the impossible allied retreat from Dunkirk, France after being cornered by enemy forces.

The film has an allstar cast including Tom Hardy, Kenneth Branagh, Mark Rylance, Cillian Murphy, and Harry Styles (yes, the guy from One Direction). This cast coupled with Christopher Nolan in the director's chair, Dunkirk promises to be yet another great Nolan picture.

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Dunkirk will be released in July 2017
As Brendan J. Bryne's documentary Bobby Sands: 66 Days is released, we look at some of the most affecting films about The Troubles

Hunger, 2008

The feature debut of the now-revered and Oscar-winning director Steve McQueen, this feature film about Bobby Sands hunger strike has been labelled as a devastating, artistic masterpiece  and the accolades are well-deserved. Michael Fassbenders name-making performance is awe-inducing, as he captures Sands determination as he is abused by prison guards, and uses his body and physical suffering as a political tool. As with his later work, McQueens understanding of the body and the power of its portrayal is unflinching, while his juxtaposition of silence and long, philosophical, dialogue-heavy scenes is fuelled with intelligence, integrity and an unparalleled ability to grab the hearts, stomachs and morals of its audience.

Bloody Sunday, 2002

Paul Greengrass film about the murder of 14 unarmed protesters during a civil rights march in Bogside, Derry in 1972 was initially made for TV, but proved to be such a powerful and important piece of work that it received a theatrical release. James Nesbitt hits a career high as Ivan Cooper, the politician who organised the march. Based on Don Mullans damning book Eyewitness Bloody Sunday, which triggered a new inquiry into the atrocity, Greengrass signature handheld style heightens both the intimate, character-study feel of the film, as well as the unbearable tragedy.

Some Mothers Son, 1996

Directed by Terry George and co-written by Jim Sheridan. Some Mothers Son is another film about the 1981 hunger strike, but told from the point of view of the hunger strikers mothers. Helen Mirren and Fionnula Flanagan play Kathleen Quigley and Annie Higgins, mothers fighting to save their sons lives, and torn when it comes to decide whether to support their sons cause and allow them to die, or to undermine the protest and have the men forcibly fed. Aidan Gillen and David OHara play the hunger strikers, but Mirren and Flanagan are the heart of the film.

In The Name Of The Father, 1993

Jim Sheridans searing portrayal of the arrest, trial and eventual acquittal of The Guildford Four is fuelled by rage against injustice and powerhouse performances from Daniel Day-Lewis, Pete Postlethwaite and Emma Thompson. Day-Lewis plays Gerry Conlon, one of the men wrongfully convicted for the 1974 pub bombings, and abused by British police and prison guards for more than fourteen years. While the political courtroom drama aspect of the film is compelling, as ever, Sheridans tender focus on family shines through the film, and Day-Lewis and Postlethwaites performances as father and son are magnificent.

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Maeve, 1981

Directed by Irish feminist filmmaker and lecturer Pat Murphy, Maeve was declared by former Hot Press film critic Tara Brady to be Irelands first bonafide feminist film, as it views the Troubles  and indeed history itself  from a female perspective. Mary Jackson starts as the titular Maeve, a young feminist woman who returns to her hometown of Belfast after years in London. She finds herself under constant attack  from her sister, who hates Maeves feminist political beliefs; from both British and Irish soldiers who sexualise and objectify her; and even her republican boyfriend who fails to recognise the political efforts of women. With a non-linear narrative and provocative stance, Maeve is a thought-provoking film about the role of women and cultural memory throughout history.

Other must-watch films include: The Outsider, The Crying Game, 71, Elephant, MickeyBo and Me, Good Vibrations.
The as-yet-untitled record will be his first full-length release since 2013's The Fifth.

Speaking backstage at California's HARD festival last weekend, the rapper said: "The album's gonna be very loud. I'm really happy about how it's been going. I thought I was halfway, but it's looking like three-quarters now."

He also suggested that, musically, the album might surprise people. "It's a real rap-based album at the moment, there ain't really no dance music on there," he explained.

"It's one of them ones where you can actually sit comfortably with people and watch them enjoy it and be surprised by it because I don't think people really know what to expect.

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Dizzee Rascal also revealed that he had been working on tracks with Salva, Valentino Khan and Dan Farber. "This album's doing it," he added. "I've got some fire, man."

Last month, Dizzee and and Calvin Harris released their collaborative track 'Hype'  the pair's first song together since Dizzee featured on 'Here 2 China' from Harris' 2012 album 18 Months.
Rumours are swirling that the Flaming Lips are close to releasing their new album.

The band's regular collaborator George Salisbury, who works with the Lips on their music videos, artwork and live projections, has posted an Instagram story captioned "Gettin' close!!!!".

It shows artwork on a computer screen followed by a series of files labelled "The Flaming Lips  Oczy Mlody", suggesting the band's new album could be titled 'Oczy Mlody'.

You can watch the video below:

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The Flaming Lips released their last album of original material, 'The Terror', in 2013. The following year they returned with an album of Beatles covers called 'With A Little Help from My Fwends'. They also collaborated with Miley Cyrus extensively on her surprise 2015 album 'Miley Cyrus & Her Dead Petz'.
Independent TD John Halligan has hit back at criticism of his Hot Press interview.

The Minister said on Twitter:

Obviously a lot of reaction to my @hotpress interview. There was a lot of selective quoting/misquoting by media sources so I hope people...  John Halligan (@JohnHalligan) August 5, 2016

...will read full article and draw conclusions from that. Tried to b as honest as possible, knowing that many opinions would b controversial  John Halligan (@JohnHalligan) August 5, 2016

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Most controversial+most selective quoting prob my thoughts on sex work. Have rec'd huge amount of support&obviously much disagreement also  John Halligan (@JohnHalligan) August 5, 2016

Believe more mature debate on this needs to happen. Believe there is case for regulation, providing safe working environment,health care etc  John Halligan (@JohnHalligan) August 5, 2016

Steering away from traffickers&criminals , garda resources better focused on these elements. Comments about lonely men & consenting adults..  John Halligan (@JohnHalligan) August 5, 2016

Specifically aimed at cases where BOTH parties are fully willing/consenting  John Halligan (@JohnHalligan) August 5, 2016

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Halligan has been attacked  on the Sean ORourke programme on RTE Radio One  by the Catholic Church-backed Ruhama group, who are opposed to prostitution. He was also criticised by Rachel Moran, who is a former prostitute. However, he remained undaunted on the Sean ORourke show, where he also came across as very direct and honest.

The Ministers views on prostitution, meanwhile, were the subject of front-page coverage in the Irish Daily Mail this morning. Articles also appeared in the Irish Independent, the Examiner, the UK Times, the Irish Sun and the Irish Mirror. There has been significant additional online coverage, with the award-winning blog Cedar Lounge reflecting in a hugely positive way on what is an impressively honest as well as entertaining piece.

You can read the full article in the current issue of Hot Press.

You can Buy Hot Press 40-13 starring Lisa Hannigan direct from hotpress.com

Or download the iOS app for iPad/iPhone

Or download the Android App
Jared Leto has explained a recent meme surrounding the green coat that he wore to the Suicide Squad London premiere this week.

Yesterday Leto was pictured wearing a bright green Gucci coat that he had previously seen at a fashion show. Social media users were quick to circulate an image of Leto's seemingly surprised expression upon first seeing the coat.

However, Leto has now debunked the meme, revealing that his expression wasn't actually about the coat at all.

"The thing about the photo is  Im going to be honest with you  I was actually making a face at someone across the runway," he said.

We are choosing not to believe him.
WASHINGTON - Earlier this year Jack Lipinski, chief executive of the Sugar Land refiner CVR Energy, flew to Washington to plead his case to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. His problem: the prices of credits required to meet EPA ethanol and biofuel mandates were spiking and likely to cost his company an extra $100 million this year - double what CVR spent in 2015.

CVR, which owns refineries in Kansas and Oklahoma, is among the many U.S. refiners struggling with the soaring costs of the biofuel credits and training their fire on the shadowy market where credits are traded.

Unlike other commodities and securities, the credits are not sold on public exchanges, such as the New York Mercantile Exchange or New York Stock Exchange, but rather in private transactions that are vulnerable to manipulation by Wall Street banks and other speculators, refiners say.

"The market is opaque," Lipinski said in an interview. "If the EPA would allow everyone to see how much everyone owned, it would be like cockroaches when the lights turn on."

Price squeeze

Nine years after Congress passed a law to decrease the country's dependence on foreign oil in favor of home-grown ethanol and other biofuels, the government-run marketplace around which the industry runs is again dividing energy companies. Under the law, called the Renewable Fuel Standard, the EPA each year sets how much biofuel will be blended into the fuel stream, either at refineries or fuel depots, before being delivered to filling stations.

Refiners like CVR must buy credits - known as Renewable Identification Numbers or RINs - if they don't blend all the requisite biofuels with gasoline themselves.

When calculated across a refinery's entire output, the costs of the credit can mean the difference between a great financial year and a terrible one. Allegations of banks and traders gaining undue influence over the market for biofuel credits stretch back years, as RIN prices for ethanol have risen and fallen from a few cents to more than $1.40 in 2013 and back to 70 cents at the beginning of this year.

Since then, RIN prices have jumped close to 40 percent to around $1, squeezing refiners at the same time profit margins on gasoline production have fallen sharply under the weight of a petroleum glut. The stock prices of refining companies CVR, San Antonio-based Valero, and Dallas-based HollyFrontier, are down 64 percent, 24 percent and 35 percent respectively since the end of 2015.

Their attorneys argue that unlike larger competitors like Exxon Mobil and BP, which blend enough ethanol to make money off the biofuel mandate, companies like CVR and Valero sell much of their gasoline unblended - forcing them to buy RINs at whatever price they can get them.

'Buy and hoard'

What had been a nuisance was quickly turning into an anchor on refiners' earnings. In February, Valero, which is forecasting it could spend up to $850 million this year on RINs, sued the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to force an overhaul of the market.

That case is pending in the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals. But a month after Valero filed suit, the EPA, which oversees the RIN market, signed a deal with the U.S. Commodity Future Trading Commission, which regulates markets for oil, gasoline, and other commodities, for guidance on "conducting possible investigation into potential fraud, market abuse, or other violations."

"It's one of the largest commodity markets in the world, billions and billions of dollars and open to speculators," said Richard Alonso, a lawyer representing refineries with the law firm Bracewell. "The structure of the RFS program allows people to buy and hoard RINs to increase price and then sell them to refiners, who have to purchase them."

Both the EPA and the CFTC declined to make officials available for interviews. But an EPA spokeswoman said in a statement the agency, "continues to monitor all facets of the implementation of (the Renewable Fuel Standard) program, including the RIN market."

The battle over the bio-fuel credits and how they are traded pits refiners against not only Wall Street, but also U.S. ethanol producers. Ethanol is a $20 billion-a-year industry supporting a vast network of corn farmers, ethanol plants and trucking companies across the Midwest. Any change to the RIN market might theoretically have some ripple effect that could mean job losses in rural areas.

As president of the Renewable Fuels Association, which represents ethanol producers, Bob Dinneen argues that by and large the renewable fuel program works as it should, offering economic incentive for refineries to blend biofuels into the gasoline stream and penalizing those that do not.

"Changing this program now," he said, "would complicate the enforcement and it would be rewarding the folks who haven't done what the law said they should do."

But even Dinneen is concerned about the constant swings in RIN prices, and earlier this week wrote a letter to the EPA requesting an investigation.

In a June report, the investment bank Goldman Sachs predicted a looming shortage in RINs because increases in the concentration of ethanol mandated by the EPA would lead more refiners to buy the credits.

That set off a spike in prices, according to Dineen. He said he believed Goldman Sachs trades RINs and questioned whether it was appropriate for them to simultaneously put out forecasts that influence the market.

"Does that look cool? I don't know. It raises questions," he said. Goldman Sachs declined to comment.

Worries of bankruptcy

Refineries are now hoping that Congress can help. Republicans from oil-rich states like Texas have long argued biofuel mandates raise gasoline prices for Americans. Earlier this year Rep. Bill Flores, R-Waco, introduced a bill that would cap ethanol production at less than 10 percent of the total fuel supply. With U.S. gasoline consumption stagnant, that would essentially hold ethanol production at current levels.

More than 100 representatives have signed on so far - mostly, but not exclusively Republicans.

At CVR's headquarters, Lipinski worries that if RIN prices continue to rise it could eventually force independent refining companies into bankruptcy. It's not the first time that Lipinksi, named CEO a decade ago, has made such a claim. But, he admits, the consequences were not as great when gas prices were higher and oil prices were falling.

"It would have been hard last year to get anyone to pay attention," he said, "because we were making so much money."
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Yersys Rivas makes a trip to Wal-Mart every three weeks, stocking up on rice, mayonnaise, beans, tuna, cooking oil, shampoo, aspirin and whatever latest crucial item has become unavailable in Venezuela, the country with the richest oil reserves in the world.

Then he packages it up at a courier service in Katy, owned by Venezuelan expats who fled the growing turmoil there this spring, and sends it to his parents and siblings back home. It's an expensive endeavor, about $800 a pop, not counting the money he deposits in his mother's bank account each month.

As the South American nation continues its free-fall into crisis, with crippling food shortages, an imploding medical sector and inflation predicted to hit 720 percent this year, Venezuelans across the United States are increasingly having to support their loved ones at home to shield them from what analysts say is the world's greatest societal collapse outside a war zone. More than 11,000 Venezuelans live in the Houston metro area, the fourth-largest population in the country.

With President Nicolas Maduro desperately attempting to whitewash the disaster amid a growing effort to oust him, Venezuelans at home and abroad are forced to get creative both to survive and help in what is threatening to become a humanitarian crisis.

More Information By the numbers 11,000&: Venezuelans inHouston area, 4th-largest population in the U.S. 10,221 : U.S. asylum appli-cations filed by Venezuelans this year, a 168% jump. 720%: Rise in inflation this year in Venezuela. See More Collapse

Expats are sending food and supplies en masse through courier services like Goin' Postal in Katy, where Venezuelans are shipping about 20 tons of refurbishments a week. Remittances from the United States have skyrocketed to the highest in more than a decade and asylum applications filed by Venezuelans here jumped 168 percent to 10,221 applications this year compared to last, according to the Pew Research Center.

When Venezuela briefly opened its border with Colombia last month, tens of thousands of people traveled hundreds of miles, packing bus terminals and filling hotels, to stock up.

Medicinal shortages

The nation's tumbling economy was inherited from former President Hugo Chavez, who used oil money and foreign debt combined with strict price controls and nationalization of private businesses to fund subsidies to Venezuelans. It has all left the country unable to produce enough food or import what it needs. The dire straits have been exacerbated by oil prices plunging more than 60 percent last year to roughly $40 a barrel as petroleum makes up 95 percent of Venezuela's exports.

Food lines snaking around blocks, ubiquitous for years, have morphed into violent mobs storming grocery stores and pharmacies as a hungry nation slowly starves. According to the pollster Venebarometro, two-thirds of Venezuelan households consume only one or two meals a day.

Increasingly, the stakes are life and death.

Antonio Cardenas, an engineer with the U.S. oil services giant Baker Hughes in downtown Houston, recently received a Facebook message from his cousin, who lives in San Cristobal, a city of about 271,000 near the Colombian border.

The cousin suffers from a thyroid deficiency and - like hundreds of thousands of Venezuelans - has been unable to find the medication he needs.

"I have 45 days" to get the pills, Cardenas' cousin wrote. "If I don't get it I will die."

Doctors for Health, a network of medical residents working in public hospitals across Venezuela, reported in a survey last year - before the crisis peaked - that nearly half of most hospital operating rooms aren't functional and 60 percent of routine medicines and supplies are unavailable.

Cardenas needed to get his cousin Euthyrox, prescription-only pills that can cost more than $120 per package in the U.S. He turned to a friend in France, where medication is cheaper and easier to purchase, who mailed them to Houston. In turn, Cardenas used a private courier service, known as puerta-a-puerta, to ship the medicine to Venezuela.

These agencies are the main way to get items to people in Venezuela, as most packages will never arrive via regular mail. The country's imports are controlled by the military, and the nation of 30 million people is one of the world's 20 most corrupt, said Mark Jones, chair in Latin American Studies at Rice University.

The courier services typically have a subsidiary company in Venezuela that operates independently from its counterparts abroad, allowing them to get around the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, the federal law that prevents American businesses from paying bribes.

"Without question, there are bribes," Jones said. "If you don't make those payments, you can ship a container but it will never make it. ... It will all be taken right there."

'Very, very troubling'

In Cardenas' case, he shipped the medication a month ago, but a political shake-up in the nation's customs department meant it arrived only this week.

"Of course I'm outraged," Cardenas said. "It's impossible to imagine that a country so wealthy needs to do this. At the same time I'm thankful that I'm here, and I can help."

Cardenas and his sister in Venezuela have devised a system where she predicts what they will run out of in coming months and sends a list of requests, anything from mosquito repellent to rice and specialized car parts. He'll ship supplies every two months or so, and she redistributes them to a circle of friends.

"She's like the manager of our company," he joked. "We laugh because otherwise we start crying."

Some Venezuelans have devised further-flung networks of supply chains. Gloria Mattiuzzi moved to Houston in 1991 and worked at MD Anderson Cancer Center researching oncology. This year, as despair in her homeland spiraled, she reconnected with old medical acquaintances there. They told her of the need.

Matiuzzi knew a friend, Maria Cristina Manrique de Henning, a Rice Village resident active in Venezuelan politics, was already sending back medical supplies. The two partnered to create a wider system, Operacion Saludos a Venezuela, to send medicine and equipment on a mass scale, through courier services and in the suitcases and duffel bags of friends traveling home.

"We have been very successful, especially with this network of doctors," Manrique said. "They send us back reports on what they did, how many patients they treated."

A surgeon in Caracas who didn't want to be named because physicians are often political targets said the network has allowed his grassroots organization of doctors to distribute supplies to people who truly need them. Patients often have to supply their own medications and equipment, which these days, even if you have the money, can be impossible to find.

"What happens to the growing number of people without the resources?" the physician said in a telephone interview. "It's very, very troubling."

Part of the problem is the government's fixed exchange rate, pegging the bolivar to an artificially low amount. Officially it trades at about 10 to the dollar but the real price on the black market is more like 1,000. The disparity means it's now almost standard to buy goods and sell them illegally. In a country projected to reach an unemployment rate of 21 percent next year and where engineers earn the equivalent of $100 a month, it's increasingly become a way to survive.

'A crazy system'

Another complication is that the government's foreign debt combined with crumbling oil prices means it's using most of its dollars to pay off its loans and very little is coming into the country.

"Even before the most recent collapse in the price of oil, this was a crazy system," said Francisco Monaldi, a fellow in Latin American energy policy at Rice University. "Now the amount of dollars that enter into Venezuela is 20 billion, when the government used to get a 100 billion and they have to pay their external debt and do some imports, which have collapsed."

Meanwhile the number of Venezuelans suffering grows, reaching even into the once-untouchable upper class. Nearly 90 percent of Venezuelans say they do not have money to buy enough food, according to a recent assessment of living standards by Simon Bolivar University in Caracas.

Maria Dungler, a graphic design director at MD Anderson, said her brother, a retired officer with the Venezuelan navy who receives a good pension, has never asked her for anything before.

"He's very proud," she said.

So his recent request for toilet paper, toothpaste, soap, sunblock, blood pressure medication and canned foods came as a shock.

"He didn't want to ask but he said, 'Well, yeah, we are brushing our teeth with baking soda,' " she said.
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PORTLAND, Maine - Donald Trump's warning that the November election might be rigged is "ridiculous," President Barack Obama declared on Thursday. Anxious Republicans, meanwhile, struggled to move attention from their own infighting to Democratic foe Hillary Clinton.

The feud between the GOP's presidential nominee and Republican House Speaker Paul Ryan again overshadowed Trump's Clinton criticism, underscoring the rising concerns from party leaders over the billionaire's unorthodox candidacy and its impact on the future of the party.

Facing sinking poll numbers and campaign morale, Trump has questioned the integrity of the nation's election system in recent days.

"I never heard of somebody complaining about being cheated before the game is over," Obama said during a Thursday news conference.

"My suggestion would be: Go out there and try to win the election."

Trump, meanwhile, refused for another day to endorse Ryan, his party's top elected official.

The Republican speaker has declared his support for Trump, but he said such endorsements aren't "blank checks" and pledged to speak out against the businessman's divisive positions if necessary. Most recently, that means Trump's sustained criticism of an American Muslim family whose son, U.S. Army Capt. Humayun Khan, was killed in Iraq.

"I don't like doing this," Ryan told a Wisconsin radio station. "I don't want to do this, but I will do this because I feel I have to in order to defend Republicans, and our principles, so that people don't make the mistake of thinking we think like that."

Campaign chairman Paul Manafort insisted Trump would work with Ryan if elected, but he conceded the endorsement question had sparked tension inside Trump's New York campaign headquarters.

The day before, vice presidential nominee Mike Pence broke with Trump and endorsed Ryan. A Pence spokesman on Thursday issued a blanket endorsement for all GOP congressional incumbents seeking re-election, even as Trump withheld endorsements for Arizona Sen. John McCain and New Hampshire Sen. Kelly Ayotte as well as Ryan.

Addressing Maine voters later in the day, Trump was repeatedly interrupted by protesters, including some who were ejected after waving copies of the U.S. Constitution in the air - a reminder of Trump's criticism of Khan's father, who waved his own copy of the Constitution as he criticized Trump at last week's Democratic National Convention.

The businessman directed his own criticism at Clinton on Thursday, while briefly addressing the tension with Ryan.

He said he had given Pence permission endorse the speaker the day before.

"I say, 'Mike, you like him? Yes. Go ahead and do it, 100 percent,'" Trump recalled of his conversation, interrupting his audience when they began to boo Ryan.

"Paul Ryan's a good guy, actually," he said.
WASHINGTON - Donald Trump, the man who defied every political rule and prevailed to win his party's nomination, last week took on perhaps the most sacred political rule: Never attack a Gold Star family.

Not just because it alienates a vital constituency but because it reveals a shocking absence of elementary decency and of natural empathy for the most profound of human sorrows - parental grief.

Why did Trump do it? It wasn't a mistake. It was a revelation. It's that he can't help himself. His governing rule in life is to strike back when attacked, disrespected or even slighted. To understand Trump, you have to grasp the General Theory: He judges every action, every pronouncement, every person by a single criterion - whether it/he is "nice" to Trump.

Vladimir Putin called him brilliant (in fact, he didn't, but that's another matter) and a bromance is born. A "Mexican" judge rules against Trump, which makes him a bad person governed by prejudiced racial instincts.

House Speaker Paul Ryan criticizes Trump's attack on the Gold Star mother - so Trump mocks Ryan and praises his primary opponent. On what grounds? That the opponent is an experienced legislator? Is a tested leader?

Not at all. He's "a big fan of what I'm saying, big fan," Trump attests.

You're a fan of his, he's a fan of yours. And vice versa. Treat him "unfairly" and you will pay. House speaker, Gold Star mother, it matters not.

Of course we all try to protect our own dignity and command respect. But Trump's hypersensitivity and unedited, untempered Pavlovian responses are, shall we say, unusual in ferocity and predictability.

This is beyond narcissism. I used to think Trump was an 11-year-old, an undeveloped schoolyard bully. I was off by about 10 years. His needs are more primitive, an infantile hunger for approval and praise, a craving that can never be satisfied. He lives in a cocoon of solipsism where the world outside himself has value - indeed exists - only insofar as it sustains and inflates him.

Most politicians seek approval. But Trump lives for the adoration. He doesn't even try to hide it, boasting incessantly about his crowds, his standing ovations, his TV ratings, his poll numbers, his primary victories. The latter are most prized because they offer empirical evidence of how loved and admired he is.

Prized also because, in our politics, success is self-validating. A candidacy that started out as a joke, as a self-aggrandizing exercise in xenophobia, struck a chord in a certain constituency and took off. The joke was on those who believed that he was not a serious man and therefore would not be taken seriously. They - myself included - were wrong.

Winning - in ratings, polls and primaries - validated him. Which brought further validation in the form of endorsements from respected and popular Republicans. Chris Christie was first to cross the Rubicon. Ben Carson then offered his blessings, such as they are. Newt Gingrich came aboard to provide intellectual ballast.

Although tepid, the endorsements by Ryan and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell were further milestones in the normalization of Trump.

But this might all be jeopardized by the Gold Star gaffe. (Remember: A gaffe in Washington is when a politician inadvertently reveals the truth, especially about himself.) It has put a severe strain on the patched-over relationship between the candidate and both Republican leadership and Republican regulars.

Trump's greatest success - normalizing the abnormal - is beginning to dissipate. When a Pulitzer Prize-winning liberal columnist (Eugene Robinson) and a major conservative foreign policy thinker and former speechwriter for George Shultz under Ronald Reagan (Robert Kagan) simultaneously question Trump's psychological stability, indeed sanity, there's something going on (as Trump would say).

The dynamic of this election is obvious. As in 1980, the status quo candidate for a failed administration is running against an outsider. The stay-the-course candidate plays his/her only available card - charging that the outsider is dangerously out of the mainstream and temperamentally unfit to command the nation.

In 1980, Reagan had to do just one thing: Pass the threshold test for acceptability. He won that election because he did, especially in the debate with Jimmy Carter in which Reagan showed himself to be genial, self-assured and, above all, nonthreatening. You may not like all his policies, but you could safely entrust the nation to him.

Trump badly needs to pass that threshold. If character is destiny, he won't.

Krauthammer's email address is letters@charleskrauthammer.com.
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SALT LAKE CITY (AP)  A fight between two Utah chains that sell flavor-shot-spiked dirty sodas, came to a federal courtroom Thursday as the sweet drinks grow increasingly popular in the predominantly Mormon state where sugar is a common indulgence.

Soda shop Swig contends competitor Sodalicious copied the trademarked dirty concept, down to the frosted sugar cookies sold alongside the sweet drinks.

Sodalicious argues dirty is a common drink moniker and tongue-in-cheek nicknames for their beverages like Second Wife make their business distinctly different.

The two sides sparred Thursday over a Sodalicious lawyer whose husband is one of the chains co-owners. Swig contends its a problem because she could accidently share the sensitive financial information and trade secrets that are becoming part of the court record in the case.

If I was a competitor Id find it very helpful, said Swig lawyer Mark Bettilyon. Its just not fair.

But Sodalicious attorney Tessa Meyer Santiago says her husband only scouts new locations, and isnt involved in day-to-day business decisions.

Having to hire a new lawyer to would be unfairly expensive to the company, she said.

I have no daily contact with anyone in company, she said. Theres one attorney on the case because cost is an issue.

Bettilyon argued that finding new locations is a key part of both chains rapidly growing businesses.

Theyre very profitable businesses. All you need to sit outside and see all the cars go by, he said. It basically is a land grab at this point.

U.S. District Judge Dustin Pead decided the close relationship could be a problem, but said too many restrictions could also make the lawsuit unfairly costly for Sodalicious.

He decided to restrict what Santiago sees, but he also allowed Sodalicious to revise its request for information from the other side, so there wouldnt been too much information thats out of bounds.

The case is set for trial in August 2017. Swigs lawsuit filed last year asks for a court order barring Sodalicious from using words and signs too similar to theirs as well as unspecified damages.
About Webcast

Pay Equity Legislation: What You Need to Know About the Latest Legal Developments to Safeguard Your Company

Featuring Seyfarth Shaw Senior Counsel, Christine Hendrickson

August 4, 2016

12:00 p.m. Central | 1 p.m. Eastern | 10:00 a.m. Pacific



Promoting pay equity is at the forefront of employment law. The EEOC has proposed a major revision to the Employer Information Report requiring all employers with more than 100 employees to annually submit compensation data beginning in 2017. Likewise, state legislatures are hard at work cranking out strict updates to pay equity laws that clarify terminology, promote pay transparency, and protect employees from termination. With enforcement of these new changes on the rise, employers cannot afford to sit back and do nothing.



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Markham is known to be a city of diverse food offerings from Chinese to tapas, but it also has some of the most delicious food spots tucked away in malls.

Markham residents and food bloggers Jessy and Will of Markham Food started reviewing the York Region food scene in 2014. They also curate the #markhamfood hashtag on Instagram  encouraging users to spread the word of eating locally.

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But the real charm of this GTA city? It's perfect for any sweet tooths out there.

"A lot of people come to Markham for dessert because you can find anything from traditional Chinese desserts to soft serve and egg waffles," Jessy tells The Huffington Post Canada.

Kalamarakia at Ithaca Restaurant (Photo: Chris C.)

Over the last few years, Jessy says not only has the food scene been changing, but there are a lot more trendier spots for ramen, brunch, Japanese cheesecake and other novelty desserts. And while most of the population in Markham and Unionville (a community within Markham) is eating at these restaurants, Jessy says it would be great for more Toronto residents to come out and try the cuisine.

Another great aspect of eating in Markham is that you don't necessarily have to go to pricey restaurants or wait for a table. Malls like First Markham Place have tasty food courts that serve up all types of Asian favourites like BBQ pork and Thai curry waiting for takeout.

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Below, with the help of our Markham-loving editors and the Markham Food blog, we've rounded up 19 of our favourite places to eat in the city. From egg waffles to fancy Italian food to heavy steak, here is your official food bucket list. Let us know, which Markham restaurants do you love the most?

With files from Jessica Chin and Emily Anonuevo
Canadian athletes yearning for glory at the Rio Olympics need all the nutrition, training and rest they can get.

But they also require support from their families and loved ones.

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(Photo: Sean Kilpatrick/The Canadian Press)

Only VICTORY DINNER can be had here. (Photo: Sean Kilpatrick/The Canadian Press)

So many chairs. (Photo: Sean Kilpatrick/The Canadian Press)

(Photo: Sean Kilpatrick/The Canadian Press)

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(Photo: Sean Kilpatrick/The Canadian Press)

Well done, everyone. (Photo: Sean Kilpatrick/The Canadian Press)

WHY DO WE LOVE THESE CHAIRS SO MUCH. (Photo: Sean Kilpatrick/The Canadian Press)

THE OLYMPICS AREN'T A PICNIC, CANADA. (Photo: Sean Kilpatrick/The Canadian Press)

No surprise here. (Photo: Sean Kilpatrick/The Canadian Press)

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This is nice. (Photo: Sean Kilpatrick/The Canadian Press)

(Photo: Sean Kilpatrick/The Canadian Press)

Canada House opens in Rio, complete with a bobsled simulator https://t.co/jC01pcFq7upic.twitter.com/f3wDpUtkXf  CTV Calgary (@CTVCalgary) August 5, 2016

Also on HuffPost
CP

Alberta's NDP government announced recently it had launched legal action against the province's former PC government over arrangements signed by electric companies 16 years ago.

The lawsuit centres around a complicated situation referred to colloquially as the "Enron clause," and if the government loses, it could potentially have a big impact on Alberta consumers.

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Here's a breakdown of why the government is  kind of  suing itself.

What's the arrangement the government's upset about?

In the late 1990s, Premier Ralph Klein's government decided to deregulate the energy industry and implement power purchase arrangements (PPAs). They allowed buyers to purchase electricity from power plants and sell it on to consumers.

So far, the arrangements have proven lucrative  electricity buyers have made over $10 billion in profit since PPAs were put in place.

When PPAs were introduced, Klein's government suggested they would allow both the companies and the consumers to share the risk in case the market took a bad turn, through something called a balancing pool. But Alberta's current government contends that's not exactly what happened.

What is the balancing pool?

The balancing pool was created to hold any additional energy and proceeds as sort of a "backstop" for PPAs. If there were energy surpluses or shortfalls, those net losses or proceeds would be distributed onto consumer's energy bills. If there are no buyers for electricity from a company, the balancing pool acts as the default buyer.

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What's the 'Enron clause'?

The government's legal action hinges on one clause inside the PPAs that the government contends was inserted "unlawfully" after lobbying from energy companies in 2000.

The so-called 'Enron clause,' named for the now bankrupt U.S. energy company that lobbied for it, allows companies to bail on contracts if a change to the law makes them "more unprofitable."

A 2002 photo shows the entrance to the now defunct Enron corporation. Enron lobbied for a clause to be inserted into the PPAs. (Photo: Getty)

Those contracts would get handed over to the balancing pool  essentially, passing the increased costs onto consumers.

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"This amendment is not the sort of clause you would expect to see in any ordinary commercial arrangement because it really did provide an open-ended opportunity for companies to walk away from unprofitable arrangements having taking advantage for many years of very profitable arrangements,'' Nigel Bankes, chairman of Natural Resources Law at the University of Calgary, told the Canadian Press.

Why is this happening now?

On January 1, the Alberta government increased the carbon tax  meaning energy companies that get their power from coal could take a big hit, and they stand to take an even bigger one since the tax is to be increased over coming years as the province implements its climate change plan.

Alberta Environment Minister Shannon Phillips and Premier Rachel Notley announce plans to increase the carbon tax in November 2015. (Photo: CP)

Since then, companies including TransCanada and Enmax announced their intent to terminate their PPAs.

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How much could this cost Albertans?

According to the Alberta government, if the power companies are allowed to terminate their PPAs and pass those costs back to the balancing pool, it could cost Albertans $2 billion by 2020.

"Our government believes that regular Albertans shouldn't be on the hook for secret back room deals between companies like Enron and the previous PC government. We think this is not only unfair to Albertans, its also unlawful. Thats why were going to court," said Deputy Premier Sarah Hoffman in a speech on July 25.

So, why did the government hike taxes if they knew energy companies had a way out?

Here's the thing  the government says it had no idea the clause existed at the time the tax was announced, something the official opposition disputes.

Hoffman says the NDP were "unaware" of the clause until companies began notifying of their intent to terminate their PPAs this year, according to Metro News.

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But...

A freedom of information request obtained by the Wildrose Party shows government officials were briefed on PPAs in November.

"The NDP government owes it to the people of Alberta to come clean about when they learned about the exit clause built into these arrangements and why they went ahead with a policy decision that will raise the cost of electricity for every Albertan," said Wildrose Leader Brian Jean in a statement.

Calgary Mayor Naheed Nenshi said the suit is "outrageous" in an interview with the Calgary Sun.

We have the spectacle of the provincial government suing itself because apparently it didnt know its own policies that have been in place for 15, 16 years and that Enmax has been abiding by," Nenshi said.

What's going to happen?

That'll be decided when the case is heard in court in November.

Regardless of what happens, experts say it's worthwhile  at least from the government's perspective  to give it a shot.

"I guess I'd put it this way, it's an argument that's worth running, because the stakes are very high," Bankes told CBC News.

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With files from The Canadian Press

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Singapore Prime Minister's wife Ho Ching is making global headlines and for all the right reasons.

While accompanying her husband, Lee Hsien Loong, to the United States for a state visit, Ching was seen carrying a $14 dinosaur-printed clutch designed by a 19-year-old autistic student.

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First Lady Michelle Obama arrives with Ho Ching, wife of Singapore's Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, for a State Arrival ceremony on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington, Aug. 2, 2016.

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Shortly after Ching was photographed wearing the clutch, it sold out on Pathlight's website.

Loy Sheau-Mei, senior vice principal and head of ADP, Pathlight School, told Today that See Toh "seemed happy about the overwhelming positive response, and that his parents are 'very proud and honoured.'"

Meet Sheng Jie, the student who created Ho Ching's denim dino ... Meet Sheng Jie, the Autism Resource Centre Singapore / Pathlight School student who created the denim #dinopouch that Ms HO Ching brought to The White House. Find out more about his fascination with dinosaurs: bit.ly/2aAs2ir (Video: Illiyin Anuwar/TODAY) Posted by TODAY on Thursday, August 4, 2016

And of course, Ching's choice of handbag brought a sense of pride to Pathlight.

"We were pleasantly surprised and honoured that she chose to bring this bag on her official visit. It gave such a great mileage for the artists on our Artist Development Programme and merchandise at The Art Faculty merchandise," Loy told the BBC. "Ms Ho Ching is known to be very down to earth and practical and the fact that she carries a less than S$20 pouch to such a world stage event shows she is really confident and authentic."

U.S. President Barack Obama, from right, Lee Hsien Loong, Singapore's prime minster, U.S. First Lady Michelle Obama and Ho Ching, wife of Lee Hsien Loong, wave from the Truman Balcony during an official arrival ceremony on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington on Aug. 2, 2016.

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According to the Singapore Times, the prime minister's wife is an adviser to Pathlight's parent organization, the Autism Resource Centre, and is a patron of the Autism Association Signapore. She had picked up the dinosaur pouch at a concert and funfair held last week to raise funds for autism support services.
Acting prime minister Mariano Rajoy lacks enough support to get reinstated. SUSANA VERA (REUTERS)

Nearly six weeks after Spain held a repeat election to pull out of a protracted deadlock, acting prime minister Mariano Rajoy of the Popular Party (PP) is multiplying his calls for political agreement, yet refusing to yield on any significant issue that might secure him some support from other parties.

The conservative candidate claims that is he open to a negotiation without limits with Socialist Party (PSOE) leader Pedro Sanchez and Ciudadanos president Albert Rivera, and has highlighted the urgency of getting budgetary issues passed in time to meet European Union fiscal policy deadlines.

Rajoy would like the cabinet to greenlight the budget in late August, in time to send it to Brussels by mid-October.

Theres no need to go into political matters, youll see how it goes

King Felipe VI

Yet so far, his overtures to these parties have failed to include reforms that the PSOE and Ciudadanos consider crucial to a more streamlined, democratic and socially responsible form of government, such as eliminating provincial agencies (Diputaciones), forcing parties to hold primaries, or scaling back the controversial Citizen Safety Law.

Rajoy, whose PP obtained 137 seats at the repeat election of June 26, needs 176 for a congressional majority. If he bids for reinstatement and fails to obtain this figure, there would be a run-off in which the PP would only need more yes votes than no votes. In this event, an abstention from other parties would be sufficient.

However, the conservative candidate is not even contemplating the possibility of courting Podemos, the anti-austerity party that it views as unconstitutional because it supports a Catalan independence referendum. For the same reasons, a deal with regional separatist parties is out of the equation.

Will he, wont he?

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It is unclear whether Rajoy will even run for the post at all, even though King Felipe VI has officially asked him to in acknowledgement of the fact that he was the most voted candidate at the election.

Speaking to the press on Thursday on occasion of the royal familys annual summer photo op, Felipe VI refused to disclose the content of his recent meeting with Rajoy, or whether he thinks the caretaker PM will run for office.

Theres no need to go into political matters, youll see how it goes, he told the assembled reporters.

If, mirroring the situation after the original election of December 20, no new prime minister is found, Spain would be facing a record third election.

English version by Susana Urra.
After months of little movement, Canada's job market took a dive in July, shedding 31,000 jobs as the unemployment rate rose a notch to 6.9 per cent, Statistics Canada reported Friday.

There were almost no silver linings to be had in the latest survey. Full-time employment dropped by a whopping 71,000 positions, partly offset by an increase of 40,000 part-time jobs.

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Much of the job loss was among younger workers. Employment for those aged 15 to 24 declined by 28,000 during the month. Over the past year, youth employment has declined by 2.4 per cent, but some of that is due to the fact that this is a shrinking demographic; there are one per cent fewer people in this age group this year than last.

Overall, Canada added 0.4 per cent net new jobs over the past year, less than half the amount needed to keep up with population growth.

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Ontario took the brunt of job losses in July, losing 36,000 in a month, the first significant decline in the province since last fall, StatsCan noted.

At the other end was British Columbia, which continued to lead the country in job growth, adding 12,000 positions. British Columbia has added 2.6 per cent net new jobs over the past year  an unusually strong performance.

Recession-riddled Alberta's job market continued to struggle in July, with the jobless rate rising 0.7 percentage points to 8.6 per cent  the highest jobless rate in that province since 1994. But much of that spike was due to more people looking for work in Alberta. The number of jobs in the province was "essentially unchanged" in July, StatsCan noted.

Broken down by industry, health care was the big winner, adding 65,000 jobs in July. Employment in that sector is up 2.8 per cent in a year. Accommodation and food service jobs, along with jobs in information, culture and recreation combined added more than 44,000 jobs, thanks to a tourism industry that's booming amid a low Canadian dollar.

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But those gains were offset by deep losses in manufacturing and the resource sector. Resources lost 42,800 jobs in the month, with employment down 12 per cent in a year as the oil price slump continues. Manufacturing lost 18,800 jobs in the month and employment is down 1.1 per cent in the past year, suggesting that the long-expected turnaround of Canada's economy towards non-energy exports hasn't materialized.

Also on HuffPost
The show-stopping item at an Ontario festival celebrating meat didnt have any meat at all.

Thousands of people lined up for the Big MACinnes  a vegan riff of McDonalds iconic burger  at Ribfest in London, Ont. last week.

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A woman tastes a Big MACinnes at London's Ribfest.

The whole point of it was to illustrate we can make something out of plants and still have it taste amazing, said James McInnes of his namesake burger.

In the Big MACinnes, two meat patties are replaced with ones made from a mix of chickpeas, onion, and bread crumbs bound with tamari and flax flour.

Theyre thrown onto a griddle for a nice sear before being topped off with creamy homemade mayo, shredded iceberg lettuce, dairy-free cheddar cheese, and onions and pickles inside a three-part sesame bun.

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Closeup of the Big MACinnes vegan burger. (Photo: Globally Local)

Demand was so strong for the vegan Big Mac, the burgers were sold out before the end of the five-day BBQ festival.

McInnes told The Huffington Post Canada he and his team went through 300 kilograms of dried chickpeas to satisfy hungry customers.

A vegan himself, McInnes said the last time he had a McDonalds Big Mac was about four years ago. So to fine-tune his recipe, he turned to omnivore friends and family for help in taste-testing his versions.

Vegan food can really be more popular than animal-based products  even at a meat festival.

McInnes owns Globally Local, a business that works with farmers and suppliers to delivers organic produce and vegan products to area residents.

After the success at Ribfest, he told HuffPost Canada there are plans to open a fast food vegan restaurant in London that will sell the burger.

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It just goes to show how vegan food can really be more popular than animal-based products  even at a meat festival, McInnes said.

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Like many Canadians I saw shocking images in the news and on social media of the Alberta wildfires; columns of fire burning along the highway as a steady stream of cars drove past. Many people escaped with little more than the clothes on their backs, unsure of what they would find when they returned. For many of us, it's hard to imagine being in that situation.

I am now on my third visit to Fort McMurray since the fires began. When I arrived the first time I was taken aback by the devastation. Rows of charred trees, businesses and entire blocks of homes destroyed. The smell of smoke still lingered in the air.

On my second visit I noticed a marked improvement; people were starting to return home and settling in to rebuild their lives in the communities they knew and loved.

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This time, I see full parking lots, line-ups at grocery stores, people going about their lives like they did before the fires. Each time I have returned, I am truly moved by the resiliency of the residents of Fort McMurray -- their commitment to this community, and to one another.

Together, Canadians demonstrated what we are capable of when we come together to support each other when we need it most.

Although it is beginning to feel more like business as usual here, make no mistake that the road to recovery will be long. The Canadian Red Cross will be on the ground to support the residents of Fort McMurray in the years to come. Thanks to the incredible generosity of Canadians, this week we announced the total fundraising amount of $299 million to date. This generosity was mirrored by both the federal and Alberta governments, who matched individual donations.

The outpouring of support from one million Canadians across the country has helped the people of Fort McMurray through a very trying situation. Because of you, we were there in the immediate aftermath providing essentials like food, shelter and clothing. Because of you, within the first three months alone we were able to provide $84.4 million in direct cash assistance to people who had to flee their homes within minutes. Because of you, hundreds of our volunteers were able to provide comfort and care to those who lost everything.

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My experience with the Canadian Red Cross has taught me that disasters affect people in different ways, and every personal situation is unique. During my visits I have had the opportunity to meet many of these displaced residents and learn about their struggles as they returned home.

I met children playing as their parents registered at welcome centres. I met newcomers to Canada who were returning to their new home with hope in their eyes and a smile on their face, despite everything. I also met local business owners, like Maxine and Jeff, owners of Chez Max Jamaican Cuisine.

Over a delicious lunch of their jerk chicken pizza, they told me about how they evacuated the area along with their friends and neighbours, first stopping to collect all of the food in their restaurant and distributing it to hard-working first responders on their way out of town. Maxine and Jeff were among the first to return home to their community, wanting to be open for people returning to Fort McMurray looking for a good meal.

They spoke of how fortunate they felt, returning to find their home and business still intact. They were so happy to be home, and said how grateful they felt for the hard work of so many who assisted with the evacuation and re-entry, near and far.

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It is always incredible to hear these stories of gratitude from the people of Fort McMurray -- people who were displaced from their homes for a month, people who couldn't work, people who lost everything.

The funds raised to aid in the Alberta fires recovery will continue to provide support to these individuals and families in the months and years to come. We will continue to work closely with all levels of government, local community leaders and other organizations to ensure funds are used efficiently, and to make this difficult road to recovery as painless as possible for this resilient city.

Together, Canadians demonstrated what we are capable of when we come together to support each other when we need it most. Thank you, Canada, for showing your humanity. To the people of Fort McMurray, we are all here for you.

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JosA Carlos Costa via Getty Images Scouts were part of the security apparatus set by Angolan police and Catholic church during the visit of Pope Benedict XVI in March 2009.

The past month has justice for Black communities into the spotlight. First there was Black Lives Matter's high-profile protest against police presence at the Toronto Pride Parade, and the ensuing racist backlash. Then, the tragic murders of Black community members including Alton Sterling, Philando Castile, Abdirahman Abdi, and Korryn Gaines at the hands of police.

Police brutality against Black communities continues because Black folks are dehumanized: Black men and boys are seen as automatically-threatening predators, and Black women and trans people as disposable.

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One of the ways anti-Black racism manifests is the way we talk about (or don't talk about) sexual violence perpetrated against the Black community. While Canadian statistics don't gather victimization data by race, we know that Black communities are among the most underserved and marginalized groups in Canada, making Black women and trans folks among the most vulnerable to sexual violence.

How can we ensure that stories of Black survivors of sexual violence are heard? We spoke with activists Margaret Alexander and Riya Jama to learn more.

Margaret Alexander has been an activist and educator in the anti-violence movement for over 20 years. She's worked in both women's shelters and rape crisis services, developing programming that provided support and advocacy to female identified people who had experienced violence, as well as delivering anti-oppression training to frontline shelter workers all over the province. She's currently a professor at George Brown College.

Riya Jama is diasporic visual artist, photographer, and graphic designer.

Interviewer: What are the challenges you have seen in mainstream media reporting on sexual violence and rape in enacted against Black women?

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Margaret: "Canada perpetuates this idea that racism doesn't exist here. When talking about survivors who've experienced sexual assault, they don't actually mention what color they are or their ethnicity... The media sets up this good victim/bad victim [dichotomy]... they erase any of the structural or protection issues. It reads as an individual situation where this 'bad' guy raped this 'good' woman, or this 'not good' woman allowed themselves to be raped. And queer people and trans folks are completely invisible - thereby 'unrape-able.'"

Riya: "When I read an article like that I automatically know what they're leaving out. And God forbid you're a survivor who's never shared their story and you see that... Why would I want to share my story if I'm going to continuously be erased, continuously have my own lived experiences be completely invalidated?"

Margaret: "When sexual violence occurs to Indigenous women* or Black women* it gets constructed into something else besides racism but it is racism... That's how sexual violence happens for brown and Black bodies. It happens through the lens of racism." (*self-identified women and people perceived to be female)

Interviewer: How have seen Black communities creating consent culture?

Margaret: "Many communities are taking their power back and addressing issues of violence without feeling like they have to involve the systems, the cops or the media... The Internet's an enormous tool that's allowed us to tell our own stories and not be reliant on dominant media to tell the story for us. It's kind of freeing when you get to tell your own story, and be in control of who knows the story, and when your story is told, and how it is told. And then you hear other people's stories that are similar to yours and you join up."

Riya: "I'm working within my community, the Somali community, and we're working to have these conversations initiated. Things like YouTube, Twitter, and Facebook are so important because you're sharing your story. And you're sharing in the way you want it to be shared... I feel like just like how there's this quiet revolution happening with people of color and media and how we're taking back our voices and creating spaces."

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Interviewer: Survivors are often portrayed as white, straight, cisgender, able-bodied women. How can the media avoid minimizing stories about survivors that don't fit this narrative?

Margaret: "As much violence as we experience in our intimate partnerships, we also experience that violence from the state in great numbers. The last thing you want to do is go to those institutions for help. You know not only are you at risk of a violent assault from a cop or having your kids stolen by the state but there's also this idea that [for] Black women* and First Nations women*, reporting violence that we experience in intimate or familial relationships is like turning in our Black brothers. Because you know that over a white person, they're going to be put in jail quicker and longer."

Riya: "It's not like this system has empathy for [us]. Our stories are never heard because there's a degree of violence when we do share our stories."

Interviewer: There's been a swell in media coverage of rape culture in recent months. What do we still need to address?

Riya: "All I've seen [so far is] the violent backlash. I've noticed there's this universal support system that cultivates the protection of the abusers, and there's a silencing that's happening with the victims. This whole system of creating spaces where abusers can thrive and exist and can come out unscathed, hav[ing] no harm done to them. Meanwhile the victim is completely destroyed, completely victimized all over again. I don't know if I want mainstream media to tell my story... They're not going to honour my voice."

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Margaret: "They'll take your words [to] create a sound bite and put things out of context, then they'll focus on the things that are important to sell their paper, not [that are] important to help you as a survivor. That's not their job. They're not there to help you survive. They're there to sell their papers. I think journalists have biases -- just like everyone else in society -- and that there's no such thing as 'objective' voices in the media."

This blog is part of a series of interviews femifesto is publishing on media reporting and sexual violence in diverse communities across Canada.
Hero Images via Getty Images Doctors using digital tablet in meeting

Most observers were surprised to hear that the Ontario Medical Association (OMA) and the Ministry of Health (MOH) had reached an agreement in early July. The Tentative Physician Services Agreement (TPSA), while not perfect, has benefits to both sides.

For Physicians:

No further unilateral cuts to fee codes

Better funding for the growing and aging population and physician supply

Equal seat at the table to manage ongoing spending and updating the Schedule of Benefits (fee codes) with third party facilitation*

Ability to continue charter challenge seeking binding arbitration

* Facilitator recommendations are binding

For Government:

Four years of predictable physician spending

Targeted fee cuts

Labour peace with physicians prior to the election

Demonstrated cost savings

No negotiated binding arbitration

This is how negotiations work. Each side brought their priorities, neither got everything they wanted, and both walked away able to claim success for their side.

Since its release, the OMA, the Professional Association of Residents of Ontario (PARO)* and the Ontario Medical Students' Association (OMSA)* have come out in favour, with the OMA and OMSA encouraging their memberships to vote in favour of the Agreement.

*OMSA represents approximately 3600 medical students and PARO represents more than 5000 resident physicians, most of whom are OMA members.

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The TPSA was to be put to a non-binding referendum, which would inform the OMA Council who would have the final say. While the referendum was non-binding, the elected OMA council has not previously gone against the will of the membership.

Enter Concerned Ontario Doctors

After the unilateral cuts in 2015 a Facebook Group was formed, now known as Concerned Ontario Doctors (COD). Their early impressive numbers, almost 9000 members, were achieved as people could be added to the group without their permission. The leaders began organizing small protests, meeting the opposition and writing opinion pieces criticizing the government. The media provided significant coverage to this sensational internecine fight.

When the TPSA was announced, COD was incensed. How dare the OMA negotiate a deal without consulting with us first?

They sought help, and help was readily available.

The Coalition was Born

COD partnered with the Ontario Association of Radiologists (OAR) and Doctors Ontario, both of whom have long disagreed with the OMA. Joined by some OMA Section Executives, largely from high billing specialties, they call themselves the Coalition of Ontario Doctors.

The Coalition brought COD two very important things: money and lawyers.

Not content with the non-binding referendum and wishing for increased participation from rank-and-file physicians the Coalition organized a petition. When 5% of OMA members signed they forced a general meeting that gave all members (about 40000 physicians) a binding vote; however, they neglected to do their homework.

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General meetings for corporations have specific requirements, including either physical presence or proxies to vote. It also had to be organized within three weeks and the meeting, simply for practical travel and venue choices, would have to be in Toronto.

Rather than enhancing physicians' voices, the general meeting has stifled them. It will necessarily favour voices from Toronto and those who have the means to travel. Talk about the law of unintended consequences.

Ontario physicians should read the TPSA for themselves, ask questions and read multiple points of view.

The Coalition now accuses the OMA of "rigging" the proxy system and has had it invalidated by the courts (a new proxy form was issued on August 3). They demand resignations from the OMA President, OMA Board, Minister Hoskins and Premier Wynne, accusing them of being a "government-OMA cabal." Aghast that the OMA is recommending the TPSA to physicians, they sued the OMA for its membership list and are sending unsolicited e-mails to Ontario physicians.

Why Do We Support the TPSA?

It is important to know that neither of us is on OMA Council or Board. Both of us have significant experience on the PARO Board and, in our respective times, were PARO Presidents.

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There has been an incredible amount of misinformation, hyperbole and emotion presented to physicians by COD and the Coalition. They have played on physicians' anger and frustration in, as Andre Picard put it, a very Trump like fashion.

Ontario physicians should read the TPSA for themselves, ask questions and read multiple points of view. They should make the decision based on facts.

This is why we are voting in favour:

1. Stability: This is the most important reason we are in support. The last four years have seen unilateral, across the board cuts arbitrarily imposed by the MOH. This agreement specifically precludes unilateral action by government.

2. Schedule of benefits changes: There is broad agreement amongst most physicians that this needs to happen. This agreement guarantees the OMA an equal seat at the table to ensure that physicians are represented as changes are made and that we hold ourselves accountable. There is a third party facilitator at the table whose recommendations are binding in case of disagreement.

3. Charter Challenge continues: This will not impact the OMA's ability to continue pursuing the Charter Challenge to try and secure binding arbitration for physicians in Ontario, which will take years.

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4. Reversal of restrictions on primary care: Programs that have been implemented by the MOH that specifically target new in practice family physicians and primary care practitioners are being rescinded and two of the most contentious provisions in Bill 210 are being revisited by the OMA and MOH.

5. Funding for new programs or unexpected events: The Government has committed to providing additional funding for new programs (e.g. IVF) and unexpected events (e.g. SARS).

6. PARO and OMSA: Both groups have both been given written assurance by government that the changes will not target new physicians and, further, have been given seats at the table as health human resource challenges are addressed.

These are challenging times for physicians, governments and patients. We need to have peace and we need to rebuild trust in order to improve the health system in Ontario and the health of our patients. After 18 months of scorched earth tactics we are open to trying something different.

We are voting yes, and we hope you are too.

Dr. Kaif Pardhan

Dr. Alim Pardhan

Neither of their views reflect the organizations for which they work.

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Twitter: NY Daily News

The other day, someone forwarded me a horrifying Huffington Post story by lawyer and commentator Lisa Bloom. The story was about why we shouldn't ignore the child-rape charges recently filed against Donald Trump.

Ms. Bloom was saying that Mr. Trump, as the current Republican presidential candidate, should be held up to a certain level of scrutiny, and she pointed out why these current charges have real credibility. Sadly, but not unexpectedly, the story died before it got any traction.

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Yesterday, I saw (blessedly censored) pictures of Orlando Bloom paddle boarding naked while on vacation with his girlfriend, Katy Perry. The Internet blew up, with people everywhere going nuts about it and sharing links to the story.

I must be a very odd person, indeed. I made note of the Orlando Bloom story and realized that I really don't care about his junk and whether or not he has it on display while on vacation with his girlfriend. It just doesn't matter to me. Not one bit.

What is wrong with this picture?

On the other hand, the story by Lisa Bloom, about one of the United States's two presidential candidates being accused of raping a 13-year-old-girl and then threatening to "disappear" her if she spoke out about it, well, I found that story enormously compelling.

What is wrong with this picture? Nobody cares when Lisa Bloom tries to bring to our attention a very disturbing accusation about the Republican presidential candidate. Yes, the charges haven't been proven, but as Ms. Bloom says, they should at least be considered.

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Everyone is awestruck when Mr. Bloom does nothing except enjoy his supposedly private vacation with his honey. He won't be the first person who has skinny-dipped or hung out naked on a beach, and he won't be the last. Why am I the only person who sees this as a huge yawn? When has a penis become such an intense object of fascination?

Mr. Trump might be the United States' next president. His misogyny is on the record. Just recently, when commenting on Roger Ailes' departure from FOX News, and what he'd advise his daughter Ivanka to do if she encountered that type of harassment, he demonstrated once again why he has no idea about what sexism is.

Not that long ago, Donald Trump famously accused FOX commentator Megyn Kelly of not being in her right mind because she was on her period. This is not a man who has one iota of respect for women.

When the United States, and indeed, the entire world, is made up of 50 per cent women and girls, is it not frightening that the next American president might be someone who has repeatedly demonstrated that he holds us all in contempt?

The things that people pay attention to these days is very strange, indeed.

But back to the Battle of the Blooms. Lisa Bloom's story, to me, is explosive; Orlando Bloom's is not. The things that people pay attention to these days is very strange, indeed.

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Donald Trump may get to be president of the United States, and if he does, it will in large part be because the U.S. populace is more interested in re-tweeting pictures of Orlando Bloom's genitalia than in finding out who the Republican candidate really is and what his intentions are for the great United States of America. Heaven help the lot of you.

Listen here to my latest podcast. Lisa Berry talks about creating a mindset makeover.

Sign up here for my free monthly wellness newsletter. September will be all about back to school success.

Purchase my book, Women Decoded: The Secret Strategy for Relationship Success

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Jason Lee / Reuters Residential and commercial buildings are pictured in Vancouver, British Columbia June 20, 2011. Canadian Finance Minister Jim Flaherty said on Monday he continues to monitor the country's housing market, which has some

By Tiffany Greene, with contributions from Evan Shao and Stephen Punwasi

Shots fired! While our media has been pointing out how Chinese buyers are driving up real estate prices, the Chinese media has been dissecting our economy and government, and warning Chinese buyers of the dangers of owning Canadian real estate.

We're always curious to know how other countries interpret our statistics, political climate and what outside media is reporting about Canada's economy. Since China has been a hot-button subject in Canadian news recently, we thought it was high time we took a look at how Canada is portrayed in China's state-regulated media.

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While the Chinese media does acknowledge that Chinese buyers are a contributing factor to our prices -- and admit they have been capitalizing on it -- they also point out some interesting observations that our media has failed to cover. Here are the most interesting points we found from three major Chinese publications.

Worse Than The 2008 U.S. Crash

Hexun, China's largest finance portal, recently published an article pointing to Canada's debt-fuelled economy. They noted that Canadians have the largest debt-to-income ratio of any G7 country, with the average spending 165 per cent of their salary. To contrast, at the height of the U.S. housing crisis in 2008, Americans carried what was then considered an outlandish 147 per cent debt-to-income ratio -- 17 points lower than where we currently sit.

Canada's total household debt reached $1.892 trillion, with $1.234 trillion of that as mortgage debt -- roughly 65 per cent more than we make per year. To put that $1.82 trillion into perspective, we could have run the U.S. government for eight months with that amount of money.

"This is a very big bubble. And it's going to end in tears." -- Paul Ashworth

CN Gold, another one of China's large financial sites, ran an article quoting Toronto-based economist Paul Ashworth who told them "This is a very big bubble. And it's going to end in tears." They then went on to say that once this bubble bursts, real estate will likely be a major "blow to the Canadian economy."

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Real Estate As An Economy Booster

Sina.com's real estate partner and NYSE-listed Leju was quick to point out that while the average home price in Vancouver is up more than 30 per cent, the province is in a state of "stagflation." Stagflation is a fancy word that describes when the cost of living increases but there is stagnant demand in the economy. They go on to say B.C. has one of the lowest median incomes in the country, and the B.C. government is hoping rising home prices will "render some good."

Real estate and related services were one of the few high-paying growth sectors contributing to our economy over the past year. A significant portion of our growth is in low-income sectors like retail and hospitality service.

While they didn't put statistics to those statements, we recently published an article that showed Vancouver's home prices have risen 172 per cent in the last 15 years, while income has only moved up 10 per cent. The struggle in VanCity is real.

B.C. Government Saved This For The Election

Most interesting, Chinese media outlets are questioning the timing of all of this. After all, Vancouver's real estate has been growing at an unsustainable rate for years (more like decades), while incomes have stagnated. An author from Leju wrote that the Asian investment conversation is being brought on as platforms for the Vancouver municipal and B.C. provincial elections.

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Leju also explained that other cities like Toronto, that have substantially more international buyers, are not having discussions about "vacancy taxes" and "restrictions." They further allege that the government in Vancouver and B.C. are looking to distract constituents with "other factors" to explain why income in the province is one of the lowest in Canada.

This crisis threatens the stability of [the Canadian] financial system."

Hexun was a little more blunt, stating the Government of Canada "must introduce policies to cool the property market, or face collapse," further adding that "this crisis threatens the stability of [the Canadian] financial system."

While you should approach all media with a grain of salt, they bring interesting points to the table that should be part of the discussion. In Vancouver's market where mayor Gregor Robertson made almost four times his annual salary selling a home he lived in for only two years, and B.C. Finance Minister Mike de Jong has a stake in seven homes (only five mortgages, though), are Chinese speculators the problem or are all speculators contributing to the problem? Also, as Canadians we tend to not discuss things like declining income, which is unfortunate because it's a big part of our housing story.

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Landing on Nauru I felt like the plane was about to hit the ocean - the tiny island is smaller than most of the airports I travel through. The scenery is unwelcoming, with most of the inland areas devastated by decades of phosphate mining. Heat, dust and wild dogs follow you everywhere.

Having worked in most of the world's conflict zones over the last 15 years, I thought I had learned enough about suffering, injustice and despair. But what I saw and heard on Nauru will haunt me forever.

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Three years ago, Australia decided to banish refugees who attempted to reach its shores by boat to Nauru. Since then, hundreds of men, women and children have been stuck on this remote island in appalling conditions; many, if not most, are suffering from serious physical and mental ailments. Their futures are completely uncertain.

The Australian and Nauruan governments know very well how horrendous and unlawful everything that goes on here is, and go to great lengths to hide it. Almost no journalists or independent observers have been able to come to Nauru since refugees started arriving four years ago.

What's even more sinister is that everybody who works for the Australian government here is sworn to secrecy - under Australian law, service providers face two years in jail if they reveal anything about the situation in Nauru. My human rights work has taken me to many "closed" countries and regions, including China, Uzbekistan, Chechnya, northern Sri Lanka and Bahrain, but I've never seen such a sustained - and successful - effort to hide abuse from the outside world.

On this island there are around 1,200 people who have faced terrible hardship and oppression in Afghanistan, Myanmar, Iraq, Somalia, Iran and many other places. They have fled civil war and abusive governments, endured excruciatingly difficult journeys across the world, and eventually braved the high seas in beaten-up boats to reach a country which they heard could offer freedom, peace, and respect for their rights.

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But Australia dashed their dreams. Instead of giving them protection and refuge, as international law and the most basic principles of humanity require, its government has decided to use these people to deter further maritime arrivals, by treating them in the worst possible way.

The despair on Nauru is palpable. Although around 70% of the people sent there have been recognised as refugees, they have nowhere to go. Australia has said it will never accept them, but hasn't offered them any viable alternatives. Even those who have received Nauruan travel documents cannot leave: the documents state "refugee" as their nationality and those who have tried to use them to get visas to go to other countries have quickly realised they are useless.

Initially, people were told they were being sent to Nauru "for six months" of processing. Three years later, they feel deceived and forgotten. As one man told me:

"In many ways, this is worse than prison: at least in prison, you know what you've been jailed for and how long you are serving. And you have a chance to get out."

For many months after arriving here, people were confined in a detention centre. They lived in mouldy tents in appalling, prison-like conditions, waiting in long lines for food and toilets and forbidden from bringing food into their tents for their children. Guards conducted regular searches of their tents, confiscating items like sewing needles, disposable shaving razors, and cosmetic tweezers. Showers were limited to two minutes, after which the guards would simply switch off the water and force people out, with shampoo in their hair and their bodies covered in soap.

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All but 400 people have since been provided with accommodation in Nauruan communities, and their living conditions have improved somewhat. But there are new, more serious struggles. Many people, especially women, told me that they face daily humiliation, sexual assault and other harassment, and attacks from the local population.

Dalileh*, who fled Iran with her husband and ended up in Nauru in the summer of 2013, told me how, last year, she woke up in the middle of the night because she heard voices outside. She went out, fearing that local thieves had come again to steal clothes and shoes left outside.

"The next thing I remember was a strong blow on my head, and two men running away. Blood was streaming down my face," she said.

An ambulance took Dalileh to hospital where doctors put eight stitches in her head, and police later found the metal bar she was hit with. However, when Dalileh and her husband tried to report the incident, the police refused to open a case, suggesting, incredibly, that "maybe Dalileh had hit herself".

Almost everybody I met on Nauru, including young children, had health problems. Many were extremely serious - heart attacks, rapidly deteriorating diabetes, lumps in breasts, various infections and broken bones. Refugees said they had been seeing local doctors as well as the ones contracted by the Australian government but had received no proper treatment. Disturbingly, people have not been able to obtain their medical records despite repeated requests - instead, they've been given heaps of pills which many said had made their conditions worse.

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"In order to be transferred for treatment to Australia, you basically need to be dying," one man said. "Otherwise, they keep saying it's not bad enough to justify a medical transfer."

Another man suffering from multiple medical problems said: "I thought I escaped death. But now I start to think that it's better to die from one bullet than being slowly killed every day, over three years."

One of the most shocking aspects of the situation in Nauru is the prevalence of mental trauma, self-harm and attempted suicides. Every other witness I spoke to had either attempted suicide or was thinking about it.

Faraz*, an art teacher from Iran, came to Nauru with his wife and 10-year-old son. He said that his wife had been very depressed from the moment they arrived and had got much worse over the past year, especially after their house was attacked twice by locals. Two months ago he went out for a smoke and came back to find his wife unconscious, with empty pill packets around her bed. Doctors managed to save her, but in hospital, and during the two months that she spent in a psychiatric ward in the camps, she persistently tried to end her life - swallowing pills or shampoo, hanging herself with bedsheets, and cutting her veins with a plastic knife.

"When I visited her, I was going crazy myself - I saw bruises and scratches on her arms: they were forcibly giving her food and medication, and were dragging her into the shower and toilet with her hands tied," said Faraz.

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"And when I asked the doctor, he said that was the treatment plan. I couldn't take it anymore, and brought her back home... My son is so deeply traumatized, he doesn't go out anymore; he just stopped doing anything. I feel I am losing my family in front of my eyes, and worst of all, there is nothing I can do about it."

Even children have attempted suicide. Ali* told me that he fled Afghanistan with his two teenage sons after his family suffered regular threats and attacks by the Taliban - his brother-in-law was killed and his wife died shortly after. But it is now, on Nauru, that he is most worried about his boys. The younger one has already tried to kill himself several times.

"I am trying to hide everything in this tiny room - pills, knives. And I am not letting him out, because I am afraid he will do something to himself," Ali said.

Perhaps torture is the worst, most traumatic thing I've documented in my human rights work: it is very difficult to ever fully recover from the physical suffering combined with absolute loss of control. But on Nauru I realised that there is something even worse. People who are deliberately driven to the absolute depths of despair, inflicting suffering akin to torture on themselves because they feel it is the only way to get heard.

There can be no justification or forgiveness for a system that does this to people - it is time for Australia and Nauru to end this offshore horror.

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Anna Neistat is the Senior Director of Research at Amnesty International
Since becoming Prime Minister Theresa May has been sounding like some kind of Buddhist holy woman chanting the mantra 'Brexit is Brexit' whenever she's challenged on the 'ifs & whens' of Britain's actual departure from the European Union.

I haven't faltered in my opinion that the UK would be stronger inside the EU and that doing whatever it takes to remain part of the club - including legal action to clarify how exactly Article 50 can be triggered. But if, when all the cards have been played, Brexit is still trumping the views of those of us who voted to remain, then I can accept that as the price of living in a stable democracy.

I do however wonder exactly what the PM's mantra really means, and I note that while 'bread is bread', there are many types, and some people give it up all together for health reasons, even though at first it looks and smells great!

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Democracy is a concept far more complicated than simply campaigning for, casting and counting votes, and sometimes what people thought they were getting turns out to have been vastly exaggerated, or even completely misrepresented. In the usual course of political life there is a safeguard against blaggers, and that's another trip to the ballot box. If evidence of this is needed, have a chat with Nick Clegg.

The problem with the UK's Brexit situation is that there is no safety valve to help us flush away any unintended consequential crap that making, and carrying though, a bad decision could potentially leave us with for decades. Once the blue touch paper of Article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty has been lit there is no way of putting it out, and stopping its ignition from blasting the UK into who knows where.

During the referendum both sides accused the other of scaremongering and, maybe, we all were at it? The point is, it was like two poker players engaging in a bidding war, with no cards actually being laid on the table. This led the public to ask, maybe there are some facts behind the players' expressionless faces, or maybe they are bluffing to gain a psychological advantage?

Personally I saw a lot of claims and counter claims as to what the cards would look like when they hit the table, especially in terms of their economic impact. But we won't know the truth of any of this for months, years even, in some cases. So my question is why would we, as a sane electorate, act hastily and bail out of the EU when we haven't actually seen the cards we're playing with?

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Personally I believe that when the British public start to see the truth behind some of the things they were told during the referendum campaign many will lose their zeal for an EU departure. Already there is economic data coming to light that may start to change people's minds. Terrifyingly production and new orders, measured by the Purchasing Manufacturers Index (PMI), in the UK economy plummeted in July, in what represents the biggest month-on-month drop since the index began in 1996. And Construction also experienced its biggest slowdown since 2009 last month.

For me this is only the start of what I'm sure will be a stream of bad economic data, which will have a huge impact on people's thinking on Brexit. And when it starts to hit their pockets as it inevitably will the mood in the country, and the will of the people, I am convinced, will change. People may have voted for Brexit in June 2016, but I'll wager that by spring 2017 common sense will prevail and bring people to their senses, making the referendum vote more a cry for help that must be heeded, that a collective economic suicide.
Reuters Photographer / Reuters

British politics has undergone a sort of revolution in the past two months. The surprise Brexit vote was intended by many as a kick in the pants for an out of touch elite. Just keeping up with the news has been difficult and at times chaos has seemed close. It has produced a new Prime Minister and a government with a new set of problems and direction for its work. Meanwhile the Labour Party, in part responding to the same pressures from the differential impact of globalisation, is undergoing its own once in a generation struggle for its soul and direction.

This has reminded me of the winter of 1990 when I worked in the Czechoslovak Prime Minister's office following the Velvet Revolution. Vaclav Havel had been elected President and was in the Castle, but the old Communist order was still in many of the Ministers. To be young was "very heaven" and trendy idealism was mixed with downright chaos.

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One of the key figures was the Foreign Minister Jiri Dienstbier, an exceptionally scruffy figure who couldn't appear on Czech TV without his tie askew or his hair unkempt. After the long years of the stuffy communist bureaucrats, the Czech people loved him. So when I saw crowds of young people cheering on Jeremy Corbyn (known to his close friends as Jerry) I could see why. He seems like a breath of fresh air.

But apart from a shared sartorial style I think Jiri and Jerry are quite different. I am increasingly worried by the cult of personality around Jeremy Corbyn. Some people seem to think with Jeremy Corbyn socialism is guaranteed; without him it is doomed.

Any fantasy that Jeremy Corbyn is some sort of dissident martyr hero is totally misplaced. Let's look at the facts.

Jiri Dienstbier worked as a radio journalist and his support for the Prague Spring saw him silenced; kicked out of his job; expelled from the Communist Party; imprisoned with Havel for three years and forced to work as a road sweeper for twenty.

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Jeremy Corbyn has spent the last 30 years as a Labour MP - a stimulating, well-paid job, with ample opportunities for travel which he has taken up. Jeremy Corbyn has used the parliamentary privilege of free speech to the full - sometimes advocating for the victims of the tyrannical regimes in Latin America or the Middle East; sometimes appearing to give succour to terrorists like the IRA. Famously he rebelled over 500 times against the Labour government/whip, often voting with the Tories. And what happened as a result? Nothing. Was he kicked out of his comfortable job? No. Did the party hierarchy seek to have him deselected? No. On the contrary, MPs who didn't even share his views co-operated to give him a platform in the leadership election in 2015.

This context I think explains the fury many MPs feel when Jeremy Corbyn is buoyed and supported by people who routinely abuse MPs verbally, some of whom even threaten violence, which in the wake of Jo Cox's horrific murder cannot be ignored.

Loyalty is a two way street. And loyalty is not about individuals, it's about values and institutions.

Let's look at some other things with a greater call on our loyalty then loyalty to one person:

Loyalty to free speech - Jeremy Corbyn has been speaking freely for 30 years - so why the intolerance shown to colleagues now?

Loyalty to parliament - the most important institution in Britain guaranteeing citizens' rights against unaccountable power. It is now 110 years since the Labour Representation Committee was established and we chose the parliamentary road to socialism

Loyalty to our constituents who elect us and whose welfare must be our priority - six years ago there were no food banks in my constituency, today there are seven. I want to end this as fast as possible

Loyalty to the Labour Party, the working class, the broad mass of the British public who want and need Labour government.

Others have criticised Jeremy Corbyn's performance in the Chamber and competence as a team leader, but the thing I really don't understand is what his political strategy?

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Shifting the party to the left is understandable and on this he has succeeded; building a social movement like Syriza in Greece and Podemos in Spain is understandable, but promoting conflict between the parliamentary party and the new members just does not make sense. It is wholly irrational.

Here's why:

Labour has been a coalition of social democrats and more left wing socialists throughout its history and sometimes we have scored tremendous successes. The governments of 1945; 1964 and 1997 all brought massive social reform. The split about which John McDonnell seems relaxed would crucify us at the polls because of the First Past the Post voting system. This is a crucial difference between Britain and Southern Europeans. In a system with Proportional Representation as they have, both groups can win seats and the coalition occurs subsequently and explicitly. This is what Robin Cook used to argue and it's why some of us in the PLP support Proportional Representation.

But to promote a split in the party in the absence of constitutional reform is a kamikaze policy.

Some around Jeremy Corbyn seem to think Labour MPs would lose their seats to Liberal Democrats or Greens. We wouldn't - we'd lose to Ukip. And I fail to see how having a group of 30-50 Ukip MPs will help in any way to bring social and economic progress to this country.

I'm not a "Blairite" but I do want a leader who can win.
Since June 2015 the BBC has been interviewing supporters of the Republican presidential-elect Donald Trump as the apolitical businessman with a loose commitment to Republican values became the potential next President of the United States of America. Many Republican voters told BBC interviewers that Donald Trump appealed to them for 'saying it how it is'. Trump appeals because he does not abide by political correctness; he says what is on his mind without fear of reprisal. Related to this, other supporters value Trump's background in business, not in politics. They believe that this gives him independence and the freedom from keeping closely to the party rhetoric. Trump is not a member of the political elite, nor is he involved in 'the establishment', making his appeals to 'make America great again' refreshing and genuine to voters.

The factors for the popularity of Donald Trump suggest something worrying about the status and importance of truth in more fields than just politics. The voters the BBC mentions value Trump for 'saying it how it is'. They believe that the official statistics, the establishment views and so on do not match reality. When Trump talks about Mexican criminals, rapists and drug dealers crossing the border into the South, Islamic extremism that is rampant across the states, or the machinations of the Chinese state, it all chimes true for his voters.

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Public perception is an important indicator for many people and institutions. Politicians use the public's opinion to judge what they can and cannot say in public; think tanks monitor clamour for various potential policies; opinion pollsters use public opinion to make reports. Public mood has impressive and long-lasting effects on the popularity of things from products on the market to government policies.

But public perceptions can also be extraordinarily unreliable. Several surveys and investigations have proved that many Britons' beliefs about political and social aspects of life are wildly off the mark. A 2013 phone survey suggested that Britons greatly overestimate the number of immigrants and welfare claimants in the country. A particularly interesting overestimation concerned the number of teenage pregnancies, thought to be twenty-five times' the correct number. A 2014 survey suggested that citizens from an array of countries, including Great Britain, France, the United States, Australia and Italy, greatly overestimate the number of Muslims living in their countries - in Great Britain alone, the polled Britons believed that 20% of the country's population are followers of Islam, four times the correct figure.

Many Americans put a lot of weight behind conspiracy theories, many of which have been widely dismissed by experts. A 2013 poll suggested that 28% of those polled believed in the secretive existence of a elite organisation bent on world domination. The allegation that Barack Obama is not an American citizen and is in possession of a bogus birth certificate has taken many forms, all of which have been debunked repeatedly, yet many voters, including the Republican front-runner, continue to believe that their current leader is a Kenyan who illegally resides in the White House.

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I don't think the importance of truth, facts, logic and evidence can ever be exaggerated in relation to debate, arguments, politics and the like. It would therefore be easy of me to wrap things up now by making a case for more fact-checking and better education in order to promote better discourses and conversations to help us progress. However, the situation is far more complex. I have read more than once that we are living in a post-truth world; a world where misinformation can distort our understanding of important events in seconds; a world where, to adapt the observation mistakenly attributed to Mark Twain, a lie can get halfway round the world before truth has finished tying its shoelaces.

Only days ago Trump wondered aloud, without any proof, that the Muslim mother of a fallen American soldier had not been permitted to speak at the 2016 Democrat convention by her husband. When the soldier's parents condemned his ignorance, he told Fox News that the Clinton campaign had paid for the couple to criticise him on stage. He has suggested that the forthcoming election will be rigged. It seems likely that if he loses in the end, there will be no end of intimations - all of them with no evidence at all - that foul play was afoot.

Many people such as myself are concerned not just by the dearth of facts in Trump's rhetoric, but by the wilful desire not to bother doing any work. Facts are boring today. People don't want to spend their time in libraries and archives gathering evidence to construct answers or suggestions for the future; people want to read exciting things, hear outrageous things and know that their leaders are going to do something about them. If people cared about the absence of evidence and reasoning in the kinds of things that Trump has proposed over the past few months, he would never have become the nominee. But Trump is now in a position to be voted into the White House. Truth is boring and unnecessary to success.

If this is the post-truth era, we should be scared of it. If the post-truth era is upon us, we are living in a world where paranoia is the new rationality and where ignorance brings fame and attention. It is a world where intellectuals and research are cast aside and the capacity to talk on the cheapest level is praised as courageous and honourable; a world where rational thinking and adherence to evidence is unfashionable.

It is no longer the case that truth's importance has been neglected; it now seems as though truth is an irrelevance. We should all be afraid of life in a post-truth era.

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UNMISS photo

The United Nations Security Council recently approved a two-week extension of UN mission in South Sudan, known as UNMISS. The temporary mandate is an attempt by the United States to buy time in order to persuade the region to 'fortify' the 12,000 'blue helmet' forces already stationed on the ground. UNMISS was instituted a day before the new nation gained its independence on July 9th 2011 to promote a peaceful transition to statehood. However, some citizen groups expressed concerns at the time about perils of placing UNMISS under Chapter Seven of the UN charter, which involves use of force. Nonetheless, a UN Security Council resolution establishing the mission for a year was ratified by South Sudan cabinet.

An egregious Status of Forces Agreement was subsequently and hurriedly signed by Foreign Minister Deng Alor Kuol and Former UN Special Representative Hilde F. Johnson.

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In the first year of independence, the new nation was aflame. Intertribal clashes, cattle raids and child abductions were the order of the day. South Sudan battled with low-intensity but growing rebellions across the country. The baby nation apparently needed interlocutors such as the UN to put its house in order.

The inaugural UNMISS mandate was spectacularly ambitious. It spoke of security reforms, disarmament, demobilization and reintegration strategy, institutional capacity building and civilian protections, among others. A year passed crushingly on without the UN making a huge dent in the execution of its wish-list mandate, a sure sign that UNMISS seemed destined for a long haul. Not only was the mission renewed in 2012, but it was also done so without the consent of the host government. Self-determination became 'UN-determination.' I knew at that point that something was amiss in the state of Denmark: The UN went through "mission creep."

IN 2013, clashes erupted in Juba and quickly spiraled into a three-year vicious war that cost great damages in life and treasure.

The crisis in South Sudan presented UNMISS with a dose of reality check; that it was impossible to do all, everywhere, every time. Focus was required to achieve a measure of success. The mission was therefore scaled down to "protection of civilians." The refined mandate produced a phenomena called "Protection of civilian sites" (POCs) in major towns and cities in South Sudan, where thousands of civilians fled to in search of refuge and safety.

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The new approach had its false-starts. The UN forces in some incidences in Akobo, Bor, Malakal and Bentiu watched on while civilians were being slaughtered and even raped in their noses, in spite of their tanks and sophisticated weapons.

As a debate rages on what policy options to be used in South Sudan, the world should listen to the voices of South Sudanese. They chant "UNMISS Must Leave: Our Sovereignty in Our Hands."

Instead of advancing an outdated UN trusteeship, let's speak about finding an exit strategy for UNMISS.

As a UN member state, South Sudan is entitled to the "principle of sovereign equality." Such a clause is a crucial part of the United Nations charter and cannot simply be disregarded under the guise of 'responsibility to protect.'

South Sudanese have learned from our bad movie and should be allowed to exercise unrestraint self-governance. Our sovereignty wasn't an accident of history or a donation from the UN. We earned it with our blood of martyrs. We cherish statehood despite the bitter pills that come with it.

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For over 30 years, Western countries such as the US and UK, and international bodies like the World Bank and IMF, have told African governments to cut their tax rates to attract foreign investment. The result of this policy is now clear and is not pretty - governments in Africa are giving away vast amounts of badly needed revenues to foreign corporations in tax incentives. The extent of this drain of resources is staggering: it challenges the idea that Africa is poor at all.

Tax incentives are exemptions given to companies from paying taxes such as corporate income taxes, VAT or import duties. In Africa, governments often award them to specific companies in special deals negotiated in secret and which are never made public. Companies operating in Export Processing Zones typically pay no taxes on profits for 10 years or more. Major beneficiaries of tax incentives are foreign (often British) mining companies that increasingly control Africa's precious minerals, one of its key assets.

A report of mine for ActionAid, analysing the latest available figures, suggests that the four East African countries of Tanzania, Kenya, Rwanda and Uganda are likely losing $1.5 - $2 billion a year from tax breaks provided by their governments. In West Africa, the picture is similar. Ghana is likely losing up to $2.27 billion a year while Nigeria has lost a staggering $3.3 billion in tax revenue to just three oil companies - Shell, Total and ENI - through a series of extraordinary tax breaks.

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Sometimes, the scale of losses is nearly unbelievable. In 2013, I worked with a colleague in Sierra Leone, one of the world's poorest countries, to analyse tax data provided by the country's main tax body, the National Revenue Authority. The aim was to establish, for the first time, how much revenue the country was 'spending' by giving large tax incentives to the major mining companies (then British-owned) investing in the country. The figures were truly shocking - in 2012, Sierra Leone lost revenues from customs duty and sales tax exemptions alone worth $224 million - this was equivalent to 8.3 per cent of GDP. In 2011, losses were even higher - 13.7 per cent of GDP. In 2012, the lost tax revenues amounted to an astonishing 59 per cent of the entire government budget. Put another way, Sierra Leone gave away revenues amounting to over eight times the health budget and seven times the education budget. This is in a country where nearly 1 in 5 children die before age 5.

This scale of revenue losses is extreme but the basic pattern is mirrored across Africa. There are no official figures on global revenue losses from tax incentives but one estimate is that developing countries lose $139 billion a year just from one form of tax incentive - corporate income tax exemptions. The overall figure will be much higher.

Between 1980 and 2005, the proportion of sub-Saharan African countries offering tax holidays to companies rose from 40 per cent to 80 per cent, often due to pressure from Western 'donors' such as the UK. This has enabled multinational companies to extract huge profits from Africa - the figure is estimated at $46 billion in 2012, much greater than aid to the continent.

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Recently, even bodies like the World Bank and IMF have finally woken up to the indefensibility of promoting tax incentives. In a massive reversal, they are now pressing developing countries to reduce and sometimes eliminate them. But African governments themselves are often dragging their feet, and continue to lose vast amounts of money. In Kenya, for example, government officials say they are committed to reducing tax incentives but actual policy is to maintain and even increase them, especially by introducing new Special Economic Zones.

Another 'poor' country, Tanzania, has plans to reduce tax incentives and has taken some steps to do so, especially having introduced a law in 2015 to reduce VAT exemptions. Yet it continues to offer numerous incentives to foreign investors, especially in Special Economic Zones, and to oil and gas companies (which include the giant British company, BG Group, now part of Shell).

Africa is simply promoting the wrong policy. Studies suggest that tax incentives are not an important factor in attracting foreign investment. More important is good quality infrastructure, political stability and predictable macro-economic policy. Neither should governments go all out to attract just any foreign investment anyway - some 'investments' displace domestic companies that could better serve local populations; others can impoverish local communities by grabbing land or polluting the environment.
Despite its reputation as a stagnant state-run economy, over the past few years the Cuban government has passed pro-business reforms that have unleashed a flurry of entrepreneurial activity. How and why has this happened, and will Castro Inc. stick to the plan?

I recently spent several weeks in Cuba, a contradictory, mysterious, beautiful and above all utterly fascinating country. And while the last thing I expected to come out of my trip was an article on the vibrant entrepreneurialism in one of the world's last remaining communist strongholds, that is exactly what I encountered. For although the Cuban Communist Party (CCP) still maintains a tight grip over the means of production (by tightly planning production and distribution, employing the majority of the population and monopolising participation in foreign trade), a new generation of small businesses and the self-employed are springing up to challenge the state's hold over the economy.

As I travelled throughout the island, instead of the drab and uninspired state-run hotels and restaurants I had been warned about, I came across locally run casas particulares (rooms or houses rented out privately by Cubans) and paladares (private restaurants, often hosted in locals' homes). And while I soon became familiar with the sight of under stocked government shops lethargically serving queues of locals in the sweltering 35-degree heat, it was just as easy to spot entrepreneurs hawking everything from fresh produce and handmade goods to haircuts, manicures and (in a country with highly limited internet access) access codes to Cuba's 65 precious Wi-Fi hotspots. Locals and informed travellers I spoke to repeatedly emphasised how new this all is; just a few years ago, bed and breakfasts in Cuba were prohibited from marketing themselves with street signage, while private restaurants numbered in the single-digits instead of the hundreds that now exist in cities such as Havana, Trinidad and Santa Clara. I even managed to book all of my accommodation using Airbnb, a minor miracle in a country where only around 1% of the population has daily Internet access.

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This growth in Cuba's entrepreneurial sector has not come about by chance. In an economy as regulated and centrally planned as Cuba's, no such change can take place without approval from the "companeros" at the top. This approval finally arrived in 2011, when major reforms legalised and expanded the role of small businesses in the Cuban economy, a sharp turn away from decades of private sector disdain and suppression. Small business was abolished in Cuba a few years into the Revolution, when Fidel Castro labelled private business people a "class of parasites...who prosper from the work of others". From that point onwards, the state took control of the island's entire economy, abolishing private property and private exchange and determining what was to be produced and who was to be employed.

While undoubtedly inefficient, Castro's regime was kept afloat by the Soviet Union's generous economic support. This financial assistance dried up upon the Union's collapse in 1991, leading to an extremely severe period of austerity and economic contraction known in Cuba as the "Special Period". Limited pro-business reforms were passed as a matter of desperation, but soon retracted when Chavez's Venezuela stepped in to take up the Soviet mantle. With Venezuela now in the midst of a severe economic crisis, the latest economic reforms - which go much further than their 1993 predecessors - appear to be an attempt to kick-start the stagnating Cuban economy by unleashing the power of private enterprise.

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Instigated under the leadership of Raul Castro, who has proved a more pragmatic ruler than his older brother Fidel, the recent legislation authorises self-employment in several hundred professions, permits self-employed Cubans to take on employees, and opens the door to trade between the state sector and small businesses. It allows for the private exchange of cars and homes, and has begun easing the tax burden on entrepreneurs. Combined, the reforms have led to an explosion in the number of self-employed Cubans, from 148,000 in 2009 to 500,000 in late 2015, although some economists estimate that the figure could be as high as two million (around a fifth of the population).

While these supply-side measures deserve much of the credit for Cuba's on-going entrepreneurial revival, it would not be possible without the growing influx of visitors (myself included) that has been arriving at its shores. No longer able to sell its sugar (historically Cuba's most lucrative export) at favourable rates to the Communist Bloc, Cuba's government has opted to expand the role of tourism in the economy. It has been rewarded by large numbers of them from Europe and Canada (and increasingly, the United States) drawn to the island's natural beauty, history, unusual political and social system, and the time-warp effect created by an abundance of Spanish colonial architecture and colourful 1950's American cars. Taxi-drivers, traveling musicians, street pedlars and owners of casas, paladares and various other small businesses rely on tourist spending to supplement measly state incomes of between $20 to $30 a month - "nowhere near enough to live on" as one particularly frank taxi-driver put it to me.

If I might go so far as to describe these changes as the latest "Cuban Revolution", how should the Revolution go about consolidating itself, as all revolutions attempt to do? First of all, the Party needs to stick to the reforms it has begun implementing and work hard at convincing both Cubans and non-Cubans (visitors, entrepreneurs and investors) that it is committed to them for the long run. As mentioned, the government has a record of backtracking on its reforms, as in the 1990s when - after facilitating a boom in self-employment - it stopped renewing licenses for small businesses and retreated from its mildly positive pro-entrepreneur rhetoric. Fortunately, given the far greater depth of the changes this time around, a repeat looks less likely.
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Radio 1 returns to Ibiza for the 21stconsecutive year this weekend with an exclusive Radio 1 and 1Xtra dance family line-up due to perform during our legendary Friday night party that will be taking place tonight at Ushuaia. It's a who's who of DJ talent - Annie Mac, Pete Tong, Danny Howard, Kolsch, MistaJam, B.Traits, Toddla T, Heidi, George Fitzgerald, Monki and DJ Target - and a testament to the commitment Radio 1 has shown to electronic music over two decades.

Hundreds of thousands of British clubbers head to Ibiza over the summer with the Radio 1 Ibiza weekend being the high water mark of the entire season. Ibiza continues to be a really important part of our calendar as global DJ talent converges on the island - this year we have recorded Essential Mixes with Carl Cox at Space, Andrea Oliva at Ants, Solomun at Pacha and Paradise at DC10. We've also continued our long standing relationship with Cafe Mambo where our DJs including Nick Grimshaw and The Radio 1 Breakfast Show, Annie Mac, Danny Howard and MistaJam will be broadcasting their show's from - bringing the party spirit to listeners back home in the UK.

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This year, we've extended our offering with a whole summer of dance music for our young listeners. The Radio 1 dance family have been hitting the road and hosting stages at some of the biggest dance events across the UK and Europe in 2016, with our Ibiza broadcasts being the centre piece.

However, it's not just about dance music, Radio 1 and 1Xtra's commitment to specialist music spans a range of genres. 1Xtra's MC Month ran for the whole of July where we took our Street Studio out to four cities around the UK - Nottingham, Cardiff, Manchester and London - to record over 350 up and coming UK MC's, with the best ones making it to air. Charlie Sloth, Sian Anderson, A.Dot and DJ Target were all on hand in these cities to offer advice and encouragement to these grass roots performers.

On July 4th, Radio 1 hosted a 10 hour celebration of independent record labels, with the DJs solely playing music from artists that are signed to independent record labels from 6pm-4am, and earlier in June we celebrated rock music with Radio 1's Rock all-dayer which included live performances from Twin Atlantic, All Time Low, Moose Blood, Frank Carter &the Rattlesnakes, Blink 182, Creeper, A Day to Remember, Neck Deep and Against the Current.

Add this to Radio 1's Future Festival - an annual event in January where we showcase our musical recommendations for the coming year, where in 2016 we showcased Billie Martin, Section Boyz, Vant, Nao, Rationale and Mura Masa.

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Plus, I cannot forget about one of my favourites, 1Xtra's yearly trip to Jamaica in February, where we take David Rodigan, Seani B and Toddla T to Kingston to record sessions and freestyles with some of the hottest artists. Last year's Alkaline freestyle has received almost 1.2million views on 1Xtra's YouTube channel.

With nearly 70 hours of specialist programming on Radio 1 a week, around 200 sessions a year and our work with BBC Introducing at many UK festivals, Radio 1 and 1Xtra are plugged in to the artists that are bubbling away under the mainstream. Specialist music is our life blood because they are the songs and artists of the future.
It's fantastic to see the media portraying refugees as human and hopeful and the BBC's Our Desert Home is worlds away from the regularly demonised refugees of the tabloids and poisonous political rhetoric of recent months.

The BBC has attempted to make an important and very human aspect of the Middle East crisis accessible to more people in the UK. They have focussed on the people of Za'atari, an enormous refugee camp in Jordan, telling individual stories that the viewer can relate to. It is good for more people to understand the impact of the war in Syria on individuals and the BBC doubtless had good intentions in celebrating the triumphs of normal people over difficult circumstances. However, for an aid agency like War Child, dealing with the daily consequences of this gruesome conflict this portrayal of Za'atari is problematic.

Firstly, Za'atari is an exceptional refugee camp due to particularly high levels of international funding and interest.

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The level of organisation and the standards you see in Our Desert Home are not common in the region and are certainly not the norm for the 21.3million refugees around the world. For example in many camps families are simply handed a tarpaulin to build their own structures - a far cry from the semi-permanent homes and underground sewerage in Jordan.

There is an ongoing crisis in the Central African Republic where some 415,000 people are internally displaced (IDPs). Of these around 20,000 live at M'Poko, sleeping in and beneath the fuselages of old aircraft at Bangui airport. Conditions are bleak despite the camp being nearly three years old. Furthermore, this "home" is not in the desert or the bush, but in the capital city, at the airport where passengers flying with Air France can sip champagne while looking out on the camp.

The UN and the Jordanian Government have done a great job at Za'atari which we should celebrate, but we should not let people think that this is the norm for refugees and IDPs, either in the Middle East or globally. The documentary should have put Za'atari in context before exploring life in the camp itself.

Secondly, this curated documentary of positive and hopeful experiences obscures some of the darker facts of life in Za'atari and normalises others that we should not accept.

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In the first episode we are introduced to Montaha who at 18 is getting married. She is excited about the nuptials, but regrets that the conflict has prevented her from going to university. The programme celebrates weddings happening in the camp, but fails to draw attention to the alarming prevalence of child marriage, where a lack of opportunity and economic pressures push families into marrying off their daughters at younger and younger ages.

On my last visit to Za'atari I joined a teacher providing extra tuition to two sisters who were struggling at school, during the lesson their older sister brought us tea. For this girl, only fifteen, education was over as she was to marry that Friday. The mother would have preferred all her children to continue their education, but had decided it was better to concentrate limited resources on the younger girls. To ignore this other side of marriage in Za'atari is a failure to present a true picture of life there.

Child Labour is also problematically portrayed in a positive light. We meet two young boys working at one of the camp's bike shops, the story focusses on the friendship and comradery between Mohammed and Hafez and only briefly acknowledges the long-term impact on Hafez of working full time and not going to school. The programme shies away from properly exploring this critical issue for the population.

There is a more subtle danger, where problematic scenes are overplayed by a positive narrative. In one example a young child is stitching a pair of shoes on a heavy, industrial sewing machine while the narrative explains the need for better electricity supplies and the plans for solar power. Showing a child performing dangerous and unsuitable work as the backdrop to a positive news story normalises something that should be viewed as a problem and critically explored.
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I hate Summer. Or hot weather whatever time of year it arrives. It's just so exhausting for a winter person like me.

I find myself absolutely convinced from Tuesday each week that it's actually already Thursday and, by the time I get home, most evenings I want nothing more than to Netflix and chill - literally, in front of a very big fan.

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This kind of clammy weather coupled with city pollution is utterly grim for the skin yet who has the time or inclination for all these 8-12 step pre-bedtime ablution rituals we're all supposed to be getting into?

A quick shower, face wash and moisturiser will usually do - I absolutely swear by the facewash and moisturiser by American online skincare brand Glossier which are both super gentle yet nourishing and effective plus totally affordable so obviously there's a downside: they're not available in the UK yet. Keep an eye on their site for when they (hopefully) start doing international shipping or watch to see if Net-A-Porter, who already stock their balm 3-packs, get more of the range.

Other times, especially if you've got dry skin like me, you may need to give your face a little more love. In this scenario I like to keep products to hand that I can use in that two minute window when you get a quick burst of energy after getting into bed. The sheer joy of being horizontal I'd imagine. Anyway, here's a bunch of quick and effective multi-tasking and overnight beauty products for my fellow lazy/smart/time poor friends out there.

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Pull on a SILKE London Hair Wrap (1) for a little in-bed beauty glam so you can pretend you're Sophia Loren or Joan Collins. This chic little turban doesn't just add serious glam to your beauty routine game, it's actually incredibly practical as it's great for when you need to get another day out of your hairdo. Sleeping with your hair on, or wrapped in silk helps to keep the cuticle smooth, minimising bedhead, 45 from www.silkelondon.com

2. Anne Semonin facial oils use tailored blends of trace elements and essential oils to help you wake up looking like you had 8 hours sleep, 2 litres of water and have never touched alcohol. Available as one-step or two-step formulations, these overnight drops have the added benefit - thanks to the essential oils and a bit of Parisian magic - of making you smell like you've fallen asleep in a particularly upmarket spa. The Precious Serum, 98, is designed to address hormonal imbalances, fatigue and hydrates the skin through a blend that includes Rosewood, Lavender and St John's Wort flower oil, whilst the Balancing Intensive Complex two step facial oil set , 70, combats breakouts and promotes skin healing using copper, magnesium, geranium and thyme. These and various other tailor-made, time-saving treatments available fromwww.annesemonin.com

Smooth some Doll Face Sweet Rose 5-in-1 Cleansing Cold Cream (3) over your face before you clean your teeth, wipe off then rinse and, bingo! In that time this tingly treatment will have cleansed, exfoliated, brightened and smoothed your skin, as well as removing any makeup. It's 35 but the retro-look crystal style pot makes it look far more expensive and luxurious, plus a little goes a long way. Exclusively from QVC in the UK.

4. Azure and Pink Pop Colour Refresh by Maria Nila - these Swedish vegan, sulphate and paraben free haircare products are not only super cute but they smell gorgeous and are seriously time-crunch friendly. These prettily packaged intensive conditioners help to nourish your hair whilst topping up your colour and all in just minutes! So clever. Yes it does mean putting conditioner on your roots for a good all over glossing but a quick burst of dry shampoo in the morning for volume and you won't have to worry about lank hair, plus you'll have a shiny, fresh looking do. Clever, right?! Comes in natural hair shades too, 16.99 each from www.sallyexpress.com

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Thirsty face? The Estee Edit by Estee Lauder Pink Peony Overnight Water Pack (5) is your answer. Pink Peony, goji berry, blueberry and cranberry topped with that heavyweight hydrator hyaluronic acid, make it an intensive face smoothie in gel form, that smells divine and so pretty. You can rinse it off after 15-20 minutes or leave it overnight (more likely) so it can really get to work. 34 exclusively from Selfridges.

Talking of dry shampoo - OBVS this is a hero product but I find many people use it in the morning. Personally, unless it's purely to add volume, if it's so you can go an extra day without washing your hair I prefer to apply it at night. That way, you wake up with the oil absorbed, brush your hair and you're good to go - no finding random bits of white powder in your ears during the day, etc. Dry shampoo has got a bad rap of late but using it infrequently - once between washes is generally advised - should be fine. Although there are many, many variations at all price points,If you're particularly concerned about the potential for the more chemical formulas causing thinning hair but still want to keep using it, opt for a more natural formula like Living Proof (6) or Klorane.

1. Oilixia Brilliance Facial Oil is a true multi-tasker and, as an oil, is quick and easy to apply. Don't be fooled by the name - this award-winner can be used on your face, body or hair and is made by a small batch producer who loads it with botanical oils, including Kahai Oil which contains 3 times more retinol than Rosehip Oil, 50% more vitamin E and twice the vitamin F of Argan Oil. Not too shabby, for a few seconds of application time, eh? 37 from www.oilixiaskincare.com

2. Yes to Coconuts Cleansing Wipes because yes, we are all that lazy some of the time so it pays to have some decent wipes on standby. Don't waste your money on 99p ones that are so thin they tear and you have to use three and/or strip the skin off your face. You can get reliable, gentle and effective versions that - bonus - don't stink of chemicals, for under 4. I chuck these in with my Ocado shop and can highly recommend. Yes To cleansing wipes come in Coconut, Cucumber, Grapefruit, Blueberry, Tomato and Grapefruit and cost 3.99 from loads of places, including Ocado, Boots and even ASOS so there's no excuse not to have some knocking around for emergencies.

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3. Living Proof Healthy Hair 5-in- 1 Styling Treatment does what it says on the handy, squeezy tube. Apply straight to clean, damp hair for sleek volume, heat + UV protection, conditioning and strengthening. It's sulphate, silicone and oil-free (which all means it's also good for people with thin hair as these can weigh the hair down) and trials found women saw a 69 per cent reduction in hair breakage after using this which is pretty impressive. The brand is part-owned by Jennifer Aniston so you've got to expect she has pretty high standards when it comes to haircare. 22 from www.spacenk.com

Not the first thing that would probably spring to mind as this candle is an unusual beauty multi-tasker. Light the Prismologie Indigo Interlude Massage Candle with Oud (4) to scent your bedroom as this mood enhancing candle doubles as a treatment; as the wax melts you can pour the oil from the in-built spout to massage or moisturise with. Or to pretend you're Madonna in Body of Evidence - up to you. 60 from www.prismologie.com

Chipped nails before bed and no time to repair? Bourjois Magic 2-in-1 Nail Polish Remover (5) is so simple you can almost use it to take your nail varnish off in your sleep. You literally stick your fingers in the pot one by one, twist them, wiggle and swap to the next one. I love the purple one because it comes with a handy toe polish remover swab in the bottle cap and, best of all, it smells fruity, not like standard nail varnish removers. 5.99 from Bourjois stockists including Boots and Superdrug.
In spite of a widening rift within his party, the unflappable Donald Trump has assured voters that all is well: "There is great unity in my campaign, perhaps greater than ever before," the Republican presidential nominee tweeted on Wednesday.

The move came amidst reports that some high profile conservatives may be plotting an intervention against him. Although Trump has adopted a brash approach throughout his entire bid for the White House, there is growing concern that he has finally veered completely off course.

In recent days, he has suggested that this November's election will be "rigged" whilst refusing to endorse the re-election bids of conservative House speaker Paul Ryan and 2008 presidential nominee John McCain.

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He has also insisted on continuing his row with the Khans: the parents of a Muslim American Gold Star captain who died after sacrificing his life to save fellow soldiers in Iraq.

Although the Khans criticized Trump's anti-Muslim stance at last week's Democratic Convention, the property magnate then mocked the silence of the slain soldier's mother as she stood by her husband during his speech: "Maybe she wasn't allowed to have anything to say," he retorted.

Overwhelmed by grief, Ghazala Khan later explained that she still finds it difficult to speak before a picture of her murdered son.

Although conservative lawmakers have lambasted Trump's rough handling of the Khans, only a few have actually withdrawn their endorsements.

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Appalled, Barack Obama took the unprecedented step of calling on Republicans to denounce their presidential nominee on Tuesday, describing the former Apprentice star as "unfit" for office:

"If you are repeatedly having to say in very strong terms that what he has said is unacceptable, then why are you still endorsing him? What does this say about your party that this is your standard bearer? This isn't a situation where you have an episodic gaffe. This is daily and weekly. There has to be a point at which you say, somebody who makes those kinds of statements doesn't have the judgment, the temperament, nor the understanding to occupy the most powerful position in the world."

Standing by a portrait of former Republican president Theodore Roosevelt at a White House news conference, Obama, who is enjoying strong second term ratings, said that his disdain for Trump went beyond normal partisan politics:

"There have been Republican presidents with whom I disagreed but I didn't have a doubt that they could function as president. I think that Mitt Romney and John McCain were wrong on certain policy issues, but I never thought that they couldn't do the job. But that's not the situation here."

Last week, former New York mayor Michael Bloomberg questioned Trump's sanity whilst Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton warned Americans that the tycoon did not have the temperament to be their next Commander-in-chief:

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"Donald Trump can't even handle the rough and tumble of a presidential campaign. Imagine, if you dare, imagine him in the Oval Office facing a real crisis. A man that you can bait with a tweet is not a man who can trust with nuclear weapons."

Channeling John F Kennedy, she warned that Trump could lead America into war, saying that such conflicts "were not started by big men with self-control and restraint, but by little men, the ones moved by fear and pride."

More worryingly still, according to MSNBC, Trump asked a foreign policy expert 3 times, why the U.S. has nuclear weapons if it's not willing to use them.

The controversies engulfing him may have finally dented his standing in the polls. According to a Fox survey on Wednesday, Clinton is leading her rival by 10 percentage points: 49% vs 39%.

Stuart Stevens, an advisor on Mitt Romney's 2012 presidential campaign tweeted: "The Republican Party and @realDonaldTrump is like watching the Lehman Brothers saga unfold again. The stock isn't going up. Sell now."

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But, it's still too early tell what kind of impact it will have on this November's election. After all, Trump has made a long string of blunders which range from the size of his penis to mocking a former prisoner of war for getting captured. And, although such faux pas would take down a traditional candidate, he continues to survive fairly unscathed.

In a statementTrump hit back at Obama and Clinton, and accused them of destabilising "the Middle East" and handing "Iraq, Libya and Syria to Isis," though such actions can perhaps be best attributed to the power vacuum created after toppling Saddam Hussein in 2003.

And, even though the U.S. is one of the bright spots in the global economy, he went on to add: "They have produced the worst recovery since the Great Depression."

But, perhaps one of his most controversial remarks was for the US to mend fences with Vladimir Putin. His ties to the Russian leader have been called into question following his recent call for Moscow to find and release the 30,000 emails Clinton has deleted from her private email server.

The move came after revelations that Russia may have hacked and published thousands of Democratic National Committee emails last week. The messages reveal that officials, who are meant to remain impartial, favored Hillary Clinton over her rival Bernie Sanders.

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If Putin did indeed orchestrate the hack, the question then becomes: what does the Russian leader have to gain from a Trump presidency?

As Obama delivered his searing indictment of Trump, the property mogul held a rally only 30 miles away where he received a replica of the Purple Heart medal from a veteran. After deferring military draft during the Vietnam war 5 times, he then held up the medal on stage proclaiming: "I've always wanted to get the real Purple Heart. This was much easier."

The Republican nominee also mocked a crying baby and its distressed mother at a rally in Ashburn. When the infant first started crying, Trump reassured:
This week President Barack Obama commuted the sentences of 214 people incarcerated in federal prison, almost all for drug offenses. This brings his total number of clemencies granted to 562 people. Many of those who received commutations today were victims of the disparity in sentencing between crack and cocaine. These powder/crack drug laws have managed to destroy not only the lives of those sentenced but also their families and loved ones.

In his final days in office President Obama has chosen to step up to the plate and do more to release those serving time in prison under out dated draconian drug laws. "The President should be applauded for today's action, but as his term runs out he must step up the frequency and number of commutations," said Michael Collins, deputy director at DPA's Office of National Affairs. He also said that Paul Ryan has said that the House will vote on criminal justice reform when they return in September and Mitch McConnell must make the same commitment."

The Sentencing Reform and Corrections Act, spearheaded by Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-IA), includes reductions in mandatory minimum sentences for drug offenses, an expansion of the federal "safety valve" which allows judges to use their discretion to sentence people below statutory mandatory minimums, and will expand prison programming and early release, among other things. A similar bill, championed by Bob Goodlatte (R-VA), was introduced in the House. Both bills have strong bipartisan support, and are awaiting floor action.

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As reported by the Drug Policy Alliance in the past there were many controversies surrounding the issue of crack and powder cocaine. Years ago media reports claimed that even only a single dose of crack was addictive. This lead to the mass hysteria associated with the use of crack cocaine. From this evolved the famous myth of the crack baby epidemic in the 1980s. This is now considered to be tremendously exaggerated, but at that time it compounded the problem which led to the creation of the 100 to 1 ratios used to convict drug dealers. Established by the Anti-Drug Abuse Acts of 1986 and 1988, the 100-to-1 ratio refers to the amount of crack versus powder cocaine necessary to trigger mandatory minimum prison sentences - meaning that possession of five grams of crack cocaine would mandate the same minimum sentence as 500 grams of powder cocaine.

This law stood on the books for many years and helped destroy the criminal justice system until it was revised. The revision reduced the disparity between the amount of powder and crack cocaine needed to activate criminal penalties from a 100:1 weight ratio to an 18:1 weight ratio and thus eliminated the five-year mandatory minimum sentence for simple possession of crack cocaine.

In August of 2013 I said with a swipe of his pen, President Obama could give those sentenced under those laws a second chance by giving them clemency. I pray that he shows some compassion for those who are worthy and ready to return to society. I guess President Obama heard me and with the help of Neal Pierce of the Washington Post Writers Group who wrote an excellent article on the subject in which Pierce highlighted my plea to President Obama. He went on to say:

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"And there's the question of pardons. Anthony Papa, media manager of the Drug Policy Alliance, who was imprisoned 12 years under New York State's Rockefeller drug laws before receiving clemency, says it isn't clear what the administration's new policy will mean for people now behind bars. His proposal: "Obama should use his presidential authority to pardon and, in particular, commute the sentences of people who were charged under the old 100-to-one crack to powder cocaine ratio. Society would be better served by not locking up people for extraordinarily long sentences for nonviolent, low-level drug offenses. It's a waste of tax dollars and human lives."
I am missing my family. They are at a Buddhist camp in New England, they have no cellphone signal, and I haven't spoken directly with them for 8 full days.

Have I said that I am missing my family? Achingly. I'm a train wreck without them.

I'd thought that, duped myself into thinking dreamily that, with my family away, I'd get so much more work done. That it'd be a mini vacation of sorts, a time to write whenever I wanted, without interruptions. A time to catch up on so many delayed projects.

But it turns out I like interruptions. Turns out I can't live very well, can't create very well, without them, at least, without interruptions of a family sort -- that I thrive better when I have to block out the sounds, rather than am greeted with total silence each day.

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I miss the sound of, yearn for the sound of, my children laughing, crying, bickering (a rare but endearing occurrence), talking, playing music (Cali the clarinet, Cybele the drums and piano), baking, creating (paintings, toys, swinging and shrieking on the swings outside. You name it, I miss it. Whatever sounds they make. Miss the pitter patter of Cybele's feet as she tries to keep up with her big sister. Miss her screaming whenever Cali has a friend over and they appear (mistakenly, it always turns out) to exclude her for a nanosecond.

Big sister, my first born, Cali. The person who brings me my first cup of coffee each morning of her own enthusiastic volition. Who brings me my coffee with an enormous smile, brighter than the sun. The person who enters my office later in the day, sits down at her own desk, and joins me, a fellow writer, without making a peep.

Missing missing missing her.

Cali has always been very tied to her Mommy's apron strings. But since she was a baby, whenever she has understood that her Daddy is going to be away for a stretch of time, she all of a sudden only wants to be with me. (I'll never forget the first time I came back home after being away for about 10 days -- I have never seen such a joyful child in my life, never been part of such a beautiful reunion; and when I even went outside for a moment over the days proceeding this trip, my then 13-month-old would scream to high heaven, thinking that Daddy was going away again.)

This time, it was her turn to go away. A first. That night, she crawled into my side of the bed, hugged me tightly, and fell fast asleep, never letting go of me for the entire evening. I didn't sleep a wink. I was mindfully enjoying her embrace, knowing that the following morning at the wee hours she would be on her way with Mommy and Cybele on a big adventure to New England.

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I haven't spoken directly with Cali since. I miss her voice, miss everything about her. Miss her Mommy and little sister.

Cali told me just before leaving, "Daddy, just take it one day at a time, and before you know it, we'll be back!"

Wise, wise counsel from my muse, and comforting. But now I've reached my threshold, my absolute limit for missing my family. I can't stand being away from her, from my family, for another second. I've discarded an essay i was going to write on the joys of solitude. Solitude, schmolitude. I want family noise. It's a kind of disequilibrating inspiration (how's that for a characterization) that I realize now is the bedrock of my writing.

If I wasn't so broke, I am sure I would fly to Vermont this very instance. Instead, I am writing here about how much I miss them, how much I yearn to have my little muse greet me with a cup of coffee and then join me in our shared quest to put words to blank paper (wish I had her facility for doing so, but at least I have the honor of being in her company).

One thing's for certain -- the next time Cali is playing her clarinet at all hours, the music breaking my concentration as it blasts through our 'open design' house, I will never ever, ever again ask her to stop. Never ever ever. I will appreciate her soulful attempts at making music like never before, and will learn how to write in harmony with her hours and hours of practice.

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Honored guests, friends, families, fellow plaintiffs and Mr. Trump Cardboard Cut-Out Photo Op.

I am proud to be your class valedictorian for 2016. I am also proud of the fact that we are the first graduating class from the "Trump Entrepreneur Initiative" as the New York State Education Department warned that Trump University was in violation of state laws for operating without a NYSED license.

When I first attended the 90-minute introductory seminar a mere two weeks ago, (time really flies right?) I would say that the first thing that helped me make my decision to attend TU was when I was water boarded by the recruits. Glug-glug. Good times. Right?

It was actually a very persuasive tactic and quite prescient in that I am now drowning in debt and can no longer feed my family.

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What I learned during those initial 90 minutes was how to engage in a methodical, systematic series of misrepresentations which were designed to convince we students to sign up for the three-day seminar for $1495.00.

You see? I was already closer to being just like Mr. Trump in less than two hours! Now THAT is a miracle!

Everything that we were promised did not come true, but such is life which I believe was lesson one here at TU. In fact that I think that was the only lesson that we learned here.

By being a victim you learn never to be one again. So, gracias, Senior Trump Cardboard Cut-Out. Gracias.

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Being a Gold Elite graduate, and having paid out $60,000.00 for that privilege, I was disappointed that I did not get to meet the "mentors" that were "handpicked" by Mr. Trump. But we did see the back of Mrs. Trump's head once as she was stepping into the limousine whose trunk was full of TU tuition cash. I hear that they made a few brief stops at Cartier and Tiffany's before heading to the airport to fly to the Turks and Caicos Islands where I hear Mr. Trumps two sons, Fredo and Fredo, Jr., enjoy hunting local servants for sport.

Now I did find out that all the textbooks and materials for TU were not written by real estate experts but rather by motivational speakers and seminar and time share rental companies. But they were very inspiring. I particularly enjoyed the passages by Michelle Bachmann, Scott Baio and Omorosa.

Every school has admission standards and TU is no exception.

The standard here is: "all payments must be received in full" which is better than Yale or Harvard because here at TU you don't need high test scores.

All you need is a valid credit card with a super high limit. Christmas be damned! I'm going to be a success!

I actually volunteered to work the tables at subsequent seminars and was told under NO circumstance to talk to any members of the press as they are rarely on your side, are Trump haters, liars, crooked and the devil.

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I was also instructed that if the District Attorney arrives on the scene to throw a lit match on all the materials and then dial 1-800-Rip-Offs which is the schools number. I was to scream "Scam alert!" hang-up and say nothing until Mr. Trump's elite team of fast talking lawyers showed up to neutralize the situation.

Now some of Mr. Trump's most ardent followers have criticized me for being so gullible and have said online that I therefore deserved what I got which is just like Eric's view of sexual harassment.

I think the reason that they think that is because deep down inside they identify with me.

I mean anyone who believes in anyone who exhibits such traits as superficial charm, a grandiose notion of self-worth, the need for stimulation and impulsiveness, pathological lying, the ability to manipulate others and a lack of remorse and empathy is just as stupid as I am.
As readers may already know, I used my space here to draw attention to Barry Silbert's Ethereum Classic scam. You can read that coverage here and here.

A source assures me Classic meets the loose definition of a scam: it is in no way Ethereum. It is just an insecure orphan chain which is being promoted by a wealthy guy in New York, relentlessly, in a way that would be absolutely illegal if "Ethereum" were a publicly traded company or commodity - which it may well be one day soon, in some form.

Ethereum inventor Vitalik Buterin has publicly pledged "100%" of his support to ETH, the main blockchain for the Ethereum community.

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Especially in light of Mr. Silbert's prior cryptocurrency run-in with the S.E.C., my source suggests a second look from authorities might result in more than a slap on the wrist this time, especially since CoinDesk - a leading cryptocurrency media outlet wholly acquired by Mr. Silbert's Digital Currency Group recently - has shifted to a "discernible" and "biased" promotional strategy for Classic since the acquisition.

"Kathryn [Haun] owes you a drink," the source joked, referring to assistant U.S. attorney Kathryn Haun, who heads up the digital currency crimes office for the United States Dept. of Justice in San Francisco.

Nearly a week after our first stories about Mr. Silbert broke, he finally responded to my multiple public inquiries asking for an explanation. "Yeah, I care what you think," Mr. Silbert tweeted to my personal Twitter account.

It's not what I think that remotely matters, Mr. Silbert. It's the Ethereum investors, the Ethereum developers, the American and international corporations developing on Ethereum, and the law enforcement community - they are the ones who want answers, not me.

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I couldn't care less.
USA, Washington State, Bellevue, Interlake High School

I taught freshman English at the college level for almost 20 years. My courses covered the typical freshman comp essentials: the five-paragraph essay, critical thinking, logical fallacies, and clarity of language.

I think that's why today's political climate creates so much despair in me. As a teacher, I started with a premise that is really the foundation of all of education: that reason and discourse trumped -- oh, the irony -- all else. In other words, to be an adult in this complicated world, we had to learn how to make a cogent argument, prove a point, and say something that might help others see your point of view, while considering all other arguments.

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Mr. Trump, you would have failed my course miserably. In fact, any Trump supporter who ignores the basic truths of his candidacy would also probably fail, after getting back marked-up papers from me with comments like "huh?" and "where is the evidence for this?"

Especially in my argument courses, where it didn't matter what topic a student chose as long as he could bring in evidence to support it. I even remember the student who wanted to argue that Tupac Shakur was still alive. Remember 1996? Okay, I might have laughed at that idea. No disrespect, man.

But overall my students selected fascinating topics for research and debate. Even the personal essays I had them write had to have a foundation. Don't just say you were sad when you didn't make the swim team. Show it. Did you hug a friend? Splash the water? Have a fight with your mom?

But it was the classes on argument that I felt I could have the greatest effect on my students (who, by the way, have gone on to become clerks for federal judges, loving parents, and intelligent writers -- and those are just the few who have kept in touch).

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When I taught argument and critical thinking, I argued that it didn't mean that everyone needed to go on to a career in writing. So many careers require the ability to think through the muddle of information out there. Getting to that point meant they had to develop a convincing argument and lay out their case with evidence. Emotion could come in, but only at the service of truth.

I loved the time I devoted to logical fallacies in particular. It was almost a game, and I could pick up the newspaper nearly every morning and tell students, "Find the logical fallacy in this argument."

Today, logical fallacies from the Trump campaign rule the day. Let's look at some of my favorite examples. I can't list them all. There isn't enough room or time in my day to lay them out. Besides, some logical fallacies are based on the premise that an arguer is actually trying to build some kind of case. But here's a start.

Ad hominem attack. This is an argument directed at a person rather than the position they maintain. Now Donald Trump says he's being "viciously" attacked because his critics have some beef with his statements. That's not an ad hominem attack. But he, in fact, uses the fallacy all the time. If a reporter asks a tough question, he's a "loser." If an opponent challenges him, he'll comment on the state of their marriage, their size ("little Marco Rubio"), or their face (Carly Fiorina).

Red herring. That's when the person distracts the debate from the real issue at hand. When Ted Cruz started to make headway against Trump in some states, Trump questioned whether his birth in Canada would make him ineligible for the presidency. When asked about his immigration policy, Trump famously said that Mexico had conspired to send murderers and rapists into this country. Or when Kizr Khan says at the Democratic convention that Trump is insulting Muslim service members, Trump asks why Kahn's wife didn't speak.

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Straw man fallacy. If you are challenged, knock down a different, weaker, or irrelevant point, a "straw man." When the Trump campaign put out an anti-Semitic ad against Hillary Clinton showing her with a Star of David and a pile of money, Trump's response was that the sticker book for the Disney movie "Frozen" also had a star on it.

False attribution. When a person uses an unqualified or made-up source of information. This one is kind of a mixture of several fallacies. In criticizing Ted Cruz, Trump cites the National Enquirer as proof that Cruz's father was with Kennedy assassin Lee Harvey Oswald before he was shot. (Points, also for red herring, ad hominem)

Appeal to fear. Trump plays on our fears of terrorism, crime, and other bad things in the world to say that he alone can protect us.

Appeal to emotion. We are the best; the rest of the world is taking advantage of us.

Hasty generalization. If Muslim extremists have done some of the terror in this country, we should ban all Muslims from entering. (This one is another blob of fallacies and plain old racism.)

Appeal to authority. In most cases, that means an arguer says that if an expert in something says it, it must be so. In Donald Trump's case, he's the expert, and we should just trust him because he alone can fix our problems. That's beyond a logical fallacy; it's hubris, which in many religions is a sin and in a democracy is just scary. I'll leave the moral arguments for another day.

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I'm not saying that Hillary Clinton hasn't taken a few logical shortcuts of her own, but Donald Trump is the living proof of what happens when logical fallacies abscond with reason.
Of the innumerable moments in your parenthood journey, saying goodbye to your son or daughter as they leave for college is one of the most significant. Many years and countless hours of preparation have led to this major milestone. In the days and weeks preceding their departure, communication remains paramount. Refer to my tips below to get the conversation started.

1. Make a communication plan.

Discuss how much you "expect" to be contacted during the week. It's critical for parents to understand their college student can't respond immediately to every text or call. Be respectful of their independence and full schedule.



2. Discuss expectations.

This may be the first time your child is managing a budget on their own, and it might take a little while to figure out. Establish a clear budget and talk about what happens if they run out of money, how to handle a financial emergency, and who to call first. They are entering a new academic environment; unrealistic expectations about grades (on either side) should be avoided. It takes some kids a semester or two to get acclimated to their schedule and workload.



3. Review safety concerns.

Be proactive when talking about their welfare. Attend parent orientations and learn what safety courses are available on campus. Have a candid conversation with your child on real dangers and precautions they should take. For example, travel in a group, avoid running or exercising on a track alone, take out your earbuds and stay alert, and sign up for a self-defense class before arriving at campus.



4. Send care packages.

A good way to keep in touch without over managing is an occasional box filled with their favorite things. A roll of quarters for laundry, toiletries, a bag of candy, and a handwritten note will be a welcome treat.

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5. Don't stalk them on social media.

While you may feel free to monitor their page, "liking" every post and commenting on everything they do will make them feel like you are watching their every move. Be mindful of their comfort level regarding your involvement on their social media accounts. Ask them what they prefer and respect their input.

6. It's not personal.

If you don't hear from your son as often as you hoped, or your daughter wants to spend the weekend or holidays at her roommate's home, understand that it is part of asserting their independence. You are the foundation, and your child is learning how to spread their wings. Avoid the guilt trips and tears.

7. No surprises.

If you plan to make your son or daughter's room into your dream office, let them know before they come home to visit. While they may appear to "have it all together," they may feel they have lost their roots if you implement major changes without a heads up. They may be going through their own quiet separation anxiety, and coming home to a fold out bed in your new digs may be overwhelming.

8. Discover a new hobby.

If you are an empty nester, now is a great opportunity to find something that excites you. Not keeping yourself busy may put unnecessary pressure on your young adult child to feel responsible for your happiness while they are trying to adjust to life on their own.

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Make a point of meeting people, reestablishing relationships with those you care about but lost contact with throughout the years, take a yoga class, or learn a new skill. You will have interesting things to talk about with your child as you model what a healthy transition looks like.

9. Don't overschedule their lives when they come home.

Let them breathe. They will no doubt have multiple people they want to catch up with after being gone for several months. Let them enjoy their break and consider having their friends over for a get-together at your house if you really want to have your kid nearby.

10. Relax.

Feel secure that this is a growing experience for everyone, and it's the next step to building an evolved, stronger relationship with your maturing "adult kid." They always come back to visit the nest!

And, finally, for parents with kids entering, or still in high school, Mark Reford, Chief Business Development and Brand Officer at BASIS Educational Ventures, told US News, "Don't be in touch too often." His advice: "If you have a child in high school and you are touching base with your kid's teachers on a daily or weekly basis, then you are profoundly disempowering your child." He goes on to say, "The message you are sending is, 'I don't trust you to handle yourself.'"

High school is a time where parents need to allow their kids to become independent and learn to problem solve on their own. A parent can parent while teaching their teen how to start taking the reins.

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Turkey was convulsed by the recent attempted coup. Nominally democratic but in practice increasingly authoritarian, the government of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has initiated a broad crackdown that goes well beyond the military. He has the makings of becoming another Vladimir Putin--except supposedly on America's side, but even that is up for debate.

Turkey's dubious evolution should remind Americans how hard it is for U.S. officials to play social engineers to the world. Instead of constantly meddling in hopes of "fixing" other nations, Washington should step back when its interests are not vitally affected, which is most of the time. The physicians' injunction, "First do no harm," would be a good principle for American foreign policy.

Ankara joined NATO during the Cold War. The U.S. was not much concerned about whether Turkey was a democracy. Washington wanted to secure the Balkans and project U.S. power into the Middle East. Containment of the Evil Empire was the principal objective.

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That policy should have expired with the collapse of the Soviet Union and dissolution of the Warsaw Pact. Friendship rather than alliance should have become America's objective. By then Turkey was nominally a parliamentary democracy, but the military still wielded extraordinary power, overthrowing an elected government as late as 1997.

Unfortunately, Washington decided to use its new "unipower" status to attempt to micro-manage the Middle East. Consecutive administrations launched a succession of ill-considered interventions.

The George H.W. Bush administration's first Gulf War was followed by constant bombing of Iraq throughout the Clinton administration. George W. Bush initiated two wars and ended up nation-building for years in both Afghanistan and Iraq.

The Obama administration added Libya, the anti-ISIS campaign in Iraq and Syria, aid to Syrian insurgents, support for Saudi Arabia's attack on Yemen, and drone campaigns in Pakistan and Yemen. Washington oft relied on bases in Turkey. The one time Ankara said no, in 2003, America's deputy defense secretary suggested that the military straighten out the civilian government.

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However, Erdogan transformed Turkish politics. He started as a reformer and won support in the U.S. and Europe. They looked at Turkey as the model of a moderate, democratic Islamic state.

President Barack Obama even visited Turkey, where he lectured the European Union on why that organization should include Ankara. One can, of course, imagine the American reaction if the German chancellor visited Mexico and urged Washington to inaugurate a North American Union.

But around 2010 the Turkish experiment began to go sour. Erdogan dropped his liberal veneer. He seemed to mutate into a corrupt and authoritarian throwback to Turkey's seamy past. He also pushed a more fundamentalist Islam into the public sphere. He did not react well to criticism from his one-time friends in America and Europe.

Erdogan also went AWOL on foreign policy. In an apparent fit of personal pique he decided he wanted to overthrow his former ally, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, and sought to drag the U.S. into that conflict. But until recently Erdogan turned a blind eye to the Islamic State's use of Turkey as a base and transit route to Syria.

Then last fall Ankara risked a confrontation with Russia, shooting down one of the latter's warplanes for briefly violating Turkish airspace. Erdogan recently decided to repair that relationship. Washington found itself uncomfortably tied to his increasingly erratic and repressive role.

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Although the U.S. opposed the putsch and backed Erdogan as the legitimately elected president, conspiracy theories involving Washington were rife in Turkey. The labor secretary charged: "The U.S. is behind the coup." America had intervened so long in Turkish affairs that some Turks couldn't believe it wasn't doing so again. Secretary of State John Kerry rushed to show America's support.

The U.S.-Turkey relationship shows how hard it is to stop meddling once you start. Washington is constantly (and usually futilely) involved, attempting to reshape the Mideast. That requires Turkish assistance. Which in turn requires friendship with whatever government is in power, no matter how antithetical to U.S. values.

Which leads to suspicions about American against the regime. Which requires a fervent show of support in response. Which ...
FILE - In this July 8, 2016 file photo, Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton speaks in Philadelphia. In a summer of political and racial tumult, young Americans are in a dour mood: pessimistic about the fairness of the economic system, questioning the greatness of the U.S. and wondering about the effectiveness of how the nation picks its leaders. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke, File)

Written by Helen Berger, author of Teenage Witches:Magical Youth and the Search for Self

Edited by Ruth Nemzoff

Hillary is the devil. Uhm, sounds like we have traveled back to Salem, Massachusetts in 1692. Think this is silly or is just a metaphor? But you don't trust Hillary? Well then think again you are part of the mob that helped to hang those witches on a roadside hill. Not bad people then or now, just those who are blinded by their own labels.

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During the witch craze, certain women became labeled as witches because they made their neighbors uncomfortable by begging for food or because they were slightly wealthier than those around them. Once a few neighbors started to question these women's character, all their behaviors became filtered through this lens. If they said "hello" it was with ill intent, if they didn't talk it was clearly because they were doing evil. In hindsight, the Witch trials were a sin against the accused. They were victims of fear and hate. But labeling continues. If we think someone is a thief we think everything they do is nefarious. If they say what a pretty ring, we wonder if they are planning to steal it.

Hillary has been labeled dishonest. And now we filter her behavior through this interpretation. While the news agencies show with data that she is more honest than her rivals, the facts have no effect. She is seen as calculating in every word she says.

Labels serve a social purpose. They provide us with an easy way to process social data, and there is just so much of it every day that we need short cuts. It is helpful to realize that most of what our "crazy uncle" says is meaningless so that we don't waste too much time listening. But, labels may also come to rule our thinking and our actions. They may stop us from hearing what that uncle has to say that is of import. They may result in our discounting a person who should not be discounted. They may result in our labeling someone a witch to be hanged on a hillside only to carry the burden of that action in our collective guilt. Labels and those we label need to be reviewed and revised. For me the label I attach to Hillary is hard working and conscientious. Those aren't exciting, but life is exciting enough, what I want is competent. And she is very competent.

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How did Hillary get those negative labels if she doesn't deserve them? There have been endless hearings about one thing or another, and conspiracy theories that go from the improbable to the absurd. Millions have been spent on trying to nail Hillary but there's never been anything there. She is not perfect but honestly who is--certainly no one I really know. Heck, even Harry Potter was not perfect. Hillary has spent most of her life in public service, she has fought for families, for women, for minorities. She tried to get universal health care for all Americans. She failed, but since when do we pillory those who give it good try even if they don't fully make it. She has made some errors too, but again who hasn't. And we don't seem to hold other politicians to the same standards as her. Why is that?
Silence = Death. This is perhaps the single most important equation I learned in medical school. It was not taught to me by my professors, but rather by heroes of the early years in the fight against HIV/AIDS. The now iconic image of resistance--a pink triangle--was taken from the Nazi regime, who used an inverted triangle to designate homosexuals. The image of the upright triangle and the equation "Silence = Death" dates back to 1987, when young gay men, fighting for their own survival against the HIV/AIDS epidemic, started to organize against the disease's assault on their freedom to live.

The call of Silence = Death was perhaps most directed to the federal government, which had a tragically inept response to HIV/AIDS. President Regan himself, articulate and forceful on other issues of global security and freedom, did not utter the words HIV/AIDS publicly until after 20,849 Americans had lost their lives and the disease had spread to over 110 countries. This was the horrific cost of mass homophobia.

Silence = Death is an indelible symbol of the possibilities posed by democracy; this image, created six years into the epidemic, helped propel a social movement that would produce a cocktail of life-saving medications in the form of highly active antiretrovirals by 1996. This image has been front and center in my mind since the terror attack on a gay night club in Orlando, where 49, largely black and Latino members of the LGBT community were massacred by an assault rifle-bearing, homophobic American man pledging allegiance to ISIS. The message of Silence = Death could not be more tragically relevant.

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The Orlando massacre was not the act of a foreign power. Omar Mateen was an American monster. Born and raised in America, educated in America, radicalized in America, and led to believe gays should die in America. His father (also an American citizen) clearly has warped views on homosexuality that came from his own bigoted reading of Islam. Mr. Mateen's views on homosexuality are not fundamentally different from the homophobia throughout our country--the same homophobia that denies constitutional rights to the LGBT community, which discriminates against the LGBT community from classrooms to restrooms to locker rooms, and which makes LGBT citizens feel isolated. Hate is not a power we can control. "Soft" bigotry, like saying gays can't marry, transgendered people can't use this bathroom, or calling someone a faggot in the locker room is both offensive in their specific instance and part of a broader assault on basic freedoms. And those instances can then compile over the course of a lifetime to make individuals susceptible to violent extremist ideologies, as was the case with Mr. Mateen and ISIS.

We are all complicit in this act of hate and terror. Defending bigotry in the name of so-called religious freedom does not make us a more free society nor safer from terrorism. I'll speak to the religion of my upbringing: Christianity. Since the time of Christ, people have warped the Bible for their own sectarian aims and used Christianity to justify war, slavery, racism, homophobia, and backwards beliefs about the solar system and evolution. Yet, on the other side, Christianity has played a fundamental role in the social movements for abolition, decolonization, desegregation, economic justice, and LGBT rights. It has been the spiritual fuel that has empowered communities to overcome unimaginable forms of oppression.

Religion can be a tremendous force for good, or it can be used as a justification for dogma and hatred. Religion can be a source of deep reflection and inquiry--an essential asset, incidentally, to scientific discovery--or it can be used as an excuse to stop thinking and stop questioning our assumptions. It is upon us, our communities, and our leaders to decide. We need to stop blaming the Bible or the Quran on homophobia, but rather understand the roots of bigotry within our families and communities - and hold to task Christians and Muslims who shield themselves from their bigotry by staying the unquestionable truth of their particular interpretation of their texts. This is a global phenomenon. Ugandan Christians stone homosexuals to death, and the state sponsors the execution of homosexuals; American pastors have had significant influence there, too. Saudi Arabian state-sponsored Wahhabi Islamists execute homosexuals. America can choose to lead in this global cause of freedom, or it can choose to be complicit.

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The response to militant Islamist groups like ISIS and al Qaeda demands multiple strategies--part military, part national security systems, part diplomatic approaches with allies. The part that is increasingly underappreciated is the vital role that protecting our basic freedoms play in isolating and defeating terror. Hate begets hate, especially in this globalized world. The global community can be victorious against ISIS militarily, and constrict the areas of land under its control. Even then, there will be underground communities that can reach vulnerable youths with their messages of hate. Indeed, intelligence information to date suggests that Orlando was attacked not by a soldier of ISIS but by one its lonely, isolated admirers. In this sense, he shares a lot in common with another American monster, Dylan Roof, who committed his terror attack almost a year prior at a black Church in Charleston 300 miles to the north, under the banner of white supremacy. Calling Dylan Roof or Omar Mateen "lone wolfs" completely understates the deep cultural, and global, roots of both the persistence of the memes of hate groups and the appeal of them to susceptible young men.
Antonio Guterres speaks to reporters on the selection of the next UN Secretary-General at the UN headquarters in New York, on April 12,2016.Over the next three days, eight contenders are expected to take the podium before the General Assembly's 193 nations to lay out their vision for the job and answer questions. The hearings are part of a broad push for transparency in the selection of Ban Ki-moon's successor, who will lead an organization of 40,000-plus employees with a budget of $10 billion. / AFP / KENA BETANCUR (Photo credit should read KENA BETANCUR/AFP/Getty Images)

UNITED NATIONS - Former Portuguese Prime Minister Antonio Guterres again topped a straw poll for the ninth U.N. Secretary-General of the United Nations. But ballots for the 11 candidates showed many negative votes, signaling a deadlock until the next poll -- or the one after that.

Guterres, until recently, was the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, a post he held for 10 years. On Friday the 15 UN Security Council members voted for the second time and gave him 11 "encouragements", two "discouragements", and two "no decisions". In the previous poll he received 12 encouragements and three "no decisions."

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His tally showed that despite his high standing, negative votes were mounting for each candidate. Said one Council diplomat: "There is no sure bet for at this time. It is getting tougher for all of them."

In a convoluted procedure, all 15 Security Council members vote for each of the 12 candidates, casting a total of 180 ballots. There was no distinction among the veto-bearing five -- the United States, Russia, China, Britain and France -- who will have the final word. The voting is secret and the results are secret, a peculiar decision since they spread quickly.

The lack of transparency is unusual since General Assembly President Mogens Lykketoft insisted each candidate appear for questioning before the full U.N. membership, the first time this occurred in the 70-year history of the organization.

In second place was Vuk Jeremic, a dynamic former Serbian foreign minister and a former president of the UN General Assembly. He received eight votes in favor, four against, and three no decisions. It is questionable whether the Western countries will support him.

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Third, was Susana Malcorra, the foreign minister of Argentina, said to be a favorite of the United States and until recently was the chief of staff for Ban Ki-moon. She got eight votes in favor, six against and one no decision.

And women? Despite the valiant lobbying of Colombian Ambassador Maria Emma Mejia seeking support for a female secretary-general, it appears this is more of a hope than a reality this year.

Eleven candidates are in the race so to replace Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, whose 10 years in office expires in December. Seven are from Eastern Europe, which insists on a turn for secretary-general. Three are women, one of them already more or less eliminated in the informal poll and another withdrew this week. The other four from outside the region include three women and one man.

More often than not, the contest of wills among five veto-bearing countries reflects parochial interests rather than what is best for the organization. How the election will be resolved should tell people a great deal about who will influence the world body in the next five years.The other candidates are: In order of votes received, they include Danilo Turk in fourth place. He was the former president of Slovenia, a former high-ranking official in the UN Political Affairs Department and in second place in the previous poll; Irina Bokova, the director of the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), Srgjan Kerim, a former Macedonian foreign minister and UN General Assembly president; and Helen Clark, the former New Zealand prime minister and head of the UN Development Program.

Low on the list were Cristiana Figueres of Costa Rica, who championed the UN climate change operation; Natalie Gherman, the former deputy prime minister of Moldova; Miroslav Lajcak, Slovakia's foreign minister and the former High Representative for Bosnia; and Igor Luksic, foreign affairs minister of Montenegro.

Vesna Pusic, a professor and former foreign minister of Croatia, withdrew her candidacy this week.

Unknown is whether Russia will insist on an Eastern European secretary-general, a region that that is a leftover from the Cold War since most of its member nations are in the European Union. Yet its candidates have argued that these countries opened their borders that resulted in the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989 and that the area has never had a secretary-general.
2016 may go down as the year America finally woke up to the addiction crisis.

Just last month, President Obama signed the first comprehensive federal response to the epidemic, a bipartisan bill that dedicates new resources to prevention and treatment and treats addiction like the public health crisis that it is.

Maryland, Wisconsin and Massachusetts all passed laws this year related to Prescription Drug Monitoring Programs (PDMPs) to prevent thousands from falling into the cycle of addiction - and that will help treat those that still do. I'm very hopeful that California, the state with the most overdose deaths in the nation, will soon join them. Legislators there can save so many lives by approving Senator Ricardo Lara's SB482 when it comes up for a final vote this month.

None of this is enough, but at least it shows our elected officials finally realize the scope of this epidemic.

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By now you've heard the numbers, but they are so staggering they bear repeating:

Between 1999 and 2014, nearly half a million Americans died from an overdose of opioid painkillers (such as Vicodin and OxyContin) or heroin, also an opioid.

In 2014, more Americans died of drug overdoses than in car crashes - making it the leading cause of accidental death in the U.S.

Nearly 5 million of our friends and family are currently addicted to prescription opioids or heroin.

We know how to solve the problem. We just need the will to do it.

One evidence-based solution that we at Shatterproof have been pushing is for states to require their prescribers to use a PDMP to track a patient's prescription history. This will alert doctors to early signs of addiction, such as doctor-shopping. It will also prevent them from accidently prescribing a drug that could be lethal in combination with another drug the patient is taking. (For example, taking an opioid like Vicodin and a sedative like Xanax quadruples the risk of overdose.)

PDMPs exist in 49 states, plus the District of Columbia. But only 9 require their use. Studies show that when it isn't required, doctors rarely use them - and where they are required, they save lives. Kentucky saw a 13% decline in prescription opioids dispensed. New York saw a 9% reduction. Tennessee opioid prescriptions fell by 7%. And every percentage point reduction in prescriptions corresponds with a minimum 1% reduction in overdose deaths.

As referenced, more people are dying in California than anywhere else - 4,521 overdose deaths in 2014. Legislators in Sacramento have the chance right now to make a real difference, both for its citizens and all their fellow Americans. They can approve SB482, a bill that would require the state's doctors to use its PDMP, known as CURES 2.0. The full state Assembly is expected to vote on it this week.

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By fully utilizing technology the state has already invested in, we can save thousands of California families from being shattered.

California legislators must show the leadership we as parents deserve. The bill passed through a key committee back in June, by a bipartisan vote of 16-0. Every member, Democrat and Republican, spoke in favor of SB482.
Marketing in today's noisy world requires you to be hyper-aware of new techniques and the tools to ensure your success. In fact, you have to use all the tools available to you to stay sharp, develop powerful strategies and fine-tune your plans.

This journey begins by shifting your mindset from the traditional methods you might have memorized, which were supposed to lead to success. The American dream used to be to work hard and prosper. Well, times have changed -- and your goals require the use of modern tools to ensure you are maximizing your exposure and reducing threats.

CEOs need to know it is their responsibility to understand they are in a marketing, advertising and promotional business. And in fact, the product may not be as important as their marketing plan. These mind-melds are critical to rewire your success.

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To bring you today's newest approaches, I contacted Ed O'Keefe to see what is working today on launching a new product. O'Keefe invented of the "Time Collapse" theory and is the founder of EOK Marketing. Let's look at the exact tools you use each an every day (and a few new ones too) and see how they can be used to improve your competitive advantage.

O'Keefe says to start with the foundational tools that allow you to research traffic on your websites like

,

or

. These tools allow you to see all the proven, most successful products in your chosen category. Once you have downloaded your traffic analysis software, move on to these unfamiliar -- yet highly effective -- tips designed to give your business the edge of gathering information before implementation.

Minimum Buyable Testing: This describes the process of discerning if a product will be profitable before investing time and energy into the launch. For example, a camping supply company would, following traditional marketing methodology, likely purchase inventory and then attempt to drum up customers interested in buying their wares. While this is long-practiced behavior, it is also risky. Instead of adapting the outmoded practices to turn a profit, you could create a site, post your product, buy Facebook ads and send customers to your store. When people purchase, and to obtain your inventory, head on over to eBay and purchase the products for less than the market, then ship to your customers. This is an innovative rehearsal before the show before you order before you expend huge amounts of time, energy and money you won't be able to recover from. The Goof-proof Product Launch: If you are thinking of selling a product or service, find the target market, then buy an email list and set up your PPC advertising. Promote competitor's products as an affiliate to see if anyone buys. You will learn at least seven to 10 days sooner what it is going to cost you per lead and what it will cost you to acquire a sale. This is one of the pivotal components of O'Keefe's Time Collapse theory -- if we make a mistake, it's not a big deal, because we won't be out tens of thousands of dollars. The Amazon Market Research Method: This one is so simple - but many people overlook it! Use Amazon or another digital marketplace for their algorithms and programs. You can see what the best sellers are in all the categories and try to determine why these products are selling so well and what opportunities in your niche might be available based on the data. This is valuable info you can use to help position your products and prices. Much better than "guesstimating" (yes, I know this is not a real word) or conducting your surveys, which might be fallible and that contain variables which may go unnoticed and uncounted. Make Spam Your BFF: Get on every mailing list possible in your market using a temporary email. Let all the promos and ads come in for one month, then sort by subject line. Your results will be listed out by volume and will bring to the top the headlines and promotions that are getting mailed (and at times mailed from multiple lists). This is an indication of what sales offer is working, because the algorithm lays it out that way. Open the emails and grab the website links. Next, go to your traffic research site, plug in the URLs and determine if that site has a working sales process. If everything in that aspect looks healthy, then set to work improving the process for your prospects. The Facebook Sponsorship Analysis: Sign up to on the websites of the top vendors in your market to see which ads they are using. Once you do, you will see retargeting ads popping up of you to use a screen grab tool to keep a library of the sponsor ads being used by your market. Gather the URLs from these ads and feed them into your traffic tool to gauge the ads working in the sales process -- you know, the ones making a ton of money.

In today's crazy competitive market, you have to use unorthodox ways to analyze the profitability of your marketing efforts. Each of these techniques involves unique ways to add to your research and strategic planning. Use each of these as they give you different perspectives to ensure a fail-proof launch.
This article was coauthored with Noah Williams, a Research Assistant at Ploughshares Fund.

Even in the most powerful country on earth, nuclear materials are dangerously vulnerable.

In a recent expose for the Center for Public Integrity, Patrick Malone details a covert operation by Government Accountability Office (GAO) agents who set out to "obtain the building blocks of a so-called radioactive 'dirty bomb.'" Their method? Buy all of their hazardous materials inside the United States.

As Malone notes, "The purchase of lethal radioactive materials - even modestly dangerous ones - requires a license from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), a measure meant to keep them away from terrorists. Applicants must demonstrate they have a legitimate need and understand the NRC's safety standards, and pass an on-site inspection of their equipment and storage."

But the team's work-around was shockingly simple: they faked the licensing process.

In Dallas, Texas, they incorporated a shell company they never intended to run and rented office space in a nondescript industrial park, merely to create an address for the license application. In a spot on the form where they were supposed to identify their safety officer, they made up a name and attached a fake resume... When the state's inspector visited the fake office, he saw it was empty and had no security precautions. But members of the group assured him that once they had a license, they would be able to make the security and safety improvements. So the inspector, who always carried licenses with him, handed them one on the spot.

This is scary stuff, because once you have access to radioactive material, you don't have far to go to build a dirty bomb.

Unlike a nuclear weapon, a dirty bomb is just a conventional explosive laced with a small amount of radioactive material. It would not level a city or kill millions of people outright, but a crude bomb containing only a few ounces of radioactive material could lead to billions or even trillions of dollars in long term healthcare costs, economic damages and environmental cleanup.

As I wrote last year, "This is a true terrorist weapon that would spread throughout a city, a potent fear that exposure would cause cancer, birth defects or heavy metal poisoning over the years." Fear like that could shut down a city. Thus a dirty bomb attack in a major commercial center like the port of Los Angeles or Manhattan, that might only kill a few people in the blast, could cripple the U.S. economy.

As the former Deputy Chief of the New York Fire Department wrote in a study for the Naval Postgraduate School, "losses resulting from [a dirty bomb] attack in the area of the New York Stock Exchange could actually reach $1 trillion."

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Even more concerning though, this is the second time in nine years that the GAO team has beaten the regulatory system. According to Malone's piece:

In 2007... the GAO similarly set up fake businesses, got licenses to purchase low-level radioactive material and altered them to buy larger quantities. The NRC promised 'immediate action to address the weaknesses we identified,' according to the GAO's report on that incident. The auditors' aim this time around was to see if the government had cleaned up its act, and taken steps to close some simple gateways to obtaining the ingredients for a dirty bomb. It turns out, the government had not.

This begs the question: if the situation is this bad in the United States what must it be like in the rest of the world?

Late last year, radioactive material was stolen in Iraq, and was only found - dumped near a gas station - after a months-long search. That same year, the FBI broke up a smuggling ring in Moldova that was attempting to sell nuclear materials to terrorists. Dangerous groups have made it clear that they want to get their hands on the components of a dirty bomb, and they have the opportunity to do so.

The Nuclear Threat Initiative's most recent Nuclear Security Index shows that global progress on securing radioactive materials has slowed dramatically over the past two years. According to the report, "states' approaches to nuclear security continue to vary widely, thereby creating dangerous weak links that terrorists could exploit as they seek the easiest path to weapons-usable nuclear materials."

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As grim as the situation seems, there are still many common sense steps that can be taken to reduce the risk of nuclear terrorism. Sam Nunn, a former senator and the co-chairman and CEO of NTI, laid out some of these steps last year in an op-ed for The Washington Post. Most importantly, the U.S. should require greater security and accountability from organizations that work with these materials, and allow states to increase their security requirements for radiological materials beyond the standards set by the NRC.

"As it stands," Nunn argues, "even if a state wants to voluntarily increase security for its radiological sources beyond federal minimums, the NRC regulations don't allow it... One size does not fit all, however. New York City has a higher risk profile than Kansas City, Mo., or New Orleans."
In my interviews and conversations with emerging adults (age 18-30) about science and religion, I've made one key discovery: Ancient religious texts seem outdated and therefore unscientific. Why? Scientific knowledge and technology look forward; they advance and improve. Today's iPhone is faster, smaller, more exciting, and therefore better, than when it first appeared in 2007. Religious knowledge seems to always look in the rearview mirror. Therefore religion stagnates. One reason for this stagnation, as the argument goes, is that Christianity relies on the Bible. It's old. And that simple fact distances emerging adults from its message. Moreover, how many 18-30 year olds read books written 2000 years ago? One college student I interviewed told me that he studied various sections of Bible, and it was "just bizarre."



Certainly, our understanding of the Bible does need to be updated and correlated with good science. Frankly, there are some notions that may appear "biblical," which have to be jettisoned and which were never in the Bible in the first place. (I'd choose dualistic interpretations of the body/soul relationship.) When I've read various accounts of the Galileo trial--which, incidentally was not primarily about "science versus religion" since both Galileo and his adversaries were believing Catholics--there was considerable dispute about how to interpret the Bible. Does the sun circled the earth? In Psalm 19 it's " an athlete racing to the tape," which "rises at one end of the heavens and makes its circuit to the other."



Today, I doubt many Christians would conclude that the Bible teaches geocentricism. Instead the image of the sun's running its "circuit" around the sky doesn't teach that it revolves around the earth, but metaphorically depicts what we actually see every day. In the same way, Galileo, along with Augustine somewhere around 1200 years before him, concluded that if scriptural interpretation disagreed with known science, we should revise our interpretation.



Principally, all this could be solved by a better, more nuanced, and richer approach to the Bible. Put another way, reading the Bible today sets us on a crash course with hermeneutics. But what is hermeneutics? The term derives from the Greek word, Hermes, the messenger god--just as Hermes delivered messages, so hermeneutics is about how words deliver meaning. How then does this old, old book bring meaning to a science-saturated world?



In order to respond to the issue of ancient texts and their contemporary relevance, a great deal depends on how one looks at the Bible. To paraphrase a popular creationist ministry, what "answers" are in Genesis? John Calvin commented in his Institutes, "If we regard the Spirit of God as the sole fountain of truth, we shall neither reject the truth itself, nor despise it wherever it shall appear, unless we wish to dishonor the Spirit of God" (Institutes 2.2.15). In light of Calvin's admonition--which I take to be worth following--one reason for teaching on science and its relation to Christian faith is that we need to learn natural science and follow it. And there's a strong consensus of scientists--like 98%--that sees evolution through natural selection as true. And this implies the age of the earth and universe because time is needed for this evolution to occur.



With that in mind and the dictum that "not everything that counts can be counted" (a saying ascribed to Albert Einstein, but actually from William Bruce Cameron). Not everything can be grasped by number crunching--we do not need some quantitative, empirical, algorithmic, and thus allegedly "scientific" approach to Scripture, but instead read it as God's gift to the church. In fact, we don't need some putative scientific standard as the sole criterion for hermeneutics, biblical or otherwise. The great theologian Karl Barth, who sought to counter lack of belief in the Scripture in light of early 20th century scientific obstacles, once commented that we need to find ourselves in the "strange new world of the Bible."
The Sufi shrine where the Shia saint Sher Shah is buried is a simple structure. Sitting in an open field in a village called Bhambha, on the outskirts of Lahore, the building's pointed dome is painted dark green. Its spire is topped by a sculpture of a right hand: a Shia symbol. Orange flags--characteristic of Sufi shrines--fly from the building's roof. A few malangs, volunteers who watch over the dargah, usually sit around the property, their hair and beards untrimmed. Had I simply been driving past, little about the structure would have seemed unique.

But throughout the area, the shrine is known for a feature that makes it remarkable among Muslim dargahs: a collection of cows. The cows are considered sacred by many, with devotees often bringing them offerings, such as grass to eat, money for the shrine and food for the malangs. I visited the shrine in February, eager to see its cattle, but they were nowhere to be found. The property is managed by the grandson of Sher Shah, Shadi Shah--a thin man with a jet-black moustache. The cows, he told me, were out roaming the surrounding area in two separate groups, each led by some of the malangs. The entire herd returns to the shrine for an annual festival, arranged on Sher Shah's death anniversary. But the strength of that herd has waned in recent years. "At one point we had hundreds of cows, but now we only have 70 to 80," Shadi said. "That is because the devotion of the people towards this holy animal is declining."

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Many in Pakistan denigrate the idea of piety towards cows, believing it too reminiscent of Hinduism. This is not the only manner in which the Shah family's practice of Islam differs from the Pakistani norm. As Shia Muslims, the family is part of an often targeted religious minority, in a country that is over 80 percent Sunni. They are also custodians of a Sufi shrine; Sufism encompasses a culture within Islam that is often likened to mysticism and disparaged for its focus on saints. Today, the type of religious syncretism that the Shah family embodies is threatened by a tide of orthodoxy sweeping Pakistan. The changing fate of their cows provides a window into this dynamic.

Sher Shah, who belonged to a long family line of Shia saints, originally had a large dargah located in Karyana--a village in the Indian state of Punjab. While in Karyana, Shadi told me, his grandfather "had Sikh as well as Muslim devotees." The tradition of the sacred cows began in the Karyana shrine, well before the creation of Pakistan, when one of Sher Shah's devotees presented him with a large herd of cows--about 2,000 of them, Shadi told me. When Partition happened in 1947, many of Sher Shah's Sikh devotees told him to stay in India, saying they would protect him. "But those were dangerous times," Shadi said. The family immigrated to Pakistan, bringing about 80 cows with them. Pakistan's new government allotted them the Bhambha shrine. The Shahs now reside near the dargah, in an abandoned gurdwara that has been converted into living quarters.

The Shahs still correspond extensively with some of the Sikh devotees who are the new custodians of the shrine in India. In Shadi's shop, where he spends most of his time, a small photograph stuck to the wall shows the Karyana shrine--a white building with an open courtyard, porticoes and a green dome. "They have maintained the shrine as we left it," he said, speaking of the Sikh devotees. "Every year," Shadi said, the Sikhs "arrange a festival at our shrine on the same day as we do here at the shrine of Sher Shah."

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Soon after the Shah family arrived in Bhambha, Shadi told me, the villagers began to regard the shrine's cows with reverence. "Because of their association with the shrine and the saint," he said, "people started regarding them as blessed." After that, devotees started to bring gifts of cows. Many came to refer to the herd at the shrine as babe di gawan--cows of the saint. People started realising, Shadi said, "that if they brought food for the cows, their wishes would be granted."

Many of the locals, who were predominantly Sunnis, developed superstitions about the cows. The cattle "would walk through people's fields and eat their crops," Shadi said, and people would do nothing, because they believed that "if they did any harm to the cows, they knew that harm would fall on them as well."

These superstitions could even work against the shrine's interests. Sometimes, in order to keep up with the costs of necessary renovations, the Shahs had to sell a cow. But often, Shadi said, "no one was willing to buy the cow of a saint." He told me of an incident when a local man tried to buy one. The man practiced Wahhabism--a sect of Islam that strictly adheres to literal interpretations of the Quran, often shunning practices it perceives as less pure, including Sufi traditions. "Everyone warned him against buying the cow," Shadi said. But the man was sceptical, mockingly asking, "Will the saint break my leg?" And then, Shadi said, "As soon as he bought the cow, his leg broke. The next day, he returned the cow to us."

Now, belief in many of these superstitions is declining, along with the community's reverence for the cows. "People now have no scruples in buying and eating this cow," Shadi said. "This is due to the influence of Wahhabism in Pakistan. They have stopped believing in such religious traditions."

According to the Pakistani historian Tahir Kamran, Wahhabism has always had a minority presence in the country. It rose to prominence in the 1980s, when Saudi Arabia began funding Wahhabi madrasas in Pakistan. After the militant attacks of 11 September 2001, Kamran said, Saudi Arabia "invigorated" the funding flowing to Pakistan. This, he said, has caused a "dehistoricisation" of society, leading today's Pakistani Muslims to move "away from their culture," shunning traditions such as Sufi shrines, and gravitating instead towards a "literalist interpretation of Islam."

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Whatever is causing the change in attitude among Bhambha residents, the Shahs' shrine has been sorely feeling its effects. "Our cows have little bags around their necks in which people used to put in their offerings," Shadi said. "The offerings have reduced over the years." Saeen Shoukat, a senior malang at the dargah, told me that earlier, "these cows were regarded as sacred by a large segment of the population. People would touch their hooves for blessings. They would pass their children from under the cows and have them oil the cows' horns." Now, he said, "all of these practices have slowly faded away."

Eager to hear the perspective of someone from the wider community, I entered a nearby kitchenware shop and spoke to its owner: Muhammad Javed, a middle-aged man with a beard and a skullcap. "Nobody worships the cows," he made clear, with a tone that was almost apologetic, seemingly aware of the tradition's potential to cause controversy. "These cows keep on roaming around, but no one puts any money into their bags. It's just that no one harms them as well, knowing that they are the cows of the saint. If they come and eat something from a stall, people just softly nudge them away."
No, but it might look that way.

In a Wiki-leaked email, Democratic National Committee CFO Brad Marshall appeared to want someone to ask Bernie Sanders if he believed in God, as a way to hurt Bernie's campaign. However, that email was written in May and I asked the question in February, before the South Carolina primary.

During the Q&A in a Sanders forum in Charleston, I commented, "I don't think you are the only Jewish socialist in the country who believes in God, so I'm hoping you will do for atheists what Barney Frank did for LGBTs and be the first senator to acknowledge being an atheist." Sanders paused for a moment, looking uncomfortable because of the audience's applause, and answered, "Not gonna happen." Sanders stressed that he was a Jew. (This is not an atheist disavowal. In fact, 52 percent of American Jews do not believe in God.)

I did not ask my question to help Hillary. In fact, I supported and voted for Bernie in the South Carolina primary. I asked because one of the best ways to change atheist stereotypes is to have respected leaders come out of the closet.

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What many of us like about Bernie Sanders is that he is an honest politician with consistent core values. However, his God statements seem to have evolved. When asked last October on Jimmy Kimmel Live whether he believes in God, Sanders replied, "What my spirituality is about is that we're all in this together and it's not a good thing to believe that as human beings we can turn our backs on the suffering of other people."

What does God have to do with that humanistic response? He has also said that God means different things to different people, and to him it means all of us are connected and all of life is connected. Sanders became properly outraged when he learned that DNC CFO Brad Marshall tried to hurt his campaign by branding him an atheist, and said, "I am not an atheist."

Even if Sanders defines "God" in a way that he can call himself a believer, he does not believe in a supernatural being who directs his life or has anything to do with an afterlife. In other words, Sanders lives as an atheist so he could easily call himself one, but many people view being an open atheist as political suicide, perhaps for good reason.

A June 2015 Gallup poll found that 40 percent of respondents said they would refuse to vote for an atheist candidate, the highest disapproval rate of any group in the survey except socialists. The good news is that the "never-atheist" percentage continues to decrease with every new survey. Also, according to a 2015 Pew survey, the fastest growing faith demographic in the country is the one claiming no religious affiliation, now at about 23 percent overall and 36 percent among those ages 18 to 24.

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After Sanders denied he's an atheist, I was especially disappointed when he didn't acknowledge that atheists are also fine and decent Americans. He most certainly would have done so had he been "accused" of being a Hindu, Buddhist, Muslim, or any other religious or ethnic minority. And I have the same complaint about other public figures who ignored the anti-atheist slur.

The theme of the Democratic Party Convention seemed to be inclusion. The platform made a commitment to "protect religious minorities and the fundamental right of freedom of religion." Notably absent at the convention was the word "atheist," an important constituency that the Democratic Party consistently ignores. A 2014 Pew report showed that 28 percent of Democrats are religiously unaffiliated, compared with Catholics (21 percent), evangelical Protestants (16 percent), mainline Protestants (13 percent), and historically black Protestants (12 percent).

One of the most interesting comments among the speeches at the convention was Hillary Clinton's, "I believe in science." What made it interesting was that it needed to be said in 2016 and that it drew significant applause. Perhaps that indirectly was a nod to atheists and others who live in a reality-based universe. A noteworthy post-convention comment came from Sarah Silverman, a Bernie Sanders supporter. When asked if there was anything she had wanted to say in her speech that the DNC wouldn't allow, I expected it to be a phrase from her "colorful" vocabulary. Not so. She said she was not allowed to say, "I've been with this possibly agnostic Jew." Sarah is open about not believing in God, but she did not mention that in her convention speech.

Atheists, agnostics, humanists, and others who get their ethics and values from non-religious sources have been silent for too long, but times are changing. On the opening day of the Democratic National Convention, the Secular Coalition for America hosted a Secular Democratic Reception for nonreligious delegates and attendees. It was an opportunity for nonreligious Democrats to learn about ways they can advocate for church/state separation, science-based policy, and increase the visibility of nontheists in their local Democratic parties. Some state secular caucuses have formed, and more are expected to take part in future state party platforms. I hope that all political parties will become less inclined to demonize or ignore our growing and increasingly organized communities.
John Campbell

Co-Founder and Chairman, Campbell Lutyens & Co. Ltd

I have travelled the whole of my adult life in the footsteps of my hero Viscount Haldane. A day rarely passes in which I do not find relevance, inspiration and guidance in his example.

Richard Burdon Haldane (1856-1928), the greatest, yet least remembered, British statesman of the last 125 years - judged by the organisations that he created, which remain integral to life in Britain today - was the finest long-term thinker of recent political generations.

Passionate about education, he was critically involved in restructuring London University as a teaching as well as examining organisation. He was instrumental in enabling the creation of Civic Universities which gave birth in England to the Universities of Manchester, Leeds, Liverpool, Bristol and Sheffield and also to the University of Wales. He was the creative catalyst behind both the London School of Economics and Imperial College, and was closely associated with the early development of the Medical

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As Minister for War from 1905 to 1912 he created the General Staff of the Army, the Territorial Army and most vitally the British Expeditionary Force whose brilliant heroism was critical in saving France in 1914. He laid the scientific foundations of the RAF and established the predecessors to MI5 and MI6. As Lord Chancellor he was equally pioneering in the field of law and of good governance in Britain and in the Empire, most particularly in Canada.

Everything Haldane did was long term, indeed intergenerational. He had his eyes firmly on, and beyond, the horizon. As a true philosopher-statesman, fundamental and consistent principles were the ethical, moral and practical foundations upon which his great edifices were built. That is why all of those edifices stand today, some 100 years after he created them.

Life cannot be embraced superficially if great projects and great institutions are to be put in place, great progress is to be made. Haldane was a passionate believer in science and in pure and applied research. Engineers build on scientific and mathematical foundations; if their structures collapse they are rightly prosecuted for negligence. By contrast, the financial services sector built flimsy structures which collapsed spectacularly, deeply damaging society, yet hardly anybody has been prosecuted for their negligence. No wonder society is fragile, suspicious, alienated, misaligned.

In his search for the ethical compass which drives great and sustainable outcomes Haldane often used the German word 'Sittlichkeit'. There is no equivalent word in our wonderful English language. Haldane defined Sittlichkeit as the system of habitual or customary conduct, ethical rather than legal or moral, which embraces all those obligations of the citizen which it is 'bad form' or 'not the thing' to disregard. Sittlichkeit is the Geist, the spirit, which goes beyond rules, beyond regulations, and represents the social and other mores on which a true society is built.

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I believe that the spirit of Inclusive Capitalism is embedded in the word Sittlichkeit. Civic society comprises all the social institutions which influence individual life - family, school, societies, clubs, legislature, executive and much more - which cannot subsist in isolation from each other, but which together form a single organic whole.

As Haldane explained, this whole system of ethical habit is of a dominating character, for the influence of the whole community is embodied in this social habit. Because such conduct is systematic and covers the whole field of society, the individual will is closely related by it to the will and spirit of the community. Sittlichkeit binds and guides a body of people in a unified and holistic manner, transcending and enhancing rules, regulations and morality.
According to the Guardian, Donald Trump's former employees say he is micromanager. Trump supporters will either contend or defend this allegation while his detractors will add it to the list of reasons not to vote for him. Since Trump has not held public office and claims his success in business qualifies him to be President, it is important for voters to consider his management skills before they vote in November. After all, running a country is far more complex than running a business. In this post, I hope to answer the question, "What's wrong with being a micromanager?"

Three Reasons Why Micromanaging Tends to Be Ineffective

Micromanagers believe that they can do just about any job better than their subordinates. As a result, they get involved in too many of the details of the business. This hurts the business in many ways because it is nearly impossible to do the jobs of subordinates properly in addition to your own.

Why? Managers don't have the time to do multiple jobs. More importantly, micromanaging violates at least three important principles of business...

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Comparative advantage. Even if micromanagers are better at the jobs of their subordinates, doing those jobs will take time away from the more important and valuable work for which they are responsible. Opportunity costs. By taking time away from higher-level jobs to do lower level jobs, the micromanager is foregoing opportunities that could help the business more. Authority and responsibility are tied together. Micromanagers violate the rule that authority and responsibility must go together. That is, if managers hold subordinates responsible for doing a job, they must also give subordinates the authority to do the job the way they see fit. If managers retain the authority, they must also retain the responsibility.

To understand how micromanagers tend to destroy their organizations, it is useful to examine these three violations in more detail.



Comparative Advantage

Noted British economist, David Ricardo, is credited with introducing the concept of comparative advantage in his 1817 book entitled On the Principles of Political Economy and Taxation.

Originally, comparative advantage referred to the trade between nations. Today, the same concept is applied to positions within an organization. For example, the CEO might be better at being the CEO and doing bookkeeping than the bookkeeper. However, if CEOs did bookkeeping, they would not have the time to be as effective at leading their companies. Therefore, bookkeepers (and everyone else in the company) are better off if CEOs devote full time to running the business and let the bookkeepers take the bookkeeping chores off of their shoulders. That way, CEOs can make more "deals" for the benefit of all in their organizations.

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Micromanagers violate comparative advantage. They use their valuable management time to meddle in the jobs of their subordinates rather than invest that time in helping their companies grow and prosper.

Opportunity Costs

Opportunity costs (the costs of foregoing more lucrative opportunities by chasing less promising ones) is part of the fabric of comparative advantage. Perhaps the biggest mistake micromanagers make is they divert their resources away from more promising opportunities to do the jobs better left to subordinates such as answer the phone, open the mail, and do the typing and bookkeeping.

Authority And Responsibility Violations

Micromanagers tend to take credit for successes of subordinates while blaming them for failures. They violate the management rule that authority and responsibility must remain tied together. That is, if micromanagers keep the authority to tell subordinates how to do their jobs, they must also "own" the responsibility if their directions don't work. If they keep both, however, they will be in violation of comparative advantage and opportunity cost rules. The best managers delegate responsibility along with the authority so that subordinates can decide the best way to do their jobs. If their methods work, the subordinates are praised and rewarded. If they don't, they deserve blame.

Other Violations That Destroy The Business

In addition to violating these three important principles, micromanagers tend to have the following deleterious effects on a business.

Hinder employee growth. For a healthy business to grow, competent employees need to learn their jobs, move up the ladder, and make room for new employees. Micromanagers interfere with this process. Obliterate synergy. Since micromanagers tell everyone what to do and how to do it (or do it for them), the synergy that can be derived from teams of employees working together and sharing ideas is lost. Destroy morale. Since employees are constantly belittled and treated as if they are cogs in a wheel, they lose confidence, stop taking initiative, and fail to share their ideas for improving the business. This, in turn, produces turnover - one of the highest costs to a business.

Steve Jobs - The Outstanding Example Of A Reformed Micromanager

There is an example of a micromanager extraordinaire that was reformed into a successful executive - Steve Jobs. His first incarnation at Apple did not end very well with his leaving the Company to start NeXT Computer. At NeXT, Steve micro-managed just about everything.

As Randall Stross says in his New York Times article, "In this period, Mr. Jobs did not do much delegating ... while a delegation of visiting Businessland executives waited on the sidewalk, Mr. Jobs spent 20 minutes directing the landscaping crew on the exact placement of the sprinkler heads."

As a result, NeXT was a commercial failure that was part of a 12-year down period for Jobs. At the same time, another company he founded - Pixar turned out to be resounding success. Why? He did not micromanage it. He gave Ed Catmull and John Lasseter free reign to be their creative selves. As quoted in the Washington Post, Catmull said, "Jobs was very hands-off at Pixar, contrary to his reputation as a micromanager."

From his contrasting experiences with the failure of NeXT and the success of Pixar, Steve returned to Apple a much more capable executive who was willing to delegate many of the important duties to others, such as Jonny Ive, Tim Cook, and the other lieutenants in his inner circle.

This is not to say that he never micromanaged again. He did, but he also delegated the most important duties to those that could do them better. The result - within 10 years of his return, Apple went from being "on the ropes" to the most valuable company in the world.

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We All Need To Fight The Micromanager Within

Many successful people share the notion that they can do most jobs better than others. Whether or not this is true, it is dangerous in light of the concepts of comparative advantage, opportunity costs, and the delegation of authority and responsibility discussed above.

Good managers need to focus on their job responsibilities and fight the urge to meddle in the jobs of subordinates. While many believe they are helping their organizations by micromanaging, in too many cases, they are doing the opposite.

Managing people is never easy. Micromanaging them is destined for failure.

Managing a Company is Hard Enough
More daily fake news can be found on The Political Garbage Chute.

NEW YORK, NEW YORK -- An emergency meeting of the U.N. Security Council was convened late Tuesday night. The subject at hand was the possibility of America's weapons of mass destruction "falling into the wrong hands."

"For years we have all worried about what would and could happen if nuclear weapons are obtained by terrorists," Francois Delattre, French ambassador to the U.N. told the security council, "and now we appear to be just weeks away from something just as bad happening. America's nuclear arms falling under control of not a terrorist, but a complete and total asshole."

The Chinese U.N. ambassador echoed Delattre's concerns and amplified them.

"While it seems highly unlikely that enough Americans would hit themselves over the head with a hammer the night before the elections are held," Liu Jieyi said, "to get this asshole elected, we cannot hide from the fact that it could happen. They elected a B-movie actor to their highest office less than forty years ago, after all."

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The council discussed at length the fact that one of the country's presidential nominees has been very candid about whether he'd use nuclear weapons if made commander in chief. Though most of the council members in the room agreed that the world might be spared since his fingers would be too short and stubby to reach the big red button, none wanted to take that risk.

"I would like to give my American friends the benefit of the doubt, I really would," Delattre said, "but this orange creature simply scares us too much to not at the very least try to warn them against putting such a dangerously ill-prepared, surly, confrontational and unhinged man access to the world's largest stockpile of weapons of mass destruction."

There was one delegation in the room, however, that did not share everyone's doom and gloom characterizations.

"We think you're all being a little to rush-to-judgementy," Vitaly Churkin, Russian Ambassador to the U.N. said, adding, "and we have it on pretty good authority he'll listen to us."

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The French ambassador seemed skeptical at best at Churkin's confidence.

"He will," Delattre shot back. "He'll listen to the U.N.? Because he doesn't seem to listen to anything but the obnoxious voice in his petulant head."

The Russian ambassador reared back and roared a massive laugh. He tried his eyes with a handkerchief in his pocket. After two minutes of regaining his breath, he spoke again.

"Oh sorry, my bad," Churkin said, "I mean he'll listen to us. Russia. He'll listen to Russia."

The council decided that no action can be taken until after the U.S. holds its election. The meeting was adjourned until Wednesday, November 9th. At that time, the council will look at the election results and determine its next course of action.
In June I had the privilege of attending the White House's historic United State of Women Summit and it was impossible not to be inspired for the future of women in business and beyond. Seeing the great Dina Powell of Goldman Sachs moderating a conversation with Warren Buffet in front of thousands of the most-accomplished and ambitious businesswomen in America and countless more tuning in remotely was as humbling as it was reassuring. As the Oracle of Omaha is fond of pointing out, when women are not financially empowered, society is left "playing with one hand tied behind its back."

At the U.S. Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, we believe in investing in women entrepreneurs and promoting women's corporate leadership. The advantages of equality and inclusion are not only obvious; they are essential for our nation to fully thrive.

Today women are leading in corporate America, not only in title or position, but also through collaborative, purposeful actions that influence the state of women in America and around the world. When it comes to commerce, it's clear that women are good for business.

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I am proud to recognize the leadership of the following women who are changing corporate America for the better.

Few first-generation Egyptian-Americans rise from Capital Hill to the White House to the U.S. State Department and then become partner at a top Wall Street firm. Powell advised President George W. Bush on personnel and the hiring of hundreds of top government officials before serving as Assistant Secretary of State for Educational and Cultural Affairs. Today, as the president of the Goldman Sachs Foundation and leader of its Impact Investing business, she directs strategic initiatives to foster global economic freedom and opportunity, including 10,000 Women, an initiative offering business and management education to women entrepreneurs around the world. The USHCC is also a proud partner with Goldman Sachs on 10,000 Small Businesses, an effort to expand access to capital, business education, and mentorship for American entrepreneurs. As an executive, Powell is one of the most influential leaders in finance and her collaborative work is improving the lives of women worldwide.

From eBay to Hewlett-Packard, Whitman has established herself as an effective chief executive who can manage the seemingly unmanageable. Renowned for growing eBay from $5.7 million in revenue to over $8 billion, she now leads HP Enterprise focusing on the efficient production of hardware for corporate customers. As Chairman of the Board of Hewlett-Packard Company, Whitman led the effort to recruit a very diverse board--five women (including a Hispanic and African-American) and five people of color--compiling a diverse cadre of leaders from all backgrounds. A self-made and prosperous business leader, she has illustrated political courage by running for public office in California and even challenged her party to remain true to their principles. Whitman exemplifies a model of success for those striving in the technology sector and a reminder of the importance of character in public leadership.

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The list of American women billionaires is not long, but Tory Burch competed into the elite club. Inspired by her stylish parents, Burch is a self-made fashion entrepreneur, feminist, and philanthropist. A dozen years ago, TRB by Tory Burch was a sole storefront and today is on track for 175 stores to deliver one billion in annual revenue. Initially, Burch was not taken seriously, like most women entrepreneurs, but she defied expectations by launching her own label. With the rise of the digital era, Burch has reinvented her business again with the introduction of Tory Sport, catering to a market demand to be both free feeling and fashionable. Utilizing savvy social media and compelling story telling, she is growing Burch into a global brand.

Two-weeks after assuming the top-position of a legacy American automaker, the experienced GM engineer confronted a crisis as massive recalls caused a congressional investigation. Responding with conviction and courage to change a flawed corporate culture, Barra steered GM to annual revenue of $152 billion in 2015 and launched the first affordable electric car earlier this year. The daughter of an United Auto Worker, she stands out in a male-dominated industry, and is a champion for women in tech as one of the few female CEO's to join the viral #ILookLikeAnEngineer campaign. Under Barra's leadership, GM is jettisoning the typical tradeoff of performance or practicality, and innovating for a global market and the next generation.

Managing over $2-trillion in client assets and a team of 20,000 employees, Erdoes is one of the most powerful people in finance. The only female math major in her class at Georgetown University, she has a reputation for excellence and an intense work ethic that produced record revenue of $12.1 billion in 2015. Erodes also established a program to recruit women who took a career break to return to work in wealth management. Along with her JPMorgan colleague, CFO Marianne Lake, Erdoes is developing a network and leadership forum to improve the future of women on Wall Street.

Lean In, Sandberg's bestselling book, challenged the conventional wisdom on women in the workforce and sparked a renewal in the movement for gender equality, especially in the C-Suit. After serving in government, Sandberg's first foray in Silicon Valley was growing Google into a sales powerhouse. She then could have accepted a CEO position anywhere, but rather, with confidence and humility, Sandberg showed how leadership is evolving: from top-down, command and control structures to decentralized, shared responsibility with greater influence. At Facebook, Sandberg is promoting small business and increasing collaboration while representing an inclusive management style that recognizes every person for her or his value. Already admired in corporate America, Sandberg's perseverance and tenacity to succeed is worthy of veneration by all.

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One of the hardest working women in corporate America, managing an iconic institution, Indra Nooyi is a global leader who increases shareholder value by improving the quality of life of her customers. Collecting more than $63 billion in annual net revenue, she is the chief architect of "Performance with Purpose," integrating environmental sustainability into the entire business strategy. In 2015 Pepsi marked its 50th anniversary, but with less than 25-percent of global sales coming from soda, they are no longer solely a soda company and are focused on the future of the food industry. Nooyi is also the most generous graduate of Yale School of Management in terms of lifetime giving to the school and is the first woman to endow the deanship at a top business school.

Despite a government shutdown and sequestration, Foutty lead Deloitte's federal consultancy of more than 7,300 practitioners to transform archaic bureaucracies into more efficient organizations, while growing corporate revenues and improving profitability. She has a track record of assisting clients overcome challenging situations with innovative solutions and is the only female CEO to lead a consulting firm of this size, scope and scale. A 25-year experienced consultant, she sits on the board of Bright Pink, a nonprofit dedicated to women's health, and is an advocate for veterans, millennials in public service, and STEM education. Foutty is poised to continue her excellent leadership and excel as CEO.

Jessica Alba has quickly established herself as one of the tech sector's savviest businesswomen. Her consumer-products start-up shocked the business world when it valued at a whopping $1.7 billion. Alba was inspired to create safe, affordable, and effective products after her newborn daughter broke out in hives from "fragrance" laced detergent. Her entrepreneurial focus is to provide families with healthy household goods. Alba's adept experience as an actress prepared her for the trials and rigors of an entrepreneur as one of the Honest Company's founders and spokesperson. Now with more than 120 nontoxic, chemical-free consumer products on the market, Alba has proved that she is a force to be reckoned with and is more than just an actress.

The first African-American woman CEO to lead a Fortune 500 company, Ursula Burns is a trailblazer and is breaking down barriers in a male-dominated industry. Raised in public housing in New York City, she studied mechanical engineering and earned a Bachelor's degree from Polytechnic Institute of NYU and a Masters from Columbia University. Burns joined Xerox as an intern in 1980 and deftly climbed the corporate ladder, partnering and learning from former CEO Anne Mulcahy. Burns is also the founding board director of Change the Equation, centered on improving the STEM education in American schools.

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The New York Times Building, Manhattan, NY, USA

America's newspaper of record has a checkered history of supporting dubious wars including the Iraq War following the WMD debacle and Libya War of 2011 which destabilized and devastated Africa's wealthiest country.



One would think The Times might have smartened up given the consequences of recent wars.

Unfortunately this has not been the case.

In its Wednesday August 3rd issue, The Times came out with a strong editorial endorsing more bombing of Libya ("In Libya, a New Front in the War Against ISIS") and published an op-ed piece by Dennis Ross, the former senior Middle East advisor to Obama, and Andrew Tabler, a fellow at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, titled "The Case for (Finally) Bombing Assad."

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The Libya piece emphasized the country's "fractured politics and the messy amalgam of militias," which it said had been "born of the 2011 civil war," ignoring the contribution of the U.S.-NATO military intervention to Libya's implosion.

Left out too was the reason the U.S. decided to take Muammar Qaddafi out such as the goal of extending the AFRICOM military base network and opening up Libya's economy to Western oil companies and foreign multinationals, which remains an underlying goal.

The Times confidently asserts that "the United States has a compelling reason [now] to act. A strong and enduring ISIS base in Libya could serve as a staging ground for attacks on Western nations." However it is not clear that ISIS is actually strong enough to encourage this from Libya or that more bombing operations will eliminate their base.

The history of recent military operations has shown that bombing operations can strengthen insurgent and radical Islamic groups who can rally the population against the foreign "aggressors." Military strikes can also breed unnecessary "collateral damage" to use the military parlance (like the strike in Syria that recently killed 73 civilians) and have a destabilizing effect which radical groups can seize upon.

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In the case of Libya, ISIS emerged in large part as a product of the 2011 U.S.-NATO intervention and has fed off the chaos bred by Libya's dismemberment.

At least one ISIS commander, Abdelhakim Belhadj, a mujahidin and Al-Qaeda operative rendered by the CIA to one of Qaddafi's prisons, fought alongside the U.S. coalition in 2011 and was characterized by Senator John McCain as a "heroic freedom fighter."

Before giving unequivocal support for war, the Times should be asking its readers whether it makes any sense to arm jihadists who go on to become American enemies. And it should present more information about whom the U.S. may be arming today who might become our enemy tomorrow as has occurred also in Afghanistan.

The Times does acknowledge that the long-term effects of this latest escalation are "uncertain" and that a better "morning after plan is needed than form the previous campaign." Stabilizing Libya, the Times goes on to state, will require a lasting commitment by the international community with one of the most pressing tasks being the establishment of legitimate security forces which will require dismantling militias.

This is all fair and well, however, the recent record of the United States and West in attempting to create legitimate security forces, in Afghanistan and Iraq for example, has been an unmitigated disaster.

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In both cases, these forces have been ridden by sectarianism and corruption and are professionally incompetent - despite the billions of dollars that were invested. The reasons largely stem from the lack of political legitimacy of the regimes they have served, the use of private military contractors lacking professional acumen to train them and because of an emphasis on counterinsurgency and militarized tactics which are likely to be repeated in Libya.

What I found especially troubling about the Times article is that the Libyan perspective is completely ignored. How do Libyans feel about more bombing and more Western intervention in their country after all that has happened, and what about others in Africa?

And what about the complex tribal makeup and sectarian divisions in the country, which Qaddafi for all his flaws, was able to keep under control for so many years? What is being proposed to replicate Qaddafi's success in keeping the country together?

It doesn't seem there is much of a morning after plan again. Nothing was proposed at the Democratic Party convention or Republic Party conventions from the speeches I heard or in the party platforms. The main focus seems to be formulating a new legal mandate for war - a pet project of Vice Presidential candidate Tim Kaine.

The Times editorial by two prominent Washington insiders on Syria critiques the Obama administration's plan of cooperating with the Russian military in Syria by sharing intelligence and coordinating air strikes against the Islamic State and the Qaeda affiliated Nusra front in return for Russia forcing Syria's president Bashar al-Assad to stop using barrel bombs and air attacks in areas which neither extremist group is present.

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The authors claim the Obama administration's plan is flawed because it would cement the Assad government's siege of the rebel held city of Aleppo and push terrorist groups and refugees into Turkey, and does nothing to hold Russia or Assad accountable for violating previous truces, which they will likely do again.

The authors write that the Syrian government should be punished "by using drones and cruise missiles to hit Syrian military airfields, based and artillery positions where no Russian troops are present."

The editorial goes on to critique Obama and Kerry for suggesting there is "no military solution to the Syrian conflict," because "unfortunately Russia and Iran think there is - or at least that no acceptable political outcome is possible without diminishing the rebels and strengthening the Syrian government. It is time for the United States to speak the language that Mr. Assad and Mr. Putin understand."

While I am not so naive as to think the current Obama-Kerry plan will solve the Syrian crisis or that so-called moderate elements in the resistance to Assad operate independently from the Al-Nusra Front or ISIS, Ross and Tabler's position in my opinion is a dangerous one.

If implemented it would threaten the fragile progress made towards at least a partial truce, and could strengthen rather than weaken Assad by giving strength to some of his own propaganda and enhance anti-American sentiments driving the growth of terrorism. It would also place the U.S. on a moral level of the odious regimes we are supposed to oppose and basically on the level of the mafia, in which violence and force are instinctively adopted over any effort at diplomacy or cooperation.

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Furthermore, Ross and Tabler's proposal would threaten a deterioration of the U.S.-Russian relationship which can spill over into other arenas, and provoke potential escalation of a new cold war.

There are alternative policies the U.S. could at this time be pursuing such as working to strengthen regional efforts at a diplomatic solution to the Syrian as well as the Libyan conflicts, focus on cutting ISIS's source of funding and the flow of recruits through Turkey and elsewhere and pushing for an arms embargo which might hold better prospects of at least mitigating the ravages of war as an alternative to more cruise missiles and drones.

By spending less on militarism, we can in turn invest our tax dollars in our children's education and in creating a clean energy economy that will make us less dependant on the fossil fuels driving a lot of our involvement in the Middle East.

I am a regular reader of the New York Times because it offers many informative articles and can often set a high standard for journalism.
Having observed a good portion of both political conventions that transpired over the last two weeks, I would like to weigh in with my impressions.

Firstly, I would like to say that I am biased because I'm a Democrat. However, I am also a political junkie who keeps an open mind and tries not to be influenced by pundits' talking points.

Watching the Republican National Convention in Cleveland, Ohio was difficult for me. The doom and gloom presented as well as pure vitriol directed at Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton made my stomach churn.

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It all started Monday night with Pat Smith, a mother who lost her son in Benghazi saying she blamed Hillary Clinton. I have seen many RNC conventions but never have I heard calls from the convention floor to lock up the opposing candidate as transpired after Smith's moving testimony.

There were seven congressional hearings including and an 11-hour grilling of Secretary Clinton on Benghazi and they came up with nothing on her. And whether you agree or not with the FBI and State Department's assessment of no criminal wrong doing with use of a personal email server, this seemed mean spirited and beyond the pale to me.

Conventions are supposed to present their candidate's vision for the country and what they will do to get there. I heard very little of that from the speakers or the nominee especially on economic issues. It was more about tearing down Hillary Clinton than building up Donald Trump.

I still don't know how he will make America great again. And one could say the whole four days were more about how bad things were in the country (something the DNC disputed) and how we should be afraid, very afraid of ISIS and civil unrest, and crimes committed by illegal immigrant criminals (which are actually are a very low percentage comparatively). It was midnight, not morning in America and Gotham City, not a shining city on a hill.

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In a blog about the 2012 RNC, I praised the speeches of Governor Susana Martinez (NM) and Secretary Condoleezza Rice. Neither woman was there this time. Then I remembered this year's GOP nominee had insulted Martinez personally and Rice's boss, President George W. Bush. They are not the only prominent Republican members not to attend. Two sitting presidents and one vice president plus the last two nominees were not there as were not many elected GOP officials including the sitting Governor of the state and former primary rival, John Kasich, where the convention was held.

None of the speeches I heard reached the levels of these two strong women in 2012. That is not to say there were not good speakers. Fox political pundit Laura Ingraham gave a rousing battle cry to the GOP holding out their support of Trump (she was criticized later on social media for apparently giving a one arm Hitler-like salute at the end. I think it was unintentional and we are all a little too jittery.)

Senator Joni Ernst (IA) spoke well about tenacity, freedom, her life story and defeating Clinton but it took nine minutes before she even mentioned the nominee's name. Also, she spoke after 11 p.m. on Monday to a half filled hall. Poor planning. Maybe Trump was angry that she refused to be considered for VP. Many had left after Trump's wife, Melania gave her speech which later was said to have plagiarized First Lady, Michelle Obama.

Ironically, Melania's speech was one of the most uplifting ones of the evening. Now I know why. It was the words of Michelle Obama. I was hoping for more personal anecdotes and stories about her relationship with the Donald but maybe she is a private person.

The Trump kids (Don Jr., Tiffany, Eric and Ivanka) did well in their respective speeches. They all were good teleprompter readers who showed how much they loved and respected their father. Ivanka even came out for equal pay for women and paid family leave. Is she a true Republican? Sounds like a Democrat to me. I never heard her father mention those issues and they are not in the GOP platform.

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The most frightening speech to me was delivered by former NYC Mayor Rudy Giuliani, by not so much what he said but how he said it. He was screaming and lecturing the Black Lives Matter movement. I was hoping he wouldn't have a heart attack.

And as Governor Chris Christie (NJ) was prosecuting Hillary Clinton and having the crowd shout "guilty", I was thinking: is he the best person to be doing this what with his Bridegate scandal?

The small number of celebrities (Scott Baio, Antonio Sabato Jr., Willie Robertson of Duck Dynasty and Kimberlin Brown) that spoke were unmemorable.

The most surprising speech was that of Senator Ted Cruz ((TX). It was expected that he would endorse Trump. Instead he told Republicans to vote their conscience. He got booed. That took guts.

The sad thing for the GOP is that Ted Cruz's speech overshadowed the VP nominee, Governor Mike Pence's big moment. Pence actually gave a good speech although he is not the most exciting of speakers. It actually had substance and policies in it.

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The crowning spectacle of the convention was supposed to be the acceptance speech of the nominee, Donald J. Trump. I have to admit during the primaries I was glued to my TV listening to him at his rallies and press conferences and TV talk shows and watching to see what outrageous thing he would say next. He is entertaining. It is not a mystery why he won. He is a celebrity with charisma. According to his fans, he says what other people are afraid to say.

However, I am now at a point where I don't want to watch him. I don't know if it's because I'm sick of hearing his racist rhetoric or his boasting, or his lies.

His speech at the convention was excruciating to me. I could barely sit though it. It was too long. I kept praying for it to end. It was dark, smug, and insulting. I learned nothing new from him as to how he will implement his plans. I really cannot remember anything he said. No inspiring rhetoric. Doom and gloom and fear.

How he got any kind of bump from that convention is baffling to me. I think Hillary and the Democrats observed its darkness and decided to present the opposite approach.

There could not have been more contrasting conventions. Even with the Democratic National Committee hacked email scandal threatening to widen the rift between Bernie Sanders' supporters and Hillary Clinton, the Democrats came together and presented a more positive, hope filled vision for the future while they defended America's greatness right now. I never saw so many American flags and cries of USA at any DNC before.

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As for diversity the DNC out of 4,766 delegates had 2,887 women, 1,182 blacks (as opposed to 18 delegates of color at the RNC), 292 Asians, 747 Latinos, 633 LGBTQ, and 147 Native Americans.

There were actually more DNC women speakers than men: 119 out of 236 (50.4 percent) as opposed to 26.1 percent at the RNC.

There were many more big name celebrities and entertainers performing and speaking in Philadelphia, PA (home of the DNC). The convention was a huge success and I was proud of my home city.

And the list of star political speakers was incredible: President Barack Obama (who gave what some have called the best speech of his life), former President Bill Clinton (who humanized his wife as a nominee spouse should), VP Joe Biden, VP nominee Tim Kaine, former NYC Mayor Michael Bloomberg (who called Trump a con man), Sen. Elizabeth Warren, Sen. Bernie Sanders (who came out strong for his rival), and First Lady Michelle Obama (who electrified the crowd and united the party.)

But one could say that the real stars were the ordinary citizens who shared their stories and how Hillary's personal actions impacted them. The ones who touched me the most were Lauren Manning, a 9/11 victim who was burnt over 80 percent of her body who said that then Senator Clinton visited her every week in the hospital; Joe Sweeny, a 9/11 NYPD First Responder; the Mothers of the Movement whose children were killed by gun violence; Sarah McBride, the first transgender speaker at any major political convention; and Mr. and Mrs. Khizr Khan, Gold Star parents whose son was killed in Iraq, whose passionate rebuke to Donald Trump has ignited a firestorm.

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The videos presented at the convention were produced well and were quite touching especially the ones for President Obama and Hillary Clinton (how can you go wrong with Morgan Freeman narrating?)

But the highlight for me was Hillary's acceptance speech. It was history in the making: the first woman nominee of a major political party. And after a moving introduction from her daughter, Chelsea, she delivered. She laid out her plans. She highlighted differences between her and her opponent. She talked about with no glass ceiling the sky is the limit and love trumps hate. And America is great now. She had many fine lines to walk. Realism but optimism. A steady economic recovery but further to go. A smart approach to terrorism. Inclusion, not division of Americans. Appealing to both Bernie progressives and disenfranchised Republicans who don't like Trump.

She was brilliant and struck the right tone. As she has said in the past, speaking is not her forte. But I thought it was the best speech of her career. It capped off what had been an amazing four days of showing the real Hillary who has devoted her life to public service.
I honestly do not feel much like writing a politically charged piece this week.

After all, I have spent this week in an idyllic New Hampshire setting, teaching and exploring biblical Psalms with a group ranging in age from octogenarians to twenty-somethings, amid a retreat full of families and friends, veteran attendees and newcomers, full of song and amity, inclusiveness and wholesome sensibilities, and what could be wrong with the world?

I don't feel like writing a politically charged piece. But, on the one hand, here comes this week's double barrel Torah-reading, with vengeance and extirpation, instructions for conquest and dispossession:

In the first of this week's readings, it is not enough for Moses and for God that the Israelites slay every adult male Midianite in retribution for that nation's hostility and take the women and children of the Midianites captive (Numbers 31:9), but Moses rebukes the people for sparing the women and children and commands them to "slay every male among the children, and slay also every woman who has known a man" (Numbers 31:17), one of the most horrifying moments in our ancient narrative. And in the second of the week's paired portions, the Israelites, still wandering toward Canaan, are warned about the people they will find inhabiting their ancestral, promised country, "If you do not dispossess the inhabitants of the land, those whom you allow to remain shall be stings in your eyes and thorns in your sides, and they shall harass you in the land in which you live, so that it will come to pass that I [God] do to you what I set out to do to them" (Numbers 33:55).

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On the one hand there is that, and it comes just as we start the Hebrew month in which we commemorate the ancient destructions, twice over, of Jerusalem, by Babylonia and by Rome. And on the other hand there is a headline and a story that has irked me all week long, as it has popped up again and again in various digital news-feeds, from the realm of movies and popular culture:

"Social Justice Warriors Loved 'Wonder Woman' Star, Until They Learned This About Her" goes one version - 'This' being that Gal Gadot is an Israeli who has served in her country's military. "Superstar in the making Gal Gadot has now come under fire," says one news outlet among many fanning up the flames, "after she revealed that not only is she Israeli, she's proud of that fact."

What I detest in the tweets and posts behind these stories is the effort to criminalize the Israeli movie star's nationality itself. This is an aim especially salient in a week when the Palestinian Authority, reportedly, is gearing up to mount a lawsuit against the United Kingdom over the 1917 Balfour Declaration.

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The Balfour Declaration, to remember, was a British policy paper that opened the way toward the creation of the modern State of Israel, and toward a two state Arab and Jewish paradigm for the geographical area that, before being a Mandate of the United Kingdom, had been a Sanjak of the Turkish Ottoman Empire, a district of the Umayyad and Abassid Caliphates, a province of the Byzantine Empire, a territory under direct administration of the Roman Senate, a Jewish dominion in revolt against Rome, a vassal Tetrarchy ruled by Herod the Great and his successors, a kingdom of Levitical Priest-Monarchs, a bone of contention between the Seleucid and Ptolemaic heirs to Alexander's empire, a satrapy of the Persian Empire in which Jews were allowed to rebuild their ancient Temple of Solomon, which had been destroyed in that place by Nebuchadnezzar of Babylonia, long after Assyria had overrun Israel's northern tribes - and that's grossly to simplify the timeline.

Most distasteful is the apparent conceit of purity with which Gadot is vilified for being Israeli by Anglos living in, for example, my own home city of Toronto (an Iroquois name for a place where that nation displaced the Wyandot people and were run out by the Mississauga, in turn to be overrun by Europeans) and the place where I live now, Massachusetts (Wampanoag, Narragansett, Nipmuc, Pocomtuc, Mahican, and Massachusett).

I am not saying that one history of displacement renders another unproblematic. I am also not excusing far right wing factions in Israel for invoking biblical chapters like Numbers 31 and 33 as some kind of divine carte blanche for holding the entire modern state, with all its pluralistic promise, hostage to an apocalyptic vision of totally restoring King David's ancient realm.

What I am saying is that peacemaking is done among the peoples who are in a place when the resolve to make peace rises - usually after a long history of multiple narrative threads. I have admired heroic peacemaking endeavors in our times. And it is difficult to imagine that a more widespread and true willingness among her neighbors to countenance the existence of an Israel would not have made it very hard, if not impossible, long since, for zero sum extremists to prevail over pluralists, as perennially and increasingly is a hazard in Israel's and the region's politics.

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Recent emails indicate many people don't know I am a WWII veteran. I seldom mention it because I respect those who fought and won the war, and I'm not one of them. However, I do have very deep feelings about WWII and now realize I'm not being honest by withholding them.

My recent boat trip -- Paris to the D-Day Beaches -- was my first international trip since occupying Japan in WWII. I wanted to experience Europe, but I went primarily to honor those who had made the ultimate sacrifice in the greatest military operation in history.

WWII America profoundly influenced my life.

I grew up during the depression, when we all learned to do without, while being constantly reassured by an optimistic Franklin Roosevelt. I didn't know it then, but for me, America's greatness began when I was age 14 and raced home to tell my family I heard Japan had bombed Pearl Harbor.

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The stark reality was two very powerful enemies who could defeat us and take over the world. During 1942 and 1943, Japan's forces were advancing throughout the Pacific, capturing the Philippines and our troops. Rommel, "The Desert Fox," seemed to be gaining North Africa. My brother Tom left high school in 1942 for duty aboard a destroyer escorting convoys to supply troops fighting Rommel. Even in 1943, after being attacked by German subs in the Atlantic and then by JU88 dive bombers in the Mediterranean, only 10-20 percent of his convoys might get through.

But our depression-hard nation was used to odds stacked against us. America's mobilization was absolutely incredible in its unity and scope. The draft was dwarfed by the eagerness to enlist. Every family sacrificed -- food, gas, cigarettes, booze, etc. were rationed. Gold stars in windows proudly indicated the ultimate sacrifice. "Rosie the riveter" became one of our heroes. Our daily production of war supplies was beyond belief.

Blanche, my high school sweetheart -- and ultimately my wife -- had two brothers who as pilots survived the Pearl Harbor attack, one seriously wounded. Tragically, neither brother, nor her father, came home from the war. Blanche always tried to maintain a "stiff upper lip" in these trying times. I always felt this exceptional lady needed to give herself more room to grieve.

I enlisted in the Navy several months before graduating from high school, but by the time I finished "boot camp," both wars were over. So I was stateside for V-E and V-J days and remember the intense joy, the surreal feeling of not living with war hanging over our heads.

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I ended up in Japan as a navigator/signalman to bring the ships back home. Once our LCI-m (Landing Craft Infantry-mortars) made it all the way back to Boston, MA (it took nearly five months,) the LCI-m was decommissioned and I was discharged.

While I had not participated in the magnificent effort to rid the world of these two terrible tyrannies, those who did made me proud to be an American and a serviceman.

More important was the opportunity they afforded my life. Now it was my job to live a life that honored their sacrifices.

I didn't start out that way. I was a playboy in college; Blanche had to ask me, "Are we going to get married?" Even then I was a salesman for six months intent on becoming rich and famous before I realized my calling was teaching.

I've had many great experiences since. I treasure the day I asked my wife, who knew my inner self -- both strengths and faults -- "Blanche, why did you marry me?" She said directly, "Because I knew you'd do something fine."

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That was years ago. This year I felt ready to go the D-Day Beaches.

I walked on Omaha Beach, looked up at the landscape and visualized that horrendous scene in "Saving Private Ryan" in which only 10 percent of our first wave of invading troops survived. This hit the pit of my stomach.

In the beautiful cemetery, where 9,400 Americans rest in graves marked by simple white granite stakes arranged in perfect symmetry on a huge rolling green lawn, the French meticulously care for, and truly love and respect, these warriors who brought back their freedom.
Barnes & Noble. It is the last, major physical bookstore left. With Amazon physical bookstores, many people are wondering if Barnes & Noble will be able to stay afloat. I am not a fan of Barnes & Noble. For customers, it is great. Many of them use Barnes & Noble as the new hangout place to read books with their latte.



For most indie authors, Barnes & Noble can be their worst enemy. Why? Well, there are not very friendly. I only got a book signing there because of my publisher (Morgan James Publishing). Although, it was not worth my time there at all.



If I remember correctly, I sold 10 books during the book signing. Furthermore, you will be competing with the big name authors like Robert Kiyosaki, Jack Canfield, Stephen King, and J.K. Rowling.

I personally do not like competition, especially when they favor the big names over the indie authors. Often, these big name authors are getting their own shelf, which usually sit at the end of the aisle. With such a great placement, their book significantly stands out from the rest of the books.

As a business, you cannot really blame them for doing such a thing. They are trying to make enough money to stay in business.

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Barnes & Noble is slowly dying. It has been declining in sales since 2012. Since the decline, they have diversified their approach by adding coffee shops within their stores.

I think this approach may have attracted more people to their stores. It invites readers to hang out at the biggest bookstore to read books and drink lattes.

Fortunately, there is still hope for the indie author crowd. Although, you can almost count on Barnes & Noble to not have your book stocked on their shelves. People can still buy it via special order if your publisher is Ingram or a publisher that has a distribution agreement with Ingram.

What if your publisher is not Ingram? What if your publisher does not work with Ingram?

As an indie author, it is in your best interest to befriend indie bookstores because they will be your best partners in moving books off of the shelves.

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Contrary to popular belief, indie bookstores are thriving. According to the American Booksellers Association, the amount of independent bookstores has grown by 27%, despite being among The Great Recession.

Well, you may say, "No one is not really buying print books anymore. That market is dying. eBooks are on the rise."

Perception is not always reality. The Association of American Publishers has found that eBook sales declined last year. Adult books declined by 9%, while children and young adult books declined by 43%.

However, adult print books increased by 16%, while children and young adult paperback books increased by 9%. So, there is no need to worry. Indie bookstores will be your strongest allies!

Indie bookstores can do wonders for you. They will be more open to granting you more book signings than Barnes & Noble. They will give you better shelf placement than Barnes & Noble. Some of them will even buy your books on a non-returnable basis.

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In seven short years, the Hult Prize has catapulted to a leadership position in the impact space. The Hult Prize is today a massive (650+ Universities) global platform for student-led innovation and entrepreneurship. Founded in 2009 by American entrepreneur Ahmad Ashkar, it was named 'One of the Top 5 Ideas Changing the World' in 2012 by President Clinton and TIME Magazine. Just this year, 8 of the 'Forbes Top 30 Under 30 Entrepreneurs Changing The World' were individuals who founded their innovative and game-changing companies as part of the Hult Prize annual acelererator. Companies launched include Aspire Food Group, WiCare, Plenoptika, Tembo, Impct, and many more who today employ hundreds of people and solve some of the world's greatest challenges.

In the US and other developed nations, investors are increasingly looking to impact enterprise (JPMorgan estimates $46bn of impact focused assets under management in 2014 alone). The technology stalwarts of Silicon Valley are shifting focus towards models of impact (Zuckerberg, Case, Stone, etc.). Michael Porter (Porter's 5 Forces), Harvard's famed strategy guru who founded the Monitor Group, is now focused on re-aligning some of the most successful for-profit companies around improving customer outcomes (impact) at his newest Boston-based firm, FSG.

Yet, the next billion-dollar impact opportunities are not in San Francisco or Boston - they are on the doorstep of Mumbai, Shanghai, Beirut, Istanbul, Brasilia, Accra, and other developing countries. These are the nations facing the world's greatest socio-economic hurdles, dealing with the aftermath of conflict, and managing increasingly strained physical resources. They must overcome great challenges educating, treating, healing, moving, and caring for billions of people, and consequently, will have tremendous opportunities for market-driven innovation. This unprecedented shift presents a fleeting chance for developing nations to lead rather than follow.

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In an increasingly global and singular world where an Asian city steeped in history looks much like Arabian emirate, both littered with glass skyscrapers, and both built on a model of imitation rather than leadership, it is challenging for less developed nations to view themselves as offering a unique, innovative perspective worth sharing. Rather than seeking to solve their health, transportation, food, immigration, social, and economic problems in a better way, these cities and countries often choose the more convenient and easier route. They fly in the wrong experts, welcome large multi-national corporate bureaucracies with open arms, pay exorbitant sums of money to import know-how that doesn't fit (at the behest of aid agencies), and hire leading brand name consultants for advice that creates increasing cycles of dependency.

Africa alone will require an estimated 700m housing units over the next 30 years to meet a population that is set to double by 2050. The Middle East will need to create 35-40m jobs by 2020 just to keep up with current levels of employment. The time is now for nations to tap their resources in unique and creative ways to solve the greatest challenges they face. This will require confidence, courage, and a willingness to lead by accepting and embracing the possibility of failure on the pathway to developing alternative and better solutions. Domestic entrepreneurship and innovation focused on improving outcomes are key building blocks of this strategy.
Cooling and refrigeration are essential to increasing labor productivity, improving educational outcomes, safeguarding food and minimizing its waste, improving healthcare, and supporting countries' digital ambitions (that computer of yours heats up pretty fast). And all of this, from improved productivity to education to health, is vital to eliminating extreme poverty and boosting shared prosperity across the globe.

And yet, it turns out that that refrigerator in the corner is doing more than extending the life of your fruits and vegetables: it's also contributing to global warming. In a somewhat ironic twist, we know now that in filling the hole in the ozone layer over the past few decades under the aegis of the Montreal Protocol, we unwittingly had been adding to global warming. The good news, though, is that we can act on this quickly, and the result (in ecological terms) is almost immediate. But if we continue as we have been, we could face big problems.

Undoubtedly, the Montreal Protocol's success at reversing a universal environmental problem, depletion of the earth's ozone layer, also helped in our fight against climate change. Without the Montreal Protocol agreement and its 25 years of action to stop production and human consumption of harmful chemicals, the climate challenge facing the world today would be far worse. Overall, the climate achievements in phasing out chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) an organic compound made exclusively of chlorine, fluorine, and carbon, have been equated to the equivalent of eight billion tons a year of CO2. Yet, in hindsight we've learned that hydrofluorocarbons or HFCs, the chemicals picked to replace some CFCs, are very potent greenhouse gasses. What's worse, their use is on the rise globally, since they are seen to be the best substitutes for chemicals used in air conditioners and refrigerators.

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The most concerning HFCs are thousands of times more potent than carbon dioxide. Yet unlike carbon dioxide, HFCs tend to stay in the atmosphere for a shorter period, making it possible, if removed, to see a visible reversal of temperature rise impacts within the lifetime of our children. By contrast, the longer atmospheric life of CO2 means it takes longer to see the impact of the removal of the gas, so tangible results would only be seen by our children's children.

From Dubai through Vienna to Kigali

With the climate challenge facing the world already immense, it's clear that action to reduce HFCs must be accelerated to avoid an irreversible tipping point. This has been the key focus of the Montreal Protocol meetings just held in Vienna, attended by ministers from around the world with a focus on phasing down HFCs. One seminal study projected that global temperatures can be reversed by as much as 0.5 degrees Celsius if HFCs and their projected growth are eliminated. We need every tenth of a degree possible.

Several of my colleagues and I attended the Vienna meetings, which were part of a series that started last November in Dubai with the specific aim to work toward amending the Montreal Protocol to phase-down HFCs. An amendment is important because it will give a clear global signal for action and since it's taken within the Montreal Protocol framework, it would enter into legal force rapidly. The discussions highlighted the need for flexibility to respond to different country situations, while at the same time demonstrating strong multilateral consensus for decisive action. The final decision will be made in October in Kigali, Rwanda.

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We're already working on it

But with predicted growth projections of HFC being the highest in developing countries (no surprise, since this correlates closely with economic development), the World Bank Group is not waiting for an international agreement to start accelerating action on HFC reductions. We are already working with countries under our Montreal Protocol projects to see where reductions can be taken and where we can reduce HFCs as technology becomes available, affordable, and safe. For example in Thailand, we're working with manufacturers to produce air conditioners that are friendly to the ozone layer, while reducing HFCs and saving energy. Additionally, with Government of Canada support, we are developing tools for Bank teams to identify and act on opportunities for a "triple win" to reduce ozone, reduce HFCs, and increase energy efficiency where air conditioning and refrigeration are part of Bank investments.
In 1904, Florence Breed and Ali-Kuli Khan married in Boston. Breed was American and Khan was Iranian; their union symbolized East and West uniting in the Baha'i Faith. When 'Abdu'l-Baha, son of the Founder of the Baha'i Faith, visited the US in 1912, the Khans hosted a luncheon for him in Washington, D. C. There, 'Abdu'l-Baha defied social convention by giving Louis Gregory, an African-American Baha'i, the seat of honor.



Louis and Louisa Gregory. Image from Baha'i Encyclopedia Project.

A few months after this luncheon, Louis Gregory wed Englishwoman Louisa Mathew in New York City. Their marriage was illegal in many parts of the United States due to racist anti-miscegenation laws. And I believe that was precisely the reason 'Abdu'l-Baha had encouraged Louis and Louisa to get to know each other: so that the truth of their love would expose the falsity of racial barriers.

While the Khans and Gregorys were unusual in their day, today, many Baha'i marriages transcend traditional borders of race, culture, and nationality. The diversity of the global Baha'i community--second only to Christianity in its geographic scope--has facilitated these connections.

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Some of the beautiful Baha'i couples and families I know.

Americans of the Millennial Generation, people--like me--born after 1980, are the most open generation yet to interracial marriage. According to the Pew Research Center, 5% of Millennials disapprove of interracial unions, compared to 26% of the Silent Generation (born 1928-1945). Of course, 5% disapproval is still too much. The same study shows that 58% percent of my generation believes immigrants strengthen the United States--which implies that some 42% think immigrants weaken our country. My husband is an immigrant from Moldova, so that statistic troubles me.

Like many religions, the Baha'i Faith places high importance on marriage, and on parenting. Now, my husband Sergey and I don't have any Baby Mirons yet, but we're constantly thinking about how we'll raise our future kids--because we understand how crucial the first years of a child's life are to the rest of their lives.

Both my parents are Baha'i, and when my sister and I were tots, they taught us to value all people. Baha'u'llah, the Founder of the Baha'i Faith, taught that every human is a noble being, a mine rich in gems of inestimable value. It's not for us to look at the surface and try to determine the value of the jewels inside. Thanks to this early spiritual education, as I grew up, I found myself particularly attracted to people who could show me varying perspectives on our world.



Some more beautiful Baha'i couples and families I know.

Once I decided to start seeking a life partner, I got to know men very different from me in ways ranging from skin color to creed to personality. When I was 23, I married Sergey. Although we share a pallid skin tone, serious personality, and--most importantly--our belief in the teachings of Baha'u'llah, what we don't share has provided huge growth opportunities for both of us.

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Our hometowns are 5,000 miles apart. Had we been born a generation earlier, we might have never had an opportunity to meet, due to the Iron Curtain. We grew up speaking different languages, eating different food, embedded in dissimilar family structures and cultures. Our contrasting backgrounds provide plenty of material for learning on a daily basis, from the simple--sharing recipes from our home cuisines--to the complex, such as navigating different approaches to communicating.

When we have kids, we'll teach them the unifying message of Baha'u'llah. But this lesson won't happen through words alone; their exposure to the wonderful diversity of the human race will start right here, in our home, as they learn to speak both English and Russian, as we tell them about the roots of the many immigrants who have come together to produce them: Moldovan, Russian, Polish, Roma, Iranian, Swiss, Swede, English, Irish, German... They will learn that while heritage matters, what matters more is how they connect with people who do not share their roots, their lifestyles, or their perspectives. I hope they'll absorb the love Sergey and I have, and as they grow, they'll perceive the falsity of persistent social divisions--and help to break them down.

I realize that two years of marriage hardly makes me an expert. But here's my inexpert suggestion for how you can contribute to building a more unified world: if you're seeking a spouse, consider getting to know people unlike you. Of course, look for a partner who shares your spiritual values, but let this partner be someone who will open your eyes--and your heart--to the wider world. Families are the building blocks of society, and if those fundamental units demonstrate unity in diversity, ultimately, society will too.
For most liberal Israelis, Jeffery Goldberg's surprising tweet about abandoning Ha'Aretz and opting for The Times of Israel as a more reliable news source, was not so surprising. Most have already quit reading Ha'Aretz, which has dropped from a steady readership of 7.9% in 2005 to an all time low of 3.9% in 2016. Some liberal Israelis are still hoping the paper will moderate the radical editorial line it's adopted in the past decade or so (so radical that Goldberg referred to it as "cartoonish" and "nutty"), because they still admire some of the paper's journalists and parts of its content. Only extreme left-wingers dramatically argue that "Ha'Aretz is the last free voice in Israeli media", as they did in response to Goldberg's tweet. Most Israelis believe the local media is mostly liberal in its views, and about as vibrant and controvertial as media can be. The radical left has been using these overdramatic slogans in order to try and attract more public support for its agenda, but lately it seems that this tactic went too far and completely lost credibility. They didn't seem to work on Goldberg, either.Unfortunately, Ha'Aretz's insistence to repel any criticism of its growing extremism has made it less and less relevant. But that's not really the point. The point is of a much broader scope. Goldberg's tweeted declaration portrays a larger sentiment, especially among Jewish journalists, who flinch when they see the hateful outcome of this radical line which was popular among the international press for a while - it simply legitimises anti-Semitism.It's sad because the radicalisation completely missed its declared goal. The hard-line criticism of Israel began because of an attempt to fiercely push towards a two-state solution, and was a failure both ideology-wise and business-wise. Ideology-wise, because most of the Israeli public would still opt for the two-state solution if Israeli security issues were met, but cannot swallow a solution which is blind to the terror and the everyday threats Israelis have to live with. Business-wise, because a vacuum was formed in the English media arena, and the big winner who filled it is the relatively new Times of Israel. This liberal, balanced news site led by David Horowitz, formerly the chief editor of the Jerusalem Post and the Jerusalem Report, has long surpassed Ha'Aretz with an impressive readership of over 53 million in the past year (according to Similar Web), and is growing rapidly. Apparently, Goldberg is not the only one who finds it more reliable as a news and opinion source. It seems that a line has been crossed somewhere along the way, and liberals who still believe in the two state solution have ceased to support the paper's radical, destructive voice. For example, liberal Israeli journalist Danny Cushmaro cynically tweeted an op-ed headline in the paper this week asking - "Is Israel an Evil State?", alongside a very short, one word comment: No. Others were furious at a ludicrous article by a Jewish "historian" who blamed persecution of Jews in Europe of the 20th century not on the Nazis, but on the Zionists. It chillingly suggested that Israel should not exist as a Jewish-state, a racist claim that was argued in the most intellectual rationalised manner. For Goldberg this was one nutty article too many, maybe because like other progressive American Jews, he sees what's really going on. Anti-Israeli trends on college campuses are frightening. So is the growing hatred towards Israel and Jews in general, for being associated with the "evil state". They feel that media coverage that fails to portray the complexity of the conflict isn't real criticism, it's anti-Israeli and neo-anti-SemitismSo, are the changing winds bad news for Israeli journalism, or for the feasibility of the two state solution? Not necessarily. Many believe that the overkill and over-dramatization used by Ha'Aretz and its likes achieved only hatred, not peace. The Jewish public, while opposing the occupation, cannot tolerate the justification of terror, or branding Israeli soldiers as "murderers" when they attempt to stop it. Most believe it's important to criticise Israel's policies, but apparently there's a very thin line between sane criticism and pure anti-Semitism. Or as Goldberg put it: "When neo-Nazis are e-mailing me links to Ha'aretz op-eds declaring Israel to be evil, I'm going to take a break, sorry". Does this mean even bigger readership for the Times of Israel in the future? Probably.
My husband is a film buff and has been reenacting Sidney Poitier's great line "They call me Mr. Tibbs" since I met him 30 years ago, but we finally watched Oscar-Winning Best Picture (1967) In the Heat of The Night together last night. A lot has changed since that film was released, but a lot is exactly the same. My first thought was "This movie needs to be screened again in every movie theater across America! And Before Election Day!"

I was born in 1964 in segregated Durham, North Carolina where my parents were in graduate school at Duke. They were civil rights activists and we continued to work on making America more just when we moved to Tennessee in 1973. I reported on a Pulaski, Tennessee KKK rally opposing Martin Luther King Day for the Vanderbilt student paper when I was a student in the 1980's. My parents told me the only difference was that in their day the KKK marched with guns. In The Heat of The Night is an Excellent depiction of what it was like in the South in the 1960's and before when any sign of self-pride in a Black man was seen an invitation for lynching and girls who got pregnant before they were ready or willing to be mothers were forced into back rooms to have dangerous abortions that could sterilize them or leave them dead on the table. And justice? That was in the hands of racist small town cops who chose who to hang on little or no evidence.

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After seeing the film, I needed to do some research on it. If you doubt the realism of the racial hatred depicted in the film, it went on during the filming as well.

"Poitier was worried about shooting on location in Mississippi; during a 1964 visit o Greenville, to deliver $70,000 in donations to civil rights workers, Poitier and Harry Belafonte had been tailed by Klansmen and nearly run off the road. Director Jewison promised Poitier that they wouldn't actually shoot in the South - - a promise he ended up not keeping...Jewison did shoot most of the film outside the South, in Sparta, Illinois, and in surrounding towns...Once the shot was underway, Poitier reluctantly agreed to shoot a key sequence, including the slap scene, in the South, since that sequence needed to be filmed on an actual cotton plantation. The filmmakers prepared to film for three days in Dyersburg, Tennessee. Poitier slept with a gun under his pillow at the Dyersburg Holiday Inn...Poitier's fears turned out to be justified. The Dyersburg shoot was cut short by local thugs looking for trouble and raising a ruckus in the parking lot of the motel. The production quickly fled back to Illinois."

Rod Steiger won Best Actor for his role as the racist Police Chief who comes to respect Poitier's character, a Philadelphia Detective. But Poitier, who makes the film so powerful, was not even nominated.

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All of which brings me to the current election and Donald Trump's promise to "Make America Great Again." It appears to those of us who have been on the wronged side of American history and those of us involved in the struggle for American civil rights and women's rights and reproductive freedom that a return to the past is a terrible idea.

Those who have nostalgia for the past in America can only be white males who want power to return to their hands alone. The verbal assaults demonstrated at Trump rallies and encouraged by him, are testament to this fact.

Trump is a bully, a liar, a con man and worse, and would say anything to fan the flames of hatred that have propelled him this far on a wave of anachronistic white power. He even has the KKKs former Imperial Wizard David Duke coming out for office again, elated by the prospects of returning to a power based in racial hatred.

But it's sad to see another film Icon, Clint Eastwood, enter from Stage Right to support Trump. "We're in a pussy generation," Eastwood told Esquire Magazine. "Everybody's walking on eggshells. We see people accusing people of being racist and all kinds of stuff. When I grew up, those things weren't called racist... Just f'ing get over it."

True, Clint. As you were born in the 1930's, there was a lot more freedom in your time to say and do whatever you wanted to - if you were a privileged white man. But the racism and sexism (Clint, "pussy generation?") is not just verbal. These attitudes impact our liberties as Americans in terms of REAL ISSUES that we can't just "f'ing get over." Little things like voting rights, workplace discrimination, education rights, reproductive rights, and fair paths to American citizenship.

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Although the nation's attention is focused on the Presidential election, there is another office that wields tremendous power -- and which voters get to choose. It is their state's Attorney General, otherwise known as the People's Lawyer.

In response to President Obama's Clean Power Plan, a contingent of twenty-seven attorneys general has been pushing back, vigorously, via a lawsuit to halt the plan. The case is currently tied up in court.

Those in opposition to the plan, which has frequently been referenced as Obama's "signature climate policy," maintain that it will be detrimental to their state's economy.

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Conversely, the White House and the EPA have emphasized that the Clean Power Plan will be:

A major benefit for public health, reducing both medical costs and diseases caused by air pollution. 3600 premature deaths will be averted.

A reduction in energy bills by 2030 that will translate into $200 annually per American family.

A reduction in carbon dioxide pollution by 32 percent in 2030, down from the 2005 level.

A job creator in the "environmental technology field," while pushing investment in the clean energy sector.

Polls show that the electorate in states where Attorneys General are suing favor America's Clean Power Plan by 61 percent. (There are three states where public opinion is against the plan. They are North Dakota, where fracking has become prevalent; the coaling-producing states of West Virginia and Wyoming.) Support for environmental regulations are especially high among the African-American and Latino communities, who are disproportionately impacted by toxic sitings, air pollution, unsafe drinking water, and high rates of asthma.

Is there is a subtext to this situation?

As far back as December 2014, the New York Times reported on suspect alliances between campaign funders and Attorneys General ("Energy Firms in Secretive Alliance With Attorneys General"). This year, Americans United for Change picked up the theme with their report, "Polluter Impunity." The trajectory becomes quite clear when you "follow the money."

Individual Attorneys General have been the recipients of a combined $2.8 million. There is an evident link between their actions and campaign donations from fossil fuel entities. Once again, the fingerprints of the Koch Brothers are clearly visible, particularly via their lobbyists.

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The surreptitious collusion between energy companies and specific state Attorneys General becomes crystal clear when looking at contribution supporters of Attorneys General who are part of the lawsuit against the Clean Power Plan. There are three men who received funds in the six figures:

Mike DeWine: Ohio - Received $335, 963

Luther Strange: Alabama - Received $314,788

Scott Pruitt: Oklahoma - Received $305,966

My particular favorite was Ken Paxton, the Attorney General from Texas.

He has pocketed a cool $1,067,817.

Requests through the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) have turned up documentation of "closed door" communications between the offices of numerous Attorneys General and lobbyists with connections to energy companies and the Kochs.

Perhaps the most egregious action -- or at least the most outrageous -- was uncovered within documents shared by the New York Times. It is a letter from William F. Whitsitt, Executive Vice President of Public Affairs at the Oklahoma Devon Energy Corporation to Solicitor General Patrick R. Wyrick, who is part of the legal team representing Oklahoma state.

Dated September 2, 2011, it reads:

Patrick -- Just a note to pass along the electronic version of the draft letter to Lisa Jackson at the EPA. You'll note that this version has some suggested cc recipients. We have no pride of authorship, so whatever you decide to do on this is fine. We're just glad to provide some ideas. If you have any questions, technical or otherwise, feel free to contact AJ Ferate or me. We'll be sure you have the right people to talk with. Have a nice holiday weekend.

Bill

Really? A.J. Ferate is the Vice President of Regulatory Affairs for the Oklahoma Independent Petroleum Association (OIPA).

If you are from Indiana, Missouri, Montana, North Carolina, Utah or West Virginia, your Attorney General is one of the ten office holders who are up for election.

It is the job of the Attorney General to protect our families, not support a lawsuit to shut America's Clean Power Plan down because of contributors' interests.
Pence sat and smiled tensely as Trump stole the show. When Pence got in a full sentence, his comment on Trump was, "I believe he'll be a great President of the United States."

Ok. But what do we know about the potential second-in-command? When

Republican colleagues are queried the general response is, "He's a man of great faith."

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How does that pan out in terms of his record in the Congress (2000-2012) and as Governor (2013-2016)? Well, if you are not within his particular spectrum of religious beliefs, it's not good news.

Pence has brought national attention to his state of Indiana because of his extreme views on abortion, as well as his perspective on the civil rights of those in the LGBT community. His goals for "affirming the value of all human life" appear to be selective.

Dating back to 2007, Pence has quite a history on women's reproductive rights. At that time, Pence fought to grant embryos in the womb "equal protection under the 14th Amendment." It was also the year he began his ongoing mission to defund Planned Parenthood. In 2010, he voted to prohibit funding for abortion under federal Obamacare plans.

When Pence became Governor, his opposition to abortion rights reached an unprecedented level. Indiana made headlines for the punitive legislation of House Bill 1337. It banned women from getting abortions when their fetus had genetic abnormalities among other restrictions. Upon authorizing, Pence emphasized, "I sign this legislation with a prayer that God would continue to bless these precious children, mothers and families." Even pro-life Republican elected officials disparaged the bill.

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Women refused to accept his actions without pushback, launching the Twitter handle @PeriodsforPence. It received renewed traction during the Republican Convention.

Pence's efforts to obliterate Planned Parenthood led to almost a 50 percent reduction in their state funding in 2014, equaling the 2005 dollar level. Five of their rural clinics closed. Scott County, a facility that did not perform abortions but provided STD testing, became home to an HIV epidemic.

Dawn Laguens, of Planned Parenthood told me:

"Mike Pence has been on a one-man crusade against Planned Parenthood and access to reproductive health care for nearly a decade. He introduced six different measures to block access to basic health care while in Congress, and was willing to shut down the Government rather than allow women and men to get basic health care at Planned Parenthood. As Governor, he signed into law one of the most restrictive abortion laws in the country. This is the nightmare the Trump-Pence ticket is offering: To unite their party against women."



As far as other issues, Pence:

Voted against barring job discrimination based on sexual orientation.

Voted for a Constitutional Amendment banning same-sex marriage.

Opposed federal funding for AIDS treatment.

Signed the "religious freedom" bill giving businesses a "License to Discriminate" by

refusing service to LGBT customers.

Oh, and he's a climate denier!
A new face for feminism paints 1,500 magnetic words. And when it's Barack Obama's face it gets global attention. The 44th American president's feminist essay for Glamour, in which he highlights his personal and political views on women's progress, is being extolled as his most important remarks on feminism to date. Published on his 55th birthday and strategically one week after the Democratic National Convention, Obama's writing calls on the public to acknowledge Hillary Clinton's groundbreaking achievement.

"This fall we enter a historic election. Two hundred and forty years after our nation's founding, and almost a century after women finally won the right to vote, for the first time ever, a woman is a major political party's presidential nominee," he writes. "No matter your political views, this is a historic moment for America. And it's just one more example of how far women have come on the long journey toward equality."

Shattering Glass

Every part of me remembers the feeling that washed over my social-medialized, Trump-induced fatigue when Hillary appeared on the DNC stage via satellite. As the graphic and sound of breaking glass followed a montage of the 44 male presidents who have held office so far, I felt a surge of reignited hope for women everywhere. I felt my female friends and colleagues spanning the globe scream and exhale in solidarity and joy.

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Political views aside, if you are someone who knows what a gift it is to be a woman, or to be taken care of, nurtured, taught, trained, mentored, loved and supported by a woman, this moment is everything. And whether or not you like Hillary's personality or past (which are scrutinized relentlessly by her critics), you can't deny her unabating focus and will.

Ok, back to POTUS.

In his essay, Obama writes about the need for undoing the unconscious gender bias that pervades society.

"We need to keep changing the attitude that permits the routine harassment of women, whether they're walking down the street or daring to go online. We need to keep changing the attitude that teaches men to feel threatened by the presence and success of women."

"We need to keep changing the attitude that congratulates men for changing a diaper, stigmatizes full-time dads, and penalizes working mothers. We need to keep changing the attitude that values being confident, competitive, and ambitious in the workplace--unless you're a woman. Then you're being too bossy, and suddenly the very qualities you thought were necessary for success end up holding you back."

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So how do we do this?

Obama points out a few contributions that are paving the way.

"The good news is that everywhere I go across the country, and around the world, I see people pushing back against dated assumptions about gender roles. From the young men who've joined our It's On Us campaign to end campus sexual assault, to the young women who became the first female Army Rangers in our nation's history, your generation refuses to be bound by old ways of thinking. And you're helping all of us understand that forcing people to adhere to outmoded, rigid notions of identity isn't good for anybody--men, women, gay, straight, transgender, or otherwise."

Ok, great. What about the rest of us? What can we do to mobilize others to talk the talk and walk the walk of feminism?

We can start by being inclusive in our conversations about feminism. When women say men should stay out of the conversation on women's rights, they are doing everyone on the planet a huge disservice. Without men the conversation doesn't move forward.

We can track and support gender equality commitments around the world being done though the UN's #HeforShe movement. This means more than holding up a sign that reads "I'm #HeforShe" and posting it on Instagram. This means researching and sharing resources at your school, college campus or corporation.

HeforShe's Impact 10x10x10 initiative works with leaders in governments, universities and business to address the biggest gender equality challenges they face. As part of their commitments to the campaign, involved decision makers sign the Women's Empowerment Principles and implement Principle #7, which is to 'measure and publicly report on progress to achieve gender equality.'

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If you're a male or a female who wants to get your male counterparts engaged in the gender equality discussion, check out MenEnage, a global alliance that operates at the country-level and regional-level to achieve gender justice.

In some circles, the words "feminist" and "gender equality advocate" are still viewed as pejoratives. Isn't it time to stop arguing over semantics?

I'm not going to say if you're a feminist than it's your duty to vote for Hillary. What I will say is if you believe in equality than it's ok to call yourself a feminist, and not simply because Barack Obama and Justin Trudeau do. You can call yourself a feminist because every time someone demonizes the word during conversations on women's rights, our vision and planning are steered off course.
The first time I set foot in "Bluestockings," I felt a rush of late 70's nostalgia. I instantly recalled the first gay bookstore I visited when I lived in Philadelphia, a clean, airy space, named "Giovanni's Room" after one of the titles of the iconic African-American gay writer, James Baldwin.

I was shopping for an identity, back then, when I walked into that first store, and now, the older me realizes (especially when I happened into Bluestockings) that one's identity comes to them. It cannot be chased. It is in that spirit that I took inventory of all the things that Bluestockings had to offer. For although I landed pretty much in the middle-of-the-road, I can appreciate and enjoy the passion of those who label themselves "radical," as the participants of the collectively owned cafe-bookshop do.

The miracle is that in the year 2016 Bluestockings even exists, in Manhattan, at all. While a few independent bookstores grow in Brooklyn, even the venerable St. Mark's Bookshop, after a few saddening moves, closed its doors, not long ago. But Bluestockings, perhaps of, or because of its innocent outrageousness flourishes.

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Where else can you find (in addition to the expected fare of topics such as feminism, queer and gender studies, and general progressive leaning politics) events including "Sober Poly Meetups?" There is also Deep Yoga for the limber reader.

One of the bedrocks of any bookstore, independent or not is the opportunity that is offered to emerging and established authors, reading to their literature-hungry audiences. Bluestockings selectively, but generously offers these readings, where politics takes a back seat to good old-fashioned storytelling.

Whether or not "Barista" is the politically-correct title of servers today, I have only been greeted by cheerful faces as I order a Fair Trade, no caffeine, sugar-free, vegan concoction of my choosing. They also have all the gooey stuff, as well.

Here is an example of two imminent events:



The August 10th 2016 (@ 7:00 pm - 9:30 pm) book release of Barbara J. Taylor's follow-up to her novel Sing in the Morning Cry in the Night-- All Waiting is Long will be hosted by the prolific author and teacher, Kaylie Jones (The Anger Meridian>, Lies My Mother Never Told Me).

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The Somehow I Am Different Book (SAID) launch is August 11, 2016, @ 7:00 pm - 9:30 pm

Join Alyssa, the Somehow I Am Different Team, and family and friends for the launch of Alyssa's new book. SIAD is a narrative nonfiction anthology about identity and community in Jewish Budapest.



There will be a signing and Q & A, and of course a chance to peruse the venue's thousands of titles.

Bluestockings Bookstore and Cafe -- Allen Street, New York, NY 10002 Open 11 am - 11 pm daily
Whatever you think of the current election, the Trump strategy is worth taking a look at, because it has been both Trump's key to success but also the source of his currently declining poll numbers. Trump has rewritten the rules, but also authored the guidebook on how to potentially defeat him. This is a breakdown of what has happened, and what is happening in the war rooms of both campaigns. This is not an article about political views, it is one about political strategy.

First, let's all take a breath, and admit that the strategy of the Trump Campaign was very innovative.

In four simple steps, Donald Trump obliterated his opposition, became his party's leader and is now one of two likely people to become the most powerful single human on earth. This would alone be remarkable, but he did this for 1/10th of the cost of his rivals. Yuuge.

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If I were to write the book on the Trump Strategy, it would be covered in gold-leaf and go something like this:

Step 1: . Divide and conquer. Trump Isolated his opponents one-by-one, forming alliances and attacking his biggest rivals systematically. Trump did this by initially forming alliances against Bush, then against Perry, then Rubio, and finally Cruz.

There is no beating around the Bush here; with a howitzer-like performance, Trump blitzed his opponents like no other politician has ever done before, and he did it with support from viewers like you (and me).

Step 2. Before Trump, prevailing campaign doctrine was built on the equation given to us by The Supreme Court in Citizens United. Money = Speech. Campaigns receive unlimited money from corporate entities, spending the money they raise on TV ads to topple their opponents.

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Thus, the past few political cycles were predictable. The more you raised, the more you spent, and the more you spent, the more you won.

Trump realized that the converse of that equation was actually much more powerful and interesting. Speech = money. That is, he skipped the middle man. Trump realized that billions of free media coverage were available to him from the media if he could in turn help the media generate revenue. CNN and Fox were his earliest accomplices. The media could magnify his statements 30x or 40x if those same statements increased ratings and sold Cialis.

Step 3. Knowing this, Trump behaved like an artillery spotter. Using his words like a laser pointer, Trump would tag his enemies with irresistibly obscene attacks.

Once his target was tagged, they would be peppered in an echo chamber of billions of dollars worth of negative media coverage. Trump would say, "Weak, low energy, crooked, ugly wife" and the media would repeat it over and over again until one by one, each opponent fell under the weight of media pressure.

Now, let's be clear, this model of media pressure is one that every politician uses, but they don't use it as extremely, and as a result they have to pay more money in order for it to find white space.

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Step 4. Identify undervalued assets, who you can cheaply recruit. Remember, only about 9% of the population picks the primary winners before the general election. Trump identified correctly a core group of Republican primary voters. Blue collared, white, Christian Males who have for years been promised that tax-cuts for the wealthy would lead to better lives for them and their families. They are not wrong that they have been ignored, lied to, and manipulated. The core of their support for Trump is not about his views on Syria or immigration reform. It is to overturn a political apple cart that they believe has sold them nothing but lemons for decades.

Nobody else on either side of the aisle has, in recent memory, courted this group with such precision as the Trump campaign.

Trump is slipping in the polls. If his strategy was so innovative, why is his campaign faltering?

Trump's process is starting to work against him. That's because the Democrats have spotted Trump's strategy and they are using it against him.

Trump's attempts to isolate Clinton by backing Bernie Sanders and his supporters did not work, because the DNC were way ahead of Trump on unifying themselves. Trump's political rivals fell to his media blitz because they could not organize themselves and collaborate quickly or effectively before it was too late.

It is no accident that Clinton's campaign slogan is, "Stronger Together". So long as Trump cannot isolate his opponents, he is in big trouble. Today, Trump cannot stem the directions from which he gets attacked by his rivals, and this a uniquely dangerous problem for Trump, because it means he will attack many targets at once. This is a curve in the road that is deadly for a man like Trump who can only drive his car at one speed.

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The Democrats know this. The DNC and the Clinton campaign are meticulously laying bait for Donald Trump's "target & attack" machine, and he is biting every single time. Each time Trump takes the bait, the Democrats inch more and more towards the center, peeling Trump away from yet another interest group and seizing the middle ground.

Astutely, the Clinton Campaign has observed that the way to beat Trump isn't by attacking him on Twitter. Rather, it is by baiting him into attacking American Values. Trump is the Blitzkrieg, and the Clinton Campaign is the Russian Winter.

From a cold and analytical perspective, we can see this working from 10,000 feet. Take the case with Gold Star father Khizr Khan, speaking on behalf of KIA Veteran Captain Humayun Khan.

Was it an accident that an irrefutably sympathetic and honorable person was attacking Trump on the Democrats biggest stage? Of course it wasn't.

While Mr. Khan was cast to speak at the DNC in a strategic effort to promote the DNC's platform of national unity, it is no accident that Mr. Khan attacked Trump directly. This attack was irresistible to the Trump campaign. Trump's greatest strength also masks his greatest weakness. He cannot keep his mouth shut, and, as Hillary Clinton said in her own speech, Trump, "Takes the bait every single time". He doesn't know how to change gears, and this makes him unelectable.

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It is Trump's inability to pivot to the general election that makes him strategically vulnerable, and it is the reason his campaign is likely doomed. Trump's campaign is built on attacking opponents and using the media as an echo chamber.

With the Democrats (as well as many Republicans) uniting against Trump, he is being systematically pushed further and further to the right. Soon, he will be against the wall and so isolated that his campaign will fall under its own weight.

Like all candidates, Clinton is vulnerable to a particular subset of issues and attacks, but Trump has lost control of the narrative as he chases the daily trickle of bait from his political enemies.
Successful company cultures manifest seven distinct characteristics as well. These are company cultures that indicate growth and an upward dynamic, and they are typically characterized by a high level of teamwork and engagement. Here are the seven characteristics of successful company cultures.

1. A purpose-driven company culture

Successful company cultures are company cultures in which employees have a clear sense of purpose; employees understand their immediate and long term goals. This is important, because an organization with purpose shifts people and resources forward in order to achieve goals rather than simply managing them, and achieving goals is what it's all about, isn't it? So purpose is a key ingredient for a strong, sustainable, scalable organizational culture.

It's more than that, though. Purpose is an inspirational driver for engaging employees and communities. When a leader establishes a clear purpose for the organization, it will become the inspirational driver for engaging employees and so provide them with a concrete source for motivation. In other words, the organization's strategies, capabilities, and culture become the engine behind the organization's purpose.

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What's more, the connection between purpose and performance is clear. There's mounting evidence that aligning an organization with a higher purpose drives business results. A 2014 study by Deloitte found that an organization that focuses on purpose is an organization that inspires higher levels of confidence among stakeholders and one that boosts growth. Similarly, a 2010 Burson-Marsteller/IMD Corporate Purpose Impact study found that a strong and well-communicated corporate purpose can contribute up to 17 percent improvement in financial performance. And that's just in the short term. The longer-term benefits of having employees aligned with a strong sense of purpose are incalculable.

2. Effective communication patterns

Effective communication patterns within successful organizations have three main characteristics: clarity, courtesy, and proactivity.

Clarity is a vital element in effective communication, because it's important for messages and information to be transferred in a transparent, clear, and concise manner. This is true regardless of where the messages com: managers to employees or within teams. It's the clarity of these messages that allows them to be heard and processed by the receiver -- and that makes clarity invaluable! Often, people don't communicate their messages clearly enough, because they are afraid of upsetting people. They may be afraid to say what they really want to say, or they dance around the actual message, hoping to get avoid saying what they actually want to say. In organizations where employees express themselves clearly and safely, teams work together better, and productivity is increased as a result.

Courtesy is another important aspect of communication, as it allows for messages to be transmitted within an atmosphere of safety and respect. It manifests respect for the other person and gets the message across within the safe limits of that respect. In this way, feedback, information, and messages can be transferred with minimal concern for getting hurt or hurting others.

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Proactivity is a yet another crucial aspect of an effective communication pattern, because the only way to conduct a productive discussion is to conduct a proactive one. In real terms, this means that all parties in the discussion are forward looking rather than engaging with the past, which leads to blame and accusations. A forward-looking discussion is based on the notion that whatever happened has happened, and it can't be changed, so the discussion is more centered on what we can do from this point going forward in order to reach our goals or operate better as a team.

3. A culture of feedback

Feedback is great for so many reasons, and fostering a culture of feedback is crucial to the success of every organization. Why? Because feedback pushes higher levels of performance. Creating an open, feedback-oriented company culture requires people to be receptive to giving and receiving feedback and to understanding when and how to give it. Feedback can come from many different people and places. These people or places could be internal or external, and the feedback could be about any aspect of organizational life, including leadership and vision, management and internal practices, and operations. A culture of feedback means not only that feedback is given and received but that it is given and received safely, clearly, and productively, with sensitivity to diversity of cultures, personalities, and situations.

4. Embracing diversity

Cultural sensitivity is the awareness of practices and cultures that are different from your own. A culture that embraces diversity has an awareness of different cultures, of how these cultures should be properly approached, and how to communicate with them accordingly. Leaders and team members evaluate how certain cultural differences affect how people work, communicate, and interact without judging, making assumptions, discriminating, or stereotyping.

A company culture that embraces diversity is centered on tolerance and acceptance of others, which fosters teamwork and a general sense of collaboration.

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5. Teamwork

Creating, enhancing, and celebrating teamwork is at the heart of every successful company culture. A culture of teamwork focuses on team accomplishments rather than on individual accomplishments, encourages collaboration, and allows for tasks to be completed in a faster, better, and more efficient manner. One of the most common misconceptions about teamwork is that the success of a team is based on the personalities of the team members. The truth is that while personalities that work well together certainly make teamwork easier, the real success or failure of teamwork is derived from structure. Teams need to know what the expectations are and what the roles and rules are. Those need to be reinforced and clarified to all team members, and once this structure is in place, teamwork becomes much easier.

6. Engagement and loyalty

Employee engagement is a hot topic at the moment, and raising employee engagement has become one of the highest priorities for organizations around the world. The problem is that while leaders have come to appreciate the importance of having a fully engaged employee, they often have a very limited understanding of what really drives employee engagement and of how to actually maintain or even increase it. In the 1990s, William Kahn, professor of organizational behavior at Boston University, introduced the term "engagement" based on his observation that people have a choice as to how much of themselves they're willing to invest in their jobs. Kahn discovered that employees were far more emotionally and physically engaged when they experienced the following:

Psychological meaningfulness: a sense that their work was worthwhile and made a difference.

Psychological safety: a feeling they were valued, accepted, respected, and able to perform their job in a positive work environment.

Availability: routinely feeling secure and self-confident in terms of their ability to perform their job.

Nearly twenty-five years later, these three elements remain at the heart of most theories of employee engagement. The most interesting fact as far as engagement is concerned is that pay isn't even on the list! While fair compensation will always be a key component of job satisfaction, the research shows us that it's not necessarily a day-to-day motivator of engagement. The conclusion for organizations everywhere is this: Employee engagement can never be bought; it must be earned.

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7. Growth and development

Successful company cultures always offer their employees opportunities for growth, both in terms of training and in terms of their ability to grow as individuals or as teams -- acquiring new skills and, as a result, new possibilities. It's the manager's job not only to obtain the best possible performance from employees but to obtain the best possible performance from them while at the same time helping them to grow. Opportunities for growth are an incredibly determining factor in employee engagement, and there are various types of growth opportunities that companies can offer employees.

Position-based growth

Motivated people who work hard would typically expect to move forward and upward in terms of their position. If they do not see any possibility for position-based growth at any point, it may decrease their engagement, and in some cases it may cause them to leave.

Professional growth

Engaged and motivated employees would also seek the opportunity to enhance their skills and improve their knowledge. People desire to feel that they are progressing as professionals and that their workplace allows for that growth.

Financial growth

Financial growth is important to employees, as it can act as an indicator of their value and worth to the company -- and of course, they hope to increase this over time. Lack of financial growth is perceived by employees as lack of growth in terms of their own value for the company, which may lead to disengagement and even increased staff turnover.
I always wonder how my grandparents saw the future. I am currently living in the world they dreamed of but is it how they envisioned? In the 1950s, did they see me sitting in bed at 10 o'clock at night, writing an article on my laptop for Huffington Post about how I see the future of technology?

They had The Jetsons but is that really how they saw the future? Probably not. After all, they took the term "science fiction" literally which is not the case for most people today. We see science fiction as a future reality as many theories that were "fiction" back then are being proven as truths today.

When we bought our first house, my grandmother told me that we would get sick of vacuuming the floors. Joke's on you, grandma, you must have never heard of Roomba! Photo courtesy of Flickr.

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Nikola Tesla predicted smartphones back in 1926. The idea was laughable at the time of course and no one, other than Tesla, thought it would ever be a reality. But look at us now. Not only do we have smartphones, but they are getting smaller, more durable, and syncing with other devices no one really thought we would have like tablets, smart watches, etc...

So what will the future hold? Yes, these are the silly things I sit and think about when I am not doing real work.

The Perfect City. Is It Possible?

Cities are completely screwed up at the moment. With population increasing, expansion is necessary and careful planning is not always at the forefront. We build as we go which causes traffic issues, utility problems, and even putting buildings in the path of mother nature (here in California we have fires aplenty).

The ability to build the perfect city is already underway thanks to "building information modeling" (BIM). Think of it as Sim City but in 3D. Architects are using it to draw plans for buildings while cities can actually map out entire towns complete with utilities. The benefits of BIM include being able to simulate projects and get them down to the finest detail without the need to rework drawings.

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I see cities being planned in fine detail before they are even built. We will hopefully know, through modeling, the places that are likely to flood, places where there will be traffic congestion, and the best place in the city to live, based on weather patterns and access to schools and other amenities.

Screenshot of BIM software showing how you can view a layout in 3D. I think I see the Vegas sign on the right. Let's just hope our future cities do not have lizards that can skateboard. Photo courtesy of Flickr.

Of course you cannot have the perfect city without the perfect transportation system. High emission vehicles would not exist in their current form. What will replace them?

At the moment, the only "futuristic" transportation system is the Hyperloop. A vision of SpaceX founder Elon Musk, the original concept was in response to California's plan to build a bullet train from Los Angeles to San Francisco. The Hyperloop has been described as a "vacuum tube transportation system" and would transport people and goods between the two cities in 35 minutes at a fraction of the cost compared to the bullet train.

The interesting thing about the Hyperloop is that Musk professes that it would be the perfect transportation system on Mars because of that planet's atmosphere. Who knows, maybe that "perfect city" will be on a different planet.

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Communication Telepathically?

Well, we can explore my thoughts on fringe a little later, but it's definitely within the realm of possibilities. For now, let's focus on something a little more believable by the majority. Assuming we are not living on Mars by then, how will we communicate in the future?

Google Glass brought out the best in futuristic anticipation. An optical head-mounted display, Google Glass is worn just like a pair of eyeglasses. You can view information in the screen in front of you and also control it through voice recognition. While the technology is moving slower than people would like, it is a glimpse into a completely hands-free world of communication.

Google Glass could be the future of wireless communication. Of course, that will be short-lived once we find a way to put all that technology onto a contact lens. Photo courtesy of Flickr.

Google Glass did not take the foothold that the company anticipated; however, it is making a comeback. We'll see just how soon it will replace those smartphones that Tesla predicted.

How About Holograms?

"Help me Obi-Wan Kenobi, you're my only hope."

Yes, I just dated myself but it needed to be said. Straight out of Star Wars, can we actually speak through holograms? Imagine, having someone in the same room as you communicating even though they are halfway around the world.

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Microsoft has already started to make this a reality. Using what they refer to as "holoportation," they can record and project someone from one location to another. At the moment, it takes tons of 3D cameras in order to accomplish the feat, but maybe in the future it will as easy as giving the command to our Google Glasses.

Beyond the Impossible

I am a believer in fringe theory. Some of it still seems like science fiction to me, but some seems absolutely possible. Thanks to Einstein and his theory of relativity, I believe time travel is possible. Of course, it is outside the scope of our current understanding which is why it is still considered "fringe." I could dedicate an entire series of articles about fringe but we'll leave it at that for now.

For those of you rolling your eyes, imagine asking someone in the 1700s if they thought it would be possible to fly over the ocean like a bird. All the while enjoying a mixed drink and playing games on your smartphone.
Co-authored with Andreas Kallmuenzer, University of Innsbruck, Austria and Jessica Greenhalgh, University of Southern California

On June 23, 2016, the Briton voters shocked the world with their vote (49% to 51%) to leave the European Union (EU). The vote of the younger generation was almost 80% in favor of remaining with the EU to 20% for leaving the EU. The puzzling issue in this vote disparity by age is to understand the motivation and incentives of the voter's bloc. Ostensibly, the vote does not seem to be enhancing Britons economic and political position. The proponents claim to regain Briton's sovereignty including important national policy decisions and borders based on immigration issue although Britain's immigrants are legal and can be managed under its current legal system. In contrast, the U.S., for example, has a large number of non-documented residents. It follows that the incentives of the U.K. voters must have been different than just the immigration issue. Research has shown that the contributions of immigrants to host countries are significant in new skills, cheaper labor, new businesses, and entrepreneurship. Ostensibly, the senior U.K. voters acted emotionally rather than rationally and were yearning to recreate the dignity and global stature of the former British Empire.

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Since the end of WWII, United Kingdom has lost most of its colonies in Africa, Asia and other parts of the world and has lost its former position as a great power. That inevitable process was explicated in Paul Kennedy seminal book, which explained the inevitability of the rise and fall of great powers. Great Britain was no exception in light of heavy military expenditures that it sustained as an empire and fell into the cycle. It has been on its way to becoming a Small Britain as a victim of a falling empire by the end of World War II. The former colonies emancipated one by one.

However, Britons voting to leave the EU is not going to rectify the British downfall, in fact it can be argued that the exist vote is going to be counterproductive. For instance, as a response to the vote, the British pound took a nose dive and the exchange rate vis-a-vis U.S. dollar went down to a 31 year low after the Brexist vote. The pound sterling lost about 11% in value against U.S. dollars. This depreciation leads to higher import costs, most notably gasoline and consumer products, and lower export earnings, assuming inelastic demand for U.K. exports. Besides, London will no longer be the world's financial center and thousands of employees in the financial sector will be (or will have to be) seeking employment elsewhere in Europe. British citizen will not be able to move freely throughout Europe anymore, and 2 million British expatriates living across Europe are confronting a sea of uncertainty. They may lose their property rights as local citizens, right to work, own and operate a business and may face a host of regulatory imperatives imposed upon them.

The "leave vote" has caused Britain without a functioning government and the uncertainty associated thereof raising the issue of how to reverse the "leave" vote including the possibility of another referendum and avoid the invocation of the formal process of divorce from EU under Article 50 of the 2007 Lisbon Treaty.

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by Ashley Sorensen



Hillary Clinton campaigning in Las Vegas this week. She's been a big hit with female donors. (Credit: Erik Kabik Photography/ MediaPunch/IPX)



The 2016 presidential election has been filled with historic moments for politically involved women, including donors. For years, women have contributed less money than men to federal candidates, parties and other political committees at the over-$200 giving level, but the gender giving gap appears to have improved for at least one major candidate in 2016.



Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton has received a record number of contributions from women and even Donald Trump is staying almost even with his immediate predecessors for the GOP nomination, Mitt Romney and John McCain, when it comes to female donors.

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Clinton has received more in contributions from women - about $97.5 million so far - than any other candidate at this point in the election, and also has collected the largest percentage of donations ever from women for a presidential candidate.

Still, some things haven't changed much. Despite Clinton's great success with female donors, the top 100 list of largest donors in 2016 -- those who give large sums to super PACs and other committees that can accept large checks -- is still heavily dominated by men.

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During the 1990 election cycle, women accounted for 21 of the top 100 individual donors. In 2012 - 22 years later -- that number fell to 11. It increased to 22 in 2014, but remains at 19 three-fourths of the way through the 2016 cycle. In fact, no women - zero - have made the top 10 individual donor list for the past two election cycles and women are still overwhelmingly underrepresented among the top 20 donors.

Here's a startling figure: In 2016, the top 10 male donors -- who happen to be the top 10 donors period -- have given a total of $55.4

million, more than the $96.8 million contributed by the top 100 female donors combined. And the top 100 male donors have shelled out more than triple that $96.8 million -- $362.3 million, to be exact.

In fact, women account for just 14.4 percent of the nearly $401 million provided by the top 100 individual donors in 2016.

Even in 2014, when 22 females were present on the top 100 individuals chart, they still gave just 9.92 percent of the total amount contributed by the top 100 individuals. In the past five election cycles, women have given on average 13.2 percent of the money provided by the top 100 donors.

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Who are the female megadonors and why aren't there more women on the top 100 list, especially considering how supportive they've been of Clinton? Let's take a look at the top five female donors of 2016:

Marlene Ricketts is the top woman donor so far in the 2016 cycle with nearly $7 million given to conservative groups or GOP candidates. She's given almost $10.5 million since 1990. Her husband, Joe, has also contributed to Republicans with donations ringing in at just over $1 million in this year's contests. Generally the primary earner in a couple donates more than his or her spouse, but that's not the case here. Joe is the founder of TD Ameritrade, one of the largest online brokerages in the world, and Marlene frequently states "homemaker" as her occupation when making contributions. Together the Ricketts are ranked 15 among all individual donors this cycle and gave heavily to the anti-Trump Our Principles PAC, though they have supported other conservative presidential candidates this cycle. Marlene currently lives in Nebraska, where her son, Pete Ricketts, is the governor.

Laure Woods has so far given more than $6.2 million to Democrats and liberal committees this cycle, and about $8.2 million overall since 1990. She serves on the board of the liberal group EMILY's List, and is the founder of the Laurel Foundation. She has a scientific background and worked as a clinical researcher for the pharmaceutical companies Genelabs Technologies and Matrix Pharmaceutical. On the campaign finance front, she is known for heavily funding Progressive Women of Silicon Valley, an organization supporting Hillary Clinton.

Cheryl Saban is an author and wife of Haim Saban. The Sabans rank 8 together among the overall top 100 donors. Cheryl alone has given $72.5 million since 1990. This cycle so far, she has donated almost $5.6 million and Haim, $6.7 million, often to the same candidates or groups. Haim is associated with the Saban Capital Group, known for founding the Saban Center for Middle East Policy at the Brookings Institution, and is CEO of Saban Entertainment. Cheryl sits on the Clinton Foundation board. The Sabans are somewhat controversial financial supporters of Clinton due to their stance on the U.S. relationship with Israel.

Diane Hendricks, chairman of ABC Supply and founder of the Hendricks Holding Company, has donated $5.4 million to conservative federal candidates, parties and other groups so far this cycle. Diane founded ABC supply with her late husband, Ken, in 1982. She's been a steady donor, giving $72.7 million since 1990. The Wisconsin native gave $5 million in 2015 to Unintimidated PAC, supporting Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker's presidential bid, but now she serves as vice chair of a joint fundraising committee for the Republican nominee, Trump Victory Committee.

Jo Ann Wilks has so far donated $5 million this election cycle to conservatives. Her husband, Farris, also gave $5.1 million, and they rank 12 together on the overall top 100 donors chart. The Wilks have strongly supported Ted Cruz and other politicians linked to the religious right through their creation of the Thirteen Foundation. Her total donations come to a bit under $5.2 million and almost all of the money has gone to Reigniting the Promise, a super PAC created to elect to Ted Cruz. Jo Ann cites that she is affiliated with the Wilks Brothers on her FEC filings; her husband sold the fracking equipment company he owned with his brother for billions of dollars five years ago.

Among the differences between the biggest male and female donors are where they work in relation to their spouses. According to FEC filings, 63 percent of the top 100 female megadonors this cycle have different employers than their spouses. That rate is 76 percent for the 25 women who can be found on the top 100 individual donors list. Averaging the past five cycles, 71.4 percent of the top 100 female contributors and 76 percent of women on the top 100 individual list have employers different than their spouses.

In contrast, the employers of all of the top 100 male megadonors for the past five cycles are not the same as those of their spouses. Furthermore, almost all female megadonors' spouses are also donors, but the reverse is true far less often.

Another difference: The deepest-pocketed female contributors lean farther left then their male counterparts. The top 100 female megadonors gave $8.1 million to Democrats and liberal committees and $16.3 million to conservative candidates and causes in the 2016 cycle. In contrast, men gave $11.6 million to liberals and $24.4 million to conservatives. While both genders have given more to conservatives this cycle, the gap in donations to the two sides of the aisle was more pronounced for men than for women. That's somewhat reflective of the fact that in the electorate generally, women are more likely than men to be Democrats.

This ideological trend has been visible for years. The top 100 men have given a larger share of their donations to conservatives than women have in four of the past five cycles. Moreover, never in that time frame did the top 100 male megadonors give more to Democrats than Republicans, whereas female megadonors did so 60 percent of the time.

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The occupational biographies of women and men have not significantly changed over the past five cycles, indicating that women's professional choices are unrelated to their presence on the top 100 donor list.



In addition, when a larger percentage of money from the top 100 female or male donors goes to Democrats over Republicans, the number of women on the top 100 donor list is unaffected.

So why hasn't there been much of an uptick in the numbers of female megadonors since 1991? Possibly because one impact of Supreme Court cases such as McCutcheon v. FEC and Citizens United v. FEC has been to raise the cost of elections, allowing much larger donations into the system; that may make it more difficult for women to match male megadonors' high giving levels than at other points in history.

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The Washington Post recently found that women make up 37 of the top 150 donors to super PACs in the 2016 cycle, which is an increase since 2012. But female megadonors still have a long way to go in order to decrease the gender giving gap.
You wake up early, fumble blindly for your smartphone, glance at your notifications, and begin the familiar morning routine; Facebook, and/or Instagram, Snapchat, Linkedin, Pinterest and perhaps music.ly - all before brushing your teeth. You'll repeat this routine multiple times throughout your day, filling the gaps in your schedule with your phone, occasionally colliding with other addicts on the sidewalk, until just before you turn off the light and fall asleep. No worries, you're not alone; Americans check their smartphones more than 150 times and spend over 5 hours using them every day. The most used apps are the social media ones, with Facebook being the number one by a huge margin, attracting way over a Billion daily users globally.

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Almost all social media platforms are actually advertising companies. They claim they connect people and democratize access, but when looking at their business model, one sees that all their revenue is generated from Ad dollars. By using their technology to sell us stuff we don't need or even want, social media has also become the epitome of consumerism and of the dark, manipulative aspect of advertising; they turned us into their product. Our every choice, habit, video, text and click are being monitored, analyzed, packaged, and sold to advertisers with the goal of growing our Lifetime Value for the platform. Every product feature has but one goal; to make us come back. Again and again. It's the tobacco industry, free of charge, and to the power of the internet - only this new industry damages our mind, soul and culture, not our lungs. We might, from time to time, become aware of this incredibly huge and sophisticated machine, always with us but unseen. Sometimes we get a sense of its presence when we experience a Deja-Vu from an ad that we already saw or a piece of content that statistically should simply not be there. Most of the time, it is easier to deny it, and move on to the next post, picture or filter, unbeknowingly sold a million times to a million advertisers, bundled with people that are similar to us. They call it "Lookalike Audiences", and it's a core tenet of their advertising technology; bundling us with people with similar purchase habits, to be targeted by products and services we're more susceptible to buy.

This industry, led by the technology, operations, and business acumen of Facebook (all others are wannabe clones of the powerful capabilities of Facebook as a company) are achieving our dependency with the help of a few strategies, while at the same time creating a formula that leads to cultural destruction:

+ The Bubble Algorithm: In order to increase our "engagement", social media learns who we are and what we love and hate, and keeps providing us with content that suits our opinions so we won't leave. It's like an endless ghetto of people that are just like us; White, Black, Libertarian, Progressive, and yes, Racist. We can even join the Contrarian and Troll ghettos, and argue/bully other people, satisfy our need for confrontation, and eventually be bundled with other contrarians and perhaps get served with ads for a secret new conspiracy website.

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+ The Big Equalizer: our opinions times our level of provocation, our dedication to the platform and our number of friends and followers, determines our power of distribution. Facts do not matter, education and experience don't matter, Intelligence? Forget it. If we can generate a better social graph than a Nobel Prize Laureate, our opinion will become more important. Don't like Joseph Stiglitz's post on your wall? Just scroll down, like and share someone else's, a Trump supporter perhaps. You'll see much more of their thinking in the future.

+ Garbage in/out: Little curation or filtering is supplied by social media (unless it is for the optimization of advertising). Informed choice and consent? Quality control? Not in this school of thought. The platform is massively biased towards high engagement (aka addiction) and towards better results from advertisers. This is unethical design by design. The platforms know very well what's happening, but are careful to position themselves as merely an innocent "software platform", and fouls are countered with "It wasn't us, it was our algorithm". Right, they are not responsible for the few (million) bad apples that abuse the best highway ever created by metaphorically driving at 200mph and randomly shoot at passers by. See under Milo Yiannopoulos.

= The Hate Machine: Bubble algo + Big equalizer + Garbage in/out all lead to an ever lowered common denominator that's needed to consistently produce a stronger social graph and get enough dopamine rushes. This is a one way ticket to hate and fear based communication (and to billions of videos of very young pets). This garbage is proliferated in zero time, with zero resistance and cost, creating the largest and most successful hate distribution machine in history, and inventing a new language, all its own; "Crooked Hillary", "TL:DR", "Delete your account" etc.. Not sure? Create a hateful fake profile and a piece of hate content, quoting someone telling a horrendous lie, and see how quickly the algo spreads the bigotry. Let's Make America Hate Again.

Social media, in continuation of similar but far less effective distribution platforms such as Fox News, is responsible for accelerating and tipping over a major transformation of western culture and perhaps even of the species itself. Our ideas and values and how we form and choose them, the quality of the information we consume and make decisions upon, the power of our family and community to educate and support us, the way we form and maintain relationships, the way we fall in love and hate, and even the way we die and life after death are all being fundamentally shifted, and it's almost entirely for the worse. I am no Luddite, I love technology, aka tool-making, and think it is part of what makes us humans. I also do appreciate some of the upsides like the democratization of connections, and seeing how your High-School Alumni ages, but if you take a closer look at the cost, it is currently not a very good deal.

Not all was picture-perfect before Social Media, but we now all live inside a massive social and psychological experiment that accelerates and amplifies the decline in culture and values eroded by decades of aggressive capitalism, consumerism, and anti-intellectualism, and distributed by commercial TV, advertising, and all the hear, see, and the more recent click bait. All these trends now finally meet the ultimate distribution network that takes us all at warp speed straight to cultural hell. Trump would not be here if it was not for his intuitive and cruell willingness to trade pure hate as his major currency, perfectly distributed by the hate machine. Brexit would have probably never happened, not only because Cameron isn't exactly a Churchillian figure, but because demagoguery and fact-free journalism a-la Boris could not find such traction pre social media. It is so obviously destructive, that I personally believe that In a few years time social media would be looked at like we view cigarettes today; Future social media should probably arrive with a federal warning message popping up whenever we log in, and a higher premium on our healthcare insurance.
Several days ago I went ocean fishing with a friend and colleague. We looked forward to a glorious day out in the Atlantic--blue skies, calm seas, and a good catch of flounder and sea bass to take home. As soon as we left the Indian River Inlet just south of Rehoboth Beach, Delaware, the sea got choppy.

"It's always rough at the mouth of the inlet," my friend said to me.

We were in a small boat--two eager fishermen a seasoned boat captain and a young mate. As we moved out away from the shore, the wind picked up and the sea tossed the small boat up and down and rolled it side to side. To stabilize ourselves, we hung on to the edges of a large cooler--our seats. My friend had a patch that protects you from getting seasick.

I didn't.

After an hour of rolling in five-to seven-foot swells, we anchored in an area where bottom fish like to congregate. Our lines went to the ocean floor--some 90 feet down--and we waited. As the waves rocked us, I got very seasick. As we swayed back and forth, I hung my head over the side of the boat and retched into the sea. In a few minutes, I recovered and tried to fish anew.

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More vomiting. What's more, there were very few nibbles out there in the ocean's vast emptiness.

At that moment, I felt completely vulnerable. Nausea had taken control of my body. My woozy mind drifted into thoughts about how our exposure to the brute power of nature can make us feel small and insignificant. A large wave could easily capsize our small boat casting us into rough seas--never to be found or recovered.

As we turned around and headed back to shore, these feelings of vulnerability compelled me to think about the fragility of our social contact, which, during this election season has also drifted into rough seas. The GOP has nominated a candidate for president, Donald J Trump who, besides his demonstrated racism, xenophobia, Islamophobia, gender bias, homophobia, religious intolerance and penchant for telling lies, seems to have little to no respect for our democratic processes. In his paranoid world of fantasy, everyone is against him. The media are unfair. When members of his own party question his egocentric judgment he says they are horrible--nothing more than weak losers who viciously attack him, which in his warped view of world, means he has to hit back. There are no rules of decorum or decency in the summer or Trump. Indeed, most of his followers don't seem to care if Mr. Trump is telling the truth. They don't seem to be bothered by his childlike outbursts that break all the rules of long established political decorum.

Mr. Trump's reality television version of a political campaign has dominated the media. His irresponsible and inappropriate talk has finally precipitated a sharp drop in Mr. Trump's poll numbers. Threatened with a humiliating loss, he now contends that the election is going to be rigged. They (whoever they are) will steal the election. In the real world this assertion is ridiculous. States and municipalities govern our elections. Cases of election fraud are quite rare. Sadly, chants of election rigging take us back to the world of conspiracy theories, back to the fantasies of the birthers and those who believe that President Obama is an ISIS secret agent, all of which is an embarrassment for our electoral processes and for our country.

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If Mr. Trump does lose election--even by a wide margin--will he have the decency to concede the election to Secretary Clinton? He fails to do so he may shred the social contract established by the founders of our republic and maintained throughout American history. Our social contract relies on a deep respect for the common good as well as the belief that we must adhere to democratic principles. In our social contract, we accept the people's mandate--no matter the outcome--and ideally work together to fashion a more perfect union. These principles are the foundation of our society. They create a sense of order. They promise a better future for our children and grandchildren. Without the social contract, we slip into the fetid swap of dysfunction, chaos and disorder.

As my fellow anthropologists well know, the social contract is fragile. The social order is vulnerable to the fears that despots like to spread. No one knows what will happen in November. It hard to predict what Mr. Trump might do if he, in fact, loses the election. Will he contest the election on the grounds of his fantasies and try to destroy our social contract? Will the media finally decide to ignore his ranting and condemn him to obscurity he deserves?

Time will tell.

Although the social contract may appear to be fragile it has weathered many storms at sea, and I would like to think that just as my fishing boat tossed and turned its way back to calmer waters, so we, too, will once again renew our social contract and slowly move forward toward a better tomorrow.
New York Governor Andrew Cuomo has recently advanced a clean energy plan which mandates that New York transition half of its energy needs to renewables by 2030. By regressive contrast, New York's Public Service Commission (PSC) has approved enormous subsidies for three aging nuclear power plantsGinna, Nine Mile Point and FitzPatricklocated in Upstate New York. Estimates of the costs of these subsidies range from $59 million to $658 million by 2023, with specialists such as Blair Horner of the New York Public Interest Research Group predicting that costs could grow to $8 billion. New York consumers will be covering the tab via their utility bills.

Ginna and Nine Mile Point are owned by the Exelon Corporation, and Exelon has plans to purchase the FitzPatrick plant. You can be sure that Exelon is frothing at the mouth for this huge bailout that was approved without adequate public scrutiny. Approval of this plan gives New York State the not-so-honorable distinction of being one of the first states to bailout the aging nuclear industry in our increasingly green energy age. The long-coddled nuclear industry is hoping that other states will follow suit.

Unfortunately, subsidizing the nuclear industry in the United States is nothing new. Since the first nuclear plants opened back in the 1950's, taxpayers have assumed nearly all of the financial risk. One of the most telling warning signs about the real cost of investing in nuclear power is that fact that Wall Street will not finance the construction of a nuclear plant without a full loan guarantee from the U.S. government. The reason for such caution by financial wheelers and dealers is the long history of delays, cost overruns and reactors that never came online. Whether the plants open or not, obeisant politicians pass many of the nuclear boondoggle costs to the taxpayers.

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Atomic energy is also uninsurable in the private insurance market. Under the Price-Anderson Act of 1957, taxpayers must cover almost all of the costs if a catastrophic nuclear accident should occur. Think of the devastation caused by Chernobyl, Fukushima and Three Mile Island. Three Mile Island, which experienced only a partial meltdown in 1979, cost approximately $1 billion to clean up.

The case to preserve the New York nuclear power plants is that they are an "emissions-free power source." There are, however, much better, more affordable and safer low carbon options that would replace the need for nuclear energy in New York. These options were not even discussed or evaluated. A more sensible approach would have been for the PSC to present some alternative scenarios, so that citizen taxpayers could compare the risk and costs of a massive nuclear bailout against significant investments in other energy-generating options like wind and solar, in addition to energy conservation measures.

Consider the absurdity of the complex and expensive nuclear fuel cycle itself. It begins with uranium mining which produces radioactive tailings and dust, followed by the fabrication and refinement of fuel rods, the risky transport of these rods to the plant where they are installed, and then firing up the reactor so it goes critical with a huge amount of radioactivity. The end goal? To boil water to generate steam to turn turbines to produce electricity!

What other method of boiling water has to have specific population evacuation plans?

There is also the significant problem of spent fuel rods which are stored in pools at nuclear plants. No permanent storage sites exist for these deadly radioactive wastes, which pose national security risks, and which must be kept for thousands of years.

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It's notable to point out that the Indian Point nuclear plants in New York, which are located near an earthquake fault just thirty miles from Manhattan, were excluded from the PSC proposal. Even cautious Governor Cuomo and Hillary Clinton, when she was a Senator, have acknowledged the imminent danger that Indian Point poses to the Greater New York City area and urged its closing. The 5 PM rush hour in New York's metropolitan area is bad enough without adding the chaos of a panicked mass evacuation of millions of people.

So what about those who live within the fallout zone of these three upstate plants that will be the recipients of billions of dollars of taxpayer money? Why is Governor Cuomo trying to close Indian Point while saving these other plants? One explanation could be right out of the classic nuclear industry handbookhold the state hostage by threatening that the lights will go out if they don't pony up.

The public was given just 14 days to comment on the bailout proposal. Despite pushback from anti-nuclear activists, the nuclear industry prevailed. Is two weeks enough time for a thorough public debate on the merits of bailing out the costly, risky, dirty nuclear power industry? Shame on the indentured PSC and Governor Cuomo!

Rather than prop up deteriorating nuclear plants with a huge hand out, New York officials should be focused on phasing out nuclear energy entirely. Nuclear power has been proven many times over to be unnecessary, uneconomic, uninsurable, unevacuable, unsafe and unfit for use in the unstable modern world.

New Yorkersdon't take this lying down. Write and call Governor Cuomo's office and tell them that you oppose the PSC's huge bailout to the nuclear industry. And, we hope that some citizen groups will challenge the decision in state court.

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Have you seen the print, TV and radio ads touting atomic energy by the Nuclear Energy Institute? Its top executives and the CEOs of the nuclear energy corporations have not been willing to debate publically the assertions in these ads about cost, subsidies, evacuation, risk, alternatives and climate change. I'm confident that Peter Bradford, former member of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission and former chairman of the New York PSC would agree to a debate in a neutral forum such as the National Press Club in Washington, D.C. So too would Amory Lovins, physicist, author and energy consultant to agencies from electric utility companies to the Pentagon.


Caption/credit: Jesse Jackson and Albert Raby at Chicago Freedom Movement rally (left). Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. addressing a crowd (center). Mob and police during Chicago Freedom Movement march in Marquette Park in 1966 (right). Courtesy of Bernard Kleina

Tired? Go home!



It was among other offensive signs being held that August 1966 day in Marquette Park on Chicago's Southwest Side. Over 5,000 people -- grandmothers, young children and teenagers --gathered together by their rage against the presence of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and close to 700 other peaceful counter-protesters walking through "their" neighborhood.



(Picture taken by civil rights activist and photographer Bernard Kleina in Marquette Park on August 5, 1966)



Yes, indeed many of the marchers were tired. In fact, as Fannie Lou Hammer famously said, they were "sick and tired of being sick and tired." They were tired of the bigotry, racism and hatred that unscrupulous realtors and others were manipulating to induce fear and violence against blacks if they dared try and purchase property anywhere near "their homes."

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This was Chicago in 1966. Around the country and world, the global movement for human dignity was ever present. Julian Bond was denied a seat in the Georgia House of Representatives and there was strong backlash to African Americans in urban and rural communities, seeking access to the ballot box. The state of Mississippi, the ancestral home of over 50 percent of Chicago Bronzeville natives, witnessed the bombing and eventual assassination of activists Vernon Dahmer in the city of Hattiesburg, MS. Cleveland, OH erupted in urban disturbance and riots as a result of repressive police and political practices pushed by the openly xenophobic Mayor Richard Locher. On the West coast, the Black Panther party was being formed by Bobby Seale and Huey P. Newton -- a direct response to the lack of police protection in black communities.

Internationally in Lagos, Nigeria, African activists and heads of state gathered to condemn the racist regime of Rhodesia and South Africa.

Chicago in 1966 was joining the global zeitgeist mural of freedom and dignity.

And so they marched. They fearlessly marched into the heart of hatred -- dodging rocks, bottles and nasty insults from the mouths of angry Marquette Park residents.

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The marchers were organizers and everyday folks from around Chicago and the larger region. They were people who understood that the lingering evils of racism and violent segregation knew no boundaries and had to be confronted if we were ever going to live in an America we all could call home.

Fifty years later the project of radically reimagining "home" is ever so urgent. It's urgent because the political rhetoric of this last year has reminded us how alive and well the message of "Go Home" in America still is. It's urgent because "home" for so many of our communities in urban centers across America continues to be a woefully segregated and bifurcated tale of two cities -- two very different and profoundly uneven realities.

Reimagining the idea of "home" as a safe, healthy and thriving space for all of our communities must be at the center of our spiritual, political and social calls to action.

It's why over forty institutions, grassroot organizations, churches, mosques and synagogues from across the Chicagoland area have worked around the clock for two years to build the first memorial to Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and the Chicago Freedom Movement in "Chi-Town." It's why we selected to celebrate and honor the struggle and sacrifice of those marchers in the summer of 1966 and of those who have followed in their footsteps and spirit in the years and decades that followed. We do all of this fully aware that the journey to justice continues on so many levels. In the words of Dr. King, we must have a "real action plan" to rip down the triple walls of "poverty, racism and human misery" within which disproportionately large numbers of black and brown youth are being killed by one another and the police.



While in Chicago fifty years ago Dr. King reminded the city and country that in spite of all our pain and righteous anger our path forward is together as one people, "we are all tied in a single garment of destiny. We need each other." Our prayer is that the project of memorializing Dr. King and the Chicago Freedom Movement in Marquette Park will inspire us to prioritize and pursue policies and projects that can make the notion of "home" more equitable, just and peaceful for all who reside here.

Rami Nashashibi, Executive Director

Inner-City Muslim Action Network (IMAN) - Chicago

http://www.imancentral.org/arts-culture/takin-it-to-streets/
When I think of the most conflicted (and, perhaps, most frustrated) voters in this presidential election, I think of my dad. I don't know how my dad will vote come November--maybe he doesn't either, at this point--but I do recognize, from knowing him so long and so well, that there is not a candidate he can easily and confidently back in this election.

My dad is truly more of a libertarian than anything; socially progressive and accepting while fiscally conservative. His life has been the American Dream. He and my mom came from modest upbringings (my dad's life could even be described as a life of poverty), both managed to earn scholarships to engineering school, and both went to work full-time in their early 20's, living in apartments until they could take out a mortgage on their first modest, cookie-cutter home--a safe place in a developing neighborhood where they could give my younger brother and me opportunities they did not have.

And that is exactly what they have done. Paycheck by paycheck, coupon by coupon, cross-country move by cross-country move, my parents climbed the ladder of middle class America while hoisting my brother and I along with them, rung after rung. We both went to college, and I received my MFA from NYU, while my brother has taken graduate courses in computer science. We are still living a version of the American Dream so many families long to experience in 2016.

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As I began pursuing my own career in the midst of the Great Recession, at a time when many young professionals going after white-collar jobs are kept on as long-term temps, when I'm still asked (even last week, at work) why I don't yet have kids or am not yet married (what? none of your business), I quickly understood where my dad's fiscal conservatism comes from. I really did. He and my mom have worked hard for every paycheck, against all odds, just like I'm working hard, against all odds, for mine.

But my dad's a chemical engineer, a guy of reason. We both thought the Republican Party would somehow keep Trump 2016 ("The Trumpening"?) from happening. For a short time my dad was behind Carly Fiorina, a candidate who, like Trump, was not a traditional politician. As the former CEO of Hewlett-Packard and an adviser to John McCain during the 2008 election, Fiorina made a lot of sense--especially in a year when women's rights (including our treatment in the working world, in which she has succeeded tenfold) are finally coming to a head. When I think of how early she was counted out of the race, I want to ask of the collective Republican Party, What happened?... though I sort of already know the answer.

I was 14, only one week into my freshman year of high school, when American Airlines Flight 11 and United Flight 175 crashed into the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center on September 11th. The news was on in every single classroom as all 2,500 students in my public high school, and all of the faculty and staff, watched the hijacked planes destroy a significant part of the Manhattan skyline in confused silence. Unsure of what to do or say, the school sent us home only an hour after classes began.

I made it back before my brother and mom. The attack was playing on loop in our house too. I asked my dad, "Who did this?" I asked, "What happens now?" No one was sure.

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I didn't sleep much that night. The world could have been ending. At some point I sat straight up in bed and wrote pseudo song lyrics in my journal. I don't remember what they were, but the gist was that whoever had tried to hurt our country ultimately could not. If they meant evil against us, the powers that be surely only meant it for good, and time would reveal that was true. I was, and am, no patriot, but the dust of our nation's greatness that filled the sky as those landmark buildings crumbled reached me, all the way across the country in Beaverton, Oregon. It settled in my heart, leaving it friable and dark.

A day or so passed and I asked my dad, "Is there going to be a war?"

"There could be," he said.

"No! There cannot be a war!" I was a very outspoken liberal for a kid who didn't yet know anything about politics. Really, I didn't like it when guns killed people.

"So you'd rather have us sit here and be attacked?" my dad asked.

"You'd rather have us go out there and do the attacking?" I fired back.

He shook his head and walked away. "It's not that simple, Becky."

He thought I was naive and foolhardy, and having a bunch of people like me in charge of the United States would only leave us for dead. I thought he was being stubborn and ridiculous, and having a bunch of people like him in charge would simply annihilate all of Earth.

In reality, neither of our extremes were, or are, true.

But we both were pushed to extreme places because we were each shaken to our cores.

Looking back on it all now, as I remember 9/11 and write out feelings I've never expressed even once before, I realize my brother and I have come of age in a difficult time. It's hard to see it through all the iPhones and hybrids and streaming TV options, but 100% of my adolescent and young adult life--high school, college, grad school, and my first few years in the working world--have not been at all like what my parents hoped for their kids when they took out that first mortgage and enrolled us in Montessori school, prioritizing our safety and educations--our futures--over frivolous expenses and luxury for themselves. Now some part of them may wonder, what, exactly, was our effort for? What kind of future has it been?

We have all been frantically trying to recover the American Dream since September 11th, 2001. But just like any trauma, the fall of the Twin Towers asked us to look at our country as it was, to see what was not working, and to build ourselves up again from a stronger, though entirely fresh, foundation. The pendulum of American society has swung through so many extremes in the last 15 years that we are still struggling to settle on a steady, functioning middle ground.

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President Obama promised us change.

For many Americans, these changes have felt long overdue--such as the ability for hourly workers to chose their own health care plan and have that plan be affordable--and have brought celebrated freedom to marginalized people, such as the Supreme Court's ruling on same-sex marriage, declaring it legal in all 50 states.

But there are many, many people in our country who never wanted these changes. And they are showing up at Trump rallies daily.

After 9/11, after declaring war on Iraq, after invading Afghanistan, our nation had swung so far to the right that the left was called to action in their own way. While the right was adamant about fighting to secure our freedom, the left was asking, but what freedom is this? What kind of freedoms do we really all have? The question had to be answered. Change had to come.

In our post-9/11 world, the Republican Party desperately wanted to, and has tried to, return everything in our country to how it was before the terrorist attacks, as if nothing happened. As if our country was on a perfectly fine path until one bad day disrupted everything, and all we collectively have to do is figure out how to get over that day so we can get back to "normal" life.

That is one way of dealing with PTSD.

Another is to look at how everything was before so thoroughly and completely that you begin to see every flaw, every crack in your, or your community's, foundation. Then you must repair the cracks. You must address what was flawed before the trauma so that the trauma means something. So that, yes, you were knocked down, but you got back up again stronger, smarter, more aware, and more alive. I believe that is what the Democratic Party has been asking of the Republican Party since 2001. Yes, we should protect our freedom, but freedom for all.

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When I was in college, I was able to spend the better part of a year traveling. I went abroad on scholarship, then used all my savings to backpack afterward with friends. It was me taking--for the first time in my own, singular life--advantage of something the American Dream had to offer me, a middle-class student. I wanted to understand the world. I was tired of teachers and textbooks telling me what it was all about. I wanted, so desperately, to go and figure it out for myself. And I could.

I learned two definite lessons that year. 1.) For all its flaws, this is the greatest country in the world, with the best system of government in the world. We are very lucky to live here, and we shouldn't forget that.

2.) Those in other countries who resent U.S. citizens and the U.S. as a whole predominantly do not resent us for what we have. They resent us for our attitude about what we have.

I was asked one, same question by different people in different countries, developing and First World alike, regarding our name. The first go-around went something like this:

"Why do you call yourselves 'America'?"



"Um... Well, that's just the name of the country. It's a derivative of an Italian mapmaker's name. Amerigo Vespucci. Or, that's what they teach us."

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"I know that."

"Oh..."

"I mean, you are the United States. Why do you say you're 'America'?"

"It's the United States of America. It's just, like, a nickname."

"You don't understand. Canada is also 'America'. Mexico is also 'America'. North America. Canada doesn't call themselves 'America,' they are Canada, part of North America. You are the United States of America, part of North America. Mexico is the United Mexican States, part of North America."

"I guess...I never really thought about that."

"Then there is Central America and South America, all three named for Amerigo Vespucci."

"We don't...I don't know why we say 'America.' I guess we shouldn't."

"You think you are all that matters in all the Americas. You think you're all that's there."

I can only imagine what the world thinks of us now. We have a presidential candidate who embodies every negative stereotype of "American" people. He's asking us to become more exclusionary. He's telling us we (he?) alone deserve(s) things no other people in the world do. He wants to build a wall around this "America" to keep out, what? The other "Americas"? The other people in our same world.

"We did not find it difficult to deal with Bush and his administration, because it is similar to regimes in our countries--both types include many who are full of arrogance and greed."

A country full of arrogance and greed. Those words spewed from the mouth of Osama Bin Laden, founder of al-Qaeda, perpetrator of the September 11th terrorist attacks. As we now stare down two different roads we can take into the future, I ask: What will we do? Are we who Osama Bin Laden said we are?

Osama Bin Laden was a hateful, evil person who acted despicably in the names of religious justice and national revenge. But he is not the only citizen from another country who has looked at us and been upset by what they've seen. He is not the only person who has hoped that the arrogance and greed of the United States will eventually be our demise. He also said:

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"America is a great power possessed of tremendous military might and a wide-ranging economy, but all this is built on an unstable foundation which can be targeted, with special attention to its obvious weak spots. If America is hit in one one-hundredth of these weak spots, God willing, it will stumble, wither away, and relinquish world leadership."

Our foundation was targeted. Our weaknesses have been exposed. And now, since 9/11, we have been struggling not to stumble so significantly that we're unable to stand again.

Donald Trump's political platform (if we can call it that) hits us repeatedly in our obvious weak spots. It's an attack on parts of our country and government that still need fixing, only now the attacks are internal. His words play off our gross "American" sense of entitlement--the one associated with our pre-9/11 beliefs, the one that limited freedoms for U.S. citizens for reasons such as race, gender (and, therefore, socio-economic background), and sexual orientation. As has been pointed out, it takes us back in time.

Many people do not want to fully face September 11th. Many people just want to go back in time. But the American Dream is no longer there.

Liberty and justice for all has been redefined. It needed to be redefined. Ignoring this need is part of what weakened our foundation, part of what caused us to struggle so much after al-Qaeda hijacked our planes. Now that we have come to see, as painful as it has been, that in order to secure any freedom, our definition of freedom must include rights for all United States citizens, liberty and justice for all is again placed in front of us. The "United States Dream" is still here, and it is better than ever, but it is something we can only obtain by moving with time, not against it.

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As an outspoken feminist, I recognize that these long-overdue discussions about women's rights, systemic racism, and legal protection and opportunities regardless of sexual orientation can feel like an affront to straight white men who mean no harm.

I see it wear on my dad. "I am a feminist," he said to me years ago, maybe even while I was still in high school--before I even fully understood that I, too, was a feminist. And its true, my dad is very, very much a feminist. My dad wishes no systemic harm nor inequality for any person.

But my dad is a straight white man, the type of person to whom the founders of our country bestowed the promise of the American Dream, and he recognized the opportunity, seized the opportunity, and saw the opportunity through to fruition. He did it. He did what our founding fathers hoped he would do. He took nothing for granted, and he worked (and still works) very, very hard. He has lived the promise of our country to its fullest.

Now we have reached a point in time, during his lifetime, in which we must recognize that straight white men are no longer the only type of people who need legal, constitutional, and societal protection and assistance to seize the Dream in the same way straight white men have been able to over the past 240 years. In his lifetime, we are talking about what my dad technically is, a straight white man, as if he, a non-discriminatory human being, is the problem.

He, and all straight white men like him, are not the problem.

But we have to be able to pinpoint in discussion what we want our future to look like. We want the future for all people in the United States to look like what has worked in the past for straight white men. That is the only reason we need to make distinctions. For discussion. Not for alienation.

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Republican men, please know this isn't about you. It's about us. Please help us to have lives like yours.

My mother, similar to my dad in every way except for her gender, has experienced a slightly different version of the American Dream, even as they've traveled a mostly parallel trajectory for the past 30+ years.

My mom has achieved things I can barely comprehend. She entered the working world in the late 80's as a female computer programmer. Yes. An accomplishment not even sustained in 2016 for a full season of HBO's Silicon Valley.

Starting out in the white-collar workforce allowed to her advance in the white-collar workforce, which she has done, then done again and again. There have been times when my dad earned a greater salary than my mom, and my mom struggled to find better work. There have been times when those roles were reversed. There have been times when both were working jobs they enjoyed with people they liked and were earning a good amount doing them.

But a few years ago I asked, "Mom...Have you always been paid equally to men doing the same job as you?" All she said was, "Nope."

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My mom receiving equal pay, and therefore an increase in income, would not have been an insult to my dad's work and his income. It simply would have meant more money for our family. Her gain would have been a gain for all of us.

I have never received equal pay for equal work. While working a paid internship for a major corporation, I started at minimum wage ($7.25 in the state at the time, and still our federal minimum wage today), while a guy doing the same job, he told me, who not only didn't have a masters but also did not finish college, started at $10/hr. A difference on par with the national average today. Receiving equal compensation would have meant an increase in my income of $110 a week, or $440 a month, or $5,280 a year. (This excludes the financial increase I would have seen regarding overtime pay--and I worked a minimum of one hour overtime every single day at that job--as my time-and-a-half pay would have been $15/hr.)

At another job, I learned from a male employee with the same qualifications as me, who was hired a year after I was to do my same job, that his starting salary was $7/hr. more than mine. Or, a difference of $280 a week, or $1,120 a month, or $13,440 a year. Even with a year of experience at the job under my belt, I wasn't offered a raise. While training on programs I then knew by rote, he made $13,440 more than I did annually. (This excludes the financial bump I would have received for overtime pay, as my time-and-a-half pay would have been a whole $10/hr. greater than the time-and-a-half pay I actually received at this job.)

The difference would have kept me from needing financial assistance from my parents, and would have allowed me to save money. My gain would have, again, meant a gain for my whole family.

Women's rights are human rights, and securing them is not an affront to men. Women living better lives will mean men can live better lives too. Greater financial, legal, and social freedom for all minority groups will, likewise, benefit everyone.

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In their speeches at the RNC, Donald and Ivanka Trump promised equal pay for equal work for all women. Ivanka even went so far as to declare that Donald Trump already pays women equally to men, but this was not a true statement. Even for something as publicly scrutinized as his election campaign, Trump pays women 35% less than men doing the same job. (Clinton has paid men and women equally for equal work.)

I bring all of this up to demonstrate that 1.) Our families, our communities, and our entire country will be better off for finally addressing injustices long in need of recognition, discussion, and solutions. 2.) Lying about these injustices in order to win over voters is shameful, and if we, the United States as a whole, believe the lies, we will only continue to hurt ourselves.

Another way in which my mom's version of the American Dream has differed from my dad's regards health care.

As she worked her way through the white-collar working world, she often felt sick. I've often felt sick, too. After nearly two decades of chronic pain, digestive problems, and subsequent aliments, I was, at long last, diagnosed with endometriosis last year. Endometriosis was likely the cause of my mom's health issues, as it's a genetic disease. In order to confirm that's what constantly impaired her health, she would need to have surgery. So few advancements have been made in the treatment of endometriosis since its discovery that we still do not have a simple diagnostic test for it.

This is not an exception to the rule. Women's health, largely meaning women's reproductive health, has been severely neglected. We need more research. We need more treatment options. We need doctors and OB/GYNs who've received an education that includes disease like endometriosis and PCOS. We need the complexity of women's reproductive organs to be addressed in textbooks and curriculum across the country. We need positive public awareness. We need to be seen as more than just incubators for embryos. We need a more comprehensive version of Planned Parenthood.

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We need insurance plans to cover every possible complication specific to women's health. When I needed surgery for endometriosis last year, my doctor would not sign of on it because my insurance company did not want to pay for it. Instead of helping me, they told me I wasn't sick. This is not the exception to the rule.

My insurance plan this year is much better, and much more progressive, but when it comes to anything regarding surgery on female reproductive organs, the only option they'll cover is a hysterectomy. The removal of everything--which will not necessarily remove the problem. This is not the exception to the rule.

Women need equal pay. Women need proper health care. Women also need better opportunities.

Almost all of my female friends have pursued what were once referred to as pink-collar jobs. They've become teachers, nurses, and assistants (The Artist Formerly Known as Secretary). They've entered new wave pink-collar jobs like PR and marketing. I do not know many young women my age who did or who are still pursuing white-collar jobs. I don't blame them. It's really hard.

There was talk on feminist blogs awhile back that the term "pink-collar jobs" was outdated because men now do those jobs too. Well, I disagree. It's great that there's now little societal stigma regarding male nurses and "mannies," etc. But all that really means is that men can now do anything, while women are still predominantly regulated to the same pink-collar career paths we've had since my grandmother worked as a nurse during WWII.

It's also true that there is a call, and there are initiatives, for white-collar jobs to be more inclusionary. However, in my experience this has meant that if a job is hiring 20 people, only one or two of those spots must go to women. What the people in charge tend to do, then, is hire their one or two required women and fill all 18 or 19 remaining spots with men. Their line of thinking is not, let's find the best people possible, which could be up to 20 women but no fewer than one woman. It's, let's find the best people possible, mostly men and then however many women we have to have. We women are then left to fight it out over a very limited number of positions.

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This line of thinking applies to minorities of all kinds. This is the same mindset that keeps systemic racism, mentioned in Clinton's DNC speech, alive. Opportunity for all still does not quite mean equal opportunity for all. We are getting there. But we are still resisting this change.

I understand change is frightening. I have feared and resisted every change in my life. But each presented opportunities for me to grow. My life and my character are both improved because I've lived through times of difficultly.

The traumatic events of September 11th forced us into a period of exponential growth and change when we weren't asking for either. We collectively thought we were mostly fine. Everything that's happened in our post-9/11 world has caused major upheaval. But it's not for the worst.

By now it is likely that the majority of the Republican Party personally knows someone who is gay. I imagine it has been hard to reconcile how a longstanding platform of the Republican Party has harmed people we all care about and love, people we know are good and deserve the best, people in our families and our schools and our workplaces who we see on a daily basis. Perhaps this paradigm shift alone has caused a great portion of the party to question its other beliefs and platforms. Perhaps this uncertainty of what is right and what is wrong, of what is best for the country and what is not, is what caused the party to collectively freeze, allowing someone who is not even a reputable Republican politician to seize control of it and bring its ugliest remaining parts to the surface.

Republican Party, I may not be registered as a part of you, but I believe in you. I know you see a better future for us all than the one Donald Trump is offering.

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Donald Trump is playing to every weakness Osama Bin Laden saw and hoped would lead to our demise. His platform is one of arrogance, ignorance, and greed.

If such a report is not already in the works, could someone at The New York Times or Politico please research just how much Trump and his various businesses and investments would gain from the trade deal modifications he's requested of the government publically since the 80's? We already know that his regressive flat-tax plan will make it so his businesses do not pay more than 15% in tax. We already know that he personally will receive a tax cut of over a million dollars.

Is it possible that Donald Trump wants to be president only so he can make more money? Would this not be in line with the life he has lived up to this point in time?

Donald Trump is polling most successfully with white men without college degrees. (A demographic that looks something like this.) To those men I say: Donald Trump will not make YOU rich. You may look like him, but you are not him. You are part of an economic class he does not care about at all. Yes, he says he cares about lower- and middle-income families. But just like he says he pays women equally for equal work, he is lying. The proof is in his tax plan. If you're hoping for a better financial future, Trump is not the candidate for you. If that's what you wanted, you should have listened to the tax plans of the other Republican candidates. Every single one of them cared more about you than Donald Trump does.

The tax cuts--which are very minimal--that Trump is promising you will come back to haunt us all in less than a decade, when the national debt has increased by at least 12 trillion dollars, when other government aid you and your family members likely use has long since been cut, when there are fewer (yes, fewer) jobs in the United States you are qualified to do, as you do not have a college degree, and I don't know how you would ever afford one under Trump's leadership.

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Please take this seriously. Donald Trump does not have what's best for you, or anyone other than himself, in mind.

Though I have disagreed with many of its positions in the past, I do hope the Republican Party can recover after this election, or perhaps even during it. We need diverse options. We need multiple, strong, viable political parties. Variety of choice makes us a stronger country. It allows democracy to flourish.

Perhaps what we're moving toward now is a true separation of church and state. With various religious agendas set to the side, the Republican Party can become something more libertarian or independent. What's best for the nation constitutionally can be considered over what's best for the nation religiously--which is something we were never supposed to be considering in the first place.

But as for this year, this November, what we have is a candidate offering to continue to take us forward, to move us further into post-9/11 life, so we may fully recover and learn to stand--aware of our strengths as well as our flaws--again. And we have another candidate offering to sink us altogether.

It's very hard for me not to associate volatile hatred for Hillary Clinton with her gender. As far as Democrats go, she's one who, on paper, I'd think would put the Republican Party at ease more than many others. Of the 44 pieces of legislation she introduced while a New York Senator, 57 of her Republican colleagues signed on as cosponsors, leaving only eight Republican Senators who did not cosponsor a piece of her legislation.

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She worked with Republican House Majority Leader Tom DeLay to reform the foster care system. She worked with Republican Senator Sam Brownback to crack down on human trafficking. She worked with Republican Senator Jeff Sessions to guarantee full payment of bonuses and incentives to veterans wounded in combat. She worked with Republican Senator Thomas Reynolds to save the Niagara Falls Air Reserve Station when the Pentagon wanted to shut it down. As Reynolds told The Hill:

"I found Hillary to be very reasonable and very interested in working on projects that mattered to my district, [and] I also saw some of my Republican colleagues say the same thing."

Republican Senator Trent Lott said last September that he believed Clinton would reach out to Congress in order to pass legislation more than President Obama has.

The tax plan she's presented this year says taxes will not increase for any household making less that five-million dollars annually (or, in other worlds, she will increase taxes only for the top .02 percent of taxpayers). It also offers greater relief for families with college and out-of-pocket health expenses, as well as those caring for elderly family members. It will close loopholes and expenditures that benefit multi-millionaires.

Yet, as much as she works to do the best in any given situation for everyone, there seems to be something borderline tantalizing--not just to Republicans, but many Bernie Sanders supporters as well--about the thought of watching Clinton fail. And not even fail, not simply lose the election, but many long to see her publicly humiliated. Sanders and Trump supporters alike have chanted, "Lock her up!" (And even, "Take the bitch down" , "Kill the bitch," and "Frighten the bitch!") The thought of seeing Hillary Clinton in prison or in pain really excites a lot of voters. It's alarming.

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When I meet new people, they assume that, because I am a millennial, I supported Bernie Sanders. They tell me things like now we have to settle for "the lesser of two evils." They say, "Well, at least her husband knows how to be president." They say she's ugly, that she's always been too ambitious, and that she's annoying.

These types of interactions make me feel uneasy in my own body. People who say these things to my face make me feel uncomfortable just for being someone easily sized up as a Hillary Clinton-type--a white woman trying to get a better job.

As these sexist attitudes surface--from both men and women, Democrats and Republicans, people of different races, people of different sexual orientations--I'm more afraid to speak about the election in everyday life than I was even a few months ago. It feels safer to say everything I have above here on the Internet than it does while out with a friend of a friend.

I have a political bumper magnet I could put on my car, but I haven't, and I'm not sure I will, because I'm afraid someone will key my doors, or break my windows, or dangerously cut me off on the freeway.

I've noticed a lot of Hillary's supporters must also feel this way. In Los Angeles, where I live, I've never seen a Hillary bumper sticker. No, really, not one. I've never seen a sign for Hillary out in someone's yard. I haven't seen a poster for her stapled to a telephone pole. I've seen so many of all three for Bernie Sanders. Even after the DNC, they're still everywhere.

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Yet in California, and in Los Angeles specifically, Hillary beat Bernie in the primary...by a lot. She won by 7.7% in California and 12.6% in Los Angeles, and secured 63 more delegates. But you wouldn't know it. I guess I'm not the only one afraid to speak up.

My fear reminds me of the first time I was really made aware of Hillary Clinton. It was 1998, I was 11 years old, and her face was on every TV news program and the front of every paper, though not for great reasons. I didn't understand what was happening. At family gatherings I heard relatives who were devout Democrats, who loved Bill Clinton, talking as if they were gossiping, nearly salivating at the idea of a presidential impeachment. Tantalized.

I remember the first time I saw Monica Lewinsky's face, also on the news. I was visiting my grandma in her retirement home. She pointed to Monica Lewinsky and told me, "You don't ever do anything like she did. What she did was not right. You're not like her. Do you understand me?"

"Yes, Grandma."

I still absolutely did not understand, but her intensity and my confusion cemented the memory in my brain.

Video of Hillary played on the screen. "You're like her," my grandma said. "She works so hard. And she is so strong. See, even when she's sad, she's strong. She's your example. When you're sad, you can be strong, too. Do you understand me?"

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I understand now.

Though I'm not sure how strong I've been. Definitely not as strong as Hillary Clinton.

Her strength may be off-putting, even maddening, to some, but I believe we can get to a place where it isn't. We need to. Hillary Clinton's strength is what we need now in our president. It will allow us to keep moving forward in our post-9/11 world. It's the kind of strength I wish the GOP will now find within itself. Strength enough to denounce Trump and move on from this mess.

Our Twin Towers fell. We have since been able to to rebuild the World Trade Center--and not as a Trump Tower.

I believed as a 14-year-old, the night of September 11th, that the terrorist attacks would not do us in. Though someone wanted to harm us, we'd find a way to use their harm for good.

A vote for Trump is a vote for every harmful wish made against the United States by Osama Bin Laden and all likeminded individuals and organizations. It is a vote to let our greatest modern tragedy be our end.

Please, let's move through this year, then past this year, united for the common good, united as the United States of America. Stronger together.
What did you initially think of marriage as a young girl?

My parents were Turkish, but I was brought up in Germany. I was the youngest girl and had six other siblings. My parents were hard workers, which they made sure to instill in us. Although they weren't very educated, I developed a love for education. I remember the inequality between how girls and boys were treated in our family and it inspired me to be a lawyer, and work towards equality through this occupation. In 1985, my parents decided to return to Turkey. Most times I was consumed with schoolwork and sports, so I didn't really think I would be married until after college. As I grew to be a teenager, I noticed that men were more dominant and the women were mostly homemakers and submissive. My dream was to finish college and marry someone who was more modern, educated, and loving. This dream was shattered when I found out that my parents had arranged for me to be married at the age of fourteen. All I wanted was to continue to go to school, but my mother convinced me that I would continue my education in the USA after marriage.



In your Ted Talk in 2013 you said approximately 14 million girls under age 18 every year become child brides. In 2016, it is now around 15 million. Why do you think this still happens today?

The most prominent reasons are culture, poverty, and gender inequality. In some cultures girls are viewed less important than boys. The boy gets educated but the girl is considered a financial burden, and is married off out of necessity. In some cultures the girl is married off young to avoid her from falling in love or causing some form of shame upon the family. And in some cultures, the girl is married off as a symbol of peace between two fighting tribes.



What are the dangers of young girls becoming child brides?

Physically and mentally they are not ready for marriage. They can suffer dangerous consequences during pregnancy, childbirth. Many child brides are subject to abuse which leads to life threatening injuries or severe depression. Most child brides are not allowed to continue their education after marriage, forcing them to become fully dependent on their spouse. Due to lack of education, they are not able to contribute to their family finances. In the event of a divorce or if they become widowed, they have no idea how to support themselves or their children. This causes them to become a burden on the family that initially arranged the marriage, but the burden has multiplied because they may have children. Because of their lack of resources and limited knowledge, they'll often bring up illiterate children as well, fueling this vicious cycle.



How have you broken the cycle of poverty and becoming child brides in your family?

I always loved and believed in education. During my marriage I would check-out books from libraries and find ways to learn at home. Instead of falling into hopelessness, I had to switch my way of thinking. I considered my divorce as a newfound freedom. Immediately, I enrolled myself in classes to improve my knowledge. Every time I took a class, I felt more empowered. I could see the positive correlation education had on my finances and family. I always let my daughters know that their thoughts, their opinions, and their lives mattered. I made them feel that we are a team. We studied together, we learned together and we excelled together. I treat them the same way boys are treated. I also encourage them to love freely but responsibly. I tell them that they will choose whom and when they will marry.



How did you leave your husband?

For many years I suffered many tribulations in that marriage. I can't say he's a horrible person; the way he treated women was probably just how he was brought up. As my girls grew older, I saw more of myself in them and I didn't want them to have the same fate. That was my main driving force. Unfortunately, it took years for me to build up the courage. I had no place to go and had no knowledge of any help that might be out there. So I secretly began to save an emergency fund, knowing the day for a separation would come someday. We had so many disagreements and after one severe occasion, I just knew I didn't want my children to be in that environment anymore. I felt a sudden fire in me and it pushed me to take my children and leave.



What should we do to stop girls from becoming child brides?

First, we need to inform communities about the dangers of child marriages and how it impacts the economy. Besides monetary resources, we need to create mentoring programs to help them develop skills. We can connect the girls who are susceptible of becoming child brides to qualified individuals willing to help. Most of these girls are very bright and they can learn new skills pretty quickly. If we help empower and educate the girls, then they can help their families, communities and countries out of poverty.
This summer, there will be families traveling in their cars for the annual family vacation. Long distance drives to see grandparents or to attend family reunions or to visit destinations like Yellowstone or Grand Canyon National Park. Depending upon the age of children, who may riding in the back seat of the car, there will probably be the inevitable question posed to their parents, " Are we there yet ? " This question usually is motived by the boredom of children or their need to go to the bathroom. " Are we there yet ? "

Right now, as a country, we are also asking the same question "Are we there yet ?" in terms of democracy, in terms of tolerance and respect for others and for supporting diversity. The backlash that we have witnessed from some politicians and political groups should give us all pause. When people who are grieving the loss of a loved one are castigated because of their faith, which by some is viewed as "the other'; when continued hate and suspicion exists between communities of color and law enforcement; and when people who suffer from mental illness are either treated savagely by police or they are neglected by the lack of appropriate treatment services and find themselves floundering and they become a risk to themselves or to others, we need to ask ourselves " are we there yet ? ".

Democracy flourishes when there is the encouragement of a free exchange of ideas and opinions unabated and not by people who scream " believe me " or " Only I can fix it. " Nor is democracy cultivated when angry voices call for " locking people up. " This is the language of tyrannical totalitarian regimes not of a country that espouses for freedom of thought, belief and action.

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Economic hard times and periods when some people find themselves struggling and living on the margins and not being able to benefit due to lack of upward mobility are combustible fuel for the rise of potential tyrants and dictators. This has been repeated time and time again throughout history.

This year, we have seen politicians half-heartedly say that they can't endorse another candidate seeking public office, that "they are not there yet."



Perhaps, the most important question to ask is what prevents us as a country from arriving at the destination that we want for our ourselves, our families and our society? What is preventing us from becoming "the shining city on the hill " or in the words of Martin Luther King Jr. " the beloved community'?



We need to remember that as people of faith and as citizens our task is to serve others. Taking care of the widow, the orphan, the sojourner in your land ( Deuteronomy 10: 18 ) is not just something that would be nice to do, but rather it becomes an imperative for anyone who wants to lead a faithful life. This kind of caring and service is not expressed by receiving a national medal of heroism and then replying " I always wanted one of these and it was easier getting it." This type pf response makes a mockery of the award and of the service.

The Jewish concept of "Hesed" states that you love someone purely for who they are, without expectations and disclaimers. This is a powerful concept where humans affirm, love and respect one another purely as sacred sentient beings.

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Somehow, we have lost this in our national discourse and in our interactions with others. Instead of listening and being open to what others might have to say, we have to be right and we have to be recognized that we are right and not be asked questions, and we have to be in control.

As the child in the back seat of the car asks the father or mother in the front seat of the car, "Are we there yet?"

No, unfortunately we are not there yet.

May the divine, however known, help us and lead us to get there somehow and soon!
Poor Terry McAuliffe. When he announced that Hillary Clinton was obviously in favor of the Trans-Pacific Partnership, and then immediately recanted, we knew that he had been sacrificed in order to "test the waters". Is America ready for another crappy trade agreement, compliments of the Clinton cartel? Apparently no, but when has popular opinion  or even popular votes  ever stopped a Clinton? In case you missed it:

Pressed on whether Clinton would turn around and support the trade deal she opposed during the heat of the primary fight against Bernie Sanders, McAuliffe said: "Yes. Listen, she was in support of it. There were specific things in it she wants fixed."

Later, McAuliffe's spokesman sought to clarify the governor's remarks after this story published, saying he was simply expressing what he wants Clinton to do if she is elected president.

Yes, Hillary Clinton claims she is opposed to the TPP, even though, as Secretary of State, she praised the secretive "trade" agreement. Again and again.

If ratified, the "free trade agreement" would "grant foreign corporation shocking new powers to attack the laws we rely on for a clean environment, safe food and decent jobs. Under TPP, these corporations could sneak around our courts and laws and grab millions in our tax dollars all because they don't like our laws."

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Sounds like a real hoot. And just imagine, a little more than twenty years ago First Lady Hillary Clinton helped her husband peddle the most disastrous "free trade agreement" in modern American history:

In 1993, as first lady, Mrs. Clinton lobbied hard for NAFTA. On the day her husband Bill signed it, he promised it would "create 200,000 jobs in this country by 1995 alone."

NAFTA wound up costing America more than 700,000 jobs. However, even after this devastation was becoming evident, a by-then Senator Clinton kept supporting NAFTA -- doubling down on a bad trade deal that has done as much damage to Mexico as it has to America.

Like her stance on TPP, Clinton said "great things about NAFTA until she started running for president." That's a direct quote from Barack Obama, circa 2008. Oh how times change.

NAFTA gutted American manufacturing, but it wasn't all bad! With cheap, job-destroying imports now readily available on American supermarket shelves, Hillary cashed in big as a member of Wal-Mart's board of directors. The Clintons didn't just destroy America's working class  they profited from it:

Once NAFTA became law, highly subsidized cheap corn from major U.S. corporations flooded the Mexican market, causing millions of local farmers to lose their livelihoods, and with little options, migrate illegally to the United States. President Salinas repealed Article 27 of the Mexican Constitution, privatizing once public lands, which were then sold to the highest bidder, often U.S. corporations. This caused the importation of Walmart and factories producing automobiles, electronics, and clothing. Thousands of small businesses were eliminated and millions of displaced workers came to the U.S. Combined with NAFTA's low tariffs, these policies caused the U.S. to develop a labor surplus, which in part, contributed to companies hiring undocumented workers or outsourcing jobs to factories in Mexico, resulting in Americans losing their jobs.

Another Clinton presidency will guarantee the safe passage and implementation of the Trans-Pacific Partnership, a secret agreement that has been negotiated behind closed doors for the last seven years.

Clinton now claims that she thinks NAFTA needs to be "fixed". She claims that she opposes the TPP. What a massive load of hooey. As Kevin L. Kearns, president of the U.S. Business & Industry Council (USBIC), wrote:

Hillary wants it both ways on trade -- simultaneously placating anti-free-trade Sanders voters and her pro-free-trade Wall Street benefactors -- with her "read-your-favored-position-into-it" approach. However, if our failed trade policy is something voters want to change in favor of new wealth generation and job creation, the choice of candidates is clear: The one who actually has a specific trade policy that favors American workers and the American economy. Hint: It's not Hillary Clinton.
Two days ago, I read the following response posted by a first-time voter, a young student from Massachusetts, studying in conservative Colorado Springs, who had just attended a Trump rally in Denver to see what it was about:

The rally just struck home the intensity of a substantial group of people's hate for democrats and specifically Clinton. She's framed herself explicitly as Obama's successor, and democrats have said alright we'll stay on board. This hate is going to stick around for awhile, it's been empowered by Trump's success. I don't believe that she's going to be a healing force for this country (or the world) so I think it's probably worth it to spend this time before we have to vote talking about other options, of which some are great (Monica Moorehead, or Gary Johnson for those differently inclined). Of course, when voting day comes I'll have a hard decision to make, but if we talk about ideas that lie outside of this duopoly we've fallen into now, maybe we can get some innovative people into Congress instead of Trumpites who will obstruct or Clintonites who will lock step (/vice versa). I'm just pushing for a break in party unity on the congressional front and a conversation about what the job of our government should be, and how we reconcile our humanity as we move forward from these primaries.

Note that last line. America has a problem, and it isn't Donald Trump. It is the simple fact that the nation claiming to be the largest most successful democracy in the world is run by two parties, both of which are held hostage to lobbyists and corporations. Actually, that is the umbrella beneath which its numerous other problems roil to no good effect. The lack of an informed citizenry, for instance, or the despair felt among its youth, particularly its first-time voters. The way in which its civic-mindedness rests most viscerally in the hands of its clutch of new immigrants--those like Khizr Khan--who can only do so much, rather than its much larger native population. Much of America's response to these issues has become standardized, something clearly demonstrated by the fact that those who call most resoundingly for change arrive and depart in the froth of each presidential election with a mewling cry for a third party. The Green Candidate is mentioned as though he (Ralph Nader) or she (Jill Stein) were the second coming of Christ, hands are thrown up, a loss is suffered, and the disgruntled shuffle off to buy their goods on amazon.com while hiding under their keyboards clicking like-minded sentiments about a collection of motley feel-good causes for the next four years.

Hillary Clinton is not the solution to these problems, far from it, she is a product of them. As was made abundantly clear in her April 14th debate with Sanders (which you can read or watch,), she excels at claiming credit for everything remotely associated with good, and distancing herself from everything that could be considered a demerit. Being president will force her, for the first time in her life, to live those famous words from Truman: the buck stops here. Further, she, like her opponent, is funded by the same gang of thieves, and she, like he, feels as equally entitled to her preferred crown. Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump moved (and will one day resume moving), in the same circles, their children exchanging notes on motherhood and careers. Over the years he, with aspirations to ever more towers with his name in gold lettering kept her close as a political ally, and she, with aspirations to the White House kept him close as a financial ally with deep pockets lined with ill-begotten gains. In their quest to achieve what each most desires, they are dead-locked in their lack of scruples. As the UK Telegraph put it, at the end of a lengthy analysis of candidate Clinton, "This election demands a moral judgement be cast. But there is no obviously moral candidate to pick."

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There, however, the similarity ends. And though the differences are hard to parse, they exist, and by their existence (and in the absence of an alternative), they matter a great deal.

Hillary Clinton will keep her finger off the red button because she believes in living to fight another day, so help us God. Hillary Clinton will--GOP shenanigans notwithstanding--appoint a Supreme Court justice who may not advance the rights of minorities or overturn Citizens United,--because who are we kidding, the ruling has, despite her disavowals, helped her every step of the way--but who will be qualified to interpret the constitution as it applies to a nation that has progressed beyond 1787. Hillary Clinton will gag at the thought of defending the rights of Muslim Americans, and be unable to find the language with which to engage the vanguard of Black Lives Matter activists, in much the same way she disparaged Black voters during her previous run, but if her political viability depends upon those things, she will learn how to fake it, and for the Democrats, this is as good as it gets for now; real change for people of color has never been in the hands of politicians. Hillary Clinton will attempt, thanks entirely to one Senator Sanders and his supporters, to further the reach of Obamacare. There is even a ghost of a chance that if the Sanders contingent remains engaged, she will not continue to abandon the Palestinians to the tyranny of occupation, for fear of losing her Zionist funders, and she will desist from appointing hawks like Suzanne Nossell--who talk peace while advocating war--to the State Department. She may even, despite her overwhelming support for the wars in our recent history, be more circumspect in considering the wisdom of another war. Yes, if we remain engaged, the politician's politician that is Hillary Clinton may very well only do what is nominally right because she is being forced to, but at least we have a fighting chance at doing the forcing. There is no chance, fighting or otherwise, with the alternative.

Engagement. That's the part that most people thundering from the karaoke pulpit of social media about a third party keep forgetting. Everything in America is incremental. That is the nature of its political system. To champion a third party candidate during an election year is never going to work in this country, not even if you throw in an illustrious Black activist as your side-kick. Remember Barack Obama? Hardly a third party candidate, but certainly an outsider and far from an overnight sensation. Hardly someone who had a nomination handed to him, not even after he won it. His supporters got behind him two years before he announced his candidacy, and fought tooth and nail for two more years to hold him aloft until June 3rd.

Many people talk about a third party, and even one that can field a candidate for president, but I've heard very little over the decades I've been in this country about actually working to make that a viable option. Casting a protest vote for a candidate with a snowball's chance in hell of winning the presidency is the kind of petulance we can expect from children. Granted, America's democracy is mostly adolescent on a global level, but must its citizens behave likewise? Must our dissatisfaction with the despicable machinations of the DNC prompt us to behave equally despicably? America as a nation is backward on most things: gun laws, healthcare, immigration policy, education, and equal pay, are but tips of that iceberg. Our public infrastructure and public services are laughable when compared to those enjoyed by our allies--and some of our so-called enemies--around the world, belying the "American Is The Greatest Country on Earth," phrase that politicians like to shout out, our own opium for the masses. But none of us can afford a presidency that would unleash the kind of regressive politics and violent racism that is incited by a Donald Trump, and our children will have nothing to inherit through our meekness at the end of it.

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Affecting change takes time and diligence and real effort. It takes discipline and thoughtfulness and a full on commitment to holding feet to fires and noses to grindstones. It doesn't come from signing a single letter of protest or hootin' and hollerin' during a passing primary season. It doesn't come at the hands of one Black man or a single White woman. For the first time in history, Bernie Sanders has transformed the political conversation so that we have a fighting chance to forge a movement that can effectively become a third party. This primary can be seen as the harbinger of change that can bring American democracy from the darkness into the light of widespread civic engagement and real choice, but only if we do our part. Only if we aren't distracted by bemoaning what we have allowed to come to pass with a President Trump, floundering in regret at our own foolishness like the Brexit voters who, in the land of the Bard no less, do not even known enough to blame the stars.
In her historic speech accepting the Democratic nomination for President of the United States, Hillary Clinton quoted the Broadway musical Hamilton: "Though we may not live to see the glory, let us gladly join the fight." It was a significant occasion for fans of both politics and Broadway musicals to see them come together in such a watershed moment. But if Hamilton is the companion musical for the DNC with its celebration of diversity and unabashed patriotism, then the RNC has a perfect Broadway musical rejoinder: Little Shop of Horrors.

For those unfamiliar with the Howard Ashman and Alan Menken musical, the story is as follows. Seymour is a down-on-his-luck flower shop assistant who longs for the love of his co-worker Audrey. He is certain that Audrey will never love him for who he is--a loser with nothing to offer this beguiling beauty. But when a mysterious and remarkable plant shows up at his workplace, Mushnik's Flower Shop, Seymour sees it as an opportunity to impress Audrey--he even names the plant Audrey Two. Unfortunately, with Seymour's help, Audrey Two grows into a man-eating monster and devours Seymour's dentist, his boss, Audrey, Seymour himself and everyone he knows. And at the ending of the stage version (which I vastly prefer over the film's ending), everyone is destroyed and it looks like Audrey Two is on the verge of devouring the world. Audrey Two is Donald Trump.

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But the story does not blame Audrey Two for its behavior. It's a blood-drinking, flesh-eating monster: what else is it to do? No, the most egregious behavior in this morality tale is perpetrated by our hero: Seymour. He thinks he can train Audrey Two to only devour those he deems worthy of such an end. But the more he feeds it, the more it wants, and eventually his secret weapon becomes an uncontrollable disaster out to destroy everything Seymour holds dear. Seymour is the Republican establishment.

Back in 2008, Republicans became the down-on-their luck political party. Barack Obama was a political sensation and a rational look at demographic shifts in America suggested a huge swing towards typically Democratic constituencies. The Drudge Report blared in 72-point font that America would soon be a majority minority country--and Republicans knew that was a political disaster for them if they continued on their current track. They had a dilemma: they could either adjust their platform to prepare for this new reality or they could feed a beast that would help them win over their beloved base. To court their Audrey, they decided to feed their Audrey Two.

It began during the 2008 election in the form of some Republican voters insisting that Obama was a secret Muslim out to destroy America. Senator John McCain, much to his credit, interrupted one such voter and told her that Barack Obama was "a decent family man...that I just happen to have disagreements with." He looked Audrey Two in the face and pruned it back. But when McCain fell behind in the polls, he had to feed the beast somehow--McCain's offering was his running mate Governor Sarah Palin. And in his attempt to give a drop of blood to Audrey Two, he got too close to the man-eater and Sarah Palin ultimately devoured his campaign. He was Audrey Two's first victim and as such: Senator McCain is Seymour's dentist, Orin Scrivello D.D.S.

Two years later, The Tea Party swept congress. And while many Tea Partiers are patriotic Americans, there are some who are overtly racist in their objections to President Obama--the worst of these people are the Birthers. Birthers are people who believe President Obama was born in Kenya and as such is determined to dismantle America from the inside. This insidious line of thought has no place in American politics, but it sure did fire up parts of the Republican base. So when the Speaker of the House, John Boehner, was asked if he agreed with the Birthers, he played coy and said, "It's not up to me to tell them what to think." It wasn't just a drop of blood this time--now the Republican establishment was throwing the base red meat. So the monster got a little bigger. And in the fall of 2015, John Boehner eventually succumbed to his Tea Party masters and resigned from office. Audrey Two devoured him as well and so: John Boehner is Seymour's boss, Mr. Mushnik.

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For the most part, Seymour could be any member of the Republican establishment that tried to control its vile man-eater in an attempt to win favor with its beloved. But the comparison is no more apt than it is with Mitt Romney.

In 2012, Mitt Romney ran to replace President Obama, but he faced a daunting challenge: the Republican base didn't love him at all. So he did what establishment Republicans before him had done--he turned to Audrey Two to give it a big honking piece of fresh flesh. He did this by turning to The Birther-In-Chief: Donald Trump.

Many in the Republican Establishment act like Donald Trump came out of nowhere. He was just a fringe player in Republican Party politics until he rode a wave of populism and nativism to the Republican nomination. But four years ago, Donald Trump was peddling Birtherism to the masses--even claiming he paid for investigators to travel to Hawaii to research Obama's birth records. "They cannot believe what they are finding," he told ABC's The View--we are still waiting for these unbelievable findings.

And it was in the midst of that race-baiting that Mitt Romney turned to Donald Trump and gleefully accepted his endorsement. This was not a reluctant drop of blood. Mitt Romney held a press conference to stand on stage and trumpet Trump's support. As they stood arm in arm, Mitt Romney finished the transition of turning a harmless Venus flytrap into a giant man-eating monster.

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During the 2016 primary season, the Republican establishment's Audrey Two devoured everyone this Seymour knew, until he finally sauntered in to stop it. Mitt Romney gave a press conference in an attempt to put down a beast of his own making--but it was already too late. Mushkin's shop was destroyed. And the irony is that Audrey would have loved Seymour if he had just listened to her--he never needed Audrey Two in the fist place.

So now, the rest of the country is under threat because our national Seymours thought the best way to win over Audrey was to fatten an insatiably hungry creature. We don't know how this ends, because Little Shop of Horrors finishes when Audrey Two eats its caretakers--or when Trump took the Republican nomination.

So what happens next? Does a fierce woman show up with a tank full of weed-killer and save everyone in town? Do the Seymours in the belly of the beast--and the uneasy townspeople--keep her from destroying the man-eater because they don't find her "likable enough" or because she isn't using their preferred weedicide? Do we vanquish the monster and then all gather on our respective fire escapes to sing a rousing chorus of "Suddenly Seymour"--or are we all devoured by this Mean Orange Mother from Outer Space?
Citizen Soldier is a dramatic feature film, told from the point of view of a group of Soldiers in the Oklahoma Army National Guard's 45th Infantry Brigade Combat Team.

SAM: What makes Citizen Soldier a standout from The Hornet's Nest? What's the hook?

CHRISTIAN: So Citizen Soldier was actually shot by the soldiers. They had these GoPros on their helmets and we were able to get footage from the combat photographers. There were two female combat photographers embedded that the army placed and we were able to get the footage from those two females. So we took footage from the soldiers and the combat photographers and we recreated a year long journey of the National Guard. And the National Guard only trains 40 days a year. It's a reserve. They got called up to the front lines of war, like any other military branch leaving their jobs and families behind. They were there for a year, so this movie tells their journey.

SAM: What goes into the clearance that you need to have as a filmmaker who primarily makes military movies? Are there any hoops you had to jump through?

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CHRISTIAN: Lots of hoops, for sure. We are fortunate to have The Hornet's Nest as a big success. So we have a great relationship with the military. We got that footage and sent it back, and we did it with a lot of integrity. We had to go through PAO which is the Public Affairs Office that controls all of this stuff. We had to get sign offs and special permissions. We engage the families and we engage the soldiers. The soldiers who were there, helped us make this movie. We kind of get their sign offs along the way. Then we go to the PA office and show them the movie then they tell us whether or not we need to stay away from something.

SAM: So you're set to release August 5th. Will your initial release be nationwide?

CHRISTIAN: Yes, this Friday. It will be limited showings in New York, Los Angeles, Oklahoma City and Wichita, Kansas. The guys, the unit is in the Oklahoma 45th, and we are showing in New York and LA to qualify for awards. The big release is August 30th everywhere in all the big box stores, TV outlets, and hotels.

SAM: The Hornet's Nest and Citizen Soldier are all about the front-line soldier experience. As a company, as Strong Eagle Media, what would you say is your mission statement? What kind of message would you like to convey through your films?

CHRISTIAN: Myself and David Salzberg, we direct the films. Bert Bedrosian is our producing partner. We also have Wendy R. Anderson, the former Deputy Chief of Staff at the U.S. Department of Defense. Strong Eagle doesn't only do military films; this is just a division of our company. We also do scripted feature films, scripted television, and reality television. In terms of the military division our goal is to document this time in our country's history and document the war on terror. We want to tell it through these different unique perspectives. Our first movie was a father and son's perspective with the marines. Citizen Soldier is the National Guard being deployed. The third movie coming out is almost done. It focuses on the only journalist ever to embed with a special ops team for an entire year. Her name is Alex Quade, she was the only woman among a team of twelve special ops men for an entire year. Our fourth movie being developed is about rescue, helicopters, and medical evacuations. These are all from different perspectives within our military.

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SAM: It's cool that you're not just making standard "guns blazing" military movies. You're getting all those different perspectives from different lines of work.

CHRISTIAN: Yes, exactly and to go back to the question you asked, our bulls-eye is 30 million Americans. Because there are 30 million Americans when you look at who served, veterans, active duty, and their families. As well as those who like military movies. Even gamers!

SAM: Yes, games like Call of Duty that involve military combat are very popular. You'll tap into a lot of that audience. What's great is you'll satisfy the love of battle sequences among adolescents, while teaching a lesson about what war really looks like.

CHRISTIAN: And that part of it is important because we're disconnected right now. There are the people who serve and understand the wars and then there is a big population of our country that has no idea, no idea that people are fighting right now, dying.

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SAM: Vietnam was the first televised war but beforehand people just saw the soldiers go off to war and that was that. Once footage of Vietnam was released, it terrified people and they reacted by protesting. We went from seeing nothing to seeing all of it and today it seems we've regressed to not seeing much on TV anymore, they're just calling it a war on terror despite the fact that most Americans have no idea what that really means.

CHRISTIAN: That's exactly right, that is what we are trying to do, trying to bring this to light.

SAM: There is a desensitization to war, in our minds the servicemen and women are thousands of miles away but in reality, every day we live others are dying for our country. I think that it's something a lot of people would love to see.

CHRISTIAN: And another thing we do is, although we have the footage that is pretty gruesome, we would never show that. We honor them. When there is someone that dies, the KIAs in the movie, we highlight them. There were 6 KIAs in The Hornet's Nest. You got to know them and then they got killed in battle. We don't need to show how it happened. We do it in a stylistic way, with cutoffs and music, but at the end of the day, we honor that. And their children can watch the movie and say "my daddy was a hero". And that's very important to us.

SAM: That's awesome, and that will lead the next generation to decide whether they will like to join or not.

CHRISTIAN: Music is very important to what we do. So in The Hornet's Nest, we have Wynonna Judd, and she's a multiple Grammy winner in the country space. In this movie we have Joe Walsh, from the eagles. He's an icon and legend and he's doing music for us as well as Gary Clark Jr., whose music we licensed. So music is really important to the film and the style, the integrity, and kind of the emotion of it. We used music in a way that's really powerful. Mike Trella was our composer who does such a great job of creating music that coincides with our footage.

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SAM: And Wendy, how did you meet her?

CHRISTIAN: With Wendy, in 2014 when we were filming The Hornet's Nest, I flew to DC to do a screening and one of the generals, general John Allen was there and he invited Wendy. She was the highest ranking female at the time in the defense department and she just connected to what we were doing and she said "I want to be a part of this". So she left DC and now she's a partner in our company. She's helping us tell these stories; she's getting the DC community to embrace it. Wendy is our partner in producing the film. She has this knowledge that no one else has. she's been to Afghanistan 13 times, she knows many soldiers and generals, and she was in the room at the time when plans were coming down to do something. She has that perspective that's very unique but also Wendy is able to get partners on board. She's able to reach out to generals, congressmen and senators. Wendy knows everybody in DC. She was presidentially appointed by Obama. She's the highest presidentially appointed person to leave DC and come to Hollywood.

SAM: She sounds like a very good resource to have in a film company.

CHRISTIAN: Oh yeah we were on the phone this morning with an admiral in Hawaii. He was saying "thank you for all that you're doing and let me know what I can do to help". She brings these huge resources to the table.

SAM: And you're doing such a good job of staying neutral I would imagine most people are very happy to talk to you.

CHRISTIAN: It is very rare when someone doesn't engage with us.

SAM: I'm sure it's difficult at times to stay neutral, because its war and people's lives.

CHRISTIAN: It's very difficult. And we're also in Hollywood which mostly is liberal. Wendy is a Democrat, she was appointed by Obama, but she understands the importance of staying in the middle so she's brought as many Republicans as she has Democrats to the table. Our support is deep and it keeps growing with every movie.

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SAM: You said you had 500 hours of footage to work with. How long is the movie?

CHRISTIAN: An hour and a half, which is right where it needs to be.

SAM: So you have potentially thousands of hours of footage, how do you sit down and choose those 90 minutes?

CHRISTIAN: So we get the footage, in this movie it was the lead soldier Sgt. Eran Harrill, who got a lot of the footage and then he got a lot of his friends to GoPro up. And he came to us and asked us to go make the movie. We'll sit down with the soldiers, in this case, and we'll sit down in a room with a huge white board and we'll all talk about this mission. Who are the characters, what are the timelines, what are the missions, what are the story lines we need to focus on? Then we start to see what kind of footage we have to tell that story.

SAM: So you create a narrative first, then start looking for what fills the structure?

CHRISTIAN: You got it. And then what happens when we need to fill in something, we make a call. Because we have the soldiers here and the soldier will say "hey wait a minute, there was a soldier on that side of the field and he had a GoPro on". So we make a call out and we get more footage. We don't just use the footage that we initially get, that's the baseline, that's the framework of the story, then we continue to get more missing footage to fill in the gaps. We can do cutaways, music, and be more stylistic.

SAM: And with so much footage you have a lot to cutaway, a lot more artistic freedom, whereas if you only had 90 minutes of footage, you wouldn't be able to cut anything.

CHRISTIAN: Exactly, we got footage in until the very last minute, the last minute before we left.

You can watch the trailer for Citizen Soldier here: http://www.imdb.com/video/imdb/vi1410578201?ref_=tt_ov_vi
Ugandan police raided a Mr. & Miss Pride Uganda event today, arresting about 25 people for unlawful assembly. Organizers claim they did have permission to hold the event.

One person was seriously injured jumping from the building to escape police. Reports on Thursday claimed he had died but on Friday multiple reports confirmed he is alive and recovering in the hospital.

The beauty pageant in the Mazima Mall building in Kampala, Uganda had been joyful before the raid as contestants walked the runway. One dedicated their dress to the victims of the Orlando shooting.

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Just before 11:00 PM, police entered the venue and put a stop to the event. Icebreakers Uganda tweeted that the "police acted like terrorists." Party-goers were held at gunpoint and threatened. One person called his friend saying he was going to die. Many pageant contestants attempted to quickly remove their makeup and female clothing.

The police forced attendees to have their pictures taken with their faces showing. It is unknown if these will be published in Ugandan media tomorrow as many are afraid they will be. Police also specifically targeted Western journalists, chasing them down and confiscating their cameras.

Raymond Nsubuga, Director of Equality Heals Africa, a human rights organization based in Kampala that serves Uganda's marginalized communities, was among those arrested. He describes the raid:

Ugandan police forcefully took photos of people's faces, forced us to delete our recordings, journalists cameras were being confiscated, we were intimated, bullied and while some LGBTQ security team and activists are still being held our trans sisters Bad Black & Rihana faced body violations as police people touched their breasts and butts apparently determining if they are men or women! it was so painful watching some of our contestants struggling to un-plait their hair, trying to undress their high heels and removing makeup!

Those arrested included prominent LGBTQI Ugandan activists Frank Mugisha, Pepe Julian Onziema, and Kasha Jacqueline Nabagesera. They were detained for approximately 90 minutes before being released. Icebreakers Uganda reports about 15 of the 25 arrested were activists.

Pride events have been celebrated in Uganda every year since 2012.



M. B. Clark on Twitter @HealthLGBTQ



Davis McMajor: "This is one of the few pics taken by the attendees before confiscation of their phones. Police forced them to remove their shoes."
Elizabeth Greenwood, the author of Playing Dead: A Journey Through the World of Death Fraud, a riveting new book, out August 9th, on Simon and Schuster knows a lot about how to fake your death. Considering that I faked my own suicide and became a member of the US Marshal's Top 15 Most Wanted Fugitive list I knew that Elizabeth and I had more than a little to talk about. The how and whys of orchestrating your own disappearance is all in the details. Details that are hard to come by unless you've done it yourself. We talked about the pressures that people are under to fake their deaths, the plans that people come up with to do it and how the best death frauds are carried out allowing people to be reborn. Free of their previous life or the weight that made them want to escape in the first place. The following is a condensed version of that conversation. Two experts comparing notes on what is becoming more common day by day.

Seth: What are the reasons people fake their deaths?

Elizabeth: People fake their deaths for a whole host of reasons. Some are amazingly laughable, like Ann Gray, who got out of a date by pretending to be her sister delivering the bad news to the would-be Romeo. In an effort to evade donation solicitations, alumni Erik H. Gordon sent a hysterical obituary to Harvard Magazine stating he had perished in a tragic hot air ballooning accident and left behind his beloved pet monkey Cher. And haven't we all wanted to call in dead to work?

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But when people seek to fake their deaths in all seriousness, the stakes tend to be very high. Sam Israel III did it by staging his suicide off the Bear Mountain Bridge in 2008 after losing nearly half a billion dollars in his Bayou Group Hedge Fund. Steven Chin Leung is the only known death fraudster (who got caught at least) to attempt to end his life on paper in the 9/11 attacks. He'd been living on an expired visa and had the brilliant idea to assume a new identity in his afterlife. Tragically, one Pennsylvania woman faked a seizure and played dead while her scumbag boyfriend was beating her. She ended up saving her own life. To pull off a successful pseudocide, you really can't ever go back. You have to cut all ties with friends and family, and you can't even continue the same activities you once enjoyed because that'll get you caught. So, the motive has to be particularly exigent. What pressures were you under when you faked your death, Seth?

Seth: It was either 10 to life or snitch on my friends. That was basically the choice I was given when I was arrested for an LSD conspiracy in the suburbs of Fairfax, Virginia in 1991. My case was federal, that was the United States of fucking America versus me. I was barely 20 years old. I didn't know about the conspiracy laws, or mandatory minimums or sentencing guidelines. I was just a kid from the suburbs. Neither prospect appealed to me so I took off.

I was forced to reinvent myself. From an outlaw drug dealer to a fugitive. I didn't really know what I was in for. I just knew that I was through with being Seth Ferranti.

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Elizabeth: Makes a lot of sense. How did you come up with the plan to fake your death, and how did you stay disappeared? Coming up with a believable fatal accident is really the toughest part about faking your death. Most people think staging a drowning is the way to go since you avoid the problem of having to produce a body. But a lot of the experts and investigators I spoke with all agreed that never coming back from a swim actually raises red flags. Most bodies will wash ashore or float up eventually, so why not this one? And back in 1991, you didn't have a digital footprint to worry about--your internet search terms, IP addresses, cell phone records--so do you think it was easier to lay low back then? Is there anything you would do differently today?

Seth: I faked my suicide at Great Falls, a national park in Northern Virginia. I went the drowning route. It seemed logical to me. Jumping into the Potomac River, where there are class five rapids, I'd either drown or get smashed against the rocks. I set the stage and made it appear like I was on the cliffs and then jumped in. But you're right. The US Park Police didn't find a body. They dragged the river for two weeks and called my suicide a hoax. I figured the body would wash out to see and in seven years I could be declared legally dead. That was my plan at least.

No digital footprint back then so it was easier, but I still had to get ID and establish an identity and all that. I believe you can do the same thing today. It's just about introducing a little misdirection. If I did it today I would probably disappear in a national forest. That seems to be the way to go.

Elizabeth: I absolutely agree. The fancier and more elaborate the scenario, the more variables you create, and therefore opportunities to get busted. Going off on a hike one day and never coming back is an elegant exit. You don't have to write a suicide note or pay off a witness to say they saw you drown. Some people who attempt to commit insurance fraud go full monty and will actually buy a body to cremate and pass of as their own. You can hire mourners and a priest and video a fake wake to submit to your insurance company, if you're dumb enough to try to collect a policy. This is a fairly common death fraud practice in the Philippines, where I got my own death certificate. The best frauds are actually carried out with high quality counterfeit documents instead of theatrical optics.

Handling my own death certificate definitely gave me pause. What did it feel like for you, Seth, when you were presumed dead and on the run? Did you have contact with any of your friends or family, or did they believe your suicide?

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Seth: I cut off contact with everyone in Virginia when I took off. I'd been dropping hints to everyone too about how I was sick of life and I was ready to die. It was all part of the act and the set up to make people believe I was dead. The only other person that knew was my mother. I had to tell her, I couldn't bear to have her thinking I committed suicide. At first I was a little paranoid. Thinking that the feds were always around the corner. But after a couple of months I got over it and resumed my life. Or my new life I should say.

Everyone thought I was dead but I was in contact with some old friends. And when my money started running slow I got back in touch with one of my dudes in Texas so that I could hook back up with my weed connect and get back in business. That was when I found out I was on the Top 15 US Marshal's List. They had contacted him right before I did. People knew I had disappeared but there was some doubt as to whether I was alive or not.

Elizabeth: I'm impressed you were able to stay on the lam for so long while certain key people knew your whereabouts. One of the biggest challenges people face is cutting off all contact with loved ones. And targeting family and partners is a way law enforcement catch the person they are hunting down, like how Catherine Greig led police to Whitey Bulger. Cutting off all ties really is the greatest obstacle in faking your death, beyond even the technological considerations.

Seth: I was naive and lucky, not like I was some criminal mastermind. I only kept in touch with a few select people that I could trust. But you're right. To really disappear you have to cut off all contact and in all actuality become someone else. As long as you have the documents to back up who you say you are then you're good as gold. It's not for everyone but it can be done.
In February of 2016, a Tanzanian student in Bengaluru was brutalized in a racist attack by a group who beat her, tore off her clothes, and set fire to her car. Three months later, 7 Africans were violently attacked in a neighborhood in South Delhi. These are only the most recent and publicized incidents in a pervasive pattern of Antiblackness that takes the form of both institutional and literal violence in India. Now, some African nations may limit the flow of students they send to Indian universities in the interest of their safety.

"Given the pervading climate of fear and insecurity in Delhi, the African heads of missions are left with little option than to consider recommending to their governments not to send new students to India, unless and until their safety can be guaranteed," said a statement by Eritrean Ambassador Alem Tsehage Woldemariam. The sad irony is that Black and Brown students have so much to learn from each other, given the chance.

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At a time when there is so much turmoil around Blackness in India and abroad, Grazia came out with... probably the most tone-deaf cover possible in this situation. Let's have a look and break this down.

1. Good Hair, We Care! The irony: Indian hair is harvested and sold, often to Black consumers, all over the world. American comedian Chris Rock even made a documentary called Good Hair, where he came to Tirupathi to get the inside scoop on the virgin hair trade. The documentary was prompted by his daughter's question of why she didn't have "good" - read: fine, soft, and loosely textured - hair. The market for Indian hair is valued at393.5Million and growing; the African consumer market is valued at6Billion and growing. These markets exploit respectability politics that Black women face all over the world. In the same way colorism in India keeps dark-skinned men and women consuming Fairness creams, natural hair stigma in other parts of the world keeps black women feeling that they need "good hair" to succeed in work, life, and love. The next level of this irony? Indian womens' natural best practices for hair, from coconut & amla oil massages to mehendi for grays, are making their way all over the world - and helping black women in particular reclaim their natural textures. Despite being the stewards of the most historically effective and holistic hair care practices in the world, Indian women are being sold chemical "smoothies, serums and shampoos" by industry giants to maintain their hair. The same predatory global beauty market exploits the insecurities of both Black and Brown women to keep us consuming mass-produced beauty products.

2. Girl Gone Wild!The irony: For Black women in workplaces all over the world, no matter how professionally they may dress, indelible features like color of their skin and texture of their hair are huge obstacles to workplace advancement and social mobility. Shraddha is wearing a turtleneck and a blazer in a demure, professional look. The only distinguishing feature making this look "wild" is the Afro. Framing the Afro this way links natural textures to wildness and backwardness. This simultaneously plays into the colonial imaginary of a "wild" Africa, and reinforces the broader mentality that stigmatizes Black women for just, you know... existing.

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3. All Roads Lead To Rio! The irony: Rio is one of the biggest fronts in the global problem of colorism and Antiblackness. During the TransAtlantic Slave Trade, 1 in 5 Africans were enslaved in Brazil. Brazil is home to the second-largest population of Black people in the world after Nigeria. And today, Black youth in Brazil are 4 times more likely to be killed than non-Black youth... and as in any society, the women suffer most. Earlier this year, Brazil's first Black Carnaval Queen was stripped of her title for being "too black". The next level of this irony? Now, during Olympics season, over 22,000 families have been displaced, most of whom are poor and disproportionately Black. So really, all roads lead us back to the staggering ignorance at the heart of this issue.

Kapoor's Afro hairstyle is credited to stylists Ekta Rajani, Shaan Muttathil and Amit Thakur. The culture of Antiblackness, however, isn't limited to Grazia. Other publications and industry insiders contribute to the insidious mindset that both stigmatizes and fetishizes Blackness. See exhibit one, the Indian Express article calling Kapoor a "rockstar" for her Afro style and claiming all we need is a mic in the photo to "imagine Shraddha Kapoor singing a song in Africi accent". Bollywood Life loves her outfits, but calls her hair "bizarre" and "a put off". The fact is, Fashion is inherently political. Every member of the fashion industry, from stylists to editors to production assistants, has a responsibility to educate themselves and get their mind right about the cultures and aesthetics they appropriate. Fashion can be liberating, or it can be deeply regressive. The choice rests squarely on the shoulders of the industry leaders and insiders behind publications like Grazia.

Now, that being said... There is a silver lining here: The emerging generation of South Asian Millennials is making waves in the discourse on colorism and equity. Both Indian nationals and diasporic South Asians are rising in their understanding of institutional violence through global social movements and collective efforts around representation. Movements like #unfairandlovely, which was cocreated by Pax Jones, a Black woman, unabashedly acknowledge and subvert Antiblackness in South Asian communities.

To Grazia: These are the tastemakers and changemakers, and it would behoove you to watch their moves. Pay attention to all the rad emerging South Asian creatives; take notes on their positions, their activism. We are at a crossroads in how the South Asian community worldwide - especially through fashion - interfaces with other communities. Clearly, Grazia sees that Black is beautiful. Clearly, Grazia understands that the world is watching, that the stage is global. Clearly, Grazia wants to have their finger on the pulse of this international creative class. Surely, Grazia can do this without the tone-deaf ignorance on display in this issue.

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Solidarity requires accountability. We have to be able to call each other out gently. We have to be able to read and hear criticism, without taking it personally. We have to take people at their word when they tell us that seeing their hair texture repeatedly characterized as wild and abnormal has affected their self image. That watching a lifetime of Fair & Lovely ads has diminished their self worth. That it hurts.

It's easy to complain about appropriation, to be the #curryscentedbitch. It's often much harder when you've inflicted the pain. To admit you've done a wrong thing, and do the necessary to make it right. TBQH, South Asians are hella racist. We need to work on that. We need to understand, as Staceyann Chin says, that all oppression is connected. By contributing to Black liberation, we liberate ourselves; by contributing to Black suffering, we suffer ourselves. By reinforcing Eurocentric beauty standards, we put ourselves in a race that's impossible for any of us to win. So to Grazia and to so many of us that have been personally called out and made uncomfortable... Criticism is an opportunity for growth. Let's take it, learn from it, and do better next time.
The Aspen Security Forum is one of many remarkable events held each summer with the aim of bringing people together to enjoy nature, culture and to discuss Big Ideas in what was, until the 1930s, a run-down former mining town 8,000 ft up in the Rocky Mountains slightly west of Denver.

The formula works well, partly because getting there is so inconvenient that the only people who show up are those who really want to be there - leaving aside the growing number who arrive in private jets.

All Forum sessions are on the record, which means that the natural inclination of contributors to speak freely in such inspiring surroundings can generate more headlines than they - but perhaps not the Aspen Institute - would like.

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The upside is that exchanges at the Security Forum, or the Aspen Ideas Festival held a couple of weeks earlier, often make a real contribution to wider debate.

This year we had US Secretary of State John Kerry wondering whether there might be a second EU referendum in the UK (answer: No, but several million Brits had the same thought); we had the new head of US Central Command incurring the wrath of President Erdogan for suggesting that the detention of large numbers of Turkish generals following last month's failed coup was impeding military cooperation between Turkey and the US; and we had some clear indications that the US and perhaps other Western governments may soon have to call out those foreign governments which are launching increasingly brazen cyber attacks not only for commercial gain and espionage purposes but also to manipulate our democratic processes.

The hacking and deliberate leaking of the emails of the Democratic National Committee while the Forum was taking place were followed by signs that Hillary Clinton's campaign had also been targeted and, a day later, by headline coverage in the London Times of information warfare being conducted by Russian authorities in the UK with the aim of undermining public faith in our institutions (and in some cases undisputed history).

As valuable for Aspen participants as the public debates are the conversations that go on in the margins. This year I was struck by the widespread sense that the world is facing so many unexpected and intractable issues at the same time that we seem to be living either a perfect storm or a decade of disruption - choose your metaphor.

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We clearly aren't witnessing Francis Fukuyama's end of history with the universal adoption of the liberal Western values which we thought had won the Cold War.

Instead, we have the rise, and growing popularity, of strong men who have little time for those values. Donald Trump expresses his admiration for Vladimir Putin. President Erdogan of Turkey has said democracy is like a streetcar to ride only as far as your chosen destination (perhaps the Turkish nation's unequivocal response to last month's coup will give him second thoughts). China says big powers can do as they please irrespective of their commitments under international agreements like the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea.

In the Middle East and beyond, we have the Sunni jihadism of Da'esh descending to ever-greater depths of depravity as it seeks to boost recruitment, counter the evidence that it is losing, and provoke reactions from the tolerant societies and genuine followers of the Prophet it so despises.

Almost more surprising because so few of us saw it coming, there is the erosion of faith in Western political institutions, systems and leaders. Technological change, globalisation, growing economic inequality and a sense that politicians are more interested in tomorrow's headlines than in doing the right thing have all taken their toll.

Across the EU, and in the US where Donald Trump continues to defy the laws of political gravity, we have seen dramatic increases in public support for fringe parties and candidates of both left and right, with a common ability to tap into the fears, uncertainties and anger of voters who feel the establishment isn't listening to them.

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In Britain as in America, there is a sense that for too long now hard working, tax-paying middle class people have had to watch their incomes decline while the financiers whose greed and irresponsibility caused the meltdown of 2008 (for which the rest of us are still footing the bill) get even richer.

All this contributed to the surprise outcome of the EU referendum on 23 June. There could have been similar results if In/Out referenda had been held in other member states - with the notable exception of Germany. Yet we still hear Commission officials claiming that Brexit is a wonderful opportunity to take forward the cause of integration unencumbered by British obstructionism. What are they smoking ?

None of the root causes of these problems is going to disappear overnight. But the crisis of confidence in our institutions is both serious and urgent. Theresa May's first speech as Prime Minister in front of 10 Downing Street on 16 July was bolder than most people expected in its analysis of how recent British governments had lost their way, and what needed to be done to address inequalities and corporate greed. Under pressure from her erstwhile rival for the Democratic nomination, Bernie Sanders, Hillary Clinton has moved in a similar direction.

Seeing off the dangerous populism of Left and Right will require bold action as well as fine words. It is needed for its own sake; perhaps even for the survival of parliamentary democracy and the capitalist system. The boys have had their turn. Perhaps Angela Merkel, Theresa May and Hillary Clinton, ably supported by Christine Lagarde, can together deliver a fresh perspective.
USA, New Jersey, Mother breastfeeding her daughter (2-5 months)

Before having my first child just over five years ago, I knew very little about breastfeeding and did not hold a strong position on whether or not I was going to breastfeed. I was kind of laid back thinking 'I would give it a go' not because I was pressured or because I felt strongly it was the best way to go, but just because I fancied doing it.

In my mind it was going to be so natural and easy because as far as I could tell, it was kind of what my body was supposed to be doing, right? Otherwise why did my boobs get milk in them and why did my baby want to stick my nipples in her mouth?

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So on that note I set out with the best expectations, bought some nursing bras, looked up what best positions there were and read a book or two until the time came for me to whip out my boob and feed my hungry baby.

Only to my amazement, shock and horror, the reality of this 'natural' experience was nothing like the beautiful magazine images I had seen of happy mommies peacefully feeding their babies in their arms.

For me it was somewhat more complex.

For one, my baby did not 'latch on'. I can't blame her to be honest. I have massive nipples. There, I've said it. Something I've been embarrassed about all my life. I always envied the girls with the little pink nipples that looked perfectly shaped for a newborn baby's little mouth. Instead, my daughter got a mouth full of brown, big mama nipples which she just spat out.

On top, my boobs were enormous. I mean Pamela Anderson style. They are big on a normal day, add some milk into the mix and I honestly have never seen them so big in my life. Another tricky element to consider when you are breastfeeding, especially in public.

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I watched friends with their elegant small to medium size breasts managing to be so graceful about it, whereas I always got into such a twist and ended up basically topless, boobs hanging out COMPLETELY in cafes, cinemas, supermarkets, at friends' houses etc. This was not even me trying to make some sort of statement, I just never got my head around how to work those nursing bras and hold a baby who needed to feed and then burp without having the whole world see my magnificently huge breasts.

But despite the 'latching on' issue and other difficulties I was finding, being the determined person I am, I decided to stick at it and took some 'one on one' lessons with a midwife who assured me that these things "take time" and that I was doing a great job.

I wondered to myself why non of the books I read before having a baby and why non of the pretty magazine pictures I saw, ever mention that getting the hung of breastfeeding "takes time"? I mean, what is the point in telling women that breastfeeding is easy and natural when in fact, for many new moms (like me), it's actually hard and does not come natural?

My own journey continued - for three months I struggled till things started to get better. I got one of those nursing pillows which was a massive help and I found a local support group for moms' who breastfed. We would meet up and breastfeed our babies together. It was so Rock n' Roll I can't even take it.

At some point I decided to start pumping milk because I was lucky enough to be making quite a lot of it and I wanted someone else to be able to help with feeding.

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I ended up pumping till she was seven months old. If you came round my house that time and opened my freezer all you would see were those little bags with frozen breast-milk in them. I could have fed a small country at that point.

I had one of those double pumps and I cut out two (massive) holes in a on old bra allowing me to walk around the house hands free while pumping two bottles at the same time. It was not a sexy time I can tell you that. I thought my husband seeing me poop a little bit during childbirth was the lowest I'd ever go but this totally topped it.

At seven months I decided it was enough. The sound of that pump suction was starting to get to me and I had enough stock in my freezer to last for another month at least. I felt like a winner for sticking at it, but at the same time - nothing gave me more pleasure that throwing out that old bra and getting rid of that pump.

Those who have read my story know that with my second pregnancy (twins), labour and everything that followed was a bit of a nightmare. I won't get into that story again because I feel I have shared it so many times, but I will say that it did have an effect on my decision not to breastfeed.

I was shattered. I had nearly died. My body was full of drugs. My mental state was at the lowest it had ever been and I just could not take on the responsibility and commitment breastfeeding (or pumping) involve.

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It was a tough decision, one that was wrapped up in a lot of guilt and doubt. While still in hospital I told one of the midwives what I had decided and she gave me a piece of her mind. Yeah, I felt pretty shitty, thanks, and after that I just told people to stay out of my business and let me do what the heck I felt was right for ME.

You see, as much as my little babies needed me - I needed me too. I needed to recover from what had happened to my body, and I'm not just talking about the near death experience, I'm also talking about the actual pregnancy.

So I decided to bottle feed.

I'll say two things right away:

1) Bottle feeding is no trip to the Bahamas. It comes with it's own set of problems, challenges and difficulties. After having three kids I now know that there just aren't any easy fixes or shortcuts when it comes to parenting. Only choices.

2) I had one breaking point which was on day four. One of the twins was on top of me for some 'skin to skin' time and she found my nipple. She latched on all by herself and started sucking. She did it so beautifully and naturally, just like the books said, only I had no milk to give her because I had taken the pills that dried it all up. I burst into tears and I feel like shit every time I think about that moment.

HOWEVER (and here comes my bottom line) - looking back I know that both journeys were right FOR ME at the time. Although it would have been nice to breastfeed the twins, I am also aware that not breastfeeding them meant I could spend a lot of time with my eldest who really needed her mommy at the time.

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My husband got to experience something he did not experience the first time we had a newborn in the house because he got to feed them from day one. In fact, he got to feed the twins before I ever did while I was still in intensive care in hospital. His silly face is the first they saw, not mine, and he gave them their first bottle feed and told them how much he loved them when I couldn't.

They are blessed for having that experience just like my first child was blessed to have my great big nipples poke her in the eye.

Bottom line - this month, breastfeeding awareness month, is a time not only to celebrate and encourage ladies who have chosen to breastfeed, but also a time to be honest about it. I would like to encourage women to share their stories - good bad, funny, sad, embarrassing, they are all welcome.

I honestly believe that it's only through sheer honestly and sharing our experiences that we can truly support each-other. Each in her own way.
Crossposted from UN Women.

Maali Gurung, 62, was trapped under rubble for days when a 7.8-magnitude earthquake hit Nepal on 25 April 2015, killing her husband and destroying her hotel. She was severely injured and needed help. At the multipurpose centre run by Women for Human Rights, with support from UN Women, Ms. Gurung was able to rest and heal. Today she is part of a cash-for-work programme and planning to rebuild her home.

Maali Gurung, age 62, an earthquake survivor in Gorkha, Nepal. In the devastating 2015 earthquake, Maali and her husband were buried in rubble for five days. He did not survive. Photo: UN Women/Narendra Shrestha

Gorkha, NepalSixty-two-year-old Maali Gurung recalls going to get some water at the tap next to her hotel on 25 April 2015, just before the earthquake occurred. It started shaking violently, then I fell and my body hit the ground very hard, she says. Maali couldnt move, and she watched in horror as her hotel turned into rubble within seconds. Unable to get away from whatever she was buried under, she heard people yelling and running away. I tried to yell, but no sound came, the dust burned my eyes, I couldnt seethen I passed out.

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Almost a year since that fateful day, Ms. Gurung is sitting on the carpeted floor in the meeting room of Women for Human Rights (WHR), UN Womens local partner that supports single Nepali women. She recounts the horror of the day when a 7.8-magnitude earthquake rocked central Nepal. She speaks slowly, recalling everything that happed that day.

When Ms. Gurung regained consciousness, she was still lying on the ground, unable to move. I was under a huge pillar and had hurt my feet badly, she says.Her husband trapped in the rubble not so far away was dead.

She and her husband used to run a hotel in Hawa Danda, 150 kilometres from the capital, Kathmandu, a settlement on a rough overhanging rock en route to the Manaslu Tsum Valley. April is a busy time of the year for businesses as trekkers throng the narrow trails to Manaslu.

On the day of the earthquake, Ms. Gurungs hotel had a handful of guests. Some were eating snacks, some were enjoying cold drinksthere was a lot of activity and a lot of noise, she says.

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When she gained consciousness everything was quiet. All she could hear was her own breathing. Ms. Gurung realized she was bleeding heavily from her injured foot but couldnt get up to stop the bleeding. I just lay there hoping someone would help me, but nobody came.

After surviving under rubble for five days, Maali Gurung was found by her neighbors relatives and airlifted to Gorkha Bazaar for medical treatment. Photo: UN Women/Narendra Shrestha

Help didnt arrive until the fourth day. For five days and four nights Ms. Gurung was in and out of consciousness. I was thirsty, I wished it would rain so I could drink that water, she says. On the morning of the fifth day her neighbours had come to check on their relatives, and found her alive. They carried her to Soti Bazaarr, some three hours away from Hawa Danda, through debris and dry landslides that were falling from the hills. They put her in a helicopter and sent her to the district headquarters, Gorkha Bazaar, for treatment.

When doctors examined Ms. Gurung, her foot wound already had myiasis [a parasitic infection] because it hadnt been treated in time. It would be a slow recovery and she needed help. Her son had left to work in Malaysia eight years ago and has been estranged from the family. I thought: I have a son who never calls and a husband who is dead. I dont have a house, no money, and now I cant even move Ms. Gurung had never felt so alone.

Her neighbour and WHR social mobilizer Suk Maya Gurung was her saviour. When Ms. Gurung was discharged from the hospital, Suk Maya brought her to the multipurpose womens centre that WHR had set up in Gorkha Bazaar, with support from UN Women Nepal. Through the centre, survivors of the earthquake have been getting trauma counselling, psychosocial support, skills training, legal and life-saving information.

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Maali Gurung (seated first row centre), along with other women, attend psychological counseling at the Multi-purpose Womens Centre in Gorkha Bazaar, which Women for Human Rights (WHR) set up with support from UN Women Nepal. Photo: UN Women/Narendra Shrestha

At the multipurpose centre, Ms. Gurung could rest and heal. I wouldve been dead, had it not been for those who took care of me after I was released from the hospital, she says. She stayed there for over three months before she could walk properly.

A few weeks ago, Ms. Gurung took part in a cash-for-work programme where she helped clear earthquake debris so she could bring home some rice. I still have debts to pay for all the goods that were buried by the earthquake It is my responsibility; I will find a way to earn money and pay it off, she says.

Maali Gurung, left, puts her arm around Suk Maya Gurung, a fellow displaced earthquake survivor who works as social mobilizer at the Multi-purpose Womens Centre. Photo: UN Women/Narendra Shrestha

For now, all she wants is for the reconstruction to start. The engineers came to survey her land a few weeks ago, which has made her hopeful that work will start soon. I have lost everything, but as long as my hands will not betray me, I can build, she says.

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Crossposted from UN Women.

More than 2,000 girls and women have been abducted by Boko Haram in Nigeria. The international community continues to advocate for their safe return. But after the girls are back, what happens to them? What happens to the children of rape and their young mothers? Hussaina Dahiru, from north-east Nigeria escaped Boko Haram, but tragically died at child birth. A programme by UN Women is working with girls and women who have survived Boko Harams attacks and making sure that the humanitarian response addresses their specific and unique needs.

Women and children at an internally displaced persons camp in Adamawa State, Nigeria. Photo: UN Women/Ikechukwu Attah

She was not even 16. Boko Haram rebels abducted Hussaina Dahiru from her home in the Madagali area of Adamawa State, Nigeria, in May, 2015. Ms. Dahiru, along with 13 other girls were taken to the Sambisa Forest and forcibly married off to one of the insurgents, who already had three other wives. Soon after, she became pregnant.

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Life in the insurgents den was oppressive and unbearable, recounted Dahiru, when she met with UN Women representatives in Nigeria. She had recently escaped from Boko Haram.

Food was scarce and punishments were severe. If your husband did not go for operation, you would not be given food. The captive women and girls were frequently beaten. Attempting escape was nearly impossible and often fatal. Those who were caught trying to escape were butchered; their butchered body parts were shown to the others.

In February 2016, heavily pregnant and unable to bear the daily terror and hunger, Ms. Dahiru took a chance and managed to escape. She ran through the night and at daybreak, a soldier found her on the Midu road in Madagali and helped her find refuge. A member of the Child Protection Network (CPN) in Adamawa state eventually introduced Ms. Dahiru to UN Women.

Hussaina Dahirus story doesnt have a happy ending. Two months after her escape, on 16 April, she died during childbirth. Her child survived and is being cared for by her aunt. The Ministry of Womens Affairs has provided food and provisions for the child and for the foster mother. However, like most children of rape committed by Boko Haram insurgents, stigma surrounds him. The family and the community are yet to decide whether they would keep the child or give him up for adoption.

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Ms. Dahiru's story is dismally commona 2015 report by Amnesty International estimated that more than 2,000 women and girls had been abducted by Boko Haram and used as sex slaves [1]. The consequences of this violence extend across generations and cripple communities.

Adjaratou Fatou Ndiaye, UN Women Deputy Representative of West and Central Africa, recently met with internally displaced women and girls during a field visit. Most of them have lost the families that they could depend onand may have children they now have to support, she said. While some of them expressed their desire for education, most pointed out that their immediate need upon returning to their respective communities is acquiring skillssuch as tailoring, knitting, soap-making, farming and entrepreneurshipso that they can make a living, Fatou Ndiaya added.

UN Women Country Representative Dr. Grace Ongile having an interactive session with women at a camp for internally displaced persons in Adamawa State, Nigeria. Photo: UN Women/Ikechukwu Attah

UN Women is working with girls and women who have survived Boko Haram's violence through the "Emergency Assistance to Internally Displaced Women/Girls and Survivors of Boko Haram Terrorism Attacks in Nigeria" programme funded by the Government of Japan. The programme is being implemented in Adamawa, Bauchi and Gombe states in Nigeria, where the majority of the displaced women and returning abductees go to find refuge, and focuses on rebuilding their lives through emergency assistance, psycho-social support and economic empowerment. It tailors and strengthens the humanitarian response in Nigeria by addressing the unique needs and realities of women and girls.
Throughout my career as chief customer officer, and chief marketing officer, I've had the privilege to collaborate and serve numerous executives in the higher education industry. Based on my experience, I strongly believe that two of the most disruptive executive thought leaders in higher education are Dr. Marni Baker Stein and Phil Komarny at the University of Texas System (UTx) and the Institute for Transformational Learning (ITL).

Ray Wang , bestselling author and CEO and founder of Constellation Research, and I interviewed Dr. Stein, Chief Innovation Officer (CIO) at UTx, and Phil Komarny, Chief Digital Officer (CDO) at UTx to learn more about how these two extraordinary educational and technology leaders are partnering to completely transform the educational delivery model at one of the largest university in the United States.



Dr. Marnie Baker Stein, Chief Innovation Officer UTx ITL

Dr. Marni Baker Stein, Chief Innovation Officer, is an authority on next generation program and curricular development, delivery, and assessment; strategic enrollment and student lifecycle management infrastructure implementation; and student-centered, outcomes-focused, competency-based instructional design.

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Before joining the University of Texas System, Dr. Stein was Senior Associate Dean of Columbia University's School of Continuing Education, where she oversaw the school's academic portfolio, and was responsible for the development, design, and evaluation of all online and hybrid programs. Prior to that, Dr. Stein has led the development of graduate, undergraduate, and non-degree programming delivered through a wide variety of innovative packages, including dual language, executive, online and hybrid formats for educational institutions. Dr. Stein has a PhD in Teaching, Learning and Curriculum from the University of Pennsylvania.

Phil Komarny, Chief Digital Officer, UTx ITL



Komarny is recognized as one of the most social CIOs in the world and now the chief digital officer (CDO) at University of Texas Systems (UTx). Phil is an entrepreneur, former CEO of a technology startup and an award winning senior executive with a 20+ year track record of delivering innovative, high value solutions by aligning existing problems with emerging technologies. He writes code, builds mobile apps and still finds time to closely research emerging technologies and deploy state-of-the art digital solutions. He is a digital transformation expert and a one of the brightest chief digital officers in higher education. Today's Phil and his team design, develop, and manage the technical and information infrastructure as well as stack of services necessary to deliver best-in-class online learning across UT System's 15 campuses.



Established in 2012 by the University of Texas Board of Regents and endowed with $50 million, the Institute for Transformational Learning has a bold mandate:

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To make a University of Texas-quality education more accessible and affordable.

To improve student learning outcomes and dramatically increase the number of Texans with a college degree and other advanced educational credentials.

The ITL's primary objectives are three-fold:

To advance breakthrough pathways to student success.

To design and deploy state-of-the-art educational infrastructure.

To harness the power of next-generation learning analytics

With over 220,000 students with academic centers around the state, UTx was developed in 2012 to guide the online learning programs with focus on scale, quality, accessibility and affordability of education across the State of Texas. The massive open online courses (MOOCs) were created and successfully used by over 1 million learners.

"We realized that MOOCs are a tactic, not a strategy. And one tool in the toolbox is not a solution to the problems that we are facing. We took a hard look at the problem space across campuses with focus on the future of education. We realized that the problem space is meeting the demands of the student population that is learning - a lifelong population of learners. How do we move to a new era of a learning economy for lifelong learners?" said Dr. Stein.

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When you visit the UTx website, the first thing you see is the statement: "Total education experience - personalized, engaging, mobile-first learning environment. So we asked Kormany how UTx will deliver on this promise. The UTx mission is:

To achieve exponential gains in student success, access and affordability, the UT System and the Institute for Transformational Learning , working in close partnership with our 14 academic and health science campuses, have created UTx. Through this innovative portfolio of initiatives, we are supporting the development of the next generation educational curricula, instructional approaches, student services and learning technologies that will define the future of higher education. The mission of every UTx project is to empower campus partners across the UT System to identify and develop transformational and sustainable models of education that are student-centered, industry aligned, personalized, data-driven and scalable. These new models aim to make students dramatically more successful as learners, working professionals and leaders in their fields. They will target the following success outcomes across institutional use cases and student profiles: Larger numbers of students served

Higher retention and graduation rates

Optimized time to completion

Higher rates of academic and professional advancement

Dr. Stein and Komarny worked on mapping the lifelong educational journey devoid of course and term, but rather guided by discrete experiences along a learning path. To achieve this, the team quickly realized that there is a need for a platform that allows UTx to liberate students from existing legacy educational models. The platform integrates with current workflows and back-end systems (learning management systems and student information systems) and also delivers a mobile, personalized of pace and learning curriculum.

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"We started with a data-first and mobile-first strategy. The event model that we built around his data that comes from the learning environment comes from one place. We built a platform whereby all the data is associated and wrapped around the student," said Komarny.

Dr. Stein noted that the problem statement is more than just disparate sources of student data, and the inability to capture a complete view of the students, the problem statement also included the inability to create a persistent, progressive profile that accurately captures the student's journey from enrollment to alumni journey. The goal is to support the student's journey from multiple institutions, including educational programs outside of UT systems.

Disrupting existing models meant starting with design thinking and design process focusing on improving the student experience - from the moment they research the university on the web to the moment that they graduate from the university. This is intentionally student centered to ensure an experience that will help student's reach their full potential.

This is a big change. Meaning this type of highly disruptive and new model required getting buy in from the rest of the institution. Dr. Stein broke the project into several segments and objectives. She separated the project into three areas:

Marketplace for education - persistent, progressive profile that moves across the marketplace of educational offerings. Ability to wrap just-in time or personalized services (like prospect management and retention programs) around the marketplace Designing atomic units of content at scale - the most innovative part of the innovation process was designing a process in a way for students to have lots and lots of wins along the way. Every accomplish has a value proposition and currency that can help the student in the future or current jobs - weekly or monthly wins. To do this, UTx would need to re-design the educational journey that delivers value through an unbundling of a four year degree programs into a set of stackable experience that add value and are meaningful. The faculty that supported this initiative - competency based education at scale - are pioneers and heroes.

The Amazing Pilot Program



So how do we know if Dr. Stein and Komarny are on the right path?

Dr. Stein worked with three different medical schools in the system to define the outcomes for students that wanted to go into medical or nursing degrees at the highest levels. The competencies were mapped to the accredited existing curriculum to create the atomic level knowledge graph. The atomic part skills would allow the framework to be aligned with courses and competencies.

The pilot was run against the second poorest county in the country - 60% of the population has zero internet access, including cellular access. This scenario would test the native offline mobile framework and personalization of pace - the entire curriculum was delivered on an iPad in a classroom, allowing flexibility of delivery. This was a mobile only learning environment.

So what do the students think about the pilot program? Marissa Trevino, a freshman at University of Texas Rio Grande Valley who is pursuing a bachelor's degree in biomedical sciences wrote a blog titled "The College App That Changed My Life," where she said: "We are living in the greatest technological revolution in history. Isn't it time for higher education to seek creative new ways to deliver a college education that will improve retention and ultimately increase graduate rates for students like me?"

The students really enjoyed the offline and atomic units of activities and goals that they can achieve on a frequent basis. The data and reporting capabilities can also alert the students and their community of care if their progress is below the expected levels. The analytics capabilities will allow educators to high personalize the content and pace of educational delivery. The pilot included 129 students but the mobile analytics process collected over 3.5 million data events during two semesters. The data is used to optimize interventions, all aimed at ensuring student success.

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What about the freshman year completion rates - did they improve? Historically, the persistence and retention rates was about 50% drop outs with D's and F's on their transcripts. With the 129 students in the pilot program, 86% of them will go forward with C or better on their transcript with equal distribution of As and Bs. These are amazing results! The study found that the killer course is chemistry - which is generally true for all universities across the country. The chemistry outcomes were exceptional with the pilot program, raising student success rates from 40% to 70% or better in the first term and significantly better in the second term. The amazing learning pathway identified often a single mathematical concept that needed more attention in order to ensure student's understanding and retention of concepts. Digitization of the course delivery model allowed the educators to surgically measure and calibrate student needs on a highly personalized manner.

In the fall of 2017, UT is delivering an online cyber security program, scaling the existing high recognized curriculum using a mobile first framework with atomic competency units for certifications and degree program offerings. A student can create a persistent profile and a universal transcript that can include academic, professional and military credits and certifications - a LinkedIn like system of competencies and credentials. Students can also see what competencies are missing and needed to ensure a future successful career or advancements in an existing career track.

Dr. Stein and Komarny summarized their conversation with Ray and me by telling us about the sense of honor and privilege to work for Chancellor William H. McRaven.

University of Texas System Chancellor William H. McRaven, a retired U.S. Navy four-star admiral, leads one of the nation's largest and most respected systems of higher education. As the chief executive officer of the UT System, Chancellor McRaven oversees 14 institutions that educate 221,000 students and employ 20,000 faculty and more than 80,000 health care professionals, researchers and staff.

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Komarny said that he was speechless when he was first asked to present to chancellor McRaven. Both Dr. Stein and Komarny point to the chancellor as one of the big reason they chose to join UT.

"It takes somebody to set the bar, and then to have the leadership to say 'okay go jump over that together, and I'll see you when you get back,' said Dr. Stein about Chancellor McRaven. The chancellor is incredibly supportive of ITL, advising the team to "get it right," and motivating ITL to stretch higher than ever before to do what is right with a great sense of urgency and purpose. The chancellor is giving ITL permission to dream big, to collaborate with all stakeholders, and do whatever is necessary to ensure that University of Texas students are prepared and ready for future success. Perhaps the best way for you learn about Chancellor McRaven's ability to motivate and inspire others is to watch his extraordinary University of Texas at Austin 2014 commencement address:

As Marissa Trevino, now a sophomore at University of Texas said: "I feel like I am never alone pursuing my biomedical sciences degree. Through the social component of this app, I'm able to have chats with my classmates and faculty anytime I want. This team-based learning component has turned my brain into a sponge and enabled me to increase my rate of learning because I can access course materials and the brainpower of my classmates and professors at the tip of my fingers."
As Turkey in the wake of the despicable coup attempt dragged even more deeply into the Machiavellian vortex by way of severe waves of seemingly indiscriminate purge and arrests -- based on a series of draconian decrees -- many Turkish pundits now seem much more concerned about bashing the West -- the USA and the EU i particular -- of indifference to the damage the botched putch caused to the country.

Some even argue fervently that a return to democratic settings will only be possible by opening a "blank page" with President Erdogan.

Going further, some Turkish commentators have engaged almost a campaign-like attacks against what they vaguely term as "western media", throwing accusations as inability to grasp the "Turkish reality" and of deliberate bias.

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The basis for the attacks seem to be what they see as the emphasis on what takes place after the failure of the coup attempt, instead of its evil nature which caused deaths of at least 260 civilians and incredible damage, among other "targets", Parliament building.

It all looks like the taking the easy way out.

First of all, this impulsive reaction has its roots in the national elite's psyche: the west and its media were severely targeted in the wake of the military coup 1980, as it did during the 1990s when the Kurdish insurgency escalated, and lately during Gezi Park protests, which even jeopardized the very work of the international media outlets.

Then and now, the attackers,albeit having different colors, have applied a common slogan:

"Turkey is different, you westerners do not understand us! You never will!"

On this aspect, the current reaction exposes a return to old anti-western reflexes, underlining a cultural clash in the norms of free and diverse opinion. They also fuel anti-western sentiments across the society.

"Easy way out" is used by myself particularly because of the sweeping generalization under the term "western media", applied by these pundits.

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Which western media? American, Brazilian, French? Then, which media? New York Times, Le Monde, El Pais, Folha, CNN, DR?

No specifics given.

So, we do not really know, what exactly the complainants' arguments are concretely based on.

Such generalizations are often nothing else than products of sheer frustrations.

In the case of deeply turbulent, rather unstable Turkey, they are, confusing the target as they are, understandable. But, as responsible opinion makers, one's own arguments should matter more than what the others express. Among many of those who now engage in "west-bashing" there was full consensus from the very outset that the coup attempt be condemned in strongest terms.

I wrote in Turkish and was quoted in Spanish and Italian newspapers the day after the putch attempt that it was "deadly blow, an act of evil to Turkey's already frail democratic order." That at least 260 more civilians were killed was the result of the act of evil.

Yet, in a larger context, it was just an addition to the hundreds of victims of bombings and clashes across the country, which was swept into violence and rage, in the past three-four years; not exactly an incident politically separable from those. Nobody could disagree that Turkey had become a victim of profound mismanagement, and that the only way out would be that the elected opposition would get its act together.

So, in this larger context things look more crystallized, rather than all analysis narrowed down to the 14 hours the plotters raged havoc in the country. As an academic friend put it: "Could one understand the 15 July coup without taking the 14th and the 16th of July into account?"

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Another example: three weeks after the coup attempt, we still do not know who planned, sat in the command centre, and orchestrated this act of evil. Who pulled the trigger? How do we explain that a 40 % of the top brass is now in jail? Those who seek answers to these basic questions are met with hostility, and easily demonized. Yet, the "real" journalism is now squeezed into a tiny 90% of the sector -- symbolized by secular Cumhuriyet daily on top -- Turkish media is unable, sadly, to mind its own business; as it could not during the past 12 months of Kurdish insurgency that ruined parts of the Anatolian cultural heritage in the southeastern provinces, along with many lives.

Still, the western media-bashing has now gone beyond reason.

One commentator, while trying to demonstrate how Turkey was "misunderstood", wrote:

Intentionally or not, many Western media organizations and decision makers get their information from a rather limited part of Turkish society. During recent years, that part has not only become more and more isolated from the rest of the public, but also distinctively resistant to Erdogan and his government. The result is a noticeable bias.

Really?

The fact of the matter is, this upside-down argumentation is a slap in the face of all those decent journalists in Turkey who are now either jobless, or "sheltered" without income in a decreasing number of tiny news outlets or in jail.

They have not at all become resistant and biased against Erdogan because they have been isolated from the public. On the country, they have been silenced and punished, one after another, by firings and courtcases, because they have remained bold enough to continue to be honestly critical to what they see as power abuses, oppressive ways etc.

The draconian measures against the media after the coup attempt are also self-explanatory.

The values of journalism are universal; and only those who abide by them find a common ground in pursuing, and revealing, the truth. The rest is a dirty alliance between propagandists and stenographs of power.

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Thus, the bitter fact is, no matter how much one bashes the "other" media, it will not make the persistent issues on the future of democracy, keeping Turkey in severe spasms, go away.

But those attacking the West are right in one point. It is almost entirely about one person, President Erdogan, and what in his mind is.

What to do now?

How to approach Turkey and President Erdogan?

During his visit in Ankara, Thorbjorn Jagland, Secretary General of Council of Europe, said:

"There has been too little understanding in Europe about the challenges facing democracy and state institutions in Turkey after the outrageous coup attempt of 15 July... Turkey is very important to Europe, and Europe is very important to Turkey. We should do all we can to help Turkey deal with this very difficult situation in the best way possible."

While to be commended for meeting the elected politicians in Turkish capital, Jagland's words must be understood as a subtle reminder that the European inability to grasp the gravity of the situation in the country is nothing new.

As all the basic tenets of the democratic order has been attacked and demolished in the past three years, following Gezi Protests, and as the constitution was de facto suspended through steady breaches (over impartiality and the independence of the judiciary and media) by Erdogan, the EU (Germany in particular) shifted to a "transactional partnership" due to a single focus on blocking the refugee inflow from Turkey and nothing else.

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As the Turkish political stage was turned into a wreck by a slow motion "civilian coup" mode since 2014, with the addition of scorched earth policy in the mainly Kurdish southeast that left 350.000 Kurds displaced, the show was watched from the EU balconies with aloofness.

This makes surely the question "what to do now?" even more convulsive.

Some pundits in Turkey seem to have launched the idea that a return to normalization is not possible without him.

The risk of flocking around this idea is, I fear, that it may lead to further disappointment.

Given Erdogan's record since 2013 on, those who hope that he will reestablish the rather ruined democratic order express wishful thinking; they are trapped by pipe dreaming.

The key issue remains, as powerfully as before the coup attempt, on whether or not Erdogan is to be trusted.

The global perception about his "my way or no way" style, about his unpredictability is intact even after the putchists' despicable attacks to Parliament in Ankara. Erdogan has so far fallen short of giving assurances about a return to democratic rights and freedoms and a respect for rule of law.

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On the contrary, the inexplicably massive purge and arrest waves, as well as all the decrees issued so far, point out to the fact that he remains decided to personalize the power, and diminish the role of Parliament and the judiciary. He perceives the post-putch mood not as "democracy has won", but with his name replacing democracy, in that slogan.

With the emergency rule, he is empowered with the best political instruments he ever hoped for. Unless he catches us with a huge surprise, he will soon cement a one-man rule.

So, against those who have fallen into the trap of wishful thinking, we must preach skepsis as sharp as before.

Erdogan feels frustrated about the lack of enthusiasm in support from the West and the Arab world after the coup attempt.

Yet there is more to the context.

His row with Italian Prime Minister Renzi and his calls for the extradition of his arch-foe Fethullah Gulen from the USA, exposes his "chessmaster self":

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He knows that the case of money laundering in Italy against his son, and the upcoming, massive corruption trial, in September, against his close circle friend, Iranian-Turkish businessman, Reza Zarrab, in New York Federal Court, will cause deeper damage to his image and must go away through some "deals".

His patriarchal mood in post-coup attempt therefore must be seen in this wide and hugely important context, which make prospects for a normalization in Turkey even bleaker.
Content ID Still Just Piracy [Maria Schneider]

In this open letter to righsholders, Maria Schneider examines how Content ID, originally billed as a means of protecting copyright holders, has since transformed into way to make money off of ads placed on pirated content.

_____________________________________

Guest Post by Maria Schneider on Music Technology Policy

Content ID, YouTubes digital fingerprinting technology, is under fire lately for very good reason. Originally touted by YouTube as an effective method of blocking illegal uploads, Content ID was ostensibly the services way to protect copyright holders. But Content ID quickly morphed into a self-serving massive moneymaker. Their pitch goes something like this: Hey, advertising is good for you. Why not use Content ID to cash in on all the piracy by getting a share of revenue we can generate from ad placement? Well, they dont call it piracy  but make no mistake, in the end, their whole scheme still depends on a culture of piracy.

Since the media presents YouTubes misleading talking points without challenge, its up to us to expose whats really going on. Theres a lot to sift through when one digs deep, so bear with me. In the end, ask yourself if jumping on board, monetizing through YouTubes Content ID, makes us all complicit in perpetuating the piracy racket that YouTube created to make billions for itself.

1. YouTubes 3 Billion Figure is all Smoke and Mirrors

YouTube dangles Content ID and monetization in general in front of music creators to lure us to participate. YouTubes line is that if we jump on the monetization bandwagon, theyll share ad revenue with us. Sounds like a good deal, but YouTubes ad revenue has proven paltry when compared to the real cost of producing music. Like an Atlantic City casino, YouTube wants us to believe that we just might hit the jackpot. Stories of viral videos make the news and seem like the new brass ring for rights-holders, but this insightful article explains how rare viral is. And of the very, very few who achieve viral, who can sustain it and make a career of it?

The real truth is that most music creators on YouTube are making nothing or next to nothing from the use of their work. YouTube acknowledges that out of all people in the world with videos/music on its service, only 8000 partners qualify for Content ID. The rest of us can put ads on the videos we ourselves post, but likely the majority of us are never paid anything, not reaching the $100 threshold YouTube requires of us to receive the first check. And our own uploaded content is competing with pirated uploads of our music that were left to police. The mountain of cash from all the music creators who havent yet reached $100 must be creating one hell of a float for YouTube.

YouTube boasts of $3 billion in total payouts, but dig slightly below that surface, and you see a shameful number. Theyve admitted its really less than $1 billion per year. And think about it: YouTube has over a billion users each month, and over 12 billion users a year, so do the math. The measure of fairness is not how much YouTube has paid out in total, but its whether those who make the music that fuels YouTubes fortune are getting paid adequately. Here would be important questions to ask:

1. How many rights-holders are represented on YouTube? (That number must be astronomical, and likely impossible to calculate.)

2. How many rights-holders can actually pay for the budget of a record from revenue they receive from YouTube?

3. How many music creators never reach the $100 threshold?

4. Of all the music-rights-holders represented on YouTube, how many make even minimum wage on an ongoing basis, year after year, for their lifes work that sits, year after year, on YouTubes massive servers?

Every musician knows that as long as music is available on YouTube for free, it wont likely sell very well elsewhere, especially with all the available apps that can rip mp3s right from YouTube videos into your personal library. And hey, what happened to the mechanical royalty for all of this, guys? (Ill be writing about that soon.) So, if YouTube is going to corrupt all other income streams for those who invest their lives and means into the making of music, then YouTube should at very least pay a living wage, right?

Weve had plenty of time to test the ad model, and one thing is for certain: Ad revenue does not pay for the making of music  not even remotely close. The music industry should quit banging its head into that same wall looking for results. Face the facts folks  ads will never fuel the music economy.

2. YouTube Has Us Haggling Over Popcorn Prices, While They Walk Away With All the Main Event Revenue

While were haggling over paltry ad revenue, were diverted from the far greater value that is being generated from our music. Every month, our music drives billions of users to YouTubes platform, and the data that Google then gathers from following our fans around the web is where YouTubes true value lies. Google and Facebook didnt get their billion dollar valuations from ad revenue. YouTubes valuation largely comes from the mountains of hoarded data collected on the backs of all musicians and creators. Therefore, part of the value of the YouTube empire should fairly belong to musicians. Not only should musicians and creators share in the value of data gathered, but they should also have access to the data their creations generate. Why in the world is it fair for YouTube to keep all of this data as a trade secret when its generated from our own fans, often through piracy YouTube expressly facilitates?

3. YouTubes Dirty Secret about Content ID

Content ID is available only to those whom YouTube chooses  and YouTube runs the place like an exclusive country club. The simple fact is that the vast majority of independent musician-rights-holders are not accepted into Content ID. Ive received five GRAMMY Awards, and even testified about the DMCA next to Googles counsel, Katherine Oyama, listening to her boast at length about the virtues of Content ID and its ability to block uploads. But when I came home from testifying in D.C. and applied for Content ID, I was denied. Content ID is reserved for big record companies with big catalogues, and probably selected independent artists whom YouTube believes will make YouTube a heap of money. And who even knows to what degree artists or companies with YouTube contracts are allowed to block uploads, as those contracts are under NDAs. Are we seriously to believe theyd permit independent artists to join, only to block their entire catalogue from being uploaded?

In the press, YouTube has fought back against the recent flood of criticism, saying that all rights-holders can access Content ID  that they can get it through third-party vendors. These third party vendors often take between 20% to 50% of the revenue paid by YouTubeafter YouTube takes its share. That means the rights-holder is paying two overpaid gatekeepers. So yes, its available, but at a completely unreasonable premium. If big record companies are complaining about their bad revenue from YouTube, they should try being an independent musician, paying yet another middleman!

But heres the most relevant fact that YouTube keeps hiding: BLOCKING UPLOADS THROUGH CONTENT ID IS NOT AVAILABLE THROUGH THIRD PARTIES. The use they bragged about before Congress  that they imply is available to everyone  does not exist. The reason is obvious  without ad revenue, theres zero incentive for the third-party vendor or YouTube to partake. The third-party vendors would have to charge a fee big enough to pay YouTube and itself to simply block uploads. What a sick game that would be  paying some third-party company and YouTube to block the pirated uploads YouTube promotes.

Why cant a rights-holder protect his/her work from illegal exposure on YouTube according to his/her Constitutional right, and then go sell it where he/she wants, for the price he/she chooses to set? Thats reasonable, right? Why is that such an unattainable dream for people like me and hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of my colleagues?

If an independent rights-holder wants to keep all their work off of YouTube and keep clear of YouTubes ad-based, piracy-driven, self-serving, dirty, lawless racket, he or she is screwed. Is there a single independent artist that YouTube has allowed access to Content ID for the sole purpose of blocking uploads? Katherine Oyama should stop the bragging about Content ID until her company makes it available to every rights-holder for blocking. And certainly, misleading Congress with false claims and self-aggrandizement in a Congressional hearing, and similarly misleading the American public through a calculated propaganda campaign, is in my opinion, deeply unethical.

4. Content ID Legitimizes Piracy  We Shouldnt Be Complicit

Music creators who succumb to the false appeal of monetizing on Content ID, or those whose record company has made that deal for them, have been swayed by YouTubes line of baloney that illegal uploads are good and arent really illegal as long as YouTube offers a pittance from the ads they generate. Clearly, the infringement orgy YouTube has sponsored for so many years has brought independent musicians and record companies to their knees, as they accept bad deals to monetize the crumbs that are left on the floor from a devoured industry.

Our music industrys acceptance of the monetization tool from Content ID only serves to legitimize the piracy that YouTube systematically breeds. Monetization erases any last vestige of guilty-feeling-illegal-uploaders. Content ID actually makes them feel good about themselves as they upload to their hearts content with zero inquiry. Look! Im making the artists money AND giving them needed exposure, AND Im offering the public free music at the same time!

Ive heard this logic again and again from young people with bloated YouTube channels. Weve all fallen into YouTubes trap: By making a deal with the devil, right-holders are basically condoning the piracy that has destroyed the music marketplace. Content ID monetization is steamrolling our Constitutional right to control our own creative works. We shouldnt buy into YouTubes piracy scheme for the few scraps it might offer.

5. Content ID Offers a Pathetic Deal

With a straight face, YouTube tells you and the media that they give 55% of ad revenue to the rights-holder and only keep 45%. But they calculate that percentage split after they first reimburse themselves for their own expenses, which they calculate behind their green curtain. So the 55% figure is not of gross income. An article by East Bay Ray explains that after YouTube pays itself about 37% for its expenses, rights-holders receive only about 35%. Thats not a split, thats a fleecing.

YouTubes approach reeks of hypocrisy. Sure, YouTube has expenses. But has anyone discussedour expenses in making the recording? Costs should be figured on both sides. We all agree that when a potter sells a bowl, the price reflects the cost of clay, glaze, the kiln, firing, etc. When a clothing designer sells a pair of pants, the wholesale price covers the cost of fabric, thread, pattern design, etc. But YouTube, or rather, Google, the richest company in the world, wants us to accept a business model where the price they pay for our music has no rational relationship to the actual costs of making the music. Who cares about how much they say they pay out. Their site contains almost the entire worlds library of music, and its not even coming close to paying the cost of making that music. We invest all we have  time, talent, training, technology, and more. We have the right to expect a reasonable return on that investment. YouTube is an imperialist tycoon that is finger-flicking less than third world pay at musicians and the music industry for a product that YouTube shouldnt even have access to in the first place.

6. Who is Clearing all the Rights for Music on Content ID Anyway?

The answer is, probably no one. When a record company puts out a record, the record company (assuming the artist hasnt negotiated for ownership) likely owns the copyright to that recording. And if the record company has struck a Content ID deal with YouTube, chances are they will monetize the record. But what about the other copyright-holders? Likely there are songwriters whose works are represented on the record, too. Often there are several or more collaborators on any given song. So, what about their right to block uploads? Where are their royalties? How are they accounted? Are they accounted? Who asked for permission? Where is the transparency? This is happening to me, and my answers are: none, nowhere, not, no, no one, and none. YouTube is a jumbled, colossal rights violations mess that leaves independent rights-holders with the impossible task of doing DMCA takedowns, where YouTube publicly exposes our identities, leaving us open to repercussions from fans or record companies. The intimidation leads us to do nothing but accept the loss. There must be millions upon millions of such copyright violations on YouTube. Maybe thats why they dont allow all of us to have access to the Content ID blocking mechanism, because they fear most records would have some rights-holder that wont allow it to be monetized. Well, if there was economic incentive, that wouldnt be the case. Isnt that how a free market economy works?

7. YouTubes Use of Content ID is Un-American

Here are the bigger and broader questions for our industry and government. Why arent musicians and creators allowed to be a part of the American free market, where we set our prices based on the cost of producing our own product? Thats how manufacturing works in any freedom-loving country. Why cant a music creator set the valuation of his/her work in the same way one sells visual art? Why are the Department of Justice and government, (all of whom are tarnished by their whirling revolving doors with Google  read it!) who are setting most of our prices for us, doing so based on failed ad revenue models from usurious companies? Why are the DOJ and our government at large intent on propping up a bogus freemium model? And why are they blind to the simple fact that big data companies operate freemium ad-based models all to the greater end of gathering invaluable data to become the biggest player in the AI (artificial intelligence) race?

Why is the survival of theft-enabling, ineffective, ad-based internet businesses more valued than the future of music or livelihoods of musicians? Why are we collectively not screaming our bloody heads off? Our songs and music have shaped our culture and the worlds culture for centuries. Music has brought people and cultures together, serving as the worlds ambassador without fail: a voice for freedom, for the oppressed, for change, for comfort, for celebration, and for transformation.

Music creators should be treated like the valuable citizens of this country that we are. We should be allowed to set our own price at very least! We arent the indentured servants of YouTube, here to make the Google empire rich and powerful. Given a fighting chance, the market would show how much our fans value our work, as it has for nearly a century. Taylor Swift and Adele proved exactly that with their quite recent releases that sold millions of good-old fashioned CDs at regular prices. But when were forced to try and create that market in a society with a complicit government thats allowed copyright theft to run rampant, its an almost impossible situation.

When YouTube serves the world mountains of pirated content on a silver platter without having to take a single step to stop the piracy, or Google is allowed to prioritize pirates in their search algorithms (even after rights-holders send takedown notices), how could there ever be a true marketplace?

8. Without an Ability to Block Illegal Uploads with Content ID, Were All Screwed

For the vast majority of us that are unable to protect our music against piracy, were stuck playing Whack-A-Mole with an outdated and anemic DMCA takedown process, fighting a tsunami of piracy from a company that does all they can to keep the flood-waters flowing.

So, let us ask ourselves as composers, songwriters, performers, producers, publishers, and record companies: are we willing to be complicit in this whole scheme, cementing piracy as an acceptable norm, all for the measly pocket lint theyre offering us? Id sooner fight piracy to the bitter end, and lose, than do that deal with the richest and scariest (dont be evil) company on earth.

9. YouTube Should Lose Their Safe Harbor for Withholding Standard Technical Measures

The DMCAs safe harbor provision requires that companies like YouTube must ensure that standard technical measures are available to any person on reasonable and nondiscriminatory terms to identify and protect their copyrighted work. (17 U.S.C. Sec. 512(i).) YouTube is not allowed to discriminate as to who gets access to tools that have become standard in protecting copyright. If YouTube does discriminate, it is supposed to lose its safe harbor.

Its right in the DMCA. This is a point no one has yet pressed. Content ID has been around and used billions of times to make billions of dollars for years now. Audible Magic is available at a very reasonable price to any company wanting to offer blocking of illegal uploads. And on Audible Magic, content owners can upload their content for free. Apple has now created iTunes Match, and Facebook is rolling out its own similar fingerprinting technology, so its obvious that fingerprinting technology has become a standard technical measure. YouTube cant deny its become the core of their business. And, if they also tout that its widely available through third parties, as they have in numerous publications, that suggests standard, too. Digital fingerprinting is a standard technology thats now very accessible, its just that YouTube stiff-arms most of us who want to use it to block pirated uploads. And most other sites that allow music uploads from their users, pretend like Audible Magic doesnt exist, because they dont want it to exist. And though the DMCA safe harbor provision requires YouTube (and all internet companies that also allow public uploads), to use the available fingerprinting technology, no one is yet enforcing this application of the law. Its high time.

YouTube reserving its copyright protection feature for hand-picked rights-holders, blocking the masses ability to fully protect their Constitutional right, even though the technology is right there in YouTubes dirty fingers, is like denying a rope to a drowning person. Sounds like clear grounds to take away YouTubes safe harbor protections to me. It actually feels criminal by my own estimation, when you consider that the violated rights areConstitutional rights.

I wish record companies would step away from their Content ID contracts entirely, and fight a noble fight to enforce this statute in the DMCA that would protect all rights-holders equally, rather than being a complicit partner in the pathetic and dirty Content ID piracy racket.

10. Content ID Should Be Made Open Source for All Internet Platforms

People are starting to wake up to the dangers of allowing a company to amass such power from data and artificial intelligence (AI). Theres a movement to quickly develop AI technology and algorithms as open source, in an effort to keep a few all-powerful hipster tycoons from having AI power over the entire world. Its called Open AI, and many seriously talented scientists are flocking to it. Thank God there are a few people out there scared stiff by the power of those that are controlling AI.

Since Googles empire is built on the premise that open and free content is such a grand idea for us little folk, then its high-time it puts its money where its mouth is, and make Content ID fingerprinting technology for blocking illegal uploads available to us little folk as open source too. YouTube likes to say how much it has spent developing Content ID, but thats exactly the point: if you wont share YOUR works with us for free because you want to recover YOUR investment, why should you expect us to give away our works for free, without having recovered OUR investment?

And YouTube, dont dictate how we rights-holders can use this now-standard technology. Let rights-holders use it as they wish  to block or to monetize  no NDAs, backroom deals, or intimidation. Lets make it all free and open, and see what a real marketplace looks like when we actually take measures to control infringement.

YouTube/Google wants the public to believe that certain copyright protection somehow harms the internet. But when their own trillions are made on their own copyrighted software, through their own copyrighted algorithms and databases, and through their own trade secret intellectual property, they suddenly guard it like Fort Knox. Somehow, YouTubes and Googles own copyrights are good, but musicians copyrights are bad.

Heres the simple truth: protecting copyright doesnt hurt the internet, it only hurts piracy. And in the final analysis, Content ID is really just another sneaky way for YouTube to get rich off of piracy, and to try to appear like theyre throwing us a helping hand. Its underhanded and deceitful. We as a music industry shouldnt negotiate away the true value of our work out of desperation, giving way to the powerful grip of a racketeer (in my opinion) that just wants to keep us quiet.

_________________________________________________________________

Are you a performer, songwriter, composer, producer, or fan, who wants to to help protect the future of music? Sign on at musicanswers.org.

Read Maria Schneiders YouTube Installment #1, YouTube, Pushers of Piracy

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Heavy rainfall in China last month resulted in flooding which caused U$33 billion of economic losses however just 2 per cent of the losses were insured.The figures have been revealed in the latest Global Catastrophe report from Aon Benfield, which also highlights the $1.5 billion of economic losses in the US from connective storms and flooding in July. The proportion of these losses that were insured was 67 per cent.The underinsurance of Chinese assets is set to become an increasingly large issue as severe weather events become more frequent.Adam Podlaha, Global Head of Impact Forecasting, said: "While it was expected that Chinawould see above normal rainfall during the peak monsoon months with such a strong El Nino, the intensity and scope of what transpired from the associated floods were at a magnitude not seen in nearly two decades. The flood peril is one which is becoming better understood by catastrophe modelers, and the industry is better prepared than ever to help create awareness of the risks associated with such large events."International insurance group RSAs latest earnings report shows that the Canadian arm of the business is driving underwriting profits alongside the UK unit.Global underwriting profit at the UK-based insurance group was up 72 per cent for the first half of 2016 compared to the same period of 2015 and operating profit rose 20 per cent to 312 million (equivalent of C$532.4 million at current exchange rates.)Canadas contribution to the global operating profit was the equivalent of C$117.75 million. The insurers core group combined ratio was 94.3 while the Canadian units was 94.5 per cent, beating both the UK and Scandinavian units.The firm reported that its cost-reduction programs were on course to deliver at least 350 million in gross savings and that technology and customer service improvements are progressing well.Although costs for prescription drugs are rising, that wont be the main driver of increased insurance premiums in 2017 according to a new study.Analysts at Avalere say that health plan costs in the US will be more heavily impacted by outpatient spending which will account for 29.9 per cent of 2017 rate increases. Prescription drugs represent 14.7 per cent of rate increases.While the outpatient costs are increasing, Avaleres experts found that inpatient costs are reducing to 15.4 per cent of 2017 rate increases having been 19.6 per cent of spending in 2015.The research notes that there are variations in the proportions depending on individual plans and states.
On Monday, Professional Program Insurance Brokerage (PPIB) announced that it has named Susan Etter Vice President of Underwriting.Etter has been working with PPIB for six years, managing underwriting and sales staff.With her new role as vice president, Etter will continue administering over PPIBs various contracts and programs. She will also work with President Susan Preston to develop new programs."PPIB's growth in unique markets and benefited from Etter's skills," said Preston.PPIB has offered unique insurance solutions for specialty and service industries for close to 25 years. Industries the insurer has helped include medispas, body piercing and tattoo studios, smoke shops, pyrotechnics, and permanent make-up. PPIB offers proprietary insurance in all states.
Florida Mississippi Oklahoma New Jersey Delaware Alabama Vermont Tennessee Texas Nevada

Michigan: $2,476 Montana: $1,886 Washington, D.C.: $1,799 Louisiana: $1,774 Florida: $1,742 West Virginia: $1,716 Connecticut: $1,690 Rhode Island: $1,656 California: $1,643 New Jersey: $1,595

Its a question for the ages: which state holds the dubious distinction of housing Americas worst drivers? Just in time for increased summer holiday traffic and related accident claims, SmartAsset.com has the answer.Researchers with the group trawled through National Highway Traffic Safety Administration data to craft rankings based on the percentage of insured drivers in the state; DUI arrests per 1,000 drivers; vehicular-related deaths per 1,000 drivers; and Google trends on automobile ticket-related searches.According to that methodology, the states with the worst drivers in the country are:There are some interesting regional patterns here. The South and Southeast regions of the US account for six of the top 10 states, with common problems including DUI and lack of insurance. Only 74% of drivers in Oklahoma are insured  the worst rate in the nation  followed by Florida and Tennessee.Florida also tops other states in its Google searches for speeding tickets and traffic tickets, perhaps leading to its status was the worst driving state in the country.Yet these statistics do not necessarily translate into high auto insurance rates across the board. Just two states  Florida and New Jersey  appear on Insure.coms list of states with the most expensive premiums in 2015. Drivers in Florida pay the fifth highest premiums in the nation, with an average of $1,742 in annual payments, while New Jersey pays an average $1.595.The entire top 10 list includes:Yet producers in states on this list say their drivers are rather poor, as well.New Orleans insurance agent Allen Bordeaux said hes not surprised by the figures.It seems its always pretty much been this way as far back as I can remember, Bordeaux said. I hear that drivers here a little bit more adventurous than in other places. They tend to run yellow lights regularly and things of that nature.Bordeaux said this lack of attention to detail is reflected in the policies he sells, with Louisiana being at the bottom of the barrel for a while, as far as rates go.Its relative to where we live, the condition of the highways and streets, he said. It probably also has something to do with the amount of people trying to get around every day.There are, of course, several other factors that contribute to an auto insurance premium. In the most expensive state, Michigan, unusual no-fault auto insurance regulation drives much of the higher prices.Unlike other states, Michigan requires drivers to carry auto insurance policies with unlimited medical benefits. Insurers pay medical claims up to $530,000 in Michigan, while the nonprofit Michigan Catastrophic Claim Association covers any additional costs.Car owners are also required to pay an annual assessment to the association, which is currently $186 per vehicle.Researchers with Insure.com conducted the study by compiling rates from six large insurance carriers in 10 ZIP codes in every state. The rates were for a full-coverage policy for a 40-year-old man with a clean driving record and good credit. Vehicles included the 20 best-selling vehicles in the US, which represent roughly 40% of all vehicles sold. The models were rated on their cheapest-to-insure trim level.
Those looking for a swift conclusion to proposed mergers between four of the countrys five largest health insurance companies are likely to be disappointed, as the judge assigned to the two cases revealed Tuesday that he is sending one back.The appointment of Judge John Bates of the US District Court for the District of Columbia to the cases had been seen as favorable to Aetna its bid to acquire Humana, and Anthems similar proposal to take over rival Cigna. Bates had, after all, ruled against antitrust enforcers in 2004 when he allowed Arch Coal Inc. to buy Triton Coal.Industry supporters believed Bates may lend a more favorable ear to the legal battle between the insurers and the US Department of Justice, which is attempting to block the multi-billion dollar mergers on the grounds of reduced competition and higher prices for consumers.Yet Bates has declined to answer calls this week from Aetna and Humana to hold trials and issue opinions by the end of the year.I cant do both [cases], he said in a pre-trial hearing Thursday. Unless the schedule is put off, Im sending one of the cases back.Bates declined to say which case  Aetnas or Anthems  he would submit for reassignment, but if it is Anthems, it could doom the deal. Cigna would not agree to an extension, said Christopher Curran, an attorney for the insurer.Were in this pickle through no fault of our own, Curran told Reuters, shifting blame onto the DOJ for taking a year to evaluate the proposed merger.Aetna, meanwhile, has been pushing for a fall trial. It believes it should be heard first, as its planned $33 billion acquisition of Humana had been announced first and is simpler.Both deals were announced in July 2015, and cite new costs and taxes associated with the Affordable Care Act as reasons for their actions.If both transactions are approved, Anthem would become the largest health insurer in the country, followed by UnitedHealth Group and Aetna.
North Adams Firefighters Rescue Man From Gorge

Firefighters hold the ladder to aid a North Adams man out of a gorge at Natural Bridge State Park. PreviousNext



Firefighter Matthew Davis calls down to Taylor Sheldon as he puts on a safety harness.

NORTH ADAMS, Mass.  Firefighters rescued a 21-year-old man Thursday night who became trapped in a gorge at Natural Bridge State Park.



Taylor Sheldon of North Adams had been swimming with friends at the park when the group headed back up toward where their car was parked at the Franklin Street gate. Sheldon, however, climbed up through a waterfall and became separated from the group, said Officer Kyle Cahoon.



The found him nearly an hour later stuck in the dark in the rushing water at the bottom of the 60-foot gorge. He couldn't make his way back down in the dark and couldn't get out from the top.



Firefighter Matthew Davis took the lead in the rescue as a member of the Western Massachusetts Regional Technical Rescue Team. Fire Director Stephen Meranti said the other firefighters were also trained in rope rescue at an operational level.



A harnessed Davis worked his way through the bushes at the top of the gorge down to spot where he could speak to Sheldon as other first-responders watched from the bridge over the chasm.



There was difficulty in communicating with Sheldon over the roar of the water and flashlights were used to help orient him toward Davis.



"Down in gorge, it's not conducive to sound to begin with plus the water, it amplifies and echoes in there," said Sgt. James Burdick.



Two cruisers were turned to put headlights on the area so the rescue team could see to gear up. Sheldon was dropped a harness to put on to aid in the rescue and a ladder was lowered down to him.



"You want to pick the safest way to pull him out of there and it really was by ladder," Meranti said. "You lower the ladder down and let him climb up ... if he was unconscious or anything like that we would have put him in a Stokes basket and use a really intricate hauling system get him out of there."



Sheldon was alert and conscious able to climb up the ladder. But he was chilled from standing in the water for nearly two hours.



He was, however, released to family after being checked out by emergency medical technicians.



"It worked great with the police officers here, the ambulance EMTs were right in with us," said Meranti. "Everybody worked well together."
The Board of Selectmen voted to support MBI using funds for Charter's buildout of high-speed internet.

Lanesborough Likely to Leave Wired West With MBI, Charter Planning Expansion

LANESBOROUGH, Mass.  The Board of Selectmen are trusting Charter Communications to connect close to 100 percent of residents to broadband  essentially cutting ties with WiredWest.

The board voted during an emergency meeting Wednesday to forfeit future funding from the Massachusetts Broadband Institute and to instead allow Charter to receive a grant to build out the high-speed internet system.

Charter recently purchased Time Warner Cable and is upgrading the existing service with high-definition cable television and high-speed internet. The upgraded cable system went live on Tuesday and the internet is going live next week.

The cable provider has apparently reached an agreement with MBI to continue that internet upgrade into the remaining areas of town that are currently not serviced. Town Manager Paul Sieloff says MBI will be awarding a grant soon to Charter to perform that work  but a vote of the Selectmen is required.

"We are putting our faith in the hands of MBI to require they do the build out. MBI's standard is 96 percent. That's their minimum," Sieloff said.

The Selectmen said there may end up being a few homes still not getting service by that measurement but they estimate right now only 80 percent of the town is serviced. A Charter official told the board last week that the current project will cover 90 and the MBI grant would allow the final 10 percent to be connected.

Sieloff was told on Monday that MBI was closing in on a deal that has not been disclosed yet, but needed a vote of the Board of Selectmen. On Wednesday, Sieloff said MBI officials told him the grant was in jeopardy and that the emergency meeting was to get the approval done.

The move does signal the likely end to the town's participation in WiredWest, a collaboration of towns planning to build out and operate a high-speed internet system. Town meeting has approved the spending of $1,700 each year for the last few years to be part of that collaborative but now it appears Lanesborough will likely end its membership.

"The way I read that is that we could never expect to be part of WiredWest because if they give money to WiredWest, they give it per town. So what they are saying is that if we give you money to build this out we will not give you money later if you stay in WiredWest. It makes sense in the large scheme of things. We don't need money from WiredWest for a large buildout," Sieloff said.

Late last year MBI pulled the funds from WiredWest unless it came up with a new business plan. MBI was created in 2008 with $40 million to invest in expanding broadband. Earlier this year, Gov. Charlie Baker put a halt to the entire program for review. A few weeks later, a brand-new MBI board was appointed and a number of changes were made for the use of the funds.

The shake-up caused trouble for WiredWest, which ultimately delayed the work.

"In the last year or so WiredWest really struggled to move forward," Sieloff said. "They don't seem to be getting any traction at all."

The new changes implemented by the Baker administration opens the door for such an agreement with Charter to expand. Three towns in the Berkshires with cable  West Stockbridge, Lanesborough, and Hinsdale  will see upgrades through Charter. Agreements between MBI and Charter for those towns are likely.

For Lanesborough, it has been too long. Sieloff said while he doesn't agree with the concept of using state funds to essentially grow a customer base for a private company, he's willing to accept it in order to bring internet to the entire town.

"After 30 years, if we can get 96 percent, we hit a home run," Sieloff said.

Internet access has been a long struggle in the rural parts of Massachusetts but has been cited as a major driver of business activity and residential home values. The creation of MBI led to a fiber-optic network being built out across the state connecting anchor locations such as town halls and schools to what is called the "middle mile." The last mile has been the struggle.
We work towards an equitable,

gender-just, self-reliant and

sustainable fisheries,

particularly in the small-scale,

artisanal sector

We work towards an equitable,

gender-just, self-reliant and

sustainable fisheries,

particularly in the small-scale,

artisanal sector

We work towards an equitable,

gender-just, self-reliant and

sustainable fisheries,

particularly in the small-scale,

artisanal sector

We work towards an equitable,

gender-just, self-reliant and

sustainable fisheries,

particularly in the small-scale,

artisanal sector
Edward Price Non-Resident Senior Fellow NYU Center for Global Affairs Contact email

linkedin

Edward Price, a former British economic official, teaches international political economy, financial systems and international relations at NYUas Center for Global Affairs. He is also an economic advisor for BritishAmerican Business (BAB). Educated at the London School of Economics (LSE), Edward holds an MSc in Finance and Economic Policy and an MA in German History. He has worked in both the British and European parliaments, was Americas editor at IFLR and has worked in the City of London. He speaks German, gets by in Italian and is a member of the Economic Club of New York (ECNY).
USDA Announces Safety Net Assistance for Milk Producers Due to Tightening Dairy Margins

Washington, DC - Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack today announced approximately $11.2 million in financial assistance to American dairy producers enrolled in the 2016 Margin Protection Program for Dairy (MPP-Dairy). The payment rate for May/June 2016 will be the largest since the program began in 2014. The narrowing margin between milk prices and the cost of feed triggered the payments, as provided for by the 2014 Farm Bill.

"We understand the nation's dairy producers are experiencing challenges due to market conditions," said Vilsack. "MPP-Dairy payments are part of a robust, comprehensive farm safety net that help to provide dairy producing families with greater peace of mind during tough times. Dairy operations enrolled in the 2016 MPP-Dairy program will receive approximately $11.2 million this month. I want to urge dairy producers to use this opportunity to evaluate their enrollment options for 2017, as the enrollment period is currently scheduled to end Sept. 30, 2016. By supporting a strong farm safety net, expanding credit options and growing domestic and foreign markets, USDA is committed to helping America's dairy operations remain successful."

Dairy producers who enrolled at the $6 through $8 margin trigger coverage level will receive payments. MPP-Dairy payments are triggered when the national average margin (the difference between the price of milk and the cost of feed) falls below a level of coverage selected by the dairy producer, ranging from $4 to $8, for a specified consecutive two-month period. All final USDA prices for milk and feed components required to determine the national average margin for May/June 2016 were released on July 29, 2016.

The national average margin for the May/June 2016 two-month consecutive period is $5.76277 per hundred weight (cwt.), resulting in the following MPP payment rates:

Margin Trigger Coverage Levels Payment Rate/cwt. $6.00 $0.23723 $6.50 $0.73723 $7.00 $1.23723 $7.50 $1.73723 $8.00 $2.23723

State specific payment amounts can be found at www.fsa.usda.gov/dairy .

Since 2009, USDA has worked to strengthen and support American agriculture, an industry that supports one in 11 American jobs, provides American consumers with more than 80 percent of the food we consume, ensures that Americans spend less of their paychecks at the grocery store than most people in other countries, and supports markets for homegrown renewable energy and materials. USDA has also provided $5.6 billion in disaster relief to farmers and ranchers; expanded risk management tools with products like Whole Farm Revenue Protection; and helped farm businesses grow with $36 billion in farm credit. The Department has engaged its resources to support a strong next generation of farmers and ranchers by improving access to land and capital; building new markets and market opportunities; and extending new conservation opportunities. USDA has developed new markets for rural-made products, including more than 2,500 biobased products through USDA's BioPreferred program; and invested $64 billion in infrastructure and community facilities to help improve the quality of life in rural America.

courtesy of FarmCompliance
Joint Statement from the U.S.-Argentina High-Level Dialogue

Buenos Aires, Brazil - Today, U.S. Secretary of State John F. Kerry and Argentine Foreign Minister Susana Malcorra launched in Buenos Aires a High-Level Dialogue (HLD) to strengthen a bilateral partnership that is rooted in common values, principles, and interests.

They agreed that the HLD will aim to deliver tangible results in expanding ties, fostering shared prosperity, and promoting bilateral cooperation on inclusive economic development, trade and investment, labor, tourism, and educational exchanges. The HLD will also address common global and regional challenges in areas such as democracy and human rights, peacekeeping, security cooperation, non-proliferation, the environment, climate change, and clean energy.

As part of the Dialogue, Foreign Minister Malcorra hosted a working lunch to discuss economic challenges, reform priorities, and bilateral cooperation in support of Argentinas reintegration into the international financial community and sustainable economic growth in both our countries.

The United States and Argentina reviewed progress and built on the positive bilateral agenda established when President Mauricio Macri hosted a landmark visit by President Barack Obama to Argentina on March 23-24, 2016. Secretary Kerry and Foreign Minister Malcorra agreed their teams would hold additional discussions under the rubric of the High-Level Dialogue later this year, with annual meetings thereafter.

Addressing Global Challenges

Argentina and the United States agree on the imperative need to address the humanitarian tragedy involving the global refugee crisis, and to support a rapid and concrete answer by the international community. Secretary Kerry commended President Macris decision to receive 3,000 Syrian refugees in Argentina and to provide humanitarian aid in Syrias neighboring countries. The United States will support Argentinas efforts as part of a shared responsibility by partnering with other international donors.

Secretary Kerry commended Argentinas announcement earlier this year that it will enhance its Intended Nationally Determined Contribution (INDC) to combat climate change, and stressed the importance of an ambitious revised INDC. Our countries reaffirmed their commitment to work toward entry-into-force of the Paris Agreement this year, and to continue working together to achieve the goal of adopting an amendment to phase down the use of hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) by October 2016. Secretary Kerry warmly welcomed Argentinas participation in the Our Ocean conference in September 2016 in Washington, DC.

Secretary Kerry and Foreign Minister Malcorra identified priorities in order to support Argentinas contributions to United Nations Peacekeeping Operations, including implementing $1.2 million in U.S. assistance.

Partnering in the Western Hemisphere

Secretary Kerry and Foreign Minister Malcorra reiterated their shared commitment to advancing peace, democracy, and human rights in the Americas. The leaders welcomed recent progress toward a final peace accord between Colombia and the FARC, and re-affirmed their commitment to supporting Colombias efforts to secure a just and lasting peace. The United States commended Argentina for providing unarmed international observers under the auspices of the future UN Political Mission, as well as demining, technical assistance, and humanitarian aid once the peace accord is signed.

The leaders also discussed the situation in Venezuela. They welcomed the news that Venezuelas National Electoral Council verified the necessary signatures to allow the recall referendum to move to the petition phase. They urged the Venezuelan authorities to promptly set a time table for the rest of the process. They expressed their support for a timely, national, inclusive, and effective political dialogue to address the immediate needs of the Venezuelan people. They also reiterated the Statement of the Ministers and heads of Delegations to the OAS on June 15, 2016 on the situation in Venezuela, as well as the good offices of UNASUR and the former presidents of Panama and the Dominican Republic, and the former head of government of Spain, aimed at promoting a comprehensive dialogue towards a peaceful, lasting, and constitutional solution.

Secretary Kerry and Foreign Minister Malcorra supported the call by the international community for holding peaceful, transparent, and credible elections in Haiti, aimed at democratically electing a president as soon as possible

Protecting Human Rights

Secretary Kerry and Foreign Minister Malcorra reiterated their commitment to strengthen the Organization of American States and its Inter-American Human Rights System, and to continue cooperating in the UN and other international fora to promote universal values. At President Macris request, and in keeping with President Obamas commitment to declassify additional U.S. government records related to human rights abuses by the Argentine military dictatorship, Secretary Kerry delivered a first tranche of declassified documents to President Macri.

Fostering Economic Growth

Secretary Kerry welcomed the measures adopted by Argentina to create the necessary conditions to restore sustainable economic growth and promote increased foreign direct investment, noting that resolution of the long-standing dispute with the bondholder holdouts was a critical step in that direction. Secretary Kerry commended Argentinas efforts to reintegrate into the international financial community, including through reestablishing consultations with the International Monetary Fund and committing to chair the G-20 in 2018. Expressing the mutual desire to strengthen regional trade ties, the United States welcomed Argentinas entry into the Pacific Alliance as an observer nation. The leaders noted the important role of cooperation between our governments and with the private sector to lift trade barriers, increase market access, protect intellectual property rights, and identify investment opportunities in both countries. In this regard, they looked forward to the first meeting of the Trade and Investment Framework Agreement to take place in Buenos Aires on August 29, and the first Commercial Dialogue to take place in Washington, DC later this year. The leaders determined to expand exchanges between technical agencies in areas such as anti-trust, telecommunications, census data collection, single trade windows, small business development, entrepreneurship, and anti-money laundering. The United States reiterated its commitment to support trade missions, noting the inclusion of Argentina in the U.S. Department of Commerces Trade Winds  Latin American mission in September 2016.

Welcoming Argentinas interest in deepening its engagement with the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), Secretary Kerry applauded Argentina for joining the OECDs Advisory Board for the Latin America and Caribbean Regional Forum.

Law Enforcement Cooperation

Secretary Kerry announced that, subject to completion of congressional notification requirements, the United States intends to dedicate up to $1.5 million in foreign assistance funds to further support Argentinas efforts to achieve sustainable reform in its law enforcement and criminal justice systems. Secretary Kerry and Foreign Minister Malcorra recognized the importance of expeditious resolution of Hague Abduction Convention cases in both countries. In light of this, Argentina and the United States expressed their intention to expedite the judicial processing of these cases taking into due consideration their respective legislations.

Enhancing People-to-People Ties

The United States and Argentina signed a separate Joint Statement to arrange for Argentinas participation in the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Global Entry program, which permits expedited processing at U.S. international airports for qualified citizens. Argentina is the ninth nation in the world to join the program.

Energy, Science, and Education Cooperation

The United States announced that subject to the availability of funds, the Department of States Bureau of Energy Resources intends to dedicate up to $2.6 million in assistance funds to provide technical and regulatory support to Argentina. Secretary Kerry and Minister Malcorra committed to continue cooperation in scientific and technological research, particularly on marine conservation. Both sides look forward to advancing our longstanding civil nuclear cooperation at the Joint Standing Committee on Nuclear Energy Cooperation this month. They announced they intend to launch in Buenos Aires on August 9-10 a bilateral digital economy working group to share expertise on information and communications technology. They also discussed a $3 million U.S. Department of Labor technical assistance project in Argentina that will focus on youth training opportunities with an emphasis on the most vulnerable and marginalized.
WATCH: This Restaurant in Pune Are Run by Speech and Hearing Impaired People
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Bradley Cooper may be turning in less overtly comedic roles of late (Joy, American Sniper) but 2007 comedy The Hangover remains a high point of his career so far (sequels not included).

The actor is now reuniting with the film's director Todd Phillips, albeit for a more serious project - namely an HBO series about ISIS.

Deadline reports that they will executive produce the project which is being adapted from the Pulitxz Prize-winning Joby Warrick book Black Flags: The Rise of ISIS; the non-fiction book focuses on the rise of the terror organisation.

Cooper and Phillips, who co-own production company Joint Efforts, brought the idea to the book's author who agreed to plans to adapt it into an HBO miniseries.

No other details are known about the project.

Phillips' new film War Dogs is arriving in UK cinemas on 26 August; it stars Jonah Hill and Miles Teller as arms dealers who supply weapons for U.S. allies in Afghanistan.

Cooper is providing voice work for his next two films - a canine in family film A Dog's Purpose and Marvel sequel Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2.
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Christopher Nolans next movie Dunkirk, which follows Interstellar, The Dark Knight Rises and Inception, has debuted an announcement video teasing footage from the film.

It opens on an empty shore, but the tension ratchets up as what sounds like a cross between a heart beat and a ticking clock gathers pace. The teaser ends with a shot of a crowded boat of terrified Allied soldiers, who duck as an enemy aircraft swoops down on them.

Unfortunately, the video, which is playing before showings of Suicide Squad, doesn't give a more specific release date than '2017'.

Dunkirk is Nolan's first war film and has an impressive cast including Cillian Murphy, Tom Hardy and Mark Rylance. Newcomer Fionn Whitehead is also there, along with One Direction's Harry Styles, in his first film role.

Dunkirk - stills Show all 5 1 /5 Dunkirk - stills Dunkirk - stills Dunkirk - stills Dunkirk - stills Dunkirk - stills Dunkirk - stills

The film will tell the true story of Operation Dynamo, a daring plan to rescue 300,000 Allied troops who were surrounded by Nazis soldiers in Dunkirk during World War II. Then prime minister Winston Churchill described the encirclement of the Belgian, British and French troops as "a colossal military disaster", but their rescue (spoiler alert, I guess) a "miracle of deliverance".

Super-cinematographer Hoyte van Hoytema shot the movie, which will be presented in 70mm, 35mm and IMAX formats.
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The already wide open 2017 Oscar race just got a new major contender, as Martin Scorsese has suggested his new Liam Neeson starrer Silence will be released in time for consideration.

it will be golden for an end of year release according to Showbiz411, who caught up with the director at a party this week.

It depends on Paramount, he told the site, the studio having penciled in the film for November or December.

Liam Neeson, Adam Driver and Andrew Garfield will star, the cast also featuring Tadanobu Asano, Ciaran Hinds, Shinya Tsukamoto, Yosuke Kubozuka and Issey Ogata.

Silence is a passion project for Scorsese and hes been trying to make it happen since 1991.

Early Oscars 2017 contenders Show all 19 1 /19 Early Oscars 2017 contenders Early Oscars 2017 contenders La La Land Whiplash director Damien Chapelle opens this years Venice Film Festival with this original musical starring Emma Stone and Ryan Gosling as a couple of dreamers trying to make it big in Hollywood: she, a lonely aspiring actress; he, a cocky jazz pianist. The trailer promises a neon-soaked, dreamy take on the classic Golden Age musical, all big-hearted romance and wholesome glamour. Expect La La Land to explore some darker emotional territory alongside all the toe-tapping, too. In cinemas here on 13 January. Early Oscars 2017 contenders Silence Martin Scorseses passion project since 1991 is yet to receive a release date but rumours abound that it will be out in time for the Oscars. Based on a novel of the same name by Japanese author Shusaku Endo, the story centres on two Jesuit missionaries sent to 17th century Japan to spread Christianity and find their mentor Once there, they endure brutal persecution at the time of Kakura Kirishitan (Hidden Christians) following the defeat of the Shimabara Rebellion. Silence sounds weighty, intense and full of hard-hitting promise. Early Oscars 2017 contenders Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk Brokeback Mountain and Life of Pi director Ang Lee has narrowly missed out on a Best Picture win twice now but this adaptation of Ben Fountains acclaimed novel could be the film that finally wins him some overdue glory. The cast includes Kristen Stewart and Vin Diesel with newcomer Joe Alwyn in the lead as 19-year-old soldier Billy, who is brought home for a victory tour after serving in Iraq. Told in flashbacks, the drama reveals the horror of what really happened to his squad in contrast to Americas flashy, patriotic perceptions. Out here 6 January. Early Oscars 2017 contenders A United Kingdom Oyelowo plays Prince Seretse Khama, inaugural Botswana president from 1966 to 1980, in this follow-up to 2015s Belle. Films about real life people often hold clout with the Academy when done well and with Gone Girls Rosamund Pike playing Khamas eventual wife Ruth Williams, A United Kingdom should pull in cinemagoers. Khama sparked a global stir when he married the white Londoner in the late Forties and the first pictures from the movie promise beautiful costumes and cinematography. A United Kingdom will open the London Film Festival before its general release on 25 November. Early Oscars 2017 contenders Loving Ruth Negga and Joel Edgerton star as Mildred and Richard Loving in this historical drama about an interracial couple sentenced to prison in Virginia in 1958 for the crime of getting married. Out here just in time for the Oscars on 3 February. Written and directed by Jeff Nichols, Loving earned positive reviews from critics when it competed for the Palme dOr at Cannes and received a standing ovation for understated, strong performances. Early Oscars 2017 contenders Manchester by the Sea One of the best scripts co-producer Matt Damon had ever read, this tragedy about an uncle who is forced to take care of his teenage nephew after the boys father dies while trying to reconcile with his ex-wife stars Casey Affleck, Michelle Williams and newcomer Lucas Hedges. It was bought at Sundance by Amazon for $10 million and arrives in the UK on 13 January. Early Oscars 2017 contenders Nocturnal Animals Designer Tom Ford has cinematic strings to his bow, as proved with 2009s Venice premiere The Single Man. Hes back in the chair for this drama-thriller starring Amy Adams as a remarried art gallery owner whose ex-husbands violent new book begins to haunt her. Jake Gyllenhaal, Isla Fisher and Armie Hammer also star. Due in UK cinemas on 4 November. Early Oscars 2017 contenders The Light Between Oceans Michael Fassbender stars alongside last years Best Supporting Actress winner Alicia Vikander in the big screen adaptation of ML Stedmans 2012 novel of the same name. Derek Cianfrance is the man behind the camera for this story about a lighthouse keeper war veteran who rescues a baby girl with his wife after she washes up on an adrift rowboat. Then, in steps another Oscar winner, Rachel Weisz, as the woman who threatens to break their happy family apart. Out in the UK on 4 November - bring tissues. Early Oscars 2017 contenders American Pastoral Ewan McGregor makes his directorial debut with this period adaptation of Philip Roths novel American Pastoral. The drama - set in the 60s - centres on a successful businessman (McGregor) whose missing daughter (Dakota Fanning) is accused of a violent bombing in post-war America. Out in the UK on 11 November. Early Oscars 2017 contenders Queen of Katwe Indian-American filmmaker Mira Nair (Monsoon Wedding) is the director behind this long-awaited biopic of Ugandan chess prodigy Phiona Mutesi. That Mutesi is played by 12 Years a Slave Oscar-winner Lupita Nyongo is reason enough to anticipate this Disney-produced film, out here 21 October. Disney Early Oscars 2017 contenders Free Fire Ben Wheatleys new action thriller will close the London Film Festival. Set in Massachusetts in the late Seventies, Free Fire stars Oscar-winning Room actress Brie Larson in the lead alongside Cillian Murphy. It follows the heart-stopping game of survival after shots are fired during a meeting between Justine, two Irishmen and two arms dealers who are selling them a stash of guns. Expect blood, sweat and irony with bravura filmmaking from the High-Rise director. Reaches UK cinemas sometime in 2017. Early Oscars 2017 contenders Paterson Jim Jarmuschs Palme dOr contender sees Adam Driver take the lead as a bus driver poet from Paterson, New Jersey. Each night after work, he has dinner with his wife Laura before walking his dog (2016s Palm Dog winner) to the bar for one beer. Then one day, a small disaster strikes. Early Oscars 2017 contenders The Founder Michael Keaton has starred in the last two Best Picture winners Spotlight and Birdman. Here, he takes on the role of ruthless McDonalds founder Ray Kroc, with the film telling the story of the fast food empires origins. The ambitious entrepreneur on a journey to theme didnt end so well for last years Joy, so it remains to be seen whether The Founder can live up to expectations as an Oscars contender. Out here 30 September. The Weinstein Company Early Oscars 2017 contenders Sully Clint Eastwood returns with Sully: Miracle on the Hudson, about the hero pilot who, in 2009, successfully landed his plane along the Hudson River after it was disabled by a flock of geese, saving all 155 crew and passengers. Tom Hanks takes the lead as Chesley Sullenberger in a biopic that sounds like it could tick a lot of Oscars boxes. Based on the autobiography Highest Duty, the thriller marks Eastwoods first directorial effort since 2014s American Sniper. Out 2 December. Early Oscars 2017 contenders Jackie Pablo Larrain directs Oscar winner Natalie Portman as late first lady and fashion icon Jacqueline Kennedy in what he has promised will not be another classic biopic. Set in the days immediately after John F Kennedys 1963 assassination, the film sparked great excitement among distributors after a seven-minute promo screened at Cannes. Release date unknown at this stage. Early Oscars 2017 contenders The Girl on the Train The Helps Tate Taylor is in the directors chair for this years Gone Girl about a troubled woman who becomes embroiled in a murder case after developing a fixation on a beautiful couple from her commuter train. Expect a film pulsating with creepy, voyeur vibes, a la Rear Window, based on Paula Hawkins bestselling thriller. Out in the UK on 7 October. Early Oscars 2017 contenders Florence Foster Jenkins Meryl Streep has been widely praised for her turn as the 1940s New York heiress who couldnt sing (and we mean really couldnt sing) yet somehow became an opera singer with the help of her patient husband St Clair Bayfield (Hugh Grant) and pianist Cosme McMoon (Simon Helberg). Directed by two-time Academy nominee Stephen Frears, the film proved heartwarming and inspiring upon its release earlier this year and was embraced by both film lovers and critics. Early Oscars 2017 contenders Christine Rebecca Hall set Sundance ablaze in January, earning five-star reviews for the performance of her career in Christine, about the news anchor who killed herself live on air in 1974 after suffering from depression. Yet to receive a UK release date, Christine arrives in US cinemas in October, with Antonio Campos also one to watch for directorial accolades come awards season. Courtesy of Sundance Institute Early Oscars 2017 contenders Arrival Paramount Pictures

Its based on a novel of the same name by Japanese author Shusaku Endo, and centres on a Jesuit missionary sent to 17th century Japan who endures persecution in the time of Kakure Kirishitan ("Hidden Christians") following the defeat of the Shimabara Rebellion (makes mental note to read this before winter).

A few weeks back, Scorseses former girlfriend and creative collaborator Illeana Douglas shared a theory as to why Robert De Niro keeps accepting roles in bad films.
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The majority of people who have seen Star Trek Beyond would have you believe that the rebooted sci-fi franchise's third outing was better than its first sequel, Star Trek Into Darkness.

While the jury is still out on that point (this writer disagrees, at least), one clear omission from the latest adventure was Lieutenant Carol Marcus, the character played by Alice Eve in JJ Abrams' 2013 sequel.

The film's co-writer Simon Pegg - who also stars in the films at Scotty - has now explained to Collider why Eve wasn't asked back.

He said: With this it felt like we would under-serve her if we included her, she might end up feeling like she hadnt been given the amount of screen-time she deserves, so rather than bring her in and just have her be a supporting role, like, have her not be in this one, and when the time comes [bring her back]. The worst thing to do would be to have her in the film and have that character be killed, and that felt like a cynical thing to do. We thought rather than have Carol Marcus not be used to a reasonable capacity, lets just not include her, have her be alive, in canon, and ready to come back at any time.

It seems as fair a reason as any, especially considering there have been a few films in the blockbuster season guilty of doing exactly what Pegg avoided.

A fourth Star Trek film was recently confirmed by producer Abrams; it is unknown whether Beyond's director Justin Lin will return but the film's cast - including Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto, Zoe Saldana and Karl Urban - will all be boarding the Enterprise once again.

A TV series from Bryan Fuller is also on the way, the trailer hinting that it'll be an anthology centring on multiple sets of characters.
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Mr Scruff

Steve Reich: Six Pianos

Initially it seemed like quite a cheesy proposition in the history of modernising classical music for a potentially wider audience, like all the corny classical pop stuff in the Sixties and Moog Bach, that kind of thing. They suggested quite a few tracks and a lot of them were quite well-known classical tunes that reinforced that  Mozart, Bizet, the kind of things youd hear on the Best Classical Album in the World Ever.

I perused the whole catalogue and I stumbled across Steve Reich. Hes got so much in common with modern electronica and Im a massive fan of his music so that was instantly OK, heres something that I can really get my teeth into and get excited about. I think its a familiarity thing as well. Im not massively knowledgeable about classical music, but obviously Steve Reich stands out on his own. I play his music in clubs so it made sense. So many electronic producers can tell you that Reich had a massive influence on them and Im no different.

A few things inspire me about Reichs music. One is the hypnotic quality of it  the music is constantly shifting. I like that floating feeling where you cant quite anchor yourself into the tune; its slightly elusive. I wanted to not compose something specific because I didnt want to try and copy Reichs approach, but what I wanted to do was jam and relax and enjoy myself and make sure the end result had a similar feeling without using any of the same techniques.

It was nice to add some extra piano to it. I added a rhythm section, but without making it like a cheesy updated dance version. That could have been an obvious route to take and I wanted to go a bit deeper and create some kind of swirling underwater exploratory mood to it. The middle section goes all over the place, the loops going out and coming back in again. It was a piece of music that I genuinely admire and have listened to a lot. I suppose the amount of extra elements I added, it was almost like Id done my own tune and samples with a one bar loop of Steve Reich in it.

I have played it [on the dancefloor] and its gone down really well. Its not a standard piece of club music; its quite heavy in parts. But it was nice to add bass elements but without it being at odds with the more delicate orchestral arpeggiated elements.

Starkey

Satie: Gnossienne No.1

Originally my artistic brain started thinking about finding the weirdest, most obscure music thing I could work with and transforming into something. And then I was having a conversation with my wife about the project and we started saying, wouldnt it be more fun if I worked with something that was really recognisable, a piece of music that I personally really liked, but had been used in many different situations, instead of something obscure? So I took it as a challenge to recontextualise something and take something that people know and make it my own.

I grew up playing piano since I was five. I really liked the simplicity of the Satie  Id always enjoyed that because as a kid it was something I could learn how to play. A lot of Mozart or Beethoven was a bit difficult to perform. So it was going back to that. I really liked the repetitiveness of the material, and I liked the fact it was just piano and I was able to construct the entire orchestration around this single piano track.

I knew that I had to have some kind of grandiose structure to the song. I wanted to have an arc where the song grew to a climax, which is typical of a lot of my music; but I also wanted to have a new chord progression, so I found a little motif of piano that I could repeat and work with the existing chord structure. The introduction hints at that and then the end section, when all the horns and synths come in, thats the realisation of the new chord progression.

The first electronic music I remember enjoying was Eighties synth music that my dad would listen to and after that it was trip-hop and Bjork that I would hear in middle school. Since I was going back to something that I did as a kid I was listening to lots of Portishead, Tricky and Massive Attack records. That was definitely something I thought about a lot when I was working on this song. I want to get that vibe, so I went for trip-hoppy throwback beats.

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Kate Simko

Schubert: Schwanengesang (Standchen)

I moved to London to get a masters in composition for screen, which is composition for film and orchestra. I already had a DJ career internationally.

I started experimenting when I was writing these film scores, combining productions I had done the past 20 years with these orchestral instruments, and thats what led to my project London Electronic Orchestra and combining these two very separate worlds  they were very separate for me previously.

I was on holiday in Tulum, Mexico, and I was looking out to the sea and into the catalogue for two days just trying to figure out what to remix because it was such an incredible catalogue. This Schubert piece that I chose I had on a Spotify playlist from when I was at the Royal College of Music. I had stumbled upon it a couple of years previously and it was something I always wanted to recompose.

What drew me to the piece is the very beginning, the first four chords  its very mysterious, and also I love some of the vocal melodies. I didnt want to use vocals or an operatic voice, but they allowed me to put the vocal melodies onto violin and cello.

I thought there were catchy melodies and a great chord progression which is the starting point of a great song. There were some amazing melodies that I always thought would translate to the dancefloor because theyre quite hooky. The whole song is so catchy: Schubert would have done well in pop music.

Im going to DJ next month and Im planning to play it. Ibiza sunset  thats the time for my remix. I just had an album in the same vein  London Electronic Orchestra  and on that album and in this track what Ive done is use classic drum machines and classic synth. Its the idea of classical instruments with classic analogue synths and drum machines combined sonically.

Ulrich Schnauss

Bach: Prelude and Fugue in C Major

Rather than browsing through the archive, I just checked whether an interpretation of that Prelude by Bach was in there and it was. The reason why is that I had to play that piece when I was learning piano as a kid and prior to that I had to play lots of other stuff which I didnt really connect to. But that all changed when we switched to Bach Preludes. I found it incredibly moving even as a young child so I just wanted to revisit that 25 years later.

When I was told to start practising those Bach pieces as a kid I didnt really have any idea about electronic music and synthesisers, but what occurred to me in hindsight a couple of years later, especially when I started listening to some electronic classics from the Seventies, is that there is actually a very strong similarity between those Bach Preludes and the type of sequencing that was used in a lot of electronic music. It was quite a revelation.

What I found most interesting trying to play that piece with synthesisers is that it confirmed my suspicions that its essentially classic sequencing that Bach wrote. The classic sequencing of the Seventies is indeed heavily influenced by Bach because I think it almost sounds like it has been written for sequencing; it has that sort of fluidity and that ocean wave type movement in it which translates really well to an electronic context.

Whenever I work with other peoples compositions, whether its remixes or cover versions, I try to retain the mood but just arrange it with different colours sonically. For me it is a very emotional piece and I think the most interesting aspect of it is that its obviously in major key, but its a very romantic sentimental piece, so although its in major I certainly wouldnt describe it as one-sidedly happy and joyful. It has a very melancholic connotation as well. Thats something that I wanted to retain.

Re:works is out now on Decca
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The UK and other countries have been urged to stop "dragging their feet" over ratification of the landmark Paris Agreement on climate change by Pacific islanders who face losing their homes as the sea level rises.

The Government of the Marshall Islands  among the first countries to legally sign up to the deal  has calculated that enough states have now ratified the treaty or are expected to do so in the coming weeks that it is likely to come into legal force before the end of this year.

However nine months after the treaty was signed, the UK has still not ratified the treaty. While it would be an astonishing U-turn if the UK was to decide not to do so, concerns about British commitment to the fight against climate change have been raised in the aftermath of the referendum vote to leave the European Union.

This was not helped when the Cabinet post of Climate Change Secretary was scrapped and the Department of Energy and Climate Change was subsumed within the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy days after Theresa May became Prime Minister.

The Marshall Islands President, Dr Hilda Heine, said if the Paris agreement came into law by the end of this year it would be a big recognition of the urgency with which we must now get on with the job.

And the islands Foreign Affairs Minister, John Silk, added: There can be no excuse for countries unnecessarily dragging their feet towards ratification.

"We hope many more countries will come forward and pledge to get this done by December.

Many of the Marshall Islands are only about two metres above sea level and have faced increasing problems because of the rising waters, which have already engulfed a number of small Pacific islands.

Ban Ki-moon, the United Nations Secretary-General, has invited countries to submit formal notice of ratification at a ceremony on 21 September.

On 20 July, Business Minister Baroness Neville-Rolfe that the UK Government remains committed to ratifying the Paris agreement as soon as possible without specifying an actual date.

The Paris Agreement committed the world to trying to limit global warming to as close to 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels as possible. However a subsequent analysis found that individual country's pledges to reduce greenhouse gas emissions could actually allow a rise of up to 3.1C.

This year has smashed previous temperature records with the first half of this year 1.3C warmer, although this figure was inflated by the el Nino effect. Every month for the last 14 in a row has now broken the record average global temperature for that month.

Several EU countries, including France, have ratified the treaty, but member states decided to wait until all 28 have approved ratification before legally notifying the UN. However individual nations can still send a strong symbolic message by going through the process.

Emma Pinchbeck, head of climate and energy at WWF-UK, said: Quickly ratifying the Paris agreement  and implementing the green policies needed to deliver it  would send a much-needed signal that the Government is serious about climate change following Brexit.

Given the huge opportunities for job creation that low-carbon growth offers, failure to put renewables at the heart of our industrial strategy would be a hugely surprising blow to our economic prospects.

And Dr Doug Parr, chief scientist for Greenpeace UK, said: The state of the climate itself, with the last 14 months all breaking temperature records, should provide the Government with enough incentive to ratify the Paris agreement as a matter of the utmost urgency.

He added that ratification would help show the UK to be a good global citizen.

The same government that scrapped the Climate Change department would be presented with the opportunity to show it hasnt scrapped climate change from its agenda and do something truly meaningful by ratifying Paris, Dr Parr said.

A spokesperson for the Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, which deals with climate change, said: Tackling climate change is a priority and it is essential in ensuring economic prosperity and security for our country.

"We are committed to ratifying the Paris Agreement as soon as possible."
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Many of the worlds top designers have pledged their support to Apple in its ongoing fight against its rival, Samsung.

Design professionals who have worked for most of the worlds biggest brands  including Google, Nasa, Polaroid and just about every other major design company  have written in support of the US company in a document posted to Apple's website.

The two companies have been fighting for years over patents that involved in the phones that both make. Samsung paid Apple a $548 million settlement last year, but the fight is continuing because the US Supreme Court is about to review the agreement between the two companies.

Gadget and tech news: In pictures Show all 25 1 /25 Gadget and tech news: In pictures Gadget and tech news: In pictures Gun-toting humanoid robot sent into space Russia has launched a humanoid robot into space on a rocket bound for the International Space Station (ISS). The robot Fedor will spend 10 days aboard the ISS practising skills such as using tools to fix issues onboard. Russia's deputy prime minister Dmitry Rogozin has previously shared videos of Fedor handling and shooting guns at a firing range with deadly accuracy. Dmitry Rogozin/Twitter Gadget and tech news: In pictures Google turns 21 Google celebrates its 21st birthday on September 27. The The search engine was founded in September 1998 by two PhD students, Larry Page and Sergey Brin, in their dormitories at Californias Stanford University. Page and Brin chose the name google as it recalled the mathematic term 'googol', meaning 10 raised to the power of 100 Google Gadget and tech news: In pictures Hexa drone lifts off Chief engineer of LIFT aircraft Balazs Kerulo demonstrates the company's "Hexa" personal drone craft in Lago Vista, Texas on June 3 2019 Reuters Gadget and tech news: In pictures Project Scarlett to succeed Xbox One Microsoft announced Project Scarlett, the successor to the Xbox One, at E3 2019. The company said that the new console will be 4 times as powerful as the Xbox One and is slated for a release date of Christmas 2020 Getty Gadget and tech news: In pictures First new iPod in four years Apple has announced the new iPod Touch, the first new iPod in four years. The device will have the option of adding more storage, up to 256GB Apple Gadget and tech news: In pictures Folding phone may flop Samsung will cancel orders of its Galaxy Fold phone at the end of May if the phone is not then ready for sale. The $2000 folding phone has been found to break easily with review copies being recalled after backlash PA Gadget and tech news: In pictures Charging mat non-starter Apple has cancelled its AirPower wireless charging mat, which was slated as a way to charge numerous apple products at once AFP/Getty Gadget and tech news: In pictures "Super league" India shoots down satellite India has claimed status as part of a "super league" of nations after shooting down a live satellite in a test of new missile technology EPA Gadget and tech news: In pictures 5G incoming 5G wireless internet is expected to launch in 2019, with the potential to reach speeds of 50mb/s Getty Gadget and tech news: In pictures Uber halts driverless testing after death Uber has halted testing of driverless vehicles after a woman was killed by one of their cars in Tempe, Arizona. March 19 2018 Getty Gadget and tech news: In pictures A humanoid robot gestures during a demo at a stall in the Indian Machine Tools Expo, IMTEX/Tooltech 2017 held in Bangalore Getty Gadget and tech news: In pictures A humanoid robot gestures during a demo at a stall in the Indian Machine Tools Expo, IMTEX/Tooltech 2017 held in Bangalore Getty Gadget and tech news: In pictures Engineers test a four-metre-tall humanoid manned robot dubbed Method-2 in a lab of the Hankook Mirae Technology in Gunpo, south of Seoul, South Korea Jung Yeon-Je/AFP/Getty Gadget and tech news: In pictures Engineers test a four-metre-tall humanoid manned robot dubbed Method-2 in a lab of the Hankook Mirae Technology in Gunpo, south of Seoul, South Korea Jung Yeon-Je/AFP/Getty Gadget and tech news: In pictures The giant human-like robot bears a striking resemblance to the military robots starring in the movie 'Avatar' and is claimed as a world first by its creators from a South Korean robotic company Jung Yeon-Je/AFP/Getty Gadget and tech news: In pictures Engineers test a four-metre-tall humanoid manned robot dubbed Method-2 in a lab of the Hankook Mirae Technology in Gunpo, south of Seoul, South Korea Jung Yeon-Je/AFP/Getty Gadget and tech news: In pictures Waseda University's saxophonist robot WAS-5, developed by professor Atsuo Takanishi Rex Gadget and tech news: In pictures Waseda University's saxophonist robot WAS-5, developed by professor Atsuo Takanishi and Kaptain Rock playing one string light saber guitar perform jam session Rex Gadget and tech news: In pictures A test line of a new energy suspension railway resembling the giant panda is seen in Chengdu, Sichuan Province, China Reuters Gadget and tech news: In pictures A test line of a new energy suspension railway, resembling a giant panda, is seen in Chengdu, Sichuan Province, China Reuters Gadget and tech news: In pictures A concept car by Trumpchi from GAC Group is shown at the International Automobile Exhibition in Guangzhou, China Rex Gadget and tech news: In pictures A Mirai fuel cell vehicle by Toyota is displayed at the International Automobile Exhibition in Guangzhou, China Reuters Gadget and tech news: In pictures A visitor tries a Nissan VR experience at the International Automobile Exhibition in Guangzhou, China Reuters Gadget and tech news: In pictures A man looks at an exhibit entitled 'Mimus' a giant industrial robot which has been reprogrammed to interact with humans during a photocall at the new Design Museum in South Kensington, London Getty Gadget and tech news: In pictures A new Israeli Da-Vinci unmanned aerial vehicle manufactured by Elbit Systems is displayed during the 4th International conference on Home Land Security and Cyber in the Israeli coastal city of Tel Aviv Getty

Samsung is arguing that it shouldnt have to pay the full fine. Apple has disagreed and filed a huge brief with input from a range of designers, all of which argue for the US company.

Some of those arguments come from people who have worked on Samsungs own products. The rest comes from some of the worlds most famous designers, including tech companies like Dyson, fashion firms like Louis Vuitton and Calvin Klein and other brands including Lego, Bentley and Target.

In over 60 pages of arguments, those designers and other professionals argue that the jury properly awarded to Apple all of Samsungs profits from selling its copycat devices.

Recommended Read more iPhone sales plunge but Apple might not mind

It does so by taking its reader through a history of product and industrial design. That includes arguments from Coca-Cola, which argue that the company would never have been as popular as it is had it not used the bottle or name that it did.

It argues that the iPhone is similar, since design is what marks it out and most smartphones do much the same thing as each other, the document argues.

The iPhone did not fundamentally alter the core functionality of the smartphone, the document argues. Instead, it created a new and vastly simpler and more attractive means of accessing underlying functions based on the application of design principles and practices.

 What is Apple's strategy?

Apples new brief is just the biggest and most prominent of a range of such documents that have been written for what could be one of the most important patent cases ever. Seven amicus briefs have already been filed by Samsung, which argues that it shouldnt have to pay out the full profits on products that violate only some patents.
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The head of Renault-Nissan, one of the world's biggest car manufacturers, has warned that a decision on whether to continue investing in the UK is on hold until the Brexit negotiations have produced a result.

Renault-Nissan is the biggest single employer in Sunderland, which was once one of the UK's worst unemployment black spots, and losing the plant would be economically devastating for the region, but Carlos Ghosn, chief executive of Renault-Nissan, said that he was reasonably confident it will not come to that.

But like other major companies, Renault-Nissan is now waiting to find out exactly what Brexit means and what kind of trading relationship the UK will have with the rest of Europe when negotiations are complete.

Mr Ghosn told the BBC: "I don't think today you can talk about any impact before we see what is the new status of the UK. The question of Sunderland  Sunderland is a plant which is a European plant based in the UK.

"Most of the production out of Sunderland is exported to Europe. So obviously for us the relationship which is going to prevail between the UK and Europe is very important.

Okay, the UK is out of Europe. Fine. But what's going to be the new status?

A spokesman for the North East Chamber of Commerce said: "It will be a decision for Nissan to take but what we want to see is action from government during the Brexit negotiations to ensure the North East does not lose out as a result of any new arrangements.

"Nissan is a huge player in the region and makes up a huge part of our exports and we need to see long-term investor confidence in the North East and to be seen as a desirable location for exporters.

"What government can do is help to support business confidence in the region to ensure we are able to invest in skills."

Paul Watson, leader of Sunderland City Council, said it was good to hear that Mr Ghosn was "cautiously optimistic" but added that he feared manufacturing in the North East would not be a priority during Brexit negotiations.

"Nissan is in Sunderland because it wants and needs to be in the European market and the threat to it is the uncertainty until the UK and European Union negotiate trade deals," he said.

"My worry and fear is that automotive manufacturing in the North East of England might not be a priority for the UK Government compared to financial services and the interests of the City of London when negotiations get under way."

When the Nissan plant opened in Sunderland in 1986, it was the first time that a Japanese car manufacturer had moved production to the UK. At that time there were 29,000 registered unemployed in the city of Sunderland. That was more than one in ten of the city's entire population, and around a quarter of the entire workforce.

Today, the Renault-Nissan plant directly employs 6,700 people, and is reckoned to generate another 27,000 jobs in the surrounding area. Unemployment in Sunderland is a third of what it was 30 years ago, with 10,600, or 8.2 per cent, registered unemployed. In 30 years, the plant has turned out more than eight million cars, the majority of which have been shipped across the Channel for sale in other EU states, taking advantage of the single market.

Sunderlands voters backed Brexit by 82,000 to 52,000 in last months referendum.
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Ofsted chairman David Hoare has come under fire for describing the Isle of Wight as a poor white ghetto that suffers from inbreeding.

Mr Hoare, a former City banker, made the comments as part of a discussion on the islands underperforming schools, TES reported.

Speaking to educators at a Teach First conference in Leeds, he said the social implications were often a topic of interest with his dinner party guests.

They think of it as holiday land. But it is shocking, he said. Its a ghetto; there has been inbreeding.

Seven state schools were all less than good. There is a mass of crime, drug problems, huge unemployment.

The Isle of Wight is one of Englands most underperforming areas for education, and was last year named as one of 16 local authorities where less than 60 per cent of children have below average attainment levels.

Mr Hoare, who has a holiday home near the island, was discussing the importance of improving education for the most disadvantaged pupils, adding that coastal towns were too often ignored.

I have a house overlooking the Isle of Wight and often over a dinner party, someone will ask How is education? he said.

I say, Fantastic, I love doing what I am doing. Were really going to make a difference. But I say, Were living seven miles away from the second worst local authority when it comes to secondary education and the third worst when it comes to primary education.

And I say Where is it? Portsmouth? No. Chichester? No. Bognor? No. Were seven miles away and you dont know we have a ghetto seven miles away. British, white, poor, living on the Isle of Wight.

Isle of Wight Festival 2015 Show all 28 1 /28 Isle of Wight Festival 2015 Isle of Wight Festival 2015 Isle of Wight Festival 2015 Photography: Sara Lincoln Isle of Wight Festival 2015 Isle of Wight Festival 2015 Foxes Photography: Dylan Isle of Wight Festival 2015 Isle of Wight Festival 2015 Isle of Wight Photography: Sara Lincoln Isle of Wight Festival 2015 Isle of Wight Festival 2015 First Aid Kit Photography: Sara Lincoln Isle of Wight Festival 2015 Isle of Wight Festival 2015 First Aid Kit Isle of Wight Isle of Wight Festival 2015 Isle of Wight Festival 2015 Jack Whitehall backstage Photography: Sara Lincoln Isle of Wight Festival 2015 Isle of Wight Festival 2015 Jessie Ware Isle of Wight Isle of Wight Festival 2015 Isle of Wight Festival 2015 Fleetwood Mac Isle of Wight Isle of Wight Festival 2015 TheCharlatans.jpg The Charlatans Isle of Wight Isle of Wight Festival 2015 Isle of Wight Festival 2015 Pharrell Williams Photography: Callum Isle of Wight Festival 2015 Isle of Wight Festival 2015 Singer Stevie Nicks and drummer Mick Fleetwood from Fleetwood Mac performs on the Main Stage at the Isle of Wight Festival PA Isle of Wight Festival 2015 Isle of Wight Festival 2015 Black Keys Photography: Sara Lincoln Isle of Wight Festival 2015 Isle of Wight Festival 2015 Blur Photography: Sara Lincoln Isle of Wight Festival 2015 Isle of Wight Festival 2015 Isle of Wight Photography: James Bridle Isle of Wight Festival 2015 Isle of Wight Festival 2015 Kool and the Gang Photography: Sara Lincoln Isle of Wight Festival 2015 Isle of Wight Festival 2015 Atmosphere at Isle of Wight Photography: Callum Isle of Wight Festival 2015 Isle of Wight Festival 2015 The crowd when Pharrell Williams was on stage Photography: Sara Lincoln Isle of Wight Festival 2015 Isle of Wight Festival 2015 Photography: Callum Isle of Wight Festival 2015 Isle of Wight Festival 2015 Pharrell Williams on stage with guest children Photography: Sara Collins Isle of Wight Festival 2015 Isle of Wight Festival 2015 Photography: Callum Isle of Wight Festival 2015 Isle of Wight Festival 2015 Crowd at Isle of Wight Photography: James Bridle Isle of Wight Festival 2015 Isle of Wight Festival 2015 Crowd Photography: Sara Lincoln Isle of Wight Festival 2015 Isle of Wight Festival 2015 Isle of Wight festival Photography: Liz Murray Isle of Wight Festival 2015 Isle of Wight Festival 2015 Atmosphere at Isle of Wight festival Photography: Liz Murray Isle of Wight Festival 2015 Isle of Wight Festival 2015 Billy Idol Photography: James Bridle Isle of Wight Festival 2015 Isle of Wight Festival 2015 Main stage Photography: James Bridle Isle of Wight Festival 2015 Isle of Wight Festival 2015 Ub40 Photography: Callum Isle of Wight Festival 2015 Isle of Wight Festival 2015 Photography: Sara Lincoln

He added: Most people go there for sailing for two weeks a year. Theres a sailing club that is one of the best in the world, where theres champagne.

But just within inches, there are people who live in a ghetto and weve allowed it to happen.

Councillor Jonathan Bacon, leader of the Isle of Wight Council, condemned the Ofsted boss's comments, calling them "ill-judged" and "an insult to the proud and hardworking Isle of Wight community".

"The Isle of Wight is working hard to raise the aspirations and attainment of our young people," he said, "something which Ofsted itself has recognised, not least in assessing our school improvement services as being effective."

He offered a personal invitation to Mr Hoare to visit the island, adding: "I am sure that Sir David would want to take every opportunity to clarify his position in respect of his views on Island residents, and I would be delighted if he were able to do this on a visit to the Isle of Wight which I would be happy to host."

The councillor admitted the island had some "significant challenges" in terms of its education standards, but said the council had made "good progress", despite a long-term reduction in government funding.

Green party education spokeswoman Vix Lowthion agreed that the Island does have education problems, but said: I'm just appalled he can describe not just the Isle of Wight, but other coastal areas, like that and hold the position in office that he does. We need support and investment, not name calling.

She told the Isle of Wight County Press: I absolutely disagree with these terms. Some of his points were false. We do not have high crime, I think he has shown his ignorance.

Mr Hoare later apologised for "any upset or offence" caused by the comments. He said: "My intention was to highlight how concerned I am about the unacceptably poor performacnec of schools on the Isle of Wight over many years and how this is damaging the prospects of young people who live on the island."

Meanwhile, the magazine reported that Mr Hoare has said he had not wanted a teacher to take over from Sir Michael Wilshaw as Ofsteds chief inspector because he was seeking someone who would listen very closely and understand the issues.

Amanda Spielman, who was recently selected for the job, has been the subject of much scrutiny for the watchdog, with the National Union of Teachers describing the decision to employ someone with no teaching experience as a sad indictment of the governments attitude towards education.

We have just appointed our new chief inspector and she was my choice for the job, the Ofsted chairman said at a Teach First conference last week. I particularly did not want a teacher.

I want someone who will look at the data and the facts and understand what the issues are.

An Ofsted spokesman said: The Chairman was expressing his personal views. They do not reflect the views of Ofsted or the Chief Inspector.
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A leading member of the Black Lives Matter movement has sued the city of Baton Rouge - claiming that its police behaved in a militarised and aggressive manner when he and others were arrested during a protest.

DeRay Mckesson was among nearly 200 protesters who were arrested in the Louisiana city following the death last month of of 37-year-old Alton Sterling, a black man who was shot during a struggle with two white police officers.

The shooting of the man, whose death was captured on video that was widely distributed, sparked many protests in cities across the country.

The lawsuit accuses the police of militarised behaviour (AP)

The Associated Press said that in a class action lawsuit, Mr Mckesson accused the police of using excessive force and violating the protesters' constitutional rights. It said police advanced on protesters while wearing military gear and gas masks and brandishing assault weapons alongside armoured vehicles. Officers threatened peaceful protesters by pointing their weapons directly at them, the suit said.

Defendants used excessive force in attacking, battering, beating, and assaulting plaintiffs and class members without provocation or the need for defense, it added.

Louisiana Governor John Bel Edwards has defended the police response to the protests, saying their use of riot gear and weaponry was appropriate. The US Justice Department is investigating Mr Sterling's death.

Mr McKesson was arrested by police in July (AP)

Mr Mckesson, a Baltimore resident, was arrested July 9 near Baton Rouge police headquarters on a charge of obstructing a highway. East Baton Rouge Parish District Attorney Hillar Moore has said Mr Mckesson was one of roughly 100 arrested protesters who will not be prosecuted by his office for the same charge.

But the lawsuit said Mr Mckesson and other arrested protesters had to pay administrative and court fees to be released from jail and will have to pay more to have their arrest records expunged.

The American Civil Liberties Union of Louisiana and other groups also filed a lawsuit last month over the treatment of protesters by police.

East Baton Rouge Parish, the mayor, the head of the state police, the city's police chief and the local sheriff are also named as defendants.

State Police Col Mike Edmonson, who had not seen the lawsuit, told the AP he believed police exercised great restraint in response to the protests.

I didn't witness any aggressive form of behavior by any police officer, he said.
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A former senior leader of the KKK now running for the US senate has claimed that his supporters are the same people who will vote for Donald Trump.

David Duke, a white supremacist and former grand wizard, said that if he was elected to the senate, no one will be more supportive of the Republican candidates agenda.

I think that those Republicans, or those so-called conservatives, they are betraying the principles of the Republican Party and certainly conservatism, Mr Duke told National Public Radio.

The apology has never been a campaign tactic for Mr Trump - until now (REUTERS)

Donald Trump is not a racist. And the truth is in this country if you simply defend the heritage of European American people then youre automatically a racist.

Mr Duke, who previously served one term in the Louisiana State Representative, is running to replace retiring Republican US senator David Vitter, one of twenty-two candidates in the field.

In his interview, Mr Duke said that there was a massive racist, racial discrimination against European-Americans and a very vicious anti-white narrative in the media.

The interviewer intervened to ask whether Mr Duke was referring to Jews.

Well theyre from the Middle East, thats not European, he replied. Thats not European, is it? Thats Middle Eastern. And they have a particular orientation for their positions and their programmes.

 Trump Quickly Rebukes David Duke

Earlier this year, Mr Trump sparked controversy when he failed to condemn Mr Duke and his views, after he declared his support for the New York tycoon. Mr Duke had told listeners to his radio show that voting against Mr Trump would be treason to your heritage.

Mr Duke later told The Independent that he would like to serve as Mr Trumps secretary of state if he becomes president.

Im not saying I endorse everything about Trump, in fact I havent formally endorsed him, he said. But I do support his candidacy, and I support voting for him as a strategic action. I hope he does everything we hope he will do.

Mr Trump appears to have had learned from the experience. Mr Trump rebuked Mr Dukes Senate run, noting that he was criticised for not doing it fast enough when he received the initial endorsement in February.

Donald Trump's most controversial quotes Show all 14 1 /14 Donald Trump's most controversial quotes Donald Trump's most controversial quotes On Isis: "Some of the candidates, they went in and didnt know the air conditioner didnt work and sweated like dogs, and they didnt know the room was too big because they didnt have anybody there. How are they going to beat ISIS?" Getty Donald Trump's most controversial quotes On immigration: "I will build a great wall  and nobody builds walls better than me, believe me and Ill build them very inexpensively. I will build a great, great wall on our southern border, and I will make Mexico pay for that wall. Mark my words." Reuters Donald Trump's most controversial quotes On Free Trade: "Free trade is terrible. Free trade can be wonderful if you have smart people. But we have stupid people." PAUL J. RICHARDS | AFP | Getty Images Donald Trump's most controversial quotes On Mexicans: "When Mexico sends its people, theyre not sending their best. Theyre sending people that have lots of problems. Theyre bringing drugs. Theyre bringing crime. Theyre rapists." Getty Donald Trump's most controversial quotes On China: "I just sold an apartment for $15 million to somebody from China. Am I supposed to dislike them?... I love China. The biggest bank in the world is from China. You know where their United States headquarters is located? In this building, in Trump Tower." Getty Images Donald Trump's most controversial quotes On work: "If you're interested in 'balancing' work and pleasure, stop trying to balance them. Instead make your work more pleasurable." AP Donald Trump's most controversial quotes On success: "What separates the winners from the losers is how a person reacts to each new twist of fate." Donald Trump's most controversial quotes On life: "Everything in life is luck." AFP Donald Trump's most controversial quotes On ambition: "You have to think anyway, so why not think big?" Getty Images Donald Trump's most controversial quotes On his opponents: "Bush is totally in favour of Common Core. I don't see how he can possibly get the nomination. He's weak on immigration. He's in favour of Common Core. How the hell can you vote for this guy? You just can't do it." Reuters Donald Trump's most controversial quotes On Obamacare: "You have to be hit by a tractor, literally, a tractor, to use it, because the deductibles are so high. It's virtually useless. And remember the $5 billion web site?... I have so many web sites, I have them all over the place. I hire people, they do a web site. It costs me $3." Getty Images Donald Trump's most controversial quotes On Barack Obama: "Obama is going to be out playing golf. He might be on one of my courses. I would invite him. I have the best courses in the world. I have one right next to the White House." PA Donald Trump's most controversial quotes On himself: "Love him or hate him, Trump is a man who is certain about what he wants and sets out to get it, no holds barred. Women find his power almost as much of a turn-on as his money." Getty Images Donald Trump's most controversial quotes On America: "The American Dream is dead. But if I get elected president I will bring it back bigger and better and stronger than ever before and we will make America great again." GETTY

When asked last month if he would support a Democrat over Duke, Trump said: I guess, depending on the who the Democrat is - but the answer would be yes.

When he was asked what he believed Mr Trump thought of him, he said: Donald Trump has to run his own campaign. I have to run my own campaign.

He added: I dont know if hes with me or not but I would hope that he and others would realise that the same lies they make about him is what they say about me. Ive always said that Im for equal rights for all people, but I also believe that European-Americans shouldnt be facing discrimination either.

He said he was confident that Mr Trumps backers in Louisiana would also support his Senate run.

Weve already polled inside the Trump voters, and we know that were going to carry 75 to 80 per cent of those who are going to vote for Trump, he said.

He was asked: You think Trump voters are your voters?

Well, of course they are, said Mr Duke. Because I represent the ideas of preserving this country and the heritage of this country, and I think Trump represents that as well.
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David Huddleston, the actor best known for his role as the title character in The Big Lebowski, has died. He was 85.

Recommended Read more Street fashion photographer Bill Cunningham dead at 87

His wife of 32 years, Sarah Koeppe, said he died of advanced kidney and heart disease on Tuesday in Santa Fe, New Mexico, according to the Santa Fe New Mexican.

Huddleston was a widely recognised character actor prior to performing the Coen Brothers' 1997 cult classic. His career spanned more than half a century.

He was never the star, Ms Koeppe said. He got to work with or become friends with all kinds of people, including stars, and it always amazed him.

This was a kid who grew up without electricity and running water in his home until he was 10 or 12 and he was so amazed as he looked back at what happened in his life.

Notable deaths in 2016 Show all 42 1 /42 Notable deaths in 2016 Notable deaths in 2016 Debbie Reynolds was an American actress, singer, businesswoman, film historian, and humanitarian. She died on December 28 in Los Angeles Rex Notable deaths in 2016 Actress Carrie Fisher died on December 27 aged 60 Rex Notable deaths in 2016 Comedian and Actor Ricky Harris died on December 26 aged 54 Rex Notable deaths in 2016 British singer George Michael died on 25 December aged 53 Getty Notable deaths in 2016 Rick Parfitt OBE was an English musician, best known for being a singer, songwriter and rhythm guitarist in the rock band Status Quo. He died on December 24 in Marbella, Spain Rex Notable deaths in 2016 Lord Jenkin of Roding died at the age of 90 on the 21 December PA wire Notable deaths in 2016 Rabbi Lionel Blue died on the 19 December Rex Notable deaths in 2016 Zsa Zsa Gabor died on December 18 Getty Notable deaths in 2016 Leonard Cohen died on 7 November Getty Images Notable deaths in 2016 Grand secretary of the Orange Order Drew Nelson died on 10 October aged 60 after a short illness PA Notable deaths in 2016 Aaron Pryor, the relentless junior welterweight died Sunday, Oct. 9, at the age of 60 at his home in Cincinnati after a long battle with heart disease AP Notable deaths in 2016 Polish Director Andrzej Wajda died on October 9, aged 90 Reuters Notable deaths in 2016 Stylianos Pattakos has died following a stroke on 8th October. He was 103 years old. AP Notable deaths in 2016 Dickie Jeeps, was an English rugby union player who played for Northampton. He represented and captained both the England national rugby union team and the British Lions in the 1950s and 1960s. He died on 8th October. He was 84 Getty Notable deaths in 2016 Duke of Westminster Billionaire landowner the Duke of Westminster, Gerald Cavendish Grosvenor has died on 9 August, aged 64 Rex Features Notable deaths in 2016 Christina Knudsen Sir Roger Moores stepdaughter Christina Knudsen has died from cancer on 25 July at teh age of 47 Getty Images Notable deaths in 2016 Caroline Aherne The actress Caroline Aherne has died from cancer on 2 July at the age of 52 Getty Images Notable deaths in 2016 Christina Grimmie Christina Grimmie, 22, who was an American singer and songwriter, known for her participation in the NBC singing competition The Voice, was signing autographs at a concert venue in Orlando on 10 June when an assailant shot her. Grimmie was transported to a local hospital where she died from her wounds on 11 June Getty Notable deaths in 2016 Kimbo Slice Former UFC and Bellator MMA fighter Kimbo Slice died after being admitted to hospital in Florida on 6 June, aged 42 Getty Notable deaths in 2016 Muhammad Ali The three-time former heavyweight world champion died after being admitted to hospital with a respiratory illness on 3 June, aged 74 Getty Images Notable deaths in 2016 Sally Brampton Brampton who was the launch editor of the UK edition of Elle magazine has died on 10 May, aged 60 Grant Triplow/REX/Shutterstock Notable deaths in 2016 Billy Paul The soul singer Billy Paul, who was best known for his single Me and Mrs Jones, has died on 24 April, aged 81 Noel Vasquez/Getty Images Notable deaths in 2016 Prince Prince, the legendary musician, has been found dead at his Paisley Park recording studio on 21 April. He was 57 Notable deaths in 2016 Chyna WWE icon Joan Laurer dies aged 45 after being found at California home on 20 April Notable deaths in 2016 Victoria Wood The five-time Bafta-winning actress and comedian Victoria Wood has died on 20 April at her London home after a short illness with cancer. She was 62 Notable deaths in 2016 David Gest The entertainer and former husband of Liza Minnelli, David Gest has been found dead on 12 April in the Four Seasons hotel in Canary Warf, London. He was 62-years-old PA Notable deaths in 2016 Denise Robertson Denise Robertson, an agony aunt on This Morning for over 30 years, has died on 1 April, aged 83 Notable deaths in 2016 Zaha Hadid Dame Zaha Hadid, the prominent architect best known for designs such as the London Olympic Aquatic Centre and the Guangzhou Opera House, has died of a heart attack on 31 March, aged 65 2010 AFP Notable deaths in 2016 Ronnie Corbett British entertainer Ronnie Corbett has passed away on 31 March at the age of 85 2014 Getty Images Notable deaths in 2016 Imre Kertesz Hungarian writer and Holocaust survivor Imre Kertesz, who won the 2002 Nobel Literature Prize, has died on 31 March, at the age of 86 REUTERS Notable deaths in 2016 Rob Ford Rob Ford, the former controversial mayor of Toronto, has died following a battle with a rare form of cancer. The 46-year-old passed away at the Mount Sinai Hospital in Toronto on 22 March Notable deaths in 2016 Joey Feek Joey (left) passed away in March after a two-year cancer illness. She was part of country music duo, Joey + Rory, with her husband Rory (right) Jason Merritt/Getty Images Notable deaths in 2016 Umberto Eco Italian writer and philosopher Umberto Eco died 19 February 2016 aged 84 EPA Notable deaths in 2016 Harper Lee Harper Lee, the American novelist known for writing 'To Kill a Mockingbird', died February 19, 2016 aged 89 2005 Getty Images Notable deaths in 2016 Vanity Vanity, pictured performing in 1983, died aged 57 REX Features Notable deaths in 2016 Dave Mirra The BMX legend's body found inside truck with gunshot wound after apparent suicide aged 41 Notable deaths in 2016 Harry Harpham The former miner became Sheffield Labour MP in May after many years as a local councillor. He died after succumbing to cancer, at the age of 61. Notable deaths in 2016 Dale Griffin The Mott the Hoople drummer died on January 17, aged 67 REX Notable deaths in 2016 Rene Angelil Celine Dion's husband and manager Rene Angelil has lost his battle with cancer on 14 January, aged 73 2011 Getty Images Notable deaths in 2016 Alan Rickman Legendary actor Alan Rickman has died on 14 January at the age of 69 after battle with pancreatic cancer. He is largely regarded as one of the most beloved British actors of our generation with roles in Love Actually, Die Hard, Michael Collins, and Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves and an illustrious stage career 2015 Getty Images Notable deaths in 2016 Maurice White The Earth, Wind & Fire founder died aged 74. The nine-piece band sold more than 90 million albums worldwide and won six Grammy awards Notable deaths in 2016 Lawrence Phillips Former NFL star found dead in prison cell on 13 January in suspected suicide, aged 40 AFP/Getty Images

Huddleston was born on 17 September 1930 in Vinton, Virginia. He began appearing in community theatre productions at an early age, and ultimately eschewed studying law or political science to become an actor.

After high school, Huddleston joined the Air Force as a diesel mechanic. After serving in the military, he moved to New York City and studied at The American Academy of Dramatic Arts under the GI Bill  which provides educational assistance to veterans.

Ms Koeppe said that while Huddleston was proud of his film career, his first love was always the theatre, where he got his start in New York. She told the Los Angeles Times that his "crowning achievement" was portraying Benjamin Franklin in Broadway production of 1776 one year before The Big Lebowski was released.

The actor was a regular player in multiple NBC television shows, and he starred in classic films, such as Mel Brooks Blazing Saddles (1974) and played another titular role in the 1985 Dudley Moore comedy, Santa Claus: The Movie.

Ive had a very, very, very good run at this stuff, Huddleston said in a 2015 interview with the New Mexican. I have been all over the world, made pictures in Mexico, Canada, Israel, France, and England.

Ive met people who I never dreamt I would meet, all heroes of mine.

In addition to Ms Koeppe, Huddleston is survived by his son, Michael, and daughter-in-law Nancy Foster.
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A former acting director of the CIA has endorsed Hillary Clinton and said Donald Trump may not only be unqualified for the presidency but also a threat to national security.

In a scathing attack on the Republican candidate, Michael Morell, who spent 33 years at the agency and twice served as its acting director, suggested that he had been co-opted by Russian President Vladimir Putin.

I am neither a registered Democrat nor a registered Republican. In my 40 years of voting, I have pulled the lever for candidates of both parties. As a government official, I have always been silent about my preference for president, he wrote in an article for the New York Times.

Michael Morell said Mr Trump was a threat to national security (AP)

No longer. On November 8, I will vote for Hillary Clinton. Between now and then, I will do everything I can to ensure that she is elected as our 45th president.

Mr Morell said he had been led to his decision by two factors. One was what he termed Ms Clintons qualification for the job. He said she was ready to be the nations commander-in-chief and would keep the US safe.

The second was his belief that Mr Trump was not only unqualified for the job but that he may well pose a threat to our national security.

In sharp contrast to Mrs Clinton, Mr Trump has no experience on national security. Even more important, the character traits he has exhibited during the primary season suggest he would be a poor, even dangerous, commander in chief, he added.

He claimed that in contrast to Ms Clinton, Mr Trump did not possess either the experience or the temperament required for president. He even suggested Mr Trump had allowed his vanity to open him to exploitation by Mr Putin.

Mr Putin played upon Mr Trumps vulnerabilities by complimenting him. He responded just as Mr Putin had calculated, he said. In the intelligence business, we would say that Mr Putin had recruited Mr Trump as an unwitting agent of the Russian Federation.

Mr Morell said Ms Clinton was more than experienced for the White House job (Getty)

Mr Trump placed himself at the centre of raging controversy after the publication of more than 20,000 emails from the Democratic National Committee by Wikileaks. US media has said that intelligence officials believe the emails, one of which exposed a plot by party officials to try and smear Bernie Sanders, were hacked by the Russian government.

In comments that some observers suggested were treasonous, Mr Trump then urged Russia to hack the remainder of Ms Clintons emails to discover those that had been deleted. He later claimed that he had merely been joking. Both Mr Trump and the Russian government said they had nothing to do with the hacking.

He said he believed that Mr Trump had further weakened security by his call to stop Muslims entering the US. This position, which so clearly contradicts the foundational values of our nation, plays into the hands of the jihadist narrative that our fight against terrorism is a war between religions, he said.

Mr Morell is the latest in a series of high-profile figures to suggest Mr Trump does not have the correct experience or outlook for the White House. Earlier this week, President Barack Obama said he was woefully unfit for the job.

My training as an intelligence officer taught me to call it as I see it. This is what I did for the CIA, Mr Morell concluded his article. This is what I am doing now. Our nation will be much safer with Hillary Clinton as president."
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Orlando Bloom has become the latest high-profile figure to be placed at the centre of privacy debate after nude photographs of him were published by tabloids and shared across social media.

The pictures show the Pirates of the Caribbean actor at the beach and paddle boarding with Katy Perry off the coast of Italy fully nude.

Censored images sparked a frenzy on Thursday morning after a number of outlets including the New York Daily News and the Daily Star published versions of the photos with a black box - or an emoji - preserving his modesty on their front pages.

A furious search on social media quickly ensued with users clamouring to find the uncensored version of the British actor. By Thursday evening some outlets and social media accounts posted what they claimed were the fully nude photos.

However, whether the photos were covered with a modesty box or not are neither here nor there according to Mark Stephens, a lawyer who specialises in media and privacy at the firm Howard Kennedy. He told the Independent the actor could argue his legal right to privacy was encroached either way.

What privacy rights does he have?

If you are in continental Europe, those countries have laws of privacy even more restrictive than our own, Mr Stephens says. You have a reasonable expectation of privacy even in a public place in relation to something of this nature.

He had a reasonable expectation of privacy that photographs would A: not be taken and B: not be amplified through publication.

If the photos were taken with a telephoto lens this also breaches UK privacy law, meaning the taking and publishing of the photos may have breached both local laws in Italy and the UK.

Censored or Uncensored?

In terms of legality, Mr Stephens says it doesnt make a difference whether the photographs are censored or not as there has still been an invasion of privacy and that a modesty box is more likely to be down to an editorial decision. The black box is irrelevant, Mr Stephens says,

Public or private space?

The NYDN claimed other beach-goers were spotted, suggesting it was not a private beach. According to Mr Stephens, regardless of whether the beach was public or private, Bloom still had a reasonable expectation of privacy given that the pictures were taken as part of his private, not professional, life.

You have a reasonable expectation of privacy if you are a decent way out in the sea on a paddle board. People may in passing see something [but it is] not expected they would intrude into private space by using a telephoto lens in order to get a close-up, Mr Stephens says.

Recommended Read more Search for Orlando Bloom naked pictures continues amid sexism row

Mr Stephens says the red carpet rule could apply in the case of Bloom which means, given that he was not performing a professional function, and was instead on holiday as part of his private life, he can still claim his privacy was violated by the photos.

If he were at a public event there would have been public interest but given the absence of compelling public interest, Mr Stephens said at the beach he has a zone of privacy around him even if people can see him.

Legal action?

If he wanted to he could sue for invasion of privacy, Mr Stephens says. Whether he will is a different matter.

Bloom could undertake legal proceedings under Italian law as well as claiming under European data protection laws - as the photos comprise of sensitive" data - as well as under Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights: The right to respect for private and family life.

People news in pictures Show all 18 1 /18 People news in pictures People news in pictures 7 October 2015 Russian President Vladimir Putin takes part in an ice hockey match between former NHL stars and officials at the Shayba Arena in the Black Sea resort of Sochi. Vladimir Putin spent his 63rd birthday on the ice, playing hockey with NHL stars against Russian officials and tycoons EPA People news in pictures 6 October 2015 German designer Karl Lagerfeld (R) and model Cara Delevingne (C) appear at the end of his Spring/Summer 2016 women's ready-to-wear collection for fashion house Chanel at the Grand Palais which is transformed into a Chanel airport during the Fashion Week in Paris, France Reuters People news in pictures 5 October 2015 Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne addresses the Conservative party conference in Manchester. The Chancellor argued that reducing the payments to people in low paid jobs would give them economic security by reducing the Governments spending deficit Getty Images People news in pictures 4 October 2015 Cowboys captain Johnathan Thurston takes a moment in the centre of the field with his daughter Frankie Thurston, holding dark-skinned doll, after winning the 2015 NRL Grand Final match between the Brisbane Broncos and the North Queensland Cowboys at ANZ Stadium in Sydney. The image quickly became the talking point of Australias National Rugby League Final and provoked a strong reaction on social media, with many praising Thurston for giving his child a toy that promotes inclusiveness and diversity Getty Images People news in pictures 3 October 2015 Pope Francis gives a thumbs-up as he greets people at the end of an audience to the participants of a meeting organized by the "Food Bank" at the Paul VI audience hall in Vatican Getty Images People news in pictures 2 October 2015 Britain's Finance Minister George Osborne (L) throws an American football as he meets with former American football players Dan Marino (2nd R) and Curtis Martin (not pictured) at 11 Downing Street in London, ahead of the New York Jets playing against the Miami Dolphins at London's Wembley Stadium on 4 October Getty Images People news in pictures 1 October 2015 An honor guard opens the door as Russian President Vladimir Putin enters a hall to attend a meeting with members of the Presidential Council for Civil Society and Human Rights at the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia People news in pictures 30 September 2015 Former Mrs America Lisa Christie, who alleges misconduct by Bill Cosby, holds up photos of her younger self during a news conference at the law office of attorney Gloria Allred in Los Angeles People news in pictures 29 September 2015 Matt Damon has defended himself against claims that he instructed gay actors to remain in the closet. He had said I think youre a better actor the less people know about you and sexuality is a huge part of that. Whether youre straight or gay, people shouldnt know anything about your sexuality but an appearance on the Ellen DeGeneres show said, I was just trying to say actors are more effective when theyre a mystery. Right? Getty People news in pictures 29 September 2015 Actor Marion Cotillard has said that there is no place for feminism in Hollywood. Speaking to Porter magazine, she saidFilm-making is not about gender/ You cannot ask a president in a festival like Cannes to have, like, five movies directed by women and five by men. For me it doesnt create equality, it creates separation. I mean, I dont qualify myself as a feminist." Getty People news in pictures 29 September 2015 Actor Paul Walkers daughter, Meadow, is suing Porsche over her fathers death in a lawsuit that claims he was trapped in the burning car because of design flaws and the seat belt. The Fast and Furious star was killed when the Porsche Carrera GT he was a passenger in hit a pole in California in 2013. The driver, his friend Roger Rodas, also died when the vehicle burst into flames. AP People news in pictures 28 September 2015 Robert Mugabe waits to address the United Nations General Assembly. The leader of Zimbabwe reportedly exclaimed 'We are not gay!' as he criticised Western nation's "double standards and attempts to prescribe new rights that are contrary to our values, norms, traditions and beliefs. In 2013 he described homosexuals as worse than pigs, goats and birds. Reuters People news in pictures 28 September 2015 South African comedian Trevor Noah hosts the first 'Daily Show' since taking over from Jon Stewart as host. Stewart had presented the US satirical news show since 1999 and was described by Noah during the show as a 'Political father' 2015 Getty Images People news in pictures 25 September 2015 Sir Elton John may have received a phone call from the real Vladimir Putin. Mr Putin's spokesman announced he had made contact weeks after the singer was duped by pranksters pretending to be the Russian President. Getty People news in pictures 25 September 2015 Actor Leonardo DiCaprio was mistakenly declared as the artist who produced the Mona Lisa by Fox News anchor Shepard Smith. It was in fact Leonardo da Vinci. People news in pictures 24 September 2015 A new biography claims Donald Trump expected to be dead by 40 and never marry. The Guardian says the a new book also claims that in 1980, Mr Trump manufactured a fake vice-president of his real estate conglomerate, whom he called John Baron. People news in pictures 24 September 2015 The Dalai Lama has said that Britain's policy towards China is just about 'Money, money, money.' And asked 'Where is morality?' People news in pictures 24 September 2015 Puff Daddy secured the number-one spot on the Forbes Hip Hop Cash Kings list, with the publication calculating he made an estimated $60million (39m) between June 2014 and June 2015.

Could he stop the photos?

Another way Bloom could attempt to prevent the photos spreading further would be to seek an injunction, according to Mr Stephens.

If the 39-year-old successfully received a legal declaration the photos were an invasion of privacy, the media outlets which published the photos would have to be taken down. Additionally, major search engines could halt links to the photos which would help to curb the internet spread.

What about social media?

Media law applies to social media in the same way it applies to publishers, however, they are more difficult to enforce on social platforms. An injunction could be one way to solve this issue, Mr Stephens says.

Aside from those eagerly searching for and viewing the pictures, others have questioned whether the lack of furore over the pictures is indicative of sexism. Some have argued that if this was a woman who was unwittingly photographed naked, it would be largely considered a gross invasion of privacy.

A representative for Bloom did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
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One would assume that being the daughter of a world leader would guarantee you a cut-above-the-average summer job.

However, for Sasha Obama she has learned she has to graft like everybody else and has spent her summer working as a cashier at a seafood restaurant.

The 15-year-old was photographed at Nancys restaurant in Marthas Vineyard, Massachusetts in full uniform behind a cashier by the Boston Herald.

2015 in pictures from the White House Show all 25 1 /25 2015 in pictures from the White House 2015 in pictures from the White House Dec. 4, 2015 The President acquiesced to a selfie with 11-year-old Jacob Haynes and four-year-old James Haynes after taking a family photograph with departing White House staffer Heather Foster. (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza) 2015 in pictures from the White House Dec. 22, 2015 When some of my friends heard that the President had hiked the grueling Koko Head Crater Trail, they sent me messages on whether I had made it to the top. The trail is 1,048 wooden steps, which climb more than 1,200 feet up the craters ridge. Some call it the Stairmaster from Hell. Ill admit that I was huffing and puffing up the trail, but to my friends, this photograph is proof that I indeed made it to the top with my boss. (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza) 2015 in pictures from the White House Nov. 25, 2015 The President and his daughters Sasha and Malia participate in the annual National Thanksgiving Turkey pardon ceremony in the Rose Garden with National Turkey Federation Chairman Jihad Douglas. (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza) 2015 in pictures from the White House Nov. 24, 2015 With the U.S. Marine Band playing the score from the movie, E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial, the President feigns riding a bicycle in the sky as happened in the 1982 movie directed by Steven Spielberg, who had just been awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom. (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza) 2015 in pictures from the White House Nov. 21, 2015 The President talks with a young refugee at a Dignity for Children Foundation classroom in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. She was working on a painting. (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza) 2015 in pictures from the White House Oct. 30, 2015 The President and First Lady react to a child in a pope costume and mini popemobile as they welcomed children during a Halloween event on the South Lawn of the White House. (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza) 2015 in pictures from the White House Oct. 23, 2015 Afternoon autumn light bathes the President as he works at the Resolute Desk in the Oval Office. (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza) 2015 in pictures from the White House Sept. 25, 2015 Two days after the visit of Pope Francis, the President and First Lady hosted President Xi Jinping of China and Madame Peng Liyuan for another State Visit. Before the formal State Dinner, the President showed President Xi and Madame Peng the Gettysburg Address in the Lincoln Bedroom. (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza) 2015 in pictures from the White House Sept. 23, 2015 Though there were many poignant moments of the President and Pope Francis to choose from, but this frame, as they walked along the Colonnade, was one of my favorites because of the light and the way the President was interacting with His Holiness. (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza) 2015 in pictures from the White House Sept. 18, 2015 This has to be the suit of the year. Matthew Lesko met the President before having a family photo taken with his son, Max Lesko, who was departing the White House after working in the Counsel Office. (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza) 2015 in pictures from the White House July 17, 2015 While visiting the Whitney Museum in New York City, the President hugged his daughter Malia as they looked at the art work. (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza) 2015 in pictures from the White House July 17, 2015 The President greets nine-month-old Josephine Gronniger, whose father, Tim Gronniger, brought his family by the Oval Office for a family photo. (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza) 2015 in pictures from the White House June 9, 2015 After a group photograph with Sen. Bill Nelson, D-Fla., and Space Shuttle Columbia alumni, the President helped some of the participants move a sofa back in place in the Oval Office. (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza) 2015 in pictures from the White House June 8, 2015 We were at the G7 Summit in Krun, Germany. Chancellor Angela Merkel asked the leaders and outreach guests to make their way to a bench for a group photograph. The President happened to sit down first, followed closely by the Chancellor. I only had time to make a couple of frames before the background was cluttered with other people. (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza) 2015 in pictures from the White House June 4, 2015 At the Presidents insistence, Deputy National Security Advisor Ben Rhodes brought his daughter Ella by for a visit. As she was crawling around the Oval Office, the President got down on his hands and knees to look her in the eye. (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza) 2015 in pictures from the White House May 18, 2015 Show us the Jeremy dance, the President said to departing Social Secretary Jeremy Bernard, during a farewell ceremony for Jeremy in the State Dining Room of the White House. (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza) 2015 in pictures from the White House May 14, 2015 The President had hosted a summit meeting at Camp David with the Gulf Cooperation Council. At the conclusion of the summit, each of the leaders was introduced before a final group photo in front of Laurel Cabin. Rather than shoot a tight shot of each leader, I used a wide angle lens to show more of the atmosphere of Camp David. Here, the President greets Sayyid Fahd bin Mahmoud al Said, Deputy Prime Minister for the Council of Ministers Affairs of the Sultanate of Oman. (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza) 2015 in pictures from the White House May 12, 2015 The First Lady demonstrates her boxing skills during a #GimmeFive video taping. (Official White House Photo by Amanda Lucidon) 2015 in pictures from the White House April 17, 2015 Deputy National Security Advisor Ben Rhodes needed some assistance with his wardrobe so the President joined Brian Mosteller, Director of Oval Office Operations, and Personal Aide Ferial Govashiri in helping to spruce him up. (Official White House Photo by Amanda Lucidon) 2015 in pictures from the White House April 11, 2015 The culmination of years of talks resulted in this handshake between the President and Cuban President Raul Castro during the Summit of the Americas in Panama City, Panama. (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza) 2015 in pictures from the White House March 31, 2015 Throughout the first half of the year, the President met often with our team during the P5+1 negotiations with Iran. Several times he conducted secure video conferences from the Situation Room while the negotiators were on the ground in Switzerland. (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza) 2015 in pictures from the White House March 27, 2015 The First Lady snuggled against the President during a video taping for the 2015 World Expo in the Diplomatic Reception Room of the White House. (Official White House Photo by Amanda Lucidon) 2015 in pictures from the White House March 7, 2015 I was moving around trying to capture different scenes away from the stage during the event to commemorate the 50th Anniversary of Bloody Sunday and the Selma to Montgomery civil rights marches. When I glanced back towards the stage, I noticed the President and First Lady holding hands as they listened to the remarks of Rep. John Lewis. I managed to squeeze off a couple of frames before they began to applaud, and the moment was gone. (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza) 2015 in pictures from the White House Feb. 27, 2015 Its definitely true that former NBA player Shaquille ONeal is a big guy. But Ill admit that I used a wide angle lens and this angle to accentuate his size when he stopped by the Oval Office for a quick visit. (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza) 2015 in pictures from the White House Feb. 23, 2015 The Presidents daughter Malia stopped by the Oval Office one afternoon to see her dad and, while they were talking, she wiped something from his face. (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)

The paper reports the President and First Ladys youngest daughter has been using her full name Natasha when working four-hour shifts at the restaurant. She is reportedly expected to work until the weekend when her family will join her at Marthas Vineyard for their annual holiday.

Recommended Read more Malia and Sasha Obama meet Ryan Reynolds at the White House

However, Sasha couldnt escape all aspects of being the Presidents daughter during her shifts and was reportedly accompanied by six secret service officers.

Sashas work experience is perhaps less glamorous than elder sister Malias summer internship last year when the 18-year-old was spotted alongside Lena Dunham assisting on the set of Girls in New York City.

Malia has now graduated high school and is due to take a gap year before enrolling at Harvard University in 2017. Sasha remains a pupil at Sidwell Friends in Washington DC.
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The Perseids, one of the best opportunities in the year for seeing a meteor shower, are approaching. And its going to be twice as good this year.

Every August  especially around 11 and 12 of the month  the sky is lit up by a show of shooting stars that fly across the sky. But this year the Earth is going to get an even closer encounter than usual, according to Nasa, and the it will make for a spectacular display.

Forecasters are predicting a Perseid outburst this year with double normal rates on the night of Aug. 11-12, said Bill Cooke with NASAs Meteoroid Environments Office in Huntsville, Alabama, in a statement. Under perfect conditions, rates could soar to 200 meteors per hour.

Nasa's most stunning pictures of space Show all 30 1 /30 Nasa's most stunning pictures of space Nasa's most stunning pictures of space Solar Flare An image from Nasa's Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) shows a 200,000 mile long solar filament ripping through the Sun's corona in September 2013 Nasa Nasa's most stunning pictures of space Nasa Celebrates 50 Years of Spacewalking For 50 years, NASA has been "suiting up" for spacewalking. In this 1984 photograph of the first untethered spacewalk, NASA astronaut Bruce McCandless is in the midst of the first "field" tryout of a nitrogen-propelled backpack device called the Manned Maneuvering Unit (MMU) Nasa Nasa's most stunning pictures of space A Hubble Cosmic Couple The spectacular cosmic pairing of the star Hen 2-427  more commonly known as WR 124  and the nebula M1-67 which surrounds it ESA/Hubble & NASA Nasa's most stunning pictures of space Veil Nebula Supernova Remnant Nasa's Hubble Space Telescope has unveiled in stunning detail a small section of the Veil Nebula - expanding remains of a massive star that exploded about 8,000 years ago Nasa's most stunning pictures of space The Soyuz TMA-15M rocket launch The Soyuz TMA-15M rocket launches from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan on Monday, Nov. 24, 2014, carrying three new astronauts to the International Space Station. It also took caviar, ready for the satellite's inhabitants to celebrate the holidays Nasa Nasa's most stunning pictures of space Earth from the ISS From the International Space Station, Expedition 42 Flight Engineer Terry W. Virts took this photograph of the Gulf of Mexico and U.S. Gulf Coast at sunset Nasa Nasa's most stunning pictures of space Black Hole Friday Nasa celebrated Black Friday by looking into space instead  sharing pictures of black holes Nasa Nasa's most stunning pictures of space NuSTAR X-rays stream off the sun in this image showing observations from by NASA's Nuclear Spectroscopic Telescope Array, or NuSTAR, overlaid on a picture taken by NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) Nasa Nasa's most stunning pictures of space Cassiopeia A c A false colour image of Cassiopeia A comprised with data from the Spitzer and Hubble Space Telescopes and the Chandra X-Ray observatory Nasa Nasa's most stunning pictures of space Orion Capsule splashes down The Orion capsule jetted off into space before heading back a few hours later  having proved that it can be used, one day, to carry humans to Mars Nasa Nasa's most stunning pictures of space Earth Observations From Gemini IV in 1965 This photograph of the Florida Straits and Grand Bahama Bank was taken during the Gemini IV mission during orbit no. 19 in 1965. The Gemini IV crew conducted scientific experiments, including photography of Earth's weather and terrain, for the remainder of their four-day mission following Ed White's historic spacewalk on June 3 Nasa's most stunning pictures of space Frosty slopes of Mars This image of an area on the surface of Mars, approximately 1.5 by 3 kilometers in size, shows frosted gullies on a south-facing slope within a crater. The image was taken by Nasa's HiRISE camera, which is mounted on its Mars Reconaissance Orbiter Nasa Nasa's most stunning pictures of space Yellowstone from space NASA astronaut Reid Wiseman shared this image of Yellowstone via his twitter account Nasa Nasa's most stunning pictures of space Saturn This near-infrared color image shows a specular reflection, or sunglint, off of a hydrocarbon lake named Kivu Lacus on Saturn's moon Titan Nasa Nasa's most stunning pictures of space Worlds Apart Although Mimas and Pandora, shown here, both orbit Saturn, they are very different moons. Pandora, "small" by moon standards (50 miles or 81 kilometers across) is elongated and irregular in shape. Mimas (246 miles or 396 kilometers across), a "medium-sized" moon, formed into a sphere due to self-gravity imposed by its higher mass Nasa Nasa's most stunning pictures of space Solar Flare An X1.6 class solar flare flashes in the middle of the sun in this image taken 10 September, captured by NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory Nasa Nasa's most stunning pictures of space Large Magellanic Cloud galaxy An image of the Large Magellanic Cloud galaxy seen in infrared light by the Herschel Space Observatory. Regions of space such as this are where new stars are born from a mixture of elements and cosmic dust Nasa Nasa's most stunning pictures of space Mars Rover Spirit Nasa's Mars Rover Spirit took the first picture from Spirit since problems with communications began a week earlier. The image shows the robotic arm extended to the rock called Adirondack Nasa Nasa's most stunning pictures of space Morning Aurora From the Space Station Nasa astronaut Scott Kelly captured this photograph of the green lights of the aurora from the International Space Station Nasa/Scott Kelly Nasa's most stunning pictures of space Launch of History - Making STS-41G Mission in 1984 The Space Shuttle Challenger launches from Florida at dawn. On this mission, Kathryn Sullivan became the first U.S. woman to perform a spacewalk and Marc Garneau became the first Canadian in space. The crew of seven was the largest to fly on a spacecraft at that time, and STS-41G was the first flight to include two female astronauts Nasa's most stunning pictures of space A Fresh Perspective on an Extraordinary Cluster of Galaxies Galaxy clusters are often described by superlatives. After all, they are huge conglomerations of galaxies, hot gas, and dark matter and represent the largest structures in the Universe held together by gravity Nasa's most stunning pictures of space Hubble Sees a Galactic Sunflower The arrangement of the spiral arms in the galaxy Messier 63, seen here in an image from the Nasa Hubble Space Telescope, recall the pattern at the center of a sunflower ESA/Hubble & NASA Nasa's most stunning pictures of space Pluto image Four images from New Horizons Long Range Reconnaissance Imager (LORRI) were combined with colour data from the Ralph instrument to create this enhanced colour global view of Pluto Nasa's most stunning pictures of space Fresh Crater Near Sirenum Fossae Region of Mars The HiRISE camera aboard Nasa's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter acquired this closeup image of a "fresh" (on a geological scale, though quite old on a human scale) impact crater in the Sirenum Fossae region of Mars. This impact crater appears relatively recent as it has a sharp rim and well-preserved ejecta Nasa's most stunning pictures of space Hubble Peers into the Most Crowded Place in the Milky Way This Nasa Hubble Space Telescope image presents the Arches Cluster, the densest known star cluster in the Milky Way NASA & ESA Nasa's most stunning pictures of space An Astronaut's View from Space Nasa astronaut Reid Wiseman tweeted this photo from the International Space Station on 2 September 2014 Nasa's most stunning pictures of space Giant Landform on Mars On Mars, we can observe four classes of sandy landforms formed by the wind, or aeolian bedforms: ripples, transverse aeolian ridges, dunes, and what are called draa Nasa's most stunning pictures of space Expedition 39 Landing A sokol suit helmet can be seen against the window of the Soyuz TMA-11M capsule shortly after the spacecraft landed with Expedition 39 Commander Koichi Wakata of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), Soyuz Commander Mikhail Tyurin of Roscosmos, and Flight Engineer Rick Mastracchio of NASA near the town of Zhezkazgan, Kazakhstan (NASA/Bill Ingalls) Nasa's most stunning pictures of space Jupiter's Great Red Spot Viewed by Voyager I Jupiter is the largest planet in the solar system and perhaps the most majestic. Vibrant bands of clouds carried by winds that can exceed 400 mph continuously circle the planet's atmosphere Nasa's most stunning pictures of space Chandra Observatory Sees a Heart in the Darkness This Chandra X-Ray Observatory image of the young star cluster NGC 346 highlights a heart-shaped cloud of 8 million-degree Celsius gas in the central region

An outburst is a meteor shower that has even more meteors than normal. The last one involving the Perseids happened in 2009.

Each of the meteors spotted in the shower is a tiny piece of Swift-Tuttle, a comet that orbits around the sun every 133 years. As it moves through space, it leaves trillions of little particles in its wake, and when Earth moves through that debris the tiny specks hit the Earths atmosphere and go up in a flash.

Most years, Earth just skims past the edge of that debris. But in years like this one, Jupiters gravity pulls the dust trail closer to us, and we move straight through the middle and into a field of even more material.

Nasa scientists say that this is going to be one of those years and that we will be moving through at least three steams as the Perseids are visible overhead.

The Presides are best seen on they night of 12 August, and will be especially visible in the very early morning. Nasa recommends that people head outside for 45 minutes so that their eyes can adjust, and then lie back and look up.

 Meteor Moment- Viewing Tips

As ever, its best to move out of the way of clouds and light pollution for a better view. And there will be a livestream of the sight for anyone that isnt able to see it in person.

Heres something to think about. The meteors youll see this year are from comet flybys that occurred hundreds if not thousands of years ago, said Cooke. And theyve traveled billions of miles before their kamikaze run into Earths atmosphere.
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Ask the three main branches of science what the human body is mostly made from and their answers sound like the punchline to a geeky joke.

Water, says the biologist, giving a reply that has surprised generations of schoolchildren who understandably may have expected something more solid.

Oxygen, insists the chemist, raising the insubstantiality of our existence a step further.

Nothing, retorts the physicist, clearly winning what seems like a competition to make humans disappear in a puff of logic.

But each answer, more implausible than the next, is correct in its own way. Apparently.

Professor Shirley Hodgson, a fellow of the Royal Society of Biology and an expert in the genetics of cancer at St Georges University of London, explained: The human body is made up of trillions of cells.

Importantly, all of these cells contain a lot of water, meaning that humans are in fact around 65 per cent water. The water in cells helps with chemical reactions, transports oxygen and waste, and acts as a shock absorber.

But humans are also not entirely, well, human.

Some of these cells are our own, and form our organs, muscles and bones, but a surprising number of them are bacteria, Professor Hodgson said.

We are host to many millions of bacteria, particularly in the gut, the microbiome.

Bacteria are very helpful in improving our immunity, and are vital for the digestion of food. Sometimes bacteria can also be harmful, but there is a remarkable mutual benefit from our coexistence.

Within our cells are molecular machines that perform a vast array of different functions.

In the nucleus is the DNA, the blueprint for all our characteristics, and the cell reads this DNA message to make tens of thousands of different proteins, all of which have important jobs, from acting as hormones to helping form your skin and hair, Professor Hodgson said.

Various different cells make up organs that work together to make a functioning animal.

In addition to the reproductive, digestive, cardiovascular, respiratory and nervous systems are the less well known lymphatic system, which helps protect the body against pathogens, and the endocrine system, including the thyroid and adrenal glands, which is involved in regulating hormones.

The renal system, including the kidneys and bladder, helps eliminate chemical waste, while our skin, hair, sweat glands and nails protect the body and control its temperature.

But a very different picture emerges if one takes a purely chemical point of view.

The human body is made up of a long list of ingredients, with the most abundant being oxygen (65% by mass), carbon (18%), hydrogen (10%), nitrogen (3%), calcium (1.4%) and phosphorous (1.1%), Elisabeth Ratcliffe, of the Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC) wrote in an email.

 Museum of preserved bodies

There are over 60 elements in our bodies in total, mostly in minute quantities. Some people are surprised at how little of some elements is needed to support life.

For example iron, which is so important for transporting oxygen around the body, only makes up 0.006 per cent of our chemical composition.

The typical human body contains miniscule amounts of poisonous materials like mercury, arsenic and even selenium. At high doses, the latter would be fatal. But if about 0.000019 per cent of our body was not made of selenium, we would be dead as it is a key component of healthy thyroid function.

Radioactive uranium, absorbed from the environment around us, is present in the body at 0.00000013 per cent.

An artist who maps the human body Show all 10 1 /10 An artist who maps the human body An artist who maps the human body Robert Harris Portrait 3.jpg An artist who maps the human body Robert Harris Portrait 2.jpg An artist who maps the human body Robert Harris Portrait 1.jpg An artist who maps the human body Red Cabbage 2011.jpg An artist who maps the human body Oxford Pig 2012.jpg An artist who maps the human body Eclipse.jpg An artist who maps the human body Cow Head 1.jpg An artist who maps the human body Angela Plamer_Brain of the Artist 2012.jpg An artist who maps the human body Angela Palmer Self Portrait 11 .jpg An artist who maps the human body The Ashmolean Theban Priest.jpg

At those levels its easily passed through the body, so its not going to do us any harm, Ms Ratcliffe said.

We also contain tiny amounts of precious metals like gold, silver and ruthenium, which is used in electronics.

The RSC once calculated that all the elements contained within actor Benedict Cumberbatch would fetch more than 96,500 if extracted and sold on the open market.

Dr Jess Wade, a physicist at Imperial College London, admitted that while about 99.9 per cent of an atom was empty space, it was cheating a bit to describe this as the main constituent of humans  as this is also true of all other forms of matter.

Each atom has a central nucleus with orbiting charges called electrons.

If there wasnt all the space, wed be tiny, Dr Wade said. Physics.org once calculated if all the space was removed, the entire human population would take up the same space as a sugar cube.

An example of something that has undergone this compression is a neutron star, which is so dense a teaspoon of neutron star would weigh a billion tonnes, she added.

The reason we are not all squished together is electromagnetic force, which Dr Wade said was really strong, much stronger than the force of gravity, which is pretty strong given it is what keeps us stuck to the surface of planet Earth.

The electrical charges in the atoms of your body repel each other, keeping your body the right shape and size, Dr Wade added.

It is at this point that high-end physics starts to sound really quite poetic. We are indeed, as Joni Mitchell sang, made of stardust.

But we also have a little starlight too.

The movement of electronic charges creates magnetism, so the movement of the atoms inside your body could actually generate a magnetic field, Dr Wade said.

Starlight is a form of electromagnetic radiation  packets of energy, called photons, travelling at the speed of light.

Photons can be described as the movement of electric and magnetic fields moving through space. The force that stops us from collapsing is the same one that lets us see stars and galaxies.

Its also the same force that helps us move. Electronic signals move through our bodies along a series of biological wires called neurons, and make us scratch our nose, wink  they even give us our memories.
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A man has been arrested on suspicion of the sectarian murders of 10 Protestant workmen in one of the most notorious outrages of the Northern Ireland Troubles.

The 59-year-old suspect was detained in Newry, Co Down, by detectives investigating the mass shooting at Kingsmill, County Armagh, 40 years ago.

The development in the unsolved case came two months after police announced a major forensic breakthrough.

At the end of May, the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) revealed a potential match had been made to a palm print left on a getaway van used by the republican paramilitary killers.

The sole survivor of the attack, Alan Black, who was shot 18 times, described the arrest as a "bolt from the blue".

The suspect is being questioned on suspicion of the 10 murders and Mr Black's attempted murder.

The IRA was widely blamed for what has become known as the Kingsmill massacre.

Alan Black was the sole survivor of the Kingsmill attack (PA)

The factory workers were ambushed as they travelled along the Whitecross to Bessbrook road in rural south Armagh on January 5 1976 in an attack seen as a reprisal for a series of loyalist killings in the same area in the days beforehand.

The men's minibus was stopped by a man waving a red light and those on board were asked their religion by a camouflaged gunman with an English accent. The workers had initially mistaken the man for a soldier.

The only Catholic workman was ordered to run away.

Battle lines: 30 years of unseen 'Troubles' art Show all 6 1 /6 Battle lines: 30 years of unseen 'Troubles' art Battle lines: 30 years of unseen 'Troubles' art 186147.bin Tom Craig Battle lines: 30 years of unseen 'Troubles' art 186148.bin PAINTINGS REPRODUCED COURTESY OF ARTS COUNCIL OF NORTHERN IRELAND AND THE TRUSTEES OF NATIONAL MUSEUMS NORTHERN IRELAND Battle lines: 30 years of unseen 'Troubles' art 186149.bin PAINTINGS REPRODUCED COURTESY OF ARTS COUNCIL OF NORTHERN IRELAND AND THE TRUSTEES OF NATIONAL MUSEUMS NORTHERN IRELAND Battle lines: 30 years of unseen 'Troubles' art 186150.bin PAINTINGS REPRODUCED COURTESY OF ARTS COUNCIL OF NORTHERN IRELAND AND THE TRUSTEES OF NATIONAL MUSEUMS NORTHERN IRELAND Battle lines: 30 years of unseen 'Troubles' art 186151.bin PAINTINGS REPRODUCED COURTESY OF ARTS COUNCIL OF NORTHERN IRELAND AND THE TRUSTEES OF NATIONAL MUSEUMS NORTHERN IRELAND Battle lines: 30 years of unseen 'Troubles' art 186152.bin PAINTINGS REPRODUCED COURTESY OF ARTS COUNCIL OF NORTHERN IRELAND AND THE TRUSTEES OF NATIONAL MUSEUMS NORTHERN IRELAND

The killers, who had been hidden in the hedges, ordered the remaining 11 Protestant men to line up outside the van and then opened fire.

A van used by the gunmen was later found abandoned across the Irish border. The palm print was discovered on that vehicle. It was re-examined by forensic scientists this year, only days after a long-delayed inquest into the deaths got under way in Belfast.

A lawyer for the PSNI told stunned relatives attending the hearing that a potential match on the police's database had been made. It emerged that a forensic scientist had asked to run fresh tests on the print after reading media coverage about the opening of the high-profile inquest.

Some relatives expressed concern about the timing of the PSNI announcement about the palm print, raising concerns it would sidetrack the inquest.

Mr Black said he was struggling to take in news of the arrest.

"I don't really know what to think to be honest," he said. "I am still trying to take it in. For 40 years the police were not interested in Kingsmill but this, I suppose, is a development at least "We will just have to wait and see what happens and whether any charges are brought against this person."

Press Association
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Zakaria Bulhan, the man suspected of killing an American woman in a stabbing rampage in central London, has been charged with murder.

The 19-year-old Norwegian citizen is of Somali descent and moved to the UK at the age of five, officials said.

He is due to appear before Westminster Magistrates' Court on Saturday.

Police raided his home in Tooting, south London, on Thursday after he was arrested on suspicion of murder.

Neighbours speaking to the Daily Mail said Bulhans family were Muslim, describing his mother as a kind and friendly woman who lived with her two sons.

 Russell Square attack: Woman killed in London was American citizen

Bulhan attended Graveney School in Tooting and recently completed his first year studying for a BTEC in IT at South Thames College in Morden.

Former classmates told the Evening Standard he had been a teachers pet who was occasionally bullied.

A profile on a book rating website in Bulhans name shows an interest in Islamic theology, listing a biography of the Prophet Mohamed and a book of Quran verses and hadiths as recent reads.

Bulhan remains in custody as police continued to investigate the motives for Wednesday nights stabbing in Russell Square, which left a 64-year-old woman dead and five other victims.

Witnesses described their horror as a knife-wielding man launched his attack on passers-by in Russell Square, stabbing anyone he could reach.

Darlene Horton succumbed to her injuries at the scene, with witnesses describing how a family of Spanish tourists tried to comfort her as she died.

In pictures: Russell Square stabbing Show all 6 1 /6 In pictures: Russell Square stabbing In pictures: Russell Square stabbing A police forensic officer at work in Russell Square, central London, after a knife attack in which a woman in her 60s was killed and five people were injured. PA In pictures: Russell Square stabbing A police forensic officer at the scene in Russell Square, central London PA In pictures: Russell Square stabbing A private ambulance leaves Russell Square in London early on August 4, 2016, after a woman in her 60s was killed during a knife attack AFP/Getty Images In pictures: Russell Square stabbing Police at the scene of a stabbing attack in Russell Square in central London on August 4, 2016 AFP/Getty Images In pictures: Russell Square stabbing A police officer lays flowers left by a member of the public close to the scene where one women died and several people were injured in a knife attack in Russell Square EPA In pictures: Russell Square stabbing The police cordon Russell Square in central London on August 4, 2016, AFP/Getty Images

Ms Horton, who was visiting the city with her husband Richard Wagner while he taught summer classes, was due to fly home the day after the attack.

Floria State University president John Thrasher said: There are no words to express our heartache over this terrible tragedy.

We are shocked that such senseless violence has touched our own FSU family and we will do all we can to assist Professor Wagner and his loved ones, as well as his friends and colleagues in the psychology department, as they mourn.

Five other people were injured  an American man, Australian man and woman, Israeli woman and British man.

Four of the wounded victims were discharged from hospital on Thursday, while the British man remained in a serious but stable condition with a stab wound to his stomach.

Scotland Yard said no evidence has been found of radicalisation or anything to suggest the attack was in any way motivated by terrorism.

Stabbing victim Darlene Horton succumbed to her injuries at the scene (Metropolitan Police)

Mark Rowley, the Assistant Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police, said armed officers arrived within six minutes of being alerted to the attack at around 10.30pm.

They used a Taser to restrain the suspect as he continued trying to stab other victims in the street, in what was praised as the minimum necessary force.

Whilst the investigation is not yet complete  all of the work that we have done so far, increasingly points to this tragic incident as having been triggered by mental health issues, Mr Rowley said.

At this time we believe this was a spontaneous attack and the victims were selected at random.

Describing the suspect as a Norwegian national of Somali origin, the counter-terrorism chief said his background was not believed to be relevant to the motivation for his actions.

So far we have found no evidence of radicalisation or anything that would suggest the man in our custody was motivated by terrorism, he added.
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Three men who raised money for a British Isis fighter in Syria by selling items on eBay have been convicted of funding terrorism.

The trio raised a total of 10,000 for Musadiqur Rohaman and his wife Zohura Siddeka, who left Walsall to join the so-called Islamic State in Raqqa in 2014.

His two brothers, Mohammed Iqbal Hussain, 26, and Mohammed Suyaubur Rohaman, 32, and family friend Mohammed Khan, 27, denied the charges and claimed the money was to help the couple return to the UK.

Mohammed Iqbal Hussain, Mohamed Suyaubur Rohaman and Mohammed Atiqur Khan, who have been convicted of terrorism funding offences after a trial at the Old Bailey. (West Midlands Police)

They were convicted of funding terrorism between November 2014 and June 2015 at the conclusion of trial at the Old Bailey on Friday.

The court heard that Rohaman left for Syria after claiming he was going on holiday but that his brothers knew the real reason for his journey and kept in regular contact.

While working at the family launderette in Caldmore, they raised cash and sent it to the couple via Western Union Bank transfers made at a shop next to their business.

Iqbal and Suyaubur sold their brother's 4,000 BMW, his wife's wedding dress and 1,200 worth of family gold to raise a total of 10,000, despite their mothers attempts to lock up valuables in the family home.

Musadikur Rohaman and his wife Zohura Siddeka, both 27, who left for Syria in December 2014 (West Midlands Police)

They also arranged for Siddeka's maternity pay from her job as a teacher to be sent out to Syria. She gave birth before they left in September 2014 but the baby died days later.

The court heard that Iqbal also recruited Khan to take out credit loans in Rohamans name and attempt to sell pieces of family gold.

After arriving in the so-called Islamic State Rohaman maintained contact with his family in the UK through a variety of secure internet messaging platforms and Skype, with some of the messages proving he was engaged in fighting.

The couple had travelled to Syria via Turkey with another Walsall man, Abul Hasan, who is since believed to have been killed while fighting with Isis.

Nigel Lambert QC, representing Hussain, described the case as a family tragedy in court, adding: Their brother remains in Syria. This was a matter of misguided loyalty."

Timeline: The emergence of Isis Show all 40 1 /40 Timeline: The emergence of Isis Timeline: The emergence of Isis 2000 Abu Musab al-Zarqawi (pictured here) forms an al-Qaeda splinter group in Iraq, al-Qaeda in Iraq. Its brutality from the beginning alienates Iraqis and many al-Qaeda leaders. Timeline: The emergence of Isis 2006 Al-Zarqawi is killed in a U.S. strike. Al-Zarqawis successor, Abu Ayyub al-Masri, announces the creation of the Islamic State in Iraq (ISI). Reuters Timeline: The emergence of Isis 2009 Still al-Qaeda-linked ISI claims responsibility for suicide bombings that killed 155 in Baghdad, as well as attacks in August and October killing 240, as President Obama announces troop withdrawal from Iraq in March. Getty Images Timeline: The emergence of Isis 2010 Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi becomes head of ISI, at lowest ebb of Islamist militancy in Iraq, which sees last U.S. combat brigade depart. Timeline: The emergence of Isis 2012 In Syria, protests (pictured here starting in Daree) have morphed into what president Assad labelled a real war with emergence of a coalition of forces opposed to Assads regime. Syria group Jabhat al-Nusra are among rebel groups who refuse to join, denouncing it as a conspiracy. Bombings targeting Shia areas, killing more than 500 people, spark fears of new sectarian conflict. Sunni Muslims stage protests across country against what they see as increasingly marginalisation by Shia-led government. AP Timeline: The emergence of Isis 2013 Al-Baghdadi renames ISI as the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria, or Isis, as the group absorbs Syrian al-Nusra, gaining a foothold in Syria. In response, al-Qaeda chief Ayman al-Zawahiri (Bin Ladens successor) concerned about Isis expansion orders that Isis be dissolved and ISI operations should be confined to Iraq. This order is rejected by al-Baghdadi. AFP Timeline: The emergence of Isis 2014 - January Isis fighters capture the Iraqi cities of Fallujah and Ramadi, giving them base to launch slew of attacks further south. AP Timeline: The emergence of Isis 2014 - June Isis declares itself the Caliphate, calling itself Islamic State (IS). The group captures Mosul, Iraqs second largest city; Tal Afar, just 93 miles from Syrian border; and the central Iraqi city of Tikrit. These advances sent shockwaves around the world. Timeline: The emergence of Isis 2014 - June Around the same time Isis releases a video calling for western Muslims to join the Caliphate and fight, prompting new evaluations of extremists groups social media understanding. Timeline: The emergence of Isis 2014 - June Isis take Baiji oil fields in Iraq - giving them access to huge amounts of possible revenue. EPA Timeline: The emergence of Isis 2014 - August James Foley is executed by the group as concerns grow for second American prisoner, fellow reporter Steven Sotloff. AP Timeline: The emergence of Isis 2014 - August Obama authorises U.S. airstrikes in Iraq, helping to stall Isis along with action by Kurdish forces following the deaths of hundreds of Yazidi people on Mount Sinjar. Timeline: The emergence of Isis 2014 - September Isis release video showing Steven Sotloffs murder prompting Western speculation his executioner is same man who killed Mr Foley. EPA Timeline: The emergence of Isis 2014 - September Obama tells us that America will hunt down terrorists who threaten our country EPA Timeline: The emergence of Isis 2014 - September Isis release a video appearing to show David Haines, who was captured by militants in Syria in 2013, wearing an orange jumpsuit and kneeling in the desert while he reads a pre-prepared script. It later shows what appears to be the aid worker's body. Rex Timeline: The emergence of Isis 2014 - September Peshmerga fighters scrabble to hold positions in the Diyala province (a gateway to Baghdad) as Isis fighters continue to advance on Iraqi capital. AFP Timeline: The emergence of Isis 2014 - October Aid worker Alan Henning is killed. Self-imposed media blackout refuses to show images of him in final moments, instead focuses upon humanitarian care. AP Timeline: The emergence of Isis 2014 - October Isis raise their flag in Kobani, which had been strongly defended by Kurdish troops. The victory goes against hopeful western analysis Isis had overextended itself, while alienating much of the Muslim population through the murder of Henning. Victory causes fresh waves of Kurdish refugees arriving in Turkey. Timeline: The emergence of Isis 2014 - November American hostage, who embarced values of Islam, Peter Kassig and 14 Syrian soldiers are shown meeting the same fate as other captives. But intelligence agencies will be poring over the apparently significant discrepancies between this and previous films. Seramedig.org.uk Timeline: The emergence of Isis 2015 - February Isis has released a video revealing the murder by burning to death of a Jordanian pilot held by the group since the end of December 2014. Reuters Timeline: The emergence of Isis 2015 - February Isis militants have released videos which appear to show the beheading of Japanese hostages Haruna Yukawa and Kenji Goto. Timeline: The emergence of Isis 2015 - February American aid worker, Kayla Mueller was the last American hostage known to be held by Isis. She died, according to her captors, in an airstrike by the Jordanian air force on the city of Raqqa in Syria, though US authorities disputed this. AP Timeline: The emergence of Isis 2015 - February Isis militants have posted a gruesome video online in which they force 21 Egyptian Coptic Christian hostages to kneel on a beach in Libya before beheading them. Egypt vowed to avenge the beheading and launched air strikes on Isis positions. AP Timeline: The emergence of Isis 2015 - February The British Isis militant suspected of appearing in videos showing the beheading of Western hostages has been named in reports as Mohammed Emwazi from London. Rex Features Timeline: The emergence of Isis 2015 - March Isis triple suicide attack has killed more than 100 worshippers and hundreds of others were injured after the group members targeted two mosques in the Yemeni capital of Sanaa. AP Timeline: The emergence of Isis 2015 - April Iraqi forces have claimed victory over Isis in battle for Tikrit and raised the flag in the city. EPA/STR Timeline: The emergence of Isis 2015 - April Isis has claimed responsibility for a suicide bomb attack in Afghanistan that killed at least 35 people queuing to collect their wages and injured 100 more. EPA Timeline: The emergence of Isis 2015 - April Isis media arm released a 29-minute video purporting to show militants executing Ethiopian Christians captives. The footage bore the extremist groups al-Furqan media logo and showed the destruction of churches and desecration of religious symbols. A masked fighter made a statement threatening Christians who did not convert to Islam or pay a special tax. Timeline: The emergence of Isis 2015 - May Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the leader of Isis has been "incapacitated" by a spinal injuries sustained in a US air strike in Iraq. He is being treated in a hideout by two doctors from Isis stronghold of Mosul who are said to be "strong ideological supporters of the group". Timeline: The emergence of Isis 2015 - May Isis has also claimed responsibility for killing 300 of Yazidi captives, including women, children and elderly people in Iraq AP Timeline: The emergence of Isis 2015 - May Isis attack on Prophet Mohamed cartoon contest in Texas was its first action on US soil. Two gunmen were shot and killed after launching the attack at the exhibition. Elton Simpson and Nadir Soofi have been named as the attackers at the Curtis Culwell Centre arena in Garland. Timeline: The emergence of Isis 2015 - May Isiss deputy leader, Abu Alaa Afri, a former physics teacher who was thought to have taken charge of the deadly terrorist group, has been killed in a US-led coalition airstrike. Timeline: The emergence of Isis 2015 - May US special forces have killed a senior Isis leader named as Abu Sayyaf in an operation aiming to capture him and his wife in Syria. Getty Images Timeline: The emergence of Isis 2015 - May Iran-backed militias are sent to Ramadi by the Iraqi government to fight Isis militants who completed their capture of the city. Government soldiers and civilians were reportedly massacred by extremists as they took control and the army fled. Charred bodies were left littering the city streets as troops clung on to trucks speeding away from the city. Ramadi is the latest government stronghold to fall to the so-called Islamic State, despite air strikes by a US-led international coalition aiming to stop its advance in Iraq and Syria. AFP Timeline: The emergence of Isis 2015 - May Isis rounded up civilians trapped in Palmyra and forced them to watch 20 people being executed in the historic citys ancient amphitheatre. The Unesco World Heritage site was overrun by militants, threatening the future of 2,000 year-old monuments and ruins. Thousands of Palmyras residents fled but many are still living within the city walls, while the UN human rights office in Geneva said it had received reports of Syrian government forces preventing people from leaving until they retreated from the city. Getty Timeline: The emergence of Isis 2015 - May A group of Isis-affiliated fighters have captured a key airport in central Libya. The militants took control of the al-Qardabiya airbase in Sirte after a local militia tasked with defending the facility withdrew from their positions. Affiliates of Isis, already control large parts of Sirte, the birthplace of former Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi and a former stronghold of his supporters. Timeline: The emergence of Isis 2015 - June The US Air Force has destroyed an Isis stronghold after an extremist let slip their location on social media. According the Air Force Times, General Herbert "Hawk" Carlisle, commander of Air Combat Command, said that Airmen at Hulburt Field, Florida, used images shared by jihadists to track the location of their headquarters before destroying it in an airstrike. Reuters Timeline: The emergence of Isis 2015 - June Kurdish forces captured a key military base in a significant victory in Raqqa as well as town of Tell Abyad. YPG fighters, backed by US-led airstrikes and other rebels, consolidated their gains, when they seized the key town on the Syria-Turkey border. They are now just 30 miles to the north of Raqqa and have cut off a major supply route deep inside Isis-held territory. Ahmet Silk/Getty Timeline: The emergence of Isis 2015 - June Isis has released gruesome footage claiming to show the murder of more than a dozen men by drowning, decapitation and using a rocket-propelled grenade as it seeks to boost morale among its fanatical supporters. Timeline: The emergence of Isis 2015 - June Isis has begun carrying out its threat to destroy structures in the ancient Syrian city of Palmyra, blowing up at least two monuments at the Unesco-protected site as Syrian government troops made advances on the Islamists positions. AFP

Assistant Chief Constable Marcus Beale, from West Midlands Police, said investigations showed Iqbal and Suyaubur knew their brother was fighting in Syria.

It is believed Musadiqur directed his brothers in what he needed doing and sent them names of who to transfer money to, he added.

Disruption of terrorist funding is an important part of our investigations. Sending money to those actively engaged in terrorism helps fund their activities and we will continue to act on any intelligence and disrupt the flow of money to conflict zones.

Iqbal, a qualified lawyer and aspiring solicitor, was found guilty of receiving money for the purposes of terrorism and entering into a funding arrangement.

Khan was convicted of entering into a funding arrangement and Suyaubur was convicted of providing money for the purposes of terrorism. They will be sentenced on 9 September.

A fourth man Maruf Uddin, 26, also from Walsall, was cleared of entering into a funding arrangement.

Additional reporting by PA
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Black Lives Matter protesters sparked traffic chaos after blocking a major road into Heathrow as part of a day of nationwide action that saw a number of activists arrests.

Activists in London, Birmingham, Manchester and Nottingham took part in a "nationwide shutdown" to call for greater awareness of discrimination against black and minority ethnic communities following a spate of shootings in the US.

The protests were scheduled to mark the five year anniversary of the death of British father Mark Duggan, a 29-year-old black man who was shot by police as he stepped out of a minicab in Tottenham. He was not holding a handgun at the time, and his death is regarded as one cause of the riots which raged across London and English cities throughout the summer of 2011.

The Black Lives Matter group, which has sprung up in response to similar incidents in the US, calls itself a "worldwide protest movement" according to its social media pages and has its roots in the US.

One of the most high-profile demonstrations by British activists on 5 August took place by Heathrow Airport on the motorway towards Terminals 1 and 2. At least 10 protesters chained themselves to tarmac with a large banner.

But thousands of protesters marched at an event in Manchester in a peaceful demonstration comprised of all ages and colours, although mostly young and black.

The banner at the Heathrow demonstration had the words "This is a crisis" painted across it. Many of the protesters on the tarmac had their arms chained together.

Police moved in to arrest 10 protesters at the Heathrow site, Met Police confirmed with The Independent. They said police were called out to the area at 8.25am on 5 August and traffic congestion had become a problem.

Black Lives Matter activist Adam Elliott Cooper, who is a 29-year-old from London, said the location was appropriate because "many people are either being killed at our borders or being sent back to certain death".

Four more protesters, also part of Black Lives Matter, have similarly been arrested in Nottingham after they lay down in the path of a tram and halted public transport in the city centre.

Further protests took place in Birmingham, with protesters holding cardboard signs saying #BlackLivesMatter and standing on a dual carriageway.

And up to 3,000 people attended a Black Lives solidarity march in Manchester, in an event which reportedly involved no clashes with the police.

US activists and their public supporters have expressed outrage and fear at shootings of unarmed black citizens in the US in recent months.

Last month, a black carer called Charles Kinsey who was trying to protect his autistic patient was shot by a policeman in Miami, Florida  and when the police officer was asked why he had done so, he reportedly replied "I don't know".

The British group said it wanted to commemorate the fifth anniversary of Mark Duggan's death.

"We stand in solidarity with the families and friends of all who have died at the hands of the British state. We take action because justice has not been delivered through conventional means: the police, the IPCC, the courts or the legislature," it said.

The group said it aims to highlight "the struggle for Black Lives in the UK and #Shutdown state-sanctioned racialised sexism, Islamophobia, classism, ableism, homophobia and transphobia", adding: "We fight for liberation."
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Two men from campaign group New Fathers 4 Justice have announced a retreat from Jeremy Corbyns roof after staging an all-day protest on top of the Labour leader's home.

Bobby Smith, 34, and Martin Mathews, 49, who climbed a ladder to scale the house this morning, say they have "made their point".

A Met helicopter was scrambled and dozens of police attended.

Mr Smith tweeted: "Point made, we are coming down from Jeremy Corbyns [sic] roof. Thank you for all the support."

A police spokesman said they were called to Mr Corbyn's home in Islington at around 10.30am after receiving reports of the protest.

Father-of-two Bobby Smith, who has not seen his two daughters for five years, said: I tried to talk to Jeremy in March and he was very rude to me.

 Fathers for Justice call LBC from Jeremy's Corbyn's roof

The protesters said they took plenty of food and water to sustain their rooftop campaign.

Asked why they were on Mr Corbyn's roof, Mr Smith said: "He's in a position where he can hold the government to account.

"We'll stay here as long as we have to. We're willing to do anything for our children. Both of us would rather be home with our children right now."

A negotiator talked to the men through a window.

Last year David Cameron complained that the group was being destroyed by the campaigners.

"It is falling apart because of Fathers for Justice clambering over my roof," he told the Evening Standard.

"The tiles are falling off, the window frames are rotten but I am happy there, we all are."
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A man who became trapped under a glass hearse carriage while inside a lorry has been rescued and airlifted to hospital.

The man, believed to be in his 40s, was pinned down by the horse-drawn carriage and suffered a serious leg injury while trying to manoeuvre it from a lorry in Cambridgeshire.

Firefighters received the unusual call at about 11:30am on 4 August and struggled for some time with airbags and mechanical equipment to free him. Horses were not attached to the carriage.

Ady Slack, the Cambridgeshire Fire and Rescue station commander told the Peterborough Telegraph: "The crews were faced with a difficult task with a horse-drawn carriage trapping an adult within a LGV box lorry.

"Crews worked well with ambulance paramedics and doctors on scene to rescue the man, who was taken to hospital by air ambulance.

The man was taken from the site of the incident near the market town of Chatteris to Addenbrookes Hospital in Cambridge by air ambulance.

A spokesperson for the East of England Ambulance Service said both an ambulance vehicle and a rapid response vehicle were dispatched to the scene. The carriage belonged to nearby firm Townies Carriage Hire.

Meanwhile, a helicopter from an emergency medical charity, Magpas Air Ambulance, took the man to a hospital in Cambridge.

"We received a call at 11.35am yesterday to Tick Fen, Chatteris, to a report of a man who was trapped under a horse carriage," said an East of England Ambulance spokesperson in a statement.

They treated a man, believed to be in his 40s, who had suffered a serious leg injury. He was airlifted to Addenbrookes Hospital for further treatment.
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Dame Lowell Goddard has been asked to appear before MPs and explain why she resigned as chairwoman of the independent inquiry into child sexual abuse, a senior Labour MP has confirmed.

Keith Vaz, who is also the chairman of the Home Affairs Select Committee in Westminster, said it was not enough for the New Zealand high court judge to resign and leave and called for a thorough explanation. Mr Vaz added that the only way to move forward was to hear from Justice Goddard herself.

In a brief resignation statement, released on Thursday, Justice Goddard said the inquiry was beset with a legacy of failure and offered her resignation to the new Home Secretary Amber Rudd. She was appointed as chair of the unprecedented inquiry, set up in 2014, by then-Home Secretary Theresa May after two previous chairs walked away from the role.

Ms Rudd, however, has attempted to dismiss doubts about the future of the inquiry into child abuse and insisted the Government would continue without delay.

Ms Rudd said in a statement: "I can confirm that Dame Lowell Goddard wrote to me today to offer her resignation as Chair of the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse and I have accepted.

"I want to assure everyone with an interest in the inquiry, particularly victims and survivors, that the work of the inquiry will continue without delay and a new chair will be appointed.

"I would like to thank Dame Lowell Goddard for the contribution she has made in setting up the inquiry so that it may continue to go about its vital work."

Mr Vaz told Sky News: She is someone with impeccable credentials, so this is a big shock that she chooses to resign now. I think what's really important is that we find out the reasons why she has decided to take this course of action.

I've written to her today to ask her to come before the committee when we return at the end of August and share with us her thoughts about the setting up of this inquiry and why she resigned, and where she thinks we could go.

Because although we've had ministers and Parliament and others involved, she of course has been intimately concerned with establishing this very difficult inquiry, so what she has to say is extremely pertinent, and I don't really think a resignation letter or a statement is enough.

So I've asked her whether she would be prepared to do this to help us in determining what is going to happen in the future.
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Jeremy Corbyn has been accused of buying a report which cleared the Labour Party of anti-Semitism after he nominated its author for a peerage.

The Labour leader backed the former director of civil rights charity Liberty joining the House of Lords as a peer despite previously promising he would never nominate anyone for a peerage.

In her report, which was published in June, Ms Chakrabarti concluded that racism was not endemic within the party, but she recommended members stop making reference to Hitler, the Nazis or using Holocaust metaphors.

 Jeremy Corbyn slams David Cameron's honours list

She also said epithets such as Zio should have no place in Labour discourse but did not recommend lifetime bans for people who use them.

Britain's Chief Rabbi, Ephraim Mirivis, said the credibility of her report "lies in tatters" now she has accepted the peerage.

He said: "Shami Chakrabarti has a proud record of public service, but in accepting this peerage, the credibility of her report lies in tatters and the Labour Party's stated intention, to unequivocally tackle anti-Semitism, remains woefully unrealised".

Jonathan Sacerdoti, the Director of Communications for the Campaign Against Anti-Semitism, told The Independent the nomination proved Mr Corbyns "declared opposition to anti-Semitism was not serious.

He said: "If anybody still took Shami Chakrabartis report or Jeremy Corbyns declared opposition to anti-Semitism seriously, this must be the final straw.

"Shami Chakrabartis inquiry into anti-Semitism was suspected of being a fraud from the moment she promised to conduct it in Labours interests.

UK news in pictures Show all 50 1 /50 UK news in pictures UK news in pictures 27 October 2022 98-year-old D-Day Veteran Bernard Morgan, whose story is among those featured on the giant poppy wall, during the launch of The Royal British Legion 2022 Poppy Appeal, at Hay's Galleria in central London PA 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. 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Sure enough, she delivered a whitewash which failed to deal with Labours anti-Semitism problem in any meaningful way.

She did not tackle allegations of anti-Semitism in the Labour Party or their woeful handling by Jeremy Corbyn, and she even refused to adopt a definition of anti-Semitism.

Having promised to never send anyone to the House of Lords, that is exactly what Jeremy Corbyn has done in return for a clean bill of health.

Ms Chakrabati was the only Labour peer to be named as part of David Camerons resignation honours.

Labours deputy leader Tom Watson had previously called for the party to boycott the list after calling Mr Camerons suggestions the worst example of the old boys network.

Commentators on Twitter said even if Ms Chakrabarti did not accept a peerage in exchange for a favourable report, the timing of her appointment seemed sordid as a result.

But others came to her defence, saying she was a worthy addition to the upper chamber:

A spokesman for Mr Corbyn said: Shami Chakrabarti shares Jeremys ambition for reform of the House of Lords. Her career has been one of public service and human rights advocacy.

"Her legal and campaigning skills, and the trust that she has gained from many ordinary Britons, will be a considerable asset to the House of Lords.

Ms Chakrabarti said: I am honoured to accept Jeremy Corbyns challenge and opportunity to help hold the Government to account.

"This is a dangerous moment for our country and we share vital human rights values that need defending more than ever before in my lifetime.
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Labours attack on David Camerons controversial resignation honours list was blunted as Jeremy Corbyn faced growing criticism for handing a peerage to the head of an inquiry into anti-Semitism in his party.

Jewish groups claimed that Shami Chakrabarti had been made a Labour peer as a reward for what they described as her whitewash report on the allegations of anti-Semitism inside Labour. Mr Corbyn denied the claim, pointing to Ms Chakrabartis record as the widely respected former director of human rights group Liberty.

Mr Corbyn's internal critics described the peerage as his most spectacular own goal yet. They were frustrated that the nomination eclipsed Labours criticism of Mr Cameron for handing honours to 46 former aides, allies and ministers and peerages to another 13.

Gillian Merron, a former Labour minister who is now chief executive of the Board of Deputies of British Jews, said the independence of Labour's inquiry was now seriously in question. It looks like the award of a peerage for the delivery of a report which was seen as a whitewash and a disappointment to many in the Jewish community, she said. There is a real question here about the integrity of this appointment.

Tom Watson, Labours deputy leader, who has urged his party to boycott the honours system, said the peerage was a mistake and the timing not great because Mr Camerons list was under fire. In a sign of how strained relations are between him and Mr Corbyn, he revealed that he had not been consulted about the move.

Wes Streeting, a Labour backbencher, said: With just one Lords appointment, Corbyn has undermined criticism of Camerons list and the remaining credibility of his anti-Semitism inquiry. He urged the Labour leader to spell out precisely when Ms Chakrabartis peerage was discussed with her. The timing and nature of this appointment really does stink, he said.

But Diane Abbott, the shadow Health Secretary and a Corbyn ally, replied: Shami Chakrabarti is one of the most distinguished people in public life. She could have had a peerage under a number of Labour leaders. To say her appointment stinks, what message does that give to young women of Shami's background about stepping into the public space?

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Ms Chakrabarti, who joined Labour when she agreed to conduct the anti-Semitism inquiry, said: I am honoured to accept Jeremy Corbyns challenge and opportunity to help hold the Government to account.This is a dangerous moment for our country and we share vital human rights values that need defending more than ever before in my lifetime.

Her inquiry concluded that Labour was not overrun by anti-Semitism, Islamophobia or other forms of racism but recommended that party figures should not use labels such as Zio or Paki and should avoid bringing Hitler into debates about Israel and Palestine, as the former Mayor of London Ken Livingstone did.

Shirley Williams, the former Liberal Democrat leader in the Lords, said Mr Camerons list was a very dubious path to go down" because it opens up the House of Lords to be nothing but a way of offering baubles and prizes for people who work for a particular party. She said resignation honours should be proposed by a cross-party committee to ensure those nominated had made a huge contribution to public service. Although ordinary people were nominated for OBEs and MBEs, she said, as you climb up the list, it becomes more and more politicised and less and less about what people have actually done for the country.

Digby Jones, who was made a Trade Minister and crossbench peer by Labour, accused Mr Cameron of taking the mickey. He said: You have got to differentiate between reward and contribution and benefit to the nation.

Kirsty Blackman, the SNPs spokeswoman on the Lords, said the Upper House was well past its sell-by date  it must be scrapped and replaced with a fully elected second chamber. She criticised Theresa May for not blocking Mr Camerons list and said Mr Corbyns nomination of Ms Chakrabarti was a cause for concern.

The 16 peers on the Cameron list, including 13 Conservatives, takes the size of the Lords over the 800 mark. The Tories do not enjoy an overall majority and are often defeated by Labour and the Liberal Democrats. The number of peers is now: Tories 256; Labour 210; Lib Dems 105; crossbenchers 175; Bishops 26; non-affiliated 25; and others 16.
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Owen Smith has won the backing of a trade union for the first time since he challenged Jeremy Corbyn for the leadership of the Labour Party.

Roy Rickhuss, general secretary of the steelworkers union Community  which is engaged in a battle to save 15,000 at the threatened Port Talbot steel works  described Jeremy Corbyns leadership as a significant barrier to getting a Laboiur government elected.

He praised Mr Corbyns rival for being radical and pragmatic and urged other union leaders to back the challenger.

The endorsement came less than 24 hours after the two contenders went head-to-head before an audience of Welsh Labour party members in the first hustings of the leadership campaign, in Cardiff. During the debate, Mr Corbyn vowed to fight to keep Port Talbot open, but steel union leaders fear he will never be in a position to deliver on the promise.

Mr Rickhuss said: Jeremy Corbyns leadership now presents a significant barrier to a future Labour government. He very plainly cannot lead a party and his continued presence as Labour leader makes our ability to build an election-winning, social movement, the likes of which was saw in the late 90s and early 00s, harder not easier.

Referring to the challenger, Mr Smith, Mr Rickhuss said: In a short space of time he has laid out detailed plans to make workplaces fairer and more prosperous.

He has shown a real understanding of what an active industrial strategy should look like. Owen clearly has incredible ambition in his plan for Britain while recognising the fundamental need for Labour to be trusted with the nation's finances.

Owen's comprehensive policy platform is matched with an energy and enthusiasm that is currently sorely lacking within our party's leadership.

I hope that other trade unionists will join us in supporting Owen's leadership campaign. We have a responsibility to ensure the political wing of our movement is not left impotent and that our members do not have to endure another generation of Conservative rule.

Recommended Read more Owen Smith promises pay rise for five million workers if he becomes PM

Community has traditionally been one of the more right wing unions, whose leadership was close to the former Prime Minister, Gordon Brown. Last autumn, Communitys representative Lauren Crowley, was ousted from Labours National Executive Committee, a move that helped give Jeremy Corbyn a majority on that body.

Four other unions, the Communication Workers Union, the construction workers union UCATT, and the rail unions Aslef and TSSA have backed Mr Corbyn.

Len McCluskey, general secretary of the biggest union, Unite, is also an enthusiastic supporter of Mr Corbyn, but the recently retired boss of the GMB, Sir Paul Kenny, told LBC earlier in the week that he would be voting for Owen Smith because he believes that Mr Corbyn is incapable of winning power.
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The head of Isis affiliate in Egypt has reportedly been killed in an air strike alongside more than 40 militants and leaders.

The Egyptian military said the man, known as Abu Duaa al-Ansari, died in a bombing raid on one of the groups strongholds in northern Sinai.

Brigadier General Mohammed Samir said the operation was based on intelligence and aimed to avenge our martyrs and track down all terrorist elements and their leaders, wherever they are.

The Egyptian military published images showing cockpit footage of the air strike on Isis militants near al-Arish (Egyptian military)

He added: The Air Force managed during these strikes to kill Abu Duaa al-Ansari and a number of important aides, and destroy weapons, ammunition and explosives used by the group elements stores, in addition to the deaths of more than 45 terrorists.

Officials said the strike targeted residential compound surrounded by olive groves al-Arish, the largest city in Sinai.

Stills of cockpit footage have been published appearing to show pilots lining up their target before hitting it with missiles.

It came as part of a week-long air campaign involving fighter jets, helicopter gunships and drones in response to Isis use of roadside bombs against Egyptian troops.

Earlier this week, a 35-minute video released by the terrorist group claimed to show militants attacking Egyptian security forces with IEDs, gun battles and sniper fire.

Military officials dismissed the video as a compilation of heavily edited footage of past attacks.

 Egypt vows to drive out armed groups amid Sinai attacks

Isis has not released a statement confirming the death of al-Ansari, who was previously unknown.

The name is believed to be a nom de guerre and the mans real identity has not been made public.

Mohannad Sabry, an Egyptian expert on the Sinai insurgency, said it was a seriously embarrassing situation that the military did not provide al-Ansari's name as it casts doubts on the purported leader's identity and the report of his death.

Even if someone with this nom de guerre exists, this will be one more time Egypt's military announces that it has killed the leader, or a leader of a group that never publicly named its leader, he told the Associated Press.

The military's report could not be independently confirmed, with independent media largely banned in Northern Sinai and anti-terror laws restricting coverage.

Russian passenger plane crashes in Egypt Show all 20 1 /20 Russian passenger plane crashes in Egypt Russian passenger plane crashes in Egypt Egyptian soldiers collect personal belongings of plane crash victims at the crash site of a passenger plane bound for St. Petersburg in Russia that crashed in Hassana, Egypt's Sinai Peninsula Russian passenger plane crashes in Egypt Egyptian soldiers collect personal belongings of plane crash victims at the crash site of a passenger plane bound for St. Petersburg in Russia that crashed in Hassana, Egypt's Sinai Peninsula Russian passenger plane crashes in Egypt In this Russian Emergency Situations Ministry photo, made available on Monday, Nov. 2, 2015, showing Metrojet Airbus A321-200 flight 7K9268 flight recorder on display at an undisclosed location in Egypt Russian passenger plane crashes in Egypt Mourners lay flowers at Pulkovo International Airport outside St. Petersburg. Russia on 1 November mourned its biggest ever air disaster after a passenger jet full of Russian tourists crashed in Egypt's Sinai, killing all 224 people on board. Flags were at half mast on the parliament building, in the Kremlin, and on other official buildings in honour of the victims, most of whom were from Russia's second-largest city of Saint Petersburg Russian passenger plane crashes in Egypt People pay their respects at the entrance of Pulkovo airport outside St. Petersburg, during a day of national mourning for the plane crash victims Russian passenger plane crashes in Egypt Debris from the plane crash in Egypt Russian passenger plane crashes in Egypt A piece of an engine of Russian MetroJet Airbus A321 at the site of the crash in Sinai, Russian passenger plane crashes in Egypt The crash site debris Flight 7K9268 crashed in the Sinai peninsula, in all probability killing every one of the 224 people on board AFP/Getty Russian passenger plane crashes in Egypt The crash site debris Debris lies strewn across the sand at the crash site EPA Russian passenger plane crashes in Egypt Relatives in St Petersburg Relatives react after a Russian airliner with 217 passengers and seven crew aboard crashed, as people gather at the Kogalymaviais information desk at Pulkovo airport in St Petersburg on 31 October AP Russian passenger plane crashes in Egypt Relatives in St Petersburg A relative of a passenger of MetroJet Airbus A321 at Pulkovo II international airport in St Petersburg, Russia, 31 October 2015. EPA Russian passenger plane crashes in Egypt The plane's journey The plane's last recorded radar position above the northern Sinai peninsula Flightradar24 Russian passenger plane crashes in Egypt Where it crashed A satellite view from Google Maps of the rough area where the plane crashed, in the mountainous Hassana region of the Sinai peninsula. Google Maps Russian passenger plane crashes in Egypt The plane The Metrojet's Airbus A-321 with registration number EI-ETJ that crashed in Egypt's Sinai peninsula REUTERS/Kim Philipp Piskol Russian passenger plane crashes in Egypt The plane The crashed Airbus A321 at Domodedovo international airport, outside Moscow,, on 20 October Russian passenger plane crashes in Egypt Relatives at in St Petersburg A relative of a passenger on MetroJet Airbus A321 at Pulkovo II international airport in St Petersburg EPA Russian passenger plane crashes in Egypt Relatives at in St Petersburg Relatives of passengers of MetroJet Airbus A321 at the Crown Plaza hotel in St Petersburg EPA Russian passenger plane crashes in Egypt Bodies being repatriated An Egyptian soldier prays as emergency workers prepare to unload bodies of victims from a police helicopter to ambulances at Kabrit military airport on 31 October. AP Russian passenger plane crashes in Egypt Bodies being repatriated Ambulances line up as emergency workers unload bodies at Kabrit military airport, 20 miles north of Suez, on Saturday AP Russian passenger plane crashes in Egypt Bodies being repatriated Egyptian paramedics load the corpses of victims into a military plane at Kabrit military air base by the Suez Canal on October 31, 2015 AFP/Getty Images

Hundreds of soldiers, police officers and civilians have been killed in the groups bloody insurgency on the peninsula, which has spilled over into terror attacks in Cairo and cities along the Nile.

Isis announced its affiliate in the area in 2014, calling it Wilayat Sinai (Sinai Province), after members of the Egyptian jihadist group Ansar Beit al-Maqdis pledged allegiance to Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.

The group claimed responsibility for downing a Russian passenger plane flying from Sharm el-Sheikh to St Petersburg in October 2015, killing all 224 people on board.

Isis propaganda magazine published a photo claiming to show the bomb planted on the aircraft, saying the attack was revenge for Russian air strikes in Iraq and Syria, but Egyptian authorities did not confirm the cause of the disaster for four months.

Recent attacks include shootings targeting police units around Cairo and the assassination of a Coptic Christian priest in North Sinai in June
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A Scottish aristocrats son has been arrested and charged in relation to one of the biggest seizures of class A drugs in Kenya in recent years.

More than 100kg of trafficked cocaine worth over 2m was seized by Kenyan police and US Drug Enforcement Agency officers when it arrived at a sea port from Brazil last week and police believe Jack Marrian, 30, may have been involved in some capacity.

Mr Marrian, who has denied the charges, is head of east Africa operations at international trading giant ED&F Sugar, as well as being the son of Lady Emma Clare Campbell of Cawdor, whose family own a famous estate in the Highlands of Scotland. He is also a former classmate of cyclist Chris Froome.

The cocaine in question was allegedly transported across the ocean in containers which appeared from the outside to carry sugar, and prosecutors claim the shipment was due to be received by Mshale Commodities, a company at which Mr Marrian serves as managing director.

Police claim both Mr Marrian and Roy Francis Mwanthi, a director of Inland Africa Logistics Limited, had communicated with traffickers processing the cargo at the port shortly before it was seized.

Both men appeared in court yesterday to deny the charges having spent three nights in police custody, but face life sentences in Kenyan jail if they are convicted of drug trafficking.

Prosecutors meanwhile opposed Mr Marrians bail application, arguing he was a flight risk, and the court will rule on the matter next week.

Mr Marrian has lived in Kenya for most of his life and attended a prominent international school in Nairobi, counting Tour de France winner Chris Froome as one of his classmates.

He is innocent but this is Kenya and we are terrified of the repercussions <p>David Marrian</p>

In a one-word Facebook status posted on Monday, sent from the Spring Valley area of Nairobi, Mr Marrian simply wrote Released. He has not updated his account since.

David Marrian, Jacks father, said he was convinced his son was innocent and there had been a misunderstanding regarding his arrest.

The sugar in the containers was being sent to Jacks company but he has no involvement in either the packing of the ships or the unloading, he told the Times. The containers are not his. The ship is not his. The fact it is contaminated with cocaine has nothing to do with him.

He said although the containers are packed in the port and checked by an independent company approved by Kenyan customs before being sealed, the system is "not foolproof".

He added: I know, and Im pretty certain police know, he is innocent but this is Kenya and we are terrified of the repercussions.

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Daily protests calling for the authoritarian president's resignation are now in their second month AP World news in pictures 11 September 2020 Members of 'Omnium Cultural' celebrate the 20th 'Festa per la llibertat' ('Fiesta for the freedom') to mark the Day of Catalonia in Barcelona. Omnion Cultural fights for the independence of Catalonia EPA World news in pictures 10 September 2020 The Moria refugee camp, two days after Greece's biggest migrant camp, was destroyed by fire. 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We know the truth will come out. But its properly frightening.

A spokeswoman for Mshale Commodities added: Mshale is aware of speculation regarding an allegedly compromised shipment consigned to Mshale Commodities.

We can confirm that Mshales managing director, Jack Marrian, is assisting the Kenyan authorities to provide them with whatever information they require.

Kenya has become a global distribution hub for cocaine traffickers over recent years, the UN has said, and seizures of this magnitude are difficult to come by.

Police in Kenya have been named as the most corrupt institution in the country by the watchdog Transparency International for more than a decade.
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Weeks after the outbreak of deadly fighting in South Sudan, aid groups say their movement is being restricted by continued violence and government checkpoints, harming their ability to get food and medicine to severely malnourished children.

We already have an extremely serious food-insecurity crisis, said UN Emergency Relief Coordinator Stephen O'Brien in an interview. And there are many circumstances where, appallingly, this only gets worse.

During the intense July clashes, South Sudanese government forces looted a UN warehouse where food for 220,000 needy people was kept, according to UN officials.

Humanitarian groups have reported that in parts of the country their access is limited by government checkpoints or continued fighting. Just outside the city of Wau, for example, aid workers have not been able to provide for civilian populations because of the violence.

South Sudan descended into civil war in late 2013, when a split between president Salva Kiir and vice-president Riek Machar spurred a brutal conflict that was waged largely along tribal lines. In April, Mr Machar returned to his post as part of an internationally brokered peace deal. That appears to have crumbled recently.

Hundreds of people were killed in the fighting last month, according to the United Nations.

Now, the international community is once again trying to reconcile the warring factions  while simultaneously attempting to contain a growing humanitarian crisis.

The United Nations estimates that as many as 4.8 million people in the country face severe food shortages. It has so far been able to assist only 2.8 million.

Humanitarian needs  including health care, access to safe drinking water and shelter  are higher in South Sudan than any other year since the conflict began, said Ashley McLaughlin, a spokeswoman in South Sudan for the International Organisation for Migration.

 South Sudan: Thousands flee in search of food

More than 160,000 people are living in six UN-run displacement camps across the country, many of them in remote locations with limited access to supplies.

Mr O'Brien said that during a trip to South Sudan this week, he met with mothers unable to breastfeed their babies because they themselves were not getting enough food.

It's that sheer level of desperation, he said.

On Thursday, the UN human rights chief reported that preliminary investigations into last month's fighting have revealed large-scale abuses, including the execution of civilians based on their ethnicity and a large number of rape cases.

We have documented at least 217 cases of sexual violence in Juba between 8 and 25 July, said the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Zeid Ra'ad Al Hussein.

Even though violence has greatly diminished since last month, Hussein said that tensions remain very high, and violations continue to take place in Juba and other parts of the country.

Mr Machar has not returned to the capital, and Mr Kiir has replaced him and fired ministers once allied with him. Many experts and officials think that it is only a matter of time before large-scale fighting resumes between the two main factions

The Washington Post
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A waiter in Canada could face criminal charges after he allegedly served salmon to a customer who suffered an allergic reaction that almost killed him.

In a case that could mark a legal first for the country, diner Simon-Pierre Canuel filed a complaint with police after eating at a restaurant in Sherbrooke, Quebec. In the incident report, Mr Canuel said he repeatedly told his waiter about his seafood and salmon allergy and ordered beef tartare.

But he said that when he bit into what he thought would be beef, it transpired to be salmon. Instantaneously, he suffered a severe allergic reaction, he said.

Mr Canuel said he ordered beef tartare, but was served salmon (YouTube)

The server had almost killed me, he told The Globe and Mail. I know it [was] an error, but that error had almost taken my life. My boyfriend almost lost his boyfriend.

The incident is said to have taken place in May at Le Tapageur, a restaurant known for its French cuisine. Police officer Martin Carrier said on Friday that Mr Canuel repeatedly told his server about his concerns and asked him to go into the kitchen to ensure the chefs were informed about his allergies.

When he took his first bite, he had a severe allergic reaction, Mr Carrier told the Associated Press.

Mr. Canuels boyfriend, a doctor, tried to conduct mouth-to-mouth breathing and CPR, but he was unable to stop him going into anaphylactic shock and losing consciousness. Mr Canuel suffered a cardiac arrest, and was in a coma for two days.

The 22-year-old waiter, whose name has not been released, was arrested this week and released after he vowed to attend future court proceedings.

Mr Carrier said the victim filed an official complaint with Sherbrooke police on July 21. Police subsequently questioned the victim and witnesses, as well as searched Le Tapageur earlier this week, seizing evidence

Nothing has been filed yet. Were looking at our options, said his lawyer, Marie-Sophie Demers.
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Within hours of appointing Mike Pence as his running mate, rumours were rife that Donald Trump was already regretting his decision. But did anyone think about whether the Indiana governor would come to regret his?

In just three weeks of being appointed as possible vice president to the New York businessman, Mr Pence and Mr Trump have clashed on everything from trade deals and the ban on Muslims to gay rights, abortion and the Iraq War.

Below are the five most important differences.

Recommended Read more Trump and Pence put on show of unity at campaign stops in Midwest

Nato

Mr Trump said in an interview in July that the US might not necessarily come to the aid of Nato allies if they were attacked, undermining a key commitment of the allliance, saying they gotta pay.

Have they fulfilled their obligations to us? If they fulfill their obligations to us, the answer is yes, he said, implying that his government would assign new terms and conditions to allies who were under threat.

Mr Pence later appeared to reword his colleagues comments in line with his own thinking.

America will stand by our allies. We'll uphold our treaty obligations, including the mutual defense alliance that is Nato. ... America keeps its word, and you can tell Donald Trump keeps his word, he told PBS.

The Khan family

The parents of a fallen Muslim soldier, Humayun Khan, made a moving speech at the Democratic National Convention last month, urging Mr Trump to not smear Muslims character and to read the US Constitution.

 Father of Muslim-American soldier killed in action tells Donald Trump: You have sacrificed nothing

Mr Trump responded by saying he had made sacrifices such as working very hard and creating jobs for people.

A few days later he joked about being awarded a Purple Heart medal from a supporter, a controversial move as he has gained renewed attention for the reasons why he did not serve in the Vietnam War.

His comments prompted outrage among Gold Star families, who demanded an apology.

Mr Pence said later in a statement: Donald Trump and I believe that Captain Humayun Khan is an American hero and his family, like all Gold Star families, should be cherished by every American.

House speaker Paul Ryan

Paul Ryan was accused of delaying his endorsement of Mr Trump after strongly criticising the businessmans remarks, saying Mr Trump's accusations of a federal judge due to his Mexican heritage was the definition of textbook racism. And Mr Trump has been frosty in return, claiming he would not endorse Mr Ryan.

I like Paul, but these are horrible times for our country. We need very strong leadership. We need very, very strong leadership. And Im just not quite there yet. Im not quite there yet, Trump told the Washington Post.

Two days later, in a show of one of the clearest differences between the two politicians, Mr Pence said that he strongly supported the house speaker, and would strongly endorse his reelection.

Name-calling

Mr Trump has dipped into his dictionary of insults during his campaign for the White House, including calling women bimbos and pigs. He also labelled his former rival ted Cruz as Lyin Ted and Hillary Clinton as crooked Hillary.

After Mr Trump re-tweeted an unflattering picture of Mr Cruzs wife, Heidi, CNNs Anderson Cooper accused Mr Trump of acting like a five year old for saying: I didnt start it.

Mr Pence told Hugh Hewitts radio show in July: "I dont think name-calling has any place in public life.

John McCain

The two politicians views on war prisoner-turned-Arizona senator John McCain are strongly at odds.

"Hes not a war hero," said Mr Trump at a Family Leadership Summit in Iowa. "He was a war hero because he was captured. I like people who werent captured."

He later distanced himself from the remark and said: "If somebodys a prisoner, I consider them a war hero."

Mr McCain was a Navy pilot who spent about five years in a North Vietnamese prison where he was repeatedly tortured.

Mr Trump also accused the senator of doing very little for veterans.

A day later, Mr Pence released a pointed statement: "Senator McCain has provided the kind of leadership throughout his career that has stood up for our military, stood up for a strong America."
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A Muslim mother has said she was told to leave a grocery store by a member of staff over her wearing a niqab face veil.

Sarah Safi, who has lived most of her life in Texas before moving to Indiana, filmed the moment a manager at a Family Dollar store apparently told her she would have to leave.

The footage appears to show the exchange beginning shortly after Ms Safi entered the shop, culminating in a woman - who seemingly identified herself as the manager - ordering the customer to "leave my store" and wishing her "a blessed day".

Ms Safi, who has two children, said no such incident has happened to her before and she would like to sit down and talk to the staff member in question.

Youre telling me I have to leave this store? Ms Safi isseemingly heard saying in the video.

The store worker says: Yes maam, if you cant remove that from your face I need you to leave the store.

This is a religious garment, maam. This is - begins Ms Safi.

I understand, but you have to understand this is a high crime area where we get robbed a lot. You need to remove that from your face, or remove yourself from the store, replies the manager.

You think Im going to rob you because I have my face , says Ms Safi.

You need to remove that from your face or remove yourself from this store, please," says the manager again.

Im the manager and Im telling you to leave my store. Have a blessed day."

Ms Safi then says: What is your name? Because I am going to tell Family Dollar Corporate. This is a country where it is freedom of religion and freedom of speech. I have a right to wear whatever I want to wear..

Theres women that come in here with bikini tops on. No, Im leaving, she adds.

Ms Safi returned to her two children waiting in the car.

Ms Safi told ABC7 News she was "really saddened" by the incident.

"I would like to sit with her and speak to her about what I believe in, because maybe if she heard and really listened to what I believe it would open her heart," she said.

The Independent has approached Family Dollar Corporation for comment.
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Karina Vetrano frequently went running with her father, Phil, who is a retired firefighter.

Vetrano went for a run on Tuesday, New York media outlets reported. But her dad, who was reportedly dealing with some back pain, didnt join his 30-year-old daughter that day.

She didnt come back from the run, though. And Phil Vetrano grew worried.

Her father began to call her several times on the phone, New York City Police Departments chief of detectives, Robert Boyce, told reporters. She did not answer.

Boyce told reporters that Vetranos father called a police chief who lives nearby. That person called emergency responders. A search began  an effort in which Vetranos father took part.

After several hours, her body was discovered.

Her father then went into the woods and then found the body with our detectives, Boyce said.

Authorities in New York are attempting to piece together what might have happened to Vetrano. Her body was discovered in marshland Tuesday night, CBS News reports.

She was a sweetheart, a neighbor, Joseph Dipierro, told WABC. She lit up the room when she walked in. She was a beautiful girl.

Its just a terrible tragedy, Marylou Dazzo, a resident, told the ABC affiliate. I dont know what else to say.

Everyone is devastated, a friend, Tommy Ryan, told a CBS affiliate. I got a million calls last night. Everyones upset. Its just a big shock.

Vetranos body was discovered face down and about 15 feet off a trail, the New York Times reports.

Heres how a local NBC station describes the area where the body was found:

The running path is alongside a secluded, overgrown marsh at the edge of Jamaica Bay. It is part of a much longer network of paths ringing the bay that get a lot of use from cyclists and runners. The section where Vetranos body was found is often bypassed by people using the longer routes.

Right now, theres evidence of strangulation, asphyxiation, Boyce told reporters.

NYPD spokesman Stephen Davis said sexual assault hasnt been ruled out. The [medical examiner] needs to confirm that, but there were marks on the body that were consistent with sexual assault, Davis told reporters, according to the New York Post.

Boyce said Wednesday that authorities were checking Vetranos text messages and examining footage from security cameras, the Times reports. Her death has been ruled a homicide, according to the newspaper.

We have surveillance of her running past a home at 5:46 p.m., Boyce said, according to the Times. We have a lot of forensic evidence as well.

Vetranos father returned Thursday to the area where his daughters body was found, the New York Daily News reported.

Hes traumatized, a family friend told the New York Post. This is too much for them.

The Times described Vetrano as a prolific photographer on Instagram, an app where she had thousands of followers. According to the newspaper, she worked at a Queens bar and lounge called Central, which posted on Instagram after her death.

Last night, we lost a dear friend and Central Lounge family member, Karina Vetrano, the post read. Karina was an amazing person; she will forever be in our hearts.

An Instagram post from another local business, RV Rooftop, indicated that Vetrano had also worked there last year.

Our hearts and players go out to the family and the entire community as we mourn this horrible loss, the post said.

Copyright: Washington Post
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A mayor in the eastern US state of Virginia has been arrested in a meth-for-sex sting operation, police have said.

Richard Scott Silverthorne, known as Scott, has been mayor of Fairfax near Washington since 2012 and also works as a supply teacher, according to local media.

He was arrested on Thursday after meeting with undercover detectives at a hotel for what was reportedly arranged as a group sexual encounter in exchange for methamphetamine, an illegal stimulant.

After receiving a tip about a possible meth distributor in July, Fairfax County Police said in a statement they began an inquiry and identified a suspect distributing methamphetamine through a website used to arrange for casual sexual encounters between men.

An undercover detective created a profile on the site and police said within days the suspect, who turned out to be Mr Silverthorne, made contact.

I know he had one other relationship on the website besides us, Police Captain Jack Harden told reporters on Friday, according to NBC Washington.

The mayor, 50, is said to have arranged to bring methamphetamine and other men to the rendez-vous with the detectives, but was arrested after he gave them the drug.

Mr Silverthorne was re-elected in May for a third term after a tumultuous year in which he lost his job with the National Association of Manufacturers, filed for bankruptcy, lost his home and was diagnosed with cancer, according to The Washington Post.

He announced in November that he'd been diagnosed with squamous cell carcinoma, and according to the newspaper underwent treatment that ended two months before the election.

Detectives also found Silverthorne's suppliers Juan Jose Fernandez, 34, and Caustin Lee McLaughlin, 21, of Maryland, and arrested them.

Mr Fernandez was charged with distribution of methamphetamine, possession with the intent to distribute methamphetamine and possession of drug paraphernalia.

Mr McLaughlin was charged with distribution of methamphetamine, obstruction of justice and possession of drug paraphernalia, according to the Associated Press.

As detectives arrested Mr McLaughlin, police said he resisted and a detective used his stun gun, but there were no injuries.

World's 10 deadliest street drugs Show all 10 1 /10 World's 10 deadliest street drugs World's 10 deadliest street drugs Whoonga Whoonga is a combination of antiretroviral drugs, used to treat HIV, and various cutting agents such as detergents and poisons. The drug is widely available in South Africa due to South Africas high rate of HIV sufferers, and is believed to be popular due to how cheap it is when compared to prescribed antiretrovirals. The drug is highly addictive and can cause major health issues such as internal bleeding, stomach ulcers and ultimately death Getty World's 10 deadliest street drugs Scopolamine Scopolamine is a derivative from the nightshade plant found in the Northern Indian region of South America (Ecuador, Colombia and Venezuela). It is generally found in a refined powder form, but can also be found as a tea. The drug is more often used by criminals due its high toxicity level (one gram is believed to be able to kill up to 20 people) making it a strong poison. However, it is also believed that the drug is blown into the faces of unexpecting victims, later causing them to lose all sense of self-control and becoming incapable of forming memories during the time they are under the influence of the drug. This tactic has reportedly been used by gangs in Colombia where there have been reports of people using scopolamine as way to convince victims to rob their own homes World's 10 deadliest street drugs Heroin Founded in 1874 by C. R. Alder Wright, heroin is one of the worlds oldest drugs. Originally it was prescribed as a strong painkiller used to treat chronic pain and physical trauma. However in 1971 it was made illegal under the Misuse of Drugs Act. Since then it has become one of the most destructive substances in the world, tearing apart communities and destroying families. The side effects of heroin include inflammation of the gums, cold sweats, a weak immune system, muscular weakness and insomnia. It can also damage blood vessels which can later cause gangrene if left untreated World's 10 deadliest street drugs Crack cocaine Crack cocaine first came about in the 1980s when cocaine became a widespread commodity within the drug trafficking world. Originally cocaine would have attracted a high price tag due to its rarity and difficulty to produce, but once it became more widespread the price dropped significantly. This resulted in drug dealers forming their cocaine into rock like shapes by using baking soda as a way of distilling the powder down into rock form. People were doing this because it allowed for them to sell cocaine at a lower quantity and to a higher number of people. The side effects of crack cocaine include liver, kidney and lung damage, as well as permanent damage to blood vessels, which can often lead to heart attacks, strokes, and ultimately death World's 10 deadliest street drugs Crystal meth Not just famous because of a certain Walter H White, but also because it is one of the most destructive drugs in the world. First developed in 1887, it became widely used during the Second World War when both sides would give it to their troops to keep them awake. It is also believed that the Japanese gave it to their Kamikaze pilots before their suicide missions. After the war crystal meth was prescribed as a diet aid and remained legal until the 1970s. Since then it has fallen into the hands of Mexican gangs and has become a worldwide phenomenon, spreading throughout Europe and Asia. The effects of crystal meth are devastating. In the short-term users will become sleep depraved and anxious, and in the long-term it will cause their flesh to sink, as well as brain damage and damage of the blood vessels World's 10 deadliest street drugs AH-7921 AH-7921 is a synthetic opioid that was previously available to legally purchase online from vendors until it became a Class A in January 2015. The drug is believed to have 80% of the potency of morphine, and became known as the legal heroin. While there has only been one death related to AH-7921 in the UK, it is believed to be highly dangerous and capable of causing respiratory arrest and gangrene World's 10 deadliest street drugs Flakka Flakka is a stimulant with a similar chemical make-up to the amphetamine-like drug found in bath salts. While the drug was originally marketed as a legal high alternative to ecstasy, the effects are significantly different. The user will feel an elevated heart rate, enhanced emotions, and, if enough is digested, strong hallucinations. The drug can cause permanent psychological damage due to it affecting the mood regulating neurons that keep the minds serotonin and dopamine in check, as well as possibly causing heart failure World's 10 deadliest street drugs Bath salts Bath salts are a synthetic crystalline drug that is prevalent in the US. While they may sound harmless, they certainly arent the sort of salts you drop into a warm bath when having a relaxing night in, they are most similar to mephedrone, and have recently been featured throughout social media due to the zombification of its. The name comes from the fact that the drug was originally sold online, and widely disguised as bath salts. The side effects include unusual psychiatric behaviour, psychosis, panic attacks and violent behaviour, as well as the possibility of a heart attack and an elevated body temperature World's 10 deadliest street drugs Purple Drank One of the more unusual drugs around at the moment, purple drank was popularised in 90s hip hop culture, with the likes of Jay Z and Big Moe all mentioning it in their songs. It is a concoction of soda water, sweets and cold medicine, and is drunk due to cold medicines high codeine content, which gives the user a woozy feeling. However it can also cause respiratory issues and heart failure World's 10 deadliest street drugs Krokodil Krokodil is Russias secret addiction. It is believed that over one million Russians are addicted to the drug. Users of krokodil are attracted to the drug due to its low price; it is sold at 20 a gram while heroin is sold for 60. However, krokodil is considered more dangerous than heroin because it is often homemade, with ingredients including painkillers, iodine, lighter fluid and industrial cleaning agents. This chemical make-up makes the drug highly dangerous and likely to cause gangrene, and eventually rotting of the flesh

All three men were taken to the Fairfax County Adult Detention Center. Mr Silverthorne was later released, according to NBC.

Mr Silverthornes father, the late Frederick Silverthorne, was mayor of Fairfax in the late 1970s and early 1980s.

Additional reporting by Associated Press
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A rare copy of Superman's 1938 comic-book debut sold at auction for almost $1 million.

In a statement, Dallas-based Heritage Auctions said the copy of Action Comics No 1, bearing a cover price of 10 cents, sold Thursday for $956,000.

It is one of about 100 copies of the edition known to exist.

And it wasn't even in tip top condition. Certified Guaranty Co graded the copy 5.5 out of a possible 10.

It had been expected to sell for about $750,000. Heritage says the copy came from the collection of an unidentified East Coast comic book fan who had bought it in the 1990s for $26,000.

Spokesman Eric Bradley says the winning bidder also did not wish to be identified.

A $2 million mint edition, once stolen from the collection of Nicholas Cage, went on display in London earlier this year.

It is the most valuable item in the 1,000-strong DC Comics collection of Ayman Hariri, the billionaire son of assassinated Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri.
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Donald Trump and running mate Mike Pence are barnstorming through the American Midwest hoping to quell speculation that their partnership is unravelling because of deep differences.

Recommended Read more Five times Mike Pence has totally disagreed with Donald Trump

However, a rally set for Friday night in Green Bay, Wisconsin, was generating unwelcome distractions of a different kind because of Mr Trumps refusal earlier in the week to endorse the re-election in the state of House speaker Paul Ryan who faces a primary vote on Tuesday. There was word later on Friday, that Mr Trump would make a last-minute endorsement of the speaker.

In campaigning side by side, the pair were seeking to reset their campaign after a tumultuous few days set off by Mr Trumps earlier dithering over Mr Ryan and his public bickering with the parents of Captain Humayun Khan, a Muslim-American soldier slain in Iraq, who had criticized him at the Democratic convention.

 Trump endorses Paul Ryan

But the many diverging statements from the nominee and his running mate, notably regarding the flap started by Mr Trumps belittling of the soldiers parents, have created an impression that they are running almost parallel campaigns sometimes at odds with each other.

Donald Trump and I are standing shoulder to shoulder to say to the American people, 'We can be strong again,' Mr Pence, who is the Governor of Indiana, insisted to NBC News on Friday. He refuted the suggestion that their campaign was faltering because of Mr Trumps missteps.

That, however, is the story of two important new polls. The first, by McClatchy-Marist puts Mr Trump a full 15 points behind Hillary Clinton nationally, 33 per cent to 48 per cent. A Wall Street Journal/NBC survey puts him 9 points behind. Meanwhile a CNN round-up of swing-state polls suggests the Trump-Pence campaign is trailing badly in Pennsylvania, Florida and Michigan.

"If you dont like me, thats OK, vote for Pence, thats the same thing, a great guy," Mr Trump told supporters at the first event in Des Moines Iowa, after recalling the slog that all presidential candidates face at the start of the nominating races with caucuses in Iowa and the first primary in New Hampshire.

The occasions when Mr Pence seems to be trying to wipe up after Mr Trump continue to multiply. Most notably, he went into damage control over the spat with the soldiers family saying in a statement: Donald Trump and I believe that Captain Humayun Khan is an American hero and his family, like all Gold Star families, should be cherished by every American.

 Mike Pence Accepts Republican VP Nomination

He similarly sought to extinguish the furore that came with Mr Trumps suggestion last month that he might not send America to the aid of Nato states if they were invaded by Russia. America will stand by our allies, Governor Pence said in a statement a few days later. We'll uphold our treaty obligations, including the mutual defence alliance that is Nato. ... America keeps its word, and you can tell Donald Trump keeps his word.

While there is little disguising that they are a political odd-couple, it could still be that it turns out to be a relationship that works with Mr Pence playing both clean-up guy and also filling in the holes that many conservatives see in Mr Trumps record. The Governor has strongly conservative stances on issues like abortion and gay rights. He is also Mr Calm to Mr Bluster.

It was Mr Trumps peevish-sounding refusal to endorse the re-election of Mr Ryan, however, that guaranteed a certain sourness at their planned Friday evening rally in Wisconsin, however. No top Republican officials from the state were scheduled to join them on stage; certainly not Mr Ryan. Also expected to be absent was Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker.

More remarkable was a column written in a local newspaper by the Republican Wisconsin Assembly Speaker Robin Vos, in which he said he was embarrassed by Mr Trump being his partys presidential nominee and calling him out for saying stupid things.

It's a sad day in America when the Republican nominee for president doesn't support the Republican speaker of the House, he wrote. Paul Ryan is the intellectual leader of our party and a strong voice for conservativesIf Donald Trump wants to have a chance to win in November, he should start following Paul Ryan's lead.

We are Ryan Republicans here in Wisconsin, not Trump Republicans, he added pointedly.

Inadvertently or otherwise, Mr Ryan seemed to indicate meanwhile that he already believes that Mr Trump will lose by a landslide in November by sending out a fund-raising email on Thursday, reminding Republicans: If we fail to protect our majority in Congress, we could be handing President Hillary Clinton a blank cheque.

When it had become clear to everyone that Bob Dole was going to be easily overwhelmed by Bill Clinton in 1996, Republican leaders used the same "blank cheque" language to urge voters to protect the partys numbers in Congress.
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After a week of back and forth grandstanding and brinksmanship, Donald Trump finally endorsed House Speaker Paul Ryan in his reelection bid.

"In our shared mission to make America great again, I support and endorse our Speaker of the House, Paul Ryan," Mr Trump said in his annoucnement at a rally in Green Bay, Wisconsin.

"We may disagree on a couple of things," he continued, trailing off, "but mostly we agree and we're going to get it done and we're going to do a lot of wonderful things."

Recommended Read more Trump and Pence put on show of unity at campaign stops in Midwest

Mr Trump announced the endorsement while calling for unity in the Republican party, in an effort to mend the rift that his success throughout the election season has caused. He stressed the importantce of growing the Republican majority in the House and Senate, in a roundabout acknowledgement that he will need their help to push through his policies.

"I need a Republican Senate and a House to accomplish all the changes that we have to make," he said. "I understand and embrace the wisdom of Ronald Reagan ... that my 80 per cent friend is not my 20 per cent enemy  Ronald Reagan  stated by Ronald Reagan. Pretty good."

Mr Ryan, the highest-ranking Republican official, faces a Tuesday primary in his home state of Wisconsin against Paul Nehlen.

In addition to endorsing Mr Ryan, Mr Trump also walked back his non-endorsement of Arizona Sen John McCain.

"While I'm at it, I hold in the highest esteem Senator John McCain, for his service to our country in uniform and in public office," he said. "And I fully support and endorse his reelection. Very important. We'll work together."

Previously, Mr Trump drew criticism when he publicly mocked Mr McCain for his time as a prisoner during the Vietnam War, saying: "I like people who weren't captured."

In a Tuesday interview with the Washington Post, Mr Trump declined to endorse both Mr Ryan and Mr McCain.

 Donald Trump suggests mother of fallen Muslim-American soldier 'wasn't allowed' to speak at DNC 2016

I like Paul, but these are horrible times for our country. We need very strong leadership. We need very, very strong leadership, he said. And Im just not quite there yet. Im not quite there yet.

Mr Trump criticised Mr McCain for not doing "a much better job for the vets".

Indiana Gov Mike Pence, Mr Trump's running mate, announced his endorsement of Mr Ryan a day after the Post interview went to print.

I strongly support Paul Ryan, strongly endorse his reelection, he told Fox News. He is a longtime friend. Hes a strong conservative leader. I believe we need Paul Ryan in leadership in the Congress of the United States.

Mr Trumps refusal to provide an endorsement seemed to indicate a sense of retaliation against Mr Ryan, who hesitated to back the New York businessman prior to his receiving the Republican nomination.

 US House Speaker Paul Ryan not ready to back Trump

Im just not ready to do that at this point, Mr Ryan told CNN in May. Im not there right now.

Mr Ryan was reportedly not privy to the fact that Mr Trump had planned to announce his endorsement on Friday, and said they have not spoken to each other since the Republican Convention.

On top of that, he told a Milwaukee talk radio host that while he had maintained his endorsement of the Republican nominee thus far, it is not "irreversible".

"With any endorsement of anybody, theres never a blank check, and you know that and thats how Ive always felt," Mr Ryan said on WTMJ radio. I see no purpose in doing this tit-for-tat, petty back-and-forth with Donald Trump, because it serves no good purpose in my mind.
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Hillary Clinton took questions from the media at a meeting of black and Hispanic journalists in Washington DC on Friday, in what her campaign touted as the candidates first press conference in more than 240 days.

The question-and-answer session at the joint convention of the National Association of Black Journalists (NABJ) and the National Association of Hispanic Journalists (NAHJ) was focused on issues pertinent to those groups and their readerships.

Ms Clinton promised to make comprehensive immigration reform a priority if she is elected, saying she would start work on an immigration bill immediately after entering the White House. A 2013 bipartisan Senate bill was killed by House Republicans, but Ms Clinton seemed confident that there would be more Democrats in Congress come November, shifting the political landscape in favour of reform. I think the outcome will be very different this time, she said.

Critics of the Democratic presidential nominee claimed that her appearance on Friday was not, in fact, a real press conference, since it did not allow in members of the embedded press corps that has been following her on the campaign trail. Many of the questions were softballs, and some of her answers drew applause from the audience - a rarity at a regular press conference.

It has become a common complaint among Republicans that, while their presidential nominees press conferences can be belligerent or counter-productive, Ms Clintons are non-existent.

While she has given dozens of sit-down interviews  including one with Fox News this past Sunday  Ms Clintons last open press conference was in Iowa on 4 December, 2015, before a single primary vote was cast.

On Friday, Ms Clinton praised the work of the press, calling it a badge of honour for Univision reporter Jorge Ramos to have been thrown out of a Trump press conference last year. I hope you keep calling it like you see it. Keep holding all of us to account, she said, adding that journalists have a special responsibility to our democracy at a time like this.

Ms Clinton was also asked about the controversy over her emails, after weeks in which she has continued to assert that she never sent or received classified information on her private server while Secretary of State, a claim that FBI Director James Comey contradicted in his recent testimony at a congressional hearing.

Suggesting she "may have short-circuited" her explanation for the scandal, Ms Clinton nonetheless insisted her answers on the matter had been "truthful," saying: I have acknowledged repeatedly that using two email accounts was a mistake and I take responsibility for that. But my answers to the FBI were truthful, and I should add, consistent to what I said publicly.

Bill Clinton and George W Bush both addressed the NABJ convention during their presidencies, while Barack Obama appeared at the annual event during his 2008 campaign. The groups president Sarah Glover said in a press release that Ms Clinton had saw the convention as a vital gathering to discuss her platform and the issues impacting black and Latino communities.

Asked about the most meaningful conversation she has had with an African-American friend, the former Secretary of State named several black current and former colleagues, crediting them for having supported me, theyve chastised me, raised issues with me, theyve tried to expand my musical tastes.

She also defended Donald Trumps supporters from the suggestion that they were driven simply by the Republicans racist and sexist remarks. Of course some of the appeal is xenophobic and racist and sexist, Ms Clinton said. But lets not lose sight of the real pain that many Americans are feeling because the economy has left them behind.
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It's said the flood looked like endless boiling water, surging across the landscape. A wave as tall as a 30-story building would have crashed over the banks of the Yellow River, demolishing everything in its path. It soaked the streets of ancient China's nascent cities and washed away the surrounding farmland.

The flood is pouring forth destruction. Boundless and overwhelming, it overtops hills and mountains, goes a quote attributed to the legendary Emperor Yao. Rising and ever rising, it threatens the very heavens.

If civilization was to survive, the people needed a hero who could tame the floodwaters and restore the land. That man was Yu, founder of China's first dynasty, the Xia. Over the course of decades, Yu organized a dredging campaign, dug channels that would carry the water back to its source, and pioneered a tradition of great Chinese public works.

He brings order out of the chaos and defines the land, separating what would become the center of Chinese civilization, said David Cohen, an anthropologist and early Chinese history expert at National Taiwan University. He is essentially establishing the political order and the ideologies of rulership.

It is a powerful foundation myth, but many believed that was all it was. Some 4,000 years after the flood was supposed to have happened, historians had found no archaeological evidence of its effect or firsthand accounts of its destruction. There are no historical artifacts from Yu, or the Xia dynasty he founded. All researchers had to go on were stories written long after the fact, dramatized and politicized to justify the ends of those who wrote them.

Until Wu Qinglong, a geologist at Nanjing Normal University, found signs of the flood in the sediments beneath his feet.

In a new paper published Thursday in the journal Science, Wu and his colleagues describe geological evidence for a catastrophic flood on the Yellow River in about 1900 B.C.  right around the time the Great Flood was said to have taken place.

This expands our understanding, said Andrew Sudgen, deputy editor of Science, not only of civilizations origins, but also the environment in which ancestral societies emerged.

In 2007, while conducting research on rock around the Yellow River, Wu noticed deposits that looked suspiciously like outburst flood sediments. Bits of green schist  a type of rock found in the mountains far upstream  and mudstone were uncovered at sites all along the river. The sediments appeared in layers much thicker than was normal for the Yellow River, indicating that they had been deposited swiftly by a massive flood.

Realizing what he might be looking at, Wu quickly assembled a team of archaeologists, geologists and historians. If he was going to investigate this ancient disaster, he'd need the expertise of all three.

At a nearby archaeological site, Lajia (home of the world's first known noodles), they discovered flood deposits mixed with broken pottery inside collapsed cave dwellings. And upstream, in the mountains of Jishi Gorge, they uncovered evidence that a massive mountain lake once formed there, presumably because the river had been blocked by debris.

Eventually, a picture of the past came into focus. Thousands of years ago, a huge earthquake shook the region, toppling the homes at Lajia. Radiocarbon dates of children's bones from the site timed the disaster to 1922 B.C., give or take 28 years. Upstream, in the mountains to the west, an avalanche tumbled into the mouth of the Jishi Gorge, creating an artificial dam that prevented the river from flowing through. Backed-up water began to fill the gorge, rising higher with each passing month.

The people living downstream would have seen the Yellow River slow to a trickle, then stop. It's not clear whether they would have been aware of the disaster that was looming.

About nine months later, the lake spilled over the top of the dam. The blockage came crashing down, and water spilled into the river valley below. Using a standard engineering equation to determine flood discharge, the scientists calculated that the waters would have surged forward at a rate of 300,000 to 500,000 cubic meters per second. The damage would have extended as far as 2,000 kilometers (almost 1,250 miles) downstream.

To put that into perspective, said Darryl Granger, a geologist at Purdue University, thats roughly equivalent to the largest flood ever measured on the Amazon River, the world's largest river. It's among the largest known floods to have happened on Earth during the past 10,000 years, and its more than 500 times larger than a flood we might expect on the Yellow River from a massive rainfall event.

So this cataclysmic flood would've been a truly devastating event for anyone living on the Yellow River downstream, Granger said.

It's difficult to carbon date flood deposits  by their nature, floodwaters mix up materials and jumble the record. But analysis of organic material laid down with the flood sediments timed the flood to about 2000 B.C., close to the dates indicated by the bones from Lajia and the historical record. Flood sediments are found inside cracks from the earthquake, indicating that the two events occurred within a year of each other. The timing of the flood also coincides with a major avulsion  a change in the course of the river  that could account for the decades of sustained flooding described in the Yu myth.

Glass-floored skywalk circling China's Tianmen Mountain Show all 6 1 /6 Glass-floored skywalk circling China's Tianmen Mountain Glass-floored skywalk circling China's Tianmen Mountain Tourists walk on the 100-meter-long and 1.6-meter-wide glass skywalk clung the cliff of Tianmen Mountain (or Tianmenshan Mountain) in Zhangjiajie National Forest Park Getty Images Glass-floored skywalk circling China's Tianmen Mountain An aerial view of tourists walking on a glass-bottomed skywalk on the Panlong (coiling dragon) Cliff on Tianmen Mountain in Zhangjiajie, Hunan Province, China Getty Images Glass-floored skywalk circling China's Tianmen Mountain Tourists walk on the 100-meter-long and 1.6-meter-wide glass skywalk clung the cliff of Tianmen Mountain Getty Images Glass-floored skywalk circling China's Tianmen Mountain The 100-metre-long walk gives a clear view of the deep valley behind and is the third glass walkway in the scenic zone EPA Glass-floored skywalk circling China's Tianmen Mountain Tourist takes selfies on a glass-bottomed skywalk on the Panlong (coiling dragon) Cliff on Tianmen Mountain in Zhangjiajie, Hunan Province, China EPA Glass-floored skywalk circling China's Tianmen Mountain The Coiling Dragon Cliff skywalk, featuring a total of 99 road turns, layers after another, is the third glass skywalk on the Tianmen Mountain EPA

Shortly after the era of the flood, sites associated with a culture called Erlitou began to emerge. To archaeologists, they signal the start of China's Bronze Age: The communities are 10 times as big as the ones that existed previously, and their technology is much more sophisticated. So far, no evidence has been found to definitively link the Erlitou to the mythical Xia. But if the Xia dynasty really did exist, it's thought that the Erlitou sites would have been the lands they ruled.

The outburst flood provides us with a tantalizing hint, said Cohen, the anthropologist. He hesitated to make a connection between the flood, the Xia and the Erlitou sites, but he called the correlation of the dates for all three quite interesting.

The Erlitou communities are also farther downstream from the dam than the areas the researchers examined; it's not clear whether the floodwaters would have made it so far. Cohen said the next phase of research that needs to be done is a survey of the areas around Erlitou for evidence of the flood and signs that it could have been the trigger that gave rise to this more advanced society.

In an accompanying analysis for Science, University of Washington geomorphologist David Montgomery wrote that Wu and his colleagues offer compelling evidence for the historicity of the Great Flood myth. He also noted that anthropologists have found that flood myths from cultures around the world often reflect the environments in which they're set. Societies living in tectonic subduction zones tell stories of giant tsunamis; those living in mountainous and polar areas evoke the failure of glacial dams.

It increasingly seems that fundamental elements of the global tapestry of great flood stories mirror the geography of tsunamis, glacial outburst floods, and catastrophic lowland flooding, Montgomery wrote. Now that we know China's Great Flood seems to be real, how many other ancient stories of intriguing disasters might just have more than a grain of truth to them?

Copyright: Washington Post
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Campaigners in Australia have urged their compatriots to register themselves as Christian in an upcoming national census so that the country is not "officially declared as Muslim".

Many ultra-Christian commentators have said the "no religion" option on Australia's next census could allow Islam to appear more popular than other religions - despite the last census showing more people identified as Buddhist than Muslim.

And since government funding is allocated in part according to census data, one email is reportedly telling Australians who were brought up as Christians to claim they still are when the survey takes place on 9 August.

The debate on social media over Australias identity was sparked by the Australian Atheist Federation, which won a campaign to have No Religion moved to the top of the censuss religion question.

Religious campaigners said ticking the no religion box  which is not meant to be identical with atheism  could result in far fewer people identifying as Christian than usual.

One Facebook user, Norma Henderson, posted: I implore all my friends Even if you are not a practising Christian or dont attend church, please tick Christian if you were baptised.

Dont leave the door open to Islam.

An email has been circulating from an unknown source which asks Australians not to tick no religion, in an effort to outnumber Islam's followers, Christian ethics group Salt Shakers told news.com.au. A spokesperson for Salt Shakers said the group had told its members to delete the email and not pass it on.

Bear in mind that although many Australians have no religion these days, the Muslim population in Australia will all declare that they are Muslim and this fact will be counted to ascertain what type of country we are in regard to religion, says the email.

Even though you may now have no religion, please consider entering the religion you were christened or born into, when answering this question.

Otherwise in time Australia will officially be declared to be a Muslim country  because the Australian Bureau of Statistics Census will reflect this.

Some believe the campaign is also being driven in part by racists and Islamophobes.

The census has already proven controversial following the surprising numbers of Australians who register their religion as "Jedi".

Research has previously shown that moving the "no religion" option to the top of the list increases the number of people who choose it as an option. Both religious and atheist groups have urged people to answer honestly because of issues surrounding funding. It is the only census question which is not compulsory to answer.

Atheists have also pointed out churches in Australia currently pay no tax and do not have to report on their activities in ways other charitable organisations have to.

Meanwhile, the last census in 2011 showed that Hinduism, not Islam, was the fastest growing religion in Australia since 2006 and there were more self-identifying Buddhists than Muslims in the country.
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A halal supermarket in Paris has been ordered by local authorities to sell pork and alcohol or face closure.

The Good Price mini-market in Colombes has not followed the conditions of its lease, which states the shop must act as a "general food store", the local authority has said.

It argues that members of the local community are not being served properly if the shop does not sell pork or alcohol products.

World news in pictures Show all 50 1 /50 World news in pictures World news in pictures 30 September 2020 Pope Francis prays with priests at the end of a limited public audience at the San Damaso courtyard in The Vatican AFP via Getty World news in pictures 29 September 2020 A girl's silhouette is seen from behind a fabric in a tent along a beach by Beit Lahia in the northern Gaza Strip AFP via Getty World news in pictures 28 September 2020 A Chinese woman takes a photo of herself in front of a flower display dedicated to frontline health care workers during the COVID-19 pandemic in Beijing, China. China will celebrate national day marking the founding of the People's Republic of China on October 1st Getty World news in pictures 27 September 2020 The Glass Mountain Inn burns as the Glass Fire moves through the area in St. Helena, California. The fast moving Glass fire has burned over 1,000 acres and has destroyed homes Getty World news in pictures 26 September 2020 A villager along with a child offers prayers next to a carcass of a wild elephant that officials say was electrocuted in Rani Reserve Forest on the outskirts of Guwahati, India AFP via Getty World news in pictures 25 September 2020 The casket of late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg is seen in Statuary Hall in the US Capitol to lie in state in Washington, DC AFP via Getty World news in pictures 24 September 2020 An anti-government protester holds up an image of a pro-democracy commemorative plaque at a rally outside Thailand's parliament in Bangkok, as activists gathered to demand a new constitution AFP via Getty World news in pictures 23 September 2020 A whale stranded on a beach in Macquarie Harbour on the rugged west coast of Tasmania, as hundreds of pilot whales have died in a mass stranding in southern Australia despite efforts to save them, with rescuers racing to free a few dozen survivors The Mercury/AFP via Getty World news in pictures 22 September 2020 State civil employee candidates wearing face masks and shields take a test in Surabaya AFP via Getty World news in pictures 21 September 2020 A man sweeps at the Taj Mahal monument on the day of its reopening after being closed for more than six months due to the coronavirus pandemic AP World news in pictures 20 September 2020 A deer looks for food in a burnt area, caused by the Bobcat fire, in Pearblossom, California EPA World news in pictures 19 September 2020 Anti-government protesters hold their mobile phones aloft as they take part in a pro-democracy rally in Bangkok. Tens of thousands of pro-democracy protesters massed close to Thailand's royal palace, in a huge rally calling for PM Prayut Chan-O-Cha to step down and demanding reforms to the monarchy AFP via Getty World news in pictures 18 September 2020 Supporters of Iraqi Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr maintain social distancing as they attend Friday prayers after the coronavirus disease restrictions were eased, in Kufa mosque, near Najaf, Iraq Reuters World news in pictures 17 September 2020 A protester climbs on The Triumph of the Republic at 'the Place de la Nation' as thousands of protesters take part in a demonstration during a national day strike called by labor unions asking for better salary and against jobs cut in Paris, France EPA World news in pictures 16 September 2020 A fire raging near the Lazzaretto of Ancona in Italy. The huge blaze broke out overnight at the port of Ancona. Firefighters have brought the fire under control but they expected to keep working through the day EPA World news in pictures 15 September 2020 Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny posing for a selfie with his family at Berlin's Charite hospital. In an Instagram post he said he could now breathe independently following his suspected poisoning last month Alexei Navalny/Instagram/AFP World news in pictures 14 September 2020 Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga, former Defense Minister Shigeru Ishiba and former Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida celebrate after Suga was elected as new head of the ruling party at the Liberal Democratic Party's leadership election in Tokyo Reuters World news in pictures 13 September 2020 A man stands behind a burning barricade during the fifth straight day of protests against police brutality in Bogota AFP via Getty World news in pictures 12 September 2020 Police officers block and detain protesters during an opposition rally to protest the official presidential election results in Minsk, Belarus. Daily protests calling for the authoritarian president's resignation are now in their second month AP World news in pictures 11 September 2020 Members of 'Omnium Cultural' celebrate the 20th 'Festa per la llibertat' ('Fiesta for the freedom') to mark the Day of Catalonia in Barcelona. Omnion Cultural fights for the independence of Catalonia EPA World news in pictures 10 September 2020 The Moria refugee camp, two days after Greece's biggest migrant camp, was destroyed by fire. Thousands of asylum seekers on the island of Lesbos are now homeless AFP via Getty World news in pictures 9 September 2020 Pope Francis takes off his face mask as he arrives by car to hold a limited public audience at the San Damaso courtyard in The Vatican AFP via Getty World news in pictures 8 September 2020 A home is engulfed in flames during the "Creek Fire" in the Tollhouse area of California AFP via Getty World news in pictures 7 September 2020 A couple take photos along a sea wall of the waves brought by Typhoon Haishen in the eastern port city of Sokcho AFP via Getty World news in pictures 6 September 2020 Novak Djokovic and a tournament official tends to a linesperson who was struck with a ball by Djokovic during his match against Pablo Carreno Busta at the US Open USA Today Sports/Reuters World news in pictures 5 September 2020 Protesters confront police at the Shrine of Remembrance in Melbourne, Australia, during an anti-lockdown rally AFP via Getty World news in pictures 4 September 2020 A woman looks on from a rooftop as rescue workers dig through the rubble of a damaged building in Beirut. A search began for possible survivors after a scanner detected a pulse one month after the mega-blast at the adjacent port AFP via Getty World news in pictures 3 September 2020 A full moon next to the Virgen del Panecillo statue in Quito, Ecuador EPA World news in pictures 2 September 2020 A Palestinian woman reacts as Israeli forces demolish her animal shed near Hebron in the Israeli-occupied West Bank Reuters World news in pictures 1 September 2020 Students protest against presidential elections results in Minsk TUT.BY/AFP via Getty World news in pictures 31 August 2020 The pack rides during the 3rd stage of the Tour de France between Nice and Sisteron AFP via Getty World news in pictures 30 August 2020 Law enforcement officers block a street during a rally of opposition supporters protesting against presidential election results in Minsk, Belarus Reuters World news in pictures 29 August 2020 A woman holding a placard reading "Stop Censorship - Yes to the Freedom of Expression" shouts in a megaphone during a protest against the mandatory wearing of face masks in Paris. Masks, which were already compulsory on public transport, in enclosed public spaces, and outdoors in Paris in certain high-congestion areas around tourist sites, were made mandatory outdoors citywide on August 28 to fight the rising coronavirus infections AFP via Getty World news in pictures 28 August 2020 Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe bows to the national flag at the start of a press conference at the prime minister official residence in Tokyo. Abe announced he will resign over health problems, in a bombshell development that kicks off a leadership contest in the world's third-largest economy AFP via Getty World news in pictures 27 August 2020 Residents take cover behind a tree trunk from rubber bullets fired by South African Police Service (SAPS) in Eldorado Park, near Johannesburg, during a protest by community members after a 16-year old boy was reported dead AFP via Getty World news in pictures 26 August 2020 People scatter rose petals on a statue of Mother Teresa marking her 110th birth anniversary in Ahmedabad AFP via Getty World news in pictures 25 August 2020 An aerial view shows beach-goers standing on salt formations in the Dead Sea near Ein Bokeq, Israel Reuters World news in pictures 24 August 2020 Health workers use a fingertip pulse oximeter and check the body temperature of a fisherwoman inside the Dharavi slum during a door-to-door Covid-19 coronavirus screening in Mumbai AFP via Getty World news in pictures 23 August 2020 People carry an idol of the Hindu god Ganesh, the deity of prosperity, to immerse it off the coast of the Arabian sea during the Ganesh Chaturthi festival in Mumbai, India Reuters World news in pictures 22 August 2020 Firefighters watch as flames from the LNU Lightning Complex fires approach a home in Napa County, California AP World news in pictures 21 August 2020 Members of the Israeli security forces arrest a Palestinian demonstrator during a rally to protest against Israel's plan to annex parts of the occupied West Bank AFP via Getty World news in pictures 20 August 2020 A man pushes his bicycle through a deserted road after prohibitory orders were imposed by district officials for a week to contain the spread of the Covid-19 in Kathmandu AFP via Getty World news in pictures 19 August 2020 A car burns while parked at a residence in Vacaville, California. Dozens of fires are burning out of control throughout Northern California as fire resources are spread thin AFP via Getty World news in pictures 18 August 2020 Students use their mobile phones as flashlights at an anti-government rally at Mahidol University in Nakhon Pathom. Thailand has seen near-daily protests in recent weeks by students demanding the resignation of Prime Minister Prayut Chan-O-Cha AFP via Getty World news in pictures 17 August 2020 Members of the Kayapo tribe block the BR163 highway during a protest outside Novo Progresso in Para state, Brazil. Indigenous protesters blocked a major transamazonian highway to protest against the lack of governmental support during the COVID-19 novel coronavirus pandemic and illegal deforestation in and around their territories AFP via Getty World news in pictures 16 August 2020 Lightning forks over the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge as a storm passes over Oakland AP World news in pictures 15 August 2020 Belarus opposition supporters gather near the Pushkinskaya metro station where Alexander Taraikovsky, a 34-year-old protester died on August 10, during their protest rally in central Minsk AFP via Getty World news in pictures 14 August 2020 AlphaTauri's driver Daniil Kvyat takes part in the second practice session at the Circuit de Catalunya in Montmelo near Barcelona ahead of the Spanish F1 Grand Prix AFP via Getty World news in pictures 13 August 2020 Soldiers of the Brazilian Armed Forces during a disinfection of the Christ The Redeemer statue at the Corcovado mountain prior to the opening of the touristic attraction in Rio AFP via Getty World news in pictures 12 August 2020 Young elephant bulls tussle playfully on World Elephant Day at the Amboseli National Park in Kenya AFP via Getty

The mayor of Colombes, Nicole Goueta, went there herself and asked the owner to diversify the range of products by adding alcohol and non-halal meats, the mayors chief of staff, Jerome Besnard, told The Telegraph.

The halal supermarket replaced another small supermarket on the site last year and Mr Besnard said older residents had complained they were no longer able to buy the full range of products once available.

"We want a social mix," Mr Besnard added. "We don't want any area that is only Muslim or any area where there are no Muslims."

 Not in my name  demonstrators denounce violence after Paris attacks

He said the town would have reacted in the same way had a kosher supermarket opened on the site.

"It's business," Soulemane Yalcin, the manager of Good Price, told Le Parisien. I look around me and I target what I see.

"The lease states general food store and related activities  but it all depends on how you interpret related activities."

The authority is taking legal action to revoke the shop's lease, which runs until 2019.

The case will be heard in October.
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The French city of Lille has cancelled La Braderie - the largest flea market in Europe, amid security concerns.

The huge annual event, which takes place on the first Sunday of September, will no longer go ahead due to fears it would be a terrorist target.

Making the announcement at a press conference, the city mayor Martine Aubry appeared emotional as said the "were risks we cannot reduce. Therefore I think we must cancel the 2016 flea market."

The event attracted nearly 2.5 million visitors in 2015.

It features more than 100 km of stalls and hosts 10,000 exhibitors.

The move follows the Nice terrorist attack which killed 84 people during Bastille Day celebrations on 14 July, and the murder of an elderly priest who had his throat slit by knife-wielding men who had pledged allegiance to Isis less than two weeks later.

Earlier this week Defence Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said there was a serious threat to France.

"We are in a situation of war. So, for the moment, we have to forbid events if security norms cannot be respected," he said.

"Everyone has to understand that we are in this situation and that it brings constraints."

The last time the event was entirely cancelled was reportedly during the Second World War.

Ms Aubry said although it was a "painful decision, it was also a "moral responsibility".
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A member of the Saudi royal family has claimed she was robbed of over one million euros worth of property while walking in Paris, according to city police.

The unnamed victim told officers she was violently assaulted by two attackers during a visit to the French capitals second arrondissement on Thursday evening, and had an expensive watch snatched from her wrist.

The men then reportedly fled the scene, before the victim went directly to the nearest police station.

She chose to withhold her identity but was reported to be a member of Saudi royalty, and she did not go to hospital following the incident, according to Le Parisien.

Police confirmed the claims were being closely investigated by the countrys Brigade de Repression du Banditisme (Banditry Repression Brigade) and said the victim had described the incident at length to help officers with their inquiry.

No arrests have so far been made, according to sources on Friday morning.

In August last year, 200,000 cash was stolen from Saudi prince Abdul Aziz Bin Fahd while he was being driven through the streets of Paris, by a gang of eight men carrying AK-47 guns.

World news in pictures Show all 50 1 /50 World news in pictures World news in pictures 30 September 2020 Pope Francis prays with priests at the end of a limited public audience at the San Damaso courtyard in The Vatican AFP via Getty World news in pictures 29 September 2020 A girl's silhouette is seen from behind a fabric in a tent along a beach by Beit Lahia in the northern Gaza Strip AFP via Getty World news in pictures 28 September 2020 A Chinese woman takes a photo of herself in front of a flower display dedicated to frontline health care workers during the COVID-19 pandemic in Beijing, China. China will celebrate national day marking the founding of the People's Republic of China on October 1st Getty World news in pictures 27 September 2020 The Glass Mountain Inn burns as the Glass Fire moves through the area in St. Helena, California. The fast moving Glass fire has burned over 1,000 acres and has destroyed homes Getty World news in pictures 26 September 2020 A villager along with a child offers prayers next to a carcass of a wild elephant that officials say was electrocuted in Rani Reserve Forest on the outskirts of Guwahati, India AFP via Getty World news in pictures 25 September 2020 The casket of late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg is seen in Statuary Hall in the US Capitol to lie in state in Washington, DC AFP via Getty World news in pictures 24 September 2020 An anti-government protester holds up an image of a pro-democracy commemorative plaque at a rally outside Thailand's parliament in Bangkok, as activists gathered to demand a new constitution AFP via Getty World news in pictures 23 September 2020 A whale stranded on a beach in Macquarie Harbour on the rugged west coast of Tasmania, as hundreds of pilot whales have died in a mass stranding in southern Australia despite efforts to save them, with rescuers racing to free a few dozen survivors The Mercury/AFP via Getty World news in pictures 22 September 2020 State civil employee candidates wearing face masks and shields take a test in Surabaya AFP via Getty World news in pictures 21 September 2020 A man sweeps at the Taj Mahal monument on the day of its reopening after being closed for more than six months due to the coronavirus pandemic AP World news in pictures 20 September 2020 A deer looks for food in a burnt area, caused by the Bobcat fire, in Pearblossom, California EPA World news in pictures 19 September 2020 Anti-government protesters hold their mobile phones aloft as they take part in a pro-democracy rally in Bangkok. Tens of thousands of pro-democracy protesters massed close to Thailand's royal palace, in a huge rally calling for PM Prayut Chan-O-Cha to step down and demanding reforms to the monarchy AFP via Getty World news in pictures 18 September 2020 Supporters of Iraqi Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr maintain social distancing as they attend Friday prayers after the coronavirus disease restrictions were eased, in Kufa mosque, near Najaf, Iraq Reuters World news in pictures 17 September 2020 A protester climbs on The Triumph of the Republic at 'the Place de la Nation' as thousands of protesters take part in a demonstration during a national day strike called by labor unions asking for better salary and against jobs cut in Paris, France EPA World news in pictures 16 September 2020 A fire raging near the Lazzaretto of Ancona in Italy. The huge blaze broke out overnight at the port of Ancona. Firefighters have brought the fire under control but they expected to keep working through the day EPA World news in pictures 15 September 2020 Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny posing for a selfie with his family at Berlin's Charite hospital. In an Instagram post he said he could now breathe independently following his suspected poisoning last month Alexei Navalny/Instagram/AFP World news in pictures 14 September 2020 Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga, former Defense Minister Shigeru Ishiba and former Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida celebrate after Suga was elected as new head of the ruling party at the Liberal Democratic Party's leadership election in Tokyo Reuters World news in pictures 13 September 2020 A man stands behind a burning barricade during the fifth straight day of protests against police brutality in Bogota AFP via Getty World news in pictures 12 September 2020 Police officers block and detain protesters during an opposition rally to protest the official presidential election results in Minsk, Belarus. Daily protests calling for the authoritarian president's resignation are now in their second month AP World news in pictures 11 September 2020 Members of 'Omnium Cultural' celebrate the 20th 'Festa per la llibertat' ('Fiesta for the freedom') to mark the Day of Catalonia in Barcelona. Omnion Cultural fights for the independence of Catalonia EPA World news in pictures 10 September 2020 The Moria refugee camp, two days after Greece's biggest migrant camp, was destroyed by fire. Thousands of asylum seekers on the island of Lesbos are now homeless AFP via Getty World news in pictures 9 September 2020 Pope Francis takes off his face mask as he arrives by car to hold a limited public audience at the San Damaso courtyard in The Vatican AFP via Getty World news in pictures 8 September 2020 A home is engulfed in flames during the "Creek Fire" in the Tollhouse area of California AFP via Getty World news in pictures 7 September 2020 A couple take photos along a sea wall of the waves brought by Typhoon Haishen in the eastern port city of Sokcho AFP via Getty World news in pictures 6 September 2020 Novak Djokovic and a tournament official tends to a linesperson who was struck with a ball by Djokovic during his match against Pablo Carreno Busta at the US Open USA Today Sports/Reuters World news in pictures 5 September 2020 Protesters confront police at the Shrine of Remembrance in Melbourne, Australia, during an anti-lockdown rally AFP via Getty World news in pictures 4 September 2020 A woman looks on from a rooftop as rescue workers dig through the rubble of a damaged building in Beirut. A search began for possible survivors after a scanner detected a pulse one month after the mega-blast at the adjacent port AFP via Getty World news in pictures 3 September 2020 A full moon next to the Virgen del Panecillo statue in Quito, Ecuador EPA World news in pictures 2 September 2020 A Palestinian woman reacts as Israeli forces demolish her animal shed near Hebron in the Israeli-occupied West Bank Reuters World news in pictures 1 September 2020 Students protest against presidential elections results in Minsk TUT.BY/AFP via Getty World news in pictures 31 August 2020 The pack rides during the 3rd stage of the Tour de France between Nice and Sisteron AFP via Getty World news in pictures 30 August 2020 Law enforcement officers block a street during a rally of opposition supporters protesting against presidential election results in Minsk, Belarus Reuters World news in pictures 29 August 2020 A woman holding a placard reading "Stop Censorship - Yes to the Freedom of Expression" shouts in a megaphone during a protest against the mandatory wearing of face masks in Paris. Masks, which were already compulsory on public transport, in enclosed public spaces, and outdoors in Paris in certain high-congestion areas around tourist sites, were made mandatory outdoors citywide on August 28 to fight the rising coronavirus infections AFP via Getty World news in pictures 28 August 2020 Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe bows to the national flag at the start of a press conference at the prime minister official residence in Tokyo. Abe announced he will resign over health problems, in a bombshell development that kicks off a leadership contest in the world's third-largest economy AFP via Getty World news in pictures 27 August 2020 Residents take cover behind a tree trunk from rubber bullets fired by South African Police Service (SAPS) in Eldorado Park, near Johannesburg, during a protest by community members after a 16-year old boy was reported dead AFP via Getty World news in pictures 26 August 2020 People scatter rose petals on a statue of Mother Teresa marking her 110th birth anniversary in Ahmedabad AFP via Getty World news in pictures 25 August 2020 An aerial view shows beach-goers standing on salt formations in the Dead Sea near Ein Bokeq, Israel Reuters World news in pictures 24 August 2020 Health workers use a fingertip pulse oximeter and check the body temperature of a fisherwoman inside the Dharavi slum during a door-to-door Covid-19 coronavirus screening in Mumbai AFP via Getty World news in pictures 23 August 2020 People carry an idol of the Hindu god Ganesh, the deity of prosperity, to immerse it off the coast of the Arabian sea during the Ganesh Chaturthi festival in Mumbai, India Reuters World news in pictures 22 August 2020 Firefighters watch as flames from the LNU Lightning Complex fires approach a home in Napa County, California AP World news in pictures 21 August 2020 Members of the Israeli security forces arrest a Palestinian demonstrator during a rally to protest against Israel's plan to annex parts of the occupied West Bank AFP via Getty World news in pictures 20 August 2020 A man pushes his bicycle through a deserted road after prohibitory orders were imposed by district officials for a week to contain the spread of the Covid-19 in Kathmandu AFP via Getty World news in pictures 19 August 2020 A car burns while parked at a residence in Vacaville, California. Dozens of fires are burning out of control throughout Northern California as fire resources are spread thin AFP via Getty World news in pictures 18 August 2020 Students use their mobile phones as flashlights at an anti-government rally at Mahidol University in Nakhon Pathom. Thailand has seen near-daily protests in recent weeks by students demanding the resignation of Prime Minister Prayut Chan-O-Cha AFP via Getty World news in pictures 17 August 2020 Members of the Kayapo tribe block the BR163 highway during a protest outside Novo Progresso in Para state, Brazil. Indigenous protesters blocked a major transamazonian highway to protest against the lack of governmental support during the COVID-19 novel coronavirus pandemic and illegal deforestation in and around their territories AFP via Getty World news in pictures 16 August 2020 Lightning forks over the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge as a storm passes over Oakland AP World news in pictures 15 August 2020 Belarus opposition supporters gather near the Pushkinskaya metro station where Alexander Taraikovsky, a 34-year-old protester died on August 10, during their protest rally in central Minsk AFP via Getty World news in pictures 14 August 2020 AlphaTauri's driver Daniil Kvyat takes part in the second practice session at the Circuit de Catalunya in Montmelo near Barcelona ahead of the Spanish F1 Grand Prix AFP via Getty World news in pictures 13 August 2020 Soldiers of the Brazilian Armed Forces during a disinfection of the Christ The Redeemer statue at the Corcovado mountain prior to the opening of the touristic attraction in Rio AFP via Getty World news in pictures 12 August 2020 Young elephant bulls tussle playfully on World Elephant Day at the Amboseli National Park in Kenya AFP via Getty

In May, nine men were arrested by French police in connection with the robbery, which witnesses described as looking like a scene from a Hollywood film.

The Saudi royal family is believed to be one of the richest in the world, with a group of around 2,000 members controlling the majority of the wealth.

In 2015, Forbes reported Prince Al-Waleed bin Talal of the House of Saud had an estimated net worth of $28 billion, making him the 34th wealthiest man in the world.

The Independent has contacted Paris police for further comment.
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The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights has condemned the hanging of 20 people in Iran this week for alleged terrorism-related offences, claiming a grave injustice had been done by the countrys judicial system.

Zeid Ra'ad Al Hussein said in a statement received by the Independent that there were serious doubts about the fairness of the trials, respect for due process and other rights of the accused, most of whom were believed to be Sunni Muslims from the Kurdish community.

The UN Human Rights commission alleged one of the men hanged, named as Shahram Ahmadi, a 29-year-old Kurdish activist, had been physically assaulted and forced to sign a piece of paper a false confession was written on.

According to local reports, he was arrested after distributing leaflets demanding rights for the Sunni minority population in Iran.

Mr Ahmadi was also allegedly denied the right to see his family prior to his execution, and relatives were instead directed to the cemetery where he was due to be buried near Tehran.

The application of overly broad and vague criminal charges, coupled with a disdain for the rights of the accused to due process and a fair trial have in these cases led to a grave injustice, Mr Zeid added.

The High Commissioner highlighted the execution of 19-year-old Hassan Afshar, who was 17 when he was arrested and convicted of rape. The teenager received no legal representation during his two month trial.

The execution of juvenile offenders is particularly abhorrent and I urge Iran to respect the strict prohibition under international human rights law against this practice, he said.

Human rights attacks around the world Show all 10 1 /10 Human rights attacks around the world Human rights attacks around the world China Escalating crackdown against human rights activists including mass arrests of lawyers and a series of sweeping laws in the name of national security. Getty Images Human rights attacks around the world Egypt The arrest of thousands, including peaceful critics, in a ruthless crackdown in the name of national security, the prolonged detention of hundreds without charge or trial and the sentencing of hundreds of others to death. Getty Images Human rights attacks around the world Gambia Torture, enforced disappearances and the criminalisation of LGBTI people; and utter refusal to co-operate with the UN and regional human rights mechanisms on issues including freedom of expression, enforced disappearance and the death penalty. Getty Images Human rights attacks around the world Hungary Sealing off its borders to thousands of refugees in dire need; and obstructing collective regional attempts to help them. Getty Images Human rights attacks around the world Israel Maintaining its military blockade of Gaza and therefore collective punishment of the 1.8 million inhabitants there, as well as failing, like Palestine, to comply with a UN call to conduct credible investigations into war crimes committed during the 2014 Gaza conflict. Getty Images Human rights attacks around the world Kenya Extrajudicial executions, enforced disappearances and discrimination against refugees in its counter-terrorism operations; and attempts to undermine the International Criminal Court and its ability to pursue justice. Getty Images Human rights attacks around the world Pakistan The severe human rights failings of its response to the horrific Peshawar school massacre including its relentless use of the death penalty; and its policy on international NGOs giving authorities the power to monitor them and close them down if they are considered to be against the interests of the country. Getty Images Human rights attacks around the world Russia Repressive use of vague national security and anti-extremism legislation and its concerted attempts to silence civil society in the country; its shameful refusal to acknowledge civilian killings in Syria and its callous moves to block Security Council action on Syria. Getty Images Human rights attacks around the world Saudi Arabia Brutally cracking down on those who dared to advocate reform or criticise the authorities; and committing war crimes in the bombing campaign it has led in Yemen (pictured) while obstructing the establishment of a UN-led inquiry into violations by all sides in the conflict. Getty Images Human rights attacks around the world Syria Killing thousands of civilians in direct and indiscriminate attacks with barrel bombs and other weaponry and through acts of torture in detention; and enforcing lengthy sieges of civilian areas, blocking international aid from reaching starving civilians. Getty Images

The executions were confirmed on Wednesday by the Iranian intelligence ministry, which said the Kurdish convicts were working with a terrorist cell responsible for attacks in Irans western provinces.

Kurdish people make up nearly 9 percent of Irans 80 million population, and are largely Sunni Muslims in a country ruled by Shi'ites.

Last month it was reported that Iran and Saudi Arabia have together executed more than 350 people so far this year, according to statistics released by human rights groups.
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Isis is feared to have captured as many as 3,000 civilians fleeing the groups territory in Iraq.

The UN Refugee Agency said militants had killed at least 12 people, who had been moving from villages in al-Hawija district to seek safety in Kirkuk city on Thursday.

A security source told the Iraqi News website they died when Isis fighters fired openly on families as they tried to flee.

Isis controlled areas of al-Hawija district in Iraq (in black), the Kurdish Peshmerga in yellow and Iraqi government in red on 5 August (Liveuamap)

Three thousand civilians, including women, men, children and elders tried to escape this afternoon from Hawija, he added.

Isis members ambushed the civilians and prevented them from escaping.

They were believed to be trying to escape Isis-controlled territory by moving towards Kurdish Peshmerga forces who are attempting to drive militants out of the region.

Hawija lies between the provinces of Kirkuk, Nineveh and Salahaddin has an estimated 400,000 inhabitants, many of whom have been displaced by the war.

Timeline: The emergence of Isis Show all 40 1 /40 Timeline: The emergence of Isis Timeline: The emergence of Isis 2000 Abu Musab al-Zarqawi (pictured here) forms an al-Qaeda splinter group in Iraq, al-Qaeda in Iraq. Its brutality from the beginning alienates Iraqis and many al-Qaeda leaders. Timeline: The emergence of Isis 2006 Al-Zarqawi is killed in a U.S. strike. Al-Zarqawis successor, Abu Ayyub al-Masri, announces the creation of the Islamic State in Iraq (ISI). Reuters Timeline: The emergence of Isis 2009 Still al-Qaeda-linked ISI claims responsibility for suicide bombings that killed 155 in Baghdad, as well as attacks in August and October killing 240, as President Obama announces troop withdrawal from Iraq in March. Getty Images Timeline: The emergence of Isis 2010 Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi becomes head of ISI, at lowest ebb of Islamist militancy in Iraq, which sees last U.S. combat brigade depart. Timeline: The emergence of Isis 2012 In Syria, protests (pictured here starting in Daree) have morphed into what president Assad labelled a real war with emergence of a coalition of forces opposed to Assads regime. Syria group Jabhat al-Nusra are among rebel groups who refuse to join, denouncing it as a conspiracy. Bombings targeting Shia areas, killing more than 500 people, spark fears of new sectarian conflict. Sunni Muslims stage protests across country against what they see as increasingly marginalisation by Shia-led government. AP Timeline: The emergence of Isis 2013 Al-Baghdadi renames ISI as the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria, or Isis, as the group absorbs Syrian al-Nusra, gaining a foothold in Syria. In response, al-Qaeda chief Ayman al-Zawahiri (Bin Ladens successor) concerned about Isis expansion orders that Isis be dissolved and ISI operations should be confined to Iraq. This order is rejected by al-Baghdadi. AFP Timeline: The emergence of Isis 2014 - January Isis fighters capture the Iraqi cities of Fallujah and Ramadi, giving them base to launch slew of attacks further south. AP Timeline: The emergence of Isis 2014 - June Isis declares itself the Caliphate, calling itself Islamic State (IS). The group captures Mosul, Iraqs second largest city; Tal Afar, just 93 miles from Syrian border; and the central Iraqi city of Tikrit. These advances sent shockwaves around the world. Timeline: The emergence of Isis 2014 - June Around the same time Isis releases a video calling for western Muslims to join the Caliphate and fight, prompting new evaluations of extremists groups social media understanding. Timeline: The emergence of Isis 2014 - June Isis take Baiji oil fields in Iraq - giving them access to huge amounts of possible revenue. EPA Timeline: The emergence of Isis 2014 - August James Foley is executed by the group as concerns grow for second American prisoner, fellow reporter Steven Sotloff. AP Timeline: The emergence of Isis 2014 - August Obama authorises U.S. airstrikes in Iraq, helping to stall Isis along with action by Kurdish forces following the deaths of hundreds of Yazidi people on Mount Sinjar. Timeline: The emergence of Isis 2014 - September Isis release video showing Steven Sotloffs murder prompting Western speculation his executioner is same man who killed Mr Foley. EPA Timeline: The emergence of Isis 2014 - September Obama tells us that America will hunt down terrorists who threaten our country EPA Timeline: The emergence of Isis 2014 - September Isis release a video appearing to show David Haines, who was captured by militants in Syria in 2013, wearing an orange jumpsuit and kneeling in the desert while he reads a pre-prepared script. It later shows what appears to be the aid worker's body. Rex Timeline: The emergence of Isis 2014 - September Peshmerga fighters scrabble to hold positions in the Diyala province (a gateway to Baghdad) as Isis fighters continue to advance on Iraqi capital. AFP Timeline: The emergence of Isis 2014 - October Aid worker Alan Henning is killed. Self-imposed media blackout refuses to show images of him in final moments, instead focuses upon humanitarian care. AP Timeline: The emergence of Isis 2014 - October Isis raise their flag in Kobani, which had been strongly defended by Kurdish troops. The victory goes against hopeful western analysis Isis had overextended itself, while alienating much of the Muslim population through the murder of Henning. Victory causes fresh waves of Kurdish refugees arriving in Turkey. Timeline: The emergence of Isis 2014 - November American hostage, who embarced values of Islam, Peter Kassig and 14 Syrian soldiers are shown meeting the same fate as other captives. But intelligence agencies will be poring over the apparently significant discrepancies between this and previous films. Seramedig.org.uk Timeline: The emergence of Isis 2015 - February Isis has released a video revealing the murder by burning to death of a Jordanian pilot held by the group since the end of December 2014. Reuters Timeline: The emergence of Isis 2015 - February Isis militants have released videos which appear to show the beheading of Japanese hostages Haruna Yukawa and Kenji Goto. Timeline: The emergence of Isis 2015 - February American aid worker, Kayla Mueller was the last American hostage known to be held by Isis. She died, according to her captors, in an airstrike by the Jordanian air force on the city of Raqqa in Syria, though US authorities disputed this. AP Timeline: The emergence of Isis 2015 - February Isis militants have posted a gruesome video online in which they force 21 Egyptian Coptic Christian hostages to kneel on a beach in Libya before beheading them. Egypt vowed to avenge the beheading and launched air strikes on Isis positions. AP Timeline: The emergence of Isis 2015 - February The British Isis militant suspected of appearing in videos showing the beheading of Western hostages has been named in reports as Mohammed Emwazi from London. Rex Features Timeline: The emergence of Isis 2015 - March Isis triple suicide attack has killed more than 100 worshippers and hundreds of others were injured after the group members targeted two mosques in the Yemeni capital of Sanaa. AP Timeline: The emergence of Isis 2015 - April Iraqi forces have claimed victory over Isis in battle for Tikrit and raised the flag in the city. EPA/STR Timeline: The emergence of Isis 2015 - April Isis has claimed responsibility for a suicide bomb attack in Afghanistan that killed at least 35 people queuing to collect their wages and injured 100 more. EPA Timeline: The emergence of Isis 2015 - April Isis media arm released a 29-minute video purporting to show militants executing Ethiopian Christians captives. The footage bore the extremist groups al-Furqan media logo and showed the destruction of churches and desecration of religious symbols. A masked fighter made a statement threatening Christians who did not convert to Islam or pay a special tax. Timeline: The emergence of Isis 2015 - May Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the leader of Isis has been "incapacitated" by a spinal injuries sustained in a US air strike in Iraq. He is being treated in a hideout by two doctors from Isis stronghold of Mosul who are said to be "strong ideological supporters of the group". Timeline: The emergence of Isis 2015 - May Isis has also claimed responsibility for killing 300 of Yazidi captives, including women, children and elderly people in Iraq AP Timeline: The emergence of Isis 2015 - May Isis attack on Prophet Mohamed cartoon contest in Texas was its first action on US soil. Two gunmen were shot and killed after launching the attack at the exhibition. Elton Simpson and Nadir Soofi have been named as the attackers at the Curtis Culwell Centre arena in Garland. Timeline: The emergence of Isis 2015 - May Isiss deputy leader, Abu Alaa Afri, a former physics teacher who was thought to have taken charge of the deadly terrorist group, has been killed in a US-led coalition airstrike. Timeline: The emergence of Isis 2015 - May US special forces have killed a senior Isis leader named as Abu Sayyaf in an operation aiming to capture him and his wife in Syria. Getty Images Timeline: The emergence of Isis 2015 - May Iran-backed militias are sent to Ramadi by the Iraqi government to fight Isis militants who completed their capture of the city. Government soldiers and civilians were reportedly massacred by extremists as they took control and the army fled. Charred bodies were left littering the city streets as troops clung on to trucks speeding away from the city. Ramadi is the latest government stronghold to fall to the so-called Islamic State, despite air strikes by a US-led international coalition aiming to stop its advance in Iraq and Syria. AFP Timeline: The emergence of Isis 2015 - May Isis rounded up civilians trapped in Palmyra and forced them to watch 20 people being executed in the historic citys ancient amphitheatre. The Unesco World Heritage site was overrun by militants, threatening the future of 2,000 year-old monuments and ruins. Thousands of Palmyras residents fled but many are still living within the city walls, while the UN human rights office in Geneva said it had received reports of Syrian government forces preventing people from leaving until they retreated from the city. Getty Timeline: The emergence of Isis 2015 - May A group of Isis-affiliated fighters have captured a key airport in central Libya. The militants took control of the al-Qardabiya airbase in Sirte after a local militia tasked with defending the facility withdrew from their positions. Affiliates of Isis, already control large parts of Sirte, the birthplace of former Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi and a former stronghold of his supporters. Timeline: The emergence of Isis 2015 - June The US Air Force has destroyed an Isis stronghold after an extremist let slip their location on social media. According the Air Force Times, General Herbert "Hawk" Carlisle, commander of Air Combat Command, said that Airmen at Hulburt Field, Florida, used images shared by jihadists to track the location of their headquarters before destroying it in an airstrike. Reuters Timeline: The emergence of Isis 2015 - June Kurdish forces captured a key military base in a significant victory in Raqqa as well as town of Tell Abyad. YPG fighters, backed by US-led airstrikes and other rebels, consolidated their gains, when they seized the key town on the Syria-Turkey border. They are now just 30 miles to the north of Raqqa and have cut off a major supply route deep inside Isis-held territory. Ahmet Silk/Getty Timeline: The emergence of Isis 2015 - June Isis has released gruesome footage claiming to show the murder of more than a dozen men by drowning, decapitation and using a rocket-propelled grenade as it seeks to boost morale among its fanatical supporters. Timeline: The emergence of Isis 2015 - June Isis has begun carrying out its threat to destroy structures in the ancient Syrian city of Palmyra, blowing up at least two monuments at the Unesco-protected site as Syrian government troops made advances on the Islamists positions. AFP

The district has been one of the hotspots for the insurgency that started in 2004.

Much of al-Hawija district is currently under Isis control, with the Peshmerga attempting to move in from Kirkuk to the east and Iraqi forces holding a frontline around Baiji to the west.

Britain and other members of the US-led international coalition have been conducting regular strikes on Isis territory around Kirkuk and in other areas of northern Iraq.

The terrorist group has suffered a series of major losses in the country, including the city of Fallujah, and operations are expected to turn to its de facto capital of Mosul.
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Syrian women have been filmed burning the burqas Isis forced them to wear in a celebration of the militants being driven out.

Damn this stupid invention that they made us wear, one woman said as she set light to the black garment. Were humans, we have our freedom.

The video released by the Kurdish Anha news agency, crowd of women and children cheered as the fabric went up in flames in the city of Manbij.

Women burning the burqas Isis forced them to wear after militants were forced out of part of Manbij on 30 July (ANHA/YouTube)

After adding her burqa to the fire, another woman described how Isis militants had abused civilians and abducted older boys and men.

They banned television, the telephone, they took all the meat, they took all the bread, we've been living in hunger, she said.

They took our men and killed them, they trapped our people in prisons, we want them back.

The footage appeared to have been filmed by reporters embedded with the dominantly Kurdish Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), who are advancing on Isis territory backed by international air strikes.

A photo of a billboard in Sirte, Libya, listing seven rules for women's clothing, saying they must be loose-fitting and undecorated (HRW/social media)

It was taken in the al-Naimi district of Manbij on 30 July as troops forced Isis to retreat further into the centre of its former stronghold, which is now surrounded by the SDF.

Isis forces women to wear the burqa, which covers the entire body apart from the eyes, as part of its interpretation of Sharia law.

The terrorist group has founded groups of morality police who brutally enforce the dress code and other restrictions inflicted on women, who are forbidden from leaving the home without a male guardian.

As military operations in Iraq and Syria drive Isis back from the swathes of territory it seized during a rapid advance in 2014, several similar celebrations have been seen.

In June, 19-year-old Souad Hamidi marked her liberation by tearing off her black veil and replacing it with a red headscarf.

Timeline: The emergence of Isis Show all 40 1 /40 Timeline: The emergence of Isis Timeline: The emergence of Isis 2000 Abu Musab al-Zarqawi (pictured here) forms an al-Qaeda splinter group in Iraq, al-Qaeda in Iraq. Its brutality from the beginning alienates Iraqis and many al-Qaeda leaders. Timeline: The emergence of Isis 2006 Al-Zarqawi is killed in a U.S. strike. Al-Zarqawis successor, Abu Ayyub al-Masri, announces the creation of the Islamic State in Iraq (ISI). Reuters Timeline: The emergence of Isis 2009 Still al-Qaeda-linked ISI claims responsibility for suicide bombings that killed 155 in Baghdad, as well as attacks in August and October killing 240, as President Obama announces troop withdrawal from Iraq in March. Getty Images Timeline: The emergence of Isis 2010 Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi becomes head of ISI, at lowest ebb of Islamist militancy in Iraq, which sees last U.S. combat brigade depart. Timeline: The emergence of Isis 2012 In Syria, protests (pictured here starting in Daree) have morphed into what president Assad labelled a real war with emergence of a coalition of forces opposed to Assads regime. Syria group Jabhat al-Nusra are among rebel groups who refuse to join, denouncing it as a conspiracy. Bombings targeting Shia areas, killing more than 500 people, spark fears of new sectarian conflict. Sunni Muslims stage protests across country against what they see as increasingly marginalisation by Shia-led government. AP Timeline: The emergence of Isis 2013 Al-Baghdadi renames ISI as the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria, or Isis, as the group absorbs Syrian al-Nusra, gaining a foothold in Syria. In response, al-Qaeda chief Ayman al-Zawahiri (Bin Ladens successor) concerned about Isis expansion orders that Isis be dissolved and ISI operations should be confined to Iraq. This order is rejected by al-Baghdadi. AFP Timeline: The emergence of Isis 2014 - January Isis fighters capture the Iraqi cities of Fallujah and Ramadi, giving them base to launch slew of attacks further south. AP Timeline: The emergence of Isis 2014 - June Isis declares itself the Caliphate, calling itself Islamic State (IS). The group captures Mosul, Iraqs second largest city; Tal Afar, just 93 miles from Syrian border; and the central Iraqi city of Tikrit. These advances sent shockwaves around the world. Timeline: The emergence of Isis 2014 - June Around the same time Isis releases a video calling for western Muslims to join the Caliphate and fight, prompting new evaluations of extremists groups social media understanding. Timeline: The emergence of Isis 2014 - June Isis take Baiji oil fields in Iraq - giving them access to huge amounts of possible revenue. EPA Timeline: The emergence of Isis 2014 - August James Foley is executed by the group as concerns grow for second American prisoner, fellow reporter Steven Sotloff. AP Timeline: The emergence of Isis 2014 - August Obama authorises U.S. airstrikes in Iraq, helping to stall Isis along with action by Kurdish forces following the deaths of hundreds of Yazidi people on Mount Sinjar. Timeline: The emergence of Isis 2014 - September Isis release video showing Steven Sotloffs murder prompting Western speculation his executioner is same man who killed Mr Foley. EPA Timeline: The emergence of Isis 2014 - September Obama tells us that America will hunt down terrorists who threaten our country EPA Timeline: The emergence of Isis 2014 - September Isis release a video appearing to show David Haines, who was captured by militants in Syria in 2013, wearing an orange jumpsuit and kneeling in the desert while he reads a pre-prepared script. It later shows what appears to be the aid worker's body. Rex Timeline: The emergence of Isis 2014 - September Peshmerga fighters scrabble to hold positions in the Diyala province (a gateway to Baghdad) as Isis fighters continue to advance on Iraqi capital. AFP Timeline: The emergence of Isis 2014 - October Aid worker Alan Henning is killed. Self-imposed media blackout refuses to show images of him in final moments, instead focuses upon humanitarian care. AP Timeline: The emergence of Isis 2014 - October Isis raise their flag in Kobani, which had been strongly defended by Kurdish troops. The victory goes against hopeful western analysis Isis had overextended itself, while alienating much of the Muslim population through the murder of Henning. Victory causes fresh waves of Kurdish refugees arriving in Turkey. Timeline: The emergence of Isis 2014 - November American hostage, who embarced values of Islam, Peter Kassig and 14 Syrian soldiers are shown meeting the same fate as other captives. But intelligence agencies will be poring over the apparently significant discrepancies between this and previous films. Seramedig.org.uk Timeline: The emergence of Isis 2015 - February Isis has released a video revealing the murder by burning to death of a Jordanian pilot held by the group since the end of December 2014. Reuters Timeline: The emergence of Isis 2015 - February Isis militants have released videos which appear to show the beheading of Japanese hostages Haruna Yukawa and Kenji Goto. Timeline: The emergence of Isis 2015 - February American aid worker, Kayla Mueller was the last American hostage known to be held by Isis. She died, according to her captors, in an airstrike by the Jordanian air force on the city of Raqqa in Syria, though US authorities disputed this. AP Timeline: The emergence of Isis 2015 - February Isis militants have posted a gruesome video online in which they force 21 Egyptian Coptic Christian hostages to kneel on a beach in Libya before beheading them. Egypt vowed to avenge the beheading and launched air strikes on Isis positions. AP Timeline: The emergence of Isis 2015 - February The British Isis militant suspected of appearing in videos showing the beheading of Western hostages has been named in reports as Mohammed Emwazi from London. Rex Features Timeline: The emergence of Isis 2015 - March Isis triple suicide attack has killed more than 100 worshippers and hundreds of others were injured after the group members targeted two mosques in the Yemeni capital of Sanaa. AP Timeline: The emergence of Isis 2015 - April Iraqi forces have claimed victory over Isis in battle for Tikrit and raised the flag in the city. EPA/STR Timeline: The emergence of Isis 2015 - April Isis has claimed responsibility for a suicide bomb attack in Afghanistan that killed at least 35 people queuing to collect their wages and injured 100 more. EPA Timeline: The emergence of Isis 2015 - April Isis media arm released a 29-minute video purporting to show militants executing Ethiopian Christians captives. The footage bore the extremist groups al-Furqan media logo and showed the destruction of churches and desecration of religious symbols. A masked fighter made a statement threatening Christians who did not convert to Islam or pay a special tax. Timeline: The emergence of Isis 2015 - May Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the leader of Isis has been "incapacitated" by a spinal injuries sustained in a US air strike in Iraq. He is being treated in a hideout by two doctors from Isis stronghold of Mosul who are said to be "strong ideological supporters of the group". Timeline: The emergence of Isis 2015 - May Isis has also claimed responsibility for killing 300 of Yazidi captives, including women, children and elderly people in Iraq AP Timeline: The emergence of Isis 2015 - May Isis attack on Prophet Mohamed cartoon contest in Texas was its first action on US soil. Two gunmen were shot and killed after launching the attack at the exhibition. Elton Simpson and Nadir Soofi have been named as the attackers at the Curtis Culwell Centre arena in Garland. Timeline: The emergence of Isis 2015 - May Isiss deputy leader, Abu Alaa Afri, a former physics teacher who was thought to have taken charge of the deadly terrorist group, has been killed in a US-led coalition airstrike. Timeline: The emergence of Isis 2015 - May US special forces have killed a senior Isis leader named as Abu Sayyaf in an operation aiming to capture him and his wife in Syria. Getty Images Timeline: The emergence of Isis 2015 - May Iran-backed militias are sent to Ramadi by the Iraqi government to fight Isis militants who completed their capture of the city. Government soldiers and civilians were reportedly massacred by extremists as they took control and the army fled. Charred bodies were left littering the city streets as troops clung on to trucks speeding away from the city. Ramadi is the latest government stronghold to fall to the so-called Islamic State, despite air strikes by a US-led international coalition aiming to stop its advance in Iraq and Syria. AFP Timeline: The emergence of Isis 2015 - May Isis rounded up civilians trapped in Palmyra and forced them to watch 20 people being executed in the historic citys ancient amphitheatre. The Unesco World Heritage site was overrun by militants, threatening the future of 2,000 year-old monuments and ruins. Thousands of Palmyras residents fled but many are still living within the city walls, while the UN human rights office in Geneva said it had received reports of Syrian government forces preventing people from leaving until they retreated from the city. Getty Timeline: The emergence of Isis 2015 - May A group of Isis-affiliated fighters have captured a key airport in central Libya. The militants took control of the al-Qardabiya airbase in Sirte after a local militia tasked with defending the facility withdrew from their positions. Affiliates of Isis, already control large parts of Sirte, the birthplace of former Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi and a former stronghold of his supporters. Timeline: The emergence of Isis 2015 - June The US Air Force has destroyed an Isis stronghold after an extremist let slip their location on social media. According the Air Force Times, General Herbert "Hawk" Carlisle, commander of Air Combat Command, said that Airmen at Hulburt Field, Florida, used images shared by jihadists to track the location of their headquarters before destroying it in an airstrike. Reuters Timeline: The emergence of Isis 2015 - June Kurdish forces captured a key military base in a significant victory in Raqqa as well as town of Tell Abyad. YPG fighters, backed by US-led airstrikes and other rebels, consolidated their gains, when they seized the key town on the Syria-Turkey border. They are now just 30 miles to the north of Raqqa and have cut off a major supply route deep inside Isis-held territory. Ahmet Silk/Getty Timeline: The emergence of Isis 2015 - June Isis has released gruesome footage claiming to show the murder of more than a dozen men by drowning, decapitation and using a rocket-propelled grenade as it seeks to boost morale among its fanatical supporters. Timeline: The emergence of Isis 2015 - June Isis has begun carrying out its threat to destroy structures in the ancient Syrian city of Palmyra, blowing up at least two monuments at the Unesco-protected site as Syrian government troops made advances on the Islamists positions. AFP

"I felt liberated, she told Reuters. They made us wear it against our will so I removed it that way to spite them.

"I want to erase Daesh (Isis) from my memory.

"I hope every area controlled by Daesh is liberated, that people are free of them and can live like we do now."

The SDFs campaign has been marred by reports of civilian deaths in air strikes by the US-led coalition and war crimes by militias on the ground.

A British man, Dean Carl Evans, was killed while fighting against Isis with Kurdish forces in Manbij last month.
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The results of secret voting in the United Nations Security Council on a new Secretary General were almost instantly blown open on social media on Friday, angering countries that were not directly participating, diplomatic sources said.

Barely minutes after the fifteeen members of the UN's highest body made their preferences known from the line-up of candidates, the details of the voting, which is meant to be confidential, were leaking out.

It quickly became apparent that the former Prime Minister of Portugal, Antonio Guterres, had established a solid, yet not necessarily unassailable, lead over his ten rivals.

Recommended Read more Campaign for first woman UN Secretary General gathers pace

The results suggested that the world's top powers, notably the US and Russia, are still far away from coalescing around a single candidate to replace Ban Ki-Moon, whose second term as Secretary General expires at the end of this year. It throws in doubt the ability of the Council to agree on a single name by the end of October as currently stipulated on its schedule.

The muddle could possibly leave the door open for a surprise candidate to jump into the contest at the last moment with many eyes already on Kristalina Georgieva, a Bulgarian economist currently serving as European Commissioner for Budget and Human Resources.

This was the second straw poll on replacing Mr Ban, in which all members of the Council anonymously expressed opinions about the various candidates, by marking them with an "encourage", "discourage" or "no opinion" notation.

The Prime Minister of Portugal from 1995 to 2002 and until recently the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, Mr Guterres fared better than anyone harvesting 11 'encourages'. However, two members cast anonymous 'discourages' against his name. If either of those countries is a perment Council member with veto power, his candidacy could still be doomed.

"This is going to go on for a while," a western diplomat remarked later on Friday, noting that in a first straw poll last month no member offered any resistence to Mr Guterres. "We really need to see who those two countreis are," the diplomat said.

The leaking of the results was especially dismaying for those countries with candidates up for the UN's top job but who are not on the Security Council. Thus Argentina, whose foreign minister, Susanna Malcora, is heavily favoured by the United States, will have learned of the results through postings on Twitter rather than by the usual diplomatic channels in new York.

The same was true in the case of Irina Bokova who is also from Bulgaria, another country that currently is not seated on the Council.

As it came out, the straw poll seemingly has also done nothing to resolve tensions between the US and Russia over the issue. Moscow, which has made clear its preference for an East European candidate and a woman, is thought to be throwing its weight behind Ms Bokova, currently the Director General of UNESCO.

Second place on Friday went to Vuk Jeremic, a Serbian diplomat. That both the first and second spots were occupied by men was a discouraging sign for a broad coalition of countries and advocacy groups that have argued forcefully for a first woman at the top of the UN. Both Ms Malcora and Ms Bokova had enough 'discourages' against their names to imperil their bids for the top job.

At the outset, many countries agreed that a candidate from East Europe and a woman would be preferable, although some western capitals have also made it increasingly clear that it is the qualifications of each candidate that matter the most regardless of where they come from or their gender.
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Singapore has long been considered little more than a stopover, but the city state is slowly starting to emerge as a destination in its own right  and its growing reputation as a foodie paradise certainly helps. The first ever Michelin Guide to Singapore launched this summer, and is uncharacteristically representative of what the citys diverse scene has to offer, counting everything from Joel Robuchon Restaurant to street food stalls Hong Kong Soya Sauce Chicken Rice & Noodle and Hill Street Tai Hwa Pork Noodle among its sparkling credentials. The latter two serve their now Michelin-starred dishes at about 1.40 a pop.

And thats what makes Singapore such a great city for the hungry traveller  you dont have to drop serious Singapore dollars to taste the best of whats cooking. Of course, locals have always known this, describing eating out as the nations favourite pastime. That claim is borne out by the islands glorious jumble of hawker centres, cafes and restaurants serving Peranakan cuisine, a melting pot of dishes inherited from, and influenced by, its Chinese, Indian, Malaysian and Indonesian heritage. Another great way to taste a little bit of everything on Singapores menu is to visit the annual Singapore Food Festival, where the citys top chefs and hawkers sling cut-price dishes.

Fancy a taste? Here are our tips for sampling Singapores best eats.

Street hawker Chan Hon Meng has been awarded a Michelin star for his stall, Hong Kong Soya Sauce Chicken Rice and Noodle (Getty)

Tong Ah Eating House (35 Keong Saik Road, 089142)

It doesnt get much more local than this Singaporean equivalent of the English greasy spoon. An unassuming coffee house with no-nonsense plastic chairs and tables, its filled with locals eating a traditional breakfast of kaya toast (topped with coconut jam, sugar and coconut milk), soft-boiled eggs, steamed pork buns and coffee, or grabbing breakfast to go in niftily wrapped banana leaves. Breakfast is served all day from 6.30am to 10pm. Average price for a meal is about S$5 (2.80).

Good Chance Popiah Eating House (Block 149 Silat, 160149)

Another all-day casual eatery, Good Chance was founded by local Hou Shen Hu in 1977. Following his retirement, second generation Boon Kaichun began running the establishment. In keeping with the family feel, the signature meal is the everyday household dish popiah, originating from Chinas Fujian province. The fun thing about Good Chance is that it is DIY  they leave you to make this wrap-like snack yourself. Diners are presented with all the elements needed to build your own: popiah skins (made from papery crepes), fillings (vegetables, shredded omelette, lettuce etc) and sauces (soy, hoi sin, shrimp paste and chilli). It all makes for a fun, albeit very messy, experience. One serving, which makes about four rolls, costs S$16.80.

Popiah is a staple Singapore food snack, stuffing as much as possible into a papery crepe (Getty)

Tekka Centre (Bukit Timah Road)

One of Singapores many hawker centres, the Little India neighbourhoods Tekka Centre is a multi-use complex housing a busy fish market, budget knick-knack shops and dirt-cheap tailors, along with a top food centre. Head for the Indian food stands where you can sample sambal sotong (plates of spicy, saucy squid) and Indian rojak, a mixed salad done South Asian-style  expect a zingy mess of potatoes, eggs, tofu and battered prawns dusted with peanuts, then slathered in sweet-spicy sauce, and served with lime. Or you could swing by one of the Chinese stands for carrot cake  though dont mistake this Singapore favourite for dessert. The soft cakes are made from rice flour and white radish (sometimes called white carrot), cut into cubes and fried with garlic and eggs. Heap generously with soy sauce and scoff. A full belly at Tekka Centre will cost you less than S$5.

Oven Bird Home Cooking (address supplied on invitation)

Considering Singapores food-obsessed culture, it was only a matter of time before some bright spark started a supper club. Oven Bird Home Cooking is an invitation-only affair, so if youre in town for a while, its well worth registering your interest on its Facebook page three to four weeks in advance for the chance to experience a truly amazing home-cooked meal. We ate a five-course tasting menu of tea-smoked duck, Hokkien-style double boiled chicken and scallop soup, popiah, Singapore peppered crab and pandanmisu  an unusual take on tiramisu using home-made pandan essence. Each course was expertly matched with a wine chosen by the host. Prices range from S$70 to S$80.

Red House Seafood (68 Prinsep Street, 188661)

Red House Seafood, one of the oldest and most established restaurants in Singapore, serves the citys must-eat dish  sweet and spicy chilli crab. Its a messy affair, so dont be afraid to pop on the gawky bibs supplied. Make the most of the fried buns and use them to mop up the delicious crab gravy. For those who would rather not get their hands messy, the jet-black takesumi buns (made with bamboo charcoal) stuffed with chilli crab filling are a more refined way to try the dish. The average meal price here comes in at about S$43.

Singapore's chaotic hawker centres are atmospheric places to sample the city's street food (Shutterstock)

Chatterbox (Level 5 Mandarin Orchard Hotel, 333 Orchard Road, 238867)

Chatterbox has been proudly calling itself Home of the Legendary Mandarin Chicken Rice since 1971. Situated on the fifth floor of the five-star Mandarin Orchard hotel, this modern restaurant offers a high-end version of the local dish of boiled chicken, rice, chilli sauce, ginger paste and dark soy sauce. Other signature Singaporean dishes include laksa, Hokkien noodles (stir-fried Singapore noodles), satay, rojak and beef kway teow (a satisfyingly greasy beef and noodle number). Expect to pay about S$27 for the signature dish.

Cure (21 Keong Saik Road, 089128)

The haute but affordable tasting menu at Cure introduces cooking from London, New York and Dublin's kitchens to the Singaporean palate  a perfect example of the bistronomy cuisine favoured by Western expats working in Singapores financial sector. The highlight of our meal was the 72-hour beef short rib, with oyster and sorrel emulsion and beef tongue croquette. The monthly menu changes to incorporate seasonal produce and prices vary between S$35 and S$135, depending on how many courses you can fit in.

Getting there

Singapore Airlines (singaporeair.com) flies direct from Heathrow to Singapore Changi.

Staying there

Kirsty Major stayed at the Vagabond Hotel (hotelvagabondsingapore.com), where rooms start from about S$229 per night, and suites from about S$344 per night, including breakfast.

More information

www.yoursingapore.com
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A North Korean airline whose flight attendants are under strict orders to protect the image of the country's autocratic leader has been rated the worst in the world yet again  and its easy to see why.

If a passenger dares to take a photo on board or accidentally crumples a newspaper adorned with the face of Kim Jong Un, they can expect a lecture or worse from an Air Koryo flight attendant.

While the airline languishes at the bottom of the Skytrax 2016 World Airline Awards with just one star, Emirates sits at the top with its five-star rating.

Qatar Airways, Singapore Airlines and Cathay Pacific follow Emirates in the awards, which are widely acknowledged as the industry benchmark.

But some claim Air Koryo has been judged too harshly.

It is fairly reliable, with a new terminal at Pyongyang's Sunan International Airport, and has new fleet of aircraft - according to Simon Cockerell, of the Koryo Group, a Beijing-based travel agency that specializes in North Korea. The agency has no affiliation to Air Koryo, but Mr Cockerell often uses the airline.

"It's a bit of a giggle, actually. They are clearly not the world's worst airline," he told Associated Press.

It was founded in 1955 and has since then drastically tried to improve its image.

Pilot Patrick Smith added: "I'm not sure that I've ever seen or heard any references to Air Koryo being unsafe, only that its service is terrible.

"Some of the world's best and safest airlines are carriers the average American has never heard of."

The airline falls down on details customers have come to expect  there is no in-flight magazine and the attendants do not speak foreign languages well.

Explaining what Emirates do well at the opposite end of the scale, airline president Sir Tim Clark, said: "We constantly invest in our product and services, both on the ground and in the air. We listen carefully our customers, and then relentlessly challenge ourselves to deliver and exceed expectations."

Top 10 of the Skytrax 2016 World Airline Awards

1 Emirates

2 Qatar Airways

3 Singapore Airlines

4 Cathay Pacific

5 ANA All Nippon Airways

6 Etihad Airways

7 Turkish Airlines

8 EVA Air

9 Qantas Airways

10 Lufthansa
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A hundred years ago this week, we hanged Roger Casement, the worlds foremost champion of human rights  who really did save the lives of the oppressed. Forget for a while that little matter of his failed attempt to create an Irish brigade to fight the Brits in the First World War, his provable treachery to the Crown, the gun-running to Ireland in 1916, the U-boat to County Kerry and the black homosexual diaries. In the Congo and in Brazil, Casement investigated the vile, sadistic, rapacious treatment  and genocide  of tens of thousands of people. And he got something done about it.

So how come Casement victoriously campaigned against slavery by the Belgian King Leopold II in the Congo and among the Putumayo people of Brazil, and yet we  with all our humanitarian cash and NGOs  cant save the people of Aleppo? Or Yemen? Or Iraq? Or Palestine, for that matter? Or the refugees still floating and drowning in the Mediterranean? Was it because Casement was an Irishman, with that nations history of missionary endeavour? Or because he was, during his days of almost journalistic revelations, a faithful colonial servant of Queen Victoria and Kings Edward VII and George V?

In a newly opened exhibition at Dublins National Museum to honour Casements stand against the most terrible violations of human rights, there are photographs aplenty of suffering, of Putumayo slaves working on the rubber plantations of the Amazon Basin, their hands shackled  and holding in them the severed hands of punished employees of the Peruvian Amazon Company. The PAC was registered in London with British directors and shareholders. But Casement was a consul in Brazil and his investigations were on behalf of the UK government. Other photos show slaves chained together. On display in the Dublin exhibition is a set of wooden and straw slave handcuffs, which Casement brought back to England and later offered to the museum.

Casement was a Foreign Office consul in the Congo Free State in 1903 and  heres the point  was sent by the British government to investigate this Belgian territory and the rubber plantations which were run by and  through his own private army of mercenaries  for King Leopold II. After collecting in his notebooks  a journalists harvest of firsthand interviews with the terrorised, whipped, mutilated and tortured people of the colony as well as their tormentors  the Foreign Office man acted. The Casement Report mobilised human rights groups across Europe and America and the Belgian parliament took the enslaved Congo people out of Leopolds hands to create what became the Belgian Congo.

Casements intervention in Brazil had even more dramatic results. His brilliant piece of journalism, as it was called, was followed by a second visit to the Putumayo Indian slaves, an assignment that discovered their conditions of starvation and constant flogging with whips had only grown worse. The result was public outrage in Britain, the collapse of the PAC and the flight of the plantation killers. The local PAC rubber mogul, a Peruvian poverty-to-riches thug  the Pablo Escobar of his time  escaped all punishment, cooled his heels in Britain and ended up a respected senator in Lima. He died in 1952, more than three decades after his nemesis Casement was hanged at Pentonville for treason.

10 examples of Saudi Arabia's human rights abuses Show all 10 1 /10 10 examples of Saudi Arabia's human rights abuses 10 examples of Saudi Arabia's human rights abuses In October 2014, three lawyers, Dr Abdulrahman al-Subaihi, Bander al-Nogaithan and Abdulrahman al-Rumaih , were sentenced to up to eight years in prison for using Twitter to criticize the Ministry of Justice. AFP/Getty Images 10 examples of Saudi Arabia's human rights abuses In March 2015, Yemens Sunni President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi was forced into exile after a Shia-led insurgency. A Saudi Arabia-led coalition has responded with air strikes in order to reinstate Mr Hadi. It has since been accused of committing war crimes in the country. Getty Images 10 examples of Saudi Arabia's human rights abuses Women who supported the Women2Drive campaign, launched in 2011 to challenge the ban on women driving vehicles, faced harassment and intimidation by the authorities. The government warned that women drivers would face arrest. Getty Images 10 examples of Saudi Arabia's human rights abuses Members of the Kingdoms Shia minority, most of whom live in the oil-rich Eastern Province, continue to face discrimination that limits their access to government services and employment. Activists have received death sentences or long prison terms for their alleged participation in protests in 2011 and 2012. Getty Images 10 examples of Saudi Arabia's human rights abuses All public gatherings are prohibited under an order issued by the Interior Ministry in 2011. Those defy the ban face arrest, prosecution and imprisonment on charges such as inciting people against the authorities. Getty Images 10 examples of Saudi Arabia's human rights abuses In March 2014, the Interior Ministry stated that authorities had deported over 370,000 foreign migrants and that 18,000 others were in detention. Thousands of workers were returned to Somalia and other states where they were at risk of human rights abuses, with large numbers also returned to Yemen, in order to open more jobs to Saudi Arabians. Many migrants reported that prior to their deportation they had been packed into overcrowded makeshift detention facilities where they received little food and water and were abused by guards. Getty Images 10 examples of Saudi Arabia's human rights abuses The Saudi Arabian authorities continue to deny access to independent human rights organisations like Amnesty International, and they have been known to take punitive action, including through the courts, against activists and family members of victims who contact Amnesty. Getty Images 10 examples of Saudi Arabia's human rights abuses Raif Badawi was sentenced to 1000 lashes and 10 years in prison for using his liberal blog to criticise Saudi Arabias clerics. He has already received 50 lashes, which have reportedly left him in poor health. Carsten Koall/Getty Images 10 examples of Saudi Arabia's human rights abuses Dawood al-Marhoon was arrested aged 17 for participating in an anti-government protest. After refusing to spy on his fellow protestors, he was tortured and forced to sign a blank document that would later contain his confession. At Dawoods trial, the prosecution requested death by crucifixion while refusing him a lawyer. Getty Images 10 examples of Saudi Arabia's human rights abuses Ali Mohammed al-Nimr was arrested in 2012 aged either 16 or 17 for participating in protests during the Arab spring. His sentence includes beheading and crucifixion. The international community has spoken out against the punishment and has called on Saudi Arabia to stop. He is the nephew of a prominent government dissident. Getty

In the Congo, Casement had met Joseph Conrad  whose own reaction to the barbarities he witnessed was Heart of Darkness, but who would turn coldly against his erstwhile friend when he was on trial in London. Ireland and Britain have lived under the shadow of Casement ever since  a glorious sun-lit cloud for Irish patriots, but a tainted and noxious fog in Britain, where the government shamelessly used his black diaries to dissuade influential supporters, including the Americans, not to fight for a reprieve. Casement  or Sir Roger as he was, before being stripped of his knighthood  was gay, and while the explicit diaries were at first regarded as MI5 forgeries, most historians now believe them to be genuine; whether their contents reflect fact or fantasy, however, remains in question. Mario Vargas Llosa, himself a Peruvian, subscribed to the latter in his semi-fictional novel The Dream of the Celt.

Tom Arnold, an Irish agricultural economist who ran Irelands largest humanitarian aid agency, Concern Worldwide, introduced the Casement exhibition in Dublin and carefully interweaved the mans post-Victorian and newfound anti-colonial instincts in the Congo and Brazil with his patriotism towards Ireland. He quoted Casements 1904 letter to his friend Edmund Morel. The Congo question is very near to my heart  but the Irish question is nearer, Casement wrote. It is only because I was an Irishman that I could understand fully, I think, the whole scheme of wrongdoing at work in the Congo.

So much for Casement the man. But how come he broke King Leopolds personal slave state and destroyed the PAC? Why cant our NGOs and UN humanitarian missions have the same effect on the dictators and multinationals and arms manufacturers of our own day? What, I wonder, would Casement have made of the UNs role in Bosnia and the mass rape of Bosnian Muslim women and the massacre of their menfolk over three years? Journalists revealed the horrors of Bosnia. But the world did not act  or not, at least, until it was far too late. The suffering continued in Bosnia, just as it does in the Arab world today. Where are the Wilberforces now?

The problem, perhaps, lies in the failure of modern nation states to adopt moral causes  except when they want to go to war or to destroy foreign governments. The key is not the courage or the exemplary nature of Casements investigations. It is the fact that he was the representative of a government, rather than a missionary or NGO trying to make governments act. The British themselves were the catalyst for change. The Foreign Office was behind Casement. He represented not the strength of moral outrage but the power of the British empire.

This is not an advertisement for empires. Leopolds empire was the cause  not the panacea  of human rights abuse and slavery. But when strong nations set out to mobilise opinion  or when men such as William Wilberforce could mobilise governments  atrocities could be brought to an end. Today, its the other way round: individual NGOs or journalists campaign for human rights but find themselves fighting their own governments.

 Black Lives Matter protesters block major UK cities

Just at look at Channel 4s investigation of starvation and child deaths among the Houthis of Yemen  and among the Sunni Muslims in rebel areas of Yemen. The British Government should be supporting such an inquiry. But they cant, because it is the UK Government that is arming the Saudis to kill Houthis and its a squad of British arms experts who are teaching the Saudis how to bomb. Thus it is the Foreign Office and the Government that  far from doing a Casement on Yemen  are shrivelling up at the thought of any such inquiry and ensuring that their spokesmen and spokeswomen are unavailable for comment.

If we were not actually bombing the rebels of Syria  and all the while threatening to bomb the Damascus regime  our Government might be able to investigate the catastrophe of human rights in Syria. But the British Government is too involved in the war, too busy bombing Isis with its two pathetic RAF fighter-bombers  or have they been reduced in number?  and too keen on threatening to send the same mini-squadron against Assads army to play any humanitarian role more worthy than sending cash to Syrian refugees outside the countrys borders.

Casement would surely have campaigned against the arms dealers and manufacturers who bring such suffering to the peoples of the Middle East. But his British government employers are now busy facilitating these dealers and armaments, to the extent of organising their obscene arms fairs in London itself.

Its not difficult to find the good guys who want to play Casements role. They are in the NGOs, showbusiness, journalism, the academic world. But instead of receiving the official backing of the great Western powers, they have to fight them to make their voices heard.

This is the tragedy; a scandal, if you like, which the 100th anniversary of Casements execution illuminates all too well. Those whom we trust to represent us will not take up the battle against injustice because they are now too involved in the infliction of this injustice, albeit by proxy, to tolerate any such struggle.

We mustnt be romantic about the late Victorians. Gladstones imperial invasion of Egypt was a crime every bit as obscene as Blairs warlord role in the invasion of Iraq. But somewhere in recent history  after the First World War, perhaps, or the Second World War, which we declared by drawing the sword for Poland  our government masters bowed out. Now, when we investigate war crimes and the killing of civilians, we find ourselves confronted by the sullen hostility of our own governments.
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On Wednesday, Italy agreed to positively consider any US request to use Italian airspace and airbases for bombing missions against Isis in Libya. The move follows a series of US air strikes against Isis militants in the Libyan coastal city of Sirte on Monday. That action  which President Barack Obama declared as in the vital national interests of the US  is anticipated to be the first move in a sustained international offensive against Isis outside of Iraq and Syria.

The US strikes were conducted after a request from the UN-backed Libyan Government of National Accord (GNA). While the attack is not the first time that US warplanes have bombed Isis in Libya (a training camp in Sabratha was attacked in February), Mondays move could prove more significant because it signifies a deepening of Western commitment to the Libyan administration  militarily, politically and economically.

At a time when the GNA is trying to restore order in the country, there are growing concerns that Isis may be establishing a stronghold in Libya. US intelligence, for instance, estimates indicate the number of Isis fighters in the country has doubled to between 4,000 and 6,000 in the last 12-18 months, with growing evidence that a significant number of these terrorists are travelling from Iraq and Syria where  because of offensive operations from the 66 member coalition forces  Isis fighters are now believed to be at the lowest levels for at least two years.

The security situation in Libya was one of the key agenda items at a summit in April between US President Barack Obama, the then UK Prime Minister David Cameron, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, French President Francois Hollande and Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi. Some five and a half years after the death of Colonel Muammer Gaddafi, there may now be a potential window of opportunity, it was agreed, to try to bring greater order to the country.

In pictures: Isis' Libyan stronghold of Sirte Show all 10 1 /10 In pictures: Isis' Libyan stronghold of Sirte In pictures: Isis' Libyan stronghold of Sirte Isis in Sirte Isis fighters parade through in Sirte in 2015 In pictures: Isis' Libyan stronghold of Sirte Isis in Sirte Islamic State (IS) group jihadists on the outskirts of Libya's western city of Sirte AFP/Getty In pictures: Isis' Libyan stronghold of Sirte Isis in Sirte A photo of a billboard in Sirte, Libya, listing seven rules for women's clothing, saying they must be loose-fitting and undecorated HRW/social media In pictures: Isis' Libyan stronghold of Sirte Isis in Sirte Isis militants process down a street in the coastal city of Sirte in Libya this week; the group has heralded Libya as its strategic gateway to attack Europe AFP/Getty Images In pictures: Isis' Libyan stronghold of Sirte Isis in Sirte An Isis lecture on Sharia at the Ouagadougou complex in Sirte, Libya, in 2016. HRW/social media In pictures: Isis' Libyan stronghold of Sirte Isis in Sirte A sign reading "The city of Sirte, under the shadow of Sharia" as smoke rises in the background while forces aligned with Libya's new unity government advance on the eastern and southern outskirts of the Islamic State stronghold of Sirte on 9 June. Reuters In pictures: Isis' Libyan stronghold of Sirte Isis in Sirte Fighters loyal to Libya's GNA prepare to launch attacks against Isis as they continue their resistance on the outskirts of the western city of Sirte Getty In pictures: Isis' Libyan stronghold of Sirte Isis in Sirte Forces loyal to Libya's UN-backed unity government are seen during clashes with jihadists of the Islamic State (IS) on the western outskirts of Sirte on June 2, 2016. AFP/Getty Images In pictures: Isis' Libyan stronghold of Sirte Isis in Sirte Forces loyal to Libya's UN-backed unity government fire during clashes with Isis around 14 miles west of Sirte on June 2, 2016. AFP/Getty Images In pictures: Isis' Libyan stronghold of Sirte Isis in Libya

After the failure to plan for the aftermath of the Gaddafi regime, which Obama called the worst mistake of his presidency, Libya has since been controlled by rival militias, governments and parliaments. In this context, Obama has said that a full range of tools will now be used to roll back Isis in Libya, including financial, intelligence, military and logistical support.

Following recent terrorist attacks in Europe, Western leaders are also intent on eliminating the prospect of Isis developing a base of operations in Libya. British Defence Secretary Michael Fallon, for instance, has said that everything possible must be done to stabilise the country, including potentially sending UK troops to train forces under the command of the GNA, stressing that Isis in Libya is a direct threat to Britain as well as the rest of Western Europe and we have every interest in securing the security of a stable Libya.

Beyond military actions, the G5 has also discussed a broader plan to stabilise the country, including restoration of oil production to shore up the economy, and stemming migration flows from the country. On the oil front, as UN statistics underline, the country has long relied almost entirely on oil and gas extraction, which accounts for 95 per cent of export earnings and 99 per cent of government income.

Oil reserves in Libya are the largest in Africa and among the top 10 globally with production of some 1.65 million barrels per day in 2010 prior to Gaddafis ousting. However, production today stands at around 360,000 barrels a day, which reflects Libyas plunge into chaos since then, including Isis attacks on oil infrastructure. Rejuvenating Libyas oil production is not just critical to restoring the fortunes of the economy, but also to the GNAs survival, and alleviating migration flows from the country.

One of the signals that progress is being made came on 31 July when Libyas state oil company, the National Oil Corporation (NOC), announced welcomed the unconditional reopening of blockaded oil ports in ports including Ras Lanuf, Es Sider and Zueitina, which have the collective capacity to potentially export over 600,000 bpd following a deal between GNA and the Petroleum Facilities Guard. The latter is a militia that had blocked the ports for 18 months, asserting that they had not been paid by the Libyan government.

Should the deal hold, the NOC hopes to increase production by some 150,000 barrels per day within two weeks with the ambition of boosting output to around 900,000 by January. Such enhanced production will, however, only add to the current global over-supply of oil which has seen prices enter a bear market dropping by more than half since mid-2014.

 Syrian women burn burkas to celebrate liberation from Isis

On the migrant front, much attention has recently been put on the deal earlier this year between the EU, Turkey and Greece under which new irregular migrants crossing to Greece return to Turkey, with Brussels footing the bill. In return, the EU admits vetted Syrian refugees directly from Turkey, one for each Syrian asylum seeker Ankara took back from Greece. However, migration from Libya to Italy is a pressing issue too, driven by instability post-the Gaddafi regimes fall, and it is estimated that around 8,000 migrants have been rescued off the coast of Libya in the last week alone, according to the Italian coastguard.

A key reason for urgency is not just the numbers of migrants, but also the fact that the death rate in 2015 on this sea route, based on data from the International Organisation for Migration, was around 1 in 20, compared to approximately 1 in 1,000 between Greece and Turkey.

Mondays military strikes demonstrate that efforts to shore up the GNA in Libya are being intensified, with the ultimate aim of tackling the Isis menace. For the West, the strategic priority is not Libyas internal security, but preventing the Islamist terrorist network using Libya as base of operations to attack Europe, while also mitigating migration flows from the country to the continent.

Andrew Hammond is an Associate at LSE IDEAS, the Centre for International Affairs, Diplomacy and Strategy at the London School of Economics
The Alliance Building was one of Kennedy Wilsons D4 buys

London Stock Exchange-listed property giant Kennedy Wilson has said it is alert to both risks and opportunities that may present themselves in the investment and occupier markets, following Brexit.

The company said it will "actively monitor" the risk of investment and market volatility in its European markets, which includes Ireland.

Kennedy Wilson recently appointed John Sisk and Son to build a 660,000 sq ft mixed-use development at Capital Dock in Dublin.

In July the company achieved practical completion at Baggot Plaza and has since handed over the building to Bank of Ireland for its tenant fit-out.

Over the first six months of the year the company continued developments at Central Park in Dublin 18, in Stillorgan, the Chase in Dublin 18, Schoolhouse Lane in Dublin 2, and at the Portmarknock Hotel.

Read More

Net operating income across its European operations increased by 35pc to 78.7m with net operating profit reducing by 48pc to 78.7m, due to lower property revaluations.

Adjusted earnings per share was 26.8p with dividend per share paid standing at 24p for the opening half of the year.

Net debt at its European arm increased by 15pc to 1.28bn.

Kennedy Wilson Europe chief executive Mary Ricks said the company remains neutral between acquisitions and disposals with 609m of liquidity at the end of June.

It is too early to be able to assess the level of market dislocation that will arise as the broader market is well capitalised. Our team remains disciplined in assessing opportunities and we will allocate capital where we believe we can achieve the best risk-adjusted returns.

With 42pc of our portfolio based in Ireland, Spain and Italy, our asset base and income stream is diversified both geographically and by sector to provide additional security. Our UK portfolio remains robust and continues to deliver strong asset management momentum with 12 leases completed after 23 June delivering additional income of 900,000 and 6.1pc ahead of valuers ERVs, with more to come," Ms Ricks said.
THE sale of radio stations including Dublin's FM104, LMFM in Louth and Meath, Cork's 96FM and Live95FM in Limerick to Rupert Murdoch's News Corp in a 220m (259m) deal has cleared another hurdle.

The deal includes the sale of the talkSPORT radio station in Britain.

The Competition and Consumer Protection Commission has now approved the takeover of the Wireless Group by News Corp. Wireless Group's Ireland division, Radio Ireland, includes seven radio stations, broadcasting from Dublin, Cork, Limerick and Drogheda.

The sale will signal the final break-up of UTV. The broadcaster was split in two this year when ITV bought the TV arm for 100m and the remaining radion assets renamed Wireless Group.
A UK government plan to overhaul how local authorities invest their workers' pension money is meeting opposition from some trustees worried they will be forced to accept low returns for funding new roads, railways and other capital projects.

The government has proposed merging nearly 200bn (236bn) of local authority retirement savings into investment pools that would be used to help pay for improvements to Britain's infrastructure.

It is also wooing other investors such as insurance companies who want secure, long-term revenue streams.

While several years in gestation, the plan has taken on greater importance since Britain's vote in June to leave the European Union, with new Prime Minister Theresa May looking for lasting remedies to support an economy facing a period of stagnation and weak growth.

But there is opposition to the ambitious scheme among the stewards of 89 Local Government Pension Schemes (LGPS) in England and Wales, who together manage the retirement savings of over five million people.

The government says its plan will help them to trim costs and improve returns when many are struggling to plug deficits caused by weaker returns on staple bond and stock investments.

But some pension scheme managers are concerned over what they see as an attempt by central government to take more control of their investment policies. "It could be very positive and mean substantial investment in infrastructure schemes or it might mean the dead hand of the Treasury comes in and say 'you will invest in this'," said David Wilcox, a councillor in Derbyshire in central England.

"That's my greatest concern and the concern of the scheme members."

Local officials fear the investment pools could mean they end up funding riskier or lower return projects than they might choose to support independently.

The schemes are used to having full control of their investments and are reluctant to surrender any more power in what is already a centralised political system.

A spokesman for the Department of Communities and Local Government (DCLG) said the government has not said local authorities will be compelled to invest in infrastructure, just that it should be considered.

Yields on building projects also vary widely. Returns on low-risk infrastructure debt could be as low as Euribor plus 250 basis points, said Peter Hobbs of the advisory firm bFinance, and are unchanged since the Brexit vote.

Riskier projects, meanwhile, are more akin to private equity investments and can net returns of up to 25pc, Mr Hobbs added.

Since taking power last month, Ms May's administration has announced plans for a 344m expansion of London's City Airport, and could back a multi-billion pound high-speed rail project to link London with central England.

UK Treasury and DCLG spokesmen told Reuters the local government wealth fund plan will be proceeding, with the pools potentially up and running by April 2018.

While the local schemes are broadly open to investing more in infrastructure, problem projects such as the over-budget Channel Tunnel linking Britain and France remain fresh in the memory of investment committees. (Reuters)
Old trading boards at the Irish Stock Exchange, which was founded over 135 years ago in the Anglesea Street building

The Irish Stock Exchange (ISE) has lodged plans for a state-of-the-art financial services hub as part of a 10m expansion plan for its Dublin headquarters.

The move follows the ISE last year acquiring a landmark building at Foster Place in Dublin to facilitate the expansion.

Staff numbers have grown by 40pc to 114 in the past number of years.

The building on Dublin's Anglesea Street which houses the Stock Exchange is a protected structure and the overall gross office floor space of the amalgamated buildings, including the new proposed floor space, will be around 3,274 sq metres.

The plan includes a total of 1,434 sq metres in gross new office floor space in the proposed rear extension to the Armoury Building and in a new link building between the Armoury building and 24-28 Anglesea Street.

"The plans for our enhanced HQ allows us to develop a modern headquarters designed for the future needs of the ISE whilst retaining our strong historic links with the College Green area," said ISE director of strategy Aileen O'Donoghue.

"The plan accommodates up to 50pc more staff and provides state-of-the-art facilities giving us the space we need for the expansion of our business and greater scope for public engagements."

She added: "We are excited about this development which we believe will rejuvenate Foster Place and enable the ISE to maintain its business links with the area for many years to come."

The ISE's businesses now span 80 countries with over 33,000 securities and over 4,100 issuers from multiple sectors listing on its markets.

Once completed, it is envisaged that the enhanced HQ building will offer significantly greater scope for public engagements.

The planning application is viewed by the ISE's management, board and shareholders as a vote of confidence in the business and future of the ISE.

Anglesea Street has been home to a stock exchange business for longer than New York's Wall Street.

The 10m investment would allow the ISE to continue to operate from its current building, which was purpose built to house the exchange over 135 years ago.

The ISE believes that the application will deliver a significant stimulus to the College Green area and, in particular, the rejuvenation of Foster Place.

The most recent accounts for the ISE, headed by chief executive Deirdre Somers, show that it recorded pre-tax profits of 6.2m in 2014.

This followed the business recording revenues of 24.9m.

The ISE enjoyed a record year of activity in 2014 in its equity trading and debt listing markets.

A decision on the application is due by Dublin City Council in eight weeks. However, due to the scale of the project, it is likely that council planners will seek further information on the proposal.
THE Press Ombudsman has upheld a complaint that Independent.ie breached Principle 3 (Fair Procedures and Honesty), Principle 5 (Privacy) and Principle 9 (Children) of the Code of Practice of the Press Council of Ireland.

On 1 April 2016 Independent.ie published an article under the heading Irish woman reveals her struggles with postpartum psychosis after April Fools Day post causes major upset. The article stated that a named woman (the complainant) shared an image of a stork onto the cult Facebook page Oh My God, what a complete Aisling and evoked an angry response from women who said her joke was inappropriate and made light of the difficulty many couples face while trying to conceive. The article went on to say that the person who posted the comment apologised to the masses for her unintentionally offensive joke and opened up about her struggle with post-natal depression and psychosis. The article gave the name of the womans child. It also identified what city she lived in and gave some very personal and intimate details of her mental health in the aftermath of the birth of her child. The article was accompanied by a wedding photograph of the woman with her husband.

The article was taken down when the complainants concerns were made known to the editor. However it remained accessible through a Google search. Independent.ie undertook to approach Google to have any references to the article deleted. In addition the complainant received an apology.

Solicitors representing the woman wrote to Independent News and Media, the publishers of Independent.ie, claiming that the article breached their clients privacy and that of her husband and child. They claimed that the details for the article were lifted from a private Facebook group without their clients knowledge or consent and that their client had not been approached prior to publication. They stated that the contents of the article dealt with an extremely personal and traumatic time in their clients life and this had been disclosed solely to a small group of people and could not have been considered to have been intended to be shared with a wider audience.

The woman made a formal complaint to the Office of the Press Ombudsman. She claimed that the article breached Principle 1 (Truth and Accuracy), Principle 2 (Distinguishing Fact and Comment), Principle 3 (Fair Procedures and Honesty), Principle 4 (Respect for Rights), Principle 5 (Privacy) and Principle 9 (Children) of the Code of Practice.

In its formal submission to the Office of the Press Ombudsman Independent.ie acknowledged that the article should not have been published without the consent of the complainant. They stated that the journalist took it at face value that it was OK to publish as the post was a public Facebook page and the (complainants) own story. They went on to say that the photographs used to illustrate the article were taken from the complainants public Facebook page. Independent.ie also acknowledged the child of the complainant should not have been named or identified in any way.

Independent.ie offered to publish a response piece from the complainant or an apology, and to meet with her to resolve the matter.

As the complaint could not be resolved through conciliation it was forwarded to the Press Ombudsman for a decision

This complaint highlights the important issue of privacy when the subject matter of an article is sourced from social media. In this instance, a private person posted highly personal information about herself on a Facebook group. This information was available to anyone who was a member of that group. Independent.ie decided that it was acceptable to use that information in an article. It made no effort to contact the woman to find out if she was willing to have personal information posted on Facebook included in an article. This is a breach of Principle 3 which states that information, photographs or other material shall not be obtained through misrepresentation or subterfuge. The journalist received this information as a member of a Facebook group, not as a journalist. At a minimum, in order to avoid breaching Principle 3, Independent.ie needed to contact the woman in advance of publication to seek her permission to include personal information in the article.

Even allowing for the large size of the particular Facebook group the article was a breach of Principle 5 (Privacy). Privacy considerations can be qualified if the matters being reported are on the public record or in the public interest. In this instance the publication of the information was decidedly not in the public interest. Except in exceptional circumstances it is inconceivable that the publication without permission of personal information about a persons mental health could be regarded as in the public interest. In addition under Principle 5 there was no justification for the publication of a wedding photograph of the complainant and her husband.

I am also upholding the complaint on the basis of a breach of Principle 9 (Children). There was no justification for publishing any information about the child of the complainant.

The response of Independent.ie to take down the article immediately it was made aware of the complaint, to approach Google to remove a reference to the article on Google and to apologise was appropriate and welcome. However given the serious breach of the Code of Practice it was not sufficient to resolve the complaint.

Other parts of the complaint were not upheld. The complainant argued that there were inaccuracies in the article and as a result Principle 1 had been breached. The accuracy of the information that is disputed by the complainant is not of such significance to justify upholding a complaint under Principle 1. I can find no evidence that the article failed to distinguish between fact and comment. Therefore there is no breach of Principle 2. As I have found that any inaccuracies in the article were not significant I am not upholding the complaint that Principle 4 had been breached by the failure to take reasonable care in checking facts before publication.
Current laws in Ireland mean people returning home from countries  such as the United States  cannot swap or exchange their foreign driving licence. Photo: Getty Images.

Irish emigrants returning home are being forced to pay out more than 600 for mandatory driving lessons.

The Irish Independent has learned that Irish people returning home from abroad are being forced to 'learn' how to drive again - even if they are competent and/or fully licensed drivers.

Current laws in Ireland mean people returning home from countries - such as the United States - cannot swap or exchange their foreign driving licence.

Instead, drivers are forced to sit a theory test and complete 12 lessons with an approved driving instructor before they can take their final test.

All licences issued within the EU have "mutual recognition" and a licence from another EU country can be exchanged for an Irish licence within two to three months.

Agreements exist with certain countries, including Switzerland and New Zealand, where drivers can also exchange their driving licence for an Irish one.

However, drivers coming from countries which do not have an agreement or "mutual recognition" of licences must pay out for driving lessons.

"A person in this situation would have to apply for an Irish licence and start here as a learner," a spokesman for the Transport Department said.

Once the driver completes 12 lessons, they can immediately book a driving test and do not need to wait the normal six-month period.

People moving home and already hold an Irish licence are being reminded they can renew their licence up to 10 years after it lapsed to avoid undergoing a driving test.

While ex-pats and holders of a foreign licence can drive here for 12 months, once that time has passed drivers must apply for an Irish licence.
Ordinary workers are bearing a massive burden of higher income taxes to bail out the State since the crash.

New calculations show that workers are now paying 5bn a year extra in income tax alone since the boom.

This is despite fewer workers in the system as unemployment remains elevated.

Workers are bearing the higher burden to run the State and pay for services like health and public sector wages since the boom in 2008.

Overall tax revenues over the past 12 months have returned to boom-era peaks, economist Dermot O'Leary of Goodbody said, based on the latest Exchequer returns.

And income tax payments are now the biggest element of the tax take.

Mr O'Leary said this was proof workers have borne the burden of the adjustment over the period.

"Given that employment is still 7pc below those 2007 levels this highlights the degree to which workers have taken the burden of the adjustment over that period," he said in a research note.

A series of adjustments to tax bands, the introduction of the universal social charge (USC), and the restriction and abolition of tax reliefs has hiked the amount of income tax paid by households.

Income taxes in the last year amounted to almost 19bn, up by 5.2bn since the peak of the boom in 2007/2008.

The controversial USC makes up 4bn of the income tax take.

And this does not include another 8.45bn in pay related social insurance payments (PRSI) paid by workers.

Mr O'Leary said the number of workers was now around two million, down from 2.16 million during the height of the Celtic Tiger. Workers are now paying 4 out of every 10 of the total tax take, according to documents issued by the Department of Finance last month.

The Department's 'Income Tax Reform Plan' lists two-and-half A4 pages of changes to the income tax system since 2009. The list only includes changes to income tax, USC and PRSI, but leaves out other charges and levies introduced since the financial collapse.

It states: "Income tax and USC now comprise the single largest source of tax revenue to the Exchequer, having surpassed the proportion contributed by VAT in 2009."

The document shows that 36pc of workers pay no income tax.

Over the past eight years, the tax take from stamp duty and capital gains tax has collapsed. Middle and upper-income workers have been forced to take up the slack.

Corporation tax was the only other segment of the tax take to rise, up 1bn since the boom.

Mr O'Leary said: "It is noteworthy that tax revenues over the past 12 months are now back above their previous peaks.

"While categories such as stamp duty (-61pc) and capital gains tax (-78pc) are still well below those previous levels, this has been offset by income tax (+39pc) and corporation tax (17pc)."

Government spending is down 1.7bn since the boom.

Asked where the extra income tax money is going, Mr O'Leary said: "It is not to bail out the banks. It is simply to keep the State running and pay for various services such as the health system and wages."

The higher amounts of income tax do not include the introduction of the property tax and water charges, along with the increase in the higher rate of value added tax (VAT) to 23pc.

This means that instead of broadening, the tax base has narrowed.

The revelations come just a week after the International Monetary Fund said Ireland's income tax system was hurting middle-income earners.

It criticised welfare traps, which make it more attractive to stay on benefits rather than take up work, and said the system was undermining female participation in the workforce.

The revelations about the tax burden being borne by ordinary workers are set to be contentious in the run-up to October's Budget.

Finance Minister Michael Noonan wants to continue to abolish the USC.

But to do this, up to 270,000 workers will end up paying more income tax.

This is because he is likely to taper off the employee tax credit to ensure those earning more than 70,000 are not big winners from USC cuts.

The Irish Tax Institute said this would see 270,000 workers being hit with a marginal tax rate of 70pc - one of the highest in the western world.

The marginal rate is the tax you pay on higher amounts of income.

The tax body said this would mean workers earning more than 70,000 would end up facing higher income tax bills than workers in Paris, London and Stockholm.

But Fianna Fail is expected to oppose the measure.
US billionaire John Malone's Charlemont Leisure got the go-ahead from Dublin Council for 97-bedroom extension

A question mark has been thrown over plans by US billionaire John Malone to add a new seven-storey 97-bedroom extension to his Hilton hotel in Dublin.

Last month, Dublin City Council gave Malone's Charlemont Leisure the go-ahead for the plan that will result in the Hilton Dublin City Hotel having a total of 305 bedrooms if the extension project eventually gets the green light.

Concerns have been expressed by An Taisce and local residents over the plan for the hotel, which overlooks the Grand Canal in the city.

Mr Malone is reputed to be the largest landowner in the US and he purchased the hotel for around 30m in 2014. Mr Malone also owns the Westin Hotel and the Trinity City hotel in Dublin.

The planner in the case of the Hilton extension stated that given the city centre location, the existing height context and the previous planning history on the site, the proposed development is considered acceptable.

However, appeals have been lodged against the decision to An Bord Pleanala by Harcourt Green Management Ltd and Alvin Price.

Harcourt Green Management raised a number of concerns over the plan when it was before Dublin City Council.

In the objection lodged with the council, it stated that the Hilton plan "will greatly degrade the environmental, amenity and living standard of its (Harcourt Green) residents".

The objection stated that the proposed extension of the hotel and particularly the northern block is of excessive bulk and scale and should not be allowed. A resident at Harcourt Green, Alvin Price, claimed to the City Council that the extension "would create overshadowing and blocking of sunlight to the apartments by reason of proximity, height and scale of the proposed development".

The appeal of the decision to grant comes against the background of a recent report from the Irish Tourist Industry Confederation saying that there is a need for 30 additional hotels, providing 5,000 additional rooms, in the capital by 2020/21.
Shares in Irish-listed mobile phone technology firm Zamano were down 7pc in Dublin yesterday after the company signalled its intention to pursue strategic acquistions in a bid to boost revenues.

Zamano said it would seek acquisitions as it bids to shift into higher value services.

The company said it has specific bolt-on targets in its sights in mobile advertising, social and billing.

Profits in the first two quarters of this year were lower as a result of an increased advertising spend and the effects of uncertainty in the UK.

Zamano said a strategic review completed in June came back with a recommendation to pursue new revenue growth strategies.

The review stated that the company should embark on a "growth-oriented acquisition programme in the mobile advertising, social and billing areas." It added that it has identified potential acquisitions in each sector. Acting chairman Colin Tucker told the company's agm that Zamano hopes to make an acquisition within six months.

He told the Irish Independent that as of now he envisaged paying for it via a cash and share deal. The company had almost 6.5m of cash and cash equivalents at the end of December, and shareholders were told yesterday that this had continued to grow in the current financial year.

Zamano director Pat Landy said it was looking at companies both "local and international".

The company also announced the appointment of technology entrepreneur Edmond Murphy to the board as a non-executive director. Mr Murphy will assist the board with the implementation of the company's strategic review.

Mr Tucker added: "We are delighted to welcome Eddie to the Board of Zamano. His extensive experience in payments, social media and advertising will be of considerable benefit to Zamano."
The ticker symbol and trading information for LinkedIn is displayed on a screen at the post where it is traded on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange

Professional network website LinkedIn posted its deepest loss as a public company after being hit by a tax related charge in its final quarterly update before it merges with Microsoft.

The company reported a loss of $119.3m for the three months to June 30, driven by a $101m charge relating to the companys tax assets.

However, the firm grew its revenue to $933m in the quarter, 31pc up year-on-year thanks to an 18pc year-on-year increase in members. The company said it members had grown to 450 million  18pc higher than at the same point last year. Page views from each visitor were up 21pc year-on-year, which LinkedIn said showed it was engaging better with its customers.

In June, the company agreed a $26.2bn merger with Microsoft, the biggest in the tech giants history. Jeff Weiner, LinkedIns chief executive, will remain in charge of the business.

LinkedIn, which was founded 14 years ago, has made consecutive annual losses and has suffered heavy falls in its share price.

Mr Weiner said: Continued product innovation drove increased levels of engagement, and strengthened our enterprise offerings.

We believe joining forces with Microsoft enables us to further accelerate and scale our ability to deliver value and create economic opportunity for every member of the global workforce.

The companys shares finished the day 0.13pc down, at 192.01p.
Anheuser Busch InBev managers will take all but one of 19 key positions following the brewer's more than $100bn (118bn) takeover of rival SABMiller, according to details of the transaction announced yesterday.

The deal, sweetened last week to help make up for a drop in the British currency, has been approved by both companies' boards but still needs to be voted on by shareholders, some of whom oppose the deal.

AB InBev is known for its cost-cutting and centralised control, which some analysts have said may be tough to impose on all corners of SAB's business, with its joint ventures and equity stakes in markets such as Turkey and Africa.

AB InBev, the maker of Budweiser and Stella Artois, said the new company - which has yet to be named - would continue to be based in its home town of Leuven, Belgium, while its operations would be managed from New York.

SAB's offices in Woking, outside of London, will be kept open for a transitional period, but its central London headquarters will be wound down. The bulk of SAB's European businesses are being sold as part of the deal. "It looks as if all the SAB group and regional HQs will be eventually phased out," said Bernstein Research analysts.

The new company will be run by teams of "functional chiefs" and "zone presidents", both reporting to AB InBev chief executive Carlos Brito. All but one will go to current AB InBev executives. There was no mention of roles for SABMiller's ceo Alan Clark or finance chief Domenic De Lorenzo in the new company.

AB InBev will sell brands Peroni, Grolsch and Meantime, to Japan's Asahi, with more sales planned. (Reuters)
Legendary Irish broadcaster Gay Byrne turns 82 today and is showing no signs of slowing down, despite his recent health problems.

The TV icon was hospitalised after a heart attack in January but he's back in fighting shape for his special day.

"I have remarkably good health and I'm grateful at that. I've arrived at the tender age of 82 in one piece and feel upright, much to everybody's surprise, including my own.

"Thank God I've enjoyed robust good health all my life," he told the Herald.

"I had a little heart setback earlier this year and I have been told to look after myself with a little more care, but so far I am doing fine."

The former Late Late Show presenter reckons the secret to his health has been regular exercise throughout his life.

"I walk a lot. I lived in Howth for 35 years and I walked a great deal there. The great thing about Howth is that going or coming, you've got to climb the hill," he said.

However, doctors have told Byrne he will have to take it easy with the exercise from now on.

"I've been told to try not to walk as sprightly as I used to and to look after myself generally," he said.

The former RTE host revealed he's having a quiet night with his family to celebrate his birthday.

"I'm not a person for big celebrations. I did celebrations for my 80th two years ago," he said.

"I'm in Donegal and I'll have the family around me and grandchildren. We will probably go out for a meal somewhere and that will be it. We're just having a little holiday. We've been coming to Donegal for the last 40 years or so."
Jamie Dornan has jokingly called for a live TV cheek-to-cheek battle with Tom Hiddleston after the English actor piped him to top spot in the 'rear of the year' contest.

Dornan and Cillian Murphy star in the movie which centres on the plot to kill SS beast Reinhard Heydrich, one of the architects of the Holocaust.

While on the show the Fifty Shades actor was asked about a Belfast Telegraph article about Dornan coming second in the vote.

He was narrowly beaten to the top spot by fellow actor Tom Hiddleston, who has dominated headlines with his new love interest, US popstar Taylor Swift.

The victors were chosen from more than 10,000 votes cast by members of the public via the contest's official website between July 2015 and June 2016.

Host Stephen Colbert began: "I know that you follow the election. A very important election you have been involved in and it didn't go well for you. This is in the Belfast Telegraph, it says 'Fifty Shades Jamie Dornan has second best rear in the UK. ' That must be really hard to take."

To which Jamie replied: "I'm pretty p****d off that you've brought it up to be honest. I lost to Tom Hiddleston. The Hiddles-bum. I just think the whole way they came about it, wasn't that democratic. Why didn't they have a live show?"

He continued: "They could have done something with a live show. We could have been on stage."

To which the host quickly replied: "Well I have a live show and we have a stage right there. So please, come on, it's never too early to campaign for next year."

But when Dornan challenged the host to go first - he quickly declined.

The chat show host and Dornan finished the show by having a shot of tequila.

Dornan has also recently wrapped up filming on the second and third installments of the Fifty Shades triology.

Video of the Day

Meanwhile fans of BBC drama The Fall are eagerly awaiting the programme's return where Dornan reprises his role as serial killer Paul Spector.

Series two of The Fall ended with an excruciating cliff-hanger as Dornan lay shot in the arms of detective Stella Gibson.

It will return in the Autumn.
The scene of the shooting of a man at a business premises on the Greenhills Road, Dublin earlier this morning

The latest shooting victim in the capital had a 'miraculous escape' after he was targeted in a case of mistaken identity.

Sources said John O'Connor (41) survived because of the way he was standing when the gunman struck.

Mr O'Connor who was in the Cullen Car Parts premises on business, was injured in the attack with the gunman then fleeing on foot into a waiting getaway car.

Not the intended target, Mr O'Connor was approached from behind by the gunman but turned slightly, meaning he was hit with shotgun pellets in the chest.

Expand Close The scene of the shooting. Photo: Steve Humphreys / Facebook

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Whatsapp The scene of the shooting. Photo: Steve Humphreys

The victim, from Westbourne Avenue in Clondalkin, was described as being in a serious but stable condition in Tallaght Hospital and sources said he is "extremely lucky to be alive".

The incident unfolded at 11.35am yesterday at the car parts yard on Greenhills Road, Walkinstown.

A man armed with a shotgun made his way on foot into the scrapyard and discharged a number of shots.

He then escaped into the waiting car, later located a short distance from the scene on Corrig Close.

It's understood gardai have recovered excellent CCTV footage of the incident.

Gardai are appealing for information on two suspects - the driver of the car and a tall man wearing a grey tracksuit.

It is understood that Mr O' Connor is involved in the car dismantling and scrap trades.

Cullen's Car Spares is one of three different car parts businesses located in the same area of the Greenhills Road and the owners of the three businesses are related to each other.

Gardai sealed of the scene in the aftermath of the gun attack.

A local worker said he had no idea anything was wrong until he saw the garda helicopter hovering overhead.

Large numbers of partly dismantled cars were stacked in the yards. The yard where the shooting happened had a bright blue security fence, a CCTV camera at the entrance and a sign which stated 'All customers please report to office.'

A local resident said she had no idea anything happened until she saw an ambulance parked beside the road.

"It had been raining very heavily and I was minding a three-year- old girl. I didn't hear anything.

"I've lived here for over 30 years and nothing like this has happened before. The guards came and told me a chap was after being shot. They asked me if I saw anything but I didn't."
Shopkeeper Nora Mai Kissane and her son John who helped an injured Garda in Beaufort yesterday. Photo: Don MacMonagle

A woman in her late twenties has been arrested in connection with an armed raid on a post office in Kerry on Wednesday.

The woman was arrested in Killarney yesterday evening around 5.30pm and is being held in the town.

Gardai have said the investigation is still on-going.

Meanwhile, two detectives whose patrol car was rammed by the getaway vehicle of armed raiders in Kerry immediately recognised the two men.

The revelation came as it emerged that the two men in their 30s arrested by gardai following an armed raid on a Waterville Post Office are both from the Killarney area and have multiple previous convictions for robbery.

One also has associations with a feared rural crime gang.

Both were arrested after being found hiding in a farm shed in Beaufort on Wednesday evening.

Chief Supt Con Cadogan hailed the role that social media, text alert systems and local media played in foiling the raiders' escape.

A manhunt of the isolated Beaufort and Kilgobnet areas continued last night involving armed gardai and dog units.

More than 30 officers are involved, including the armed Regional Support Units from Cork and Limerick.

However, it is now thought that a suspected third raider either wasn't in the car when it crashed or had been dropped off on the outskirts of Waterville.

The period of detention for the two arrested men was extended last night.

They are being questioned in Killarney and Tralee Garda Stations about the theft of 5,000 from Waterville Post Office.

Gardai are still searching for the cash and the firearm used.

Postmistress Lisa O'Reilly and a number of French tourists were shocked when raiders, armed with a handgun, demanded cash at 11.15am on Wednesday and then fled in a Ford car.

The men later changed to a Mazda car but, thanks to local alerts and social media, they were spotted and their progress tracked.

The men rammed a Garda patrol car containing a male and a female detective outside Kilgobnet, and one Garda had to fire several shots to defend against the raiders.

Both detectives suffered soft tissue injuries but were later discharged after being treated at Kerry University Hospital in Tralee.

Reversing at speed, the raiders fled and burned out their Mazda car on the outskirts of the village.

They were later arrested after being found hiding in an isolated farm shed.

Beaufort shopkeeper Nora Mai Kissane (86) was shocked when an ambulance stopped outside her store and she was asked if the injured female detective could use a sink to wash the blood from her face.

"It was very shocking - she had a bandage covering most of her face and right down under her jaw," she said.

"I'd say she was very shook, so we did everything we could to help her."

Ms Kissane said such robberies are a plague on rural Ireland.

"We were raided here about four years ago," she said.

Chief Supt Cadogan paid tribute to community alert volunteers and local media for supporting the Garda manhunt.
Yesterday, a collaboration of scientists including researchers from Harvard University and the University of Sao Paulo in Brazil, confirmed that tests of three vaccines had given complete immunity to rhesus monkeys. Photo: AP

Three Zika vaccines have been found to give complete protection against the virus in monkeys and scientists say they are ready to be trialled on humans.

The breakthrough offers hope that within months an effective jab will be available to prevent the devastating infection, which has been linked to more than 1,700 cases of microcephaly, a birth defect which leaves babies with shrunken heads.

Yesterday, a collaboration of scientists including researchers from Harvard University and the University of Sao Paulo in Brazil, confirmed that tests of three vaccines had given complete immunity to rhesus monkeys.

British virologists said the announcement was "as good a result as you could have wished for", and an "important step" in combating the disease.

Senior author Dr Dan Barouch, Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School and the Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Centre said: "Three vaccines provided complete protection against Zika virus in non-human primates, which is the best animal model prior to starting clinical trials.

"The consistent and robust protection against Zika virus in both rodents and primates fuels our optimism about the development of a safe and effective Zika vaccine for humans."

Babies can be born with shrunken heads if their mothers catch Zika when they are pregnant

Laboratories across the world have been rushing to develop a vaccine since the Zika outbreak began last year.

The pressure has mounted after it was confirmed this week that 15 people in Florida had caught the virus from local populations of mosquitoes. In an unprecedented move, the Center for Disease Control warned pregnant women to keep away from an area of north Miami.

Two of the three vaccines were developed by BIDMC and a third was created by Army researchers from The Walter Reed Army Institute of Research (WRAIR).

Protection

One virus consisted of an inactivated form of the Zika virus and the other two used a fragment of viral DNA to trigger an immune response.

A total of 20 monkeys were used to test the three vaccines and after two weeks all showed complete protection and were not infected when exposed to strains from Brazil and Peurto Rico. There were no side effects to the vaccine.

"Results from both mouse and non-human primate testing are encouraging and support a decision to advance our vaccine candidate to human trials," said Col. Stephen Thomas, an infectious disease Army physician and a vaccinologist at the WRAIR.
The HSE are encouraging those at risk to get tested.

There has been a significant increase in the numbers of syphilis reports in Cork, according to a statement released by the HSE.

There has been 21 reported cases in Cork and Kerry from January to June this year. This is three times more than the same period from 2015.

Gay men are the highest risk group, with eight out of every 10 cases reported being from men who have sex with men.

The HSE Department of Public Health in Cork has released a statement expressing concerns and is encouraging anyone who is sexually active to get tested for sexually transmitted infections (STIs).

The Department of Public Health said. Safer sex practices and regular testing and treatment of infectious syphilis are the key to prevention.

Syphilis has been called the Great Pretender as its symptoms can look like many other diseases. Up to half of people with syphilis may not notice any symptoms; therefore it is vital to get tested."

Professor Mary Horgan, Consultant in Infectious Diseases at CUH and clinical lead for STI services in Cork and Kerry, confirmed that cases are increasing in the area.

She said: I have seen a significant increase in syphilis among men who have sex with men. I would encourage (gay men) who have had unprotected sex, including unprotected oral sex, to book an STI test as soon as possible.

While 90% of the cases we are seeing are primary syphilis, up to half of people with syphilis may not have any symptoms, and therefore could pass it on unintentionally. Syphilis is curable with treatment. Unrecognised, untreated syphilis can lead to serious long-term complications.
The Colombian spider monkey is classed as critically endangered in the wild by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN).

An endangered baby Colombian spider monkey is the latest addition to Fota Wildlife Park.

The tiny baby was born to mum, Batty, and dad, Arnold, on April 4.

Expand Close Teresa Power, Primate Lead Warden at Fota Wildlife Park, described the birth as joyous. / Facebook

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Whatsapp Teresa Power, Primate Lead Warden at Fota Wildlife Park, described the birth as joyous.

Wardens have been unable to tell the sex of the baby as it has clung so tightly to Batty's body since birth.

Spider monkeys are known for their prehensile tail, large brains and tree-climbing skills.

Teresa Power, Primate Lead Warden at Fota Wildlife Park, described the birth as "joyous".

"Both the new baby and new mother are doing very well and Batty is taking great care of her little baby," she said.

New arrivals in the wildlife park are always special but the birth of such a critically endangered species is an especially joyous event.

The Colombian spider monkey is classed as critically endangered in the wild by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN).
A planned strike at the National Ambulance Service has been called off.

Last ditch talks between Siptu officials and HSE management to avert next week's all-out strike have reportedly proved successful.

The strike action had been planned for next Wednesday but has now been cancelled following discussions at the Workplace Relations Commission (WRC).

SIPTU's Paul Bell said that "concrete guarantees" on staffing levels and compensation for loss of earnings had been reached at the talks.

"Our members have secured commitments for the recruitment of 150 new emergency technicians for deployment into the Intermediate Care Service over a two-year period," he said.

"This confirms that 461 paramedics will be recruited on a phased basis over a five-year period which will entail recruiting in excess of 100 paramedics each year on an incremental basis."

Bell added that the negotiations had been "at times difficult" for union members but that they "remained united" throughout.

Our members are aware that today marks merely the beginning of the journey towards securing the future of a public ambulance service that is fully funded, fit for purpose and enjoys public confidence," he said.

The union served strike notice last month on foot of a recent ballot, in which members in the NAS voted 92pc to 8pc in favour of industrial action, up to and including strike action.

Earlier today, a union for Dublin Bus employees voted overwhelmingly in favour of industrial action after rejecting an 8pc pay rise.

The vote result has been revealed after the drivers rejected a Labour Court recommendation that they get an 8.25pc increase over five years, or 2.75pc a year, up to January 2018.

They want an increase equal to recently won by tram drivers, worth 3.8pc a year.
A large cruise ship with 4,500 passengers drifted in the Irish Sea for nine hours after its engine failed.

The Caribbean Princess lost power off the coast of Dublin and was forced to cancel a scheduled visit to Dublin Port due to the seriousness of the incident.

The 290 metre long cruise ship was left adrift 25 miles southeast of Dublin along the Wicklow coast on Wednesday August 3.

It was initially reported that there were fears of a terrorist attack but Princess Cruises the US company that runs the vessel said that it was a technical glitch.

@Garryc assistance has been called in the form of a tug boat to tow the ship to a nearby port with the resources to assist in restoring...  Princess Cruises (@PrincessCruises) August 3, 2016

@Garryc Hi Garry, the ship has electrical power and is operating full ship/hotel services inc. air conditioning, galleys, lighting, toilets.  Princess Cruises (@PrincessCruises) August 3, 2016

The Holyhead Coast Guard sent a tug and helicopter to the ship when it lost power with 3,306 passengers and 1,158 crew on board.

In a statement Princess Cruises said that all guests and crew are safe and secure and that the ship still had some power as air conditioning, lights and hotel services worked while the ship was adrift.

@Garryc All guests and crew are safe and secure. The cause is unknown at this time and is being assessed by our Fleet Technical experts...  Princess Cruises (@PrincessCruises) August 3, 2016

The ship was en route from Cobh in Cork to Dublin as part of a 12 day cruise that left Southampton on July 31.

After the delay in Dublin, the ship headed towards Belfast to continue the cruise.
Members of the National Bus and Rail Union backed industrial action by a majority of 96pc

Dublin Bus passengers face the threat of strikes after members of a union voted overwhelmingly in favour of industrial action after rejecting an 8pc pay rise.

Members of the National Bus and Rail Union backed industrial action by a majority of 96pc.

The vote result has been revealed after the drivers rejected a Labour Court recommendation that they get an 8.25pc increase over five years, or 2.75pc a year, up to January 2018.

They want an increase equal to recently won by tram drivers, worth 3.8pc a year.

The union is seeking a total pay hike of 31pc to take account of the Luas pay rise, an increase to bring their wages on a par with the tram drivers, and a 6pc pay rise under a social partnership deal that was not paid.

It wanted the Labour Court to award at least the pay increase won by Luas workers of 18pc up to 2020, or 3.8pc a year as a first step.

The National Executive Council of the NBRU will meet next Tuesday to discuss the range of industrial action options that might be pursued.

General Secretary of the union, Dermot OLeary, said the result brings the level of anger among Dublin Bus workers into sharp focus. It is important that the company and its paymasters would reflect on this result and realise that the level of pay required to resolve this dispute is very much in their gift, he said.

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To ignore such a resounding message from workers who have had to endure two cost cutting plans, inclusive of pay cuts coupled to eight years without a pay rise would do a disservice to both workers and passengers alike.

He said his union would meet with colleagues in the five unions involved in the dispute to devise a coordinated approach to industrial action.

The union leader said this sequence of events can be prevented if Dublin Bus is willing to come back to the table and discuss the possibility of making an improved pay offer.

SIPTU is due to issue its ballot result on industrial action next week.

The recommendation by the Labour Courts Deputy Chairman Brendan Hayes said Dublin Bus is recovering from a deep recession and passenger numbers and fares have risen.

But it said the recovery is in its infancy and must be allowed to develop before the company could support significant wage increases.

Dublin Bus said it will await the results of ballots by the remaining unions next week before considering the outcome.
A homeless single mother, trying to make a better life for herself and her daughter, is being refused the Back to Education Allowance.

Erica Fleming (30) has been admitted to Dublins prestigious Trinity College, through the Trinity Access Programme and is due to begin in September.

Ms Fleming has been homeless for around a year with her daughter Emily (10). They have been living in hotel rooms.

The single mother revealed how she has been denied the grant to return to education  because she has been working part time.

And astonishingly, she was told that in order to qualify, she would have to be unemployed for 234 days.

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Last year, Erica lost her One Parent Family payment and transferred to Family Income Supplement. This followed changes to the allowances by then Minister for Social Welfare Joan Burton.

However, while receiving the One Parent Family payment would have qualified her for Back to Education Allowance, receiving the Family Income Supplement does not.

Ms Fleming that she needed the 217-a-week from the allowance to support herself and her daughter, otherwise she would not be able to attend the college.

When I saw the letter (rejecting the application) I was sick.

I was so angry that because they cant tick a box beside your name, you cant get the grant, she added.
A man was airlifted to safety after he was spotted in a river in Drogheda this afternoon.

The Irish Coastguard, assisted by paramedics, travelled to the scene on the River Boyne after receiving two calls from the public at 5pm today.

They found a man, who is in his 40s, in difficulty in the river.

A coastguard boat and the helicopter were able to bring the man to safety. They were assisted by paramedics from Swords.

He was later transferred to Our lady of Lourdes Hospital where he is in a stable condition.

Earlier Dublin Fire Brigade rescued two men who had fallen into the River Liffey in the city centre.

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File photo dated 05/01/76 of a bullet-riddled minibus near Whitecross in South Armagh where ten Protestant workmen were shot dead. Photo: PA Wire

A man has been arrested by detectives investigating the sectarian murder of ten Protestant workmen in Northern Ireland 40 years ago.

The 59-year-old suspect was detained two months after police announced a major forensic breakthrough in the unsolved investigation into the mass shooting at the village of Kingsmill, Co Armagh.

At the end of May, the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) revealed a potential match had been found to a palm print left on a getaway vehicle used by the republican paramilitaries.

The IRA was widely blamed for what was one of the most notorious outrages of the Troubles.

The factory workers were ambushed as they travelled along the Whitecross to Bessbrook road in rural south Armagh on January 5 1976 in an attack seen as a reprisal for loyalist killings in the same area.

The men's minibus was stopped by a man waving a red light and those on board were asked their religion by a camouflaged gunman with an English accent, whom the victims thought was a soldier.

The only Catholic workman was ordered to run away.

The killers, who had been hidden in the hedges, ordered the rest to line up outside the van and then opened fire.

The getaway vehicle used by the gunmen was left abandoned across the Irish border. The palm print was discovered later.

It was re-examined by forensic scientists only days after a long-delayed inquest into the deaths got under way in Belfast.

A lawyer for the PSNI told stunned relatives attending the hearing that a potential match on the police's database had been made.

One man survived the attack, despite being shot 18 times.

The suspect was arrested in Newry, Co Down on the suspicion of the ten murders and one attempted murder.
A man was brought to hospital after being rescued from the river Liffey in Dublin city centre this afternoon.

Dublin Fire Brigade confirmed two people were rescued from the water between the O'Connell and Ha'penny Bridge by boat after a man, aged in his 40s, entered the river.

A spokesman for DFB told Independent.ie a boat had been dispatched to rescue the two people and one was brought to hospital.

He said: Two people were in the water. We sent our crews from Tara Street and Phibsborough and we launched our boat. One casualty was taken onto the boat. He's now being removed to hospital.

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He confirmed that the hospital is on standby so obviously hes in a bad way".

The spokesman continued: His oxygen levels were quite low, so we have the hospital on standby at the moment.

His injuries are not believed to be life threatening.

It is believed that the second person, who was not taken to hospital, entered the water to assist the first man.

Gardai had called service after the alarm was raised and three units of the fire service were dispatched to the scene.

The spokesperson said typically rescue technicians would arrive, suit up and enter the water as the rescue boat comes down the river at the same time.

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Its like a dual response. Somebody goes where the person is reported and then the boat starts going up the river the same time.

A passer-by who witnessed the incident told Independent.ie the man did not appear to be Irish.

He said: I was waiting at the bridge at the time. My friend spotted some guys jumping in and two other guys followed after them.

The guards threw over a buoy into the river to rescue him. He was then taken away on a boat and given CPR. But he was put in a body-heat bag but he wasnt moving, so Im not sure if hes alive or not, the man explained.

I just saw them on the other side of the bridge and then there were two or three and they jumped in.
A visit to the Zoo this person will never forget.

The weather forecast is good for this weekend, yet we'd still advise you to bring an umbrella if visiting Dublin Zoo.

It's hard to beat a nice day at Dublin Zoo; the exotic animals, interesting exhibits and the monkey who takes a dump on your head from above... OK, maybe we could do without that last one.

Pooed on from a height @DublinZoo You should pay extra for this.... pic.twitter.com/EF7rOsZyMb  Maia Dunphy (@MaiaDunphy) August 5, 2016

Yet, that's exactly what happened to one unlucky child who was visiting Dublin Zoo today and Maia Dunphy managed to get it all on camera.

He was there, minding his own business, when the king of the swingers gave a whole new meaning to 'monkey business.'

We're guessing that visitor didn't feel much like a jungle VIP.
Imagine this if you can: Life in a Hunter S Thompson utopia led by Simon Coveney.

It would be the definition of an oxymoron, but that's where junior minister John Halligan's head appears to be at.

Thompson's novels, including 'Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas', trawled through a counter-culture where society was defined through the eyes of the individual rather than the collective. It was at the extreme end of the 'American Dream' to say the least.

Mr Halligan's vision for Ireland is not quiet as radical but this is a country just getting over its Catholic Church hang-ups.

He believes in brothels where activities can be monitored by cameras and prostitutes tested for sexually transmitted diseases. This would benefit "lonely men".

Decriminalise

On drugs, he told 'Hot Press' magazine that people caught "smoking a bit of hash" shouldn't be brought to court and we should assess whether to decriminalise Class-A drugs like cocaine.

He also openly admitted that he would be prepared to help somebody die by suicide in spite of the existing laws.

The Waterford TD knows "for a fact" that God doesn't exist, but aliens which are far more sophisticated than humans probably do.

And all that doesn't really matter anyway because we'll be gone "in relative time" anyway when the sun explodes and destroys the solar system.

In the really ironic twist this brave new liberal society would be led by the most conservative of Fine Gael leadership contenders, Simon Coveney.

It would be easy to dismiss Mr Halligan's forthright views as 'out there', but remember he is now in a position of actual influence.

So strong is that authority that, along with colleagues Shane Ross and Finian McGrath, he managed to persuade/coerce the Taoiseach into effectively abandoning the principle of collective Cabinet responsibility on Mick Wallace's abortion bill.

Sarah Benson, CEO of Ruhama, an NGO which works with women affected by prostitution, told the Irish Independent that no matter "how well intentioned he may have been, the fact is the evidence isn't there" to back up his claims that a regulated sex industry would protect women.

"The only winner is the buyer and those facilitating it," she said, citing several overseas studies on the issue.

Mr Halligan accepts that successive governments have failed to stop alcohol having an invasive effect on society, so what chance would they have with strong drugs?

And while his argument on assisted suicide is no doubt a heartfelt one, he was elected to make laws, not break them. He has a bill on the issue coming before the Dail and he should stick with that.

Of course, Mr Halligan has form on this. He previously said he would "jail the bastards", referring to landlords who charge over-inflated prices. After two months reflection he now believes he "probably shouldn't" have said that.

So you have to question if his latest comments are shock politics or a genuine vision for Ireland.
Archbishop Diarmuid Martin has welcomed the transfer of 15 seminarians from the United States to the Pontifical Irish College in Rome, saying their presence "will enrich and consolidate the seminary community" located there.

The announcement comes amid the crisis in Maynooth and on the back of the Archbishop's decision to transfer three Dublin seminarians to Rome.

The senior cleric said he took the decision due to "strange goings-on" at Maynooth, which has dealt with allegations of a gay sub-culture.

But another bishop yesterday distanced himself from Archbishop Martin's stance on Maynooth.

Bishop of Meath Michael Smith stated that the Diocese of Meath will continue to send seminarians to Maynooth as it has always done.

Meanwhile, it's understood the decision by the authorities at Saint John Vianney College Seminary in Florida - to send 15 seminarians to Rome - was approved in June.

The Catholic Church said the seminarians will transfer their residency from the Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis to pursue their academic formation in Rome.

In 2011, under orders from Pope Benedict, Cardinal Timothy Dolan, Archbishop of New York, led a review of the Irish College in Rome and a subsequent report was highly critical of the college, expressing concern about "the atmosphere, structure, staffing and guiding philosophy".

Cardinal Dolan said the college suffered "from the reputation of being gay-friendly, however unjust such a reputation might be".

The four Irish archbishops who were were trustees of the Irish College at the time - Cardinal Sean Brady, Dr Diarmuid Martin, Dr Michael Neary, and Dr Dermot Clifford - were criticised in the report as seeming to be "disengaged from college governance".

However, the Irish Archbishops said the report contained "significant errors of fact".

Welcoming the decision to relocate the American trainee priests, Archbishop Martin said: "The presence of these United States' seminarians will enrich and consolidate the seminary community in the Pontifical Irish College."
Shane and Olga Terren Hogan with their children (from left) Sarah, Clara, Ruth, Rita, Hugh, baby Judi, Eliza, Emma, Carmel, and Oscar. Photo: Brian Gavin / Press 22

It's a perfect ten for Limerick parents Shane and Olga Terren Hogan who have welcomed their tenth baby into the world within a 20-year period.

Little Judi was born at University Maternity Hospital Limerick on July 23 weighing seven pounds eight ounces.

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Olga has had all her children delivered at the Limerick hospital.

Mum and baby are both in good health and back home in Knockainey, Co Limerick.

"The staff said it was unusual that they had all been born in the same hospital," said proud father Shane.

"So we were glad to oblige and stand in for a photo."

Shane, a teacher at CBS Charleville in Co Cork, said "Judi is thriving".

The Terren Hogan children - eight girls and two boys - range in age from 19 to just over one week.

Eldest daughter Emma is in college and the second eldest, Ruth, is waiting for her Leaving Cert results.

"For the younger children this is their first time being conscious of having a little baby around," Shane said.

"The older ones are well used to it.

"It's a busy house but we are used to that. We buy a lot of stuff in bulk - we are well used to it all," he added.

Celebration

Noreen Spillane, chief operations officer at UL Hospitals Group, said Judi's birth was a source of celebration for staff.

"It was an occasion of great joy and excitement for all of our staff," she said.

"On behalf of the staff, I would like to again congratulate Olga and Shane and all of Judi's sisters and brothers on the new arrival."
Given that the majority of people living with multiple sclerosis (MS) in Ireland are of working age, it makes sense that every effort should be made to help them live independently. Otherwise, their quality of life will be further eroded, while they may become an expensive financial burden on the State.

Someone who knows this only too well is Kelly Donnelly (34), who grew up in the UK and who now lives in Ireland. As a youngster, she used to get so many aches and pains, some people thought she was a hypochondriac. Then, when she was 16, she experienced numbness on one side of her body. She was referred to a neurologist, who suspected something serious was amiss. "He wanted to do more tests," says Kelly. "But at the time I was highly stressed, doing my GCSEs, and so I became more scared of what those tests would reveal than the symptoms themselves."

A year later, Kelly started seeing double. She was referred to an eye hospital, but no obvious cause was found. "They asked me what drugs I was on," says Kelly, still bristling from the unfair assumption. "I'd had weird symptoms all my life," she says. "For years I knew something wasn't right, but I also wondered if I was imagining it."

After school, Kelly did sound engineering at the London School of Music and Media Studies, and from there she "drifted" into the world of information technology (IT). "I asked myself, 'What do I love best?'" Kelly explains. "And the answer to that was Apple - I love their products. So I went to work for them, and stayed there for five years and had a great time." In 2009, Kelly again developed eye problems while holidaying in Malta. She returned to the same hospital, where again no obvious cause could be found.

"This time they suspected an aneurysm and warned me that if the symptoms got worse, I should go to A&E immediately," she says. "That was scary. However, later that day, a trainee optician at my local pharmacy looked in my eyes and told me I should go back to the hospital and tell them I had optic neuritis."

Optic neuritis occurs when the nerve between the eye and the brain becomes inflamed - it's often the first symptom of MS. Eventually, Kelly was seen by another neurologist, and following various tests, MS was diagnosed. This progressive disease causes damage to the brain. It also affects the central nervous system, which acts like a switchboard, sending instructions from the brain to the various parts of the body. "The scans showed all these lesions," Kelly recalls, still somewhat awed by the memory. "Seeing my brain was amazing. Oddly, the diagnosis came as a relief; finally, everything made sense."

She was then referred to the National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery in London, where she learned about shift.ms, which is a social website for people living with MS. "It was just great to be able to interact with other young people with similar problems," she says. "I'm now doing some reporting for them."

Kelly immediately told her bosses about the diagnosis; she even gave them leaflets so they could better understand her condition. "My manager was great, and said they would support me in whatever way they could."

Fast-talking Kelly has such a zest for life, it's hard to believe she is anything less than completely healthy. However, she volunteers that depression has stalked her most of her life. So her neurologist prescribed an antidepressant, which did wonders. "Stress is a huge part of MS, and that medication really helped me," she says. However, in 2013, she began to experience problems with her legs and to feel very fatigued - so, out of fairness to the company she was working for, she felt obliged to resign.

Eventually, she did return to work, but the next job was not a success, as doctors were, at that time, battling to find medication that would work for her. Then in June 2014, she went on holiday to Vietnam, and though she had a great time, she and her girlfriend of over seven years broke up. "I left our home and moved back with my mum," says Kelly. "I loved being with Mum; we are like best friends. Although she's from Dublin, she brought me up on her own in London."

By then, Kelly was 32 years old and needed to move on with her life. So she joined a dating website and almost immediately met Gabriela, a medic working in Dublin. "We hit it off straight away," says Kelly. "Within weeks, we met at Heathrow Airport. I was thinking, 'Wow, this is the woman I'm going to spend the rest of my life with'."

At the time, Kelly was enduring an increasing number of relapses and was constantly in and out of hospital. Gabriela was, and continues to be, totally supportive. When the young doctor was accepted on to a seven-year training programme in Dublin, Kelly decided to move to Ireland to be with her. She is now doing IT for a medical-research company.

While she has endured periods of ill health in the past, including battles to overcome the sometimes side-effects of steroids, she is in a much better place. She has put herself in the capable hands of Orla Hardiman, the first full professor of neurology to be appointed by Trinity College Dublin. "She is just amazing," says Kelly. "Since I started a new drug she prescribed, which I only have to take once a day, I haven't had any relapses, I'm not dragging my leg and I can even go to the gym." Right now, Kelly's life is good. She simply glows when she talks about the lovely Gabriela; she is also relatively well, and gainfully employed, and all of that is very important to her. "Independence is everything," she says. "It is also very important to be able to work and feel comfortable in a team without judgment."

So she is fully behind a recent initiative by MS Ireland (supported by Novartis), to launch two informative publications about managing MS in the workplace. It's done from the employee's as well as the employer's perspective. Issues cover disclosure of the disease, rights and responsibilities, employment law and so on.

Given that this country loses 135.5m annually due to a lack of productivity caused directly by MS, and given the fact that the rate of employment for people with MS in Ireland, at 43pc, is 17pc lower than the average EU figure, (where 60pc of people with MS work), it makes sense to turn that around. These booklets should help with that intention.

For more information, see ms-society.ie
American ambassador to Ireland Kevin F. OMalley (left) was welcomed to Dundalk last week

There was a huge welcome given to American ambassador to Ireland Kevin F. O'Malley, who made a special visit to Dundalk last week.

The ambassador was welcomed firstly at US firm Paypal at their Xerox Technology Park base.

Meeting with Paypal boss Louise Phelan and her staff, he was also invited to the Millennium Centre in County Hall, where he met with County Manager Joan Martin, and the Vice chairman, Conor Keelan.

'I was honoured to officially welcome the US Ambassador to Ireland, Kevin O'Malley, to County Louth,' said Cllr. Keelan.

He described the ambassador as 'a very charming and intelligent man,' adding that he was also introduced to a number of with other councillors.

'Afterwards had a frank discussion about investment opportunities for the county going forward and the impact of Brexit,' said Cllr. Keelan.

The meeting also included ideas on how to increase tourism, trade and business in the area.

This is the second trip to Louth for Ambassador O'Malley in recent weeks.

At the end of June, he was a key part of the official welcome party for US Vice President, Joe Biden and his family when they visited Carlingford.

The ambassador travelled to the Heritage centre in the village to see Vice President Biden be awarded the Freedom of Louth.
Greystones man Bernard Lee is expected to return to Ireland at the weekend after almost two weeks behind bars in Australia.

Bernard (26) was arrested at his home in Perth last Monday, seven years after moving to Australia. He was detained in Yongah Hill Detention Centre. Neither he nor his lawyer received a letter of notification that his residents' visa had been refused and his business visa cancelled. He was also in breach of the 20-day period to leave the country.

Following an appeal in Ireland and Australia, thousands signed an online petition for his release. He was due to fly home this week anyway, under his own steam.

Yesterday morning, the Lee family heard that Bernard will be put on a plane on Friday evening. His parents Norman and Una are cautiously optimistic but won't be satisfied until he is on Irish soil. Norman said that the family received support from the Irish and British consuls in Perth during their ordeal. 'We can't call off the dogs just yet,' said Norman. 'The noise we were able to put out there with plenty of help made the difference here. Bernard's lawyer has said that this is unprecedented. Nothing of this nature has ever happened this fast before.'

They feared that he could end up in the detention centre for up to 18 months. 'He's sharing a room there with another Irish guy who has no offences, has never been to jail, and he's been there for 18 months,' said Norman. He said that what had happened meant that one day, Bernard was legal, and the next he was breaking the law without realising. 'They claim they don't have to notify people but how is anyone supposed to deal with it?

'I spoke to him this morning. He's really relieved and over the moon. He hopes to be out Friday night.' His girlfriend Amal is in Europe. After getting home to Manor Avenue and catching his breath he will go to meet her in Greece along with his siblings Lorna, Robert and Pamela. Robert recently got engaged so Bernard will make it home in time for their celebration.
The staff at Brooklodge Hotel made a poignant tribute to Csaba Orsos last week by planting a memorial tree.

The tree bears a memorial plaque 'Csaba's Tree' in memory of Csaba who worked in the hotel alongside his killer Marta Herda.

Csaba's brother Zoltan, also a former employee at the Brooklodge, was invited to stay at the upmarket hotel while he was in Ireland to attend Herta's trial.

In an emotional victim impact statement Zoltan had told court that although Brooklodge had kept his position open for a year after his brother's death he had been unable to find the strength to return to work at the hotel.

'I didn't have the strength,' he said. 'Occasionally I thought about it, "okay, I return", but I realised I could not work with a smile any more there - everything would remind me of Csaba.'

He said it was no good without him. He had taught him the language and everything about catering. He said his plan to work in Ireland for a long time had been shattered.

After the tree was unveiled a distraught Zoltan took a picture of it and said he had 'no words' about such a generous gesture.

Hotel manager Manish Pallewar said that the effects of the 'terrible incident' was felt by all the staff, the majority of whom worked beside Herda and Mr Orsos.

'Our thoughts are with the members of both their families. It was a terrible incident. It is a sad moment for both sides', he said, adding that the prayers of everyone were with the families.

Sources close to the case praised both the Hungarian Embassy and the Garda Travel Bureau for facilitating travel arrangements for the family of Csaba to attend the trial. Zoltan had returned to his native Hungry after the murder of his brother because he had been unable to face life in Ireland without him.

He said he is still tormented by the thoughts of his brother's death.

'When I had to identify my dead brother, my heart teared apart because of the pain,' he said. 'I remember every moment of it, it will stay with me forever. He was so cold. I would have never thought that this way I have to say goodbye to him. Sometimes because of the pain in my chest I want to scream.'

He said that, he had since dreamed that his brother was walking towards him on the beach, dead, waking him up from his dream, cold and shaking.

'But next day again I dreamed with him as he was walking towards me pale without T-shirt, I woke up.'

Herda's murder conviction is only the second time tin the history of the State that a person has been convicted of using a car to carry out a murder.

Bizarrly the only other case also took place in Arklow.

Anthony O'Reilly of Ballyfermot received a life sentence after he was convicted of murdering Daniel McDonald (21) on February 2, 2007, on Arklow's Main Street.

O'Reilly and Mr McDonald had been fighting in Rascal's disco on the night in question. After being thrown out the pair continue to trade abuse.

Witnesses recalled that outside the club O'Reilly threatened bouncers and others telling Mr McDonald he was dead.

O'Reilly got into his car and drove up the street as Mr McDonald walked on up the road to meet him.

The court heard that O'Reilly's Honda Civic went in Mr McDonald's direction and when his car struck Mr McDonald O'Reilly was in the wrong lane driving at about 50mph.

Mr McDonald was knocked over 100 feet down the Main Street shattering his skull and tearing his brain tissue in the process.
How can you remember you have a family if you have short-term memory loss?

That question is the wind beneath the water wings of Pixar's joyous computer-animated sequel, which revisits the colourful characters 13 years after worrywart clownfish Marlin (voiced by Albert Brooks) was reunited with his beloved son, Nemo.

Their forgetful pal, Dory (Ellen DeGeneres), the uproarious comic relief of the first film, is promoted to head of the school for directors Andrew Stanton and Angus Mac Lane's journey of self-fishcovery that once again abandons the safety of the reef for perilous waters.

In almost every aspect, Finding Dory is the emotional and comical equal of its predecessor, dazzling the senses with stunningly realistic visuals and Thomas Newman's buoyant orchestral score.

The script effortlessly tugs heartstrings in between cute verbal and sight gags, including a running joke about the voice of an A-list Hollywood actress, whose dulcet tones become a shimmering beacon of hope in the film's darkest moments.

An adorable animated short entitled Piper precedes and complements the main feature, chronicling the fortunes of a sandpiper hatchling as it learns to forage for food at the water's edge.

Tissues at the ready...

Dory is the next-shell neighbour of Marlin and his young son, Nemo (Hayden Rolence) on the Great Barrier Reef.

During a field trip to witness the stingray migration, the loveable blue tang experiences a rush of fragmented memories of her parents Charlie (Eugene Levy) and Jenny (Diane Keaton).

'I miss 'em', Dory tells Marlin and the plucky fish embark on an epic quest to California to reunite the forgetful daughter with her loved ones.

Initially, the travellers ride strong currents with sea turtle Crush (Andrew Stanton) and his bodacious brethren, but when they eventually arrive at the Marine Life Institute, Dory is separated from her pals.

She languishes in quarantine with a grouchy septopus called Hank (Ed O'Neill), who possesses remarkable powers of camouflage.

Meanwhile, Marlin and Nemo abide by Dory's mantra - 'Just keeping swimming' - and enlist help from wise-cracking sea lions Fluke (Idris Elba) and Rudder (Dominic West), near-sighted whale shark Destiny (Kaitlin Olson) and a beluga whale called Bailey (Ty Burrell), who has lost his echo location as the result of a concussion.

'I hit my head very hard. Do you see how swollen it is?' laments Bailey.

'Your head is supposed to be big,' retorts Destiny, 'You're a beluga.'

Finding Dory mines the central character's one-joke disability for gentle laughs without meanness or obviously treading water.

Set pieces including a frenetic chase involving a fearsome predator of the sea are nimbly executed and the introduction of O'Neill's cranky cephalopod is a master stroke.

DeGeneres' vocal performance exudes warmth and innocence, compelling us to root for her through a couple of the film's outlandish narrative detours.
The staff at Balbriggan Tesco in Millfield joined the fun all over Dublin Tesco stores recently that saw a whopping 38,000 raised for Temple Street Children's Hospital.

Tesco Stores in Dublin, like the one at Millfield Shopping Centre in Balbriggan, were awash with superheroes, princesses, pirates and more as Tesco colleagues and customers took part in Ireland's Largest Fancy Dress Day, raising an incredible 38,800 for Temple Street Children's Hospital in just seven hours of fancy dress fun.

The retailer exceeded its national fundraising target across its 148 stores raising 150,000 for its charity partner.

All funds will go towards replacing equipment in the out-patient Ophthalmology department, helping the team to give the best possible care by using the latest technology for eye examinations.

Denise Fitzgerald, Chief Executive of Temple Street Foundation: 'Saturday's fancy dress event was truly spectacular and the support shown for our hospital in Tesco stores right across the country was so wonderful to see.

'The funds raised will have a positive and long-lasting impact on Temple Street and the children in our care.

'From all of our little patients, doctors and nurses we'd like to say a huge thank you to all the team in Tesco and customers who dressed up and got involved!'

The event coincided with a great Family Fun Day at Millfield Shopping Centre.

There was tons of fun on offer for the hundreds of shoppers that turned out for the event with plenty to entertain everyone in the family and a real international flavour to the event as Balbriggan's diverse communities all came together for a day of celebration.

From Irish dancers to the beat of African drums, and a riot of colourful and multi-cultural fashions on show, Millfield was alive with activity and there was plenty of tasty and sometimes exotic food on offer for the hungry shoppers too.

Amid all fun of the day, were the superheroes of Tesco who were raising cah for Temple Street Children's Hospital, which many people will not realise, actually operates the busiest A&E department in Europe.

For thousands of children, Temple Street is the only hospital in Ireland where they can be treated and through the charity partnership with Tesco, employees and customers can be real life heroes to little patients from all over Ireland.

Since the launch of the charity partnership in October 2014, Tesco employees across the nation have raised a staggering 1.8million for Temple Street, helping the hospital to buy much needed, lifesaving medical equipment and the Balbriggan staff have played their part.

Well done to all the Balbriggan Tesco staff who entered into the spirit of the event and donned all kinds of costumes to raise money for this most worthy of causes.

The Temple Street Foundation raises funds to enable Temple Street Children's University Hospital to continue to provide world class care to Ireland's sickest children. Find out more at templestreet.ie
Fingal is well placed to take advantage of a rapidly-growing tourism sector in the wider Dublin region with the council's Director of Tourism Development predicting the sector could soon support more than 25,000 jobs in Fingal.

In the second part of his exclusive interview with the Fingal Independent, Fingal County Council's Ed Hearne puts on his tourism hat and talks about the opportunities that are out there for the sector in this county.

Mr Hearne told the Fingal Independent: 'There is a real opportunity for us in harnessing the tourism potential so, since 2010, expenditure by visitors to Ireland has grown by 55%, so that's a really massive uplift and it's now over four or five billion euro.

'So, in the years to 2020, Failte Ireland is predicting that visitor numbers to Dublin will grow by 7% per annum. For Fingal, the opportunity is to take a share of that and capitalise on all of the various tourism attractions we have here locally.'

To do that, the council wants to position Fingal as an add-on to a visit to Dublin city, but offering something radically different from the hustle and bustle of the city centre. Rather than compete with the city, Fingal needs to complement it with something a little different and that is why the county is now involved in the 'Dublin - Breath of Fresh Air' marketing campaign.

Mr Hearne explained: 'We work very closely with Failte Ireland on the 'Dublin - Breath of Fresh Air' brand and that is something that plays right into our sweet spot here. Yes, Dublin has great city centre attractions and night-life and so forth but we (in Fingal) also have beautiful coastal villages, great cuisine and we also have great opportunities for outdoor pursuits and leisure and so forth and that's what 'Dublin - A Breath of Fresh Air' is really selling to international visitors.

'For us to be able to take a share of that market and leverage what we have in terms of our existing attractions and leverage as well, our great suite of heritage properties up and down the county - that's going to be a major advantage.'

Competing with the city ignores the benefit of sitting on its doorstep could mean for Fingal tourism, according to Mr Hearne who explained: 'The opportunity for Fingal, at least some of it, stems from the fact that we are on the doorstep of a major European capital that is already extremely attractive. Where the 'Dublin - Breath of Fresh Air' brand came from I think is very instructive in this regard. 'So, Failte Ireland did a major piece of international research and they found that Dublin is well known out there in international markets but it is kind of synonymous with night-life and Temple Bar and stag parties and so on and that's great and there's a role for that but what the 'Dublin - Breath of Fresh Air' brand is trying to do is show that there is much more to it than that. While you can have that hustle and bustle of the city centre and the nigh-tlife and so forth, but if you hop on a Dart, within 20 minutes you can be in a coastal village or you can be hiking in the Dublin Mountains or indulging in all kinds of leisure pursuits - there is just so much more to it than the city centre.

'Again, that's exactly where we can benefit from it and we work hand-in-glove with Failte Ireland in promoting it and we are already seeing a very positive impact from that taking effect already. By all means, the impact of tourism here will be maximised if we work on a co-operative basis with the wider Dublin region. We can have our unique selling points but within the wider market.'

Top of those unique selling points are the county's wonderful heritage properties and their tourism potential is only beginning to be tapped, according to Mr Hearne.

The Tourism Development Director said: 'If you take things like Malahide Castle, Newbridge Demesne, the potential opportunity in Bremore Castle, Ardgillan and Swords Castle - that is a very distinctive, rich cultural heritage that is very appealing to the kind of visitor we want to attract as well as having really positive community benefits and having an intrinsic heritage value, that is something that will really differentiate us. We are actually in the process of a major strategic review of how our heritage properties operate, how we can maximise them as visitor attractions and how we can take the ones forward, that haven't really been developed.

'Take the likes of Bremore Castle that is yet to be completed, how can we take that to completion, possibly secure a funding stream and then operate it into the future. Bremore just has massive potential as a local economic engine in Balbriggan, complementing the types of things I mentioned earlier.

We have already had a couple of small events in it but it has the potential to be almost a Bunratty kind of experience of that type of thing. We are very excited about that and we will have that review pretty much complete in the Autumn. We haven't done a full costing of it. It has been taken on remarkably in the last number of years and to the level of completion that it is at. There is a last piece of fit out to be done but I think the scale of the potential opportunity there would mean from a first look, intuitively you would think that there would have to be a very strong return on investment. It's a great opportunity and it's something we are really very excited about.'

The redevelopment of Swords Castle and the potential that has to generate tourism business in the Fingal capital is one of the biggest projects on Mr Hearne's desk. Talking about that project, he said: 'It's great from a number of perspectives. I think it's great for the community and for Swords people to see it open again after I think, 80 years or so. We have just done the demolition of the houses in front of it there so that's really opening it up to the town.

'The opportunity there again with the Cultural Quarter that's in development, and how that can become a real magnet for the north end of the town and a real vibrant civic space, I think that's going to be a great opportunity as well.

'That coupled with what we are doing with the wider heritage properties portfolio will give us the attractions we need for tourism. There is no point having the best marketing strategy in the world but unless you have high quality visitor attractions and high quality tourism products that people want to come and visit and that are interesting and have a story and so forth, then you are not going to see the impact of it. So, we are really working the two in tandem. We are developing that marketing and promotion but ensuring as well that we have a quality product to attract people too.'

So how important is tourism to the economy of Fingal? The Tourism Development Director who also has responsibility for Economic Development in Fingal, said: 'When we launched out tourism strategy in 2015, it was estimated at that stage that there was 500 million in expenditure in the tourism sector locally within Fingal and that it supports up to 20,000 jobs including the direct jobs and the downstream impacts. So, that's almost one in four jobs in the county so it's already of major significance but the opportunity is very significant. I mentioned the trend that Failte Ireland is forecasting for Dublin and for us to take a share of that, we can grow that number very significantly over the next few years.

'I would see that 7% growth that Failte Ireland has forecasted for Dublin can really be the lower bound here because of the base we are coming from, the attractions we have and because the emphasis we are now putting into marketing development. We want to maximise the potential so I would say we want to grow at a minimum of 7% per annum so in short order, that could take us up to employment in excess of 25,000 certainly.'

Fingal is targeting two types of tourist, 'the culturally curious' who want to explore the region's rich heritage and natural beauty and the 'social energisers' who have a younger profile and want an active holiday full of outdoor pursuits.

Both fit what Fingal can offer, according to Mr Hearne who is optimistic about the county's future in the tourism sector and its ability to sustain a growth in jobs here and provide a huge boost to the local economy.
The contest is co-organized by the Cultural Heritage Association of Vietnams Vietnam Heritage magazine and Canon Marketing Vietnam company, to celebrate the 71 years since President Ho Chi Minh signed the first decree of the state (Decree 65/SL) on preserving national cultural heritages and Vietnam Cultural Heritage Day (November 23rd).

A photo in the Vietnam Heritage photo contest 2015

Entries can be single photos or sets of photos highlighting Vietnams nature and daily life, as well as tangible and intangible heritages. They should be sent to cuocthianhdisanvietnam@gmail.com by October 1st.

The awards ceremony is scheduled to take place in November in Ho Chi Minh city.

The top 100 photos will be displayed from October to the end of 2017 Lunar New Year at tourist attractions, museums and universities in several cities, including Ho Chi Minh city, Phan Thiet, Nha Trang, Da Nang and Hanoi./.
Some 44 new jobs have already been created in small food producers in Fingal as a consequence of the Food Academy programme, according to the Fingal Local Enterprise Office and this number looks set to double before the end of 2017, to over 90 food-production jobs in Fingal.

A survey by the Fingal Local Enterprise Office shows that 12 small food and drink producers in Fingal, members of the Food Academy Programme who employ 44 people, have made the break-through into the retail market. Those same businesses expect to create a further 32 jobs over the next 12 months. But further intakes onto the Food Academy programme, mean that the jobs created will more than double to over 90 food production jobs before the end of next year.

At an event organised by the Local Enterprise Offices recently, the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation, Ms. Mary Mitchell O' Connor T.D. met with food producers from eight different regions, including HiRo by Roisin from the Dublin region. All eight companies are among the 281 producers to have successfully made the break-through into the retail market.

Run over a series of workshops, the Food Academy programme is an initiative of the Local Enterprise Offices, Bord Bia and SuperValu to nurture new start-ups in the food and drink sector and it focuses on areas such as business planning, understanding consumer trends and raising finance.

Minister Mitchell O' Connor encouraged more 'early-stage' food and drink producers to apply for the programme through Fingal Local Enterprise Office. The Minister said: 'The Food Academy Programme has been running very successfully for the last three years by the Local Enterprise Offices in partnership with Bord Bia and SuperValu.

'This programme has already enabled almost 300 small food businesses to start and grow, creating valuable jobs across every county and region. One of my priorities as Minister is creating an environment where job growth can thrive, particularly in rural Ireland.'

Oisin Geoghegan, Head of Fingal Local Enterprise Office is also the Chair of the LEO National Food Committee that runs the Food Academy said:'By equipping owners and managers of local food businesses with industry knowledge and skills, they have a better chance of succeeding in business. The goal of the Food Academy programme is to help more food producers to start selling through supermarkets, as well as through farmers' markets and to provide them with the supports, information and advice to scale up and achieve this retail break-through.

'According to our research, Food Academy producers in Fingal already support 44 full-time jobs. Over the next 18 months, these producers and a new intake will at least double this figure to more than 90 jobs.'

Paul Reid, Chief Executive of Fingal County Council, said: 'In Fingal, we have a strong tradition of excellence in food production. The Food Academy programme is particularly beneficial in enabling our small and artisan food producers to become suppliers to the largest retail chain in Ireland.'

In a recent interview with the Fingal Independent, Fingal's economic development director, Ed Hearne identified the food industry as having growth potential in Fingal.
As the debate continues between the daa and its neighbours over two planning restrictions on night-time flying imposed on the development of a new runway at Dublin Airport, a local Labour TD has called on the Minister for Transport to 'fast-track' new EU regulations on noise from airports.

Brendan Ryan, Labour Party TD for Dublin Fingal, has called on the Minister for Transport to fast track an EU Regulation on noise related operating restrictions at Airports.

The regulation came into force on June 13 of this year, according to Deputy Ryan but needs a Government Statutory Instrument to give practical effect to the Regulation in Ireland.

Deputy Ryan said: 'I raised this matter in a Dail question conscious of the concerns and worries of residents in Swords, Portmarnock, Saint Margaret's and elsewhere to the North Runway plan from the daa. The EU Regulation calls for a 'balanced approach' to noise management. This is exactly what the majority of residents in north County Dublin want in relation to the expansion of Dublin Airport.'

The Labour TD explained: ' People recognise the economic benefit and the potential for more jobs but this needs to be balanced with a right for residents to have a peaceful living environment with controls over noise pollution. I am asking the minister to push ahead with this Regulation and give effect through a Statutory Instrument as soon as possible.'
A Fingal senator along with a delegation from neighbours of Dublin Airport affected by the planned new runway project have met with the Minister for Transport, Shane Ross to voice their concerns over the proposals.

Senator Lorraine Clifford-Lee and residents from Portmarnock, Boroimhe, River Valley and Ridgewood met with Transport Minister Shane Ross recently to raise their concerns over the proposed development of a 320 million new runway at Dublin Airport.

The main concerns of Senator Clifford-Lee and the residents focused on were the attempts by Dublin Airport Authority (daa) to remove sections 3d and 5 from the runway's original planning conditions, which could allow the daa to operate an unrestricted number of night time flights. The issues of noise pollution, infrastructural shortcomings, structural deficits, and the environmental impact of the runway were raised at the meeting.

Senator Lorraine Clifford-Lee said: 'With the number of passengers passing through Dublin Airport projected to escalate rapidly by an average of 6% per annum, infrastructural investment needs to be in place so that passengers and staff at the airport can travel in a safe and punctual manner. Further investment in the local community is needed to deal with the noise pollution which is already a serious problem, especially in the schools located beneath the flight paths.'

Senator Clifford-Lee and the residents at the meeting reaffirmed that they are 'in no way against the construction of the new runway and do, indeed, welcome the investment and the opportunities it will present'. But they said daa must 'follow through on the suggestions which they themselves made in their original planning conditions'.

Ensuring that local residents are afforded a good quality of life should be a primary concern on the DAA, acording to Seantor Clifford-Lee who said: 'The meeting was constructive, with Minister Ross taking the concerns raised on-board. I am looking forward to continuing to work on this issue with the Minister to find a solution that ensures that residents of Dublin Fingal are adequately protected from further noise pollution and that structural deficits and infrastructural shortcomings are dealt with'.
Staff shortages at St Joseph's Intellectual Disability Services in Portrane must be addressed urgently by the HSE.

That is the view of Fine Gael TD for Dublin Fingal, Alan Farrell who called on the HSE to act.

Deputy Farrell said: 'I recently raised the issue of staff shortages at St. Joseph's Intellectual Disability Services in Portrane with the HSE. This is a matter of concern for many people in our community as we must ensure that those benefiting from the services provided receive the best possible care. In order to do this, we must ensure that there are adequate staffing levels in place.

'The HSE have informed me that the staff shortages have largely resulted from basic nurse grades being promoted to senior posts, and this has caused a number of vacancies at basic grade level. However, from the information I have received, the HSE have attempted to fill these vaccines but have not successful done so as of yet. I do not believe the situation as it currently stands can be accepted.'

He added: 'It is of the utmost importance to fill these vacancies urgently to ensure the best possible care is provided to every single person in St. Joseph's Intellectual Disability Services. The staff that are currently there are doing hard and important work in our community, which benefits people from across the North County. However, until such a time as the existing vacancies are filled, they are surely facing an increased workload.

'I am pleased that the HSE have stated that the on-going care of residents in St. Joseph's Intellectual Disability Services is an on-going priority for them. I understand that difficulties may exist in terms of encouraging nurses to take positions in the Dublin region due to the higher cost of living, and this is an issue which Government must tackle through addressing the pay needs of entry level nurses. While action has been taken to mitigate the impact of this staff shortages through the redeployment of nursing and health care assistant staff to front line services, the maximisation of all nursing bank staff where possible, and the usage of staff from nursing agencies on three month rolling contracts, I believe the appropriate action must be taken to ensure these vacancies are filled with the utmost urgency. The HSE have undertaken a national recruitment campaign to fill these vacancies with limited success. I have communicated my views to the Minister for Health.'
Mr Trump has made traditional Republican donors uneasy with inflammatory statements about women, Mexicans, Muslims and war veterans, among others. Photo: Mark Wallheiser/Getty Images

Groups of wealthy Republicans unhappy with Donald Trump have been privately courting prominent peers to join them in backing Democrat Hillary Clinton's US presidential bid, several people involved in the effort have revealed.

They say they are seeking money and endorsements from other Republicans disillusioned by Mr Trump, their party's candidate for the November 8 presidential election. Some have received encouragement from Ms Clinton and members of her campaign staff.

"I made the decision that I wouldn't be able to look at my grandkids if I voted for Trump," said Dan Webb, a former federal prosecutor and a self-described "Republican for decades" working to win over prominent Republican business people in Chicago.

Mr Trump, a New York developer making his first run at public office, has made traditional Republican donors uneasy with inflammatory statements about women, Mexicans, Muslims and war veterans, among others.

Big-name Wall Street donors can make a difference for Ms Clinton. They could inject serious money into a campaign.

They might influence moderate Republicans to switch sides. Their support of Ms Clinton challenges Mr Trump's assertion that his business successes make him a better candidate for president.

With the political conventions barely over, the Republican effort to fundraise for Ms Clinton is at an early stage. Some of the groups have yet to receive contributions because they must still file paperwork under campaign finance rules.

Trump spokeswoman Hope Hicks declined to comment for this story. Clinton spokesman Jesse Ferguson said business leaders are supporting Ms Clinton because of her economic plan and because Mr Trump "cannot be trusted."

Groups formed to support Ms Clinton include Republicans for Her 2016, run by Republican lobbyist Craig Snyder; a grassroots organisation called R4C16, led by John Stubbs and Ricardo Reyes, officials in former President George W Bush's administration; and the Republican Women for Hillary group co-led by Jennifer Pierotti Lim, an official at the US Chamber of Commerce.

The first two groups are acting independently of Ms Clinton's own effort. The third is acting in concert with her campaign.

"We wanted to go out there and be the voice for Republicans who were feeling wary about Trump and weird about publicly endorsing Hillary," said Ms Pierotti Lim.
An Irishman woke up "engulfed in flames" after spending a night camping in Australia.

Ciaran Carolan (28) from Michelstown in Cork was working at a rodeo in North West Queensland on June 30 when he woke in the middle of the night to find his sleeping bag on fire.

"I woke up and I was engulfed in flames. There was a spark from the camp fire and it caught my sleeping bag," Ciaran told the Irish Independent last night.

The ambulance on site at the rodeo took Ciaran to the nearest town which was 200km away.

Upon arrival, he was airlifted by the Royal Flying Doctor Service to Brisbane where he is now starting recovery.

"I have one skin graft on my back and burns on my buttocks, legs and feet. My burns are so bad that I needed surgery and might need another one on my foot," he said.

With his family on the other side of the world, his friends have set up a GoFundMe page to fly them over to be with him and cover his medical costs.

"I have no idea how much my hospital costs will be but my physio is $AUS90 an hour," he said.

"I won't be able to return to work for eight months to a year. I'm not even dreaming about going back to work until next March."

Ciaran thanked everyone who has helped and supported him. Efforts to fund his treatment are now underway.

Donations can be made to Ciaran's cause through the website www.gofundme.com/irishrecovery.

Meanwhile, a Wicklow man who was a detention centre in Australia is due to arrive home today.

Bernard Lee (26), originally from Greystones, was held at Yongah Hill Detention Centre near Perth after he failed to secure residency and his working visa was cancelled.

He was detained by armed police and immigration officials on July 25. He had been living in Australia for seven years.

Mr Lee, a bodybuilder and tiler, has given a number of media interviews in recent days during which he expressed relief about his release.

"All the security guards have said that they've never seen someone get home from here after only 11 days," he said during one interview this week.
Lord Rix who has issued a plea for euthanasia to be legalised in order to allow him to "slip away peacefully" Credit: Jim James/PA Wire

Actor and learning disability campaigner Lord Rix has issued a plea for euthanasia to be legalised in order to allow him to "slip away peacefully".

In a letter to the Speaker of the House of Lords Baroness D'Souza, the 92-year-old Mencap president revealed he is suffering from a terminal condition and hopes Parliament will act "as soon as possible" to make it possible for people in his situation to be assisted to die.

Lord Rix voted against an Assisted Dying Bill which came before the House of Lords in 2006 because he feared that people with learning disabilities might become the unwilling victims of euthanasia.

But in his letter, he told the Lord Speaker: "My position has changed. As a dying man, who has been dying now for several weeks, I am only too conscious that the laws of this country make it impossible for people like me to be helped on their way, even though the family is supportive of this position and everything that needs to be done has been dealt with.

"Unhappily, my body seems to be constructed in such a way that it keeps me alive in great discomfort when all I want is to be allowed to slip into a sleep, peacefully, legally and without any threat to the medical or nursing profession. I am sure there are many others like me who having finished with life wish their life to finish."

Lord Rix told Lady D'Souza: "I can only ask that once again the House of Lords brings the UK up to date by allowing legal euthanasia after all other avenues have been pursued. Please raise the question again in the House of Lords so that people like me do not continue to suffer untold misery for want of a kind alternative.

"I realise somebody in the House will have to move the question yet again and would ask that my statement is read out and acted upon as soon as possible.

"Only with a legal Euthanasia BIll on the statute books will the many people who find themselves in the same situation as me be able to slip away peacefully in their sleep instead of dreading the night."

As Brian Rix, the crossbench peer was one of Britain's most popular TV and stage actors with his own brand of "Whitehall farce" comedy.

He later became one of the country's foremost campaigners for people with learning disabilities after his daughter was born with Down's syndrome.
Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc and Lao Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Somdy Douangdy (Source: VNA)



The Vietnamese Government will also support its businesses operating in Laos, including the facilitation of their projects, as they will contribute to Laoss economic development, he affirmed.

He also suggested both countries make more efforts to address difficulties to boost bilateral trade, as their potential in trade cooperation has yet to be tapped fully.

The Government leader informed the guest that he will assign a Government delegation led by Deputy Prime Minister Trinh Dinh Dung to visit Laos to seek ways to intensify bilateral cooperation in numerous fields, especially in energy.

Vietnam is considering the implementation of several transport infrastructure projects linking the country with Laos, he said, adding that Laos should scale up the sale of electricity to Vietnam.

He spoke of the financial cooperation agreements reached by the two ministries during the Lao guests visit, confirming that Vietnam is willing to help train financial officers for Laos and coordinate with the country at international financial forums.

The Lao Deputy PM asked the Vietnamese Government to encourage more Vietnamese businesses to invest in Laos, especially in disadvantageous areas to boost socio-economic development and improve locals living conditions.

Laos will do its utmost to nurture its special friendship and all-round cooperation with Vietnam, he added./.
In a ruling published yesterday, the court rejected a request to switch the birth register entry to inter or diverse, saying German family law recognises only male or female. Stock Picture

A person with a genetic abnormality who identifies as neither woman nor man can't be entered in Germany's birth register under an alternative label such as "inter" or "diverse," a German court has said.

The plaintiff was identified by advocacy group Dritte Option as Vanja, born in 1989 and registered as a girl. Vanja provided the Federal Court of Justice with an analysis showing one X chromosome but no second sexual chromosome. Women have two X chromosomes, while men have one X and one Y chromosome.

In a ruling published yesterday, the court rejected a request to switch the birth register entry to "inter" or "diverse", saying German family law recognises only male or female. Dritte Option said the plaintiff plans to go to Germany's highest court, the Federal Constitutional Court.
The French authorities are set to make a fresh bid to extradite British journalist Ian Bailey for questioning over the killing of Sophie Toscan du Plantier.

Paris police have issued a fresh arrest warrant for the Manchester-born journalist who has been based in west Cork for the past 25 years after he was effectively charged in relation to the matter in absentia in Paris yesterday.

Papers were served by French magistrate Nathalie Turquey at the Paris-based Court of Assizes.

This follows an exhaustive eight-year long investigation by the French police into the death of Ms du Plantier (39) in 1996 at her west Cork holiday home.

The Paris prosecution will now underpin the fresh arrest warrant for Mr Bailey (59).

Ms du Plantier's son, Pierre Louis Baudey, is currently on holidays in the Toormore Cottage his mother described as her dream home.

Mr Baudey welcomed the French move and said his family have "waited almost 20 years for justice".

However, it remains unclear what will happen with the new warrant in Ireland given that the Supreme Court threw out a previous French extradition attempt for Mr Bailey in 2012.

Mr Bailey last night said he had "absolutely no comment" to make on the matter and referred all queries to his solicitor, Frank Buttimer.

Mr Buttimer described the move as "an outrage".

"We have received nothing from the French authorities and the first my client heard about this was from media inquiries and media coverage," he told the Irish Independent.

Mr Bailey will again vigorously contest any French attempt to extradite him over the du Plantier murder.

The mother-of-one and French film executive was found battered to death on an isolated laneway leading to her holiday home outside Schull in west Cork on December 23, 1996.

She had been beaten to death as she apparently attempted to flee from an intruder at her home.

Ms du Plantier had been spending a brief holiday in Ireland before planning to fly back to France to spend Christmas with her family.

Mr Bailey was arrested twice by gardai in west Cork in connection with the matter in 1997 and 1998.

He was released without charge on both occasions.

He has since repeatedly claimed that attempts were made to "stitch him up" for the crime.

Mr Bailey also vehemently protested his innocence and claimed that being wrongly linked to the tragedy had destroyed his life.

When no-one was ever charged with the killing in Ireland, the French authorities - under pressure from Sophie's family and friends - launched their own probe in 2007.

This was under Paris-based Magistrate Patrick Gachon and enjoyed the full co-operation of the Irish authorities under European police co-operation regulations.

This included allowing elite French police units access to the original Garda murder file and the ability to re-interview all the original witnesses.

The Paris probe also involved exhuming Sophie's body from the French cemetery where she was buried.
The boy was left in a day care centre van for more than nine hours

A three-year-old boy was left alone in a van for more than nine hours after day care centre staff in Kentucky forgot about him.

The boy was at the Precious Jewels School of Excellence in Lexington while his mother was at work.

Police said the woman told officers that her son was missing when she came home late on Wednesday. She told them the day care centre was supposed to drop the boy home at 5pm.

Officers contacted the owner who went to the business - which had been closed since 6pm - and found the boy still strapped in a seat inside the van parked outside.

Paramedics checked out the child, who was unhurt.

Authorities believe the child was inside the van from about 4.30pm on Wednesday until 2am on Thursday.

The Kentucky Cabinet for Health and Family Services has suspended services at the centre citing its "failure to protect the health, safety and welfare of children".

AP
Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump gives a thumbs up after his wife Melania spoke during the Republican National Convention

Melania Trump has furiously denied suggestions she may have broken US immigration law in the 1990s.

It followed the revelation that she had posed for naked photographs as a model in 1995 in New York.

The pictures were published in the French magazine Max in February the following year.

Mrs Trump, the billionaire's third wife, has previously said she arrived in the US from her native Slovenia in 1996, and that she was on a short term visa that did not allow her to work.

After questions were raised about the discrepancy she said in a statement: "Let me set the record straight. I have at all times been in full compliance with the immigration laws of this country. Period. Any allegation to the contrary is simply untrue."

The photographer who took the naked photographs said Mrs Trump was not paid, which means she could have been in the country legally on a visitor visa.

Hope Hicks, spokeswoman for the Trump campaign, said Mrs Trump had "followed all applicable laws".

She was sponsored for a work visa by a modeling company in 1996. She went on to meet Mr Trump in 1998, married him in 2005, and became a US citizen the following year.

The pictures, and the fact they had been taken in 1995, came to light in recent days and the New York Post republished them under the headline "The Ogle Office".

The row came after it emerged Mrs Trump did not obtain a degree from the University of Ljubljana in Slovenia, having left after a year to become model.

Her website, where the degree claim appeared, was taken down last week.

She was also at the centre of a controversy during the recent Republican Party convention when it emerged part of her speech had been taken from one Michelle Obama gave eight years ago. A speechwriter admitted responsibility.

Telegraph Media Group Limited [2022]
Authorities in Indian-controlled Kashmir have extended a curfew to most of the disputed Himalayan region in an attempt to prevent an anti-India protest march to a prominent shrine, but clashes erupted as thousands defied the restrictions.

The mostly Muslim region, where resistance to rule by predominantly Hindu India is strong, has been under a rolling curfew and strikes for nearly a month after the killing of a popular rebel commander sparked massive anti-India demonstrations.

At least 54 civilians and a policeman have been killed and thousands injured.

Separatists urged Kashmiris to march to the Hazratbal shrine in the city of Srinagar and stage protests after Friday prayers.

Police and paramilitary soldiers patrolled streets and laid razor wire and steel barricades to cut off neighbourhoods in the city, while shops, businesses and schools remained closed for the 28th consecutive day.

Thousands of Kashmiris defied the security lockdown and demonstrated at dozens of places in the region. They chanted slogans such as "Go India, go back" and "We want freedom".

Violence erupted in at least two dozen places after government forces intercepted the protesters and fired live ammunition, tear gas and shotgun pellets, police and witnesses said.

Two men were killed and at least 100 civilians were injured, some of them critically. At least 20 police and soldiers were also reported injured.

Troops continued firing shotguns to disperse angry crowds despite warnings from India's home ministry to minimise their use, and requests for a ban from local and international rights groups. The pellets have killed at least one man and left hundreds of civilians with serious eye injuries. Dozens of people have been blinded.

Government forces barred people from praying at large mosques across the region for a fourth Friday in a row, but allowed prayers at small neighbourhood mosques.

Separatist politicians, demanding an end to Indian rule, have extended the protest strikes until August 12.

The troubled region is experiencing some of the largest protests against Indian rule in recent years since troops killed the rebel commander on July 8.

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.

Kashmir is divided between arch rivals India and Pakistan, which have fought two wars over control of the region since British colonialists left the subcontinent in 1947.

India accuses Pakistan of arming and training Kashmiri rebels who have been fighting for independence or merger with Pakistan since 1989. Pakistan denies the charge, saying it only provides moral and political support to Kashmiris.

Most people in the Indian-controlled part resent the presence of hundreds of thousands of Indian troops and support the rebel cause.

More than 68,000 people have been killed in the armed uprising against Indian rule and the subsequent military crackdown.

AP
An airstrike killed an IS leader in north Sinai (AP)

The leader of the Islamic State's Sinai branch has been killed in an airstrike on a house, according to military officials.

Abu Doaa al-Ansari died in an operation south of the coastal city of el-Arish in north Sinai, according to a posting on the Facebook page of the Egyptian military's chief spokesman, Brigadier-General Mohammed Samir.

It said the operation was carried out by counter terrorism forces backed by war planes and guided by "accurate intelligence".

Military officials said al-Ansari was killed in an airstrike that targeted a house located amid olive groves south of el-Arish.

Aerial images of the strike released by the military appeared to confirm the account given by the officials.

According to the Egyptian military officials, the airstrike that killed al-Ansari was part of an ongoing, intense air campaign that began more than a week ago and in which jet-fighters, helicopter gunships and drones are being used. Up to 45 of al-Ansari's aides are believed to died in those airstrikes.

The campaign of airstrikes was in response to the growing threat to ground troops posed by roadside bombs planted by the militants, they said.

The officials also suggested that 45 who were mentioned in the military spokesman's statement as slain alongside al-Ansari, may have perished in a series of airstrikes earlier this week that targeted IS positions and ammunition depots near the border town of Rafah.
SHARE Betty Bagley Betty Garrison Shannon Haskett

By Ron Barnett, rbarnett@greenvillenews.com

Two former educators, including a former school superintendent in Anderson County and a Pickens-area dad, have filed to seek the three open seats on the Pickens County school board in November.

Betty Bagley, a retired superintendent of city-based Anderson School District 5, has filed for the Clemson-area District 1 seat that had been held by Herb Cooper until his death on Tuesday.

Retired Easley High Principal Betty Garrison filed Thursday for the Easley-area District 5 seat now held by another retired educator, Judy Edwards, who decided not to seek re-election.

Shannon Haskett, sales manager of Graceland Portable Buildings and father of a rising sixth-grader at Pickens Middle and a rising third-grader at Ambler Elementary, has filed for the Pickens-area District 3 seat now held by Alex Saitta.

Saitta has said he plans to seek another, term but had not filed as of Thursday.

Filing closes at noon on Aug. 15.

Bagley said she had no thought of running for a seat on the School District of Pickens County Board of Trustees until she heard in late July that Cooper, who had been battling cancer, had decided not to run again.

"If Dr. Cooper was running, I would definitely not be running," she said.

She said she sees herself following the path he set during his 24 years on the board.

"Dr. Cooper appeared to me to be very student-centered, visionary in the facilities needs of the district, and wanting to promote best practices in the classroom," Bagley said. "His was the type of boardmanship that you would want."

Bagley, who retired from District 5 in 2013, now works for the South Carolina Department of Education as a personalized learning consultant and is an adjunct professor at Anderson University.

She grew up in Norris and graduated from Liberty High School.

She is a doctoral candidate in educational leadership at Clemson University, and she earned a bachelor's degree from Southern Wesleyan University, a master's of education from Clemson University and two education-related degrees from The Citadel.

She was appointed to serve on the Performance, Accountability and Standards for Schools (PASS) Commission by Gov. David Beasley in 1997 and the First Steps Readiness Board by Gov. Jim Hodges in 1999.

She was appointed by two state superintendents of education to serve on the Palmetto Unified School District Board of Trustees and now serves as Gov. Nikki Haley's appointee to the South Carolina Public Charter School Board.

Garrison, who was principal of Easley High from 2002-09, praises Edwards for her work on the board.

"I share that experience of serving as an educator to our young people, and I believe it has prepared me to contribute and lead at the school board level," she said.

Garrison earned two master's degrees, from Clemson and Furman. She also attended the South Carolina School Leadership Executive Institute.

Haskett, a lifelong resident of Pickens County and a 1990 graduate of Pickens High School, earned a math degree from The Citadel.

He has been active in the parent-teacher association at Ambler Elementary School in the city of Pickens and played a leadership role on a stakeholders group that proposed alternatives to closing Ambler and two other elementary schools a few months ago.

Ambler survived, but the board closed A.R. Lewis and Holly Springs elementary schools.

"There is an opportunity for the District 3 school board member to truly collaborate with our appointed and elected officials throughout Pickens County so that working together, we can make the School District of Pickens County the most financially stable and educationally advanced school district in South Carolina," Haskett said.
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By Mike Eads of the Independent Mail

School almost is back in session at Clemson and Anderson universities, and their respective staffs are busy.

Anderson University has two weeks left to train about 50 Resident Advisors  upperclassmen who oversee their respective floors in the university's dorms  and tidy up facilities that were used for Boys' State and other gatherings over the summer.

They will welcome a record 825 freshmen and transfers, plus another 2,600 sophomores, juniors, seniors and graduate students.

"Right now, we're in the middle of preparing for our Resident Advisor staff to return for a full week of training," said Dean of Student Life Jon Gropp. "As far as physical preparations, we're doing walk-throughs of the dormitories to see what last, minor repairs are needed and seeing to those details."

Gropp's staff also is organizing volunteers for the Aug. 20 move-in day. Freshmen and their families won't have to worry about unloading cars on that first day because staff and upperclassmen will be on hand to get them moved into their dorm rooms.

Clemson University brought its RA's back to campus Aug. 1 for 10 days of training, and they will welcome students back Aug. 12-14, including over 3,300 freshmen.

Director of Residential Living Leasa Evinger said her staff is busy with many of the same tasks as their AU counterparts, "a lot of little things" like cleaning up after summer camp and conference users, making sure keys work in locks, hanging signs and working out assignments for move-in day.

Clemson also fields a volunteer army on its first two move-in days to free up new students and their families to get used to the new surroundings.

"It's not just making sure everything is ready and functional; we want to make sure they have a welcoming environment," Evinger said. "We provide opportunities for students to meet and greet one another, on both the dorm and university levels  the more they connect with one another, the more connected they will feel to the university."

Work crews are adding finishing touches to AU's new G. Ross Anderson Jr. Student Center, both inside and out. The center isn't scheduled for completion until sometime in September, but its dining facilities should be ready for students by the move-in day.

Gropp said the 86,000-square-foot facility's offices and student common areas have also freed up space in the dorms, which are expected to house over 1,500 students this year  the university requires freshmen and sophomores to live on campus unless they are married, he said.

Clemson will break in new facilities, too. The $96 million Core Campus dorm complex, located between Tillman Hall and Death Valley, will welcome its first students next week. It replaces the 66-year-old Clemson House, which university trustees recently voted to demolish. Littlejohn Coliseum also is expected to reopen early in the fall semester.

Anderson University students with last minute questions about dorm living can learn more at http://bit.ly/2aYBxqQ, while Clemson students should visit www. http://housing.clemson.edu/.

Follow Michael Eads on Twitter @MikeEads_AIM.
Foreign Ministry Spokesman Le Hai Binh (Source: VNA)



He made the remark while responding to information about the Chinese Defence Ministers call upon the countrys army, police and people to prepare for a war at sea.

Peace and stability in the East Sea is the interest and aspiration of all countries within and outside of the region. Disputes in the waters must be resolved peacefully on the basis of international law, and without use of or threat to use force, he said.

Officials of countries need to speak and act in accordance with official statements as well as their nations obligations, which are respecting international law, not using or threatening to use force, and actively contributing to peace and stability in the region and the world, Binh added.

Regarding a statement from the Supreme Peoples Court of China saying that China will actively exercise jurisdiction to protect its territorial sovereignty and navigation interests, including jailing illegal fishermen, the spokesman said: The treatment of fishermen working in the East Sea must comply with international law and agreements reached between countries, and take on the humanitarian spirit.

Vietnam reserves the necessary measures for protecting its fishermens legitimate interests in line with international law and practice, he said.

In terms of Chinas construction of a cemetery in Hoang Sa (Paracel) archipelago, Binh reiterated that: Vietnam has sufficient legal foundations and historical evidence testifying to its sovereignty over Hoang Sa archipelago.

All activities of other parties in areas within Hoang Sa, regardless of intentions, are illegal and do not change Vietnams sovereignty over this archipelago.

Meanwhile, China recently opened a website on the East Sea which calls Vietnams Hoang Sa and Truong Sa (Spratly) by the names Xisha and Nansha of China.

Spokesman Binh made it clear that: This action by China does not change the fact that Vietnam has indisputable sovereignty over Hoang Sa and Truong Sa archipelagos./.
Renee Donald, right, was photographed in 2008 with her daughters Lydia, 13, middle, and Priscilla, 15. The two teens were killed in a car accident Friday.

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By Rick Spruill

Priscilla and Lydia Donald's schoolbooks, retrieved from the site of the accident that claimed their lives, lay on the couch near their mother as she remembered her girls Saturday at their Piedmont home.

"My girls are what I lived for," Renee Donald said. "My heart is broken in two."

Priscilla, 15, and Lydia, 13, were killed Friday when the 2003 Chevrolet Impala Priscilla was driving went out of control along Campbell Road in Anderson County and slammed into a tree, according to South Carolina Highway Patrol officials.

Christopher Beechum, 15, of Easley and Jessica Higgins, 16, of Piedmont also were in the car and, according to officials, suffered injuries not considered to be life-threatening.

For the family of the Donald girls, their loss has brought shock and grief.

"Priscilla and Lydia both were just, I don't know how to even say it ? they were just wonderful sisters," said their brother Brian Donald, 24, of Easley. "I'm comforted knowing they are with the Lord today."

The girls' Aunt, Linda Barbarie, was by her sister Renee Donald's side Saturday afternoon. She said both girls were active in the youth program at Solid Rock Baptist Church in Liberty.

"They both loved being involved in the drama group there," Barbarie said. "Lydia loved singing. I can still hear her singing karaoke."

Renee Donald said, "They both loved roller skating at their Papa's roller skating rink, Skateland - the one on Whitehorse road in Greenville. The owner, Ronnie Houston, he was their adopted granddaddy. They went every Friday night.

"My girls were pure and good. They were straight-A students. Priscilla was even in (Advanced Placement) courses at Wren (High School)."

Renee Donald said her daughter Priscilla, who received her driving permit last May, was a responsible person.

The mother said she did not want people to think her daughter had just learned to drive.

Lydia Donald was a student at Wren Middle School, which like Wren High is in Piedmont, according to Anderson School District 1 officials.

Thomas Donald, the girl's father, who lives in Taylors, S.C., said in a telephone interview Saturday that he would like to ask the community for prayers.

"I'd just like to say I loved my girls, and they will be missed terribly," he said.

District 1 officials said Friday that counselors will be on hand at both schools Monday morning to support the students and teachers.

Funeral arrangements are pending with Thomas McAfee Funeral Home in Greenville.

Harold Underwood, pastor of Solid Rock Baptist Church, will officiate, according to family members.
CONCORD  The old Cabarrus Theater at 22 Union St. N. could be back in business thanks to developers who are considering renovating the property.

Diane Young, executive director of the Concord Downtown Development Corporation, discussed the possibility during the organizations annual meeting on Thursday. The meeting showcased the highlights of the organizations 2015/2016 fiscal year and discussed plans for the 2016/2017 fiscal year.

Among those plans discussed was the possibility of the Cabarrus Theater being renovated. Currently, the property is tied into the Hotel Concord project, which is being spearheaded by Rehab Development, but officials are discussing the possibility of selling the Carolina Theater property to a separate developer.

Officials are still in the early stages of discussions and cant release names or possible investment figures. It is also not certain if the theater would be brought back as a downtown movie theater or performing arts theater or a combination of the two, like it originally was in 1939. Developers could decide to create a totally different option with the venue as well as they study the theaters infrastructure.

The possibility of the theater being renovated and reopened stems from the work by Rehab Development who has pursued redeveloping Hotel Concord and its surrounding Fifth Third Bank properties.

In June, the Concord City Council approved moving forward on a proposal by Rehab Development that includes the developer renovating the old Fifth Third Bank properties downtown in order to jumpstart the revitalization of Hotel Concord at 14 Union St N. The old Cabarrus Theater is tied into those properties. The Fifth Third Bank properties are located along 21 Cabarrus Ave. E., 4 Union St. N. and 22 Union St. N.

Rehab Development looks to create a more than $5.3 million project that would transform the old hotel into a high end apartment complex with 38 units. The proposal also includes keeping the event space and developing a market/restaurant space.

The Cabarrus Theater opened on Monday, June 19, 1939, according to the website Documenting the American South.

The Cabarrus Theater was built for North Carolina Theatres, Inc., the company used by the Wilby-Kincey theater chain for its North Carolina operations, according to the website. Concord was a textile city of some 15,000 residents in 1939.

The theater was designed for movies and live performance, with a deep stage, footlights, and three dressing rooms behind the stage.

In the 1980s, another business went into the theater and took out all the seats.

Young said there are discussions now with a private developer to purchase the theater property and strip out the 1980s construction and take it back to the shell. Developers are studying the possibility of bringing it back as a theater. When Cabarrus Theater opened in 1939 it could hold more than 800 people.

So it really does compliment what we already have with the Davis Theatre and the Old Courthouse Theatre, Young said.
Nihar Info Global applies for trademark registration for 'ONVO' Nihar Info Global Limited informed to the exchanges that it has successfully applied for Trademark registration of its private label "ONVO" under the 'Trademark Classes 18 and 21. ... October 28, 2022 | 2:37 pm

Rupee rises 4 paisa to 82.29/$ Early on Friday, the rupee strengthened against the US dollar by 4 paise to 82.29, helped by a weak US dollar in the international market and strong local equities. The influx of new fore... October 28, 2022 | 2:30 pm

PNB Housing Finance's net profit increases by 12% PNB Housing Finance announced on Thursday that its September 20222023 quarter net profit increased by 11.7% to Rs 262.63 crore, thanks to a little increase in core income. In the same period... October 28, 2022 | 2:25 pm

Dhanuka Agritech soars ~8% as board to consider buyback Dhanuka Agritechs stock surged as much as 8% in Fridays intraday session and touched a high of Rs742. The company stated in its filing with the exchanges that at its ensuing ge... October 28, 2022 | 2:18 pm

Markets trade flat amid volatility; Nifty below 17,800 dragged by metals Domestic benchmark indices in a volatile session and trading flat after a gap-up opening on Friday. Both the Sensex and Nifty benchmarks are in the green during the afternoon market session ami... October 28, 2022 | 2:00 pm
Carmel resident Tanorria Askew started her cooking journey at what she calls The Culinary Institute of My Parents and Grandparents. Now as a top nine contestant on the competitive cooking show MasterChef, she has come a long way from her humble beginnings.

The winner of MasterChefs $250,000 prize has yet to be revealed, but Askews goals are much bigger than reality television fame.

Askew moved to Indiana when she was three years old. A graduate of Lawrence Central High School and IUPUI, she has fond memories of cooking with friends and family as a child and young adult. Her elders taught her that cooking was a tool that could be used to show love and compassion to others.

My family was known as the people who entertained. If someone was sick or shut in we would end up bringing them a meal. Growing up I was always picking green beans with my grandmother or stirring cake batter, Askew said.

As an adult, she spent 15 years working at a local credit union. She loved her job and was moving up the ranks in her career. Despite this, she still felt a pull to venture into cooking full time.

When youve got the urge to do something, no matter what that is, at some point you have to take that step. I knew food was what I was meant to do. I had a conversation with God and I was like, if Im gonna do this Im gonna make something out of it.

Askew launched Tanorrias Table, where she offers her culinary expertise to families in a variety of ways such as hosting cooking parties and crafting meals as a personal chef.

Everything I offer is custom to you. Its all about building a relationship. I find out what people like and dont like and I walk you through a three course or four course meal. It could be for a girls night in, a couples night or a birthday.

What started as a five-year plan to transition her cooking business into her full-time career accelerated abruptly when her friends convinced her to take a trip to Chicago to audition for MasterChef.

It was like a whirlwind after that. I made myself a list of goals in order of importance. Goal number one was obviously to win, but I also had to find a cute boy and make the top 10 on my list. It felt good to check top 10 off the list in my journal.

Askew attributes a huge part of her success to her willingness to take a chance, but also feels taking risks doesnt come naturally to her. As a self-proclaimed perfectionist, she says that she takes very little risks to make sure every move she makes is calculated.

I had it on my heart for the past five years to make a change in my career, but I only believed in myself for the past three years. For a while I didnt believe making a living through food was possible for me. A big part of those five years were me being chicken.

Since taking a risk she has had tremendous success with MasterChef and Tanorrias Table. Chef Gordon Ramsay particularly favored her shrimp and grits recipe, saying her rendition of the popular dish would go down in history as the best.

She has advice for others who want to turn their passion into a paycheck.

I learned that the most important thing you can do is get the heck over your fears. Be strategic. Find out what your niche is and think about why you want to do what you want to do. My ultimate goal is to show love and build community through food, and the best way to start doing that is by building relationships with people.

Tanorrias Table offers cooking parties, freezer meals, personal chef service and meal plans. For more information visit tanorriastable.com.

The next MasterChef episode will air Wednesday, Aug. 24 at 8 p.m./7 p.m. Central time after a two-week hiatus for the Olympics.

Tanorrias MasterChef Shrimp and Grits

Grits

3 c Polenta

1 c Milk

3 c Chicken Stock 1/2 c Butter

1 Tb Salt

1/2 c Heavy Cream

Shrimp

1 Tbs Extra Virgin Olive Oil

1/2 lb Andouille, sliced

1/2 c Green Bell Pepper, chopped

1/2 c Red Bell Pepper, chopped

1/4 c Onion, chopped

2 cloves Garlic minced

1 lb 21/30 ct Shrimp, peeled and deveined (tail on optional)

1 Tbs Old Bay Seasoning

1/2 tsp smoked paprika

1 Lemon, tested and juiced

1 c Chicken Stock or White Wine

1/4 c Heavy Cream

3 Tbs chives

Okra

Okra, sliced

1 c Buttermilk

1 c Cornmeal

1 c AP Flour

1/4 c Corn Starch Canola Oil

INSTRUCTIONS: Heat medium pot to high heat. Add chicken stock, milk, salt and butter. Let come to a boil. Quickly whisk in polenta and reduce the heat to low. Let simmer until thick while stirring occasionally. Finish with heavy cream. While polenta is simmering, heat skillet to medium heat. Cut andouille and add to skillet. While andouille is browning, cut peppers, garlic, onions, and chives. Remove andouille from skillet with slotted spoon. Add peppers, onions, and garlic to the same skillet. Saute for 1-2 minutes, then season with Old Bay and smoked paprika. Cook for another 1-2 minutes, then squeeze in lemon juice. Pour in chicken stock and let simmer 2-3 minutes. Add heavy cream, then add shrimp and cook until it is just starting to turn pink. In a medium pot, add canola oil and heat to medium-high heat. Soak okra in buttermilk for 1 minute. Remove from buttermilk and drain slightly. Coat with cornmeal mixture. Shake off excess cornmeal and place okra into hot oil. Cook until browned and remove from heat with a slotted spoon. Season with salt. Garnish completed dish with chives.
Join President Obama for the dedication and celebration of the grand opening of the National Museum of African American History & Culture.

The cost to attend is $400 (included is travel, 3 hotel nights and dinner).

Registration deadline is September 1 with a downpayment of $25.

Seats are filling up fast, grab yours today!

For questions and info about payment plans contact info@rookelife.co or register now at rookedc.eventbrite.com
One can always trust Christopher Nolan to come up with something spectacular for cinema lovers. The teaser of his new film, Dunkirk, doesn't reveal much (like always) but sure as hell looks intense.

imgur

But do we really know about the Dunkirk evacuation that the film is based on? The largest evacuation of the allied forces in World War II, there's a reason it was also referred to as the 'Miracle of Dunkirk'.

ww2today.com

In 1940, the Allied forces had lost the Battle of France

It was the time of the second World War; the German army had invaded the Ardennes region of France and was marching north. They had also invaded from the east which kept the Netherlands quiet. They were looking unstoppable at that point of time as they advanced through Belgium, and were successful in dividing the combined forces of the British, French and Belgian armies around Armentieres in northern France. The German troops managed to capture Calais, a port city in northern France, also the primary ferry crossing point between France and England. The powerful Panzer (armour in German) division of the German army also had a large division of soldiers from the allied forces trapped on the coast of the Franco-Belgian border.

Britain had already given up all hope. The battle was as good as over, and the allied military leaders had now started devising plans to get as many soldiers of the troops back to safety in England before being massacred by the Nazis. Then Prime Minister of Britain, Winston Churchill, called it "a colossal military disaster," before adding that "the whole root and core and brain of the British army" were stranded in Dunkirk, ready to either be captured and tortured or perish.

Charles Cundall

The Dunkirk evacuation

The Dunkirk evacuation, also referred to as Operation Dynamo, was incredibly crucial. Failure not only meant the death of a large number of people, but it could've also meant the British government toppling over and being replaced by one that would have been more cooperative with the Germans.

The preparations for Operation Dynamo began on the 22nd of May, 1940. Vice-Admiral Bertram Ramsay had called for as many naval vessels as possible along with every ship that could carry at least 1000 men. The 2nd Panzer division led by German General Major Rudolf Veiel built 5 bridges over the Canal Line with only one British battalion standing in their way to Dunkirk.

On 23rd May, German Field Marshall Gerd von Rundstedt ordered the Panzer units to halt. He was afraid his forward troops would run out of supply. He was also unsure about the safety of his flanks. He was concerned about the marshy ground around Dunkirk - it would have been unsuitable for the tanks he wanted to save for later operations. Hitler agreed with Rundstedt's decision as well.

aphamsquarterly.org

The first wave

Moving forward to the 27th of May, a request was made to Allied civilians for all shallow draught vessels which were to be included in the operation. From Belgian barges to private yachts, fire ships, even paddle steamers and fishing boats came out to help. In fact, one of the boats was captained by the former second officer of the Titanic.

Three routes were allocated to the evacuating vessels. Route Z was the shortest with a distance of 72 km but it went by the French coast. The vessels using the route saw heavy shelling from the army on-shore, more so during the day time. Route X that was 102 km north out of Dunkirk was safe from surface attacks but nearby minefields and sand banks made it nearly impossible to use it at night. The longest was Route Y which was 161 km. Travel time here would be increased by 4 hours, double the time required for Route Z. Ships on Route Y were the most likely to be attacked by German surface vessels, submarines, and the Luftwaffe (German Air Force). They set out on the night of the 27th but could only manage to rescue 8000 soldiers due to heavy German fire.

oostendevooranker.be

The second wave

The very next day, on 28th of May, another major attempt was made. 16,000 soldiers were rescued but not without casualties. Many boats, ships and other vessels either sank or were badly destroyed. Luftwaffe engaged with the Allied forces in a fierce battle in the sky. RAF lost a staggering 177 planes with the Luftwaffe losing 132.

doverhistorian.com

The miracle of Dunkirk

On the 29th of May, something unexpected happened. Nothing short of a miracle. The German army stopped marching towards Dunkirk and the Panzer divisions were asked to withdraw. Hitler was so convinced that Luftwaffe would be able to capture the area on its own, he reduced his infantry there. Call it a rookie error from the tyrant or a sign of overconfidence, the weakened German side made it possible for the Allies to rescue 30,000 men. 68,000 were rescued the following day. Another 10,000-odd overnight and 65,000 the day after. The rescue operation went on until the 4th of June with five countries from the Allied forces working in tandem to evacuate every living soul from Dunkirk - Poland, Netherlands, Belgium, Britain and of course, France.

A total of 900 vessels were used to evacuate 3,38,226 men from the clutches of death. Churchill very rightly hailed it as a "miracle" and applauded the "Dunkirk spirit" for never giving up even when the tides were against them.

An epic tale of rescue when death was almost a certainty will be brought to the silver screen by legendary filmmaker Christopher Nolan on 21st July, 2017.
Sidharth Malhotra has carved out a niche for himself in the big world of Bollywood all by himself. Without any help from a godfather in the industry, he kick-started his career as a model at 18. Five years later, he turned towards acting. After working as Karan Johars assistant director on My Name Is Khan, he made his debut with Karans film Student Of The Year (2012) a couple of years later. In a short span of four years, he has done six films and is currently shooting his seventh.

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In an exclusive interview with DNA, he talked about how uprooting his life from Delhi and settling down in Mumbai had changed him as a person.

The Mumbai shift

universityexpress.com

Talking about his Mumbai fixation, he said,

I came to Mumbai nine years ago on work. My dad was in the Merchant Navy and he used to travel a lot. When he would join his ship from Mumbai, I would come with him. But I came to know and love the city when I came to join Bollywood, wanting to make it here like the millions that come here trying to live their dreams... This brings back so many memories...

Mumbaikars v/s Delhiites

getmovieinfo.com

Sidharth shared how his life completely transformed after shifting to Mumbai. He also pointed out some stark differences between the two states.

At first, I found Mumbai so different from Delhi. The people here are more focused on their work, there are many roads, the people here have a vibrant energy, and the building systems (Delhi has more bungalows and two-storeyed houses while Mumbai has multi-storeyed ones). Also, flagging a cab here is far easier here than in Delhi.

When I came here I stayed at an apartment in Malad (W). I found the system of a lot of societies with families in them and living together interesting, instead of in bungalows or joint families as I was used to, in Delhi.

He also spoke about how the people of these two states are completely different like chalk and cheese.

The energy everywhere was far more focussed  people here are very driven about their work, something or the other is always going on, nobody pauses on the streets to take a breather. In Delhi, people are slightly laidback. Mumbaikars are go-getters!

I would do my work in a day and felt I used lesser time, while in Delhi the whole day would go by slowly. Its all because of the energy of Mumbai. That was exciting and kept me on my toes. It pushed me and taught me a lot.

Falling in love with Mumbai

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He spoke about how he made some close friends in Mumbai and found a stable support system away from home.

It didnt take me much time to fall in love with the city. Theres so much about it to love! When you are lonely and struggling, it is not the most exciting and fulfilling phase of your life. But it had its plus side... I met many single and ambitious people like me and made some life-long friends. You realise that everyone has a dream like you do, so you dont feel you are alone. I found that oddly comforting. I have some very supportive friends here, people who have become like my family in Mumbai. We are all individuals who have come from different cities to make Mumbai our home so we help and provide emotional support to each other. It makes life much easier and more liveable. I am pretty lucky that I met some special friends like that who are working in different professions. The only thing in common is that we have all come together from various cities to live and work in this beautiful city called Mumbai. When you are living alone such friends become your family and support system.

The notorious rains

india.com

While Mumbaikars crib about rains all the time, Sidharth seems to be enjoying them a lot. He said, People complain about the rains in Mumbai, but it doesnt bother me at all. I have fallen in love further with the city because of it. To me, the rains clean out the clutter of everything, its the cleansing phase for Mumbai. Of course, the monsoon energy is slightly more hectic as theres waterlogging everywhere, but its such a beautiful time to enjoy oneself. I remember my first monsoon in Mumbai. My friend and I had coffee one night at Carter Road and instead of taking an auto, I told my friend, Lets just walk in the rain! It was like a Hindi film rain sequence... It was six years ago, but so memorable even now.

Growing up and becoming independent

india.com

Not only did he change cities, he also changed his lifestyle. Sidharth started living alone and learnt the perks of being self-reliant. He said, Also, staying without parental guidance, can give one a sense of freedom which is liberating in its own way. Today, I am in a position to give back to people who need my help. And I have lots of friends too whom I can call when I need their help. But I have also become very independent and self-sufficient today and I owe that to living in Mumbai. Here I grew up from a boy to a man. The whole process of running my own household, handling my finances and staff have all taught me how to become a mature adult. In Delhi, I was used to my family handling almost everything for me.

Making a career and living his dream

velladireviews.com

Mumbai gave him a cause of life. Not only his livelihood but his dreams too. Talking about the same, he said, Bollywood gave me a chance to live my dreams and act in movies which is what I wanted since my late teens. Before that, I was a lost child who didnt have any interest to hang on to. I got my calling as an actor here and now I am obsessed with it. In Delhi, when I told people I wanted to be an actor they would laugh and tell me, Kahaan hero banega tu? Yet, today, here I am.
All those who swear by the internet and its perks, brace yourselves. Popular online torrent website Torrentz has officially shut down operations.

A few weeks back, Kickass Torrents' creator was arrested for infringement of piracy laws. It was the second website to go down after The Pirate Bay (although Pirate Bay proxies soon went live across the internet). Torrent websites across the world are being hunted down by the federal government over copyright issues. Perhaps that's what got Torrentz as well.

The website is still around but now carries a rather emotional message for downloaders. It says and I quote, "Torrentz was a free and powerful meta-search engine". Was. *insert sad emoticon*

Torrentz

If in case you do end up looking for something in the search bar, this is what you get.

Torrentz

I can't take this anymore!

koimoi

*runs to the washroom to lock himself up in a toilet stall and howl uncontrollably*
At least 14 people have been killed and 15 others were injured in a terror attack in Assam's Kokrajhar. The shootout took place in a busy weekly market in the city on Friday. Security forces launched a counter operation and reportedly neutralised one terrorist and recovered some arms including an AK-47.

Even though there are no immediate confirmation, police are suspecting the involvement of Bodo armed group National Democratic Front of Bodoland. Read more

1. Heavy Rains Lead To Suspension Of Trains, Flights In Mumbai

Heavy rains soaked Mumbai and its suburbs on Friday throwing the city out of gear. Heavy traffic snarls have been reported from several places across the city. All flights arriving to and departing from Mumbai have been suspended. Also, all trains moving from Thane station to CST have been suspended.

Water logging was reported from Malji Rathod Chowk BPT colony, Sion, King Circle, Hind Matha, Pratiksha Nagar and National college. Heavy traffic jams are seen near Lilavati Hospital in Bandra, Western Express highway, Eastern Freeway and Dadar. Read more

2. Rajnath Singh Sums Up His Pakistan Visit, Tells Parliament - 'Yeh Padosi Hai Ki Maanta Nahi'

Home Minister Rajnath Singh on Friday made it clear that he was not treated well in Pakistan, confirming that he skipped a lunch hosted by his counterpart during a meeting of SAARC ministers.

"It is true that Pakistan Interior Minister (Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan) invited everyone for lunch. But then he left in his car. I also left. I have no complaints or grudges as I had not gone there to have lunch," Rajnath Singh told the Rajya Sabha. Read more

3. In Rajasthan, The Only State With A Minister For Cow Welfare, Cattle Are Dying By The Dozens At Welfare Home

Rajasthan government has denied reports that lapses at the government-run cowshed in Hingonia, Jaipur has caused mass deaths of cattle. According to Kunji Lal Meena, secretary for the Animal Husbandry and Gaupalan department, there are over 8,000 cows at the Hingonia Gaushala which are taken care of by a team of 14 veterinarians, 24 livestock assistants, and about 200 other staff.

He said that the cows which died were only recently brought to the facility and most of them were already unwell and suffering from malnutrition. Read more

4. Man Blackmails Bank With Stolen Customer Data, Bank Lays Trap And Gets Him Arrested

Sunder Mahakrishna Rajan, a native of Kalakkadu in Tamil Nadu, has been arrested by Mumbai police for allegedly blackmailing Citi Bank by claiming to be in possession of confidential KYC data on its clients.

Police said Rajan was trying extort money in exchange from a bank, failing which he would provide the customers data to others. It started in June after the assistant manager of Citibank received an email which said the sender had a micro SD chip containing 20,000 Citibank account holders' data. Read more

5. Punjab Police SP Salwinder Singh Who Was Under Suspicion In Pathankot Attack Now Booked For Rape

Punjab police has registered a rape case against controversial former Gurdaspur Superintendent of Police Salwinder Singh. The FIR was registered at Gurdaspur on Wednesday following a two-year-old complaint against him by the husband of a rape survivor. As per the complaint, Singh had demanded sexual favours from the wife of an accused in a rape case, which was being probed by him when he was the SP of Gurdaspur.

The womans husband said Salwinder physically exploited his wife and demanded Rs 50,000 as bribe. Read more

6. Rescue Ops For Maharashtra Bridge Collapse Continue, 14 Bodies Recovered, Toll Could Reach 42

Search options are continuing in the Savitri river, for those who are still unaccounted for after a bridge collapse on the Mumbai-Goa highway swept away dozens of passengers. Search teams from the Navy, Coast Guard and NDRF including 160 NDRF jawans, 9 boats, 8 divers, 35 local swimmers and 60 rafter teams have been deployed for the operation.

But with another day passing, the hope of finding survivors is bleak. The search teams have so far recovered 14 bodies. Even though initial reports had claimed that around 22 people were missing, the latest reports suggest the figures could go up to 42. Read more
The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has drawn up a list of more than 50 terror accused and suspects, who it says were inspired by Mumbai-based preacher Zakir Naik's speeches and videos. The NIA is one of the agencies tasked by the Union government to examine whether legal action can be initiated against Naik for 'inciting' people.

BCCL

The NIA sources told Mumbai Mirror that the agency questioned more than 80 people arrested or detained from across the country. Some of the arrests date back to 2005, of alleged members of the SIMI, the Indian Mujahideen, and Lashkar-e-Toiba.

"We have identified at least 50 people who admitted to have been inspired by Naik. However, it is too early to say whether Naik can be directly linked to terrorist activities," an NIA officer said. On Tuesday, Hansraj Ahir, the minister of state for Home, told the Lok Sabha that there have been reports of "some known terrorists reportedly inspired by Naik".

BCCL

The officer said that the agency was proceeding "cautiously" to ensure that if a case is registered against Naik, it should be backed by strong evidence. The accused and the suspects' statements were also used by the NIA in its latest charge sheet against the Daesh, in which the agency has named 14 preachers, such Hamza Andreas Tzortzis, Imran Mansoor, Chaudhary, Mizanur Rahman, Abu Waleed (all from the United Kingdom), Yasir Qadhi, Yusuf Estes, Hamza Yusuf, Ahmad Musa Jibril (from the US), Musa Cerantonio, Shaikh Feiz Mohammad, Omar El Banna (from Australia), Mufti Menk from Zimbabwe, and Majid Mahmood from Canada.

The Mumbai Police, conducting a parallel investigation into Naik's speeches and the sources of income generated by his organisation, the Islamic Research Foundation, said that several of Naik's speeches have been found to be "pro-terror", but it is up to the state government to decide on the legal action against him.

Also Read: Zakir Naik Finally Addresses Media, Says I Am Messenger Of Peace, Have Never Encouraged Anyone To Kill Innocent People

The Sun

"We will send a report to the state government, and the law and judiciary department will decide further action," a senior Mumbai Police officer said. Zakir Naik, who is believed to be in Saudi Arabia, was not available for comment, and messages sent to the officials of the Islamic Research Foundation remained unanswered.

During his media interaction last month, Naik said he cannot be held responsible for others' actions, after it emerged that a few of the terrorists who attacked a cafe in Dhaka were inspired by his speeches. Calling it a trial by the media, Naik had said that he always condemned terrorism.

Also Read: Watch: Zakir Naik Supports Taliban's Decision To Destroy Buddha Statues, Calls Buddhists 'Drug Addicts'!
Punjab police has registered a rape case against controversial former Gurdaspur Superintendent of Police Salwinder Singh. The FIR was registered at Gurdaspur on Wednesday following a two-year-old complaint against him by the husband of a rape survivor.

BCCL

As per the complaint, Singh had demanded sexual favours from the wife of an accused in a rape case, which was being probed by him when he was the SP of Gurdaspur.

According to The Indian Express, the womans husband said Salwinder physically exploited his wife and demanded Rs 50,000 as bribe.

BCCL

The controversial Punjab police official had first made headlines in January after he was waylaid and abducted in his official vehicle along with his cook and a jeweller friend by the four Pakistani terrorists who had attacked the Pathankot airbase.

His claims later came under scrutiny after inconsistencies in his statements and he was suspended and the NIA had ordered a probe against him. However his name was cleared by the NIA after the investigation.
Search options are continuing in the Savitri river, for those who are still unaccounted for after a bridge collapse on the Mumbai-Goa highway swept away dozens of passengers.

Twitter

Search teams from the Navy, Coast Guard and NDRF including 160 NDRF jawans, 9 boats, 8 divers, 35 local swimmers and 60 rafter teams have been deployed for the operation.

But with another day passing the hope of finding survivors are looking bleak. The search teams have so far recovered 14 bodies. Even though initial reports had claimed that around 22 people were missing, the latest reports suggest the figures could go up to 42. There are also fears that the remaining bodies might have been swept away into the ocean.

Twitter

Heavy rains which is continuing across the state is making the search operation in the flooded river even more difficult. The IMD has warned of possible heavy rains over the next 48 hours in many parts of the state.

Another threat to the rescue team is the presence of crocodiles in and around the accident spot.

Twitter

The Navy team is carrying a novel gun resembling a sten gun which shoots detonators in the water to create a "dummy bombing effect" that keeps the predators away from the divers.

"These detonators create a big noise but do not harm anyone: they don't pollute the water nor do they injure any aquatic animal. The noise forces the crocodiles to move away from the operation area," said the head of the team of commandos which has its base camp in Uran near Navi Mumbai.

Twitter

Meanwhile Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis has ordered a judicial probe into the collapse of the British era bridge. A compensation of Rs 10 lakh each for people who died in the mishap has also been announced.

Twitter

The Mahad bridge on the Mumbai-Goa highway collapsed late on Tuesday night due to heavy rains, washing away two state government owned buses and a few private vehicles.
Sunder Mahakrishna Rajan, a native of Kalakkadu in Tamil Nadu has been arrested by Mumbai police for allegedly blackmailing Citi Bank by claiming to be in possession of confidential KYC data on its clients.

AP/ Representative Image

Police said Rajan was trying extort money in exchange from a bank, failing which he would provide the customers data to others. It started in June after the assistant manager of Citibank received an email which said the sender had a micro SD chip containing 20,000 Citibank account holders' data.

"I want to return this data to the bank for a sum. If interested please respond," the email read.

Hackersworld/ Representative Image

To make his threat look legitimate, Rajan provided some sample of the data in his possession, at the request of the bank officials. Even though he had initially demanded Rs 5 lakhs in exchange of the data, bank officials convinced him to settle for Rs 1 lakh.

He was asked to come to Dahisar to accept the money, where the cyber cell had already laid a trap and caught him.
In a case of extreme animal cruelty, the Saddar Town Administration of Karachi displayed the dead bodies of 1,000 stray dogs that had been poisoned by the Pakistani government.

Waqar Ahmad, chief sanitary inspector of DMC south, Saddar town, was present on location to supervise the public display on a busy road.

EPA

It is believed that this extreme step was taken in response to the rising number of stray dogs bites reported in Karachi. The stray dogs were fed chicken pieces laced with poison and their bodies were gathered in a truck from various parts of the city after they died.

According to a report in the Reuters, "At least 700 dogs have been killed only in two areas of Karachi's south in the last couple of days," Sattar Javed, a spokesman for the municipal authority has said. This operation has been conducted in six city districts and officials have estimated that thousands of stray dogs have been killed. However, an official count was not declared.

6,500 cases of stray dog bites were reported in Karachi alone last year. This year there are already 3,700 cases.

Reuters

Animal activists in Pakistan have taken to social media to ask why sterilisation is not being considered as a more humane solution to the problem. "Its cruel and inhumane to kill dogs - mass vaccination and sterilisation is humane, protects communities and it saves money. We urge the civic authorities in Pakistan to adopt this humane solution to stray dog population management and rabies control,"a reports from the Pakistan Animal Welfare Society (PAWS) has said.

If you wish to request the Pakistani government to consider more humane solutions to the issue as well, please go through the petition and sign.
Were excited to announce that indmin.com is now part of fastmarkets.com.

A new look and an improved experience means you can still stay ahead of this fast-moving market with price data, news and market intelligence right here on Fastmarkets.

Discover more than 2000 prices, news and analysis in primary and secondary metals markets. We cover base metals, industrial minerals, ores and alloys, steel, scrap and steel raw materials.

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A network of individuals, independent and alternative media activists and organisations, offering grassroots, non-corporate, non-commercial coverage of important social and political issues.

National Demo: Free Education, November 4th 2015



Below you will find resources to assist in promoting this event, including both sides of an A5 flyer and a sticker design.



There will be a national demonstration in London on November 4th 2015 for free education, and against financially crippling tuition fees.Below you will find resources to assist in promoting this event, including both sides of an A5 flyer and a sticker design.

Free Education Flyer (front page).

Free Education Flyer (back page).

Free Education Sticker.





The sticker is also 300dpi and will print in full colour at approximately A6, a quarter the size of the flyer. The flyer pages were scanned from an A5 design and will print in full colour for the same page size at 300dpi.The sticker is also 300dpi and will print in full colour at approximately A6, a quarter the size of the flyer. Stupid Loan.


Losing to Russia in Syria, Washington Bombs Libya

By Finian Cunningham Russias success in Syria has seriously undermined Washingtons claims of waging a war on terror. - Continue

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Syrian Endgame: The Battle for Aleppo and Plan C

By Prof. Tim Anderson The western backed jihadists are losing and the regions public mood is hardening. - Continue

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The Fate of Syria will be Decided in Aleppo

By Pierre Barbancey -Translated by Henry Crapo Aleppo, the true economic capital of Syria, is today the center of all battles. - Continue

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Fissures in the Empire

By Paul Craig Roberts If you have been wondering what all the terror events in France and Germany are about, here is the answer: - Continue

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Erdogans Coup: Purging Domestic Critics, Gaining External Allies

By James Petras Washingtons failure to bring down Erdogan could have enormous repercussions throughout the Middle East, Western Europe and the United States. - Continue

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Turkey: Failed Coup or Paradigm Shift in the Middle East  in the World?

By Peter Koenig This botched coup is BIG; much bigger than the mainstream media are making the west believe. - Continue

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The World's Best Cyber Army Doesnt Belong to Russia

By James Bamford The United States is, by far, the worlds most aggressive nation when it comes to cyberspying and cyberwarfare. - Continue

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Don't Blame the Masses

By Stephen Kinzer Nationalism and tribalism, have reemerged rather than fading away. - Continue

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In Case You Missed It

A World War Has Begun. Break the Silence

By John Pilger Not since Hitler invaded the Soviet Union have foreign troops presented such a demonstrable threat to Russia. - Continue

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Israeli Defense Minister Compares Iran to Nazis, Iran Deal to Munich Pact

By Richard Silverstein So there you have it: a defense minister who compares Iran to Nazi Germany; and Barack Obama to Neville Chamberlain: - Continue

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Hillary, Queen of War: The Road Map Ahead

By Pepe Escobar She will act as a surefire faithful servant of the Saudi/Israeli alliance. - Continue

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Recombinant DNA

By Paul Edwards In the judgment of sane men--and yes, women--Hillary is the salvation of American Empire. - Continue

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Syrian army kills 150 IS militants in Deir al-Zour : The Syrian army on Friday foiled an attack by the Islamic State (IS) on military positions in the eastern province of Deir al-Zour, killing 150 of the terror group militants, state news agency SANA reported.

US-led coalition accused of killing civilians using 'scorched earth policy' in Syria : Allegations that two separate bombing raids killed at least 100 civilians in nearby villages in little over a week are already under investigation, but there was concern over continuing strikes supporting the predominantly Kurdish Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF).

Eight Hezbollah fighters killed in Syria's Aleppo: Eight Hezbollah fighters were reported to have been killed in the north Syrian city of Aleppo on Sunday, a Lebanese security source told The Daily Star.

Syria: Deaths as air strikes hit Idlib hospital: Women and children among the dead in attack on the hospital near the city of Idlib in the country's northwest.

Syrian rebels says siege of Aleppo breached: Rebels say they have breached the siege imposed by the Syrian government on opposition neighbourhoods in the northern city of Aleppo, in a major military breakthrough after intense fighting.

Jets pound rebels after they break Aleppo siege: Fierce fighting and continuous Russian and Syrian air strikes in and around the Ramousah area mean no safe passage for besieged east Aleppo residents has been established, activists and the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.

Danish jets have bombed Syria for the first time : The four Danish F-16 fighter jets sent to fight the militant group ISIS have entered combat in Syria for the first time, hitting targets in the Islamic group's self-styled capital, Raqqa.

Iraq: 33 ISIS members killed in northern Ramadi: Security forces carried out a proactive military operation targeting a hideout of ISIS members in Wadi al-Shioukh area that is located between al-Tharthar basin in northern Ramadi and the borders of the liberated Khalidiya Island.

Suicide bombings kill 11 in Iraq: At least 11 Iraqis including six army troops were killed in a suicide blast south of Mosul on Sunday, according to an local Iraqi official Saleh al-Jabouri.

Tens of ISIS members killed by airstrikes west of Ramadi : Iraqi Air Force and Army Aviation this morning carried out air strikes on ISIS headquarters at Barwana and al-Kasyrat west of Ramadi, based on accurate intelligence information, killing tens of ISIS members.

10 security members killed in IS suicide attacks in Iraq: Ten security members were killed and seven others injured Sunday as three Islamic State (IS) suicide bombers attacked the troops' posts in a northern Iraqi village, a security source told Xinhua.

400 more US soldiers headed to Iraq : Army officials at a base in Fort Campbell, Kentucky said the 400 soldiers will be deployed as part of Operation Inherent Resolve. They are among the 530 troops President Barack Obama authorized for the mission earlier this month.

ISIS militants detain thousands of civilians trying to flee Hawija : Islamic State (ISIS) militants reportedly detained thousands of civilians on Thursday trying to flee villages around the town of Hawija southwest of Kirkuk. According to a UNHCR statement the group executed 12 civilians among the influx who tried to reach Kirkuk.

Yemeni forces kill 52 Saudi mercenaries east of Sanaa: The pro-Riyadh militants have left the dead bodies of 17 comrades unattended in the area and withdrawn to a nearby region.

Suicide bomber kills five soldiers in south Yemen: The bombing came hours after clashes between troops and jihadists in Lahj, Saudi-led coalition jets also took part in the fighting.

Al-Qaeda suspects kill Yemen army colonel : The gunmen on a motorbike opened fire at Colonel Abdullah Shamba, killing him immediately before driving off, official said.

Hunger a weapon of war in Syria, Yemen, Nigeria : While grain silos in many Western countries may overflow this winter, tens of millions of people risk going without food as hunger is being used more than ever as a weapon of war.

President Erdogan and opposition unite in Turkey rally : Millions join pro-democracy demonstration in Istanbul, denouncing last month's failed coup attempt.

Syria: An Iranian perspective on the Russian involvement and a potential Turkish cooperation : Moscows main objective in Syria is to maintain a dependent government in Damascus and to keep access to port cities in the eastern Mediterranean for its naval fleet. Iran needs Syria and access to its southern regions (Quneitra) to maintain its support for Lebanese Hezbollah.

Iranian nuclear scientist executed for spying for US: judiciary : Iran has executed a nuclear scientist convicted of handing over "top secret" information to the United States, a judicial spokesman said on Sunday.

The US did not pay a $400 million ransom to Iran . Heres what actually happened.: Ryan, Trump, and other critics have the facts wrong. The Wall Street Journal story is actually describing a payment that President Obama announced back in January. Whats more, the payment was the result of a 35-year case in international court  and had nothing to do with any "hostage" payments.

Lieberman Compares Iran to Nazis, Iran Deal to Munich Pact : Israeli defense minister compares Iran to Nazi Germany; and Barack Obama to Neville Chamberlain; who deliberately lies about the views of his own military and intelligence command in the service of his own blind ideological obsession; and who lies in claiming Iran wants to eradicate Israel

Israel accused of being 'apartheid state' by US black rights group: Black Lives Matter slammed by pro-Israel groups for singling out Israel for 'acts of genocide' against Palestinians

Libya unity forces prepare 'decisive' assault in ISIS bastion : Libya pro-government forces backed by U.S. airstrikes said Sunday they would soon launch a final assault to retake the coastal city of Sirte from ISIS. "The countdown of the final stage of the military operations against Daesh has started,"

Libyan Grand Mufti Raise Criticism of US Airstrikes : The countrys grand mufti, Sadek Al-Ghariani, who helped fan anti-GNA (Government of National Accord) protests in Tripoli in late July after the French government acknowledged it had commandos on the ground in Libya helping to battle IS, denounced Thursday the U.S. airstrikes

Two killed in Ethiopia's protests against detentions: resident: The deaths occurred in the town of Ambo in Oromiya region, where security forces clashed with protesters demanding the release of people detained during earlier demonstrations over an aborted attempt by the government to commandeer local land.

Islamic State militants claim capture of U.S. weapons in Afghanistan: Militants linked to Islamic State have released photos that show an American portable rocket launcher, radio, grenades and other gear not commonly used by Afghan troops, as well as close up views of identification cards for a U.S. Army soldier, Specialist Ryan Larson.

At least 40 Taliban insurgents killed in Afghan air strike : A spokesman for 20th Pamir Army Division, said the airstrike took place in Imam Saheb district on Saturday after the Taliban insurgents attacked a police outpost.

21 IS militants killed in Afghanistan: At least 21 militants loyal to the Islamic State (IS) militant group were killed over the past 24 hours in Afghanistan's Nangarhar province, the internal ministry said on Sunday.

Gunmen kill 13 in market in Kashmir: Attackers wearing military uniforms shot dead at least 13 people and wounded 15 on Friday in a busy market area in a town in India's restive northeastern state of Assam, in an attack blamed by the authorities on a regional separatist group.

Indian forces kill three in Kashmir as fresh protests erupt : Indian security forces opened fire on curfew-defying protesters in the disputed region of Kashmir on Friday, killing three and bringing the number of people killed in a wave of unrest to 55.

Philippine President: 'I don't care about human rights' : President publicly accuses Filipino government officials including judges and members of Congress of having drug links.

Three Ukrainian soldiers killed in fresh clashes : "In the past 24 hours, as a result of intense fighting, three Ukrainian soldiers were killed and four were injured," Ukrainian military spokesman Andriy Lysenko told journalists.

Vladimir Putin Just Issued a Chilling Warning to the United States : We must provide security not only for ourselves. Its important to provide strategic balance in the world, which guarantees peace on the planet.

US think-tank suggests cyber-attacks on Moscow Metro, St. Pete power grid, RT offices : The influential Atlantic Council has released a paper calling for Poland to reserve the right to attack Russian infrastructure, including Moscows public transport and RTs offices, via electronic warfare.

All Russian athletes to be banned from Paralympic Games in Rio : The International Paralympic Committee is set to do what its Olympic counterpart did not and ban Russia outright from its Games later this month

ISIS claims responsibility for Belgium machete attack on police officers : Two female officers were assaulted, by a man heard shouting Allahu Akbar (God is Great in Arabic), the authorities said. The perpetrator was shot by a third officer on site and was taken hospital, but later died of his wounds.

Most Germans want to end EU migrant deal with Turkey -poll: More than two thirds of the people surveyed wanted an immediate freeze of aid payments to Turkey

US Launches Olympic-Sized Spying Operation at Rio 2016: Washington has sent more than 1,000 intelligence agents to Rio in an effort to protect the 2016 Olympic Games, NBC News reports after reviewing a classified intelligence report on U.S. security efforts.

Trump is right: He didnt kick a baby out of a campaign rally : Donald Trump is complaining that the media has spun a fable that he kicked a baby out of his rally in Ashburn, Va.

Clinton's lead over Trump narrows to less than three points : Reuters/Ipsos poll: Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton's lead over Republican rival Donald Trump narrowed to less than 3 percentage points, according to a Reuters/Ipsos opinion poll released on Friday, down from nearly eight points on Monday.

Why the CIA is for Hillary Clinton : The former CIA official declares Clinton highly qualified to be commander in chief, praises her belief that America is an exceptional nation that must lead in the world, and notes that in the internal discussions over US intervention in the Syrian civil war, she was a strong proponent of a more aggressive approach.

Op-Ed Bernie Sanders: I support Hillary Clinton. So should everyone who voted for me : On virtually every major issue facing this country and the needs of working families, Clintons positions are far superior to Trumps.

Clinton's third-party headache: Polls show younger voters are taking a long look at the Libertarian and Green Party nominees this year. That could be a big problem for Hillary Clinton in a close race against Donald Trump.

Green Party Convention: Democratic Party Does Not Give a Flying F**k About You : Are you going to try to go inside there and reform this [Democratic] Party, that has demonstrated in every way, with every opportunity, that they really do not give a flying f**k about what it is you care about? And for me, thats not a hard decision, Ndgo said.
Bombing Campaign Against ISIS in Libya Has No End Point By Alex Emmons August 04, 2016 " Information Clearing House " - " The Intercept " - The U.S. launched a major new military campaign against ISIS on Monday when U.S. planes bombed targets in Libya, responding to requests from the U.N.-backed Libyan government. Strikes took place in the coastal town of Sirte, which ISIS took in June of last year. The strikes represent a significant escalation in the U.S. war against ISIS, spreading the conflict thousands of miles from the warzones in Syria and Iraq. All of these attacks took place without congressional authorization or even debate. We want to strike at ISIL anywhere it raises its head, said Pentagon press secretary Peter Cook. Libya is one of those places. He said the airstrikes would continue as long as [the Libyan government] is requesting them, and that they do not have an end point at this particular moment in time. The U.S. has long planned to spread its military campaign to Libya. In January, Gen. Joseph Dunford, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told reporters that the U.S. was preparing to take decisive military action against ISIL in Libya. Intercept co-founding editor Glenn Greenwald responded with a post headlined The U.S. Intervention in Libya Was Such a Smashing Success That a Sequel Is Coming. The New York Times editorial board called the plan deeply troubling and said it represented a significant progression of a war that could easily spread to other countries on the continent. The Times supported the U.S.s initial intervention in Libya in 2011, when the U.S. led a NATO air campaign to oust longtime Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi. But after a mob raped and murdered Gaddafi, the country plunged into years of anarchy and militia rule. President Obama would later call his failure to plan for Gaddafis removal his worst mistake, and thousands of ISIS fighters have since gained a significant foothold in the country. At the Pentagon press briefing on Monday, when Nancy Youssef of the Daily Beast asked Cook if the war was legal, Cook responded by citing a controversial 15-year-old congressional Authorization for Use of Military Force resolution passed in the wake of 9/11. The AUMF resolution authorizes military force against organizations that planned, authorized, committed, or aided the terrorist attacks that occurred on September 11, 2001. But the resolution has been invoked, first by George W. Bush and then by Barack Obama, to justify military action in Iraq, Yemen, Somalia, Syria, and numerous other countries. The administration has argued that the 2001 AUMF applies to the war against ISIS, even though ISIS and al Qaeda are sworn enemies. Several members of Congress, including Hillary Clintons running mate Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., have argued that the administration should seek congressional authorization to continue its war against ISIS. Such authorizations for the conflict have failed to gain traction in a divided Congress. Even without the AUMF, its unlikely that the White House would have acknowledged any legal barrier to bombing Libya. In 2011, the U.S. continued its Libyan campaign even after Congress rejected a resolution to authorize it. The White House even delivered a report to Congress that argued that the U.S.-led bombing campaign did not count as hostilities under the War Powers Resolution. That resolution limits unauthorized conflicts to 180 days. While emphasizing that the U.S. is prepared to carry out more airstrikes, Cook could not confirm basic details about Mondays operation. When Cook was asked if he had a ballpark figure of casualties from the airstrikes, he responded, I dont. In the past year, the U.S. has also conducted a handful of individual military strikes against ISIS targets in Libya. In February, the U.S. carried out an attack near the coastal city of Sabratha, aiming to take out ISIS operative Noureddine Chouchane. Cook described the attack as very successful, but a day later, the Serbian government announced that two kidnapped members of the Serbian diplomatic staff had died in the bombing.
Is Trump the Peace Candidate? By Patrick J. Buchanan August 04, 2016 " Information Clearing House " - With Democrats howling that Vladimir Putin hacked into and leaked those 19,000 DNC emails to help Trump, the Donald had a brainstorm: Maybe the Russians can retrieve Hillary Clintons lost emails. Not funny, and close to treasonous, came the shocked cry. Trump then told the New York Times that a Russian incursion into Estonia need not trigger a U.S. military response. Even more shocking. By suggesting the U.S. might not honor its NATO commitment, under Article 5, to fight Russia for Estonia, our foreign-policy elites declaimed, Trump has undermined the security architecture that has kept the peace for 65 years. More interesting, however, was the reaction of Middle America. Or, to be more exact, the nonreaction. Americans seem neither shocked nor horrified. What does this suggest? Behind the war guarantees America has issued to scores of nations in Europe, the Mideast and Asia since 1949, the bedrock of public support that existed during the Cold War has crumbled. We got a hint of this in 2013. Barack Obama, claiming his red line against any use of poison gas in Syria had been crossed, found he had no public backing for air and missile strikes on the Assad regime. The country rose up as one and told him to forget it. He did. We have been at war since 2001. And as one looks on the ruins of Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria, Libya and Yemen, and adds up the thousands dead and wounded and trillions sunk and lost, can anyone say our War Party has served us well? On bringing Estonia into NATO, no Cold War president would have dreamed of issuing so insane a war guarantee. Eisenhower refused to intervene to save the Hungarian rebels. JFK refused to halt the building of the Berlin Wall. LBJ did nothing to impede the Warsaw Pacts crushing of the Prague Spring. Reagan never considered moving militarily to halt the smashing of Solidarity. Were all these presidents cringing isolationists? Rather, they were realists who recognized that, though we prayed the captive nations would one day be free, we were not going to risk a world war, or a nuclear war, to achieve it. Period. In 1991, President Bush told Ukrainians that any declaration of independence from Moscow would be an act of suicidal nationalism. Today, Beltway hawks want to bring Ukraine into NATO. This would mean that America would go to war with Russia, if necessary, to preserve an independence Bush I regarded as suicidal. Have we lost our minds? The first NATO supreme commander, Gen. Eisenhower, said that if U.S. troops were still in Europe in 10 years, NATO would be a failure. In 1961, he urged JFK to start pulling U.S. troops out, lest Europeans become military dependencies of the United States. Was Ike not right? Even Barack Obama today riffs about the free riders on Americas defense. Is it really so outrageous for Trump to ask how long the U.S. is to be responsible for defending rich Europeans who refuse to conscript the soldiers or pay the cost of their own defense, when Eisenhower was asking that same question 55 years ago? In 1997, geostrategist George Kennan warned that moving NATO into Eastern Europe would be the most fateful error of American policy in the post-Cold War era. He predicted a fierce nationalistic Russian response. Was Kennan not right? NATO and Russia are today building up forces in the eastern Baltic where no vital U.S. interests exist, and where we have never fought before  for that very reason. There is no evidence Russia intends to march into Estonia, and no reason for her to do so. But if she did, how would NATO expel Russian troops without air and missile strikes that would devastate that tiny country? And if we killed Russians inside Russia, are we confident Moscow would not resort to tactical atomic weapons to prevail? After all, Russia cannot back up any further. We are right in her face. On this issue Trump seems to be speaking for the silent majority and certainly raising issues that need to be debated. How long are we to be committed to go to war to defend the tiny Baltic republics against a Russia that could overrun them in 72 hours? When, if ever, does our obligation end? If it is eternal, is not a clash with a revanchist and anti-American Russia inevitable? Are U.S. war guarantees in the Baltic republics even credible? If the Cold War generations of Americans were unwilling to go to war with a nuclear-armed Soviet Union over Hungary and Czechoslovakia, are the millennials ready to fight a war with Russia over Estonia? Needed now is diplomacy. The trade-off: Russia ensures the independence of the Baltic republics that she let go. And NATO gets out of Russias face. Should Russia dishonor its commitment, economic sanctions are the answer, not another European war. Patrick J. Buchanan is co-founder and editor of The American Conservative. He is also the author of seven books, including Where the Right Went Wrong, and Churchill, Hitler, and the Unnecessary War. His latest book is Suicide of a Superpower: Will America Survive to 2025? See his website. Katrina Pierson Holds Her Ground Against 3 Smug CNN Leftists Trying To Confuse Her
Lessons From the Deep State By Judge Andrew P. Napolitano August 04, 2016 " Information Clearing House " - On the eve of the Democratic National Convention, WikiLeaks  the courageous international organization dedicated to governmental transparency  exposed hundreds of internal emails circulated among senior staff of the Democratic National Committee during the past 18 months. At a time when Democratic Party officials were publicly professing neutrality during the partys presidential primaries, the DNCs internal emails showed a pattern of distinct bias toward the candidacy of former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and a marked prejudice toward the candidacy of Sen. Bernie Sanders. Some of the emails were raw in their tone, and some could fairly be characterized as failing to respect Sanders Jewish heritage. The revelation caused a public uproar during the weekend preceding the opening of the Democratic convention in Philadelphia last week, and it caused the DNC to ask its own chairwoman, Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, to resign. When she declined to do so, President Barack Obama personally intervened and implored her to leave. She submitted to the presidents wishes, gave up her public role as chair of the convention and eventually resigned as chair of the DNC late last week. In order to take everyones eyes off this intrusive and uncomfortable bouncing ball, the leadership of the DNC, in conjunction with officials of the Clinton campaign, blamed the release of the DNC emails on hackers employed by Russian intelligence agents. Many in the media picked up this juicy story and repeated it all last week. Clinton promptly named Wasserman Schultz as a campaign consultant and complained that the Russians are trying to influence the presidential election. She did not complain about the unfairness manifested in the emails, complete with their religious prejudice; she only complained about Russian President Vladimir Putins helping Donald Trump. But the Russians had nothing to do with it. Last week, William Binney, a 30-year career official at the National Security Agency turned whistleblower, revealed the unthinkable. Binney, who devised the software that the NSA has used to capture the contents of emails and cellphone conversations of all in America but resigned from the NSA because of the unlawful and unconstitutional manner in which the software was used, told a Philadelphia radio audience that the DNC hacking was most likely done by NSA agents. Why would the NSA hack into DNC computers, and why would the NSA leak what its agents saw? Here is where the deep state meets the political world. The deep state consists of intelligence, military, law enforcement and administrative agency personnel who aggressively protect their own interests, which transcend elections. Stated differently, many of these folks remain in opaque positions of power, and the governmental departments and agencies for which they work continue to expand, no matter which party wins the White House or controls Congress. The deep state stays in power by a variety of means, some of which are lawful and not the least of which was visited upon the DNC last week. Binney knows the inside workings of NSA computers because he designed them. He knows how easy it would have been for any of the NSAs 60,000 agents, many of whom have great antipathy toward Clinton, to employ their skills to frustrate her drive toward the presidency. The intelligence communitys antipathy toward Clinton has two general sources. One is her misuse of emails containing state secrets. Among the top-secret emails that the FBI discovered on Clintons non-secure private servers were some that revealed the names of U.S. intelligence agents operating undercover in the Middle East. Because Clinton emailed secrets to others who the FBI found were hacked by hostile foreign intelligence services and because she used a non-secure mobile email device while inside the territories of hostile governments, her "extremely careless" use of her emails resulted in the termination of the undercover work of those whose cover she caused to be revealed. Many in the intelligence community also suspect that in some cases, U.S. undercover agents lost their lives because Clinton failed to keep their identities secret. The other source of intelligence community antipathy to Clinton stems from her secret war waged against the late Libyan strongman, Col. Moammar Gadhafi. When she waged that war  using intelligence, not military, personnel  with the approval of the president and a dozen members of Congress, she exercised her authority as secretary of state to grant exemptions to a U.N. arms embargo of Libya. She wanted Libyan militias to have heavy-duty, military-grade arms with which to topple the Libyan government. But the CIA and others warned her that she was arming terrorist groups, which was potentially lethal for some American intelligence personnel and which is a felony under federal law. One of those groups may have used Clinton-authorized, embargo-free weapons to assassinate Christopher Stevens, the U.S. ambassador to Libya, at Benghazi. Clinton disregarded the CIAs advice and didnt worry about anyones finding out about it because she thought her emails would remain secret. Binneys conclusion that the NSA and not the Russians hacked the DNC is further supported by official White House silence. Last year, when Chinese intelligence agents hacked U.S. government computers and accessed personnel records of millions of federal government employees, the White House lodged long and loud protests with Beijing. This time, there have been no such protests to the Kremlin. What does all this tell us? It tells us that Hillary Clinton continues to be the queen of deception. It tells us that some of those in whose hands we repose our freedom for safekeeping do not wish to see her in the White House because of her demonstrated lawlessness and indifference to their work. And it recalls to our attention the danger and power of the deep state and its willingness to break the laws it has sworn to uphold. Andrew P. Napolitano, a former judge of the Superior Court of New Jersey, is the senior judicial analyst at Fox News Channel. Judge Napolitano has written seven books on the U.S. Constitution. The most recent is Theodore and Woodrow: How Two American Presidents Destroyed Constitutional Freedom. To find out more about Judge Napolitano and to read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit www.creators.com. COPYRIGHT 2014 ANDREW P. NAPOLITANO  DISTRIBUTED BY CREATORS.COM
Kerry's And Al-Qaeda's "Very Different Track" Attack On Aleppo Fails



By Moon Of Alabama August 04, 2016 " Information Clearing House " - " Moon Of Alabama " - Early May U.S. Secretary of State Kerry set a deadline for "voluntary" regime change in Syria: [He] said the target date for the transition is 1st of August in Syria or else the Assad government and its allies are asking for a very different track. Hoping that something happens in these next few months, he said the political transition would not include President Assad because as long as Assad is there, the opposition is not going to stop fighting.

...

Kerry made those remarks after meeting with the UN special envoy for Syria Staffan de Mistura and Russias foreign minister Sergei Lavrov. They agreed to establish a monitoring ceasefire center in Geneva, Switzerland, ... By the time of that statement al-Qaeda in Syria and U.S. supported insurgents had already broken the February ceasefire announced by Russia and attacked Syrian government positions in the rural area south of Aleppo city. Negotiations since May between Russia and the U.S. over Syria have not led to any tangible results. In retrospect the U.S. tactic seems to have been willful delay. The U.S. made some laughable offer to Russia and Syria to effectively accept defeat in exchange for common attacks on al-Qaeda. This was rejected without much comments. The current attack on the government held Aleppo by al-Qaeda in Syria (aka Jabhat al Nusra aka Fateh al Scam) was launched on August 1st. With up to 10,000 insurgents participating the attack was unprecedented in size. August 1st is exactly the same date Kerry had set as starting date for "a very different track". This is likely not a random coincidence. Despite the very large size of the "Great Battle of Aleppo" and its possibly decisive character for the war neither the New York Times nor the Washington Post has so far reported on it.

The U.S. had long prepared for an escalation and extension of the war on Syria. In December and January ships under U.S. control transported at least 3,000 tons of old weapons and ammunition from Bulgaria to Turkey and Jordan. These came atop of hundreds of tons of weapons from Montenegro transported via air to Saudi Arabia and other Gulf states. According to the renown Janes Defense military intelligence journal these Bulgarian weapons ended up in Syria where the Syrian army confiscated some of them from al-Qaeda and U.S. supported insurgents. During the ceasefire and negotiations with Russia, the U.S. and its allies continued to arm and support their proxies in Syria even as those were intimately coordinating and integrating with al-Qaeda. The U.S. does not consider these groups to be terrorists, no matter with whom they associate or whatever they do. Even when such a group beheads a 12 year old, sick child in front of running cameras the U.S. State Department continues to support them and opines that "one incident here and there would not necessarily make you a terrorist group." Good to know ... The Russian Defense Ministry warned since April that large amounts of weapons and men were crossing from Turkey to Syria: The Jabhat al-Nusra terrorist group (outlawed in Russia) in Syria is planning a major offensive with the aim to cut the road between Aleppo and Damascus, the chief of the Main Operational Directorate of the Russian General Staff, Sergey Rudskoy, has said.

...

"According to the information we have, about 8,000 Jabhat al-Nusra militants have concentrated to the southwest of Aleppo; up to 1,500 militants have gathered to the north of the city," Rudskoi said. A Jabhat al-Nusra spokesperson claimed that the attack on Aleppo was planned for "several month". The U.S.-Saudi weapon supplies at the beginning of the year and the Russian observed deployment of forces in April were likely in preparation of the current attack on Aleppo. Kerry's "very different track" remark fits right into these. But the large "very different track" attack failed.

The attack started on Sunday and by Monday the 2nd the insurgents (green areas) managed to break Syrian government (red) defenses at the south-western border of Aleppo city. The plan was to break through roughly along the black line. Several vehicle based suicide attacks breached the Syrian front line. The insurgents captured the large, unfinished apartment project 1070 and several hilltop positions. On Tuesday phase 2 launched when they attempted to take the Artillery Academy base a few hundred meters further east. But after intense Syrian and Russian air strikes and nightly counterattacks nearly all positions fell back into Syrian government hands. Despite the failure of their main thrust, al-Qaeda and its allies launched a third phase attack towards Ramouseh district a few hundred meters further north. A tactical mistake as the attackers failed to build a decisive Schwerpunkt. A tunnel deployed bomb destroyed parts of the Syrian army positions in Ramouseh but the defense line held. The attack was repelled. Additional break-out attacks by the 2-3,000 fighters inside the besieged al-Qaeda controlled areas in east-Aleppo city failed too. Al-Qaeda never managed to brake the siege of the eastern areas and to thereby cut off the government held, densely occupied western areas from their supply route south towards Damascus. Local fighting still continues on the front lines but the government positions seem secured and the attacking force is slowly grind down. Al-Qaeda and allies had to deliver their attack from rural Idleb and Aleppo over open terrain towards the western Aleppo city borders. Here is where the Russian airforce and long range artillery concentrated their fire. As usual in such situations more attackers were killed on the approaches to the front line and in forward supply areas than on the front line itself. A Russian cruise missile even destroyed (vid) an arms supply storage used by Jaish al-Islam, the al-Qaeda controlled insurgency alliance, in Bab al Hawa, Idleb, at the Turkish border. Several arms convoys on their way towards Aleppo were destroyed in other airstrikes. Both sides currently accuse each other of minor gas attacks against each other civilians. The insurgents started these as they always do when they lose ground. This time the Syrian and Russian side immediately responded with their own claims. It is now he-said she-said - who can decide? These attacks or reports seem to be more diversions than serious incidents. After the defeat of the third phase of their attack al-Qaeda and its allies broke off their original plan of an attack in six phases and pulled back. In Russian military doctrine such a situation demands a counterattack with a wide ranging, strategic pursuit of the retreating enemy. We may now see a lightning fast operation in which reserve troops held by the Syrian government proceed westwards and northwards from Aleppo under intense air cover. There are no current plans on the government side to capture the insurgent areas in east-Aleppo which are under government siege. These can wait and their condition deteriorate before any costly move against them follows. Reports of additional Russian attack planes arriving for the next phase of the conflict have not yet been confirmed. All together Kerry's "very different track" failed to achieve the desired aim. The government held Aleppo city was not cut off from the rest of the government held areas south of it. The attacking force, the largest insurgent concentration in this war, suffers up to 1,000 casualties and a large amount of its equipment was destroyed. A pursuit might shatter its remnants. In another Syrian trouble spot Kurdish YPG fighters besiege and slowly conquer the Islamic State held city of Manbij in the east. They are supported by U.S. special forces and intense coalition air attacks. The city of Manbij is now mostly destroyed. The once 100,000 inhabitants are in dire straits. Up to 200 civilians fleeing the city were killed in U.S. air attacks. But as the operation is U.S. led no "western" humanitarian organization has lamented their fate.
10 Facts the Mainstream Media Wont Tell You About the War in Syria

By Darius Shahtahmasebi

August 04, 2016 " Information Clearing House " - " Anti Media " - Corporate media regularly attempts to present Bashar al-Assads government in Syria as solely responsible for the ongoing conflict in the region. The media does report on events that contradict this narrative  albeit sparingly  but taken together, these underreported details shine a new light on the conflict.

10: Bashar al-Assad has a higher approval rating than Barack Obama

Despite Obamas claims Assad is illegitimate and must step down, the fact remains that since the conflict erupted in 2011, Assad has held the majority support of his people. The elections in 2014  which Assad won by a landslide with international observers claiming no violations  is a testament to the fact that although Assad has been accused of serious human rights violations, he continues to remain reasonably popular with the Syrian people.

Obama, on the other hand, won elections in 2012 with a voter turnout of a mere 53.6 percent of the American public; only 129.1 million total were votes cast. This means approximately 189.8 million American people did not vote for Obama. His current approval rating sits at about 50 percent.

9: The moderate opposition has been hijacked

There is no longer such a thing as moderate opposition in Syria  if there ever was. The so-called Western-backed Free Syrian Army (FSA) has been dominated by extremists for years. The U.S. has known this yet has continued to support the Syrian opposition, despite the fact the New York Times reported in 2012 that the majority of weapons being sent to Syria have been ending up in the hands of jihadists. A classified DIA report predicted the rise of ISIS in 2012, stating:

If the situation unravels, there is the possibility of establishing a declared or undeclared Salafist principality in eastern Syria and this is exactly what the supporting powers to the opposition want, in order to isolate the Syrian regime.

Further, an FSA commander went on record not only to admit his fighters regularly conduct joint operations with al-Nusra (al-Qaeda in Syria), but also that he would like to see Syria ruled by Sharia law.

Apparently, moderate can also mean al-Qaeda affiliated fanatic.

8: Assad never used chemical weapons on his own people

A U.N. investigation into the first major chemical weapons attack committed in early 2013  an atrocity the West immediately pinned on Assad  concluded the evidence suggested the attack was more likely committed by the Syrian opposition. A subsequent U.N. investigation into the August 2013 attack never laid blame on anyone, including Assads forces. In December 2013, Pulitzer prize-winning journalist Seymour Hersh released an article highlighting deficiencies in the way the situation was handled:

In the months before the attack, the American intelligence agencies produced a series of highly classified reportsciting evidence that the al-Nusra Front, a jihadi group affiliated with al-Qaida, had mastered the mechanics of creating sarin and was capable of manufacturing it in quantity. When the attack occurred al-Nusra should have been a suspect, but the administration cherry-picked intelligence to justify a strike against Assad.

7: Toppling the Syrian regime was part of a plan adopted shortly after 9/11

According to a memo disclosed by 4-star General Wesley Clark, shortly after 9/11, the Pentagon adopted a plan to topple the governments of seven countries within five years. The countries were Iraq, Lebanon, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, and Iran.

As we know, Iraq was invaded in 2003. American ally Israel tried its hand at taking out Lebanon in 2006. Libya was destroyed in 2011. Prior to this intervention, Libya had the highest standard of living of any country in Africa. In 2015, alone, it dropped 27 places on the U.N. Human Development Index rating. U.S. drones fly over Somalia, U.S. troops are stationed in South Sudan  Sudan was partitioned following a brutal civil war  and Syria has been the scene of a deadly war since 2011. This leaves only Iran, which is discussed below.

6: Iran and Syria have a mutual defense agreement

Since 2005, Iran and Syria have been bound by a mutual defense agreement. The Iranian government has shown they intend to fully honor this agreement and has provided the Syrian regime with all manner of support, including troops, a $1 billion credit line, training, and advisement. What makes this conflict even more dangerous, however, is the fact Russia and China have sided with Iran and Syria, stating openly they will not tolerate any attack on Iran. Russias military intervention in Syria in recent months proves these are not idle threats  they have put their money where their mouth is.

Iran has been in the crosshairs of the U.S. foreign policy establishment for some time now. George W. Bush failed to generate the support needed to attack Iran during his time in office  though not for lack of trying  and since 2012, sanctions have been the go-to mantra. By attacking and destabilizing Irans most important ally in the region, the powers that be can undermine Iranian attempts to spread its influence in the region, ultimately further weakening Iran.

5: Former Apple CEO is the son of a Syrian refugee

The late Steve Jobs, founder of Apple, was the son of a Syrian who moved to the United States in the 1950s. This is particularly amusing given the amount of xenophobia, Islamophobia, racism and hatred refugees and migrants seem to have inspired  even from aspiring presidents. Will a President Donald Trump create the conditions in which future technological pioneers may never reach the United States? His rhetoric seems to indicate as much.

4: ISIS arose out of the U.S. invasion of Iraq, not the Syrian conflict

ISIS was formerly known as al-Qaeda in Iraq, which rose to prominence following the U.S.-U.K. led invasion of Iraq in 2003. It is well-known that there was no tangible al-Qaeda presence in Iraq until after the invasion, and there is a reason for this. When Paul Bremer was given the role of Presidential Envoy to Iraq in May 2003, he dissolved the police and military. Bremer fired close to 400,000 former servicemen, including high-ranking military officials who fought in the Iran-Iraq war in the 1980s. These generals now hold senior ranking positions within ISIS. If it werent for the United States actions, ISIS likely wouldnt exist.

ISIS was previously known by the U.S. security establishment as al-Qaeda in Iraq (AQI), but these fighters ultimately became central to Western regime change agendas in Libya and Syria. When the various Iraqi and Syrian al-Qaeda-affiliated groups merged on the Syrian border in 2014, we were left with the fully-fledged terror group we face today.

3: Turkey, Qatar, and Saudi Arabia wanted to build a pipeline through Syria, but Assad rejected it

In 2009, Qatar proposed a pipeline to run through Syria and Turkey to export Saudi gas. Assad rejected the proposal and instead formed an agreement with Iran and Iraq to construct a pipeline to the European market that would cut Turkey, Saudi Arabia, and Qatar out of the route entirely. Since, Turkey, Qatar, and Saudi Arabia have been staunch backers of the opposition seeking to topple Assad. Collectively, they have invested billions of dollars, lent weapons, encouraged the spread of fanatical ideology, and helped smuggle fighters across their borders.

The Iran-Iraq pipeline will strengthen Iranian influence in the region and undermine their rival, Saudi Arabia  the other main OPEC producer. Given the ability to transport gas to Europe without going through Washingtons allies, Iran will hold the upper-hand and will be able to negotiate agreements that exclude the U.S. dollar completely.

2: Leaked phone calls show Turkey provides ISIS fighters with expensive medical care

Turkeys support for hardline Islamists fighting the Syrian regime is extensive. In fact, jihadists regularly refer to the Turkish border as the gateway to Jihad. In May 2016, reports started emerging of Turkey going so far as to provide ISIS fighters with expensive medical treatment.

Turkey is a member of NATO. Let that sink in for a moment.

1: Western medias main source for the conflict is a T-shirt shop in Coventry, England

This is not a joke. If you follow the news, you most probably have heard the mainstream media quote an entity grandiosely called the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR). This so-called observatory is run by one man in his home in Coventry, England  thousands of miles away from the Syrian conflict  yet is quoted by most respected Western media outlets (BBC, Reuters, The Guardian, and International Business Times, for example). His credentials include his ownership of a T-shirt shop just down the road, as well as being a notorious dissident against the current Syrian president.

***

Despite the fact much of the information in this article comes from mainstream outlets, those circulating it refuse to put all of the storylines together to give the public an accurate picture of what is going on in Syria.
Once the Great Hope of the Middle East, Turkey Is Weak and Unstable



The destabilisation of Turkey is good news for Isis as Turkish security organisations devote their efforts to hunting down Gulenists



By Patrick Cockburn August 04, 2016 " Information Clearing House " - " The Independent " - Coup attempt and purge are tearing Turkey apart. The Turkish armed forces, for long the backbone of the state, are in a state of turmoil. Some 40 per cent of its generals and admirals have been detained or dismissed, including senior army commanders. They are suspected of launching the abortive military takeover on 15-16 July, which left at least 246 people dead, saw parliament and various security headquarters bombed and a near successful bid to kill or capture President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. In response, Erdogan and his government are carrying out a purge of everybody from soldiers to teachers connected in any way to the movement of the US-based cleric Fethullah Gulen accused of organising the coup attempt. Among media outlets closed in the past few days are 45 newspapers, 16 TV channels  including a childrens channel  and 23 radio stations. People fearful of being implicated in the plot have been hurriedly disposing of Gulenist books and papers by burning them, throwing it into rivers or stuffing them into rubbish bins. Five years ago, Turkey looked like the most stable and successful country in the Middle East  an example that its neighbours might like to follow. But, instead of Iraq and Syria becoming more like Turkey, it has become more like them in terms of political, ethnic and sectarian division. Erdogans personal authority is being enhanced by his bravery and vigour in defeating the coup attempt and by the removal of remaining obstacles to his rule. But the failed putsch was also a sign that Turkey  a nation of 80 million people with an army 600,000-strong  is becoming weaker and more unstable. Its leaders will be absorbed in the immediate future in conducting an internal purge and deciding who is loyal and who is not. While this is going on, the country faces pressures on many fronts, notably the war with Kurdish guerrillas in the south east, terror attacks by the Islamic State and diplomatic isolation stemming from disastrous Turkish involvement in the war in Syria. The destabilisation of Turkey is good news for Isis because Turkish security organisations, never very assiduous in pursuing salafi-jihadi rebels, will be devoting most of their efforts to hunting down Gulenists. Both Isis and other al-Qaeda-type movements like al-Nusra Front will benefit from the anti-American atmosphere in Turkey, where most believe that the US supported the coup attempt. The Turkish armed forces used to be seen as a guarantee of Turkeys stability, inside and outside the country. But the failed coup saw it break apart in a manner that will be very difficult to reverse. No less than 149 out of a total of 358 generals and admirals have been detained or dishonourably discharged. Those arrested include the army commander who was fighting the Kurdish insurrection in south east Turkey and the former chief of staff of the air force. Many Turks have taken time to wake up to the seriousness of what has happened. But it is becoming clear that the attempted putsch was not just the work of a small clique of dissatisfied officers inside the armed forces; it was rather the product of a vast conspiracy to take over the Turkish state that was decades in the making and might well have succeeded. At the height of the uprising, the plotters had captured the army chief of staff and the commanders of land, sea and air forces.They were able to do so through the connivance of guards, private secretaries and aides who occupied crucial posts. The interior minister complains that he knew nothing about the coup bid until a very late stage because the intelligence arm reporting to him was manned by coup supporters. Erdogan gave a near comical account of how the first inkling he had that anything was amiss came between 4pm and 4.30pm on the day of the coup attempt from his brother-in-law, who had seen soldiers blocking off streets in Istanbul. He then spent four hours vainly trying to contact the head of the national intelligence agency, the chief of staff and the prime minister, none of whom could be found. Erdogan apparently escaped from his holiday hotel on the Aegean with 45 minutes to spare before the arrival of an elite squad of soldiers with orders to seize or kill him. There is little question left that the followers of Fethullah Gulen were behind the coup attempt, despite his repeated denials. I dont have any doubt that the brain and backbone of the coup were the Gulenists, says Kadri Gursel, usually a critic of the government. He adds that he is astonished by the degree to which the Gulenists were able to infiltrate and subvert the armed forces, judiciary and civil service. The closest analogy to recent events, he says, is in the famous 1950s film Invasion of the Body Snatchers, in which aliens take over an American town without anybody noticing until it is almost too late. The coup attempt was so unexpected and unprecedented that Turkey today is full of people asking questions about their future, and that of their country  questions to which there are no clear answers. Will Erdogan exploit the opportunity offered by the failed coup to demonise all opponents and not just Gulenists as terrorists? Some 15,000 people have been detained of whom 10,000 are soldiers. The presidential guard has been stood down. One third of the judiciary has been sacked. So far most of the journalists and media outlets targeted have some connection with the Gulenists, but few believe that the clamp down on dissent will end there. Erdogans lust for power is too great for him show restraint in stifling opposition in general, predicts one intellectual in Istanbul who, like many interviewed for this article, did not want his name published. When one small circulation satirical magazine published a cartoon mildly critical of the government last week, police went from shop-to-shop confiscating copies. For the moment, Erdogan is benefiting from a degree of national solidarity against the conspirators. Many Turks (and not just his supporters) criticise foreign governments and media for making only a token condemnations of the coup attempt before demanding restraint in conduct of the purge. They point out that, if the coup had more successful, Turkey would have faced a full-blown military dictatorship or a civil war, or both. Erdogan said in an interview that foreign leaders who now counsel moderation would have danced for joy if he had been killed by the conspirators. Sabiha Senyucel, the research director of the Public Policy and Democracy Studies think tank in Istanbul, says that the evening of the coup attempt was the worst evening of my life. She complains that foreign commentators did not take on board that this was a battle between a democratically elected government and a military coup. She has co-authored a report citing biased foreign reporting hostile to Erdogan and only mildly critical of the coup-makers. She quotes a tweet from an MSNBC reporter at the height of the coup attempt, saying that a US military source tells NBC News that Erdogan, refused landing rights in Istanbul, is reported to be seeking asylum in Germany. Turkey is deeply divided between those who adore and those who hate Erdogan. Senyucel says that there are two parts of society that live side by side but have no contact with each other. But, even so, it is difficult to find anybody on the left or right who does not suspect that at some level the US was complicit in the coup attempt. Erdogan is probably convinced of this himself, despite US denials, and this will shape his foreign policy in future. The lip-service support Erdogan got from Western states during and immediately after the coup attempt shows his international isolation, said one observer. The Turkish leader is off to see Vladimir Putin on 9 August, though it is doubtful if an alliance with Russia and Iran is really an alternative to Turkeys long-standing membership of Nato. Erdogan can claim that the alternative to him is a bloody-minded collection of brigadier generals who showed no restraint in killing civilians and bombing parliament. But the strength and reputation of the Turkish state is being damaged by revelations about the degree to which it has been systematically colonised since the 1980s by members of a secret society. Gulenist candidates for jobs in the Foreign Ministry were supplied with the answers to questions before they took exams, regardless of their abilities. The diplomatic service  once highly regarded internationally  received an influx of monoglot Turkish-speaking diplomats, according to the Foreign Minister. The state is collapsing, says one commentator  but adds that much will depend on what Erdogan will do next. In the past he has shown a pragmatic as well as a Messianic strain, accompanied by an unceasing appetite for political combat and more power. His meeting last week with other party leaders, with the notable exception of the Kurds, may be a sign that he will be forced to ally himself with the secularists. He will need to replace the ousted Gulenist officers in the armed forces and many of these will secularist victims of past purges by the Gulenists. Turkey is paying a heavy price for Erdogans past alliances and misalliances. Many chickens are coming home to roost. The Gulenists were able to penetrate the armed forces and state institution so easily because between 2002 and 2013 they were closely allied him and his ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) in opposition to the secularists. Isis has been able to set up a network of cells in Turkey because, until recently, the Turkish security forces turned a blind eye to salafi-jihadis using Turkey as a rear base for the war in Syria. Erdogan arguably resumed confrontation and war with the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) as an electoral ploy to garner nationalist support after his failure to win the general election on 7 June last year. Erdogan thrives on crisis and confrontation, of which the failed coup is the latest example. But a state of permanent crisis is weakening and destabilising Turkey at a moment when the rest of the region is gripped by war.
Trump, Russia and Democratic Lies



The real story was that the Democrats rigged the primary elections. The manufactured story that has dominated corporate media is that Russia may hack the U.S. elections and Donald Trump is a fascist guilty of treason for failing to demonize Vladimir Putin. But the Republican nominee fails the fascist test, since the hard corporate Right is with Hillary and Trump has no filter or political acumen and has run afoul of the Republican rulers.



By Margaret Kimberley Trump is surely the only Republican running for president who couldnt get a meeting with the Koch brothers. Wikileaks latest revelations of the Democrats corruption prove that the party is nothing but a neo-liberal marketing scheme meant to fool progressive voters. As with the Republicans, its goal is to aid and abet the dictates of the ruling classes. The contents and substance of the hacked emails had to be disappeared so as not to ruin the Democratic convention and its well-honed image of inclusion. The easiest route to diversion was to cast aspersions upon the source of the information. In this case a years-long effort to promote anti-Russian propaganda proved useful. The computer hack was said to have Russian digital fingerprints and experts swore that the hackers were not just any ordinary Russians but Russian government agents. Any experts skeptical about these claims were disappeared too. The Hillary Clinton coronation was ready made for lies and hapless Republican nominee Donald Trump helped in the commission of the crime. Having been beaten down in a windfall of Democratic corporate fund raising prowess he should have been up on his game. Instead he chose to sarcastically ask for Russian government help in finding the 30,000 emails deleted by candidate Clinton from the private server she should never have used. The United States has a long and ignoble history of interfering in elections around the world. It is clear that Trump said nothing wrong. If true journalism existed in America his comments would not have been dismissed so easily. The Obama justice department decision to ignore Clintons criminal use of a private server to conduct state department business should not be forgotten. Journalists should be the ones raising the issue instead of her opponent. But the Clinton/Obama collusion had been buried too and joking about it in the midst of the coronation insured a public relations disaster for Trump. Of course the United States has a long and ignoble history of interfering in elections around the world. Those facts have been firmly shoved down the memory hole by a compliant press. The intensity of the attack was worthy of far worse offenses but overkill was the point after all. Supposedly accomplished people like Obama law school mentor Laurence Tribe actually claimed that Trump had violated laws prohibiting private citizens from doing business with foreign government and added for rhetorical flourish that he may have committed treason. The charge of treason can only be made when one makes war against the United States or gives aid and comfort to an enemy. None of those qualifiers applied in this case. Truth is already a casualty and Hillary Clinton isnt even in office. Casting Putin as the villain responsible for all of the worlds ills has reached an unprecedented level. Conservative talking head George Will surmised with no evidence whatever that Trumps refusal to release his tax returns is an effort to hide business dealings with Moscow. The Washington Post claimed that the Russian government may hack voting machines on Election Day. The charge of treason can only be made when one makes war against the United States or gives aid and comfort to an enemy. The lies have had the intended benefit of keeping Democrats in the Clinton camp and destroying Trumps chances of being heard by all but the most loyal Republican dead enders. The New York Times reported that its readers commented on the phony Trump/Russian connection more than they had on any subject ever. Obama and Clintons destruction of Libya, the would-be destruction of Syria, rampant police murder, or increases in poverty never raised as much ire among the voters the Democrats covet so much. The corporate media have always told lies when powerful people demand it. The willingness to act as hit men and women isnt new but the circumstances this year are quite different. The Republican nominee is unwanted by his party establishment. Trump is surely the only Republican running for president who couldnt get a meeting with the Koch brothers. Party heavy weights skipped the convention altogether while others are temporarily calling a halt to their party affiliation. The man we are told to fear is at a serious disadvantage. The Washington Post claimed that the Russian government may hack voting machines on Election Day. His weaknesses as a candidate make Trump a perfect foil for Hillary Clinton and the rest of the Democrats. His open bigotry allows them to point fingers and hide their own allegiance to mass incarceration, deportation and other racist ills. Hillary and Bill Clinton have done immeasurable harm to black people but have now been given a pass because Trump has no filter or political acumen and has run afoul of the Republican rulers. Much of the vitriol directed at Trump involves the charge that he is a fascist. It is the Democrats who have buy-in and a fund raising advantage from the monied classes. The Democrats work with the media to bury their wrong doing. The Democrats pledge to keep the war machine humming. Trump has certainly failed at living up to the fascist label. Americans have to live with this propaganda and hysteria for three more months. But the real damage begins on January 20, 2017 when Barack Obama hands over his office to Hillary Clinton, a violent and lying criminal and her equally corrupt compatriots. They are the people we ought to fear. Margaret Kimberley's Freedom Rider column appears weekly in BAR, and is widely reprinted elsewhere. She maintains a frequently updated blog as well as at http://freedomrider.blogspot.com. Ms. Kimberley lives in New York City, and can be reached via e-Mail at Margaret.Kimberley(at)BlackAgendaReport.com.
US Hypocrisy Over 'Draft Dodger' Trump By Finian Cunningham



The US political elite and media are moving closer to dump Trump and thus write the November presidential election result. If such political orchestration were happening in Russia, the American media would be decrying Kremlin tyranny.



But, hey, this is the Land of the Free. Free, that is, for the rich and powerful to make up the rules as they go along  even when such rule-making and breaking has become transparently brazen. Over the past week, Donald Trump, the Republican billionaire property magnate-turned politician, has been accused of just about every flaw, from sexual assault to financial corruption, to being a foreign stooge for Russian leader Vladimir Putin . Thats rich given his Democrat rival, Hillary Clinton and her husband, Bill, are up to their eyes from substantive claims of even worse skullduggery, from laundering Saudi oil money into US foreign policy to waging covert wars for regime change, to serial sex parties on a fleshpot private island owned by one of Bills rich buddies. Added to this litany of vice is evidence of Hillary Clinton breaching state secrecy rules while she was Secretary of State (2009-2013) through private use of government emails. Not only is Clinton spared criminal investigation, the media generally avoid any focus on her and her husbands numerous proven depredations. The double standard and double think are all part of the systemic bias in the US political process, whereby millions of ordinary citizen voters are being disenfranchised by the rich and powerful elite in order to determine who will be their puppet in the White House. Of the recent deluge of deprecations hurled at Trump, it is perhaps the charge of being a military draft dodger that illustrates just how hypocritical and self-serving the US establishment and its servile corporate media are. The US media are saying that Trumps five military service deferments during the Vietnam War in the late 1960s make him ineligible to be the nations Commander-in-Chief. So, when was that same standard ever applied for past presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush, both of whom were elected twice to the White House despite evidence that they shirked the military draft for their country? The case against Bush as a draft dodger is especially strong, as documented by American author Russ Baker in his book, Family of Secrets. During the early 1970s, young George was posted to the Texas National Guards flying squadron with the help from his daddy, George senior, pulling strings among the Republican Party leadership. At the time Poppy Bush was a senior Republican chairman, with close connections to the Central Intelligence Agency, the Pentagon and Big Oil. Bush junior was then able to avoid military service in Vietnam because he was on duty at an airbase in Texas. But, as Baker and other researchers have found out, Bushs duty was clouded with drinking binges, drug abuse and a very patchy record of actual military attendance. Indeed, there is evidence that George W. Bush never even completed his basic minimum service for the National Guard and was eventually banned from flying because of psychological issues. But this apparent avoidance of patriotic obligation did not stop Bush three decades later becoming the 43rd president of the US in 2001 and again in 2005. While 50,000 young American men  mainly from poor social backgrounds  were to die in Vietnam, with many more crippled physically and mentally, Bush and other privileged, well-connected peers were able to fiddle the system and spend their war years drinking highballs and snorting cocaine. Bushs conduct record has never been pried open by the mainstream US media, even though plenty of skeletons lurk in his locker. One would think that suspicions of cowardice and fraud over Bushs dodgy military history would be especially worthy of investigation given his responsibility for instigating wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, which have claimed over a million lives, including thousands of his own countrymen. That legacy of death, destruction and conflict continues to blight entire regions  and was all started on the watch of a man who preferred to party in mess halls than to serve his nation in a time of need. Donald Trump s own history certainly sounds disreputable. At age 22, he availed of four military service deferments for educational reasons and one for having an alleged bone problem in one his feet. Years later, Trump said he couldnt remember which foot was the cause of the medical problem. No doubt Trumps millionaire father had some bearing on why young Donald was able to avoid being shipped out to the jungles of Vietnam, unlike so many others of his generation. Trump has also not done his tawdry past many favors either. He has made the inane and flippant comparison that his personal Vietnam was avoiding contracting sexual diseases during his wild youth. More recently the Republican candidates ugly public spat with the Muslim parents of a slain US veteran killed during the Iraq War has also compounded accusations that Trump is not respectful of military servicemen and women. That echoes with Trumps earlier disparagement of Senator John McCain as not being a qualified war hero because he was formerly a POW in Vietnam. I prefer heroes who dont get caught by the enemy, quipped the bumptious Trump. Trumps glib views on the NATO military alliance and towards European and Asian allies are also pulled up by his detractors as further evidence of profanity towards our national treasure, as Hillary Clinton obsequiously describes the armed forces. The maverick Republican nominee has a knack for sounding anti-establishment. Trump has efficiently tapped the discontent of millions of ordinary, working class Americans. His background suggests, however, that he is very much part of the ruling establishment  a rich kid who inherited wealth to finance a property empire. In many ways, Trump is no different from George W. Bush, right down the personal history of dodging military service. But Trumps ambition has caused him to cross red lines in the eyes of the establishment. Calling political rivals like Clinton crooked and rubbishing the supposed democratic process as rigged are intolerable disclosures. For the ruling one percent, Trumps iconoclasm of American myths is too destabilizing. He is a risk to the entire power structure and pretense of US democracy. Hence, the US plutocracy are closing ranks to dump Trump. Whether Republican or Democrat, Conservative or Liberal, the ruling class are moving to foreclose on Trumps candidacy. The torrent of character flaws being leveled against Trump is not the real the issue. The flagrant hypocrisy over his draft-dodging compared with that of George W. Bush and other one percenters is proof of that. What is at issue is how the US presidential election is being decided by a powerful minority. Nothing new here, one might add, except the brazenness by which democratic choice in the US is made obsolete. Arch-conservative Robert Kagan, husband of Victoria F..k the EU Nuland, is one of the growing number of top Republicans who are now backing Democrat Clinton for president. Kagan claims that Trump poses a danger for fascism coming to the US. The truth is that Trump is only a symptom of the political disease that is already endemic in the US.
Home Sign up for our FREE Daily Email Newsletter The Saudi Role on September 11 By Lawrence Davidson On 27 November 2002 a bipartisan commission was established by Congress to investigate the 11 September 2001 attacks on the World Trade Center and Pentagon. By the time the commission was created, President George W. Bush had characterized the attacks as acts of war, adding that freedom and democracy are under attack. It was therefore to be expected that anyone who was actually, or even imagined to be, involved in these attacks was going to be labeled as an enemy. However, when on 22 July 2004, after two years of investigation, the 9/11 Commissions report was released, something was missing. Twenty-eight pages had been withheld from publication. These pages specifically discussed the connections between the 9/11 hijackers and individuals working in the U.S. for the government of Saudi Arabia. The withholding from publication of these specific pages was apparently ordered by the same George W. Bush who was ostensibly willing to confront anyone who would, in his worldview, threaten the U.S.  Bring em on! For the next 12 years, that is, between July 2004 and July 2016, the 28 pages remained classified and therefore unavailable to the public or the press. They were available to members of Congress if they would travel to a secure location, one person at a time, to read the document. They could take no notes nor reveal to anyone what they learned. So what was going on here? According to Senator Bob Graham (D-FL), a long term advocate of declassifying the pages, what all these years of suppression came to was a carefully orchestrated campaign to protect our Saudi friends, from the public revelation of ample evidence of Saudi Arabias intimate ties to al-Qaeda and the 9/11 attacks. If Graham is correct, Saudi Arabia received a free pass despite being involved in acts of war against the United States. Part II  Leverage How was this possible? Well, consider the following: there exists a long-standing commercial relationship and personal friendship between the Bush clan and the Saudi royal family. Even more important, Saudi Arabia has long managed the oil market to keep prices in the West at affordable levels. Presently, the Saudis have hundreds of billions of dollars invested, in various ways, in the United States (the exact figure is kept secret).These include stocks, bonds, real estate and currency holdings. And finally, Saudi Arabia is the top purchaser of US weapons, periodically buying as much as $60 billion worth of armaments at a time from U.S. defense contractors. This puts Saudi Arabia in a very strong economic position in relation to the United States. Consider the hypothetical consequences of a rapid withdrawal of Saudi funds from the U.S. At the very least this would send the stock market into a tailspin. The U.S. would be forced to freeze Saudi assets, and not only the American and Saudi economies would suffer, but the world economy as well. The Saudis have been known to assert what can only be called economic blackmail against the U.S. government to hide embarrassing facts about themselves, including their dealings with terrorist groups ranging from off-shoots of al-Qaeda to ISIS. They can and do argue that if Saudi agents do at times act against U.S. interests, even to the point of aiding terrorists, they do so as rogue agents and not under the authority the central government. The problem is that, just like Americas rogue agents, they never seem to suffer punishment. Part III  Lobby Power The government of Saudi Arabia has gathered together in Washington, D.C., a broad coalition of lawyers, public relations firms, and ex-diplomates-turned-lobbyists that collectively function as a Saudi special interest group. It is through the leverage applied by this lobby that the 28 pages of the 9/11 Commission report stayed below the radar for for 12 years. This happened even while the official Saudi line was that that country had nothing to hide and would welcome the publication of the pages. Finally, Barack Obama, drawing near to the end of his presidency, decided to declassify the document. It is possible that he and his advisers, in consultation with the Saudis, had come to the conclusion that after all these years, the U.S.-Saudi relationship could weather any belated disturbance that might result. Thus, on 15 July 2016 the 28 pages were made public. Now anyone can read them. Or can they? Many of the sites at which they were initially posted are strangely going blank. For all the good it might now do, it turns out that Senator Bob Graham was right. At least two Saudi individuals (Omar al-Bayoumi and Osama Basnan) working for the Saudi government possibly as intelligence agents gave financial aid and other assistance (including identifying flight schools) to at least two of the hijackers soon after they arrived in the U.S. Al-Bayoumi is the prime conduit here. The amount of money he was receiving from the Saudi government went up substantially the same month he began aiding the hijackers and then was reduced by the same amount once he and the hijackers parted company. Al-Bayoumi left the U.S. one month prior to the 9/11 attacks. A full reading of the 28 pages indicates that this is just the tip of the proverbial iceberg. The Saudi government has put out a reply to the release of the 28 pages. It declares that since 2002, U.S. government agencies, including the CIA and the FBI, have investigated the allegations and established that no one acting on behalf of the Saudi government provided any support or encouragement for these attacks. This statement is Riyads effort to obfuscate matters. It goes hand-in-hand with the weak response of CIA Director Brennan, who has said that the recently declassified allegations have not been vetted (established as true or false) and fail to prove that the Saudi government as an institution was involved in 9/11. There are troubling contradictions here. If, as the Saudis say, a thorough investigation of the allegations has been carried out, what is with Brennans claim that the information in the 28 pages has not been vetted? If the CIA and the FBI have not vetted the allegations, despite having 14 years to do so, how can Brennan so readily exonerate Saudi Arabia? Only the gullible, the ignorant, or the indifferent would see this as adequate. Part IV  Allies Who Wage War on the U.S. The Saudis are not the only ally that has committed acts of war against the United States and then, with the help of lobby power, got the actions covered up. The other, equivalent miscreant is Israel, which in recent years has rendered assistance to al-Nusra, the al-Qaeda affiliate in Syria. Perhaps more significantly, on 8 June 1967 Israeli forces knowingly attacked the U.S. Intelligence ship Liberty ostensibly because it had picked up information of a pending unprovoked Israeli attack on Syrias Golan Heights. The resulting combined sea and air attack on the Liberty killed 31 Americans and wounded 171. In this incident the Bush clans role as protector of a foreign enemy was played by President Lyndon Johnson. He was a great admirer of the Israelis, whom he likened to the early U.S. settlers of his native Texas. This admiration was so great that he actually ordered the rescue flight of U.S. military jets coming to the aid of the wounded ship to turn around and return to base. Even though numerous naval officials were never satisfied with the Israeli explanation (it was all a mistake) or the obviously superficial investigations carried on by both sides, much of the vital material remains classified and Congress refuses to revisit what was, after all, an act of war. As I have said many times, the United States is not a democracy of individual citizens. It is a nation of competing interest groups  including foreign ones who have hired themselves Washington lobbies. It is also clear that powerful interest groups can, quite literally, get away with murder. How is this in the American national interest? Those of you reading this who are American citizens might put the question to your congressional representatives and senators. Let me know if you happen to get a serious response. Lawrence Davidson is a retired professor of history from West Chester University in West Chester PA. His academic research focused on the history of American foreign relations with the Middle East. He taught courses in Middle East history, the history of science and modern European intellectual history. Click for Spanish , German , Dutch , Danish , French , translation- Note- Translation may take a moment to load. What's your response? - Scroll down to add / read comments Sign up for our FREE Daily Email Newsletter For Email Marketing you can trust Donate



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Palestinians Inside Israel Are Under Attack By Jonathan Cook August 04, 2016 " Information Clearing House " - Was it meant as an epic parody or an insult to his audiences intelligence? It was hard to tell. Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu took to social media to apologise for last years notorious election-day comment, when he warned that the Arabs are coming out to vote in droves  a reference to the fifth of Israels population who are Palestinian. In videos released last week in English and Hebrew, Mr Netanyahu urged Palestinian citizens to become more active in public life. They needed to work in droves, study in droves, thrive in droves, he said. I am proud of the role Arabs play in Israels success. Pointedly, Ayman Odeh, head of the Palestinian-dominated Joint List party, noted that 100,000 Bedouin citizens could not watch the video because Israel denies their communities electricity, internet connections and all other services. Swiftly and predictably, the reality of life for Israels 1.7 million Palestinians upstaged Mr Netanyahus fine words. In a radio interview, Moti Dotan, the head of the Lower Galilee regional council, sent a message to his Palestinian neighbours: I dont want them at my [swimming] pools. Sounding like a mayor in the southern United States during the Jim Crow-era, he added: Their culture of cleanliness isnt the same as ours. Why is that racist? Dotan was no extremist, observed the liberal newspaper Haaretz. He represents the Israeli mainstream. Notably, Mr Netanyahu did not distance himself from Mr Dotans remarks. At the same time, Samar Qupty, star of a new film on Palestinians in Israel called Junction 48, was questioned for two hours and then strip searched at Ben Gurion airport and denied her hand luggage before being allowed to fly to an international film festival. Stories of state-sponsored humiliation at the airport are routine for Israels Palestinian academics, journalists, actors and community leaders  in fact, for any Palestinian active in the public sphere. The list of restrictions on Palestinian citizens is long and growing. A database by the legal group Adalah shows that some 60 Israeli laws explicitly discriminate against non-Jews, with another 18 in the pipeline. Two laws passed last month intensify the repression of dissent. An Expulsion Law is designed to empower Israeli MPs to oust Palestinian lawmakers whose views offend them, while a Transparency Law stigmatises human rights groups working to protect Palestinian rights. Recently leaked protocols reveal that the police have secretly awarded themselves powers to use live fire against Palestinian protesters in Israel, even if they pose no danger. Yet another law threatens jail for any Palestinian citizen who tries to dissuade another from volunteering in the Israeli army. Growing numbers of Palestinian citizens, including poets and writers, are being jailed or put under house arrest for posts on social media the Israeli authorities disapprove of. Defence minister Avigdor Lieberman recently compared the work of the Palestinians national poet, Mahmoud Darwish, to Hitlers Mein Kampf. Darwish is banned from school curriculums. The culture minister, Miri Regev, meanwhile, has tied state funding for theatre and dance companies to their readiness to perform in Jewish settlements, illegally located in the occupied territories in the West Bank. In his video, Mr Netanyahu said: Jews and Arabs should reach out to each other, get to know each others families. Listen to each other. And yet his officials have just halved funding for the training of Palestinian student teachers, though not Jewish ones, to deter the former from pursuing teaching careers. Jewish schools face severe staff shortages, but Israels educational segregation is so complete that Palestinian citizens cannot be allowed to teach Jewish children. Mr Netanyahu also extolled his government for a promise to increase funding for Israels near-bankrupt Palestinian local authorities. He forgot to mention, however, that he had conditioned the money on the same councils demolishing thousands of homes in their jurisdiction. For decades Palestinians in Israel have been routinely denied building permits. Israels Palestinian citizens were not fooled by Mr Netanyahus video. But as their leaders noted, they were not the intended audience. The video was a cynical PR exercise aimed firmly at the Europeans, who have been discomfited by Israels increasingly repressive climate and the governments regular incitement against its Palestinian minority. Mr Netanyahu is worried about a backlash in the West, including growing support for the boycott movement, European efforts to revive peace talks, and potential moves at the United Nations and International Criminal Court. Palestinians in Israel have known worse repression than they currently endure. For Israels first two decades they lived under military rule, locked into their towns and villages and largely invisible unless they agreed to do and say as they were told. Palestinian MPs could be elected to the parliament but only if they were first approved by Zionist parties like Mr Netanyahus. The Israeli right sounds ever more nostalgic for that era. Slowly the ethos of the military government for Israels Palestinians is returning  and the perfume of Mr Netanyahus soothing words about ending discord and hate will not cover the stench. Jonathan Cook is a Nazareth- based journalist and winner of the Martha Gellhorn Special Prize for Journalism
No, Aleppo is not the new Srebrenica  the West wont go to war over Syria



There are no good guys among the Syrian warlords yet, despite all the evidence, we want to find them. It's time to stop lying to the people of the Middle East



By Robert Fisk August 04, 2016 " Information Clearing House " - " The Independent " - As armed rebels  terrorists in the eyes of the regime  tighten their grip on the country, at one stage holding 60 per cent of the land, government troops hit back, seizing control of the main roads and laying siege to major towns. The ruthless dictator, supported by Russia, accuses foreign powers of assisting his rebel enemies. There are massacres by both sides. NGOs fear for the tens of thousands of civilians trapped amid the fighting, while Western powers threaten to strike at the dictator unless he abides by a humanitarian ceasefire. Sound familiar? Of course. Im describing Kosovo in 1998, the year before Nato launched its war against Slobodan Milosevics regime in Serbia. The Kosovo Liberation Army  assisted and advised, as we now know, by the CIA  was threatening to seize all of Kosovo, the Serbian province in which Milosevics regime had long committed human rights abuses and ethnic murder against its Muslim majority. Milosovic accused Albania of sending weapons into Kosovo with the help of Western powers. All true. The difference between then and now is that, in 1998, the Western powers were itching for a war with Serbia. Today, those same Western nations will do anything to avoid going to war with Syria. For Albania, of course, read Turkey. For Milosevic, read Assad. For the KLA, read the Free Syrian Army, Jabhat al-Nusra or Isis or any of the other outfits which we either love or hate in Syria. But its worth remembering how much the humiliation of Bosnia was driving the West to war in Serbia. And its not, I fear, by chance that a UN official (widely quoted and, as usual, anonymous) said this week: Aleppo is the new Srebrenica. Good soundbite; bad history. Aleppos tragedy is unique and terrible and totally different from the massacre at Srebrenica, the Bosnian mass slaughter of more than 8,000 Muslims by Christian Serb militia in 1995 while Western UN troops watched and did nothing. In Aleppo, Sunni Muslim militias are fighting largely Sunni Muslim soldiers of the Syrian army whose Alawite (Shia) leader is supported by Shia Muslim Hezbollah militiamen and Shia Muslim Iran. Only three years ago, the same Sunni militiamen were besieging the surrounded Syrian army western enclave of Aleppo and firing shells and mortars into the sector where hundreds of thousands of civilians lived under regime control. Now the Syrian regimes forces are surrounding the Sunni militiamen in the eastern enclave of Aleppo and firing shells and mortars  and dropping bombs and explosives  into the sector where hundreds of thousands of civilians live under rebel control. The first siege didnt elicit many tears from the satellite channel lads and lassies. The second siege comes with oceans of tears. For, since 2011, the West has been demanding the departure, overthrow or death of Bashar al-Assad, blaming him for 90 per cent or 95 per cent, or  the latest figure Ive heard  98 per cent of the 300,000 civil war deaths, or 350,000 deaths or  again, the latest figure Ive heard  400,000 deaths. And before you dismiss this as a cynical game of statistics, let me add that I suspect the real death toll may be more than 450,000. But if the West is correct, then Assads forces have killed well over 400,000 of the dead  which is odd when the fatalities among the regimes own army alone come to well over 60,000  a military secret, but a real statistic which the regime does not wish to make public. And if the Wests figures are correct, then the rebels  including the horrific Isis, whom we want to destroy, and the horrid Nusra whom we probably want to destroy, and the kindly Free Syrian Army and New Syrian Army and Syrian Democratic Forces, whom we like very much because they are Kalashnikov-toting moderates, who want to destroy Assad  have killed, at most, only a few thousand of the wars victims. This is absurd. There are no "good guys" among the Syrian warlords; yet still, despite all the evidence, we want to find them. At the same time, we cant really work out who the "bad guys" are. Of course, Isis  or the so-called Islamic State as the BBC likes to refer to them, for they are neither Islamic nor a state  must be liquidated. But the American supplied and reinforced Syrian Democratic Forces  which are never referred to as "so-called" by the BBC, even though they are neither a force (since they rely on US air power), nor democratic (since they are not elected), nor Syrian (because they are largely Kurdish)  must be supported. Having thus divided the cult-like evildoers of Isis from the groupuscules of moderates  be they old Dave Camerons 70,000 ghost warriors or just CIA clones  we are having problems with the Nusrah-whoops-changed-our-name-to-Sham-and-no-longer-with-the-al-Qaeda chaps. Because they hate Assad, but they also kill Christians, blow up churches, chop the heads off their enemies and do other rotten things which make it hard to like them, even though they are financed by Qatar  one of our wealthy "moderate" Arab Gulf allies  as opposed to Saudi Arabia, another of our wealthy "moderate" Gulf allies, which still unofficially supports the horrific Isis. And its the Nusra-Sham-no-longer-al-Qaeda rebels who are now besieged in Aleppo, along with 300,000 civilians. Trouble is that our wealthy American allies  who may or may not be moderate, depending on who wins the presidential election  are going to have two candidates who will go all out over the next three months to demand once more the destruction of Bashar al-Assad. We will not only be told all over again that his regime is responsible for almost the entire death toll of the Syrian civil war, but that he maintains the cruellest torture chambers in the world. Yet I promise you that the US presidential contenders wont remind Americans that, until a few years ago, they were happily dispatching dark-skinned folk of the Muslim faith (including two Canadians) to endure the horrors of those very same torture chambers via a security agreement with the Syrian government. Rendition, I think it was called. And the parallels with Kosovo? Well its Hollywood. A movie. A simple plot. In 1998, we had to go to war to save the Muslims of Kosovo from the Hitler of Belgrade. In 2016, we are going to be urged to go to war with the Hitler of Damascus  although whom we are supposed to save this time is less clear. The Kurds? The armed moderates? The Syrian people  millions of whom now live outside Syria? Isis? Surely not the latter. Or will we be saving Sunni Saudi Arabia and Sunni Qatar from disintegrating under the pressure of the war they have been stoking in their weary battle against the Shia of Iran and Lebanon and, yes, Iraq? No, unlike 1998, we will not go to war for Syria. In Kosovo, we bombed from the air until Milosovic was told by Yeltsins Russia that he was on his own. But Putins Russia is not going to tell Assad hes on his own. And besides, we dont have Nato armies waiting on the Syrian border to invade the country if Assad surrendered. We used to have the Turks. Remember them? Wasnt Natos most powerful army just itching to move into Syria on our behalf? Not any more, its not. And we all know why. We can also forget red lines. Both sides in Syria have, I suspect, used gas and we didnt go to war, even though we put all the blame on the regime. But we didnt go to war for the Kurds when Saddam gassed them in 1988  it became one of the smaller excuses for the Blair-Bush invasion of Iraq 15 years later. And after suggesting the Russians have just dropped gas in Idlib province, you can be sure were not going to war with Moscow. So amid the anguish of Syrias people, lets not offer more lies to the Arabs. We are not going to save Aleppo, even if the Assad regime forces the rebels there to surrender (as they did in Homs, with scarcely a whimper from us). And I dont think we are going to destroy Assad  indeed for several months before the US elections reached their climax, the "Assad-must-go" routine mysteriously faded away. Yes, its time we stopped lying to the people of the Middle East. And its time we stopped lying to ourselves
Brace yourselves for a new thriller titled Something Wicked.

Directed by Yemi Morafa, the film features some of Nigerias most talented actors including Gabriel Afolayan, Iretiola Doyle, Ivie Okujaye-Egboh, Adesua Etomi, Beverly Naya and Okey Uzoeshi.

Synopsis:

Something Wicked is the story of a widow (Hauwa), whose recently orphaned nephew Abel, moves into her home from the violence riddled Northern Nigeria, after the murder of his parents. Abel has a difficult time fitting into his new family, whilst Hauwa struggles with the challenges of balancing a failing business and single parenthood.

This familys bond is tested when they are thrown in a life threatening situation and we see how easily misunderstandings lead to misconceptions and premonitions are sometimes the only warning we get, in this game of life and death.

The psychodrama also stars Bisola Aiyeola, Omowunmi Dada, Timini Egbuson, Keira Hewatch, and Emem Ufot. It was produced by JAF Alliance.
The Acting Inspector General of Police, Ibrahim Idris, has ordered the immediate demolition of buildings used by pipeline vandals in Ikorodu area of Lagos State.

The buildings were discovered to have been used by the displaced vandals to siphon fuel from ruptured pipes in the past.

While carrying out an on-the-spot assessment of the Ishawo creeks yesterday, the acting police chief ordered his lieutenants to demolish all the buildings used by the hoodlums with immediate effect.

Mr. Idris said he had come to Ikorodu to assure residents of the volatile Ishawo and Arepo community, in Lagos and Ogun states of the police commitment to provide adequate security in the areas.

He also used the occasion of the visit to plead with fleeing residents in Arepo and Ikorodu to return home as the Police and sister agencies were on the ground to protect lives and property.

While addressing policemen and other security operatives deployed in the area, Idris said, I am here on behalf on the security agencies. I have come to see things for myself and also to appreciate the officers and men of other security agencies that have been doing so much to curtail the activities of militants and vandals. I am assuring you of our support. And I will also ensure that more marine policemen are deployed to this area.


The Nigerian Air Force men have resumed bombing of militant camps in Arepo, Ogun State today.



The Nigerian Air Force has resumed the aerial bombardment of hideouts of the vandals in the Ogun State axis of Arepo, launching fresh air strikes on today.

It was gathered that the NAF resumed the current attack after gunshots were heard firing from deep inside the mangrove forest following the visit of the Acting Inspector General of Police, Mr. Ibrahim Idris, and other top security personalities to the area on Thursday yesterday

The NAF was said to have deployed an Augusta helicopter for the operation which struck some locations of the vandals.

It was also said that the helicopter which commenced operation in the afternoon was still carrying out the onslaught on the hiding militants as of 3pm on today.
Some fans of the First Lady of Nigeria, Mrs. Aisha Buhari are not happy with her outfit to the United States on Thursday. Mrs Buhari who is visiting the US for the first time, more than a year after she became first lady, dressed in a black and white patterned

jacket on a black skirt. But some fans on Facebook believe her dressing is unfitting.



Aisha you are really disappointing Islam and Nigeria in general..what a dress mode that even Dame patience has never practice on arrival back home..Buhari should take measures, Engr Alkali Muktar wrote on Facebook.

Here are some of the other comment screen grabbed from her page:

Source: Facebook
Governor Nyesom Wike of Rivers State has drawn the ire of residents of Apara Kingdom in Obio/Akpor Local Government Area following his removal of their paramount ruler, Eze Gift Eziwho Johnson.

Johnson, who is the Eze Oha Apara IV, got his certificate, recognition and staff of office on May 27, last year, from the outgoing Rotimi Amaechi administration but Wike withdrew the recognition, bestowing it on one of his associates instead, Mr. Chike Worlu-Wodo, who is now the new paramount ruler of Apara Kingdom.

Addressing reporters yesterday at the palace of Eze Oha Apara IV in Rumuigbo, Port Harcourt, the people of Apara Kingdom urged the Federal Government and security agencies to intervene in the alleged injustice.

The media briefing was addressed by the Chairman of Ekinigbo Clan Town Council, Chinedu Johnson Amadi, who was accompanied by the Secretary of the clans Council of Chiefs, Eze Allwell Ome Egeonu; Chairman of Ekinigbo Owhor Holders, Elder Samuel Egeonu and Chairman of Ekinigbo Opinion Leaders, Ambassador John Okocha.

Eze Johnson made a brief appearance at the meeting but had to leave to attend to other matters outside the palace.

The immediate past Chief of Staff, Government House, Port Harcourt, Chief Tony Okocha, who hails from Rumuigbo in Apara Kingdom and an ally of former Gov. Amaechi, expressed shock at Wikes withdrawal of government recognition of the monarch.

Okocha noted that the governor and his cohorts were inviting anarchy in the peaceful kingdom, even as he expressed confidence that the situation would not be allowed to degenerate into civil disobedience.

Speaking in the same vein, the President-General of Ekinigbo Youth Council, Dele Jnr. Egeonu, said he and other members of the council were pleading with other youths to avoid violence.

He, however, urged the Federal Government and security agencies to prevent anarchy.

Egeonu said Johnson must be reinstated for peace to reign in Apara Kingdom.

But Wike, who reacted to the mounting discontent to the removal of as paramount ruler of Apara Kingdom, through his Special Assistant on Electronic Media, Simeon Nwakaudu, insisted that his administration took the step to ensure peace.

Apara Kingdoms residents, through the Ekinigbo Clan Council, said they were troubled by Wikes vexatious and utterly malicious move, purporting to have withdrawn the kings official government recognition.

It said: Eze Oha Apara, Eze Gift Eziwho Johnson, was properly selected by the Rumukesiorlu Royal Kingmakers, after due consultations. He was properly coronated and duly presented to the public, in line with the established customs and tradition of Ikwerre people, for the purpose of installing a bona fide occupant of an ancestral stool.

The purported cancellation and withdrawal of government recognition from Eze Gift Eziwho Johnson by Governor Wike were maliciously conceived to ridicule our ancestral stool, embarrass the incumbent and cause anarchy in Apara Kingdom. The action was not only taken in grave error, it is vindictive and vexatious against due process, null and void and of no effect whatsoever.

We wish to state categorically that the Ekinigbo Clan Town Council will not allow anybody to play vindictive politics with our highly-revered ancestral stool, as Governor Wike appears to be doing, by claiming to have selected and installed Mr. Chike Worlu-Wodo as Eze Oha Apara.
Governor Kashim Shettima of Borno State yesterday paid condolence visit to the family of a Mr. Ben Aidokanya, a journalist, who died on Tuesday after a protracted illness.

During the visit, Governor Shettima, who was represented by his spokesman, Isa Gusau, announced N1 million support for the education of the late journalists children.

Mr. Gusau visited the late Aidokanyas widow in Maiduguri, the state capital and was received by the President, Idoma Community Association in Borno State, Mr. John Akogwu, who was full of gratitude for Governor Shettimas gesture.

Handing over a letter of condolence from Alhaji Shettima to the widow of the former correspondent of the Nigerian Pilot newspaper, Mrs. Mary Aidokanya, the governors spokesman pleaded that the fund be exclusively used to support the education of the three children the late journalist left behind.

The letter read, With very heavy heart and empathy, His Excellency, Kashim Shettima, the Executive Governor of Borno State extends his deepest condolence to you, your children and extended family over the demise of your good and dear husband, Mr. Ben Aidokanya.

Gusau also announced that Governor Shettima had ordered the release of a government ambulance to convey the journalists corpse to Effeye Ipole village of Ugboju district in Otukpo local government area of Benue State for funeral rites as decided by his family while he mobilized some friends of the deceased to attend the funeral.
President Muhammadu Buhari has called for stronger trade and economic ties with Italy.

The president made the call when he received the Italian Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Mr. Paolo Gentiloni, at the State House, Abuja on Thursday.

A statement by Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity Mallam Garba Shehu, quoted Mr. Buhari as calling for intensive trade and economic engagement between Nigeria and Italy.

Commending the resilience of Italian businesses in Nigeria, the president expressed happiness that new businesses were on line to be set up in the country.

He also commended Italy for supporting the government in tackling the humanitarian situation in the North-East and the training being given to Nigerian policemen.

In his remarks, Gentiloni, who was accompanied by the Italian Minister of State for Interior, Mr. Domenico Manzione, announced his governments $10million humanitarian assistance to the Lake Chad region countries in addition to their contributions within the framework of the European Union.

Member-countries of the commission include Cameroon, Chad, Niger, and Nigeria.

He said the visit of the business group on his delegation was a fulfilment of the promise made by Mr. Matteo Renzi, the Italian Prime Minister, during his visit in February, to strengthen ties with Nigeria politically and economically.
In the US, Clarksville Police said 2 burglars unknowingly delivered stolen items right back into the hands of their victim.

Police said Jeremy A. Watts, 30, and Jessica F. Heady, 24, tried to pawn stolen items at the same pawn shop where the victim works on Tuesday.

Police said the victim recognised the items right away and then found that his home had been burgled.

The victim called police while the Watts and Heady were still in the pawn shop and they were taken into custody.

Watts and Heady were booked in Montgomery County Jail.
Internally Displaced Persons, IDPs, in Borno State yesterday were excited as the Governor of Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Mr. Godwin Emefiele, donated 600 bags of rice to them for their feeding.

Presenting the rice at the Government House, Maiduguri, the branch Comptroller of the CBN, Alhaji Ishaku Ibrahim, said the relief food items were a donation from Mr. Emefieles personal savings to vulnerable displaced persons.

Ishaku, who read a statement from the CBN governor, said Today, my family and I return to this land hitherto renowned as the Home of Peace to make a personal donation of additional 600 bags of rice, from my personal savings, to our vulnerable children and women in the IDPs camps.

We are happy about the laudable successes that have been recorded in the area of security, but one is deeply concerned about reports of malnourishment from the camps for IDPs, he said.

Governor Kashim Shettima, who received the donation, thanked Emefiele for his gesture.
The Nigerian government on Thursday dismissed a report that the Boko Haram sect has a new leader, saying it was a mere propaganda by the defeated terrorist organization.

The Nigerian Government has described as cheap propaganda the report that ISIS has appointed a new leader for Boko Haram, saying it is too late to employ such tactics to revive the defeated Nigerian terrorist organization, a statement released by the Minister of Information, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, said.

The statement was signed by Segun Adeyemi, the ministers spokesperson.

A report in the 41st edition of ISIS Al-Naba magazine, published Tuesday, made reference to Abu Musab al-Barnawi, as Boko Harams governor for West Africa.

The report made no mention of Abubakar Shekau, who was previously known as the leader of the sect.

Mr. Shekau was last seen in a Boko Haram propaganda video in 2015, while Mr. al-Barnawi had been cited in a January 2015 video as a Boko Haram spokesman.

The reference to the former terrorist organizations spokesman as new leader of Boko Haram, has however, been rejected by the elusive Shekau in a new audio message released Wednesday, which suggests division in the ranks of the deadly extremist group.

But the statement by the ministry of information called on Nigerians to ignore the ISIS report.

Dont believe the cheap propaganda by the global terrorist group ISIS, which has reportedly named a new leader for Boko Haram. Our gallant military has put Boko Haram on the run and nothing will bring back the terrorists, not even the wishful thinking by ISIS, the statement said.
The EFCC has arrested a level six accounts officer at the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), Christy Olabode, for an alleged fraud of N100 million.

According to a statement from Mr Wilson Uwujaren, the commission`s Head of Media and Publicity, in Abuja on Friday, the arrest was made on August 2.

The statement said that also arrested were her younger brother, Abdul-Shehu Obaze, of the commercial department of FAAN in Ilorin and Dominic Ojo, an IT officer at the headquarters in Lagos.

It said the arrest followed an anonymous petition, which indicated that she allegedly diverted the said sum by inserting names of non-FAAN staff into its payroll.

The statement said she allegedly conspired with Obaze, who was found to have maintained not less than eight accounts in seven new generation banks to perpetrate the fraud.

The statement added that the banks were used to receive the funds for onward distribution to some high ranking officers in FAAN.

The funds were being paid into his various bank accounts with the narrative, Furniture Allowance.

However, while the allowance for FAANs furniture is usually paid once in three years, Obaze received the allowance several times in a year, the statement said.

It added that investigations by the EFCC revealed that the fraud had gone on since 2013.

It further added that the investigations unearthed a payroll with names of many dead, retired and disengaged staff of FAAN listed against Obazes different bank accounts.

Upon interrogation, Obaze, a level nine officer, confessed that other FAAN officials were involved in the fraud, including Olabodes husband, who works in the human resources department of FAAN.

Olabode and Ojo currently enjoy administrative bail while Obaze remains in EFCC custody, the statement further said.

It added that they would be charged to court as soon as investigations were concluded.

Source: PMNews
The Federal Government has announced the discovery of a firm that has been supplying militants the explosives with which they have been bombing oil installations in the Niger Delta.

National Security Adviser (NSA) Maj-Gen. Muhammed Babagana Monguno who made this revelation yesterday said, investigations showed that the Nigerian Development and Construction Company (NDCC) based in Koko, Delta State have been diverting explosives for illegal use.

He added that the company had diverted 9,000 Kg of nitro-glycerine explosives and 16,420 pieces of detonators to the militants for their heinous activities.

Right now investigations have been conducted and I can assure you they are deeply culpable and appropriate actions will be taken.

Let me once again reiterate that any individual or company that operates outside the confines of legitimacy and legality will find himself or itself to blame.

I also want to add that the government of the day will not listen to any influence peddler in the society on behalf of any company that decides to sabotage national security, Gen Monguno said.

The NSA added that the construction firm, has been sealed off, its explosives licence withdrawn and the company has also been blacklisted.

Six people  a store officer and five security operatives  have been arrested and are being interrogated.
The Lagos State Police Command has arrested a 42-year-old Islamic cleric, Rasheed Ayuba, for alleged car theft.

Ayuba, who hails from Igbesa, Ogun State, was apprehended along with a transporter in Ibadan, Oyo State, Falade Igbekele, who reportedly bought six of the stolen cars.

PUNCH Metro learnt that a bunch of master keys and about 13 other car keys, as well as charms, were recovered from Ayuba.

It was gathered that the suspect, who also teaches at an Arabic school in Ishasi, Lagos, was caught sometime in June after he entered into a hotel in the Ikotun area to steal a Toyota Camry parked on the premises.

He was driving out the car when he was caught by vigilantes in the neighbourhood, who handed him over to officials of the Special Anti-Robbery Squad.

Ayuba reportedly told the police that he bought the master keys for N9,000 from one John, a Beninoise.

He said, I finished from an Arabic school in Ikotun and started teaching Arabic in Ishasi. At about 11pm on June 8, I went to a hotel around Ile-Iwe bus stop to steal a Toyota Camry. But I was arrested by the security guards in the area.

I got the master keys I used from John, who is from Benin Republic. We met in 2013 in Lagos and he sold the master keys to me. Since then, I had been using them to steal cars. I usually sold the cars to my customers in Ibadan. One of them is Falade (Igbekele) to whom I sold six cars, and Friday, who bought a Toyota Camry.

It was only four cars I had stolen this year before I was arrested. I sold a Toyota Camry to one pastor Dare for N100,000, and a Honda for N80,000 to another pastor. But pastor Dare had just paid me N50,000. They all knew I stole the cars.

Fifty-two-year-old Igbekele confessed to have bought six cars from Ayuba, saying a friend introduced him to Ayuba.

The indigene of Ondo State added that he used some of the vehicles for commercial purpose.

I knew Alfa Ayuba through a friend called Lucky Star. Lucky told me Alfa sells vehicles and I said I had interest in buying them. He had sold six vehicles to me so far, including a Nissan Sunny and a Nissan Primero. I bought them for N150,000 each.

I bought all the cars from Alfa three years ago. He told me he stole them and I asked if I would not get into trouble; he said yes, Igbekele said.

While the police said they were on the trail of the other accomplices, Ayuba and Igbekele were brought before an Ikeja Magistrates Court on Wednesday on six counts bordering on stealing and receiving stolen property.

The police prosecutor, Sergeant Donjor Perezi, told the court that the offences were punishable under sections 98, 285 (10), 326 (a) (b) and 409 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State, 2011.

The defendants, however, pleaded not guilty to the charges before the presiding magistrate, Mrs. O.A. Olayinka, and were admitted to bail in the sum of N500,000 each with two sureties each in like sum.

The case was adjourned till November 8, 2016.

Source: Punch
Mogul, Jimoh Ibrahim, has picked the Ondo State governorship expression of interest and nomination forms of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP.

He picked the forms after paying the sum of N11million to the Senator Ali Modu Sheriff faction of the party on Thursday in Abuja.

Mr. Ibrahim, who was governorship candidate of the defunct All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP), expressed optimism about his chances at the forthcoming poll in Ondo.

On why he picked the form from the Sheriff faction, the billionaire entrepreneur said the Ahmed Makarfi-led National Caretaker Committee of the party was not known to the law.

Ibrahim promised that if elected into office as governor, he would create jobs, develop human capital and pay the outstanding salaries of workers in the state within his first 100 days.

I will restructure the state in the area of capacity building, good innovation and by putting the right thing in the right place at the right time. I will pay the workers within the first day of my 100 days in office. Non-payment of salaries by state government is the failure of innovation of states by governors. It is when you are innovative that you will be able to pay salaries. Those (governors) who are owing are not efficient. Im not owing any of my workers, he said.
The Kaduna State Government announced on Friday that it would spend the sum of N2.2bn for the salaries of the newly recruited 1,200 staffs of the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology.

The Commissioner for Education, Prof. Andrew Nok, made this disclosure in the state capital while addressing newsmen, He added that payment would commence on Monday and it would cover for the five months owed.

The commissioner gave the reason for the delay as going through a proper documentation to check the  ghost worker syndrome.

However, Prof. Nok listed some secondary schools that would be reactivated as boarding schools and equipped with standard facilities.

They include: Queen Amina College, Kaduna; Government Girls secondary School, Kawo; Government Technical College, Malali and Barewa College, Zaria

Others are: Government College, Kagoro; Girls Science Secondary School, Giwa; Rimi College, Zaria; Girls Science School, Kowai; Government Girls Secondary School, Soba, Government college, Saminaka and Government College, Kagoro.

He said hostels, library, clinic, kitchen facilities, perimeter fence and potable water would be provided to give the schools a conducive environment for teaching and learning.

The commissioner also said security personnel would be provided to ensure security in the institutions.
The Kano State Government have suspended the Director of final Account, in the State Ministry of Finance and nine other staff of the Ministry of Local Government for their alleged involvement in salary payment fraud.

Briefing newsmen on Thursday, the Head of Civil Service in the State, Mohammad Awwal Naiya, made this disclosure as he said the move was as a result of the outcome of the Committee, tasked with investigating the alleged scam.

Naiya, who expressed shock over the activities of the perpetrators, stated the suspects are facing interrogation and would be face disciplinary actions for their culpability in perpetrating the crime.

He said the actions violated all norms, due processes and quest for Government to operate a fraud-free salary payment administration in the state.

It is therefore pertinent to make it abundantly clear that Government would not condone any act of fraud/theft, hence appropriate disciplinary action would be meted in line with relevant rules, regulations and laws to ensure that the funds are recovered and the culprits are punished after ascertaining the level of the scam, he said.
A tricycle rider a.k.a Keke Napep driver was gruesomely killed by thieves in Kano state yesterday. The deceased identified as Ibrahim -was stabbed to in the neck and almost had his head removed by the hoodlums as seen in the pictures. He has been laid to rest according to Islamic rites. May his soul rest in peace.

See photos below.

Source: National Helm
The Lagos State Government on Friday announced the closure of the Marine Bridge Road (Inward Ijora), Apapa area of Lagos, Southwest Nigeria in preparation to commence repair works on the bridge.

The repair work would be carried out by contractors of the Federal Ministry of Works.

A statement from the State Commissioner for Transportation, Dr. Dayo Mobereola on Friday said the emergency and immediate closure of the bridge was to also allow the Federal Ministry carryout studies to determine the state of the bridge and effect appropriate repairs.

While the Federal Ministry of Power, Works and Housing has assured of immediate action towards repairing the bridge as it may deem fit, the Lagos State Government is committed to putting in place effective traffic management strategies that will mitigate the impact of the closure, he said.

The government announced alternative routes that could be used by commuters.

According to the statement, traffic coming from Wharf Base/Point Road should divert at service Lane (Marine Beach Road) by Leventis Junction to link Lilly Pond by Dockyard and ascend Ijora Bridge to continue their journey.

It added that motorists traveling to Ajegunle should take a left turn at the second junction under the Apapa Road Bridge to Marine Beach junction inward Ajegunle or back to Ijora bridge and continue their journey.

The government warned that the options were not to be used by heavy duty vehicles.

The state government also implored the National Union of Petroleum and Gas Workers (NUPENG) and its members to observe the re-route, so as not to block the road when accessing the tank farms at Lilly Pond.

The state government has among other initiatives deployed various signages directing traffic appropriately. It is equally important to ask motorist to please obey personnel of the Lagos State Traffic Management Authority (LASTMA), Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC), Nigeria police and other law enforcement agencies deployed to control and manage traffic in the area. This is in our collective interest, it said.

Source: PMNews
An Egor Magistrates Court in Benin, on Thursday remanded one Humphrey Omoregieva, 43, in prison over alleged assault on his parents.

The prosecutor, Cpl. Ayo Augustine, told the court that the accused committed the offence on Aug. 1, at No. 294, Upper Mission, Benin.

Augustine told the court that the accused had beaten up his father by hitting him with a piece of wood on his forehead.

He said that the accused also beat up his mother and raped her severally.

The prosecutor added that the accused maliciously damaged a sliding window in the house valued at N80,000.

He said that the offence contravened sections 355, 320 and 358 of the Criminal Code.

The Chief Magistrate, Mr F.E. Akhere, said that the court lacked jurisdiction to entertain the case and ordered that copy of the case file be sent to the Director of Public Prosecution for legal advice.

He adjourned the case till Sept. 8, for mention.(NAN)

Source: Daily Post
Surveillance camera nabbed a man chugging down milkshake while he took a break from stealing from the shop he broke into.

The man was said to have stolen some cash and a television set from the shop in Finchley, England.

Footage of the raid in the early hours of June 18 has been released by the British Metropolitan Police.

A spokesman said: The doors shutters had been broken into, the padlock had been smashed and the front door damaged. A television was stolen and money taken from the safe.

The suspect was described as white and clean-shaven, with short hair. He was wearing a light coloured T-shirt, black trousers and a dark-hooded anorak.
Worried by his wifes adulterous acts, a naval officer, Adebote Adedoyin, has pleaded with an Agege Customary Court in Lagos to dissolve his 37-year-old marriage.

Adedoyin, 54, who resides at the Air Force Base, Ikeja, Lagos, told the court that his wife, Yemisi, was having extra marital affairs with several men.

He also claimed that his wife was not submissive, adding that there was no more love in the marriage.



The trouble is too much; when l went on transfer for about 11 years to Kaduna, Benin, Calabar and Ibadan, she did not for once visit me.

When l travelled to Liberia on official duty, l sent huge amount of money to my wife for a house project.

Yemisi diverted all the money to her personal use and lied to me that she had opened an account and saved it on my behalf, he said.

The petitioner alleged that on his return from Liberia, he realised she had diverted the money to buying and selling from Benin Republic without his knowledge.

l went to Idiroko Border to make some investigations and l realised my wife claimed she did not have a husband.

He claimed that his wife had been going to parties and frolicking with different men.

I can no longer love such an adulterous woman, he told the court.

He also claimed that the wife had turned their five children against him.

The children do not have respect for me anymore; they have stopped greeting and talking to me after all I did for them.

I am asking for a divorce because this marriage has already broken down; all we have now is lack of love and threat to life.

Yemisi, 53, denied sleeping with any man apart from her husband.

She also denied all the allegations against her, urging the court not to dissolve the marriage.

All the claims of my husband are not true; I have never been abusive, even as he often beats me, I still endure the marriage for the sake of my children.

My husband does not respect me as a wife; he claims that l am an illiterate and that he had married an educated woman, she said.

He started victimising me at home and stopped loving me and the children since he brought another woman into the house.

The courts President, Mr Philip Williams, appealed for reconciliation between the couple for the sake of the children.

The court does not encourage divorce, we are here to make peace where possible.

The woman should be submissive if she cherishes her marriage, he said.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the couple was later invited into the presidents chamber for alternative dispute resolution.

The case was adjourned to Aug. 30 for a possible reconciliation of the estranged couple.

Source: NAN
The Federal High Court, Abuja, has granted bail to Abiodun Agbele, an associate of Governor Ayodele Fayose of Ekiti State.

The court set bail for Mr. Agbele at N500million for alleged money laundering.

The judge, Justice Nnamdi Dimgba, who granted the bail on Thursday, ordered the applicant to produce two sureties in the sum of N250 million each.

Mr. Dimgba said the prosecution could not substantiate its claim that the defendant would jump bail.

I note that the offence the defendant is charged with carries a sentence of three years imprisonment.

Under Section 162 of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act (ACJA), I am required to release a person charged within the threshold of the penalties referenced above to bail.

This is, however, except in circumstances where there is reasonable ground to believe that the defendant when released on bail will commit another offence.

Taking a holistic appraisal of all the materials before me, I am not convinced that the prosecution has provided sufficient evidence as to stop the court from exercising its jurisdiction to grant bail.

I hold, therefore, that I am inclined to admit the defendant to bail and I so admit him, Mr. Dimgba declared.

He said every citizen charged with an offence was entitled to a conducive environment devoid of fear to prepare his defence.

The judge held that Mr. Agbele would forfeit the N500 million to the Federal Government if he jumps bail.

He said that the sureties could be private businessmen, professionals or civil servants, adding that if in the civil service, he must not be less than the rank of a director.

Mr. Dimgba said the sureties must also be owners of property within the Federal Capital Territory and in Ikeja or Victoria Island, Lagos.

The judge also ordered the defendant to deposit his international passports with the registrar of the court and must not travel abroad without the permission of the court.

He further said that the trial shall be accorded accelerated hearing and the defendant would remain in prison custody until he perfected his bail conditions.

He adjourned the case till Oct. 26 and Oct. 27 for hearing.

Mr. Agbele was arraigned by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on Wednesday on an 11-count charge of money laundering.

Mr. Agbele had pleaded not guilty to all the charges.

Others charged with Mr. Agbele were Musliu Obanikoro, A. O Adewale, Tunde Oshinowo, Olalekan Ogunseye, who are all still at large and three companies namely Sylvan Mcnamara Limited, De Privateer Limited and Spotless Investment Limited.

Mr. Agbele and others are standing trial for conspiring among themselves to commit an illegal act to launder N4.6 billion transferred from the Office of the National Security (NSA). (NAN)
The Nation

President Muhammadu Buhari yesterday expressed displeasure that former President Goodluck Jonathans administration failed to save for the rainy day

Punch

The Chairman, Global Fleet Nigeria Limited, Mr. Jimoh Ibrahim, on Thursday, obtained the Peoples Democratic Partys nomination form to vie for the governorship seat of Ondo State.

Vanguard

Away from the current security challenges in the Niger Delta over compensations, Petroleum experts, yesterday, called on the Federal Government, to adopt strategies implemented by some foreign countries in finding lasting solution to the ongoing crisis in the region.

Thisday

The Niger Delta Avengers (NDA) has dismissed the military exploits in the last one week in Arepo, a boundary riverine community between Lagos and Ogun States, and challenged the military to show the public the so-called militants killed during the air strikes.

The Sun

The Abuja division of the Court of Appeal will today decide as to whether or not, the governorship candidates of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) and KOWA party, Dan Onyeonagu are qualified to be joined in the appeal by Governor Okezie Ikpeazu against the judgment of a Federal High Court removing him from office.

Daily Times

A member House of Representatives representing Atakumosa East/Atakumosa West/ Ilesa East and Ilesa West Federal constituency in the national Assembly, .Hon Ajibola Famurewa, has urged Nigerians to stop taking Ekiti State Governor Ayodele Fayose and his cohorts serious on his incessant attack on the Buhari-led government .

Daily Trust

The All Progressives Congress (APC) Deputy National Publicity Secretary, Comrade Timi Frank, yesterday described the intervention of the party leaders into the crisis over alleged budget padding in the House of Representatives as medicine after death.

Leadership

The Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Dr Kayode Fayemi, has ordered the immediate sealing off of Messrs Nigerian Development and Construction Company (NDCC), an importer and seller of explosives in Koko, Delta State, over illegal diversion of explosives.

New Telegraph

The national leadership of the All Progressives Congress (APC) has asked the former chairman of the House Appropriation Committee, Hon. Abdulmumuni Jibrin, to stop speaking to the media on the budget padding scandal rocking the House of Representatives.
The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) on Thursday warned against using the current budget padding crisis in the House of Representatives to weaken the leadership of the National Assembly or settle political scores.

In a statement issued by its president, Comrade Ayuba Wabba, the congress said the current controversy is evidence of weakness in the nations budgeting system, which shows that projects are not conceived and implemented based on the needs of the people, but those behind the projects.

It said rather than go after individuals, government should do a soul searching and x-ray the nations budgeting system that has failed to address the needs of the people.

The statement reads: The ongoing controversy over the padding of the 2016 budget is an incontrovertible evidence of the inherent weaknesses in our budgeting process and accordingly underscores the need for a thorough revisit.

It also reveals the imperfections and the distrust in project identification and implementation system and consequent failure of the present model of capital budgeting without a developmental framework. It shows that projects are not implemented according to needs-value or priority but who is behind which.

In light of the foregoing, we wish to state that instead of going after individuals, government should do a soul-search as well as x-ray a budgeting system that fails to address the needs of the people.

We caution against the use of the present development to settle political scores or unduly weaken the National Assembly.

A strong National Assembly is a necessity for a vibrant democracy. We urge Nigerians to be slow to anger in matters of this nature even as they have little or no reason to be too trusting of any political office holder, so that in the end, they do not end up victims of other peoples wars.

Even as vitriol and bile have risen, it is important to distinguish between genuine and phony constituency projects, for in truth, constituency projects are obligations owed constituents by parliamentarians.

Finally, we call for caution, because how the issues in contention are resolved will shape the direction of our democracy; deepen or weaken it. Equally important is the fact that it avails us an opportunity to revisit our budgetary system and the need for development planning.
Three suspected pipeline vandals were arrested by the officials of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) in Ebonyi State on Tuesday.

The state commandant of NSCDC, Mrs Chinwe Kannu, made this announcement on Thursday while parading the suspects, she siad they were arrested at a border community between Ebonyi and Abia in Ivo Local Government Area.

Mrs Kannu said the suspects, a 20-year-old woman and two men were arrested as they scooped diesel from a punctured pipeline.

They will be prosecuted as we are legally mandated by law to do.

Items recovered from them include one 50-litre container of diesel, four 25-litre containers of diesel, buckets, funnels and sieving instruments used to scoop petroleum products, she said.

The commandant said that officers of the command also discovered a cart laden with four 50-litre containers of diesel which was abandoned inside a bush at Ishiagu in Ivo.
The member representing Mashi/Dutsi federal constituency in the House of Representatives, Sani Bello, has been released after spending two days in kidnappers den.

The lawmaker reportedly acceded to his abductors demand to pay N10million ransom, confirming our report yesterday.

RELATED POST: Police Intensify Manhunt As Abductors Demand N10m Ransom For Reps Member

Bello was seized around Gobirawa village of Birnin Gwari, Kaduna State, alongside one of his aides by his abductors.

Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Katsina State, Shittu Shittu, who confirmed the development, said no sooner had the money been taken to the abductors than the member was released.

The abductors asked that the members driver should take the money to a designated place and just between 15 and 20 minutes later, Bello was released, he said.
The State Department of the United States has declared 20 states in Nigeria as unsafe for its citizens to visit.

It described the security in the affected states as fluid and unpredictable.

The State Department which placed a travel warning on its website on Wednesday and Top on the list of states that Americans should not visit are Adamawa, Borno, and Yobe.

It said the ability to provide assistance to US citizens in the three states remains severely limited. It charged American nationals in Nigeria to place a premium on their personal security and make personal safety a priority in planning their travels.

The State Department said that except for necessity, travel to 17 other states should be controlled because of kidnappings, robberies, and other armed attacks.

The states are Bauchi, Bayelsa, Delta, Edo, Gombe, Imo, Jigawa, Kaduna, Kano, Katsina, Kebbi, Kogi, Niger, Plateau, Rivers, Sokoto, and Zamfara.

Based on safety and security risk assessments, the Embassy maintains restrictions for travel by US officials to the states listed above; officials must receive advance clearance by the US Mission for any travel to those states, it stated.

The American Government further advised its citizens to be particularly vigilant around government security facilities like churches, mosques, and other places of worship; locations where large crowds may gather, such as hotels, clubs, bars, restaurants, markets, shopping malls; and other areas frequented by expatriates and foreign travellers.
Authorities in the US say a Florida woman injured her hand when she shot her cellphone while trying to make a video of her uncles gun.

It was reported that 22-year-old Regina Powell went to an Orange City hospital Sunday night with a small cut to her right thumb and index finger.

The Volusia County Sheriffs Office reports that Powell told deputies she had been trying to make Snapchat videos of the .40-caliber handgun when she accidentally pulled the trigger.

Powell was injured by glancing impact when the phone shattered in her hand.

Deputies responded to a Deltona home, where they found the phone with a bullet hole.

No criminal charges have been filed.
Leaders of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, in the South-south and South-east geo-political zones of the country have formally ceded the national chairmanship position of the party to the South-west zone.

This was the highlight of their meeting in Port Harcourt, the Rivers State capital on Thursday night ahead of the August 17 national convention of the party.

Since the inception of the PDP in 1999, the South-west is the only geo-political zone that has never produced national chairman of the party; either in acting or substantive capacity.

The meeting, which held in an atmosphere of cordiality and was attended by Governors, National Assembly Members and ex-Ministers, the South-south and South-east PDP leaders also zoned the positions of National Treasurer and Deputy National Publicity Secretary to the South-west.

It was not an all-South-west affair as the South-south got the nod to produce the PDP first deputy national chairman, national legal adviser, deputy national women leader and deputy national auditor.

The South-east got the national organising secretary, national youth leader and deputy national financial secretary.

Addressing journalists at the end of the meeting, Deputy Senate President Ike Ekweremadu, said despite the zoning of the positions, any party member willing to vie for any position, is free to do so.

He, however, advised party members from the Southern part of the country to respect the zoning formula.
On this day in 2011: Federal Government of Nigeria took over the management of three banks Afribank, Bank PHB and Spring Bank rescued under a major 2009 bailout amid concerns over their ability to recapitalize by a September 30 deadline.

Also on this day in 2007: In Bauchi (Nigeria), eighteen (18) men were arrested, they were found with womens apparel as they prepared for a gay wedding.

They faced charges of sodomy in a Nigerian Islamic court. They were accused of lesser crimes in court, but angry crowds reacted violently. Three weeks later they were rearrested and charged with more severe crimes including indecent acts and faced 10 years in jail if found guilty.
Runtown and former Miss Universe, Monifa Jansen Hang were spotted hanging out at the 2016 Crop-Over Festival in Barbados over the weekend.

The Nigerian pop star was among the headliners of the annual Barbadian festival which also featured Wizkid and Machel Montano.

During his stay in the Caribbean Island, the Eric Manny signed act was spotted with the sexy ex-beauty queen at different times sharing a couple of suspicious PDA moments.

So what exactly does this mean? Probably nothing, except for Runtown, who shared a photo with the beauty queen, he captioned; Shout My G for coming through @Monifajansen.

The G could actually mean anything you know. But what readily comes to mind first is Girlfriend, which we all assume he meant.

The pals may have a history  even though they never confirmed or denied whether or not they ever got together  but we can safely assume their hang out was strictly platonic.

For those who dont know, Monifa Jensen is a beauty queen who was crowned Miss Curacao Universe 2011 and represented her country in the Miss World 2011 and Miss Universe 2012 pageants.

See more photos of the stunning Queen below.
Yuguda, a former Minister of State for Finance, is standing trial for alleged diversion of N3.3 billion alongside retired Col. Sambo Dasuki, the former National Security Adviser. An Abuja High Court on Friday dismissed his application seeking leave to travel abroad for medical checkup.

Earlier, Yugudas counsel, Mr Akin Ayodele, had told the court that he had filed an application on July 19 seeking the courts leave for the applicant to travel to the United Arab Emirates for medical checkup.

He said that the application was supported by an 11-paragraph affidavit attached with documentary exhibits.

Ayodele said that Exhibit F was the most crucial, adding that it indicated that the court once granted a similar order to the applicant to travel and he returned to continue his trial.

 We attached also a further affidavit to show his appointment has been rescheduled by the doctor at UAE, he said.

The prosecuting counsel, Henry Ejiga, however, opposed the application, contending that it was an attempt to further delay the trial.

Ejiga said that two hospitals in Nigeria had already conducted the check up and that the results showed that the applicant was okay. He urged the court not to grant the application.

The Judge then dismissed the application on the grounds that it was frivolous.

The Judge also refused to grant the application because there was no surety.

Adeniyi (the Judge)also said that the defendant failed to depose to any sufficient facts to enable the court grant his application.
A 54 year old widow, Mrs. Christiana Yusuf, has called on Lagos State government and human rights organisations to come to the aid of her daughter, Remilekun Yusuf, who she said had mental illness.

Yusuf, who resides at 23, Omolayo Street, Ori Okuta, Ikorodu, Lagos, said she had been forced to bear the burden of her mentally ill daughter, and Remilekuns three children, Ayomide(7 ), Rokibat(4 ) and 19 month- old Tobi.

The petty trader said Remilekun had been living with a man (name withheld ), though they were not legally married.

The eight year relationship, according to her, has produced the three children. Trouble started when Remilekun became mentally ill, she and her children were kicked out of the house by her husband s relatives.

Yusuf alleged said Remilekun told her that her husband shaved her head and pubic hair with a blade, after which she started displaying signs of mental illness.

She would be at a place talking to herself. I took her to the native doctor who confirmed that her hair has been used for spiritual purpose.

Recently, there was a problem between her husband and the landlord. The landlord fought with him because of the condition of my daughter and how he neglects the children s welfare.

After that incident, her husband s relatives came and threw her and her children out of the house. I have been made to cope with an insane woman and three more children; their feeding and education have been abandoned.

I m only a petty trader, that is why I am crying out for help, the widow said. The victim, who managed to speak a few words, confirmed that since her husband shaved her hair, she had been hearing strange voices and responding to the voices.

She said: On one occasion, I had to fight him because he would abandon the family, hungry for over 10 days.

I do not know where he goes.  The matter, Yusuf said, was reported at Igbogbo Police Station in Ikorodu. But, according to her, the police said they needed evidence to back up the claim that the shaved hair caused Remilekuns mental illness.

A Good Samaritan, seeing the plight of the children and their mother, had alerted the child welfare agency at Alausa, Ikeja, for urgent assistance and to further investigate the matter

Source: New Telegraph
Staying secure online is an essential concern, for individual users, businesses, and cybercriminals alike. Thats right: Basic IT security applies whether youre protecting sensitive data at an upstanding, ethical organization, or youre in the business of stealing data from those same organizations.

After all, the business may be cybercrime, but cybercriminals are still operating a business, with all the associated worries. Criminals rely on operations security (opsec) to stay ahead of law enforcement and security researchers intent on dismantling their operations, but also to protect their criminal enterprises from competitors planning on sabotage.

I spoke with Rick Holland, former Forrester analyst and VP of strategy at Digital Shadows, at Black Hat about the security tools and techniques currently in use by cybercriminals. What Holland had to say was both illuminating and, when considering the business of cybercrime, not entirely unfamiliar.

Opsec is a really good topic to be talking about in Vegas [Black Hat conference]. A lot of the things individuals are doing here, some of that applies to the bad guys, Holland says.

Take, for instance, the fine line between increasing revenue opportunities and protecting yourself and your organization. In the legitimate business world, security measures can be an impediment to the nimbleness necessary to capitalize on some business opportunities. The same can be said in the criminal underworld. A seller on a carder forum doesn't want to sell stolen credit card numbers to someone an undercover law enforcement officer or to someone who won't pay. On the other hand, putting up a lot of barriers and identification checks will get in the way of making sales. Too much security can hurt the business.

For cybercriminals, they want to make money. Opsec can be a barrier to making money, if they have too much, Holland says. They have to find that right balance where they have enough opsec to keep themselves safe from law enforcement but free enough to be able to do business quickly.

A term from the military world, "opsec" refers to tactics used to protect privacy and anonymity. The irony is that criminals rely on many of the same tools that defenders and internet users on the good side adopt to stay secure online -- tools such as Tor and VPNs for network connectivity, bulletproof hosting, and Jabber and OTR protocol for online chats, according to Holland. Snowden popularized Tails, the Linux distribution for the paranoid, Holland adds.

The majority of criminal threat actors are using commercial/open source tools, Holland says. There is no need to create their own tools when there are plenty to choose from.

Technology aside, criminals rely on other opsec measures such as disassociating their criminal enterprise entirely from their personal identity. Mixing up the two, even once, can result in a shutdown. For example, law enforcement authorities were able to track down Dridex botnet operator Andrey Ghinkul because he associated his nickname Smilex with his real name. Failing to keep the personal life and criminal activities separate is a common opsec mistake, Holland says.

Or thinking the VPN is on when it actually isn't, as Sabu, Hector Xavier Monsegure from hacktivist collective Anonymous, learned to his chagrin when agents from the Federal Bureau of Investigation showed up at his door.

Defenders can capitalize on weak attacker opsec to gain insights into the people, process, and technology the attackers are using. Lapses in opsec give defenders the clue they need to stop the attack. In the new world where everything is online, any break is helpful.

Knowing what malicious actors are using to cloak their movements and communications is key to hunting down the threats to your organization.

This story, "The advanced security techniques of criminal hackers" was originally published by InfoWorld .
Google Web Toolkit, once highly touted as a development technology, may be poised to re-emerge from the shadows.

The open source toolkit first appeared nearly a decade ago to much fanfare over its promise of enabling Java developers to build browser-based JavaScript applications in Java. The GWT SDK features core Java APIs and widgets for developing applications, which are then compiled to JavaScript.

[ The big 4 Java IDEs reviewed: See how Eclipse, NetBeans, JDeveloper, and IntelliJ IDEA stack up. | Keep up with hot topics in programming with InfoWorld's Application Development newsletter. ]

But the project has not received an upgrade since November 2014, when version 2.7 came out, leaving some to wonder whether the promise of Java-to-JavaScript no longer holds the appeal it once had and if GWT-based projects have been relegated to maintenance mode.

But for GWT enthusiasts, and those newly interested in the idea of writing JavaScript applications in Java, there is hope, as a 2.8.0 upgrade to GWT could be imminent.

GWT, which was originally developed at Google, has been maintained by a steering committee since Google handed over the reins in June 2012. The committee published a release candidate at the tail end of July, following a beta version offered last December.

As release candidates tend to be the final stage before a general software release, insights into the trajectory of GWT 2.8.0 can be gleaned, although issuance of multiple release candidates prior to general release is not unheard of. The latest GWT release candidate features partial support for Java 8 standard library APIs and fixes a memory leak with Java 8 compilation. The compiler updates JavaScript-reserved keywords to the ECMAScript 6 specification underlying JavaScript, approved in 2015.

But recent efforts by InfoWorld to contact Google and steering committee members about GWT's status and trajectory have yielded near silence.

Perhaps we can wait a bit until GWT 2.8 is final, Googles Bhaskar Janakiraman said. We've just released the release candidate with a whole host of new features that will provide context for the next generation of GWT-related products.

Steering committee members we contacted either deferred to others or did not respond.

GWT, which was the subject of its own technical conference, GWT.create, as recently as January 2015, still has numerous advocates, an ongoing Google Groups discussion forum shows. Proponents have expressed frustration with delays in the 2.8 release.

Im a dedicated GWT user, one developer wrote. I have substantial projects soon to be released. I don't see GWT going anywhere as there is nothing that provides what GWT does, which is to be able to write powerful Web clients using code written in a popular language with great tool support."

Another developer speculated that efforts are simply being devoted to the Angular.js JavaScript framework and not GWT: One can understand that the amount of resources behind Angular are far superior to those behind GWT.

This potential shift in resources from GWT to Angular.js would not be surprising, given the wild popularity of the search giants Angular framework. It's also possible that rising acceptance of JavaScript among developers has eclipsed much of the need for a Java-to-JavaScript tool, as evidenced by JavaScript's continual popularity on ratings indexes. Compared to Java, JavaScript also holds its own in the job market. A search on IT jobs site Dice.com this week finds 17,354 jobs related to Java and 11,912 jobs for JavaScript.

Of course, Java remains a language of choice in the business world, making the enterprise the most plausible wheelhouse for GWT in the future.

As for that future, a recent presentation by mobile tools developer Sencha at the QCon conference in New York cited the Java-to-Closure (J2CL) compiler as the future of GWT.

Suffice to say, GWT is at a crossroads. Whether GWTs time has come and gone could be known soon for certain, when the 2.8.0 release arrives and developers either start downloading or dismissing it.
Cotton Down a Limit Barchart - 23 minutes ago Midday cotton futures are down their 3 cent/lb limit at midday in the Dec and in the March contracts. The other nearby contracts are 103 to 250 points in the red. Cotton export sales were 68,437 RBs for... CTZ22 : 72.11 (-3.99%) CTH23 : 71.81 (-4.01%) CTK23 : 71.89 (-3.54%)

Hogs Firming up on Friday Barchart - 23 minutes ago After the triple digit losses on Thursday, lean hog futures are back up by 32 to 72 cents for Friday. The USDA National Average Base Hog Price fell $4.99 in the AM report to $87.63. The 10/25 CME Lean... HEZ22 : 85.950 (+0.97%) HEJ23 : 93.000 (+0.95%) KMZ22 : 95.825 (+0.05%)

Cattle Down on Stronger Feeders Barchart - 23 minutes ago Nearby feeder cattle futures are printing 5 to 30 cent gains through Fridays midday. Fat cattle on the other hand are down 35 to 45 cents through the front months. USDA confirmed Southern cash trade... LEV22 : 150.500 (-0.59%) LEZ22 : 153.025 (-0.26%) LEG23 : 156.425 (-0.27%) GFX22 : 178.250 (+0.07%) GFF23 : 180.600 (+0.08%)

Red Wheat at Midday Barchart - 23 minutes ago Wheats are trading weaker through the midday part of Friday. CBT SRW is currently down 7 1/4 to 8 cents. KC HRW futures are giving back 4 1/2 to 5 1/4 cents through the front months. MGE HRS prices are... ZWZ22 : 827-4 (-1.31%) ZWH23 : 847-0 (-1.28%) ZWPAES.CM : 7.6093 (-1.42%) KEZ22 : 925-0 (-0.78%) KEPAWS.CM : 8.8324 (-0.81%) MWZ22 : 943-0 (-0.79%)

Soy Futures Up Off Lows Barchart - 23 minutes ago The Friday soy market initially tried to work lower, but futures have been bouncing through the midday portion. That has beans in the black by 5 12to 6 1/2 cents so far. Soymeal futures are trading $6.10... ZSX22 : 1388-2 (+0.43%) ZSPAUS.CM : 13.4767 (+0.46%) ZSF23 : 1400-0 (+0.47%) ZSH23 : 1408-4 (+0.46%)

Corn Off lows and Fractionally Higher Barchart - 23 minutes ago Corn futures are fractionally higher and near their highs for the session. At the low for the day Dec corn was down by 6 cents. USDA reported the cash price for ethanol was mainly 3 to 8 cents higher for... ZCZ22 : 681-0 (-0.18%) ZCPAUS.CM : 6.7189 (-0.16%) ZCH23 : 686-6 (-0.15%) ZCK23 : 686-0 (-0.15%)

Coffee Prices Sink on Continued Demand Concerns Barchart - 28 minutes ago December arabica coffee (KCZ22 ) today is sharply lower by -5.26%, and Jan ICE Robusta coffee (RMF23 ) is down -24 (-1.28%). Arabica coffee prices today extended the sharp sell-off seen in the past three... KCZ22 : 171.25 (-4.25%) RMF23 : 1,849s (-1.54%)

Crude Oil Falls on China Lockdowns and Dollar Barchart - 42 minutes ago Dec WTI crude oil (CLZ22 ) today is down -1.37%, and Dec RBOB gasoline (RBZ22 ) is down -2.88%. Crude oil and gasoline prices are sharply lower on a strong dollar and on news of new Chinese Covid lockdowns... CLZ22 : 87.50 (-1.77%) RBZ22 : 2.5355 (-4.01%)
Eleven vehicles being stored at Aarons Creve Coeur Self-Storage in Creve Coeur, Ill., were red-tagged by local police last week for violating the villages ordinance on nuisance vehicles. The regulation is designed to keep the town clean from abandoned, inoperable or unused vehicles, but storage owner Kermit Forseth believes tagging vehicles belonging to his tenants is going too far, he told the source.

Among the vehicles tagged at 308 Wesley Road were two boats and two RVs. Although some of the vehicles belong to Forseth, others are tenant property. Some are inoperable, but all are repairable, he told the source. There arent even any houses around here, Forseth said. It doesnt look bad. Its a storage business.

The police department took over the code enforcement earlier this year after the village eliminated its code-enforcer position. During the red-tagging sweep, officers focused primarily on car-oriented businesses on Main Street, tagging 82 vehicles, the source reported. Most were on the property of Dellerts Garage and Auto Sales.

Each tag instructs the owner to remove the vehicle within seven days or face towing and fines. Pending a hearing, seized vehicles may also be sold by the village, although Police Chief Dale King said thats not the departments intention. Instead, officials want to see areas cleaned up and have given businesses more than a week to comply. Were working with [the businesses], King told the source. Ive told them what to do. As long as I see progress, then were not going to do anything [such as towing].

Although self-storage owner Bill Nolan, who operates Creve Coeur Mini Storage next door to Forseths business, hasnt had any vehicles tagged, he told the source he may join others in hiring an attorney to fight the ordinance.
PA Large Storage in Middletown, Pa., is adding three new self-storage buildings this year to its property at 2912 River Road. Founded three years ago by brothers Josh and Nick Matincheck, the business opened with a single building that catered to vehicle storage. The 25 units range in size from 16-by-25 to 16-by-50 feet.

We have been looking to expand since the day we started, Josh Matincheck told the source.

The facility expansion is being driven by community growth, including new housing and commercial developments, as well as an increase in the student population at nearby Penn State Harrisburg, according to the source. They continue to improve the infrastructure of Middletown and Londonderry Township. We will see growth in the residential area, Matincheck said.

The Matinchecks also operate Peiffer Plumbing and Heating Inc., which was started by their grandfather in 1950. In 1999, they launched Matincheck Associates Inc., a real estate holding company that focuses on single-family homes and rental properties. They became interested in the self-storage industry five years ago after several community members approached the family to discuss the lack of larger storage spaces in the area. Their father, Ed Matincheck, oversees the storage business, while the brothers operate Peiffer. Additional staff will be hired as the storage facility grows, the source reported.
Update 11/1/16  MRT Properties received permission last month to move forward with its development project in Stow, Ohio. With a 4-2 vote on Oct. 13, the city council approved the conditional-zoning certificate for a 13,000-square-foot building on the 3.5-acre vacant parcel off Allen Road. Council president Mike Rasor and councilman Brian D'Antonio voted against the proposal. Councilman John Pribonic was absent.

The new building will be designed for vehicle storage, said Martin Levin, vice president of MRT. "Hopefully, some of the vehicles that are parked in driveways and on grass areas in this lovely city will not be there because they will decide to come and partake of our nice new building," he added.

The planning commission voted on Sept. 26 to recommend the council approve the certificate, according to the source.

The Stow, Ohio, Planning Commission decided last week to reject a proposed mixed-use project that would include self-storage and office/warehouse space. The plan was considered a study item during the commissions July 26 meeting and not subject to a vote, according to the source.

Proposed by MRT Properties Inc., the development would include two 13,000-square-foot storage buildings and 15,000 square feet of office or warehouse space. Due to market considerations, the self-storage portion would be built first, followed by the flex space in six to 10 years, Jim Levin, president of MRT, told the commission.

The 3.5-acre parcel in question is on the west side of Allen Road, north of Hampshire Road. Its also adjacent to the MRT-owned Allen Road Business Centre and Allen Road Storage, which includes three office/warehouse buildings and two self-storage structures.

As planned, the development conflicts with city zoning codes, according to Rob Kurtz, planning director. The 2002 zoning ordinance allows for self-storage to be constructed in the industrial district but only behind a flex building, Kurtz said. The ordinance was established for aesthetics purposes, but also because offices and warehouses are considered beneficial to the citys economic-development efforts. "The Levins have done a good job with their property," said Kurtz, adding hes having a difficult time justifying an exception.

Another issue with the plan is the total floor area for the storage buildings. The code currently requires it to be no more than half of the total floor area of all of the buildings on the property. If the business center as a whole is considered a single site, it will meet the requirement. If the vacant lot is considered a separate property, it wont. The new complex would have its own access road and not be connected to the existing structures to the west due to a difference in elevation up to 12 feet, Levin said.

"You really can't treat it as one property. It doesn't function as one property, said Rich Sprungle, commission chairman.

The commissioners also expressed concerns about setting a precedent and following city-ordinance codes. "I think at this point in time, I would have reservations," said William Ross, commission member.

The citys comprehensive plan is scheduled for a review this year, and any changes could allow MRTs proposal to move forward, the source reported. However, Sprungle said the code serves a purpose. "The easy answer is build the office first. But I understand the economics, he added.

MRT built its existing office complex and storage facility. The family-owned company has seen an uptick recently in storage occupancy. "We're two guys who have been building buildings and trying to be a good partner for Stow," said Levin, whos also the onsite manager of the storage facility. "We like how our facility looks. We like our facility, and we like the city of Stow."

Opened in 1994, Allen Road Storage offers 38 large units. Property features include 24-hour access, electronic gates and units with high ceilings. The Allen Road Business Centre was established in 1987 and offers 23 private rental suites.
The use of big data and analytics is the next step of fighting fraud across the insurance industry with one expert noting that the use of technology can help reduce fraud over the next five years.Adrian Smolski, solutions architect for global big data and analytics firm MapR, told Insurance Business that the implementation technology, big data and analytics is the future of fighting fraud.Lets put it this way, fraud was always there, Smolski said.The technology was not always there and the technology is fairly new.The technology has been around but it has not always considered features that the industry needs. Security, networking monitoring, all that kind of stuff came in last couple of years.As much as fraud will always exist, the technology has actually started to adopt itself, by developers building and designing more features into the platform, but today I would say the platform is a lot more advanced than what we see and what insurance businesses are doing.MapR recently released their Risk Management Quick Start Solution for financial services which uses predictive analytics to detect fraud and other illicit activities for business in financial services.For smaller insurance businesses, Smolski said that many choose to move down a people-first route rather than relying on data and analytics software early on.Lets say the tier 2 insurer, they wouldnt be classified as high as NRMA or Allianz in Australia but what these guys are doing is they actually bring skills in house, Smolski said.They bring in people, as opposed to bringing in software which costs a bit of money, they bring in people first. They utilise quite a lot of source technology from an analytic point-of-view.However, the challenge you have is you are working off a sample dataset.You are working off a desktop and your computer doesnt have the power a of a distributed platform. The power of a distributed platform, what we are offering to the insurance industry, is that they can analyse all the data that they have got because the distribution can actually handle it.For a smaller tier 2 or tier 3 insurer, they wont necessarily invest the time or money to build the platform up first in order to do the analytics; they will do it the other way around. We will do the analytics, now we see the value in it; lets see if we can come up with a solution.Smolski noted that big data and analytics technology may not first be used in order to drive down claims costs but businesses soon realise the value available.The major insurers in Australia are utilising platforms such as this, not from a fraud perspective but to gain more revenue, Smolski continued.With some putting a figure as high as 10% of all claims paid having some element of fraud, Smolski said that the industry can get to grips with the problem over the next five years.In terms of fraud, I think it will always exist, Smolski said.In my opinion, it will never disappear however I think we will minimise it as nowadays we have very smart people working on fraud, we call them anti-fraud models or businesses, in the risk space.Even things like identifying theft of information, there are very smart people working on it and although the adoption on the market is relatively slow in the insurance space in Australia there are a couple of thought-leaders, the big ones in that space.Even the big ones, it takes a lot of time to implement a solution. There are a lot of technologies there. The NRMA is a big beast and has a lot of business units and it is tricky to work with that.I actually think fraud will go down in the next five years, by how much I dont know.I simply think it will go down as we will get a lot smarter and get a lot more complex solutions in place that will actually avoid us to have this bottleneck for problem claimants to go through.RELATED ARTICLES:
When it came to picking Late Late Show host James Corden as the face of their new ad campaign, there was no confusion for the marketing team of this UK car insurance comparison website.



Corden has become a massive star in the US thanks to his hugely popular Carpool Karaoke videos which have racked up a staggering 1.5 billion views on YouTube and attracted celebrities ranging from Michelle Obama to Adele.



This, according to Confused.com, makes the TV funnyman the worlds most famous driver and therefore having the ideal profile for promoting their website.



In the new campaign, by ad agency Karmarama, the theme explored is driver wins, set to the soundtrack of TRexs Get It On.



Corden is seen driving a friend around London and finding a miraculous winning streak of green traffic lights all the way.



Nik Studzinski, chief creative officer at Karmarama, said the campaign marked a big shift both strategically and creatively from where the business had been before, referring to Confused.coms previous long-running campaign using the more gimmicky Brian the Robot.



In this incredibly competitive category, you need a creative idea with real substance to separate yourself from the rest of the pack.



We have that, as well as one of the biggest stars of the moment  James Corden.



Corden has previously appeared in ads for Cadbury in the UK, but that was before his meteoric rise to fame in the US.











Related stories:

Far Out Friday: Teens Facebook challenge to broker pays off

Far Out Friday: Pokemon Go insurance now on offer
Two workers injured in a power plant explosion that killed six other people in 2010 cannot sue a contractor for negligence, the state Connecticut Supreme Court recently ruled.

Justices issued a 6-1 decision saying O&G Industries of Torrington is immune from the lawsuit under state law because the contractor bore the cost of workers compensation benefits paid to the two employees, who worked for subcontractors. The ruling upheld a Superior Court judges decision.

The Supreme Court rejected arguments by the workers, James Thompson and James McVay, that O&G Industries didnt actually bear the cost of the workers compensation benefits. The workers claimed O&G Industries passed on the expense to subcontractors through a contractor controlled insurance program (CCIP) for the major project and did not actually pay compensation benefits to the employees of its subcontractors, thus it was not entitled to principal employer immunity.

The explosion occurred during construction of the Kleen Energy power plant in Middletown. Six workers were killed and about 50 others were injured.

Authorities said crews were using natural gas at high pressure to clean out pipes and something sparked an explosion. The state later banned the gas blow practice.

James Healy and Joel Faxon, lawyers for Thompson and McVay, wrote in the appeal to the Supreme Court that O&G was negligent because the gas blows were performed in an unventilated space with potential ignition sources including welding and heating.

They also wrote that a finding in favor of O&G Industries would essentially overturn a 1988 amendment to state law designed to protect workers by increasing requirements for lawsuit immunity.

Healy and Faxon didnt return messages seeking comment.

Federal regulators fined several companies more than $16 million for 371 safety and workplace violations, but those penalties were later greatly reduced in agreements the contractors reached with the federal government.

Killed in the explosion were Raymond Dobratz Jr., 58, of Old Saybrook; Peter C. Chepulis, 48, of Thomaston; Ronald Crabb, 42, of Colchester; Chris Walters, 48, of Florissant, Missouri; Roy Rushton, of Hamilton, Ontario; and Kenneth Haskell, 37, of New Durham, New Hampshire.

O&G Industries settled lawsuits by relatives of the dead workers for undisclosed sums.

Thompson suffered head, back, neck and leg injuries, according to the appeal. McVay had injuries to his head, neck, face, knee and ear, including hearing loss. They still feel the effects of their injuries, including post-traumatic stress disorder, the appeal says.

As of October 2013, Thompson had received about $104,000 in workers compensation benefits, and McVay had received about $6,500. They sought unspecified damages in the lawsuit.

Copyright 2022 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Topics Lawsuits Workers' Compensation Contractors Connecticut
The FBI says a New York City police officer had his Range Rover doused with gasoline and lit it on fire to collect $34,000 in insurance money.

Special agent Jason Wake wrote in an August complaint that Carlos Becker discussed the 2012 arson in recorded conversations. He said the 10 year veteran exchanged several phone calls with an accomplice just hours before the ruined car was discovered.

Becker remains in custody following his arrest on mail and insurance fraud charges. Wake said Becker has also pursued claims for a crashed Audi and a BMW that caught on fire. Beckers attorney said she has not yet had an opportunity to discuss the charges with her client.

A spokesman for Beckers union didnt immediately return a request by the Associated Press for comment.

Copyright 2022 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Topics Fraud
Companies originally created the role of the chief risk officer because they recognized that good risk management is really good business, according to Michael Steel, former CRO at AXIS Capital.

The role of CRO is a relatively new one for the re/insurance industry. In 1997, Bruno Porro at Swiss Re became the first CRO in the industry, and other companies quickly followed suit, affirmed Steel, who chairs the Geneva Associations CRO network.

With the financial crisis in 2008 and 2009, the CRO role received greater profile within the industry, he said during a recent meeting in London held by Litmus Analysis, a company that helps re/insurers understand ratings and rating agencies.

I think there was a recognition that what was important wasnt necessarily the individual risks themselves but the interaction between all of those risks and the need to have frameworks set up to really understand them.

Re/insurance companies originally created the CRO role to manage risk within the business, working as a strategic adviser to help create balanced portfolios, develop short- and long-term strategy, optimize capitalsupporting the company in its quest to achieve the best returns possible in a difficult market from both the underwriting side and from the investment side, said Steel, who is the founding partner of London-based Oxbow Partners, a London-based advisory firm providing advice about strategy, digital, M&A and risk for the insurance industry.

However, in recent years in Europeparticularly with the advent of Solvency IIthe CROs role has veered strongly into compliance, which really wasnt its original intent, he said.

As a result, there are different views in the industry about the definition of the role, which range from chief compliance officers to strategic advisers who are also business partners, he affirmed.

It was clear in Steels speech that the CRO, who acts as a strategic adviser and business partner, will help the business navigate more successfully over the long term in a difficult market operating environment.

There are those in the industry who take a passive approach, who look at risk management as a compliance exercise, which they were told to do because the regulator insisted on itThese companies are missing the true value of risk management, and I suggest that over time, the winners will be the ones that have taken a more active approach.

CRO Skill-Sets

What do these realities mean for the skill-set of the CRO? Steel said the CRO first needs to be senior enough within the organization or seen to be senior enough within the organization to be a true business partner and a true adviser to the business.

Secondly, he said, the CRO needs to be able to think about the business from both quantitative and qualitative points of view.

Regulation (such as Solvency II in Europe) has overplayed the quantitative side of risk with its emphasis on internal models, but thats just one aspect of risk. The CRO also needs to understand the businesswhat makes the company tick and what makes various lines of business attractive or unattractive, he indicated.

Communication skills are the third attribute for a successful CRO. Communication is incredibly important to a large group of stakeholders.

External stakeholders, such as rating agencies, regulators and shareholders, are very interested in risk and how the risk is managed, he said. But the most important stakeholders are the internal stakeholders, which include underwriters, the investment team, the operations team, finance, and the chief executive officer and board of directors.

We are risk communicators. We wear a number of hatswe are a negotiator, a facilitator and, in some cases, a counselor, in terms of risks within the business

He recalled his tenure as CRO at AXIS Capital, where he would spend four or five hours with each of the rating agencies just on risk management. We also did an investor day, where wed be talking to the shareholders about the risks within the business and how they affected the strategy and how that fed through to return expectations. Its a very broad role that involves dealing and communicating with a lot of different stakeholders.

Creating Value as a CRO

What is expected from a CRO? Steel told his audience that CROs need to become true business partners and challengers to the business. You dont want a passive CRO. Youd be missing out on a lot of the value you get out of the risk function by doing that.

He suggested that the CRO needs to create the risk framework and the right risk culture and then step back and let the business get on with it.

Without a strong risk culture, the risk framework and rules will be ineffective, and youll fail in terms of risk management.

However, Steel emphasized that the CRO shouldnt micromanage the business in terms of risk but let the risk culture take hold and provide more steering in terms of the evolving risk framework. The risk framework should be in the hands of the underwriters and the investment team and the other risk owners, he said, explaining if they have the right risk culture in which to operate, they feel empowered.

The CRO should use their quantitative skills and models to work with decision-makers to create better key performance indicators (KPIs) to help them make better decisions, he said. This is how I can help you with the decisions youre making. Here is why it makes sense to limit our exposures to these certain perils or these certain lines of business.

During his time at AXIS, Steel said he was involved in the business planning process in order to develop corporate strategy for the short term as well as over a three- to five-year horizon.

He said this process was very valuable because it helped the company determine the best use of capital in current market conditions and projected market conditions, using capital views from rating agencies, regulators as well as the companys own view of economic capital.

Then you can cast the business plans in the different capital contexts to see which plan works better, he explained.

Using various models, we helped identify the right characteristics of a new line of business, which would bolster the return, diversify the portfolio and ultimately help reduce capital requirements because of the diversification effect, Steel said.

By being part of that process, a CRO can help achieve better outcomes for the firm.

This article first appeared in Insurance Journals sister publication, Carrier Management.

Topics London Risk Management
Chinas seasonal Mei-Yu rainfall in July led to the worst flooding since 1998, bringing total combined economic losses of an estimated US$33 billion, according to a report published by Impact Forecasting, Aon Benfields catastrophe model development team.

Affecting the Yangtze River Basin and the countrys northeast, the floods have damaged an estimated 18 million acres of cropland and nearly 20 provincial regions  in some areas since the month of May.

Data from Chinas Ministry of Civil Affairs indicated that a combined 764 people were left dead or missing, and more than 800,000 homes and other structures were damaged or destroyed, said the Impact Forecasting report titled Global Catastrophe Recap  July 2016.

At least $28 billion of the total combined economic losses (of the overall economic toll of $33 billion) occurred in the Yangtze River Basin, the report said.

Insurance claims payouts represented less than 2.0 percent of the economic cost with most claims coming from lost agriculture, said Impact Forecasting, quoting statistics issued by the China Insurance Regulatory Commission.

Adam Podlaha, global head of Impact Forecasting, said: While it was expected that China would see above normal rainfall during the peak monsoon months with such a strong El Nino, the intensity and scope of what transpired from the associated floods were at a magnitude not seen in nearly two decades.

U.S. Losses

Meanwhile, the United States recorded six separate outbreaks of severe convective storms and flash flooding from the Rockies to the East Coast, bringing total combined economic losses of an estimated at US$1.5 billion, Impact Forecasting said.

In comparison to the floods in China, public and private insurers were anticipated to record losses, nearing US$1.0 billion, or 67 percent of overall economic costs.

Many of the storms were spawned by an extended period of very hot and humid conditions that led to a Ring of Fire thunderstorm pattern, which also contributed to elevated thunderstorm and flood activity and damage in Canadas provinces of Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario, and Quebec, the report added.

Total combined economic and insured losses in Canada were expected to exceed US$100 million once all assessments are completed.

Events to have occurred elsewhere during the month of July include:

Monsoon rains also led to extensive flood damage elsewhere in Asia. More than 230 people were left dead or missing in India, Nepal, Pakistan, Indonesia and Afghanistan as tens of thousands of homes were destroyed.

Super Typhoon Nepartak claimed 82 lives as it made separate landfalls in Taiwan and China. Though not officially coming ashore, its outer bands lashed northern portions of the Philippines. The heaviest damage was noted in Taiwan and China, where at least 38,000 homes were damaged or destroyed. Combined economic losses were at least US$1.5 billion.

Severe thunderstorms and flash flooding left considerable damage across parts of South Africa, killing at least seven people. The local insurance industry anticipated insured losses exceeding ZAR2.0 billion (US$145 million). Overall economic losses were much higher.

Tropical Storm Mirinae made separate landfalls in southern China and northern Vietnam, leaving at least five people dead or missing. The storm left more than 2,000 homes and 110,000 hectares (272,000 acres) of cropland damaged or destroyed. Total combined economic losses were listed at USD20 million.

The Sand Fire was ignited in California, charring more than 41,432 acres (16,770 hectares) of land. Two people were killed as the fire damaged or destroyed more than 140 homes and other structures.

Source: Aon Benfield/Impact Forecasting

Topics USA Profit Loss Flood China Aon
Third Point Reinsurance Ltd., the company that counts on hedge fund manager Dan Loeb to oversee investments, posted its biggest profit since 2013 as his portfolio rebounded.

Second-quarter net income more than tripled to $53.4 million, or 51 cents a share, from $15.7 million, or 15 cents, a year earlier, the Bermuda-based company said Thursday in a statement. The average estimate of five analysts surveyed by Bloomberg was for a profit of 59 cents a share, adjusted for one-time items.

Loeb and Third Point Re Chief Executive Officer John Berger are seeking to turn around a stock slump thats now in its third year. Loebs hedge fund gained 2.2 percent in the first half of 2016, helped by investments in the debt of energy companies. More recently, he profited from bullish bets after the U.K. vote on June 23 to quit the European Union.

Our investments performed well in the second quarter, Berger said in the statement. The result from insurance underwriting was disappointing and reflects adverse development on several contracts.

Second-quarter investment income jumped to $86.3 million from $38.6 million a year earlier. The insurance underwriting loss widened to $25.6 million, from $9.4 million in the second quarter of 2015.

Underwriting Loss

The combined ratio was 119.2, meaning the company spent about $1.19 in claims and expenses for every premium dollar. That worsened from a ratio of 107.8 a year earlier. Results were hurt by costs on policies for workers compensation, Florida homeowners and drivers.

Book value, a measure of assets minus liabilities, rose to $12.88 a share as of June 30 from $12.37 at the end of March.

Third Point Re has slipped 5.9 percent this year to $12.62 as of 4:02 p.m. in New York. That compares with its $12.50 initial public offering price from 2013. Results were released after the close of regular trading.

Some reinsurers with ties to hedge fund managers could become carcasses on the side of the road because too many rivals had the same idea, and investment results have been disappointing, S&P Global Ratings said July 6, without specifying which companies are most vulnerable. David Einhorns Greenlight Capital Re Ltd. posted a loss Monday on faltering investments and costs tied to construction-defect policies.

That was the fifth unprofitable period for Cayman Islands-based Greenlight Re in six quarters. The stock closed Thursday at $19.92, compared with its $19 IPO price in 2007.

Third Point Res investments generated a loss in 2015. The last time the company made more money than the second quarter was the final period of 2013, when net income was $80.1 million. Loebs hedge fund agreed to lower the fees its charging Third Point Re to an annualized 1.5 percent from 2 percent, in addition to as much as 20 percent of the profits, according to a regulatory filing in June.

Copyright 2022 Bloomberg.

Topics Trends Profit Loss
North Dakota Insurance Commissioner Adam Hamm announced settlement agreements with four life insurance companies related to their use of the Social Security Administrations Death Master File (DMF).

As part of the settlements, Hartford Life will pay $2.1 million, Securian Life $625,000, Great American Life $400,000, and Stancorp Insurance Co. $277,000 to the states participating in the national investigation of life insurers. North Dakota will receive more than $80,000 total from these four settlements.

Life insurers have used the DMF for many years to search for and stop payments to annuity holders, but have not used the database to identify deceased life insurance policyholders to pay beneficiaries. Under the terms of the settlement, the life insurance companies will implement a number of business reforms to promptly identify when a policyholder has died and will use the DMF on a uniform and timely basis to search for deceased policyholders and make payments to their beneficiaries.

Locating life insurance beneficiaries is a crucial part of this business and these companies have agreed to improve their practices in doing that, Hamm said.

This agreement was the result of a coordinated multi-state examination among state insurance departments in North Dakota, California, Florida, Illinois, New Hampshire and Pennsylvania.

The Department has been part of 26 multi-state settlements with insurance companies regarding life insurance practices and to date North Dakota has received more than $2.54 million.

Source: North Dakota Insurance Department

Topics Carriers
The Michigan Department of Insurance and Financial Services (DIFS) has issued a cease and desist order against Angella Swain-Jones (alias Stacey or Sarah) and summarily suspended the insurance license of Cornell Jones and his agency Select Insurance Services of Flint.

The department said Swain-Jones has been found to be pocketing client premiums and issuing fraudulent insurance certificates. Regulators accuse Jones of allowing illegal activity in his licensed agency.

MichiganLive (www.mlive.com) reported that Cornell Jones is a police officer in Flint, Mich.

Consumers who have purchased what they think is insurance from Swain-Jones should verify coverage with their insurer, and obtain valid insurance immediately.

Swain-Jones resident insurance producer license was revoked by DIFS on Dec. 16, 2014, after DIFS found that she misappropriated clients premium payments for personal use and was issuing fake insurance certificates.

After having her producer license revoked by DIFS, Swain-Jones began working at Select Insurance Services, located at in Burton, Mich. A joint review, conducted by insurers and DIFS, revealed Swain-Jones was again misappropriating clients insurance payments and issuing fake insurance certificates, the department said.

DIFS handed the results of its investigation over to law enforcement agencies.

Source: Michigan DIFS

Topics Agencies Michigan
Allstate Corp. Chief Executive Officer Tom Wilson created a stand-alone unit for a telematics business that he expects to grow rapidly by collecting data on drivers and selling analytics products to third parties.

The firm is named Arity and will also serve the insurers own brands including Esurance, Wilson said Wednesday in a phone interview. Allstate, the largest publicly traded U.S. provider of home and auto coverage, has been using telematics for at least six years to help clients drive safely and obtain rewards.

Arity can incorporate new data sources and enhance analytical capabilities in ways that we werent able to do when it was embedded in the insurance company, Wilson said. Its a big enough platform today with the Allstate customers in it, and that will continue to grow, but wed like it to grow even faster with a broader set of customers.

Allstate rival Progressive Corp. has used technology for years to track driver habits and offer discounts to its safest clients. The approach has gained appeal in other sectors. Verizon Communications Inc. agreed this week to spend $2.4 billion to buy a GPS vehicle-tracking company.

Wilson has been seeking to offset pressured margins at the car insurance business. The Northbrook, Illinois-based company announced Wednesday that second-quarter net income slipped to $271 million, or 64 cents a share, from $355 million, or 79 cents, a year earlier. Wilson said the telematics business has tripled over the past three years.

Weve reached a million late last year in terms of active connections, and we expect it to grow quite aggressively, he said. Its a good growth business which is one of the reasons we wanted to make sure it wasnt restricted by the efforts of being inside an insurance company.

Related:

Copyright 2022 Bloomberg.
Surplus lines may not be the most widely understood segment of the property/casualty insurance industry but for risk managers of large organizations its often the go-to market for complicated risks for which standard insurance markets have little appetite.

That was the case for Norma Essary, the former risk manager of the third largest airport in the United States and now the executive director of the Surplus Lines Stamping Office of Texas (SLSOT).

I bought in the surplus lines market because of the capacity and the excess levels that I had for an international airport, Essary said.

Though not a state agency, SLSOT was created by the Texas Legislature in 1987 and tasked with the job of processing every surplus lines policy written in the state. The agency is entirely funded by the processing, or stamping fees, charged on each Texas surplus lines policy filed. It is one of 14 stamping offices across the United States.

Upon taking over the reins at SLSOT in March 2015, one of the first things Essary wanted to accomplish was an across-the-board update of the agencys technology systems in order to better capture and understand the vast amount of data that flows into the organization.

To help accomplish that goal, she brought in Tara Mitchell from the Texas Department of Insurance as director of Information and Technology Services. Among other things, at TDI Mitchell oversaw the surplus lines market and was involved in some of the rule-making, and perhaps, interpretation and compliance with surplus lines. I hired her here to manage some of the operational and some of the technology areas, Essary said.

Mitchell said SLSOT now is seeking to help others understand the data that we collect and do something with it, make it a positive decision for their organization, their company, or their business. We have a lot of different stakeholders.

Those stakeholders include Texas Department of Insurance, the state comptroller and legislature, insurance agents and brokers, insurance companies, trade associations, large commercial purchasers and the public, she said.

The plan is to use data mining to look for and identify trends and patterns.  But we really have to have strong data governance in place, to be able to share that with others so that they understand what our data means, Mitchell said.

Essential Communication

Another one of Essarys goals for SLSOT is to communicate better with all the stakeholders not only about what the organization does, but what the surplus lines industry itself is all about.

From a communications perspective its difficult, she said, because if we talk to anyone who walks in the door, even from another industry perspective, they dont understand what surplus lines is, much less a stamping office.

For example, people may understand what Lloyds of London is, but they dont necessarily know that its part of the surplus line market unless they are actively involved in the industry, she said.

Were challenged to be able to really show and get the value out of what the surplus lines market does and how it impacts consumers from larger commercial purchasers to, perhaps, individual ones who have a unique or capacity need, Essary said. We see that with all of our peers in the U.S. Its a very difficult industry to make sense of sometimes.

Flood Insurance and Surplus Lines

Federal flood insurance legislation currently making its way through Congress has provided an opportunity for Essary and Mitchell to utilize collected data to communicate more effectively about how further opening the flood insurance market to surplus lines insurers can help increase capacity where it is sorely needed.

Mitchell explained that the Biggert-Waters Flood Insurance Reform and Modernization Act of 2012, which reauthorized and reformed some aspects of the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP), outlines who can participate in underwriting flood risks.

The financial institutions that back the mortgages or the loans on these properties took a very strict interpretation of the federal law. Their interpretation was, you could only underwrite that risk if you were getting that coverage through the NFIP program, Mitchell said.

Therefore, the bulk of flood insurance coverage is written through the NFIP, even though its not required by law.

The current legislation, the Flood Insurance Market Parity and Modernization Act (H.R. 2901), passed the House of Representatives in April. The Senate has yet to vote on the bill, which is sponsored by Rep. Dennis Ross (R-FL) and Rep. Patrick Murphy (D-FL).

The Independent Insurance Agents and Brokers of America (IIABA or the Big I), which supports the bill, stated in a news release praising House passage of H.R. 2901 that the legislation clarifies that a private flood policy can satisfy the mandatory purchase requirement for flood insurance. It also clarifies that state regulators have authority over private flood insurance and ensures that policyholders can return to the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) without losing their grandfathered status or subsidy if they had previously left the program and obtained coverage in the private market and that coverage no longer meets their needs.

In addition to agents groups and the insurance industry in general, supporters of the bill include state insurance commissioners, and taxpayer and environmental groups such as Taxpayers for Common Sense and SmarterSafer. Supporters believe that in addition to fostering competition in the flood insurance market, the bill offers an alternative for the 5 million property owners who rely on the NFIP, which is $23 billion in debt.

The legislation would define as acceptable a policy issued by a private insurance company that is licensed, admitted, or otherwise approved in the state in which the insured property is located. A policy issued by a non-admitted insurer would also qualify.

Essary said H.R. 2901 would enable the surplus lines market to participate in underwriting flood risk to a larger extent. She said SLSOT is extremely excited about what this will do from the industry perspective in terms of spreading the risk, providing a viable option for consumers and, too, ensuring that were able to manage the loss at an effective capacity level, as the NFIP may not be able to manage a huge, difficult loss.

To illustrate the advantage to both consumers and the surplus lines industry of increasing the opportunity for flood coverage to be written in the surplus lines market, Mitchell and her team created an infographic, Opening the Flood Gates.

Essary said the ability to harness and analyze data and to communicate what it means is a capability SLSOT has not had in the past.

That is new for us. Its taken it a step further to ensure we can get the word out. Were not a lobbyist, but it is important that we provide better facts on areas that really fall into the surplus line or specialty market, she said. Again, it really is about where is the value and how can we utilize our abilities to capture information to support better rules, better decisions.

It definitely goes back to the data mining piece and looking for what were charged to do under our plan of operation, reporting patterns or trends to our stakeholders. Were taking that role and expanding it some to help people make better decisions regarding our industry, Mitchell said.

Related:

Topics USA Legislation Agencies Texas Excess Surplus Flood Market
A Texas-based pre-cast concrete structure manufacturer has been cited by federal safety officials for 17 repeat, serious workplace safety violations and faces penalties totaling $99, 248.

The Turner Company LLP was cited by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration on July 29 over issues at its facility in Rhome, Texas. The agency began an investigation in April after receiving a report of injury and a complaint about unsafe working conditions.

OSHA cited the company for two repeat and 15 serious health and safety violations. The repeat violations were cited for not keeping restrooms clean or in a sanitary condition and not having protective covers on receptacle gang boxes and switches exposing live electrical wiring.

OSHA cited the company for the following serious violations:

Not providing basic information about respirators to employees.

Not keeping the yard and work areas clean and sanitary

Not guarding holes in floors, or guarding open sided floors and platforms.

Fixed ladder violations such as ladder rungs not 12 inches consistently, hand rails not extending above the work platform and incomplete safety cages.

Missing rail sweeps and trolley bumpers on overhead cranes.

Electrical violations such as unused opening, panels not marked and not rated for wet locations.

Not marking or tagging hazardous chemicals containers.

The Turner Company manufactures different types of pre-cast concrete structures, producing septic tanks, grease traps, storm cellars and manholes. It has 15 business days from receipt of its citations to comply, request an informal conference with OSHAs area director, or contest the citations and penalties before the independent Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission.

Source: OSHA

Topics Texas Workers' Compensation Commercial Lines Business Insurance Manufacturing
A man in Blount County, Alabama, has been sentenced to 30 years in prison for going more than 100 miles per hour in a 2014 crash that killed one of his passengers.

Al.com reports that 25-year-old Tyler L. Reynolds was sentenced July 27 after being convicted of reckless murder in April in the death of 20-year-old Melissa Gilbert of Remlap.

The crash occurred at about 1:15 a.m. on June 1, 2014 in Oneonta when the vehicle left the roadway, hit multiple trees and rolled several times.

Another passenger in the vehicle, Philip Pearson, testified that just moments before the crash, he screamed for Reynolds to slow down while putting on his seat belt.

Witnesses testified that Reynolds went home, took a shower, and went to bed without reporting the wreck.

Copyright 2022 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Topics Personal Auto Alabama
As a new school year approaches, billboards are going up in Kentucky to remind motorists to watch out for stopped school buses.

The state Department of Education says about 45 billboards will warn of the danger of passing a stopped school bus. The billboards feature an extended stop sign arm on the side of a school bus with the words: Its not just a stop sign, its a childs life.

According to the National School Bus Loading and Unloading Survey, 75 percent of school bus-related fatalities in the 2014-15 school year occurred when a student was hit by a passing vehicle.

The Education Department says that while Kentucky has not recorded any such fatalities, bus drivers often see drivers illegally passing their buses as children attempt to get on and off buses.

Copyright 2022 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Topics Education Kentucky
Southern California Gas Co. reported that costs related to the massive leak of natural gas from its Aliso Canyon storage facility near Los Angeles have risen to $717 million.

The new estimate is contained in Thursdays release of second-quarter earnings by San Diego-based parent Sempra Energy.

The previous estimate in May was $665 million.

The gas leak reported Oct. 23 at Aliso Canyon spewed an estimated 107,000 tons of methane over 16 weeks.

Some 8,000 families were uprooted from nearby suburbs as foul-smelling gas wafted over neighborhoods, triggering complaints of headaches, nausea, nosebleeds and other symptoms.

Scientists say it was the largest-known release of climate-changing methane in U.S. history.

Area residents met with Gov. Jerry Browns staff Wednesday in a campaign to permanently shut down the Aliso Canyon facility.

Related:

Copyright 2022 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Topics California
Even six years after the Panama Papers leaked a confidential list of offshore accounts held by the global elite, tax morality is still very much on the table.
According to a new report, Apple has made another acquisition, with the latest grab a startup that works on machine learning and artificial intelligence.

GeekWire reports that Apple has acquired the startup Turi, which is based in Seattle, Washington. The report states that the acquisition has set Apple back upwards of $200 million, which is seen as a major push into the companys efforts into AI and machine learning. As is par for the course, when the publication reached out to Apple to get a confirmation of the acquisition, Apple returned with its standard response:

Apple buys smaller technology companies from time to time, and we generally do not discuss our purpose or plans.

Apple has been growing its presence in the Seattle area for quite awhile now, and it turns out the employees formerly under Turis umbrella will remain in Seattle, even after the acquisition is finalized. Unfortunately its not known when that deal will be completed, or just what Apple will unveil in the future based on the work put together from Turi.

[via GeekWire
It has been confirmed that a new U2 tour is to travel the world starting in March 2017. Meanwhile their new album Songs of Experience" will be released, possibly in Dublin, as soon as September or October of this year, the Irish Times reports. The band apparently told the news to a Spanish website/fansite when they were in Spain last week at a close friends wedding, that of Dublin optician Reggie Manuel.

Songs of Experience will deal with the impact of fame on the group, which got its start in the 1970s. Their previous album, Songs of Innocence, covered their boyhoods.

The group became the biggest group in the world in 1987 with the release of "Joshua Tree."

The U2 tour will take in the US, South America, Australia, Asia and Europe with an outdoor Irish show tentatively set for 2018.

The band has confirmed two US gigs for this year: The iHeartRadio Music Festival in Las Vegas and another one in San Francisco in honor of the group's 40th anniversary on September 25.

It was on that date in 1976 the group first gathered in Larry Mullens kitchen in Artane to form a band.

Speaking last week Bono stated, You might see a few things in September or October.

The band released Songs of Innocence in September 2014 and began traveling the following March. There was significant controversy when the album was automatically downloaded into Apple customers' iTunes.

The 40th anniversary may involve the album being launched in their hometown of Dublin, the Irish Times says.
Richy OGorman and Taurayne McKen, an Irish-Jamaican couple living in South London, have made a t-shirt that is the perfect antidote to the No Blacks, No Dogs, No Irish, signs seen in boarding houses and bars around London decades ago.

More Blacks, More Dogs, More Irish, the t-shirts read.

OGorman is from Thurles, Co. Tipperary, and McKen is from South London and of Jamaican descent. And yes, they are also proud dog owners.

In an interview with London-Irish publication the Irish Post, OGorman said that hed initially made a t-shirt with that message a few years ago, but only this year did he decide to really go with the idea.

Read More: High school student proves existance of "No Irish Need Apply" signs

In addition to harkening back to the No Irish Need Apply and No Blacks, No Dogs, No Irish signs of the past, the t-shirts also serve to send a positive, anti-racism message at a time when the UK has been beset by anti-immigrant sentiments and and the #BlackLivesMatter movement is growing stronger and more prominent.

Taking that negative and turning it into a positive, in this current climate its important, OGorman told the Irish Post.

According to the Post, the couple is also keen to raise awareness of the problems caused by gentrification [their neighborhood of Brixton] and the impact this is having on both black and Irish communities, acknowledging the close bond forged between the two due to years of shared discrimination in the past.

Two months ago, OGorman was walking around Brixton wearing the t-shirt when he was spotted by DJ Swiss, former member of MOBO award winning garage group So Solid Crew, who asked to take a photo with him and posted it to his own Instagram account.

Read More: No Irish Need Apply debate continues in the UK

Since then, OGorman has been inundated with orders. Ive sold shirts to Kerry, Cork, back home in Tipp, Belfast, Germany, Belgium and even as far Boston USA, he said.

The couple is working on setting up a website to sell the popular t-shirt and, eventually, more apparel with anti-racism messages.

In the meantime, you can get in touch on their Instagram, EyerishAndJamaican.
An Irishman going through a bitter divorce allegedly set fire to his familys home, worth close to $780,000, so that his wife wouldnt be able to have it.

Timothy Brosnan, 57, was discovered by police this past weekend leaning against his Honda SUV, watching his familys two story home in Swampscott, a suburb of Boston, burn.

He is said to have told cops, I did that, before describing the blaze as the most beautiful thing ever.

When the police put him under arrest, he called them a buzz kill for not letting him watch the house burn.

Brosnan, a father of three, appeared before the Lynn District Court in Massachusetts on Monday on charges of arson.

Timothy Brosnan is expected in court today. He's accused of setting his own house on fire in Swampscott. @cbsboston pic.twitter.com/QEOSyvtNgO  Anna Meiler (@AnnaMeiler) August 1, 2016

Citing irreconcilable differences, Brosnans wife, Mary, filed for divorce in April.

The house, which the family built in April, was to be granted to Mary the day after the fire.

According to The Irish Sun, his lawyer, Gary Zerola, stated, My understanding is the probate court gave the wife possession of the house and they were to split the mortgage while the divorce proceeding is pending.

He called his client a kindhearted soul, a generous man, a tremendously loving father, and stated that Brosnan had been going through a very difficult time in his life. Its the end of a 27-year marriage.

In an affidavit, Brosnan accused his wife of infidelity and claimed that earlier this year he had returned from a three month trip to his native Ireland to find his wife and children had moved out of the home.

He wrote, After my wife and the children left the home, I fell into a deep depression and severe loneliness.

My neighbor (huge LSU fan) is so pissed he set his own house on fire. #hottytoddy pic.twitter.com/LUcXF9KnM5  Timothy B. McCarty (@TimothyBrosnan) November 21, 2015

I feel it is only fair that, since my wife abandoned me and our home 11 months ago, I have the right to stay in the home that I built.

The police report of the incident states, In the process of arresting Timothy he was laughing and making jokes.

He was staring into the house that was on fire and said, isnt this the most beautiful thing ever. He would laugh out loud and say, yes I did that.

According to his lawyer, Brosnan allegedly told officers he made sure no one was home, not even the cat before he poured gasoline throughout the house and garage, opened a gas valve and set the place alight.

Brosnan may face further charges. One of the firefighters who attended to the blaze was treated in hospital for heat exhaustion.

H/T The Irish Sun
At least two women, for a certain period of time, discuss something other than a man. Doesnt seem impossible, right? This test, devised for works of fiction, when applied to real life offers some interesting results.

I was at a dinner last week with two other women, both artistic, both in the late twenties/early thirties age-bracket. After initial introductions were made between myself and my friends other guest who I hadnt met yet, we talked on various subjects for a while -- neighborhoods where we live, work we do, where were from, etc.

After about 20 minutes, the subject of men somehow came up, and immediately one of the other women said, And we were doing so well on the Bechdel Test until now.

Did the discussion of men suddenly mean that we were failing? We decided that because we had already spent a substantial amount of time on other topics that we would inevitably return to, that we could allow ourselves a brief ranting and venting session on relationships -- with men.

Ever since that moment, I have become increasingly aware of what me and my female friends discuss together, and how frequently the conversation veers towards men. It is shockingly, worryingly often. And no matter how I have tried to steer things in a different direction, it always comes back to the same subject.

Just today, one of my best friends got an incredible new job, one that will totally revamp her career and steer her life in new and exciting directions. But 90 percent of our conversation following this news revolved around the man in her life and how his idiotic behavior is dampening her excitement. My efforts in urging her to forget about him and celebrate her own achievement appeared to fall on deaf ears.

Its not all doom and gloom. More often than not, we are sharing hilarious stories that would undoubtedly make the men in question want to entirely disappear.

Women talk, the rumors are true! We are hardwired to gossip, share and then overshare. Pretending otherwise or attempting to deny it is futile.

We are pack animals, strengthened in numbers, bonded by our unified views and opinions. But when did men become the sun, and us the planets slowly revolving around them?

In another recent debrief with some fellow females, there were several admissions to intentionally posting pictures on social media that were specially engineered to generate jealousy in the brain of a designated male. The male, in this scenario, may be an ex partner or desired future partner, and will be presented with images of the female looking fantastic, in a fantastic place, doing fantastic things. The goal is that the male will wish to be a part of the females life. Its a classic animalistic mating ritual. Only on Snapchat and Instagram with about 5,000 filters so as to remove the situation as far from reality as possible.

What happened to an ordinary level of unhealthy and equally annoying self-promotion? Why does it suddenly have to become a pointed remark directed at a man?

Admittedly, Im guilty of doing the same. However, I am an advocate of winning social media when in post-breakup mode. Theres an element of having to prove that your life is flourishing in the absence of said man, and not just completely crumbling around you. Sometimes its okay to be pathetic.

That being said, social media is becoming more widely accepted as a drastic misrepresentation of real life, and the dialogue being created there is a one-way street. The conversations that merit a little closer attention are the ones happening in real life, with mouths forming words.

I cant say for sure, given that I am not a man, but my guess is they dont talk about us half as much as we talk about them. Im willing to be corrected on that one but I cant see anyone rushing forward to do so.

From what I can see, there are two basic structures within which women talk about men. First and foremost is the structure of sisterhood -- sharing experiences, seeking advice and generally open discussions peppered with humorous anecdotes. This is great, a happy homely structure where everyone feels safe, where secrets are secure and where everyone leaves feeling better, buoyed up and balanced.

Secondly, is the more destructive structure wherein bitterness, competitiveness and malice prevail. I recently fell victim to an extremely basic display of this kind of fake female companionship.

An acquaintance disguised herself as a confidante and began asking about my recent breakup and the various details involved. At this point, Im way beyond needing to talk about it and moving on with my life, etc., so this entire situation was tiresome to begin with.

I couldnt decide if it was just the gossip or the first-hand tale that was being sought out. But there was tequila involved and I love talking about myself, so I nattered on without thinking.

Only later did I realize the connection between this girl and the ex in question, and suddenly the 20 questions session made sense. I had been poached for intel.

Questions about whether I was seeing anyone in New York seemed friendly and typically gossipy but now feel tainted with having been poked at for information to send home. Perhaps Im paranoid, perhaps Im wrong. But this was one of those times where I wish it wasnt such a compulsion of ours to talk about men.

Surely there is more to life? Surely we have more interesting, exciting things going on in our worlds that merit lengthy discussion than a mysterious text, a first date, a drunken night? Surely its all becoming a bit generic, a bit predictable, and a lot like obsession.

My mission in life is now to pass the Bechdel Test every day. Every woman I talk to, I will actively not bring up the godforsaken topic of men.

We live in New York City. We are surrounded by so much, we have so much more to offer than what the men in our world are succeeding or failing to do.

That being said, if its a funny story? Even better, a grotesquely embarrassing one?

Ill grab the wine. Old habits die hard.
There has been a renewed call for rank-and-file gardai to be given taser guns.

Last night, a male and female officer were attacked while on foot patrol in Dublin's north inner city.

The Garda Representative Association also says a number of officers in Kildare received death threats a few days ago.

President of the GRA Ciaran O'Neill has described last night's attack as "savage".

"Well, I believe both of themhave suffered facial injuries, and were attacked on the upper body," he said.

"They were punched and kicked, both members, one's a male, and one's a female.

"Well, the only protection, like every member of an Garda Siochana who puts on the uniform for work, would have a stab-proof vest, they'd have ... pepper spray - but these were attacked in an unprovoked attack, it was totally indisciminate.

"They had little of no chance to protect themselves at that stage."
UK Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson has lifted a ban on UK embassies and high commissions flying the rainbow flag during gay pride events.

In one of his first policy shifts since coming to office, Mr Johnson overturned the decision of predecessor Philip Hammond, who insisted that only the Union flag, the EU's blue-and-gold flag and the flags of the nations and overseas territories of the United Kingdom could be flown from Foreign Office buildings.

The decision on whether and when to raise the gay pride banner will be for individual ambassadors and high commissioners to take, taking into account of local conditions.

The turnaround was revealed by PinkNews, which quoted a Foreign Office spokesman saying that the rainbow flag could be flown to mark events such as the International Day Against Homophobia, Biphobia and Transphobia (IDAHOBIT) on May 17 as well as local pride celebrations.

A Foreign Office spokesman told the Press Association: "The Foreign Secretary has decided that the rainbow flag can be flown from Foreign and Commonwealth Office buildings in the UK and embassies and high commissions overseas.

"Whether it is flown is a matter for individual ambassadors and high commissioners, depending on local circumstances."

While still Foreign Secretary, Mr Hammond last month rejected a call from the House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee to drop his opposition to use of the rainbow flag.

In a report on the FCO's human rights work, the committee said Mr Hammond's decision not to fly the flag for Pride 2015 in London "signalled an apparent change in FCO policy and sent a message that contradicts much of the actual work and objectives of the FCO".

The cross-party report recommended that the policy should be reversed and said that missions should fly the rainbow flag on May 17 in countries where official intolerance prevents the staging of gay pride events.

In an official response published on July 11, the Foreign Office said: "The FCO has a very clear policy on flag flying: it is to fly the Union flag at the FCO and all its embassies, high commissions and consulates at all times.

"The only other flags that are flown are of the constituent countries of the UK and the UK overseas territories on significant days for them, and the European Union flag in certain countries.

"These flags are always flown in addition to the Union flag and in a junior position. The UK is a member of, or supports, many organisations and associations, but does not fly any other flags."
Last month, Dublin City Council gave Mr Malones Charlemont Leisure the go-ahead for the plan that will result in the Hilton Dublin City Hotel offering 305 bedrooms if the extension project eventually gets the green light.

The council gave the proposal the go-ahead for the hotel extension which overlooks the Grand Canal in spite of concerns by An Taisce and local residents.

Mr Malone, who is reputed to be the largest landowner in the US, purchased the hotel for around 30m in 2014.

He also owns the Westin Hotel and the Trinity City hotel in Dublin. The planner in the case of the Hilton extension said given the city centre location, the existing height and the previous planning history on the site, the proposed development was considered acceptable.

However, appeals have been lodged against the decision to Bord Pleanala by Harcourt Green Management Ltd and Alvin Price which questioned the plan.

Harcourt Green Management raised a number of concerns over the plan when it was before Dublin City Council.

In its objection, it said that the Hilton plan will greatly degrade the environmental, amenity and living standard of its (Harcourt Green) residents.

The objection stated that the proposed extension of the hotel and particularly the northern block is of excessive bulk and scale and should not be allowed.

Harcourt Green resident Alvin Price claimed to the city council that the construction of seven-storeys would create overshadowing and blocking of sunlight to the apartments by reason of proximity, height and scale of the proposed development.

The appeal of the decision comes as the Irish Tourist Industry Confederation recently reported a need for 30 extra hotels providing 5,000 rooms in the capital by 2021.

Over the last decade, only three large hotels have been opened. A total of 500 rooms were provided, including 252 rooms at the Gibson, 187 rooms at the Marker and 52 rooms at the Dean on Harcourt St.

Dublin City Council recently gave planning permission for a new four-star hotel on Harcourt Street and a separate hotel plan by Paddy McKillen Jnr for a boutique hotel in Ranelagh.
Irelands only refinery has endured a difficult recent past which culminated in losses of $280m (250m) in 2014  the most recent year for which accounts are available.

The 71,000 barrel-per-day refinery recorded an operating loss of $148m after revenue fell $268.8m during the year. Current owners Phillips 66 also reduced the value of plant and equipment resulting in an impairment cost of $127.6m.

Senior Irving Oil executives appear unperturbed by the refinerys poor financial performance claiming to be confident of its future profitability.

Well, its very market- dependent, obviously. These refineries, they try to work on strong averages so hopefully margins are going to improve here over the next coming quarters and years.

Thats one of the beauties [of Irving]. Theres a long history since 1924 as a family business. Theyve certainly taken a longer view and we dont tend to run our options quarter to quarter.

We wouldnt have made the investment based on this years quarters. This is really about going into the future so were feeling confident about it, said Irving Oil chief operating officer Mark Sherman.

Crude oil prices have collapsed over the past two years from $100 a barrel in June 2014 to around $50.

The acquisition of Whitegate could help Irving, which owns Canadas largest refinery, serve what it refers to as the Atlantic Basin.

Currently, 75% to 80% of its product is shipped to Boston and the wider New England area on the eastern seaboard of the US.

What we would call the Atlantic Basin has certainly been an area of production and shipments for a number of years and we really see this as a natural extension of that same Atlantic basin, obviously just going to the other coast, Mr Sherman said.

Whitegate could also provide feedstock to Irvings Saint John refinery in Canada. Despite having a name as tough-nosed business people, Irving has made all the right noises since its acquisition of Whitegate; offering a long-term commitment to operate the refinery on a commercial basis and maintain all of its workforce.

We take these types of investments very seriously. We certainly dont buy things to close them. Were looking at a long-term investment here, Mr Sherman said.
Irving Oils home city of Saint John (not to be confused with St Johns, Newfoundland) lies on the southern coast of the small Canadian province of New Brunswick.

Saint John often plays second fiddle to the provincial capital of Fredericton, and it has its own distinctive character, climate and attitude.

It is also one of the most Irish cities in North America. One of Saint Johns first bishops was Corkman Thomas Connolly.

But the Irvings didnt become Canadas third richest family by letting sentimentality affect their decisions, especially when it comes to buying an oil refinery that lost 263 million in 2014.

The Irving business empire took off under K C Irving after World War I. Today, most of the operations of the Irving group of companies are split between JD Irving Ltd and Irving Oil.

The two companies are now run separately, and each is owned by one of KCs two surviving sons JK and Arthur. Its believed the billionaire brothers rarely communicate.

Subdivisions of the companies include firms involved in forestry, paper, transportation, construction, ship-building, real estate, newspapers, oil refining and petrol stations.

They employ a strategy of vertical integration. Irving diesel fuels Irving trucks which haul Irving wood to Irving paper mills. After all, why should anyone else get a cut of the profits?

The Irvings polarise opinion in New Brunswick. You would do well to find someone in the province who doesnt know an Irving employee, so there is a huge loyalty towards a family that puts the province on the map, and food on the table.

On the flip side, the Irvings are seen by some as having too much influence and power. Thy have a near-monopoly ownership of English language newspapers in the province.

They are also adept at leveraging their ability to create jobs, to get the best deal possible on any transaction. In 2005, JD Irving Ltd struck a 21-year deal with the government-owned power utility company NB Power to supply JD Irving Ltd with synthetic gypsum for a new plasterboard factory in Saint John.

Gypsum is byproduct at NB Powers oil-burning power plant near Saint John; oil supplied by, you guessed it, Irving Oil.

In 2009, NB Power began to reduce production at the inefficient power plant. Since then, it has paid at least 8.4m in shortfall penalties and contract renegotiation fees to JD Irving.

Feud or no feud, the Irving family profits either way.

Irving Oil has stated that the jobs at Whitegate are safe, but should the refinery continue to lose money, its hard to imagine that the Irvings wont make changes.
The live feed was set up in the spring by Explore.org to watch the nest of ospreys named Rachel and Steve, along with their eggs.

Eventually viewers of the feed saw three osprey chicks hatch from the eggs, but tragedy struck on Monday as a bald eagle was captured attacking the chicks after Rachel and Steve had left.

The video shows the three chicks in their nest as the eagle swoops in and attacks with frightening speed.

Just before the eagle strikes, you can see one chick dive for cover as its brave sibling tries in vain to defend the nest before it is unceremoniously snatched up by the eagle. The third chick seems to give up all hope as it ducks its head, but somehow it escapes the attack.

Nature at its most deadly

Speaking to Audubon.org the president for bird conservation at the National Audubon Society Steve Kress described the video as "one of the best videos Ive ever seen of eagle predation".

"Its an amazing video really," said Kress. "Its one of the best videos Ive ever seen of eagle predation."

"I didnt realize theyd take chicks that big, but now we know they do."

The two remaining chicks have since returned to the nest they share with their parents.

You can follow the progress of the osprey family on the video below:

via breakingnews.ie
CCTV caught the man slurping down a beverage as he took a break from stealing cash and a television in a branch of Shaketastic in England.

Footage of the raid in High Road, Finchley, north London, in the early hours of June 18 has been released by the Metropolitan Police.
Sources described the shooting in south-west Dublin as clumsy and reckless and said the gunman fled over walls, before escaping in a car.

Detectives suspect that the nature of the attack might suggest a grudge of some sort, but said it was too early to rule out other possibilities.

The shooting happened at 11.35am at a scrapyard on the Walkinstown side of the Greenhills Road.

The man entered the gates of the yard, just off what is a busy road to Tallaght, brandishing a shotgun.

The guy comes in clumsily, like something from the OK Corral [wild west gunfight] and fires two shots, one source told the Irish Examiner.

The man fired the shots in the direction of a number of people, including a customer, described as an innocent bystander, who received a serious injury to his chest.

A second person is thought to have received minor injuries, possibly from pellets.

Gardai at the scene of the shooting. Pic: Collins

This was real rough and ready, said a Garda source. If you use a shotgun, you are not talking about a marksman.

If you fire in the direction of a number of people you could hit anyone. Its reckless. Thankfully, no one is dead.

Sources said they will interview everyone in the yard as well as other staff to see if they know of any possible motive for the attack.

The injured man, aged 41, was taken to Tallaght Hospital and was described as being in a serious condition.

Some sources said the gunman then climbed over walls and made good his escape on foot. However, a Garda spokesman said the gunman escaped in a car.

They described the gunman as tall and wearing a grey tracksuit, but did not yet have a description for the driver. Gardai said the getaway car, a Seat Ibiza 97D 44770, was abandoned nearby on Corrig Close, beside Tymon Park.

They are asking anyone who saw the car or who was on Greenhills Road area between 11am and 1pm to contact them at Crumlin Garda Station on 01-6666200 or the Garda Confidential Line on 1800 666 111.
More than 300,000 raised from 2016s National Pyjama Day for Irish Autism Action (IAA) is being withheld from the organisation.

National Pyjama Day is Early Childhood Irelands (ECI) annual fundraiser.

ECI released a statement yesterday informing its 3,500 childcare members that it is not going to release the funds to IAA until certain questions are answered.

Early Childhood Ireland is seeking assurances that IAA can deliver on the agreed programme of work before any monies raised through National Pyjama Day 2016 are released and we have written to all PJ participants to keep them informed, read the statement.

Children in playschools and preschools all over Ireland partake in the fundraiser, now in its 13th year. The move follows the announcement by IAA that it was cutting its core outreach service, which is now provided to just two families. Furthermore Brian Murnane, chief executive of IAA, said the charity had not written a budget for 2016.

Early Childhood Ireland is aware of management changes at IAA, the cuts in its behavioural outreach services to families and the reduction in its staff numbers. We continue to monitor the situation and have met with IAA about National Pyjama Day funds, read the statement.

IAA already received more than 300,000 from last years National Pyjama Day. This money was used to fund 34 training courses and the groups Step Ahead programme as well as supporting an information website for the charity.

ECI runs a competitive tendering process for charities seeking to receive the funds raised from this annual event.

In order to be successful, a charity must submit a detailed proposal for where the funds will be used.

National Pyjama Day has raised more than 2m over 13 years for organisations such as Make a Wish, Children in Hospital Ireland, and the Irish Hospice Foundation.

IAA was presented with a sequence of questions from ECI. ECI will wait for reassurances from the charity before making a decision to release the funds from National Pyjama Day 2016. Mr Murnane acknowledged that ECI is withholding the funds.

Meanwhile, other charity partners, Nestle Ireland in Dublin and Nestles Wyeth Nutrition plant in Askeaton, Co Limerick, raised 108,277 for IAA.

This money was raised by 700 staff members and released to the charity last month.

The Irish Examiner asked Nestle for a comment on their relationship with IAA, in light of recent events.

Irish Autism Action [IAA] has been the staffs Charity of the Year since 2014 when a commitment was made to raise 120,000 through fundraising events. The 108,277 funds raised by staff since then have provided almost 4,000 hours of autism support services including individual behavioural support and therapeutic sessions. This has been verified by IAA, said a spokesperson for Nestle.

IAA is one of four charities that will receive fundraised monies from Woodies DIYs Heroes campaign.

It was not possible to reach Woodies for a comment yesterday.
In proceedings against An Bord Pleanala, a group of local families wants the court to quash the boards decision of June 15 granting Framore Ltd planning permission for a development at the townlands of Derragh, Rathgaskig and Lack Beg in Ballingeary, Co Cork.

The development consists of six turbines, control building, access roads, underground cables, and ancillary works. The group also seeks declarations from the court including that the board failed to carry out either an environmental impact assessment (EIA) or an appropriate assessment of habitats, flora, and fauna before it granted permission.

Cork County Council and Framore Ltd are notice parties to the action.

The families, represented by Eamon Galligan, secured permission, on an ex parte basis, to bring their action from Mr Justice Bernard Barton, who adjourned the action to October.

Mr Galligan said the challenge arises after the High Court had quashed, and sent for reconsideration, the boards decision to grant Framore permission to develop six wind turbines in Ballingeary.

In 2014 the High Court found an EIA of the proposed development had to be considered as part of an overall assessment of how they will be connected to the national power grid.

Rejecting arguments by the board and Framore that the turbines and grid connection were separate projects, the High Court held that the EIA of the 100m turbines could not be considered separately from the grid connection, which could involve overhead or underground power lines.

Mr Justice Michael Peart, while rejecting arguments the environmental assessment for the turbines was flawed, had found the grid connection was integral and fundamental to the overall project. Without it, the turbine development would serve no function, he ruled.

The judge had then referred the matter back to An Bord Pleanala for a fresh determination. The board, after reconsidering the application, decided last June to grant permission.

However, counsel said a fresh challenge has been brought that the application considered by the board was substantially different that that which was remitted to the board by the High Court.

Other grounds include that the conclusion of the appropriate assessment conducted by the board was invalid and that an appropriate EIA was not conducted by the board before it decided to grant permission.
His intervention comes after it emerged earlier this week Archbishop of Dublin Dr Diarmuid Martin will not be sending trainee priests to study at the national seminary this autumn.

He spoke of the closed, strange world of seminaries and strange goings on in Maynooth as well as allegations of a homosexual culture.

Maynooth is 200 years old. It has a long tradition and a proud tradition but I feel that for the situation in Dublin we probably need a different way in the long term, he said.

Archbishop of Dublin Dr Diarmuid Martin

US canon lawyer Fr Tom Doyle, who has worked with survivors of clerical sex abuse for the past three decades, said Archbishop Martin had made an excellent decision in removing his priests from Maynooth.

I have a lot of respect for his judgement and I presume the decision he made would not have been made without serious reflection on the ramifications as well as without having received some solid information and not just a lot of rumours and innuendos. So I suspect theres a great deal more to the whole story than what was revealed in the news reports, he said.

Fr Doyle pointed to a toxic subculture in US seminaries and said that if a similar subculture existed in Maynooth, it needed to be addressed It was toxic in the sense that it involved a lot of backbiting and reputation destruction, that kind of thing. If thats what he discovered going on in Maynooth and those were the steps he took to protect his own seminarians and his own diocese, then I would respect him for that.

If a subculture like that is going on, it has to be addressed effectively and decisively, he said.

Fr Doyle said one of the main problems with seminaries is that they are closed, insular places which generate their own sets of social values.

He also said many seminaries were producing ultra-conservative priests who are totally out of touch with the real world.

Theres a whole crop of bishops that were produced by John Paul II and Benedict that were very doctrinaire, extremely conservative and controlling. There was very little, if any, true pastoral understanding on the part of these men and they attracted these guys, these kids, young boys who wanted to play at being 1950s priests.

They wanted to go around in the vestments of the pre-Vatican era. They wanted to recreate the heavy clericalist atmosphere of that era where priests were literally put on pedestals and really did believe they were something special and deserved all this deference. That is deadly, he said.

Fr Doyle said such teaching had nothing to do with following Christ and everything to do with creating a very pathological, controlling environment.
The call was made to gardai at about 12.10pm and the emergency services were immediately dispatched to The Mall area, with hundreds of people told to leave buildings in the area.

The caller said bombs had been placed in the Theatre Royal and the adjacent Waterford City and County Council offices and were due to go off at 1pm and 1.20pm.

Those premises were among several to be evacuated, including the popular House of Waterford Crystal across the road, while the street itself was sealed off by gardai between the junctions with Colbeck St and Lombard St.

Gardai carried out an examination of the area after hundreds of people were ordered onto nearby streets, but nothing suspicious was found in any of the relevant buildings.

Searches were carried out of the Theatre Royal and the council offices and traffic diversions were put in place in this busy section of the city while the alert was being dealt with.

The Mall area was re-opened before 3pm with gardai satisfied the bomb call was a hoax. An investigation has been launched to try and establish who made the call.

Mayor of Waterford Adam Wyse, who was in the council office at the time, said the gardai brought the situation under control without delay. I was at the door when the alarm started to go off and around eight or nine squad cars pulled up. There was no sense of panic or no-one running around screaming or anything like that, he said.
This move is in response to concerns from some parents who alleged that Irish Autism Action (IAA) was not returning their calls.

The news also follows the announcement that IAA has cut back on its core outreach service, and is now only providing it to two families in Ireland.

Our first big step as Irish Autism Mammys is to circulate information packs. Its just a matter of putting the information packs together and sending them out to parents and circulating them to schools and GP waiting rooms, places like that, said Yvonne OToole of Irish Autism Mammys.

We dont need permission from the IAA to put information packs together and send them out to parents and other places.

Ms OToole explained the contents of the packs and stated that if they are successful with this project, they will continue to develop other services to help families.

In one pack we want to circulate useful and practical information such as facts about the domiciliary care allowance (DCA).

Its a social welfare payment of 309 a month. Theres one rate and you can use it towards sensory toys or to cover private appointments. The quicker you get those payments, the quicker you get private appointments.

We are doing it on behalf of all families affected by autism. If we can do the work ourselves for autism families, we will develop something thats going to help them.

Separate to this move, IAM has requested a meeting with Health Minister Simon Harris and autism advocate Adam Harris.

We have contacted the Minister Simon Harris and Adam Harris, chief executive of autism charity AsIAm, for a meeting.

We want examples from the minister, on the ground examples, of what services families are actually getting  why are the waiting lists for appointments with speech and language therapists, occupational therapists, and psychologists so long?

When you call up first you can be told between six and nine months, and if you follow up the call you can be told youll be waiting between 12 and 18 months, said Ms OToole.

And with Adam, it would be nice to have somebody that understands autism and advocates the way that he does through AsIAm.
Waterford Independent Alliance TD Mr Halligan said he has already drafted a bill on the controversial issue and hoped to bring it before the Dail shortly.

However, a number of Fine Gael politicians have voiced opposition to the idea of making assisted suicide legal and the issue is not contained in the programme for government.

The objective of the bill is that people who are terminally ill, who will die within six months, who are going through insufferable pain, that they should have a right to be assisted to die, Mr Halligan told RTEs Today with Sean ORourke show.

Its not criminally wrong to commit suicide in Ireland but its wrong legislatively or criminally if you help somebody, if you assist somebody with suicide. I think thats terrible.

I think we should show some compassion to people like that.

He said other countries around the world allow for assisted suicide and there is no evidence that it has been abused.

He hoped there would be a free vote as there are indications from members of Sinn Fein that I have spoken to, and indeed Fianna Fail who might very well remove the whip and allow the bill to be voted on.

Mr Halligan said he was optimistic that the bill would eventually be passed but said it is probably a step too far in a relatively conservative country that it would be passed on first go. It probably wont be but it will be interesting to see how many people vote for it.

He said: Lets have a look, look what happened a couple of weeks ago with fatal foetal abnormalities, 46 TDs voted for it, you wouldnt have had that 10 or 20 years ago in the Dail, so we are in changing times and people are beginning to think what people want and how people feel.

However, a number of Fine Gael TDs yesterday said they were cautious about the bill. Michael DArcy said: Its something that I wouldnt be rushing into.

Noel Rock said the issue had not been raised or debated at meetings of the parliamentary party so he could not say how Fine Gael members would vote on such a bill.

However, from a personal point of view he said he would not be in favour of it.

Fine Gael colleague Bernard Durkan said: Its one of those issues that comes up from time to time and the question arises as to whether we should assist people to die.

I would not agree with it, it would not be my way of doing things. I dont think the case exists to justify helping to kill people.

Mr Halligan said that if he were ever to be asked to assist another person he would certainly give them all the details regarding Dignitas in Switzerland, how to get there.

Even as I say this, it is probably illegal to do that. What the heck, I believe in it, he said.
A mother of one of the patients whose details were leaked in the incident has described it as absolutely devastating.

Her 18-year-old son is a patient of the Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS).

She received a call from the CAMHS manager for the Wexford and Waterford region informing her that a letter from the team responsible for her sons care to his GP was among some of the documents discovered at a house in The Moyne, Enniscorthy, on Wednesday evening.

It is believed that the medical files were found by a couple who went to view the property to rent. Gardai were called to the scene and recovered the documents.

The woman said: Ive been told that they cant answer any of my questions about how his file came to be there because they dont have any answers right now, but they are sending me a letter tomorrow about it. I presume that I will get that on Monday.

Its really worrying. Im devastated. No one else should have been able to read that information, she added.

After being contacted by the HSE official, the boys mother called Enniscorthy Garda Station and was told that it was a matter civil matter and that the gardai could not comment on the case.

I just want to know how any staff member was allowed to take those files home. They should be kept under lock and key at the hospital.

The incident has been reported to the Data Protection Commissioners office.

In a statement, a HSE spokesperson said: The HSE can confirm that it was contacted by a member of the public, alleging that confidential documentation relating to clients of its services had been located in a house in the Wexford area.

All such documentation is now in the possession of the HSE. The HSE is taking this matter extremely seriously and has initiated an investigation.

The HSE will be co-operating with the Data Protection Commissioners office as to any follow up actions that need to be taken.
National Pyjama Day is the annual fundraising event of Early Childhood Ireland (ECI), the body that supports 100,000 children in early education in Ireland.

IAA was the chosen organisation to receive the funds, however, in light of recent events involving the autism charity, ECI has decided not to release the money.

Early Childhood Ireland is seeking assurances that IAA can deliver on the agreed programme of work before any monies raised through National Pyjama Day 2016 are released and we have written to all PJ participants to keep them informed, read a statement ECI released yesterday.

The move follows several developments in the operation of IAA, such as its decision to cut its core outreach service, which is now provided to just two families in Ireland. Yesterday its CEO Brian Murnane said the charity had not written a budget for 2016.

We continue to monitor the situation and have met with IAA about National Pyjama Day funds, continued the ECI statement.

Mr Murnane acknowledged that ECI was withholding the funds.

Meanwhile, Irish Autism Mammys, a group with 1,500 members all of whom have a child on the autism spectrum, has requested a meeting with the Minister for Health Simon Harris.

A spokeswoman for the minister said all requests are considered.

The minister does all in his power to ensure that he or the ministers of state hear peoples stories directly in order that they can make decisions which will have a positive impact on patients experiences of our health services, she said.
Between January and June 2015, seven cases of the sexually transmitted disease were reported in the two counties. That figure rose to 23 cases between July and December, and 21 cases from January to June this year.

The HSEs department of public health in Cork said eight in ten reported cases were among men who have sex with men. It advised all sexually active men who have or had sex with men, and women whose partners have sex with men, to get tested for STIs and always use a condom during sex.

If not treated promptly and with the correct antibiotics, the infection can cause long-term serious problems, including the possibility of damage to the heart and brain.

The HSE said the first symptom, primary syphilis, is usually the appearance of a painless sore at the location where the infection entered the body.

The HSE said: Syphilis has been called the great pretender as its symptoms can look like many other diseases. Up to half of people with syphilis may not notice any symptoms; therefore it is vital to get tested.

Dr Aileen Kitching, consultant in public health medicine at the Department of Public Health in Cork, said: The cases we are seeing are mostly in men who have sex with men, with over half of male cases in older adult age groups, over 35 years of age. Around one in five of these cases have had one or more other STIs.

Increased public awareness about STIs, including signs and symptoms and where you can get tested, is essential.

Having syphilis once does not protect a person from becoming infected again. Even following successful treatment, people can be reinfected.

Professor Mary Horgan, consultant in infectious diseases at Cork University Hospital and clinical lead for STI services in Cork and Kerry, said: I would encourage [men who have sex with men and] who have had unprotected sex, including unprotected oral sex, to book an STI test as soon as possible. The earlier we diagnose and treat, the better.

As syphilis can take up to 90 days to show up on a blood test, we encourage routine twice yearly testing for all sexually active MSM, as part of regular STI screening.

Free STI testing is available in the Cork STI clinic at South Infirmary Victoria Hospital. It also provides outreach clinics in Kerry General Hospital. For more information, call 021 4966844.
The 16-year-old repeat offender was banned from driving for four years at the Dublin Childrens Court by Judge John OConnor who spared him a custodial sentence subject to strict conditions.

He noted that there have been efforts to place the youth in care for his own protection.

The boy pleaded guilty to stealing a Nissan Micra from Foxborough Green in Lucan in Dublin on January 5 last. He also admitted stealing a Honda Civic from Kennelsfort Road, in Palmerstown in Dublin; dangerous driving; and having no licence on April 26 last.

The court heard that the first car was recovered undamaged in Kildare and the teenager was identified from CCTV footage.

Garda Gerard Reynolds said that during the second incident the boy stole a Honda Civic and crossed onto the wrong side of the road and in trying to evade gardai went across a green and crashed into a tree.

The teen has 19 prior criminal convictions for thefts, motor theft, and other driving offences as well as trespassing and public order offences. He has already been banned from driving for two years. The teen and a sibling are currently cared for by extended family members. However, his social worker said there are fears the youth is not safe in the community.

Efforts being made to place him in care in a residential facility outside Dublin have been successful.

Judge OConnor heard that it is hoped that once placed there he can work toward achieving a number of goals in relation to education, health and personal development. He warned the youth that the alternative would be a custodial sentence if he does not co-operate with social workers.

The teenager was also ordered to pay compensation for a 350 bicycle he stole.
With escape routes limited to Bealach Oisin, a stunning 60km scenic route to Killarney, and more of the same in the other direction, the thieves were either very foolish or very brave. Laden with tourist buses, the chances of a fast getaway were slim to none.

With two of the raiders in Garda custody in a relatively short space of time, and the hunt continuing for a third, thoughts were with the postmistress, Lisa Foran, a mother of young children, and how she had coped with the terrifying ordeal.

I spoke to her mother and she is very, very shaken, said local Fianna Fail councillor Norma Moriarty.

Lisas sister Deirdre owns the popular Beachcove Cafe just a couple of doors down from where the drama unfolded shortly after 11am on Wednesday.

The family are great community people and Lisa is a very good business woman, Ms Moriarty said.

Gardai protect the scene near Kilgobnet, Beaufort, where a Garda car was involved in a collision following a raid on Waterville Post Office in Co Kerry on Wednesday. Picture: Don MacMonagle

She has done a lot with that post office. When you consider post offices are losing a lot of services, Lisa has done very well, introducing a gift shop for tourists. And she does school uniforms as well. She has diversified her business very successfully and she deserves full credit for that, Ms Moriarty said.

There was also great credit due to the gardai, Ms Moriarty said, especially their highly successful use of a text alert system that engaged members of the public in tracking down the thieves. However more gardai were needed in the area, she said.

Last year we had an incident where a group of people broke into four different premises in Caherciveen in the early hours. The gardai were alerted while the break-ins were under way, but the call went through to Killarney and gardai advised they would be unable to send anyone until 7am in the morning, Ms Moriarty said.

Weve a new chief superintendent now and we are hoping they will take a look at the geography of the area, the peninsulas, and see what needs to be done.

The garda on duty outside An Coirean yesterday was staying schtum. Retailers in a nearby Centra and a nearby Mace were equally reticent. Weve done enough talking, one woman said in the Beachcove Cafe.

The French woman who allegedly took a picture of the first getaway car as it sped from the scene yesterday was nowhere to be found, although the town was jammed with tourists. One elderly gentleman on holidays from Dublin was waiting near the post office for his wife to return. She put a few postcards in the post box around the time of the raid and shes just calling back to see if anyone knows where they are, he said. He has been coming to Waterville to holiday for the past 39 years and had never seen a drama like this one.

We saw the postmistress yesterday, she looks youngish and very nicely turned out. Little did she realise what was ahead of her, she must be very upset, he said.

Ms Moriarty said while the area is not crime free; the level of violence on display with people wearing balaclavas and brandishing guns in the middle of the day was highly unusual.

An Coirean, named after a local lake, translates as The Whirlpool, and its doors remained closed yesterday as the tumult continued in another part of the Iveragh Peninsula in the hunt for a third raider.
What were described as lengthy discussions took place yesterday between union officials and representatives of both the Department of Health and HSE.

However, according to Siptu health division organiser, Paul Bell: Unfortunately, these discussions failed to result in a breakthrough on the key issues of concern to our members in this dispute, specifically the recruitment of intermediate care vehicle personnel and emergency ambulance professionals.
BAZ Luhrmann looks like a character from a Baz Luhrmann movie. His silver hair is mussed just so, the aura heightened by a piercing gaze and creamy Australian accent. When he enters a room, he brings with him a sense of gilded mischievousness.

The same stardust infuses his movies. Romeo and Juliet turned Leonardo DiCaprio into a star and made Shakespeare cool; Moulin Rouge persuaded audiences that Ewan McGregor was an old-fashioned song and dance man, Nicole Kidman her generations femme fatale.

And while The Great Gatsby was widely loathed, Luhrmanns blinged-up F Scott Fitzgerald flick nonetheless earned $350m and brought DiCaprio his largest opening weekend this side of Inception.

With his latest parlour trick, The Get Down, Luhrmann turns to late-1970s New York and the emergence of hip-hop from the dystopia of the South Bronx (pioneer Grandmaster Flash is an associate producer and portrayed on screen by a younger actor). Luhrmann is also temporarily forsaking cinema for the parallel universe of quality television, with The Get Down premiering this month on Netflix. It stars Jaden Smith (scion of Will and Jada Pinkett), Justice Smith (no relation), and Herizen Guardiola as scrappy South Bronx kids coming of age at the dawn of rap music.

VISUAL DAZZLE

Luhrmann being Luhrmann, the real-life story of hip-hops birth is more springboard than foundational text. The Get Down is a giddy rhapsody, brimming with song-and- dance spectaculars and Luhrmanns signature visual dazzle. Has he captured the grit, yearning, and desperation of late-1970s New York? Not really. Does it matter? Only if you believe dramas first obligation is to tell the truth rather than weave a compelling tale.

And because Luhrmann is not one for small canvasses, The Get Down is noteworthy for another reason. It is, by a very great distance, Netflixs most expensive production ever, with a budget rumoured to be in excess of $120m (107.6m). Thats about $10m an episode  more than HBO lavishes on Game of Thrones. Thus as Luhrmann meets the international press in London, its clear the stakes are high, even for him.

I became obsessed with this question of how did a city on its knees create so much and go on and change the world, he says, outlining his lifelong passion for hip-hop and the financially crippled New York that spawned it.

The ripple effects dont stop. It [hip-hop] is endlessly sustaining. Yesterday I was speaking to someone in Berlin on the phone and I look out the window at the graffiti. Ill never look at graffiti the same way: It started with some kids taking spray cans and deciding to express themselves.

From House of Cards to its latest smash Stranger Things, Netflix has proved a past master, conjuring hits from thin air. But The Get Down may prove a bigger challenge, with the series undergoing so many rewrites and behind the scenes reshuffles that insiders labelled it The Shut Down.

In a departure for the company, the series is not dropping in one bingeable chunk; instead the first six episodes arrive on August 12 with the remainder to follow later.

That Luhrmann ended up de facto showrunner was a product of circumstance rather than planning. Initially he had intended to serve as uncle to the series, offering perspective and oversight from a distance. However, as writers departed and production switched from Los Angeles to New York, his involvement deepened. And while he directs just one episode, the 12-part saga is very much his vision.

TRUTH BE TOLD

Everything is based on fact, he says. We mashed it up  but it comes out of deep research, deep facts.

That The Get Down will divide opinion appears a foregone conclusion. Its brash and breezy but not every hip-hop purist will appreciate Luhrmanns homage to the genre. Then, its always been this way. The greater his successes, the more vocal his detractors. Far from flinching, he appears to take a bloody minded pleasure from challenging and subverting expectations  a product surely of his rough-house upbringing in a one-horse town in the dustiest depths of New South Wales.

He was born in 1962 and grew up in Herons Creek, population 312. His father ran the local petrol station and cinema; his mother taught at the only school and owned a dress shop. From childhood, Luhrmann understood he was destined for what he describes as a big life.

In 1977, the year in which the events chronicled in The Get Down take place, he ran away from home. Eighteen months later, now firmly entrenched in Sydneys bohemian scene , he changed his name by deed poll from Mark Anthony to Baz, originally a playful moniker bequeathed on him by his father. He was only 19 but already it seemed fate had something special in store for Luhrmann.

This perhaps explains why he was drawn to the stories he weaves in The Get Down. Like him, these are youngsters from nowhere dreaming of conquering the world.

You had these kids spraying graffiti on the subway trains. It was like, When I see my name out there, I am somebody.

In a city thats saying youre a nobody  you get to be somebody.

OK so its washed away three days later. You still get to take a photograph of it  to remember that you are somebody. There was no possibility of riches. That wasnt why they were doing it.

At his side in London is hip-hop writer Nelson George, one of the first journalists to understand the music emerging from the south Bronx was a new genre rather than short-lived fad.

It was an underground thing, a neighbourhood thing, says George.

Rock the block. Shoot for the world. #TheGetDown arrives August 12, only on Netflix.https://t.co/eW2eIq1n4t  The Get Down (@TheGetDown) June 27, 2016

I lived in Brooklyn and was only aware of it because those guys were coming over to buy records. I remember me and my friend got the subway to the Bronx for a party. A van pulls up  theres a guy with milk-crates full of records and speakers. It was [hip-hop pioneer] DJ Kool Herc. They really were a bunch of kids.

The cast is largely unknown, with Jaden Smith the closest to a bone fide star (veteran Jimmy Smits has a smaller part as corrupt youth leader). The rags to bling story had personal appeal to Smith, reminding him of the trajectory of his father.

My dad grew up in Philly, he says. He was very similar to the guys in the show. He had nothing. His father worked at an ice factory. We always say the Smiths make movies as a family, but before that, the Smiths made ice.

My dad would drive around in the ice truck before he had a licence. He released his first single when he was my age and after that everything changed.

We always remember the importance of hard work and dedication  those are our family values.
DESPITE being largely absent from the charts over the past couple of years, Alicia Keys is still a household name.

Known for her rousing music, stunning voice, and songwriting talent, shes a woman thats no stranger to magazine covers, glitzy photoshoots, and red carpets.

However, lately shes taken quite a revolutionary stance  Keys has decided to ditch make-up for the most part, and go au naturel.

Its perhaps no coincidence she made the revelation with a new record to promote, but for whatever reason, shes decided she doesnt want to be photographed caked with beauty products.

After a career of being primped to within an inch of her life for appearance and gigs, she says shes done with slapping on the slap.

She told The Times that its so distracting, all this fake perfection.

Keys says so much of what we consume is carefully constructed and polished and she thinks people are over it.

Shes taken her epiphany to social media using the hashtag #nomakeup, and millions have responded with their own bare-faced selfies and messages of encouragement.

Yet while I applaud Keys comfort in her own skin and apparent self-confidence, Im not about to join her in avoiding the beauty counter  and thats because I adore make-up.

Alicia Keys with and without make up.

You could never call me a natural beauty: I have hair extensions, my eyebrows have been semi-permanently tattooed on, and I have a fortnightly standing appointment at my favourite nail bar.

I adore fake tan, love false eyelashes, and when I leave the house without my signature eyeliner flicks, people I know often do a double take or ask me if Im under the weather.

My dressing-table at home is piled high with products and thats the way I like it  Im not even in to the no make-up make-up look because I love to look polished, contoured, and well-defined.

Even at that, I dont look particularly Dolly Parton-esque or like I could be comfortable among the cast of The Only Way Is Essex.

Im not alone as a beauty aficionado.

We live in a world obsessed with make-up; platforms like Instagram have only encouraged women to pile on the slap in order to look picture perfect online.

For some, selfie culture means every day is a potential photoshoot.

Beauty bloggers like Tanya Burr and Pixiwoo have millions of followers, make-up artists like Joyce Bonelli and Lisa Eldridge have become celebrities in their own right, and A-listers are getting in on the beauty business, with the likes of Kylie Jenner, Eva Mendes, and Drew Barrymore releasing their own make-up lines.

I own three of Jenners infamous lip kits, a relatively new product on the scene that sells out every time her website restocks, and I paid a pretty penny for them to be shipped from the US, with no regrets.

Yet for the sake of this feature and to prove to myself that I could face my bare face, I decided to pose for the camera without the barrier I normally put up between myself and the lens  just to see what Keys and other woman get out of it.

Its one thing being make-up free at a festival or on holiday where being undone is part of the fun, but smiling for the camera in the knowledge that my less than flawless features will be captured by an unforgiving shutter would be undeniably frightening.

Now, dont get me wrong, I would love to be able to leave the house without make-up and feel confident.

Perhaps its easy enough for Keys to do it, with her flawless skin and gorgeous features, but Im a woman who benefits hugely from the contents of my make-up bag.

That said, even if my skin magically improved overnight, my eye bags disappeared, and my lashes grew long, black, and lustrous, I still wouldnt completely ditch the slap.

For me, it would be akin to foregoing a bra or underwear when leaving the house, something I just wouldnt do.

While I applaud a womans right to choose on every level because thats what being a feminist is about, I often do find the no-make-up brigade a bit smug.

Utterly stunning actress Mila Kunis covers this months edition of US Glamour magazine, and appears on the back page without a scrap of make-up. She tells the publication it felt fine to be shot barefaced.

I dont wear make-up, she said.

I dont wash my hair every day. Its not something that I associate with myself. I commend women who wake up 30, 40 minutes early to put on eyeliner. I think its beautiful. Im just not that person.

Well, I am that person. Marilyn Monroe glamour and Brigitte Bardots pout are far more appealing to my eyes than an undone phizzog.

I also love when they choose not to wear make-up without making a song and dance of it, because that is the beauty of cosmetics  unlike plastic surgery, theyre temporary and allow us to express ourselves in countless ways.

However, I do understand Keys desire to peel back the layers because in this day and age, it can be hard to tell whats real and whats not in the media.

Ill admit that all my courage and curiosity disappeared the second I whipped out my face wipes.

As I sat watching my real face appear in the mirror from beneath the mask I paint on every day, I panicked.

Not because it was hideous, but because wiping off my eyeliner and revealing my freckly nose made me feel vulnerable and childlike, and not in a good way.

I guess Ive always seen my slap as a symbol of my womanhood, an armour I put on that makes me feel strong.

I smiled for the camera, but I felt like a fraud; I guess for me, the made-up version of myself is the one I identify with most.

Yet I know there will be people out there who swear I look better and younger without my make-up.

That just goes to show that beauty really is subjective, and often when faced with our true selves, were a very unkind beholder.

Im glad I have the choice to paint my face when I want to, but Im also glad that this experience proves to me Im not quite that vain.

And OK, Ill admit it  I even feel a bit smug after all.

Going au naturel

Beauty therapist Claudine King, who owns a salon on Dublins hip South William St, gives her recommendations for a flawless face without make-up:

Skin preparation for a non- makeup look is vital. The skin should always be well exfoliated and hydrated, and regular facials are important.

Exfoliate once a week at home; this is crucial to get rid of any excess dead skin and promote healthy skin renewal.

The yumi lash and perm tint creates a high curl on your natural lashes for up to 10 weeks.

This treatment also includes a lash tint that will keep your lashes dark and noticeable so you wont need to wear mascara.

An eyebrow shape and tint will leave you feeling incredibly fresh-faced and well groomed.

The precision of threading the brows helps to frame the face and adding a tint will define the eyes.

A day or night serum will help to keep your skin looking and feeling soft and smooth, and with all of the above covered, all you need is a little blusher and a tinted lip balm to help keep your lips moisturised with a hint of colour.
For a long time after the devastation of the Second World War Italys wines struggled to be taken seriously and winemakers simply didnt have the money to make much improvement or invest in new equipment.

Winemakers were also not helped by bizarre rules and restrictions such as the stipulation that Chianti vineyards should contain some (white) Trebbiano.

Trebbiano had been used after the war to bulk out the red wines but it never added anything other than dilution to the final blend of what is, after all, one of the worlds most famous red wines.

Thankfully enough winemakers ignored rules such as this and the rules were changed in the 1990s, with a certain confidence also seeming to emerge.

Certainly there are still tanker loads of bland Pinot Grigio and Montepulciano being produced but even these grapes can be interesting if you find the right producer.

The wines of the South have come to the fore with many an interesting Nero dAvola, Aglianico and Fiano for sale and more famous names such as Amarone and Barolo now fetch high prices.

Barolo is busily defining zones these days so soon you will be expected to know some of the better vineyard sites just as you would the Grand Cru vineyards in Burgundy.

Sadly this will also probably mean more expensive wines at the top end (as if Barolo wasnt expensive enough!).

Older grape varieties are being revived with companies like Masi in the Veneto experimenting with grapes like Oseletta, an ancient densely textured and flavoured variety which adds an extra dimension to many of their better wines.

Watch for grapes such as Refosco Bonardo and Teroldego and for Grillo, Grechetto and Gaglioppo and be open to the more obscure and you will generally be rewarded.

All my wine recommendations this week are from less well known regions and are a mix of old favourites and new finds.

A few years ago it would not have been wise to take a risk on an Italian wine you had never heard of but thankfully that time is largely gone.

BEST VALUE UNDER 15

Ciu Ciu Piceno, Bacchus 2013, Italy  12.95

Stockist: Wines Direct Mullingar and Arnotts Dublin, winesdirect.ie

The Marche in Eastern Central Italy is one of the less well-known Italian regions and Rosso Piceno is the main wine you will find here in Ireland  generally a blend of Sangiovese and Montepulciano. This wine is frequently on restaurant menus and I almost always order it as I love its ripe juicy fruits and easy going style. Charming and great value.

Ciello Bianco Terre Siciliane, IGP, Italy  11.99-12.49

Stockists: World Wide Wines Waterford, Green Man Wines Terenure, Le Caveau Kilkenny www.lecaveau.ie

Made from organic Catarrato grapes grown in the high hills above Alcamo in Sicily this is remarkably fresh and ripe with sweet pear and honeysuckle aromas and a clean fresh palate this is remarkably good value and with enough character to be drunk on its own or with light pasta or seafood dishes.

Bella Modella La Farfalla Pinot Grigio, Umbria, Italy  11.99

Stockists: Curious Wines Naas and Cork, Red Nose Wines Clonmel

A reader recently asked me to recommend an inexpensive Pinot Grigio that had some flavour  a difficult task as PGs lightness of touch is what people like about it. This is young (2015) and fresh with some bright peach and apple aromas and a lovely bright palate with some lingering green apple peel character.

BEST VALUE OVER 15

Loredan Gasparini Cabernet Sauvignon, Italy  17.95

Stockists: J.J ODriscolls, Ballinlough, Ardkean Quality Foodstore, Karwigs Carrigaline www.karwigwines.ie

From a vineyard around 50km north of Venice this estate was once owned by the Doge of Venice and is also the source of one of Italys few Malbecs (recommended here a year or two ago). Ripe pungent black fruits with an earthy touch and a subtle gout de terroir and some vanilla and blackcurrant on the finish  this will stand up well to spicy and barbecue meats.

Villamedoro Montepulciano dAbruzzo, Italy  16.50

Stockists: Wines Direct www.WinesDirect.ie, Mullingar and Dublin

Montepulciano is the ripe fruity workhorse red grape of Abruzzo and much of Eastern Central Italy (Molise, Marche). There are oceans of light thin versions in the pizza restaurants of the world but in good examples like here, it has supple tannins, fleshy black plum fruits with spice and fruit character.

Leone de Castris Salice Salentino Reserva, Puglia, Italy  20.99

Stockists: JJ ODriscolls, World Wide Wines, Vintry, Gibneys Malahide, McCambridges

As you head south to the toe of Italy the grape varieties change and you find Negoramaro, Primitivo and Malvasia Nera which in the hot sun here take on a dried fruit character. This is packed with spicy southern Italian fruits with dried cherries and hints of muscatel raisins and prunes.
ACTOR Simon Delaney doesnt mind changing nappies.

Acknowledging the fair degree of pungency involved, the TV star says he has a very strong stomach.

But, as ambassador for Sudocrems just-launched Baby Changing Room Awards, he says public venues must up their game when it comes to facilitating dads to change their babies nappies while out and about.

Recent research reveals lack of support for fathers with more than 80% having difficulty finding baby changing facilities in male bathrooms.

The majority are in the ladies toilets, which is awkward when Im out on my own with the baby, says Simon, whose fourth son, Lewis, is just two months old. But needs must, so he isnt put off going into the womens bathroom.

If he has to be changed, he has to be changed.

Simon and wife Lisa Muddimans other sons are Cameron, nine; Elliot, eight, and Isaac, four.

Baby Lewis is getting great help from his three brothers, says Simon, who adores fatherhood.

Having a biggish family (by todays standards) was always a dream and he has long adjusted to sleeping with one eye open and swallowing food while feeding someone else.

And its not just women who multitask.

Yesterday, I cooked dinner, while wheeling the buggy [to and fro] to rock the baby to sleep.

But it does feel a bit like he and Lisa have been changing nappies for nine years.

Its like we just put the changing station away and now weve had to get it back out.

While Simon has never met any raised female eyebrows when venturing into womens toilets to change Lewis, Sheena Creans husband, David, has.

Sheena Crean says she has changed her sons nappies in the boot of her car.

He has once or twice encountered ladies who werent happy to find him there. Its a most awkward situation, says Sheena, an IT project manager, who has two children, Noah, two, and five-month-old baby Rua, both of whom are in nappies.

While research shows 64% of Irish parents have left a public venue due to lack of baby changing facilities, Sheena finds in cities like Dublin and Cork, she doesnt generally get caught out.

At a very minimum, 90% of places would have a drop down changing table, says the Blackrock, Co Dublin-based mother.

But out recently for a Sunday carvery lunch, she and David had to resort to changing Rua on a couch in the restaurant section of a bar.

I blocked him [from view] for the sake of his dignity. It was quiet so we could do it. Otherwise Id have changed him in the boot of the car, which Ive done an amount of times.

"Nobody wants to see a number two in the middle of lunch and, of course, it can fumigate the whole place.

While 30% of parents have changed their baby on a bathroom floor, Sheena wouldnt because she feels bathroom floors are filthy.

She finds airports are good when it comes to baby changing facilities but petrol stations in the middle of the country are a disaster  I wouldnt even go into them, Id be changing them in the boot of the car.

And a big problem she finds  even in high-end venues  is the infrequency with which nappy bins are emptied.

You go in and the place is stinking. Theres faeces down the side of the bins. And theres nothing worse than another babys poo  you can kind of cope with your own childs. You wouldnt want to be taking a newborn into somewhere so unhygienic.

Eight-five per cent of parents surveyed say a poor standard of baby changing facilities will influence whether they return to a venue. Simon Delaney feels the same.

As a parent, I soon realised that when we were planning a trip out one of the first things to consider was whether the venue had good baby changing facilities. If they didnt, wed choose somewhere that did.

Likewise with Sheena: I remember the good places and I go back. And I avoid the bad places.

For Sheena, the ideal baby changing room is unisex  so dads feel welcome too. She also likes a dedicated space for nappy changing.

It shouldnt be an adult toilet or a baby feeding room. A lot of places have the two in one, so you could have a mum breastfeeding next to a mum nappy changing. Theres a fantastic baby changing room in the Dundrum shopping centre.

"Its beside the feeding room, so nothing else goes on in there besides nappy changing. Baby changing facilities should also have room enough to bring a buggy in, so you dont have to leave it outside and carry your child in.

Bringing about change with Sudocrem

Research commissioned by Irish brand Sudocrem found parents rate Irish baby changing facilities at 5.5 out of 10.

To celebrate its 85th anniversary, Sudocrem is launching the Baby Changing Room Awards to commend venues for providing warm, clean, safe facilities for parents and their little ones.

Parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, child-minders and anyone using baby changing facilities in public venues, are invited to vote for the best baby changing facilities theyve used at www.sudocrem.ie

There are seven categories for entry: Best hotel, best restaurant, best coffee shop, best big shop (supermarkets, toy stores, clothes shops), best shopping centre, best changing facilities in a male bathroom and best service station.

Voters are asked a series of nine yes/no questions about the baby changing facilities provided by their nominated venue.

Among questions included are: Is there a private area in the main bathroom for baby changing? Are the facilities clean? Is the changing table at waist height? Is the changing area at arms reach to the sink? Is there a dedicated bin for nappies? Is there a safety belt within the changing unit?

Once venues receive a minimum number of votes theyll be in the running to receive an award.

The number of facilities a venue provides (e.g. breastfeeding facilities as well) will decide on the number of stars its awarded. Venues receiving enough votes will be awarded one, two or three stars with three being the top award.

* Visit www.sudocrem.ie to register your vote. Each vote received will be automatically entered into a prize draw. Closing date for entries is Friday, September 30, 2016. Prize-winner will be announced after close of voting.

Sudocrem was developed by Irish pharmacist Thomas Smith in Cabra in 1931.

Made in Baldoyle, more than 34.5m Sudocrem pots are sold annually worldwide.
One of them is Thomas Burke. He leads the Irish Syndicate and has a strong Oirish accent and blows things up. Oh he also drinks a lot. Here's a look at the character.

Official synopsis: "A lifetime of drinking, gambling and running rackets in Bourbon City has taken its toll on the man and the Irish mob he runs. Then the Italian Mafia muscled into his territory. But how long can a man be pushed before he starts pushing back?"

There's some sutble characterisation there, thanks to the folks at Hanger 13, with all the points for an Irish character liberally ticked. It won't matter if he's an engaging part of the story and if the accent doesn't wear thin.

Mafia 3 is out in October, 2016.
I LOVED school. I loved going to school and learning and dreaming of what the future would bring. My favourite teachers were the ones who encouraged us to think for ourselves, to read books that others considered too challenging or inappropriate , and to not just accept things because we were told. I am now a humanitarian worker and have wanted this to be my career for most of my life, even if as a child, I did not have the words to articulate this.

This week Im in Nigeria, a country where a major crisis is unfolding thats getting very little international coverage. This is the same country where one night in 2014, Boko Haram kidnapped more than 250 girls from their school. Girls who were getting a chance at a decent education that could change their lives forever. Who knows what dreams were being created by simply being in school?

The raid in 2014 wasnt an isolated incident. Since 2009, more than 2000 women and girls have been abducted by Boko Haram. Some are some being used for suicide bombings, as sex slaves and countless other bad things. When I think of my own time in school, it is unthinkable to put myself in their place.

Millions of people, more than 2m, have been forced to flee their homes because of the violence in the north east of Nigeria. As in most migration crises, its children that feel the brunt. They are ripped from their communities, removed from school and often end up orphaned or abandoned.

Three out of five schools are closed. Sexual and gender based violence incidents go unreported but estimates are that approximately 30% of female internally displaced people, sometimes girls as young as six years of age, have experienced sexual abuse. Organisations here are trying to provide psycho-social support for the thousands of traumatised women and children.

Women and girls who experienced sexual violence during the conflict face also stigmatisation from communities at large. Many adolescent girls have reported unwillingness to return to their communities for fear they may bring dishonour to their families, or face rejection.

Towns like Maiduguri have experienced an influx of people fleeing the conflict. In a short number of months, its population doubled to over 2m people. Already poor communities struggling for food, water, and healthcare are extremely stretched.

When we think of emergencies, be they natural or human-derived, education is often not given the importance it deserves. Nothing is more damaging to a childs future wellbeing than having their education cut short. As people in Ireland prepare to return to school it is unclear how many schools will be open and how many children will go.

Seventeen years  thats how long one of the more than 65m refugees across the world right now will, on average, spend in a refugee camp. What could be more important than giving them an education?

Boko Haram Insurgents

Only recently has education in emergencies been given the recognition it deserves by most humanitarian organisations, governments, and donors.

Imagine if you are born in a camp and people did not value your education. People used to talk about the Lost Boys of Sudan, but what about all of the lost children from everywhere else? Boko Haram opposes western education and has murdered 600 teachers and displaced 19,000 in an effort to stop children getting the education they need to break the cycle of poverty.

More than 1,200 schools have been damaged or destroyed, and even more have been closed because they are housing the displaced people. Nearly 600,000 children have been denied an education since 2013. Thats 600,000 children who are unlikely to return to schooling without some form of intervention. Thats 600,000 children losing their chance at a better life and a better future.

INGOs like Plan International are doing their best in the refugee camps, in Nigeria, Cameroon, and Niger, where hundreds of thousands have fled. More needs to be done but accessing the refugee populations to provide interventions is getting more and more difficult. The security situation, in and around, refugee camps and the affected regions in north-eastern Nigeria is making it harder than ever. Last week a UN convoy was attacked as it was making its way back into the city from carrying out distributions and three people were injured, in the Northern state of Borno.

National and international humanitarian workers are putting their lives on the line to reach populations. Attacks on Humanitarian Workers in conflict-affected countries is on the rise and in the last 10 years, more than 1,000 of my colleagues across the world, including people I knew, lost their lives trying to make the lives of people better.

August 19 is World Humanitarian Day, a day to remember the contributions of humanitarians around the world. I am grateful for the opportunities that have brought me to where I am but I will also be thinking about the thousands of children in Nigeria and elsewhere who are not so lucky, who have been robbed of the opportunity to grow and contribute to their societies.

Currently in Nigeria, AnneMarie McCarthy is Plan International Irelands emergencies co-ordinator managing its humanitarian programmes supporting refugees and displaced persons, assisting communities affected by natural and human derived disasters and ensuring that children can access education in emergencies. For more information on Plan International Ireland, visit www.plan.ie
The rate of growth was 7.8% in terms of GDP and 5.7% GNP last year  and GNP rose 1.3% in the first quarter this year. The economy has grown for each of the last three years. There has been a sharp drop in unemployment .

Yet so many people still feel as if the recession hasnt gone away. The Samaritans is witnessing a large volume of calls from people who cant make ends meet, while many businesses are busy paying back debt, still playing economic catch-up. There is no sense of economic euphoria among average workers and their families.

There are clear reasons for the disconnect between the strong national economic performance and the dearth of positive impact on workers and families. At the start of 2015, the median earnings (midpoint) for all workers in Ireland was 28,500, which included part-time workers. The median for full-time workers was 32,000 and the mean was 40,000. This average is artificially driven up by the large earners at the top, so the median is a more realistic measure.

Recent CSO figures show that in 2015 overall earnings rose by a mere 1% annually and actually fell back 0.3% in the first quarter, leaving the above figures almost intact.

The National Economic Research Institute (NERI) has shown that wages as a percentage of national income have declined. Wages have fallen from 65% of GDP in 1960 to 44% in 2015. Most of this fall has occurred since 2008: from 53% in 2008 to 44% in 2015. A 2015 study by the European Commission places Ireland third last of 39 economically developed countries, just ahead of Turkey and Mexico.

In 2014, Morgan Stanley reported that Ireland had the second-highest number of low-paid jobs in the developed world. Low pay is defined as less than twothirds of median earnings. In Ireland, the low-pay threshold is 12.20 per hour. There are 400,000 workers earning less than this wage  thats 30% of the workforce.

So, where is all the economic growth and money going?

Most of the money is going to what economists call returns to capital. In any economy, national income comes from a return to workers through wages or to capital. Returns to capital include a return on financial investments; profits to shareholders; or rent to those who own property.

What is happening increasingly in Ireland, the EU, and across the whole globe is that the return to capital is becoming voracious. That is why the share of wages in national income has been falling. The return to multinational capital by way of profits is highest in the world in Ireland; the monthly rent of houses has been rising inexorably in Cork and nationally; holders of wealth in Ireland have seen it rise significantly since 2009.

In 2014, Credit Suisse Bank reported that 41% of the Irish population had wealth between $100,000 and $1m and that Irish wealth was rising at the 14th fastest rate globally. The number of dollar millionaires had exceeded 90,000 in 2014  up from 77,000 in 2013.

If we look at the distribution of income (what we get on a weekly or monthly basis) of employees in Ireland, many will be surprised to learn that: 400,000 people (26%) earn less than 15,000 per annum; and 425,000 (28%) earn between 15,000 and 30,000. In fact 62% of earners earn less than 35,000 per annum. Yet 10% of both employees and self-employed have incomes in excess of 70,000.

Yet the rent for an average home has risen to 1,000 per month, and 1,455 in Dublin. Many of the 62% of workers earning less than 35,000 havent had a pay increase in Ireland in 10 years, particularly those in the lower-paid jobs in distribution and transport.

In addition, any worthwhile package of health insurance in Ireland will cost 950 per month per individual. The fall in the numbers buying health insurance is indicative of straitened budgets. Yet, we know that the wait for cancer treatment can be up to 25 times longer for public patients. Low earnings, and being without a health policy, are literally a matter of life and death.

Yet Oxfam reports that US corporations have $1.4tn hidden offshore.

In Ireland, many of our biggest companies pay less than 6% of corporation tax  with Apple paying as little as 2%. Indeed it is costing the Irish taxpayer in excess of 300,000 to defend a case in favour of Apple at the European Commission for the Irish taxpayer to forego a repayment of 19bn in tax revenue!

So Irish people are badly paid and in increasingly straitened times economically. Thousands cant pay mortgages and vulture funds are in the process of repossessing their homes.

Therein lies the problem: Vulture funds are owned and controlled by people who do not create wealth themselves; rather they speculate with capital to make more money. Globally, 62 billionaires, many based in the US, own more wealth than half the worlds population. But 74% of their wealth has not been created by them  it has been derived parasitically from others through investments in hedge funds, bonds, property, or shares in specific companies. This is the return to capital.

This is what is driving down wages in Ireland and globally. The seminal work of Prof Thomas Piketty has shown that this parasitic economic activity, known in economics as rent seeking, meaning unearned income, has increased dramatically in the past 40 years.

Piketty has shown the return on unearned income via capital has increasingly become greater than the capacity of workers and national income growth (g) in different economies to fund it. In simple terms, r > g. Because of this, wages have to fall to make up the difference, as capital accumulates a greater share of national income. The above figures on falling wages as percentage of national income demonstrate this clearly.

The rising cost of rents on workers in Ireland, now a low-wage economy, is further sucking workers dry to make further returns on capital. Thus, despite all the economic growth and employment, Irish people are worse off, economically and socially.

In order to redress this, there needs to be significant increases in wages across the whole economy. A co-ordinated EU and global crackdown on offshore companies needs to be conducted. A basic income equivalent to about 200 per week needs to be introduced for all adults, on top of which income can be supplemented and taxed. Large multinationals must be forced to pay their fair share of tax. Getting them all to pay 8% would net over 1bn for public services. Taxes on wealth and financial speculation also need to be introduced.

And this would only be a start.

Tom OConnor is an economics and public policy lecturer, department of applied social studies, at Cork Institute of Technology
That female is Isabel Spearman who was employed as a special adviser to Mr Camerons wife, Samantha. Needless to say most reports describe her as Samanthas stylist and cite her inclusion in the list of names as the ultimate proof of her Cameron demeaning the honours system with his cronyism. How could someone in such a superficial role possibly deserve an honour?

She was no longer in the employ of Samantha Cameron at the time the family left Downing St, but had worked with her for a number of years. This Girl Friday reportedly did everything from helping her boss plan her diary, style her hair, and plan her wardrobe. She was reportedly paid around 60,000 (70,700) annually for her work. Its peanuts when compared, for example, to the 10,000 French president Francois Hollande spends just on his hair each month.

Camerons controversial list also included No 10 Downing St staffers, Conservative Party donors and some of those prominent in the EU Remain campaign. It is standard for an outgoing prime minister to submit an honours resignation list which then goes forward for consideration. Ive mixed feelings about the British honours system but if theyre handing out gongs anyway  apparently Ms Spearman is in line for an OBE  I think she more than deserves to be included.

It was almost universally acknowledged that Samantha Cameron hardly put a foot wrong during her husbands term as prime minister. During that time she lost one child (the couples elder son Ivan who was profoundly disabled) and gave birth to another (Florence, who is now five). The couple also have two other children. So she had three children, a high-powered job as creative consultant for leather goods company Smythson, and a job as the wife of the prime minister.

I cannot think of a photograph of Samantha Cameron where she looked anything other than impeccably turned out. As well as clearly having an innate sense of style she realised the media would adore nothing more than a photograph of her having a bad hair day or dressed in an ill chosen outfit. Those snaps would have done the rounds repeatedly had they been in existence.

Apparently Isabel Spearman, as part of her brief, used to assist her in packing for trips where she would accompany her husband and the demands of the itinerary would involve a number of outfits for each day for all those state dinners and receptions. She was not the first PMs wife to have a taxpayer-funded assistant and nor should she have been.

Imagine the furore had Samantha Cameron turned up abroad dressed anything less than impeccably. In fact, if anything, she set a very high standard  last year she won Vanity Fair International Best Dressed  and made an excellent ambassador for British fashion. But just as she more than deserved to have tax-funded assistance with this difficult job, it is important to know that she had help doing it. This work was clearly so appreciated that her husband included Ms Spearman in his honours list. Its a complete cod to think that someone in her position should perpetuate the superwoman myth  the woman who has it all and does it all  by pretending to do it all on her own and without assistance. This was no vanity appointment but a much needed and wise one.

It is possibly for the best that the new prime ministerial spouse is a man, given the hard act he has to follow. I have seen some token references to the sartorial habits of Theresas Mays husband Philip, but it is his wife, not he, who will now be subject to the fashion scrutiny. I would argue that as such she should be entitled to an allowance for not one, but probably two official dressers. Its no overstatement to say that the entire tone of her premiership could be affected by how the media, and in turn the public, view her wardrobe.

Its a hard thing to put an amount on, but female politicians must, in general, spend multiple amounts on their wardrobe compared to male colleagues. As they rise through the ranks this figure will rise; almost every day of the year will bring the need for an outfit that could bring you from the opening of a factory to a television debate. Id argue that senior female ministers, at the very least, deserve a clothing allowance. They probably get a few blowdrys a week too, likely in a city centre salon for convenience  and the cost of that would also add up. I imagine with the sort of public profile they have, even going shopping  time constraints aside  must be a difficulty. Imagine those calls to Liveline about how much money Minister X spent in a boutique yesterday on just one lousy outfit Joe. Yes I know weve just been through a few very tough austerity years but the people who would be first to criticise the sartorial spending, or the very idea of an allowance, would be lining up to criticise the state of that woman and what she has on her. The carping is often, sadly, all the worse from other women. It would appear we are programmed to want to take females in the public realm, be they in politics or soap operas, down a peg or two.

Lets face it, if it a male minister turned up in the same suit every single day, with a change of shirt and the odd change of tie no one, except those working close to him, would be likely to notice. In fact if he just had three suits and all of them were in the same shade of navy it would never be commented upon. Weve been looking at Taoiseach Enda Kenny as leader of the country for more than five years now and I couldnt tell you what colour suit he favours, or whether he prefers a blue shirt to a white one. As leader of our country I do like him to be well turned out, and almost always, in fairness, he certainly is that. But the job of doing that is a far easier, less expensive and less scrutinised task than if he were a female Taoiseach, or the wife of the British prime minister.
The actor-director hailed Trump as a foe of political correctness and lamented what he called the kiss-ass generation.

Everybodys walking on eggshells, said Eastwood, 86. We see people accusing people of being racist and all kinds of stuff. When I grew up, those things werent called racist.

Eastwood, who spoke at the Republican convention in 2012  that silly thing ... talking to the chair  urged people to get over it.

What Trump is onto is hes just saying whats on his mind. And sometimes its not so good. And sometimes its... I mean, I can understand where hes coming from, but I dont always agree with it, he said.

I havent endorsed anybody. I havent talked to Trump. I havent talked to anybody. You know, hes a racist now because hes talked about this judge. And yeah, its a dumb thing to say. I mean, to predicate your opinion on the fact that the guy was born to Mexican parents or something. Hes said a lot of dumb things. So have all of them. Both sides.

But everybodythe press and everybodys going, Oh, well, thats racist, and theyre making a big hoodoo out of it. Just fucking get over it. Its a sad time in history.

Eastwood said he wasnt endorsing anyone for president.

But asked to choose between Trump and Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton he said: Id have to go for Trump . you know, cause shes declared that shes gonna follow in Obamas footsteps.

Theres been just too much funny business on both sides of the aisle.

Continuing to discuss Clinton, the actor said: I mean, its a tough voice to listen to for four years. It could be a tough one.

Eastwoods film Sully  about Captain Chesley Sully Sullenberger, the airline pilot who became a hero when he safely landed a US Airways plane on the Hudson River in 2009  opens in September.
The record will compete against albums by artists including Radiohead, Skepta and Laura Mvula, as well as The 1975 and Bat For Lashes.

Radiohead received a nod for the hotly-anticipated offering A Moon Shaped Pool. Mvula was praised for her album The Dreaming Room, while rapper Skepta made the list for Konnichiwa.
With their party in crisis, chairman Reince Priebus appealed to Mr Trumps adult children to help amid new signs of a campaign in trouble. Mr Trumps operation has been beset by internal discord, including growing concern about election preparedness and a lack of support from Republican leaders.

One source said Mr Trump privately blames his own staff for failing to stop the backlash from his own party after he criticised an American Muslim family whose son, a US Army captain, was killed in Iraq.

The inner tension comes as Mr Priebus and other high-profile Trump allies consider whether to confront the candidate directly to encourage a new approach following a series of startling statements.

In the middle of the uproar over his continued criticism of the Khan family, Mr Trump infuriated Mr Priebus and other party leaders by refusing to endorse Republican House Speaker Paul Ryans re-election.

Mr Trump dismissed suggestions that the frustration was hurting his campaign, even as he openly contemplated losing.

Wouldnt that be embarrassing to lose to crooked Hillary Clinton? That would be terrible, he said during a campaign stop in battleground Florida. He also insisted: Weve never been this united.

The candidate is in control of his campaign, campaign chairman Paul Manafort told Fox News Channel, highlighting his inability to control the nominee. And Im in control of doing the things that he wants me to do in the campaign.

I would say in the last couple of weeks, he has been remarkably under-performing and well see whether or not he can take a deep breath and learn these lessons, said former house speaker Newt Gingrich.

Mrs Clinton, meanwhile, kept up her assault on Mr Trumps business practices, holding up a Trump-branded tie as she spoke at the Knotty Tie Company in battleground Colorado.

She told employees in Denver: I really would like him to explain why he paid Chinese workers to make Trump ties, instead of deciding to make those ties right here in Colorado.

Mr Trump stunned Republicans by saying on Tuesday that he was not ready to endorse Mr Ryan, who faces a primary contest in Wisconsin next week.

Mr Ryan has backed Mr Trump despite deep differences on policy and temperament, and has encouraged other Republicans to unite behind the partys nominee.

Vice presidential nominee, Indiana Governor Mike Pence, said he spoke to Mr Trump on Wednesday: He strongly encouraged me to endorse Paul Ryan in next Tuesdays primary. And Im pleased to do it.
A 19-year-old Norwegian national of Somali origin who moved to the UK in 2002 was arrested on suspicion of murder after the attack on Wednesday night.

Sky News named him as Zakaria Bulhan from south London. He remained in police custody last night.

Scotland Yard said no evidence has been found of radicalisation or anything to suggest the man in custody was in any way motivated by terrorism.

The dead woman was last night named as 64-year-old Darlene Horton. She was the wife of a university professor Richard Wagner, from Florida and was hours away from flying home.

Ms Horton was visiting the capital with her husband who was teaching summer classes, when she was attacked in Russell Square.

Florida State University said the couple had planned to return to their home in Tallahassee yesterday.

Florida State University (FSU) president John Thrasher said: There are no words to express our heartache over this terrible tragedy.

We are shocked that such senseless violence has touched our own FSU family and we will do all we can to assist Professor Wagner and his loved ones, as well as his friends and colleagues in the psychology department, as they mourn.

Ms Horton died at the scene while those injured in the attack suffered a variety of stab wounds including to their chests, back, stomach and arm. Those injured are Australian, American, Israeli and British.

Two remain in hospital while the others have been discharged. None is in a life-threatening condition.

Assistant Commissioner Mark Rowley said: Whilst the investigation is not yet complete, all of the work we have done so far increasingly points to this tragic incident as having been triggered by mental health issues.

At this time, we believe this was a spontaneous attack and that the victims were selected at random.

Investigators have made urgent progress in five strands of work, Mr Rowley said  interviewing the suspect, speaking with his family, witness accounts, address searches and a full intelligence review by police and security services.

Officers have searched an address in north London and will search another in south London.

Mr Rowley, Britains most senior counter-terrorism officer, said: I emphasise that so far we have found no evidence of radicalisation that would suggest the man in our custody is in any way motivated by terrorism.

The suspect is a Norwegian national, of Somali origin. I stress, though, that all the work we have done so far does not suggest that those factors in his background are relevant to the motivation for his actions.

Asked what led police to say in the early hours of yesterday that terrorism was a line of inquiry, Mr Rowley said: You would expect us in the current climate of threat and with the events across Europe, when we have a violent attack like this with multiple victims, to consider all possibilities.

The episode took place in a popular tourist spot near the British Museum in Bloomsbury, and around a mile to the north of the bustling area around the Strand, where several theatres and scores of restaurants are located.

Police raced to the scene shortly after 10.30pm on Wednesday after reports of a man attacking people with a knife.

Mr Rowley, the countrys lead counter-terrorism officer, said armed officers arrived within six minutes of the call, adding: The man was Tasered and he was detained. No shots were fired.

The events unfolded hours after Scotland Yard announced more armed officers would be deployed on public patrol around the capital after a spate of attacks in mainland Europe.

London mayor Sadiq Khan called for the public to remain calm and vigilant.

Witnesses described chaotic scenes in the wake of the attack.

A cyclist who was passing the scene moments after the stabbing told how he was flagged down for help by a Spanish family.

Fernando, 40, from Brazil, had not seen the attacker but said the family told police the man was wearing black shorts and a white shirt, and was covering his face as he made sweeping, stabbing motions.

He went on: The moment the police arrived, they asked them if the man had been shouting. They said that he didnt say anything. They said that when he stabbed the people he didnt shout or scream anything.

Jodie Parry, who was in her hotel room when she heard a commotion in the street, told the BBC that the attacker ignored police as they screamed at him to stop running.

She added: He was actually carrying a knife in his hand and he had blood on his hands.

Manuel Simo, 32, told the Evening Standard: At first, people were confused. When they realised what was happening, people were screaming and running away from a guy who was holding a knife.

The incident took place close to Tavistock Square  scene of the bus bombing during the July 2005 attacks.

Paris on high alert

Security agencies in Paris have circulated a photo of an Afghan asylum seeker on suspicion that he might be plotting an attack on the capital, a police source said, as France reels from two strikes in a month by Islamic State loyalists.

Police did not have a name for the Afghan, the source said, and no active manhunt was under way. Metronews reported that the man had been in France for the past two months.

France has been under emergency rule since militant gunmen and suicide bombers killed 130 people in Paris in November. Last month, a Tunisian drove his truck into Bastille Day revellers in Nice, killing 84 people, and two Islamist militants cut the throat of an elderly priest.

Days before the Normandy church attack on July 26, Frances security services had received a tip-off from a foreign intelligence agency that a suspected militant was planning an attack, and sent out a nameless photo to different agencies.

The photo turned out to be of one of the church killers, 19-year-old Abdel-Malik Nabir Petitjean.

Paris is on high alert, wary in particular of the potential for an attack on the Paris Plage beach festival.

Every summer Paris closes off a major road along one bank of the river Seine and dumps sand to create an artificial beach. Following the Nice attack, vehicles and concrete blocks are being used to block entrances to the site.

More than 50 summer festivals and events are receiving special security attention this year.. Several have been cancelled on the basis that they cannot meet security standards.
Academics observed that the brains of obese people display differences in white matter similar to those in leaner individuals 10 years older.

White matter is the tissue that connects areas of the brain and allows information to be communicated between regions.

Human brains naturally shrink with age, but scientists are increasingly recognising that obesity  already linked to conditions such as diabetes, cancer, and heart disease  may also affect the onset and progression of brain ageing.

In a study of 473 people aged between 20 and 87, researchers looked at the impact of obesity on brain structure across the adult lifespan.

Candidates were recruited by the Cambridge Centre for Ageing and Neuroscience and the results are published in the journal Neurobiology of Aging.

The researchers divided the data into two categories: lean and overweight.

They found striking differences in the volume of white matter. Overweight individuals had a widespread reduction in white matter compared with lean people.

The team then calculated how white matter volume related to age across the two groups. They discovered that an overweight person at 50 had a comparable white matter volume to a lean person aged 60.

Researchers only observed these differences from middle-age onwards, suggesting that brains may be particularly vulnerable during this period of ageing.

As our brains age, they naturally shrink in size, but it isnt clear why people who are overweight have a greater reduction in the amount of white matter, said Dr Lisa Ronan from the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Cambridge.

We can only speculate on whether obesity might in some way cause these changes or whether obesity is a consequence of brain changes.

Professor Paul Fletcher, from the Department of Psychiatry, said: Were living in an ageing population, with increasing levels of obesity, so its essential that we establish how these two factors might interact, since the consequences for health are potentially serious.

The fact that we only saw these differences from middle-age onwards raises the possibility that we may be particularly vulnerable at this age.

It will also be important to find out whether these changes could be reversible with weight loss, which may well be the case.
Just a week after the robbery, Linda Thompson, aged 59, waived her right to a grand jury proceeding and entered the plea to a bank robbery charge.

Thompson said she had already spent about 18 years in prison for various crimes.

Prison is home to me so Im just going back home, she said. Id like as much time as possible.

Thompson pleaded guilty as part of a plea bargain that did not contain a recommended sentence. A bank robbery conviction generally carries a maximum 20 years in prison, though the term can be lengthened when previous convictions are considered.

David Weiss, defending, said outside court that it is unusual to represent a defendant who wants to go back to prison and exceptional to have one who wants so much prison time.

He described Thompson as competent and intelligent and an advocate for transgender prison inmates.

She was featured a decade ago in a documentary, titled Cruel and Unusual, that examined the lives of transgender prisoners.

Taxi straight to jail

ENGLAND:

Two bungling thieves robbed a terrified taxi driver at knifepoint before getting him to drop them almost at the doorstep of one of the pair.

Michael Johnson, aged 29, and Tony Walker, aged 23, were jailed at Birmingham Crown Court after admitting robbing their victim of his takings and satnav in Solihull on June 29.

Walker, who wielded the knife, was spotted running into the block of flats where he lives, and when police searched his home they recovered the satnav.

Both men had been picked up in Audley Rd, Birmingham, where Johnson lives, before deciding to threaten the driver.

Tapir totters out

ENGLAND:

The only Malayan tapir calf to be born at Chester Zoo has taken his first steps outside.

Solo, who was born on July 7 and named after the longest river on the Indonesian island of Java, revelled in his outdoor adventure under the watchful eyes of his mother, Margery.

Malayan tapirs are an endangered species and less than 2,500 are thought to exist in the forests and rainforests of their native south-east Asia, largely due to the destruction of their habitat.

New Ball in park

USA:

A new statue of Lucille Ball is being unveiled in the late actresss home town to replace one that was so hated it was dubbed Scary Lucy.

Sculptor Carolyn Palmer hopes her tribute will please fans who demanded that another artists unflattering version be banished through a Facebook campaign with the name, We Love Lucy! Get rid of this statue.

Palmers statue is to be unveiled tomorrow in Lucille Ball Memorial Park in the western New York village of Celoron. As for Scary Lucy, mayor Scott Schrecengost said she is too popular to remove altogether, and will get another spot in the park.

Dance off

PORTUGAL:

The car park of an open-air music and dance festival resembled a vehicle graveyard after a wildfire gutted 422 cars.

Authorities said there were no casualties in the blaze, which forced the evacuation of 4,000 people at the Andancas festival site in Castelo de Vide, Portalegre,

Musician Pedro Mestre said the cars exploded one after the other  like popcorn  as the fire spread through the car park.

Leaf me alone

USA:

An assault suspect tried to avoid police in Colorado by climbing a tree and staying there for hours.

The 30-year-old man camped out in the Colorado Springs tree for about five hours, climbing down after police used tear gas and sprayed him with water. Lane Malouff was wanted on suspicion of assaulting the mother of his children and trying to strangle her in June in the small southern city of Alamosa.

Wading for a wedding ring

USA:

Jamie Kennedy needs to make room for another wedding guest: The man who found her engagement ring in the bottom of Lake Michigan.

John Dudley, president of a metal detector club in Michigan, fought strong waves and scooped up the ring after getting a signal.

His reaction? Oh, my gosh.

The discovery was made two days after Kennedy lost the ring while trying to wash sand off her fingers at the beach in South Haven. She says she was sad, sick, and disappointed.

Dudley reached out to Kennedy and offered his services. Kennedy says she practically walked on water when Dudley gave her a thumbs-up to indicate he had found it. She says miracles can happen.
Psychologists found that both men and women who turn to the popular dating app tend to have a poorer self image than non-users.

They were less satisfied with their bodies and appearance. In addition, men alone who used Tinder appeared to have generally lower levels of self esteem.

Tinder, which has a reported 50 million active users worldwide, allows people to like or pass members of the opposite sex with a right or left swipe of their smart phones.

If two users like each other, they are matched and can begin communicating.

Scientists asked 1,044 women and 273 men  mostly university students  to complete questionnaires detailing their use of Tinder. They were also quizzed about their body image, socio-cultural factors, perceived objectification and psychological well-being.

Around 10% of participants said they had used the app. While both male and female users reported less satisfaction with their bodies and looks compared with non-users, only men had lower levels of self-esteem.

Dr Jessica Strubel, from the University of North Texas, US, who co-led the research, said: We found that being actively involved with Tinder, regardless of the users gender, was associated with body dissatisfaction, body shame, body monitoring, internalisation of societal expectations of beauty, comparing oneself physically to others, and reliance on media for information on appearance and attractiveness.

Because of the way the app works, Tinder users were at risk of feeling depersonalised and disposable, said Dr Strubel.

The findings were presented at the American Psychological Associations annual meeting in Denver.
An Istanbul-based court issued the warrant for ordering the July 15 coup attempt, according to the state-run Anadolu news agency.

The government says Gulen, a former ally of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan who lives in self-imposed exile in Pennsylvania, masterminded the failed coup by renegade officers in Turkeys military and wants him extradited to Turkey.

Gulen has denied involvement or prior knowledge of the coup attempt.

Ankara has not yet made a formal extradition request, but the arrest warrant could be the prelude.

Washington has asked for evidence of the clerics involvement and has said the extradition process must be allowed to take its course.

Turkey has designated Gulens movement, which runs charities, schools, and businesses across the world, as a terrorist organisation and has launched a widespread crackdown on suspected members since the failed coup.

Since the coup attempt, nearly 70,000 people have been suspended or dismissed from jobs in the civil service, judiciary, education, healthcare, the military, and the media.

About 18,000 people have been detained or arrested, mostly from the military, on suspicion of being involved in the failed coup.

Earlier, Erdogan vowed to go after businesses linked to Gulens movement.

Without doubt, this organisation has an extension in the business world. Maybe it is what they are most powerful at, he said during a speech to the heads of chambers of commerce in Ankara.

We are determined to totally cut off all business links of this organisation, which has blood on its hands.

Erdogan said every penny that goes to the Gulen movement is a bullet placed in a barrel to be fired against this nation. In the same way that we do not pardon those who fire the bullet, we will not forgive those who financed the bullet.

Erdogan added that the purge of the military would continue.
The Shin Bet said Mohammed el-Halabi established a systematic and sophisticated mechanism to divert up to $50m (45m) over the years to the group, which rules Gaza, creating fictitious humanitarian projects and doctoring inflated receipts to get the funds to Hamas.

World Vision, a US-based Christian aid group that works in nearly 100 countries, said in a statement on its website that it was shocked by the allegations and said it has no reason to believe they are true.

An Israeli Foreign Ministry official said Kent Hill, a senior official with the organisation, was holding meetings in Israel over the accusations.

Hamas declined to comment. El-Halabi, who is in his late 30s and from Jebaliya in the Gaza Strip, was arrested in June as he was crossing from Israel into Gaza.

The Shin Bet said he underwent Hamas military and organisational training in the early 2000s and was planted by the group at World Vision in 2005, where he climbed the ranks to become director of the Gaza branch.

He began to conduct security operations for Hamas military wing which was essentially exploiting the organisations funds for Hamas fortification, the Shin Bet said.

To divert the funds, the Shin Bet said el-Halabi initiated fictitious projects meant to help farmers, the disabled and fishermen.

He would falsely list Hamas operatives as workers on those projects and write up inflated receipts.

Companies hired to carry out certain projects under fictitious tenders were made aware that 60% of the projects funds were destined for Hamas, the Shin Bet statement said, adding that some of World Visions budget was used to pay Hamas operatives salaries.

The agency said el-Halabi divulged intelligence about employees working for United Nations agencies and other aid groups who were also assisting Hamas, without elaborating.

A LinkedIn profile that appears to be el-Halabis says he previously worked at UNDP, a UN agency.
Investigators asking to help identify witness who saw planting of bomb under Sheremet's car

Investigators have established that there was a witness, who could have seen the people who planted an explosive device on the car, in which Belarusian journalist Pavel Sheremet was killed, in the early hours of July 20.

"Yes, there really is a witness. Unfortunately, we haven't identified him so far. Therefore, we are asking journalists and people who are watching [the briefing] to help establish this person, and if he (the witness) is watching this show, [we ask him] to get in touch with us via a "hot line" or the "102" phone line. His testimony is very important to us, to the investigators," head of the Criminal Investigation Department of the National Police of Ukraine Dmytro Holovin said at a briefing in Kyiv on Thursday.

He noted that this witness is a young man, 180 cm high, who was carrying a black backpack with two reflective stripes on the said night.

Holovin noted that the witness was moving in the opposite direction from that of the suspected criminals along Ivana Franka Street at 02:44 on July 20.

Journalist Sheremet was killed in explosion of the car in the downtown Kyiv on July 20. The car belonged to the Ukrayinska Pravda co-founder Olena Prytula, who was not aboard.
Burma Death Toll Rises As Unidentified Illness Sweeps Naga Region

An estimated 38 peoplemostly childrenhave died from an as-yet unidentified and contagious illness in two townships within the Naga Self-Administered Zone.

An estimated 38 peoplemostly childrenhave died from an as-yet unidentified and contagious illness in two townships within the Naga Self-Administered Zone in Burmas far north.

Local authorities sent two doctors on Friday to the village of Thankholama in Lahe Township, the first location where the disease struck. Victims have presented with a cough, and then develop dark spots and lumps on their bodies. In the final stages of the illness, they vomit blood, explained Thein Zaw, the assistant director of the Naga Self-Administered Zone.

We can say that for the meantime, we are able to somewhat control the situation regarding this disease. The death toll has reached 38, he said; of the 38 casualties, 34 were reportedly children under 15 years old, and four were elderly people.

It remains unknown what illness is afflicting the people of both Lahe and Nanyun townships. Loyon, a lawmaker from Lahe Township, told The Irrawaddy that locals first suspected that the children were suffering from a more common condition, but as the death toll rose, people were alarmed by how little resistance or immunity patients appeared to exhibit toward the disease.

Blood and urine samples from the patients are currently being transported to Rangoon for testing.

We may come to know the type of disease after 10 or 15 days, Thein Zaw said, referring to the timeframe for testing.

The authorities from the Naga Self-Administered Zone have no plan to declare a state of emergency, he said, but will send more medics to administer treatment.

Meanwhile, in Lahe Township, Thein Zaw said that between 20 and 30 patients remain sick, with reportedly even more individuals affected in Nanyun Township, though official numbers for that region were not yet known.

Naung Hang, a resident of Lahe town and a member of the Council of Naga Affairs, estimated that most of the Thankholamas 50 households had now been affected by the outbreak.

It was hard to get access this village. This was why the medics could not get there on time to stop the outbreak, said Naung Hang; Thankholama is nearly 40 miles from Lahe town.

Athong Makury, President of the Council of Naga Affairs, wrote short note on his Facebook page on Thursday about how the disease was first spotted, and then spread.

He said that the first case appeared in Thankholama on June 14. Within one month, five children had reportedly succumbed to the illness. Only then did the village authorities inform the medical department in Lahe Town, which also serves as the headquarters for the Naga Self-Administered Zone. Yet although medics tried to spread awareness about general disease prevention, locals say that no serious action was taken to contain the outbreak.

Thankholama is particularly remote and isolatedaccessible only by motorbikein a region already severely lacking infrastructure; the Naga Self-Administered Zone, populated by the Naga ethnic group, is considered one of the poorest and most under-developed areas in Burma.
Burma Four Civilians Injured in Karen State Clash

Four civilians suffered injuries in a clash on Thursday between Border Guard Force troops and a Karen ethnic armed group in Karen State

Four civilians were injured in a clash between Karen State Border Guard Force (BGF) troops and a Karen ethnic armed group in southeastern Karen States Kawkareik Township on Thursday, according to the BGF.

According to Mu Char, the commanding officer of BGF No. 4, their assailants were a splinter group of the Democratic Karen Benevolent Army (DKBA), led by Maj. Nar Ma Kyar.

They came and attacked us. The clash only lasted half an hour, the commanding officer told The Irrawaddy.

A child, a man, and two women from Ta Tan Kuu village were wounded and received treatment at Myawaddy Hospital. The extent of their injuries is not yet known.

In May, combined forces from the Burma Army and the BGF attacked the house of Maj. Nar Ma Kyar in Kawkareik Township, but he escaped the attack.

In February, the splinter group and BGF troops clashed in the same township, forcing hundreds of locals from their homes.

The DKBA signed the nationwide ceasefire agreement (NCA) in October with former President Thein Seins government.
Burma Leaked Transcript of Suu Kyi-UNFC Meeting Reveals Firm Line on NCA

In the meeting with ethnic armed group leaders, Suu Kyi stresses non-separatist federalism and says why the peace conference is being held so soon.

RANGOON  State Counselor Aung San Suu Kyis words to leaders of the United Nationalities Federal Council (UNFC) ethnic armed alliance during their first closed-door meeting were leaked to the Thailand-based Shan Herald Agency for News on Thursday.

According to the leaked transcript, during the meeting at the National Reconciliation and Peace Center (NRPC) in Rangoon on July 17, Suu Kyi told UNFC leaders of her commitment to non-separatist federalism under the Panglong spirit, and explained why she wanted the Union Peace Conference to be expedited for later this month.

Suu Kyi also stated that those armed groups who have not signed the Nationwide Ceasefire Agreement (NCA) could not be given equal status to signatory armed groups, so as not to undermine the NCA, which she hoped all groups would sign.

The nine ethnic armed groups that comprise the UNFC either refused to sign the NCAreached between the government and only eight ethnic armed groups in October last yearor were excluded from doing so at the insistence of the military.

UNFC members have expressed concerns that the government is rushing to hold the peace conference in premature circumstances, and have demanded that the government declare a unilateral ceasefire beforehanda move that would require negotiation with Burmas armed forces, who have not appeared receptive to the idea so far.

In the meeting, according to the leaked transcript, Suu Kyi said she wished to hold the peace conference as soon as possible out of an urgent need to set a timeframe for peace negotiationsa lesson drawn from peace processes elsewhere, such as Northern Ireland.

She said that, if they were to only meet for political dialogue after every group had signed the NCA, it would provide an opportunity for any group that does not want peace to spoil the process.

Political dialogue, envisaged as a central part of the Union Peace Conference, refers to anticipated negotiations over a federal restructuring of the state to accommodate longstanding demands from ethnic minority groups for greater autonomy.

Right after the July 17 meeting, the government publicly described the meeting as a family gathering aimed at building mutual trust. Spokespersons from both sides said the meeting had yielded good results, with participants discussing federalism and issues related to the NCA.

The transcript did not contain comments from the armed group leaders present: UNFC chairman Gen NBan La from the Kachin Independence Party, UNFC secretary Khu Oo Reh and Abel Tweet from the Karenni National Progressive Party, Naing Htaw Mon from the New Mon State Party, and Gen Say Htin from the Shan State Progress Party.

The absence of their voices from the transcript could suggest that Suu Kyi dominated the dialogue. So thought political commentator Aung Thu Nyein, who said, Daw Aung San Suu Kyi should be listening more to the ethnic leaders rather than just talking.

The transcript also has Suu Kyi advising the ethnic armed group leaders to take a calculated risk by taking part in the peace process, citing her own decision to participate in the 2012 by-elections and the 2015 general election.

But Aung Thu Nyein and other commentators have criticized this as a false equivalence, because a key stakeholderthe Burma Armyis demanding that some ethnic armed groups disarm before taking part in peace negotiations, which would fundamentally impair their leverage.

Suu Kyi invited them to ask for whatever you want, but I cannot guarantee that you will get 100 percent of what you ask. We will negotiate. If you take part with the intention of gaining 100 percent, nothing can work.

In response to Suu Kyis much-publicized request to ethnic armed groups to think more of giving rather than taking, UNFC secretary Khu Oo Reh told the press in Rangoon the following day, What more do they want from us? We have nothing more to give because our natural resources have been destroyed and our people have faced hardship.

During the meeting, Suu Kyi reassured them that the National League for Democracy (NLD) government accepted a federal state as the sole solution, but was at pains to distance the notion from separation from the Union. She said, Federalism [would mean] the separation of power between the central government and the state and divisional governments, which must be defined in the constitution.

Federalism is not about encouraging separation. It is about building institutions that can guarantee non-separation, she said.

In accordance with the Panglong spirit, she said she had no intention of restricting the rights of minority ethnic groups. She referred to the preamble of the 1947 Panglong Agreementa deal guaranteeing regional autonomy for frontier areas signed between her father Aung San and Shan, Kachin and Chin leaderswhich she said contained the spirit of working together for all ethnic groups in Burma.

In her final words, she cited her desire for the peace process to be all-inclusive, and expressed a hope that all groups would sign the NCA prior to entering peace negotiations.

She said, I want to create a space for [current] non-signatories to the NCA to be able to participate in the 21st Century Panglong Conferencethe name she has given to the upcoming Union Peace Conferencebut I cannot give equal status to signatories and non-signatories. If I did, nobody would pay attention to the NCA.

According to the current political dialogue frameworkagreed in January this yearthe armed groups that are not signatories to the NCA are invited to take part in the peace conference, but only as observers.

A political dialogue framework review meeting is scheduled for the middle of this month. The government has invited UNFC members to participate.
Burma Militia-Backed Rangoon High-Rise Defies Govt Suspension Orders

Construction of a Rangoon high-rise owned by a government-aligned militia leader is found to be proceeding in defiance of government suspension orders.

RANGOON  The construction of a high-rise development in Rangoon owned by a former state parliamentarian and current leader of a government-aligned militia in Shan State was found to be proceeding in defiance of municipal government suspension orders.

Situated less than a hundred meters away from the residence of State Counselor Aung San Suu Kyi, the 12.5-story building project at 74 University Avenue was first ordered to halt construction in January by the Yangon City Development Committee (YCDC).

The reasons behind the halt order were: absence of the required approvals from the YCDC, failure to follow construction guidelines, and opposition from local residents who objected to any building flouting the neighborhoods proposed 42-ft height cap.

We have ordered them several times to halt but they simply paid out fines [and continued]. I saw that the project was still in progress as of Monday, said YCDC secretary Hlaing Maw Oo on Thursday.

The project is owned by Kyaw Myint, chairman of the Pansay Peoples Militia, an armed group allied with the Burma Army. The militia was founded some 20 years ago and is based in Muse, on the Sino-Burmese border in northern Shan State.

Kyaw Myint was previously a lawmaker in the Shan State parliament representing Namkham Township for the former ruling Union Solidarity and Development Party. Ethnic Palaung anti-drug activists have accused him of being a major player in the drug trade in northern Shan State, his Pansay militia controlling some 20,000 acres where poppy is grown.

The project was one of two in Rangoon whose suspension was proposed during a session of the previous Parliament in January. The proposal won a majority vote but was put on record in the Lower House, to be considered under the new Parliament that began in February.

Hlaing Maw Oo said initial approval for the high-rise project was revoked last month because the developers failed to follow YCDC orders, meaning it is now totally without official approval.

They promised they would halt it by July 15 but the project was found to still be going on as of Monday, the YCDC secretary said.

If they keep on, we will revoke the licenses of their engineer and contractor, she added.

On Thursday, The Irrawaddy found the project site deserted. A looming yellow tower crane sat idle inside a construction area sealed off with blue galvanized iron sheets. Deep excavation for a foundation was visible and construction had not surpassed the base level.

In early 2015, when the controversy over the building began, it had been charged with breaking YCDC regulations for conducting the ground excavation without permission.

We have fined them more than 2.8 million kyats (US$2,360) because they breached articles 68 and 69 of the YCDC Act. They are still in breach now, said Bahan Township Municipal Board Chairman Pe Than Aung during a press conference in January, on the subject of high rises in Rangoon, hosted by ex-YCDC member Khin Hlaing.

According to Article 68, anyone who violates the citys construction regulations will be charged with up to one year in prison, a penalty of 10,000-500,000 kyats ($8-422), or both, while Article 69 holds that anyone that repeatedly violates Article 68 will be charged with up to one year in prison or a penalty of 10,000-50,000 ($8-42) per day till the offence is rectified.

Two-point-eight million kyats is just like labor fees for them, Khin Hliang commented at the press conference. He said the attitude of the developers was, We can do as we like because we can afford the fines.

In August last year, ten people living close to the projectincluding the abbots for four Buddhist monasteriessent a petition to Khin Hlaing complaining about the prospect of a 12.5-story building in their neighborhood. The local residents said that when the developer asked them for their approvals in order to gain permission from the YCDC, the person representing the owner Kyaw Myint did not tell them it would be a high rise.

He just said it would be a building for Kyaw Myints family. So, we said yes. If we had known that it was to be a high rise, we wouldnt have signed agreed, said U Zawana, the abbot of Lakefront Inya Monastery.

The abbot said that he would not accept any building above four stories in the neighborhooda zoning guideline for the area proposed by the YCDC.

Also, it could pose a threat to Daw Aung San Suu Kyis security because the building would be overlooking her residence, he said.

Construction continued as normal after the first suspension order in January. U Ponnya Sara, the abbot of Weiluwun Monastery, which sits next to the construction site, said on Monday that the groundwork had been carried out over several months during the nighttime hours. The noise had disturbed the evening prayers and nighttime meditation of the 25 resident monks.

They should be aware that there are monasteries nearby. It is very disrespectful, the abbot said.

May Win Myint, the NLD lawmaker who proposed suspending the project in the Lower House, said she had been following the case from Naypyidaw and would investigate further after returning to Rangoon in a few days.

If needed, I will submit the case to the Rangoon Divisional parliament for debate, she said.

U Zawana, of the Lakefront Inya Monastery, wondered why the government appeared to be slow and lenient in its response to the illegal project.

Is it because it is backed by a militia allied with the army? he asked.

It has to be in accordance with the law, he said, adding that the attitude of the developers is,

we have money, we can do as we like.

The Irrawaddy tried to contact project owner Kyaw Myint on Thursday but he was not available for comment.
Business Govt Invites Proposals for New Hotels in Myeik Archipelago

Burmas investment commission invites proposals for new hotel projects in the Myeik Archipelago, which will be assessed for environmental friendliness.

RANGOON  The Myanmar Investment Commission (MIC) is inviting proposals for new hotel projects in the Myeik Archipelago, which will be assessed for environmental friendliness in cooperation with the Tenasserim Division government.

The development of the archipelago in Burmas far south for eco-tourism is prioritized in the Tourism Master Plan 2013-20, which was devised under the previous government and is being continued by the present one. It is hoped that the largely unspoiled, coral-rich collection of islands will draw tourists away from the beaches of southern Thailand.

Foreign investor interest in the area has grown slowly. Eleven hotel projects were approved for development under the previous government.

Well have to heed the lessons from other countries while approving new hotels and tourism projects in the Myeik Archipelago, if were not to harm the environment there, MIC secretary Aung Naing Oo said.

He said that no new proposals for hotel projects in the Myeik Archipelago had been received during the first three months of the new governments term since April.

Tint Thwin, director general of the Ministry of Hotels and Tourism, said they would promote only eco-friendly tourism in the archipelagoregardless of the nature and level of investor interestand would work with the MIC to guarantee this.

The Mergui Archipelago consists of 800 islands spread over 10,000 square miles in the Andaman Sea, off the coast of Burmas far-southern Tenasserim Division.

The archipelago is currently challengingand expensivefor most tourists to visit, given the overall lack of existing tourist infrastructure and its remote location, but its potential is reckoned to be huge given the much-cited over-development of Thailands coastal areas.

Hlwan Moe, the Myeik District assistant director for the Ministry of Hotels and Tourism, said that, as of July, eight hotel projects in Kawthaung District and three projects in Myeik District were under construction.

Nearly 80 percent of hotel projects are within Kawthaung District. Hotel construction is getting started on projects approved by the previous government. There have been no new projects under the current government so far, he said.

Hotel projects now underway are located on the islands of Khuntee (or Gabuza), Eastern Sula, Langan, Tanintharyi, Kadan, Ngakhin Nyogyi, Kyun Phila and Saw Mon Hla.
With "The Vampire Diaries" finally coming to an end, Delena fans are hopeful of a reunion between Damon Salvatore (Ian Somerhalder) and Elena Gilbert (Nina Dobrev). However, it looks like both stars are no longer interested on a comeback for their on-screen partnership.

As it can be recalled, during the San Diego Comic Con, Julie Plec confirmed the "The Vampire Diaries" upcoming season eight would already be the last season of the series. It has come with great honor for them to be able to end the show the way they wanted it to end.

Plec also confirmed that actress Nina Dobrev promised to come back to the show for its finale, since she exited the show almost two years ago. Fans have been hoping for Dobrev's character Elena to reunite with her partner on the show, Damon. However, actor Ian Somerhalder, who plays Damon, is not as excited about the possibility.

According to the International Business Times, Ian is not so thrilled about the idea of his character reuniting with Elena. He believes that their partnership on the show has already been given the proper ending upon Dobrev's exit. Instead, he initially wanted the end to be about his character, Damon, and his brother, Stefan Salvatore.

Inquisitr reported that Dobrev's exit was led by the fact that she was uncomfortable filming with ex-boyfriend Ian Somerhalder while his wife, Nikki Reed, was on set. Their breakup a few years back was supposedly fine at first, with the couple being friends and all. However, they have grown awkward and uncomfortable over time. This was allegedly the actress's real reason for leaving the show.

Fans have been clinging to the statement made by showrunner Julie Plec about Nina Dobrev coming back for the series finale. There isn't any confirmation whether her comeback will give closure to Delena fans, but it will surely make a great impact on its ending.
Public joint-stock company Plant Mayak (Kyiv), part of Ukroboronprom State Concern, is preparing for batch production of new 60mm caliber mortars Kamerton designed to meet NATO technical standards AQAP-2000.

At the presentation of a sample on Thursday in Kyiv Mayak Director Oleksandr Perehudov said that batch production of new Kamerton mortars is scheduled for August after finishing tests by the customer.

"This year we will start supplying mortars to the armed forces," he said.

According to the designer, the new mortar designed under an order of the Defense Ministry of Ukraine had two versions: for infantry and landing troops. The infantry mortar's destruction range is 3.7 kilometers and that for landing troops  up to 1 kilometer. The mortar makes 12 shots per minute. The weight of infantry mortar is 19 kg and for landing troops  8 kg.

Perehudov said that a new 60mm ground blast fragmentation mine was designed for the mortar. It is being tested. He said that the new mortar meets the tasks to replace imports: new artillery was designed using only Ukrainian-made materials and elements. The new weapon is one of the first designs of the Ukrainian defense industry meeting NATO technical standards AQAP-2000, he said.

Plant Mayak designs, produces, sells, repairs, modernizes and disposes weapons and military equipment, carry out research and design works. Since July 2012, the plant joined Ukroboronprom State Concern.
The Zika vaccine will now be tried on humans following the success of the trials with monkeys. Scientists say it will start later this year.

After the spread of Zika virus, especially in Brazil, that caused defects on new-born babies, scientists and pharmaceutical companies are now further developing a vaccine for it. The vaccine is in progress and will now be tested on human subjects. As the tests were very successful with monkeys, they are hoping it will work on humans too.

There were three types of the vaccine created. As New York Post reported, there is the traditional type and two modern ones. Out of the three, two were moved to the next tests as they were successful. However, they are still assessing the vaccines carefully as to whether they are safe or if they have side effects to the immune system.

Walter Reed Army Institute of Research in Silver Spring developed a vaccine that will be tested on humans in October. Those vaccines, as Baltimore Sun stated, were tested on two groups of eight monkeys. The first group was vaccinated with a dead Zika virus so the body will learn how to fight it. After a month, they were shot with a booster to fight it off. The other batch was vaccinated with live virus. The results showed that the first batch did not get affected while the second one got the Zika virus.

One vaccine was already injected to a human subject in Pennsylvania. The Inovio Pharmaceuticals announced last week that they have started the tests already while another developed by Walter Reade Army Institute of Research in Silver Spring will begin tests in October. It is still not sure as to when it will be available for the public but experts say it is impossible this year. It will more likely be released in 2018.
Newest studies revealed that the first reprogrammable quantum computer has been created. This study is said to be one of the most awaited discoveries in the age of quantum computing. The researchers said that it could now aid the scientists to run several multifaceted simulations and can produce quick resolutions to complicated calculations. These quantum computers can potentially be much faster than the conventional computers but they are hard to program and to reconfigure due to their origin of creation, which is physics.

According to Wired, the quantum computer's functioning depend on the strange nature of quantum physics. Quantum computing holds the logic of "superpositions" which separates it from traditional computers. Computers before or those of today represents data in binary with series of zeroes and ones called "bits" and represented by flicking switch transistors to trigger either on or off.

Meanwhile, quantum computers uses quantum bits or "qubits" that are in "superposition," which means that they are in on and off simultaneously. By this method, qubit can essentially execute two calculations instantaneously. According to previous research, quantum computers could possibly perform more calculations in one instant simultaneously. Prior to other work, it has been found that these new computers have the capability to solve certain snags much faster than the conventional computers.

At the moment, a research group at the University of Maryland built a new, smaller quantum computer, which can be one of the first substantial steps that leads towards developing new devices. Shantanu Debnath, an optical engineer and also a quantum physicist at University of Maryland, said that they are trying to build a quantum processor of five qubits surrounded by ions that is reconfigurable where you can program algorithm into it. Debnath calls it a fundamental building block en route for large scale devices, Live Science reported

Currently, Debnath and his colleagues have created the first fully functional programmable and reprogrammable quantum computer. This new device is made up of five qubits where each qubit is an ion or electrically charged particle ensnared in a magnetic field. And by the use of laser pulses, the researchers were able to develop the quantum algorithms.

Researchers are now working on the next step which is to shrink the system to make it more compact. Debnath added that they plan on refining the ion trap and the overall controls into the system including the delivery of lasers. Also, they are planning on tapping more qubits in the processor.
After Samsung unveiled its Galaxy Note 7, many tech experts have rushed to compare it with its rival, none other than Apple's iPhone 6S Plus.

According to Android Central, in the 2016 market Samsung and Apple smartphone brands are clearly differentiated. They come with different concepts of smartphone designs. The flagships Galaxy Note 7 and iPhone 6S Plus are the embodiment of two very different smartphone philosophies.

Samsung's Galaxy Note 7 comes with its curved panels, glass-backed designs, super-slim bezels, wireless charging and big batteries. Apple's iPhone 6S Plus is trying to do more with less. Its mobile device is a super-slim metal handset that comes with its own tightly controlled proprietary software and hardware.

For Apple's iPhone 6s Plus, concepts such as performance and ease of use are of top priority. However, as various reviews compare the Galaxy Note 7 and iPhone 6S Plus, most of the tech experts find Samsung's flagship device the winner when it comes to peformance and usability. This is not so surprising, considering that Apple's iPhone 6s Plus is now almost a year old.

According to Digital Trends, Samsung's newly unveiled Galaxy Note 7 is packed with top-of-the-line specs. While it shares lots of design concepts and internal hardware with the Galaxy S7 Edge, the Note 7 stands out by being Samsung's first flagship smartphone featuring an iris scanner and a USB Type-C charging port.

Still, it must be noted that It is difficult to compare an iPhone with the specs of an Android device. Many of the iPhone's hardware specs are optimized for iOS. For instance, Apple's device does not necessarily need 4 GB of RAM.

The Note 7 is powered by Snapdragon 820 processor, while Apple's iPhone 6s Plus is based on the A9 chip that the company self-designed especially for the iPhone line. This means that Apple's A9 is optimized far better for the device than Qualcomm's Snapdragon 820 is for the Note 7. However, in benchmark tests the Snapdragon 820 chip beat the A9 chip.

In terms of storage, the Note 7 comes with 64 GB and a MicroSD card slot that supports storage extension up to 256 GB. Apple's iPhone 6S Plus starts out with 16 GB and offers a 64 GB and 128 GB version. Unfortunately, the device does not come with MicroSD card slot for storage space extension.

Spec-wise, Samsung's newly unveiled Galaxy Note 7 has 4 GB or Ram beating out Apple's iPhone 6SPlus, which only has 2 GB of RAM. As for features, the iPhone 6s Plus comes with 3D Touch, while the Note 7 comes with the S Pen stylus. Still, thanks to the iris scanner, wireless and fast charging and IP68 water resistance, the Note 7 may beat out the latest iPhone in terms of features. Samsung's Galaxy Note 7 phablet also features a bigger battery.
Cubic Transportation Systems, the operator of Sydneys Opal card system, has awarded a US$33 million contract to the Miami-Dade Countys Department of Transportation and Public Works (DTPW) to modernise the Cubic-supplied EASY Card revenue management system.

Matt Newsome, senior vice-president and general manager, Cubic Transportation Systems, Americas, said the systems enhancement project provides a significant technology refresh and expansion of customer services at a fraction of the cost for a new system procurement.

The contract includes Cubics contactless bankcard and Near Field Communications (NFC) mobile open payment, as well as upgrades to fare terminals and the EASY Card back office to process account-based transactions for new and easy ways to pay.

Newsome says other updates under the modernisation programme will include upgrading and moving Cubics back office system to the cloud through collaboration with Microsoft, to take advantage of the Microsoft AzureTM cloud environment. The enhanced cloud platform, including the latest release of NextFare provides operational cost savings but also establishes the foundation for a broad range of new services and commercial partnerships.

The contract supports DTPWs programme to provide more payment options and a richer customer experience to its demographics, including regular commuters, occasional riders, tourists and visitors to the Miami area.

Newsome said the technology upgrades would complement and enhance the existing EASY Card system, delivered by Cubic in 2009 for the DTPW, that has average daily boardings of approximately 300,000 on its services.

Capabilities, innovation, service delivery improvements and cost savings are recurring goals of our revenue management solutions, reflecting our customers operational preferences, Newsome said.

The Department of Transportation and Public Works is taking advantage of both its previous investments and those Cubic has made in its NextCity suite of hardware and software platforms.

These platforms are designed to enable existing customers to extend the life of their systems while rapidly modernising their fare programs by embracing the latest in state-of-the art payment, security, and mobile technologies.
VMware, a global leader in cloud infrastructure and business mobility, has announced the appointment of Duncan Hewett to the post of senior vice-president and general manager to lead the VMware Asia Pacific & Japan business, effective 9 August.

Maurizio Carli, executive vice-president, Worldwide Sales, VMware, said Duncan is taking over at an exciting stage of VMwares growth in APJ, which is one of our best-performing geographical regions. A substantial opportunity lies ahead for VMware in this part of the world. Duncans rich experience in the software industry  as well as his deep understanding of the Asia Pacific markets  will help us take our APJ business to the next level.

Hewett has nearly 30 years of emerging market experience; most focused on Asia Pacific.

He joins VMware from IBM, where he most recently served as vice-president for IBM Software for Asia Pacific, leading a team of over 1800 people across sales, acquisition integration, subscription, and support, software support and software services.

At IBM, Hewett has played roles leading a team of 400 enterprise sales specialists spanning eight growth markets including South East Asia, India and South Asia, Greater China, South Korea, Australia/New Zealand, Central and Eastern Europe, Middle East and Africa, and Latin America.

Hewett began his career at IBM in 1987, working on large water-cooled mainframe systems, and eventually moved into the IBMs Data Systems division of customer service where he held some roles in engineering, finance, marketing and services management.

I am delighted to take on the challenge of driving continued VMware growth in APJ, said Hewett. Our top priority will be to help our customers accelerate enterprise digital transformation. We are well positioned in the region, and I am looking forward to leading the team to new heights in a region now regarded as one of VMwares growth engines.
Richard Fink brings more than 20 years high-level experience  13 with Telstra  as Samsung Electronics Australias new vice-president, IT and Mobile Division.

Fink replaces Prasad Gokhale and will assume responsibility for Samsungs Australian mobile and IT business including the consumer, enterprise and retail sectors, to deliver on the next stage of growth. The appointment is effective immediately.

He has 13 years experience within the telecommunications industry, working at Telstra in executive positions across marketing, category management, supply chain and retail operations. Most recently Fink was head of store transformation at Coles.

Samsung Australia president Harry Lee said: Richard has a track record of building success through business transformation. Todays competitive smartphone market requires innovative thinking. I believe his depth of experience and leadership qualities will add another dimension to our business to deliver ongoing success.

Commenting on his appointment, Fink said, I am pleased to be joining Samsung at such an exciting time for its IT and mobiles business. With the advent of virtual reality, wearable technology, and mobile payments, never before have mobile devices played a more central role in peoples lives. Samsung is at the very forefront of these innovations, which brings about huge opportunities for the business. I am looking forward to working with our customers, and the Samsung team, to continue the growth and success of the business in Australia.

And yes, I am sure he has heard all the "King is a fink" jokes.
Yahoo says it is aware that a stolen database was advertised on the dark web, but it would not confirm or deny that the records were real.

Our security team is working to determine the facts, the company said in an email.

A hacker who goes by the moniker peace_of_mind has offered the 200 million credentials on TheRealDeal dark web marketplace for three bitcoins  about $2500. He has previously sold login credentials for LinkedIn, MySpace, and Tumblr users.

He added that the database most likely comes from 2012. Copies of the stolen Yahoo! database have already been bought.

The website Motherboard stated that it had tried several email addresses from the stolen records and noticed that Yahoo!s login page recognised them and then asked for a password.

As it standard practice, all Yahoo! users must change passwords and logins. They should not use the same root name as used for other accounts.
The popular belief is that Android apps downloaded from Google Play are safe. That is why cybercriminals try so hard to compromise its integrity.

Hot on the heels of the discovery of at least eight fake, malicious apps on Google Play, ESET has found another  Prisma  a popular photo transformation app. Over 1.5 million copies were downloaded before it was pulled.

Prisma is a photo editor released by Prisma Labs. First released for iOS, it achieved excellent ratings among iTunes users. Android users were eager for it, and many couldnt wait to see it on Google Play where it was scheduled for release on 24 July.

Nick FitzGerald, ESETs senior research fellow, said, In the lead-up to the launch of an already popular app [on iOS], it is becoming increasingly common for fake versions to be put on the Google Play store to lure fans and leverage the wave of excitement around the product. By using misleading icons, app names, developer names and even fake reviews, the cyber criminals make money from displaying ads, fake clicks, money scams or ransomware, delivered to the victim via a downloader trojan.

Most of the fake Prisma apps found on Google Play didnt have any photo editing functionality. Instead, they only displayed ads or fake surveys, luring the user into providing their personal information or subscribing to fake and costly SMS services. Some had very basic photo editing functionality but mainly served the user a stream of pop-up ads or displayed scareware activity to persuade the user their device was infected with malware.

The most dangerous fake Prisma apps were the trojan downloaders detected by ESET as Android/TrojanDownloader.Agent.GY. Contrary to their counterparts with annoying ads and surveys, these trojans work behind the scenes hiding their icons from the device. They would send device information to their C&C server and on request, download additional modules and execute them.

When analysed in ESETs labs, the trojan downloaded and executed an additional module stealing sensitive information such as phone number, operator name, country name, language, etc. However, other downloaded modules may have included different functionality.

Among the five trojan downloaders discovered on Google Play, two have phishing functionality implemented which could probably be executed via the downloaded module. Displaying a fake request to update the devices operating system to Android 6.0, the user is lured into entering their Google account credentials into the fake login form.

Fitzgerald advises users to always follow these basic rules to protect your Android device from the growing volume of cyber security threats in the market:

Only ever make downloads from reputable sources.

Always check user reviews, paying particular attention to negative comments - keep in mind that positive ones may be fabricated.

Read the apps terms and conditions - focus on permissions.

Use a high-quality mobile security solution and ensure it is regularly updated.

Particularly when there is a hype around your desired app, consider:
Two officers  representatives of the Armed Forces of the Czech Republic and Romania  will work in the NATO Liaison Office in Ukraine on the program of bringing Ukrainian defense and security sector in line with the Alliance's standards, Chief of Staff of the Ukrainian Army Viktor Muzhenko has said.

"Both new NATO officials are familiar with the 'post-Soviet' defense system, have the experience of reforms in their own countries, so we expect constructive cooperation," Muzhenko wrote on his Facebook page on Friday morning after a meeting with Director of the NATO Liaison Office Alexander Vinnikov and the said officers.

He assured that he will make every effort so that by 2020 they should meet the NATO standards and achieve full interoperability with the forces of the Alliance.

As reported, Ukraine's President Petro Poroshenko said earlier that NATO's comprehensive assistance package for Ukraine needs to be implemented by 2020.

"The decisive actions of our partners have helped develop the document, which states that we can get access to as many assistance packages in as many areas as we are able to put into practical reforms that we have to complete, according to our strategic defense bulletin, in 2020 and fully bring the defense sector and the security sector to the NATO standards," Poroshenko said in a joint statement with Canada's Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in Kyiv on Monday.

He noted that Ukraine is the only country which is not a NATO member, but which has received such an aid package and had an opportunity to hold separate meetings of the NATO-Ukraine Commission at the summit in Wales in 2014 and in Poland in 2016.
Tom Corn is a security specialist working for a virtualisation specialist. He is senior vice-president of security products at VMware. Which makes his take on security virtually all that more interesting.

He is a Canadian, based in Palo Alto, California, after spending about 20 years on the east coast in Boston. Before VMware, he held executive positions at RSA (the security division of EMC), Mazu Networks, Nextline and more.

He has a B Sc in electrical and computer engineering from the University of Waterloo and an MBA from Harvard University. Which is a long way to say that his knowledge is up there.

Corns premise is that security needs to be architected into systems, not just a bolt-on. The rest of the interview is paraphrased.

'There is no greater learning experience like living through an advanced attack.'

Corn started the interview by relating his experience at RSA when in March 2011 its systems were compromised by a state-sponsored cyber-attack. China, I ask? I didn't press him to respond, but US Cyber Command commander and National Security Agency director General Keith Alexander said as much to the Senate Armed Services back in 2012.

The now famous hack was to obtain the code to RSAs SecureID two-actor authentication system used for most secure transactions. When we started to get odd signals going out over the Internet we knew something was wrong. The attack had come into our environment via an email from a contractor/outsourcer that had been compromised by the attackers. That email enabled the attackers to establish a foothold in the network, and from that position move laterally through the network mapping out the internal environment giving amazing visibility and access to the hackers.

Security is an unfair, asymmetric battle. Cyber criminals fire thousands of shots, but only one has to hit the target. On the other hand, organisations have to successfully defend against every one of those shots, taking major resources to do it.

There is no greater learning experience like living through an advanced attack. Its truly eye-opening to see how little visibility and control organisations have inside their environments (versus their perimeter) and how little compartmentalisation exists. It is also interesting to see how it impacts the normal functions of an organisation. All the companys resources get focused on it. Instead of selling  sales and executive teams are consumed with helping customers. Engineering and IT functions are focused on addressing technical responses. Most functions of the organisation get consumed by it.

'Traditional security sees issues like nails. You keep hammering until you nail it.'

Despite a record number of attacks worldwide, many of the approaches to security remain unchanged. Despite broad recognition that the perimeter is becoming less and less relevant  80% of security remains focused on preventing infiltration, rather than providing visibility and control to defend against propagation and exfiltration. To quote Raymond Maisano, VMware sales director for the software-defined data centre, Traditional security sees issues like nails. You keep hammering until you nail it.

It is astonishing to see how little compartmentalisation exists inside a typical corporate network. Once you are in most networks, you can move everywhere. Traditional perimeter security is like a guard protecting the front door of a building. They can stop every threat through that door, but they cant stop threats entering from the roof, via water, windows, etc. You know that 80% of security purchases are on perimeter security  it is one of the fastest growth areas but pales to insignificance when you look at corporate losses suffered.

'Security should be an architectural issue  not a bolt-on.'

At the heart of security is an architectural issue. Applications have increasingly become distributed services - and we have hundreds of them all sharing a common infrastructure. The changing nature of the infrastructure is also creating unprecedented complexity (IaaS, PaaS, BYOD, etc.).

Complexity is killing us  networks, servers, apps, the internet, cloud, hybrid and more have made it impossible to hammer every nail. No matter how many levels or layers of security you have, because you are building skyscrapers [more complex systems] on quicksand.

The commingling of distributed applications on a common infrastructure is at the heart of this problem. And complexity has grown rapidly. For example, Web servers, data servers, app servers and more are all related, especially where APIs (application programming interfaces) are used and the amazing growth of PaaS (platform as a service), IaaS (infrastructure as a service), and blurring boundaries via mobile, BYOD, and cloud. Every app has different permissions and security needs.

If we only had a data centre for each application, then perhaps we could do a good job security that  but that not how it is.

Corn started to talk about VMwares stance. We acquired Martin Casados Nicira Networks in August 2012. Nicira had pioneered a new approach to networking, called Network Virtualization. At that time analysts said that Nicira provided VMware with an Option on the future of networking.

Importantly that was the foundation of VMwares NSX network virtualisation platform, for the Software-Defined Data Centre launched in 2013.

With NSX you can reproduce in software your entire networking environment - logical switching, routing, firewalling, load balancing, VPN, QoS, and monitoring  independent of hardware. NSX is VMwares fastest growing product line. It has grown even faster than hypervisor did back in its time of hyper growth. It works on top of vSphere as well as KVM, and upcoming releases will extend it into the public cloud.

'We resisted going down the path of extolling NSXs Network Virtualization virtues but focused on Micro-segmentation and what that means to security.'

We can protect applications and services running in a virtual environment in a far more secure manner than in a physical environment. NSX allows the hardware layer to be abstracted from the networking and hardware layers and isolates apps from these attack vectors.

The world is going cloud, hybrid and distributed computing  and while we often hear about the security challenges of such change, it also holds tremendous promise for security. We can embed application-specific security into the hypervisor. Security policies travel with the workloads regardless of what it runs on or where it is.

The laws of physics are different in the virtual space. With NSX we can allocate only the resources, an app needs, we can connect it only to what it should connect to, we can improve the signal to noise ratio (false positives) and reduce the complexity of the environment. VMware uses the term micro-segmentation although it does not have a monopoly on the term. We can patrol a virtual boundary far easier than we can control a physical one.

Corns message was clear. Security in the physical world is hard because of the architectural gap between what were trying to protect (applications and data) and where we are trying to protect it from (networks and servers). Virtualization can give us that application-oriented lens into the infrastructure. It enables us to Architect security in as opposed to Bolting it on.

He does not think micro-segmentation will mean the end of the physical perimeter or endpoint security, but he sees micro-segmentation to compartmentalize our environment in a way that reduces the attack surface and improves the alignment of controls to the applications and data they are trying to protect.

Container, distributed, disaggregation of data centres, and new models of computing present special security needs. But new virtual infrastructures give us new, simpler ways to secure our environment. And its just the start of many big changes from the old bare metal days to cloud everywhere. Bottom line he says is we are still only scratching the surface in the virtual world. We need to move beyond simply asking how do we secure virtualization and start talking about how do we use virtualization to secure the things that matter. Of one thing he is certain; the solution is architected in  not bolted-on.

His parting message.

While VMware may not be a security company, if we execute well in this new journey, we may well become the most important company in security.
For Apple fans, August usually represents the summer doldrums, the dead time between June's annual Worldwide Developer's Conference (WWDC) and September - when Apple rolls out new iPhones, operating systems and other bits of hardware ahead of the holiday shopping season.

We know iOS 10 and macOS Sierra are on the way. But what else will be announced? No one outside Apple knows for sure. But there are plenty of hints, rumors, and educated guesses regarding Apple's fall plans. Let's read the mystical tea leaves and see what's likely on the way.

Apple

A new Apple Watch

First, the low hanging fruit: An updated Apple Watch is obvious, with hardware designed around the features announced at WWDC, including a faster processor and more RAM. We can expect this because watchOS 3 puts applications into memory during startup and leaves them there for faster launches -- addressing one of the complaints from early Apple Watch users about third-party application load times. Given that, in the past, every version of iOS has been tuned specifically for new hardware coming in the fall, it is logical expect the Watch will go the same route.

As for watchOS 3, which developers have now, I expect it to provide new exercise profiles for more accurate calorie counting (and I'm hoping it will fix the inaccurate heart rate measurements I've seen when doing strength training). I also expect expanded profile support for even more activities -- specifically tuned for certain motions. Among the possible additions: watch hardware that can measure swimming, which would mean reinforcement of the Watch itself to be more water resistant, with a touch screen that works when wet.

I also expect the next Watch to be much more independent of the iPhone, just as some iPad models offer iPad: WiFi + Cellular connectivity with built-in GPS. Apple execs may have tipped their hand when they revealed Find My Friends for Apple Watch. A function like Find My Friends could benefit from a GPS-enabled Watch because of how personal the device is; it is, after all, strapped to your wrist.

Another feature that would benefit from WiFi + cellular/GPS is the newly introduced SOS emergency call function. In concert with Find My Friends, the Watch with cellular connectivity could be a real life saver -- literally.

Additionally, with Continuity technologies like Handoff (which allows you to switch to another Apple device mid-task), iCloud syncing and other tricks Apple uses to connect devices, a standalone Apple Watch would become another discreet device in the Apple ecosystem. It would be linked to other devices, but not reliant on them.

Two issues need to be addressed for this to make sense.

First built-in cellular capabilities might require a data plan. As on the iPad, cellular could be optional -- but would Apple customers pay a monthly charge for the capability? (For the record, I would.)

Secondly, the biggest engineering trick would cramming that new hardware into a case no larger than the current Watch form factor, without cutting into battery life. New Apple products tend to maintain similar battery life as their predecessors, even as the hardware advances. So I expect a watch that lasts as long as the first version, even if it works as a more standalone device.

I have no doubt this is technically possible. But we won't know whether they make it into the Apple Watch 2 until this fall.

The next iPhone, now with Pencil support?

My iPhone expectations aren't dramatic; rumors abound already about colors -- from Space Black to Deep Blue; a dual-camera system; a revamped sound system more in line with the upgrade received by the iPad Pro lineup; and the much-debated disappearance of the headphone jack. (You may as well jump right to the comments section below and rant about this is if you really want to. Won't change anything, though.)

What I think is pretty much a given is support for the Apple Pencil. Additions to key system software apps like Messages and Notes allows scribbling of handwritten messages, so it makes sense that the next iPhone display is updated to support the Pencil features already found in the iPad Pros. I bet the next iPhone's display will be capable of detecting when the Pencil is near and cranking the display to double the normal input scans to 240 times a second. That would provide the same smooth drawing experience iPad Pro users already get.

It would also mean support for shading, pressure-sensitive drawing (for thinner or thicker lines, depending on the force applied), and advanced palm-rejection tech to avoid spurious input.

That new iPhone screen will also be, I hope, a True Tone Display. This might be wishful thinking, but having a display that automatically adjusts its white point and intensity based on the current lighting conditions would be great, especially since the technology works so well on the 9.7-in. iPad.

Although a lot of people see this year's iPhone as more of an incremental update -- with Apple saving its big revamp for next year's 10-year-anniversary edition -- I expect a lot of useful upgrades that add up to another success, regardless of whether the outer casing looks like the first Apple Watch.

Don't forget the Macs

When it comes the iMac and Apple's laptop line-up, I found the WWDC demo of Apple Pay on the Web noteworthy. As it was detailed in June, you can make a purchase on a website and if an Apple Pay option is available, choosing it will kick off the Continuity feature called Handoff. That allows you to complete the purchase on your Mac by scanning your fingerprint on your Touch ID-enabled iPhone.

In theory, this showcases the technical harmony of Apple's devices and highlights the company's ecosystem prowess. But I'm sure Apple also knows the whole set-up, as envisioned, is also kind of clunky. This will certainly work well enough for most Mac and iPhone users, but I bet Apple Pay on the web will work even better on new MacBook Pros that ship with built-in Touch ID support.

I don't think the arrival of Apple Pay on the web is a coincidence; and since Apple Pay is still expanding in coverage and usage, bringing more users the option and opportunities to use the new payment system makes a lot of sense. For that reason, I'm thinking the next generation of Macs -- especially the portable lineup -- will get Touch ID.

Oh, and while we're hoping, let's dream of a WiFi + cellular MacBook Pro; isn't it about time?

So there you have my educated guesses about which new features might/could/definitely will/probably won't be announced next month when Apple kicks off its Fall lineup (starting with the iPhone right after Labor Day, if history is a guide).

They say trying to predict the future is folly; I guess we'll see. I'll report back later this year with an I-told-you-so -- or a mea culpa.
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No Ukrainian troops were killed and two were wounded in Donbas in the past 24 hours, Andriy Lysenko, spokesman for the Ukrainian presidential administration, said.

"Fortunately, none of our servicemen were killed in action in the past 24 hours, but two troops were wounded," Lysenko told a briefing in Kyiv on Friday.
The comments of the U.S. presidential candidate of the Republican Party Donald Trump on the Russian-occupied Crimea send the wrong message to the world, Ukrainian Ambassador to the U.S. Valeriy Chaly has said.

Neglecting or trading the cause of an [American] nation inspired by those values [devotion to freedom and democracy]  cemented by Americans in their fight for independence and civil rights  would send a wrong message to the people of Ukraine and many others in the world who look to the U.S. as to a beacon of freedom and democracy, he wrote in the column of the American edition The Hill.

The ambassador said recent comments by Republican nominee Donald Trump about the Ukrainian peninsula of Crimea have raised serious concerns in Kyiv and beyond Ukraine.

Many in Ukraine are unsure what to think, since Trump's comments stand in sharp contrast to the Republican party platform. Since the Russian aggression, there has been bipartisan support for U.S. sanctions against Russia, and for such sanctions to remain in place until the territorial integrity of Ukraine is restored. Efforts to enhance Ukraine's defense capacity are supported across the aisle, as well, to ensure that Ukraine becomes strong enough to deter Russias aggression, the diplomat wrote.

According to him, such Trumps comments seem alien to a country seen by partners as a strong defender of democracy and international order.

Even if Trump's comments are only speculative, and do not really reflect a future foreign policy, they call for appeasement of an aggressor and support the violation of a sovereign country's territorial integrity and another's breach of international law. In the eyes of the world, such comments seem alien to a country seen by partners as a strong defender of democracy and international order, the ambassador wrote.

Chaly also reminded the U.S. was among the 100 nations which supported the U.N. resolution on "Territorial Integrity of Ukraine" not recognizing Russia's attempt to annex Crimea.
A group of investigators from the Prosecutor General's Office of Ukraine (PGO) on Friday appeared at the offices of the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) with a court-approved search warrant in a three-month case related to illegal wire-tapping, but NABU agents dissuaded them from carrying out the search, NABU's press service has said.

"PGO investigators are led by Dmytro Sus, the head of the PGO's division for investigating criminal matters in the area of state service and property. PGO investigators presented a court ruling as the basis of their search. The ruling was issued pursuant to a criminal case opened on April 22, 2016 and related to unauthorized wiretaps made by NABU agents of telephone conversations between suspects in a criminal investigation being conducted by the NABU," NABU's press statement on Friday says.

NABU agents presented PGO agents with documents proving the legality of NABU activities and explained that NABU was operating in accordance with the law and did not have the authority to tap phones independently and relied on Ukraine's State Security Service (SBU) to carry this task out. Therefore, the facts serving as the basis for the court-ordered search of NABU, just as the information entered into the unified register of pretrial investigations, did not correspond to reality.

"The criminal investigation started in April, immediately after NABU began actively discussing in public the issue of whether the NABU should be given the authority to conduct remote wiretaps. It laid on the bookshelf for three months and now, after the draft legislation has been prepared, agreed and tendered to parliament for debate, PGO agents have arrived at NABU with the search warrant. One more interesting fact  the article, according to which the given criminal case is classified, is not within the competence of the unit headed by Sus to investigate," NABU Director Artem Sytnyk said.

NABU's press service says that "as of 14:00 Kyiv time on August 5, PGO attempts to seize documents or search employee offices or any premises at NBU have not taken place."

NABU also says a special NABU police group was called into action during the attempt the conduct the search "with the aim to avoid possible provocations and to ensure order in the building."

"Some media reports that SBU's specialized Alpha unit was involved are untrue," NABU said.
The Prosecutor General's Office of Ukraine (PGO) attempted to search the premises of the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) within criminal proceedings on wiretapped conversations in a case involving a UAH 300 million sugar theft from state warehouses of the Agrarian Fund in Cherkasy region.

"The key suspect in these proceedings is Deputy Prosecutor of Kyiv region Oleksandr Kolesnyk detained by NABU officers on May 18, 2016 and put into custody under a May 20, 2016 court ruling on suspicion of a crime under Part 2 of Article 364 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine (abuse of authority or official position)," reads a posting on the website of the NABU.
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RALEIGH  Republican vice presidential candidate Mike Pence compared running mate Donald Trump to Ronald Reagan Thursday in his first solo campaign appearance in North Carolina.

Pence, the governor of Indiana, gave a speech and answered questions from an audience of about 300 people at the Duke Energy Center for the Performing Arts. He spent much of the speech praising Trump and criticizing opponent Hillary Clinton and President Barack Obama.

Not since Ronald Reagan in my lifetime has there been a man or woman at the national level who has heard the frustrations and the aspirations of the American people the way (Trump) does, Pence said. Hes distinctly American. He makes some of those people in Europe just crazy.

Pence addressed his running mates differing approach when he answered a question from 11-year-old Matthew Schricker of Raleigh, who wondered if softening up Mr. Trumps words would be his role in a Trump administration.

Sometimes things dont always come out like you mean, Pence said. We have different styles, you might have noticed that. Differences in style should never be confused with differences in conviction.

Matthew later said he was satisfied with the response. My concern was that he wasnt going full on with Trumps strong views, and I was a little worried that he was softening up, he said. A vocal person like Mr. Trump needs somebody to balance him out or else everythings going to get out of control.

Pence rebutted Obamas recent criticism of Trump, noting that the president had said the billionaire was woefully unprepared to do this job.

As Pence quoted the presidents critique, someone in the crowd shouted, Was he looking in the mirror?

This administration through its policies has weakened Americas place in the world, Pence said of Obama. Were still reeling this morning from the news that on the very week four American hostages were released, $400 million worth of cash was delivered to Iran. Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama essentially put a price tag on the head of every American traveling abroad.

During the question-and-answer session, the first audience member called on was N.C. Republican Party executive director Dallas Woodhouse. Woodhouse wanted to hear Pences thoughts on North Carolinas voter ID law after a federal appeals court panel struck it down.

The integrity of the vote is the foundation of the integrity of the democracy, Pence said, noting that the Supreme Court upheld Indianas voter ID law. I think we helped lead the nation in voter ID, and it has not been a barrier to access to the ballot place.

Pence also faced a question from Halifax County veteran Jean Reaves, who said shes opposed to privatizing Veterans Administration health care services. We need strong leadership in the VA just like we need it everywhere else, she said. We need the Congress to support changing some of the personnel rules so we can get rid of deadbeats that arent doing their job.

Pence said he supports Trumps 10-point plan for improving the VA, which includes allowing veterans to visit any facility that accepts Medicare.

We are going to make it possible for the veteran to go across the street and get that health care in a timely way, Pence said.

Pence praised his counterpart in North Carolina, Gov. Pat McCrory. North Carolina and Indiana are out there with the fastest growing economies in America, he said. Your good governor, Pat McCrory, needs to be re-elected.

Pence appeared with Trump in Winston-Salem last week. His appearance follows a rally Wednesday that featured Clintons running mate, Virginia Sen. Tim Kaine. And former President Bill Clinton is expected to campaign in the state today.
Kyiv Court of Appeals has decided to remain Valeriy Postny in custody, who is involved in gas embezzlement case of PJSC Ukrgazvydobuvannia, having increased the amount of bail up to UAH 250 million, Hromadske TV reports.

According to the court, if Postny or a third party will make a bail, then he must not leave Kyiv and wear an electronic bracelet.

Postny was once again taken to the court on a medical gurney due to poor state of health. The suspect demands the court allow him to finish his treatment.

As reported, Postny and another person involved in the scheme - Oleh Riaboshapka, are suspected of the involvement in a corruption scheme on the gas theft as a result of joint activities with Ukrgazvydobuvannia (Articles 191 and 255 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine), as well as money laundering obtained by criminal means (Article 209 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine).

On June 15, Director of the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine Artem Sytnyk said that in the investigation of power abuse by deputies and senior officials in the realization of gas produced under the joint activities with PJSC Ukrgazvydobuvannia in which an MP Oleksandr Onyschenko is a leader of the criminal group which set has been established. According to him, 10 out of 20 members of a criminal group were detained. The investigation activities are being conducted with them.

On June 18 Solomiansky district court of Kyiv arrested Postny for 60 days with the right to bail in the amount of UAH 1 million. A similar term of the arrest with the alternative bail in the amount of UAH 1.5 million was chosen by Solomiansky Court to Riaboshapka.

On June 22 Postny and Riaboshapka made appropriate bails and were released from the Lukianovsky detention center. However, NABU detectives detained the suspects again immediately after their release on bail. On June 23 they were notified of suspicion under Article 209 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine (the legalization  laundering - of incomes obtained by criminal means).
GREENSBORO  A man who has spent nearly 40 years on the FBIs Ten Most Wanted Fugitives list for his alleged involvement in an assassination attempt had his day in court Thursday after being caught in Reidsville last week.

William Claybourne Taylor, 67, waived his extradition to Florida in Guilford District Court.

Judge Jonathan Kreider told Taylor that he faces one count each of first-degree murder and aggravated battery for his alleged involvement in the failed 1977 assassination of the mayor of Williston, Fla., and the shooting death of a former official with the U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service.

Taylor, who has been living in Rockingham County under the assumed name James Jay Emmet Manion sat next to his attorney, Roger Rizo, in a red jumpsuit issued by the Guilford County jail, where he is being held without bail.

Taylor didnt speak during the hearing. He put his elbows on the table and folded his hands together without lacing his fingers. His fingers came to rest against his lips as he listened to the judge.

Kreider told Taylor he needed to appear in court again Aug. 18, unless Florida law enforcement officials come for him first.

FBI officials allege that on Jan. 8 1977, Taylor and an accomplice pulled alongside a vehicle occupied by the Williston mayor and an immigration official. Officials say Taylor shot and killed the immigration official but only wounded the mayor.

Three years later, a grand jury in Marion County, Fla., indicted Taylor for his alleged involvement in the shooting. Police arrested Taylor in Chattanooga, Tenn., but he posted $20,000 bail and was told to appear in court in Ocala, Fla. He never did.

A federal arrest warrant was taken out against Taylor for unlawful flight to avoid prosecution. Since then, FBI agents have been seeking Taylors whereabouts.

Last week, that search took them to an upscale neighborhood in Reidsville, near the towns country club. At the Manion house, Taylor admitted who he was and was arrested.

Taylor remained in the Guilford County jail until his court appearance.

As a bailiff led him out of the courtroom Thursday shouting could be heard in the hallway and a bailiff backed back into the courtroom. The commotion led Rizo and several others to turn around, but Rizo smiled at the judge.

Randy Powers, a spokesman for the Guilford County Sheriffs Office, said the shouting didnt come from Taylor. It came from a bailiff telling lawyers to move so they could walk Taylor through.

When you have someone charged with murder  you have that level of people going through the hall  you dont want anyone in the way, Powers said.
GREENSBORO  U.S. Rep. Mark Walker called for Attorney General Roy Cooper's resignation Thursday.

The reason? Walker said Cooper should help defend North Carolina's voter ID law.

"If you can't fulfill your obligation of the laws that have been enacted by representatives elected fairly by the people of North Carolina  both in the House and the Senate  who have passed these laws," Walker (R-Greensboro) said, "if you refuse to enforce them, then frankly, I think you should resign or go home."

Walker's call for Cooper to step down came at a news conference at Guilford County GOP headquarters less than a week after the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals struck down a North Carolina law that required voters to show identification prior to voting, eliminated same-day voter registration and reduced the number of days set for early voting. Judges from the appeals court said the law was racially biased.

Gov. Pat McCrory has vowed to fight against the appeals court decision.

Cooper is running on the Democratic ticket against the governor.

On Tuesday, Cooper's office confirmed that its lawyers won't keep appealing the state's voter ID law.

"If we can't trust Roy Cooper as attorney general of four terms, to uphold our laws on the books, can we really trust him to be our governor?" Walker asked.

McCrory was announced as a speaker at the Thursday news conference but did not appear. Walker Communications Director Jack Minor said he didn't know why the governor did not speak. "I'm honestly still trying to figure it out," Minor said.

During Walker's remarks, he touted McCrory's resume and criticized the attorney general.

"He's now entering, Roy Cooper that is, his fourth decade in politics," Walker said. "I was still in high school when he was first elected. After four terms as attorney general, there's not much of a docket."

Former 6th District Republican Chairman A.J. Daoud , who lost the Republican primary this year for Secretary of State, spoke during the press conference. He said as a former law enforcement officer he was "stymied" that he was allowed to detain someone for not having identification, but that identification wasn't needed to vote.

Daoud said he saw voter ID fraud firsthand in as a police officer in Florida.

Neither Walker or Daoud spoke specifically about voter ID fraud cases in North Carolina.

Both men stressed that defense of the state voter ID law is necessary, and should be the job of the attorney general.

"Because of Roy Cooper not doing his job we consequently have spent in excess of $8 million in excessive legal fees to defend what the will of the people and our legislators and governor have done."

Media reports recently showed that the General Assembly set aside $8 million over the next two years to pay outside attorneys to represent the state in lawsuits over disputed state laws.

"We are very blessed in this county to have a great sheriff Sheriff B.J. Barnes," Walker said. "Can you imagine if he chose to pick and choose what laws he wanted to choose to enforce. We would have nothing of it, yet our number one law enforcement elected official in the state does exactly that."

Walker said more than 30 states have some form of ID law.
Prosecutor General of Ukraine Yuriy Lutsenko claims that his officers were checking information related to wiretapping by the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine's (NABU) of a citizen who had nothing to do with criminal proceedings.

The person whose conversations by phone were illegally tapped by NABU agents "is not an official," Lutsenko said at a briefing in Kyiv.

A wiretapping request was filed by NABU, he said. Lutsenko noted it is important to clarify whether a bureau investigator was aware whether he was wiretapping a person not involved in the investigation.

Further, Lutsenko added that he had informed NABU chief Artem Sytnyk about the search at NABU the day before, on August 4. PGO agents came to the NABU office on August 5, as it was authorized by the court.

"Let me emphasize: as late as last night I got into touch with the NABU chief to inform him about this activity, as I consider joint activity with NABU's heads as collaboration of allied agencies striving to prevent violations of law in any manifestation, including by personnel from any law enforcement agency," Lutsenko said.
08/05/2016





Jacksonville State University is pleased to congratulate Dr. Tanveer Islam and his wife, Farzana Islam, both originally from Bangladesh, on becoming citizens of the United States of America on July 13, 2016 during an oath ceremony at the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) office in Atlanta.

Dr. Islam has been an assistant professor in the emergency management department at JSU for the past five years. He earned his Ph.D. From Texas Tech University, and his areas of expertise are hazard mitigation, vulnerability assessment, community resilience, social media and GIS applications. Because his areas of research (emergency management and disaster management) are national in scope and serve the interests of the United States as a whole, Islam was able to apply under the National Interest Waiver category to gain permanent residency and citizenship.

His wife, Farzana is also closely tied to JSU, as she is a graduate of the JSU Master of Public Administration program. Together, they have a daughter who was born as an American.

I can now call myself that too, explained Islam. This is one of my greatest achievements as I had to earn my citizenship and wont take this for granted.
TORONTO, ONTARIO--(Marketwired - Aug. 4, 2016) - Denison Mines Corp. ("Denison" or the "Company") (TSX:DML)(NYSE MKT:DNN) today filed its Consolidated Financial Statements and Management's Discussion & Analysis ("MD&A") for the period ended June 30, 2016. Both documents can be found on the Company's website at www.denisonmines.com or on SEDAR (at www.sedar.com) and EDGAR (at www.sec.gov/edgar.shtml). The highlights provided below are derived from these documents and should be read in conjunction with them. All amounts in this release are in U.S. dollars unless otherwise stated.

David Cates, President and CEO of Denison commented "Our team in Saskatchewan is busy in the field as part of our summer exploration and project evaluation programs. Already, results from the summer exploration program have reinforced the potential for both resource expansion and development at the Wheeler River project. We've extended the recently discovered D series lenses, discovered new basement-hosted mineralization 500 metres west of the Gryphon deposit, and confirmed high grade results previously reported for the Gryphon deposit with initial infill drilling.

The Company has also been very active outside of the exploration portfolio, launching an initial pre-feasibility study work program at Wheeler River, completing a flow-through equity financing, closing a transaction with GoviEx Uranium to combine uranium assets in Africa, and entering into an option agreement with Skyharbour Resources Ltd. to fund additional exploration on the Moore Lake property. While the uranium market may appear muted today, we continue to believe in the strong long term fundamentals of the nuclear energy industry, and we're focused on advancing our assets and positioning our brand to be ready to take advantage of a rising market in future years."

2016 SECOND QUARTER PERFORMANCE HIGHLIGHTS

Continued exploration success at the Wheeler River property

Initial results from the ongoing summer 2016 drilling program have included multiple new mineralized intercepts of the recently discovered D-series lenses, located immediately north of the main Gryphon deposit, and have extended the collective length of the lenses to over 200 metres along plunge. These lenses remain open to the northeast and southwest along plunge. The D-series lenses were first discovered on Section 5200 during the winter 2016 drilling program, and are a top priority for the summer 2016 drill program. The program kicked off in May 2016, and is expected to include approximately 28,000 metres of drilling. In addition to the continued success on the D-series lenses, exploration drilling on the K-West conductor, approximately 500 metres west of the Gryphon deposit, has discovered new basement-hosted mineralization, intersecting weak fracture-hosted uranium associated with significant structure and alteration. This intersection occurs on a different geological trend than the Gryphon deposit, but in a similar geological setting, and demonstrates the fertility of this relatively unexplored trend.

Initiation of Wheeler River pre-feasibility study

Denison initiated a work program to support the completion of a pre-feasibility study ("PFS") for the Wheeler River project and to ultimately advance the project another step towards production. Activities to date have included the launch of an infill drilling program at the Gryphon deposit, initiation of extensive geotechnical and hydrogeological data collection programs, commencement of engineering evaluations, retention of an Environment Manager, the initiation of environmental baseline data collection programs, as well as stakeholder consultations with local communities.

Successfully completed combination of African-based uranium interests with GoviEx Uranium Inc.

On June 10, 2016, GoviEx Uranium Inc. ("GoviEx") and Denison completed the combination of their respective African uranium mineral interests (the "Africa Transaction"). Concurrently, GoviEx completed a non-brokered equity financing on a private placement basis, in which Denison provided the lead order of approximately $500,000. Following the Africa Transaction and the concurrent financing, Denison held a total of 65,144,021 common shares of GoviEx or approximately 24.6% of GoviEx's issued and outstanding common shares.

Closed CAD$12.4 million private placement of flow-through shares to fund 2017 Canadian exploration

In May 2016, the Company completed a private placement offering of 15,127,805 common shares issued on a flow-through basis, at a price of CAD$0.82 per share, for aggregate proceeds to Denison of CAD$12,404,800.

Earned $2.4 million in toll milling revenue during first half of 2016 from McClean Lake

The McClean Lake mill, in which Denison holds a 22.5% interest, packaged approximately 8.6 million pounds U 3 O 8 during the first half of 2016, for the Cigar Lake Joint Venture ("CLJV"), generating toll milling revenues for Denison of $2.4 million. The Cigar Lake mine's expected annual production for 2016 is 16 million pounds.

Received approval for annual production of up to 24 million pounds U 3 O 8 per year at the McClean Lake mill

The Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission ("CNSC") has authorized an increase to the annual rate of production at the McClean Lake mill, from 13 million pounds U 3 O 8 to up to 24 million pounds U 3 O 8 per year. The regulatory approval supports a progressive ramp-up of the mill in line with the Cigar Lake mine's expected annual production of up to 18 million pounds U 3 O 8 per year starting 2017.

Entered into an agreement to option Moore Lake property to Skyharbour for cash and stock

In July 2016, Denison executed an agreement with Skyharbour Resources Ltd. ("Skyharbour") that grants Skyharbour an option to acquire 100% interest in Denison's 100% owned Moore Lake property, in exchange for 4,500,000 common shares of Skyharbour and cash payments totaling CAD$500,000 over the next five years. Skyharbour also agreed to spend CAD$3,500,000 on exploration at the Moore Lake property over the next five years and to grant Denison various back-in rights to re-acquire a 51% interest in the property.

ABOUT DENISON

Denison is a uranium development and exploration company focused in the infrastructure rich eastern portion of the Athabasca Basin region in northern Saskatchewan, Canada. Highlighted by its 60% owned Wheeler River development project, which hosts the high grade Gryphon and Phoenix uranium deposits, Denison's project portfolio covers over 350,000 hectares and includes a 22.5% interest in the McClean Lake uranium mill, which is permitted for annual production of up to 24 million pounds U3O8 and is currently processing ore from the Cigar Lake mine under a toll milling agreement. Denison's interests in the eastern Athabasca Basin also include a 61.55% interest in the J Zone deposit on the Waterbury Lake property, a 25.17% interest in the Midwest deposit, and a 22.5% interest in the McClean lake uranium deposits - all of which are located within 20 kilometres of the McClean Lake mill.

Denison is also engaged in mine decommissioning and environmental services through its Denison Environmental Services division and is the manager of Uranium Participation Corp., a publicly traded company which invests in uranium oxide and uranium hexafluoride.

EXPLORATION AND EVALUATION

The Company's continued focus remains on the eastern portion of the Athabasca Basin region in Saskatchewan, Canada, with a significant portfolio of projects covering over 350,000 hectares in total. Denison's share of exploration and evaluation expenditures were $2,126,000 during the three months ended June 30, 2016.

Wheeler River Project

The Wheeler River property is host to the high-grade Phoenix and Gryphon uranium deposits, discovered by Denison in 2008 and 2014 respectively. The Phoenix deposit is estimated to include an indicated resource of 70.2 million pounds U 3 O 8 (above a cut-off grade of 0.8% U 3 O 8 ) based on 166,000 tonnes of mineralization at an average grade of 19.1% U 3 O 8 , and is the highest grade undeveloped uranium deposit in the world. The Gryphon deposit is hosted in basement rock, approximately 3 kilometres to the northwest of Phoenix, and is estimated to contain inferred resources of 43.0 million pounds U 3 O 8 (above a cut-off grade of 0.2% U 3 O 8 ) based on 834,000 tonnes of mineralization at an average grade of 2.3% U 3 O 8 .

Further details regarding the Wheeler River Project are provided in the current Technical Report, dated March 31, 2016, a copy of which is available on SEDAR and EDGAR.

Exploration Programs

Denison's share of exploration costs at Wheeler River amounted to $897,000 during the three months ended June 30, 2016. The summer exploration program began on May 30, 2016, and is expected to continue into September 2016.

Gryphon Deposit Expansion Potential

During the winter 2016 drill program a new mineralized zone was discovered within 200 metres north and northwest of the Gryphon deposit. The new zone of mineralization is interpreted to occur as another set of stacked, parallel lenses which are broadly conformable with the Gryphon deposit A, B and C lenses. The lenses, designated the D series lenses, have not been included in the Mineral Resource Estimate Report dated November 25, 2015, or the PEA dated March 31, 2016, and form a compelling mineralized zone for resource expansion, with assay highlights announced on May 26, 2016 including 5.3% U 3 O 8 over 11.0 metres, 11.9% U 3 O 8 over 1.5 metres, 2.9% U 3 O 8 over 6.0 metres, 2.3% U 3 O 8 over 4.0 metres and 6.2% U 3 O 8 over 2.5 metres.

To date, the D Series mineralization is interpreted to occur as 16 individual lenses which occur deeper into the stratigraphic sequence, or footwall, to the Gryphon deposit. The collective D series lenses currently measure (including initial summer 2016 results) approximately 215 metres long in the plunge direction, 130 metres wide across the plunge and range in thickness from 2 to 11 metres. By comparison the Gryphon deposit A, B and C lenses collectively measure 450 metres long in the plunge direction, 80 metres wide across the plunge and range in thickness from 2 to 9 metres.

Three priority 'D Series' target areas were identified for drill testing this summer as follows:

Between the newly defined D series lenses (Section 5200GP and 5150GP) and the previously identified D series lenses (Section 5100GP and 5050GP), which occur approximately 100 metres up plunge to the southwest, and were intersected in 2014 but were not included in the Mineral Resource Estimate Report dated November 25, 2015 for the Gryphon deposit, due to insufficient drilling at the time; Up plunge and along strike to the southwest of the D series lenses identified in 2014 (Section 5100GP and 5050GP), roughly parallel to the Gryphon deposit - which extends approximately 250 metres in this direction. Down plunge and along strike to the northeast of the newly delineated D series lenses (Section 5200GP and 5150GP).

The highlights for the summer 2016 drill program, to the end of June 2016, are provided in the table below.

Highlights of mineralized intersections from summer 2016 on

Section 5100 GP, 5250 GP and 5300 GP Section Drill Hole From (m) To (m) Length

(m)(3) eU 3 O 8 (%)

(1)(2) 5100GP WR-665 683.1 685.6 2.5 0.11 and 692.3 693.7 1.4 0.15 and 717.3 722.7 5.4 0.10 5250GP WR-657 550.9 551.9 1.0 0.10 and 629.3 630.3 1.0 0.18 and 698.0 700.1 2.1 0.39 and 711.7 712.9 1.2 0.68 WR-661 554.0 555.0 1.0 0.27 and 694.4 695.5 1.1 1.5 5300 GP WR-667A 572.2 573.3 1.1 0.28 and 688.8 689.8 1.0 0.42

eU 3 O 8 is radiometric equivalent uranium from a calibrated total gamma down-hole probe. All intersections will be sampled for chemical U 3 O 8 assay Intersection interval is composited above a cut-off grade of 0.05% eU 3 O 8. Composites compiled using 1.0 metre minimum ore thickness and 2.0 metres maximum waste As the drill holes are oriented steeply toward the northwest and the basement mineralization is interpreted to dip moderately to the southeast, the true thickness of the mineralization is expected to be approximately 75% of the intersection lengths

New Intersection of Mineralization at K-West

Drill hole WR-663, which is located 500 metres to the west of the Gryphon deposit, was designed to test basement potential on the largely unexplored K-West conductive trend. The drill hole intersected basement-hosted mineralization including 0.039% eU 3 O 8 over 1.1 metres, 0.04% eU 3 O 8 over 2.0 metres and 0.021% eU 3 O 8 over 5.2 metres (using a 0.01% eU 3 O 8 cut-off and 0.5 metre minimum thickness). Although no high-grade mineralization was intersected, the intensity and extent of the alteration zone, with an estimated true thickness of approximately 50 metres, indicate significant fluid flow with potential for higher grades along strike, and up- and down-dip. The zone is mostly open within the basement and, given the close proximity to Gryphon and similar favorable geological setting, follow up is warranted.

As the drill hole was oriented steeply toward the northwest and the basement mineralization is interpreted to dip moderately to the southeast, the true thickness of the mineralization is expected to be approximately 75% of the intersection lengths. The results are reported as radiometric equivalent U 3 O 8 ("eU 3 O 8 ") derived from a calibrated total gamma down-hole probe using a cut-off of 0.1% eU 3 O 8 , a minimum mineralization thickness of 1.0 metre and maximum waste of 2.0 metres. All mineralized intersections will be sampled for chemical U 3 O 8 assay.

Illustrative Figure

A plan map of the northeast plunging Gryphon deposit mineralized lenses is provided in Figure 1. The map indicates the location of the D series lenses interpreted from winter 2016 drilling results, the summer 2016 mineralized intercepts shown as red stars and the K-West mineralized intercepts shown as green stars. The simplified basement geology at the sub-Athabasca unconformity is provided as the backdrop.

Gryphon Infill Drilling Program

An infill drilling program commenced on the Gryphon deposit in early July 2016. The objective of the infill drilling program is to increase the level of confidence of the previously released inferred resources estimated for the Gryphon deposit to an indicated level - an important step in completing the PFS. The resource estimate for the Gryphon deposit includes the A, B and C series lenses - a set of parallel, stacked, elongated mineralized lenses that are broadly conformable with the basement geology and dip moderately to the southeast and plunge moderately to the northeast.

Results from the first infill drill hole WR-668, as announced on July 19, 2016, intersected 0.93% eU 3 O 8 over 14.1 metres (including 2.1% eU 3 O 8 over 3.7 metres and 1.4% eU 3 O 8 over 1.3 metres) from 754.7 to 768.8 metres, and 2.4% eU 3 O 8 over 7.3 metres (including 3.7% eU 3 O 8 over 4.5 metres) from 772.6 to 779.9 metres, which reinforces the high grade results previously reported for the Gryphon deposit. The results can be correlated with previous intersections of the A, B and C lenses in neighbouring holes and the high grades were consistent with previous results, demonstrating good lens and grade continuity. As the drill hole was oriented steeply toward the northwest, consistent with previous Gryphon drill holes, and the basement mineralization is interpreted to dip moderately to the southeast, the true thickness of the mineralization is expected to be approximately 75% of the intersection lengths. The results are reported as radiometric equivalent U 3 O 8 ("eU 3 O 8 ") derived from a calibrated total gamma down-hole probe using a cut-off of 0.1% eU 3 O 8 , a minimum mineralization thickness of 1.0 metre and maximum waste of 2.0 metres. All mineralized intersections will be sampled for chemical U 3 O 8 assay.

Evaluation Program

During the three months ended June 30, 2016, Denison's share of evaluation costs at Wheeler River amounted to $39,000, and were mainly related to the internal evaluation, field investigations and engineering studies completed for the Preliminary Economic Assessment ("PEA") released early in the second quarter, and the initiation of PFS activities.

PEA Results

The results of the PEA were announced by the Company on April 4, 2016 and included a base case pre-tax Internal Rate of Return ("IRR") of 20.4%, an indicative post-tax IRR to Denison of 17.8%, and a pre-tax Net Present Value ("NPV") of CAD$513 million (Denison's share - CAD$308 million), based on a long term contract price for uranium of $44 per pound U 3 O 8 . The PEA also included a production scenario based on a uranium price of $62.60 per pound U 3 O 8 , resulting in a pre-tax IRR of 34.1% and a pre-tax NPV of CAD$1,420 million (Denison's share - CAD$852 million).

The PEA is preliminary in nature and includes inferred mineral resources that are considered too speculative geologically to have the economic considerations applied to them to be categorized as mineral reserves, and there is no certainty that the PEA will be realized. Mineral resources are not mineral reserves and do not have demonstrated economic viability. Additional definition drilling is required to improve the confidence in the existing mineral resources estimated for the Gryphon deposit, and is expected to be completed as the Company advances the project towards the completion of a PFS. The PEA is posted on the Company's website and is available on SEDAR and EDGAR.

PFS Activities

In the second quarter of 2016, Denison initiated a work program to support the completion of a PFS for the Wheeler River project and to ultimately advance the project a further step towards production. Initial PFS activities to date included:

Launch of an infill drilling program for the Gryphon deposit;

Initiation of extensive geotechnical and hydrogeological data collection programs to support mine designs, water treatment designs and environmental assessments;

Commencement of engineering evaluations for shaft sinking and mine designs;

Retention of Pam Bennett as Environment Manager, responsible for the preparation of the Environmental Impact Assessment ("EIA") for the project. Pam comes to Denison with an M.Sc in Environmental Toxicology and is a registered Professional Biologist (P. Biol). Pam has over 15 years of international experience in the environmental sciences field, including experience with both Cameco Corp. ("Cameco") and AREVA Resources Canada Inc. ("ARC") on EIAs for uranium projects in Saskatchewan;

Initiation of environmental baseline data collection programs (archeological, terrestrial, aquatic) required to support project designs and environmental assessments; and

Initiation of stakeholder consultations with local communities.

Exploration Pipeline Properties

During the second quarter of 2016, the Company managed or participated in three other exploration drilling programs (two of which were operated by Denison). Highlights include the following:

At Waterbury Lake (Denison 61.55% interest and operator), six holes drilled in the second quarter successfully intersected graphitic pelites, faulting and associated alteration in the Oban target area. Potential exists along strike and follow-up drilling in this area is expected to be planned once the geochemical assay results have been received.

At Turkey Lake (Denison 100% interest), three holes were drilled to test a soil uranium anomaly and coincident electromagnetic conductors. As expected, no Athabasca sandstone was encountered and basement lithologies comprised predominantly granites or pelitic gneisses. The highly anomalous soil uranium results were attributed to pegmatites with highly elevated radioactivity. An additional hole intersected favourable graphitic faults in the basement, but lacked alteration and radioactivity. Follow-up along strike may be warranted.

At Mann Lake (Denison 30% interest), a three hole program was completed. One hole intersected weak uranium mineralization. The other two holes intersected significant structure and alteration in the lower sandstone associated with an unconformity offset related to the GC fault.

SELECTED ANNUAL FINANCIAL INFORMATION

(in thousands) As at

June 30,

2016 As at

December 31,

2015 Financial Position of Continuing Operations: Cash and cash equivalents $ 17,835 $ 5,367 Debt Instruments (GICs) - 7,282 Cash, cash equivalents debt instruments $ 17,835 $ 12,649 Working capital $ 14,201 $ 12,772 Property, plant and equipment $ 194,554 $ 188,250 Total assets $ 229,044 $ 212,758 Total long-term liabilities $ 39,581 $ 38,125

Three Months Ended Six Months Ended

(in thousands, except for per share amounts) June 30,

2016 June 30,

2015 June 30,

2016 June 30,

2015 Results of Continuing Operations: Total revenues $ 3,663 $ 2,929 $ 6,993 $ 5,257 Net loss $ (3,832) $ (3,982) $ (8,277) $ (7,835) Basic and diluted loss per share $ (0.01) $ (0.01) $ (0.02) $ (0.02)

RESULTS OF CONTINUING OPERATIONS

Revenues

During the first half of 2016, the McClean Lake mill packaged approximately 8.6 million pounds U 3 O 8 for the CLJV and the Company's share of toll milling revenue during the three months ended June 30, 2016 totaled $1,147,000.

Revenue from Denison Environmental Services ("DES") and the Company's management services agreement with UPC during the three months ended June 30, 2016, were $2,144,000 and $372,000, respectively.

Operating expenses

Operating expenses in the Canadian mining segment include depreciation, mining and other development costs, as well as standby costs. Operating expenses during the three months ended June 30, 2016 were $800,000 including $583,000 of depreciation from the McClean Lake mill, associated with the processing of U 3 O 8 for the CLJV.

Operating expenses in DES during the three months ended June 30, 2016 totaled $1,830,000. The expenses relate primarily to care and maintenance and consulting services provided to clients and include labour costs.

General and administrative expenses

Total general and administrative expenses were $1,227,000 during the three months ended June 30, 2016. These costs are mainly comprised of head office salaries and benefits, office costs, audit and regulatory costs, legal fees, investor relations expenses, project costs and other costs related to operating a public company with listings in Canada and the United States.

Impairment of mineral properties

During the second quarter of 2016, the Company recognized an impairment of $2,174,000 against the value of its Moore Lake property.

RESULTS OF DISCONTINUED OPERATIONS

Loss on sale of African-Based Uranium Interests

During the second quarter of 2016, the Company recognized a loss on disposal of the Africa mining division of $70,000, which includes $637,000 of cumulative foreign currency losses recognized as translational foreign exchange losses in the period of disposal. The total consideration received on the disposal amounted to $4,978,000 at fair value and includes the fair value of the GoviEx shares received of $3,954,000, the fair value of GoviEx warrants received of $1,162,000 and offset by transaction costs of $138,000.

Sale of Mongolian Mining division

On July 22, 2016, the Mineral Resources Authority of Mongolia ("MRAM") issued mining licenses to the Gurvan Saihan Joint Venture ("GSJV") for the Hairhan, Haraat, Gurvan Saihan and Ulzit projects. The GSJV was acquired by Uranium Industry as part of the November 30, 2015 sale of the Mongolia Mining Division. Under the licensing process, the GSJV has ten working days from the license issuance date to remit the required first year mining license fees to the Mongolian Government in order to receive the mining certificates required as proof of holding mining licenses in Mongolia. In accordance with the sale agreement with Uranium Industry, certain contingent payments are due to Denison within 60 days of the issuance of a mining license.

No expenditures were incurred in the Mongolian Mining division in the quarter.

LIQUIDITY AND CAPITAL RESOURCES

Cash and cash equivalents were $17,835,000 at June 30, 2016. The Company holds the large majority of its cash, cash equivalents and investments in Canadian Dollars. As at June 30, 2016, the Company's cash, cash equivalents and current investments amount to CAD$23.0 million. The Company's CAD$24 million credit facility is fully utilized for non-financial letters of credit in relation to future decommissioning and reclamation plans. The facility contains a covenant that requires the Company to maintain a minimum cash balance of CAD$5 million on deposit with the Bank of Nova Scotia.

OUTLOOK FOR 2016

The Company's Outlook for 2016 remains largely unchanged, except for the expected revenues from the sale of uranium inventory, exploration and evaluation expenditures planned in Canada, and the plans for Africa, each of which has been modified for the remainder of the year and incorporated into the Company's current Outlook.

(in thousands) 2016

BUDGET 2016

OUTLOOK Actual to

June 30,

2016 Canada (1) Toll Milling Revenue & Mineral Sales $ 5,440 $ 4,540 $ 2,330 Development & Operations (2,400) (2,400) (720) Mineral Property Exploration & Evaluation (13,000) (12,000) (7,150) (9,960) (9,860) (5,540) Africa Zambia, Mali and Namibia (1,290) (520) (520) (1,290) (520) (520) Other (1) UPC Management Services 1,530 1,530 670 DES Environmental Services 920 920 570 Corporate Administration & Other (4,250) (4,250) (2,340) (1,800) (1,800) (1,100) Total $ (13,050) $ (12,180) $ (7,160)

Budget figures have been converted using a US$ to CAD$ exchange rate of 1.30. The Company budgets on a cash basis. As a result, actual amounts represent a non-GAAP measure and exclude non-cash depreciation and amortization amounts of $1,560,000.

The sale of approximately 25,000 pounds U 3 O 8 , currently held by Denison in inventory, has been deferred until market conditions improve.

The 2016 outlook for Canadian exploration program, inclusive of the evaluation work planned for Wheeler River, has been updated to reflect a reduction in winter exploration activities actually completed during the first half of the year.

In June 2016, Denison announced the completion of the Africa Transaction to sell its African assets to GoviEx. The current outlook reflects the activities completed during the first half of the year. No additional expense are expected in relation to the African assets during the remainder of the year.

Qualified Person

The disclosure regarding the PEA was reviewed and approved by Peter Longo, P. Eng, MBA, PMP, Denison's Vice-President, Project Development, who is a Qualified Person in accordance with the requirements of NI 43-101. The balance of the disclosure of scientific and technical information regarding Denison's properties in this press release and the MD&A was prepared by or reviewed and approved by Dale Verran, MSc, Pr.Sci.Nat., the Company's Vice President, Exploration, a Qualified Person in accordance with the requirements of NI 43-101. For a description of the data verification, assay procedures and the quality assurance program and quality control measures applied by Denison, please see Denison's Annual Information Form dated March 24, 2016 available under Denison's profile on SEDAR at www.sedar.com, and its Form 40-F available on EDGAR at www.sec.gov/edgar.shtml.

Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

Certain information contained in this press release constitutes "forward-looking information", within the meaning of the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and similar Canadian legislation concerning the business, operations and financial performance and condition of Denison.

Generally, these forward-looking statements can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as "plans", "expects", "budget", "scheduled", "estimates", "forecasts", "intends", "anticipates", or "believes", or the negatives and/or variations of such words and phrases, or state that certain actions, events or results "may", "could", "would", "might" or "will be taken", "occur", "be achieved" or "has the potential to". In particular, this press release contains forward-looking information pertaining to the following: the likelihood of completing and benefits to be derived from corporate transactions; the results of the PEA and expectations regarding further studies, including the PFS; expectations regarding the toll milling of Cigar Lake ores; expectations regarding revenues and expenditure from operations at DES; capital expenditure programs, estimated exploration and development expenditures and reclamation costs and Denison's share of same; expectations of market prices and costs; supply and demand for uranium; and exploration, development and expansion plans and objectives and statements regarding anticipated budgets. Statements relating to "mineral reserves" or "mineral resources" are deemed to be forward-looking information, as they involve the implied assessment, based on certain estimates and assumptions that the mineral reserves and mineral resources described can be profitably produced in the future.

Forward looking statements are based on the opinions and estimates of management as of the date such statements are made, and they are subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause the actual results, level of activity, performance or achievements of Denison to be materially different from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Denison believes that the expectations reflected in this forward-looking information are reasonable but no assurance can be given that these expectations will prove to be accurate and may differ materially from those anticipated in this forward looking information. For a discussion in respect of risks and other factors that could influence forward-looking events, please refer to the factors discussed in Denison's Annual Information Form dated March 24, 2016 under the heading "Risk Factors". These factors are not, and should not be construed as being exhaustive. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements.

The forward-looking information contained in this press release is expressly qualified by this cautionary statement. Any forward-looking information and the assumptions made with respect thereto speaks only as of the date of this press release. Denison does not undertake any obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking information after the date of this press release to conform such information to actual results or to changes in Denison's expectations except as otherwise required by applicable legislation.

Cautionary Note to United States Investors Concerning Estimates of Measured, Indicated and Inferred Mineral Resources: This press release may use the terms "measured", "indicated" and "inferred" mineral resources. United States investors are advised that while such terms are recognized and required by Canadian regulations, the United States Securities and Exchange Commission does not recognize them. "Inferred mineral resources" have a great amount of uncertainty as to their existence, and as to their economic and legal feasibility. It cannot be assumed that all or any part of an inferred mineral resource will ever be upgraded to a higher category. Under Canadian rules, estimates of inferred mineral resources may not form the basis of feasibility or other economic studies. United States investors are cautioned not to assume that all or any part of measured or indicated mineral resources will ever be converted into mineral reserves. United States investors are also cautioned not to assume that all or any part of an inferred mineral resource exists, or is economically or legally mineable.

FIGURE 1- Wheeler River Property Map and Basement Geology


MONTREAL, Aug. 4, 2016 /CNW Telbec/ - ALGOLD RESOURCES LTD. (TSXV: ALG  the "Corporation") is pleased to report that a technical report, prepared in accordance with National Instrument 43-101 ("NI 43-101"), has been filed for its Tijirit gold deposit in Mauritania (the "Report").

The Report supports the disclosure made by the Company in its news release issued on June 21, 2016 entitled "Algold to File Maiden Mineral Resource Estimate for its Tijirit Gold Project in Mauritania". There are no material differences between the mineral resources contained in the Report and those disclosed in the Corporation's news release dated June 21, 2016.

The Report dated August 4, 2016 is entitled "Tijirit Property NI 43-101 Technical Report with Resource Estimate, Tijirit, Mauritania", and was prepared by independent "Qualified Persons" (as defined in NI 43-101) under the direction of Yann Camus, P.Eng., SGS Geostat, Blainville, Canada. The Report is available for review on both SEDAR (www.sedar.com) and on the Corporation's website (www.algold.com).

The scientific and technical content and interpretations contained in this news release have been reviewed, verified and approved by Andre Ciesielski, P.Geo., D.Sc., Lead Consulting Geologist, and Alastair Gallaugher, C.Geo. (Chartered Geologist and Fellow of the Geological Society of London), BSc. Geology, Algold's Exploration Manager in Mauritania, both Qualified Persons as defined by NI 43-101 Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects.

The resource estimate, based on data available as of June 15th, 2016, and finalised on June 20th, was prepared using results from 294 reverse circulation ("RC") holes totalling 37,533 meters, 23 diamond drill ("DDH") holes totalling 3,813.08 meters and 16,239 meters of trenching carried out on the property by past operators Shield Mining and Gryphon Minerals from 2009 to 2012.

None of Algold's recent exploration work, the 10,000-meter RC program included, has been taken into account in the Report. Algold expects to publish an updated NI 43-101 resource estimate in the latter part of 2016 that will include results from the recent exploration programs.

About Algold

Algold Resources Ltd. is focused on the exploration and development of gold deposits in West Africa. The board of directors and management team are seasoned industry professionals with extensive experience in the exploration and development of world-class gold projects in Africa.

Algold is the operator of all of its exploration licenses in Mauritania. Algold owns 100% of the Tijirit and Akjout properties, which were acquired from Gryphon Minerals (Australia) through a transaction completed earlier in 2016. Algold owns 90% of the Kneivissat property, while the Legouessi property is being managed through a 51% earn-in interest agreement with Caracal (Electrum Group Companies). Algold can earn up to a 90% interest in the Legouessi exploration permit (reference Algold's press release dated October 10, 2013 for more details), however, Caracal has the right to participate in the joint venture at either 51% or 75%, by funding its share of expenditures.

CAUTIONARY LANGUAGE REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING INFORMATION

This news release contains and refers to forward-looking information based on current expectations. All other statements other than statements of historical fact included in this release are forward looking statements (or forward-looking information). The Corporation's plans involve various estimates and assumptions and its business is subject to various risks and uncertainties. For more details on these estimates, assumptions, risks and uncertainties, see the Corporation's most recent Annual Information Form and most recent Management Discussion and Analysis on file with the Canadian provincial securities regulatory authorities on SEDAR at www.sedar.com. These forward looking statements are made as of the date hereof and there can be no assurance that such statements will prove to be accurate, such statements are subject to significant risks and uncertainties, and actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements that are included herein, except in accordance with applicable securities laws.

SOURCE Algold Resources Ltd.
TORONTO, ONTARIO--(Marketwired - Aug. 4, 2016) - Kirkland Lake Gold Inc. (TSX:KGI) -

H1 and Q2 2016 Highlights

Pre-released gold production of 130,613 ounces (68,338 in Q2/16);

Sold 141,453 ounces of gold (72,144 ounces in Q2/16);

Realized an average price per ounce of gold sold of US$1,211 (US$1,271 in Q2/16);

Operating costs per ounce of gold sold (1) of US$641 (based on total production expenses (1) of C$159,482) (US$667 based on total production expenses (1) of C$81,740 during Q2/16);

of US$641 (based on total production expenses of C$159,482) (US$667 based on total production expenses of C$81,740 during Q2/16); All-in sustaining costs per ounce of gold sold (1) ("AISC") of US$925 (US$990 in Q2/16);

("AISC") of US$925 (US$990 in Q2/16); Generated $227.9 million in revenue ($118.1 million in Q2/16);

Realized net and comprehensive income of $26.3 million ($13.8 million in Q2/16) and $26.6million ($14.0 million in Q2/16) respectively, or $0.24 per share ($0.12 per share in Q2/16);

Generated free cash flow (1) of $57.3 million ($31.9 million in Q2/16);

of $57.3 million ($31.9 million in Q2/16); Ended the quarter with a cash balance of $157.5 million;

Subsequent to quarter end, closed a flow-through financing for proceeds of $15 million;

The Company remains on track to meet its production guidance of between 270,000 to 290,000 ounces for 2016.

Kirkland Lake Gold Inc. ("Kirkland Lake Gold" or the "Company"), an intermediate gold producer with operations in Ontario, Canada, today announces second quarter financial results for the three ("Q2/16") and six months ("H1/16") ended June 30, 2016. All figures in this release are in Canadian dollars unless stated otherwise.

"Kirkland Lake delivered another quarter with positive earnings, free cash flow and a strengthened balance sheet," said Anthony Makuch, President & CEO. "With the recently closed flow-through financing of $15 million, we will become more aggressive in exploring our highly prospective land position in both the Kirkland Lake camp and along the Porcupine-Destor Fault Zone. We look forward to providing an update on our exploration programs as they become available."

Financial Summary

The Company changed its fiscal year from an April 30th year-end to a December 31st calendar year end effective January 1, 2016. As such, for comparative purposes, the current quarter results will be compared to a similar period in the previous year (see table below). The Company also reminds readers that since Q1/16, all measurements are in metric as opposed to its previous form of imperial measurements. The conversions are 1 short ton = 0.9072 tonnes; and 1 troy ounce per ton = 34.2857 grams per metric tonne ("g/t").

The following abbreviations are used to describe the periods under review throughout this press release.

Abbreviation Period Abbreviation Period H1/16 January 1, 2016 - June 30, 2016 Q1/SY15 May 1, 2015 - July 31, 2015 Q2/16 April 30, 2016 - June 30, 2016 Q4/15 February 1, 2015 - April 30, 2015 Q1/16 January 1, 2016 - March 31, 2016 Q3/15 November 1, 2014 - January 31, 2015 Q3/SY15 November 1, 2015 - December 31, 2015 Q2/15 August 1, 2014 - October 31, 2014 Q2/SY15 August 1, 2015 - October 31, 2015

The Company reported net and comprehensive income for the quarter of approximately $13.8 million and $14.0 million respectively, or $0.12 per share compared to $4.2 million or $0.05 per share for the quarter ended July 31, 2015 (Q1/SY15).

Free cash flow for the quarter was $31.9 million compared to $3.1 million during Q1/SY15, reflecting higher realized gold prices, lower AISC, and increased production and sales subject to the additional production from the Holt-Holloway and Taylor mines. With the free cash flow generation during the quarter, the Company had $157.5 million in cash and cash equivalents at quarter end compared to $81.14 million at July 31, 2015 (Q1/SY15).

*Comparative figures and consolidated results do not include results from the Holloway-Holt and Taylor mines prior to close of the transaction with St Andrew Goldfields Ltd. ("St Andrew"), on January 26, 2016.

*All figures in CAD$ unless otherwise stated Q2/16 Q1/SY15 6 months

ended

Jun 30/16 6 months

ended

Jul 31/15 Average CAD/USD for the period 1.2886 1.2481 1.3302 1.2483 Gold Sales (ounces) 72,144 39,109 141,453 80,313 Average Realized Price (US$ per Oz Sold)(1) 1,271 1,187 1,211 1,194 Revenue (000's) 118,143 61,723 227,931 119,657 Production Expense 81,740 45,463 159,482 89,013 General and Administrative 6,433 1,541 10,675 3,717 Exploration 4,129 2,196 6,710 3,995 Finance Expense 5,172 6,094 10,720 10,033 Finance Income (1,309 ) (1,016 ) (1,549 ) (2,808 ) Income before Income Taxes 21,978 7,445 41,893 15,707 Provision for Income Taxes 8,214 3,216 15,610 3,604 Operating Cost per tonne(1) 208 407 234 400 Operating Cost (US$ per Oz Sold)(1) 667 678 641 676 Capital Development Investment 18,755 9,498 35,482 20,395 Purchase of Property, Plant and Equipment 2,266 1,366 5,633 3,368 AISC (US$ per Oz Sold)(1) 990 956 925 991

Operations Overview

Kirkland Lake Gold pre-released production results with a total of 68,338 ounces of gold production In Q2/16 and a total of 130,613 ounces for H1/16. The operations performed well during the quarter with grades, recoveries, and throughput all in line with expectations.

The cost per tonne of $208 achieved during the quarter was positively impacted by higher throughput which was mainly driven by the contribution of the Holt-Holloway and Taylor mines and higher tonnes from Macassa, as well as additional tonnes from the low grade stockpiles. As such, the cost per tonne was substantially lower when compared to a cost per tonne of $407 for the similar period in the previous year (Q1/SY15). The operating cost per ounce sold of US$667 was lower in Q2/16 when compared to an operating cost per ounce sold of US$691 in Q1/SY15 as a result of the Holt-Holloway and Taylor mines contribution.

For H1/16, the operating costs were slightly higher than the top end of guidance, but are expected to decrease in the second half of the year as production at Macassa moves into higher grade stopes, and throughput continues to increase at both Holt and Taylor.

A breakdown of operational performance at each operation is summarized in the table below.

*H1/16 results do not include results from the Holloway-Holt and Taylor mines prior to close of the transaction with St Andrew Goldfields Ltd. ("St Andrew"), on January 26, 2016.

Financial KPIs Q2/16 Macassa Holt Holloway Taylor Consolidated Gold Sold (ounces) 41,344 13,407 5,080 12,313 72,144 Operating cost per tonne milled 302 125 174 125 208 Operating cost per gold ounce sold (US$) 645 877 1,204 476 667 Capital Spending (000s) 13,091 5,171 631 2,114 21,007 AISC per ounce Sold (US$) 1,003 1,147 1,343 638 990 Financial KPIs 6 months ended Jun 30/16 ("H1/16") Macassa Holt Holloway Taylor Consolidated Gold Sold (ounces) 82,159 26,815 10,139 22,340 141,453 Operating cost per tonne milled 327 124 174 127 234 Operating cost per gold ounce sold (US$) 589 817 1,128 472 641 Capital Spending (000s) 27,206 8,707 1,010 4,192 41,115 AISC per ounce Sold (US$) 923 1,047 1,240 640 925

Exploration

During Q2/16 exploration programs continued to focus on underground drilling at the Macassa Mine Complex, regional surface drilling testing the easterly strike extension of the South Mine Complex ("SMC"), as well as underground drilling from the 4250' Level testing the up-dip extension of the '04 Break mineralization.

The Company released results from underground drilling from the 5300' Level exploration drift testing the SMC further to the south, which expanded the known zone of mineralization. Infill drilling was able to join two previous zones (the Hanging Wall Zone and the New South Zone) with three new intersections which returned similar grades and widths (see press release dated May 24, 2016, available on the Company website www.klgold.com).

Exploration drilling commenced at the Taylor and Holloway mines during the quarter. At Taylor drilling targeted both the easterly and westerly strike extension of the West Porphyry Zone (which includes the 1004 lens; the area currently being mined). At Holloway drilling commenced west of the mine property, which will test for mineral potential associated with the mafic volcanic / ultramafic contact. A second drill is active on the Holloway property to test the easterly strike extension of the Deep Thunder Zone, which lies approximately 1 kilometre east of the Smoke Deep Zone.

Subsequent to quarter end, the Company closed a non-brokered flow-through financing for proceeds of approximately $15 million, to be spent before December 31, 2017. As such, the Company plans to increase its previous budget of $18 million to $24 million, which will include $6 million flow-through dollars. The focus will be to increase the Company's efforts on the regional exploration program in the Kirkland Lake Camp, and to drill test targets along the Porcupine-Destor Fault Zone.

H1/16 Key Performance Indicators

The 2016 guidance metrics issued on April 14, 2016, are summarized against the results for the six months ended June 30, 2016. The AISC(1) have been positively affected in Q2/16 due to the lower spend on Property, Plant & Equipment ("PP&E") which is attributable to the timing in the delivery of equipment. As such, the AISC(1) is expected to be higher over the next two quarters.

2016 Guidance Guidance Metrics H1/16 Results 270,000 - 290,000 Gold Production (ounces) 130,613 7.7 Head Grade (g/t Au) 8.2 US$600 - $650 Operating Costs(1) (US$/Oz Sold) US$641 US$1,000 - $1,050 All-In Sustaining Costs(1) (US$/Oz Sold) US$925

For a description of risk factors affecting the Company and 'Forward Looking Information', see the Company's Annual Information Form for the year ended December 31, 2015, and the Company's MD&A for the period ended June 30, 2016, filed with certain securities regulatory authorities in Canada and available on SEDAR at www.sedar.com. For a description and reconciliation of Non-GAAP measures please see below and refer to Appendix B of the Company's MD&A for period ended June 30, 2016, as filed on SEDAR at www.sedar.com, or at the end of this release.

Q2/16 Earnings Call and Webcast (August 5, 2016)

The Company will hold a conference call to discuss these results tomorrow, Friday August 5, 2016, at 11:00am EDT. The Company invites you to participate via teleconference, the details of which are outlined below and are available on the Company's website at www.klgold.com.

Participant Dial-In Numbers

Toll-Free North America: +1 (877) 201-0168; Local and International: +1 (647) 788-4901

Conference ID: 56310259

Replay Dial-In Numbers

Local and International: +1 (404) 537-3406

Toll Free North America: +1 (855) 859-2056 / +1 (800) 585-8367

Conference ID: 93207658

Replay Available Until: November 5, 2016 at 11:59PM ET

Qualified Persons

Production at the various operations and processing at the Company's milling facilities are under the supervision of Mr. Chris Stewart, P.Eng, the Vice President of Operations. The Company's exploration programs are under the supervision of Mr. Doug Cater, P.Geo, the Vice President of Exploration.

Messrs. Stewart and Cater are 'qualified persons' for the purpose of National Instrument 43-101, Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects, of the Canadian Securities Administrators, and have reviewed and approved this news release. As the Vice President of Operations and Vice President of Exploration, Messrs. Stewart and Cater are not considered independent.

Selected Financial Information & Review of Overall Performance

*Comparative figures and consolidated results do not include results from the Holloway-Holt and Taylor mines prior to close of the transaction with St Andrew Goldfields Ltd. ("St Andrew"), on January 26, 2016.

Financial Highlights

(All amounts in 000's of Canadian Dollars, except gold price per ounce, shares and per share figures) 3 months

ended

Jun 30,

2016 3 months

ended

Mar 31,

2016 3 months

ended

Jul 31,

2015 6 months

ended

Jun 30,

2016 6 months

ended

Jul 31,

2015 Gold Sales (ounces) 72,144 69,309 41,204 141,453 80,313 *Average Realized Gold Price (per ounce) 1,638 1,584 1,498 1,611 1,490 Revenue 118,143 109,788 61,723 227,931 119,658 Production Expenses 81,740 77,742 45,463 159,482 89,014 Exploration Expenditure 4,129 2,581 2,196 6,710 3,995 Other Expenses 10,296 9,550 6,619 19,846 10,943 Income before Income Taxes 21,978 19,915 7,445 41,893 15,707 Comprehensive Income 14,016 12,601 4,229 26,617 12,103 Comprehensive Income per share (basic & diluted) 0.12 0.12 0.05 0.24 0.15 Cash flow from operations 52,958 43,712 14,920 96,660 35,646 Cash flow (used in) from financing activities (4,676 ) (7,581 ) (3,391 ) (3,609 ) 25,365 Cash flow from (used in) investing activities (21,023 ) 1,057 (10,865 ) (28,604 ) (23,764 ) Net increase in cash 27,018 36,784 797 63,802 37,100 Total cash resources 157,529 130,511 81,119 157,529 81,119 Other Current Assets 38,146 46,568 28,454 38,146 28,454 Current Liabilities 111,435 56,172 31,974 111,435 31,974 *Working Capital 82,240 120,907 77,601 82,240 77,601 Total Assets 735,251 713,063 471,593 735,251 471,593 Total Liabilities 227,731 221,962 164,563 227,731 164,563 Basic weighted average number of shares outstanding 115,571,565 105,281,126 80,366,408 110,481,088 79,499,011 Dividends per share NIL NIL NIL NIL NIL

Non-GAAP Financial Measures

The Company has included non-GAAP performance measures throughout this document. These include: cash inflows from operations per share, free cash flow, free cash flow per share, operating cost per tonne of ore produced, operating cost and AISC per ounce of gold sold, average realized sales price and working capital. Operating cost per tonne of ore produced and operating cost and AISC per ounce of gold sold are common performance measures in the mining industry but do not have any standardized meaning. The guidance provided by the World Gold Council for calculating AISC was reviewed and followed. Total operating costs include mine site operating costs (mining, processing and refining, in-mine drilling expenditures, administration, and production taxes), but are exclusive of other costs (royalties, depreciation and depletion, off-site corporate costs, reclamation, capital, long-term development and exploration). The Company considers all capital spending to be sustaining in nature with the exception of development towards the Ghost zone at the Holt mine. During Q2/16, $1.0 million in development costs ($1.1 million in H1/16) were related to development towards Ghost and as such have been removed from AISC. These measures, along with sales, are considered by the Company to be indicators of the Company's ability to generate operating earnings and free cash flows from its mining operations. The Company believes that certain investors use this information to evaluate the Company's performance and ability to generate cash flows. These should not be considered in isolation as a substitute for measures of performance prepared in accordance with IFRS and are not necessarily indicative of production costs presented under IFRS. The following tables provide reconciliation of such costs to the Company's financial statements for the periods as noted:

Free Cash Flow

(All amounts in 000's of Canadian Dollars, except shares and per share figures) Three months ended Three months ended Six months ended Six months ended 30-Jun-16 31-Jul-15 30-Jun-16 31-Jul-15 Cash Inflows from Operations $ 52,958 $ 13,982 $ 96,660 $ 35,761 Mineral Property Additions (18,755 ) (9,499 ) (35,482 ) (20,395 ) Property, Plant & Equipment (2,254 ) (1,366 ) (3,882 ) (3,369 ) Free Cash Flow $ 31,949 $ 3,117 $ 57,296 $ 11,997

Operating Costs

All amounts in 000s of Canadian Dollars except tons ore produced, ounces of gold sold and unit costs or unless otherwise stated Three months ended Three months ended Six months ended Six months ended 30-Jun-16 31-Jul-15 30-Jun-16 31-Jul-15 Production Expense $ 81,740 $ 45,463 $ 159,482 $ 89,013 Amortization and Depletion (14,937 ) (8,962 ) (29,645 ) (17,830 ) Stock-based compensation (60 ) (113 ) (129 ) (293 ) Royalties (4,730 ) (1,512 ) (9,062 ) (3,083 ) Operating Costs $ 62,013 $ 34,876 $ 120,646 $ 67,807 Tonnes of Ore Produced 297,645 85,671 520,959 169,616 Ounces of Gold Sold 72,144 39,109 141,453 80,313 Operating Cost per Tonne $ 208 $ 407 $ 232 $ 400 Operating Cost per Ounce $ 860 $ 846 $ 853 $ 844 Average CAD/USD exchange rate 1.2886 1.2481 1.3302 1.2483 Operating Cost per Ounce (US) US$ 667 US$ 678 US$ 641 US$ 676

AISC per Ounce Sold

All amounts in 000s of Canadian Dollars except ounces sold and unit costs or unless otherwise stated Three months ended Three months ended Six months ended Six months ended 30-Jun-16 31-Jul-15 30-Jun-16 31-Jul-15 Operating Costs $ 62,013 $ 34,876 $ 120,646 $ 67,807 PPA Inventory Fair Value Adjustment - - (4,426 ) - Royalties Expense 4,730 1,512 9,062 3,083 Stock Based Compensation 971 393 1,314 1,353 Exploration Expense (no Surface) 1,377 581 2,279 1,320 Corporate Expense (no financing costs) 3,017 918 5,048 2,000 Capital Development (Sustaining) 17,717 9,499 34,444 20,395 Property, Plant & Equipment Purchases 2,254 1,366 5,633 3,368 AISC $ 92,079 $ 49,145 $ 174,000 $ 99,326 Gold Sales (Ounces) 72,144 $ 39,109 141,453 80,313 AISC per Ounce Sold $ 1,276 $ 1,257 $ 1,230 $ 1,237 Average CAD/USD exchange rate 1.2886 1.2481 1.3302 1.2483 AISC per Ounce Sold (US) US$ 990 US$ 1,007 US$ 925 US$ 991

About the Company

Kirkland Lake Gold Inc. is a Canadian focused, intermediate gold producer with assets in the historic Kirkland Lake gold camp, and east of the Timmins gold camp along the Porcupine-Destor Fault Zone, both in northeastern Ontario. The Company is currently targeting annual gold production of between 270,000 to 290,000 ounces from its cornerstone asset, the Macassa Mine Complex and the recently acquired East Timmins Operations.

The Company is committed to building a sustainable mining company that is recognized as a safe and responsible gold producer with quality assets in safe mining jurisdictions.

The Toronto Stock Exchange has neither reviewed nor accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this news release.

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

This Press Release contains statements which constitute "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of applicable securities laws, including statements regarding the plans, intentions, beliefs and current expectations of the Company with respect to the future business activities and operating performance of the Company. The words "may", "would", "could", "should", "will", "intend", "plan", "anticipate", "believe", "estimate", "expect" and similar expressions, as they relate to the Company, are intended to identify such forward-looking statements. Investors are cautioned that forward-looking statements are based on the opinions, assumptions and estimates of management considered reasonable at the date the statements are made such as, without limitation, opinion, assumptions and estimates of management regarding the Company's business, including but not limited to; the continued development of the operations (Macassa, Holt-Holloway and Taylor) and the anticipated timing thereof, estimated production results including ounces and head grade, the ability to lower costs and gradually increase production across all the operations; and the anticipated timing and commencement of exploration programs along the Porcupine-Destor Fault Zone. Such opinions, assumptions and estimates, are inherently subject to a variety of risks and uncertainties and other known and unknown factors that could cause actual events or results to differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements.

These factors include the Company's expectations in connection with the projects and exploration programs being met, the impact of general business and economic conditions, global liquidity and credit availability on the timing of cash flows and the values of assets and liabilities based on projected future conditions, fluctuating gold prices, currency exchange rates (such as the Canadian dollar versus the United States Dollar), possible variations in ore grade or recovery rates, changes in accounting policies, changes in the Company's corporate mineral reserves and resources, changes in project parameters as plans continue to be refined, changes in project development, construction, production and commissioning time frames, the possibility of project cost overruns or unanticipated costs and expenses, higher prices for fuel, power, labour and other consumables contributing to higher costs and general risks of the mining industry, failure of plant, equipment or processes to operate as anticipated, unexpected changes in mine life, seasonality and unanticipated weather changes, costs and timing of the development of new deposits, success of exploration activities, permitting time lines, government regulation of mining operations, environmental risks, unanticipated reclamation expenses, title disputes or claims, and limitations on insurance, as well as those risk factors discussed or referred to in the Company's annual Management's Discussion and Analysis and Annual Information Form for the year ended December 31, 2015, and the Company's Management's Discussion and Analysis for the interim period ended June 30, 2016, filed with the securities regulatory authorities in certain provinces of Canada and available at www.sedar.com.

Should one or more of these risks or uncertainties materialize, or should assumptions underlying the forward-looking statements prove incorrect, actual results may vary materially from those described herein as intended, planned, anticipated, believed, estimated or expected. Although the Company has attempted to identify important risks, uncertainties and factors which could cause actual results to differ materially, there may be others that cause results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended. The Company does not intend, and does not assume any obligation, to update these forward-looking statements except as otherwise required by applicable law.

(1) The Company has included the following non-GAAP performance measures in this press release; average realized price per ounce of gold sold, operating cost per tonne and operating cost per ounce sold, AISC per ounce sold, and free cash flow. These are common performance measures in the mining industry but do not have any standardized meaning. Refer to the end of this press release or Appendix B of the MD&A for a reconciliation of these measures to the accompanying financial statements.
TORONTO, ONTARIO--(Marketwired - Aug. 4, 2016) - Arena Minerals Inc., (TSX VENTURE:AN) (the "Company") is pleased to announce that it has closed its previously announced transaction with Rouge Resources Ltd. (TSX VENTURE:ROU) ("Rouge") for the disposition of the Pampas el Penon gold project in Chile (see press release dated June 15, 2016). Arena's interest consisted of two option agreements (the "Option Agreements") with Sociedad Quimica Y Minera de Chile S.A. ("SQM"). In exchange for transferring its interest in the Option Agreements to Rouge, Arena has received consideration of 9,550,000 common shares of Rouge.

"We are very pleased to have closed the transaction with Rouge. The disposition of Arena's interest in Pampas el Penon is consistent with Arena's prospector generator model of leveraging partners' capital to advance projects while still generating economic benefit for Arena shareholders. We are pleased with the support Rouge has received in the market for the transaction. Rouge will have the funding necessary to fully complete the Pampas El Penon option. Arena shareholders will retain exposure to this project with enhanced liquidity prospects through Arena's shareholdings in Rouge. We look forward to Tim Warman and his team moving the project forward," said William Randall, President and CEO of Arena.

The Pampas El Penon property consists of 13 mining claims totaling 3,400 hectares located approximately 130 kilometres southeast of Antofagasta, Chile. The property consists of two separate blocks, lying immediately to the west and north of Yamana Gold's Pampa Augusta Victoria mine complex that forms part of El Penon mine complex.

Over $1,000,000 has been spent on the Pampas el Penon property by Arena and SQM, with most of the work completed consisting of mapping, sampling, trenching and limited near-surface drilling designed to define the location of epithermal gold-silver veins with characteristics similar to those in the neighbouring Pampa Augusta Victoria complex.

The technical and scientific aspects of this news release have been reviewed and approved by Mr. Vernon Arseneau, P.Geo, who is a qualified person pursuant to NI 43-101. As the Vice President of Exploration of the Company, Mr. Arseneau is not considered independent.

About Arena Minerals

Arena Minerals is a prospect generator that has two properties under option covering approximately 95,400 hectares within the Antofagasta region of Chile. The properties are at low altitudes, within producing mining camps in infrastructure rich areas. The Company's flagship asset is the Atacama Copper Property, consisting of 92,000 hectares, following a contractual land reduction on July 27, 2015, of essentially undrilled ground in the heart of Chile's premier copper mining district. Currently, approximately 85% of the Atacama Copper Property is under option to third parties. Pursuant to option agreements entered into between Arena, Japan Oil, Gas and Minerals National Corporation and Teck Resources Chile Limitada, each have the right to earn into 60% of the respective land holdings within the property, by collectively spending over $40 million in exploration expenditures, amongst certain other commitments. The Company also holds common shares in each of Rouge Resources Ltd. and B2Gold Corp.

To view the website, please visit www.arenaminerals.com.

In addition to featuring information regarding the Company, its managements and projects, the website also contains the latest corporate news and an email registration allowing subscribers to receive news and updates directly.

On behalf of the Board of Directors of

Arena Minerals Inc.

William Randall, President, and CEO

Cautionary Note Regarding Accuracy and Forward-Looking Information:

This news release contains forward-looking information within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities legislation. Forward-looking information includes, but is not limited to, statements, projections and estimates relating to the disposition and sale of the Pampas el Penon project; the closing of the transaction with Rouge; future development of any of the Company's properties; the prospectivity of, and planned work programs on, such properties; the ability to enter into any additional joint venture partnership agreements as proposed, or at all, the ability of any potential partner to accelerate drill programs, increase the development of any of the projects or prospects of the Company, the results of the exploration program, future financial or operating performance of the Company, its subsidiaries and its projects, the development of and the anticipated timing with respect to the Atacama project and the El Penon project. Generally, forward-looking information can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as "plans", "expects" or "does not expect", "is expected", "budget", "scheduled", "estimates", "forecasts", "intends", "anticipates" or "does not anticipate", or "believes", or variations of such words and phrases or state that certain actions, events or results "may", "could", "would", "might" or "will be taken", "occur" or "be achieved". The statements made herein are based on current expectations and assumptions that are subject to risks and uncertainties. Actual results could differ materially because of factors discussed in the management discussion and analysis section of the Company's interim and most recent annual financial statement or other reports and filings with the TSX Venture Exchange and applicable Canadian securities regulations. Forward-looking information is subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause the actual results, level of activity, performance or achievements of the Company to be materially different from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking information, including but not limited to: general business, economic, competitive, geopolitical and social uncertainties; the actual results of current exploration activities; other risks of the mining industry and the risks described in the annual information form of the Company. Although the Company has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in forward-looking information, there may be other factors that cause results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward looking information. Arena Minerals does not undertake to update any forward-looking information, except in accordance with applicable securities laws.

Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.
A judge for the US District Court for the Middle District of Alabama [official website] on Thursday dismissed a suit [opinion, PDF] filed by suspended Alabama Supreme Court Justice Roy Moore against the Judicial Inquiry Commission (JIC) [official website]. The federal judge found that he should not intervene in matters relating to a states constitution and therefore dismissed the case. The state constitutional provision in question automatically remove a judge from duty when complaints are filed against them by the JIC.

Alabama Chief Justice Roy Moore [official website] was suspended after being charged with violating ethical rules [JURIST report]. The JIC accused [complaint] Moore of failing to act impartially and refusing to follow the law when he ordered [order] probate judges not to issue same-sex marriage licenses [JURIST report] as their issuance ran contrary to Alabama law. Moore argued that the US Supreme Court ruling only applied to the plaintiff in the case, and that probate judges in Alabama had not been ordered to issue same-sex marriage licenses. The commission stated that Moore is bound by the Supreme Court interpretation of the Constitution and has violated the law. This is the second time Moore has been removed from office, having also refused to adhere to a federal court order in 2003.
Chinese human rights lawyer Zhou Shifeng was sentenced to seven years in prison Thursday for his role as director of Beijings Fengrui Law Firm. Zhou was accused of opposing [Reuters report] Chinas government and political system. The verdict stated that Zhou encouraged lawyers to highlight sensitive cases and hired protestors to disturb the judicial system. This is the latest in what appears to be a widespread crackdown on human rights lawyers and activists across China.

In April a civil rights lawyer was arrested and released [JURIST report] for posting an image online mocking President Xi Jinping in relation to the Panama Papers release. Chinese human rights lawyer Pu Zhiqiangon announced in April that his license to practice law was revoked [JURIST report] by the judicial bureau. Chinese lawyer and professor Chen Taihe fled China [JURIST report] in March and arrived in San Leandro, California, after he was detained last July as part of a crackdown on rights lawyers. The crackdown culminated in at least 242 people detained or questioned throughout the country. UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Raad Al Hussein expressed concern [JURIST report] in February over Chinas recent crackdown on lawyers and activists. In January Chinese authorities arrested [JURIST report] high profile human rights lawyer Wang Yu and her husband on charges of political subversion.
Texas agreed to a deal [text, PDF] Wednesday that will weaken their voter identification law and allow voters to cast ballots in the November election even if they lack all documents required by the law. The agreement will require Texas to spend at least $2.5 million in the months leading up to the election to increase voter awareness. Voters will now be able to present voter registration cards, birth certificates, utility bills, paycheck stubs and government documents with the voters name and address as acceptable forms of ID. Voters will also be required to sign an affidavit stating that they could not obtain one of the required forms of ID. The deal must be approved by a federal judge.

The Texas voter ID law, first passed in 2011, is one of the strictest in the country. The law was blocked by the Department of Justice [official website], which previously had the power to review voting changes in some jurisdictions under a preclearance requirement laid out in Sections 4 and 5 of the VRA. However, when the Supreme Court struck down [JURIST report] Section 4 in 2013, there was no longer a basis for enforcing the requirement in those jurisdictions. Texas lawmakers announced their plans to reenact the voting law hours after the Courts decision. In October 2014 a district court ruled [JURIST report] that SB 14 violates the Fourteenth and Fifteenth Amendments of the US Constitution and filed a permanent injunction [JURIST report] against its enforcement days later. However, an appeals court temporarily reinstated the law, stating that the upcoming elections were too close to make a change and the Supreme Court permitted [JURIST reports] the law to be enforced. In March, the court agreed [JURIST report] to reconsider Texas voter identification law before the entire court, as opposed to a panel of just three judges. That month, the League of United Latin American Citizens and Congressman Marc Veasy, along with other plaintiffs, filed an application [JURIST report] with the Supreme Court, asking the Court to vacate a stay that allowed the voter ID law to remain in place during the 2014 midterm elections. The Court did not vacate the stay, but stated that if the Appeals Court did not make a ruling in this case by July 20, then the parties could seek relief from the Supreme Court.
China has the technology and experience to build line from Tibet to South Asia, experts say

A Himalayan train ride at more than 100 kilometers per hour at the foot of the world's highest snow-capped mountains and oldest glaciers is no longer just a dream, Chinese railway experts say.

With more than 19,000 km of high-speed  up to 350 km per hour  railways, China has accumulated the technology and experience to build a rail link between the Tibet antonymous region and the South Asian subcontinent, they say.

The Himalayan railway would start from Xigaze, a city in Tibet, run to Gyirong, a land port on the Chinese border, and extend into Nepal, although it would not be a high-speed railway, the researchers said on Thursday at a forum in Beijing run by the China Tibetology Research Center, a Tibetan studies organization.

In 2006, China built a railway running for more than 1,100 km to connect the highland region of Tibet with the rest of the country. In 2014, it built a 250-km rail link between Lhasa, the Tibet regional capital, and Xigaze, the region's second-largest city.

Trains run at 100 km per hour throughout the Tibetan rail system, which according to China's railway plan for 2016 to 2020, will stretch from Xigaze to Gyirong.

Nepal hopes that China can connect this port with Kathmandu, the Nepalese capital, as part of the China-Nepal international railway.

China hopes the rail link will boost economic, cultural and religious communication with Nepal as part of the Belt and Road Initiative proposed by President Xi Jinping.

"The construction of a railway crossing the Himalayan mountains is now economically and technologically feasible," said Zong Gang, deputy director of the Science and Technology Department at Beijing University of Technology.

The altitude at Gyirong port is 2,800 meters above sea level, while the Gyirong mountain pass to Nepal lies at about 1,800 meters, making the railway geographically feasible.

In contrast, Lhasa is about 3,700 meters above sea level and the altitude at Xigaze is about 3,800 meters.

Losang Jamcan, chairman of the Tibet autonomous region government, said on July 1 that building rail links is the most powerful way to help Tibet open up to South Asian countries.

After a meeting between Premier Li Keqiang and Nepalese Prime Minister K. P. Sharma Oli in March, the two countries said their governments will further discuss construction of a cross-border railway and also support companies conducting preliminary research.

At least two Chinese companies have shown an interest in developing rail networks connecting China with Nepal, the Kathmandu Post reported on July 2.

China CAMC Engineering Co has proposed building a 121-km railway linking Kathmandu and Rasuwagadhi, a land port in Nepal facing Gyirong.

China Railway Construction Corp has applied to the Railway Department in Nepal for a Kathmandu-Rasuwagadhi railway feasibility study.

Ma Jiali, a researcher at the China Institutes of Contemporary International Relations, said a trans-Himalayan railway would be of great economic value as it could later connect China, the largest economy in Asia, with India, the continent's third-largest economy.

He said that landlocked Nepal is willing to have a more convenient link to China because it believes that China's development will offer great opportunities for Nepal.

Zhou Yuhui, a professor at Beijing Jiaotong University who has just returned from a field visit to the China-Nepal border, said, "There are rich tourism resources, including virgin forest, canyons and historical relics in Gyirong, which has hardly been developed.

"While bringing tourists and businesses to Gyirong, which will help local people to escape poverty, the China-Nepal railway will also help ... to make people more willing to integrate into modern life."
The US Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit [official website] on Thursday denied [text, PDF] a motion by North Carolina officials to stay an earlier order striking down the states voter ID law. The law was overturned [JURIST report] last week after a finding of discriminatory intent. The state filed the motion to stay the order while it seeks an appeal to the US Supreme Court [official website]. The order denying the motion states that the law compels the injunction and that recalling or staying the mandate now would only undermine the integrity and efficiency of the upcoming election. The order also mentions that the state is able to comply with the order, and should do so by returning to prior voting methods from before the law was enacted.

Voting rights have been the subject of numerous legal challenges across the US, particularly in a presidential election year. Earlier this week a federal judge barred North Dakota [JURIST report] from enforcing its voter ID law. Last month, voter restrictions were overturned not only in North Carolina, but in Kansas and Wisconsin [JURIST reports]. In June a federal judge ruled that Ohios elimination of the states early in-person voting [JURIST report] was unconstitutional and in violation of Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act. In May a federal judge ruled that Virginias voter ID law, which requires that voters have a valid form of ID either before voting or within three days after voting, is constitutional [JURIST report]. In February the Maryland Senate overrode a veto by Governor Larry Hogan to pass a bill that will allow felons to vote [JURIST report] before they complete parole or probation.
[JURIST] A three-member panel for the Supreme Court of Indonesia [official website] rejected a radical Islamic leaders appeal of his conviction on Thursday. Abu Bakar Bashir, religious leader of the southeast-Asian Jemaah Islamiyah militants, had requested judicial review of his June 2011 conviction in relation to his military-style training camp, for which he was facing a 15-year prison sentence. According to the court spokesperson, no new evidence [WP report] was presented in support of Bashirs appeal and the court did not find any mistakes or irregularities in the verdicts by the district as well as high court. Bashir maintains that, although he had violated the states firearm law by creating the camp, he was simply following Gods orders in seeking to protect Islam and fellow muslims. The camp brought together a variety of extremist groups from around the Muslim world. It is believed Bashir and the group of radical Islamic militants had been planning attacks on various groups in Indonesia, including foreigners, moderate leaders, and former President Susilo Bambang Ydhoyono.

Bashirs trial began in February 2011 [JURIST report] in the District Court of South Jakarta. He was convicted of inciting terrorism in connection with the terrorist training camp in May after having pleaded not guilty [JURIST report] the month before. He was suspected of links to al Qaeda [CFR backgrounder; JURIST news archive] and Jemaah Islamiyah (JI) [CFR backgrounder], a terrorist group with links to al Qaeda that has been implicated in a number of attacks in Indonesia, including the 2002 Bali nightclub bombing [JURIST news archive] that left more than 200 people dead. In 2006, the Indonesian Supreme Court overturned [JURIST report] Bashirs conviction on conspiracy charges connecting him with the bombings. He was released from prison [JURIST report] earlier in 2006 after spending 26 months in jail on different charges related to the bombings.
[JURIST] The UN Special Rapporteur on the right of freedom of opinion and expression David Kaye and the Inter-American (IACHR) [official website] Special Rapporteur on freedom of expression Edison Lanza expressed concern [UN news release] on Thursday over the deterioration of media freedom in Venezuela. Saying they were deeply disturbed by the recent reports of attacks against journalists and independent media groups, Kaye and Lanza stressed the need for these individuals protection, as any such attack or threat violate not only the right of those harmed, but the ability of Venezuelans and others elsewhere to be informed on events of critical importance. Among the numerous instances media suppression, the two noted the arrest of 7 journalists and media workers, along with seizure of their work equipment. Kaye emphasized that law enforcement should provide safety to these individuals and not harassment. The two also noted a variety of other issues affecting freedom of expression and access to media within the country. Lanza expressed concern at a recent Supreme Court of Venezuela ruling, ordering two news websites from posting videos of lynching on its webpage or through social media, stating the right to freedom of expression cannot be subject to prior censorship. Issue was also taken with papers shortages which harm newspapers ability to print copies of their editions, closures of radio stations, and failure of appropriate agencies to address requests for license renewal. Kaye and Lanza issued a joint letter to the Venezuelan Government, the reception of which was confirmed by the state, in hopes of voicing international concern and creating an open dialogue into media suppression.

Venezuela has routinely been called out for their human rights abuses. Amnesty International reported in March 2015 that Venezuela effectively allows more violence [JURIST report] and abuses through its failure to investigate and prosecute perpetrators of the injuries and tortures during 2014 protests. Between February 2015 and July 2014, demonstrators gathered to protest government authority [BBC report], resulting in conflict with police and the deaths of 43 people and the injury of 878. In response to the conflict, rights groups criticized Venezuelan security forces of abusing and unlawfully detaining protesters, and called for an end to violence [JURIST reports] in the country. Such violent demonstrations were partially motivated by Venezuelas current economic difficulties [BBC backgrounder] and disdain towards current President Nicolas Maduro. In 2013 Venezuela withdrew from the IACHR despite criticism from activists and calls by the UN [JURIST reports] for the country to remain a member.
[JURIST] A divided US Supreme Court [official website] on Wednesday granted [order, PDF] an application to recall and stay lower court orders allowing a transgender student who identifies as a male to use the mens restroom in school. This comes after the Gloucester County School Board filed an emergency application [JURIST report] to block the lower court decisions. Many believe [WSJ article] the courts choice to stay the lower court decisions signals the Supreme Court will take on the case on the merits later next year.

Gavin Grimm, a high school student at a Gloucester County school who identifies as male, was granted an order [JURIST report] by the district court in June allowing him to use the boys restroom while the court considers the legal issues of the case. This order came after a decision by the federal court in April, which reversed a lower court decision in holding Grimms rights under Title IX [official website], which prohibits discrimination in schools, were violated by the school board refusing his use of the mens restroom. It was at that time the Gloucester County School Board first stated its intention to ask the US Supreme Court to review the Fourth Circuit decision.
The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Raad Al Hussein [official profile] on Friday criticized [press release] Iran for the mass execution of 20 people this week, calling the action deplorable. The prisoners were all convicted of terrorism-related offenses, but the commissioner expressed doubt as to the fairness of those trials, deriding Iran as having expressed a disdain toward due process. In his statement, the commissioner called the executions a grave injustice and pointed out that many of those killed were part of a religious minority.

Much international pressure has been directed toward Iran in recent years for its human rights abuses. In June UN human rights experts called for the release of artists [JURIST report] jailed by the nation. In March UN rights experts expressed concern [JURIST report] over the overwhelming number of juvenile executions in Iran. Last October UN human rights experts condemned [JURIST report] Irans execution of a juvenile offender convicted of murdering her husband whom she was forced to marry at the age of 16. She was executed despite several reports of flaws in her trial and appeals process. Also in October an Iranian Revolutionary Court convicted [JURIST report] Washington Post correspondent Jason Rezaian, who was later released. In May of last year UN human rights experts condemned [JURIST report] the growing number of executions in Iran in recent years. According to the Special Rapporteurs on the situation of human rights in Iran and on extrajudicial executions, Iran had executed approximately six people per day between April 9 and April 26 and 350 total up to that point.
UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Raad Al Hussein said Thursday that South Sudan government (SPLA) security forces have killed and raped citizens and looted and destroyed public and private property. The rights chief called on the UN Security Council to take stronger action against these events. While the report explains that some civilian deaths occurred because of combatant cross fire, there have been reported events where civilians were summarily executed by SPLA soldiers. It is estimated that the civilian death toll is more than 70, but that number is believed to be much higher.

Human rights concerns have been widespread concerning South Sudan. Last month Chaloka Beyani [official profile], UN Special Rapporteur on the human rights of internally displaced persons (IDPs), condemned [press release] recent attacks on IDPs and civilians in South Sudan [JURIST report]. In June UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon expressed [JURIST report] shock at the increasing number of children recruited and killed in armed conflicts in several countries, including South Sudan. In May Amnesty International reported [JURIST report] that dozens of detainees in South Sudan are being held in inhumane conditions. In April six human rights organizations called [JURIST report] for the next UN Secretary-General to do everything he or she can do to protect innocent civilians whose nation faced armed conflict, including South Sudan. In March the UN Human Rights Council decided [JURIST report] to investigate allegations of human rights abuses in South Sudan.
[JURIST] A group of UN independent human rights experts expressed concern [UN news release] Thursday for the condition of Chinese human rights defender Yang Maodong, also known as Guo Feixiong, who has been detained by the Chinese government. Noting reports of degrading and humiliating treatment endured by Guo at the hands of both prison guards and other inmates, the experts called on the Chinese government to provide Guo with specialized medical care and stop all forms of mistreatment. The experts stated that, due to his status as a prominent human rights defender, Guo has been denied adequate medical treatment and forced to suffer sleep deprivation, harassment, and [a] humiliating medical procedure filmed by prison officials for public release. Demanding the Chinese government follow these suggestions, and also calling for the release of Guo from prison, the rights experts stated the governments actions were incompatible with Chinas obligations under international human rights law. In addition to Chinas failure to adhere to international law, the experts recalled several previous instances of Chinas failure to heed the advice of international human rights committee, including a call by the UN Committee against Torture [official website] to refrain from prosecuting human rights, defenders, lawyers, petitioners and others for their legitimate activities. Guo was arrested and sentenced to six-years in August 2013 for participating in a public protest after a Guangzhou newspaper was censored by the government, one in a string of arrests against prominent human rights activists during Xi Jinpings presidency [BBC backgrounder].

Also this week Chinese human rights lawyer Zhou Shifeng was sentenced to seven years [JURIST report] in prison for his role as director of Beijings Fengrui Law Firm. In April a civil rights lawyer was arrested and released [JURIST report] for posting an image online mocking Xi in relation to the Panama Papers release. Chinese human rights lawyer Pu Zhiqiangon announced in April that his license to practice law was revoked [JURIST report] by the judicial bureau. Chinese lawyer and professor Chen Taihe fled China [JURIST report] in March and arrived in San Leandro, California, after he was detained last July as part of a crackdown on rights lawyers. The crackdown culminated in at least 242 people detained or questioned throughout the country. UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Raad Al Hussein expressed concern [JURIST report] in February over Chinas recent crackdown on lawyers and activists. In January Chinese authorities arrested [JURIST report] high profile human rights lawyer Wang Yu and her husband on charges of political subversion.
Traffic police on a Hunan expressway noticed a minibus that had been converted into a sort of "caravan" during a routine patrol on Aug. 1. The back seats of the minibus had been removed. A table, stools and cooking utensils had all been installed in the bus. Mr. Zhao, the driver, said that he and the three other passengers are from Xinning, a town in Hunan, and that they work in Sichuan. They were driving the minibus back to their hometown. To make the trip more comfortable, they had "customized" the minibus so they could take turns resting and cooking meals while en route.

Mr. Zhao was given a ticket of 500 yuan ($75) for illegal vehicle modification. In addition, he was ordered to restore the minibus to its original state.
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Experts at a seminar on Aug. 3 said that the Chinese government should investigate the Didi-Uber merger, as many suspect that the deal may cause a monopoly in the future. Discussions began after Beijing-based Didi, the dominant ride-hailing service provider in China, said in a statement on Aug. 1 that it would buy Uber's China operation.

According to a report by Beijing Evening News on Aug. 2, Didi said that its market penetration rate is only 1 percent in Beijing, which will not cause a monopoly. However, experts attending the seminar argued that it should be made clear whether the market included taxis, buses and the metro.

The government should focus on Didi's relevant market to decide whether or not it will cause a monopoly in the future, rather than focusing only on its market share, said experts at the seminar, discussing whether the merger should be stopped by anti-trust authorities.

Speaking from a law perspective, Cui Fan, a senior advisor at Beijing Dacheng Law Office, said that the key factor in merger cases is not the relevant market but the business volume. Dong Zhongwei, a partner at another Beijing-based law office, said that the Ministry of Commerce should undertake an anti-trust investigation. If the company's market share after the merger is expected to be over 90 percent, authorities should stop the deal, Dong added.

According to Chinese law, all businesses with large-scale operations that could potentially monopolize the market must submit business declarations to the Ministry of Commerce for record, as well as submit to anti-trust investigations. Afterward, companies without clearance are not allowed to carry out mergers and acquisitions in China.

The Ministry of Transport released the country's first nationwide regulation on car-hailing services on July 28, finally offering the booming industry a legal status. The new regulation actually encouraged car-hailing services in China. The merger, meanwhile, may not be in the best interests of customers, leaving them with fewer choices for their car-hailing travel, said Cong Lixian, a law professor from Beijing Foreign Studies University. Cong hoped that the Ministry of Commerce Ministry could do something to help customers.

In the mean time, Fang Xingdong, a professor from Shantou University, said the government should not interfere in matters of the Internet, as "Internet should be a free space." Fang held the opinion that the merger may have a negative impact on global Internet competition. He said that after Uber sells its China operation to Didi, the two companies could partition the global car-hailing market. He worried that two business magnates might rise in the wake of the merger.
Dallas, 08/05/2016 /SubmitPressRelease123/

Mistakes are a normal part of life. For many people, mistakes are an important part of the learning process. A close call or a near miss can actually be a sobering reminder of why you shouldnt have been doing something dangerous or illegal in the first place.

However, some mistakes are bigger than others  and some are so big they land you in jail. Knowing how to handle yourself is the first step in taking charge of your situation and working to make it right.

At Broden & Mickelsen, we believe in second chances. We also stand up for people who have been unjustly accused of a crime. As Texas criminal defense lawyers, we tell our clients that knowing what to do in the event of an arrest is very important, but knowing what to avoid can be just as critical.

Dont: Talk to Anyone about Your Case

Understandably, you probably want to share your side of the story with the people you care about. In a crisis, its normal to seek comfort from friends and loved ones. Its also normal to want to reassure people of your innocence. However, this can seriously hurt your case if you inadvertently say something incriminating. The only person with whom you should discuss your case is your lawyer. Dont discuss your case with the police, the prosecutor, or even your own friends and family members. The communications you have with your lawyer are confidential  the same cannot be said for communications, including jailhouse phone calls you have with other people, and possibly your parents or family members.

Dont: Be Rude to the Police

Its just not a good idea, no matter how angry or frustrated you feel. If you have been wrongfully accused of a crime, let an experienced and knowledgeable Texas criminal defense lawyer obtain justice on your behalf. Dont give the police any opportunity to charge you with additional offenses.

Dont: Waive Your Constitutional Rights

You have a constitutional right to legal counsel upon being taken into police custody or charged with a crime. The police are required to notify you of the right, however, this doesnt mean they have to stop asking you questions in an attempt to elicit a confession or an admission against your interests. In fact, police are specifically trained in techniques designed to get suspects to talk. If the police pressure you to give them information beyond your personal details, such as your name and address, politely decline and continue to ask for your lawyer.

Dont: Represent Yourself

The constitution guarantees the right of self-representation in criminal cases  something called pro se representation. However, just because you can do something doesnt mean you should. If you choose to act as your own lawyer, the judge will treat you like he or she would any other lawyer. That is, you will be expected to follow the same rules of procedure as anyone who has attended law school and passed the bar exam.

Criminal trials may look exciting and somewhat straightforward on television, but they are incredibly complicated and highly technical. Experienced criminal defense lawyers spend years learning their craft. Your future and your freedom are too important to risk.

Get Help from a Dallas Criminal Defense Lawyer

Being charged with a crime is one of the scariest experiences anyone can have. The lawyers at Broden & Mickelsen are Board Certified in Criminal Law and Criminal Appellate Law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization. No matter what youre facing, our lawyers can help. Call 24/7 to speak to a Texas criminal defense attorney about your case. Contact us or call 214-720-9552.

source: http://www.brodenmickelsen.com/blog/charged-with-a-crime-in-texas-what-not-to-do/

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China continues to demonstrate her saying of teach a man how to fish for himself instead of giving him fish all of the time. As the biggest developing country and fast-growing economy, China is creating more platforms for other developing countries to catch up with economic transformation and industrialization under its Belt and Road Initiative.

Recognizing Africa as one of its largest partners in driving the engine of this initiative, the country is intensifying exchange programs and people-to-people contacts with Africa under the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC).

As part of the experience-sharing, African delegations to the recent FOCAC follow-up meeting in Beijing were, on July 30, taken on a guided tour of the Suzhou Industrial Park (SIP) in Suzhou City, in Chinas eastern province of Jiangsu.

About 300 delegates, including over 100 ministerial officials of 53 FOCAC African mmber countries, representatives from more than 30 member units of the Chinese Follow-up Committee of the FOCAC and African diplomatic envoys to China, attended the meeting.

African ministers at FOCAC (Photo/Ikenna Emewu)

Following the tour, the delegations held meetings with the leadership of Suzhou, where they exchanged ideas with Chinese officials on cooperation between China and Africa in industrial development.

Speaking at the meeting, SIP director Yang Zhiping explained the encouraging level of improvement and how it is helping in Chinas opening to the world.

South Africas International Relations and Cooperation Minister Maite Nkosana-Mashabane, who co-chaired the FOCAC follow-up meeting, also formed part of the Suzhou visit.

Visit to SIP was intended to give an insight to the African ministers to see how China has not only planned, but is implementing what it plans as far as economic development and industrialization are concerned.

A glimpse of modern Suzhou (Photo/Ikenna Emewu)

SIP is a flagship cooperation project between Chinese and Singapore governments. According to SIP authorities, the development and construction of the park has always been a high degree of attention and under the special care of Chinese and Singaporean leaders, thus establishing a three-level leadership and working groups for smooth progress.

For 22 years of the development of the SIP, under the joint efforts of both sides, there have been remarkable achievements in the economic and social development. SIP authorities reported that last year the GDP and revenue from tax exceeded 200 billion yuan and 60 billion yuan respectively. The per capita GDP was about 40,000USD, the production of R&D investment accounted for GDP reached 3.35%, energy consumption per ten thousand yuan GDP amounted to 0.254 tce, and the comprehensive development index, the level of intensive development and indicators of quality and efficiency were among the forefront of its kind in China, known as an important window for opening up and a successful example of international cooperation in China.

All African governments and institutions need to do now is to put in place mechanisms that will bring to reality the 10 action plans advanced by China under FOCAC. African leaders have been urged to apply joint efforts in making the Chinese dream a reality.
Property of Chinese tourists stolen in Vietnam, thief refuses to cooperate even after admitting to the crime

Li locates this community with the phone's positioning function.

A Chinese man surnamed Li and his friends had their phones and other belongings stolen on Aug. 1 in Vietnam. On the morning of the day they were supposed to return to China, Li and his friends went to a beach to watch the sunrise in Nha Trang, a well-known tourist site in Vietnam. However, the bag where they had put all their phones, wallets and ID cards was stolen while they were taking photos. Their belongings were worth a total of about 60,000 yuan ($9,037).

One of Li's friends, surnamed Yang, later located their lost property using the "Find My iPhone" app, a program that uses GPS to locate lost and stolen devices. After tracking the phone to a residential area, they stopped in front of the gate of a house.

"I'm sure our lost phones were in that house because I heard beeping sounds when I tried to set off the [phone alarm] with another phone," Yang explained.

Local police investigate the case.

The group later contacted local police for help, but the people in the house refused to open the door, even during a police inquiry. Li later tried to reclaim the stolen goods with the help of a translator from the Chinese consulate, but the thief refused to return the items even after he admitted to stealing them.

Even though Li and his friends located the lost property, their lack of hard evidence left them with no choice but to return to China. Now, the Chinese consulate is negotiating with Vietnamese diplomats and urging the local police to solve the case as soon as possible.
Speaker of the United States House of RepresentativesPaul Ryan(Republican of Wisconsin) makes remarks at the 2016 Republican National Convention held at the Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland, Ohio on Tuesday, July 19, 2016. (Photo Credit: Ron Sachs/CNP/AdMedia)

WASHINGTON, Aug. 4 (Xinhua) -- Paul Ryan, the highest-ranking U.S. Republican officeholder, on Thursday did not rule out the possibility that he would rescind his endorsement of Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump.

"Of course there are," said House Speaker Ryan during an interview with local radio WTAQ in his home state of Wisconsin when asked whether there were situations that could lead to withdrawal of his endorsement.

"None of these things are ever blank checks. That goes with any situation in any kind of race," said Ryan, before stressing that Trump won the GOP nomination race "fair and square."

During his first public comments since Trump refused to endorse his re-election bid, Ryan, who only reluctantly took the helm of the House of Representatives less than one year ago after his predecessor John Boehner was forced to resign following intraparty rebellion, downplayed the significance of Trump's non-endorsement.

"The only endorsements I want are those of my own employers here in the First Congressional District, and that's really what my focus is," said Ryan.

The feud between Ryan and Trump was again put on full display early this week after Trump declined to endorse Ryan, who faces a longshot challenger in next week's Republican primary election for Ryan's House seat.

"I like Paul, but these are horrible times for our country," said Trump in an interview with The Washington Post on Tuesday. "We need very strong leadership. We need very, very strong leadership. And I'm just not quite there yet."

Trump's snub of Ryan this time matched Ryan's initial response to Trump's winning of the nomination race in May, when the Wisconsin lawmaker said he was "not ready" to fall in line behind the bellicose and bombastic GOP standard-bearer.

A rapprochement prompted by Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus later led to Ryan's endorsement of Trump.

However, Ryan's criticism of his party's titular leader did not end with his endorsement.

His first public breakaway from Trump since offering the endorsement came in June when he faulted Trump for his "textbook racist comments" on a judge because of his ethnic background.

Tensions between the two rose again over the past weekend after Trump derisively answered criticism from Khizr Khan, the father of a Muslim American solider killed by a suicide bomber in Iraq in 2004.

During last week's Democratic National Convention, Khan blasted Trump for his divisive remarks and proposal to temporarily ban Muslims entering the country and implored voters to vote for Hillary Clinton, the Democratic presidential nominee.

Trump responded by implying that Ghazala Khan, who accompanied her husband on stage on the final day of the Democratic National Convention, was forbidden to speak by her husband.

Backlash to Trump's comments came in swiftly from both parties, with Ryan's press office releasing a scathing statement without mentioning Trump's name that denounced "a religious test for entering our country."

"Many Muslim Americans have served valiantly in our military, and made the ultimate sacrifice. Captain Khan was one such brave example. His sacrifice -- and that of Khizr and Ghazala Khan -- should always be honored. Period," said the statement.

U.S. President Barack Obama also weighed in on Tuesday on the controversy, describing Trump as "unfit" to be U.S. president and calling on Republican leaders to rescind support.

"The question they (Republican leadership) have to ask themselves is: if you are repeatedly having to say in very strong terms that what he (Trump) has said is unacceptable, why are you still endorsing him?" said Obama at a press conference. "What does this say about your party that this is your standard-bearer?"
A photo shows Chinese soldiers on a ship at Pearl Harbor in Hawaii, on August 3, 2016. [Photo: Southcn.com]

Chinese naval vessels which taking part in this year's RIMPAC, or Rim of the Pacific, naval exercises are now docked at Pearl Harbor in Hawaii.

A total of 5 Chinese ships took part in this year's event, including two missile destroyers, a supply ship, a hospital ship and a submarine rescue vessel.

They've taken part in various military drills with navies from various other countries as part of the 23-day exercise.

The Chinese navy worked most closely with the US, French and Indonesian navies during the drills.

The five Chinese ships will start making their way back to China later on this Friday.
GUIYANG, Aug. 4 (Xinhua) -- Typhoon Nida has forced the evacuation of more than 7,000 people in southwest China's Guizhou Province, local authorities said Thursday.

Nida brought severe rainstorms to Guizhou through Wednesday and Thursday. The highest precipitation in an area was 241.8 mm, recorded in Sandu County, said the provincial meteorological station.

Overall, the typhoon affected 26,141 people in 12 counties. A total of 7,006 people were relocated as of midday Thursday.

The typhoon has damaged 1,190 hectares of crops and 391 homes, resulting in direct economic losses of 17.94 million yuan (2.7 million U.S. dollars), according to the local civil affairs departments.

The local government has sent relief goods to the affected areas.
An Indiana couple suffered injuries when they were ejected in a motorcycle crash on US 20 Thursday.

The Grundy County Sheriff's said it happened just before 4 p.m. about three miles east of Dike.

Deputies said 46-year-old Al Covey was driving west on US 20 when he lost control, left the road, and flipped over into the ditch.

Emergency crews took Covey to a Waterloo hospital before transferring him to University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics.

Crews took 45-year-old Roxanne Covey, a passenger on the motorcycle, to a Waterloo hospital.

No word on their conditions.
Open letter to poet Billy Collins: I wish I could take full credit for your poem, The Sandhill Cranes of Nebraska. We spoke three years ago when you came here as a nationally known poet for a reading at the University of Nebraska at Kearney. I was atwitter at the possibility of talking with you, an actual professional poet who makes money  a lot of money  writing poetry.

Your work sings of the common man, of the common situations we all encounter. You write in a style that invites everyone to read or listen. Forget all that fancy poetry nonsense. A poem by Billy Collins gets right to the point, explores an idea and then jumps off the page with a closing thought.

When I heard the title of your poem, The Sandhill Cranes of Nebraska, a thrill zipped up and down my spine. The former U.S. poet laureate (2001-2003) had turned his attention to the oft-forgotten, oft-overlooked spectacle of crane migration, right in our backyard. I hushed my family and settled back to listen to your voice reading your words of wisdom on American Public Radios A Prairie Home Companion with host Garrison Keillor.

Instead of wisdom, the poem mocks our reaction to the cranes. In the poem, you take on the voice of someone in the area with this line: Too bad you werent here six months ago, was the lament I heard on my visit to Nebraska. You could have seen the astonishing spectacle of the sandhill cranes. Thousands of them feeding and even dancing on the shores of the Platte River.

OK, whatever. You go on to complain that so many other small-minded people in small-minded communities tell you the same thing. You should have been in Vermont for the fall foliage or in Georgia when the azaleas bloomed. You write about these local wonders: A phenomenon that occurs, like the others, around the same time every year, when I am apparently off in another state, stuck in a motel lobby with the local newspaper and a Styrofoam cup of coffee, busily missing God knows what.

No doubt you were dividing your reading fee by the number of words in your disdainful poems. All the better to justify the tedious hours spent waiting in some dreadful lobby until you can board the next plane to some civilized place. Perhaps that newspaper you leafed through was the Kearney Hub. I can only hope some ink rubbed off on your hands and smeared your khaki pants.

Oh, please excuse my bitterness. As I listened to your sneering poem, I recalled our conversation from 2010. I informed you that your writing encouraged members of my family to express themselves in poetry. I promised that the poetry was only for our own enjoyment. Your response said it all: Lets keep it that way.

Ouch. Obviously you were afraid that I might publish the poems, print up a dozen copies and sell them to someone who might otherwise buy one of your overrated books and youd lose $1.50 in royalties. Better yet, how about we settle our differences the old-fashioned literary way: Well pit our most renowned Kearney poet against you in a mud wrestling smack-down. Don Welch could kick your glossary any day of the week. Id do the job myself but Im 12 years younger than you and it wouldnt be a fair match. Winner gets all the bragging rights and the loser gets a short ton of crane guano on his front porch.

Yeah, mister, you talk pretty big on public radio. Sure, you have a closet-full of awards along with a laundry list of books, but when the rubber meets the road, making fun of our cranes is like mocking veterans. If you want to hear some real poetry, come to Poetry on the Bricks at 7 p.m. today at Tru Cafe when Don Welch and David Rozema will be reading their poetry. I dare ya.

Besides all that, cranes dont dance and feed on the banks of the Platte River. They do all that stuff in the cornfields around the area. Honestly, dude, get your facts straight.

Sincerely, Rick Brown.

Rick Brown is a Hub staff writer who always wanted to weave the word guano into one of his columns.

email to:
Maotai, Chinas time-honered luxury liquor brand has confirmed its cooperation with Chinas largest commerce company, Alibaba, evolving to the business-to-consumer (B2C) e-commerce.

On Wednesday, Alibaba and Kweichow Moutai Wine, the state-owned enterprise specializing in the production and sales of Maotai liquor, signed a strategic agreement, which allows the e-commerce giant to provide all round service including data mining, online branding, and financial support to Maotai.

According to the agreement, their next important collaboration will be that, Maotai will start selling a new liquor product exclusively at Alibabas retail website Tmall.com, which is also Chinas largest B2C retail platform, since September.

The liquor product will debut on September 9, a new sales day devoted exclusively to deals on wine held by Alibaba. Wines of major brands from more than 50 countries and one hundred chateaus will be sold on Tmall on that day, said Alibaba.

Moutai, a distilled Chinese liquor, or baijiu, has been one of China's official state banquet wines and considered the gold standard of Chinese baijiu.
COUNCIL BLUFFS  Mechanic Jason Sequenzia looked up from his workplace near 16th and Broadway about 5:30 p.m. Thursday and saw a towering tornado that snaked thousands of feet from the clouds to a point near his Lake Manawa home.

It was plain as day, he said.

He called his fiancee, Deidre Edwards, who was with their 15-month-old son, reaching her just long enough to hear her say Its right there! before he lost the signal.

A frantic, four-mile drive  I didnt know if it took the home out  ended in relief.

A waterspout had formed over Lake Manawa shortly before 5:30 p.m., mesmerizing everyone who saw it. After waltzing on the lake for 10 minutes or so, it broke apart with no damage reported.

It was a spectacular sight. But it also was relatively harmless, thanks to its location on the lake.

The National Weather Service and emergency dispatchers on both sides of the Missouri River were inundated with phone calls from frantic citizens.

Were it not for the tornado forming in a metropolitan area, it probably never would have been recorded as occurring. Thats because it was one of the rare, weak tornadoes that form independent of supercells and was so small and out-of-place that it didnt show up on radar, said Cory Mead, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service.

The weather service found out about the tornado from eyewitness reports, he said. Thats why there wasnt a tornado warning and why emergency officials didnt sound the sirens until after the tornado had formed.

Typical tornadoes are spawned by powerful supercell storms that have enough energy to spin them out. A landspout or waterspout instead draws its energy from conflicting wind directions that occur as a front moves through and interacts with ground-level instability in the atmosphere, Mead said. In a powerful tornado, the funnel typically forms at the base of a cloud and snakes to the ground. In a waterspout, the funnel twists together thanks to the conflicting air currents at ground level and reaches toward the sky. Rope tornadoes such as these typically are short-lived.

Still, there was no way for Sequenzia and the thousands of others who saw it to know that.

As he approached his home, Sequenzia saw the waterspout dissipate. His girlfriend and their son had huddled in the basement crawlspace and were safe.

After the scare, Edwards said, I want to move someplace where there are no tornadoes.

Others drove over to Lake Manawa to get a good look, including Shawn Roberts, 49.

As a child, he had watched the 1975 tornado from a South Omaha rooftop. He did not find the waterspout very intimidating.

That ... was a baby, he said. It didnt go nowhere. I watched it for 10 minutes, at least.

Police vehicles raced by, their red lights and sirens the only other clue that something unusual was going on.

It wasnt a real big tornado. It looked like it was stationary, said Chris Davis, 41, of Council Bluffs, who also watched from across the lake.

As the waterspout hung over the lake, drivers on Interstate 480 in Omaha near the Missouri River bridge stopped to gawk and take cellphone pictures.

Driving to the Old Market for dinner, James and Dani Glover saw the spout from 10th Street. It looked like a rat tail coming out of the sky, he said.

The Glovers did not stop, but many others did. Fifteen to 20 people stood on the 10th Street bridge with their cellphones pointed toward the tornado.

Mike Walenta was working on the 17th floor of the First National Bank Building at 16th and Dodge when he heard the sirens go off. He walked from the west side of the building  where it was still sunny  to the east side. Then we saw it. ... It was just so weird. It was so small.

Dan Cater, general manager at Local Beer Patio & Kitchen at Ninth and Dodge, said about 20 patrons were in the restaurant when the funnel popped up.

No one left or took cover. He said workers were monitoring the news to determine whether they needed to evacuate the patrons to shelter areas and whether the bar would comp tabs. The No. 1 priority, Cater said, was safety. We just rode it out. Nothing happened really too crazy.

He said half the patrons werent too concerned. Its Nebraska, its a tornado and its not too close, he said. Others wondered whether they should leave and were calling friends and family.

After the funnel disappeared, he said, the group went back to business. Everybody just went back to drinking our good brew and eating good food, he said.

Steven McCann, a concierge at the Riverfront Place Towers condos that overlook the Missouri River, said residents and onlookers were fascinated with the waterspout, but no one seemed too overly concerned.

He said it seemed as if the tornado was in another world, with the Omaha side of the river still light and a bit cloudy, but not dark like the Bluffs side.

It was cool, kind of windy, he said. Definitely interesting to look at.

The Bluffs waterspout was one of two weak twisters that occurred Thursday afternoon. The other was near Ashland, Nebraska, and no damage was reported with it, either.

The Bluffs tornado was followed by stormy weather and heavy rains in parts of the metro. The popular musical event Jazz on the Green was called off. One band had performed, but the headliner, Davina & the Vagabonds, did not perform.

World-Herald staff writers Cole Epley, Cindy Gonzalez, Nancy Gaarder, Kevin Coffey, Erin Duffy and Emerson Clarridge contributed to this report.
Cabelas has long been one of my favorite shopping destinations. Its an experience. Even when I dont need anything, I will drive 80 miles from my hometown in Ohio to watch the fish in the aquarium, study the taxidermied game, or play in the shooting gallery. I inevitably purchase something. Its a smart business model.

But the company now appears headed for a sale, and sadly, thousands of jobs may be lost as anti-gun advocates value a meaningless protest over the livelihood of hardworking families.

Dick Cabela founded the brand in 1961, and Dicks brother, Jim, joined the company in 1963. The company now has 82 retail locations, large real estate holdings, data and warehousing centers, and even its own bank.

The sale of Cabelas, however, seems inevitable. Dick died in 2014 and stock has declined nearly 25 percent. The Cabela family does not have a strong presence in corporate leadership. And so with the company underperforming, it has been looking for a suitor, of which the most likely buyer appears to be Bass Pro Shops  Cabelas closest competitor.

If Bass Pro Shops is the buyer, the two very-similar brands would consolidate, and there would be no need for two corporate headquarters, merchandise return centers, call centers and other offices.

About 2,000 people work at Cabelas headquarters in Sidney, a town of 6,800. The entire local economy is dependent on the company. Thousands of other jobs in Nebraska and nationwide would also likely be lost in a merger with Bass Pro Shops.

There is an alternative. Upheaval is less assured if the company is acquired by a private equity firm, but private equity is leery of the purchase. Firms had shown interest earlier this year, but a mid-July report from the New York Times stated that the New York City employee pension fund was threatening to withdraw its money from any private equity fund that bought Cabelas. At issue is simply that Cabelas sells guns. The New York divestment push is part of a larger effort by anti-gun advocates to have major institutional investors abandon all gun holdings.

Its clear that the anti-gun lobby is ready to sacrifice thousands of American jobs on the altar of a euphemistic gesture.

Regardless of whether private equity or Bass Pro Shops buys Cabelas, the company will still sell guns. Regardless of whether every Bass Pro Shop and Cabelas were to shut down tomorrow, guns will still be sold in America.

At best, divestment campaigns are simply ignorant of how the stock market works. At worst, that ignorance deprives pension funds of money that could improve the lives of retirees. Share prices of firearms manufacturers have surged in the past decade as gun sales have risen. Divestment limits investment options and can force pension funds to purchase assets with lower returns. In this case, divestment hurts both the workers invested in pension funds along with workers at Cabelas. And it does this while accomplishing nothing in its goal of keeping guns away from dangerous people.

There is an entirely legitimate debate to be had over gun control. Much has been written on this issue elsewhere, and suffice to say many reasonable people have very different opinions about potential policy prescriptions.

But what is certain is that the potential loss of thousands of jobs is not an appropriate way to make a contentious political point.

Shawn McCoy is the publisher of InsideSources.
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With the completion of its first base station in Vientiane, Chinas BeiDou Navigation Satellite System has officially arrived in Laos.

With support from the National Administration of Surveying, Mapping and Geoinformation of China, Laos's satellite navigation system, which was built using the same blueprint as Chinas BeiDou Navigation Satellite System, has formally begun operation.

The system is compatible with the Continuous Operational Reference System (CORS) of the BeiDou Navigation Satellite System, GPS and GLONASS. It provides users across Laos with positioning and timing services. Construction of the base in Vientiane was completed on Aug. 1, and it passed the technical test right away.

The BeiDou Navigation Satellite System is one of four satellite navigation systems in the world. The other three systems are GPS (U.S.), GLONASS (Russia) and Galileo (Europe).
A number of photos showing eight J-15 fighters parked on the deck of the Liaoning aircraft carrier have recently surfaced online. The presence of the fight jets indicates that the combat capability of the aircraft carrier is growing quickly, according to Yin Zhuo, a military expert, in an interview with CCTV.

According to Yin, the Liaoning can carry over 20 aircraft. The number of fighter jets on its deck has increased from one or two in the initial stage to between four and eight today, indicating that the carrier's capacity for dispatching aircraft is increasing.

As a heavy fighter, the J-15 can launch strikes against land and sea targets. If the eight fighters take off simultaneously, they can strike multiple targets with precision-guided weapons.
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Summer is heating up, and so is the election rhetoric. In this years campaign for the White House, when it comes to verbally attacking each other, neither candidate seems to recognize any limits. Personally, I think this behavior reflects poorly on both candidates.

In heath care, its almost impossible to escape this negativity. The media devours and thrives upon it. In our hospitals, televisions in the doctors lounge, cafeteria and in individual patients rooms are ablaze with 24/7 cable network coverage.

The effects are demoralizing. The discussions that follow are almost never productive. I find it hard to believe how any of this can be conducive to recovery, let alone healing. As a physician, Im left wondering: How can we lead the way forward with a different kind of language, message, and behavior?

The language of war

Recently, I read an exceptional post by Dr. Robert Pearl titled, Why Doctors Should Stop Speaking the Language of War. In his post, Dr. Pearl makes an excellent case for how the language of warfare has infiltrated the culture of medicine and how it negatively affects our ability to move forward.

The language of war threatens to take us in the opposite direction, towards chaos and increased animosity.  Dr. Pearl

Dr. Pearls post struck a cord with me. As a medical student, I remember the residents complaining about how they were tortured with pages from the floor nurses. As a resident, my colleagues and I would commiserate about how, while on call, we got slaughtered by the emergency room. I once had a partner who proudly proclaimed he defended the faith by deflecting an admission to the medicine service. Recently, I was invited to serve on a board of urologists in the trenches for a prominent trade publication.

Foreign language

Medicine, like the military, has a hierarchical structure. Practitioners are faced, daily, with a variety of stressors and struggles. Perhaps these are some of the reasons why medicine has adopted this type of language. In my experience, the words we choose to use on a daily basis reflect our underlying perception of where we fit into a specific organization or a greater culture.

Terms drawn from war corrode the foundation of patient care and produce a victim mentality in physicians and staff, inhibiting improvement and change.  Dr. Pearl

As surgeons, when we use language commonly associated with conflict, I wonder what it says about us, and our profession? Does this language signal to our patients we believe we are commanders, comrades, servants or, worse, casualties in the art of healing?

Speaking a different language

Its difficult sometimes to see the forest through the trees. As we watch our presidential candidates give their speeches on television and social media, its clear: the words we chose and use matter.

Going forward, physicians must stop speaking the language of war, and replace it with words that represent the values and mission of medicine, words like healing and teamwork and recovery.  Dr. Pearl

As an individual physician, I cant change the language our future leaders choose to use. I can, however, change the language I choose to use. In this way, I have the power to create meaningful, positive, and lasting and change. I hope our future leaders change their verbiage and change their tone. At the end of the day, however, meaningful change begins with me.

Brian Stork is a urologist who blogs at his self-titled site, Dr. Brian Stork. He can be reached on Twitter @StorkBrian.

Image credit: Shutterstock.com
(Photo/cqnews.net)

A motor mechanic from southwestern China's Chongqing municipality has published 4 novels totaling 3 million words on the Internet over the past six years, local media reported.

During the daytime, Zhao Kang is a mechanic at a local garage. At night, he sits in front of the computer and composes his stories. Zhao can write 5,000 to 6,000 words per day.

Zhao began to display an interest in literature during middle school. He always used to read with his teachers, explaining that books brought him into a whole new world. After middle school, Zhao started working in Guangdong in order to help earn money for his family. During his career, he has worked in many places around the country in various industries, which gave him a unique perspective on life.

Two years later, in want of a more stable life, Zhao returned to Chongqing and studied motor mechanics. After finding a job in a local garage, Zhao began to write novels in his free time. The first novel he published earned him just under 3,000 yuan ($451). Though the money wasn't much, Zhao was still happy that there were people who loved reading his stories.

Zhao never received much of an education, but he has been an avid reader for years. With an eye for details, Zhao can always find new material for his books. His second story, told serially, was the sixth most popular piece on a literary website within six months of its publication. That story earned him 80,000 yuan, which is twice his yearly income.

When asked why he doesn't quit his job and focus on writing, Zhao replied that he enjoys the experience of doing two kinds of work. As a motor mechanic, Zhao says, he has to be responsible to his customers; as a writer, he must satisfy both his readers and himself.

Zhao spends almost all his spare time writing novels--a situation for which he apologizes to his family. However, Zhao hopes to set an example for his son to pursue his dreams and never give up.

(Photo/cqnews.net)
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Kirkland Lake Gold Inc. (TSX: KGI) reports net and comprehensive income for the second quarter of C$13.8 million and C$14 million, respectively, or 12 Canadian cents per share. As of Jan. 1, the company changed from an April 30 fiscal year-end to a Dec. 31 calendar year-end. Thus, the second-quarter earnings were compared to a similar period ending July 31, 2015, when earnings were C$4.2 million, or 5 Canadian cents per share. Gold production in the second quarter was 68,338 ounces. The average realized price was US$1,271, and all-in sustaining costs were US$990. Kirkland Lake says it remains on track to meet production guidance of between 270,000 to 290,000 ounces for 2016. "With the recently closed flow-through financing, we will become more aggressive in exploring our highly prospective land position in both the Kirkland Lake camp and along the Porcupine-Destor Fault Zone, says Anthony Makuch, president and chief executive officer. We look forward to providing an update on our exploration programs as they become available."

By Allen Sykora of Kitco News; asykora@kitco.com

Iamgold Reports Fatality From Bus Accident

Iamgold Corp. (TSX: IMG; NYSE: IAG) reports the death of a contractor's employee Thursday in a bus accident between Dori and Kaya in Burkina Faso. Also, seven injured Iamgold employees were taken to Ouagadougou for medical treatment. The company says the accident involved two Iamgold buses operated by Transcordec, which were transporting employees from the Essakane Mine to Ouagadougou. An investigation is under way. Our thoughts are with the family, friends and co-workers of our Transcordec colleague, and we are offering assistance and support to the individual's family, the company says.

By Allen Sykora of Kitco News; asykora@kitco.com

North American Palladium 2Q Net Loss Narrows

North American Palladium Ltd. (TSX: PDL; OTC PINK: PALDF), which operates the Lac des Iles palladium mine in Ontario, lists a narrower second-quarter loss than a year ago as production recovered but prices received for the metal were lower. The net loss was C$9.9 million, or 17 Canadian cents per share, compared to a net loss of C$96.8 million in the year-ago period. The company says it produced 38,203 ounces of palladium at an all-in sustaining cost US$699 per ounce, compared to 22,904 ounces at an AISC of US$1,456 a year ago. The mill shutdown in the second quarter of 2015 due to water balance issues makes year-over-year comparisons less meaningful, the company says. Officials report an average palladium selling price of US$564 per ounce, compared to US$758 last year. Underground production levels were impacted by seismicity and related ground issues during the quarter, which was expected as the Lac des Iles mine works through the transition to a sublevel shrinkage mining method, says Jim Gallagher, chief executive officer. Conversion is on schedule and should be largely complete by year end when underground production levels are expected to return to approximately 4,500 tonnes per day of ore. The raise of the east tailings dam is now complete and the new water-management facility will be commissioned in September. With tailings storage and water-capacity issues resolved and supported by the recent rise in palladium prices, we intend to return to a full mill run, from the current two-week-per-month batch process, in the fourth quarter of this year.

By Allen Sykora of Kitco News; asykora@kitco.com

Osisko Gold Royalties Posts Second-Quarter Profit

Osisko Gold Royalties Ltd. (TSX, NYSE: OR) lists second-quarter net earnings of $15.7 million, or 15 cents per share. The company reports 9,488 earned gold ounces, a 38% increase from the year-ago period. "During the past two years, we have successfully established Osisko Gold Royalties as the fourth-largest precious-metals royalty company with flagship royalties on two of Canada's largest and most modern gold operations, says Sean Roosen, chair and chief executive officer. Through the implementation of our innovative incubator model, we have been able to establish future growth opportunities on emerging precious-metals mining companies. The company also announces a quarterly dividend of 4 Canadian cents per share to be paid on Oct. 14 to shareholders of record as of the close of business on Sept. 30.

By Allen Sykora of Kitco News; asykora@kitco.com
(Kitco News) - Gold is in a strong bull market, and its only going to get better, this according to Barry Dawes, executive chairman of Australianbased financial services firm Martin Place Securities.

But, although he expects gold prices to rise as high as $1,500 by year end, Dawes argues that investors should look for gold shares to gain most.

The companies that have remodeled themselves and that are back on track are now starting to pay dividends, he told Kitco News in an interview Friday. I think that the gold sector dividends over the next few years, with the strong gold price, will be very substantial and thats going to attract a lot more interest.

Gold stocks, Dawes continued, are still very cheap when compared to the gold price and to equity markets, and thus has much more upside potential.

Although much attention is put on golds nearly 27% rise since December, the Gold Miners ETF Market Vectors exchange-traded fund (GDX)  a good gauge of investor interest in the mining sector  has rallied far more, up over 120% year to date.

According to Dawes, gold is in a powerful bull market and it is likely to stick around for at least the next 20 years. Unlike the doomsayers, Dawes is calling for a global economic boom and thinks gold stands to gain.

The world has never been as wealthy and the wealth is no longer a U.S. or Europe dominated force. China, India and South East Asia are now wealthy blocs with over 3,300 million people, he said.

Despite an early morning dip on Friday following a positive U.S. jobs report, December Comex gold futures last traded down 1.64% at $1,345 an ounce. Meanwhile, the GDX continues to trade at levels last seen in 2013, down 2.91% at $30.32 on the day.

By Sarah Benali of Kitco News; sbenali@kitco.com

Follow @SdBenali
The Moran School administration and theater building on Bainbridge Island has basically been unused for 50 years. The Washington Trust of Historic Preservation is currently seeking a buyer to save the 87-year-old structure from the wrecking ball. (Brad Camp | For the Kitsap Sun)

SHARE The owners of the 87-year-old Moran School building have given preservationists until Oct. 1 to find a buyer for the 87-year-old former theater and administration building. Otherwise, owners Soundcare Inc. of University Place plan to tear it down. (Brad Camp | For the Kitsap Sun) Structural engineers and architects recently toured the 87-year-old Moran School building near Skiff Point on Bainbridge Island to assess its condition. They decided the building, while damaged and neglected, is easily salvageable. (Brad Camp | For the Kitsap Sun) Architect Steven Day, left, and engineer Paul Faget recently toured the 87-year-old Moran School theater and administration building on Bainbridge Island. aI expected to see much more damage after looking at the exterior walls,a Day said. aThe stucco is shot but the frame and the bones are pretty much there and usable.a (Brad Camp | For the Kitsap Sun) Original windows and fixtures at the Moran School building on Bainbridge Island. (Brad Camp | For the Kitsap Sun)

By Tristan Baurick of the Kitsap Sun

It was between these cracked and crumbling classroom walls that a young man found a lifelong passion for science. He went on to win the Nobel Prize in physics.

A floor below, in this dusty, darkened theater, a young man found a love for design while crafting sets for his schoolmates plays. He went on to help pioneer the Pacific Northwests regional style of architecture.

And it was on this wide stairwell more than a half century ago that another young man found the spark for something even greater.

Thats where I courted my wife, Charles Lindenberg said of the Moran School building on Bainbridge Island. I learned how to use the phone there without having to put in a nickel, and Id spend hours talking to Nancy. There was no chair and the damn cord wasnt long enough so you could sit down on the floor. You really had to love a girl to stand there that long.

Lindenberg has gone back a few times to the former military school on Skiff Point, just south of Rolling Bay. Although the old theater building has sat unused for decades, a friendly maintenance man always dug up the key. Lindenberg would wander the four stories, stopping in at his bunk room and pausing at the stairwell landing.

Damaged, but Not Unsalvageable

But hes done with the building now.

The rot, the crumbling stucco, the graffitied walls and the dead rats on the floor only cast a dreary cloud over some of his best and brightest memories.

He loves the nearly 100-year-old building, he says, but when he heard it was destined for demolition in the coming months, his first thought was that maybe its time to put the thing out of its misery.

Paul Faget had the same thought when he saw the 13,000-square-foot building from the street the other day.

I was ready to condemn it, the structural engineer said.

But a long look inside has changed his mind.

Structurally, it doesnt have the liabilities or problems a lot of old buildings have, he said.

Architect Steven Day agreed.

I expected to see much more damage after looking at the exterior walls, he said. The stucco is shot but the frame and the bones are pretty much there and usable.

Faget and Day took a recent tour of the building at the request of the state Department of Archaeology and Historic Preservation. Their positive assessment came as a welcome surprise for preservationists who have mounted a quixotic campaign to save the building.

The building needs a more thorough assessment ... but right now we can at least be optimistic, said Chris Moore, field director for the Washington Trust for Historic Preservation, which named the building to its 2010 list of the states most endangered properties.

The trust has been given the go-ahead by the buildings owner, University Place-based Soundcare Inc., to find a buyer by Oct. 1. After that, Soundcare, which operates the nearby Messenger House nursing home, plans to knock the building down.

Part of Island History

The building was constructed shortly after Frank Moran, son of shipbuilder and former Seattle mayor Robert Moran, established Moran School on a bluff above Skiff Point in 1914.

While widely believed to have been built in 1918, a recent review of original Moran School documents indicates the building was actually completed in 1923, making it 87 years old.

Still one of the islands tallest, the building featured a 250-seat theater, store, laboratories, classrooms and a fourth-floor dormitory.

Its exterior was dressed in Southern Italian style, with white stucco walls accented by columns and tall, arched windows.

Although his connection to the school is largely unknown, Nobel laureate Walter Brattain graduated from Moran in 1920. Brattain went on to coinvent the transistor, which revolutionized the field of electronics and paved the way for computers. The breakthrough earned Brattain and his two lab partners the 1956 Nobel Prize in physics.

Seeing an early inkling of Brattains talents, a Moran physics teacher by the name of Yates gave the young cadet the duty of maintaining the schools diesel power plant. It was no small task, requiring a full rebuild whenever it broke down.

Just before his death in 1987, Brattain noted in an oral history that Mr. Yates helped inspire the physicist he would later become.

Another noted Moran alumnus was architect John Yeon. Seeking refuge from the schools rigid structure, Yeon spent much of time in the theater, building sets with wood and paper.

Yeon went on to design the iconic Watzek House in Portland. Built in 1936, the house is regarded as one of the earliest manifestations of the Pacific Northwest style of architecture.

Moran School closed in 1933, but not before it branched out into Seattle. Moran-Lakeside School now known simply as Lakeside remains one of the regions most prestigious private schools, and gave rise to the likes of Microsoft founders Bill Gates and Paul Allen.

In 1938, the school was reborn as the Puget Sound Naval Academy, a prep school that groomed boys for leadership roles in the U.S. Navy and Coast Guard.

Lindenberg, who graduated from the PSNA in 1950, remembers the early morning inspections, the empty-stomach marching, the lessons in naval tactics, navigation, Latin and proper moral behavior. But mostly he remembers Nancy, the comely local girl he met on a beach trail, courted on the phone and eventually married.

Lindenberg is also ready with the well-worn tale of his trip to Portland aboard the schools 136-foot minesweeper. Stripped of radio and navigation equipment and crewed by cadets, the ship nearly ran aground as it fumbled through the treacherous mouth of the Columbia River.

We scraped some paint off on those sandbars, but we did make it down to Portland, Lindenberg said.

On the foggy return trip, the cadets overshot their destination a bit, ending up on the west side of Vancouver Island rather than the east side of Bainbridge.

It was quite an adventure, but I could not have been happier when we got back, he said.

50 Years of Neglect

A year later, in 1951, the PSNA closed for good. For a time, the theater doubled as a rehabilitation center, but the building sat largely unused for the last 50 years.

We just never found a use for the building, said Edwin Wheeler, board president of Soundcare, the company that assumed ownership in the 1960s and still uses one of the schools other main buildings. We didnt go out and harm it, but we also didnt put any capital into it. The deterioration naturally occurred.

The most serious problems, according to Faget, the structural engineer, are two rotted exterior wall sections that sit directly under the buildings gutters. According to Messenger House staff, the gutters havent been cleaned for decades, forcing water down into the wall boards.

The rot appears isolated and might easily be replaced, Faget said.

Still, the buildings electrical and plumbing systems would need a complete overhaul. And everything from floors, walls and ceilings would need extensive repair. Day, the architect, said its tough to put a number on it, but starting at $2 million would be a safe guess.

Despite having unobstructed views of Seattle, the nearly one-acre property isnt expensive. Soundcare has hinted it may let the place go for less than its assessed value of $192,600.

The buildings uses are limited by its residential zoning, but exceptions could be made for educational, governmental, religious or health care-related enterprises.

Dave Williams, chair of the city Historical Preservation Commission, has a list of ideas: a bed-and-breakfast, a fine arts center, a writers retreat. Maybe even a satellite campus for Lakeside or a Seattle art school.

As Williams points out, the building presents a rare opportunity.

They arent allowing four-story buildings by the waterfront on Bainbridge anymore, he said.

Even if the building finds a deep-pocketed, history-loving savior, Lindenberg likely wont make a return trip.

I went several years in a row, he said. You listen for the bugle, and all the cadets talking and the class bell ringing. But nothings there.

Its true what they say, that you cant go back.

But, he added, that doesnt mean another generations memories cant be born in the old building. Hes skeptical much can be done with it, but hes hopeful something will.

More on Moran

The Moran School theater building is located at 10861 Manitou Park Boulevard NE on Bainbridge Island, just south of Rolling Bay. The building is likely to be demolished unless a buyer comes forward before Oct. 1.

For more information about the building, contact the Washington Trust for Historic Preservation at (206) 624-9449.
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Ronald Loyd Ewick

of Port Orchard

March 26, 1937

to July 24, 2016

Veteran

Ronald L. Ewick left his beloved family on July 24, 2016 surrounded by his daughters and grandchildren. He joined the Untied States Navy in 1954 and while stationed at the Puget Sound Naval Shipyard in Bremerton, Washington he met and married Patricia J. Stilwill on June 1, 1957.

Please join Ronnie's family at Tahoma National Cemetery Aug. 26, at 1:30 p.m., where he will be interred during a veteran's honor service. A reception will follow at his daughter's home at 23617 127th CT SE, Kent, Washington.

Remembrances can be made in his name to the American Cancer Society or the Disabled American Veterans.
(File photo)

A woman from Shanghai gave birth last December, but her road to motherhood was complicated by a breast cancer diagnosis that she received during her pregnancy.

The woman, named Zhang Lijun, was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in her fifth month of pregnancy. The doctors suggested that Zhang have her labor induced so as to undergo cancer treatment as early as possible. However, the mother-to-be refused the doctors' recommendation and decided to postpone her treatment until after she had delivered the baby.

Since Zhang couldn't undergo any treatments, which would be toxic for the baby, her condition deteriorated rapidly. Finally, to speed up Zhang's delivery, the hospital decided that she should have the baby via a cesarean section.

The baby was finally born last December, three months in advance of Zhang's original due date. Unfortunately, by that time Zhang's cancer had already spread. Palliative treatment was her only choice. In order to leave some memories for the baby, Zhang started recording videos for her child to watch in the future. She recorded 18 of them in total, and requested that the child be given one to watch on each birthday.

Zhang recently traveled with her husband to the U.S., both for leisure and medical treatment. Now she is back home, still fighting the advancing disease.
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Being involved in politics for over 50 years  first as a student and thereafter as an active volunteer in dozens of campaigns  I likely have a refrain similar to millions of us Americans about this year's presidential candidates.

Recently I have been able to discuss the campaign with visitors to our area from both England and France. Their refrain is quite similar to mine  and ours.

That refrain might best be expressed in the form of a Bronx cheer.

A week or so ago, as several of my prior columns have been critical of Donald Trump, I had hoped to finish up reading several books I have on Hillary Clinton to try in the spirit of balance to offer some focused and hopefully useful critique of her.

Unfortunately due to other workload I had to defer that reading, and also found myself distracted once again by Mr. Trump putting his foot firmly in his mouth, and then when he was challenged on what he said, putting his other foot in as well.

These repetitive, seemingly unconsidered statements, remind me of the stream-of-consciousness musings that my father used as a motif in his novel about business. My father's novel used interior monologue in the James Joyce-style to enable the protagonist to search within himself for an answer before expressing to others an opinion, or taking an action, or even adopting a particular lifestyle.

In that sense my father was tracking on Luke 12:13-21, dealing with the rich man storing his earthly treasures. A recent sermon I heard spoke of that passage as being a challenge to all of us to ponder in our minds what actions would do the greater good, before we took the action.

In my father's novel a lawyer shoots from the hip and loses in love to the perhaps equally revolutionary scientist who habitually ponders before acting. Both are genuine in their own way. But the one who is both thoughtful and honest wins the day.

While as noted above, I will reserve substantial comments on Hillary Clinton and her honesty for a future column, I am focusing in this column on Mr. Trump's thoughtlessness, and his apparent failure to ponder before speaking.

While in politics one has to be careful to be aware that sometimes what appears wild or bizarre is sometimes thoroughly poll-tested and conceived by those in tune with the mood of the target voting demographic, Mr. Trump appears reflexively tuned to simply fight first and ask questions later.

An able revolutionary doesn't act this way.

I think based on the revolutionary-like banner raised by Bernie Sanders, and the vastly different banner raised by Donald Trump, many if not most Americans do want some form of political revolution. Sanders lost control of his, and fortunately it looks like Trump is losing control of his.

Those loses might well be both the first American political tragedy of this century, and a real blessing  a tragedy because revolutions suppressed for too long may well come back with a vengeance; yet a blessing because Sanders and Trump are likely the wrong leaders of their strangely parallel revolutions.

You lose control when you don't understand that your movement is greater than yourself and needs a wise and temperate touch. History rewards some leaders with that mantle. Martin Luther King, Nelson Mandela, Mahatma Gandhi and Winston Churchill are obvious candidates who steered their country at a critical juncture.

Part of an editorial I found in the Hartford Courant July 16 wisely noted the qualities that such leadership would encourage:

"But what we need is dialogue that lasts through the dark nights and into the days beyond . We march, we chant, we post online, and sometimes free speech and public outcry lead to significant social change . But a critical part of our vaunted freedom of speech is the responsibility to listen."

Speaking of listening, if Donald Trump had reacted to the speech given by Mr. Khan at the Democratic convention about his son by first listening and pondering, he might well have simply acknowledged in a genuine way their sacrifice, pain and anger  instead of fighting anger with more anger. Turn the other cheek, like King  and fight only when absolutely necessary, as did Churchill. Tough to do  and I fail at it nearly every day. But national leadership vitally needs such reflection before action  but action it does so desperately need  hence the "revolution."

Instead of such maturity, Mr. Trump received these words from a living national hero, John McCain:

"While our Party has bestowed upon him the nomination, it is not accompanied by unfettered license to defame those who are the best among us. Lastly, I'd like to say to Mr. and Mrs. Khan: thank you for immigrating to America. We're a better place because of you. And you are certainly right; your son was the best of America, and the memory of his sacrifice will make us a better nation  and he will never be forgotten."
Stuff reports:

Two Lincoln University students have admitted using a row boat to carry out the first burglary in 17 years on Great Barrier Island in the Hauraki Gulf.

The pair not only took property from the holiday home but caused $14,518 damage. 

After they apologised and paid for the losses, the burglary victim was not opposed to the pair being granted a discharge without conviction. The victim said the whole Great Barrier community had been affected, and, according to a local police constable, it was the first burglary on the island for 17 years.

Ruane and Stecks counsel, Cindy Lee, argued that the pair should be granted the discharge because of the likely consequences on their career prospects of having a burglary conviction on their records. It might affect future travel plans.

Both were studying for degrees and were seen as a low risk of reoffending, Lee said.

Discharges can be granted when the consequences of a conviction are out of all proportion to the gravity of the offence.

Judge Strettell said it was a serious offence  a burglary involving so much property taken and damaged. He was not satisfied the consequences were out of proportion. Although the pair took steps to right the wrongs, some offences were so serious that they must have consequences for everyone.
The Herald reports:

Philippine President Rodrigo The Punisher Duterte is set to name up to 50 officials allegedly involved in drugs as state-sanctioned street executions of civilians soar to 600.

Mr Dutertes lawyer Salvador Panelo said that 27 local executives identified in intelligence reports would be unmasked this week that figure had almost doubled.

My God, you will be shocked, Mr Panelo said last night, according to thePhilippine Inquirer.

He declined a request to give examples, citing operational reasons, but revealed many on the list were from prominent families and included provincial mayors and police generals and military figures.

The extraordinary development comes a day after Mr Duterte issued a shoot on sight order for Mayor Rolando Espinosa of Albuera and his son Rolando Kerwin Espinosa after three mayoral staffers were caught with ice, known as shabu in the Philippines.

The Radyo Inquirer said that the mayor surrendered on Tuesday after police shot dead six bodyguards during an early morning raid at the heavily fortified family compound.

Authorities have vowed to hunt down and kill his son, who vanished weeks ago after learning Duterte was coming after him.
Politico report:

The U.S. and Russia have turned the race for United Nations secretary-general into the latest front in their escalating war for geopolitical influence. Washington, which is believed to want a woman in the U.N. role, has been backing Argentinas foreign minister in the secretive selection process, U.N. sources say. Meanwhile, U.N. sources say Russia is angling for a female Bulgarian diplomat with family ties to the Soviet Union, a nod to its desire to see an Eastern European in the job.

Malcorra (Argentina) only had seven votes in favour (one less than Clark) and Bokova had nine votes in the first straw poll. But if US and Russia veto each others preferred candidates.

During these early rounds of informal balloting, the five permanent members of the Security Council  the U.S., Britain, France, China and Russia  cannot use their vetoes to knock out candidates. But as the field narrows, the U.S. and Russian influence will only increase because they will be allowed to use their vetoes. By October, when many expect a victor to emerge, that person may not be the one whos most qualified but instead someone who draws the fewest objections from Obama and Putin.

The next straw poll is out in the next 24 hours.

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(File photo)

With the implementation of the universal two-child policy in China, enterprises with a high proportion of female workers are facing shortages in their labor force, People's Daily reported on Aug. 5.

In Xiangyan Elementary School in Jinan, Shandong pronvince, 75 of the 90 faculty members are women. The school's principal, Li Hong, said that four female teachers are currently on maternity leave, and five more are pregnant. A recent survey at the school showed that 11 female teachers were planning to have kids after getting married, and 25 are planning to have a second child.

According to Li, the women planning to have a second child are mostly experienced teachers, and there is no way to fully cushion the impact their absence will have if they are on maternity leave at the same time.

In order to ensure the reproductive rights of women, many local governments have extended the length of maternity leave. For example, in Henan province, women can enjoy a maternity leave lasting as long as 190 days no matter if they are having their first baby or their second. However, such policies have brought challenges to schools. One principal complained that 90 percent of his school's teachers are female, and the new policy means they may be on leave for more than half a year including summer vacation after giving birth.

"There will be no teachers for some courses if the school doesn't intervene," the principal said.

In most cases, as long as the quality of teaching is not seriously impacted, schools are doing their best to guarantee the rights and security of pregnant and post-partum teachers. Some schools request that the female teachers stagger their pregnancies, while some allow teachers who are breastfeeding leave work an hour early in order to feed their babies.

However, not all employers are being so generous. Some private companies still require employees to return to work after only one month of maternity leave.
Baku, Azerbaijan, Aug.5

By Azad Hasanli - Trend:

The directions of tax reforms approved Aug.4 by Azerbaijans President Ilham Aliyev will make it possible to apply more favorable value-added tax (VAT) rates for the socially vulnerable layers of the population, reduce the tax burden on small and medium-sized business, resolve problems during taxation of trade operations and so on, a source in the countrys government told Trend Aug.5.

Currently, a single VAT rate of 18 percent is applied in Azerbaijan.

The source noted that taking into account the international practice, the list of goods, work and services for which the differentiated VAT rates will be applied, will likely include baby food and clothes, school supplies, various services for socially vulnerable layers of the population, as well as healthcare services.

One of the paragraphs of the directions of tax reforms implies reducing the tax burden.

The source pointed out that first of all, this will apply to small and medium entrepreneurs. Azerbaijani government has recently taken serious measures for the development of small and medium-sized business.

Cancellation of all types of inspections of entrepreneurial activities for a period of two years in November 2015 is among such measures.

There are exceptions such as checks carried out by the General Directorate for Combating Corruption under the Prosecutor General, as well as cases, where there is a threat to health and life, national security and economic interests. The current decree of the president can be considered as the continuation of these reforms.

The source said that special attention in the document is paid to taxation for trade operations.

As we know, retail trade networks had some problems related to taxation, noted the source. Currently, the value-added tax in the retail trade sphere is calculated on the basis of annual turnover.

The source also added that new amendments envisage calculation of the value-added tax on the basis of trade relations.

Criteria that clearly differentiate the concept of wholesale and retail trade will also be defined, said the source.

Currently, there are certain complications in this sphere, noted the source, adding that however, after the introduction of the decrees provisions, these problems can be eliminated.

Azerbaijans President Ilham Aliyev signed a decree to approve directions of reforms, which will be held in the tax sphere in 2016, and on improvement of tax management.
One after another, news reports about violence at Catholic churches in France kept stacking up.

There was a mysterious fire on a church altar in Provence. Elsewhere, someone attacked the tabernacle containing the unleavened bread used in the Mass, scattering hosts on the floor. Attackers destroyed crosses and crucifixes in graveyards.

None of this surprised the Pro Europa Christiana Federation, which collects French media reports on anti-Christian acts of this kind. In 2015, they found 810 similar attacks in France.

But the murder of Father Jacques Hamel was different. The attackers interrupted a Mass, shouting "Allahu Akbar" and references to the Islamic State. The duo forced the elderly priest to kneel at the altar, where they slit his throat in what may have been an attempted beheading.

A nun who escaped  Sister Danielle  told reporters: "They told me, 'You Christians, you kill us.' They forced him to his knees. ... That's when the tragedy happened. They recorded themselves. They did a sort of sermon around the altar, in Arabic. It's a horror."

This drama unfolded in the church of Saint-Etienne-du-Rouvray, named for St. Stephen, the first Christian martyr, noted Archbishop Anthony Fisher of Australia, during a "Mass In Time Of Persecution" in Sydney.

"Though we welcome the solidarity of those of other faiths, and while we recognize that this was very much an attack on France, on civilization, on all religions more generally, we cannot ignore the fact that this was also a targeted attack on our Christian faith," he said.

"The two terrorists meant to go into a Catholic church. They meant to kill a priest of Jesus Christ. They meant to take nuns and faithful laity as hostages. They were not just looking for any old building, with any old people inside. And the terrorists underlined the meaning of their actions by engaging in a ritual sacrifice of the priest before the altar and a mock homily. So their act was not just murder, but also sacrilege, desecration, blasphemy."

Yes, Father Hamel had a history of kindness to the Muslim community. But in the end, his death was best described with a term rooted in Christian history, said Fisher, a member of the Vatican's Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. Hamel died "in odium fidei"  due to an act committed in "hatred of the faith."

"This is a term Catholics use," he explained, "to describe the characteristic death of a martyr, as one who dies for his or her faith, and because of that faith."

There were, however, Catholics who questioned claims that Hamel's murder was driven by religion, even the radicalized, twisted version of Islam proclaimed by ISIS.

Crucial to this debate was a statement after the murder by Father Federico Lombardi, the recent Vatican spokesman.

Pope Francis, he said, "has been informed and participates in the pain and horror of this absurd violence. ... We are particularly affected because this horrific violence took place in a church, a sacred place where the love of God is proclaimed, with the barbaric killing of a priest."

If the pope called the murder "absurd," then it would be a rush to judgment to call this act "in odium fidei," argued Austen Ivereigh, author of "The Great Reformer: Francis and the Making of a Radical Pope."

"In describing Rouen murder as 'absurd,' Pope refers to its pointless banality. Don't glorify it/them by ascribing religious etc. motives," wrote Ivereigh on Twitter. "So many of my coreligionists are falling into the trap set by ISIS. Trying to turn Fr Hamel's pointless murder into a sacralized act."

Catholic conservative Phil Lawler sharply disagreed, stressing that the terrorists knew why they killed a priest at a church altar.

"If you believe that he is a martyr, you can't say that his murderers acted irrationally. If you believe that they acted irrationally, you can't call him a martyr," argued Lawler, in a CatholicCulture.org commentary.

"A delusional schizophrenic might kill someone selected at random. That would be a tragedy, but not a martyrdom. The victim might be a wonderful person; he might even be a canonizable saint. But he would not be a martyr, because he did not die as a witness to the faith. Father Hamel did. ... He is not the first such victim; he will not be the last."

Terry Mattingly is the editor of GetReligion.org and Senior Fellow for Media and Religion at The King's College in New York City. He lives in Oak Ridge, Tenn.
UT students Caroline Szukelewicz and Lexee Schell opt for coordinating neutral colored bed linens to give their dorm room a homey look.

SHARE Jenny Parkhurst, owner of The Back Porch Mercantile, says shoppers are looking for something special for decorating a small space. Popular small accessories include faux flowers and frames. "They are putting more thought into the theme and style of the room," she said. Caroline Szukelewicz recommends a queen-size comforter to serve as a bed skirt that covers risers. It also will be useful in later in an apartment. It is important to read the rules about what is not allowed in a dorm room for safety reasons. Lexee Schell likes to use flameless candles to cast a cozy glow.

By Ali James of the Knoxville News Sentinel

In just one week thousands of students and their anxious parents will descend upon residence halls to transform empty dorm rooms into home for the next school year.

UT students Caroline Szukelewicz remembers bringing too much with her for her first year in a dorm.

"I'm from out of state so I took my entire room with me and then realized I didn't need that much," she said. "If you bring too much stuff it will end up in your car or your closet."

Lexee Schell avoids too many matching color-coordinated plastic organizers. "Invest in something nicer," she said. "I bought stuff at a big box store that I ended up throwing away because when it comes down to it, it's too much stuff to bring home at the end of the year."

"Only in college do people throw away perfectly good stuff that they can't bring home," said Szukelewicz. They have seen a lot of people leave television stands, futons, and plastic containers  even a Keurig coffee maker.

Szukelewicz and Schell share some of their favorite tips for converting compact quarters into a coordinated and clutter-free room.

Schell draws inspiration from other girls' dorm rooms and pins plenty of pictures on Pinterest. Szukelewicz pins pictures that represent her style, takes a look at what she already has, then decides how to incorporate other items to get the look.

"I start with my bed and try and make everything color-coordinate," said Szukelewicz. "The good thing about choosing neutral is that you can go with tan, pink or grey."

She also suggested talking about colors with your roommate before moving in. "I would rather match than clash, it gives your roommate an option to stay in the same color palette, and bring in pops of color with throw pillows." Or by adding eye-catching wall decor, according to the girls.

"A queen-sized comforter hangs off the side of the bed when you have risers," said Schell. "You can use it for all of college on a twin or a full-sized bed and change your accessories and get a completely different room."

"Get the twin extra-long bedding, but you only need the sheets to fit the bed," said Szukelewicz.

Both students recommend using college community Facebook pages to pick up items you need from other students and to resell items when you're through with them. They have often seen people buy furniture from resale pages and refinish them for a personalized look.

Tapestries, particularly hung on those old cinder block walls, are "a great way to pull a room together," said Schell. "Some apartments you can paint, but you have to paint it back at the end of the year. A tapestry is a good alternative without committing to painting your walls," added Szukelewicz.

Another pretty, yet functional, must-have is a rug to warm up tile floors.

For a touch from home, Szukelewicz opted for her own table lamps over the supplied utilitarian desk lamps. "I just like having as much light as possible," she said. "I hang Christmas lights and avoid curtains." Keeping the room as light as possible is key for waking up for early classes, added Schell.

Schell said it is important to know what the rules are. Flameless candles are a good option for a cozy glow without the fire hazard. And diffusers can add fragrance without the danger of plug-ins.

When it comes to desk organizers, both Schell and Szukelewicz repurpose and paint Mason jars to stash pens and pencils and add a personalized touch.

To maximize storage (and reduce clutter in the room) Schell suggested adding hanging storage in the closet. And she likes to bring her own chair for her desk to dress up the space.

"Having a really homey room is going to make your adjustment to college a lot easier," said Schell. "Because you'll have a home away from home rather than a stark plain dorm room."

Jenny Parkhurst, owner of The Back Porch Mercantile, has seen such a spike in back-to-school shopping at her store that she hosted a dorm decoration celebration in July. Many shoppers were looking for something unique and advice for decorating a small space.

"When I was in school we had no AC in Hess Hall at UT," said Parkhurst. "It has changed a lot. I think that's also why they invest in their rooms more now. They have more options, and it's much nicer."

"Because people are thinking long term they want to use things longer," she added. "Someone bought two mercury glass lamps and another shopper purchased a six-foot piece of art for her room."

Another big splurge, said Parkhurst, are luxe pillows because students often prefer to sit on their beds to study.

"Parents seem to be giving more of the discretionary income," said Parkhurst. "They are choosing good quality linens and thinking about the quality of the mattress and getting the most value long term. Neutrals are a big deal; it's much easier to put their statement into their throw pillows."

And Parkhurst said that students are focusing on layering textiles for a homey feel.

Capucine Monk has just helped her daughter, McKenna, move into her room for the fourth, and final, year of college. Monk, who runs Project Girl Consulting, said that since she helps organize people for a living, she has picked up a trick or two.

"We didn't buy into the hype of spending thousands of dollars on decorating," said Monk. "I used what we had, put the bed on risers to store stuff and invested in matching duvet covers from Pottery Barn Teen and matching European pillows that look pretty and double as a headboard."

Install a rug before decorating and choose an allergen-free mattress cover, since not all schools have clean mattresses, advised Monk. Stackable drawers for under the bed and beneath the refrigerator also serve as a pantry.

Her daughter also purchased curtains for the dorm room from someone who had already lived there, so they already were sized to fit.

"You really have to think through the bigger purchases," said Monk. When her daughter purchased a $100 futon and had it delivered to her dorm, they couldn't later get it in the car to take home. "So it just got donated, but I would sleep on it when I went to visit, and it was cheaper than a hotel room."

"I think people try to break the bank in trying to compete," said Monk. "Everybody's dorm is different. At least go and see an example before you start decorating."

And above all, she said, parents need to breathe. "There will be traffic (on move-in day) and volunteers to help. Parents need to remember to be nice to them," she said. "But they need to remember that the children that are moving in are adults and they can do a lot of it themselves. You don't need to hold their hand."
Heather Cooper (BLOUNT COUNTY SHERIFF'S OFFICE)

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By Don Jacobs of the Knoxville News Sentinel

Knox County Schools hired a substitute teacher in December who had been fired from Ruby Tuesday after she allegedly stole more than $60,000 from the company.

Heather Cooper, 34, of Seymour, was hired Dec. 14, 2015, as a substitute teacher, according to Abbey Harris, public affairs specialist with Knox County Schools.

On Jan. 6, 2015, Cooper was fired by Ruby Tuesday after the discovery she had been for nearly two years siphoning funds to her private account, according to Maryville Police Chief Tony Crisp.

"She was an employee of Ruby Tuesday in the payroll department," Crisp said.

Company officials alleged Cooper from May 2, 2013, until the day of her termination "had over 100 transactions involving benefits that she directed to her personal account electronically," Crisp said.

Ruby Tuesday, however, did not immediately report the suspected embezzlement to the Maryville Police Department.

"Initially, Ruby Tuesday reported it to the IRS (Internal Revenue Service), but apparently it didn't meet their threshold for action," the chief said.

In mid-June, Ruby Tuesday filed a report with Maryville police. Maryville Lt. Detective Carlos Hess launched an investigation that on Wednesday resulted in Cooper's arrest on a charge of theft over $60,000.

"We got a statement from her that helped matters," Crisp said of the probe.

Harris said Cooper won't be teaching while the charge is pending.

"It is the policy of the Knox County Schools that as long as a substitute teacher is involved in a criminal case, they are not eligible to teach in our schools," Harris said.

She is certified as a practitioner teacher and endorsed in Elementary K-6th grade.
Baku, Azerbaijan, Aug 5

By Aygun Badalova, Farhad Daneshvar  Trend:

President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev and his Iranian counterpart Hassan Rouhani are expected to discuss the issues of trade, transportation and energy as well as regional security during President Rouhanis upcoming Baku visit on Aug. 7.

President Rouhani is expected to arrive in Baku in the coming days for trilateral and bilateral talks with Ilham Aliyev and Russian counterparts Vladimir Putin on the issues of interest.

North-South transportation corridor

An ambitious project for creating the North-South transportation corridor has been in spotlight as a key topic in bilateral and trilateral talks over the past several years as the prospects for cooperation between Azerbaijan and Iran in transportation sphere seems very promising.

Azerbaijan and Iran are participants of the large and perspective North-South transportation corridor, which is meant to connect Northern Europe with Southeast Asia. The project is notable for its benefits not only for development of the economies of two countries involved, but also for other countries, located along the railway route and the region as a whole.

While Iran and Azerbaijan have launched construction works aimed at connecting their railway systems as two major participants of the transportation corridor, the bilateral meeting between Rouhani and Aliyev is expected to give a further impulse in the projects implementation.

Meanwhile, Iran's Ambassador to Azerbaijan Mohsen Pak Ayeen told Trend that both sides have taken proper measures to fulfill their commitments regarding the transport cooperation.

Massive construction works are underway to connect the railways of Iran and Azerbaijan in both countries and almost 60 percent of the project has already been completed, Pak Ayeen said.

At the initial stage, it is planned to transport 5 million tons of cargo via the North-South corridor per year and to increase the figure to over 10 million tons in the future. In addition to its international aspects, the corridor will have a significant role in reducing transportation costs as well as booming volume of trade turnover between Iran and Azerbaijan.

Trade

While trade turnover between Azerbaijan and Iran is expected to shoot up by 80 percent over the coming months, adopting policies in order to encourage traders seems to be on the agenda.

Providing the traders with incentives like easing visa requirements and decreasing customs duties would contribute to growing trade turnover, said Mohsen Pak Ayeen.

The value of trade turnover between the two neighboring countries increased by 66 percent over the first half of 2016 and it is projected to hit $1 billion on the medium-term.

According to the latest statistics by Irans Custom Administration, the Islamic Republic imported worth of $15.4 million of goods from Azerbaijan over the first quarter of the current Iranian calendar year which started March 20.

Energy

While Energy sphere has an important role in strategic cooperation between the two neighboring countries, their ties in the energy sector could touch upon oil, gas and power.

Back in February 2016, following President Ilham Aliyevs Tehran visit, a memorandum of understanding was signed for cooperation in oil and gas sphere between the two countries.

Iran is already participating in developing of Azerbaijan's huge Shah Deniz field. The two countries also have gas swap infrastructure via which Azerbaijan supplies its fuel to Iran's northern provinces.

Azerbaijan and Iran are considered as countries with rich gas reserves and they both have intentions to increase their export capacities.

Initiated by Azerbaijan, the Southern Gas Corridor project, aimed at providing the EU with alternative gas supply sources, may also be an opportunity for Iran to reach European market.

The sides have already begun discussions on the possibility of delivering Iranian gas to the Europe via the Southern Gas Corridor.

Speaking of power, both Azerbaijan and Iran are keen to boost cooperation as the two countries have plans to connect their electricity networks and significantly increase electricity trade.

In December, 2015 Azerbaijan and Iran signed a MoU on electricity swap, which envisages linking the two countries' power grids. The upcoming bilateral meeting is expected to contribute further development to cooperation between the two countries in energy sphere.

Security

Terrorism and violent extremism as well as drug trafficking pose threat against regional security therefore the heads of the countries would possibly discuss the ways to counter the existing threats.

Also, the Armenia-Azerbaijan Nagorno-Karabakh conflict as well as escalation of military clashes in April have caused serious concerns among the regional countries.

The Islamic Republic has said that Azerbaijan's integral sovereignty is of high importance for Iran, voicing its readiness to help settling the conflict.

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.

It appears that whatever the outcome of the talks will be, its results would have a positive and lasting impact on improving economic situation and also the security of the whole region.
Surveillance image from Walmart on Walbrook Drive of man suspected of using bank card of woman sexually assaulted July 2012.

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By Don Jacobs of the Knoxville News Sentinel

KNOXVILLE  Police hope someone will recognize a man who used the bank card of a woman who was sexually assaulted in 2012 and lead to the arrest of the assailant.

Knoxville police on Thursday released on the agency's Facebook page two pictures of a man walking from the Walmart on Walbrook Drive. The images were captured at 6:13 a.m. July 30, 2012, after the man used the bank card of a sexual assault victim, police said.

Knoxville Police Department spokesman Darrell DeBusk said investigators are unsure if the man who used the 25-year-old woman's bank card is the same man who committed the assault.

According to police, an investigator on July 30, 2012, was sent to Parkwest Medical Center to meet the woman "who indicated she had been sexually assaulted overnight." The woman said she had been at a nightclub in Knox County with friends, but got separated from the group.

She met a man at the club who after conversing for a while offered her a ride home. The man was driving a white, four-door Nissan Versa with a temporary tag, police said.

"During the ride home the victim was sexually assaulted outside the suspect's vehicle at an unknown location," police said. The woman returned to the man's car and "was dropped off at her friend's house," police said.

The woman, however, left her purse in the man's car. In the purse were her identification and bank card.

The man seen on the surveillance images used the victim's bank card on the same day of the assault. Police said the suspect is about 6 feet tall, weighed about 180 pounds and appeared to be wearing prescription glasses. He also had "noticeable scarring on both of his forearms, according to police.

Police asked that anyone with information about the suspect call the crime information line at 865-215-8212.

More details as they develop online and in Friday's News Sentinel.
By Jamie Satterfield of the Knoxville News Sentinel

The government's star witness against state Rep. Joe Armstrong is an admitted tax cheat, thief and liar.

The question for jurors will be whether those qualities made Charles Stivers a perfect match to collude with the veteran Democratic lawmaker from Knoxville to cheat the IRS or a con man willing to sacrifice an innocent man to save himself.

Stivers took the witness stand Thursday in the trial of Armstrong on federal charges of conspiring with Stivers to hide a $321,000 windfall from a sin tax hike from the IRS, evade taxes and file a false tax return. The trial before Senior U.S. District Judge Thomas Phillips began Tuesday. The government rested its case late Thursday afternoon.

Stivers spent most of Thursday on the witness stand, his attorneys watching from the audience. He struck a deal to plead guilty to conspiring with Armstrong but has not yet been sentenced.

Prosecutors Charles Atchley Jr. and Frank Dale contend Armstrong paid Stivers nearly $77,000 to funnel through his investment firm the money the lawmaker made in a deal with Tru Wholesale, a tobacco wholesaler, to profit from a 2007 cigarette tax stamp hike. Armstrong was one of 60 lawmakers who voted to approve the hike.

Defense attorney Gregory P. Isaacs contends Stivers, Armstrong's longtime accountant, told the lawmaker he could have a legal tax savings if he routed the money through Stivers' firm and that Stivers then stole the nearly $77,000 Armstrong gave Stivers to cover the taxes and Stivers' fee.

Only two people know the truth  Stivers and Armstrong  so Stivers' credibility with jurors will prove tantamount to the government's case. Armstrong, whose credibility also will be key, is expected to testify Friday.

Dale was forced to perform damage control right off the bat with Stivers. The Kentucky accountant lied to IRS investigators, gave them a fake document, changed his story to implicate Armstrong, wrote a letter insisting Armstrong was innocent and being persecuted by the government, then recanted that letter and still has garnered immunity from prosecution for thievery and other cases of tax evasion.

Stivers and Armstrong met in the late 1990s when both served on the board of Tengasco, a Knoxville-based oil and natural gas company. Stivers also served on the board of Miller Energy, now mired in its own corporate scandals. Stivers provided tax services and financial advice to board members of both firms.

But as he admitted under cross-examination by Isaacs, Stivers led a double life  upstanding businessman and thief. Isaacs ticked off the names of at least six clients Stivers helped evade taxes, whose money he stole, or both. Stivers did not deny it.

Stivers testified Armstrong called him about an investment opportunity in which Armstrong needed $250,000 to pay a Knoxville tobacco wholesaler for 42 rolls of tax stamps that were set to increase in value from 20 cents apiece to 62 cents, thanks to a 2007 bill pushed through the Legislature by then-Gov. Phil Bredesen.

Stivers said Armstrong asked him to loan the lawmaker the money, but Stivers declined and instead advised Armstrong to get a loan from the now-defunct BankEast, on whose board Armstrong was a member. That loan has proven to be valuable to the defense because loan documents make clear Armstrong planned to use the money to buy tax stamps, and the stamps themselves served as collateral.

"If he was trying to conceal (his profiteering), why didn't you send him to a bank in Kentucky?" Isaacs asked. "You told him to go to the most conspicuous bank he could, where he was on the board. Sounds like this was one of the worst-kept secrets."

Stivers was unclear, though, on when Armstrong talked about getting the loan. He said it could have been early 2006 or early 2007. Tru Wholesale did not agree to allow Armstrong to be cut in on the deal until at least March 2007. The bill for the hike wasn't introduced until late January 2007.

Once Armstrong got the loan and began earning a profit from the sale of the stamps, Stivers said Armstrong again called him.

"He asked me to run the proceeds from the tobacco stamps through my company," Stivers said. "I agreed to do it."

Stivers said he charged Armstrong 16 percent for the privilege. Isaacs noted the capital gains tax  which Armstrong contends he gave Stivers money to pay  was 15 percent.

Under questioning by Dale, Stivers said he specifically asked Armstrong whether he wanted to pay taxes on the money.

"I asked him if he wanted to put it on his tax return," Stivers said. "He said no, he didn't want anybody to know about it."

According to IRS Criminal Investigation Division Agent Rich Nelson, authorities were probing an unrelated case involving tobacco and Tru Wholesale when they learned of Armstrong's involvement with the wholesaler. In October 2013, the agents confronted Stivers, who lied, saying the money flowing from his firm to Armstrong was a loan repayment. Stivers even doctored up a note, although he insisted there had been a real note that was somehow lost in his computer system.

The agents left Stivers with a recording device, but he apparently didn't use it. Five months later, the agents confronted him again. This time, he said he helped Armstrong hide the windfall. Federal prosecutors ultimately struck a deal with Stivers that included an immunity grant on other crimes.

But while making the deal, Stivers wrote a letter to the Kentucky Board of Accountancy, which was moving to revoke his CPA license. He claimed he lied in the plea agreement, that Armstrong was innocent and that agents pressured him to implicate Armstrong because Armstrong was a "prominent black" politician. When Stivers' attorneys learned of the letter, he wrote a second letter, saying the account in his plea agreement was the truth.
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The Humane Society of the Tennessee Valley will host its annual "Dirty Dogs Done Dirt Cheap" vaccine clinic for local dogs this Saturday.

The event will be at the Humane Society's offices, 6717 Kingston Pike, and will be open to the public from 10 a.m.-2 p.m.

The event is designed to allow pet owners in East Tennessee to vaccinate and care for their dogs without having to pay for office visit. The Humane Society will be specifically vaccinating dogs for rabies, distemper and bordetella.

Although the event is designed to alleviate office fees, the vaccines will have to be purchased.

Dog owners may choose to get their pets vaccinated for rabies or distemper separately, but if they decide to get both vaccinations, the Humane Society will offer a bordetella vaccine for free.

The bundle with all three vaccines will cost $30.

In addition, the organization will offer grooming services for dogs that are brought by during the event. The society plans to offer dog washing and nail trimming for an additional price.

The prices for the dog wash and the nail trimming will be $10 each, in addition to the prices of the vaccinations.

Those who want to take advantage of everything the society offers during the event may purchase a package that includes all of the services offered for $50.

All of the proceeds made during the event will go to local shelters that need funds to help them operate.

For more information on the Humane Society of the Tennessee Valley and upcoming events, such as the society's upcoming Waggin' Tails 5K Fun Run, visit the society's website at www.humanesocietytennessee.com.
By Dave Boucher, USA TODAY NETWORK - Tennessee

More than $750,000 buys plenty of campaign mailers and advertisements. But it doesn't necessarily buy election wins.

Stand For Children, an education advocacy organization, found that out the hard way Thursday night. After spending a small fortune, all four candidates it backed in the Metro Nashville school board election and a handful of state GOP primary challengers lost their races.

"I think Nashville has become a model of how you defeat an obscene amount of dark money in local school board elections. At the end of the day, there's a certain sanctity between public school parents and their locally elected school board. And it's not for sale to the highest bidder," said Jamie Hollin, a former Metro councilman and political operative.

Noting he's a proud public school parent, Hollin added, "I am particularly proud to put the nail in the coffin of the charter school movement in Nashville."

Stand for Children, which advocates for charter schools as well as prekindergarten programming and other education issues, financially supported 10 school board or statehouse candidates in the primary, specifically spending more than $200,000 on school board races. Only one who faced an incumbent won: Sam Whitson easily defeated embattled Rep. Jeremy Durham, who had suspended his re-election campaign after an attorney general investigation detailed allegations of inappropriate sexual conduct by Durham against 22 women.

Metro school board incumbents Will Pinkston, Amy Frogge and Jill Speering defeated their Stand for Children-backed opponents, Jackson Miller, Thom Druffel and Jane Grimes Meneely, respectively. Only the Pinkston-Miller race was close, with Pinkston winning by 36 votes. Miranda Christy, the Stand for Children-supported candidate in the race to replace retiring board member Elisa Kim, lost by more than 30 percentage points to newcomer Christina Buggs.

Dan O'Donnell, the Nashville director at Stand for Children, said it's always difficult to take on incumbents. He said each of the candidates supported by Stand for Children ran respectful campaigns his organization was proud to support.

"At Stand, we believed new leadership was of the utmost importance to improving outcomes for students, and we devoted enormous time, energy, and resources to electing that new leadership. But no one's support could match the heart and soul that these candidates, their families and supporters poured into these races," O'Donnell said in an emailed statement.

"Now the campaigns are over, and we are committed to finding common ground. We should work together to support (Metro Director of Schools) Shawn Joseph's vision, ensure that there is a high-quality school in every neighborhood, and ensure that schools and families have the resources they need from pre-K through graduation. We should all work toward the same goal: a high-quality education for every child in Nashville."

Metro Councilman Jeremy Elrod, who represents part of Pinkston's district, agreed with Hollin that Thursday's results are a resounding rebuke of the spread of charter schools. "Nashville can decide for itself how it wants to move forward with education, and that we aren't going to be bought by outside special interest groups," Elrod said.

In addition to Durham at the statehouse level, Stand for Children took on sitting Republicans who are on the far right of the political spectrum.

Rep. Courtney Rogers defeated Stand candidate Beth Cox 55 percent to 44 percent.

Rep. Judd Matheny defeated Will Lockhart 59 to 32 percent, with a third candidate getting 9 percent.

In the race for the seat vacated last year by Rep. Leigh Wilburn, Stand's candidate Ron Gant won a three-way primary with 68 percent of the vote.

Stand candidate Christy Sigler came in third of four candidates vying for the GOP primary race to replace retiring Rep. Rick Womick.

As of late Thursday night, Stand candidate Chad Keen, who was recently appointed mayor of Bristol, was down 47 votes in the race to replace Rep. Jon Lundberg, who won his state Senate GOP primary.
By Tom Humphrey of the Knoxville News Sentinel

State Sen. Douglas Overbey, branded Tennessee's most liberal Republican legislator by a conservative lobbying group, easily defeated an intraparty challenger in Thursday's primary election and is assured of a new four-year term in office.

Complete but unofficial returns Thursday night showed Overbey, unopposed in the November general election, garnered about 8,124 votes (61 percent) to 5,155 votes (39 percent) for Scott Williams, an Army veteran and business consultant who, like the incumbent, lives in Maryville.

Overbey had 5,978 votes in Blount County versus 3,976 for Williams, while the senator gathered 2,146 votes in Sevier County compared to 1,179, according to election commission officials in the two counties.

In the campaign, Overbey enjoyed support from Gov. Bill Haslam and several of his Republican Senate colleagues, including financial donations that helped him build a huge campaign spending advantage over Williams. So far this year, Overbey has reported just over $228,000 in total expenditures compared to just over $11,000 by Williams.

But Overbey came under attack from Americans for Prosperity, which gave him an 'F' rating on its 2016 "scorecard" for state legislators  in substantial part because the senator sponsored Haslam's Insure Tennessee proposal last year, a bill that failed after AFP labeled it "Obamacare expansion."

The group sponsored attack advertising via mail, radio and the internet and said in a news release that its supporters knocked on doors of 5,000 voters in Blount and Sevier counties to spread word about the organization's views on Overbey.

Williams also criticized the incumbent as not representing views of conservative voters and won endorsements  along with contributions  from the Tennessee Firearms Association and Citizens for Home Rule, a group that opposes city annexation efforts. The firearms association, a state-based Second Amendment advocacy group, disputed the 'A' rating given Overbey by the National Rifle Association.

Overbey said AFP was "a special interest group helping my opponent spread lies about my position." He and Haslam contend it is wrong to equate the governor's Insure Tennessee proposal with Obamacare.

Overbey, 61, an attorney by profession, won the Senate District 2 seat in 2008 by defeating then-incumbent Raymond Finney in the Republican primary. Finney endorsed Williams in this year's election.

In 2012, Overbey won his second term by defeating challenger Scott Hughes, who also ran on a theme of being more conservative than the incumbent. The results then: Overbey 11,334; Hughes 7,260.

The senator previously served four two-year terms in the state House of Representatives.
By Tom Humphrey of the Knoxville News Sentinel

U.S. Rep. Chuck Fleischmann, who faced intense opposition from fellow Republicans in past campaigns, coasted to a victory in Thursday's 2016 GOP primary over two opponents who put little money into their unsuccessful efforts  one of them a Georgia resident.

The primary win puts Fleischmann, a Chattanooga lawyer, on a clear path toward a fourth, two-year term of representing the Tennessee's 3rd Congressional District, which leans strongly Republican. His Democratic opponent in November will be Melody Shekari, who won a three-candidate contest for the district's minority party nomination.

With 88 percent of precincts reporting, unofficial returns Thursday night showed Fleischmann winning the GOP nod with 28,827 votes (84 percent), while tea party activist Geoffery Suhmer Smith of Athens had 2,806 votes (8 percent) and Allan Levene, who lives in Georgia and has run for Congress in that state and two others, had 2,777 votes (8 percent).

In congressional district's Democratic primary, Shekari, a lawyer who has worked with Chattanooga Mayor Andy Berke, garnered 7,999 votes (54 percent), with Michael Friedman, a University of Tennessee-Chattanooga professor, second with 4,869 votes (33 percent), followed by George Ryan Love of Chattanooga with 1,843 votes (13 percent).

Along with the Democratic nominee, Fleischmann will face three Independent candidates in November, including Rick Tyler of Ocoee, who was widely criticized earlier by erecting a campaign billboard  taken down by the sign company after the protests  bearing the slogan "Make America White Again." The others are Topher Kersting of Chattanooga and Cassandra Mitchell of Heiskell.

Fleischmann, 53, was first elected in 2010 after a bruising multicandidate primary that involved millions in spending and led to lawsuits, edging former state Republican Party Chair Robin Smith, the runner-up, by about 1,400 votes. In 2012, he faced Weston Wamp, son of former state Rep. Zach Wamp, and Athens businessman Scottie Mayfield in another high spending contest that ended with a plurality victory. Wamp tried again in 2014, with Fleischmann eking out a win with 51 percent of the vote.

Levene, who lives in Kennesaw, Ga., got some media attention in 2014 by filing petitions to run as a Republican for Congress in four states  Hawaii, Michigan and Minnesota as well as his home state  and promising to relocate to a state where he won. He was on the ballot in Hawaii and Georgia, failing to get the required number of voter signatures on petitions in the others, but got only a few votes in the primaries. This year he qualified in Tennessee as well as Georgia.

Federal law requires a congressman to live in the district he or she represents, but the residency requirement doesn't apply when running for the office.

The 3rd Congressional District consists of all or part of 11 East Tennessee counties, stretching from Hamilton County on the Georgia border to Scott County on the Kentucky line.
By Tom Humphrey of the Knoxville News Sentinel

U.S. Rep. Phil Roe won the Republican nomination to a fifth term representing the 1st Congressional District on Thursday, easily defeating challenger Clint Tribble, a tea party activist who had declared the incumbent "out of touch" with conservative voters.

Unofficial and incomplete returns Thursday night showed Roe, a retired Johnson City physician who declared he would serve no more than five terms when first elected, easily beating Tribble, who lives in Knoxville.

Alan Bohms of Mohawk, described on his website as former head of a logistics company and executive director of the Volunteer Firefighter Alliance, was unopposed for the Democratic nomination. He will face Roe on the November ballot along with Independent candidate Robert D. Franklin of Elizabethton.

Tribble on July 1 announced he was suspending his campaign, saying in a news release that he had received threats to himself and his family  making a point of saying he felt Roe had nothing to do with them. He "un-suspended" the effort a couple of weeks later.

"As the Republican candidate for Congress, I will continue to support conservative policies to promote economic and job growth, protect Americans at home and abroad, preserve our Constitutional freedoms, cut wasteful spending, provide resources for our veterans and active duty service members, and defend the rights of unborn children," Roe said in a statement released Thursday night.
Gan Golan protests student debt in 2011, in Washington, D.C.(Photo: Jacquelyn Martin, AP)



Colleges, and graduate programs, are in trouble. Enrollments are falling  and not just at the PC-tainted University of Missouri  student debt is rising, and, worst of all in any bursting-bubble industry, the rubes seem to be catching on. This weekend, walking out of the drugstore, I saw Consumer Reports cover story, I kind of ruined my life by going to college. It was all about student loan debt and what it does to peoples lives. Hint: Nothing good.

I noted some years ago that trends in higher education couldnt continue. The cost of college goes up every year; salaries, on the other hand, have grown much more slowly, if at all. This means that where todays parents might have been able to comfortably fund their educations with loans and part-time work, todays students cant. Tuition is too high to cover with a waitressing job, and salaries are too low to comfortably pay back the debt after graduation. Or, sometimes, to pay it back at all.

When I wrote that book, student loan debt was approaching a trillion dollars. Now, Charles Sykes new book, Fail U.: The False Promise of Higher Education says that its $1.3 trillion, unsurprising given that tuitions of $60-70,000 a year are common now, and most students borrow to cover expenses.

The problem is that neither students nor society are getting their moneys worth.

Politicians sell education as a solution to economic inequality because it has two features that politicians love: It sounds good, and people wont discover that it isnt true until much later. Plus, when you push spending on education, you can always count on support from educators, who have a lot of influence in the media.

But as Sykes notes, college for all isnt actually a good idea. Not everyone  probably not even most people  will really benefit from college. Fifty three percent of college grads under 25, he reports, are unemployed, or underemployed, working part-time or in low-paying jobs that dont require a college degree.

Perhaps it would still be worth it if college improved students minds, but the evidence for that is kind of thin. Undergraduates at major universities spend more time being taught by low-paid adjuncts, who teach 76% of classes. (Universities are always saving money by replacing full-time faculty with adjuncts, but somehow that never brings down tuition. And nobody ever heard of an adjunct administrator, for some reason.)

The students arent working all that hard, either. The average college student spends just 2.76 hours a day on schoolwork, for a total of 19.3 hours a week. By contrast, they spend 31 hours a week on socializing and recreation.

And as Richard Arum and Josipa Roksa note in their book Academically Adrift: Limited Learning on College Campuses, they often havent learned much:

* 45% students "did not demonstrate any significant improvement in learning" during the first two years of college.

* 36% of students "did not demonstrate any significant improvement in learning" over four years of college.

* Those students who do show improvements tend to show only modest improvements. Students improved on average only 0.18 standard deviations over the first two years of college and 0.47 over four years. What this means is that a student who entered college in the 50th percentile of students in his or her cohort would move up to the 68th percentile four years later  but that's the 68th percentile of a new group of freshmen who haven't experienced any college learning.

Sykes thinks that online universities will take up the slack, and one of them that he describes, Udacity, is even putting up billboards promising Get a job or your money back.

Can a conventional university make that promise? We may find out soon. Because a huge amount of societal resources is being funneled into a sector that isnt producing returns commensurate with the cost. That cant go on forever, and something that cant go on forever, wont.

Glenn Harlan Reynolds, a University of Tennessee law professor and the author of The New School: How the Information Age Will Save American Education from Itself, is a member of USA TODAY's Board of Contributors. Follow him on Twitter @Instapundit.
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The vacations, summer camps and leisurely living have come to an end, and the 2016-17 academic year begins on Monday for Knox County Schools.

Some school systems started this week, and others might begin a little later. Nevertheless, with the start of a new school year, there is an annual checklist for students and their parents and a reminder that the entire community is involved in the educational process by helping students stay safe.

At the top of the checklist should be vaccinations required by the school system. The Knox County Health Department is extending its hours (8 a.m.-5:30 p.m.) during weekdays until Aug. 12 to accommodate any tight schedules parents might have.

Nurse practitioner Dena Mashburn, clinical services manager, said the department is encouraging all parents to make an appointment with their child's doctor or with the Health Department as soon as possible. Information on required vaccinations is available through the Health Department at knoxcounty.org/health.

All students entering preschool, kindergarten or seventh grade or students entering a Tennessee school for the first time should receive state-required immunizations. Parents who choose to have their children vaccinated at the Health Department can register online.

The vaccinations are important for the children receiving them and for their classmates who might be susceptible to a particular illness. Flu season is not far away.

Other items on the checklist are clothing and school supplies, including electronic devices, which have become more a necessity than a luxury. The opportunity for purchasing those items tax-free was last weekend, but stores aren't very likely to have a shortage if parents missed out on the sales.

Some school beginnings might be described as downright astounding. Emerald Academy in Mechanicsville has opened for its second year on a high note of success. The public charter school is beginning the year with about 250 students in kindergarten, first, second and sixth grade, doubling the number enrolled a year ago. The faculty has been expanded to 30 to accommodate the enrollment increase. Approved by the school board two summers ago, Emerald is the first charter school in Knoxville. The first year was so successful, applications for the current year outnumbered openings by about five to one.

The other item at the top of the checklist as classes begin is safety. And that applies to everyone. When driving to and from work, consider that school buses will be added to the normal traffic patterns  if not traffic congestion.

Students walking to school require a special alert from motorists. Many will be walking to their schools or waiting for buses along roads where the safest place away from traffic is a ditch. Police no doubt will step up their vigil near schools for adult drivers who might be in too much of a hurry to drop off children and get to work. Some have to learn the hard way with traffic citations.

Paying attention to good health and safety will help make for a successful school year for Knox County. We wish everyone the best.
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Jeremy Durham, Republican state representative from Franklin, is finally being urged to resign after the attorney general uncovered unwanted encounters with at least 22 women. It seems as if the Republican hierarchy knew of some of this for some time and tried to cover it up as a cat would its business and might have succeeded had it not been for vigilant reporters.

If he resigns rather than being ousted, he is eligible for a lifetime pension of $4,130 per year. In addition, he can keep his health care coverage and the state will continue to contribute $1,700 per year. This after being in office for a mere five years. Projecting the annual costs of his pension and health care for a modest 30 years amounts to at least $174,900. I am sure he is against Obamacare for the poor and uninsured, yet is very comfortable receiving this taxpayer-funded largesse. How many middle-class voters are eligible for such a generous pension and health care after such a short time in their jobs?

The Republicans have a supermajority in both the House and Senate, yet rather than removing overly generous compensation for themselves, they continue to waste time on naming a state rifle and removing the Hall income tax that affects only those comfortably well off. Yet these same middle-class voters continue to elect the likes of Durham simply because they are Republicans. Do these voters not understand that the majority of bills passed by Republicans favor the wealthy at the expense of everyone else? As a result the middle class continues to move lower on the economic ladder. Do these politicians really have an interest in the welfare of the middle-class tax payer? Their performance says no.

Frank Schingle, Knoxville
Baku, Azerbaijan, Aug. 5

Trend:

At the meeting of Azerbaijani, Russian and Iranian presidents, to be held Aug. 8 in Baku, the International North-South Transportation Corridor (INSTC), which connects the three countries, is likely to be one of the main topics of discussions, said Deputy Head of Azerbaijan Railways Igbal Huseynov in an exclusive interview with Trend.

Huseynov said Azerbaijan is particularly interested in the project.

Azerbaijan, located on the crossroads of the two major international transportation corridors  from North to South and from East to West, has over centuries strategically played the role of a bridge, he noted.

Forecasts show that once fully commissioned, the North-South corridor will create access opportunities to the Persian Gulf and India for European countries, Russia, the Caucasus region and Central Asia, as well as for intensification of trade relations between the Caspian countries and the Black Sea ports, added Huseynov.

He noted that currently launching the first train from India to Russia through Iran and Azerbaijan as a part of the project is on the agenda.

Railway authorities of Azerbaijan and Russia, as a part of the North-South projects development, agreed to cooperate in luring freight traffic through transportation via the India-Iran-Azerbaijan-Russia route and vice versa, said Huseynov. Russian Railways Logistics JSC and ADY Express LLC will be the projects logistics operators.

He added that currently cargos from India to Russias European part are delivered via the sea, called the route A.

The route from Nhava Sheva Port (Jawaharlal Nehru Port) to Moscow takes about 40 days, explained Huseynov. The new multi-modal route B includes the use of the sea, railway and motor transportation, and will allow reducing the time of cargo delivery by more than twice. This [cargo delivery] period will be 14 days.

He added that according to common agreement, the first test train will depart from Mumbai on this route in the coming months.

The train will deliver cargo to Moscow according to the tariff agreed upon by concrete participants of the corridor, said Huseynov.

He said that on June 2, Russias Sochi hosted a meeting of heads of railway authorities of Azerbaijan, Russia, Iran and Finland - Javid Gurbanov, Oleg Belozerov, Mohsen Pour Seyed Aghaei and Mikael Aro within the 11th International Rail Business Forum.

During the negotiations, it was decided on the proposal made by Javid Gurbanov to establish a coordinating committee on the North-South project by the example of the Trans-Caspian transport route, in order to accelerate the corridors development, Huseynov said.

A single competitive tariff may be applied in the future on the North-South route, he said. The issue of Finlands involvement in the project was discussed at the same meeting. The representative of Finland said his country is interested in the transportation corridor. Finlands joining this project will further strengthen the corridors potential.

Huseynov said the Rasht-Astara railway will be constructed under the joint cooperation of Azerbaijani and Iranian companies, and the two countries will be investing in this project.

It is expected that the document on this cooperation will be discussed at a meeting in Baku, which will become the beginning of a new stage, said Huseynov.

He noted that implementation of the North-South project will play an important role in expanding relations between Azerbaijan and Iran.

In accordance with the decree of Azerbaijani president regarding the acceleration of work on the project, an excavation work is currently underway at an 8.3-kilometer section of the railroad from Azerbaijans Astara up to the border with Iran.

The work continues to lay concrete, transfer water, electricity and gas lines, said Huseynov. As many as 315 different facilities, including 10 residential buildings, which are to be transferred, are located in the territory, and the transfer of 104 facilities has been completed.

At the same time, construction of an 82.5-meter railway bridge on the border of Azerbaijan and Iran over the Astarachay River is continuing, according to him.

Thirty-two piles have been installed at a depth of 32 meters, piers of two spans of the bridge have been built, and two more piers are being constructed, said Huseynov.

It is planned to commission the railway section stretching from Azerbaijans Astara to the border with Iran and the railway bridge before late 2016.
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Thank you for your coverage of the debate over voter photo ID laws. However, one important point was not clarified by your recent front-page article.

Requiring a photo ID could prevent only one type of voter fraud: voter impersonation. There is no evidence that people are willing to risk criminal prosecution to cast one fraudulent ballot. Therefore, there is no justification to erect major barriers to the ballot box to prevent this non-existent form of fraud. Why, then, did these laws suddenly become so popular in state legislatures controlled by Republicans?

These laws were provided simultaneously to state legislatures by the American Legislative Exchange Council. ALEC's major function is to provide legislation that will advance its extreme right-wing agenda. Rather than changing their policies to gain the support of more voters, legislators through these laws can suppress the votes of citizens who disagreed with their policies.

Those supporting this legislation must first trick people into thinking that they are acting to protect the integrity of our elections. This would be more believable if our legislators had first checked to see if there were Tennesseans coming to the polls impersonating some else. Did anyone ask that question, or did they quickly adopt a law that shamelessly selected the types of photo IDs required? The court that struck down the North Carolina law described it as targeting black citizens "with almost surgical precision." Tennessee's law exposes some of the same calculated precision, with permits to carry concealed weapons accepted but state-issued IDs at the University of Tennessee rejected.

A Knoxville poll worker suggested another reason for getting rid of this law. She said that in many instances voters showed her pictures that did not look like the person voting. For example, if their hair had changed colors or fallen out, she had to take their word.

P.L. Rowlett, Knoxville
By Dave Boucher, Joel Ebert and Stacey Barchenger, USA TODAY NETWORK - Tennessee

One of the 22 women cited in an explosive report from the Tennessee attorney general into alleged sexual misdeeds by Rep. Jeremy Durham has reported receiving harassing messages in connection to her role in the report, House Republican Caucus Chairman Glen Casada confirmed Thursday .

The woman contacted the legislative leader with reports of the harassing messages, Casada said. There were two packages with harassing material mailed to the woman, Casada said, including one mailed to her family.

Casada confirmed the messages did not come from Durham, but would not say who sent the messages.

"I had a young lady call me and tell me of harassing actions being taken against her by an unnamed male," Casada said.

Durham's attorney Bill Harbison said he would not comment on the harassing messages.

The bulk of the contents of the harassing messages was derogatory but not threatening, Casada said. He plans to explore what legal avenues are available to take action against the person reportedly harassing the woman.

Casada said he informed Speaker Beth Harwell about what the woman told him and planned to call Slatery's office. A Harwell spokeswoman didn't immediately respond to a request for comment. Earlier Thursday Harlow Sumerford, a spokesman for Attorney General Herbert Slatery, said he was not aware of anyone reporting harassing messages to their office.

Earlier Thursday, the Tennessee Bureau of Investigations said they had received no request to investigate anything related to messages.

Rob McGuire, a former Nashville prosecutor now at MMRS Law, said the messages could lead to criminal charges.

Obviously we dont know what the communication says, he said. But even if the victim found the communications to be intimidating by the nature of their existence it could potentially be criminal harassment under the statute.

Harassment is a misdemeanor. McGuire said depending on the content of the messages, who is sending them and their motives, there could be felony coercion of a witness charge.

The attorney general released a report in July that detailed allegations of sexual misconduct by Durham against 22 women. The allegations include Durham allegedly having sex with a 20-year-old woman, both in his home and in his legislative office.

Durham denied sexual contact with anyone but admitted some of the other interactions in the report were true. The day after the release of the report Durham announced he was suspending his re-election campaign. After the release of a Tennessean report in January that three women had received inappropriate late-night text messages from the lawmaker, he resigned his leadership position. But Durham has refused to leave his seat amid calls for his resignation.

Immediately in the wake of the report people said that, although those interviewed by the attorney general were not identified by name, capitol hill insiders would be able to ascertain their identities. It was one of the reasons the special committee created to investigate Durham weighed not releasing portions of the report, said committee member Rep. Billy Spivey.

If someone spent enough time up here and went through and figured out who enough of these people were, and filled in all the names and put it on the internet, then we have done grave damage to future people who may have experienced the same thing. It was already an experience trying to get someone to come forward this time and if we betray that confidentiality and anonymity with this report, weve taken more steps back then we have forward," Spivey told The Tennessean the week the report was released.

Reach Dave Boucher at 615-259-8892 and on Twitter @Dave_Boucher1. Reach Joel Ebert at 615-772-1681 and on Twitter @joelebert29. Reach Stacey Barchenger at 615-726-8968 and on Twitter @sbarchenger.
An artist's rendering of Starfield Hanam. / Courtesy of Shinsegae



Hyundai, BMW, Tesla set to open showrooms in Korea's largest shopping mall

By Lee Hyo-sik

Hyundai Motor, BMW and Tesla are set to open showrooms at Starfield Hanam shopping mall, southeast of Seoul, to make a pitch for their latest vehicles to tens of thousands of shoppers expected to crowd Korea's largest shopping complex every day.

Hyundai Motor said Friday it will open two showrooms  one for its premium luxury Genesis brand and the other for its i-Oniq electric and hybrid models  at Starfield Hanam early next month. The planned Genesis and i-Oniq showrooms are the first of their kind.

Korea's largest carmaker said visitors can learn more about its premium and environment-friendly cars, expecting the showrooms will play a pivotal role in boosting the sales of its strategic models.

"We decided to open two showrooms at Starfield Hanam to publicize our premium luxury sedans and electric vehicles," a Hyundai Motor spokesman said. "The mall is adjacent to the affluent neighborhoods of southern Seoul. It will immediately become the country's most-visited shopping place when it opens in early September. We will take advantage of that."

Hyundai's latest move is also seen as an attempt to counter the much-hyped Tesla Motors plan to set up its first dealership at Starfield Hanam as early as November.

Tesla is widely expected to launch sales of its famous electric models here as soon as it receives certification from the government. Last year, the U.S.-based automaker set up its local subsidiary, Tesla Korea.

It has two models, the Model S and the Model X, and will release the Model 3 in 2017.

"We haven't reached an agreement with Tesla yet," a Shinsegae Group official said. "But we are positive that both sides will soon come to terms. We believe that Tesla's showroom at Starfield Hanam will help us attract more shoppers. The presence of Hyundai Motor and BMW is also a huge plus for our business."

BMW will set up a showroom featuring its six signature models, including the i8, and the three Mini brand cars.

"The envisioned facility will be named BMW Mini City Lounge,' the first of its kind in Asia," a BMW Korea spokesman said. "We operate only three such places in Europe. The location of Starfield Hanam is quite attractive, given its proximity to southern Seoul. We will do everything we can to make the City Lounge one of the most-visited sites at the shopping mall."

Shinsegae has invested 1 trillion won ($900 million) to build the nation's largest shopping complex on a 460,000-square-meter site in Hanam, Gyeonggi Province. Once completed, it will house 750 brands, ranging from fashion and cosmetics to food and electronics.

It also plans to build two more Starfield shopping complexes, in Goyang, Gyeonggi Province, and Cheongna International City in Incheon.
Baku, Azerbaijan, Aug 5

By Farhad Daneshvar  Trend:

On the eve of the President Hassan Rouhanis upcoming visit to Baku, Iranian Minister of Industry, Mines and Trade Mohammad Reza Nematzadeh will arrive in Azerbaijan on August 6 to participate in a ceremony for launching a car joint venture between the two countries.

The minister will attend a groundbreaking ceremony for the construction of the car factory in Azerbaijans Neftchala District on Saturday, an informed source told Trend.

Iran Khodro, the giant Iranian automaker, is setting up the venture with Azerbaijans Azeurocar to jointly produce four Iranian car brands of Dena, Runna, Soren and Samand.

The joint ventures annual capacity is estimated to stand at about 10,000 cars.

Rouhani is due in Baku August 7 for trilateral and bilateral talks with President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev and Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin on the issues of interest.

In addition to regional and international issues, the presidents of Iran and Azerbaijan are expected to follow up on the implementation of already reached agreements in commerce, industry, energy, culture, banking, consular facilities and telecommunications, mainly railway transportation.

Iran Khodro is Iran's major automaker, producing about 600,000 cars a year.
Poet Jeong Ho-seung, left, and Brother Anthony of Taize / Korea Timesp photo by Choi Won-suk



Jeong Ho-seung publishes English poetry book for first time





Cover of Jeong Ho-seung's poetry collection in English "A Letter Not Sent," translated by Brother

Anthony and Susan Hwang

By Yun Suh-young



Jeong Ho-seung, one of Korea's representative poets, has released his first book of collected poems in English.

"A Letter Not Sent," released July 20 by Seoul Selection, is a collection of poems selected by the poet and published back-to-back with the translated English version. Jeong's poems were translated by Brother Anthony of Taize, who is professor emeritus at Sogang University in Seoul, and Susan Hwang, a PhD candidate studying Korean modern literature at the University of Michigan.

The dual-language poetry book contains 108 poems from Jeong's 40 years of work. Among thousands of his works, Jeong selected 220 to be published in two books  the first "A Letter Not Sent" and the yet to be titled second one containing the rest of the poems, set to be released in September.

Jeong's poems, translated by Brother Anthony and Hwang, have been serialized in The Korea Times since July 2015.

"It is an immense joy to have the poems translated and published in English because it expands the spectrum of poetry readers," Jeong said in an interview with The Korea Times, Wednesday. "My poems had been confined to the Korean language but now they are being reproduced in an enlarged scale to reach the global English-speaking audience.

"I'm glad that the poems have been able to enter into the sphere of world literature. If they were only in Korean, they would never be included as world literature. But this is a start."

Brother Anthony said Jeong will be starting from scratch in the overseas market.

"You can't export a reputation," he said. "With the translated book, he will establish a completely new reputation."

Jeong is a widely loved poet in Korea who is known for his heart-consoling poems, notably "The People I Love," and "A Letter Not Sent," which is the title of the book. The latter is also the name of the popular song sung by the late Kim Kwang-seok, whose lyrics were inspired by the poem.

"Poems console people and help them understand their pains in life," Jeong said. "Poems are the flowers of pain. It draws up pain and then blossoms, much like the lotus flower which roots itself in mud but blossoms into a clear flower. That is the basis of life. I think we are born from tragedy but everyone has something to blossom. For me, that was poetry. For others, it may be something else, such as music.

"I believe the artistic genre, including poetry, adds abundance to the lives of human beings. Night wouldn't be night without the stars shining in the dark sky."

Jeong said he hopes that foreign readers understand the lives of Koreans through his poems, beyond understanding the lives of humans in general.

"Reading the translated poems will help them understand how we live as Koreans," he said.

Brother Anthony said idiomatic translation was the most difficult part of the translation.

"I'm a conservative translator," he said. "I try to translate as it is because they're his poems, not mine. I constantly mull over how to make them be exactly as his, but in English.

"Often, when Western translators translate colloquial language, they make the words sound like they are coming from Yankees. But then, where is the Korean-ness? So I try to make it 'feel' Korean. It's hard to distinguish the aesthetics, though."

Brother Anthony, whose Korean name is An Son-jae, is a Briton who became a naturalized Korean in 1994. He came to Korea in 1980, invited by the late Cardinal Kim Soo-hwan who came to the Taize Community based in France and asked for the brothers there to help the Koreans. Ever since, he has lived in Korea, teaching and translating.

The difficulty of translating Korean poems depends on the poet, he says.

"Korean poems are often written in an allusive way and sentences may not be exact sentences," Brother Anthony said. "Korean phrasing is different  it's the order in which phrases come that may be hard to translate.

"Some people use obscure words but Jeong's poems are not that difficult. The main thing is the flow  the poem is going to flow somehow."

He said Jeong's poems were "very human," when asked to characterize them.

"It's inspirational the way he talks about love and pain, and time and loss  all which are very universal themes. They offer the readers the hope that somehow they will succeed."

He also said Jeong is "not self-centered." "Some like writing about themselves, but his poems are always about community and sharing," he said.

Brother Anthony began translating Jeong's works four years ago, first by choosing one of Jeong's works, "The Price of Food," from a list of Korean literary works recommended by the Korea Literature Translation Institute, which funds translators when they apply to translate Korean literature.

"I have always wanted Brother Anthony to translate my work, but I never told him so," Jeong said. "I couldn't dare ask him to do it. So I waited, quietly. But somehow he decided to translate my work and naturally I had the opportunity to meet him.

"It's a huge honor and joy. I think his role as a translator is equal to a poet."

When asked which poem they would recommend from the book, Brother Anthony said "The People I Love," because it's the most loved poem in Korea, while Jeong said "Seoul's Jesus," because he wanted to recommend it to foreigners.

"Everyone in the world knows Jesus, so I think this poem will be worth reading," Jeong said. "It's one I wrote when I was 29. It is based on the dark and oppressive days of the 1970s and '80s during the dictatorship. I wondered what Jesus would do, what life he would lead if he came to Korea during those times. It's a longing for Jesus, a being of love and hope.

"I try to hide the historical references in my poems because I want them to have permanence. Poems should be timeless."
South Korean actor Lee Joon-gi's agency on Friday denied snowballing rumors and reports that the celebrity was shut out of China because of the escalating political tension between the two countries.

Lee, who has a large following in China, is scheduled to visit four Chinese cities from Sunday to Wednesday on a promotional tour for his latest film "Never Said Goodbye," set to open there later this month.

But media reports recently emerged that the country denied his visa, possibly as part of retaliation against the South Korean television and film industries for the recent South Korea-U.S. decision to place a Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system on Korean soil.

"This is not true," an official from Namoo Actors, the management agency for the 34-year-old actor, told Yonhap News Agency. "Lee was properly issued the Chinese visa and will be off to China as planned."

In the Chinese film, Lee plays a South Korean man who stands by his lover against all odds. Filmed in Shanghai and Sicily, Italy, the romance has drawn spotlight in South Korea and China. (Yonhap)
An oriental stork from Chungram Stork Park at Korea National University of Education in Cheongju, North Chungcheong Province / Courtesy of Institute for Oriental Stork Ecology



By Ko Dong-hwan





Park Shi-ryong

Korea's most reputable stork expert, Park Shi-ryong, is not optimistic about releasing into nature more of the oriental storks he has been breeding for the past 20 years. "Not yet," he said in an interview with The Korea Times. The odds of the birds  which were extinct on the Korean Peninsula -- repopulating the nation's rice paddies and wetlands are low because the species' main hunting grounds are mostly toxic with herbicides and pesticides.

"There should be a plenty of prey in rice paddy habitats for the birds to feed on," said the professor from Korea National University of Education in Cheongju, North Chungcheong Province. "But now there aren't many places for the birds to live. Ninety percent of rice paddies nationwide use toxic chemicals that deter storks' main sources of food like fish, frogs, snakes and aquatic insects."

In April, Park stopped breeding storks as two main breeding grounds -- Chungram Stork Park, inside the school campus, and Yesan Stork Village in Yesan County, South Chungcheong Province -- are at capacity with 160 storks. Park wants to release into nature 60 storks from Yesan Stork Village but their natural habitats outside their cages have not yet been prepared.

Ideal habitats can be naturally formed by "stork-friendly rice farming." Developed in Japan, where a stork reintroduction project started 10 years before Korea, the chemical-free farming produces high-quality rice and develops an ideal environment for storks by attracting diverse prey the birds feed on. The farming also contributed to Japan's profound ecological diversity in rice paddies and wetlands, breeding about 5,000 species -- compared with 200 in Korea, where the farming is not yet practiced.

To build such fertile habitats, help from the Yesan County government and farmers is needed. But they are yet to understand the importance of this type of farming. Cultural Heritage Administration, a government body funding Park's stork reintroduction project, has cut off funds this year, a blow to the professor who is anxious to let the caged storks free.

"I'm in dilemma now," said Park, also the director of the Institute for Oriental Stork Ecology. "When I retire next year, I will move to an office in Yesan and prepare a campaign to persuade the head of the county office and local citizens to employ the stork-friendly rice farming. Storks cannot be restored without their help because the birds live where people live. Persuading them will take time but it must be done."

In Yesan County, some 80 kilometers west of the school, authorities are busy building natural habitats for storks, rearranging the natural environment in Gwangsi village, through which the Moohan stream from Yedang Reservoir runs. But construction is slower than Park expected and the work could be delayed to 2025.

"Gwangsi, Sinyang and Daesul villages in Yesan have been designated as eco-friendly farming zones," said Park Jung-ho, head of the Culture and Tourism Department in the county office. "As our long-term goal, we are now recovering Moohan stream's upstream environment."

The official knows who Prof. Park is and is well aware of how anxious he is to see the habitats completed. "The professor demands the construction be finished fast," the official said. "But it cannot be done that way. It's not simple work but a large-scale job costing the county's budget of 5 billion won ($4.4 million). Such work takes time."

The official said he had never heard of stork-friendly rice farming. "Because of a lack of manpower, our county uses pesticides only once a year," he said, hinting that chemical-free farming is not up for consideration.



The professor's passion for storks is rooted deeper than simply reviving the birds -- national monument No. 199 -- which number about 2,500 worldwide. His work aims to raise awareness about "ecological ethics," which emphasize co-existence of humans and nature.

"In Europe, you dig in soil and there were many earthworms," said the professor, who studied ethology in Bonn, Germany, in 1981-87. He still remembers the country's great affluence in contrast to poverty-stricken Korea back then, as well as well-preserved natural environments in German suburban areas. "When you drive, you could see so many insects popping against the windshield that you had to wipe them off frequently. In Korea, you don't see many earthworms and insects any more, even in the countryside. It's because of the uncontrolled use of toxic chemicals.

"Korea is still underdeveloped in terms of ecological conscience. They use pesticides 21 times that of Canada per acre, five times America and three times Japan. Koreans don't want to see the bugs and kill them. Their selfish ecological ethics must be changed."





Two storks reintroduced into nature from Yesan Stork Village in Yesan County, South Chungcheong Province, in September 2015 tend two youngsters hatched in May. The young birds are the first storks hatched in the natural environment in Korea since 1971. / Courtesy of Institute for Oriental Stork Ecology



Extinction to regeneration

As of October 2014, there are 246 endangered species in Korea, according to the National Institute of Biological Resources, an arm of the Ministry of Environment. Among those on what is known as the Korea Red List, 51 are categorized as "Level 1," requiring more urgent care than the rest of "Level 2" species. Twelve species, including storks, in Level 1 are birds. As with the Protection and Management of Wildlife Act, storks are one of 43 species the government designated in 2011 to reintroduce to nature.

In 2001, the ministry selected Korea National University of Education as an ex-situ conservation institute, an acknowledgement of Park's stork regeneration project that began in 1996. Park started the project with five young storks brought from Germany. The Cultural Heritage Administration funded the deal and TV broadcaster MBC featured the story in a documentary. Park brought 16 more storks from outside Korea up to 2006.

In May, Park's project had a landmark accomplishment as two of eight storks released into nature from Yesan Stork Village in September 2015 hatched two youngsters, the first natural hatching in Korea since 1971.

"I was like a mother discovering my daughter, with her husband, had given birth to a healthy baby," Park said.

Park had invited President Park Geun-hye and the former presidential chief of staff Kim Ki-choon to the stork release event, but they didn't respond. Their attitude is in contrast to Japan, where in 2005 the Japanese Emperor's son and daughter-in-law participated in the world's first stork-reintroduction event in Toyooka, Hyogo Prefecture, along with 3,500 supporters from across the world.

"The president's moves always attract national interest," Park said, explaining her presence at the event would have drawn public attention to his lifetime project.

Including five birds released from Yesan Stork Village on July 18, there are now 14 reintroduced storks in Korea, across Chungcheong and Jeolla provinces. Park will stop releasing the storks until their habitats are ready next year.

"Japan reintroduced 21 storks in 10 years, which has increased to 86," Park said. "In Korea, 19 were released in just two years. They must increase to 70 to 80 to secure their perpetual survival but, without the habitats, it's impossible."





Chungram Stork Park inside the Korea National University of Education campus and its surrounds in Cheongju, North Chungcheong Province, from a bird's eye view. / Courtesy of Institute for Oriental Stork Ecology



Effort fledges to N. Korea

Producing oil paintings of storks roaming in nature in his free time, Park's imaginative birds also flutter over the inter-Korean border. The professor will turn the thought into reality by flying the birds to the hermit state, with the North's cooperation, thereby bringing the two Koreas closer.

The idea was formed after one of the reintroduced storks -- "K0003" -- with a GPS tracker, travelled to North Korea for nine days in March. It visited the cities of Gaesong, Haeju and Kaepoong, Anak counties in Hwanghae Province next to the border and, following its homing instinct, flew back to Yesan Stork Village.

"Since North Korea is so isolated, storks could be a channel for inter-Korean trade with the least political sentiment," Park said. "The unification may come with ecological trades."

Park's dissertation, "A New Strategy for Oriental Stork Reintroduction in Korean Peninsula and Restoration of the Habitats in DMZ and Hwanghae-do in North Korea," was introduced in the ECOSOS Newsletter published by his research institute in 2015. Park shared the paper with a professor from the General Association of Korean Residents in Japan -- known as Chongryon, which represents North Korean interests in Tokyo -- who will re-enter North Korea. Park said in the study he will establish a research facility and a stork habitat at Gyodong Village, next to the Northern Limitation Line in Ganghwa County, Incheon, and start releasing GPS-tracked storks annually from next year. Using their location information, he will designate North Korean spots suitable for habitats -- the demilitarized zone and Yeonbaek Coastal Plain, for instance -- and, with consent from the North, will work with North Korean scientists to build the habitats and employ stork-friendly rice farming there.

"If the North assents, we can change their agriculture," Park said.







Park's singular efforts naturally attracted other birds to a forest established near Chungram Stork Park. In 1996, with the onset of the stork-breeding project, the school banned herbicides and pesticides on the 130,000 square-meter site. Twenty years on, the site has grown thick with trees and teems with insects, becoming a habitat for more birds than before -- from 73 species in 2001 to 126 in 2015. Brown hawk-owls and scops owls, natural monuments No. 324 and No. 324-6, respectively, also reside there. The school has erected 150 four-meter-high nests around the forest where some 80 tits of the paridae family live and hatch.

"At first insects started to nibble on the trees and leaves but I waited," said Park, who will reintroduce this year seven endangered saunders' gulls that he has been breeding in Songdo, Incheon. "The trees then began to form immunity against the insects and grew to become a forest."

Park eventually wants to reintroduce 50 stork mating pairs. They will need at least 15,000 hectares of wetlands to live but for now he will start with renting 150 hectares near the school. He hopes donations from members of the Stork Club, a community of stork-loving people founded in June, will cover the rent.

"I will present each donor one of my paintings," said Park. "Where storks cannot live, eventually people cannot live either."
By Choi Sung-jin

What questions must you not ask during a blind date? The answer is "annual income" for men and the "reason for breaking up with your ex" for women.

In a survey of 14,301 people by Woljeum, an app developer for blind dates, 46.9 percent of respondents said they felt displeasure during a blind date when the other side asked about their annual salary.

They also had unpleasant feelings when their dates asked why they broke up with their exes (24.8 percent), what school they graduated (11.8 percent), how many lovers they had (9.1 percent), whether they lived apart from their families (4.6 percent) and family background (2.5 percent).

Men and women showed differences in their most unpleasant questions.

While 49.7 percent of male respondents cited the question about annual income most displeasing, the largest share of females (32.9 percent) felt it most uncomfortable when asked why they left their previous lovers.

Other questions that made men ill-humored were reasons for breakup (23.8 percent), schools they attended (12.6 percent), number of previous lovers (8.6 percent), cooking their own meals (3.5 percent) and family relationship (2.6 percent).

The comparable degrees of displeasure among women were salaries (26.6 percent), boarding (13 percent), date experiences (12.8 percent), schools (12.6 percent) and family ties (2.1 percent).

"Men react most sensitively to questions about their ability' while women do so to queries about their relationship,'" the app developer said. "When people meet their dates through apps, they need to consider and care for their partners to prevent problems resulting from their lack of information about the other side."
/Courtesy of Twitter



By Lee Han-soo

A woman who allegedly defrauded her high school alumna of 800 million won ($720,000) over 18 years was arrested on Friday, according to Busan police.

The woman, surnamed Kwon, and the victim, surnamed Kim, met in July 1994, when Kwon was introduced to Kim by a friend.

Kwon initially allegedly scammed Kim of 7 million won, saying she needed to pay a friend's settlement for a car accident and to repay loan sharks.

Kwon discovered Kim was naive enough to give her the money without suspicion. She then hatched a plan that lasted 18 years, police said.

They said Kwon started threatening Kim that unless they performed some form of ancestral rites people in her vicinity would die.

Kim, who had moved to Japan with her family at that time, sent money to Kwon for years, working in arcades and doing minor labor.

When Kim came back in 2009, Kwon's plan to take Kim's money got more devious, police said. Kwon made Kim live by herself after telling her that her family would be in grave danger if they lived together.

Police said when Kim moved out from her family's house, Kwon made her work at a bar while hatching another plan.

Kwon told Kim she had borrowed 60 million won from a loan shark to prevent Kim's sex tape from going viral, police said.

Although the video did not exist, Kim believed her and paid more than 500 million won over six years.

Kim told police she would send the money she earned from having sex with customers at the bar to Kwon every day.

She would sleep in saunas or one-room houses while Kwon enjoyed frequent trips abroad, a luxurious apartment and becoming a VIP customer at a local department store, police said.

But Kwon's actions were stopped June when her latest plan backfired, police said.

Wanting more money, Kwon lied that she had been jailed over loans.

When Kim went to the prison to see her, Kwon was not there.

Kim finally realized she had been scammed and called police.

When police went to arrest Kwon, they found more than 70 million won in cash in her safe.

Police said Kim had sent more than 800 million won to Kwon over 18 years.

But Kim said the figure is closer to 1.2 billion won to 1.3 billion won.

"We are still having a hard time believing this actually happened," a police official said. "Kim lived the life of a slave, while Kwon lived a luxurious life with the cash Kim earned hard."
By Kim Rahn



Ewha Womans University President Choi Kyung-hee has filed a petition calling on authorities not to punish students who blocked four professors and a school worker from leaving a school building for 46 hours during a sit-in protest against the school's plan to set up a night college for workers.

Choi visited Seodaemun Police Station in central Seoul Friday morning to submit the petition, which read that the professors and the worker do not want the students to face action.

Hundreds of Ewha students began the sit-in on July 28 and prevented the five people from leaving. School officials asked police to intervene and some 1,600 officers were mobilized to remove the protesters on July 30.

Police are identifying the students by reviewing video footage. A police officer said, "The petition will not affect the ongoing investigation. It may affect the level of punishment if they are indicted, but it's up to the court."

Following the protest, Choi said the school would scrap the night college plan. But students are still staging the sit-in, demanding Choi's resignation.
By Jun Ji-hye

Defense officials of South Korea, the United States and Japan held a video teleconference, Friday, to discuss measures to deal with North Korea's continuing missile provocations.

The meeting came after the North fired two medium-range Nodong ballistic missiles, Wednesday. One of the missiles landed in Japanese-controlled waters after traveling around 1,000 kilometers.

Those who participated in the teleconference included Park Cheol-kyun, deputy director general for Seoul's Ministry of National Defense's International Policy Bureau; Christopher Johnstone, principal director for East Asia at the U.S. Department of Defense; and Koji Kano, principal director of the defense policy bureau at the Japanese Defense Ministry.

"The three countries shared the assessment that the North's latest missile launch was a clear provocation that violated United Nations Security Council (UNSC) resolutions and severely threatened stability on the Korean Peninsula as well as in the Asia-Pacific region," Seoul's ministry said in a press release. "The three countries agreed to continue to closely cooperate and share information on North Korean missiles."

According to Japanese Defense Minister Gen Nakatani, Wednesday, one of the missiles was analyzed to have landed in Japan's exclusive economic zone (EEZ) 250 kilometers west of the Oga Peninsula in Akita Prefecture.

This was the first time a North Korean ballistic missile had landed in Japan's EEZ.

Military officials here believe that Pyongyang apparently attempted to display its ability to strike any target in Japan, especially bases of the U.S. armed forces stationed there whose troops would be dispatched to the peninsula in the event of war.

The repressive state has shown no signs of abandoning its nuclear and ballistic missile programs by repeatedly launching missiles, including the intermediate-range Musudan, believed to be capable of reaching the U.S. territory of Guam, as well as a submarine-launched ballistic missile, despite sanctions from the UNSC.
A placard that reads "No THAAD in Gimcheon" is hung in Joma Township in Gimcheon, North Gyeongsang Province, Friday. Residents there hung three such placards amid rumors that Geumsu Township in Seongju Country near Joma Township could be an alternative site for a U.S. Terminal High Altitude Area Defense battery. / Korea Times



Park's remark on site change fuels confusion

By Jun Ji-hye

The government is facing growing doubts over whether it can allow the deployment of a U.S. anti-missile battery by next year after President Park Geun-hye raised the possibility of choosing an alternative location within Seongju County in North Gyeongsang Province.

Park said this during a meeting with ruling party lawmakers, Thursday, in an effort to calm the fears of Seongju residents over the safety of the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system. However, military officials say it will take considerable time to find a new site and build a base for an artillery unit, which means deploying the system by next year would be almost impossible.

On July 13, the Ministry of National Defense announced that the anti-missile battery will be set up in Seongsan-ri, which is currently home to the South Korean Air Force's air defense artillery unit that operates a Hawk ground-to-air missile battery. The ministry said THAAD will be fully deployed by the end of next year as threats from North Korea's nuclear and missile program are growing.

"The reason why the two countries can be sure that the deployment will be done by next year is that the artillery unit already exists in Seongsan-ri, meaning that the military does not need to build a site," a military official said on condition of anonymity.

Finding a new suitable place and building another site from scratch would take at least four to five years and tens of billions of won as the military needs to remove the top of a mountain and purchase adjacent privately owned land. In this case, the deployment is impossible within Park's tenure and will be handed over to the next government as she completes her term in office in February 2018.

Then, the presidential election scheduled for December next year could become a factor in the deployment plan as presidential hopefuls from the opposition parties including Rep. Ahn Cheol-soo and Seoul Mayor Park Won-soon have expressed strong opposition to the system. They are highly likely to highlight the negative aspects of THAAD when the election looms, which could pose a serious setback to the plan.

Objectors to THAAD raise doubts over the battery's capability, as the system has only been tested under defined conditions and never used in practice. They also cite China's strong opposition, saying the deployment will worsen Seoul-Beijing relations, and South Korea's top trading partner could take trade retaliation.

Speculation is also rampant that China, a veto-wielding United Nations Security Council member and North Korea's traditional ally, will remain uncooperative in seeking measures against Pyongyang's provocations to protest the deployment.

In addition, resistance from Seongju residents has been showing no signs of dying down as they keep calling on the government to retract the deployment plan, out of concerns that the electromagnetic waves emitted from the AN/TPY-2 radar could damage health and agricultural products.

Meanwhile, residents in Joma Township in Gimcheon County posted placards criticizing the government, Friday, amid rumors that a mountain in Geumsu Township in Seongju County near Joma could be an alternative site for the THAAD battery.

Other possible alternative locations mentioned in the media also include a mountain in Suryun Township.

Observers say that if protests continue, Seoul and Washington may not be able to deploy the THAAD battery by next year, because the residents have vowed to resist by every possible means, including legal action.

On Friday, Cheong Wa Dae said the government's position to deploy the system by next year remains unchanged, but added that it will consider an alternative location although it "may not be easy" to find a new site.

"Although it may not be easy to change the already designated site, the government will conduct a thorough study to see if there is another site capable of hosting the THAAD battery should there be a request for such a study," presidential spokesman Jung Youn-kuk told reporters.
A suspect has accused a prosecutor and an investigator of verbal abuse during a two-day interrogation in July. / Yonhap



By Hong Dam-young



A prosecutor and an investigator at the Seoul Western District Prosecutors' Office have been accused of verbally abusing a suspect during an interrogation.

The man on Thursday claimed in a petition to the Supreme Prosecutors' Office that the two interrogators abused him on July 21 and 22 while he was under investigation for fraud.

He claimed the interrogators said to him: "Look at your fat belly. You should go behind bars to lose some weight" and "Putting on a brown uniform  a prisoner's uniform -- will make you come back to your senses."

The man said the prosecutor threatened to put him in jail, pointing at another suspect in a prison uniform and saying: "Will you come back to your senses if you wore the same clothes like him?" Whenever he tried to say something, the prosecutor made sarcastic remarks such as "You are writing up a novel," the man claimed.

Another man who was investigated on July 21 alongside the suspect reported that he heard the prosecutor and the investigator say "You are such a fraud" and "Why don't I take away the company you took over for free?" The witness said the conversation was so aggressive he wanted to record it and post on social media.

"After hearing those words, I could understand why a prosecutor who worked at a criminal department for the Seoul Nambu District Public Prosecutors' Office recently hanged himself," the suspect said. "I wanted to kill myself, too. Even gangsters seemed more humane."

The prosecutor, 33, who committed suicide at his house on May 19, left a note complaining about stress from a heavy workload.

An official from the Seoul Western District Prosecutors' Office denied the suspect's accusations. He said: "We checked on those two interrogators and confirmed nothing like what the suspect said happened. I think the suspect is lying because the situation is working against him."

The prosecutor has refused to answer anything related to the case, passing the question on to the Deputy Chief Prosecutor.
A Studio Deluxe room at Citadines Han River Seoul which receives guests from Aug. 12

/ Courtesy of Citadines Han River Seoul







Max Philips

By Kim Se-jeong



Somerset Palace Seoul is recognized for its location, atmosphere and service, among others. It has become one of the most coveted serviced residences in the city, attracting both long-term and short-term guests to the heart of the city.

A sister serviced apartment property is opening on Aug. 12 in Yeongdeungpo, southwestern Seoul.

Citadines Han River Seoul belongs to one of the Ascott Limited's three brands  Somerset, Citadines and Ascott. The property will have its official grand opening in October, but it starts receiving guests from Aug. 12 with special pre-opening rates.

The southwestern district of Seoul is a good location for Citadines, which caters primarily to long-term guests.

The property is close to small- and medium-sized factories and warehouses and Lotte Home Shopping. It is also close to Yeouido, the nation's financial hub, which is less than five kilometers away or three subway stops away.

Price is what makes Citadines stand out among its competitors.

The smallest studio unit with kitchen and laundry facilities costs less than 100,000 won per night, and during the pre-opening promotion costs only 64,000 won per night, with complimentary Wi-Fi and other services.

The property has 149 units, the majority of which have a fully-equipped kitchen, in-room electronic safe, multi-split air conditioning and heating, steam iron and ironing board, telephone, washing machine and cable TV.

It also has a 24-hour reception desk, housekeeping service, baby toys and a fitness center.

Citadines' facilities are perfect for business people. It has a meeting room, a computer station at the lobby and breakfast service.

The property has three room types: 20 square-meter Studio room; 20-square-meter Studio Deluxe room; and 29-square-meter Studio Executive room. Most rooms can accommodate two guests, but a number of interconnected rooms can accommodate a family of up to four.

"The two properties (Citadines and Somerset) are very different due to location and size, but you can get a good synergy between difference in room rates," Max Philips, Country General Manager for The Ascott Limited, said. "If someone calls up for a Somerset room, and if it is over their budget, we can immediately recommend Citadines."

The Ascott Limited, a Singapore-based hospitality chain, is the world's biggest serviced residence owner and operator, with more than 47,000 units around the world.

Citadines Han River Seoul is the company's third property in Korea. It opened Citadines Haeundae Busan last summer, attracting vacationers in the city with its affordability.

Philips said he hopes Citadines Han River Seoul will attract domestic guests as well, including those looking to go on "staycation," or relaxing mini-vacation while staying in an urban hotel.

Staycation has become a trend for Koreans who do not have the time to take long holidays, and therefore look for something close to home.

Citadines Han River Seoul is close to IFC Mall and Time Square, two big shopping malls in the city. It is also only five to 10 minute walk away from the riverside parks along Han River, as well as from Seonyudo Park, an island park in the middle of the river.

During the promotional period until Dec. 31, the Studio room will cost 64,000 won per night, excluding tax and service charge, the Studio Deluxe room 80,000 won per night , and Studio Executive room, 104,000 won. The package includes laundry service but not breakfast.

For more information, call (02) 2014-1111.
Baku, Azerbaijan, Aug. 5

Trend:

Armenian armed forces have 11 times violated the ceasefire on the line of contact between Azerbaijani and Armenian troops over the past 24 hours, said Azerbaijans Defense Ministry Aug. 5.

Armenian army was using large-caliber machine guns.

Armenian armed forces stationed in the Berkaber village of Armenias Ijevan district and in the Barekamavan village of the Noyemberyan district opened fire at Azerbaijani positions located in the villages of Gizilhajili and Gaymagli of the Gazakh district.

Azerbaijani positions underwent fire from the positions located near the Ashagi Seyidahmadli village of the Fizuli district and Kuropatkino village of the Khojavand district.

Moreover, Azerbaijani positions also took fire from the positions located on nameless heights of the Fizuli district.

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.
Top nuclear envoys of South Korea and the United States have held talks via telephone and vowed to closely cooperate in dealing with North Korea's continued missile provocations, the foreign ministry said Friday.

Kim Hong-kyun, special representative for Korean Peninsula Peace and Security Affairs, held a brief telephone conversation on Thursday night with his U.S. counterpart Sung Kim, and discussed countermeasures against the North's latest missile launches, according to the ministry.

On Wednesday, the North fired off two medium-range missiles, with one flying about 1,000 kilometers before landing in waters near Japan's exclusive economic zone.

"The two shared the view that the latest ballistic missile launches are a clear violation of U.N. Security Council resolutions and that they pose a serious threat to peace and stability in the international community," the ministry said.

"They promised to have close consultations to map out countermeasures including those through the Security Council," it said.

The top nuclear envoys of the two allies also plan to hold a meeting "soon" to discuss detailed policy cooperation in dealing with the North's nuclear and missile threats, the ministry also said.

South Korea, Japan and the United States are members of the long-halted six-party talks. The multilateral talks set up to resolve the North's nuke issue were last held in late 2008.

Kim held talks via phone with his Japanese counterpart Kenji Kanasugi earlier on the same day and discussed the North's latest missile provocations, the ministry said. (Yonhap)
South Korea, Japan and the United States had a senior-level video teleconference on Friday to discuss measures to better cope with increasing threats from North Korea.



The video teleconference, held two days after Pyongyang test-fired two Rodong missiles, was aimed at sharing information on the latest missile launches and drawing up joint countermeasures against further military provocations, the Ministry of National Defense (MND) said in a statement.



The three defense officials who attended the teleconference were Park Cheol-kyun, deputy director general for the MND's International Policy Bureau; Christopher Johnstone, principal director for East Asia at the U.S. Department of Defense; and Koji Kano, principal director of defense policy bureau at the Japan Ministry of Defense, the statement said.



"They found common ground with each other when it comes to North Korea's recent missile firings. They said the North's missile launches are a clear violation of the U.N. Security Council (UNSC) resolutions. And its nuclear and missile ambitions are a serious threat to peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula, as well as in the Asia-Pacific region," a ministry spokesman said.



The three countries agreed to beef up their cooperation to effectively counter evolving military threats from the North and continue to share information on its missile threats, he said.



Under relevant UNSC resolutions, North Korea is banned from developing ballistic missile technology. The UNSC slapped its toughest sanctions on Pyongyang over its fourth nuclear test in January and long-range rocket launch in the following month.



Despite the sanctions, Pyongyang's provocative acts continued. On Wednesday, it test-fired two mid-range Rodong ballistic missiles with one of them flying about 1,000 kilometers before falling into Japan's exclusive economic zone (EEZ), some 250 km west of Akita Prefecture in northeastern Japan.



It marked the first time that a North Korean missile fell in Japan's EEZ, an indication that the communist country is testing the range of its Rodong missile that has a maximum reach of some 1,300 km.



On July 19, Pyongyang fired off two Rodong missiles and a shorter-range Scud missile in defiance of Seoul's move to deploy the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system by 2017. At the time, two of the three missiles flew some 500-600 km. (Yonhap)




Kim Myong-sik, a senior North Korean military official, may have re-taken the post of the commander of the country's navy, a source familiar with North Korean affairs said Friday.

Kim, a vice chief of the General Staff of the North's military, may have replaced Ri Yong-ju, given that he was recently found to have taken the seat of the navy's commander at major military events, according to the source.

He served as the navy commander until Ri assumed the post in April 2015.

Kim sat next to Choi Yong-ho, the commander of the North Korean Air Force, at a military event on July 27 to mark the 63rd anniversary of an armistice effectively ending the 1950-53 Korean War, according to a photo carried by the North's main newspaper Rodong Sinmun.

Another photo showed Kim, clad in a military uniform, sitting fourth from North Korean leader Kim Jong-un's left at a military gathering for exemplary commanding officers and servicemen held earlier this week.

Three key military officials -- Hwang Pyong-so, director of the general political bureau of the Korean People's Army (KPA); Ri Myong-su, chief of the general staff of the KPA; and Pak Yong-sik, minister of the armed forces -- were seated between the leader and navy commander.

Last year, Kim was demoted to his current position with his military rank being lowered to a lieutenant general from a colonel general amid rumors that he was purged.

The source said that his military rank would have been restored if he re-assumed the post of navy commander.

Since taking power in late 2011, the North's leader Kim has often reshuffled the military's leadership and adjust ranks in a bid to tame the military.(Yonhap)
Aiming at an eventual moon mission, North Korea is working on a five-year plan to launch more satellites. / Yonhap



By Hong Dam-young



North Korea wants to plant its flag on the moon sometime in the next 10 years, despite international sanctions.

The intention was revealed in an Associated Press news agency interview with Hyon Kwang-iI, a senior official at North Korea's National Aerospace Development Administration, Thursday.

"We will not be daunted by the U.S. and its allies trying to block our space development program," Hyon said. "We will conquer space and plant the flag on the moon."

North Korea is working on launching more Earth observation satellites, according to its five-year plan, under orders from leader Kim Jong-un. It hopes to place more advanced satellites by 2020, including its first geostationary satellite. The plan also includes manned spaceflights and scientific experiments in space.

According to Hyon, the plan's long-term goal is to solve communications problems and collect more data for forestry and crop management.

Experts around the world have divided opinions on North Korea's moon mission.

Yang Mu-jin, from the University of North Korean Studies in Korea, said it could be seen as a part of what North Korea usually does to spread propaganda. He said judging by North Korea's staggering economic situation, affording such a huge cost for lunar exploration would be hard.

Jonathan McDowell, an astrophysicist from the Harvard-Smithsonian Centre, had a rather positive view, saying: "It is not ridiculous to make a plan for lunar exploration at an early stage of your space development. The plan probably will take more than five years, but it is not a far-fetched idea."

Hyon said it is hypocritical to call North Korea's space plan a military program in disguise, considering the history of space exploration.
By Oh Young-jin





An inattentive observer wouldn't understand Koreans' feeling of being stuck in the same place.

After all, the country is known for its dynamism and vibrancy  something new and big happening everyday so that newspapers need not worry about stories for their front pages the next day.

Then, can this national case of immobility be explained?

It is the repetition of the same repertoire of big dynamic events to the point that spectators can no longer feel the sense of motion; losing the will to change status quo. A newcomer is surprised at the fast and furious turn of events, get into the groove and eventually feel stuck as well, given enough time.

This repertoire is composed of corruption high and low, inequality unchecked, parochialism prevalent, and resentment growing with a sense of despair set in by realizing it is an inescapable destiny. Young people call this sense of helplessness "Hell Joseon." Old people accept it as tough luck.

However they may call it, it gives them a contradictory sense of being taken for a ride on the perpetually-rotating Mobius strip  moving but being entrapped.

Then, could Korea cut this Gordian knot and get back on the path of forward-moving change as it has done before? Its future may depend on it. Or what ails Korea is the same incurable disease afflicting the world  the beginning of class warfare between the top 1 percent and the remaining 99 percent. That is a subject for another time.

Now, here are four recent cases that may give a clue or two to help explain the sense of entrapment. The trick is that on the flip side, they may prove answers to this challenge.

Kim Young-ran Law

This latest anti-graft law is an offshoot from the 1960s and 1970s under the dictatorship when "decency police" on street patrols measured the length of women's skirts and men's hair.

The introduction of the 3/5/10 rule  for bureaucrats and reporters, buying them meals worth more 30,000 won ($27), gifts (50,000 won), and cash payments (100,000 won) for weddings and funerals will be a crime punishable by fines or sometimes jail terms from Sept. 28.

This law assumes everybody is guilty until proven otherwise. Then, the execution of this law proves to be intrusive  assigning the job of enforcers to "paparazzi" of a kind who will be out to catch the violators red-handedly for the government's cash rewards. The crimes  overeating, over-gifting and over-grieving  could be so prevalent that the perpetrators could get tickets, similar to those for traffic infractions.

The law has received popular backing amid a litany of corruption cases.

Star prosecutors milk businesspeople for protection money through sophisticated methods such as stock trades and gain relatives plum deals from chaebol in return for conniving at shady deals. A senior presidential secretary is hiding behind his boss's skirt to deflect influence-peddling allegations.

This law, however, runs many risks  accessorizing corruption, criminalizing the masses and deepening mutual distrust. But the biggest of all is to take the nation on a time travel back 40 years, showing it that little has changed since then and make it feel the futility of all efforts to make it better.

Volkswagen

Korea is as crude as China, one foreign firm's executive said about the level of regulators. That's not a compliment. Both countries have only one tool  one that is crude and blunt  and are ill prepared.

As for Volkswagen, the environment ministry devised a clean air act to punish it more severely but without success, and then slapped a sales ban on it but VW has not budged.

Why is it not scared? First, it looks down with justification on Korea's consumer protection system  no punitive damages or class-action suits, which explains the difference between the rich settlement in the United States and no deal for Koreans.

The lack of these is, ironically, aimed at helping the domestic industry grow, which has grown but the benefits are still intact. It would be a surprise if these protective systems are brought in as the result of the Volkswagen case.

As shown by a prosecutors' investigation, Volkswagen got away with irregularities in the certification of imported vehicles. The practice was that only 3 percent were checked. What about cars of other importers? The loopholes are everywhere to take advantage of.

More importantly, the government should have read the situation facing VW from an international context. It is facing an existential challenge in the aftermath of the emissions cheating scandal. Already, it could no longer exist after all claims are settled. In a desperate situation, it may well feel that it should put up all resistance it can muster. It's the Battle of the Bulge.

Korea should be patient and talk to it and find a solution that can help both sides.

American monk

Let Ven. Hyon Gak speak.

Don't hold grudges against him for speaking his mind.

Rather listen to him especially the criticism.

He has been around long enough and knows what is seen to be wrong with Korean Buddhism. Knowing the defects is the first step to correcting them.

He has helped it grow out of parochialism so it is natural to recognize it.

Especially, don't vilify him as it would only show how mean a host is to a guest.

THAAD

It is the Cold War nonstop on the Korean Peninsula, being frozen for 66 years after the start of the Korean War, although communism died toward the end of the 1980s. What was thought of as a forthcoming spring as the result of closer Seoul-Beijing ties turned out to be a brief unseasonable interlude. Alas!

Oh Young-jin is The Korea Times' chief editorial writer. Contact him at foolsdie5@ktimes.com or foolsdie@gmail.com.
We love your movies  "The Matrix" franchise  and your drama "Sense8" (not seen yet).



You, sisters Lana and Lilly Wachowski, are welcome to come to Korea to film part of your future and present series and movies too. After all, being in your business is a ticket to letting the world know more about Korea and share what we have  culture, food, traditional music, nature, and more.



Besides, during an appearance at a comedy talk show during your visit (then you were brother and sister), you showed the warm hearts we appreciate and the creative juices that we envy.



Having said so, we would like to let you know what happened at a location for a gunfight scene in Sinrim-dong, southwestern Seoul, a couple days ago, just in case you were not aware.



Reports have it there was a big commotion at the apartment complex in the early morning.



"Kaboom, kaboom" was followed by "bang, bang" and vice versa for close to an hour.



Sleeping babies were given a rude wake-up call and cried. Residents were worried about a war breaking out. Some were caught by surprise and called the police. Then, there were some cars that took an unexpected shower from the water lorry dispatched for the filming.



When residents were told what was happening, their reaction was: "We wish they would have told us in advance." In other words, it was regretful but they didn't show any ill feelings of being offended.



For filming of "The Avengers" movie, Seoul closed one of the bridges spanning the Han River for days. Although some people complained about it and others about the financial support rendered by Seoul City Hall, the general feeling was that it was worth it  giving the city a chance to plug itself worldwide.



For future reference, however, we wish the Wachowskis would know a couple of things about Korea.



This is a country that is forced to confront the one-million man army of North Korea, the nastiest breed of people on Earth, only 50 kilometers from Seoul. That means people here are more startled by the gunshot sounds than others. We also don't carry guns around like people do in the United States. Fortunately, compensation is being considered for some of the damages done.



Drop by Seoul again and pass our regards to Korean actress Bae Doo-na, who starred in "Sense8," for which the noise was made.




Over THAAD, Park stumbles, opposition scrambles



Korea's decision to bring in the advanced U.S. missile defense system is posing a great challenge to the nation, from inside and out. President Park Geun-hye failed to rally the nation around what she calls an inevitable self-defense measure, while the opposition parties are taking advantage of it for their political gains.



For the President and the opposition, what is emerging in the aftermath of the decision to deploy the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) battery falls little short of a warlike situation from its impact both immediate and over the long haul. It's commonsensical that internal unity is pivotal to winning the war but, regretfully, unity is the most sorely missed commodity in the ongoing THAAD snafu. Therefore, it is time for all parties to remind themselves of the gravity of the situation, set aside their parochialism and work for the best of national interest. Challenging as the situation may be, overcoming it could only invigorate the nation's crisis management ability to deal with future troubles, which are sure to come.



For that, here is a review of the situation.



The President made a mistake by alluding to the possible change of the site for the THAAD battery in Seongju, North Gyeongsang Province, during her meeting with a group of lawmakers from the region, Thursday. Her remarks not only raised false hopes for the residents protesting against the deployment but also gave the opposition more fodder to try to dislodge the decision. Rep. Park Jie-won, leader of the minority People's Party, derided Park for political sleight of hand. Cheong Wa Dae tried to control the damage for the President's apparent slip of tongue, saying that her remarks were made in response to a request from an attending lawmaker. But the damage was already done.



Then, six lawmakers from the main opposition Minjoo Party of Korea, all opposing the THAAD deployment, insisted on making a trip to Beijing for a meeting with Chinese officials and scholars on what they dubbed a "fact-finding" mission. Rep. Sohn Hye-won, of the Mapo constituency in Seoul, was quoted as saying during her trip to Seongju: "The people's opposition to THAAD should be conveyed to the U.S. I will be worth 100 people to do that."



The worry is that their trip will come amid China's move to retaliate against Korea over the THAAD deployment. Appearances of Korean celebrities in China have been canceled without clear reasons being given. The process for visa acquisition at the Chinese Embassy here has become tighter. The Chinese media called openly for retaliatory measures such as a boycott of things Korean, with the Communist Party's official paper, the People's Daily, in its editorial, threatening to attack Korea in the event of a Sino-U.S. conflict. All this comes in the broader context of the ongoing test of mettle between the young and old superpowers. The equation for the power game in the region could be made even more complex for us when nuclear-armed North Korea and the resurgent military power of Japan are combined.



It is time to remind ourselves that we are all in the same boat, being tied to the same fate, and sailing perilous choppy waters. All members of the crew and passengers are expected to play their roles: the President should lead, the lawmakers should act on equal footing for wise and fair counsel and the passengers should cooperate. If any party fails in their role, it would be like the Sewol tragedy all over again, only on a much bigger scale.




Roger Shepherd



By Kim Bo-eun

Korea is popularly known by foreigners for its flashy streets in Gangnam, city nightscapes and advanced IT gadgets.

Few foreigners, let alone locals, know about its mountains and natural landscapes.

Yet New Zealander Roger Shepherd, 50, has acquired extensive knowledge of Korea's terrain as well as an understanding of the local culture from his years of hiking here.

Interestingly, Shepherd was not a hiker before he started trekking Korea's mountains.

He spent eight years in Africa where he was a safari guide and wildlife ranger.

Back in his home country, he was a diplomatic protection officer with the New Zealand police. Shepherd was a guard for the Prime Minister and heads of foreign states visiting the country. He guarded former President Lee Myung-bak when he visited New Zealand in 2009.

"I always enjoyed outdoor life, but the Korean mountains got me interested in the idea of walking the ridges non-stop," Shepherd said. "Baekdudaegan' was the pinnacle of it."

Baekdudaegan is the mountain ridge along the length of the Korean Peninsula. He discovered it a decade ago when he came here for a vacation.

Shepherd returned in 2007 to trek the chain of mountains and decided to write a guidebook. In 2009, he hiked Korea's mountains for six months.

"Inspired by my 2009 walk, I decided to start a business offering tourists guided hikes and to settle down here," said Shepherd, who has been in Korea since.

His company, Hike Korea, not only provides guided hikes but also offers tours to Korea's cultural and historical attractions in lesser-known areas outside urban districts.

Granted access to hiking the northern section of the ridge in North Korea, Shepherd was able to hike the entirety of what is considered Korea's backbone.

"I like that Korea is a tapestry of ridges that are all interconnected to each other, and can be walked relatively freely without much restriction," he said.

"The scenery and culture connected to the Korean mountains is also fascinating."

Shepherd produced several books based on his hiking experiences. "The Baekdu Daegan Trail" is the first English guide of Korea's mountains. The following photo book edition is the first holistic feature of mountain images of both Koreas.

Shepherd plans to publish two more books this year, including a storybook of interviews with foreigners who have hiked Baekdudaegan, which will be available in English and Korean.

Shepherd, who is based in Gurye County in South Jeolla Province, provides mountain guides for foreigners visiting Korea, gives lectures, writes and takes photographs of his hiking experiences. He is also involved in efforts of inter-Korean exchange.

Last year, Shepherd exhibited his photographs in Pyongyang on Liberation Day on Aug. 15. A total of 70 works were put on display, as Korea marked its 70th anniversary of liberation from Japan's colonial rule.

He also took a group of motorcyclists on a tour of North Korea.

"I hope my work can help people in both the North and South to better know each other and will warm people's hearts toward a future Korea with everybody living in peace."
Baku, Azerbaijan, Aug. 5

By Elchin Mehdiyev  Trend:

The municipalities of Azerbaijan have created an initiative group for a campaign in connection with the referendum scheduled for September 26, 2016 and related to annexes and amendments to the countrys constitution.

As many as 348 representatives of municipalities of all districts of Azerbaijan took part in the meeting held in this regard.

At the meeting, the participants highly appreciated the proposed amendments to the constitution, having noted that the last referendum on amendments and annexes to Azerbaijan's constitution was held March 18, 2009.

In addition, twenty-seven plenipotentiary representatives of the initiative group and an authorized representative for financial issues were appointed.

It was also decided to send a notification to the Central Election Commission for registration of the created initiative group.

Earlier, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev signed an order to hold a referendum on amending the countrys constitution September 26, 2016.
Referring to MC&S media monitoring group information report for 1-31 July 2016 period, the names of the organizations most of all mentioned by media following 5 leading sectors have been made known.

As far as the higher educational institutions are concerned, Baku Higher Oil School, BHOS (1514) has been ranked the first. Information encompassed by media monitoring has been analyzed by the character and the content.

Companies media ranking has been made in compliance with sectors. It should be mentioned that media monitoring group of the company with 10 TV, 55 printing and 400 online media is following more than 465 sources. Currently the company is realizing media monitoring relating to 20 sectors including energy-fuel, telecommunication, bank, insurance, hotel and tourism, construction, foodstuffs, health, beverage, automobile, education fields.

Following 5 leading sectors the names of the organizations most frequently mentioned by media are shown below:

Amongst mobile communication companies Azercell (668 information), banking sector  Azerbaijan International Bank (1616 information), insurance sector  Ravan Insurance (190 information), higher educational institutions  BHOS (1514), hotel and business centers  Excelsior Hotel Baku (168 information).
Baku, Azerbaijan, Aug. 5

Trend:

Russias Embassy in Azerbaijan commented on the situation regarding the detention of Russian citizen Marat Ueldanov in Baku, who allegedly has an Armenian surname Galustyan.

The Russian citizen was arrested for drug trafficking and no other charges were brought against him, the Embassy told Trend Aug. 5.

Ueldanov was arrested in early June in Azerbaijan on charges under Article 234.4.3 of the Criminal Code (illegal acquisition, production, storage and distribution of narcotic drugs on a large scale).

So far, the embassy has received the necessary information from the Azerbaijani authorities, the embassy said. The embassys official has met with Ueldanov.

Investigation is currently underway against Ueldanov, according to the Russian Embassy.

His rights as of the accused one are observed, the embassy said. The detainee is indeed an Armenian by nationality. This factor has no impact on the investigation.

The embassy hopes Ueldanovs case will be considered in full compliance with the legislation of Azerbaijan and current Russian-Azerbaijani agreements, said the embassy.
Baku, Azerbaijan, Aug. 5

By Maksim Tsurkov  Trend:

Work on the construction of the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars (BTK) railway has been accelerated on Georgias territory, Nadir Azmammadov, spokesperson of Azerbaijan Railways, told Trend.

Azmammadov said that the railways Georgian part is divided into four parts: Marabda-Tetriskaro (29.2 kilometers), Tetriskaro-Salka (49.7 kilometers), Salka-Akhalkalaki (74.1 kilometers) and Akhalkalaki-Kartsakhi (26.3 kilometers).

In the first part, excavation works, installation of elements of topsides, construction of artificial structures, communication devices, signaling, centralization and blocking, civil and administrative buildings, and work on the power supply have been completed, said Azmammadov.

The stations were provided with gas, water, heating and sewage lines, he noted adding that the movement of trains was also ensured in this part.

In the second part, optical cables of communication and signaling, centralization and blocking have been built; adjustment and alignment are being carried out. Works are completed in the buildings of stations, accessory buildings and 111 facilities.

In the third section, works are already completed in 179 facilities, said Azmammadov adding that buildings of a number of stations have been reconstructed and new equipments have been installed.

A test freight train has been launched in the Marabda-Akhalkalaki part, he added.

The construction of a 153-meter Akhalkalaki-Kartsakhi bridge (Turkeys border) has been completed. Four tunnels are being built in this part of the railway (with a length of 1,165, 600, 500 and 400 meters).

Fifty-one facilities have been built in the last section, said the head of the press service. A station, a centralized post and accessory buildings were built at the Kartsakhi border station.

The construction of a 4.5 kilometer-long bridge, concreting of a tunnel, which will be completed in the coming months, are being carried out at the border, added Azmammadov.

He also noted that 30 cars of Stadler company will start to operate on the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway since Aug. 10, 2016.

The Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway is being constructed on the basis of the Georgian-Azerbaijani-Turkish intergovernmental agreement. Its commissioning is planned for the second half of this year.

The peak capacity of the BTK is to be 17 million tons of cargo per year. At the initial stage, the capacity will be one million passengers and 6.5 million tons of cargo.

---

Follow the author on Twitter: @MaksimTsurkov
Baku, Azerbaijan, Aug. 5

By Elena Kosolapova  Trend:

Kazakhstan has no plans to participate in the construction of an oil refinery in Iran, the Kazakh Ministry of Energy told Trend.

No requests on the establishment of the refinery have been received from economic entities by the Kazakh Ministry of Energy, said the press service of the ministry.

Director General for Mazandaran provincial Organization of Industry, Mine and Trade Mohammad Mohammad Pour Omran said June 26 that Iran and Kazakhstan planned to build a joint venture oil refinery in Amirabad Port, IRNA reported earlier.

Pour Omran said that the refinery will be processing Kazakhstan oil and then exporting to other countries.

He said that oil swap is another proposal for bilateral cooperation.

---

Follow the author on Twitter: @E_Kosolapova
Baku, Azerbaijan, Aug. 5

By Rufiz Hafizoglu  Trend:

Turkish Stream gas pipeline is not an alternative to the Trans Anatolian Natural Gas Pipeline (TANAP), said Director General of Turkish Angoragaz gas company Gokhan Yardim in his interview with Anadolu Agency.

Yardim said that the Turkish Stream doesnt prevent Ankara to implement other energy projects, including export of the Israeli gas through Turkey to European markets.

The director general did not rule out the possibility that some European countries may oppose the implementation of the Turkish Stream.

Earlier, Turkish presidential administration told Trend that Turkeys President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin will discuss a number of important economic and political issues during the meeting in St. Petersburg Aug.9.

During the meeting of the presidents of Turkey and Russia, the two countries will reconsider their relations in the economic sphere.

TANAP project, worth $9.2 billion, envisages transportation of gas of Azerbaijans Shah Deniz field from Georgian-Turkish border to the western borders of Turkey. The gas will be delivered to Turkey in 2018, and after completion of the Trans Adriatic Pipelines (TAP) construction, the gas will be delivered to Europe in early 2020.

TANAP shareholders are Azerbaijans state oil company SOCAR (58 percent), BOTAS (30 percent), and BP (12 percent).

---

Follow the author on Twitter: @rhafizoglu
The price of LITRO gas cylinders would be further reduced in the first week of November in accordance with the

Read more
Tashkent, Uzbekistan, Aug. 5

By Demir Azizov  Trend:

Representatives of Uzbek and Vietnamese foreign ministries have discussed the current status of the legal framework of relations and prospects for expanding it, said the message from Uzbekistans Foreign Ministry.

The discussions were held during the consultations between Uzbek and Vietnamese foreign ministries Aug.2-4 in Hanoi, Vietnam.

Currently, the relations between Vietnam and Uzbekistan are regulated by a number of intergovernmental documents, including the treaty on the bases of interstate relations and cooperation, agreements on mutual encouragement and protection of investments, scientific and technical cooperation, collaboration in the sphere of tourism, creation of an intergovernmental commission on trade and economic, scientific and technical cooperation.

Moreover, Uzbek delegation met with Vietnamese Deputy Foreign Minister Le Hoai Trung. During the meeting, the parties expressed mutual interest in further intensifying the bilateral cooperation and positively assessed the results of the previous talks.

Diplomatic relations between Uzbekistan and Vietnam were established in January 1992. Vietnam opened its embassy in Tashkent in 1993 and Uzbekistans honorary consulate started to operate in Hanoi in 2009.

Currently, 21 enterprises with Vietnamese share operate in Uzbekistan.
The SLFP does not condone the continuation of the Emergency Regulations (The Public Security Ordinance) more than a day necessary

Read more
This article appears in the August 5, 2016 issue of Executive Intelligence Review.

THE HERRHAUSEN METHOD:

A Serious Challenge to the

Genocidal Trans-Atlantic System

by Rainer Apel

[PDF version of this article]

July 30On July 12, Helga Zepp-LaRouche issued an urgent appeal, Deutsche Bank Must be Saved for the Sake of World Peace, which called for a government recapitalization of that derivatives-laden bank, conditional on its immediately reversing its policies back to those of its murdered former Chairman Alfred Herrhausen. This campaign of Lyndon and Helga LaRouche is continuing and intensifying, and is finding a growing response internationally. What is at stake is either an uncontrolled world financial blowout leading to war, or an orderly reorganization towards recovery.

The chief speaker (equivalent to Chairman) of Deutsche Banks board, Alfred Herrhausen, was killed in his car on his way to the bank by a remote-control bomb, on the morning of Nov. 30, 1989. The assassins have never been found or identified. The official version, instantly given to the press after the incident, is that he was killed by a team of the third generation of the infamous Baader-Meinhof gang (RAF, Rote Armee Fraktion), but that was never proven; it was also never proven that such a third generation even existed.



View full size Foto: Ruhr Initiative Group

Crucial pieces of evidence have mysteriously disappeared during the past 26 yearsincluding the wreckage of the car, whose availability would be important to determine in a renewed investigation, what kind of bomb was actually used in the assault, and whether that could provide leads into other circles that might have had an interest in killing Herrhausen.

It is widely known that particularly during the period between the big Wall Street Crash of October 1987, and the day of his assassination, Herrhausen had made himself many enemies in the trans-Atlantic world of banking and finance, with his unconventional proposals for solutions to the international debt crisis, and for economic-financial cooperation of the West with the Soviet Unionproposals that posed a serious challenge to the principles of financial policies in the western trans-Atlantic systemprinciples which have had increasingly genocidal effects.

Like John F. Kennedy and his brother Robert, Alfred Herrhausen was not murdered for anything that he had done (still less for anything he had said), but for what he threatened to do in the future. This threat was reflected in his public statements. In our July 22 issue, EIR quoted on page 20, from the speech Herrhausen was scheduled to give in New York on December 4, 1989, four days after his assassination, with its straight challenge to destructive trans-Atlantic banking methods. Two earlier statements which Herrhausen had given in June and September, already contained the core components of what he would have said in New York, had he not been assassinated.

Herrhausens Answers to the Crisis

In an essay headlined, The Time Has Come Debt Crisis at a Turning Point, published by Germanys leading business daily Handelsblatt on June 30, 1989, Herrhausen denounced the debt policies of particularly the U.S. banks. Not only were they useless, he wrote, but they were only worsening the debtor nations situation as well as that of the creditor banks themselves. Instead, the only measures that would work were general debt write-offs of up to 70%, cuts in interest of up to 50% for five years, a grace period of five years granted to all debtors, and an extension of the maturity of loans to 25 or 30 years.

This approach, he insisted, would enable the said (debtor) nations to reassign considerable resources that so far had been used to serve the debt, to instead be used for such purposes as would serve the recovery of their domestic economies. Herrrhausen added that what debtor nations really needed was not fresh moneythat is, new debtbut it would be better to say they need resources. The net effect of this resources reallocation could, during the first five years, be bigger than [all] the fresh money injections they have requested so far.

Herrhausen did not reference it directly, but what he proposed was the approach generally taken in the London Debt Agreement of 1952, that created enormous relief for postwar Western Germany to get back on its feet, and not collapse under the weight of the piled-up old debt. That Agreement had been negotiated by Deutsche Banks longtime Chairman Hermann Josef Absthe outstanding constructive banker who also played a role in promoting the career of a promising young banker with the name of Alfred Herrhausen.

On another occasion, an extensive press briefing on Sept. 25, 1989, at the World Banks autumn meeting in Washington, D.C., Herrhausen presented the same arguments, pointing out that he very much hoped that other banks would follow the example of Deutsche Bank as a debt reduction bank, as it had shown itself to be in several cases of developing-sector debtor nations. Herrhausen warned that the unresolved payments problems of the debtor nations, along with problems resulting from debt imbalances in the United States itself and in Europe, posed a systemic risk, whose dimensions had been understated for too long. It was high time to act, and to do so in a constructive way, Herrhausen insisted. At the same time, unrest in the Soviet Union despite its reforms, along with nationality frictions and escalated conflicts erupting from that, could lead to problems particularly in the Soviet Bloc, with negative repercussions for all Eastern Europe. Herrhausen proposed for unstable Poland in particular, the creation of a special new bank in Warsaw, an Agency for Reconstruction, which unlike the current banking practices of the West, would make sure that new loans to the Polish economy would be used for clearly-defined industrial development projects, just as the Marshall Plan money of the United States was used for well-defined reconstruction in Germany and Europe after World War II. There must also be a substantial cut in the high foreign debt of Poland.

With that, Herrhausen had addressed in his own words what Lyndon H. LaRouche had laid out in his own historic speech at the Kempinski Hotel in Berlin, on Oct. 12, 1988. That speech was being studied by many policy-makers and bankers in the months following, and one may assume that Herrhausen had the text on his desk at some point as well.
This article appears in the August 5, 2016 issue of Executive Intelligence Review.

THE NEW PRESIDENCY:

I t Begin s wit h LaRouch es  Fou r Laws

by Michael G. Steger

[PDF version of this article]

This article is the first in a series of writings which will be presented by the LaRouche PAC National Policy Committee, in direct collaboration with Lyndon LaRouche, as part of his campaign to create a New Presidency over the coming 100 days.

August 2Over the last five weeks the world has changed. Events combined with willful interventions, especially those of Vladimir Putin, have created a new global dynamic and transformed the potential for real and total victory in the immediate period ahead. Success now depends first on the adoption of LaRouches Four New Laws, a policy set forth in 2014 in his The Four New Laws To Save the U.S.A. Now!, but long-term success requires more than simple adoption of necessary policies, even ones as necessary as Glass-Steagall and Federal Credit for scientific advancement.

As LaRouche states in The Four New Laws,

In principle, without a Presidency suited to remove and dump the worst effects felt presently, those created presently by the Bush-Cheney and Obama Presidencies, the United States were soon finished, beginning with the mass-death of the U.S. population under the Obama Administrations recent and now accelerated policies of practice.

And then later,

A chain-reaction collapse, to this effect, is already accelerating with an effect on the money-systems of the nations of that region. The present acceleration of a Bail-in policy throughout the trans-Atlantic region, as underway now, means mass-death suddenly hitting the populations of all nations within that trans-Atlantic region: whether directly, or by overflow.

This systemic crisis requires not just a set of policies, but a New Presidency, one based on a citizenry with a higher devotion, one beyond mere electoral politics, one similar to that of Benjamin Franklin, George Washington, and Alexander Hamilton. It requires a commitment to the creation of a new nation, of a new United States, and of a world that has never existed beforea world now more possible than ever, and a world that now lies in our hands whether it comes to be, or we fall short.

The Five Weeks

Now consider the rapid developments of the last five weeks:

The British-exit (Brexit) vote from the European Union on June 24, exposed as if suddenly, for all the world to see, the rotting core of the trans-Atlantic system. This rebellion among British voters was the direct prelude to the Helga Zepp-LaRouche-hosted Schiller Institute conference in Berlin that same weekend, an event uniquely focused on the fulfillment of the new world system now coming into being throughout Eurasia and inspired by the ideas of Lyndon LaRouche.

Within days successive upheavals poured forth. The NATO summit in Warsaw, hoping to target Russia for greater war, instead only exposed growing discord among the European nations. Japan rejected any further commitment to British financial insanity, and in fact moved closer to Russia and China, as did the Philippines, ignoring Obamas command for conflict in the South China Sea. Terrorist attacks, spawned by the ongoing the illegal U.S./British wars in Iraq, Libya, Syria and Yemen, have targeted cities in France and Germany weekly, if not daily, with no end in sight under the current policies. Underlying all of this political upheaval, there is the ongoing public panic over the banking collapse in Italy, Germany, and London, threatening that very sudden wipe-out of the nations of the trans-Atlantic that Lyndon LaRouche had forewarned of in 2014.

In the context of this political and cultural breakdown in the trans-Atlantic region, there has been a surge of the policies and initiatives of the LaRouche organization. The Chilcot Inquiry was finally released in London after seven long years of review, declaring the Queens war in Iraqa war forced through by Tony Blair and George W. Bushto be illegal and a direct attack on the United Nations and international law, crimes tantamount to those of the Nazis. In the United States, the 28 pages of the Joint Congressional Inquiry into 9/11 were released after 14 years, exposing the fraud of both the Bush and Obama administrations for their explicit cover-up of the British-Saudi direction of the 9/11 attacks, as well as their subsequent drive for world war through geopolitical criminal intent.

The Glass-Steagall act, the very death-knell of Wall Streets and Londons criminal fraud, then found its way into both the Republican and Democratic Partys platforms, not because of the clown-shows of the joke-candidates, but because of the deeply held recognition by the broad majority of the American people, that the last fifteen years of mass-death policy in the United States is undeniably tied to the policies of Wall Street.

And now, just five weeks later, resolving as if upwards with much more to come, the near-coup in Turkey and subsequent policy changes threaten to end the last two centuries of geopolitical attempts to control Asia, as Turkey now turns closer to both Putins Russia and Chinas New Silk Road policy, and away from the trans-Atlantic commitment to world war. Then comes the news of the encirclement of Aleppo, again by Putins Russian along with Syrian forces, indicating a possible near-term end, not just to the Syrian conflict which was intended as a pre-emption toward nuclear war against Russia and China by the British-backed Obama regime, but which now, with the crisis nearly resolved, portends the end of the era of British geopolitics itself. Vladimir Putin and Chinas New Silk Road are winning; Obama and the British are losing.

Yet there is more, and perhaps more to come, beginning with the participation by Helga Zepp-LaRouche in the international T20 summit in Beijing at the end of July, a preliminary discussion of leading figures for the upcoming G20 summit in September. The United Nations General Assembly will also meet in September, merely a year since Vladimir Putins call for a new allied force against terrorism, and both events will be key international forums to build upon the LaRouche-inspired new paradigm.

As Helga Zepp-LaRouche said recently, The Erinyes dreadful dance has been unleashed! and one can almost hear the panicked howling and screaming inside the corridors of power on Wall Street and in London, even from the batty Queen herself.

The Four Laws

On June 8, 2014, Lyndon LaRouche issued a statement, titled The Four New Laws to Save the U.S.A. Now! Not an Option: an Immediate Necessity.

In his statement of The Four New Laws, Mr. LaRouche defines a solution to the current global economic and financial, general breakdown crisis, but he also defines more. He presents an economic and scientific policy which is coherent with the actual creative nature of the human species, and one which, if adopted, will unleash a Renaissance in human advancement for the coming century, and beyond.

There is no substitute for reading, and re-reading, the entirety of Mr. LaRouches statement, but we will present here a brief truncated synopsis of the immediate steps to be taken to address the ongoing general breakdown crisis of the trans-Atlantic system. This is the starting point for a successful New Presidency:

1. The immediate re-enactment of the Glass-Steagall law instituted by U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt, without modification, as to principle of action. 2. A return to a system of top-down, and thoroughly so defined, as National Banking. The precedents for this shall be taken from the banking-and-credit system established by Alexander Hamilton, as well as Abraham Lincolns action of creating a national currency (Greenbacks), under Presidential authority. 3. The deployment of a new Federal Credit system to generate high-productivity trends in improvements of employment, with the accompanying intention to increase the physical-economic productivity, and the standard of living of the persons and households of the United States. An increase in productive employment, as accomplished under Franklin Roosevelt, must reflect an increase in real productivity, coherent with an increase in energy-flux density in the nations economic practice. 4. The adoption of a Fusion-Driver Crash Program.  Real economics is grounded in the essential distinction of man from all lower forms of life. A Fusion Crash Program, today subsuming a return to Krafft Ehrickes vision for the U.S. Space Program, is a commitment to mankinds future.

The Deeper Issue

However, only a quality of thinking similar to that of a creative scientist, such as Einstein, or the conductor Wilhelm Furtwangler, will have the powers necessary to grasp the underlying causal force of the recent international developments, as well as the sufficient quality of response found in the very essence of LaRouches Four New Laws. This scientific quality is best expressed as ones own commitment to the unbounded future of the human species.

Not the future of the reductionists space and time, or even space-time, but rather a future governed by musical genius, which looks to engender in the mind of an audience the necessary and sufficient powers of thought which approximate mankinds unlimited future, thus unfolding a clarity of resolute action as if backwards into the present crisis from the living future.

Shakespeares case of Hamlet provides a relevant negative proof of such powers of the human mind. Any honest person must ask themselves, not For whom will I vote?, but rather, Will I exist as an efficient actor on the stage of history? As Lyndon LaRouche stated on July 31, 2016, I am not running for President, but I am certainly intending to affect the shaping of the government of the United States in the coming period.

Now consider this aspect of his thinking in the concluding section of that June, 2014 report,

For example: time and space do not actually exist as a set of metrical principles of the Solar system; their only admissible employment for purposes of communication is essentially nominal presumption. Since competent science for today can be expressed only in terms of the unique characteristic of the human species role within the known aspects of the universe, the human principle is the only true principle known to us for practice: the notions of space and time are merely useful imageries.

And then later,

Man is mankinds only true measure of the history of our Solar system, and what reposes within it. That is the same thing, as the most honored meaning and endless achievement of the human species, now within nearby Solar space, heading upward to mastery over the Sun and its Solar system, the one discovered (uniquely, as a matter of fact), by Johannes Kepler.

The danger lies, thus, not in the seeming chaos of world events, as the typical man-on-the-street perceives the unfolding crisis, but in the insufficient commitment towards the upward nature of mankind, as presented in LaRouches Four New Laws. For at such a moment when LaRouches ideas are now more influential within the broader culture of the human species, and while the contrary deceits of Zeusian imperial dictates of population reduction, war, and economic fraud face their perilous collapse, the very nature of the human mind itself is the higher compositional modality by which we act upon the universe-at-large to revolutionary effect.

What is urgent is the requisite creative pre-emptive action, rather than the repeated failures derived from Newtons systemic fraud of action-reactiona fraud that predominates in the neurotic impulses of the political and financial class of the trans-Atlantic today, and a fraud that Einstein so brilliantly exposed. Such pre-emptive action, as required by LaRouches Four New Laws, is the very foundation for the preliminary steps by which we eliminate the unnecessary burdens and debts of this failed system.

But, can one hear the new theme, perhaps as if by the anticipated entrance of a soaring section of woodwinds high above the orchestra in highest register? For such anticipation is as if a gift brought unexpectedly by a long-past dear friend from what is the yet undetermined future, which is then given on behalf of our presents passing, only to become our futures most profound present.

Dantes Divine Comedy, and Brunelleschis creation of the Italian Renaissance, were no less.

So must the New Presidency, and its citizenry, become.
On March 1, 2015, Los Angeles police officers responded to a Sunday morning call on skid row about a dispute. A homeless man called Africa (Charly Leundeu Keunang) got into a scuffle with the officers, who shot and killed him. A bystanders video of the incident went viral and brought new attention to long-standing concerns about heavy-handed police tactics in the 50-block region, often cited as the nations densest concentration of homeless people. Forrest Stuarts Down, Out and Under Arrest: Policing and Everyday Life in Skid Row, based on the sociologists five years of ethnographic research, is an important contribution to the current hot debate on law, order and social justice. His findings are striking.

Rebutting anti-police rhetoric, he finds that unlike thuggish agents of brute retribution, patrol officers practice therapeutic policing, which is a form of outreach social work that aims to transform and reintegrate residents as productive, self-governing citizens. Police seek not to repress dysfunctional street dwellers vindictively but to push them into rehabilitation programs and otherwise help them reintegrate into society.

In the end therapeutic policing can cause more problems than it cures.  Forrest Stuart in Down, Out and Under Arrest

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Unfortunately, Stuart also finds that In the end therapeutic policing can cause more problems than it cures, because For those on the receiving end, therapeutic policing feels less like helpful guidance and more like abuse. Recent policing strategy on skid row rehabilitates few of the neighborhoods disadvantaged residents but harasses and incarcerates many and disrupts their own self-help efforts. Stuart recommends greater toleration of skid row lifestyles and encourages community activist efforts, such as photographing and litigating police abuses. But he overlooks the possibility of reforming rather than abandoning therapeutic policing.

Stuart shows skid row police are expressly oriented towards the task of recovery management, in which they attempt to reform even the most destitute and deviant. Officers sincerely believe that hassling the homeless is good therapy because, as a patrolman says, At least when I arrest a guy I can get him into the system, that is, a rehabilitation program or some other avenue toward substance abuse treatment.

But to street dwellers, the whole recovery management process seems draconian. Private rescue missions require sobriety, work and commitment as prerequisites to aid and shelter. Police suppress informal, unconditional charity such as handouts. Officers prevent homeless people from lying down, sitting or just standing still in the belief that idleness encourages bad behavior. Quality-of-life violations are enforced more harshly against long-term residents to discourage attachment to the skid row lifestyle. Women, who are seen as more receptive to rehabilitation than men, especially receive unwanted police attention. Thus a coercive public order regime is justified by police as helping, not oppressing, the neighborhoods disadvantaged residents.

Policing skid row in downtown Los Angeles. (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times )

But, the book shows, the help is not doing nearly as much good as is claimed. For example, the Streets or Services program offers some people arrested in skid row on quality-of-life charges a choice: Go to court and then probably to jail, or enter a 21-day rehabilitation program. Some officers even keep track of how many of their arrestees are diverted from jail into therapy and otherwise pride themselves as recovery managers. But only 10% of SOS enrollees ever complete rehabilitation. So, while the program fails at recovery, it justifies arresting skid row denizens for minor offenses that would have been overlooked in years past. Nor, we are told, does the practice of cracking down on small infractions  known as broken windows policing  deter major crimes.

For Stuart, therapeutic policing legitimates punitive treatment of the worst-off without making them or anyone else better off. Or rather, turning the police into social workers  and they make abysmal social workers, we are told  benefits not the street dwellers but the developers who can now make a profit in the domesticated neighborhood. Down, Out, and Under Arrest is thus a well-supported critique of therapeutic policing and, by extension, of similar paternalistic efforts to help the poor by hassling them into good behavior.

But some qualifications are necessary. First, the critique of broken-windows policing is a bit overdrawn. The original 1982 statement of the idea by J.Q. Wilson and George Kelling argued that police ought to enforce public order precisely because they could not drive down major crime rates. Maintaining order would at least make people feel safer, which would be significant in its own right. The idea was to insist that police could impact at least some social problems. Later formulations, as Stuart fairly notes, were more immodest. Further, is it so bad that therapeutic policing opened skid row to development? The wisdom of dedicating some of the most potentially valuable real estate on the planet to the warehousing of the extremely needy is not obvious.

Skid row is in the shadow of downtowns skyscrapers. (Mark Boster / Los Angeles Times )

More important, therapeutic policing may be capable of reform, as Stuarts account of a group of skid row body builders suggests. These men work out with their scrounged collection of equipment  the weight pile  with the idea of keeping themselves healthy and out of trouble. The police resent the mens preference for the weight pile over mission-sponsored treatment, and eventually break up the group, after which at least one member relapses into drug addiction. The author concludes that therapeutic policing  actively delegitimizes and criminalizes indigenous, self-directed attempts at rehabilitation. But this reader was left wondering why, instead of shutting down the weight pile, the police didnt try to work with it. It turns out a local mission had a full gymnasium; why wasnt that facility made more attractive to the weight-pile men? Between laissez faire tolerance of street lifestyles and coercive paternalism, cant there be a reformed therapeutic policing that has a more realistic appreciation of street dwellers resistance to external control? Meeting the needs of the homeless up front and as they see them might well be more therapeutic than conditioning aid on good behavior  once needs are met, rehabilitation is more likely.

Stuart advises less concern for recovery and ending the harassment he believes it sanctions, which involves organizing the homeless to fight against police mistreatment. One community group does so by giving cameras to street dwellers who record bad police behavior for use in court. That evidence brought about a 2012 injunction issued by the 9th Circuit Court in Lavan v. City of Los Angeles that prohibits arbitrary confiscation of street dwellers belongings. So the harassment is ended, but people remain on the streets and in distress as rehabilitation is no longer a focus.

Police make an arrest during a skid row cleanup in April. (Mark Boster / Los Angeles Times. )

Los Angeles has something to learn from New York in working with street dwellers. The Big Apple once insisted that the indigent enroll in rehabilitation as a condition of receiving shelter or permanent housing. But many people on the streets recoiled at the constraints of therapy and simply stayed where they were. Eventually, New York adopted the Housing First policy of granting aid immediately and letting therapy kick in later, which encouraged both recovery and public order. To judge from Stuarts fascinating account, Los Angeles should similarly reform, but not abandon, its efforts to rehabilitate both skid row and its residents.

Something like that may be happening. In September 2015, Los Angeles elected officials said they would devote up to $100 million to address the plight of the homeless, and voters may be asked to approve a $1-billion funding measure this fall.

Meanwhile, the Lavan injunction has been widely hailed as marking a new era in which the police interact more sensitively with people who live on Skid Row. The trick will be balancing the claims of both sensitivity and order.

Main is a professor at the School of Public and International Affairs at Baruch College of the City University of New York. His book, Homelessness in New York City: Policymaking From Koch to de Blasio, is published by NYU Press.

::

Down, Out, and Under Arrest: Policing and Everyday Life in Skid Row

By Forrest Stuart

University of Chicago Press: 352 pp., $27.50
There are many ways to write about women, but the argument could be made that almost any novel or story written by a woman is somehow about women, as if that theme automatically applies by dint of the fictions connection to its writer. But that would be a simplistic reading and would likely frustrate many writers  unless, like Kirstin Allio, they really are writing about and embracing the theme wholeheartedly.

Its been 11 years since Allios debut novel, Garner, came out from Coffee House Press and was a finalist for the L.A. Times book prize for first fiction. Allio returns from her long book-publishing-absence with Clothed, Female Figure, a collection of short stories that are about both individual women  their woes, fears and small triumphs  and womanhood as a concept, a state of being. While there is never a clear spoon-fed message of feminism, the validating undercurrent of these womens experiences is more like an undertow, strong and carrying.

Connections between women are also subtly explored in the almost fully female cast. In the title story, a once-Soviet psychologist has become a nanny after immigrating to the United States.

The liminal space between motherhood and womanhood, where the two intertwine and diverge, is strong.  Ilana Masad on Allios collection

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Natashas English is impeccable, and she is highly educated; it is never made quite clear why she never tried to practice her former profession in this country. What is understood by the end of the story, however, is why she turned to nannying, specifically. Between those start and finish points of her personal history, however, the story meanders into her relationship with a former charge, Leah, who is now in college, studying art, and has begun writing letters to the nanny she remembers from over a decade prior. Leah tells Natasha that she is a nanny herself, by accident almost, as shes agreed to go with her revered sculptor-professor to Italy and take care of her children.

In Leahs letters, which have a voice distinct from Natashas own, Leah describes a sculpture she wanted to make, a life-sized sculpture of a woman. The whole point was she would be clothed, suggesting the opposite of clothing. Like naked bodies are less sexy, actually, than bodies in bathing suits. Uh-huh, thats my college for you. Leah adds, Then I had an idea that the body had to be yours You looked as if you immigrated every day, to Chelsea. Natasha doesnt share whether she finds this insulting or upsetting  she is only giddy to hear from Leah and unable to write back, fearing that contact from her would ruin the fairy-tale version of herself that Leah has built up in her memory. Natasha, never a mother to her charges but very clearly a caretaker, is considered by Leah and her mother as the conscience they lacked. The liminal space between motherhood and womanhood, where the two intertwine and diverge, is strong in this and several of the other stories.

Indeed, mothers are almost ubiquitous to these stories, as is the relationship between women and class. In The Other Woman, the narrators mother was part of a universitys cleaning staff, but pretended to be a post-doc student and became the protege of a famous sociologist. In Ark, Caryn is snowed in with five children  four her own and one nephew  and needs to entertain them while also figuring out her relationship with her nephew, who is quiet and somewhat mysterious to her. In Quetzal, a mother and daughter seem to be linked forever by their desires and loves and how they end up losing and regaining them.

But simplifying Allios stories to these one-line descriptions doesnt do justice to her prose. There is something reminiscent of Alice Munro in Allios stories, a similarity in how both writers can fit novel-like stories into fewer than 30 pages, flashing between years past and present without a hiccup. There is also a similar economy of language that nevertheless provides a world of imagery. Here, she describes revealing physicality: Between Phils thick eyebrows and mat of dark hair was a sweatband of tight forehead, and Sara was glad she was so thin, as if it signified strength of character. Her landscapes contain insights into the storys emotions and also a commentary on the U.S.: Trackside backyards bearing a familys series of big purchases  aboveground pool, trampoline, boat on blocks, pre-fab tool shed with a single barren window box. A series of disappointments. And read her original, simple, entirely evocative descriptions of weather and time: The air was watery, snow by afternoon; At six oclock the morning is a light sleeve; Outside, the air is still as if its been trapped under a hat for days.

While some of the stories in Clothed, Female Figure end with such an openness that they almost dont feel finished, and may be dissatisfactory or alarmingly sudden for some, there is still a deliberateness about them that makes it clear that Allio knows what shes doing. The way she works her way into and out of her plots is skillful, but its the writing itself, so deceptively easy at times, that is truly breathtaking.

Masad is an Israeli American writer living in New York.

::

Clothed, Female Figure

Kirstin Allio

Dzanc Books: 280 pp., $16.95 paper
Nick and Phoebe Maguire are a couple in their early 30s, newly relocated from the East Coast to Southern California, where Nick was supposed to start a promising public relations/filmmaking job while Phoebe took some much-needed time off following a car accident that injured both her and Jackson, their toddler son.

Theyve bought a house on Carousel Court in a town called Serenos, 40 miles from Los Angeles  think Upland  taking one of those zero-down, interest-only loans that caused the subprime mortgage crisis that tanked our economy not so long ago.



For the record: An earlier version of this post misidentified the day of McGinniss L.A. reading as Wednesday.

The novel Carousel Court is a raw, close-up portrait of a married couple tormented by money problems in the midst of a national recession. There are no dates or defining specifics in the book, but its easily recognizable as a product of the financial crisis of the late 2000s. Author Joe McGinniss Jr. zooms in on the lives of one couple with the kinds of stressors experienced by many in the poisonous privacy of their own homes. The result is thrilling and uncomfortable  a novel that dwells in the filth of love and hate and blame and money in post-crash America with an intimacy that never lets up.

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The Maguires personal bubble lasted just long enough for them to pour money into HGTV-inspired renovations  an hourglass pool with a wet bar; a rock-climbing wall. They intended to flip the house; they were counting on the profits. Now [i]ts underwater, sinking fast, has the three of them by the ankles, and isnt letting go.

Theyre not the only ones in trouble. Carousel Court is almost all new construction, and the houses around them are emptying, foreclosed on, tagged with graffiti. His job offer rescinded  due to the economic downturn  Nick works for a company called EverythingMustGo! performing [b]ank-sanctioned home invasions, trashing out foreclosed homes. Its a low-prestige, low-income job, and Nick can feel the weight of his wifes growing unhappiness and disgust. What he cant wrap his mind around, what he dreads: facing her in the quietest hours of the night when hes the reason she cant sleep.

Phoebe has her own problems, including a walloping addiction to prescription drugs  she favors Klonopin, mixed with a kicker or two of other pills. On low-dosage days the ground beneath her hardens, common sounds are shrill: Jacksons cries more urgent, Nicks words more hollow. Her job as a pharmaceutical rep gives her easy access to doctors, some of whom can be manipulated with photos of Phoebe flashing her underwear.

Nick and Phoebe hatch separate, secret plans to bail their family out of trouble  like The Gift of the Magi, but horrible. Nick decides to steal from the rich and prey on the poor, renting empty houses to people in desperate circumstances. (Their kids are six and nine. Their house is a four-bedroom foreclosure in Corona.) For some reason, Phoebe doesnt trust her husband to save them despite his obvious treasure-trove of great ideas: It was all on her, Phoebe felt, to run this thing. To keep them going. If they were going to ascend, plateau at a level she could live with, it was all on her. Phoebe knew and resented it. She contacts JW, a wealthy old flame/creepy ex-boss whos been a constant wedge in her marriage. He has the connections to get her a job, and shes willing to use him, at the risk of being used.

The Maguires marriage suffers, of course  already sexless and resentful at the start of the book, it becomes hateful and vicious as husband and wife lose themselves in their scheming and lose control even of their schemes. They fight constantly (Id have more respect for you if you were afraid. Then again, if you were fearless, youd show some confidence, she says) I havent read so many low blows since Richard Yates Revolutionary Road.

The nastiness is toxic and pervasive, against a backdrop infested with physical threat  multiple Chekhovs guns, as well as Chekhovs fires, pills, knives, climbing walls  the marriage starts to feel not just tense but enormously dangerous. Tonight he has no answer to the question: What separates him and Phoebe from cable-news killers? The book maintains a tight focus on Nick and Phoebes relationship (Jackson is mostly out of the picture, at day care, or left with the magical Vietnamese nanny who lives on their street), but their domestic troubles are so disastrous that they deliver suspense by the bucket.

The writing is taut and swift, with spare, propulsive sentences in short chapters  97 of them in 350 pages (with whole pages devoted to rapid-fire, soul-sucking text exchanges). The days are tough and grinding, long needles scraping bone. The tension and misery rarely let up, and despite the relief available in not reading this book, its very hard to look away.

Cha is the author, most recently, of the novel Dead Soon Enough.

::

Carousel Court

Joe McGinniss Jr.

Simon & Schuster: 368 pp., $26

::

Tuesday: Joe McGinniss Jr. reads from Carousel Court

Where: Book Soup, 8818 Sunset Blvd., West Hollywood

When: 7 p.m. Aug. 9

Admission: Free

Info: www.booksoup.com or (310) 659-3110
Baku, Azerbaijan, Aug. 5

By Fatih Karimov  Trend:

Irans leading car manufacturer Iran Khodro and the German automotive parts manufacturer MAHLE GmbH signed a deal for jointly design and manufacturing of three-cylinder car engine.

Under the deal, worth 5000 billion rials (one USD makes 30,958 rials) three-cylinder engines with power output of 120-160 HP (Horsepower) and fuel consumption of 4.7 litres per 100 kilometers will be manufactured jointly, the official website of Iran Khodro reported.

Almost 350,000 engines which correspond to the Euro 6 standards will be produced per year in Iran.

Under the deal, the manufacturing technology and know-how will be transferred to Iran step by step.

The design and manufacturing process is scheduled to be completed within 30 months.

MAHLE is one of the largest automotive suppliers worldwide. As a manufacturer of components and systems for the combustion engine and its periphery, the company is one of the three largest systems suppliers worldwide for engine systems, filtration, electrics, mechatronics, and thermal management.

Iran Khodro is Irans leading car making company.

It was one of the first Iranian companies to sign a foreign deal in the wake of the removal of international sanctions on Iran last January.

The companys representatives travelled to France with President Hassan Rouhani a few days after the sanctions were lifted. There they signed a joint venture deal with Peugeot.
The Angeles Crest Highway is one of the worlds great roads, and Newcombs Ranch Inn is the preferred watering hole for those who drive and ride it.

Since 1939, the rustic roadhouse has served as way station for hikers, bikers, drivers, cyclists and travelers who stop there to eat, drink and rest up for the journey back down the mountain to Los Angeles or onward to Wrightwood.

On weekends, Newcombs parking lot is lined with cars and motorcycles  often numbering in the hundreds  and its bar, restaurant and patio are overflowing with customers.

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Some of them are grousing, though, about changes in policy and menu.

Newcombs management recently began charging $1 for a glass of water, and adding an 18% service charge onto diners bills.

Additionally, some regulars have complained, the restaurant has done away with its traditional menu and offers only a limited selection of items during the busy breakfast and lunch hours. It has also stopped offering decaf coffee.

The Crest is such a spectacular ride, and Newcombs could be a spectacular destination, said a frequent visitor who asked not to be named because he intends to keep going there. Its a bummer that it has achieved lowest common denominator status  in terms of the service, the quality of the food, and a dollar for a glass of water.

The restaurants current owner is Fred Rundall, whose father bought the property from the Newcomb family in 2001.

Rundall, who recently opened the downtown Los Angeles restaurant and bar Shibumi, said the menu and policy changes were an attempt to improve service.

The ranch gets mobbed on the weekends, Rundall said, especially if there is an important motorcycle race being broadcast. On July 17, the day of the German Grand Prix, Rundall said he served more than 500 diners.

The restaurant, which seats 185, often becomes overwhelmed by the number of customers trying to order a meal at the same time.

At times, Rundall said, customers were waiting up to an hour for their food. So he decided to limit the weekend menu to the most popular dishes only, once a certain number of diners were seated.

If there is a Moto GP race, its pretty chaotic up here, Rundall said by telephone. Well look at each other and say, Its time.

As for the water, Rundall said Newcombs draws all its H2O from a well, and has difficulty keeping up with demand  especially when customers ask for water without ordering food, or ask for water that they leave on the table without drinking.

Im not trying to make money off water, Rundall said. But Ill ask for a dollar, if someone just wants a glass of water.

The water policy is not observed by all the employees, several customers said.

But the 18% service charge is applied to all tickets, not just for large parties, as is the case at many restaurants.

Restaurant employees said the service charge rule is for Sundays only, and the abbreviated menus are just for the weekend breakfast and lunch. (The restaurant, also open for breakfast and lunch Thursday and Friday, always closes at 4 p.m. and does not serve dinner.)

And the decaf? Rundall said it was eliminated because no one asks for it.

Despite the menu changes, regular customers can order whatever they want, Rundall said, if theyre willing to really express their unhappiness.

Eighty percent of our demo is the same recurring customers, he said. The regulars know, if they make a face, we can probably help them out.
Most Californians have probably never heard of DJI Technology, but legislators in Sacramento are hearing its message.

Over the last year, the company has sharply ramped up its spending on lobbying in the state capital, moving from zero in the third quarter of 2015 to $155,000 since then. Its also spending about $200,000 on lobbying in Washington.

Its the largest manufacturer of drones. Theyre those buzzy, compact remote-controlled aircraft that have become all the rage among hobbyists and are being eyed by industry and government agencies to perform work thats too costly, dangerous, or difficult for humans, including the prompt delivery of merchandise, inspection of remote facilities, filming, firefighting and police surveillance. The drone industry emphasizes the potential for expanding the use of unmanned aircraft in arguing for measured regulation or self-regulation.

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The overarching themes of these bills are safety, security and privacy.  Drone law expert Steven D. Miller

Fans and critics of drones alike expect the skies to become very crowded in coming years, as the devices become cheaper and acquire greater capabilities. Shenzhen, China-based DJI, which is reported to command as much as 70% of the drone market, sells its camera-equipped products today for prices ranging from $6,500 to less than $500.

Estimates of the drone market vary, but all agree that its exploding. At a White House workshop on drone policy Aug. 2, Intel Chief Executive Brian Krzanich, whose company produces control circuits for the units, projected that the consumer drone business will be worth $16 billion by 2020, and the commercial market another $4 billion. The Consumer Technology Assn. expects some 700,000 drones to be sold this year.

Statistics from the Federal Aviation Administration attest to the growth trend: 520,000 of the devices have been registered with the FAA since it began requiring registration at the beginning of this year of any drones heavier than a half-pound. The number of manned aircraft registered with the FAA is only 320,000  and it took us 100 years to get there, FAA Administrator Michael Huerta told the White House workshop.

The popularity of drones poses challenges for policymakers and legislators, not unlike those posed by other new technologies with obvious benefits and possible dangers, such as self-driving cars: How can they minimize the drawbacks of the technology while its still under development, without stifling the innovation necessary to make the field grow?

The FAA leaves most drone regulation to state and local authorities, though it does prohibit flying drones higher than 400 feet, within five miles of an airport or after dark, and requires that the devices remain within the line of sight of the users.

But government officials have found it almost impossible to keep up with the mushrooming private drone fleet. Of 921 encounters between drones and manned aircraft reported to the FAA from mid-December 2013 to mid-September 2015, more than a third were close encounters carrying the possibility of a collision.

According to an analysis by the Center for the Study of the Drone at Bard College, more than 90% occurred above 400 feet. Most also occurred within five miles of an airport.The stakes in these incidents are enormous. Any collision between a drone and a manned aircraft could lead to a potentially catastrophic incident, the analysis observed.

Some locations that are off-limits to manned aircraft have been bedeviled by drones. That includes the Golden Gate Bridge, which has become such a popular subject of high-flying remote videography  including by a drone that crashed onto the roadway in 2015  that bridge officials had to post signs warning that drone flights are illegal over the bridge and nearby federal land.

More than a dozen bills to regulate drones are awaiting action in the state Legislature. Some resemble three bills that Gov. Jerry Brown vetoed last year that would have prohibited flying the devices over wildfires or other emergency scenes, K-12 schools and prisons or jails.

Brown said he vetoed the measures because they criminalized conduct that was already illegal. But he did sign a measure aimed at paparazzi, prohibiting drone flights over private property to make a recording or snap a photo.

The overarching themes of these bills, says Steven D. Miller, an expert in the emerging field of drone law at the San Francisco law firm Hanson Bridgett, are safety, security and privacy.

Some, including one measure Brown vetoed, aim to prohibit interference with firefighters or other first responders. Theyre a reaction to numerous reports of drones getting in the way of firefighting aircraft; just last month a drone hobbyist was arrested for allegedly flying a drone over the Trailhead fire, which burned 5,600 acres in Placer and El Dorado counties. Other bills aim to grant government officials immunity for destroying or damaging drones that get in their way.

Several aim to limit the ability of law enforcement officials to use drones to conduct surveillance. That addresses a key question not yet specifically considered by the courts, Miller observes: Do police need a search warrant to fly a drone over your backyard?

Lobbying disclosures by drone makers and other companies only hint at the breadth of commercial interest in these devices. Both Amazon and Google have lobbyists watching the drone bills in Sacramento. Google has its eye on bills that would mandate insurance coverage on drones and GPS systems that would prevent drones from entering prohibited airspace. Google hasnt taken a position on those measures yet, although DJI and GoPro, the camera maker whose devices are often attached to drones, oppose them.

California isnt the first state to ponder drone regulations  14 states have enacted rules governing some aspect of drone flights. But as a high-tech center, Miller says, California may be more likely to come up with a creative approach that accommodates innovation.

So far, however, that prospect still lies on the horizon. As my colleague Jazmine Ulloa reported last month, industry is already flexing its muscles to block drone legislation in California, including a bill that would have placed limits on drone use by law enforcement and another that would have expanded no-fly zones around critical infrastructure, private property and parkland. State Sen. Hannah-Beth Jackson (D-Santa Barbara) who introduced the latter bill, complained that the technology industry hadnt been willing to work with her to shape a compromise.

The consequence of such blocking-and-tackling is exactly what the drone industry fears most  a patchwork of federal, state and local rules and ordinances to fill what Miller calls a Wild West void.

Our interest is in reasonable outcomes and, most important, consistency, says Brendan Schulman, vice president of policy and legal affairs for DJI. Generally, he says, DJI doesnt object to measures that simply extend existing prohibitions to drones.

The industry supports a proposed measure specifying that restraining orders protecting individuals from stalkers applies to drones flown within the prohibited space. You shouldnt be stalking somebody, including with a drone, he says. But the industry objects to rules that single out drones, say, by requiring special permits for activities that would be otherwise legal.

After Brown issued his vetoes last year, the San Diego County community of Poway enacted its own ban on flying drones within the city during emergencies. Poway has had a bulls-eye on its back when it comes to wildfires, Mayor Steve Vaus said then, targeting drone pilots trying to get footage that they can monetize on YouTube  on the backs of our first responders.

The Los Angeles City Council last year passed an ordinance that resembles FAA rules by prohibiting flights higher than 500 feet, within five miles of an airport or 25 feet of a person, while imposing local punishments of up to $1,000 in fines and up to six months in jail.

Drones arent going away. That buzzing you hear is just the front edge of a tidal wave. Before it arrives, California legislators should have a single, consistent legal regime in place to protect the public from untrained and heedless remote pilots, and the drone industry should get behind reasonable rules. The first time an accident occurs that demonstrates how lax our oversight is of this emerging industry will be the last time it will have the credibility to sit at the table.

Keep up to date with Michael Hiltzik. Follow @hiltzikm on Twitter, see his Facebook page, or email michael.hiltzik@latimes.com.

Return to Michael Hiltziks blog.
The spark for Blaze Pizza came after a quest for a quality pizza joint in Pasadena ended at Chipotle instead.

Elise and Rick Wetzel, the pie hunters in question, were surprised that the only choices in their town in 2011 were sit-down eateries or takeout chains. Thats when the pair had a brainstorm for a do-it-yourself pizzeria  a sort of Chipotle by way of Italy.

We were there and we realized, Why cant we do this to pizza? Rick said. We just sort of looked at each other and said Were going to do this. 

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The Wetzels had the know-how  Rick is co-founder of the mall staple Wetzels Pretzels  to make it happen. Since launching in 2012, the chain has rapidly expanded to 150 locations, with 350 more slated to open by 2020.

Blaze was the fastest-growing restaurant chain in 2015, according to research group Technomic. Now its poised to become the first among a new breed of pizza parlors to go truly national.

That comes with its own challenges. Blaze Pizza is facing fierce challenges from other upstart pizza chains eager to grab a slice of the pie. And unlike its chief rivals, the company is growing by relying almost 100% on franchising  which allows for speedy expansion, but could lead to issues of consistency and quality later, analysts said.

These quickly spreading pizzerias use a made-to-order model that was first popularized by Subway and then adopted by Chipotle. The trend toward more healthful, customizable food has already spawned chains with fresh takes on salads, burritos and burgers.

Now its pizzas turn.

Blaze Pizza differentiates itself from traditional pizza chains with its ovens, promising custom pies with short waits. (Glenn Koenig/ Los Angeles Times )

Its kind of a no-brainer, said Lauren Hallow, concepts analyst at Technomic. We had better burger and better sandwich, now we have better pizza.

So-called better pizza chains are a booming portion of the $40-billion pizza industry  long dominated by neighborhood joints or national chains such as Pizza Hut, Dominos, Papa Johns and Little Caesars.

As a centuries-old food, pizza was ripe for reinvention. Pizza chains themselves havent really seen innovation beyond mobile apps that enable takeout or delivery orders. Recent advances in technology have created super-hot ovens that can cook pies in mere minutes  equipment that upstart chains have adopted from the get-go.

Pizza is an old and worn-out cuisine that can be upscaled just slightly, restaurant consultant Aaron Allen said. If you can serve it fast and updated for millennials, its a billion-dollar category.

The potential market is huge: About 40% of Americans eat pizza at least once a week, and 90% nosh on a pie once a month, experts said. The only food that Americans love  and eat with more frequency when dining out  is burgers.

Old stalwarts like Dominos said they arent worried.

Their customer bases appear to be those who are looking for a great quick meal during their lunch breaks and are eating on premise, the company said in an email. Our core audience orders from us during dinner, later in the evenings, on weekends and during major televised events.

But in just a few years, fast-casual pizza has taken off; last year, three of the five fastest-growing restaurant chains in the U.S. were fast-casual pizza concepts, according to Technomic. That includes MOD Pizza and Pieology, based in Rancho Santa Margarita.

Blaze Pizza is leading the fold. Sales hit $101 million in 2015, triple that of a year earlier.

The concept is simple: Diners either pick one of Blazes signature pizzas (with the option to customize anything on it) or build one themselves. Workers spread sauce and sprinkle toppings on pre-made and rolled dough, then pop it into a $33,000 oven with three-sided flame that can get temperatures up past 900 degrees. Three minutes later, its done.

From its start, the Wetzels said they had ambitions to become a national chain. Early investors they brought on include producer John Davis, LeBron James and Maria Shriver.

With their background in the pretzel business, the husband-and-wife duo knew that having the groundwork in place was crucial to expansion. They found a national flour distributor at the beginning, and also had spices that go into sauces prepackaged before heading to restaurants.

Malcolm Mickelson is ready to eat at Blaze Pizza in Pasadena. (Glenn Koenig/ Los Angeles Times )

The real key to going from 100 to 500 [stores] is layering in the pieces of support infrastructure, said Jim Mizes, chief operating officer of Blaze. Thats where a lot of young brands fall down.

Franchising helped fuel Blazes four-year growth spurt. Forty-four franchise partners came aboard, with each getting separate territories. Blaze operates only six company-owned stores  the newest opened Friday in Disney Springs.

Joe Stein, a former chief financial officer at Carls Jr., is a franchisee in control of the Inland Empire. He has six Blaze locations open and two more slated for next year.

Stein said he considered other chains, but went with Blaze because he was impressed by the concept and the corporate support. The company provided training, including on-site help for two weeks after opening to whip the staff into shape.

Franchisees are now looking to fast-casual, Stein said. Its hard to find a space where there isnt a Taco Bell or burger chain, he said. Theres growth in this category.

But franchising comes with its own set of potential problems.

Quality can be hard to control, and rapid expansion can eventually cripple a company  Quiznos, for example, was forced to file for bankruptcy protection in 2014 after its roughly 5,000 U.S. stores proved unwieldy. Franchisees can also push back against any new strategy or direction that headquarters wants to push through.

Chipotle has opted to avoid franchising to keep a tight rein on quality and culture (though that didnt stop the company from getting mired in a disastrous food safety scandal last year).

Franchising can topple really, really quickly, Allen said. Franchisees are like rambunctious children  they think they know best.

Thats why Blazes two main competitors have opted for a different path.

MOD Pizza is choosing to go with mostly company-owned restaurants. Out of its roughly 150 eateries, only 18 are franchise-owned. Chris Schultz, senior vice president of operations, said MOD wants corporate restaurants to comprise about 75% of total stores.

The Bellevue, Wash., company has been able to finance the strategy by raising about $106 million in funding.

It is cash intensive, Schultz said. But the upside -- tighter control over quality and the ease of tinkering with innovations -- makes the expense worthwhile, he said.

For franchises, we are not asking them to do anything we are not doing in our stores, he added.

The Lee family digs in at Blaze Pizzas Pasadena location. (Glenn Koenig/ Los Angeles Times )

Pieology wants a mix of 25% corporate restaurants and 75% franchises. The company, which has huge backing from the founders of Panda Express, also plans to expand by consolidation, founder Carl Chang said. Pieology has already acquired Project Pie this year. Chang said having corporate-owned stores ensures more profits down the line (franchisees often give corporate roughly 5% of revenue).

For the Wetzels, they are confident that their strategy of sprinting out in front of the competition will pay off in the end.

I ran out and planted a bunch of flags, Rick said. It was a little harrowing. But what you own in the customers mind is very important.

shan.li@latimes.com

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Here is news that should come as a relief to dogs (and their owners): Los Angeles International Airport now leads all U.S. airports in total bathroom stations for dogs.

In an event Friday that included a ribbon-cutting ceremony and free massages and grooming for dogs, LAX officials opened seven new relief stations, adding to the three existing mini parks where dogs can do their business.

The 11 stations make LAX the leader in dog relief areas among all U.S. airports, LAX officials say.

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Based on input from two-legged air travelers, LAX ranked 91st in the world this year as measured by the Skytrax World Airport Awards. Skytrax is a London consulting company to the air transport industry.

LAX officials say the new stations address the growing number of fliers traveling with pets. But the relief stations can also be used by bomb-sniffing canines, law enforcement dogs, service animals and the 55 therapy dogs that volunteers bring to the terminal areas to help reduce stress among travelers.

Were committed to providing airport guests  whether two-legged or four-legged  with an exceptional travel experience, said Deborah Flint, chief executive of Los Angeles World Airports.

hugo.martin@latimes.com

To read more about the travel and tourism industries, follow @hugomartin on Twitter.

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Sempra Energy reported lower second-quarter earnings Thursday partly because of natural gas-related costs.

The San Diego-based company, parent of Southern California Gas and San Diego Gas & Electric, reported earnings of $16 million, or 6 cents a share, compared with $295 million, or $1.17 a share, in the second quarter of 2015. Revenue fell 8.9% to $2.16 billion.

Earnings adjusted for non-recurring costs came to 79 cents a share. The results missed Wall Street expectations. The average estimate of five analysts surveyed by Zacks Investment Research was $1 a share.

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Sempra executives Thursday upped the latest cost figures for the Aliso Canyon natural gas leak to $717 million. The company said it has about $1 billion in insurance coverage and has collected about $34 million so far.

More than 8,000 households in the Porter Ranch development left the area in the aftermath of the leak, which was discovered in October. It took nearly four months to plug the leak. Aliso Canyon is the largest natural gas storage site in the state and is considered critical to maintaining the power grid in Southern California.

Southern California Gas Chief Executive Dennis Arriola said that the company expects to begin injecting natural gas again into the Aliso Canyon gas storage field in September, provided the utility gets the thumbs-up from regulators.

Sempra said its lower second-quarter earnings resulted partly from a $13-million impairment of assets at Southern California Gas in the wake of the California Public Utilities Commissions recent decision to reject the 65-mile North-South pipeline project. Sempra also pointed to $19 million in losses at its U.S. Gas & Power subsidiary related to movements in natural gas prices.

The company provided earnings per share guidance in the range of $4.60 to $5 for the full year. Sempra stock fell 6 cents to $110.29 a share.

rob.nikolewski@sduniontribune.com
When 17-year-old Irving Tabor packed his bags and left his home state of Louisiana in 1910, he  like many other young African American men during the Great Migration  headed west, eventually finding his way to Los Angeles. It was here that he would, among other accomplishments, build a unique collection of lovely California-style bungalows, all of which have recently hit the market for a combined $5.8 million.

It was also here that he would meet and befriend Abbot Kinney, Venice of Americas eccentric founder, a man who left behind a sizable public legacy: a world-famous beachfront neighborhood and boardwalk, a lively shopping and dining district and street that bears his name to this day, and the six residential canals that are the last remnants of the resort he built.

His friendship with Tabor was deep and enduring, outside of its time in many ways  especially when you consider that when Tabor arrived in 1910, Venice was highly segregated.

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Blacks could ride only in gondolas that were painted black, and they were not allowed to live on the canals. As a result, many new arrivals settled down just outside of Venice, in what became the historic African American community of Oakwood. Tabor moved into a cottage on Westminster Avenue there after finding work on Venices world-famous pleasure pier.

It was while working at the pier that he met Kinney, who was impressed by Tabors can-do attitude and hired him as a driver and personal assistant. It was the beginning of a friendship and working relationship that would last until Kinneys death in 1920.

It was also around the same time that Tabor began building Westminster Place, a bungalow court that would eventually include eight homes on a 10,000-square-foot double lot.

The minute you walk through the gate into the compound, your jaw drops, said Mark Kanights of Coldwell Banker, one of the listing agents. To the right is a great bungalow, to the left is the two-story house, and then you pass them and see the other six bungalows with indoor/outdoor space around the courtyard.

Tabor embedded his deep personal connection with Venice of America directly into these homes, which contain recycled lumber from the old Venice boathouse, gondolas and amusement park. Two of the homes were even originally located on United States Island (where, in a typical Kinney-esque flourish, each bungalow was named after a state) before being sawed in half and transported to the homestead via canal in 1922.

Like the neighborhood surrounding it, which is now home to Hollywood royalty and tech titans including Snapchat, the compound has undergone a stunning transformation. A tasteful and respectful renovation has updated the property for modern living while leaving many of the original repurposed wood elements still visible alongside newly installed contemporary finishes.

As for Tabor, the creator of this collection of California bungalows moved his family from the compound in 1927: As a last gesture of friendship, Abbot Kinney had willed his home at Number One Grand Canal to his longtime friend and employee.

Restrictive racial covenants meant that Tabor had to float Kinneys house through the canals to Oakwood before he and his family could move in. He lived there for the rest of his life, founding the first black-owned maintenance company in Venice and becoming in his later years an elder statesman and historian of the neighborhood before passing away in 1987.

Now, almost 44 years after Tabor sold the compound, and after it bounced from owner to owner as a rental property over the last few decades, its on the market.

Weve had interest from a tech executive and a film professional, among multiple other offers, for them to have a place to collaborate with their people, Kanights said. We always thought of it as an owner-user compound.

The collection of eight bungalows is arrayed around a lushly landscaped courtyard, with nine bedrooms and eight full baths, and more than 5,000 square feet of interiors.

Thats plenty of space if, as the listing puts it, you want to live lavishly with your family across all bungalows, start a commune or simply enjoy top market rents. There are even six garages, a huge plus for potential owners or renters in this parking-starved corner of L.A.

hotproperty@latimes.com
Should your online privacy depend on whether youve paid your Internet provider a little extra this month?

Thats one of the key policy questions concerning the future of the Web. And this week, the nations top telecom and broadband regulator, Tom Wheeler, signaled that hes not a fan of the idea.

Talking to reporters, the head of the Federal Communications Commission implied that the Internet risks becoming divided into privacy haves and have-nots, if companies such as AT&T and Comcast can dangle discounts in front of customers in exchange for slurping up their search and browsing histories for advertising purposes.

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I would hope that privacy doesnt become a luxury item, Wheeler said.

The FCC is waist-deep in crafting a set of privacy regulations for Internet service providers, or ISPs. Some, such as Comcast, have met with the agency to ask that it not restrict ISPs ability to tinker with a discount-for-data business model.

A bargained-for exchange of information for service is a perfectly acceptable and widely used model throughout the U.S. economy, including the Internet ecosystem, Comcast said in a regulatory filing this week.

From one perspective, a broadband discount could help get people online who otherwise couldnt afford it. Cable companies such as Comcast argue that they shouldnt be treated any differently from other Internet firms: Google, for example, offers many of its services free of charge in exchange for users personal data. So does Facebook, as well as many online news outlets.

But this business model would put ISPs in direct competition with websites for advertising dollars. And the service providers ability to see the whole breadth of a users online activity  not just what they search for during the day or which videos they watch on Netflix  could give the ISPs a big advantage over Web companies, critics say.

Whats more, opponents argue, the plans could exacerbate inequality. By making it more expensive to buy Internet plans that dont mine users personal information, wealthier Americans may be able to avoid the tracking while lower-income Americans must face a growing barrage of ads, offers and promotions  some of which may not be in their best interest.

Low-income consumers have less disposable income with which to pay for privacy-protective plans, and therefore are much more likely to give up their privacy in exchange for access to the Internet, wrote Eric Null, a policy lawyer at the New America Foundations Open Technology Institute. Low-income consumers should not have to decide between Internet access and privacy, but pay-for-privacy forces that decision upon them.

Fung writes for the Washington Post.

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The sour smell of wet ink permeates Gemini G.E.L.s printing studio, which feels like a time capsule. A master printer works alongside two apprentices, all in dark aprons. They lay out 8-foot sheets of handmade Japanese paper on ginormous steel presses from the mid-1960s, gingerly wiping clean the tabletop edges with cotton cloths. Piles of melted, jet-black paint-stick crayon rest on butcher blocks; glistening canvases wet with ink hang from the walls, drying.

Over the last half-century Robert Rauschenberg, David Hockney, Ellsworth Kelly, Jasper Johns, Roy Lichtenstein, Frank Stella and Man Ray have produced seminal pieces in modern printmaking at this artists workshop and fine art lithography publisher on Melrose Avenue. Todays work, however, is all about Richard Serra. The printers orbit around one another, creating a series of 12 hand-pulled etchings, Rift II, from a parking-lot asphalt rubbing that Serra made.

The rumbling starts up from the machine  a modified lithography press instead of a smaller etching press, to accommodate the artists unusually large scale. The Serra work slides through under a felt blanket covered with Plexiglas and 900 pounds of hydraulic pressure. The result is a minimalist, gravelly black surface that the apprentices affix to foam board with stapler guns for inspection. Ink dust, and the pungent sense of art history-in-the-making, linger in the air.

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We thought it was gonna be a hobby, that it would be fun to hang around the artists, maybe build up a collection.  Sidney Felsen

Gemini G.E.L. co-founder Sidney Felsen, 91, still runs the business. (Stuart Palley / For The Times )

On the occasion of Geminis 50th anniversary, the Los Angeles County Museum of Art will open on Sept. 11 a survey exhibition of Gemini works from 1966 to 2014. The Serial Impulse at Gemini G.E.L., organized by the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., highlights Geminis brazen experimentation, its role in pushing boundaries in printmaking as well as its unusual collaboration between artists and printers.

The exhibit also speaks to Geminis role in shaping the nascent L.A. art community of the 60s and 70s. Soon after opening in 1966, the workshop  the brainchild of former USC fraternity brothers Sidney Felsen and the late Stanley Grinstein  became a magnet around which artists on both coasts coalesced for creative collaboration, art openings and parties. The momentum helped to fuse a young and geographically disconnected local art scene, and it bridged gaps between East and West Coast artists, fueling the nationwide printmaking revival that coincided with a blooming contemporary art world.

Gemini helped synthesize the L.A. art world, says Diana Gaston, director of Tamarind Institute, leading printmaking educators based in Albuquerque. Gemini re-imagined the possibilities of printmaking. They pushed it into a new scale, working big, a new level of complexity, incorporating new materials. Thats had a longstanding, very far-flung influence on the medium.

Sitting in his office, where he still manages the business every day, the nearly 92-year-old Felsen is modest about his and Grinsteins intentions.

It was innocence, he says, peering out from under a wide-brimmed straw Panama hat and wire-rimmed glasses. We thought it was gonna be a hobby, that it would be fun to hang around the artists, maybe build up a collection.

Master printer Xavier Fumat, foreground, lays ink for a copper etching that will be used to make Richard Serra prints at Gemini G.E.L. Fumat has worked with the artist for 18 years. (Stuart Palley / For The Times )

Felsen leans back in his swivel chair and surveys his small workspace, itself an ode to midcentury printmaking. Flat files house rows of rubber stamps, while card catalog drawers store postal stamps grouped by themes  birds, airplanes, dinosaurs. Colored pencils line the shelves, and the walls are plastered with framed photographs that Felsen shot over the decades. The intimate candids of Gemini artists at work and play offer a prism of art world nostalgia: David Hockney and Dennis Hopper at a western hoedown; Richard Tuttle canceling a printing plate beside his beloved poodle, Coco; Serra hamming it up in a buffalo head costume.

Felsen remembers the exact moment Gemini was birthed: Christmas Eve 1965, at the Grinstein home. Felsen, then an accountant who took painting and ceramics classes at night for fun, and Grinstein, an art collector who was in the business of forklift equipment, invited local printmaker Kenneth Tyler to the party to discuss an idea. Tyler owned a commercial print shop called Gemini Ltd.; artists would bring in their drawings to be converted into prints.

What if, Felsen and Grinstein suggested, they turned the for-hire shop into a creative workshop and publisher of fine art prints, with Tyler as a partner. A small group of invited artists could use the equipment, studio space and art materials for free and work with the shops expert printers to create new work. The newly coined Gemini G.E.L. (the latter stands for graphic editions limited) would even pay to fly in big-name artists and put them up for weeks in hotels or apartments. Gemini would then exhibit and sell the finished artworks, which they owned the rights to, and split sales with the artists.

The business became a family affair, with Felsens then-wife Rosamund Felsen and Grinsteins wife, Elyse, helping to get things off the ground as co-owners. Often, the two families, kids in tow, would crowd around the Grinstein dining room table to sort advertising brochures.

We thought, one day well pay someone to do this, says Ayn Grinstein, who, after Stanley Grinstein died in 2014, has run the business with sister Ellen Grinstein Perliter, Felsens wife Joni Weyl, and his daughter, Suzanne Felsen.

No one expected Gemini to take off so quickly.

I thought Id be an accountant forever, Sidney Felsen says. But the companys first ad, in Artforum in 1966, generated about 300 inquiries, Felsen says. I hand-delivered the copy to this kid who was laying out the pages. Turns out it was Ed Ruscha, his early beginnings.

1 / 5 Gemini G.E.L. founder Sidney Felsen, 92, in his office at the workshop in Los Angeles. Behind him are photographs that he took and a collection of colored pencils for drawing. LACMA will present a survey exhibition of Gemini G.E.L. works from 1966 to 2014. (Stuart Palley / For The Times) 2 / 5 Case Hudson, master printer at Gemini G.E.L., lifts up handmade paper after it was pressed onto etching at the workshop in Los Angeles. (Stuart Palley / For The Times) 3 / 5 Amy Jo Toucey, a printer at Gemini G.E.L., works in the etching and engraving workshop. (Stuart Palley / For The Times) 4 / 5 Dozens of inks on shelves and prints on drying racks at the Gemini G.E.L workshop. (Stuart Palley / For The Times) 5 / 5 Gemini G.E.L. founder Sidney Felsen, seen in his office, was an accountant in 1965 when he and Stanley Grinstein solidified their idea for a creative workshop. (Stuart Palley / For The Times)

At first Gemini pursued the Abstract Expressionists: Mark Rothko, Hans Hofmann, Willem de Kooning. But none of them came, they didnt want to make prints, Felsen says. Tyler knew the Connecticut-based Josef Albers from L.A.s Tamarind Lithography Workshop. He agreed to help them get started that first year, producing a series of 16 prints he called White Line Squares. Meanwhile, that same year, Man Ray had an exhibition at LACMA, which asked museum supporter Stanley Grinstein to host the artist while he was in town. Ray became intrigued by Gemini. We were too embarrassed to invite him to work with us, Felsen recalls. Finally, he just asked. He did three editions.

Rauschenberg, however, was the tipping point. In 1967 he wanted to produce Booster, a 6-foot-tall self-portrait made from X-rays that would be the largest hand-pulled lithograph in the world at the time. We thought: OK, well try, Felsen says of the seemingly impossible project. Rauschenberg boasted of its success to friends Frank Stella and Claes Oldenburg, and we were up and running, Felsen says. In 1968 Oldenburg traveled to L.A. to create Geminis first three-dimensional sculpture edition, the groundbreaking Profile Airflow, a translucent aqua Chrysler Airflow protruding from a two-color lithograph.

They completely joined in with what I was doing and we invented things as we went along, recalls Oldenburg, adding that when he arrived in L.A., Felsen picked him up in a Chrysler Airflow purchased for the artist. It looked exactly like the car I wanted to make  but maroon with black fenders. I was able to use it while I was there and I could study it!

Geminis willingness to take creative risks and accommodate artists whims  building new tools, modifying equipment for projects and, one year, bringing Rauschenbergs beloved The Young and the Restless actors into the studio for inspiration  became hallmarks. L.A. artists Ruscha, Ken Price, Bruce Nauman and Jonathan Borofsky became regulars. The New Yorkers typically visited in winter to escape the cold. Lichtenstein came every other year in February, for decades, Felsen says. Artists typically stayed several weeks, let the printers finish the job and then returned months later to approve and sign final works.

Its a little intimidating because of the legacy. But its inspiring and empowering too.  Analia Saban on working at Gemini

The Grinsteins threw raucous parties for visiting artists, further boosting the allure and sense of community, recalls John Baldessari, who met Rauschenberg, Oldenburg and Frank Gehry at the Grinstein house.

They provided a meeting ground for artists from both coasts, Baldessari says.

Tyler departed in 1973 to start another shop, but the evolution continued at Gemini. In 1976 Gehry, who hung around with the artists, designed an extension to Gemini, which now houses two exhibition galleries open to the public and four studios working between lithography, etching, screen printing and woodblock printing as well as sculpture editions.

In an age of online art appropriation and digital printing, Gemini is a respite of slow art, producing purposefully small, handmade editions sold to collectors, galleries and museums internationally. To date it has produced more than 2,000 works on paper and 300 sculptural editions  but only by about 75 artists over five decades. Selectivity is key, Felsen says, adding that Gemini may take only one or two new artists in any given year.

Were busy all the time, but we know the reality: Jasper is 86, Claes is 87, Gehry is 87, Baldessari is 85. Theyre not gonna be around forever. You want to invite someone new regularly, but you also want to keep your shop small so you dont become a mill. Right now its like a cathedral.

Toward that end, Gemini keeps an eye on younger artists. It watched Baldessaris former student, Analia Saban, for about six years before inviting her last year, along with the more established Tacita Dean.

Its a little intimidating because of the legacy, Saban says of working at Gemini. But its inspiring and empowering too. Because they make you feel like youre part of that legacy. Like, now its my time to make something happen with these tools.

The LACMA exhibition, which showed at the National Gallery through early February, includes 127 prints from 16 series, all shown in their entirety. The L.A. incarnation of the exhibition, curator Leslie Jones says, is a remix highlighting connections between Gemini and LACMA and focusing on works in the museums collection. Albers White Line Squares, which LACMA exhibited in 1966, will be on view along with Lichtensteins 1980 Expressionist Woodcuts, which were inspired by works the artist viewed at the museum. The exhibition will also present works by Johns, Stella and Oldenburg, among others, and newer work by Julie Mehretu.

Were slicing it in a way that brings attention to seriality, which is kind of a unique aspect of Geminis production, Jones says. But also highlighting these sort of parallel histories [between LACMA and Gemini] that correspond with the rise of the L.A. art world.

Serial Impulse will also underscore collaboration in printmaking, with printers names included on artwork labels alongside artists; expanded wall text aims to demystify the printmaking process.

Working here, you feel part of the art. You didnt make it, but youre around when its born, and you know the artists, and you have a relationship.  Sidney Felsen

Many of Felsens photographs of Gemini artists and printers at work together will also be on view.

As time went by, we realized more and more what was happening, all these important artists coming through, and I thought, I should document it, Felsen says, sitting in his office.

He scans the wall of pictures, his eyes eventually resting on a black-and-white photograph of young Rauschenberg leaping onto a bicycle in Geminis parking lot.

Working here, you feel part of the art, he says. You didnt make it, but youre around when its born, and you know the artists, and you have a relationship. Looking back, I feel part of something.

Follow me on Twitter: @DebVankin

ALSO

LACMA acquires 39 major works produced at Gemini G.E.L.

Arts patron and Gemini G.E.L. co-founder Elyse Grinstein dies at 87

Art world A-listers celebrate the woman who brought them together  and put L.A. on the map
Baku, Azerbaijan, Aug. 5

By Farhad Daneshvar  Trend:



Iranian President Hassan Rouhani is to leave Tehran for Baku on August 7 to attend trilateral talks with Azerbaijani and Russian counterparts, Ilham Aliyev and Vladimir Putin.

Rouhani is expected to discuss the expansion of trilateral cooperation in commerce, energy, telecommunications, environment, fighting against terrorism and transportation, IRNA news agency reported.

On the sidelines of the meeting, Rouhani will also hold bilateral meeting with Vladimir Putin to discuss expansion of cooperation in areas of mutual interest.

Rouhani is also scheduled to have a meeting with President Aliyev to follow up implementation of already reached agreements in commerce, industry, energy, culture, banking, consular facilities and telecommunications, mainly railway transportation.

During the visit, some joint venture projects on industrial units are expected to be implemented.
LACMAs museum-building plan crawls forward. USCs troubled art school brings on a high-profile new staff. And an art project about race reparations draws ire. Im Carolina A. Miranda, staff writer for the Los Angeles Times, with your guide to the top arts and culture stories:

A peek at LACMAs proposed building

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The Los Angeles County Museum of Art has released a dribble of new renderings that show what its proposed building, by Swiss architect Peter Zumthor, might look like. Times architecture critic Christopher Hawthorne has studied them and concludes: The great gray mass of the building could still succeed as a bracingly alien presence on the Miracle Mile  but only if its imposing forms and severe palette are tempered with blasts of color, inventive landscape design and appealing, richly detailed public space at ground level. Los Angeles Times

In the meantime, critic William Poundstone is debating what shade of gray LACMAs new building will be: Charcoal grey? Apple space grey? Los Angeles County Museum on Fire

USCs art school makes transformative hires

The embattled MFA program at the Roski School of Art and Design at USC has faced acrimonious faculty and student defections over the last two years  along with plummeting rankings. Now the school is announcing a transformative group hire that the university says signals a turnaround, reports Deborah Vankin. New faculty include prominent Los Angeles artists such as Suzanne Lacy and Edgar Arceneaux. Los Angeles Times

An art project about reparations causes heated debate

Seattle-based conceptual artist Natasha Marin has launched an online project called Reparations that allows members of underrepresented minority groups to request help or services from a white person who fulfills the ask free of charge. There are people across the political spectrum who dont understand that they have privilege, she tells the Times David Ng. So in many ways the site lets you cash in your whiteness to help other people. But the controversial project has drawn criticism and even death threats directed at the artist. Los Angeles Times

Guillermo del Toros monsters ball

Guillermo del Toro and his 7-foot sculpture of Boris Karloff as Frankensteins monster by artist Mike Hill. (Mel Melcon / Los Angeles Times )

Filmmaker Guillermo del Toro  the man behind fantastical flicks such as Pans Labyrinth and Hellboy  is currently the subject of a one-man show at LACMA that displays ephemera from his movies as well as the spooky objects that inspire him (such as Frankensteins monster). Im not interested in the mechanics of the scary horror, he tells the Times Meredith Woerner. Im interested in the sort of kinship it has with fairy tales. The dark, magical beauty of horror. Los Angeles Times

The year of Hieronymus Bosch

A sculpture inspired by the art work of Hieronymus Bosch, on the 500th anniversary of his death, on display in Den Bosch, Netherlands. (Robin Van Lonkjuijsen / EPA )

It is the 500th anniversary of the passing of 16th century Flemish painter Hieronymus Bosch, an artist known for producing canvases that are as bizarre as they are masterful. Critic Ingrid D. Rowland reviews two major European exhibitions and five new books about the mysterious artist  noting his boundless ingenuity and unerringly observant eye. New York Review of Books

Gabriel Garcia Marquezs western movie

Before he wrote One Hundred Years of Solitude, the novel that shook up the world of Latin American letters, Nobel laureate Gabriel Garcia Marquez worked as a screenwriter in Mexico. This week, one of his rarely seen early projects, the 1966 western Tiempo de Morir, is screening at the Ford Theatres in Hollywood. It has this Greek tragedy aspect to it, says the authors son, filmmaker Rodrigo Garcia, of the picture, that your future is already written. Los Angeles Times

Barbra Streisand makes memories

Barbra Streisand kicked off her tour in Los Angeles on Tuesday by singing from six decades of hit albums. (Rick Loomis / Los Angeles Times)

The title of the concert may have been schmaltzy  The Music  the Memries  the Magic!  but Barbra Streisands turn at the Staples Center this week showed the diva in command of her instrument, writes Times theater critic Charles McNulty. Her persona assists her in drawing out the spiritual and psychological essence of lyrics, he writes. She mines herself for meaning. And her razor sharp intelligence permits no line to go unturned. Then there was her trio of Stephen Sondheim songs, which McNutly said, made you wish she might still find a way to realize her long-aborning movie dream of remaking Gypsy, which she has been trying like Sisyphus to turn into a cinematic swan song for herself. Los Angeles Times

In other news

Rowers practice in Lagoa ahead of the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro. (Matt York / Associated Press)

 A public art installation for the Rio Olympics has been canceled due to budget cuts. The Art Newspaper

 The Centers for Disease Control has issued a Zika travel advisory for Miamis arts district. ARTnews

 The Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco are in turmoil over actions taken by longtime board head Dede Wilsey  whose tenure may soon come to an end. New York Times

 Somebody is vandalizing horse sculptures around San Juan Capistrano. Orange County Register

 The Metropolitan Museum of Art breaks attendance records. Artnet

 How Getty Museum curator Jeffrey Spier helped reunite an ancient statues body with its head. The Iris

Gemini G.E.L. cofounder Sidney Felsen. (Stuart Palley / For The Times )

 Sidney Felsen, the co-founder of the print studio Gemini G.E.L. reminisces about working with artists like Robert Rauschenberg, Claes Oldenburg and hanging out with Gregory Peck. Los Angeles Times

 Cleveland will kick off a new art triennial in 2018. New York Times

 The new Institute of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles, formerly the Santa Monica Museum of Art, has hired the Hammer Museums Jamillah James as curator. Los Angeles Times

 The New Mexico Museum of Art is honoring the states lowrider culture with an exhibition. LS1Tech

 Stephen Sondheim is at work on a new musical  inspired by a pair of films by Luis Bunuel. Washington Post

 The first Broadway revival of Miss Saigon will kick off in March  in the very theater where the show began its decade-long run back in 91. New York Times

 As 20th century plays such as The Crucible are updated by new directors, critic Noah Millman asks what this might mean for our relationship to history. The New Republic

 What would a Hillary Clinton presidential library look like? Architectural critic Mark Lamster reports that the Democratic presidential candidate already has a library to her name in Arkansas  and its a considerable success. Dallas Morning News

Cant Miss Show

Artist Timothy Paul Myers, in collaboration with Andrew Barnes, has sheathed an entire domestic setting in gray felt at Walter Maciel Gallery in Culver City, and the effect, writes critic Leah Ollman, is gasp-inducing. Through Aug. 20. 2642 S. La Cienega Blvd., Culver City, waltermacielgallery.com. Los Angeles Times

And last but not least

From Akira Kurosawa to Spike Jonze: 45 essential movies for students of philosophy. For when you want to Netflix and ponder the meaning of existence. Mubi

Find me on Twitter @cmonstah.
Who are the members of the Suicide Squad? Even those without encyclopedic knowledge of DC Comics characters are familiar with villains such as the Joker, but most of the new bad guy roster consists of characters who are not household names at least not yet.

Directed by David Ayer, Suicide Squad is the story of a group of supervillains brought together by the government to take on covert missions in exchange for clemency. Among those assembled include members of the Batman rogues gallery, foes of the Flash and those with more supernatural inclinations.

Here is a look at the Suicide Squad cast in and out of costume along with a brief history of the characters they portray in the film.

See the most-read stories in Entertainment this hour 

Margot Robbie | Harley Quinn

(Before: Joel Ryan / Invision/AP; After: Warner Bros.)

Unlike most superheroes and villains in the DC cinematic universe, Harley Quinn did not originate from the pages of comic books. Harley was introduced to the DC world in Batman: The Animated Series in 1992 working alongside her beloved Mistah J.

Created by Paul Dini and Bruce Timm, Harleys life before becoming a criminal in a jester outfit was as a psychiatrist. During her tenure at Arkham Asylum, Dr. Harleen Quinzel fell in love with the Joker and even helped him to escape before eventually being driven mad herself and becoming the Jokers sidekick.

The animated characters popularity eventually lead her to be absorbed into DCs comic book canon, with Harley Quinn eventually getting her own ongoing series.

Jared Leto | The Joker

(Before: Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times; After: Warner Bros.)

One of the most famous supervillains in comic book history, the Joker debuted in the pages of Batman No. 1 in 1940. As Batmans most well known nemesis, the Joker has been brought to life multiple times on big and small screens  including Heath Ledgers Academy Award-winning turn as the clown prince of crime in 2008s The Dark Knight.

While aspects of the Jokers personality and origin story have varied over his 76 years, his green hair, bleached skin and red lips remain his signature looks. Other enduring qualities are his madness and his penchant for using chemical props and weaponry like his Joker venom.

Will Smith | Deadshot

(Before: Thibault Camus / Associated Press; After: Clay Enos / Warner Bros.)

In the comic book universe Deadshot is, as his name suggests, an expert marksman and hired assassin. First introduced in Batman No. 59 in 1950, the never miss sharpshooter started off as a supervillain and enemy to the Caped Crusader. His real name is Floyd Lawton; he is also known for his disregard for human life, his willingness and desire to die a spectacular death and his inability to actually kill Batman.

Cara Delevingne | Enchantress

(Before: Jordan Strauss / Invision/AP; After: Clay Enos / Warner Bros.)

Enchantress, the alter ego of June Moone, first appeared in comics in 1966s Strange Adventures No. 187. In her various appearances she has been pitted against heroes that include Supergirl and the members of the supernatural superhero team Justice League Dark. A powerful sorceress, Enchantress powers include the ability to manipulate magical energy, teleportation, healing and the ability to walk through walls.

Jai Courtney | Boomerang

(Before: Nicholas Hunt / Getty Images; After: Clay Enos / Warner Bros.)

Captain Boomerang, also known as George Digger Harkness, made his debut in Flash No. 117 in 1960. Thus, Boomerangs nemesis is the Flash, and hes tangled with Barry Allen and Wally West in the comics. Raised in Australia, this villain got his nickname thanks to his weapon of choice, the boomerang. And in the newly updated Suicide Squad movie the character can use his Boomerang for surveillance (among other things).

Adewale Akinnouye-Agbaje | Killer Croc

(Before: Al Seib / Los Angeles Times; After: Clay Enos / Warner Bros.)

Another member of the Batman rogues gallery, Killer Croc first appeared in comics in 1983 with his first full appearance being in Batman No. 358. Crocs real name is Waylon Jones, and his increasingly reptilian look (and temperament) is due to a rare genetic condition. He has superhuman strength, speed and bulletproof skin. Croc is also generally depicted as being more brute force than brains.

Jay Hernandez | Diablo

(Before: Frazer Harrison / Getty Images; After: Warner Bros.)

The original El Diablo, also known as Lazarus Lane, first appeared in All-Star Western No. 2 in 1970. After falling into a coma, Lane becomes the host to a demon and becomes a vigilante. The current El Diablo Chato Santana  the Diablo depicted in the film Suicide Squad  is the third character to take on the mantle (who made his comics debut in 2008). In the comics, Santana is an ex-criminal who meets a comatose Lazarus Lane after being hospitalized.

Viola Davis | Amanda Waller

(Before: Kirk McKoy / Los Angeles Times; After: Clay Enos / Warner Bros.)

The sometimes villain, sometimes superhero ally Amanda Waller is a high-ranking government official who uses everything from her connections to intimidation to get things done. Making her comic book debut in Legends No. 1 in 1986, she is often seen overseeing missions for the Suicide Squad or specialized research into people with superpowers (a.k.a. metahumans) although she does not have any powers of her own.

Joel Kinnaman | Rick Flag

(Before: Kirk McKoy / Los Angeles Times; After: Clay Enos / Warner Bros.)

Three generations of Rick Flag have graced comic book pages, with Rick Flag Sr. first appearing in The Brave and the Bold No. 25. Rick Flag Jr. followed in his fathers footsteps and he was eventually tapped to (reluctantly) lead the villain infused Suicide Squad.

Karen Fukuhara | Katana

(Before: Charley Gallay / Getty Images for DC Entertainment; After: Warner Bros.)

Katana, also known as Tatsu Yamashiro, was created by Mike W. Barr and Jim Aparo and made her debut in The Brave and the Bold No. 200 in 1983. In comics she has been a part of various superhero teams including the Outsiders and Birds of Prey. A trained martial arts expert, Katana yields the Soultaker sword, which, as its name implies, can capture the soul of every person it kills.

Adam Beach | Slipknot

(Before: Charley Gallay / Getty Images for DC Entertainment; After: Clay Enos / Warner Bros.)

Slipknot first appeared in "Fury of Firestorm No. 28" in 1984. This supervillain's superpowers include ropes, lots of ropes. Created by Gerry Conway and illustrator Rafael Kayanan, Slipknot developed a secret that makes ropes he carries stronger than metal. This also allows him the ability to scale any wall. Take that, stairs!

tracy.brown@latimes.com

Twitter: @tracycbrown

ALSO

Who is Harley Quinn? How 'Suicide Squad's' pigtailed antihero went from sidekick to Margot Robbie superstar

Harley Quinn and the Joker's bonkers 'Suicide Squad' costumes are full of insane details

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In 1944, pilot Antoine de Saint-Exupery vanished while flying over the Mediterranean on a mission for the Free French Air Force during World War II.

Saint-Exupery was much more than a heroic pilot, of course. He was the author of the beloved childrens book The Little Prince, which was first published in the United States in 1943. A new animated film version of the book opens in theaters and premieres on Netflix on Friday.

While the pioneering aviator became famous for the childrens book inspired by his own plane crash in the Sahara desert, he was already known for his adult fiction and nonfiction works, most notably Night Flight and Wind, Sand and Stars, both considered some of the greatest writing ever about flying.

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At age 31  while flying as a commercial pilot with airmail routes in Europe, Africa and South America  Saint-Exupery published the international bestseller Night Flight, a novel based on his airmail adventures in Argentina.

Eight years later, in 1939, the French aristocrat wrote Wind, Sand and Stars, a memoir recounting his experiences flying over the African Sahara and South American Andes while working for the Aeropostale airmail carrier. Included in the memoir are details of Saint-Exuperys 1935 crash in the Sahara, between Benghazi and Cairo.

While The Little Prince is a much more lighthearted account, Saint-Exupery provided the more serious details of the near-death incident in Wind, Sand and Stars. The memoir won various literary awards, including the 1939 National Book Award for nonfiction. Its a work thats celebrated for its lyrical prose, its philosophical musings and its visceral excitement  it was named as the third-greatest adventure book by National Geographic.

After flying in the French air force, Saint-Exupery joined the Free French air force in North Africa during World War II despite his poor health and being beyond the maximum age for a wartime pilot. Thats when the author wrote, illustrated and published his last work, The Little Prince, before his plane went missing during a reconnaissance mission.

Follow me on Twitter @SusieSchmank

Susie.Schmank@latimes.com
Shortly after Mark Osborne accepted the daunting job to direct an adaptation of the celebrated French novella The Little Prince, the animator was in the Morgan Library in New York, viewing author Antoine de Saint-Exuperys original manuscript and drawings for the book.

You could see [Saint-Exuperys] scribbles and his cross-outs, said Osborne, who had taken on the project as a follow-up to co-directing the Oscar-nominated first Kung Fu Panda movie for DreamWorks Animation. It was such a fragile document, I thought, what if these pages caught fire? What if they blew out the window? What if they had never been published at all?

The power and vulnerability of the manuscript, which Saint-Exupery had casually tossed on the table of a friend in a crumpled paper bag as he was leaving New York to rejoin World War II as a pilot in the 1940s, would become a central idea in Osbornes movie, an animated feature which opens theatrically and is available to stream on Netflix beginning Friday.

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Using the tools of both stop-motion and computer-generated animation, Osborne wraps Saint-Exuperys small, poetic tale of an interstellar traveler who comes to Earth in search of companionship inside a modern-day framing story about a rigidly parented little girl who develops a friendship with a warm and whimsical old neighbor.

First published in 1943, The Little Prince is a challenging and high-stakes big-screen adaptation  the quiet, elegiac parable has sold more than 140 million copies worldwide, been translated into more than 250 languages and adapted into plays, ballets, operas and a 1974 live-action movie directed by Stanley Donen.

The story is not only widely read but passionately loved, particularly in countries like France, Germany and Brazil, where children read it in school.

I knew we were never going to please everybody, Osborne said. No adaptation ever does. I felt that to do something bold was going to honor the legacy of the book more than to do something safe.

Written by Irena Brignull and Bob Persichetti from a story by Osborne and Perischetti, Osbornes The Little Prince tells the tale of the Little Girl, voiced by Mackenzie Foy, who is struggling to keep up with the expectations of her harried tiger mom (Rachel McAdams) when she meets an eccentric aviator (Jeff Bridges) who shares with her a lovely, never-published book  The Little Prince. While the Little Girls story is told in CG animation, The Little Prince unfolds in stop-motion, with Osbornes son, Riley, supplying the voice of the character.

Osborne, 45, first read The Little Prince in the early 1990s, while an art student at the Pratt Institute in Brooklyn, N.Y., when his girlfriend, who who would later become his wife, gave him a copy as he was contemplating a transfer to the California Institute of the Arts, where he would ultimately graduate with a bachelors degree in experimental animation. The books theme of holding onto some of the wonder of childhood as an adult resonated with him.

When I read the book at 20, I was struggling with what it means to be an artist, what it means to be a grownup, Osborne said.

By 2010, he had directed an Academy Award-nominated short film, More, a live-action feature, Dropping Out, and worked on the SpongeBob SquarePants TV series and movie when he was contacted by producers looking to make a CG-animated feature of The Little Prince. Instead, Osborne suggested an ambitious idea to tell the story with a mixture of the two animation styles. His conceit was a hit with Saint-Exuperys estate, a group that includes some 72 descendants, but necessitated raising a budget of $77.5 million  a huge figure for an independent animated film.

In order to raise the money and recruit collaborators, Osborne traveled with an ornate wooden suitcase designed by a model maker on the stop-motion animated movie Coraline. Powered by double-A batteries, the case has stars that light up, viewfinder-style glasses that show the different styles of animation he envisioned and a reproduction of Saint-Exuperys handwritten manuscript. When Osborne carried the case in to meet composer Hans Zimmer, Zimmer folded his arms and asked, What are you doing to my book? before ultimately signing on to do the films music. When one Italian financier saw the handmade manuscript inside, she burst into tears.

While working with his writers, Osborne drew inspiration from a variety of sources, including research conducted for the Geena Davis Institute on Gender in Media, which convinced him to make his lead character a girl. Having had two strong female characters in Kung Fu Panda, Osborne assumed his body of work was a step in the right direction in terms of gender parity on screen, until the institute pointed out that there were 20 male characters in that film.

It just knocked me over and made me rethink everything, Osborne said. The book [The Little Prince] has all male characters except for the Rose. I was thinking about my daughter, Maddy, and also [Japanese animator Hayao] Miyazaki, who has female characters all the time.

Osborne also sought out scripts written by Orson Welles, who had planned to direct and star in an adaptation of The Little Prince as his follow-up to Citizen Kane but never did, and the animator drew design inspiration from films like Jacques Tatis Playtime and Terry Gilliams Brazil.

Both the CG and stop-motion animation crews worked in Montreal, and embedded in the film nods to the books origins  the writing on the pages of the neighbors magical text, for instance, is in French.

My hope was that the French audience would say Ah, its French and the American audience would look at it and say, Ah, its messy handwriting, Osborne said.

Since The Little Princes premiere at Cannes last year, Osborne has attended 12 premieres in 12 countries. In Japan, where the distributor sold the film as a mother-daughter story, many audiences assumed Osborne had designed the girl protagonist as Japanese. (Osborne said he didnt).

Parents in Italy say, This is really about Italy, isnt it? Osborne said. In China, they say, This is really about China, isnt it? I never wanted people to think, Oh, an American made this movie.

On the strength of strong reviews and fan affection for the book, The Little Prince has so far grossed more than $97 million worldwide. In the U.S., where animation is often considered a childrens medium, a release has proved trickier  Netflix picked up the film after Paramount abruptly dropped the domestic rights last spring.

Osborne said he sees the movie, ideally, as a dialogue between adults and children.

If kids read it, it plants a seed that blossoms later in life, just like any profound experience a child might have, Osborne said. Kids dont necessarily understand it, but they feel it. When parents are reading the book and get to the ending, its quite possible a child looks up and says, Why are you crying? and it starts a discussion. If that happens with the film, that to me says, job done.
Televisions track record for telling stories involving individuals with special needs is spotty, and particularly tricky when it comes to comedy. Thats something that Speechless executive producer Scott Silveri sounded well aware of during a Thursday morning panel at the Television Critics Assn. summer press tour in Beverly Hills.

Centered on a family navigating the issues that can arise while raising a nonverbal special-needs child (portrayed by actor Micah Fowler, who has cerebral palsy), Speechless is a story Silveri said he had long wanted to tell after being raised with a brother with special needs. But, the former Friends producer was wary of how to tell it.

Part of the reason why it was a scary endeavor is it does announce itself in such a way, said Silveri. You just hear the logline of a show with a kid with a disability, it suggests that After School Special-ness. Thats why we were really vigilant about doing everything we could to subvert that as early as possible.

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Its not like the disability show. Were telling family stories here, he continued. At its core its a show about being different and not apologizing for being different and embracing who you are.

In the series, Minnie Driver plays a mother who must be a strong, and even strident, advocate for her son, including confronting a public school about a wheelchair access exit that doubles as a trash ramp.

Though Driver has experience playing American, she uses her native London accent for Speechless. We tried it both ways, she said. The real truth is you can get away with a lot more when you speak in a British accent. You can say very rude things and make them sound charming.

Fowler, who made his television debut at age 9 on Blues Clues and on the big screen in the 2013 film Labor Day, was asked about his favorite comedies coming into this role. Speaking deliberately and with comic flair, he answered, My favorite comedy is this one.

Fowlers character, J.J., is nonverbal on the show, and an aide portrayed by Reno 911 actor Cedric Yarbrough acts as his voice. He too was aware of a need to transcend cliches in his role.

I really wanted to stay away from someone who could be the savior coming to this family, Yarbrough explained, noting a desire to avoid the hackneyed Magical Negro concept like the Bagger Vance character who, you know, knows all. I wanted to make sure that this guy doesnt know much of anything. Hes going to make mistakes.

In answering a question about the makeup of the Speechless writers room, Silveri noted his hopes to also avoid the usual TV tropes that can surround special needs individuals. We have a lot of people on staff who have experience in this world, whether its having siblings or special needs children, he said. We dont want [the show] to be all about that, but when it is we want to get it right and we feel a real responsibility.

Its not an issue show, he explained. But because there are so few representations of disability on television you cant help but feel a responsibility of doing it in an informed and intelligent way.

Follow me over here @chrisbarton.
Fred Segal, the Los Angeles retail emporium known for popularizing designer and contemporary brands over its 55-year history, is launching its first-ever apparel line, Fred by Fred Segal.

Set to debut at market on August 15, the mens and womens line is meant to capture the spirit of life in L.A. via contemporary classics such as cotton T-shirts, worn-in jeans and cashmere sweaters priced from $50 to $425 at retail.

Im not reinventing the wheel by any means. This line encompasses the feeling of L.A. and what it is to dress in L.A., said the brands vice president and creative director Shaun Hurley, an apparel veteran who last cofounded Genetic Los Angeles Denim.

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Hurley started with the citys iconic locales such as Laurel Canyon, Venice Beach and Sunset Boulevard and took inspiration from their fashions of the Seventies and Eighties. I started with a pair of vintage womens designer jeans and a bodysuit, like Farrah Fawcett back in the day. Then I threw a cashmere sweater coat over her, and it all went from there. Its your favorite T-shirt, sweater and designer denim. Its a look any woman can dress any way, he said.

Classic t-shirts will retail for $50 to $60, fashion pieces for $90 and denim from $198 to $220, with some Japanese selvage and specialty washes prices about $235 to $265. I want volume, to be honest, he said. I want the customer to be drawn by the feel and style, then to say, Oh my gosh this is a great price point, so it turns into something you always have in your closet.

Hurley has a soft spot for denim, having started out as a Levis fit model at age 16, then working the retail floor at Abercrombie & Fitch and moving to the buying department at Gap Inc. before becoming a denim sales rep and launching 575 jeans. For Fred by Fred Segal, he created the womens Perfect Skinny, Sexy Straight, Irresistible Flair and Iconic High-Rise styles. For men, theres the Bourbon Slim and the Whiskey Straight.

Hurley said he was led not only by eye-catching details  each top has signature neck tape in the back and the jeans logo is a simple black rubber stamp  but by the worn-in hand of his favorite vintage pieces. At Genetic we were all about the hand-feel of the denim. This and the styling and fit are what help you buy it.

Hurley is counting on retailers wanting to order now and sell now; the line is launching at market with fall immediates. Now, people want to see and wear things right away. You cant launch a new line and make people wait months to get the product, he said. He is aiming for 60 to 100 of the best specialty stores in the U.S. and 20 key international doors.

The line is currently 70 percent womens and 30 percent mens but Hurley wants to balance the ratio going forward. For spring 2017, he plans to add a sweats line, more bodysuits for women and swim trunks for men.

Its exciting to get to be the new voice of an iconic brand, one thats never had its own collection, said Hurley.

After its founding in Santa Monica in 1961, Fred Segals locations on Broadway there and on Melrose Avenue in Los Angeles became known for ferreting out new and noteworthy fashion and beauty brands. In 2012, the retailer was acquired by Sandow and is now owned by an investment group that includes Sandow and Evolution Media Partners, a venture of Hollywood talent agency CAA, private equity firm TPG Growth and Participant Media. The Santa Monica location has since closed and new stores have opened in Tokyo and Yokohama in Japan.

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Aug. 25, 2016, 10:40 a.m. Reporting from imperial beach, Calif.

We made it, Oregon to Mexico, along an 1,100-mile beach The drive began at the Oregon border. It ended five weeks later at the Mexican border. Where I almost got arrested. OK, thats an exaggeration. When photographer Allen Schaben and I got to the border of Tijuana and Imperial Beach, the party was much better on the Mexican side. Families were in the water and on the sand, a Mariachi band played, and the whole scene was rather festive compared with two people strolling quietly on the Imperial Beach side. I thought briefly about defecting. One man stood at the fence on the Tijuana side, so I walked up to say hello. I asked why he wasnt swimming and he said he didnt have a bathing suit, then he stuck his hand through the fence to shake my hand. A Border Patrol agent sped toward me in an SUV and yelled for me to stand back from the fence. I hesitated, because what was the big deal? But then I noticed a sign warning against contact or the passing of narcotics through the fence, etc. So I stepped back from the fence because I didnt know if Id be able to write my last road trip columns from a jail cell. Im going to wrap up the series on Sunday, but that wont be the end of my coverage of the California Coastal Commission on the 40th anniversary of the Coastal Act. Theres lots to keep an eye on. Legislation to ban private meetings between commissioners and developers could move forward later today. A vote has been delayed on the controversial proposal for a desalination plant in Huntington Beach, a project that doesnt make a lot of sense in my opinion but has big money backing it. The ever-controversial Newport Banning Ranch project -- a massive hotel/housing development on the last undeveloped plot of privately owned coastal property in Southern California -- will be up for a vote in early September. And the City Council election in Pismo Beach has gotten very interesting because Erik Howell, a councilman and coastal commissioner who ticked off Pismo residents by supporting a development that will block ocean views, now has challengers in his reelection campaign. Howell, if youve forgotten, accepted a $1,000 campaign donation from the domestic partner and business colleague of the lobbyist who represents the Pismo development. If he loses his council seat, he loses his Coastal Commission seat too. So stay tuned. The Coastal Commission will have a new director soon, a new chair and at least two new commissioners, and we need to watch closely because whats at stake is the greatest 1,100-mile coast in the world.



10:25 A.M. reporting from san diego

Lawmaker who led 72 coastal preservation bike ride from San Francisco to San Diego still has Schwinn that delivered win Former senator James Mills, 89, stands with the bike he rode from Sacramento to San Diego in 1972 to promote Prop 20, which created the Coastal Commission and led to the Coastal Act. The photo was taken overlooking the San Diego skyline from Mills Coronado apartment Wednesday. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times) The bike. I wanted to see the bike, and meet its owner. Arriving in San Diego meant our coastal trek from Oregon to Mexico was coming to an end, and it meant that it was finally time to pay a visit to Jim Mills. Mills, a state legislator from 1962 to 1981, was Senate president pro tempore in 1972 when he decided to support Proposition 20, the coastal preservation act. Without it, conservationists feared, coastal development would run amok, Highway 1 would be widened, and a string of nuclear power plants would spring up on some of the greatest beach fronts in the world. But there wasnt much money to fight Prop. 20s foes, said Mills, who had grown up wading in La Jolla Cove and has a deep appreciation of the states greatest natural resource. So in September 1972, he hopped aboard his canary yellow Schwinn Super Sport and led a bike rally from San Francisco to San Diego. The number of riders swelled at times, Mills said, and bikers were greeted each evening by locals serving plenty of carbs. We ate a lot of weenies and beans, and spaghetti too, he said. He recalled PG&E executives following the cyclists in a chauffeur-driven Cadillac, doing their own spin on Prop. 20. The bike rally drew lots of publicity, Mills said, and whether it made the difference is anyones guess. But Prop. 20 won 55% of the vote and led in 1976 to the Coastal Act that to this day protects the coast for the benefit of fragile marine and land habitats and the enjoyment of everyone. Mills was 45 when he rode down the coast, and 89 now. He greeted me and photographer Allen Schaben at his Coronado condo and said he hasnt done any riding lately, but hes doing a lot of writing. Mills has written several books and is working on another. He leads us down to the basement, and there it is. The dusty, canary yellow Schwinn that Mills rode in 1972, and for many years after the Prop. 20 campaign. He was an avid cyclist. Mills also kept the helmet he wore in 1972. We took the bike upstairs, where Mills put on his helmet and posed next to the bike that is a piece of California history. The Coastal Act has done a great deal of good over the years, Mills said, and the cause is no less important now than it was when he rode south from San Francisco. We need to preserve the coast for the benefit of future generations, he said, and I thank him for his contribution.



Aug. 21, 2016, 10:50 p.m. Reporting from the Mexican border

Steve Lopez reflects back on his 1,100 mile trek down the California coast

6:57 P.M. Sometimes the sausage is good enough to eat Two things will happen soon. The last column from my 1,100 mile road trip down the California coast will be done. And the reform bill banning private communications between California Coastal Commissioners and developers, as well as others, could finally emerge from the factory. As Ive been saying, Hannah-Beth Jacksons bill sailed through the Senate and should have done the same in the Assembly, but it got pushed off into a dark corner after a very fishy report claimed that reform costs money. The thing has come back to life, though, with amendments that arent as bad as the original amendments. I dont see why we need the amendments at all, or why the wrangling has to take place behind closed doors and out of public view. While I was thinking about that, a reader emailed me a clever idea about how to keep coastal commissioners honest -- make them strap on body cameras, like cops. I like it, and why not do the same with legislators, so we can all see whats going on? Having said all this, though, Im hearing from supporters of Jacksons bill that they think theres actually a chance the legislation is going to be OK, once all the cooks are done tweaking the recipe. Sausage is full of awful stuff, but just about all of it is good on the grill. So as much fun as Ive had telling you to ping Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon, @Rendon63rd, and Appropriations Chair Lorena Gonzalez, @LorenaAD80, and ask what gives, maybe we should try another approach. Im told that Rendon, Gonzalez and other Assembly leaders have done some decent work rescuing this much-needed bill from the trash. So go ahead and tweet them again, and tell them youre encouraged, and still watching -- to the extent thats possible -- and counting on them to do whats necessary to get the bill to Gov. Jerry Brown, which is when the real fun will begin.

8:46 A.M. When it comes to coastal protection, why does state Assembly have such a problem with transparency? The need to clean up the way the California Coastal Commission operates was obvious. Commissioners meet privately with developers more than with any other group, by far. They have repeatedly failed to fully explain the nature of those meetings, and have even failed to report them on occasion. State Sen. Hannah-Beth Jackson (D-Santa Barbara) penned a bill to ban such meetings. It cleared the Senate and bounced over to the Assembly, which nearly killed it, but finally decided this week to merely beat it to a pulp. The toothless mess that emerged from the Assembly Appropriations Committee this week would allow private meetings to continue under certain circumstances, and now Sen. Jackson has the task of trying to put some punch back into her bill. And heres the irony: We dont know which Assembly members, or higher powers, conspired to water down Jacksons bill because there is no transparency in the process. You cant peer through a window into the sausage factory. These amendments were hammered out privately. One can guess that the development lobby and labor groups did not like Jacksons reform bill because it would get in the way of a process that gives an advantage to those who want to build on the coast. One can even guess that the Brown administration shares their view. But we dont know, because a bill to shine a light on important decision-making got pummeled in a dark room, and the perps left no fingerprints. See Dan Weikels story at latimes.com. Ive sent in a request for an explanation to Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon (D-Paramount). He has appointing authority for four coastal commissioners and itd be nice to hear what he thinks about the handiwork by his Appropriations Committee. If youd like to ping him or Appropriations Chair Lorena Gonzalez (D-San Diego) to ask what happened, try @Rendon63rd and @LorenaAD80. Or you can drop a line to The Silent One @JerryBrownGov, but Ive tried, and despite months of turmoil and controversy on the 40th anniversary of the Coastal Act he signed into law, the governor doesnt want to be disturbed.



7:36 A.M. Summer is in the rear-view mirror, end of journey just down the road The tide splashes up on the beach at sunset on a warm summer evening at Windansea Beach in La Jolla. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times) Carlsbad. Leucadia. Encinitas. Cardiff. Solana. Del Mar. Summer is disappearing in my rear-view mirror. Week Five of my trip from Oregon to Mexico will be over in just a few days, 1,100 miles after it began. Photographer Allen Schaben is farther down the road, waiting for me in San Diego. Soon well stand at the Mexican border and reflect on a deeper love of the California coast, a greater appreciation of the Coastal Act on the 40-year anniversary of protections that became law. Ill wish Id had a week to spend in places where I only had an hour or two. Ill thank the people we met along the way, and tell others well take up their offer the next time through. Californians are passionate about their coast. Theyre closely watching those in public office whose job is to protect fisheries and dunes, to limit development and maximize access. Ive got one eye on Sacramento myself. On legislative reforms that would serve all Californians. On coastal commissioners, some of whom seem to have forgotten their purpose. Im pulling into San Diego, where the air is warm, the water blue, Mexico in the near distance.



4:14 P.M. La Jolla The palm fronds of a palapa reveal a surfer, a couple and children taking in a warm summer sunset at Windansea Beach in La Jolla. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)



1:07 P.M. newport beach

Watts in a name? Find Amp-le answers in Newport Beach On Pacific Coast Highway in Newport Beach. (Steve Lopez / Los Angeles Times) Im driving south on the Pacific Coast Highway and spot the sign. The boat name of the week, it says, is Watt A Man. Thats not a mistake. This is the headquarters for Duffy, which makes the electric boats that are part of the culture in the Newport harbor. Many years ago, I wrote a column about a day of hobnobbing and bar-hopping, by boat, with local residents. I also wrote, at the time, about boat owners trying to out-do each other with clever names for the battery-powered boats. One of my favorites was Salt n Battery. So what are some of the newer ones? I walk into the office, and salesman Jim Drayton says one of the best ones this summer was Amp-ly Endowed. Not bad. Tyler Duffield, of the Duffy family, shows me a list with a few more recent winners. Your name here. (Steve Lopez / Los Angeles Times) Its a Ohm Run. Watt the Hey. Watta Yacht. Going back through the years, some of the better names include: Current Affair. Carry Us Ohm Watts the Hurry. Shock Cousteau. Ohmer Simpson. Knots and Volts. I could go on, but why dont you, instead? Send me your best names. Its not as easy as it looks, Duffield said. Its usually the hardest part, he says. Someone comes in and orders a boat, and they get the colors and everything figured out, and the last thing to do is come up with a name before the boat leaves the factory. Yeah, Its a Duff Life out here, where people are Ohm on the Watter, but It Is Watt It Is.



9:13 A.M. Going under in Laguna Beach A snorkeler looks for fish at Crescent Bay in Laguna Beach (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times) Garibaldi swim and feed on rocks at Crescent Bay in Laguna Beach. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

2:41 P.M. Catching waves in Huntington Beach



10:53 A.M. On our way toward Mexico A view of the beach through a telescope at Pacific City, a new 31-acre mixed-use development in Huntington Beach, also known as Surf City U.S.A. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times) The site of the proposed Banning Ranch development now before the California Coastal Commission. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times) The tide rolls in at twilight at the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station located on the border of San Diego County and San Clemente. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

4:52 P.M. Laguna Beach

4:45 P.M. Laguna Beach



12:51 P.M. Dana Point A pod of dolphins leaps out of the water with a view of south Laguna Beach in the background on Aug. 12, 2016. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

10:37 P.M. sacramento

Profiles in courage: Legislators soften Coastal Commission reform, leave no fingerprints A perfectly sensible bill to clean up the way California coastal commissioners do business has been getting the waterboard treatment. First, Santa Barbara Sen. Hannah-Beth Jacksons SB 1190 was submerged by a ludicrous report claiming it would cost too much money to prohibit private conversations between developers and commissioners. Then it was tossed overboard and dragged like chum. Then on Thursday, legislators pulled SB 1190 back into the boat so badly decomposed its barely recognizable. As my colleague Dan Weikel reports at latimes.com, five amendments gutted the good intentions. The most egregious one allows commissioners to meet privately with developers during on-site visits. This comes just weeks after reports that Coastal Commission Chairman Steve Kinsey met twice with developers of the massive Newport Banning Ranch development and failed to properly report those confabs. Environmental groups, however, would not be able to have such meetings in the bills current form. On my best day, I could not have come up with a more Alice in Wonderland outcome. Details were still emerging, and it wasnt clear which legislators were responsible for the hatchet job, or whether they caved in to political, development or union pressure, or all three. No fingerprints on the body, in other words. Three environmentalists I checked with were livid, and understandably so. Stay tuned for updates on the autopsy, and dont stop letting @JerryBrownGov know how you feel about whats happening to coastal preservation on his watch. #SaveYourCoast



7:46 A.M. Sunset at Crystal Cove Beach Cottages Children run along the beach at twilight near the Crystal Cove Beach Cottages. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times) The sun sets over the Crystal Cove Beach Cottages in Newport Beach. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times) Isabella, 9, and Holden, 7, roast marshmallows over a beach fire with their parents, Steve and Amy Knuff, of Aliso Viejo at twilight at Crystal Cove Beach Cottages. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times) Incoming tide rolls onto the beach at twilight at Crystal Cove Beach Cottages. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)



1:29 P.M. Column: Fighting for the California coast from a tiny office in her kitchen nook Susan Jordan, who created and runs the California Coastal Protection Network, is seen in her Santa Barbara office. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times) If you were a coastal conservation activist in California, with 1,100 miles of shoreline to look after, how would you even decide where to begin? Theres always a battle somewhere, and let me give you just a couple of examples from one tiny section of the coast. Moss Landing is in the news again this week as the Surfrider Foundation and other activists try to stop Cemex, an international sand mining company, from trucking away the beach as it has done for decades, causing erosion that has begun to set off lots of alarms. Read more



8:49 A.M. Hermosa Beach

Remember when you could spend a night at a California beach motel for less than a weeks pay? A third-generation motel owner in this seaside town tells me he gets an offer, about every other day, from someone who wants to buy his property, bulldoze it and rebuild. But hes hanging on because three generations of families have been staying at his low-budget, no-frills motel since the 1960s, and he doesnt want to end those summer vacation traditions. Elsewhere on the California coast, motels and hotels have been bought out by chains and developers, driving up the cost of affordable family vacations. Look for my column on the Hermosa Beach motel in the coming days. And if you know of good low-budget beach lodging, or if youve seen your motel go from cheap to chic, drop me a line at steve.lopez@latimes.com Over the next two days, photographer Allen Schaben and I will be in Hermosa and Huntington Beach, reporting on the proposed desalination plant there. And, by the way, we should find out in the next day or two whether legislation banning private meetings between coastal commissioners and developers is released from legislative prison and put up for a vote in the state Assembly. Theres still time to weigh in at #SaveYourCoast and be sure to give a poke to @JerryBrownGov and Assemblywoman, Lorena Gonzalez @LorenaAD80. Read more
Donald Trump got a pretty decent bounce out of his nominating convention. Then he squashed it.

Democrats spent a good chunk of their own convention baiting Trump, hoping that he would over-react to at least one of their taunts. In their most optimistic scenarios, though, even Hillary Clintons campaign officials did not anticipate how big a gift the Republican candidate would hand them.

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Good afternoon, Im David Lauter, Washington bureau chief. Welcome to the Friday edition of our Essential Politics newsletter, in which we look at the events of the week in the presidential campaign and highlight some particularly insightful stories.

THE WRATH AT KHAN

Trumps decision to spend much of the week in a long-distance quarrel with Khizr and Ghazala Khan, Muslim parents of an American soldier killed in Iraq, managed to undo pretty much all the gains that he had made at his convention and before. (If youre looking for the story of how the Khans became the stars of the political month, Evan Halper has you covered.)

Republican officials, who thought they had made progress in convincing their unpredictable nominee to stick to a consistent message and focus on Clinton were reminded, yet again, that Trump makes his own rules  even if they are often against his own interest.

Then things got worse.

Trump decided to pick quarrels with two of the Republicans own senators and the Republican speaker of the House, saying that he was not yet ready to endorse either Sen. John McCain of Arizona, Sen. Kelly Ayotte of New Hampshire or Speaker Paul Ryan of Wisconsin, who faces a primary on Tuesday.

That same day, President Obama, at a news conference, said Trump was unfit to serve as president.

By midweek, senior Republicans were frantically calling each other  and reporters  to discuss what to do. Party officials let it be known that senior GOP lawyers were even looking into how the rules would work if Trump suddenly dropped out of the race. (The short answer is that the Republican National Committee would meet to select a new nominee).

A sense of panic is rising, one longtime GOP insider said, as Noah Bierman, Michael Finnegan and I reported.

Check out our interactive on which Republicans are backing Trump, which are abandoning him and who is trying to have it both ways.

TRUMP UNIVERSITY

Trump did win one small victory: Federal District Judge Judge Gonzalo Curiel, who is presiding over a lawsuit brought by former students of Trump University, the now defunct real estate training program, ruled that Trump can keep his videotaped deposition sealed.

The public interest in knowing what Trump said has been served by releasing the deposition transcript, the judge said. Releasing the video tape would not add much to public knowledge, he wrote, and there is every reason to believe the release of the deposition videos would contribute to an on-going media frenzy that would increase the difficulty of seating an impartial jury.

The judge also cleared the way for a trial of the lawsuit in late November, denying Trumps motion to dismiss the case.

Curiel, of course, is the judge whom Trump earlier this year accused of being unfair to him because he is of Mexican ancestry.

THE POLLS MOUNT UP

The latest polls reflect Trumps rough week and fed GOP anxiety. The list is grim reading for the Trump campaign:

NBC/Wall St. Journal  Clinton up 9 points

Fox News  Clinton up 10

McClatchy/Marist  Clinton up 15

CNN  Clinton up 9

CBS  Clinton up 6

New surveys in swing states had Clinton leading by four points in Florida, nine in Michigan, 13 in Pennsylvania and 15 in New Hampshire, all in hypothetical four-way match ups that included Libertarian candidate Gary Johnson and Green Party nominee Jill Stein.

A poll by the Atlanta Journal-Constitution even found Trump narrowly behind in Georgia.

Democrats shouldnt get too excited. Odds are that some of Clintons gains are ephemeral  the result of a post-convention bounce. When the bounce settles, her lead will almost certainly shrink.

On the other hand, the former secretary of State doesnt need to win by nine, 10 or 15 points. Obama won his reelection by just under four and still carried 332 electoral votes.

And as Bierman & Nigel Duara reported, Trump is losing support among swing state voters.

Our own USC Dornsife/L.A. Times tracking poll of the election has been more favorable to Trump; the candidate has taken to citing it during his stump speeches. But part of that is simply the polls structure  a seven-day rolling average, which smooths out the volatility that sometimes hurts tracking polls, but also makes it slower to adjust when the electorate shifts course.

In any case, the poll has shown the same trend as others, a drop in Trumps support and an increase for Clintons that has continued steadily for more than a week. By this morning, Clinton held a one-point lead.

Whatever the size of Clintons lead, the calendar is ominous for Trump: He has only a few big opportunities left to shift large chunks of the electorate. The first presidential debate, scheduled for Sept. 26, is the most prominent.

CLINTON FLYING BELOW THE RADAR

And Clinton? As Halper reported, she enjoyed a week of campaigning in swing states, quietly skating past incidents that might have turned into controversies had Trump not monopolized the airwaves. The campaign is following a long-tested maxim in politics  if your opponent is hurting himself, dont get in the way.

One telling side of Democratic confidence: Clintons campaign has scaled back advertising in Colorado, once viewed as a key battleground. Democrats determined that Trump was simply not competitive enough there to justify the money  a view that independent pollsters concurred with.

Democrats do still worry about whether young voters who backed Sen. Bernie Sanders in the primary will turn out for Clinton in the fall. Sanders made a pitch to his voters in an Op-Ed piece in The Times this morning. I understand that many of my supporters are disappointed by the final results of the nominating process, but being despondent and inactive is not going to improve anything, he wrote.

A COUPLE OF GOOD READS

Melanie Mason looked at the Koch brothers, who gathered their network of wealthy donors for an annual retreat last weekend at which they set out their case for sitting out the presidential election.

Sean Parker set out to change politics; its changed him, Halper reports. The co-founder of Napster has found that the political system isnt as susceptible to Silicon Valley-style disruption as he had hoped.

WEVE UPDATED OUR ELECTORAL COLLEGE MAP

With the conventions over and a raft of new polls, weve taken an updated look at the states. Check out our best assessment of where things now stand. And play political strategist for yourself. You can try out as many scenarios as you like on the interactive map.

QUESTIONS ABOUT TRUMP, CLINTON? WEVE GOT ANSWERS

Where they stand on issues, what theyve done in their lives, their successes, their failures, what their presidencies might look like: Weve been writing about Clinton and Trump for years, and weve pulled the best of that content together to make finding what you want to know easier. So check out All Things Trump and All Things Clinton.

LOGISTICS

If you like this newsletter, tell your friends to sign up.

That wraps up this week. My colleague Christina Bellantoni will be back Monday with the weekday edition of Essential Politics. Until then, keep track of all the developments in the 2016 campaign with our Trail Guide, at our Politics page and on Twitter @latimespolitics.

Send your comments, suggestions and news tips to politics@latimes.com.

Miss yesterdays newsletter? Here you go. Did someone forward you this? Sign up here to get Essential Politics in your inbox daily.
Smoke is rolling down over the coastal hills. Orange helicopters with long, water-sucking stingers are thwacking around in the sky, and a fixed-wing DC-10 rumbles overhead, ready to drop its load of fire retardant.

No flames are visible, as Matt Shea and I sit in the middle of the estate vineyard he manages for Bernardus Winery in the Cachaguas Valley, a small, sheltered bowl up a very windy road on the southeastern edge of Carmel Valley.

The Soberanes fire is two miles away. But the smell of smoke is inescapable; it permeates everything.

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That has the 45-year-old Shea, and other Monterey County wine growers, on edge.

The fire, near Big Sur, has been burning since July 22. So far, 51,000 acres, mostly wilderness, have been consumed. Dozens of homes have burned down, and a bulldozer operator died after his vehicle overturned in steep terrain as he cleared brush. Last week, the estate vineyard for Big Sur Winery burned down; its owner, Lenora Carey, also lost her home.

State fire officials say they do not expect to have the fire contained until Aug. 31.

By that time, the Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Merlot and Malbec grapes growing next to us in Sheas Marinus Vineyards will have changed colors, from green to purple. But right now, the fruit is going through that transition; this is the moment the grapes become vulnerable to a winemakers scourge called smoke taint.

The potential is here, said Shea, who celebrated his first wedding anniversary on Monday in the smoky vineyard with his wife, Katie. We just dont know.

In 2008, after the Basin Complex fire, which consumed 162,000 acres and bathed Carmel Valley in smoke for weeks, Shea unwittingly harvested tainted grapes.

We couldnt taste it until after fermentation, he said. It was aging in barrels when the flavor started to develop.

The taste was distinct.

It had a flavor that was reminiscent of barbecue, Shea said. Some people loved it.

In Carmel Valley Village, winemaker Russell Joyce frowned when I asked about his vineyard.

I am definitely very, very nervous about smoke taint, he said.

He grows Pinot Noir and Cabernet on six acres nearby. The wine from that vineyard, he said, commands $60 to $70 a bottle.

If his grapes sustain smoke damage, he said, he may have sell it to bottlers who will blend it with less expensive wine until the smell disappears. The thought of his estate wine  such a pure expression of the terroir out here  ending up as a $20 blend at Costco is distressing.

But like any grower, he knows he is at the mercy of forces beyond his control. Dozens of Monterey County wineries could eventually be affected by the smoke.

There is nothing that we can really do about it, said Joyce, 30, who has worked in his familys Joyce Vineyards since he was a boy. Its not like you can put big wind fans like they do in Napa to blow the smoke, because there is so much smoke, you cant get rid of it.

Like Matt Shea, he was also caught unawares when the Basin Complex fire eight years ago smoked his grapes.

When the wine came to fruition, Joyce said, there was no denying that it smelled like camp fire. I tried to use some tricks to fine it, to strip the smell from the wine, but I was unsuccessful.

He sold that wine, a syrah, on the bulk market.

This season after harvest, he and other winemakers are better prepared to deal with any fallout from the fire.

Because smoke is held in the skin of the grape, they will try to minimize contact between the skins and juice after grapes are pressed. Red wine, of course, takes its claret color from the skins.

If you have red grapes, Joyce said, its probably a good idea to make rose.

More columns 

Though often eclipsed in the public imagination by the wine counties of Napa and Sonoma, Monterey produces spectacular wine.

In recent years, Monterey County has been the largest producer of Chardonnay in the country. More Pinot Noir is grown here than any other place in California.

I know in some quarters its not fashionable to love Chardonnay, but I dont care. You can have your Sauvignon Blancs, your Pinot Grigios, your Gruner Veltliners. Give me that white burgundy any day  the more buttery, the better.

When I heard the Soberanes fire might affect Monterey County vineyards, I clutched my heart and screamed Not Mer Soleil!

Soberanes fire smoke pours over the mountains from Big Sur toward the vineywards of Bernardus Winery in the Cachagua area of Carmel Valley (Robin Abcarian/Los Angeles Times )

Then I called Kim Stemler, executive director of the Monterey County Vintners & Growers Assn.

Your Mer Soleil will be fine, Stemler said.

That wine is grown in the Santa Lucia Highlands, one of Monterey Countys nine designated American viticultural areas, distinctive growing regions comparable to Frances appellation dorigine controllee. Its well away from the Soberanes fire.

On Thursday morning, I checked back in with Shea, who has defied a mandatory evacuation order to stay on his property. The smoke, he said, had gotten a bit worse.

He knows he can do little to protect his grapes, he says, but if the fire changes direction and starts moving toward him, he wants to be on site to defend his wood home and his farming equipment. Hes not worried about his safety.

A vineyard is probably the most defensible space, ever, he said. Ive got 35 acres of dirt with green vines. To be in the center of that would be the safest place in Cachagua.

If the fire gets too close, he said, he can take a shortcut over the mountain in his truck. Its just a waiting game right now.

I wondered how he manages to sleep, under the circumstances. Quite well, he said. A glass of pinot helps.

robin.abcarian@latimes.com

Twitter: @AbcarianLAT

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Baku, Azerbaijan, Aug.5

Trend:

Yerevan police officials, including police chief, have been reprimanded, TASS reported.

They were reprimanded after an investigation into the recent events in Yerevan, when there were clashes between Armenian police and demonstrators.

The investigation revealed that the police chief and other officials did not properly perform their duties.

The armed group seized the headquarters of the police and interior troops in Erebuni, Yerevan, July 17, demanding the release of the participant of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, coordinator of the opposition Armenian civil initiative Founding Parliament Zhirayr Sefilyan.
As California enters traditional brush-fire season, there is something ominous in the air and on the ground.

Drought-stricken and ready to burn, the tree canopy in the central and southern end of the Sierra Nevada is awash in yellows, browns and oranges. Many of the trees showing green are already dead, but they just havent shown it yet, said Jeffrey Moore, acting regional aerial survey program manager for the U.S. Forest Service.

From our written history, this has probably been the worst situation Californias forests have faced, Moore said. If a fire comes in, it kills everything and leaves nothing behind.

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Already, the fire statistics for 2016 are grim.

State fire officials estimate roughly 223,600 acres, or 350 square miles, of California have burned so far this year in some 4,000 wildfires on state and federal land. More than 300 homes have burned, and eight people have been killed, including a bulldozer operator helping fight a fire.

Fast-moving fires in the Lake Isabella area, the border region of San Diego and northern Los Angeles County proved particularly deadly, with residents unable to outrun the flames and perishing.

People need to evacuate early. Thats one of the things weve been running into. And they get trapped, said Lynne Tolmachoff, a spokeswoman for the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection. There are really, really dry fuels. They ignite rapidly and spread quickly.

Several forces have come together to make this fire season so difficult, with the five-year drought being just one. An unprecedented bark-beetle infestation thats killed 66 million trees since 2010 wont subside for years, even if Californias rainfall returns to average, Moore said.

The hardest-hit areas have been the central and southern Sierra Nevada that includes the Stanislaus, Sierra and Sequoia national forests, and officials fear major fires in the coming months.

That will be ground zero for this years fire season, said Stanton Florea, a U.S. Forest Service spokesman.

Already, the Erskine fire that burned more than 48,000 acres and killed two people in Kern County over the summer was a snapshot of what could be in store for this season, Florea said.

The little rain that came this winter to Southern California provided enough water to sprout up grass and light brush, but not enough to keep it from quickly turning into bone-dry tinder.

The San Gabriel Complex fire  a pair of blazes that burned in the Angeles National Forest near Duarte in June  scorched more than 4,200 acres and partially started with a car crash that sparked a fire, officials said.

But even where the bark beetles arent wreaking havoc, the states sustained drought continues to cast a long shadow.

In Monterey County, the Soberanes fire continues to challenge crews. It has burned more than 53,690 acres and destroyed 57 homes. The cool, coastal conditions have actually hurt crews efforts to battle the fire, not helped, according to Tolmachoff.

The marine layer that blankets the mountains at night has basically acted as insulation for the fire, trapping the heat within the forest, and created erratic winds and unpredictable flames, she said.

Its like an oven, enclosed in this area, and gets warmer and warmer. During the daytime when it burns away, all that heat is able to erupt, and youll start seeing those plumes of smoke, she said.

With containment at only 35%, the wildfire is now burning into the footprint of the 2008 Basin Complex fire, according to the National Weather Service. Described as one of Californias largest fires in state history, the lightning-sparked blaze scorched 162,818 acres throughout the Big Sur coastline in June 2008 and destroyed 58 structures.

Although the latest wildfire is nowhere near the size of the Basin Complex fire, the Soberanes blaze is just as destructive.

Acting Gov. Tom Torlakson declared a state of emergency last week to help affected communities obtain aid swiftly. The blaze is threatening 2,000 homes and has prompted 300 residents to evacuate.

Raging flames also triggered state park closures along the Central Coast through Saturday, as well as a host of road closures. Trails and roads within Los Padres National Forests Monterey District were also closed.

More than 300 wildfires burned throughout the state last week, aided by low humidity and a summer heat wave, according to Tolmachoff.

The triple-digit temperatures  those are just devastating. Those are just drying everything. It could create a longer fire season going into the month of November, she said.

Burning in Fresno County, the Goose fire remained at 2,241 acres Thursday and was 90% contained. Since it began Saturday, the Goose fire has destroyed four homes and threatened an additional 400 homes or structures.

1 / 15 Helicopters work the Soberanes Fire west of Cachagua, Calif. A wildfire north of Big Sur near Californias Central Coast has grown again overnight after burning for nearly two weeks. (Vern Fisher / Associated Press) 2 / 15 Cal Fire captain Gino DeGraffenreid monitors a firing operation with his crew of firefighters west of Cachagua, Calif. The Soberanes fire has scorched more than 79 square miles and destroyed 57 homes. (Vern Fisher / Associated Press) 3 / 15 Big Bear Hotshots Erik Evans fires a creek bed along Refugio Road while working the Scherpa Fire in Santa Barbara County. (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times) 4 / 15 A religious icon stands in the charred remains of a neighborhood in South Lake. (Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times) 5 / 15 Seth Moberg, 16, gathers belongings from his familys house on Sand Canyon Road as the Sand fire approaches in Santa Clarita. (Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times) 6 / 15 A helicopter drops water on the fast-growing brush fire east of Santa Clarita. (Francine Orr / Los Angeles Times) 7 / 15 A firefighting helicopter hovers close to the flames from the Sand fire as it burns out of control along Soledad Canyon Road near Acton on Sunday. (Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times) 8 / 15 Los Angeles County firefighters Kevin Bowers, left, and Pat Hanrahan are watchful as a plume of smoke builds in the mountains along Soledad Canyon Road near Acton on Monday. (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times) 9 / 15 Firefighters monitor the burn-out operation in El Capitan Canyon. (Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times) 10 / 15 Firefighters march into El Capitan Canyon in Golata to conduct a burn-out operation to corral the Sherpa fire. (Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times) 11 / 15 Firefighters combat the front lines of the Sherpa Fire to avoid it from moving onto the 101 freeway, along Calle Real road, in Goleta, Calif. (Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times) 12 / 15 Tyra Rene Fuller tears up a she finds a porcelain cast of her daughters handprint while soring through whats left of her belongings after her home was destroyed by the Erskine fire in Lake Isabella, Calif. (Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times) 13 / 15 The sun sets as smoke fills the air looking west toward Lake Isabella. (Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times) 14 / 15 The Black Eagles fire crew from Porterville lights a backfire in Lake Isabella, Calif. (Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times) 15 / 15 Firefighters from Cal Fires Sonoma-Lake-Napa Unit pay close attention to a wildfire moving in from every direction in Kelso Valley as the blaze progresses east with the winds near Lake Isabella, Calif. (Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times)

Improvements were made near Lake Berryessa, where the 4,700-acre Cold fire was burning north of Winters in Yolo County. By Thursday morning, evacuations were lifted for residents living in the Golden Bear Estates. The blaze is only 15% contained.

Flames continued to smolder in remote areas that firefighters had difficulty reaching.

Aided by aircraft, firefighters were focused on the north end of the fire and trying to hold defensive lines along Highway 128.

Southerly winds developed late Wednesday, allowing the fire to spread north.

Ground crews as well as aircraft continue to work aggressively to extinguish the slop over, Cal Fire said. This goes to show the volatility of this fire and the potential for growth that might occur.

joseph.serna@latimes.com

veronica.rocha@latimes.com

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UPDATES:

10:00 a.m.: This article was updated with new containment and acreage numbers on the fires.

This article was originally published at 5 a.m.
Before the doors to the Expo Line train slid open, letting in a gust of hot summer air, Metro riders at the Farmdale station in West Adams had already backed away from the edge of the platform, shaking their heads.

The train, packed with evening commuters, pulled away without anyone boarding.

I love the train, but I dont think I can keep doing this, said Cindy Rodriguez, 38, who had stood in the sun for half an hour as two full trains passed by. At least you can get on the bus.

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Two months after the debut of light-rail service to Santa Monica, it has become clear that the Metropolitan Transportation Authority does not have enough rail cars to accommodate the Expo Lines surging ridership.

A years-long series of delays in acquiring cars for several new rail lines has left Metro without a way to meet demand. If officials could lengthen trains with additional cars, we wouldnt be having the same conversation, chief operations officer Jim Gallagher said.

Seasoned riders and transit newcomers have griped about cars so jammed during peak hours that there is no room for bicycles, wheelchairs or, at some stations, any more passengers. Packed cars are expected from time to time, they say, but a 12-minute wait for the next train exacerbates the problem.

Weekday trips on the Expo Line have jumped by half since trains began running to Santa Monica, eclipsing the performance of other Metro routes during their first months in operation  a robust but not entirely surprising outcome for a line that helps traffic-weary Westsiders avoid congestion.

In June, the 11.5-mile Expo Line saw nearly as many trips as the Gold Line, which is twice as long.

Its a good thing, to have lots of riders, Gallagher said. But, he added, if wed had another 10 cars or so a couple months ago, that would have been great.

The crunch began in 2008, when Los Angeles County voters approved a half-cent sales tax increase to fund the construction of nearly 30 miles of light rail and the acquisition of hundreds of new rail cars.

Metro officials considered buying an extra 100 vehicles from an Italian company that was already building 50 for the system. But the first cars from AnsaldoBreda arrived years late and nearly three tons overweight.

During months of political infighting, Metro awarded AnsaldoBreda the contract, then the deal collapsed. Officials finally opted to hire another company, significantly postponing the vehicles delivery.

By the time Metro signed a $900-million contract with Osaka-based Kinkisharyo International in 2012 for 235 new vehicles, the agencys chief executive warned that the past two years have used up what slack we had.

Kinkisharyo delivered the first sleek, silver-and-yellow car with a speed that impressed Metro officials. Still, staff members noted, it took Kinkisharyo several months to work up to the agreed-upon delivery rate of one vehicle per week.

Thats not unusual in a car series, Gallagher said. They may be a little bit late, but they have production pretty well settled.

Tests on the new cars have also taken longer than planned. Metro has received 41 vehicles from Kinkisharyo, and is still testing 13, a few of which arent behaving properly, Gallagher said.

The Expo Line runs two- and three-car trains that arrive every 12 minutes during the day and every 20 minutes after 8 p.m.

By December, Metro should have received and tested enough of the Kinkisharyo vehicles to run two-car trains every six minutes, officials said.

The length of the platforms typically prevents Metro from running trains longer than three cars. But agency officials have said in contract documents that they aim to run three-car trains every six minutes by next year or the year after.

More immediately, crowding on the Expo Line should gradually ease this year as more cars are put into service, officials say. In the meantime, riders should adjust to very full cars.

Were not Amtrak and were not an airline, officials said in a blog post earlier this year. We want a train that carries more people than just the number of seats.

Riders should try to remain polite in close quarters, and anyone with a bicycle should stay in the marked bike area or wait for the next train, spokeswoman Pauletta Tonilas said.

Frustrated riders say trains so crowded that they cannot board is not uncommon, particularly at stations that are in the middle of the line. Others worry that a few particularly ugly commutes on the Expo Line could influence how often new transit riders will take the line in the future.

Jessica Pace, 31, takes the train from North Hollywood to a nonprofit in West Adams three days per week. Trains headed to downtown Los Angeles are often so full, she said, that her office will often let the co-workers who are in the biggest hurry board the train first, and everyone else will wait.

I hate L.A. traffic, but Ive really contemplated buying a new car, Pace said. Sitting in traffic has to be easier than the overcrowding.

Other riders have complained about smaller issues that Metro expects will be worked out in coming months, including how confusing service delays can be to new riders. Real-time screens sometimes show the wrong station information, or the wrong arrival times.

Erik Weber, 30, lives in Highland Park and takes the Expo Line to a venture capital firm in Santa Monica. He prefers taking the train to driving, he said, but noted that Metro could work on better communication with its customers about delays and service changes.

Its like watching a teenager go through growth spurts, Weber said. I dont expect perfection, but I want this thing to be better, because I love it.

laura.nelson@latimes.com

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Investigators Thursday asked the public to help locate a man suspected of dousing a woman with gasoline and setting her on fire.

The incident occurred on the afternoon of June 12, when a man approached a woman in the 500 block of East Vernon Avenue and set her ablaze, according to the Los Angeles Fire Department.

The woman remains hospitalized in critical condition.

The suspect is described as a black man with brown eyes and brown hair, and he was seen grinning in surveillance footage from a convenience store shortly before the fire was reported, according to LAFD arson investigators. He stands about 5 feet 7 and weighs about 180 pounds, and the surveillance video shows him wearing a white T-shirt, black jacket and sunglasses.

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The suspect and the woman had a verbal dispute, LAFD Capt. Daniel Curry told KABC-TV Channel 7. Next, he went to the store to purchase gasoline.

In broad daylight, this person just walks up and pours gasoline all over this person and her belongings  a very egregious crime, Curry said.

The man is known to frequent the area near Vernon Avenue and Avalon Boulevard in the Historic South-Central neighborhood, officials said.

Anyone with information about the identity of the man is asked to contact the LAFDs arson unit at (213) 893-9800. Those who see the man are asked to contact the LAPDs Newton Division at (323) 846-6547.

For more news in California, follow @MattHjourno.

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A partly nude woman who was arrested on suspicion of indecent exposure outside a rally for Sen. Bernie Sanders in Los Angeles has filed a federal civil rights lawsuit against the city and the Los Angeles Police Department, alleging that the arresting officers used excessive force and assaulted her.

Anni Ma, 25, contends in the lawsuit filed Thursday that on the night of March 23, she was wearing a skirt but had her breasts and nipples exposed outside the Wiltern Theatre, where the Vermont senator was staging a rally for his presidential campaign.

Ma acknowledges that she initially had the words Free the Nipple and Feel the Bern in tape pressed across her chest, but says she removed the tape, according to the suit filed in the U.S. District Courts Central District of California. On her upper chest, the word Equality was written.

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Mas lawsuit states she was advocating for equal rights and equal treatment for women. At no time were her genitals or sex organs exposed, according to the complaint, which notes that  mammary glands are obviously not sex organs.

Still, LAPD officers grabbed her and pressed her against a pole, telling her to apply tape over her nipples or face arrest, according to the suit. When she didnt respond, a police officer held her arms, pushed her toward the ground and handcuffed her, according to court papers.

As police detained her, she yelled, Feel the Bern and My body, my choice, the suit says.

She was booked in a downtown jail on a count of indecent exposure and held on $10,000 bail. She was released the following day.

Around this time, Ma said she developed a urinary tract infection, which she attributed to the unsanitary conditions of the citys downtown jail, according to the suit.

The suit, which also names two LAPD officers who arrested her, alleges Mas civil rights, including her right to free speech and peaceful assembly, were violated during an unlawful arrest. The complaint also describes the officers as applying a gender biased interpretation of the law, and says the arrest amounted to assault and battery.

This offensive contact by [police] was without consent, unwanted and not warranted by any exigency of the circumstances, the lawsuit states.

Ma is seeking damages for mental and emotional distress; physical injuries and bodily harm; medical expenses; bail costs and legal fees.

A spokesman for the L.A. city attorneys office could not be reached for comment.

For more news in California, follow @MattHjourno

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A federal appeals court has upheld the dismissal of a lawsuit against the city of Glendale that demanded removal of a memorial statue dedicated to as many as 200,000 women from Korea and other countries forced into sex slavery by Japanese soldiers during World War II.

Plaintiff Michiko Gingery filed the lawsuit objecting to the 1,100-pound bronze statue, which was erected in the citys Central Park in 2013. The memorial depicts a girl in Korean garb sitting next to an empty chair, and it commemorates the wartime victims known as comfort women.

Gingery said it unconstitutionally disrupted the federal governments foreign policy and relationship with Japan.

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However, U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals Judge Kim McLane Wardlaw, in a ruling Thursday, said Glendales memorial simply takes a stand against human rights violations, something well within the purview of local governments.

Here, by dedicating a local monument to the plight of the comfort women in World War II, Glendale has joined a long list of other American cities that have likewise used public monuments to express their views on events beyond our borders, Wardlaw wrote in her ruling.

Her decision upheld a U.S. District Court opinion.

Glendale Mayor Paula Devine said the judges ruling was made at an ideal time because on Friday the city will sign an agreement to establish a sister city relationship with the South Korean community of Boeun-gun.

Devine said shes met with a number of surviving comfort women  who are now in their 80s and 90s  when they visited Glendale and shared their stories.

What they went through as young girls, just kids, they still bear that pain, she said. No one deserves that kind of treatment. Its very important to raise awareness so something like that never happens again.

Glendale has one of the largest Korean American populations in California with more than 10,000 residents, according to the U.S. census.

Ronald Barak, Gingerys attorney, did not return phone calls for a comment.

The Japanese government over the decades has denied that South Korean women were forced to work in brothels during World War II, but late last year, Prime Minister Shinzo Abes administration issued $8.1 million to fund a foundation to support surviving comfort women.

One caveat the Japanese required was that the South Korean government refrain from discussing the comfort women issue in the international community or at the United Nations.

Arin.Mikailian@latimes.com

Twitter: @arinmikailian

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The city of Los Angeles has agreed to pay $50,000 to settle a lawsuit brought by a former Los Angeles Police Department detective who was fired after making racially charged remarks during a training session and then sued to get his job back.

The settlement signals the end of a federal lawsuit that Frank Lyga filed last year, alleging the city discriminated against him because he was a white police officer who was wrongfully perceived to be racist.

Lyga was not reinstated as part of the agreement, said Rob Wilcox, a spokesman for the city attorneys office.

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Under the terms of the agreement  signed by Lyga late last month and by a deputy city attorney on Friday  the city admitted no past or present wrongdoing.

Lygas attorney did not immediately respond to messages seeking comment.

Lyga made headlines in 2014 after an audio recording surfaced of remarks he made during a question-and-answer session that followed a November 2013 police training seminar about search warrants. Lyga delivered an expletive-laden rant, calling a prominent black civil rights attorney an ewok, saying a female LAPD captain had been swapped around a bunch of times and describing a lieutenant as a moron.

Lyga also discussed his fatal 1997 shooting of a fellow officer, Kevin Gaines. While off-duty, Gaines became involved in a traffic dispute with Lyga, who was working undercover at the time. Neither man apparently knew the other was a police officer.

The shooting stirred racial tensions within the LAPD. Gaines was black. Lyga is white.

At the end of his lecture during the 2013 training session, Lyga recalled his confrontation with Carl Douglas, the attorney representing Gaines family and the same man Lyga called an ewok. Douglas, Lyga said, had asked if he had any regrets about the shooting.

I said, No, I regret he was alone in the truck at the time, Lyga said. I could have killed a whole truckload of them, and I would have been happy doing it.

After the recording  which had been made secretly by someone at the lecture  surfaced, Lyga admitted some of his remarks were inappropriate and apologized.

But an LAPD disciplinary panel recommended that Chief Charlie Beck fire Lyga, concluding that although Lyga had not been accused of racism, his speech had an underlying racial tone.

Beck sided with the panel, but Lygas attorney said the detective retired before the department could terminate him. Lyga had worked for the LAPD for 28 years.

In his lawsuit, Lyga alleged that a black officer would not have been fired for making the same comments, accusing department officials of being motivated by political pressure from the African American community.

kate.mather@latimes.com

Follow me on Twitter: @katemather

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For years, Long Beach has debated how to remake one of its busiest and most important crossroads.

The corner of Pacific Coast Highway and 2nd Street is already home to two shopping centers and serves as the eastern gateway to the Alamitos Bay Marina and the beach communities of Naples and Belmont Shore. Its also home to a sprawling wetlands dotted with oil wells.

Developers have long seen potential in the southeastern tip of Long Beach, but previous efforts to build condo towers and other developments have been pushed back by residents who like the area the way it is.

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The future is likely to become clearer in coming months as Long Beach officials consider sweeping zoning changes that could pave the way for new residential units, retail shops and taller buildings.

The plan would allow for mixed-use developments along Pacific Coast Highway but also protect portions of the Los Cerritos Wetlands. The blueprint could be the first significant zoning change to the region since 1977, allowing for buildings of up to seven stories and significantly denser development.

Long Beach is the latest of several Southern California beach communities to grapple with increasing density. Huntington Beach recently added several new hotel and shopping center projects south of its landmark pier. And Santa Monica is now debating efforts to increase development, including several new towers. Until now, much of Long Beachs high-density development has been in its downtown area, which is dotted with offices and residential towers.

Randy Gordon, president and chief executive of the Long Beach Chamber of Commerce, says the proposal for east Long Beach could bring more jobs and businesses to the city, particularly higher-end retailers. Currently, he said, Long Beach residents need to go to upscale shopping malls like South Coast Plaza in Costa Mesa and Los Cerritos Center in Cerritos for that type of shopping.

Id rather take the chance to have a little more traffic as a trade-off for much nicer amenities, he said.

But some residents are concerned about the plan and its estimate of up to 8,600 additional residents moving to the region.

Longtime resident Jan Hall served on the City Council from 1978 to 1990 and is among those upset about the plans potential effect on traffic, population and building heights. Under the proposal, building heights could double.

Im very concerned about the height of buildings because theyre so out of character with the rest of the area, she said, adding that the plan changes whats special about this end of town.

The proposed maximum building heights for mixed-use parcels vary, and most properties within southeast Long Beach will not be affected by zoning changes.

For example, the rectangular piece of land between 2nd Street, Shopkeeper Road, East Marina Drive and a portion of Studebaker Road, which is bisected by Pacific Coast Highway, could support buildings up to seven stories if hotel use is included in the projects.

Properties on the southeast corner of Pacific Coast Highway and Loynes Drive  including the Best Western Golden Sails Hotel and Gaslamp  could be up to five stories if they contain hotel use.

The plan envisions sidewalks and bike lanes along Pacific Coast Highway and surrounding roads. It also would require some developments near marinas or waterways to establish at least a 25-foot promenade that the public could use.

Elizabeth Lambe, executive director of the advocacy-based Los Cerritos Wetlands Trust, has worries about possible light and noise pollution affecting the wetlands. She hopes tall buildings will not affect wildlife traveling between the wetlands and bay.

We want to make sure theres adequate buffers for any development that goes up against the wetlands, she said.

The buffers are typically 100-foot-long portions of land separating the wetlands from surrounding developments, but they may be shortened depending on the project, according to the city.

Its not the first time there have been proposed changes near 2nd Street and Pacific Coast Highway. A plan to replace the Seaport Marina Hotel with a $320-million development that included a 12-story tower was narrowly rejected by the City Council in 2011.

The new plan must be approved by the planning commission and City Council before it can go before the California Coastal Commission.

During a public comment period last year, close to 50 agencies, businesses and residents expressed concerns about the project, including its potential effects on traffic.

My biggest concerns about the proposed plan is that it seems to have density in an area that has really bad traffic, said Linda Pemberton, a longtime resident who has attended many community meetings on the plan.

Pemberton supports updating the current zoning plan, but she isnt in favor of high density.

Christopher Koontz, a Long Beach planning officer working on the plan, has heard complaints about the project too, but feels its time for the plan to be updated.

We can create spaces that will be attractive and will enjoy a lot of public amenities, he said, adding, no one is disputing that its a major change.

Councilwoman Suzie Price, whose district includes southeast Long Beach, said she has remained neutral on the plan. She and the rest of the nine-member City Council are expected to vote on the plan on Dec. 6.

The planning commission will hold a study session on the environmental impact report for the public on Aug. 18.

shane.newell@latimes.com

Follow me on Twitter @journoshane.

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A Malibu woman who alleges she was doused with beer and threatened by a group of territorial surfers in Palos Verdes Estates is among a group of plaintiffs who filed suit against the so-called Lunada Bay Boys this week in Los Angeles Superior Court.

In a class-action suit filed Thursday, Diana Milena Reed and fellow plaintiffs allege that the Bay Boys have violated the California Coastal Act by blocking public access to a coveted stretch of sand by assaulting beachgoers, vandalizing their property and threatening to kill them.

The city of Palos Verdes Estates and the citys police chief, Jeff Kepley, are also named as defendants in the 38-page lawsuit. According to the plaintiffs, the city tolerated the alleged behavior and police did little to stop it.

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The lawsuit is related to a federal class-action suit, filed by the same parties in March, that asks a judge to require the wealthy city to investigate and prosecute crimes by the Bay Boys.

A federal judge declined to hear plaintiffs claims regarding the Coastal Act, a state law, documents show. The state-court lawsuit was filed this week to address those allegations.

The plaintiffs brought the lawsuits to open access to a beach that was stolen 40 years ago by a bunch of trust-fund bullies, Victor Otten, an attorney on the case, said in an email Friday. The plaintiffs are confident they will succeed in making Lunada Bay public again.

Ed Richards, an attorney with the Los Angeles firm Kutak Rock LLP who is representing Palos Verdes Estates, said the lawsuits claims regarding the Coastal Act are unfounded.

Its always easy to make allegations and file a lawsuit ... but there is simply no basis to these allegations that the city is failing to enforce the law, Richards said.

He called police very proactive in monitoring the beach.

For years, beachgoers have accused the Bay Boys, some of whom are reportedly middle-aged, of bombarding non-locals with dirt clods, slashing their tires and assaulting them in the water  sometimes coordinating attacks with walkie-talkies and group text messages  to keep them away from the prized waves.

In 2014, someone who tried to organize a Martin Luther King Jr. Day event at Lunada Bay was met in the water by a Bay Boy in blackface and an Afro wig, according to the state lawsuit. The Bay Boy stated: You dont pay enough taxes to be here, the suit says.

Reed said in the suit that she was assaulted earlier this year in retaliation for appearing in photographs accompanying a Times article about the problems. The named plaintiffs in the suit include Reed, El Segundo police Officer Cory Spencer and the Coastal Protection Rangers, a nonprofit group.

Police reports over the years show that an illegal stone fort occupied by the Bay Boys near the waters edge has repeatedly been a site of alleged drug and alcohol use that victims said fueled harassment of outsiders.

The crudely built structure was allegedly constructed years ago by the group and used as a party spot and outpost for coordinating harassment of outsiders. It features stone and concrete masonry, paved steps, seating areas and a fire pit.

The California Coastal Commission in June threatened legal action to force Palos Verdes Estates to improve public access at Lunada Bay and told the city to submit a plan to either dismantle the fort or obtain permits for it.

In July, city officials voted to have the structure dismantled with jackhammers and to have the pieces carried away. The City Councils unanimous decision came despite opposition from residents who told them not to buckle in the face of the Coastal Commission. One resident, urging the city to preserve the structure, said the Bay Boys are not a gang. It is a club.

On July 14, after the vote, the City Council said in a statement that officials were processing requirements to demolish the structure.

In the meantime, the City and its Police Department maintain their focus on ensuring all public areas, including Lunada Bay, remain safe, accessible and enjoyed by all who live, visit and work in the community, the council wrote.

City officials have criticized the media, saying news outlets fueled reports that they and police officers were ignoring criminal activity.

Recent images and statements cast by the news media are false and misleading, Mayor Jennifer King said in a May letter to the editor of the Palos Verdes Peninsula News. We encourage the public not to jump to conclusions based on a few statements taken out of context or a few false inflammatory allegations raised in a lawsuit.

The city, she wrote, is one of the safest communities in Southern California.

hailey.branson@latimes.com

Twitter: @haileybranson

Times staff writer Garrett Therolf contributed to this story.

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UPDATES:

3:40 p.m.: This article was updated with an interview with attorney Ed Richards.

This article was originally published at 1:25 p.m.
A man stabbed his adult stepson to death in a family dispute at their Simi Valley home Thursday night, authorities said.

Simi Valley police received a call from inside the house in the 2200 block of Hietter Avenue at 11:25 p.m. Paramedics and fire department officials were sent to the home, where 28-year-old Kelly Hughes was pronounced dead. Hughess stepfather, Howard Novak, 62, did not resist arrest and was taken in for questioning.

An investigation revealed that during an argument, Novak stabbed Hughes in the abdomen and the chest with a knife, killing him.

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Cmdr. Joseph May reported that there had been no prior calls for service from that house.

Neighbors reportedly said that Novak has been a volunteer for the Los Angeles Police Department.

Law enforcement officials investigate a fatal stabbing at a Simi Valley home. (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times )

May said that according to neighbors, Novak was a civilian volunteer, so he wasnt under oath as a reserve or sworn officer.

The Simi Valley Police Department Detective Bureau is conducting the investigation with assistance from Ventura County Sheriffs Office crime scene investigators.

Part of the investigation is to canvas the neighborhood, and talk to neighbors to find out more information, May said.

Officials believe that the suspect, his wife and stepson lived in the house together.

May described the crime scene.

Outside it looks like a normal neighborhood with the exception of a bunch of police cars, a police mobile command center and a bunch of news trucks, May said. The street is closed off so you cant get through.

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In an instant, another day at work at a Venice construction site became a scene of horror.

Marvin Ponce was at the end of his shift about 4 p.m. Wednesday and cleaning up traffic control equipment when a man dressed in black approached him, aimed a chrome revolver and opened fire.

Ponce, 37, was pronounced dead at the scene, according to Los Angeles Police Officer Tony Im.

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His body lay in the street at 7th Avenue and Brooks Court, clad in a fluorescent work vest, as police and coroners officials descended on the scene.

Co-workers at Right of Way, a San Dimas company that provides traffic control for construction sites, film shoots and other events, said Ponce was a cherished employee who left behind a 1-year-old daughter.

Marvin was a family man, and he worked hard to take care of his family, especially his daughter, said Mario Recinos, a co-worker and close friend. He was never negative, always gave positive advice and always had a big smile on his face.

Ponce, a resident of San Fernando, had worked at the company for three years. The shooting happened on the companys first day at the construction site in the Oakwood section of Venice, a neighborhood bounded by Lincoln and Abbot Kinney boulevards with a legacy of gang violence.

On Thursday, Ponces family members gathered at the crime scene to place flowers. Some embraced and wiped away tears.

He was never late  and treated all of his co-workers with respect, said Wes Molino, the companys president. He was a model employee and more importantly, a good man.

In a statement, a spokeswoman for Right of Way said the company was helping LAPD detectives with the investigation.

After the shooting, the gunman fled west on Brooks Court. Police described the shooter as a black man 25 to 30 years old. He wore gray shorts, a black hooded sweatshirt and black glasses, according to LAPD Officer Norma Eisenman.

The gunman was described as wearing a mask, Eisenman said.

Investigators canvassed the streets around the construction site, but the shooter remains at large.

Police briefly detained a person for questioning in connection with the shooting but determined that person was not the assailant, Eisenman said.

The slaying of Ponce was the sixth homicide in Venice during the last 12 months, according to The Times Homicide Report database.

For more news in California, follow @MattHjourno.

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Former Istanbul governor Huseyin Avni Mutlu was arrested by a court early Friday in connection to the failed coup attempt launched by a small military junta linked to the Gulenist Terror Organization (FETO). The court in Istanbul arrested the former official for his links to the terrorist organization.

As part of an ongoing investigation several police units conducted a search at Mutlu's residence in the early hours of July 26, before he was detained by security forces. He was among 246 governors and district governors who were suspended from duty by the Ministry of Interior following the coup attempt.

Mutlu served as governor of the Istanbul province between 2010 and 2014, after which he took a post with the Interior Ministry as a civilian authority.

Police operations targeting the military in 2010 with Sledgehammer (Balyoz) coup plot allegations and government officials in December 17 and 25, 2013 were conducted during Mutlu's term. Both cases were launched by police officers and prosecutors linked to the FETO. Sentences given to active and retired military officers using fake or illegally gathered evidence were overruled by Turkey's Constitutional Court in Sledgehammer case, while a retrial ruled for the acquittal of all suspects.

The Gezi Park protests, which started as a small environmental protest in Istanbul's Taksim Square and turned into a nationwide unrest after heavy police crackdown, also took place during Mutlu's term in Istanbul.

Turkey's top judicial body, the Supreme Board of Judges and Prosecutors (HSYK), also ordered the detention of 2,745 Gulen-linked judges and prosecutors, while two members of the Constitutional Court were detained for involvement in the failed coup attempt.

At least 2,839 pro-coup members of the military, including 29 colonels and over 40 generals, have been detained across Turkey.

As a result of the attempted coup, 264 people were killed, including police officers and civilians, while over 2.000 others were injured. Some 24 pro-coup figures were also killed.
Hundreds of law enforcement officers from all over the country and thousands of others converged on El Cajon on Friday for the second of two services for the San Diego police officer who was killed in the line of duty last week.

The memorial service for Jonathan De Guzman began at 11 a.m. at the Shadow Mountain Community Church. Gov. Jerry Brown, California Atty. Gen. Kamala Harris, Sen. Dianne Feinstein and San Diego Mayor Kevin Faulconer were some of the officials attending.

The church and its satellite rooms have the capacity to hold 4,100 people and church officials say the premises were filled to capacity and believe that some 4,500 people are among the standing-room-only crowd.

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Harris and Faulconer as well as San Diego Police Chief Shelley Zimmerman were to speak, as will De Guzmans 17-year-old son and 10-year-old daughter.

The church provided a live feed of the solemn ceremony, which can be seen here.

De Guzman was gunned down last week when he and his partner Wade Irwin were met with immediate gunfire after Irwin asked a pedestrian a question. Irwin survived the shooting, and despite taking a bullet to the throat, he was able to fire back and wound the gunman, police said.

The 43-year-old came to the United States from the Philippines when he was 20 years old. De Guzman met his wife, Mary Jane, in 1993 and the couple married in 1998.

De Guzman started working for the San Diego Police Department in 2000. He worked on patrol in the Mid City, Northern and Central divisions before joining the gang suppression team in 2010. He was also a member of the departments SWAT unit. He was awarded several honors for service including the Purple Heart after he was stabbed during a traffic stop.

His funeral was held on Thursday, where Zimmermans words about her officer, colleague and friend brought her and the mourners to tears.

Friday there will be more prayers and more tears as De Guzmans wife, children, extended family, fellow officers and people who never knew De Guzman but wanted to honor his sacrifice, say their goodbyes at the service that was preceded by a miles-long procession that began at 9 a.m. at Qualcomm Stadium in Mission Valley.

Some 127 motor officers with red and blue lights flashing led the motorcade as it made its way from Mission Valley to El Cajon before it passed under a huge American flag hoisted by fire engines outside the church. They were followed by the hearse carrying De Guzmans casket and the cars carrying his family and then by hundreds of patrol vehicles from many different law enforcement agencies.

The police department has issued an advisory to drivers that traffic will be heavily affected by the motorcade after the service to Glen Abbey Cemetery in Bonita, where De Guzman will be laid to rest.
Federal prosecutors on Thursday presented evidence in court that Mexican tycoon Jose Susumo Azano Matsura paid for a campaign services company to work on behalf of the 2012 mayoral campaign of San Diego County District Attorney Bonnie Dumanis.

That evidence included testimony from a former employee of Ravneet Singh  owner of campaign services company ElectionMall  who said Singh told him that Azano was paying for the work on the Dumanis campaign. Emails from ElectionMall employees and invoices sent to a Mexican company owned by Azano also filled out a picture of an alleged effort hatched in early 2012 to support Dumanis flagging campaign for mayor. Its illegal for a foreign national such as Azano to contribute money to a domestic election. Azano, Singh, Azanos son Edward and lobbyist Marco Polo Cortes are all charged with conspiracy to funnel hundreds of thousands of dollars in cash and services to local campaigns.

The donations supported the 2012 San Diego mayoral campaigns of Dumanis, Bob Filner and Rep. Juan Vargas for Congress, according to the federal complaint.

Prosecutors in the case contend Azanos funding of the work was one of several ways he used his considerable wealth to try to influence the mayoral campaign. Singh  whose company had done similar campaign work for Azano on behalf of a candidate in the Mexican presidential election  was recruited into San Diego to help.

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The work Singh did was not disclosed on campaign filings by the Dumanis campaign, apparently because the campaign believed Singh was volunteering his time. The government said that Singh and Azano conspired together to hide the source of the funds, and Azanos role.

Dumanis campaign chief Jennifer Tierney testified that she spoke with Singh the day after Christmas in 2011 and told him the campaign was low on funds.

The day before, Dumanis had sent an email to Tierney and other figures in the campaign, excitedly talking about a conference call she was on involving Azano.

In the email Dumanis said Azano was wealthy and that it was unclear if Singh wanted to do some volunteer advising or some form of paid work. She then wrote that Singh apparently flew to SD just to talk with Mr. A who wanted him to talk to me!

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Tierney testified that Singh initially offered to do work for $995 per month, but she said that was too high. He dropped the price to $495, but the two sides never reached a formal agreement.

Tierney said that she told Singh he could provide voluntary help to the campaign  but could not allow anyone in his company to work on the project unless they, too, were volunteers.

Over the next several months, the campaign website was redesigned by ElectionMall, which frequently corresponded with the campaign by email. Singhs lawyer, Michael Lipman, pressed Tierney about this period  saying that while campaign officials were aware the website was being worked on, they never received a bill.

Tierney said that she thought the work was being done by ElectionMall employees volunteering, as she had explained to Singh. She said that Singh had talked about doing the work voluntarily in order to break into the San Diego market.

During that time Ron Nehring, the former head of the county and state Republican Party who was working on the Dumanis campaign, exchanged emails about the website redesign with ElectionMall workers.

Nehring also testified Thursday and said he always thought that Singh and his company were being paid by the campaign. He said he had no reason to believe that Singh was volunteering and assumed the company was being paid.

The apparently murky knowledge among Dumanis campaigners about the ElectionMall work was in stark contrast to what was understood in the company. Aaron Ronsheim, a former director of Web strategy for the company, testified Singh told him flat out the campaign was not paying  but Mr. A. paid for some of the work on the Bonnie Dumanis campaign.

In an email from March 2012, another ElectionMall employee referred an attached invoice for the betty boo project  the code name Singh used for the Dumanis campaign, prosecutors contend. The invoice was for $100,000  an amount the email said was $25,000 more than previously billed a month earlier, but that Mr. A verbally agreed to the increase.

Dumanis has said she was unaware of the source of the money. She has not been called to testify, and is not on the witness list.

Greg Moran is a staff writer for the San Diego Union-Tribune.

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The prosecutor spent 10 months investigating a mysterious blaze that killed six people at a Brooklyn drug den.

She pored over scientific evidence suggesting arson, dissected witness accounts pointing to the guilt of three men and eventually unearthed a shocking deathbed confession that proved vital to cracking the case.

When her review was done, Lisa Perlman felt confident she had assembled a solid case and was ready to take it to a judge.

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These men, she told the court, were innocent.

Perlman is not your average prosecutor. As a member of the Conviction Review Unit in the Brooklyn district attorneys office, she doesnt put people behind bars; she sets them free. The novel legal unit is tasked with identifying questionable old cases, reviewing prosecutions and overturning wrongful or unfair convictions.

In the last two years, the assistant district attorney and her eight colleagues have overturned 20 convictions ranging from burglary to murder, including the 1981 arson convictions of the three men.

The books never close on these cases, said Mark Hale, Perlmans boss and chief of the unit.

It was clear this was someone making stuff up, and she couldnt keep track of it all.  Lisa Perlman, prosecutor

The Brooklyn office is part of a growing national trend among prosecutors, including those in Los Angeles and Chicago, who have established teams to assess and rectify problematic convictions. Last year, there were 24 such units nationwide, double the number in 2013 and four times as many as in 2011, according to the National Registry of Exonerations at the University of Michigan Law School.

Its a common-sense realization that in any sort of system which is so reliant on human factors, that people are going to make mistakes, Hale said. And maybe these mistakes cant all be remedied. But if we dont seek to remedy those mistakes, then we arent doing our jobs.

The Brooklyn unit was established in 2011 by former longtime Dist. Atty. Charles J. Hynes. It was relatively small, with just two attorneys who juggled other assignments.

Three years later, newly elected Dist. Atty. Ken Thompson beefed up the squad, in part to address a scandal involving a retired homicide detective whose repeated reliance on the same drug-addicted witness had already led to several wrongful convictions being overturned. Thompson gave the unit a $1.1-million budget and tapped Hale, a veteran homicide prosecutor, to run it full time. With nine full-time assistant district attorneys, including himself, and three investigators, Hale now oversees the largest such unit in the nation.

Wrongful convictions not only destroy the lives of the wrongfully convicted and their families, but they also undermine the integrity of the criminal justice system, Thompson said. We as prosecutors should not be dragged kicking and screaming down the road about wrongful convictions.

Not everyone embraced their efforts. The team got strange looks and tough questions from colleagues who viewed them as an internal affairs squad working to free convicts who had been tried by other prosecutors. But Hale and his unit have worked hard to win them over by not emphasizing their colleagues and former prosecutors mistakes, or assigning blame in public.

Most often the wrongful convictions stemmed from a series of overlapping errors by police and witnesses, or from prosecutors taking a case to trial that would not be brought under todays legal, evidentiary or ethical standards.

We have found people who made judgment errors, Hale said. We have discovered that these wrongful convictions resulted from those errors and a few bad calls by a judge or slipshod defense work and maybe some borderline ethical practices that were not intentional but certainly reckless and careless.

Since launching, the unit has selected 160 cases to examine and has finished reviews of about 60, including the 20 exonerations.

Some cases were relatively easy  tracking down a witness who admitted she lied about seeing a man leave her apartment with her television, or discovering a receipt in an evidence file that proved a defendant could not have committed a 1989 slaying. In May, they formally cleared an 81-year-old man whose 1964 conviction was so questionable his sentence had already been commuted. Their work allowed him to vote again.

But the unit quickly found that most of the low-hanging fruit -- cases easily overturned by DNA testing -- had already been culled from shelves.

Whats left is a sad echo of the street violence that ravaged New York and many other cities decades ago. Such prosecutions sometimes hung on the testimony of disreputable witnesses or were overseen by beleaguered detectives and prosecutors.

Finding the errors, let alone correcting them, can be time-consuming and tedious.

In the arson fire that killed a young mother and five of her children, outdated science provided the first break in reversing murder convictions of the three men  Amaury Villalobos, now 67, William Vasquez, 78, and Raymond Mora, who died in 1989 at the age of 44.

All were sentenced to life in prison, though Villalobos and Vasquez were paroled in 2012. They declined to comment through their lawyers.

New York Law School professor Adele Bernhard led the effort to clear Villalobos name, bringing the case to the Brooklyn prosecutors attention in April 2015.

Bernhard pointed out that a fire marshal had provided crucial testimony that someone had intentionally set the inferno that tore through the three-story townhouse in Brooklyn. But using modern science, experts today concluded that the burn patterns did not necessarily indicate the presence of an accelerant, as the fire marshal had testified. It might also have been caused by a flash over in an accidental fire.

That was a start, but Perlman needed more. She examined hundreds of pages of case files, transcripts and crime-scene photographs.

One thing kept bothering her: The men were implicated almost entirely based on the eyewitness account of landlord Hannah Quick, a drug dealer who ran the building as a shooting gallery for addicts, Perlman said.

And Quicks account kept changing. She testified at trial she saw the three men leave about 1 a.m., moments before she heard a boom and realized the townhouse was ablaze. She claimed the men were angry over a drug deal and a dispute over the alleged theft by one of the men of her 13-year-old sons jacket.

Looking closer, Perlman discovered several discrepancies in Quicks recollections in the hours after she was initially interviewed. In one account, she heard the explosion while standing at the window; in another she was in the bedroom. Another time there was no mention at all of a boom.

It was clear this was someone making stuff up, and she couldnt keep track of it all, Perlman said.

Perlman was disappointed to learn that Quick had died months earlier at the age of 76. They next canvassed her neighborhood and were alarmed at what they heard: Quick was an alcoholic and an inveterate liar.

One of her daughters, Perlman said, told us that she lied so much that she couldnt tell when her mom was telling the truth.

To Perlman, it was compelling, but not quite enough to prove innocence. Then came a break that tipped the scales. She tracked down another of Quicks daughters, who had been a teenager at the time of the fire.

Upon meeting Perlman, the woman almost immediately began to sob, saying her dying mother had confessed to lying about the men setting the blaze.

Those men, they didnt do that fire, the daughter recalled her mother saying just weeks before her death. They went to jail for something they didnt do.

As she left the interview, Perlman flashed back to the prisoners parole transcripts. The first four times times Villalobos and Vasquez appeared before the parole board, they were denied their freedom because they refused to accept responsibility for setting the fire. They kept claiming they were innocent.

It was heartbreaking, Perlman said. I was reading this transcript, and you could hear the men straining to say they were innocent and nobody was hearing them.

In December, Perlman and Hale went to court, and a judge erased the convictions.

@delwilber

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President Obama said Thursday that defeating Islamic State was inevitable, but he warned that the terrorist network is likely to focus increasingly on attacking Western targets.

Speaking at a news conference after a briefing at the Pentagon, Obama said the Sunni Muslim extremist group has suffered so many setbacks on the battlefield that it has begun to concede its goal of holding a permanent territorial footprint in the Middle East.

He said the group, sometimes referred to as ISIS or ISIL, is adapting by pursuing high-profile attacks in Europe and elsewhere, even if they are less deadly than the coordinated Al Qaeda plots of a decade or so ago.

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What ISIL has figured out is that if they can convince a handful of people or even one person to carry out an attack at a subway or a parade or some other public venue, and kill scores of people as opposed to thousands of people, it still creates the kind of fear and concern that elevates their profile, Obama said.

Rooting out these networks for smaller, less complicated attacks is tougher, he added, and requires greater intelligence gathering and cooperation among allies. But he said he was confident in his administrations strategy.

It is so important for us to keep our eye on the ball and not panic, not succumb to fear, because ISIL cant defeat the United States of America or our NATO partners, he said. We can defeat ourselves, though, if we make that decision.

The Obama administrations counter-terrorism strategy has been one of the key components of Donald Trumps presidential bid.

We are going to defeat the barbarians of ISIS, and were going to defeat them fast, Trump said in his speech accepting the Republican nomination.

Obama used his news conference to offer something of a rebuttal, even if he did not name Trump until reporters asked specifically about him.

The U.S.-led coalition has launched more than 14,000 airstrikes against Islamic State targets in Iraq and Syria, the president said. He named senior leaders who have been killed, as well as cities and towns where the militants advance has been reversed.

ISIL turns out not to be invincible, he said. Theyre, in fact, inevitably going to be defeated.

The president conceded the complexity of the challenge in Syria, where the multi-sided 5-year-old civil war is a major impediment to finding and killing the militants.

He said Russia has shown deplorable conduct by supporting Syrian President Bashar Assads government, and said it raises serious questions about Moscows commitment to ending the crisis.

Im pretty confident that a big chunk of my gray hair comes out of my Syria meetings, said Obama, who turned 55 on Thursday.

michael.memoli@latimes.com

For more White House coverage, follow @mikememoli on Twitter.

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George Zimmerman says he was punched in the face after talking about the Trayvon Martin case at a Florida restaurant over the weekend, officials said.

Zimmerman said he was at Gators Riverside Grille in Sanford on Sunday evening when he walked by a table with several people and complimented a mans Confederate flag tattoos, according to the Seminole County Sheriffs Office.

The man, Joseph Whitmer, thanked him and asked, Arent you that guy? Zimmerman said yes and pulled out his ID to prove it, an incident report shows.

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Whitmer asked about the Trayvon Martin case and, as Zimmerman started to explain that he fatally shot the unarmed teen in self-defense, another man walked up and asked, Youre bragging about that?

Zimmerman told that man he wasnt, but the man said, You better get ... out of here, the report shows.

 George Zimmerman calls 911 from Gators Riverside Grille in Sanford, Florida and says he was punched in the face by a patron.

Zimmerman told deputies he went back to his table where several of his friends were eating.

Several minutes later, the man, who was identified only as Eddie, walked over to his table and, cursing, said, Didnt I tell you to get  out of here? the report states.

Zimmerman told the man he wasnt looking for trouble, and the man punched him in the face, breaking his glasses, records say.

Restaurant staffers broke up the scuffle. Zimmerman then called 911.

This man just punched me in the face, he told a dispatcher.

He said he was going to kill me, Zimmerman continued. You need to send three or four cops.

He said the man and about five of his friends were holding him back. The man then fled on a blue Harley-Davidson motorcycle. A Sheriffs Office spokeswoman said deputies were still attempting to locate the man, who could face battery charges.

Zimmerman told the dispatcher he was injured and needed paramedics.

I dont know where Im bleeding from. My face is bloody, he said.

Several witnesses told deputies a slightly different version of events.

Whitmers wife said Zimmerman approached them while they were eating and said, Hey, I like your racist tattoos, records show. He then told them about killing Martin to brag, a report states.

Another witness who was at Whitmers table said he also asked Zimmerman to leave their table. He said he took issue after Zimmerman came to his table and proceeded to brag about how he was the one who killed Trayvon Martin, an incident report states.

Zimmerman told the Sentinel he thinks the incident was a miscommunication. He said the man was apparently intoxicated.

Zimmerman was acquitted of murder in the 2012 shooting death of Trayvon Martin.

He said he thinks the man thought he was Matthew Apperson, who was accused of shooting at Zimmerman during a road-rage confrontation in May 2015 in Lake Mary.

Zimmerman said the man told him to go away and accused him of shooting George Zimmerman, prompting the fight.

Gators Riverside owner Ed Winters told a different story.

He said the incident started when Zimmerman approached a shirtless patron who had just come in from the St. Johns River and told him he didnt like one of his tattoos. After a few words, Zimmerman walked back to his table.

A friend of the first man to approach Zimmerman  who was at the restaurant with family celebrating a 12-year-olds birthday  walked over to Zimmerman to confront him, Winters said.

The two argued, but no punches were thrown, Winters said. The two shoved each other, but Winters said claims of anything further are blown out of proportion.

Winters said Zimmerman called 911, prompting a full-fledged response from police and the Fire Department.

Zimmerman had been to the restaurant at least once before the incident. Winters said Gators Riverside asked him not to come back after Sundays incident.

Everywhere this guy goes he causes controversy, Winters said. Youd think hed keep a low profile.

Hayes and Doornbos write for the Orlando Sentinel.

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Defying critics, Trump says U.S. might abandon allies attacked by Russia or North Korea

Donald Trump called Hillary Clinton dumb on Friday for saying the United States should defend allies under military attack by Russia or North Korea even if they have failed to pay in full for U.S. protection.

The Republican presidential nominee renewed his threat to abandon U.S. allies in Europe and Japan, saying, You always have to be prepared to walk.

I dont think wed walk, Trump told supporters at a rally in Des Moines, Iowa. I dont think its going to be necessary. It could be, though. It could be that Japan will have to defend itself against North Korea.

Trump complained that Japan, Germany and other allies dont pay anywhere near what it costs to defend them. So the U.S. should threaten to break its obligation to defend NATO members under attack by Russia, he said.

Russias plenty tough, but we got to  you got to go with the punches folks, Trump said. We got to do what we have to do. We have to make it good, and you always have to be prepared to walk.

Trumps remarks followed weeks of criticism by both Democrats and fellow Republicans over his sympathetic approach to Russian President Vladimir Putin. Former acting CIA Director Michael Morell argued Friday in a New York Times op-ed piece endorsing Clinton that Putin had effectively recruited Trump as an unwitting agent of Russia by flattering him with compliments.

At the Iowa rally, Trump mocked his Democratic rival and unnamed eggheads who say the U.S. must honor its defense pacts regardless of whether allies pay in full for protection.

Once the allies hear her dumb talk, because its dumb, why would they ever pay? Trump asked.

Describing the United States as mired in debt, Trump repeated his inaccurate assertion that America is one of the highest taxed nations in the world. In a ranking of tax burdens around the globe, the CIAs World Factbook lists the United States as No. 171 out of 219 countries.

Trump called Clinton the queen of corruption. If she wins, he argued, it would bring the destruction of this country from within. He responded to chants of Lock her up! by saying, Thank you.

At a time when critics charge that Trump lacks the temperament needed for a commander in chief, he also alleged that Clinton was unbalanced and pretty close to unhinged.
The U.S. Supreme Courts 2010 ruling in Citizens United vs. FEC opened the floodgates of corporate and special-interest election spending, but at least it underscored and promoted the importance of disclosure and transparency. Knowing the source of campaign money allows voters to make informed decisions and give proper weight to different speakers and messages, the court wrote.

The ruling could be read as an invitation to Congress to expose political dark money to the light with stringent disclosure laws  but its an invitation that Congress has yet to accept in any meaningful way.

It could soon be a different story in California, where the Assembly has passed, and the Senate is now considering, a bill to require campaign ads and other materials to identify the source of donated funds.

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Some donors make the somewhat specious claim that their identities are already fully exposed. In a ballot measure ad, for example, state law requires the campaign to say something like Paid for by Yes on Prop 80, Citizens for a Better World, with major funding from the Better Universe PAC. Not very illuminating in itself, but a voter can go to the secretary of states website and find out that the Better Planet PAC gets all of its funding from, say, billionaire Mortimer Moneybags or from Envirodestroy Inc. Isnt that enough?

No. Most voters dont have the time or energy or knowledge to do that kind of homework, especially given how quickly these ads come and go. If disclosure should be required anyway  and it should, for the reasons articulated by the high court in Citizens United  it makes sense to cut through the obfuscation and shed a little light on dark money with a disclosure that reads more like this: Paid for by Yes on Prop 80, Citizens for a Better World. This committee has major funding from Mortimer Moneybags. Now you know who is really funding the message and you can consider it in that context.

Much of the bill  AB 700, by Democratic Assemblymen Jimmy Gomez of Los Angeles and Marc Levine of Marin and Sonoma Counties  deals with technical details such as font sizes and screen time, but those things also focus on giving voters meaningful information about political communications. It is an incremental but worthy proposal, unfortunately limited to California. The Senate should pass it and send it to the governor, and in so doing send Congress the message that it has some catching up to do.

Follow the Opinion section on Twitter @latimesopinion and Facebook
After a judge slapped him with a domestic violence restraining order stemming from accusations that he beat his wife, Assemblyman Roger Hernandez lost his committee chairmanship and was stripped of his other assignments in the Legislature. Colleagues withdrew their endorsements of him, hurting his bid for Congress. And prominent Democrats called on Hernandez to drop out of the congressional race and resign his Assembly seat.

The passage of Proposition 50 in June gives Hernandezs colleagues another tool to punish him: They can suspend him from the Legislature without pay. But just because they can doesnt mean they should.

As awful as the accusations against Hernandez are  and they are terrible  the fact is that he hasnt been charged with a crime, much less convicted of one.

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Proposition 50 was passed in response to scandals in the California Senate in 2014, when one lawmaker was convicted of voter fraud and perjury and two others were facing serious charges of corruption. After much debate, the Senate voted to suspend all three, but lawmakers  and members of the public  were unhappy that the booted legislators would continue to collect a paycheck and receive benefits while on suspension. Thats because the state Constitution did not allow members to suspend one another without pay.

In response, then-Senate President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg and his colleagues drafted Proposition 50, which explicitly allowed the Legislature to suspend members without pay if two-thirds of their colleagues voted to do so. It was a pitched as a commonsense good-government reform. Why should lawmakers get a paid vacation if theyre accused of violating the public trust? The measure passed easily with 75% support.

Hernandez is the first test of Proposition 50, and his case demonstrates the problems with the new law  which The Times opposed when it was on the ballot.

First, lawmakers now have the ability to cut off a colleagues salary without due process. As awful as the accusations against Hernandez are  and they are terrible  the fact is that he hasnt been charged with a crime, much less convicted of one. A judge merely listened to testimony from Hernandez and his ex-wife, Baldwin Park City Councilwoman Susan Rubio, and found Rubios concerns about her safety credible. (Hernandez testified that he never hit his wife.) The judge ordered Hernandez to stay away from her for three years.

It seems unfair to deny Hernandez his livelihood on the basis of an accusation that has not been tested in a criminal trial.

The second problem is that Proposition 50 allowed legislators to withhold a colleagues pay, but it set no rules or criteria for when such a punishment is justified, or how it should be applied.

Lawmakers now have a very powerful tool, but no real idea how to wield it.

Follow the Opinion section on Twitter @latimesopinion and Facebook
Early on a January morning in 1996, Jeff Wood sat in a borrowed pickup truck while his friend Daniel Reneau entered a convenience store in Kerrville, Texas, ostensibly to buy snacks. Instead, Reneau shot and killed the clerk. Six years later, Reneau was put to death for the killing, and now Texas wants to execute Wood under its law of parties, which holds people criminally liable in some cases if they aid or encourage others in committing a crime  even though trial testimony showed that Wood did not know Reneau was carrying a gun or planning to rob the store.

Wood is by no means an innocent man. He and Reneau had previously discussed with two friends who worked at the store, including the future victim, how they could make off with cash kept in a small office safe. Their first feeble attempt failed when clerk Kris Keeran, who had backed away from the earlier theft planning, discovered and secured an office door that Reneau had surreptitiously pried open.

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Wood and Reneau went home and a few hours later left again, planning to stop at the store for snacks en route to returning a borrowed pickup truck to Woods brother. Wood told Reneau to leave his gun home because the plan to steal the safe was off, but Reneau sneaked a .22-caliber handgun into his pants anyway. At the store, Wood sat in the truck as Reneau entered, privately intending to scare Keeran into giving him the safe. Keeran balked; Reneau shot him once in the face, killing him. The gunshot drew Wood into the store where Reneau, still armed, ordered Wood to remove the store security tapes as Reneau took the safe.

There were a lot of problems with Woods trial, including the fact that it occurred at all after an initial finding that he suffered from delusions and had an IQ of 80  and was therefore incompetent to help in his own defense. Whats more, he received ineffective counsel and he was convicted, in part, on the testimony of a disreputable psychiatrist who argued that Wood posed a future violent threat  prerequisite for the death penalty in Texas  even though the psychiatrist never interviewed him. Those are significant but separate issues from the effort to execute Wood under the rarely invoked law of parties. According to the Death Penalty Information Center, since 1985 only 10 people have been executed nationwide who did not themselves commit a murder or contract with another to commit it, and half of those cases were in Texas.

While Wood may have been involved with plotting a theft, and perhaps was an accessory after the fact to the robbery-murder, it would be unconscionable and likely unconstitutionally cruel and unusual to execute someone with such an attenuated connection to the capital crime itself.

Follow the Opinion section on Twitter @latimesopinion and Facebook
The conventions are over and the general election has officially begun. In the primaries, I received 1,846 pledged delegates, 46% of the total. Hillary Clinton received 2,205 pledged delegates, 54%. She received 602 superdelegates. I received 48 superdelegates. Hillary Clinton is the Democratic nominee and I will vigorously support her.

Donald Trump would be a disaster and an embarrassment for our country if he were elected president. His campaign is not based on anything of substance  improving the economy, our education system, healthcare or the environment. It is based on bigotry. He is attempting to win this election by fomenting hatred against Mexicans and Muslims. He has crudely insulted women. And as a leader of the birther movement, he tried to undermine the legitimacy of our first African American president. That is not just my point of view. Thats the perspective of a number of conservative Republicans.

In these difficult times, we need a president who will bring our nation together, not someone who will divide us by race or religion, not someone who lacks an understanding of what our Constitution is about.

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On virtually every major issue facing this country and the needs of working families, Clintons positions are far superior to Trumps. Our campaigns worked together to produce the most progressive platform in the history of American politics. Trumps campaign wrote one of the most reactionary documents.

Clinton understands that Citizens United has undermined our democracy. She will nominate justices who are prepared to overturn that Supreme Court decision, which made it possible for billionaires to buy elections. Her court appointees also would protect a womans right to choose, workers rights, the rights of the LGBT community, the needs of minorities and immigrants and the governments ability to protect the environment.

Trump, on the other hand, has made it clear that his Supreme Court appointees would preserve the courts right-wing majority.

Clinton understands that in a competitive global economy we need the best-educated workforce in the world. She and I worked together on a proposal that will revolutionize higher education in America. It will guarantee that the children of any family in this country with an annual income of $125,000 a year or less  83% of our population  will be able to go to a public college or university tuition free. This proposal also substantially reduces student debt.

See our daily presidential tracking poll 

Trump, on the other hand, has barely said a word about higher education.

Clinton understands that at a time of massive income and wealth inequality, it is absurd to provide huge tax breaks to the very rich.

Trump, on the other hand, wants billionaire families like his to enjoy hundreds of billions of dollars in new tax breaks.

Clinton understands that climate change is real, is caused by human activity and is one of the great environmental crises facing our planet. She knows that we must transform our energy system away from fossil fuels and move aggressively to energy efficiency and sustainable energy.

Trump, on the other hand, like most Republicans, rejects science and the conclusions of almost all major researchers in the field. He believes that climate change is a hoax, and that theres no need to address it.

Clinton understands that this country must move toward universal healthcare. She wants to see that all Americans have the right to choose a public option in their healthcare exchange, that anyone 55 or older should be able to opt in to Medicare, and that we must greatly improve primary healthcare through a major expansion of community health centers. She also wants to lower the outrageously high cost of prescription drugs.

For more on politics 

And what is Donald Trumps position on healthcare? He wants to abolish the Affordable Care Act, throw 20 million people off the health insurance they currently have and cut Medicaid for lower-income Americans.

During the primaries, my supporters and I began a political revolution to transform America. That revolution continues as Hillary Clinton seeks the White House. It will continue after the election. It will continue until we create a government which represents all of us and not just the 1 percent  a government based on the principle of economic, social, racial and environmental justice.

I understand that many of my supporters are disappointed by the final results of the nominating process, but being despondent and inactive is not going to improve anything. Going forward and continuing the struggle is what matters. And, in that struggle, the most immediate task we face is to defeat Donald Trump.

Bernie Sanders is the junior U.S. senator from Vermont.

Follow the Opinion section on Twitter @latimesopinion or Facebook

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Baku, Azerbaijan, Aug.5

Trend:

The US Secretary of State John Kerry will visit Turkey Aug.21, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan told TRT Haber news channel.

Earlier, CNN Turk reported that Kerry will pay a visit to Turkey in late August. The US State Department spokesman Mark Toner said that he cant confirm the information about the visit.

This will be Kerrys first visit to Turkey after the military coup attempt.

On July 15 evening, Turkish authorities said a military coup attempt took place in the country. Meanwhile, a group of servicemen announced about transition of power to them.

However, the rebelling servicemen started to surrender July 16 and Turkish authorities said the coup attempt failed. Turkeys President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that the death toll as a result of the military coup attempt stood at 246 people excluding the coup plotters and over 2,000 people were wounded.

Erdogan declared a three-month state of emergency in Turkey on July 20.
I admittedly dont know much about Melania Trump. During her years in the spotlight as mogul-turned-presidential-candidate Donald Trumps wife, shes managed to keep a relatively low profile.

Before Trump ran for office, I could have told you two things about her: Shes a former model. Shes married to Donald Trump.

Now that Trumps running for office, I can tell you the same two things. And I dont need to know more than that.

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I dont need to know if she has a college degree.

I dont need to know the circumstances of her immigration to this country.

I do need to know if her speechwriter plagiarized from Michele Obamas speech, but only so that the original writer receives attribution.

I dont need to know if she took nude photos.

This information tells me nothing germane to the presidential race.

So am I arguing that in order to stand against sexism were to blindly support all women, regardless of their politics? Absolutely not.

Its classically sexist to pull out someones nude pictures from 20 years ago and pretend they mean something when youre really just out to get clicks. Its classically sexist to view a womans actions as a reflection of her husbands character. We dont need to rake Melania over the coals to make a case against Trumps candidacy.

So am I arguing that in order to take a stand against sexism were to blindly support all women, regardless of their politics? Absolutely not.

Take Sarah Palin, for instance. Sarah Palin was different from Melania in several significant ways. She was running for elected office. She took public positions that would have severely restricted womens choices; she supported a federal constitutional amendment to ban same-sex marriage; she opposed abortion, including in the case of rape and incest. Unlike Melania, Palin has called herself a feminist. She has the right to say that, just as I have the right to say that, in my estimation, she misunderstands the concept. These are the rights our Constitution protects.

Melania is not on the campaign trail railing against womens rights. I chose not to go into politics and policy, she told GQ in April 2016. Those policies are my husbands job. Nobody knows and nobody will ever know.

You can say that all of the information thats emerged about Melania in the past few weeks is germane to the presidential race to the extent that it points to Trumps hypocrisies; for instance, that he shouldnt be spouting vitriol against illegal immigrants if its found that his wife immigrated illegally. Sure, and if this was our first inkling of Trumps hypocrisy, it would be more interesting.

But if youre waiting on information about Melania to tell you whether or not you should vote for Donald Trump, Ill say what Ive said each time a prominent Republican jumped ship this week  the rest wasnt enough for you?

If youre waiting on information about Melania to tell you whether or not you should vote for Donald Trump ... the rest wasnt enough for you?

It wasnt enough for you when Donald Trump called Mexican immigrants criminals and rapists, over a year ago? When he had no idea Putin had already invaded Ukraine? When the seven policy positions listed on his website were as flat as campaign promises made by a student body president hopeful? (Free lunch on Fridays! Build the wall! Live band at prom!)

It wasnt enough for you when Trump said hed shut down the U.S. government if thats what it took to defund Planned Parenthood? When he said there was blood coming out of her eyes, blood coming out of her whatever about Fox anchor Megyn Kelly?

If Melania Trumps immigration records from the 1990s are going to help you decide whether Donald Trump is qualified to lead the free world, I am judging you. Lets take it a step further, because Im done with propriety  history will too.

Because while you were Googling Melania Trump college degree, Donald Trump was saying:

I always wanted to get the Purple Heart. He dodged the draft five times; the Purple Heart is awarded to those wounded or killed while serving.

We may have people vote 10 times [in November]. ... If you dont have voter ID, you can just keep voting and voting and voting. This is not true.

Hillary Clinton should get an award from [the Islamic State] as the founder of ISIS. All right, then.

Hed seen a video of a $400-million payment being unloaded from a U.S. plane in Iran. This morning, he admitted: The plane I saw on television was the hostage plane in Geneva, Switzerland, not the plane carrying $400 million in cash going to Iran! Oops.

Its time to stop using Melania to make the case against a Trump presidency. His own words will do just fine.

Batchelor Warnke is an intern in The Times Opinion section. Follow her on Twitter @velvetmelvis.

Follow the Opinion section on Twitter @latimesopinion or Facebook.
To the editor: Right after reading your editorial, I watched a news conference with President Obama and Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong of Singapore.

These two statesmen, and many other world leaders, regularly show prepared and often off-the- cuff eloquence, class and deep knowledge of world conditions and facts. (Its time to repudiate Trump, Editorial, Aug. 2 and Self-induced trouble, Aug. 2)

I shudder when I try to picture Donald Trump representing my beloved country in similar situations.

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Jordan Austin, Port Hueneme

..

To the editor Self-induced trouble, my foot. Trump is not struggling to do damage control, he is reveling in it. Cleverly timed damage gets front-page coverage from The Times and 10 minutes or more in every television newscast.

He gets all the publicity he needs and does not pay a dime. The business model is to assail people others admire and set off an endless stream of attention.

We didnt hear much about Chelsea Clinton and many convention speakers because Trump grabbed all the attention by making crude comments about a war heros family.

Quit buying his baloney with absurd attention.

Sally Cook, Camarillo

..

To the editor: Bravo to The Times for your editorial.

It is inconceivable to me that so many of our citizens listen to and seemingly accept his rants and raves and dont see through to the disaster a Trump presidency would bring to our country and our standing in the world. Lets hope they wake up before November.

David B. Housh, Glendora

..

To the editor: Self-induced trouble for Donald Trump? Deliberately self- induced seems more appropriate.

Trump is an intelligent person, so why is it that almost every time he says something, he is further alienating himself from many in his own party?

Either he is too stupid to realize what he is doing, which I dont believe for a minute, or he hasnt been able dissuade his loyal followers to turn against him.

Why would he continue this tactic if he really wants to be elected? Has it all been a farce from the beginning? Did he overestimate the intelligence of his followers? Is the Donald doing and saying all he can to lose so that he will not be obligated to serve a job he desperately does not want?

Bob Murtha, Santa Maria

..

To the editor: Everyone is entitled to make some stupid statements. In his bid to become the next American president, Donald Trump has greatly exceeded his quota of such statements.

The American media deserves credit for informing the American public of the flaws and deficiencies of potential American presidents. It is the goodness of the American political system that allows the American public to reject potential presidents such as Donald Trump.

Marc Jacobson, Los Angeles

..

To the editor: Far be it from me to give the Republican party advice, but the time has come for you leaders to step up to the plate and take your party back from the zealots who have ushered in Donald Trump as your candidate for president.

Of course, that means giving away the 2016 election, but putting country before party affords you the unprecedented opportunity to actually be patriotic, end the bid of this (choose your adjective) charlatan, and start the hard work youll all need to do to assure a one term Clinton presidency. In short, do the right thing.

Richard Roswell, Burbank

..

To the editor: Asking Republican leaders to repudiate their nominee is a little like asking the scientist Victor Frankenstein to repudiate his creation despite the fact that he is repulsed and afraid of him. The GOP created the monster that is now Donald Trump, and now he is terrorizing the electorate with his bizarre brand of electioneering. We can only hope the damage to our political landscape will not be as devastating as in the novel.

Tim Geddes, Huntington Beach

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President Obama and Hillary Clinton both expressed surprise Thursday that a $400-million cash payment to Iran early this year has suddenly become an issue in the presidential campaign.

After all, Obama had publicly disclosed the payment to Iran at a White House news conference in January called to announce implementation of the historic Iran nuclear deal.

At a news conference Thursday at the Pentagon, Obama did little to hide his bemusement at having to answer questions about the payment.

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There wasnt a secret, he said. We announced [it] to all of you.

He described the money as the return of Iranian funds from a dispute dating back to the 1970s.

The administration could not send the money in dollars or send a wire transfer of funds because of U.S. sanctions, Obama said, so the money was delivered in other currencies

We couldnt send them a check, he said.

The president flatly rejected allegations that the $400 million was a ransom for four Americans who were released from Iranian custody at about the same time.

The idea that the U.S. would have paid ransom defies logic, Obama said, and would have betrayed the families of other Americans held unjustly around the world  many of whom he has met with personally.

He took the opportunity to defend the landmark nuclear accord that the U.S.-led international coalition reached with Iran more than a year ago. The agreement has worked exactly the way we said it was going to work, he said.

The impetus for renewed questions about a publicly announced settlement was a Wall Street Journal account of the transaction, which revealed that the $400 million was converted into other currencies, stacked onto the wooden pallets and delivered to Iran on an unmarked cargo plane, as the paper described it.

The existence of the deal itself was indeed disclosed and reported in real time, covered by the Los Angeles Times and others.

But whats old can still be news, especially given the pace of the modern news cycle. Put it in the midst of a presidential campaign and all bets are off.

Donald Trump, the Republican nominee, has questioned the payment for two days.

I woke up yesterday and I saw $400 million dollars, different currencies, they probably dont want our currency, Trump said Thursday in Portland, Maine. Four hundred million dollars being flown to Iran. I mean, folks whats going on here? What is going on?

Trump again cited a video that he said shows an airplane coming in and the money coming off.

That was given to us has to be by the Iranians, he said. You know why the tape was given to us? Because they want to embarrass our country. They want to embarrass our country. And they want to embarrass our president.

But his campaign has acknowledged to CBS News that the video, in fact, shows Americans landing in Geneva, Switzerland, and wasnt provided by Iran.

Stephen Miller, a senior policy advisor to Trumps campaign, still insisted that nothing less than a full investigation is required.

This administration has embarrassed our country as no administration has before, going so far as to fund Islamic terror through cash payments to Iran, he said in a statement.

House Speaker Paul D. Ryan (R-Wis.) raised concerns that the report confirmed suspicions that the money was paid as ransom for the release of several U.S. citizens, including journalist Jason Rezaian, held by Iran.

Iran said it was owed the money from an unfulfilled contract for U.S. fighter jets that the previous, U.S.-backed government had paid to the Pentagon. The aircraft were never delivered after the shah of Iran was deposed in the 1979 revolution.

Ryan said if it were a ransom payment, it would mark another chapter in the ongoing saga of misleading the American people to sell the international agreement with Iran to limit its nuclear development program.

White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest denied that the money was paid as ransom.

The United States does not pay ransoms, he said. The only people who are making that suggestion are right-wingers in Iran who dont like the deal, and Republicans in the United States that dont like the deal.

Clinton, who stepped down as secretary of State several years before the payment was made, bluntly described it as old news in an interview with a Colorado television station.

So far as I know, it had nothing to do with any kind of hostage swap or any other tit for tat, she said.

Republicans were only reviving the issue because they want to continue to criticize the [nuclear] agreement, and I think they are wrong about that.

I have said the agreement has made the world safer, but it has to be enforced. And Ive spoken out very strongly about how I will enforce this agreement, she added. I will hold the Iranians to account for even the smallest violation, and thats exactly what I think needs to happen.

michael.memoli@latimes.com

For more White House coverage, follow @mikememoli on Twitter.

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UPDATES:

3:40 p.m.: This story was updated with comments by President Obama and Donald Trump.

The first version of this post was published at 11 a.m.
To celebrate his 55th birthday, President Obama penned a piece for Glamour magazine about being a feminist.

This is an extraordinary time to be a woman. The progress weve made in the past 100 years, 50 years, and, yes, even the past eight years has made life significantly better for my daughters than it was for my grandmothers, he wrote. And I say that not just as president but also as a feminist.

Obama is the first sitting president to publicly declare himself a feminist. A few more things he acknowledges in his article:

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He considers a woman who ran for president his personal heroine.

No, not that woman. In 1972, African American Congresswoman Shirley Chisholm launched a presidential campaign for the Democratic Partys nomination.

Two other name-checked inspirations: his mother and grandmother.

The most important people in my life have always been women, he wrote.

Id like to think that Ive been pretty aware of the unique challenges women face  its what has shaped my own feminism.  President Obama

He recognizes the missteps hes made as a dad and husband.

Obama wrote that while daughters Sasha and Malia were young, he knew his wife, Michelle, was under more parenting pressure than he was.

Ive seen how Michelle has balanced the demands of a busy career and raising a family. Like many working mothers, she worried about the expectations and judgments of how she should handle the trade-offs, knowing that few people would question my choices, he wrote.

But at the same time, his busy schedule didnt allow for a lot of hands-on time.

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 President Obama speaks at the Democratic National Convention.

The reality was that when our girls were young, I was often away from home serving in the state legislature, while also juggling my teaching responsibilities as a law professor, he said. I can look back now and see that, while I helped out, it was usually on my schedule and on my terms. The burden disproportionately and unfairly fell on Michelle.

Today, though, thats different: He jokingly gloated about how his commute has been cut down to 45 seconds  the amount of time it takes to walk from the living room to the Oval Office.

As a result, Ive been able to spend a lot more time watching my daughters grow up into smart, funny, kind, wonderful young women, he wrote.

He got a unique perspective on feminism after having daughters.

When youre the father of two daughters, you become even more aware of how gender stereotypes pervade our society, Obama wrote. He talks about how growing up, his dad wasnt around, and he had to figure out what it meant to be a man all on his own, but didnt give a lot of thought to what it meant to be a woman. Watching his own daughters, he sees the challenges they face.

You see the subtle and not-so-subtle social cues transmitted through culture, he wrote. You feel the enormous pressure girls are under to look and behave and even think a certain way.

Ultimately, he wrote, its up to men and women to work together to end sexism and give both genders equal opportunity.

Thats what twenty-first century feminism is about: the idea that when everybody is equal, we are all more free.

Read the entire article here.

Find Jessica Roy on Twitter @jessica_roy.

jessica.roy@latimes.com

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After a campaign full of fierce vows to stop foreigners from entering the U.S. illegally, Donald Trump is now facing an immigration controversy close to home.

Trumps wife, Melania, who was born in what is now Slovenia and worked as a New York fashion model in the mid-1990s, has held herself up as an example of an immigrant who came to the U.S. legally and followed the law. She said she applied for a green card and eventually obtained U.S. citizenship.

But the timing of her early photo shoots and her own accounts of her travels have created questions about when she first entered the U.S. and whether she was legally permitted to work during her earliest days here.

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 Watch Melania Trumps speech on night one of the Republican National Convention >>

Her original modeling agent in the U.S., Paolo Zampolli, said Thursday that he recruited her to come to New York from Milan and helped her obtain an H1-B visa, which allowed her to stay in the U.S. for three years and do modeling work.

She never worked illegally for our agency. She always worked with a visa, Zampolli said in a phone interview. Its very easy, very standard, to get a model visa, because she had experience in Europe. Trust me, I dont want to be lying about this. She had a visa.

The questions about Melania Trumps immigration history are particularly sensitive for Donald Trump, who has made attacks on immigrants a touchstone of his presidential campaign. Trump has characterized Mexican immigrants as rapists, vowed to keep out Muslims and promised to build a wall along the U.S.-Mexican border.

The Trump campaign has not provided details of Melanias visa history or released her records. On Thursday, following a report on Politico, she released a statement saying she had always followed the rules. She said she obtained a green card in 2001 and became a U.S. citizen in 2006.

Let me set the record straight: I have at all times been in full compliance with the immigration laws of this country, she said on Twitter, after questions about her history were raised in news reports. Any allegation to the contrary is simply untrue.

Questions about her immigration status surfaced in the wake of the publication of nude photos taken in New York in 1995, when then-Melania Knauss was 25.

In interviews, Melania Trump has said she first came to the U.S. in 1996, and that she periodically traveled back to Slovenia in order to stay in compliance with visa rules.

I followed the law the way its supposed to be, she said on MSNBC in February. I never thought to stay here without papers. I had a visa. I traveled every few months back to the country to Slovenia, to stamp the visa.

I came back, I applied for the green card, she said. I applied for the citizenship later on. So I went by the system.

The statements raise two issues. First, the photographs suggest she was working in the U.S. earlier than she had previously claimed.

Second, if Melania Trump had held an H1-B visa used for working in the U.S., she would have been allowed to stay for three years and would not have needed to return to her home country, immigration experts said.

Her description of going back and forth from New York and Slovenia is more consistent with a B-1 tourist visa. But such a visa doesnt permit the person to work, David Leopold, an immigration lawyer in Cleveland, said in a telephone interview.

It is technically fraudulent for a traveler to tell a U.S. immigration officer that a trip is for tourism if he or she is really coming for a job, Leopold said. Such a misrepresentation might even be cause to strip someones green card or citizenship, if they did not disclose it at the time they applied for changing their immigration status, Leopold said.

But such violations are common and rarely prosecuted.

If Melania would release her immigration file, all the questions would be answered, Leopold said, adding that theres no reason not to release the immigration file.

Visa records are generally considered confidential by the State Department, but people can obtain their own records.

Zampolli said he believed she came to the U.S. in 1996, but was not certain: It was 20 years ago. He said he checked with his lawyer at the time, who also remembers her coming in 1996.

He said he found her in Milan while scouting for new talent and asked her to come to New York to work for his then-agency, Metropolitan Models. He said she was successful, getting hired several times a month for department store catalogs. Sometimes she modeled lingerie, he said, and once she was featured on a huge billboard overlooking Times Square in an ad for Camel cigarettes.

Without a visa, she cannot go to model agencies to work; she makes no money, Zampolli said, adding: Publicly traded companies  Macys, Nordstroms, Saks, like that  you think they would hire an illegal model?

Zampolli, who now works in real estate, speculated that Melania Trump might have been confused about her visa, and that she might have been thinking about getting her passport stamped during return visits to Slovenia. He said that he tried to reach her this week after the controversy started, but that she did not return a call.

The photographer who took the nude photos told the Washington Post that Melania Trump was not paid for the session. Zampolli said he knew nothing about that shoot and could not explain why, if she were getting work so soon after arriving in the U.S., she would do a nude shoot for no pay.

Maybe I dont want my girlfriend to do a nude photo shoot, but sometimes you have to do it. Its part of the industry, he said.

Melania Trump has faced other questions about her background. She took down her personal website after reports surfaced that she did not really graduate from college, as stated in her biography on the site.

joseph.tanfani@latimes.com

brian.bennett@latimes.com

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No state this year does Republican dysfunction like Ohio.

The popular Republican Gov. John Kasich stiffed Donald Trump at the home-state convention and now regularly dismisses him on Twitter. Trump has threatened to retaliate by raising money to squash Kasichs future ambitions.

The states Republican Sen. Rob Portman, running for re-election, has stuck with his endorsement of the partys nominee but has yet to appear in public with him. Instead, Portman has upbraided Trump repeatedly, and his campaign recently sent aides to search for potential supporters at Hillary Clinton rallies.

All that would be merely familial squabbling if not for Ohios frequent role as the decider in presidential contests. It is a must-win state for Trump; a loss here would almost certainly deny him the presidency and secure the White House for Clinton.

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It is also a high-profile test of the contours of the national campaign, as both Trump and Clinton have a good chance here of stealing from the other partys usual voters.

Clinton is going after Republican-leaning suburbanites put off by Trumps demeanor and is trying to persuade blue-collar white voters that Trump is a hypocrite on trade and business issues.

Trump has set his sights on those blue-collar Democrats with a campaign heavy on expressions of grievance for decades of manufacturing declines. Hes also courting Republicans eager for change after two Democratic White House terms.

Both campaigns are probably spending time watching some of their traditional voters run away and watching others run to them, said Doug Preisse, a Columbus-based Kasich confidant who heads the Republican Party in Franklin County, which includes Columbus.

The most recent public polling has the race dead even in the state  but that survey was conducted weeks ago, during the Republican convention. Even Republicans suggest that Clinton has likely pulled ahead here, as she has in nearby industrial states and nationally since the end of her convention.

But few expect Ohio to deviate in November from its recent record of close contests.

Its winnable for both candidates. The question is who has the superior ground game and strategy, said David Paleologos, director of the Suffolk University Political Research Center, whose July poll had Clinton and Trump deadlocked at 44% each. Its going to be fought in hand-to-hand combat in a lot of these counties.

If so, Trump could be hard-pressed. Organizationally, Clinton has the upper hand. Her team barely left after the March primary; the candidate and her running mate, Virginia Sen. Tim Kaine, have been regular visitors.

Clinton is building on multiple winning streaks: former President Bill Clintons wins here in the 1990s, President Obamas two general election wins, and her own primary victories in 2008 and this spring.

Her team has hundreds of workers in the state, and in her visit here Sunday, Clinton advertised more openings for organizers. The campaign is canvassing supporters and registering voters in communities across the state this weekend.

Trumps campaign has been slower to form, a danger in a state where early ballots can be cast starting Oct. 12  just a little more than two months away. The campaigns new state director began work on June 23, well after Clintons chief strategist set up shop; only last week he was moving into an office in Columbus.

Traditionally, Democrats try to maximize the turnout in Cuyahoga County, where Cleveland is, and to boost African American turnout there and elsewhere. The suburbs of the 3 Cs  Cincinnati, Columbus and Cleveland  have become another Democratic target, and were central to Obamas victories. The former steel and coal towns of the eastern flank of the state also have been heavily Democratic.

 An examination of Hillary Clinton and Donald Trumps convention acceptance speeches and how they line up on several key issues. Full coverage at latimes.com/conventions.

For Republicans, traditional targets have included conservative suburban residents, chief among them married women, in the 3Cs  particularly outside of Cuyahoga County. Rural areas all over Ohio, but particularly in the western run from Cincinnati north to Toledo, also have been key to Republican victories.

This years nominees have scrambled those patterns.

Trump has strong appeal among the blue-collar whites in eastern Ohio who were once reliably Democratic. The Suffolk University poll found Trump beating Clinton 2-1 in southeastern Ohio, where many of those voters live.

In the usually Republican western part of the state, however, Trumps standing was undermined because a substantial chunk of voters remained undecided.

Robert Paduchik, a veteran of George W. Bushs successful Ohio campaigns who is running Trumps effort, said the New York businessman resonates with voters that traditional Republican candidates werent able to reach out to.

We anticipate there will be a lot of independent and Democratic voters that will be a part of this effort, Paduchik said.

In his Monday appearance in Columbus, Trumps message to those voters was that Clinton has dismissed the economic hardships facing residents of the nations manufacturing belt.

The people in Ohio and the Rust Belt  and they call it the Rust Belt for a reason, because everythings rusting and rotting  they lost your jobs, he said.

Were going to have clean coal and were going to have steel and were going to make our products again, Trump said later. We are going to turn this state into a manufacturing behemoth. Were going to bring jobs back.

Election 2016 | Live coverage on Trail Guide | Sign up for the newsletter

But for every blue-collar worker Trump secures, he risks turning off a larger swath of Ohioans offended by his rough rhetoric. Many of them are Kasich loyalists.

Donald Trump comes into the state and reminds Ohio voters yet again that hes temperamentally unfit to be president of the United States, said Chris Wyant, the Clinton campaign manager and veteran of the Obama victories here. Hes divisive and he puts out this rhetoric that a lot of Ohio voters reject.

That argument was reinforced last week when former Ohio Atty. Gen. Betty Montgomery, a Republican, told the Columbus Dispatch that she could not vote for Trump. She said she was embarrassed and ashamed by his candidacy.

In her pitch to blue-collar Ohioans, Clinton casts Trump as a hypocrite who has not lived the America first propositions he now advocates. In a recent appearance in Columbus, she maligned Trump with a triple Ohio name drop.

He says America first He says it, but then everything he makes, he makes somewhere else, she said. He makes dress shirts in China, not Brooklyn, Ohio. He makes furniture in Turkey, not Cleveland, Ohio. He makes barware in Slovenia, not Jackson, Ohio. And he goes around saying he wants to put America first.

That harsh verdict is one shared by a substantial segment of Republicans here. They are taking cues from Kasich, who has made his sentiments about Trump quite clear. Even as he declined to take part in the Cleveland convention, he held concurrent events in the city, as if to emphasize his absence from the gathering.

Kasich is the kind of candidate Ohio usually gravitates toward, and Trump is not.

Its a traditional culturally conservative Midwest state which doesnt very often go for bombast on either side of the party line, said Preisse, the Kasich ally and county GOP chief. Usually we vote for temperamentally moderate centrists.

There arent a whole lot of bomb-throwers in Ohio statewide history, he added.

Trumps campaign insists that not even the last week, filled with bombast and serious repercussions, has lessened enthusiasm for the candidate.

Occasionally the national media gets distracted by events outside of Ohio, but here on the ground, we remain laser-focused on bringing our message of change to Ohio voters, said Paduchik. The voters we are engaging with understand that Hillary Clinton represents a third Obama term.

For Republicans outside Trumps orbit, the hope is simply to survive an onslaught that already is filling television screens, bringing the partys divisions into full view.

Jeff Rusnak, who ran Bernie Sanders primary campaign in Ohio, said that Clinton has attracted the vast majority of Sanders former supporters  helped out by Trump  and has consolidated the Democratic machine in Ohio.

His Republican friends, Rusnak said, are torn and conflicted.

Mostly, he said, they cant wait for this election to be over, and move on.

cathleen.decker@latimes.com

Twitter: @cathleendecker

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Donald Trumps standing among key voter groups has steadily dropped for more than a week, erasing the lead the Republican nominee once had in the presidential contest, according to the latest findings from the USC Dornsife/Los Angeles Times national tracking poll of the race.

Whats striking about the trend is not Hillary Clintons rise  typically, candidates get a boost from their nominating conventions, and the Democrats post-convention increase of about five percentage points is only slightly above average.

More significant is the scope and breadth of Trumps decline. A week in which he has repeatedly generated controversies that have dismayed fellow Republicans has wiped out virtually all the gains Trump made as a result of the GOP convention.

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About one in five voters in the survey grew significantly less supportive of Trump during the last week. Roughly an equal number became more supportive of Clinton.

As of Saturday, the poll showed Clinton at 44.6% and Trump at 44.2%, well within the surveys margin of error. Her margin could grow in coming days as the poll, which reflects a seven-day rolling average, moves away from the period in which Trump was at his peak.

Separately, the poll also asks voters which candidate they think will win. That question has often shown greater ability to predict election outcomes than asking people who they will vote for, particularly when the election remains months away.

Clinton leads that voter expectations question by a large margin, 53%-42%. After the Republican convention last month, Trump had briefly narrowed the gap on that question, but Clinton has rebounded sharply over the past week and a half.

Other surveys released this week have found the same trend toward Clinton, but have shown her with a bigger lead:

An NBC/Wall Street Journal survey found Clinton up nine points, 47%-38%. Fox News latest poll had Clinton up 10 points, 49%-39%. CNN had Clinton up by nine points, 52%-43%, and CBS by six. A poll by Marist College for the McClatchy newspapers had the largest Clinton lead of all, 15 points.

Averages of recent polls show Clinton with roughly a seven-point lead as of Saturday.

Polls of swing states have also showed Clinton leading.

Surveys released this week by nonpartisan polling organizations had Clinton up by four points in Florida, nine in Michigan, 13 in Pennsylvania and 15 in New Hampshire, all in hypothetical four-way match-ups that included Libertarian candidate Gary Johnson and Green Party nominee Jill Stein.

 President Obama declared Tuesday that Donald Trump is unfit to serve as commander in chief and called on Republicans to rescind their endorsements of their presidential nominee.

A poll by the Atlanta Journal-Constitution even found Clinton leading Trump by a small margin in Georgia, a state Democrats have not carried in a presidential election since Bill Clintons first victory in 1992.

The tied result in the USC/L.A. Times Daybreak poll stems in part from the seven-day rolling average, which minimizes the volatility that can lead to polls exaggerating the highs and lows of a campaign. When large numbers of voters do change their minds in a short period, however, the average can cause the poll to lag.

Some analysts have also suggested that the way the poll is weighted has shifted the results a few points in Trumps favor.

Every poll weights results in order to make sure the survey sample matches known demographic facts, such as the right percentages of men and women or older and younger voters. Each poll does that process differently, and until the votes are counted, theres no way to know for sure which method was right.

The great strength of the Daybreak tracking poll is that it allows close analysis of exactly which groups of voters are moving toward or away from each candidate.

The poll uses a different methodology than most election surveys. Instead of randomly contacting a different set of people for each survey, it uses a panel of roughly 3,200 eligible voters, selected to be representative of the U.S. electorate. Those people are resurveyed continuously, roughly 300-400 per day.

As a result, shifts in the candidates standings reflect actual people changing their minds as opposed to variations in who responds from one survey to the next.

Using a 0-100 scale, the poll asks voters to estimate the chance that they will vote for Clinton, for Trump or for some other candidate.

Each week, the poll has found that about three-quarters of the voters dont significantly shift their preferences. At the other end of the scale, very few do a complete turnaround  going from wholehearted support of Trump, for example, to strong support for Clinton.

About four in 10 voters say they have a zero percent chance of voting for Trump and roughly the same share say they have a zero percent chance of voting for Clinton.

But in each of the polls four weeks so far, 20%-25% of the voters have shifted a significant amount  a reminder that with three months yet to go in the campaign, a lot of voters have not firmly made up their minds.

Most of those who shift move between six and 25 points. That could be a voter who goes from being 80% likely to vote for Trump one week to 60% the next, or one who moves from leaning toward Trump to leaning toward Clinton.

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In some weeks, the voter shifts amount to a churn in which those moving toward a candidate largely cancel out those moving away.

During the week of the Republican convention, for example, about one-third of female voters had significant shifts in their attitudes toward Clinton. But those becoming more positive roughly equaled those becoming more negative.

Then there are weeks like this one  the surveys fourth  in which the movement of voters is lopsided.

The data so far for this past week show Trump has lost ground even among some of the groups that have given him the strongest support. More than 1 in 5 white voters soured on him, for example, as did a similar share of voters older than 65. In both groups, only about half as many voters moved in Trumps direction.

Even white voters without a college education, who have formed the core of Trumps support, shifted against him in the past week. About 1 in 5 of those blue-collar, white voters moved away from Trump this week, compared with about 1 in 10 who moved toward him.

Trump leads among whites by 54%-34% while Clinton leads 84%-4% among black voters. She has about a 2-1 lead among Latinos.

For Clinton, the movement of voters in her direction began late in the third week of the poll, immediately after the Democratic convention. About 1 in 5 women became more supportive of her in the last two weeks, along with a similar proportion of men in the last week alone.

Similarly, older voters  who typically pay closer attention to politics than younger voters  moved strongly toward Clinton in the surveys third week. Voters younger than 45 moved more heavily in the past week.

A noticeable number of voters also shifted support between one of the two major candidates and other.

In some cases, that category, which could include backers of Johnson, Stein or some other person, can serve as a placeholder for voters moving away from one of the two major candidates but not ready to commit to the opposing one.

Over the last four weeks, however, aggregate support for the two major candidates has increased, and support for other candidates has declined. When the poll began on July 10, about 80% of support in the poll was for either Clinton or Trump; now thats risen to roughly 90%.

In addition to the overall margin, other surveys released during the past week have delivered good news to Clinton and indicated trouble for Trump.

For example, the newly released Franklin & Marshall College poll in Pennsylvania, a state that Trump almost certainly would have to win this fall, showed a huge gap in the preferences of white voters with a college education versus those without.

See the most-read stories this hour 

College-educated whites in the state favored Clinton 58%-28% while whites with a high school degree or less favored Trump 53%-31%. The latest NBC/Wall Street Journal survey shows a similar, albeit smaller, gap nationwide. College-educated whites favored Clinton by seven points in that poll.

A trade-off in which Republicans gain among blue-collar whites but lose ground with white college graduates is exactly what Republican strategists have feared would happen with Trump.

His style, and the issues he has focused on, appeal to blue-collar, white voters  a shrinking part of the electorate  but threaten to turn off college-educated voters, whose ranks are increasing.

If Clinton wins college-educated white voters, she would be the first Democrat to carry that group since at least 1952, which is as far back as polling records extend.

David.Lauter@latimes.com

For more on politics and policy, follow me @DavidLauter

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9:10 a.m. Aug. 6: This article was updated with Saturdays tracking poll results.

The article was originally published at 3 p.m. Aug. 5.
Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump loves to see his name in lights, with his moniker commanding attention atop buildings and casinos.

He probably wont be as happy that his five-letter surname was accompanied by a four-letter profanity on an illuminated roadside sign in San Diego. (Warning: Link displays the profanity.)

A Caltrans contractors roadside alert sign at the Adams Avenue onramp at Interstate 15 in the Kensington neighborhood was hacked sometime early Thursday to display a profane message about the GOP nominee.

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The mobile sign, which is usually used to deliver warnings and instructions to motorists, was commandeered by an unknown person to show a profanity followed by the business tycoons name, then 2016, and then KKK.

Trump has been endorsed by David Duke, the former Louisiana state legislator and Ku Klux Klan grand wizard and current U.S. Senate candidate

Caltrans said the sign belonged to a contractor, and that most such devices are usually locked and password-protected in order to prevent people from tampering with them. The inappropriate message was brought to the agencys attention at around 6 a.m. Thursday and was taken down within an hour, the agency said.

People who break into electronic signs endanger the public safety by distracting motorists and interfering with important messaging, Caltrans spokeswoman Cathryne Bruce-Johnson said.

Its unclear what message, if any, was displayed before the sign was hacked. Its also unclear exactly how the device was infiltrated or if there is any sort of law enforcement investigation into the matter.

Stewart writes for the San Diego Union-Tribune.

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The battle to extend Californias climate policies could grind to a halt this year, but Gov. Jerry Brown plans to continue pressing the issue before his final term in office ends  even if that requires a ballot measure campaign in 2018.

The commitment from Brown, detailed in a statement from his top aide, Nancy McFadden, came after a flurry of activity in the Capitol on Thursday that revealed the narrow chances of passing climate measures before the end of the legislative session on Aug. 31.

Environmental advocates and some lawmakers have wanted new laws this month to extend the states targets for reducing greenhouse gas emissions and to safeguard the cap-and-trade program, which limits how much greenhouse gas can be emitted into the atmosphere and requires companies to obtain permits to pollute. The system has faced legal and political headwinds.

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Powerful oil companies have lined up in opposition to the legislation, and its unclear whether any measure would pass muster with business-friendly Democrats in the Assembly.

McFadden said the fate of legislation this year wont make or break our climate agenda, but she didnt outline a clear path forward, saying it would play into the hands of oil companies by telegraphing our strategy.

We are going to extend our climate goals and cap-and-trade program  one way or another, McFadden said. The governor will continue working with the Legislature to get this done this year, next year, or on the ballot in 2018.

The governors team followed up by creating a fundraising account for a potential ballot measure campaign, called Californians for a Clean Environment.

The cap-and-trade program, which serves as the centerpiece of Californias climate policies, was created under AB 32, a 2006 measure that sets a target for reducing emissions to 1990 levels by 2020. There are legal doubts about whether the program can continue past that deadline, leading to a push for a new law to keep it rolling.

Top Democrats spent Thursday huddled in a series of meetings about climate policies, but they were unable to reach an agreement on next steps, according to sources who declined to speak publicly about the private conversations.

Senate leader Kevin de Leon (D-Los Angeles) wants to pass a measure from Sen. Fran Pavley (D-Agoura Hills) that would establish new, steeper targets for reducing greenhouse gas emissions. The bill, SB 32, would set a goal of cutting emissions to 40% below 1990 levels by 2030.

De Leon, who said this week that he would not negotiate a bad deal just to get it done, indicated Thursday that he still wants to see prompt action.

This is going to get done one way or the other. Id sure like to get it done sooner rather than later, he said. It takes a tri-party agreement to actually make this come to reality.

But Brown has his sights set on crafting a measure that would receive support from two-thirds of lawmakers in each house of the Legislature, a higher threshold that would safeguard the cap-and-trade program from legal challenges.

The governor is counting on using revenue from cap and trade to help pay for the bullet train project from Los Angeles to San Francisco. But the program is facing a lawsuit over whether its an unconstitutional tax, casting doubt on the funding plan.

Meanwhile, Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon (D-Paramount) wants to hold off on the issue until next year, fearing there isnt enough support in his chamber to pass the measure. Business-friendly Democrats hold more sway in the Assembly, where they also blocked a proposal to slash oil use for transportation last year.

In a statement Thursday, Rendon called for a cautious approach.

The world needs Californias continued leadership to advance the fight against climate change, so it is vital that the solutions we put forward are as strong and as solid as possible, Rendon said.

As Senate President pro Tem De Leon noted yesterday and the governors office reiterated today, we are committed to extending Californias emission targets beyond 2020, and we will keep working on this until its right.

The lack of consensus has frustrated environmental advocates, who want to see a concerted effort to pass legislation as soon as possible. They sent a letter to the governor Thursday to strongly urge him not to give up on climate legislation this year.

There is much to be done and with more than three weeks of the legislative session, there is time to build agreement on a pathway that will solidify Californias commitment and ability to achieve your 2030 carbon pollution reduction target, wrote representatives from the Natural Resources Defense Council, Environment California and the League of Conservation Voters, among others.

Jason Barbose, western states policy manager for the Union of Concerned Scientists, said lawmakers shouldnt drop their efforts before the end of the session.

Its not an easy lift, he said. But theres real opportunity.

If legislation isnt successful in the Capitol, Brown could decide to move forward with a ballot measure in 2018.

Environmental advocates have a mixed record when it comes to battling oil companies at the ballot box. A proposal for an oil extraction tax was defeated in 2006 when the industry unleashed more than $90 million against it, swamping the $60 million spent in favor.

But advocates were able to protect Californias climate policies from a ballot campaign in 2010.

Brown had $23 million in his fundraising account for ballot measures as of June. He may end up spending some of that money on his campaign to reduce the state prison population by making more inmates eligible for parole.

melanie.mason@latimes.com

chris.megerian@latimes.com

Follow @chrismegerian and @melmason on Twitter, sign up for our daily Essential Politics newsletter and listen to the weekly California Politics Podcast

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Major law enforcement groups and state Sen. Holly Mitchell (D-Los Angeles) have reached a deal on legislation to limit the ability of police in California to permanently seize cars, cash, homes and other property from suspected criminals without a conviction, potentially paving the way for California to join the growing list of states that have reined in the practice.

Known as civil asset forfeiture, the tactic began in earnest as a response to the drug war in the 1980s, allowing law enforcement to fund their anti-narcotics operations by taking drug dealers property. But a diverse group of critics, including immigrant and anti-poverty groups alongside libertarians such as billionaire Republican donor Charles Koch, have argued that the law has allowed officers to take innocent, impoverished residents property without providing enough recourse to get it back.

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Under changes to Mitchells bill introduced Thursday, any property seizure in California worth less than $40,000 would now require a criminal conviction before police could take permanent action. Seizures higher than that amount would still allow for a lower burden of proof, such as the standard used in civil cases.

The $40,000 threshold is an attempt to balance advocates desire that those in poverty dont lose their property unless theyre convicted of wrongdoing and law enforcements interest in preserving its ability to go after large criminal enterprises, Mitchell said.

Its those private citizens who could not be convicted of a crime whose assets that we need to protect, Mitchell said.

As a result of the compromise, major law enforcement groups, including organizations representing police chiefs and district attorneys statewide, have dropped their opposition to the bill, SB 443.

Last year, that opposition stymied Mitchells original version of the measure, which would have required a criminal conviction before the permanent forfeiture of property in nearly all cases.

Ventura Police Chief Ken Corney, the head of the California Police Chiefs Assn., said in a statement that his group was comfortable that under the new language police could still use the practice for its primary purpose.

With the agreement on SB 443, conflicting sides took into consideration each others views and found a compromise that enhances safeguards on Californians rights, while ensuring law enforcement has the tools necessary to combat the gangs and drug traffickers damaging our communities, Corney said. This kind of proactive and collaborative effort demonstrates the strength between California law enforcement, political leadership and our communities.

At least four other states have passed similarly strict asset forfeiture reforms in recent years. But Lee McGrath, an attorney with the libertarian Institute of Justice advocacy group, which is tracking reforms nationwide, said Mitchells bill stands out because of the across-the-board threshold requiring a criminal conviction before a permanent seizure.

This is one of the strongest reforms enacted in any state, McGrath said.

Mitchell expects to have a full vote in the Assembly on her bill in the coming days. The bill would still need approval in the state Senate and Gov. Jerry Browns signature before it would become law.

liam.dillon@latimes.com

Follow me at @dillonliam on Twitter

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The United States is evaluating new documents sent by Turkey to push for the extradition of U.S.-based Islamic scholar Fethullah Gulen, the alleged mastermind of the country's recent failed coup attempt, a State Department spokesman said on Aug. 4 Hurriyet Daily News reported

"The Turkish authorities (made) several deliveries of documents to us and we're in the process of going through those documents," spokesman Mark Toner told a daily news briefing.

Toner said the first batch "did not, we believe, constitute a formal extradition request."

He added: "We subsequently received more documents. We're looking through them ... and I don't think they've reached that determination yet."

The U.S. Justice Department is the main agency poring over the documents to see whether they amount to a formal extradition request for Gulen, who has lived in self-imposed exile in Pennsylvania since 1999.

Turkish officials, including Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu, have warned that ties with the United States will be affected if it fails to extradite Gulen.

The NATO member plays an important role in the U.S-led fight against Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL). But Washington has said Ankara must provide clear evidence of Gulen's involvement in the failed military coup attempt before any extradition process can move forward.

Gulen has denied plotting against Turkey and has condemned the coup attempt.

Toner said the United States had offered to help Turkey with investigating the coup attempt. He did not say whether Turkey had responded to the offer.
For patients with minor injuries and illnesses in three area cities, an ambulance ride may soon take you to an urgent care center instead of an emergency room.

Newport Beach, Huntington Beach and Fountain Valleys fire department and ambulance services are participating in a statewide pilot project that studies whether paramedics with advanced training can safely triage and transport 911 patients with minor conditions to urgent care centers instead of hospital emergency rooms.

The OC Alternate Destination Pilot Project, which is sponsored by the Orange County Fire Chiefs Assn., is one of several pilot projects being studied by cities throughout California.

Other cities are currently studying the feasibility of paramedics following up with hospital patients after they have been discharged; making wellness checks for patients with chronic conditions; and connecting frequent emergency callers with social services in an effort to reduce the number of people using local hospitals.

The statewide pilot program has been spurred by parameters set by the Affordable Care Act that mandates that medical professionals work to improve patient care, but reduce costs, said Newport Beach EMS Division Chief Cathy Ord during a presentation to the City Council Tuesday.

In order to be sustainable, we need to think about and be innovative about bringing new ways to provide healthcare, she said.

As part of the program, if patients in Newport, Huntington and Fountain Valley are suffering from minor cuts, soft tissue injuries, other small wounds or minor illnesses, and theres a paramedic that has been trained through the program in the ambulance, the patient will likely be asked whether he can be transported to an urgent care center instead of the hospital for treatment.

The patient has to consent to participate in the program and is able to select from a list of urgent care centers.

Local hospital systems like St. Joseph Hoag Health, MemorialCare and Kaiser Permanente partnered with the Orange County Fire Chiefs Assn. two years ago to get the pilot program up and running.

The project launched on Sept 14 and is expected to last at least one year. So far, no one has elected to participate, but Ord said she expects to see willing participants in the coming weeks.

Its going to take a while for the public to adjust since theyre used to calling 911 and going to the hospital, she said.

Several city council members, including Keith Curry, spoke in favor of the program for its ability to cut costs and lessen the impact on hospital emergency departments.

This is where medicine needs to go, Curry said.

The pilot is a type of community paramedicine, which expands the role of paramedics and emergency medical technicians allowing them to provide healthcare services directly to residents.

Community paramedicine has been successful in other states that have a gap in their healthcare services, but is not practiced in California because ambulance services are reimbursed only when the patient is taken to the emergency room.

The OC Fire Chiefs Assn. secured roughly $272,000 in grants from local hospitals to combat the lack of reimbursement for the program.

However, industry watchers say community paramedicine is something that could be more widely used in the future to help lessen the strain on local hospitals.

Its definitely history in the making, Ord said.
William Shankle wore his first hearing aid when he was 17.

He had been losing his hearing since age 7, when he always had to sit at the front of his classrooms in school so he could hear the teachers.

Even then, he could hear only about half of what they said. He would go home after school and study the lessons again on his own.

But Shankle went on to attend UC Irvine and later Brown University medical school. He eventually became a neurologist in Newport Beach, specializing in diagnosis and management of Alzheimers disease. He co-founded the Alzheimers Research Clinic at UCI and established a community-based dementia program called the Shankle Clinic.

His work and perseverance inspired an audiologist in Corona del Mar to nominate him for an Oticon Focus on People Award, a national competition that recognizes those who help disprove negative stereotypes associated with hearing loss.

Shankle, 61, is one of three finalists in the awards adult category.

Dr. William Shankles office at Hoag Hospital in Newport Beach contains photos and artworks given to him as gifts by his patients. (Kevin Chang / Daily Pilot)

We all fear aging, and [hearing loss] is one more thing to add to the list of things going on as we get older: your vision, you cant run as fast, you start to forget things, said Donna Cody, who recommended Shankle for the award. Cody has been an audiologist  a doctor who helps patients manage hearing loss  for 30 years. Shankle has been one of her patients for 10 years.

I nominated Dr. Shankle because hes a big advocate for hearing and making sure hes looking after brain health and hearing health as well, Cody said.

Votes submitted by the public at oticon.com will determine the first-, second- and third-place honorees in the competition. Other categories are student, hearing-care practitioner and advocacy.

Voting closes Aug. 15. The winners will be announced in September.

Conquering hearing loss

With a strong family history of hearing loss on his mothers side, Shankle knew at a young age that his ears would follow suit. But he said he never thought about it much. Mishearing became part of everyday life.

When I was growing up and would listen to songs on the radio, I never got the words right so Id make up my own lyrics.  I always thought my lyrics were better, Shankle said with a laugh.

Shankles great-grandmother would place a horn against her ear so she could hear. There were no hearing aids in her day, he said.

His grandmother had a hearing aid, but she needed to carry two 10-pound battery packs on each of her legs to keep the device powered up.

In junior high school, Shankle saw a speech therapist to work through a stutter he didnt know he had because he couldnt hear it.

He didnt get his first hearing aid until he was 17 because the technology hadnt been developed until then.

After graduating from high school, he spent one year at UC Irvine, where he took a class at every department, including dance. He wasnt sure what he wanted to be just yet, he said.

He then transferred to Stanford University and later attended USC and Harvard.

As a statistician at Boston Childrens Hospital, he found an affinity for patient interaction.

In 1998, he and his stepfather Benjamin Landing shared their discovery that the human brain can add new neurons. This overturned the idea that humans dont get new nerve cells after birth, Shankle said.

In 2000, he co-founded the Alzheimers Research Clinic and started the Shankle Clinic.

His Newport Beach office is adorned with artwork given to him by patients over the years, including a drawing that one patient with Parkinsons disease scribbled while Shankle was examining him.

He drew a lighthouse on a cliff and hearts with the words Love is a net where hearts are caught like fish. He signed the drawing with his name: Muhammad Ali.

Drawings by boxing legend Muhammad Ali are framed on a wall in Dr. William Shankles office in Newport Beach. Ali, who died in June, created the drawings as he was being examined by Shankle in October 2010. (Kevin Chang / Daily Pilot)

Better help for the hard of hearing

Technology for hearing loss has become better in the past three or four years, Shankle said.

Bluetooth in his hearing aid enables him to receive cellphone calls and TV sound through the device at the volume he needs.

Without his hearing aid, he cant hear anything these days.

"[Hearing loss] does convey a negative stereotype, because if you misunderstand and respond to something a person didnt say, it makes other people think maybe youre not that smart, Shankle said.

But why do people try to disguise it? he said of hearing aids. Why not make it a fashion piece? There is an alternative to hearing things wrong.

--

Alex Chan, alexandra.chan@latimes.com

Twitter: @AlexandraChan10
An Orange County Superior Court judge ruled Thursday that Newport Beach City Council candidate Jeff Herdman can run in Novembers election.

Herdman filed a lawsuit against the city in July asking the court to determine his election eligibility after the city clerk told him he was ineligible to be seated this year because of his position on the citys Civil Service Board.

Judge James Di Cesare ruled that City Clerk Leilani Brown must accept paperwork from Herdman officially declaring his candidacy, if he files it by the Aug. 12 deadline.

Herdman said he intends to file the paperwork Friday and step down from the Civil Service Board.

Im excited, motivated and ready to get to work again on my campaign, Herdman said after walking out of the Santa Ana courtroom Thursday afternoon.

He said he plans to seek reimbursement for attorneys fees related to the case, which he estimates cost him about $8,000.

The longtime Balboa Island resident is running to replace termed-out Councilman Ed Selich representing District 5, which includes the island, Newport Center and a portion of Big Canyon. Also vying for the seat are community activist and businessman Mike Glenn and local businessman Lee Lowrey. The winner is scheduled to take over the seat in December.

Brown wrote in a letter circulated July 14 that based upon my review of the city charter and in consultation with outside counsel, I have determined that city charter Section 710 prevents Mr. Herdman from occupying the position of city council member for a period of one year after his service on the Civil Service Board is complete.

Section 710 states that no Civil Service Board member, while a member of the board, or for a period of one year after [the person] has ceased for any reason to be a member, shall occupy or be eligible for appointment to any salaried office or employment in service of the city.

The board advises the City Council on personnel matters and conducts appeal hearings for city employees in disciplinary matters. Herdman has been on the board since he was appointed in 2014. His term expires in June 2018.

The charter provision aims to prevent a Civil Service Board member from currying favor from municipal administrators for a city position based on a decision rendered by the board.

Di Cesares decision centered on what he determined was a main point of contention in the case: whether the pay that council members receive is a salary or reimbursement for expenses incurred.

He wrote that council members are prospectively reimbursed a fixed amount to cover presumed expenses for the month, and if they miss all the meetings that month, that council member is ineligible for said reimbursement.

A council member receives $1,274 in monthly compensation; the mayor receives $1,808, according to city documents.

This court concludes that the most natural read of Section 710, in light of the entire charter, is that voters wanted to prohibit board members from taking regular, full-time paid positions within the city of Newport Beach, and that Newport Beachs City Council is not a salaried position as that phrase is used in Section 710, Di Cesare wrote.

Herdmans eligibility became an issue in early July when Balboa Island resident Bob McCaffrey claimed in a complaint to the city that Herdman should be prohibited from running in this years election because of his position on the Civil Service Board. McCaffrey said he intends to support Lowrey in November.

McCaffrey said Friday that while he disagrees with the judges ruling, it would be up to the city to pursue the matter further.

City officials indicated they dont plan to fight the ruling.

He has his opinion and we have ours, McCaffrey said. It seems to me if you get a W-2, youre an employee. But the judge felt differently.

McCaffrey is chairman of a political action committee known as Residents for Reform, which supported Team Newport, a slate of council candidates consisting of Diane Dixon, Kevin Muldoon, Scott Peotter and Marshall Duffy Duffield, who swept the four available seats in the 2014 election and now constitute the council majority. McCaffrey donated funds to the slate.

Herdman has been critical of Peotter, Muldoon and Duffield since they were elected.

--

Hannah Fry, hannah.fry@latimes.com

Twitter: @HannahFryTCN
The city of Costa Mesa has agreed to pay $200,000 to settle a lawsuit by one of its police officers alleging that he was unfairly passed over for a promotion and was otherwise mistreated because he suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder triggered when he rear-ended a vehicle with his police motorcycle.

Officer Jeffrey Horn and city officials signed the settlement agreement late last month, essentially ending his lawsuit that was filed in Orange County Superior Court in December 2014.

The city did not admit any wrongdoing as part of the settlement.

City officials and Horns attorney did not respond to phone messages Thursday asking about the settlement.

In the lawsuit, Horn claimed that managers at the Costa Mesa Police Department began harassing him after he was diagnosed with PTSD in July 2010 in the wake of an on-duty motorcycle wreck in May that year.

According to court documents, Horn crashed into the back of a car while he was trying to pull it over during a traffic stop. The California Highway Patrol investigated the incident and decided Horn was at fault because he was riding too fast for the conditions, according to a police supervisors sworn statement filed by the city.

Horn spent about two weeks recovering from the wreck before returning to duty, according to his lawsuit.

Horn claimed that after the crash he started experiencing symptoms including anxiety, flashbacks, nightmares and difficulty concentrating. The lawsuit alleged those problems contributed to a bad performance review Horn received.

When Horn asked his supervising sergeant to reconsider the review because of his PTSD diagnosis, the sergeant berated him and refused, according to the lawsuit.

Horn claimed that when he complained about the supervisors behavior, he was passed over for a promotion and stripped of motorcycle duty.

In court documents, police officials claimed there were other reasons not to promote Horn, including that there were more-qualified applicants and that Horn had shown questionable judgment.

A retired police captain wrote that Horn had a tendency to unnecessarily escalate situations to the point that he would have to use force.

In one case, according to court documents, Horn pepper-sprayed a mother and a young child during a confrontation sparked when Horn had a car towed.

In another situation, Horn is alleged to have put a 75-year-old man in an arm bar, a type of martial arts hold, when the man refused to leave his vehicle during a traffic stop.

The police supervisors who described the incidents wrote that Horn could have avoided using force in those situations even though it was justified under department policy.

In another document, a supervisor wrote that he had to act as backup when Horn pulled over a member of a biker gang in front of 50 other gang members.

I was surprised that an experienced officer would not recognize the risk to safety involved with this type of traffic stop, Costa Mesa police Lt. Keith Davis wrote, noting that Horn easily could have been surrounded.

As part of the settlement, Horn was to apply for disability-related retirement from the Police Department based on a 2006 knee injury he suffered at work.

Its not yet clear what benefits Horn would receive in retirement, but municipal employees who retire because of an on-the job injury typically receive monthly payments for the rest of their lives or until they recover, according to the California Public Employees Retirement System, which has final say over Horns application.

Its unclear whether CalPERS has approved the application.

The settlement agreement required Horn to leave the Police Department no later than July 23, regardless of whether the application had been approved.

Horn had worked at the department since 1999, according to his lawsuit.
An appellant court ruling on Thursday upheld the dismissal of a lawsuit against the city of Glendale demanding the removal of a memorial statue in Glendale dedicated to as many as 200,000 women from Korea and other countries forced into sex slavery by Japanese soldiers during World War II.

Plaintiff Michiko Gingery filed a lawsuit against the city of Glendale and called for removal of the 1,100-pound bronze statue since it was erected in the communitys Central Park in 2013. The memorial depicts a girl in Korean garb sitting next to an empty chair, and it commemorates the wartime victims known as comfort women.

Gingery claims it unconstitutionally disrupted the federal governments foreign policy and relationship with Japan.

However, Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals Judge Kim McLane Wardlaw said all Glendale did was erect a memorial that takes a stand against human-rights violations, something thats well within the responsibilities of local governments.

Here, by dedicating a local monument to the plight of the comfort women in World War II, Glendale has joined a long list of other American cities that have likewise used public monuments to express their views on events beyond our borders, Wardlaw wrote in her ruling.

Her decision upheld a U.S. District Court opinion.

Glendale Mayor Paula Devine said the judges ruling was made at an ideal time because on Friday the city will sign an agreement to establish a sister city relationship with the South Korean community of Boeun-gun.

Devine said shes met with a number of surviving comfort women  who are now in their 80s and 90s  when they visited Glendale and shared their stories.

What they went through as young girls, just kids, they still bear that pain, she said. No one deserves that kind of treatment. Its very important to raise awareness so something like that never happens again.

Glendale has one of the largest Korean-American populations in California with more than 10,000 residents, according to the U.S. Census.

Ronald Barak, Gingerys attorney, did not return phone calls for a comment.

Phyllis Kim, executive director of the Korean American Forum of California, expressed her gratitude in a statement to Glendale officials and the legal team that defended the comfort-women statue.

The message is clear: It is correct and worthy to remember the victims of Japanese military sexual slavery by way of resolutions, memorials and other visible means of various U.S. governmental levels, she said.

The Japanese government over the decades has denied that South Korean women were forced to work in brothels during World War II, but late last year, Prime Minister Shinzo Abes administration issued $8.1 million to fund a foundation to support surviving comfort women.

One caveat the Japanese required was that the South Korean government refrain from discussing the comfort-women issue in the international community or at the United Nations.

Kim criticized the gesture shortly after it was announced, saying the Japanese government scaled the matter down to a diplomacy issue when it is a human-rights issue that affected women from 11 different countries.

--

Arin Mikailian, arin.mikailian@latimes.com

Twitter: @ArinMikailian
The new head of the YWCA of Glendale says she wants to expand the nonprofits efforts to help victims of domestic violence by launching new programs to prevent it.

I want to begin to think about prevention and figure out how we can stop domestic violence from occurring in the first place, said Tara Peterson, the organizations new chief executive. Who do we need to engage in these conversations and what programs can we put into place?

One of the main duties in her new role will be to oversee the 10-bed emergency shelter for women and children fleeing physically abusive relationships or households.

Peterson is no stranger when it comes to helping domestic-violence victims, having trained YWCA staffers in the past and also visited many similar shelters throughout the state.

She has worked with policymakers on how to reduce the impact of the issue and counseled low-income pregnant women and parenting teens.

Peterson has also served on a Blue Shield advisory committee against domestic violence and has also worked with the National Network to End Domestic Violence.

Stepping into the executive director role in Glendale will let her live out what she loves doing, she said.

My passion is not only serving victims, but also building strong organizations, Peterson said. I felt like this was a great opportunity for me to get into that type of work and work directly with a program that directly serves the community.

Shes made it clear that one of her main goals is to have more outreach in the community to raise awareness about domestic violence and to do that, shes going to need a bigger staff.

Aiming for more fundraising and grant money will be part of her goal, but also taking care of the employees already with the Y.

They do a whole lot for very little and that inspires me and motivates me to create a stronger program, so that we can take care of our team and they can provide the services to the people that come into our shelter, Peterson said.

But even before any of that happens, she said theres one crucial rule everyone should know when it comes to domestic violence if a person witnesses it: If you see something, say something, Peterson said.

This is not a private matter, she added.

--

Arin Mikailian, arin.mikailian@latimes.com

Twitter: @ArinMikailian
Our schools are slowly gaining ground in the nationwide shift toward college and career education. This year, 10 students have spent the last few weeks of their summer vacation in paid internships arranged by the districts career technical education coordinator, Maurice James, in cooperation with the Glendale Youth Alliance.

Ive had the opportunity to meet with seven of the interns in the last two weeks, all but one working with professionals on school district construction projects. My last visit was with a recent graduate working in film production. In every case, the students were happy to talk about what they were learning.

For Clark Magnet High School seniors Arpa Zarokian and Lia Gharabeg, working on Hoovers new classroom building as members of the Cumming project management team, the internship is not their first. At this point, they have pretty clear understandings of the various career opportunities in the building professions. They also know the importance of all the paperwork  such as meeting minutes, progress reports and project close-outs.

Theyve appreciated watching contractors, architects, project managers and inspectors up close.

Its cool to see how they manage without interfering with each others work, Zarokian said. Its all communication.

Zarokian said shed been considering project management as a career but now thinks more about engineering and industrial systems.

Gharabegs thinking has gone in the other direction. After starting with an eye on engineering, she now realizes how much she enjoys the way construction management combines office and field work.

For Lia Gharabegs elder sister, Galia, on the other hand, two summers working in the design offices of NAC Architecture in Chinatown have confirmed her interest in graphic design. Shes already pursuing her studies at Woodbury University.

However, for fellow intern and Burbank student Juan Garcia, the time at NAC has expanded his appreciation both for the computer-assisted design class he took last year and his experience helping with his fathers construction work. With a year left in high school, hes still looking at his options.

Another pair of siblings, Clark Magnet brothers John and George Bandek, met me in their orange Swinerton Construction vests inside BPI inspector Bob Payindas trailer at Glendale High. A mentor for the Architecture, Construction and Engineering Club, Payinda knew the Bandeks before they started their internship. Payinda spoke enthusiastically about the opportunity to teach by having them do what I do.

As the Bandeks talked about their work  such as measuring placement of screws in one room, the distance of rebar from the wall in another, and comparing them to the plans  Payinda quizzed them on how theyd calculate the weight of a building or where theyd find certain building specifications. They kept coming up with the answers.

You see new problems, new conflicts, new solutions, John Bandek said. You see the teamwork. Its all about the process.

George Bandek added his observation: You see how every person interacts, and all of them need each other.

Annika Arambulo has witnessed and participated in similar teamwork in her internship with Arclight Productions. Interviewed for the job just two weeks after graduating from Hoover High, where shed had four years in broadcast journalism and two in cinematography, she researched the different roles of producers, directors and assistant directors, but she never thought to do something to contribute in the long run, and here I am, she said.

Producer Daniel Sollinger, who heard about the need for internships from a teacher friend, told me he likes to mentor young filmmakers as he has for many years at his high school and college alma maters. He was happy to put Arambulo to work researching stories for a television project hes developing.

The day I met her, shed been called to work as a production assistant at a film shoot. It was her first day away from the office, but she carried herself with confidence.

I learned how to use a walkie-talkie, she said gleefully, before heading back to the set. Im taking as many chances as I can, she told me. That was the point of this [internship].

Her comment was right in line with the answer given to me by the films executive producer, Gene Pope, when I asked what advice hed give to young people thinking about careers. Dont be afraid to try different things, he said.

Commenting on the internships, John Bandek shared how students who dont take such opportunities talk about going out into the real world after they graduate. This is the real world. We dont need to guess, he said.

Glendale and Burbank are looking for more companies willing to take some of the guesswork out of choosing college and career paths. Glendales Maurice James can be reached at MJames@gusd.net. For Burbank, contact PeggyFlynn@burbankusd.org.

--

JOYLENE WAGNER is a past member of the Glendale Unified Board of Education. Email her at jkate4400@aol.com.
A Chinese court on Friday found a Christian activist guilty of subverting state power, primarily for discussing political issues with other activists at a restaurant and attending a religious conference in Taiwan.

After a one-day trial, the Second Intermediate Peoples Court in Tianjin, a sprawling port city near Beijing, handed Gou Hongguo, 55, a suspended three-year sentence, according to a post on the courts verified microblog account.

Gous sentence is light compared with many other convicted activists  he will only serve out his term in jail if he disobeys the terms of his release. Yet his case marks the countrys fourth high-profile political trial in four days, throwing the ruling Communist Partys ongoing crackdown on dissent  and its campaign against Western values such as democracy and free speech  into high relief.

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The charges against Gou, a former businessman, stem from his attendance at the 2014 Interethnic/Interfaith Leadership Conference in Taiwan, organized by the U.S.-based nonprofit group Initiatives for China, and from his relationship with his church and members of the Beijing-based Fengrui Law Firm, which was known for tackling politically sensitive cases.

Police detained Gou on July 10, 2015, amid a nationwide crackdown on Chinas human rights lawyers. Last summer, more than 300 lawyers and activists were detained or questioned for their advocacy. Several remain in jail.

China tried three other activists on subversion charges this week, including Fengruis director, Zhou Shifeng. The firm has defended members of the banned spiritual group Falun Gong, the dissident artist Ai Weiwei, and, in 2008, victims of a contaminated baby formula scandal. On Thursday, Zhou was charged with subversion of state power and sentenced to seven years in prison.

On Wednesday, authorities handed Hu Shigen, the head of an underground Protestant church, a sentence of seven years and six months on the same charge.

On Tuesday, Zhai Yanmin, a member of Hus church, received a three-year sentence with a four-year suspension. (Gou was also a church member).

Human rights groups say that the trials are politically motivated  an expression of Beijings growing intolerance for even peaceful forms of dissent  and have shown scant regard for the countrys own laws.

This whole week, with these four trials, weve seen a lot of problems, said Patrick Poon, a Hong Kong-based China researcher at Amnesty International. The authorities didnt properly inform the families before the trials, and they used different tactics to stop them from attending.

This is really [against the] laws that require the court to inform a defendants lawyers and families three days before the trial, he continued. Mainly to inform the lawyers  theyve been blocked from meeting or having any communication with their clients.

Prosecutors alleged that Gou met with Zhou, Hu, and other activists at a Beijing restaurant in February 2015, according to state media. There, they discussed how to overthrow the party via peaceful advocacy work, the reports said.

Influenced by Hu Shigen, leader of an illegal church, Gou formulated ideas to subvert state power, the state-run New China News Agency reported on Friday, citing a court statement. He also arranged meetings and actively engaged in criminal activities subverting the government and the socialist system, harming national security and social stability.

Chinese government organs including the Communist Youth League and the Supreme Peoples Procuratorate have shared several short videos online in recent days, painting activists as part of a foreign conspiracy to undermine China by fomenting unrest.

During their trials, Hu admitted to having long been influenced by bourgeois liberalism and bringing huge damage to the country, Zhai admitted to fomenting a color revolution, and Gou admitted to being used by foreign forces and those with ulterior motives, causing grave damage to social stability, according to the New China News Agency.

Human rights groups have expressed concern that the confessions were made under extreme duress.

Subverting state power [is] a charge that makes me terror-stricken, Gous wife, Fan Lili, wrote to Gou on July 15, according to a translation posted online by the Christian human rights organization China Aid. In the past, I felt such a charge was distant, Even now, I still feel its very remote from us. He doesnt have guns, cannons or money. With what could he subvert such powerful state?

She described Gou as a meticulous and kindhearted man.

For decades, he has taken care of his brother, who suffers from a disability, she wrote. He remembers his in-laws birthdays and selects beautiful, fashionable clothing for them for the occasion. He knows interior decoration and can grow flowers.

I firmly believe that you are innocent, she continued. No matter how arduous the road ahead of us is, I will be waiting for you. In the darkness, I will give you a little illumination, with [my] heart as a lamp. I will give you more love, though you are already my best love.

jonathan.kaiman@latimes.com

Follow me on Twitter @JRKaiman
Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte acknowledged abuses have occurred in his war on illegal drugs, which has left more than 400 people dead in a month and alarmed rights activists, but refused to back down from a shoot-to-kill order for drug suspects.

Duterte said in a speech late Thursday that most drug dealers and addicts slain in gun battles with police had put up a fight, but added that he was sure some were salvaged, a local slang for extrajudicial killings usually by law enforcers.

In the case of illegal killings, Duterte said the government will investigate.

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They really fight back, I know that, Duterte said in a speech in southern Davao city, where he built a name as a mayor for his extra tough approach to crime before becoming president. Im sure there are some who were salvaged, I am also sure of that.

Early Friday, he told reporters that he gave shoot-to-kill orders against drug dealers, including politicians involved in the illicit trade.

Ill really have you killed. Look at what youre doing to the Philippines and Ill forgive you? Duterte told reporters, apparently enraged after visiting a town police chief who was shot in the chest by a suspected drug dealer and rushed to a Davao hospital.

My order is shoot to kill you. I dont care about human rights, you better believe me, he said.

Dutertes centerpiece anti-crime drive, focused on an ambitious campaign promise to end the widespread drug problem in six months, has left more than 400 drug suspects dead, many of them either in firefights with police or under suspect circumstances. More than 4,400 have been arrested, police said.

The unprecedented killings have scared more than half a million drug users and dealers who gave themselves up to police, officials said. An overwhelmed Duterte has said he was considering setting aside areas in military camps nationwide to build rehabilitation centers for those who surrender.

A legal expert, Jose Manuel Diokno, said Dutertes latest shoot-to-kill order is, at the least, legally questionable.

Adequate safeguards exist in the legal system, including requirements for court warrants for arrests, to protect the public and ensure law enforcers are not given unbridled discretion that can lead to abuses, Diokno said.

The governments Commission on Human Rights could seek to stop the anti-crime drive through a court petition, said Diokno, who heads the Free Legal Assistance Group, which provides legal help to the poor.

Sen. Leila de Lima, who led the commission previously, has sought a Senate investigation of the killings but has faced opposition from Dutertes political allies.

There must be a way other than this method that brings us to our collective descent into impunity, fear, and ultimately, utter and complete inhumanity. We cannot wage the war against drugs with blood, De Lima said in a Senate speech this week.

She said the dead included those who were innocent and the proportion is rising.

In recent days, eight suspected drug dealers were gunned down in separate clashes with police in the provinces of Bulacan and Rizal and in southern Dipolog city, police said, adding that most of the suspects drew firearms and opened fire when they sensed men who were buying drugs from them were policemen in disguise.

Three town mayors and a former mayor linked to drug syndicates surrendered Friday to national police chief Director General Ronald de la Rosa, fearing they may be gunned down by authorities.

The mayors, mostly from the southern province of Maguindanao, would be investigated, De la Rosa said.

I will not hesitate to kill you ... dont think that youre a governor or a mayor, Duterte said, repeating the warning he made in Davao. Youll be the first to go before the civilians.

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The city of Orlando, Fla., has shown interest in purchasing Pulse nightclub to establish a permanent memorial to the 49 people killed by a gunman there in June.

At some point I think the city needs to gain control [or] purchase the Pulse site and then make some determination, with a lot of input, on what a permanent memorial might look like, Mayor Buddy Dyer said in a radio interview Wednesday.

Dyer also said hed like to see the club remain unchanged for a time, possibly a year, so that people who want to visit can see Pulse in its current state.

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People are traveling from all over the country, really all over the world, Dyer said. Ive been, quite honestly, a little surprised at the volume of visitors that we have had.

Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer listens to a question at a news conference days after the Pulse nightclub shooting. (Drew Angerer / Getty Images )

On Wednesday, Dyer toured the Pulse site with Luxembourg Prime Minister Xavier Bettel, who is visiting Orlando with his husband. The mayor was unavailable for an interview, but spokeswoman Cassandra Lafser says the city has a genuine interest in purchasing the nightclub.

We wouldnt be having these discussions if the mayor wasnt serious in our interest in acquiring the property, she said.

Pulse spokeswoman Sara Brady said the clubs owner, Barbara Poma, met with city officials recently to explore options. However, Brady stressed that those talks were very preliminary.

She really doesnt know what she wants to do other than her desire is that the site become a memorial, Brady said. Its sacred ground to her.

Since the June 12 mass shooting, Pulse has already become a temporary memorial, surrounded by candles, signs and flowers left by visitors, including Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton.

In the weeks after the massacre, mourners also left items at Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts, Orlando Regional Medical Center and Lake Eola Park, many of which were collected by the Orange County Regional History Center.

Last month, Poma and her attorney formed a not-for-profit company, OnePulse Foundation, with the stated purpose of conceiving, funding and aiding in the construction of a permanent memorial at the Pulse site, state records show.

On Sunday, the nightclub posted an announcement on Instagram that said the club would reopen as a memorial, before releasing a correction indicating the post was premature.

The nightclub opened in 2004 in honor of Pomas brother John, who died of AIDS in 1991. The propertys assessed value for 2016 was about $470,000.

Weiner writes for the Orlando Sentinel.

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Baku, Azerbaijan, Aug.5

By Orkhan Guluzade - Trend:

Turkish companies are interested to participate in privatization projects in Azerbaijan, head of the Turkey-Azerbaijan Business Council of Turkeys Foreign Economic Relations Board Selcuk Akat told reporters in Baku Aug.5.

He noted that Turkish companies are also interested in increasing the volume of investments made in Azerbaijan.

Turkey-Azerbaijan Business Council is aimed at strengthening the ties between Baku and Ankara in the sphere of economy, added Akat.

He noted that the Business Council supports the work of Turkish companies in Azerbaijan and Azerbaijani companies in Turkey.

Much depends on Turkish and Azerbaijani companies in strengthening the economic relations between the two countries, said Akat.

Talking about the military coup attempt in Turkey, Akat said that it has slightly affected the countrys economy.

The trade turnover between Azerbaijan and Turkey neared $1.5 billion in 2015 and $1.1 billion of this volume accounted for the import from Turkey, according to Azerbaijans State Customs Committee.
Though Donald Trumps ongoing feud with the father of a U.S. soldier killed in Iraq is being credited with boosting sales of a pocket edition of the Constitution, the version being snapped up by Amazon customers is actually the one favored by armed militias and published by a right-wing religious group.

Khizr Khan, whose Muslim son died saving fellow soldiers in 2004, waved a different pocket edition at the Democratic National Convention while dramatically asking the Republican presidential candidate if hed ever really read it.

The gesture  and Trumps refusal to let the issue fade  seemed to have inspired a run on Amazons 52-page Pocket Constitution, a $1 reprint (identical in spelling, capitalization and punctuation) of the supreme law of the United States, complete with the Bill of Rights and Declaration of Independence.

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On the same Amazon page, buyers are also invited to purchase a copy of Great Again by Donald J. Trump, a blueprint for how to Make America Great Again.

Published by the National Center for Constitutional Studies (NCCS) in Idaho, the little Constitution book became Amazons biggest seller in recent days, outdistancing even the new Harry Potter release. (The pocket book slipped to second place Friday when Amazon temporarily sold out of all its copies).

Some constitutional scholars say that a number of quotations in the NCCS version are either deliberate alterations or taken out of context. The underlying message is that the U.S. is a Christian nation not intended to be ruled by a single government.

Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people, it quotes John Adams in an addendum. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other.

Ammon Bundy, the leader of an anti-government militia in Oregon, carried a copy of the U.S. Constitution in his pocket. (Justin Sullivan / Getty Images)

While its not the version Khan held, it is the one waved by Cliven Bundy during a standoff with U.S. agents over federal rangeland in Nevada two years ago and by his son Ammon Bundy during the armed takeover of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge in Oregon early this year.

Cliven Bundy said the NCCS booklet was something Ive always shared with everybody and I carry it with me all the time. Thats where I get most of my information from.

Ammon Bundy said he got his pocket Constitutions from a friend in Utah who buys a million at a time, storing them in a warehouse between distributions to Mormon groups, schools and soldiers overseas.

Ammon Bundy and seven co-defendants now are being held for a September trial in Portland, charged with conspiring to impede federal workers at the refuge. Altogether, 26 were charged in the 41-day takeover, leaving behind more than $6 million in damage, federal authorities said. Ten have pleaded guilty, and the remainder face trial in February. Cliven Bundy and four of his sons also face charges in the Nevada standoff.

Its a perverse twist that Khans powerful speech inspired so many people to buy a version of the Constitution thats a recruitment tool for a movement full of so much hate, misinformation and ignorance, Taylor McKinnon of the Center for Biological Diversity said in a statement. The Arizona center is dedicated to preserving endangered wildlife and habitats.

According to the Southern Poverty Law Center, which tracks hate groups, the NCCS is a conspiracy-prone think tank founded by a leader known for his racist views.

The group says it has sold or given away 15 million copies of the Pocket Constitution since 2004. The book is also being sold at a discounted price of $35 for 100 copies on the NCCS website, which states that its mission is to restore the U.S. Constitution in accordance with the intent of Americas Founders.

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A group of lenders were scheduled to close a working capital facility last month but are now waiting for approvals from the new administration, sources say
Latino business owners have been making significant strides in the landscape of American business and their companies are emerging as a strong driving force in the American economy as well as the national political landscape. In response to these successes, a number of prominent Hispanic leaders have formed an organization, The National Association of State Latino Chambers of Commerce (NASLCC), to assist in continued advancement on this business front.

A tight-knit group of Latino leaders from all across the country have been collaborating informally over the past decade to assist members of state and local Hispanic Chambers of Commerce in meeting their businesses needs and goals. In mid-February of 2016 a coalition of state Latino Chambers of Commerce came together to formalize and charter the NASLCC to help streamline and organize the work they've dedicated themselves to.

In addition to helping push for continued progress and growth in Latino-run businesses, the NASLCC will also offer assistance and expertise to other groups who are making similar contributions in terms of American business development. Aside from serving small businesses, the coalition says it will work with women, millenials and veterans whose companies are run by Latino entrepreneurs and who work in collaboration with Hispanic Chambers of Commerce.

"This new organization will be the voice of the local Statewide Latino Chambers across the United States and Puerto Rico," Frank Garcia, NASLCC Chairman said in a statement. "Our small businesses are facing big challenges, the NASLCC will provide new solutions, and equip our members from across the country with needed management and financial literacy programs, and provide international trade and technology events with our corporate partners."

The NASLCC has vowed to leverage the synergy and representative power of each state involved in the organization, in hopes of making available the necessary resources, funding, and technical assistance at local, state, and regional levels to ensure future success.

The Association currently represents over four million Latino-owned businesses, with founding members that include the states of Calif., Fla., N.M., N.Y., Puerto Rico, Tex., and Ohio. According to recently published statistics, growth over the past ten years within this particular business demographic is 15 times the national average and revenues from Latino-owned companies are expected to exceed $661 billion in 2016.

"Hispanics now make up the majority in Calif.; our Hispanic owned businesses have played a significant role in jump starting our economy," Frank Montes, Vice-Chair of the NASLCC said in a statement. "In order to thrive in this changing environment of regulations and taxes, we need to arm our members with the resources they need to compete and win contracts...to continue growing."

The official launch for the NASLCC is scheduled to happen in the summer of 2016. The organization's national headquarters will be located in Sacramento, Calif., and the group says it has plans to open a D.C. office in the near future.

"The NASLCC will strive to always be inclusive, transparent, and represent the best interests of our members - ADELANTE!", Sam Guzman, NASLCC Treasurer said in a statement.
Headline changed, details added (first version posted on 11:48)

Baku, Azerbaijan, Aug.5

By Orkhan Guluzade - Trend:

Turkish companies are interested to participate in privatization projects in Azerbaijan, head of the Turkey-Azerbaijan Business Council of Turkeys Foreign Economic Relations Board Selcuk Akat told reporters in Baku Aug.5.

He noted that Turkish companies are also interested in increasing the volume of investments made in Azerbaijan.

Turkey-Azerbaijan Business Council is aimed at strengthening the ties between Baku and Ankara in the sphere of economy, added Akat.

He noted that the Business Council supports the work of Turkish companies in Azerbaijan and Azerbaijani companies in Turkey.

Much depends on Turkish and Azerbaijani companies in strengthening the economic relations between the two countries, said Akat.

Talking about the military coup attempt in Turkey, Akat said that it has slightly affected the countrys economy.

The trade turnover between Azerbaijan and Turkey neared $1.5 billion in 2015 and $1.1 billion of this volume accounted for the import from Turkey, according to Azerbaijans State Customs Committee.
Baku, Azerbaijan, Aug.5

By Orkhan Guluzade - Trend:

Turkey doesnt intend to open the borders with Armenia, Turkeys ambassador to Azerbaijan Ismail Alper Coskun told reporters in Baku Aug.5.

Everyone knows why Turkey closed its borders with Armenia and after what it can open those borders, said the diplomat.

Turkey supports peace and stability in the region as before, since it is in the interest of all the countries in the region, including Turkey.

The diplomatic relations between Armenia and Turkey were severed in 1993. The break in relations, as well as, the closing of borders between Turkey and Armenia in 1993 was due to Yerevan's claims over recognition of the so-called Armenian genocide in the world and Armenia's occupation of Azerbaijani lands.

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.
Baku, Azerbaijan, Aug. 5

By Rufiz Hafizoglu  Trend:

Repair of relations between Russia and Turkey is important for the entire region, President of Turkey Recep Tayyip Erdogan said in an interview with TRT Haber TV channel.

Erdogan reminded of an incident with a downed Russian bomber, after which the relations between the two countries deteriorated.

We have sent a letter to Russia and stated that it is necessary to stop it, said Erdogan.

The relations between Russia and Turkey deteriorated after the Su-24 bomber incident in 2015.

The president noted that Ankara also expressed regret in connection with the incident, and Russia's reaction was positive.

Earlier, Turkish presidential administration told Trend that Erdogan and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin will discuss a number of important economic and political issues during the meeting in St. Petersburg Aug.9.

Fighting the terrorist organizations in Syria is among the issues planned to be discussed during that meeting, said the presidential administration.

Moreover, the presidents are expected to discuss the joint energy projects of Russia and Turkey, such as the Turkish Stream gas pipeline and the construction of Akkuyu nuclear power plant.

---

Follow the author on Twitter: @rhafizoglu
Sara K. Satullo | For lehighvalleylive.com

There are Musikfest staples like Take-A-Taco and Aw Shucks. But part of the fun of the 10-day festival is sampling the new vendors each year. Here's a look at the 2016 newcomers.

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Sara K. Satullo | For lehighvalleylive.com

The music festival taco stand

Tica's Tacos crisscrosses America's music festival scene each summer with stops at Firefly Music Festival, Voodoo Music Experience, Electric Forest and, now, Musikfest. Tica's offers up more exotic options, think shrimp, vegan and beef and chorizo, than festival favorite Take-a-Taco. Their online menu also boasts loaded nachos and quesadillas. Find them at: Volksplatz

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Sara K. Satullo | For lehighvalleylive.com

The perfect Musikfest meal

Empanadas are the perfect addition to Musikfest. The pastries are stuffed with delicious ingredients and they fit right in your hand, leaving your other hand free for your mug. Philadelphia's Viva Empanada will be dishing up empanadas with a creative twist, like black cherry cheesecake, apple pie, mac and cheese and kung pow chick pea. Find them at: Plaza Tropical.

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Sara K. Satullo | For lehighvalleylive.com

Donut perfection

You may have sampled Cinnamini Donuts during the Food Truck Border Brawl in June on the SteelStacks campus. The food truck is joining Musikfest this year, serving up their delicious donuts, donut ice cream sundaes and donut fruit trifles. Find them: at Americaplatz in South Bethlehem.

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Yes, your favorite food truck will be serving a delicious menu everyday at #Musikfest. Find the truck at the Levitt Pavilion on the Southside. Posted by Fud Truk on Monday, August 1, 2016

Sara K. Satullo | For lehighvalleylive.com

Fresh and local

Lehigh University's FUD Truck is leaving campus to head to SteelStacks during Musikfest. The food truck dishes up bites prepared with the freshest ingredients, from salads to paninis to the signature french fries. Expect to find on the menu this week: smoked sofrito chicken tacos, BBQ beef brisket and chickpea popcorn, according to the Musikfest app. Find them at: Americaplatz.

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Sara K. Satullo | For lehighvalleylive.com

A beer garden

Beer isn't technically a food but it plays a major roll in Musikfest. This is the first year that festival sponsor Yuengling is rolling out its Lagerfest Platz, serving Yuengling Traditional Lager, Light Lager and Summer Wheat. There will be fun games, like cornhole and giveaways. Find it at: Festplatz

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Sara K. Satullo | For lehighvalleylive.com

Newcomers returning

Musikfest is great because there are the stalwarts, like Karl Ehmer and the Bethlehem Dairy Store, that you can rely on but there are also new additions to the food scene each year. It's exciting to find a new stand selling food you crave the rest of the year. And it is the worst when that new addition isn't back the next summer.

Here's a look at a few of the newcomers returning.

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http://www.musikfest.org Bees Knees is excited to be going back to Musikfest this year! It kicks off in less then a... Posted by Bees Knees Grill on Sunday, July 31, 2016

Sara K. Satullo | For lehighvalleylive.com

Gourmet cheesin'

Bees Knees Grill is brining its gourmet grilled cheese offerings back to Musikfest. The stand serves kim chi reubens and grilled havarti cheese with baby greens, sour applee and champagne vinaigrette sandwiches. Find them at: Volksplatz.

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We're almost ready for #musikfest2016 are you? Join us in the Volksplatzs for some cluckin' good fork-free chicken and waffles Aug 5th- Aug 14th! #socluckingood #chickncone #musikfest #bethlehempa Posted by Chick'nCone on Wednesday, August 3, 2016

Sara K. Satullo | For lehighvalleylive.com

So clucking good

Chic'n Cone is the perfect fest food. The fried chicken is served up in a waffle cone and you can have your chicken coated in your sauce of choice. They were just featured on the Food Network's "Carnival Eats" show. Find them at: Volksplatz.

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Sara K. Satullo | For lehighvalleylive.com

True Thai

Sangtawan Thai is back with authentic Thai options from panang curry, pad thai to the easy to eat chicken on a stick. Find them at: Volksplatz.

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A drug raid at a Lehigh County motel netted methamphetamine, marijuana and heroin, authorities said.

Center Valley Motor Lodge (Image via Google Maps)

An investigation into the Center Valley Motor Lodge, off Route 309 in Upper Saucon Township, began after "numerous" drug-related incidents and complaints, according to a news release from the Lehigh County District Attorney's office.

On Thursday officers with the Lehigh County Drug Task Force and Upper Saucon Township police arrested four men after finding methamphetamine, marijuana and heroin, authorities said.

A message left for the motel manager was not immediately returned.

Christopher Joseph Tessier, 27, no current address, was charged with possession with intent to deliver, possession of a controlled substance, possession drug paraphernalia and possession of a prohibited offensive weapon.

Tessier was sent to Lehigh County Jail in lieu of $25,000 bail.

Kyle Calvin Higgenbotham, 24, who lives at the Upper Saucon Township motel, was charged with manufacturing a controlled substance; possession of drug paraphernalia; and three counts of possession of a controlled substance.

He was sent to county jail in lieu of $50,000 bail.

Nicholas Jeffrey Stump, 26, of Hatfield, Pennsylvania, and George Thomas Howard, 53, of the 3700 block of Allen Street in Emmaus, were each charged with possession of drug paraphernalia.

Howard was sent to county jail in lieu of $5,000 bail.

Prosecutors said the investigation is ongoing and more arrests are expected.

Sarah Cassi may be reached at scassi@lehighvalleylive.com. Follow her on Twitter @SarahCassi. Find lehighvalleylive.com on Facebook.
Baku, Azerbaijan, Aug. 5

By Rufiz Hafizoglu  Trend:

The EU is unwilling to delve into essence of Turkeys fight against the movement of Fethullah Gulen, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said in an interview with TGRT TV channel.

He said that Turkey tries in every possible way to explain the danger the Gulen movement poses for the country, but in vain.

The EU believes it can criticize Turkey and perceives all Ankaras replies as an ultimatum, Cavusoglu said.

On July 15 evening, Turkish authorities said a military coup attempt took place in the country. Meanwhile, a group of servicemen announced about transition of power to them.

However, the rebelling servicemen started to surrender July 16 and Turkish authorities said the coup attempt failed. Turkeys President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that the death toll as a result of the military coup attempt stood at 246 people excluding the coup plotters and over 2,000 people were wounded.

Erdogan declared a three-month state of emergency in Turkey on July 20.

---

Follow the author on Twitter: @rhafizoglu
Buried deep in Pennsylvania's state budget is a tax diversion that has Lehigh Valley hotel owners and municipal officials feeling hoodwinked.

The state fiscal code passed in June gives hotels and developers in Allentown's Neighborhood Improvement Zone first dibs on a portion of the region's hotel tax generated by existing hotels in the NIZ. Money above a 2011 baseline can be used to develop new hotel properties or spruce up existing ones in the zone.

That's money that otherwise would be used to market the Lehigh Valley as a regional tourist destination or fund tourism grants or capital investments in tourism, like the Lehigh Valley IronPigs' Coca-Cola Park.

The main recipients of the regional hotel tax -- Discover Lehigh Valley and the Lehigh Valley Economic Development Corp. --- found out about the switch after it was a done deal.

"We didn't know about it until two days after the budget was signed by the governor. It was a shock," said Michael Sterschic, president of Discover Lehigh Valley. "The state budget process operates that way. It is a totally opaque process."

The lack of transparency has some Lehigh Valley government bodies, including Northampton County, Bethlehem Township and Hanover Township, Northampton County, calling for a repeal.

Bethlehem City Council plans to send a letter to lawmakers questioning the process and asking state legislators to revisit the matter.

"The way these things happen in Harrisburg is in stark contrast to the way we do things in the city of Bethlehem," city council President J. William Reynolds said. "... It's unfair in both the process that occurred as well as the effect it will have on the Lehigh Valley and other hotels, without having a chance to weigh in."

State Sen. Pat Browne, R-Lehigh, who authored the NIZ law, is standing by the diversion.

"The original Neighborhood Improvement Zone law gave the NIZ authority the ability to allocate hotel taxes generated in the zone towards redevelopment," Browne said in a statement. "The recent changes only provide clarification as to what the hotel tax must be used for: redevelopment of hotel properties in the zone."

Lehigh Valley hotel guests pay a 4 percent hotel tax when they check out. Of that money, Lehigh and Northampton counties keep 1.25 percent collected for grants or capital investments in tourism.

Discover Lehigh Valley gets the remainder and passes on 36.4 percent to the Lehigh Valley Economic Development Corp. Discover Lehigh Valley netted $2.3 million in hotel taxes in the fiscal year that ended June 30.

"Our budget for this year is almost $2.5 million," Sterschic said. "It is about 82 percent of our funding, so that means that any diversion of those dollars away from us is of some importance."

About half of Lehigh Valley Economic Development Corp.'s $2.5 million budget comes from the hotel tax and it uses the money to attract and retain businesses to the region.

"Having those who visit the Lehigh Valley and stay in our hotels help fund economic asset marketing and job development efforts has been a very successful formula for the Lehigh Valley," spokesman Colin McEvoy said. "Any reduction in that means we have less money for those efforts."

Allentown only has two hotels in the NIZ, Marriott's new luxury Renaissance Allentown Hotel and the Holiday Inn, which the current owners bought in 2007. In addition, Albert Abdouche has plans to restore the historic Americus Hotel.

Since the Renaissance opened after the NIZ was created, all of its hotel tax dollars can be diverted. Sterschic said he is unsure how the Holiday Inn's baseline tax will be calculated.

"We are anticipating this could be about a $200,000 impact on just us," Sterschic said.

Hotel Bethlehem managing partner Bruce Haines said Lehigh Valley hotels were blindsided by this.

"(The money the Renaissance collected in year one) instead of it going to the country for tourism, like the rest of us do, it will be in a pot to basically improve the Holiday Inn in downtown Allentown, who competes with all of the hotels in the Lehigh Valley," Haines said. "This is a blatant misappropriation of the funds that were designed for tourism."

Haines took his case against the tax shift this week before Bethlehem City Council and Bethlehem Township commissioners. Commissioners, for their part, unanimously passed a resolution saying funneling the hotel tax money into the NIZ will disadvantage other hotels while hotels in the zone continue to benefit from the LVEDC and Discover Lehigh Valley.

It is ludicrous to think that Discover Lehigh Valley will suddenly stop promoting downtown Allentown, Haines said. Sterschic agrees. There's been a strategic choice to market the Lehigh Valley as a region.

"This does not just impact the NIZ," he said. "It impacts the Lehigh Valley. Because we market ourselves as a region, both for tourism and economic development purposes, anything that diminishes our regional efforts puts us at a competitive disadvantage, not only in the state but the regional market."

"We don't promote that way. We don't promote Allentown," Sterschic said. " We don't promote Bethlehem. We don't promote Easton. We promote the Lehigh Valley."

Reporter Kurt Bresswein contributed to this report.

Sara K. Satullo may be reached at ssatullo@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @sarasatullo and Facebook. Find lehighvalleylive.com on Facebook.
The radar tower is staying, but the farm fields, gravel parking lot and dirt road will look drastically different following development of FedEx Ground's newest distribution hub in Northampton County.

A crowd of about 85, including elected officials and business leaders, gathered Friday off Willow Brook Road in Allen Township for a groundbreaking to celebrate the start of construction of the long-anticipated warehouse and logistics facility.

Projected to cost $335 million, the hub is scheduled to open at 800,000 square feet in August 2018, with 680 full- and part-time jobs, according to FedEx Ground.

The Lehigh-Northampton Airport Authority sold the 260 acres to the Rockefeller Group Development Corp., which is handling construction and road improvements. In the works since 2012, the $9.8 million sale was the cornerstone of moves to satisfy a $16 million lawsuit filed in 1996 by Willowbrook Farms, former owner of the land the authority took by eminent domain.

"We're ecstatic," authority Executive Director Charles Everett said Friday. "This day was long in coming. ... Now it's here, we can see construction start. We can see new jobs come to the community."

The authority is owner of the nearby Lehigh Valley International Airport in Hanover Township, Lehigh County, that is served by the radar installation on the FedEx land.

Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf took part in the groundbreaking, following the state's commitment of $1.13 million in Pennsylvania First funding, $846,000 in job-creation tax credits and $127,000 for job training through the Workforce and Economic Development Network of Pennsylvania.

"These are the kind of jobs that are good-paying, family-sustaining jobs," the first-term Democrat said Friday. "The Lehigh Valley is a great place to do business. We've all known that. This is just one more piece of evidence from a big firm from the outside saying the same thing."

Scott Burns, FedEx Ground vice president for its Eastern region, told of starting out with the company as a package handler in 1988. He moved into his new role about two months ago.

"There is not only opportunity for 700 potential package handlers here in the local area, but there is potential for growth with each and every one of those individuals," Burns said.

In addition to the FedEx Ground hub, the Rockefeller Group said Friday it plans to develop an industrial park through three additional projects on additional land it is purchasing from the airport authority.

The road improvements will be designed to accommodate increased traffic for the entire development, with upgrades planned between the development site and Route 22, including the widening of Willow Brook Road, Race Street and Airport Road.

"After years of remarkable collaboration between the many public and private parties involved, we're thrilled to move ahead with this project and look forward to seeing all of our efforts come to fruition," Clark Machemer, senior vice president and regional development officer for the Rockefeller Group's New Jersey and Pennsylvania operations, said in a statement. "FedEx Ground is arguably the largest and most significant player in global logistics, and its presence in the Lehigh Valley will spur substantial job creation and economic development for the region."

FedEx Ground says its new facility is part of a nationwide network expansion plan that includes 560 distribution hubs and local pickup-and-delivery stations around the country. Last fiscal year, the company says, it invested $1.6 billion in network expansion projects.

Among the Lehigh Valley hub's role will be to work with area fulfillment centers in the delivery of products ordered online, a fast-growing retail segment, officials said Friday.

This layout from the Federal Aviation Administration shows the location of the new FedEx Ground hub in Allen Township and scope of related road improvements. (Courtesy image | For lehighvalleylive.com)

U.S. Rep. Charlie Dent, a Republican whose 15th Congressional District covers Lehigh and part of Northampton counties, welcomed FedEx after having worked with U.S. Sen. Pat Toomey, R-Pa., on securing Federal Aviation Administration approval for the airport authority to sell the land.

Also speaking Friday were state Sens. Lisa Boscola, D-Lehigh/Northampton, and Mario Scavello, R-Monroe/Northampton, who helped shepherd through legislation to transfer about a half-mile of nearby road to the state as part of improvements associated with the development.

FedEx Ground Lehigh Valley

By the Numbers

$335 million: total projected cost for building, road improvements and package-processing equipment.

800,000 square feet: size at opening in August 2018, with a full buildout of 1.1 million square feet projected by 2030.

680: jobs at opening, with 100 transferring from area facilities. There is the potential for 3,000 jobs at full phase.

30,000: packages-per-hour processing capability at opening, and 75,000 per hour at full phase.

Source: FedEx Ground

Kurt Bresswein may be reached at kbresswein@lehighvalleylive.com. Follow him on Twitter @KurtBresswein. Find lehighvalleylive.com on Facebook.
Spotted lanternfly

The spotted lanternfly is described as an inch long and black, red and white, native to China, India, Japan and Vietnam. (Courtesy photo | For lehighvalleylive.com)

Parts of the Lehigh Valley are in a newly expanded swath of Pennsylvania under quarantine because of an invasive insect.

Lateral view of an adult spotted lanternfly (Lycorma delicatula). (Courtesy photo | For lehighvalleylive.com)

The expansion is due to small populations of the spotted lanternfly found in Emmaus and Upper Milford Township in Lehigh County, as well as in Kutztown and Maxatawny Township in Berks County, the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture said Friday.

The spotted lanternfly is an inch-long, black-red-and-white-spotted pest that is native to China, India, Japan and Vietnam. It's an invasive species in Korea, where it has attacked 25 plant species that also grow in Pennsylvania. The pest had not been found in the United States prior to its initial detection in Berks County in fall 2014.

Initially, the state had put the quarantine in place for parts of Berks County.

"These new quarantines are proof of the power of partnerships - that members of the affected communities are alert to the real threat posed by spotted lanternfly to our state, and are vital members of the coalition of federal, state and local partners who are working to eliminate this invasive species from our state," state Agriculture Secretary C. Russell Redding said in a statement.

"Since spotted lanternfly was first detected in 2014 we have acted swiftly to educate the public, identify and study spotted lanternfly colonies, and take appropriate measures to eradicate them."

The general quarantine restricts movement of any material or object that can spread the pest. This includes firewood or wood products, brush or yard waste, remodeling or construction materials and waste, packing material like boxes, grapevines for decorative purposes or as nursery stock, and any outdoor household articles like lawnmowers, grills, tarps and other equipment, trucks or vehicles typically not stored indoors.

In addition to the new areas where the invasive has been found, the quarantine also includes these communities in:

Berks County: Amity, Colebrookdale, Douglass, District, Douglass, Earl, Hereford, Longswamp, Oley, Pike, Rockland and Washington townships and the boroughs of Bally, Bechtelsville, Boyertown and Topton.

Bucks County: Milford Township and Trumbauersville Borough.

Chester County: South Coventry Township.

Lehigh County: Lower Macungie Township, and the boroughs of Alburtis and Macungie.

Montgomery County: Douglass, New Hanover and Upper Hanover townships and the boroughs of East Greenville, Pennsburg and Red Hill.

Agriculture Department officials encourage all residents to watch for the spotted lanternfly and provide the following tips:

If you see eggs: Scrape them off the tree or smooth surface, double bag them, and throw them in the garbage or place the eggs in alcohol or hand sanitizer to kill them.

If you collect a specimen: Turn the adult specimen or egg mass in to the department's Entomology Lab for verification. First, place the sample in alcohol or hand sanitizer in a leak proof container.

If you take a photo: Submit to badbug@pa.gov photos of adults or egg masses.

If you report a site: Call the Bad Bug hotline at 866-253-7189 with details of the siting and your contact information.

Kurt Bresswein may be reached at kbresswein@lehighvalleylive.com. Follow him on Twitter @KurtBresswein. Find lehighvalleylive.com on Facebook.
lehigh valley international airport, lvia,

Big shippers like Amazon and FedEx have provided a financial boost to Lehigh Valley International Airport.

(lehighvalleylive.com file photo)

More shipping and commerce businesses that move into the area and utilize Lehigh Valley International Airport could mean cheaper rates in the future for regular passengers.

Lehigh-Northampton Airport Authority officials said cargo activity rose more than 54 percent in 2015 from the previous year and that trend is likely to continue.

The increase is due largely to two new cargo contracts in 2015 with Air Transport International and ABX Air, which carry consumer goods for Amazon.

Amazon plans to open a new 1.1 million-square-foot warehouse in Palmer Township later this year and a proposed $335 million FedEx warehouse and distribution facility is scheduled to open in 2018 near the airport.

That potential influx of commercial cargo business will help defray airport costs and could mean more competitive fares for passenger flights, according to authority Executive Director Charles Everett.

Passenger traffic increased 10 percent in 2015, reversing a trend of declines in the past three years.

According to a recent report by Cheapflights.com, LVIA ranked 12 in lowest average cost per airfare among the 101 most searched airports during June. LVIA jumped 61 spots from their previous position in 2015 when the airport was ranked 73.

Comparatively, Philadelphia International Airport was ranked 10 and Harrisburg International Airport was 86 in the report.

"We want to be a gateway...," Everett said, "moving people safely and efficiently."

LVIA primarily serves four airlines: American Airlines, United Airlines, Delta Airlines and Allegiant Air. Those airlines provide regular service to 10 cities and average 30 flights per day.

Everett said the ability to provide more competitive rates will not necessarily lead to an increase in major airlines at the airport or travel routes for passengers.

With Philadelphia and Newark Liberty International Airport in such close proximity to LVIA, airlines will likely continue to fly most routes out of the major hubs, Everett said.

The best avenue for the future is to pursue low cost carriers like Allegiant Air, according to an authority report.

John Best is a freelance writer. Find lehighvalleylive.com on Facebook.
$2,300 record player? Legal claims follow electrical damage in home

Charles Hentz, of Upper Mount Bethel Township, holds damaged electrical components Friday, July 22, 2016, outside Senior District Judge Sherwood Grigg's office in Bangor, following a hearing on claims for damages Hertz blames on a Met-Ed malfunction. (Kurt Bresswein | For lehighvalleylive.com)

An Upper Mount Bethel Township man prevailed in his case against Met-Ed over damage said to have been caused by an electrical malfunction at his home.

Then-Senior District Judge Sherwood Grigg on July 27 awarded $4,132.50 to Charles Hentz to replace items damaged by what Hentz claimed was an over-voltage April 29.

Instead, Hentz said Friday he reached a settlement with Met-Ed out of court for $6,000, with the stipulation that he drop his formal complaint filed with the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission over the incident.

Hentz said his attorney, Jill Mancini, confirmed the settlement. Met-Ed's counsel, Wyomissing, Pennsylvania-based attorney John Muir, did not respond to calls for comment.

Hentz had documented for the court that the over-voltage cost him $6,754 to replace his electronics damaged in the incident, plus related materials, labor and time. Met-Ed had originally offered Hentz $4,754 to settle out of court.

The claim led to a hearing July 22 before Grigg over how Hentz arrived at that figure.

Grigg has since left office, succeeded in the Bangor court by newly appointed District Judge Alicia Rose Zito.

Kurt Bresswein may be reached at kbresswein@lehighvalleylive.com. Follow him on Twitter @KurtBresswein. Find lehighvalleylive.com on Facebook.
The exodus of officers from the Defence Forces has been described as alarming and there have been calls for the Government to come up with a plan to retain officers.

In fact, a deliberate targeting by German supermarket chain Aldi of the officer corps is being identified behind the loss of talent at the upper echelons of the army, according to Kildare South Fianna Fail TD Fiona OLoughlin.

The Curragh is home to the Defence Forces Training Centre, where cadets are trained and where most officer training takes place.

New figures provided to me reveal that there are now just 841 Army officers in the Defence Forces  a drop from 966 in 2012, she explained.

The figures reveal that there are currently 140 officers serving among 1,200 staff in the Curragh.

The ongoing depletion of officer ranks in the Defence Forces has not been addressed. We must ask why the exodus is occurring?

Having invested in training and upskilling, why are these highly skilled officers leaving the army for other professions? the Deputy asked.

She speculated that the a reduction in pay and conditions in recent years was undoubtedly a contributory factor.

It was widely publicised earlier this year that German retailers Aldi and Lidl were continuing to increase their foothold in the Irish food and grocery market  and for senior recruitment, Aldi deliberately targeted the officer ranks of the Irish Defence Forces, she claimed.

And she quoted media reports which claimed that a dozen of the supermarkets 50 managers in Ireland were former members of the Defence Forces.

These are highly educated and skilled officers that are being lost to other industries because they are frustrated and disillusioned with the current incentives in terms of condition and pay, she said.

She noted that a recent recruitment drive by the Defence Forces, particularly aimed at attracting women to the forces has been effective.

I also understand the standard of applicants is very high, but unless the flow of officers exiting the army is stemmed now, the operating capabilities of the Defence Forces will be seriously impacted.

She said that 76 officers left the Defence Forces last year, a sizeable percentage of the total officer body and despite the recruitment campaign, numbers have dropped further, she added.
Last November this reporter wrote a piece about a young teenager who was in the care of the state and had appeared at Naas District Court.

He was being held in a facility for teenagers in Kildare although he was not from the county.

His was a curious case  he did not fit the bill of a typical teenage offender in so far as drugs and drink did not play a role  he was an earnest young man with an easy smile and plans for the future.

But during the course of his court appearance, his tragic and devastating family circumstances were revealed.

In the past week, the Leinster Leader has learned that he died on Monday, May 2 on Trinity Street, Dublin.

It is understood he was struck by a car in the early hours of the morning.

He had been staying in a nearby hostel and the Child and Family Agency, has launched an investigation.

Here we reproduce the original article:

As usual, the sound of a pin dropping is marked by a momentary absence of sound.

Nothing to be said, no breath with which to say it.

The teenager, wearing a pale grey tracksuit and thick rimmed glasses looks down at the floor for a moment, before raising his face back up to the judge.

He knows; we all know. This conversation has changed, for neither the better or worse, but changed with such a profound realisation youd prefer, perhaps, not to have known.

When you look into the abyss, the abyss looks into you, as Nietzsche said.

And you were eight?

Yeah.

More silence.

Stunned, slack-jawed, subdued, pale-faced.

To understand the moment, you have to have been there for the past 20 minutes.

Possibly, you need to have sat through a few hundred similar cases, over a couple of years - to truly get it.

But as best I can, in as faithful a chronology as possible, here goes.

A 16-year-old teenager appeared before Judge Desmond Zaidan on Thursday afternoon, November 19, in an almost empty courtroom.

For legal reasons which protect the identity of minors, we cannot identify him, and for lots of non-legal reasons that may become clear as you read on, we dont need to. It just doesnt matter.

He was taken, with the voluntary agreement of his parents, from his family almost two years ago and placed into State care.

Since the beginning of November, he has been in prison, in Oberstown, serving a sentence. (At the time of writing, he was due for release in March.)

Weary of seeing this happen over and over again, Judge Zaidan, like most judges who have presided over cases like this, is irritated that once again the State has sought fit to intervene so violently in the life of a young person, and apparently failed in one of its most basic duties - to keep them out of prison.

A huge number of children, probably a majority, who enter the care of the State will end up in jail.

If any set of parents had such an awful record theyd be banned from having children, and yet the State has convinced itself that its in the best interest of the child.

After he was initially taken into care, then aged 14, he was placed in a residential facility somewhere in Kildare.

Last Thursday he was in court to face two charges of criminal damage.

Basically, twice in the space of two days, he had a disagreement with the people employed to look after him.

Could he go and visit his girlfriend?

No.

Instead of slamming a door and sulking like most teenagers, he trashed the place, causing over 4,000 worth of damage.

The following day, he did something similar - a car this time. Superintendent Martin Walker who was prosecuting the case againt him explained that the defendant had seven previous convictions for theft, possession of knives and public order matters.

As juvenile offenders (as theyre called) go, its pretty run of the mill stuff.

The judge is annoyed that proper evaluations have yet to take place, the slow rate at which the Child and Family Agency move, and his annoyance is directed at the young solicitor who is there to represent them.

The judge and the teenagers solicitor, Arthur Denneny, are a great double act. Its good cop, bad cop.

With that unmistakable tone of voice that we all employ with errant teenagers, the judge interrogates him, tries to put the fear of God in him; while Denneny plays up how well behaved hes been in Oberstown.

Judge: You realise your behaviour is awful?

Denneny: Hes studying for his Junior Cert. They say hes a model prisoner.

Judge: This could go to the Circuit Court, where the maximum sentence is 10 years. I could send you to jail for two years.

Denneny: Im just trying to give him a future.

And so it goes on, the cajoling, the threatening, the pleading - all the while trying to understand why an apparently friendly and good-natured 16-year-old with an easy laugh who is good at English and maths and wants to work with horses could have previous convictions for possession of knives or thrash a house and frighten a young social care worker on her first day on the job.

The judge commends him for having a sense of ambition, a sense of knowing where he wants to go in the world. Its uncommon with these cases.

He admires that hes good at english and maths, and tells him, it could give him the opportunity to go far.

He admits, by way of encouragement, I was no good at maths.

Arthur Denneny piles on the encouragement: If you stick with your education, the world is your oyster.

If I was taken away from my family at 14, I dont where Id be. Its appalling.

Why were you so angry? the judge asks.

I bottle things up, and then just explode, the teenager says.

The judge turns to the solicitor from the Child and Family Agency. I want a definite answer to why hes behaving like this. I want no more messing.

But.

I want, I want, I want, I want the answer. Keep it simple, I want the answer! he says, irritated.

Judge Zaidan asks if theres a problem with drugs and drink.

The teenager says he used to smoke a bit, but doesnt any more.

See, thats the problem right there. If you abuse drugs, it messes with your mind.

The defendant struggles to suppress a laugh. Denneny reassures the judge - Its a nervous fear laughter.

The double act reaches its crescendo.

If the judge gives you a chance will you behave?

If I give you a chance, is it a deal?

Yes.

Are you certain? If he gives you chance?

If I give you a chance.?

100%. I will. I will.

Thats, more or less, the 20 minutes before.

Then, by way of an innocent, just-out-of-curiosity question, the judge asks if he has any siblings?

Yes.

Are you the eldest?

No, but me brother committed suicide eight year ago.

He hung himself when he was 13.

For the past 20 minutes, we werent at the races, we couldnt even see the tip of the iceberg.

We can never know nor imagine the vernacular of grief that is forced upon an eight year old when his 13 year old brother is found hanging.

We have the luxury of being able to hope that well never know the language of that much trauma.

And you were eight?

Yeah.

Did you or your family ever get counselling?

No.

Pause.

Thats something youd want to look into, Judge Zaidan tells the Child and Family Agency man.

If you cant do it, then get onto Pieta House. They do great work.

After the teenager leaves the courtroom.

When you ask questions.. the judge says to those of us who are left to contemplate the abyss looking back into us.
Baku, Azerbaijan, Aug. 5

By Rufiz Hafizoglu  Trend:

More than 300 people have been dismissed from Turkeys Foreign Ministry as part of the fight against the movement of Fethullah Gulen, who is accused of organizing the military coup attempt in the country, said Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu in his interview with TGRT TV channel.

Cavusoglu said it is necessary to cleanse the Foreign Ministry from Gulen supporters.

Earlier, the foreign minister said one of the diplomats, an employee of Turkish consulate in Kazan, Russia, fled to Japan.

On July 15 evening, Turkish authorities said a military coup attempt took place in the country. Meanwhile, a group of servicemen announced about transition of power to them.

However, the rebelling servicemen started to surrender July 16 and Turkish authorities said the coup attempt failed.

Turkeys President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that the death toll as a result of the military coup attempt stood at 246 people excluding the coup plotters and over 2,000 people were wounded.

Erdogan declared a three-month state of emergency in Turkey on July 20.

---

Follow the author on Twitter: @rhafizoglu
THE Director of Public Prosecutions has appealed the sentence imposed on a young man for his role in a shooting incident, writes David Hurley.

In May, Jason Freyne, aged 24, of no fixed abode was sentenced to five-and-a-half years imprisonment for possession of a 12-gauge single-barrelled shotgun and a single cartridge with intent to endanger life.

Limerick Circuit Court was told a 42-year-old criminal was injured when Freyne dismounted from a pedal bike and discharged two shots at a group of people who were chatting outside a house at Hyde Road, Prospect at around 2.30pm on May 9, 2015.

The victim, who sustained multiple small puncture wounds to his knee and body was treated at University Hospital Limerick following the incident but has gone on to make a good recovery.

During a sentencing hearing, Judge Tom ODonnell was told the incident was connected to a dispute between a girlfriend of the defendant and another person and that it had nothing to do with the victim.

Freyne, the court heard, was known to the injured man and was identified as the shooter by a number of people who were in his company.

Following the attack, Freyne told his mother that he intended going on a rampage and when arrested a number of hours later he was wearing a bulletproof vest, which he claimed was for his own safety.

Freyne was spotted by an off-duty garda near Barringtons Pier and he was followed as far as Mill Lane, which is located between Henry Street garda station and the Riverpoint building.

When approached by gardai, Freyne pulled the gun he had earlier used out of a rucksack stating he would have killed somebody had he not been arrested.

Imposing sentence, Judge Tom ODonnell said it was extremely alarming that Freyne thought it appropriate to ride around the streets of Limerick on a bike, wearing a bulletproof vest and carrying an adapted sawn-off shotgun, which, he commented, he was prepared to use.

He imposed an eight year prison sentence, suspending the final two and-a-half years for eight years.

Legal sources have confirmed that following a review of the case, the DPP initiated an appeal against the sentence on the grounds that it was unduly lenient given the seriousness of the offence.

It is understood Freynes previous record may also have been a factor in the decision.
LIMERICK Animal Welfare is at breaking point, and its chairperson Marion Fitzgibbon says she is fit to cry at the lack of support for the charity.

It follows a Bank Holiday weekend, where the charity was asked to take in 15 dogs, 30 stray cats, as well as three feral foals.

And the problem has become so bad, Ms Fitzgibbon says she has been asked to stop bringing stray horses to the charitys sanctuary in Kilfinane.

She feels her charity has been left to cope alone.

Limerick Animal Welfare is out picking up horses day and night. There is no service in Limerick any weekend, and holiday Monday, and Christmas, and any Easter, Marion said at the launch of the Irish Animal Welfare Party at Perys Hotel.

She added: I want Limerick Animal Welfare to be prioritised by Limerick City and County Council. They will tell me they have no telephone number, they have no budget. They cannot provide the service. I am sick of listening to it for 45 years. We cannot cope, we do not have the funding. I need more staff, more land.

Two foals were picked up by Limerick Animal Welfare volunteers in Southill, after it is understood their mother was taken away to the pound.

In another incident over the weekend, the charitys volunteers found a horse whose leg had been caught under the root of a tree.

It practically severed her leg. She had to be pulled out. I dont know how long she has been like this. But the poor mare had to be put down," Ms Fitzgibbon reported.

As for the remainder of the sanctuary, Ms Fitzgibbon said: I have 80 kittens below, I have spayed and neutered 30 kittens the other day. This situation is out of control too, but at least I can pick them up. Nobody is taking dogs in. I have seven dogs taken in on Friday evening, and this morning I was asked to take eight. It means I have 15 from two days. But I cannot pick up horses.

Anna Gallagher, a volunteer with Limerick Animal Welfare, says the weekends incidents must surely see calls increased for a horse project in either Moyross or Southill.

Since I have come in, I have been doing a lot of work in Southill and Weston, and have come across some really great kids. All they want is this project. And the money is there for it. The problem is no-one is listening, she said.

Ms Gallagher also warned: We are losing a generation.

On the incident where the mother of two foals was allegedly impounded, she added this was horrendous in anyones case.

The foals would have been following her and screaming for her, Ms Gallagher explained.

We need to sit up and take notice of what is going on. People report these problems in areas like Moyross and Southill, but nothing gets done, she concluded.

Calls for a horse project have been ongoing for a number of years.

It is illegal to graze horses in the city without a licence. And these are rarely, if ever, given out.
A LIMERICK personal insolvency practitioner  who helped a mum of two secure a 55% write down on her mortgage  said this week it is the tip of the iceberg.

Due to amended legislation showing its teeth, Maurice Lenihan, Castletroy, said: This is the beginning of the end of the mortgage and personal debt crisis.

Through his work, he says he has come across many in County Limerick who are living lives of quiet desperation as they are hounded by creditors and face the possibility of losing their homes.

In some instances, clients have had dark thoughts and Mr Lenihan has referred them to support agencies like Pieta House.

He lists many reasons for men and women finding themselves in financial difficulties  losing their job, pay cut, negative equity, large borrowings in the boom etc

Mr Lenihan, of Moore Stephens Debt Solutions, said in early 2015 the Insolvency Service of Ireland (ISI) reported the number of active cases was significantly lower than originally envisaged and that repossession proceedings had reached record levels.

In Limerick between January 2015 and March 2016 there were 221 Circuit Court possession orders lodged against the primary home. There were chaotic scenes in May as anti-eviction protesters took over the court and forced it to abandon hearing cases.

Mr Lenihan said: Crucially, the amended [personal insolvency] legislation has introduced a mechanism where arrangements rejected by creditors could be appealed to and approved by a panel of specialist personal insolvency judges. A debtor who wishes to remain in their family home can now initiate an appeal where a proposal is rejected and the personal insolvency practitioner (PIP) has demonstrated a better outcome for creditors than bankruptcy. The costs of bringing this appeal are funded by the Legal Aid Board.

There are a number of appeal cases working their way through the courts at present.

The consensus amongst PIPs and legal experts is that the mechanism is working as intended on the basis that some arrangements previously rejected by creditors have been approved on appeal, including one of our cases which was approved by Judge Patrick Meghan in Ennis Court, said Mr Lenihan, who assisted a mum of two living in Caherconlish in getting a 113,000 write-down on her mortgage of 309,000. At the Personal Insolvency Court she also got an additional 56,000 warehoused  the sum to be paid off in a lump sum at the end of the mortgage term at zero interest. She now has a mortgage of 140,000. The secondary school teacher said there was a real risk that she and her children would be made homeless if the appeal was not approved.

This change has profound and empowering implications for other debtors and their families who are currently having proposals considered by their creditors. In many cases these proposals include terms to restructure the mortgage in line with the market value of the property and write off the negative equity. Accordingly given the level of historic debt and the reduction in property values it is not unusual for mortgages to be written down by 50% or even more, with little or no debt warehoused in the arrangement.

We expect that as more successful arrangements emerge in the coming months that others in financial difficulty will be encouraged and motivated to take the necessary steps to fully understand the options available to them and take appropriate action, said Mr Lenihan. Last week, a new State-funded scheme was unveiled by the ISI. It gives people free access to PIPs for help.
SEVERAL criminal prosecutions relating to fatal road collisions in Limerick will not proceed until early 2017 at the earliest meaning grieving families will have to endure lengthy delays to secure justice for their loved ones.

During a callover of cases at Limerick Circuit Court prior to the summer vacation, prosecutors sought to adjourn a number of cases involving individuals who are accused of either careless driving causing death or dangerous driving causing death.

The specific cases before the court all related to fatalities which have occurred in Limerick since 2013.

John OSullivan BL told the court he was seeking the adjournments pending the detirmation of a Supreme Court challenge against a recent decision in the Court of Appeal which found that careless driving is not a strict liability offence.

There is a legal issue out there, he said adding that any Supreme Court hearing on the matter is unlikely to be heard before the end of the year.

Judge Tom ODonnell said he was aware of the issue and added the ruling of the Court of Appeal has caused difficulties for judges in criminal trials as it has created uncertainty as to what they can or cant say to jurys.

Mr OSullivan told the court that relatives of a one person killed in a recent collision were anxious that the case proceed during the next sessions as a potential witness is currently suffering from ill-health.

However, he said he did not feel it was appropriate to list the specific case for trial given the pending challenge.

All of the cases before the court were adjourned until the next callover in October for mention and it is likely they will be adjourned further on that date.

It is expected that several other prosecutions relating to fatal collisions, which are currently before the district court, will also be adjourned when they come before the circuit court later in the year.

The Supreme Court challenge relates to a ruling which was handed down in Court of Appeal late last year.

The judgement followed an appeal which was taken by a pensioner who was convicted of careless driving causing the death of another man in County Kildare in 2013.

The DPP was granted leave to appeal the ruling in June of this year.
Baku, Azerbaijan, Aug. 5

By Rufiz Hafizoglu  Trend:

Turkey and Russia will restore all mechanisms for settlement of the Syrian crisis, said Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu in an interview with TGRT TV channel.

Cavusoglu said the normalization of Turkey-Russia relations will have a positive impact on the settlement of a number of problems in the region.

He also noted that there can be disagreements between the two countries on the Syrian crisis settlement, but it doesnt prevent them from discussions.

Syria has been suffering from an armed conflict since March 2011, which, according to the UN, has so far claimed the lives of over 500,000 people.

Militants from various armed groups are confronting the Syrian government troops. The "Islamic State" and Jabhat al-Nusra are the most active terrorist groups in Syria.

---

Follow the author on Twitter: @rhafizoglu
May 3, 2021, 2 AM

The 10 airmail stamp honoring the first man on the moon, Neil Armstrong, was issued Sept. 9, 1969.

By Michael Baadke

No other person has been honored on more United States stamps during his lifetime than Neil Armstrong.

Despite the fact that its stamp subject guidelines at the time prohibited honoring any individual until 10 years after his death, the U.S. Postal Service issued four different stamps that depict Armstrong on his final space mission, and another that shows the footprint of an astronaut on the moons surface and names Armstrong in text printed on the stamps reverse.

Armstrong, the Apollo 11 spacecraft commander who in 1969 became the first man to step onto the moons surface, died at age 82 on Aug. 25, 2012, following complications resulting from cardiovascular procedures.

He was born Aug. 5, 1930, in Wapakoneta, Ohio, and served as a naval aviator from 1949 to 1952.

As a research pilot at NASAs Flight Research Center, Edwards, Calif., he was a project pilot on many pioneering high speed aircraft, including the well known, 4000-mph X-15, NASA reports.

Armstrong joined NASAs astronaut program in 1962 and was named command pilot of the Gemini 8 mission, which would launch on March 16, 1966.

Simply because of Armstrongs place in history as the first man on the moon, his role in the historic Gemini 8 mission is less well known. Armstrong and pilot David R. Scott were the first astronauts to successfully dock two vehicles in space, connecting their craft with a Gemini Agena target vehicle launched the same day.

But 27 minutes after the link-up, the spacecraft began to roll dizzyingly through space because of a thruster malfunction in the manned Gemini capsule. The emergency caused the mission to be cut short as the astronauts disengaged their craft from the target vehicle, stabilized it by engaging the re-entry control system, and splashed down just 10 hours after the flight began.

Three years would pass before Armstrongs next and final mission in space, but it was the mission that would forever etch his name in the annals of history and place him among the top of the worlds most admired pioneering heroes.

As mission commander of Apollo 11, Armstrong would become the first man to set foot on the moon. Lunar Module Pilot Edwin Buzz Aldrin would follow him onto the moons surface about 20 minutes later as pilot Michael Collins orbited overhead in the command module, Columbia.

The mission launched July 16, 1969, and the lunar module Eagle landed on the moon in the Sea of Tranquility on July 20.

Prior to the landing, U.S. Postmaster General Winton M. Blount announced that the Post Office Department would issue a 10 First Man on the Moon commemorative airmail postage stamp, the design of which was revealed on page 1 of the July 21, 1969, Linns Stamp News. The engraved master stamp die for the stamp was part of the cargo on the Apollo 11 flight, and Armstrong and Aldrin would hand-cancel a moon letter during the mission.

The 10 stamp (Scott C76) was placed on sale in post offices on Sept. 9, 1969, less than eight weeks after the Apollo 11 mission successfully concluded.
Aug 5, 2016, 4 AM

Airmail pilot Charles H. Ames fatally crashed in the mountains near Bellefonte, Pa., in October 1925, some 15 miles from Cyrus Bettis wreck in August 1926. Witnesses to both sites said Bettis crash left more devastation than Ames wreckage (shown here).

The United States Army dispatched a Douglas C-1 transport plane from Washington, D.C., to Bellefonte to bring the injured flier, Lt. Cyrus K. Bettis, to Walter Reed Hospital. An ambulance carried Bettis to the Bellefonte airfield, where his stretcher was

On April 21, 1927, Contract Air Mail Route 11 began flying between Cleveland, Ohio, and the Pittsburgh, Pa., airfield that had been renamed the previous November to honor the late Lt. Cyrus Bettis. This first-flight cover was backstamped in Youngstown, Oh

A popular real-photo postcard at the time pictures Lt. Cyrus K. Bettis with the Curtiss R3C-1 aircraft in which he won the Pulitzer Trophy Race on Oct. 12, 1925, flying at an average speed of 248.99 mph.

By Kathleen Wunderly

The Pennsylvania mountains that were the nemesis of pilots from the earliest days of United States airmail claimed another aviator 90 years ago this month.

Cyrus K. Bettis was born Jan. 2, 1893, at Carsonville, Mich. After high school and a business course in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, he worked in Fenton, Mich., from 1913-1916 as manager of Exchange 26 of the Michigan State Telephone Co.

Young Bettis seems to have settled into a stable white-collar career, but then made a life-changing choice by taking lessons at the O.E. Williams School of Aviation in Fenton. On Feb. 2, 1918, he became a flying cadet in the Army Aviation Section, Signal Corps, and graduated from the School of Military Aeronautics at the University of Illinois.

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Bettis completed flight training in September 1918 at Call Field, Wichita Falls, Tex., and then did duty on the Mexican border and in the Philippines. He rose from private in 1918 to first lieutenant by 1920, and in 1923 was transferred to Selfridge Field, Mount Clemens, Mich., base of the armys elite 1st Pursuit Group.

Bettis now was skilled enough to be chosen to represent the Army in air races. On Oct. 4, 1924, he won the John L. Mitchell Trophy Race in Dayton, Ohio.

The Mitchell race was established in 1922 by Brig. Gen. Billy Mitchell, in honor of his younger brother who was killed while flying with the 1st Pursuit Group in World War I.

Bettis flew an average 175.41 mph to capture the 1924 Mitchell trophy, a record that held through the next six races. He used the airplane that, by the mid-1920s, had begun to dominate U.S. air racing: the Curtiss R3C, a single-engine biplane built as a landplane (R3C-1) and a floatplane (R3C-2).

Flying for the Army, Bettis used the R3C-1 again the following year, in the Pulitzer Trophy Race, then considered the top event of the national air race circuit.

New York newspaper magnate Ralph Pulitzer established the race in 1922 to encourage the development of faster landplanes. The trophy went to the pilot and plane with the fastest time during four laps over a closed course.

On Oct. 12, 1925, Bettis, representing the 1st Army Pursuit Group, flew an R3C-1 racer pursuit plane to win the sixth (and last) Pulitzer Trophy Race. Bettis won at an average speed of 248.99 mph over a triangular course of 124.27 miles.

The Boston Herald reported on the race in its Oct. 13, 1925, issue, Covered with grime and glory, with his plane shooting flame in the gathering darkness, Lt. Cyrus K. Bettis, army ace, today won the Pulitzer trophy race feature of the national air races, broke the worlds speed record of 243.67 miles per hour for a closed circuit course, and established a new record of 248.99 miles per hour.

On the same date, The New York Times wrote, It was piloted by Lieutenant Cyrus K. Bettis, contesting for the army, a quiet, retiring little man with an iron nerve and a knowledge of flying which enabled him to get every ounce of power out of his motor.

Bettis actually was disappointed with the race results, as he had done better than that in the trials and had predicted a speed of 270 mph in the contest. Nevertheless, Bettis and the R3C-1 were the fastest pilot and aircraft in the world in 1925.

Adding to his fame, Bettis was awarded the Clarence Mackay Army Aviation Trophy in 1926 for outstanding aerial performance in 1925. This prize was shared with Lt. James H. Doolittle, winner of the 1925

Schneider Cup in a Curtiss R3C-2 seaplane.

In 1926, Bettis was still stationed at Selfridge Field with the 1st Pursuit Group, but that May he was sent to Camp Anthony Wayne, a model military camp of 1,000 soldiers set up at the Sesquicentennial International Exposition in Philadelphia.

Near the end of August, Bettis and lieutenants Luther S. Smith and John J. Williams prepared to fly back to Selfridge Field to have their planes tuned up, after which they would return to Philadelphia for the National Air Races, Sept. 4-13.

On Monday morning, Aug. 23, the three aviators flew out as a group, on a route taking them across the center of Pennsylvania and its Allegheny Mountain range. Part of the route was the same as that followed by the first airmail pilots flying from Long Island, N.Y., to Cleveland, Ohio, with a stop at the airfield in Bellefonte, Centre County, Pa.

Part of the Appalachians, the Alleghenies run for more than 500 miles northeast to southwest across Pennsylvania and into Maryland, West Virginia and Virginia.

The Alleghenies have an abundance of long, narrow ridges that vary widely in height, from 440 feet to 2,775 feet.

This rough terrain in the middle of Pennsylvania exaggerates weather conditions, encouraging low-lying fog as well as thermal updrafts causing unexpected wind gusts. Abrupt and dramatic changes in barometric pressure also are common. Conditions vary wildly over distance, with one valley deeply fogged in and another perfectly clear only a few miles away.

In the early days, with little instrumentation beyond a compass and a primitive altimeter, fliers typically navigated by visual observation of the horizon and natural or manmade features, such as waterways, topography, canals and buildings.

Until the invention of a more sophisticated altimeter in 1928, relying on the altimeter while flying in the mountains was risky business, when one-tenth of a point of that unstable barometric pressure would equal 100 feet on an altimeter, and mean the difference between clearing a mountaintop or flying right into it.

Late August, with hot days and quickly cooling nights, is a prime time for dense and lingering fog in the Alleghenies, and Smith and Williams lost sight of Bettis as the three planes approached the Lewistown area, about 160 miles west of Philadelphia. Smith managed to stay on course and reached Selfridge in late afternoon. Williams landed at the Bellefonte airfield in early afternoon, then continued on to Selfridge.

Bellefonte was chosen in 1918 by the U.S. Post Office Department as the site of the only scheduled fuel and maintenance stop in Pennsylvania on the first U.S. westward airmail route. An airfield was quickly built in late 1918, and a second, larger field was constructed in 1925 to accommodate the bigger aircraft and ground lighting needed for the transcontinental night mail.

When Bettis did not arrive at Selfridge on Monday, Smith and Williams flew back toward Bellefonte while other planes came from Philadelphia. They conducted aerial searches on Tuesday and Wednesday, to no avail.

Fog and geography had accomplished what neither military flying nor high-speed racing had done, causing the ace aviator to crash. The wreck happened on Jacks Mountain, about 30 miles southeast of Bellefonte, near the part of the range known as the Seven Mountains.

Thinking he had cleared the mountain in the dense fog, Bettis had sideswiped a tree on a hillside, hit the ground, bounced and then hit the ground again.

Mail pilot Charles H. Ames had a similar accident on Oct. 1, 1925, on a night flight from New Jersey to Bellefonte, with a fatal result. In heavy fog, Ames flew straight into the side of a mountain a few ridges and valleys north of where Bettis came down. Airmail service investigators concluded that variations in barometric pressure caused Ames altimeter to give a false reading that led the pilot to believe he was flying 100 feet higher than he actually was.

Bettis crashed a little after 1 p.m. on Monday, Aug. 23, and was knocked unconscious. He awakened a few hours later, still strapped into his seat but with his aircraft in pieces around him, the wings crumpled, and the motor and propeller and radiator scattered in various directions. Those who had visited the site of both the Ames crash and the Bettis wreck said that the latter was the worse of the two, though amazingly sparing the pilots life.

Bettis injuries included his left leg broken above the knee, broken nose and jaw, cuts and bruises, and surely internal injuries as well. Recounting the story later to a New York Times reporter, Bettis said that he hoped the wreckage would be visible to the search planes he could hear overhead. The trees were in full leaf, however, and the remains of the plane were well hidden. Bettis had no food, but managed to catch some of the drizzling rain in his hands.

Some 27 hours after crashing, he decided he would not be found alive if he did not try to save himself. Thus, the quiet, retiring little man with an iron nerve set out around 4 p.m. on Tuesday, crawling on hands and one knee, dragging his broken leg through the dense thicket and over the glaciated rocks. That evening he was close enough to a road to hear traffic, and made it to the road around 9 p.m. before collapsing.

Bettis woke at dawn on Wednesday and resumed crawling, until found by two teenage boys who were berry picking. One of the boys ran to the cabin and summoned his mother. She then went to the nearest telephone, which was not very near, and brought help in the form of two state highway workers with a vehicle in which to transport Bettis to the hospital in Bellefonte.

The aviator had crawled for more than six hours through at least three miles of heavy brush and rocks.

Dr. David Dale, a surgeon in WWI, worked on Bettis at the Bellefonte hospital until two military surgeons from Carlisle and Washington, D.C., arrived later on Wednesday. They pronounced Bettis to be in surprisingly good condition and decided to transport him to Walter Reed Hospital in Washington, though the flier asked to stay in Bellefonte.

A Douglas C-1 transport plane arrived in Bellefonte on Thursday morning from Bolling Field, Washington, and Bettis, swathed in bandages, was taken by ambulance to the local airfield, where the plane took off at 12:42 p.m.

Several news stories  and there were many nationwide because Bettis was a celebrity from his racing triumphs  mentioned that because their patient could not wear a parachute on the flight, the pilots and medical officers refused to wear one.

Physicians at Walter Reed felt that Bettis had a splendid chance for recovery, but meningitis set in on Aug. 31, and the air ace died at 9:05 a.m. Wednesday, Sept. 1, 1926, nine days after the crash in the mountainous wilds. He was 33 years and 8 months old. His body was returned to Port Huron, Mich., where his parents lived.

With a military escort, and planes from Selfridge Field overhead, Bettis was buried in Lakeside Cemetery in Port Huron.

Affectionately known as Cy throughout the service, Lieut. Bettis death is a severe loss, both to his many friends and the science of flying, in which he had contributed an uncanny skill for manipulation of light and sensitive machines, the Evening Star in Washington, D.C., wrote on Sept. 2, 1926.

Shock and sorrow were widespread, as Americas mail pilots and military aces were superstars of that time, with well-publicized feats.

A Pennsylvania tribute to the brave and tenacious airman quickly came from Pittsburgh, where officials announced that the Pittsburgh-McKeesport Airdrome would change its name to the Bettis Airfield.

The airport had opened in June 1925 and was the first major airstrip in the Pittsburgh area. It was formally dedicated to Bettis in ceremonies on Nov. 14, 1926.

Bettis Field was the hub of the first airmail route to Pittsburgh: Contract Air Mail Route 11, connecting Pittsburgh and Cleveland and inaugurated on April 21, 1927. A first-flight cover is shown nearby.

A few months later, on Aug. 3, an estimated 100,000 people massed to watch Charles Lindbergh land in the Spirit of St. Louis, one of his 78 stops on his victory tour of America following his solo trans-Atlantic flight in May.

Bettis Field is long gone, replaced in 1949 by a government facility that designs and develops nuclear power for the U.S. Navy. The new occupants did retain the historic name; the site is called the Bettis Atomic Power Laboratory, perpetuating the memory of one of the most talented aviators in the world in the 1920s.
New plate number on Flag forever coil reflects printer changes

May 2, 2021, 9 PM

A post office stick of 10 coils of 100 of the nondenominated Flag forever stamp bearing the new plate number B11111. (Image courtesy Frank Covey/Plate Number Coil Collectors Club.)

A new variety of the 2016 Flag forever coil stamp has been printed with the plate number B11111. The original coil issue from the same printer showed plate number S11111. (Image courtesy Frank Covey/Plate Number Coil Collectors Club.)

By Michael Baadke

Banknote Corporation of America has printed a new variety of the 2016 United States nondenominated Flag forever coil stamp with the plate number B11111.

The plate number appears on every 31st stamp in the coil, printed just below the Flag vignette.

Coil stamps bearing the plate number have been turning up in some U.S. post offices. The new stamps are delivered to post offices in packaging referred to as sticks or logs.

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The sticks are coils in a vertical stack of 10 that have horizontal slits mostly separating the coils. The rolls remain attached by small paper bridges that are easily broken apart by postal clerks to facilitate selling individual coil rolls.

The U.S. Postal Services Stamp Fulfillment Services retail division notes in its USA Philatelic catalog that customers cannot be guaranteed specific coil plate numbers.

The new variety was discovered by Frank Covey of the Plate Number Coil Collectors Club, who provided images of the find to Linns. Stamp dealer Bob Rabinowitz also provided information about the find.

The Flag stamp was originally issued Jan. 29 in four major varieties, including coils of 100 from two security printers contracted by the USPS: Sennett Security Products and Ashton Potter.

The original Sennett coils were printed and processed by Banknote Corporation with a plate number S11111 on every 31st stamp.

That stamp is being listed as Scott 5052 in the 2017 Scott Specialized Catalogue of United States Stamps and Covers.

The Sennett firm acquired Banknote Corporation in 2004, but stamps printed by the subsidiary showed a plate number beginning with the letter S.

Linns reported in the Jan. 11 issue that CCL Label had purchased Banknote Corporation.

The Postal Service said that future stamps printed by Banknote Corporation will carry the BCA mark, meaning plate numbers beginning with the letter B.

The ownership changes did not involve Ashton Potter, a separate security printing firm in Williamsville, N.Y., that also prints and processes stamps for the Postal Service.

For additional information about the Plate Number Coil Collectors Club, visit its website.
May 2, 2021, 9 PM

A Poland 65-zloty 600th Anniversary of the Black Madonna of Jasna Gora stamp (Scott 2529) issued Aug. 26, 1982 (left), and a Poland 1.10z Black Madonna of Jasna Gora stamp (Scott 3521) issued May 9, 2000.

A 1992 Poland 20,000-zloty Black Madonna of Czestochowa souvenir sheet of one (Scott 3092), which shows the icon wearing her crown.

A Vatican City 150-lira Black Madonna and Cloister and Church of the Jasna Gora Monastery stamp (Scott 437), left, and a Poland 2.60-zloty Black Madonna of Czestochowa stamp (Scott 3708) issued Dec. 12, 2003. The stamp-on-stamp design of the Poland stamp

By Rick Miller

For Christians worldwide, Mary, a Jewish girl from the tribe of Judah who lived more than 2,000 years ago, stands near the center of Christian belief.

The Gospels of Matthew and Luke tell how, while yet a virgin, she conceived a child by the power of the Holy Ghost. Christians believe that child, Jesus, was the incarnate son of God and God incarnate, whose sacrificial death and Resurrection is the central tenet of Christianity.

Perhaps not surprisingly, views of Mary within the different branches of Christianity, vary widely. The veneration of Mary is strongest in Roman Catholicism, which offers the doctrines of the Immaculate Conception, Perpetual Virginity, and the Bodily Assumption of Mary.

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The Immaculate Conception is the doctrine that Mary, alone of all the human race, was conceived without the taint of original sin. The Bodily Assumption of Mary holds that she did not die, but was assumed bodily into heaven at the end of her life on earth.

In Eastern and Oriental Orthodox Christianity, Mary has the title Theotokos, meaning God-Bearer. Orthodox Christianity emphasizes the divine holiness of Mary and her role as a mediator of Gods grace.

Protestant Christians generally have a less mystical and less exalted view of Mary. While most accept her title as Mother of God, they cannot be said to venerate Mary in the same way as Roman Catholics and Orthodox Christians do.

While Roman Catholic and Orthodox Christians offer prayer to and through the Virgin Mary, Protestants generally do not.

Over the centuries, Mary has been the subject of more Christian art than any other person, with the possible exception of Jesus.

Paintings, icons, and statues of Mary range from the catacombs of Rome to the art galleries of modern glittering cities. Most artists have tended to show Mary as looking very much like themselves. The Black Madonnas of Europe are an exception.

Some European Black Madonnas were created intentionally, but many have turned black over the centuries due to chemical reactions of the paint to environmental contaminants and smoke from votive candles.

For some, Black Madonnas symbolize a link with nature and a reference to the earth-mother goddesses of pagan religion. For others, they symbolize transformation, inspiration, and spiritual awakening of the believer. Some Black Madonnas are associated with miracles, and a few are the objects of Christian pilgrimage.

France boasts the most Black Madonnas, with 39 recognized by church authorities.

Recognized Black Madonnas in Eastern Europe include those at Bistrica, Croatia; Brno, Czech Republic; Prague, Czech Republic; Vitina-Letnica, Kosovo; Vilnius, Lithuania; Kalista, Macedonia; Ohrid, Macedonia; Kostroma, Russia; Apatin, Serbia; Koprivna, Slovenia; and Hoshiv, Ukraine.

Several Eastern European Black Madonnas have been commemorated on stamps.

Probably the most famous Black Madonna of Eastern Europe is Polands Black Madonna of Czestochowa, also known as the Black Madonna of Jasna Gora.

The icon is seen on the Poland 65-zloty stamp (Scott 2529) shown nearby. The stamp, printed by photogravure, is perforated gauge 11.

A two-stamp souvenir sheet of Scott 2529 is also noted and valued but not listed in the 2016 Scott Standard Postage Stamp Catalogue. The stamp and souvenir sheet were issued Aug. 26, 1982, for the 600th anniversary of the arrival of the icon at Jasna Gora.

Also shown in the first illustration (right) is a Poland 1.10z Black Madonna of Jasna Gora stamp (Scott 3521), which was part of a three-stamp set issued May 9, 2000, for the 80th birthday of Pope John Paul II, who was canonized a saint by Pope Francis April 27, 2014. The engraved and lithographed stamp is perforated gauge 12. The stamp design is by famed Polish engraver Czeslaw Slania.

This Black Madonna icon is housed in the Jasna Gora monastery in Czestochowa, Poland. The origins of the icon are shrouded in mystery and legend.

Most scholars agree that it is Byzantine in origin and dates to the sixth to ninth centuries. It likely sojourned in Hungary and Ukraine for a time before being brought to its present location during the time of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth.

Icons are more than just paintings to be appreciated for their artistic merits. The Orthodox Christian artists who compose them use visual symbology to convey religious and mystical concepts to the viewer. This was particularly important in pre-literate societies.

The Black Madonna of Jasna Gora shows the Virgin as Hodegetria (she who shows the way). In this familiar compositional arrangement, the Virgin uses her right hand to direct attention away from herself and toward the Christ Child, the source of salvation. Jesus holds a book of Gospels in his left hand and raises his right hand toward the viewer in blessing.

The icon was brought to the monastery by Prince Wladyslaw Opolczyk in 1384. In 1655, 70 monks and 180 noblemen in the Monastery of Jasna Gora withstood a 40-day siege by 4,000 Swedish soldiers during the Second Northern War.

The unlikely victory was a turning point in the war and was largely credited to the intervention of the Holy Virgin. This led King John II Casimir Vasa to proclaim the icon as the queen and protectoress of Poland.

On Sept. 8, 1717, Pope Clement XI issued a canonical coronation to the icon as queen and protectoress of Poland.

In 1956, Vatican City issued a set of three stamps commemorating the 300th anniversary of the icons canonical coronation (Scott 216-218). The engraved stamps are perforated gauge 14. The 35-lira stamp from the set is pictured nearby.

On May 3, 1966, Vatican City issued a set of six stamps (Scott 433-438) for the millennium of Polish Christianity.

The 150-lira stamp (Scott 437), shown at left in the third illustration, features the Black Madonna and the cloister and church of the Jasna Gora monastery. The engraved stamp is on paper watermarked with crossed keys and is perforated gauge 14 by gauge 13.

This stamp was featured on a Polish stamp-on-stamp design issued Dec. 12, 2003, shown at right in the third picture. The Polish stamp was printed by lithography and is perforated gauge 11 with horizontal syncopated perforations.

The stamps previously discussed show the icon without her crown (sheath). On June 18, 1992, Poland issued a 20,000z Black Madonna of Czestochowa souvenir sheet of one (Scott 3092), shown nearby, which depicts the icon wearing her crown.

The original crown was iron, but over the years it has been upgraded several times. The icon received additional canonical coronations from Pope Pius X on May 22, 1910, and from Pope John Paul II on Aug 26, 2005. Today the crown is of gold and silver and studded with jewels. When the crown is in place, only the faces and hands of Mary and Jesus in the icon are visible.

August 26 is the feast day of the icon. Although Jasna Gora is a Roman Catholic monastery, the Black Madonna has a strong following among Orthodox believers in both Ukraine and Belarus.

Jasna Gora is the most well-known and popular shrine in Poland, with a 140-mile pilgrimage held annually since 1711.

During World War II and the dark days of the long communist occupation after the war, many faithful Christians, including Karol Wojtyla, the future St. John Paul II, risked their lives and liberty to perform the pilgrimage clandestinely.
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Baku, Azerbaijan, Aug. 5

By Rufiz Hafizoglu  Trend:

As a part of the operation against the movement of Fethullah Gulen, who is accused of organizing the military coup attempt in Turkey, 139 employees of Turkeys Scientific and Technological Research Council (TUBITAK) have been dismissed, Anadolu Agency reported Aug. 5.

Moreover, 28 employees of TUBITAK have resigned from the positions.

An operation was held Aug. 3 at TUBITAK as a part of the fight against Gulen movement.

Istanbul court adopted a decision Aug. 4 to arrest Fethullah Gulen.

On July 15 evening, Turkish authorities said a military coup attempt took place in the country. Meanwhile, a group of servicemen announced about transition of power to them.

However, the rebelling servicemen started to surrender July 16 and Turkish authorities said the coup attempt failed. Turkeys President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that the death toll as a result of the military coup attempt stood at 246 people excluding the coup plotters and over 2,000 people were wounded.

Erdogan declared a three-month state of emergency in Turkey on July 20.

---

Follow the author on Twitter: @rhafizoglu
Baku, Azerbaijan, Aug. 5

By Rufiz Hafizoglu  Trend:

Turkey and Russia have overcome the crisis in relations, President of Turkey Recep Tayyip Erdogan said at a joint press conference in Ankara with President of Kazakhstan Nursultan Nazarbayev, TRT Haber news channel reported Aug. 5.

Erdogan added that Kazakhstan has played a significant role in repairing the relations between Russia and Turkey.

Earlier, Turkish presidential administration told Trend that President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin will discuss a number of important economic and political issues during a meeting in St. Petersburg Aug. 9.

Fighting the terrorist organizations in Syria is among the issues planned to be discussed during that meeting, said the presidential administration.

Moreover, the presidents are expected to discuss the joint energy projects of Russia and Turkey, such as the Turkish Stream gas pipeline and the construction of Akkuyu nuclear power plant.

The relations between Russia and Turkey deteriorated after the Su-24 bomber incident in 2015.

On June 27, Erdogan sent a letter of condolences to Putin over the death of Russian Su-24 pilot and expressed regret over the incident.

---

Follow the author on Twitter: @rhafizoglu
Baku, Azerbaijan, Aug. 5

By Rufiz Hafizoglu  Trend:

Turkey and Kazakhstan discussed the issue of closure of Gulens schools in Kazakhstan, President of Turkey Recep Tayyip Erdogan said at a joint press conference in Ankara with President of Kazakhstan Nursultan Nazarbayev, TRT Haber reported Aug. 5.

Erdogan said that currently there are 33 educational institutions of Fethullah Gulen in Kazakhstan.

He added that the ministries of education of the two countries will take important steps to address this issue.

Istanbul court adopted a decision Aug. 4 to arrest Fethullah Gulen. He is accused of organizing the military coup attempt in Turkey.

On July 15 evening, Turkish authorities said a military coup attempt took place in the country. Meanwhile, a group of servicemen announced about transition of power to them.

However, the rebelling servicemen started to surrender July 16 and Turkish authorities said the coup attempt failed. Turkeys President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that the death toll as a result of the military coup attempt stood at 246 people excluding the coup plotters and over 2,000 people were wounded.

Erdogan declared a three-month state of emergency in Turkey on July 20.

---

Follow the author on Twitter: @rhafizoglu
China launches website stating "facts" about the country's claims over the South China Sea. (Photo : Getty Images)

China has brought the maritime disputes into another playing field after Beijing launched a website supporting the nation's claims on the coveted South China Sea.



On Wednesday, the State Oceanic Administration (SOA) introduced the world to a website dedicated to supporting and providing "factual" information on China's claims in the South China Sea.



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The China Daily reported on the matter and said that the website run by the National Marine Data & Information Service has 10 sections that include news, development and management, law and regulations, expert opinion, a timeline of major events, historical archives, pictures and videos, basic information, and FAQs.



Zhang Haiwen, an official from the SOA who oversees international cooperation, explained that the goal of the website's launch was to help people understand the "truth" about China's highly contested claims.



"The South China Sea has drawn huge attention, but some information online is not accurate. We hope that this website will enable domestic and overseas people to better understand it and learn about the truth behind the 'dispute' over it," Zhang told the outlet.



Meanwhile, CRI English noted that the timing of the website launch was "timely" considering that the international ruling from the Permanent Court in The Hague who handled an arbitration case filed by the Philippines was released less than a month ago.



According to Zhang, the website with the domain name www.thesouthchinasea.org contains only "comprehensive, authoritative, detailed, and accurate" information which is updated every once in a while when they verify it.



"The website is founded with the aim of positively publicizing our policies, claims, historical proof, legal basis and international cooperation while serving as a reliable channel for domestic and overseas government departments, research groups and individuals to learn about the South China Sea," added Shi Qingfeng, a spokesperson from the SOA.



SOA also revealed that the website can be accessed through five other domain names including www.china-nanhai.org.


There is a rising trend of people dating online and ending up in real relationships. (Photo : Getty Images)

Cirk arrived at the Changsha Huanghua International Airport and called his girlfriend Zhang's phone.Her phone was off and could not be reached.



However, Cirk still waited in the airport for the next 10 days for Zhang to pick him up. The Dutchman was then rushed to the hospital due to exhaustion.



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Zhang then called Hunan TV to air her side of the story. She said that she was in another city for her scheduled plastic surgery and couldn't be reached.



She also said that Cirk was being "callous" and then one day she received a photo of his air tickets. She did not hear from him since.



She said, "One day he sent me a photo of air tickets abruptly and I thought it was a joke. He didn't contact me later."



Cirk has already bought his return ticket back to Holland and was scheduled to depart earlier this week. Zhang expressed that she is still keen on seeing him after she recovers from her surgery.



The news has been trending in Weibo and many netizens reacted to the story of Cirk and Zhang.



Some Weibo users mocked the Dutch man, saying that he is "stupid". Others took sympathy and addressed comments to Zhang.



The user said, "Here's a guy taking a relationship seriously, don't play around with his feelings. If you don't want him anymore, tell him so he can go home."



According to the Pew Research Center in the U.S., many Americans think that online is a good way to meet people. The "stigma" that online dated used to have is now gone.



There is only 23 percent of Americans who think that online dating was only for "desperate" people, according to the center.



The use of online dating apps has also tripled since 2013 based on the center's study conducted in June last year.


Amazing auroras

The aurora borealis  a cosmic event caused by charged electrons interacting with elements in Earth's atmosphere  creates breathtaking displays of colored lights that have long fascinated spectators and photographers. The charged electrons originate from solar wind, and, "the aurora is the only visible evidence that the Sun and the Earth are a system connected by more than sunlight," according to NASA.Jim Henderson, who has photographed more than 300 aurora displays in northeast Scotland, spoke with Live Science about how to nail a great shot of the impressive sky shows. Here are some of his favorite photos. [Read full story about how to photograph auroras]

This image was taken at Harestone, near Crathes Castle, on April 4, 1990. The photo captures a glowing purple nitrogen ray.

Corona zenith

This display exploded in activity over Deeside (25 miles or 40 kilometers west of Aberdeen) before passing southward, creating a moving zenith that glowed green with low-level oxygen gas.

Date: April 6, 2000

Ursa Major

Looking directly northwards near the village of Torphins (west of Aberdeen), Henderson captured this summer display just after midnight. The purple coloration is possibly an effect of nitrogen activity, but may also have been due to air quality in the region.

Date: July 27, 2003

Recumbent Stone Circle

Scotland's Tomnaverie Stone Circle is one of the oldest spiritual settings to view the auroras. Henderson said that shooting at the Recumbent Stone Circle (pictured here) was one of his most moving experiences as a photographer.

"This special place dating back to the Bronze Age around 2000 B.C. [was] used as a spiritual gathering place by my ancient ancestors who may also have witnessed such a display."

Date: Nov. 20, 2003

Near Aberdeen

This display took place at the unusual hour of 4:00 p.m. local time (auroras are usually only visible later at night), looking eastwards towards Aberdeen.

Date: Nov. 20, 2003

Hyakutake sighting

Discovered just a few months before this photo was taken on Jan. 31, 1996, Henderson captured the Hyakutake comet as it passed very close to Earth. According to a report in the Journal of the British Astronomical Association, the comet is a long-period comet and is only visible from Earth every 70,000 years.

Date: April 17, 1996

Red, green and yellow

Floating over Royal Deeside, Henderson said, "[t]he center of the crown or zenith of a corona can have unimaginable shapes which are continually moving." Here, the lights arranged themselves to resemble a blooming flower.

Date: Nov. 9, 2004

Rare folded arc

In an unexpected display (the best Henderson said he had seen since the end of the previous solar cycle in 2006), the aurora offered a fairly rare occurrence of this folded arc, despite initial forecasts of reduced activity.

Date: Feb. 27, 2014

Early aurora sighting

This photo is one of the first Henderson ever took of an aurora display. The clouds cleared just after midnight, making the stars and auroral lights visible. Henderson tackled a steep climb out of Glen Dye and scaled a rocky outcrop to nail this shot.

Date: September 1989

Snowy green and red

Working in less-than-ideal light conditions, due to passing snow flurries, Henderson captured this burst of activity during the first aurora display since one that spanned the new year.

Date: March 6, 2016

Corona rays burst

With the street lights of Torphins visible at the bottom left of the photo, Henderson captured these spectacular corona rays on a winter evening, looking toward Aberdeen.

Date: Nov. 20, 2003
Medieval treatments?

Medieval doctor cutting open a patient's skull with a hammer and blade. Illustration from a 14th century French medical manuscript by Guy of Pavia. (Image credit: Everett Historical/Shutterstock.com)

In fashion, it seems that everything old becomes new again. But that is not always the case in medicine, a field that is continually striving to discover and use the most modern technologies and advanced techniques to improve people's health.

However, there are some age-old medical practices that are still in use today. These older medical approaches may seem medieval or sound like "barbaric" treatments in the 21st century, but research has shown that they are actually effective, and have a legitimate medical use.

Related: Animal Data Is Not Reliable for Human Health Research (Op-Ed)

Medical procedures and remedies need to be understood in their historical context because the rationale for their use long ago is often very different from the reasons for using them today, said Dr. Scott Podolsky, an internist at Massachusetts General Hospital and the director of the Center for the History of Medicine at Countway Library at Harvard Medical School in Boston. [10 Medical Conditions That Sound Fake but Are Actually Real]

Here are nine examples of "barbaric" medical treatments that have modern-day relevance, along with a look at why doctors may turn to these older approaches, and their potential risks.

Bee venom therapy

New research indicates that individual honey bees differ in personality traits such as novelty-seeking. (Image credit: L. Brian Stauffer)

Bee venom therapy  which involves being willingly stung by a live honeybee, or injected with bee venom  dates back to the time of ancient Greece, when Hippocrates purportedly believed in the medicinal value of bee venom to ease arthritis and other joint problems, according to the American Apitherapy Society. (Apitherapy refers to all medical-related therapies that are based on bee products, including bee venom, honey or pollen.)

The reason it may help is because bee venom contains melittin, a chemical thought to have anti-inflammatory properties, according to a 2016 study published in the journal Molecules.

Although bee sting therapy is promoted for relieving the pain and swelling of arthritis and for preventing relapses, fatigue and disability in people with multiple sclerosis, there is a lack of scientific evidence of its effectiveness for these two conditions, and it is not approved by the Food and Drug Administration for this use.

Not only is there limited research of its benefits, but the treatment itself may be harmful to some people: A review study by researchers in South Korea published in 2015 in the journal PLOS ONE concluded that people frequently get adverse reactions to bee venom therapy.

Risks can range from minor skin reactions and pain at the sites of the stings to life-threatening anaphylaxis reactions in people who may be allergic to the venom, according to the study.

These days, bee venom therapy is more commonly used in Asia, Eastern Europe and South America than in the U.S., where it is considered an alternative medical therapy.

Maggot therapy for wound healing

(Image credit: valeriiaarnaud/Shutterstock.com)

Compared to other treatments described in this article, maggot therapy is fairly new, having been used for only about 100 years, said Dr. Ronald Sherman, an internal medicine physician and director of the BioTherapeutics, Education and Research Foundation in Irvine, California, a nonprofit organization that promotes the use of live animals to diagnose and treat illness. [Ear Maggots and Brain Amoebas: 5 Creepy Flesh-Eating Critters]

The treatment consists of applying live "baby flies," or the fly larvae, to a wound. Military surgeons first observed maggots to be beneficial when injured soldiers who remained on the battlefield were found to heal quicker if flies were allowed to lay eggs in their wounds. By 1928, a Johns Hopkins physician developed a way to cultivate medical-grade maggots and make them germ-free before their use in treatment.

In 2004, the FDA issued a clearance that allowed maggots to be marketed for medical use on wounds that are slow to heal, such as diabetic foot ulcers and bed sores. They also may be used for chronic leg ulcers, post-surgical wounds and acute burns.

Maggot therapy is done by applying the bugs to the surface of a wound and covering it with a dressing for about two days. The hungry critters secrete digestive enzymes that can dissolve the wound's dead and infected tissue, a process known as debridement, Sherman said.

Maggot therapy fell out of use in the 1950s with the widespread availability of antibiotics, but has re-emerged in the 21st century with the rise in antimicrobial resistance and hard-to-treat wounds, Sherman said.

"Maggots are very good at getting rid of rotting flesh," Sherman told Live Science. But one hurdle the treatment often needs to overcome is the yuck factor.

"Our culture equates maggots with death, dog doo and stinky garbage," Sherman said.

Medical leeches for venous congestion

(Image credit: Oleksandr Lysenko/Shutterstock.com)

Leeches are primitive worms (Hirudo medicinalis) that are equipped with suckers on their front and back ends that let them feed on blood, and teeth that can make a quick, clean cut, Sherman said.

These qualities make leaches useful for "bloodletting," a medical practice that removes blood from the body and dates back to ancient times.

In the 21st century, the FDA has cleared the use of medical leeches for a condition called venous congestion, in which blood pools in a particular area of the body and the veins can't pump it back to the heart, Sherman said. Venous congestion may occur following surgeries to reattach a limb, such as a finger or an ear, for example, or other major surgical reconstructions, such as a breast, he explained.

Leeches can extract a significant volume of blood from a surgical site in a short amount of time, about 45 minutes, which allows more oxygen to reach the site, Sherman said.

In addition, the saliva from leeches contain substances with anticoagulant properties, meaning they can prevent the blood from clotting, he added.

One major risk of leech therapy is anemia, or the loss of too much iron, Sherman said. It's also possible to get an infection at the site where the leeches bite the person's skin, he explained. [The 10 Most Diabolical and Disgusting Parasites]

Bloodletting for hemochromatosis (iron overload)

(opens in new tab) via Shutterstock) (Image credit: Blood bags via Shutterstock)

The most common reason for modern-day bloodletting, which is now called therapeutic phlebotomy, is hemochromatosis, a genetic disorder caused by an overload of iron in the body, Podolsky, of Massachusetts General, said.

When too much iron accumulates, it can be toxic to the liver, heart, pancreas and joints. To rid the body of extra iron by therapeutic phlebotomy, a doctor uses a needle to draw a pint or more of blood from the patient, once or twice a week for several months or longer, so that the person's levels of ferritin (a protein that stores iron) fall into a healthier range, Podolsky explained.

Therapeutic phlebotomy is an extremely effective treatment for hemochromatosis, Podolsky said. "It does the trick," he said.

This modern-day version of bloodletting is similar to the idea behind the use of bloodletting back in the 18th century, Podolsky said. There is a notion of excess  in this case, excess iron in the body, and removing blood lowers the excess iron levels and helps the patient, he said.

But the similarity of today's treatments with 18th century bloodletting ends there, Podolsky told Live Science. Back then, removing blood was done to restore balance in the body and supposedly help ease a wide range of illnesses, he said. [7 Weirdest Medical Conditions]

The most common side effects of removing blood to treat hemochromatosis include feeling tired and becoming anemic if too much blood is withdrawn as well as the possibility of infection, Podolsky said.

Electroconvulsive therapy for severe depression

(Image credit: Andrea Danti/Shutterstock)

Although not considered ancient because it was first developed in the late 1930s and introduced in the U.S. about one year later, electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) may have gained a modern-day reputation as a barbaric treatment when it was famously depicted in the movie "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest" and administered unwillingly to Jack Nicholson's character.

Once known as electroshock therapy or simply called "shock treatment," ECT involves passing electrical currents through the brain, either by implanting electrodes in the brain or placing electrodes on the scalp, according to the National Institute of Mental Health.

Electroconvulsive therapy may have developed a negative reputation from its past use when the therapy might have been used inhumanely, with high doses of electricity, without anesthesia, and over many more treatment sessions than it is given today. [5 Controversial Mental Health Treatments]

There's definitely a stigma attached to electroconvulsive therapy, and many people may be frightened of it even in its uses today, Podolsky said. But in modern medicine, ECT is used for people with a condition called treatment-resistant depression, which is severe depression that has not improved with medication or other treatments.

Today, ECT is done under general anesthesia, and is typically given three times a week for three to four weeks. The treatment affects brain chemicals and nerve cells, and can produce changes in mood, sleep and appetite, according to information about ECT from the University of Michigan Health System Department of Psychiatry.

The most common side effects of ECT are memory loss, confusion, headaches and nausea.

Modern-day lobotomy for obsessive-compulsive disorder

(Image credit: nimon/Shutterstock)

Lobotomies were a controversial surgical treatment for some forms of mental illness, including schizophrenia, manic depression and bipolar disorder, that became popular in the late 1930s and remained in steady use until around the mid-1950s. In some instances, the surgery was also inappropriately used for people with mental retardation, chronic headaches and anxiety, according to a medical historian who wrote an editorial on lobotomy published in the New England Journal of Medicine in 2005.

During a lobotomy, a doctor drilled a small hole in a person's skull aimed at severing nerve fibers in the brain that connect the frontal lobe, the area that controls thinking, with other brain regions.

This procedure was thought to help improve a person's abnormal behavior, but often left people withdrawn, apathetic and childlike. It was commonly used in overcrowded mental institutions during the 1940s and early 1950s to quiet patients down, Podolsky said.

By the mid-1950s, with the advent of antipsychotic medications, which were a more effective remedy for mental illness, lobotomies were no longer needed, Podolsky said.

Today, a new wave of psychosurgeries is being done in some hospitals, and although these procedures are considered controversial much like lobotomies were, they may be more precise in targeting the brain tissue that is causing people's symptoms, according to a review study of psychosurgeries published in 2005 in the journal Brain Research Reviews. One of these brain surgeries is known as cingulotomy, which is used to treat people with severe obsessive compulsive disorder. During a cingulotomy, doctors destroy a small amount of brain tissue thought to be overactive.

Obsidian blades in surgery

(Image credit: vvoe/Shutterstock.com)

In the Stone Age, scalpels with blades made from rock called obsidian, or volcanic glass, were used to bore a hole into the skull. These medical instruments had an extremely sharp cutting edge, and these days an obsidian scalpel is still used in a few situations. But obsidian tools are expensive compared with stainless-steel scalpels, and few manufacturers make them.

Obsidian blades are said to be at least 100 times sharper than stainless-steel surgical scalpels and there's some evidence that cuts made with them may heal more rapidly with less scarring. But an obsidian blade is also very thin and fragile, and surgeons cannot apply the same amount of force to this cutting tool as a steel scalpel or it may break and shatter its pieces into the wound. [Unlucky 7? Emergency Surgery Usually Means These Operations]

Obsidian blades are not FDA-approved for use in the U.S., although a small number of surgeons in other countries use them, often for very delicate procedures in cosmetically sensitive areas.

Trepanning

Medieval doctor cutting open a patient's skull with a hammer and blade. Illustration from a 14th century French medical manuscript by Guy of Pavia. (Image credit: Everett Historical/Shutterstock.com)

Trepanation is the oldest known surgical procedure, and dates back to the Stone Age. It involves making a hole in a person's skull.

Trepanning might have been done in ancient civilizations to rid a person of evil spirits believed to cause illness, or to treat conditions such as severe headaches, epilepsy, convulsions, head injuries and infections.

A version of trepanation is performed by neurosurgeons for very different reasons today, Podolsky said. These days, surgeons use the technique and different tools for drilling a small hole in the skull (but not into the brain itself) when there's internal bleeding due to trauma, such as from a car accident. Trepanning may also be used for a subdural hematoma, which is bleeding between the cover of the brain and the brain itself, which can commonly occur after an older adult suffers a minor head injury, or when a stroke has occurred, Podolsky said.

The modern-day use of trepanning helps to help relieve intracranial pressure, which prevents too much pressure from building up inside the skull, Podolsky said. Side effects of the procedure include a possible injury to the brain, as well as general risks from surgery, such as bleeding and infection, he said. [10 Things You Didn't Know About the Brain]

From "yellow soup" to fecal transplantation

(Image credit: phugunfire/Shutterstock.com)

A 4th century Chinese doctor first had the idea of giving a suspension that contained the dried stool from a healthy person by mouth as a treatment to someone with severe diarrhea or food poisoning. According to numerous accounts, this remedy may have been an ancient attempt at what is now called "fecal microbiota transplantation."

By the 16th century, another Chinese doctor used "yellow soup," a broth containing the dried or fermented stool of a healthy person as a treatment for severe diarrhea, vomiting, fever and constipation, several sources claim.

Today, stool transplantation, also called fecal microbiota transplantation, or FMT, is not done by spooning down "yellow soup." It does involve the transfer of stool from healthy donors to sick people, but the stool may be given by an enema or inserted through a tube into a person's stomach or small intestine, a process that introduces a healthy mix of bacteria to restore a better microbial balance in the gut. [The Poop on Pooping: 5 Misconceptions Explained]

"Poop transplants" may be used to treat people with recurrent Clostridium difficile (C.diff) infections, a bacterial infection that can be life-threatening. The symptoms of people who receive FMT get better within days, although their gut bacteria may undergo a dramatic change for at least three months after the procedure, according to a study presented in May at Digestive Disease Week, a gastrointestinal system research meeting, in San Diego.

Originally published on Live Science.
In an unexpected display (the best Henderson had seen since the end of the previous Solar Cycle in 2006), the aurora offered a fairly rare occurrence of this folded arc despite initial forecasts of reduced activity. Date: February 27, 2014

The northern lights, also called the aurora borealis, are some of the most breathtaking natural displays in the world, offering views of shimmery illuminations that appear to dance across the sky. The dramatic celestial display can generate some truly spectacular images, but what's the best way to photograph the northern lights?

The northern lights occur when charged particles that originate from solar wind interact with elements in Earth's atmosphere. According to NASA, "the aurora is the only visible evidence that the sun and the Earth are a system connected by more than sunlight."

But you don't need much more than some basic camera equipment, a sense of adventure and a tolerance for cold to capture the celestial phenomenon. Dennis Mammana, an astronomy writer and expert aurora photographer, and Jim Henderson, who has photographed more than 300 aurora displays in northeast Scotland, gave Live Science some tips to snap a great shot. [See Breathtaking Photos of the Northern Lights]

Recommended gear and camera settings

Mammana said the most common question he gets about photographing the northern lights is, "What camera settings should I use?"

"The answer is always the same: It depends," Mammana told Live Science.

Frustrating though this may be, it's the nature of the aurora. Photographing the northern lights means trying to capture a complex, dynamic and relatively finicky natural wonder, so there is no silver bullet, he said.

"Some things you can anticipate, but Mother Nature doesn't always follow the rules," Mammana said.

That's why it's crucial to have a camera that you can operate manually, as well as a tripod and spare batteries. Batteries don't tend to work well in the cold, and if you're shooting the northern lights at night, chances are that temperatures will be low. Storing extra batteries in an inside pocket will help keep them warm should you need to change them out, Mammana said.

This photo is one of the first Henderson ever took of a display. The clouds cleared just after midnight, making the stars and aurora visible. He tackled a steep climb out of Glen Dye and scaled a rocky outcrop to nail the shot. Date: September 1989

Another important thing to remember is that photographing the aurora requires trial and error. Henderson said his benchmark is a 20-second exposure at an ISO of 1600. The length of an exposure corresponds to the shutter speed on the camera: the slower the shutter speed, the longer the exposure. ISO refers to the sensitivity of the photo cell in the camera. Henderson also typically sets his lens aperture, which measures how much light is let in, at f/2.8 to f/5.6.

"Experience has shown me that the best images are gained by some degree of 'overexposure,' so I tend not to use the camera's Auto setting," Henderson said. Slightly overexposing the images can make them appear more saturated and colorful, he added. [Northern Lights: 8 Dazzling Facts About Auroras]

Henderson recommends the following camera settings as a starting point:

ISO: 1600

Aperture: f/2.8

Exposure: between 15 and 20 seconds

The aurora mainly excites oxygen gas, which gives it a green color at low altitudes and a red color at higher altitudes. Nitrogen occasionally interacts with the aurora as well, which causes the purple hues in the celestial displays. "Other colors appear visible to the human eye, such as white, bluish hues and yellow," Henderson said. "These are lesser display levels and are a function also of our eyesight, weather and atmospheric conditions at the time."

Mammana works with a similar setup, with a high ISO (around 1600) and a wide-open aperture at f/2.8. Then, he'll try a long exposure of about 15 seconds. Next, he'll check how the image turned out and make adjustments from there. This sort of instant feedback is why he prefers digital cameras to film, he added.

"Film takes time to absorb the image and do something with it, whereas digital is a linear response," Mammana said. With digital cameras, you also don't have to wait for the photos to be developed.

"My experience is that the digital medium is far superior to old film-based photography," Henderson said.

If you do opt for film as your medium, you'll want to ensure you have a fast film (around 1600 ISO), but those are becoming harder to find, Mammanasaid. He has a film-specific tip: Get your negatives developed near where you shot the aurora so the photo professionals know what to expect. If you don't make it clear that you intend for the sky to appear multicolored, your photos might get color corrected, he said. [Photo Future: 7 High-Tech Ways to Share Images]

If you're looking for ideas for what to bring with you, Henderson recommends packing the following gear:

A camera with manual capabilities (for example, a Nikon D700 DSLR

A sturdy tripod

A wide-angle lens (Henderson still uses his 35mm manual lens because autofocus lenses aren't the best option for aurora photography)

A cable release to allow shutter release without touching the camera (this is helpful for long exposures)

Spare batteries

Warm clothes

Photoshop software for post-production: using the Levels Set White Point tool on the brightest star and then darkening the overall image will give a natural nighttime look

Be prepared to take a lot of photos

Aurora science is relatively new (research on these celestial displays has only been conducted for the past 100 years or so), and scientists are still puzzled by exactly how the lights move.

The "forms of display can be patching, patches of light, usually of a faint colour hue, pulsating as if being switched on and off; streaming or flaring where bright patches of light climb up the ray like a fuse burning; flaming with pulsating bands of light shooting upwards from the horizon into the upper atmosphere and even lightning flashes can be seen in the aftermath or proceeding a display similar to electric storms but without any thunder clap sounds," Henderson told Live Science in an email.

Mammana speculated that the movement may have to do with the speed of the magnetic particles when they enter the atmosphere. But ultimately, their behavior is unpredictable. When a "breakup"  a major aurora activity that begins as a small arc that eventually fractures across the sky  occurs, Mammana will often aim his camera and hold the shutter down, capturing 100 to 200 shots in a sequence. He'll search back later and pick out images with the best composition, he said. [Aurora Photos: Northern Lights Dazzle in Night-Sky Images]

When the aurora is active, "the average person can go through 1,000 or more shots in a night," Mammana noted.

Henderson also recommended using a wide-angle lens to make for more interesting compositions.

"Given the scale of aurora displays, a wide-angle lens is needed to capture its scale," Henderson said. He suggested focusing on the stars when using a lens like this, because setting a wide aperture can often lead to fuzzy, out-of-focus photos.

Expect the unexpected

The biggest challenge when photographing an aurora is knowing when it's going to happen.

"In my early days, it was seat-of-the-pants  sit and wait on any clear, dark night and hope something happened," Henderson said. Now, websites such as Spaceweather.com make it possible to know a few days in advance the likelihood of a display, but nothing is guaranteed.

Mammana recalled one particular night in Fairbanks, Alaska, when no aurora activity was predicted but he decided to grab his camera and go out anyway. Even though there was absolutely no reason for the aurora to show, it exploded over his head, he said. He was taken by such surprise that he didn't even have his settings properly adjusted.

"It came out of nowhere," Mammana said. "It was like liquid, colored oil flowing down the sky."

Original article on Live Science.
DENVER  Violent altercations in prisons can be dangerous for inmates and prison staff alike. Now, a new small study suggests that showing nature documentaries to inmates may help to ease aggression in prisons.

The study took place in the Snake River Correctional Institution in Oregon, in a maximum-security unit housing 48 inmates. Over a year in which half of the inmates had an opportunity to watch nature videos projected in a recreation yard, those who saw the videos were involved in 26 percent fewer violent infractions than those who didn't.

"This is equivalent to 13 fewer violent incidents over the year," study researcher Patricia Hasbach, a clinical psychotherapist in a private practice, said at a presentation today (Aug. 5) here at the annual meeting of the American Psychological Association. [Nature Photography: 101 Animal Shots You'll Go Wild Over]

Introducing nature

The reduction is important, Hasbach said, as most violent altercations end in injury for either inmates or staff. The researchers conducted their study in a cellblock that had two recreation yards  one for one side of cells, and one for another. The inmates on both sides were similar to each other (regarding demographics and time on the cell block, for instance), and the recreation yards were overseen by the same officers. This enabled the researchers to vary only whether the inmates had access to nature videos.

Is this herd of zebra beneath a glorious sunset enough to reduce violence in prisons? (Image credit: PHOTOCREO Michal Bednarek)

The videos showed everything from oceans to African savannas. Surveys revealed that 80 percent of the inmates who saw the videos said they felt calmer after viewing them, Hasbach reported. Seventy percent said they remembered the nature videos later, in times of stress, and were able to calm themselves down. The researchers could find no downsides of the videos  everyone surveyed disagreed, for example, that the videos made them more agitated.

In in-depth interviews, inmates spoke of the benefits of the nature imagery.

"I thought about what I would do if I could," one inmate told researchers of his time watching the videos. "I wonder if there were bears in those mountains. I wonder what I'll do when I'm out of here. I tell my kids we're going camping"

Nature therapy

The precise type of imagery didn't seem to matter, as long as it was varied.

"Nothing in particular," one inmate said when asked his preferences. "Something other than four walls."

The researchers didn't test whether other types of videos would have had similar effects, Hasbach said, but previous research in health care settings has found nature videos to be more mentally beneficial than other content, such as daytime television, urban scenes and abstract art. Other psychological research has found that nature-based activities improve function in kids with attention deficit disorder and that outdoor activities boost self-esteem. Just the color green may boost mood and motivation during exercise.

Prison officials are now transferring the nature videos to other parts of the facility, Hasbach said, and a lower-security women's prison in Oregon is also starting the same program. Prisons in six other states have contacted the researchers for information on how to institute similar video programs in their own correctional facilities, she said.

Original article on Live Science.
An important burial mound belonging to the pre-Columbian city of Cahokia, near present-day St. Louis, contains both men and women, not just men as previous studies had suggested.

The remains of women and a child have been discovered at a burial mound at Cahokia, considered North America's first city, which previously was thought to hold only men, researchers say.

A closer look at a grave at Cahokia, located in Illinois near St. Louis, Missouri, has revealed that a blanket of beads is intertwined around a man and a woman of high status.

"In re-examining the beaded burial, we discovered that the central burial included females," study co-author Kristin Hedman, a physical anthropologist with the Illinois State Archaeological Survey (ISAS), said in a statement. "This was unexpected." [Cahokia to Area 51: The 10 Strangest Places on Earth]

Archaeologist Melvin Fowler, who died in 2008, discovered the enormous burial ground in 1967 during the excavation of an unusual mound with a ridgetop. The site, now called Mound 72, contained five mass graves, each holding 20 to more than 50 bodies. There were dozens of other bodies buried by themselves or in groups at the site, bringing the total count to 270, Fowler found.

Scientists dated the burials to between A.D. 1000 and A.D. 1200, during the rise and peak of Cahokia's power and influence, the researchers said. Some of the bodies were placed on cedar piles, indicating that they were high-status individuals, according to the researchers.

"Mound 72 burials are some of the most significant burials ever excavated in North America from this time period," said study co-author and ISAS Director Thomas Emerson.

Grave problems

A map showing the location of the burial site. (Image credit: Graphic by Julie McMahon)

Several analyses of the burials haven't held up, however. Mound 72 holds two central bodies that are placed top of each other. These bodies are separated and surrounded by a blanket of beads, and several other bodies from the same time period surround them.

Fowler and other archaeologists thought that these bodies were two high-status men who were surrounded by servants. Moreover, the beads look like a beaded cape or blanket that was originally shaped like a bird, they said.

The bird motif is usually related to warriors and supernatural beings in Native American cultures, so Fowler suggested that the two central males represented mythical warrior chiefs, the researchers said.

Once this interpretation was made public, many experts viewed Cahokia as "a male-dominated hierarchy," Emerson said.

A fresh look

When Emerson and his colleagues re-examined the evidence  including the archaeologists' maps, notes and reports  they came to a conclusion different from Fowler's. For instance, the early archaeologists said there were only six bodies associated with the beaded burial, but the new team found 12.

(Image credit: Mound 72 has 250 Native American bodies that were buried between A.D. 1000 and A.D. 1200.)

Moreover, a skeletal analysis revealed that the high-status pair weren't two men, but a man and a woman. The bodies near the power couple are also male-female pairs, and one individual was a child, the researchers said.

"The fact that these high-status burials included women changes the meaning of the beaded burial feature," Emerson said. "Now, we realize we don't have a system in which males are these dominant figures and females are playing bit parts. And so, what we have at Cahokia is very much a nobility. It's not a male nobility. It's males and females, and their relationships are very important." [The 7 Most Mysterious Archaeological Finds on Earth]

The new discoveries are consistent with other Cahokia findings, Emerson said.

"For me, having dug temples at Cahokia and analyzed a lot of that material, the symbolism is all about life renewal, fertility, agriculture," he said. "Most of the stone figurines found there are female. The symbols showing up on the pots have to do with water and the underworld. And so now, Mound 72 fits into a more consistent story with what we know about the rest of the symbolism and religion at Cahokia."

Not a warrior culture

It's unlikely that the beaded blanket symbolizes some type of warrior message, Emerson said. Instead, an analysis of the burial mound suggests that the Cahokia honored both men and women, he said.

"When the Spanish and the French came into the Southeast as early as the 1500s, they identified these kinds of societies in which both males and females have rank," he said. "Really, the division here is not gender; it's class."

"People who saw the warrior symbolism in the beaded burial were actually looking at societies hundreds of years later in the Southeast, where warrior symbolism dominated, and projecting it back to Cahokia and saying: 'Well, that's what this must be,'" Emerson said. "And we're saying, 'No, it's not.'"

The study was published in the July issue of the journal American Antiquity.

Original article on Live Science.
A rare sight was recently captured by scientists aboard a deep-sea exploration vessel: the skeleton of a fallen whale. Researchers say these bony remains provide a feast of nutrients for sea creatures, including bone-eating "zombie worms."

Newly released video footage from the Exploration Vessel Nautilus shows the whale bones on the seafloor, in what researchers term a natural "whale fall."

"Coming across a natural whale fall is pretty uncommon," a Nautilus researcher said in the video. "Most of the ones that have been studied have been sunk intentionally at a certain spot." [Extreme Life on Earth: 8 Bizarre Creatures]

The ecological impacts of a whale fall are far-reaching. According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), whale carcasses provide a "sudden, concentrated food source and a bonanza for organisms in the deep sea." Scavengers arrive on the scene first, consuming the soft tissue over the course of a few months, and the remaining detritus can enrich the ocean floor sediment for more than a year, NOAA said.

The whale skeleton itself is also a rich supplier of resources  particularly for a type of parasitic creature often referred to as zombie worms (Osedax roseus) because they feast on the dead.

"They burrow down into the bone and digest the lipids," a Nautlius researcher said in the video.

According to the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History, the species was discovered feasting on a rotting gray whale carcass in 2002. In what could be considered an evolutionary hack to avoid searching for a mate, only female worms perform the necessary drilling to get to the fat within the bones.

"The males live inside the females  sometimes 100 males to one female," Nautilus researchers said.

Skeletons from whale falls also serve as a hard substrate for invertebrate colonization. "It almost looks like a type of anemone," the Nautlius researchers said, while observing a mysterious white orb on the whale's jawbone.

Upon further inspection, though, the scientists said the orb was likely a coral making use of the surface.

Based on the shape of the whale jaw, the researchers speculated it was a baleen species, and could have been a juvenile, based on its relatively small size.

The new footage offers insights into the fate of a peculiar object that was spotted recently by an Australian fisherman. The strange, floating object turned out to be a bloated whale carcass, which scientists say will eventually result in a whale fall after it deflates and sinks to the seafloor.

The Exploration Vessel Nautilus, a 210-foot-long (64 meters) research vessel operated by the Ocean Exploration Trust, is investigating the Southern California continental margin from July 24 to Aug. 12.

Original article on Live Science.
Chinese shoppers are more likely to buy online because of the rising e-commerce trend. (Photo : Getty Images)

Although P&G sales on a global scale grew by 2 percent, revenue in China fell by 5 percent this year. The news is worrying the manufacturing giant as China accounts for 8 percent of total global sales.



According to the companys website, the company's greater China region, which includes the Chinese mainland, Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan, accounted for 8 percent of P&G's sales.



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Kimberley Clark also felt the pressure in China. The company had to slash prices of diapers in April just to keep up with competition. These manufacturers, as well as Colgate-Palmolive Co. and Coca-Cola, admitted that loss of sales is due to the growing e-commerce market in the country.



Ian Cook, CEO of Colgate-Palmolive Co., said, "revenue in China fell by 5 percent this year. The statistics are worrying the manufacturing giant as China accounts for 8 percent of total global sales.



Global consumers are turning to e-commerce recently to buy grocery items. According to a report from Euromonitor International, "the world's online shoppers spent over $87 billion on grocery items like food, drink, beauty and personal care items in 2015."



E-commerce and a weak Chinese economy are seen as reasons for a slow turnaround of inventory.



Chen Yuefeng, editor-in-chief of the China Chain Store magazine, observed, "Weak demand in the Chinese market is going to be the 'new normal' for every consumer products maker, as the nation's economy has not totally recovered."



The Boston Consulting Group (BCG) released a report in June stating the consumer spending in China this year declined to 8.7 percent from 9.4 percent from the previous year.



Chen also believed that weak consumer spending on brands like Coca-Cola and P&G fail to innovate their products to meet the demands of the new middle class.



She said, "Also, global brands such as P&G and Coca-Cola haven't built up support from Chinese consumers because they're too slow to introduce new products."


It may sound like a storyline straight out of a Godzilla movie, but researchers are warning that toxic waste from a long-abandoned Cold War-era camp could leach into nearby ecosystems as a result of warming temperatures in Greenland.

It was thought that the hazardous waste would stay buried and frozen forever beneath the Greenland Ice Sheet, but climate change is warming the Arctic and causing portions of the ice sheet to melt, the researchers reported in a new study.

"In the past, militaries, industry and even scientists have given little thought to the lasting impact of their activities, including dangerous waste left behind," Laurence Smith, a professor in the Department of Geography at the University of California, Los Angeles and author of "The World in 2050: Four Forces Shaping Civilization's Northern Future" (Dutton Adult, 2010), told Live Science in an email. "That attitude is changing but not gone, and this study shows how the activities of the past are with us still." [See Photos of the Cold War-Era Military Base]

According to the new study, waste from the Cold War-era camp, known as Camp Century, covers 136 acres (0.55 square kilometers), or about the size of 100 football fields. This includes approximately 53,000 gallons (200,000 liters) of diesel fuel; building materials; and 63,000 gallons (240,000 liters) of wastewater, which includes a large amount of sewage.

"It became pretty obvious that none of these sites had received proper decommissioning," said study lead author William Colgan, an assistant professor in the Department of Earth and Space Science and Engineering at York University in Toronto. The base also likely contains a small amount of nuclear waste, but Colgan said this isn't as concerning as some of the other toxic materials.

Perhaps most worrying is that the site contains polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), chemicals that were once widely used in electrical structures and equipment, the researchers said. In animal studies, these chemicals were shown to be harmful to the immune system, reproductive system, nervous system and endocrine system, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Similarly wide-ranging effects are likely in humans as well, and PCBs can increase the likelihood of various health problems, including cancer, EPA studies have shown.

Colgan and his colleagues warned that, if human-driven climate change continues on the present course, the ice covering the site could begin to melt in about 75 years. It would be much longer before the base itself would become exposed, but in the meantime, meltwater could move through the ice, saturating structures in the base and carrying toxic waste with it as it flows to the coast, they said.

Cold War history

The new study details the history of Camp Century, a U.S. Army Corps of Engineers military base that was built in the Greenland Ice Sheet in 1959. The base, located 125 miles (200 kilometers) from Greenland's northwest coast, was called the "city under the ice," because the entire infrastructure was buried under more than 26 feet (8 meters) of ice to provide protection and camouflage. According to the researchers, Camp Century housed up to 200 soldiers and was powered by a portable nuclear reactor, which Colgan said was removed during decommissioning.

The area, though desolate, was strategic because the Artic provided the shortest route between the United States and the Soviet Union. Camp Century was one of many camps built under an agreement with Denmark to defend Greenland. [Flying Saucers to Mind Control: 7 Declassified Military & CIA Secrets]

A view inside the main 400-meter (1,300-foot) access trench to Camp Century in 1964. More than 12 150-meter (500-foot) long side trenches radiated out from the main trench. (Image credit: US Army)

Officially, the camp was used to conduct scientific research and test Arctic construction strategies. Unofficially, it was also a top-secret proof of concept for building nuclear missile launch sites in the ice. This program was known as Project Iceworm because it involved burrowing a 2,500-mile-long (4,000 km) tunnel through the ice, from which up to 600 ballistic missiles could be deployed. This tunnel was never actually built, but something akin to a prototype was created, in the form of a 1-mile-long (1.6 km) underground railway, the researchers said.

The project was not approved by the Danish government and was eventually rejected by the U.S. Department of Defense's Joint Chiefs of Staff in 1963. Camp Century was decommissioned in 1967.

Environmental effects

The possibility that these chemicals could leach out of the long-abandoned base is compounded by another problem: The Arctic already experiences a disproportionate burden from PCBs due to a phenomenon called the "grasshopper phenomenon," Colgan said. This occurs when pollutants are released and evaporate in warm areas and then are carried by winds to cold areas, where they settle back toward the surface. [6 Unexpected Effects of Climate Change]

And although the area surrounding Camp Century is desolate, Greenland's environment and the people who live off of it could suffer serious consequences, Colgan said.

"The Greenland ecosystem  the Arctic ecosystem, in general  is pretty fragile," Colgan said. "It's just clinging to life." Although the human population is relatively small, there are people in Greenland and nearby areas of the Arctic who hunt for their food, which means they could be exposed to these chemicals through food sources that are crucial to their way of life, he added.

Camp Century is a lesson in climate change that's been largely ignored for decades, according to the scientists. But although the issues at the base are only now being examined, Camp Century is already a well-known site of concern for climate scientists. In fact, it was the first place where an ice-core sample was taken from Greenland, in 1966, to monitor the effects of climate change, Colgan said.

"This work brings fresh attention to a chronic problem in the Arctic," Smith said. "The Arctic is a fascinating place where fast climate change, environmental sensitivity and geopolitics converge."

The findings were published online Aug. 4 in the journal Geophysical Research Letters.

Original article on Live Science.
The idea that the person you love is betraying your trust and engaging in intimate rendezvous with someone else is emotionally devastating. It's only natural to look for patterns and warning signs to avoid being cheated on.

Now, a new report suggests that people are twice as likely to cheat at the "danger age" of 39, and are also more likely to have affairs during the last years of other decades  for example, at age 29 or 49  than at other times. The findings come from research done by the U.K.-based website IllicitEncounters.com, and were first reported by The Sun .

Do other studies of infidelity back up this claim?

There is some research to suggest that, in general, people behave differently when they approach a new decade in their age. In 2014, researchers Adam L. Alter and Hal E. Hershfield at New York University and the University of California, Los Angeles, respectively, performed six studies to investigate the behaviors of adults during their "9-ending ages" (ages 29, 39, 49, etc.), including their propensity for extramarital affairs. The researchers obtained data from an online dating site similar to Illicit Encounters, where users are already in supposedly monogamous relationships. [I Don't: 5 Myths About Marriage]

Alter and Hershfield calculated the total number of male users on the site (8,077,820) and compared that to the number of 9-ender male users (952,176). They found there were 18 percent more 9-enders registered than there would be if the site's users represented a completely random sample of ages.

Across the six studies, Alter and Hershfield also found that 9-enders reported being particularly preoccupied with aging, and were more likely to wonder whether their lives were meaningful.

This could lead to a rise in behaviors that "suggest a search for, or a crisis of meaning," such as an affair, the researchers said.

(Image credit: Mehmet Dilsiz Shutterstock.com)

In general, infidelity is difficult to study because it's challenging for researchers to find willing participants and to gather accurate reports, and cheating itself is defined inconsistently across relationships, said Christin Munsch, an assistant professor of sociology at the University of Connecticut, who was not affiliated with the Illicit Encounters research but does study infidelity.

The Illicit Encounters' research may not be unbiased: the company is financially backing the study, methods were not vetted by outside experts, and it was not peer-reviewed.

Munsch said that the findings of the Illicit Encounters study could just suggest that people looking to have affairs might not be honest about their age in their profiles. [How Do I Love Thee? Experts Count 8 Ways]

However, in their research, Alter and Hershfield looked at how people on dating sites might approach lying about their age. They asked users to imagine they were trying to fool a potential date into believing they were as young as possible while remaining within the bounds of plausibility. Their data suggested that the most frequent responses were ages ending in 5.

While these aren't definitive findings, they suggest that a lying 30-year-old is more likely to say they're 25 than 29.

In her own research, Munsch looked at data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth (NLSY97), an anonymous, nationally representative survey of people born between 1980 and 1984 that was conducted by the U.S. Department of Labor. She compared people's marital status with their responses to questions about whether they had multiple sex partners in the past year, and whether they had had sex with a stranger. Anyone who was married and answered yes to these questions was coded as unfaithful.

She found that for both men and women, being economically dependent (making less money than your spouse) was correlated to increased rates of cheating.

"The less money you make relative to your spouse, the more likely you are to cheat. We compare ourselves: you don't want to see yourself coming out on the losing end," Munsch told Live Science.

In 2012, Munsch reviewed the literature for trends surrounding infidelity. With regards to age, she found that as people get older they are more likely to cheat, and that may be because there are simply more opportunities to be unfaithful.

Munsch said that for men, being economically dependent may be worse because they may feel expected by society to be breadwinners. Cheating can be a way for men to simultaneously bolster their masculinity and get back at their breadwinner wives. [Busted! 6 Gender Myths in the Bedroom & Beyond]

According to Munsch, the recipe for avoiding an affair is pretty simple.

"From a sociological perspective, one of the biggest predictors of infidelity is opportunity. If I'm trying to lose weight, I don't keep cookies in the house. The same principle applies here. If you're looking for a 'magic bullet, don't be in the situation" where cheating could happen.

(Image credit: Yuriy Rudyy Shutterstock.com)

And although it's tempting try to analyze data to predict who will cheat, putting the results in perspective is important, she said.For example, her research showed that the likelihood of infidelity jumps from around 5 percent for men whose wives make equal financial contributions to 15 percent for men who are economically dependent on their wives.

"That's three times more likely. But 85 percent of men [who are dependent on their wives] aren't cheating," she said.

Ultimately, many variables factor into infidelity. Munsch said that there are certain psychological traits that are correlated to cheating, such as extreme risk-taking behavior or low morality, and that people's environment also plays a role. If a person with certain traits gets placed in a situation of high opportunity, that can be a good indicator that infidelity will take place.

But by the same token, a person with all the necessary predispositions can be put in an ideal circumstance to cheat and still not do it.

Munsch said that the "9-ending ages" theory is "certainly plausible," but that predicting any complex human behavior remains an inexact science.

Original article on Live Science.
Apple invests heavily in China, including a $1 billion contribution to Didi Chuxing. (Photo : Getty Images)

A source, who wanted to remain anonymous, close to both companies implied that Apple's $1 million contributions to Didi Chuxing added pressure to Uber's exit.



"The Apple investment is one of the factors that influenced the decision," the source said. "Both sides raised enormous amounts of capital. They were probably thinking this was going to escalate to nuclear warfare, which raised the question: do we really want to assure mutual destruction?"



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For the past two years, both Didi and Uber have been getting contributions from big companies to leverage ride subsidies and fare cost-cutting.



Didi was able to get $10.5 billion worth of funds from Alibaba, Apple, China Life Insurance Co., and Ant Financial. Uber collected $10 billion worth of stakes from their American partners, Baidu and China Life.



Uber did not find difficulties getting support from backers. Bill Gurley, a partner at Benchmark Capital and Uber board member, believed that Uber was solid enough to easily get funding.



He said, "There has never been a company with as much success in capital raising as Uber."



When Apple gave Didi $1 billion in May, Uber decided to step back. Analysts familiar with the deal think that with Apple support, Didi showed that the company was unbeatable.



Hans Tung, managing partner at GGVCapital, and a backer of Didi said that Uber had a difficult time raising money after Apple's investment.



Tung said that Apple's announcement came in the same week that Uber wanted to meet the tech giant, and the investment stopped Uber from proposing a deal.



Another Uber analyst, Jan Dawson, of Jackdaw Research, said, "Apple's investment in Didi likely spurred Uber to think harder about doing some kind of deal here."



He added, "Uber and Apple have been partners in other markets, so for Apple to side with Didi must have been something of a red flag that things weren't going to go Uber's way."


A Longford man appeared in front of Longford District Court recently on foot of ten traffic offences.

Paul Kelly, 35 Oakvale, Longford, came before Judge Seamus Hughes in July following an incident at Richmond Street, Longford on September 15, 2015.

Inspector Padraig Jones explained that on the date in question, the defendant was driving erratically in Longford, near the Longford Arms Hotel. When stopped by gardai, he gave his name as Paul OReilly. Mr Kelly was also driving without insurance. He was arrested and brought to Longford Garda Station and it was discovered that he had a blood alcohol level of 67mg/100ml.

In mitigation, Solicitor for the accused, Ms Brid Mimnagh, explained that her client pleaded guilty from the beginning and that he had lost one job a number of weeks ago and was now on a trial period in another role.

He has one child aged six months and hes engaged. Hes involved in martial arts, she continued, before adding that when he had lost his job, he was anxious to find another as quickly as possible.

Ms Mimnagh, youre making me feel bad, Judge Hughes retorted.

Directly addressing the Judge, Mr Kelly admitted; At the time my girlfriend was seven months pregnant. I was more worried about her finding out [about the incident] than anyone else!

For driving under the influence, Mr Kelly was fined 250 and disqualified from driving for four years He received a further 150 fine for giving a false name. Finally, forhaving no insurance, Mr Kelly was fined 250 and disqualified from driving for two years. All other charges were struck out.
Crime, Press Releases

By Long Island News & PR Published: August 05 2016

The New York State Police in Farmingdale today announced the arrest of Steven Mezynieski, age 44, of Orient, NY.

Orient, NY - August 4, 2016 - The New York State Police in Farmingdale today announced the arrest of Steven Mezynieski, age 44, of Orient, NY. Mr. Mezynieski has been arrested for Rape in the First Degree, a Class B Felony, and Criminal Sex Act in the First Degree, a Class B Felony. The charges are related to the defendant having sexual relations with a female victim over the course of about three years, which started when the victim was under the age of consent. The investigation was conducted by members of the State Police Troop L Major Crimes Unit. The State Police ask that any other possible victims contact them at (631)756-3300. All calls will remain confidential.



Mr. Mezynieski was arraigned in the Town of Southold Court and released on $25,000.00 bail.
Local News, Community, Charity & Cause, Press Releases, Seasonal & Current Events

By Long Island News & PR Published: August 05 2016

Senator Michael Venditto dropped by Wyandanch Park to participate in the communitys 22nd annual National Night Out event.

Wyandanch, NY - August 4, 2016 - Senator Michael Venditto dropped by Wyandanch Park to participate in the communitys 22nd annual National Night Out event. National Night Out is an opportunity for community members to meet with their local law enforcement representatives in order to build police-community partnerships and neighborhood camaraderie. For over 33 years, the National Night Out program has served over 18 million U.S. citizens and over 16 thousand communities. The event also honored several individuals for their commitment to making the Wyandanch community a better place.

National Night Out is helping to make communities across the nation safer places to live, work and raise our families by promoting positive police-community relations and community solidarity. By working together, we can ensure that our neighborhoods remain safe and sound for ourselves and future generations. Said Senator Venditto.
Looking to stay up to date about all of the news stories and local headlines that are important to Long Islanders? We've rounded up the top coverage for all of the important topics from multiple sources around Long Island, so you can be sure you've got the most recent update on the top stories for Long Island. Have an idea for a news story? Email us at news@longisland.com

Columnists Press Releases
Preparations are underway for the G20 Summit in Hangzhou Province. (Photo : Getty Images)

Timothy Clancy is an Australian married to a Chinese and a student at Zheijang University. He teaches English as a volunteer for the summit.



He said, "Australia has hosted such a summit before, but I never imagined that people in the host city could be so hospitable. "I want to be part of this great event through the English classes and express my own welcome."



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People of all ages come to Clancy's class. One of them is Zhao Jihong, a 67-year-old resident of Zhejiang.



He said, "I am learning English here just in case I come across foreigners so that I can at least say 'hi' to welcome them to Hangzhou."



This is the first time that Hangzhou Province will host an international event of this magnitude. Preparations are underway in the province as well as in Shanghai and Jiangsu Province.



The Communist Party chief in Hangzhou, Zhang Yide, said, "All services, including dining, transportation and security are in place. Hangzhou is now ready to host the two-day summit and welcome its distinguished guests."



Food preparations are now being done. According to Zhou, 900 tons of food is now being stored up in a warehouse with an area of 7450 square meters. Food will be examined and stored in this facility.



The delegation of the G20 summit will be transported by 900 vehicles and 2,000 drivers.



Security detail is extensive as a patrol group with 760,000 troops will be within the area.



In Shanghai, 255 factories were ordered to shut operations before and during the summit. The government order was issued to lessen pollution during the event. The shutdown will take effect from Aug. 26 to Sept. 9.



The government issued a similar order when China hosted the Asia-Pacific Economic Conference (APEC) meeting and during the 2008 Beijing Olympics.



This is the second time that China will be hosting an international meeting under the term of President Xi Jinping.


People catch fish along the Yellow River after water and sediment regulation. (Photo : Getty Images)

A bizarre historical account of China's water-centric society showcases some of the least visited facets of the Middle Kingdom before it became the second most powerful nation in the world.



"The Water Kingdom: A Secret History of China" presents a rarely discussed image of China as "a civilization permeated by water," Nature Journal's Andrea Janku explained.



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Discussing one of science writer Philip Ball's creations, Janku explained how the historical account clearly defines why the author consider hydraulic engineering as something that is closely linked to the country's moral rectitude, governance, and metaphysical speculation.



The Water Kingdom: A Secret History of China



According to the Nature Journal, "The Water Kingdom" is a book that is written thematically in a way that presents historic accounts in a somewhat non-chronological way.



In the book's early chapters, Ball discussed the Great Rivers of China including the Yangtze and the Yellow Rivers, mentioning China's mythical ruler Emperor Yu as well as Communist leader Mao Zedong, the father of the People's Republic of China.



Ball also discussed philosophical texts covering the subject matter such as the fourth century BC teachings of Mencius which unveil the origin of the Chinese political ideology stating that he who controls the water controls the people.



He also tackled some historical proof of such ideology particularly in the art of war and real conflicts where the Great Rivers were used as weapons.



The Power of Water



"In 204 BC, for instance, an intentional rupturing of the Wei River dams led to the victory of the Han-dynasty forces," cited Nature.



Aside from that, the journal also took note of the addition of the Nationalist government's attempt to stop the advancing Japanese army in 1938 through the breach of the Yellow River dykes.



Of course, there had been destructive consequences for the Chinese people during those events though the point was still made in the end.



In recent years, China appears to be applying the same concept in terms of gaining global power either consciously or subconsciously.



Take for example the extensive claims of the country in the South China Sea.



While it is a fact that the South China Sea is not a river, it acts as a passageway for traders and shippers in the Asia-Pacific and houses immeasurable underwater resources.



Considering that the Yellow River is about to dry up for good due to the continued water stress cited by the China Dialogue, the Middle Kingdom is bound to look for another body of water to make use in its quest for growth and power.






Luton is a large town, borough and unitary authority area of Bedfordshire. Luton and its near neighbours, Dunstable and Houghton Regis, form the Luton/Dunstable Urban Area with a population of about 258,000. Luton is home to Championship team Luton Town Football Club, London Luton Airport and The University of Bedfordshire. You can find us on Facebook and Twitter. For all the latest news from Luton sign up to our newsletter here.
Foreign companies are now reportedly struggling as the government gives more preference to Chinese railways companies for the development of the country's rail network. (Photo : Twitter)

Foreign rail companies are now facing a hard time, as China gradually shifts favor to local corporations.



According to Ansgar Brockmeyer, board chairman of German company Knorr-Bremse in the Asia-Pacific region, they have been struggling in the last two years to secure contracts to supply parts for the trains due to the government favoring Chinese companies more. Knorr-Bremse has been a supplier of brakes for metro rail systems in the country for around 25 years now.



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Brockmeyer further said that even foreign-invested Chinese firms are being disregarded, as contracts are instead awarded to wholly Chinese-owned companies, Reuters reported.



He also revealed that the new bidding rules implemented by Chinese awarding committees, as stipulated in the tender documents provided to their company in 2015, have significantly scored down foreign-invested companies against local ones. The new rules, Brockmeyer said, ended up causing the company to lose on 3 of the 11 bids they made.



Lu Aachen echoed the same sentiments, noting, with more government-supported local enterprises coming forth, they are now experiencing growing pressure to effectively do their business. Lu chairs a joint venture between state-owned Shanghai Electric Group and French electronics company Thales SA to supply signaling systems for Chinese subways.



He said that there were originally only four to five suppliers in the business, but the number has since grown to nine due to the entry of local competitors. Three more new local providers are expected to be approved soon.



In the last decade, foreign companies already had very limited penetration in the lucrative Chinese rail market, with them only being able to do business as sub-suppliers for domestic companies, or as minority stakeholders in joint ventures.



Business groups like the European Chamber of Commerce in China have also called attention to the matter, saying that the "increasingly hostile" business environment might end up pushing foreign companies to seek business elsewhere.



Meanwhile, as local Chinese rail companies are slowly gaining dominance in the domestic market, they are also gradually penetrating the global scene.



Chinese railroad companies China Railway Construction Corp. Ltd.. (CRCC) and China Railway Corp. (CRC) have reportedly won the contract to operate and maintain a light railway that will connect the Ethiopian capital of Addis Ababa to Djibouti's capital Djibouti City, Caixin reported.



The project is the first time Chinese companies have managed to win bids for all stages of development for an overseas project. Construction of the 750-kilometer railroad was awarded to CRCC's subsidiary China Civil Engineering Construction Corp and CRC's Railway Erju Co. Ltd., which completed it in 2015.



China is also looking to invest in the development of a high-speed railway to connect the Indonesian capital of Jakarta to nearby cities as part of its overseas expansion.


Updated: This article was updated August 5 with confirmation from Apple on a few points.

An Apple security chief unexpectedly announced the company will pay for vulnerabilities found in certain aspects of iOS and iCloud. The program will launch in September by invitation only for a few dozen researchers with whom Apple has an existing strong relationship, and payouts will be based on severity and category. The top fees across five areas range from $25,000 to $200,000, but could be much lower. The announcement came during a presentation by Ivan Krstic, Apples head of security engineering and architecture, at the Black Hat security research conference in Las Vegas.

The presentation also included a level of technical detail and disclosure of securityhere, related to AutoUnlock, HomeKit, and iCloud Keychainthat has been mostly absent in the past at conferences, according to those present.

The fees offered arent enough to deter those merely in it for the cash, as major flaws can command cash from malicious and legitimate parties alike that far exceeds Apples top rates. But it could help convince researchers to disclose problems to Apple and remain mute until the bugs are patched. In some instances in the last few years, those who had discovered exploits went public after they decided sufficient time had passed without Apple providing updates.

Most of Apples competitors for customers and eyeballs already run so-called bug bounty programs, in which researchers or hackers turn over what they know in exchange for a fee, usually paid in cash, and keeping quiet until fixes ship. Some sponsor hacking events, paying out in cash, equipment, or both for achieving a goal, like breaking out of a browser sandbox designed to contain malicious software from the rest of a system. Amazon now remains the exception among large Internet firms.

Today Apple introduced a bug bounty program with maximum payout of $200,000. Will go live in Sept. #BlackHat2016 pic.twitter.com/Zo4iDO5Ybw  Robert McMillan (@bobmcmillan) August 4, 2016

Krstic listed five categories of bugs and the top fee paid for each, although Apple said later that exceptional critical vulnerabilities that arent listed will be considered. Those who attended say that macOS isnt yet covered as part of the program.

Secure boot firmware components ($200,000 cap)

Extraction of confidential material protected by the Secure Enclave Processor ($100,000 cap)

Execution of arbitrary code with kernel privileges ($50,000 cap)

Unauthorized access to iCloud account data on Apple servers ($50,000 cap)

Access from a sandboxed process to user data outside of that sandbox ($25,000 cap)

Each of these aspects represents key vectors for attack by governments and criminals alike. While iOS has never had exploits spread significantly in the wild, jailbreaking software has made use of various methods of running arbitrary code. In a separate Black Hat presentation, the makers of the Pangu jailbreak for iOS 9 (fixed in 9.2) described how they achieved that kind of code execution.

So far, theres been no known extraction of data from Secure Enclave, the dedicated hardware in iOS devices with an A7 or newer process that acts as a one-way valve to store fingerprint characteristics and certain data associated with Apple Pay. Its also used to prevent downgrading iOS to exploit a bug in a previous release.

While iCloud accounts have been compromised in the past through certain weak password entry endpoints and social engineering of celebrity accounts, theres been no reported breach of iCloud servers.

Those invited to apply to the program will have to provide a proof of concept that works on current software and hardware. Bounties will be based on a combination of factors, as with other corporate bug programs, such as how much interaction is required from a user to trigger it, the exploits severity, how novel it is compared to previously known issues, and how clearly the flaw is described.

Apple has also offered a bump to bug finders who want to donate their awards to charity. At its discretionpotentially to avoid supporting charities at odds with its image or public stancesApple will match donated awards dollar for dollar.

Security researcher Rich Mogull, a contributor to Macworld and other Apple-focused publications, noted in a post on his companys blog that Apple will consider adding those who discover bugs but havent been invited to the bounty program; Apple confirmed this for Macworld. Apple wont publish a list of invitees, he writes, but those participating are free to disclose it. This approach is clearly intended to reduce the volume of reports and keep the quality high. Apple has long accepted bug reports without the potential of compensation, and that continues. Apple says that it plans to try to bring more researchers into the program in the future.

Apple began to acknowledge researchers who conformed to its advance disclosure and testing rules several years ago and includes their name and company affiliation (if any) in security updates. Apple withholds credit and sometimes publishes those who work outside its guidelines, most prominently suspending Charlie Miller, who had previously discovered many flaws, from its developer program in 2011 after he had an app approved in the App Store with a proof-of-concept flaw embedded.

Bugs pay big on gray and black markets, with criminal syndicates and government agencies sometimes vying for the same exploit before its found and patched. These so-called zero-day bugs, ones that arent patched before theyre used to exploit a weakness, allow malicious and legitimate parties alike ways to crack servers, operating systems, and sometimes individual computers and mobile devices. Effective cracks can go for tens of thousands of dollars, with reports putting the top rate at a million dollars.

The Department of Justice dropped its attempt to force Apple to create a specialized version of iOS that would allow the FBI to attempt to crack a work-provided iPhone used by San Bernardino mass-killer Syed Rizwan after it obtained a bypass from a third party.

Fees at other companies range from a starting point from $100 to $500, and are capped at from $20,000 at Google to $100,000 at Microsoft. Some companies dont have an announced cap, and may offer far higher fees for major exploits.
Her son, Leo, was born with a serious condition called Gastrochisis, which meant he didnt have much skin to cover his exposed organs, and spent his short life being treated in Demi's local Childrens Hospital and Medical Center.

A mum from Omaha, Nebraska named Demi Fransden, pictured here, has donated a record-breaking amount of breastmilk to a children's hospital where her own baby sadly died.

Poor Leo wasnt able drink much of his mums milk - though he could taste little bits of it through a Q-tip. But undeterred, Demi pumped every 3 hours, and decided to donate her excess milk to other babies at the hospital.

Sadly, Leo passed away from his condition unexpectedly when he was just 10 months old. Seeing how much her milk was helping others, Demi continued to pump her milk for donation.

By the time her donations came to an end, shed produced 17,503 fl ounces of milk. Thats around 495 litres, or 109 UK gallons (or 131 US gallons)

She quite rightly describes her donation as a dairy aisle, basically in an emotional interview with local news channel WOWT News.

WOWT reports that her donated milk would help the babies being treated at the same Childrens Hospital where Leo was looked after, and they also announced that it was the most milk they've ever received.

How amazing that Demi managed to make these donations and help others, while grieving for her own son.

Read more:


Part of Maidenhead High Street is closed after the engine of a bus hit a speed bump at about 3.20pm today (Friday).

Police and firefighters have cordoned off the road near Greggs and the bus will be towed away.

The road will remain closed until a highways team has come and cleared oil off the road.
Aircraft Carrier Pilots on Death of Colleague: 'We Will Not Stop Trying After This Accident'

China eyes to be an aircraft carrier superpower. (Photo : Getty Images)

Dai Mingmeng, once granted the title "Heroic Test Pilot," remarked that even after the death of a fellow comrade, they will not be hindered in pursuing their career as aircraft carrier pilots, the Global Times reported.



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"What matters most is that we will not stop trying after this accident, as those who truly love this career will not be intimidated," he shared.



Zhang Chao, a trainee learning how to man the country's first aircraft carrier, was recently killed while he was landing a J-15 fighter jet.



"As Zhang was landing his jet on a runway following a routine mission on April 27 when the plane touched down he noticed that the nose of the plane had started to rise," the article wrote.



Flight data recorder showed that Zhang tried to maneuver to save the aircraft and ejected himself. Nonetheless, the pilot's parachute failed to open. He died in a hospital.



In an investigation, it was found out that the accident was due to the "fly-by-wire" electronic control system failure.



For Dai, also head of Zhang's troop, what Zhang did was "reasonable and rational," adding that he would have done the same if he were in a similar situation.



In an article by Xinhua News Agency, Dai recounted the question he threw at Zhang during his selection interview: "Piloting carrier-based aircraft is the most dangerous flying job in the world, are you willing to join us?"



"I know it's dangerous and risky, but I want to join," the enthusiastic Zhang answered.



Currently, "China is still exploring flight training and risks always exist during the use of new equipment and new training methods, therefore accidents are normal," Dai stated.



After the incident, related government bodies have taken measure to ensure safety of the aircraft carrier pilots.



Xinhua noted that pilots of aircraft carriers face risks that are five times higher than that of astronauts' and 20 times higher than that of regular pilots.


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Interview with Joseph Iha, Managing Director of Equity Bank

Equity Bank bank's business model is based on offering low income and marginalized population convenient and affordable access to a safe and secure place for their savings. It has attracted a lot of international recognition, various awards and it has been recognised by the Gates Foundation. What differentiates Equity Bank's approach in extending financial services to the low income segment and the unbanked population? Outline for us your fundamental business strategy.

Equity Bank is an all-inclusive commercial bank. It started from a micro finance background with banking the unbanked and the bottom of the pyramid customers, but over time it has evolved. It has evolved to the extent that we are targeting everybody. We are all inclusive. We are not a bottom of the pyramid bank or a SME bank or a corporate bank. We offer a full service and we try to provide solutions across the full spectrum of customers. I think Equity Bank's business model is driven by its vision, which is to champion the socio-economic prosperity of the people of Africa. In doing so, we dont discriminate. We believe that Africans have the potential to better their self, to become bigger and to grow. Equity Bank's role in this process is to unlock this potential in every person living on the African continent. Its a business model that is mainly driven by three fundamentals. We focus on affordability of our solutions, accessibility and flexibility. These are the three things that we focus on and offer to all our customers in all the markets that we go to be it in Kenya, Uganda Rwanda, Tanzania and other African countries that we aim to go into.

So you are no longer aggressively opening zero balance accounts from the beginning and then coupling that with both diversifying [road] funding and revenue sources?

In terms of prospects and room for growth, it is enormous. Look at a country like Tanzania with a population of over 55 million people. The banked population is almost insignificant.

Our zero balance accounts have a backstory. You need to understand where Equity Bank is coming from. We are not opening zero balance accounts. We did research to understand the psychology of the poorer people and why they dont put their money in a bank. We realized that there are a lot of bottlenecks and roadblocks that have been put throughout the whole process of opening an account. One of the things that we did was to simplify the entire process. We decided that if the only thing that was keeping a customer from opening an account was a required minimum balance, then we would remove that minimum balance. So you can open an account with whatever amount you have. We are not selling zero balance accounts. We are providing you with the opportunity to open an account with whatever money you have and if you dont have money today but you have the prospect of getting money in the near future, then we will open an account for you and when that money comes through then you have a place to put it, as opposed to us waiting for you to get the money and when you get it you then start looking for where to put it. We are giving you an opportunity to open a bank account. If your money is only being paid at the end of the month, then you can provide that bank account for it to be remitted into. In that way we have streamlined and made it easier for the lower income people to open a bank account.

The bank's vision is to be the socio-economic champion for the people of Africa. Currently the bank has over 8 million customers, making it the largest bank in terms of customer base in Africa, with subsidiaries in Kenya, Rwanda, South Sudan, Tanzania and Uganda amongst others. Beyond these impressive existing numbers, what is your growth trajectory now going forward?

The amount of account holders we have is in that region, but we have barely scratched the surface if you look at the population of the continent or even just in the countries where Equity Bank has a presence. In terms of prospects and room for growth, it is enormous. Look at a country like Tanzania with a population of over 55 million people. The banked population is almost insignificant. Whoever provides a solution for the majority of the unbanked African people will take over the market. There is a huge opportunity that has not been tapped and this is what we think about every day and sometimes when we look at the numbers we see there are so many banks but then there are also so many people that are unbanked. What can we do about the unbanked population? What is keeping them away despite all these solutions and products we are offering? There must be something we havent thought of and whoever figures it out will trigger all these people to come into the banking system and will therefore take over the banking market. There is huge potential waiting here.

An Equity Bank branch

CRBD said that a lot of these banks are here on a long term punt in Tanzania because its only 15 million dollars of capital that has to be provided in this country to get the licence, so they are just here essentially biding their time treading water and waiting for those long-term structural shifts to fall into place and then they will have a foothold operation to take advantage of this so basically we are taking a long-term view on Tanzania.

Yes, its important to take a long-term view. I always say that every market has its own opportunities and its own challenges. Tanzania is no exception. It has its own challenges and it has its own opportunities. The biggest opportunity that I see is the unbanked segment of the population. It provides a huge opportunity. But again there are also challenges which are known and common to most of the players but you can see the drive and intent to resolve these challenges from government, the regulators and the stakeholders. There are joint initiatives that are in progress. So yes, it may not be optimal or perfect but it is good to have a long-term view because some of the things that have been initiated and are in progress will result in making it even better for the operating environment, particularly for the financial sector. There are a number of initiatives that have been put into motion which once concluded will probably result in the up taking of banking services being much faster than what it is now. But even in the current context, there are opportunities that still have not been tapped and the financial institution that does will take over the market.

Key to Equity Bank's success has been reaching a mass market depositing in Kenya and other territories and one of the key tools that was used was pioneering an expertise in agency banking. What have been some of the challenges while trying to implement the agency model in some of your other Greenfield subsidiaries such as Tanzania?

The agency banking model is easily scalable and applicable in all the African markets. It started in Kenya but it has also been very successfully implemented in Rwanda and here in Tanzania. We have in excess of 850 agents across all of them. What makes it so attractive and easily scalable is the convenience with which it offers financial services. This is because we use a familiar face in each community: a shopkeeper or another business man that has been there for years and has been giving you products and solutions and now they are offering you financial services as an agent of a bank as well. One of the criteria we look at when talking about agents is that they must be existing business people operating for a minimum of two years, with a permanent business location and an on-going business. So because of the trust level that has been built over the years it makes it easier for that agent to start talking to customers about opening a bank account and starting to save and then if you need to access your money they are able to pay you. What we do is to integrate these products, you open your account with the agent, you are registered on mobile banking and you receive a notification. So for whatever transactions you have with the agent you will receive notifications from the bank. The transactions come from the bank and not from the agent. It builds confidence. Even those that start on a trial basis end up believing in the product and they will talk about this to people and this is why it is so attractive and easily accepted, even in new markets, such as Tanzania where Equity Bank is a new brand. We are not only introducing the brand but also the agents. In the beginning we were not sure what the reception would be like but it has surprised us. We are very impressed. Without having to spend money on advertising the uptake has been impressive.

How challenging was it being a new foreign bank in a market with many well established local players, not only including the commercial lenders, but also the more specialized microfinance banks and the other microfinance institutions that seem to proliferate here?

Starting a business or a bank in any market whether it is home-grown or a foreign bank is never easy, especially in a market with existing players. The advantage we had that gave us a head start was being part of an existing group which has existing structures and defined policies and procedures that have been tested, reviewed and proven to work. So in essence we are not reinventing the wheel, so to speak. That was one of the advantages that we had. Then also being part of the group means you have certain synergies that you can leverage on. I think our biggest strength was when we came into the market; before we did anything else we recruited staff in advance. We hired staff before we even got our banking licence. We understood the challenges in the market. We didnt want to come into the market and start headhunting people from other institutions. We wanted to train our own. so we had about a hundred people that we took to Kenya who stayed there and worked there for an entire year before we even started business, so that by the time we were ready to move forward with the bank, we had a critical number of people who understood the organization, the products and the processes. They became our cohorts in driving the agenda. That is why we are not struggling because we started out with people who had been working for the organization for a whole year. We started with two branches and opened three more branches within the first year. I think this is something that I would encourage, particularly in organizations that are have headquarters outside of Tanzania and they want to replicate their business model. I believe that the culture is fundamental especially when you want to transfer part of the head office culture into the new market. I think it worked well for us and therefore it wasnt very hard for us in the beginning. They started with a drive and aggression because they had seen the success of Equity Bank in Kenya and other regions and they wanted to be part of that success story. Therefore they were self-driven and these are all local people that we took to Kenya and then brought back to make a difference in their own country. They were all fired up and I think that really gave us the momentum with which to start. In no time, everyone in Dar es Salaam was talking about Equity Bank because they had not seen this kind of energetic young people who had been out there and engaging with people who had done it and succeeded. It inspired them to say; we are going back home and we want to have a success story like the other Equity Bank subsidiaries. That really helped us to kick-start the new subsidiary.

Tanzania itself boasts a very vibrant and growing economy which is driven a lot by the private sector at all levels both formal and informal and across a multiplicity of sectors as well. Would you say however that the government in Tanzania is perhaps more cautious and slightly restricted than in other EAC countries and for example, how onerous are the 'know your customer' requirements that they have in place?

I wouldnt say the Tanzanian government is more cautious than the rest of the East African governments. All I can say is that each of these governments and each of these countries are at different levels of development and they have different priorities depending on what level they are. Tanzania is in a unique position from Kenya or from Uganda and from what Ive read the government is keen on making decisions that are of interest to the general public of Tanzania before looking at the larger east African community, which I personally think is a fair position. There are different levels and the priorities are different. Of course there is a point of convergence because of the regional presence, but each country has its own priorities and I think Tanzania wants to harmonize whatever is happening at the community level with whatever is happening at the home country level. Its a matter of time before all the countries are at the same level of progress in terms of KYC. I think that particularly from the banking and financial sector services the biggest hindrance in regards to the KYC is a lack of a unifying identification for Tanzania. You have multiple identifiers. I know the government is serious about pushing a national ID project which Im sure will move even faster now with the new initiatives the government is doing, but in the absence of that you have to find innovative ways of identifying a customer for the purposes of banking. They are not completely undocumented but there are various forms of identification so its a question of where do you strike harmony in terms of saying; this is acceptable and this is not acceptable. That subjectivity is what creates differences. What we have done as a bank is to know what the challenges are and we take steps to make sure that we positively identify customers. From the start we knew it was a unique challenge so we invested in a biometric identifier across all our branches. So in addition to your formal identification and capturing your digital information we also capture your biometrics and store them on our system. At that level, once we have identified you and captured all your data, if you provide any mandate or instruction to the bank, in addition to signing, you authenticate your instruction with your fingerprints. In that way the system is able to identify you. It has helped us and we have not had as many incidences of fraud in the market due to multiple identification because we use that as a control. We have managed to curb issues of duplicity and multiple identities at that level.

Would you say that overall you have been more conservative with your rollout in Tanzania than in other regional countries?

Not at all. If we had been conservative we would not have opened fourteen branches in four years. We have been in this market for barely four years and thats a good average of branches per year. That is not conservative. In fact, we wish we could progress faster. If you remember, I said one of our key strategies is accessibility. Tanzania is a huge country. The geographical spread is vast and the population is scattered. If you want to transform the lives and livelihoods of Tanzanians, you have to be where they are, so access is critical. If we could spread faster we could give more Tanzanians the opportunities to access financial services and change their lives. So definitely not conservative. We are just being cautious to mitigate the risks that are unique to the market so even as we drive our ambition for growth we are not blind to the fact that there are certain risks that are localized here that we need to take care of if we are to move forward. You want to be flexible but responsible at the same time because you have stakeholders interests to balance and that is what we have been doing for the last four years.

Can you give us some insight as to how EBA is focused on riding the technological wave into a financially inclusive future and some of the serious competition pace from some of the other NVNO's that are reaching very low on numbers of the same clients that EBA will be targeting (often with very similar financial products)?

I think the penetration of MNO's into the mobile money space has taught banks and other financial institutions very valuable lessons. Its about convenience. How can you make it more and more convenient for customers of banks to access your financial services? That is the convenience that mobile phones have brought in the MNO's. The challenge is how do you transform or transfer or to what extent can you transfer the sum of all the products and services that people come to the bank to do into platforms that they are able to access easily. That is the challenge. I heard somebody say that in the future banking will be more something that you do than some place you go to. It is a challenge that we have taken on. Equity Bank's technology journey started way back. We have invested a lot in a scalable IT platform co-banking system. We knew that from the beginning and I think we probably have the biggest IT spending in the region. Every year we scale up our IT for us to be able to accommodate as many of the diverse needs of our customers as possible. There are a lot of initiatives but we keep in mind to focus on how we can improve the experience that our customers receive because then it will be more convenient for them to use our services. There are already many initiatives in progress and we have also seen the uptake of Fintech companies and we already see valuable lessons we can learn from there. Its all about convenience. at the group level. If you follow the story of Equity Bank, I think that at one point we said that if MNO's are getting it right, why cant we start an MNO ourselves and see whether we can bring that convergence of the MNO and the banking sector about much faster. Thats what led us to actually start an NVNO in Kenya through Equitel. The whole idea was to whether there could be a convergence of sorts. If you look at Tanzania for example, the banked population is barely 14% but the mobile banking is almost 60%. That gap is a cluster of customers, in my view, who aspire to be served by banks but because banks havent developed products that make it convenient for them, they are sustaining themselves through MNO's and those are really small level transactions. Whoever forces that convergence of that critical size of customers by linking them to a bank will be the financial institution that will grow a lot faster than any other.

To what extent has the bank ridden the wave or been the beneficiary of enhanced regional integration and revival of the East African community?

Our regional presence gives us a unique proposition, particularly for customers who operate in the region. There is a lot of intraregional trade between Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania, Congo, South Sudan and various other regions. We have covered that whole circuit and we are still continuing with the expansion. What that gives our customers is the flexibility of moving around these regions to trade and do business without the hassles of walking around with cash. What we have done is to provide a uniform platform in all the markets that we operate so if you have an account in Nairobi and you go to Rwanda, the teller or cashier in Rwanda will be able to positively identify you as if you are in your home country, because all the details are shared and they will be able to identify your signature, check your account balance, transfer money for you or withdraw money for you. It basically creates a single market driven by the bank. I think we should be the preferred bank of choice for any business enterprise that has a regional presence because we have such a unified platform for you to do your trade.
Chinese Version of 'War Horse' Kicks Off Second Tour in China

The English version of "War Horse" has won five Tony Awards. (Photo : Getty Images)

The Chinese version of the popular theater production, "War Horse," is back in the Beijing stage as it commenced its second tour in China mainland last Friday, the Global Times reported.



The production is known for the adorable character Joey, the show's life-sized puppet star.



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The show first made headlines in the Chinese theater scene in 2015 when it was staged around the country for around 190 times. Its inaugural run ignited much fanfare in major regions including Beijing, Shanghai, Heilongjiang and Tianjin.



The creative production is a product of intensive collaboration between the national theaters of Britain and China.



"Joey is a puppet horse. So our first technological difficulty is how to make him come alive," Liu Xiaoyi, the "War Horse" director of puppeteering told the publication.



In order to master the needed skills for the production, Liu recounted that they had to live with horses for over a month, "observing their every move, feeding them, showering them, cleaning the stables... pretty much everything related to [the animals]."



As Liu enthused that "they want to create a real horse...alive and breathing," they also learned intimate knowledge about the animal--from its digestive to reproductive and nervous systems.



But for Liu Yang, one of the directors from the Chinese team, this collaborative projects is more than just the technical aspects, sharing that the Chinese version is "actually is an evolved version of the original."



"We've changed a few things to make the play better suit the tastes of Chinese people. We've also made our own improvements to the way the show is run," he shared.



A report from english.cri.cn noted that in order to "localize the script," British team director Alex Simms expressed worries in correctly translating the context of European culture depicted in the show.



"Working with the Chinese directing team and the translator, we managed to find Chinese idioms to replace English, French or German colloquialisms," Simms remarked.


Interview with Hamish Hamilton, Executive Chairman of Nabaki Afrika

Your company was founded in 1993. Can you describe some of the major changes youve witnessed in the construction sector since then?

When we first arrived in Tanzania, everything was sold out of containers. They used to call them container shops and it was limited. You could hardly buy anything. So because of my construction background both in South Africa and in America, it made sense to look at importing construction materials like gypsum ceilings and the basics into Tanzania, which we started doing all those years ago. We had lessons but it gained momentum from there and we started off in a tiny little 5 by 5 meter office, me, my wife and one driver with no storage space and 23 years later Nabaki Afrika has over 750 square meters of head office here and 120 personnel who work for us now. We have 4 branches and we're busy opening another one in Dar es Salaam. We have another one in Arusha which is a big branch similar in size to our head office.

Dar es Salaam is your largest office.

Yes its the centre. Thats the capital. We call it HQ though it has just been renamed and is now called support office. Headquarters sounded very official and military.

The Tanzanian construction sector continues to be one of the most vibrant sectors in the overall economy. Where is the growth primarily being driven now?

Weve got over 750 square meters of head office here and 120 personnel who work for us now. We have 4 branches and we're busy opening another one in Dar es Salaam.

It is segmented. Traditionally, corruption played a huge part here. The President himself said that the construction sector was probably one of the most corrupt sectors in Tanzania and there was all sorts of funny business going on. To be honest we could never supply or receive government tenders. It was closed doors to us. So we focused more on the local and domestic market and the upper income bracket and slowly we gained momentum there. Now with the new regulations that have come in and the President vowing to stamp out corruption, we are getting enquiries regarding large civil works and we have picked up a lot of suppliers that are equally looking for very straight arrow partners and because we have walked that traditionally crooked path in a straight line we are finding that more and more people are coming to see us. So its been busy. I think the major growth is in infrastructure. A lot of the money that was intended for infrastructure never ended up there but now it is starting to. If you look at the taxes that have been collected this year alone and heads that have rolled, I think its a fantastic place to be. So infrastructure just in terms of civils, the roads and the airports are now fair game and the table is level now.

So this is a possible bonanza for you.

It could be. To be honest I thought we were flying but I found out we were just bumping down the runway. I do feel we can take off now.

The management of the construction sector falls under the Ministry of Infrastructure Development and that is seen by the government as an important link to both economic and social development. How would you rate the Ministrys performance to date?

To date it has been very poor. It has been a closed shop. They would not ask us to tender for anything unless they were using our price to come in somewhere else. We had to pay for tenders. We had to lodge quite a lot of money and the terms and conditions were always a little bit shaky. I think all that has changed now and where weve grown slowly into the large construction sector is the demand. There are long lead times here. You can have lead times of up to three months. When you start a project or you have been given the go ahead on a project youre expected to break ground immediately. By us carrying a large amount of stock we find that people cant really go anywhere else because they need the product immediately. Thats not to say that we can charge whatever we want. We have always paid our full duties, VAT and taxes and because of that we found out that we are quite expensive. But now that the tables have turned we are not that expensive. Its very interesting to see that. People are realising that they need to revisit that idea. We are in a very good place.

How permanent is the process of development? Are the combined sectors of infrastructure, transport and communications working in concert to really combat poverty reduction within Tanzania?

Thats a big question and I imagine more suited for a politician to answer. Obviously, each of those sectors is relevant and if you have a breakdown in one sector something doesnt happen, which is what traditionally always happened. The money was always there but it went in the wrong direction so projects failed. There have been a lot of failed projects here and probably more so in Tanzania than anywhere else. Now all of that is changing, especially in terms of power. Tanzania is an incredibly rich country. People dont realise how rich it is. Youre looking at nearly a million square kilometres of land. Theres about 1500 kilometres of untouched coastline. Tanzania has three quarters of Africas game and three of the largest lakes. They have estimated that it is in the top four mineral rich countries in the world and now they have found helium as well as the worlds largest area of graphite, though unfortunately its right next to a game reserve. There Tanzania has helium, tanzanite, rhenium as well as big gas deposits found down in the south. The potential has always been there. The mines will have to come in and do it properly now. The mines were just doing it like cowboys before. Youll see a lot of correspondence with a very big mine up here but theyve now had to pay taxes. Its very interesting when you see the letters and you start visiting the mines and you see what they are doing in terms of what they do to the environment its quite scary. Its good and bad. I love the fact that this county is very underdeveloped so the potential has always been there. If you look at the agriculture and the land, anything grows here. When we moved here we put up little sticks like our parents did with a packet of seeds to let it grow even that stick grew. It is incredible what can grow here and how fertile it is. Its an incredible country. Only 4% of any type of arable land is under any type of commercial agriculture and yet 80% of the population are involved in farming. So you have these dichotomies that are very hard to link up but as you know Tanzanians are wonderful people and they are not stupid. I think what they have done is to become very entrepreneurial. If you drive at night you will see a 6 year old selling peanuts but if you look around you with open eyes you will see very little begging. If you beg here you need to be missing a limb or something. Thats accepted. If you had a 6 year old selling peanuts in the UK it would not be accepted but thats the age they start here and they really strive to work hard. You dont see people lying around here and its actually tapping into that genuine labour-force that has passion and bringing it out is the key.

Do you gauge that the government is seeking to increase the incentives of foreign investors here and that they continue to support joint ventures between foreign and local contracting firms?

I think the government is right. Obviously you have two sides to the coin here. One of the biggest challenges in the construction industry is a huge lack of skilled labour therefore we have to bring in skilled contractors at huge costs to do the work. A prime example is that when you build a dam you need this liner that goes underneath it. To get a skilled workman in costs 3000 dollars a day plus expenses and flights and this is only for a simple hand machine that you roll along a liner and it welds it together. So we have picked up the distribution for that machine but I dont want to sell the machine as much as I want to sell the service. Now we have one of our engineers going to Switzerland and he will be trained on how to use the machine by a Swiss company called Leister Machinery. He will come back here and he will train up Mtaalam because its a very simple skill. If you could see how the men here can sow you would be surprised. You could walk down any street here and say that you need something made and have it ready the same day at a fraction of the cost. Tanzanians are real entrepreneurs and artisans and I think what the government really wants to do now is to maintain that local way. They are a bit paranoid about giving things away especially when you have a highly educated Kenya on your border, but having said that I kind of agree with their philosophy of rather having local skills. Every single person that we have trained and that works for us on our Mtaalam program started with nothing and was hired off the street. Last year at a BBQ we held for them I gave away two vehicles. They are branded so we get some advertising out of it but at the end of the day these are the guys that we give jobs to. Somebody will come into the shop and say they want to buy this liner and do we know anybody who can weld it. I dont get involved in the installation and construction side of things because I believe there should be a local market for that. Many of these things are very simple.

The main opportunities for foreign companies and investors here seem to be in the infrastructure development such as roads, bridges, airports, electrical power generation, distribution, railways, ports and educational facilities. The majority of those have been dominated by foreign contractors but are the local contractors not capable of handling those major projects? How long do you think it will be before they can catch up and maybe begin to compete?

One of the problems is that investment into Tanzania has been done wrong. Investment here to date has been very selfish because when the ground is not even you will find that it attracts the wrong investors. Right now Tanzania is open to investors where the investment is mutually beneficial to both the country and the investor. You have to come here, look at the people, train the people and get them going. We did it. Our Mtaalam program has been running for 10 years now and we have trained over 200 people. We do it all for free and in fact we provide them with tools. Our suppliers support them and come and train them. Its a fantastic opportunity and I would encourage other companies to do the same. Instead of only looking to your own self-interest rather look at how the country can benefit as well. And that is whats going to change now. There will be investment from a mutually beneficent point of view.

We know that in recent years you have been expanding your footprint throughout the country looking for the smaller distributors in the smaller towns around the country such as Mwanza, Tanga and Moshi. We want to know what your main focuses and priorities are for this year and beyond.

Im a product person with a passion. Im not going to sell anything I dont believe in. Right now Im testing a new UV filter on my swimming pool because Im not about to release it into the market until I have tested it. Tanzania is a huge country and we cant just open branches everywhere. We dont have the capital to do that. We are not a corporate company. We are a family business. We are not B&Q though believe me when I say, B&Q will come here and if not them it will be Build-it. I would have to be careful because a B&Q or a Build-it could devour me but I dont think they would because we do things differently. Our product range is different and its very select. Doing things differently, believing in it and making it happen is important. So because of the countrys size we appoint sub-distributors and we assist them and we train them. They come in and meet with our accountant and see our accounts office. We take them to see how we do the training. We have opened little sub-distributors that have been trained by us and we have a rule that is when a sub-distribution is working we dont interfere. But if it doesnt work or it fails like in Arusha where the distributor ran out of money we take over and it has now been developed into a branch that is nearly as big as this place. It is a wonderful thing having all these satellite distributors and seeing all these people who have a natural entrepreneurial spirit, but this helps to harness that and change it into a formal business.

How receptive has the Tanzanian construction sector been to some of the newer products and particularly the green products that you have introduced to the local market?

Green is always difficult because it comes with a cost implication and it is mostly more expensive. For example, people rave about solar power and how much sunshine we have but people forget that solar needs batteries. You need to be able to store it and the batteries are expensive and only last for 5 years. So you have a battery that costs around 500 dollars and you have to get rid of it after 5 years so you start asking yourself that if you are limited by the size of the battery why not just stick to generators. We only take products that we believe in. As you drove in you would have seen solar heaters outside. Those solar heaters are really clever because they reheat in the mornings. They have a heat-sink inside and as you shower at 11 o'clock at night and you drain every single last bit of water by the time you have a shower in the morning that shower will be piping hot again. So getting innovations like that into Tanzania is great but then the key is to educate people because it is fine for me to believe in a product but you wont get anyone else to buy it if they dont understand and believe in it. That is how we sell. Our whole upstairs is like a school where we train suppliers, our team, our local sales team and we also open it up. We have a very big boardroom upstairs. We let the contractors registration board use it with no charge. We let them use all the facilities, the screens and projectors at no charge but we get exposure because they walk through my showroom to get there because most of our innovative products are normally by the doors. At the top of the building my wife has a NGO called Nipe Fagio, which means "give me the broom". It is an NGO and her mission in life is to clean Dar es Salaam. That is a bigger mission than climbing Kilimanjaro and people have taken to this idea.

I do see a lot of people sweeping all the time even in Zanzibar.

They love sweeping. I think its a hobby and may even be cathartic.

Tell us more about Nabaki Afrika's professional program Mtaalam and how it has been developing.

Its been fantastic. We had a big meeting with them the other day and I think that is the easiest way to describe it. We decided to have a small BBQ for them. At the last minute 73 people arrived and we had only been expecting 20 or so. We had this BBQ for them and the food got cold because all they wanted to do was ask questions. They had question after question after question. We had 73 people who are all competitors sitting together and asking questions. You wont find that in many places. They wanted to know how can they build this market and how can they develop it. It really touched my heart to see something that really works because it is good for them and these guys are making really good money. We pass on sales leads and if feedback is good they remain on our records, but as soon as they mess up theyre out of it and they know that. So if someone comes in and says they need a roof we will find out where they are situated and show them our roof portfolio and advise them to rather choose someone close to them but we dont make the decision for them. We just give them the options. But if they do experience problems we have more influence to be able to contact Mtaalam and ask them to refine the list. Mtaalam is a bit of a strange word. We called it fundi and this is a classic example of not understanding the market. As a European or South African or Zimbabwean fundi means an expert. Here everybody is a fundi. So when we started the Fundi 2000 program it didnt work because nobody wanted to be a fundi. It was only when we asked them what they wanted to be called that they said they want to be called professionals. We asked them what the Swahili was for professional and they said Mtaalam. That is where it comes from and it means a lot to them.
The Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore says it was notified just before midnight yesterday (Aug 4) of a collision involving Dream II VLCC (Very Large Crude Carrier) and MSC Alexandra (Container Ship) in the Singapore Strait, about 3 km South-East of Sebarok Island.

Both are Panama-flagged vessels.

Prior to the incident, MPA's Port Operations Control Centre provided traffic information and alerted the shipmasters of Dream II and MSC Alexandra of the risk of collision.

Dream II sustained damage to her bow whilst MSC Alexandra sustained damages on her port quarter hull. Both vessels are in stable condition and safely anchored in Singapore.

MSC Alexandra reported that 10 empty containers fell overboard during the incident, 4 onto the deck of Dream II and the rest into the water.

Upon notification, MPA immediately issued navigation broadcast to warn vessels of the presence of floating containers in the vicinity of the incident site. MPA has deployed survey and salvage teams to recover the containers.

There were no injuries or oil pollution reported.
The downwards trend line in Asia-Europe spot freight rates has finally been reversed, as data from World Container Index Shanghai-Europe reveals.

Whereas the first four months of 2016 saw 50% or larger reductions in freight rates and record-low spot rate levels, a series of five consecutive monthly rate increases that started in April and continued again on 1 August has resulted in a return to an upwards trend line.

Shippers and cargo owners booking under spot rates enjoyed huge cost reductions while carriers suffered substantial revenue shortfalls in early 2016 on the Asia-Europe route but, as we predicted, this extreme situation did not last, said Philip Damas, director at Drewry, which jointly owns WCI alongside Cleartrade Exchange.

The average Shanghai-Rotterdam spot rate of just $772/40ft container for the period January-April nearly doubled, from a low base, to $1,467 on average for the period to May-August. Todays Shanghai-Rotterdam WCI rate is $1,914, up 52% on last week and up 6% on the same week of 2015.

The World Container Index assessed by Drewry tracks and documents the weekly changes in spot rates on 11 East-West routes.

The World Container Index is a weekly container pricing index based on actual agreed freight assessments reported by industry players in Asia, Europe and the US and is not financed or backed by either shipper or carrier interests.
Conrad Shipyard said it has been awarded a contract by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers for the construction of a crane barge that will operate on the Olmsted Locks and Dam Project.

Conrad Shipyard has a long history of building vessels for the Army Corps of Engineers, saidJohnny Conrad, Conrad President and Chief Executive Officer. This award is a testament to the extraordinary level of quality and craftsmanship that Conrad consistently delivers.

The crane barge, which will be built at Conrads Morgan City shipyard, has a hull length of 110-6, beam of 60 and molded depth of 8-6. In addition to barge construction, Conrad will also install two government-supplied cranesa wicket lifter crane and a telescoping marine crane.

The floating crane barge will be used to raise and lower the steel dam wickets and perform maintenance functions at the Olmsted Lock and Dam on the Ohio River. When raised, wickets block water and feed it to adjacent boat locks that safely harbor barges to a lower elevation when the river is low.

The barge will be ABS classified as a Maltese Cross A-1 Barge, Maltese Cross AMS, CRC, for service on rivers and Intracoastal waterways as a Government Floating Crane.

The Olmsted Locks and Dam Project is the largest and most expensive inland water navigation installation ever built in the U.S. More than 90 million tons of material is shipped through the locks annually.
U.S. crude oil exports plunged by more than 40 percent in June, foreign trade data from the U.S. Census Bureau showed on Friday, after Brent's premium to U.S. crude hovered in a tight band earlier this year.

Total exports dropped to 383,000 barrels per day from May's record of 662,000 bpd, according to data compiled by Reuters.

Exports to Canada were 280,000 bpd versus 308,000 bpd a month prior. Exports to United Kingdom were 37,000 bpd, nearly unchanged from May. Meanwhile, exports to Curacao were 17,000 bpd, a sharp drop from May's 67,000 bpd.

The export declines were likely a result of Brent's May and June contracts having traded in such a tight band to U.S. crude earlier this year. At one point, Brent even briefly traded at a discount. Typically, a wide premium for Brent over U.S. crude makes exports more economical.

U.S. Census' foreign trade oil data is published weeks earlier than closely watched U.S. Energy Information Administration trade figures. The EIA, which bases its numbers on the Census data, will release its monthly crude figures at the end of August.

(Reporting by Catherine Ngai; Editing by Meredith Mazzilli)
Hoover Container Solutions (Hoover), Ferguson Group (Ferguson) and CHEP Catalyst & Chemical Containers (CCC), the three global providers of container solutions products in the energy, petrochemical and general industrial markets, announced that they are merging to form Hoover Ferguson Group (HFG).



Global supply chain solutions company, Brambles Limited, the owner of Ferguson and CCC, and First Reserve, the owner of Hoover, a leading private equity and infrastructure investment firm exclusively focused on energy, reached an agreement on August 4, 2016 to form a 50:50 joint venture through the merger.



Hoover Ferguson Group brings together three industry-leading service providers with demonstrated commitments to world-class customer service, operational excellence and quality. The combined HFG business will provide their full range of customers with leading products and solutions through an unparalleled global network of more than 70 service centers and 550 expert team members.



The new company will have a leading market presence in every major energy basin and petrochemical manufacturing center, with more than 110,000 rental units worldwide. HFG will also be a worldwide leader in the manufacturing of a comprehensive range of intermediate bulk containers (IBCs) and offshore workspace and accommodation modules. This combination presents a leader in the IBC, cargo carrying unit (CCUs) and offshore modules segments by delivering a globally diverse platform providing customers with a full suite of products and services.



Donald W. Young, CEO of Hoover, will lead the new company, supported by a management team comprised of senior executives from Ferguson, CCC, Hoover and Brambles. He commented, This strategic merger is a great opportunity for all three companies to expand complementary products and service offerings while also broadening our relationships with existing and potential customers. This will strengthen our product and service line offering worldwide. Hoover Ferguson Group combines the very best people, solutions and industry expertise, which allows us to continue to provide quality products and unparalleled customer service to all of our clients.


1832 - USS Potomac, becomes the first U.S. Navy ship to entertain royalty, King and Queen of Sandwich Islands.

1858 - The last bit of cable is laid by USS Niagara and British ship Agamemnon to complete the first trans-Atlantic cable. Niagara's boats carried the end of the cable ashore at Brills Mouth Island, Newfoundland, and the same day Agamemnon landed her end of the cable at England. The first message flashed across August 16 when Queen Victoria sent a cable to President James Buchanan.

1864 - Rear Adm. David G. Farragut successfully navigates through a deadly torpedo field Confederates lay in order to block the channel into Mobile Bay. During the battle, Farragut gives his famous quote, Damn the Torpedoes, Full speed ahead!

1882 - The first US Navy steel warships (USS Atlanta, USS Boston, USS Chicago and USS Dolphin), are authorized by Congress, beginning the New Navy. Subsequently known as the A, B, C, D ships, they are built at Chester, Pa. USS Dolphin is commissioned first in 1885, followed by USS Atlanta (1886), USS Boston (1887), and USS Chicago (1889).

1921 - The Yangtze River Patrol Force is established as a command under the Asiatic Fleet. The force serves in the area until December 1941 when the force is disestablished with many of the ships captured, or scuttled, and the crews taken prisoner by the Japanese.

1944 - USS Barbel (SS 316) sinks Japanese merchant passenger-cargo ship, Miyako Maru, off Tokuno Jima while USS Cero (SS 225) attacks a Japanese convoy off Minanao and sinks oiler, Tsurumi, in Davao Gulf. Also on this date, PBY aircraft sinks small Japanese cargo vessel No.2, Eiko Maru, off Taoelahat.

1990 - Operation Sharp Edge begins, with the Navy and Marines evacuating U.S. citizens and foreign nationals from Liberia during its civil war.

(Source: Naval History and Heritage Command, Communication and Outreach Division)
The United States Navy and Willard Marine have executed a licensing agreement for a Willard Marine boat design to serve as the guideline for the Navys new 11-meter rigid hull inflatable boat (RIB) government design.



For 27 years, Willard Marine has designed and built U.S. Navy ship-board RIBs that are 7- and 11-meters in length featuring a wide variety of propulsion, deck and outfitting arrangements. This licensing agreement allows the U.S. Navy to utilize Willards Sea Force 1100, U.S. Navy model RIB design to create an all new Navy 11-meter RIB. The new RIBs will be used in their American fleets around the world, and it enables select international militaries to purchase the vessels through the U.S. Foreign Military Sales (FMS) programs. The Navy pursued the licensing agreement with Willard Marine in an effort to maximize commonality between the old and new 11m RIB platforms, minimize time and money spent on boat operations training, maintenance, repair and service.



Through the U.S. Navy FMS program, Willard Marine has also provided SEA FORCE 1100 RIBs to foreign militaries such as Lebanon, Mexico and the Ukraine.



We are honored that the largest and most prestigious Navy on the globe has chosen a Willard Marine design to serve as their guideline for the new 11-meter RIB design, said Ulrich Gottschling, President and CEO of Willard Marine. The U.S. Navy and our allies who leverage the FMS program to procure this boat are assured of a proven, seaworthy design added Gottschling.



Since its founding in 1957, Willard Marine has developed world-class watercraft for the U.S. military, Department of Homeland Security, foreign governments, law enforcement agencies, search and rescue organizations and private companies. Willard Marine is also the exclusive builder of commercial vessels originally designed by SeaArk Marine and Crystaliner. Based in California with facilities in Maryland and Virginia, Willard Marine is ISO 9001:2008 certified and the sole American manufacturer of SOLAS rescue boats.
A Samsung Gear Live watch is seen on display during the Google I/O Developers Conference at Moscone Center. (Photo : Getty Images/Stephen Lam)

Samsung is now under fire after filing for a smartwatch patent using Apple Watch figures. The drawings suggested that the engineers took some inspiration from their rivals in business.



A Samsung patent has recently appeared that seemed to suggest that they were using similar images of the Apple Watch. According to the official website of the United States Patent and Trademark Office, the patent was titled Wearable Device. The images did not look identical to Samsung's Galaxy Gear collection.



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The patent was filed in Jan. 29, and it was published on Aug. 4. The manufacturer wrote in the patent that these figures were views illustrating different shapes, structures, and materials of a first strap portion, or a second strap portion of the device.



These patent figures were not usually the important part of a patent application. The drawings strongly suggested that the Samsung engineers took a bit of inspiration from their rival's smartwatch. According to the official website of IDC, the Apple Watch is the number one selling smartwatch in the market with 72 percent, while Samsung was only second with seven percent.



The two companies have had a lot of disputes specifically over patents and intellectual property recently. In 2012, a Californian jury found that Samsung had infringed three of their rival's design patents for the iPhone. Recently, the manufacturer had appealed that case to the Supreme Court.



In other Samsung related news, a group of design industry professionals came out for Apple in a patent dispute. More than 100 designers and educators supported Apple and they signed on to a new court brief. These included famous fashion brands like Calvin Klein, Parsons School of Design industrial design director, and many more.



The professionals told the US Supreme Court in a statement that Apple deserved the hundreds of millions of dollars in damages. Samsung has paid that price for infringing the patented designs of the iPhone. They added that a product's distinctive look could drive a buyer to purchase the gadget.



Samsung spokeswoman Danielle Meister Cohen told Reuters in an email that if this is not reversed, this could lead to diminished innovation. This could lead to a design troll patent litigation, and it could also negatively impact the economy and consumers.



Check out Samsung's Gear S2 official TVC video below:






The U. S. Coast Guard said it will turn off the light inside the Tawas Point Lighthouse navigational aid in East Tawas, Michigan, in September and activate a new lighted aid to navigation about 3,000 feet away at Tawas Point where the fog signal is located, providing better visibility to mariners.

In addition to the new location, the light characteristic will change from an occulting white light that appears red from some areas, called red sectors, to an all-around white light that flashes every four seconds. The GPS position of the new light is 44-14.9040N, 083-27.5477W.

The current light is housed inside a fourth-order Fresnel lens that was installed in the lighthouse in 1901. Lighthouse keepers turned it on and off daily until it was automated in the 1950s. Fresnel lenses are now antiquated, subject to environmental damage and difficult and costly to maintain so the Coast Guard is replacing them with modern aids to navigation.

The Michigan Department of Natural Resources, which owns Tawas Point Lighthouse and the property it sits on, has submitted an application to allow the Fresnel lens to remain unlit inside the lighthouse as a museum display. The application is currently under review by the Coast Guard curator.

The date of the change is based on weather and availability of Coast Guard aids-to-navigation teams, but it is expected to happen some time during the month September. When the change occurs, Coast Guard Sector Detroit will broadcast it over VHF-FM marine radio for two weeks.
China COSCO Shipping, which owns the world's fourth largest container fleet in terms of capacity, is expected to wrap up the purchase of a majority stake in Greece's largest port, Piraeus Port (OLP), next week, sources close to the matter said on Friday.



Under a deal signed in April between COSCO and Greece's privatisation agency (HRADF), COSCO will buy 51 percent of Piraeus for 280.5 million euros ($312.5 million).



COSCO will acquire a further 16 percent stake for 88 million after five years, and once it completes mandatory investments of 300 million euros.



The transfer of the 51 percent stake to COSCO through the Athens Stock Exchange will likely take place on Wednesday, an official close to the process told Reuters.



Another official said that once COSCO acquired the 51 percent stake, a new board at Piraeus Port would be formed.



Greece's parliament approved the sale in June, overcoming some last minute snags which triggered complaints from the local COSCO representative that parts of the deal submitted to the legislature reneged on the initial deal.



COSCO said last month it would invest up to 500 million euros in Piraeus Port to upgrade cruise and shipping container operations.



It has been operating one of Piraeus's container terminals since 2009 and has boosted the port's competitiveness since then. The port's throughput stood at 3.36 million 20-foot equivalent units (TEUs) of containers last year, up from 880,000 TEUs in 2010.



Reporting by Angeliki Koutantou
The Seoul Central District Prosecutors Office summoned the chief financial officer (CFO) of Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering Co. (DSME ) today (Friday) over his alleged involvement in the financially troubled companys accounting fraud.

As per a report in Korea Herald, the Seoul prosecutors called Kim Youl-jung, 58, for questioning on allegations that he cooked the books to cover up the company's operating losses.

The special investigation team said Kim is being grilled over accusations that the shipbuilder underreported some 120 billion won ($107 million) in business losses last year.

The shipbuilder underreported some 120 billion won (US$107 million) in business losses last year, despite the current management board's pledge to break away from the past and to run the company transparently.

About a week ago, the prosecution indicted former head of the company Ko Jae-ho on charges of overreporting some 5.7 trillion won in net assets between 2012 and 2014. Ko headed the company from 2012 to 2015.

Ko's predecessor Nam Sang-tae was also indicted in the same month on bribery charges. The shipyard said it had much larger losses in 2013 and 2014 than earlier reported profits, citing accounting mishaps.

The Board of Audit and Inspection, the country's state audit agency, has said the shipyard is suspected of rigging its books to hide up to 1.5 trillion won in losses during the cited period.
Japan protested to China on Friday after Chinese coastguard ships and fishing vessels entered what Tokyo considers its territorial waters around a group of disputed islets, the Japanese foreign ministry said.

Beijing claims the uninhabited, Tokyo-controlled East China Sea islands, called the Senkaku in Japan and Diaoyu in China, and occasionally sends its coastguard vessels near them.

But this is the first time Chinese coastguard ships and fishing vessels have sailed together in the area, in what appeared to be increased assertion of jurisdiction over the islets, a foreign ministry official said.

Japanese Vice Foreign Minister Shinsuke Sugiyama summoned China's ambassador to Japan, Cheng Yonghua, to lodge a strong protest, the ministry said.

China on Friday also accused Japan's new defense minister, Tomomi Inada, of recklessly misrepresenting history after she declined to say whether Japanese troops massacred civilians in China during World War Two.

Ties between China and Japan, the world's second- and third-largest economies, have been plagued by the territorial row, the legacy of Japans' wartime occupation of parts of China and regional rivalry.



(Reporting by Kiyoshi Takenaka; Editing by Richard Balmforth)
Chief of Naval Operations (CNO) Adm. John Richardson met with his South Korean (ROK) counterpart, Adm. Jung Ho-sub at the Pentagon August 4 for a discussion focused on the strengthening partnerships and ways to work together to increase maritime security throughout the Indo-Asia Pacific.

It's extremely important as we work together  as our two navies work together  that you and I have a personal relationship, that we can call one another up as brothers to work for better ways to collaborate, said Richardson. CNO also praised his counterpart for the progress he has made in improving Naval capabilities, as well as the focus he placed on advancing ethics and honor throughout the ROK Navy.

Jung thanked CNO for the hospitality shown to him and his staff during their visit to the United States and reiterated the need for the two navies to continue to work together.

I agree with the importance of our alliance, particularly navy-to-navy, to deal with the threat from the North, as well as the instability that may take place in the South China Sea, said Jung.

Richardson and Jung agreed that enhanced cooperation and information sharing between the navies, particularly in anti-submarine and mine warfare, will be helpful to countering threats across the Indo-Asia Pacific region.

Jung is in the United States for a week-long trip to hold talks with top U.S. Navy officials in Hawaii, San Diego and Washington. In addition to Richardson, he met with Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus, Commander U.S. Pacific Fleet, Adm. Scott Swift, Commander Naval Surface Forces Pacific, Vice Adm. Tom Rowden.

The two leaders last met in October when Richardson visited Seoul.
A comprehensive technical feasibility study has determined the SS Unites States to be structurally sound, but a number of insurmountable obstacles will keep Americas Flagship from returning to seagoing service.



In February, Crystal Cruises reached a deal with the SS United States Conservancy to restore what was once the worlds fastest, safest and largest passenger liner to a fully operational modern luxury cruise ship, pending the results of a technical feasibility study.



Now, some six months later, the cruise line said its intensive $1 million evaluation of the SS United States has uncovered insuperable technical and commercial challenges preventing the record-breaking and storied Big Us return to liner service.



The study saw a team of maritime experts and engineers perform in-depth assessments of the ships structural condition, underwater inspections of the hull by divers, examination of fuel and saltwater ballasting tanks and a series of intensive engineering studies to deduce what would be needed to return the 1950s-era vessel to service.



It was concluded that the ship is intact and structurally sound. However, modifying the ship for todays SOLAS requirements would necessitate significant changes to the hull that would pose stability challenges, and the installation of a diesel electric propulsion plant would require altering of the existing shaft lines and rebuilding about 25 percent of the hull to reconfigure the ship to a twin shaft-twin rudder arrangement.



While it was known that the vessel would need to have been essentially rebuilt from the inside out, these specific challenges, among others, collectively posed significant risk to the success of the project, Crystal said in a statement.



Crystal President and CEO Edie Rodriguez said, Unfortunately, the hurdles that would face us when trying to bring a 65-year-old vessel up to modern safety, design and international regulatory compliance have proven just too great to clear in both a technically and commercially responsible manner.



Crystal Cruises will donate $350,000 to aid in the SS United States Conservancys as it pursues stationary redevelopment opportunities that would potentially save the ship.



While it has been determined that Crystals exciting vision for the ship would have required overcoming various technical hurdles and major changes to her historic design, the studies performed have confirmed the ship is structurally sound, said Susan Gibbs, Executive Director of the SS United States Conservancy. Americas Flagship continues to hold enormous potential as a stationary mixed-use development and museum in New York or another urban waterfront setting.



Launched in 1952, the SS United States captured the transatlantic speed record on her maiden voyage. Still the largest passenger ship ever designed and built in America, the Big U was designed as part of a secret Pentagon program during the Cold War, which stipulated it could be quickly converted from a luxury liner into a naval troopship in the event of a war, carrying 15,000 troops with a 240,000 shaft horsepower propulsion plant capable of traveling 10,000 nautical miles  almost half way around the globe  without refueling.



Before her retirement in 1969, the SS United States was regarded as not only a technological marvel, but also as the worlds most glamorous and elegant ship, having transported more than one million passengers, including four U.S. presidents, international royalty and many of Hollywoods golden era celebrities.
Nautican said it has completed the pre-engineering of new standardized components for a full range of Integrated Propulsion Units (IPUs) for propeller diameters from 64-156, forming the core of the new Nautican Ocean Series IPUs.

According to Nautican, this new series allows it to rapidly design a complete system for each customer, based on standardized components.

Engineering used to be our biggest bottleneck, said Elizabeth Reynolds Boyd, President of Nautican. It used to take six weeks to engineer a complete system for each customer, and even longer to ensure that all components production. So, 18 months ago we invested in a massive effort to pre-engineer all major components for the full range of systems for ocean and coastal workboats  the Ocean Series.

Since implementing the Ocean Series, Nautican said it has been able to cut down significantly on the time it takes to show customers exactly what system best meets their specific vessel needs. For most projects, we can tell the customer on the first phone call what system will work best for them and how it will perform, Boyd said. In addition, the pre-engineering of the Series has decreased the amount of time and effort required to get the project from drawings into production. Standardized components also enable smoother, faster and more predictable manufacturing, Nautican noted.

Nautican recently filled its last available production slot for 2016, with a delivery in mid-December. Space is currently available for deliveries in February to March.
VLCC owners sailing slower and idling vessels; slow market to continue into September.



Freight rates for very large crude carriers (VLCCs), which hit multi-year lows on Thursday, could slip further next week even as ship owners begin to resist charterers attempts to push rates lower, ship brokers said.



"The market has come crashing down - there are so many ships available. Charterers are taking no prisoners," a European supertanker broker said on Friday.



"But there is no doubt we are close to a psychological bottom in the market," the broker added.



Owners of VLCCs have started to sail at slower speeds when ships are empty and idle vessels rather than fix ships at rates that are close to operating costs, brokers said.



That came as rates for smaller Suezmax vessels have dropped to below $9,000 per day on routes from West Africa and India, data from shipping services firm Clarkson show. That compares with daily operating costs of about $9,500 per day, according to accountancy firm Moore Stephens.



"Suezmaxes are trading at below opex. It is not unrealistic to think that VLCCs won't end up in the same territory," a second European supertanker broker said on Friday. "I expect this slow market will last into next month."



A VLCC can carry around 270,000 tonnes of oil, while a Suezmax can transport 130,000 tonnes.



While VLCC cargo volumes from the Middle East have held up quite strongly, the tanker market has been affected by a downturn in other trades including volumes from West Africa and South America, brokers said.



Around 36 cargoes of Nigeria's Brass River crude are scheduled to be loaded in September compared with nearly 60 that are typical for the trade.



An increase in new vessel deliveries, with more than 40 VLCCs scheduled for delivery from now to the end of this year, has also weighed on rates.



That came as VLCC rates from the Middle East to Japan fell to 32.50 on the Worldscale measure on Thursday, from W36 last week. That is the lowest since September 1, 2015 and equivalent to charter earnings of $16,783 per day.



Charter rates for VLCCs from West Africa to China dropped to around W39.75 on Thursday, from around W43 a week ago. That is the lowest since June 10, 2014.



"Rates remain under heavy pressure with earnings dipping below $20,000 per day from the Middle East to the East," Norwegian broker Fearnley said in a note on Wednesday.



Daily earnings for voyages from West Africa to Asia are around $20,000 per day, "levels we have not seen for some years," the Fearnley note said.



Rates for an 80,000 deadweight tonne Aframax tanker from Southeast Asia to East Coast Australia slumped to W76 on Thursday, from W83.25 the same day last week, the lowest since Nov. 19, 2013, as tonnage volumes increased, brokers said.



Reporting by Keith Wallis
Turkey imposed a tax this week on imports of thermal coal from Colombia, Russia and other major exporters, for use in power generation, to support domestic coal production.

The Turkish cabinet decided to impose the tax of $15/tonne on imports from the United States, Colombia, Russia and South Africa on July 18 and announced it in the Official Gazette this week.

The tax hits the biggest exporters of thermal coal but does not apply to imports from the European Union, Israel, Macedonia, Bosnia, Morocco, West Bank, Tunisia, Egypt, Georgia, Albania, Jordan, Chile, Serbia, Kosovo, South Korea, Mauritius and Malaysia, the government said.

The levy is equal to around a quarter of the current month's physical South African coal price of around $63.65 a tonne.

"The tax is be paid by power producers and is levied on a GAR (gross as received) basis for imported coal," said WoodMackenzie analysts.

"The law is an attempt to curb imports and deliver a stronger contribution from Turkey's domestic market. However, given weak alternatives (poor domestic supply, more costly gas) we do not see an immediate impact," they added.

Turkey represents around 4 percent of global seaborne thermal coal demand. Some commentators have suggested that President Tayyip Erdogan believes ramping up coal production will boost tax revenues and help curb Turkey's budget deficit.





(Reporting by Nina Chestney; Editing by Susan Fenton)
The United States Coast Guard (USCG) and DNV GL signed a memorandum of agreement (MOA) authorizing DNV GL to participate in the Alternate Compliance Program (ACP) and delegated certain survey and certification services for U.S. flagged vessels.

The MOA was signed by Rear Adm. Paul Thomas, assistant commandant for prevention policy, and Captain Blaine Collins, DNV GL vice president of group government & public affairs for the U.S.

We greatly value the ongoing relationship we have with the Coast Guard, said Collins. We appreciate their trust and confidence in DNV GL to provide statutory services on behalf of the U.S. Coast Guard.

The ACP is an alternative to complying with vessel certification and inspection standards contained in Title 46, Code of Federal Regulations, and administered through inspections conducted by Coast Guard personnel. It provides an alternate process for an owner of a U.S. registered vessel to obtain a Coast Guard Certificate of Inspection by complying with the standards of an authorized classification society, International Conventions and a U.S. supplement.

With the signing of this memorandum, DNV GL is undertaking a significant level of responsibility and work on behalf of the U.S. Coast Guard, said Thomas. We are confident in their abilities to support our efforts and look forward to having them on board.

The classification society ACP authorization is intended to reduce the regulatory burden on the maritime industry while maintaining existing levels of safety and provide the maritime industry with flexibility in determining how to build and operate U.S. Flagged vessels.

The MOA and delegation supersedes the agreements previously executed by DNV and the Coast Guard on Aug. 4, 2006, and GL and the Coast Guard on Sept. 7, 2011.
In a development first reported by Forbes on Thursday, scheduled delivery of the first Offshore Patrol Cutter, Argus, from Eastern Shipbuilding in Panama City, Fla., may be affected by the discovery of
The Blockchain - Cold, Hard Cash Will Soon Be A Distant Memory

The blockchain technology, the very basis on which the bitcoins were created, is likely to become the backbone of the future digitization of money. The importance of the technology was asserted in the 16th Annual International Conference on Policy Challenges for the Financial Sector; a three-day convention which was held on June 1st through June 3rd in Washington, D.C.

The conference was held under the tutelage of the FED, the World Bank, and the International Monetary Fund.

It was attended by representatives of the major Central Banks, across the world. The subject for this year was fintech and the first day was dedicated to studying the blockchain technology which is the framework on which the popular digital currency bitcoin has been built.

FED Chairwoman Janet Yellen was the introductory speaker and she said that, central bankers dont normally like the word disruption, but its not something to fear.

Technology has played a role in solving problems in the financial system in the past, and she encouraged her fellow bankers to learn everything they can about this new technology, reports the Wall Street Journal, from comments relayed by Perianne Boring, the president of the Chamber of Digital Commerce.

This truly shows the technology has reached the highest levels of society and government, Ms. Boring said.

What is blockchain?

Simply put, a blockchain is a digital ledger of transactions that have been executed. New data continues to be added in a linear, chronological order through the completed blocks of data which are shared among the computers on the network.

Participants on the network use cryptography to edit the ledger online without the involvement of a central clearing authority. This ledger contains all the data of transactions from the start of the first block to the latest block.

Advantages of the blockchain:

As there is no necessity of a centralized authority to oversee the transactions, it creates a transparent, simple and fast transaction environment. As the data is available to all of the members, and any modification requires the permission of the majority of the members, it is better equipped to handle the onslaught of cybercrimes.

As no one can bypass the rules, the members can be assured that no single authority can deviate from the protocols. Due to direct transactions between two parties, transaction costs will be negligible.

The interbank transactions, which currently take days, can now be cleared in a matter of minutes, 24/7 and without the restrictions on working hours.

Soon, the phrase cross-border payment will make about as much sense as cross-border email, said Mr. Adam Ludwin, co-founder and Chief Executive of the blockchain-focused startup Chain, during his keynote address.

Changes are needed to adapt it for the financial system:

The technology which is used in bitcoins is unsuitable to be used directly in the various types of transactions like commercial papers, corporate bonds, U.S. Treasuries, etc., as these are issued for various business or policy purposes but there is already a new digital currency working with many of the top banks already which I mention later in this article.

Hence, a new more advanced and complicated system needs to be generated on the same blockchain principle which can duplicate the ease of the use of current assets in a newly digitized model.

Challenges to adapting to blockchain within the existing financial system:

It is unlikely that any government will be willing to part with their powers of which they control most of the monetary and fiscal decisions either directly or indirectly. Although the technology has enough security measures that are in place, the theft that occurred at Mt. Gox, which handled around 70% of all bitcoin transactions, until 2013, reveals its vulnerability.

The bitcoin is a small asset class with only a small quantity of bitcoins in circulation as compared to the trillions of transactions that take place daily, around the world. The computing power needed to handle such vast transactions is humongous. Such a setup requires billions of dollars, in investments, which may not be feasible to many.

Nonetheless, there are a number of entrepreneurs like Todd McDonald, co-founder and Head of Strategy at R3CEV LLC, a consortium of more than 40 financial institutions that are working towards the application of distributed ledger technologies to global financial markets.

We can monitor compliance in real-time. We can answer questions about collateral ownership and hypothecation that were at root in the run on the system in 2007, said Mr. Ludwin.

ARTICLE: The institutional investors are recognizing this outcome,

hence, they are the largest group of Bitcoin buyers.

Conclusion:

The days of cash are numbered and will soon be a mere memory! The revolution in blockchain technology has reached the doors of the FED and it is now only a matter of time before the greenback is phased out by the general public.

The reason I have started to cover bitcoin and digital currencies (Alt Coins) is because I believe they will become main stream much sooner than you think. In fact, there are already hundreds of new digital currencies available, though many are not and will not become key currencies.

I am watching, tracking and analysing many different digital currencies based on different metrics: how many online communities are focused on various alt coins, which ones have the most search engine searches, growth in market cap, have strong price charts, and which ones are focusing on working with large banks like the one call Ripple.

This new asset class is definitely disruptive, but I believe digital currencies add diversification not found anywhere else in the financial markets. They are a speculative play, safe haven during next financial crisis, and allows many people around the world to transfer money without being tracked and to possibly avoid taxes for those who want to side step government. Either way, more people and companies are accepting digital currencies and the demand and value they offer will eventually be priced into each each currency.

I have learning and slowly identifying some exciting opportunities in this new asset class which I feel everyone should some exposure to in their portfolios. Soon I will unveil some of my top currencies and where to buy and store them  Stay Tuned!

Chris Vermeulen  www.TheGoldAndOilGuy.com

Join my email list FREE and get my next article which I will show you about a major opportunity in bonds and a rate spike  www.GoldAndOilGuy.com

Chris Vermeulen is Founder of the popular trading site TheGoldAndOilGuy.com. There he shares his highly successful, low-risk trading method. For 7 years Chris has been a leader in teaching others to skillfully trade in gold, oil, and silver in both bull and bear markets. Subscribers to his service depend on Chris' uniquely consistent investment opportunities that carry exceptionally low risk and high return.

Disclaimer: Nothing in this report should be construed as a solicitation to buy or sell any securities mentioned. Technical Traders Ltd., its owners and the author of this report are not registered broker-dealers or financial advisors. Before investing in any securities, you should consult with your financial advisor and a registered broker-dealer. Never make an investment based solely on what you read in an online or printed report, including this report, especially if the investment involves a small, thinly-traded company that isnt well known. Technical Traders Ltd. and the author of this report has been paid by Cardiff Energy Corp. In addition, the author owns shares of Cardiff Energy Corp. and would also benefit from volume and price appreciation of its stock. The information provided here within should not be construed as a financial analysis but rather as an advertisement. The authors views and opinions regarding the companies featured in reports are his own views and are based on information that he has researched independently and has received, which the author assumes to be reliable. Technical Traders Ltd. and the author of this report do not guarantee the accuracy, completeness, or usefulness of any content of this report, nor its fitness for any particular purpose. Lastly, the author does not guarantee that any of the companies mentioned in the reports will perform as expected, and any comparisons made to other companies may not be valid or come into effect.

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A preliminary report by a state task force says Virginia should replace its youth prisons with significantly smaller facilities to house juvenile offenders closer to their homes and design them for rehabilitating residents, not just confining them.

The initial report by the Juvenile Correctional Center Task Force, released Thursday, remains committed to a 64-bed correctional center proposed by Gov. Terry McAuliffe in Chesapeake to replace Beaumont Juvenile Correctional Center, a 282-bed facility in Powhatan County that the state intends to close in July.

The preliminary report does not recommend where to build a second facility to replace the Bon Air Juvenile Correctional Center in Chesterfield County as part of the proposed transformation of Virginias juvenile justice system to shift custody of incarcerated juveniles into community-based programs.

McAuliffe had proposed an 88-bed center in Hanover County, but the General Assembly has not agreed to the location or committed funds to build the second facility.

We agree on the goal, which is the most important thing, Secretary of Public Safety Brian Moran said in an interview Thursday. A small, more therapeutic environment is best.

Moran said the interagency task force is about 90 percent there in recommendations for the initial report it will submit to the General Assembly by November. The interim report is required under budget language that allows the system to reinvest savings from closing big youth prisons into community-based programs with better outcomes for juveniles.

A final report is required by next July, when Beaumont is scheduled to close. State officials expect the final version to recommend whether to build a second new facility, renovate Bon Air, or establish an array of other, smaller settings, as advocates for incarcerated youth have urged.

Because larger facilities tend to be harder to manage and more prone to ineffective correctional practices, new or renovated facilities in Virginia should be built on the smallest scale that is fiscally and operationally feasible, balancing bed space needs, economies of scale, and the need for administrators, staff, and residents to develop personal relationships with each other and identify effective ways to solve problems that may arise, the task force report states.

Virginias two remaining correctional centers for juveniles in state custody are designed to hold up to 520 youths, but currently house about 350 as commitment rates decline and the state develops other, more effective options, such as community placement programs run by local juvenile detention centers in Chesterfield and seven other localities.

Currently, those local programs are contracted to handle as many as 76 youths in state custody within an hour of their home.

Our expectation is we will have at least 150 alternative placements by the time we are opening Chesapeake in 2019, said Andrew Block, director of the Department of Juvenile Justice.

Those alternatives will be especially important in Hampton Roads and other parts of eastern Virginia, where about 46 percent of committed youth originate, the highest percentage of any region in the state. By 2019, the state expects to have an average daily population of 295 juveniles in its care, down from more than 1,000 a decade ago.

Confining juveniles close to their homes  rather than hours away in the Richmond area  is an important part of the community treatment model the state is establishing in its correctional centers and other juvenile justice programs.

Research suggests that parental and family engagement has proven effective for better juvenile outcomes and is associated with better behavior and improved academic performance, the report states.

The task force report makes detailed recommendations about the design of the Chesapeake center  and other facilities the state ultimately builds  to support a therapeutic environment that includes educational, behavioral health, medical and rehabilitative programs to prepare incarcerated youth to return to their communities successfully.

What we are proposing in the interim report are the design needs to build a facility that is an effective treatment tool and move away from just building facilities that are intended to house and secure, Block said.

In addition to building smaller facilities, the task force recommends that new centers be designed to house youths in living units of eight to 12 beds, with no more than two units in a building. The report favors a single bed to a room to balance the need for security and privacy, and recommends against double-bunking or large, shared rooms for sleeping.

The report proposes ample space for educational programs for students ranging in age from 11 to 21. It urges dedicated space for family visitation, treatment and staff consultation.

It recommends no fencing within the secure perimeter of the facility, putting housing close to shared services, and a visual environment that is more comforting than menacing to juveniles who in most cases have faced significant physical and psychological trauma in their lives.

The task force recognizes that, as the [juvenile correctional center] population declines, the small number of juveniles still held in JCCs likely will have a complex array of challenges including substantial exposure to trauma, behavioral health issues, educational challenges, and serious offense histories, it states in the reports executive summary.
BASSETT At 2:22 p.m. Thursday, Treva Bradley received a call from her daughter that no mother desires. Her children and grandson were involved in a three-car pileup on their way to Bassett High Schools Back to School Night.

"It kind of made me nervous," Bradley said. "She said, Mom, Ive been in a car accident and it wasnt my fault. So I came up here."

Bradleys daughter, Alexis Taylor, drove a silver Nissan Altima down TB Stanley Highway toward Bassett High School. A blue Nissan Altima in front of Taylor, driven by Kayla Ashworth, slammed on brakes, following the example of cars in front of her. Ashworth said the vehicle that halted traffic turned into the Food Lion parking lot.

Although some of the cars bumped one another, no vehicles experienced major damage.

"I thought, Oh, were fine. We all saw it in time," Ashworth said.

Then, a Dodge pickup truck rounded the corner and rear ended Taylors Nissan. The force pushed the silver Nissan into Ashworths blue Altima.

"I felt like I was a bag of chips being crushed," Ashworth said.

Charges of reckless driving are pending against the driver of the truck, whose name has not been released by the Virginia State Police.

Ashworth walked away from the accident with soreness and swelling. Emergency vehicles transported the silver Altimas driver and three passengers  Justin Taylor, Trinity Taylor and two-year-old Micah Taylor  to Martinsville Hospital with non-life threatening wounds. Bradley said that injuries included back pain, neck pain, cuts and embedded glass.

Amie Pickeral reports for the Martinsville Bulletin. She can be reached at amie.pickeral@martinsvillebulletin.com
Egypts general prosecution ordered Thursday the four-day detention of a police officer pending investigations into the murder of a man in an exchange of fire with police in the Minya village of El-Baiho.

A complaint was filed to police by the head of the village's local council stating that the victim assaulted and threatened police and a municipality employee who were attempting to remove an unlicensed cafe.

The police said that the victim, who has a criminal record, opened fire at the officers, leading security forces to return fire, fatally injuring the victim.

In April, a low-ranking police officer shot dead a street vendor over the price of a cup of tea and was afterwards charged with murder. The officer was referred to criminal prosecution.

The interior ministry said they have drafted legislative amendments that would regulate the performance of security services, stressing that regulations would apply to the entire police force, not only low-ranking policemen.

The amendments have been referred to parliament but have not yet been voted on.

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Pianist Marc-Andre Hamelin performing at Ozawa Hall at Tanglewood on Thursday in Lenox, Mass.

(Photo by Hilary Scott, courtesy of Tanglewood/Boston Symphony Orchestra)

LENOX - Everyone loves stories involving understudies rising to the challenge.

Classical music fans are no different.

The star soloist calls in sick.

An unknown musician fills in.

Suddenly, a star is born.

On Thursday at Ozawa Hall at Tanglewood, pianist Daniil Trifonov was supposed to perform a solo recital. He was also scheduled to play Chopin's second piano concerto with the Boston Symphony Orchestra on Saturday at Tanglewood.

But "due to an ear infection that prevents him from traveling," according to the program, Trifonov had to cancel both concerts on short notice. In fact, Trifonov cancelled on such short notice, the tickets and programs Thursday night still had his name on them.

Soloists canceling at the last minute for health reasons are nothing new.

I once remember pianist Garrick Ohlsson filling in and playing 3 brilliant concerts instead of 2 over 4 days one year at Tanglewood.

And in 2007, Martha Argerich had to cancel a performance with the Boston Symphony Orchestra. Argerich was supposed to play Tchaikovsky's first piano concerto. Instead, the orchestra brought in a little-known performer named Yuja Wang, then a 20-year-old music student at The Curtis Institute in Philadelphia.

I was at the 2007 concert in Boston, disappointed that I wouldn't get to see Argerich, a truly gifted yet infuriating pianist who seems to constantly cancel concerts at the last minute. Instead, I left the 2007 concert stunned by Wang's outstanding performance. She now regularly performs with the BSO and routinely serves as a guest soloist with other major orchestras around the world.

On Thursday, I wish I could say that an "unknown" gem filled in for Trifonov at Ozawa Hall. It would make a great story.

Instead, Trifinov's understudy wasn't exactly an unknown music student. Trifinov was replaced by Marc-Andre Hamelin, one of the world's greatest pianists.

And yet, I will be honest that I did not know much about the Canadian-born pianist before Thursday's solo recital. After seeing him Thursday, I can unequivocally say that I will make a point to see Hamelin again next time he performs in the area.

Trifonov and Hamelin could not be more different.

Trifinov plays like a man possessed. I have seen him twice, once in a solo concert, the other time with the Montreal Symphony Orchestra in Boston. Both times, I often found I had to close my eyes to enjoy Trifonov's outstanding playing. That's because his mannerisms can be so distracting.

On Thursday, Hamelin was the exact opposite - understated, relaxed, calm, confident. Often, his performance seemed so subtle. However, whenever Hamelin need to step on the gas and show what his fingers - and his Steinway - could do, he had no trouble rising to the challenge.

Hamelin's performance featured five pieces and one encore. He began by playing Mozart's Sonata No. 18 in D, K. 576.

Looking back after the concert, I understand now why Hamelin began with this light, bright piece. But during the opening movement, the music didn't seem to have enough weight to it. However, I was impressed by Hamelin's soft, gentle touch during the opening movement. Looking back, I think my reservations had more to do with Mozart's music rather than Hamelin's performance.

The second movement in the Mozart piece was when the concert started to kick into gear for me. Hamelin held the notes perfectly and his timing was impeccable during this slow, moving passage in the last sonata written by Mozart.

During the third and final movement, Hamelin picked up the pace and played the arpeggios and other challenging passages with ease. Again, that may have been part of the problem with the first piece. Hamelin made everything seem almost too easy unlike Trifonov, who seems to approach playing the piano like a contact sport. That was also part of the problem, my problem - I was unfairly comparing Hamelin to Trifonov instead of judging Hamelin's performance based on its own merits.

The next two pieces on the program were two, single-movement sonatas by Samuel Feinberg. Written roughly 100 years ago, these beautiful, Chopin-like works really demonstrated what Hamelin could do at the piano. These technically-challenging pieces often required Hamelin to cross one hand over the other as he performed these two, haunting pieces. And yet, I still found myself not completely into the concert, not fully invested in what Hamelin was doing.

Maybe it had something to do with the music because all of that changed the instant Hamelin started playing Beethoven's Sonata No. 23 in F Minor, Opus 57. Known as the "Appassionata," this dramatic, passionate music brought out the best in Hamelin. He threw himself full force into this complex piece. Whether the music called for Hamelin to play slow, stately passages or a flurry of fast notes, he responded with a ferocious intensity that perfectly suited Beethoven's beautiful music. No wonder the crowd leapt to its feet after this piece.

After a brief intermission, Hamelin played another show-stopping piece - Liszt's Sonata in B Minor. This gorgeous piece of music starts with several, simple dramatic notes played on the lower half of the piano. But you could tell that these opening notes were the calm before the storm.

Sure enough, within a few bars, Hamelin's hands were racing across the piano. I was especially struck by how powerful Hamelin's left hand was and how subtle his touch was with his right hand during this piece.

And like the other pieces on the program, Hamelin made this challenging work look so simple to play. Maybe it's a generational thing but I notice that many older pianists (Hamelin is 54 years old) often make their incredibly-challenging job look easy. In contrast, many younger performers like Trifonov make their job look impossible.

All I know is I'm not quite sure if everyone at Ozawa Hall fully appreciated what a fantastic job Hamelin did filling in for Trifonov on such short notice. A few people in the crowd did not give Hamelin a standing ovation. I wasn't one of them. Hamelin delivered a terrific, understated performance and he earned every single standing ovation.

Bravo!
6:21 p.m.: This story has been updated with comments from the Connecticut Airport Authority.

The Connecticut Airport Authority has proposed building a 200,000 square foot casino at Bradley International Airport that would be run by Connecticut's Mohegan and Mashantucket Pequot tribes, according to documents released by MGM Resorts International Friday.

MGM obtained the documents from the CAA following months of wrangling with the state's Freedom of Information Commission. It released them, along with a website urging Connecticut residents to oppose the plan, as part of its multi-pronged campaign against the state's plans to build a third casino near the Massachusetts border.

Tribal leaders and Connecticut lawmakers have described the ongoing RFP process, authorized by a 2015 gaming act, as a means of protecting Connecticut's gaming revenues and economy from the upcoming MGM Springfield casino and other out-of-state competitors. The released proposal dates back to November, 2015.

MGM had petitioned the Connecticut Freedom of Information Commission to force the CAA to release its casino records, despite CAA claims that those records were privileged information.

An FOIC hearing officer recommended that much of the documentation, with the exception of 20 pages of trade secrets, should be disclosed, and the CAA provided some of those records ahead of an upcoming freedom of information hearing, MGM said in a news release.

"After reading through the documents, three things are very clear. First, officials at the CAA and in the Town of Windsor Locks, in communication with the Mohegans and the Mashantucket Pequots, hatched a very detailed plan in secret over the course of the past year - with no public input - to completely remake Bradley International Airport, converting it from an airport into a casino," MGM Resorts International Executive Vice President Alan Feldman said in a statement. "Calling this a 'satellite casino' - which is how they all referred to this in public - is like calling the Grand Canyon a hole in the ground."

East Windsor, East Hartford, Hartford have also submitted proposals, in addition to Windsor Locks, the home of Bradley International Airport. MMCT, the joint Mohegan-Mashantucket Pequot company which solicited the proposals, has not yet chosen finalists for the site.

Andrew Doba, a spokesman for MMCT, said MGM's allegations of secrecy were hypocritical, pointing to allegations that MGM unsuccessfully lobbied the U.S. Senate to prohibit federal approval of tribal casino construction on non-tribal lands.

"This latest attack by MGM reeks of desperation. The airport's interest in hosting this facility is well documented. And despite reports to the contrary, these renderings were done to highlight possibilities at the transportation center, a site that is no longer under consideration," Doba said. "Let's be clear - any site that we pursue will go through extensive public vetting and will ultimately seek approval from the Connecticut legislature. MGM, first with their campaign to cut a back room deal in Washington that would put some DC bureaucrat in charge of Connecticut's future and now with this spurious claim, can't say that."

And CAA Executive Director Kevin Dillon said the proposal, if selected, would be subject to a public vetting process.

"As the CAA has publicly stated time and time again, there is significant opportunity for public input in the casino development process, including the Town of Windsor Locks' commitment to hold a public referendum, the need for a public vote from the CAA Board of Directors, and a requirement for further state legislative action before any plans move forward," Dillon said in a statement. "The CAA plans to continue its negotiations with MMCT, and we look forward to bringing an exciting project to the public for input and approval if our negotiations for site selection are successful."

Dillon also accused MGM of mischaracterizing the CAA's proposal.

"This desperate attempt at fear-mongering is just another chapter in MGM's increasingly alarming track record of distorting the truth to protect its business interests and maximize its financial gain at the expense of the CAA," Dillon said.

The idea pitched by the CAA includes 150,000 square feet of gaming pre-security in the airport, with another 50,000 after. Two sites were pitched for the casino -- a new transportation center, which has since been ruled out, and the airport's Terminal B.

A rendering of Bradley International Airport's Terminal B, a potential casino site proposed by the Connecticut Airport Authority.

The CAA also said the airport's Sheraton Hotel would double its capacity to support the casino, and that an interim casino could open within the hotel while the full-scale gaming facility is under construction.

The CAA proposal does not include information about potential mitigation funding or host-community agreements, and says that the CAA does not require local zoning approval to build the casino -- omissions seized on by MGM in their news release.

"They are trying to avoid providing any community benefits, infrastructure improvements or labor protections," Feldman said. "These are just some of the typical benefits that come from an open, competitive process when a commercial casino is built."

The tribes, however, have said they will seek local approval of any plan they choose. And a source close to MMCT said the lack of community mitigation details in the proposal does not mean they would be neglected -- rather, those agreements would be worked out later on in the process.

MGM has also sought to legally block the Connecticut gaming act, both in its own lawsuit and by funding a parallel suit by the Schaghticoke Tribal Nation. Both suits have been dismissed, though MGM has appealed its case.
AMHERST -- People still looking to know more about the six candidates running for the 3rd Hampshire District state representative seat will have two chances to do so next week.

Manuel Frau-Ramos, co-founder and editor of El Sol Latino newspaper, and Carlie Tartakov and Jacqueline Smith-Crooks, hosts of WHMP's "Black In The Valley" radio show, will moderate a forum Monday at 6:30 p.m. in Amherst Town Hall.

This will be the fifth forum for the candidates. Amherst Media held the most recent gathering July 25.

Belchertown High School teacher Lawrence O'Brien, Amherst School Committee member Vira Douangmany Cage, Democratic State Committee member Bonnie MacCracken, recent Brown University graduate Solomon Goldstein-Rose, Amherst Businesses Improvement District Director Sarah la Cour and former Massachusetts Broadband Institute Director Eric Nakajima are seeking the seat held for 12 terms by Ellen Story, and Amherst Democrat who is not seeking re-election.

The district includes Amherst, Pelham and part of Granby.

That forum will also include candidates running for the Hampshire County Sheriff's race.

Melissa Perry, of Northampton, Patrick Cahillane, of Leeds, and Kavern Lewis, of Amherst, are running in the Democratic primary for sheriff. Republican David F. Isakson of South Hadley also is running and will be on the November ballot.

The winner will succeed longtime sheriff Robert J. Garvey, who is retiring.

Anyone who wants to submit questions or topics should send to amherstnaacp@gmail.com by Friday and put "Candidate Questions" in the subject field.

This event is co-sponsored by Amherst Area NAACP, Coming Together: Understanding Racism, Working for Justice, Building Connection, Citizens for Racial Amity Now and Undoing Racism Organizing Collective- UROC.

On Thursday, the Public Higher Education Network of Massachusetts is holding a forum for the state rep candidates to talk about public higher education. The event begins at 5 p.m. in the University of Massachusetts Campus Center, Room 804-808.

The primary is Thursday, Sept. 8. The winner of the 3rd Hampshire state representative Democratic primary faces no opposition in the general election on Nov. 8.
LITTLETON  A number of people, including two children, were hospitalized for serious injuries on Thursday after a Freightliner tractor trailer and a Ford Expedition collided on Rt 495 in Littleton, according to State Police.

State Police responded to a call at 1:20 p.m., regarding a two-vehicle crash on Route 495 southbound, south of Exit 31.

Police say the Freightliner was traveling in the middle lane of Rt 495 when it, for reasons not yet known, swerved into the left lane, striking the passenger side of the Ford and causing the Ford to roll over the median.

The crash caused significant injuries for many of the occupants of the Ford.

The front seat passenger  a 45-year-old woman from Billerica  suffered what police have said are "life threatening injuries," and was flown by medical helicopter to Massachusetts General Hospital for treatment.

Additionally, two children  an 8-year-old and a 9-year old  were in the backseat of the Ford and had to be taken to the UMass Memorial Hospital for treatment of "serious" injuries, according to police. The Ford's driver, a 53-year-old man, also from Billerica, was also taken to UMass Memorial Hospital for treatment of minor injuries.

Police say the driver of the Freightliner  a 38-year-old man from Brook, Connecticut  did not suffer any injuries during the crash.

The crash also caused significant traffic delays and both the northbound and southbound sections of Rt 495 were closed for about 30 minutes to allow the medical helicopter to enter and exit the scene.

The cause of this crash remains under investigation, according to police.
turnpike-backup.jpg

A car fire is causing significant traffic delays on Rt 90 in Chicopee.

(Google Maps image )

UPDATE at 6:38 p.m: Traffic appears to be moving smoothly again along Rt 90.

UPDATED at 5:42 p.m: Both eastbound lanes of Rt 90 have been reopened, according to Sgt. Hamilton of the Massachusetts State Police. Hamilton said there would likely be "residual traffic" for a period of time.

CHICOPEE  A car fire on Rt 90 is causing significant traffic delays in Chicopee, according to Massachusetts State Police.

Police stated at 4:46 p.m. that the fire had caused "minor injuries" and that both of the eastbound lanes on Rt 90 would be closed until the fire was extinguished and the scene had been cleared.

The area of traffic congestion currently stretches for more than six miles.

Additionally, the same area of the turnpike also appears to be experiencing slowdowns from several construction sites.
HOLYOKE -- Filet mignon a la Thin Mints could be interesting. Or perhaps a plate of Do-Si-Dos as a bed for shrimp sauteed in lemon butter.

The Girl Scouts of Central and Western Massachusetts are asking local chefs to create dishes that include the famous cookies in the "Fork It Over" fundraiser to help the organization.

The event will be Sept. 27 from 5 to 7 p.m. at the Delaney House on 1 Country Club Way, off Route 5.

Interested chefs must commit by Aug. 19 and submit recipes by Sept. 2, a Girl Scouts press release said.

"Most everyone has heard of, if not tasted, a Girl Scout cookie at some point in their life. Participating chefs are asked to put a new spin on old favorites. Will they puree Do-Si-Dos cookies to create a Thai Peanut Pork Loin? Or crush up Savannah Smiles for a light, lemon cheesecake?" the press release said.

"Space is limited. Once on board, chefs are provided a full selection of Girl Scout cookies to experiment with. When their recipe is ready, chefs are provided all the cookies necessary to create the final product," the press release said.

Then, the dishes will be presented to a panel of judges at the event, which will include a silent auction, raffle and live music, the press release said.

Chefs are asked to create approximately 250 bite-size portions of their creations for guests to taste. Tables and linens will be provided for chefs to display their dishes and advertise their businesses, the press release said.

The event is open to the public.

Tickets are $30 each or two for $50 by advance purchase and will be available at the door at the $30 price. Tickets also can be bought online at the Girl Scouts of Central and Western Massachusetts website.

Chefs from the following establishments plan to participate in the fundraiser as of Aug. 1, according to the website: Cafe Evolution, Chandler's Restaurant, Herrell's, Papp's Bar & Grill and Pete's Sweets.

The Girl Scouts of Central and Western Massachusetts includes 8,500 girls in grades kindergarten to 12 with nearly 4,000 adult volunteers in 186 cities and towns, the press release said.

For more information call 800-462-9100 or 413-584-2602 or send email to mbonsu@gscwm.org
The Egyptian embassy in Damascus has successfully repatriated an Egyptian family stranded in the war-torn country, the foreign ministry said in a statement.

Asmaa El-Sayed and her two children were sent back to Egypt on Thursday, acting ambassador in Damascus, Mohamed Tharwat, said in the statement. The Syrian father of the children has been missing for two years, he added.

"The embassy has finalised all procedures and necessary papers for the Egyptian family, facilitating their return to their homeland on 4 August," the statement read.

Syria's five-year war has killed more than 280,000 people and displaced millions inside the country. Millions of others have been forced to flee.

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Addis Ababa will not allow Egypt and its people to suffer from negative effects of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD), Ethiopias parliament speaker Abadula Gemeda assured an Egyptian MP during a Pan-African Parliament meeting in South Africas Johannesburg.

Gemeda said that negotiations related to the GERD are moving in the right direction, according to statements reported by state-owned MENA news agency.

The speaker's statements were announced by Egyptian political aide to the Pan-African parliaments speaker and parliament member Mustafa El-Gendy.

El-Gendy said that Ethiopias parliamentary speaker praised the role that the Egyptian leadership -- led by president Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi -- was playing in the African continent, adding that Ethiopias leadership and people cannot forget El-Sisis historic visit and speech in front of the Ethiopian parliament.

In March 2015, El-Sisi emphasised in front of the Ethiopian parliament that Egypt is keen to avoid conflict and move ahead towards development and prosperity in cooperation with Ethiopia.

Egypt wants to turn the page in the history of relations between the two countries and establish a basis for mutual interest, El-Sisi said during his speech.



He added that Gemeda hailed the special and historical relationship between Egypt and Ethiopia.

Gemeda elaborated that both Egypt and Ethiopia were nations who are the sons of one river, making their relationship more special than relationships with other countries.

Egypt is set to host the upcoming meeting of the Pan-African Parliament next October.

The GERD, a giant hydroelectric dam project undertaken by Ethiopia, has been the source of contention between Cairo and Addis Ababa. Egypt, which relies almost exclusively on the Nile for farming and drinking water, fears the dam would significantly diminish its share of the river's water.

Ethiopia insists it will not negatively affect the North African countrys share of Nile water.

According to the Ethiopian envoy to Cairo Mahmoud Dreir, a sixth summit on a "presidential level" between Egypt and Ethiopia will be held in the coming months.

No date has been announced yet for the summit that will be hosted by Egypt.



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The goal of Boises Housing First initiative is as simple as can be: homes for people who have none.

By Sven Berg [email protected]

Read more here: http://www.idahostatesman.com/news/local/community/boise/article93634042.html#storylink=cpy
One of the biggest decisions you make as youre building a company is who you hire. But hiring can be a serious drag.

Devin Elston

Full Story: https://medium.com/@devinelston/ryan-gosling-vs-culture-vampires-8145e582a2ad#.p2i6qp8ne

(Many thanks to Chelsea Volkerts (Outstanding contributor to a wonderful culture at Hulu) for sharing.
The Burton K. Wheeler Center http://www.wheelercenter.org/ at Montana State University will host a free public lecture with Ted Celeste at 7 p.m. Friday, Sept. 9, on the need for civil discourse in politics https://www.eventbrite.com/e/lecture-with-ted-celeste-tickets-26679539220 . The center will also present a day-long conference, "Divisiveness in Democracy: Enhancing Engagement in Montana," about the changing political dynamics in Montana and the United States, from 8:30 a.m.  5 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 10 https://www.eventbrite.com/e/divisiveness-in-democracy-tickets-26599481766 . Both events will be held at the Radisson Colonial Hotel in Helena.

Celeste, a former Ohio state representative, leads Next Generation, a project of the National Institute for Civil Discourse. Designed to inspire and support state legislators who want to promote greater understanding and better decision making through civil discourse, Next Generation holds half-day workshops for state legislators called "Building Trust Through Civil Discourse".

Full Story: http://www.montana.edu/news/16296/wheeler-center-to-host-lecture-and-conference-on-political-engagement-in-montana
Eddy Boissezion a repondu a la place de Stephan Toussaint, actuellement en voyage, a la Private Notice Question de Xavier Luc Duval a lAssemblee Nationale.

N.B. Il a eu une meprise de notre part sur le nom de celui qui a repondu a la PNQ, mille excuses a Stephan Toussaint et a Eddy Boissezon.

Private Notice Question 7 mai 2019 (29,3 KiB, 258 hits)

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Turkey's issuing of an arrest warrant for Fethullah Gulen on charges of ordering last month's bid to overthrow President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has been dismissed by the US-based cleric who denies any involvement.

In the warrant, which was issued on Thursday, Gulen stands accused of "ordering the July 15 coup", the Anadolu news agency reported.

But the reclusive cleric, who strongly denies any involvement in the failed putsch, has denounced the warrant as meaningless, saying it was typical of a justice system which was not independent.

"The issuance of an arrest warrant from a Turkish court changes nothing about my status or my views," Gulen said in a statement late Thursday, noting his repeated condemnation of the attempted coup and denial of any knowledge of or involvement in it.

"It is well-documented that the Turkish court system is without judicial independence, so this warrant is yet another example of President Erdogan's drive for authoritarianism and away from democracy," he said.

In a separate, surprise development -- which the US State Department declined to confirm -- Erdogan said US Secretary of State John Kerry was planning to visit Turkey later this month.

"I think their secretary of state is coming on the 21st," Erdogan told state-run TRT television.

The warrant was issued as Washington reviews two sets of documents sent by Turkey allegedly detailing Gulen's involvement in the attempted putsch and requesting his extradition.

Within the next two weeks, Turkey's foreign and justice ministers will travel to Washington to explain in person the Pennsylvania-based preacher's alleged role, Erdogan said.

Just days after the coup, Kerry said Turkey must present "genuine evidence" and "not allegations" against the Muslim cleric for his extradition.

State Department spokesman Mark Toner said US officials were reviewing the documents to determine whether they constituted a formal extradition request.

"We've received documents. We're studying those documents," he said.

"It takes time to evaluate the evidence that is presented."

Earlier this week, Erdogan lashed out at the United States for dragging its heels over the extradition request, describing it as "a huge obstacle" to Turkey's fight against terror.

"How can it be, when we are strategic partners... you keep on hiding and sheltering him?"

Toner declined to comment on whether Kerry would visit Turkey later this month.

Tension between the two NATO allies has soared since the attempted coup as Ankara has pressed a vast nationwide crackdown, prompting Western cries of alarm over rights abuses that have drawn a fierce response from Erdogan who has in turn accused them of supporting "terror".

The crisis also comes at a sensitive time for bilateral ties with the US relying on the use of a southern Turkish airbase base as a crucial launch point for raids on Islamic State militants in Syria.

On the night of July 15, a rogue faction within the military tried to stage a takeover, launching attacks on parliament and the president's palace which ended during which at least 272 people died, among them 34 alleged coup plotters.

Close to 2,200 people were wounded as people took to the streets to denounced the attempted putsch.

Since then, more than 25,000 people have been detained of which 13,000 have been remanded in custody, while nearly 75,000 passports have been cancelled.

Over 60,000 people within military, judiciary, civil service and education have been dismissed, detained or are currently under investigation for suspected links to the Gulen movement.

Erdogan on Thursday warned he would crack down on any firms linked to Gulen and his Hizmet movement, which promotes moderate Islam and runs a network of private schools in Turkey and the US, as well as a range of businesses, media outlets and cultural centres.

Erdogan has dubbed it a terrorist group.

"At the moment, those captured are just the tip of the iceberg, others continue working. There is no doubt a pillar of this organisation is the business world," Erdogan said on Thursday.

"We will cut off all their business links, all the revenues of Gulen-linked businesses," he warned, vowing to cleanse the state from the Gulen "virus".

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At least 13 people, including nine children, were killed in air strikes on the rebel-held east of Aleppo on Friday, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitor said.

The Britain-based group said it was unclear if the raids on the Marjeh district were carried out by aircraft belonging to the Syrian government or its ally Russia.

The latest civilian deaths come as rebels press an assault intended to break a government siege of opposition-held Aleppo that began on July 17 and has raised fears of a humanitarian crisis.

In an audio message released on Friday, Abu Mohamed al-Jolani, the head of Al-Qaeda's former affiliate in Syria, pledged that the operation would soon succeed.

The rebel assault started on Sunday and is targeting the Ramussa district that contains the main supply route to the government-held west of the city.

After some initial rebel advances, government forces backed by Russian air strikes have pushed back opposition fighters who include jihadists from Jolani's faction, now known as the Fateh al-Sham Front.

On Friday, rebels launched a new offensive targeting a military academy east of Ramussa. Despite fierce fighting, they made little progress against regime forces, said the Observatory's director Rami Abdul Rahman.

Once Syria's economic powerhouse, Aleppo has been ravaged by the war that began in March 2011 with anti-government protests.

According to the Observatory, at least 115 civilians, including 35 children, have been killed in Aleppo since the rebel assault began on Sunday.

The deaths include 65 people, among them 22 children, killed in rebel fire on government neighbourhoods, the Observatory said.

Another 42 people, including 11 children, have been killed in strikes on eastern Aleppo, the monitor said.

It reported five more deaths in rebel fire on the Kurdish-majority Sheikh Maqsud district of the city.

In an audio message, Jolani said God had granted fighters "a glorious victory in the battle to break the siege of Aleppo".

"This battle, the outcome of which will go beyond simply opening the road for the besieged, will change the balance of the conflict... setting the scene for a new stage of the battle," he said.

Elsewhere in Aleppo province, the monitor said an alliance of Kurdish and Arab fighters was advancing inside the Islamic State bastion of Manbij.

Abdul Rahman said the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) now held 70 percent of the town.

"The Islamic State has entered its final phase in the town of Manbij," he told AFP, adding however that IS was using a number of civilians there as human shields.

"The progress the SDF has made in the last week is more than it was able to achieve in previous weeks put together," Abdul Rahman said.

The SDF began its assault on Manbij in late May and entered the town proper on June 23, with support from the US-led coalition against IS.

Manbij sits on the route between the Turkish border and the eastern city of Raqa, the jihadists' de facto capital in Syria.

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South Africa's African National Congress (ANC) conceded defeat Friday in the city of Port Elizabeth as local election results underlined the declining popularity of the party that led the anti-apartheid struggle.

The opposition Democratic Alliance (DA) won Port Elizabeth, an industrial city on the south coast, by about six percentage points, bringing it victory in a key battleground of the municipal election.

With almost all votes counted in Port Elizabeth, the DA -- on 47 percent -- did not win an outright majority and will seek to build a coalition alliance with smaller parties.

In an ironic twist, the ANC, a party founded by Nelson Mandela, suffered its first major loss in a municipality known as Nelson Mandela Bay. Encompassing Port Elizabeth and the surrounding rural area, the area was a hotbed of anti-apartheid activism which won the name in 2001.

"We accept that we have lost (Port Elizabeth)," said Jackson Mthembu, ANC chief whip in parliament, ahead of final results for the other hotly-contested cities of Johannesburg, the economic hub, and Pretoria, the capital.

"We know it's a tight race but I can assure you that we will emerge victorious in Tshwane (Pretoria), we will emerge victorious in Johannesburg," he added.

With about 90 percent of the nationwide vote counted, the ANC was ahead overall but it was the party's worst electoral performance since white-minority rule fell 22 years ago.

As the count drew to a close, Mandela's party was on 54 percent -- sharply down from 62 percent in the last municipal elections in 2011.

The ANC had previously won more than 60 percent of the vote at every election since the country's first multi-racial vote in 1994 when Mandela was sworn in as president.

The DA was on 26 percent with the radical leftist Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) on eight percent, according to official results on Friday morning.

Final results were due out later in the day, with the ANC and DA neck-and-neck in both Johannesburg and Pretoria.

"The ANC is really losing ground," Shadrack Gutto, director the Centre for African Renaissance Studies at the University of South Africa, told AFP.

"The politics of the country are changing at the local level and that will escalate come the general election in 2019."

Wednesday's vote was also widely seen as a judgement on the performance of President Jacob Zuma, who has been plagued by a series of scandals since taking office in 2009.

An unemployment rate of 27 percent and GDP growth at zero percent this year have added to the country's woes.

Contesting its first local poll after bursting onto the scene in the 2014 general election, the far-left EFF could emerge in the influential role of kingmaker.

The party, which won six percent of the national vote in 2014, advocates land redistribution without compensation and the nationalisation of mines.

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Black Lives Matter protesters brought the main road into Europe's busiest airport to a standstill on Friday as they blocked the traffic entering London Heathrow.

Police said a number of people had been arrested at the west London airport and holidaymakers faced disruption.

Pictures circulating on social media show a small number of protesters blocking the link road from a major motorway to the airport holding a banner reading "This is a crisis".

"Police at Heathrow are dealing with a demonstration," a spokesman for London police said.

"A number of people were reported to be blocking the road leading to the airport. Officers have attended. A number of people have been arrested. One lane has been opened but there is traffic congestion.

"Police continue to deal with the situation at the scene."

A Black Lives Matter protest took place in London last month following the killing of black men by police in the United States, causing hours of traffic disruption in south London.

The organisation said it was calling for a "nationwide shutdown" on Friday in major English cities such as London, Birmingham, Manchester and Nottingham.

Heathrow said security and the smooth running of Britain's main air hub was paramount.

"Heathrow supports the right to peaceful protest within the law, but the safety and security of our passengers, aircraft and colleagues, together with the smooth running of the operation, is paramount," it said.

"We are sorry to those passengers whose journeys are being disrupted and we are working with the authorities to resolve the issue."

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Fears are mounting in the European Union that its months-old pact with Turkey to curb migrant flows could collapse as a rift deepens over Ankara's crackdown following a failed coup.

Turkey angrily rejects EU criticism that its post-coup purges might violate rights norms Ankara must meet under the agreement in return for visa-free travel for Turks and accelerated negotiations for bloc membership.

"The risk is big. The success so far of the pact is fragile," European Commission chief Jean-Claude Juncker told Austrian daily Kurier last weekend.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has "already hinted several times that he wants to scrap it," Juncker said.

If that happens, he added, "then we can expect migrants to start coming to Europe again."

If the pact collapses, cash-strapped EU member Greece would be the first to feel the heat as it was the main gateway for some one million asylum seekers entering Europe last year.

"Clearly we are concerned," Greece's immigration minister Yannis Mouzalas said.

"But for now the number of people arriving on the Greek islands does not indicate that the deal is not being respected," he said.

Since the migrant deal was agreed in March to "break the business model" of smugglers, the numbers of Syrians, Iraqis and others fleeing war and turmoil via Turkey to Greece has slowed to a trickle.

Under the plan, Turkey stops refugees' dangerous sea journeys and takes back illegal migrants from Greece. For each Syrian it accepts back, it can send one to the EU in a more orderly redistribution programme.

In return, Ankara was promised not only visa-free travel for its citizens and accelerated negotiations for membership but also 3.0 billion euros ($3.4 billion) to help the three million migrants on its territory.

But Ankara accuses Brussels of failing to stick to its side of the bargain.

Erdogan on Tuesday lashed out at the European Union for dragging its feet in releasing the promised funds and on visa-free travel.

Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said in an interview with the German daily Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung that Ankara could withdraw from the accord if Europe failed to allow visa-free travel for Turks by October.

The EU vows not to compromise on its human rights benchmarks, including requiring Ankara to amend its anti-terrorism laws to meet European standards, particularly by narrowing their scope.

However, Turkey rejects the demands and has arrested dozens of journalists under anti-terror laws since the July 15 coup attempt.

More than 60,000 people in military, judiciary, civil service and education sector have been dismissed, detained or are currently under investigation.

Erdogan has also alarmed European leaders by suggesting Turkey might reinstate the death penalty to punish coup plotters.

"Let me be very clear... no country can become an EU state if it introduces the death penalty," EU foreign affairs chief Federica Mogherini said bluntly in response.

Turkey abolished the death penalty in 2004 as part of its efforts to join the EU, which makes its removal a non-negotiable pre-condition for membership.

EU enlargement commissioner Johannes Hahn warned Turkey last week that the bloc would freeze the country's accession talks if its post-coup crackdown violates EU rule of law norms.

Austrian Chancellor Christian Kern then called Thursday for the EU to discuss ending accession talks, saying "Turkey's democratic standards are far from sufficient to justify" membership.

Turkey's EU Affairs Minister Omer Celik denounced Kern's comments as "extremely disturbing."

Seeking to calm things down, Juncker swiftly rejected Kern's call and warned that ending the negotiations would be a "serious foreign policy mistake."

He did not elaborate what the consequences would be but the EU not only needs Turkey's cooperation on migrants, it is also a bulwark against the Islamic State group in Syria and Iraq.

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Authorities in Indian-controlled Kashmir extended a curfew to most parts of the disputed Himalayan region on Friday in an attempt to prevent an anti-India protest march to a prominent shrine, but clashes erupted as thousands defied the restrictions.

The mostly Muslim region, where resistance to rule by predominantly Hindu India is strong, has been under a rolling curfew and strikes for nearly a month after the killing of a popular rebel commander sparked massive anti-India demonstrations. At least 52 civilians and a policeman have been killed and thousands injured.

Separatists called Kashmiris to march to Hazratbal shrine in the city of Srinagar and stage protests after Friday prayers there.

Police and paramilitary soldiers patrolled streets and laid razor wire and steel barricades to cut off neighborhoods in the city. Shops, businesses and schools remained closed for the 28th consecutive day.

Thousands of Kashmiris defied the security lockdown and demonstrated at dozens of places in the region. They chanted slogans such as "Go India, go back" and "We want freedom."

Violence erupted in at least two dozen places after police and paramilitary soldiers intercepted the protesters and fired tear gas and shotgun pellets, police and witnesses said.

At least 35 civilians and 12 policemen were reported injured.

Troops continued firing shotguns to disperse angry crowds despite warnings from India's home ministry to minimize their use, and requests for a ban from local and international rights groups. The pellets have killed at least one man and left hundreds of civilians with serious eye injuries. Dozens of people have lost their vision because of pellet injuries.

Government forces barred people from praying at large mosques across the region for a fourth Friday in a row, but allowed prayers at small neighborhood mosques.

Separatist politicians, demanding an end to Indian rule, have extended the protest strikes until Aug. 12.

The troubled region is experiencing some of the largest protests against Indian rule in recent years since troops killed the rebel commander on July 8.

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.

Kashmir is divided between archrivals India and Pakistan, which have fought two wars over control of the region since British colonialists left the subcontinent in 1947.

India accuses Pakistan of arming and training Kashmiri rebels who have been fighting for independence or merger with Pakistan since 1989. Pakistan denies the charge, saying it only provides moral and political support to Kashmiris.

Most people in the Indian-controlled part resent the presence of hundreds of thousands of Indian troops and support the rebel cause.

More than 68,000 people have been killed in the armed uprising against Indian rule and the subsequent Indian military crackdown.

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Chicken will be the best-positioned protein due to its low price position in times of pressure on consumer spending power but rises in production costs and the long-term impact of COVID-19 threaten to disrupt the sector, according to Rabobank.
by Adam Buckman , Featured Columnist, August 5, 2016

I first laid eyes on him at Robin Leachs 50th birthday party.

I was seated in a banquette facing outward, a prime spot for ogling the many celebrities who came that evening to toast the great Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous host on the semi-centennial of his birth -- Regis, LaToya, Tony Bennett and then, the man himself: Donald Trump. And clinging to his arm, Marla Maples, nicknamed the Georgia Peach.

Oh, what a night, as the song goes. From that first time seeing him in person -- at this party in 1991 at a lavish nightclub on East 48th Street (a space now occupied by the Kaballah Centre) -- my fascination with Trump has never waned.

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From his dalliance with the Georgia Peach to The Apprentice to his many famous feuds to his historic campaign this summer to save America, journalists the world over owe their gratitude to a man whose ongoing saga has guaranteed that no day would ever be a slow news day as long as he is around.

For me, one Donald Trump story looms largest, even more than his campaign to rule America. The story played out over many months in 2013, involving Bill Maher, an orangutan and, as it turned out, Trumps lawyers -- a group of people who have probably never known a dull moment since the day they accepted Trumps first check as a retainer.

For this was the time Trump sued Maher after Maher compared Trumps appearance to an orangutan. It happened during an appearance Maher made on The Tonight Show With Jay Leno in January 2013.

Specifically, Maher said Trumps famous orange-tinged hair bore similarities to the fur of an orangutan. The producers of The Tonight Show then showed side-by-side photos of Trump and one of the orange-haired great apes. Maher also made this comparison at around the same time on his HBO show, Real Time.

During this same appearance with Leno, Maher called Trump a liar, a racist and a douche bag. Maher was apparently reacting to some tweets Trump had posted lambasting him, according to the first of five stories I wrote that year about their feud. Maher accused Trump of not composing the tweets personally, but shunting the assignment off to a syphilitic monkey.

Well, thin-skinned as usual, Trump took umbrage with these remarks and he sued Maher a short time later. Specifically, the lawsuit was reacting to jokes Maher made about Trumps birth origins and demanded that Trump produce his birth certificate. This had to do with Trumps campaign at the time to prove that Barack Obama was not a native-born American.

In making the birth certificate joke, Maher had mentioned Trumps vow that he would contribute $5 million to the charity of Obamas choice if the president would produce a birth certificate. If memory serves, Maher doubted Trump would make good on this vow, and this too irritated Trump.

Trumps lawsuit then demanded that Maher make good on a promise Maher made -- apparently jokingly -- that he would contribute $5 million to a charity of Trumps choice if Trump would produce his own birth certificate. Maher joked that this document would then prove Trump was not the offspring of orangutans. Apparently, Trump didnt get the joke.

So in February 2013, Maher reacted to Trumps lawsuit on Real Time. Among other things, Maher called Trump an idiot (again) whose family reunions are held at the zoo.

Maher then said of Trumps reactions to his Tonight Show comments: This upset The Donald so much they could barely stop him from flinging his feces!

Maher then commented specifically on Trumps lawsuit. Dont forget this is not a libel case, Maher said. No, no. They seem to be trying to set a bold new precedent that jokes on late-night talk shows are now legally binding agreements between the comedian and the person theyre making fun of.

By April, Trump -- who is not exactly known for the length of his attention span -- apparently lost interest in the suit and it was dropped.

But in September of that year, Maher was still talking about it. I dont even think Donald Trump is a real person, Maher told Leno, appearing again on The Tonight Show. Hes a pop reference from the 80s. Its like having a feud with J.R. Ewing!

After that, however, Trump seemed to get the last word in, at least for the time being. Turning his ire on Leno, Trump tweeted the next day: Ive always defended jayleno but he never defends me. Hes not a loyal person & I now understand why everybody dumped him, Trump tweeted, referring to NBCs decision to replace Leno with Jimmy Fallon the following winter. Jay sucks! tweeted the man who would be president.
WCVB.com, Friday, August 5, 2016 12 AM

A Norwegian tourist has been arrested for sending emails that threatened the lives of Portland, Maine police officers. Twenty-eight year old Espen Brungodt admitted that he was behind the violent threats that were sent to local newspapers. He was arrested at a Residence Inn, where he was staying with his parents.

Read the whole story at WCVB.com 
by Erik Sass , Staff Writer @eriksass1, August 5, 2016

Hearst is blowing its own horn when it comes to fashion. (Its a bespoke silver-and-brass horn studded with Swarovski crystals, if youre wondering.) The publisher of Elle, Harpers Bazaar, Marie Claire and Town & Country is touting its fashion coverage ahead of the big September fashion issues in a new marketing campaign boldly proclaiming, We Are Fashion, according to WWD, which first reported the news.

The New York City-focused ad campaign targets both consumers and advertisers with the goal of driving awareness, newsstand sales and readership of the September issues, the annual blockbusters of fashion content and advertising across the magazine business.

It also highlights Hearst brands digital fashion coverage on a range of platforms and channels, including mobile, social media, and video.

The campaign is set to debut on August 8 and run for six weeks. It includes a variety of outdoor ads, like billboards, bus shelters and bus sides, phone kiosks, taxi tops, airport placements, and retail displays, as well as video and static displays in Hudson News outlets nationwide.

The ads show the covers of the upcoming September issues for Hearsts four fashion titles  featuring Cara Delevingne, Kanye West, Kim Kardashian and Sarah Jessica Parker  while the video teases some of their big editorial features with behind-the-scenes footage. The video will appear as part of pre-show coming attractions at dozens of Regal Cinemas around New York.

To sweeten the deal, Hearst is also giving away a total of five prizes at random among 100,000 magazines sold at newsstands in the New York metro area, entitling the lucky readers to $1,000 shopping sprees at Lord & Taylor. Finally, Hearst editors will visit Barnes & Noble stores around New York to sign copies of the magazine.

The marketing campaign comes as high-end brick-and-mortar retailers have hit a rough spot, partly due to the rise of luxury e-commerce, as well as reflecting a drop off in retail tourism to the U.S. from abroad, especially Europe and China, resulting from the strong dollar.
by Laurie Sullivan @lauriesullivan, August 5, 2016

Apple is following in the footsteps of other tech and automotive companies by offering hackers $200,000 to find iOS and iCloud product flaws and holes in its code.

The bug bounty program is part of an industrywide sweep to find bugs in source code in an effort to prevent or to deter hackers from finding the vulnerabilities first.

Apple joins Facebook, Microsoft, Yahoo and Google, which have paid out millions of dollars over the years. Most recently, Uber and automotive giants like GM have jumped into the fray as more technology moves into cars.

Google's bounty for Android is minor compared with Apple's. Its winners get on average between $1,000 and $20,000 and their picture posted on the Hall of Fame. But Google's bug hunters program also supports grants. Hunters can receive Vulnerability Research Grants like the one given to Nils Juenemann in 2015 for $2,674, which he donated to a secondary girl's school in Tanzania.

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Even the Federal Bureau of Investigation reportedly paid more than $1 million to a company that could hack a security feature in the iPhone 5S used by San Bernardino, California shooter Syed Rizwan Farook.

The "invitation only" program will pay out between $25,000 and $200,000, but could be much lower depending on the hole.

Those invited to apply for the program will need to provide a proof of content. Bounties will be based on how much interaction is required from the user to trigger the vulnerability, the severity of the exploit and how novel compared with previous issues, and the clarity in which the flaw is described.
by Larissa Faw , August 5, 2016



The 2016 Olympic Games in Rio will feature 10 refugees competing on their own team for the first time in Olympic history. Now, the agency Purpose is joining forces with the new #TeamRefugees movement in order to raise awareness of the plight of all refugees.

This #TeamRefugees campaign is part of a larger initiative led by UNICEF and other partners, including UNHCR, Save the Children, International Rescue Committee, the ONE campaign, TheirWorld and World Vision, to test a new collaborative approach to more effectively create positive change for children.

The initiative, called Article 26 in a nod to the provision in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights that provides for the right to education, aims to boost public engagement around the Syrian refugee education crisis.

At #TeamRefugees center is a film Purpose developed with UNIT9 that tells the story of a young Iraqi refugee boxer named Abdullah whose family was forced to flee his country after he was kidnapped and threatened. The creative shows how Abdullah has been inspired by the Olympic refugee team to get even better at his sport, knowing that there is now a podium on which refugees with talents and dreams can stand alongside everyone else.

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"We knew that we wanted to highlight the significance of the refugee Olympic team through the eyes of a young refugee athlete," says the films creative lead, Lauren Rodman, of Purpose. "By showing the world what this historic moment means to an Olympic hopeful who also happens to be a refugee, we are telling an incredibly emotionally resonant story to inspire the rest of the world to support the team."

The :60-second film is available at TeamRefugees .com and a longer-form two-minute version also runs across social media channels. People are encouraged to support the team via Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Snapchat with the @TeamRefugees.

While #TeamRefugees is operating as a hashtag campaign online, the larger Article 26 movement encourages offline actions that citizens can take in support of refugees within their borders, such as church groups running book drives for refugee children, universities funding scholarships for refugee undergraduate students and volunteers helping refugees navigate rafts of administrative paperwork to be eligible for financial assistance for schooling, says David Ponet, parliamentary and civil society partnerships Specialist, UNICEF.

So far, the initiative has focused on the target markets of the U.S., the UK, Canada and Germany. It has recently broadened its reach to go global. Article 26 is supported by a mix of actors from humanitarian organizations, as well as celebrities and the private sector, he says.

"We wanted to feature the story of a young refugee athlete so it was a full team effort to reach across our networks and organizations across multiple countries, to find the right young athlete who would be willing to share his story," says Rodman. "When we met Abdullah, saw his passion for his sport and heard his story, we were honored to support him in sharing his story and support for #TeamRefugees with the world."
Egypt should cut down on governmental spending inside ministries and government institutions as it faces a critical financial conditions, the head of Egypts economic committee at the parliament said in a televised statement.

In an interview on an Egyptian satellite channel, Ali El-Meselhi said that the government should lower expenditure costs by 5 percent, especially with Egypt facing a budget deficit [for the fiscal year 2015-2016] reaching 13 percent of the gross domestic product.

According to official reports, the current budget shows a total expenditure of EGP 936 million in 2016-2017, some 8 percent higher than the total of EGP 864.5 million in 2015-2016 spending.

The former minister of solidarity added that the deficit represents a huge burden in the current economic state, pointing out that foreign currency reserves Egypts central bank have reached $17 billion - lower than the normal $25 billion dollar.

El-Meselhi added that the government was responsible for cooperating with the parliament to put forward a real economic reform program to solve the current crisis.

The statements by the head of the parliamentary committee come as Egypt is trying to secure a $12 billion loan package from the the International Monetary Fund (IMF) over three years.

The IMF is set to finish its mission in Cairo -- which started last week -- within ten days.

On Thursday, Egypts finance minister Amr El-Garhy said that negotiations with the IMF delegation were moving at a good pace, adding that that the delegation will not negotiate regarding the loan that Egypt is requesting.

El-Garhy reiterated that the IMF delegation did not impose conditions during the negotiations, adding that Egypt was currently reviewing procedures to control the budget deficit.

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As Zika continues to spread across the globe, the race is on to develop a vaccine against the virus. Now, such a feat may be in sight; researchers have completed a second round of preclinical trials of a Zika vaccine, and results show it offered complete protection against the virus in monkeys.

Share on Pinterest Researchers have shown the ZIPV vaccine offers complete protection against Zika virus in monkeys.

Co-lead author Col. Nelson Michael  director of the Military HIV Research Program and Zika Program at the Walter Reed Army Institute of Research (WRAIR)  and colleagues publish their findings in the journal Science.

Zika is a virus belonging to the genus flavivirus, and it is most commonly spread through the bites of infected Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus mosquitoes.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), as of July 27, 2016, 50 countries and territories across the globe have reported a first outbreak of mosquito-borne Zika virus transmission since last year.

The U.S. is the most recent country added to the list; last week, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) confirmed mosquito-borne transmission of the virus in Wynwood  a neighborhood of Miami, FL.

Symptoms of Zika may include fever, rash, joint pain, conjunctivitis, muscle pain, and headache, though many people infected with the virus experience no symptoms at all. If symptoms do arise, they normally only last for up to 1 week and rarely warrant a hospital visit.

For pregnant women and their babies, however, Zika can have very serious consequences.
Researchers are urging surgeons to reconsider using a particular type of thread for a procedure to prevent premature birth, after new research found this thread was associated with an increased rate of premature birth and baby death compared with a thinner thread.

In a new study, researchers at Imperial College London analysed 671 UK women who received a cervical stitch procedure to prevent miscarriage or premature birth.

The procedure, which is performed on around two million women a year globally, is offered to women deemed at high risk of miscarriage or premature birth. The process involves surgeons placing a stitch in the cervix to hold it closed and delay labour. The closed cervix also acts as a barrier to infection, and so shutting it with a stitch prevents bacteria passing through the cervix and into the womb.

Surgeons use one of two types of thread for the stitch - the majority use a thicker woven thread, and around 20 per cent use a thinner thread.

The study results, published in the journal Science Translational Medicine, suggest the thicker thread is associated with a three-fold increase in rate of baby death in the womb when compared to the thinner thread, and is associated with an increased rate of premature birth. It's thought the thicker woven structure of the thread encourages the growth of dangerous bacteria.

The team suggest switching to the thinner thread for all procedures could prevent 170,000 premature births globally every year, and 172,000 intrauterine baby deaths every year across the world.

Professor Phillip Bennett, lead author of the study from the Department of Surgery and Cancer at Imperial, said: "Although the cervical stitch procedure still holds benefits for women overall, our results suggest the thicker thread may encourage the growth of potentially dangerous bacteria in the cervix. This may lead to premature birth or even loss of the baby. We strongly advise that the thicker thread - which is currently used in the majority of procedures - only be used in a research setting whilst we thoroughly investigate the risks this may hold."

Around 50,000 babies are born prematurely ever year in the UK. Defined as birth between 24 and 37 weeks of pregnancy, premature birth is the leading cause of neonatal death in the UK. It is triggered by the cervix opening too early in the pregnancy, causing the baby to start moving down the birth canal. The causes are unknown, but infection in the birth canal is thought to be a factor.

Women are recommended to undergo the cervical stitch procedure if they are deemed at high risk of late miscarriage or premature birth - for instance if they have had a previous miscarriage later in pregnancy or a baby who was born too early.

During the procedure, also called cervical cerclage, surgeons use one of two types of thread to close the cervix. One is a thin nylon thread, around 1mm think and very similar to fishing line, called monofilament. The other is a thicker thread - around 5mm thick - that is comprised of smaller threads woven together like a shoe lace. The thicker woven thread - called multifilament - is used in around 80 per cent of procedures as surgeons believe it to be stronger, and more efficient at holding the cervix closed.

In the new study, the team looked at 671 women who had the procedure at five UK hospitals over the last ten years. Around half had the thinner 'fishing line' thread, while the other half had the thicker 'shoe lace' thread.

The results revealed the thicker thread was associated with increased rate of intrauterine death compared to the thinner thread (15 per cent compared to 5 per cent). The rate of intrauterine death in a normal pregnancy is around 0.5 per cent.

The thicker thread was also associated with an increased rate of preterm birth rate compared to the thinner thread - 28 per cent compared to 17 per cent. The rate of preterm birth among the general population is around 7 per cent, but the cervical stitch procedure is only performed on women already deemed at high risk of premature birth.

To understand the difference in outcomes between procedures using the two threads, the team conducted a second study with 50 women who were due to have the cervical stitch procedure. Half received the thinner thread, while half received the thicker thread.

The team then monitored the women at 4, 8 and 16 weeks after the procedure through ultrasound scans and analysis of bacteria collected using vaginal swabs.

The results suggested that women who received the thicker thread had increased inflammation around the cervix. There was also increased blood flow, which is associated with the cervix opening before labour.

Crucially, the team also found women who received the thicker thread had more potentially harmful bacteria in the vagina and around the cervix.

Dr David MacIntyre, scientific lead of the study, also from the Department of Surgery and Cancer at Imperial explained: "At the beginning of the trial, all women had similar types of naturally-occurring bacteria, called Lactobacillus, in their birth canal and around their cervix. However four weeks after the procedure 45 per cent of the women who received the thicker thread had these harmless bacteria replaced with potentially dangerous bacteria that have previously been associated with poor outcomes during pregnancy, like preterm birth and infection in babies. Women who received the thinner thread maintained normal levels of harmless Lactobacillus bacteria in the birth canal or cervix."

The team also performed lab-based experiments to examine how easily bacteria grew on the two types of thread. Dr MacIntyre added: "We found potentially dangerous bacteria grew more easily on the thicker thread. This may be because bacteria can latch onto the woven structure of the thick thread more easily than the smooth thin thread. "

There is a randomised clinical trial of 900 patients currently underway, organised by University of Birmingham, which is looking at the comparative risks of the two threads.

Professor Bennett added: "Our current study suggests the thick multifilament thread is associated with increased risk of complications. Even after factoring in the age and overall health of the patient, this effect still existed. However there are other factors that may influence the risks, such as surgical technique. Only by performing a large randomised clinical trial can we confirm whether the thicker thread itself is triggering complications, to ensure this procedure is as safe and effective as possible for the mother and baby."

Professor Bennett added that anyone concerned about the cervical stitch procedure should speak to their healthcare team.

Professor Jeremy Nicholson, head of the Department of Surgery and Cancer at Imperial, explained the research also provides insights into how a women's naturally occurring bacteria may influence pregnancy: "This research showed that all 50 women in the second part of the study had a higher level of potentially dangerous bacteria in their birth canal than a healthy pregnant woman - even before undergoing the cervical stitch procedure. This links to our ongoing work that suggests a woman's bacterial mix in the birth canal - called the microbiome - has an important role in pregnancy. It also shows, for the first time, that treatments that change the bacteria in the vagina may lead to bad outcomes in pregnancy. We need to further investigate the role of a woman's vaginal microbiome in pregnancy to help ensure more babies are born healthy, and at the right time.

"This is part of a much broader work programme in our department aimed to understand the normal microbial composition of the body, and how changes to this may link to a range of non-infectious diseases."

Jane Brewin, chief executive of the charity Tommy's, added: "The really good news is that a safe and proven treatment to prevent pre-term birth has just been made safer by this new finding. A treatment which has been around for many years has been shown to prevent pre-term birth but no-one really understood why it seemed so effective in some people but not in others; now we have a plausible explanation and success rates should improve as a result of this work. It's important that women who have this procedure ask their obstetrician about what stitch they will receive because clinical practice can take time to catch up with research findings."

The research was funded by the Genesis Research Trust and the NIHR Imperial Biomedical Research Centre. Dr David MacIntyre was supported by a Career Development Award from the Medical Research Council.
1 (Institute for Advanced Biosciences, CNRS/INSERM/Universite Grenoble Alpes) and the University of Melbourne2 has shown. They have just published two studies in and PLOS Pathogens. This discovery is a major advance for the development of new therapeutic targets for these parasites, which have such substantial public health consequences. To survive, the parasites responsible for malaria and toxoplasmosis depend on mechanisms inherited from the plant world. This is what a team of researchers from CNRS(Institute for Advanced Biosciences, CNRS/INSERM/Universite Grenoble Alpes) and the University of Melbournehas shown. They have just published two studies in

Apicomplexa are a group of parasites responsible for serious diseases in humans, such as malaria and toxoplasmosis. The parasites responsible for these two diseases infect several thousands of millions of people each year and cause death in almost one million of them (mainly children and immunosuppressed patients)3. The absence of an effective vaccine and the rapid emergence of strains that are resistant to multiple treatments4 underlines the urgent need to develop new therapeutic pathways.

Biologically, these parasites and humans share almost everything, hence the difficulty of developing effective treatments with limited side effects. But for about fifteen years, research has shown, in a surprising manner, biological characteristics in common with plants. For example, they have a compartment called the "apicoplast", a relic of a microscopic algae that these parasites' ancestors would have incorporated. In collaboration with Australian colleagues, the team of Cyrille Botte, a CNRS researcher at the Institute for Advanced Biosciences in Grenoble, has just demonstrated that one of these characteristics is essential for malaria and toxoplasmosis parasite proliferation in human cells.

During some of the phases in their cycle, these parasites actively multiply, mobilizing large quantities of lipids, essential constituents of biological membranes. The team has demonstrated for the first time that the compartment of plant origin (the apicoplast) generates a precursor necessary for the synthesis of most of the parasite's lipid membranes, and followed the outcome of this precursor in parasite membranes.

Further, using a genetic inactivation technique for this plant pathway, the team was able to demonstrate the in vitro death of the parasite during acute phases of toxoplasmosis and during the hepatocyte development phase in malaria.5

This discovery of a plant-based "Achilles heel" in the toxoplasmosis and malaria parasites opens a path to new therapeutic perspectives that only target the parasite, without affecting humans.

Articles: Characterization of the Plasmodium falciparum and P. berghei glycerol 3-phosphate acyltransferase involved in FASII fatty acid utilization in the malaria parasite apicoplast , Melanie J. Shears, James I. MacRae, Vanessa Mollard, Christopher D. Goodman, Angelika Sturm, Lindsey M. Orchard, Manuel Llinas, Malcolm J. McConville, Cyrille Y. Botte, Geoffrey I. McFadden, Cell Microbiology, doi: 10.1111/cmi.12633, 1 August 2016.

Apicoplast-Localized Lysophosphatidic Acid Precursor Assembly Is Required for Bulk Phospholipid Synthesis in Toxoplasma gondii and Relies on an Algal/Plant-Like Glycerol 3-Phosphate Acyltransferase, Souad Amiar , James I. MacRae , Damien L. Callahan, David Dubois, Giel G. van Dooren, Melanie J. Shears, Marie-France Cesbron-Delauw, Eric Marechal, Malcolm J. McConville, Geoffrey I. McFadden , Yoshiki Yamaryo-Botte , Cyrille Y. Botte, PLOS Pathogens, doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.ppat.1005765, published 4 August 2016.


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On the evening of July 4, 2016, one day before Eid-ul-Fitr, which marks the end of the fasting month of Ramadan, a suicide bomber carried out an attack outside the Prophet's Mosque in Medina, Saudi Arabia. The attack shocked the Muslim world because the Prophet's Mosque is the second holiest place in Islam after the Ka'ba in Mecca. On the same day, three more attacks took place: Two on a Shia mosque in the Saudi city of Qatif, and a third near the U.S. Consulate in Jeddah.

After the attack, Pakistani religious scholar Hafiz Tahir Mahmood Ashrafi published an article titled "The Attack in the Prophet's City and the Responsibility of the Muslim Ummah" in Roznama Jang, the largest Urdu-language newspaper in Pakistan. In the article, Ashrafi alleged that there was a global conspiracy against the entire Islamic world. He also called on the heads of Islamic countries to convene in order to meet this geostrategic challenge.

Following are excerpts from the article:

"How Did The Organization Named Daesh [ISIS] Become So Powerful That It Could Muster The Audacity To Play With The Peace Of The Land Of Harmain Sharifain [Saudi Arabia]?"

"On the 29th of Ramadan, when the Muslim Ummah was in supplication before Iftar [fast-breaking at sunset], in those very moments Muslims received the news of a bomb blast at the Mosque in Medina, which is [more important] than their lives and wealth and respect and honor. For any Muslim, this news was not immediately believable. A few moments after the blast, media organizations around the world clarified that bomb explosions took place in other cities in Saudi Arabia but the smoke seen in Medina is due to some other cause, not a bomb blast.

"Even before this anxious situation ended, the real situation became clear, which was no less [severe] than the Day of Judgement for the entire world of Islam. The weakest Muslim loves the holy mosques in Mecca and Medina more than his own life... And this is the reason that when the news of the blast in the Prophet's Mosque at Medina came, the day of Eid [the first day after Ramadan] became a day of sadness and worry. There was not an eye that was not uncontrollably shedding tears. And there was not a hand that did not rise in supplication; in every direction, there was a single prayer: Allah, protect the Harmain Sharifain [the holy mosques in Mecca and Medina].

"The Takfiri [one who declares others infidels], Khariji [one who is considered expelled from Islam] and Majusi [Zoroastrian] who committed this crime in the pious night of Ramadan and his patrons knew that for Muslims, the Medina mosque is the last limit, and if unity and alliance does not come even after crossing this limit, and Muslims do not enter a state of worry, then their [the patrons'] next target will become easy. The matter worth consideration and concern is that during the past few years, terrorism and extremism have strengthened and Muslim youths have been held hostage in the name of Islam, jihad and the Koran. [Therefore,] why is no serious effort being made to counter it?

"How did the organization named Daesh [ISIS] become so powerful that it could muster the audacity to play with the peace of the land of Harmain Sharifain? The situation is serious and also warrants introspection: How could the movements emerging in the name of revolution in the strong countries of the world of Islam such as Libya, Iraq and Syria, be held hostage? The government of Mu'ammar Al-Qadhafi was ended by external attacks on Libya and Iraq, while on the other hand, in Syria, protection was made available to Bashar Al-Assad. The real objective was to reach the land of the Harmain Sharifain after ending the peace in these countries and to destroy the peace of the pious lands of Muslims."

"Iran And The U.S., In The Name Of Jointly Fighting The Islamic State, Are Targeting The Majority Areas Of A Particular School Of Thought Of Muslims [i.e. Sunnis In Iraq]"

"If we look at the past two years, then it is clearly visible to us that the bad blood between Iran and the U.S. that grew after the Iranian Revolution [in 1979] has not only ended but inside Iraq... Iran and the U.S., in the name of jointly fighting the Islamic State, are targeting the majority areas of a particular school of thought of Muslims [i.e. Sunnis]. Sanctions on Iran are ending, and the worst is that now statements are being made to begin an armed war in Bahrain too.

"But the institutions of the entire world, including the United Nations, are silent, which is clear evidence that all conspiracies are being readied for the destruction of the Muslim Ummah. Turkey, Pakistan and Saudi Arabia are continuously targeted. And it is clear to the world that Turkey and Pakistan from a military angle, and Saudi Arabia and other Arab countries from an economic angle, are stable so long as the stability and integrity of the land of Harmain Sharifain cannot be interfered with. And the land of Harmain Sharifain is a symbol of the unity and alliance of Muslims.

"In this entire context, there is need for a conference of the heads of the Islamic states [meaning the Organization of Islamic Cooperation] to be immediately convened. The international Islamic military alliance must pay attention to intellectual and ideological unity, and those forces that are dividing Muslims by interfering in Islamic countries and dreaming of the destruction of Islamic countries must be stopped immediately. If for any reason, the Muslim Ummah remains silent in this entire situation and the Muslim leaders do not wake up even after the attack on Medina... then the Muslim public will have to decide how to protect and defend the land of Harmain Sharifain.

"The Muslim Ummah should consider the bomb explosion in Medina as a trial. Nothing is dearer to Muslims than the mosque in Medina and the Ka'ba in Mecca. In these circumstances, it is also the responsibility on the Iranian leadership to make an effort to improve its relationships with Arab countries and adopt a serious attitude towards resolving matters. And if Iran has any complaints and grievances against Arab countries, then that too should be discussed, because it is clear as daylight that fire does not have any sect and belief.

"The fire based on sectarianism that is being attempted to be lit today in some Muslim countries will tomorrow head towards the homes that are celebrating this fire and are stoking it as well. The weakest of Muslims remains ready to sacrifice his everything for the protection, defense and integrity of the land of Harmain Sharifain..."

Source: Roznama Jang (Pakistan), July 19, 2016.
On July 8, 2016, Burhan Wani, a terrorist commander of the Pakistan-backed jihadist organization Hizbul Mujahideen, which operates from its base in Pakistani-occupied Kashmir, was killed by Indian security forces. Last year, Wani and a group of Kashmiri youths took up arms and posted a video on social media.[1] Wani's killing lead to mass protests against India in parts of the Kashmir Valley, during which dozens of people were killed.

According to a report in Roznama Ummat on July 16, the previous day, Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif called Burhan Wani a martyr and a "soldier of freedom" and declared July 19 a "Black Day" as a mark of protest in Pakistan in support of the people of Kashmir. In 1947-48, the newly-created Pakistan had sent jihadi tribesman into Kashmir to occupy the state, who were seen as invaders by the locals that fought against them.

A ceasefire line came into being in Jammu & Kashmir, which was then an autonomous region, after the Indian military intervened following the signing of an Instrument of Accession with India by Maharaja Hari Singh, the Hindu king of Jammu & Kashmir. Ever since, a part of Jammu & Kashmir remains occupied by Pakistan. Pakistan has also continued its policy of training and sending jihadis into Kashmir to fight against India, much like it does in Afghanistan.

In an editorial titled "Pakistan-India relations at a dangerous turn," Roznama Jang ("War Daily"), an Urdu-language, mass-selling newspaper in Pakistan, reflected on the emerging situation in Kashmir and how it threatens regional peace.

Excerpts from the editorial are below:

"Pakistan has always been stressing the need for talks with India to resolve the Kashmir issue as per the UN resolutions [which require Pakistan to vacate occupied Kashmir as a necessary first step], whereas the government in New Delhi has been continuously dragging its feet on this matter... But in [Indian] occupied Kashmir, the new wave of freedom and the indiscriminate use of military force to crush it, especially to achieve [India's] negative objectives in the region - all of India's actions [there] in light of [Pakistani] Defense Minister Khwaja Muhammad Asif's rejection of the probability of talks with India, or Track II or III diplomacy, are not incomprehensible.

"Talking with journalists after the meeting of the [Pakistan] Senate's Defense Committee on Monday [July 25], he said that no types of talks with India are underway at this time, nor is there a possibility of these in near future. Instead, [he said,] we have decided that we will raise the issue of Kashmir in international forums, including the United Nations and the OIC [Organization of Islamic Cooperation]. The strategy the defense minister has indicated is exactly in accordance with the wishes of the Pakistani people.

"The brutal killing of mujahid commander Burhan Wani by the Indian military; the martyrdom of more than 50 innocent Kashmiris during the upheaval in the entire [Kashmir] valley against it for the past two weeks; the continual strikes despite a curfew and sloganeering by the protesters against India and in favor of Pakistan; the hoisting of the Pakistani flag on houses; and the arrests of [secessionist-Islamist] Hurriyat leaders including Syed Ali Geelani and Mirwaiz Umer Farooq; are all indications that India has lost the war against Kashmiri people. Despite this, it is still parroting the line that [the state of] Jammu & Kashmir is an integral part of [India].



Burhan Wani (right) was killed on July 8

"On a visit of Srinagar [the summer capital of Jammu & Kashmir], Indian Home Minister Rajnath Singh has once again accused Pakistan of provoking Kashmiri youths to take up guns. In other words, India is not ready to give the right to self-determination to Kashmiris as per the [UN] Security Council resolutions despite several wars and seven decades having passed. Moreover, in order to stoke terrorism inside Pakistan, it has established a web of spies on the Pakistan-Afghanistan border and is mindlessly aiding terrorists with money and weapons. The arrest of Indian spy Kulbhushan Yadav in [the Pakistani province of] Baluchistan and his disclosures before the investigating agencies has revealed this reality.

"To escape its impact, India has decided to change its diplomatic personnel in Pakistan and has told its diplomats to send their wives and children immediately from Islamabad to New Delhi. According to [political] commentators, in the next stage it can also recall its diplomatic personnel [from the High Commission in Islamabad]. Generally, a country undertakes such steps when circumstances are heading in the direction of war while the general situation at this moment is not such. From this [step], it is not difficult to guess that the Indian institutions [may be preparing for war].

"In these circumstances, it is extremely necessary to make the international community aware of the Indian aims in terms of the Kashmir situation. One cannot reject the reality that problems are not resolved by wars and in the current era one must not even think about it. But India's track record with regard to Kashmir is very bad. It is a big country in the region. It should keep in mind not only regional, but also international peace and resolve the issue together with Pakistan as per the Security Council resolutions, instead of firing bullets on Kashmiri Muslims, and establish a situation of peace, instead of war. However, the Indian home minister's statement in Srinagar that first the circumstances [in Kashmir] will become normal, and only then will it be decided whether or not to hold talks is extremely laughable..."

Source: Roznama Jang (Pakistan), July 27, 2016.

Endnote:
The following are some of this week's reports from the MEMRI Jihad and Terrorism Threat Monitor (JTTM) Project, which translates and analyzes content from sources monitored around the clock, among them the most important jihadi websites and blogs. (To view these reports in full, you must be a paying member of the JTTM; for membership information, send an email to [email protected] with "Membership" in the subject line.)

Note to media and government: For a full copy of these reports, send an email with the title of the report in the subject line to [email protected]. Please include your name, title, and organization in your email.

EXCLUSIVE: Pro-ISIS Telegram Channel Distributes Photos Of U.S. Soldiers In Saudi Arabia Base

On August 2, 2016, a Arab-language Telegram channel posts information about current events, shared photos of what it said are U.S. soldiers training in near Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

EXCLUSIVE: ISIS-Affiliated News Agency Releases Video Of Syrian Opposition Commander Explaining How To Communicate With U.S. Aircraft

On July 31, 2016, A'maq, a news agency affiliated with the Islamic State (ISIS), released a video that it claimed showed a commander in the New Syrian Army (NSA), a U.S.-funded military faction fighting against ISIS in Syria, explaining to a group of fighters how to communicate coordinates to U.S. aircraft.

EXCLUSIVE: Houthi Militia Publishes Passport, Driver's License, Birth Certificate Of U.S. Soldier It Claimed To Have Killed In Yemen

On July 28, 2016, ansarollah.com, a website belonging to an official media wing affiliated with the Yemen-based Houthi militia, published photos of a U.S passport, a commercial driver's license issued by the state of Florida, and a birth certificate belonging to an American.

EXCLUSIVE: 24-Year Old Pennsylvania Convert Expresses Support For ISIS On Facebook

A Pennsylvania man using the name Abdul Aziz shares pro-ISIS content on his Facebook page, and openly expresses support for the Islamic State. He recently posted a photo of a certificate he earned from the ITT Technical Institute, a school in Pennsylvania where he is currently enrolled.

EXCLUSIVE: Russian-Speaking ISIS Fighter Threatens Putin With Attacks In Russia

In a video posted on the Internet on July 30, an ISIS fighter, speaking in Russian, said: "Oh Putin, we will come to Russia and kill you in your own homes, Allah willing." The translation is based on the Arabic subtitles.

JTTM subscribers click here to view this clip on MEMRI TV

EXCLUSIVE: Pro-ISIS Jihadi Writer Urges Muslims To Carry Out Attacks In Spain, Kidnap Spanish Professionals In North Africa

In an article published by Al-Wafa', a media company affiliated with the Islamic State (ISIS), author Abu Marya Al-Aseef called on Muslims to target nightclubs, shopping centers, ships, and airplanes in Spain using explosives, machine guns, and trucks, to avenge the crimes committed by Spain against Muslims, past and present, from the Inquisition to its participation in the coalition forces fighting terrorism.

EXCLUSIVE: U.S.-Born Media Activist Interviews British Physician In Northern Syria Who Was Allegedly Involved In Kidnapping ISIS Hostage John Cantlie

On July 27, 2016, U.S.-born media activist in Syria shared, via his Facebook and Twitter accounts, an installment in the series of video news reports called "Face the Truth," which is a production of On The Ground News. In this episode, he interviews a British physician who works in Idlib.

ISIS Sinai Video Documents Attacks On Egyptian Army Tanks, Soldiers, Includes Vows To Attack Jews, Conquer Rome

On August 1, 2016, the media office of the Islamic State (ISIS) in Sinai province released a video documenting a series of attacks on the Egyptian army, which included bombing vehicles, shooting soldiers and executing security officers. In the video, which is titled "Desert Flame," the group vowed to target Israel in the near future and to conquer Rome.

Pro-ISIS WhatsApp Group Boasts Members From U.S., U.K., France, Syria, Iraq, Yemen, Jordan, Turkey, Indonesia, Philippines

An Arabic-language WhatsApp chat group includes 256 Islamic State (ISIS) supporters from around the world. The chat group can be joined through a specific invitation link that was distributed on Telegram. Most of the group members, including the administrators, have phone numbers with the Syrian country code. Other group members are from the U.S., U.K., France, Turkey, Iraq, Jordan, Yemen, Indonesia, and the Philippines. The cross-platform mobile messaging app WhatsApp allows users to communicate with individuals or with multiple individuals; photos, videos, and audio files can be sent through it. Participants' phone numbers are visible to other participants. In April 2016, WhatsApp announced that it had added an end-to-end encryption feature to the app.

Pro-ISIS Hacking Group Release Kill List Featuring U.S. Air Force Personnel

On August 2, 2016 the pro-Islamic State (ISIS) hacking group, the United Cyber Caliphate (UCC) released a kill list featuring the personal details of U.S. Air Force personnel. Those on the list are stationed in bases both in the U.S. and overseas. The list was posted on justpaste.it and was circulated on the group's Telegram channel.

Issue 15 Of ISIS Magazine Dabiq Celebrates Recent Attacks In U.S., France, Germany, Features Polemic Against Christianity

On July 31, 2016, the Islamic State's (ISIS) Al-Hayat Media Center released issue 15 of its English-language magazine Dabiq. The recent attacks in the West - the foreward article mentions the attacks in Orlando, Dhaka, Magnanville, Nice, and Normandy, Wurzburg and Ansbac - serve as an introduction to the main theme that runs through the issue: war against Christianity and Western society. An article in the issue spells out the reasons for ISIS's enmity toward the West and explains why it is fighting it, stressing that these reasons are based on theology, not foreign policy. It features a theological polemic with Christianity and atheism, and with the West's leading values such as liberalism, secularism, and leading movements such as feminism, gay-rights and so on. The issue seeks to win over Christian converts as recruits for ISIS, by presenting the personal stories of converts who joined the group and by brining personal appeals from them.

Issue 15 Of 'Dabiq' Features Interview With Trinidadian Convert Serving As ISIS Sniper Who Calls For Attacks On Businesses, Encourages Lone Wolf Attackers To Mimic Orlando And Nice Operations

On July 31, 2016, the Islamic State's (ISIS) Al-Hayat Media Center released Issue 15 of its English-language magazine Dabiq. The issue featured a six-page interview with a sniper named Abu Sa'd at-Trinidadi. At-Trinidadi is a convert to Islam who travelled to the Islamic State with two friends. The article hails him as a pioneer, since he and his companions were the first three fighters to emigrate from Trinidad and Tobago to the Islamic State.

In Article In Issue 15 Of 'Dabiq', ISIS 'Clari[fies] To The West In Unequivocal Terms - Yet Again - Why We Hate You And Why We Fight You'

In an article in Issue 15 of its Dabiq magazine, the Islamic State (ISIS) explained the rationale for its enmity toward the West and for waging war against it. The article should be read in the general context of the issue - a polemic against the Christian West as ISIS sees it. The article is clearly aimed first and foremost at a Western audience; it forthrightly acknowledges that ISIS uses terrorism, saying that it is commanded to terrorize the enemies of Allah.

Feature Article In Issue 15 Of 'Dabiq': A Polemic Against Christianity And Judaism

The following report is now a complimentary offering from MEMRI's Jihad and Terrorism Threat Monitor (JTTM). For JTTM subscription information, click here.

On July 31, ISIS released the 15th issue of its English-language magazine Dabiq. The magazine's 20-page feature article, titled "Breaking the Cross," is a classical Islamic polemic against Judaism and Christianity. The text presents detailed logical, historical, linguistic and theological arguments to prove that the Jewish and Christian scriptures are corrupted and that the only true message is that of Islam. The following is a summary of its main points.

In Issue 15 Of 'Dabiq', Finnish Woman Shares Story Of Her Conversion, Immigration To Islamic State

On July 31, 2016, the Islamic State's (ISIS) Al-Hayat Media Center released Issue 15 of its English-language magazine Dabiq. The issue featured a three-page article titled "How I Came To Islam" by a Finnish woman, Umm Khalid al-Finlandiyyah, who converted to Islam and immigrated to the Islamic State. In her article, Al-Finlandiyyah describes her lifelong struggle accepting Christianity, and her journey to Islam.

Article In Issue 15 Of 'Dabiq' Details Story Of Late Canadian Convert Brothers In The Islamic State

On July 31, 2016, the Islamic State's (ISIS) Al-Hayat Media Center released Issue 15 of its English-language magazine Dabiq. The issue featured a three-page article titled "Among The Believers Are Men", which is dedicated to the story of two Canadian brothers from Calgary who converted to Islam, fought for ISIS, and were killed in an airstrike in Ashraf, Syria. The article details their radicalization, and their journey from Canada to Syria via Egypt. The article also mentions that the brothers belonged to a group in Calgary that saw many members depart to wage jihad in the Islamic State.

In Issue 15 Of English-Language ISIS Magazine 'Dabiq', American ISIS Member Appeals To Converts In U.S. To Carry Out Attacks, Warns Against Following In Footsteps Of Late U.S. Army Captain Humayun Saqib Muazzam Khan

The following report is now a complimentary offering from MEMRI's Jihad and Terrorism Threat Monitor (JTTM). For JTTM subscription information, click here.

On July 31, 2016, the Islamic State's (ISIS) Al-Hayat Media Center released issue 15 of its English-language magazine, Dabiq. The issue featured an article by an unnamed American convert living in ISIS territory, in which he appeals to converts back home to carry out attacks against non-Muslims.

Jabhat Al-Nusra Leader Abu Muhammad Al-Joulani Establishes 'Jabhat Fath Al-Sham'

On July 28, 2016, a video recording of Jabhat Al-Nusra leader Abu Muhammad Al-Joulani was released on the Internet and aired on Al-Jazeera TV. In the video, Al-Joulani declared that his group has severed ties with Al-Qaeda and changed its name to Jabhat Fath Al-Sham (JFS). In the video, Al-Joulani who thanked Al-Qaeda leader Ayman Al-Zawahiri and expressed appreciation for Al-Qaeda's understanding of his decision, said: "We declare that we are no longer operating under the name Jabhat Al-Nusra, and announce the formation of a new group operating under the name Jabhat Fath Al-Sham."

JTTM subscribers click here to view this clip on MEMRI TV

Issue 3 Of Al-Qaeda-Affiliated English-Language Magazine 'Al-Risalah' Features Interview With TIP Fighter Prior To Suicide Attack - In Which He Expresses Desire For Vengeance Against Chinese

On August 1, 2016, the Al-Qaeda-affiliated Global Islamic Media Group (GIMF) released Issue 3 of Al-Risalah, its English-language magazine. One article in it, "Dougma Self Sacrificial Operations," featured an interview with Ibn Huseyn, a member of the Uighur jihad group Turkestan Islamic Party (TIP), days before he carried out a suicide attack.

On Facebook, ISIS Supporters Debate Permissibility Of Church Attack In Normandy, France

Following the July 26, 2016 attack on a church in Normandy, France claimed by the Islamic State (ISIS), in which 84-year old Father Jacques Hamel was killed, there has been a flurry of debate among ISIS supporters over the Islamic permissibility of killing priests. Although the attack was justified by many ISIS supporters, particularly the Francophones, not all sympathizers shared that sentiment. Those who opposed the killing of the priest maintained that any killing in a house of worship was forbidden, while others justified the killing by arguing that Muslims are at war with the West and that this is a permissible retaliatory measure.
Mohamed Diab's highly anticipated film Eshtebak (Clash) sparked both controversial and highly positive reviews after its release in Egypt on 27 July.

Going into its second week, the film managed to reach over EGP 2 million in revenues, a monumental achievement for an independent film. Co-written by the Diab brothers, Khaled and Mohamed, the film was chosen to open the 69th Cannes Festival in the Un Certain Regard section.



The film opens in a theatrical manner with a prisoners' transport vehicle truck ready to host the actors: two journalists, several army supporters, Islamist protesters, and a police conscript.

The Diab brothers provide us with their version of violent events that surrounded the ouster of Islamist president Mohamed Morsi from power in July 2013, highlighing humanitarian dilemmas which had troubled the country since the 2011 revolution.



Starring Nelly Karim, Tarek Abd El-Aziz, Hany Adel, Ahmed Malek, Ashraf Hamdi, Mohamed Abdel Azim, and Gamil Barsoum, the characters are well studied and their limits, fears, and hopes can easily be extracted and delivered to the viewers.

Out of the twenty characters, many gave an astonishing and realist performance.

If we look at the depiction of Islamists in Egyptian cinema passing by Adel Imam's angry sexually frustrated bearded characters (which is often comic), or Alaa Aswani's poor alienated violent young characters (a narrative based on the Egypt's 1990s confrontation with Islamist guerrillas), Clash excelled in showing how complicated this ideology and character really is. Diab's characters show this complexity, from a Brotherhood old timer, to an English speaking modern young man, to a Jihadist wannabe, passing by the politically aware female protester and alienated supporters of the Brotherhood.



The characters contrary to previous depictions, who we can distinguish as Islamists as they were arrested from a protest that chanted "Islamic! Islamic!", are politically aware of the cause, and their consciousness elevates. As violence escalates, some of the Islamist characters chant "retribution by bullets", a rhetoric opposite to the will of the senior old-timer Brotherhood character.



"The Brotherhood is just a phase. I am heading to Syria," says one of the character who is played by Mohamed Radwan, who was tortured for years in State Security detention centers.

Diab argues that Brotherhood members are not blind followers of their leaders, but actors in an increasingly chaotic political scene. Similarly, the young female Islamist, Aisha (Mai El-Ghaity), is not a middle aged peasant forced to protest with her patriarchal family members, rather she convinces her father of going out and joining the demonstrations.



In one of the scenes the Ultras-like Islamist character makes fun of the female character calling her "a child", a debate often carried out in Islamist circles usually initiated by young males who fear their police resistance techniques might be limited by the presence of women.

Another interesting Islamist character is played by Ahmed Gamal, whose role is worthy of praise (as a source of light comic relief in the film), but it is not worth giving up his punchlines and physical reactions in this review.

On a macro level, Diab also strikes a characteristic that is a specialty of the Brotherhood: organization and distinction. Amid all the fear and chaos, the top-down structure of the group is enforced by the senior member in the car, distinguishing people into members and supporters and non-members, a step that leaves some of the supporters critical of the whole cause.



Moving to military supporters, Khaled Kamel played a parking boy changed into a thug. Kamel has proved himself as an artist with the ability of showing the essence of the assigned character, from his early roles in Ibrahim Al-Abyad as a thug to his appearance in the Ramadan series Grand Hotel. Kamel gave the thug a humanized context.



The agony our characters are going through, according to Diab's script, needed a 'voice of reason'. Hany Adel was that voice. Adel, an Egyptian-American AP journalist believing in the power of journalism, has the lines of wisdom and nostalgia.



Adel is a great actor (and musician), but his fans need to see him in other roles where such talent is tested and celebrated.



The Diab brothers, who wrote the script together, both failed and succeeded when depicting police personnel, who throughout the film became the oppressors and the sole controllers of the character's fate.



The character of Central Security Forces officer (played by Atef Ammar) needed more than a well-built yelling white (as officers dont usually sit in the sun) male with a beret.

Ammar needed more aggressiveness and possibly more lines, compared with Awlad Rizk's Mohamed Mamdouh, for example. Diab suggests a humane side of the officer when he offers to release the women and children, an initiative many activists and former political prisoners described as rare, even when he feels sympathy for his slain colleague. Ammar participates with his police force killing an unarmed and detained militant and then calls the wife of his slain colleague.

The most interesting, and well acted, two characters were the conscripts in the controversial riot police apparatus, Awad (Ahmed Abdel Hamid) and Ewis (Mohamed Al-Suezy).

Awad is a soft hearted peasant who will break down and mutiny against orders once he sees the misfortunes of his fellow human beings, while Ewis, a stubborn Upper Egyptian, will take time before his consciousness pressures and helps the characters, leading to his detention in the truck as well.



As the characters improvise and strive for survival, Ahmed Gaber talent as a cinematographer (and his camera) snuck into the truck and became our eyes. Gaber's camerawork caught the hysteria of being trapped unwillingly, and captures the characters' effort to go out whether legally or illegally, and their expressions when they find out that the truck can be sometimes safer than the outside world.

Depending on the sun as a source of light was of no use for Gaber as the night approached, leading him to lit night scenes with a small shaky pulp and finally the green laser beams, which was heavily used in the 30 June protests. Cinematography wise, Clash falls under several one-location masterpieces, or at least films that made a very tiny location its theater of action, such as Lebanon (2009), Das Boot (1981), or Lifeboat (1944).A scene, lit by green lasers, where 20 fanatically scared human beings are resisting for survival is must see, and is a textbook example of guerrilla style cinematography.As the plot develops, the truck, our theater, changes its surroundings but the camera is still trapped. Inside, Diab's compositions were weaker than the elements it contained.To talk about a plot in Clash is in some way tricky. We can say that the characters are inside a plot, but we cannot claim they gathered due to a plot. The script treated this by successfully attempting to equalize them as oppressed, whether economically, by torture, by lack of freedom of speech, family negligence, or the absence of opportunity or basic human needs.Nevertheless, the authors of the film fell into a Liberal-ish and human development literature inspired narrative that dictates that everyone is mislead and a victim of their own belief, and that all are in the same truck to either reconcile or face an uncertain, maybe deadly, fate.While aiming to get the best of that fate, the characters are stuck in the truck, so we follow their humane interactions which take place because they are human and not because they are males, females, Copts, Muslims, cops, thugs, or religious. A child plays XO, an Islamist shifts from Jihadist chants to romantic songs, a hardcore patriotic old man is concerned about his son's destiny, a thug cries his dead dog, and a once stubborn riot solider laughs.

When a teargas canister is placed near the truck, the characters collectively block windows with clothes and the outside cannot be seen or heard, giving them a chance to peacefully mingle, share dreams, laugh, sing, as the truck has stopped.



However, the ease with which political rivals can easily forget their disputes and raise their humanity is shortly lived, as the truck continues to move.



Mysteriously, after their blockbuster (Al-Gizera 2, 2014) which argued that the 25 January revolution and its violence went according to plan by angry bearded Islamists and youth, Clash comes to bash away any sense of 'organisation' and highlight the lack of it, moreover its opposite: chaos.



Simply chaos and plans gone wrong are the reason why the 20 characters are stuck in the eight metre long police truck, hence the script has two perpendicular developments to look for: the mental and health status of the detainees, and the destination of the truck.



The filmmakers and story didnt want to lose the support of anyone. For them a policeman is oppressive because he is confronted by protesters and a militant is created because he was tortured. Such shallowness caused the film severe losses. Diab, as a director, provided a very well made realist film, worthy of praise and support. But as a writer, Diab provided a simplified "fast food" narrative easily digested by foreign viewers and Tom Hanks, but not for an audience who was traumatized by radical shifts and violence in the past years.



Clash was propagated to be a film about the revolution, and a film opposed by decision makers. Cleary it is not.



Its artistic level and the devotion its staff, which gave a due care to the smallest detail, makes it a masterpiece.



However, its apolitical stance, which is political whether we like it or not, makes it close to the 1990s wave of 'blame all!' films such as Waheed Hamed's and Sherif Arafa's Terrorism and Kebab and Alleab Maa Al Kobar, and not, for example, Salah Abu Seif's anti-authority film Al-Bedaiah.



Nevertheless film critiques are written to review what the artists did, not what they did not.

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ATLANTA  Authorities have arrested a Texas man who was wanted in connection with a fatal shooting in downtown Austin that claimed the life of a 30-year-old Peninsula woman.

Agents with the U.S. Marshals Service nabbed Endicott McCray, 24, near Atlanta on Wednesday, ending a manhunt that began Sunday after a man matching his description fired into a crowd shortly after 2 a.m.

Teqnika Moultrie, of San Carlos, was walking out of a doughnut shop with her wife when she was struck by gunfire. Moultries wife, Sabrina, said Thursday she took some solace from the arrest.

It doesnt change things for me, she said. But I am glad that they caught him and he cant do this to anyone else.

Four days after the shooting, Sabrina Moultrie said shes back on the Peninsula but struggling to cope.

Its like my life is over, said Moultrie, 32. It feels like I died with her.

Teqnika, pronounced Ta-nika, worked as a bus driver for the Sequoia Union High School District. She and Sabrina were married in April in a small ceremony and were planning a larger celebration this fall.

The Woodside High School graduate had a warm personality and enjoyed working with kids, said Sabrina, who is planning a private funeral service.

The transportation team at the school district has started a GoFundMe page to help pay for Teqnikas funeral expenses. To contribute, visit www.gofundme.com/teqnika-moultrie.

Contact Aaron Kinney at 650-348-4357. Follow him at Twitter.com/kinneytimes.

How to help To help Teqnika Moultries family pay for funeral expenses, go to www.gofundme.com/teqnika-moultrie.

For more San Mateo County news, visit www.facebook.com/san.mateo.county.times
Muslim Brotherhood supporters cheer Erdogan's draconian authoritarianism because they are as opportunist and duplicitous as he is

In December 2014, the Turkish writer and activist Abdul-Rahman Dilibak, who was one of the close associates and defenders of now-President Erdogan, announced shocking testimony about the founding of the Turkish Justice and Development Party in which he said the party was set-up by the US, Britain and Israel as a political project.

The forces that supported the partys founding offered three promises, namely: enabling the party to rule Turkey; removing all obstacles  or those presenting them  against the set-up of the new party; and offering the required financial backing to perform this objective.

In return, three main issues must be taken care of as follows: enhancing Israels security; removing all obstacles that hinder this security; and supporting the Greater Middle East Project. This project would be changing borders and redrawing maps through events and conflicts the region would pass through. Finally, helping in reinterpreting Islam in the region and, to be accurate, offering a new model for it.

This project was raised in 1998 during the rule of Necmettin Erbakan, where it has became obvious that conservative and Islamist elements began to play a decisive role in Turkish orientations.

Erdogan justified accepting this project by way of the required support it would provide; that afterwards directions could be changed to serve the original objectives, whether patriotic, nationalistic or ideological. It is an impractical suggestion. For whoever enters the arena with the elephant crushes others, and the Americans dont serve anything but their interests.

In light of realities and testimonies, we can understand the contradictions in Erdogans standpoints and policies internally and externally, and the fickle alliances and unconcealed opportunism he attempts to cover up through lengthy speeches. Examples are present and evident in all fields.

Now Erdogan turned against the Hizmet (Service) movement, which represents social and civil Islam in Turkey, after he benefitted from its support and backing for more than 10 years, making it fully responsible for the failed coup and describing it as a "parallel structure," arresting and discharging tens of thousands from their jobs on the basis of lists prepared in advance.

At the same time, he hosts and supports the Muslim Brotherhood organisation, which was not only a parallel structure and total opposite to the state, but was also seeking  according to their founding notions  to create a parallel society that was emotionally secluded. On the contrary, the Hizmet movement was based on a totally different stance: openness to the world, refusal of the idea of "two camps" and all the closed dichotomies upon which political Islam as a current is based.

It is noticeable that the Muslim Brotherhood organisation and its supporters are cheering Erdogan and his measures aimed at entrenching his authoritarian rule and raising it to a new level, which will drive Turkey to the inferno of intermingling and intersecting divisions.

They are boasting that what happened in Turkey, of people taking to the streets, was a defence of democracy (as if the Muslim Brotherhood are democratic) and at the same time they stick to the notion that what occurred in the form of people taking to streets against in the 30 June Revolution in Egypt was a coup. The latter was certainly much larger and had more impetus than the street mobilisation in Turkey.

The measures the Egyptian state carried out against the terrorism of the Muslim Brotherhood, their drive to undermine the state, and setting up a parallel structure, constitute nothing in comparison to what Erdogan executes now, if his accusations against the Hizmet movement were even true.

These accusations are to a great extent questionable for objective reasons. It is impossible for the movement to recruit a third of the Turkish military's generals, which is the bastion of secularism, overnight, and without anybody knowing.

This is also so because Erdogan is a blend of opportunism and falsehood, like all other political Islamic movements that are driving the region now towards a new tidal wave of destruction and subversion.

The writer is head of the Nile Basin Studies Department at Al-Ahram Centre for Political and Strategic Studies.

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New research from the University of Iceland, the Administration for Occupational Safety and Health, and the Center for Health Security and Communicable Disease Control shows mesothelioma cases continue to rise in Iceland despite the countrys 1982 ban on asbestos. Cases of malignant mesothelioma increased from 1965 to 2014, but this was expected.

In line with the previously high per capita volume of asbestos import, many buildings, equipment, and structures contain asbestos, so there is an on-going risk of asbestos exposure during maintenance, renovations, and replacements, said Kristinn Tomasson, Occupational Medicine Specialist, Administration of Occupational Safety and Health.

It is thus difficult to predict when the incidence of malignant mesothelioma will decrease in the future, stated Tomasson. This is also due to the latency period where the decreased use of asbestos may not become apparent until several decades later.

The study also showed that Iceland had a higher rate of mesothelioma than its neighboring countries based on data from the Icelandic Cancer Registry, the National Cause-of-Death Registry, and the National Register. Because the country doesnt have asbestos mines, the import figures were deemed very accurate.

From the results, 79% of the cases of malignant mesothelioma were men and 72% were of pleural origin. The incidence rate increased from 1965 to 2014 when 21.4 per million cases were among men and 5.6 among women. In 2014, the death rate was 22.2 per million among men and 4.8 among women.

Iceland was actually the first country to ban asbestos followed by Norway and Sweden. In Sweden, a similar study was conducted, but the results showed the ban on asbestos there was actually reducing the occurrence of pleural mesothelioma. Its considered the first convincing study showing a decreased occurrence of asbestos-related diseases due to a ban.

With the Swedish study, men and women born 1955 to 1979 had a decreased risk of malignant pleural mesothelioma compared to men and women born from 1940 to 1949. This decrease prevented 10 cases annually in men and two in women below the age of 57 years in 2012.

According to the Journal of Occupational Health, Since Iceland first introduced a ban on all types of asbestos in 1983, more than 50 countries have implemented similar bans. However, the pace of countries adopting bans has slowed in the past decade. Indeed, the governments of several industrializing countries have withdrawn bans while others have prescribed long periods over which to move towards a ban.

Nine of the ten most populated countries in the world, all of which use or have used substantial amounts of asbestos, still have not adopted bans. As result, coverage of the world population by bans remains low and is biased towards industrialized countries.

The Lautenberg Chemical Safety Act is the best bet for implementing a ban in the U.S. Signed on June 22 of this year, the act gives the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) more authority to regulate chemicals effectively and reduce asbestos exposure.
(Beijing)  The president of a top university in the eastern province of Anhui allegedly lied about progress made during his tenure in an application for a prestigious prize given by a newspaper affiliated to the Ministry of Education, a peer revealed.

Liang Dong, President of Hefei University of Technology (HUT) won the

"outstanding university president award for reform and innovation" in 2015, after claiming he had led efforts to improve teaching quality at the school with a new curriculum management system launched in 2013.

But Zhu Dayong, a vice president of the college, said in a letter to the school's party committee, affiliated to the Communist Party, that changes to curriculum management actually took effect in September 2015. Zhu also pointed out that Liang only started working at HUT in January 2014 and therefore, his claims on the prize application were false. The bi-annual award is given by the China Education News, a newspaper of the education ministry.

Zhu also accused Liang of violating government tender rules by subcontracting a project to develop software for the school to a company affiliated to Liang's former employer, the University of Science and Technology of China in Hefei, without calling for open bids. Zhu's written complaint had been leaked online and has been circulated on China's twitter, Weibo, and other social media sites. The university confirmed that the leaked document was the one submitted by Zhu and that it was probing the accusations.

Caixin could not reach Zhu for comments and Liang refused to respond to our inquiries. But in an earlier interview with People's Daily online, the website of the party mouthpiece, Liang dismissed the allegations as untrue. The college in Hefei is among 100 institutions identified as national key universities by the state in 1995 in a bid to raise research standards in China.

The public spat between academics at HUT is the latest in a string of scandals involving senior officials and academics who were found to have doctored their credentials for promotions and awards.

During the graft trial of Zhang Shuguang, a former chief engineer at the Ministry of Railway, it was revealed that he had paid ghost writers to pen academic papers in an attempt to get selected to the Chinese Academy of Engineering, one of the highest accolades in the research community. Zhang received a suspended death sentence in 2013 for accepting over 47 million yuan in bribes.

(Rewritten by Li Rongde)
John Dudley, the president of a metal detector club in western Michigan, fought strong waves and scooped up the ring after getting a signal. His reaction? "Oh, my gosh."

The discovery was made in late July, two days after Kennedy lost the ring while trying to wash sand off her fingers at the beach in South Haven. She says she was "sad, sick and disappointed."

WZZM-TV reports that Dudley reached out to Kennedy, a Decatur resident, and offered his services. Kennedy says she "practically walked on water" when Dudley gave her a thumbs-up to indicate that he had found it.

She says "miracles can happen."
WHSB-FM reports 25-year-old Andrew Bartz of Alpena is charged with first- and second-degree criminal sexual conduct in the case.

Authorities say he worked as an aide for the Thunder Bay Transportation Authority and five of the assaults took place in Alpena County and one was in Alcona County. The station says the children involved range in age from 4 to 16 and at least some have special needs.

In court this week, Bartz stood mute to the charges. His attorney says he hopes to reach a plea agreement with prosecutors. Bartz is due back in court next month.
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.
HONOLULU  The USCGC Kukui (WLB 203) crew returned home to Honolulu Monday after a 42-day patrol of the Western and Central Pacific to enforce federal fishing regulations of highly migratory fish stocks such as tuna while strengthening relations with Pacific partners. "Kukuis crew is proud to be part of the U.S. Coast Guard and its mission toward a prosperous, secure and stable Pacific fishing industry," said Lt. Cmdr. Brendan Harris, commanding officer of the Kukui. "The joint work we do under our bi-lateral agreements with Pacific nations like Tuvalu and the Cook Islands have increased the overall number of boardings we are able to conduct and our enforcement presence in the Pacific where these highly migratory fish stocks are threatened."

Enforcement officials from Tuvalu, Australia and the Cook Islands assisted Kukui during this patrol. Their presence was highly instrumental in facilitating communications between the Coast Guard and various officials as well as with foreign fishing vessels encountered during this deployment. As a result, Kukui's crew completed 16 fisheries enforcement boardings within the high seas and foreign exclusive economic zones under the authority of the Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission (WCPFC) and the bilateral agreements with the countries of Tuvalu and the Cook Islands. Types of vessels inspected include commercial fishing vessels, long liners and purse seiners.

WCPFC is comprised of 26 nations that regulate fisheries in the high seas regions of the Pacific. Within these partnerships, the U.S. Coast Guards 14th District works closely to promote the conservation and sustainable use of migratory fish stocks.

The Coast Guard executes bilateral agreements with nine Pacific Island countries: Tonga, Palau, the Federated States of Micronesia, and Republic of Marshall Islands, the Cook Islands, Kiribati, Samoa, Republic of Nauru and the government of Tuvalu. This body of agreements, commonly known as shiprider agreements, allows the service to engage in bilateral maritime operations where a law enforcement officer rides aboard a Coast Guard platform, usually a cutter, enforces their own nations laws within their own EEZ with the Coast Guards support. This allows for capacity building, training, joint operations and the safeguarding of highly migratory fish stocks in the Pacific that may enter and travel to any of a number of different EEZs, including that of the United States.

The Kukuis crew sought out volunteer opportunities while deployed. They conducted firefighting training to the Tuvaluan Coast Guard, participated in Operation Orange Initiative in Funafuti, Tuvalu, where crew members painted 20 fishing vessels orange to increase visibility in the event of a distress situation, and conducted a professional exchange with members from the Cook Islands Patrol boat, the Te Kukupa.

The crew also worked with members from the United States Geological Survey to reestablish a seismic monitoring and tsunami warning site that was destroyed from years of wear and recent storms in Canton, Kiribati.

The crew re-established Lighted Buoy 5 in Pago Pago Harbor and responded to a rescue and assistance case for a fishing vessel adrift 30 miles offshore American Samoa.

The U.S. has 90,000 miles of coastline and 3.4 million square nautical miles of exclusive economic zone, the waters that project 200 miles outward from the coast. Of the total U.S. EEZs, 43 percent exist in the Pacific Ocean around Guam, American Samoa and the State of Hawaii as well as other U.S. territories in the Pacific.
President Obama pushed back Thursday against charges by Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump and others that $400 million in cash sent to Iran as part of the nuclear deal was actually ransom money for hostages.

"We do not pay ransom for hostages," Obama said at his first, and probably last, full-blown news conference from the Pentagon. "We announced these payments in January, many months ago. They weren't a secret. This wasn't some nefarious deal."

The payment was made on Jan. 17, a day after four imprisoned Americans were freed by Iran and the United Nations lifted sanctions against Tehran over its nuclear weapons programs.

The State Department has said that the money was an award from an international tribunal in the Hague to settle a decades-old legal dispute, and the release of the hostages at the same time was coincidental.

The "only bit of news" in the payment to Iran is that it was made in cash, Obama said. The U.S. sent the cash in the currencies of other countries since there were no financial arrangements with Iran and "we couldn't send them a check" or wire the money, Obama said.

In a campaign stop in Maine, Trump repeated his charge that the money was ransom. "You see it, you don't believe it," Trump said. "I wonder where that money really goes, by the way."

Obama spoke after closed meetings at the Pentagon with Defense Secretary Ashton Carter and the White House national security team to review the progress of the campaign against the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria and chart the way forward to ensuring its defeat.

At the top of the agenda was the new campaign against ISIS in Libya, where the U.S. began airstrikes this week in support of the Government of National Accord based in Tripoli.

Obama was accompanied by Vice President Joe Biden, Director of National Intelligence James Clapper, Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson, Treasury Secretary Jack Lew, National Security Adviser Susan Rice, Deputy National Security Adviser Ben Rhodes, Homeland Security Adviser Lisa Monaco and others.

The Pentagon briefing room stage offered Obama a setting to offset the drumbeat of charges from Trump that the Obama presidency has been a "disaster" for the military that has left the services unprepared to stop the spread of ISIS and its threat to the U.S. homeland.

Obama said ISIS has steadily been beaten back in Iraq and Syria by a combination of thousands of U.S. airstrikes and improvements in the capabilities of partnered local forces, but he echoed warnings from CIA Director John Brennan and FBI Director James Comey that ISIS would remain a significant threat because of its ability to direct or inspire terror worldwide.

"Their military defeat will not be enough" to end the terror threat from ISIS, he said.

In addition, "groups like ISIL will keep emerging," Obama said, using another acronym for ISIS, and their emergence will haunt the presidency of his successor.

On the ISIS campaign, Obama said the U.S. had "momentum" on its side in Iraq and Syria.

In Iraq, thousands of U.S. and coalition airstrikes have enabled the Iraqi Security Forces and Kurdish Peshmerga fighters to regain much of the ground lost to ISIS and to focus on eliminating the last major ISIS stronghold in the northwestern city of Mosul, he said.

In Syria, the situation on the ground was much more mixed in the fifth year of a civil war that has left more than 300,000 dead and displaced millions. Secretary of State John Kerry has been negotiating with Russia on a deal to coordinate airstrikes, even as the U.S. continues to press for the ouster of Russia's ally, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

At the news conference, Obama challenged Russia to "show it is serious" about ending the violence in Syria.

"The United States remains prepared to work with Russia," he said. "But so far, Russia has failed to take the necessary steps. I'm not confident that we can trust the Russians or [Russian President] Vladimir Putin."

Despite declaring Trump "unfit" to be the next commander in chief, Obama said that he would continue to provide required intelligence briefings to Trump as well as to Hillary Clinton, as is traditional for the nominees of major parties.

"As far as Mr. Trump is concerned, we are going to go by the law," Obama said of the security briefings. "If somebody's the nominee, they need to get security briefings so that, if they win, they are not starting from scratch. They [the two nominees] have been told these are classified briefings. And if they want to be president, they've got to start acting like a president."

-- Richard Sisk can be reached at Richard.Sisk@Military.com.
Unemployment rates for all veterans and especially for post-9/11 veterans went up in July despite a rosy government jobs report Friday that showed the U.S. economy strengthening.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics jobs report for July put the national unemployment rate at 4.9 percent, the same as in June, while overall veterans' unemployment rates were at 4.7 percent, up from 4.2 percent in June, even as employers made far more hires than expected.

The jobless rate for post-9/11 veterans, called Gulf War II-era veterans by the BLS, was pegged at 5.9 percent, up from 4.4 percent in June and 4.0 percent in May. Male post-9/11 vets had an unemployment rate of 5.8 percent in July, while female post-9/11 vets had an unemployment rate of 7.0 percent, the BLS said.

Unemployment rates for post-9/11 veterans had hit double digits during the recession before steadily coming down since 2011, according to BLS statistics.

In 2011, Congress passed and President Obama signed into law a program giving employers tax credits for hiring unemployed veterans. Other programs also have encouraged companies and government agencies to hire veterans.

Jackie Maffucci, research director for the Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America, cautioned against drawing conclusions from the latest statistics on post-9/11 veterans jobless rates.

"While seemingly a large jump in the post-9/11 generation, the smaller sample size of the population sometimes results in more dramatic changes in rates from month to month," Maffucci said.

"While one month does not a trend make, it will be important in the next few months to monitor whether unemployment among the newest generations goes back down, as employment continues to be a primary concern among IAVA members," she said.

The rise in veterans' unemployment came despite what Jason Furman, chairman of the president's Council of Economic Advisers, called a BLS report that projected continued growth for the economy.

"The economy added 255,000 jobs in July following robust job growth in June, as the unemployment rate held steady at 4.9 percent and labor force participation rose," Furman said in a statement.

"U.S. businesses have now added 15.0 million jobs since private-sector job growth turned positive in early 2010, and the longest streak of total job growth on record continued in July," Furman said.

The overall positive jobs trends in the latest BLS report were hailed by Michelle Meyer, head of United States economics at Bank of America Merrill Lynch. "This was everything you could have asked for, maybe more," Meyer told The New York Times. "We're seeing new entrants into the labor market, which implies a longer runway for the business cycle."

The July statistics were in contrast to numbers released last week showing disappointing economic growth in April, May and June. The April-June quarter was the third consecutive period in which the economy advanced at less than a 2 percent annual rate, the weakest stretch in four years.

-- Richard Sisk can be reached at Richard.Sisk@Military.com.
As Myanmar Citizens Bank prepares to become the first lender listed on Yangons stock exchange, bourse officials are still debating just what level of financial disclosure listing banks should have to provide.





Any company intending to launch shares on the YSX has to meet disclosure requirements more onerous than any others demanded under domestic Myanmar regulation.

In addition to providing an initial explanation of its business, its main sources of profit and the risks it faces, a listing company has to make financial reports public. These reports must contain, at a minimum, details such as current assets and liabilities, long-term borrowings and net profit, according to the YSX.

But this leaves unclear the extent to which banks will have to provide a breakdown of their assets and liabilities, rather than simply the total value, and whether the YSX will ask for data on a banks loans or sources of borrowing.

Kensuke Yazu, an adviser at the YSX, said bourse officials are still considering exactly what type of documentation and information listing banks should make available to investors, a process that required convening with the Central Bank.

An official in the YSX listing department, however, said that the initial disclosure document provided by a listing bank would include a named list of major depositors, deposit amounts, detailed information on the banks investments, and the ratio and value of non-performing loans.

Daw Tin May Oo, a commissioner at the Securities and Exchange Commission of Myanmar (SECM), which is involved in setting disclosure requirements for listing firms, said that when banks list everything will become transparent.

The degree of financial detail provided by most Myanmar firms is murky at best, and banks are no exception. Privately owned companies have no obligation to provide any financial results to the public. Most private banks, including the countrys largest lender KBZ, opt not to, while a few, like rival AYA Bank, still do.





The SECM in February started requiring public firms whose shares are traded over-the-counter  in addition to those listed on the YSX  to provide a prospectus, yearly financial reports, and an investment plan for the share capital, which the SECM will check they adhere to, said Daw Tin May Oo.

But the commission is only beginning its efforts to better monitor public companies, and is concentrating on firms planning to issue shares, rather than tackling companies that already have shares trading over the counter, she added. Public firms have no official disclosure obligation to either the public or shareholders under the Companies Act, said Mr Yazu.

Meanwhile, the debate over the exact disclosure details for banks on the YSX is likely to be resolved before MCB is ready to launch its shares and will not delay the listing, Mr Yazu said. The banks general manager U Myint Win told The Myanmar Times MCB would likely start trading on the YSX in the last week of August.

MCB had hoped to list much earlier. But the bank appointed new committee members and a new director at its general meeting in late July. The appointees had to be in place to complete the listing paperwork, and will meet with bourse officials as part of the listing process, U Myint Win said.

The bank has already published basic financial results for the last three financial years, which show net profit after tax has more than doubled over that period. Profits for 2015-16 were K5.3 billion, up from K3.77 billion the previous year and K2.51 billion in 2013-14.

Data from rival banks are hard to come by, but AYA Bank  a far larger institution  posted net profits of K7.84 billion in 2014-5, down from K9.7 billion in 2013-14. AYA Bank results for the most recent financial year were not available.

U Phyo Aung, a managing director at AYA Bank, said the firm chooses to publish results in the interests of transparency.

MCB has not published data on the breakdown of its loans for the previous financial year. Its annual report for the 2014-15 financial year showed the three largest sectors for lending were the trading sector, which accounted for 37pc of MCB loans, the industrial sector with 23pc and the services sector with 21pc.

The banks annual report for 2014-15 lists its non-performing loan ratio  the volume of loans on which the borrower has stopped making interest payments as a percentage of total loans  at 2.21pc, while AYA Banks report for that same period showed a 1.07pc ratio.

Myanmar regulation allows banks to extend loans rather than recognise them as non-performing.

MCB also posted a 40pc jump in assets, which rose from K164.2 billion as of March 31 last year to K229.812 billion as of the same date this year. The bulk of this  K115.27 billion  is loans and overdrafts.

Investments accounted for another K50 billion of the banks assets as of March 31  the bank spent K19.2 billion across 2015-16 on treasury bonds and other investments. MCB also spent K3 billion on property, plants and equipment. The lender received K218,000 in dividends from its investments in 2015-16.

Customer deposits rose from K26.2 billion in March 31, 2015, to K41.1 billion at the same point this year  a 56pc increase. The sharp rise is not particular to MCB, however. AYA Bank  although starting from a far higher base, enjoyed an even larger jump over financial year 2014-15, seeing customer deposits grow from K874.7 billion to K1.58 trillion.
Yangon Region government is to call on private industry to fund an upgrade of Hlaing Tharyar industrial zone to serve as a pilot project for the nation.





Hlaing Tharyar, the countrys biggest industrial zone, suffers a litany of problems, including inadequate electricity, poor roads and ageing infrastructure.

U Khin Maung Oo, general secretary of Hlaing Tharyar industrial zone management committee, said the leaders of Yangons industrial zones met at the end of last month with Yangon Region Chief Minister U Phyo Min Thein to hear his plan for an industry-wide overhaul.

The government wants to upgrade industrial zones in Yangon, starting in Hlaing Tharyar as a pilot project, he said, adding that the chief minister said details would follow later.

He believes the government intends to put the development plan out to tender, inviting private companies to develop the necessary infrastructure.

The government wants to get private infrastructure development companies involved rather than funding the project directly, said U Khin Maung Oo.

Last month U Phyo Min Thein said that Yangon was strapped for cash, with a budget of under US$300 million, according to local media reports.





Hlaing Tharyar is about 90 percent occupied by industry, compared to the 50pc occupancy rate commonly seen in other zones. But its problems are widely mirrored elsewhere.

Industrialists say they cannot afford to build infrastructure. We do not have enough money to build the necessary roads, drains and electricity, said one factory owner.

If they want to develop the industrial zones, they will need both domestic and foreign investment. For now our main problem is that the zones dont have 24-hour electricity, which is essential to attract industry, he said.

Proposals to invest in Myanmars industrial zones will be given priority over other investments, as the country seeks to boost its manufacturing sector and create jobs, the secretary of the Myanmar Investment Commission told reporters earlier this week.

Manufacturing is a key sector for job creation, so we will invite more companies to invest in industrial zones, said U Aung Naing Oo. We want to build more industrial zones and we aim to supply the infrastructure needed by investors.

There are 19 industrial zones in Myanmar, six of which are under development, he said, adding that his department plans to open vocational training centres in each industrial zone to produce the skilled workers needed by manufacturers.

U Ko Lay, head of South Dagon Industrial Zone, said, Entrepreneurs decided last week to upgrade Hlaing Tharyar as a template for all industrial zones. We will organise a committee to lead the project, whether or not we receive government support.

He said many industrial zones, including South Dagon, were established some time ago, and have fallen into bad shape. Many zones are both old and undeveloped. The electrical systems and wiring been left to fall into disrepair. In South Dagon, the wiring is more than 18 years old and urgently needs to be replaced.

Dilapidated wiring has already caused two accidents in the past month, he said.

Many factories in South Dagon produce garments, rubber and paper, often from recycled materials. Many factories are very small and dont employ many workers or use much electricity, U Ko Lay said, adding that industrialists cannot provide enough funds to carry out the necessary repairs and are sceptical about government efforts to assist.

Government officials would like to upgrade factories and provide training but we cant afford to support these plans. The government cant offer loans to SMEs, said U Ko Lay, who owns a factory in South Dagon industrial zone.

U Kyaw Aung, a factory owner in Thaketa industrial zone, said, We would like the government to enact rules and regulations to keep industrial land price speculators from keeping prices artificially high. If this happens, we industrialists can develop the zones ourselves.

Additional reporting by Htin Lynn Aung, translation by Thiri Min Htun
Yangon may finally be getting its long-awaited zoning plan, officials say. A draft drawn up by the citys development committee will be opened for public comment before being adopted as law by the regional parliament, a Yangon City Development Committee spokesperson said.





The zoning and land use law will be submitted to parliament after a city-wide inspection of high-rise buildings is complete, said U Ye Min Oo, a spokesperson for the inspection committee.

The city development committee intends to pass the zoning law within the next three months. Once we have reviewed the plan, it will be opened up to the public before being submitted to the hluttaw for approval, he said.

The draft, written in 2012 by experts from the Ministry of Construction, YCDC, the United Nations-backed Urban Research and Development Institute, professional societies, and the Myanmar Construction Entrepreneurs Association, divides Yangon into 10 zones.

It has not yet been adopted because discussion of the draft is still continuing, YCDC urban planning expert U Toe Aung told The Myanmar Times.

We will take action on the draft once the government gives the go-ahead, he said.

Approval of the plan would clarify the legal situation for developers, said U Kyaw Kyaw Soe, joint secretary of the Myanmar Construction Entrepreneurs Association.





I think they will adopt the existing draft, which was the subject of protracted negotiations. The existing text does take into account entrepreneurs concerns, he said.

Under the draft plan, about 30-35 percent of the citys total land area would be made available for new high-rise buildings and apartments, and 20pc would be set aside as recreational open space for the public, in accordance with international urban planning standards.

The plan was drawn up after a review of urban planning standards and research into the designs of a number of international cities, said U Kyaw Kyaw Soe.

Developers have said they would benefit from a clear zoning plan that set out agreed standards and designated specific geographical zones in the city where high-rise and other buildings could be built.

Translation by San Layy
The launch on July 16 of Shin hnit Kyama (You and I), a new collection of poems by Mae Yway and Cho Pain Naung, was an exhilarating event, with a large local audience packed into The Rough Cut, a Sanchaung bar that has become one of Yangons homes for Myanmar poetry, photography and music. Mae Yway and Cho Pain Naung each read a selection of their works, at times accompanied by sparse electric guitar. What followed was an enthusiastic night of friends and fellow poets taking it in turns to come up and read, both in Myanmar and occasionally in English. It was a spontaneous and enthusiastic celebration of a vibrant and dynamic scene, a new generation of Myanmar poets and writers.





You and I is a collection of 47 contemporary Myanmar poems, six of them with excellent translations into English by Zayar Linn, Maung Day, Ko Ko Thett and Than Kount Thar.

I wanted to publish my poems in the form of a duet, says Mae Yway. I thought Cho Pain Naung would be best. I love her poems. Our styles are not the same, but we are friends. She writes so smoothly. I write in fragments. She writes about her marriage and her child and there are so many stories in her poems, but in my poems there are not so many things, just me. Its more like a confessional.

The poems of Mae Yway explore a main theme of self-discovery. One of the themes in this book is to find myself. Especially when I fall in love with a woman, [it describes] the love of one woman for another. I think the point in my book is to play with the words and the language to understand these feelings.

Mae Yway loves the process of constructing the poem: To have a poem sense you have to play with the words and sentences, and you also have to think about the reading audience. In our small social group we know a certain word, but in the broader society they dont know that word and its meanings. Mostly we use slang, so I have to think about this when writing.

Cho Pain Naung and Mae Yway are well aware of Myanmars poetry lineage, especially the contribution of Aung Cheimt who was one of the first modern poets in the country, He and three others  Thu Kha Mein Hlaing, Phaw Wai and Maung Chaw Nwe  were in the vanguard of the revolutionary poets from the 1970s who took Myanmar poetry from the traditional to the modern. These poets wanted to transcend the traditional rhyme and subject matter of the Khit San poets who came before them. They lived in different times, under a military regime, and needed a new language to express their feelings and discontents. This lineage continued with Zayar Linn, the first of the language poets, whose poems, articles and translations have been a great source of learning and inspiration for both Mae Yway and Cho Pain Naung.

You and I is divided into two sections, with each author having her own front cover. The cover for Cha Pain Nuang is by Antt Bwere Zin, depicting two women sitting on a divan, one in traditional dress, the other in modern attire. Cha Pain Nuang jokingly describes herself as antique.

Cho Pain Nuang, who is married with a child, explores themes that are closer to home life than those of Mae Yway. I describe the struggle involved in the life of a married lady in Myanmar. Im a Myanmar citizen. I understand the struggle to take care of children, alone most of the time, the stress of [balancing] two families and the difficulties of married life, including aberrations such as adultery, which does happen in Myanmar marriages.





Both poets have published previously before, in Myanmar language: Mae Yway with her own collection of poems in 2013, and Cho Pain Naung with an exceptional collection of essays entitled An Umbrella that Cannot be Used. Cho Pain Naung adds, Some reviewers commented that my essays are fictionalised. I actually dont think so. I write about abnormalities. I never foresee how the stories will end.
The Speaker from the House of Representatives silenced fellow parliamentarians and hit her gavel, opening yet another important chapter in Myanmars democratic transition.





But, as the smiles and high-fives suggested, this was not a typical sitting of the Pyidaungsu Hluttaw.

Instead, it was a session of the Model Myanmar Parliament Project, which saw students from across Yangon take part in what is believed to be the countrys first mock parliament on July 31.

The young people chose parliamentary roles  ministers, government officials, clerks  and replicated a morning at the nations highest legislative branch.

Statements were read, potential policy platforms were debated and representatives were challenged.

There were even a few students dressed in military garb, highlighting the 25 percent of seats the army still controls in parliament.

The Yangon Technological University venue was far less opulent than its multi-million-dollar, 31-storey Nay Pyi Daw inspiration but this didnt seem to matter in the slightest.

And  for once  The Myanmar Times was lucky enough to receive unlimited access to all parliamentary happenings.





Me Me Khant, who played the role of Speaker, said the event allowed students to not only better understand how their new democracy functions but also to discuss popular and controversial issues around the country.

So participants tackled subjects like the environmental impact of development projects in Kachin State.

But it was much more than just a show.

To prepare, the students meticulously studied current Union government records about legislative procedures and policies. What is in the public interest? What could be interrogated?

And, not unlike journalists this newspaper digging for the truth, they were hit by a raft of roadblocks.

Government records are hard to read and understand, Me Me said, Published documents are difficult to find.

Me Me said she hoped public access to information would improve here along with the research abilities of the population.

Model parliaments are now popular with university students around the world, and Model United Nations conferences  or simulated United Nations meetings, where students play representatives from Afghanistan to Zimbabwe  have been held since the 1940s.

The Model Myanmar Parliament Project team would like to follow some of these global examples and hold their sessions in the actual parliament building and involve elected representatives in proceedings.

The significance of the event was not lost on participant Jordan Aungye Paing.

Young people couldnt be involved in politics here until recently, he said, Now we can. This is our time.

When asked if he would one day enter politics as a profession, he laughed. Maybe, he said.

Its a sentiment that would have been unthought-of just a few short years ago.
Stay on the streets of this town

And theyll be carving you up alright





Its only 7pm, but already dark. The lights are out, the musics on full blast; some rave, some sway, and some stand around dazed by it all. Its like a throwback to my college days abroad, except with culture  a chic gallery space, not some crumbling frat house. Everyones in their mid-20s and 30s, and thankfully not a whiff of stale cigs, cheap beer or weed lingers in the air.

The free spirits of Yangon were up at Myanm/Art Gallery to take part in the weekly No Lights No Lycra (NLNL) ritual.

Conceived in Melbourne, No Lights No Lycra is a community started by dance students Alice Glenn and Heidi Barrett in 2009. Since its birth, social media and word of mouth have since catalysed growth of the movement. Spread beyond the borders of Australia, it has also made its home in Yangon, every week or so.

Having finally decided to give it a go, a friend and I shuffled up the stairs to the third floor of a rundown apartment to find the space fully lit. For the time being.

Im dying for some action

Im sick of sitting round here trying to write this book

Contemporary artworks were scattered around the room along with half a dozen people, mostly expats. We stood out as nervous first-timers, huddling near the door hedged about with our scepticism. Unsure of what to do in the few minutes to spare, my friend and I tried to dodge curious stares  maybe it was the awkwardness written all over our faces or perhaps because we were certainly the youngest ones in the room.

The room filled up with people. The atmosphere was electric.





Nobody told us what was going to happen.

Dont jump too much. Your floor is someone elses ceiling, said someone, and then we were plunged into darkness.

The music became very loud.

Its an unsettling feeling, dancing in the dark with a flock of strangers, but theres also something liberating about it. For the few minutes, I panic, frozen. I can sense, rather than see, people fist-pumping, head bashing, and breaking out the Sprinkler, all around me.

I need a love reaction

Come on now baby gimme just one look

At any ordinary nightclub, anyone watching from the sidelines might have been written off as some creepy old voyeur sipping his bourbon. If you walk in and around the crowd relentlessly, youre the lost soul thats had one too many, adrift from his forgotten friends. But here nobody cares if youre accumulating a little sweat puddle at the edge of the room or bringing sexy back on the dance floor. Because its dark.

Youre dancing in the dark.

You cant start a fire

sitting round crying over a broken heart

Without light, there is no judgment, no set moves, just free movement (or sometimes the lack of it).

Two songs in, Ive grown accustomed to my corner near the bathroom, loosened up and dancing how I know best, careful not to knock the artwork off the walls.

Seems Ive lucked out because tonights line-up is full of Mums guiltiest pleasure hits. The only other teenager besides my friend and I said it straight out: Im from this generation. I just cant.

But what feels like a lifetime of college parties must have taught me a thing or two about working with what Ive got.

In complete darkness, our sweat-laden bodies were bound to collide (no, theres nothing arousing about it), but mercifully light leaked in from the outside street lamps, letting me maintain a little grove of sanctuary, safe from whacking the pirouetting chick on my right and the rookie 80s dancer on my left.

If youre wise, youll find a patch of personal space near the windows, able to catch the suggestion of breeze between the hinges. I was trapped in a sauna, lucky if I didnt notice someone elses sweat beading along my neckline while praying that my antiperspirant would hold for the next hour. This was the hot inevitability of No Lights No Lycra.

This guns for hire

Even if were just dancing in the dark

Thirty minutes in. That does it. Ive been converted to some sort of bizarre dance cult as everyone starts to sway and move as one. On second thought, the cathartic workout has pushed me to be far more eccentric and experimental with my dance moves than I would be in the light.

My feelings are still mixed. Perhaps my 19-year-old-self is struggling to grapple with the thought that there are wild spaces to dance, free from alcohol, drugs and other risque happenings that characterise college parties and nights out at sketchy clubs.

No Lights No Lycra provides a completely safe space that welcomes all sexualities, all ages and all body types. And turning out the lights and blissing out for an hour also lets you extricate yourself from the confines of our highly image-based society. Living in a digitalised world, we are constantly bombarded with images and messages that make us question how we look and feel. As you grow older, you become much more awkward and self-conscious about your movements.

But last Tuesday I was on a date with myself  away from critical eyes. NLNL is a place to completely let go and lose yourself to the music, the darkness and physicality of your body. Its a place free of rules.

You will need: K5000 (suggested donation), comfortable clothes you dont mind sweating in, and water.

You will not need: Experience. Eyesight.

Time & venue: Confirmed on Facebook (normally Tuesdays at 7:15pm). Join the No Lights No Lycra  Yangon community on Facebook to stay in the loop.

With apologies to Bruce Springsteen
The world of Thai street food can be an exciting, if occasionally bewildering, place. Bangkok can provide intrepid diners with hours of culinary exploration, but thats provided they know where to go. Here is a guide to the best neighbourhoods for food-on-the-go in the capital.





Chinatown

No exploration of Bangkoks street food is complete without a trip to Chinatown, which is considered the birthplace of street food in Thailand and remains a prime foodie destination. And any discussion of Thai street food must also include a mention of satay  meat that is threaded on a bamboo stick, grilled over an open flame and served with peanut sauce and an ajad of cucumber, shallots and chillies in sugar syrup. Although it sounds simple enough, satay is hard to make memorable. This is where Jay Eng (105 Charoen Krung Road, on the pavement opposite the Chao Por Heng Jia shrine) comes in: tender, coconut milk-kissed meat with a hint of char, alongside a sauce full of nutty flavour.

Thai-style sukiyaki  a wok-fried melange of glass noodles, egg and seafood with a chilli sauce liberally laced with pickled garlic  has never been a photogenic dish. Yet it remains one of Thailands most popular street foods. Elvis Suki (200/37 Soi Yodsae) is among the most enduring purveyors of this dish, and also offers a great grilled scallop with garlic butter and grilled seabass stuffed with lemongrass, kaffir lime leaves and coriander.

Old Town

Bangkoks Old Town  also known as Banglamphu, after the lamphu trees that once lined the areas many canals  is a treasure trove of old-style Thai street food specialities that are hard to find elsewhere. Here, the most famous vendors have been around for decades, nourished by several generations of culinary know-how.

Khao gang (curry rice) is a fixture on Bangkoks streets. A popular breakfast and lunch option for diners on the go, curry rice is a selection of curries and stir-fries, any combination of which can be piled on to a plate of rice. The best of these vendors, such as Khao Gaeng Rattana (Nang Loeng Market) inspire an almost cult-like following of people happy to sample whatever the vendor has decided to cook that day. In Rattanas case, those popular dishes include gang kiew waan gai (green chicken curry) and gang som goong (sour curry with shrimp).

Considered one of Bangkoks best street food cooks, Jay Fai (327 Mahachai Road) is also one of the citys most expensive: her tom yum talay (spicy lemongrass soup with seafood) can cost as much as 1500 baht (US$42). Although many local gourmets bemoan her sky-high prices, few contest her skill with the wok. This self-taught cook specialises in stir-fried noodle dishes, but perhaps her most popular is guay tiew pad kee mow (also known as drunken noodles, or noodles fried with lots of chillies, said to be popular with partygoers out on the town).

Handmade ice cream is not a typical street food dish in Bangkok, but Nuttaporn Ice Cream (94 Phraeng Phuton Square, off of Tanao Road) has had plenty of practice making it from scratch  60 years to be exact. Although the coconut milk flavour (kati) is its most famous, Nuttaporn also offers mango, chocolate, coffee and Thai iced tea (cha yen), alongside toppings such as roasted peanut, corn kernels, lotus seeds, red beans, shredded coconut, sweetened plum seeds and coconut sticky rice.





Sukhumvit

Although this area is now an upscale neighbourhood full of expats, Starbucks and sushi bars, Sukhumvit still bears testament to the fact that, wherever money is, good food of all types will follow. Of all the chicken noodle vendors in Bangkok, Guaythiew Pik Gai Sainampung (392/20 Sukhumvit Road between Sois 18 and 20) stands out for its cleanliness, charmingly cluttered decor, and delicious soup noodle menu. The speciality of the house, after which this old-fashioned shophouse is named, is guaythiew pik gai, a soup noodle dish in which your choice of sen mee (rice vermicelli), sen yai (thick rice noodles), or giem ee (Chinese-style handrolled noodles) is doused in a long-simmering chicken broth and topped with chopped peanuts, julienned green beans and chicken wings that have braised overnight.

Food from Isaan (in Thailands north-east) is the most popular among Thais, thanks to its simplicity and searing spiciness. Get a fix of the holy trinity of grilled chicken (gai yang), sticky rice (khao niew) and grated vegetable salad (som tum) at Nomjit Gai Yang (corner of Ekamai Soi 18), one of the neighbourhoods most longstanding and well-regarded vendors of Isaan cuisine.

Saphan Lueng

The Yellow Bridge neighbourhood has long been known among Bangkokians as a street food highlight. Packed with aharn tham sung (made-to-order) stalls manned by skilful wok cooks, noodle vendors, dessert carts and the occasional porridge shop, Saphan Lueng rivals Chinatown, but without all the tourists.

Rice porridge gets little love from many tourists, but it remains a major food group among Thai street food aficionados. Thai-style porridge  which leaves the rice grains intact  is the main draw at the confusingly marked Khao Thom Pla Saphan Lueng (506/2-3, Soi Pranakares, fronted by a sign that reads Viroon Ice Cream in Thai). You can choose oyster (hoi nangrom) or pork kidney, but the most popular option is the seabass (pla krapong).

Boiled blood cockles (hoi klang) are probably not the first thing you think of when you consider of Thai street food. Yet the unassuming vendor Jay Sri (Soi Pra Nakares) has managed to stick around for decades, thanks to the freshness of her cockles and the hot-sour deliciousness of the chilli dipping sauce. A spicy-tart salad of water mimosa (yum pak krachade, reminiscent of raw asparagus) is another local favourite.

The dessert kanom pang sankaya (steamed bread with coconut custard dipping sauce) is one of Thailands favourite roadside treats, but finding a vendor that stands out is difficult. Sangkaya Bread by Chai (506/1 Soi Pranakares) is probably helped by his proximity to the fish porridge shophouse, but his consistently creamy sangkaya sauce also helps.

So what are you waiting for? Go forth and eat my fellow foodies!

 The Guardian
I admit, the notion of luxury travel in Myanmar initially troubled me. To sail, carefree, through the nations dry zone at a time of annual flooding struck me as voyeuristic, or aggressively elitist. I feared that comfort would distance me from the authentic travel experience that marks Myanmar as a frontier destination. If you dont have to use a squat toilet or eat arguably-dangerous-to-digest street food, did you really travel in the real Southeast Asia?





Then I stepped onboard Heritage Lines Anawratha River Cruiser, the biggest and newest addition to Myanmars luxury river travel scene. As a smiling, thanakha-cheeked hostess offered me fresh fruit tea and a cold towel to wipe the humidity off my forehead, a revelatory thought flashed through my mind: I could get used to this.

High-end travel is a rare opportunity for most people, but I was fortunate to be invited by the folks at Heritage Line on a recent FAM trip, which is travel industry jargon for a free ride offered to travel agents and press. Though the ship accommodates 46 guests at full capacity, we were just 14, all strangers united by a journey dubbed the Golden Land Voyage: more than 180 miles (290 kilometres) of river travel, from Bagan to Mandalay.

Now, having travelled extensively in Myanmar, Ive ridden in all manner of vehicles: motorbike, bicycle, trishaw, automobile, train, canoe, motorboat, kayak, propeller plane and hot air balloon. The Anawratha, however, marked my first experience on a luxe cruise liner. Though I have no other similar ships to compare it to, I feel confident in saying this much: River cruises are the most extravagant way to travel.

From my first glimpse, the ship appeared to be something out of a colonial romance novel  Heritage Line says it was designed to resemble a British colonial paddle steamer. Polished wooden posts contrast with white Victorian porticos, one to each cabin. On the third level, an indoor/outdoor lounge called Kiplings Bar serves cocktails and fresh juice daily. The top sundeck has a pool.

Two men in red Anawratha polos helped us into the ferry from shore to ship, and in a few minutes we stood onboard. An attendant walked us through the thickly carpeted hallway, past handsome lacquerware and US$3000 frescoes on the walls, to our cabin. Inside, complimentary sun shades and hats sat waiting for us on the bed, along with more pillows than one person could possibly require on a four-night cruise.





The rooms included all the amenities one can hope for, and then some: a hot water rain shower, a Bluetooth speaker, an extravagant ruby-red Victorian daybed windowseat, a kiwi in the fruit basket. Little details, such as complimentary postcards and an old-fashioned telephone by the bed, added to the colonial-era aesthetic.

As we began sailing, it was easy to daydream oneself an explorer from a distant land, seeing inner Myanmar for the first time. The alluvial plains that flank the river are the Bamar heartland, where ancient kings  this ships namesake Anawratha being one  built Bagan and the Court of Ava and eventually surrendered Mandalay to the marauding British. Back then, this part of the country was nothing but agriculture and thatched villages, dotted by golden pagodas amid a palm-tree canopy.

For all of Myanmars recent changes, these days the countryside looks much the same. As we chugged upstream, I watched an endless loop of water buffalo nosing through paddies drenched in blue and green. There are a few differences, of course: How many times did a farmer stare at me as I stared back, the both of us snapping photos on our smartphones?

In four days there was not one moment where I could not see a glittering spire from somewhere on the ship. Its more than a mile wide at parts, this river, and at some points I could scarcely make out its banks on the horizon. Moving fast and rich through the plains, the Ayeyarwady swells and overflows during the monsoon season, flooding rice paddies and villages with regularity. Its a time of low tourist numbers, with prime summer weather in Europe and the United States keeping most travellers from venturing to the wet, sticky tropics.

But rainy season is in fact an excellent time to see Mandalays dry zone by river travel. We saw four towns and villages well off the triangular track traditionally beaten by backpackers between Yangon, Bagan and Inle Lake. Though we started in Bagan, we were soon off the boat to visit the famous citys lesser-known neighbour, Salay, where expert tour guides Tin and Toe walked us through the forgotten colonial outpost. The presence of tour guides was welcome, and a not-so-subtle reminder of one of the logical fallacies of the backpacker mentality: Going it alone may be edgier, but true absorption of culture requires at least some sense of history and language. Having a tour guide checks both boxes.

By the time the ship docked in Mandalay and wed said our goodbyes to the staff, I realised another unexpected benefit of guided travel: the relationships. In a few days Id grown closer with Tin Aung, my trusty guide, than I ever have with another backpacker in a hostel or tuk tuk tour. When he gave me his card and told me to call him if I had any more questions (I had asked quite a few questions), I was genuinely thankful. Hes someone Id like to talk to again sometime.

And the excursions he led proved to be a recurring highlight of the trip, a daily adventure into places most tourists never see. In Salay, we heard the stories of U Po Gyi, a 19th-century crony who built a fortress for a house out of paranoia. Fifty-five miles upriver, we walked the thanakha markets of Pakokku, one of Myanmars largest trading cities where the best-quality beauty cream can be found. Just north of that we visited Yanderbo, a tiny town where the first Anglo-Burmese peace treaty was signed in 1826, and on our last day we reached Ava and Mandalay, where we took whirlwind tours through the last two royal capitals.

The visits themselves were fascinating, but the production of each excursion was almost equally so. Several times when we were due to disembark, local boys waded into the river to grab the ropes and lash us to trees on shore. Then the men in red polos would appear at the dock, greeting us with a wave and directing us to the ground transportation theyd arranged. Always, a contingent of curious locals would gather at the shore, smiling and waving as we emerged from the boat.

The juxtaposition of our grand ship and their humbler lifestyle was stark, and I asked one of the travel agents at dinner how she reconciles the concept of such decadent travel in a developing country. Here we sat, dining on steak and drinking fine wine, while locals just beyond our windows hoped for a strong rice harvest and not too much flooding. It was the same thing Id wondered before we left: Is luxury travel a good thing for Myanmar?

If there wasnt luxury travel in Myanmar, people like our clients would not come here, she said pointedly. Shes right: Though most of Myanmars yearly visitors are drawn by the low cost of travel in this country, the upper echelon of travellers expects a decadently bigger bang for their decidedly bigger bucks. They also provide much more economic impact. Cabins for an Anawratha voyage start around US$5000 for four nights, and the type of people who can afford such an investment, while rare, are the same type who can bring significant pay-off for Myanmars fledgling tourist infrastructure.

I hope they keep coming, and telling their friends about the things they see in the Golden Land. For as long as they keep coming, this reviewer will keep waiting  for another assignment gliding down the mighty Ayeyarwady.

This trip was provided by Heritage Line. For more information, visit their website.
Police suspect an August 2 explosion in the Kokang self-administered zone was the result of a calculated attack. The blast in Laukkai injured eight people.





According to local police, a bomb hidden in a motorcycle was detonated remotely on Yinphone Street of Ward No 3.

A police officer who requested not to be named told The Myanmar Times that the investigating team believes the attack was intentional.

During the explosion, a car passing nearby was hit. Eight people were injured, but there were no casualties. I think it was a planned attack against the passing car, he said.

Relatives of U Wai San, a Union Solidarity and Development Party lawmaker from Konkyan, were in the car at the time of the explosion, according to the police official.

We have opened a case and started an investigation. We are still trying to confirm who was involved in the attack and who is behind it, the officer said.

U Myint Naing, an ethnic Kokang local, said the explosion has ignited fear among the area residents.

When something like an explosion happens, we are afraid that fighting will happen again, he said.





Laukkai was central battleground during fighting between the Tatmadaw and the Kokang armed ethnic group the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army (MNDAA) in February last year. The Taang National Liberation Army and the Arakan Army joined the Kokang in its fight against the Tatmadaw. As fighting intensified, the Kokang self-administered area was declared a state of emergency and martial law was adopted. Tens of thousands of civilians fled the town and were displaced into China.

Due the ongoing fighting in Kokang, the three ethnic armed groups were excluded from the peace talks with the previous government led by then-president U Thein Sein. The incumbent governments peace negotiators said that they are trying to include the three groups in the upcoming peace conference.
There's a dark side to Myanmars recent internet revolution.







Behind the selfies and the stickers, social media platforms like Facebook have become fertile new ground for hate speech  with an audience growing by the day.





Dissemination of hate speech, or what human rights group Article 19 succinctly calls the advocacy of hatred based on nationality, race or religion, has a long history in this country.

And although the medium may have shifted through the decades, much of the sentiment has remained the same.

One popular song from 1930s Burma included clunky yet vicious lyrics that accused Indians and Muslims of exploiting our economic resources and seizing our women [putting us] in danger of racial extinction.

Fast-forward to 1996, when a pamphlet cautioned, Burmese citizens beware! The Muslims  are attempting to expand their religion while destroying Buddhism [by stealing] land, money, women and state power.

More recently, there have been multiple examples of nationalists distributing similarly incendiary messages in the form of speeches on CDs and DVDs at the village level.

While this material was once constrained by resources, manpower and geography, the advent of explosive internet connectivity has meant an unprecedented new reach.

In 2012, Myanmars mobile penetration was estimated at just 4 percent. This reportedly reached 63pc last year.





Facebook has doubled its local base in less than 12 months with more than 9.7 million monthly active users, according to Yangon-based Amara Digital Marketing Agency.

This number looks set to rise even more as the social media platform is now free for users of Telenor and MPT  which have a combined subscriber base of at least 36.9 million people.

But several experts expressed concern to The Myanmar Times that this sudden access to the World Wide Web is not being accompanied by public and private discussions about how to critically read content.

Myanmar has a low media and information literacy rate, according to the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) Myanmar office.

This means that many believe what appears on their newsfeed, without looking at it with a sceptical or discerning eye.

[Some users] cannot classify what is fact and what is fiction, one NGO representative said.

Disseminators of propaganda have not missed the chance to capitalise on this tendency.

Various hate speech monitoring organisations told The Myanmar Times that nationalist individuals and groups are now exploiting a lack of digital literacy to dehumanise minorities and encourage violence online.

The monitoring groups described a trend of anti-religious and anti-ethnic material in the guise of fabricated news items and information posts on social media.

Hardliners know the effectiveness of online hate speech and are using it more, said Ma Zar Chi Oo, a program manager at literary advocacy organisation PEN Myanmar Centre. The number of shares, likes and comments on false information or fake news is astounding.

Ma Zar Chi Oo was particularly worried about rural social media users where there is little or no effort to increase internet literacy.

A spokesperson at the Myanmar ICT for Development Organization (MIDO) said that more and more bogus accounts are being set up to spread hate online, which not only shields the original authors but also creates a larger echo chamber around these topics.

And, once again, Muslims are the predominant target.

Results from a research project into online hate speech by the Institute for Human Rights and Business and the Myanmar Centre for Responsible Business showed that nearly nine out of 10 examples of hate speech they assessed contained language directed primarily at the Muslim community.

Perhaps most significantly, more than one-third of the examples included calls to action such as boycotts on Muslim-owned businesses, violence and even murder.

Much of this content has been blamed on the nationalist monk organisation Ma Ba Tha, which was dramatically rebuked last month by the State Sangha Maha Nayaka Committee and religious affairs minister Thura U Aung Ko.

The Committee for the Protection of Nationality and Religion, as Ma Ba Tha is formally called in English, has denied peddling hate speech, though some of its members have had Facebook posts removed for exactly this reason.

Over the past month, The Myanmar Times examined examples of hate speech on social media. Many of these were debunked by local hate speech monitoring organisations but had still received thousands of shares.

A number were framed like news articles with headlines and accompanying pictures. One post appropriated Islamic State terror group propaganda to claim that evil Muslim men were systematically murdering, raping and mugging around Myanmar. Another post revealed that explosive devices were being stored at mosques in Yangon, Mandalay, Taunggyi, Mawlamyine and Rakhine State in preparation for a major terrorist attack.

Some made especially sensational claims that simple cross-checking would have discredited, for instance reporting that Muslim lawmakers had overrun the parliament in Thailand and were taking steps to build a mosque in each Thai province. It then alleged that there were signs this could happen in Myanmar soon.

Several used video, including one post which repurposed real footage from a 2013 sectarian conflict to claim that riots against Muslims had just broken out in the streets of Mandalay. If you are Burmese, [go now and] support your race, it said, seeming to encourage neighborhood-based violence. It was shared 16,598 times.

Kill them, one of the comments said. I wish all of them [were] killed, said another.

This anti-Islamic content increased over the Muslim holiday of Ramadan, according to the Burma Citizen Journalists and Media Monitoring Group.

And other religious and ethnic minorities also came under attack online.

A nationalist monk shared an extensive information post containing intentionally misinterpreted quotes from the Bible aimed at debasing Christianity. These quotes alleged that the Christian God has no sympathy and curses people for generations.

The online trend has the No Hate Speech Project worried. The organisation was set up in Myanmar this year by the Institute for War and Peace Reporting, which has monitored hate speech in Kenya, Rwanda and the former Yugoslavia.

Some very smart people are putting serious time and energy into creating a post and trying to make an argument or a story that seems very persuasive and convincing, a project spokesperson, who wished to remain unnamed, said.

This was particularly problematic as people in Myanmar are increasingly getting their information from social media, more so than traditional media.

He said that the intention of this hate speech was to dehumanise the other.

Once somebody is dehumanised, then it is easier to physically attack them, he said. All conflicts throughout history have begun with hate speech of one kind or another.

The exact link between online hate speech and real-world violence has been the subject of contestation internationally, however.

The 2007 elections in Kenya were the first where widespread telecommunication and internet access played a role. Some blame rumours and fake news items on social media for catalysing a bloody aftermath that left 1000 dead.

In 2014, a series of anti-minority riots in Sri Lanka which displaced 10,000 people coincided with rising rates of social media usage and nationalistic hate speech trends that encouraged violence.

And in Myanmar, deadly outbursts between Buddhists and Muslims in 2012 and 2014 were preceded by Facebook posts about alleged sexual assaults committed by Muslim men.

While direct causation is difficult if not impossible to prove, a study from the Institute of Human Rights and Peace Studies at Thailands Mahidol University found that there is a solid nexus between the rise of anti-Muslim hate speech and the anti-Muslim riots in Myanmar.

Anti-Muslim hate speech has always escalated shortly before the outbreaks of mass violence against Muslims in Myanmar, it said. The nature of their relationship is strong and shows hate speech is a warning sign or sometimes precondition for the instigation of anti-Muslim riots.

But others say the link is murkier.

A team from NGO the UMATI Project worked in Kenya during the 2013 election and found that abrasive and widespread online hate speech did not lead to real-world violence in that instance. They suggested that other factors are likely to have played a more significant part in accounting for the incidence of violent or indeed peaceful outcomes.

Nevertheless, Facebook seems to be leaving nothing to chance. It recently localised and translated its Community Standards for Myanmar.

These standards expressly prohibit hate speech and we will remove content that violates our standards when it is reported to us, a Facebook spokesperson told The Myanmar Times.

And Facebook has worked with NGO Panzagar which launched online stickers that promote positive speech. Information supplied by Facebook claimed that these are the most popular sticker pack in Myanmar and millions are shared every week.

Similar anti-hate-speech projects are appearing around the world.

A 2015 UNESCO report about countering online hate speech examined digital literacy initiatives in the United States, Canada, Australia and several European nations.

A common denominator among many such initiatives was the emphasis on the development of critical thinking skills and the ethically reflective use of social media.

In laymans terms, critical thinking is critical. But some groups in Myanmar are advocating for more punitive steps.

At a recent interfaith and peace forum in Yangon, community leaders from different religions called on the new government to legislate against hate speech.

U Tint Swe, permanent secretary for the Ministry of Information, said he thought the country needs to draw up a law to monitor the use of [hate speech] on social media.

He also said there was a need to deliver public-awareness messages to users about the ethics of sharing hate speech online.

Earlier last month, Religious Affairs Minister Thura U Aung Ko indicated that the government was in the process of trying to finalise a draft hate speech law. It was unclear how this would be applied to social media.

But after decades of heavy-handed censorship and severely impeded free speech, any action will be a tightrope walk for the government.

Politically motivated uses of the Electronic Transaction Law by the government are still fresh in the minds of many.

And there have been examples around the region  such as Singapore and Vietnam  where government steps to regulate the internet have curtailed free expression.

Experts told The Myanmar Times it was vital that any policy restraining online hate speech avoids negatively impeding newfound freedoms.

Adjunct associate professor Jonathan Bogais, a specialist in Myanmar affairs at the University of Sydney, said that a functioning pluralist democracy cannot exist without a vigorous protection of free speech, but the right to free speech cannot encompass the protection of hate speech.

Myanmars leadership and civil society, he said, must learn to balance the two.
Nearly 1300 schools nationwide have been temporarily shuttered due to flooding, according to a report from the Department of Basic Education.





There are still 1257 schools closed, a Department of Basic Education official told The Myanmar Times yesterday.

More than 170,000 people from Sagaing, Bago, Magwe, Ayeyarwady and Mandalay regions, as well as Kachin State, have fled their homes, according to a statement from the Ministry of Social Welfare, Relief and Resettlement.

After the flooding, we will re-open schools and collect information on the number of damaged schools and their conditions. We will send that information along to the Ministry of Education, the statement said.

According to yesterdays report, 369 Sagaing Region schools, 181 west Bago Region schools, 290 Mandalay Region schools, 274 Magwe Region schools, seven Yangon schools and 136 Ayeyarwady Region schools are still closed. At least 32 Kachin State schools re-opened this week, according to the Department of Basic Education.

After the flood, the teachers will be compensated for the missed lessons, said Ministry of Education spokesperson U Khaing Myel.

Nearly 600 Rakhine State schools were closed in the first week of July due to flooding. Heavy rain closed about 3000 schools in all of 2015.
The Ministry of Culture and Religious Affairs has pledged to crack down on illegally constructed Muslim prayers halls in Hpakant that were the site of a mob attack last month.





Around 500 people burned down the Lone Khin prayer hall on July 1, according to police.

Yesterday the ministry released a statement via state-owned media indicating that the four religious edifices had been erected without permission on state land, causing tension with the villages Buddhist community.

The statement said that four religious buildings, including a temporary prayer edifice, were built on 0.50 acres of state-owned vacant land in Lone Khin village in 2014. It was not until the Uru Bridge was opened on March 28 that locals discovered the Muslim prayer site, according the ministrys account.

Following complaints filed by Buddhist monks and residents, the township administrators decided to take action against the builders under the Vacant, Fallow and Virgin Land Act and held negotiations with unnamed representatives from the Muslim community. Three of the concrete and sheet metal structures were torn down, but according to the ministry, the Muslim community did not want to remove the prayer hall, arguing that the land it was on had been donated.

Shortly thereafter, the mob ransacked the hall, and burned it down.

The ministry said the government will pursue legal recourse against both the mob and the people who erected religious structures on state land. The statement also took pains to show that it is not attempting to target the Muslim community by trying to shut down the prayer site, as the government has previous closed religious buildings used by other faiths as well.

U Aung San Win, a spokesperson from the ministry, told The Myanmar Times that the police submitted the details of the incident to the ministry, but added that it is law enforcement officials responsibility to respond to the case.





We just released the statement showing that the government plans to take action on those people, he said.

Following the Lone Khin attack, police in Hpakant township arrested one female and five male suspects. The police plan to file official charges against the suspects in court next week, according to a township officer.

We will take action against them under the penal code and we are still investigating why they burned down the prayer hall, police officer U Myo Lwin told The Myanmar Times. We cannot say that they are local residents or from other regions. But we will not be continuing our investigation, as those six people were the main instigators of this quarrel.

Regarding a prior mob attack that razed a mosque in Bagon Region and led to the temporary displacement of the local Muslim population, the religion ministry spokesperson said there was no plan to release any updates.

We are not thinking of releasing a statement for the Thaye Thamain village quarrel, he said.

The chief minister of Bago Region told The Myanmar Times that no legal recourse would be taken against the mob as he was afraid it would provoke retributive attacks.
With the 2020 elections in mind, a political party thwarted by its lack of returns last November plans to make headway with a new microfinance scheme.





The United Democratic Party set up Myanmar Kyaw Investment Group in June with a promise to help fund businesspeople. The catch? Those hoping for an investment must be willing to be involved in the party as secretaries and recruiters.

The new investment group began advertising its K5 billion fund in state-run media in June, pledging to support up to 60 small or medium enterprise businesses.

The investment group made no pretences about its aim  to strengthen the party for the 2020 election.

The advertisement listed the ability to socialise and an interest in charity as among the necessary attributes for applicants seeking funding, in addition to a desire to join the political party.

The financial help is intended for businesspeople who are interested in the prosperity of the country, and also the party, according to U Khin Maung Kyi, from Myanmar Kyaw Investment Group.

The party is assigning and choosing businesspeople to act as party secretaries and recruiters for districts [around the country], he said. We assume successful businesspeople will have business and management skills.

He added that candidates will be chosen based on their likelihood of becoming a promising party shareholder.





They will also be able to expand or develop their enterprises. From that stage, they can contribute to public and regional development, he added.

So far, seven candidates have put forward their applications.

Ko Than Naing, one of the applicants, said he applied after spotting the ad in Myanmar Alinn.

I saw their ad in the newspaper and contacted them. They said the fund is only for people who want to join the party, so [asked if I] would be interested, he said. We havent negotiated the sum, or how profits will be divided, but I am also interested in contributing for the good of the party, the people and regional development.

Asked about the legality of a microfinance scheme linked to a political party, U Hla Maung Cho, deputy director of the Union Election Commission, said it did not violate electoral law, and that political parties are permitted to be involved in business ventures.

The United Democratic Party (link Myanmar-language) was formed with former members of the Communist Party of Burma and political prisoners involved in the 1960 student protests. The party did not win any seats in either the 2010 or the 2015 elections.

Translation by Kyawt Darly Lin
The Myanmar Overseas Employment Agencies Federation is attempting to clamp down on the sole visa-provider for workers headed to Malaysia.





Last month, the federation requested the government wrest back control of the visa process for workers and put an end to alleged price gouging at the one-stop service centre (OSC).

The centre, operated by service provider Diamond Palace, gained a functional monopoly in January when the embassy transferred authority of visa approval. Application prices subsequently soared from US$6 to $57. The new price now includes the $6 visa fee plus a $26 system fee and a $25 service fee, according to the OSC website.

MOEAFs letter asked Myanmars foreign ministry to meet with its Malaysian counterpart to discuss the policy, according to U Kyaw Htin Kyaw, MOEAF spokesperson.

Parliament confirmed receipt of the letter on July 20 but has yet to discuss the issue.

The $57 fee has not yet been reduced but there are still workers who are paying and of course we cannot restrict them, he said.

The number of workers going to Malaysia has dropped 40 to 50 percent since the fee increase went to effect, said Royal Gate employment agency owner U Zaw Myo Myint.





Previously, employment agencies sent an average of 5000 workers per month to Malaysia, but that number has dropped to around 3000 now, said U Myo Win Yin, an official responsible for migrant affairs at MOEAF.

But Daw Khin Nway Oo, a senior official from the labour and immigration ministry, said that so far there have been no changes at OSC as a result of the letter.

Although the foreign ministry has not confirmed receipt of MOEAFs letter, spokesperson Daw Aye Aye Swe told The Myanmar Times that if they receive the letter, they will send it to the Malaysian embassy. If they receive a reply from the embassy, they will pass that letter back to the federation. Their role is simply to act as a courier between the two organisations, she said.

Although The Myanmar Times contacted the OSC, and personally went to the OSC office, the officials denied to provide a comment. Similarly, The Myanmar Times contacted the Malaysian embassy but they did not return request for comment either.

Shortly after the one-stop centre was announced, the MOEAF announced a moratorium on sending workers to Malaysia until the fee increase was reduced, or borne by the Malaysian officials. A temporary reduction was negotiated for 8000 workers who had already applied for the overseas jobs. An estimated 1 million Myanmar migrants work in Malaysia, many of them undocumented and vulnerable to trafficking and forced labour.

Additional reporting by Nyan Lynn Aung
The Ministry of Construction is seeking international loans to upgrade the Yangon-Nay Pyi Taw-Mandalay highway, which it is says is open but only half-finished.





The highway was built under the military government, and opened to traffic in 2009. Union Construction Minister U Win Khine told the Pyithu Hluttaw yesterday that something must be done to reduce the frequency of car accidents that have earned the roadway the nickname death highway.

The ministry plans to use the annual budget from the Union government and international loans but no mention was made as to which countries may be providing the funds.

Under the previous government, U Thein Sein had planned to use a system of build-operate-transfer  in which a private company builds a public project, operates and collects funds produced by that project, and then transfers it back to the government  to get the highway finished, director general of the Department of Roads U Win Pe said at a press conference in 2015. The ministrys new international loan strategy is a departure from that plan. At the time of that press conference, the ministry had narrowed a list of 126 local and international companies down to 26.

There is a pilot project in the works to narrow a traffic median from 20 feet in width to 10 feet, expanding both sides of the road. Two 10-mile stretches  one from the 15-mile marker to the 25-mile marker and one from around the 163-mile marker to the 173-mile marker  have been chosen, the construction minister said. Five feet will be cut in on each side, creating a shoulder and hopefully reducing the number of incidents of vehicles hitting the median. The median itself will be altered from a raised median to a depressed median. Drains will be added, he said.

But when traffic medians are narrowed and trees are cleared away, the road becomes more dangerous at night because drivers are blinded by the lights of oncoming vehicles, said Pyithu Hluttaw MP Saw Naing (NLD; South Okkalapa).

The dangers from vehicle lights on the other side of the road are lessened when the traffic medians are wide and there are trees, according to the people who use the road, he said. If the traffic median is reduced from 20 feet to 10 feet, the danger from vehicle lights from the other side of the road will be an impact. It will be especially dangerous near a curve in the road.

But, U Win Khine said, the trees have been moved temporarily and they will be replaced after the traffic medians are finished. Speeding resulted in 453 accidents and 270 overturned cars on the highway in 2015. Accidents in which cars overturn after hitting the median are expected to decrease, he said.





According to figures presented by the Ministry of Home Affairs last month, road-related deaths have risen to average of 13.9 people killed each day in the first six months of the year. Last year, the average was 11.6.

Translation by Emoon and San Layy
A National League for Democracy member and would-be lawmaker has lost his case contesting an election result in Sagaing Regions hluttaw.





Plaintiff U Wai Phyo has been ordered by the election commission to reimburse his rival from the Tai-Leng (Red Shan) Nationalities Development Party.

The election commission upheld TNDP member U Than Nyunts election win for Homalin township constituency 1 on July 26. The result was contested on December 22, when U Wai Phyo argued that the outcome had been skewed, and that the candidate declared the winner had not actually netted the most votes.

There are many witnesses that U Than Nyunt fairly won the election, said Sai Htay Aung, chair of the TNDP. We received more than 500 votes over what U Wai Phyo got. If we were able to count some of the ballots that had mistakes on them, we would have tallied more than 1000 votes over his count.

After scrutinising the result, the election commission appears to have agreed. U Wai Phyo was informed that there would be no change to the result announced after the November poll, and that he would have to pay K200,000 to U Than Nyunt to reimburse legal fees.

The TNDP won two seats in Novembers poll, with U Than Nyunts Homalin township victory paired with that of Daw Nan Hway Khin, who was elected regional ethnic affairs minister.
Ancient monasteries and tourist attractions are underwater following a breach in the Inwa city wall in Tada-U township, Mandalay Region, that has resulted in severe flooding. Hundreds of local villagers have been driven from their homes to take refuge in surrounding monasteries and are receiving emergency assistance.





Of the 64 village groups in the township, 24 have been flooded by water from the Ayeyarwady and Dotehtawaddy rivers as a result of the 20-foot (6-metre) breach, which occurred on August 1.

Charity groups have donated food, paddy and clean drinking water to flood victims, U Kyi Soe, secretary of the Mahamyatmuni Pagoda board of trustees in Tada-U, said yesterday.

The river water has been flowing into the villages for 11 days now. It got worse after the Inwa city wall was breached. The villagers took refuge in the pagoda compound and along the road. Currently there are no health issues. Charity groups and donors have provided food and water, he said.

As the waters rose, they inundated the compound of the famed Bargayar Monastery, which was first built in 1593. The huge and magnificent structure, which features a seven-tiered spire, burned down in a devastating 1821 fire, but was subsequently rebuilt.

Local resident Ko Than Naing Moe, of nearby Gandaya village, said the Me Nu Oak Kyaung and Watch Tower (Nan Myint) buildings were, so far, out of reach of the waters. Other notable buildings in the area include the Yadanar Si Mi and Wingapar pagodas, which attract considerable numbers of tourists.

The city wall was breached on August 1 despite the sandbags. Me Nu Oak Kyaung was fully protected. This is the worst situation since 2004. Water levels will fall only after the river levels fall. Were boiling water to drink, he said.





Translation by Khant Lin Oo
With the Ministry of Social Welfare, Relief and Resettlement called upon in recent weeks as tens of thousands of people have been impacted by flooding, the man at the top assured media yesterday that aid delivery to those affected is being carried out properly.





Speaking to reporters after giving a presentation on flood relief efforts to the Amyotha Hluttaw, Minister for Social Welfare, Relief and Resettlement U Win Myat Aye said special emphasis is being placed on ensuring aid is delivered directly and in full to those in need, with compliance mechanisms in place to make sure it is getting to its targets.

The ministry is drawing on relief programs carried out earlier this year, he added, such as its delivery of water to drought-hit parts of the country.

Food is more important than other [provisions] so we are providing canned fish, dried noodles and bottled water to the people in need, he said. We are also giving them money to buy rice and we are planning to continue to provide aid supplies until the situation returns to normal.

U Win Myat Aye said last years flooding was more severe than this years to date, with the ministry making comparative studies of the two.

The Ministry of Social Welfare, Relief and Resettlement is coordinating relief efforts with civil society groups, he said.

Since before the floods began, we tried always to cooperate with social organisations. We already held a meeting networking with social organisations in lower Myanmar and we will hold a similar meeting in upper Myanmar on August 6. These are aiming for long-term [cooperation], not [only during] the flooding alone.

According to data from the ministry, five regions  Sagaing, Magwe, Mandalay, Ayeyarwady and Bago  and Kachin State have been impacted by floodwaters as water levels on some of the countrys main rivers have surpassed their warning marks. More than 100,000 from 28,000 households have been displaced, with Sagaing, Magwe and Mandalay regions the hardest hit.





Elsewhere in the capital yesterday, Vice President Henry Van Thio convened the first meeting of the Emergency Management Central Committee at the Ministry of Home Affairs.

In remarks, he said the publics safety would be the key objective of emergency management strategies to be drawn up soon. In dealing with natural disasters, advanced warning through effective communication channels would be key, the vice president said.

At the moment, a majority of people own handsets, so information can be shared via mobile phones, he said.

Translation by Zar Zar Soe and Thiri Min Htun
In late July, two royal families had an issue with information management.





In Britain, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge were widely criticised for a picture they released to the public. The picture, showing a young Prince George feeding his pet dog a white chocolate ice cream, sparked online outrage. A furious Twitter user reportedly called the three-year-old a monarchist monster. Another suggested that young George should be sent to prison for the misdemeanour.

During the same week, another royal violation unravelled on a Munich runway, when the crown prince of Thailand was captured in some exceptionally strange gear. A unisex crop top and low-hanging jeans highlighted garish tattoos covering his front, back and arms. While these may be stickers rather than genuine tattoos, the image is now firmly imprinted on the minds of all who saw it.

In the latter case it was the controversial German tabloid Bild that released the images and the photos went viral when journalist and author Andrew MacGregor Marshall posted them on Facebook.

Both events illustrate a problem common for modern monarchies.

Social media has transformed the way societies consume information. As with previous media revolutions, monarchies have no choice but to engage in the new information environment. Just as TV did before, and the photographic revolution before that, the internet facilitates public access into a supposedly private sphere. Just as we, the general public, have been forced to relinquish some portion of our own private lives in order to participate in this latest communications revolution, so must the royal we adapt and adjust.

What images does a monarch post on Facebook if it is not a glittering expression of formal royal duty  the king or queen in ritual context  or an image like that of Prince George that purports to offer some kind of humanising insight into Britains future king?





Obviously, there are potentially radical and upsetting implications for providing this level of intrusion into the private world of public figures, and royalty understand these implications well. Such photographic insights have to be stage-managed more carefully than ever to protect the public role of the monarch.

As has been argued of the British monarchy, where one may argue such things, it has long been imperative to maintain the queens two bodies; a body public that projects the symbolic aura of the Sovereign, and a private body natural that is all too human.

As Ilse Hayden states, Much of the appeal of the Queen as symbol derives from her personhood, but the messiness of being a person must not be allowed to intrude upon the dignity of the institution of Queenship.

In the case of young George, feeding chocolate to the dog was messy, and someone should have surely stopped the royal we from making the slip-up.

For the crown prince of Thailand, however, this went well beyond a mere slip to near self-sabotage. Why did he do it? Was there not some sort of mechanism to stop him from stepping onto that runway?

The answer requires some thought concerning the nature of the two royal bodies, first generally, and then in a Thai context.

The nature of royal bodies

Firstly, the maintenance of the two bodies, public and private, is not trivial, a mere practical issue concerning management of a surface image or representation. It is a critical and substantive part of being a monarch  perhaps the essence of monarchy.

In Britain, the concept and management of the sovereigns two bodies evolved over many centuries. In an era in which the monarch actually governed, the body natural, which was an actual legal status, was a way of dealing with the political

ramifications of power. It was a means of explaining the fallibility of the monarch when he made bad decisions, while protecting the sacred legitimacy granted upon the king by God. This became a critical distinction, particularly from the time the English started to execute or depose their kings.

The industrial, political and social transformations of the 19th century in Britain saw a dramatic decrease in the monarchs power. As a result, those around the throne were forced to work harder than ever to sacralise the monarchy through a claim to historic legitimacy.

During the latter half of the century in particular, ceremonies were created and recreated, discreet historical fragments captured and reworked, in order to associate the contemporary monarchy with a deep national past. No longer imbued with a God-given legitimacy, royals had to work extra-hard to insure their public lives conformed to the mythology constructed around them.

Yet, their new balancing act came with significant rewards.

Unproductive inherited wealth and great landed estates ran counter to new rules of moneymaking, and therefore needed to be defended. To counter the claim that the monarchs wealth was illegitimate, therefore, the grand displays of historic pageantry were combined with faux insights into the monarchs private life.

Emphasising an austere frugality, as well as a deep commitment to bourgeois notions of the family, such insights helped to deflect criticism of the monarchs wealth, portraying it as a mere characteristic of what was, nevertheless, the natural state of national affairs. While giving little away about what really went on behind closed doors, such faux insights became crucial to protecting and legitimising the wealth of the monarch in the eyes of the general population. To delve into the wealth of the monarch was to insult the dignity of the throne.

Throughout the 20th century, the British monarchy has continued to help secure public support and even nostalgia for the aristocracy, in part by implanting and advancing the idea that protection of an old and privileged elite runs counter to crass and more predatory forms of modern capitalism.

Thai royal bodies

In Thailand, the arrival of related notions of modern monarchy and the balancing act therein came much later, under conditions of force. Siamese kings and their courtiers had a far shorter period of time in which to adapt deeply ingrained regional traditions based on concepts and images of the Hindu god-king and the Buddhist Dhammaraja to Westernised forms that could better cope with the onset of capitalism.

While one can debate the exact dates, it can be justifiably argued that the modern dynamic of public body and body natural only came to truly define the life of the Siamese monarch in the early 20th century, when criticism of royal privilege began seriously to mount within an emergent public sphere, from competitors who were not princes.

As Matthew Copeland and Scot Barme have shown, during the 1920s cartoons widely disseminated via print media explicitly depicted what an unpopular monarch and his inner circle were believed to be up to in private, and it was not pretty. Dominant themes were greed and sexual promiscuity.

While Ramas VI and VII, unpopular and uncharismatic sons of Chulalongkorn the Great, continued to launch grand historic and modernising spectacles in the Siamese and European fashion, they were unable to escape now dominant narratives portraying such displays as excessive, backward and a waste of time and money  all signs of a moribund regime.

The revolution of 1932 transformed the so-called absolute monarchy into an equally so-called constitutional monarchy. More importantly, and most galling to top Siamese royalty, Crown lands and treasure began to fall under control of a civilian and later military-led government.

As noted in Judith Stowes Siam becomes Thailand, such efforts, along with equally spirited attempts to confiscate the private wealth of the monarch, were devastating not only to the institution itself, but to all of those connected to it. As the private palaces of top royals were turned into government ministries, the public body of the monarch became largely defunct.

In the post-World War II era, in ways that remain as private as Queen Elizabeths meetings with her prime ministers, ambitious royals managed to return many of these assets to the royal household. When King Bhumibol arrived in Bangkok in 1950, ready to reign, the royal family was thus once again provided with private space within which to function. While this was vital to resurrecting royal power, it did not provide the monarch with the immense wealth necessary to resurrect his public body. To do that, King Bhumibol and his wife, Queen Sirikit, had to secure the financial future of the institution, meaning they had to embrace capitalism.

As Thak Chaloermtiarana and Paul Handley have shown, the Phibun government of the 1950s severely limited the kings public appearances, fearful that the a young kings developing barami or virtue might overshadow his own.

As a result, expansion of the royal finances was dependent upon shoring up alliances with existing nobility and their business and banking connections, and actively engaging with newer money monopolised by the elite of a burgeoning urban Chinese-Thai community. Thus, through innumerable, discreet partnerships and alliances forged by the king and his courtiers in a mostly private capacity, the Crown Property Bureau was transformed into a modern and model capitalist enterprise.

When the state wholeheartedly embraced monarchy in 1958, the royal couple was welcomed onto a national stage. There they could resurrect the spectacles and ceremonies of the past for a modern national and international community. Now, however, the monarchy benefited a far broader catchment of vested interests than the nobility alone.

With state ideology dominated by a developmentalist agenda that embraced national security and a commitment to American-led capitalism above all else, the monarchs public body, increasingly presented a worldview in stark contrast to the modern, consumerist urban society to which he belonged.

By presenting a public and sincere face of loving kindness toward crowds of adoring rural farmers, the monarch, usually dressed in modest, ordinary garb, thus protected himself from the burgeoning business portfolio of the Crown Property Bureau. In doing so he successfully separated private commercial activity from the glittering, celestial imagery of his public body.

Carefully select glimpses into his private life and that of his family were now carefully crafted to ensure that they confirmed the monarchs virtues of love, frugality and modesty.

After the devastation of the Asian Financial Crisis of the late 1990s, the Crown Property Bureau was forced to intensify its activities. The now-ageing monarch, through an army of surrogates known as the network monarchy, ramped up production of an ideology promoting a retreat from the excesses of capitalism, the so-called sufficiency economy.

Thus he was forced to work even more tirelessly to cultivate the image of a frugal and moderate individual totally detached from, and indifferent to, the now even more fabulous benefits of Crown business deals.

This, too, must have taken some effort, requiring the focused determination by those around him to carefully stage-manage any insight into his private life.

A royal body in a crop top

The image of the crown prince on the Munich runway represents a near catastrophic collapse of the genuinely private into public. In the modern information age, it is to be expected, indeed inevitable, that the royal we occasionally reveals a bit too much. That does not make it any less damaging, however. Rather, it is now more imperative than ever for monarchies to run a tight ship.

This is dependent, of course, on whether individual royals want to play along.

In the aftermath of the runway incident, some questioned whether the lapse was intentional. If true, that raises the even more tantalising possibility that while vested interests in Thailand desperately need royals to maintain proper distinctions of public and private, the monarchy may have begun to decouple from this historic role altogether.

 New Mandala

Matthew Phillips is based in the Department of History & Welsh History at Aberystwyth University.
Last November, the world witnessed a landmark milestone in the history of Myanmar. The National League for Democracy led by Daw Aung San Suu Kyi won the election with a landslide victory, forming a government in April 2016, following a long transition period. Only the second parliament in Myanmar following the end of military rule in 2011, this time it is dominated by the NLD and includes among its members former political prisoners. While the euphoria of the victory has now somewhat subsided, there is still a strong sense of hope and optimism. But the challenges are starting to sink in and will only become more apparent.





Undoubtedly, the new government is a civilian government, and the second parliament was elected through a fair election. Many have celebrated that, finally, the wishes of the people of Myanmar have been heard. However, the reality is that in both houses of parliament, as well as in the state and regional parliaments, 25 percent of seats are reserved for MPs appointed by the Tatmadaw. Furthermore, the military still controls three key government ministries, a backdrop which may continue to impose obstacles and challenges.

In the first days of the new government, ministries announced 100-day plans, although an overarching, comprehensive plan for the Union government has been lacking. The first 100 days are now over, and while there are those who note some positive developments, the new government has yet to capitalise on the enormous public support and opportunity to act decisively on key human rights issues.

The new government has rightly focused attention on rule of law concerns. Many political prisoners were released and the dropping of charges against hundreds of others early on in the 100 days was an important step. The 1975 State Protection Act, also known as the Law to Safeguard the State Against the Dangers of Those Desiring to Cause Subversive Acts, was also quickly repealed. But progress has been slow on some other problematic laws. In the meantime, people are still being arrested and jailed under very outdated and oppressive laws that remain on the books.

Tensions along religious lines remain pervasive across Myanmar society. Recent comments from the government that hate speech will not be tolerated and that those involved may face prosecution are to be welcomed. But the two attacks on mosques in Bago and Hpakant last month were worrying and comments from various authorities that they would not pursue action for fear of fuelling greater tensions even more so. This is precisely the wrong approach.

Priority has clearly been given by the government to the peace process and efforts to reach out to all groups to make the peace process inclusive are welcomed. But with the 21st-century Panglong Conference just weeks away, whether or not human rights issues will be included from the outset is not clear. Moreover, the extent of involvement of women has not been clearly set out. There is also much confusion regarding the exact modalities of the participation of the CSOs and how their input will be channelled through a parallel forum set up for the peace process.

Amid all the optimism and hope for change, in several areas there has been little movement. During my recent visit I met with IDPs in Kachin, Shan and Rakhine states who told me that they had seen no improvements on the ground. Indeed, humanitarian access to some conflict affected communities, particularly in Kachin State, has gotten worse, not better, and serious violations of human rights  including torture, killings and rape  continue to be reported.





Although demining operations have started in a small area of Kayin State, it must be drastically expanded to all areas where there is conflict. Furthermore, all parties to the armed conflict must cease laying landmines immediately.

I was also informed during my visit to northern Shan and Kachin states that there were some villages in the conflict areas where there has not been any birth registration for nearly a decade. Failure to register any children at birth, regardless of the circumstances, robs the present and the future of children born in these communities.

In Rakhine, citizenship verification has restarted and a high-level committee was formed. The committee has set out a 142-point agenda. However, again, little change has been seen in conditions on the ground. The Muslim Rohingya are still barred from most local hospitals and have limited access to education. The conditions in and outside of the IDP camps in Rahkine State remain equally deplorable. During my visit, I met many who were suspicious of and doubt the purpose and outcome of the new citizenship verification program. There seems to be little feedback sought for plans from communities on the ground. The 1.2 million-plus people who have no identity cards is certainly no small matter to overlook. The recent release of the census data on religion revealed that the Muslim population has not increased significantly since the last census, contrary to the popular selling pitch of fear and hatred. This government must actively reach out to all communities in Rakhine, and step up its efforts to solve this issue as a matter of priority while there is still momentum.

I highlight these issues not to discourage, but to encourage. With the first 100 days over, now is the right time to take stock and quickly address areas that need to be prioritised going forward. There are no quick fixes and some issues cannot be solved immediately. But concrete steps can be taken quickly that would make a big difference.

Governing will get harder. This is why the government should act now to address some of the more difficult issues and to prioritise human rights before the momentum wanes  before all optimism and hope subside. The next 100 days will be just as crucial as the first, if not even more crucial.

Yanghee Lee is the UN special rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Myanmar and Rhiannon Painter is research assistant to the special rapporteur.
Obiba Sly Collins has collaborated with an upcoming musician called Agbeshie to release another peace song titled 'Asomdwe' to promote peace, love and unity among Ghanaians before and after the December 7 general elections.

The yet-to-be released song, produced by Obiba Sly Coliins, is the third single released from his upcoming album titled 'Reality', due for official release later this year.

Sly Collins explained that his latest single is aimed at educating the citizenry to desist from violence during and after the general elections, as well as to drum home further the need for all to contribute to peaceful elections in Ghana.

In the song, he urged all stakeholders to make elections competitive based on issues to enable electorates to understand them and cast their vote accordingly.

We all have the responsibility to ensure that conflict is prevented. National elections are not going to be the bedrock upon which the peace of the country is going to be sacrificed, he reiterated.

Sly Collins pointed out that for the country to remain peaceful, political parties need to propagate peaceful messages to their supporters despite differences in political ideologies, adding, We must live in peace.

Since the 1990s, veteran musician Obiba Sly Collins has been consistent in composing songs which call on Ghanaians to tolerate one anothers political views during electioneering seasons.

Asomdwe is the official song I composed and recorded to usher in my upcoming peace tour dubbed 'Ghana + Peace'. The need for us to promote peace this year is very important. We should not blow the peace trumpet only in an election year. Peace and love is needed at all times, Sly Collins mentioned.

By George Clifford Owusu
05.08.2016 LISTEN

It is a well-established fact that when you flagrantly abuse your rights by committing a crime, you will surely be made to face the consequences when caught. Therefore, it is said, If you cant do the time, dont commit the crime. This means if you are scared to be punished with imprisonment, then do not commit the crime in the first place.

The infamous Montie 3 - Salifu Maase, alias Mugabe, Alistair Nelson, and Godwin Ako Gunn, audaciously, but criminally went on air to broadcast their disrespect for the apex Court of Ghana; threatening to kill some Supreme Court Judges, arrange for one notorious criminal in Accra called Nash to forcibly marry the Chief Justice Mrs Theodora Georgina Wood if the Supreme Court dared make any unfavourable ruling on a pending case against the defendant.

The Supreme Court was sitting on a case involving Messrs Abu Ramadan and Nimoako vs Electoral Commission on the ECs seeming insistence on maintaining the names of all those registered onto the electoral roll using NHIS card as their national identification document with the plaintiffs (Messrs Ramadan and Nimoako) objecting to the ECs view.

The Montie trio with Mugabe as the radio programme Pampaso host, Alistair Nelson and Godwin Ako Gunn as panellists, all three being strong NDC fanatics and were supportive of the ECs stance, were highly infuriated when they could foresee the Courts ruling going in favour of the plaintiffs in the case but not the defendant, the EC, hence their peremptory but completely absurd warning and threats issued to the Supreme Court.

The trio thought because they are friends with President Mahama and the top hierarchy of the NDC, and have always been lambasting and insulting some political parties and certain personalities with impunity, as part of their work for the NDC, they could step on every toe. Unfortunately for them, they stepped on a far mightier toe than they could handle. These three irresponsible fellows bit more than they could chew.

While Alistair Nelson was remorseful as soon as he became aware of the Supreme Courts readiness to show them where power lies, Godwin Ako Gunn was denying that he had spoken ill about the court and the Justices. However, Salifu Maase, as uncivilized and uncouth as he is, still went on air bragging and inciting the NDC faithful and members of his northern extraction to rise up against the Supreme Court.

Salifu Maase, alias Mugabe, thought he was untouchable until now. Little did he know that there is so much nonsense or committal of crime that one can get away with until they are stopped in their tracks? Being an unwitty person, he has made a noose of the long rope thrown to him to hang himself.

The Montie trio are now petitioning President Mahama to fall on his prerogative of mercy by invoking Article 72 of the 1992 Ghana Republican Constitution to pardon them. They now expect their friend and probably secret employer to have compassion on them.

I am reiterating what I had said previously, I dare President Mahama to invoke Article 72 to pardon these loud-mouthed yobbos and criminals if he has two hard balls dangling in-between his legs to grant the wish of damned criminals. It is about time we stopped the nonsensical fondness for behaving irresponsibly by certain NDC faithful who think they hold Ghana in their palm like a delicate egg that they can crush at volition.

Salifu Maase and his colleagues in crime are saying their 4-month jail term and their collective fine of GHC30, 000 is too severe hence their appeal to President Mahama to set them free by invoking Article 72. Indeed, small boys are young. Do they know the adverse implications to, or the impact their obnoxious request to President Mahama will have on him, on the Ghana judiciary and on the entire country should he grant it?

Finally, it is a shame on all those government Ministers/Deputy Ministers and politicians and other personalities like Nyaho Nyaho Tamakloe, the NDC mole within, but suspended from, the NPP, who appended their signatures to the petition to free the Montie trio. All those who signed the petition do not understand the seriousness of the stupid on-air action of bravado taken by the trio, and the supremacy of the Supreme Court in maintaining law and order in the country.

Are the signatories aware that by their mischievous and childish action they are weakening the Supreme Court hence unknowingly bringing about breakdown of law in the country? Are they also aware that any ordinary judge can cause the arrest of a President of a nation if the President commits any serious crime against his/her country?

The Supreme Court has the absolute right to cause the imprisonment of a President of a nation if the President was found to have committed a serious crime against the State, his constitutional immunity notwithstanding.

If you play with fire, fire will burn you! This is the present situation of the Montie trio. They thought they could play with fire without getting singed.

They should have been sentenced to more months in imprison than the four they are complaining bitterly about. There are some people who have been incarcerated for years and others serving life sentences. They are happily coping with their situation without complaining. These three yobbos have barely started a four-month jail term and they are weeping tears of crimson  naniema kalenkalen. Now, the trio have realised that khaki no be leather, as a Nigerian would say.

Rockson Adofo
Over the past two decades, Russia's efforts to regain its Soviet-era influence in Africa have achieved little success because "times have changed significantly, for example, a new economic and political environment, new emerging challenges, new competitive conditions and new bases for cooperation," according to Nataliya Zaiser, a Public Policy Advisor at Squire Patton Boggs Moscow office covering Russia, the Eurasian Union and Africa, and also the Chair (Head) of the Africa Business Initiative.

Since March 2016, Zaiser has been the Chair (Head) of Africa Business Initiative (ABI), created with the support of Russian businesses as a platform for the humanitarian, economic and legal expertise, aimed at strengthening relations between Russia and Africa. The main goal of this organization - to unite the efforts in promoting and supporting the interests of Russian businesses within the framework of broader international cooperation on the territory of the African continent.

In this exclusive interview, Nataliya Zaiser explains some of the aspects of the current Russia-African relations, problems and challenges, and its future perspectives with Kester Kenn Klomegah, an independent research writer on Russia-African affairs, in Moscow.

Interview excerpts:

Q:As one of the participants at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF) held from June 16 to 18, what were some of the significant questions raised during the Roundtable discussions on Russia and Africa?

A:The round table was very interesting. Both sides (Russian and African) demonstrated a strong desire for cooperation. We talked about some specifics: about the main economic sectors that various African countries are interested in most; about business diversification away from a focus on mining and oil and gas towards infrastructure projects, telecommunications and biotechnologies.

We spoke on the need to encourage the participation of small and medium size businesses in Africa; on bilateral cooperation; on the importance of the legal aspects of all these and on improving the system of legal regulation of projects, from customs and tax matters to the export licenses. The panelists also touched on enhancing cooperation with Africa in the global fight against drugs and epidemiological diseases, and combating terrorism. We listened to the companies that are active and successful on the continent; they shared some of their experiences, particularly good practice in building business relationships.

Q:Why Russia's efforts to regain its economic influence have achieved little success, why soft power is softer than Soviet days?

A:We should not say whether the power is "softer" or "harder" than in the days of the Soviet Union. It's just different. Times have changed significantly. New economic and political environment, new challenges, new competitive conditions, new bases for cooperation. People are different, minds are different, technologies are different. In all that, we have to find absolutely different approaches and strategies to building business relationships. What remains the same is a will, a very loyal mutual attitude between Russia and African countries and strong desire to push forward these mutual efforts.

Q:In your expert view, looking at Russia's economic power, its global status and as a staunch member of BRICS bloc, how would you assess its current investment and business engagement with Africa?

A:Many organizations are trying to solve local problems and find ways for business cooperation with the African continent. The issue of investment looms, perhaps, particularly large. I think that in cooperating with African states, organizations can be guided by an approach of shared responsibility, including the financial aspects. Russia is clearly showing that open partnership with and support of Africa remains a priority. In the current conditions, it will seek ways of co-financing, co-investment and co-partnership. There may also be opportunities too for international partnerships, whether BRICS or any other groupings, formal or otherwise, on African projects.

Q:Some policy experts have attributed Russia's economic policy setbacks to the lack of a system of projects and business financing. For instance, China has set up China Africa Development Fund as one major source of support and implementing its projects in Africa. What are your views about this?

A: Russia has developed a number of business councils for cooperation both with individual African countries as well as with its own regions and neighbours. For Africa in particular, the Africa Business Initiative (ABI) offers the chance of a consolidated approach, and an independent organization that can work with the business community in Russia and at the same time combine the interests of the diplomatic community, the state, academic views and so forth.

Q:At this stage when Russia is feverishly struggling to raise its economic profile through dialogues and consultations at the state level, do you suggest that Russia's financial institutions, especially the banks, get involved in financing corporate projects on the continent?

A: Investors and lenders today understand the potential benefits of investing in emerging markets like African countries. They also understand the critical importance of addressing the political and economic risks that may accompany an investment in such markets. This is the work, which needs to be carried out. MIGA (Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency) is one of the biggest international organizations, for example, that helps investors and lenders to deal with such risks by insuring eligible projects against losses.

In Russia, there is EXIAR (The Russian Agency for Export Credit and Investment Insurance) which was established in late 2011 as Russias first ever export credit agency. I am sure it has big potential and expect that they will look closely at African projects to support Russian business and guarantee the insurance and safety of their investments. In any case, for a start, it is important that Russia becomes a member or starts cooperation with key major African organizations, such as the African Development Bank, the African Union, the NEPAD, etc. That will significantly extend the boundaries for Russian-African business opportunities.

Q:We have been talking about economic diplomacy between Russia and Africa. And its also important to look at the relations as a two-way road. Could you please explain the possible reasons why Africa business is extremely low or completely absent, compared to Asian countries, in the Russian Federation?

A: This is a good question that I want to address to you as the representative of the African diaspora (smiles). Of course, this is a bilateral cooperation. Russia is open. Africa has much to offer Russia, which is a large country and has excellent prospects in the regions, many of which are developing very rapidly and are ready to accept new partnerships, and discuss forms of cooperation. Moreover, Russian regions are facing similar problems with several African countries: the development of the agricultural sector, technological investment and progress which will support a rise in the standard of living of the population. There is a good case for creating a specific program (a roadmap if you will) for cooperation between African countries and the Russian regions.

Q:As an expert with the reputable U.S. law firm, what would you say about the prospects of Eurasian Economic Community (Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Armenia and Kyrgyzstan). Explain further what African countries can make out of this economic bloc.

A: Theres often a compelling case for neighbouring countries to get together and engage in some kind of union because it can facilitate and stimulate trade relations, reducing barriers without overloading them with tax and customs issues, bureaucratic procedures and other things that may mitigate mutual economic progress. I am sure Africa will take an active part in working with the Eurasian Union as with other international or supra-national organizations and alliances because this kind of cooperation opens the gates to wider initiatives.

Of course, as a global firm our trade practice in particular is a leading advisor on international economic and commercial initiatives  the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership and Trans-Pacific Partnership are two obvious ones that spring to mind. Squire Patton Boggs works globally, with a powerful geographic reach of 46 offices in 21 countries. We advise clients on a wide range of legal and public policy matters.

As for Africa, by the way, we have a dedicated Africa Practice inside the firm which involves numerous specialist teams and industry groups and individual lawyers and public policy advisors who actively work with clients across the continent. With an understanding of key legal, economic and political issues that surround doing business in Africa we have established ourselves as a premier firm for Africa-based transactions offering in-depth market knowledge, extensive experience and unique transactional and public policy combination that helps companies to achieve their African business strategies.

Q:Finally, tell us more about the newly created Africa Business Initiative (ABI), why it has become necessary at this time, its primary roles or tasks and its overall future plans?

A:The Africa Business Initiative (ABI) was launched and initiated primarily by businesses in Russia. The concept behind this is to develop a focal point for the promotion of business interests which would consolidate the efforts of existing structures: the diplomats, scientists, academics, consultants and so on. The key participation of Russias Institute for African Studies, as a serious platform for research, analysis and database, means that we can add significant insight to the actual experience of corporations that are successfully working on the ground.

The main goal is to create a pool of economic expertise aimed at revitalizing the "chemistry" in African-Russian business relationships. It has been widely acknowledged many times that Africa is on the path towards economic prosperity. The economies of many African states are becoming more balanced and there have been a lot of institutional transformations. We need to fundamentally accelerate the approach, backed by a program of long-term trade, geo-economic relations and strategy that would keep pace with the ambitions of individual states. What African continent needs now is the broad development of infrastructure, agriculture, consumer goods, health care and information technology.

The Africa Business Initiative (ABI) can help outline an approach for Russian companies to come to the African market as a whole, as reliable business partners. Through this framework, it will be able to consolidate the interests of companies in different sectors; to address and promote the development of a common position on a whole range of issues; to establish joint strategic initiatives and to expand its presence in the investment field. The task is not to duplicate or simulate the activity of state bodies.

The participation of and partnership with the Institute for African Studies is very important. Historically, the Institute has been and remains the alma mater for many Africans. It has the most powerful research base in Russia, a deep knowledge about developments on the continent. Education and increasing awareness among Russian businesses is key. To understand the features of successful business in Africa, people should be well-versed in the social and political organization of all African countries, especially in their internal relationships, geographical peculiarities, and culture, in legislation, public administration, and so on.

The role of the Institute, as a partner to Africa Business Initiative (ABI), is to provide maximum assistance. Good knowledge of the legal field, regulation, competent interaction with decision-makers and government structures of African states - all these constitute the key to a mutually beneficial and balanced cooperation. The international experience and global presence of the Squire Patton Boggs, which is also one of the members of the Africa Business Initiative (ABI), allows us to assist businesses in the broader international cooperation, involving foreign colleagues and contacts that are interested in doing business in Africa. Interview by Kester Kenn Klomegah. (END)
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The opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP) has served notice that it would not sit down for any individual or group of persons to rig the 2016 general election, which they are confident of winning, urging the Electoral Commission (EC) to show transparency in its activities.

This follows attempts by the EC to use an untested electronic system of transmitting results of the upcoming elections from the polling stations to the EC's headquarters rather than what was agreed on at an earlier Inter-Party Advisory Committee (IPAC) meeting.

The Campaign Manager of the NPP, Peter Mac Manu had raised concerns about the new system.

Not long thereafter, the General Secretary of the ruling National Democratic Congress (NDC), Johnson Asiedu Nketia, organised a press conference at which he virtually assumed the position of a spokesman for the EC in an attempt to rationalise its (EC's) decision, claiming that the NPP wanted to sabotage the electoral process.



Expose

But at a press conference in Accra yesterday, Acting General Secretary of the NPP, John Boadu exposed the false claims by the NDC. What the EC plans to do now  that is the electronic transmission of the results from the polling stations  is radically different from what was proposed by the Electoral Reforms Committee and agreed upon with the political parties and other stakeholders and the EC, he argued.

He insisted that what the EC is seeking to do now is a radical departure from what was agreed upon based on consensus.

Mr John Boadu therefore took solace in the EC's own statement while reacting to the concerns raised by Mr Mac Manu. The commission emphasised, It is recommended that hand-held scanners should be used to scan constituency collation forms that contain the polling station results and sent electronically and directly to the National Collation Centre. The hard copies would be sent physically to the Head Office of the EC.

For the NPP, This means that what we proposed as a departure from the past was for the certified collation sheet, containing all the results from the polling stations, to be scanned and e-transmitted, but to be later on authenticated by a hard copy being sent to the National Collation Centre.

The NPP said it was therefore alarmed at the new dimension being smuggled in by the EC as captured in its own 'request for expression of interest' which was published in the media, part of which reads: The Electoral Commission of Ghana intends to use ICT to run in parallel with its existing system of transmitting election results.

Accordingly, the Commission invites eligible firms to express their interest in the provision of the following services:

Supply, installation and support appropriate ICT products and logistics for direct capture of polling station election results at about 29,000 polling stations;

Supply, installation and support appropriate ICT products and logistics for real time direct transmission of presidential and parliamentary polling station election results to Constituency Collation Centres.

Concerns

That, according to the NPP Acting General Secretary, meant that The EC on its own, without consulting IPAC, has gone ahead to extend e-transmission to all 29,000 polling stations.

He therefore noted, It would have been irresponsible on our part not to raise concern over this departure.

If the NDC was part of this decision we were not invited to that discussion.

Transparent

Mr John Boadu insisted, We believe what needs to be done is for all interested parties, especially the EC, to stick to collective decisions and implement them in the manner agreed upon. And if it becomes necessary for modifications to be made, the EC must be honest, professional and transparent enough to inform stakeholders. This is what transparency, fairness and inclusivity are all about as far as the electoral process is concerned.

This becomes very important to us now, in view of the experiences of 2012, where STL admitted it was contracted to electronically transmit results as backup, but the EC denied ever contracting STL to transmit results of the elections, only for the Minister of the Interior, Prosper Bani to claim over three years later that STL was indeed contracted for that exercise without our knowledge. We cannot afford revisiting mistrust in 2016, he emphasised.

STL has since denied this allegation.

Determination

He said, We have always been consistent in our determination in ensuring that the nation always goes through a transparent and fair electoral process that delivers credible elections, which outcomes are acceptable by all interested parties.

This is a determination that will never be compromised for consideration, and more so, we seek to ensure that the true will of suffering Ghanaians, who are determined to see a change in government, is not compromised through any dubious means.

Mr John Boadu served notice, We will not allow 2016 elections to be rigged!

He added, It is important to bring to the fore that as we gradually inch towards the December 7 presidential and parliamentary elections, we are being carefully guided by the events of the 2012 elections, as they were showcased to the shock of discerning Ghanaians during the Presidential Election Petition trial at the Supreme Court. We want to reassure the suffering masses that the NPP will do all it can to ensure that the 2016 elections shall not be rigged.

By Charles Takyi-Boadu
Three-time presidential nominee Dr Papa Kwesi Nduom, will never be the President of Ghana in his lifetime, political science lecturer at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), Dr Samuel Adugyamfi, has said.

I know that Papa Kwesi Nduom will not win elections in Ghana in this very short time [and] maybe not in his lifetime, thats my position, the social historian said.

He told Executive Breakfast Show host Prince Minkah on Class91.3FM on Friday August 5: As we speak now we know, on the personal level  and this is not anecdotal  that it will take a certain magic wand, or a certain  if you like  change in atmosphere, a divine involvement to see Papa Kwesi Nduom win elections in 2016. It is not possible.

Dr Nduom on Thursday August 4 named former beauty queen Brigitte Dzogbenuku as his running mate for the 2016 elections. He is hoping to rally support among women with his choice of the female entrepreneur. However, Dr Adugyamfi said irrespective of Dr Nduoms selection of a female running mate, he would not win the presidency.

The successful businessman and chairman of Groupe Nduom said a few months ago that the 2016 polls would be his last if he was unable to win the presidency.

Dr Adugyamfi is not the only analyst to have concluded that Dr Nduom will never be president of Ghana despite his qualification. Financial analyst Sydney Casely-Hayford also said on Saturday April 30 on Citi FMs current affairs and news analysis programme The Big Issue that: Im a big fan of PPP [Progressive Peoples Party]. I think Papa Kwesi Nduom is the president that this country will never have. He should be the right person to guide this country forward, but unfortunately he wont have it because the groundswell that they need to do it is not going to come very easily and overnight.

Dr Eric Opoku-Mensah, a lecturer in political communication and presidential rhetoric at the University of Cape Coast, had also told Prince Minkah on Class91.3FM on Monday July 18, that it would be a tall order for Dr Nduom to win the presidency this year.

I think Dr Nduoms political communication is quite relevant in view of Ghanas economic situation at the moment. He has shown by example that privatisation should lead the transformation of the economy. And not only has he done this through his rhetoric, but he has shown by example. We are aware of the fact that Dr Nduom is probably the only presidential candidate who has businesses in every region of this country and that is admirable, that is significant. So, this is not a person who speaks just to get people to follow him but in terms of practicality, he has used his own business as an example of what he wants to see Ghana become. But the larger question is, is this enough to really get people to move away from the two dominant political parties, i.e. the NDC and the NPP? I am not very sure about that. Even though quite a number of people may be sympathetic to the logical argument being espoused by Dr Nduom, from my point of view and survey, I do not think that it constitutes enough to allow people to shift to make that major decision to ignore the NPP and the NDC. And I think that if Dr Nduom really has a great potential in all of these, I think what it actually brings to the deliberation table is bringing new ideas and challenging the status quoin terms of refining their ideas about businesses and how to transform Ghana. But I am not sure that Ghanaians are ready to make that major shift. If Dr Nduom has time, in terms of life and strength, we can talk about this happening after 2016, I dont think Ghana as at now is ready. I am very sympathetic to his political cause, I think he is one of the fine candidates with real tangible ideas, workable ideas, but Ghanaians getting ready to make that major shift, I am not sure about that at least for 2016.
Johannesburg (AFP) - The African National Congress (ANC) reeled from bruising local election results Friday as South African voters drift away from the celebrated party that led the anti-apartheid struggle.

With about 90 percent of the nationwide vote counted, the ANC was ahead overall but recorded its worst electoral performance since white-minority rule fell 22 years ago.

The party once led by Nelson Mandela was on 54 percent -- sharply down from 62 percent in the last municipal elections in 2011.

On Friday morning, it conceded defeat to the opposition Democratic Alliance (DA) party in Port Elizabeth, an industrial city that was a key battleground of Wednesday's election.

The two parties were in a close fight for Pretoria, the capital, and Johannesburg, the country's economic centre, with the ANC set to lose its outright majorities in both cities.

"We know it's a tight race but I can assure you that we will emerge victorious in Tshwane (Pretoria), we will emerge victorious in Johannesburg," Jackson Mthembu, ANC chief whip in parliament, told reporters, striking an upbeat tone.

But losing Port Elizabeth was a humiliating blow for the ANC as the municipality is officially known as "Nelson Mandela Bay" in tribute to its past as a hotbed of anti-apartheid activism.

"The fall in support has been dramatic, in levels never seen before," political analyst Somadoda Fikeni told AFP.

"The poor performance, particularly in urban metros, points to declining support among the middle class.

"These voters are concerned about the issues affecting the economy and unemployment."

The results were seen as a marker ahead of the next general election due in 2019, which will include the presidency. President Jacob Zuma will not stand again after serving the maximum two terms.

According to official results on Friday morning, the DA was on 26 percent with the radical leftist Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) on eight percent.

- Zuma under pressure? -

"We are buoyant as we await the newest results that come in," the DA said in a statement.

"It is clear that South African voters have identified strongly with the DA."

The election was widely seen as a referendum on Zuma, who has been plagued by a series of scandals and court cases since taking office in 2009.

An unemployment rate of 27 percent and GDP growth at zero percent this year have added to his woes as frustration builds among poor black communities seeing scarce improvements since apartheid fell.

Zuma, 74, retains deep loyalty within the party and in many rural areas, but he could step down before his term ends in 2019.

"All of this points at Zuma, ultimately the buck stops with him," Fikeni said.

"The corroded moral authority of the ANC under Zuma is one of the factors, and his name keeps featuring in major political scandals."

With 93 percent of the nationwide vote counted, final results were due out later Friday for Johannesburg and Pretoria.

Contesting its first local poll after bursting onto the scene in the 2014 general election, the far-left EFF -- led by the charismatic Julius Malema -- could emerge in the influential role of kingmaker.

"(Our score) gives us a lot more decision-making and negotiating power," Mandisa Mashego, a senior EFF official, told reporters.

"We are not opposed to coalitions except with the governing party."

The EFF, which won six percent of the national vote in 2014, advocates land redistribution without compensation and the nationalisation of mines.

Turnout was about 58 percent as voters chose mayors and other local representatives responsible for hot-button issues including water, sanitation and power supplies.

Problems providing such basics trigger regular and sometimes violent "service delivery" protests in South Africa, where harsh socio-economic divisions remain a grim legacy of the apartheid era.
The Writer

05.08.2016 LISTEN

Most English Language words or phrases are French  a language of love, thus the saying, speak English, study law and kiss French.

The dust doesnt seem to be settling on the Montie trio: petitions have been written and presented, anti and pro-movements have arisen and the President is in dilemma, hence this article.

Every leader must be good at one thing  communication. President John Dramani Mahama has this wit. President John Dramani Mahama during his time as MP, Bole-Bamboi spent time to express his views constructively on various matters: governance, corruption, economy, lifestyle and the media.

Aide Memoire

Mahamas Hammer and Hammering Mahamas Hammer. The former was the title of Mr. John Mahamas newspaper column and the latter was an article by Calus Von Brazi. Calus Von Brazi acknowledged how constructively Mr. Mahama expressed his views in his column.

The President is in Dilemma (October 23, 2003). This article referred to how then President Kufuor was in dilemma as to how to implement his declaration for zero tolerance of corruption. The above article gave pieces of information about perceived notions of corruption and it expressed views about how President Kufuor and his administration portrayed themselves as saints, and as such had no skeletons of corruption in their cupboards.

In that article, Mr. John Mahama stated that, Papa Owusu Ankomah, then Minister of Justice and Attorney General, had declared that theres no corruption in the NPP administration and all the allegations of corruption were orchestrations of political opponents. The author further expressed his view that the tolerance or otherwise of corruption is determined by the diligence and quickness of the authorities in dealing with the allegation.

It is normal to be in dilemma. Certainly, Mr. John Dramani Mahama is in dilemma: hes torn between interfering in another arm of government in the name of party members and letting the contemnors to the wolves to uphold the sanctity of the justice system. What will he do?

Hammering Mahamas Hammer (October 25, 2003). This was an article that followed after the article, The President is in Dilemma In this article, Calus Von Brazi spoke loftily of Mr. John Dramani Mahama, then MP, Bole-Bamboi. He described him as follows: the darling of the media, objectivity personified, and threat to the NPP. In fact, in 2008 he was really a torn in the flesh of the NPP.

Mr. John Dramani Mahama didnt threaten the lives of judges who sat on matters that involved his colleagues who were standing trial for one supposed crime or the other against the state. Mr. Mahama set the bar high in his discourses both on radio and in his articles.

With all these praises, will Mr. President condone the lawless acts of indiscipline by some of his party members? I am certain that the spots on the leopard will not change, not even with the desire to get internal party support for a second term will cause that.

Public Communication

It is an act that is guided by ethical theories. Theories are abstract unless they are practicalised. The ethics that guide the act of communicating publicly include: Aristotles Golden Mean Principle, Emmanuel Kants Categorical Imperative (Deontology), Mills Principle of Utility (Teleology): Judeo-Christian philosophy and Rawls Veil of Ignorance: (Contractualism).

These theories define how analysis of communication should be done. Each of these theories is based on morality in the following ways: reasonable and rational actions, sense of duty and universality, seeking the interest of the greatest number, the concept of love for one another and justice without fear or favour.

The above really comes to play when political communicators see their political opponents as fellow Ghanaians; hence maligning, slandering or lynching them does not enhance peaceful co-existence. In an article, Of free speech and Presidential Courtesis (September 18, 2003), then MP, Bole-Bamboi Mr. John Mahama stated how Mr. Johnson Asiedu Nketia, then MP, Wenchi East was nearly lynched because he criticised the then governments cocoa spraying exercise - a case of political indiscipline.

Theres the need to take political discourse on radio and television to the next level  a sense of respect for one another and state institutions, objectivity and truthfulness, and stating a partys view on national policies rather than doing a hatchet job on political opponents.

The Rise of Movement

The jailing of the Montie Trio sparked two groups  those who wish the trio be pardoned and those whore against it. Its democracy. Its beautiful. The movement for the pardon of the trio is seeking one million signatures and the others are seeking two million.

All said and done, Tinny once said, be ni tsina kpe jwe be mi kwe to wit, Im watching as the cow chews grass

The writer is a freelance journalist.

[email protected]/[email protected]
Governments decision to sign and ratify the Stepping Stone Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) with the European Union will benefit both parties, William Hanna, the EU Ambassador has said.

"This new agreement will provide a long term predictable framework to help increase trade and investment. It is a win/win deal for Ghana and the European Union. Ghanaian exporting companies will preserve the duty-free preferences on the European market that today make them competitive.

This means no quotas and no duties on all Ghanaian exports to the European market. This will protect thousands of jobs in Ghana, mainly in the agricultural sector. It will also encourage new investment to create more jobs in the future. In recent years Ghana has shown that it is competitive in the EU market. As Ghana moves to consolidate its status as a middle income country, Europe will continue to partner it on its journey to create prosperity and

sustainable development. This agreement is a stepping stone to new and dynamic relations between Ghana and the European Union, he said.

Exporters to the EU market in the cocoa, tuna and fruit industries made a strong case for the signing of the agreement, saying if the country does not sign their businesses will collapse and the thousands of people they employ will go jobless.

In the cocoa sector, for example, where the EU happens to be the largest importer of processed and semi-processed cocoa from Ghana, a 6.1% import tariff will apply to cocoa liquor, 4.2% to cocoa butter, 2.5% on cocoa powder, 19.4% on every box of banana if the country does not sign the agreements.

In Ghana, the Economic Partnership Coalition - a group of civil society actors - has been pestering government to do a cost/benefit analysis to determine whether signing or not doing so is better for the country.

While negotiations for a regional EPA were still on-going, an interim agreement was initialled in December 2007 by Ghana and the EU. This interim agreement allowed Ghana to avoid any disruption of its exports to the EU after January 1, 2008, the end date for the trade provisions of the Cotonou agreement signed in June 2000.

From October 2016, Ghana will continue to enjoy duty-free and quota-free access to the EU only on the basis of ratifying the interim EPA or entry into force of regional EPA.

As is the case for the interim EPA, the regional EPA currently under political validation provides duty-free and quota-free access to the EU market for an unlimited period for all imports originating in Ghana.

In return, Ghana and other West African countries are expected to gradually liberalise 75% of their imports from the EU over 20 years.

Decision to sign and ratify

In the run up to the debate in Parliament, many companies who are today engaged in exporting to the European market made a strong case for the EPA. However there were also calls for a cost benefit analysis to be carried out.

In fact, such an analysis was made in 2015, when the World Bank carried out a detailed study assessing the Economic Impact of the ECOWAS CET and Economic Partnership Agreement on Ghana.

This study showed that the EPA is estimated to increase profitability for 77 percent of firms in the manufacturing sector, mainly through lower input prices and prices for capital equipment. An estimated 84 percent of workers in the manufacturing sector are employed by firms that benefit from implementation of the EPA.

As benefits occur mainly through lower prices for imported inputs and capital equipment, rather than higher output prices, there is no harm to consumers and there is potential for a longer-term boost in productivity and growth. This is consistent with the focus of the EPA being to target tariff reductions on inputs and intermediate products which favours local manufacturers.

The study predicts that there may be some profit losses for some firms, yet very few manufacturing firms become unprofitable as a result. As the liberalization takes place very gradually over many years, firms will have the time to upgrade and restructure in order to adjust to the new environment.

Continued duty-free access to the EU market particularly benefits many of the priority sectors in Ghanas National Export Strategy, 2013-17. The priority sectors include processed cocoa products, fruit and vegetable products, and fish.

The EPA also foresees EU support to help firms become competitive and take advantage of the new opportunities it opens. The EU including its 28 Member States are providing the equivalent of US$500 Million per year in official development assistance to Ghana, in areas such as private sector development, trade facilitation, fiscal transition and competitiveness.

Although the stepping stone agreement only applies to Ghana, both the EU and West Africa have committed to the success of the regional EPA and continue to work towards the completion of the signature and ratification process with countries in the region. The EPA promotes regional integration, intra-regional trade and regional value chains.

Experts believe that the regional integration will enable Ghana and its West African neighbours to take advantage of the opportunities of globalisation and to make progress both in terms of inclusive growth, diversification of productive activities, and decent jobs.
05.08.2016 LISTEN

The real estate investment and finance markets in most developing countries are generally undeveloped, and Ghana is no exception. Housing for instance is usually financed by individuals and households using sweat equity over a period of time, often between 5 to 15 years for the average Ghanaian.

In contrast, mortgage finance is available and relatively cheaper and easy to access in most developed economies like the US, UK, and Denmark. Besides the institutional changes (legal, information, economic, cultural and religious, e.t.c), affordability problems and macroeconomic instability, the scarcity of long-term sources of funding remains a hurdle in the quest to developing well-functioning real estate investment and finance markets, which are characteristically capital intensive.

Innovation is in view and we have now reached an era when it is possible to contribute and create the conditions to establish a well functioning real estate investment market acting on several issues and establishing some critical tools useful for this development. In particular, the establishment of a REIT regime may be useful to offer an investment platform that is currently underdeveloped and almost missing in the market.

A REIT is an acronym for real estate investment trust, which is either a publicly or privately traded company that mainly hold real estate assets for investment purposes and, after paying 9095% of profits in dividends and meeting some requirements, they obtain an exemption from corporate taxes. For this reason, these vehicles may be attractive to not only local investors but also to foreign private and institutional investors considering investing in Africas real estate and Ghanas real estate in particular.

Currently, the HFC REIT, which was established in the early 2000s is the only of its kind in Ghana. The HFC REIT has been pivotal in funding the mortgage lending activities of the HFC bank, which hitherto was the market leader.

REITs are important for many reasons. First, a well functioning investment market is normally built on the separation between ownership and use of assets. Thus, non-real estate companies such as banks, insurance companies, and manufacturing firms beside others that own their own offices and industrial buildings may realise the potential of sale and lease back deals through which they could free important amounts of capital to be reinvested in the core-business. Second, varieties of REITs such as mortgage REITs, equity REITs and hybrid REITs would expand the investment universe for investors, especially institutional investors like pension funds and insurance companies that have long-term investment horizons. Third, given the high standards required for the assets to be included in their portfolio, this may also lead to a renovation of the real estate stock which may represent an opportunity for value added investors. Last but not the least, for small investors who are interested in real estate returns but cannot meet the capital requirements, REITs offered them an opportunity to own a share in the real estate company.

The investment supply problem is often a legal one. Even though, REITs may be useful for real estate investment and finance market development, it lacks a legal framework in Ghana. In 20012, the Director-General of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) noted a move by his outfit to establish the rules and regulations to develop the Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) industry to create a strong link between the capital market and the real-estate sector, which is yet to materialized.

It is worth-noting that while the development of the real estate sector is fundamental to a countrys development, finance and investment is the grease of the development wheels. REITs therefore have a strategic role for developing the needed finance.

Kenneth Donkor-Hyiaman, MPhil(Cantab)

Research Fellow, Property & Planning Institute of Technology (PPIT)

Managing Partner, MeTis Brokers (a private equity real estate investment and management firm),
Experts from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Ohio State University, and the Global Alliance for Rabies Control are in Ethiopia August 1-12 to provide training hosted by the Ethiopian Public Health Institute (EPHI) to 20 animal health and human health surveillance officers from Addis Ababa, Oromia, Tigray, and Amhara regions. The participants will become familiar with animal rabies surveillance, including how to assess if an animal is rabid, how long animals suspected of rabies should be quarantined, how to safely capture animals who may be rabid, and the guidelines for data collection and reporting.

We are fortunate to have partners for human health and for animal health engaged together in the prevention and control of rabies in Ethiopia, said Dr. Lucy Boulanger, CDC Ethiopias program director for Global Health Security. Developing capacity for detection, prevention, and control of rabies could improve the ability to detect, prevent, and control a new disease for Ethiopia.

The Federal Ministry of Health (FMOH) and the Federal Ministry of Livestock and Fisheries (FMOLF) are working together through the Global Health Security Agenda (GHSA) to improve detection, prevention, and response to priority zoonotic diseases, such as rabies. Rabies is common throughout Ethiopia, affecting dogs, humans, and wildlife. After a bite by an infected animal, rabies almost always leads to death if left untreated. However, with improved surveillance and laboratory confirmation, communities in Ethiopia could reduce the number of animals with rabies and reduce the risk to humans.

The rabies surveillance training is part of a comprehensive portfolio of activities to reduce the impact of rabies and to reduce the zoonotic disease that most often impact people in Ethiopia. In addition to surveillance training, two EPHI laboratory technicians received advanced training on rabies testing at the CDC in Atlanta in May 2016. CDC experts will provide introductory diagnostic training to laboratory technicians from the National Reference Lab at EPHI and selected regional health bureaus in September 2016. Finally, CDC experts are providing technical assistance on rabies vaccine to ensure that a prevention strategy is also in place.

GHSA is an effort by nations, international organizations, and civil society to accelerate progress toward a world safe and secure from infectious disease threats and to promote global health security as an international priority.
05.08.2016 LISTEN

The Board of Directors of the Ghana National Petroleum Corporation (GNPC) has appointed two Deputy Chief Executives for Exploration & Production, and Commercial and Corporate Services.

The appointments are part of the continuous roll-out of GNPC's evolving organisational structure, in line with corporate strategy and future direction.

Thomas Manu is appointed Deputy Chief Executive for Exploration and Production, with oversight of the Projects, Geosciences, Engineering and Research Technology & Development directorates.

An Exploration Geophysicist by profession, Thomas has over 25 years of upstream oil and gas industry experience, and until his appointment, was Director of Operations at GNPC.

His areas of technical expertise include Interpretation of Seismic and Geological Datasets, Basin Analysis, Prospect Definition, Exploration Concepts and Field Development.

Thomas steered the development and progress of GNPC's exploration strategy, acreage promotion strategy and development of all associated policies, including acreage sizes, categorisation of companies and application evaluation criteria, and has been the key technical person for the Ghana Negotiation Team.

Thomas has a Master of Science Degree in Geophysics from the Institute of Exploration Geology Moscow, Russia, and also holds a Master of Business Administration (MBA) from the University of Ghana.

Kwame Ntow Amoah is appointed Deputy Chief Executive for Commercial and Corporate Services, with oversight of the Commercial, Finance and Human Resource directorates, and the Facilities and Procurement departments.

Kwame, until his appointment, was Manager of the Corporate Strategy and New Business Department of GNPC, with over 25 years' experience in corporate strategy formulation and negotiating large scale oil and gas agreements.

He has worked on many high level committees, including the Presidential Committee on the National Petroleum Policy (2008), and chairing the National Gas Pricing Policy Committee (2011). He is currently Chairman of the Board of Directors for GNPC-Technip Engineering Services Limited.

He holds an MBA in General Management from IMD, Lausanne, Switzerland and a BA (Hons) degree in Economics and Statistics from the University of Ghana, Legon.
Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted. Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled. Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy. Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God. Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God. Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.  Matt. 5:3-12 (NIV)

INTRODUCTION

Last week we ended on the fourth Beatitude; Blessed are those who Hunger and Thirst for Righteusness, and indicated that the foundational requirement for all godly living and our spiritual condition depends on our hunger and thirst for righteousness.

Please enjoy the rest of the article and pass it on to others!

5. Blessed are the Merciful: The merciful are full of sympathy and compassion toward those who are suffering either from sin or sorrow. The merciful sincerely want to help ease and eliminate such suffering by influencing people to depend on God for help and to entrust their lives to Jesus Christ. Merciful people also get actively involved in meeting people's needs. By showing mercy to others, we will be shown mercy.

The fifth beatitude will also mean today as O the bliss of the man who gets right inside other people, until he can see with their eyes, think with their thoughts, feel with their feelings, for he who does that will find others do the same for him, and will know that, that is what God in Jesus Christ has done!

6. Blessed are the Pure in Heart: The pure in heart are those who have devoted themselves to God and have been freed from sin's power by God's grace (His undeserved favour, love, help, and enablement). This grace now enables us to please God and bring honour to Him by the way we live. We seek to have the same attitude that God has  a love for what is true and right and hatred of evil. Our heart which includes our mind, will and emotions is in tune with God's heart. This means that our thoughts and desires are pure according to God's standards of holiness. God requires holiness in His followers because He is holy and pure in heart will see God. To see God means to be His child and experience a close personal relationship with Him both now and in His future eternal kingdom.

The sixth beatitude will mean O the bliss of the man whose motives are absolutely pure, for that man will some day be able to see God!

7. Blessed are the Peacemakers: The peacemakers are those who have been reconciled to God that, restored to a right relationship with Him. Peace with God is available to anyone who accepts the sacrifice Jesus made for his or her sins by His death on the cross. Those who truly have peace with God will make every effort to show that peace to others, including our enemies and to bring others into a relationship of peace with God.

The seventh beatitude will mean O the bliss of those who produce right relationships between man and man, for they are doing a godlike work!

8. Blessed are those who are Persecuted Because of Righteousness: People who follow Christ and live according to the principles of God's Word will face opposition and rejection. Those who uphold God's standards of truth, justice and purity, refusing to follow and walk in the ungodly lifestyles of society will be unpopular. We will receive criticism and opposition from the world and at times from those within the church. The Bible teaches that this is a time to rejoice because God reserves a special blessing for those who suffer for His sake and we must beware of the temptation to compromise our faithfulness to God's purposes in order to avoid shame, embarrassment or loss. The principles of God's kingdom never change  .everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted  2 Tim. 3:12. Yet those who suffer and endure persecution because of our devotion and commitment to God are promised a place of honour and reward in God's heavenly kingdom.

It is not likely that death awaits us because of our loyalty to the Christian faith. But insult awaits the man who insists on Christian honour. Mockery awaits the man who practises Christian love and forgiveness. Actual persecution may well await the Christian in industry who insists on doing an honest day's work. Christ still needs His witnesses; He needs those who are prepared, not so much to die for Him, as to live for Him. The Christian struggle and the Christian glory still exist.

The beatitudes paint a comprehensive portrait of a Christian disciple. We see him first alone on his knees before God, acknowledging his spiritual poverty and mourning over it. This makes him meek or gentle in all his relationships, since honesty compels him to allow others to think of Him what before God he confesses himself to be. Yet he is far from acquiescing in his sinfulness, for he hungers and thirsts after righteousness, longing to grow in grace and in goodness. We all need to grow in the beatitudes!

Methodist Hymn 950

1 Blest are the pure in heart,

For they shall see our God;

The secret of the Lord is theirs,

Their soul is Christs abode.

2 The Lord, who left the sky

Our life and peace to bring,

And dwelt in lowliness with men,

Their Pattern and their King

3 Still to the lowly soul

He doth Himself impart;

And for His cradle and His throne

Chooseth the pure in heart.

4 Lord, we Thy presence seek;

May ours this blessing be;

Give us a pure and lowly heart,

A temple meet for Thee.

Amen.

End Note

We see Jesus always with others, out in the human community. His relationship with God does not cause Him to withdraw from society nor is He insulated from the worlds pain. On the contrary, He is in the thick of it, showing mercy to those battered by adversity and sin. He is transparently sincere in all His dealings and seeks to play a constructive role as a peacemaker. Yet He is not thanked for His efforts, but rather opposed, slandered, insulted and persecuted on account of the righteousness for which He stands and the Christ with whom He is identified. Such is the man or woman who is blessed,  that is, he who has the approval of God and finds self-fulfillment as a human being!!

Stay blessed!

Please continue to join us on Asempa 94.7 FM  Sundays 5.30 am., Sunny 88.7 FM  Tuesdays 5:30 am; and Uniiq 95.7 Fm  Saturdays 7:30 pm; for our Radio Bible Study as well as Sunny FM 88.7 FM every Sunday at 3:30 pm. for Hymn and their Stories.
05.08.2016 LISTEN

Nuptial knots are tied every weekend with pomp and pageantry, but few Nigerians are going on a honeymoon. The reasons for this are due to the current economic conditions, the massive wedding expenditure and the disregard for honeymooning to Nigerian destinations.

The fact is that Nigerians believe that honeymoons should be spent in South Africa, Dubai, Seychelles, London and other spectacular tourist hubs in different parts of the world.

Unknown to them, there are pleasant and amazing destinations in the country that can also serve as a perfect honeymoon spot. Jumia Trave l, Africas No 1 hotel booking portal shares exciting honeymoon spots you can visit after your wedding. We assure you that you do not need to break the bank to visit these sites. With these, more Nigerians will be encouraged to honeymoon in the country as well as explore these destinations.

Obudu Mountain Resort, Calabar

Calabar as a destination that holds the tag of the most appealing destination in Nigeria. There is little or no competition about this. So, Calabar readily tops the list of honeymoon spots to visit. It is located close to the Cameroon border in the northeastern part of Cross River State in Obanliku local government area. The accommodation is in the form of chalets and bungalows as well as self-contained suites, lounge and kitchenette.

Kajuru Castle, Kaduna

Kajuru Castle is one of Nigerias hidden tourist destinations that is a perfect honeymoon getaway. It was built in 1978 by a German expatriate. Unique to the castle are its aesthetic designs which make it a very attractive honeymoon spot. In addition to this, it is circled by mountains and lush green ambiance. It is located at about 45 kilometers from Kaduna on the Southern Kachia road and some of the things it offers couples include a swimming pool, lodges and dungeons. Unconfirmed sources say that the castle cost between N240,000 and N350,000 and you can only rent the full castle.

Oguta Lake Holiday complex, Imo

This holiday complex is located in Oguta local government area in Imo state. The lake is the second largest natural lake in Nigeria and it has some wonderful fun activities that make it an interesting destination for those who want to escape from the stress of Lagos. You can book hotels on Jumia travel that are a stone throw from the lake.

Badagry, Lagos

Badagry is perhaps another best place to go after your wedding because it is both a coastal and a tourists town. From the first house in Nigeria to the leftovers of slavery and the many beautiful beaches, makes Badagry a place to visit for everyone including newlyweds.

Millennium Park, Abuja

Zuma rock is the poster attraction of Abuja, Nigerias capital city. You can add this to your itinerary when honeymooning at the Millennium Park which is the largest park in Abuja.
05.08.2016 LISTEN

 If God inspires the rulers of today and the future with the proud vision of true independence which Nkrumah saw as it were from a distance; if citizens of Ghana are inspired to work endlessly for the good of the nation  Ghanas destiny is safe. Let that be our prayer and our sincere commitment. Reverend Peter Barker (British Minister of the Presby Church)

Yesterday, I woke up yet again, to another major attempt at the ever growing phenomenon of transcendental manipulation of the minds of the people of Ghana.

A Pastor Mensah Kobi was reported as advising the NPPs flagbearer to undergo purging as he would otherwise not win the next Presidential election. He cited reasons for the need for purging; amongst which was the purported role of the UP tradition in the overthrow of Dr Kwame Nkrumah. The same Prophet is reported to have advised that the jailing of the Montie 3 was spiritually wrong. Oh dear! We can now confidently predict what the demons will reveal to him as to who to vote for in December 2016.

Before I move to discuss the subject more generally, can I just rhetorically pose the following questions: -

Did God want Osagyefo Dr. Kwame Nkrumah to rule Ghana for the rest of his Life? Was God enjoying the detention of ambitious Ghanaians without recourse to Law or any form of trial? Really? God actually revealed that the UP tradition was involved in the overthrow of Dr Kwame Nkrumah? Then again has God deliberately imposed on Ghana, Mahamas morally bankrupt and incompetent team of iniquity workers merely because the NPP and/or their Flagbearer have not purged themselves? If God is also really queuing up to sign the petition for the release of the Muntie 3 then shouldnt Ghanaians be electing/appointing only prophets as Presidents and Judges? Why do we bother? Because nothing will make sense to the carnal mind, however educated?

In his book Operation Cold Chop, Reverend Peter Barker, a British minister of the Presbyterian Church of Ghana who lived in Ghana throughout the Nkrumah years, reports that Kotoka, Ankrah, Oto and Harlley were the main masterminds behind Nkrumahs overthrow. He further reports that he was overthrown because the majority of Ghanaians had begun to be afraid of arbitrary arrest, tired of the Marxist rhetoric and eager for a new beginning.

It is rather revealing as to how he ends the forward to his book:  If God inspires the rulers of today and the future with the proud vision of true independence which Nkrumah saw as it were from a distance; if citizens of Ghana are inspired to work endlessly for a the good of the nation  Ghanas destiny is safe. Let that be our prayer and our sincere commitment.

It is thus not surprising that Reverend Professor Asante of the Peace Council of Ghana recently felt compelled to express profound concerns about Ghanaian spirituality and reported to have said in an interview as follows: There are Ghanaians who are so obsessed with spirituality that they see demons in the money they handle, in the food they eat; in their marriages; and their children. According to him, it has become so absurd that people go to religious leaders for counselling and expect to be told of demons and spiritual attacks.

It is quite a transcendental misfortune that Pastor Kobi should seek to pontificate as he did and indeed predicate it on untruths. God cannot be that inaccurate nor would he want to lie? Besides he has to be careful uttering such statements in public because it is clearly libellous!

Part of the reason for our underachievement as a Nation has arisen from the predominant Ghanaian mind-set that every difficulty has a spiritual cause. In a large measure, psychologically, mankind finds it easier to accept that ones life is plagued by unseen spiritual forces than to look to oneself for a reasoned resolution of whatever challenges one may be facing. It has been the Achilles heel of Africans since missionary times when our rulers were prepared to give away our precious resources for the Bible. Today a new exploiter has been bred from within, exploiting Ghanaian gullibility for spiritual explanations to perfectly rational occurrences.

The fear of the unknown, particularly death, disease, tragedy and suffering, is the cause of so much panic and anxiety in life, often necessitating for many, especially in Africa, the need to seek spiritual counsel and other. Obviously, in less developed countries, an environment where technology and medical science have been of limited benevolence, reliance on religiosity and spirituality are more exaggerated. This may however be just one school of thought since the most technologically advanced country in the world, namely, the United States of America, is quite a conspicuous exception. Americans are known to be one of the most religious people in the world.

Whilst no one can belittle the emotional and overwhelming impact of mans mortality and other uncertainties, Africans do not seem to have gotten right, the balance that ought to be struck between science and religion.

People in the advanced world have certainly not abandoned the natural human instinct to seek answers beyond the physical however, the balance just seems right. In the U.K., which is fast becoming a secular society with her rapidly dwindling figures for church attendance in predominantly white churches, people still search for answers from very unreliable sources such as Astrology, self-professed psychics and such likes. I was personally intrigued by the performance of a self-professed magician in the just gone Britain has got talent on British television. The magician has such an eerie ability to read minds and even seemed to alter and transform physical things. It is clear in my mind that such a magician can easily pass for a pastor with a massive bank balance if he practised his craft in the motherland!

In the past, deaths caused by underlying illnesses such as unmanaged sickle cell, hypertension and diabetes had been interpreted by Africans as brought on by witchcraft until continued scientific exploration other than spiritual invocation of any sort has brought these diseases under tremendous control. They are no longer as fatal as they were in the past. Recent scientific discovery of the drug Prep, which is able in some 90% of cases, to prevent the develop of HIV into AIDS and/or the transmission of the drug via sexual intercourse after so many Spiritualists have told a variety of lies about their ability to cure the illness makes you wonder whether one should bother about demons at all.

It is interesting to note that in the eyes of notable psychiatrists in the more advanced parts of the world, an overwhelming belief in spirituality may be treated as symptomatic of a mental health condition, although considerable attention has to be paid to the cultural background of the subject.

It is curious that men vested with political power, often with some of the best exposure and education, have frequent recourse to spirituality, when finding the causes of bad fortune. Oko Vanderpuye, one of the ruling governments thinkers and currently the Accra Mayor, recently warned that he would be seeking spiritual assistance in dealing with the fires in or around Vienna City in Accra. The Jury is still out as to whether any such cause was identified or whether any spiritual terrorist has accepted responsibility for it.

In the not too distant past, government spokespersons were blaming unseen dwarfs for the inability of the Cedi to hold her own.

President Mills visit to TB Joshuas synagogue to give thanks to the Lord for his electoral success in 2008 really epitomised the humility of the man but for any alert electorate, that should have raised alarm bells. He even gave testimony in the church and to the world at large as to how the pastor had predicted that he would win elections in three rounds and it all came to pass. If indeed the eminent professor of Law had an unflinching belief in the powers of the Man of God, then it would be right to assume that Ghana was at some point in time, indirectly ruled by unknown pastors and other rulers and principalities. Some of whom may have been in very dark places. Ghana, therefore, must have been left between a black place and indeed a very dark place. It suggests why the late President may even have continued in his Job, in spite of what in the months before his demise, was clearly discernible ill-health. He either was advised by his own folks to stay on regardless or backed and encouraged by possible prophesies about his recovery. It is indeed remarkable that his death however happened on the Spiritual Masters blindside.

Entirely in jest, can I just say that President Mahamas constant references to being ordained of God may well have come from a possible prediction that may have been pronounced over him by a spiritualist. It is curious that he has never professed to being ordained by God to emancipate Ghana from its economic predicament nor to extirpate Dumsor. However, anytime he has prophesied on Dumsor it has failed woefully as it has always been forged. It is quipped that he may simply have gotten the end date to dumsor wrong! It may come to pass but certainly not under his watch.

TB Joshuas recent forays into predicting international developments and even recommending public policies may be impressive and it is not part of my purpose to question it in any remote sense but it is as good as illegal for any elected President of the Republic of Ghana to be running our beloved country on the advice of any prophet of God and to even openly go forth to make a public enunciation of it.

Sadly, a few months back we were astounded by the prediction of a possible terrorist attack on either Ghana or Nigeria. TB Joshua prophesied! All this also followed umpteen prophesies from umpteen prophets, about the possible outcome of elections in Ghana and other African countries, some of whom prophesy differently about the same issues. Curiously, like the Judges in the case of Bush V Gore, the prophets appeared to be predictable as to what it is believed God may have advised them about. They appeared to prophesy in accordance with their political beliefs. The absence of a common message from our prophets throws doubt about the whole phenomenon and/or confirms the undoubted work of charlatans.

Curiously, prophecies either come true or are professed to have been averted by God and it has therefore become impossible to test the validity of prophesies. TB Joshuas prophesy in 2011 regarding the possible breakup of Europe is also rather poignant. One wonders how many of his prophesies have yet to be fulfilled.

Ghanaians will pay prophets for prophecies for revelations on a Court case but will ask his conducting lawyer for reduced fees. Our sense of charity can thus be quite misplaced. His Lawyer has a duty to advise him/her of the merits and he is not under any duty to guarantee an outcome but his negligence in the course of the conduct of his work is actionable or subject to a suit in Court. The pastors prediction is not entirely dissimilar but as against the Lawyer, you have no avenue for complaining against any unfulfilled prophecies. Now they appear to be getting away of breach of confidentiality and even defamation.

Africans therefore need to rise against this spate of prophecies beginning to crowd our public discourse. It is becoming more of a detriment or a scourge, rather than a blessing. A professionally managed prophecy on a Nations security relating to the modern day terrorist should not under any circumstances, have been publicly aired. Rather it should have been communicated privately to the authorities to act on, with some details on where and how the prophecy may come true. That is how psychics in the advanced world operate. In point of fact, they dont just predict willy nilly, but they actually assist in tracing villains. They are usually not seeking the big Glory and the money that African Pastors and spiritualists are seeking.

The reality however, is that the jury may yet still be out, as to whether spiritual power is real, backed up by science or a pure phantom. Until then it really has to be properly managed. Europeans may appear to rely more on themselves in dealing with problems than relying on the spiritual. It leaves very little room for blaming your neighbour, friend or innocent blood relations for affecting your fortunes by some remote and invisible powers.

Let us as a people, rely more on what we have control over as against that over which we clearly dont have control. Proverbs 28:1: "The wicked flee when no one pursues, but the righteous are as bold as a lion."
Running mate of the Progressive People's Party (PPP) Flagbearer, Brigitte Dzogbenuku has explained that she chose the PPP because she believes the party will make the difference for Ghana.

PPP will make the difference for me. There are several things with the PPP that appeal to me. One thing is the discipline and rule of law coming back into this system because we find that that is deeply lacking, Brigitte said.

Speaking on the Citi Breakfast Show, Brigitte also asked electorates to consider the PPP as the best option in the 2016 general election.

According to her, the New Patriotic Party (NPP) and the National Democratic Congress (NDC) have failed to deliver on their mandate hence the need to give the PPP a chance to make a difference in addressing the needs of Ghanaians.

We are pragmatic and we address the needs of the people. There are certain things that other parties do but I ask myself whether those things address the needs of Ghanaians.

If you listen to the other political parties, they are talking about jobs and we know that promises in our political sphere don't always come to pass. The PPP however through Dr. Ndoum has established a company or business in every district so it is not a promise, it is something that exists. If things are run well, they grow. If they grow there is only a possibility of employing more, she said.

Brigitte was named Flagbearer of the PPP on Thursday.

About Brigitte Dzogbenuku

Brigitte lives and works in Accra, and runs her for-profit business, Barclays Clubhouse, in addition to her non-profit organisation.

She served as the General Manager of Aviation Social Centre, a fitness and recreational centre in Accra, for twelve years and revolutionalised the fitness and training regime for Ghanaians.

She writes constantly as well and pens a regular column, 'Manners Matter', in the Ghanaian Weekly and the Mirror. She also served with Ashanti Goldfields Company Limited as Liaison Officer on the Geita Project in Tanzania at the Dar-Es-Salaam office.

She also worked with SC Johnson Wax as a Brands Manager. Brigitte first came into the limelight when she won the Miss Ghana competition in 1991.

She is a Board Member of Enactus Ghana .



By: Marian Ansah/citifmonline.com/Ghana

Follow @EfeAnsah
Workers of the Volta River Authority (VRA) have suspended its planned industrial action to protest moves by government to cede some thermal plants of the company to external parties.

This is according to the Deputy Power Minister, John Jinapor.

The external parties include the AMERI group, Sunon-Asogli and the Ghana Power Generation Company(GPGC).

Mr. Jinapor told the media after meeting with the staff unions of VRA, that the strike had been called off due to plans of a scheduled meeting on 15th August with key stakeholders to address the concerns raised.

There will not be any strike. On the 15th of this month, we shall have a meeting here. The Ministry of Finance will be a part of it, the Board of VRA will be part of it as well as the Energy Commission and some other stakeholders,  he said.

John Jinapor also spoke on the criticisms brought by VRA workers to cede the T3 plant to external parties and revealed plans by the Power Ministry to ultimately return the plant back to the VRA.

Our objective is to strategically position VRA. Our objective is to invest in VRA and get the private sector to partner with them. We are not giving out the T3 plant. We took some decisions to bring in a strategic partner. Ultimately we intend sending the T3 plant to VRA but we haven't made that decision yet, he said.

Notice of strike

Staff of the VRA had served a notice to their Chief Executive, intending to embark on a series of legitimate actions effective Thursday 4th August 2016.

In the notice, VRA also stated thatwe wish to state equivocally that we are vehemently opposed to the overt and covert actions of the Ministry of Power which are in clear breach of section 2, Act 46, which establishes the Authority as an autonomous institution



By: Kwabena Agyare/citifmonline.com/Ghana
woyome

05.08.2016 LISTEN

I dont know why a mega criminal convict like Mr. Alfred Agbesi Woyome thinks that he has any respectable social image and reputation to be able to credibly weigh in on the very appropriate conviction and sentencing of the Montie Three and be actually listened to with all seriousness (See Supreme Court Erred Bitterly on Montie 3  Woyome Graphic.com.gh / Ghanaweb.com 8/2/16).

I suppose this mega-thief also believes that the Supreme Court bitterly erred when it handed down the landmark decision urging him to pay back the GH 52 million that he stole from our national treasury and divvied up with the key operatives of the ruling National Democratic Congress (NDC). Which is why he is able to muster the chutzpah to impugn the professional integrity and credibility of the members of the highest court of the land.

The notorious National Democratic Congress chief underwriter would also do well to explain to the rest of us precisely what he means, when he quizzically asserts that the Apex Court erred bitterly in its decision to convict and sentence Messrs. Salifu Maase, Godwin Ako Gunn and Alistair Tairo Nelson to 4 months imprisonment each.

I suppose what the mega-kleptocrat meant was that the Wood Supreme Court erred egregiously. No wonder then that nearly every legally trained cabinet member of the Mahama government has signed onto the petition seeking to have the President use the powers granted him by Article 72 of the countrys Fourth-Republican Constitution to free the members of the Montie Gang.

They may not know this, but any reckless move made in the latter direction by Mr. Mahama could well plunge the country into a constitutional crisis, with the Supreme Court using the powers granted it in our democratic system of checks-and-balances to impeach the President.

Clearly, what the entire affair means is that the Montie Three Gang was acting on the orders, or on behalf, of some key operatives of the Mahama-led National Democratic Congress when it threatened to rape Chief Justice Georgina Theodora Wood as well as cause the summary liquidation of at least some five other members of the Supreme Court. I hope President Mahama is receiving the proper legal advice, else he would soon be in for deep trouble if he makes any reckless move in this matter.

That the NDC, in its antecedent guise as the Rawlings-led Provisional National Defense Council (PNDC), has a longstanding track-record of persecuting superior court judges, including Mr. Mahamas own recent publicly acknowledged covert collaborative expose of the judiciary, with Mr. Anas Aremeyaw Anas Tiger-Eye PI firm, ought not be lost on the President.

It is also not clear precisely what he means, when Mr. Woyome asserts that the conviction and sentencing of the Montie Three is tantamount to judicial tyranny. Is the greatest white-collar thief in Ghanas most recent postcolonial history implying that using our publicly owned airwaves to scandalize and terrorize our superior court judges a laudable and civilized normative, or standard, practice?

Mr. Woyome also claims that there is absolutely nothing partisan about the petition seeking to have President Mahama nullify the Supreme Courts verdict in the Montie Three case; and yet the certified corporate thief also insists that such a move would be all-too-appropriate because former President John Agyekum-Kufuor used powers granted him under Article 72 of Ghanas Constitution to effect the release of legitimately imprisoned criminal convicts. He does not, however, cite a single instance to buttress his claim: President Kufuor has invoked Article 72 of the Constitution when it mattered for [sic] the NPP. And nobody complained. Really, Fiafito Woyome?!

But, perhaps, the most preposterous aspect of his argument is the claim that the Montie Three convicts showed remorse and thus ought not to have been imprisoned. Is Mr. Woyome not pleading his own ungodly cause here, to wit, that because he has shown remorse  at least in his own blighted imagination  for creaming the Ghanaian taxpayer, therefore he is not obliged to return his mega-pelf? Indeed, it would be far more worth his while to inform the Ghanaian public precisely why Attorney-General Marietta Brew Appiah-Oppong had either flatly refused or woefully failed to flag up the members of the Montie Three Gang, when the latter threatened to rape Chief Justice Wood and assassinate at least five of her associates. Now, lets talk about contract killing.

*Visit my blog at: kwameokoampaahoofe.wordpress.com Ghanaffairs
Johannesburg (AFP) - The African National Congress (ANC) vowed Friday to learn from bruising local election results that showed South African voters drifting away from the party that led the anti-apartheid struggle.

With about 95 percent of the nationwide vote counted, the ANC was ahead overall but recorded its worst electoral performance since white-minority rule fell 22 years ago.

The party once headed by Nelson Mandela was on 54 percent -- sharply down from 62 percent in the last municipal elections in 2011.

On Friday, it conceded defeat to the opposition Democratic Alliance (DA) in Port Elizabeth, an industrial city that was a key battleground of Wednesday's election.

The two parties were in a close fight for Pretoria, the capital, and Johannesburg, the country's economic centre, with the ANC set to lose its outright majorities in both cities.

"We are now going to do an introspective look at ourselves," said Cyril Ramaphosa, vice president of the ANC and the country.

"(Our critics) think that we are arrogant, they think we are self-centred... I would like to dispute that and say we are a listening organisation."

Defeat in Port Elizabeth was a humiliating blow for the ANC as the municipality is officially known as "Nelson Mandela Bay" in tribute to its past as a hotbed of anti-apartheid activism.

"The fall in support has been dramatic, in levels never seen before," political analyst Somadoda Fikeni told AFP.

"The poor performance, particularly in urban metros, points to declining support among the middle-class.

"These voters are concerned about the issues affecting the economy and unemployment."

The results were seen as a marker ahead of the next general election due in 2019.

President Jacob Zuma will not stand again after serving the maximum two terms.

According to official results on Friday, the DA was on 25 percent with the radical leftist Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) on nine percent.

- Zuma under pressure? -

"We are buoyant as we await the newest results that come in," the DA said in a statement.

"It is clear that South African voters have identified strongly with the DA."

The election was widely seen as a referendum on Zuma, who has been plagued by a series of scandals and court cases since taking office in 2009.

An unemployment rate of 27 percent and GDP growth at zero percent have added to his woes as frustration builds among poor black communities seeing scarce improvements since apartheid fell.

Zuma, 74, who was jailed on Robben Island with Mandela during apartheid, retains deep loyalty within the ANC and in many rural areas, but he could step down before his term ends in 2019.

"All of this points at Zuma, ultimately the buck stops with him," Fikeni said.

"The corroded moral authority of the ANC under Zuma is one of the factors, and his name keeps featuring in major political scandals."

Complete results were expected late Friday or Saturday.

Contesting its first local poll after bursting onto the scene in the 2014 general election, the far-left EFF could emerge in the influential role of kingmaker.

"We are happy that the ANC has been punished," charismatic party leader Julius Malema said.

"The writing is on the wall, and (the election in) 2019 is going to be a serious challenge for the ruling party."

The EFF, which won six percent of the national vote in 2014, advocates land redistribution without compensation and the nationalisation of mines.

Turnout was about 58 percent as voters chose mayors and other local representatives responsible for hot-button issues including water, sanitation and power supplies.

Problems providing such basics trigger regular and sometimes violent "service delivery" protests in South Africa, where harsh socio-economic divisions remain a grim legacy of the apartheid era.
05.08.2016 LISTEN

Platinum Montessori Schools located at Anyaa in the Ga Central Municipality in Accra, has recently held its 5th Graduation, Speech and Prize Giving Day with a call on parents to be extra responsible for their children.

This, parents are advised to do by frequently checking on the activities their children engage in, as well as guide them on decision making to enable them become responsible citizens of Ghana.

An official of the Ghana Education Service, Mr. Stephen Karson, who made this call said the best way to raise and build leadership skills in our children is to give them quality and effective education. We must also try and provide them with the materials that will help them to learn faster to be able to face future challenges.

According to him, there are about fifty-seven (57) million children in Ghana who are of school-going age but are still not in school, where as many more cannot read and write. It is important we make the education of our children a priority for they are our future leaders.

He further advised parents to correct their children when they go wrong, encourage them to build on their talents and also praise them when they become successful in an activity.

The Public Relations Officer of the Ministry of Health, Mr. Tony Goodman, who graced the occasion as the Guest Speaker, mentioned that the area of Anyaa has always been recorded to be one of the places disposed to cholera in the Greater Accra region. I will, therefore, plead with parents to be very careful with this by making sure you and your children wash your hands very well with soap under running water before eating, and also eat warm food.

Mr. Goodman also educated mothers on the need to seek early medical attention during pregnancy. This is because most maternal mortality cases recorded in Ghana are as a result of many mothers not attending their antenatal checkup. He added.

The Headmistress and Proprietress of Platinum Montessori School, Madam Beatrice Adoh, in her welcome address expressed her pleasure in supporting the community through education for development.

She revealed that the school participated in the 2015 Western Union MoneyGram Back to School Essay Writing competition and became successful.

Out of the 293 students who participated in the national competition I am glad to inform you that we won the 3rd position and this tells us we are already prepared for the 1st position in the next completion and other national and even international competitions in future. She added

According to her the school, since its establishment in 2010 has trained more than 350 children who continued to excel in their activities where ever they found themselves.

The occasion witnessed personalities like the Chief of Ablekuma, Nii Larbi Mensah (IV) among other traditional authorities in the area.

Activities that took place during at the ceremony included poetry recitals, fashion shows, cultural display, choreography and a cadet parade. Over 50 students from pre-school to JHS received prizes for excellent performances in their academics.
By 6:30 a.m. on 24 June, less than 12 hours after a successful referendum on Brexit (Britains exit from the European Union), South Africas currency, the rand, took the first blow. It plunged by almost 8% from R14.33 to R15.45 against the US dollar, its steepest single-day decline since the 2008 financial crisis.

Brexit sent shock waves through the global markets, including those in Africa.

Investors in African markets panicked because many economies (such as Angola, Nigeria, South Africa, and Zambia) were already reeling from low commodity prices exacerbated by a sluggish global demand. In these countries, Brexit added salt to the wounds of injured economies.

On what happens next, experts are uncertain, and African governments may need to redefine their trade and diplomatic relations with a post-Brexit Britain and Europe.

Trade and investment will be affected most by Brexit. Most of the trade arrangements the UK has with African countries were negotiated through the EU. This means the agreements will cease to apply or will have to be renegotiated when the UK finally leaves the EU, a process that will take two years from the time it officially informs the EU of its intention to pull out.

It will be a difficult time for Africa, as the UK will no longer shape and lead some of the most important initiatives on the African continent that form the basis of co-operation between Europe and the continent. Trade agreements often take considerable time to hash out, and the uncertainty of the intervening period could complicate exports to the UK.

The emerging markets and frontier asset markets will be affected too. South Africa, a former British colony and one of Africas advanced economies, could be hard hit, among others.

In short, South Africas economy suffers whenever the British economy slumps. Many South African companies are listed on both the Johannesburg and London stock exchanges, and several South African banks depend on British cash reserves. Since the country exports 10% of its wines to the UK, for instance, the industry is already bracing for future losses.

Impact on trade

South Africa, the UKs largest African trading partner, will bear the brunt of Brexit.

When Brexit takes effect, considering that the UK is South Africas eighth-largest import and export market in global terms, according to 2015 data, South Africas gross domestic product (GDP) could shrink by 0.1%, setting the economy on a downward spiral, predict Raymond Parsons and Wilma Viviers, professors at South Africas North-West University. Slower economic growth as a result of potentially weaker trade and investment ties with traditional overseas markets means less job creation and yet higher unemployment.

Brexit will cost Britains GDP a cumulative drop of 2.75 percentage points in the coming 18 months, say Jan Hatzius and Sven Jari Stehn, economists working with the investment bank Goldman Sachs. They predict that the GDP could fall to as low as -1%, effectively a recession, described by economists as two consecutive quarters of negative growth.

Larry Fink, chairman of the worlds largest asset management firm, BlackRock, agrees, noting that Brexit could lead to a slowdown in trade with the EU, lower investor confidence and high unemployment.

This is not good news for South Africa and Britains other African top trading partners, particularly Nigeria, Kenya and Egypt.

Nigeria

After South Africa, Nigeria is Britains second-largest African market, with Kenya coming third.

Before Brexit, bilateral trade between Nigeria, Africas largest economy, and Britain was worth about 6 billion ($7.9 billion), and had been projected to reach 20 billion ($26.6 billion) by 2020. With Brexit, that projection looks overly optimistic.

Nigeria is grappling with falling oil prices, its main income source. Crude chemicals and allied materials make up almost a quarter of Nigerias trade with Britain. A potential drop in oil demand coupled with low oil prices could dim the Nigerian economys prospects for recovery.

Tunji Andrews, a Lagos-based economist, says Nigeria cannot rely on the EU to make up for the shortfall in earnings if the British economy goes into a recession.

British government statistics show that investments in Africa doubled between 2004 and 2014, from 20.8 billion ($27.6 billion) to 42.5 billion ($56.5 billion).

Kenya

Kenya, Britains third largest market in Africa, could witness capital flight after Brexit, leading to falling exports. This would weaken the Kenyan shilling and make imports more expensive for a country that has already seen a 10% increase in import bills in the past five years.

Kenyas lucrative cut flower industry, for which Britain is the second-largest export market after the Netherlands, could suffer. A trade deal on flower exports between the East African country and the EU was in the works before Brexit.

If a trade deal between the East African Community and the EU is stalled by Brexit, Kenya stands to lose billions of shillings which could lead to uncertainty for Kenyan exports.

Kenya will now have to negotiate separate deals with Britain and the EUa potentially difficult task. Without such deals, Kenya may lose up to 4 billion Kenyan shillings ($39 million) a month, predicts the Kenya Flowers Association, which represents flower businesses in the country.

Limping economy, less aid

The direct impact on trade aside, Brexit is expected to affect British development aid to Africa. Britain contributed about 409 million ($543 million), or 14.8%, to the European Development Fund (EDF)s 2014 budget, which the EU uses to support development in poor countries. Without Britains contribution, the EDF will have less money, and this will affect EU-funded projects, including road construction projects in countries like Tanzania.

Britain can directly finance projects in Africa through its international aid programmes, such as the Department for International Development, but it can only support a small number of countries, says Kevin Watkins, a Brookings Institution non-resident senior fellow.

A limping British economy with a potentially weakened currency may not continue the current level of assistance to countries such as Ethiopia and Sierra Leone that rely heavily on British aid. In 2014, for example, Britain provided 238 million ($416 million) in aid to Sierra Leone, which was 6.8 % of the countrys economy, according to the World Bank. That same year, Ethiopia received 322 million ($425 million), 0.8 % of Ethiopias economy.

Besides exports and international aid, a sluggish British economy may slow remittances by the African diaspora in Britain. Remittances provide a much-needed cash injection into African economies. In 2014, for example, Nigerian immigrants in Britain remitted $3.7 billion, the most among African immigrants.

Prospects for change

Despite fears that Brexit could dislocate African economies, some experts see positive developments for countries like Libya and Zimbabwe, currently under EU sanctions championed by Britain, according to The Herald, a Zimbabwean daily. With Brexit, the EU might be encouraged to review these sanctions and possibly re-engage with these countries.

Britain will be able to focus more on our bilateral relationships with Africa and with our traditional partners and to really look at Africa for its needs rather than looking at it through the prism of the EU, that is an outdated model that may have fit in the 1970s but is wholly inappropriate now for the UK or a wholly inappropriate way to define the UK-Africa relationship, says James Duddridge, a former British minister for Africa and a Brexit supporter, in an interview with Radio France Internationale. Without the EU, he said, ties between Britain and Africa will get stronger.

Earlier this year, Mr. Duddridge criticised the EUs decision to reduce funding for the African Union Mission in Somali (AMISOM), which is helping to bring peace to that country. The decision was against Britains wishes, he says, adding that Britain could in the future decide to deploy its own troops to Somalia.

The good news is that Africa can actually seek assistance elsewhere. Africas trade with Europe, estimated at $106 billion in 2016, has been eclipsed by Chinas. Worth an estimated $300 billion, China is Africas top trading partner currently.

The World Bank confirms that China became sub-Saharan Africas most important export partner by 2013, accounting for 27% of the regions exports compared with 23% for the EU and 21% for the US. Although at 9%, sub-Saharan Africas exports to India are the fastest-growing globally.

With China, the US, Brazil, India and others strengthening their relations with Africa, the continent could look elsewhere if its ties with Britain or the EU get complicated in a post-Brexit era.

For Africa, therefore, its probably premature to press the panic button.

Africa Renewal
Kenyan authorities must not deport five Taiwanese nationals to China, where they face a real risk of human rights violations, said Amnesty International today.

A judge in Nairobi acquitted today five men who hold Taiwanese passports of internet fraud. In her ruling, the judge ordered that the five who hold Taiwanese passports be returned to Taiwan.

However, 45 other Taiwanese nationals involved in the same case were draped in black hoods and deported to China upon their acquittal in April, despite expressing fears of human rights violations. They are currently undergoing a second trial in China.

Wu Kun-ta, Chang Tsen, Hsieh Chih-huang, Huang Sin-bao, and Wang Chun-chih, were arrested with 45 others in December 2014, and accused of defrauding internet users in China. A large Chinese security contingent was present in court today, ready to collect the accused in the event of acquittal.

The five have been acquitted, so they must be immediately released and allowed their wish to return to Taiwan, said Victor Odero, Amnesty Internationals East Africa Campaigner.

If deported to China, they could face serious violations of their fair trial rights. There is no doubt Kenya cherishes its relationship with China, but by no means should it sacrifice these individuals rights for political expediency, the due process of the law must be respected said Victor Odero.

The right thing to do is to release them and ensure their safe return to Taiwan.
06.08.2016 LISTEN

Human traffickers thrive on apathy of citizens. That is one of the key findings that I came up with as result of the reasons behind parents and guardians giving away their children and wards at ridiculously low prices to be engaged in fishing activities. It costs as low as One Hundred Cedis (roughly US$30) to procure the services of a child-labourer for life.

Ghana is the fourth largest consumer of fish protein in the world (per capita). On the average, each Ghanaian consumes 23 kilogrammes of fish. Much of the fish consumed are caught (or bred) in Ghanaian waters. All these sounds good. However, there is a snag. You may be eating fish caught through exploitation of under-age child-labourer-fishers who have been trafficked because of their families disadvantageous socio-economic situation, ignorance, and apathy.

After two years toiling as a child-labourer on the Volta Lake in Ghana, Robert (not real name) fell sick. The master verbally and physically abused me but I was so sick I couldn?t work,? recalls the now 15-year-old. He knocked me down, dragged me and threw me into the water. My big brother died and I still don't know why.

Rob, Mother And Kid Brother

However, unlike many other victims, Robert was rescued by the family and returned to his home in the coastal fishing community of Elmina in the Central Region but is now terrified of any stranger to the community. He is not able to attend school because he has to mix with other people.

Many countless other child-labourers fare much worse. Many are mere children forced to endure slave-like conditions. And, shockingly, the fruits of their anguish continue to be unwittingly enjoyed by families across the country as delicacies.

Victims of child labour in fisheries typically hail from coastal fishing communities in the Central Region of Ghana. They end up on the Volta Lake area, neighbouring La Cote d?Ivoire, and Benin as child fishers to the neglect of their education and training in their prime. Beatings, starvation and sexual molestation are commonplace.

The issue of Child labour and child trafficking (CLaT) in Ghana is traceable to depletion of marine fishery resources, and the creation of the Lake Volta in the mid-sixties. Children's rights are human rights but this is hardly recognized, let alone respected. One can therefore point fingers at inadequate enforcement of fisheries laws and regulations, inadequate victim support, and inadequate resources for agencies working to curtail the peril.

Overfishing has compounded the problem. Back in 1960s, fishermen in the communities regularly enjoyed bumper catches, and there is an evidence of a prosperous past in dilapidated mansions all over the coast. Fast-forward half-a-century, hardly enough is caught to feed a family.

Illegal fishing practices are rife among all types of fleet and the enforcement authorities though haven't yet thrown their hands in the air in despair, are reeling under the enormity of the problem, Child labour is cheap compared to employing adults and falling profits leads to a demand for cheaper labour.

Many poor families, usually single-parent female headed households without much financial support from absentee-fathers and not possessing any reliable livelihood enter into agreements for their children to be taken away to El Dorado with promises of well-paying jobs upon arrival. Ironically, because of endemic poverty situation in these communities, some children themselves run away from home in order to escape poverty.

In reality, vulnerable individuals are sold to master-fishermen for a huge profit, and must then work off the rest of their lives in debt. Prosecution of perpetrators is rare as almost all anti-CLaT programmes are designed to rescue and rehabilitate victims. Even for young labourers who are rescued, there is no end in sight for the nightmare.

Many are kept in so-called rehabilitation centers which practically qualifies as detention centers for the victims without linking up with their families.

It is for this reason that Robert is advocating for preventive programmes through communication and awareness creation actives to make an unacceptable social behaviour in the communities, and also to advocate for channelling of resources to agencies and the communities to address the situation.

Emmanuel Gameli Dovia

0242023440
05.08.2016 LISTEN

Cement dealers have welcomed the ban on cement importation which takes effect Friday, August 5, 2016.

The dealers say the ban will ensure the rapid growth of locally made cement on the Ghanaian market.

Parliament earlier accepted and passed a bill presented by the Trade Ministry which sought to ban the importation of cements on the markets.

The regulation also follows the numerous agitations by some industry players of undue competition from imported cement from China.

Earlier some economists expressed their disagreement at the decision arguing that the local companies should rather be allowed to compete with other companies across the globe to enhance their production levels.

But commenting on the issue to Citi Business News, the Media Relations Manager at Dangote Cement, Etornam Komla Buami insists the move will halt the import of inferior cement unto the Ghanaian markets.

There is restriction on the importation of cheap cement into the country. For long, we have also expressed similar views that if cement is being brought into the country and it is not good for the infrastructural development of the country, we must not allow them in.

So basically we welcome the move that cheap imports of such goods will be restricted. We support the cause that inferior goods should not be entertained in the country.

Responding to concerns of possible price hikes due to the inability of local producers to produce to meet possible increases in demands, Etornam Komla Buami replied in the affirmative citing the capacity of local producers to meet instances of increased demands.

The local producers have the capacity to supply as much as Ghanaians require in the country.

The ban on importation of cement also comes at a time where Chinese manufacturers have demonstrated their readiness to relocate to Ghana to gain access to raw materials for the production of the product.

Meanwhile Dangote Cement has also advanced plans to commence manufacturing of cement in Ghana.



By: Jessica Ayorkor Aryee/citibusinessnews.com/Ghana
06.08.2016 LISTEN

More discoveries have been made in the on-going investigation into the sudden disappearance of an Abuja-based woman, Charity Aiyedogbon. A Lagos-Maryland-based lawyer, Emeka Ugwuonye may have been implicated, with several evidences allegedly suggesting his complicity.

Ugwuonye, who was drilled for several hours at the office of the Inspector General of Police, Abuja, Wednesday, was shocked, when he was confronted with evidence suggesting that he had been misleading the public on the matter.

Barrister Ugwuonye claimed to have been in the United States as at the time of Chachas disappearance and only came into Nigeria in June, after being briefed to handle the matter, but his call log betrayed him, showing that he was in Abuja on the 10th, 11th and 12th of May, 2016; same time Chacha is said to have got missing.

Information from private investigators and telecommunication service providers revealed that Barrister Ugwuonye made calls around Jabi area of Abuja, up till midnight same 10th and 11th and departed Abuja on the 12th of May, 2016.

Ugwuonye had claimed in some of his posts on Facebook that the missing woman was killed on the 10th of May, and her corpse discovered on the 11th by School children around Gwarimpa area of Abuja.

Police sources say Mr. Ugwuonye must show Police the corpse he said he has and a DNA test conducted on it to ascertain whose body it is.

Questioning on his evidence against the former husband of the missing woman, David Aiyedogbon, whom he claimed killed her, Ugwuonye was apologetic, saying he accused him directly, following what he was told by Chachas friends, as well as one of her posts on Facebook, alleging mistreatment from the ex-husband. Recall that in one of Ugwuonyes posts, he said:

I now have overwhelming evidence that Mr. David Aiyedogbon killed his wife, Chacha. David has an idea of the kind of evidence at my disposal.

In another post, he said: this is the headless and dismembered body of Charity Aiyedogbon (posting a corpse on his Facebook handle). DPA has been able to identify this as her body within the limits of resources at our disposal.

Sources say Ugwuonye had reached Mr. Aiyedogbons lawyers, pleading with them not to sue him for character defamation, pledging to apologise to him publicly for the false allegation and the damage done to his name.

Reports also say Ugwuonyes lawyer, and one of the investigating Police officers have also concluded plans to initiate individual suits against him for allegedly claiming that he saw the lawyer giving an envelope containing cash to the Police officer, an allegation he also could not substantiate, when confronted.

Another worrisome development is his suspicious relationship with some of the suspects, who may have also indicted him in their statements to the Police. One of them whose name was given as Iyke is quoted as saying: Emeka Ugwuonye knows everything I know about Chachas case.

Further investigations show that Iyke is an elder brother to one of the prime suspects, Jekwu, believed to have been with the missing woman until she got missing. Her vehicle and handsets already recovered by the Police were also traced to him (Jekwu).

Iyke is believed to have given the Police a clue on the whereabouts of the car and handsets.

Police sources further say that the day Police was to arrest Jekwu in Enugu, Ugwuonye personally called the Police, promising to produce him, thereby paving way for his escape, only to call back later the next day to say he had escaped.

Agenda online reliably gathered that the Police had prepared over thirty (30) questions for Mr. Ugwuonye to answer, in relation to the missing Chachas case.

Our correspondent also gathered that the Lagos lawyer may be charged alongside other suspects in the matter, for alleged complicity.

Sources say, the startling revelations and possible indictment by the suspects may have been responsible for Mr. Ugwuonyes earlier post on Facebook, announcing his withdrawal from the case, a development Police sources described as diversionary.

Apart from the criminal charges, Ugwuonye may be facing about three other suits bothering on defamation of character.

He is required to report at the office of the Inspector General of Police on the 18th of August, 2016.

Stay tuned!

Destiny Ugorji
you are here:
business Vedanta steps up efforts to buy govt's stake in Hind Zinc: Srcs Vedanta is likely to increase offer to buy out government's stake in the company. Currently, Vedanta holds 64.92 percent and government 29.54 percent in Hind Zinc.
business All imports will soon be looking at anti-dumping duty:Steel Secy Of the 173 products, MIP will be on 66 products and rest of the products will come under anti-dumping duty, which has been in place for 5 years, says Aruna Sharma, Steel Secretary.
international-results Cognizant Q2 net dips 40% to $252.4 mn on higher tax provision However, the company's net income fell to USD 252.4 million, or 41 cents per share, in the quarter ended June 30 from USD 420.1 million, or 68 cents per share, a year earlier.
The chronicle of a life split between urban Manhattan and rural Montana.
<

We are very fortunate that the hills west of Interstate 280 along the San Francisco Peninsula remain largely wild and undeveloped. Many acres of that land are open every day to the public at no charge or for a small day use fee, but not all.

<

San Franciscos water supply comes from Hetch Hetchy Reservoir in Yosemite National Park as well as a complex of watersheds in Alameda County and the Peninsula. The Peninsula portion of the supply is stored in three reservoirs nestled in the San Andreas Fault west of Interstate 280. Upper and Lower Crystal Springs Reservoirs are visible out the drivers side window on your Interstate 280 trips to San Francisco. A mile north, a third lake, San Andreas Reservoir, lies out of sight from the freeway.

<

The hills above these reservoirs are the Peninsula Watershed23,000 acres of land owned by the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission that are largely closed to the public to protect the quality of San Francisco drinking water.

<

There is a bubbling controversy about opening access to the watershed. Several San Francisco supervisors are pressuring the commission to do so, but others worry about a number of harmful impacts public access would bring. While the policymakers sort that out, the public can still walk the 31 miles of trails on regularly scheduled docent-led hikes.

<

Through my affiliation with Committee for Green Foothills in Palo Alto, I was able to tag along on a hike into the Peninsula Watershed arranged by our executive director. On a recent weekday morning, a small group of us assembled near the entrance to Skylawn Cemetery at the crest of Highway 92 just before it drops down to Half Moon Bay. We shook hands with our docent, Jeff Crofton, who guided us through the cemetery to a locked gate. We parked on the other side, shouldered our day packs, and headed north on the Fifield-Cahill Ridge Trail.

<

The morning finger of fog that had poked over the Peninsula crest broke into drifting puffs as we set out down the trail. Though we were on the crest of the Peninsula hills, a dense Douglas fir forest hid the view along the first section of the trail. The dripping of condensed fog harvested by the tall conifers was the only sound that broke the muffled silence.

<

The peculiar branching pattern of many of the Douglas Firs along the trail surprised us. Rather than the normal single trunk Christmas tree architecture, many trees divided close to the ground in a peculiar candelabra-like shape.

<

Soon the forest began to open and reveal the surrounding landscape. From many locations along Skyline Boulevard farther south, one can see the ocean, or the bay, or both, but we could see neither. A network of ridges with mini-watersheds blocked a wider view. Nestled below us in the crease between Montara Mountain and our location, we could see lonely Pilarcitos Reservoir holding water destined for Half Moon Bay.

<

Three miles out, thinning forest turned to chaparral, and we stopped for lunch. The Portola Gate at Sweeney Ridge was a few miles ahead, but refueled and refreshed, we turned toward home.

<

<

For information about the docent-led hikes on Fifield-Cahill ridge visit sfwater.org.


Emma Wall: Hello, and welcome to the Morningstar series, "Why Should I Invest With You?" I'm Emma Wall and I'm joined today by Tom Moore, Manager of the Standard Life Investments UK Equity Income Unconstrained Fund.

Hello, Tom.

Tom Moore: Hello, Emma.

Wall: So, what exactly does the unconstrained element to the fund mean?

Moore: Well, unconstrained really means we can go anywhere and what we're interested in is finding the very best opportunities with attractive valuations and good strong growth in the years ahead. And that means sometimes it's not about looking at the most favored stocks in the large-cap index. It's actually about going further down the market cap scale into the mid-caps, into the small-caps because we tend to find that there is better growth among the smaller companies in the U.K. market.

Wall: And does that change depending on what point in the market cycle we are in, because by most admission we're quite mature into this recovery now, aren't we?

Moore: You're right, but actually, when you look back over 20 years, one of the reasons why the FTSE 100 Index is still in the 6,000s today, and when I started in the industry back in 1998 we were at similar levels in the 6,000s, is because there isn't much earnings growth coming out of these large-cap companies.

So, you're right to talk about the market cycle, but I think overriding factor here is that there is also a structural trend towards smaller and mid-sized companies who have got more flexibility, more maneuverability to make sure that they can grow their top-line, their sales, their earnings, and the cash flows and ultimately, that means as an income investor we get a growing stream of dividends.

Wall: And mid-caps in particular have done very well for a few years, but of course this year and in the recent past have come a cropper a bit because of Brexit. Is this a short-term short-lived or is this sort of the phase of things to come?

Moore: Well, actually, I was nervous after the Brexit vote that it could mean a sudden sharp drop in confidence and I think we have seen some surveys, such as the PMI data, which is business confidence surveys, coming off from relatively high levels to historically quite low levels in the space of just one month. But I think there is more to it than that because actually if you look at the consumer data, consumer is feeling pretty good about the world.

Their cash flows are still improving this year from last year. And if you look at the recent commentary from companies, we have intensified our research efforts recently just to keep on top of this, is actually pretty good and life continues after Brexit. So, we are more positive actually about the outlook for some of the mid-caps than perhaps you might imagine.

Wall: And that's slightly contrary to some of the headlines, which showed that mid and small-cap business owners were nervous about how their domestic revenues because of course they are tend to be more domestically skewed, would be affected by Britain leaving the EU. But you are saying actually the companies you've spoken to are pretty positive.

Moore: There is a risk that we have an element of group think, because the people like us here sitting in London, we tend to be nervous because we hear the doom and gloom. Out there in the regions people don't listen to economists.

They just get on with their daily lives. And I think what we're hearing over this is, for example, a double glazing factory, the biggest double glazing plant in the U.K., it's called Safestyle (SFE), and they confirmed that orders are still coming through as expected. That was last week I visited them.

We've heard from Pendragon (PDG); we met Inchcape (INCH), big car dealers. So, some of these big-ticket items that you'd expect would be first things to get cuts in the wake of a big shock like Brexit, actually continue and sales growth remains in the positive territory in all cases.

Wall: Tom, thank you very much. This is Emma Wall for Morningstar. Thank you for watching.
Maintaining independence and editorial freedom is essential to our mission of empowering investor success. We provide a platform for our authors to report on investments fairly, accurately, and from the investors point of view. We also respect individual opinionsthey represent the unvarnished thinking of our people and exacting analysis of our research processes. Our authors can publish views that we may or may not agree with, but they show their work, distinguish facts from opinions, and make sure their analysis is clear and in no way misleading or deceptive.

To further protect the integrity of our editorial content, we keep a strict separation between our sales teams and authors to remove any pressure or influence on our analyses and research.

Read our editorial policy to learn more about our process.
Local hula group inspires global connections When the pandemic ushered everyone indoors, Moorpark resident and longtime dancer Lisa Rauschenberger decided to get people back outsidesocially distanced, of course. She began to hold weekly hula lessons at...

Teens face high stakes in the Oval Office A press room befitting Americas commander in chief was set up inside the Reagan Library in Simi Valley. Journalists and others gathered inside. Ladies and gentlemen, I need you all...

Tigers soon to prowl in new enclosure The brand-new Bengal tiger exhibit at Americas Teaching Zoo at Moorpark College is nearly complete, and some other animals hangouts are getting a makeover, too. Mara Rodriguez, zoo development coordinator,...
Little more than two years after launching its first Permian Basin project, the James Lake System, Canyon Midstream Partners has announced expansion plans.

The Houston-based company, which has contracts with XTO Energy and Apache Corp., is expanding its system into Winkler County.

The extension was just put into service, Michael Walsh, president and chief executive, told the Reporter-Telegram in a telephone interview. We had customers looking for alternative processing capacity in that part of the world.

The expansion consists of additional compression at its new field facility in Kermit and a 22-mile trunkline extension capable of delivering up to 60 million cubic feet per day to the James Lake plant for treating and processing.

Walsh said that, although activity has slowed amid the downturn, the company continues to see growth in its system as it provides producers with alternative markets for its natural gas and production.

Canyons system gathers and processes sour gas, something Walsh said is more consistent with production from the Central Basin Platform than from the Midland or Delaware basins.

Since its inception in 2014, the James Lake system has primarily handled Central Basin Platform production. The Winkler County expansion is on the boundary a bit on the east edge of the Delaware and western edge of the Central Basin Platform.

The company is keeping an eye on activity growth in the Delaware Basin and seeing if there are opportunities in that area that would require the type of processing we offer. Wed try to take advantage of those opportunities, Walsh said.

The James Lake system consists of a 100 million cubic foot per day cryogenic gas processing plant in Ector County and eight field compressor stations, 90 miles of high-pressure trunkline and 90 miles of low-pressure gathering lines in Ector, Andrews and Winkler counties. The

Canyon Midstream is backed by $300 million equity commitments from Kayne Anderson Energy Funds, company management and other institutional investors.
Amid a brutal second quarter that included reporting a loss of $1.5 billion, Chevron officials say they continue to see the Permian as first among its opportunities.

Corporate officials told analysts during Chevrons second quarter earnings call that its next capital priority is to fund high-return, short-cycle base, and shale and tight investments. First among these opportunities is the Permian, where we have a large royalty-advantaged acreage position.

Jay Johnson, executive vice president, Upstream, told the Reporter-Telegram by email that Chevron has one million net acres in the Delaware Basin and 500,000 net acres in the Midland Basin with an active drilling program in both.

We are adding our eighth rig in August. We expect to be running six in the Delaware Basin and four in the Midland Basin by year-end 2016. Our efficiency gains and a shift to more Chevron-operated rigs are helping us deliver our plan with fewer rigs and less cost, Johnson said.

Johnson told Phil Gresh, analyst with JPMorgan, that while the company intends to grow its Permian Basin by adding rigs, it also expects good performance from those rigs.

One of the things weve tried to do is take a measured pace so that we preserve the productivity and the capital efficiency that weve been able to capture so far. We want to make sure we do that as we ramp up. We feel quite confident we can do so, he told Gresh during the earnings call.

The company reported Permian production grew by 21 percent or 24,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day in the second quarter over the second quarter of 2015.

Asked by Ryan Todd, analyst with Deutsche Bank about Chevrons activity trends in the Permian, Johnson said the company is running about the same number of company-operated rigs as expected while non-operated rigs are lower. But because the company is adding rigs, were staffing up and ramping up our activity level. I would say the bias on this is upwards going forward.

Chevron is taking a disciplined, measured approach to development, and were optimizing and prioritizing the large number of available well locations, he said.

Chevron attributes its production gains, which come despite operating fewer rigs, to performance improvement by incorporating industry-best practices and applying lessons learned from our joint ventures and contractors.

The company reported it has reduced its well development costs approximately 30 percent. According to Johnson, a look at drilling and completion cost performance from recent pad drilling programs indicate 7,500 foot laterals in the Midland Basin are averaging $5.6 million per well, down 25 percent from March reports.

The company recently put its 100th company-operated horizontal well on production and Johnson reports all Chevrons Permian unconventional drilling is horizontal and the company is drilling multi-well pads.

Corporate officials told analysts during the earnings call that recovery per well is improving as Chevron implements its lessons learned and optimizes lateral lengths, well completions and drawdown strategies. Earlier this year the company exceeded 2,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day in a 24-hour well test on a 7,500-foot lateral well in the Greater Bryant G area.

Asked by Ed Westlake, analyst with Credit Suisse, about Chevrons competitiveness with other operators, Johnson answered: Our goal, as I said before, is to be fully competitive on an operating basis so that when you add in the advantaged royalty position, it gives us a clear incremental value proposition over competitors. Well continue to stay focused on this. And as I said, were ramping up the number of company-operated rigs, but were going to do so in a manner that allows us to maintain those efficiencies.

The one other thing Id say is that our current view is that were building infrastructure into some of these initial development projects. As that infrastructure comes into play it provides a solid foundation for us to continue to incrementally improve economics as we move forward.

He concluded by saying, We may not be flashy, but were steady. We have taken all these learnings in. Weve been very methodical in our approach and very systematic.
CLEVELAND (AP)  A North Carolina man arrested Thursday on accusations that he tried to recruit people to join the Islamic State group had communicated with one of two men shot dead by a police officer in Garland, Texas, during an attack at an event where the Prophet Muhammad was being depicted in cartoons, the FBI said.

Erick Jamal Hendricks, 35, was arrested Thursday morning in Charlotte, North Carolina, on a charge filed in Cleveland of providing material support to a terrorist group. A federal magistrate in Charlotte ordered that Hendricks be detained and assigned a federal public defender, who did not return telephone messages.

An FBI affidavit details online communications between Hendricks and an undercover FBI agent posing as an Islamic State recruit who witnessed the attack at the suburban Dallas civic center in May 2015.

Two Phoenix men wearing body armor and carrying rifles drove to the center, exited a vehicle and began shooting at the entrance. An off-duty police officer providing security for the event fatally shot both men before they could get inside. An unarmed security guard was shot in the ankle.

The Islamic State group claimed responsibility for the attack and referred to the two Phoenix men, Elton Simpson and Nadir Hamid Soofi, as "brothers." Shortly before the attack, the 31-year-old Simpson posted on his Twitter account: "May Allah accept us as mujahideen," or holy warriors.

Simpson and Hendricks had communicated before the attack, the FBI said Thursday.

Hendricks also communicated with the undercover FBI agent in Garland, asking questions about security and how many people were there, the affidavit said. Hendricks told the agent that if he saw the organizer of the event that he should "make his voice heard against her," investigators wrote.

It appears that charges were filed in Cleveland because of Hendricks' communication with Amir Said Abdul Rahman Al-Ghazi, who was arrested in June 2015 in suburban Cleveland trying to buy an AK-47 rifle from an undercover FBI agent. Authorities said Al-Ghazi had pledged his allegiance to the Islamic State and expressed an interest in conducting attacks in the U.S.

Earlier this year, Al-Ghazi pleaded guilty to providing material support to a terrorist organization and, according to the affidavit, has been cooperating with authorities.

Al-Ghazi told authorities that Hendricks said he needed people to join the cause and wanted "brothers" to meet and train together, the affidavit said. The undercover FBI agent confirmed in the affidavit that his communications with Hendricks were similar to Al-Ghazi's.

Hendricks told the undercover agent that he slept with his AK-47 and kept it by the front door, investigators said. He directed the agent to download a manual titled "GBS for the Ghuraba in the U.S." that discussed law enforcement surveillance and communication protocols for those planning to stage attacks, the affidavit said.

Hendricks met with a paid informant and a second unidentified person in Baltimore in March 2015, the affidavit said. Hendricks directed them to remove cellphone batteries to make themselves less traceable, suggested he was going to go off the grid at property he owned in Alabama, and told them to prepare for an eventual violent confrontation with police, the affidavit said.

In April 2015, Hendricks told the undercover agent that he was in communication with Islamic State leaders who wanted followers to form groups in the U.S., the affidavit said.

Hendricks and an ex-wife, whom he divorced in 2009, attended another meeting in Baltimore with a paid informant the day before the May 3, 2015, attack in Texas, the affidavit said. Hendricks told the informant that future targets would include the organizer of the Muhammad cartoon event and members of the military whose information had been obtained in a computer hack.

Hendricks lived in the Columbia, South Carolina, area for about a year starting last summer and recently moved to the Charlotte area. It wasn't immediately clear if Hendricks had a job in either place.

The woman who answered the door at an apartment in an east Columbia neighborhood said she didn't know Hendricks, and a manager for the complex said she had no records for him. A woman named Tyrinda Hendricks leased the apartment, but no other records were available because the complex had changed management companies.

There was no answer Thursday at a number listed for Tyrinda Hendricks, who public records list as living in Charlotte.
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Doctors are inducing labor Thursday on a 5-months-pregnant woman hit by an alleged drunk driver who remains in Hays County Jail on charges she killed the woman's husband and child, family members said.

Kristian Guerrero, 24, a Bryan resident, is in fair condition at St. David's South Austin Medical Center after being admitted Tuesday night after the car she was driving, with her husband in the passenger seat, was hit by an alleged drunk driver, Shana Elliott, on Highway 21 in San Marcos.

Guerrero's husband, Fabian Guerrero-Moreno, was killed in the crash and the woman's unborn child succumbed to injuries sustained in the crash, police and family said.

On a GoFundMe page set up Wednesday, Diane Castillo, Guerrero's aunt, said doctors would induce labor Thursday and deliver the child, named Fabian James Guerrero.

"Baby Fabian has joined his daddy in heaven because of injuries sustained during the accident," she wrote. "(Kristian) is in so much pain, physically and emotionally... She lost her best friend, her soulmate, her son.... Because a 21 year old decided to drink and drive."

Elliott, a senior at Texas State who has been arrested twice this year on a litany of felony drug charges, was still wearing a bikini after floating the river when her vehicle veered across the highway center line and crashed with the couple, according to an affidavit obtained by mySA.com.

Elliott told police she consumed "beer and liquor while floating the river at Texas State Tubes prior to the collision," the report said, adding that a her breath contained "the strong odor" of alcohol, her eyes were blood shot and she was unsteady on her feet.

Elliott is charged with two counts of intoxication manslaughter, second-degree felonies, and an intoxication assault charge, a third-degree felony.

The couple was married Nov. 14, 2015 and were expecting to find out the sex of their child on Sunday, according to a sonogram image posted to Guerrero's Facebook page the day before the crash that read: "Is this the face of a little prince or a little princess?! We can't wait to find out Sunday! Are you team boy or team girl?! Taking bets now!"

So far, $2,560 has been raised for Guerrero. In a second GoFundMe page, money is being donated to help with funeral expenses for Guerrero-Moreno, of which $4,670 has been raised.

The affidavit said a witness saw "a female in a bikini... roll a bottle of alcohol under a vehicle" at the scene.

Elliott was transported to the Central Texas Medical Center for minor injuries.

Texas State officials confirmed to mySA.com Wednesday that Elliott "was a Texas State student enrolled in spring 2016, and that she is registered for classes in fall 2016. She was not enrolled this summer."

Elliott posted a photo on Facebook of a Dean's List certificate from the fall of 2014.

She was arrested on March 22 on three felony charges of possession of controlled substances and marijuana. She was arrested again May 2 on two felony charges of possession of controlled substances.

Her bond was set $185,000 cash or surety by Judge Beth Smith, she said. According to county records, Elliott remained in Hays County Jail at 10 a.m. Thursday.

Staff writers Tyler White and Madalyn Mendoza contributed to this report.

kbradshaw@express-news.net

Twitter: @kbrad5
Xaxis Promotes Mentasti to LatAm CEO

WPP audience profiling and targeting division Xaxis has promoted Lucas Mentasti to the role of Chief Executive Officer, Latin America.



Audience profiling division Xaxis was formed in 2011. The firm now delivers results for more than 2,800 clients in 44 markets across North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, the Middle East, and Latin America. In 2017 it will open offices in Peru, Chile and Uruguay.



Mentasti (pictured) joined the business in 2014 as MD, Latin America, and in this role launched Xaxis operations in Miami, Mexico, Argentina, Brazil, Colombia and Puerto Rico; introduced lookalike modelling capabilities to the market; grew the LatAm team from a single employee to a staff of 40; and doubled revenue each year. He previously served as VP, Regional Digital Director at Starcom MediaVest Group, before which he was Country Manager for Havas Digital in Argentina. Earlier, he held senior roles at Media Planning Group, EHS Brann, DDB, and The Boston Consulting Group.



Global CEO Brian Gleason comments: 'Latin America is one of our fastest growing markets and Lucas has played a key role in establishing Xaxis as the region's most capable and effective partner for audience-based media buying. He has done a superlative job in driving increased adoption of programmatic among the region's largest advertisers and we look forward to his leadership as we continue to grow our footprint and capabilities in Latin America'.



Web site: www.xaxis.com .




UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon will carry the Olympic torch at the Rio 2016 Summer Olympics in Brazil.

He is to take part in the opening of the event on Friday.

Since he became the UN chief in December 2006 he carried the Olympic flag along with Muhammad Ali during the 2012 Olympic Games in London and the torch in the Sochi 2014 Winter Olympics. He will leave the UN at the end of this year.

Ban will also visit the Korean delegation in the Olympic Village and meeting the first-ever refugee Olympic delegation and attend a gathering of heads of state hosted by Brazil's acting President Michel Temer.

In a UN statement last month, Ban appealed to the world to lay down their weapons and put aside their differences during the Rio Olympics. "I call on the world to observe the Olympic Truce by ceasing all hostilities during the Olympic and Paralympic Games," he said.


We were not bribed to drop ...
Actor Jung Woo-sung promoted a campaign to help global refugees on a street in downtown Seoul on Wednesday.

He took part in the street campaign with other volunteers in front of the Korean office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.

He encouraged people to sign up to help refugees live with human dignity at least with minimum sustenance and shelter. "A place to sleep, a job to make a living and a school to educate children are basic rights of everyone in the world," he said.

Jung has been working to raise awareness on the humanitarian crisis since May 2014 first as the UN commission's honorary advocate and then as honorary ambassador to which he was promoted in June last year.
"So I just want to tell you the campaign is doing really well. It has never been so well united," Trump said to cheers.

Trump remained defiant on the campaign trail despite the fretting by Republican leaders. He told a rally in Jacksonville, Florida, on Wednesday that his campaign was in fine shape and remained on track to win in November.

The surveys came in the wake of last week's Democratic National Convention, which appeared to give Clinton a 5- to 7-percentage-point boost, a normal occurrence after a party convention. But they also seemed to reflect the fallout from a series of controversies involving Trump that have sparked negative reactions from not only Democrats but also some prominent Republicans.

Polls in battleground states such as New Hampshire, Michigan and Pennsylvania show Clinton leading by substantial margins. These came on the heels of national polls by CNN and NBC that showed Trump trailing by at least 8 percentage points.

Republican Party leaders are increasingly concerned about recent national and state polls that show the Democratic nominee surging into a lead over Republican Donald Trump.

If Hillary Clinton is elected president in November, Republicans may look back on the week just passed as a turning point in the race.

 Trump and the Khans

Trump's difficult week began with his feud with Khizr and Ghazala Khan, the Muslim American parents of U.S. Army Captain Humayun Khan, who was killed in the Iraq War in 2004.

Khizr Khan denounced Trump at last week's Democratic convention in Philadelphia, and Trump's combative reaction to the Khans drew a negative response from key Republicans, including House Speaker Paul Ryan and Arizona Senator John McCain.

"We not only have to respect but love the family members who have made these sacrifices," McCain said.

Trump also sparked a backlash among party leaders for refusing to endorse both Ryan and McCain in upcoming primary elections.

The controversies swirling around Trump have some Republican leaders worried that his undisciplined approach to the campaign is helping Clinton and could hurt Republican hopes to hold their majorities in the Senate and House of Representatives.

"He is going to have to start convincing people that he is qualified for the presidency and has the temperament for the presidency," said University of Virginia political analyst Kyle Kondik. "And I don't think that back-and-forths like this one with the Khan family are particularly helpful in that regard."

 Projection Update

Kondik's boss, Larry Sabato, issued an update Thursday on the Electoral College projection from the university's Center for Politics. It showed Clinton with a likely 347 electoral votes and Trump with 191. The projection showed Clinton increasing her chances of carrying several key states, including Colorado and Virginia, which is the home state of her vice presidential running mate, Senator Tim Kaine.

Mindful of the growing party concern about his campaign, Trump told local television station WPEC in West Palm Beach, Florida, that he realized he needed to change the focus of his campaign.

"Well, I think that is probably right. More focus on Hillary Clinton. She's a disaster, so we're going to focus more on Hillary Clinton," Trump said.

Clinton campaigned this week in Colorado, another swing state where Trump is trailing in recent polls. Clinton continued to hammer away at the notion that Trump's temperament should disqualify him from becoming president.

"There is no doubt in my mind that Donald Trump is unqualified to be president and unfit to be commander in chief," Clinton said Wednesday to roars from a crowd in Denver.

The pro-Clinton super PAC Priorities USA also launched an ad this week featuring a number of Republicans criticizing Trump. Among them is Michael Hayden, a former director of the Central Intelligence Agency and the National Security Agency, who is seen in a video clip describing Trump as "a clear and present danger."

 Temperament Issue

Clinton and Trump are well aware of polls that show Americans want change this election. But veteran political analyst Gerald Seib of The Wall Street Journal also sees a growing concern about the temperament of the candidates.

"I think there is a big desire for change, and that helps Donald Trump. He is the different candidate and therefore he is the change candidate," Seib told VOA. "But I also think there is a parallel concern, which is a fear of the unknown. So where does this balance out? The desire for change versus fear of the unknown, because Donald Trump is very much an unknown commodity as a political leader."

Trump has maintained an aggressive campaign schedule, including recent rallies in Florida and Virginia. But Republican leaders are hoping Trump will avoid distractions in the weeks ahead and focus on his message of bringing political change.

Among them is Republican strategist Scot Faulkner. "The key is that somebody has got to say that I will be better with Trump in the White House because he is going to do X, Y and Z. And he hasn't quite put that value proposition out there," Faulkner said.

Some Republicans fear the party's congressional prospects could also suffer in November if Trump fails to refocus his campaign by early September, a time when Americans usually begin to seriously focus on the election choices before them.
Governor Jerry Brown View Photos

Sacramento, CA  In response to experiencing some resistance from lawmakers, Governor Jerry Brown is considering a ballot measure to expand the states efforts to fight climate change.

The states high profile AB 32 Global Warming Legislation was passed in 2006 and put in place policies to reduce carbon emissions through the year 2020. One of the more contentious aspects has been the creation of the states cap and trade program which puts a limit on emissions of carbon dioxide and heat trapping gases. A marketplace was created so that higher polluting companies can purchase carbon offset credits.

The California Chamber of Commerce has filed a lawsuit arguing that the program is an illegal tax on businesses that should have required a 2/3 vote to be approved. Many of the aspects of AB 32 are scheduled to expire at the end of 2020, and the Governor has been working behind the scenes to find votes to extend the efforts to at least the year 2030. However, a chief policy advisor for the Governor put out a statement yesterday that a 2018 ballot measure is now being looked into to expand climate change efforts, saying they will be extended, one way or another. While the states climate change policies have been very contentious in many circles, proponents argue that a recent statewide Public Policy Institute of California poll found that 68% of likely voters support the Governors plan to extend the climate change reduction goals to the year 2030.
While local and state officials are trying to figure out a plan of attack against the Zika virus that has been spreading in South Florida, federal officials are working to come up with funding to help in the fight.

Gov. Scott, CDC officials visit Wynwood neighborhood

Calls mounting for Congress to reconvene

More insecticide spraying in South Florida possible this weekend

Gov. Rick Scott and top officials with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention made a stop in the Wynwood neighborhood of Miami on Thursday to visit the epicenter of Miami-Dade's Zika problems.



"We've tested over 2,400 people in the state," said Gov. Scott. "We've tested 340 people in the Wynwood area for active Zika or Zika antbodies. And we're going to continue being very aggressive."



Just before sunrise, aerial spraying was underway with an insecticide to kill adult mosquitoes which can transmit Zika.



"We have some good news. We feel comfortable now in that one-mile radius we can take 10 blocks in the northwest corner and say we don't believe there's any active transmission of Zika," Gov. Scott continued. "So from the state health department standpoint we are very comfortable that we are not seeing any active cases here."



Meanwhile, Congress has been criticized for failing to properly fund anti-Zika efforts.



"The money we need to fight Zika is rapidly running out. The situation is getting critical," said President Obama. "For instance, without sufficient funding NIH clinical trails and the possibilities of a vaccine, which is well within reach, could be delayed."



Earlier this week, the CDC issued an unprecedented travel warning advising pregnant women and their partners not to travel to Wynwood. This is the first time the CDC has warned people not to travel to an American neighborhood for fear of catching an infectious disease.



"We're taking this extremely seriously," said Obama. "Our CDC experts are on the ground working shoulder to shoulder with Florida health authorities. There is a very aggressive effort under way to control the mosquitos there."



Officials say that more spraying in South Florida could take place over the weekend.



The state also announced that any woman who is pregnant or preparing to get pregnant can go to any county health department and get a free Zika test.



As additional preventative measures, health officials are encouraging everyone to use mosquito repellent, wear long sleeves and drain standing water.
MERIDEN  School building officials say the vast majority of the Maloney High School project should be complete by the time school starts in a few weeks, but three areas  the guidance suite, library, and main gymnasium  will still require some work.



Glen Lamontagne, project consultant for both the $107.5 million Maloney project and the $111.8 million Platt project  said city and school officials wont be recommending project close out until at least December. Initially it was expected work would be complete by the start of school this year.



The schools new guidance suite is fully constructed, but Lamontagne said theyll wait until the second or third week of September to move staff and materials in the new space so as not to disrupt the office during crucial first weeks of school.



We dont want to disrupt them when kids are coming in for schedule changes, he said.



Karrie Kratz, project manager for the Glastonbury-based Gilbane Building Co., said construction of the schools library is also complete, though there is still a fair amount of set-up to get the media center up and running.



Elsewhere in the school, the main gymnasium floor has been filled in and leveled off, and sub-flooring was being installed this month.



Ideally, Maloney was supposed to be complete by the start of school, School Building Committee member John Benigni said at the committees meeting Thursday. He suggested the school system distribute information to parents and families about what will be left to complete by the time school does start.



People think theyre coming into a new school, he said.



Assistant School Superintendent Michael S. Grove said the schools would send out information about the schools progress before students return.



Unlike previous phases of construction, no part of the remaining work will impact students ability to navigate the school, Kratz said.



Overall, construction at the school was roughly 93 percent complete by Thursday. School building officials estimated there would be $294,185 left in the budget by the time work was fully complete.



Across town, work at Platt was also progressing, though the west side school is not scheduled to be complete until next year.



In something of a parallel situation, construction crews at Platt have run into issues with the schools main gymnasium. Metal clamps from the old gym floor left thousands of indentations in the concrete slab underneath it. Those indentations hold an asbestos-containing material, so the entire existing slab needs to be treated and mitigated, said Dave Cravanzola, project manager from O&G Industries Inc. He said school officials were still working out the best way to deal with the problem.



mcallahan@record-journal.com 203-317-2279 Twitter: @MollCal






Police arrested the 19-year-old man after incapacitating him with a Taser. The man -- who has yet to be publicly named -- is in police custody at a nearby hospital.

Instead, police say the attack was likely triggered by mental health issues.

London police Thursday said they found no evidence of radicalization to suggest terrorism in the attack that wounded five other people -- two Australians, an Israeli, an American and a British citizen, none with life-threatening injuries.

Darlene Horton, 64, was killed when a Somali-Norwegian teenager went on a knife rampage Wednesday through Russell Square, a hub for students and tourists.

The woman stabbed to death in an attack on a street in London was the wife of a Florida State University psychology professor.

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry described the attack as a "horrific mass stabbing," and said he grieves for the victims.

The knife attack came the same day London officials announced an increase in armed police patrolling the city, in an effort to prevent terror attacks.

Dubbed "Operation Hercules," the boost in officers carrying guns is a response to the stepped up terror attacks in Europe recently, according to police officials.

"In some of our big iconic locations, we've already got armed patrols -- if you look at Parliament, Downing Street -- so it's not entirely new," Metropolitan Police Chief Bernard Hogan-Howe said. "I think people understand that, where you are going to have people as enemies who've got guns, we've got to have guns."

The decision to put armed police on the streets in London is significant because the vast majority of officers in Britain do not carry firearms  a standard that will remain intact for most of London's 31,000 police officers.

Mark Rowley, the Metropolitan Police Service's Assistant Commissioner for Specialist Operations, said police believe the mental health of the suspect to be a "significant factor" in the case, but cautioned that it is just one of several lines of inquiry.

Police received a call about the attack in progress around 10:30 p.m. local time, and within about 10 minutes had arrived on the scene and subdued the attacker.

"Anyone who's been following events in Europe over the past few weeks will understand why we want to show our determination to protect the public," Hogan-Howe said. "We are deadly serious about the protection that we are offering the people of London and we will never be complacent."

In a statement, London's Sadiq Khan, the first Muslim mayor of a major Western capital, said safety in London is his number one priority, and he expressed condolences for the victims of the attack.
Alameda County will sever ties with its longtime jail health care contractor after grappling with allegations that the company provided inadequate care that may have led to inmate deaths.

The Alameda County Board of Supervisors on Friday voted 4-0 to award the three-year, $135 million contract to California Forensic Medical Group instead of Corizon Health Inc., following a vigorous debate among nurses, former inmates and representatives from the two companies  both of which are giants in prison health care. Supervisor Keith Carson abstained from the vote.

Corizon and its various predecessors have run medical services in Dublins Santa Rita Jail and Oaklands Glenn E. Dyer Detention Facility since 1988; Corizon inherited the contract after merging with Prison Health Services in 2011. In recent years the company has come under scrutiny, which heightened when New York Citys Department of Investigation found that Corizon had hired employees with criminal histories to work in its Rikers Island Jail complex.

In February, the family of an inmate who died in Santa Rita last year filed a federal lawsuit against Corizon, claiming his death, from complications with asthma, could have been prevented easily.

But California Forensic Medical Group is also facing lawsuits over allegedly shoddy care in several counties. Its chief executive officer, Kip Hallman, says litigation is routine in the jail health care business because inmates frequently sue over medical issues.

Speaking at the supervisors meeting in Oakland on Friday, Hallman noted that his company won the county bid convincingly, and vowed to boost the jails nursing staffs once the new contract takes effect in October.

Representatives of Corizon urged the county to reconsider, arguing that it had failed to fairly evaluate the proposals. Of the three companies vying for the contract, California Forensic Medical Group scored the highest, and Corizon came in last, according to county staff reports.

Dr. Harold Orr, chief clinical officer for Corizons Western region, said his company has been unfairly disparaged by union representatives who were angered when Corizon laid off 67 licensed vocational nurses early this year  a move that Orr said was required by a recent court settlement.

We deliver complex, multitiered, comprehensive health care, Orr said at the meeting Friday. We have physical therapists, eye specialists, kidney specialists  even a unique HIV screening program.

Two former inmates who spoke at the meeting praised Corizon for the care they had received in jail.

Ive had cancer and many other things, said Todd Pickens. The health care that I received from Corizon has allowed me to stand here.

But nurses who spoke at the meeting criticized Corizon for poor management.

I was here in 2012 when Prison Health Services became Corizon, and I can tell you it became more and more difficult to deliver high-quality patient care, said Maxine Persky, a nurse who has worked in jails for 18 years.

She said the company implemented new technology that wasted rather than saved time, and that its managers had never done any hands-on work in a jail setting.

Persky and other nurses applauded the supervisors decision Friday, and the National Union of Healthcare Workers, a labor group that represents the nurses, touted California Forensic Medical Group for promising to increase the jail staffs.

Orr released a statement criticizing the county for what he said was a flawed bidding process. It said in part, Well have to take a look at our legal options going forward so that we might be able to continue this partnership we so value.

Rachel Swan is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: rswan@sfchronicle.com Twitter: rachelswan
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Gov. Jerry Brown may ask California voters to extend the states climate-change programs  including its pioneering cap-and-trade system  past 2020 if balking state legislators dont do so this month, one of his top aides said Thursday.

Brown has staked much of his political legacy on the fight against global warming, aiming to slash Californias greenhouse-gas emissions 40 percent below 1990s levels by the year 2030.

But the landmark 2006 law that created many of Californias climate programs spelled out specific emission cuts only through 2020. And the states legislative analyst has warned that Californias cap-and-trade system for limiting emissions may lack legal authorization to keep running after that year.

Brown has been pushing behind the scenes for legislation that would enshrine his 2030 emissions cuts into law and give cap and trade explicit authority to continue. But with the legislative session due to end this month, he has faced stiff resistance from the oil industry and its allies in Sacramento.

So on Thursday, one of Browns key advisers, Nancy McFadden, suggested the governor may take the fight directly to California voters.

Lets be clear: We are going to extend our climate goals and cap-and-trade program  one way or another, she wrote in a statement posted on Twitter. The Governor will continue working with the Legislature to get this done this year, next year or on the ballot in 2018.

A poll released last month by the Public Policy Institute of California found that 68 percent of Californians supported extending the states climate policies and aiming for Browns 2030 target.

More for you Reanimated killer and 15 other climate change surprises

Launched in 2012, Californias cap-and-trade system places an annual limit on emissions of carbon dioxide and other heat-trapping gases, with the amount of greenhouse gases allowed shrinking each year.

Companies that own power plants, factories and oil refineries must buy a permit  called an allowance  for every ton of greenhouse gases they emit. They can also sell those allowances back-and-forth among one another. The number of permits made available by the state shrinks every year along with the cap, prompting companies to cut their emissions.

The state agency that created the system, the California Air Resources Board, argues that it has legal authority to extend the system past 2020. But others arent sure. The state legislative analyst in April warned that Californias 2006 climate law, AB32, authorizes the program only through Dec. 31, 2020.

In addition, a long-running lawsuit filed by the California Chamber of Commerce argues that the allowances are in reality a tax on businesses and should have required a two-thirds vote of the Legislature to take effect.

As a result, Brown has been pushing for legislation that would extend the program, hoping to lock up the support of two-thirds of legislators in case the Chamber wins its suit. But lobbyists say he has had a tough time persuading Republicans and moderate Democrats.

Environmentalists have been rallying around a bill from Sen. Fran Pavley, D-Agoura Hills (Los Angeles County), that would write Browns 40 percent reduction target into law. But so far, that bill does not explicitly authorize the cap-and-trade system to continue.

Uncertainty about its future may already be undercutting the system. When the state held its quarterly allowance auction in May, buyers purchased just 11 percent of the allowances available. Almost every previous allowance auction sold out.

We need to part the clouds of uncertainty, and theres nothing like a statute to provide clarity, said Alex Jackson, legal director of the California Climate Project at the Natural Resources Defense Council.

David R. Baker is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: dbaker@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @DavidBakerSF
Atlantic City

Billionaire investor Carl Icahn wrote a letter Thursday to the soon-to-be unemployed workers of the Trump Taj Mahal casino, accusing their union of inciting them to destroy their own jobs by participating in the longest strike by Atlantic City's main casino workers union.

Icahn told the workers that officials of Local 54 of the Unite-HERE union knew that the company had made its final offer, but rejected it anyway, knowing a strike would result.

The union has been on strike since July 1. The central issue has been restoration of health insurance and pension benefits that the previous owners got a bankruptcy court judge to terminate in October 2014.

Icahn said the company's final offer to restore health care, albeit at a lower level than what workers at Atlantic City's other seven casinos, was negotiated with union president Bob McDevitt.

"Why have they incited you, the union workers at the Taj, to destroy your jobs and your livelihood rather than accept the prior offer that we made at McDevitt's suggestion?"
BestColleges.com has ranked Northwood University as one of the top online bachelors in business administration programs for 2016.

The ranking lists 25 colleges and universities offering the best online business administration programs in the United States, based on four data points: an institutions acceptance, enrollment, retention and graduation rates.
For Pacific Gas and Electric Co. customers, its a rare break.

PG&E has reached an agreement with consumer groups to request smaller rate increases over the next three years than the utility originally wanted.

If state regulators approve, PG&Es average monthly bill for residential customers will rise 50 cents in 2017. The utility initially proposed a monthly increase of $4.

PG&E, Californias largest utility, has won a series of rate hikes from regulators concerned that the company needs to upgrade its vast networks for distributing electricity and natural gas, particularly after the deadly 2010 explosion of gas pipeline beneath San Bruno.

In June, for example, the California Public Utilities Commission agreed to raise by 85 percent the amount of money PG&E collects from its customers to spend on its gas pipelines. Those increases will be phased in through 2018.

Consumer advocates ripped that decision, saying PG&E customers shouldnt be forced to pay for fixing years of poor pipeline maintenance. But some of those same advocates  including The Utility Reform Network, a frequent PG&E critic  have signed on to the new agreement.

Our main goal was to prevent another big rate increase, on top of increases already approved, said Mark Toney, executive director of TURN. The agreement does that.

A PG&E spokesman said the company was pleased to reach a deal that worked for all the parties involved.

This really shows that were rebuilding trust and working hard to engage in a transparent and ethical way with interested stakeholders, said spokesman Donald Cutler.

The agreement covers the amount of revenue PG&E will collect over the next three years to fund electricity generation and distribution, as well as some gas operations.

Under the companys initial proposal, PG&E would have collected a total of $2.26 billion more through 2019 than it would have under todays rates. The new agreement cuts that total down to $1.51 billion.

The agreement would have no effect on natural gas bills, Cutler said. PG&Es average residential gas bills this year have ranged from $98 in January to $22 last month.

The agreement would, however, add 50 cents next year to the average residential electricity bill, which is roughly $97 per month.

The utilities commission has not yet scheduled a vote on the proposal. And the commissioners, as well as an administrative law judge working on PG&Es request, could come up with their own plan for how much the utility will collect over the coming three years.

David R. Baker is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: dbaker@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @DavidBakerSF
The Ministry of Health and Welfare on Thursday slammed an urgent brake on the Seoul Metropolitan Government's W500,000 allowance for some 2,800 handpicked young jobseekers (US$1=W1,115).

A ministry official told reporters the city "pushed ahead with a welfare plan that was not approved by the ministry in advance, which is in violation of the law. The plan is scrapped."

The move is the latest installment in an ugly scrap between the progressive city authority and the conservative government, which accuses it of bribing voters.

The city the same day vowed to take the government to the Supreme Court over the decision.

If the court rejects the application for an injunction, the allowances cannot be handed out. But Seoul city officials are refusing to retrieve the W1.4 billion in allowances that have already been handed out, and the ministry has no authority to force them.

Instead, the ministry could persuade the central government to dock W1.4 billion from next year's budget allocation to the city.

The allowance was supposed to be paid for up to six months to select young people from poorer backgrounds who have lived in the capital for more than a year and work less than 30 hours a week.
Saratoga Springs

Marty Vanags has plans for Saratoga County. As president of the two-year-old Saratoga County Prosperity Partnership he wants to create jobs and boost the county's economic growth. And he wants to not only attract new businesses to the county, but also help those that already exist.

That is one of the reasons he and Prosperity Partnership, established by the Saratoga County Board of Supervisors, will host a luncheon Aug. 11 at Saratoga Casino Hotel, 342 Jefferson St. At the event, open professionals in finance, real estate, engineering, architecture and construction, the partnership will discuss how businesses can leverage the county's growth. The lunch will also offer advice from Chris Steele of Investment Consulting Associates of Boston. This site location specialist will zero in on the importance of project readiness, cultivating relationships and marketing.

"He will discuss what a community needs to do to be ready for development," said Vanags. "What kind of site is available, is it shovel-ready. What kind of intrastructure, what kind of training is available. He will talk about the kinds of information site location specialists are looking for when making a decision about a community."

Vanags, who has headed up the partnership since May 2015, said he also wants businesses to realize that the partnership's job, in part, is helping local business apply for tax incentives with the county's Industrial Development Agency (IDA). He says businesses should be aware that the partnership will reimburse a portion of the IDA fees to process agreements. In addition, seeking advice and help from the partnership is always free.

The difference between the partnership and better-known and long-established Saratoga Economic Development Corporation is that the partnership was established by county government while SEDC is a private, nonprofit group. But their goals are the same  economic growth and retention of jobs and businesses in Saratoga County. SEDC is also concerned about diversifying the county's economic tax base. The partnership, as described in its "The Saratoga Strategy," is particularly interested in leveraging investments in GlobalFoundries and Luther Forest Technology Park and building relationships with appointed and elected officials.

"What we want to do is get creative with our incentives so that we can provide clients with cost-savings," said Vanags. "We also want to get to know the companies in the area. What issues are they facing, how can we help. We want to partner with businesses, that's why we are a partnership, to help them be better able to do their work."

More information on the partnership is available at www.saratogapartnership.org. The lunch and talk begin at 11:30 a.m. The cost is $25. Reservation information: 518.871.1887.

wliberatore@timesunion.com  518-454-5445  @wendyliberatore
San Antonio businessman Sardar Biglaris slick makeover of mens magazine Maxim has yet to give the publications financial performance a lift.

For the second straight quarter, Maxim posted a steep decline in year-over-year revenue. The magazines top line plunged almost 60 percent to $2.7 million in the quarter ended June 30 from $6.6 million in the same period last year. Revenue fell 55 percent in the first quarter.

Maxim continued to slash expenses, which shrank to $6 million in the latest quarter from $10.8 million in the second quarter last year. That helped narrow the magazines losses, which were $2.1 million in the latest quarter versus $2.7 million a year ago.

We have been rebuilding Maxims media business, both in print and in digital, as well as developing a licensing business, the company said in a regulatory filing Friday. We have been making adjustments in operations to reduce dramatically the high fixed costs inherent in the media business.

Maxim is one of San Antonio-based Biglari Holdings Inc.s operating businesses, which also include the Steak n Shake restaurant chain and First Guard Insurance Co., an underwriter of commercial trucking insurance.

Biglari Holdings second-quarter results were boosted by $51.2 million in investment gains. The holding company earned $37.5 million, or $30.57 a share, on $219.1 million in revenue in the quarter. That compares with a net profit of $26,000, or a penny a share, on $222 million in revenue in the same quarter last year. The company repeatedly has said its businesses are best analyzed before the impact of investment gains.

A call to Biglari, chairman and CEO of Biglari Holdings and Maxims editor-in-chief, was not returned. He generally does not speak to the media.

Biglari Holdings hasnt indicated when it expects to reverse Maxims fortunes. The company is trying to generate licensing royalties from the Maxim brand.

Samir Husni, director of the Magazine Innovation Center at the University of Mississippi, called Maxim an ego trip for Biglari.

What it looks to me from the way the upscale was done, its more of a pat on the back for himself, said Husni, who goes by the nickname Mr. Magazine, a moniker he has trademarked. A lot of magazines that have tried to reinvent themselves hoping to get a new audience end up losing their established audience and they never get a new audience.

Asked what he would do if he were Biglari, Husni said, Hes not going to like my advice, because Im going to say let it rest in peace. Take it from the intensive care.

Biglari Holdings restaurant business, comprised of Steak n Shake and Western Sizzlin, was essentially flat on the sales front in the second quarter. The restaurants earned $8.7 million on $210.7 million in revenue in the period, compared with earnings of $9.3 million on $211.6 million in revenue a year ago.

Steak n Shake reported customer traffic decreased 2.1 percent in the second quarter. By comparison, traffic in the quick-service restaurant segment  which includes McDonalds and Wendys  was flat. In the fast-casual restaurant category  which includes Panera Bread and Chipotle Mexican Grill  traffic was down 3 percent in the quarter, the NPD Group Inc. reported.

Consumers are closing watching their discretionary spending, said NPD Group spokeswoman Kim McLynn.

Theyve got a tight grip on the purse strings, she said.

Restaurant executives have given similar warnings.

Clifford Hudson, CEO of burger chain Sonic Corp., told securities analysts in a June 23 conference call that consumers have become more guarded and price sensitive of late.

First Guard produced solid results in the second quarter. The insurance company earned almost $1.4 million on $5.6 million in revenue. By comparison, it earned $742,000 on $3.6 million in revenue in the same period last year.

Biglari Holdings shares rose $4.42 to close at $407.42 on Friday.

pdanner@express-news.net

Twiter: @AlamoPD
Wearing a hooded sweatshirt on a hot summer day in Georgia was the mistake that led to the arrest of a 24-year-old man in the shooting death of a popular school bus driver from San Carlos.

Endicott McCray was arrested Wednesday outside Atlanta after federal agents noticed that he was wearing a hoodie over his head in an apparent attempt to avoid detection, according to supervisory U.S. marshal Hector Gomez.

Instead, agents suspicions were aroused. A closer look at the hooded man revealed the presence of floral tattoos that matched the description of the man they were looking for.

McCray was wanted in connection with the shooting death Sunday of Teqnika Moultrie, 30. She was shot in the head and killed as she walked out of a doughnut shop with her wife of three months around 2 a.m. in the Sixth Street nightclub district in Austin, Texas. Four other people were wounded.

Gomez said McCray had been trying to settle a score with his brother-in-law. He fired and hit everybody except his intended victim, Gomez said.

Shortly after the shooting, authorities determined that McCray was on the run and headed for the Atlanta area.

McCray, an unemployed resident of Austin, was charged with murder and waived extradition back to Texas at a federal court hearing in Atlanta, Gomez said.

Moultrie was a bus driver for the Sequoia Union High School District. In a statement on a GoFundMe page intended to raise money to help pay for Moultries funeral, her fellow drivers issued a statement that said Moultrie was our youngest driver, our Baby Girl of the bunch.

She was a superstar at work, her colleagues said. She had a kind spirit and would give the shirt off her back if needed.

Steve Rubenstein is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: srubenstein@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @SteveRubeSF
A San Jose man suspected of killing two people in a hit-and-run crash nearly six months ago has been arrested, police said Thursday.

Craig Allen 33, was charged with double homicide Wednesday in connection with the deaths of two Los Gatos residents, police said.
Police are asking for the public's help in locating nearly 20 Houston-area fugitives.

Each week, Crime Stoppers officials in Houston and Montgomery County release a new list of what they consider to be their most highly sought fugitives.
Topo Chico, the cool drink revered by people in Mexico and Texas, is pegged as a hot item for the summer thanks to the New York Times, where a lengthy feature on the 121-year-old drink titled "How Do Texans Beat the Heat? With Water From Mexico" was published Thursday.

The nationwide coverage of the beloved drink, which had its start near Monterrey, came via a Houston-based writer who called it a "Mexican sparkling water with an effervescence as aggressive as the summer heat is oppressive."
Chinese smartphone maker Huawei recently hired a former Samsung executive, the South China Morning Post reported Wednesday.

Huawei already ranks third in terms of global market share and recently filed a patent lawsuit against Samsung.

According to the daily, Huawei hired Hong Kong native Andy Ho, formerly the managing director of Samsung's mobile handset sales in China, as its new vice president of consumer business there.

Ho worked for Nokia and then Samsung for the last 25 years and apparently excelled in marketing and regional management.

Huawei said it is confident that Ho will contribute to its consumer sales operations.

This is not the first time Huawei has poached a Samsung executive. In 2012, Yang Zhe, a former executive at Samsung's mobile phone business in China, also moved to Huawei.

Huawei is eager to catch up with Samsung. Richard Yu, the chief executive of Huawei's consumer business, said earlier this year that the company aims to overtake Apple within three years and beat world leader Samsung by 2021.

Huawei filed two patent lawsuits against Samsung in the U.S. in May and July and Samsung launched a counteroffensive in a court in Beijing.


By Pam Fleming / For the Express-News

In May 2014 we headed West to visit several national parks. First stop was the Grand Canyon, where we rode the train from Williams, Arizona, to the South Rim. While walking around and enjoying the beauty that was there, we were snowed on and sleeted on. The trip then went on to Hoover Dam for the day.

After a couple of days in Las Vegas, we headed to Yellowstone National Park. We saw lots of animals moving around. Snow was on all the mountains from snow storms every night and there was still snow in the park. We saw many beautiful running streams.
Albany

A parent-led group against Common Core testing is questioning whether the state Education Department manipulated scores this year to show New York made improvements on standardized English and math tests.

New York State Allies for Public Education, the group that led a statewide opt-out campaign against the tests, is wondering why students did not need to earn as many raw points to be considered proficient.

The group suggested the change had been made to increase proficiency rates. It is calling on the state to release test analysis data dating to 2013, when Common Core-based tests were first administered.

The state Education Department called the analysis "flawed, irresponsible and misleading" and defended this year's tests as just as rigorous as previous years.

The dispute is tied to the way the state calculates proficiency  how much a student knows in a given subject. Proficiency is graded on a scale of 1 to 4, with levels 1 and 2 considered failing and levels 3 and 4 considered passing. The percentage of raw points a student needs to earn to reach level 3 differs depending on the difficulty of a given year's test. For example, if a third-grade math test has easier questions than one from a year ago, the number of raw points needed to pass would need to be higher than the previous year.

Because each year's test includes different questions, it is likely the questions are, on average, slightly easier or slightly more difficult from year to year, state officials have said.

To ensure the scores on every test are comparable, the testing industry uses a process called equating to determine how many raw points would be needed to achieve a certain performance level. This process is used across all kinds of large-scale tests, including the SAT, ATC, NAEP and AP.

"Slight, annual changes in the raw scores required to achieve a given scale score are to be expected," the parent-led group said Friday in a news release.

The across-the-board decrease in raw points needed to achieve proficiency this year could be explained, the group said, if this year's test questions were "significantly more difficult" than previous years.

"However, Commissioner (MaryEllen) Elia has repeatedly stated that the content of the 2016 tests was comparable to previous years in terms of rigor," the group said. "The use of test scores for high stakes accountability decisions makes test scores vulnerable to manipulation in order to serve political purposes."

Critics used an analysis provided by New Paltz Board of Education Vice President Michael O'Donnell to arrive at its conclusions. The analysis shows the percentage of raw points needed to achieve proficiency were lower on 11 out of 12 of this year's Common Core tests. The decreases were particularly high on math tests, where the percentage of raw points needed was 7 points lower for seventh grade, 9 points lower for eighth grade and 12 points lower for sixth grade.

New York State Council of School Superintendents Executive Director Charles Dedrick said raw scores used to calculate passing rates have always varied, and recalled another time when a variation cast doubt on the process.

"I remember one year when kids got a certain number of questions right on the Regents and got a score in the 90s, and the next year they got about the same number of questions right but their score was in the 80s," he said. "There were some people who weren't happy about that, but all it was about was making the tests comparable."

Dedrick said he is confident that this year's test results reflect the proficiency of students who took them, and said to conclude otherwise requires a leap in judgment.

"It's oversimplifying things to just simply say that because a lower percentage of correct answers was needed this year compared to last year, the scores must have been rigged," he said.

Elia, the state education commissioner, has warned against comparing this year's tests to previous years' tests, saying it wouldn't be an "apples-to-apples" comparison since this year's tests were not timed and shorter than in previous years. She and others have said, however, that the nearly 7 percent proficiency increase in English over last year was large enough to safely be considered improvement.

bbump@timesunion.com  518-454-5387  @bethanybump
Albany

A Staten Island assemblyman is seeking to make it a hate crime to assault a police officer.

Republican Ron Castorina announced Thursday that he plans to introduce the "Blue Lives Matter" bill, which would increase penalties for assaulting any police officer statewide by adding a hate crime to the charges. Draft bill text was unavailable Thursday afternoon.

"All of this is cumulative," Castorina said in an interview of incidents, including the murders of two NYPD officers in December 2014 and more recent murders of Dallas police officers in July, that provided the impetus for the legislation. "It's high time where the Legislature acts in one voice and does something to help protect both the public and the police. I think this bill particularly aims to do that because it allows for the public who want to protest peacefully to have the ability to do so without having a rabble rouser come in and throw a bottle or a punch or a rock. Maybe that person ... will think twice because they'll know there is a heightened level of offense for attacking a police officer."

The bill's name refers to the national Blue Lives Matter movement, which is supportive of police. It is a response to the national Black Lives Matter movement, which is critical of police interactions with minority communities.

New York would not be the first state to pass a Blue Lives Matter bill. Louisiana lawmakers in May extended hate-crime protections to law enforcement and first responders.

The idea isn't new in New York, either. Assemblyman Dean Murray, R-Long Island, introduced legislation in May that would make some offenses, including assault, committed against someone because of their "actual or perceived employment" as an EMT, firefighter or law enforcement officer a hate crime.

Murray's bill did not clear the Democratic-controlled Codes Committee.

Castorina said his bill will apply only to police for now, though he indicated he is open to expansion if "there was a need for other groups to be protected."

Under state law, hate crimes cover those perpetrated against a person because of his or her race, color, national origin, ancestry, gender, religion, religious practice, age (defined in the law as anyone older than 60), disability or sexual orientation.

A hate crime applies regardless of whether the perpetrator is correct in the belief that the person against whom the crime is committed is of the targeted class. For example, someone could be convicted of a hate crime for assaulting a man outside a synagogue for being Jewish even if the man is of a different religion.

mhamilton@timesunion.com  518-454-5449  @matt_hamilton10
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Albany

Six of seven companies that received cease-and-desist letters from state Attorney General Eric Schneiderman on Wednesday have put an end to their false claims of protecting consumers against the Zika virus, the attorney general announced on Thursday.

The companies had marketed their products with claims that they prevented or protected against Zika virus, even though the products are known to be ineffective for that purpose. Some of the companies have completely removed their products online.

"We won't let fraudsters take advantage of a public health crisis, and this should serve as a warning to other companies who seek to engage in the same dishonest practices," Schneiderman said in a statement. "I urge consumers to educate themselves about the repellents that will actually protect you against Zika to avoid being fooled by these outrageous scams."

An investigation remains ongoing.

Zika is primarily transmitted by mosquitoes, but can also be spread through sexual contact. No one has contracted Zika virus from mosquitoes in New York; the 533 reported cases have all been related to travel to regions with Zika outbreaks, including Latin America and the Caribbean. On the U.S. mainland, the virus has been spread by mosquitoes in a Miami, Florida, neighborhood.

Officials have advised New Yorkers traveling to these regions to use products proven to prevent mosquito bites, including those with DEET, picaridin, oil of lemon eucalyptis and IR3535, to prevent Zika. They warned against products like wristbands marketed to prevent babies from getting Zika virus, and repellents based on ultrasound, botanicals or Vitamin B.

On Tuesday, the state said it would offer free larvicide to any New York resident who wanted it in an effort to stop mosquito breeding statewide. Larvicide can be ordered by calling 1-888-364-4723.

chughes@timesunion.com  518-454-5417  @hughesclaire
PAUL PHILLIPS

Background: He's 74 and was born and raised in Saratoga Springs. Served in the ROTC and received a bachelor's degree in psychology from Duke University and a master's in educational counseling psychology from the University of the Pacific in Stockton, California. Spent four years in the Navy. Lived on both coasts for more than 40 years, working initially at a corporation, then in higher education for most of his career. Retired in 2001. He and his wife, Jean, have two grown daughters and live in Malta.

You're an elder at the Presbyterian-New England Congregational Church in Saratoga Springs. How did that come about?

I grew up Methodist, but didn't stay active in church. I was actually pretty inactive for 20 years. When my wife, Jean, and I moved back to the area, I was attracted to the church by minister Jay Ekman, who recently retired after 40 years. I think what really drew me in was the liberal theology.

As a congregation of a little less than 300, we're very active in the Saratoga community and with global missions, which is my main interest. Prior to retiring, Jean and I decided to volunteer in Africa and traveled to Uganda. We've been back almost every year since 2002 through the AIDS Orphans Education Trust Uganda.

What is the AOET?

AOET is a nongovernmental organization in Uganda that provides education to orphans whose parents have died of AIDS. It also assists children with AIDS and widows who have lost their spouses to the disease. Jean and I realized early on that we could accomplish more and it would be beneficial to bring back volunteer teams. We have a trip coming up in April, and church members are also going to Cuba in September.

We are the second most involved church with AOET in the nation. Our outreach includes the Rehaboth Primary School in the Bugembe village of Uganda. The school, which is private, accepts both Muslim and Christian kids, unlike many schools there. We make significant contributions (84 members along with the Middle School Youth Group and Women's Association are sponsoring children there), which is probably the best representation of what we do. For this and other mission work, we received this year's David Southard Sr. Award for Excellence in Global Mission Work.

Tell us about the award.

It is given out each year to a New York United Church of Christ congregation to acknowledge their commitment to global mission activities. Among our many initiatives, of particular note was our work in Uganda and the generosity of our members who over the years have donated more than $100,000 to two international relief programs  One Great Hour of Sharing and the Heifer Project  as well as allocating $39,000 to worldwide disaster relief, including the current Syrian refugee crisis, the 2015 earthquake in Nepal and the 2013 typhoon in the Philippines. Many of these efforts are interfaith in nature.

Our church also hosts the annual Saratoga Springs Peace Fair, which promotes worldwide peace and will be held in September at the church, located at 24 Circular St. Every four years, we support global education for youth by way of group trips to Europe and in addition, we're supporting a mission partner from Uganda who is pursuing a bachelor's degree in nursing at SUNY Plattsburgh. She's here with her four children, who are looking to further their education as well.

Do young people at your church go on missions?

Yes. Our trips always coincide with winter or spring break to accommodate high school kids. We already have three or four signed up for next year. Our teens are fabulous. They react so well to the elementary and high school kids at the school in Uganda. It's a great opportunity for them, and they always come back so appreciative of our culture. It's interesting to watch how critical they become of how materialistic we can be. The minor things they thought were important no longer are upon reflection. It's just one of the many ways our members are impacted by global mission work. For a little church, we do a lot.

 Jennifer Patterson
On this date in ...

1916: Capt. Reynolds King Townsend of Company A reported to his superior officers that returning-soldiers' clothing, equipment and other articles valued at nearly $2,000 were stolen from the luggage train traveling from Peekskill to Albany. Inventory for the entire company's belongings had not been completed so the losses might end up higher, he cautioned, but officers' suitcases containing personal effects and several overcoats were among the missing items.

1966: The Albany County Board of Supervisors was ordered to act within 20 days on a new form of government that would comply with the one-man one-vote ruling of the U.S. Supreme Court. In his ruling, Supreme Court Justice John H. Pennock agreed that the county's present form of government was not in compliance with the federal court's directive. But he denied the request of Paul E. Dickinson of Delmar and S. Cady Schoonever of Selkirk that the board should adopt a system of weighted voting until some new form of government was achieved.

1991: A new study suggested ozone pollution at levels generally considered safe could double a person's sensitivity to allergens that caused asthma attacks. The research was the most recent in a string of studies suggesting that ozone pollution at presently acceptable levels was a threat to human health. If confirmed in additional studies, the results could help explain the recent rise in hospital admissions and deaths from the breathing disorder, which affected at least 10 million Americans and was a mounting public health concern. In 1988, 4,580 Americans died of asthma.

Want to read more about the Capital Region's past? Have any memories or thoughts about how our history relates to today's events? See http://blog.timesunion.com/history/
BRIDGEPORT  A Danbury man suspected in the shooting death of his daughter was arrested Friday afternoon in a Bridgeport pizza parlor.

Walter DaSilva, 45, of Town Hill Avenue, Danbury, was taken into custody by members of the U.S. Marshal Violent Crime Fugitive Task Force and charged with being a fugitive from justice.

DaSilva was held in lieu of $500,000 bond pending an extradition hearing on Monday. He was also held on a warrant charging him with violating his probation on a 2002 conviction in Massachusetts for aggrevated assault with a weapon and attempted murder.

Police said DaSilva, a Brazilian citizen, is a suspect in the July 3 fatal shooting of his daughter, 19-year-old Sabrina DaSilva.

Sabrina DaSilva, a student at Bristol Community College in Massachusetts, was found lying in a parking lot in New Bedford, Mass. Police said she had been shot nine times.

Massachusetts police attempted to question Walter DaSilva, but police said he evaded them. They subsequently sought help from the fugitive task force to locate him.

The task force received information DaSilva was in the Brooklawn Avenue area of the city, possibly working on a house construction on the Bridgeport/Fairfield line, according to Police Detective Robert Martin, a member of the task force.

Martin said task force members went to the house, but DaSilva was not there.

Noting it was lunchtime and several of the construction workers went across the street to Capitol Pizza for lunch, Martin said he checked to see if DaSilva was there.

While Martin was questioning employees there, he said, DaSilva walked in to pick up a sandwich he had ordered. Martin said he took DaSilva into custody without incident.

It just worked out, said Martin. I was in the pizza parlor talking to an employee when DaSilva walked in wearing a red hat, and I realized he was the guy I was looking for.
Bridgeport  Two out-of-state firms have responded to the city school boards request for proposals to help it find a permanent schools superintendent.

Bids came in from Ray and Associates, Inc. which has offices in Iowa and New Jersey, and from McPherson Jacobson LLC out of Omaha, Neb.
Chung Myung-whun, the former music director of the Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra, has been cleared of embezzlement charges, police in Seoul said Thursday.

Chung was accused of having taken about W41 million of orchestra funds for plane tickets for his family (US$1=W1,115).

But police now believe that Chung had merely double-booked to be on the safe side and the unused tickets were canceled, but the orchestra's accounting clerk mistakenly filed the canceled air tickets. A police spokesman said it was a simple clerical error.

Chung in a press release said it is "regrettable that the orchestra and I suffered tremendous damage because of the false suspicion."

Police will also not press charges against a clerk for paying Chung W39.5 million to put up his family in a hotel while his house was being renovated in 2007.

The payment was not illegal because it had been authorized by the orchestra board at Chung's request, police said.
Michael Macor/The Chronicle

Backers of the ballot proposition to legalize marijuana in California sued their opponents Thursday over language in official ballot arguments that they called grossly false and misleading.

The alleged falsehoods in the proposed anti-Proposition 64 arguments include assertions by the anti-marijuana side that the initiative would allow TV commercials for pot and that children will be exposed to ads promoting CBD gummies and brownies.
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Portland

Back on the defensive, Donald Trump's campaign chief acknowledged conflict inside Trump Tower on Thursday as anxious Republicans struggled to shift voters' attention to Hillary Clinton's record on foreign policy.

The feud between the GOP's presidential nominee and House Speaker Paul Ryan continued to overshadow fresh attacks on Clinton, underscoring the rising concerns from party leaders over the New York billionaire's unorthodox candidacy and its impact on the future of the Republican Party.

Trump refused for another day to endorse the Republican speaker, though he said Ryan is "a good guy, actually."

Ryan, meanwhile, publicly declared his support for Trump, but said such endorsements aren't "blank checks" and pledged to speak out against the businessman's divisive positions if necessary. Most recently, that means Trump's sustained criticism of an American Muslim family whose son, U.S. Army Capt. Humayun Khan, was killed in Iraq.

"I don't like doing this," Ryan told a Wisconsin radio station. "I don't want to do this, but I will do this because I feel I have to in order to defend Republicans, and our principles, so that people don't make the mistake of thinking we think like that."

Campaign chairman Paul Manafort insisted Trump would work with Ryan if elected, but he conceded the endorsement question had sparked tension inside Trump's New York campaign headquarters. The day before, vice presidential nominee Mike Pence broke with Trump and endorsed Ryan.

"There's a conflict within the Trump campaign," Manafort told ABC's "Good Morning America." "We've sort of had a rule of not getting involved in primaries because it's usually not a good situation for the presidential candidate."

Facing Maine voters later in the day, Trump said he gave Pence permission to endorse Ryan.

"I say, 'Mike, you like him? Yes. Go ahead and do it, 100 percent,'" Trump recalled of his conversation the day before, interrupting his audience when they began to boo Ryan.

"Paul Ryan's a good guy, actually," Trump added.

As Republican infighting dominated the 2016 presidential race for another day, Trump and his Republican allies lashed out at the Democratic presidential nominee's foreign policy record.

Specifically, they contended that Clinton was responsible for negotiations that led to a $400 million U.S. payment to Iran earlier in the year. Trump and some other Republicans have described the money as ransom payment for four Americans detained in Iran days before the money was delivered.

"It's so sad, so disgusting," Trump said of the payment as he campaigned in Maine.

As Trump used the issue to assail Clinton, he faced new questions about his description Wednesday, and again on Thursday, of video he suggested was taken by Iranian forces removing bags of money from a plane.

It's unclear what footage Trump was referring to.

Several senior U.S. officials involved in the Iran negotiations said they weren't aware of any such video. Trump's campaign said the GOP nominee had not seen a tape as part of any security briefing.

In an email, a campaign spokeswoman said Trump was simply referring to video aired on television this week, although no such footage of payment to Iranians was shown.

At the same time, Clinton criticized Trump for outsourcing at his companies the very jobs he's promising to create back home.
Relevant ministries meet on Aug. 12 to decide whether or not to give Google free access to Korea's proprietary map data, which the U.S. tech giant wants to use for its Maps app.

Of course it is sensible for Google to want to make its maps as accurate as possible and provide better services to its customers. But there are some concerns that the maps from the National Geographic Information Institute also include the exact coordinates of military installations and other classified sites, which would have to be deleted.

One way to avoid a potential leak would be for Google to set up a secure server in Korea so the government can make sure that no unauthorized data are published. But the company has refused to do that citing "internal policies."

What are these internal policies? In essence a pathological reluctance to pay tax.

Google generates more than W1 trillion in annual revenues in Korea (US$1=W1,115). But because it has no official seat of business here it pays virtually no corporate tax. A server on Korean soil could change that, so its refusal to answer Korea's security concerns clearly has more to do with greed than anything else.

And now it wants free help from Korean civil servants, who work on other taxpayers' time. If it wants the map data, it should pay what it owes.


Scott Huddleston / Staff / Scott Huddleston / Staff

Some 38,000 library items once housed at the Alamo may soon have a new home downtown.

Under a five-year agreement set for action by county commissioners on Tuesday, the collection owned by the Daughters of the Republic of Texas will be kept at the former Federal Reserve building, 126 E. Nueva St., in space leased by Texas A&M University-San Antonio. The county-owned building is just south of the Bexar County Courthouse.
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BOERNE - A retired San Antonio physician who brandished a pistol at two tubing girls on a Sisterdale creek last summer was convicted late Thursday of three charges of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon.

Were really disappointed in the verdict, said Larry Bloomquist, attorney for defendant Kathleen D. Daniel, 72. We felt she was acting in defense of her property, but we respect the jury system.

The jury, which deliberated more than eight hours before rendering its verdict about 8 p.m. Thursday, heard widely divergent accounts of the July 4, 2015 incident at the Sister Creek Vinyards.

Teens Skylar Obuch and Jaci Lewis said Daniel pointed a gun at them as they crossed her business property while tubing on the West Sister Creek in Sisterdale, and forced them to walk out to FM 1376.

Bobby Windle, Lewis step dad, said Daniel also brandished the weapon at him after he ran up the creek to find the girls, whod alerted family members by phone that they were being detained.

Daniel denied pointing the gun at anyone but admitted firing a bullet into the ground during the confrontation with the girls. She initially told authorities she fired to get the girls attention but, in an interview months later, claimed it was a misfire that resulted from her stumbling.

She faces up to 20 years in prison on each of the three felonies. Bloomquist had said negotiations were underway early Friday for an agreement with prosecutors that would have called for Daniel to serve no prison time, but the talks fell through and the sentencing phase began before noon Friday.
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One person was killed during a shootout between several people Thursday afternoon on the West Side, police said.

Roland Solis, 35, was pronounced dead Thursday from gunshot wounds to the head, neck and chest, according to the Bexar County Medical Examiner's Office.

San Antonio Police Department Chief William McManus said the shootout left the man dead at about 6 p.m. in the 600 block of South Sabinas Street.

Everybody had weapons, and there was an exchange of gunfire, he said. Several houses were struck by bullets, as well as two cars.

Investigators were still combing the scene, where McManus said there were still several witnesses who needed to be questioned.

So far, police believe the shootout was the result of an argument between the two groups. It was not yet determined whether the incident was the result of gangs or drugs.

Several residents said there were many people out in the street, including the victim, who was seen pacing back and forth in front of a home. One witness said the victim was hit several times as he attempted to hide behind an SUV, which had several windows shattered and bullet holes throughout.

Police said there were multiple shell casings. More than 15 could be seen in the street not far from where the body lay covered in a yellow tarp.

It was a very dangerous situation. Fortunately, no one else was injured, McManus said.

Investigators said several weapons appear to have involved in the fight with different calibers of ammunition collected for evidence.

This is beyond reckless, its beyond senseless, McManus said of the incident.

Police did not have any suspects as of Thursday evening.

Staff writer Tyler White contributed to this report.

jbeltran@express-news.net

Twitter: @JBfromSA
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SAN ANTONIO  Three people accused of belonging to a carjacking ring in San Antonio were arrested Thursday, police said.

Jaime Alberto Medina and Jacob Rigo Luna, both 21, were arrested on a first-degree felony charge of aggravated robbery. They are tied to at least four alleged carjackings in the area, police said.

Jessica Danielle Suarez, 20, was arrested alongside the two men for a third-degree felony charge of possession of a controlled substance between 1 and 4 grams and a Class B misdemeanor charge of theft between $100 and $750.

RELATED: Five teens arrested on robbery charges following Northwest Side home invasion

The San Antonio Police Department's Robbery Task Force Unit initially responded Thursday to a carjacking in the 1300 block of Gardina Street on the Northwest Side.

The victim told police he was washing his car when a gray van pulled up to him. Several suspects got out of the van, pointed a gun at the man and demanded his car. The victim let them take his vehicle and they fled in his vehicle and the van, SAPD spokesman Douglas Greene said in a statement.

RELATED: 8 ways to theft-proof your car

The task force unit had been looking into robberies involving a gray van as part of trend in the city, and about an hour later the unit found the gray van.

A SWAT unit came to the area to assist, while surveillance was set up.

SWAT attempted to conduct a traffic stop on the vehicle after it started driving away, but the van intentionally crashed into the SWAT vehicle and drove around it. The van drove away and then later crashed into an unmarked robbery unit vehicle near Sandy Court and Tampico, Greene said.

The suspects were then taken into custody without further incident.

RELATED: San Antonio police apprehend 3 car theft suspects at North Side hotel

Two stolen vehicles, including the van, were recovered.

If convicted, the two male suspects face five to 99 years in prison. Suarez faces up to 10 years in prison for her felony charge.

twhite@mysa.com

Twitter: @tylerlwhite
SAN ANTONIO  A 25-year-old man is in critical condition at an area hospital Friday after suffering a gunshot wounds on the Southwest Side, according to police.

The shooting occurred around 12:03 a.m. near the 100 block of Briggs Avenue, where the victim was reportedly uncooperative with officers and emergency personnel, an officer said at the scene.
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A Northeast Texas youth pastor who was arrested on Tuesday and charged with three counts of sexual assault involving a teenage member of his youth group was released on bail Thursday.

The 41-year-old accused man, David Wayne Farren, reportedly worked at Anchor Church and at several churches in the Texarkana area where he met the teen, TXK reported.

The pastor's bail was set at $25,000 and he was subsequently released following an initial appearance, TXK said.

RELATED: West Texas sheriff: Ex-youth pastor among 'sick and depraved' men arrested in sex sting

Farren's attorney, Jason Horton, petitioned for the case to be sealed and asked for a gag order preventing authorities from speaking about the case, according to TXK.

An open records request filed Thursday returned a minimally detailed arrest report from the Texarkana Police Department and a message from the department saying the report was all they could release at the time.

RELATED: Fort Worth pastor says 'God will finish' what the Orlando shooter started

TXK reported that the alleged sexual assault took place when the teen was 16 and 17-years-old in a "private home."

A probable cause affidavit was not immediately available as the case was sealed Thursday.

The church released a statement to its Twitter and Facebook Friday morning, however, deleted the full statement from it's Facebook account.

RELATED: Former Sulphur Springs Baptist pastor sent to prison for child porn conviction

The beginning read "Anchor Family, recently our pastor was accused of a very serious crime. Many of you have seen the media attention..." but the remainder of the statement was deleted.

Photos of Farren remain on the Anchor Church website and Facebook page as of Friday morning.

A phone number for the church listed on their contact page was not in service on Friday.

MMedina@mySA.com

Twitter: @MMedinaNews
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SAN ANTONIO - Two men were shot Thursday evening as a vehicle drove by a North Side home.

San Antonio Police Department spokesman Officer Douglas Greene said people at the home were outside doing yard work at about 8:45 p.m. at Grant and West Wildwood streets when a black vehicle drove by.

"They fired one round at several people who were in the front yard," Greene said, noting the shot missed.

RELATED: West Side shootout leaves one dead, bullet holes in homes

The vehicle turned onto West Wildwood Street from Grant Street and continued past the garage of the home, where they fired several more shots, hitting two people.

A 51-year-old man was hit in the chest and sent to University Hospital in critical condition, Greene said.

Another man, 40, was struck in the back and transported to the hospital in stable condition, Greene said.

It was unclear how many people were in the vehicle, police said.

No suspects or motive for the shooting was available as of Thursday evening, as investigators were still examining the scene.

No one else was injured in the incident.

jbeltran@express-news.net

Twitter: @JBfromSA
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A three-term Virginia mayor was arrested Thursday after undercover detectives met with the man at a hotel to exchange meth for a group sexual encounter between men, police said Friday.

Fairfax Mayor Richard Scott Silverthorne, 50, was arrested and charged distribution of methamphetamine, a felony, and a misdemeanor charge of possession of drug paraphernalia after he provided undercover detectives meth at the Crowne Plaza Hotel just west of Washington D.C., Fairfax police announced in a news release Friday.

RELATED: Police: Backpage.com ads lead to arrest of 19 in undercover prostitution sting in Central Texas

Silverthorne is also a substitute teacher for Fairfax County Public Schools.

In July, police received a tip about a possible methamphetamine distributor and proceeded to identify a suspect on a website that is used to arrange for casual sexual encounters between men, police said. An undercover detective created a profile and , within day, identified Silverthorne as the primary suspect after the mayor made contact and then communicated by text.

RELATED: Four elderly men charged with having public sex after East Coast sting

Silverthorne told the undercover detective, not knowing their true identity until later, he would provide the drug for a sexual encounter. Detectives agreed to meet Silverthorne at a hotel for a group sexual encounter, which the mayor would provide extra men for, in exchange for methamphetamine.

The group met Thursday at the hotel and Silverthorne was arrested after he gave detectives methamphetamine.

Juan Jose Fernandez 34, and Caustin Lee McLaughlin, 21, were identified as Silverthornes suppliers. Both are from Maryland.

RELATED: Police: 12 men, 2 women arrested in South Texas prostitution sting

Both were arrested and Fernandez was charged with distribution of methamphetamine, a felony, possession with the intent to distribute methamphetamine, a felony, and possession of drug paraphernalia, a misdemeanor. McLaughlin was charged with distribution of methamphetamine, obstruction of justice, a felony, and possession of drug paraphernalia.

McLaughlin resisted arrest and a detective had to use his electronic control weapon. There were no injuries.

All three offenders were taken to the Fairfax County Adult Detention Center.

Silverthorne was re-elected for his third-term in Mayor after a year in which, according to the Washington Post, he lost his job with the National Association for Manufacturers, filed for bankruptcy, lost his home to foreclosure and was diagnosed with cancer. He said in November that he was diagnosed with squamous cell carcinoma, a cancer he underwent treatment for two months before he was re-elected.

Silverthorne's late father, Frederick Silverthorne, was the mayor of Fairfax in the late 1970s and early 1980s.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

kbradshaw@express-news.net

Twitter: @kbrad5
Armed with a strong faith she learned from her mother, Paula E. Schuster Reeh faced many challenges during her life.

Marrying at 35, Reeh lost her husband in a work accident when their only child, a daughter, was 5.

The year he died, life changed for us, Reeh wrote in a autobiography she wrote for her family.

Working as a baker in a school cafeteria, Reeh was eventually promoted to cafeteria manager, sometimes cleaning houses on the weekends to make ends meet.

She was very strong, her daughter Kathleen Wells said. She was kind of scared, but she had her faith in God that helped her.

Reeh died Aug. 1, just two weeks before her 97th birthday.

The seventh of 12 children born to German immigrants, Reeh was raised on a farm, picking cotton from the age of 6.

Speaking only German when she started school, Reeh had a difficult time keeping up, a situation exacerbated by farm chores, which often caused her to miss class.

Dropping out in the seventh grade, Reeh worked as a maid for prominent families in San Antonio, taking the bus from her familys farm in Marion.

It was a few years later that Reeh began exchanging letters with her cousins in Germany, sending them packages with sugar, coffee and flour during the lean years after World War II.

More Information Paula E. Schuster Reeh Born: Aug. 14, 1919, Kendall County Died: Aug. 1, 2016, San Antonio Preceded by: Husband Bernard A. Reeh; step-daughter Bernadine Reeh Smith; parents Albin and Paula Schuster; 11 siblings. Survived by: Daughter Kathleen Wells and son-in-law David; four grandchildren, two step-grandchildren. Services: Visitation from 6 to 8 p.m. Monday, celebration of life at 9 a.m. Tuesday, both at Sunset Funeral Home, 1701 Austin Highway. See More Collapse

Word got out to other relatives that there were an aunt and uncle in America who were sending packages, Reeh wrote. Suddenly they were sending letters introducing themselves and asking for food, too; sometimes I sent 20 packages at one time.

Marrying in 1955, Reeh was widowed in 1963. She started her job at Alamo Heights High School later the same year.

At home, she sometimes depended on relatives to help with certain tasks.

Kathleen and I lived in a house on 30 acres of pasture land  and we occasionally had rattlesnakes to deal with, Reeh wrote. Having no man in the house, I would call my brother-in-law and his son.

When her daughter traveled to Austria with her high school class in 1974, Reeh was able to go along as a chaperone, separating from the group to go on a prearranged trip across the Iron Curtain to East Germany, where her relatives lived.

Welcomed with open arms, Reeh later wrote how her many cousins showed me empty coffee cans they had saved from when I mailed them food.

After retiring, Reeh continued to stay active, doing everything for everybody else, Wells said. She helped me a lot with our kids, and she liked to work on the family farm in Marion.

mheidbrink@express-news.net
Is it too late to change the citys negotiated police contract?

That question is hard to fathom. After more than two years of bruising talks between the city and the cops, theres a mediated settlement on the table. The thought of firing up the flux capacitor to go back to that protracted fatigue-inducing fight isnt especially appealing. But neither are the citys disciplinary policies for police, which would remain revisionist under the new contract.

Thats not hyperbole. It just is what it is.

Arbitrators and San Antonios police chief still wont be able to review an entire officers disciplinary record. Instead, such reviews will be limited to 10 years for drug and alcohol-related issues, five years for acts of intentional violence and two years for all other forms of discipline.

Suspensions of three days or fewer will continue to be automatically reduced to written reprimands after two years. If thats not revisionist, then what is?

Those are the headliners from seven reform policies dealing with disciplinary issues the city had prioritized for contract negotiations with the San Antonio Police Officers Association, only to become lost in the fierce debate over officer pay and health care benefits.

There are policies in there that if you had to strip them away and explain them clearly to the community, it would really create a little bit of debate, and a worthy one, about language that is specifically meant to, in some ways, wash away a police officers record of discipline and misconduct, City Councilman Rey Saldana told me last week.

Saldana says he sees such reform as crucial for rooting out bad cops, and hopefully preventing the kinds of use-of-force issues, big and small, that have rocked communities across the country. Without a review of an officers full record, how can the citys police chief identify red flags, require certain training or discipline an officer appropriately? What is the benefit to the community of scrubbing an officers record?

From Saldanas perspective, this is all about strengthening policing, not weakening it. He wants Council to somehow pull these reforms out of the contract for further negotiation.

In an interview last week, Mayor Ivy Taylor said she shared Saldanas concerns but thought he was being unrealistic. The heated debate over public safety health care dominated discussions. Changing the negotiated contract, she said, would mean going back to court and opening all kinds of wounds. It would also be a pointless, harmful exercise since reform was a nonstarter with the San Antonio Police Officers Association. It takes two to tango.

I have discussed the concerns that he had, she said. They were my concerns as well. I brought them to the table during the mediated settlement, and the union determined that was not something that they could address right now and successfully get their membership to vote for a contract.

Getting a deal done, she said, opens the door to public discussions and forums about community policing outside the adversarial realm of contract negotiations. There is already enough tension between police officers and communities across the country.

Now is not the time for us to be at odds with the police on anything, she said, alluding to the fatal attacks on police in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, and Dallas.

As my colleague Gilbert Garcia recently reported, the two exchanged emails about this last month, with Saldana telling the mayor he wouldnt support the new contract sans reforms. They are respectful and earnest reads.

But whats not reflected in those emails is a certain frustration among at least several council members who have said they had no idea about the details of the contract when Taylor announced a deal in June. At the time, members of council flanked Taylor on stage to show solidarity. How many knew what they were supporting?

Or as Saldana, who missed that presser due to a previous commitment, said in our interview: The first time we heard details about it was already when the mediated settlement was made public.

Naturally, there are details he does not like. The evergreen clause is still too long. The legal fund to pay for divorces bothers him. Hed stomach those for the greater good of a deal, but not the lack of police reforms.

To not even make a single effort to approach sensible reforms in a dialogue with the union is unfair to the entire council who wanted to chime in on that, he said.

Well, he is chiming in now  and taking a political risk. But is it too late?

jbrodesky@express-news.net
Recent announcements of two new magnet schools in the San Antonio Independent School District make me wonder why the English language doesnt give us a word that means the opposite of nostalgia.

Let me take you back two decades to the first time the school district established a set of magnet schools  at least thats what they called them.

It was not the most glorious period in the districts history. The district hadnt produced a National Merit scholar in decades. Laboring to meet state mandates to serve children who were behind grade level, the district had no programs for what I called advantaged children. Definition: Children who had been read to every night since before they could talk.

I mentioned to a former school board member, the late Andy Mireles, that the district didnt seem to want those. He explained that they didnt want any children whose families would question board members on such matters as how principals were chosen and contracts were let.

But in the mid-1990s, a divided board had hired a reform-oriented superintendent by the name of Diana Lam. Before long they tried to fire her, but then-Mayor Bill Thornton successfully rallied support for her. But he couldnt get the board to work with her.

In May 1995, Lams father died in her native Peru. She flew down for the funeral, missing her first board meeting in her two-year tenure. A few days before that meeting, someone posted an addition to the agenda: Each of the districts eight high schools would become host to a magnet school.

There had been little or no planning with the schools principals, no budget for additional costs, no discussions with experts, no partnerships lined up with the private sector.

Instead, each board member decided the themes for their schools magnets.

Themes ranged from arts and humanities to health professions. Because there had been no process, citizens were forced to try to figure out for themselves the rationales. A prominent rumor in the case of the West Sides Lanier High School was that its magnet program, a grandly named International School of Banking and Finance was that board member Tom Lopez hoped for employment in that field.

Some of these programs still exist, though few, if any, thrived.

Contrast that board with the current one, led by the estimable Patti Radle. It hired an ambitious, nontraditional superintendent in Pedro Martinez, and has backed him fully in planning a variety of innovative initiatives. In the past two months he and the board have announced two new magnet schools.

One is described as an accelerated learning academy, which will run from pre-K through high school. Aimed at producing high-performing students, the nontraditional school will open this month.

To create it, SAISD partnered with Trinity University and its premier teacher-training program. It has raised money from a consortium of foundations that previously had supported mainly charter schools. More than $1 million a year will go to scholarships for involved Trinity students and for stipends for mentor teachers. For its principal, Martinez was able to woo Kathy Bieser away from her position as head of Northeast ISDs highly regarded International School of the Americas.

More recently, Martinez announced a new high-tech magnet at the old Fox Tech High School. Planning in this case included partnering with Rackspace and with Tech-Bloc, an emerging power in San Antonio that expects to find internships and after-school jobs for the students in nearby technology shops.

It also meant obtaining a multimillion-dollar grant from Charles Butt and H-E-B. About $2.5 million will be used to convert two old shop buildings into state-of-the-art technology centers. The grant will also fund hiring a new principal well in advance of the schools opening next August.

A thousand students have already applied for the advanced learning academy  making hope for the future far outshine nostalgia for the past.

This column first appeared as the Last Word on KLRNs Texas Week with Rick Casey. The program appears Friday at 8 p.m. and Sunday at 1 p.m.
Re: AGs fighting Smiths latest climate change crusade, Rick Casey, Other Views, Saturday:

This opinion piece attacked the Committee on Science, Space and Technologys oversight of the effects of Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healeys and New York Attorney General Eric Schneidermans climate change investigations. Mr. Caseys piece included a number of incorrect assertions that I write to correct.

The actions by the state attorneys general are undoubtedly having an effect on scientists, researchers and those engaged with our nations scientific enterprise. It is this chilling effect that the science committee is investigating.

The actions of the attorneys general are a direct attack on the scientific debate surrounding climate change. Their theory is that somehow Exxon Mobil and other fossil fuel companies were privy to conclusions about climate change well beyond the knowledge of the rest of the worlds scientists and that the company did not disclose these conclusions. This is preposterous. As former New York Attorney General Dennis C. Vacco pointed out recently, Exxon Mobil has been open, publishing extensive research over decades that largely lined up with mainstream climatology.

Congress has a clear need to conduct oversight. Our nations privately funded research and development program is under attack by two powerful officials in New York and Massachusetts. At the behest of environmental extremists, the attorneys general have declared themselves judges over the validity of scientific findings of those who disagree with those extremists.

My committees primary goal is to protect and promote scientific inquiry and free speech. Contrary to Mr. Caseys assertions, the committees investigation into the actions and effects of the attorneys general and activist environmental groups is aimed not at protecting any single corporation. Instead, it is an effort to protect the First Amendment rights of all companies, nonprofit organizations and scientists, along with their ability to fund and conduct scientific research free from intimidation and threats of prosecution.

Rep. Lamar Smith represents the 21st district of Texas in the House of Representatives and is chairman of the House Science, Space and Technology Committee.
Payday lenders have won another round against Texas consumers.

The 4th Court of Appeals late last month threw out a class-action lawsuit by five Texas residents who alleged the Ohio-based short-term money lender Cash Biz was illegally using the criminal justice system to collect debts.

A significant number of Texans would be affected by class-action status on a case such as this.

In 2014, Texas Appleseed, a nonprofit advocacy group, reported finding 1,500 cases around the state where borrowers were sent letters or criminally charged by district attorneys for writing alleged hot checks to secure their loans. Court records indicate Cash Biz filed 191 criminal complaints on customers in Bexar County.

That same year, the Office of Consumer Credit Commissioner levied a $10,000 fine against Cash Biz and ordered the company to pay $16,000 in restitution to 51 customers it had filed complaints against.

The 4th Court opinion written by Justice Jason Pulliam found plaintiffs in the Cash Biz case waived their right to a trial by jury and to bring a class-action suit when they signed loan agreements that prohibited such actions.

The plaintiffs alleged the clause was voided when the lender pursued criminal charges against them. Justice Rebeca C. Martinez wrote a dissenting opinion in support of that position.

The ruling was a blow to the plaintiffs, but their lawyer, Daniel Dutko of Houston, told the Express-News he plans to ask for a review of the decision. If that fails, he will appeal to the Texas Supreme Court.

Fortunately, relief is in the works for future payday borrowers who would rather go before a judge than an arbitrator. A federal rule change that is going through the vetting process would take effect next year and make it easier for consumers to have their day in court. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau regulation would restrict the use of arbitration clauses in consumer financial contracts that are used to block class-action lawsuits.

Requiring those in dire financial straits to shell out $1,000 for an arbitrator to settle a dispute in a case with a net worth of only a few hundred dollars  and prohibiting them from joining those in similar circumstance  leaves few options.

The payday lending industry preys on the economically fragile. Stiffer regulation of the industry is needed to protect the financially desperate who seek these services and often end up in a cycle of debt they cannot escape.

For years, Texas lawmakers have ignored the pleas for help from consumer advocates  forcing local communities to adopt their own rules and creating a patchwork of ordinances across the state.

More uniform laws are necessary, but regrettably there is little hope that things will be much different in the upcoming session.
There is something happening with laws that suppress voting nationally. And its good for democracy. No, their roll back isnt about rigging the election against Donald Trump.

In a series of rulings on such laws in Texas, North Carolina, Wisconsin, North Carolina, North Dakota  and others earlier  judges have halted or diluted restrictions on voting.

A panel of three judges at the 4th Circuit Court of Appeals said Friday that North Carolinas voter ID law had targeted African-Americans with almost surgical precision. In other words, intentional discrimination.

Earlier, a panel of judges at the conservative 5th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled 9-6 that Texas voter ID law had discriminatory effect and sent back to a lower court the matter of whether the Legislature intended this. The lower court judge is now imposing some fixes to weaken the restrictions based purely on that ruling of effect  in time for November voting.

There has always been cause to be skeptical of state claims that voter ID laws are necessary to combat in-person voter fraud. Since such fraud is rare, the courts are reasoning that the cure is tantamount to ordering surgery and quarantine to treat a pimple.

GOP presidential nominee Trump, of course, is framing these rulings as attacks on his candidacy. Everything, apparently, is about him.

If the election is rigged, I would not be surprised, he told the Washington Post recently. The voter ID situation has turned out to be a very unfair development. We may have people vote 10 times.

In Ohio, Trump said that this election is going to be rigged and later that the election will be taken away from us through fraud, according to reports.

Where to start? Trump is a walking, talking provocation who invites higher voter turnout  as is Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton for other reasons, a function of unrelenting caricaturization of her for decades. But a soaring turnout, if that happens, will be legitimate, purely a response to the stakes in this election and the polarizing personalities involved.

What is likely occurring in Trumps head is some early rationalization in case polling continues to point to a Clinton win. It is a strategy intended to lay the groundwork for his own political martyrdom should he lose, concocting a cause that ensures a continued following of conspiracy theorists and a reason for this base to claim a Clinton presidency is illegitimate.

Yes, Trump is being a sore loser before he even loses  before its even clear that he will lose. The maximum number of people voting, Trump apparently forgets, is supposed to be an American value.

Sixth Circuit judges have said curtailing early voting violates the Constitution and the Voting Rights Act in Ohio. Judges have stymied efforts in Kansas to make voter registration harder by making people prove they are citizens.

Voting restrictions are on the run. Whats equally clear is that these restrictions were, in fact, put into place to suppress minority voting  i.e., Democratic voting  in red states. In other words, to rig elections for Republican candidates.

This rollback of restrictions, of course, could change direction. Other courts could rule differently. But its telling that there were no appeals for emergency relief from the U.S. Supreme Court. Without reliably conservative Justice Antonin Scalia, who died in Texas earlier this year, a Supreme Court ruling for restrictions is iffy because a 4-4 deadlock is likely.

And this brings into clarity the importance of Supreme Court nominations in this presidential election. It also brings into sharper focus why the GOP-controlled Senate has refused to act on President Barack Obamas nomination of Merrick Garland to fill the court vacancy.

Want a continued slapping down of voting restrictions and a generally progressive direction for the high court? Or maybe you want the next nominees to be in the mold of Scalia  as Trump has promised  and a conservative direction for the court.

Vote accordingly. The Supreme Court is among the most important issues in this campaign.

For now, we urge the Texas Legislature in particular  but all state legislatures  to abandon attempts to restrict voting.

All this court action will thwart Trump? Well, if minorities vote at higher rates because of these rulings, this will be a self-inflicted wound, a reckoning because of Trumps own words and deeds.

The courts are rolling back restrictive voting laws purely to ensure a constitutional right to vote. Thats not a rigging but a correcting.
Sen. Mitch McConnell, Rep. Paul Ryan and other Republican leaders are, remarkably, continuing to show outward support toward Donald Trump.

Almost every time the man opens his mouth, he says something hateful, offensive, thoughtless and/or ignorant. Republican leaders have repeatedly been forced to distance themselves from his positions, opinions and comments.

I wonder what their limit is. How many times must they remove themselves from their nominee before they realize (and admit) that Trump is not presidential material?

It's time for the leaders to lead. Time to stand up, admit they made a mistake, and work to defeat this dangerous embarrassment.

Julie Love

A worse offense

I am not thrilled with either presidential candidate.

As a military spouse, I question the outrage expressed by Hillary Clinton and President Barack Obama regarding the Donald Trump/Khizr Kahn feud. I wonder where this outrage was when Clinton lied to the families of the men killed in Benghazi. Where was it when the Veterans Administration scandal broke and no one was fired while veterans perished waiting for appointments?

The president and Clinton have shown very little respect for the military during the last eight years. To suddenly express outrage at Trump, however inappropriate his remarks may be, is just too little too late. Frankly, their convenient outrage is more offensive than the remarks.

Rosemary Fraza

Alternatives to war

Re: The after-war can be as deadly as combat, front page, Sunday:

This special report by Martin Kuz on the deadly aftereffects of war on combat veterans is worthy of a Pulitzer Prize. The suicides and grief of both the veterans suffering from PTSD and their families were depicted in a way that made the reader suffer with them.

The report also highlights the obvious underlying question about war itself: Can these gifted writers and analysts also bring to readers the examples of alternatives to war and the often-hidden benefits to those who profit from war? We humans are more programmed to cooperate and love one another than to defeat and destroy, which is why we suffer so when we break that covenant.

Carol Balliet

GOP agenda

Re: Clintons treatment of Castro latest in litany of Dem slights, Ruben Navarrette, Other Views, July 29:

Again, Navarrette, is attempting to carry water for the GOP, creating a wedge within the Democratic Party by making unfounded allegations against Hillary Clinton for not choosing Julian Castro as her running mate. He is well aware that selecting a Hispanic or a black as a running mate to complete the first woman presidential candidate would be a hard sell in the general election.

As a country, we have traveled a long way in race and gender relations, but we have not reached a point where these traits are nonissues for many people.

He also states Castro is a friend, which might be true, but I wonder if his friendship is as close as the one with Ted Cruz. Navarrette does not realize his water bucket and his logic are both full of holes. He will never carry enough water to fulfill his agenda.

God bless this great country.

D.M. Lopez
Re: Trump joke, Your Turn, Wednesday:

The letter writer took the Express-News inept editorial staff to task for taking seriously Donald Trumps joke inviting Russia to commit an act of espionage against the U.S.

Please explain how Trumps incredible statement constitutes a joke, especially when Trump didnt declare it a joke until after the backlash from Republican and Democratic leaders alike.

It is no laughing matter that Trump actually invited Putins government to hack our government. Whether or not Russia acknowledges the joke, it now has a televised invitation, nay, endorsement from the Republican nominee for president of the United States to interfere in U.S. business. And that, sir, can be construed as an act of treason.

So, tell me, please, where is the joke?

Cherryl Sagan

Parents are pawns

The Khans fired the first shot in this beef with Donald Trump. Why is Trump getting hammered for responding to a personal attack on him?

Soldiers would say that the Khans sacrificed nothing based on the current meaning of the word. Their son was the one who sacrificed his life.

The Khans personally attacked Trump as Democratic National Convention pawns. What do they expect?

R.B. Richter, Seagoville

Good vs. Trump

Re: The right achievement by the wrong woman, Ruben Navarrette, Other Views, Tuesday:

Ruben Navarrette condemned Hillary Clinton with faint praise, reminding me of a statement attributed to Voltaire: Perfection is the enemy of the good.

Hillary is not perfect, of course. But compared to Donald Trump? She is the epitome of the good. I pray Navarrette will wake up and vote for her in November.

Janice Clayton

Withhold contempt

Re: The right achievement by the wrong woman, Ruben Navarrette, Other Views, Tuesday:

Ruben Navarrette writes that he cant but feel some contempt toward Jimmy Carter, Gerald Ford and Richard Nixon for not having appointed a female Supreme Court Justice prior to Ronald Reagans appointment of Sandra Day OConnor.

For the record, Nixon had the opportunity to appoint three justices, and Ford one. Carter did not have any appointments during his term. However, given his strong support for the Equal Rights Amendment, one can only speculate that had he had the opportunity, there may have been a good chance that Carter would have nominated a woman to the bench.

Based on this fact, Navarrette may wish to reconsider and eliminate one Democrat from his contempt list.

David Lagarza
1 Kashmir violence: Authorities in Indian-controlled Kashmir extended a curfew to most of the disputed Himalayan region Friday in an attempt to prevent an anti-India protest march to a prominent shrine, but clashes erupted as thousands defied the restrictions. The mostly Muslim region, where resistance to rule by predominantly Hindu India is strong, has been under a rolling curfew and strikes for nearly a month after the killing of a popular rebel commander sparked massive anti-India demonstrations. Separatists called on Kashmiris to march to Hazratbal shrine in the city of Srinagar and stage protests. Violence erupted in at least two dozen places after government forces intercepted the protesters and fired live ammunition and tear gas, police and witnesses said. Two men were killed.

2 Afghanistan fighting: The crew of a Pakistani helicopter that crashed in a lawless region of Afghanistan is being held by insurgents, officials said Friday. The crash took place late Thursday, and authorities on both sides of the border said the aircraft came down in territory controlled by insurgents. It was unclear why the helicopter strayed into Afghan territory. Hamidullah Hamid, governor of the Azra district in Afghanistans Logar province, said all seven people aboard the chopper were detained by the Taliban. A commander of the Tahrik-e-Taliban Pakistan, as the Pakistani Taliban are known, said the crew are in safe hands of the local TTP commander.
WASHINGTON  Last week, the National Conference on Weights and Measures (NCWM) held its annual meeting in Denver. During the meeting, the conference adopted a proposal supported by NACS that would allow fuel retailers to advertise and sell Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) in diesel gallon equivalents (DGEs)defined as 6.384 pounds or 2.894 kilograms of CNG.

NACS has long worked with the Weights and Measures community to adopt such a change, advocating for the amendment before numerous regional and national Weights and Measures conferences.

Many retailers who sell or are thinking about selling CNG as a vehicle fuel want to be able to post the prices for consumers in a manner that consumers can understand and allows them to make a comparison with other fuel options, such as gasoline or diesel fuels. The amendment adopted by the NCWM will allow just that.

Last year, Congress passed legislation that would align the Internal Revenue Services (IRS) definition of gasoline gallon equivalent (GGE) to match the NCWM definition. However, this legislation did not address the issue of DGEs. Due to the divergence of the two definitions of DGE (that of the IRS versus the NCWM), NACS advocated for a NCWM solution to remedy any potential litigation risks, similar to those faced by retailers in automatic temperature compensation suits.

During its annual meeting, the NCWM also adopted an amendment that extends the so-called one-pound waiver for E10 for one year, through May 1, 2017. In addition, the NCWM rejected a proposal that would have changed the diesel dispenser filter regulation from a required 30-micron filter to a 10-micron filter. Many fuel retailing businesses are concerned that changing to the more expensive 10-micron filter will not significantly reduce the clogging problems to warrant the added cost of a new filter requirement. Also, using a 10-micron filter will slow the flow rate to such an extent that it will take longer for customers to fill up their vehicles with diesel fuel. Those supporting moving to a 10-micron filter believe that this will significantly improve the overall quality of diesel fuel and should be part of a retailers overall maintenance plan.

NACS counsel has prepared a memorandum briefly outlining the new DGE standard, which is available for NACS members here.
KANSAS CITY  While the growth has decelerated, the meat snacks category will continue to post positive returns, according to Nielsen, Food Business News reports. The growth number associated with what we saw in 2014 versus 2013 was astronomical, said Mikael Olson, associate client director at Nielsen. This is a billion-dollar category were talking about, and it experienced 12% growth in 2014, which is really incredible. Overall, the story is still very positive; its just not as shocking as it was two years ago.

This year, the category is expected to rake in $1.3 billion. Dollar sales of dried meat snacks at multi-outlets rose 4.3% in the year ending July 10, with unit sales soaring 5.6%, according to Information Resources, Inc. Prices have stabilized, probably because of the lower cost of beef.

From a flavor standpoint, beef is still king, Olson said. Pork and chicken are a little smaller than turkey but are still growing.  The most exciting part of the category is exotic proteins, which are relatively miniscule in volume compared to traditional beef, but the meat types in our data that are kind of fascinating include venison, bison, buffalo, lamb, elk, kangaroo, boar, duck, pheasant and ostrich. I believe they all have positive year-over-year numbers associated with them. So, while relatively small, they are contributing to growth in the category.

The growth has been driven in part by gourmet and premium offerings. We may be seeing something of a gourmetization or premiumization under way in jerky, Olson said. I think its safe to say if youre a manufacturer looking at the category, there are some really stalwart, high-equity brands in that space that you have to come in with a new value proposition for consumers. One way to do that is to offer what might be perceived as fancier protein, unconventional forms, lots of packaging language and really visually stimulating [imagery conveying] simplicity and realness.
ROSELAND, Ind.  The KB Express at the Phillips 66 station has been thanking law enforcement and firefighters with candy-filled bags, WNDU-TV reports. The note attached to the front of the bag explains whats inside:

Lifesaver: To remind you of the many times you have been one.

Smarties: To give you the wisdom for those split-second decisions.

Hershey Kisses: To show our love for you.

Gum: To help everyone stick together.

Tootsie Roll: You have to roll with the punches.

Peppermint Patty: Helping you keep your cool.

Mounds: For the mounds of courage you show.

Laffy Taffy: To remind you that laughter is a great stress reliever.

They need to know people actually appreciate what they're doing and we want to make sure they know it. And we figured that was a little something that would show them, said Laurie Meyer, who clerks at the store.

She and fellow cashiers got the idea from a Facebook post that talked about a similar thank-you gesture in another town. Given that many police officers and other emergency personnel already stopped at KB Express each day, the employees decided they would have plenty of opportunities to hand out the bags.

Its fun for us putting it together, and its fun to give it them because they know we appreciate them, she said.

One of the recipients, Cpl. Chris Lawson-Rulli, regularly stops by the convenience store. Its amazing, he said. For somebody to say thank you and just give you something niceit feels good.

The employees are filling other bags with candy and the message to give to workers at the second KB Express location so more law enforcement and firefighters can hear thank you.
Thttp://oilprice.com/Energy/Energy-General/Despite-Low-Oil-Prices-Saudi-Arabia-Stabilizing-Economy.html

http://oilprice.com/Energy/Energy-General/Despite-Low-Oil-Prices-Saudi-Arabia-Stabilizing-Economy.html

Yves here. This post is more important than it might seem. The Saudi refusal to cut oil production is what kicked off the oil price plunge and their refusal to relent is a big contributor to the continued low prices. While Saudi Arabia has extremely low production costs, many observers argued it could keep its effort to discipline higher-cost producers going for only a year or two due to the fact the government depended on oil revenues for funding and required much higher prices (the number bandied out was $90 a barrel) to cover its spending. This article suggests that Riyadh has lowered its government burn rate, as well as its dependence on oil revenues generally which would allow it to keep the price pressure on longer.

Mind you, its not as if things look dramatically better for the Saudis, but even a modest improvement could have a meaningful long-term impact.

By Nick Cunningham, a Vermont-based writer on energy and environmental issues. You can follow him on Twitter. Originally published at OilPrice

The Saudi economy is stabilizing after the government implemented pivotal reforms in order to address a fiscal and economic crisis because of plunging oil prices.

Over the past two years, Saudi Arabia cut energy subsidies, slashed public spending, and started to look for new ways to raise revenue outside of the oil sector. The IMF forecasts the Saudi budget deficit to narrow from 13 percent of GDP in 2016 to 9.6 percent in 2017. That is a dramatic improvement from the 16 percent deficit the country posted last year.

The improved forecast earned praise from the IMF. The fiscal adjustment is under way, the government is very serious in bringing about that fiscal adjustment, Tim Callen, the IMFs Saudi mission chief, told Bloomberg in an interview. Were happy with the progress thats being made.

Although Saudi Arabia is running a huge deficit, it does not appear to be an emergency. In countries without huge cash reserves, such a deficit would be a major problem. But Saudi Arabia has hundreds of billions of dollars in reserves, allowing it to coast for a while.

Saudi Arabia did see its credit rating downgraded earlier this year by Moodys because of the collapse of oil prices. A combination of lower growth, higher debt levels and smaller domestic and external buffers leave the Kingdom less well positioned to weather future shocks, Moodys wrote in May.

But with the deficit-to-GDP ratio falling, the IMF is not concerned. We would be worried if the fiscal deficit were to remain at the levels it reached last year for another couple of years, because that would mean there will be large fiscal financing requirements, he said. But the IMFs Tim Callen said that balancing the budget by the end of the decade should be doable. Oil prices should rebound in the years ahead, which should put cash back into Saudi government coffers.

Still, Saudi Arabia is not exactly sitting pretty. GDP growth is still at a moribund 1.2 percent in 2016, with only a modest improvement to 2.25-2.5 percent over the medium-term. That wont be enough to absorb the bulging population of young people in the country. For decades the government has employed legions of people in the public sector, but the ongoing fiscal adjustment  a euphemism for cutting the size of the state  will mean that young Saudis will no longer be able to fall back on cushy government positions.

That leaves the private sector to pick up the slack. But it may be a struggle to expand the relatively small private sector in a country that has long depended on the state for growth. The state will continue to play a very large role in the economy, and the high levels of social spending needed to keep its population happy means that Saudi Arabia has a rather highbreakeven oil price for its budget, even though it produces oil for only a few dollars per barrel. With its budget breaking even at $67 per barrel in 2016, Saudi Arabia cannot live indefinitely with oil prices where they are at today. If unrest hits Saudi Arabia, or even sweeps the region the way it did in 2011 during the Arab Spring, the government will be forced to step up social spending to maintain order. That will put further strain on the countrys fiscal positions.

The longer-term picture is more unclear. Saudi Arabia is in the early stages of a transformational economic plan, which intends to diversify the country away from crude oil as the sole source of revenue. That involves taking a small slice of state-owned Saudi Aramco public, and using the proceeds to invest in non-oil sectors of the economy. Last month the CEO of Saudi Aramco said that low oil prices wont affect Aramcos drilling plans or its decision to launch an IPO. But the IPO wont happen for another year or so, and other investments will take a lot of time, so the country will remain entirely dependent on oil for years at least.

Meanwhile, the near-term strategy for Saudi Arabia boils down to continuing to fight for market share, producing at elevated levels and exporting as much as possible. Saudi Arabia continues to pump at near record levels at 10.5 million barrels per day. Earlier this week Saudi Arabia slashed its prices for oil heading to Asia, hoping to edge out competitors for sales in that region.
Olympic Torch Bearer Denounces Brazil Coup with His Buttocks teleSUR

Best joint-roller in the world earns $1000s for his creations Boing Boing (resilc)

Florida to begin aerial spraying of insecticides to control Zika Reuters (EM)

N.I.H. May Fund Experiments With Human Stem Cells in Animal Embryos New York Times. Dan K: So basically, because one is not supposed to do too horrible things to humans (because humans might suffer, or something, or they might have standing in a court?), we take human cells and grow them in animals, and now we can do whatever we want to those chimeral beings. Extrapolating forward one can grow near-human chimeras who, due to their technically non-human ancestry, we can mistreated to our hearts content. Moi: Wont this sort of thing greatly increase the risk of diseases jumping between species?

Brexit

Sigmar Gabriel, the kamikaze candidate Politico

China?

Ukraine/Russia

Turkey

U.S. Not Persuaded to Extradite Imam Over Turkey Coup Wall Street Journal. Not that I want to defend Erdogan, but if I were in his shoes, I would be acutely aware of the fact that 1. How the US applies standards for extradition are no doubt very flexible in political cases and 2. The US, a supposed ally of Turkey, looks like it is keeping its cards very close to its chest re what it has on Gulen. The flip side is Erdogan could be acting as if the US should turn over Gulen because he has been the loudest opponent to the government, and his government may not have bothered working up a decent dossier, making it easy to deny the request. Turkey Issues a Warrant for Fethullah Gulen, Cleric Accused in Coup New York Times (furzy)

Big Brother is Watching You Watch

British woman held after being seen reading book about Syria on plane Guardian (Jon M)

Trade Traitors

Grundlagenheft von Mehr Demokratie Mehr Demokratie. Major lawsuit against EU-Canada trade pact that swas supposed to be a no-brainer.

Imperial Collapse Watch

A secret group easily bought the raw ingredients for a dirty bomb  here in America Center for Public Integrity. Note that right after 9/11, there was extensive discussion as to what various types of nasties could do. A dirty bomb is basically no worse than a conventional bomb, since you cant put enough radioactive material in it + explosive material to contaminate a large area. But if someone were to hit a transit nexus (like Grand Central) even cordoning off a small area for a while for decontamination would have a disproportionate psychological impact. And a lot of people would refuse to believe that the amount of radioactive material in the dirty area was not all that great and wold not pose any danger to people walking through who were told how to give it a decent berth. The scare-mongerng in this article is way way out of proportion to how dirty bombs work. Terror Suspects in Europe Collected Welfare Benefits Wall Street Journal. Note now that more people are engaging in random acts of violence as a result of social isolation and economic stress (which pretty much any reader of Mark Ames Going Postal would have foretold, as we did), the immediate response is to depict them as a possible terrorist before facts are in. And now we have terrorists = people getting social safety net payments and big social safety nets breed terrorism as new memes. U.S. military communications satellite fails to reach intended orbit Reuters (EM)

2016

Why is AARP cozying up to the right-wing group ALEC while big corporations flee? Los Angeles Times (resilc)

Will Health Insurance Companies Succeed Where the GOP Couldntin Killing Obamacare? Alternet. Totally ignored bad program design of Obamacare (most important, its deliberate coddling of incumbents) as the cause of ugly outcomes.

Most & Least Federally Dependent States Barry Ritholtz (resilc)

Editorial: Feds should stop Medicaid privatization Des Moines Register

Chicago police watchdog inaccurately reported shooting incidents: official Reuters (EM)

Ed Groups Worry Over Proposed Federal Sanctions for High Opt-Out Rate WXXI News. Agreenie: Opting children out of standardized testing can be hazardous to the health of your local school district.

Nixon says public defender maneuver not legal St. Louis Post-Dispatch (martha r). Follow up to our post yesterday. Note some experts disagree with the governor.

US economy: Decline of the start-up nation Financial Times. The more entreneurship is hyped, the less real people want to do it.

The Bait-and-Switch Confusopoly Economy Scott Adams (EM). Gives some insight as to how crapifiers get away with it.

U.S. Appeals Ruling Throwing Out Crisis-Era Bank of America Case Wall Street Journal. Looks like the court didnt understand, or chose not to understand, how the origination-sales process worked.

RBS Spends 1.4bn on IT for Divestiture Financial Times. Clive:  and according to a couple of contractors I know who worked there, a fair proportion of that has been peed up against a wall. The FT piece says as much but doesnt give the reason: it had its pockets picked by the big IT consultant outfits and the waste-of-space outsourcers. Hungry people make for poor shoppers.'

Berkshire Said to Draw Fed Scrutiny Over Wells Fargo Investment Bloomberg (resilc)

Commodities attract biggest bets since 2009 Financial Times

Junk Bond Issuance Collapses in the US and Europe Wolf Richter (EM)

Class Warfare

Raising the minimum wage could improve public health Economic Policy Institute (martha r)

Antidote du jour (martha r):

See yesterdays Links and Antidote du Jour here.
Do black holes have a back door?

(Nanowerk News) One of the biggest problems when studying black holes is that the laws of physics as we know them cease to apply in their deepest regions. Large quantities of matter and energy concentrate in an infinitely small space, the gravitational singularity, where space-time curves towards infinity and all matter is destroyed. Or is it? A recent study by researchers at the Institute of of Corpuscular Physics(IFIC, CSIC-UV) in Valencia suggests that matter might in fact survive its foray into these space objects and come out the other side.

Published in the journal Classical and Quantum Gravity ("Impact of curvature divergences on physical observers in a wormhole space-time with horizons"), the Valencian physicists propose considering the singularity as if it were an imperfection in the geometric structure of space-time. And by doing so they resolve the problem of the infinite, space-deforming gravitational pull.

Black holes are a theoretical laboratory for trying out new ideas about gravity, says Gonzalo Olmo, a Ramon y Cajal grant researcher at the Universitat de Valencia (University of Valencia, UV). Alongside Diego Rubiera, from the University of Lisbon, and Antonio Sanchez, PhD student also at the UV, Olmos research sees him analysing black holes using theories besides general relativity (GR).

Specifically, in this work he has applied geometric structures similar to those of a crystal or graphene layer, not typically used to describe black holes, since these geometries better match what happens inside a black hole: Just as crystals have imperfections in their microscopic structure, the central region of a black hole can be interpreted as an anomoly in space-time, which requires new geometric elements in order to be able to describe them more precisely. We explored all possible options, taking inspiration from facts observed in nature.

Using these new geometries, the researchers obtained a description of black holes whereby the centre point becomes a very small spherical surface. This surface is interpreted as the existence of a wormhole within the black hole. Our theory naturally resolves several problems in the interpretation of electrically-charged black holes, Olmo explains. In the first instance we resolve the problem of the singularity, since there is a door at the centre of the black hole, the wormhole, through which space and time can continue.

This study is based on one of the simplest known types of black hole, rotationless and electrically-charged. The wormhole predicted by the equations is smaller than an atomic nucleus, but gets bigger the bigger the charge stored in the black hole. So, a hypothetical traveller entering a black hole of this kind would be stretched to the extreme, or spaghettified, and would be able to enter the wormhole. Upon exiting they would be compacted back to their normal size.

Seen from outside, these forces of stretching and compaction would seem infinite, but the traveller himself, living it first-hand, would experience only extremely intense, and not infinite, forces. It is unlikely that the star of Interstellar would survive a journey like this, but the model proposed by IFIC researchers posits that matter would not be lost inside the singularity, but rather would be expelled out the other side through the wormhole at its centre to another region of the universe.

Another problem that this interpretation resolves, according to Olmo, is the need to use exotic energy sources to generate wormholes. In Einsteins theory of gravity, these doors only appear in the presene of matter with unusual properties (a negative energy pressure or density), something which has never been observed. In our theory, the wormhole appears out of ordinary matter and energy, such as an electric field (Olmo).
'It just flipped': Busch details final season with Joe Gibbs Racing in 'Race for the Championship' In the latest episode of USA Network's "Race for the Championship," Busch describes the change at JGR and is introduced with a new team.
The U.S. asked a federal appeals court to reconsider its May decision to toss out an almost $1.3 billion judgment against Bank of America Corp.'s Countrywide Financial unit, claiming the panel overlooked "a wealth of evidence."

The government won the award after a 2013 trial at which jurors found the company defrauded mortgage-lending financiers Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae by selling them thousands of defective loans. The petition was filed Thursday at the U.S. Court of Appeals in New York.

U.S. lawyers had alleged that Countrywide generated thousands of defective loans and sold them to the two home-mortgage finance companies. Countrywide sold the loans to boost revenue in the tightening credit market in mid-2007, according to evidence presented by the U.S. at trial. The program called the "High Speed Swim Lane," or the "Hustle" ran until 2008.

On appeal, bank lawyers argued the evidence produced at trial by the U.S. had failed to prove its case. The three-judge appellate panel agreed, saying the government's proof didn't sustain the alleged intent to commit fraud. The judges also threw out a $1 million penalty against a Countrywide executive who oversaw the "Hustle."

"In reversing the jury's verdict, the Court overlooked a wealth of evidence presented at trial that defendants made fraudulent misrepresentations at the time each loan was sold," according to the filing by Manhattan U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara.

Countrywide, then based in Calabasas, Calif., was once the biggest U.S. residential home lender, originating or purchasing about $1.4 trillion in mortgages from 2005 to 2007. The bulk of them were sold to investors as mortgage-backed securities. Bank of America acquired the company in 2008.

Lawrence Grayson, a spokesman for Charlotte, N.C.-based lender, declined to comment on the filing.
MARYLAND

BALTIMORE

eOriginal Inc. has appointed Simon Moir as general manager of digital mortgage.

Moir brings to the company more than 20 years of experience in the fintech industry.

He previously served as senior vice president of business development at Savana and was also senior director of mortgage technology at CoreLogic.

MINNESOTA

SAINT PAUL

Incenter said that Al Qureshi has joined the firm as managing director, analytics, to build upon the existing MSR analytics platform, which was formerly known as Interactive Mortgage Advisors.

He has almost 20 years of mortgage and capital markets experience, most recently as head of mortgage servicing hedging and hedging analytics at US Bank.

NEW YORK

WILLIAMSVILLE

Gross Polowy has hired Reyna Joyner as the firm's client relations manager.

Joyner, who will be based out of Dallas, comes to Gross Polowy with eight years of client relationship and business development experience representing legal services firms in the default mortgage servicing industry.

She began her career in mortgage originations in 2002, holding positions in residential wholesale subprime lending and strategic planning at Fremont Investment & Loan and Saxon Mortgage.

NORTH CAROLINA

CHARLOTTE

Nathan Hale Capital has added Kurt Weisenfluh to its capital markets division.

Before joining Nathan Hale, Weisenfluh was a risk management consultant for Newbold Advisors.

He has also been a managing director for BlackRock, head of mortgage trading for Barclays Global Investors and director of fixed-income trading for Merrill Lynch.

PENNSYLVANIA

FORT WASHINGTON

Ditech Financial has hired Wells Constantine as national sales manager for its new wholesale lending division.

Constantine has more than 20 years of experience in the mortgage industry with a specific focus in wholesale lending.

He most recently served as vice president, divisional sales manager for New Penn Financial.

TEXAS

COPPELL

Chronos Solutions has hired Arun Pimpalapure as its chief information officer.

The longtime Texas resident will work in the company's Coppell headquarters and serve on its executive committee.

Pimpalapure comes to Chronos from Tenura Holdings Inc. of Austin, where he served as head of its technology division.

SUGAR LAND

Valuation Partners said that Jayson Dammen has joined the company as vice president, Western region.

Dammen has more than 25 years of experience in the mortgage industry, primarily as a correspondent lending executive.

Most recently he served as an account executive in the correspondent lending division of Impac Mortgage Holdings.

Prior to that, he was regional sales director in the correspondent division of Prospect Mortgage.

Are you a mortgage professional who recently changed jobs? Let us know! Send your announcement and photo (if available) to Glenn McCullom at glenn.mccullom@sourcemedia.com.
The marketplace for nonperforming loans is full of heavyweight buyers like Bayview Asset Management and Lone Star Funds, private equity behemoths that can buy thousands of delinquent mortgages at a time.

So New Jersey Community Capital, a nonprofit community development financial institution managing only roughly $300 million in total capital, doesn't seem like a threat to the significant players in the nonperforming loan arena.

But New Jersey Community Capital and fellow nonprofit Hogar Hispano have become trailblazers as they have purchased more than 2,000 nonperforming loans from the Federal Housing Administration, government-sponsored enterprises and banks. In doing so, they've raised questions regarding nonprofits' capacity to buy these loans and how this could alter markets.

Over the past year, the Department of Housing and Urban Development and the government-sponsored enterprises have come to embrace nonprofits, working to make nonprofits an increasingly important part of the market for nonperforming loans.

In June, HUD rolled out new requirements and guidelines for loans sold through the Distressed Asset Stabilization Program. Among them was a pledge that the FHA would make it a goal to sell 10% of its nonperforming loans to be sold to nonprofits and local governments.

Last year, Fannie Mae rolled out its first "community impact" pool of nonperforming loans designed to appeal to nonprofits, small investors and minority- and women-owned businesses. Fannie Mae went on to select New Jersey Community Capital, a nonprofit community development institution, as the winner in its first three auctions of these pools.

Similarly, Freddie Mac completed its first nonperforming loan sale to a nonprofit last December and then followed with another sale to a nonprofit in July, selling 292 nonperforming loans altogether between the two offerings. New Jersey Community Capital won both pools.

New Jersey Community Capital and Hogar Hispano dominate the conversation surrounding nonprofit investment in nonperforming loans. Another nonprofit, the Mortgage Resolution Fund, has participated in the space, but has not bought any of these loans since 2013, according to a report from the Urban Institute.

New Jersey Community Capital was formed in 1987 and originally focused on issues surrounding affordable housing. In the wake of the foreclosure crisis and the devastating effects of Hurricane Sandy on its home state, the nonprofit began to look for ways to intervene in the crisis, particularly in Newark.

"We needed to do something on a more meaningful scale to put a dent in the tide of foreclosures that were coming," Peter Grof, deputy to the president at New Jersey Community Capital, said.

The group would eventually look into tapping into nonperforming loans, but had trouble acquiring them directly from banks and had to get OMB approval for its first direct sale from HUD. They later went on to bid on pools beyond New Jersey, specifically in Florida, at the urging of HUD and housing groups in the Sunshine State. Today, New Jersey Community Capital has successfully bid or negotiated the purchase of more than 1,700 loans in New Jersey and Florida, Grof said.

Hogar Hispano was formed in 2004 as the community development arm of the National Council of La Raza, the largest Latino advocacy organization in the U.S. One of Hogar Hispano's first major projects was acquiring and renovating a building in Washington, D.C., that now serves as the NCLR's headquarters.

Like New Jersey Community Capital, Hogar Hispano began approaching nonperforming loan sales as a way to address the effects of the housing crisis and initially faced difficulty tapping into the market.

"We had opportunity, but we couldnt get loans," Marcos Morales, executive director of Hogar Hispano, said. "We were looking for targeted markets, but everything was being sold in bulk."

Morales would later get invited to meet with CitiMortgage in New York about how the lender could work with nonprofits. That meeting would eventually lead to Hogar Hispano buying more than 450 loans. Hogar Hispano has gone on to purchase more than 560 loans altogether and has consulted HUD on how to increase nonprofits' involvement in this space.

Nonprofits like New Jersey Community Capital and Hogar Hispano have attracted support from affordable housing advocates who argue that these nonprofits are better equipped in many ways to keep homeowners in their homes.

"The private investors in this space are not neighborhood real estate professionals," Julia Gordon, executive vice president of the National Community Stabilization Trust, said. "They're capital markets professionals, and there's a difference."

Both Hogar Hispano and New Jersey Community Capital had experience working on real estate related issues before they began to buy nonperforming loans. And both have a wide network of other advocacy organizations and nonprofits that can and will lend support to through housing counselors to the borrowers that fall into the organizations' laps. They also bring a boots-on-the-ground mentality.

"We survey every property that's in a pool and don't just make determinations from an appraisal and numbers off a spreadsheet," Grof said.

Furthermore, because the two organizations don't have to be as profit-minded as their private equity peers, they can operate in a manner that's arguably more to the homeowners' benefit than theirs.

"We're not having folks modify to an investor bottom-line requirement," Morales said. "We try to mod to the needs of the borrower. We don't want to mod somebody and have them still be underwater."

Thus far, it appears the two nonprofits have created as many, if not more, favorable outcomes for their borrowers as the rest of the industry.

"The early returns suggest thattheir results contacting borrowers and providing loan modifications have been extremely impressive, multiple times the success rate of the private buyers," Gordon said.

HUD reported this January that 28% of the loans sold through DASP had outcomes that avoided foreclosure, which equates to 43% of loans after accounting for loans that are not yet resolved.

New Jersey Community Capital, meanwhile, says that 40% of the nonperforming loans it bought have seen nonforeclosure outcomes. And 66% of resolved loans that Hogar Hispano bought were resolved to favorable outcomes, including reperforming and modified loans, payoffs, short sales and deeds-in-lieu.

While those figures are quite promising, observers are quick to note that these figures are subject to change given how new these nonprofits still are to buying nonperforming loans.

"There's so few that have been purchased," Laurie Goodman, co-director of the Housing Finance Policy Center at the Urban Institute, said. "Everyone's quoting the success rate, but that's off of a very small number of loans."

Others, meanwhile, contend that the reporting is spotty when it comes to loan performance in these sales across the board, making these comparisons harder.

"We don't have enough reporting," Sarah Edelman, director of housing policy at the Center for American Progress, said, noting problems with how in the past the FHA shared information by action.

"In any given auction, there can be 10 different buyers," Edelman said. "It can be hard to do an apples-to-apples comparison."

But the bigger question about the nonprofits is not regarding their success rate; most agree that given the delinquency of these pools just trying to avoid foreclosure can be a job well done. Rather, observers debate whether nonprofits in general really have the capacity to take on these loans, especially in light of HUD proposing to set aside up to 10% of its sales to nonprofits only.

"I do not expect a massive tsunami of nonprofits," Gordon said. "The process of getting qualified as a participant in these auctions is extremely complex. It's almost laughable to think that a mom-and-pop nonprofit is going to show up at HUD's door and start bidding on these things."

For starters, nonprofits face an uphill battle securing capital from private investors  New Jersey Community Capital has relationships with MetLife and Prudential, while Hogar Hispano works with smaller investors. Nonprofits may also face challenges developing working relationships with servicers for the loans, since they can't pay top-dollar prices like their private equity counterparts.

But both of the nonprofits have invested time and effort into building capacity and applaud HUD and GSE efforts to spur increased participation. Hogar Hispano and Morales in particular have devoted time to training sessions with nonprofits to help them learn how to access capital and participate in these sales.

Morales also believe that HUD can go a step further, arguing that up to 50% of HUD's nonperforming loan sales should go to nonprofits

"I know it's ridiculous because I'm creating my own competition," he said. "But if we don't then we won't have a proven track record in this space and there's no need for HUD or Fannie to do this the next time around."
Father and two sons may be affected for the rest of their lives

'We need much more control over how these chemicals are allowed into the environment'
'Has to be a part of the puzzle'

'Disproportionate impact'

Prosecuting disease

(NaturalNews) New research promises great hope for those suffering from a ravaging and potentially deadly disease  HIV, the virus that leads to AIDS  but it leaves in limbo those who have been persecuted and prosecuted for having unprotected sex while afflicted with the virus.As reported by the UK's, a day's dose of a new anti-HIV drug nearly eradicates the risk of infection for anyone who is in a sexual relationship with a partner who is HIV-positive. The findings especially provide hope for researchers on the African continent, where new cases of HIV and AIDS are among the highest in the world.Researchers found that when HIV-positive partners in couples  two-thirds of whom were female  were given antiretroviral therapy (ARV) to suppress the virus and stop the progression of the disease, and HIV-negative partners were given a daily pill that prevents infection (PrEP), incredible results were produced."HIV was virtually eliminated in this population," the study's lead researcher, Dr. Jared Baeten of the University of Washington, told. "More than 95 per cent of the HIV infections that we expected to see, we did not see."Researchers worked with more than 1,000 couples from Kenya and Uganda in conducting the two-year study, the results of which were announced Tuesday at the Durban International AIDS Conference in South Africa.At the gathering, delegates are focusing on the United Nations goal of ending AIDS as a global health crisis by 2030.For its part, South Africa has the most people of any nation in the world living with HIV; they account for 6.8 million of the 36.7 million who are infected each year.Baeten said that the study was very good news for serodiscordant couples  that is, couples where one partner is HIV positive and the other negative  who would like to have children.For the study, non-infected partners were given the preventative drug for six months, while their HIV-infected partner took ARVs, which reduced the viral load and, thus, the risk of infection."Couples really value something like this because it's important for maintaining their relationship, for maintaining their family," Baeten said. "PrEP offers a really potent, usable, deliverable HIV prevention strategy ... PrEP has to be part of the puzzle for ending HIV."South Africa and Kenya are among seven nations around the world that have approved PrEP  or pre-exposure prophylaxis  Chris Beyrer, president of the International AIDS Society, noted in a briefing before the start of the conference.But the drugs can be expensive, which is an issue that activists and governments alike are attempting to address. That's where vitamin-rich anti-viral foods can likely help in reducing transmission rates."(We are) really going to focus on the affordability and access to PrEP and, we hope, really begin a PrEP access era globally," said Beyrer.Last week, Kenyan officials announced that the country would begin offering free PrEP to those in high-risk groups, including couples where one partner is infected with the HIV virus. Also, the government will provide ARVs to all who have been diagnosed positive.Thereported further that married couples account for 44 percent of all new infections in Kenya, which has an HIV-positive population of 1.5 million people , according to government data.Less than half of those with the disease around the world are even receiving treatment for it. According to the UN, this is because many people do not know that they are stricken with the disease Now the world is on the verge of a new, highly effective treatment for the disease, but that won't benefit any of the scores of people with the disease who have been jailed for having unprotected sex.As noted by the website, between 2008 and 2013, there were 180 prosecutions of people in the United States who were accused of spreading the disease under old laws that were passed long before the world had any real understanding of it, according to the Center for HIV Law and Policy Such laws mean that an HIV-infected person can be jailed for biting a person, spitting at someone or for having consensual sex, regardless of whether or not protection is used. Today, researchers know that HIV cannot be transmitted via saliva, but 32 states still have laws on the books like this  and people are still being sent to prison because of them.noted further:"Enacted in the late 1970s and early 80s, these laws reflect an era when people were afraid of the growing prevalence of HIV or 'gay cancer' and thought you could get contract the disease simply by being around someone who had it.""While framed as public health measures intended to prevent the spread of HIV, in reality these laws stigmatize people with HIV and misrepresent the causes of HIV transmission, the treatment options, and outcomes for people living with HIV and disproportionately impact people of color," Chase Strangio of the ACLU wrote earlier this month.As noted by the HIV Law Center, "Thirty-two states and two U.S. territories have HIV-specific criminal statutes and thirty-six states have reported proceedings in which HIV-positive people have been arrested and/or prosecuted for consensual sex, biting, and spitting. At least 180 such prosecutions occurred from 2008 to 2013 alone."The U.S. Department of Justice's Civil Rights Division has also noted in a "best practices" policy paper how to align HIV-related criminal statutes with "scientifically supported factors.""The stigma associated with HIV remains extremely high and fear of discrimination causes some Americans to avoid learning their HIV status, disclosing their status, or accessing medical care," says the, issued in 2010, the Justice Department noted. That stigma needs to end, as does the prosecution of those with the disease.Cases that have been prosecuted include:-- A Texas man with HIV is currently serving 35 years for spitting at a police officer;-- A man with HIV in Iowa, who had an undetectable viral load, was given a 25-year sentence following a one-time sexual encounter during which he used a condom. And, though his sentence was suspended, he nevertheless was required to register as a sex offender, and cannot have unsupervised visits with his nieces, nephews and other young children;-- An HIV-positive Georgia woman got an 8-year sentence after failing to disclose her HIV status, in spite of testimony at her trial by two witnesses who said her sex partner was aware of her condition.
How do these freak doctors exploit and abuse patients for so many years and get away with it?

Abuse and medical murder now accepted in America as normal

(NaturalNews) The following are true stories. In California, a doctor who had just completed an examination on a female patient, put his hand down her blouse, pulled one of her breasts out of her bra and put his mouth on it, then pulled out his penis and ejaculated in her hand. In Missouri, a doctor treating a sexually assaulted patient told her he was turned on by her story and asked her if she liked being urinated on and tied up during sex. In Kentucky, a doctor examining a woman's abdomen thought her underwear was so sexy that he put his mouth on her vagina saying to her, "I couldn't resist" because it was ... "so beautiful." All of these cases are described in public records , and all of the doctors, of course, are still licensed to continue abusing people across America.The American Medical Association (AMA) could care less, as they are in the business of slinging chemical medicine for profit. Only occasionally will the AMA "burn a scarecrow" to form the impression that they prosecute rogue MDs, but for the most part, they just don't care. There are many anesthesiologists getting busted lately for sexually abusing patients while they are drugged up before and after surgery, and pediatricians and radiologists who molest children of all ages. It's horrific, and even some babies, survivors of sexual abuse and women in their 80s are victims.Abuse in doctors' offices and hospitals is not always sexual, though. In Detroit, Michigan, several doctors are implicated in a ring of disgusting abuse , conspiring to overdose healthy (non-cancer) patients with ultra-strong doses of chemotherapy. Only one of them  Dr. Farid Fata  was actually sent to prison, even though he confessed to conspiring with more than half a dozen others for over ten years. Authorities are supposedly still "investigating" those he named in court, but odds are we'll never hear another peep or see any legal action. Why? Because Fata is the "burning scarecrow" serving the first of 45 years in federal prison for the biggest medical scam in American history, in which he robbed the medical system of $34 million, and administered chemotherapy to over 500 people who. That's enough for the AMA, CDC and FDA to "call it a day."First of all, many patients will never speak a word about it. They just don't want to confront it all, and have to wind up in court testifying, dredging up these horrible experiences over and over again. Others are simply intimidated by the doctors , who can be quite manipulative and even psychotic. Take for example Dr. David Gorski, who also works in the same area hospitals where Farid Fata was caught. Gorski is a surgical oncologist who operates on women with cancer , then goes online using multiple aliases, as he blogs hateful, hurtful 20,000-plus-word rants from the computers at the very hospital where he operates: Karmanos Cancer Institute in Detroit.His colleagues and nurses are scared silent. He has been ranting like a raging lunatic for years, telling other bloggers to abuse people who fear the chemicals in vaccines and chemotherapy. Gorski may be one of the evil cohorts that Farid Fata named as part of his conspiracy to poison patients for money and notoriety. Those "revelations" are forthcoming. Could Gorski be sexually abusing patients? He hangs out with a sexually abusive freak , an amateur magician who's been caught on tape soliciting oral sex from a teenage boy. You know what they say: "Birds of a feather flock together."Remember the Catholic Church sex scandals where many priests were caught abusing little boys, and it had gone on for years and years? Many of them were not ousted from the church, even when their superiors knew what was going on. They were just shifted to a new abuse haven, where they would continue doing what they were doing, only with new people. It's not rare. The medical world is no different. Abuse israre; it's just mostly swept under the rug by the medical industrial complex, which is all about money.Many abuse cases are also handled in secrecy, where the doctors quiet the patients with hush money, and then the abuse surely continues with other patients. Doctors that are undercover criminals are repeat offenders, and rarely ever get put on a sex offenders list, so nobody else knows who to avoid. To top it off, the mass media"burns" the guilty doctors, because the advertising revenue generated by Big Pharma commercials would certainly drop off and disappear overnight.When someone dies of cancer, youhear that they died from the chemotherapy, do you? Ever seenstory on the news? Nope. Ever readstory in the newspaper? Nope. When a surgical oncologist goes in and removes a tumor, do you ever hear that the cancer spread to the rest of the body, and that the patient's family sued the doctor for malpractice and won? The cancer industrial complex does not allow those real stories to get out and get published. People check into oncology centers never to check out again, and many times it's not the cancer that kills them either; it's the superbugs, vaccines, unnecessary surgery, pharmaceutical overdose and evil doctors running dangerous and expensive tests that actually kill the patients.Time and time again research and court records show that predatory physicians abuse their privileges, violating the AMA codes of conduct, but nothing's done about it. They continue practicing medicine after a slap or two on the wrist. Minor fines and penalties don't change a thing. These doctors make six and sometimes seven figure salaries every year, so a couple grand in fines is a laughing matter to them. People think because these doctors spent eight or more years in medical school that they would never risk losing their licenses by abusing patients, but nothing's further from the truth. Many of these abusers believe that they are untouchable and above the law. David Gorski, aka "Orac," is a gleaming example of a psychopathic oncologist who is still practicing medicine today, even though his actions epitomize those of a complete madman.Which patients in America will step up to the plate and help end the careers of these freaks of medicine?Do the right thing, for yourself and for everyone else who may visit these nut jobs. If you are being abused or suspect you have been, report it. Hopefully, your lawyer and the judge can do something to end the abuse that the AMA simply ignores.
Health officials are intent on spraying deadly chemicals into the air

New insecticide to be aerially sprayed can cause paralysis when inhaled

'Environmental terrorism'

(NaturalNews) Let's face it, as was the case with Ebola, the media is blowing this Zika virus threat totally out of proportion, and as a result, some really bad decisions are being made along the way. As far as we've been told, the disease affects only a small portion of the population  pregnant women and those who may become pregnant in the near future.The claim that Zika causes birth defects is based solely on "using epidemiological statistics, not rigorous scientific studies of cause and effect," wrote the Health Ranger in a hit piece exposing the outbreak as an engineered pandemic to justify chemical spraying.Scientists' assertions are based on what they believe is a cause-and-effect relationship between the virus and developmental deformities in children born in regions of South America, home to mosquitoes carrying Zika But what researchers are failing to acknowledge, is that there are other, more likely causes of microcephaly, a severe birth defect resulting in reduced head size. Various types of pesticides are also known to cause birth defects.Unfortunately, health officials have a one-track mind when it comes to fighting Zika  and that involves the administration of more harmful chemicals, regardless of the adverse health and environmental effects.Reports confirm that Florida (where non-travel related cases of Zika were discovered) intends to begin aerial spraying of a densely populated urban area with a dangerous insecticide called "naled."The chemical assault or "campaign" as the mainstream media describes it will cover a 10-mile area including the one-mile-square area just north of downtown Miami, which experts have identified as a "hub" for Zika transmission.The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in conjunction with the Florida Health Department recommended the aerial spraying to reduce adult mosquito populations capable of spreading the virus.CDC Director Dr. Thomas Frieden said in a recent conference call that he's concerned "that vector control efforts so far" have not been very effective  likely because the insects have grown resistant to commonly used insecticides  prompting officials to turn to the new chemical, naled.Naled is an organophosphate insecticide that when it breaks down in animals and the environment, causes "many health effects, both chronic and acute," according to Toxipedia.org, adding that it acts as a "severe" irritant to the skin and eyes.The chemical can affect animal and human health through ingestion and inhalation, the latter of which is believed to cause the most damage. Animal studies showed naled to beversus consuming the chemical in food and water.This is highly concerning considering health officials plan to dispense the insecticide through aerial spraying, placing people at risk for inhaling the toxicant.Pesticide drift makes this route of exposure even more likely. Researchers at the University of Florida found aerially sprayed naled may travel up to 750 meters away from the initial application site.Animal studies show that naled exposure causes "chronic nervous system damage resulting in a mineralization of the spinal cord and decreased nervous system enzyme activity that led to partial paralysis."The insecticide is also harmful to aquatic life, important insects such as pollinators, and in general is "very toxic to most organisms."Proposals to deploy naled in other countries to combat Zika have drawn immense controversy. The Puerto Rican government met intense backlash from anti-fumigation activists when it announced plans to begin aerial spraying of the chemical.The opposition was so strong that officials eventually agreed to suspend its use. San Juan Mayor Carmen Yulin Cruz said that spraying naled into the air is a form of "environmental terrorism."Doctors, farmers and activists expressed grave concerns about the chemical's health and environmental effects, including its ability to kill honeybees, whose populations are already in sharp decline.America's decision to deploy such a deadly chemical to fight a disease that may or may not be causing birth defects is completely irrational and borderline insane. There's a very good chance it could cause more birth defects, as well as other irreparable conditions.The CDC states on its website that most people who contract Zika, and when they do, they are typically mild and include things like joint and muscle pain, headaches and fever."People usually don't get sick enough to go to the hospital, and they very rarely die of Zika," the CDC says. "Once a person has been infected with Zika, they are likely to be protected from future infections." CA.News.Yahoo.com (Reuters)
Vermonts Attorney General William Sorrell on Aug. 2 said his office no longer will enforce Act 120, Vermonts first-in-the-nation law requiring the labeling of food produced with genetic engineering. The announcement came just a few days after President Obama signed S.764, which established the National Bioengineered Food Disclosure Standard act. Under the federal law that was signed July 29, 2016, products sold in the United States that contain genetically modified organisms (GMOs) will be required to disclose those ingredients to consumers. USDA has two years to create a set of rules that brands must follow to disclose GMO content.

Sorrell said his office intends to take an active role as the labeling fight shifts from the legislative process in Congress to the regulatory process at the USDA. We will work hard to give consumers the same access to information, in plain English, which they had under Vermonts law," he said. Among other things, the newly passed law could permit companies to provide a scannable code, accessed with a smartphone, rather than a clear on-package disclosure.

On July 1, Vermonts Act 120 became the first state GMO-labeling law to take effect in the United States. Vermonts AG Office was responsible for implementing the law and defended it against a lawsuit filed by GMA and other trade groups. Connecticut and Maine also adopted laws requiring labels on genetically engineered foods, but the labeling requirements werent actually triggered unless neighboring states passed similar measures, which never happened.

We successfully defended our law for two years, and as a result many companies are now disclosing that their products are produced with genetic engineering. We hope they will continue to do so going forward, not because our law requires it, but because it is the right thing to do," Sorrell said. Without question, Vermonts law spurred the Federal Government into action, requiring mandatory labels for GE foods. It is unfortunate that corporate interests were ultimately able to water down Vermonts clear disclosure standard through the passage of this federal law."

Listen to the SupplySide West Podcast 6: Controversies With the New GMO Labeling Law" where Loren Israelsen, president, United Natural Products Alliance (UNPA), and Jon Benninger, vice president, Health & Nutrition Network, Informa Exhibitions, discuss the new laws overruling of Vermonts GMO labeling law, how that affects food industry and why that upsets some consumers; the confusion on which products will be required to carry the GMO labeling and which enforcement agency will cover different product types; and the debate over if the new standardwhich allows a company to disclose GMOs with a QR Code, a link or a phone numberis biased toward consumers who have access to smart technology.

Looking for more on GMO labeling and consumer expectations? Join us for the GMOs: Todays Challenges, Tomorrows Opportunities panel discussion on Thursday, Oct. 6, at SupplySide West 2016.
The Jade Rabbit has officially stopped operations on the moon. China's lunar rover called Yutu has retired for good after 31-months on the moon. The news of Yutu's demise was broadcast on Chinese social media.

China's Administration of Science, Technology and Industry for National Defense had confirmed in a report by Xinhua News that Yutu has indeed stopped its operations on the moon. The rover lasted 31 months on the lunar surface, which was a record given that the rover was designed to last only three months. The Jade Rabbit now holds the record for being the longest-operating rover on the moon.

"This time it really is goodnight. There are still many questions I would like answers too, but I'm the rabbit that has seen the most stars!" stated the rover in a post on China's social media. "The moon says it has prepared a long, long dream for me."

Yutu was launched back in 2013 as part of China's Chang'e 3 lunar mission. It is notably one of the country's successful attempts of sending a rover to the moon's surface. In addition, it is China's first soft landing on the lunar surface since 1976, which is a record the country is proud of.

Despite the end of Yutu, China is prepping up for its next mission to the moon with Chang'e 5. This rover is set to land on the lunar surface by the year 2017, and will be taking samples from the moon's surface to bring back to earth.

Another lunar mission is also set for 2018 with the Chang'e 4. Named after the moon goddess of Chinese mythology, Chang'e 4 probe is set for launch along with a lander rover to explore the far side of the moon, which is the side that has never been explored and has never faced the earth.
A private company has been granted approval to land on the moon.

Florida-based Moon Express announced on Wednesday that it has secured official permission from the U.S. government to land a spacecraft on the moon.

"This is not only a milestone, but really a threshold for the entire commercial space industry," Bob Richards, CEO and co-founder of Moon Express, said in an interview with Space.com.

Only three countries had soft-landed on the moon - the U.S., the Soviet Union and China - since the 1960s. Moon Express' planned moon voyage will be a first in space history, as no private space company had ever attempted to leave Earth's orbit.

"Nobody's had a deep-sea voyage set. We're still charting those waters. Somebody had to be first," he said.

According to the company, the challenge was the lack of regulatory pathway given that the planned private lunar mission is the first in the country. The company submitted its application to the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) in April this year, and their request passed through the U.S. State Department, the U.S. Department of Defense, NASA, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and finally, the Federal Communications Commission, Space.com reports.

With the approval of the mission, Moon Express is now focusing on financial and technical challenges for their planned launch in late 2017. The company is set to launch its MX-1 lander atop the New Zealand experimental rocket Rocket Lab Electron Booster.

The company is also aiming to win the Google Lunar X-Prize, which is a $30 million competition to land a privately owned robotic vehicle on the moon.

"We will strap two landers together on a rocket to low Earth orbit. Once there, one of the landers will act as a booster sending the other one toward the moon," Naveen Jain, co-founder of Moon Express, described their flight plan in an interview with PopSci.com.

"On the final approach, the one lander will use its thrusters and autonomous software to land. Since there's a 3-second delay between the moon and Earth, we can't guide the landing remotely."

According to the company, future Moon Express missions will help in assessing, extracting and exploiting resources on the moon, such as water ice, and help launch a new era in space exploration.

"To rephrase John F. Kennedy, we chose to the go to the moon not because it is easy but because it is profitable," Jain said. "We see this as a first step in providing humanity with a plan B, rather than living on a single point of failure called Spaceship Earth."
In 1969 man made the "giant leap for mankind" when Neil Armstrong first stepped on the moon followed by Buzz Aldrin. No one has ever done the same again, but there is hope as the U.S. just approved another lunar probe that will take another lander to the moon.

In a monumental decision, Moon Express, a spaceflight company, was given an approval by the U.S. government to proceed with their lunar mission. This is monumental since it is the first time that the government approved a private organization's mission to go beyond the Earth's orbit.

But before the mission was approved, it had faced a number of challenges since there is no framework yet to regulate private missions beyond the Earth's orbit. The approved Moon Express launch will not only travel to the moon but it will also pave the way for the creation of regulations concerning missions of private spaceflight companies that aims to go beyond the Earth's orbit, according to the Verge.

"With this landmark ruling, Moon Express has become the first private company approved to literally go out of this world as a pioneer of commercial space missions beyond Earth orbit," a Moon Express official said in a statement.

To go about the dilemma, Moon Express prepared their own framework on how the U.S. government can oversee the missions. It was presented and agreed upon by the Federal Aviation Administration, the White House and the State Department that after much thought was approved.

For the first time in human history, a private spaceflight company will go beyond the Earth's orbit and land on the moon by 2017. This mission is in line with Google's Google Lunar X Prize, a competition to send private vehicles to the moon, which Moon Express had joined.

Google Lunar X Prize is launched by Xprize Company that calls itself as an innovative engine that rewards to challenges presented to competitors that can be of help to humanity. According to the rules, the winning team must successfully send a robot to the surface of the moon, travel for a distance of at least 500 meters and transmit HD content from the moon back to Earth.

After the most coveted approval by the government, Moon Express is a step towards winning the competition. But now the challenge is to create the new generation spacecraft that can successfully reach and land on the moon.
The fearsome alligator gar, a reviled fish that was once driven to extinction, will be the next hero of the marine and fishing industry.

Carp, the Invasive Water Pest

According to Tech Times, the Asian Carp has already entered the Mississippi River and they have been breeding in plague proportions. Biologists fear that they will enter the Great Lakes and damage the ecosystem there beyond repair.

Carps destroy freshwater vegetation by sucking silt and debris. They also feed on some native fishes that are deemed harmful to humans and other water organisms.

To avoid the carp proliferation, researchers are looking at the revival of the once hated alligator gar population. Just this July, Illinois lawmakers passed a resolution promising to protect the existing gar species in their state, in line with the plan to reintroduce them to the waters to battle the carp, the Associated Press reported.

Allyse Ferrara, who studies alligator gar at Nicholls State University in Louisiana, told the outlet that they have not found any other way to control it.

"What else is going to be able to eat those monster carp?" she said. "We haven't found any other way to control them."

Alligator Gar, the Hero Predator

The river monster, which is characterized by it's alligator-like head and needle sharp teeth, will swim the waters once more to put an end to the carp plague that has been debilitating the fishing industry and destroying the water ecosystem.

National Geographic describes the alligator gar as a menacing creature that can grow up to 10 feet and weigh up to 300 pounds. These sharp-scaled freshwater monsters are known to feed on fishes, but just like crocodiles, they too feed on everything that they see, even small turtles.

Researchers suggest that alligator gars are seen as a possible option because they are not harmful to humans. Despite their size and terrifying features, there are no recorded alligator gar attacks to humans. The only con is that their eggs are poisonous when accidentally ingested by humans.

Also, alligator gars have shown a taste for Asian carp.

The population decline of alligator gar can be attributed to altered habitat and sport fishing throughout the 1900s, when they were often blown up with dynamite. Records from Florida Museum say the alligator gar is now rare, endangered.

Other Efforts to Control the Carp Plague

Over the years, there have been efforts to resolve the carp plague such as when President Obama allotted $300 million to restore the damage brought by the carp to the Great Lakes as well as to catch them.

In addition, Christian Science Monitor reported that just this May, a 7.5-foot earthen wall has been built in Indiana to stop the carps from traversing their watershed.
North Korea currently has two satellites in orbit, but its space officials are working on a five-year plan to put more satellites up by 2020. However, the plan does not stop there. The country is also aiming for the moon.

Director of the Scientific Research Department of North Korea's National Aerospace Development Association, Hyong Kwang II, spoke with The Associate Press. In spite of the internal sanctions from NASA, North Korea is determined to launch more satellites and plant its flag on the moon in 10 years' time.

"Even though the U.S. and its allies try to block our space development, our aerospace scientists will conquer space and definitely plant the flag of the DPRK on the moon," said Hyon. "We are planning to develop the earth observation satellites and to solve communications problems by developing geostationary satellites. All of this work will be the basis for the flight to the moon."

The five-year plan under the order of Kim Jong Un focuses on the launch of an earth observation satellite. It would reportedly be the first geostationary communications satellite. Following the major step in terms of technology, North Korean Universities will also be expanding its programs to train potential rocket scientists.

As for the long-term target of the five-year plan, the satellites will provide data needed for forestry and crop assessments. It will also improve communication. Presently, North Korea has two satellites, namely the KMS-4 and the KMS-3-3. As of July 27, the KMS-4 or Kwangmyongsong 4, also known as the Brilliant Star 4, completed approximately 2,513 orbits and has transmitted 700 photographic images.

Despite the technological advancements and space development plans, North Korea remains an isolated community. China, its neighboring country, acts as a diplomatic ally. The economy of North Korea remains the same and with thousands still living in poverty.
A fireball-shooting drone could help suppress catastrophic wildfires and restore grasslands.

Dirac Twidwell, a range ecologist at the University of Nebraska, developed fireball igniters called "dragon eggs" about the size of ping-pong balls, which are pitched out of an unmanned aerial vehicle or miniature drone. The system is said to create more controlled fire burns that will maintain fire-dependent grasslands and at the same time, suppress destructive wildfires.

"We have always been told that high intensity fires during drought are bad. That's the problem: we have been studying fire when we were told it is OK to ignite and control fires on landscapes," Twidwell said in a report published on Lab Manager.

Twidwell argues that fires are the "stabilizing force" on the grasslands of the Great Plains. According to Twidwell, fires set by lightning used to burn naturally at regular intervals across the Great Plains. However, as the Plains was converted for crops and grazing, the regular burning became a threat and was extinguished. For the past five decades, the rich native grassland that had once spread over the Great Plains had been disappearing - replaced by trees and woody shrubs.

Controlled fires were then used to encourage the native grass and to drive out shrubs throughout the Great Plains. But they are falling short of stopping the trees and shrubs from sprouting.

This is because man-made controlled fires are often ignited at low intensity, as they are prone to errors and are difficult to control, which could create firestorms National Geographic reports.

For this purpose, Twidwell and his co-author Craig Allen, a researcher from the U.S. Geological Survey in Colorado, developed the mini drone known as hexacopter with the help of the Nebraska Intelligent Mobile Unmanned Systems (NIMBUS) Lab. The hexacopter and the dragon eggs will help manage controlled burns in the forests while keeping small fires from becoming mega fires in the process. The drone could also help firefighters monitor fires and prevent wildfires from spreading, the researchers said.

"In grassland ecosystems we are really data-poor in terms of fire behavior. We need finer scale spatial data and a lot of it to understand the effects of fire on ecosystems and we just haven't had the technology to capture it," Twidwell said in a statement.

"Understanding the spatial context and intensity of fires matters whether your goal is to protect a house or restore a grassland ecosystem."

The details of the research were published in Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment.
Scientists recently uncovered new fossils that supported the theory that the first animals that caused a mass extinction, according to a report from Phys Org.

The findings revealed that the first animals or metazoans changed the environment so much that the earlier organisms Ediacarans ceased to exist.

Ediacarans were single-celled marine organism that's mostly immobile, ruled and spread all over the world around 600 million years ago. However, when the newly evolved metazoans burst into being 60 million years later, the different species -- modern animals such as sponges, molluscs, vertebrates and more -- altered the habitat drastically and made it impossible for the Ediacarans to survive. It caused what is now known as the end-Ediacaran extinction.

The Ediacaran-Metazoan Relationship

Simon Darroch, assistant professor of earth and environmental sciences at Vanderbilt University, was the director of the recent study entitled "A mixed Ediacaran-metazoan assemblage from the Zaris Sub-basin, Namibia." It was published in the journal Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology.

Darroch called the emerging species that wiped out the Ediacaran as "ecological engineers." Along with his fellow scientists, he found a well-preserved mixed community of the early life organisms with the metazoans, a strong evidence that there is close ecological relationship among the different species.

"Until this, the evidence for an overlapping ecological association between metazoans and soft-bodied Ediacaran organisms was limited," Darroch explained.

Humans are Changing the Environment

Despite the findings referring to data that is hundreds of millions of years old, Darroch said that it remains relevant in the modern Earth.

"The end-Ediacaran extinction shows that the evolution of new behaviors can fundamentally change the entire planet, and today we humans are the most powerful 'ecosystems engineers' ever known," he pointed out.

Led by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the latest "State of the Climate 2015" report showed alarming trends throughout the world. Among the highlights of the past year are the highest greenhouse gases on record, the highest global surface temperature on record, the highest sea surface temperature on record, the highest global sea level on record and the highest global upper ocean heat content on record.
As President Barack Obama celebrated turning 55 on Thursday, some of the people closest to him took to social media to wish him a happy birthday.

Vice President Joe Biden tweeted out a picture of braided friendship bracelets Obama had made for them earlier this summer, writing, "Happy 55th, Barack! A Brother to me, a best friend forever."

Happy 55th, Barack! A brother to me, a best friend forever. pic.twitter.com/uNsxouTKOO  VP Biden (Archived) (@VP44) August 4, 2016

The two men's political marriage has grown continuously stronger over the years and has developed into a close friendship.

First Lady Michelle Obama also honored her husband's birthday with a candid photo on Instagram of the two of them dressed in formal wear.

"55 years young and that smile still gets me ever single day," she wrote. "Happy birthday, Barack. I love you."

The president and his family celebrated his birthday dining at Fiola Mare, an Italian seafood restaurant on the Georgetown waterfront  a favorite of the Obamas.

A group of Ugandans also sang a happy birthday to the President on Wednesday at a town hall meeting of young African leaders.
A Republican Party volunteer who posted a tweet that shows an executioner with a noose and the caption, "I'm ready for Hillary," from the official twitter account of the Riverside County Republican Party has resigned.



Nathan Miller resigned Thursday from his post as a deputy district director for the State Board of Equalization, the office confirmed to NBC4.



Scott Mann, the chairman of the Riverside wing of the Republican Party and mayor of Menifee, initially defended the tweet to the Riverside Press Enterprise, saying it was political satire. But on Thursday, he issued a statement condemning the tweet, saying he was horrified by it. The tweet was removed.

Howard Katz, the chairman of the Riverside County Democratic Party, called the tweet reckless and dangerous because it invites the assassination of Presidential nominee Hillary Clinton.

"I take a look at that and I say to myself, 'wanna get rid of the Muslims, the Jews are next," said Katz, whose relatives died in Hilter's gas chambers. "We've heard from the Republican Convention, 'Lock her up. We've heard Hillary should be shot for treason. This is just another step in that direction."

Rose Brossman, a Riverside County resident, was sickened.

"I think it has terrible things to say about our country, for a presidential nominee to even be threatened in this way," she said.

Maggie Steadman had a different opinion.

"It's true, she should be hung," she said. "She should go to prison and Trump should be our president."

Alicia Campbell, an African American, is offended.

"The noose offends me because of what happened with African Americans," she said.

Miller is also a Riverside Community College District trustee. Late Thursday, the district's Faculty Association called for his resignation, issuing the following statement:

"The Faculty Association of the Riverside Community College District read with alarm, dismay and sorrow of Trustee Nathan Miller's inappropriate tweets," the statement read. "Though we are not surprised by the descent into such crude incivility given the broader political culture, we are determined to shield our great public institution of higher learning from this infection.

"Mr. Miller's behavior is not acceptable in our community - we wouldn't tolerate it from our students - and we demand that he resign from the Board of Trustees and withdraw his candidacy from the November election."
A San Diego mother says her 9-year old son, who is on the Autism spectrum, flew on Southwest Airlines as an Unaccompanied Minor (UM) during delays caused by a computer glitch. But, according to the airline's website, no UM can be allowed to fly if there are delays or cancellations.

Kendra Wingfield told NBC 7 that Southwest never told her this before putting her son on a plane from San Diego to Oklahoma City.

On July 20, more than 900 Southwest Airline flights were grounded on July 20, leaving passengers stranded at airports across the U.S.

Kendras son Jaxon was one of the passengers on Southwest Flight 1755 from San Diego to Oklahoma City, which had also been delayed due to the glitch.

She told NBC 7 that her son has high-functioning Autism. It was his first time flying alone.

When they got to the airport, they were told by Southwest Airlines that Jaxons flight was delayed three hours.

But Kendra says the airline did not inform her of their policy to not allow UMs to travel during delays.

When Jaxon arrived in Phoenix, Arizona, the connecting flight was also delayed and then canceled, leaving her son stranded at the airport.

My 9-year old is calling me. He doesn't know whats going on, she said.

She says it was the airlines responsibility to contact her or another family member to notify them of the delay but they did not receive any calls. Instead, it was her son who called her.

I was on the phone with him when he asked a flight attendant to speak with me and they said they were too busy, she told NBC 7.

Describing the situation as a heart wrenching, she said she was frantically calling Jaxons dad who lives in Oklahoma City and her mother-in-law to figure out how to bring her son home.

I put my heart and soul on that plane and now we have no idea what's going on, she said.

In a Facebook post, Kendra described the incident, saying that when she and Jaxons father arrived at the airport in Oklahoma City, no one from Southwest Airlines wanted to explain the situation to them.

Kendra says what was supposed to be a three-hour trip, ended up being 12 hours for her son. Jaxon eventually made it to Oklahoma but she said so many things could have gone wrong.

He was scared and I think any child put in that situation would feel the same way, she told NBC 7.

Kendra has filed a complaint with the Department of Transportation and Southwest Airlines.

In a statement the airline wrote:

"We extend a heartfelt apology to all customers who were inconvenienced by the disruption in service our recent technology outage created. We appreciate their patience as we continue our work to make this right, individually reaching out to the thousands of customers impacted."

In their latest response to Kendra, Southwest tweeted her saying they will respond to her within 30 days.

[Jaxon] will not be flying on Southwest ever again. Ever again, Kendra said.

But she told NBC 7 that she cant afford to buy another return flight for her son because Southwest has not given her a refund or compensation.
San Francisco firefighters are working to rescue a worker who fell into a confined space on a U.S. naval ship in dry dock in the city's Dogpatch neighborhood.

The adult male victim, who is not a naval employee, was working on the U.S. Naval Ship Guadalupe at a private dry dock facility at 20th and

Third streets when he lost his footing and fell 10 to 15 feet, according to fire department spokesman Jonathan Baxter.

Fire officials first reported the incident shortly before 3:30 p.m.

The man has moderate injuries from his fall but is reported to be conscious and breathing, Baxter said.

Firefighters are conducting a confined space rescue, which means that personnel will be lowered by rope to the victim and then the victim will be raised back out.

Baxter said the space has no windows or ventilation and will require monitoring to make sure it has sufficient air for both the victim and rescuers.
Health officials report two new cases of the Zika virus in San Francisco.

The new cases were diagnosed in the last week and brings the total of San Francisco residents testing positive for Zika to 10.

All the patients contracted the virus while traveling in countries where Zika virus is circulating, the San Francisco Department of Public Health said.

Meanwhile, a baby was born in Berkeley with Zika-related birth defects, NBC Bay Area has confirmed.

Sources say the baby was born at Alta Bates Medical Center within the last six months.

No other details are being provided.

The baby is one of two babies born in California with Zika-related birth defects.

State health leaders say the mothers contracted the virus while traveling abroad -- and there are no reports of the virus being locally transmitted.
A retired San Jose firefighter was among six people stabbed in an attack in London on Wednesday.

Marty Hoenish, 59, who was vacationing with his wife on his first trip outside the U.S., recounted the attack that killed one American woman and injured him and four others.

Hoenish was out for an evening walk with his wife in Russell Square when a Somali-Norwegian teen rushed toward the couple.

"He ran up, he ducked under my right arm, and that's when he stabbed me," Hoenish said. "As he ran behind us, he started going up to other people, running by them, waving his arms and apparently stabbing them."

Authorities on Thursday identified the woman killed in the attack as 64-year-old Darlene Horton, the wife of a Florida State University psychology professor. Police subdued and arrested the 19-year-old suspect at the scene.

Hoenish said when he realized he was OK, he tried to help others. After police arrived, he managed to get himself back to his hotel and then eventually to a hospital.

Despite his terrifying first day in the storied city, Hoenish said he and his wife will continue their vacation as planned.

"It's very safe here, is what I want to say," Hoenish added.
Lisa Kolvites was tired of crying during her drive home.

Ever since her friend, Steve Strackbein, became homeless a few years ago, Kolvites has been driving weekly from her home in San Mateo to San Francisco to check up on him and bring him some food.

On the drive home, Kolvites cries.

"I go to visit him and all he has, everything he owns, is in a shopping cart and it's just a bunch of junk. I can't imagine living like that. I just can't," Kolvites said.

The 46-year-old Strackbein normally spends the night in a temporary shelter he constructs for himself out of cardboard, scraps of wood, and a tarp.

Kolvites says she wanted nothing more than to help Strackbein find a home.

So she decided to give him one. Once she built it, that is.

In November, Kolvites began construction a tiny home on wheels in the driveway of her San Mateo home. Having very little experience in construction the work went slowly, Kolvites often learning how to do things through trial and error. As frustrated as she got, though, there was no thought of giving up. "I'm committed to seeing this through," said Kolvites.

This week, Kolvites did just that.

After working on the home for ten months, Kolivtes wheeled the home onto a trailer and drove it to San Francisco to give to Strackbein.

The four walls and a locking door will, hopefully, give Strackbein a bit of security and privacy he has not had for years. The wheels mean he can move it, and all his belongings, from place to place if police or property owners say he has overstayed his welcome.

"I'm speechless," Strackbein said after sitting in his new home for the first time. "It's going to take a while to sink in."

Kolvites says the home ended up meaning as much to her as she believes it will Strackbein.

"I just hope someone would do the same for me," Kolvites said.
An elevator malfunction at Philadelphia's Criminal Justice Center sent one car crashing through the shaft's ceiling Thursday morning, critically injuring a Philadelphia Sheriff's sergeant.

The impact caused concrete and debris to fall onto another car sitting more than 100 feet below, injuring a rider inside that elevator, authorities said.

The incident happened just after 10 a.m. at the building at 13th and Filbert streets in Center City, which serves as Philadelphia's courthouse.

Sheriff's Sgt. Paul Owens, 48, was in a staff elevator on his way to collect a jury when an elevator mechanism broke, Sheriff Jewell Williams said. The car shot upward into the ceiling of the building's penthouse and into elevator machine room, officials said.

Owens, a 20-year veteran of the office, flew through the car "like a projectile," Williams said, causing him to break several bones in his back. The man was being taken into surgery at Hahnemann University Hospital Thursday afternoon.

"He's in a lot of pain. His family is there with him, his mother and his wife who is a former deputy also," Williams said.

Thursday evening, a spokeswoman for the sheriff's office said Owens' surgery went well and that he was in a medically-induced coma following the procedure. He's expected to be under heavy sedation for the next three to four days.

Philadelphia Sheriff's Office

A woman in an elevator in the CJC's basement at the time also went to a local hospital by ambulance for observation. Fire officials said debris from the elevator that Owens was traveling in crashed onto the roof of her car.

The woman, Beverly Smith, told NBC10 as medics loaded her into an ambulance that it appeared to her that something "fell down on top of the elevator." She described hearing an explosion.

Smith, a clerk in the First District Office of Judicial Records, was alert and did not appear badly injured. Williams said she was sad to hear of Owens' injuries.

The CJC closed Thursday after the accident and will remain closed Friday as the investigation continues. Jurors serving in a trial should report on Monday, unless otherwise notified, court officials said.

Court hearings being held at Philadelphia City Hall will continue as scheduled.

CJC Shuts Down After Elevator Accident Critically Injures Sheriff

A sheriff at the CJC said that officers inside the building "heard a loud boom" and went to see what happened, then found the woman inside the elevator asking for help.

Williams said they may not have known Owens had been trapped if the debris had not damaged the second elevator car. The sergeant was overseeing a hearing for Monsignor William Lynn, the priest accused of shielding pedophile clergymen, when the incident happened.

Alarms sounded when the elevator crashed and officers evacuated people from the building, authorities said.

What caused the elevator to break remains under investigation. Government records show all of the building's elevators passed inspection in June.

A woman who was inside an elevator when it fell at Philadelphias Criminal Justice Center Thursday morning described what she says sounded like an explosion as the elevator fell. Officials say the incident is under investigation. People remained evacuated from the building, which serves as Philadelphias courthouse, after 11 a.m. NBC10s Rosemary Connors was at the CJC when the elevator...

A spokeswoman for the city Department of Licenses & Inspections said her office would be involved with the investigation as well because of the damage the falling elevator caused to the building. L&I does not inspect elevators, she said, but will ensure that repairs are made properly.

"The roof of the elevator cab punched through the concrete floor of the elevator control tower at the top of the elevator shaft, breaking concrete and creating a large hole," the spokeswoman wrote in an email to NBC10. "L&I will require that this unsafe condition be repaired and that the elevator be re-certified as safe before this elevator bank can go back into operation."
A man who lost his wife and son in the deadly truck attack in Nice, France, died Thursday from injuries he suffered in the rampage, according to authorities, NBC News reported.

Pierre Hattermanns wife Francoise and his son were killed in the attack. His 14-year-old daughter is still in the hospital, French newspaper Nice Matin and other media reported.

That brings the death toll to 85, authorities said.

Tunisian-born Mohamed Lahouaiej Bouhlel barreled a 19-ton truck into the crowd celebrating France's Bastille Day on the seafront promenade on July 14. He was shot dead by police.
A North Carolina man was arrested Thursday after trying to recruit people to join ISIS and attack the U.S., NBC News reported.

Federal authorities said Erick Jamal Hendricks, 35, of Charlotte, was in contact with two men who opened fire at a Texas art exhibit depicting cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad. The gunmen were killed by an off-duty officer during the May 2015 attack.

Prosecutors said Hendricks used social media to contact potential recruits, including a man from Ohio and and undercover FBI agent. Hendricks' alleged goal was to create a sleeper cell that would live and train in a secure compound in the U.S.

One of Hendricks' intended targets was the organizer of the Garland, Texas, cartoon contest, according to NBC News. Hendricks also allegedly sought to attack military members.

Hendricks is charged with conspiring to provide material support to terrorists. He was arrested Thursday morning and was assigned a federal public defender who could not immediately be reached for comment.
President Barack Obama is assessing what's working and what's not in the fight against the Islamic State group as the U.S. military ramps up its engagement in Libya.

Obama said Thursday there have been gains in weakening ISIS in Iraq and Syria, but he conceded that the extremist group is shifting its tactics to carrying out attacks elsewhere around the world.

"It still creates the kinds of fear and concern that elevates their profile," he said at a news conference after meeting with military and national security advisers at the Pentagon.

The president also pushed back at Republican nominee Donald Trump's suggestions that the November election might be rigged, calling the assertion "ridiculous." He said his advice to Trump, a candidate he has declared "unfit" for the presidency, was to "go out there and try to win the election."

Trump and Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton will soon be receiving classified briefings, giving them access to sensitive information about national security threats and the U.S. military posture. Asked whether he was worried about Trump having access to such material, Obama said simply that those who want to be president need to start acting like it.

"That means being able to receive these briefings and not spread them around," he said.

The session comes as the U.S. is bombing targets in and around the Libyan city of Sirte, a notable expansion of the U.S.-led coalition's military mission against ISIS. At the urging of the Pentagon, Obama authorized the strikes that started this week and include precision strikes against ISIS tanks, rocket launchers and fighting positions.

Obama typically convenes meetings of the National Security Council at the White House, but over the past year he has occasionally held them at other agencies like the State Department and the CIA. The goal of the road show at the Pentagon is to illustrate the multifaceted U.S. approach to defeating IS.

Mired in chaos following the ouster of strongman Moammar Gadhafi in 2011, Libya became a target for ISIS extremists hoping to build a safe haven outside its initial territory in Iraq and Syria. Though the number of ISIS fighters in Libya has dwindled, the U.S. is hoping to help Libya's fledgling, U.N.-backed unity government finish the job.

Obama used the meeting at the Pentagon to tout recent gains by the U.S. and its partners against IS in Syria and Iraq. With significant U.S. help, Iraq's government is preparing a major offensive to reclaim the key northern city of Mosul, controlled by ISIS since June 2014.

But he warned against posing the fight against ISIS as "a clash of civilizations," since that "plays exactly into the hands of ISIL and the perverse interpretations of Islam that theyre putting forward."
Melania Trump obtained a work visa before she modeled professionally in the United States in the mid-1990s, her former modeling agent told The Associated Press. That appeared to back up her statements as recently as Thursday that she adhered to U.S. immigration laws as she went from a Slovenian model years later to an American citizen.

Paolo Zampolli, the former agent, offered the most detailed description yet about how the wife of the GOP presidential nominee came into the country, amid questions that emerged this week over Trump's own remarks that appeared inconsistent with U.S. immigration rules. Donald Trump's presidential campaign has repeatedly declined to clarify her comments, discuss her immigration history in detail or provide copies of any paperwork that would put the issue to rest.

Donald Trump has made illegal immigration a signature plank in his campaign platform, and his wife has often cited her path to U.S. citizenship in defense of his hard line, saying she came to the U.S. legally and other aspiring Americans should follow her example.

On Thursday, Zampolli said he personally secured a work visa for Trump, who in the mid-1990s was named Melania Knauss, while he was a partner at modeling agency Metropolitan Models.

"She qualified. We got her the H-1B as soon as she came," Zampolli said, referring to the type of work visa that U.S. companies can obtain for "fashion models of distinguished merit and ability." H-1B visas generally allow a person to work and live in the U.S. for three years with the opportunity to renew them for another three years.

Zampolli said he based the H-1B application on Trump's previous modeling work in Paris and Milan. "We used whatever she did before to get her a visa," he said. "She had enough tear sheets to qualify."

In interviews earlier this year with MSNBC and for a profile in Harper's Bazaar, Trump said she periodically traveled back to Slovenia to make sure she was adhering to the terms of her visa, though U.S. immigration law did not require such trips for work-visa holders at the time.

People who hold visitor visas would be required to leave the country on or before the end date of their authorized stay. U.S. law does not allow someone to use a visitor visa to regularly live and work in the country.

The wife of the Republican presidential nominee published a statement on Twitter on Thursday, disputing that she violated immigration laws. "I have at all times been in full compliance with the immigration laws of this country. Period. Any allegation to the contrary is simply untrue," she wrote. Trump has said she came to the U.S. in 1996 on a visa, got her green card in 2001, and became a U.S. citizen in 2006, the year after she married Donald Trump.

In her statement, Trump did not specify which visa she held during the early part of her modeling career in New York. Trump's campaign has declined repeated requests this week to clarify her comments or say which visa she held then.

Zampolli said Thursday he believes Trump was confused about her visa requirements, noting that she traveled to Slovenia to visit her family multiple times.

Zampolli said he was not aware whether Trump ever held a different visa. He said it was possible she came to the U.S. on a visitor visa to check out the modeling agency, a practice he said was common when foreign models were considering making the jump to New York.

"They come to meet the client to see if they really should come to New York," he said, noting that the process often includes taking photos to build a portfolio to attract bigger-name modeling contracts.

In her statement, Mrs. Trump did not address reports in Bloomberg News, Politico and The Washington Post speculating whether nude photos taken of Trump in New York in 1995 were evidence that she had worked illegally in the U.S. before securing the appropriate visa.

U.S. law allows a person to use a visitor visa to conduct temporary business for a foreign company or explore a future career opportunities such as visiting modeling agencies or meeting with potential clients.

Zampolli, who didn't book the shoot, said the photos, which appeared in a French magazine called Max, were likely a "free shoot to build the book of the model. She needed to get her tear sheets."

The AP left a phone message Thursday with the photographer who took the photos but it was not immediately returned. The photographer, Jarl Ale de Basseville, told The Washington Post that Trump was not paid for the photo shoot.
A mother of five children, including week-old twins, was ordered held on $2 million bond Thursday after prosecutors said she dressed her dead 4-year-old son up, put him in a blanket and had his remains set on fire in a vacant house because she didnt want the state to take away her other children.

Alyssa Garcia, 27, is charged with felony counts of concealing a death and attempted residential arson. Also charged was Christian Camarena, 19, and a 17-year-old boy related to Camarena and is Garcias live-in boyfriend, the Chicago Sun-Times is reporting.

Her 4-year-old son, Manuel Aguilar, who authorities originally believed was a 9-month-old child given his size, was found dead this week in a vacant Englewood home after firefighters arrived to put out the fire.

Prosecutors said Garcia admitted in a video-recorded statement to police that her severely malnourished son had stopped breathing on Friday and she had tried to resuscitate him by putting him the shower. When she realized he was dead, she dressed him up, wrapped him up in a blue towel and drove him to the home with Camarena and the teen where it was set on fire.

A witness told police that Garcia had kept the 4-year-old in a back room of her home that constantly smelled of urine and feces. The little boy would hide feces because he feared his mother would beat him, authorities said. Garcia repeatedly abused the boy, who would scream from the room, Let me out, according to a witness, authorities said.

Four years ago, state child protective workers took custody of Garcias little boy because of neglect, officials said Thursday.

But the boy was returned in 2015 to Garica after she complied with terms that included attending parenting classes, a spokeswoman for the lllinois Department of Children and Family Services said Thursday.

Prosecutors also said in bond court Thursday that Garcia had been previously charged with endangerment of a child, after authorities found a 5-year-old boy knocking on a door, looking for his mother. That discovery led authorities to a car with more of Garcias children. She was away, apparently visiting a boyfriend, authorities said. Garcia received 18 months supervision in that case.

The body of Garcias dead son was found by firefighters Tuesday night after they put out the fire in the the 1400 block of West Marquette Road. The manner and cause of the boys death were still under investigation following an autopsy.

An Illinois Department of Children and Family Services spokeswoman, Veronica Resa, said the childs death has triggered an investigation for allegations of abuse and neglect." Garcias week-old twins are currently in a hospital for monitoring.

The firefighters smelled lighter fluid in a gangway and found a small fire in the basement of the vacant two-story house, authorities said.

They extinguished the blaze and then found the body in the debris, Fire Media Affairs Director Larry Langford said. Langford said it appeared the child had been deceased for some time, and he was wrapped in a blanket or cloth bag.

The fire was intentionally set, Langford said.
The Illinois Attorney Generals office confirmed Thursday that settlement documents are being finalized in Rep. Tammy Duckworths workplace retaliation suit and that the case has been removed from the trial docket.

We filed a motion to enforce the settlement, Illinois Attorney General Senior Press Secretary Eileen Boyce said in a statement. This afternoon the judge entered an order into the docket.

Reports that the case was still set for trial surfaced last week after the plaintiffs, Denise Goins and Christine Butler, refused to accept a settlement offer, the Daily Herald reported. The AGs office denied the reports, noting that the plaintiffs couldnt refuse their settlement offer and that the case wasnt going to trial.

The 8-year-old lawsuit, which stemmed from Duckworths time as the director of the Illinois Department of Veterans Affairs, alleged ethics violations and workplace retaliation. The suit was settled in June.

However, the plaintiffs were reportedly offended by the Duckworth campaigns response to the settlement and moved to reject the offer within an hour of leaving the courthouse.

Nevertheless, the AGs motion to enforce the settlement noted that the plaintiffs counsel hadnt contacted the defendants counsel to object to the deal, which is clearly an enforceable agreement.

The settlement agreement includes the states payment of $26,000 to the plaintiffs legal counsel.

Duckworth is currently locked in one of the nations most hotly-contested Senate races against incumbent Republican Senator Mark Kirk.

Kirks campaign, who used the case as a component of their strategy against Duckworth, responded to the settlement Thursday, faulting the congresswoman for the hiring of a convicted felon during her time as head of the IDVA.

The fact that Duckworth allowed a violent, convicted felon to care for veterans deserves answers, Kirk spokesman Kevin Artl said in a statement. No one in Illinois is surprised that Duckworth and Madigan are seeking a quick end to this embarrassing trial. But however the legal process plays out, we know for certain that Duckworth and her team allowed a violent felon to care for veterans and punished those who blew the whistle on her.

Butler wrote an e-mail to Duckworth on April 18, 2007 that was included in the lawsuit. She complained about Duckworths co-defendant Christine Simms, the acting administrator at the Illinois Anna Veterans Home, recalling an incident wherein five non-employees came to provide care to one of the homes veteran residents on April 17, 2007.

According to the e-mail, the individuals became abusive to the veteran and a contractor the next day and were required to leave the facility after becoming loud and disruptive.

One of the individuals, Jessie Bell, was a convicted felon who is currently serving time at Illinois Pinckneyville Correctional Center for second degree murder. The Kirk campaign is circulating a flyer with Bells mugshot that claims the felon was allowed to care for Illinois veterans at the Anna Veterans Home."

A Democratic insider claimed the congresswoman wasnt informed about the incident until after the fact, at which point she admonished Simms. The source also noted that Bells name wasnt included in the e-mail or any court documents.

Additionally, the insider noted that no I.D. complaint was filed about the incident and claimed that the plaintiffs, namely Butler, had other personal issues with Simms. The source called the whistleblowers claims contradictory."

Butler, who appears to be cooperating with the Kirk campaign, told Capitol Fax that Simms hired the five individuals without performing background checks. Butler claimed that Bell caused the most trouble at the home.
Sen. Mark Kirk campaigned with Ohio Gov. John Kasich in Chicago Thursday, attending a big-ticket luncheon and touring a downtown tech incubator.

During their visit to Bunker Labs, an incubator for veteran tech entrepreneurs housed within the 1871 hub, Kasich gave a resounding endorsement of Kirk.

Senator Kirk is unique in the U.S. Senate, hes very much an independent voice, Kasich said. We need people like Mark Kirk.

I admire and respect him, he added.

Kasich praised Kirks recovery from a 2012 stroke and lauded the senators independent voice.

"What do you think is going to frighten him, Kasich asked. "Who do you think is going to bully him? Nobody.

The Ohio governor, who dropped out of the presidential race in May, claimed that the Republican party is in a transition.

We dont know whats going to happen if Mr. Trump wins, he said.

Both Kasich and Kirk have announced that they arent backing Trumps presidential candidacy. Nevertheless, Kirk said that Trump shouldnt be replaced on the Republican ticket Thursday.

During his speech, Kasich noted that there are problems with the country's welfare and tax systems and claimed that job training functions dont function at all.

So many things need to be fixed, Kasich said.

Kirk, who called Kasich his hero during the event, is locked in one of the nations most hotly-contested Senate races with Rep. Tammy Duckworth. Kasich referred to Duckworth as an old-fashioned liberal Thursday.

The Democratic Party of Illinois hosted a press call with Illinois labor leaders Thursday to discuss Kirk and Kasichs history of attacking working families and supporting job-killing trade deals.

Associated Fire Fighters of Illinois President Pat Devaney drew parallels between Kasich and Gov. Bruce Rauner, claiming that both executives have worked to weaken unions and their collective bargaining rights.

"It makes sense that a career politician with a history of attacking and insulting working people would be in Illinois today campaigning alongside Mark Kirk, Devaney said. "Kirk proudly supports Bruce Rauners efforts to attack unions and has called them good for his reelection campaign.

SEIU Healthcare Illinois President Keith Kelleher echoed Devaneys sentiments, calling Kirk and Kasich "Republicans who are terrible for working people. Kelleher claimed that both Republicans have opposed pay equity and raising the minimum wage and supported job-killing, bad trade deals, like the Trans-Pacific Partnership.

"Duckworth is desperate to shift the discussion away from the fact that a violent felon was allowed to care for veterans under her watch and that instead of taking corrective action, she punished the whistleblowers who brought it to her attention," Kirk spokesman Kevin Artl said in a statement.

The senators campaign is pointing to an incident wherein five individuals were hired to work at the Anna Veterans Home while Duckworth was serving as the director of the Illinois Department of Veterans Affairs in 2007. One of the individuals, Jessie Bell, was a convicted felon who is currently serving time at Illinois Pinckneyville Correctional Center for second degree murder.

A plaintiff in Duckworths workplace retaliation suit, which was recently removed from the trial docket, wrote an e-mail to Duckworth about the incident, claiming that the individuals became abusive to a veteran and a contractor the day after being brought on. After becoming loud and disruptive, the individuals were ultimately required to leave the facility.

A Democratic insider claimed the congresswoman wasnt informed about the incident until after the fact and admonished Christine Simms, the homes acting administrator and Duckworths co-defendant in the suit.

Meanwhile, Duckworth supporter and Iraq War Veteran Dan Tobon claimed Kirk is exaggerating his military service by displaying a bumper sticker on his car saying he served in Afghanistan. Tobon holds that Kirk was only there for training.

The Kirk campaign told NBC Chicago that the senator served three times in Afghanistan as a Naval Reserve Officer in support of Operation Enduring Freedom.
On a stretch of highway often gridlocked with commuters headed to downtown Chicago or O'Hare, a nonprofit dedicated to changing the way Muslims are portrayed in the media left a succinct message for the Islamic State.

"Hey ISIS, you suck!!!" an I-294 billboard just north of North Avenue reads. It is signed, "From: #ActualMuslims," and paired with a quote from the Quran: "Life is sacred."

The nonprofit, Sound Vision, said in a news release it has published brochures and articles against ISIS and its practices, condemning the terrorist organization.

Sound Vision's website holds videos and talking points on topics ranging from Islamophobia and mainstream media to international tragedies perpetrated in the name of the Islamic State.

"We wanted to choose a place that was high traffic," said Leena Suleiman, a representative of the group, about choosing the location to hoist the group's message.

Suleiman said 60 individuals, mainly made up of professionals from the northwest suburbs of Chicago, collaborated with Sound Vision to pull together the cash for the billboard.

"A group of American-Muslim professionals organized like-minded, concerned Muslims to raise funds for this campaign," said Mohammad Siddiqi, executive director of Sound Vision, in the release.

Suleiman said the project grew out of frustration Muslim-Americans are feeling over not having a voice every time a terrorist attack happens.

"It's about shouting out, 'ISIS does not represent me, I'm Muslim, I say the word 'sucks,' I'm like everyone else in my country,'" she said. "We want to scream it from a billboard."

That message is critical to defeating ISIS, President Barack Obama said at a news conference Thursday. He warned against perpetuating the narrative that the fight against ISIS, sometimes referred to as ISIL, is "a clash of civilizations."

That idea "plays exactly into the hands of ISIL and the perverse interpretations of Islam that they're putting forward," Obama said.

Suleiman said Sound Vision's message has been received positively by the local Muslim community but it's hard to gauge what the larger response is.

"Obviously Muslims know that ISIS sucks, so the main audience is people who are not Muslims ... People who need to hear that Muslims are not OK with what ISIS is doing," she said.

The hashtag resonated with local Muslims the most, she said, because it's a reflection of how they often feel.

"When they see these attacks, they don't identify with the attacks, they identify with the victims," she said.
Police are searching for a man after his girlfriend was shot early Thursday in south suburban Country Club Hills, authorities confirmed.

Officers responded to shots fired in the 1100 block of Williamsburg Road at approximately 4 a.m., according to a statement from the Country Club Hills Police Department.

Upon arriving at the scene, officers found a woman who had sustained several gunshot wounds, police said. She was taken to Advocate Christ Medical Center and underwent surgery, according to police. Her condition was unknown.

Police were searching for the woman's boyfriend, 34-year-old Robert Donald, as a person of interest in the shooting.

"Robert Donald became involved in a domestic dispute with his girlfriend Jennifer Williams," the Country Club Hills Police Department said in a release. "The dispute turned violent and Jennifer was shot several times with a firearm by Robert in front of the location."

Police said Donald then fled the scene with his 8-year-old son in an unknown direction, driving a red 2011 Ford Taurus with an Illinois license plate Z558610.

Authorities said Donald may have access to another vehicle, a white 4-door Buick with the Illinois license plate Y754993.

Anyone with information on the shooting is asked to call Country Club Hills police at (708) 798-3191.
Rep. Adam Kinzinger made it clear Thursday that he wont back Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump.

For months, the congressman has said he wants to support the GOP candidate, Kinzinger spokesperson Maura Gillespie said in a statement. Hes not there yet and doesnt see a path to get there at this time. He will support his colleagues in Illinois and in Congress, and will continue to put the good of the country above partisan politics.

The GOP congressman, who has been hesitant to endorse Trump, told CNNs Wolf Blitzer Wednesday that he went to the Republican National Convention in Cleveland last month intending to at least mildly endorse the Republican frontrunner.

During the interview, Kinzinger voiced concern about Trumps effect on down-ticket candidates and noted that he was considering writing in a candidate on the presidential ballot in November.

The congressman told Blitzer that he couldnt support Trump because hes crossed so many red lines that a commander-in-chief or a candidate for commander-in-chief should never cross.

Gillespie expounded on the stances that Kinzinger opposes.

The congressman is concerned, and rightfully so, on the various stances being taken on foreign policy, Gillespie said. Isolating from NATO, befriending Russia, and disparaging our military and their families are not things Congressman Kinzinger supports."

Kinzinger is running unopposed in his bid for reelection in Illinois 16th Congressional District.
A Wisconsin woman is in custody following the death of her 2-year-old son.

Police say officers were called to a condominium in Sheboygan Falls Thursday afternoon to find a 27-year-old mother in a stairway armed with a large butcher knife.

One neighbor, Dianna Thompson, said she was pulling into her driveway in the neighborhood when she saw swarms of officers screaming, NBC 5 affiliate WTMJ reports.

"'Drop the knife!'" she recalled to WTMJ. "And they kept hollering that and hollering that."

Sheboygan Falls Police Chief Steven Riffel says an officer was forced to use a stun gun when the woman refused to drop the knife and advanced toward officers. The mother was stunned a second time when she continued to struggle and threaten officers with the knife as they tried to restrain her, according to police.

Bob Thompson said he was in his home when his wife Dianna came running inside to tell him the scene she witnessed, according to WTMJ. He then went outside to see a sight he wished he didnt.

"I'd seen the little legs and the little arms and my heart kinda sunk," he told WTMJ. "I looked up and I said, 'You know, God please don't let that little baby die.

Officers found the little boy injured in a room inside the condo. He was rushed to St. Nicholas Hospital in Sheboygan, where he was pronounced dead.

Further details surrounding the childs cause of death and the state he was found in have not been made available.

"We believe, based on our observations at the scene, our investigation and speaking to many individuals, that this was an intentional act," Riffel said.

Police said the boys father does not live in the area and that the woman's live-in boyfriend was at work and not home at the time.

The mother is currently awaiting charges at the Sheboygan County Detention Center.
The Justice Department has reached an agreement with Connecticut after finding that the state failed to comply with parts of the National Voter Registration Act (NVRA).

According to a press release from the Justice Department, investigation found that the state did not process applications for drivers license and identification card renewals as applications for voter registration with respect to federal elections. Additionally, Connecticut did not process change of address notifications for voter registration purposes.

Officials said Section 5 of the NVRA requires states to allow residents to register to vote for federal elections when they renew drivers licenses or other identification. It also requires that states give residents the option to change address for voter registration purposes when they notify a states motor vehicle agency of change of address.

The Justice Department announced they would be investigating concerns of non-compliance back in April.

The settlement requires that Connecticut allow voter registration in all applications for drivers licenses or ID cards, and give residents the ability to change their federal voter registration address when submitting a change of address notification. The state will also contact eligible voters who could not submit or update their voter registration information when they last applied for these services and offer them the appropriate information on how to register.

The Justice Department said that the state already took steps to rectify the problems by creating a voter registration application in the electronic driver licensing system.

For more information visit the Justice Department website.
A federal jury has found a Hartford man guilty of an April 2011 murder, according to the US Attorneys office.

Karl Roye, 25, was convicted of murdering Anthony Parker, who was 24, in Hartford in 2011. He was convicted of conspiracy to commit a violent crime in aid of racketeering and committing a violent crime in aid of racketeering.

Roye is scheduled for sentencing on October 27. He faces life in prison.

Prosecutors said on April 6, 2011, Hartford police responded to shots fired near 15 Thomaston Street in the Blue Hills neighborhood of Hartford, where they found Parker in a vehicle suffering multiple gunshot wounds. He was transported t Saint Francis Hospital but died of his injuries.

This case initially went cold but was revisited as part of a long-term investigation into narcotics trafficking by gangs in the Hartford area, according to the US Attorneys Office. Investigators said Parkers homicide was also included in cold case playing cards used in Connecticuts state correctional facilities.

FBIs Northern Connecticut Violent Crimes Task Force, DEA and Hartford Police Department and the Cold Case Unit of the Office of the Chief States Attorney all took part in the investigation.

Officials said Roye was a member of the Wall Street group, later known as Team Grease. According to court statements, Roye and another man, Jimel Frank, shot Parker from opposite sides of the vehicle.

Both men were arrested in February 2015.

Frank plead guilty on November 12, 2015 and awaits sentencing.
One of Connecticuts health insurers shocked state insurance officials Thursday morning when Connecticare executives unveiled that they wanted to increase rates by 42.6 percent, rather than the previously proposed 24 percent increase.

NBC Connecticut reached out to Connecticare for comment but our messages werent immediately returned.

Sources at a public hearing to discuss the rates said state officials were taken aback by the renewed request.

One person who was there to state her case was Alison Bliss, a former Connecticare customer who dropped the insurer this year when she was informed of the proposed rate increase.

The audacity that the company had to suggest increasing my rate by almost 30 percent, she said.

The plans that would go up are off-exchange plans mainly held by private individuals and small business owners. There are about 37,000 people who would be affected by the rate increase.

Elizabeth Keenan with Congregations for a New Connecticut has observed the rate increase process for years and says this move by Connecticare puts consumers in a nearly impossible position.

It puts consumers between a rock and a hard place frankly, so you either pay the penalty and then you run the risk of having a medical event or you become unable to pay other bills and look out for your family.

In the case of Alison Bliss, she was paying more than $330 per month for her individual premium and she would see that bill rise to more than $480 if she stayed with Connecticare.

She says she feels the company duped many of its customers.

I feel like they kept their rates low to get new consumers [last year] and now theyre raising their rates exorbitantly once they have us all in there. That just doesnt work for me.

State Senator Tony Hwang, R  Fairfield, was at the hearings and was blown away by the proposal. He says the Farmington-based Connecticare is representing everything that taxpayers and consumers dislike about large corporations.

Its an absolute symbolic gesture of a complete disconnect of our insurance carriers. I understand its a business but they have to understand that there is a consideration and a respect for how you interact with your consumers.
Norwalk police are asking for the public to come forward with information on the seven-year anniversary of two 2011 homicides.

Police said Iroquois Alston and Rickita Smalls were both shot and killed on August 6, 2011 on Avenue B in Norwalk.

The State of Connecticut is offering a $50,000 reward for any information that leads to the arrest and conviction responsible for this crime.

Anyone with information should contact Norwalk Police detectives at (203) 854-3111 or the Connecticut Cold Case Hotline at (866) 623-8058.
Some Texas state senators have tough questions for the man in charge of Dallas County Schools..

At issue: how the district spent millions of your money on a pricey school bus camera program.

For nearly three years, NBC5 Investigates has asked many of the same questions about Dallas County Schools  the district that runs school buses for other local school districts including Dallas ISD.

A 2014 NBC5 investigation found Dallas County schools way behind on promises that the bus cameras would pay for themselves with money collected on tickets written to drivers who blow past school bus stop signs.

When the program launched in 2012, the district said the cameras would generate millions in fines, quickly paying for themselves.

Now, senators on both sides of the aisle have serious concerns about how the district has spent more than $50 million on camera equipment and efforts to expand the program statewide.

Some senators question if a school district that was created to bus students has overreached its mission -- using public money to run what amounts to a side business.

In a contentious hearing in Austin Wednesday, Dallas County Schools Superintendent Rick Sorrels admitted the district is still years away from paying off the cameras statewide.

We are probably about three years out, yes. That's a short time for me, but three years, yes," Sorrels said.

It's not the first time Sorrels has made a three year promise.

Two years ago, he told NBC5 Investigates the same thing.

Please come back here in three years and we'll sit here and we'll have this same discussion except we'll be saying 'Rick, you were right. They did pay for it'," said Sorrels in a 2014 interview.

At the time, NBC5 Investigates discovered the district had spent tens of millions more than first advertised, even borrowing money to buy camera equipment.

Officials also spent at least $25 million trying to expand the camera program statewide. Dallas County Schools offered free cameras to other Texas districts in exchange for splitting the money collected in fines.

A 2014 NBC5 review of Dallas County Schools records found total expenses for the statewide program could total $75 million.

In the Wednesday hearing, several state senators questioned why a local school district would try to operate a statewide enterprise to generate revenue.

Wait a minute, This is Dallas County Schools. This isn't the State of Texas schools. What are you doing buying something for across the state that isn't part of your mission?, asked Sen. Kel Seliger, R-Amarillo.

Sorrels responded that he believes the districts mission is to strengthen education service both inside and outside of Dallas County.

But Dallas area senators Royce West, D-Dallas, and Don Huffines, R-Highland Park, also questioned the superintendent's thinking.

You ought to just admit you're out there looking to make some money," said Huffines.

During his questioning, Huffines cited NBC5s earlier reports.

Two years ago, an NBC5 Investigation found the camera program was way behind projections.

Thousands of tickets were thrown out because of errors and drivers successfully challenging tickets.

And the district struggled to find other cities willing to pass bus camera laws - needed to join the program.

But in Austin, Dallas County Schools again told lawmakers it will eventually make good on its promises.

We believe that based on the projections that, yes, we will have a positive cash flow and we will pay for 100 percent of the cost of the equipment.

In a statement late Thursday, Dallas County Schools told NBC5 Investigates, "Our student safety program, which is ranked as one of the best in the country, is saving our children's lives throughout Texas.

The statement said, The stop-arm camera campaign in Dallas reduced the number of violations by 25 percent and has, in fact, paid for itself in three years."

The public relations representative who issued the statement acknowledged that the claim that program paid for itself referred only to the Dallas County portion of the program and not the statewide program.

In 2012, Dallas County School officials told The Dallas Morning News that the Dallas County portion of the program would pay for itself in just one year.
Local

The latest news from around North Texas.
A man is under arrest after backing into a sheriff's deputy's vehicle early Friday morning while trying to escape authorities during a chase through several North Texas counties, authorities say.

Rockwall County Sheriff's Office officials said deputies tried to pull the driver of a 2006 Ford F-150 over on the Interstate 30 service road at about 1:30 a.m. Instead of stopping, the driver turned onto Texas 205 and sped up.

Authorities said the driver  later identified as 45-year-old Billy Jack Thomas  reached speeds faster than 100 mph and twice hard-braked during the pursuit.

Thomas eventually stopped, only to put his truck into reverse and crash the truck into a sheriff's deputy's vehicle. Officials said the truck partially came up on the front of the patrol car.

Officials said the deputy then fired at Thomas, who again drove away.

The deputy continued the pursuit and was assisted by Forney police, a Texas Department of Public Safety chopper and sheriff's deputies from Rockwall, Dallas and Kaufman counties.

Authorities said Thomas was taken into custody without further incident when the chase finally ended in Sunnyvale. With Thomas in custody, officials learned he had outstanding warrants; more details have not been released.

No injuries were reported.
Florida Gov. Rick Scott and top officials with the Centers for Disease Control made a stop in South Florida Thursday to visit the epicenter of Miami-Dade's fight against the Zika virus, which they said is going well.

Aerial spraying of an insecticide to kill adult mosquitoes was underway just before sunrise Thursday morning, the first aerial attack since the Zika virus hit Miami. Health officials had issued travel advisory for pregnant women in a one-square mile where Zika infections were believed to be occurring.

"We feel comfortable now in that one-mile radius, we can take 10 blocks in the northwest corner and say we don't believe there's any active transmission of Zika," Scott said at a news conference.

Dr. Tom Frieden, director of the CDC, joined Scott in the Wynwood neighborhood for an up-close look at eradication efforts.

"I am very impressed with how intensive the control activities are. They have got over 100 teams in the field," Frieden said. "The key message ... is get rid of anywhere this mosquito can breed."

There have been 15 locally acquired non-travel related cases of Zika, including 12 in Wynwood. One case is still being investigated, and two others were isolated incidents. The Department of Health has no ongoing cases in Broward and there are no active non-travel related cases.

The area being sprayed was about 10 square miles, from 38th Street south to 20th Street and from Northwest 5th Avenue east to Biscayne Boulevard. The area includes trendy Wynwood, home to most of South Florida's Zika cases.

"You really have to understand how this particular mosquito spreads. It's very local and focal, it is a particular area, a particular mosquito. It does not travel more than about 150 meters, 500 feet in its life," Frieden said.

Crews on the ground are continuing their spraying efforts, and community centers are stressing basics like mosquito spray and proper attire.

"We've tested over 2,400 people in the state, we've tested 340 people in the Wynwood area for active Zika or Zika antibodies," Scott said.

Frieden siad the insecticide being sprayed is safe and kills mosquitoes that pesticides on the ground can't reach.

While the CDC represents federal involvement in the fight to prevent Zika from spreading, President Barack Obama on Thursday urged Congress to come back from summer recess to pass funding dedicated to protecting Americans from the virus.

"Without sufficient funding, (National Institutes of Health) clinical trials and the possibilities of a vaccine, which is well within reach, could be delayed," Obama told reporters.

Meanwhile, elected leaders converged on Wynwood. Members of Congress, the governor and the county's mayor are confident in the efforts to rid the area of mosquitos, and Zika.

"This is like a moving target every day and I am watching every day because for the epicenter to be in District 24 has caused me much pause," Rep. Frederica Wilson said.

The investigation also expanded into a neighborhood in southwest Miami-Dade, where there was a possible Zika case reported.

"Yesterday we announced that there was another case unrelated to this area that we are investigating, so that is separate from the current one-mile area," Florida Surgeon General Dr. Celeste Philip said at Thursday's news conference. " We'll go through the same process where we'll talk to a lot of people, get samples from that area before we have enough data to make any additional conclusions from that area."

Officials with the Department of Health wouldn't say exactly where the case was reported but residents of one neighborhood said they received letters from health officials.

The letters said officials "are trying to determine if mosquitoes in the area may be causing some people to get Zika. We are hoping to talk to people in about 100 houses in this area."

It added: "If you agree, we will ask you questions about your exposures to mosquitoes and your health. We would also like to collect a urine sample."
A former firefighter was arrested in a suspicious blaze that gutted the home of Kenneth Walker, the only black firefighter in North Tonawanda, New York, police said Thursday. The fire erupted two days after Walker reported finding a racist and threatening letter in his mailbox, NBC News reported

North Tonawanda police Capt. Thomas Krantz said at a news conference that the suspect, Matthew Jurado, 39  who lives across the street from Walker  admitted having set the fire because he'd recently been "removed" from the Gratwick Hose Volunteer Fire Company.

But Jurado, who was charged with second-degree arson, denied that he'd sent the letter and insisted that the fire wasn't race-related, Krantz said.

Walker, 28, his wife, Amanda, and their two kids weren't in their apartment when the blaze broke out Wednesday, police said.
It was a fragile unity that Texas delegates formed at the Republican National Convention in Cleveland. Many of the delegates wanted Sen. Ted Cruz to be the nominee, and the state's primary vote reflected that. There was further disappointment for some delegates who wanted Cruz to come out and endorse Donald Trump, which he did not.

But at the end, it appeared the delegation was coming together. Collin County Republican Chairman Neil Katz, who is a Cruz supporter himself, encouraged the group to get behind Trump.

"We need to be showing unity as a party," said Katz.

NBC 5 asked Katz on Thursday if any of the controversy involving Trump in the past few days would affect the unity that came together in Cleveland.

"I don't think so. I think it might rub the skin a little bit wrong but that's it. But I think deep down people know we have to be unified," said Katz.

Kaufman County Republican Chairman Jimmy Weaver was also a Cruz supporter and is now backing Trump. He says the group that came on board is still there, but he wants to see Trump focusing more on issues facing the country.

"Right now my plea to Mr. Trump is to get on board with his management team, listen to what they are telling him, and you know, get the path straightened out," said Weaver.

Like all party leaders, these county chairs have to worry about local and state races as well. Right now, Katz still feels good about those in Collin County.

"It could matter in some areas where people stay home when it's a swing county. Collin County is not a swing county right now. You know, we will probably end up with 62, 63 percent of the vote is my guess," said Katz.
A woman was saved from an attempted sexual assault in a Los Angeles neighborhood thanks to what some are calling divine intervention.

The woman was pushing her baby in a stroller down McConnell Avenue in Westchester about 1 p.m. Monday when a man attacked her. Suddenly, a priest appeared and confronted the man. The man claimed to be the woman's husband, but the priest wasn't buying it.

A 911 call was placed and police arrested a man on suspicion of attempted rape and kidnap, according to the Los Angeles Police Department's Pacific Division.

"It's a miracle," said Jeff Rothman, who lives in the neighborhood.

A neighborhood watch group told NBC4's sister station, Telemundo 52, that the Jesuit priest was visiting a friend in the neighborhood. They said he was walking and praying, before he discovered the woman in need of help.

A friend of the priest says he does not want to speak with reporters about the incident out of respect for the victim.

"He is a hero, in my opinion," said neighbor Andrea Urrutia. "Anyone that helps someone, God bless him."
A program that teaches kids the mysteries of science and the workmanship of arts and crafts could be coming to an elementary school near you.

But there's a twist.

It's After School Satan.

The Satanic Temple, a religious organization with an "atheistic front," based in -- appropriately enough -- Salem, Massachusetts, is pitching the idea of their own after-school program to nine school districts around the country, including Los Angeles Unified. The Temple said it wants to counter well-funded fundamentalist Christian organizations that it believes are eroding the separation of church and state in public schools.

"We're not trying to convert anyone," said Ali Kellog, the chapter head of LA's Satanic Temple, one of 16 chapters around the world. "We're just trying to teach scientific reasoning."

The district isn't saying much, only that "there are no after school Satan clubs in the district."

The idea is pitting Satan against God in at least one school in the San Fernando Valley.

Kellog said the Satanic Temple is specifically requesting to host a program at Chase Street Elementary in Panorama City because that school currently hosts the Good News Club, a Christian after-school program that teaches kids about Jesus and the Bible.

"We are only asking that we get to do that same thing the evangelicals are doing," Kellog said.

She said that if the district doesn't allow After School Satan then they will pursue legal action over separation of church and state concerns.

It is unknown whether the district will make a deal with the devil for the after-school program.

The program features a healthy snack, literature and science lessons, and an art project, but despite the ungodly name, it will not feature satanic rituals or worshipping.

The Temple talks a good story, said Moises Esteves, vice president of USA Ministries, the organization that oversees Good News Clubs, but they are atheists "dressed up the scary costumes with pitchforks and devil horns."



"No one in their right mind would send their kids to something like this," Esteves said.

Over 178,000 children attend Good News Clubs in over 4,500 public schools, a fact that isn't going to change due to "dark publicity," he said.
When a Thousand Oaks pizza restaurant employee saw a newscast about an elderly couple facing eviction from the house they've lived in for 56 years, he was sickened.

So he decided to do something. He's donating about $200, a shift's worth of earnings so the couple can find some solace as they find a new living arrangement.

"That is just horrible," said Chris Haynes, a 29-year-old trainer at California Pizza Kitchen. "I know what it's like to, out of nowhere, kind of get blindsided."

Haynes' act of kindness is the latest that Hank and Helen Kawecki have received since their story went public earlier this summer.

They say their grandson stole the deed to their house after promising to financially support them, and lost it to foreclosure in a case the Ventura County Sheriff's Department is investigating.

Friends and strangers have contributed more than $115,000 to their cause as of Thursday evening. They are hoping to buy a mobile home. They also have legal fees as they battle their grandson in court.

Haynes sympathizes with the couple whom he has never met.

He has been through a rough patch, but got back on his feet with the help of a friend. Since then, he has gained a reputation for performing random acts of kindness at work.

One time, he bought Lego gift cards for kids whose mom said she was taking them out to lunch to celebrate their good grades. When a girl lost her tooth at the restaurant, he played tooth fairy.

Haynes reached out to Doug Emerson, the Kaweckis' neighbor who has helped contact police, find them a lawyer and set up a GoFundMe account.

Emerson welcomed the support.

They're frail and have lost weight during the ordeal of losing their home, he said. Dozens of people recently wished Helen a happy 88th birthday.

"She's kind of turned back into a fighter," said Emerson of Helen. "They're doing much better than what we expect from people their age."
As police continue to search for a who shot and killed a worker in Venice, people from the community gathered at a memorial to send their condolences.



Detectives canvassed a neighborhood looking for leads to a gunman described as black between 25 and 30 years old, who is 5-feet-8 to 5-feet-9 inches tall and was wearing a black hoodie, black sunglasses and black jeans, police said.



The killing has shocked nearby residents who have nothing but praise for the man they knew for less than a day, but who left a positive lasting impression on them.



Flowers and candles form a memorial for Marvin Adolfo Ponce. The 37 year old was shot and killed as he stood at a Venice intersection of Seventh Avenue and Brooks Court, while doing his job.



For the past three years he's worked for a company which provides traffic control for major events and construction sites. He was directing traffic around a construction project Wednesday when he was gunned down.



Today nearby residents prayed with his family.



"It breaks our heart when something like this happens," said Laddie Williams, a Venice resident. "We didn't see anything that was out for this young man who we spoke to yesterday. He was very kind."



Wes Mollno, the victim's boss, said "he was one of our best guys."



"He was fantastic at what he did, never late to a job, never complained about a job," Mollno said.



Ponce is the father of a 1 year old daughter.



His family said he grew up in the Highland Park area of Los Angeles and loved his job.
Police were seeking a man who was caught on surveillance video deliberately setting a grease container on fire at the back of a La Verne restaurant -- not long before he sat down in the same diner and ordered a steak.

The diner was one of the seven locations in the area that he targeted in the span of an hour, according to the La Verne Police Department.

The surveillance footage from Tuesday night shows a man wearing shorts stuffing a pair of pants into a grease container at the back of Mr. D's Diner on Foothill Boulevard. He lights the pants on fire and walks away.

Moments later, he's inside Mr. D's, wearing a black t-shirt inside-out and carrying a small knife in his hand -- he then sits down and orders a steak. After, he goes to the restroom while flames started shooting from out of the grease container.

Francis Pocius, an employee, called the police after a bus boy told her the man ripped a sign and light fixtures off the wall.

Minutes before police arrived, the man is seen walking out of the restroom, draggin his feet and scratching his head and wearing his t-shirt the correct way, with a distinctive panda logo on the front of it.

La Verne police discovered the man's knife and a meth pipe near the dumpster and believe he was under the influence.

The man was also caught on camera smashing statues and windows at Outdoor Elegance, an outdoor furniture business on Damien Avenue.

He is wanted on multiple counts of arson and vandalism, and was described as a 19 to 20-year-old man who is 5-foot-6, 145 pounds with black, wavy hair.

Anyone with additional information can contact Det. Matthew Haden at 909-596-1913.
Hollywood Police are searching for a burglary suspect who was caught on camera breaking into a home through a window to steal about $4,000 worth of cash and jewelry.

The burglary happened back on July 9 in the 100 block of N. 31st Avenue, Hollywood Police said.

Video showed the suspect try to inch his way into the home through the window twice before he got inside on the third try. Homeowner Luis Ramirez was alerted to the crime when his alarm went off and rushed home to call police.

"My wife is very worried and scared, but I feel well secured, I'm not scared," Ramirez told NBC 6 in Spanish.

Police described the burglar as a white male, between 55 and 65 years old. Anyone with information is asked to call Hollywood Police at 954-764-4357.
Authorities say a disgruntled man fatally shot his ex-girlfriend's lover. The victim was a lieutenant with the Sumter County Fire Department.

Polk County Sheriff's officials say Caleb McKinney was waiting for his ex-girlfriend and her boyfriend, Clifford Cofer, to arrive at his home Wednesday night to deliver medicine to a child she shares with McKinney.

When the couple pulled into the driveway, Sheriff Grady Judd said McKinney ran across the yard and started shooting at the windshield. The sheriff said McKinney fired five times, shouting to the woman that he was going to kill her.

The woman and her 5-year-old son, who was also in the car, were not injured. Cofer died at the scene.

The Ledger reports McKinney faces multiple charges including first-degree murder, attempted first-degree murder, aggravated assault with a firearm and shooting into an unoccupied conveyance. He is being held without bail.
With just weeks to go until the start of the school year, thousands of children in Miami are going to be able to head back with a brand new book bag.

Mayor Tomas Regalado, along with other city officials, were on hand to give out over 1,000 of the bags fully loaded with supplies to start the year to children at Regatta Park in Coconut Grove.

"For many children in our parks that the families don't have resources to buy backpacks to buy supplies, this is a big deal," said Regalado.

The event is one of three taking place this weekend, with another 1,000 being given out at a Back to School event sponsored by the Little Haiti-Edison-Little River Neighborhood Enhancement team and others.

Another 1,000 children or more will receive their bags Saturday at an event in Dorsey Park during the Overtown Resource Fair from 10 AM until 1 PM.

In total, the city will give out around 5,000 new backpacks to students before the start of the year.
A new non-travel related case of Zika was discovered in the one-square-mile hotspot in Wynwood, Florida Department of Health officials said Friday.

Meanwhile, at a Friday meeting with several prominent mayors from Miami-Dade County, one of Floridas U.S. Senators stressed the need to continue staying diligent in the fight against Zika.

Sen. Bill Nelson told the media and mayors from Miami, Doral, North Miami and Miami-Dade County that, according to what he has been told, the problem is not close to being solved. The three term Democrat said he doesnt expect Congress to reconvene for a special session to address funding for the fight, but thinks a plan will be approved by September.

Nelson believes that, with the current number of cases being around 7,300 across the country and U.S. territories, there could be close to 28,000 who have been stricken by Zika.

At the same time, some of the mayors expressed concern for two separate reasons. Miami Mayor Tomas Regalado reiterated his displeasure with the CDCs recommendation that pregnant women stay away from the Wynwood neighborhood as a result of the outbreak.

Regalado says there has been a 50 percent reduction in business in the area, predicting layoffs from small owned locations if the stigma continues and repeating his comments that Wynwood is "safe" for everyone.

Doral Mayor Luigi Boria expressed concern about why his city had not received mosquito spraying from the county in hopes of preventing Zika from entering the area. County officials said spraying is being done on a need basis.

At the meeting, it was announced that there are two more scheduled aerial sprayings that will take place if weather allows. Saturday mornings 5 a.m. flight will focus on the two square mile Wynwood area, while Sundays will be over the same 10 mile area that was done on Thursday.
With less than 100 days until the November general election, one of the top Democrats will be in South Florida to help raise money for a U.S. Representative who has been under the microscope of late.

Vice President Joe Biden will arrive Friday afternoon at Miami International Airport to take part in a fundraiser for Congresswoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz at a private Coconut Grove home.

The six term member of the U.S. House has been embattled of late after resigning from her post as chief of the Democratic National Committee following an email scandal showing the party pushing for eventual nominee Hillary Clinton in her Presidential primary battle against Bernie Sanders.
John Gotti, the 23-year-old grandson of the late Gambino crime boss for whom he is named, was arrested along with six others early Thursday on state narcotics charges, authorities said.

NYPD detectives took Gotti and the other defendants, including Gotti's girlfriend to the 113th Precinct for processing. Gotti was arrested in the home where his grandfather, dubbed the "Teflon Don," once lived. He was arraigned late Thursday night.

The defendants are charged with illegal distribution of oxycodone and other prescription pills in Howard Beach and Ozone Park. Investigators say a search of Gotti's home yielded hundreds of the pain pills and more than $40,000 cash.



They also seized two of his vehicles as evidence.

Gotti's attorney, Gerard Marrone, said children were present when police "broke in doors'' and "wrecked the house.''



"I would have just surrendered him. It really wasn't necessary,'' said Marrone, asserting that the actions were taken "because of his last name; they want to make a headline. We're going to enter a plea of not guilty and fight the case."

Gotti is the grandson of John Gotti, who died in federal prison in 2002 following his 1992 conviction on federal racketeering and murder charges.

His arrest does not appear to be connected to an indictment also released Thursday accusing nearly four dozen suspects of running a massive East Coast crime syndicate.
Two people remain in intensive care after a home in Vernon exploded before collapsing on Thursday afternoon, but all the victims are expected to survive, according to police.

Police were dispatched to the home on East Street around 4:15 p.m. and arrived to a "devastating" scene, Lt. William Meier, of the Vernon Police Department, said. The front door was blown across the street and people were screaming for help.

Three occupants -- one 60-year-old man and two 12-year-olds -- were already outside the house, which had collapsed.

Two crews worked from two sides of the house and rescued four others -- a 7-year-old boy, a 15-year-old boy, a 23-year-old man and a 35-year-old woman from inside of the home, according to police.

Two dogs were killed in the explosion, police said during a news conference on Friday. They were not sure about cats in the home.

Police have not identified the people injured, but said most were residents of the single-family home and one was a guest.

"This was a heroic rescue by the Vernon fire department. One of the officers led a group of Vernon firefighters inside the compromised structure and that team was who rescued those four folks that were inside," Meier said.

Officials said during a news conference on Friday afternoon that this was a cooperative effort that many people assisted in.

The children were transported to Connecticut Children's Medical Center and doctors compared their injuries to something seen in a bombing or war zone.

On Thursday night, officials from Connecticut Children's Medical Center said that one patient was released while the other three were admitted to the pediatric trauma center to be treated for significant injuries, but said they are not immediately life-threatening.

One 12-year-old has been discharged from the hospital, while the other 12-year-old remains in the hospital in fair condition. The 15-year-old and the 7-year-old are in good condition, officials said.

Doctors Thursday compared the children's injuries to those seen in bombings like the Boston Marathon bombings or a war zone like Afghanistan, but said the children are resilient.

We're always optimistic. We provide the highest level of care to these kids and we hope they're all going to have good outcomes, Dr. Brendan Campbell, the pediatric trauma medical director, said.

Police said the man who was outside the house when first responders got there refused treatment at the scene and the adults, the 23-year-old man and 35-year-old woman, were transported to Hartford Hospital.

One adult who was taken to Hartford Hospital is in the ICU, but will survive, officials said during a news conference on Friday.

Neighbors recalled the frightening scene, including seeing the young boy in a stretcher being taken to the hospital.

"We could see a ton of smoke over the front of the house, so I grabbed the kids," Michael Liebe, a neighbor, said. "I couldn't leave the kids by themselves."

He saw three children running out of the house.

"I heard one of them say their mother was still inside," he said.

The investigation into the explosion is underway, but Gov. Dannel Malloy said it appears the house used propane. Police said on Friday that they have not confirmed whether there was gas service to the house, but there were propane tanks at the back of the house.

"I don't know what role, if any, that those tanks played in this. It's just too early to tell," Meier said.

"The whole house rocked down to the foundation, blew out all the windows in the front, blew glass over here," Liebe said.

Relatives of the residents inside said they rushed to the scene as soon as they heard.

"Shocked. Just shocked," Jennifer Morgan, a relative, said. "You want to get (to the scene) and you don't want it to be what you hear. You dont want any of that to be true."

The Connecticut Urban Search and Rescue, a specialized rescue team, was called in to assist. Eversource and the gas company were also at the scene.

The state fire marshal is investigating the explosion, but police said this is a very challenging scene.

"I cannot even promise that at the end that we're going to have a cause," Meier said.

On Thursday night, Malloy said the victims are, "in our thoughts and prayers and we hope for a full recovery."

Vernon Public School Administrators will collect donations-- which include clothing, cash and gift cards-- for the affected victims. These donations can be dropped off during business hours in the Main office of the schools. Several of the victims were students at the Vernon Public Schools.
An attorney from New York City has been accused of robbing a bank in Greenwich.

Town police say 46-year-old Meighan McSherry, who is listed as working for the Legal Aid Society, gave a note to a bank teller demanding money and stating that she was armed. She was pulled over and arrested a few minutes after the robbery on Thursday afternoon. Police did not say how much was stolen.

She appeared in Stamford Superior Court on Friday charged with first-degree robbery and second-degree larceny. She remained in custody in lieu of $250,000 bond.

Her defense lawyer, Jennifer De Castro Tunnard, spoke of her client's legal career and said she was shocked by the allegations, the Greenwich Time reported.



She said McSherry had no knowledge of the robbery of the Wells Fargo Bank and had no memory of how she ended up in Greenwich.
What to Know A 20-year-old woman was walking alone near the NYU dorms early Saturday when a man came up behind her

Police say the man gave her a bear hug and then sexually assaulted her

The NYPD released surveillance footage of the man walking down a street

Police are searching for the man who grabbed and then sexually assaulted a woman near the New York University dorms in Greenwich Village.

The 20-year-old woman was walking alone near the busy intersection of 10th Street and Fifth Avenue, a few blocks north of Washington Square Park, when the suspect approached her around 4 a.m. Saturday.

Police say the man put her in a bear hug and wouldn't let go. He then sexually assaulted her and tried to rape her.

It wasnt immediately clear how she got away, but the suspect took off. Police released surveillance video of him walking down a street.

The woman refused medical attention at the scene but was later brought to an area hospital for observation.

Police believe the man is 25 to 35 years old.

The NYPD asks anyone with information to call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-577-TIPS.
Two men and a teenager were shot and wounded in Harlem, police say.

Authorities were still scouring an area near First Avenue and East 120th Street for evidence on Thursday night, hours after shots rang out in a housing complex near the East River.

Police responded to shots fired just before 7 p.m. When they arrived, they found shell casings on the ground, but the victims had already been taken to local hospitals by private means.

A 14-year-old boy and a 23-year-old man were taken to Metropolitan Hospital. The 14-year-old was shot in his right arm and torso. The 23-year-old was shot in his right arm.

Another 23-year-old man was shot in his left leg. He was taken to Harlem Hospital.

None of their injuries appeared to be life-threatening, an NYPD captain said.

Police said an investigation is ongoing and that no motive had been determined. There had also been no arrests as of Thursday night.
What to Know An anonymous caller made threats to the Midtown South precinct police captain over public radio for a second time this week

"South captain, South captain," the voice said Tuesday. "I'm gonna put a bullet in your head"

Police said they're investigating the calls, although they don't believe them to be credible

Someone got on police radio this week and again threatened to kill an NYPD captain, police say.

The latest threats were made on Tuesday night, three nights after a man said he was going to shoot the captain of the Midtown South precinct because he put him in jail.

"South captain, South captain," the voice said Tuesday. "I'm gonna put a bullet in your head."

The call was much shorter than the one made on Saturday night in which the caller threatened the life of the captain and his mother.

"Come find me. I'm gonna put a bullet in your head," the anonymous caller said Saturday. "I'm gonna put in your mother too."

The man also taunted police to "come and find me," saying "I'm right here in Times Square."

Police said that the mystery caller made several other statements Tuesday but that they were inaudible. He then hung up.

Police confirmed earlier this week that someone had made "various unauthorized transmissions [...] over various frequencies" on Saturday evening.

All of the threats were directed at the Midtown South precinct captain.

A police dispatcher eventually jammed the call Saturday, forcing the caller offline. Police say they dont think the threat is credible but theyre continuing to investigate.

Police believe that the man may have gotten ahold of a lost or stolen police scanner. They said not only was the man able to access police radio, he was also familiar with the lingo of radio calls.
The storm system that built into Hurricane Earl as it hit the Central American country of Belize has mellowed into a tropical storm. But, NBC News reported it still damaged cars and forced hundreds to seek shelter.

Now known as Tropical Storm Earl, it was marked by heavy rainfall as it moved over northwestern Guatemala and on to southeastern Mexico Thursday, the National Hurricane Center said, but winds had weakened to 40 mph from 80 mph a day before.

"It was a whole lot scarier than I thought," Philip Gray, a church member from Birmingham, Alabama, who was staying in Belize City told Reuters. "The wind was very, very strong, we saw the air conditioners on the roof coming apart ... so very dangerous."

There were no reports of deaths from the hurricane, which made landfall in Belize at around 2 a.m., but the National Emergency Management Organization said there was "major infrastructure and building damage" and many roads were blocked.
Spectators watching the Rio Olympics, which kick off Friday, will be hearing a cultural term used to describe pockets of neighborhoods surviving  and thriving  within Brazil's second-largest city: favela (pronounced fah-vel-ah).

It's origins date back to Brazil's civil war in 1897 when soldiers camped out in shacks on a hill where the favela plant grows in the northeast. After the war, some of the soldiers returned to Rio de Janeiro and were forced to settle on the forested hillsides when they weren't granted land promised by the government. Their makeshift living conditions were a reminder of the "favela" hills and the name eventually stuck.

Favela populations grew in the 19th century when slavery was abolished and surged in the 20th century as migration to Rio, the one-time capital of Brazil, became a draw for employment.

Today, there are an estimated 1,000 favelas in Rio, and they are home to about 1.5 million people, according to advocacy NGO Catalytic Communities.

Click through for more on the favelas.
An Ocean City marina is selling T-shirts featuring the phrases "White Lives Matter'' and "Blue Lives Matter'' to spread awareness about the conservation of marlins.

The White Marlin Marina is selling two types of the shirts - one in honor of white marlins and another in honor of blue marlins.

Worcester County NAACP president Ivory Smith tells The Daily Times of Salisbury that the shirts could be interpreted as a mockery of the Black Lives Matter and Blue Lives Matter movements. Those two phrases have been rallying cries following police shootings of African-Americans and shootings of police officers, respectively.

The designer of the shirts, employee George Lamplugh, says he has no intention of spurring controversy with the shirts. He says his shirts promote billfish conservation by featuring images of marlins on safe-release circle hooks, unlike Swagger Fishing, which sells "Kill Whitey'' shirts and stickers promoting non-release white marlin fishing.

Lamplugh says a portion of the sales are going toward billfish conservation efforts.
As Seen On

As seen on News 4
Detectives are investigating whether someone intentionally shot an arrow at a home in Philadelphia's Andorra neighborhood.

The arrow hit the Scotia Street home sometime Wednesday and became lodged in a second-floor bedroom window. The window frame stopped the flying weapon.

The homeowner, who asked not to be identified, called the situation scary and said her grandson occasionally sleeps in the room.

She called police and now detectives are looking into the incident trying to determine whether it was an accident.

Neighbors describe the enclave in Northwest Philadelphia as quiet and were shocked to hear about the arrow shooting.

"I don't even know why someone would be shooting a bow and arrow. There's no hunting," neighbor Mary Kasper said Thursday. She lives a block over from where the arrow landed.

Anyone with information is asked to call Philadelphia Police at 215.686.TIPS.
Coming off of the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia and a weekend bus tour through the state, a new poll shows Hillary Clinton is besting Donald Trump by nearly a dozen points in Pennsylvania.

The poll conducted by Franklin & Marshall College immediately after the DNC shows Clinton leading Trump by 11 points -- 49 percent to 38 percent -- among likely voters.

The gap widens to 14 points among registered voters, with 49 percent saying they'd vote for Clinton and 35 percent for Trump if the presidential election were held today.

The state poll results support a new NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll that puts Clinton in a 9 point lead nationally. The surveys come on the heels of a series of issues for Trump including his public arguments with a Gold Star family who criticized him.

Pennsylvania is considered a battleground state for the campaigns. Both candidates spent time holding rallies here in the past week.

Clinton visited five cities Friday and Saturday including Philadelphia and Pittsburgh as part of her "Stronger Together" bus tour to talk up her job creation plan.

Trump held a boisterous and strongly attended rally in Mechanicsburg, right outside Harrisburg, on Monday following Clinton's exit from the state for Ohio, another battleground state.

NBC10 digital reporters followed both campaigns through the state. You can see stories from the campaign trail here.

Trump holds a higher lead in Pennsylvania among less educated, white residents and men than Clinton, the poll found. A majority of white women, however, support Clinton.

Among characteristics to be president, Clinton outperforms Trump in areas like experience, foreign policy and character, according to the poll.

Trump nearly ties Clinton among voters asked who is most prepared to fix the country's economic problems. Trump earned 40 percent while Clinton got 43 percent.

Trustworthiness continues to dog both candidates with 31 percent of those surveyed saying neither candidate is more honest than the other. And pollsters note that both candidates have negative favorability ratings.

Read the full results of the Franklin & Marshall poll here.
The North Miami Police commander who was suspended for allegedly giving inconsistent statements after an officer shot an unarmed behavioral therapist last month won't face charges, officials said.

Commander Emile Hollant was suspended without pay after he allegedly gave conflicting statements to investigators or command staff officers following the July 18 shooting of Charles Kinsey by Officer Jonathan Aledda.

But according to a memo from the Miami-Dade State Attorney's Office Public Corruption Unit released Thursday, the accusation was a result of a "simple miscommunication."

According to the memo, Hollant said he was present before the shooting took place but had returned to his police car over a block away to retrieve some binoculars when he heard the gunshots fired by Aledda.

Hollant had told investigators he was not a witness to the shooting but they concluded he was, the memo said.

"Commander Hollant did not lie and there was no intent to mislead or obstruct investigators or command staff officers regarding his involvement in the police shooting," the memo said. "He was present at the immediate scene before the shooting and after, and his involvement is captured to some degree in police radio transmissions."

Kinsey was shot in the leg and spent days in the hospital. Aledda has been placed on paid administrative leave while the shooting is investigated.

Police said officers responded to the scene after they received a 911 call of an armed man threatening suicide. In the call released Thursday, the unidentified woman told the 911 operator that the man appeared to be mentally disturbed and that another man was trying to talk him out of killing himself.

But Rios was only holding a toy truck. The police union says the officer was trying to shoot Rios because he thought he was about to shoot Kinsey.

Meanwhile, Kinsey has filed a federal lawsuit claiming Aledda violated his constitutional rights when he shot him.

"They left him in the middle of the street handcuffed until the ambulance came while he was bleeding out," Kinsey's attorney, Hilton Napoleon, told NBC 6. "He did everything that he could possibly do and he tried to assist the police and when this happened to him it was a shock for all of us."

Kinsey is seeking damages, but Napoleon wouldn't specify amount.

"We're looking in the range for what has been similarly offered throughout the country in police-involved shootings especially in a case like this where a man is as cooperative and as innocent as you possibly can be," he said.
A high school music teacher accused of having a sexual relationship with a former student appeared in court for the first time Thursday.

Jason Mangan-Magabilin, 38, entered a not guilty plea for several counts of sex with a minor. He is accused of engaging in sexual activity with one of his former male students from 2010 to 2011.

At the arraignment, he appeared unfazed, maybe even laid back, even joking with his defense attorney at one point. Mangan-Magabilin and his defense attorney declined to comment after the arraignment.

Police said Mangan-Magabilin is a music teacher at Bonita Vista High School. The Sweetwater Union High School District is fully cooperating with the police investigation, the CVPD said. The school district is also conducting its own internal personnel investigation on the case.

CVPD Capt. Lon Turner said the teachers alleged relationship happened five years ago with a former student, when that student was between 15 and 17 years old.

The victim recently reported the incident to police because of mandatory reporting at job training.

Further details were not immediately released.

The Sweetwater Union High School District released this statement concerning the case:

"We appreciate that the public has many questions regarding the recent arrests in the District pertaining to alleged inappropriate contacts between students and staff. The District is currently actively working with law enforcement on each of these matters. The District is committed to assisting law enforcement and conducting thorough personnel investigations in each matter, so we are not able to provide further comment at this time."

"We appreciate your understanding and respect of the Districts commitment to protect the integrity of all pending investigations during these challenging circumstances. We ask that you allow our staff to focus their attention during these trying times on the learning environment of our students," the statement continued.

A website for the Club Blue Instrumental Music Program at Bonita Vista High School includes a short biography on Mangan-Magabilin. The bio says he has been with the school for 10 years, and also conducts the Crusader Girls Chorus at Bonita Vista Middle School.

Hes an alumnus of the University of Southern California, where he performed as a member of the Trojan Marching Band. He also earned a masters degree in conduction from the American Band College of Sam Houston State in 2013.

Thursday, Mangan-Magabilin posted the $325,000 bail. If convicted, he could face 11 years in prison.
Thousands of law enforcement officers escorted the casket of slain San Diego Police Officer Jonathan De Guzman as it traveled across San Diego County to a public memorial service Friday.

The fallen officer and his colleagues were saluted by not only firefighters on overpasses and bridges but by hundreds of citizens holding flags and signs.

It was a touching outpouring of support for a police department one week after a shooting that killed one veteran uniformed officer in the line of duty and seriously injured another.

Hundreds of private citizens lined the streets of San Diego on Aug. 5, 2016 for the funeral procession of slain SDPD Officer Jonathan JD De Guzman. Many citizens waved flags during the touching procession.

De Guzman, 43, who survived a stabbing 13 years ago and shot at a gun-wielding man three years ago, died July 28. The violent attack happened seconds after De Guzman's partner Officer Wade Irwin stopped a man walking in Southcrest, according to San Diego Police Chief Shelley Zimmerman.

The man turned and opened fire on both officers, investigators said.

De Guzman was shot multiple times, at point-blank range, while he was seated in his patrol vehicle. Prosecutors say the officer never had a chance to raise his service weapon.

[G] San Diego Mourns Slain SDPD Officer Jonathan De Guzman

Following recent police killings in Dallas, Texas and Baton Rouge, Louisiana, the shooting in San Diego prompted many citizens to show their support for the SDPD.

One man waving a giant American flag greeted the procession as it exited Interstate 8 just before 11 a.m., heading for Shadow Mountain Community Church.

Sprinkled on bridges and overpasses were people holding signs or flags. Eastbound traffic on I-8 pulled over into the center divide. One driver held his hands out of his window and clapped as vehicles from the procession drove in the opposite direction.

So many law enforcement vehicles took part in the procession, that there were still officers leaving the parking lot of Qualcomm Stadium as the hearse arrived at the site of the memorial service.

Chief Zimmerman spoke at the service, remembering the officer she once worked with at Mid-City Division as "a friend to all."

She spoke passionately about the oath she and other officers take to protect the public.

Make no mistake about it  we need police officers to stand that line between good and evil and between chaos and calm, Zimmerman said at the service. Every single day, every single night, we need them.

California Attorney General Kamala Harris and San Diego Mayor Kevin Faulconer also spoke. Faulconer remarked that it was easy to see how J.D. grew to become a courageous, selfless man.

At the end of the day, a police officer is a neighbor who cares enough to put it all on the line, Mayor Kevin Faulconer said.

As De Guzman's colleagues spoke, their grief was obvious as each struggled to keep their composure.

GST Sergeant Allan Butchart, who worked with DeGuzman, has watched strangers leave notes flowers and balloons for the SDPD family at the peace officer's memorial outside SDPD Headquarters.

If those strangers dropping off those flowers, balloons, etc knew him just for a minute, they would realize the depth of the grief we are all going through, Butchart said.

Sgt. John Iammarino recalled De Guzmans rookie pursuit, his loyalty, sense of humor and karaoke ability while Officer Cassie Ericson described her former partner as a protector and "a warrior."

Hundreds of law enforcement officers from across the country pay respects to fallen @SanDiegoPD officer #NBC7 pic.twitter.com/8s0kIg5nlK  Liberty Zabala (@LibertyNBC7SD) August 5, 2016

Raw news chopper video of local residents and firefighters with the San Diego Fire-Rescue Department (SDFD) paying their respects during the funeral procession for slain SDPD Officer Jonathan JD De Guzman on Aug. 5, 2016.

Fe De Guzman said her son stopped for a moment before he left for his shift the night he was killed. She said he always stopped before going to work and prayed with his parents who lived with him and his wife, Jane.

Remember to take an extra moment with your family and friends and tell them how much you love them and how grateful you are for them, she said.

It was the second memorial service in two days for the decorated officer, a 16-year veteran of the force who worked on an anti-gang unit.

A smaller crowd mourned De Guzman Thursday at his family church in Bonita, the small suburb where he will be buried. Uniformed police officers from as far as Chicago, New York, Aurora, Colorado, and Fort Worth, Texas, packed Corpus Christi Catholic Church for the 90-minute Mass.

Thank you San Diego for your support along the procession route today @SDFD #RIPJD pic.twitter.com/xU5NMl5RcG  San Diego Police Department (@SanDiegoPD) August 5, 2016

Jesse Gomez, a construction worker with a criminal record stretching back to 1983, pleaded not guilty Tuesday to charges of murder and attempted murder from his hospital room. He is recovering from wounds he received in a gunbattle with police.

Prosecutors say the two officers pulled up to Gomez, who was on foot, and Irwin got out of the patrol car to ask if he lived in the area. Gomez, 52, is accused of shooting Irwin and then went to an open passenger door to fire several times into the car, killing De Guzman. After being shot, Irwin fired back as Gomez fled, prosecutors said.

Police have yet to determine a motive.

Two thousand law enforcement officers took part in the procession. Approximately 1,000 of the officers were from the San Diego Police Department.

Other agencies including the San Diego County Sheriff's Department were brought in to help patrol the city.
A new immunotherapy performed successfully for the first time in San Diego genetically modifies a body's T-cells to recognize and kill leukemia cells.

Robert Legaspi, 27, was the first local patient to undergo the immunotherapy, developed by researchers at UC San Diego Health's Moores Cancer Center.

Legaspi was nine years old when he was first diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL). This year, his leukemia returned for the fourth time, but the cancer had not yet reached his bone marrow.

His oncologist, Ted Ball, MD, told him about a new approach to fighting cancer: CAR T-cell immunotherapy. The treatment is only available in a few medical centers in the nation.

Soon after, in May, Legaspi became part of the Phase I/II clinical trial at the Moores Cancer Center.

Scientists collected Legaspi's T-cells and modified the cells to create special receptors on their surface: chimeric antigen receptors (CARs). These receptors help the T-cells recognize a specific protein on the tumor cell.

When the T-cells are infused back into Legaspi's body, those cells can then recognize and kill leukemia cells.

The immunotherapy worked. Two months after the one-time infusion, Legaspi was in remission, researchers said. In the past, it took two years of chemotherapy and radiation to send his cancer into remission, scientists said.

Legaspi said he only felt side effects for a week after the therapy.

You get so depleted by chemotherapy and radiation that you feel like youre not even there anymore. And after putting that much time and energy into therapy, youd expect a forever cure, but years later, it would come back and my life would be a nightmare again," he said in a statement.

The clinical trial is still in its early phases, said Oncologist Ted Ball, MD, and there are serious short-term side effects that can be managed. Researchers do not know the long-term effects of the treatment.

Legaspi says now that he's back in remission, he's going back to school to earn his associate degree in nursing and hopes to give back. He's also been working through some of San Diego's trails.

I feel like the Hulk now, but instead of gamma radiation like that which made him so strong, I have extra-powerful T-cells  I feel immune to anything," Legaspi said.
A federal appeals court has put former Virginia first lady Maureen McDonnell's case on hold, giving prosecutors and defense attorneys more time to analyze a recent Supreme Court ruling.

The high court overturned former Gov. Bob McDonnell's corruption conviction last month, saying his actions were distasteful but did not necessarily violate federal bribery laws. The case was returned to the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to decide whether there is enough evidence for another trial.

The court previously agreed to give prosecutors and the former governor's attorneys until Aug. 29 to file a proposed briefing schedule or joint status report. On Friday, the court agreed to similar conditions in Maureen McDonnell's case.

The McDonnells were convicted of doing favors for a wealthy businessman for more than $165,000 in gifts and loans.

"At this time we are thoughtfully determining next steps in both cases," U.S. Attorney Dana J. Boente said in a statement.

Editor's Note: This story has been updated to reflect that the ruling gives attorneys more time.

Stay with News4 for more details on this developing story.
A D.C. councilmember is resigning after recently accepting a job as president of the city's Chamber of Commerce, News4 has learned.

Democratic Councilmember Vincent Orange angered some of his colleagues by taking the job. They've called it a clear conflict of interest for Orange to serve as the business community's chief advocate while voting on legislation that affects his employer.

On Wednesday, Orange asked Council Chairman Phil Mendelson to absorb the responsibility of the council's business committee into the Committee of the Whole, which Mendelson chairs. Orange said in a statement that he was making the request, in part, "to avoid the appearance of impropriety.''

Orange lost his re-election bid for his at-large seat in the June Democratic primary.

His resignation will take effect Aug. 15.
If you see a white or tan sedan with major front-end damage, call police.

Detectives in Montgomery County, Maryland, are searching for the driver who hit a 77-year-old man Thursday night, carried him for more than a mile and drove off.

Julius Henry Newton, of Silver Spring, died after he was hit by a car. Police believe he was hit on the 14400 block on Layhill Road as he crossed, heading east.

Investigators believe Newton was dragged by the car for more than a mile, to the intersection of Bel Pre Road and Homecrest Road.

Police responded about 9:25 p.m. and found Newton dead. He lived on the 14800 block of Melfordshire Way, about a mile from where he was struck.

Newton's daughter, Pam, said she believes her father walked about a half-mile from his house to get a snack at a 7-Eleven. He may have been walking across the street and trying to get to a bus stop when he was struck, she said.

Newton's grandson said his grandfather walked everywhere and was always back home by 11 p.m. He said the family knew something was wrong when he didn't come home.

Family members said they will remember Newton as a loving father, grandfather and devout Christian. He had seven grandchildren.

"He was just very, very sweet, nice and humble," Pam said.

The family is asking for the driver and any witnesses to step forward.

Detectives believe the driver may have thought they struck an animal or an object in the road.

They are seeking a late-model white or tan sedan with damage to the front.

Police say anyone who sees the car should call 911 or 240-773-6620.
A police officer in Loudoun County, Virginia, fatally shot a man early Friday after the man advanced toward the officer with two knives, police said.

The man, Johannes Melvin Wood, 58, was shot inside his home in Aldie, Virginia, which is about 8 miles northwest of Chantilly.

Deputies were called to the 41400 block of Carriage Horse Drive about 4:45 a.m. for a domestic incident, police said. A woman said her brother was attacking her inside their home and damaging items.

"Complainant stating brother is having bad withdrawals from alcohol," a dispatcher told police.

"Be advised the subject has broken a door," the dispatcher says soon afterward.

When the first deputy arrived in the neighborhood full of brand-new homes, Wood went to the front door holding two knives, police said.

"He was ordered to drop by the knives by the deputy as he was advancing. The deputy ordered him several times to drop the knives," Sheriff Mike Chapman said.

"He didn't comply. The deputy fired a single shot, and the single shot later proved to be a fatal wound," Chapman said.

The officer feared for his life, the sheriff said the initial investigation indicates.

Video footage taken from Chopper4 showed two large knives lying on the doormat of the home.

Domestic incidents often are dangerous for police officers, Chapman said.

"You never know what you are walking into. You don't know how serious it is," he said.

Virginia State Police are investigating upon the request of the Loudoun County sheriff. Police did not release the deputy's name. He was placed on paid administrative leave, police spokesman Kraig Troxell told the Associated Press.

Neighbors said Wood had recently went door-to-door wearing a clown nose.

"He came by about a month ago with a red nose on, raising money for charity to send kids to a summer camp about clowns," neighbor Pranshu Patel said.

Stay with News4 for more details on this developing story.
Police in Massachusetts have captured and removed a 6-foot alligator from the backyard of a home with the help of workers from a local zoo.

Officers were dispatched to the West Springfield property at about noon Thursday following a tip from a concerned resident. They extracted the alligator with two animal control catch poles  one tied around the animal's neck and the other around its tail  from a fenced-off area in the yard.

The reptile, which weighed an estimated 150 to 180 pounds, was taken to the zoo following its capture.

Capt. Michael Banas said he's never seen anything like this in 29 years of law enforcement.

The investigation has been turned over to Massachusetts Environmental Police. It wasn't yet known if the homeowner would face charges.
Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump will hold a campaign rally on Saturday evening in Windham, New Hampshire.

The rally will be held at Windham High School located at 64 London Bridge Road.

Trump recently took aim at fellow Republican Kelly Ayotte, New Hampshire's senator.

He accused her of being weak and disloyal.

The Ayotte campaign said the senator had nothing to say on the issue at this time.

The event is open to the public and media.

Doors will open at 6 p.m.
The family of a Massachusetts State Trooper who was killed during a traffic stop on the Mass Pike back in March visited the state police headquarters in Framingham, Massachusetts.

Noah Clardy stopped by with his mom Reisa and other siblings and even decided to climb into the Colonel's seat.

Massachusetts State Police

Trooper Clardy was killed during a traffic stop on the Mass Pike on March 16.

The driver, David Njuguna, was suspected of using marijuana prior to getting in his car.

He was charged with manslaughter, negligent driving and cited with failing to stay within marked lanes and speeding.
A Manchester, New Hampshire, couple was arrested after assaulting a Lowes' loss prevention officer on Thursday night.

According to the Salem Police Department, loss prevention officers called the police after they were assaulted by a couple attempting to shoplift.

The woman was known to the loss prevention officers for previously attempting to shoplift.

The officers observed the woman select kitchen cabinet hardware, valued at approximately $140 and leave the store without paying for it.

The officer approached the woman outside and asked her to stop but she attempted to run away.

The officer attempted to grab her purse when the woman's husband ran up to the officer, pushed him, and threatened to "bang him out."

The loss prevention officer let the suspects go and called the Salem Police Department who located the vehicle.

The couple's 9-year-old son was in the backseat.

Jessica Sederquist, age 37, of Manchester, and Eric Sederquist, age 35, also of Manchester, were arrested.

Jessica was charged with Wilful Concealment, suspended vehicle registration, driving after suspension, and endangering the welfare of a child.

She also had an outstanding bench warrant.

Eric was charged with robbery.

Both suspects refused bail and were held overnight at the Rockingham County Jail.

They will be arraigned Friday in the 10gh Circuit Court, District Division Salem.
A man who threatened two neighbors with a pitchfork assaulted a New Hampshire State Police trooper in Newmarket Wednesday morning, according to police.

Officers responded to Turkey Ridge, where they found 58-year-old Brian Cross in his yard wielding a pitchfork neighbors say he had used to threaten them.

When police tried to arrest him around 7:20 a.m., he allegedly became combative and attacked the trooper.

Cross faces three counts of felony criminal threatening involving a deadly weapon, as well as a charge of resisting arrest. His wife, 53-year-old Hilary Cross, faces charges of drug possession and a count of resisting arrest after police say she interfered with officers trying to arrest her husband.

Brian Cross has been held on $20,000 cash bail and was due to be arraigned Thursday. Hilary Cross was released on $1,500 personal recognizance bail and is due back in court Sept. 3.

It was not immediately clear if either suspect had an attorney.
Yvette Stanton of Vetty Creations has done it again!

If you love whitework embroidery, youve probably heard of Yvette  and if you havent heard of her, you need to!

Yvette writes instructional and project books, mostly for specific whitework techniques. Shes published an impressive library of eight books so far, six of which are devoted to whitework. All of Yvettes books are beautifully written and photographed and packed full of clear, accessible instructions that are suitable for beginners and beyond.

This eighth book  Early-Style Hardanger  does not disappoint. It is High Quality Yvette, all over the place. If you know her books, youll recognize her style, her attention to detail, her thorough instructions and her exquisite projects.

Lets look at the book close up, shall we?

Early-Style Hardanger explores the counted whitework techniques of Hardanger embroidery as they originated from the Hardangerfjord region of western Norway.

For those who are familiar with Hardanger embroidery, Yvettes introduction sets the stage for this book:

Forget everything you know or think you know about Hardanger embroidery. Early-style Hardanger embroidery is very different to what most of us recognise as Hardanger today

The book begins with a very readable introduction that delves into the history of Hardanger embroidery and explores it in its social context in Norway.

There are plenty of photos to enchant and delight!

In fact, there are heaps of photos! I especially love the close-up pictures of examples of early-style Hardanger.

Its amazing to think that, during a time when lighting wasnt as convenient and ready as it is today, when magnification wasnt really an option, ladies faithfully plied their needles, working over their precious linen to create a much finer, more intricate style of Hardanger than we see today.

One of my favorite parts of the introduction is this comparison between old and new. Yvette lines up examples of early-style Hardanger with examples of contemporary Hardanger, so that we can easily see differences and recognize advantages in both styles.

After the introduction, we jump straight into the Projects section of the book.

Wow!! If you want projects, youve got em! There are ten projects in the book, with detailed instructions on how to create them.

The projects range from small  like the bookmark above

or these pin tins

or a lovely biscornu, perfect for a pin cushion

or these adorable Christmas stockings

to larger undertakings  like this oh-so-elegant linen blouse with a Hardanger collar

or (my absolute favorite!) this glorious, crisp white apron, which I could never bring myself to wear in a kitchen. Or at least, not in my kitchen. Its gorgeous!

My mind always boggles at the projects Yvette accomplishes for her books.

Think about it: it was just two years ago that Yvettes last book, Sardinian Knotted Embroidery, was published. Two years later, heres another book full of finished projects. Imagine the hours of stitching, the hours of finishing, the photographing, the editing of said photos, the writing of the book, the creation of all the instructional diagrams and patterns, the editing of the book (she self-publishes her books), and everything else the stitching time, the computer time, the research time!

Not to mention the Mom time, the Wife time, the Teaching time, the Business time.

Im telling you: my mind boggles!

Ahem. Back on track.

Following the Projects section is the Very Thorough instructional section. Heres where youll find all the how-tos for all the different techniques featured in early-style Hardanger.

The instructions are written for both right and left handed stitchers, and are labeled appropriately.

All the stitching instructions are delivered via clear, step-by-step diagrams.

And there are lots of them! The bulk of the book, in fact, is the instructional content on stitching techniques, but keep in mind that they include diagrams for both righties and lefties.

Throughout the instructional content, youll also find little insets that troubleshoot common areas of difficulty for these techniques. I always find inset tips and troubleshooting to be very helpful.

At the end of the stitching instructions, youll also find finishing instructions for things like mitering corners, damp stretching and blocking work, and so forth, to ensure that your embroidery looks as perfect as possible when youre making it up into things.

And finally, tucked in the back of the book is a pull-out pattern page.

In a Nutshell

If you love whitework, if you love counted whitework techniques, if you love Hardanger, if you love regional styles of embroidery, if you love linen, if you just love good instructional books  youll love this book! And youll want it in your needlework library!

Where to Find It

You can find Early-Style Hardanger directly through Vetty Creations out of Australia.

If youre in the US, Early-style Hardanger is also available through Nordic Needle, which is a local needlework shop in Fargo, ND, with an excellent online shop for those of us who dont have local shops nearby.

Another online shop that carries Early-Style Hardanger is Stitching Shop in Denver, Colorado.

If you have a local shop nearby, ask for Yvettes books. If they dont have them, they may be able to order them.

In the US, you can find Early Style Hardanger here through Amazon.

Online, world-wide, you can find Early-Style Hardanger through the following book affiliate: Book Depository out of the UK, with free shipping.
As rising energy prices make it harder to heat homes, churches in Dereham are leading the way in creating warm spaces where people can go.

As rising energy prices make it harder to heat homes, churches in Dereham are leading the way in creating warm spaces where people can go.

South Norfolk church scoops national award A medieval Anglican church in a tiny hamlet in South Norfolk has won a national award and a 10,000 boost. Read more

Dereham churches help people to help themselves A group of churches in Dereham have launched an ambitious project which aims to meet needs in the town, including the provision of food and skills training. Read more

Executive assistant and nursery manager jobs SOUL Church is a vibrant, welcoming and growing church in Norwich. They are seeking an organised and versatile Executive Assistant to provide key support to the churchs Senior Pastors, as well as a qualified Nursery Manager to head up SOUL Nursery. Read more

Halloween light in Gorleston church On Halloween this year, St Mary Magdalene Church in Gorleston will be preparing to welcome around 200 families to experience their Light on a Dark Night event. Read more

An opportunity for Norwich to pray for the nation Rev Nigel Fox, who has served as a Methodist Minister for 15 years in Norwich, shares an open invitation to pray for the nation at a crucial moment. Read more

Norwich church seeks musicians Kingdom Ambassadors International Church is appealing for instrumentlists, keyboardists and guitarists to be part of their worship experience. Read more

Please keep Rishi in your prayers Andy Bryant urges us to pray for our political leaders, especially the new Prime Minister, and avoid unhelpful judgementalism. Read more

Emilys art boosts growing Yarmouth foodbank A pupil at a primary school in Bradwell has been selling her pictures in order to raise money for the Yarmouth and Magdalen Foodbank, which is expanding its capacity and is seeking more volunteers. Read more

Patrick Regan helps Norwich to bounce forwards On Saturday St Stephens in Norwich hosted Bouncing Forwards as part of a national tour by the mental health charity Kintsugi Hope. Read more

Painting and biblical feasting in Overstrand There will be opportunities to improve your painting skills and indulge in some biblical feasting next month at the Pleasaunce in Overstrand in North Norfolk. Read more

Latest Norfolk Christian community events Events of interest to the Norwich and Norfolk Christian community happening over the next few weeks are listed. Read more

National award for Dereham Christian bookshop The Green Pastures Christian bookshop in Dereham has won a national award for providing boxes of Christian books to 21 local schools. Read more

Norma's care home jigsaw challenge complete A resident at Norwich-based care home Corton House has completed an incredible 70 jigsaw puzzles in celebration of the homes 70th anniversary this year. Read more

Norwich charity's appeal to support Palestinian students A Norwich educational charity, set up in memory of a Norwich Anglican priest, to support students from a Palestinian refugee camp, is inviting people to support its Christmas appeal  to be launched on November 29. Read more

Norfolk drug and alcohol charity pays tribute to its founder Andy Sexton, CEO of the Matthew Project, introduces a series of tributes from the charity to its founder, Peter Farley. Read more

Cliff look alike at Cromer Church breakfast Cliff Richard tribute performer Will Chandler will be the speaker at a special Mens Breakfast at Cromer Parish Hall next month, and all men are welcome to come along. Read more

Heartsease Lane Methodist church to close As part of a reorganisation of the Norwich Methodist Circuit, Heartsease Lane Methodist Church will be closing towards the end of the year. Read more
Cyber-reasoning platform Mayhem pulled down the $2 million first prize in a DARPA-sponsored Cyber Grand Challenge competition that pitted entrants against each other in the classic hacking game Capture the Flag, never before played by programs running on supercomputers.

A team from Carnegie Mellon University spin-out All Secure entered Mayhem in the competition against six other programs played in front of thousands in the ballroom of the Paris hotel in Las Vegas. Most of the spectators were in town for the DEF CON hacker conference starting Friday at the same site.

BLACK HAT: Quick look at hot issues

In addition to the cash, the All Secure team gets to enter Mayhem in the DEF CON Capture the Flag competition for human teams, although it is not expected to do well. While computers can outpace humans in performing mundane tasks, people are still thought to have the edge in strategy and intuition.

The DARPA event was sportscast live by a team of hacking experts who provided commentary over the 96 rounds of competition as they reviewed what actions the teams had taken against each other and what bugs they had discovered during each round.

How the Machines Discovered Bugs

The competition was remarkable in that each program based on cyber reasoning engines could discover bugs in never-before-seen code supplied by the DARPA organizers. They could then create patches for them on the fly.

All the programs ran on their own, without human intervention. The teams that created them sat by in a cordoned off area, basically spectators observing their bots doing battle.

Artificial intelligence, which learns as it goes along, was not in play here. Rather the competing programs were applying preset policies about how to analyze and respond to characteristics of the code they found.

In second place, winning $1M, was Xandra from GrammaTech in Ithaca, N.Y. and the University of Virginia, and the third place prize of $750,000 went to Mech.Phish from a team from the University of California at Santa Barbara.

The programs could score points three ways.

Security: They had to protect their own servers by finding vulnerabilities and successfully defending them by creating patches.

Availability: At the same time, they had to keep a set of tasks on their servers up and running well.

Evaluation: Finally, they scanned opponents servers to find vulnerabilities.

Tim Greene/NetworkWorld DARPA-sponsored Capture the Flag competition at the Paris in Las Vegas

Surprisingly, Mayhem managed to win the competition despite being entirely disabled through most of the final rounds 30 rounds. That is not uncommon in Capture the Flag competitions where sometimes the best game strategy is to do nothing while others struggle with problems of their own.

During the competition, an entrant dubbed Rubeus (created by a team from Raytheon) was slowed down after issuing a patch to a flaw found by a competitor. The patch apparently sucked up so much CPU that it affected the performance of other services being run on the server.

Later, Rubeuss logic apparently decided that it was better to remove the patch and remain vulnerable than to do poorly in its availability score.

Organizers spared no expense, with a dozen or so large-screen displays showing the coverage supplied by experts at an anchor desk and a reporter in the pit talking to the teams behind the programs that were competing.

The supercomputers were lit with colored light on a stage at one end of the room. They were isolated from the outside world except for power cables and supercooled water to keep them from overheating.

In order for officials to monitor what they were up to, their activity was recorded to disks that were lifted out by a mechanical robot to be placed in separate computers for reading  creating an air gap from the outside world.

Other competitors were Team CSDS, with just two members from the University of Idaho and a platform named Jima; CRSPY from a team in Athens, Ga.; and Galactica from a group based in Berkeley, Calif., Syracuse, N.Y., and Lausanne, Switzerland.

This story, "Mayhem wins $2M first prize in DARPA Cyber Grand Challenge" was originally published by Network World .
The state carrier and its employees had been at loggerheads with each other over a slew of issues, including the perpetual delay in disseminating salaries.
What if one blood test could screen for more than 50 types of cancer?
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Close friends and family of Terron Jackson speak out about his death following the arraignment of alleged shooter, Brandon Collier, at the Champaign County Courthouse in Urbana on Wednesday, July 29, 2015.
One of Editor & Publishers 10 That Do It Right 2021
Causes of GVHD

Graft Versus Host Disease (GVDH) is a serious condition that may arise in a patient following an allogeneic transplant. Between 20% to 80% of people who have a transplant can be at risk of developing the condition. White blood cells, in this case, the T-cells in the donated bone marrow or stem cells, target the host cells for destruction, because they recognize them as foreign.

T-cells are able to recognise which cells are the same as themselves and identify ones that are different and do not have the same genetic markers. The genetic markers on cells which give them their tissue type are the human leukocyte antigens (HLA). HLA are like fingerprints and no two people have the same unless they are identical twins.

In some patients GVHD can begin within the first 100 days after the transplant. This is the acute manifestation of GVHD. Chronic GVHD occurs after 100 days, sometimes even up to a year or more after the transplant and can continue in the patient for a longer period of time. In both acute and chronic presentations of GVHD complications arise in the skin, liver and gastrointestinal tract. However, the chronic manifestation can spread to almost every organ of the body. Occasionally both types of the disease can occur simultaneously. Sometimes a patient develops acute GVHD, which may progress to chronic GVHD at a later stage.

Both types of the disease can be dangerous and may result in death. TH1 type cells are mainly involved in the disease mechanism for acute GVHD and TH2 type cells are predominantly involved in chronic GVHD. Chronic GVHD tends to behave like a syndrome of immune dysregulation triggering immunodeficiency and autoimmunity.

Risks

Unrelated donor transplants

When a host receives a donation from an unrelated donor, the T-cells automatically identify host cells as foreign to their own. This can trigger severe GVHD, because of the different HLA. The tissue type of the donor will be assessed to see if there are any matches. Doctors will choose donors who preferably match in HLA-A, HLA-B, HLA-C and HLA-DRB1.

Mismatched related transplants

When the host and the donor are related, but are not as good a match as identical twins, the donor T-cells can still view the host cells as different and dangerous. For a transplantation to take place, there can be mismatch in HLA-A, HLA-B and HLA-DR, but there is still a much higher risk of GVHD than for matched related donor and host.

Racial mismatch transplants

A donor of a different race is considered high risk, because because it is more difficult to match the HLA. There can also be difficulty finding good tissue type matches for people from minority groups due to the limited population who might be registered.

Female to male mismatch transplants

Males tends to provide higher yields of CD34+ stem cells than females making male donors more preferable as HSCT donors. CD34+ stem cells can change into more than one cell type. Female donors also produce lymphocytes that have memory characteristics. For example, they have a memory of any pregnancies. This can make transplantation more difficult, because of the differences between the sexes. The more pregnancies the donor has had, the more memory of pregnancy is implanted on their cells, which can create a greater risk of GVHD.

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Age

The older a donor, the greater this risk of the host developing GVHD. This is not however due to the HLA. The older the patient, the higher the risk of them having other diseases that can cause issues. Physicians will consider each older donor on a case by case basis.

Very insensitive conditioning pre-transplant

High doses of radiotherapy and chemotherapy can increase the risk of GVHD. Before the transplant, the patient may have been subject to these treatments to destroy their own bone marrow cells to make them more receptive to the donor bone marrow cells. This makes the patient weaker as their immune cells have been destroyed. This is also the case for mini-transplant patients although the procedure is less toxic.

Viruses

After a transplant, the patient is at high risk of catching a viral, bacterial or fungal infection as they are lacking the immune cells to fight off disease. To minimise this risk, patients tend to be kept in isolation units.

Cytomegalovirus, related to the herpes virus, can impact HLA expression and increases the risk of acute and/or chronic GVHD. It can also trigger diseases such as hepatitis, pneumonia and gastroenteritis. The chicken pox virus, herpes zoster virus can also cause similar complications.

References

NHS Christie Hospital on GVHD: http://www.nhs.uk/ipgmedia/Local/The%20Christie%20NHS%20Foundation%20Trust/assets/GVHD-Whatisgraftversushostdisease.pdf

Progress in Hematology, Effect of HLA mismatch on graft versus host disease: http://download.springer.com/static/pdf/461/art%253A10.1007%252Fs12185-013-1405-x.pdf?originUrl=http%3A%2F%2Flink.springer.com%2Farticle%2F10.1007%2Fs12185-013-1405-x&token2=exp=1460645843~acl=%2Fstatic%2Fpdf%2F461%2Fart%25253A10.1007%25252Fs12185-013-1405-x.pdf%3ForiginUrl%3Dhttp%253A%252F%252Flink.springer.com%252Farticle%252F10.1007%252Fs12185-013-1405-x*~hmac=40e512f038863f35cf7a8ce6d5fef187c386b64dbba8c86155c5d90be1cd4ef7

Chimerism, Donor parity no longer a barrier for female-to-male hematopoietic stem cell transplantation: http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.4161/chim.29562

Blood Journal, How we treat cytomegalovirus in hematopoietic cell transplant recipients: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2700312/

Leukaemia Research on transplants https://www.ebmt.org/Contents/Resources/Library/Patientanddonorpublications/Documents/10.%20LRF_BMT07_4687.pdf

Blood Journal, Successful Transplantation of HLA-Matched and HLA-Mismatched Umbilical Cord Blood From Unrelated Donors: Analysis of Engraftment and Acute Graft-Versus-Host Disease: http://www.bloodjournal.org/content/bloodjournal/88/3/795.full.pdf?sso-checked=true

Further Reading
Alcohol-craving rats have provided researchers with a detailed look into the complicated genetic underpinnings of alcoholism.

By comparing the genomes of rats that drank compulsively with those that abstained, Purdue and Indiana University researchers identified 930 genes associated with alcoholism, indicating that it is a highly complex trait - on par with human height - influenced by many genes and the environment.

The study confirmed genes previously identified as being linked to alcoholism and uncovered new genes and neurological pathways, some of which could be promising targets for treatment. But the sheer number of genes that contribute to the trait suggests pharmaceutical treatments for alcoholism could be difficult to develop, said William Muir, professor of genetics.

"It's not one gene, one problem," he said. "This trait is controlled by vast numbers of genes and networks. This probably dashes water on the idea of treating alcoholism with a single pill."

One of the best predictors of alcoholism in humans is the drinking behavior of their families. But to what extent this link can be chalked up to inherited genetics - versus a shared environment - has been poorly understood and a challenge to study: Parsing out the influence of genetics on drinking habits from other factors such as stress, boredom or peers who drink is not possible in humans.

"It's very difficult to tease out the difference between what your genes are telling you to do and what you choose to do," Muir said.

To gain insights into genes that contribute to alcoholism, Muir and Feng Zhou, a professor of neuroscience at Indiana University School of Medicine, used a model based on rats, mammals with which we share a majority of genes. Beginning with a population of genetically diverse rats, researchers at the Indiana Alcohol Research Center bred two lines: one group that displayed classic clinical signs of alcoholism and another that completely abstained from alcohol.

Breeding rats to drink was no small challenge and required several decades, Muir said. Like most animals, rats tend to have a natural aversion to drinking a high concentration of alcohol.

"But typical of any genetic study, there's always an outlier - in this case, a rat that will drink large amounts," he said.

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Choosing and breeding the rare rats that would take a tipple of pure grain alcohol eventually yielded a line of rats that compulsively drank to excess, preferred alcohol to water, drank to maintain intoxication, performed tasks to receive alcohol and showed signs of withdrawal if alcohol was absent.

Still, rats responded to intoxication in individualized ways, Zhou said.

"Under the influence of alcohol, some rats became docile and fell asleep in a corner while others became aggressive," he said.

The researchers sequenced and compared entire genomes from 10 rats in each line to determine genetic characteristics of drinking and abstaining. They also repeated the experiment with two additional lines of alcohol-seeking and teetotaler rats to discern which gene alterations were the result of natural selection and which were random genetic crosses.

The results highlighted 930 genes associated with excessive drinking behavior, the vast majority of which are in genetic regulatory regions, not coding regions, as many researchers previously expected. Muir compared coding regions to a car and regulatory regions to the gas and brake pedals that determine the car's speed.

"We all have the genes for alcoholism, but our genetic abilities to control it differ," he said.

While the researchers stressed that the genetic complexity of alcoholism complicates potential treatments, they pinpointed the glutamate receptor signaling pathway - which can control a sense of reward in the brain - might be a possible target for treatments due to the number of alcoholism-associated genes it contains.

One of the next steps in the research is to verify that the genes identified in alcoholic rats are relevant to human alcoholism.

Though the study shows there is a large genetic component to alcoholism, environment still plays a crucial role in shaping people's drinking habits, the researchers said.

"Even with the same genetics, one person might be prone to getting drunk while another doesn't drink at all," Zhou said. "Your environment can trigger the expression of genetic tendencies toward alcoholism."

Or, as Muir put it, "You can't just blame your drinking on your parents."
A case study, "Biomimicry: Streamlining the Front End of Innovation for Environmentally Sustainable Products," shows that biomimicry, a relatively new field that seeks to emulate nature to find solutions to human problems, can potentially expand intellectual property, increase energy savings and accelerate product innovation. This case study, conducted by GOJO researchers, was recently published in Research-Technology Management (RTM).

"At GOJO, sustainability is a key driver of innovation and biomimicry is energizing how we create sustainable value for all stakeholders through new product development," said Tom Marting, co-author of the study and facilities and resources management director for GOJO Industries. "Nature is one massive field testing laboratory that has been operating for nearly four billion years. If it doesn't work in nature, it's not going to be around very long."

A cross-functional team of 15 GOJO employees dedicated 165 hours in workshop sessions on biomimicry, attempting to increase the energy efficiency and environmental sustainability of liquid soap and sanitizer dispenser pumps. Ultimately, four patent applications for novel dispensing systems resulted from the team's efforts with the inspiration for each system stemming from nature.

To determine the extent of the advantages offered by biomimicry, the biomimicry project's performance was compared to a similar pump development project GOJO executed in 2010. The preliminary data strongly suggests that biomimicry may offer real advantages in the front end of innovation for both improved innovation performance and improved sustainability.

Double the intellectual property -- with a greater proportion of the concepts from the biomimicry project converting from notices of invention to patent applications

Double to quadruple the energy efficiency compared to technology in the market today

Impressive results with approximately one-sixth of the personnel and financial resources

GOJO was one of the first Northeast Ohio companies to support a biomimicry Ph.D. fellow from the University of Akron. Co-author of the study and GOJO Biomimicry Fellow Emily Kennedy spends two days a week within the GOJO research and development department.

"This case study takes a closer look at how the GOJO team found inspiration from plants, skunks, blood circulation and other wonders of nature," said Emily Kennedy. "While, further studies are warranted to determine how and to what extent the results of the study are generally applicable, this study found that biomimicry is a highly promising approach and key tool to advance sustainable product innovation while providing a high return on investment.
New results of an NDSU study indicate devastating floods can have an effect on the next generation. The big question is, "why?"

The research, led by Clayton Hilmert, associate professor of psychology, examined the Red River Valley's historic 2009 flood and analyzed how it affected the pregnancies of local women living near the rising waters.

The study, "Major Flood Related Strains and Pregnancy Outcomes," appears in the June 9 issue of Health Psychology, a scholarly journal of the American Psychological Association's Division 38, known as the Society for Health Psychology.

"The take-home message is if you are pregnant and live near a flood, you may be at risk for having a smaller baby," Hilmert said, noting babies weighing less than 5.5 pounds face a greater chance of infant mortality or development issues. "A lot of negative outcomes are associated with lower birth weights, so it's an important topic."

During the flood, Hilmert and his team of researchers interviewed more than 100 healthy pregnant women seeking pre-natal care at Fargo-Moorhead health care facilities, then called MeritCare and Innovis. They were also given permission to examine dozens of ultrasound measurements.

"The ultrasounds show that for women who were later in pregnancy when the flood hit, fetal growth continued in a normal slope. But, for women in the first trimester or early second trimester, you can see the change in growth; it slowed down for those women," said Hilmert, a health and social psychologist whose main research interests are stress psychophysiology, cardiovascular health and pregnancy.

He initially thought the mothers-to-be likely suffered from stress brought on by the flood. So, the researchers asked the women if they participated in tension-filled situations, such as sandbagging, evacuation preparation and property loss or if they simply felt general strain.

Hilmert was surprised by the responses.

"These, by themselves, did not account for the lower birth weights. But, there was something specific to the flood that was leading these women to have smaller babies," he said. "We don't know the pathway or exact physiological explanation for this, but our study is one of the first pieces of fetal growth evidence like this.

It's a frustrating, unanswered question as to why these women who were earlier in their pregnancies had smaller babies," he said.

The journal article concludes by saying the impact of major flooding on pregnancy outcomes needs further attention, suggesting more investigations during and after disasters.

"Flooding doesn't discriminate," Hilmert said. "It happens all over the world to people of all financial situations. So, this is a serious topic."
There is a high rate of prescription pain reliever abuse in Europe, largely accounted by opioids, according to the first comparative study of prescription drug abuse in the European Union, which was conducted by researchers at RTI International and published in BMC Psychiatry.

The study investigated nonmedical prescription drug use in five European countries - Denmark, Germany, Spain, Sweden and the United Kingdom.

"For certain classes of medications, like opioids, we found a significant rate of prescription pain reliever abuse in the EU," said Scott Novak, Ph.D., lead author of the study and senior development epidemiologist at RTI. "While the lifetime rates were not as high as in the U.S. - 20 percent for those aged 12 years and over, compared to between 7 percent and 13 percent in the EU - the past-year rates were only slightly lower. This suggests that the EU may be catching up to the United States for some substances."

Nonmedical prescription drug use is typically defined as either the self-treatment of a medical condition using prescription medication that was not prescribed to the user, or as the use of prescription medication to achieve euphoric states. Nonmedical prescription drug use is among the leading public health issues in the United States and previous research has suggested that it is more widespread in the United States than in Europe, where prevalence and user characteristics remain largely unknown.

"Previously, it was thought that the prescription drug epidemic was limited to the United States," Novak said, "but this study shows that the epidemic extends well beyond the U.S."

Examining three different classes of subscription drugs - opioids, sedatives and stimulants - the researchers found that out of the five countries examined, Germany had the lowest levels of nonmedical prescription drug use, while the U.K., Spain and Sweden had the highest levels.

The most common sources of prescription drugs for nonmedical use were family and friends - 44 percent for opioids and 62 percent for sedatives. The next most common source was taking drugs from another person without their knowledge. Internet purchases were the least common source of prescription drugs.

Nonmedical prescription drug use was more common among men relative to women, among white relative to non-white people, and among those who were unemployed compared with other levels of employment. Young people aged 12 to 17 years were at lower risk of nonmedical prescription drug use than people aged 18 years or older.

Having been prescribed a pain reliever was associated with an eight times higher risk of subsequent nonmedical use of prescription pain relievers. The risk was ten times higher for sedatives and seven times higher for stimulants.

The researchers also found that about 52 percent of nonmedical stimulant users, 32 percent of nonmedical opioid users and 28percent of nonmedical sedative users also consumed illicit drugs - this is known as poly-drug use. Rates of poly-drug use involving either sedatives or opioids were highest in the U.K. - 48 percent for sedatives and 43 percent for opioids. Women were about half as likely to engage in poly-drug use as men. Suffering from serious psychological distress, having a sexually transmitted disease and having a history of childhood arrest were also associated with a higher risk of poly-drug use.

The researchers used data from 2,032 youths and 20,035 adults collected as part of the European Union Medicine Study, a series of parallel nationally representative surveys conducted in the five countries. Self-reported information included details on age, sex and race and on whether respondents had ever used prescription medication for euphoria or to self-treat a medical condition with medication that was not prescribed for them.

The surveys were aimed at people aged 12 to 49 years - the typical age period of initiation for substance abuse around the globe. Quota sampling methods may have increased between-country differences, even though survey methods were kept as comparable as possible between countries.

The study suggests that international collaborations across Europe are needed to monitor prescription drug abuse, identify its scope and develop targeted interventions.

Identification of the scope and prevalence of nonmedical prescription drug use in the EU is an important first step in building a worldwide system that can be used to monitor trends, track risk and protective factors and to develop targeted interventions aimed at reducing the risk of nonmedical prescription drug use, according to the researchers.

The authors caution that their findings should not be construed as recommendation against prescribing medications to treat legitimate conditions. The cross-sectional design of this study made it impossible to resolve the question if nonmedical prescription drug use serves as a gateway to other substances or if persons using illicit drugs are at higher risk for also using prescription drugs to self-treat or to achieve euphoria.
Most cells can divide only a limited number of times and eventually undergo permanent cell cycle arrest, a state known as cellular senescence. Cellular senescence is mediated by activation of specific cellular signaling pathways involving the proteins p19ARF and p16INK4A. Precise control of cell cycle arrest and senescence are important for a number of biological processes, including embryonic development, wound healing, and tissue regeneration. Accumulating evidence also indicates that cellular senescence contributes to tissue aging.

In this issue of JCI Insight, Masataka Sugimoto and colleagues at the Juntendo University School of Medicine in Tokyo examined the role of cellular senescence in aging lungs, as there is a well-documented decrease in lung function with age. Using transgenic mice in which they could selectively eliminate cells that express p19ARF, Sugimoto and colleagues demonstrate that the loss of senescent cells improved lung function in mice. Further studies will be required to determine exactly how senescent cells impair lung function.
A research team headed by investigators at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai (ISMMS) has developed a tool that allows scientists to quickly manipulate levels of two proteins in the same cell. They say the method, dubbed a "dual molecular tuner," offers an easy way to perform in-depth analyses in mammalian cells in general, and stem cells in particular.

Their study, published May 27 in Nature Communications, uses two plant hormones to target specific proteins for degradation, thus allowing researchers to reduce these proteins to levels they choose. This process happens within minutes, enabling the scientists to monitor what happens in the cells as these proteins are depleted.

"We can, for example, monitor differences in cell cycle depending on how one or another protein is depleted, because this tool acts so quickly and so effectively," says the study's senior investigator, Ran Brosh, PhD, a postdoctoral researcher in the laboratory of the study's corresponding author, Ihor R. Lemischka, PhD, Professor of Pharmacological Science, Developmental and Regenerative Biology at ISMMS.

Not only can researchers choose how much of one or both chosen proteins can be degraded, the entire process is reversible, Dr. Brosh says.

"Loss-of-function studies are key to understanding how genes work, but methods to rapidly and effectively disturb the function of mammalian genes  particularly stem cells  are scarce. This dual molecular tuner, in which you can manipulate two proteins independently of each other, is very useful for a wide variety of studies that have been hard to do to date, such as decoding signaling networks or protein interactions," he says.

The tuner can be used for two proteins because researchers have identified two plant hormones that help signal the cell's targeted destruction of the proteins being studied.

The hormones are auxin and coronatine, the bacterial analogue to the plant hormone jasmonate, both of which regulate plant physiology, but are completely non-toxic to humans  "We eat these hormones in our vegetables and salads every day," Dr. Brosh says.

The way the system works is that researchers silence the gene or genes of interest using traditional gene silencing techniques while simultaneously delivering the same gene(s) in a form they can control. These genes now contain sequences that produce a short peptide called a degron  its function is to regulate protein degradation  that is fused to the encoded protein.

A third component that is introduced (all three contained within a single lentiviral vector) is a receptor for the plant hormone. When the cells are treated with the hormone it binds its receptor, which then targets the protein-degron fusion for destruction. "Our tuner allows a researcher to harness the cell's degradation system, and we can turn it up or down as we wish - like dimming lights a little or all the way," Dr. Brosh says.

Unlike other gene editing techniques, which can take months to apply to a single gene, establishment of the dual tuner takes one or two weeks of lab work, he adds.

While the tool is meant for research, it can have clinical application such as screening for drug targets, Dr. Brosh adds.
Three physicists in the College of Arts and Sciences are using a major grant to study the dynamics and interactions of cancer cells.

M. Lisa Manning, associate professor of physics; M. Cristina Marchetti, the William R. Kenan Jr. Distinguished Professor of Physics; and Jennifer Schwarz, associate professor of physics, have been awarded a three-year, $686,000 grant from the National Science Foundation to apply principles of soft-matter physics to cancer therapy.

The trio, whose research focuses on theoretical soft condensed matter and biological physics, will investigate new collective mechanisms that establish and maintain tumor boundaries in breast and cervix carcinomas.

Carcinoma is a type of cancer that usually begins in the tissue of the skin or in the lining of certain internal organs and then develops out of control.

"Understanding the mechanisms that confine carcinoma cells to a primary tumor or conversely facilitate their escape is of key importance in cancer therapy," Manning says. "In this framework, a confined tumor, in which cells retain the same neighbors, is solid-like. In contrast, malignant invasion, facilitated by cell rearrangement and escape from the primary tumor, can be modeled as a transition to a fluid-like state."

She continues: "Our goal is to provide quantitative support for these ideas, to shed light on tissue behavior, cell segregation and cell escape. Ultimately, we want to develop a better method for identifying tumor boundaries and predicting when a cancer becomes invasive."

Underpinning the project is what Manning labels a "paradigm-shifting conjecture"--that the transition from noninvasive to invasive tumors is governed by an unjamming, or solid-to-liquid, process. She and her colleagues plan to test their theory with new, active versions of a well-studied vertex model for confluent tissues and with fiber models for the extra-cellular matrix (ECM) surrounding the tumor.

"We will use our model to predict laws that govern cell motion in tissues," says Marchetti, adding that techniques and ideas from soft matter and statistical mechanics can be used to describe such biological systems.

Adds Schwarz: "We know the mechanical properties of a tumor depend on single-cell parameters, such as cell shape, cell stiffness and active forces generated by cell crawling. The behavior of a tumor is also influenced by the surrounding environment, including the ECM, which is a network of biopolymers."

She, Marchetti and Manning are collaborating with Professor Josef Kaes, a soft-matter physicist at the University of Leipzig (Germany), to develop methods for extracting important model parameters from experimental data from cancer cell lines and primary tumor samples.

In addition to developing tools to observe these processes more closely, the team will investigate how a cancer tumor regulates tissue stiffness and fluidity, and how cells escaping from a primary tumor boundary interact with the surrounding ECM.

"Although there is a physical barrier [called the basement membrane] that encloses most primary tumors, the boundaries are often maintained after the cells break through the barrier," says Manning, who recently returned from France, where she received the Young Scientist Award from the Commission on Statistical Physics of the International Union of Pure and Applied Physics. "We think fluid-solid transitions may be the key to understanding what holds such tumors together, and we've developed a theoretical framework that, for the first time, explains fluid-to-solid transitions in such tissues."

Cancer occurs when a normal cell mutates, or changes, but is unable to repair itself. The damaged cell keeps multiplying, and creates an abnormal growth of tissue called a tumor. Some tumors are cancerous; others are not.

"In a clinical setting, it's important to identify not only tumor boundaries to guide surgical resection, but also mechanical biomarkers for cancer aggressiveness," Marchetti says. "We will address these issues with ideas that are different from, and complementary to, ones being explored by traditional cancer biologists."

Designed to foster participation in the burgeoning field of biophysics, the project will involve graduate students, undergraduates and postdocs, and will provide professional development opportunities for young scientists.

Source: Syracuse University
Fundamental structural difference to earlier models

Elongated fibres (fibrils) of the beta-amyloid protein form the typical senile plaque present in the brains of patients with Alzheimer's disease. A European research team, working in conjunction with a team from the United States, has now succeeded in explaining the structure of the beta-amyloid peptide 1-42, which is the most important to the illness, at atomic resolution. This simplifies the targeted search for medicinal products to treat Alzheimer's dementia.

Alzheimer's disease is responsible for at least 60 percent of dementia cases worldwide. It causes enormous human suffering and is associated with high costs. A cure or causal therapy are not yet available. The reason for this, among other things, is because the exact course of the illness in the brain at a molecular level has not yet been adequately clarified.

We do know that the beta-amyloid protein plays an important role. This is a peptide that is 39 to 42 amino acids long, toxic to nerve cells and is able to form elongated fibrils (fibres). Beta-amyloid peptide 1-42 and beta-amyloid peptide 1-40 are the two main forms that appear in senile plaques. We do not know why these lead to the decay of nerve cells in the brain, but it is very interesting for the development of medications to treat Alzheimer's disease.

In a joint project between the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich, University of Lyon, and the Goethe University in Frankfurt am Main, and in cooperation with colleagues at the University of Irvine and Brookhaven National Laboratory, researchers have succeeded in clarifying the structure of a beta-amyloid peptide 1-42 fibril at an atomic resolution. This fibril presents the greatest danger in this disease. The researchers also furthered the work done at the University of Chicago involving the structure of beta-amyloid monomers. Further immunological examinations prove that the investigated form of the fibrils is especially relevant to the illness.

Protein fibrils are in fact visible in electron microscope images, but it is very difficult to go down to an atomic level of detail. The conventional structural-biological methods required to achieve this assume that the macromolecule is present as an extremely regular crystal or in the form of individual molecules that are dissolved in water. However, fibrils are elongated structures that adhere to each other and neither form crystals, nor able to be dissolved in water.

Only solid-state nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy (solid-state NMR) is capable of offering a view at the atomic level in this case. New developments in methods are facilitating measurement of a network of distances between the atoms in the protein molecules that make up a fibril. Extensive calculations enabled the atomic structure of the fibril to be reconstructed from these measurements.

The main part of the beta-amyloid 1-42 peptide is shaped like a double horseshoe. Two of the same molecules at one level are stacked onto each other to form a long fibril. Numerous oxygen bridge connections parallel to the long axis lend the fibrils their high stability.

"The structure differs fundamentally from earlier model studies, for which barely any experimental measurement data was available." explains Prof Peter Guntert, a professor of computer-aided structural biology at Goethe University.

The publications released by these European and American teams, which confirm each other, have caused great excitement in expert circle, as they have enabled a targeted, structure-based search for medicinal products that will attack the beta-amyloid fibrils. The researchers hope that the horror of this scourge of old age, first described 110 years ago by a Frankfurt-based doctor Alois Alzheimer, will finally be rendered harmless over the next one or two decades.
Riverview Medical Center Foundation is honored to announce a gift of $120,000 from the Tigger House Foundation that will support the addition of an Addictions Counselor in the hospital's emergency department. The majority of patients seeking help for addiction arrive in the Alton A. Hovnanian Emergency Care Center in a state of crisis. The addition of a licensed chemical dependency counselor would provide timely and critical assessment and outreach to patients during this severe time of need.

Tigger House Foundation is a non-profit organization dedicated to achieving a positive impact by reducing the death rate of heroin and opiate addiction. The organization was founded by Lisa and Rick Stavola in 2013 after they tragically lost their 25 year-old son, Rick Jr. (also known as Tigger), to a heroin overdose. "Losing Rick Jr. was absolutely devastating and heartbreaking for our family," shares Lisa and Rick. "His memory inspires us every day to do whatever it takes so others don't have to suffer a similar loss. Making this gift to Riverview gives us hope and promise for a future where fewer people are impacted by the horrific realities of addiction."

Funding from the Tigger House Foundation will be instrumental in helping Riverview create this new position, ensuring a licensed Addictions Counselor will be available in the hospital's emergency department to address patients' needs in a timely manner, seven days a week. "The addiction epidemic in New Jersey, and specifically Monmouth County, cannot be ignored," says Timothy J. Hogan, FACHE, president of Riverview Medical Center and Bayshore Community Hospital. "The generosity of the Tigger House Foundation will impact so many in our immediate community who turn to Riverview for care. This is a huge first step to achieving our long-term mission to reduce the deadly impact of substance abuse."

The Booker Behavioral Health Center at Riverview currently offers comprehensive services and follow-up for people who need treatment for substance abuse and addiction. "As our Behavioral Health services, and the demand for them, continue to grow, we recognized the importance of having a dedicated clinician on-call in the emergency department to address the immediate needs of individuals who arrive with a substance-related situation and no other concurrent psychiatric issues," explains Joseph A. Miller, Ph.D., vice-president of Neurosciences and Behavioral Health at Hackensack Meridian Health. "The generous and heartfelt support we have received from the Tigger House Foundation will ensure patients coping with a substance abuse problem are provided with timely and appropriate medical attention to immediately address their specific needs. Our partnership with the Tigger House Foundation is a wonderful example of what can happen when community organizations and health networks come together to address a significant need in the community."
A group of Russian physicists, with the contribution from their Swiss colleagues, developed a way to use the therapeutic effect of heating or cooling the tissues due to the magnetocaloric effect. The article with the results of the work was published in the latest issue of the International Journal of Refrigeration.

A team of the Lomonosov Moscow State University scientists proposed a new way to use the magnetocaloric effect for the targeted delivery of drugs to the implants. Vladimir Zverev, one of the authors (Lomonosov Moscow State University, Faculty of Physics) claims that this is a unique method that uses a negative magnetocaloric effect.

The gist of the magnetocaloric effect (MCE) is reduced to the fact that when exposed to an external magnetic field, the magnetic material changes its temperature, sometimes rising and sometimes, on the contrary, falling (depending on the material). This significant physical phenomenon was discovered in the nineteenth century, although the effect has been described only in 1917. Over the past century, the MCE has been minutely studied, but the interest of researchers increased dramatically in recent decades. This is due to, first, a significant contribution to the physics of magnetic materials, and, second, a fairly extensive area of its possible applications. It can be very successfully used in low-temperature physics, for the production of heat engines, refrigeration and so on.

However, the majority of these applications is not ready for commercial use yet, mainly due to the unavailability of the technology. Speaking, for example, about domestic magnetic refrigerators, although they are being developed today by many scientific and industrial laboratories around the world, according to Vladimir Zverev, a member of the Physics Department of MSU, such refrigerators, if they were made today, would be very expensive.

'For such a refrigerator magnetic field of around one Tesla is required, which at today's possibilities makes the prices very high and therefore commercially unacceptable - the very device to generate such a field will cost at least fifteen hundred dollars. It remains to wait for them to fall in price', Vladimir Zverev says.

However, this did not prevent the authors from suggesting a new application of the magnetocaloric effect, almost ready for massive use - this time in medicine.

One of the developed methods is called "magnetic fluid hypothermia" and consists in heating cancer tumors with special magnetic nanoparticles, delivered directly to the tumor site. To do this, the researchers developed and created a unique tool to create an alternating high-frequency magnetic field with no analogues in the world, as Vladimir Zverev says. Today, with the help of this facility in the Blokhin Scientific Cancer Centre, the primary research of various cancerous cell cultures was conducted. The studies on mice were also carried out, which proved biocompatibility and non-toxicity of the microparticles. The experiments on the microparticles' pharmacokinetics are conducted as well, which demonstrate its ability of retention in the tumor, spreading in the body with the blood flow etc.

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If the possibility of using such magnetocaloric effect in the scientific literature is at least mentioned - in fact that the heating of the tumor may lead to its degradation has long been known, - the second method, proposed by the scientists, is quite unique.

It is known that one of the problems when implanted of foreign parts in human- artificial joints, abdominal nets, stents esophagus, urinary and biliary ducts, etc. - is the likelihood of rejection. The authors offer to apply a special coating to implants (yet at the stage of the preparation for installing), consisting of several layers. The first layer is a magnetic material, which is cooled in an external magnetic field (a material with a negative magnetocaloric effect). This layer may be a thin film or a suspension of magnetic microparticles. The second layer is the polymer matrix, in which, as a sponge, absorbs the drug. The polymer matrix is in direct thermal contact with the magnetocaloric material. This entire structure is placed in the body during the operation.

The fact that the polymer used in the technology at the normal body temperature, i.e. at a temperature above 37 degrees, behaves like a jelly, which holds the drug inside. When the magnetic field lowers the temperature, the polymer transits in a liquid state and releases drug at the site of theimplantation. For example, when, after insertion of the implant an inflammation occurs, the non-invasive application of an external magnetic field (for example, in MRI) allows to release the desired dose of drug over the desired time and place.

This method of the 'targeted' drug delivery is good, in particular, by the fact that it only affects the source of inflammation and remains the rest of the body uninfluenced, that is, by definition, completely harmless. There is a problem though - it is unclear what to do if the coated drug is over.

Zverev says that this problem is solvable: 'First, in some cases just a single drug input is need, for example, to paste the abdominal mesh. A release dosage portions of the drug can be controlled by regulating the magnitude of the external magnetic field. It is also possible to replenish a the coat, using the fact that a drug may be chemically linked to the magnetic particles which can be 'dragded' to the desired location in the body by an external magnetic field. This method we haven't developed however, and it is only ideas yet'.
As humans evolved over many thousands of years, our bodies developed a system to help us when we start running and suddenly need more oxygen. Now, using that innate reflex as inspiration, UCLA researchers have developed a noninvasive way to treat potentially harmful breathing problems in babies who were born prematurely.

The technique uses a simple device that tricks babies' brains into thinking they are running, which prompts them to breathe.

Each year, about 150,000 babies are born after only 23 to 34 weeks of gestation, which puts them at risk for apnea of prematurity, a condition in which breathing stops, often for several seconds, accompanied by severe falls in oxygenation.

The condition occurs because  in infants whose systems not yet fully formed  the respiratory system ignores or cannot use the body's signals to breathe. Compounding the danger, premature newborns' lungs are not fully developed, and therefore do not have much oxygen in reserve. When breathing stops in these periods of apnea, the level of oxygen in the body goes down, and the heart rate can drop. That combination can damage the lungs and eyes, injure the nerves to the heart, affect the hormonal system (which can lead to diabetes later in life), or injure the brain (which can result in behavioral problems later in life).

Hospitals use a range of approaches to minimize the duration of premature babies' breathing pauses  placing them on their stomach, forcing air into the lungs with a facemask and giving caffeine to stimulate the brain  but none is perfect and each carries other risks.

According to Dr. Ronald Harper, a distinguished professor of neurobiology at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, even newborns have the innate mechanism that triggers increased breathing.

"When our feet hit the ground running, we flex muscles and joints that have nerve fibers leading to the brain which signal that the body is running," he said. "This message is coupled with another set of fibers to parts of the brain that regulate breathing and sends a signal that those parts need to increase breathing. Fortunately, that coupling exists even in extremely young infants."

The idea to use an external breathing device to treat apnea of prematurity arose over a cup of coffee between Harper and Dr. Kalpashri Kesavan, a neonatologist at Mattel Children's Hospital UCLA, when the conversation turned to how a baby's breathing could be supported if the brain was told the baby was running or walking.

Harper's lab, which focuses on brain mechanisms that drive breathing during sleep, had already developed a device that he had intended to test for treating people with breathing problems. The device is a pager-sized box with wires that connect to small disks which are placed on the skin over the joints of the feet and hands. (Placing them on the hands is another nod to how the human body evolved: Early humans ran on all fours, so nerves in the hands are still involved in signaling the brain that the body is running.) Once the battery-powered machine is turned on, the disks gently vibrate, which triggers nerve fibers to alert the brain that the limb is moving.

"We thought that if this reflex were going to work for any kind of sleep disorder with breathing problems, then premature infants would be the No. 1 target, because breathing stoppages are so common and have the potential to do so much injury," Kesavan said. "It's almost like it was naturally made for them."

The researchers tested the device on 15 premature infants who were born after 23 to 34 weeks of gestation, and who were experiencing breathing pauses and low oxygen. The disks were placed on one hand and one foot, and the device was turned on for six hours at a time, followed by six hours off, for a total of 24 hours.

The scientists compared the babies' vital signs during the periods when the device was on with the times when it was off. They found that when it was on, the number of incidents when babies' oxygen levels were low was reduced by 33 percent and the number of breathing pauses was 40 percent lower than when it was off. The device also reduced low-heart-rate episodes by 65 percent, which is especially significant because slow heart rate can impair the flow of blood to vital tissues. The findings were published online in the Journal PLOS One.

The researchers now plan to study the approach on a larger number of patients and over a longer period of time. They'll also study the effects of the device on blood pressure and other cardio-respiratory measures, as well as its impact on sleep quality. Breathing stoppages typically wake infants, and reducing the number of pauses in their breathing should lead to less disturbed sleep.

While most premature babies eventually grow out of their breathing problems, it can take weeks to months before their respiratory systems develop sufficiently to allow them to breathe on their own at all times.

"Long-term use of the device could decrease breathing pauses, maintain normal oxygen levels, stabilize the cardiovascular system and help improve neurodevelopmental outcomes in preterm infants," Kesavan said. "We may be able to bring about this change with something that is noninvasive, drug-free and has no side effects, and there is nothing better than that."

Harper is also testing the device on adolescents who suffer breathing problems due to spinal cord injuries and adults with sleep-disordered breathing, including obstructive sleep apnea.

The University of California has applied for a patent for the device, and is discussing its commercialization with several companies.
This is very unfortunate, we will assure that victims are taken care of: Kiren Rijiju on Kokrajhar attack pic.twitter.com/9u3Avmh3JQ  ANI (@ANI_news) August 5, 2016

Spoke to Assam CM Shri @sarbanandsonwal who apprised me of the situation in Kokrajhar. MHA is closely monitoring the situation.  Rajnath Singh (@rajnathsingh) August 5, 2016

At least 14 people were feared killed and several injured when suspected National Democratic Front of Bodoland (Songbijit) militants fired at people in a busy market place in Kokrajhar district of Assam.Sources said the heavily-armed militants came in an auto-rickshaw to the Balajan Tiniali market around 11.30 am and opened fire when security forces were conducting massive anti-militant operation in the area.The militants also lobbed grenades and started firing indiscriminately at the security forces and the public.The dead include civilians, security personnel and the militants.Kiren Rijiju (MoS) Home Affairs said, this is very unfortunate, we will assure that victims are taken care of.So far no group has claimed responsibility for the attack.DGP of Assam Mukesh Sahay said that he was not in a position to confirm the total number of casualties but a massive operation has been launched to neutralise all of them.Speaking to News18 he said, "We don't know who is behind it. The modus operandi indicates that it could be NDFB (S). Our men on the hot pursuit of militants"."He also said that three-four militants are still in the area and security forces have cordoned it off," he added.Balajan market is a busy shopping area of Kokrajhar and there were hundreds of people during the attack.The intelligence agencies had earlier warned about possibility of a Jihadi attack in Assam.Assam CM Sarbananda Sonowal has briefed Union Home minister Rajnath Singh on the situation in Kokrajhar over telephone.Sonowal has condemned the killings and directed the authorities to provide medical aid to the injured.He also directed Finance, Education and Health minister Himanta Biswa Sarma to rush to the spot and review the situation.Sarma said, "Two of the extremists have been neutralised and police is looking out for another six but at this stage these are my specific assessments as I am yet to talk to theSP."I think details are still coming in so we have to wait for some time to find out the confirmed number of killings and the number of extremists neutralised by security forces," Sarma added.Bodoland territorial council chief Hagrama Mohillary has said that 12 persons are on the list of those killed.The Centre is rushing paramilitary forces to Kokrajhar to help Assam administration to tackle the situation.The local army units have already been sent to the area.Home Minister Rajnath Singh too tweeted that he spoke to Assam CM Sarbananda Sonowal and he apprised him of the situation in Kokrajhar.He added that his ministry is closely monitoring the situation.
Barasat (WB): An 8-year-old girl was allegedly slapped by her teacher for not writing her roll number correctly at a school at Dumdum in the northern fringes of Kolkata, police said on Friday.

P Malakar, a teacher at St Stephens school, slapped the girl, a class IV student, yesterday for writing the roll number incorrectly during an exam, following which she started bleeding from one of her ears, a police officer of Barrackpore Police Commissionerate said.

As the girl and other students present in the examination hall screamed, other teachers rushed to the classroom and took her to a doctor. The victims family was also informed and she was taken home.

The matter came to light when the girls parents, joined by some other parents, demonstrated at the school today against the teacher who allegedly assaulted the minor.

An FIR was registered by the girls parents at Dumdum police station today after the demonstration.

The school authorities refused to comment on the incident while saying they were inquiring into the alleged incident and would go by the directive of the police in the case and action will be taken if anyone was proved guilty.

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Lucknow: Twelve policemen were suspended after a 25-year old dalit man was found hanging under mysterious circumstances inside a police station in Kanpur on Thursday.



The deceased Kamal Valmiki was picked up few days ago reportedly in a theft case in Ahirwan police station area. His family members alleged that he was tortured and killed under police custody.



His body has been sent for post mortem examination and the probe team is waiting for the report to ascertain the exact cause of his death.



Superintendent of police, Shalabh Mathur, said, "It is serious matter because a man was found hanging inside the police station. We are investigating the cause and strict action will be taken against those responsible for the incident."



Following the incident, there was tension in the area on Thursday evening as Valmiki's family members and local people clashed with the police. They demanded immediate arrest of the policemen involved in the incident.







Sources said, state DGP Javed Ahmed has ordered a high level inquiry in to the matter.



Meanwhile, the incident took a political turn after Bahujan Samajwadi Party (BSP) Chief Mayawati accused the ruling Akhilesh Yadav government for intentionally attacking the dalits in the state.
Mumbai: The CBI on Friday filed its supplementary charge sheet against gangster Chhota Rajan in connection with the murder case of journalist J Dey at a special MCOCA court.



On July 5, MCOCA court Judge S S Adkar had directed the probe agency to file the charge sheet latest by August 5.



According to CBI, the motive for killing Dey in 2011 was the book that he was writing on the underworld.



The agency, in its charge sheet, has recorded statement of 41 witnesses while it made witness--Ravi Ram--an additional accused in the case.



"Ravi Ram was a witness earlier but he has emerged as a key link between Rajan and other accused," said a CBI officer. Ram had allegedly supplied 20 global sims on Rajan's instructions.



The CBI said they have also included transcripts of conversation between arrested journalist Jigna Vora and Rajan in the charge sheet.



The agency also said that FSL reports show that the recorded voice sample of Rajan matches with the intercepted conversations between Rajan and Jigna.



Last month, adjourning the hearing till today, the court had said that it would go ahead with framing of charges as per the charge sheet earlier filed by Mumbai Police's Crime Branch if the agency failed to do so.



Special Public Prosecutor Bharat Badami had then informed the court that the agency had got some more evidence against the wanted accused Nayan Singh Bisht, and will be annexing it to the charge sheet.



Rajan was arrested at Bali airport in Indonesia on October 25 last year and deported to India. He is facing around 70 cases in Maharashtra, which include the J Dey murder case of 2011. The Maharashtra government has handed over all these cases to CBI.



Dey, a veteran crime reporter, was shot dead in suburban Powai on June 11, 2011, allegedly at the behest of Rajan. According to investigators, Rajan was upset with certain articles written by Dey about him.



The first charge sheet filed in 2011 names Satiah Kaliya, Abhijeet Shinde, Arun Dake, Sachin Gaikwad, Anil Waghmode, Nilesh Shendge, Mangesh Agawane, Vinod Asrani, Paulson Joseph and Deepak Sisodia (all arrested).



Another charge sheet was filed against journalist Jigna Vora the next year. Vora, accused of instigating Rajan against Dey owing to her own professional rivalry, is now out on bail.


Thiruvananthapuram: An FIR has been registered against former state minister and Kerala Congress(B) leader R Balakrishna Pillai on August 5, under IPC sections 153A (promoting enmity between different groups on grounds of religion, race, place of birth, residence, language, and doing acts prejudicial to maintenance of harmony) and 253 a(deliberate and malicious acts, intended to outrage religious feelings of any class by insulting its religion or religious beliefs)  for his alleged hate-speech in Pathanapuramat on July 31.



The minister landed in a soup after his alleged jibes at Muslims and Christians at a Nair Service Society (NSS) meeting  an organisation of the forward Hindu Nair community  were condemned. Several Muslims outfits sought strong action against him for hurting their religious sentiments and alleged that the speech was aimed at igniting communal tension in the society.



The minister had, on August 2, tendered an unconditional apology while addressing a press conference at his hometown in Pathanapuram in the Kollam district. He had said the audio and video that came in the media, were distorted and edited, and that there was a controversy. He alleged there was a deliberate attempt to sabotage his speech by terming it anti-minority. He asserted he was not in the wrong.



"I am, however, tendering unconditional apology if my speech has hurt the sentiments of anybody," he had said. Pillai's son K B Ganeshkumar, the lone party MLA, had also apologised for his father's remark. The police had said proceedings would follow a thorough examination of the "controversial" speech.



Further investigations are underway. The recordings will be sent for forensic tests.



(With inputs from PTI)
New Delhi: Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu met Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the capital on Friday, during which he is believed to have raised the issue of

special status for his state.



Sources said Naidu told the Prime Minister that a special status was assured to Andhra Pradesh after its bifurcation by his predecessor Manmohan Singh, and also by the TDP and the BJP during the polls and the promise must be delivered. The Chief Minister is also believed to have said that since several political parties supported the Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Bill, the chances of their resistance to special status to the state is likely to be little.



Naidu, who landed in the national capital on Thursday, has since met President Pranab Mukherjee, Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley and HRD Minister Prakash Javadekar.



The TDP, an NDA ally, has two ministers in the Modi Cabinet. With the Congress, YSR Congress, the main opposition party in AP, demanding a special status, the pressure has been mounting on the TDP over the issue.
New Delhi: Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh on Friday confirmed that Indian media were denied access in Pakistan during his speech at SAARC conference on Thursday.



While briefing the Rajya Sabha on his visit to Islamabad to attend the 7th SAARC Home Ministers Meeting on August 4, Singh said, "I can't comment on PTV blackout, but yes reporters from Doordarshan, ANI, PTI were denied access when I was delivering my speech."



On the context of Pakistan Interior Minister Chudhary Nisar Ali Khan's indifferent attitude, he said, "After the meeting ended, the HM (Khan) invited all the representatives for lunch and then he left himself. I did what I wanted to do."



When asked why he skipped lunch in Islamabad, "I cut short by visit because I was not in Pakistan to have lunch."



Asserting that terrorist in one nation cannot be a martyr for another, he asked SAARC nations including Pakistan to take effective steps against state and non-state actors supporting terrorism and extradite persons involved in it.



The Home Minister said he had urged the members not to glorify terrorism or give patronage to it.



"A terrorist in one nation cannot be a martyr or freedom fighter for anyone," he said.



"They should not make the mistake of distinguishing between good terrorism and bad terrorism. It is necessary to take all effective steps against states or non-state actors encouraging or supporting terrorism," he said.



To ensure that terrorism is not encouraged, it was necessary that stringent action is not just initiated against terrorists but also against persons, organisations, institutions and states supporting them, Singh said.



He said he had suggested to the SAARC Ministers that sanctions and bans imposed against terrorists by the global community have to be honoured.







Stringent action should also be taken against persons involved in terrorism and their extradition should be ensured so that they can face the law, the Home Minister said.



"It is important for nations who have not ratified SAARC Convention on Mutual Assistance on Criminal Matters to do it," he said, adding Pakistan has so far not ratified this Convention as well as SAARC Terrorist Offenses Monitoring Desk (STOMD) and SAARC Drug Offenses Monitoring Desk (SDOMD).



"I was told on behalf of Pakistan that they will soon act on ratifying these. And I hope that 'soon' is actually soon," he said.



(With PTI inputs)
New Delhi: Tightening the noose around mobile operators over call drops, telecom regulator Trai today proposed stricter quality norms for local areas and imposing financial disincentives for poor services.



At present, the quality norms are at service area level (averaging the performance of the entire service area as a whole) but Trai feels such a calculation may give a "different picture" about the quality of customer experience.



"There could be many areas or localities within the service area where the Quality of service (QoS) could be poor," Trai said in its latest consultation paper.



"One of the options for ensuring QoS could be through increased investments for infrastructure development by redefining the parameters and benchmarks and measurement methodology to ensure that averaging over the entire service area does not affect the quality of experience of the consumer," it said.



Trai is also debating tightening of the financial disincentives, providing for more stringent penal provisions for very poor performance and continuous non-performance (along with incentives for improvement). "...no consideration is given on the extent of how bad is the performance... One option towards streamlining the Quality of Service parameters will be to explore the possibility of a scheme of graded financial disincentive so that in the case of very poor performance the financial disincentive could be very stringent," Trai said.



The issue of mobile call drops and poor quality of services has irked consumers across the country. Earlier this year, however, the regulator's attempt to make it mandatory for telecom companies to compensate subscribers for call drops came a cropper when the Supreme Court struck down the Trai regulation terming it "arbitrary, unreasonable and non-transparent".



Trai has also sought opinion on whether calculation of customer satisfaction index will help in QoE of the consumer, and the calculation methodology for such indexes.



The paper also seeks public view on the manner in which the benchmark for quality parameters should be revised, and whether the same should be licensed service area wise or district wise or BTS-wise or a combination.
Paul GreengrassMatt Damon, Tommy Lee Jones, Alicia VikandarThere are a few things one has come to expect from a Bourne film: messy hand-to-hand fight scenes, a shaky camera-induced sense of urgency, and a continent-hopping plot that tends to reflect contemporary real-world concerns. The newest film in the series, titled simply Jason Bourne, ticks all of those boxes. It also sees Matt Damon return to the role of the once-amnesiac assassin nine years after he ditched the franchise. But although its competently plotted and niftily executed  by Bourne Supremacy and Ultimatum director Paul Greengrass  theres an unmistakable feeling of familiarity about it all.When we reconnect with Jason Bourne in the new film, hes keeping a low profile, making a living as a fighter for hire in some East European outpost. But when his old CIA colleague and fellow rogue agent Nicky Parsons (Julia Stiles) tracks him down with information about his fathers death, Bourne heads to Athens to meet with her at a street riot. That, unfortunately, puts him back on the radar of the CIA, whose top boss Robert Dewey (Tommy Lee Jones) seems determined to take him out.As Bourne trots the globe  Berlin, London, Vegas  hes tracked by Deweys trusted security analyst Heather Lee (Alicia Vikander), and by a cold-hearted assassin known only as the Asset (Vincent Cassel).Like 2012s The Bourne Legacy, that massively underwhelming spinoff starring Jeremy Renner, the new film too cant seem to justify why it was made in the first place. Frankly, Greengrass and Damon nicely tied up all loose ends and left the series in a good place with 2007s The Bourne Ultimatum. So why return if you have nothing new to say?The plot of Jason Bourne, although fast-paced, adds virtually nothing by way of back-story to the protagonist or the series mythology. You could place this film anywhere in the original trilogy and it wouldnt make a lick of a difference to the overall storyline.Still, that doesnt mean its all bad. The script makes all the right noises about the realities of governmental surveillance and civil liberties, and the cat and mouse game that the Bourne films do so well is once again competently staged. But its the jittery action sequences that pack the real punch.The fist fights are bloody and brutal, and the shootings are ruthless. Greengrass and his cinematographer Barry Aykroyd use minimal CGI, opting for practical effects in most places. They shatter your nerves with their hand-held camerawork, particularly during a breathless chase scene in Athens, and then one on the Vegas strip that looks straight out of a Fast & Furious movie.The film delivers bang for your buck, no questions asked, and Damon is exceptional as Bourne. Somber and grim, yet clearly relishing the opportunity to reprise the role, he is riveting both while flexing his action and acting chops. However, fine performers like Alicia Vikander and Vincent Cassel are sadly underutilized.When all is done and dusted, Jason Bourne never feels like a waste of time, but its unlikely youll pick this one as your favorite Bourne film. If thrills are all you seek, you wont be disappointed. Im going with three out of five.Jason Bourne
David AyerMargot Robbie, Jared Leto, Will Smith, Cara DelevingneIt doesnt take a rocket scientist to point out whats wrong with Suicide Squad. This overstuffed migraine of a movie bursting at its seams with way too many characters and way too much exposition delivers way too little fun.Such a shame, considering the very idea of a movie whose heroes are bad guys holds so much promise. Deadpool, anyone?Set immediately after the events of Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, the film opens with steely government agent Amanda Waller (Viola Davis) assembling a crack team of the baddest guys in the business. The idea being that these disposable soldiers will protect mankind from the potential threat posed by the increasing number of meta-humans and omnipotent vigilantes roaming our streets and skies.The films best bits come early when were first introduced to Wallers recruits: Deadshot (Will Smith), the hit-man who never misses; unhinged psychopath and the Jokers girlfriend Harley Quinn (Margot Robbie); beer-swilling Aussie thief Captain Boomerang (Jai Courtenay); fire-breathing hellraiser Diablo (Jay Hernandez); and reptile-skinned monster from the sewers Killer Croc (Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje).The fun runs out shortly after our acquaintance is made with the principal players, and theyre packed off  under the watch of Wallers right-hand guy, Navy SEAL Rick Flag (Joel Kinnaman)  on their first mission. Co-writer and director David Ayer borrows ideas liberally from an assortment of successful entries in the genre including the X-Men series, and most notably Guardians of the Galaxy whose rollicking style and irreverent tone this film squarely fails to duplicate.By the time the film enters its final act, youll be groaning in your seat, begging for it to stop. Suicide Squad quickly degenerates into a bloated CGI mess involving a witch named the Enchantress (Cara Delevingne) who longs to be worshipped by the entire population. Its harebrained, idiotic stuff and the final blow to your already exhausted spirit.Jared Letos extended cameo as the Joker (he only shows up sporadically), and Margot Robbies star-making turn as sexpot psycho Harley Quinn are the two bright spots in this mostly humorless film that feels way longer than its running time.Im going with two out of five for Suicide Squad. Its dull and depressing and a reminder of everything thats wrong with modern blockbusters.2/5
Manish JhaArshad Warsi, Boman Irani, Aditi Rao Hydari, Boman Irani and Kayoze IraniIn India small budget films have a reputation of being content driven and with actors like Arshad Warsi and Boman Irani on board you expect a Jolly LLB kind of surprise. However, things can go wrong horribly and amazing actors like Warsi and Irani end up doing films like The Legend of Michael Mishra. You ask, why? Such things can never be answered.The story revolves around an infamous criminal who wants to wash all his sins to impress the girl of his dreams. While Arshad Warsi plays the title role of a sinister sinner Michael Mishra , Boman Irani is seen playing the narrator and Warsi's right hand Full Pant with his real life son Kayoze Irani plays half pant. Aditi Rao Hydari plays the role of Warsi's love interest and dancer Varsha Shukla.The scriptwriter has made it a point to keep the plot meaningless throughout with not even a single hilarious scene or an interesting twist. Michael falls for a teenage girl and just hears a hello before getting sentenced for his crimes. After years, he tracks down the girl based on her 'hello' and voila there she is. The film defies all logic which is an irony considering Warsi-Bomani's last film. A still from the film.In order to be a typical masala entertainer, the film is a drag and a dizzy ride which leaves you wondering about its genre. The very moment you feel it's getting a little bearable, another mindless twist appears testing your patience. Talking about the performances, Warsi disappoints with his over the top Bihari accent and nonsensical acts, Irani is probably the only saving grace in the film. His son Kayoze has potential and deserves a better film than this Manish Jha directorial to showcase his talent.The film is a hoax in name of comedy as it's neither edgy nor quirky. The backdrop of the film is romance but you can sense no chemistry between the lead. Probably Warsi and Irani would've made a better pair.The cinematographer took no pain to do any worthy work and lousy direction and narrative is a big letdown for the audience. From a director who has done brilliant job with films like Anwar and Matrabhoomi, this film is a disgrace.It's better to ignore this tedious disaster and invest money on a much better small budget watch. As for Warsi, we know he has the potential if only he chooses to showcase it in films with better narrative and storyline. Skip this one and keep your peace of mind intact.
New Delhi: The Delhi High Court ruling in favour of the Lieutenant Governor has created a strange situation. The government in Delhi, like that in any other state, is elected by the people.



But, the High Court has interpreted the establishment of Delhi government act in such a way that it has zero independent powers and the government headed by the chief minister is just an intermediary between the people of Delhi and the LG who is a central government appointee.



The verdict clearly states that LG is the final word on everything. Be it an administrative matter or a policy decision, the LG's approval is a must.



Without that all decisions, big or small, taken by the state cabinet will be of no use. The situation is so bad that chief minister can't appoint his own personal staff without LG's sanction. The government is left with discretionary powers.



What this means?



Lieutenant Governor Najeeb Jung is the administrative head of Delhi and is not bound to act on the aid and advise of council of ministers even on issues apart from Land, Police and Public order.



While it is mandatory that the Delhi Government communicates all its decisions to the LG, the LG is not bound to consult Delhi Government on any issue except appointing special public prosecutors. Effectively, it means, the elected government and the chief minister has no independent powers.



The May 21st 2015 notification of the Central government that curbed the powers of the Anti Corruption Bureau (ACB) so that it could not act against their officials was upheld as legal and constitutional.



The same notification also made it clear that 'services' fall outside the purview of the Delhi government. The authority over the Anti Corruption Bureau was a big flashpoint.



The AAP government had appointed SS Yadav while Jung appointed M K Meena escalating the tussle further. But HC order makes it clear that Jung appointee heads the ACB.





Notifications for setting up two major inquiry commissions set up by the AAP Government to enquire into the alleged scam of DDCA and the CNG fitness scam are illegal since they were done so without seeking the views of the LG.



Effectively, AAP cannot set up any more inquiry commissions. With the powers of Delhi ACB curbed, (and Delhi police out of its ambit) its battle against big ticket corruption is almost a non starter.



The Chief Minister and the Council of ministers do not have any say over appointment and transfer of officials. This has been a thorny issue between AAP and LG. It started with the LG appointing Shakuntala Gamlin as the acting chief secretary for 11 days when the then chief secretary went on leave.



AAP Govt accepted this grudgingly but not without a fight. Effectively, it means the CM of Delhi has no say over who will be his officers, either in the CMO, Vigilance, Law and IT.



So the chief minister of an elected government has no power to appoint or transfer an officer, bring a law in the legislative assembly, issue policy directions to various departments, set up enquiry commissions to investigate big ticket corruption without consulting the LG of Delhi.



After the HC's orders, the powers of the Delhi government have been further curbed.



Earlier there was an ambiguity in the Constitution article 239, 239 AA, The GNCTD Act and Transaction of Business Rules that allowed for divergent interpretations.



This is the first time a court has interpreted Article 239 and 239 AA and ruled that Delhi remains a Union Territory with LG as administrative head.



AAP has slammed the HC verdict as erroneous. Deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia has said that the government will challenge it in the Supreme Court.



It is indeed the SC which will have the final word.



Apart from the tussle between Jung and Kejriwal, there is the larger question: Where is the 'will of people' represented through the elected government reflected in the HC judgement?



If the LG is so much superior to the CM, then why have an elected government? This is a question that will come up again in the SC.
From the fact that Nitin Patel gave elaborate interviews, it was certain that he was told by the leadership that a decision has been taken on him being a replacement.

After the meeting former BJP chief Nitin Gadkari said the choice of Rupani was unanimous, and that the media had got its prediction wrong.

He spoke with confidence and spoke about the challenges he had before him, though Nitin Patel had not been announced as the CM of Gujarat.At noon when CNN-News 18 spoke to the seniormost minister in Anandiben's cabinet, Nitin Patel was accepting congratulations and elaborating on his plans to tackle the Patel quota stir while also reaching out to Dalits.After all it was just 48 hours back that Vijay Rupani , the Gujarat BJP president, had opted out of the CM race saying he will continue to be an organisation man.But there were twists waiting to play out and it played out in BJP's state headquarters Kamalam at Koba near Gandhinagar.The BJP legislators' meet that was scheduled to begin at 4pm but it began 1.30 hours late. Why? Because there were differences of opinion between BJP president Amit Shah and Anandiben Patel.They were meeting for the first time after the 74-year-old had quit as the Chief Minister of Gujarat citing her age as the reason in a Facebook post.The body language, those privy to the meeting said, was of hostility. Apart from the two, BJP Gujarat in-charge Dinesh Sharma and former in-charge V Satish, were at a meeting in a separate room.Sources privy to what played out in the meeting say the outgoing Gujarat CM stuck to her demand that her successor should be Nitin Patel. However, Amit Shah proposed the name of his close aide and Rajkot MLA Vijay Rupani.According to sources an unpleasant conversation unfolded between the two whose animosity is an open secret in Gujarat.The former CM, according to sources, told Shah that "the Patel agitation was internally engineered."She is also believed to have alleged that Shah made several attempts at destabilising her government in the last two years.She ended by insisting that, "Nitin Patel is the seniormost, Rupani does not have administrative experience."Shah, sources said, took a strong objection to this unwarranted comment and retorted by saying, "Let the two names be put before the MLAs and let them decide who will be the next CM."V Satish, according to sources, also spoke to the Prime Minister to communicate the events playing out at the meeting.Soon, the 119 MLAs were asked to decide who should succeed Anandiben Patel. With almost all demanding that it be Shah as their leader for the big battle of 2017, it was understood that Shah's man will sit on the throne.Sources said it was a script carefully drafted to show that Shah is the Shehanshah of Gujarat, who may have left the state to be the national president but still calls the shots in the state.Nitin Patel as deputy CM was agreed upon as a move to pacify Anandiben Patel."It's true that Rupani had backed out, but party has given him this responsibility. PM Modi too was apprised of the status before the appointment," Gadkari said.In politics 40 minutes is a long time, enough time for a CM frontrunner to be made a deputy CM perhaps. It's also a lesson in politics that one shouldn't speak too early.
Gandhinagar: The name of new Gujarat chief minister will be announced on Friday as Bharatiya Janata Party MLAs will meet party president Amit Shah in Gandhinagar.



Earlier, BJP's Parliamentary Board accepted Anandiben Patel's offer to resign paving the way for appointment of a new chief minister to lead the party ahead of the 2017 Assembly polls.



A meeting of party MLAs and office-bearers will be held at the BJP headquarters in Gandhinagar where the next CM would be announced, said state BJP president Vijay Rupani, who is also the state transport minister.



"Apart from Amit Shah, all the party MLAs, office bearers and our observers Nitin Gadkari and Saroj Pandey will remain present at the meeting," said Rupani, after holding a long discussion with Shah at latter's residence.



Shah, who arrived on Thursday morning, has been busy holding meetings with state BJP leaders and ministers at his residence.



Among others, he met state BJP in-charge Dinesh Sharma, national joint general secretary (organisation) V Satish, party treasurer Surendra Patel, education minister Bhupendrasinh Chudasama and former state BJP chief RC Faldu.



Health Minister Nitin Patel, considered to be the front-runner for the job, was also present during Shah's meeting with Rupani.



When asked by reporters whether he would accept the post of CM, Patel evaded a direct answer but said, "Whoever is chosen by the party, we all will work together."



Dinesh Sharma, who arrived on Wednesday, engaged in hectic parleys with BJP leaders and ministers. It is believed that he apprised Shah of his observations.



The names that are doing the rounds for the post are 'number two' in the cabinet Nitin Patel, Union Minister Purshottam Rupala and Assembly Speaker Ganpat Vasava, a tribal leader.



Rupani's name also came up early on, but he indicated on Wednesday that he was not in the race as he was happy with his current job. After this, Nitin Patel has emerged as a strong contender.



(With inputs from PTI)
Nitin Patel is most likely to be the next chief minister of Gujarat, sources said on Friday hours before a meeting of state MLAs with the party central leadership.



The Patel strongman from North Gujarat who was Cabinet minister for Health in the former Anandiben Patel government was the senior-most in the Anandiben Patel-government. He was first elected to the Gujarat assembly in 1990 and has been MLA for the fourth time.



In an interview to Network18, he said he will make make efforts to reach out to the Patidar community which has been angry with him for not backing him during the job quota protests.



"We will talk to all leaders of the Patidar community. Hardik, Lalji and other leaders and find a way out. As for the Dalit agitation, it is wrong to say the Gujarat government has not been able to tackle the situation."



Nitin Patel also heaped praises on outgoing chief minister Anandiben Patel saying she worked really hard for the state in the last 26 months.



Patel began his political career from Kadi in Gandhinagar district, where he held several positions in the co-operative sector. He is also associated with several trusts and hospitals of the region.


The fall semester is starting with a buzz at Lynchburgs new Heritage High School.

Everybody is getting excited about the start of a new school year and a brand-new building, Ben Copeland, assistant superintendent of operations and administration for Lynchburg City Schools, said as he provided media a tour of the school Thursday.

Though workers are still putting the finishing touches on the building, Copeland said that school construction remains on schedule. Final items include installing fixtures, testing the lighting in the performing arts center and installing HHS trophies in cases that line hallways.

When the new Heritage High opens on August 15, students will see plenty of natural light, technology upgrades, and collaboration points built into open spaces throughout the building.

Its a state-of-the-art building; we have a tremendous amount of technology at our disposal, HHS Principal Timothy Beatty said.

That technology includes touch screen monitors, which will allow teachers to control screens in their classrooms. Students can follow along on Chromebooks  laptop computers that use Googles Chrome operating system  distributed to them as part of the LCS-One program.

Wendy Yates, a Heritage math teacher, said she was excited about the natural light, the flexibility of the space and possibility for technology to be incorporated into the learning environment.

I think one of the best things that we ever did was to give each student a Chromebook, Yates said.

Split across two floors, the new school is roughly 266,000 square feet and cost $78 million to complete. The facility replaces the old Heritage High, which opened in 1977 and was nearly 40 years old.

Beatty said problems with the old HHS included heating and cooling issues, leaks and flooding.

Its like moving into a brand-new house, Beatty said.

Lanaux Hailey, a Heritage English teacher, literally jumped for joy when she saw the new school Thursday.

The last time I was here it was a construction site, Hailey said.

I just feel like our kids are going to walk into this building and theyre going to be overwhelmed with pride, Hailey added.

A new facility also means new academic offerings. According to Beatty, culinary arts will begin this fall, and a nuclear drafting program will launch next year.

The new HHS can accommodate up to 1,200 students. Copeland said that will allow for future growth.

According to the Virginia Department of Education, Heritages enrollment was 1,026 for 2015-2016.

One student, Madi Foster, an incoming junior, said shes looking forward to the new facilities. Foster got a sneak peek at the new Heritage as she practiced with the volleyball team Thursday in the new gymnasium.

Foster, an outside hitter for the team, is eager to play in the new gym, which seats around 2,000. She said the investment in the school makes her feel more valued as a student.

Last year I wasnt really excited about starting the school year, she said, but Im really excited for this season, my classrooms, and all the stuff that the school has to offer.
The results of a closely watched national test show math and reading scores declined this year in Virginia, as they did around the country. Gov. Glenn Youngkin said Monday that the results were catastrophic." The Republican governor held a news conference in Richmond highlighting Virginias performance on the National Assessment of Educational Progress. The test is often known as the nations report card. It was administered to hundreds of thousands of 4th and 8th graders across the country this year. Scores were lagging even before the pandemic, but the new results show decreases on a scale not seen before.
In the 1870s, when Boss Tweeds Tammany Hall controlled New York City, and in the 1950s and 1960s, when Chicagos Democratic machine was especially rampant, there was a phenomenon that can be called immunity through profusion: Fresh scandals arrived with metronomic regularity, so there was no time to concentrate on any of them. The public, bewildered by blitzkriegs of bad behavior, was enervated.

What Winston Churchill said about an adversary  He spoke without a note and almost without a point  can be said of Donald Trump, but this might be unfair to him. His speeches are, of course, syntactical train wrecks, but there might be method to his madness. He rarely finishes a sentence (Believe me! does not count), but perhaps he is not the scatterbrain he has so successfully contrived to appear. Maybe he actually is a sly rascal, cunningly in pursuit of immunity through profusion.

He seems to understand that if you produce a steady stream of sufficiently stupefying statements, there will be no time to dwell on any one of them, and the net effect on the public will be numbness and ennui. So, for example, while the nation has been considering his interesting decision to try to expand his appeal by attacking Gold Star parents, little attention has been paid to this: Vladimir Putins occupation of the Crimea has escaped Trumps notice.

It is, surely, somewhat noteworthy that someone aspiring to be Americas commander in chief has somehow not noticed the fact that for 25 years now a sovereign European nation has been being dismembered. But a thoroughly jaded American public, bemused by the depths of Trumps shallowness, might have missed the following from Trumps appearance last Sunday on ABCs This Week.

When host George Stephanopoulos asked, Why did you soften the GOP platform on Ukraine?  removing the call for providing lethal weapons for Ukraine to defend itself  Trump said: [Putins] not going into Ukraine, OK? Just so you understand. Hes not going to go into Ukraine, all right? You can mark it down and you can put it down, you can take it anywhere you want.

Stephanopoulos: Well, hes already there, isnt he?

Trump: OK, well, hes there in a certain way, but Im not there yet. You have [President] Obama there. And frankly, that whole part of the world is a mess under Obama, with all the strength that youre talking about and all of the power of NATO and all of this, in the meantime, hes going where  he takes  takes Crimea, hes sort of  I mean ...

What Trump, in that word salad, calls the certain way that Putin is in Crimea is called annexation, enforced by the Russian army. But Trump  channeling his inner Woodrow Wilson and his principle of ethnic self-determination  says what has happened to Crimea is sort of democratic because from what Ive heard the people of Crimea would rather be with Russia than where they were.

Before the interview ended, Trump expressed his displeasure with the schedule for presidential debates, two of which are on nights with nationally televised NFL games. (There are such games three nights each autumn week.) I got a letter from the NFL, Trump claimed, saying this is ridiculous. The NFL says it has sent no such letter. But before this Trump fib/figment of his imagination/hallucination can be properly savored, it will be washed away by a riptide of others. Immunity through profusion.

The nation, however, is not immune to the lasting damage that is being done to it by Trumps success in normalizing post-factual politics. It is being poisoned by the injection into its bloodstream of the cynicism required of those Republicans who persist in pretending that although Trump lies constantly and knows nothing, these blemishes do not disqualify him from being president.

As when, last week, Mike Pence reproved Barack Obama for deploring, obviously with Trump in mind, homegrown demagogues. Pence, doing his well-practiced imitation of a country vicar saddened by the discovery of sin in his parish, said with sorrowful solemnity: I dont think name calling has any place in public life. As in Lyin Ted Cruz and Little Marco Rubio and Crooked Hillary Clinton?

Pence is just the most recent example of how the rubble of ruined reputations will become deeper before Nov. 8. It has been well said that sooner or later, we all sit down to a banquet of consequences. The Republican Partys multicourse banquet has begun.

Will is a Pulitzer Prize-winning columnist for The Washington Post. Email him at georgewill@washpost.com.
NEW LONDON  A cluster of teenage flight students sat eating sandwiches at the New London Airport on Tuesday when a white-haired pilot walking past called out a note of encouragement.

Enjoy yourself! he said. Its a very special time for you guys.

The six students are the first for New Horizons Solo Academy, a summer flight instruction program put on by the Liberty University School of Aeronautics. It began Tuesday and will continue through Aug. 13.

Liberty has put on aviation camps before, but the academy is its first stab at training designed to get teens flying solo before the end of the program. The cost was $1,000 to participate, but students can get half of that back as a performance incentive if they solo after less than 10 hours of in-flight instruction.

They started out on the ground Tuesday, learning basics about airplanes, including the Cessna 150 they will fly.

After lunch, New Horizons Program Director Chris Cartwright quizzed students about the carburetor, a part theyd learned about in the morning.

Do you have to be in sub-freezing temperatures to get carb-ice? he asked. The students answered in a chorus of no!

Cartwright explained if theres enough moisture in the air, even on a 70- to 80-degree day, the cooling effect of the air speeding up inside the planes machinery can cause ice to form in the carburetor.

Any time you reduce your power  for, say, coming in to land, practicing stalls, things like that  you want to turn your carburetor heat on just to eliminate any carburetor ice that might have built up, he said.

Cartwright said Liberty is interested in helping local high school students, age 16 and older, get the opportunity to solo as quickly as possible and in having the students later attend its aviation classes.

The first step in getting your private pilot certification is working toward your first solo, he said.

Cartwright said there is an expected shortage of commercial pilots in the industry due to the retirement of baby boomers and the promotion of those underneath them.

Kasey Boyer, a homeschooled student from Rustburg, said she likes cars, trucks and planes and especially became interested in planes after learning about World War II aviation and talking to veterans. She said she has considered going to school to be a pilot. She hopes this program will give her a little more clarity on whether its for her.

If I do this, I think Ill know more what I want to do, she said.

Shes most nervous about the written test, she said, and most excited about flying alone.

Nick Munsey, a Jefferson Forest High School student who attends Early College at Central Virginia Community College, said hes been interested in flying ever since he attended the Lynchburg Airshow. After that, he took part in a flight with an instructor via a private company, and hes participated in a variety of programs with the Liberty University School of Aeronautics. He is interested in being a missionary pilot, flying missionaries between remote locations in foreign countries in areas where there may not be traditional landing strips.

I cant wait to solo, he said. I cant wait to fly an airplane by myself.
With the new school year just weeks away, Linda Spradlin on Wednesday shopped for shoes for 9-year-old granddaughter Emily Webb at the J.C. Penney store at Regency Square mall.

Spradlin said she planned to do more shopping this weekend to take advantage of the states sales tax holiday.

Absolutely, she said, as her granddaughter tried on a pair of black and white sneakers with bright pink shoestrings. Spradlin said she was going on a cruise soon and was shopping for herself, too.

Today through Sunday, shoppers can stock up on back-to-school supplies, moderately priced clothing and shoes, emergency preparedness goods, and certain energy-efficient items and water-conserving faucets and toilets without having to pay the state sales tax.

For Richmond-area residents, the sales tax holiday means they dont have to pay the 5.3 percent sales tax. Its 6 percent in Northern Virginia and Hampton Roads, where the extra tax covers transportation projects.

For eligible items, the state is waiving the sales tax. They include schools supplies that cost $20 or less per item and clothing and shoes $100 or less per item. Online sales are also eligible.

The weekend before school starts is usually bigger, but this is a pretty big weekend for sales, said Gary Weiner, president of Saxon Shoes, which has a store at Short Pump Town Center in western Henrico County and a store in Fredericksburg.

People are able to make a purchase and avoid taxes and get what they were already going to get anyway, said Weiner, who predicted Clarks Desert Boots, Sperry Top-Siders and Birkenstock footwear to be popular items at his stores.

Some retailers, including Saxon, take it a step further and exclude sales tax on everything in their stores by absorbing the tax themselves.

Saxon Shoes will pay the tax on anything that does not qualify, Weiner said.

***

The states sales tax holiday combines three formerly separate tax-free shopping holidays into one weekend, so even if you are not shopping for notebooks, sneakers and skinny jeans for the back-to-school crowd, there still are sales tax savings available if you are in the market for a generator, chain saw, dishwasher or ceiling fan, among other items.

Emergency preparedness items such as portable generators that cost $1,000 or less and gas-powered chain saws that cost $350 or less are exempt from sales tax.

Also, certain dishwashers, clothes washers, air conditioners, ceiling fans and refrigerators that carry the Energy Star label and cost $2,500 or less, and WaterSense items, including some bathroom sink faucets, toilets and landscape irrigation controllers that cost $2,500 or less, are eligible for the exemption.

It a great value anytime we dont have to pay a tax on something, said Tom Gallagher, president and CEO of the Better Business Bureau serving central Virginia, which put out a list of tips for people who plan to take advantage of the sales tax holiday weekend.

In the case of back-to-school things, write a list and stick to that, so that you dont end up spending more than you intended, he said.

For big-ticket items, like appliances and generators, dont be reluctant to use a credit card, Gallagher said.

But what we need to do is monitor how much money we are spending and keep our cool, he said.

The states emergency preparedness tax-free shopping days were formerly held for seven days in May. The energy efficiency holiday was formerly held for four days in October.

The General Assembly in 2015 voted to combine the tax-free holidays into one, reducing the number of tax-free shopping days overall during a year and potentially saving the state $1 million per year in sales tax revenue, according to a Virginia Department of Taxation fiscal impact statement.

You can save quite a bit in sales tax if you want to upgrade appliances or get ready for storm season, said Kay Bell, a tax expert at consumer website Bankrate.com.

It does pay off in that regard. But as far as just the general items, the school supplies and clothing for kids heading back to classes, what you see across the country is that there is not necessarily more spending. ... You see people shifting their shopping to take advantage of the tax-free day.

Virginia is one of more than a dozen states with sales tax holidays for back-to-school shopping, according to Bankrate.com.

It is lost revenue for states, however, and some have eliminated them, Bell said.

Washington, D.C., used to have one and they havent had one for years, he said. Massachusetts this year is bailing out. They had one for several years. This is the second time Massachusetts had decided the financial costs are too much for the state.

Its a balancing act. The states lose money but shoppers love it, and shoppers are potential voters.

At the Kohls department store on Bell Creek Road in Hanover County, manager Tom Black said he expected pretty big crowds this weekend. But some customers were out earlier this week trying to beat those crowds and do a little scouting.

Stephanie Beasley and daughters Rylee and Skylar took their time looking through racks of backpacks. Beasley said they planned to get school supplies later that day, but she was also planning to shop this weekend.

I told them if they see anything, maybe we would come back later in the week because that starts on Friday, Beasley said of the sales tax holiday. It does help a little bit. The only thing they were worried about is that the school supplies would get picked over.

In the stores boyswear section, Amanda Daniel of New Kent, with sons Alex and Jace and mother-in-law Jean Daniel in tow, looked through a rack of shorts discounted 60 percent.

Im trying to get some back-to-school clothes for both my boys. One is going to preschool, and one is going to third grade, she said. Im getting stuff that is on sale, so right now thats shorts and stuff and maybe some of the pants.

Daniel said she wasnt necessarily coming back on the weekend, partly because it was family time.

And I know its going to be crowded, she said.
Hawk Claus spreads Christmas cheer in DC's Grifter Got Run Over By a Reindeer first look

Take a look at two stories from the DC holiday special including the titular chapter and a Hawkwoman and Hawkman tale
Weeping man: I never tried to kill she

I never tried to kill she. Because of my past, I am being judged, Vincent Cruickshank cried as he visited Newsdays South Bureau to give his version of events after Boodram earlier this week claimed that she was beaten by him on Monday when he tried to gouge out her eyes. She further alleged that police refused to act on her report after the beating. Every time I try to plant a seed and be progressive, they uproot it.. I did right and I did wrong...one or two things might not have been pleasing in the past, but I am determined to change my life. But I am not getting support from my children, my wife and other family members, Cruickshank said.

Boodram on Tuesday In an interview with Newsday on Tuesday, Boodram said that for many years, she has been a victim of domestic abuse and pleaded with police to save her from her abuser. The police officers have since intervened in the situation saying they are looking for the man whom Boodram made the allegations against. But as he sought to give his side of the story, Cruickshank who works at the San Fernando City Corporation, said that he too has been a victim of domestic abuse.

He claimed that a few weeks ago when he visited the Princes Town Police Station to make a report, he was mocked. They treated me as if I was the criminal. Like man cannot be abused too, Cruickshank said. My freedom is at stake. My future is at stake. I have no one to assist me. I dont want to get in trouble. I am working and being productive, he cried.

Cruickshank claimed he was beaten several times by a woman close to him. She has been on this journey with me all along, I stood up with her all these years whether or not I was in drugs, now I am trying to change. He claimed that five years ago, he began working permanently but due to a Restraining Order, had to leave his mothers property. He has since returned but alleges that he is being prevented from building a home for his family.

I need help, I not doing anything for police to lock me. Nothing she told you all is true. All she want to do is put me away and it is all because of the past. I used to sell doubles, burgers everything to make an honest living. I work real hard. I dont deserve this treatment, Cruickshank said, wiping away tears.
Mayor: PoS facing street dwellers crisis

He was responding to a video shared on social media where a security guard was assaulted by a street dweller on the compound of the John Donaldson campus on Wrightson Road, Port-of-Spain.

The video shows what appears to be a street dweller fighting with one of the guards outside the building. The street dweller was later seen following the guard inside the lobby area where he overturned a desk, and hit the guard to his head knocking him to the floor.

Valentine said the incident was highly unacceptable. I have watched that video approximately ten times and it is very disturbing and totally outrageous. I dont know exactly when the incident took place, but it is highly unacceptable.

I am totally fed up with the system, Valentine said. He noted that it was not the first time an incident involving street dwellers attacking citizens took place, and was very concerned if it had happened to a student.

It could have been anyone son or daughter going to school. What would have happened if the street dweller had an object in his hand? I am again calling on the Ministry of Family Services and Social Development to get their act together before this situation get worse, he said. Valentine emphasised that there are too many of homeless people and street dwellers on the streets throughout the capital.
Elderly woman perishes in house fire

Also destroyed were compressors and other tools stored in a painting/ straightening garage at the front of the house. Two cars which were under repair in the garage were also destroyed. Hector McLeod suffered serious burns to his head, ears and back and remains warded in satisfactory condition at the San Fernando General Hospital.

His son Alfred Mcleod told Newsday, He told us that he tried his best to save our mother but she still died. All that burnt is material, but we have lost our mother. Alfred said it was the neighbors who had to pull him out the house through a window as he struggled to get her to safety. Nursing burns he said his father was able to drive a van out of the yard to avoid it being burnt.s He had to leave her right in front there, he told Newsday while pointing to an area among the ruins. He said his parents had been married for the past 50 years and has eight sons and several grandchildren.

Among the items destroyed were pieces of industrial equipment they acquired a few days ago to start a business called the Barbie Boys. A total of $60, 000 hidden under a mattress to purchase more equipment also went up in flames.

The cause of the fire is yet to be determined - however investigators have not ruled out that it might be due to an electrical fault as smoke was earlier seen coming from the meter box and neighbors had formed a bucket brigade and tried to extinguish it. Investigations are continuing.
Alexandrov resumes autopsies

Alexandrov on Tuesday refused to conduct post mortems over an acute staff shortage and being the lone pathologist at the Centre being forced to perform over 200 autopsies per month.

Pathologist Dr Eastlyn Mc- Donald Burris is on vacation while another pathologist Dr Hughvon des Vignes is no longer contracted by government.

Yesterday, Minister of National Security Edmund Dillon told Newsday his Ministry is liaising with the Ministry of Health to access workers for the Centre and he expects this process to be completed shortly so that relief can come to Dr Alexandrov.

The pathologist says he needs more mortuary attendants, a secretary for the mortuary room, as well as additional staff to carry out secondary yet critical duties. Dr des Vignes is said to be in negotiations with government on his contract while Dr McDonald Burris is expected to resume duties in the middle of this month.

Dr Alexandrov said the body of a man who was electrocuted at home was one of those sent to the General Hospitals mortuary for autopsy. Government, Newsday was told, will offer scholarships for persons in the field of forensic pathology and other jobs aligned with those at the mortuary room at the FSC.

The Director of the FSC has already presented an initial report to the Ministry of National Security on the shortcomings of the Centre and Newsday understands that those concerns are to be addressed urgently.

Minister Dillon assured members of the public that autopsies resumed yesterday and he does not expect any problem with persons securing autopsy reports in the next few days.

He said that every effort is being made to set things right at the FSC but pointed out that jobs at the FSC are not the type of jobs that people rush towards.

He however pointed out that even with this setback it is hoped that the vacancies which exist will be filled in a short space of time.
Health worker awarded $.3M

Mohammed, in the public service since 1972, was elevated to the position of administrative assistant in 1998. He was then promoted in the Ministry of Health to Industrial Relations Officer. In 2000, he applied to the SWRHA for the position of Human Resources Officer.

He got the job on contract, as the ministry granted him secondment through the Public Service Commission (PSC). In 2001, the SWRHA offered Mohammed further employment for two years.

In November 2004, the SWRHA took issue with Mohammeds record of attendance in the workplace.

A month later, the PSC wrote to the SWRHA and Mohammed, requesting that they put in writing the acceptance of permanent transfer to the authority. Mohammed wrote to the PSC, requesting that his service in the ministry which he had accrued in the public service, be transferred to the SWRHA.

However, in 2005, the SWRHA informed Mohamed that his permanent transfer to the authority would no longer be accepted. In fact, he was advised by the authority to resume duties at the ministry.

Before the IC, the Public Services Association (PSA) argued that based on all correspondence between the ministry, the PSC and the SWRHA, Mohammed had a legitimate contract with the authority for transfer on a permanent basis. Judges Lawrence Achong, Dinesh Rambally and Judy Rajkumar- Gualbance, adjudicated on the matter which the SWRHA defended.

In a written ruling delivered by Judge Rambally, the court ruled that the SWRHAs actions in refusing to appoint Mohammed on transfer, were not effected in accordance with good industrial relations.

Rambally stated that the court was of the view that considering the effect the SWRHAs action had on Mohammed and his possible loss of earnings, the sum of $265,000, with interest at a rate of three percent per annum, for the period November 1, 2005, to December 2008, be paid.

And thereafter, at the rate of six percent per annum from January 1,2009 to December 11, 2014, on that sum, be paid. Together with the interest, the SWRHA will have to pay approximately $368,350.

Rambally ordered that the total sum, inclusive of interest, is to be paid in two equal instalments.
Young: TT talking to Turkey

He added, We do have confirmation that some of our citizens or persons who appear to be our citizens were detained. Asked to clarify, Young replied these were eight or nine persons. On Monday, Attorney General Faris Al-Rawi said Government is in active communication with its international partners, regarding this matter. A report in the Daily Sabah last Sunday said, police detained nine TT citizens in southern Turkey on July 27 while they were trying to travel to Syria to join Daesh, which is another term used to describe ISIS. Daesh is an ancronym for the Arabic phrase, al-Dawla al-Islamiya al-Iraq al-Sham.

Commenting on the issue on Tuesday, National Security Minister Edmund Dillon said, In terms of confirming the nationalities of the nine persons held, we have begun investigations into the matter and have already sent requests to our international partners for information on those held. I have also asked the Minister of Foreign Affairs to use his contacts in Turkey, to verify additional information. Dillon commended Al-Rawi, for his continued efforts in seeking to institute the necessary legislative mechanics to monitor nationals, who have fought for ISIS, on their return to Trinidad.
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(Newser)  Justifying concerned mothers everywhere, a group of researchers believes Neanderthals could have survived the Ice Age if they'd just worn a dang jacket. According to a study published Wednesday in the Journal of Anthropological Archaeology, dozens of ancient campsitesboth human and Neanderthalcontain little evidence that Neanderthals ever figured out how to make cold-weather clothing. Humans on the other handwell, we're still here. Remains of rabbits, foxes, minks, and wolverines were found at human campsites, Phys.org reports. Of those, wolverine is the most important. It's still used to make warm clothing by people living in the Arctic. However, no wolverine remains were found in Neanderthal camps, notes the Telegraph.

Other evidence for humans unlocking the power of prehistoric North Face includes bone needles and ancient figurines that appear to be wearing furs. Meanwhile, researchers conclude Neanderthals never made it further than wearing capes, whether because they weren't smart enough or their culture stopped them from doing so. Without good cold-weather clothing, Neanderthals couldn't hunt further north, lie in wait for their prey, or spend long amounts of time away from shelter. A professor at the Natural History Museum in London calls the study "a really interesting bit of work." (Those jacket-wearing humans may have also given Neanderthals herpes.)
(Newser)  When Quebec resident Simon-Pierre Canuel went to dinner at Le Tapageur restaurant with his partner in late May, he ordered beef tartare and says he repeatedly told their server that he is allergic to seafood. But when he began to eat he quickly realized he'd gotten the salmon tartare instead. "With the dim lighting, it's not easy to tell the difference between two dishes, especially if they use mayonnaise. It can be confusing," Canuel explains. Just after the waiter apologized and said he'd bring beef, Canuelwhose EpiPen was in his carwent into anaphylactic shock and was rushed to the hospital. Not only did he go into cardiac arrest the next day, but he was in a coma for a couple days after that. "I almost died," he tells the CBC.

Canuel alleges that the waiter didn't take notes or tell the cooks about his allergy; was talking, laughing, and drinking with other customers; and that the restaurant made no attempt to contact him after the event. In July he filed a formal complaint with police, who interviewed witnesses and arrested the 22-year-old server after searching his home, reports the Montreal Gazette. It is now up to Quebec's director of criminal and penal prosecutions to determine whether charges such as criminal negligence will be brought. One crime attorney tells the CBC that this could be the first such charge made against a server in Canadasomething so "excessively rare" that it is "practically unheard of," adds a police spokesperson. (This family endured applause after their son's allergic reaction on a plane forced them to disembark.)
(Newser)  A California mayor has been charged with secretly recording a strip poker game featuring at least one 16-year-old, Reuters reports. The incident allegedly took place last August in Stockton mayor Anthony Silva's bedroom at the summer camp he runs for inner-city kids in need. According to the Los Angeles Times, Silva was arrested at the camp on Thursday. Prosecutors say Silva started recording the strip poker game with his cellphone then immediately set the phone down, leaving only a dark screen with audio. But they say the audio makes it clear the participants, one of whom was a 16-year-old boy, were naked and did not want to be recorded.

Silva was charged with felony eavesdropping, as well as giving alcohol to a minor, child endangerment, and contributing to the delinquency of a minor. Witnesses say Silva provided alcohol for the strip poker game. None of the participants, all camp counselors, were of legal drinking age. The recording was found after the FBI seized Silva's phone last September, KCRA reports. It's unclear what prompted the FBI to do that. Silva, the former CEO of the Boys and Girls Club of Stockton, has been touched by a number of controversies since 2012. "He will clear his name," his lawyer tells KCRA following Thursday's charges. Silva was released on $20,000 bail after his arrest. (Read more eavesdropping stories.)
(Newser)  Grim news from Carrollton, Ga.: Police say twin 15-month-old girls died after being left in the back of an SUV Thursday evening, USA Today reports. Police say that when they responded to a 911 call, they found neighbors holding the little girls in a baby pool, trying to cool them down with ice packs. The girls were rushed to a local hospital, where they were pronounced dead. Police Capt. Chris Dobbs says the girl's father, 24-year-old Asa North, has been charged with two counts each of involuntary manslaughter and reckless conduct, CNN reports.

Police say the girls' mother was 50 miles away in Atlanta when they died, having gone to a hospital to be checked out after a car accident, WXIA reports. "It's sad," a neighbor tells the station. "Because I have grandchildren and I can't even imagine my grandkids leaving meand especially under those conditions ... it was so hot today." CNN notes that according to safety group KidsandCars.org, at least 24 children have died in hot cars in the US so far this year, almost double the number of hot-car deaths at this time last year. (Read more Georgia stories.)
(Newser)  The UN refugee agency says it has received reports that the Islamic State may have captured up to 3,000 Iraqis who were fleeing violence and that 12 of them may have been killed, reports AP. In a report published Thursday, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees said the internally displaced people from villages in Hawiga district had been trying to flee to the northern Iraqi city of Kirkuk when they were captured by ISIS. The report has not been confirmed.

ISIS fighters have repeatedly prevented civilians from fleeing territory that the militant group holds, using them as human shields against airstrikes. Iraqi government ground forces still rely heavily on US-led coalition airstrikes in the fight against the group. When ISIS first overran much of north and western Iraq in 2014, the extremists took thousands of women and children hostage for use as slaves or child soldiers. (Read more Islamic State stories.)
(Newser)  A former Portsmouth, Va., police officer was found guilty of manslaughter Thursday after shooting an unarmed black teen last yearthe second fatal shooting of his career. Though Stephen Rankin was charged with first-degree murder, a jury convicted him of the lesser charge and recommended he spend two and a half years in prison, reports the Guardian. He faced up to 10. Prosecutors said Rankin, 36, intentionally killed 18-year-old shoplifting suspect William Chapman in a Walmart parking lot on April 22, 2015, after Chapman resisted arrest. However, Rankina US Navy veteran with training in mixed martial artssaid he shot Chapman twice in self-defense as Chapman "came towards me aggressively" after a Taser was knocked from Rankin's hand as the two scuffled.

"I felt I needed to save my life," he said, adding he immediately gave Chapman CPR. The Guardian reports Rankin also shot and killed an unarmed man from Kazakhstan in 2011, though Judge Johnny Morrison ruled jurors couldn't hear about that since a grand jury declined to indict Rankin. In that case, Rankin said 26-year-old Kirill Denyakin, shot 11 times, reached into his waistband and charged at him. Prosecutors also couldn't share with the jury text messages Rankin sent before Chapman's death; one read "people are just bad," another referenced Sodom and Gomorrah. It's not clear whether Chapman actually stole something from Walmart. Rankin is due to be sentenced Oct. 12, though his lawyers plan to appeal. The Virginian-Pilot reports he's the 13th US officer to have a jury convict him of murder or manslaughter since 2005. (Read more police shooting stories.)
(Newser)  Those looking for insight into the fierce rivalry between al-Qaeda and the Islamic State will want to read a Washington Post interview with a 35-year-old named Mohammed al-Masri. He happens to be the son of Abu Khabab al-Masri, a chemist known as Osama bin Laden's bombmaker who was killed by a US drone strike in 2008. His father's old group, al-Qaeda, is now in a pitched battle with ISIS to become the world's dominant jihadi group, and "perhaps more than any other militant in Syria, Masri personifies this generational conflict," write Souad Mekhennet and Greg Miller. That's because Masri actually joined ISIS in 2013, only to become disillusioned.

"It was not that they beheaded someone who committed a crimethat was not my issue with them," he says. "It was the way they governed." When he refused to make propaganda videos denouncing al-Qaeda or take part in attacks against the group, Masri ended up under house arrest before allies helped him escape. The interview includes childhood recollections of meeting bin Laden himself ("He was very relaxed, very polite and down-to-earth. He didn't like to talk badly about people"); a defense of his father ("He used his knowledge to defend the oppressed"); and a condemnation of US policies in the Mideast ("As much as I despise ISIS for the way they treat people, one of the reasons they became so powerful was because of the West"). Click for the full story. (Read more Osama bin Laden stories.)
(Newser)  A great flood at the dawn of Chinese civilization was said to have swept away settlements, the water rising so high that it overran heaven itself. It was the sage King Yu who tamed the waters by building ditches, the legend went, thus earning a mandate to rule and laying the foundation for China's first dynasty, the Xia. But until now, scientists could not pin down evidence that the flood, or Yu, or even the Xia dynasty ever existed. Now a team of researchers led by Wu Qianlong, a former Peking University seismologist, says it has indeed found evidence that a flood submerged a vast swath of the country almost 4,000 years ago, possibly lending weight to a long-standingthough controversialtheory that the Xia dynasty did exist as China's first unified state, reports the AP.

Using radiocarbon dating of bones and soil along the Yellow River, Wu's team established that an earthquake triggered a huge landslide, damming the waterway in 1920BC. The researchers deduced that for six to nine months, about 4 trillion gallons of water (about half the size of Lake Mead) built up behind a wall of rock and dirt near Jishi Gorge in today's Qinghai province. When the dam broke, it tore through the gorge and submerged the North China Plain, which is considered the cradle of Chinese civilization. The flood would have predated the first written records; historical texts from about 1000BC first mentioned a legendary Xia ruler, Yusaid to have been based around Jishi Gorgewho had devised a system of dredges to control a great flood that spanned generations. (Read more China stories.)
(Newser)  The 30-year-old jogger murdered in Queens "put up a ferocious fight right to the end," NYPD Chief of Detectives Robert Boyce said Thursday. Karina Vetrano's strangled body was found just before 9pm Tuesday about 15 feet from a jogging path she often frequented with her father, who had skipped the 5pm run due to an injury. Philip Vetrano and a group of police officers found Vetrano "face down in the ground" about 50 to 60 feet away from her phone, which she'd been using to text a friend during the run, Boyce said, per CBS News and WWAY. In one hand, she held a clump of grass, suggesting she was dragged. Her teeth were broken, she had cuts on her legs, and her clothing was partially removed. Boyce said Vetrano was also sexually assaulted, per AM New York.

Police have little to go onthey've received only three "generic" tips to a tip linebut believe the killer acted at random and didn't know Vetrano. They've swabbed her cell phone for DNA and are studying video footage from the area. A camera shows Vetrano jogging past a house at 5:46pm, per the New York Times, but there was no sign of "anybody lingering," said Boyce. "We plan to chop down just about every weed in that location till we're satisfied that we've got all the evidence," he continued. "Stranger rapes are down in this city" making the daylight crime against "a jogger in a park ... an extraordinary case of murder." A $10,000 reward is offered for leads in the case. Read more on the case here. (Read more murder stories.)
(Newser)  Whale watchers off the coast of Washington saw a welcome sight last weeka killer whale nicknamed "Granny" who is believed to be an astonishing 105 years old, reports the San Francisco Chronicle. Granny's more formal name among scientists who have studied her for decades is J2, and a post at the Orca Network uses both names in the original post about her sighting: "J2 Granny (oldest southern resident orca) looking gorgeous. She and J27 spent more time out of the water than in it!" The link includes multiple photos of her leaping from the water. Female orcas typically live about 50 years, notes a post at the NOAA, but a rare few have been been known to reach 100.

Granny appears to be in this category, or at least close to it. As the Chronicle explains, researchers who first spotted her in 1971 pegged her age at 60. The Orca Network tells KIRO-TV that the margin of error is 12 years, meaning she could be a youthful 90. Given the playful new images, she's doing pretty well for a creature who, if the older figure is correct, entered the ocean around the same time as the Titanic and made it through two world wars, notes the Charlotte Observer. Why, she's even the honorary mayor of Eastsound, Washington, and you can read her June "mayoral address" here. (Researchers have found humpback whales deliberately save other creatures from killer whales.)
(Newser)  The "Barefoot Bandit" will be released to a halfway house and a work release program soon, possibly as early as this week; his formal release date from prison is Jan. 17. And Colton Harris-Moore, 25, already has a job lined up. His lawyer, John Henry Browne, says Harris-Moore will "be looking for full-time work and will eventually be going to school," but in the meantime, he'll have a part-time job doing clerical work and answering phones at Browne's Seattle office, the Seattle Times reports. Browne says Harris-Moore would ultimately like to be an aeronautical engineer and is being mentored by a Boeing engineer. "He's matured a lot," Browne, who says he had "mixed emotions" upon first offering Harris-Moore a job, tells KOMO. Harris-Moore also has a place to live, and is more "ahead of the game than most released," Browne adds.

Browne took on Harris-Moore's defense for just $1, and has said Harris-Moore's drive to improve himself is impressive: "Indeed, Colton, one of my favorite clients today, truly is a triumph," Browne wrote in his recently published autobiography. Harris-Moore became "something of a folk hero," the Times notes; he was a hungry and neglected child when he first turned to a life of crime and was first sent to jail for burglary at age 17. He escaped from a halfway house in 2008 and eluded authorities while committing break-ins and thefts for two years, even stealing boats, cars, and planes. His nickname comes from the sketch of bare footprints he'd leave behind as a signature (and the fact that he was often barefoot while committing his crimes, CNN notes). He was caught in the Bahamas after he flew a stolen plane there. A movie deal will help Harris-Moore repay his victims. (Click for more of the Barefoot Bandit's fascinating story.)
(Newser)  The search for a 16-year-old Ohio girl has entered a second day in Grand Teton National Park, the AP reports. Fauna Jackson is part of a youth conservation group called Groundwork USA. She's been missing since she took a break from working on a trail in the Wyoming park Thursday morning. Searchers are using dogs and helicopters to look for her in the area of the Triangle X Ranch in Jackson Hole.

Robin Corathers with Groundwork Cincinnati said Friday the group is very concerned about Jackson. The teen took part in an eight-week youth employment program with the organization this summer. She was one of three Cincinnati youths chosen to participate in a nine-day program in Grand Teton involving other youth from around the country. Additional searchers were set to arrive Friday. (Read more missing person stories.)
New Delhi:

About 60,000 revenue officials of central and state governments to be trained on GST laws and IT infrastructure framework to prepare them for rollout of the new indirect tax regime by April 2017.

As per the detailed Goods and Services Tax (GST) rollout road map prepared by Revenue Secretary Hasmukh Adhia, the IT infrastructure framework will be ready by March 2017 and a massive outreach and industry sensitisation programme will also be carried out.

After the training on GST laws gets complete by December 2016, GSTN will train them on the related IT infrastructure by March 2017. Goods and Services Tax Network (GSTN) is a non-government company set up by the Centre and states to provide shared IT framework and services to central and state governments, tax payers and other stakeholders.

The revenue department has already started stakeholder consultation with the industry in Hyderabad and Jaipur.The IT network of the Central Board of Excise and Customs (CBEC), banks, RBI, state accounting authorities and states will be ready by December-end 2016, according to the road map and the testing and integration of the IT backbone of all stakeholders is slated for January March 2017.

To make life easier in the new regime, the Revenue Department has said no fresh registration will be needed for the existing dealers. Existing VAT/service tax/central excise dealer data are to migrate to the GST architecture.

As for new dealers, a single application will be filed online and registration will be granted within three days. On GST returns, only one filing will be required for both the Centre and state governments.

Average tax payers will be using only four forms for filing returnssupplies, return for purchases, monthly and annual returns.While supplies return will be filed on the 10th of every month incorporating the list of suppliers, the same data will be incorporated in the purchase return which will have to be filed on 15th of every month.

These data will be then get populated in the monthly and annual returns and the assessee will just have to sign and send it to the tax department, Adhia said. Small taxpayers who have opted for a composition scheme will have to file return on a quarterly basis.

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Ahmedabad:

The name of the next Chief Minister of Gujarat to succeed Anandiben Patel would be announced on Friday even as BJP president Amit Shah on Thursday held intensive deliberations with party leaders to finalise the candidate. BJPs parliamentary board accepted Anandiben Patels offer to resign on Wednesday at its meeting in Delhi, paving the way for appointment of a new Chief Minister to lead the party in 2017 Assembly polls.



A meeting of party MLAs and office-bearers will be held Friday evening at the BJP headquarters in Gandhinagar where the next CM would be announced, said state BJP president Vijay Rupani, who is also the state transport minister.



Apart from Amit Shah, all the party MLAs, office bearers and our observers Nitin Gadkari and Saroj Pandey will remain present at the meeting, said Rupani, after holding a long discussion with Shah at latters residence. Shah, who arrived in the morning, has been busy holding meetings with state BJP leaders and ministers at his house.



Among others, he met state BJP in-charge Dinesh Sharma, national joint general secretary (organisation) V Satish, party treasurer Surendra Patel, education minister Bhupendrasinh Chudasama and former state BJP chief R C Faldu.



Health Minister Nitin Patel, considered to be the front-runner for the job, was also present during Shahs meeting with Rupani. When asked by reporters whether he would accept the post of CM, Patel evaded a direct answer but said, Whoever is chosen by the party, we all will work together.



Dinesh Sharma, who arrived Wednesday, engaged in hectic parleys with BJP leaders and ministers. It is believed that he apprised Shah of his observations on Thursday.



The names that are doing the rounds for the post are number two in the cabinet Nitin Patel, Union Minister Purshottam Rupala and Assembly Speaker Ganpat Vasava, a tribal leader.



Rupanis name also came up early on, but he indicated on Wednesday that he was not in the race as he was happy with his current job. After this, Nitin Patel has emerged as a strong contender.

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Islamabad:

In a blunt message to Pakistan on Thursday India asked it to stop encouraging terror groups and glorification of terrorists and also called for strongest action against nations supporting terrorism and their isolation.

Without mincing any words amid the strain in Indo-Pak relations, Home Minister Rajnath Singh said mere condemnation of terrorism and terrorists is not enough and that there are no good terrorists or bad terrorists.

Singh in his address to the 7th SAARC Interiors Ministers Conference said terrorism continued to remain the biggest challenge and threat to the region.

The current strain in Indo-Pak relations was apparently evident when Singh came face-to-face with his Pakistani counterpart Chaudhary Nisar Ali Khan for the first time today and the two leaders barely shook hands.

The two leaders barely touched their hands, not even a formal handshake, before Singh moved ahead to enter the meeting hall. Members of the Indian media, which came from New Delhi to report the conference, were not allowed to capture the moment or the conference and was kept at a distance by Pakistani officials, leading to a verbal duel between a senior Indian official and a Pakistani official.

The Home Minister also skipped the lunch being hosted by Khan after the meeting as the host had left the venue. Speaking in Hindi at the conference, Singh said there should be strongest action not only against terrorists or organisations but also against those individuals, organisations and nations who support terrorism.

It also needs to be ensured that terrorism is not glorified and is not patronized by any state, Singh said in a veiled dig at Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif.

Singhs comments came against the backdrop of Sharifs praise of Burhan Wani who was killed in an encounter in Jammu and Kashmir on July 8 and his description of Hizbul Mujahideen commander as a martyr, much to Indias ire.

One countrys terrorist cannot be a martyr or freedom fighter for anyone. I also speak for the entire humanity- not just for India or other SAARC members in urging that in no circumstances should terrorists be eulogised as martyrs.

Calling for isolation of countries or individuals who provide any kind of support, encouragement, sanctuary, safe haven or any assistance to terrorists, he said strongest possible steps need to be taken not only against terrorists and terrorist organisations but also those individuals, institutions, organisations or nations that support them.

Only this will ensure that the forces engaged in promoting the heinous crime of terrorism against humanity are effectively countered. There should be no glorification or eulogising of terrorists as martyrs: Rajnath.

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New Delhi :

Controversial Punjab Police officer Salwinder Singh was on Thursday booked for sexual harassment charges for allegedly harassing five women personnel of the force. Singh is one the run and Police teams have been dispatched to various places to nab him.

The sexual harassment committee of Punjab Police had summoned him to respond to the allegations levelled against him by five policewomen.

Singh, a Superintendent of Police rank officer, has been asked to appear on Friday before Inspector General Gurpreet Deo, who heads the committee.

Singh was summoned after the alleged victims, who deposed before the committee last month and submitted a signed statement listing their allegations, stood by their complaint. The policewomen posted at Gurdaspur police headquarters had accused Singh of harassing them, a charge rejected by him.

Earlier Singh mired in a controversy over the terrorist attack at Pathankot air base. He and two others were claimed to have been abducted by the Pakistani terrorists, who used their mobile phones to contact their families and handlers in that country. They had also snatched the vehicle Singh was travelling in.

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New Delhi:

Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh, who returned from Islamabad on Thursday evening after attending the seventh SAARC Home Ministers conference, on Friday briefed the Parliament on his visit.

Highlights of Rajnath Singh's speech in Rajya Sabha:

#I urged all SAARC nations to neither glorify terror nor patronise terrorists

#Ye padosi (Pakistan) hai ki maanta hi nhi: HM Rajnath Singh in Rajya Sabha



All our PMs have done their best to improve relations with our neighbours bt the problem is "yeh padosi hai ki maanta hi nahi hai"



#I did not register any protest there. About the 'blackout' I will need to ask MEA about protocol of past occasions

#Pak Interior Min invited everyone for lunch,but then left in his car.I also left then.I have no grudges as I wasn't there to have lunch



#I will not comment whether Pakistan was right or wrong in not allowing coverage ( of his speech at SAARC summit)



#It is true that Doordarshan, ANI & PTI reporters who had come from India were not allowed to enter. Rajya Sabha says 'Shame'

#I have no hesitation in saying every Indian PM regardless of whichever party has shown determination in fight against terror



#I appreciate how all members have spoken in one voice on the issue of terrorism

#I appreciate the unity of the House against terrorism, it reflects the country's determination to fight terrorism



#Terrorism should not be encouraged. Terrorists of a country should not be seen as a 'martyr' by other countries



#Gave suggestions during SAARC meet that ban on terror outfits by UN must be respected,there is no good or bad terrorism



#During SAARC interior HMs meet, I urged all members that terrorists should not be glorified nor should be patronised

#I said that there is a need to strongest action not just against the terrorists but also those who support terrorism

#Terror, trafficking, cybercrime were discussed at SAARC summit

#India took strong stand against terror at the SAARC summit

#All countries must help to eradicate terrorists

#Pakistan is biggest violator of human rights

Reactions to Rajnath's speech in Rajya Sabha:

#I have no knowledge of the protocal of the past occasions, will have to ask MEA on that



#I join other members in condemning manner in which protocol norms were not observed & support strong statement made by HM: Anand Sharma, Congress



#My question is how India is going to engage with Pakistan in coming days: D Raja, CPI



#We condemn the protests held all across Pakistan against our HM's visit: Majeed, NCP



#In wake of recent media reports on behaviour of Pak,would urge HM to speak to PM to reconsider strategy on Indo-Pak relations: Mayawati



#But there seems to be some discrepancy in what foreign ministry is saying about protocol issues regarding vist: Sharad Yadav



#I strongly condemn how Pak didn't maintain protocol and treated our HM, the entire nation stand united: Sharad Yadav



#We all saw the way Pakistan did not maintain protocol in the way they treated Home Minister, we are one in condemning it: Sharad Yadav



#Want to ask HM whether he spoke to Pak PM & told him his own backyard falling apart, Baloch going in one direction, Sindh in another: S Swamy



#If home minister did not receive respect & honour due to him in Pakistan during his visit as per protocol, we condemn it: Ghulam Nabi Azad



#They (Pak) are now even at official level as high as PM, daily talking about disintegration of India, Kashmir: Subramanian Swamy

Earlier on Thursday, Rajnath briefed Prime Minister Narendra Modi on his visit to Pakistan. Official sources said Singh rushed to meet Modi straight from the airport to debrief him about the events during his visit to Pakistan.



They said Singh informed PM about the speech he made at the conference, his interactions on the sidelines with the leaders, and deliberations during the official sessions.



In Islamabad, Singh had delivered a stern speech asking Pakistan to stop encouraging terror groups and glorification of terrorists and also called for strongest action against nations supporting terrorism and their isolation.



Without mincing any words amid the strain in Indo-Pak relations, Singh said mere condemnation of terrorism and terrorists is not enough and that there are no good terrorists or bad terrorists.



Singhs comments came against the backdrop of Sharifs praise of Burhan Wani who was killed in an encounter in Jammu and Kashmir on July 8 and his description of Hizbul Mujahideen commander as a martyr, much to Indias ire.

(With inputs from Agencies)

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Wshington:

US President Barack Obama has expressed doubts whether to trust Russia to cooperate militarily with America in putting an end to the Syrian crisis, saying the proposition needs to be tested first.

"I'm not confident that we can trust the Russians or Vladimir Putin, which is why we have to test whether or not wecan get an actual cessation of hostilities. That includes an end to the kinds of aerial bombing and civilian death and destruction that we've seen carried out by the Assad regime,"Obama told reporters at news conference yesterday.

He said Russia may not be able to get there, either because they don't want to, or because they don't have sufficient influence over Assad and that will be tested by the US. "We go into this without any blinders on. We're very clear that Russia has been willing to support a murderous regimethat has an individual, Assad, who has destroyed his country just to cling on to power. What started with peaceful protests has led to a shattering of an entire pretty advanced society,"Obama said.

"Whenever you are trying to broker any kind of deal with an individual or a country like that, you have got to go in there with some scepticism," he said while replying to aquestion. Talking about the Syrian crisis Obama said defeating the ISIS and Al-Qaeda requires and end to the civil war and the Assad regime's brutality against the Syrian people that has pushed people into the arms of extremists.

"The regime and its allies continue to violate the cessation of hostilities, including with vicious attacks on defenceless civilians, medieval sieges against cities like Aleppo, and blocking food from reaching families that are starving." "It is deplorable and the depravity of the Syrian regime has rightly earned the condemnation of the world," he said. In a strong message to Russia, Obama said the country's direct involvement in these actions over the last several weeks raises very serious questions about their commitment to pulling the situation back from the brink.

"The US remains prepared to work with Russia to try toreduce the violence and strengthen our efforts against ISIL and Al-Qaeda in Syria, but so far Russia has failed to take the necessary steps." Given the deteriorating situation, it is time for Russia to show that it is serious about pursuing these objectives,"he said.

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Istanbul:

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that US State Secretary John Kerry intends to visit this month, in what would be the first trip by a top Western dignitary since a failed putsch.

Kerry's visit, if confirmed, comes at a time of heightened tensions between Washington and Ankara in the wake of the attempted military takeover on July 15.

Turkey has been furiously demanding the extradition of Pennsylvania-based Islamic preacher Fethullah Gulen, whom it accuses of masterminding the coup.

The government has launched a crackdown in its wake that has seen over 60,000 people within the military, judiciary, civil service and education sector dismissed, detained or put under investigation.

"I think their secretary of state is coming on the 21th (August)," Erdogan said yesterday in a live interview with state-run TRT television.Within the next two weeks, a delegation led by Turkey's foreign and justice ministers would also travel to the US to explain Gulen's alleged involvement in the coup bid, he added.

US State Department spokesman Mark Toner declined to comment. An Istanbul court yesterday issued an arrest warrant for Gulen, accusing him of ordering the coup aimed at ousting Erdogan. Ankara has frequently called on the United States to extradite the Muslim cleric, sending two sets of documents to Washington as evidence of his involvement in the putsch attempt.

Gulen strongly denies masterminding the coup and the movement he leads insists it is a charitable network promoting tolerant Islam. Kerry said on July 18 that Turkey must present "genuine evidence" and "not allegations" against Erdogan's former ally for his extradition.

The crisis in Turkey has erupted at a time when the Ankara-Washington relationship is as important as ever, with the United States needing Turkish help in the battle against Islamic State militants in Syria.

US fighter jets have been using Turkey's southern base of Incirlik as a crucial launch point for lethal raids against IS targets in neighbouring Syria.

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New Delhi :

The 7th Pay Commission recommendations would be implemented in Goa from November 1 said Chief Minister Laxmikant Parsekar.

We have decided to implement the recommendations of Seventh Pay Commission from November 1 onwards. The pending arrears from January to October 2016 would be deposited in the employee provident fund (PF) and National Pension System (NPS), Parsekar told the state Assembly on Thursday while talking on the demand for grants.

The order on implementation of the seventh pay commission would be issued around Ganesh Chaturthi is scheduled on September 5, he added.

The Ganesh Chaturthi will come with good news to the government employees. We will issue the order during that time. The implementation would be from November 1, he said.

Parsekar also said that the overnment will have to spend an additional Rs 72 crore monthly towards salaries and pensions of government employees for implementation of recommendations of the new commission.

A provision of Rs 2,553 crore has already been made towards seventh pay commission implementation in the state budget.

During 2015-16, Rs 1,946 crore were earmarked for the salaries and pensions, which has now been hiked to Rs 2,553 crore to make up for the liability created by seventh pay.

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New Delhi:

The Gujarat BJP is searching for the replacement of Anandiben Patel, who resigned as the Chief Minister of the state recently. As per latest sources, Nitin Patel, who has been considered to be the front-runner for the job, is all set to become the next Gujarat Chief Minister. However, the official announcement will be made after the BJP legislative party meeting on Friday.

Why Nitin Patel? There are many factors. One, he is a Patel belonging to North Gujarat where the Patel agitation is prominent. Two, he is acceptable to most Patel lobbies. Three, he has a good experience of handling many ministries.

Patels, who have been backing the BJP for the last 25 years, are a strong community in Gujarat. They have been demanding reservation in government jobs and education under OBC quota. Patel leaders have also claimed that they can make or break any government.

The OBC community last year held a rally to counter the Patel communitys agitation. They also threatened to uproot the Gujarat government if it bows to Patels demand. The OBC community says that Patels are just 12 per cent while OBCs, SCs and STs are 78 per cent of the total population of the state.



In view of the current situation in Gujarat, BJP cannot do away with Patels, so it is most likely that Nitin Patel will be named as the next Gujarat CM. BJPs core constituency is Patels and hence it would not go for a new face. The Hardik Patel-led agitation apparently narrowed down the choice for BJP.

Well, Mr Shah cannot ignore Patels as 34 out of 120 BJP MLAs are Patels. In the Assembly of 182, 44 MLAs are Patel. The Patel lobby too has been pushing hard for a Patel CM. It claims that if a Patel CM is not selected restless Patels would desert the BJP.

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New Delhi :

The Supreme Court will now hear together the Delhi Governments civil suit seeking a declaration that the national capital is a state and its petition against the order of the High Court which held that the city is a Union Territory with Lt Governor as its administrative head.

This was stated by a bench of Justices A K Sikri and N V Ramana today after the Arvind Kejriwal government informed the apex court that it will file an appeal shortly against yesterdays High Court verdict.

As AAP governments earlier suit came up for hearing, the court said that instead of pursuing its earlier civil suit, the city government should file an appeal challenging the Delhi High Courts decision.

You have to challenge the order of the Delhi High Court. Whether the HC has decided the issue rightly or wrongly would be decided by the Supreme Court in a Special Leave Petition (SLP). What is the use of this suit now. What is the point in duplicating the proceedings, a bench of Justices A K Sikri and N V Ramana said.

The observation came when senior advocate Indira Jaising, appearing for the Arvind Kejriwal government, informed the bench that a fresh appeal would be filed shortly in the apex court against the decision of the High Court.

She sought adjournment of the proceedings on the original civil suit earlier filed by Delhi government seeking various reliefs including a declaration that the national capital is a state and not a Union Territory(UT). She said that the law suit and the SLP, which will be filed shortly, be heard together.

Attorney General Mukul Rohatgi and Solicitor General Ranjit Kumar, both representing the Centre, vehemently opposed the plea of Delhi government saying that they cannot pursue parallel recourse for the same relief.

The bench termed one of the applications of the Delhi government as infructuous in which it had sought directions restraining the HC from pronouncing verdict on its petition on the conflict of power with the LG.

During the brief hearing, the bench asked the Delhi government to apprise it about the issues already addressed by the High Court in its verdict yesterday. The bench considered the submissions of Delhi government and adjourned the hearing on the lawsuit to August 29.

It, however, clarified that the lawsuit and the SLP will be heard together. The Chief Justice of India will decide which bench will hear the matter.

The high court had yesterday held that Delhi will continue to remain a Union territory under the Constitution with the LG as its administrative head.

The special constitutional provision Article 239AA dealing with Delhi does not dilute the effect of Article 239 which relates to the Union territory and hence, concurrence of the LG in administrative issues is mandatory, the bench headed by Chief Justice G Rohini had said.

The high court did not accept AAP governments contention that the LG is bound to act only on the aid and advice of the

Chief Minister and his Council of Ministers with regard to making laws by the Legislative Assembly under the Article 239AA and termed it as without substance.

On a reading of Article 239 and Article 239AA of the Constitution together with the provisions of the Government of National Capital Territory of Delhi Act, 1991 and Transaction of Business of the Government of NCT of Delhi Rules, 1993, it becomes manifest that Delhi continues to be a Union Territory even after the Constitution (69th Amendment) Act, 1991 inserting Article 239AA making special provisions with respect to Delhi, the bench said in its 194-page verdict.

The court, which had rejected almost all the contentions of Delhi government, however, agreed with its submission that the LG will have to act on its aid and advice in appointment of special public prosecutors.

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Ahmedabad:

Gujarat BJP chief Vijay Rupani will be the new chief minister of the state. Nitin Patel, who was considered No. 2 in the outgoing Anandiben Patel government, will be the deputy chief minister of Gujarat. The newly promoted leaders are likely to take oath to their offices on Sunday.



The decision was taken by the BJP MLAs in a meeting on Friday in the presence of party chief Amit Shah and senior leader Nitin Gadkari as observers.





Who is Vijay Rupani



Vijay Rupani was the minister for transport, water supply, labor and employment in the Anandiben Patel's cabinet. Rupani was elected an MLA for the first time in 2014 from Rajkot West.

Earlier, Rupani had ruled himself out of the CM race, saying he would like to work for the party organisation.

Rupani, who is a law graduate, enjoys support of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and is a known confidant of BJP president Amit Shah.

And he is also an RSS loyalist. He belongs to the Jain community and hails from Rajkot, the heartland of Saurashtra. While OBCs and Dalits are up in arms, making a Chief Minister from a non-OBC community can help in avoiding a tricky situation.



Read full profile: Who is new Gujarat CM Vijay Rupani: Here's everything you need to know



Who is Nitin Patel



60-year-old Nitin Patel, who has been with the BJP for over 30 years, has held cabinet portfolios for Health, Medical Education, Family Welfare, Road and Building, Capital Project in Gujarat government.

Patel was elected to Gujarat Assembly from Mehsana in 2012. He had contested his first assembly elections in 1995.

Patel had openly expressed his willingness to be the Chief Minister of Gujarat when Narendra Modi quit the post after becoming the prime minister in 2014. However, Modi chose Anandiben as his successor. Later, Patel went on to become second-in-command to Anandiben Patel.

Patel belongs to the powerful and upset Patidar community in Gujarat. He has been the bridge between agitating Patel leaders and the government but his efforts didn't help his party and government.

Patels, who form 14% of the total population in Gujarat, moved away from the BJP after the agitation, spearheaded by their leader Hardik Patel in 2015. This got reflected in the local body elections in December last year where the BJP lost in rural areas in the state.

Read: Three factors which turned the tide for Vijay Rupani

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New Delhi:

Vijay Rupani is all set to become the new chief minister of Gujarat. The state BJP legislators took the decision in a meeting in the presence of party chief Amit Shah on Friday. Earlier, Rupani had ruled himself out of the CM race, saying he would like to work for the party organisation.

Who is Vijay Rupani

Vijay Rupani was born on August 2, 1956 in a Jain family. He holds a Bachelor of Arts and LLB degree. Rupani is a member of the Gujarat Legislative Assembly from Rajkot West and currently serving as state unit chief.

Read: Vijay Rupani will be new Gujarat CM, Nitin Patel will be deputy CM

Rupani, who is a law graduate, enjoys support of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and is a known confidant of BJP president Amit Shah. And he is also an RSS loyalist. He belongs to the Jain community and hails from Rajkot, the heartland of Saurashtra.

While OBCs and Dalits are up in arms, making a Chief Minister from a non-OBC community can help in avoiding a tricky situation.

He began his career as student activis and joined Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and Jan Sangh in 1971. He has been associated with BJP since its establishment.

Rupani served as a corporator in Rajkot and then became a member of Rajya Sabha.

He enjoyed support from the then chief minister Narendra Modi and served as chairman of the Gujarat Finance Board during chief minister-ship of Narendra Modi.

Rupani was elected an MLA for the first time in 2014 from Rajkot West.

He was inducted as minister in the first cabinet expansion by Gujarat Chief Minister, Anandiben Patel and currently is in charge of transport, water supply, labor and employment minister.

Vijay Rupani was the minister for transport, water supply, labor and employment in the Anandiben Patel's cabinet.

Read: Three factors which turned the tide for Vijay Rupani

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Ahmedabad:

The new Gujarat CM-to-be, Vijay Rupani, may come as a surprise choice for many, but party insiders knew Rupani was among the front-runners for the top post ever since the resignation of Anandiben Patel as Gujarat chief minister.

Three factors that favoured Vijay Rupani for Chief Ministership

1. Rupani's closeness to party president Amit Shah

Vijay Rupani is considered a close confidant of BJP president Amit Shah. By nominating him president of the State unit, Amit Shah had reposed great faith in his leadership skills to keep the party together in the absence of Modi and Shah himself from the state.

2. Rupani's RSS background

Vijay Rupani joined RSS as a teenager and later joined the Jan Sangh. He also participated in the nation-wide student movement led by Gandhian Jai Prakash Narayan that, among other things, led to clamping of the Emergency by Indira Gandhi in 1975. Rupani was also jailed during the emergency.

3. Vijay Rupani was backed by PM Modi

Vijay Rupani also enjoys excellent rapport with the Prime Minister Narendra Modi. As Modi passed the baton of chief ministership to Anandiben patel and took over as Prime Minister in Delhi, he made sure Vijay Rupani handled several key portfolios including transport and water supply in Anandibens cabinet.

Read: Vijay Rupani will be new Gujarat CM, Nitin Patel will be deputy CM

Rupani is known to be a skilled administrator and at the helm his formidable skill-set and conciliatory approach shall be a big plus for an administration besieged by back to back patidar agitation and dalit controversy recently.

By chosing a non-OBC and a non-Patel as Gujarat new chief minister, the BJP has obviously given a go-by to the rule book. This leader from the Jain community may just be the antidote for the ills plaguing the party and administration in Gujarat heading for assembly polls next year.

Read: Who is new Gujarat CM Vijay Rupani: Here's everything you need to know

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New Delhi:

Actor Akshay Kumar is not worried about the box-office clash of with an upcoming film "Rustom" with Hrithik Roshan starrer "Mohenjo Daro" on .



"It's a big date (). It's a holiday period (referring to Independence Day week). In the past we have seen that two big films can run at the same time. We want both the films to do well," Akshay said in an interview here.



"We had both 'Lagaan' and 'Gadar' releasing on same date and both did well. No, I don't (worry about opening day figures). I am hopeful we will do good," Akshay, 48, said.



The trailer of "Rustom" has already created much curiosity among cinema lovers.



Recently even superstar Salman Khan posted a video on social networking site telling his fans to watch "Rustom".



Actor Ranveer Singh and filmmaker Karan Johar too are rooting for "Rustom".





For all the Latest Entertainment News, Bollywood News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps.
Patna:

Union Minister and LJP President Ram Vilas Paswan today met the dalit students injured in police lathicharge and criticised Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar for being "insensitive" towards the deprived section of the society.

Accompanied by LJP Parliamentary Board chief Chirag Paswan and MP brother Ramchandra Paswan, he visited the students' hostel in Saidpur and Mahendru to express solidarity with the protesting dalit students agitating against the state government over lowering of scholarship amount for them.

"It (police lathicharge) was a painful incident and reflect anti-dalit approach of Nitish Kumar. He has crores of rupees for construction of International Museum, but does not have money to provide adequate scholarship to SC and ST students," the Union Minister of Food and Public Distribution, Consumer Affairs told PTI.

Ram Vilas said Chirag raised the lathicharge issue in the Parliament to highlight the plight of the downtrodden under the grand alliance rule in Bihar.

He said soon a party delegation would meet Governor Ramnath Kovind over the lathicharge on dalit students who were taking out a peaceful march against lowering of post-matric scholarship from Rs one lakh to Rs 15,000.

Launching a scathing attack on Nitish, Ram Vilas said earlier he divided the dalits between 'dalits' and 'mahadalits' (poorest among dalits) and now was preparing to stop toddy trade to harm the livelihood of the 'Pasi' (toddy traders) community.

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Kolkata:

The Calcutta High Court today stayed the investigation by Kolkata Police into the Narada sting tapes which purportedly showed people resembling senior Trinamool Congress leaders taking money in exchange for favours.



A division bench of Chief Justice Manjula Chellur and Justice A Banerjee ordered an interim stay into the probe launched by the police till the next date of hearing on August 19.



Passing the order, the chief justice observed that when the matter was already being probed by the high court, a parallel investigation cannot be held by the police.



West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee had on June 17 ordered a probe by Kolkata police into the sting operation.A report by the Central Forensic Science Laboratory, Chandigarh, on the veracity of the tapes was also received by the court, the contents of which were not made public.



The bench said that advocates on record involved in the matter may go through the report and submit in affidavit form any point they want to raise over its contents.



The high court had sent the Narada sting tapes to Chandigarh CFSL after its counterpart in Hyderabad had expressed its inability to analyse the genuineness of the recordings.



Mathew Samuel, the editor of Narada News, had claimed that the alleged sting operation was recorded using an iPhone 6, transferred to a laptop and then to a pendrive, all of which were sent by the high court to CFSL, Chandigarh for examination of the genuineness of the recordings.

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Majority of packaged foods in the U.S. contain ingredients that are banned in other countries

Did you know that many ingredients commonly used in our foods here in the United States are actually banned in other countries? In fact, Natural News reports that upwards of 80 percent of the food available here contains blacklisted components.

Olestra, for example, has been banned in the United Kingdom and in Canada. Olestra is commonly used in reduced-fat or fat-free foodstuffs, and is known to cause gastrointestinal distress.

Another banned food additive is brominated vegetable oil (BVO). It can be found in a variety of soft drinks and other beverages. BVO is one of many organobromines  substances commonly used in flame retardants. There are many concerns over BVOs potential to build up in fatty tissue, given the tendency of organobromines to accumulate and affect development in other creatures, including birds. In 2012, German researchers revealed that several American soft drinks contained BVO in amounts of around eight parts per million. The researchers calculated that consumers were taking in thousands of times more BVO from soft drinks than other sources, even more than from flame retardants that leak into the environment. BVO has been banned in more than 100 countries.

Dairy products that are laced with rBGH, or recombinant bovine growth hormone, are also blacklisted in many other countries. Because of its ability to increase milk production, rBGH is one of the top-selling dairy animal drugs in the United States. It has been banned in Australia, the EU, New Zealand, Canada and Israel due to its potential to harm humans. Some of the health risks include breast cancer, colorectal cancers and prostate cancer. The use of rBGH can also harm cattle, and is linked to at least 16 adverse health conditions, including mastitis.

Ractopamine is an ingredient you may or may not have heard about before, but it is used to reduce the overall fat content of meat, and can be found in 45 percent of pigs and 30 percent of ration-fed cattle in the U.S. An unknown percentage of turkeys are also injected with ractopamine. Eat Local Grown reports that around 20 percent of the ractopamine injected into these animals will still be present in the meat you buy at the supermarket. Since 1998, over 1,700 people have been poisoned from eating pigs that were fed the drug. Ractopamine is banned in more than 160 countries, but in the U.S. meat is not even tested for its presence. Russia has gone so far as to ban the importation of meat from the U.S. until our nation agrees to certify that our meat does not contain this toxic drug.

There are many other toxic ingredients that can be found in everyday foods, especially prepackaged and processed foods. Your best bet for obtaining good health and optimal nutrition is to buy organic produce, locally-raised, grass-fed meats and wild-caught fish.

Sources:

NaturalNews.com

TheGuardian.com

EatLocalGrown.com

Science.NaturalNews.com

Submit a correction >>
Carol Kaliff Carol Kaliff / Hearst Connecticut Media

Brookfields former school finance chief, who police say stole tens of thousands of dollars from the district, is due in Danbury Superior Court Wednesday.

Art Colley is charged with several counts of larceny, conspiracy and fraud. He was arrested in September 2015 along with his former assistant Elizabeth Kerekes. Both had previously resigned from the district after auditors said they were responsible for thousands of dollars in questionable spending.
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Joel Barlow, born in Redding in 1754, was a man of letters. Understandably, his name graces an academic institution  Joel Barlow High School in Redding.

Barlow, a poet, a diplomat, a prominent thinker and proponent of Jeffersonian democracy and the divide between church and state, was a Yale alumnus. Nutmeg born and bread.

According to the 1911 Encyclopaedia Britannica: At Hartford he was a member of a group of young writers including Lemuel Hopkins, David Humphreys, and John Trumbull, known in American literary history as the Hartford Wits.

What he accomplished, before his death at 58, was not confined to Connecticut.

His poetry, including the 1787 Visions of Columbus, and 1793 Hasty Pudding, his most well-known works, were published in New York and London and widely read in post-revolution America.

Soon after Visions of Columbus was published, he set sail for Europe, where he began selling American land and promoting emigration to America for a company that folded two years after Barlow arrived in France.

But Barlow stayed in Europe. In the continent he became a more liberal thinker, a French citizen in 1792, and eventually an American diplomat.

He was American consul at Algiers in 1795-1797, securing the release of American prisoners held for ransom, and negotiating a treaty with Tripoli in 1796, according to the 1911 encyclopedia.

In 1805, he returned to the U.S., settled near Washington, D.C., and functioned as a French-American diplomat until 1811.

Tasked with securing commercial treaties with Napoleon, Barlow traveled to France in 1811.

That would be his last trip.

He was summoned for an interview with Napoleon at Wilna, but failed to see the emperor there; became involved in the retreat of the French army; and, overcome by exposure, died at the Polish village of Zarnowiec on Dec. 24, 1812, the encyclopedia said.
BRIDGEWATER  State Police began to shift their focus to two stolen vehicles connecticut to a home invasion and shooting early Thursday morning while the manhunt for those responsible continues.

The two vehicles at the center of the investigation include a van stolen from Bridgewater and located hours later in Waterbury, as well as a Subaru Forester stolen from New York state that was found in the driveway where the home invasion took place.

Meanwhile, police defended a decision to call off pursuit of that vehicle prior to the incident.

New Milford police confirmed this week that they had attempted to stop the Subaru Forster for speeding. A police officer ended a high speed chase, however, after the Subaru refused to stop for the officer.

Such decisions, according to police, center around public safety and include several variables, including traffic conditions, what the vehicle is being pursued for, how many pedestrians are in the area, and if they are passing a school zone.

Of course its not OK to evade the police, but you have to balance the potential harm to the public, said John Salvatore, chief of the Monroe Police Department and vice president of the Connecticut Police Chiefs Association. Every situation is different.

Lt. Charles Cochran, a spokesman for the New Milford Police Department, said officers broke off their pursuit Thursday because the vehicle was driving recklessly and their only potential charge at the time was a speeding infraction.

One question officers are taught to ask themselves is, does the risk to the public in continuing the pursuit outweigh the risk posed to the public should the criminal remain at large? he said. With what the officers knew at the time, they correctly terminated the chase.

Cochran added that most departments in the area have high-speed pursuit policies that mirror those of the state.

There have been a number of high-speed pursuits in the past that ended in death and led the state and most departments to revisit their polices in recent decades, most notably a high-speed pursuit in 1982 that began in Bethel and ended with four dead teenagers that many officers in the region remember to this day.

A Bethel officer at the time attempted to stop a Chevy El Camino sport truck that had several teenagers riding in the bed of the open-back vehicle. The car refused to stop and a high-speed pursuit began that eventually ended in Newtown, when the car went out of control and spun into the air, ejecting the riders.

A Newtown EMT described it as a "scene out of a war movie," with "bodies scattered all over the place."

Due to inherent danger posed to the public, officers are typically prohibited from continuing a pursuit if the only reason for the pursuit is a moving violation, Cochran said.
H John Voorhees III / Hearst Connecticut Media

Many local historians thoroughly review documents to learn about their towns past, but sometimes, even after extensive research, certain things remain a mystery.

One example is Whisconier, a name which lives on in Brookfield in the towns middle school and a prominent road.
The first thing your customers will do when evaluating your products and services is decide if they trust you.

Gaining their trust will be hard to do at first, as they wont have much to go on. However, it is possible to show your customers that they can count on you to perform by simply proving to them them that you are reliable.

Answer your phone during the hours you say you will. Be open when you say you will. Get back to a new customer when you say you will. All of these things are simple yet critical ways of showing your customers that they can count on you.

These may seem simple, but too many companies - large and small -- dont seem to care about how they treat customers before they are ever customers. Here are a few ways to show your customers you care.

1. Never leave your customers hanging.

I am considering trading in an old car for a new one. Here in North Carolina, the summers are hot. If you see someone walking on your car lot in the middle of the day, chances are that they are a serious customer. However, when we walked on a lot the other day, it was nearly 30 minutes before anyone walked out of the air conditioned showroom to ask if they could help us. I left. But then I decided to give them the benefit of the doubt (it was a 90-degree day) and tried to get an online quote. It took more than 12 hours to get a response. When I finally did, I told them it was too late. We made other plans.

Dont let a prospect leave without talking to them. Acknowledge them, and make them feel welcome. They may not buy something today, but they will surely be back another time if they feel you made an effort.

Related: How to Earn and Keep a Customer's Trust

2. Always follow up when you say you will.

My insurance company knew that I wanted to make a change to my insurance policy on June 19 because I had discussed it weeks prior. If they wanted to be really proactive, an agent would have called me on that date and told me that the change was in the works. Instead, I had to call them several days later to remind them about this change. When I finally got a hold of them, the insurance company said that they remembered, and they were planning to handle it. I cant read their minds. I dont know what the company is planning; and so, it felt like they had forgotten about us.

Write yourself a note on your calendar to follow up on a specific date with your customer, and call them first. Let them know that you remembered and already have the change in motion. They will appreciate that you cared enough to update them.

Related: 5 Ways to Create a Culture of Trust

3. Don't hesitate to apologize when a problem occurs.

I recently stayed at a new hotel in Ocean City. As I was checking out, I politely informed the front desk about a few things that they might want to fix before the next guest checks in.

Even though we had a stained towel, a leaky shower curtain and a broken bathroom fan, I was very calm and asked if I could speak with the manager. The front desk clerk said he would share it with her and that I could call her later when she got to work.

When I did call her, she said that she never got my message. Her response was perfect. First, she said, If I had heard these things had happened to you, I would have already called you to apologize. Then, she refunded my entire two-night stay without even asking. All that she asked in return is that we give her another opportunity to deliver in the future.

Related: 5 Obvious-Yet-Underused Ways to Build Trust

4. Help with a smile.

My favorite eyewear place North Carloina, Specs, is always happy to see me, even if I just need my glasses re-adjusted. I dont have to worry about buying a new pair of glasses every year or spending a lot of money when I walk through the door. Every employee has a positive, helpful attitude.

This makes it easy for me to return to this independent eyewear store, and spend extra money to get glasses that I know will look great and fit properly. I trust them to look out for our best interests, whether I'm spending a small amount on eye glass cleaner or a lot on a new set of frames.

Your customers will evaluate whether they can trust you based on your reliability, openness, competence and compassion. Start by being reliable. Be proactive. Take the lead. And let your customers know that you can be counted on. If you cant be reliable for the little things, your customers will never trust you to be reliable for the big things.

Related:

How To Make Your Startup Video Go Viral

Leverage the Undeniable Power of Video Marketing on All Platforms

Video Marketing: How to Stretch Your Dollars



Copyright 2016 Entrepreneur.com Inc., All rights reserved
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DARIEN  Marking up the price of heroin seven times the market rate to sell to affluent suburban teens cost three alleged Bridgeport dealers their freedom Wednesday.

A dealer whod been selling bundles of heroin that normally go for $70 to $80 for up to $600 to Darien and other Fairfield County youths was arrested as the result of a months-long investigation conducted by Bridgeport and Darien police.

Joel Jean, 29, of Bridgeport was believed to have been running a drug ring selling heroin and marijuana out of the Black Rock area of Bridgeport. In particular, Jean was selling heroin to youths in Fairfield County suburbs for an inflated rate of approximately $500-$600 per bundle, according to Bridgeport Chief of Police A.J. Perez. Perez also said Jean was selling at least five bundles at a time. According to police, the teens thought they were getting a better product in Bridgeport.

Through a variety of information-seeking techniques, including the use of undercover officers, Darien police were able to identify Bridgeport as the source of local heroin. According to Sgt. Jeremiah Marron of the Darien Police Department, Jean was responsible for supplying a significant amount of heroin to the Darien area.

It was overwhelmingly apparent that the subject was heavily involved and regularly dealing heroin not only to users and street level dealers, but up [in Bridgeport] as well, said Marron. We are always looking for information with a variety of techniques and the big red flag is the overdoses and, to prevent them, we seek out information and corroborate it.

The Bridgeport Narcotics Task Force, along with the Darien Police Department Selective Enforcement Unit, then launched an investigation into Jean, who was on parole. As a result of their investigation, police were able to obtain a search and seizure warrant for Jeans residence. Police also got a search and seizure warrant for Jeans 2004 Honda Accord where he frequently made deals and had been witnessed using to transport heroin. Police also secured an arrest warrant for Jean for the sale of narcotics.

In Bridgeport on Aug. 3 around 6 p.m., undercover officers lured Jean and his accomplice, Scott Similien, 30, of Bridgeport, under the premise of wanting to purchase drugs. According to the police report, an undercover officer arranged to purchase five bundles of heroin from Jean, who arranged to meet with the officer at the intersection of Ash and Mountain Grove streets. Officers set up surveillance and observed Jean exiting his house and going into a vehicle occupied by Similien. Officers then followed the vehicle to the location set for the drug deal where they apprehended Similien and Jean, who tried to escape the scene. An officer on the scene tackled Jean and the men were able to be arrested under the authority of the warrant.

After arresting the duo, police executed the search and seizure warrant on Jeans residence, a multi-family home at 127 Hansen Ave. in Bridgeport. During the search, police seized 400 bags of heroin, two bags of marijuana, scales, drug packaging materials, a 12-gage pump-action shotgun, two loaded semi-automatic pistols, assorted ammunition and over $3,000 from narcotics sales.

During the search, one of the residents of the home, Jamel Jacobs, entered the scene. Police found a loaded .45 caliber handgun in Jacobs vehicle. Jacobs had a valid permit for the handgun. Jacobs also gave the police the combination to a safe located inside the residence. Police found two pounds of marijuana in the safe and consequently arrested Jacobs as well.

Jacobs was charged with possession of over four ounces of marijuana with the intent to sell and operating a drug factory. He was held in lieu of $50,000.

Similien was charged with possession of marijuana with the intent to sell and criminal attempt at sale of narcotics. He too was held in lieu of $50,000, pending his arraignment in court.

Jean was charged with criminal attempt at the sale of narcotics, possession of marijuana with intent to sell, possession of narcotics with intent to sell and operating a drug factory. Jean was also charged separately on one count of sale of narcotics. He was issued a bond of $250,000.

According to the Bridgeport police chief, this investigation may still lead to the arrests of others in the area.

This is ongoing and its working because were working together, said Perez. These were really bad guys and they were preying on kids from Darien and from Fairfield County.

Perez described Jean as a mid-level dealer and said there was recently another bust in the area of more high-level dealers.

It just goes to show you how quickly they recover and are back on the street, said Perez.

However, Perez also noted the significance of the arrests, which he credited to being a result of collaboration with other agencies.

In this day and age, where the scourge of heroin is killing our kids, its a tremendous blow to their organization.

Bridgeport Mayor Joe Ganim reiterated the value of the bust.

Theres three guns and I dont know how much guns and money taken off the streets, said Ganim. The city as a whole is safer today than it was a couple days ago. And were going to continue to do this.

According to the Darien sergeant, this arrest may help improve the areas heroin problem.

I feel that not only were the arrests necessary, but Im confident we saved lives last night, said Marron. We hope that the message is clear that small-town Darien is not invulnerable to the epidemic of opioid addiction. We work extremely close with all of the agencies around us and we will see investigations through  both small and large  to ensure that we can have an impact on the heroin problem in our community.

Perez also said the heroin problem is dangerous and ongoing, due in part to the drugs being laced with other more dangerous substances. The narcotics seized in last nights incident will be tested for further substances at state laboratories.

ekayata@hearstmediact.com; @erin_kayata
You've got a speech topic and you know what benefit it will bring to all who hear you. You've invested in a phenomenal website and its accoutrements. You're like a teenage girl sitting there in your fancy prom dress, looking out the window, ready to go. When will your date show up? Time moves so slowly as you anticipate that phone starting to ring.

After a few months of believing "If you build it, they will come" most would-be speakers start feeling frustrated, rejected, and hurt. Some may find their enthusiasm for speaking starts to wane. Maybe they will give up before they even really give their speaking business a chance to succeed.

Because right in this moment, at this stage, as you're about to leap onto the world scene at last -- this is where the speakers and the wanna-be's come to the fork in the road. Believe it or not, no matter how delightful you, your speech and your website are, meeting planners are not looking for you.

In fact, you probably don't even show up on the first page of Google yet if they search for your type of speaker. (Try it and see!) And none of their friends have heard you speak yet, so you won't get those precious word-of-mouth referrals. And that nice meeting planner from the company six states away who promises you that you'll surely get bookings if you spend your own money to fly to their event, pay for your own hotel room and speak for free? Yeah. Good luck with that, newbie.

The time has come for you to promote yourself like a maniac. This is vital during the lift-off stage of your new career. Start by following these five steps:

Find out which companies are having meetings in the next 12-18 months. Do they bring in outside speakers? Research the names of the meeting planners in charge of bringing in the speakers for those events. Sleuth out meeting planners' contact information. Write a compelling 3-4 sentence introductory pitch Summon up the courage to email, follow-up call, email, follow-up call, and email each of them. In that order during the first 10-14 days.

I have a speaker client in Louisiana, now retired, who had his assistant send five physical pitch packages to five meeting planners every workday. The following Monday, he would call the previous Monday's five meeting planners, assuming they'd gotten the mail by then. He'd pitch them on hiring him, or at least do an "introducing myself" call. She sent five packages a day, he made five phone calls a day. Anyone can find time for five phone calls! 50 weeks per business year x 25 calls per week = 1,250 calls.

He was averaging 80 paid engagements each year, and after we had fixed some of his marketing parts, he was getting almost double the money per engagement! This man was making more than $100,000 each quarter!

If you don't market yourself in the beginning of your speaking career, no one else will ever take you on and market you later, because you will fail before you get off the ground. Your responsilbility is to market yourself so well that you can easily train in your marketing strategy and easily afford a marketing person to work for you.

Preparation, packaging, and promotion will make the difference between whether you get paid to speak or it just remains on your "Maybe Someday" list. Take advantage of the information in this article to get yourself to achieve your goal. For more valuable insider information on how you can get paid to speak, click here.

Related:



Copyright 2016 Entrepreneur.com Inc., All rights reserved
A little over a year ago, I started my own business. As you would expect, that caused me to reflect a bit. Tally up my wins and losses, make sure Ive learned all the lessons that I need to learn -- that sort of thing.

Its gotten me thinking about the story of how I started. I would always tell people that it just sort of fell into my lap like some awesome stroke of luck. The problem is, thats not totally accurate. The truth is a bit harsher.

I was pushed into it.

Ive always been an entrepreneur at heart though. During college, I would work two or three odd jobs to get by. I would build websites for local businesses, sell TVs, wait tables, cook at that very same restaurant, valet cars I even started and eventually sold a small SaaS company before that was a thing people were doing. Whatever it took to get the bills paid and still have enough cash to go out at night.

Related: How I Tripled My Salary in Less Than One Year After Getting Fired

After I graduated, I decided it was time to move to the standard: One job, One side-hustle. With my rebellious personality, a startup was the obvious choice. So I landed a development job at a mobile startup that sold ringtones and games and what not, way before the App Store was a thing. It was amazing. I learned more in the first three months than my entire college experience.

But, being the entrepreneur in spirit, it wasnt enough. I felt trapped -- like a big fish in a small pond. So with a heavy heart, I moved on. On to bigger and better things, just two blocks down the road in downtown NYC to a marketing company.

This too, was amazing. I met some of the greatest people ever, and found a mentor in my boss that would teach me more than I thought possible. I learned the ins and outs of the corporate world, how to work with fortune 500 clients and how to through the bullshit to build something great. But, this marketing company was owned by a massive parent company that had other plans for us all.

Without going into detail, lets just say that big corporates are big corporates and things lost their magic after a while. So, I moved back to startups. I chose an amazing, yet seriously risky startup. Their idea was crazy, which is right up my alley. They had an incredible product, users and revenue so I took the risk. Another few years of working as hard as can be, and they ended up being acquired by Amazon. What an incredible experience, but it left me with a bit of a problem.

I was right back in the big corporate world again.

Related: Getting Fired Was Step 1 to Increasing My Pay 1,000% in 3 Months

Not that its a bad thing, after all that stressful risk I sort of romanticized the idea of a safe job with a normal pace of work. This realization lead to a decision: If Im going to work for another big company, I should probably get to choose who it is.

The decision was clear. I wanted a change of industry and a major media company wanted me to run engineering for their entire digital media division. This was it. The dream.

Running my own engineering team, doing things the way I wanted them to be done. Twenty or so people under me, hundreds of millions of users each month and a dozen or so major media properties under my care. The dream.

Then I got fired. A new baby at home, a mortgage, car payments and a single income. We were now, a zero income family.

At first, I was (obviously) upset. Not just at the thought of what am I going to do to support my family? Mostly at the thought of what do I do next?

I had no idea, so I decided to take some odd jobs in consulting until I found my true calling, whatever that means. Thankfully, I always kept my side-hustle(s) going so I had a foundation to stand on.

Related: How Getting Fired Turned Into Sweet Success for This Entrepreneur

As it happened to turn out, Im really good at helping people build money making apps. I also have a certain knack for growing and scaling tech companies. People really needed help in these two areas and were willing me to pay me to solve their problems.

I didnt really know how to turn that into full time work, but it didnt matter. My decision was made for me. My clients were practically pushing me towards this at full speed. So I gave in.

Now I help two specific groups of people and its great. The I want to build an app group and the I want to grow and scale my tech company group. I love them both very much.

The best part? My clients and their results are absolutely amazing.

I never would have believed that one of my first clients would have been purchased for $3 million. Another one raised $2 million. Another has a $6 million valuation. Another grew from 300 users to 30,000. And that is just scratching the surface. None of this would have happened from behind my old desk.

None of this would have happened without having a side-hustle either. (Please tell me you are working on an app on the side. You dont want to be totally screwed if you get the ax, do you?)

Its also given me something I never expected: Freedom. The freedom to spend more time with my family and even cofound a big-data startup, which I'm confident will be worth billions in the next few years.

Most importantly, I dont have to deal with corporate politics anymore. I can be who I want to be and do what I want to do. I can be my own boss.

The truth is, getting fired could be the best thing that has ever happened to you.

Related:

What It's Really Like To Get Fired

Rahul Yadav Admits To His Startup Falling Apart, May Not Get Second-Time Lucky

How to Search Your Soul to Get Through a Crisis



Copyright 2016 Entrepreneur.com Inc., All rights reserved
The Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, on Thursday, directed banks and authorised forex dealers to sell the Pilgrims Travelling Allowance, PT...

The Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, on Thursday, directed banks and authorised forex dealers to sell the Pilgrims Travelling Allowance, PTA, to intending pilgrims at a concessionary exchange rate of N197 to $1.In a circular on Thursday, marked, TED/FEMFPC/GEN/01/005, the CBN said: Each pilgrim is entitled to purchase a minimum of $750.00 and maximum of US$1,000.00 as PTA. The Federal Government has approved that intending pilgrims are to be sold the PTA at a concessionary exchange rate of N197.00 to the US dollar. No commission shall be charged by the banks for the sale of the PTA to the intending pilgrims.The Central Bank of Nigeria shall sale the PTA to the designated banks in Lagos and Abuja and the accounts of the respective banks shall be debited as soon as the funds are disbursed.
Wife of the president, Mrs. Aisha Buhari caused a social media storm for carrying a black crocodile skin Hermes Birkin handbag, as Nigeria...

Wife of the president, Mrs. Aisha Buhari caused a social media storm for carrying a black crocodile skin Hermes Birkin handbag, as Nigerians on Thursday took to different social media platforms to express their mixed feelings.Mrs. Buhari was spotted with the 35cm Porosus Crocodile bag, which is estimated to cost anywhere between $50,000 and $300,000, at the airport in Washington D.C., when she arrived the United States Wednesday for some engagements.A Hermes Himalayan Crocodile Birkin bag was reportedly auctioned for $432,000 recently.The news, which was broken by an online media, The Signal, tweeting from @thesignalng, set the Twitter-sphere ablaze with the discovery.The tweet read: Aisha Buhari spotted in the US with a Hermes Gold Bag worth $105,000 (N40,950,000) at $1 to N390.Further checks by Signal on Thursday revealed that the exact pink version of Aisha Buharis Hermes handbag was auctioned in 2015 for $222,912 (N86,935,680) at a Christies auction in Hong Kong.If true, given the economic recession the country is currently facing, the news of Mrs. Buhari toting the Crocodile Gold Hardware bag provided fodder for controversy.
The family members of the abducted Oniba of Iba land, Oba Goriola Oseni, say they have been left in the dark about what efforts the Lagos ...

The family members of the abducted Oniba of Iba land, Oba Goriola Oseni, say they have been left in the dark about what efforts the Lagos State Government is making to rescue the 73-year-old monarch.The family, who spoke with newsmen on Thursday, said the government had not called them for any update or briefing on the extent of investigation 19 days after the kidnap, alleging that the government was becoming indifferent to the matter.About 16 gun-wielding militants had, on Saturday, July 16, stormed Osenis palace at about 8.30pm, shooting into the air, after which they whisked him away in two speedboats.During the attack, four residents were shot dead, including a palace guard, identified as Sunday Okanlawon, and a barber, identified as Rilwan.Six days after the abduction, the militants were said to have contacted the monarchs family, demanding N500m.It was reported on Sunday, July 24, that the family members pleaded with the Lagos State Governor, Akinwunmi Ambode, to assist in raising the ransom and securing their fathers release.Speaking with PUNCH Metro on Thursday, one of the monarchs daughters, who did not want her name in print, said the family had yet to hear from the state government or the police.She said, Baba (Oseni) has not been released. We are making efforts, but we do not know what the government is doing about this. Even if an animal gets missing, you look for it, let alone the king of a town, who has spent over 40 years on the throne.Having contributed much to the growth of the community and the state in general, his matter should be treated with more concern. The governor and his officials have not said anything lately about what is being done on the matter. As a family, we have not seen any green light from the government; we are in the dark.Another relation, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the kidnappers were willing to release the monarch if some money was paid.He said, If the state government expedited action on this, Baba should have been released.The kidnappers are not saying they will not release him. If the government does what is necessary, the abductors will let go of the monarch.The state government is not serious about this. What the government is doing now, we do not really understand. For now, God is our hope.When asked whether the kidnappers had reduced the ransom, the family source said he would not want to make that public.The ransom is not the issue now. The kidnappers are ready to release Baba, but they want to get something. If one of the foremost rulers in the state has been abducted for 19 days and at that age, nothing significant has been done, this calls for serious attention, he said.The monarchs son, Saheed, said he was not willing to comment on the incident.The Lagos State Police Public Relations Officer, SP Dolapo Badmos, said on Thursday that the police were still on a rescue mission.She said, Investigation is ongoing. The police are on a rescue operation.The state Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Steve Ayorinde, did not pick the calls by our correspondent.A text message sent to his phone on the incident had also yet to be replied to as of press time.
The Lagos State Police Command has arrested a 42-year-old Islamic cleric, Rasheed Ayuba, for alleged car theft.

The Lagos State Police Command has arrested a 42-year-old Islamic cleric, Rasheed Ayuba, for alleged car theft.Ayuba, who hails from Igbesa, Ogun State, was apprehended along with a transporter in Ibadan, Oyo State, Falade Igbekele, who reportedly bought six of the stolen cars.It was learnt that a bunch of master keys and about 13 other car keys, as well as charms, were recovered from Ayuba.It was gathered that the suspect, who also teaches at an Arabic school in Ishasi, Lagos, was caught sometime in June after he entered into a hotel in the Ikotun area to steal a Toyota Camry parked on the premises.He was driving out the car when he was caught by vigilantes in the neighbourhood, who handed him over to officials of the Special Anti-Robbery Squad.Ayuba reportedly told the police that he bought the master keys for N9,000 from one John, a Beninoise.He said, I finished from an Arabic school in Ikotun and started teaching Arabic in Ishasi. At about 11pm on June 8, I went to a hotel around Ile-Iwe bus stop to steal a Toyota Camry. But I was arrested by the security guards in the area.I got the master keys I used from John, who is from Benin Republic. We met in 2013 in Lagos and he sold the master keys to me. Since then, I had been using them to steal cars. I usually sold the cars to my customers in Ibadan. One of them is Falade (Igbekele) to whom I sold six cars, and Friday, who bought a Toyota Camry.It was only four cars I had stolen this year before I was arrested. I sold a Toyota Camry to one pastor Dare for N100,000, and a Honda for N80,000 to another pastor. But pastor Dare had just paid me N50,000. They all knew I stole the cars.Fifty-two-year-old Igbekele confessed to have bought six cars from Ayuba, saying a friend introduced him to Ayuba.The indigene of Ondo State added that he used some of the vehicles for commercial purpose.I knew Alfa Ayuba through a friend called Lucky Star. Lucky told me Alfa sells vehicles and I said I had interest in buying them. He had sold six vehicles to me so far, including a Nissan Sunny and a Nissan Primero. I bought them for N150,000 each.I bought all the cars from Alfa three years ago. He told me he stole them and I asked if I would not get into trouble; he said yes, Igbekele said.While the police said they were on the trail of the other accomplices, Ayuba and Igbekele were brought before an Ikeja Magistrates Court on Wednesday on six counts bordering on stealing and receiving stolen property.The police prosecutor, Sergeant Donjor Perezi, told the court that the offences were punishable under sections 98, 285 (10), 326 (a) (b) and 409 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State, 2011.The defendants, however, pleaded not guilty to the charges before the presiding magistrate, Mrs. O.A. Olayinka, and were admitted to bail in the sum of N500,000 each with two sureties each in like sum.The case was adjourned till November 8, 2016.
Some elders of the Olamijege family of Idi-Oke town, Igbesa in Ado Odo, Ota Local Government, Ogun State, have urged the state governmen...

Some elders of the Olamijege family of Idi-Oke town, Igbesa in Ado Odo, Ota Local Government, Ogun State, have urged the state government not to give staff of office to Mr. Saheed Odusanya as the traditional ruler of the town.Speaking in Lagos yesterday, the groups representative, Mr. Hakeem Inakoju, said Odusanya who is parading himself as Oba is not a native of Idi-Oke.Inakoju claimed that Odusanya was from Ilisan Remo, so it would be irreverent for the communitys elders to fold their arms and allow sacrilege in their land.He urged Ogun State Governor Ibikunle Amosun to intervene and save the people of Idi-Oke from imposition.The Olamijege family, he said, had taken the matter to the Ogun State High Court, Ota Division, through their counsel Mr. Olusegun Raji.Inakoju added that although Odusanyas mother, Mrs. Nimota Odusanya (Nee Akanni Falohun), is from the Olamijege family, Saheeds father is from Remoland.He urged the governor to direct the states Commissioner for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs as well as the chairman of Ado Odo Ota Local Government to stop Odusanya and his collaborators within and outside the state, as the matter is sub judice.Inakoju said: The relative peace being enjoyed by the people of Idi-Oke, Igbesa, is under threat due to the imposition of Saheed Odusanya as Oba by some unscrupulous people in connivance some government officials who are not familiar with towns history.But, reacting to Inakojus claims, Odusanya told newsmen that his emergence was as a result of his elevation by the state government.He said he was from Isalu area of the town and had been Baale of Idi-Oke for seven years before he was made Oba.His critics, he added, are also from a female linage.The entire allegation against me is baseless. I have ruled the town as Baale for seven years. I was made an Oba due to my elevation in status by the state government and I went to court against them three times and I won all the cases. They are not being sincere, Odusanya said.
President Muhammadu Buhari yesterday expressed displeasure that former President Goodluck Jonathans administration failed to save for t...

President Muhammadu Buhari yesterday expressed displeasure that former President Goodluck Jonathans administration failed to save for the rainy day.The President, who was represented by the Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, spoke yesterday at the Hotel Presidential in Port Harcourt, the Rivers State apital, at the opening of the 12th All Nigeria Editors Conference (ANEC) 2016.The conference, with the theme: Economic Diversification: Agriculture as Option for a Prosperous Nigeria, was attended by eminent personalities from across the country and beyond.President Buhari said: Nigeria has nothing to rely on to cushion the effects of the lost earnings. Many other oil producing countries and fellow Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) members are faring better, because they saved for the rainy day. Saudi Arabia, with about one fifth of Nigerias population, has in foreign reserves about $600 billion, which is 23 times what Nigeria has in foreign reserves.United Arab Emirates, with less than 10 million people, has $75 billion in foreign reserves. Qatar, with 2.4 million people, has $36 billion in foreign reserves. Even Angola, with just 24 million people, has about $25 billion dollars in foreign reserves.Here in Nigeria, with oil selling consistently for over $100 a barrel for many years, we simply failed to save for the rainy day, with the result that a country with a population of over 170 million today has just $26 billion in foreign reserves.To compound this, the fall in the price of crude oil is having a ripple effect: the scarcity of forex, which has resulted from the oil price crash, means that industries are struggling to get forex to import raw materials and machinery.With falling imports, the Customs Service, which is another source of revenue, is collecting less duties. Taxation is also affected, as industries with no forex to import can neither employ more people nor produce more goods. Then, Nigeria has had to fight an existential battle to root out Boko Haram in the Northeast.The President noted that the Nigerian Guild of Editors (NGE) and the media should become the champions of change.He said: What I am saying in essence is that while the media owe it as a duty to keep Nigerians well informed about the situation in the country, it must do so in context. We are not saying we should continue to lament about missed opportunities, the massive corruption or profligacy of the past, but it is important for Nigerians to know where and when the rain started beating them, that no provision was made for any umbrella to shield them from the elements and that indeed genuine efforts are now being made to turn things around.Rivers State Governor Nyesom Wike described the state as enormously endowed and beautiful, thereby beckoning on investors.He said Rivers residents were friendly, lovely and peaceful.
The Niger Delta Indigenous Movement For Radical Change (NDIMRC) has cleared the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Dr Ibe Emmanue...





The Niger Delta Indigenous Movement For Radical Change (NDIMRC) has cleared the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Dr Ibe Emmanuel Kachikwu of alleged extravagant lifestyle.The group also insisted that the Minister never spent N182 Million on a chartered flight to China as dismissed the allegation that the Minister appointed two Special Advisers for his wives. Reacting to rumored reports online, which allegedly accused the minister of being too extravagant for Buharis anti- corruption government,the President,NDIMRC, Nelly Emma released a statement in which he described the said allegations as baseless. The statement reads, Our attention has been drawn to the recent allegations in an online Platform against the Minister of State for Petroleum, Dr Ibe Emmanuel Kachikwu and to say that these are familiar lies disgruntled Stakeholders have been heaping on the Minister.Our findings have shown that the Minister never spent #182 Million on Chattered Flight to China. We know that this baseless accusation is coming from the same frustrated Stakeholders who have been working against the hard-working Minister, the group said.We want to let these faceless groups and individuals who are at it again to know that their information is not correct as he never embarked on a trip to China on a Chartered Flight costing #182 Million at a time when Nigerians are complaining of hardship. He is not insensitive to the plight of Nigerians. To show he is prudent, he has never used Private Jet since he came on board and we know he will never do that, the group added. We have repeatedly said it that those still being hurt by the reforms of the Minister in the Oil and Gas Industry are doing everything to give him a bad name, hence they came out again now and accused him of Chartering a flight to China at the expense of the State, this allegation is laughable, baseless, mischievous and a pure lie against an innocent man.It is also not true that the Minister approved Special Advisers to his wives. Those behind these recent accusations are petty, devilish and wicked. We have done our investigations as usual and discovered that the accusations are coming from the same people who have been working night and day to see that the Minister is shown the way out by the President. But they will continue to fail in their evil mission against the Minister who means well for this administration and Nigerians.The Minister has zero tolerance for corruption and he is in the forefront of the anti-corruption of President Buhari. His accusers should give him a breathing space as he is out on a patriotic mission.The success of the numerous achievements of the Minister is giving his accusers who have been feeding fat on Oil Subsidy sleepless nights and doing everything to pull down a God sent man in order to have their way, but it is our prayer that by the grace of God, they will never succeed because Dr Kachikwu is on a divine mission.
A cross section of Muslim groups in Nigeria has hailed the appointment of Prof Is-haq Oloyede as the new Registrar of Joint Admissions an...

A cross section of Muslim groups in Nigeria has hailed the appointment of Prof Is-haq Oloyede as the new Registrar of Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) urging him to see it as a challenge to further serve the nation. In their respective congratulatory messages, the Muslim groups described Oloyede as a seasoned educationist and administrator per excellence as a result of his track records in the past records.The groups were Muslim Media Practitioners of Nigeria (MMPN), Federation of Muslim Women Association in Nigeria (FOMWAN), Muslim Community of Oyo State (MUSCOYS) Obafemi Awolowo University Muslim Graduates Association (UNIFEMGA), Muslim Students Society of Nigeria (MSSN), and Muslim Consultative Forum (MCF).In its message, MMPN through its chairman, Abdur-Rahman Balogun expressed appreciation to President Muhammadu Buhari for appointing Oloyede to head the troubled JAMB. As you are set to commence this onerous task before you, we urge you to be careful of those who hail you and reflect on what your critics say.For every action, there is a reaction; for every opportunity, there is a responsibility and for every appointment, there is accountability before men and Allah, Balogun said. While rejoicing with Oloyede, FOMWAN in a statement by her National PRO, Alhaja Sururah Oyero called on him to fear Allah in his stewardship by being just and fair to all regardless of their tribes or religious affinity.Also, the Muslim Community of Oyo State advised Oloyede to accelerate pro active reforms in JAMB to the benefit of teeming Nigerian youths desirous of admissions into tertiary institutions.In the same vein, Engr. Abdulwaheed Odeyimka, National President of UNIFEMGA described Oloyedes appointment as  well deserved, putting the right peg in the right hole. Odeyimka expressed worries on policy summersault by previous JAMB administrators which he said was to the detriment of millions of Nigerian students seeking admission into tertiary institutions.
Militant group, the Niger Delta avengers have renewed its call for the restructuring of Nigeria.

Militant group, the Niger Delta avengers have renewed its call for the restructuring of Nigeria.In a statement released on Thursday, the group said it will not be intimidated by the recent activities of the military in the country."They can deploy fourth generation jet-bombers that will not stop us from fighting for our people," it said, challenging the military to release photos of militants it has killed."What we are saying is the country should be restructured. The call for restructuring of Nigeria has gone beyond the NDA."The only group of persons against the restructuring is the Villa. The federal government should just listen tot the voice of the citizens instead of playing the deaf ear game."
Following the visit of Hajia Aisha Buhari, wife of President Muhammadu Buhari, to the United States of America, the Arewa Youth Integrity ...

Following the visit of Hajia Aisha Buhari, wife of President Muhammadu Buhari, to the United States of America, the Arewa Youth Integrity Forum (AYIF) has asked Governor Ayodele Fayose of Ekiti State, to immediately apologise to Nigerians and the first family after he claimed Mrs Buhari was a fugitive from justice in the US over the Halliburton scandal.Addressing journalists in Abuja, AYIF national president, Comrade Abubakar Ibrahim said this visit by the Presidents wife is a further proof that Fayose lied in his claim about Mrs Buhari.He said, We pointed out this visit because of its significance to what had transpired earlier when Ekiti State Governor, Ayodele Fayose came up with his tales by moonlight in which he vigorously tried to mislead the public with claims that Mrs Buhari was a fugitive from justice in the US over the Halliburton scandal. Various persons that set the records straight that the wife of the President was not the same Aisha Buhari mentioned in the court documents were ridiculed and bad mouthed.May we remind Fayose that Mrs Buhari was not the one who was recorded in a hotel suite conspiring with others to breach the Electoral Law. The first family did not tell him to engage in money laundry involving billions of naira ferried from one airport to another. It was not Mr President that made the lodgement of proceeds of crime into the Ekiti state governors bank account. It was not northerners that made Fayose to be richer than Ekiti state neither were we responsible for his inability to sell his family to pay salaries to workers whose money he has diverted into his personal account.Ibrahim said now that Mrs Buharis visit to the United States has confirmed that Fayose was not telling the truth, we are calling on him to apologize to the first family, and Nigerian women.He added that Fayose should rather focus his energy to explain his misrule to Ekiti people when his tenure expires.We see the vintage Fayose, upon realising that his lies have been found out, desperately looking for a way to distract the nation by calling attention to the handbag Mrs Buhari was holding in one of the pictures from the US. This obvious attempt to trivialize the issue with the womans bag is a new low for Fayose even by his own standards.Our expectations are that beginning with Ekiti state, at the end of Fayoses tenure, the electorates would insist that psychiatric evaluation and a consequent certificate of mental competence would be requisite for all the candidates seeking elections, he said.The youths urged Mrs Buhari not to relent in her life changing activities, but rather increase the tempo upon her return from the United States.
The Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON) on Friday restated its commitment to support the countrys economy by helping busine...

The Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON) on Friday restated its commitment to support the countrys economy by helping businesses to grow.Mr Ahmed Kuru, Managing Director, AMCON made the assertion at a media parley in Lagos.Kuru recalled that AMCON was set up during the 2008/2009 global recession to assist businesses in the country cushion the shocks from the recession; a feat, he said, was successful.The global recession of 2008/2009 informed the setting up of AMCON.AMCON has achieved the objective because Nigeria have come out of that recession, Kuru said.Kuru noted that it was important to explain to the media the objective of AMCON to inform the business community of its critical role in supporting the growth of the economy.According to him, some organisations erroneously believe that AMCON was out to force them out of business, thus maligning it in the media.Kuru said the task of loan recovery from ailing businesses was huge, adding that it was a burden it was prepared to bear to salvage the economy and support businesses to remain afloat.Recovery is a very tedious task.Reluctance on the part of debtors is inhibiting debt recovery, Kuru said.The AMCON boss acknowledged the key role the judiciary was playing in the adjudication of cases relating to debt recovery.He said that the corporation considered going to the court to recover loans as the last resorts.He disclosed that the corporation recovered N644 billion in 2015, while strengthening the companies it bought into with N324 billion.He explained that the situation was so because many of the companies were under the weather while some had gone beyond redemption.Kuru said that the challenges in the global and local economy was stifling its efforts at debt recovery as shown in the depreciation of some stocks exchanged for money and the volatility in the forex market.Consequently, Kuru said that the corporation had to outsource some work to some asset management partners.He mentioned that outsourcing would help to manage defaulting companies, thereby creating employment opportunities.To achieve this, Kuru added that AMCON had created a real asset investment programme, adding that it would sell forfeited assets when the economy was favourable.
Speaker of the House of representatives, Yakubu Dogara addressed state house correspondents after his meeting with President Muhammadu Buh...





Speaker of the House of representatives, Yakubu Dogara addressed state house correspondents after his meeting with President Muhammadu Buhari.Read Transcript of Dogara's interview after the meeting:Journalists: Was the issue of alleged budget padding discussed?Dogara: What is budget padding?Journalists: The language emanated from your chambers?Dogara: I don't know, educate me. I am a lawyer and the speaker, and I have never heard of the word padding, what does padding mean?Journalists: Your former chairman of appropriation is saying you padded the budgetDogara: Ask him, he who alleges must prove, that's the law in NigeriaJournalists: Are you not going to defend yourself?Dogara: Am I before a court?Journalists: There are people saying you should reconvene the House before September resumption time and step aside for thorough investigations?Dogara: We have rules and regulations. This is not a mock institution, we operate by rules and we will follow the rules.Journalists: Will you resign?Dogara: Resign for what? For what?Journalists: For the allegation.Dogara: What is the allegation?Journalists: That you and some members of the leadership padded the budget?Dogara: What is padding? You haven't told me, ask Jibrin what is padding. For me, I studied Law, and I have been in the legislature and all this period, I have never heard of the word padding being an offence under any law.If I don't know, you are the media, research the law and let me knowJournalists: Are you worried?Dogara: Worried for what? Worried over nothing. Why should I be worried? As far as I am concerned, I am not worried over anything.Journalists: Will there be sanctions for Jibrin?Dogara: I am not the chairman of ethics committee of the House, so, I wouldn't know, and I don't know what padding means.
Residents of Apara Kingdom of Obio/Akpor Local Government in Rivers State have condemned the removal of their paramount ruler, Eze Gift ...

Residents of Apara Kingdom of Obio/Akpor Local Government in Rivers State have condemned the removal of their paramount ruler, Eze Gift Eziwho Johnson, by the Nyesom Wike administration.Johnson, who is the Eze Oha Apara IV, got his certificate, recognition and staff of office on May 27, last year, from the preceding Rotimi Amaechi administration.Wike has shifted his recognition to one of his associates, Mr. Chike Worlu-Wodo, as the new paramount ruler of Apara Kingdom.Addressing reporters yesterday at the palace of Eze Oha Apara IV in Rumuigbo, Port Harcourt, the people of Apara Kingdom urged the Federal Government and security agencies to intervene in the alleged injustice.The media briefing was addressed by the Chairman of Ekinigbo Clan Town Council, Chinedu Johnson Amadi, who was accompanied by the Secretary of the clans Council of Chiefs, Eze Allwell Ome Egeonu; Chairman of Ekinigbo Owhor Holders, Elder Samuel Egeonu and Chairman of Ekinigbo Opinion Leaders, Ambassador John Okocha.The paramount ruler appeared briefly at the event before leaving to attend to other matters outside the palace.A former Chief of Staff at the Government House in Port Harcourt, Chief Tony Okocha, who hails from Rumuigbo in Apara Kingdom and who is an ally of Amaechi, expressed shock at Wikes withdrawal of government recognition of the monarch.Okocha noted that the governor and his cohorts were inviting anarchy in the peaceful kingdom. He hoped the situation would not be allowed to degenerate into civil disobedience.The President-General of Ekinigbo Youth Council, Dele Jnr. Egeonu, said he and other members of the council were pleading with other youths to avoid violence.But he urged the Federal Government and security agencies to prevent anarchy.Egeonu said Johnson must be reinstated for peace to reign in Apara Kingdom.But Wike, who reacted to the development through his Special Assistant on Electronic Media, Simeon Nwakaudu, insisted that his administration took the step to ensure peace.Apara Kingdoms residents, through the Ekinigbo Clan Council, said they were troubled by Wikes vexatious and utterly malicious move, purporting to have withdrawn the kings official government recognition.It said: Eze Oha Apara, Eze Gift Eziwho Johnson, was properly selected by the Rumukesiorlu Royal Kingmakers, after due consultations. He was properly coronated and duly presented to the public, in line with the established customs and tradition of Ikwerre people, for the purpose of installing a bona fide occupant of an ancestral stool.The purported cancellation and withdrawal of government recognition from Eze Gift Eziwho Johnson by Governor Wike were maliciously conceived to ridicule our ancestral stool, embarrass the incumbent and cause anarchy in Apara Kingdom. The action was not only taken in grave error, it is vindictive and vexatious against due process, null and void and of no effect whatsoever.We wish to state categorically that the Ekinigbo Clan Town Council will not allow anybody to play vindictive politics with our highly-revered ancestral stool, as Governor Wike appears to be doing, by claiming to have selected and installed Mr. Chike Worlu-Wodo as Eze Oha Apara.
Author Chimamanda Adichie recently held a webchat session with her fans through Guardian UKs website. The insightful chat gave us a glimpse into the life of the new mum.Chimamanda answered questions about motherhood, feminism, her creative process, female sexuality and early failure.The author who recently revealed that she gave birth to a baby girl described motherhood as exciting and terrifying at the same time.See some of the Q&A below.bobinchiclana asked: I love your writing but most of your protagonists are fairly middle-class or privileged. Have you thought of writing about people who are more in the margins of society in the case of Nigeria in poorer rural communities.Chimamanda: I am fairly middle-class and privileged. Perhaps not surprising that I mostly write what I know. (However, Ugwu, who is the soul of Half of a Yellow Sun, is not.)flungoutofspace asked: Im Udoka, and I wanted to ask if you think of the effects of the interaction between traditional Nigerian (esp. Igbo) values and Christianity in modern Nigeria, and what are the implications for fiction that attempts to address that combination?Chimamanda: I think it is catastrophic that we, in the name of Christianity, are destroying our pre-Christian heritage. An ancient tree burned down during a vigil. Artifacts destroyed in the name of progress. We need to tell those stories. If you are thinking of addressing that combination, please do. You have a reader here.Sarah Hannan asked: What excites you the most about being a new mom? What terrifies you the most about being a mom?Chimamanda: Most exciting  a new and unique kind of love has come into my life, glorious and joyful and encompassing and full of discovery. Most terrifying  the anxiety-filled desire to protect her from everything and the terror-filled sense that I cannot.MontagandMildred asked: Would you say youre a confident person? Do you write with the idea that people will want to read what you have to say in your mind or do you write purely for yourself? I tend to be my own worst enemy and believe that no one will enjoy what I have written.Chimamanda: Self doubt is part of the creative process. I hate to have it but I also realise it is part of the process. Otherwise you become complacent, which is cancerous for creativity. I generally write the kind of books that I like to read.mariannemandu asked: One of my favourite things about your books is the way your female characters own themselves and their sexuality in such a natural and unselfconscious way. How much feminist theory informed creating the characters, and what was it, if any?Chimamanda: Havent read much feminist theory and generally try to keep theory away from my creative space, if that makes sense. I learned much about feminism from watching women in the world. I so long for a world in which women everywhere are no longer taught to link shame and sexuality.
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ROCKLAND COUNTY, N.Y. -- A contractor from Mahwah was arrested Monday on charges he pocketed part of his employees' wages they earned while doing work for the county, District Attorney Thomas Zugibe said in a statement.

Christopher Greco (Rockland County District Attorney's Office)

Authorities say Christopher Greco, 51, owner of Rockland Tree Service and Cross Country Landscape and Tree Service, received contracts to do work for five county departments from 2011 to 2013. Under New York State labor law and the terms of the contracts, Greco was required to pay his employees prevailing wages for the tasks performed. He was also required to provide benefits or a cash equivalent.

Greco allegedly short-changed nine of his workers by a total of $82,000 in compensation, then submitted false payroll records to Rockland County. The records didn't list which employees were working at job sites, Zugibe's office said.

Greco was charged after the D.A.'s Special Investigations Unit and the state labor department received complaints and launched an investigation, Zugibe's office also said.

Greco has been charged with seven counts of grand larceny, one count of petit larceny and 48 counts of offering a false instrument for filing. If convicted on all charges, he faces up to seven years in prison and may be ordered to pay more than $171,000, an amount that would include penalties and interest.

Greco, who was released on his own recognizance, was scheduled to appear in court again Aug. 23.

Paul Milo may be reached at pmilo@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter@PaulMilo2. Find NJ.com on Facebook.
Thousands have signed a petition seeking to make the Pine Barrens a national park, but it may be easier said than done.

The Change.org petition asks senators Cory Booker and Robert Menendez to work to make the area part of the National Park System. Wrightstown resident Beverly Medenbach started the petition two months ago and it had 5,515 signatures Thursday, out of a goal of 7,500.

The petition says that making it a national park could make more funding and resources available to protect the Pine Barrens from development and other harm.

In recent years, state officials have struggled to find a way to stop the illegal off-roading activity that is damaging Wharton State Forest, one of four state forests in the Pinelands. The construction of a natural gas pipeline in the Pine Barrens has also been approved.

Tom Pietrykoski, a spokesman for Booker, would not say on the record whether the senator supports the petition's goal. He said Booker supports protecting the land and getting more resources to do so.

"Whether designation of a portion of the Pine Barrens as a national park is the best approach to preserving this natural treasure is something that should be studied with significant input from New Jersey stakeholders," Pietrykoski said. "Senator Booker looks forward to hearing from a variety of voices as he continues his work to protect the Pine Barrens for generations to come."

Two experts in the management of the Pinelands said that it is unlikely the massive area will become a national park, and it might not change anything if it did.

That's because the Pinelands is already designated a national reserve, which offers some protections against big development. Four state forests, that are overseen and patrolled by the state, make up about one-third of the million-plus-acre reserve.

"It's already part of the National Parks System, though it's not a park per se," said Nancy Whittenberg, executive director of the New Jersey Pinelands Commission. "I'm not sure what making it a national park will change in terms of protection."

Whittenberg and Jaclyn Rhoads, assistant executive director of the non-profit Pinelands Preservation Alliance, said federal officials considered whether to make the Pine Barrens a national park in the 1970s, but opted instead to create that first national reserve.

"That really would have been the opportunity," Rhoads said.

One big reason for the decision is that the Pine Barrens includes thousands of acres of private and developed land. To make it a national park, the government would have to buy all of that land or carve out areas that would not be parklands.

"It's not feasible," Whittenberg said. "Over 300,000 people live there."

The Pinelands National Reserve is the largest connected area of wilderness in the Mid-Atlantic region and despite its nutrient-poor soil that gives it its name, it is home to a diverse ecosystem including many rare plants and animals.

Whittenberg said the commission, created when the national reserve was born, approves development within the area to ensure that the unique forests and wetlands are preserved.

Rhoads speculated that the support of the petition may be somewhat in reaction to the Pinelands Commission staff approving a plan to build a pipeline through the Pine Barrens, despite an initial denial and opposition from the Pinelands Preservation Alliance and others.

"I think it's trying to raise awareness and trying to get more federal involvement," Rhoads said of the petition.

Rebecca Everett may be reached at reverett@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @rebeccajeverett. Find NJ.com on Facebook.
ESTELL MANOR -- Theresa Duffy-Diamond, of Cedarville, owns three businesses but has trouble running them due to how difficult it is to make a phone call in her rural town -- which has a population around 2,000 by her own estimation.

She was one of the almost 80 people who signed up to speak Thursday at a public hearing held by the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities over Verizon's alleged lack of maintenance on its copper landlines. The hearing was held at Estell Manor Elementary School. As more of the approximately 200 frustrated residents arrived at the gymnasium for the hearing, extra folding chairs were brought out.

The frustrated residents sat in the folding chairs as they listened to Duffy-Diamond, who had her turn to speak three hours into the hearing.

During her remarks, Duffy-Diamond held her cellphone up to the microphone and played a voicemail she received due to the poor service in her area. The message consisted of nothing but crackling sounds.

"Try and run a business," she said. "I don't care what kind of business, when it's that."

The hearing began at 3:30 p.m. and a second hearing was supposed to begin at 6:30 p.m. However, the two meetings became stacked on top of each other as more people signed up to speak about their gripes. The hearing continued into the night -- barring a 10 minute break around 6:30 p.m.

One of the speakers, John Dowling, 63, of Estell Manor, has COPD and needs medical services at all hours of the day. He can't get an ambulance to his house unless it's sunny, though, because the rain affects his service and makes it impossible to call outside his house.

When he brings the issue to Verizon, he explained, nothing ever gets changed.

"I would call them in during a rainstorm and four days later they would come out on a sunny day and say the lines are all clear," Dowling said.

Cumberland County is representing 17 communities in a petition for the Board of Public Utilities to install fiber optics into rural sections of South Jersey and to better maintain the existing copper landlines. According to Ted Baker, counsel for Cumberland County, he has collected over 400 complaints by residents about their landline service. The antiquated lines give the customers shoddy phone service and keep them from getting fast internet.

According to Stefanie Brand, director of the New Jersey Division of Rate Counsel, the residents of rural South Jersey are in the 21st century and need amenities that suit the times they live in.

"They run businesses that need reliable phone and internet," she said. "They send children to schools that require them to have access to the internet that students in more populous areas enjoy. They rely on access to the outside world via telephone in the event of an emergency. These citizens require the telecommunications services that are necessary to survive in modern times and they have a right, under the law, to safe, adequate and proper telephone service. The board and Verizon do not have the discretion to leave them behind."

According to Ava-Marie Madeam, vice president for state regulatory affairs for Verizon, the telecommunications company has maintained its lines and is not going against any regulations.

Verizon is keeping its copper landlines because of its importance to the infrastructure, she explained, and Verizon has spent $100 million over the past two years to maintain the network.

"Verizon strives every day to provide reliable service to our customers," Madeam said. "When we fall short, we work diligently to resolve all issues."

Records of customer complaints were collected by officials.

The state will take the comments and review them. After the review, it will decide what it will do with the situation.

Comments can be sent to the Board of Public Utilities before Aug. 8 by emailing verizoncomments@bpu.nj.gov or sent to Irene Kim Asbury, secretary of the board, at 44 South Clinton Ave., third floor, suite 314, PO box 350, Trenton, N.J., 08625-0350.

Don E. Woods may be reached at dwoods@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @donewoods1. Find NJ.com on Facebook.
WASHINGTON -- New Jersey and other states will be eligible for $9 million in federal funding to study how to improve or reduce the number of standardized tests students take each year, White House officials announced Friday.

The "Enhanced Assessment Grants" competition is the second step in the Obama administration's efforts to limit testing in public schools in response to parents and teachers who say standardized exams are taking up too much of the school year.

States will have until Sept. 22 to apply for money to help study how to improve, reduce or eliminate tests. The grants could be used to improve low-quality tests, upgrade scoring methods or eliminate redundant or unnecessary tests, federal officials said.

"We're excited to see what states will create," said U.S. Secretary of Education John B. King Jr.

New Jersey education officials said the state will consider entering the competition.

"As with any grant opportunity, we will be reviewing the grant to see if it is in the best interest of New Jersey's students," said David Saenz, a spokesman for the state education department.

New Jersey uses PARCC -- short for the Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers -- exams to test students in grades 3 through 11.

In October, the Obama administration announced a "testing action plan" to reduce standardized testing in public schools. The proposal asked states to limit testing to no more than 2 percent of a student's instructional time over the course of a year.

The administration also asked Congress to pass legislation ensuring school districts do not "over-test" students.

The initial plans got mixed reviews. Some education groups praised Obama for listening to parents concerned their children were taking too many tests. But other groups, including the New Jersey Education Assocation, said the administration's plan did not go far enough.

In New Jersey, PARCC testing already takes up less than 2 percent of the school year, according to state education officials. That time does not include preparing for the test. So, the Obama administration's request would have little impact, critics said.

Earlier this week, New Jersey's board of education voted to require high school students to pass the Algebra I and 10th-grade English sections of the PARCC exam in order to graduate.

The move upset some teachers and parents who said the new graduation requirement would make it difficult for high school students to opt out of taking PARCC.

Kelly Heyboer may be reached at kheyboer@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @KellyHeyboer. Find her at KellyHeyboerReporter on Facebook.
Special New York Luncheon in Celebration of Paramount Pictures "Florence Foster Jenkins"

Celebration of Paramount Pictures "Florence Foster Jenkins" -Pictured: Hugh Grant Hugh Grant is back, and very happy playing a slightly shady character in 'Florence Foster Jenkins'

(PARAMOUNT PICTURES/MARION CURTIS)

In Hugh Grant's new movie, "Florence Foster Jenkins," he plays an aging, vain and not particularly talented actor, St. Clair Bayfield. Living on the dotty heroine's generous handouts, nourishing her improbable dreams of singing opera, he is a ham and a gigolo, a liar and a fraud.

And Grant couldn't be happier playing him.

"He's a man whose life is motivated to a large extent by self-interest," Grant says. "I do think he genuinely loves Florence. But the fact remains that she is rich, and he is not, and he is quite aware that his life, at this point, is a very fragile bauble. If she dies, if she leaves him, if he loses her protection, his world ends."

Grant smiles.

"And I get that," he says. "In a way, the last 22 years of my life have been a very fragile bauble."

Sitting in a boutique Manhattan hotel on a summer afternoon -- casual and crisp in jeans and a starched blue shirt, his once famously floppy locks tamed and flecked with silver -- Grant, 55, looks the very picture of a successful star, juggling appearances, attended by publicists.

Yet he's also quite aware of how this privileged little bauble of his "can break at any time." He's seen it crack before.

Although this new film has been winning him early raves, lately his roles have been supporting parts in expensive flops, or leads in low-budget fodder. His biggest recent successes - "About a Boy," "Love Actually," the two "Bridget Jones" movies - are more than a decade in the past. It's been a career of peaks, and valleys.

Which Grant accepts with unflappable good humor and terribly British nonchalance.

"People who get their self-esteem from this business, it actually diminishes their sense of self-esteem," he says lightly. "It's rather like the bodybuilders who inject themselves with testosterone until they can't produce it naturally. I was always aware, right from the start, that the sort of attention you get as an actor is not real. It's false, it's artificial - fake cheese out of a tube."

That blithe indifference to other people's opinions has always been part of him. Comfortable, but not filthy rich - his father was an Army officer, his mother a Latin and music teacher - Grant went to Oxford, where he studied art and literature and took nothing very seriously, acting least of all.

And ended up with a career anyway.

"Oh, it's a shameful story, my start in this profession," Grant says. "I was all set on getting another degree, and then this student film I'd been in came out, and an agent rang me up, and said 'Would you care to be an actor?' And I said, 'No, no, no!' But then I thought, well, if I did act for a year or two, I could make some money..."

He gives a small wince at the crassness of it all.

"So shamefully I said yes," he continues, "and he got me something. And I was so wretched in it I thought, well it's too embarrassing to leave this as my only film, I've got to do another one, prove I can be at least a little better. And that didn't work, so I tried again. And that went on for 35 years."

The anecdote is charming, self-deprecating - and, in fact, not altogether true. Although few things are, perhaps, less British than admitting to ambition, Grant actually worked hard at his craft. He toured pubs with his own comedy revue. He spent a year doing repertory, and starred in "Coriolanus," "Lady Windermere's Fan" and an avant-garde production of "Hamlet."

"We all wore 'Star Trek' costumes,'" he said. "That's been the low point in my so-called career, I think. So far."

Grant still affects a certain wry, upper-class boredom about his work. But don't be misled. Pretending not to care is merely another role, and one he's been playing for a long time.

In fact, preparing for "Florence Foster Jenkins" - in which he co-stars with Meryl Streep, "one of the world's greatest actresses" -- forced him to really push himself. "I had to make a great effort," Grant admits. "I've always gone to enormous trouble, studying the text, writing a biography of the character, all these little triggers. Doing this I used music, too. I thought about physical things. How does he hold his hands? How does he walk?"

It's just one of many approaches he learned, he says, by working with Americans.

"In England, we're trained very much to learn your lines, turn up and say them," he says. "That's the job. But here you invent, you improvise. The first time I acted with Americans, we were going through a rehearsal and they just sort of mumbled their way through it. I thought, really? That's it? But then I realized they're not wasting anything on the rehearsals; they're saving it for when there's film in the camera. And they're absolutely right."

Grant's real introduction to film acting was pleasantly posh; after several parts in historical mini-series, he landed the lead in the Merchant-Ivory film "Maurice." Other serious parts - in "Impromptu," in "The Remains of the Day" - followed. Although there were a few more offbeat assignments -- Roman Polanski's "Bitter Moon," Ken Russell's mad "The Lair of the White Worm" - Grant seemed safely typed as the sort of character who lived in a country house, sedately unfulfilled.

And then, 22 years ago, he was offered a comedy, "Four Weddings and a Funeral."

"The success of that film was extremely shocking," he says. "I was aware that, for the first time, I was working with a great script, of course. But after we shot it, (filmmaker) Richard Curtis and I just thought it was the worst film ever. And then, shockingly, they had a preview in Santa Monica, and everyone went mad for it. And it just spiraled on from there. It seemed to touch a chord, around the world. People loved it in South America. They loved it in Japan -- although for some reason the Japanese thought it was a tragedy. The whole thing was truly an extraordinary piece of luck."

One that Grant very deliberately followed up by taking a supporting part in "An Awfully Big Adventure," playing the gay, manipulative and ultimately heartless director of a tiny theatrical troupe.

"I'm amazed you've even seen that," he says, when the title comes up. "Yes, he was an evil character. Dark, anyway, Dark certainly, I suppose -- very dark, very unhappy. And that sort of character is fascinating to me. I think it is for any actor. Who's the great character in 'Othello,' after all? Iago. 'Paradise Lost'? Lucifer. It's always more fun, as an actor, playing someone like that."

Yet although Grant loves showing a flash of edgy heartlessness on screen - when he plays rogues, in "About a Boy" or the "Bridget Jones" films, he's at his best - he hasn't always gotten the chance.

"The fact that 'Four Weddings' made a lot of money meant, for the next 15 years or so, that the offers always came to me from the money people, not the creative people," he says. "Or if they did come from the creative people, it was only because the money people had told them, 'Look, I'm sorry, you can't have who you want, you must have Hugh, because he sells tickets in Argentina.'"

It's that sort of careful, commercial thinking that meant fewer movies like "An Awfully Big Adventure," and more like "Notting Hill," and "Nine Months." Although the rascally Daniel Cleaver in the "Bridget Jones" seemed tailor-made for Grant - "I identified hugely with that part," he says now - he won't be joining Colin Firth and Renee Zellweger in the upcoming sequel.

"They made the film without me," he says. "I think I was too difficult for too many years about doing another one, and they finally gave up."

If he regrets that - or anything else in his career - he doesn't dwell on it. And while he frankly discourages the "cousins, and friends of cousins" who come to him for career advice ("Give yourself five years to make a go of it, and if you don't, get out") he says acting remains a joy.

"I have found in life, generally speaking, that the creative things are the only things that make you properly happy," he says. "Whenever I've managed to feel I've done something worthwhile, there's just a huge satisfaction."

Satisfying too, although more complicated, has been Grant's war on the lower forms of British journalism.

He had always been one of its targets, of course - not only for a 1995 arrest in Los Angeles, for picking up a prostitute, but for a 13-year love affair with the glamorous Elizabeth Hurley (and other, recent relationships that have resulted in four young children by two different women). And he's accepted the paparazzi stakeouts. "When you go into show business," he says, "you know you're going to have that spotlight on you."

What truly bothered him, though, was that the British press was no longer satisfied with spying on stars, or politicians, or the Royals. Instead, they were going after everybody - eavesdropping on private citizens, hacking into the phones of the parents of murder victims, following the families of soldiers fallen in Afghanistan.

"People were being killed in terrorist bombings, and the press were chasing after their relatives, hunting them down just to get a story," he says with disgust. "It's an abuse of power by the press barons, and the government was dragging its feet because they didn't dare do anything that would upset the heads of the five families, as it were. So I jumped out of the trenches and into the fight, and I've remained there, pushing (for press reform). It's been five years now, and we're still pushing, but the campaign goes on. No one wants a state-run media. But no one needs a media-run state, either."

Not that the press hasn't pushed back. The Daily Mail, which seems to have a particular love/hate obsession with the star, recently ran a story built around long-lens photos they'd bought of Grant on vacation in Spain. "Four bellies and a turtle neck," they crowed, asking various experts to opine on just how he'd lost his looks, and whether they were salvageable. All in the service, of course, of good public journalism.

Grant, though, shrugs it off. Just as he does any criticism of purely entertaining, feel-good films - like the ones he's done for so long.

"The ability to entertain a vast international audience - that's a little trickier than just appealing to a niche," he says. "I mean, once you're into 'the arts,' inverted commas, you're playing to, and guaranteed, a certain audience who feel that, well, one must support these sort of films. I have a little more interest, personally, in getting the fellow who's been working at a not-very-attractive job all week into the cinema on a Friday night and giving him a laugh. High drama's all well and good but you know, it's bloody hard to do the story of the couple who fall in love and not be boring as hell. It's not easy to play sunny."

Although not quite as difficult, perhaps, as pretending you don't care.
Since it's opening in 1985, the Giant Wheel on Mariner's Landing in Wildwood has been listed among the tallest on the East Coast.

At 156 feet in the air, guests get a spectacular view of the wide-open sea on one side, and the bustling boardwalk on the other.

With its gondola-style cars and stunning view, the amusement ride is a landmark along the Wildwood Boardwalk.

In 2010, a team of Morey's Piers visionaries decided to make a ride on the Giant Wheel even more unique.

Breakfast in the Sky puts guests into a private, Giant Wheel gondola, complete with a custom-made breakfast table draped in white linens.

A made-to-order breakfast and unforgettable view make Breakfast in the Sky an unprecedented culinary and amusement ride experience.

"Wilbert Morey Sr. always envisioned this," said Maggie Warner, Morey's Piers digital media/public relations manager. "Unfortunately, he passed away and never got to see it. So we're carrying on his spirit."

Making Breakfast in the Sky run smoothly takes the detailed planning, perfect timing, and flawless execution of a large team of workers.

Preparing the wheel

Every Saturday, Sunday, and Monday morning through Aug. 22, Morey's Piers maintenance staff arrives at the Giant Wheel at 5:30 a.m. to begin the daily inspection.

Each ride is inspected and tested daily, but because Breakfast in the Sky begins at 8:45 a.m., the maintenance team must begin their routine earlier than usual.

Next, ride operations employees take a test ride, and check each gondola for cleanliness.

Ride Operations team member Anthony Grassi said it's their job to make sure each car is ready for guests.

When it's time for guests to board the Giant Wheel, staff members welcome them to their gondola then fit the custom-made wooden table into each car.

"Each table gets a white linen tablecloth and china dishes," Warner said.

And unlike a stationary restaurant, the wait staff has to be sure each party has everything they will need for an enjoyable breakfast before the gondola launches for its journey.

Breakfast in the Sky manager Sam Shurgott said 32 gondolas are used each day.

"We seat four gondolas in a row, in four sections of the wheel," he said, noting that balance is very important to running the wheel smoothly.

Shurgott explained that the wheel goes through one full rotation during the hour-long experience -- the wheel travels slowly while guests are eating -- and "parks" three times.

"You go to the top for 15 minutes, to both sides for 15 minutes each, and then down," he said.

But the best part of the ride just may be the food.

Preparing the meal

Morey's Piers Executive Chef Wally Jurusz and his cooking staff prepare anywhere from 50 to 80 made-to-order breakfast platters each day that Breakfast in the Sky runs.

Every Saturday, Sunday, and Monday morning, the Fritters and Fries food stand on Mariner's Landing near the Giant Wheel is transformed into a breakfast kitchen by adding an omelet bar, toasters, and Belgium waffle makers.

On Aug. 1, Jurusz and staff were charged with making 54 made-to-order meals, timing them out perfectly, and keeping them warm up until delivery to the Giant Wheel.

"We have all our orders ready and cook for each seating every 15 minutes," Jurusz said. "Every omelet, waffle, batch of home fries, everything is done fresh for every order."

The menu includes dishes such as Belgian waffles topped with fresh fruit, Shrimp and Lobster omelet, Spinach and Fontina Quiche with crispy Lancaster County bacon, Jersey Tomato BLT with fried egg, and the newest menu item, a Shrimp, Crab and Chanterelle Crepe stuffed with Chanterelle mushrooms, grilled shrimp and crab, and topped with caviar.

"The top sellers are the Belgian waffle, the Shrimp and Lobster Omelet, and the crepe," Jurusz said. "But then some days we have more Steak and Egg Scrambles or even the Granola."

Enjoying a meal on the wheel

Once the gondola is set with linens, a vase of flowers, and a glass jar complete with a lid for containing any trash, the Giant Wheel begins to move, carrying passengers 156 feet into the air to their Breakfast in the Sky.

"It's like an airline," Shurgott said. "Once the first departure takes off, they just keep on going."

Breakfast in the Sky is $90 for two guests, $130 for three, and $170 for four. Each meal comes with water, a variety of juices, coffee, hot tea, and assorted breakfast breads and condiments.

For more information, visit moreyspiers.com/eat/breakfast-in-the-sky or call 609-846-1624.

Kelly Roncace may be reached at kroncace@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @kellyroncace. Find the South Jersey Times on Facebook.
NEWARK -- A man convicted of a fatal shooting outside a city grocery store continued to assert his innocence Friday as a judge sentenced him to 50 years in state prison.

A jury in June found Dawan Ingram guilty of murdering Najee Montague in September 2013 while Ingram was on probation for another killing. Prosecutors alleged a parole bracelet strapped around Ingram's ankle sent out alerts when Ingram, then 18, left his Newark home and shot Montague, 21, seven times.

Superior Court Judge Siobhan Teare called the crime "callous" and "depraved" before she sentenced Ingram to 50 years for homicide and 10 years for related weapons charges, to be served concurrently with the homicide sentence. He will be eligible for parole in just over 42 and a half years.

The sentencing followed an hour of emotional statements from Ingram's and Montague's relatives and friends, several of whom broke down while speaking.

Ingram, who sat silently for most of the proceedings, also addressed the court to deny his involvement with the shooting.

"I've got to live the rest of my life knowing that I'm being accused of murdering him [Montague], when the true murderer, the actual murderer, is still possibly out on the streets, waiting to kill again," he said.

Public defender Joan Richardson asked the judge to throw out the jury's verdict entirely and argued the state had fallen "woefully short" in proving its case. She then read an extensive list of ways in which Ingram had rehabilitated, including by attending anger management classes.

Essex County Assistant Prosecutor Roger Imhof recommended Ingram, of Newark, get a life sentence. Ingram was less than two months into his parole for a previous aggravated manslaughter sentence when he shot Montague, also of Newark, Imhof said.

Imhof also read a statement from the trial, in which an eyewitness to the shooting described what Ingram did afterward: "He walked away like it was nothing."

The judge said she struggled to reconcile Ingram's respectfulness and politeness throughout his legal process with the allegations against him. Still, she said, "I do think the evidence, unfortunately, was substantial in this case."

The Essex County Prosecutor's Office previously said the shooting happened around 7:35 p.m. on Sept. 21, 2013, in front of a grocery store at 1006 South Orange Ave., where Montague was talking to friends.

Ingram's lawyer argued at trial that Ingram had been home at the time of the shooting and presented relatives who said they saw him at home, authorities said.

They said prosecutors entered testimony from Ingram's parole officer, who said records from his electronic bracelet showed he was not actually at home.

"He came up from behind," Imhof said of the murder in a statement. "He didn't even utter a word. The victim didn't even see it coming.''

Ingram was released on July 13, 2013, from the New Jersey Training School, commonly referred to as Jamesburg, after he served time for fatally shooting Robert Hughes in 2009 in Newark, Imhof said.

As a juvenile, Ingram joined a gang by age 13 and was found guilty of weapons and other offenses four times, Imhof said.

Marisa Iati may be reached at miati@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @Marisa_Iati. Find NJ.com on Facebook.
Amanda Ballate selfie.jpg

Amanda Ballate, (right), has been selected to be the Big Sister of the Year from Big Brother Big Sister of New Jersey. Her little sister is Nia, (left), who says Ballate "is someone I can tell my problems to and feel safe when I am around her.'' Ballate, formerly of New Jersey, lives in Brooklyn but has continued to be a mentor to Nia for the past four years.

(Big Brother Big Sister of Essex, Hudson and Union counties )

Amanda Ballate has some kind of commute, and it has nothing to do with her job as a real estate broker.

The two trains she catches from her Brooklyn apartment to Newark Penn Station bring her to a 14-year-old girl from Union.

The girl's name is Nia and Ballate is her mentor. But four years of spending time together has brought them closer and changed their relationship in ways they couldn't have imagined. The soon-to-be high school freshman hasn't been Ballate's mentee for a relatively long time.

MORE: Recent Barry Carter columns

"I've always told her that we are sisters, forever,'' Ballate said.

This is what happens when a Big Brothers Big Sisters match works out the way it's supposed to. The connection they have is a bond that began when the Newark-based chapter that covers Essex, Hudson and Union counties put these two together in 2012.

This pairing, however, is special for Ballate's bi-state commitment to stay in Nia's life.

Brooklyn is not exactly around the corner. Still, the distance is no deterrent to Ballate, who moved to the New York City borough two years ago from Edison, the central New Jersey community in which she was raised.

"Some people would have given up,'' Ballate said. "But for me, I'm never going to give up on this girl.''

Her sincerity jumped off the page in essays written by Ballate and Nia that were submitted to BBBS State Association of New Jersey. Every year, the organization looks to honor a Big Brother and Big Sister who exemplify what it means to be a mentor.

Last month, Ballate was named Big Sister of the Year, a title she graciously appreciates but doesn't revel in.

"I don't do it for fame,'' Ballate said. "I do it for Nia.''

The young girl realizes that, too, and said as much in her essay.

"Spending time with her (Amanda) and her family helps me not miss mine so much and gives me hope,'' Nia wrote. "I love Amanda because she is easy to talk to, sweet and caring. She is someone I can tell my problems to and feel safe when I am around her. When it comes to Amanda, she is my 'go to' and constant.''

Everyone needs somebody in his or her corner. Nia has Ballate to look up to and to lean on, knowing that her big sister is going to be there through all of the uncertainties that life brings.

When the two were first matched, Nia, who has lived in several foster homes, had to move to another home before she could contact Ballate. She didn't have cell phone, but with help from the Newark Big Brothers and Big Sisters chapter, Ballate was able to find her again.

"For me, I'm going to find you through hell or high water,'' Ballate said. "I want her in my life.''

Now, that's a big sister if you ever met one. She's a rock, a protector and a caring soul.

MORE CARTER: Forgotten Puerto Rican heroines are remembered

"Amanda has been the anchor in the unsettled life of one child - a constant positive presence,'' said Joanna Jusis, a mentor manager for the local Big Brother Big Sister chapter.

Nothing gets in Ballate's way, even though the times they see each other take planning.

When Ballate arrives at Newark Penn Station, Nia is waiting for her with a caseworker, so they can turn around and head back to Brooklyn for the weekend. On other visits, Ballate will drive an hour from her parents' home in Hunterdon County, then scoop up Nia and return to Hunterdon County, where Nia is part of the family.

She calls Ballate's dad, "Daggy''; her mother is "Mummy." Ballate goes by "Burrito.'' Even the family dog, Boo-boo, gets some love.

On outings, Ballate and Nia make the most of their time together. They've been to the zoo, the beach, parks and museums in New York, a memorable trip that was Nia's first time outside of New Jersey.

The quiet little girl that Ballate met is outgoing now, and watching Nia develop, Ballate said, has been an honor. She was in the audience at Nia's eighth-grade graduation in June and promises to be with her through high school, college and life.

This journey, on a smaller level, takes the 30-year-old Ballate back to her college days at the University of Pennsylvania. She was a big sister who tutored kids at a local school in Philadelphia, an experience she never forgot and wanted to replicate after graduation. Ballate is sold on the merits of mentorship.

"I had this nagging sense that you have to spread good in the world,'' she said. "If you have time and love to give, why not give it to a child who is looking for somebody who cares?''

Four hours a month is what the organization requires. Ballate does that in one weekend.

The long commute has never fazed her, and having lost touch with Nia in the beginning didn't, either.

"I was going to do whatever it took,'' Ballate said.

Whatever it took to let Nia know she has a sister who's not going anywhere.

Barry Carter: (973) 836-4925 or bcarter@starledger.com or nj.com/carter or follow him on Twitter @BarryCarterSL
-- A 22-year veteran of the Newark police department, who investigated one of the city's most infamous killings, was sworn in Friday as chief of the force after serving in an acting capacity for several months.

Mayor Ras Baraka and Public Safety Director Anthony Ambrose joined top officials at the Newark Tech Essex County Vocational School ceremony to swear in Chief Darnell Henry.

State Police Superintendent Colonel Rick Fuentes, FBI Newark division Special Agent in Charge Timothy Gallagher, Mark McKevitt, head of the U.S. Secret Service Newark field office and Sheriff Armando Fontoura also attended among other law enforcement leaders.

Henry takes the helm of a police force that officials say is undergoing a host of reforms. A federal probe found widespread civil rights abuses and officials are working to eventually offset the loss of 400 city officers since 2010 while combating crime.

"The biggest challenge for me is going to be gaining the trust of the community," Henry said.

The new chief pointed to a long history in Newark as a benefit to him as the city's top uniformed officer.

"I'm born and raised here, I've been here my whole life," Henry added.

"We don't just have police officers here. We have the community here," the chief said of his swearing in ceremony.

Newark was "undertaking massive changes" in the police division, including efforts to fight crime, improve the quality of life for residents and build bonds with the community, according to the mayor.

"We have already put more officers on the streets, added accountability with the new Civilian Complaint Review Board, united residents with 'Occupy the Block' programs, and reorganized all our emergency response agencies under one roof," Baraka added.

"The City of Newark needs a talented, committed, compassionate, and professional leader to oversee these changes in our Police Division, and Darnell Henry is that leader," Ambrose, the public safety director, said in a statement. "Under his leadership, we will continue to be the groundbreaking and pioneering law enforcement agency that defines the future of American's urban communities."

Henry graduated from the police academy in 1994 and worked as a patrol officer and detective, detective sergeant and lieutenant, according to city officials. One of the lawman's highest profile cases came when he as served a supervisor in the Homicide Unit and worked to bring arrests and convictions in the brutal 2007 killings of three college friends at the Mount Vernon School schoolyard.

Before being named acting chief earlier this year, Henry was a supervisor with the Newark Major Crimes Unit and led the Executive Protection Unit.

The chief grew up in the city's Central Ward and pursued a childhood dream of becoming a police officer after graduating from Newark Technical High School.

"As a Newark native who grew up in this city, I am committed to creating a safe environment for my neighbors and fellow citizens, in which to own businesses, raise families, and enjoy Newark," Henry said.

Newark Fraternal Order of Police President James Stewart Jr said he has known Henry for more than 20 years, beginning when they worked in the city's North District.

"He has the temperament, and the street experience to understand what works, and what doesn't," Stewart said. "The community will be very happy he is the top uniformed cop in the city."

Henry replaced former Chief Anthony Campos, who retired following a major shape-up of Newark's public safety operations. Under Ambrose, the police and fire departments were merged into a single Department of Public Safety. Ambrose, a former city officer and prosecutor's office chief of detectives, manages both divisions as public safety director.

Ambrose and Henry presided over a July ceremony welcoming 135 police recruits, the city's largest class of future officers in at least a decade.

Noah Cohen may be reached at ncohen@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @noahyc. Find NJ.com on Facebook.
DEPTFORD TWP. -- Getting a bachelor's degree at Rowan University is about to get much cheaper thanks to a new program the university is offering through Rowan colleges.

Students attending Rowan colleges will be able to stay an extra year for their junior-year courses before finishing their bachelor's degree at Rowan University -- saving them thousands.

Starting this fall, Rowan University will be offering a "3+1" option with Rowan College at Burlington County (RCBC) and at Gloucester County (RCGC). University officials say this is the first time any community college has been authorized to offer junior-year courses.

With the 3+1 program, students will complete an associate degree at one of the Rowan colleges and stay on for an additional year. From there, students "transfer seamlessly to the University" to complete their final year for their bachelor's degree, according to RCGC president, Fredrick Keating.

"Students' credits will all be accepted by the university for their capstone year, allowing them to earn their bachelor's degree at a university for significantly less money," Keating said.

A bachelor's degree at Rowan University -- combined room and board expenses -- can cost about $98,000, according to figures on the university's website. Tuition and fees alone cost about $52,000 for the four years.

Students who get their associate's degree at Rowan College first, then transfer to Rowan University to complete their bachelor's degree can expect to spend about $35,000, not including room and board.

However, with the 3+1 program, students would pay $12,600 total for the three years at the county college and pay about $13,000 in tuition and fees for the final year at Rowan -- a total of $25,600 for the four-year education.

To start, the program will be available for five majors which are biology, liberal studies, law & justice, nursing, and psychology.

RCBC will also offer psychology and law and justice programs online that will align with the 3+1 programs, allowing students from throughout the state to participate.

"These partnerships were formed in the best interest of students and there is no better example than this new '3+1' opportunity that reduces the total cost of a bachelor's degree to far less than what many universities charge for a single year," Dr. Ali Houshmand, president of Rowan University said. "We are bringing high quality education within reach to many families in our region."

The 3+1 program was approved by the N.J. President's Council, an advisory board that represents New Jersey's public, private, and community colleges and universities, in June and has now received full regulatory approval from Middle States Association, and the New Jersey Secretary of Higher Education Rochelle Hendricks.

Both colleges are enrolling students for the programs this fall. Students who are already enrolled at one of the colleges can opt in to the program with the help of academic advisors who will help them make up and plan for the classes they've still got left to take, according to Keating.

"3+1 is a huge part of an effort to make college affordable for New Jersey residents," Keating said. "We want to keep our students in Jersey, give them an affordable education, and help them to stay and contribute to New Jersey as strong members of the workforce."

Caitlyn Stulpin may be reached at cstulpin@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @caitstulpin. Find NJ.com on Facebook.
CHERRY HILL -- A Pennsylvania dad will be watching his son go for gold at the Rio Olympics all thanks to a routine Uber ride that changed his life.

Ellis Hill, an Uber driver from Darby, Pa., was driving Liz Willock to the airport from Cherry Hill when the Olympics were brought up in conversation. Hill told NBC10 that when Willock found out his son, Darrell, was competing, he had to tell her he couldn't afford the trip to see him compete. Willock quickly stepped in to change that.

Jul 23, 2016; London, United Kingdom; Darrell Hill (USA) places fourth in the shot put at 69-8 1/4 (21.24m) in the London Anniversary Games during an IAAF Diamond League meet at Olympic Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

She promptly set up a GoFundMe account account last which surpassed the $7,500 goal within a few days. Willock, an employee for a global concierge service with contacts in Brazil, also told Hill her company would arrange all of his ground transportation from Pennsylvania to the hotel in Rio, according to NBC 10.

Hill told the news outlet that the trip will mean a lot to him after years of missing Darrell's track meets.

Luckily, this is one meet he won't be missing.

Instead, he'll be watching his son compete on Aug. 18 in shot put on the U.S. Olympic Track & Field Team.

Caitlyn Stulpin may be reached at cstulpin@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @caitstulpin. Find NJ.com on Facebook.
pj leonard

City of Bayonne employee PJ Leonard speaks at a City Council meeting in October 2015.

(Journal File Photo)

BAYONNE -- City employee Patrick "PJ" Leonard has filed a lawsuit against the city charging that officials retaliated against him after he blew the whistle on alleged shady deals and illegal activities.

The move comes nearly a year after Leonard, a rank-and-file clerk who helped Bayonne Mayor Jimmy Davis' campaign in 2014, launched a diatribe against the current administration at a City Council meeting.

One of the allegations in that speech -- that illegal health benefits were provided to several council members -- was proved true. At this time, the other claims have not been independently verified.

When Leonard spoke before the City Council, he said Davis had promised him a $50,000 annual salary to handle constituent services but that he ended up with a $35,000 salary as a clerk.

"Some will say I am complaining and exposing all the wrongdoings of City Hall because I was not given a salary I was promised,'' he said. "Well, that is half true.''

The July 14 suit filed by Leonard in Hudson County Superior Court repeated some of what he has previously claimed and asks for $775,000 in damages.

Among other things, the suit says officials retaliated against Leonard by moving him from his City Hall office to a "standalone abandoned trailer" on Hook Road lacking sidewalks and a bathroom.

The suit also alleges the city spent more than $30,000 of taxpayer money to hire a law firm -- as part of a "retaliatory charade" against Leonard -- to prove that Leonard had "cursed" at work.

Bayonne Law Director John Coffey II declined to respond at this time to the suit's allegations. City Business Administrator Joe DeMarco, who is named as a defendant, couldn't be reached for comment.

Leonard is represented in the case by attorney Peter Cresci, a chief critic of the current administration who has lambasted officials for what he has called excessive and wasteful spending.

Leonard's suit also accuses the city of discriminating against him on the basis of an unspecified medical disability, as well as his gender and age.

The suit claims DeMarco favored younger female employees over Leonard and that a salary level that was promised to Leonard was given to those employees, despite them lacking experience.

The suit's demands include a trial by jury, $775,000 in damages, a clean personnel file, a professional reference letter signed by the mayor and an agreement of non-retaliation from the city.

Jonathan Lin may be reached at jlin@jjournal.com. Follow him on Twitter @jlin_jj. Find The Jersey Journal on Facebook.
lorenzo richardson.JPG

Jersey City school board member Lorenzo Richardson is the subject of an ethics complaint filed by a man who hopes to sit on the BOE next year. Neil Barris | The Jersey Journal

(Jersey Journal file photo)

JERSEY CITY -- A Jersey City school board hopeful filed an ethics complaint last month against current board member Lorenzo Richardson, alleging Richardson revealed confidential information, compromised the school board and violated state ethics rules in his effort to get the schools chief's new contract tossed.

Matt Schapiro, who is seeking one of three open seats on the Jersey City Board of Education in November, indicates in his June 13 complaint to the state School Ethics Commission that he thinks Richardson could be booted off the board for his actions.

Richardson told The Jersey Journal Schapiro's complaint is "frivolous and political." Schapiro in response said Richardon, a board member since 2014, "has been unable to follow basic ethics guidelines in his conduct as a board member, unfortunately necessitating these charges."

Schapiro and Richardson are on opposite sides when it comes to Lyles: Richardson is a vocal critic of the superintendent, while Schapiro has praised her, and has worked on campaigns for Lyles allies on the school board.

The Schapiro complaint is the latest in a series of legal filings stemming from December's automatic renewal of Schools Superintendent Marcia V. Lyles' contract to oversee Jersey City 28,000-student school district.

Richardson, a Lyles critic, filed a petition in February with the state education commissioner seeking to have the commissioner intervene in the contract fight and force the nine-member school board to vote on whether Lyles' 2012 contract should be renewed.

Schapiro alleges Richardson's February petition was improper because state ethics rules forbid school officials from representing any party other than the school board or district in any proceeding involving the school district where they serve.

"When a board member uniliaterally takes action without the full knowledge and consent of the board, this is beyond the scope and duties of a board member," Schapiro said in his complaint, adding that Richardon's petition amounts to "usurping the board president's prerogative to set the board's agenda."

Schapiro also alleges Richardson's February petition to the education commissioner disclosed confidential information from closed-door meetings of the board.

Lorenzo said today, "Any board member has a right to question a process that is dictated by state statute and I am confident I was within my rights as a board member for the actions I took."

It's not clear how long before Schapiro's complaint could lead to a decision. The most recent decision by the ethics commission, dated July 26, emanated from a March 2016 complaint, while a separate decision arrived to one the same date resolved a dispute from December 2012.

A state administrative law judge has not ruled on Richardson's February petition, but in an initial ruling in March he called the underlying complaint about Lyles' contract "without merit."

Terrence T. McDonald may be reached at tmcdonald@jjournal.com. Follow him on Twitter @terrencemcd. Find The Jersey Journal on Facebook.
TRENTON - The battle between New Jersey's marijuana advocate Ed "NJ Weedman" Forchion and the City of Trenton is going to court next week.

First, Forchion and city attorneys will appear for a probable cause hearing.

Two weeks later, they will meet again over the 50 tickets Forchion says he's been issued by police this year alone for various violations.

The legal battle goes back to a series of incidents starting in February, when police were called to the street outside Forchion's East State Street restaurant and "pot temple" for a 30-person street fight.

The call prompted police to start ordering Forchion to shut down his restaurant at 11 p.m., citing a city ordinance that mandates businesses must be closed at that time.

When Forchion didn't comply, they started issuing tickets - regularly, he says.

The tensions came to a head in April when police raided Forchion's business and neighboring "pot temple" and confiscated some of his items including his DVRs and computer hard drives, as well as quantities of marijuana.

The charges from the raid, conducted by the Mercer County Prosecutor's Office, and Trenton police, allege he was dealing from the restaurant.

Forchion and his attorney, Edward Heyburn are preparing to fight to get his equipment back at a probable cause hearing next week.

Heyburn filed a motion in June to return the DVR's and computer hard drives. He said Thursday that they believe the equipment could hold evidence that police were lying about the February street fight.

According to Forchion, there were not 30 people involved and it wasn't connected with his business.

The next appearance is scheduled for August 25, when Heyburn and Forchion will go to court again to contest the 50 tickets Forchion has received since for not closing his business by 11 p.m.

Heyburn said he is compiling a list of the multiple other businesses in the city - including fast food restaurants - that don't close their doors by 11 p.m.

"I'm filing a motion to dismiss (the tickets) based on selective enforcement," Heyburn said, adding that if the city plans to shut Forchion's business in accordance with the city ordinance, then they must also close other restaurants within city limits.

A representative for the city declined to comment on the pending cases Thursday.

Anna Merriman may be reached at amerriman@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @anna_merriman
Trenton Fire Department promotes 9

Trenton Fire Director Qareeb Bashir in a 2016 file photo.

(Michael Mancuso | For NJ.com)

TRENTON -- The city's fire director is being investigated for allegedly touching a female city employee's breast in 2012, officials said Friday.

The accuser is Janette Negron-Donini, a former fire department employee who last summer filed a sexual harassment claim against Fire Director Qareeb Bashir, officials said.

That sexual harassment claim was recently dismissed, officials said.

And Bashir said Friday he suspects the accuser, who did not get the results she wanted in the workplace claim, is trying another avenue and he will again be exonerated.

Mercer County First Assistant Prosecutor Doris Galuchie said an initial investigation of the breast-touching allegation against Bashir was brought to the office in June.

Investigating the allegation as a criminal sexual contact, the office was unable to substantiate it and did not pursue charges against Bashir, Galuchie said.

On Thursday, the victim, and her husband met with prosecutors and presented additional evidence and asked the office to reconsider, Galuchie said.

"And we're going to review that evidence," Galuchie said. She declined to elaborate on the evidence.

Bashir said Friday the entire episode is a fabrication - then and now

"The charges are totally ridiculous and 100 percent false," Bashir said.

"I can only assume the person, since they did not get the results they were looking for, it's here we go again," Bashir said.

"I am confident that since I was exonerated before, that the exact same thing that will happen this time," Bashir said.

Negron-Donini is a 25-year city employee and transferred from a position in the fire department to City Hall last summer, following the harassment filing.

In July 2015, she gave an interview to NJ Advance Media, detailing how the director allegedly harassed her.

She could not be reached Friday evening.

Kevin Shea may be reached at kshea@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter@kevintshea. Find NJ.com on Facebook.
Your browser does not support iframes.

NEW YORK -- The Mets traded for outfielder Jay Bruce from the Cincinnati Reds on Monday, hoping the 29-year-old could provide some much-needed pop to the New York lineup.

He just did.

On Thursday with two outs in the top of the fifth inning at Yankee Stadium, Bruce blasted a three-run shot to right-center field off Yankees right-handed starter Nathan Eovaldi to give the Mets a 4-0 lead, Bruce's first homer (and hit) in a Mets uniform. Outfielders Curtis Granderson and Alejandro De Aza both scored on the play.

Overall it was Bruce's 26th home run this season. No Mets player has more this year.

The Mets entered Thursday 1.5 games back in the National League Wild Card. With a win Thursday they'll have split the Subway Series with the Yankees, 2-2. They travel to Detroit this weekend for a three-game series with the Tigers.

Ryan Hatch may be reached at rhatch@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @ryanhatch. Find NJ.com on Facebook.
FREEHOLD -- Attorneys for a Long Branch man who was convicted 24 years ago of sexual assault based partially on faulty evidence from a New Jersey State Police analyst are calling for the state Attorney General's Office to investigate whether other people may have been wrongly imprisoned by his testimony.

The state's top law enforcement officer should also review whether others were wrongly convicted by what the FBI has admitted were flawed hair analyses in criminal cases, including nearly two dozen in New Jersey, lawyers for the New York-based Innocence Project said.

The demands for case reviews come as a special judge is reviewing more than 7,800 drug cases from 13 counties after a state lab technician allegedly fabricated results in a marijuana case in December.

"It's very important now that the state take steps to do a thorough independent investigation to understand the scope of the problem and to review any case that could potentially be impacted," said Vanessa Potkin, director of post-conviction litigation at the Innocence Project.

In response to the Long Branch case, the state Attorney General's Office said it will review the matter

"The Monmouth County matter will be reviewed in light of the concerns that have been raised about the case," said Peter Aseltine, a spokesman for the Attorney General's Office.

The Innocence Project helped prove through DNA testing that Long Branch resident Dion Harrell did not commit the rape for which he was convicted in 1992 and for which he served four years in prison.

In Harrell's case, an analyst with the State Police Crime Laboratory - identified in court papers as forensic biochemist John Nichols - testified that an analysis of Harrell's blood put him in a pool of 2 percent of the population who could have sexually assaulted the victim, a 17-year-old Long Branch woman.

In reality, the forensic evidence showed no man could have been excluded as the potential rapist, Potkin said.

On Wednesday, Superior Court Judge Ronald E. Reisner threw out Harrell's conviction based on the results of the DNA test he took last month that showed he was not the teen's attacker.

Potkin said after Wednesday's court hearing that Nichols had testified in hundreds of cases in all 21 counties and that he oversaw other analysts in the crime lab.

"The problem is not likely limited to Dion Harrell's case because the testimony violated just such basic principles of science that were accepted at the time," Potkin said.

She said faulty forensic evidence is second only to mistaken identification as the leading cause of wrongful convictions in the United States.

New Jersey has other forensic issues to deal with at the same time.

In April, the FBI acknowledged that there are 21 cases in New Jersey where federal analysts gave "erroneous testimony"about forensic hair comparisons, Potkin said.

The Innocence Project and the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers are helping the FBI with the review, which is considered the largest of questioned forensic evidence among post-conviction cases, she said.

That problem runs deep, she said, because the FBI trained many analysts in New Jersey on hair analysis between 1979 and 2000.

"Now is the time when we really need to take this on," Potkin said. "The Attorney General's Office is probably the right entity to take leadership here and make sure we're reviewing cases and that there aren't innocent people in prison today because of faulty forensics."

Aseltine said his office has been working with the FBI on the hair analyses cases.

"Regarding FBI hair analysis, we worked with the FBI and the county prosecutors to ensure that the FBI received all of the case information they needed in order to review the relevant cases in New Jersey," he said."The FBI was in charge of reviewing the cases once they received the completed questionnaires they requested and other case information."

Earlier this year, the state Supreme Court appointed a special judge to review more than 7,800 drug cases after a lab technician at the state Office of Forensic Sciences laboratory in Little Falls allegedly issued conclusions about drugs that were never tested, a practice called dry-labbing.

MaryAnn Spoto may be reached at mspoto@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @MaryAnnSpoto. Find NJ.com on Facebook.
MINE HILL -- A 68-year-old woman from Benton, Ark., was killed Thursday evening after she crashed her motorcycle into a telephone pole in the Morris County town of Mine Hill, police said.

Shirley Whitmore was taken to St. Clare's Hospital in Dover, where she was pronounced dead, said Robert Lupia, a detective for the Wharton police, who cover Mine Hill.

Whitmore's mother lives in nearby Randolph and she may have been visiting her there, Lupia said.

Whitmore was the sole occupant of the motorcycle and was driving north on Canfield Avenue near the Randolph line when she crossed over to the southbound lane at a curve and hit the pole, Lupia said.

He said he did not know if Whitmore had taken any medications, but that is under investigation.

Ben Horowitz may be reached at bhorowitz@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @HorowitzBen. Find NJ.com on Facebook.
The federal government plans to pour $125 million into the fight against a mysterious disease that has ravaged corals in Florida and much of the Caribbean, and now poses a dire threat to the treasured reefs off the Louisiana and Texas coasts.
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 ASSRL's (Australian Schoolboys) match against England Academy will now be played following tomorrow's NRL match at Southern Cross Group Stadium due to the inclement weather in Sydney.

The second match of the series will now commence at 8.05pm tomorrow, after the Sharks' match against Canberra.

The match was due to be played prior to the Holden Cup game, but has been shifted in order to protect the pitch for the NRL fixture.

The Australian Schoolboys won the first match of the series 50-26 at Dolphin Oval, Redcliffe last Saturday.

NRL General Manager League Integration and Game Development Andrew Hill said he looked forward to seeing the next batch of outstanding talent.

"Last Sunday's match showcased some of the talented youngsters in both Australia and England and I would encourage the fans who watch the NRL match to remain to watch these outstanding players," Mr Hill said.

"Last year, Nathan Cleary and Curtis Scott played for the Australian Schoolboys and I'm sure we will see some of the players on show tomorrow in the NRL at some stage."
When you think of school, what do you picture?

It's probably somewhere along the lines of classrooms, books, homework and tests, etc. It all becomes routine and is not always all that exciting.

Sure, learning new things about what you love is intriguing, but four years of that just becomes ordinary. Even I, a person who truly loves school, find that school just becomes a repetitive task; something you need to do to achieve that degree and acquire that job.

But, what if school was more than just normal and ordinary? What if you could make school an extraordinary and amazing experience? Well, I did just that. I did what I never thought I could do at Indiana University Northwest; I studied abroad.

I always heard of all the amazing experiences you receive by studying abroad, and even know a couple of people personally who have done it themselves, but I never believed it would be something I could accomplish.

Going to Indiana University Northwest, I did not think studying abroad was something I could do. I never heard of anyone from my campus, or our rival campus, Purdue Calumet, studying abroad. I was sure it was possible and that someone had done it before.

So, following my naturally curious instinct, I did some research, and I hit the jackpot. Through my department, School of Public and Environmental Affairs (SPEA), I found the summer SPEA abroad programs through IU Bloomington.

There were so many to choose from, and there were many options for how long I wanted to go and how many credits I wanted to take. The summer SPEA abroad programs weren't a whole semester long, making it super affordable. After comparing all my options, I made a decision: Dublin Ireland.

Prior to going on this trip, I had heard over and over how life changing studying abroad is and how much it would open my eyes, but, of course, my original thought was, "yeah, okay."

Well, it turns out I was incredibly wrong. It'is almost hard to explain what an amazing experience it was. I was able to do so many different things that I never dreamed of being able to do, let alone afford. My class, which was composed of a little under twenty people, stayed in six bedroom apartments at the University College Dublin.

It really felt like I was in a dorm with other students, which is another thing I never thought I would experience going to a school I could commute to. Because of this, I made some really close friends that I traveled the country with. We also did plenty of group excursions that would usually cost a ton of money going by yourself, but it was all a part of the program.

I got to see so much of Ireland, learn a tremendous amount about the history, build close ties with the other students, and many other things. It is not your normal classroom, that's for sure. Yes, you have class, but all of my classes involved talking about Ireland and bringing in guest speakers to talk about things pertinent to our class. My class, Cross-Cultural Conflict and Dispute Resolution, brought quite a bit of Ireland's history into it, which made the lectures incredibly intriguing. It did not feel like school the entire time I was there. It was all an experience.

Taking in the Irish culture was one of the coolest parts. In many ways Americans are like the Irish, but in many ways, we are not. Immersing yourself in another culture opens your eyes to different perspectives.

I personally feel that I look at the world differently after studying abroad. I feel that I have developed myself more favorably and am better off for it. If this isn't reason enough, just think of how awesome it will look on your resume for jobs or even graduate schools if that is your plan.

Employers and schools love to see that you went above and beyond what the normal student does. Plus it opens up career opportunities. I met the President of Ireland, President Higgins, while in Dublin. Studying abroad! helps you make connections and opens up many doors.

All in all, looking back on my studying abroad experience, I would do it all again in a heartbeat. The experience is totally worth it, even if it is a little bit more money than staying home.

Everyone always says to travel while you're young, so why not travel and work for your education all at the same time?

As Albert Einstein said, "The only source of knowledge is experience."
U.S. Commerce Department commissioners have decided to slap anti-dumping tariffs of up to 33.14 percent and countervailing duties of 57.04 percent on hot-rolled steel imports.

A final vote of the International Trade Commission, which would finalize the hot-rolled tariffs and duties, is scheduled for next month. Hot-rolled steel is one of the main products made at Northwest Indiana mills.

U.S. steelmakers, including ArcelorMittal USA, U.S. Steel, and Fort Wayne-based Steel Dynamics, asked for the tariffs on imports from Australia, Brazil, Japan, Korea, the Netherlands, Turkey and the United Kingdom after a record glut of cheap imports last year.

ArcelorMittal USA CEO John Brett testified before the International Trade Commission Thursday that such protections were necessary because it's a high-volume, high fixed-cost industry. He blamed imports for the closure of the 84-inch hot strip mill in ArcelorMittal Indiana Harbor, where 300 steelworkers had worked.

"To be successful, we have to maintain a large enough volume to absorb those high fixed costs," he said. "We also have to get a price that covers our costs and provides a reasonable rate of return on our investment."

Imports caused prices in the U.S. to collapse, making reasonable returns "more difficult, if not impossible to obtain," Brett said.

Foreign mills have just been dumping excess capacity at low prices in the United States so they can stay busy, Brett said. They shipped over 1.4 million more tons in 2014, when demand was still rising in the U.S. Though demand cratered in 2015, imports continued to escalate, causing hot-rolled steel prices to plunge.

"The immediate consequences of the domestic industrys lower shipment volumes and prices were lower revenues and profits," Brett said. "While one can debate what might constitute a reasonable return on investment for this capital-intensive industry, it is clear that the domestic industry is not currently earning it. In 2015, the domestic hot-rolled steel industry lost money on a gross income, operating income, and net income basis."

Brett said a lack of profitability threatens both the company and the domestic industry. One example of the harm that could be done would be delays in maintenance that would only add to future costs.

"The preliminary duties on hot-rolled steel have begun to provide some relief to the domestic industry, but we continue to struggle in 2016," he said. "Without final orders in this case, additional injury to the industry will undoubtedly follow."
One of the hottest shows of the summer landed in Chicago last weekend.

Maks & Val Live On Tour: Our Way was presented at The Chicago Theatre and drew a packed house of fans. The 90-minute sold-out show, which is crisscrossing the country, stars charismatic siblings of dance Maksim and Valentin Chmerkovskiy. The brothers are two of the noted entertainers from ABCs Dancing with the Stars.

During the concert, Maks and Val exhibited a maximum of energy in a collection of dance numbers that featured different moods, styles and assorted musical genres.

As the brothers took the stage to the fast-paced opening song Cake By The Ocean by DNCE, fans welcomed them with screams. The duo captured the audiences attention from that first sizzling number and continued to mesmerize fans with their sleek, polished and dynamic moves. Maks and Val also perform with a team of 10 dancers who aptly complement the brothers.

In addition to the siblings exceptional talents in the dance department and as choreographers, what else sets this show apart is that its autobiographical.

Fans get a look at the lives of the Chmerkovskiy family and the siblings road to dance fame. Video clips of their father, as well as the brothers, are shown throughout the production as they talk about the family, their journey from Russia to the United States, how they got interested in dance and the strong work ethic that they followed.

Maks and Val also exhibited a solid brotherly love telling the audience that they are each others best friends and the family is of utmost importance.

As they told their story live and through video clips, theyd occasionally break out in a dance number to illustrate various segments of their lives. The production is co-choreographed, co-produced and co-created by Maks and Val.

During the portion of the show where they talked about establishing a dance studio with Maks going on to give lessons, Maks performed a number that was set in a studio. He went from student to student pointing out different dance elements and demonstrating in a lively way styles such as Rhumba, Jive, Cha Cha and Samba.

Other show segments included a prom scene, street settings and a dance number inspired by the siblings ideas of love, which featured photos of Maks and fiancee Peta Murgatroyd.

The brothers also addressed the audience often during the show and proved humorous with their repartee.

Fans will walk away from this production with a definite desire to dance. For more information on Maks & Val Live On Tour: Our Way, visit MaksandValTour.com.
The world of Windy City jazz is featured in Chops at Theater Wit in Chicago. The world premiere production, written by Michael Rychlewski and produced by Dashnight Productions, continues through Aug. 14.

Three of the four characters in the show are guys who were major players on Rush Street in the heyday of (Chicago) jazz, said Richard Shavzin, director of Chops. He added Rush Street was the scene where old school Chicago jazz thrived during the late 50s to 70s. The show is actually set in 1984, well past the jazz club heyday.

Chops features characters Vince, a former bartender, and friends Walt and Philly as well as female jazz lover Kaki. The story line revolves around talk of the old jazz heyday, the tensions between friends and other problems in their lives.

Shavzin said he remembers going to Rush Street as a young actor when there wasnt quite that nightclub feel in the neighborhood anymore.

When I was there, it was a pretty intense party scene, he said. When I was there working on Rush Street, that era (the classic jazz time period) was gone.

The director said Chops features a strong ensemble group of actors.I couldnt be more thrilled with my cast, he said. Shavzin added the playwright has done a wonderful job evoking a very specific time and place as the feel of the era and the language of the era is highlighted extremely well in the piece.

The process of working to bring the world premiere play to the stage, Shavzin said, has been a labor of love.

He added Chops is the perfect combination of great material with a wonderful creative team and the ideal city to premiere (and set) it in.

Shavzin is currently working on a new musical about the 1893 Worlds Fair.

FYI: Chops continues through Aug. 14 at Theater Wit, Stage 1, 1229 W. Belmont, Chicago. Tickets are $35; and $25 for senior citizens and students. Call (773) 975-8150. Visit theaterwit.org.
HAMMOND  A not guilty plea was entered Wednesday on behalf of a fourth man charged in a fatal Gary home invasion in 2013, U.S. District Court records show.

Brandon Pacific, 24, of Hammond, was charged July 21 in a superseding indictment.

Mark Knuckles Cherry, 21, of Lake Station; Bruce Casper Hendry, 30, of Hobart; and James Dough Boy Landrum previously were indicted in the case and not guilty pleas have been entered on their behalf. Landrum's age and last known address were not on file with the U.S. attorney's office, a spokesman said Friday.

The men are accused of causing Rolando Correa Jr.'s death by using a firearm as part of a conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute marijuana.

Cherry previously had been charged in connection with the homicide in Lake Criminal Court, but the charges were dropped in May.

According to state court records, several men with guns went to a home Dec. 1, 2013, in the 6200 block of West 29th Avenue in Gary and demanded the homeowner turn over marijuana. Correa was shot in an ensuing struggle.

Cherry was wounded during the struggle, and officers found him after stopping a vehicle fleeing the scene, police said.

Andre J. Woods, 28, of Gary, was found dead with a gunshot wound hours after the home invasion on the side of the road in the 2100 block of Georgia Street. Gary police previously said they believed Woods also was involved in the home invasion.
HOBART  Police are asking the publics help in identifying a woman accused of stealing a wallet last month from a retailer and using the victims credit card that same day in the area of U.S. 30 and Mississippi Street.

The incident occurred about 1 p.m. July 23, according to the Hobart Police Department. About 15 minutes after the theft, the same woman could be seen in surveillance video using the victims credit card at a nearby Merrillville retailer.

The suspect was driving a light colored Chrysler or Dodge minivan.

Anyone with information can call Hobart Detective Christopher Ciesielski at (219) 942-3406, ext. 1074. Callers can remain anonymous.
VALPARAISO  Thomas Reichler, 19, was found guilty of murder late Thursday night in the shooting death of Portage resident Alexius Tapia.

According to court officials, the jury found Reichler guilty of murder, theft, attempted theft and theft/receiving stolen property, all felonies, following four days of testimony. The jury deliberated for about six hours.

The jury had the option of finding him guilty of voluntary manslaughter, but chose murder, said Porter County Prosecutor Brian Gensel.

We believe the jury made the right decision in finding the defendant guilty of murder, holding him accountable for the consequences of his actions. It was a senseless, cowardly act that deprived Krystal Tapia of a husband and his four children of a father. We extend our condolences to the Tapia family and gratitude to the Portage Police Department for their hard work in the investigation, said Gensel.

Reichler was on trial this week on a charge of murdering 36-year-old Tapia, after the Southfield Estates homeowner caught Reichler and the others stealing from his vehicles the morning of Dec. 12, 2014.

The defense argued this week that Reichler shot Tapia in self-defense.

Nathaniel Sipe of Westville told jurors Thursday morning that Reichler was saying, Im on the top of the world. I feel like I can do anything. I can kill anyone.

Sipe said he and a third friend, who also was out stealing from cars that morning, had contemplated trying to get the gun away from Reichler before he did something stupid.

Jurors were also shown a video captured by Tapias home surveillance system, showing him running out his front door with a handgun around 5:30 a.m. Dec. 12, 2014, to confront a young man breaking into one of his vehicles, who police later identified as Reichler.

The grainy video, shot in the pre-dawn darkness shows Tapia pulling Reichler back toward the house. Tapia is seen ducking after Reichler pulls out a gun and fires it toward Tapias head. Tapia then turns back toward Reichler and is shot in the upper abdomen by Reichler.

Reichler did not testify in his own defense.

A date for his sentencing had not been set Friday morning.
CROWN POINT  Dominque B. Bowman, 22, of Gary, was sentenced Thursday to nine years with the Indiana Department of Corrections in an attack on her aunt a little more than a year ago that cost the aunt her left eye.

Lake Criminal Court Judge Samuel Cappas said five years were to be spent in prison and four in Lake County Community Corrections. Bowman was found guilty April 5 of aggravated battery and battery resulting in serious bodily injury.

According to court records, Bowman punched her aunt in the face during an argument on July 23, 2015, causing the aunt to lose her left eye.

Defense attorney Derrick Julkes described Bowman as having a troubled childhood and witnessing the death of two friends from gunshot wounds just prior to hitting her aunt. He asked for four to five years of probation.

Her father, Darryl Bowman, testified at the sentencing hearing that if she were released on probation, he could provide stability in her life.

Cappas cited a number of aggravating factors in imposing the sentence, including the womans eight prior misdemeanor convictions, two for battery.
HAMMOND  City leaders may hop aboard a planned South Shore extension proposal if certain conditions are met.

The City Council is scheduled to vote Monday on a resolution in which it would conditionally commit to providing up to $27 million for the West Lake Extension Corridor Project. The conditions include that a new gateway station, maintenance facility, and south Hammond station are approved and adopted by the Northwest Indiana Commuter Train District as part of the project.

If what is referred to as the Hammond alternative is included as the preferred alternative in the draft Environmental Impact Study and adopted by the board, and other contingencies are met, the Council would commit to providing up to $900,000 per year for up to 30 years. The money would come out of the citys share of Lake County economic development income tax revenue.

Thats really good news, John Parsons, NICTD vice president for planning and marketing, said Friday. He said NICTD CEO and President Mike Noland plans to be at Mondays meeting.

Mayor Thomas McDermott Jr. said the city would be crazy not to support the South Shore extension, provided all conditions are met.

According to the resolution, the construction of a gateway station connecting both the east/west and north/south South Shore lines, a maintenance facility located west of Sheffield Avenue and north of Hoffman Street, and a South Hammond station near 173rd Street and Lyman Avenue, would result in about a $300 million investment in the city.

McDermott said he can see a lot of positives for the city.

We are going to take some of the older parts of our city and rejuvenate it, he said. McDermott said officials could remove a lot of blight and look to the Northwest Indiana Regional Development Authority to help fund some transit-oriented development.

The resolution states the Hammond alternative could potentially result in $40 million of RDA investment in and around the proposed gateway station, the current Gostlin Street Station and other areas along the corridor.

McDermott expressed concern in the past about the possibility of freight trains using the line, but said Friday he has been assured that will not happen. Parsons said the grades on some of the proposed rail bridges are too steep to accommodate freight trains.

One of the conditions in the resolution states that the Hammond alternative will not be designed to accommodate freight traffic. Other contingencies call for the protection of current bike trails and making sure traffic from a parking lot doesnt negatively impact Lyman and Hohman avenues.

Lake County and various communities within the county had made commitments to the project earlier. According to the Hammond resolution, NICTD is in need of the commitment of funds from Hammond to continue to develop the project.
CROWN POINT  David N. Jackson whose April trial on two counts of attempted murder and other charges ended in a hung jury will serve a total of eight years on probation.

Lake Criminal Court Judge Samuel Cappas on Thursday accepted a plea agreement worked out between the Lake County prosecutors office and Jacksons attorney Nick Barnes. Jackson pleaded guilty to two felony counts of criminal recklessness.

Jackson, 30, was accused of shooting at a car in the 3400 block of Lincoln Street in East Chicago on Aug. 19, 2013. His former girlfriends relatives were inside of the vehicle, according to court records. Although the bullets hit the vehicle, the women inside werent injured.

Cappas sentenced the East Chicago resident to four years in Lake County Jail on each of the two felony counts, all of the time suspended and to be served on probation.

Jackson faced more than 130 years in prison if he had been found guilty of two counts of attempted murder and being an habitual offender, according to Barnes.
MICHIGAN CITY  If Robert Altherr had to die, the Michigan City man did so the way he wanted to, perhaps, on his Harley-Davidson motorcycle.

He was a huge fan of that particular brand and could fix or modify just about anything with an engine, said Jeff Coffman, assistant manager at the Auto Value parts store on U.S 20 in Michigan City where Altherr also worked the past few years.

He was a Harley man through and through, said Coffman, adding Altherr, 58, took his grandchildren for rides and rode with other family members.

According to police, a car made a left turn in front of his 2002 Harley-Davidson Wednesday before 7 a.m. at County Road 400 North and Cleveland Avenue.

Matthew Schmidt, 38, Michigan City, allegedly fled but was apprehended less than three hours later a half-mile away on U.S 421 at Interstate 94. Hes charged with fleeing the scene of a fatal accident, a level 5 felony.

Altherr also was a former member of the motorcycle clubs Iron Order and Guardian Riders, and used to work as a mechanic at Moores Auto Repair on Michigan Citys west side.

He was a hard worker. A fantastic auto tech. He was very dedicated to that, said Steve Moore, owner of the shop.

Altherr also formerly was employed in maintenance at the Indiana State Prison and previously worked with Coffman at Advanced Auto Parts.

Coffman called Altherr a friend and family man, who wouldnt think twice of helping a stranded motorist or anyone else in need.

He was a pretty good guy. He definitely went out of his way to help people, he said.

Moore, a member of another motorcycle club, The Wall Gang, said the driver of the car fleeing and making a mistake makes the loss even more difficult.

All motorcycle riders out there are always on the look out for that one driver thats out there to mess up. When theres somebody close to you like that it makes you think a little bit more, said Moore.

Police have not said why Schmidt allegedly fled or if he was under the influence of drugs or alcohol. Schmidt was wanted for escape, said Capt. Stephen Jesse, commander of the Michigan City police traffic division.
DETROIT  Crystal Webb cringes whenever a patrol car appears in her rearview mirror. She also never wants to see the inside of a police station again.

Her personal experience with police, plus recent fatal shootings of unarmed black men by white officers, has led the Apple Valley, California, mother of two to ask: Who are the good guys and who are bad?

"You are the people I'm supposed to go to when I'm in trouble," Webb says of police.

Two-thirds of young African-Americans and 4 in 10 Hispanics say that they or someone they know has experienced violence or harassment at the hands of the police, according to a new GenForward poll. That includes about 2 in 10 in each group who say that was a personal experience, including about 3 in 10 black men who say the same.

But the poll also shows that young people still desire a police presence in their communities.

GenForward is a survey of adults age 18 to 30 by the Black Youth Project at the University of Chicago with the Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research. The first-of-its-kind poll pays special attention to the voices of young adults of color, highlighting how race and ethnicity shape the opinions of a new generation.

Those poll results come after the killing of several young black men by police around the country. Two of the more recent killings were the July 5 shooting death of Alton Sterling during a struggle with officers in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, and the fatal shooting of Philando Castile the following day by an officer in a suburb of St. Paul, Minnesota.

Those shootings were followed by the July 7 killing of five officers in Dallas by a black gunman during a protest against police shootings of black suspects. Two police officers and one sheriff's deputy were shot and killed by a black gunman during a July 17 ambush in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.

About 6 in 10 young adults consider the killings of black people by the police and violence against the police as extremely or very serious problems, according to the poll. But young African-Americans and Hispanics see killings by police as more serious problems and young whites see violence against the police as more serious. Most, especially blacks and Hispanics, say not-guilty verdicts for three Baltimore police officers charged in the April 2015 death of Freddie Gray give them less confidence in the police.

Gray, 25, was fatally injured while handcuffed and shackled in the back of the van.

Among young whites and Asians in the new poll, just 3 in 10 say they or someone they know has experienced police harassment, and just 1 in 10 white and 1 in 20 Asians say that was a personal experience.

Crystal Webb, who is black, says she was arrested last November by two officers  one white, the other black.

"They threw me in the police car and when I gave them my story, the other officer who was white gave me a look," she said. "While the officer of color was asking questions and being nice, the other officer got in the car and started yelling at me. He told me to just shut up."

Webb, 29, said she was four months pregnant at the time and her hands were cuffed behind her back in the rear of the car. She said the white officer was driving and sped off. "The car jerked and it almost broke my arm," Webb said. "He kept doing it all the way to the jail."

The charges eventually were dropped by a judge, she said.

Webb said she believes the white officer was rude to her because of her skin color.

"I think he looked at me like I was ghetto," she said.

The new poll shows young people, including young blacks and Hispanics, do want a police presence in their communities. In fact, most support adding more police or armed security guards in public places like schools, movie theaters and malls.

"We need good (police officers)," Webb said. "We need people who aren't going to react so quickly to a person of color."

Billy Busby, 24, of Atlanta, says he was working a security job and helping police in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, with crowd and traffic control during the popular Black Bike Beach in May when he was approached by a white officer.

"The officer came up to me and said, 'What are you doing here?' I said, 'I'm sorry, I'm doing my job.' She said, 'You need to move or I'm going to arrest you,'" Busby said.

Busby said his supervisor showed up, vouched for him and defused the situation.

"I think she felt intimidated because I was a black male and doing traffic," Busby said.

Harassment of black men by white officers is routine, he added.

"The majority of the time we are targeted," Busby said. "They are going to stop us and they are going to run our names and try to lock us up."

Some officers in southern Mississippi target Hispanics, thinking they're in the U.S. illegally, said Patience Buxton, 28, who owns a company in Forest, Mississippi, that shuttles people back and forth to various appointments.

Buxton is biracial and identifies as white, and says many of her customers are Hispanic.

"I know they are looking at me," Buxton said of officers. "I get nervous myself. I know I've done nothing wrong. They've called me a coyote, asked me if I'm transporting illegals. They abuse their authority completely."

___

The poll of 1,940 adults age 18-30 was conducted July 9-20 using a sample drawn from the probability-based GenForward panel, which is designed to be representative of the U.S. young adult population. The margin of sampling error for all respondents is plus or minus 3.8 percentage points.

The survey was paid for by the Black Youth Project at the University of Chicago, using grants from the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation and the Ford Foundation.

Respondents were first selected randomly using address-based sampling methods, and later interviewed online or by phone.

___

Online:

Black Youth Project: http://blackyouthproject.com/
Anyone familiar with struggles in public education knows parental involvement is key to any turnaround.

The School City of East Chicago deserves credit for attempting to start the upcoming school year with a personal overture to parents.

New East Chicago schools Superintendent Paige McNulty, School Board members and other community and school officials went door to door this past weekend, welcoming students and parents to the new school year.

With that message came specific reminders for parents to register on time this week and to volunteer at their childrens schools.

We want parents and our entire community to be more active with the school system, McNulty told Times education reporter Carmen McCollum as she went door to door Saturday.

The example set by the boots-on-the-ground approach McNulty led should not go unnoticed by all Region communities  and particularly other Northwest Indiana school officials.

From Crown Point to Gary and Michigan City to Lake Central schools, most educators agree about the vital role parental involvement plays in the success  or failure  of our childrens education.

And what better way to encourage direct involvement than a communitys school officials walking the neighborhoods, looking parents in the eye and showing their own investment in the process?
The countdown has begun until the new year school year starts and along with that comes the chore of getting all the supplies that kids will need. A few tips from teachers and parents have been compiled to make those shopping trips a little easier.

 Make sure you have the current school supply list before you do your shopping. Many schools have them online, but be sure to contact your school if you dont have one yet. Theres nothing worse that stocking up and feeling prepared only to find out that you still need lined notecards or a protractor, but you have 10 more bottle of glue than you need.

 Buy extra. Jocelyn Farris, an elementary teacher in Crete, suggests buying more than you need. It helps if you buy more than asked to. During the year when the student runs out, it can cost two to three times more to buy it during the year than to just buy a little extra up front and have it on hand, she said.

DeMotte mother of two Karen Staniec said she buys an extra backpack and fills it with supplies to give to the teacher to pass on to a child less fortunate and she encourages those who financially able to, to do the same because theres so often a need.

 Shop online. If youd rather do your shopping sitting at home in your pajamas than running from store to store on a 90-degree day, online shopping is the way to go. Its also easier to compare prices from a computer than to visit several stores. Before you check out, google coupon codes for the website you plan to order from. Sometimes you can find a code that will save you 10 percent or more or give free shipping.

-Shop with your kids. Taking your kids along to shop can sometimes be more grueling than the act of shopping itself. However, it often saves time and headaches of getting home to find out that you kid daughter refuses to use the outdated character folders that you found in a clearance bin and then having to repeat the trip to the store.

-Buy Quality. Whether shes buying for her own kids or the students in her classroom, Carrie McPherson, an elementary teacher from Schererville says that its worth it to purchase quality brands. I look for the better quality folders that are vinyl, even through theyre more expensive because theyll last the entire year rather than replacing the cheaper ones over and over, she said. Same thing with crayons and glue. I prefer Crayola and Elmers brand, because although they may cost a bit more initially, theyll last longer and work better.

Retired teacher Barb Dust of Lansing also noted the difference in pencils. While specific requests on school supply lists, like Ticonderoga pencils, may cause parents to roll their eyes, there is a reason teachers may request brand names. I will say that cheaper pencils do break more easily, and then you have instruction time wasted while they sharpen pencils, said Dust.

-Start out the year with some supplies for the teacher. Teaching is one of the few professions where you have to put out your own money for supplies. Help out by picking up a few extra things when youre shopping to make a gift bag for the teacher with things like post-it notes, pens, pencils, kleenex and other items he or she is sure to use throughout the year or give them a gift card to pick out some of the things they will need.
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce filed a lawsuit on Thursday to block new rules issued by the Obama administration that prevent American corporations from merging with foreign-based companies and moving their headquarters abroad to save on taxes.

The business group, along with the Texas Association of Business, filed the lawsuit in federal court in Austin, Tex., saying the administration was overstepping its authority in issuing the rules. It is the Obama administrations third attempt to curtail the practice of corporate inversions.

The latest rules, issued in April, took aim at a planned $152 billion merger of Pfizer, the American drug giant, with the Ireland-based pharmaceutical company Allergan. The companies scuttled their merger plans shortly after the rules were released.

Both Pfizer and Allergan are members of the Chamber of Commerce.

If the defendants rule is permitted to stand, it is not just mergers that will suffer  it is the rule of law, and the certainty and stability required for effective commerce, markets and economic growth, that are truly threatened by the defendants unauthorized and unlawful action, the plaintiffs said in their filing.
"Dont raise your voice at me. Its not becoming of a woman. Honey. Darling. You either run with the nannies or you run with the wolves. A pat on the head. An arm around the shoulder.

Female lawyers might once have had to ignore comments and actions like these for fear of imperiling their careers. But the American Bar Association will vote on Monday on whether to prohibit harassment and discrimination by lawyers in the course of practicing law, establishing protections nationwide that are already in place in many states.

Sexist remarks to female lawyers are among the more overt signifiers of the discrimination, both stated and implicit, that contributes to their underrepresentation in the legal field, according to a study by the bar association.

Law Firms Bolster Antitrust Practices Its hiring season for law firms looking to prepare themselves for a heightened scrutiny of mergers by competition regulators. Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison has hired four partners, including Rick Rule, the youngest person to lead the antitrust division of the Justice Department when he was appointed 30 years ago.
Doctors and other providers say part of the problem is that because pain is highly individualized and difficult to measure objectively, a survey question is a poor instrument for judging medical competence. Moreover, many experts add, patients have unrealistic expectations: They equate good treatment with the complete eradication of pain and assume they will be handed a prescription for fast relief.

In a culture increasingly influenced by consumer ratings, many doctors say such questions pressure them to substitute what a patient wants for their judgment about what the patient needs.

Part of my paycheck comes from satisfaction scores, said Dr. Thomas E. Benzoni, an emergency medicine physician at three hospitals in Des Moines. So if doctors are being measured on whether the patient wants pain relief, he added, that is what they may be inclined to provide.

But when Dr. Benzoni refuses patients requests for narcotics, patients tend not to complain about it bluntly on a survey. Instead, he said, they will pick something I said, take it out of context and write in the comments section, The doctor was arrogant and didnt explain things.

So I pay for not giving narcotics with a smaller paycheck, he added.

The few studies on the topic show no relation between patient satisfaction scores and the prescription of pain medication.

Overprescribing of opioids is egregious and it is a national problem, but it is not caused by patients being asked some questions about their experience with medical care, said Dr. Paul Cleary, the dean of Yales School of Public Health, who helped develop the template for such surveys in the 1990s.
It was the morning rush in New York Harbor on Thursday when the Eagle, a majestic, 295-foot, three-masted Coast Guard ship, set sail from beneath the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge. On the Eagles starboard side, a Staten Island Ferry chugged toward Lower Manhattan, while on its port side, a Fire Department fireboat shot plumes of water in front of the Statue of Liberty.

Standing on the deck among the ships crew and its guests were Sydney James Harcourt and Kamille Upshaw, two cast members from Hamilton, the popular Broadway musical about the nations first secretary of the Treasury and, not incidentally, the father of the United States Coast Guard. They were there to celebrate Coast Guard Day, observed every Aug. 4 to commemorate the founding of the maritime service branch.

Heave, called a group of senior cadets, or cadre, from the Coast Guard Academy, who were holding the ropes leading up to the towering masts. Ho, yelled some 30 first-year cadets, known as swabs, as they tugged in unison.
Karina Vetrano liked to post photos online of her night life, and spend the morning afterward unpacking her pain and passion as a writer.

But running was her release.

Ms. Vetrano, 30, had undergone surgery on her legs and defied doctors conjecture that she might never run again, a friend, Jackie Hartstein, said.

It just hurts me that this evil person took the one thing that was hers, said Ms. Hartstein, 28, who lives in Bayside, Queens. When she was the happiest, thats where he took her.

Ms. Hartstein, speaking outside a vigil on Wednesday night for Ms. Vetrano, was referring to an attacker, still at large, who the police say sexually assaulted and strangled Ms. Vetrano as she took one of her daily runs on Tuesday afternoon in the tall weeds of a nature preserve near her home in Howard Beach, Queens.
Dean G. Skelos, the once-powerful New York state senator, and his son, Adam B. Skelos, may remain free on bail as they appeal their corruption convictions, a federal judge ruled on Thursday.

Judge Kimba M. Wood of Federal District Court in Manhattan said in her order that the Skeloses lawyers raised a substantial question as to whether jury instructions had been erroneous in light of a Supreme Court ruling that overturned the corruption conviction of former Gov. Bob McDonnell, a Virginia Republican  a decision making it harder for the government to prove corruption.

Lawyers for Sheldon Silver, the former State Assembly speaker, have asked a different judge for similar leniency in his case. That request is pending. Mr. Silver, a Democrat, was convicted of fraud, extortion and money laundering just weeks before the Skeloses received their convictions.
Paul J. Massey Jr., a millionaire real estate executive, took steps on Thursday toward running for mayor of New York City  styling himself in the mold of former Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg, as a wealthy businessman and an outsider to politics with the management chops needed to run the nations biggest city.

But if Mr. Massey, a Republican, wanted to project the image of a capable manager, his first act as a declared candidate did little to help that cause.

Although a news release announced that Mr. Massey had filed papers to begin his run for mayor with the citys Campaign Finance Board, a spokesman for the board, Matthew Sollars, said that officials there were not aware of having received any such filing.

At the same time, John Conklin, a spokesman for the State Board of Elections, said that papers were filed on Thursday to form a political committee called Massey for Mayor 2017  but that the filing was missing a required document and the papers were returned.
During a 33-year career at the Central Intelligence Agency, I served presidents of both parties  three Republicans and three Democrats. I was at President George W. Bushs side when we were attacked on Sept. 11; as deputy director of the agency, I was with President Obama when we killed Osama bin Laden in 2011.

I am neither a registered Democrat nor a registered Republican. In my 40 years of voting, I have pulled the lever for candidates of both parties. As a government official, I have always been silent about my preference for president.

No longer. On Nov. 8, I will vote for Hillary Clinton. Between now and then, I will do everything I can to ensure that she is elected as our 45th president.

Two strongly held beliefs have brought me to this decision. First, Mrs. Clinton is highly qualified to be commander in chief. I trust she will deliver on the most important duty of a president  keeping our nation safe. Second, Donald J. Trump is not only unqualified for the job, but he may well pose a threat to our national security.
Mr. Ortegas dominance in Nicaragua stands in stark contrast to the fate of other leftist governments that rose to power in the last decade. The appeal of leftist leaders in Bolivia, Venezuela, Brazil, Argentina and Ecuador has ebbed as the commodities boom that enabled them to dole out generous social benefits crashed, bringing the mismanagement and corruption of their governments into sharp focus.

Mr. Ortega and his wife have been at the center of Nicaraguas turbulent history for decades. They were members of the Sandinista National Liberation Front, a leftist rebel group that overthrew the Somoza family, which ran the country dictatorially from the 1930s to 1979. Mr. Ortega became president in 1984 in an election that international monitors called the nations first credible vote. His bid for re-election in 1990 failed, in large part because of allegations of corruption.

After Mr. Ortega won the election in 2006, he moved swiftly to overhaul the countrys political structure. The Sandinista party disqualified rivals from running in municipal elections in 2008 and has since used a combination of financial incentives and arbitrary legal cases to co-opt segments of the opposition and sideline the rest.

Mr. Ortega packed the courts and the National Assembly with allies, which paved the way for a 2014 legislative change that allows the president to run indefinitely for five-year terms. Ms. Murillo, meanwhile, has become a highly visible public figure with a daily radio show, and personally awards land titles and other benefits to Nicaraguans.

Under Mr. Ortega, 70, the countrys tiny economy has grown. And he has managed to work closely with international donors, foreign investors and the private sector, all while collecting financial aid from Venezuela. Nicaragua, which has a vast police force that keeps close tabs on its citizens, has also remained safer than three of its northern neighbors, Honduras, El Salvador and Guatemala. Gangs and violent drug trafficking has caused tens of thousands of people from those nations to flee to the United States in recent years.
Democrats, looking at a new nine-point poll lead for Mrs. Clinton, began wondering whether winning might be easier than they thought. David Axelrod, who ran President Obamas campaign, joked that Hillary Clinton should take the summer to tour the national parks and let Mr. Trump destroy himself. Mr. Trumps meltdown, said Senator Kirsten Gillibrand of New York, is a more permanent turning point.

Any celebration by Mr. Trumps opponents seems more than a bit premature. He is unlikely to go anywhere soon. Because what, really, has he suffered, besides a drop in the polls that might prove fleeting? In the month just ended, he very nearly matched the money raised by Hillary Clintons big-donor juggernaut, most of it in small contributions. His rallies drew thousands. This week a CNN reporter interviewed people at one Trump rally about Mr. Trumps attacks on Khizr and Ghazala Khan, the parents of a soldier who was killed in Iraq. The vast majority of Mr. Trumps fans were not only untroubled, but were willing to stand in line for hours to hear him say the same things all over again.

The idea that Mr. Trump will quit if his all-important poll numbers fall far enough seems like wishful thinking. A look at his business record suggests that as long as the money keeps coming in, Mr. Trump will fight, and if he loses, hell litigate. He is already talking about a rigged system, cherry-picking voter registration laws that dont favor him as proof.

It is also highly unlikely that there will ever emerge a better Mr. Trump. We are far more likely to witness an even worse one. His support isnt contingent on exhibiting presidential behavior, or shifting his energies to lofty discussions of public policy. In fact, it is contingent on the opposite. Lacking workable ideas or intellectual ballast, Mr. Trumps candidacy thrives on his refusal to be politically correct, a term he deploys to give license to declarations that should be called bigotry, or cruelty, or verbal battery. That behavior is what many of his supporters most admire. He is speaking to people who disbelieve conventional politicians, who detest a Washington they think has betrayed them. He promises nothing of substance to ease their pain, but he gives voice to their rage.

So where does this leave Mrs. Clinton? It does not give her the luxury of sitting back and hoping Mr. Trump will implode, but it does present opportunities  to lure wavering Republicans and independents, not merely by stoking outrage at his statements, but by addressing in policy terms the economic anxiety and fear that underlie Mr. Trumps appeal, as well as lingering distrust of her. Instead, she played into that distrust this week by repeatedly asserting untruthful claims about her careless handling of government emails.
During his campaign, Rodrigo Duterte promised, in so many words, that he would launch a killing spree aimed at ridding the Philippines of drug-related crime as soon as he became president. He offered bounties to the police, the military, indeed anyone who wanted to help him with the job of assassinating 100,000 criminals during his first six months in office. He bragged there would be so many bodies in Manila Bay that the fish will grow fat.

Alas, Mr. Duterte appears to be a man of his word: Since he took office just over a month ago, more than 420 people have been killed, 154 by vigilantes, the rest by the military and the police. Most appear to be low-level dealers, casual users or petty thieves whose greatest crime is poverty. All were murdered in cold blood.

Tragically, Mr. Dutertes solution to the crime and drug problems  extrajudicial assassinations  will not only add to the misery of the poor, it will do grievous harm to the countrys democracy.

Mr. Dutertes mockery of the rule of law is not limited to criminals. In June, he seemed to suggest that journalists who had been killed in the Philippines  one of the most dangerous countries in the world for the media  had it coming. Reporting critical of the authorities, he said, cant be just freedom of speech. The Constitution can no longer help you if you disrespect a person.
NATIONAL

An article on Thursday about the effect of the Zika virus on travel to Florida and the Caribbean misspelled the surname of the founder of eMedEvents, which sponsors medical conferences worldwide. She is Priya Korrapati, not Korrapti. The article also misstated the name of a travel website. It is liligo.com, not lilgo.com.



An article on Thursday about a financial settlement over accusations of sexual abuse at St. Georges School, an elite boarding school in Rhode Island, misspelled, in some editions, part of the name of another school dealing with abuse cases. It is Phillips Exeter Academy (not Philips).

BUSINESS DAY

An article on the DealBook page on Wednesday about the status of litigation over the future of Viacom misstated the compensation received by the Viacom director George Abrams. He was paid $395,068 as a director in Viacoms last fiscal year, according to the companys proxy statement; he has not received hundreds of millions of dollars. In addition, a correction in this space on Thursday for that article referred incompletely to the process that would be needed to find Sumner M. Redstone, who controls Viacom, incompetent before a trust could take control of his shares in Viacom. That ruling could be made by a court of relevant jurisdiction as well as by three doctors  not just by the doctors.



An article on Wednesday about the European Commissions approval of Sonys acquisition of half of the Sony/ATV Music Publishing catalog owned by the Michael Jackson estate described the transaction incorrectly. It is a purchase deal, not a merger.
A great might have been for the universe, or at least for the people who study it, disappeared Friday.

Last December, two teams of physicists working at CERNs Large Hadron Collider reported that they might have seen traces of what could be a new fundamental constituent of nature, an elementary particle that is not part of the Standard Model that has ruled particle physics for the last half-century.

A bump on a graph signaling excess pairs of gamma rays was most likely a statistical fluke, they said. But physicists have been holding their breath ever since.

If real, the new particle would have opened a crack between the known and the unknown, affording a glimpse of quantum secrets undreamed of even by Einstein. Answers to questions like why there is matter but not antimatter in the universe, or the identity of the mysterious dark matter that provides the gravitational glue in the cosmos. In the few months after the announcement, 500 papers were written trying to interpret the meaning of the putative particle.
Repossis unconventional approach to jewelry has earned her a growing following among the fashion set and, now, the backing of Louis Vuitton Moet Hennessy, which has taken a minority share in the company. With their support, the business is poised to grow dramatically. When the opportunity came to invest in Repossi, the decision was taken quite naturally, says Delphine Arnault, executive vice president of Louis Vuitton and a director of LVMH, who spearheaded the partnership after following the designer closely for years. (This is the first jewelry company LVMH has added to its portfolio.) We believe in Gaias talent.

So, apparently, does Rem Koolhaas. More than two years ago, Repossi reached out to the architect to redesign the flagship boutique in Pariss Place Vendome (also home to Cartier, Van Cleef & Arpels and the quietly tucked away JAR salon, to name a few). She cites Koolhaass mammoth 1995 monograph S,M,L,XL as inspiration, in its impassioned argument for the importance of the shopping experience in modern society. In collaborating with his firm, OMA, Repossi sought to redefine the concept of the luxury consumer experience: Rem thinks like an anthropologist, and so I wanted to work with him to try to answer the questions of what is luxury today, and why is it associated with some things and not others. During their first conversation, Koolhaas insisted that if the product was complex, the display would be simple.
LAS VEGAS  Apple, which has been criticized in recent years for failing to pay outside hackers who report bugs in its products, said on Thursday that it would begin offering a so-called bug bounty to technologists who alert the company to flaws.

At the Black Hat hacking conference, Apple announced a list of vulnerabilities that would command big bounties, including $25,000 for ways around Apples digital compartments and into its customers data, $50,000 for bugs that give hackers a way into iCloud data, and $200,000 to turn over critical vulnerabilities in Apples firmware  the software that lies closest to the bare metal of the machine.

Apple said that if hackers donated their rewards to charity, it would match their donation. We want to reward the people, and frankly the creativity it takes to find bugs in these categories, said Ivan Krstic, Apples head of security engineering and architecture.

For six years, nearly every company in Silicon Valley has been rewarding hackers who turn over bugs  a term for flaws that can make a product vulnerable to intrusion  in their systems, with cash. The hope is that the money will be an incentive to keep those flaws out of the hands of organized groups or spy agencies willing to pay big money to learn about them.
If theres anyone you definitely do not want at a party celebrating your coming wedding, its the mean-girl central character in Engagements, a bitingly funny but overly sour comedy by Lucy Teitler that opened on Thursday at the McGinn/Cazale Theater as part of Second Stage Theaters Uptown summer series.

When Lauren, played with savory savagery by Ana Nogueira, says to a girlfriend something like, Im so happy for you  well, girlfriend, watch your back. In fact, it is only shortly after uttering similar smiling words to her best friend, Allison (Jennifer Kim), at an engagement party for a mutual friend that Lauren begins aggressively hate-flirting with Allisons boyfriend, the white-bread Mark (Michael Stahl-David). She showers him with clever put-downs for a few minutes, culminating in the contemptuous suggestion that hell soon be inviting her to have sex in the gazebo.

He does; they do.

Laurens malicious behavior, unsurprisingly, is motivated by her dissatisfaction with her own life. Shes working on a Ph.D. in Victorian literature but even belittles the grant shes received: There are a couple of bigger ones, she says gloomily when Mark offers congratulations. (She dismisses Anthony Trollopes He Knew He Was Right as minor and long and boring. Long, yes; boring, no.) And while Lauren always has a boyfriend  as the play begins, shes dating a fellow who works as a janitor at a public school  she confesses to Mark when he tries to bed her at yet another engagement party that she has intimacy issues.

Ms. Teitler writes tangy dialogue rich in sharp-witted repartee. When Lauren objects to introducing Allison to her boyfriend, saying she would find him boring, Allison shrugs. Im not afraid of being bored, she says. We live in Boston. Im bored all the time.
PORTSMOUTH, Va.  A white former police officer was convicted of voluntary manslaughter on Thursday in the shooting death of an unarmed black man who had been accused of shoplifting.

Hours after convicting the ex-officer, Stephen Rankin, the jury recommended that he serve two and a half years in prison in the death of William Chapman, who was shot in the face and chest outside a Walmart in April 2015 after a security guard called police.

No video recorded the actual killing, and testimony conflicted on the details. But most witnesses, including the security guard who called in the shoplifting report, said Mr. Chapman, 18, had his hands up when he was shot, and the prosecutor, Stephanie Morales, said Officer Rankin could have used nondeadly force.

The officer brought a gun into what is at worst a fistfight, Ms. Morales told the jury, which deliberated for nearly two days before returning its verdict. Many residents of Portsmouth, a mostly black city of 100,000, saw his trial as a chance for accountability as police shootings generate protests around the country.
Mr. Nehlen welcomes the speculation. In an interview on Wednesday, he called Dave Brat, the economics professor who defeated Mr. Cantor, an inspiration and a hero who had helped inspire his own campaign.

He was a different David to a different Goliath, Mr. Nehlen said.

On the ground here in southeastern Wisconsin in a district dotted with factories and cornfields, there are few signs that the news media glow surrounding Mr. Nehlen has rubbed off on voters. As he crisscrossed the district on Wednesday, holding news conferences and at least one rally, there were often more members of the news media and his campaign staff on hand than actual voters. Public polling shows that Mr. Ryan is vastly more popular among Republican voters in his congressional district than Mr. Trump.

This is one of those campaigns that looks big on social media and in certain conservative media, but when you get down on the ground in Racine, in Kenosha and Janesville, its just not there, said Charlie Sykes, a conservative radio host who holds sway among Republicans here. The grass-roots Republican activists are not divided on Paul Ryan.

On Monday, Mr. Nehlen went so far as to say he would be open to deporting all Muslims from the country because, he alleged, they may hold Shariah law above the Constitution and are urged to lie by their religion. Im suggesting we have a discussion about it, thats for sure, he said on a Chicago radio show, adding: We should be monitoring every mosque. We should be monitoring all social media.

Mr. Nehlen, who is far more conservative than many voters in Mr. Ryans district, has still managed to create headaches for the speaker, who has found himself fending off an attack from an opponent to whom he had given little thought, but who has captured the energy and resources of anti-establishment conservatives across the country.
Steven C. LaTourette, a centrist Ohio Republican who retired after nine terms in Congress saying he was disgusted with partisan gridlock, died on Wednesday at his home in McLean, Va. He was 62.

His daughter Sarah, a state representative in Ohio, said the cause was pancreatic cancer, a disease Mr. LaTourette said Capitol doctors had misdiagnosed.

After he decided in 2012 not to seek re-election, Mr. LaTourette became president of Republican Main Street Partnership, which supports centrist Republicans against Tea Party insurgents.

He had been elected from Northeast Ohio in 1994, when Republicans gained 54 seats in the House of Representatives. An iconoclastic former prosecutor, he was a loyal supporter of his fellow Ohioan John A. Boehner, the former House speaker, who, similarly frustrated with trying to corral a Republican majority fractured by Tea Party conservatives, announced in 2015 that he was resigning from Congress.
LONDON  Almost to the day, in August 2009, an article appeared in this space saying: You know the silly season has arrived when The Times of London devotes a front-page obituary to the death of a fish called Benson.

It seems harder to be silly now.

By long tradition in what was once called Fleet Street, August was the apex of the absurd. It was a time when newspaper pages, bereft of hard news, yawned open to devour tales of, say, killer Siberian chipmunks attacking humans in England  as The Sun recounted seven years ago.

The digitalized heirs to that legacy have not lost their fondness for stories whose lightness of being seems only to enhance their ability to titillate. Consider the attention accruing since the weekend over whether a photo had been doctored to remove a champagne flute from the hand of Damien, the 14-year-old son of the actress Elizabeth Hurley. Shock! Horror!

But, compared with the not-too-distant days of Benson, a 64-pound carp found mysteriously dead at a fishery in the English Midlands, the silly season seems more ambiguous, challenged by atrocities that redefine the theater of the absurd as the spectacle of the macabre.
JERUSALEM  In an effort to appeal to Palestinians ahead of hotly contested elections, the party of President Mahmoud Abbas listed one of its main achievements as having killed 11,000 Israelis.

The party, Fatah, made the incendiary claim on Tuesday in an Arabic-language post on one of its official Facebook pages.

For the argumentative  the ignorant  And for those who do not know history, begins the Facebook post, The Fatah movement killed 11,000 Israelis.

Fatah also claimed to have offered 170,000 martyrs, and hundreds of its followers, it said, were in Israeli occupation jails. By Thursday the post had been shared 30 times and liked 163 times.
WASHINGTON  The summer political season has been suddenly seized by a fierce debate about #PalletsOfCash delivered to Iran on an unmarked cargo plane.

How did that happen?

In January, the United States government said it had sent $1.7 billion to Iran to settle a decades-old financial dispute over an arms deal. The payment was announced on the same day that the nuclear deal with Iran was completed and Tehran released four detained Americans.

Republicans quickly called the payment a ransom and an appeasement of a rogue state. While the political attacks soon fizzled, they gained new life this week when The Wall Street Journal reported a colorful detail: The first installment, $400 million, was paid in stacks of foreign currency that were flown to Tehran as the American prisoners were being released.

Donald J. Trump has assailed Hillary Clinton over the payment, saying she had started the talks that led to it. The White House has dismissed The Journals report as a six-month-old news story.
Budapest

Sziget Festival Hajogyari Island, Aug. 10-17

A once-fringey music affair has become one of the top pop festivals in Europe, attracting major acts from around the world every year. Performers include Rihanna, David Guetta and Sia. More obscure acts include Die Antwoord, a South African rave group. Visitors can camp out at the festival, which takes place just outside the city center. szigetfestival.com

Melbourne, Australia

Painting. More Painting Australian Center for Contemporary Art, through Sept. 25.

The exhibition is a broad survey of contemporary Australian painting. Those in the lineup include Ry David Bradley, who makes coolly-colored abstract works; Helen Johnson, who toggles between portraits and still lifes; and Matthys Gerber, whose brightly hued pieces verge into pop art. Some artists in the show, like Abdul Abdullah, blend photography, painting and new media. A giant mural by Sam Songailo serves as the backdrop for one section of the exhibition. accaonline.org.au

Ruhr Region, Germany

Ruhrtriennale Various venues, Aug. 12- Sept. 24

This theater and dance festival takes place at industrial venues around the Ruhr region. Once a major manufacturing zone for Germany, the region is now littered with massive, empty factories, which spring to life for the occasion. Pieces in this years festival include a stage adaptation of the novel Old People and the Things That Pass by the theater director Ivo Van Hove; The Future of Sex by the experimental Dutch theater troupe Wunderbaum; and a series of contemporary classical music concerts in the cavernous Maschinenhaus. ruhrtriennale.de
The hot new field of immunotherapy got a shock on Friday when a best-selling new drug failed as an initial treatment for lung cancer in a clinical trial.

Bristol-Myers Squibb said Friday that the drug, Opdivo, had not slowed the progression of advanced lung cancer in the clinical trial, which compared it with conventional chemotherapy. That is likely to crimp the overall sales of the drug by a significant amount.

This is a major surprise  possibly the biggest clinical surprise of my career, Dr. Mark Schoenebaum, a pharmaceutical analyst at Evercore ISI, wrote in an email to clients Friday morning.

Shares of Bristol-Myers plunged 16 percent in afternoon trading. Shares of the rival Merck rose 7.5 percent because its rival drug, Keytruda, is now likely to have a bigger share of the overall market. Merck announced recently that Keytruda had succeeded in its trial as an initial treatment for lung cancer, not only slowing the progression of the disease but allowing patients to live longer. However, detailed results have not yet been presented.
David Huddleston, a burly, cantankerous and prolific character actor who had the title role opposite Jeff Bridges in The Big Lebowski, Joel and Ethan Coens 1998 mistaken-identity noir comedy, died on Tuesday in Santa Fe, N.M. He was 85.

His wife, Sarah C. Koeppe, said that the cause was complications of heart and kidney disease.

The Big Lebowski was one of two cult films in which Mr. Huddleston was immortalized. In the other, Mel Brookss goofy 1974 Western, Blazing Saddles, he played the blowhard Mayor Olson Johnson.

In The Big Lebowski, a riff on Raymond Chandler, he played the conniving, hectoring multimillionaire in a wheelchair, Jeffrey Lebowski, who is being targeted by bungling crooks. Instead, they unwittingly go after Mr. Bridgess character, a bearded stoner layabout who is familiarly known as The Dude but who formally shares the rich mans name.

Mr. Huddleston, who started performing when he was 4 years old to help support his rural Virginia family, appeared in scores of plays, films and television shows beginning in the late 1950s, a presence notable for his sparkling blue eyes and poker-faced wit.
Kevin Spacey, Jennifer Garner and Christopher Walken at least chose to be in Nine Lives. The cast member you really feel bad for is the cat. It presumably was forced into the job by its manager, or agent, or whatever. Its resume may never recover.

The film, derivative (see The Shaggy Dog of 2006) and devoid of wit, is about that tiredest of kid-movie cliches, the parent who is too busy for his children and must be taught a lesson. Mr. Spacey is that parent, a flashy business magnate named Tom Brand who is cut from the same cloth as Richard Branson  telegenic and prone to daredevil activities like parachuting into news conferences. His daughter, Rebecca (Malina Weissman), is reduced to watching him on television as a substitute for spending time with him, since hes always so busy. His wife (Ms. Garner) doesnt see him much either.

In a rush to buy Rebecca a birthday present, Tom stops at a sketchy-looking pet store presided over by Mr. Walken. One lightning bolt later, instead of buying a cat, Tom becomes a cat while his human body lies in a coma. Being Rebeccas pet allows him to see his family from a whole new perspective.

The poor cat, under Barry Sonnenfelds direction, never has a chance to make his character likable, and that is some achievement, since YouTube has taught us that its almost impossible to put a cat into a video and not have it go viral. Perhaps the feline musings and antics will appeal to very young children, but the grown-up side of the plot, a phallic mess about which of two companies can build the tallest building in North America, will lose youngsters unless they are preternaturally knowledgeable about boardroom warfare and what it means to take a private company public.
How he accessorizes will offer an early signal of whether he will stay true to his roots as a subway beat officer or follow his predecessors into the citys social stratosphere. He is the first chief of department in several decades to be promoted directly to commissioner, a civilian post that necessarily dispenses with the uniform. His two predecessors, William J. Bratton and Raymond W. Kelly, both served earlier stints as commissioner and, unlike Chief ONeill, held high-paying private-sector jobs during some of their years away from One Police Plaza.

Already, talk in the department has turned to reversing Chief ONeills sartorial modesty. Stewart Altschuler, known as the Suit Man for outfitting legions of detectives, said he had received calls from three of those detectives alerting him to the incoming commissioners needs.

After appointments with a few chiefs at Police Headquarters on Friday, Mr. Altschuler plans to try to see Chief ONeill. His specialty  making jackets with enough room to hide a holstered gun  may serve him well with Chief ONeill, who, in a break from Mr. Bratton, plans to keep carrying his service weapon.

Im going to do my very best, Mr. Altschuler said. I dont give up.

At the news conference on Tuesday announcing his appointment, Chief ONeill joked with First Deputy Commissioner Benjamin B. Tucker, dressed in a charcoal-gray double-breasted suit accented with a pocket square, that he was really going to have to up my game when it comes to suits.

He stoked further analysis on Wednesday, when he posted on Twitter a rare photo of himself out of uniform. His pinstriped suit was paired with a gold patterned tie, white shirt and brown leather shoes. Tailors pronounced it an authoritative look, though they noted that the long sleeves and jacket hems were perhaps a better fit for 2008, when Chief ONeill was moving into a fugitive unit in the Detective Bureau, where suits are the uniform.

His style might have gone less noticed if not for the man he is replacing. In his office, at home and on his travels, Mr. Bratton keeps with him a steamer for instant unwrinkling, Mr. Miller said. He rarely passes a shoeshine stand without peering down and scrutinizing the glint on his shoes. During Mr. Brattons time as the police chief in Los Angeles, his tailor would visit and show him new items out of a traveling trunk.
Khalid Boufousse, 37, who fishes for bluefish and fluke inside the area several times a week, often after dark, said he would never venture to the interior.

I cant go over there because it doesnt look good, he said, rod in hand, wading underneath the bridge. Too much garbage, too much open space, no security. Now Im scared.

Spring Creek Park belongs to the Gateway National Recreation Area, 27,000 acres spanning New Jersey, Staten Island, Queens and Brooklyn. The Brooklyn and Queens sites, including more populated parks like Fort Tilden, Riis Park and Canarsie Pier, share a two-person patrol from the United States Park Police. A patrol passes the perimeter of Spring Creek Park several times a day, said Capt. Raymond Closs of the Park Police, but inspects the interior trails only about once a week.

The fire trail is a three-mile path wide enough for a fire truck, and is made of gravel, stones and dirt. One World Trade Center gleams in the distance. Friends of Ms. Vetrano said she ran frequently with her father along the trail, which is lined by the tall reeds known as phragmites.

Jim Buttner, 74, has lived across the street from the parks main entrance on 165th Avenue and Cross Bay Boulevard since 1971. He used to walk his German shepherd in the park and became a volunteer 25 years ago, often calling in suspicious activity, including unauthorized vehicles driving onto the fire trails. He said members of a Hindu sect often went into the park to sacrifice chickens.

Many times I have asked the Park Police, I have asked the rangers  we need somebody here patrolling, Mr. Buttner said. They just dont get the money they need to take care of this property.

Captain Closs said: Its something we discussed with the community in the past and its not a secret  resources are tight. We couldnt bury two officers in here in an evening, or on a weekend when nothings happening, when Riis Park has thousands of people. Those are decisions we make on a daily basis.
SCHENECTADY, N.Y.  It began, as so many eyebrow-raising stories do, with a tale about a fish.

Julian Canavan caught the fish in mid-July, shortly after finishing his shift as a lifeguard at a municipal pool that sits beside a lake here stocked mostly with sunfish. They are saucer-size specimens of a cheerful lemon yellow hue that people call sunnies in a manner suggesting they know each one personally. Yet the creature bending his rod was not a neighborly sunny, but a 37-inch behemoth with teeth to match its fearsome name: an alligator gar, a variant with a snouty, coelacanth look native to Mississippi.

It looks like a dinosaur, a prehistoric predator, Mr. Canavan, 20, said. His hunch that it wasnt supposed to be in Iroquois Lake, in the center of the perhaps aspirationally named Central Park, clashed with his catch-and-release credo. He let the creature thrashing at the end of his line go. Let it swim another day, he said.

Image Mr. Canavan, 20, with the gar. After catching it, he decided to let it swim another day, he said.

But just as all fish stories bulge and warp over time, the tale of Mr. Canavans strange catch has since morphed into an epic. Along the way, it has hooked the imaginations of this industrial, upstate city of slightly over 65,000.
Today, Mr. Putin presents Russias actions as responsive, not aggressive. Every time Russia attacks a former Soviet republic, the confrontation is portrayed as a proxy war started by America against Russia. When Russia attacked Georgia in 2008, the United States was in the midst of a presidential election that the incumbent Republican Party would soon lose, so the war was followed the next year not by tough sanctions against Russia but with a reset initiated by the new Democratic president, Barack Obama, and his secretary of state, Hillary Clinton.

That, too, proved a misstep. The idea was that two new presidents  Mr. Obama and Dmitri A. Medvedev, who had recently taken Mr. Putins place in the Kremlin  could put the past behind them. But Mr. Medvedev, who oversaw the war in Georgia, was only a place-holder appointed by Mr. Putin to circumvent a constitutional term limit. Policy makers in Washington and in Berlin knew this but decided to build up Mr. Medvedev, hoping to split Russias elites. Instead, Russia got away with the Georgia war cost-free, which ultimately contributed to Russian confidence that its later incursions into Ukraine would succeed.

Mr. Medvedevs presidency ended with mass demonstrations in Moscow and other cities in the winter of 2011-12, with tens of thousands protesting Mr. Putins return to the presidency and demanding modernization of the state. At the time, Mr. Putin accused Mrs. Clinton of taking active measures to spur protesters on. She set the tone for some actors in our country and gave them a signal, he said. They heard the signal and with the support of the U.S. State Department began active work.

Now Mr. Putin, who is known to bear grudges, appears to be disrupting Mrs. Clintons own presidential campaign with active measures. That the disclosures of the Democratic National Committee emails could benefit only Donald Trump is probably an added bonus. Mr. Trumps main appeal within the Kremlin is not that he admires Mr. Putin, but that he has little interest in Russias sphere of influence. And Mr. Putin has long dreamed of a new Yalta-style agreement to let Russia and America divide Europe again.

To be sure, Russias ability to influence American elections is limited. Mr. Putin does not control the American media, and Russia lacks the financial and military resources that the Soviet Union had. Still, the effort points to a danger. An angry and declining Russia is far more perilous than an ascending economic power like China. Sanctions wont change Mr. Putins behavior: He rates the security of his regime far above the economic good of the country.

Mr. Putin has reason to fear in one respect. His system does face an existential threat from the Western model of governance. Just as the economic inadequacies of Soviet Communism were exposed by comparison with the wealth produced by Western capitalism, Mr. Putins authoritarianism cannot match the appeal of an economy based on the rule of law, openness and competition. The best way for the West to resist Russia, now as then, is to uphold its own values.

Russia, as opposed to the Western world in general, is still by far the weaker party and may well contain deficiencies which will eventually weaken its own total potential. So wrote the master diplomat George F. Kennan in 1947. We know now that Kennan was right. The bad news is that it took 44 years for his prophecy to come true.
On Thursday it was Zhou Shifengs turn to take the stage in the Chinese inquisition. A lawyer who worked with people who challenged the Communist Party, he was charged with spreading subversive thoughts under the influence of anti-China forces and sentenced to seven years in prison.

Mr. Zhous was the third of four show trials in Tianjin, about 80 miles southeast of Beijing, following a nationwide crackdown on legal activists and other dissidents last summer in which more than 300 people were detained or questioned. On Wednesday, Hu Shigen, an advocate for democracy and religious freedom, was sentenced to seven and a half years; the day before, Zhai Yanmin, an activist lawyer, received a suspended three-year term for organizing protests; awaiting his turn is Li Heping, another human rights lawyer.

The campaign against legal activists is part of President Xi Jinpings broad assault against any criticism of Communist Party rule. It has also included tough new controls on nongovernmental organizations, especially those with foreign connections, and a crackdown on religious organizations not sanctioned by the government.

The pattern is dismally familiar in the annals of authoritarian governments. Mr. Xis efforts in these trials to portray the defendants as agents of foreign hostile forces working to foment a color revolution against the government echoes Vladimir Putins habit of identifying the United States as the architect of all Russias problems. President Recep Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey has accused the West of supporting the plotters of the failed coup last month, and used the coup attempt as a pretext for his crackdown.
To the Editor:

Amen to The Timess call for long-overdue state election law reform (Why Make It So Hard to Vote, New York?, editorial, July 29).

Coming in this presidential election year, when New York scheduled three  count em, three  primary dates when one would have sufficed, we are again reminded that while the Empire State leads in many areas, it falls tragically short in helping its citizens vote.

During the brief time when Democrats controlled the State Senate, I testified before its Committee on Elections in 2009 in support of the very measures your editorial endorses. Action is long past due, and New Yorkers should insist on it.

ROBERT J. SPITZER

Cortland, N.Y.

The writer is chairman of the political science department at SUNY Cortland.
SAN FRANCISCO  A roboticist and crucial member of the team that created Googles self-driving car is leaving the company, the latest in a string of departures by important technologists working on the autonomous car project.

Chris Urmson, a Carnegie Mellon University research scientist, joined Google in 2009 to help create the then-secret effort. He took over leadership of the team after Sebastian Thrun, the Stanford computer scientist and founder of Google X laboratory, left in 2013.

Johnny Luu, a spokesman for Alphabet, the parent company of X, the companys research division that oversees the car project, confirmed Mr. Urmson was planning to leave.

Seven years ago, the idea that a car could drive itself wasnt much more than an idea. Chris has been a vital force for the project, helping the team move from a research phase to a point where this lifesaving technology will soon become a reality. He departs with our warmest wishes, Mr. Luu wrote in an email message.
As public support turns against him, Donald Trump is suggesting without evidence that the election could be rigged by Democrats using vote fraud. This claim threatens the norms of American elections and could provoke a damaging reaction among his supporters.

Ultimately, democracies depend on losers acceptance of the legitimacy of the political process. Thats why the norm of accepting election outcomes among defeated presidential candidates is so important.

Though his political allies protested, for instance, Richard Nixon accepted his narrow defeat against John Kennedy in 1960. Similarly, though Al Gore took the 2000 recount fight to the Supreme Court, he ultimately endorsed George W. Bush as the legitimate winner of the election after the courts decision to end the Florida recount.
Hillary Clinton has a large and perhaps growing lead in the nation and in many of the predominantly white battleground states where Donald Trump was thought to have his best shot, according to a wave of new surveys released in the last two days.

Three national surveys  from Fox, NBC/WSJ and Marist/McClatchy  showed Mrs. Clinton ahead by big margins: 10, 9 and 15 percentage points. Its the worst polling stretch for a presidential candidate at this stage since John McCain in mid-October of 2008.

Its a little hard to make sense of it all, in part because the timing is a little unusual. This ought to be the heart of Mrs. Clintons post-convention bounce, when polling analysts generally preach caution. On the other hand, Mr. Trump had a tough week of his own making  drawing condemnation from Republican leaders and even causing a few high-profile defections from donors and the conservative media.

The prudent approach is to wait, and see whether Mrs. Clintons lead endures for another week or two  after convention bounces usually fade. In the interim, we can cautiously say that there is more reason than usual to think that Mrs. Clintons newfound lead represents a meaningful shift in the race, one that would make a comeback for Mr. Trump seem daunting if it holds.
Two Muslim American women were ordered off an American Airlines plane in Miami this week after a flight attendant said that overhearing them talking with other passengers about the lack of food and water on the flight made him uncomfortable, one of the women said.

Niala Khalil, a Voice of America journalist, said on her Facebook page Wednesday that she and her traveling companion were met on the ramp at Miami International Airport by armed air marshals and Miami-Dade police officers.

But an American Airlines spokeswoman said that the two were removed for noncompliance and disputed some of the details of Ms. Khalils account. She also denied that religion factored into the airlines decision.

Ms. Khalil said that the episode took place on Aug. 2 when she and her friend, a federal government worker she did not identify, boarded Flight 2239 to Washington. The flight was delayed by crew changes, a maintenance issue and bad weather, she wrote.
At the start of the 1957 movie The Three Faces of Eve, the British-born journalist Alistair Cooke, who narrates the film, appears on camera to tell viewers that the incredible tale they are about to see is a true story  not suggested by or based on something that happened, but a facsimile of actual events.

Adapted from a book by two psychiatrists, Corbett H. Thigpen and Hervey M. Cleckley, the movie starred Joanne Woodward, who won an Academy Award for portraying an unassuming housewife who suffers from what is now called dissociative identity disorder, the psychological malady that manifests itself in the display of multiple personalities.

At the end of the book, and of the film, the title character, whose three distinct personalities were known as Eve White, Eve Black and Jane, was cured; the Eve personalities had dissolved. She was living as Jane, happily married and reunited with a young daughter from a previous marriage that had been irreparably rent by her illness.

In spite of Mr. Cookes assurances, however, the happy ending was premature. The patient whose story the book and movie purported to tell, Chris Costner Sizemore, actually had a much grimmer time of it. Her new marriage turned out to be not an ending at all; she endured a fragmented identity until the mid-1970s, seeing several psychiatrists after Thigpen and Cleckley, until, in the care of a Virginia doctor, Tony Tsitos, her personalities  not three but more than 20, it turned out  were unified.
We are in the midst of yet another of Donald J. Trumps self-inflicted spirals of terrible news. And with prominent Republicans saying they will back Hillary Clinton and others announcing this week that they wont endorse Mr. Trump, there has been yet another round of speculation about how the party could get rid of him.

But it almost certainly cant. And even if it could, it probably wouldnt be worth the effort. Heres why.

Republicans Are Stuck With Him

Under Republican Party rules, Mr. Trump is the only one who can take himself out of the race at this point. The only provision that exists for replacing a candidate nominated at the party convention, Rule 9, was written to apply only in the event of a candidates death or refusal to run.

Then the 168-member Republican National Committee  a body made up of the men and women from each of the 50 states, the District of Columbia and five territories  would be able to name a new nominee by a majority vote. Each state and jurisdiction is given the same number of votes as delegates it has to the national convention, so the system favors larger Republican-dominated states.
1. Pan US Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton walking to podium POOL - AP CLIENTS ONLY Washington, DC - 5 August 2016 2. SOUNDBITE (English) Hillary Clinton, US Democratic presidential nominee: I take this seriously, dont doubt that. I take it seriously. It doesnt make me feel good when people say those things and I recognize that I have work to do. But when I started running for the Senate in New York a lot of the same things were said. I won. I worked hard for the people of New York and I was re-elected with 67 percent of the vote. AP TELEVISION - AP CLIENTS ONLY Washington, DC - 5 August 2016 3. Wide, audience applauding POOL - AP CLIENTS ONLY Washington, DC - 5 August 2016 4. SOUNDBITE (English) Hillary Clinton, US Democratic presidential nominee: Ask yourselves, were 67 percent of the people in New York wrong? Were 66 percent of the American public wrong (Clintons approval rating as Secretary of State)? Or maybe, just maybe, when I am actually running for a job there is a real benefit to those on the other side in trying to stir up as much concern as possible. So, I take it seriously and I am going to work my heart out. AP TELEVISION - AP CLIENTS ONLY Washington, DC - 5 August 2016 5. Mid, Clinton at podium POOL - AP CLIENTS ONLY Washington, DC - 5 August 2016 6. SOUNDBITE (English) Hillary Clinton, US Democratic presidential nominee: First of all, we are gong to start immediately. I want this to be a clear high priority for my administration. We will be prepared to introduce legislation as quickly as we can do so. I am hoping that the outcome of the election, which I am working hard to ensure a victory, will send a clear message to our Republican friends - that it is time for them to quit standing in the way of immigration reform. AP TELEVISION - AP CLIENTS ONLY Washington, DC - 5 August 2016 7. Wide, Clinton on stage POOL - AP CLIENTS ONLY Washington, DC - 5 August 2016 8. SOUNDBITE (English) Hillary Clinton, US Democratic presidential nominee: We have to recognize that of course some of the appeal (of Donald Trump) is xenophobic and racist and misogynistic and offensive. We have to acknowledge that. But lets not lose sight of the real pain that many Americans are feeling because the economy has left them behind. AP TELEVISION - AP CLIENTS ONLY Washington, DC - 5 August 2016 9. Mid, Clinton at podium POOL - AP CLIENTS ONLY Washington, DC - 5 August 2016 10. SOUNDBITE (English) Hillary Clinton, US Democratic presidential nominee: So we have to reject and stand up against the appeals to the kind of bigotry and the use of bluster and bullying we see coming from Trumps campaign. But lets not forget the real economic challenges that too many Americans of all backgrounds are facing today - so that is how I think about it and thats how I am going to try in this campaign to respond to and rebuke all of the horrible things he says on a pretty regular basis, but not about me, I could care less about that, but when he goes after individuals, when he accuses a distinguished federal judge of Mexican heritage of not being fair, when he insults a Gold Star family of a Muslim American who served in the military, you know the list, I will stand up and call him out on that. AP TELEVISION - AP CLIENTS ONLY Washington, DC - 5 August 2016 11. Pan Clinton leaving stage
CHICAGO  Senator Mark S. Kirk of Illinois, among the nations most imperiled Republican incumbents, sat before a small audience in the basement of a public library here recently, intent on proving his bipartisan bona fides  perhaps his only hope of defusing the wrath of voters in a state with little love for Donald J. Trump.

Im happy to be here with my bipartisan partner in crime, Mr. Kirk said, referring to Senator Richard J. Durbin, the No. 2 Democrat, who was sitting two seats away and cringed mildly at the word choice. Not crime, Mr. Durbin said, shaking his head at a man he would like to see ousted from office.

The lack of enthusiasm was hardly a surprise. Mr. Kirks challenger, Representative Tammy Duckworth, is a protegee of Mr. Durbins  an Iraq war veteran who lost her legs when the Black Hawk helicopter she was co-piloting was shot down in 2004, and who got to know Mr. Durbin while she was recovering at Walter Reed Army Medical Center.

Mr. Kirk is among at least a half-dozen Republican incumbents in the Senate who find themselves in a most unusual electoral vise. They want to put distance between themselves and Mr. Trump, but in doing so, they risk alienating base voters in their states whom they need to win re-election.
Ms. Algothanys family is one in a rapidly growing influx of Syrian refugees  99 percent of them Muslim  arriving in communities around the United States. Administration officials said on Friday that 8,000 Syrian refugees had been allowed into the United States since October, putting them on pace to surpass the goal of 10,000.

Through partnerships with the State Department and the Department of Health and Human Services, all of them receive assistance from nonprofit organizations that connect them to a local support network to help them find housing, register for health care and food assistance and enroll their children in school. The International Rescue Committee is one of nine nonprofit organizations helping refugees relocate and integrate into their new communities.

The increase reflects a quiet but intense push by the State Department and the Department of Homeland Security, with substantial prodding from the White House, to radically speed up the pace at which Syrian refugees are placed in the United States. It appears likely to further inflame the political debate about refugees that has become a central theme of the presidential campaign. Mr. Trump has claimed that thousands upon thousands of Muslim refugees with a terrorist mind-set have been pouring into our country without proper security screening.

The administration was spurred to action by a refugee crisis whose dimensions were driven home to the public in September, when newspapers published a photograph of the drowned corpse of Alan Kurdi, a Syrian toddler whose body washed ashore in Turkey after he and his family were tossed from a raft while attempting to flee to Greece.

We had so much pressure to bring Syrians, that we hadnt done enough for that crisis, said Anne C. Richard, the assistant secretary of state for population, migration and refugees, who said she had initially questioned whether the target of accepting 10,000 Syrians  part of an overall goal of resettling 85,000 refugees in the United States this year  was feasible.
Joanna Birkner was looking forward to teaching English in Turkey on a Fulbright award this year. But last week, she received an email from a program official saying that teaching assistant placements in Turkey had been suspended for the school year.

The letter came on July 25, 10 days after the attempted coup in Turkey, amid continuing turmoil in that country. It said the restoration of the program for the 2017-18 school year would be contingent on the security situation in Turkey.

It came as a big disappointment, Ms. Birkner said. When you have a plan, its a little bit like having the rug pulled out from under you.

In the wake of the coup attempt, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey has conducted widespread purges of perceived adversaries. As a result, every university dean in Turkey was forced to resign. Some experts have raised questions about whether the university system will be able to function. The ripple effects to American academics are just starting to emerge.
When President Obama signed a sweeping $15 billion bill to end delays at Department of Veterans Affairs hospitals two years ago, lawmakers standing with him applauded the legislation as a bold response that would finally break the logjam.

It has not quite worked out that way.

Although veterans say they have seen improvement under the bill, it has often fallen short of expectations. Nowhere is the shortfall more clear than in the wait for appointments: Veterans are waiting longer to see doctors than they were two years ago, and more are languishing with extreme waiting times.

According to the agencys most recent data, 526,000 veterans are waiting more than a month for care. And about 88,000 of them are waiting more than three months.

Were making progress, yes, Senator Johnny Isakson, the Georgia Republican who is the chairman of the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee, said in an interview. Whether it is enough is another question.
JOHANNESBURG  The African National Congress, the party that helped liberate black South Africans from white-minority rule but has become mired in corruption, endured its worst election since taking power after the end of apartheid, according to results released on Friday.

The A.N.C., the party of the nations liberation hero and first black president, Nelson Mandela, could once count on the unyielding loyalty of tens of millions of black South Africans who lived under apartheid.

But widespread anger over the stagnant economy and the brazen self-enrichment of the A.N.C.s members have badly eroded the partys standing, gradually chipping away at its ability to rack up big electoral victories on the basis of its history alone.

In the biggest shake-up of the nations post-apartheid political order, the A.N.C. lost power in at least one big black-majority city, Nelson Mandela Bay, for the first time.
BEIJING  Chinese lawyers and rights activists appeared in televised trials throughout this week in what seemed to be a new, more public phase of President Xi Jinpings campaign to cleanse the country of liberal ideas and activism.

Legal experts and supporters of four defendants denounced the hearings, held on consecutive days in Tianjin, a port city near Beijing, as grotesque show trials. All four men were shown meekly renouncing their activist pasts and urging people to guard against sinister forces threatening the Communist Party, before they were convicted and sentenced.

But for the government, the trials served a broader political purpose.

By airing the abject confessions and accusations of a sweeping, conspiratorial antiparty coalition, Mr. Xis administration was putting civil society in all its forms on trial, and vilifying them as an anti-China plot, Maya Wang, a researcher on China for Human Rights Watch, said in emailed comments.

The trials thus serve two purposes: to punish the activists, but also to use them to bolster President Xis claims, she said.
NEW DELHI  Militant separatists armed with grenades and assault rifles attacked a crowded market in the northeast state of Assam on Friday, killing at least 13 people and wounding 16, police officials said. It was the first major assault in the restive region in nearly two years.

Security forces killed one assailant and recovered one assault rifle, a Chinese-made grenade and ammunition, said L.R. Bishnoi, a senior Assam police official. He said a search was underway for at least three gunmen who had escaped.

The attackers are believed to be linked to the National Democratic Front of Bodoland, a group that for decades has sought a separate state in Assam for ethnic Bodos. The government has tried to calm the conflict by creating a council to oversee predominantly-Bodo areas, but some militant separatist factions remain active.

The attack on Friday, in Kokrajhar district, was the first in the region since December 2014.

Mr. Bishnoi said the attackers came in an auto rickshaw with other passengers, hiding their weapons under their clothes, and began firing as soon as they stepped out of the vehicle. The police arrived at the scene seven minutes later.
In 2014, President Park Geun-hye promised that South Korea would pitch in to help resettle millions of refugees fleeing the Syrian civil war. By then, hundreds of Syrians had requested asylum in South Korea, most of them junkyard workers who were already here or friends and relatives who joined them after the war broke out. But South Koreas initially welcoming attitude soon waned.

Image Ahmad Barro, left, and Ahmad Khalifa showed photographs of their children left in Aleppo. Credit... Jean Chung for The New York Times

The government has granted asylum to only three Syrians. The rest were given humanitarian visas.

The point of the policy is to ensure that these Syrians will return home once the civil war is over, so not to make their life here too comfortable, said Kim Sung-in, secretary general of Nancen, a refugee advocacy group in Seoul. It essentially leaves them to fend for themselves.

Even while South Korea was handing out humanitarian visas at home, its embassies abroad and its airports tightened their screening.

Last October, Abdul Wahab Al Mohammad Agha, a Syrian doctoral student in Seoul, took his younger brother to the South Korean Embassy in Turkey to appeal for a visa. The 22-year-old brother had fled their hometown, Raqqa, to avoid having to join the Islamic States army. But for the embassy, that was an insufficient reason to give him a visa.

They made us feel humiliated and small, said Mr. Mohammad Agha, 32.

In a survey of asylum seekers last year, the Korean refugee advocacy group Refuge pNan cited the story of a Syrian woman with children who was denied a visa at the South Korean Embassy in Turkey, and had to travel 14 days through four countries before reuniting with her husband in South Korea. She requested asylum at the Incheon airport and was admitted. She was lucky.

Twenty-eight Syrians who claimed asylum there after the Paris terrorist attacks in November languished in crowded, windowless rooms at the airport for up to eight months. They were allowed to enter South Korea in July to apply for refugee status, but only after human rights lawyers intervened and publicized their plight.
In January 2014, an inquest jury found that the killing of Mr. Duggan had been justified, finding it more likely than not that he had tossed a firearm from a taxi shortly before he was shot. But in October, a judge granted Mr. Duggans family the right to appeal those findings.

The 2011 riots echoed disturbances that shook the Brixton neighborhood of London no fewer than three times  in 1981, 1985 and 1995  in response to anger at police treatment of black residents.

The activists have been upset by three recent deaths of black Britons: Mzee Mohammed, 18, who died last month after he was arrested in Liverpool; Sarah Reed, a 32-year-old with a history of mental illness, who died in a jail in North London in January and had previously been the victim of police brutality; and Jermaine Baker, 28, who was fatally shot by the police in North London in December, after he tried to free a convict from a police van.

In the U.K., we have exactly the same problems as in America, but in America theyre far worse, Kehinde Andrews, an associate professor of sociology and head of the black studies program at Birmingham City University, said in a phone interview. Youre three times more likely to be killed by the police if youre black, but the police dont kill that many people in Britain in general.

So far this year, the police in Britain have shot and killed two people, compared with 571 in the United States.

Britain has the largest prison population in Western Europe, and blacks are overrepresented. But even so, the incarceration rate is far lower than in the United States. Gun violence is also relatively rare in Britain; handguns were effectively prohibited after a 1996 massacre at a school in Scotland. Most police officers in the country do not carry guns.

Because deadly encounters with the police are fairly rare, activists in Britain have tended to focus more on the treatment of black people in custody, like Sean Rigg, a 40-year-old musician who had schizophrenia and who died in a police station in Brixton in 2008; and Kingsley Burrell, a 29-year-old student who died in police custody in Birmingham in 2011.
PARIS  Soldiers are patrolling French beaches through the August holiday. There has been talk of Guantanamo-style holding pens for thousands of terrorism suspects. The prime minister has suggested ending foreign funding for mosques.

For now, the more extreme measures have been rejected by the government or have gained little traction in the wake of a deadly accumulation of terrorist attacks this summer.

But that they have been floated at all is a measure of Frances struggle to find solutions to a security problem that is now drawing comparisons to the one in Israel, or to the Islamist insurgency in Frances former colony of Algeria in the 1990s.

With a presidential race primed to heat up in the fall, the debate over how France should respond seems likely to intensify, forcing the country to confront whether it can maintain its aversion to sweeping changes in its security and judicial systems and live with the grim knowledge that there will be further attacks.
MADRID  A refugee infant from Syria who was born without an eye and with a seriously disfigured face successfully underwent eye surgery at a Barcelona hospital on Friday, after being granted a special visa from Spain to receive free treatment.

Antoni Arias-Enrich, the director of international services at the Sant Joan de Deu hospital in Barcelona, said that the baby girl, Sham Aldaher, would probably be able to leave the hospital by early next week, although more surgery will be required for her to receive a prosthetic eye.

Sham, who celebrated her first birthday last month, was born to Syrian refugees in Jordan, and the first stage of surgery was crucial to avoid permanent disfigurement while her face is still growing.

Even after Shams case was taken up by lawyers working pro bono from Reed Smith, an American law firm, the legal team spent months struggling to obtain a visa that would allow the infant and her family to receive treatment overseas. The Barcelona hospital agreed to perform the surgery free in March.
More than 200 statues of Chiang Kai-shek, the Chinese Nationalist leader who died in 1975, have been moved to a park near his mausoleum in Taoyuan County in northern Taiwan.

Credit... Billy H.C. Kwok for The New York Times
ALMIGHTY

Courage, Resistance, and Existential Peril in the Nuclear Age

By Dan Zak

Illustrated. 402 pp. Blue Rider Press. $27.

This is a strangely captivating book  dark and utterly frightening, despite or perhaps because of the authors dispassionate tone. Dan Zak, a versatile reporter for The Washington Post, has written an engaging story about three dogged peace activists  a house painter, a radicalized Vietnam War veteran and an 82-year-old Catholic nun  who in July 2012 blithely penetrated layers of security surrounding Y-12, an immense factory in Oak Ridge, Tenn., devoted to manufacturing highly enriched uranium for nuclear weapons. After splashing human blood on the secret facility, Sister Megan Rice, Michael Walli and Greg Boertje-Obed were arrested, charged with a federal crime of terrorism and eventually sentenced to prison terms ranging from two years and 11 months to just over five years. But by penetrating the Fort Knox of uranium they demonstrated how a handful of actual dacoits might someday carry off an apocalyptic act of nuclear terrorism.

It is a nightmare possibility, but one that we have lived with since 1945. Zak reminds us in Almighty that not long after the obliteration of Hiroshima, Robert Oppenheimer, the father of the atomic bomb, was asked in a closed-door Senate hearing whether three or four men couldnt smuggle units of an [atomic] bomb into New York and blow up the whole city. Oppenheimer nonchalantly replied, Of course it could be done. Asked if there was any means to detect such a suitcase bomb, Oppenheimer remarked dryly, A screwdriver (to open each and every crate or suitcase).

Some years later, our government commissioned a classified study of nuclear terrorism. Naturally, the report is still classified, but it is known in the business as the screwdriver report.
The one intended showstopper in The Fall of Heaven is the account of the disappearance of Imam Musa Sadr, the charismatic and revered Iranian-Lebanese cleric. Sadr vanished during a visit to Libya in 1978, and rival theories have competed since to explain his death, most of them implicating Col. Muammar Qaddafi or various Palestinian factions. But Cooper points to Khomeini and his coterie. The founders of the Islamic Republic were complicit in his murder, and were said to be intent on sabotaging a secret plan, hatched between the shah and Sadr, to bring the cleric back to Iran as an alternative to Khomeini.

Coopers recounting of this scheme is entertaining, but there is scant evidence that Sadr could have formed a serious counterpoint to Khomeini. Most far-fetched is the claim that Sadr was singularly poised to reconcile faith with modernity. Sadrs legend is a beguiling one; ask many in the Middle East about him today, and theyll still get a faraway, wistful look in their eyes. Its fanciful, however, to imagine that he could have recast the course of Iranian and Shia history.

But Coopers main objective is to rehabilitate the shah, who in the late 1970s became associated with brutality on a scale all out of proportion to the truth. This was largely the work of President Jimmy Carter, who grew so obsessed with the shahs human rights record that his ambassador to the United Nations likened the shah to Adolf Eichmann. Compared with Iraqs Saddam Hussein or Syrias Hafez and Bashir al-Assad, who massacred in the tens of thousands, Cooper insists the shah was a benevolent autocrat. (Carters antagonism to the shah coincided roughly with Irans inflexibility on oil prices, but Cooper, whose previous book concerned oil politics, oddly makes little of this.)

The numbers of the shahs victims were far more modest than what Carter claimed  or Khomeini for that matter. The Islamic Republic set about memorializing those victims, and the lead researcher, the seminarian-turned-dissident Emad al-Din Baghi, discovered that instead of 100,000 alleged deaths at the hands of the shah, only a few hundred names could be found.

Nonetheless, if Cooper is going to stake so much on accuracy with numbers, he might have been more scrupulous himself. He mentions no source for his own figure of 12,000 deaths in Khomeinis first decade and recycles widely rejected figures for deaths in the Iran-Iraq war.

The best-drawn portrait that emerges in The Fall of Heaven is of Farah Diba, the shahs third wife and a figure desperately deserving of a proper biography. Trained as an architect, Farah was educated, cosmopolitan and ambitious, a first lady unlike any the Middle East had ever seen and, in Coopers words, the most accomplished female sovereign of the 20th century. She rescued lepers, bought Warhols, built museums and turned Tehran into a global hub of artistic and cultural activity. Down to earth, compassionate and clever, she could connect as easily to a cleaner as a courtier, and was the real star of the Pahlavi family.

In passing, Cooper makes the important point that Westerners were rather too fascinated with Khomeini when he first came to power. He appeared like a mirage out of the Arabian desert with his flowing beard and black eyes to regale them with tales of the bestial Pahlavis. The French philosopher Michel Foucault traveled to Iran and was infatuated with the spiritual quality of Islamist politics. Journalists hung on Khomeinis every word.

In the light of what we now know, Cooper asks us to revisit our inherited memory of the shah, and consider returning with a different verdict. There seems to be lurking in these pages a wish that the shah had cracked down, and kept the forces that opposed him, the floodgates to todays carnage, at bay. But this desire is fundamentally at odds with the personality of the shah, a proud man who rejected the scale of violence the moment seemingly demanded of him. In exile, shortly before his death, a friend asked him why he didnt crush Khomeini. I wasnt this man, the shah replies. If you wanted someone to kill people you had to find somebody else.
THIS MUST BE THE PLACE

By Maggie OFarrell

Illustrated. 382 pp. Alfred A. Knopf. $26.95.

World is crazier and more of it than we think, / Incorrigibly plural, reads the epigraph to Maggie OFarrells seventh novel  a quote from Louis MacNeices poem Snow that might serve as an appetizer (or warning, depending on your proclivities) for whats to come. This Must Be the Place is an incorrigibly plural book, offering its story through a kaleidoscopic proliferation of points of view, fractured chronologies and geographical shifts. The result, though not without its fault lines, is marvelous, a contemporary and highly readable experiment whose ambitious structure both enacts and illuminates its central concern: what links and separates our 21st-century selves as we love, betray, blunder and soldier on (and back) through time.

There is a man, the novel begins, landing us in County Donegal, Ireland, in 2010. There is a man and the man is me. So we meet Daniel Sullivan, an Irish-American linguist married to Claudette Wells, formerly a high-profile movie star, who has fled the relentless public gaze, staging a well-planned disappearance so she can live reclusively with her young son  and eventually Daniel and their two children  on a remote Irish homestead, where she is happy to point a shotgun at anyone (bird-watcher? reporter?) who shows up. Daniel frequently spends the workweek in Belfast, but we quickly learn that the real distance between him and Claudette stems largely from his own repressed, unsettled past  the two older children he never sees in California, the complicated death of a lover long ago. While funny and genial on the surface, Daniel is a deeply split man, both compelled and reluctant to track down the ashes of his former self.

So too for Claudette, a moody, creative person with a French mother and English father who, in her actress days, was an amputee, a murderess, a detective, a nanny, a woman who has fought, punched, stolen, lied, cheated, saved lives . . . dressed, undressed, over and over again, for all of us. The novels first jump-cut finds her in 1989 as a recent college graduate in London, where she speaks of herself in the second person, narrating an account of her chance encounter with the Swedish director who will pull her into the film world, become her lover and father her first child  all almost despite herself. You groped under the table for your bag. But Im not an actress, you said.

Already we are in a place where identity is slippery, provisional, filled with disruptions and estrangements  of self from self, self from other, present self from past  even as the various characters strong hungers and corporal struggles (with alcoholism, anorexia, eczema, stuttering) will insistently return them to their bodies and ground them, often painfully, in the here and now.
WELCOME TO THE GODDAMN ICE CUBE

Chasing Fear and Finding Home in the Great White North

By Blair Braverman

274 pp. Ecco/HarperCollins Publishers. $25.99.

Blair Braverman was 10 years old the first time she traveled to Norway from her sunny hometown, Davis, Calif. The year her family lived in Oslo marked the beginning of Bravermans lifelong obsession with the culture of the cold, which soon had her devouring the tales of the Canadian writer and environmentalist Farley Mowat and dreaming of the Iditarod. When she returned to Norway as a high school exchange student six years later, however, she found that her childhood fantasies of polar adventure had not prepared her for the harsh, often cruel men she would encounter while pursuing it.

After being repeatedly groped, taunted and criticized by the patriarch of her Norwegian host family, a man she called Far (father), the teenage Braverman lost faith that she could withstand the brutal realities of the land she once loved. Far made me my own victim, she writes in her stunning and sharp first book, Welcome to the Goddamn Ice Cube. I doubted myself so violently that I split into two: the part that was afraid, and the part that blamed myself for my fear.

No one would fault any young woman if, faced with such an abuse of trust, she set off for the tropics and found a different set of dreams. But, instead of hiding from her fears and self-doubts, Braverman goes back to Norway a few years later determined to purge the haunting memories of the past. At a rural folk school near the 69th parallel, she spends a year learning to drive sled dogs and surviving the icy darkness of the northern wild. In the village of Mortenhals, she befriends an aging shopkeeper named Arild and settles into the rhythms of Arctic life on the Malangen peninsula, where whale meat is still cherished as a delicacy and townspeople lament the decline of the sealing trade. Despite her obvious fondness for the place, Braverman never softens the jagged edges that make it unique. As she wryly points out, this is the Norway of witchcraft, storytelling and incest, not minimalist furniture and the Nobel Peace Prize.
Perhaps most critical, the total cost of attending a particular college or university, as estimated by the institution, sets the upper limit on how much a family can take out in both federal and private student loans, leading some students to borrow more than they need and some to borrow less and run out of money.

This is how you get debt and no degree, Dr. Goldrick-Rab said. Its not tuition thats driving people out of school.

Room, board and personal expenses make up about half of college costs. Most students live off-campus  87 percent  but even prospective students who plan to live in dorms can be affected by shaky statistics. Thats because some college planning websites, including the College Scorecard, average schools on- and off-campus living expenses to reach their net price  the cost of attending less the average amount of grants and scholarships awarded.

Miscalculations can be traced to the thicket of regulations that govern college pricing. The Department of Education requires colleges to report the cost of attendance. It tells them what kinds of costs to include  tuition, room and board, books and supplies, and personal expenses  but gives lots of wiggle room in how they come up with the numbers. With no federal rules and few recommendations to guide them, colleges use a hodgepodge of methods to predict costs.

That might explain why room and board estimates for colleges within the same county can vary so much  on average, by $6,448, according to research by the New America foundation published in May.

Some estimates are so low that students could not live on them even with a crowd of roommates, according to the real estate website Trulia, which came out with its own study last September. For example, the University of California, Santa Barbara, posted its 2015-16 housing budget as $6,345, but Trulia calculated that students would need to spend $13,478 each to share a two-bedroom apartment within the universitys ZIP code. Even if five students shared a four-bedroom apartment, they would each have to pay $8,460. (Of course, students often move outside of pricey ZIP codes, trading higher rents for longer commutes from less desirable areas.)

Some colleges keep estimates low, they say, to prevent their students from going into too much debt. If students get more than they need, its easy to forget its a loan and spend it.
According to promotional material for the program: Addressing a friendly and nonjudgmental canine can lower blood pressure, decrease stress and elevate mood  perfect for practicing your speech or team presentation.

Image Copper, a good listener. Credit... Jason Brandon

The audience dogs, as they are called, are a pet project of Bonnie Auslander, the director of the Kogod Center for Business Communications, which helps students hone their writing and speaking skills. Given the whole fever pitch of dogs in therapy  pettable pooches routinely show up before finals on some campuses  Ms. Auslander decided to use dogs to help students with speech anxiety. The center booked about a dozen sessions last semester and employed six locally sourced dogs, recruited for their calm personalities

For now, evidence of the benefits is mostly anecdotal.

It makes you smile looking out at the dogs, said Jessica Lewinson, a sophomore who practiced a presentation on corporate responsibility in front of Teddy and Ellie. It kind of gives you a chance to step back from your presentation, to step out of that track you get stuck in.

And, she added, a dog is no more distracted than your typical college student. You might even get a lick.
When I first came to Israel from Eritrea four years ago, I went to a hospital and told them that I was a midwife, and that I had come to apply for a job. But they told me that I didnt have the papers needed to do that job in their country, so I went to work in a shawarma restaurant instead. I started out cleaning dishes and washing the place. It was not easy. The money was small, and four of us lived in two rooms. I had to go every two months to renew my asylum papers. For four years, I could never be permanent. Waiting in those queues, I could think only: I have to leave here. I cannot stay.

Finally, some months ago, the government told me I had to go. That wasnt quite the way they said it. What they actually told me was that I had three choices. First, I could go to a camp in the Negev Desert called Holot. Its a funny thing to call it  a camp. Id heard that at Holot, you stayed in a crowded room and you had to check in three times a day  in the morning, the afternoon and again at night. All around you there is only desert  no people, no shops, no town. So really you cant go anywhere at all. Youre trapped.

Then the immigration people told me if I didnt want to go to Holot, I could instead go home, back to Eritrea. My home is in Asmara, a city in the mountains full of old Italian buildings, from the colonial days. Tourists used to come to take pictures of how Italy looked 80 years ago. As a midwife there, I delivered babies at a government hospital. It was a life with great purpose.

But I was afraid that if I went back to Eritrea, I would be arrested and tortured and perhaps killed. The government is not kind to those who flee military service, as I did. In Eritrea, military service is mandatory, and it is basically unlimited. They can keep you for as long as they want, and you dont see your family or make enough money to live. There is no dignity in it. So I could not go back home, as much as I wanted to.
Mr. Gazit, who spent 14 years in the Israeli military, retired as a major. His second act was to build a 14-acre miniature version of Israel back in 1994 at 1:25 scale. It opened in 2003 near Latrun, in the Ayalon Valley of Israel. Whatever field I chose after the military, it had to be one without secrets, he said.

His miniatures are utopian. Gullivers Gate will have a working airport, without terrorists. Model trains will run on time. There are no wars, no protests, no refugee camps  only tiny people going about their business amid landmarks of the world. Most of the 300 miniature models will represent the present. Some places will be re-creations of the past  like Chinatown and Little Italy, at the turn of the century. And some will envision the future. The model is not an exact replica of the world, just highlights.

In Hoboken, N.J., Washington is being built, without the bipartisan rancor. A mini-New York City, which is rising at Brooklyn Model Works, will include all the major tourist sites  the Empire State Building, the Chrysler Building, the New York Public Library.

The builders hope to draw not only tourists to the $40 million project, but New Yorkers as well. We want to give New Yorkers a good reason to go to Times Square, Mr. Gazit said.
When I took up surfing last summer after a 20-year hiatus, I immediately realized that this would be not a casual hobby but a year-round obsession.

Investing in a hooded wet suit allowed me to surf well into December, but last winters arctic temperatures proved too much for even my outsize commitment. I passed a few irritable Saturdays staring out the window at the drab scenery until it occurred to me that learning to shape a surfboard would be a great way to stay connected to the sport until spring.

I had expected to have to travel a long distance from New York City to find a shaping class and was pleasantly surprised when online message boards pointed me toward Eugene Wahl, 42, the owner and operator of Essence Surf in Totowa, N.J., only about 25 miles from the city.

Mr. Wahl offers an array of classes, including a six-session beginner course that teaches students every aspect of surfboard creation, like techniques for hand-shaping, applying fiberglass cloth and hand-detailing artwork.
As I sat at Limani Seafood Grill in Westfield on one of the warmest days of the year and devoured a salad of sweet watermelon, tangy feta cheese and fresh mint, I was certain that there was no better antidote to the oppressive heat.

When temperatures rise, theres nothing I crave more than fresh salads and lighty prepared seafood. How fortunate, then, that my visits to this almost nine-year-old Greek-influenced seafood restaurant coincided with the dog days of summer.

George and Vasilia Vastardis own Limani, which can usually be found bustling with diners who all seem to be well acquainted with both the menu and the friendly waiters. Mr. Vastardis is the chef and manages the day-to-day operations while Mrs. Vastardis, who has a full-time retail job, helps on weekends. He was born in the port city of Piraeus in Greece and chose the name Limani, which means harbor in Greek, to reflect his upbringing.

Image The horiataki Greek salad. Credit... Bryan Anselm for The New York Times

I wanted to capture the spirit of how I grew up eating, which was seafood caught that same day paired with lots of different salads, Mr. Vastardis said.
Ill wager that most of us have enjoyed at least one memorable meal in our lives that had very little to do with food. I know Ive been lucky enough to attend several such occasions  all of which left me with only a vague recollection of what I ate, but an indelible impression of the experience: the company I kept, the environment we shared.

For 12 years, Marleys Cafe, in Essex, has been delivering just this sort of meal to locals and summer visitors. Fine dining it aint, but the restaurant,  which Jeff Odekerken, a co-owner, named after the reggae icon Bob Marley  is, as the musician himself might say, a uniquely wonderful place to get together and feel all right.

Image Prince Edward Island mussels, steamed with lemon, garlic and white wine. Credit... Jessica Hill for The New York Times

The magic of Marleys has much to do with its singular location. Occupying part of a 13-acre, man-made island in the middle of the Connecticut River, the restaurant (which operates between Memorial and Columbus Day) can only be reached by taking a six-passenger boat from a dock at the foot of Ferry Street in downtown Essex. The crossing to the island lasts less than a minute, but in that brief chug, something enchanting happens, and, arriving on the other side of the river, you may feel as though youve been transported to some sort of idyllic tropical resort (or perhaps back in time, to sleep-away camp).
Because of cotton, no city in the North was more pro-South, anti-abolition or anti-Lincoln, John Strausbaugh writes in justifying the title of his new book, City of Sedition: The History of New York City During the Civil War (Twelve Books, $30).

Mr. Strausbaugh, who previously delivered an exuberant history of Greenwich Village (The Village, in 2013), flanks the eras familiar protagonists with a boisterous chorus of idiosyncratic New Yorkers who together express ambivalence over a conflict that threatened a highly lucrative partnership between Wall Street financiers (rich Jews and other moneylenders, Horace Greeley called them) and Southern planters.

Tobacco had been the crop of choice, Mr. Strausbaugh writes, until Eli Whitney, a Northerner, perfected a gin that eventually could remove the seeds from a thousand pounds of sticky cotton fibers daily (compared to just one pound a day by hand). Suddenly the crop, and the slave labor to harvest it, became economical.

As a result, in part because of cotton passing through the port, the Custom House in New York (now Federal Hall) generated the federal governments largest source of income by 1860. More goods were manufactured in the city than in the entire South. The citys hospitality industry depended on Southerners and their slaves.
MIDDLEBURY, Vt.  THERE are shameful photos of me on the internet.

In one series, my groceries are being packed into plastic bags, as Id forgotten to bring cloth ones. In other shots, I am getting in and out of  cars. There are video snippets of me giving talks, or standing on the street. Sometimes I see the cameraman, sometimes I dont. The images are often posted to Twitter, reminders that Im being watched.

In April, Politico and The Hill reported that America Rising Squared, an arm of the Republican opposition research group America Rising, had decided to go after me and Tom Steyer, another prominent environmentalist, with a campaign on a scale previously reserved for presidential candidates. Using what The Hill called an unprecedented amount of effort and money, the group, its executive director said, was seeking to demonstrate our epic hypocrisy and extreme positions.

Since then, my days in public have often involved cameramen walking backward and videotaping my every move. Its mostly when I travel (Ive encountered them in at least five states so far, as well as in Australia), and generally when Im in a public or semipublic space. They arent interested in my arguments; instead, these videos, usually wordless, are simply posted on Twitter, almost always with music. One showed me sitting in a church pew, accompanied by the song Show Me That Smile. The tweet read, Ready for his close-up.

Someone also went to the archive at Texas Tech University, where my papers are stored, and asked for copies of everything in all 54 boxes. He identified himself as being with a group that is affiliated with America Rising Squared.
The latest must-have turning up in some of the citys most expensive condominiums is something that might seem mundane to home buyers in many other parts of the country: spacious master-suite closets.

Playing up the sheer luxury of having enough space to store your stuff, many developers are going well beyond standard 24-inch-deep reach-ins and run-of-the-mill walk-ins to create closets where you might actually want to spend time.

The new closets of choice are full-fledged dressing rooms the size of stand-alone bedrooms, arrangements with two separate walk-ins for couples, and windowed rooms with precious natural light and views that were once reserved for the main living areas.

Frankly, with every building we do, the closet space is larger than the last building we did, said Kevin Maloney, the founder of the Property Markets Group.
Dancers on Broadway are known as gypsies because of the itinerant nature of their profession; they go from show to show to show. But their nomadic ways arent limited to the stage.

Consider the case of Joshua Bergasse, a hoofer turned choreographer. True, for the last two years he has come home to the same place, a one-bedroom Lincoln Square rental that he shares with his girlfriend, the New York City Ballet principal dancer Sara Mearns, and the couples two dogs, Rocky and Ozzie. But before signing the lease, he had had so many addresses  in the Village, Midtown, Washington Heights and Astoria  that you would have been forgiven for assuming he was on the lam.

You kind of go from one place to another, said Mr. Bergasse, 43, who won an Emmy in 2012 for creating the dances on the television series Smash and was a 2015 Tony nominee for the revival of On the Town.

You get a tour, so you give up your apartment, and you come back to town and somebody is looking for a roommate. Then the rent gets jacked up, and you have to find a new place, and then you go back on tour, so you lose that place, and then when you come back, you move in with somebody else, or maybe you get your own apartment, continued Mr. Bergasse, the choreographer for The Pirates of Penzance, which opened in mid-July at the Barrington Stage Company in Massachusetts and runs through Aug. 13.
Location

The neighborhood, Glattpark, is a nondescript office development scheduled for completion in 2020. Via the city-run No. 10 tram, the hotel is 20 minutes from the old town and main train station, 11 minutes from the airport.

The Room

The lobbys kitschy, disjointed decor found its way to Room 539. An Alpine folk art-inspired headboard clashed with a trompe-loeil wall rendering of stacked gold bullion  a dated reference to the countrys former tax shelter reputation  and made the compact room feel smaller. Old-timey bank-safe knobs were fitted to the minibar, desk and chocolate bar-shaped closet door. But the bed had comfortable down pillows and quality cotton sheets. Rooms were sound-proofed. The blackout-blinds  standard in Swiss hotels  were closed. After opening them to see an active smokestack from Zurichs garbage incinerator, I understood why.
SOUTHOLD, N.Y.  Southold Farm & Cellar produces some of the most interesting, creative and exciting wines on the North Fork of Long Island.

The proprietors, Regan and Carey Meador, live here in a trim clapboard house they renovated themselves. In the back is the vineyard, where they grow grapes that may seem surprising by North Fork standards: lagrein, teroldego, blaufrankisch, goldmuskateller and others. Yet their wines are pure and delicious, energetic and alive.

Theirs is the very model of a small, successful mom-and-pop farm, the new pastoral American Dream, and just the sort of new blood to inject vigor into an often staid North Fork wine culture.

A 2015 sparkling lagrein from the vineyards first vintage in production, which Mr. Meador labeled Chasing Moonlight, is one of the most unusual and delicious wines Ive had from the North Fork: firm, spirited, not complex but meaty and vividly fruity.
Meet Cora, a young slave on a Georgia cotton plantation. Her mother ran away when Cora was a little girl, and that feeling of abandonment has haunted her ever since. When she is approached by another slave about the underground railroad, she hesitates; but then life, in the form of rape and humiliation, gives her the nudge she needs. (Whitehead does here as he will do several times in the book: He opens his eyes where the rest of us would rather look away. In this, The Underground Railroad is courageous but never gratuitous.) In order to ensure her escape, she kills a white man, and soon she is being pursued by a notorious slave catcher named Ridgeway, a man straight out of Cormac McCarthy, whose assistant wears a necklace made with human ears. What follows is Coras uncertain itinerary through hell. The novel uses the architecture of an episodic tale, each episode corresponding to a new stop in the journey  the two Carolinas, then Tennessee, then Indiana  each one introducing Cora to new incarnations of evil, or the evil brought out in everyone by the poisonous mechanics of slavery.

Image Colson Whitehead Credit... Sunny Shokrae for The New York Times

In one of the towns, Cora realizes that an apparently well-meaning medical center is in fact an experiment in eugenics or even genocide; in North Carolina, the bodies of tortured and burned people, both blacks and the whites who help them, hang from the trees along something called the Freedom Trail. And we begin to notice, as readers, slight departures from historical fact, places where The Underground Railroad becomes something much more interesting than a historical novel. It doesnt merely tell us about what happened; it also tells us what might have happened. Whiteheads imagination, unconstrained by stubborn facts, takes the novel to new places in the narrative of slavery, or rather to places where it actually has something new to say. If the role of the novel, as Milan Kundera argues in a beautiful essay, is to say what only the novel can say, The Underground Railroad achieves the task by small shifts in perspective: It moves a couple of feet to one side, and suddenly there are strange skyscrapers on the ground of the American South and a railroad running under it, and the novel is taking us somewhere we have never been before.

One of the most eloquent passages of the novel  and one that illustrates the way Whiteheads imagination goes about its business  takes place in the Museum of Natural Wonders, in South Carolina. It is a limestone building occupying an entire block; when Cora arrives and asks where she should begin cleaning, she discovers that is not what is expected of her. There is a section of the museum called Living History. Like a railroad, explains the curator, the museum allows its visitors to see the rest of the country beyond their small experience. Cora realizes her task is to go behind a glass and act her part in a depiction of the slave experience, all this while the visitors look intensely at her from the other side. One room is called Scenes From Darkest Africa; another is Life on the Slave Ship. While Cora plays her part (silently, dutifully) in the static scenes, she begins to question their accuracy. The curator, Whitehead writes, did concede that spinning wheels were not often used outdoors, but counters that while authenticity was their watchword, the dimensions of the room forced certain concessions. And later Cora reflects:

No slave had ever keeled over dead at a spinning wheel or been butchered for a tangle. But nobody wanted to speak on the true disposition of the world. And no one wanted to hear it. Certainly not the white monsters on the other side of the exhibit at that very moment, pushing their greasy snouts against the window, sneering and hooting. Truth was a changing display in a shop window, manipulated by hands when you werent looking, alluring and ever out of reach.

The Underground Railroad is also about the myriad ways in which black history has too often been stolen by white narrators. At a performance Cora sees from a distance, a slave is played by a white man in burned cork, pink showing on his neck and wrists. Remembering the passages on slavery contained in the Bible, Cora blames the people who wrote them down: People always got things wrong, she thinks, on purpose as much as by accident. Whiteheads novel is constantly concerned with these matters of narrative authenticity and authority, and so too with the different versions of the past we carry with us. Throughout my reading, I was repeatedly reminded of a particular chapter from Garcia Marquezs One Hundred Years of Solitude, to whose handling of time Whitehead seems to owe quite a bit. In that chapter, the infamous massacre of the banana plantation workers is denied by the official versions of history and soon forgotten. But one character knows what he saw  thousands of dead traveling toward the sea on a train  and goes around trying to find someone who will remember the story. He doesnt: People always get things wrong. In a sense, The Underground Railroad is Whiteheads own attempt at getting things right, not by telling us what we already know but by vindicating the powers of fiction to interpret the world. In its exploration of the foundational sins of America, it is a brave and necessary book.
When nominees released their tax returns 6 nominees Reagan Romney Bush 80 12 00 200 days before the election 100 50 0 88 16 76 8 nominees Dukakis Clinton Carter 8 nominees 6 nominees 200 days before the election 88 Dukakis 100 Reagan 80 Clinton 16 76 Carter 50 Romney 12 00 Bush 0

While not required to do so, all but one major party nominee over the last four decades have released tax returns for the prior year. (Gerald R. Ford released only a summary.)

Last July, Hillary Clinton made public eight years of returns through 2014. She released her 2015 return on Friday.

Donald J. Trumps position on releasing his returns has shifted over time. Most recently, he has cited Internal Revenue Service audits as a reason for not releasing them.

The Audit Question

The I.R.S. says Mr. Trump is free to release his tax returns despite the audit. There is some precedent: President Richard M. Nixon released his tax returns while he was being audited, though not until after he was re-elected in 1972.

Signing my tax return.... pic.twitter.com/XJfXeaORbU  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 15, 2015

Robert J. Kovacev, a tax lawyer with Steptoe & Johnson, said he would never advise a client to release taxes under audit. He also points out a major difference between Mr. Trump and Mr. Nixon: Donald Trump is basically a large corporate enterprise, and that complexity is going to be reflected in his tax returns.

Joseph J. Thorndike, director of the Tax History Project at the nonpartisan Tax Analysts, says that the complexity of Mr. Trumps returns is exactly why they should be released. Unless they are made public, Americans are faced with voting for or against someone whose business interests are almost entirely opaque.

Why It Matters

Mr. Trump filed financial disclosure forms in May, which is required of presidential candidates. However, experts say tax returns provide more precise data on sources of income, effective tax rates and charitable donations.

Mitt Romneys returns revealed that he paid an effective tax rate of 14 percent on his income, which came mostly from investments  far lower than the top 35 percent rate for wages and salaries. He was also criticized for holding money in offshore accounts.

Releasing your tax returns provides voters with a fuller picture into your background, experience, business interests and insight into potential conflicts of interest, Karen Hobert Flynn of the public interest group Common Cause wrote in a letter to Mr. Trump urging him to release his returns.

Mr. Trumps Response

It has evolved since he declared his candidacy in June 2015.

Well see what Im going to do with tax returns. I have no major problem with it, but I may tie them to a release of Hillarys emails.

My returns are extremely complex, and Ill make a determination at the right time.

Theres nothing to learn from them.

When the audit ends, Im going to present them. That should be before the election. I hope its before the election.
#Justice Party Former Justice Party leader Lee Jeong-mi elected for 2nd term Lee Jeong-mi, a former chief of the minor progressive Justice Party (JP), was elected Friday for a second term to lead a major reform of the party reeling from recent election rout...

#KBO Heroes reach Korean Series after eliminating Twins in KBO postseason For the first time in three years, the Kiwoom Heroes will be playing in the South Korean baseball championship series. Former big leaguer Yasiel Puig homered and knocked in two ...
COSTA MESA  The Visual Arts building at the OC Fair has a display of ceramics that is anything but the typical pottery mugs and bowls.

Two huge aqua blue sculptures look like icebergs. Nearby is a work of stacked spheres painted pink, gold and blue and a pair of big ceramic hands with dramatic caricatures for the fingertips. This is not craft show stuff, but a much wider variety of what can be done in clay.

The work comes from artists associated with a unique museum in Pomona, the American Museum of Ceramic Art. Its the only such museum on the West Coast, said Heidi Kreitchet, a ceramics artist who directs the museums working studio.

Few people in Orange County may know about the museum. But with thousands of visitors a day coming through the Visual Arts building, its getting more exposure.

The work that people are doing here is just, like, incredible, Kreitchet said of the museum, which has about 7,000 works in its collection and about 200 artists working out of its studio. When we had this opportunity to do this OC Fair exhibit, I hopped on it.

The exhibit at the fair could have been just one artist  Claremont resident Mary Beierle, the creator of those iceberg sculptures. But when fair organizers contacted her, Beierle decided she had enough on her plate with teaching and other work. So she suggested the fair highlight several artists from the Pomona museum.

Beierle picked up ceramics only in the last several years, after her kids were grown into teenagers. One ceramics teacher was particularly encouraging  Barbara Thompson, the former coordinator of the fairs visual arts program. That connection led Stephen Anderson, this years visual arts coordinator, to reach out to Beierle.

Her sculptures have an environmental theme. The two at the fair are based on up-close observations of glaciers. Beierle traveled to Alaska in 2013, kayaking around and hiking on glaciers there.

It changed my work dramatically, she said, (to) be in an ice cave the size of a cathedral in Europe  and watch it melt.

Gary Lett of Pomona is another artist in the exhibit, and his Blessed Vs. Judgment also is nothing like the typical craft fair ceramics.

Lett is a licensed minister as well as a ceramics teacher. His sculpture of two giant hands is based on a biblical passage from the book of Matthew in which the blessed are separated from the cursed. Each finger is a figure, representing people from all walks of life, Lett said.

Appearances are meant to be deceiving. A clergyman is really a wolf in sheeps clothing. A scantily-clad woman is good at heart.

Lett said as a teenager growing up in Pomona, hed visit the ceramics business run by the family of Dave Armstrong, who later founded the ceramics museum. Lett would admire the ceramics figurines and years later became a teacher at the museums studio.

My fondness of this museum is tremendous, he said. It attracts master ceramics artists from all over, as far away as Korea, he said.

Kreitchets piece in the OC Fair exhibit is Ink Well. Shes taken a shape that interested her and blown it up to the point of near-abstraction in her stoneware piece.

Her work is wood-fired, one of the oldest methods for fired ceramics, she said. But theres a lot of variety in the show.

If you look at the exhibit, we have everything going on of all surfaces and styles, Kreitchet said. Theres something that each artist is doing thats very different.

Our location being in Pomona has been probably the most challenging obstacle for us, so being able to get out into the world and share the artwork and the ceramics with the community has been one of the highlights.

Contact the writer: aboessenkool@ocregister.com
Scientists have found evidence of a catastrophic flood that overwhelmed the upper Yellow River valley in China some 4,000 years ago, an event that they say may confirm the historical basis of Chinas semilegendary first dynasty.

Ancient Chinese texts record a mix of historical events and legends. Some records, such as those relating to Chinas second and third dynasties, were confirmed in surprising detail when archaeologists turned up inscriptions on oracle bones and ancient bronzes.

But records of the first dynasty, that of the Xia, contain stories of a Great Flood with a Noah-like savior, Emperor Yu, who gained the mandate of heaven after dredging canals to dispel the floodwaters and make the land safe. Historians have long wondered whether it was a creation-style myth, the folk memory of a real event, or some mixture of the two. Some have dismissed the story of Emperor Yu as a fiction intended to justify centralized rule and, in the absence of any evidence of a massive flood at the time, many have regarded the stories of the Xia dynasty as more myth than history.

A team of archaeologists and geologists led by Qinglong Wu of Peking University in Beijing has now discovered evidence of a massive flood that they say could be the Great Flood mentioned in the Chinese annals.

The setting for the flood was a landslide, caused by an earthquake, that planted a massive natural dam across the Yellow River where it travels through the Jishi Gorge after emerging from the Tibetan plateau. To judge from the remaining sidewalls, the researchers wrote in Fridays issue of Science, the dam would have risen some 800 feet above the rivers present level.

For six to nine months, Wus team estimates, the river ceased to flow as water accumulated in the new lake behind the dam. Then, as the water overtopped the dams crest, the dam rapidly gave way, releasing up to 3.8 cubic miles of water, one of the largest known floods in the last 10,000 years. The outburst flood wave could have traveled as far as 1,250 miles downstream, breaking the rivers natural banks, causing extensive flooding and even making the Yellow River switch course.

Floods are often hard to date. But the same earthquake that dammed the river provided a date by destroying a village called Lajia some 16 miles downstream. Fissures caused by the earthquake are completely filled with sediment from the outburst flood, with no annual deposit of the windblown earth that is common in the region, which means the flood occurred the same year as the earthquake, Wus team says.

Radiocarbon dating of the bones of three children killed by the earthquake establish that the event took place around 1920 B.C.

The date offers a striking temporal link to the Xia dynasty which, if it existed, is thought to have begun at this time. A modern Chinese chronology project sets the beginning of the dynasty at 2070 B.C. Even closer, two scholars working from Chinese astronomical records  a statement that there was a close conjunction of five planets early in the reign of Emperor Yu  have calculated that the dynasty began in 1914 B.C.

Chinese annals record that Emperor Yu contrived a recovery from the Great Flood by dredging drainage canals rather than trying to repair breaches in the Yellow Rivers dikes, as his predecessor had done. He also laid the foundations for the Chinese civilization that followed by specifying which regions should send tribute. The place where he began his operations is recorded as Jishi, which has the same Chinese characters as that of the gorge where the landslide dam occurred.

Wus team said its reconstruction of the outburst flood from the Jishi Gorge showed that the ancient textual accounts of the Great Flood may well be rooted in a historic natural event. The finding also supports the idea, the researchers say, that archaeological remains found at Erlitou, a site about 1,550 miles downstream from the gorge, may have been the Xia capital, given that the Erlitou culture dates to 1900 B.C., the same time as the Jishi Gorge flood.

But historians may require more evidence before signing on to the teams thesis. It is not so clear how a folk memory of the flood could have been accurately maintained for at least 900 years, as Wus team suggested, given that elements in the texts may begin as early as 1,000 years ago. There were probably many floods, which may have been conflated in popular memory, said Sarah Allan, a historian of ancient China at Dartmouth College. In her view, the Great Flood described in the ancient texts is a myth to explain how the world was made, not a historical event.

The story begins with water everywhere and the problem is how to make the world habitable, she said. Even if the myth was centered on a real event, it is a reach to associate this with the Jishi Gorge flood or the flood with the Erlitou culture, she said.

Paul Goldin, who studies Chinas Warring States period at the University of Pennsylvania, also sees the stories of Yu and the Great Flood as unlikely to represent historical events. And they date mostly to the fourth century B.C., long after the Jishi Gorge flood. These are relatively late legends that were propagated for philosophical and political reasons, and its inherently questionable to suppose that they represent some dim memory of the past, he said.

Goldin remarked on a kind of fixation in Chinese archaeology to prove all the ancient texts and legends have some fundamental truth, which is an overreaction to an earlier period when they were rejected as myth. It shouldnt be every archaeologists first instinct to see if their findings are matched in the historical sources, he said.

The Jishi Gorge flood occurred at a pivotal time in Chinese history, the boundary between the Neolithic Age and the Bronze Age that followed. Wus team said at a news conference that the story of Yu taming the flood represents the emergence of a new political order. The archaeological record shows some sort of a decline, as would be expected after a great catastrophe, followed in the Bronze Age, first seen in the Erlitou culture, by new levels of development, a large increase in the size of cities, the development of writing and workshops manufacturing bronze.

If they can show some kind of connection in the archaeological record between the Jishi Gorge flood and the emergence of a culture like Erlitou, that would be a major improvement of our understanding of history, Goldin said.
CLEVELAND  A North Carolina man arrested Thursday on accusations that he tried to recruit people to join the Islamic State group had communicated with one of two men shot dead by a police officer in Garland, Texas, during an attack at an event where the Prophet Muhammad was being depicted in cartoons, the FBI said.

Erick Jamal Hendricks, 35, was arrested Thursday morning in Charlotte, N.C., on a charge filed in Cleveland of providing material support to a terrorist group. A federal magistrate in Charlotte ordered that Hendricks be detained and assigned a federal public defender, who did not return telephone messages.

An FBI affidavit details online communications between Hendricks and an undercover FBI agent posing as an Islamic State recruit who witnessed the attack at the suburban Dallas civic center in May 2015.

Two Phoenix men wearing body armor and carrying rifles drove to the center, exited a vehicle and began shooting at the entrance. An off-duty police officer providing security for the event fatally shot both men before they could get inside. An unarmed security guard was shot in the ankle.

The Islamic State group claimed responsibility for the attack and referred to the two Phoenix men, Elton Simpson and Nadir Hamid Soofi, as brothers. Shortly before the attack, the 31-year-old Simpson posted on his Twitter account: May Allah accept us as mujahideen, or holy warriors.

Simpson and Hendricks had communicated before the attack, the FBI said Thursday.

Hendricks also communicated with the undercover FBI agent in Garland, asking questions about security and how many people were there, the affidavit said. Hendricks told the agent that if he saw the organizer of the event that he should make his voice heard against her, investigators wrote.

It appears that charges were filed in Cleveland because of Hendricks communication with Amir Said Abdul Rahman Al-Ghazi, who was arrested in June 2015 in suburban Cleveland trying to buy an AK-47 rifle from an undercover FBI agent. Authorities said Al-Ghazi had pledged his allegiance to the Islamic State and expressed an interest in conducting attacks in the U.S.

Earlier this year, Al-Ghazi pleaded guilty to providing material support to a terrorist organization and, according to the affidavit, has been cooperating with authorities.

Al-Ghazi told authorities that Hendricks said he needed people to join the cause and wanted brothers to meet and train together, the affidavit said. The undercover FBI agent confirmed in the affidavit that his communications with Hendricks were similar to Al-Ghazis.

Hendricks told the undercover agent that he slept with his AK-47 and kept it by the front door, investigators said. He directed the agent to download a manual titled GBS for the Ghuraba in the U.S. that discussed law enforcement surveillance and communication protocols for those planning to stage attacks, the affidavit said.

Hendricks met with a paid informant and a second unidentified person in Baltimore in March 2015, the affidavit said. Hendricks directed them to remove cellphone batteries to make themselves less traceable, suggested he was going to go off the grid at property he owned in Alabama, and told them to prepare for an eventual violent confrontation with police, the affidavit said.

In April 2015, Hendricks told the undercover agent that he was in communication with Islamic State leaders who wanted followers to form groups in the U.S., the affidavit said.

Hendricks and an ex-wife, whom he divorced in 2009, attended another meeting in Baltimore with a paid informant the day before the May 3, 2015, attack in Texas, the affidavit said. Hendricks told the informant that future targets would include the organizer of the Muhammad cartoon event and members of the military whose information had been obtained in a computer hack.

Hendricks lived in the Columbia, S.C., area for about a year starting last summer and recently moved to the Charlotte area. It wasnt immediately clear if Hendricks had a job in either place.

The woman who answered the door at an apartment in an east Columbia neighborhood said she didnt know Hendricks, and a manager for the complex said she had no records for him. A woman named Tyrinda Hendricks leased the apartment, but no other records were available because the complex had changed management companies.

There was no answer Thursday at a number listed for Tyrinda Hendricks, who public records list as living in Charlotte.

Associated Press reporters Meg Kinnard and Seanna Adcox in Columbia, S.C., contributed to this report.
There are growing signs that veteran Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Vista, could be headed for an election dogfight.

Issa has breezed to re-election seven times since taking office in 2001, but the landscape is different this time.

His support for Donald Trump could undermine this years bid. The Republican edge in his two-county districts voter registration is shrinking. And his Democratic opponents background as a Marine colonel holds particular appeal in a district that includes and surrounds Camp Pendleton.

In the 2012 and 2014 primaries, Issa prevailed by at least 30 percentage points. In June, he beat Democrat Doug Applegate by a relatively modest 5.3 percentage points. Thats less than the GOPs 8.4-point advantage in voter registration  an advantage that has shrunk from 10.7 points since the beginning of the year.

Applegates primary performance came despite much weaker name recognition and despite being outspent by Issa, $740,000 to $50,000.

Yes, by nearly 15-1. Thats according to Federal Election Commission tallies.

Applegate, a San Clemente resident, raised just $58,000 for the primary but his relatively strong showing is attracting plenty of attention.

From the primary until the end of June, he raised $128,300 from donors who now believe he has a chance. Additionally, the primary results prompted the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee to do polling in the district, which it previously had written off.

Polling results announced by an interested party should be read with a dose of skepticism. That said, the committee reported that its survey found the candidates deadlocked at 43 percent. And that Applegate led by 32 percentage points among independent voters.

Unaffiliated voters account for nearly a quarter of the districts electorate, and independent candidate Ryan Glenn Wingo, who received nearly 4 percent of the primary vote, will not be on the November ballot.

The polling and Applegates strong June fundraising persuaded the Democratic committee to put Applegate on a watch list of 10 emerging Republican districts that could be moved to their tally of targeted GOP seats, which now includes 48 House districts nationwide.

Issa and Trump

Issa is best known for his rigorous criticisms while chairman of the House Oversight Committee of the Obama administration. But the biggest factor in his re-election bid could be Trump.

Democratic turnout was proportionately bigger than usual in the states primary, to a large extent because Democrats had a competitive primary while the GOP contest was settled. But Trump is scaring off some Republicans  from the two former President Bushes on down to everyday voters  and many experts expect that to suppress GOP turnout in November.

Trumps low likability rating could rub off on Issa, who introduced Trump at a San Diego rally, was a Trump delegate to the Republican National Convention and who spoke supportively of Trump during his visits with California, Illinois and North Carolina convention delegations.

Voters will hold Issa accountable for his partisanship and his stalwart support for Trump, said DCCC spokeswoman Barb Solish.

One certainty is that Issa wont lack for campaign funds. Hes the wealthiest member of Congress, with an estimated net worth of $357 million, and has a campaign balance of $3.8 million. Applegate campaign manager Robert Dempsey wouldnt specify his candidates budget, but said $1 million was in the neighborhood.

Twenty-six percent of the district is in Orange County, which accounts for the most heavily Republican portion.

Issa campaign spokesman Calvin Moore dismissed the idea that Trump is a drag on his candidate, noting that both parties presidential nominees are unpopular and that Issa is running on his own record.

Congressman Issa won an actual election just a few weeks ago by more than 10,000 votes, and we have every bit of confidence hell do it again in November, Moore said.

Contact the writer: mwisckol@ocregister.com
ORANGE  LeeLoo, impounded by OC Animal Care for biting a child in June and found to be pure wolf or a high content wolf hybrid, has been released to a wolf dog sanctuary licensed by the California Department of Fish and Wildlife.

LeeLoo was released to Matthew Simmons, director of the Lockwood Animal Rescue Center, on Wednesday after the wildlife agency provided information to OC Animal Care about facilities licensed to keep an animal of such high wolf content.

California Department of Fish and Wildlife assisted OC Animal Care in identifying a suitable facility for the temporary housing of this animal, said Andrew Hughan, a spokesman for the agency. The priority is the security of the animal while the investigation is underway. This animal will not be destroyed.

LeeLoos owners, Jeremy Clover and Kara Brundage of Huntington Beach, sought Simmons assistance after OC Animal Care officials informed them of the results of a DNA test done at UC Davis Veterinary Genetics Laboratory.

The test revealed the family pet was pure wolf or a high-content wolf-dog hybrid, according to Christina Lindquist, director of forensics at the lab.

Brundage and Clover question why 3-year-old LeeLoo had to sit at the kennel for 55 days.

They said OC Animal Care should immediately have contacted the Department of Fish and Wildlife to get her released.

The DNA test showed they had an endangered species they were contemplating euthanizing, Brundage said. They also didnt have the permits to hold a wolf dog.

Jennifer Hawkins, chief veterinarian and director of OC Animal Care, said LeeLoo was impounded June 10 after biting a 5-year-old Huntington Beach girl, who sustained numerous punctures, bruising, and crushing injuries to the buttocks and groin.

Hawkins said LeeLoo was kept quarantined at the shelter as part of a Dangerous and Vicious investigation resulting from the bite.

The agency ordered that LeeLoos DNA be tested because its preliminary investigation led it to describe LeeLoo as a wolf dog.

Once the results of the DNA test were known, Hawkins said, the case was turned over to county counsel. She said that given the outcry last year over Karma, a husky-wolf dog initially court-ordered to be euthanized because a DNA test confirmed wolf lineage, a decision was made to send LeeLoos case directly to county counsel.

If the wolf content is determined to be higher than an F2  meaning an animal that has at least one grandparent who is a pure wolf  it would be illegal to be owned by a private citizen, said Hughan, of the wildlife agency.

Pure wolves and some high-content wolf hybrids are considered restricted species and fall under the authority of the California Department of Fish and Wildlife.

Based on the DNA results, Fish and Wildlife advised OC Animal Care that LeeLoo was a restricted species and that the agency would be conducting an investigation , Hawkins said.

County Supervisor Todd Spitzer said he was glad about the outcome.

Im happy we didnt have to put an animal down, and shell go to a place for high-content wolf, Spitzer said. I think the county is much more sensitive to handling wolf dogs because of Karma going to North Carolina.

For Brundage and Clover, LeeLoos release meant happy tears.

LeeLoo is an amazing animal, Clover said. Even after 55 days, she stood strong and resilient and unbroken. Her spirit was upbeat. Although a little confused, she is happy.

Brundage said LeeLoo is being quarantined for 10 days in a kennel thats 20-by-80 feet. She will undergo an examination and be tested to see how she reacts to the rabies vaccine. Then she will be moved to a a three-quarter-acre run where she will slowly be introduced to other wolves.

LeeLoo has a job she was born to do, we were just the catalyst preparing her, Brundage said.

Hawkins said she was pleased with the outcome.

Both OC Animal Care and the California Department of Fish and Wildlife aim to protect public safety, she said. As LeeLoos DNA revealed her to be a restricted species, a sanctuary meets the needs of our agencies, the public and LeeLoo.

Contact the writer: 714-796-2254 or eritchie@ocregister.com
CAIRO  Egypts military said on Thursday that the leader of Islamic States Egyptian affiliate has been killed in the Sinai Peninsula, along with several key aides and 45 other members of the extremist group.

Few details were immediately available and there was no word from the extremist groups branch in Egypt on what, if confirmed, would be a major setback for the Sinai-based militants.

A posting on the Facebook page of the Egyptian militarys chief spokesman, Brig-Gen Mohammed Samir, said Abu Doaa al-Ansari was killed in an operation south of the coastal city of el-Arish. It said the operation was carried out by counterterrorism forces backed by warplanes and guided by accurate intelligence.

The statement did not provide a total number of those killed or say when the operation took place, but two military officials with first-hand knowledge of the conflict in the turbulent northern part of Sinai said al-Ansari and his aides were killed in an airstrike that targeted a house located amid olive groves south of el-Arish.

Aerial images of the strike released by the military appeared to confirm the account given by the officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the operation with the media.

The name of Abu Doaa al-Ansari is not widely known and had not been previously mentioned as that of the leader of the Sunni militant group, which was known as Ansar Beit al-Maqdis, or Soldiers of Jerusalem, before it swore allegiance to the Islamic State group fighting in Syria and Iraq.

Al-Ansaris name is likely a nom de guerre  something militants typically take when joining groups such as Islamic State. These names often allude to the country or city a militant hails from or the place he adopted as his home.

Mohannad Sabry, an Egyptian expert on the Sinai insurgency, said it was a seriously embarrassing situation that the military did not provide al-Ansaris real name, something he said casts doubts on the purported leaders identity and the report of his death.

Even if someone with this nom de guerre exists, this will be one more time Egypts military announces that it has killed the leader, or a leader of a group that never publicly named its leader, Sabry told The Associated Press.

The militarys report could not be independently confirmed. Egypt has virtually banned independent media from northern Sinai while the pro-government press relies almost entirely on often brief army and police statements on the fighting there.

Also, an anti-terrorism law adopted last year places severe restrictions on media coverage of anti-government activity, with heavy fines and up to five years imprisonment for publishing news that contradicts official statements or is perceived as promoting militant causes.

According to the Egyptian military officials, the airstrike that killed al-Ansari was part of an ongoing, intense air campaign that began more than a week ago and in which jet-fighters, helicopter gunships and drones are being used. The campaign of airstrikes, at least in part, were in response to the growing threat to ground troops posed by roadside bombs planted by the militants, they said.

The officials also suggested that the 45 who were mentioned in the military spokesmans statement as slain alongside al-Ansari, may have perished in a series of airstrikes earlier this week that targeted Islamic State positions and ammunition depots near the border town of Rafah.

Egyptian forces have been battling Islamic militants in Sinai for years but the insurgency there has grown deadlier since the 2013 ouster by the military of Mohammed Morsi, the Islamist president whose one year in office proved divisive for the country.

Earlier this week, a 35-minute video released by the Islamic States branch in Sinai purported to show Islamic State attacks against Egyptian security forces, including roadside bomb blasts, gun battles and sniper fire.

The military officials dismissed the video as a compilation of heavily edited footage of past attacks.
COSTA MESA  Karen Sullivan and others still living at the Costa Mesa Motor Inn are scrambling to find new homes.

They have until Monday to leave the 236-room motel after a July 29 ruling by a Los Angeles County judge that the motel owners, Miracle Mile Properties, did not violate a preliminary injunction when they issued residents 60-day notices to vacate.

The evictions are part of a redevelopment plan to replace the motel  long the subject of complaints about drug dealing and criminal activity  with an upscale, four-story apartment building with 224 units, a gym and swimming pool. The City Council approved the project in November.

Sullivan, 62, and her husband have shared a 300-square-foot room at the motel for 18 months after bouncing around several properties in Orange County.

Sullivan, who worked 35 years in real estate, said they ran through their retirement and savings accounts after she was injured in a car accident and her husband lost his tech-support job.

We werent motel people, she said. We have an eviction on our record and cant get in anywhere else. Hence is why we are here.

The Kennedy Commission, an Irvine-based affordable-housing advocacy group, and several Motor Inn residents, including the Sullivans, sued in January, alleging the citys approval of the redevelopment plan violated state law and that city officials have worked for years to close motels used by some as low-income housing.

The nonprofit said Miracle Mile has an obligation to help the residents find shelter or provide them with financial assistance.

Were trying to figure out a way to make sure that these residents receive the benefits and the opportunities that they are entitled to, said Cesar Covarrubias, Kennedy Commission director.

On June 22, Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Robert OBrien issued a preliminary injunction on a plan to replace the motel with apartments until Miracle Mile implemented a valid replacement and housing relocation assistance program in line with state law.

Miracle Mile challenged the injunction, arguing that state law only applies when there is a public project or program, said Ellia Thompson, an attorney representing Miracle Mile.

The city granted development approvals during a routine, public process for a privately funded, privately owned project, Thompson said.

The property management company has paid several dozen residents relocation packages of up to $6,000, Thompson said. Some of the residents have used the money to purchase condominiums or rent new apartments, she said.

The Sullivans and others still living at the Motor Inn did not take the payments. The Sullivans said they declined the money because a previous eviction would have precluded them being approved for another apartment.

No more payments are being offered, Thompson said.

The notices were issued in June and July, and residents could be threatened with legal action if they refuse to leave.

Thompson said 20 units in the proposed development were voluntarily set aside for moderate-income earners, which is defined as someone making $73,000 annually, according to the states definition for Orange County.

We dont have any obligation to provide affordable housing, she said.

Costa Mesa has claimed for years that the Motor Inn, the citys largest motel, has been a hub for criminal activity and police calls for service.

To rid the city of blighted motels and to stem long-residency, Costa Mesa came up with a plan to entice motel owners on Harbor and Newport boulevards with development incentives to change the zoning from commercial to high-density residential, which would clear the way for the construction of apartments there and make the properties more valuable.

The program was approved in June as part of the citys general plan. The Motor Inn wasnt included in the plan since Miracle Mile already had visions to do just that.

Housing advocates have argued that the motels are the last resort before homelessness and are a safety net for the poor.

As many residents have found out, there are not a lot of housing options out there, Covarrubias said.

On a recent Tuesday afternoon, several residents were packing their belongings for their impending move.

Mike Cecere has been living in the motel for four years and is one of the residents that has to be out by Friday. The room he shares with five others, including his wife and granddaughter, has a TV, two bicycles and two beds.

Like most of the residents who spoke with the Register, he does not know where he will go.

He said he didnt take the buyout because he thought a judge would rule against the evictions, giving them several months to save for a deposit on an apartment.

I came home (July 29) and we were thinking we were going to have a month or two here, he said. Now a lot of people are panicking.

Cecere said a battle with heroin addiction depleted his savings and resulted in long-term unemployment for several years. Eventually, he was forced to move his family into the motel as a last resort, he said.

He said hes been clean for several years. His wife recently got a well-paying paralegal job, he said.

We needed a little time to save for a place, he said.

The 48-year-old said crime inside the motel was prevelant and committed openly.

You could buy anything you wanted out here. It was 24/7, Cecere said, referring to illegal drugs. In that (nearby) room they were making pornography movies where girls were lined up outside.

A three-year motel resident who identified herself only as Stephanie said she is still looking for a place for her and her two sons, ages 20 and 6, before her Friday deadline.

A motel cleaning woman had just finished tidying up the studio, which has a bed, bunk beds and a stainless-steel refrigerator near a small kitchen.

She said her $1,200 rent is cheaper than anything available in Costa Mesa.

Every time they check your credit score, its way low and youre disqualified, she said.

Stephanie doesnt dispute the presence of crime in the motel, but said most residents were families down on their luck.

Its not the people and families thats staying here, its the people they let in, she said.

A court date on the lawsuit is scheduled for Feb. 3.

Contact the writer: lcasiano@scng.com
SANTA ANA  A 24-year-old man was sentenced to 11 years in prison Thursday for a hit-and-run collision that killed two men in Santa Ana nearly three years ago.

Jorge Navarro Ocampo pleaded guilty to two counts of gross vehicular manslaughter, and a count of hit and run with permanent injury, all felonies. He admitted a sentencing enhancement for fleeing the scene.

Ocampo had a prior strike conviction in juvenile court when he was 16 for robbery, which would have escalated his prison time if he had been convicted at trial, his attorney, Randall Longwith said.

Without a prior strike we were going to trial, Longwith said. But there was too much exposure. He was looking at 42 years.

The driver of the other vehicle involved in the crash  54-year-old Alejandro Bravo  had a blood-alcohol level of .15 at the time of the collision, Longwith said.

Bravos level of inebriation wouldnt have been relevant, however, since Ocampo was accused of causing the crash by speeding and running a stop sign, said Deputy District Attorney Mark Birney, who negotiated the plea deal with the defendant.

Ocampo, who has been out of custody since shortly after the Aug. 23, 2013 crash, hugged his 1-year-old son before being led off in handcuffs to serve his sentence, Longwith said.

Its a sad situation, Longwith said. This wasnt an alcohol- related incident. This was truly, in the worst case, misjudgment in driving that had a horrible outcome. But this kind of thing happens every day  speeding and running a stop sign  but those kinds of things happen every day without a horrible consequence like this.

Ocampo, who also had his car stereo cranked up at the time, was driving at a high rate of speed at about 10:45 a.m. on Cabrillo Park Drive when his Audi sedan slammed into a Nissan sedan at Fruit Street, Birney said.

The collision also killed 50-year-old Nissan passenger Juan Jose Luna Castro.

Ocampo ran away from the crash scene, but shortly before midnight that day he turned himself in to police.
A cyberattack leveled against the Orange County Transportation Authority froze some of its computer systems for two days this year while hackers demanded ransom to unfreeze them, an incident that ultimately cost the transit agency $660,000, according to a spokesman for the authority.

The Feb. 4 attack was carried out by unknown hackers, who sought $8,500 to unfreeze 88 of the authoritys approximately 400 servers, which were disabled by a malicious computer program, OCTA spokesman Joel Zlotnik said Thursday.

OCTA did not pay the ransom and opted to ignore the demand, choosing instead to have staff and contractors work until they had restored all infected servers, which took two and a half days.

About two weeks later, the OCTA board met in closed session to approve $218,000 in emergency contracts with Microsoft and CISO Share, which found remnants of the virus in the servers and removed the final bits of the malware by early March. The remainder of the cost to fix the hack came from staff time and other outsourced work.

News of the cyberattack and its cost to OCTA was first reported this week by the Voice of OC.

In an interview with the Register, Zlotnik said the attack disabled servers that controlled email, voicemail, payroll, bus driver route assignments and 16 other internal applications. He said it did not affect transportation services or reveal any personal data from customers or employees.

The agency decided to fix its system, he said, because the FBI recommends not paying ransom, and OCTA had no guarantee that the systems would be released. OCTA also has cybersecurity insurance to reimburse the cost of fixing hacks.

When you become a government agency that is known to pay ransom, youre going to get hit and be more vulnerable, Zlotnik said.

Though the agency announced in February that some of its systems were down, it never explained why at the time. It also did not reveal that it had been hacked after a closed-to-the-public OCTA board meeting at which contracts were approved to fix the computer systems.

Zlotnik defended OCTAs decision not to reveal the attack and to approve the emergency contracts in closed session, saying open- meeting laws allow such action to address security threats.

We did not know the extent of the threat and the vulnerability to our information system, he said. Its like someone broke into your house and broke your front door lock. Would you advertise that your front door lock was broken until you were able to fix it?

Ransomware attacks on governments, law enforcement agencies, businesses and home computers have risen sharply in recent years, according to the FBI and cybersecurity firms. The hack works by encrypting data on a computer system, making it inaccessible to its owner unless the owner pays up or takes precautions.

A study released Wednesday by the cybersecurity firm Malwarebytes found that 47 percent of U.S. companies experienced a ransomware incident during the past year. California had more cybercrime victims and loss than any other state last year, according to an FBI report.

In February, a ransomware hack shut down the computer system of a large Los Angeles hospital, Hollywood Presbyterian Medical Center, freezing the system for 10 days before the facility paid $17,000 in extortion.

In June, Orange County supervisors approved the creation of a Sheriffs Department cybercrime investigations unit after Sheriff Sandra Hutchens told supervisors that local businesses were being increasingly hacked, defrauded and ransomed by online scammers.

Peter Reiher, a UCLA adjunct professor of computer science who researches cybersecurity, said governments, businesses and individuals can defend themselves against most ransomware attacks by following two simple rules: back up data and dont get baited into accidentally downloading a virus.

Usually these attacks get access to a system because one of the employees in the organization is careless, Reiher said. They get a link that says click on this, or they get a call from someone claiming to be from an IT department and supply their password over the phone.

These are not high-tech, sophisticated attacks to which there is no response, he said.

Zlotnik said OCTA had backed up its system at the time of the attack, but he would not comment on how the agency regained control of its servers.

He said that all the agencys employees were given cybersecurity training two years ago and that OCTA will host another mandatory training during the next year.

He said he expects insurance will reimburse OCTA for the full cost of the attack.

Contact the writer: jgraham@ocregister.com or 714-796-7960
SACRAMENTO  Attorneys filed a federal civil rights lawsuit Friday on behalf of the family of Joseph Mann, who was fatally shot by Sacramento police last month.

The lawsuit says Mann displayed overt signs of being in the midst of mental crisis before he was shot, and that police should not have used lethal force.

Video shot by a bystander and released at a news conference Friday shows Mann interacting with police before the shooting, doing karate moves in the middle of a street, and zigzagging as he walked. When the shooting occurs, more than 10 gunshots can be heard.

The officers created a confrontation and shot their way out of it, attorney John Burris said. He argued that police should have called in a mental health professional to address Mann or used non-lethal force to subdue him.

Mann was black. The lawsuit did not make an issue of his race.

I dont believe if a white person was exhibiting this type of behavior that he would be shot down, Burris said. And thats the disturbing part of this.

Two Sacramento police officers fatally shot Mann on July 11 after responding to calls of a man waving a knife and acting erratically. They say they received reports that Mann had a gun in his waistband, but none was found.

Police Sgt. Bryce Heinlein said in July that the two officers appeared to have been following department protocol when they killed Mann.

Officer Traci Trapani, a police spokeswoman, declined to comment Friday but said three separate investigations into the shooting were ongoing. She said both officers remain on modified duty, assigned to desk work.

The lawsuit, filed U.S. District Court in Sacramento, claims high-ranking police supervisors condoned the actions with deliberate indifference of police misconduct. It says the officers involved violated Manns rights by using deadly force against him and deprived the family of their right to a familial relationship with him.

Burris called for police to release the names of the two officers involved and to allow the Mann family to view surveillance video of the incident.

Police have refused requests from The Associated Press to release recordings of 911 calls and video surveillance footage, citing the departments protocol and a law exempting police investigations.

The Sacramento County coroner also would not release Manns autopsy results or toxicology reports, which are not yet complete, because his death is classified as a homicide.

Sacramento police typically carry stun guns, pepper spray and collapsible batons, Heinlein said last month. Supervisors keep two additional non-lethal firearms in the trunks of their squad cars, but Heinlein said in July that the situation arose too quickly for officers to prepare those less-lethal weapons systems.

They did not attempt to use non-lethal weapons before opening fire, nor were they required to do so, he said.

Family members described Mann as a college graduate who was smart, loved politics and economics and succeeded in several careers before deteriorating into mental illness about five years ago. They said he began having problems after his mother died and had been living on the streets before his death.
DAKAR, Senegal  A new voice recording described by security experts as coming from the longtime leader of Boko Haram deepened speculation about a fracture in the militant group, which has pledged allegiance to Islamic State and has terrorized Nigeria and its neighbors for years.

In the 10-minute recording uploaded to YouTube on Wednesday night, the Boko Haram leader, Abubakar Shekau, referred to what appeared to be a split in Boko Haram over whether Muslims who live among nonbelievers are good Muslims whose lives deserve to be spared.

Several analysts said they were confident the recording was of Shekaus voice.

The recording emerged hours after an Islamic State publication distributed on the internet referred to another Boko Haram figure, Abu Musab al-Barnawi, as governor of the group. Al-Barnawi was formerly thought to be merely a spokesman. The new title suggested that perhaps he was running Boko Haram now.

The article caught the attention of Shekau, who had not been heard from in months and presumably rushed to broadcast his opinions in response.

My brothers in Allah, Shekau began, directly addressing Islamic State leaders. I received a message that you sent regarding placing a new governor.

Taken together, Islamic State publication and Shekaus recording suggest he is leading a Boko Haram faction bent on indiscriminate killing, while Barnawi is leading a group that might be more willing to show mercy to Muslims in its attacks.

Shekaus message, translated by the SITE Intelligence Group, which monitors jihadi media, was an extraordinary public airing of a dispute in the ranks of one of the worlds most brazen terrorist groups.

Looming over the dispute is an apparent quest from both sides for Islamic States approval. In the recording, Shekau complained that Islamic State had been ignoring him.

Its a very public divorce in many ways, said Yan St-Pierre, a counterterrorism adviser and chief executive of the Modern Security Consulting Group in Berlin.

Boko Haram for years has waged a campaign of beheadings, bombings and abductions across northeastern Nigeria in a battle that now has stretched across the countrys borders. A multinational offensive that began last year, led by the Nigerian military, has scattered the group and left its fighters scrambling for resources. The new fractures could be devastating.

This could weaken them like it does any organization, St-Pierre said. And that could play into the Nigerian militarys favor.
BEIRUT  Syrian rebels and insurgents said on Friday they are edging closer to breaking the government forces siege of the opposition-held part of Aleppo, taking parts of the citys military college close to a strategic siege area.

The announcement from two ultraconservative factions, including al-Qaidas branch in Syria which is now known as the Levant Conquest Front, came on social media, saying they had pushed into the college, where artillery men trained in peace-time. The facility is located about a mile from the besieged opposition areas.

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitoring group confirmed that a part of the facility was captured. The activist group said fierce clashes had erupted around the college, with casualties on both sides.

The media office of Hezbollah, the Lebanese Shiite militant group fighting alongside Syrian President Bashar Assads forces, denied reports of a rebel advance.

The rebels on Friday also shelled a nearby, government-controlled neighborhood of Aleppo, killing at least three civilians, according to the Observatory. Syrian state media said five civilians, including three children, were killed.

The U.N. estimates that between 250,000 and 300,000 residents have been trapped in the besieged, eastern part of Aleppo since pro-government forces cut the last supply route in July. The world body and numerous relief organizations have warned of a looming humanitarian catastrophe as conditions deteriorate.

Russia, a staunch Assad ally, had declared it was offering humanitarian corridors for residents to leave the area, but rights groups said such passages are not neutral and dont offer guarantees to civilians wishing to use them.

Also Friday, Denmarks armed forces announced their aircraft have for the first time dropped bombs in Syrias Raqqa province, where the Islamic State group has its self-declared capital.

Defense Command Denmark said the F-16 raid happened in the past week but did not give further details. The supreme military command said the Danish fighter jets also participated in operations over Iraqi provinces targeting Islamic State command and control facilities, weapons stocks and fighters.

The Scandinavian country joined the international coalition fighting the Islamic State group in October 2014. Danish warplanes have previously participated in airstrikes on Islamic State forces in Iraq, but not Syria. Those planes were brought back for repairs last year.

Denmarks present contribution to the anti-Islamic State effort includes seven F-16 fighter jets, among others, with a mandate to bomb in Syria.

Meanwhile, the Local Coordination Committees reported late Friday that Syrian security forces opened fire when they stormed a prison in the countrys south to put down a riot by the inmates, wounding several.

Fahd Musa, a lawyer who heads the activist Syrian Committee for the Release of Detainees, told The Associated Press that tensions had flared inside the prison in the town of Sweida on Thursday, after intelligence officers demanded the inmates hand over three political prisoners for interrogation. The inmates refused to hand them over and rebelled.

No other details were immediately available.
WASHINGTON  Donald Trump, the man who defied every political rule and prevailed to win his partys nomination, last week took on perhaps the most sacred political rule of all: Never attack a Gold Star family. Not just because it alienates a vital constituency but because it reveals a shocking absence of elementary decency and of natural empathy for the most profound of human sorrows  parental grief.

Why did Trump do it? It wasnt a mistake. It was a revelation. Its that he cant help himself. His governing rule in life is to strike back when attacked, disrespected or even slighted. To understand Trump, you have to grasp the General Theory: He judges every action, every pronouncement, every person by a single criterion  whether or not it/he is nice to Trump.

Vladimir Putin called him brilliant (in fact, he didnt, but thats another matter) and a bromance is born. A Mexican judge rules against Trump, which makes him a bad person governed by prejudiced racial instincts.

House Speaker Paul Ryan criticizes Trumps attack on the Gold Star mother  so Trump mocks Ryan and praises his primary opponent. On what grounds? That the opponent is an experienced legislator? Is a tested leader?

Not at all. Hes a big fan of what Im saying, big fan, attests Trump.

Youre a fan of his, hes a fan of yours. And vice versa. Treat him unfairly and you will pay. House speaker, Gold Star mother, it matters not.

Of course we all try to protect our own dignity and command respect. But Trumps hypersensitivity and unedited, untempered Pavlovian responses are, shall we say, unusual in both ferocity and predictability.

This is beyond narcissism. I used to think Trump was an 11-year-old, an undeveloped schoolyard bully. I was off by about 10 years. His needs are more primitive, an infantile hunger for approval and praise, a craving that can never be satisfied. He lives in a cocoon of solipsism where the world outside himself has value  indeed exists  only insofar as it sustains and inflates him.

Most politicians seek approval. But Trump lives for the adoration. He doesnt even try to hide it, boasting incessantly about his crowds, his standing ovations, his TV ratings, his poll numbers, his primary victories. The latter are most prized because they offer empirical evidence of how loved and admired he is.

Prized also because, in our politics, success is self-validating. A candidacy that started out as a joke, as a self-aggrandizing exercise in xenophobia, struck a chord in a certain constituency and took off. The joke was on those who believed that he was not a serious man and therefore would not be taken seriously. They  myself emphatically included  were wrong.

Winning  in ratings, polls and primaries  validated him. Which brought further validation in the form of endorsements from respected and popular Republicans. Chris Christie was first to cross the Rubicon. Ben Carson then offered his blessings, such as they are. Newt Gingrich came aboard to provide intellectual ballast.

Although tepid, the endorsements by Ryan and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell were further milestones in the normalization of Trump.

But this may all now be jeopardized by the Gold Star gaffe. It has put a severe strain on the patched-over relationship between the candidate and both Republican leadership and Republican regulars.

Trumps greatest success  normalizing the abnormal  is beginning to dissipate. When a Pulitzer Prize-winning liberal columnist (Eugene Robinson) and a major conservative foreign policy thinker and former speechwriter for George Shultz under Ronald Reagan (Robert Kagan) simultaneously question Trumps psychological stability, indeed sanity, theres something going on (as Trump would say).

The dynamic of this election is obvious. As in 1980, the status quo candidate for a failed administration is running against an outsider. The stay-the-course candidate plays his/her only available card  charging that the outsider is dangerously out of the mainstream and temperamentally unfit to command the nation.

In 1980, Reagan had to do just one thing: pass the threshold test for acceptability. He won that election because he did, especially in the debate with Jimmy Carter in which Reagan showed himself to be genial, self-assured and, above all, nonthreatening. You may not like all his policies, but you could safely entrust the nation to him.

Trump badly needs to pass that threshold. If character is destiny, he wont.
KINSHASA, Congo  The World Health Organization and its partners shipped more than 6 million yellow fever vaccines to Angola in February to quash an emerging epidemic, yet when they asked country officials the following month what happened to the vaccines, they discovered that about 1 million doses had mysteriously disappeared.

Of the shipments that did make it to Angola, some vaccines were sent to regions with no yellow fever cases, while others arrived at infected areas without syringes. In neighboring Congo, some vaccines werent always kept cold enough to guarantee they would be effective.

This lack of oversight and mismanagement has undermined control of the outbreak in Central Africa, the worst yellow fever epidemic in decades, an Associated Press investigation has found.

There is now a shortage of vaccines so severe that WHO has recommended doses be diluted by 80 percent to stretch the supply, even though there is limited evidence they will be effective in African populations.

WE HAVE A MAJOR PROBLEM ON OUR HANDS, UNICEFs Robert Kezaala wrote in capital letters in a June email to his colleagues at WHO, Doctors Without Borders and other partners.

WHO vowed after its fumbled response to the 2014 Ebola epidemic in West Africa that it would adopt a no regrets policy to better manage future disease outbreaks with its partners in other health organizations and national governments. But according to hundreds of pages of internal emails and documents obtained by AP, the U.N. health agency is facing many of the same problems that compromised its handling of Ebola, an outbreak that killed 11,000 people in three West African countries.

Health officials now estimate they will be short millions of doses to fight an epidemic that has also spread to Congo. To date, yellow fever is estimated to have caused upward of 5,000 cases and at least 450 deaths. More than 18 million vaccines have been sent to the continent, far short of the 40 million doses some experts think are needed to contain the outbreak.

Some of the most vulnerable areas of Congos sprawling capital have been vaccinated, but millions of people still are waiting for doses as fumigation teams spray crowded neighborhoods in an attempt to kill the mosquitoes that spread the disease.

People are very afraid, says Dr. Ernest Mumakubwidi, who treats patients out of a tiny cement-block neighborhood clinic in Kinshasa. They wont be able to vaccinate everyone  that is clear.

Amanda McClelland, a senior emergency official at the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, or the IFRC, said the crisis is a repeat of WHOs mismanagement of the Ebola epidemic in 2014.

It was the same people at WHO that made the initial calls during Ebola and it was the exact same response: Weve got enough, we dont need any help and its all under control.

Dr. Bruce Aylward, who directed WHOs Ebola response, acknowledged that more changes are still needed to enable WHO to respond quicker to complex emergencies, even though he said the agency has made substantial reforms in the past two years.

It would be a mistake to think that WHO is now ready, he said. I think a lot of things are better but I dont think were there yet.

A disaster for this country and the region

Unlike Ebola, yellow fever is not highly contagious and is easily prevented with vaccines. The virus is transmitted by the Aedes aegypti mosquito, the same species that spreads Zika, dengue, and chikungunya. Once infected, people often fall ill with fever and muscle pain, but many recover after several days. Others, however, suffer a more toxic phase and can develop jaundice, as the virus attacks the liver and kidneys. In the worst cases, patients bleed internally in their digestive systems, becoming delirious before dying. According to WHO, the death rate for reported cases is between 15 to 50 percent.

Yellow fever has largely been eliminated in developed nations after vaccines were developed in the 1930s, but outbreaks continue in Africa and Latin America. For countries that cannot afford broad vaccination programs, a consortium was formed in 2001 by WHO, the International Federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, Doctors Without Borders and UNICEF. Their role is to dole out the global emergency stockpile of about 6 million vaccines, which cost less than $2 each. Until this outbreak, the consortium had never before used more than 4 million doses in any one country.

Four companies produce yellow fever vaccine for WHO and its partners, and as the outbreak worsened, officials pressed manufacturers to rush the production of more.

In early February, a senior U.N. official alerted other colleagues that cases were nearly tripling every week.

WE MIGHT (FACE) A DISASTER FOR THIS COUNTRY AND THE REGION, Paolo Balladelli, the U.N. coordinator in Angola, warned in an email.

On February 12, WHO announced Angola had a yellow fever outbreak in its capital, and along with its partners, sent more than 6 million doses for a vaccination campaign targeting Luanda, more doses than are usually contained in the emergency stockpile.

To verify that the vaccines had reached those who needed them, health officials asked Angola for a detailed accounting of their use.

The answer: 1 million doses had disappeared  evaporated  probably taken by friend(s) and families of the local authorities, the army or resold in the private sector, according to a WHO email to its partners.

How can this happen in a situation of (vaccine) shortage? asked WHOs Sergio Yactayo, a Geneva-based yellow fever expert, in a March 4 missive to his colleagues at UNICEF, the IFRC, Doctors Without Borders and WHO. He lamented that there was no transparency in what happened to the vaccines.

In a series of internal calls over the summer, health officials complained that shots approved for specific regions with documented yellow fever cases were sometimes used in areas that had no cases  without any explanation  according to sources familiar with the problem who were not authorized to discuss it. Experts complained that it was pointless to approve vaccine plans for Angola since the country was completely disregarding them.

When asked about the million missing doses this week, WHO and partners described the loss as not unexpected. An emailed statement on behalf of WHO, IFRC, UNICEF and Doctors Without Borders said that typically there is an expected 10 percent reserve factored in for losses and wastage in mass vaccination campaigns for yellow fever.

But Angolan officials disputed that any vaccines were missing at all.

There has been no diversion (of the vaccines) whatsoever, said Luis Gomes Sambo, the countrys health minister. He said the government has careful accounting of where and when the shots were administered and nothing has disappeared.

Back in March, Yactayo and his colleagues noted that the wastage rate in Angola was nearly double what officials would normally anticipate. He wrote that in the early phases of the outbreak, Angolan authorities had not paid enough attention to registering who was vaccinated.

(I) agree it is not good, but (its) the reality, he said, adding they had attempted to improve the situation, but unhappily with little success.

Though WHO and partners did not investigate what happened to the doses that disappeared, Yactayo reasoned that with an exploding outbreak in a crowded city, they had no choice but to send even more of the precious vaccines. We cannot wait weeks (to) respond.

By late March, neighboring Congo had also reported cases to WHO, making it critical that the limited stockpile be judiciously used.

Vaccine is the only way to control a yellow fever epidemic, said Dr. Peter Piot, director of the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. This is where WHO should insist on accountabilitythey have to know how the vaccine is being used to know they are making the right decisions.

WHOs Aylward said tracing the vaccines usage is an incredibly important issue and that problems may have arisen because Angola was not accustomed to such epidemics.

When you see something new, such as an outbreak in an urban area of Luanda where youve not seen this for a long time, then youre concerned, can they move fast enough, is the health system strong enough to actually use this? Aylward asked. He agreed it was problematic that not all of the vaccines sent to the country could be tracked.

In Congo, the vaccines did not come soon enough for 41-year-old boat operator Guillit Mbwanga.

In April, Mbwanga thought he had malaria and went to his local pharmacy over the weekend for medication to treat his fever and chills. Soon though, his eyes turned yellow from jaundice and by Monday, his whole body had a yellowish tone all the way down to his feet. By Wednesday, he was dead, leaving behind his wife Nadine and their 10 children. Mbwangas medical file states that he likely died of yellow fever.

Now there is no one to take care of the children financially, says his brother-in-law Mitterand Manzambi. His oldest daughter planned to go to university but who will pay for the tuition now? And what about school fees for the others?

Like having a car but not petrol

As yellow fever tore through Angola and Congo, U.N. officials made a series of other mistakes that stalled control efforts.

Ahead of a key vaccination campaign, WHOs country representative in Angola learned that vaccines had been shipped  but without any of the material needed to use them, including syringes.

Sending the vaccines without the vaccination material is USELESS, wrote Hernando Agudelo in a May 11 email to his colleagues, who said the situation was like having a car but not petrol!!

In Congo, aid workers faced another problem: how to prevent the vaccines from spoiling in the heat.

The situation encounter(ed) by the logistics team is quite alarming, wrote WHO logistician Guillaume Queyras. He described breaks in the cold chain that keeps vaccines chilled. Queyras said the set-up he found will hardly guarantee the quality of the vaccine at the end of the chain.

Health officials in Kinshasa have been keeping the vaccine vials at a central facility with a back-up generator. At other health centers, many keep the vaccines in solar-powered refrigerators of varying quality. From there, the vaccines are distributed to neighborhoods in plastic coolers provided by the health ministry with ice packets, though not all the packets appeared to be starting the day cold  at least one touched by an AP reporter at a vaccination site was warm.

On July 8, an internal memo to WHOs Director-General Dr. Margaret Chan relayed more disturbing news: the sole laboratory in Kinshasa responsible for testing all yellow fever cases in Congo had halted operations two weeks earlier. The lab was awaiting more diagnostic materials. Without a lab to test samples from suspected patients, officials had no way to accurately track where the virus was spreading and determine which regions most urgently needed the vaccine.

Facing pressure from aid groups including Doctors Without Borders, also known by its French acronym, MSF, Chan wrote directly to its international president, Dr. Joanne Liu, to assure her WHO was responding faster than its often cumbersome efforts during Ebola.

Liu told AP she was outraged about the situation and had specifically pestered Chan about the unresolved lab problems.

Im self-controlling myself right now because I dont understand why we havent learned the very basic lessons of Ebola.

In a July 16 message tapped out on her iPhone, Chan listed five measures WHO had taken to restart the lab in Kinshasa, including sending supplies and experts to deal with the backlog of untested specimens. Keen to preserve WHOs credibility and keep the lab problems out of the public spotlight, Chan asked Liu, please do not circulate this email.

By late last week, Congos lab was still closed.

Dr. Jean-Jacques Muyembe Tamfum, the labs director, said Monday there were more than 300 samples waiting to be tested because it ran out of diagnostic materials, blaming delivery complications.

The shortage (of testing materials) was due simply to the fact that when Dakar sent the reagents by DHL, the plane stopped in Abidjan, Ivory Coast and they sent the package back to Dakar, he said. They did not understand the urgency of the situation.

For patients, the result was an uncertain wait as doctors attempted to diagnose the disease based on yellow fever symptoms alone, which are similar to those for many other diseases in the region.

At the Chinese-Congolese Friendship Hospital in Kinshasa, little Jonathan Kangu recently sat listless and ornery, on a soiled bedsheet while doctors struggled to say for sure whether he had the disease, despite his eyes turning a glowing shade of yellow beneath his long, thick lashes.

We brought him to the hospital three times and they said it was malaria, said his mother, Joelle, who slept beside him in the ward for the last five nights as her 2-year-old battled high fevers. The toddler ultimately recovered and was discharged, but without knowing whether he had yellow fever, it was unclear if his family or neighborhood needed the vaccine.

Shooting ourselves in the foot

Confronted with an urgent demand for a limited supply of vaccines, WHO and partners are now turning to a largely untested theory to stretch the number of shots: fractional dosing, or using one fifth of the standard dose so that five people can be treated instead of just one.

A WHO draft document in May pointed out some noteworthy concerns: a lack of data on children and people with weakened immune systems, no research on African populations and uncertainty about how long immunity might last. The document warned that diluting the vaccine should be forgotten because of the programmatic and safety concerns.

At the conclusion of a WHO-organized meeting in June, experts bickered over the wording of the fractional dosing recommendation. In a draft press release, WHO immunization expert Philippe Duclos questioned whether there was enough proof to demonstrate that using one fifth of a standard dose would be protective, arguing that description was a bit strong.

The draft release pointed out that fractional dosing would not work for mass preventive campaigns, but WHO staffer Roland Sutter argued that the operation was already planned. Not to proceed with the recommendation would be like shooting ourselves in the foot!!

In a final press statement, WHO concluded that partial doses could indeed be a safe and effective option.

But persuading people to get a partial dose could prove difficult since a full dose typically provides protection for at least a decade. Even though the Angolan government has received 15 million doses so far, and exhausted the supply to the point where fractional dosing is being considered  it rejected the idea of using the weakened vaccines, leaving only the Congolese to use the diluted shots.

The Congolese will not accept that  they know others are being protected for 10 years why should they accept any less? asked Gustav Ngwanza, 44, a nurse who helped vaccinate hundreds of people with the full dose during one of the first phases of the campaign in Kinshasa. Thats not going to work here.
The same week the Democratic Party embraced a $15 starting wage in its national platform, economists at the University of Washington released a study of Seattles early experiences with such a law.

Minimum wage proponents in the region were quick to spin some of the studys less-than-rosy conclusions. The SEIU-backed advocacy organization Working Washington tweeted that the negatives were relative to [an economic] model, not to reality or history.

The truth is considerably more inconvenient for the fight for $15.

Although Seattle is famous for its $15 wage floor, for most businesses in the city this wage wont be a reality until 2021. This initial study from the UW economists covers the first phase of the increase, a roughly 50-cent hike in the base wage for businesses with fewer than 500 employees. (More than 99 percent of the businesses in Seattle fall into this category.)

The consequences that this study is measuring, then, are not the consequences of $15  theyre the consequences of a minimum wage (for most businesses) of $10 an hour. (The wage requirement was $11 an hour for larger businesses and franchisees.)

This should make the authors conclusions even more concerning. The study finds that this smaller wage hike reduced the employment rate for less-skilled employees by about 1 percentage point, relative to employment in regions that didnt follow Seattles path on wages. (Employees also experienced a modest reduction in hours.)

The study also found that affected employees were forced to seek work outside of the city at an elevated rate compared to historical patterns.

The authors concluded that Seattles less-skilled employees lagged behind similar workers in comparison areas, during a time that Seattle job-creation was vastly outpacing the rest of the nation.

Proponents point to income gains as proof of the policys success, and its true that those employees who kept their jobs saw small increases in median pay. But the net pay impact of the wage hike across all affected employees was ambiguous and likely fairly small, as a consequence of the reduced work hours and employment opportunities.

The report was funded in part by the city of Seattle, which makes it difficult for $15 proponents to question its legitimacy. Working Washingtons decision to take issue on Twitter with the authors use of a counterfactual  a standard economic comparison point to demonstrate what would have happened absent the wage hike  only demonstrates its ignorance of measuring minimum wage impacts.

Using the labor groups flawed logic, any public policy that doesnt stop a city dead in its tracks should be considered a success  even if hundreds or thousands of fewer jobs are created over time as a consequence.

The UW findings shouldnt come as a surprise, as Seattle business owners expressed their concerns about the wage hike before the law took effect. A 2014 survey of Seattle small businesses by my organization found that 44 percent stated they would very likely scale back hours, and 42 percent would very likely reduce the number of employees per shift or staffing levels.

California should pay close attention to the consequences playing out in its urban neighbor to the north. The real impacts on a booming city from the first phase of $15 suggest that small businesses in not-so-golden regions of the Golden State will have a much harder time adjusting when the policy starts phasing in. Already, businesses in Bay Area cities that have experimented with dramatic wage hikes have laid off staff or closed entirely.

With the Legislatures final recess for the year approaching, this UW study should be required off-season reading for California policymakers who believe a wage hike brings all benefits and no costs.

Michael Saltsman is research director at the Employment Policies Institute.
COSTA MESA  A raid by Costa Mesa police at a medical marijuana dispensary that was caught on hidden cameras is being challenged by an attorney who alleges officers exceeded their legal authority during the operation.

These guys were doing this to shut down a business without due process because they dont like it, said Matthew Pappas, a Long Beach lawyer who represents the now-closed Costa Mesa Collective in the 2000 block of Harbor Boulevard. They became judge, jury and executioner.

Medical marijuana collectives are prohibited in Costa Mesa and are not permitted by the city to operate.

Costa Mesa Police Chief Rob Sharpnack declined to discuss details of the January incident, citing a continuing criminal investigation. But he said a code enforcement inspection warrant was obtained for the operation. He declined the Registers requests to produce a copy of the warrant.

Five people, including employees and patients, were arrested on suspicion of possession with intent to distribute marijuana, a felony, Pappas said. They spent four days in the Orange County Jail before being released without charges being filed, he added.

Prosecutors referred the case back to Costa Mesa police for further investigation, said Susan Schroeder, chief of staff for the Orange County District Attorneys Office, who did not comment on details of the case or the legality of the officers actions.

Two hours of video provided to the Register by Pappas offer a window on an unfolding police operation  in this case involving a type of business the city outlawed within its borders.

http://launch.newsinc.com/js/embed.js

var _ndnq = _ndnq || []; _ndnq.push([embed]);

It begins as officers, with guns drawn, burst through the front door of the collective on the afternoon of Jan. 27 and order a half-dozen people to the floor.

Search warrant, police department. Hands up! officers can be heard shouting.

The video shows police removing a video recorder. Hidden cameras and another recorder continued to capture their actions as they searched the collective, seized items and questioned employees and customers.

Pappas questions whether Costa Mesa police had legal authority to force their way into the dispensary, take the digital recorder and remove items from safes.

It appears the Costa Mesa police disabled and removed the security recording device knowing they were going to take everything in sight, said Pappas. Police frequently argue they must seize video recordings in such raids to help ensure officer safety, Pappas said. But he suggested they might, at times, also be protecting the police when they break the law.

The attorney asserts neither he nor Costa Mesa Collective operators were provided a warrant of any kind or an inventory of items seized during the operation, both of which he says should be presented with a court-issued warrant.

Sharpnack said the department obtained a so-called inspection warrant. That type of warrant is normally used to enter a premises to investigate whether a business or other entity is complying with building, fire, zoning and other civil codes.

Im 100 percent certain there is a (code enforcement) inspection warrant and that we have completed the (property inventory) returns as well, he said. He said he was attempting to view the video of the operation in Pappas possession.

Tony Dodero, a spokesman for the city of Costa Mesa, also said the warrant exists and he has seen it, but he declined to provide a copy or additional details. The Register has been unable to locate a warrant covering the operation in the Orange County court system, where such documents typically would be filed. Dodero said he could not immediately comment on how the warrant was served.

The Costa Mesa incident follows a highly publicized May 2015 arrest at Sky High Collective, a pot dispensary in Santa Ana, where police were filmed on hidden cameras eating snacks and making disparaging remarks about a volunteer with disabilities.

Three officers face charges of petty theft for allegedly eating snacks inside Sky High, and one of them faces an additional count of vandalism for allegedly breaking some of the dispensarys surveillance cameras. The officers have pleaded not guilty.

Pappas said in the Santa Ana case, Police did have a real search warrant for Sky High and gave an inventory list, while Costa Mesa did not.

Warrants, both inspection and search warrants, are issued by a judge. Lists detailing items seized have to be filed with the court, said Jen McGrath, former attorney for the city of Huntington Beach, who is teaming up with Pappas on the Costa Mesa Collective case.

Although warrant contents and affidavits justifying the requests can be sealed, they should be identifiable in the court system, said McGrath.

Without a valid search warrant, any evidence collected by police, including the statements of those interrogated, would be tossed out by the courts, said Kate Corrigan, a Newport Beach lawyer and a former Orange County deputy district attorney.

The League of California Cities issued a report in 2010 regarding the use of code enforcement inspection warrants: Warrants are not alternatives for police officers to circumvent the need to obtain a search warrant, the report says. There should not be any appearance that an inspection warrant is being used other than for health/safety inspections.

All California businesses open to the public are subject to municipal inspections during normal business hours for such things as fire, building or code enforcement violations, McGrath said. No warrants are needed for those inspections.

If a business refuses access for an inspection, a city may have proper grounds to obtain an inspection warrant and seek a judges permission to make forcible entry, but investigators cant seize evidence for a criminal case, McGrath said.

Costa Mesa Collective operators were never contacted by Costa Mesa officials about a code enforcement inspection and hadnt refused entry, Pappas said.

If illegal activity or items are observed during an inspection warrant, the city may return to court to request a search warrant, McGrath said.

Pappas said he plans to file a lawsuit next week against Costa Mesa seeking the return of items seized in the raid and unspecified damages for civil rights violations.

Costa Mesa City Attorney Tom Duarte did not respond to an email and phone calls seeking comment.

Contact the writer: 714-796-7767 or sschwebke@ocregister.com Twitter:@thechalkoutline
Some 50,000 Southern California grocery workers will walk into union offices on Monday to cast their vote on a tentative agreement that, if approved, would avoid another strike.

After intense round-the-clock negotiations this week, union workers and the three major supermarket chains  Ralphs, Vons and Albertsons  have agreed on terms for a new contract, which includes wage increases and affordable health care for supermarket workers, Ralphs spokeswoman Kendra Doyel said in a statement to the Register.

We are able to give our associates pay increases, keep their health care very affordable, and a stable pension, Doyel said. She said she could not reveal more details.

Ralphs operates 200 stores in Southern California. The agreement covers about 19,000 workers, Doyel said. The merged banners of Albertsons, Vons and Pavilions, operate roughly 350 stores in Southern California. Of those, 57 are in Orange County.

A 2003-04 grocery strike and lockout altered the regions supermarket climate. The strike lasted four months and cost the grocery chains an estimated $1.5 billion.

Greg Conger, president of Local 324, also declined to reveal details of the new contract. Congers union represents roughly 10,000 grocery workers in Orange County.

He said reaching a tentative agreement is significant as no one at the negotiating table asked for a strike, he said.

Negotiations with the three major grocery chains have been ongoing since the union contract expired March 6. Up until this week, the union and supermarket chains had not come to any agreement. That led to a union workers voting in late June to authorize a strike, if necessary. At issue are wages and healthcare benefits.

In June, the supermarkets were offering union workers a 10-cent per hour wage increase through 2018 and bonuses of 10-15 cents an hour during that time. The stores said they would not fund health care beyond current levels, meaning that employees would have to contribute more or sacrifice coverage.

The supermarkets had also said they would not fund pensions at levels the unions are seeking and want to change the retirement age to 65 from 60.

On Monday, grocery workers will find out the contract terms.

Conger said polls will be open all day Monday, starting at 8 a.m. Final results will likely be announced Tuesday. Though, he said by late Monday well have a good feeling as the day goes on how the vote is going.

Stater Bros., also under an expired contract, will adopt the pension and healthcare benefits agreed upon by the three chains, Conger said. However, all other benefits, including wages, are negotiated separately, he said.
A group of political activists known as The Satanic Temple has announced its intention to establish After School Satan Club programs in public elementary schools in the United States, in an effort to compete with after school religious programs supported by various Christian evangelical groups.

And before you flip out, Satanic Temple leader and co-founder Doug Mesner assures parents that the already controversial after-school program will involve no demon summonings, Satan worshiping or any kind of satanic rituals. After School Satan Club meetings will include a healthy snack, literature lesson, creative learning activities, a science lesson, puzzle solving and an art project. Sounds pretty tame, and Mesner explains that the whole point of the program is to offer young kids an alternative. Its critical that children understand that there are multiple perspectives on all issues, and that they have a choice in how they think, said Mesner, a.k.a Lucian Greaves.

Despite its name, The Satanic Temple doesnt encourage the worshiping of the fallen angel, in fact it doesnt even believe in the existence of a supernatural being that other religions refer to as Satan, or Lucifer, or Beelzebub. The group rejects all forms of supernaturalism and instead promotes scientific rationality. So why use Satan? Simply as a metaphor, a symbol against all forms of tyranny over the human mind. Yes, that obviously includes organized religion.

Photo: The Satanic Temple

We think its important for kids to be able to see multiple points of view, to reason things through, to have empathy and feelings of benevolence for their fellow human beings, Chalice Blythe, the head of the Satanic Temples Utah chapter, told The Washington Post. And its for the sake of having multiple perspectives that the After School Satan Club will be rolled out in a limited number of schools that also host an evangelical Christian after-school program known as the Good News Club.

While the Good News Clubs focus on indoctrination, instilling children with a fear of hell and Gods wrath, After School Satan Clubs will focus on free inquiry and rationalism, Greaves said. We prefer to give children an appreciation of the natural wonders surrounding them, not a fear of an everlasting other-worldly horror.

Photo: The Satanic Temple

Christian evangelical after school programs were at one point largely banned from schools for fear that their presence would violate the U.S. Constitution. But in 2001, powerful legal advocacy groups on the religious right, including the Alliance Defending Freedom and the Liberty Counsel, managed to convince the Supreme Court that excluding an after school program based on the religious views of it sponsors would be a violation of free-speech rights. In the next 10 years, the Child Evangelism Fellowship (CEF), the organization behind Good News Clubs, became present in 3,560 public elementary schools.

Now, the Satanic Temple plans to follow in the footsteps of these religious organizations, in order to provide young minds with an alternative to Christian evangelical programs. We would like to thank the Liberty Counsel specifically for opening the doors to the After School Satan Clubs through their dedication to religious liberty, Greaves says, sarcastically. So, the Satanic Temple leverages religious freedom laws that put after-school clubs in elementary schools nationwide. Thats going to be the message.

Lucien Greaves/Photo: YouTube screengrab

The Liberty Counsel actually agrees that the Satanic Temple has the legal right to establish its own after school program, based on the decision of Supreme Court that they themselves fought for, but claims its nothing more than a fad. I suspect, in this particular case, I cant imagine theres going to be a lot of students participating in this, Liberty Counsel founder, Matt Staver, said. Its probably dust theyre kicking up and is likely to fade away in the near future for lack of interest.

We are only doing this because Good News Clubs have created a need for this. If Good News Clubs would operate in churches rather than public schools, that need would disappear, Greaves concluded. But our point is that if you let one religion into the public schools you have to let others, otherwise its an establishment of religion.

I like this guy, I like him a lot!
Suzanne Wright, co-founder with her husband Bob Wright of Autism Speaks in 2005, died July 29. Controversy currently swirls around the organization.

Wright, who died in her home in Fairfield, Conn., founded AS after her grandson, Christian, stopped speaking when he was two-and-a-half and was diagnosed with autism, according to a New York Times story.

Her husband at the time was president and CEO of NBC. He retired in 2007. Autism Speaks, with $57.4 million in revenues in 2014, latest year available, is by far the largest charity connected to the condition.

Suzanne created the Autism Speaks logo, a blue jigsaw puzzle piece that is meant to show how adrift and disconnected autism patients and their families could feel, in the words of NYT.

Families Decry Harmful Language

A number of families whose members have autism have conducted a battle with the organization in recent years, saying AS uses profoundly harmful language and rhetoric in its advertising and fund-raising, overpays its staff, and spends little on families and too much on research devoted to causation and prevention.

AS, says autisticadvocacy.org uses damaging and offensive fundraising tactics which rely on fear, stereotypes and devaluing the lives of people on the autism spectrum. Its advertisements and awareness campaigns portray autistic adults and children as not full human beings, but as burdens on society that must be eliminated as soon as possible.

The website says those with Autism have been systematically excluded from place of leadership throughout the organization and its chapters. It notes that on Dec. 7, 2015, after ten years of widespread criticism, it finally put two Autistic people on its board.

It called the appointments superficial. AS, it says, will continue to fail as an organization that can create real, positive change for the Autistic community unless its activities include public policy advocacy and community engagement to encourage inclusion and respect for neurodiversity, leadership training, cross-disability advocacy, and the development of Autistic cultural activity.

Disastrous Autism Rate Blamed on Radiation

The number of children diagnosed with autism has exploded from one in 10,000 several decades ago to one in 68, according to Centers for Disease Control & Prevention. Radiation is not mentioned on the AS website as a possible cause of Autism.

The answer, according Martin Pall, Ph.D., biochemistry, of Washington State University, is microwave electro-magnetic radiation fields from routers, cellphones, computers, wireless iPads, cell towers, wireless utility meters and other sources. U.S. classrooms from the earliest grades are normally equipped with Wi-Fi systems and many children have their own cellphones.

Pall has authored a 42-page analysis of the biology involved when the body interacts with pulsed microwave radiation.

AS revenues were $69M+ in 2008, $669,751 going to chief science officer Geri Dawson, reports disabilityscoop.com.

Her compensation included $269,721 in relocation expenses to move her family from Washington to North Carolina. Dawsons base salary was $373,360, more than any of the organizations 257 other employees, including Autism Speaks president Mark Roithmayr. Employee compensation accounted for more than a quarter of Autism Speaks income for the year.

Angela Geiger, formerly chief strategy officer for the Alzheimers Assn., joined Autism Speaks in February2016 as president and CEO. She succeeded Elizabeth Feld who had total remuneration of $415,065 in the year to Dec. 31, 2014. Geiger was previously with the American Cancer Society for eight years and has a B.A. and M.B.A. from the University of Pittsburgh.

C.J. Volpe is chief of media strategy and Aurelia Grayson is senior director of media strategy. Michael Rosen, who was executive VP, strategic communications, has left it. His package totaled $276,871 in 2014. Attempts by this website to reach any staffers at Autism Speaks by phone or email since July 21 have been unsuccessful. AS offices are at 1 E. 33rd st.
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Paul Kulik runs some of the best restaurants in Omaha, and the James Beard Award semifinalist is known for his daring, often difficult cuisine.

Ethan Bondelid is behind three of the citys most popular craft cocktail bars, and his ability to grab a trend and bring it to Omaha is well documented.

Now the two old friends and former roommates have come together to open Via Farina, a neo-Italian pizza and pasta spot on the corner of Omahas historic Little Italy neighborhood adjacent to the new home of the Blue Barn Theatre, at 10th and Pacific Streets.

Id be hard-pressed to think of another chef-owner partnership that found success so quickly. The result is a restaurant thats new but already feels comfortable, in both atmosphere and menu.

I found the dining room crowded at both lunch and dinner and even at 2 p.m. on a Wednesday. I get why people are already making themselves at home, what with the vibrant, chic atmosphere; pasta and pizza made with the right amount of sophistication; and a wine list where every bottle sits at just $30.

The dishes I cant stop thinking about are two: first, the fritti, a pizza with a fried crust. Ours had the perfect amount of heft with a glistening, crunchy finish and a thickness somewhere between traditional wood-fired pizza and the pan pizza Midwesterners are familiar with. Salty pancetta sat next to torn bits of fresh mozzarella, briny dark olives and acidic tomato sauce, the whole incredibly flavorful pie topped with an artfully dressed bunch of spicy arugula and a dusting of Parmesan.

The other dish comes from the succinct list of six pastas. The gutsy ingredient here comes in the form of chicken livers, but dont be frightened by their funk, which ends up in the background adding robust depth to the sauce over a pile of hand-crafted wide tubes of rigatoni. (All the pastas served at Via Farina are made by hand, in house.)

The ragu, with its savory richness, creamy texture and pops of fresh basil and thyme, is so good. Its the life-changing, eye-opening kind of pasta, the kind that makes anything less than entirely homemade suddenly feel entirely unacceptable.

The careful construction of each dish is vintage Kulik. Hes known for one of the citys most upscale culinary spots, the Boiler Room, where he has introduced lots of Omaha palates to entirely new dining experiences, and his own creative riff on country French at his second spot, Le Bouillon. At Via Farina, in tandem with chef de cuisine Piero Cotrina, a Boiler Room alum with a passion for pasta, he has dialed the difficulty back a notch, and while the pizzas and pastas are thoughtfully assembled and classic Italian, the whole shebang is also approachable and affordable.

Similarly, Bondelid has undoubtedly raised the citys craft cocktail game with his three bars  House of Loom, Berry and Rye and Wicked Rabbit  and if youve ever been inside one, you know he gets atmosphere. At Via Farina he has introduced a simpler menu of light Italian spritzes, including refreshing Aperol and Campari-focused drinks, alongside a handful of creative beers. Again, approachable but still fresh.

The warm yellow and red color scheme, the trendy glass globe light fixtures, the record player that spins vinyl in the evenings, the big open kitchen with a vibrant orange wood fire oven and the Vespa scooter-centric branding are all Bondelids doing, too, though Kulik did cruise around Omaha on a Vespa himself for a number of years.

The scooter parked out front, painted screaming yellow, will eventually be one of a fleet that zips around downtown and perhaps midtown to deliver pies and pasta.

The space is hip, to be sure. But its also comfortable, welcoming and remarkably unpretentious.

Bondelid worked with Omaha interior designer Lester Katz, of LK Design, on the space.

Of course, I ate more. Like a memorable salad of shaved Brussels sprouts mixed with chewy cooked barley, sweet candied walnuts, spicy fresh horseradish and a hefty amount of Parmesan. And a classic version of fried calamari with plenty of flavor and whisper-thin breading dusted with chili flakes and julienned basil leaves. Be sure to give the lemon wedge a good squeeze over the bowl; it brought necessary brightness and acid.

The wood-fired pizza crust has a thin profile with a bubbled, burnt-in-spots edge. Via Farina cuts pies into four hefty slices. One slice will do, along with a communal bowl of pasta and an appetizer or two.

The pollastro pizza, a white pizza, bursts with flavor. Savory chicken thighs brought depth to the pizza, which also had just a bit of broccolini, a blend of fontina and ricotta cheese, garlic and olive oil. The spinto pizza is the restaurants version of a more classic combination: sausage, tomato and cheese. But its spiked with Calabrian chili heat and topped with spicy house-made sausage and bold garlic oil.

And the tajarin pasta, a perennial favorite of mine, impresses with simplicity: thin, silky egg pasta arrives artfully twirled into a little pile blended with bits of crabmeat, a Parmesan crema, olive oil and parsley.

Of all I tried, I wished for more only twice. I wanted more depth in a white Bolognese, a version of the classic sauce made without tomato, especially when I compared it to the other two sauces I sampled. But the dishs bigoli pasta, a thicker version of spaghetti, had perfect texture. And though the shredded potatoes and hot montasio cheese in the frico caldo baked dish were indeed a better version of hash browns, I found more to love elsewhere on the menu. These dishes fall short only because everything else aimed  and struck  so high.

Kulik told me after my visits that this was perhaps the easiest restaurant opening hes had so far.

He suspected thered be success in wood-fired pizza  a handful of Omaha restaurants, including Dante Ristorante, had already paved the way  but the neighborhood was untested when it comes to modern cuisine, and he planned smaller portion sizes than many are used to. Omahans are picky when it comes to Italian food and pizza.

The diners, though, the ones coming back again and again and filling the place to capacity almost nightly, have proved that it was a safe gamble, and one that they understand.

Kulik puts it simply: Its the power of pizza and pasta.

Yes, thats true. But its also more than that. The ease with which the owners conceived, opened and run Via Farina translates to the diners easy, comfortable experience. The food is simply good. The atmosphere, fun and vibrant. The neighborhood is clearly hungry for such a place. Youll be hard-pressed to find a recent Omaha opening as good as this one.

* * * * *

Via Farina

Address: 1108 S. 10th St.

Phone: 402-502-9880

Hours: Monday, 5 to 11 p.m.; Tuesday through Saturday, 11 a.m. to 11 p.m.; Sunday, 11 a.m. to 8 p.m.

Hits: A shaved Brussels sprouts salad had wonderful texture and varied flavor; the rigatoni pasta is simply terrific; and dont miss one of the restaurants signature pizzas, the singular fritti, with fried crust.

Misses: I wished for more powerful flavors in two dishes: the frico caldo appetizer, a potato-based dish; and the white Bolognese, though the bigoli pasta here was perfectly executed.

Drinks: all bottles of wine are $30; plus, theres a creative cocktail and beer list

Service: Dont be afraid to ask questions about the mostly Italian menu. The staff is friendly and knowledgeable.

Prices: reasonable; pizzas are around $12, pastas between $10 and $14

Other things to know: The space has great energy but is noisy, especially during busy lunch and dinner service. Gluten-free pasta and pizza are available for a $4 upcharge.
Omaha-based grain trader Gavilon is trying to lease the top two floors of its headquarters at 13th and Capitol Streets, a $44 million building finished two years ago that was envisioned as the nerve center of a commodities-trading business that has so far been a disappointment to its overseas owners.

The company, which has struggled as it has faced a sharp fall in commodities prices, has room for as many as 750 employees in its five-floor downtown office; the building currently houses 350 workers.

The company over the past several months has cut jobs and seen a reshuffle in its executive suite.

In February, the head of the Japanese company that owns Gavilon pulled no punches in a conference call with investors. Fumiya Kokubu, chief executive at parent company Marubeni, said a decline in profits at Marubeni mainly reflects the larger-than-expected downturn in the grain business, centered on Gavilon.

He said the company would be taking dramatic measures as Gavilon continued to navigate difficult waters, according to a transcript of his February remarks.

That same month, former Gavilon Chief Executive Jim Anderson and two top lieutenants left. Former Archer Daniels Midland executive Lewis Batchelder was named CEO.

The search for a tenant for the top two floors of the 130,500-square-foot building comes as tough times on the farm have translated into tougher times for operations including Gavilon that market grains and related commodities. (Corn, for instance, in 2012 traded above $8 a bushel; recently, it traded at around $3.30.)

Its not a surprise, Gavilon spokesman Patrick Burke said. We have some space, and theres no sense in holding onto a bunch of space.

Construction of the building began in 2012, and it was intentionally overbuilt to leave Gavilon room for future growth. That growth didnt play out as executives hoped.

The Gavilon glut adds almost 45,000 square feet of office space to a downtown commercial real estate market that is already heaping with vacant properties: Downsizing tied to ConAgras headquarters move from the Omaha riverfront to Chicago is expected to dump 250,000 square feet of space on the market.

With the ConAgra space figured in, downtowns office vacancy rate was expected to top 13 percent, according to commercial brokers. The Gavilon space will increase that.

Gavilon doesnt own the building; it has a long-term lease agreement for the facility.

Paul LaFave, executive vice president at CBRE/MEGA, which is marketing the Gavilon space, said his firm was involved in the site selection and construction of the building. He said only now has it become apparent that Gavilon will not fill out the space.

We knew that the fifth-floor space was surplus at the time it was built, but Gavilon was growing, LaFave said. They were uncertain through the acquisition with Marubeni how that would play out, but they had a safety valve if things went crazy and they needed the space.

World-Herald staff writer Russell Hubbard contributed to this report.

Contact the writer: 402-444-1534, cole.epley@owh.com
The Better Business Bureau says a key employee at The Event Specialists, an Omaha event-planning company, is Patricia Urbanovsky, who is facing state and federal charges in connection with the sale of millions of dollars of worthless travel vouchers.

A dozen customers in the past three months have made complaints about the company with the Better Business Bureau.

Urbanovsky ran Creative Creations, an Omaha event-planning company that is accused of selling the worthless vouchers. She has been free on bail for more than a year after being charged by county prosecutors with three felony counts of theft.

Customers of The Event Specialists in Nebraska, Iowa, Wisconsin and Minnesota reported to the BBB that their transactions had been handled by a person named Trisha Hoffman.

Urbanovskys attorney, Steve Lefler, confirmed that Trisha Hoffman is Patricia Urbanovskys married name. Lefler said the company is not owned by Urbanovsky, but he declined Thursday to provide details about who owns it.

Its website says The Event Specialists prides itself on being a family based company with family values.

Lefler said the company, which employed about 10 people, is closing. Lefler is listed as the companys registered agent on corporate paperwork filed with the Nebraska secretary of state, but he said he is not the companys attorney.

He said customers seeking refunds are going to get their money.

Complaints about The Event Specialists revolve around unfulfilled contracts for event services, including setups and delivery of tables, chairs and backdrops, along with requests for refunds that have not been issued, said Jim Hegarty, president of the BBB in Omaha.

They dropped the ball on several events, Hegarty said. He said hes received a dozen complaints about the company in the past 90 days.

Through investigation and questioning of those who complained, Hegarty said, the BBB determined that Urbanovsky is a key employee at the company.

A BBB business review names Trisha Hoffman (Urbanovsky) as the companys event manager.

There were no complaints tied to The Event Specialists that related to travel or airline vouchers, Hegarty said.

A telephone call to a number listed as the contact for The Event Specialists was answered Thursday by a woman who declined to identify herself. She said the number is no longer associated with the company, and she declined to provide information about the company. She said anyone seeking a refund should send a request to: eventspecialistsne@outlook.com.

Douglas County Attorney Don Kleine said Thursday he wasnt aware of the complaints about The Event Specialists. But, Kleine said, If theres a problem there  if someone says a crime has been committed there  well certainly look into it.

Urbanovsky was released on bail from the Douglas County Jail in July 2015. Kleine said that federal and Douglas County authorities are responsible for monitoring her release on bail.

The federal order that sets the conditions of Urbanovskys release is not a public document, a representative from the U.S. Attorneys Office in Omaha said.

John Higgins, with the U.S. Attorneys Office, said he couldnt comment on whether there was a new or expanded investigation when it comes to Urbanovsky.

Federal law enforcement agencies are, however, aware of defendants employment and are monitoring the situation, he said in a statement.

The BBBs Hegarty said anyone with complaints about The Event Specialists should contact the bureau in Omaha, which serves Nebraska, South Dakota and parts of Iowa and Kansas. The bureaus website is bbb.org/nebraska.

Urbanovsky, who pleaded not guilty this spring to 16 federal counts of wire fraud and nine counts of money laundering, was granted a change-of-plea hearing in federal court, according to legal documents filed this week.

Her change-of-plea hearing is scheduled for Sept. 9 in federal court in Omaha. She faces a maximum federal prison sentence of 365 years.

Separate from the federal charges, Urbanovsky faces three state felony counts of theft. She is accused of defrauding employees out of $141,000.

She is accused of bilking customers who bought air travel vouchers, many of which turned out to be useless.

Federal investigators likened her operation, which lasted from about May 2014 to March 2015, to a Ponzi scheme.

The alleged scam came to light last spring when complaints about Creative Creations, Urbanovskys business, began trickling in to the BBB from all over the country. Eventually the BBB received 1,600 complaints, with alleged losses totaling $1.3 million.

Among those affected: Square Inc., the San-Francisco payment-processing company that ran more than $7 million in payments for Creative Creations and says it is out more than $4.7 million.

Contact the writer: 402-444-1142, janice.podsada@owh.com
Theres a battle on for your insurance dollars, and its not about Obamacare or dueling TV commercials.

The conflict pits company investigators, police officers, prosecutors, IT professionals and others against legions of big-time and small-time crooks, who steal billions of dollars every year through insurance fraud.

The crimes can be as small as a repair shop padding costs so a customer doesnt have to pay a $100 deductible, or as big as a nationwide ring of thieves who deliberately stage auto accidents to collect personal injury damages.

Its all over the place, said Douglas County Attorney Don Kleine, who spoke this week to 150 or so fraud fighters at a conference sponsored by the Nebraska Department of Insurance and held at the Strategic Air Command & Aerospace Museum.

People should care, state insurance director Bruce Ramge said, because money paid fraudulently to those he called scoundrels is a cost that insurance companies pass along to consumers or, in the case of federal health insurance programs like Medicare, to taxpayers.

Ramge said the department goes especially hard after criminals whose actions endanger the public, such as a dishonest agent who pockets clients premium checks and never actually gets them insured.

Although nobody knows for sure, the industry estimates its annual fraud losses at $80 billion, or about $950 per family. One estimate holds that 30 percent of insurance applications  just the applications  have fraudulent elements, from fudged income estimates and exaggerated values to outright lies about smoking or medical conditions.

If they lie on the application, were not going to pay it, said one of the attendees at the conference, special investigator Carleen Gerjevic of Central States Health & Life Co. in Omaha.

Fraud is so common and resources so limited, she said, that investigators and prosecutors have to set priorities on the cases they pursue in court. Sometimes the only thing that can be done is to deny a claim and cancel the policy.

But investigators still work hard at ferreting out fraud.

For example, a claims adjuster noticed that one woman used the exact same words that her daughter had used on a disability claim, an unlikely coincidence. In another case, a person claimed to be unable to work but also had filed a federal work safety complaint.

Another woman claimed that she was disabled and never left her home, but auto accident reports showed that she had driven 42,000 miles on her car over a two-year period.

Sometimes people sue insurance companies when their claims are denied. During a pretrial interview in one such case, Gerjevic said, You could tell she was making things up. Eventually, the womans own attorney didnt believe her and offered to drop the case for a small amount.

Bank records, cellphone logs, DNA tests and other paperwork can back up the testimony of human witnesses in a criminal trial, said Charlie Worsham of Chicago, director of the National Insurance Crime Bureaus Midwest region.

Even then, it can be hard to convince a jury that someone is guilty of a crime beyond a reasonable doubt, he said, especially when trying to prove criminal intent by people who claim that they simply made bad business decisions. We have to have a solid case.

Worsham said insurance fraud is growing, although its difficult to quantify and some of the apparent increase may be due to improved reporting and heightened public awareness.

Among its services, the nonprofit bureau, supported by 1,100 insurance companies, sends investigators into disaster zones such as communities hit by tornadoes. They look for fly-by-night contractors.

Some may ask for $1,000 cash to start repairs, Worsham said, promising to refund the money when an insurance check arrives. They put a blue tarp on the roof and then disappear.

We rarely go after somebody who said he had a TV in his home that burned up when he didnt, Worsham said.

Mitchell Sherrod and Brent Walker, medical fraud investigators for Travelers Cos., said during the conference that its often unclear who is a witness and who is a suspect.

Careful questioning can yield clues about the true nature of a scheme, they said, revealing whether the suspect is the patient, the doctor, the office manager or someone else involved in the financial transaction.

Walker said he interviewed one patient who initially supported what the doctor had done in her case but eventually realized that he had been billing the insurance company for treatment she did not receive. I could see her flip in the interview.

Sherrod said one physical therapy business in Texas was billing 8,000 patients insurance companies for one-on-one treatment when they actually were receiving group therapy. The difference: Insurance payments can be more than twice as high for individual sessions.

Upcoding  the practice of claiming higher-priced, unjustified designations for patient treatments  can be detected by comparing a health care providers claims with the average, he said. Such data analysis is becoming more sophisticated and effective.

Insurance companies look out for medical providers who adopt corporate practices, he said, governed not by the patients best interests but by the amount of revenue they generate.

A 2014 survey of 42 property insurance companies by the Coalition Against Insurance Fraud, an industry group, said the consensus was that suspicious activity is increasing and fraudsters tactics are becoming more sophisticated.

Since this crime is designed to go undetected, the fraud-fighting community can only guess at the extent of crime and dollar losses, the report said.

Companies complain about a lack of return on the money they invest in anti-fraud efforts, although industry officials said the returns should improve as detection systems become more effective and economical.

To encourage people to report suspected fraud, governors in Iowa and Nebraska are signing proclamations this month calling attention to the issue.

Charles Starr, anti-fraud chief for Nebraska, said the share of fraud cases that are caught and prosecuted is small, although no one knows exactly how small. Its very important for people to be aware of it.

Jared Kirby, acting chief of the Iowa Insurance Fraud Bureau, said the state had 611 cases of proven insurance fraud in 2014, 738 in 2015 and 415 in the first half of this year. Some of the increase might be due to more reporting, he said, but he thinks the amount of fraud is growing, too.

In general, he said, cases fall into two categories: hard fraud, where deliberate criminal intent is involved; and soft fraud, where a person exaggerates a genuine loss or otherwise bends the truth.

Disability claims, workers compensation claims and health care fraud also seem to be growing, he said.

Once a company spots a suspicious claim, Kirby said, authorities have sophisticated tools to verify its information. Known as predictive analytics, the computer-powered systems can spot claims that are out of line with the norm.

Companies have thousands of claims coming in per day, Kirby said. Its hard to look at each one. Predictive analytical software works well for them.

Such software can detect anomalies and lead to arrests, but crooks also are adept at using new technology, said Frank Scafidi, a spokesman at the National Insurance Crime Bureaus headquarters in Des Plaines, Illinois.

Technology cuts both ways, he said. Its like a cat and mouse game. Its almost like a battle of electrons.

The common thread running through all forms of insurance fraud is the money, whether its monthly disability checks, one-time payments for destroyed property, medical reimbursements or other income streams through insurance policies.

Track the money, County Attorney Kleine told those at the meeting, urging them to continue working together to halt fraud. You are the front line.

Insurance fraud

Annual cost: $80 billion, $950 per U.S. family

Property-casualty fraud: $32 billion

Most-stolen vehicle:

Nebraska: 1996 Chevrolet pickup

Iowa: 2002 Chevrolet pickup

Common schemes: Shoddy repairs; claims exaggeration, known as buildup; staged vehicle crashes; unneeded medical billing or treatment; unjustified disability and workers compensation claims; incorrect application information; arson

Fraud hot spots: New York, Massachusetts, Florida, California

To report fraud:

Nebraska: 402-471-8334 or email Charles.Starr@nebraska.gov

Iowa: 515-242-5304 or email fraud@iid.iowa.gov

National Insurance Crime Bureau: nicb.org

Sources: National Insurance Crime Bureau, Insurance Research Council, Coalition Against Insurance Fraud

Examples of Fraud

Investigators uncovered these insurance fraud cases:

Disability: A man said he was injured and couldnt continue his porta-potty business, but a drone video of his property showed him hard at work. A woman said she couldnt leave her house because of pain and depression but posted Facebook photos of herself working on a food truck.

Vehicle: A man bought a burned-out pickup truck, retitled it as a functioning truck, got an insurance policy and reported it stolen, but the insurance company recognized it because it had paid out on the truck the first time.

Medical: A physicians assistant removed a benign mole from a mans back, making a bigger incision than necessary so that the dermatologists office could list a treatment code that yielded a bigger insurance payment.

Personal injury: A crime ring gave drugs to addicts to be human crash dummies in staged traffic accidents.

Life: A death certificate showed that a life insurance policyholder had died, but the certificate was phony.

Sources: Nebraska Department of Insurance, Travelers Cos., Central States Health & Life Co., National Insurance Crime Bureau
WASHINGTON  A couple of small American flags mark the corner in northwest Washington, D.C., where Omaha native Seth Rich was shot and killed last month.

His mother, Mary Rich, visited the spot for the first time Thursday, and she made an emotional plea there for anyone with information about the slaying to come forward.

Please, lets stop the killing, lets try to help get this killer off the street, and therefore my son can rest in peace and your neighborhood can be safer, she said at the press conference.

She was joined by Seths father, his brother and his girlfriend, as well as D.C. Police Chief Cathy Lanier.

A graduate of Central High School and Creighton University, Seth Rich worked for the Democratic National Committee. The 27-year-old was shot at 4:19 a.m. on July 10, close to his D.C. home.

His mother said Thursday that he was talking on the phone with his girlfriend at the time and that he was shot twice in the back.

If they would kill my son for simply walking home, they will kill anybody and they will continue to kill, and the next time they shoot and kill it will be someone you love, Mary Rich said.

She urged anyone with information to contact the police, particularly if they know of someone who arrived home after the time of the killing with indications that they had been in an altercation, such as bruises or torn clothing. Detectives told the family last month that Seth Rich had bruises on his knuckles and face.

Police distributed updated flyers in the neighborhood Thursday that noted that the reward for information is up to $25,000.

In response to reporter questions, Lanier rejected any suggestion that the police have hit a wall in their investigation.

Oftentimes in cases like this, the break comes a little bit down the road, and thats what were hoping for, she said.

Lanier was asked if police continue to believe that Richs killing was a botched robbery.

Right now we have more questions than we have answers, she said. It is still a possibility that thats what happened.

But Lanier said police wont give up. Were going to keep working it until we close the case, she said.
The Cornhuskers received record dough this past year.

The University of Nebraska-Lincoln set new highs in federal and sponsored  or external  funding in the recently completed fiscal year, which ended June 30, according to a UNL press release.

UNL received a record $146.9 million in external funding for research, a 12 percent increase over the previous fiscal year, according to the UNL Office of Research and Economic Development. The previous high was set in the 2010 fiscal year, at $139.1 million.

In total, UNL got a record $267.8 million in external funding, which includes research, instruction, public service and student services. The total marks an increase of about 23 percent over the previous year.

Federal research funding jumped a record 19 percent from last fiscal year. Contributions from U.S. agencies such as the Departments of Energy, Agriculture and Education and the National Science Foundation totaled about $116.6 million in funds.

The release lists some significant awards to the university for research this past year, including $20 million from the National Science Foundations Experimental Program to Stimulate Competitive Research. The money was to help establish a center to study root and soil microbe interactions and improve crop productivity.

Another example was the Department of Educations $6.5 million contribution for UNL to lead the Early Learning Network, which the release called a $26 million multi-institutional research and policy effort to improve childrens learning outcomes.

Contact the writer: 402-444-1304, news@owh.com
LINCOLN  Gov. Pete Ricketts and other top state officials on Friday called on State Sen. Bill Kintner to resign after he acknowledged caving to temptation and engaging in cybersex with a woman he met online.

Kintner said that he has asked for forgiveness from God and his wife, but he questioned why he would owe an apology to members of the Legislature.

What standard are all 49 senators held to that I violated and embarrassed this institution? he said. I would love to know.

Kintner will pay a $1,000 fine for misuse of public resources for using a state computer to engage in cybersex. The fine, announced Friday, was part of a settlement with the Nebraska Accountability and Disclosure Commission.

Kintner said he participated in cybersex via Skype a year ago. He said the woman attempted to extort money from him, and he contacted the Nebraska State Patrol to report a crime.

Later, another senator was contacted online by someone offering to sell an explicit video involving Kintner.

On Friday, Gov. Ricketts, Speaker of the Legislature Galen Hadley of Kearney and Omaha Sen. Bob Krist, chairman of the executive board, called for Kintners resignation.

In light of the Nebraska Accountability and Disclosure Commissions decision, Sen. Kintner should resign his office immediately. Period, the governor said in a statement.

Several state senators said they were discussing their options to either force Kintner out of office or censure him.

Kintner, 55, said he will not resign. I think Im where I should be right now.

Asked how hes doing, Kintner said that he has never been happier and described the incident as a wake-up call.

I go home to a loving wife. Ive got a great marriage. My walk with Christ is stronger than its ever been, he said.

This is a real wake-up call. If it can happen to a guy whos a Christian who goes to church, I mean, this is something that all men need to understand: that sexual sin is the way Satan gets to us.

By law, state resources, including state computers and networks, must be used for state business. The acceptable-use policy allows use of state resources for essential personal business, such as contacting children at home, teachers, doctors, day care centers and family members.

Kintner reached the settlement agreement with Frank Daley, who is executive director of the commission. Discussion of the settlement took place in closed session Friday. The commission members then voted unanimously to approve it. The commission found that Kintner had violated state law concerning the use of public resources and assessed the $1,000 civil penalty.

The State Patrol is continuing to investigate the Internet extortion attempt Kintner reported, patrol spokeswoman Deb Collins said.

These types of investigations are often lengthy and complicated by the potential that the perpetrator of the crime is often in a foreign country, she said.

Attorney General Doug Peterson reviewed the report but decided against filing misdemeanor criminal charges against Kintner. Suzanne Gage, the attorney generals spokeswoman, said the senators actions occurred while he was in Massachusetts, so the Nebraska courts did not have jurisdiction.

The State Patrol completed its investigation in October 2015 and provided investigative information to the Attorney Generals Office. After a review of that information, the matter was referred to the accountability commission in November.

According to a State Patrol report distributed on Friday, Kintner and the woman conducted a sexually explicit conversation on Skype, which resulted in both participants engaging in masturbation.

Immediately afterward, the woman, who went by the name of Vinciane Diderot, threatened to post the video to YouTube and share it with a number of Kintners contacts, including the governor.

The patrol report included a transcript of the Skype conversations that occurred on July 30, 2015, and extended into July 31. In the conversations, Kintner started by saying that he had never done anything like this before. The woman encouraged him and said that she would teach him.

He protested that he couldnt do this, that it was not right and would break my wifes heart if she knew I did this. But he interspersed those cautions with comments about the woman being smoking hot and having a great body.

As soon as the masturbation ends, the woman switched from encouraging Kintner to threatening to use the video against him. She directed him to transfer $4,500 via Western Union to an address in the West African nation of Ivory Coast. She told him to tell Western Union that he knew the person receiving the money and that it was a donation.

Kintner contacted the State Patrol the morning of July 31. Later that afternoon, patrol investigators were able to determine that the contact came from a Russian domain.

In an interview in his office after the commissions meeting on Friday, Kintner said that he was a victim of a scam, but that doesnt mean I didnt sin.

Im to blame here, Kintner said. I didnt have to do this. I didnt have to succumb to this.

The woman initiated contact with Kintner on his public Facebook page that he uses to communicate with constituents, Kintner said. The woman set him up over the course of a week, he said.

The woman began messaging him, first with casual conversation that eventually led to messaging between the two over Skype, he said. Authorities suspect that the woman was typing in French and that it was translated into English, he said.

After the two engaged in cybersex, the scammers demanded $4,500 or they would destroy your life and marriage, Kintner said.

Kintner, who was in Massachusetts on a trip unrelated to his legislative work, put off the scammers and tried to stall them so he could get home to report the extortion attempt.

Kintner disconnected Skype once he realized the scammers intentions. The scammers contacted him one more time via an anonymous Facebook post, asking for $2,000. He again refused.

He asked Skype to remove his account shortly after.

Kintner said that a video of the act was not downloaded onto his computer. However, he acknowledged that the scammer sent a 3- to 4-second clip, or gif  which is a short image or video  to an account accessible on his state computer. He said that he immediately deleted the gif and was never in possession of it on his computer.

Kintner said he respects the governors perspective, but said that his decision to remain part of the Legislature is not a political one.

This is me being obedient to Gods decision, he said.

Kintner said he has apologized for sinning against his wife, Lauren, and she has forgiven him. He said the incident happened right before she was diagnosed with a serious disease. Lauren Kintner, who has ovarian cancer, leads Ricketts policy research office.

My wife has shown absolutely incredible grace and forgiveness, more so than any man deserves, he said.

Kintner urged men to protect themselves against sexual sin by following four rules. They are:

 Dont do anything you wouldnt do with your wife sitting next to you.

 Have an accountability partner  a person you trust to confide in and help hold you accountable.

 Dont put yourself in a position to fail. If you find yourself on an adult website, get out of it.

 Give your wife your passwords to let her see what youre doing.

Asked whether he would apologize to his constituents, Kintner said that any constituent who wants an apology can contact him and he would talk about it.

Kintner is a Republican who represents a district that includes Cass County and parts of Otoe and Sarpy Counties. He was elected to the seat in 2012 and 2014. Hes up for re-election in 2018.

Asked whether he would issue an apology to his fellow legislators, Kintner questioned what standard he crossed to embarrass them. He said he didnt endanger the lives of citizens, unlike senators who have been convicted of driving under the influence.

He said he welcomed Sen. Krists suggestion to create a legislative ethics committee. He said such a committee could draw up a clearer standard of whats expected of senators.

Now its a really what everyone feels, and thats not a very good standard, he said.

Omaha Sen. Ernie Chambers, who drafted resolutions to impeach then-University of Nebraska Regent David Hergert and former Attorney General Paul Douglas, is drafting an impeachment resolution.

Chambers on Friday called Kintner a vulgar hypocrite and a guttersnipe. When someone violates the publics trust, Chambers said, he has an obligation to go after that person.

But Kintner said that Chambers is just one senator, and that hell have to jump that bridge when we get there.

He said he has been in contact with a number of colleagues who, for the most part, have been incredibly supportive.

He said hes still the leading advocate for limited government, lower taxes and public safety.

One sin doesnt take away all of the stuff Ive done the last three years, he said.

If Kintner doesnt resign, Speaker Hadley said he favors expelling him from the Legislature.

Hadley, who is term-limited and wont be in office when the legislative session begins in January, said that Kintners behavior gives the Legislature a black eye and puts his fellow senators in a very difficult position.

I think it reflects badly on the Legislature, he said.

The speaker said he believes lawmakers should deal with the issue this year rather than start the new session with a cloud hanging over the body. In January the Legislature will have at least 12 new members and a long list of other issues to deal with.

Hadley said he would not rule out a special session to address the matter this year.

Krist said hell be working with Hadley and Clerk of the Legislature Patrick ODonnell to lay out all options for the executive board and Legislature. Krist said he believes theres support to call a special session.

I think theres enough people who want to put this thing to bed, Krist said. The executive board will meet Aug. 19 to discuss options.

Taylor Gage, a spokesman for the governor, said: Gov. Ricketts believes Sen. Kintner should do the right thing out of respect for the taxpayers and resign immediately.

The Governors Office is keeping open lines of communication with the speaker to see what course of action legislative leaders pursue.

Ricketts spoke to Kintner about the allegations in July 2015, but he never asked him whether they were true. The governor told Kintner then that if the allegations were true, he should resign.

Sen. Mike Groene of North Platte said that he would not support any effort to oust Kintner from the Legislature. He said that the computer misuse has been dealt with by the system and any other consequences should be up to Kintners wife and his constituents.

Now its a political issue, he said. Do you want to expel him from the Legislature for moral behavior?

Groene, who shares many of the same political views as Kintner, said that he would have no problems continuing to work with the Papillion senator.

He votes right. If his vote helps get things done for good government, I can work with him, Groene said.

Mike Marvin, executive director of the Nebraska Association of Public Employees, the largest state employee union, said the punishment for ordinary state employees caught misusing state computers has been severe. Discipline ranges from verbal warnings up through termination. He said one employee was suspended for several weeks for looking at the Sports Illustrated swimsuit edition online.
The potential to lure a big data center to Papillion is behind the citys fast-track annexation of land next to an already-peeved Springfield.

Papillions City Council unanimously approved the annexation Thursday evening during a special meeting that lasted less than five minutes.

The city will annex 160 acres owned by Metropolitan Community College, south of Nebraska Highway 370 between 132nd Street and Nebraska Highway 50.

An as-yet unnamed company is eyeing nearby land on both sides of Nebraska Highway 50, just north of Capehart Road, for the data center. That land, which is 146 acres, sits in both Papillion and Sarpy Countys zoning jurisdictions. By annexing Metros property, Papillions city limits grow enough that its zoning jurisdiction now covers all of the land desired by the data center.

Papillion officials and the Sarpy County Economic Development Corporation, both of which are working on the project, wouldnt name the company.

The data center would operate 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. It would feature four approximately 610,000-square-foot buildings, according to the preliminary plat application submitted to the Papillion Planning Commission on July 27. Its largest work shift would involve less than 150 employees, the application said. A tunnel under Highway 50 would connect the campuses.

Andrew Rainbolt, executive director of the Sarpy development corporation, said he hopes to make an announcement about the data center by Thanksgiving.

Thursdays annexation brings Papillions zoning authority to the border of Springfields. Springfield already has taken Papillion to the Nebraska Supreme Court over a zoning dispute.

The community is awaiting word from the court on the lawsuit it filed last year against Papillion for its 2015 annexation of 1,000 acres that includes Prairie Queen Recreation Area. Springfield alleged that Papillion wasnt respecting its growth area and that the annexation was illegal because the land wasnt contiguous to Papillions city limits and parts of it were almost exclusively rural and agricultural.

A lower court ruled against Springfield, which appealed to the State Supreme Court. Springfield Mayor Bob Roseland said the city would wait for the courts ruling before deciding on the next step.

Papillion Mayor David Black said his city has no plans to annex land claimed by Springfield. Natural growth is going to occur, but the new annexation respects Springfields zoning authority, he said.

Technically, Papillion could cross into Springfields zoning jurisdiction because of this annexation, Black said, but the city decided not to do so.

Roseland found out about the latest annexation after it was in the Papillion Planning Commission meeting agenda. Im not surprised by stuff like that anymore, he said.

He said he realizes Highway 50 is becoming a hot item.

Papillions City Council approved the Metropolitan Community College annexation after three meetings this week. Council ordinances require three separate readings for approval.

The readings were rushed because the potential developer of the data center wants entitlements in place by Sept. 30, said Dan Hoins, Papillions city administrator.

Papillion has done this with annexations in the past, a city spokesman said.

But its been a while. In 2007, the city held three meetings in a row while annexing Glenwood Hills and Overland Hills.

Papillions annexations have some Springfield residents and business owners on edge.

Keith Hentzen, who owns Springfield Drug, said he knows annexations arent personal. But protecting Springfields identity is important, he said. The town is up-and-coming right now, with new businesses and growth.

Dont stop us, he said. We want to continue. We know whats best for us. Not Papillion.

Contact the writer: 402-444-1216, hailey.konnath@owh.com
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP)  Soldiers from the United States and Canada have spent much of the past few weeks engaging in war games in expansive interior Alaska, with Iowa National Guard personnel playing the role of the enemy.

Arctic Anvil, which ended this week for about 5,000 soldiers and support personnel, was the largest training held in Alaska in the past 15 or so years, said Brig. Gen. Martin Frank, a member of the Canadian army and the deputy commanding general for U.S. Army Alaska.

Frank is the first foreign officer to serve on the U.S. Army Alaska staff.

Among those training were 140 soldiers from the Third Canadian Division, a light armored vehicle company, Frank said.

Weve also got about 800 folks from the Iowa National Guard that are participating in the exercise who are playing the role of opposing forces, he said.

Also on hand were observers from partner nations Japan and Singapore.

The exercise tested the soldiers against two kinds of opponents: insurgents similar to what the forces faced in Iraq and Afghanistan, and more traditional foes.

Frank said the troops have to maintain their skills with fighting insurgent forces.

But we also have to be capable of defeating a near-peer enemy who might be equipped with tanks, with unmanned aerial vehicles, with aircraft, with all the things that we have so that we are ready to fight and ready to win regardless of what kind of opposing force or kind of adversary we come against, Frank said.

The exercise was intended to prepare the 1st Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division at Fort Wainwright, near Fairbanks, for an upcoming rotation at the National Training Center at Fort Irwin, California, officers said.

The training also included soldiers from the 52nd Aviation Regiment.

Frank called the exercise a success.

Ive seen an exponential increase in the capability and the readiness of the 1st Stryker Brigade.

In large part this is due to the command climate, the perspective of the commanders on the ground and the soldiers on the ground, wanting to learn, wanting to become better, he said.

Copyright 2016 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
As heavy rain caused flooding Thursday evening in Lincoln, five boys were swept away in the current at two locations, though none was injured, authorities said.

Four boys were in ankle-high water in a culvert near Ballard pool at 66th Street and Kearney Avenue when the water quickly rose to their waists about 6:30 p.m., Lincoln Capt. Mayde McGuire said.

The boys lost their balance and were swept away. Three of them were able to get out of the water a short distance away. The fourth was in the current for about two blocks before he pulled himself out, McGuire said.

At the same time, a boy was swept away in water near 68th and Adams Streets. Two people saw the boy being carried by the current and were able to get ahead of the swift-moving water. They pulled him out near 68th and Fremont Streets, McGuire said. The boy said he saw a nickel in the water and was trying to get it when he was swept away, McGuire said.
Green Party presidential candidate Jill Stein submitted three times the number of required signatures Monday for her to appear on the Nebraska ballot.

Counties must verify that the signatures are from registered Nebraska voters before placing her on the ballot, said Laura Strimple, communications director for the Secretary of States Office.

Steins staff and volunteers collected 7,656 signatures. A total of 2,500 verified signatures are needed.

If Stein is successful, she would join Democrat Hillary Clinton, Republican Donald Trump and Libertarian Gary Johnson on the ballot. The Marijuana Party of Nebraska also is seeking a spot.

Stein wouldnt be identified on the ballot as a member of the Green Party because Nebraska doesnt recognize the party.

She is expected to be nominated at the partys convention in Houston, which began Thursday and runs through Sunday. Her running mate is human rights activist Ajamu Baraka.

The Green Partys Nebraska coordinator, Jen Hansen, said she, staff and volunteers spent about three weeks collecting signatures.

Strimple said she expects the counties to work quickly, although she didnt have a timetable as to when theyd finish verifying results. The counties would have 10 days to verify the signatures if Stein was on the ballot as a member of a state-recognized party, Strimple said. However, she said, there isnt a statute specifying a verification deadline for unaffiliated candidates.
Someone  the Russian military, say many cyber experts  broke into the computers of the Democratic National Committee and the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, releasing emails and sensitive documents. Sounds bad, and is. But a worse danger looms: the possibility that hackers (whether Russians or others) will manipulate our voting machines, casting doubt on the elections outcome.

Imagine. Its the day after the election. Either Hillary Clinton or Donald Trump has won. But the victors triumph rests on close results in five or six states, where the winner had a few thousand more votes. Assume also that each of these states used electronic voting. Assume then that the loser alleges that cybertampering stole the election.

The resulting furor would be unavoidable. It would raise partisan anger still further. It would subvert faith in our basic democratic institutions and, probably, excite all manner of conspiracy theories. It would make the combat of the Bush-Gore election in 2000  the disputes over which of Floridas hanging chads should be counted  look like childs play. It would be a disaster.

How likely is this cyber crackup? I dont know, but Im unwilling to dismiss it totally as a fantasy for two reasons.

First, this campaign has featured the unexpected and the impossible. The hacking of the Democrats computers, coupled with the timing of the release of documents to coincide with the partys convention, is only the latest example. With apologies to Dave Barry, it can be said of this campaign that Im not making this up.

Second, hacking is more widespread than most Americans think. Big companies are constantly under assault. A CNN study in 2014 estimated that more than 100 million Americans had had their personal information hacked in the previous year. With so much hacking  national and international  why wouldnt someone try to sabotage the election? In 2012, 129 million Americans voted for president. In a close race (which this appears it may be), shifting a few hundred thousand in the popular vote could change the electoral result.

If these thoughts occur to me, a non-techie, they must have occurred to others. Sure enough, when I Googled the subject, many stories and reports popped up. One of the best was published last week by the Post and was written by Bruce Schneier, a cybersecurity expert at Harvard. Hes worried. We must . . . create tiger teams to test the machines and systems resistance to attack, drastically increase their cyberdefenses and take them offline if we cant guarantee their security online, he wrote.

By contrast, there is some good news. Electronic voting machines, which served about 39 percent of voters in 2012, according to one study, may be on the decline. States ditch electronic voting machines, read a headline in the Hill newspaper in 2014. (The other main voting technology in 2012, covering 56 percent of voters, involved paper ballots that were optically scanned. The retention of the ballot can be used to verify the outcome. The older mechanical lever machines have vanished.)

Regardless of what happens this year, we are forewarned. Putting voting on the Internet invites controversy and chaos. If were lucky enough to avoid this now, we shouldnt tempt the future. Paper ballots may be slower and less convenient, writes Schneier, but they preserve elections integrity.

What could be more important?
COUNCIL BLUFFS  Mechanic Jason Sequenzia looked up from his workplace near 16th and Broadway about 5:30 p.m. Thursday and saw a towering tornado that snaked thousands of feet from the clouds to a point near his Lake Manawa home.

It was plain as day, he said.

He called his fiancee, Deidre Edwards, who was with their 15-month-old son, reaching her just long enough to hear her say Its right there! before he lost the signal.

A frantic, four-mile drive  I didnt know if it took the home out  ended in relief.

A waterspout had formed over Lake Manawa shortly before 5:30 p.m., mesmerizing everyone who saw it. After waltzing on the lake for 10 minutes or so, it broke apart with no damage reported.

It was a spectacular sight. But it also was relatively harmless, thanks to its location on the lake.

Elsewhere, a funnel cloud was spotted earlier in the afternoon near Ashland in Saunders County. The National Weather Service office in Valley said it wasn't sure whether the funnel ever touched down. There were no reports of damage, the weather service said.

The weather service and emergency dispatchers on both sides of the Missouri River were inundated with phone calls from frantic citizens about the Bluffs' waterspout.

Were it not for the tornado forming in a metropolitan area, it probably never would have been recorded as occurring. Thats because it was one of the rare, weak tornadoes that form independent of supercells and was so small and out-of-place that it didnt show up on radar, said Cory Mead, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service.

The weather service found out about the tornado from eyewitness reports, he said. Thats why there wasnt a tornado warning and why emergency officials didnt sound the sirens until after the tornado had formed.

Typical tornadoes are spawned by powerful supercell storms that have enough energy to spin them out. A landspout or waterspout instead draws its energy from conflicting wind directions that occur as a front moves through and interacts with ground-level instability in the atmosphere, Mead said. In a powerful tornado, the funnel typically forms at the base of a cloud and snakes to the ground. In a waterspout, the funnel twists together thanks to the conflicting air currents at ground level and reaches toward the sky. Rope tornadoes such as these typically are short-lived.

Still, there was no way for Sequenzia and the thousands of others who saw it to know that.

As he approached his home, Sequenzia saw the waterspout dissipate. His girlfriend and their son had huddled in the basement crawlspace and were safe.

After the scare, Edwards said, I want to move someplace where there are no tornadoes.

Others drove over to Lake Manawa to get a good look, including Shawn Roberts, 49.

As a child, he had watched the 1975 tornado from a South Omaha rooftop. He did not find the waterspout very intimidating.

That ... was a baby, he said. It didnt go nowhere. I watched it for 10 minutes, at least.

Police vehicles raced by, their red lights and sirens the only other clue that something unusual was going on.

It wasnt a real big tornado. It looked like it was stationary, said Chris Davis, 41, of Council Bluffs, who also watched from across the lake.

As the waterspout hung over the lake, drivers on Interstate 480 in Omaha near the Missouri River bridge stopped to gawk and take cellphone pictures.

Driving to the Old Market for dinner, James and Dani Glover saw the spout from 10th Street. It looked like a rat tail coming out of the sky, he said.

The Glovers did not stop, but many others did. Fifteen to 20 people stood on the 10th Street bridge with their cellphones pointed toward the tornado.

Mike Walenta was working on the 17th floor of the First National Bank Building at 16th and Dodge when he heard the sirens go off. He walked from the west side of the building  where it was still sunny  to the east side. Then we saw it. ... It was just so weird. It was so small.

Dan Cater, general manager at Local Beer Patio & Kitchen at Ninth and Dodge, said about 20 patrons were in the restaurant when the funnel popped up.

No one left or took cover. He said workers were monitoring the news to determine whether they needed to evacuate the patrons to shelter areas and whether the bar would comp tabs. The No. 1 priority, Cater said, was safety. We just rode it out. Nothing happened really too crazy.

He said half the patrons werent too concerned. Its Nebraska, its a tornado and its not too close, he said. Others wondered whether they should leave and were calling friends and family.

After the funnel disappeared, he said, the group went back to business. Everybody just went back to drinking our good brew and eating good food, he said.

Steven McCann, a concierge at the Riverfront Place Towers condos that overlook the Missouri River, said residents and onlookers were fascinated with the waterspout, but no one seemed too overly concerned.

He said it seemed as if the tornado was in another world, with the Omaha side of the river still light and a bit cloudy, but not dark like the Bluffs side.

It was cool, kind of windy, he said. Definitely interesting to look at.

The Bluffs tornado was followed by stormy weather and heavy rains in parts of the metro. The popular musical event Jazz on the Green was called off. One band had performed, but the headliner, Davina & the Vagabonds, did not perform.

World-Herald staff writers Cole Epley, Cindy Gonzalez, Nancy Gaarder, Kevin Coffey, Erin Duffy and Emerson Clarridge contributed to this report.
HC directs TN to notify victim compensation scheme

Chennai

oi-PTI

Chennai, Aug 5: The Madras High Court today directed the state government to notify its 'Victim Compensation Scheme' and file a compliance report on September 2.

A PIL was filed by an advocate Sonia Glory seeking a direction to the state government to frame a Victim Compensation Scheme under section 357A of Criminal Procedure Code.

When it came up for hearing, the First Bench, comprising Chief Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul and Justice R. Mahadevan, said, "We may notice the submission of the counsel for the petitioner that all states have notified the scheme except Tamil Nadu and Madhya Pradesh.

"We are thus of the view that no further directions are required to be passed in the writ petition except that the date of notification to be informed to the Court and the scheme to be placed before this Court." Counsel for the petitioner submitted that the scheme is to fix, regulate and pay compensation to victims of crime.

The counsel said 34 out of 36 States have already framed Victim Compensation scheme and alleged that Madhya Pradesh and Tamil Nadu have not framed it. It was submitted that the petitioner made a representation to the state government on April 11 but there was no action following which the PIL was filed.

Government Pleader MK Subramanian submitted that a scheme had actually been drawn up and produced a copy of the scheme dated November 30, 2013.

Counsel for the petitioner submitted that "though the same is in the form of a government order as far back as almost three years ago, it has not been notified till date." The bench directed the government to notify the scheme and place it before the court on September 2. It also directed the government to file a compliance report on that day.

PTI

For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications

Story first published: Friday, August 5, 2016, 14:43 [IST]
Assam Attack: It could have been worse, but for an IB alert and a combing op

Guwahati

oi-Vicky

Guwahati, Assam: The deadly attack at Kokrajhar, Assam, comes just three days after an intelligence bureau alert had warned of a major attack by Bodo militants ahead of Independence Day.

The alert had led the security forces to launch a major operation in Kokrajhar to flush out the militants of the National Democratic Front of Bodoland (S).

While four militants of the outfit were nabbed, two top operatives G Bidai and K Batha managed to escape. They are now believed to have slipped into Bhutan.

Security forces are currently battling several more of the group, who managed to stage the attack.

At least 14 persons have died and several others have been injured after militants opened fire and lobbed grenades in a gun battle that started at around 11.30 AM.

According to the IB alert, the militants picked to carry out the attack were trained in Myanmar. Their brief was to stage an attack on vital installations and security forces ahead of Independence Day.

Revenge could be motive

Intelligence Bureau officials say that the cause behind today's attack could be revenge. Security forces have inflicted heavy losses on the NDFB(S) in the past two years. Since 2014, security forces have killed 27, arrested 256 and also nabbed several of their middlemen.

Sources also say that Friday's attack could have been planned well in advance. Officials suspect that the two militants, who slipped out just before the security forces launched their operation two days ago, had planned this attack.

During the combing operations, the security forces arrested four militants and seized an AK-47 gun, two grenades, cash, bullets, a revolver and a pistol.

However, the problem for the security forces is that some of the top leaders continue to remain active and are able to stage such attacks. Apart from Bidai and Batha, there are at least 25 others in the top rung who are still active, sources said.

Police Update: Attackers may still be in Kokrajhar

As combing operations continue in Assam following the terrorist attack in which 14 have died, sources are now saying some of the militants who were part of the attack may have escaped and could be hiding in the dense forests in the Kokrajhar area. Security forces have cordoned off the entire area and are carrying out search operations.

Police officials say the militants came to the scene at the Balazan market area in an autorickshaw and fired indiscriminately at people and hurled grenades at the security forces.

They engaged in a gun fight with the security forces following which some may have managed to give the slip, sources say. However, the police team is still checking to see if some of the militants are holed up in the area. One terrorist was killed in the gun fight.

The border areas have been sealed as the police launched a massive combing operation to find the militants.

OneIndia News
Assam exempted from giving Aadhar number for UGC scholarships

India

oi-PTI

Guwahati, Aug 5: The Centre has exempted Assam from the purview of compulsory 'Aadhaar' number required for availing UGC scholarships for higher education in the wake of requests made to Union Human Resource Development Minister Prakash Javadekar.

A decision to this effect was communicated to Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal who requested Javadekar when he called on him in New Delhi, accompanied by Education Minister Dr Himanta Biswa Sarma in this evening, a government release said here.

The Chief Minister drew the attention of the Union Minister about the problems faced by the students of Assam in getting UGC scholarship because of the Aadhaar norms.

They also informed the HRD Minister that the process of distribution of Aadhaar number in Assam has not been made compulsory and it will start only after the completion of NRC updation exercise underway at the moment.

Javadekar conveyed his decision that henceforth the students of Assam seeking UGC scholarship will be exempted from the Aadhaar number and no students will be denied scholarship on the pretext of this, the release said.

Sonowal also sought the HRD Minister's intervention in relaxing the compulsory requirement of Degree or Diploma in Education for teachers' appointment in Assam for a period of five years, to which Javadekar assured to look into the matter for an acceptable solution.

On setting up of the proposed Tezpur University Campus at Jonai in the state, the Chief Minister requested Javadekar to expedite the process for the benefit of the students' community of the area.

The HRD Minister also assured to address the matter with utmost sincerity, it added.

PTI
Ghazwa-e-Hind in Assam: NIA roped in as Islamists plan destruction of India

Assam vows to act against terrorists

India

oi-IANS

By Ians English

Guwahati, Aug 5: Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal on Friday vowed to take "strict action" against the terrorists who gunned down 12 people at a busy market in Kokrajhar town.

"I extend my condolences to the families of the victims. We will take strict against the perpetrators," Sonowal said.

IANS
TRS, BJP are two sides of same coin: Rahul Gandhi in Telangana

Amit Malviya alleges criminal conspiracy by The Wire, says will lodge police complaint

BJP's dalit MP wants discussion on attacks on dalits

India

oi-PTI

New Delhi, Aug 5: BJP's dalit member Udit Raj today demanded a discussion in the Lok Sabha on the recent incidents of atrocities against dalits, saying the community was being targeted across the country.

Udit Raj referred to a host of recent cases, including in Gujarat, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Kerala and Tamil Nadu in which dalits were attacked.

He also spoke about recent beating up of dalits in Patna and killing of a dalit couple in Mainpuri in UP for Rs 15.

"Incidents of atrocities against dalits are happening in various parts of the country...It should be discussed," he said.

BJP's Dalit MP lambasts 'proponents of nationalism' over attacks on Dalits

The government had recently rejected the opposition's demand for a similar debate, saying the issue has already been raised in Parliament.

PTI
'They want Congress-mukt Bharat': Kharge in his first address as Cong chief

Nothing will change in Congress: For Gandhis, power stays but the onus shifts

Congress, BJP clash over cow vigilantism in Lok Sabha

India

oi-IANS

By Ians English

New Delhi, Aug 4 The Congress and the Trinamool Congress on Thursday lashed out at the ruling BJP in the Lok Sabha over the attack on women, Dalits and Muslims allegedly in the name of cow protection.

Responding to the attack, ruling party MP Hukum Singh said it has become a fashion to oppose and criticise anything concerning cows.

Congress' K.C. Venugopal, participating in a debate on supplementary demand for grants for 2016-17, said there is "rising intolerance" in the country with instances of attack on writers like Govind Pansare and M.M. Kalburgi and also referred to the recent attacks on Dalits, Muslims and women by cow vigilante groups.

"There cannot be good economic growth in such atmosphere and with such 'intolerance'. Only freedom, fraternity feelings and equality can ensured a sustainable economic growth," he said amid interruptions.

Trinamool member Abhishek Banerjee suggested that Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Finance Minister Arun Jaitley should see Satyajit Ray's "Pather Panchali" film adding the abject poverty it portrays "reflects the current situation of the country".

Attacking the BJP-led NDA regime in the centre, he described it as "a Government that tweets on almost every subject, but remains mum and silent on important issues like when Dalits are killed, when young minds in Kashmir are pained and anguished".

Several BJP members took exceptions to his observations.

Banerjee, however, did not spare Congress either and slammed for it the alliance with the Left parties in West Bengal.

"Two months ago, the people of my state had three choices: an ideology-led unethical, venomous alliance; a party that runs on media hype and encourages religious fundamentalism; and the Trinamool Congress, which worked for development," he said adding people overwhelmingly voted for his party.

He also said that in the past two years under the BJP-led government, "cooperative federalism" has been merely rendered a slogan.

However, Singh said: "Jab tak aap guy ka virodh nahi karenge tab tak aapko secular nahi mana jaega (Till you do not oppose anything about cow, you may not be considered a secular)."

Noting that the farming community has faith and respect for cows, he said that some people only try to "politicise" the issue in the name of religion.

IANS
AK-47s stolen from COD Jabalpur supplied to naxals, criminals says NIA in chargesheet

Naxals from Telangana were in the process of making grenade launchers, IEDs: NIA

Towards a Hindu-less world: This mission tops Naxals' and Radical Islamists' agenda

The Magadh zone: Why naxals are desperate to revive it?

News flash: Vijay Rupani is new Gujarat CM, Nitin Patel to be deputy CM

India

oi-Oneindia

By Oneindia Staff Writer

Bengaluru, Aug 5: Gujarat BJP legislature party meeting to be held in Gandhinagar today, Amit Shah to be present along with two observers.

Get all the latest news updates:

7.26 pm: Under these two, Gujarat will reach new heights of development, & in the near future our party will be successful under them, says Nitin Gadkari.

7.25 pm: More than ten of our ministers supported Vijay Rupani as CM and Nitin Patel as deputy CM, says Nitin Gadkari.

7.22 pm: Nitin Gadkari address the media after announcement of next CM and Deputy CM of Gujarat.

7.00 pm: Wish all the athletes luck and want them to return with medals, says Vijender Singh on Rio 2016.

6.56 pm: Maha CM Devendra Fadnavis announces that installation of 1200 WiFi hot spots (with 20 MBPS speed) will be done in Mumbai by 1st May '17.

6.54 pm: Heavy rains and flood hamper vehicular traffic on NH-5 at Shimla bypass in Shimla (HP).

6.41 pm: RBI Governor Raghuram Rajan meets Finance Minister Arun Jaitley for pre-policy discussion.

6.35 pm: The CRPF personnel belonged to 109 Battalion Echo Company and was on daily routine duty guarding Raj Bhavan.

6.34 pm: IED blast near Manipur State Museum, near Imphal Polo Ground. One CRPF personnel, and one boy injured.

6.33 pm: Vijay Rupani and Nitin Patel being felicitated by Nitin Gadkari, Amit Shah & Anandiben Patel in Gandhinagar (Gujarat).

6.10 pm: Vijay Rupani and Nitin Patel being felicitated by Nitin Gadkari, Amit Shah and Anandiben Patel in Gandhinagar (Gujarat).

6.09 pm: Vijay Rupani to be the next Chief Minister of Gujarat. Nitin Patel to be the Deputy CM: Nitin Gadkari.

6.01 pm: Vijay Rupani to be the next Chief Minister of Gujarat. Nitin Patel to be the Deputy CM.

5.56 pm: Till now we have recovered 22 dead bodies and identified 21, says Sheetal Ugale, Collecter on Mahad bridge collapse.

5.43 pm: Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi will visit India next week, will meet EAM Sushma Swaraj on 13th August, says Vikas Swarup, MEA.

5.30 pm: Rajnath Singh went to Pakistan to participate in a multilateral event and not bilateral event, says Vikas Swarup.

5.24 pm: Saudi Govt has assured exit of the workers, we have given a list of workers who want to be there and who want to come back, says Vikas Swarup, MEA.

5.15 pm: The Home Ministry is in touch with the Assam Government and is monitoring the situation closely: PM Modi's tweet.

5.13 pm: Saddened by the attack in Kokrajhar. We strongly condemn it. Thoughts and prayers with the bereaved families and those injured, says PM Modi's tweet.

5.10 pm: The Home Ministry is in touch with the Assam Government & is monitoring the situation closely: PM Modi's tweet.

5.06 pm: It is a matter of concern, we will not allow peace to be destroyed in Assam, says Jitendra Singh on Kokrajhar attack.

5.04 pm: MEA denied and no reason was given, says Kerala Minister KTJaleel on being denied a diplomatic passport in Thiruvananthapuram.

4.51 pm: Arun Jaitley inaugurates India International Footwear fair, in Delhi.

4.46 pm: On 16th August they (WB BJP) will be holding "Bangla Bachao Signature Campaign" to not allow WB name change.

4.45 pm: WB BJP President to meet HM Rajnath Singh in Delhi on 24th August regarding the issue of renaming of West Bengal.

4.42 pm: Army has been carrying out extensive area domination operations in the strife torn District of Kokrajhar.

4.40 pm: Army launched massive combing operations, pressing into service specialised troops, tracker dogs and other specialised equipment on Kokrajhar terror attack.

4.37 pm: We discussed the security scenario in Assam (with NSA), says Assam CM Sarbananda Sonowal on Kokrajhar attack.

4.36 pm: We discussed the security scenario of Assam, PM&HM also discussed the matter and extended condolences, says Assam CM on his meeting with Ajit Doval.

4.28 pm: Maharashtra Govt has withdrawn its decision of no helmet no petrol policy.Now helmet is not mandatory to take petrol.

4.27 pm: Sonia Gandhi has strongly condemned the militant attack in Assam and extended her condolences to the families of the thirteen innocent victims.

4.26 pm: No terror group has claimed responsibility yet; there were around 7-8 terrorists in numbers, says Subhash Bhamre (MoS Defence) on Kokrajha attack.

4.23 pm: He also added that the Army is on standby and will be called in if necessary in Kokrajhar (Assam).

4.20 pm: She has been operated for a shoulder injury by a team from Mumbai and Orthopedic Consultant from Sir Ganga Ram Hospital, says Chairman (Bom), SGRH.

4.10 pm: SA Ajit Doval meets Assam CM Sarbananda Sonowal over Kokrajhar (Assam) attack.

4.04 pm: Rajya Sabha adjourned till Monday (8th Aug '16)

3.46 pm: PM wants there to be "Bus ports" in the nation, I will hold a meeting regarding the same, says Nitin Gadkari in Ahmedabad.

3.30 pm: I have come here to inspect and explore "bus adda" developed with private investment here: Nitin Gadkari in Ahmedabad.

3.26 pm: Our Govt will take stern action against these extremist outfits, says Assam CM on Kokrajhar (Assam) attack.

3.23 pm: Ex gratia of Rs 5 lakhs will be given to next of kin of people who died, Rs 1 lakhs for the injured, says Assam CM on Kokrajhar (Assam) attack.

3.22 pm: Our Govt is committed to protection of people of Assam, have directed senior officials to rush to the spot: Assam CM Sarbananda Sonowal.

3.15 pm: We condemn the attack, sorry state of affairs: Assam CM Sarbananda Sonowal on Kokrajhar (Assam) attack.

3.12 pm: Combing operations are underway in Kokrajhar (Assam) attack.

3.10 pm: Terrorist gunned down, 14 civilians killed, and 18 injured in Kokrajhar (Assam) attack.

3.00 pm: Over 12 people killed,1 terrorist gunned down,recovered grenades and other weapons from him-Assam DGP on Kokrajhar attack.

2:44 pm: This is very unfortunate, we will assure that victims are taken care of: KirenRijiju on Assam attack

2:40 pm: Home Minister Rajnath Singh speaks to Assam CM on militant attack in Kokrajhar. MHA closely monitoring the situation.

2:25 pm: Assam CM Sarbanand Sonwal speaks to PM Narendra Modi after extremists opened fire at civilians near Kokrajhar,Assam.

2:10pm: 12 civilians killed after militants open fire in market area of Assam's Kokrajhar. Forces exchange gunfire.

2:07 pm: Status report says that Govt ensured essential services including medicines, food during J&K unrest.

2:00 pm: Solicitor General submits status report in SC on ground situation in Kashmir following Burhan Wani's killing. The SC directs the petitioner, Bhim Singh to submit his reply in a week.

1:50 pm: Assam: 3 killed and 4 others injured after a gun fight broke out in Balazan market of Kokrajhar.

1.16 pm: There is no race. All BJP workers, leaders fulfil whatever responsibility they are entrusted with, by the party: Nitin Patel.

1.13 pm: Whatever decision is taken in the meeting (Gujarat BJP legislature party meet),will be acceptable to all, says Nitin Patel.

1.04 pm: HM speech incomplete in many aspects,he didn't say will Pak which is target of HM's suggestions,cooperate in their implementation, says Shashi Tharoor.

12.58 pm: All flights delayed at Mumbai airport due to heavy rains, 6 flights go around, 1 diverted as of now.

12.50 pm: Jaipur-Over 100 cows died in 10 days at Govt-run Hingonia Gaushala alledgedly due to lapse in maintenance of cowshed.

12.45 pm: 4 children injured in an explosion while playing with unidentified material in Muhi village near Dausa district of Rajasthan.

12.42 pm: NDRF team carrying out rescue operations at Mahad bridge collapse site. Death toll: 14.

12.31 pm: BCCI Special General meeting underway in Delhi.

12.25 pm: Sushma Swaraj meets Higher Education Minister of Afghanistan, Dr Farida Momand in Delhi.

12.24 pm: There should b dress code in colleges as we're there to study,nt 'show-off', says Bhakti Sharma,youngest female sarpanch on MANIT dress code issue.

12.11 pm: I urged all SAARC nations to neither glorify terror nor patronise terrorists: HM Rajnath Singh in Lok SabhaI urged all SAARC nations to neither glorify terror nor patronise terrorists, says Rajnath Singh in Lok Sabha.

12.00 pm: "All our PMs have done their best to improve relations with our neighbours but the problem is "yeh padosi hai ki maanta hi nahi hai": Rajnath Singh.

11.57 am: "I have no grudge that I did not have lunch. Pakistan minister had invited everyone for lunch. He then left in his car. I too left and I was not in Pakistan to have lunch," Rajnath said.

11.55 am: Rajnath Singh, union home minister says in Rajya Sabha that it is true that the Indian repoters from ANI and PTI were not allowed to enter the conference hall where the SAARC summit was being held.

"I will not say whether it was right or wrong," Rajnath Singh says on Pakistan blacking out media coverage of his SAARC speech.

11.35 am: Participated in SAARC Interior ministers' meeting and on behalf of India, put special emphasis on terrorism: Rajnath Singh in Rajya Sabha.

11.07 am: Maharashtra government to make a final decision on the 'No helmet no fuel' rule today.

10.42 am: Maharashtra: Water logging in parts of Mumbai due to heavy rains

Maharashtra: Water logging in parts of Mumbai due to heavy rains pic.twitter.com/R43DtpzTsC  ANI (@ANI_news) August 5, 2016

10.18 am: Actor Kamal Hassan discharged from Apollo hospital in Chennai this morning, was admitted with leg fracture on July 14.

10.10 am: Home Minister Rajnath Singh expected to brief Parliament about his Islamabad (Pakistan) visit.

9.42 am: Death toll of Mumbai-Goa highway bridge collapse rises to 14.

9.24 am: Girls of Maulana Azad National Institute of Technology protest over dress code & hostel timings, in Bhopal

MP: Girls of Maulana Azad National Institute of Technology protest over dress code & hostel timings, in Bhopal pic.twitter.com/mhcDTBBUpD  ANI (@ANI_news) August 5, 2016

9.02 am: The BJP's national president, Amit Shah has called for a meeting of CM's of BJP ruled states on August 27. The meeting is being held to urge the Chief Ministers to ratify the GST bill at the earliest.



8.33 am: Mobile internet services temporarily suspended in Jammu's Doda, Banihal and Kishtwar districts, reports news agency ANI.

8.13 am: Bulandshahr(UP) gang rape case: CM Akhilesh Yadav announces 3 lakh compensation and a flat each, to both the victims.

8.00 am: 3 Naxals killed in an encounter with police in Dantewada district of Chhattisgarh.

OneIndia News
A dream, a call and some courage: How a 15-year-old stopped her marriage

An IT SEZ to come up in West Bengal? Infosys seeks govt nod to set up the zone

India

oi-PTI

New Delhi, Aug 5: Software major Infosys has sought the Union government's approval to set up an IT special economic zone (SEZ) in West Bengal.

The company's application will be considered by the inter-ministerial body, Board of Approval (BoA), headed by Commerce Secretary Rita Teaotia, in its meeting on August 12.

Infosys has proposed to set up IT/ITeS SEZ over an area of 20.14 hectares in South 24 Parganas, the boards' meeting agenda said.

"Development Commissioner of Falta Special Economic Zone has recommended grant of in-principle approval subject to state government clearance which has been sought for from the applicant," it said.

Two more players -- Devbhumi Realtors and Phoenix Living paces -- have also sought approval from the BoA to set up It/ITeS zones in Telangana.

Further, Chhindwara Plus Developers has approached the government for setting up of a multi product SEZ in Madhya Pradesh, over an area of 1,320.06 hectares.

SEZs are exports hubs which contribute about 16 per cent to the country's total outbound shipments. The commerce ministry is taking steps to revive investors interest in these zones. It has asked the Finance Ministry to extend sops like rollback or reduction in the minimum alternate tax.

The 19-member BoA deals with SEZ related matters. Exports from special economic zones (SEZs) logged a marginal growth of 0.77 per cent to Rs 4.67 lakh crore in 2015-16.

The exports from such 204 zones were Rs 4.63 lakh crore in 2014-15. Highest number of SEZs are operational in states like Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Telengana and Maharashtra.

PTI
UP man posts wifes obscene pics on FB to get more followers

Kashmiri man arrested for liking "India go back" post on FB

India

oi-Vicky

Srinagar, Aug 5: A person from Kashmir was arrested for liking anti-India posts on his Facebook account. Taufiq Ahmed who was working in Chattisgarh was arrested at the Sagar railway station in Madhya Pradesh when he was trying to flee from the police.

Based on a complaint the police had registered a case under Section 124 (A) (Sedition) informed Amresh Mishra, the Superintendent of Police of Durg, Chattisgarh.

Upon the complaint being registered, Ahmed had tried to leave Chattisgarh. He had boarded a train to Jammu. However the Chattisgarh police tipped off their counterparts in Madhya Pradesh. He was arrested at the Sagar railway station in Madhya Pradesh.,

The complaint against him stated that he had liked and posted comments on a Facebook post that read, "India Go Back."

Such posts have been circulating on the social media following the death of Hizbul Mujahideen terrorist, Burhan Wani. Jammu and Kashmir has been on the boil since his death.

OneIndia News

For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications

Story first published: Friday, August 5, 2016, 9:54 [IST]
Rahul Gandhi invites Siddaramaiah for sprint during Bharat Jodo Yatra and this happens next [watch]

Mahadayi row: Siddaramaiah writes to Modi, seeks mediation

India

oi-Shreyas

By H S Shreyas

Bengaluru, Aug 5: After the state government faced a setback over the Mahadayi river issue, Karnataka chief minister Siddaramaiah has now written a letter to prime minister Narendra Modi seeking his intervention in the matter.

Similar to the interim petition, Siddaramaiah's letter also based its demand of PM's intervention, on the public agitation for water. The interim petition filed by the state before the Mahadayi Water Dispute Tribunal also cites farmers protests.

Siddaramaiah in his letter has said: "I would like to draw your attention to a letter dated April 26, 2014, seeking your intervention for convening inter-state meeting for the resolution of the dispute arising out of sharing of water of Mahadayi river basin between the states of Karnataka, Maharashtra, and Goa."

The CM also drew Modi's attention on the current South-West Monsoon rains, which has been below normal in Dharwad, Belagavi, Gadag and Bagalkot districts. Siddaramaiah added that as a result of this, farmers are losing patience and the interim verdict only adds their woes. "The agitation of farmers has entered into the second year," he said.

Siddaramaiah in the letter opined that it would take a long time for the tribunal to pass the final verdict. Chief Minister of Goa did not respond to Karnataka's requests of solving the issue through out-of-tribunal talks, he writes.

Siddaramaiah said: "I believe mediation solution is possible under your leadership." Siddaramaiah has pressed Modi for his intervention and warned that farmer's stir may escalate in the coming days.

OneIndia News
Cyclone Sitrang: Odisha, Bengal brace for cyclonic storm likely to form by Oct 23

Malnutrition deaths: MoTA fact-finding team visits Nagada

India

oi-PTI

Bhubaneswar, Aug 5: A two-member fact finding a team of the Union Ministry of Tribal Affairs (MoTA) today verified the socio-economic condition of Juang tribals of Nagada village in Odisha's Jajpur district where at least 19 kids died allegedly of malnutrition.

"Development programmes need to be taken up in Nagada village where from reports of alleged malnutrition deaths have come.

There are no facilities on the hilltop and no road connectivity either. People have to walk long distances for every small need," said Rupak Choudhury, Deputy Secretary, Ministry of Tribal Affairs.

Stating that the fact finding team would submit its report to the government soon, Choudhury said the Ministry had sent the team to Nagada as the victims belonged to Juang tribal community.

Odisha malnutrition deaths: Here is what Child Welfare minister said

The MoTA team's visit came two days after the visit of a five-member team of the Union Health Ministry to the hilltop village.

Though satisfied over the steps taken in the aftermath of the deaths, the team suggested the state government to take up long-term social welfare programmes in the region.

PTI
Gap between rich and poor has widened, needs to be bridged: Gadkari

Nitin Gadkari praises Ramdev, Acharya Balkrishana

India

oi-PTI

Haridwar, Aug 5: Union Minister Nitin Gadkari today heaped praise on Yoga guru Ramdev's aide Acharya Balkrishna for his contribution to the "unification" of Yoga and Ayurveda, thus popularising them all over the world.

"By simplifying yoga and unifying it with ayurveda, Acharya Balkrishna had made them more useful for the common man not only in India but all over the world," Gadkari said while speaking at a function here today to mark Balkrishna's birthday.

Crediting both Ramdev and Balkrishna for their efforts to enhance the prestige of yoga and ayurveda across the globe, the Union minister said the two disciplines are generating job opportunities for both farmers and youth.

Ramdev said the country will soon earn the glory of celebrating Acharya's birthday as "World Herbal Day" (Vishwa Jadi-Booti Diwas). He also said that Patanjali will soon become a company with an annual turnover of Rs 50,000 crore as plans were afoot to set up mega food parks in at least five cities including Nagpur, Indore and Noida.

Several programmes were held at Patanjali Yogpeeth to celebrate Acharya's birthday including yog-pranayam sessions and distribution of thousands of tree and herbs saplings free of cost among people. A large number of saints and seers from Haridwar were present.

PTI
Pak is forgetting India will talk on its own terms: Former R&AW chief

India

oi-Vicky

Bengaluru, Aug 5: In the past two days there has been a lot of talk about the visit made by Union Home Minister, Rajnath Singh to Pakistan where he attended the SAARC ministerial conference. There is a lot of tension in the air and Pakistan even decided to black out his speech made at the conference.

To analyse these issues, OneIndia caught up with former chief of the Research and Analysis Wing, CD Sahay. The former R&AW chief says that Pakistan is only trying to send a clear message to us that if we fail to talk to them, then they will take Jammu and Kashmir to the 1990s.

"What Pakistan is forgetting is that India will talk on its own terms. Pakistan today is like a stuck record on the issue and says that they will talk only if we speak about Kashmir. However, that cannot be the case, we will talk if they speak about the terrorism that they sponsor," Sahay says.

It was going well with Pakistan

Sahay also points out that the entire world acknowledges that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has made all efforts to bring Pakistan to the talking table. It was all going quite well until the Pathankot attack happened and Pakistan derailed the entire process.

India wants issues such as terrorism to be discussed, but Pakistan is stuck on Kashmir. "If Kashmir is a core issue for Pakistan, then terrorism is a core issue for us. Pakistan, if it wants to talk to India, must create those conditions and ensure that it stops launching terrorists on to our soil," Sahay also says.

"Pakistan seems to be making a foolish case by saying that India staged the Pathankot attack. Do they think anyone will believe them? They are just creating an environment of tension and have ended up derailing the process. It is absolutely childish approach on their part," Sahay also added.

OneIndia News

For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications

Story first published: Friday, August 5, 2016, 15:14 [IST]
'Peepli Live' co-director gets 7 years' jail for rape

India

oi-IANS

By Ians English

New Delhi, Aug 5: A court on Thursday sentenced Mahmood Farooqui, the co-director of acclaimed 2010 Hindi film "Peepli Live", to seven years' jail after finding him guilty of raping an American woman.

Additional Sessions Judge Sanjiv Jain also imposed a fine of Rs 50,000 on Farooqui, who was convicted on July 30 of raping a 35-year-old woman from Columbia University who was in India for research on her doctoral thesis.

The court observed that the victim was a student and had come to India to do her research work.

After the incident, she could not complete her research and she incurred expenditure on her travel to India for lodging a first information report, the court noted and directed the Delhi Legal Service Authority to consider to compensate her.

"In the light of the above observation, it can be safely held that the testimony of prosecutrix (victim) being truthful and credible can be relied upon as being of sterling worth for the purpose of the conviction of accused," the court said.

"It was when the prosecutrix was alone with the accused, Ashish (accused's friend) was away from his house, it was confirmed that Darain (accused's friend) was not coming to his house, the accused taking advantage of the situation raped the prosecutrix (victim)."

The court noted the subsequent conduct of the prosecutrix of wanting to disassociate herself from the accused and to leave his house immediately and of telling about her ordeal to Danish, her friend and a prosecution witness in the case.

The court also took account of the e-mail shared between the accused and victim.

The court said: "There is no reason to observe for the prosecutrix to falsely implicate the accused. Also, the delay in lodging of the FIR has been satisfactorily explained."

"Thus, I find no hesitation to conclude that the prosecution has proved the guilt of accused beyond reasonable doubt quo the charge of rape," the court said.

The woman, who moved to Delhi in June 2014, was looking for contacts for her work in Gorakhpur and came in contact with Farooqui through a common friend.

The incident occurred on March 28, 2015 when Farooqui invited her for dinner at his house.

According to the police chargesheet, the woman, who reached his house at 9 p.m., found Farooqui was very intoxicated, and he asked her to go to the other room which was his office.

After 20 minutes, she left the office room to smoke in the porch when he told her to come in and sit down, it said. After talking with her for a while, he suddenly kissed her and forced himself on her, the prosecution said, adding that the woman was scared after the incident.

During the trial, the American researcher stood by her complaint and alleged that Farooqui had raped her, while he denied the allegations, and claimed he was falsely implicated.

IANS

For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications

Story first published: Friday, August 5, 2016, 12:51 [IST]
Prakash Javadekar justifies closure of IIIT Amethi

India

oi-PTI

New Delhi, Aug 5 A day after Congress uproar over shutting down of institutions in Amethi and Rae Bareli, HRD Minister Prakash Javadekar today justified the closure of Indian Institute of Information Technology (IIIT) in Amethi saying law did not permit off-campus centres and it was technically illegal.

In the Rajya Sabha, Javadekar said he wanted to respond to the issue of closure of IIIT, Amethi raised by some members yesterday and asserted that there was "no political vendetta". IIIT, Amethi was sanctioned in 2005 and courses started in 2005-06. This was a full-fledged IIIT, but an off-campus facility of IIIT in Allahabad.

"Law does not permit off-campus centres of IIITs," he said, adding that the one in Amethi, called Rajiv Gandhi IIIT, was "technically illegal". The campus had one permanent facility and one faculty would travel daily from Allahabad.

"Students were unhappy and wanted all faculties to be present there," he said, adding that the students were agitating and wanted to be transferred to Allahabad. A review by IIT Kanpur had also concluded that the students should be transferred to IIIT Allahabad.

"There is no political vendetta. It is the students who are starving for education," he said justifying the closure.

Students had on July 29 gheraoed the Allahabad IIIT faculty and demanded proper education as Amethi campus did not have permanent faculty and they had to rely on one teacher travelling from Allahabad to teach four classes, he said.

Pramod Tiwari (Cong) said if there was any legal lacunae why did the government not overcome it in two years it has been in office.

The BJP government, he alleged, has "political vendetta" in shutting down six institutes and factories in the Lok Sabha constituencies of Congress president Sonia Gandhi and vice president Rahul Gandhi.

He said it was the employees of IIIT Amethi which was on agitation against closure. Javadekar replied saying a general science college of Dr Ambedkar University, Lucknow is being started in Amethi and the employees will be accommodated there.

He said in sanctioning Kendriya Vidyalayas after taking over as HRD Minister, he had sanctioned one for Rae Bareli, asserting "we work on merit".

Deputy Chairman P J Kurien told the minister that the Congress member was asking the government to look into any legal and technical lacunae in the Amethi IIIT campus.

PTI
Raid at Muthoot Group: Main offices, family house targeted

India

oi-Oneindia

By Oneindia Staff Writer

Kozhencherry (Kerala), Aug 5: The Income tax department, along with the enforcement, raidedall the offices of the Muthoot Group in Kerala and across the country. The house of the Muthoot family has also been targetted. Among the agencies that have been raided include Muthoot George (fincorp), Muthoot Pappachan, Mini Muthoot, and Muthoot Mercantile.

The raid started early in the morning and continued till 10:30 am in Thiruvananthapuram.Muthoot Finance has its headquarters in Kolenchery, but has over 5000 branches in 25 states. The raid took place at the same time in corporate offices and branches.

Inside sources, however, say that the main target is Muthoot Pappachan. The Gold finance company is alleged to have not paid taxes properly. Other allegations include irregularities in gold loan and fund acceptance and encouraging black money deposit.

Raids were conducted on information of illegal wealth amassing although none of the investigating agencies have disclosed any evidence. The stock market of Muthoot Finance slipped after news of the raid. While some walked away from the branches, there were other anxious customers who tried to contact the branch after the news of the raid broke out.

Earlier, the Reserve Bank of India had banned the gold finance company from taking deposits from public. It had barred Muthoot Fincorp from collecting deposits in the form of fixed deposits, cumulative deposits and special public deposits from the public.

OneIndia News
Rain havoc: Flood alert in Pune after water released from Khadakwasla dam

India

oi-Oneindia

By Oneindia Staff Writer

Pune, Aug 5: An alert has been issued in parts of Pune following heavy rains in the catchment areas. Reportedly the Irrigation Department on Thursday released water from Khadakwasla dam into the Mutha river, that passes through the city, which affected the low-lying localities.

Emergency Contact no-020-25506800/1/2/3/4 DM Cell

Due to the discharge of water from the dam, Mutha river swelled for the first time this monsoon season, which led the low-lying Baba Bhide bridge in Deccan Gymkhana area to get submerged.

Fire brigade officials had to evacuate as many as 130 residents living in low lying areas off Sinhagad Road after water entered their houses.

"Water was released at the rate of 22,000 cusecs on Wednesday morning, which rose to 39,000 cusecs around 7 pm after the storage in the dam reached its maximum," Irrigation Department officials said.

"After water was released into the Mutha river, the low lying Baba Bhinde bridge submerged in Deccan-Gymkhana area and as many as 15 vehicles, parked along the river side, too, got submerged in the water," they said.

Heavy rains lash Mumbai; road, rail, air traffic hit

"The fire brigade officials rushed to the spot and took the vehicles out of the water," Prashant Ranpise, the chief fire officer of Pune Municipal Corporation said. According to him, the Anandnagar area off Sinhgad road was flooded with water and as many as 134 people were evacuated after water entered the houses.

Meanwhile, the collective water storage in the four reservoirs of the dams around the city swelled to 22.28 TMC (76 per cent of total capacity) on Wednesday evening.

This time last year, the water available in the four dams was 13.93 TMC, which was 47 per cent of the total capacity. According to the India Meteorological Department (IMD) Pune, from morning till 8.30pm today, total 32.9 MM rainfall was recorded.

The IMD has predicted intermittent showers for the city in the next 24 hours.

Reportedly, the authorities have provided contact number in case of any emergency. They have also appealed people to avoid affected areas.

OneIndia News

(with inputs from PTI)
Sushma Swaraj shuts down a troll who said she will be remembered like Sheila Dikshit

Delhi loses two of its former CMs in span of two weeks

Final Goodbye: From Sushma Swaraj to Sheila Dikshit - A look at politicians that India lost in 2019

Sheila Dikshit visits family of Bulandshahr victims, demands SP govt's dismissal

India

oi-PTI

Ghaziabad, Aug 5: Women are unsafe in Uttar Pradesh and the Samajwadi Party government must be suspended for its failure to maintain law and order, former Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit said today after meeting the family of Bulandshahr rape victims at Khoda Colony here.

"Women are very unsafe in Uttar Pradesh and the Samajwadi Party government must be suspended as it has failed to maintain law and order in the state," said Dikshit, the chief ministerial candidate of Congress.

"I will talk to the chief minster to provide quick justice to the victim's family," she said. Dikshit was accompanied by party leaders Jatin Prasad and Sanjay Singh.

Singh said Congress will raise the issue of woman security and deterioting law and order condition in the UP Assembly. Prasad said he, along with his party members, will meet President Pranab Mukherjee and demand the expulsion of the state government.

Dikshit also promised that Congress will bear the expenses for the education of the victim's daughter. Meanwhile, protests were witnessed as Dikshit's cavalcade entered the colony with locals raising slogans like 'Sheila Dixit Vapas Jao'. They also staged a sit-in in front of them on the street.

PTI
Blow to Nitish Kumar as 5 of 6 MLAs from JD(U) join BJP in Manipur

Suspected Kuki militants kill one in Manipur

India

oi-IANS

By Ians English

Imphal, Aug 5: Suspected Kuki militants in Manipur, who are signatories to the suspension of operations (SOO), stormed a village and killed a person and injured the village chieftain critically, officials said on Friday.

The incident took place in Manipur's Senapati district on Thursday night. The victim has been identified as Thangneilal Chongloi, 30. The injured village chieftain is 60-year-old Thangkholal Chongloi.

The attackers left the village soon after the incident. Police and paramilitary personnel rushed to the village on Friday morning.

In Manipur, several underground organisations had joined the national mainstream after signing the SOO. However, allegations are that the ground rules are not always observed.

Police said that a case has been registered.

IANS
Man booked for rape of 12-year-old after video of injured girl surfaces on internet

UP: 5, including a child, killed and 5 seriously hurt as car hits electric pole

Modernisation of police force helped in controlling crime in UP: CM Yogi

UP Police launch 'Operation Vishwas' for women safety

India

oi-PTI

Lucknow, Aug 5: Rattled by a slew of rape cases including the horrific Bulandshahr gangrape, the UP Police today launched 'Operation Vishwas' here to instill confidence and sense of security among women.

"The Operation is being launched in Lucknow zone from today in which police will ensure strict action against those people involved in crime against women. The objective of the campaign is to instill confidence and sense of security among women," IG, Lucknow Zone, A Satish Ganesh told reporters here.

The police have identified 1200 people accused of sexual offenses and the proceedings for imposing Goonda Act on them will be ensured during the operation, he said.

The month-long operation will also run in Hardoi, Lahimpur Kheri, Rarbareli, Sitapur, Unnao, Faizabad, Sultanpur, Barabanki, Ambedkarnagar and Amethi besides Lucknow, he said.

"We are expecting to get good results like 'Operation Milan', under which police rescued over 400 abducted youths and minors, including girls, and re-united them with their families," Ganesh said. Operation Milan was launched on April 28 in Lucknow zone.

All the district police chiefs of the zone have been asked to direct police station in-charges concerned to concentrate on Operation Vishwas.

Uttar Pradesh was recently in news for a number of rape cases including the Bulandshahr gangrape incident where a mother and a minor girl were raped by a group of men near a highway.

PTI
Why Amit Shah chose Rupani? It's back to 'Modi Model' in Gujarat

India

oi-Vicky

While many say that his proximity to both Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP chief Amit Shah catapulted Vijay Rupani to Gujarat Chief Minister, replacing Anandiben Patel, there is more to the rise of Rupani.

A Jain Bania by caste, Rupani does not have the caste base that a Nitin Patel could have boasted of, but Modi and Shah seem to have chosen him banking on a different calculus -- going back to the 'Modi Model', which did not rely on caste equations but on administrative ability.

Rupani, who has held many portfolios in the Gujarat government, is known to be a shrewd administrator. He has a good track record as both Rajkot MLA and a minister, is a trusted aide to Modi and Shah, and also shares a good rapport with the RSS.

[Vijay Rupani new Gujarat CM, Nitin Patel Deputy CM]

He is also known as a man who can take along all sections, has an inclusive approach and is conciliatory in tone when dealing with problems.

After the miscalculation of choosing Anandiben Patel based on her closeness to the top leadership, which has led to a weakening of the BJP's hold over Gujarat, with the dominant Patel and the politically-important Dalit communities agitated, the Modi-Shah duo must be hoping that Rupani will apply the 'healing touch' as the state heads for elections.

Course Correction

Rupani's elevation signals that the BJP is on a course correction in Gujarat as it was felt that Anandiben had lost grip over administration. The BJP had, in fact, earlier elevated him as state party chief while allowing him to retain his Cabinet position as minister for transport, water supply, labour and employment in the Anandiben government.

Everyone in the state BJP know Rupani as the go-to man in a crisis. He has a knack of sorting out issues and he has remained uncontroversial, several BJP leaders say of him.

Who is Vijay Rupani?

Vijay Rupani (60) started his career as a student activist of the ABVP. In 1971, he joined the RSS and later the Jan Sangh. He has been associated with the BJP since its inception. He has served as a corporator in Rajkot and also been the Mayor, following which he became a Rajya Sabha member.

When Narendra Modi was chief minister of Gujarat, he served as the general secretary of the Gujarat unit of the BJP and chairman of the Gujarat finance board.

After the resignation of Vajubhai Vala (now governor of Karnataka), Rupani was nominated to contest the Rajkot seat. He won the by-election in October 2014. He was then inducted into the cabinet by Anandiben Patel.

OneIndia News

For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications

Story first published: Friday, August 5, 2016, 21:54 [IST]
I did not go to Pak to have lunch: Rajnath tells a united Rajya Sabha

New Delhi

oi-Vicky

New Delhi, Aug 5: "I was not in Pakistan to have lunch. Pakistan's interior minister had invited all of us for lunch, but then he got into his car and left. I left too." This is what Rajnath Singh, the Union Home Minister said at the Rajya Sabha on Friday, while explaining his Islamabad trip where he attended the SAARC ministerial conference.

The Rajya Sabha on Friday stood united as Singh made a passionate speech about his Pakistan visit. When he spoke about the blackout of his speech at the conference on Thursday, the members of the house shouted, "SHAME."

Singh was in Islamabad on August 3 and 4 for the SAARC conference. Upon his arrival in Pakistan, he was greeted by protests which forced him to take a chopper to his hotel room.

At the conference his speech was not covered as Pakistan did not allow any media coverage. There were also reports of how Singh and the interior minister of Pakistan, Chaudhary Nisar Ali Khan barely shook hands.

A lunch organised by Khan was skipped by both the host and Singh.

Yeh padosi hai ki maanta nahin

Singh during his speech at the Rajya Sabha took a dig at Pakistan by saying, "Yeh padosi hai ki maanta nahin (This neighbour does not agree). All prime ministers irrespective of party have done their best to improve relations with Pakistan. But then this neighbour does not seem to understand or agree, he said.

On the black out of his speech, he said that, "It is true that the Doordarshan, ANI and PTI reporters were not allowed to enter the conference hall."

I do not want to comment whether Pakistan was right or wrong: Rajnath

"I do not want to comment whether Pakistan was right or wrong in not allowing the media coverage. I don't know what the protocol in such matters is. I will ask the Ministry of External Affairs about this. I did not register any protest in Pakistan on this issue," he added.

Singh also took a moment to thank the members of the House who have stood united in their fight against terrorism. "I appreciate the unity of the House on this issue and this reflects our determination to fight the menace," he said.

All the members have spoken in one voice and I have no hesitation in saying that Prime Ministers irrespective of party have shown determination in fighting terrorism, Singh also said.

Highlights of Rajnath's speech

I was not in Pakistan to have lunch.

Rajya Sabha says Shame on blackout of Singh's speech.

Yeh padosi hai ki maanta nahin.

Prime Ministers irrespective of party have tried improving relations with Pakistan.



OneIndia News
What role did Sufiyan Zafar play in the 26/11 attack?

New Delhi

oi-Vicky

New Delhi, Aug 5: The arrest of Sufiyan Zafar in connection with Mumbai 26/11 attack is no doubt a welcome move. He was arrested by Pakistan and is currently being questioned by the Federal Investigating Agency.

There is very little known about Zafar barring the fact that he was closely associated with Hammad Amin Sadiq- the man who arranged for the finances for the 26/11 attack.

Zafar according to details available with OneIndia, helped Sadiq move the money. Most of the money was raised through charity and also funds pumped in from abroad. Zafar was the go-in-between man appointed by Sadiq to bring in the funds.

Lashkar-e-Taiba's financial man

If Pakistan does manage to probe Zafar honestly then he would help bust the network that his boss, Sadiq had set up. Sadiq in fact had set up a vast network through which he would collect funds for the operations of the Lashkar-e-Taiba.

Zafar in fact had helped Sadiq set up two bank accounts to receive the funds for the attack. Once the funds had come into these accounts, these persons had passed the funds to the Lashkar-e-Taiba operatives. The money was used to purchase the arms, ammunition and also the dinghy engine from a shop in Karachi.

Both Zafar and Sadiq operated out of two hideouts. While one was in Karachi the other was around 100 kilometres from the city. Zafar had helped Sadiq open the bank accounts too, investigations reveal.

The name of Sadiq had figured in the dossier that Pakistan had sent to India a few months after the attack. He was arrested in 2009 itself and was termed as a prime catch. Further his close association with the Lashkar-e-Taiba chief commander, Zaki ur Rehman Lakhvi was also mentioned in the dossier.

OneIndia News

For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications

Story first published: Friday, August 5, 2016, 14:40 [IST]
Southern superstar Kamal Haasan has been discharged from the Hospital after undergoing surgery on his right leg due to a fracture. He had slipped and fell down at his office in Chennai on Wednesday where he suffered a fracture on his right leg. He had to undergo surgery and was recovering. As per the reports, he will resume shooting after four weeks.
12 people have been killed and 15 others were injured when militants opened fire in a market in Kokrajhar district in Assam. Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal spoke to Prime Minister Narendra Modi after the attack. Encounter still underway.
Female students of the Maulana Azad National Institute in Bhopal are protesting against Taliban-style diktat of the administration barring them from wearing miniskirts and dress in the college. The students dressed in shorts had staged a dharna on Thursday challenging the authorities to take action against them.
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of One News Page Ltd.
by  Graham Pierrepoint



2016 will be remembered for many things  Donald Trumps presidential candidacy, Pokemon Go, the Zika virus  and Boaty McBoatface. The name first came to popularity after the Natural Environment Research Council asked members of the public to come up with a suitable name for their new polar research vessel  and despite many traditional or assumed responsible names having made the ballot, Boaty McBoatface was suggested  and won the vote by an astonishing 78%. Despite its victory, however, the Council elected to name the vessel after legendary nature documentary-maker Sir David Attenborough  leading many to proclaim their disappointment at Boaty not having had its christening honored.

The whole affair was closely followed by the media and caught fire online as outrage built following the decision not to name the vessel after the winning choice. While the Council failed to back down from their decision, the McSomethingface meme has continued to spin on well into the middle of the year, with other vehicles and public bodies such as locomotives (Trainy McTrainface) and educational establishments (Schoolie McSchoolface) getting in on the action. Now, it seems, even British drinking establishments are finding it hard to escape the runaway joke that seems to still court humor from the public.

Pubby McPubface was previously known as The Newbridge Arms, and the owners of the establishment in Wrexham, Wales, decided to rebrand the pub as a way of thinking outside the box  by way of a bit of fun after an attempt to get Boaty McBoatface into the ocean had failed. The renaming is said to have gone down as storm with regulars and even fans on social media, as the pub continues to see interest spike  the change has received considerable media attention, and while no one can really be sure where the joke can end, it is certainly a witty turn on rebranding that could do the owners a world of trade in the coming months.

But how long will the meme last? While some viral jokes travel for years and years across the miles, crazes come and go with the weather  yet, it seems, just when you thought wed seen the last product named Somethingy McSomethingface rear its head, another one comes along to keep the joke going. Its certainly keeping its steam during 2016  and while Boaty McBoatface may never have been fully realised, its legacy has much to answer for!
WDEF CBS Chattanooga, TN 24 Nov 2020

Frustrated parents in Rhea County asked police to help find their missing 15 year old. Now they have arrested him on drug charges.
Rumble 06 Oct 2022

As world tensions mount, countries are now choosing sides. US adversaries and perhaps NATO detractors are aligning with Russia...
Sky News 24 Oct 2022

A major airport in the Philippines has been forced to close after a plane crashed while landing in bad weather.
Benedicte Gravrand, Opalesque Geneva:

Dyal Capital Partners III, a permanent capital vehicle managed by Neuberger Berman, has bought a minority stake in H.I.G. Capital, a global private equity and alternative asset investment firm with more than $20bn of equity capital under management.

Dyal has acquired a passive non-voting stake, representing less than 15% of the economic interests of the firm.

This access to permanent capital will allow H.I.G to more quickly and effectively achieve the its strategic growth objectives. The proceeds will be primarily used to increase the firms investments in its own funds and to seed and fund a number of growth initiatives, to further capitalise on its position in the small and mid-cap market.

Founded in 1993 and headquartered in Miami, H.I.G. manages a series of funds across private equity, credit, and real estate strategies in the US, Europe, and Latin America.

Dyal Capital Partners III acquires minority equity interests in institutional alternative asset management businesses worldwide. Established in 2011, it manages three independent permanent capital funds and has 18 minority partnerships. For example, it bought a 20% stake in activist hedge fund firm Jana Partners worth $2bn in March, and a stake in the $12bn Halcyon Asset Management in 2013.

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peace journalist Bob Koehler

(Image by Alison Koehler) Details DMCA



My guest today is peace journalist and author, Bob Koehler.

Joan Brunwasser: Welcome back to OpEdNews, Bob. You wrote an intriguing piece that I saw today: Reaching Beyond the Candidates. Why did you write it, and why now?

Bob Koehler: Hi, Joan. Great to be back! I wrote this column because I'm utterly at the end of my wits about American democracy. It's election season -- our quadrennial spectator democracy extravaganza. We haven't had a presidential election where the war of the moment was being seriously held up for scrutiny since 1972, when McGovern ran against Nixon. Ever since then, the Dems have played it "safe" and left the military-industrial status quo completely unquestioned. The mainstream media have done the same -- played bouncers in the national debate, making sure no serious challenges to the status quo, especially militarism, gets into the national discussion. I'm completely sick of voting for the "lesser evil" candidate, which this year is Hillary. And the US just opened up a bombing campaign against Libya, with zero debate, zero congressional approval because it's not needed. The Defense Authorization Act of 2001 makes that no longer necessary. And we've been waging war ever since. And our unchallenged military budget hovers near a trillion dollars a year. I don't think the public wants any of this. So I want to do my part to make this issue part of the 2016 election.

JB: Well, if we can say anything about the primary season, it seemed to be at least a partial repudiation of politics as usual. Establishment candidates dropped like flies or had a much harder time making their case than expected. Within the context of business as usual, is that meaningful or not?

BK: Yes, I think politics as usual is under serious assault. Bernie gave Hillary an extraordinary challenge. I don't know if fairer rules in some of the states -- such as opening the primary to independent voters -- could have given him the edge, but no matter what, his small-donor-financed campaign shocked everyone as much as Trump's campaign did. And Bernie ran as a serious candidate, articulating values that progressives haven't seen addressed at this level in many decades. I think the public is ready for profound change. This could, of course, be disastrous. Trump is a maniac. The challenge is to keep the Bernie revolution alive, indeed, to expand it. Bernie mostly avoided the war/military budget issue. We've got to take this on directly.

JB: Before we talk about war, I'd like to spend a little more time on the Democratic primaries. You mentioned that no one expected Bernie's small donor-based campaign to take off, let alone offer a serious challenge to Clinton. And, while Bernie did endorse her, Hillary has done little to draw in independents and progressives, who will be so crucial come November. Removing DWS from her role as chair of the DNC but then elevating her to a high position in Hillary's campaign is just one action that reveals total tone deafness and a cavalier, rather insulting "what choice do they have? They'll never vote for Trump" attitude that may or may not play out according to plan. At the same time, formerly staunch GOPers are being courted and have responded by jumping on her bandwagon in significant numbers. It feels like a neocon lovefest. Your thoughts on this?

BK: As I said in this week's column, for the Democratic establishment, Trump is better than ISIS. The aversion factor is so high that millions of people would vote for virtually anyone else on the planet to defeat him. I understand that. And of course it gives Hillary and the status quo free rein to ignore the progressives yet again and run as proponents of Wall Street, war, fracking, etc. This is a serious paradox. It reduces the act of democracy to something small and cynical: a vote and a shrug for the lesser evil. People start to forget that voting one's values is even possible. And forget about building a country based on those values. Your phrase "neocon lovefest" describes the process well. For good reason, they think they own the country.

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Reprinted from Wallwritings

As the November 8 election looms larger with each passing day, Republican party leaders are now in a "panic mode."

On Wednesday, the Los Angeles Times reported, "Donald Trump's relations with the Republican Party -- and his political fortunes -- worsened dramatically as party leaders fretted openly about the inability of his campaign staff to control him and even began to discuss what to do if their unpredictable nominee suddenly quit the race."

Donald Trump bulldozed his way to the Republican nomination for president in a campaign in which the "unfit" charge was raised and ignored by an alarming majority of Republican voters.

So it comes down to the final bout between Trump Clinton.

Pause, for a moment if you must, and ask the question about the third party option. I repeat my answer that a third party vote is a wasted vote. Movements don't win elections until they enter the ring for the final bout.

Progressives came close to entering this year's final bout behind Bernie Sanders. They lost, which means they must turn their zeal and energy toward building a successful progressive political party that will keep alive the ideals espoused by Sanders in his unsuccessful race against Hillary Clinton.

The Progressive option now is to look ahead to 2020 and mount another progressive campaign for the nomination.

Meanwhile, there is the vote on November 8 between a militaristic Hillary Clinton and her opponent Trump, who is not just filled with unclear and uncertain policy ideas, but has been described by no less an authority than President Obama as "unfit" to serve in the office.

Which candidate poses the greatest danger with his or her fingers on buttons of mass destruction? If you vote for Trump, or a third party, then you are exercising your freedom to select someone who is not only unfit for the office, but dangerous.

The case against Clinton as a neoconservative militarist is massive. It is just not massive enough to give the White House to a man Joe Scarborough reported on MSNBC who asked a foreign policy expert, three times, "Why can't we use nuclear arms?"

Paul Jay on Real News Network, said, during an interview with Lawrence Wilkinson, that Clinton or Trump offers a horrible choice.

Wilkerson is a retired United States Army officer and former chief of staff to United States Secretary of State Colin Powell. He is now an adjunct professor at the College of William & Mary where he teaches courses on US national security.

In his interview with Jay, he said, "I would say in her first term she will get us into a war."

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Efficient Packaging Robot Market - Global Industry Analysis, Size, Share, Growth, Trends And Forecast 2016 - 2024

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This report provides forecast and analysis of the packaging robot market on the global and regional level. The study provides historic data of 2015 along with forecast from 2016 to 2024 based on volume (units) and revenue (US$ Mn). It includes drivers and restraints of the packaging robot market along with their impact on demand during the forecast period. The report also comprises the study of opportunities available in the market for packaging robot on the global and regional level.In order to provide the users of this report with comprehensive view of the market, we have included detailed competitiveness analysis and company players with unique selling propositions. The study encompasses market attractiveness analysis, by application, gripper type and end-use industries.Segmentation comprises demand for individual robot and end-users in all the regions and important countries in the region. Application segment includes current and estimated demand of industrial robots for applications such as picking, packing and palletizing. While gripper segment includes present and forecast demand for packaging robot with grippers such as claw, clamp, vacuum and others (Pneumatic and Hydraulic). End-use industry segment includes demand for packaging robots in industries such as food & beverages, pharmaceuticals, consumer products, tracking and logistics and industrial packaging.Get Sample Copy Of Report:Market numbers have been estimated based on the average usage of packaging robots for different kinds of applications such as picking, placing, palletizing, de-palletizing, tray packing, case packing and filling among others. Market size and forecast for each segment have been provided in the context of global and regional markets. Market dynamics prevalent in China, Japan, South Korea, North America, and Europe have been taken into account for estimating the growth of the global market. Market estimates for this study have been based on volume, with revenue being derived through regional pricing trends. The packaging robot market has been analyzed based on expected demand. Market data for each segment is based on demand volume and corresponding revenue. Prices considered for the calculation of revenue are average regional prices obtained through primary quotes from numerous regional manufacturers, suppliers, and distributors. All market numbers have been derived on the basis of demand for packaging robots in different applications in different regions. All existing key end-users have been considered and potential applications have been estimated on the basis of secondary sources and feedback by primary respondents. Regional demand patterns have been considered while estimating the market for various end-users of packaging robot in different regions. We have used the top-down approach to estimate the global packaging robot market, split by regions. The global application segment and end-user split of the market has been derived using the bottom-up approach, which is cumulative of each regions demand. Regional demand is the summation of sub-regions and countries within a region. Market share of companies has been derived on the basis of revenues reported by key manufacturers. The market has been forecast based on constant currency ratesSeveral primary and secondary sources were consulted during the course of the study. Secondary sources include OneSource, Factiva, Hoovers, International Federation of Robotics (IFR), Robotics Industries Association (RIA), Magazines published by the ABB Limited and company annual reports and publications among many others.The report provides detailed competitive outlook including market shares and company profiles of key participants operating in the global market. Key players in the global packaging robot market include Fanuc Corporation, Kuka Roboter GmbH, Yaskawa Electric Corporation, ABB Limited, Mitsubishi Electric Corporation, Bosch Packaging Technology and Schneider Electric SE among others. Company profiles include attributes such as company overview, financial overview, business strategy and recent developments.The market has been segmented as below:Packaging Robot Market - ApplicationPickingPackingCase PackingTray PackingFillingOthersPalletizingCase PalletizingBag PalletizingDe-PalletizingPackaging Robot Market  Gripper TypeClawClampVacuumOtherPackaging Robot Market  End-use IndustriesFood and BeveragesPharmaceuticalsConsumer ProductsTracking and LogisticsIndustrial PackagingChemicalsElectronics DevicesOthersPackaging Robot Market - Regional AnalysisNorth AmericaU.S.CanadaEuropeGermanyU.K.FranceSpainItalyRest of EuropeAsia PacificChinaJapanSouth KoreaIndiaThailandTaiwanRest of Asia PacificLatin AmericaBrazilMexicoRest of Latin AmericaMiddle East & Africa (MEA)GCCSouth AfricaRest of MEAMarketresearchreports.biz is the most comprehensive collection of market research reports. Marketresearchreports.biz services are especially designed to save time and money of our clients.State Tower90 State Street, Suite 700Albany, NY 12207United StatesToll Free: 866-997-4948(USA-CANADA)Tel: +1-518-621-2074E: sales@marketresearchreports.biz
Global Smartwatches Market to Develop at 53.6% CAGR from 2014-2020 Driven by Rousing Popularity of Android Wearables

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Driven by rising Internet and smartphone penetration and growing focus on fitness, the global smartwatches market is estimated to grow at an impressive CAGR of 53.6% from 2014 to 2020, according to a report Transparency Market Research. The report is titled Smartwatches Market - Global Industry Analysis, Size, Share, Growth, Trends and Forecast 2014 - 2020 and is available for sale on the company website. By price range, the market is segmented into low-end smartwatches, mid-end smartwatches, and high-end smartwatches. Accounting for 44% of the global smartwatches market, mid-end smartwatches was the dominant segment in 2013. At that time, smartwatches were viewed merely as companion devices.However, as the perception of the smartwatch transformed into a fitness tracking device, the demand shifted to high-end smartwatches. Even though high-end smartwatches held only 17% of the overall market in 2013, analysts believe that this segment is likely to register the highest growth rate by the end of the forecast period.Browse Full Global Smart Watches Market Report With Complete TOC @On the basis of operating systems used, the smartwatches market comprises Watch OS (iOS), Android Wear, and others including Pebble OS, Tizen OS, and LinkIt OS. Given that Android Wear smartwatches hit the market in 2014, the other OS segment dominated the overall market at the beginning of the forecast period in 2013.However, the launch of Android Wear OS by Google Inc. transformed the wearable devices and smartwatches market in 2014 with high number of applications and constant upgrades. The segment of smartwatches based on Android Wear OS is expected to develop at an astounding CAGR of 57.9% from 2014 to 2020.Get Free Sample Report Copy at -Geographically, the global smartwatches market is divided into North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, and Rest of the World. Accounting for a 34.5% share in 2013, North America dominates the smartwatches market in terms of revenue. The growing presence of health-conscious and tech-savvy users in the region is one of the primary reasons for the growth of the smartwatches market in North America. In addition, rapid adoption of high-end smartwatches, surging smartphone penetration, and rising fitness and health activities have contributed toward the growth of this regional market. Mass adoption of middle- and low-end smartwatches in emerging economies of Japan, China, Australia, India, and Eastern Europe and rising focus on health and overall well-being are expected to drive the smartwatches market in Asia Pacific and Europe.The leading players operating in the global smartwatches market include Nike Inc., Garmin Ltd., Martian Watches, Pebble Technology Corporation, Qualcomm Incorporated, Sony Electronics Inc., Fitbit Inc., Apple Inc., ConnecteDevice Ltd., and Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. These companies are profiled in the smartwatches market research report on the basis of attributes such as company and financial overview, key developments, and business strategies.Smartwatch Market, by Price RangeHigh-end SmartwatchesMid-end SmartwatchesLow-end SmartwatchesSmartwatch Market, by Operating SystemAndroid WearWatch OS (iOS)OthersSmartwatch Market, by GeographyNorth AmericaEuropeEastern EuropeWestern EuropeAsia PacificAsia Pacific Excluding JapanJapanLatin AmericaMiddle East and AfricaTransparency Market Research (TMR) is a market intelligence company, providing global business information reports and services. Our exclusive blend of quantitative forecasting and trends analysis provides forward-looking insight for thousands of decision makers. TMRs experienced team of Analysts, Researchers, and Consultants, use proprietary data sources and various tools and techniques to gather, and analyze information. Our business offerings represent the latest and the most reliable information indispensable for businesses to sustain a competitive edge.State Tower,90 State Street,Suite 700,Albany NY - 12207United StatesUSA - Canada Toll Free: 866-552-3453Email: sales@transparencymarketresearch.comWebsite:
Wider Enforcement of Environmental Legislations to Impact Dynamics of Turkey Marine Lubricants Market, reports TMR

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Collaborations and business alliances with local companies feature prominently on the growth roadmap of global companies operating in the Turkey marine lubricants market, according to a new report by Transparency Market Research (TMR). A high degree of vertical integration is practiced by large petrochemical refining companies to reduce overhead costs and leverage the wide distribution network of local companies in Turkey.Some of the large global players operating in the Turkey marine lubricants market are Chevron Corporation, ExxonMobil Corporation, Lukoil Oil Company, and Royal Dutch Shell plc. A TMR analyst says, Research and development initiatives for product innovation is what key companies in the Turkey marine lubricants market are focused on for business expansion. For example, BP Plc is actively involved in the research and development of novel synthetic and bio-based lubricants for several industries. The company looks upon new product development so as to gain a competitive edge over its rivals.Adoption of advanced lubrication technology in order to expand product portfolio and offer customized services is also a key growth strategy that top players in this market are focused on. Establishing subsidiary companies for the marketing of specialty products is also one of the key growth models of top companies operating in the Turkey marine lubricants market.High Volume Traffic in Turkish Straits Fuels Market GrowthDevelopment of environment legislations for the use of clean marine lubricants driving Turkey marine lubricants market, points out TMR analyst. Environmental protection regulations that have been laid out by the Ministry of Environment mandate shipping companies to use clean substances to curb emissions. With increasing traffic in the ports of Turkey, marine agencies in the country are enforcing strict regulations to control the use of polluting substances in Turkish waters.Download the Marine Lubricants Industry Fact Sheet by 2022 @An increasing demand for lubricants from shipping companies operating in Turkish Straits is another major factor driving the Turkey marine lubricants market. This is because the Turkish Straits is a major chokepoint, which connects the Mediterranean Sea and the Black Sea, with high-density maritime traffic. Due to this reason, the ports of Turkey stand as major selling nodes for marine lubricants for shipping companies operating on this route.Increasing Demand for Group II, Group III Base Oils Hinders Market GrowthThe gradually shrinking production of group I base oils is challenging the growth of the Turkey marine lubricants market, says TMR analyst. The rising inclination for the production and utilization of group II and group III base oils globally is expected to result in a scarcity of bright stock oils, which are produced in group I plants.Despite the high production cost of group II and group III base oils, their increasing demand will have an adverse effect on the growth of the marine lubricants market that utilizes group I base oils as feedstock.The volume growth of the Turkey marine lubricants market is anticipated to reach 103.8 kilo tons by 2022, states TMR. Mineral lubricants stand as the leading product segment in the Turkey marine lubricants market. However, biobased marine lubricants are gradually eating into the formers market share. Engine oils grade mineral oils is the key leading product segment in the Turkey marine lubricants market.The Turkey marine lubricants market is segmented as follows:Turkey marine lubricant market, by product typeMineral oil marine lubricantsSynthetic marine lubricantsBio-based marine lubricantsTurkey marine lubricant market, by applicationEngine oil marine lubricantsHydraulic oil marine lubricantsGreaseOthers (turbine oils, gear oils, compressor oils and heat transfer fluids)About UsTransparency Market Research (TMR) is a global market intelligence company providing business information reports and services. The companys exclusive blend of quantitative forecasting and trend analysis provides forward-looking insight for thousands of decision makers. TMRs experienced team of analysts, researchers, and consultants use proprietary data sources and various tools and techniques to gather and analyze information.TMRs data repository is continuously updated and revised by a team of research experts so that it always reflects the latest trends and information. With extensive research and analysis capabilities, Transparency Market Research employs rigorous primary and secondary research techniques to develop distinctive data sets and research material for business reports.ContactTransparency Market ResearchTel: +1-518-618-1030USA - Canada Toll Free: 866-552-3453Email: sales@transparencymarketresearch.comWebsite:
Worldwide Thermoformed Plastic Products Market : Latest Innovations And Industry Key Events 2015 To 2021

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Thermoformed plastic products can be produced by heating a plastic sheet to a pliable forming temperature, shaping it as desirable, and trimming it to create a usable end product. Plastics can be thermoformed through various processes which include vacuum snapback, plug assist forming, and thick and thin gauge thermoforming. Different raw materials used for manufacturing thermoformed plastic products include acrylics, bio-degradable polymers, polycarbonates, acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS), polyethylene (PE), polypropylene (PP), polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA), polystyrene (PS), and poly vinyl chloride (PVC). Thermoformed plastic products are usually lighter in weight and relatively-stronger compared to traditional packaging materials such as glass and woods. Thus, they are most-widely used in different packaging applications in electronic, healthcare, and food packaging industries .Based on application, the global thermoformed plastic products market can be segmented into six categories: food packaging, appliances, electronic packaging, healthcare packaging, automotive, and others. Thermoformed plastic products find the largest application in the food packaging industry. Thermoformed plastic products are used in the food packaging industry as a barrier to bacteria, odor, and moisture to food products.Thinking about report: Please observe the beneath the hyperlinks to satisfy your necessities; Request for the Report sample :In terms of geography, North America dominates the global thermoformed plastic products market due to the growing packaging industry and rapid industrialization. The U.S. represents the largest market for thermoformed plastic products followed by Canada in North America. In Europe, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, and the U.K. hold major share of the thermoformed plastic products market. The thermoformed plastic products market in Asia Pacific is expected to witness high growth rates in the next five years due to rising disposable income and increasing demand for food and healthcare packaging in the region. Japan, China, and India are expected to be the fastest-growing thermoformed plastic products markets in Asia Pacific.Increasing disposable income, increasing demand for ready-to-eat food, and increasing demand for food and healthcare packaging are some of the major driving factors of the thermoformed plastic products market. Increasing demand for thermoformed plastic products in the food industry is mainly driven by increased sales of canned and packaged food products. Increased demand for canned and packaged food products are mainly driven by changing lifestyle of people, rising urbanization, and hectic life schedule . Increasing disposable income in developing countries such as India and China is expected to increase growth of the thermoformed plastic products market. Increasing disposable income allows customers to spend more on convenience, ready-to-eat, and packaged food, which indirectly boost demand for thermoformed plastic products in the food packaging industry. According to the National Bureau of Statistics China, annual per capita disposable income of urban households in China increased from USD 2,271.0 in 2008 to USD 3408.5 in 2012. The overall annual disposable income in India median household income increased from USD 1,366.2 billion in 2010 to USD 1,587.6 billion in 2013. Increasing raw material prices act as a major restraint for the thermoformed plastic product market. The most commonly -used resins in the thermoforming process are polypropylene, polyethylene, PET, and polystyrene. PP witnessed 21% increase in price from January 2011and 20% increase since January 2012 . Other resins such as PS increases by 25% on per-pound pricing since January 2012, and 13 percent since January 2012 . Data shown here is for large-volume purchases of more than 20 million pounds per year.Request TOC (desk of content material), Figures and Tables of the report:Some of the major companies operating in the thermoformed plastic products market are Pactiv, LLC., Anchor Packaging, Inc., Associated Packaging, Ltd., Peninsula Packaging Company, LLC., Placon Group, Berry Plastics, CM Packaging, Clear Lam Packaging, Graham Packaging, D&W Fine Pack, Huhtamaki Group, and Silgan Plastics.About UsPersistence Market Research (PMR) is a U.S.-based full-service market intelligence firm specializing in syndicated research, custom research, and consulting services. PMR boasts market research expertise across the Healthcare, Chemicals and Materials, Technology and Media, Energy and Mining, Food and Beverages, Semiconductor and Electronics, Consumer Goods, and Shipping and Transportation industries. The company draws from its multi-disciplinary capabilities and high-pedigree team of analysts to share data that precisely corresponds to clients business needs.PMR stands committed to bringing more accuracy and speed to clients business decisions. From ready-to-purchase market research reports to customized research solutions, PMRs engagement models are highly flexible without compromising on its deep-seated research values.ContactPersistence Market Research Pvt. Ltd305 Broadway7th Floor, New York City,NY 10007, United States,USA  Canada Toll Free: 800-961-0353Email: sales@persistencemarketresearch.commedia@persistencemarketresearch.comWeb:
Worldwide Janitorial Services Market : Facts, Figures and Analytical Insights 2015 -2021

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Janitorial services, also known as cleaning services, are generally used to keep workplaces free from unsightly dirt and provide a clean and germ-free environment. Cleaning is one of the most commonly outsourced services in various facilities such as educational buildings, corporate buildings, hotels, hospitals, retail outlets, and commercial and residential buildings. Janitorial services include both indoor and outdoor cleaning services, which include cleaning, trash pickup, floor polishing, and window washing.The global janitorial services market is primarily segmented into two categories: residential and commercial. The residential market consists of maid services, window, carpet, window and other services. The commercial cleaning segment primarily focuses on window cleaning, vacuuming, floor care, and related services.Among the two segments, the commercial segment accounts for a relatively larger share of the janitorial services market. Janitorial service is a highly labor intensive market and growth of the market largely depends on growth of the real estate market.Due to its dependence on the real estate market, the janitorial services market suffered a downturn during the economic recession post-2008. The market also suffered a decline due to collapse of various mortgage obligations. Many government entities and industrial companies make a long-term contract to clean facilities, such trends help in the growth of global janitorial services market.Thinking about report: Please observe the beneath the hyperlinks to satisfy your necessities; Request for the Report sample :Many companies outsource their building maintenance and cleaning services, in order to reduce the cost .Through outsourcing, the janitorial services industry creates many employments. Introduction of latest janitorial equipment in the market provides a competitive edge to the janitorial service industry. Such new cleaning equipment provides better janitorial service and this also helps in the growth of janitorial services market.Some of the major global companies such as ABM Industries and ServiceMaster offer various janitorial services. They together hold more than 35% share of the global janitorial services market. Introduction of new technologies and solutions to clean properties efficiently and safely and process improvements are expected to boost growth of the global janitorial services market during the forecast period.Asia Pacific is one of the prominent markets for janitorial services. Rising economy and escalating construction of commercial and non-commercial buildings in the region further increase demand for janitorial services. China and India are the two major countries in Asia Pacific, which hold the highest share of the janitorial services market. In North America, the U.S. holds the largest market share and is expected to grow at the fastest rate during the forecast period. The global janitorial services market is expected to grow at a single-digit growth rate during the forecast period from 2014 to 2020.Request TOC (desk of content material), Figures and Tables of the report:Some of the major companies operating in the global janitorial market areABM Industries, CleanNet USA, Jani-King Internationa,ServiceMaster, Anago Cleaning Systems, Chem-Dry, Jan-Pro International, Aramark,Stanley Steemer, BONUS Building Care, Coverall, Pritchard Industries, Red Coats, UGL Unicco Services, Sodexo, and Vanguard Cleaning Systems.About UsPersistence Market Research (PMR) is a U.S.-based full-service market intelligence firm specializing in syndicated research, custom research, and consulting services. PMR boasts market research expertise across the Healthcare, Chemicals and Materials, Technology and Media, Energy and Mining, Food and Beverages, Semiconductor and Electronics, Consumer Goods, and Shipping and Transportation industries. The company draws from its multi-disciplinary capabilities and high-pedigree team of analysts to share data that precisely corresponds to clients business needs.PMR stands committed to bringing more accuracy and speed to clients business decisions. From ready-to-purchase market research reports to customized research solutions, PMRs engagement models are highly flexible without compromising on its deep-seated research values.ContactPersistence Market Research Pvt. Ltd305 Broadway7th Floor, New York City,NY 10007, United States,USA  Canada Toll Free: 800-961-0353Email: sales@persistencemarketresearch.commedia@persistencemarketresearch.comWeb:
Water and dialysis fluids: How to avoid dangerous contaminations

Boccato, Evans, Lucena, Vienken: Water and Dialysis Fluids - A Quality Management Guide

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Current opinions among nephrologists indicate that water quality is even more important for the longterm clinical success of hemodialysis therapy than the biocompatibility of dialysis membranes. Dialytic therapies, such as haemodiafiltration (HDF) or high volume haemodiafiltration, have become popular due to their improved performance followed by a better patient survival. Dialysis modes, such as HDF, need large volumes of substitution fluids that have to be prepared from water of appropriate quality level, Carlo Boccato and colleagues report in their introduction to the new textbook "Water and Dialysis Fluids - A Quality Management Guide"."A typical patient on hemodialysis therapy is exposed to 18.000-30.000 L water annually in the form of dialysis fluid - in case of high volume haemodiafiltration to even 3.000 L more. This exposure may afford opportunities for blood contact with pyrogenic contaminants.Molecules which may be present in dialysis fluids can move from the dialysate compartment of the dialyzer to the patients bloodstream by means of internal filtration. If such molecules are endotoxins, exotoxins or fragments of bacterial walls, the transfer of such compounds must be considered a health hazard.This problem has become even more prominent when online preparation of substitution fluids of haemofiltration and haemodiafiltration became available. It is therefore no surprise that membrane manufacturers have invested in polymer research and realized technological approaches to guarantee the provision of pure water and ultrapure dialysis fluid for both, haemodialysis and haemodiafiltration. Detailed investigations have been performed to prove, whether it can be excluded that bacterial contaminants can reach the blood stream by adsorptive mechanisms in the membrane wall of dialysis membranes ..."Carlo Boccato, David Evans, Rui Lucena, Jorg Vienken: Water and Dialysis Fluids - A Quality Management Guide. Pabst, 264 pagesHardcover ISBN 978-3-95853-111-6ebook ISBN 978-3-95853-112-3Pabst Science Publishers (Lengerich/Westfalen) veroffentlicht zehn psychologische und neun medizinische Fachzeitschriften; daruber hinaus erscheinen bei Pabst aus den gleichen Fachbereichen mehr als hundert Bucher jahrlich - teils wissenschaftliche Spezialtitel, teils allgemeinverstandliche Fachliteratur.Pabst Science PublishersEichengrund 2849525 LengerichTel. 05484-308Fax 05484-550E-Mail: pabst.publishers@t-online.deInternet:
Worldwide Automated Fare Collection (AFC) System Market : Latest Innovations And Industry Key Events 2015 To 2021

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Automated fare collection (AFC) system is the automated version of manual fare collection. It allows public transportation authoritys such as metro, rail, and buses to implement fast and efficient ticketing system. The automated fare collection system allows tracing and managing the funds generated through sales and by use of transport fare media, thereby helping to thrust revenue of the companies. Contactless technology, smart card, and electronic payment reduce the cost associated with handling cash transaction. Smart cards technology is extensively used fare collection systems because it offers benefits such as reduced maintenance & operating cost, improve efficiency, and reduced frauds.The automated fare collection system market is segmented on the basis of technology, components and geography. Based on technology, the automatic fare collection system market can be categorized into smart cards, magnetic strips, near field communication (NFC), and optical character recognition (OCR). The adoption of NFC technology is expected to remain high owing to its benefits such as fault tolerance and high speed contactless transaction. These technologies reduce the cost associated with handling cash transactions and save time of travelers by eliminating the queue for obtaining tickets. On the basis of components, the automated fare collection system market can be segmented as hardware components and software components. Hardware components include vending machine, hand held terminals, and fare gates. Furthermore, on the basis of geography the automated fare collection system market can be categorized into five major regions including North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Middle East and Africa and Latin America. North America and Europe are anticipated to be the dominant regions over the forecast period owing to the increased government spending for improving transport infrastructure. Asia Pacific automatic fare collection systems market is also expected to witness significant growth owing to the development in countries such as India and China. China and India are focusing on building better commutation facilities such as high speed train, metro train and mono rail.Thinking about report: Please observe the beneath the hyperlinks to satisfy your necessities; Request for the Report sample :Governments of various countries such as India, China, and U.S., among others are focusing on enhancing the transportation infrastructure and security systems, which in turn is fueling the growth of automated fare collection system market. New payment gateways such as account based payment systems using credit; debit and bank cards are driving the demand of automated fare collection systems.Development of monorail and metro in metropolitan cities is furthermore expected to stimulate the growth of automated fare collection system market, globally. Increasing adoption of NFC based mobile phones is anticipated to furthermore spur the demand of automated fare collection systems. NFC enabled devices allows travelers to perform safe transactions by holding it close to the electronic terminal. Rising need to enhance business process in an organization for increasing profit margins is one of the key factors triggering the demand for automated fare collection systems across the globe. Transit agencies are collaborating with the financial institution, payment gateway providers, and system integrators to reduce the overall cost and providing cost effective shared infrastructure.Request TOC (desk of content material), Figures and Tables of the report:Some of the key players in the automated fare collection system include Advanced Card Systems Ltd., Atos SE, Cubic Transportation Systems, Scheidt & Bachmann GmbH, NXP Semiconductors, Omron Corporation, ST Electronics, Thales Group, Trapeze Group and Vix Technology among others.About UsPersistence Market Research (PMR) is a U.S.-based full-service market intelligence firm specializing in syndicated research, custom research, and consulting services. PMR boasts market research expertise across the Healthcare, Chemicals and Materials, Technology and Media, Energy and Mining, Food and Beverages, Semiconductor and Electronics, Consumer Goods, and Shipping and Transportation industries. The company draws from its multi-disciplinary capabilities and high-pedigree team of analysts to share data that precisely corresponds to clients business needs.PMR stands committed to bringing more accuracy and speed to clients business decisions. From ready-to-purchase market research reports to customized research solutions, PMRs engagement models are highly flexible without compromising on its deep-seated research values.ContactPersistence Market Research Pvt. Ltd305 Broadway7th Floor, New York City,NY 10007, United States,USA  Canada Toll Free: 800-961-0353Email: sales@persistencemarketresearch.commedia@persistencemarketresearch.comWeb:
Li-Fi Market - Trends Advance Technology Watch Out

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Global Li-Fi Market: OverviewThe global Li-Fi market is expected to exhibit growth at a robust pace between 2016 and 2023. Massive bandwidth owing to the growing RF spectrum crunch, together with a high degree of security and energy efficiency are expected to bolster the global Li-Fi market.While the features offered by Li-Fi and visible light communications (VLC) are quite similar, unlike the latter, Li-Fi does not require line-of-sight between receiver and transmitter. The technology offers data transfer at high speed due to the presence of lesser interferences and availability of large bandwidth over the network. For instance, Li-Fi is capable of delivering the same, if not greater, data transfer speed as compared to a Wi-Fi access point.Furthermore, internet video traffic is expected to grow considerably in the coming years, with video projected to contribute to a majority of consumer internet traffic. This increasing data production and usage will eventually spur demand for wireless optical networks and RF-based networks. These are prime factors that will aid the expansion of the Li-Fi market worldwide.The report provides a granular analysis of the growth trajectory exhibited by the global Li-Fi market. The key factors encouraging the large-scale deployment of Wi-Fi are analyzed in detail. The factors that market players should guard themselves against are also evaluated in the report. Apart from examining the strengths of and opportunities for the leading market players, the report also presents insights into the threats and opportunities that they could face in the near future.Get More Information:Global Li-Fi Market: Key Opportunities and ThreatsIncreasing demand for applications in medical centers, hospitals, and schools will give considerable impetus to the global Li-Fi market. Since the technology involves visible light wavelengths and not radio waves, it is less likely to have negative effect on human health. Experts often compare Li-Fi to Free Space Optics (FSO) as it also utilizes light to transfer data.The market is also significantly gaining from the rising adoption of LED worldwide due to benefits such as a longer life span, higher efficiency, and lower maintenance it offers. Several countries such as Japan, China, and the U.S. have already adopted initiatives for promoting energy conservation using LED lighting technology. For instance, the Chinese government is offering lucrative incentives, resources, and financial subsidies to promote the adoption of LED lighting across industries. Furthermore, it has also taken several steps to support and advance the capabilities of domestic LED manufacturers.On the flip side, the lack of awareness about the benefits offered by the technology is negatively impacting Li-Fi market growth. Misconceptions such as Li-Fi being line-of-sight in nature are also expected to restrain market growth to an extent.Global Li-Fi Market: Regional OutlookAsia Pacific is expected to emerge as a lucrative market for Li-Fi. The growth of the market in this region is fuelled by the increasing demand for better internet connectivity. The U.S. is expected to present attractive opportunities for enterprises in the Li-Fi market over the forecast period. The Li-Fi market in the U.S. is also expected to grow at a phenomenal rate. The high demand for wireless communication aids the rapid expansion of the Li-Fi market in the U.S.About UsTMR is a global market intelligence company providing business information reports and services. The companyas exclusive blend of quantitative forecasting and trend analysis provides forward-looking insight for thousands of decision makers. TMRas experienced team of analysts, researchers, and consultants use proprietary data sources and various tools and techniques to gather and analyze information.ContactTMRState Tower,90 State Street,Suite 700,Albany NY - 12207United StatesTel: +1-518-618-1030USA - Canada Toll Free: 866-552-3453Email: mailto:sales@transparencymarketresearch.comWebsite:
Worldwide Backhoe Loader Market : Backhoe Loader market estimates 2015 to 2021

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A backhoe loader is a type of construction equipment, also called loader backhoe or digger. A backhoe loader is a heavy equipment vehicle that consists of a tractor-like unit fitted with a shovel in the front, and a backhoe at the back. Backhoe loaders are the most heavily used loaders in large, medium, and small scale construction projects because of their versatility and small size. These loaders can be fitted with different attachments for tasks such as boring, digging, excavation, and loading. Backhoe loaders can be used for a wide variety of tasks such as digging holes or excavation, construction, small demolitions, powering building equipment, breaking asphalt, paving roads, and light transportation of building materials. Most backhoe loaders feature quick-attach mounting systems and auxiliary hydraulic circuits for simplified attachment mounting, increasing the machine's utilization on the job site.The global backhoe loader market can be segmented on the basis of application: industrial sector, civic bodies, agricultural sector, and construction industry.Thinking about report: Please observe the beneath the hyperlinks to satisfy your necessities; Request for the Report sample :In terms of geography, Asia Pacific dominates the global backhoe loader market, followed by North America and Europe. Asia Pacific is the largest and fastest growing market. China and India are the biggest markets for backhoe loaders in the region due to the recent technological developments, significant growth in the construction industry, substantial growth in the construction of dams and canals, and increasing number of power projects. The U.S. represents the largest market for backhoe loaders, followed by Canada, in North America. In Europe, France, Germany, Italy, and the U.K. hold major shares in the backhoe loader market due to significant infrastructure development in the region. For infrastructure development, the U.K governments public sector investment is expected to rise by USD 4.9 billion to reach approximately USD 77.7 billion in 2013  14 over 2012  13. It is further expected to increase to about USD 83.0 billion in 2014  15. With the increase in infrastructure investment, demand for backhoe loaders would increase. BRIC countries make for very attractive markets for backhoe loaders. Among the BRIC countries, China is the biggest market for backhoe loaders, followed by India. Brazil has become the most attractive market in South America, while Russia is a least attractive market in Asia owing to the tough economic patch it is experiencing.In recent times, significant growth of the construction industry is a major driver of global backhoe loader market because it is this growth in the construction industry that is generating a huge demand for backhoe loaders for performing various tasks. The versatility of backhoe loaders, rising road construction activities, and increasing number of power projects in developing countries, such as India, have also fueled the growth of the global backhoe loader market. However, high prices of backhoe loaders are hampering the growth of the global backhoe loader market. Increasing preference for center-mounted backhoe loaders is an emerging trend of this market.Request TOC (desk of content material), Figures and Tables of the report:Some of the major companies operating in the global backhoe loader market are Komatsu Limited, J.C. Bamford Excavators Limited, AB Volvo, Caterpillar, Inc., Hitachi Construction Machinery Co., Ltd., Liebherr Group, CNH Global NV, Deere & Company, and Mahindra & Mahindra, Ltd.About UsPersistence Market Research (PMR) is a U.S.-based full-service market intelligence firm specializing in syndicated research, custom research, and consulting services. PMR boasts market research expertise across the Healthcare, Chemicals and Materials, Technology and Media, Energy and Mining, Food and Beverages, Semiconductor and Electronics, Consumer Goods, and Shipping and Transportation industries. The company draws from its multi-disciplinary capabilities and high-pedigree team of analysts to share data that precisely corresponds to clients business needs.PMR stands committed to bringing more accuracy and speed to clients business decisions. From ready-to-purchase market research reports to customized research solutions, PMRs engagement models are highly flexible without compromising on its deep-seated research values.ContactPersistence Market Research Pvt. Ltd305 Broadway7th Floor, New York City,NY 10007, United States,USA  Canada Toll Free: 800-961-0353Email: sales@persistencemarketresearch.commedia@persistencemarketresearch.comWeb:
Worldwide Private Healthcare Market : Quantitative Market analysis, Current and future trends to 2020

http://www.persistencemarketresearch.com/samples/3393

http://www.persistencemarketresearch.com/toc/3393

Private healthcare is referred as privately funded healthcare facility. Private healthcare has various sectors such as acute medical care, private medical insurance, long term care, psychiatric care and primary care. Private healthcare is funded by private medical insurance policies and by out of pocket expenditure. Long term care healthcare sector is the largest sector in the private healthcare market. The private healthcare sector varies with size and responsibilities in various countries. In many countries, private healthcare sector is extremely fragmented. Private healthcare sector has many small practices owned by healthcare professionals. In addition, private healthcare sector is becoming corporate.North America dominates the global market for private healthcare due to large number of aging population and increasing lifestyle associated diseases. Asia followed by the Europe are expected to show high growth rates in the next five years in the global private healthcare market. China and India are expected to be the fastest growing private healthcare markets in Asia-Pacific region. Some of the key driving forces for private healthcare market in emerging countries are large pool of patients, increasing healthcare awareness and increasing healthcare expenditure. In addition, in the emerging countries due to lack of resources the government is not able to meet healthcare needs.Thinking about report: Please observe the beneath the hyperlinks to satisfy your necessities; Request for the Report sample :In recent times there is increased use of private healthcare due to increasing demand of healthcare services. Increasing geriatric population, improved reimbursement policies and increasing incidence of chronic diseases are some of the key factors driving the growth for the global private healthcare market. In addition, high amount of National Health Services (NHS) outsourcing and emergence of advance medical technologies and treatment are also fuelling the growth of the global private healthcare market. However, high cost involvement and economic slowdown are some of the major factors restraining the growth for global private healthcare market.Request TOC (desk of content material), Figures and Tables of the report:Increasing medical tourism and less waiting time for treatments would develop opportunity for the global private healthcare market. The trend for the global private healthcare market is increasing demand for diagnostic treatment and care. Some of the major companies operating in the global private healthcare market are Bupa Care Homes Plc, Bupa Insurance Ltd., Capita Health and Wellbeing Ltd., Four Seasons Healthcare Ltd., Colombia Asia, MedLife and Hca International.About UsPersistence Market Research (PMR) is a U.S.-based full-service market intelligence firm specializing in syndicated research, custom research, and consulting services. PMR boasts market research expertise across the Healthcare, Chemicals and Materials, Technology and Media, Energy and Mining, Food and Beverages, Semiconductor and Electronics, Consumer Goods, and Shipping and Transportation industries. The company draws from its multi-disciplinary capabilities and high-pedigree team of analysts to share data that precisely corresponds to clients business needs.PMR stands committed to bringing more accuracy and speed to clients business decisions. From ready-to-purchase market research reports to customized research solutions, PMRs engagement models are highly flexible without compromising on its deep-seated research values.ContactPersistence Market Research Pvt. Ltd305 Broadway7th Floor, New York City,NY 10007, United States,USA  Canada Toll Free: 800-961-0353Email: sales@persistencemarketresearch.com
Worldwide Hydraulic Cylinder Market : Dynamics, Segments, Size and Demand 2015 - 2021

http://www.persistencemarketresearch.com/samples/4713

http://www.persistencemarketresearch.com/toc/4713

A Hydraulic cylinder is also called a linear hydraulic motor. It is a mechanical actuator which is used to provide a unidirectional force by a unidirectional stroke. It has several applications, primarily in construction equipment, manufacturing machinery and civil engineering equipments.The demand for hydraulic cylinders is primarily driven by the growing demand for hydraulic cylinder based equipment which are used in industries such as manufacturing, construction, mining, agriculture, aerospace and defense. Moreover, growing demand from the OEMs owing to rising level of industrial production and growing global trade contributes toward the hydraulic cylinder market growth. The market is developing steadily and it is majorly driven by the emerging economies. There has been a stable growth in the economy of the major countries of Asia such as China and India post-global economic recession. This has lined the way for the appearance of numerous low-cost and small-scale construction and manufacturing companies. Many companies in the Americas and the EMEA region are contiuously outsourcing their manufacturing needs to several countries to achieve low labor costs for example, India and China. Moreover, multiple global organizations are establishing their manufacturing base in emerging economies to get the benefit of the low-cost manufacturing capability and the availability of substantially skilled labor. This move assists companies to develop their market presence. Hence, the market is experiencing a rise in the investments from both domestic and international vendor. European and North American markets have reached the saturation stage. Although, the mature markets have given an immense opportunity for the emerging markets, through outsourcing their manufacturing needs to the emerging markets.Thinking about report: Please observe the beneath the hyperlinks to satisfy your necessities; Request for the Report sample :High adoption of material handling equipments globally offers growth opportunity for the market. At present, material handling equipment such as level luffing cranes, stackers and electronic overhead travelling cranes are extensively used by multiple industries such as Food and Beverage, Power and Energy, Retail and Oil Refineries other than construction and engineering sectors. This stimulates the adoption of material handling equipment and thus helps the growth of the hydraulic cylinders market.The market is segmented by hydraulic cylinder types, function, specification, design and application. Hydraulic cylinder function includes double acting hydraulic cylinders and single acting hydraulic cylinders. Single acting hydraulic cylinders apply the hydraulic pressure in only one direction, primarily to extend the cylinder. Double acting cylinders have two ports, one for the intake and other for outtake of hydraulic fluids. The force from the liquid can be used in both directions for expanding and retracting the piston. It can be fixed in any way for pushing, pulling and lifting operations.Specification includes Telescopic Cylinders, Hydraulic Jacks and Mill Type Hydraulic Cylinder. By design it can be segmented as Welded Cylinders and Tie Rod Cylinders. Applications includes material handling, automotive, oil and gas, aerospace and defense, agriculture, mining, transportation, marine and shipyard industry, manufacturing, waste management, pulp and paper industry and earthmoving equipment.Request TOC (desk of content material), Figures and Tables of the report:Key players in the market include Actuant Corp., Aggressive Hydraulics, Best Metal Products, Bailey International LLC, Burnside Group, Burnside Eurocyl Ltd., Burnside Autocyl (tullow) Ltd., Bosch Rexroth A.G., Bucher Hydraulics Gmbh, Burnside Hydracyl (ballymoon) Ltd., Chapel Group, Dongyang Mechatronics Corp., Douce Hydro, Changzhou Sunde Hydraulic Equipment Co. Ltd. and Eaton Corp. among others.About UsPersistence Market Research (PMR) is a U.S.-based full-service market intelligence firm specializing in syndicated research, custom research, and consulting services. PMR boasts market research expertise across the Healthcare, Chemicals and Materials, Technology and Media, Energy and Mining, Food and Beverages, Semiconductor and Electronics, Consumer Goods, and Shipping and Transportation industries. The company draws from its multi-disciplinary capabilities and high-pedigree team of analysts to share data that precisely corresponds to clients business needs.PMR stands committed to bringing more accuracy and speed to clients business decisions. From ready-to-purchase market research reports to customized research solutions, PMRs engagement models are highly flexible without compromising on its deep-seated research values.ContactPersistence Market Research Pvt. Ltd305 Broadway7th Floor, New York City,NY 10007, United States,USA  Canada Toll Free: 800-961-0353Email: sales@persistencemarketresearch.com
Anti-snoring Devices and Snoring Surgery Market Sales Drive By Integration of IoT and Nanotechnology, TMR says

http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/sample/sample.php?flag=B&rep_id=6910

http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/antisnoring-devices-and-snoring-surgery-market.html

The presence of an increasing number of companies manufacturing and selling anti-snoring devices today has rendered the competitive landscape of the anti-snoring devices and snoring surgery market extremely fragmented, Transparency Market Research (TMR) finds. GE Healthcare, Philips Healthcare, Fisher & Paykel Healthcare, Medtronic plc, and ResMed, Inc. are not only the prominent players in the global anti-snoring devices and snoring surgery market but also account for a significant percentage share of the overall market. Although SomnoMed does not account for a major share in terms of percentage, its extensive product portfolio and robust market presence makes it a strong contender in the anti-snoring devices and snoring surgery market.Receive Complete Anti-snoring Devices and Snoring Surgery Report Brochure:A slew of recent acquisitions have enabled Medtronic to emerge as the largest revenue contributor when it comes to anti-snoring devices. The top three companies in the global anti-snoring devices and snoring surgery market  namely Medtronic, GE Healthcare and Philips Healthcare, contribute a whopping 93.69% to the entire revenue pie. TMR has observed that a surge in R&D activities has strengthened the position of these companies in the global anti-snoring devices and snoring surgery market.TMR makes several key projections on the future outlook of this market.Demand for low-cost and connected devices will gain speedThe introduction of innovative devices is just as vital in gaining a competitive edge, says a TMR analyst. Anti-snoring device companies have been increasingly focused on improving the performance of existing products. The miniaturization of sleep apnea devices is a recent trend driven by the integration of nanotechnology.The demand for compact and low-cost devices has provided vendors a major opportunity. Case in point, Airing LLC. The medical device company launched a revolutionary disposable, battery-operated, and cordless micro-continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) device in May 2015.The large-scale proliferation of the Internet of Things (IoT) has penetrated the medical devices sector as well. The growing demand for connected and wireless devices as well as remote patient monitoring is reflected in the way an increasing number of anti-snoring devices companies are integrating IoT with their products. Medco Health is one such company. In February 2015, the medical device maker launched an innovative telemedicine assistance system that not only monitors the sleeping patterns of patients with obstructive sleep apnea disorder but also helps schedule doctors appointments.It has been observed that leading vendors have also been investing significant resources in enhancing the performance of anti-snoring devices to drive the acceptance and sales of anti-snoring devices.Companies will need to overcome lack of patient compliance to spur salesThe demand for anti-snoring devices and snoring surgery is being driven by a number of physiological factors. A surge in the incidence of obstructive sleep apnea, an increase in the number of people suffering from sleep deprivation and snoring, and an alarming prevalence of obesity have considerably fueled the need for anti-snoring devices. People with obesity are four times more likely to snore compared to those of normal weight, states TMR based on its findings.The development of state-of-the-art technologies by market players and a focus on extensive marketing have also enhanced the uptake of anti-snoring devices.In contrast, a lack of patient compliance, certain side effects such as throat dryness and nasal congestion, ambiguity in handling the device have limited the use of anti-snoring devices among patients. The high price of these devices is also a major factor dampening the sales of the devices.Competitive pricing of devices is likely to curb high revenue growthThe global market for anti-snoring devices and snoring surgery is projected to expand at a steady 3.9% CAGR from 2016 to 2024, with the market opportunity rising from US$16 bn in 2015 to US$22.7 bn by 2024. Continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) devices rake in the highest revenue in terms of device. The opportunity of this device segment is forecast to increase from US$12.1 bn in 2015 to US$16.4 bn by 2024.Browse Full Report@On the other hand, tongue stabilizing devices (TSDs) are likely to witness the highest growth, with sales rising from 32.81 mn units in 2015 to 51.54 mn units by the end of 2024. However, TMR states that the competitive pricing of these devices limits revenue growth.About Us:-Transparency Market Research is a global market intelligence company providing business information reports and services. The companys exclusive blend of quantitative forecasting and trend analysis provides forward-looking insight for thousands of decision makers. TMRs experienced team of analysts, researchers, and consultants use proprietary data sources and various tools and techniques to gather and analyze information.Contact Us:-Transparency Market ResearchState Tower,90 State Street,Suite 700,Albany NY - 12207United StatesTel: +1-518-618-1030USA - Canada Toll Free: 866-552-3453Email: sales@transparencymarketresearch.com
Corporate Capital Ventures CCV For Company Registration in India

http://ccvindia.com/company-registration

Corporate Capital Ventures helps entrepreneurs in setting up businesses with its company registration service. This service is for registration of public company, private company, producer company, OPC, LLP, Sector 8 Company, and foreign company. CCV provides incorporation through INC-29 and also the existing process.Company registration gives legal existence to a business the first is to give a unique name acting as a mark of identification. There are guidelines mentioned by MCA which were recently relaxed to make the process simpler. With INC-29, the promoters only have to choose one name in the existing process 1-6 choices are provided. The incorporation application is filed online, making it necessary to obtain DSC for at least one Director. In case a company decides to incorporate through INC-29, there is no need to apply separately for DIN. It a single form for name reservation, DIN, and company incorporation(). There is also need to draft the memorandum which acts as the constitution and defines the powers, objectives, and liabilities. The registered office address is the place of commencement of business and it can be a residential place, provided there is NOC of the owner also the rent agreement or sale deed is to be provided during the registration.Corporate Capital Ventures is a leading consultancy located at Lajpat Nagar in Delhi. It provides a blanket of services with a team of experts from various disciplines in this field. CCV is a leading RBI consultant, Stock exchange Consultant, MCA consultant, Fund raising consultant, and Restructuring adviser.CCVIndia  Corporate Capital Ventures Pvt. Ltd.160,(Basement),Vinoba Puri,Lajpat Nagar-II,New Delhi-110024Email id:- ccvindiaa@gmail.com
Sales of Cardiac Pacemakers to Cross 2.4 mn Units Globally by the end of 2023, reports TMR

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A majority of the cardiac pacemaker sales and revenue is taken up by the top three companies in the market. Medtronic, St. Jude Medical, and Boston Scientific collectively held 76.4% of the cardiac pacemaker revenue in 2014.Medtronic has by far been the leading provider of cardiac pacemakers till now, owing to a wide array of offerings in cardiac pacemakers, along with a globally prominent and established presence. Similar traits can be seen with St. Jude Medical, which has consistently funded its marketing and distribution drives in developing economies.Asia Pacific is currently a highly sought-after region for cardiac pacemaker players due to its rapidly increasing demand for the same.Click Here to Download Research Brochure:According to Transparency Market Research, the threat of new entrants is expected to remain moderate for the time being, due to the high capital that a company needs to set up manufacturing and R&D facilities that can compete with the top players.Growing Geriatric and Heart Disease Patient Population Spurs Sales of Cardiac Pacemakers GloballyTwo high impact drivers are currently generating a significant spike in the demand for cardiac pacemakers across the world. The first is the growth of the geriatric demographic and the second is the growth in patients with heart issues, states a TMR analyst. Both factors are interlinked to quite an extent, seeing as how older people are prone to health and heart complications. But the latter also include those who are less than 65 and in need of cardiac pacemakers. These include people with detrimental lifestyle options or people who are genetically prone to incur heart disease.The number of elderly and the number of heart patients is high especially in the developed nations such as the U.S. and many European countries. This can help explain why both regions have dominated the revenue stream of cardiac pacemakers so far.Cardiac Pacemaker Manufacturers will Have to Contend with Regulatory Approvals and Reducing MarginsThe Affordable Healthcare Act that was implemented in the U.S.  the leading regional consumer of cardiac pacemakers  has allowed patients to get more affordable health care since the acts inception. This also includes the 2.5% excise duty imposed on all medical devices, including cardiac pacemakers.In order to keep up with the currently high demand for cardiac pacemakers, manufacturers are compelled to reduce their margins of profit in order to cut down on overall cost of the cardiac pacemakers.Additionally, the U.S. FDA classifies cardiac pacemakers as Class III high-risk medical devices, which states all cardiac pacemakers be tested for safety even before being approved. This further increases the cost and time taken to put a cardiac pacemaker into the market.Implantable Cardiac Pacemakers Lead the Way in Consumer PreferenceThe global revenue from cardiac pacemakers is expected to reach US$12.8 bn by the end of 2023. In terms of volume, the global cardiac pacemakers market is expected to cross 2.4 mn units by the end of 2023.Implantable cardiac pacemakers have been the most fruitful product segment in this market for players, as it was the leading product used in 2014 and is expected to be the leading still in 2023. It is also expected to be the fastest growing product segment, displaying a CAGR of 8.9% from 2015 to 2023.A similar story can be told of the dual chamber technology used in cardiac pacemakers. This segment is not only expected to be the leading segment till 2023, but is also the fastest growing one, predicted to progress at a CAGR of 9.6% from 2015 to 2023.About UsTransparency Market Research (TMR) is a market intelligence company, providing global business information reports and services. Our exclusive blend of quantitative forecasting and trends analysis provides forward-looking insight for thousands of decision makers. TMRs experienced team of analysts, researchers, and consultants, use proprietary data sources and various tools and techniques to gather, and analyze information. Our business offerings represent the latest and the most reliable information indispensable for businesses to sustain a competitive edge.US Office Contact90 State Street, Suite 700Albany, NY 12207Tel: +1-518-618-1030USA - Canada Toll Free: 866-552-3453Email: sales@transparencymarketresearch.comWebsite:
Welding Consumables Market Forecast and Segments, 2015-2025

http://www.futuremarketinsights.com/reports/sample/rep-gb-940

http://www.futuremarketinsights.com/toc/rep-gb-940

http://www.futuremarketinsights.com/reports/welding-consumables-market

www.futuremarketinsights.com

The welding industry covers welding consumables, welding equipment and welding services. Welding consumables market account for a major share of the welding industry in terms of revenue compared to welding services and welding equipment. In spite of being a mature market, the welding consumables market is observing a continuous technological advancement and upgradation of welding techniques in various welding applications. The welding consumables market has been experiencing a change from electrodes towards solid and flux cored wired due to higher production efficiency in welding consumables products. Innovation and technological advancements in global welding consumables market in order to develop techniques for wider application area is anticipated to create further opportunity in global welding consumables market over the coming years. Rising welding consumables requirement owing to growing welded steel demand in commercial and residential building construction is expected to positively impact the global welding consumables market in the coming future.Global Welding Consumables Market: Drivers & RestraintsGlobal increase in demand from growing end use industries such as automobile, transportation and infrastructure particularly in emerging economies of Asia Pacific is expected to remain a key driving factor for global welding consumables market during the forecast period. Rising welding consumables requirement owing to growing welded steel demand in automotive and construction is anticipated to drive the market during the forecast period. Apart from these new infrastructural projects in Asia Pacific and Latin America is expected to drive the demand for global consumables market over the forecast period. Increasing number of vehicles on road coupled with growth and expansion activities among end use industries is anticipated to drive the demand for global welding consumables market. Skilled labour shortage in manufacturing industries coupled with high labour cost is expected to act as a barrier in global welding consumables market over the forecast period.Request Free Report Sample@Global Welding Consumables Market: SegmentationOn the basis of product type, the global welding consumables market is segmented into,Stick ElectrodesSolid WiresFlux cored WiresSAW wires and FluxesOthersOn the basis of application, the global welding consumables market is segmented intoAutomotive & TransportationBuilding & constructionMarine ApplicationsDefence & AerospaceOthersRequest For TOC@Global Welding Consumables Market: Region-wise OutlookIn terms of geography, the global welding consumables market has been divided in to seven key regions including North America, Latin America, Eastern Europe, Western Europe, Asia-Pacific excluding Japan, Middle East & Africa and Japan.The global welding consumables market is expected to register healthy CAGR during the forecast period. Asia Pacific is expected to dominate global welding consumables market over the forecast period owing to presence of large end use industries in this region. With growth of manufacturing plants in regions like Europe and Asia Pacific, mainly in emerging economies such as China, Japan and India, global welding consumables market is expected to showcase steady growth in future. Middle East and Africa is expected to witness significant growth owing to growing automotive industry demand and raw materials availability required in automotive and transportation industry.Global Welding Consumables Market: Key PlayersSome of the market participants in the global welding consumables market are ESAB, Lincoln Electric, Illinois Tool Work, Vorarc Welding CC, Promax Welding, Obara Corporation, DAIHEN Corporation, Kiswel Inc, Royal Arc Electrodes Limited, Kobe Steel Limited, Arcsel LLC, Corodur Fulldraht GmbHBrowse Full Report@ABOUT US:Future Market Insights (FMI) is a leading market intelligence and consulting firm. We deliver syndicated research reports, custom research reports and consulting services, which are personalized in nature. FMI delivers a complete packaged solution, which combines current market intelligence, statistical anecdotes, technology inputs, valuable growth insights, an aerial view of the competitive framework, and future market trends.CONTACT:Future Market Insights616 Corporate Way, Suite 2-9018,Valley Cottage, NY 10989,United StatesT: +1-347-918-3531F: +1-845-579-5705Email: sales@futuremarketinsights.comWebsite:
Internet Pharmacy (ePharmacy) Market - Greater Internet Penetration & Healthcare IT Infrastructure Thrives on Growth

http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/sample/sample.php?flag=B&rep_id=397

http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/epharmacies-market.html

http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com

Transparency Market Research has published a new report on the global epharmacy market. As per the report, the global epharmacy market is expected to expand at a 17.50% CAGR during the period from 2015 to 2023. The report, titled ePharmacy Market - Global Industry Analysis, Size, Share, Growth, Trends and Forecast 2015 - 2023, states that the epharmacy market is expected to progress from US$29.35 bn in 2014 to US$128.02 bn by 2023 due to factors such as the need for convenient access to required medication and the rising aging population.Download Free PDF Here:Internet pharmacy or epharmacy is an online platform, which acts as an intermediate between the seller and consumer for the sale of medicines. ePharmacies are gaining popularity across the globe owing to the many benefits they offer, including easy access to complete information on prescribed drugs, low or discounted drug prices, and round-the-clock delivery of drugs. It is not necessary for the patients to be physically present at a store to buy required medicines, making ePharmacies a convenient option. The ePharmacies market is expected to grow rapidly due to the development of government regulations and ethical practices.ePharmacies serve many needs such as easy access to medical records and easy availability of medicines in remote areas. Thanks to the development of ePharmacies, consumers can easily procure drugs via a tablet or smartphones. ePharmacies are a boon for patients who are seriously ill and need medicines urgently. However, the rising illegal sale of controlled prescription drugs is expected to hamper the growth of the global ePharmacy market in the years to come. Sales of medicines through ePharmacies can also lead to incidents of self-medication or drug abuse, which can be avoided with the integration of advanced technologies associated with drug delivery procedures.Based on geography, the global epharmacy market is divided into North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Latin America, and the Middle East. In 2014, in terms of revenue, the global epharmacy market was dominated by North America, followed by Europe. Europe is expected to be the fastest growing market in the global epharmacy market by 2023 due to factors such as the increasing penetration of high-speed internet and the increasing preference for buying medicines online. In the next few years, Asia Pacific is predicted to display lucrative growth due to the increasing spread of the e-commerce industry.Some of the key players operating in the global epharmacy market are CanDrugstore.com, Lloyds Pharmacy Ltd., Domzdrowia.pl SA, Walgreen Co., Rowlands Pharmacy, CVS Caremark, PlanetRx.com, drugstore.com Inc., The SANICARE Group, eDrugstore.MD, and CanadaDrugs.com. The entry of new ePharmacies is expected to make the global ePharmacy market highly competitive in the years to come.Research Report:From essentials to luxury products, everything is available on the internet via various retail platforms. The healthcare and medical sector are no exception. Over the past few years, there has been an increase in the number of people depending on online retail stores for their medicines. The increasing pool of people buying medicines from renowned epharmacies is expected to thus propel the global epharmacy market in the years to come.About UsTransparency Market Research (TMR) is a market intelligence company, providing global business information reports and services. Our exclusive blend of quantitative forecasting and trends analysis provides forward-looking insight for thousands of decision makers. TMRs experienced team of Analysts, Researchers, and Consultants, use proprietary data sources and various tools and techniques to gather, and analyze information. Our business offerings represent the latest and the most reliable information indispensable for businesses to sustain a competitive edge.90 State Street, Suite 700Albany, NY 12207Tel: +1-518-618-1030USA - Canada Toll Free: 866-552-3453Email: sales@transparencymarketresearch.comWebsite:
How To Integrate A Time Tracker With Your Bookkeeping

http://crocotime.com/en/

One of the harder tasks for companies is tracking their team's work time. Knowing how your employees spend work time during a work day and what they work on is actually impossible without a good time tracker app. But if time tracking is used properly, it can be very beneficial to any business; however, if used improperly it may lead to irritated employees, bad company morale, subpar productivity and results.Explain A Time Trackers UsefulnessIf you decide to install a time tracker in your office, it is very important that the reasons and advantages are properly conveyed to your team prior to the implementation. Explain not only the management's motivation to track time but also how a time tracker will benefit the employees and help the company grow. Be mindful to avoid sounding like a "big brother" watching over their shoulders. Try to explain that time tracking is going to provide:The way to spot areas to capitalize on capacityOpportunities to improve the company's workflowRecognition for top performers and promotion opportunitiesMacro perspective for the company's overall performance and big data for future strategic decisionsChoose The Time Tracker That Is Good For Your CompanyModern time trackers have a large list of functions and integrations. If you have many remote employees, require job costing or class tracking, you should make sure that youll have a possibility to create custom codes, remote check-in/out, and updates from the field. You would also like to be convinced that the time tracker you are about to choose integrates with your accounting software.Project Management With Profitability AnalysisKnowing how much work time is spent by your team on every single project or a customer may help you define certain projects, product types, or customers that are the most profitable or the most costly to your business. Encourage employees to update their work hours in real time so you can measure where staff are progressing on projects and where they might be getting hung up.If your time tracker offers post-factum entry, workers can update the information about why a task could have taken more time than expected or if there was a problem, or extra tasks. You may recognize which projects and customers might be creating issues and adjust tactics faster than waiting until you analyze your books at the end of the month.WorkflowA time tracker shows you exactly how your business is doing. An accurate picture of a work day can show you what tasks employees do on computers, during meetings and phone calls, as well as give you an overview of all your companys activity. With this data, you can make decisions regarding adjustments to every project, while still maintaining what is expected and reaching goals.Cost SavingAny company may benefit from improving their bottom line or finding excess costs in their funds. Diligent bookkeeping can help with this, and so can keeping the track of time. After you understand the workflow of the business, noticing where there are problems becomes a lot simpler.As you gather your time tracking information and become able to perform a more complete analysis, youll understand that you are able to regulate every single area of your business based on your results. But remember to encourage your team members to see time tracking as a way to improve the company's future but not to keep tabs on them.If you need help integrating the CrocoTime time tracker into your bookkeeping and accounting software, CrocoTime specialists can help to get you up to speed and make sure your books are in order. Continue with our 14-days free trial.Today CrocoTime is approved by more than 500 of customers ranging from small companies to enterprises of different spheres of business: production companies, project companies, trading, and service companies have been using CrocoTime to become more productive and efficient.3, Severo-Vostochnoy Ave., Saransk, Mordovia, Russia, 430000
QUICK WHITE - Declaration friendly whitening agent to replace titanium dioxide in sugar-coated dragees

QUICK WHITE: Declaration friendly whitening agent to replace titanium dioxide in sugar-coated dragees

www.norevo.de

At ProSweets 2016, Norevo presented an innovative clean-label ingredient from the range of Confectionery Performers: Quick White, replaces titanium dioxide in the recipe of hard-coated sugar products. It is a fine, white powder mix of sugars and natural hydrocolloids. Low dosage levels of Quick White already provide a uniformly white coating shell. Moreover Quick White stabilizes the dragee center and improves the surface quality. Additionally, the composition of Quick White enhances the crunchy profile of the product crust.Quick White is easily applicable in production processes with or without cooking and provides two significant advantages: a product formulation without titanium dioxide and a stable, smooth and white surface, said Thomas Marten, Division Manager Confectionery Performers at Norevo.Norevo GmbH is an internationally established supplier of natural raw materials and a producer of specialty ingredients for applications in the food, confectionery and beverage industry, the pharma and cosmetic sectors as well as technical applications. From natural raw materials such as gum arabic, agar-agar, honey, agave syrup, licorice extract and waxes, to tailor-made qualities and Norevos professional range of Confectionery Performers, we offer natural products and functional ingredients along with technological know-how, development support and technical assistance.NOREVO GmbHVolckersstrasse 14-2022765 Hamburg (Germany)Felicitas OltroggeTel.+49 40 535959-0contact@norevo.de
Product Launch: End pieces for piezo actuator plate stacks for easy integration

Noliac introduces end pieces for piezo actuator plate stacks

http://www.noliac.com/products/actuators/plate-stacks/

Noliac introduces end pieces with a spherical cap for piezo actuator plate stacks. The end piece facilitates integration in the application for the customer.Providing de-coupling and increasing robustnessThe end piece with a spherical cap prevents undesired coupling between subsystems. For example, if the actuator is driving a flexure-guided stage, the end pieces prevent the actuator from inducing unwanted stress in the flexures, and vice-versa. Adding end pieces to an actuator plate stack also increases the robustness of the actuator, since the stainless steel of the end piece can tolerate higher stress concentrations compared to the ceramic. This end piece is also UHV compatible. The added thickness provided by the end piece is also an effective way of spreading the load on the actuator.Expanding our options to match your requirementsOur options are designed to make the integration of the piezo actuators in the specific applications easier for our customers. We constantly review our options and look for ways to expand the range in order to offer the most extensive selection of options for our customers.Product rangeAt present, we offer the end piece with these 3 square sections: 5x5 mm, 7x7 mm and 10x10 mm. These products are compatible with:5x5 mm:NAC2003-Hxx, NAC2013-Hxx, NAC6025-Hxx7x7 mm:NAC2014-Hxx, NAC2021-Hxx, NAC5021-Hxx10x10 mm:NAC2015-Hxx, NAC2022-Hxx, NAC5022-HxxFeatures of the end piece for actuator plate stacksUHV compatibleLow-magnetic (stainless steel)Spreads the loadProvides de-couplingCompact designRead more about the actuator plate stacks and end pieces atNoliac presents a unique proficiency in the field of piezoelectric technology. We design, develop and manufacture the total range of piezoelectric products - from powders to mono- and multilayer components and all the way to finished plug-and-play applications.Noliac A/SHejreskovvej 18DK-3490 KvistgaardDenmarkAtt.: Lotte Beck
Helens Bay Dental Practice - Bangor

www.helensbaydental.co.uk

Dental implantsGareth, Lidia and Sarah work closely together to provide high quality dental implants and, between them, they have over 80 years of private dentistry experience. Lidia has placed thousands of implants (around 6000!), and here at Helens Bay, we have placed and restored just under 2000 implants since the year 2000. Lidia and Gareth have travelled far and wide to attend training courses in surgical and restorative areas. They have also both trained and mentored dentists in Ireland, regarding the placing of Biomet 3i and Nobel Biocare implants. Our experienced trio are ably supported by the hygiene department, our dental nurses and our treatment coordinator.We have a Cone Beam CT scanner for effective treatment planning and, in some cases, we can use CEREC technology to design and fabricate the crown that is fitted to the implant. In 2012, we received training on the All on 4 technique at the Malo clinic in Portugal - this procedure offers a swift route to a brand new smile as a patient can have non-restorable teeth removed, implants placed and a set of replacement teeth fitted within just 24 hours. Reassuringly, we also guarantee our dental implants for ten years and implant restorations for five years.Looking for a new dentist?We provide General, Specialist and Cosmetic Dentistry, as well as various orthodontic options to straighten teeth. We are continually developing our practice to ensure we offer our patients the best possible service.T: 02891 851 221E: info@helensbaydental.co.ukW:Our practiceBased in Bangor, Northern Ireland, our team of dentists are committed to delivering high quality care in comfortable, relaxed surroundings. Our aim is treat all our patients as individuals and, by providing the very best dental care, help them to protect and maintain their teeth.1b Station Square, Helens Bay, Bangor, County Down, BT19 1TN, Northern Ireland
Earthmoving Equipment Market: Facts, Figures and Analytical Insights 2015 to 2021

http://www.persistencemarketresearch.com/samples/3723

http://www.persistencemarketresearch.com/toc/3723

Earthmoving equipment is referred to heavy equipment (heavy-duty vehicles designed specially for executing construction operation, mostly which involves earthwork operation). These heavy equipments are used in the construction industry to move large amounts of earth or to dig foundations and landscape areas. Earthmoving equipments are known with different name in different region such as heavy trucks, heavy machines, construction equipment, engineering equipment, heavy vehicles and heavy hydraulics. Earthmoving equipment operates through the mechanical advantage of a simple machine where the ratio between input force applied and force exerted is multiplied. Most earthmoving equipment uses hydraulic drives as a primary source of motion. Technically skilled worker are able to operate heavy equipment, these individuals are provided with special training before they operate any heavy equipments.Use For sample: Thinking about report: Please observe the beneath the hyperlinks to satisfy your necessities; Request for the Report sample:On the bases of operation performed by the machine the global earthmoving equipments market can be bifurcated into excavators (compact excavator, dredging, dragline excavator, front shovel and others), loaders (skip loader and wheel loader), construction tractors and others (grader, scraper, track loader, material handler and others). Earthmoving equipments are majorly applied in the construction industry (private or government). Other major application of earthmoving equipments includes mining, digging and other heavy duty work. Construction industry is expected to maintain its dominance in the global earthmoving equipment market.Asia-Pacific has the largest market share for earthmoving equipment accounting for more than two fifth of the global earthmoving equipments market, followed by Europe and North America. China leads the global earthmoving equipments market. Asia-Pacific region is expected to maintain its dominance in the forecasted period. Europe and North America region are expected to witness average growth in the coming future. Global recession hampered the construction industries particularly in the western countries. But the industry is expected to show growth in the coming future helping the global earthmoving equipments market.Growth in the construction industry after the global recession is driving the global earthmoving equipments market. Additionally, increasing urban population demands for better dueling facilities proving growth opportunity for the construction industry, which in turn increases the demand for heavy machines including earthmoving equipments especially in the developing countries such as India and China. According to the 2009 revision of World Urbanization Prospect, the level of urbanization in the world crossed the 50% mark in 2009. According to the United Nations, urban population is expected to increase from 3.4 billion in 2009 to 6.3 billion in 2050. Also, governments and private sectors across the globe are investing in better infrastructure facilities. Construction of roads, residential buildings, healthcare centers and educational institutes is expected to increase the demand for earthmoving equipments to some extent. For infrastructure development, the U.K governments public sector investment is expected to rise by USD 4.9 billion to about USD 77.7 billion in 2013-14 over 2012-13. It is further expected to increase to about USD 83.0 billion in 2014-15.Use For to: Request TOC (desk of content material), Figures and Tables of the report:Increasing investment for improvement of infrastructure facilities in the countries governments and private sector are investing heavily in the construction industries, providing growth opportunity for the manufacturers to invest more in the global earthmoving equipment market. Some of the major players operating in the global earthmoving equipments market are Atlas Copco, Bobcat Company, Bharat Earth Movers Limited, Ingersoll Rand, CASE, New Holland and Track Marshall.About UsPersistence Market Research (PMR) is a third-platform research firm. Our research model is a unique collaboration of data analytics and market research methodology to help businesses achieve optimal performance.To support companies in overcoming complex business challenges, we follow a multi-disciplinary approach. At PMR, we unite various data streams from multi-dimensional sources. By deploying real-time data collection, big data, and customer experience analytics, we deliver business intelligence for organizations of all sizes.ContactPersistence Market Research305 Broadway7th Floor, New York City,NY 10007, United States,USA - Canada Toll Free: 800-961-0353Email: sales@persistencemarketresearch.com
Cold Chain Market (3PL service provider): Quantitative Market analysis, Current and Future Trends to 2020

http://www.persistencemarketresearch.com/samples/3177

http://www.persistencemarketresearch.com/toc/3177

Cold chain involves proper logistic planning of temperature sensitive products through thermal and refrigerated packaging methods. The application of cold chain is mainly applied to chilled and frozen foods to increase their self-life and maintain quality standard for long duration of time. Cold chain specifically helps in maintaining the bio-chemical and physical properties of the frozen foods and regulating market price in off-season. It also helps to prevent the product from loss and reduce the waste, which ultimately increases the overall income of manufacturer or producer.Use For sample: Thinking about report: Please observe the beneath the hyperlinks to satisfy your necessities; Request for the Report sample:After economic slowdown in 2010, many big players increased the investment on frozen food industry, which leads to directly impacted overall cold chain market. Use of cold chain involves in many industries such as fruits & vegetables, bakery, confectionery, dairy, frozen desserts, fish, meat and seafood. In order to maintain these food fresh for long run, there need a proper cold chain logistics system. This leads to helps in the growth of cold chain market across the globe.The global cold chain market is growing with a high potential. North America is the largest market for cold chain. The growth in demand of frozen chilled and frozen foods in western counties triggered the cold chain market in North America. Increasing demand of daily products, vegetables and fruits heading towards more export form one reason to another. This has also led to boost the cold chain market. Various initiatives taken by the government affect the cold chain market in Asia Pacific region. Indian government has decided to open mega food parks, which require temperature controlled vehicles and temperature-controlled warehouses. Government also allowed 100% FDI in cold chain industry. This leads boost to cold chain market in Asia Pacific. . In Europe, Germany is one of the largest markets due to the increased consumption of frozen foods.Use For to: Request TOC (desk of content material), Figures and Tables of the report:Major companies operating in global frozen bakery market include, Americold Logistics, Burris Logistics, Cloverleaf Cold Storage, Conestoga Cold Storage, Congebec Inc., Dev Bhumi Cold Chain Limited, Fresh And Healthy Enterprises Ltd, Gati Kwe Ltd, Hanson Logistics, Henningsen Cold Storage Co, Interstate Cold Storage Inc., Snowman Logistics Ltd and Trenton Cold Storage Inc.About UsPersistence Market Research (PMR) is a third-platform research firm. Our research model is a unique collaboration of data analytics and market research methodology to help businesses achieve optimal performance.To support companies in overcoming complex business challenges, we follow a multi-disciplinary approach. At PMR, we unite various data streams from multi-dimensional sources. By deploying real-time data collection, big data, and customer experience analytics, we deliver business intelligence for organizations of all sizes.ContactPersistence Market Research305 Broadway7th Floor, New York City,NY 10007, United States,USA - Canada Toll Free: 800-961-0353Email: sales@persistencemarketresearch.com
Demand for Liquefied Natural Gas on the Rise Due to Environmental Benefits, Ease of Handling

http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/sample/sample.php?flag=S&rep_id=484

http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com

Natural gas causes half the amount of pollution as that of coal for power generation, which makes it an increasingly popular energy source. In the liquid state, natural gas can be stored and transported over long distances, which contributes to expanding the supply and enhance energy security in the long run. Liquefied natural gas accounts as the main alternative to piped gas for regions or countries that are not connected by pipelines.The liquefied natural gas (LNG) industry though relatively new, now is an indispensable part of the global energy market, says a new report from Transparency Market Research. Liquefied natural gas trade has increased exponentially in the last two decades and is expected to double in the forthcoming years.Q. How economical is the use of LNG in place of natural gas?A. The use of LNG in place of piping natural gas has high-cost implications. This is mainly related to the special terminals required for the liquefaction and regasification processes. The construction of specialty infrastructure is very expensive, which is the reason for their limited number across the world. According to the International Gas Union, currently only 28 countries across the world have regasification terminals, although some more are under development.Q. What is the demand scenario of LNG in Europe?A. The LNG market in Europe is characterized by decline in the domestic consumption and an even more rapid decline in domestic production. Due to the recent economic slump, the region is largely dependent on imports, which is likely to increase in the near term and in the long term. Other than this, the recent drop in gas prices complemented with their abundant supply and a weak global economy has led to the diversion of LNG supplies to Europe.View exclusive Global strategic Business report :As per the estimates of the International Energy Agency and the European Commission, this trend is expected to continue in the forthcoming years. The emergence of new LNG suppliers and the increasing probability of U.S. shale gas being exported as LNG will further reshape the energy landscape in Europe.Q. What are the advantages of LNG in the industrial sector?A. The use of LNG as an operational fuel across a host of industries offers numerous advantages. Industrial processes require significantly large quantities of distillate fuels, thus the transition from conventional fuels to LNG can help in significant capital saving for industries. The use of LNG for various industrial equipment such as drilling equipment, mining equipment, and industrial boilers is cost-effective and is emission-free. In many parts of the world, governmental regulations mandate the use of LNG in the industrial sector to curb greenhouse gas emissions.Q. How has the Panama Canal Expansion Program benefitted LNG trade?A. In a significant industry development, the U.S. has shipped its first LNG cargo via the expanded Panama Canal. The use of this canal has reduced the distance between export plants located along the Gulf of Mexico and Asia from 16,000 miles to 9,000 miles. The Maran Gas Apollnia tanker of Royal Dutch Shell that was loaded at the Sabine Pass LNG export plant of Cheniere Energy located in Louisiana is scheduled to arrive at the Panama Canal on July 25, 2016. This opening of this trade route will add a new dimension to the LNG export capacity of the U.S.About UsTransparency Market Research (TMR) is a global market intelligence company providing business information reports and services. The companys exclusive blend of quantitative forecasting and trend analysis provides forward-looking insight for thousands of decision makers. TMRs experienced team of analysts, researchers, and consultants use proprietary data sources and various tools and techniques to gather and analyze information.TMRs data repository is continuously updated and revised by a team of research experts so that it always reflects the latest trends and information. With extensive research and analysis capabilities, Transparency Market Research employs rigorous primary and secondary research techniques to develop distinctive data sets and research material for business reports.ContactTransparency Market ResearchTel: +1-518-618-1030USA - Canada Toll Free: 866-552-3453Email: sales@transparencymarketresearch.comWebsite:
Valuation of GCC Air Purifiers Market to reach US$ 82.2 Mn by 2020

http://www.futuremarketinsights.com/reports/sample/rep-gc-614

http://www.futuremarketinsights.com/reports/details/gcc-air-purifiers-market

http://www.futuremarketinsights.com/askus/rep-gc-614

www.futuremarketinsights.com

Although considered as a luxury, demand for air purifiers is steadily growing in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), according to Future Market Insights (FMI) new research report, Air Purifiers Market: GCC Industry Analysis and Opportunity Assessment 2014-2020. FMI projects the GCC air purifiers market to reach US$ 85.2 Mn by 2020.In a survey conducted by FMI with air purifier manufacturers and distributors/retailers around the world, nearly 80% of respondents indicated that the HEPA technology will expand at an annual growth rate of 5%-10% between 2015 and 2020. The respondents also believed that brand value and purification capacity were the most important features that buyers looked for while purchasing an air purifier.A majority of respondents in FMIs survey on air purifiers market in GCC were of the view that single-point retail outlet accounted for 0%-20% of the total air purifier sales in GCC. Air purifier sales through shopping malls were estimated to be between 41% and 60% by the respondents.According to the respondents, increasing pollution and health-related problems were the key factors fuelling the demand for air purifiers in GCC. A majority of the respondents were of the view that growing per capita income will have a moderate impact on the sales of air purifiers in GCC.The key players in the GCC air purifiers market include Sharp Corporation, LG Electronics, Samsung Electronics, Hitachi Ltd., and Panasonic Corporation.Request Free Report Sample@Sharp Corporation is marketing its air purifiers to consumers in UAE, Kuwait, and Qatar markets. Sharp is using its patented PlasmaCluster Ion Technology and incorporating it in different home appliances, including air purifiers.LG Electronics, in collaboration with Saudi Arabia-based Al-Hassan Ghazi Ibrahim Shaker Co. recently launched a new range of air purifiers with five-stage filtration system. LG air purifiers in UAE are sold through AL Yosuf Electronics. The company has also made its products available on shopping websites, such as Carrefour UAE and SharafDG UAE.Samsung Electronics operates in GCC through its home appliances sales group, Samsung Gulf Electronics. The business strategy of Samsung is aimed at collaboration and partnering with prominent local players to capture a larger share of the market.Browse full report, "Air Purifiers Market: GCC Industry Analysis and Opportunity Assessment 2014 - 2020" Market Research Report at,Demand for air purifiers is robust in Saudi Arabia and UAE. According to FMIs analysis, these two countries collectively hold a share of over 60% of the GCC air purifiers market in 2014. FMI projects these two countries to account for bulk of the demand for air purifiers during the forecast period.Saudi Arabia & UAE Account for Bulk of the DemandThe Saudi Arabia air purifiers market, valued at US$ 14.85 Mn in 2014, is anticipated to be worth US$ 41.33 Mn by 2020. The key factors fuelling the demand for air purifiers in Saudi Arabia include focus on medical tourism and increased investment in infrastructure activities.The UAE air purifiers market is expected to be worth US$ 26.10 Mn by 2020. Like Saudi Arabia, UAE is projected to develop its medical infrastructure in a bid to develop non-oil based sectors. Owing to the focus on medical tourism, construction of a number of hospitals is in the pipeline. FMI opines these factors to provide an impetus to the air purifiers market in UAE.Speak To Analyst@The air purifiers market in rest of GCC (Oman, Kuwait, Bahrain, and Qatar) is projected to reach a valuation of US$ 17.79 Mn. According to FMI, the air purifiers market in these countries is still at a nascent stage, and it will take a while before they are adopted on a large scale.About Us:Future Market Insights is the premier provider of market intelligence and consulting services, serving clients in over 150 countries. FMI is headquartered in London, the global financial capital, and has delivery centres in the U.S. and India.Contact Us:Future Market Insights616 Corporate Way,Suite 2-9018,Valley Cottage,New York 10989,United StatesTel: +1-347-918-3531Fax: +1-845-579-5705Email: sales@futuremarketinsights.comWebsite:
Wet Earth - Presenting Clients with the Best Wet Earth Mining & Dust Control Solutions

http://www.wetearth.com.au

Wet Earth is an experienced setup, presenting clients worldwide with an assortment of superior irrigation products at reasonable prices. It has rendered customers with a full range of 360-degree solutions through offering them articulate dust control products. Besides presenting customers with the choicest of mainstream products in irrigation, Wet Earth has assisted customers in rendering them to cope with day-to-day problems by imparting them with expertise in irrigation and reticulation. The company has a robust framework that efficiently caters to large company networks in the global sphere. It hones one of the finest logistics support and delivery system to render its client base with speedy delivery.The key area of tasks undertaken by Wet Earth is presenting customers with the best product variants for evaporating waste water, controlling mine dust, and general mine water and spray systems. Wet Earth is globally renowned for its profound Mine Dust control solutions. All its products are extremely affordable and efficient in use. The theory of controlling mine dust involves dust accumulated through ground mining in many ways. To arrest this problem, Wet Earth has special solutions to eradicate majority of dust sources in mining. The company has large Fog Cannons being used to target the point sources of dust caused by mining. The use of draglines and shovels cause a lot of dust to be accumulated on land. To eradicate this nuisance, Wet Earth has rendered clients with its superlative FC150 and FC250 units that can be used in all practicality, thus offering a chance to its users to mitigate the effects of wind on their performance. Fog Cannons can suppress the dust and fumes, and can reduce the propagation of the blast wave with the use of a special additive, DustWorx.Wet Earth is renowned for offering optimal solutions to control Haul Road Dust. As such, the company has been consistent in periodically spraying the road with water carts through the adoption of specialty Haul Road Dust control chemicals. Wet Earth has been instrumental in imparting expertise to customers to use a large range of chemicals for arresting dust suppression. Specialised products from Wet Earth not only curb dust but also improve road structure to reduce water truck and water usage. Its DustWorx and Zero are high acclaimed formulations that have presented clients with new modes to achieve instant results in suppressing dust using very low application rates. The DustWorx formulation reduces watering frequency by 50%, ultimately reducing the usage of water by 75%. This formulation from Wet Earth has also reduced road maintenance requirements through increased road compaction and strength caused by its systematic use.Zero is an environmentally friendly Synthetic Organic formulation that coats the fines and binds them to the road surface. In just a single application, 100% dust can be eradicated without the need to have the roads regularly watered. This formulation is ideal for car parks, storage yards, and roads. Visitfor further queries.Wet Earth is a recognised setup that has been in operation since 2003. The company has been instrumental in guiding widespread businesses on the global frontier through use of specialised dust control solutions. The company has always remained brand independent, however has presented clients with the best formulations to arrest the problem of dust accumulation.4 Innisfree DriveWodonga, VICAustraliaPhone : +61 2 6062 3300
Global Organic Food Market Size, Analysis of Major Manufacturers Production , Cost Structure, Marketing Trader, Consumption, segment, players, investment projects, statistics 2016-2021

Organic Food

http://www.qyresearchgroup.com/market-analysis/global-organic-food-market-2016-industry-trends-sales.html

http://goo.gl/VLyZ4A

http://www.qyresearchgroup.com

Global Organic Food Industry 2016The Global Organic Food Industry report gives a comprehensive account of the Global Organic Food market. Details such as the size, key players, segmentation, SWOT analysis, most influential trends, and business environment of the market are mentioned in this report. Furthermore, this report features tables and figures that render a clear perspective of the Organic Food market. The report features an up-to-date data on key companies product details, revenue figures, and sales. Furthermore, the details also gives the Global Organic Food market revenue and its forecasts. The business model strategies of the key firms in the Organic Food market are also included. Key strengths, weaknesses, and threats shaping the leading players in the market have also been included in this research report.The report gives a detailed overview of the key segments in the market. The fastest and slowest growing market segments are covered in this report. The key emerging opportunities of the fastest growing Global Organic Food market segments are also covered in this report. Each segments and sub-segments market size, share, and forecast are available in this report. Additionally, the region-wise segmentation and the trends driving the leading geographical region and the emerging region has been presented in this report.Get Complete Report with TOC :The study on the Global Organic Food market also features a history of the tactical mergers, acquisitions, collaborations, and partnerships activity in the market. Valuable recommendations by senior analysts about investing strategically in research and development can help new entrants or established players penetrate the emerging sectors in the Organic Food market. Investors will gain a clear insight on the dominant players in this industry and their future forecasts. Furthermore, readers will get a clear perspective on the high demand and the unmet needs of consumers that will enhance the growth of this market.Table of ContentChapter One Organic Food Industry Overview1.1 Organic Food Definition1.1.1 Organic Food Definition1.1.2 Product Specifications1.2 Organic Food Classification1.3 Organic Food Application Field1.4 Organic Food Industry Chain Structure1.5 Organic Food Industry Regional Overview1.6 Organic Food Industry Policy Analysis1.7 Organic Food Industry Related Companies Contact InformationGet Sample Copy of Report @About Us:QYResearch Group is a single destination for all the industry, company and country reports. QYResearch Group also carries the capability to assist you with your customized market research requirements including in-depth market surveys, primary interviews, competitive landscaping, and company profiles. We feature large repository of latest industry reports, leading and niche company profiles, and market statistics. QYResearch Group is the comprehensive collection of market intelligence products and services available on air.Contact US:Joel John3422 SW 15 Street, Suit #8138,Deerfield Beach, Florida 33442,United StatesTel: +1-386-310-3803GMT Tel: +49-322 210 92714USA/Canada Toll Free No. 1-855-465-4651Web:
Telecom Billing and Revenue Management Market is Projected to grow at a CAGR of 10.7% to reach US $25.27 Billion by 2025 - The Insight Partners

The Insight Partners

http://www.theinsightpartners.com/reports/telecom-billing-and-revenue-management-market

http://www.theinsightpartners.com/sample/TIPTE100000103

http://www.theinsightpartners.com/discount/TIPTE100000103

The Telecom Billing and Revenue Market to 2025  Global Analysis and Forecasts by Solution (Billing and Charging Software, Fraud Management Software, Mediation Software, Revenue, Partner and Interconnects Management Software, Assurance Software), Services (Managed Services, Consulting Services, Operations Services, System Integration Services), and Deployment Types (On-premise Deployment, Cloud-based Deployment, Hybrid Deployment) report provides a detailed overview of the major factors impacting the global market with the market share analysis and revenues of various sub segments.Browse market data tables and in-depth TOC of the Telecom Billing and Revenue Management Market to 2025 @Early buyers will receive 10% customization on reports.The global telecom billing and revenue management market was valued at US $9.27 billion in 2015. The market of telecom billing and revenue management is expected to grow at a CAGR of 10.7% between 2016 and 2025, to reach US $25.27 Billion in 2025.The telecom billing and revenue management market is bifurcated on the basis of solution, services and deployment type, the solution segment is further divided on the basis of Billing and Charging Software, Mediation Software, Fraud Management Software, Revenue Assurance Software, Partner and Interconnects Management Software. Services segment is further divided on the basis of managed services, consulting services and operations services, and system integration services. The market is further classified on the basis of deployment model into cloud-based deployment, on-premise deployment and hybrid deployment.The billing and charging software segment had the largest share of the global telecom billing and revenue management market by solution types in 2015, whereas the revenue assurance software segment is expected to grow at the highest CAGR of 12.2% between 2016 and 2025.In the deployment model segments on-premise deployment holds the major share of the telecom billing and revenue management market in 2015, whereas the cloud based deployment segment is anticipated to grow at the highest CAGR between 2016 and 2025.Request for Free Sample @The geographic classification included in this report are North America (NA), Asia-Pacific (APAC), Europe (EU), South America (SAM) and Middle East & Africa (MEA).China dominate the telecom billing and revenue management market in Asia Pacific (APAC) in 2015 and is expected to continue its supremacy by growing at a CAGR of 12.5% during the period of 2016 to 2025. Increasing demand for advanced billing and revenue management solutions in the telecom market is driving the growth in the telecom billing and revenue management industry. Moreover, there is a rise in demand for cloud services, on-cloud deployment of solutions and services is rising as one of the prominent options in comparison to on premise deployment.The major companies operating in the telecom billing and revenue management market include Accenture PLC (US), Alcatel-Lucent S.A. (France), Amdocs, Inc. (US), CERILLION PLC (UK), CSG Systems International, Inc. (US), Ericsson (Sweden), go Transverse International, Inc. (US), Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P (US), Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd. (China), NEC Corporation (Japan), Oracle Corporation (US), Redknee, Inc. (Canada), SAP SE (Germany), XURA (US).Avail discount on full report @About The Insight Partners:The Insight Partners is a one stop industry research provider of actionable intelligence. We help our clients in getting solutions to their research requirements through our syndicated and consulting research services. We are a specialist in Technology, Media, and Telecommunication industries.Contact Us:Call: +1-646-491-9876Email: sales@theinsightpartners.comThe Insight Partners is a one stop industry research provider of actionable intelligence. We help our clients in getting solutions to their research requirements through our syndicated and consulting research services. We are a specialist in Technology, Media, and Telecommunication industries.505, 6th floor, Amanora Township,Amanora Chambers, East Block,Kharadi Road, Hadapsar, Pune-411028
Software as a Service Market is Estimated to Reach US$ 418.92 Bn by 2025- The Insight Partners

The Insight Partners

http://www.theinsightpartners.com/reports/software-as-a-service-saas-market

http://www.theinsightpartners.com/sample/TIPTE100000113

http://www.theinsightpartners.com/discount/TIPTE100000113

According to a new market research study titled Software as a Service Market to 2025  Global Analysis and Forecasts by Deployment Model, Applications and End-user, the value of global software as a service market in 2015 was US$ 34.78 Bn and is estimated to reach US$ 418.92 Bn by 2025. The report brings to light the factors prevalent in the global SaaS market and the factors boosting the market along with the restraining factors for the same.Browse Complete TOC on Software as a Service (SaaS) Market to 2025 @The global software as a service market was estimated at US$ 34.78 Bn in 2015. This market is expected to grow at a CAGR of 28.3% between 2016 and 2025, to reach US$ 418.92 Bn in the year 2025.Using applications via a web browser and handling it remotely reduces the concerns of maintenance and other costs but it transfers the control of applications to the third party vendor. In Software as a Service model, any organization who wants to use an application, uses it on a third party basis. Sometimes security concerns are raised by organizations with the power being in the hands of the SaaS vendor especially in cases of mission critical applications. This totally depends on the comfort level of the organization whether it is willing to use software which are controlled by a third party vendor or deploy an on-premise software model. Security concerns are always a troublesome for an organization. Identity and access management always become a critical issue while entrusting control to a third party vendor for company sensitive data and business processes.Concerns regarding the privacy and security of data have been one of the biggest factor that has refrained organizations from adopting the SaaS solutions. Companies with mission critical data have preferred the traditional on-premise legacy systems to manage their data. Enhanced data protection for such mission critical and sensitive data would be a differentiating factor for SaaS vendors. This differentiation would serve as a huge opportunity for large organizations to adopt SaaS-based solutions and further strengthen its market.Request for Free Sample @In the current scenario, the public cloud model leads the market and it is preferred by many small organizations that do not have stringent security and data privacy issues. Larger organizations prefer the private or hybrid cloud deployment model for their mission critical applications. Private cloud models are relatively costly when compared to the public cloud models and hence require significant investments. To attract more number of large organizations for SaaS adoption, enhancing data security as per their requirements can attract more investments and result in the proliferation of the technology at a much quicker rate.Overall the software as a service market has been segmented on the basis of deployment models, the applications and on the basis of end users they cater to and geographical segmentation. Private cloud, public cloud and hybrid cloud are the deployment models into which this market has been segmented. Additionally, on the basis of applications, the global software as a service market is segmented into Customer Relationship Management (CRM), Human Resource Management (HRM), Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP), Supply Chain Management (SCM) and others. On the basis of end-users the global software as a service market is segmented into Small and Medium sized enterprises, Large Scale Enterprises and Government. Geographically, the market is segmented into North America, Asia Pacific (APAC), Europe, South America (SAM) and Middle East & Africa (MEA).Avail Discounts on report purchase @Currently, Software as a Service model has seen significant adoption by large organizations. SaaS has various applications for larger enterprises such as the horizontal SaaS caters to the needs of a particular community of all organizations. A company hiring these solutions (HRM, SCM, CRM and ERP) via the SaaS vendor can benefit to a great extent while maintaining the privacy of their own data. This allows the companies to focus on their core business.In 2015, SMEs led the software as a service market globally and are expected to dominate during the entire forecast period from 2016-2025. Many SMEs from APAC region particularly, India and China have adopted SaaS solutions. The report profiles key players such as ADP LLC, SAP SE, Symantec Corporation, IBM Corporation, Amazon.com, Google, Inc., Microsoft Corporation, Oracle Corporation, Inc., Fujitsu Limited and Workday, Inc.About The Insight Partners:The Insight Partners is a one stop industry research provider of actionable intelligence. We help our clients in getting solutions to their research requirements through our syndicated and consulting research services. We are a specialist in Technology, Media, and Telecommunication industries.Contact Us:Call: +1-646-491-9876Email: sales@theinsightpartners.comAbout The Insight Partners:The Insight Partners is a one stop industry research provider of actionable intelligence. We help our clients in getting solutions to their research requirements through our syndicated and consulting research services. We are a specialist in Technology, Media, and Telecommunication industries.505, 6th floor, Amanora Township,Amanora Chambers, East Block,Kharadi Road, Hadapsar, Pune-411028
Butyl Rubber Market - Global Industry Perspective, Comprehensive Analysis and Forecast, 2015  2021

http://www.zionmarketresearch.com/report/butyl-rubber-market

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Butyl rubber is a synthetic rubber or polymer and possesses unique physical and chemical properties. Butyl rubber is denoted as IIR in abbreviation which stands for isobutylene isoprene rubber. Butyl rubber is a copolymer of isobutylene with isoprene. In manufacturing process of butyl rubber the percentage of isoprene is very less compared to isobutylene. Butyl rubber is used in tires, sealants, and adhesives. Various qualities of butyl rubber include high flexibility, air tight and gas impermeability (specific), good vibration damper, biocompatibility, good weathering, heat, and chemical resistance.Browse Full Report @Butyl rubber has widespread applications in tubes and tire industry due to its enhanced damping property. Rising application in construction, healthcare, and consumer product are supporting the growth of butyl rubber market. Further, growing demand for butyl rubber for roof repairing and damp proofing and application of food grade butyl rubber as a chewing base are further expected to stimulate the growth of butyl rubber in coming years. However, fluctuating raw material prices and availability of substitutes may restrict the growth of the market. Nonetheless, demand of butyl rubber as a binding agent in explosives is increasing significantly. It can be added to diesel fuel in order to resist fouling of fuel injectors.The report covers forecast and analysis for the butyl rubber market on a global and regional level. The study provides historic data of 2015 along with a forecast from 2016 to 2021 based on revenue (USD million). In order to give the users of this report a comprehensive view on the butyl rubber market, we have included a detailed value chain analysis. Study also covers Porters Five Forces model, which offers an insights view and intensity of competition within the market. The report also analyzes several driving and restraining factors and their impact on the market during the forecast period. The study encompasses a market attractiveness analysis, wherein application segments are benchmarked based on their market size, growth rate and general attractiveness.The study provides a decisive view of the butyl rubber market on the basis of type, application and region. In term of type, the market segmented into regular butyl rubber and halogenated butyl rubber. On the basis of application, the butyl rubber market categorized into tires and tubes, adhesives & sealants, automotive mechanical component, pharmaceutical & healthcare, consumer products and others (industrial etc.).Major regional segments analyzed in this study include North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Latin America, and Middle East and Africa. In Asia Pacific, China is expected to witness significant growth over the coming years.Key players profiled in the report includes Reliance Industries Ltd.(India), ExxonMobil Chemical (U.S.), Lanxess AG (Germany), Japan Butyl Company (Japan), Yanhua Petrochemical Company (China), Togliattikauchuk Ltd (Russia), Nizhnekamskneftekhim JSC (Russia), Timco Rubber (U.S.), and Kiran Rubber Industries Pvt. Ltd.(India) among others.Request Sample Report @The report segments of global butyl rubber market as follows:Butyl Rubber Market: Type Segment AnalysisRegular butyl rubberHalogenated butyl rubberButyl Rubber Market: Application Segment AnalysisTyres and tubesAdhesives & sealantsAutomotive mechanical componentPharmaceutical & healthcareConsumer productsOthers (industrial etc.).Butyl Rubber Market: Regional Segment AnalysisNorth AmericaEuropeAsia PacificLatin AmericaMiddle East & AfricaZion Market Research is a single destination for all the industry, company and country reports. We feature large repository of latest industry reports, leading and niche company profiles, and market statistics released by reputed private publishers and public organizations. Zion Market Research is the comprehensive collection of market intelligence products and services available on air. We have market research reports from number of leading industry and update our collection daily to provide our clients with the instant online access to our database. With access to this database, our clients will be able to benefit from expert insights on global industries, products, and market trends.Contact US:4283, Express Lane, Suite 634-143,Sarasota, Florida 34249, United StatesTel: +1-386-310-3803 GMTTel: +49-322 210 92714USA/Canada Toll Free No.1-855-465-4651Email: sales@zionmarketresearch.comWebsite:
Flight Tracking System Market Forecast and Segments, 2015-2025

http://www.futuremarketinsights.com/reports/sample/rep-gb-610

http://www.futuremarketinsights.com/toc/rep-gb-610

www.futuremarketinsights.com

Recent times, we have come across many incidents, in which, the air craft had gone missing, and it had not been able to track successfully. In 2014, Malaysian airlines flight MH370 disappeared and the tracking of the plane had become a challenge for the government for months. In last few months, the flight tracking system has improved. Across the globe, airlines are investing in the infrastructure advancements for accommodating number of solutions for flight tracking system.Satellite tracking technology has been in use for tracking aircrafts for more than 20 years. Satellite tracking system gave an ultimate solution to the flight tracking system with an apt size, weight and cost. Satellite services or antennae is integrated with the aircraft, this helps tracking of the flight easy and reliable. For example, company FLYHT has a product called as FLYHTStream tracking system, which requires installation of FLYHTs blue box. This systems provides voice and tracking capabilities for tracking the aircraft successfully.Flight Tracking System Market: Drivers and ChallengesGlobally, the demand for various flight safety and tracking system is growing, especially after a few mishaps. The integration of flight tracking system with the aircraft is fuelling the growth for the global flight tracking system market. International civil aviation organization (ICAO) has recommended to integrate the flight tracking system in the aircraft, due to which, in future, airlines are expected to integrate the flight tracking system in their aircrafts.Though, the importance of the flight tracking system is on the rise in developed economies, the system has low awareness among Asia Pacific countries. There are no stringent regulations pertaining to the integration of flight tracking system, which is inhibiting the growth of global flight tracking system market.Request Free Report Sample@Flight Tracking System Market: OverviewThe global flight tracking system market by value is expected to expand at a CAGR of around 7-9% during the forecast period (2015-2025), due to increasing demand for flight safety systems.Flight Tracking System Market: SegmentationThe global flight tracking system market can be segmented by aircraft type and by regionsBased on aircraft type, the global flight tracking system market is segmented as:Passenger FlightCargo AircraftDefence AircraftHelicopterOthersFlight Tracking System Market: Region-wise OutlookThe global flight tracking system market is expectedto register a single-digit CAGR for the forecast period. Depending on geographic regions, global flight tracking system market is segmentedinto seven key regions: North America, South America, Eastern Europe, Western Europe, Asia-Pacific, Japan, and Middle East & Africa. In terms of market revenue, North America flight tracking system market is projectedto register a significant CAGR during the forecast period. Growing awareness about flight tracking system, increasing investments by airline companies in aircraft safety, are some of the factors which are fuelling the growth of flight tracking system market in North America. Western Europe and Asia Pacific are also forecast to register a significant growth in the global flight tracking system market.Visit For TOC@Flight Tracking System Market: Key PlayersSome of the key market participants in global flight tracking system market are SkyTrac Systems Ltd, FlightStats, Spidertracks, Blue Sky Network, FLYHT, etc.About Us:Future Market Insights is the premier provider of market intelligence and consulting services, serving clients in over 150 countries. FMI is headquartered in London, the global financial capital, and has delivery centres in the U.S. and India.Contact Us:Future Market Insights616 Corporate Way,Suite 2-9018,Valley Cottage,New York 10989,United StatesTel: +1-347-918-3531Fax: +1-845-579-5705Email: sales@futuremarketinsights.comWebsite:
Facilities Management Market - Global Industry Analysis, Size, Share, Growth, Trends And Forecast 2016 - 2024

http://www.marketresearchreports.biz/analysis/759844

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This report provides an analysis of the global facilities management market for the period from 2016 to 2024, wherein the period from 2016 to 2024 comprises the forecast period and 2015 is the base year. Data for 2014 is provided as historical information. The report covers all the major trends and technologies playing a major role in the growth of the facilities management market over the forecast period. It also highlights various drivers, restraints, and opportunities expected to influence the markets growth during this period. The study provides a holistic perspective of the growth of the facilities management market throughout the forecast period in terms of revenue estimates (in US$ Bn), across Asia Pacific (APAC), Latin America (LATAM), North America, Europe, and Middle East & Africa (MEA). The report provides a cross-sectional analysis of the global facilities management market in terms of market estimates and forecasts for all the segments across different geographic regions.View Full Report atFacilities management involves the management and maintenance of support services across multiple industries. Facilities management services are used to enhance the quality of core business processes and increase the efficiency of service throughout entire service application. The demand for reduced operational cost of business processes is expected to drive the facilities management market around the globe. Similarly, important government regulations and standards impended on various industries and rising adoption of outsourced services for the maintenance and support of business processes are expected to drive the market for facilities management. In addition, with the increasing adoption of facilities management market many of the service providers are focusing on delivering customized facility services according to demand. Similarly, companies prefer total facilities management services and bundled facilities management services delivery systems to enhance the overall performance of services.On the basis of service type, the facilities management market is segmented into hard services and soft services. On the basis of industry, the facilities management market is segmented into the corporate, government and public sector, health care, manufacturing, residential and education institutions, retail and commercial, and others (food, sport, etc.) segments. The report also includes competitive profiling of the major players associated with the facilities management market. The important business strategies adopted by them, their market positioning, and recent developments have also been identified in the research report. The increasing demand for efficiency and quality of services have led to the increased presence of facilities management service providers in the market. The major players in facilities management market include Arthur McKay & Co Ltd., Bellrock Property & Facilities Management Ltd., Bilfinger HSG Facility Management GmbH, Broadspectrum (Australia) Pty Ltd., ISS World Services A/S, Knight Facilities Management, Quess Corp Ltd., Sodexo, Inc., and Spotless Group Ltd.Download Sample Copy of this Report atMarket SegmentationFacilities Management Market, By Service TypeHard ServicesSoft ServicesFacilities Management Market, By IndustryCorporateGovernment and Public SectorHealthcareManufacturingResidential and Education InstitutionsRetail and CommercialOthers (Food, Sport, etc.)In addition, the report provides market analysis of the facilities management market with respect to the following geographical segments:North AmericaThe U.S.CanadaEuropeUKGermanyFranceSpainItalyRest of EuropeAsia Pacific (APAC)ChinaJapanIndiaIndonesiaRest of APACMiddle East and Africa (MEA)UAESaudi ArabiaSouth AfricaRest of MEALatin AmericaBrazilRest of Latin AmericaMarketResearchReports.biz is the most comprehensive collection of market research reports. MarketResearchReports.Biz services are specially designed to save time and money for our clients. We are a one stop solution for all your research needs, our main offerings are syndicated research reports, custom research, subscription access and consulting services. We serve all sizes and types of companies spanning across various industries.State Tower90 State Street, Suite 700Albany, NY 12207United StatesTel: +1-518-621-2074Website:Email: sales@marketresearchreports.biz
New Drug Approvals to Drive Kidney Cancer Drugs Market to USD 5.2 Billion by 2020

http://www.ihealthcareanalyst.com/report/kidney-cancer-drugs-market/

http://www.ihealthcareanalyst.com

Kidney Cancer Drugs Market  Global Drug Types (Brand) and Clinical Pipeline Analysis and Forecast 2013-2020, estimates the global biomedical waste management services market to reach nearly USD 5.2 Billion in 2020, at a CAGR of 6.5% from 2016 to 2020 - iHealthcareAnalyst, Inc.Visit the Kidney Cancer Drugs Market  Global Drug Types (Brand) and Clinical Pipeline Analysis and Forecast 2013-2020 reportRenal cell carcinoma or kidney cancer drugs are often used as the first line of treatment against advanced kidney cancers. They can often shrink or slow the growth of the cancer for a time, but it doesnt seem that any of these drugs can actually cure kidney cancer. Several targeted drugs can be used to treat advanced kidney cancer. These drugs block angiogenesis (growth of the new blood vessels that nourish cancers) or important proteins in cancer cells (called tyrosine kinases) that help them grow and survive. The global kidney cancer drugs market report estimates the market size (Revenue USD million - 2013 to 2020) for key market segments based on the drug type (brand) such as Afinitor (everolimus), Avastin (bevacizumab), Inlyta (axitinib), Nexavar (sorafenib), Proleukin (aldesleukin), Sutent (sunitinib), Torisel (temsirolimus), Votrient (pazopanib), clinical phase 1, 2 and 3 drugs (AGS-003, Cabozantinib, Dovitinib, Keytruda, Opdivo) pipeline analysis, and forecasts growth trends (CAGR% - 2016 to 2020). It also provides the detailed market landscape and profiles of major competitors in the global market including company overview, financial snapshot, major products and services offered, and recent trends.The global biomedical waste management services market is segmented as:1. Brand Type1.1. Afinitor (Everolimus)1.2. Avastin (Bevacizumab)1.3. Inlyta (Axitinib)1.4. Nexavar (Sorafenib)1.5. Proleukin (Aldesleukin)1.6. Sutent (Sunitinib)1.7. Torisel (Temsirolimus)1.8. Votrient (Pazopanib)2. Clinical Pipeline Analysis (Phase 3 Drugs)2.1. AGS-0032.2. Cabozantinib (XL184)2.3. Dovitinib (TK1258)2.4. Keytruda (Anti PD 1) (Pembrolizumab)2.5. Opdivo (Nivolumab)3. Geography (Region, Country)3.1. North America (U.S., Canada)3.2. Latin America (Brazil, Mexico, Rest of LA)3.3. Europe (U.K., Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Rest of EU)3.4. Asia Pacific (Japan, China, India, Rest of APAC)3.5. Rest of the World4. Company Profiles4.1. Bayer AG4.2. Bristol-Myers Squibb4.3. F. Hoffmann-La Roche, Ltd.4.4. GlaxoSmithKline, plc.4.5. Merck & Co., Inc.)4.6. Novartis AG4.7. Pfizer, Inc.iHealthcareAnalyst, Inc. is a global health care market research and consulting company providing market analysis, and competitive intelligence services to global clients. The Company publishes syndicate, custom and consulting grade healthcare reports covering animal healthcare, biotechnology, clinical diagnostics, healthcare informatics, healthcare services, medical devices, medical equipment, and pharmaceuticals.iHealthcareAnalyst, Inc. provides industry participants and stakeholders with strategically analyzed, unbiased view of market dynamics and business opportunities within its coverage areas.Ana AitawaiHealthcareAnalyst, Inc.2109, Mckelvey Hill Drive,Maryland Heights, MO 63043United StatesPhone: (314) 736-9294.Email: sales@ihealthcareanalyst.com
Calsoft is attending Flash Memory Summit  2016

www.calsoftinc.com

Flash Memory Summit proves to the world that all data center technology should move to all-flash configuration. Therefore, most of the enterprises are using flash over data center today. Flash Summit is three days long event and packed with various educational sessions, however the main highlight of the events are NVMe and PCIe SSDs. Flash memory brings out various opportunities for the enthusiastic technologist, it offers wide platform where you can learn and educate yourself about the upcoming technologies.Flash Memory Summit unleash the latest technology trends, brings out the most important products in the constantly changing market of digital. It also features expert keynotes and qualified speakers from Micron, Samsung, Facebook, Toshiba, Huawei, SanDisk, EMC, Mangstor, SK Hynix, Nimbus Data, Marvell, Seagate, Crossbar, Microsemi and many more. The conference will also talk about the annual updates of the digital world, VC forum, Market Research sessions, performance testing results, etc.Calsoft has been attending Flash Memory Summit every year, similarly this year we will be attending the event at Santa Clara. Calsoft has massive interest in storage and the curiosity about the technology leads to events like this. This event is a great opportunity to meet like-minded people and learn more about the technologies, it gives us new horizon to excel in the digital world. We will be there and hope to see more technology enthusiastic at the event. To meet us at the event, write to us on marketing@calsoftinc.comAbout CalsoftCalsoft is a leading software product engineering Services Company specializing in Storage, Networking, Virtualization and Cloud business verticals. Calsoft provides End-to-End Product Development, Quality Assurance Sustenance, Solution Engineering and Professional Services expertise to assist customers in achieving their product development and business goals.100 Century Center Court,Suite 420,San Jose, California  95112United States
Strong Development Plan and Diversification of the Non-Oil Sector will Boost Economic Growth in the Oman Economy

Insights that Matter

www.lucintel.com

www.lucintel.com

www.lucintel.com

The Oman economy is dominated by industrial sector which contributed approximately 54.9% to the total GDP in 2015. Mining and quarrying is the major contributing sector with 21.2% of the countrys GDP. Oman is expected to start a number of large infrastructure projects, including the building of roads, trade and industrial centers, hospitals, and airports. Oman has the 9th (five year) Development Plan, which provides direction for prioritizing capital expenditure, encouraging private investment and creating jobs for nationals in the private sector. The Oman government has diversified the economy from oil sector to non-oil sector. The non-oil sectors such as retail sector, healthcare sector, education, residential housing, and banking and financial sector is expected to driver economic growth during the forecast period.Lucintel, a leading global management consulting and market research firm, has analyzed the political, economic, social, technological, legal, and environmental factors of Oman, and has come up with a comprehensive research report PESTLE Analysis of Oman 2016. This report provides an analysis of the Oman economy from historical, current, and future perspectives. SWOT analysis, forecast, scenario analysis, and risk analysis of Oman is also included in the report. The report also includes forecast of the economic growth through 2021.The report highlights various drivers and challenges which have influence on development decisions of the economy. Oman is considered to be one of the most democratic and liberal countries in the Middle Eastern region. Oman is a politically stable country which follows constitutional monarchy. Oman has the 25th largest oil reserves and the 27th largest natural gas reserves in the world. Oman has good international and regional relations; it has also strong international assessments of the business environment. Oman has the best equipped armed forces in the Gulf region. Oman armed forces have close ties with foreign armies and forces are frequently trained and briefed by the British Army. Industrial sector is the main sector, which is driving the economic growth of Oman. The country, however, is facing social challenges that include increasing crime rate, which is raising the level of corruption. Oman is highly dependent on its oil revenue, which is one of the main challenges. If oil prices decline, it directly affects the countrys GDP. The other challenge for Oman is low R&D investment.This 78-page research report will enable you to make confident business decisions in this globally competitive marketplace. For a detailed table of contents and pricing information on these timely, insightful reports, contact Lucintel at +1-972-636-5056 or via email at helpdesk@lucintel.com. Lucintel provides cutting-edge decision support services that facilitate critical decisions with greater speed, market insight, and cost efficiency. To learn more, visit. You can also contact us through Live Chat in its website to answer your questions in real time. Lucintel offerings include Strategic Growth Consulting, Commercial Due Diligence Report, Business Strategy Consulting, Industry/Market Analysis and Mergers & Acquisitions.About LucintelLucintel, the premier global management consulting and market research firm creates winning strategy for growthwhether you need to understand market dynamics, identify new opportunities, or increase your profitability. It offers market assessments, competitive analysis, opportunity analysis, growth consulting, M & A and due diligence services to executives and key decision-makers in a variety of industries. Over the last 15 years, Lucintel has served over 1,000 corporations in 70 countries. For further information, visitLucintel, the premier global management consulting and market research firm creates winning strategy for growthwhether you need to understand market dynamics, identify new opportunities, or increase your profitability. It offers market assessments, competitive analysis, opportunity analysis, growth consulting, M & A and due diligence services to executives and key decision-makers in a variety of industries. Over the last 15 years, Lucintel has served over 1,000 corporations in 70 countries. For further information, visitLucintel222 Las Colinas Blvd West, Suite 1650, Irving, TX 75039, USAPh: +1-972-636-5056 Fax: +1-877-883-5140marketing@lucintel.com
HMSiR  Fluorescent Probe for Live-Cell Super-Resolution Imaging

HMSiR for Live-Cell Super-Resolution Imaging

http://www.mobitec.com/cms/products/bio/07_fluores_tec/HMSiR_series.html

Super-resolution microscopy is a form of light microscopy that allows images to be taken with a higher resolution than the diffraction limit providing many new insights in cellular biology, allowing spatial resolution of down to about 20 nm.Due to the diffraction of light, the resolution of conventional light microscopy is limited. Super-resolution techniques allow images to be taken with a higher resolution than the diffraction limit providing many new insights in cellular biology. Direct stochastic optical reconstruction microscopy (dSTORM) is a super-resolution imaging technique that utilizes sequential activation and time-resolved localization of photoswitchable fluorophores to create high-resolution images, allowing spatial resolution of about 20 nm.The new released HMSiR series displays spontaneous blinking when it emits fluorescence. Unlike the emission of other probes - which show a constant fluorescence signal - this probe is flashing. Until now fluorophores did not blink by itself without the addition of additives. On the other hand, however, additives are interfering with live cell imaging. By using the HMSiR series super-resolution imaging is now possible without additives like thiols or oxygen scavengers. Furthermore, irradiation with high-power laser was necessary in previous dSTORM observations. This new probe enables live-cell super-resolution imaging with low-power excitation light retaining physiological conditions.Features: Imaging possible under physiological conditions HMSiR displays spontaneous blinking with low-power excitation light and without additives Overcoming the problems of dSTORM Performing super-resolution imaging without thiols or oxygen scavengers No high-power laser irradiation necessary Minimize cell damageFor details please see:GORYO Chemical is a Japan-based company spezialized in creating new fluorescent probes for life science applications. Further activites include custom synthesis of fluorescent probes and the development of diagnostic reagents with fluorescent probes.About MoBiTec GmbHMoBiTec GmbH (Goettingen, Germany) is a privately held company, founded in 1987, that offers research tools for molecular and cell biology. Products include DNA vectors for cloning and expression, cell transfection reagents and cell culture tools, immobilized and soluble enzymes, products for genomics and proteomics research, numerous antibodies and recombinant proteins, superior fluorescence reagents and kits, affinity chromatography products, as well as general laboratory equipment.In parallel to its own product lines, MoBiTec distributes products from international companies in Germany. MoBiTec products are distributed worldwide, in Germany from their home office, in other countries by distributors.MoBiTec GmbHArne SchulzLotzestr. 22a37083 Goettingen, Germany
Rosa Balfour, Francesca Fabbri and Richard Youngs (European Policy Centre)

The Arab Spring, which began in 2011, prompted the EU to provide significant support to the countries in the Middle East and North Africa. Its aim was the development of democracy, rule of law and good governance. Apart from the individual national governments, the EU also focused on aid for the groups operating at the local level. Thanks to these steps, the EU is institutionally, financially and conceptually better prepared to promote the process of democratization in the neighboring countries. A good example of this trend is the enhanced possibility to establish cooperation between EU representatives operating in the region with local organizations. However, it is far from certain that this approach will lead to the expected results.

In the context of the support for democratic transformation and the development of civil society, several problems have emerged. One of them was related to the funds that were used to channel the assistance to the region. The reason for their establishment was the need to reward states for pursuing national development in line with the EU recommendations. In reality, however, besides Tunisia, Morocco was also benefitting from these funds despite achieving significantly lower levels of progress. In contrast, although Egypt never received this support, this was never formally explained in the context of the negative developments in the country. The second example is a significant discrepancy between the original promises of the Union and the real volume of funds provided. The main causes have been especially problems during the actual implementation of the desired changes in these countries as well as the dramatic political upheavals that resulted in violence.

No activity associated with the support of policy reforms and the prevention of internal conflicts has ever demanded as many resources as the European Unions effort to deal with the migration crisis. A total of 15.4 billion EUR has been earmarked for the 16 countries in the Unions neighborhood between 2014 and 2020, out of which 18 percent should serve to democratization and the development of civil society. Only in 2015-2016, the Union is poised to spend 9.2 billion EUR to deal with the problems arising from the migration crisis. However, it is not really an attempt to tackle the causes of migration crisis but an effort to prevent the movement of people from Syria and other unstable regions to Europe. It specifically includes, but is not limited to, the assistance to the refugees still remaining in the Middle East, the support for Turkey, the improvement of the EU external border controls and their protection and the ability to deal with crisis situations or the funding for the Frontex agency.

(The study can be downloaded here: http://www.epc.eu/pub_details.php?cat_id=1&pub_id=6547)
The European Commission has proposed the first comprehensive plan for the region of North Sea and its fishermen. The plan covers more than 70 percent of the fishing sector, sets catch limits that restore and maintain fish stocks above levels that can produce the Maximum Sustainable Yield (MSY) and brings decision-making closer to the fishermen.

The main aim of the plan is to ensure that fishing is managed sustainably. Fishing at MSY levels allows the fishing industry to profit with the highest amount of fish from the sea, while keeping fish stocks sustainable and healthy. This multi-annual proposal also defines ranges within catch limits that are set, whereby fishing in the higher part of the ranges will only be possible under clearly defined conditions in line with MSY. As part of the aim to protect fish species, the plan also includes an obligation to land important species only in designated ports. Moreover, under the plan, the EU is obliged to take action any time a particular species of the North Sea stock is endangered.

The North Sea fisheries are very complex and involve vessels from at least seven coastal Member States as well as Norway. The vessels use a variety of equipment and their catch consists of many different species. The plan therefore aims to manage and coordinate these complex interactions and operations. Commissioner for Environment, Maritime Affairs and Fisheries, Karmenu Vella, commented on this proposed plan that Multi-annual plans are an important tool to shift decision-making to the regional level, while adding that We are proposing to bring the North Sea, one of our richest fishing grounds, under such a multi-annual plan. Its long-term approach is not only aimed at improving the conservation of stocks, but also at increasing predictability for our fishermen in the long run.
The European Union and the United States have rejected the plan of the United Nations to resettle about ten percent of refugees annually as part of the struggle of the international community to solve the ongoing global refugee crisis. The EU and the US were not the only parties that have rejected the proposal. Russia, China and India were among other major players that voiced their concerns.

The United Nations estimates that about 24 million people worldwide left their countries because of conflict in 2015. About 244 million people are estimated to be currently drifting around the world as migrants  people who left for other reasons than war. Human rights groups expressed their disappointment, saying that the document was just a mere political declaration and warning that the upcoming meeting at the UN in September would be a missed opportunity. However, Karen AbuZayid, a member of the board of directors of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) and advisor to the Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon said she was very pleased with the agreement and was looking forward to the September talks.

Under the proposal of Secretary General, the international community should have agreed on a new global compact on responsibility-sharing to address the refugee crisis and start negotiations on a second deal on migration. However, the final draft does not mention a responsibility-sharing but it proposes talks on migration beginning 2017 with the aim to adopt the accord in 2018. According to Charlotte Philipps from Amnesty International, the Refugee Summit was a historic opportunity to find a desperately-needed global solution to the refugee crisis but instead  world leaders delayed any chance of a deal until 2018, procrastinating over crucial decisions even as refugees drown at sea and languish in camps with no hope for the future.
Friday 5 August 2016 2:37pm

Louise Delany

Sweeping changes to the Smokefree Environments legislation are proposed by University of Otago researchers in a newly published article in the New Zealand Medical Journal.

The researchers from the University of Otago, Wellington, propose a comprehensive new law including positive strategies that are needed to help New Zealand reach its Smokefree 2025 goal. They argue that because of inadequate action by successive New Zealand governments, the Smokefree 2025 goal is unlikely to be achieved without effective new measures and a new law.

Public health lawyer and lead researcher Louise Delany says that the proposed law is unique in its focus on the tobacco industry, on the tobacco products, and its alignment with international law.

The proposed new law would ensure that actions are taken so that the Smokefree 2025 goal of minimal tobacco use benefits all New Zealanders, including Maori and Pacific peoples, says Ms Delany.

The law would state that, if specific prevalence reduction targets for 2020 are not reached, permission to sell tobacco would be transferred to not for profit or health agencies. These agencies would be required by law to reduce sales, she says.

The University of Otago, Wellington, researchers propose that a new authority within the Ministry of Health would be responsible for developing plans to achieve these targets and monitoring their progress.

They also suggest that the new law would set minimum tobacco prices and enable better monitoring and control of tobacco industry profits, regulate product design, and reduce or remove particular constituents in tobacco products. Such constituents could include those that increase addictiveness, palatability and attractiveness of cigarettes such as nicotine levels, sugars, menthol and other flavourings.

The design of tobacco products is currently left up to the tobacco industry with no controls at all, says Public Health Professor Richard Edwards.

This law would ensure that children and young people experimenting with cigarettes would be likely to find them less appealing, not so attractive to smoke and less addictive; and fewer would become regular smokers, Professor Edwards says.

A focus on the tobacco industry would ensure greater transparency and accountability for the industrys marketing, research, and profits. Provisions for the control of tobacco and nicotine supply would include the licensing of importers, wholesalers and retailers.

Another of the researchers, Professor Nick Wilson, pointed out that at present a 10-year old shop assistant can legally sell tobacco products in a dairy, and no licenses are required to sell tobacco products even if the dairy is located next to a school.

This new law would enable government to properly control a dangerous addictive product, as it does for other dangerous products and for prescription medicines, says Professor Wilson.

The proposed law would recognise that successful strategies such as raising tobacco prices and mass media campaigns would continue, and be enhanced. Such measures would support provisions in the new Act aiming to further promote smokefree environments (for example outdoor areas such as playgrounds) and for vehicles with young passengers.

In the same issue of the New Zealand Medical Journal, another study from the University of Otago, Wellington describes recent smoking trends, and shows that New Zealand will not reach SF2025 with a business as usual approach. This study finds that the Ministry of Health is set to fail against its 2018 interim goals for Maori and Pacific smoking. One of the authors, Jude Ball commented We need really bold action to make a difference in our Maori and Pacific communities, and the new legal framework being proposed could be exactly whats required.

The abstracts for these two articles will be available on the ASPIRE2025 website, or contact the authors for full copies.

For further information, contact:

Professor Richard Edwards

Department of Public Health

University of Otago, Wellington

Tel 64 4 918 5089

Email: richard.edwards@otago.ac.nz

Louise Delany

Department of Public Health

University of Otago, Wellington

Email: louise.delany@otago.ac.nz

ASPIRE2025

University of Otago Wellington
Remember when BMW purchased a haggard old 507 that once belonged to Elvis Presley? After two years of work, the car is now fully restored and headed to the Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance later this month. As with any good celebrity owned classic car, Elvis's old BMW has an interesting story to tell.

This 507, chassis #70079, was actually raced by famed driver Hans Stuck for a few months before it ended up at a BMW dealership in Frankfurt. Elvis was stationed as a soldier in Germany at the time, saw the 507 at the dealer and bought it immediately. The car was originally painted white, but Elvis had it painted redafter discovering that young ladies would write their phone numbers on the car in lipstick wherever he went.
It was a week of sunshine and generosity as more than 450 volunteers took over a Midland neighborhood for Habitat for Humanitys Neighborhood Revitalization program.

The five-day volunteer effort brought together employees from all manners of business across Midland County. Jayme Durfee, of Breckenridge, and Mike Entner, of Midland, both wore red T-shirts with The Dow Chemical Co.s logo while working on a home at 1609 State St.

I like paying it forward for people, and helping people when they need it, Durfee said while holding a ladder, as other volunteers put up siding on the garage.

It is the second year Entner has volunteered through Dow on the Neighborhood Revitalization program. He said it is a team-building experience that brings coworkers together for a good cause.

There were also some rewards: Alisha Toyzan owns the house and would often join in on the labor, or bring out popsicles and cookies for the volunteers swarming around her home. Some of the group stained her fence and deck, while others installed new storm doors.

Toyzan and her husband, Brandon, purchased the home in 2008 and now have a 7-month-old daughter, Freja, an addition to the family that Toyzan said can make doing her own home improvements difficult. She expressed surprise at how much work was done on the house and how quickly the volunteers were able to transform their home.

Its been awesome, it looks like an entirely new house, Toyzan said. Its been fantastic. Getting some of this stuff done myself can be challenging.

Even little Freja has ventured outside to witness the transformation.

Shes liking watching everyone work, shes figuring out crawling, Toyzan said with a laugh.

Toyzan initially included just a few fixes on her application, and was not expecting to get new siding for her house and garage and a fresh coat of stain on the fence surrounding her backyard.

It looks so cool, its icing on the cake, Toyzan said. It wouldve taken me forever.

Just a few doors down, her neighbors were getting a portion of their driveway redone to make it safe once more to walk on. Other repairs throughout the program ranged from a new roof to simple landscaping.

Jennifer Chappel, executive director of Midland County Habitat for Humanity, and said the Neighborhood Revitalization program this year included 15 homes and more than 450 volunteers from organizations like Dow and Consumers Energy.

Its been the perfect week, Chappel said, stopping for a break from delivering popsicles to the volunteer groups.

She said a home is a familys greatest asset and a place where memories are made. The program helps homeowners in good standing and within income guidelines to arrange work to be done on their homes. Materials are paid for by the homeowners.

The program has taken place most recently in the neighborhoods near the former Central Middle School, and is in its seventh year, Chappel said. About 175 homes have been renovated by the program.

Theres a great need in Midland County, Chappel said. We try to look at safety issues first, and then aesthetics second.

Theres also some education involved. According to Matt Weckesser, construction manager for Habitat for Humanity, many of the volunteers have stepped up this year to take on new skills and turn them into results.

Theyre joining in and trying to learn something good, Weckesser said.

The majority of the Neighborhood Revitalization will be completed today, he added, noting the great turnout for both volunteers and homeowners joining in on the labor.

This is exactly why we do this every year, to see these families and the community come out, Chappel said. We are very blessed in Midland County. I think this is a perfect example of it.
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Police are adept at finding ways to give back to the community, and the week-long Habitat for Humanity effort to improve Midland neighborhoods has become filled with heartfelt volunteering by officers.

For the second year, Midland Police participated in Habitats Neighborhood Revitalization Project in memory of Sgt. Rob Booth, who lost his battle with esophageal cancer on June 28, 2015. Since 2012, Booth, who owned and operated Badge Construction, had organized the departments participation in the effort.

Last year, Community Relations Sgt. Chris Wenzell took over the project after he and Booths wife, Anne, had a conversation about how appropriate it would be if someone continued the tradition.

This year we added a second day due to the tremendous response, Wenzell said of last years single day of volunteering. Tuesday, there were 19 volunteers  a mix of officers, family members and Booths friends that he worked construction jobs with  and there were 10 on Thursday. All wore navy blue T-shirts featuring a lighter blue ribbon signifying esophageal cancer and Booths badge number, 103.

One of the work days began with a blessing and prayer to honor Booth, conducted by the Rev. Dr. Rhonda M. Myers from Chapel Lane Presbyterian Church, Wenzell said.

Thursdays crew worked on multiple houses, including Jean Sarantos home at 1416 Haley St. There, various jobs were conducted, including staining the front porch, new siding on a gable and sealing small openings so animals couldnt get in.

On the roof was Officer Greg Tait, following directions from Officer Jeremy Davis on what measurements were needed for a piece of vinyl siding. As Davis used scissors to cut the siding, he reflected on why the officers participated.

The reason why most police officers became police officers is to better our community, and thats what were doing here today, he said. Were doing that through Habitat for Humanity.

Sarantos, who was volunteering at Habitats registration tent, said her home became involved in the program after Habitat staffers conducted a door-to-door survey.

I was just hoping to get it scraped and painted, she said of her home, where an assortment of work  including the scraping and painting  was completed. I was completely gratified at what theyre doing for my house.

She also said she was amazed at the vast array of everyone involved in the program, including people of all walks of life, ethnicity and ages.

The whole gamut of American participation, which is the American way, she said.
George Zimmerman and Dylann Roof Both Got Their Asses Beat Today Because Life is Awesome

By Brian Byrd | Miscellaneous | August 4, 2016 |

This summer isnt exactly bursting with positive news stories. Hitlers reanimated spray-tanned corpse dominates the airwaves, highly anticipated cinematic tentpoles managed to disappoint critics and fans alike, we found out Game of Thrones isnt returning until mid-2017, that new Frank Ocean album still hasnt dropped, and its hot. In the summer. Brutal.

Thursday, though, the clouds momentarily parted to allow a glorious fist-shaped ray of sunshine through to warm our souls. Whats the good news, you ask? Did scientists discover a breakthrough cancer treatment? Are women finally getting paid the same as their male counterparts? Did TK finally watch Shawshank Redemption?

Better. So, so much better.

Someone punched George Zimmerman in the face.

And an inmate beat the bowl cut off of Dylann Roof, the inbred Deliverance extra who murdered nine people in a Charleston church last year.



Lets go in order, shall we?

Zimmerman, a real-life Suicide Squad character who shot and killed Trayvon Martin because he thought a bag of Skittles was a Mack 11, got popped in the beak for  and this is 100 percent true  bragging about killing Martin. According to witnesses  and again, Im not making any of this up  Zimmerman walked up to a bar patron and said, I love your tattoos. My name is George Zimmerman, you know, that guy who killed Trayvon Martin? Zimmerman then showed this person his ID to prove that yes, the guy claiming to be the abominable trash monster who murdered an unarmed teenager was actually the abominable trash monster who murdered an unarmed teenager.

For what its worth (literally nothing), Zimmerman told the 911 dispatcher a different story:

Zimmerman claimed he was explaining to people sitting at a table that he shot Trayvon Martin in self- defense when a large man approached and asked, Youre bragging about that? before punching him Zimmerman in the face. Zimmerman: This man just punched me in the face. Dispatcher: Is he still there? Zimmerman: Yup. He said hes going to kill me. You need to send like three or four cops.

Upon arriving on the scene those three or four cops put the assailant Son of God into a police car and drove him directly to the White House where he was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom.

Assclown Punching Thursday then moved north to Carolina. No, not North Carolina. It moved north to South Carolina. Because Zimmerman is in Florida because of course he is and South Carolina, while still south, is north of that state. Anyway, Roof, a racist mushroom who will burn in hell for eternity, currently spends his days at South Carolinas Charleston County Detention Center in protective custody to prevent every other inmate in that prison from airholing his vital organs with a filed down bedspring. Luckily, an enterprising young fellow named Dwayne Stafford found a hole in his security detail and took advantage.

Charleston County Sheriff Al Cannon Jr. said that Roof, who is white, was out of his cell and on his way to the shower when the attack happened at the Charleston County Detention Center. Although he was in protective custody, Roof, 22, was vulnerable because only one guard was in the area and he was fetching toilet tissue for another inmate, Cannon said. That allowed another inmate, 25-year-old Dwayne Stafford, time to run down the stairs from his cell in the protective custody unit and assault Roof with his fists, the sheriff said. No weapons were involved in the attack and Roof was able to return to his cell after being treated, Cannon said. [Stafford] hit him so hard he knocked a N off his name, Cannon said. He goes by Dylan now.

Nah, that last line is totally fabricated. Heres what he really said:

The detention officer responded quickly and separated the two, Cannon said. The injuries that Roof received are relatively minor  some bruising around the face and the back. It appears he was struck with a fist and nothing more serious than that.

Damn. Could have at least bludgeoned him with a Bible or tagged him with commissary tray a few times, Dwayne. Do better next time.

Look, I know what youre thinking: Hey, Brian, Zimmerman is a racist scumbag who tries to profit on his murder of a young black child, and Roof mowed down nine African-Americans for the crime of being black in church, but is more violence really the answer?

Yes. Yes, it is. George Zimmerman and Dylann Roof should be beaten daily by different people on a rotating basis. Clocking one or both of these scumbags in the melon should be a societal requirement. Want to get your drivers license or be able to buy a six-pack? You better catch Zimmerman with that left first, son. I would commit a crime in South Carolina just to have an opportunity to crane-kick Roof in the chest.

Sometimes people need to have their ass kicked. I can think of no one more deserving than these two.

Sincerely,

A Tolerant Liberal

 A Throwback to the Movie Posters of 1986: A Seriously Retro List | Jared Leto Is Just Actively Refusing to Let Us Like Him Now 
Carrefour shifts focus away from hypermarts Updated: 2016-08-05 07:27 By WANG ZHUOQIONG(China Daily)

A Carrefour outlet in Shenzhen, Guangdong province. PROVIDED TO CHINA DAILY

French retailer Carrefour SA continues to shift its focus from its traditional hypermarket business to smaller convenience store formatplanning to open 40 to 50 in Shanghai this year.

The company said it has seen encouraging sales trends in China thanks to fresh products. The transformation of its business models in the country "has continued and is well advanced", according to the company's e-mail reply to China Daily.

"Any new strategy development needs time to take effect and we are happy to see its first results," said the retailer.

The group posted sales of 40.6 billion euros ($45.2 billion) in the first half of 2016.

In China, its total sales, at 2.71 billion euros, were down 12.7 percent.

"In Asia, recurring operating income was affected by the transformation of our model in China in a context marked by the rapid evolution of consumer expectations," according to its half-year report.

"We wish to go ahead with hypermarket expansion, especially in the western and central parts of China," according to the Carrefour replay.

In addition to the 14 Carrefour Easy stores, the firm will open an additional 40 to 50 convenience stores in Shanghai by end of 2016, it said.

Meanwhile, the retailer is launching online operations to Chengdu, capital of Sichuan province, after it has already done so in Beijing and Shanghai.

Carrefour has six modern logistics centers in Kunshan of Jiangsu, Chengdu, Wuhan in Hubei, Beijing, Tianjin and two centers in Shenyang of Liaoning and Dongguan in Guangdong.

According to Kantar Worldpanel, the top 72 hypermarkets in China as a whole experienced sales drop of 0.2 percent in 2015 and Carrefour continued to lose market shares over the past 12 months.

The hypermarket store closuresestimated at 30 in the past three yearscan be attributed to the changing consumers purchasing behaviors, said Jason Yu, general manager of Kantar Worldpanel China.
BLOOMINGTON  OSF St. Joseph Medical Center in Bloomington and OSF Saint James-John W. Albrecht Medical Center in Pontiac will begin an outpatient palliative care program later this summer.

"For the patients, it will mean security, better quality of care and that extra layer of support," said Dr. Robert Sawicki, OSF HealthCare senior vice president of supportive care.

OSF hospitals have inpatient palliative care, mostly for patients with chronic, progressive illness, such as emphysema or heart failure, Sawicki said.

"Hospice is for patients at the end of life," he said. "Palliative care is for patients earlier in the process. You can't do good end-of-life care if you wait until the end of life."

Patients also must be at increased risk of hospital readmission because of a medical, socio-economic or psychological reasons.

"Palliative care is team-based care for patients with serious illness," Sawicki explained. "Palliative care is consulted to assist the medical team to help manage symptoms, coordinate care and plan the next level of care."

OSF HealthCare began an outpatient palliative care pilot program at OSF Saint Francis Medical Center in Peoria two years ago. After success of the pilot, it became a program in Peoria that later expanded to Rockford, with 120 patients enrolled, Sawicki said.

When the program expands to St. Joseph and Saint James outpatients later this summer, members of the team will include an advanced practice nurse who collaborates with a physician, a registered nurse, a social worker and a member of pastoral care who will work with the patients' primary care physicians, Sawicki said.

Symptom reduction, care coordination and psycho-social support are goals for patients enrolled in the program, he said. Patients may need help with medication management, transportation to medical appointments or spiritual care visits.

"We will follow the patients until they are stabilized for a non-defined period of time," Sawicki said.
UK tests extended visa for grads of 4 top universities Updated: 2016-08-05 08:08 By Wang Mingjie(China Daily Europe)

Britain has started a pilot program for international master's students, including those from China, which allows them to stay in the country for an extra six months after graduation.

The so-called Tier 4 Visa scheme is intended to run for two years and is open to international students on one-year programs at the Oxford University, Cambridge University, Bath University and Imperial College London.

The program began to cover visa applications on July 25 and is for students who are to commence studies in the 2016-17 and 2017-18 academic years.

Students from John Moores University celebrate their graduation at Liverpool's Anglican Cathedral in July in Liverpool, England. Photos Provided to China Daily

Under the pilot, no funding or education background certificates are required for a visa.

A notice from the British government sent to vice-chancellors says the four universities "were selected due to their consistently low level of visa refusals".

"The pilot is intentionally narrow in scope in order to monitor the pilot outcomes against the stated objectives and to minimize the risk of unintended consequences before considering rolling it out more widely," it adds.

Alice Gast, president of Imperial College London, hails the scheme as an encouraging step forward.

"The ability to stay on for six months will bring benefits to the students and to the country, as our talented graduates will be able to pursue their entrepreneurial ideas, further study or add to the UK's talent pool," she says.

Tanya Wang, senior immigration adviser at UVIC Group, an education and visa service, says the purpose of the scheme is clear, "to attract more exceptional talent to the UK" and "could be a sign of easing immigration policy".

However, she says the move does not cover everyone. The government wants to keep Britain attractive for talented students, entrepreneurs, high net worth individuals and people from whom the country can benefit in a post-Brexit context.

The new plan offers students access to a streamlined visa application process and the opportunity to stay in Britain for six months after their studies to work, start a business or travel.

Some insiders believe it is a step in the right direction, but that it will not make a huge difference for those seeking permanent employment opportunities in Britain, which requires a switch to a work visa.

wangmingjie@mail.chinadailyuk.com

Asian Students and family pose for photographs ahead of their graduation ceremony at the Royal Festival Hall in July in London.

(China Daily European Weekly 08/05/2016 page3)
BLOOMINGTON  A Calhoun County man has pleaded guilty to attempting to sexually abuse another man and delivery of drugs during a 2014 incident in a Normal motel.

Michael Dean, 58, of Kampsville was sentenced in McLean County Circuit Court to two terms of probation for 24 and 30 months in return for his guilty plea July 28 to attempted criminal sexual abuse of a victim who was unable to consent and delivery of a controlled substance. The state dismissed five other drug offenses.

Dean, a truck driver from southern Illinois, was scheduled to go on trial Aug. 8 on felony drug charges. The state filed an additional drug charge and the attempted criminal sexual abuse count on July 28.

The case stems from a call received by Normal police in August 2014 from an intoxicated man who claimed Dean had tried to sexually assault him after the two had been drinking.

Police reported finding a large amount of prescription drugs in a bag belonging to Dean, along with GHB, commonly known as the date rape drug because it renders victims unconscious.

Also among Dean's property were digital photos of naked men who were shackled at the ankles and wrists, according to police. The victims appeared to be unconscious or heavily sedated, said police.

Dean still faces charges of aggravated criminal sexual abuse in Calhoun County involving an additional alleged victim and sodomy and kidnapping charges in Dunklin County, Mo., related to incidents with two men in 2011 and 2012.
Cheers

... to the American Red Cross and the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints for their efforts in offering and installing smoke alarms to families who need them.

The effort provides free alarms for families, along with instructions on how to use the alarms and change the batteries. Volunteers also install the alarms if the resident requests.

A working smoke alarm is the best insurance you can have for safely escaping a fire. If you need help getting an alarm, or installing one, contact the Red Cross or your nearest fire station for help.

Cheers

... to Pastor Charles Ahrends and Abundant Life in Christ Church members for their continuing work to provide temporary housing, showers, clothing and more to the Twin Cities' homeless.

The church, located on the first floor of 108 E. Market St., is renovating upper stories of the building into sleeping rooms and classrooms to help those who are in need.

Many hands from many private and public concerns work hard to help our neighbors in need. We thank all those involved for all the work they do and the support they provide.

Cheers

... to Tom Fulop, director of The Salvation Army Safe Harbor shelter, on his recent transfer to a similar regional position with The Salvation Army offices in Peoria.

Fulop is a dedicated steward to the flock he tends. The community and individuals served by The Salvation Army are better for his work.

Cheers

... to the community for help offered to St. Mary's School after several young men vandalized the school and jeopardized its fall starting time.

As soon as word spread about the bad deeds, the school received offers of help from individuals, church members and businesses.

Despite the heartache and headaches caused by the vandalism, the family of St. Mary's received in return the love their church shows so many in need.

Cheers

... as well to the businesses, community members and all of the fire, rescue and police personnel who helped during the recent fire at Bentley Motors, 1508 S. Main St., Bloomington.

Any big fire requires the help of many - not just firefighters - but fighting a tough fire for many hours in extreme heat can cause tremendous problems.

We say thanks to all those who helped the business owners and renters, the neighbors, the first responders and anyone else who stepped in to help.

Cheers

... to Illinois Farm Bureau for sharing what was found inside a 50-year time capsule that was buried when IFB moved from Chicago to Bloomington.

Whether 50 or 100 years, or more, time capsules are just that: a collection of things that were important at the time the capsule was buried, and important to the people to buried it.

In our throwaway society, time capsules remain as important as museums and libraries. They shed light on the past and offer insight into the future.
Shared parenting law has been deemed as an effective way to eliminate the tragic cases of parental alienation in a broken family household. It is often seen as the best option to stop the trauma experienced by the family, especially the children, and to promote a more harmonious relationship between conflicting exes.

U.S. Senator Will Brownsberger, however, recently shed a new light on shared parenting law. According to the senator, the shared parenting legislature was one of the unsolved issues in the session over the weekend.

In an article published on Beacon Hill Patch, Sen. Brownsberger stressed that everyone is supporting the shared parenting concept. However, legislators can't seem to agree if the divorce law should be amended to make shared parenting a part of the post-divorce parenting plans.

Even though the current shared parenting law gives emphasis on the best interest of the child and promoting the benefits of spending an equal amount of time with each parent, Brownsberger admitted that he's uncomfortable with the House's draft. One of the hard truths Brownsberger highlighted was the fact that shared parenting is really not a panacea for broken families, particularly when the concept is not feasible such as in "high conflict and complex living arrangements."

"I was not comfortable with the House's draft, because I felt that it might create too strong a push toward complex sharing arrangements in high conflict situations where they may not be workable," the 59-year-old state senator explained. "If any changes are to be made in the statute, the changes should more explicitly acknowledge the need of children for a stable, safe and low-conflict living arrangement. The best interest of the child should always be the first consideration."

Sen. Brownsberger's thoughts on shared parenting bill have earned various reactions from men and women, who may be parents or have experienced the harsh reality of divorce or separation. On the senator's website, some were glad the bill didn't pass, while others pointed out what should be done to address the increasing cases of parental alienation.

Meanwhile, shared parenting is a collaborative arrangement in a child custody after a divorce and separation. Family Lives explains that shared parenting will allow both parents to have an equal right and responsibility to be actively involved in child raising.

Speaking of parental alienation, several states including Missouri has promoted the shared parenting legislation. As Parent Herald previously reported, the law will allow children to spend equal time with each parent after a divorce or separation.

Aside from Missouri, the states of Minnesota, Utah and South Dakota have also joined the campaign in passing shared parenting laws. Unfortunately, Florida did not support the newly proposed law advocating shared parenting, instead the state is encouraging the courts to "break up child custody in whatever way is best suited in the situation, even if that limits a child's time with one parent," Daniel Forrest of Lawyers.com revealed.

What are your thoughts on shared parenting laws? Sound off below and follow Parent Herald for more news and updates.
Victory was short-lived for a transgender student in Virginia. After winning at the federal court, the Supreme Court has ruled to temporarily block the Lower Court's order which means the student will be once again banned from using the male restroom.

In April, The Washington Post reports Gavin Grimm's win over the school board of Gloucester High School. Gavin Grimm, born with female organs, became a transgender and started using the male's bathroom when he turned a sophomore.

However, it wasn't easy for the transgender. Parents complained to the schoool board that Grimm's use of the male's bathroom violates the privacy of their boys.

They poured out this anger to the school board, who in response, passed a policy that access to bathrooms would be determined through their "biological gender." Transgender students would have to use a separate, unisex bathroom.

Because of this, Grimm filed a lawsuit against Gloucester High School. The judges ruled in favor of him, saying that the interpretation of federal discrimination policies should be handled by politicians which is why they directed their decision to the U.S. Department of Education. As per the department, Title IX should be honored: no sexual discrimination on schools that receive federal funding would be practiced or tolerated.

Grimm and the LGBT community were happy with the lower court's decision. However, before June ended, WAVY News 10 reported that the Gloucester County School board has appealed to the courts the previous ruling. The board says that it's their obligation to impose policies that would ensure the privacy and safety of all students.

On Wednesday, the Supreme Court has made its decision to grant certiorari over the Lower Court's ruling. One justice, Stephen Breyer, granted the application as a courtesy.

Because of this, the matter may only be settled once a ninth justice is appointed, according to CNN. Until then, the Supreme Court's take on the relationship between transgender identity and sex discrimination would remain unknown.

The decision to grant certiorari dismayed Grimm's side. Lawyer Joshua Block said as quoted by CNN "We are disappointed that the court has issued a stay and that Gavin will have to begin another school year isolated from his peers and stigmatized by the Gloucester County school board just because he's a boy who is transgender. We remain hopeful that Gavin will ultimately prevail."

In the transgender public bathroom discourse, whose side are you on? Do you think everyone should be allowed to use the bathroom of their choice even if some feel that their privacy and security are invaded?Sound off your thoughts in the Comments section below and follow Parent Herald for more news and updates.
According to Statista, by 2017 there will be almost 270,000 million app downloads, which is not an insignificant number. Mobile apps are software applications designed to run on mobile devices such as smartphones and tablets. Where mobile apps were originally offered as tools to speed up productivity and retrieve information e.g. calendars, e-mail and weather guides, the apps market has evolved. Presently, education is one of the most popular app categories as it lends itself well to this area.

Organizing Study Time: The app Todolist is free and available on Desktop, IOS and Android. It allows a student to schedule and organize reminders and notes, place tasks into projects, organize tasks week by week and lots more.

Paperless Note Taking: Evernote is a popular free app for IOS and Android. It is designed for note taking, organizing and archiving. It offers quick ways to jot down important information and highlight specific text. It is also great for saving documents, images and links that are found online, as well as syncing notes to a student's laptop or tablet from their phone.

Revision Assistance: Quizlet is an ideal app to assist with revision before exams. This free app is available on IOS and Android. It is known as the 'flashcard app' because it contains free study aids on almost any subject. It is helpful because it provides quizzes and games which a student can make up on their own digital flashcards.

For more details on the best apps that can help with education, see this infographic provided by Study Medicine Europe for more information.
"Pokemon Go" has been a massive craze all over the world since its release, with some difficulties to find a legendary Pokemon, a new "Pokemon Go" cheat has existed to aid players finding a legendary Pokemon, Articuno.

After the latest update of "Pokemon Go," the controversial tracking app has been shut down since it was referred to as one of the "Pokemon Go" cheats. A new cheat has existed involving a Legendary Pokemon that can be acquired with the use of a certain application.

FragHero reported that a player located in Ohio claimed that he had found a legendary Pokemon. The guy claims that he captured Articuno, the Legendary Bird.

An image showing the Legendary Bird Articuno was posted on the social media and it went viral immediately. Players of "Pokemon Go" went crazy as they were saying that it could be an image manipulation that could be done by the use of photoshop. After a while, it turns out that a group of skilled modders was able to create a proxy software that allows players of "Pokemon Go" to have their own private server.

With this "Pokemon Go" proxy server, players can create their dream Pokemon, level them to the maximum, gear them up until it is ready for an exclusive screenshot. Legendary Pokemon like Articuno and Mewtwo can also be upgraded more than 9000 CP. This "Pokemon Go" Cheat also provide players a Master Pokeball or a Special Backpack.

Niantic confirms Articuno; Will remove Legendary Pokemon from player accounts - https://t.co/CaIimkEhQL pic.twitter.com/aVEd7ujD3u  Gaming Illuminaughty (@GiUpdates) August 4, 2016

The good news is, those who are playing in the "Pokemon Go" Official Server doesn't need to worry since the modified Pokemon from the proxy server is now allowed to be posted on the official server of the "Pokemon Go."

Also, It has been reported by GameRant that Niantic is now working to remove this latest "Pokemon Go" Cheat. Non-cheating players can continue playing with a peace of mind.
Nations firm up FOCAC summit cooperation plans Updated: 2016-08-05 08:11 By Ren Qi and Li Xiaokun(China Daily Europe)

Contracts signed covered infrastructure, finance and investment, manufacturing, energy and chemicals

Chinese and African financial institutes and enterprises inked 40 deals on July 29 at a Beijing seminar aimed at making plans agreed at the major summit last year into a reality.

The contracts signed covered infrastructure, manufacturing, finance and investment, energy and chemicals, as well as other sectors, and were worth a combined $18 billion.

Foreign Minister Wang Yi (center) attends the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation in Beijing on July 29. Ren Qi / China Daily

The seminar was a follow-up to the Johannesburg summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation in December, when China agreed $46 billion in direct investment and commercial loans to nations across the continent.

In addition, President Xi Jinping put forward 10 major plans to boost cooperation with Africa over the next three years and said his government would provide a $60 billion investment package to finance initiatives.

All 53 members of the forum sent ministerial representatives to the Beijing event to discuss how to put the plans into action.

Chinese companies have been increasing their investment in Africa in recent years, with the continent becoming the second-largest market for overseas construction contracts. In the first six months of 2016, China's direct investment in Africa increased year-on-year by 10 percent, according to the Ministry of Commerce.

Foreign Minister Wang Yi says financial aid to Africa takes up only a small part of bilateral cooperation. Investment has been the main avenue of China-Africa collaboration, providing a boost to industrialization on the continent, he says.

Xi sent a congratulatory letter to the meeting on July 29, saying that in the past six months, China and Africa have worked together to overcome the negative effects of a sluggish global economy and made tangible achievements in implementing agreements from the Johannesburg summit.

Anil Sooklal, South Africa's coordinator in charge of implementing the agreements from the Johannesburg summit, says the China-Africa relationship is not one between donor and receiver, but between equal partners.

"We must understand that the (Beijing) meeting is taking place at a time when the global economy is facing severe crises, when access to finance for development is difficult to come by. ... China has come forward to push this cooperation.

"What is encouraging is that Africa wants to learn from and partner with China."

Prince Mupazviriho, permanent secretary of the Zimbabwean Ministry of Environment, Water and Climate, says he was in Beijing to discuss details about a major dam expansion project in his country, which is being carried out by China's Power Construction Corp.

He says the $1.17 billion hydropower project will take more than three years to complete, but will mean there will be many more opportunities for investment in agriculture and domestic water supplies in the future.

"China-Africa relations are strengthening day by day because of what China is doing for Africa. We believe China is trying to do what is good for the African people," says Alhaji Alpha Taue Jalloh, president of the Sierra Leone Importers Association.

"A great number of people in Sierra Leone, and Africa as a whole, are enjoying the hospitals, training and other activities thanks to contributions by the Chinese government," he says. "In my country, for instance, more than 80 percent of railways have been constructed by Chinese companies.

"I can see more Chinese companies coming to Sierra Leone, investing in Sierra Leone, and increasing the potential of Sierra Leone."

Helen Hai, a goodwill ambassador for the United Nations Industrial Development Organization, says China-Africa cooperation has entered a new phase since December. However, she adds, it remains a challenge for China to help African countries to restructure their economies.

"Judging from the weight of importance, China-Africa industrialization and agricultural modernization plans highlight that the goal of the new era of cooperation is to promote economic transition of African countries," she says.

Mo Jingxi and Yan Dongjie contributed to this story.

Contact the writers through renqi@chinadaily.com.cn

Lesotho trade zone to boost bilateral trade

China has agreed to help Lesotho establish a free trade zone, part of efforts to boost bilateral trade.

The deal was one of three agreed by the countries at a China-Africa business cooperation seminar in Beijing on July 29.

Lineo Exinia, an expert with the Lesotho Chamber of Commerce and Industry, says China is trying hard to build the African economy and has provided nations on the continent with many opportunities.

"China is producing a lot of machinery, while Africa needs a lot of machinery, so we're going to have some cooperation in this field," she says.

According to the Chinese Foreign Ministry, since 1983, the country has helped to build Lesotho's National Conference Center, Paramount Hall and National Library, as well as constructing radio and television facilities and providing aid.

China has written off part of Lesotho's debt and given tax-free treatment to some of its imported goods since 2005. Bilateral trade stood at $101 million in 2014.

However, Exinia says she has not seen much desire to invest in the country, except for Chinese machinery companies.

"I've been here (in Beijing) for three weeks and haven't found one company with the willingness to invest," other than in machinery, she adds.

(China Daily European Weekly 08/05/2016 page28)
After the Orlando bombing, Florida is facing another cross to bear as the Zika virus has reached Miami. Aside from the health complications this will cause residents, authorities are also largely concerned about the threat of the viral disease to the state's $87 billion tourism industry.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) just released an advice for people living and traveling to Florida. The advisory alone could be enough reason for travelers to not book tickets to Florida in the near future or cancel their already planned trips.

As per The New York Times, travel agents said that cancellations of trips to Florida are at a low rate so far. Only few of those who have made plans to visit the state have changed their minds--most of which are pregnant women and young couples.

The New York Times predicts the possible effect of the Zika virus outbreak to Florida's tourism industry. It may go down as an indirect response to the CDC warnings but may bounce back right after when reports have relaxed.

This is the trend that happened to the Caribbean after the widespread Zika virus reports. People looking for flights and accommodations to the Latin countries have plummeted, only to bounce back after and by early July, searches for Caribbean countries have reached an all-time high this year.

Nonetheless, searches did not equate to actual bookings as official trips have been booked less and less starting this January. Many conferences to be held in the Caribbean countries have also been cancelled (via The New York Times).

Fortunately, the threat of the Zika virus is directed more to pregnant women so travelers are still pushing through with their plans to go to Florida and other Zika-stricken areas. Some airlines such as Jet Blue issued refunds; some did not, including American Airlines (via The New York Times).

According to CDC, the Zika virus starts from a bite of an infected Aedes species mosquito that strikes both day and night. It can be passed from a pregnant woman to the baby inside her womb and cause birth defects. It can also be transmitted through sex and blood transfusion.

As per CNN, Florida health officials confirmed last Friday four cases of the Zika virus in Miami-Dade and Broward counties. These are the first confirmed zika virus victims in the United States.

Do you think it's safe to travel to Florida or is it best to delay the trip and visit some other time? Sound off your thoughts in the Comments section below and follow Parent Herald for more news and updates.


LGBT groups are crying foul over Pope Francis' declaration that children shouldn't be taught that they can choose their gender. The pontiff also supposedly stated that what is going on in schools today, with regards gender identity, is a reflection of what the pope before him, Pope Benedict XVI, described as an "the epoch of sin against God the Creator."

Pope Francis apparently expressed this concern during a closed-door meeting with bishops in Poland on Wednesday, Aug. 3, per CNN. "Today, in schools they are teaching this to children -- to children! -- that everyone can choose their gender," the pope told the bishops.

He cited that there are people and institutions who have the money to fund and distribute textbooks and materials on gender identity to the kids. These supposedly come from "influential countries" with "ideological colonization," and the pope deplored the situation as "terrible."

LGBT activist and transgender Sarah McBride found the pope's statement to be a disappointment, especially when it came from the man who professed love and acceptance. She posted her comment on Twitter and other LGBT activists have chimed in as well.

The Pope's comments about trans folks are incredibly disappointing and betray the larger message of love and inclusion that he preaches.  Sarah McBride (@SarahEMcBride) August 3, 2016

Marianne Duddy-Burke of DignityUSA, which is a Catholic LGBT group, said that the pope's comment demonstrated "ignorance of the subject," via Washington Blade. "He is also failing to see that God speaks through many languages, cultures, and human experiences, and not always in ways that we have the skills to interpret correctly."

Francis DeBernardo of the New Ways Ministry, another Catholic LGBT group, also noted that officials of the Catholic church must "educate themselves" on LGBT experiences and issues, per the CNN report. DeBernardo stressed that gender identity is not chosen, contrary to what the pope said. "They [referring to kids] discover it."
The highly anticipated "Fifty Shades Darker" is just a couple of months away and fans cannot wait to see Jamie Dornan and Dakota Johnson together. While reports linking the two have always surfaced since their steamy scenes, the two have constantly denied any reports tying them together.

Filming for "Fifty Shades Darker" has already been done and Dakota Johnson is reported to be busy with other film projects while Jamie Dornan is also busy promoting his upcoming films. Recent reports have also indicated how Dakota Johnson was very fortunate to actually see and feel Jamie Dornan's butt.

In a recent poll made from July 2015 to 2016, Jamie Dornan made it to second place as 2016 Rear of The Year. Rear of the Year is a light-hearted British award for celebrities who are considered to have a notable posterior, according to Belfast Telegraph.

With Jamie Dornan's great body, it is also no wonder that Amelia Warner is over protective of her husband. During the filming of "Fifty Shades Darker" and "Fifty Shades Freed" Warner could be seen joining the crew while her husband and Dakota Johnson were filming the honeymoon scene.

Reports that Amelia Warner was constantly jealous of Dakota Johnson also indicated why filming took longer. Reports that Amelia was always around was also captured on images with Jamie Dornan and Warner swimming together after shooting Dakota Johnson half naked on the beach.

Dakota Johnson also joined the couple after filming "Fifty Shades Darker" which could also indicate that the two are being civilized with each other. Rumors that there is a possibility of Dakota Johnson and Jamie Dornan to be more than Anastacia Steele and Christian Grey off screen mostly circulate online as the great chemistry the two share on screen is great.

However, Jamie Dornan is a true family man who enjoys spending time with his wife and kids as much as he can. Now that "Fifty Shades Darker" is officially over, he can devote his time spending that with his children.

As for Dakota Johnson, she may not have a boyfriend yet as she just recently broke up with Mathew Hitt and was rumored to be dating Jake Gyllenhaal again although the rumors were not true. The "Fifty Shades Darker" Anastacia Steele is, however, busy with her commitments at work and not with love.
Much like the effects of it, depression is a medical illness that is depressing for doctors to deal with. There's no way to prevent or cure it other than fighting and managing to survive through it. This is because the root cause of depression remains unknown but a recent study may have just found out where it comes from.

Time reports about a new study published in Nature Genenetics that named fifteen regions on the human genome that could be linked to the development of major depressive disorder (MDD). Researchers from Massachusetts General Hospital, Pfizer Pharmaceuticals and 23andMe studied almost 460,000 subjects using the genetic profiles of 23andMe clients.

The customers were asked if their profiles could be used for the study. After all, every profile is anonymous because the identifiable information is removed before 23andMe releases it.

Among the genetic profiles, 75,607 people had visited a doctor to check if they have depression and 231,747 had never done so. In both groups, the researchers looked for single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) or irregularities of specific genome points. If an anomalous area is found, the function of it is determined.

After the extensive search, the research team found 15 SNPs on depressive subjects that were located on parts of the genome that make the brain function. For instance, some SNPs were found on regions that control fear, memory and anger.

To validate the findings of the first analysis, the researchers did another round of observation. This time they used samples of 45,733 depressive subjects and 106,354 non-depressive subjects. The result was the same: SNPs were found in areas of the brain that control its function and how it handles emotions and memories.

According to Time, the researchers do not know yet what the new information may do. They are hopeful that it can be used to diagnose a patient's possibility of developing depression--meaning in the future, risk of depression can be determined before it gets to a point when it has to be treated.

As per Anxiety and Depression Association of America, major depressive disorder is the leading cause of disability in America. It affects more than 15 million American adults or 6.7 percent of Americans from ages 18 and older. The disorder can develop at any age and is more prevalent in women than men.

According to WebMD, if clinical depression is untreated, it could lead to serious drug and alcohol addiction. It could destroy relationships, cause work problems and generally ruin a person's eating and sleeping patterns and thinking behavior. Patients who are clinically depressed and just recovered from a stroke or a coronary heart disease are at a higher risk of death.

What do you think can the new study do to help combat depression? Sound off your thoughts in the Comments section below and follow Parent Herald for more news and updates.


Speaking on the first United State of Women held in the White House last June, President Obama said "This is what a feminist looks like." Following that pronouncement is a powerful essay that is titled with the exact words, written by the president himself who proudly declares himself a feminist.

On the President's 55th birthday, Glamour Magazine released online an essay Obama personally wrote about his take on feminism. He talks about the fight of women throughout history that has led to the equal opportunities being enjoyed by both men and women today.

"...one thing that makes me optimistic for them [daughters, Sasha and Malia] is that this is an extraordinary time to be a woman. The progress weve made in the past 100 years, 50 years, and, yes, even the past eight years has made life significantly better for my daughters than it was for my grandmothers. And I say that not just as President but also as a feminist," he wrote.

He continued further, noting the roles women have taken in society that were unimaginable before. The progress is remarkable, according to the President but he acknowledges that there is still a long way to go in the fight for gender equality.

"At the same time, theres still a lot of work we need to do to improve the prospects of women and girls here and around the world. And while Ill keep working on good policiesfrom equal pay for equal work to protecting reproductive rightsthere are some changes that have nothing to do with passing new laws," he wrote. "In fact, the most important change may be the toughest of alland thats changing ourselves."

He goes against gender stereotypes in society and how these backward notions do nothing to help the nation move forward for the better. He calls people from all genders to stop focusing on meeting societal standards of what a woman and a man should be, and instead work on being themselves.

"We need to keep changing the attitude that raises our girls to be demure and our boys to be assertive, that criticizes our daughters for speaking out and our sons for shedding a tear. We need to keep changing the attitude that punishes women for their sexuality and rewards men for theirs," the President detailed.

"We need to keep changing the attitude that permits the routine harassment of women, whether theyre walking down the street or daring to go online. We need to keep changing the attitude that teaches men to feel threatened by the presence and success of women."

"We need to keep changing the attitude that congratulates men for changing a diaper, stigmatizes full-time dads, and penalizes working mothers. We need to keep changing the attitude that values being confident, competitive, and ambitious in the workplaceunless youre a woman. Then youre being too bossy, and suddenly the very qualities you thought were necessary for success end up holding you back," he wrote.

President Obama took pride in what he and wife, Michelle, have taught their daughters. Malia and Sasha were trained to speak up when they see a double standard or discrimination based on gender or race. Parents should do the same to their children, regardless of how stubborn society can be.

"And yes, its important that their dad is a feminist, because now thats what they expect of all men," President Obama continued.

He went on to emphasize Clinton's nomination as a historic event in the fight for gender equality. Before women had no rights to vote, and now women can be voted themselves, even in the highest position of the land.

He ends his essay with a powerful statement on what 21st century feminism should be: "the idea that when everybody is equal, we are all more free."

According to Business Insider, Obama is the first President to publicly declare that he is a feminist. As per The New York Times, Chairwoman of the gender studies department at Indiana University, Brenda Weber, was delighted that "a politician at that level of influence" would release "all pretty radical statements" on feminism.

Do you agree with President Obama's thoughts on feminism? Which points did you like the most and which ones do you disagree with? Comment below your reaction and follow Parent Herald for more news and updates.
One of the world's most followed royal couple, Prince William and Kate Middleton, are currently making headlines after a tabloid cover story claimed that they will be crowned as the future King and Queen of England. Based on the reports, Prince Charles has given up his right to the throne after the British public expresses their support to the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge as the Queen's successors.

Ever since Queen Elizabeth celebrated her 90th birthday, there have been incessant reports that she will be stepping down from the throne. The Queen's retirement was then followed with reports about the power struggle between Kate Middleton and Camilla Parker-Bowles, who both desires to be the Queen's successor.

According to Ok! magazine (via Celeb Dirty Laundry), there will be a change in the line of succession of the British royal family as Prince William and Kate Middleton will be crowned as the new King and Queen, instead of Prince Charles and Camilla Parker-Bowles. The reason for the change was due to the wishes of the British public.

"[Queen Elizabeth II] is at a point, finally, where she wants to take a step back from royal duties in favor of a more quiet life," an Ok! magazine insider said, as per International Business Times. "As much joy as she has gotten from being queen, it's an extremely demanding job, and she is ready to retire."

Despite the strong objections of Camilla Parker-Bowles, the source also added that Prince Charles was more than willing to give up the throne for Prince William and Kate Middleton, especially for the sake of the monarchy's future. The insider also claimed the coronation will be the "event of the century" as the Buckingham Palace reportedly announced a "$100 million coronation."

Meanwhile, Gossip Cop was quick to debunk the report of the upcoming coronation of Prince William and Kate Middleton as the new King and Queen of the United Kingdom, saying the report was just "another false tabloid cover story." The celebrity news site also added that the Palace exclusively denied the reports, saying "no such announcement has been made."

In other royal reports, Kate Middleton and Prince William are preparing for their upcoming royal visit to Yukon next month. CBC News revealed that the royal couple will be accompanied by Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his wife, Sophie Gregoire.

Who do you think will be the next King and Queen of England if Queen Elizabeth II finally steps down from the throne? Sound off below and follow Parent Herald for more news and updates.
Should we teach world religions as distinct entities, each with its own traditions and scriptures?

Thats how Ive taught my World Religions elective course for the last five years. I begin with a short unit on indigenous religions, then move on to the eastern religions, first Hinduism, then Buddhism. In the spring, we tackle each of the Abrahamic religions.

A host of new scholars are challenging this traditional method. They argue that we should change this paradigm where each religion is treated as a discrete unit. Some argue that the traditional method pushes indigenous religions off the curriculum because they have have no written text.

But other scholars, like Professor Suzanne Owen, at the University of Chester in England, argue that the world religions paradigm categorizes religions by belief and often does not account for differences in practice. She points out that popular religiosity does not fit into neat discrete boundaries. In Indias Punjab, for example, over a million Sikhs identify themselves as Hindus, and in Gujarat, 200,000 Indians identify themselves as Mohammedan Hindus.

For these reasons, Professor Owen argues that we should change how we teach religion in schools. In an essay called The World Religions Paradigm; Time for a Change, she argues that world religions must be multidisciplinary and blend both historical and textual approaches.

In secondary school, Owen proposes separating moral philosophy and religious studies and discarding the idea of world religions altogether as a central guiding paradigm.

Professor Owen presents an interesting argument. While I do not believe that I could dispense with the traditional model, I do think that I could address some of her concerns, especially those regarding differences in religious practice. For example, Harvards Religious Literacy Project identified three assumptions about religion that help us to think about the differences in practice. My students could test these assumptions throughout the year.

religions are internally diverse

religions evolve and change over time

religious influences are embedded in culture

To test Islams internal diversity, students might examine Islam in Turkey and Indonesia and outline the differences. Or, students might examine Christianity in the Protestant north and compare it to Christianity in the global south.

In addition, students could test how religions evolve and change over time by looking at how different religions changed their view of slavery. At one time, some justified it but over time began to vilify it. Or, as Harvards Religious Literacy Project suggests, students might examine how ancient Chinas mandate of heaven evolved and changed over time.

Students can test how much religious influence is embedded in culture explicitly by looking at the number of churches, synagogues, mosques, or temples in a given country. Calendars also offer a good example of the degree to which religion is embedded in culture.

Professor Owen and other scholars make a compelling case for us to think about changing how we teach world religions. Harvards methodological assumptions about religion offers us one way to examine the diversity of religious practices.
Rights Groups Condemn Iran's Executions of 20 Kurdish Prisoners

08/05/16

By Mehdi Jedinia, Sirwan Kajjo, VOA



FILE - Kurdish Americans in Los Angeles protest against the death of five Kurds in Iran, May 9, 2010.



Human rights groups on Thursday condemned the execution of at least 20 Kurdish activists in Iran who had been charged with links to terrorism.

A statement by the Iranian intelligence ministry confirmed the Wednesday executions, saying the convicts were part of a terrorist cell that was responsible for armed attacks in Irans western provinces.

"These people had committed murder... killed women and children, caused destruction and acted against the security, and killed Sunni religious leaders in some Kurdish regions," Mohammad Javad Montazeri, Irans top prosecutor, told IRIB TV, a state-run channel.

The Iranian government said that the men had ties to foreign Islamist groups, an apparent reference to Islamic State, and that they were plotting to carry out attacks inside Iran. But rights activists said the governments accusations were baseless.

Imprisoned earlier

Some of them had been in prison even before Daesh [Islamic State] or other Sunni extremist groups appeared in the region, said an attorney from Tehran who requested anonymity.

Shahram Ahmadi, 29, a Kurdish activist from Sanandaj, was among those who were hanged. He was reportedly arrested for distributing leaflets that demanded rights for the Sunni minority in Iran.

Ahmadis sister told VOA the family recently received a call from an Iranian court, asking that the relatives give him a farewell visit in prison.

When we went to Tehran, we received another call saying that only [Shahrams] dad must show up, she said. But when we got [to the prison], we received the body of our executed brother.

Scaring the public

Rights activists in Iran say the government is using IS as an excuse to instill fear in the public.

Iranian national television recently aired a documentary featuring interviews with alleged IS agents who had been arrested by Iranian intelligence forces. The men pictured in the report confessed to infiltrating Iran with the aim of destabilizing the country.

The broadcast of this so-called documentary was a sign that a string of executions is under way, said Mahmoud Amiri Moghaddam, a spokesperson for Iran Human Rights, a Norway-based group that monitors Irans executions. These sorts of tactics are used to prepare the public for upcoming actions.

Ethnic Kurds make up nearly 9 percent of Irans 80 million people. They are largely Sunni Muslims in a country ruled by Shi'ite Muslims.

Kurds in Iran are persecuted twice - first because they are Kurds, and second because they are Sunnis, said Azad Moradian, spokesman for the Los Angeles-based Kurdish American Committee for Democracy and Human Rights in Iran.

Kurds in Iran have long desired more autonomy from Tehran's firm grip, and they have been calling for cultural and political rights. Since mid-June, Irans Revolutionary Guards have been clashing with Kurds in some areas along the Iran-Iraq border.

Support for Kurds alleged

Tehran has accused foreign powers, Saudi Arabia in particular, of backing Kurdish rebels against Iranian forces. But Kurdish groups say this is merely a pretext for the government to justify its suppression of Kurds.

Saudi Arabia is a traditional rival of Iran in the region. In Syria, Iran has been a major backer of President Bashar al-Assads regime, while Saudis have been supporting anti-government Syrian rebels.

These [executions] have something to do with Irans regional policy, said Moradian. Iran is afraid of a Saudi influence in Sunni Kurds. And so these executions could be a message for Saudi Arabia.

Rights groups have long criticized Iran for hangings and executions of people that the regime says are criminals. Amnesty International said 977 people were executed in 2015, mostly for drug-related offenses.
UK remains attractive despite Brexit Updated: 2016-08-05 08:11 By Cai Xiao(China Daily Europe)

The United Kingdom will remain an attractive destination for Chinese investors after Brexit, and investing in the healthcare sector offers potential, according to Matt Siddle, a portfolio manager at global asset management company Fidelity International.

"The UK economy will continue to be sound after Brexit, and the pool of skilled and flexible workers is large in the UK. So there are many reasons for the UK to be a popular destination for Chinese investors," he says.

Siddle adds that investing in healthcare companies in the UK offers good opportunities.

"Healthcare is a long-term structural growth story with increasing demand from an aging population, and the outlook for pharmaceutical companies is improving as their new drug pipelines are healthy, the cost of research and development has declined substantially, and the first cycle review approvals of new drugs has increased.

"With attractive valuations, the healthcare sector is definitely one of the most attractive areas with growth opportunities."

Siddle also says the UK stock market has not been affected much by the decision to leave the European Union because most of the earnings of the companies listed on the bourse are generated from outside the country. Less than 30 percent of the revenue of firms listed on the FTSE 100 index comes from the UK.

"The vote to leave the EU had a negative impact on investor sentiment on UK equities, but it also creates opportunities for investors to buy good-quality companies with cash-generative businesses at a discounted price," Siddle says.

In the last 18 months, European markets have been supported by macro factors such as falling oil prices and euro depreciation, as well as ample liquidity injected through the European Central Bank's expanded quantitative easing program, according to Fidelity.

"In light of the referendum result, central bank policy is likely to remain supportive and European equity market valuations will benefit from Chinese stimulus measures, and mergers and acquisitions," Siddle adds.

Wu Weijun, chief partner of PricewaterhouseCoopers in Beijing, says the June 23 referendum result was a disappointment because economic interconnectivity is the future and Brexit is a step backward.

"But I don't think China-UK relations will be affected much by Brexit," Wu says.

According to Wu, multinational companies should continue to have strategic cooperation with the UK.

Bilateral trade between China and the EU was $564.85 billion last year, while trade between China and the UK reached $78.54 billion, according to the General Administration of Customs.

caixiao@chinadaily.com.cn

(China Daily European Weekly 08/05/2016 page24)
Iran offers human rights dialog with Europe

08/05/16

Source: Press TV

Irans Judiciary chief Ayatollah Sadeq Amoli-Larijani has proposed that the Islamic Republic and Europe initiate a dialog on human rights.



Iran's Judiciary chief Ayatollah Sadeq Amoli-Larijani addresses a conference on human rights in Tehran, Aug. 3, 2016.

(photo by

(photo by Islamic Republic News Agency

Human rights have long been a point of friction between Iran and the West, with Ayatollah Amoli-Larijani saying Europe and the US are making an instrumental use of the issue.

"I propose that the High Council for Human Rights initiate a dialog with European countries in the human rights field in cooperation with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs," he told a conference on human rights in Tehran Wednesday.

"The main condition for the talks is that this human rights dialog and its contents should be bilateral, instead of Iran merely being subject to questioning," he said.

Ayatollah Amoli-Larijani said Iran has questions about Islamophobia in the West and the way it is treating humans.

"We have also questions about the forced unveiling (of women) at schools and universities in France. In a France where you have to go to jail if you cast a side-glance at Holocaust, is this what human right is?"

The Iranian judiciary chief, however, ruled out any discussion about human rights with the Americans, saying "they are the people of deception and they showed it" in the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).

Under the JCPOA or the nuclear agreement, Iran accepted to scale back its nuclear program in exchange for the West to lift its sanctions on the Islamic Republic. However, the Americans have been less forthcoming, and Iranian officials say the US has failed to fulfill its commitments.

Ayatollah Amoli-Larijani said human rights based on Islamic teachings differ with what Western countries were advocating for world societies.

For us as Muslims, the issue of human rights is a fundamental debate.... The Universal Declaration of Human Rights has been written with a secular-liberal view, he said.







Foreign participants at a conference on human rights in Tehran observe discussions presented at the event, Aug. 3, 2016.

We have two fundamental questions about the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and another question at the practical level, Ayatollah Amoli-Larijani said,

Our two questions are related to the principles of human rights. For whom is this right and whats your analysis about rights? he said, addressing Western governments.

The other question is: Why are you dictating your views on the whole world? Isnt this in paradox with human rights?"

The judiciary chief also questioned Western criticism of Irans application of the Sharia law and the Islamic penal law, including Qisas or the right for the nearest relatives of a murder victim to take the life of the killer.

You are rejecting Qisas and Diyya. This amounts to rejecting the rights of our people. Who has given you the right to dictate your ideology and method of life on the whole world? Ayatollah Amoli-Larijani said.

The senior cleric said the West is applying double standards on human rights and using them as an instrument.

What stance have the European and American countries taken on Bahrain?...Thousands of homeless children, women and men are bombed in Palestine. Are Muslims not entitled to human rights?

"You have shut the UN Secretary-Generals mouth so that he doesnt say anything about the violation of childrens rights in Yemen. Today, it has become evident to the world that your advocacy of human rights is subjective," Ayatollah Amoli-Larijani said.



Related Info:



The Universal Declaration of Human Rights


It may come as no surprise, but Microsoft wont release another major update for Windows 10 in 2016. The good news is you can expect two big updates to Microsofts latest operating system in 2017.

Microsoft let the information slip in a TechNet blog post published earlier in the week. Windows 10, version 1607 is our third Windows 10 feature update released, Microsoft said in the blog post. Based on feedback from organizations moving to Windows 10, this will be our last feature update for 2016, with two additional feature updates expected in 2017.

The blog post appears to confirm reports from the Windows rumor mill about the timing of the next two updates for Windows 10. The first update, dubbed Redstone 2, is expected to roll out in early 2017 with the second, Redstone 3, landing in the summer or early fall, similar to the timing of the recently released Anniversary Update (previously known as Redstone 1).

This schedule would put Microsoft back on a two updates per year schedule similar to the initial rollout of Windows 10, as Windows Central first pointed out. In 2015, Microsoft released Windows 10 (also known as Threshold) in July and then the November Update (dubbed Threshold 2) three months later.

This time around, Redstone 2 is expected to roll out in the spring and then Redstone 3 should hit about four to six months later.

The impact on you at home: Of the two updates, Redstone 2 looks to be the most interesting so far. Not necessarily because of the features, which are believed to be largely things that werent ready for the Anniversary Update. The big deal is that the early 2017 update is expected to roll out in concert with new hardware from Microsoft, as ZDNets Mary Jo Foley first reported back in March.

Early builds of Redstone 2 are expected to roll out to Windows Insiders in the coming weeks.
Microsoft has hidden a new downgrade policy within the Windows 10 Anniversary Update: Once youve installed it, youll only have 10 days to downgrade to an earlier version or build, rather than the 31 days provided before.

Historically, Microsoft had given users a full month to roll back any updates, including upgrades to Windows 10. Supersite for Windows reported this week, however, that it was unable to downgrade to an earlier build after a 10-day limit had expired, though it wasnt exactly clear what builds the limit applied to.

We asked Microsoft for clarification, and it boils down to this: Applying the Anniversary Update triggers the new policy. According to Microsoft, it doesnt matter whether youve upgraded to Windows 10 from Windows 8 or Windows 7, or whether you simply updated your PC from an earlier version of Windows 10. Once youve installed the Anniversary Update, you have 10 days to back out, not 31, before the AU becomes permanent.

T]his new 10-day behavior is for all upgrades and updates to the Anniversary Update, the representative said in an email.

Why this matters: Just when you thought Microsofts aggressive upgrade practices were overremember all the nastiness about deceptive upgrade tactics?it appears Microsoft is stealthily closing the Windows 10 escape hatch. Recent Windows 10 converts need to figure out when they upgraded to Windows 10, and whether they want to keep it, pronto. And if you upgraded to Windows 10 just so you could downgrade again? You may need to act fast.

Mark Hachman I upgraded this PC from Windows 8.1 to Windows 10 on July 28, then upgraded to the Windows 10 AU on Aug. 2. Downgrading back to version 10586 still shows that I have a month (or about Aug. 28) to roll back to Windows 8.1, which is probably still the case.

Vague Windows 10 messaging

The problem is that the new rollback period is not clearly defined by Microsofts own messaging within Windows 10. In fact, its not defined at all.

In the most recent 14393.10 version of Windows 10 (the Anniversary Update), theres no time limit attached to the option to go back to a previous build (Settings > Update & Security > Recovery). Even after PCWorld rolled back a second PC on July 28, from the Anniversary Update to the older vanilla version 10586.494, the Settings menu still shows a month remaining. Its also not clear whether rolling back from the AU to version 10586 automatically grants more time.

Microsofts one-year period to upgrade to Windows 10 from Windows 7 or 8.1, free of charge, ended on July 29. That gave new Windows 10 users just days before the Anniversary Updates began on Aug. 2.

Microsoft isnt doing this to be mean, though. According to a Microsoft spokesperson, the companys doing this to free up storage space on your PC. Downloading Windows 10, for example, requires about 3GB of space. Some amount of your drive is also used to store recovery files, whether to recover an upgrade or simply roll back to a previous build.

Based on our user research, we noticed most users who choose to go back to a previous version of Windows do it within the first several days, Microsoft said in a statement provided to PCWorld. As such, we changed the setting to 10 days to free storage space used by previous copies.

The bottom line is this: If youre an existing Windows 10 user, and not having any issues with the Anniversary Update, you probably dont need to do anything. We consider it to be a positive step forwardfor Windows 10.If you dont like it and want to opt out, including going back to a previous version of Windows, it appears that your new deadline is ten days from August 2, or Friday, August 12.
If the smog seems terrible this summer, well, it is.

In June, Southern Californias ocean-to-mountains air basin had just four days of healthy air.

Things got worse in July when ozone levels exceeded the federal health standard every day except July 31. And as August begins, theres no relief in sight.

Officials with the regions air quality agency blame the bad air on this summers unusually hot and stagnant weather  not an increase in emissions from cars, trucks, factories and other pollution sources.

In fact, the South Coast Air Quality Management District estimates that smog-forming emissions are down thanks to rules that require increasingly cleaner cars, trucks and other machinery, said Philip Fine, the air districts deputy executive officer.

The weather, however, is another story.

We have had a lot of record-breaking temperatures and high temperatures result in a lot of ozone formation, Fine said.

Also, atmospheric conditions caused by inversion layers have forced the pollution to concentrate in the air basin, he said. Normally, it mixes with cleaner air and eases in the late afternoon.

The numbers suggest a step backward from years of clean-air progress.

Pollution data made public by the California Air Resources Board show that so far this year Southern California has exceeded the federal health standard for ozone during 85 days. That is 21 more unhealthful days than last years count as of Aug. 3.

Not only is the region exceeding the health standard more often, pollution levels are also reaching higher levels. This summer we have had seven days during which ozone levels were higher than last years worst day.

ATMOSPHERIC REACTION

Ozone forms when nitrogen oxides  mostly from burning fuels  react with volatile organic compounds, such as fumes from gasoline, varnish or nail polish, with help from sunlight. The hotter it gets, the faster this chemical reaction occurs.

Ozone irritates the moist tissues in our eyes, noses and lungs. It causes nausea and headaches and triggers asthma attacks, among other health problems. Various studies have shown that more children miss school and more workers call in sick during bad air days. Studies also link ozone to early deaths.

Sam Atwood, a spokesman for the air district, urged people, especially those with respiratory conditions, to follow air quality forecasts and sign up for the air districts air alerts at www.aqmd.gov/airalerts/.

Fine said people can avoid ozone exposure by staying indoors because it needs sunlight to form.

Karen Jakpor, a Riverside resident and volunteer for the American Lung Association, has asthma so severe she sometimes has trouble speaking.

Its much worse this summer for my breathing than previous years, she said.

Shes had to increase the dose of her steroid medications and was briefly hospitalized, she said.

A MOTHERS PLIGHT

Jakpor has to stay indoors much of the time, and that meant her 11-year-old daughter had to miss her swimming lessons on at least three occasions.

The numbers of days each year I have to stay indoors is the same number of days my daughter cant play outside, because she has to be supervised, she said.

Terry Roberts, the managing director for American Lung Association in the Inland Southern California, Bakersfield and Fresno areas, said this years smog season underscores the need to make more progress in reducing emissions.

We need to improve air quality every way we can, she said, noting that most of the pollution comes from trucks and other vehicles. We need to all work together to find cleaner transportation solutions.

RELATED

Heres why lung-cancer patients should move to areas with better air quality

Fewer bad air days for asthmatics, other children

Contact the writer: 951-368-9471 or ddanelski@scng.com
Rifts between Catholics and Jews date to the first century, but efforts to improve the relationship continue locally.

Anti-Defamation League officials met Thursday, Aug. 4, with teachers from Riversides Notre Dame High School to talk about ways to bolster the Catholic campus Holocaust awareness lessons.

Notre Dame has tackled the topic for more than 30 years, Principal Matt Luttringer said. This years one-day seminar for teachers, titled Bearing Fruit and presented by the Anti-Defamation League of Santa Ana, focused on the two faiths similarities and history, including the Catholic Churchs silence during Jewish genocide. The program aims to use those lessons to teach about contemporary prejudice and injustice.

We believe we need to understand all cultures, all religions, said Luttringer, whos also hosted Hindu and Muslim guest speakers for students in recent years. Some scripture is anti-semitic, but our pope asks us to accept everyone.

Teachers gathered in a small room at the Canyon Crest Country Club in Riverside, discussing scripture with guest speakers, the Rev. Alexei Smith of the Archdiocese of Los Angeles, and Rabbi Elliot Dorff, a professor at American Jewish University in Los Angeles. It was the first year the ADL hosted the seminar in Riverside. Its goal was to foster mutual respect of both faiths and to find common threads in fundamental tenets.

Dorffs father was born in Poland, and used to tell him Catholics were imbibed with anti-semitism with their mothers milk, he said. Though he never experienced that as a U.S. teen in the 1950s, Dorff said hes witnessed similar injustices such as civil rights issues and, most recently, Muslim fear mongering.

Its not as if weve completely conquered these issues, Dorff said. Im proud to be an American. Were the most pluralistic country in the world. But there have been bumps along the way.

A 2014 Anti-Defamation League survey of 101 countries found that 26 percent of people worldwide have anti-semitic attitudes.

A major shift in Catholic-Jewish relations came in 1965, when the second Vatican Council passed a declaration that not all Jews were responsible for Jesuss death, and that prejudice toward Jews violated the Catholic tradition, Dorff said.

That healing completely revolutionized relations between the two faiths, the rabbi said. It also occurred 20 years after six million Jews were killed by Nazi armies for their faith.

Eric Wagner, who has taught film and English at Notre Dame for the past 18 years, has been involved with several school discussions on tolerance, including trips to the Museum of Tolerance in Los Angeles. But Bearing Fruit was especially helpful because it uses historical perspective to quell todays inflammatory rhetoric, he said.

Im struck by the Rabbis idea that Jewish culture embraces argumentation not as something disrespectful, but something engaging, Wagner said, adding that some Catholics are less open to interpretation. Its a really rewarding program.

Contact the writer: 951-368-9644, poneill@pressenterprise.com, @PE_PatrickO
More than 350 guests gathered at the Victoria Club on April 30 to support the Riverside Area Rape Crisis Centers 35th annual fundraiser gala.

With net proceeds of more than $163,000, it was the largest amount ever raised.

Colleen Williams, NBC4 News anchor, served as hostess. Paul Gill returned as auctioneer.

More than 400 silent auction items were available before dinner. During the meal, former Press-Enterprise columnist and longtime center supporter Dan Bernstein entertained guests with humorous musings. He also encouraged them to support the fundraising effort by citing statistics and other facts about the center.

Later, the live auction paused while Debora Heaps, the centers program director, described the Survivor Bag Project. The project comforts sexual assault victims by giving each a bag that includes clothing, toiletry items and other necessities, Heaps said. The crowd pledged more than $38,000 for the bags and for Prevention Solution Programs throughout the schools and community.

Popular auction items again included a South African Safari, a trip to New York and a stay at a custom residence in Kauai, Hawaii. A spirited bidding contest resulted in a guitar signed by iconic musical legend David Bowie going to Ed Hoffman of Wholesale Capital Corp. Dr. George Ponce succeeded with his bid for artist Helen Bells original oil painting of the Mission San Luis Rey de Francia. A beautiful custom Raincross bracelet by Brodie Hoener Designs went home with Dwight Tate and Kathy Wright.

New this year was the opportunity to cruise on a restored, wooden, 38-foot clipper reminiscent of the days of regatta racing. Hemet resident Debra Green scored the winning bid. Dr. Paul Sinkhorn remained standing for the last card drawn and would take home the 30 bottles of premium wine in the popular Wine Cache.

The center serves Riverside, the western and southwestern areas of the county, providing 24/7 direct services for sexual assault victims. The center also offers self-defense classes and prevention programs for all ages throughout its region. This amazing work is accomplished with only 15 employees and about 50 certified volunteers.

Jan Duke, a leader in the auction committee, said the committee and board members start planning in November for next years gala, set for May 6.

For information or to volunteer, call the center at 951-686-7273.

Contact the writer: Jacobsen.Marylin@gmail.com
Menifee has become the latest city to place a tax measure on the ballot to raise additional money to pay for city services.

Several hours before the City Council approved a proposal on Wednesday, Aug. 3, to put a 1 percent sales tax increase in front of the voters in November, Menifee City Manager Rob Johnson sat in a meeting which punctuated the need for such a measure.

Today at a contract meeting with the Riverside County Sheriffs Department, Johnson told the audience in city council chambers Wednesday, we were told to expect increases of 5 to 6 percent for this year, that were already in.  (It) will be retroactive to July 1.

Just one month into the fiscal year, the cost increase the city had budgeted for 2016-17 is already insufficient.

We must identify alternative revenue sources, explained Johnson.

Other cities have come to the same conclusion. Recently, Hemet and Temecula have taken similar action. Riverside is set to consider its own tax referendum next week.

Johnson said the city has already reduced expenses in other departments just to maintain the current level of public safety staffing, which he said is below the average ratio of about .80 officers per 1,000 residents of neighboring cities; Menifees ratio is .58 per 1,000 residents.

Police costs have gone up 19 percent over the last three years, and 7.5 percent last year. Hikes in fire service contracts have amounted to about 5 percent a year. And thats largely to maintain current staffing levels.

The last time Menifee was able to add police officers was in 2013, said Johnson, when it picked up one motorcycle officer and two patrol officers.

Since then, the citys population has increased by over 10,000.

Earlier in the meeting, a handful of firefighter wives spoke during the public comment portion of the meeting about how their families are struggling to cope with all the overtime their husbands are working.

Councilman John Denver said he and Mayor Scott Mann have opposed a tax increase, but supported the measure after stricter accountability provisions were added, including a City Council assessment done every five years through the budget review process, and annual, independent financial audits.

Earlier, a sunshine clause, which would allow the 1 percent sales tax to expire after 10 years, was contemplated. But that provision was ultimately rejected.

Representatives from the chamber of commerce, local businesses and the developer community weighed in on the sales tax measure, largely registering their support.

It took a while to hammer it all out. The meeting that didnt break up until after midnight.

It was a long conversation, said Denver.

Councilman Matt Liesemeyer said that he is also concerned about indiscriminate tax increases, although he might not be part of the no-new-taxes crowd.

Im a no-city-fail guy, he said.

Contact the writer: 951-368-9682 or tsheridan@pressenterprise.com
Riverside police are looking for a man suspected of intentionally scratching windows of a local business in July, causing more than $500 in damage.

The department released a video the business captured of the man using a tool to etch something into the windows of Krieger & Stewart, Inc. about 1:50 p.m. on July 17. The business is located at 3602 University Ave.

The Riverside Police Department asks anyone with information about the suspect to call Officer Tanner Paes at 951-826-8729 or email him at tpaes@riversideca.gov.
It has been a summer of rock.

The Kids Rock Free music school in Corona, which offers music lessons and arts programming to children regardless of financial constraints, has not only offered a weeklong summer camp but also has an upcoming performance at Dos Lagos Shopping Centers Music and Pub Crawl.

The approximately 20 children who attended the camp made their own instruments and learned how multiple instruments and voices come together.

Some of these kids had never even thought of playing music, said Lee Zimmerman, the camps instructor. Just exposing these kids to the fact that music is there and opening their eyes to the possibility of making it was incredible. Music is a way to improve your life.

The camp received financial support from the Youth Grantmakers Riverside Fund through The Community Foundation.

Fender also supports the organization in the form of instruments and components.

The rock will continue at 5:30 p.m. Aug. 26, when the Kids Rock Free program will play during the 2016 Music and Pub Crawl, which ushers participants to five venues for specialty drinks, complimentary appetizers, raffles and live music.

The Kids Rock Free program, now housed at Fender Center for the Performing Arts inside Coronas historic Civic Center on Sixth Street, was founded in July 1998 in conjunction with the Fender Museum in Corona to highlight the artistry and craftsmanship of Leo Fender, who reinvented the electric guitar.

The program worked well in conjunction with the museums mission to introduce children to the possibilities and benefits of exploring music.

Kids Rock Free, which serves an average of 1,500 students a year, remains committed to granting kids the freedom to learn and express their passion for music, said Executive Director Pamela Hogan.

Although its goals started out small, with just a few guitar lessons, today the organization offers guitar, piano, drum, vocal and other arts lessons.

Studies show that children who study music score higher in tests, stay in school longer and are more likely to graduate, Hogan said.

For more information about Kids Rock Free and the Fender Center for the Performing Arts, visit fendermuseum.com or call 951-735-2440.

The Community Foundations mission is to strengthen Inland Southern California through philanthropy.

Contact the writer: community@pressenterprise.com
FTA could be a post-Brexit boon Updated: 2016-08-05 08:11 By Cecily Liu(China Daily Europe)

Britain's departure from EU could lead to improved trade and investment ties with China

Britain could enjoy closer trade and investment relations with China through a potential free trade agreement after the country leaves the European Union, analysts say.

Such a deal between the world's second-largest and fifth-largest economies could change the dynamics of global trade, and would be significant as negotiations on a China-EU FTA have stalled.

Experts say a China-UK deal would benefit the British economy, although it could take years to finalize as a lot depends on the Brexit negotiations.

If Britain maintains common trade tariff borders with the EU, for example, it cannot reduce tariffs for Chinese exports, although it can still act as a springboard for Chinese companies to enter European markets.

Philip Hammond, the British chancellor, expressed eagerness for a China FTA during a visit to Chengdu, Sichuan province, for the G20 finance ministers meeting last month. "As Britain leaves the EU and is not bound by the rules of the EU, perhaps it will be easier to do deals with Britain in the future," Hammond told the BBC.

Michael Reiss, a senior associate with law firm King & Wood Mallesons, says Britain's banking and insurance sector, and healthcare, education and legal sectors can all benefit from such an FTA.

China can benefit from a greater ability to invest in Britain's high-tech, energy, advanced manufacturing and services industries, he says, adding that such investment is already possible, but it may move quicker with policy support from an FTA.

Aline Doussin, a partner at law firm Squire Patton Boggs who specializes in international trade, says enhanced trade relations from an FTA could lead to Britain reinforcing China's efforts to be recognized as a market economy. London is already a supporter, and Beijing maintains the status is an automatic part of its World Trade Organization accession 15 years ago.

Another opportunity for China would be to use Britain as a springboard to access EU markets, the same way China uses Switzerland, which has a bilateral agreement for tariff-free exports to the EU, she adds.

However, the Swiss-EU agreement allows for the free movement of people, and as immigration was a key reason many voted for Brexit in the June 23 referendum, Britain is unlikely to achieve a similar deal with the EU.

China has implemented 14 FTAs with other countries, and another 19 are in negotiation. The FTA with Switzerland is frequently cited as a model for a potential UK deal, as Switzerland is part of Europe but not an EU member.

The Sino-Swiss FTA, implemented in 2014, grants zero tariffs on 99.7 percent of Chinese exports to Switzerland and 84.2 percent of Swiss exports to China. The deal also includes agreements to cooperate on environmental issues, labor and employment, and intellectual property protection.

Tomas Casas, director of the University of St. Gallen's China Competence Center, says the Swiss deal demonstrates that "a bit less Europe, much more global" approach can pay off.

"The Sino-Swiss FTA is important because China is not included in US-led trade negotiations like the Trans-Pacific Partnership and Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership, so it needs to develop free trade deals on its own," he says. "Switzerland is a very good partner to try out such an arrangement because it's small and flexible, yet also innovative, European and rich."

Casas believes Britain can even secure a better deal, gaining more advantageous terms for its financial services companies in China, like Australia managed with its China FTA, which was implemented last year.

Beyond economic benefits, a UK-China FTA also could help restore market confidence in Britain, according to Danae Kyriakopoulou, managing economist at the Centre for Economics and Business Research, a think tank.

"It would provide a counterview to the pessimism that has clouded the UK outlook after (the Brexit vote) by sending a signal that the UK is still open for business," she says.

And as Britain is keen to sign an FTA, the deal would probably be drafted with preferential terms for China, she adds. "While still providing a positive-sum outcome for both economies, my expectation is that China would get more out of it. This in turn would send a signal to other European economies that they have to work hard to attract China's attention."

China and the EU are in talks on an FTA, but progress is being hampered by the reluctance of some members to recognize China as a market economy. EU regulators are also threatening to impose duties on Chinese solar panels and telecommunication equipment exports.

The impact a China-UK deal would have on negotiations with the EU is unclear, Reiss says. A deal could show the benefits of an FTA and speed up the discussions, but as Britain is a key country in pushing forward a China-EU FTA, its departure from the bloc could see the deal lose momentum.

Bilateral trade in goods between China and the EU reached $564.85 billion last year, while trade between China and Britain was worth $78.54 billion, according to China's General Administration of Customs.

cecily.liu@chinadaily.com.cn

( China Daily European Weekly 08/05/2016 page26)
A Corona Republican who sent tweets featuring a masked hangman with the words Im Ready for Hillary is under pressure to relinquish his seat on the Riverside Community College District Board of Trustees.

Faculty and student groups demanded Friday, Aug. 5, that Nathan Miller resign from the five-member board. The boards president rebuked Miller and said the tweets did not speak for the district, which oversees community colleges in Riverside, Moreno Valley and Norco.

Miller resigned from his job at the state Board of Equalization on Thursday, one day after the tweets were sent from the county GOPs official Twitter account. Miller admitted to sending them, according to board Chief Deputy Russell Lowery.

Miller has not responded to multiple requests for comment.

The tweets came after a Riverside woman and Clinton campaign volunteer sent a tweet to the county Republican Party asking where she could find Republicans for Hillary signs. One of the hangman tweets included the caption: sorry they never arrived but this is pretty popular.

Howard Katz, chairman of the Riverside County Democratic Party, denounced the tweets as threats to Hillary Clinton, his partys presidential candidate.

Riverside County GOP Chairman Scott Mann, who also is mayor of Menifee, initially described the tweets as political satire. He later said he was horrified, apologized to anyone who was offended and promised to hold the person responsible for the tweets accountable.

The tweets, which were posted around midday Wednesday, were deleted later that afternoon.

The RCCD Faculty Association, a union representing faculty, issued a statement calling on Miller to resign from his elected post and not run for re-election in November.

Though we are not surprised by the descent into such crude incivility given the broader political culture, we are determined to shield our great public institution of higher learning from this infection, the statement read.

Mr. Millers behavior is not acceptable in our community  we wouldnt tolerate it from our students.

The Associated Students of Riverside Community College District called on Miller to apologize to the student body and resign from the trustee board.

The students of the association strongly condemn the actions committed by Mr. Miller and do not condone the imagery of this kind in any way, shape, or form, read an emailed statement sent Friday. As the representatives of students at the district we expect our leadership to be held to the highest standard at this institution.

Former Corona-Norco Unified School District board member Bill Hedrick, who is running for Millers trustee seat, penned an open letter to Miller demanding his resignation.

Your reckless action and behavior  clearly demonstrate that you do not have the character, disposition, or maturity to continue serving as a trustee, Hedrick wrote.

College Board President Virginia Blumenthal issued her own statement condemning the tweets.

The Board of Trustees of the Riverside Community College District abhors the statement and behavior of Trustee Nathan Miller regarding his political views on one of the candidates in the upcoming presidential election, Blumenthals statement read.

His statement does not represent the ethics, opinion and views of the individual board members, faculty, support staff or students, she wrote, adding, We are a non-partisan board and our primary concern is the education and safety of the students in our community.

Blumenthal did not respond to an email asking whether she thinks Miller should resign.

The college district, which has more than 32,000 enrolled students, covers 450 square miles. Trustees are elected to four-year terms, and Millers district includes Eastvale, Norco and part of Corona.

Miller, who is the county GOPs north west vice chairman and sits on the county partys Executive Committee, was elected trustee in 2012 and his term is up in November. He has filed paperwork to run for re-election.

The Democratic Coalition Against Trump, an arm of a super PAC opposed to Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump, issued a news release demanding Millers resignation.
UPDATE: Soccer legend Pele has bowed out of the opening ceremony for health reasons.

With much fanfare, a torch and plenty of dramatic lighting, its time to kick off the 2016 Rio Olympics.

The opening ceremony starts at 8 p.m. Rio time (thats 4 p.m. Pacific, but the broadcast on NBC doesnt start until 7:30 p.m.) on Friday, Aug. 5.

Among the fun activities for those watching at home are judging countries by their athletes matching outfits, tweeting about the possible oops! moments (like when the fifth Olympic ring failed to light up in Sochi in 2014), and seeing the best (and sometimes the weirdest) performances the host country has to offer.

Rios opening ceremony will feature the contributions of a rich and diverse contingent that includes an Oscar-nominated director, a classy dame, a 12-year-old rapper, a transgender model and two of the biggest musical legends in Brazil (and the world). And yeah, Gisele Bundchen is going to be there, too.

Related: Read more Olympics 2016 coverage

City of God director Fernando Meirelles, along with Andrucha Waddington and Daniela Thomas, will be providing the creative direction for the world-wide event. Meirelles came to worldwide attention with his 2004 film, which offered a powerful, gritty look at life in Brazils slums.

Heres more of whats in store:

1. The Bond connection

Remember when Daniel Craig parachuted into the London opening ceremony as James Bond back in 2012? Another Bond star, Dame Judi Dench, will read a poem by Carlos Drummond de Andrade. She will be joined by Brazilian actress Fernanda Montenegro, who was honored by her home country for her artistic contributions and seems to be the Brazilian equivalent of Dench. The poem, which translates as Flower and Nausea, is about a bud that sprouts through a crack in the sidewalk of a polluted city street. So, uh, yay!

2. Music for the masses

Caetano Veloso & Gilberto Gil are not only major stars and exquisite musicians, but they are also heroes to the people of Brazil. The two, who got their start with the rock-influenced Brazilian music Tropicalia, were both jailed and exiled from their country for speaking out against its former military dictatorship. Also, they are simply awesome.

3. Tween with a message

And even the younger performers will have something important to say. Twelve-year-old rapper MC Soffia has written songs against racism.

4. Celebrating diversity

Model Lea T will be the first transgender person to be involved in an opening ceremony, but according to the official Rio 2016 website, the exact details of her participation remains a mystery.

Related: Read more Olympics 2016 coverage

5. Work it

Then, of course, there will be Gisele Bundchen, the most famous supermodel in the world. Shes Brazilian, of course, but you can almost imagine shed have been invited anyway. This pretty much guarantees her husband New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady, will be in the crowd and give NBC an easy way to plug the upcoming NFL season.

6. Just dance

Oh, while we are crushed that soccer legend Pele (and onetime Sylvester Stallone costar!) had to bow out of lighting the cauldron to get things started, we will get our kicks elsewhere by watching the amazing-we-imagine work of choreographer and Rio resident Deborah Colker, who masterminded Cirque du Soleils Ovo show and seems just the person to put the thousands of fleet-footed volunteers to work. Vamos dancar!

7. Fashion for the masses

Remember what we said about judging countries on their wardrobes? When Team U.S.A. walks across the stage, the athletes will be dressed in gear designed by Ralph Lauren. What does that mean, exactly? According to the Team U.S.A. website, the classic, All-American look includes a navy blazer, a striped T- shirt and white denim jeans in a polished ensemble. White denim jeans. Polished ensemble. Let that sink in for a minute.

The delegations flag bearer, famed swimmer Michael Phelps, gets a special outfit, with electroluminescent panels that illuminate key elements of the jackets design, according to the website.

It sounds like when Phelps is done carrying the torch, he could also wear his outfit to the next big EDM festival.
Fontana police arrested a Pomona man Wednesday, Aug. 3 suspected of luring boys for sex through social media.

Daniel Garcia, 25, of Pomona was arrested at his home in the 800 block of Muir Avenue and booked into West Valley Detention Center on suspicion of solicitation of minors for sex and for distributing child pornography over the internet, according to a Fontana police news release.

Hes being held in lieu of $25,000 bail.

Police say theyve located multiple victims, but believe there are many more that have yet to come forward.

Detectives are currently working on identifying victims whose images were found on Garcias handheld electronic devices, Sgt. Brian Heaviside said in a written statement. Garcia was using several different social media services to contact the juveniles and make arrangements to meet.

Police are asking for any victims who havent come forward or anyone who has more information on this case to call Detective Jeremy Hale at 909-356-7156.
Folks, I have been monitoring media reports surrounding the Nigerian Chief Momodu Dele, taking account of all his complimentary remarks about President Mahama and wondering why Ghanaians won't appreciate his good leadership style and the benefits, particularly the development projects dotting the national landscape.



He has been reported at several times as wondering why Ghanaians won't give President Mahama the respect he deserves, considering his immense contributions to national development. He is even on record as having alluded to the Biblical dictum of a prophet not being honoured in his own homeland to create the impression that Ghanaians don't know what they will lose if President Mahama is not retained in office at Election 2016.



His critics have written him off as a nuisance; but he still maintains his stance, creating the impression that even though he is not a Ghanaian, he has every right to say what is on his mind about the Ghanaian situation. He is insisting that he has nothing to regret for ably supporting President Mahama and pushing his viewpoints down the ears of Ghanaians.



I have read almost all the news reports featuring him and won't blame him for going the way he has chosen. Apparently, I agree with him that President Mahama has done a lot to warrant his retention in office to turn to other aspects of problems bothering Ghanaians.



I do so with the firm conviction that his positive accomplishments at the level of infrastructural development recommend him. If he could do so much in less than four years, what can't he do to build on the foundation if given more time in office?



Building on that foundation entails paying attention to living standards and enunciating and implementing policies to lessen the burden on the people. Of course, the government cannot do everything simultaneously.



It is a matter of focusing on one at the expense of the other in the hope that once the foundation is laid for economic take-off, future measures should ensure better conditions for Ghanaians to benefit from the sacrifices made during the period that attention was focused on the construction of development projects. It is a matter of biding time.



Therein lies the rub. The NPP machinery has raked the past and raised so much dust as to create the unfortunate impression that by concentrating attention on development projects, President Mahama and his government are heartless.



It has, however, failed to assess its own political strategies, which are wrapped around the very objective of development projects (including the pesky and impulsive claim by Akufo-Addo that a government led by him would establish a factory in each district of Ghana).



Truly, development projects matter and should be highlighted as such. How the various political fronts frame their campaign messages around such initiatives is a whole big game. The truth, though, is that President Mahama has moved beyond mere rhetoric about development projects to providing those projects wherever needed. He is being praised all over for actualizing that dream!!



Looking closely at how the tide flows, it appears the Nigerian Momodu Dele is setting standards that the anti-Mahama elements will condemn and for which they will insult him and make all kinds of allegations to damn him.



As is to be expected, one such allegation is out: that President Mahama has bribed him with one million Dollars to do damage control for him. Chief Momodu has come out strongly to deny such an allegation



(See http://www.ghanaweb.com/GhanaHomePage/NewsArchive/1million-Mahama-gift-allegation-false-Dele-Momodu-459890).



According to him, he is singing President Mahama's praise at his own volition because the evidence of what he has been able to do for Ghana speaks volumes. It is, therefore, untenable for his political opponents to misrepresent issues and create a negative impression about him.



The political opponents will be quick to bad-mouth him because they don't like the tune that he is calling and singing. The nagging question, though, is: If President Mahama needs support to be retained in office, should it be the Nigerian Chief Momodu who must provide it? Or who should persuade Ghanaians of President Mahama's worth? I don't think so.



So, why is Chief Momodu so much invested in Ghanaian politics to the extent of expending so much energy in touting the worth of President Mahama? Could he be better off concentrating on happenings in his own country (Nigeria) instead? I don't know.



As he has explained, what he is involved in now is not the first time that he would have engaged Ghanaian politics. He did so under Kufuor and had an extensive interaction with Rawlings to bring out salient issues regarding Ghanaian politics.



But what exactly is his motivation? What does he think Ghana has to offer him and the world that his own Nigeria cannot? (I assume that the political situation in Nigeria is worse than what is happening in Ghana). Is he more attached to Ghana than to his own homeland? Why so? I don't know.



I shall return







Source: Bokor, Michael J. K / e-mail: [email protected] ghanaweb









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Featured Video
Ghana has approved a deal with the United Kingdom (UK) and Northern Ireland on the transfer of convicted persons.



This follows the adoption of the Report by the Constitutional, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs on the deal presented by the Chairman, Magnus Kofi Amoatey.



The ratification by the West African country is spurred by an amendment to its existing law, Transfer of Convicted Persons Act 2007, Act 743.



The former British Colony enacted the Transfer of Convicted Persons Act 2007, Act 743 and proceeded to sign a bilateral agreement with the UK to that effect.



Eight years after the implementation of the law, Ghana has amended the Act in line with additional Protocols to the Convention on the Transfer of Sentenced Persons.



The amendment provides for some circumstances under which the concerns of a convicted person will not be sought by the sentencing stage.



Following the amendment, the West African nation signed an agreement with the UK on November 12, 2015 to that effect.

Presenting the Committees Report on the floor, chairman of the committee told the Legislature that the Attorney-General of Ghana, in spite of the waiver, still reserves the power or the right to give consent for the transfer of a sentenced person.

He further told the House that the UK government, as part of the deal, is assisting in the refurbishment and expansion of facilities in some prisons in Ghana.



The implementation of the agreement will not compromise the human rights of sentenced persons and Ghana stands to benefit from the Government of the UK in the reform of our prisons, he added.



Deputy Ranking Member of the Constitutional, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs and Member of Parliament (MP) for Offinso South, Ben Abdallah Banda, commenting on the issue said, A refusal to ratify this agreement may be seen as this House trying to avoid the implementation of our own laws.

Source: Daily Guide









Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

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The Africa Centre for Energy Policy (ACEP) has condemned government plans to hand over a key asset of the Volta River Authority (VRA) to independent power producer, AMERI.



It says all that government has to do is to replace some broken down turbines to get the Takoradi Thermal Plant, known as T3, working again.



Instead, government is contracting AMERI to repair it and operate it for five years.



That is quite strange that somebody should just install a component of the plant and own the plant, ACEP's Deputy Executive Director, Ben Boakye told Joy News Thursday.



It is not only workers who should be agitated. Every Ghanaianshould be agitated because we spent over $250 million into the plant andwe are just going to hand it over to somebody, Mr Boakye said.



About the T3



The Takoradi T3 power plant is a combined-cycle power plant at the Volta River Authority (VRA) power station at Aboadze, near Takoradi.



It was meant to expand the Takoradi Thermal Power Station capacity by 132MW. It has four 25MW units that are fuelled by gas or LCO (diesel) and an additional 32MW generated from steam.



The Government of Ghana (GoG) through the Ministry of Energy in around 2008 signed a deal with the Canadian Commercial Corporation (CCC) for purchase and installation of the 132MW plant.



Government of Ghana (GoG) officially took over the $256 million thermal plant in April 2013, following the completion of the project and subsequent successful performance tests conducted by the CCC. The installation was then handed over to the Volta River Authority to operate.



After operating the plants on crude oil for a period, they began experiencing some challenges. First, there was overheating in Turbine Four of the installation. The overheating, which led to an explosion, necessitated a precautionary shutdown of the four-turbine plant inaugurated just two months earlier.



This prompted a full-blown inquiry into the challenge to determine if it was a defect with the equipment or operational challenges, and who should bear the liability.



The owners of the Africa & Middle East Resource Investment (AMERI) an independent power producer which began operating in Ghana less than a year is to provide 250MW. The power plant, which arrived in the country last year, started operating on February 1, this year.



But government plans to hand over a strategic T3 in a deal described as Build Own Operate and Transfer (BOOT).



The energy think-tank in a statement said governments contract with AMERI to BOOT the T3 is weird and ill-conceived because the plant has already been built.



the deal cannot be described as a BOOT. At best it can be described as Equipment Supply and Installations Contract, which VRA can deliver on given the same support, the statement stated.



We wish to state therefore, that if the role expected of AMERI is what is being promoted under this deal, then there is no need to cede the plant to it. It will be in the best interest of Ghana to support VRA to revive the plant, ACEP stressed.



AMERI will not be building a power plant, it will rather have to install four turbines and then own the facility for five years using VRA staff who will operate the plant but will not be paid by AMERI.



"They will still be paid by the VRA which has invested $75.8million into the T3 but will not be able to make money out of it to pay for the loan they contracted to repair the plant," Mr Boakye disclosed.



According to Mr Boakye, the turbines installed are not working because they are meant for temperate regions, not tropical Ghanaian climate. VRA has been asking government to help it raise funds to acquire climate appropriate turbines to get the plant working.



But their request made times without number has fallen on deaf ears, he indicated. Government has instead gone in for AMERI to install the turbines and use the facility until 2021.



This news has angered workers of the VRA as Joy News' Ernest Asare reports that the workers were not consulted.



With red bands tied to their arms, heads and necks the workers demanded a return of the three assets-T3 plant, a mine reserve plant and a parcel of land at Kpone which government had given to a third party to manage.



A planned meeting with Acting Power Minister, Seth Terkper on Thursday did not come off because the workers demanded a forum with the entire board and management of the company.

Source: New Crusading Guide









Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

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The police at Adum Bamso in the Mpohor District of the Western Region have rescued a one-and-half-year-old baby boy who was abandoned by the mother in a forest.



Chief Inspector Edward Addo of the Adum Bamso Police, who confirmed this, said it was a farmer, George Minimsaa, who discovered the child in the forest on Saturday, August 30, 2016



He explained that the farmer, who works with Benso Oil Palm Plantation (BOPP), told the police that the child was naked, with a piece of cloth beside him under a palm tree.



Horrified by the scene, the farmer quickly rushed home to inform the community elders, who also informed the police.



The farmer then led the police to the forest at K4, an adjoining village, where the child was rescued.



Chief Inspector Addo said the child was taken to a local clinic at Adum Bamso, where he is currently being cared for.



He stated that announcements were made for the community folks to come and identify the baby on Tuesday, August 2, 2016.



According to him, a girl who identified the child assisted the police to trace the mother at a nearby village called K9 on the same day, Tuesday, August 2.



The mother was subsequently arrested and brought to the police station.



The mother, Ekua Gyasiwa, 26, a native of Abura Dunkwa in the Central Region, told the police that the child is not handsome and she is also no longer interested in the marriage with the child's father, prompting her action.



Further interrogation of the mother revealed that she abandoned the child on Tuesday, July 26, 2016.



She has since been charged with exposing a child to harm, and has been remanded into police custody.

Source: The Finder









Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

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The founder and flagbearer of the Progressive Peoples Party (PPP), Dr Papa Kwesi Nduom, has signed the petition urging President John Mahama to respect the judgement of the Supreme Court against the Montie Three.

The PPP started the petition as counter point to the free Montie three movement demanding a presidential pardon for the three pro-government communicators.

The three, Godwin Ako Gunn, Alistair Nelson and Maase Salifu were jailed four-months for criminal contempt of the Supreme Court after threatening the lives of Justices. Following their incarceration, their lawyers sent a presented a petition to the Presidency n a bid to persuade President Mahama to activate his prerogative of mercy powers under Article 72 of the 1992 Constitution. A group calling itself the Research and Advocacy Platform (RAP) also did same. The RAP petition received public support from notable Government appointees and officials of the governing National Democratic Congress (NDC). But the PPP believe it will be wrong for the President to respond positively to the free Montie three petitions and essentially want their petition to reinforce the Supreme Courts decision to jail them.

The Policy Advisor for the PPP, Kofi Asamoah Siaw, earlier told Citi News any decision by the President to revoke the sentencing will be a slap in the face of the judiciary. He cautioned the President will embolden other future offenders to take similar action if the three are to receive any sort of presidential pardon.

Source: citifmonline.com









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China calls for timely decision by Britain on Hinkley plant Updated: 2016-08-05 08:11 By Cecily Liu(China Daily Europe)

UK prime minister says no approval until autumn to allow for review of nuclear cooperation deal

Beijing has urged the British government to reach a decision as soon as possible on Hinkley Point C, the proposed nuclear power plant in Somerset, as China looks to secure its nuclear industry's first deal in a developed country.

British Prime Minister Theresa May caused shock last week when she said that final approval for the project would be put back until autumn.

China General Nuclear Power Corp at a nuclear industry fair in Beijing. Nan Shan / For China Daily

The state-owned China General Nuclear Power Corp, which has agreed to provide a third of the funding for the 18 billion pound ($23.9 billion; 21.3 billion euros) plant, had expected Downing Street to give the green light after the board at French power company EDF, the main investor, approved the plans on July 29.

However, May said there will be a full review of the Hinkley plan, raising concern that Britain's attitude toward foreign investment in its energy infrastructure could be shifting.

British officials say the prime minister was told during a visit to Paris last month that EDF was to move a key board meeting forward from September to July, and that she told the French she would stand by the original timetable of final approval by autumn.

British Business and Energy Secretary Greg Clark said the government will "consider carefully all the component parts of this project and make its decision in the early autumn".

On Aug 1, the Chinese Foreign Ministry called for a final decision from London as soon as possible.

British media have reported that the delay is related to security concerns about Chinese investment, which have been fueled by comments from critics like Nick Timothy, May's joint chief of staff, who was quoted by The Guardian last year that China could "build weaknesses into computer systems (at Hinkley) which will allow them to shut down Britain's energy production at will". In a commentary piece, Xinhua News Ageny called the nuclear cooperation a sign of the "golden era" in China-UK ties and warned that halting it would see Britain run the risk of "dampening the hard-won mutual trust".

The project also requires final approval from the Chinese government.

"CGN is committed to delivering this much-needed nuclear capacity and providing the UK with safe, reliable and sustainable energy," the company said in a statement. "We respect the new (British) government's need to familiarize itself with a project as important as Hinkley Point, and we stand ready to help the government in this respect."

China's nuclear industry will be anxious to see the project go ahead, as it would pave the way for CGN and EDF to cooperate on a project in Bradwell, Essex, that would use the Chinese-made Hualong One reactor.

David Cameron, who stepped down as prime minister after Britain narrowly voted to leave the European Union in a June 23 referendum, and former chancellor George Osborne were strong supporters of the nuclear deal, as they wanted to attract more Chinese investment to the UK.

Because of this, "immediate approval by the successive British government was very much expected", says Wang Aijuan, strategy director at consultancy Mott MacDonald. "We learned that the Chinese government was ready to give its approval."

Supporters of Hinkley Point C say the project will create thousands of jobs and secure Britain's energy supply. However, critics warn of escalating costs.

The project is to use the European pressurized reactor technology, the same as at Flamanville in France, which is more than three times over budget and years behind schedule. Finland's Olkiluoto Nuclear Power Plant, which also uses EPR, is nine years behind schedule and three times over budget.

"Until EDF gets other EPR reactors up and running in Finland and France, it's very difficult not to maintain a healthy skepticism with regard to project delivery - any escalating costs or overruns would eat into profitability," says Andrew Shepherd, senior energy and infrastructure analyst at BMI Research.

cecily.liu@mail.chinadailyuk.com

The Hinkley Point nuclear power station site. Provided to China Daily

Scientists vie in contest for small nuclear reactor design

Britain has launched a contest to find a design for a small modular reactor to deploy in future nuclear projects, providing an opportunity for China to collaborate in advancing the technology.

The competition, run by the Department for Energy and Climate Change, aims to find the best value SMR, which is a miniature power plant with a capacity of less than 300 megawatts.

China National Nuclear Corp is among the candidates, along with heavyweights including Westinghouse, NuScale, Npower and Rolls-Royce.

The British government has committed 250 million pounds ($333 million; 296 million euros) over the next five years to the project, which will see the winning design used in the British market.

As the SMR market is less developed, "Chinese vendors have a great opportunity to be first to build and demonstrate commercial scale SMR designs, leveraging the strong existing nuclear new-build program in China, and the consequent skills and industrial supply chain that has grown up to serve that industry", says Tony Ward, an analyst at EY.

The concept of SMRs has been around for many years. China, South Korea, the United States and Russia all have designs, although none have been built to commercial scale.

China National Nuclear Corp has an agreement with the Nuclear Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre, a government-funded organization led by the universities of Sheffield and Manchester, to cooperate on localizing its SMR design - the ACP100 - should it win the competition.

Mike Tynan, the center's CEO, says that the partnership could bring win-win benefits, as the resulting technology could be used not just in the UK, but also in other advanced economies.

The ACP100 reactor has been under development since 2010 and reached a milestone in May when it passed a final safety review by the International Atomic Energy Agency. Two demonstration sites fitted with ACP100s are being built in the southwestern province of Fujian.

(China Daily European Weekly 08/05/2016 page25)
Parliament has suspended the approval of the Deputy Local Government Ministerial nominee John Oti Bless.



Mr Bless together was hoping to be approved by the House in order for them to begin his deputy ministerial career with five months to go into an election.



But the fate of the Deputy Local Government ministerial nominee hangs in a balance after he, together with the infamous Montie three convicts were accused of making contemptuous comments against the Chief Justice and the judiciary.



His compatriots are serving time in jail for four months and the minority in Parliament believes Mr Bless must equally pay for his contemptuous comments.



They have brought a petition to the Speaker requesting that the Local Government nominee be rejected by the House having already been vetted by the Appointments Committee of Parliament.



They had sworn to block his approval if the matter had come to the floor for a decision to be taken.



Joy News' Parliamentary correspondent Elton John Brobbey said the House has decided to suspend the approval of Mr Bless together with Mr Bombande who is eager to begin his Deputy Foreign Ministerial role.



It is not clear yet if the suspension has anything to do with the petition against Mr Bless. With the House rising later Thursday evening it remains to be seen if members will be recalled to the House to approve the nominees.



If they are not recalled, then the House will take a substantive decision about the future of the two when members return in September.

Source: myjoyonline.com









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Brigadier-General Joseph Nunoo-Mensah, twice the Chief of Defense Staff of the Ghana Armed Forces and currently the Head of Human Security at the Presidency says Ghana is retrogressing instead of moving forward.



The former National Security Advisor says Ghana has since independence retrogressed instead of moving forward.



Brigadier-General Nunoo Mensah said he made the statement out of his practical experience and not some theory. After Nkrumah's overthrow; to be honest with you we are retrogressing, he said.



According to him the educational system is bedeviled with serious challenges and instead of adopting measures in resolving these challenges and others, we are wasting time on unnecessary issues.



He indicated some appointees of government are incompetent and lack understanding of what they supposed to do.



The reason Ghana is not moving forward he said is very complex.



Brigadier-General Nunoo Mensah was speaking in an exclusive interview on Rainbow Radio on whether or not it is right for President Mahama to evoke Article 72 of the constitution to pardon the Montie trio.



He said the brouhaha on whether or not the president should pardon the trio is a waste of time.



In his view, the trio, Alister Nelson, Godwin Ako Gun and Salifu Maase deserves the punishment for scandalizing the court, therefore the pressure on the president to pardon the trio is needless.



He posited that there are very important issues we should be discussing to move this country forward, rather than wasting time on this Montie trio.



According to him, almost one and a half years under the leadership of President is almost wasted on issues which in his opinion is not important.



The rate of youth unemployment which he warned is a serious security threat to the nation; food insecurity, sanitation among other serious challenges facing the country he stressed should be the most important issues we should be discussing instead the Montie trio.



The four months handed the trio he noted was lenient hence they should be allowed to serve their punishment for their wrong doing. Ghana is not moving forward. As I have said earlier, a house I bought for 25,000 old Ghana cedis is far cheaper than the price of plantain today. There is something wrong with our society. So we should be concerned of graduate unemployment; I'm not saying the trio are not human beings, but their issue is minute compared to the problems we have in this country,'' he underscored.

Source: rainbowradioonline.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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Ghanas Minister of Trade and Industry, Dr. Ekow Spio Garbrah has visited the three Montie FM contemnors who were sentenced to four months in prison.

Following the incarceration of the trio after they were found guilty of contempt charges, several ministers and high ranking officials of the incumbent National Democratic Congress (NDC), have signed a petition to put pressure on the President to grant them a presidential pardon. The three had on a radio programme threatened to eliminate justices of the apex court over their handling of the lawsuit on the credibility of Ghanas voters register.

Some of the NDC high ranking officials who have signed the petition include the Education Minister, Jane Naana Opoku Agyemang, Gender, Children and Social Protection Minister, Nana Oye Lithur, and Tourism Minister Elizabeth Ofosu-Adjare among others. Spios visit follows a similar one paid by the former Transport Minister, Dzifa Attivor. Madam Ativor in collaboration with Women for Mahama group presented items such as tins of Milk, Milo, canned fish, a gallon of cooking oil, bottles of water and toiletries to the incarcerated three.









Source: citifmonline.com









Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

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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.
Oh no. Oh no no no no.

The Australian cartoonist Bill Leak has continued to dig, doubling down on his wildly racist cartoon yesterday that was slammed across the nation for its use of outdated stereotypes  the absent Indigenous father  to add, well, nothing to conversation about the mistreatment of Indigenous youths in the Don Dale detention centre.

Hes written a piece today that seems to have the sole purpose of hurling petty insults at his critics (of which there are thousands  including Indigenous Affairs Minister Nigel Scullion, Greens leader Richard Di Natale, multiple voices from the Indigenous community, and literally thousands of others besides.)

When little children cant understand things, they often lash out and throw tantrums, he wrote in The Australian today (because where else would publish it). Workplace and safety considerations prevent adults stamping their feet and hurling themselves onto the playground, so they have to content themselves with spewing invective all over the virtual playground of Twitter.

They take aim at whoever confounded them, claim to be offended and engage in a cathartic process of name-calling and abuse.



He accompanied his bizarro defence with a new cartoon. Its the same one as yesterday, only now the people are white! And instead of criticising Indigenous fathers, hes criticising critics!



Please Dont Lynch The White Man  Bill not racist just tellin the truth Leak, 2016

He even invented a disorder to clarify his point: Chronic Truth Aversion Disorder. This is not a thing.

The CTAD epidemic that is raging unchecked through Australias social media population is rendering impossible any intelligent debate on serious social issues, such as the rampant violence, abuse and neglect of children in remote indigenous communities.

The reactions of people in an advanced stage of the condition to anything that so much as hints at the truth, while utterly irrational, are also so hostile that anyone inclined to speak the truth understandably becomes afraid to do so.

What makes this equally bizarre is that Leaks is putting himself in the position of belittling those suffering his made-up disorder?

Leaks ends this walk down terrible lane with the line if you think things are pretty crook for the children locked up in the Northern Territorys Don Dale Youth Detention Centre, you should have a look at the homes they came from and a dick-swinging mention of his nine Walkley Awards.

Vom.

Since the cry of leftist Twitter scum seems to get bandied about whenever anyone says something racist / sexist / homophobic and gets called out for it, here is some of the responses to your cartoon, Bill  screenshotted from The Australians very own Facebook page.

And, for good measure, heres Twitters response to todays one. (What can we say? Twitter gets there faster.)

every single person alive: that cartoon was racist

bill leak: i am the hero indigenous people need  thomas violence (@thomas_violence) August 5, 2016

In Reality Bites when Winona struggles to define irony, she couldve just said Bill Leak thinking hes been unfairly represented.  Jo Thornely (@jothornely) August 4, 2016

wherein leak implies that his free speech is good but when free speech is used against him its akin to a lynching pic.twitter.com/j4ISsrdkNj  Colley (@JamColley) August 4, 2016

Bill leak the old git ACTUALLY thinks hes opening new dialogue by drawing rehashed racial stereotypes from decades back. bless  chloe sargeant (@chlosarge) August 4, 2016



Fairfaxs political cartoonist David Pope even had this cartoon in response today.

The white tracksuit brigade https://t.co/0163VajLU3> pic.twitter.com/nVpNAiAG8B  David Pope (@davpope) August 4, 2016

Australia: Not A Racist Country.

Photo: Bill Leaks unmentionables.
Life in prison was never going to be any fun for Brett Peter Cowan, the man who murdered Sunshine Coast school kid Daniel Morcombe.

Its being reported that the serial paedophile has been hospitalised with significant burns to his head, chest and legs after a fellow inmate at the Wolston Correctional Facility allegedly doused him with boiling water.

Queensland paramedics confirmed he was transferred to Royal Brisbane Hospital and offered no details other than his injuries arent life-threatening.

It was only in February that Cowan, who was found guilty of murdering Daniel in 2014, was granted permission to mingle with other inmates after spending two years in isolation.

The boiling water incident comes three months after reports that convicted rapist, Douglas Brian Jackway  originally a person of interest in Daniels disappearance  threatened a revenge-attack against Cowan.

Source: Yahoo.

Photo: Supplied.
Yesterday we reported on the devastating mass knife attack that occurred in Russell Square Station in central London, and today news has emerged that multiple Australians were involved in the incident.

Out of the six people attacked, an Australian man and woman were injured. A Department of Foreign Affairs spokesperson confirmed a third Australian was present during the attack but was not injured.

British police have spoken out about the attacker, a young Norwegian man of Somali background. While media originally reported that this incident was gang-related, police are now stating they believe the attack to be related to mental illness.

London Metropolitan Police assistant commissioner Mark Rowley said their investigation into the episode increasingly points to mental health issues, and said theyve found no sign of radicalisation.

Early indications suggest that mental health was a factor in this horrific attack. However we are keeping an open mind regarding the motive.

The 19-year-old attacked six people altogether, killing one 60-year-old American woman, and the injured five were Australian, Israeli, British and American.

Police have stated that it appeared to be a spontaneous attack and that the victims were selected at random.

Three of the injured have been discharged, while the other two remain in hospital.

Source: Newscorp.

Photo: London Tourism Office.
Weve teamed up with Flight Centre to help yall get some bucketlist boxes ticked. Theyve got an Earlybird Sale happening HERE for 2017 Euro experiences, making damn sure you dont miss out on the iconic experiences just cause you were a little late to the party.



Sure, spontaneity is a beaut trait to have, but missing out on things because your mate couldnt get their shit together in time is downright hell. A drinks date here and there isnt too painful, but when it comes to the bigger things, the FOMO can sting like piss on a jellyfish bite. Hurts da soul real good.

So you dont creep into that guy territory, heres what you need to book right bloody now if youre even THINKING about going to Europe next year.

OKTOBERFEST



Photo: Johannes Simon / Getty Images.

WHEN: September 16  October 4, 2017.

WHERE: Munich, Germany.

WHAT YOU NEED TO BOOK: Accomodation and transport / tour group.

Entry itself is free and does not need to be booked for general attendance. However, you can book seats in advance should you do so before February at the latest.

Danielle Smith, who was a travel agent at both Flight Centre and Escape Travel for the better part of a decade, tells PEDESTRIAN.TV:



People get very disappointed when they try and book accomodation, flights or tour groups for Oktoberfest only to find that it is all booked out. You really need to book it at least nine months in advance, if not earlier to avoid missing out entirely.

TOMORROWLAND



Photo: Facebook / Tomorrowland.

WHEN: July 28-30 (TBC) 2017.

WHERE: Boom, Belgium.

WHAT YOU NEED TO BOOK: Tickets (!!!), accommodation and transport / tour group.





Tomorrowland is the biggest electronic music festival in the world, so, as ycan imagine, is in high demand for tourists. The festival just wrapped up for 2016, meaning dates and ticket availability for 2017 are acoming. You best be ready.

LA TOMATINA



Photo: Jasper Juinen / Getty Images.

WHEN: August 20, 2017.

WHERE: Bunol, Valencia, Spain.

WHAT YOU NEED TO BOOK: Accomodation / tour group, transport.

You dont need to book to get tomato in places tomato should never go, however, you need to sort your accomodation and transport. Bunol is a small town, and extra measures need to be taken to get in and out of there.

Former London-based Aussie Jaime decided to go to La Tomatina less than a week before the fact, only to find out that there were no flights, trains or even buses going to Spain as they were all booked out.

I ended up finding a trip share through Gumtree but it took over 16 hours, was crowded and uncomfortable and the driver ended up asking for more petrol money than what was originally agreed on. I definitely wish I booked this one in advance, because the whole trip started off on the wrong foot. I really struggled to enjoy myself because of the difficult situation, spent way more than I should have, and was all-round unprepared.

SZIGET



Photo: Facebook / Sziget.

WHEN: August (exact date TBC) 2017.

WHERE: Hungary, Budapest.

WHAT YOU NEED TO BOOK: Tickets (!!!), accommodation and transport / tour group.

28-year-old Chloe Gjedsted hit up the festival last year and had a hella time thanks to being on the ball with flights, accomodation and tickets.



I booked months before, at the same time that I booked my accommodation and flights to Budapest (obviously because I had to plan around the festival). You wanna get the best / cheapest flights and accommodation, so you book early. Plus, Budapest turned into tourist city for that whole week  everyone was there for Sziget  so we were lucky because all the hostels were packed.

CROATIA SAILING



Photo: Supplied.



WHEN: Summer 2017.

WHERE: Croatia.

WHAT YOU NEED TO BOOK: Travel & tour group.

Everyone knows an island hopping tour is best done in summer, which is why this one is important to catch in its peak.

Jacob Maguire from NSWs Central Coast has just returned home from a Eurotrip of a lifetime, telling P.TV:

Croatia was the highlight of my trip to Europe this year. I remember getting out of the taxi with my mates  we all stopped and looked at each other and literally had to pick our jaws off the ground.

Croatia is a MUST  you will come back a different person. I was fortunate enough to have one of my friends book the entire thing for our group (Im useless at planning ahead), meaning we got to sail Croatia in peak period and meet so many people doing the same thing.

If you want to take all the brainwork out of the planning, hit up Flight Centres Earlybird Special. Theyve got partners like Contiki, Topdeck and Busabout thatll ensure your accomodation and travel is all sorted for the must-do events on your itinerary. Scope it HERE.

Besides, if you went to Europe and didnt snap a selfie at the continents biggest / loosest / most iconic events, did you ever truly Europe at all? We think not, and we want to make damn sure you dont find yourself in a hellish hole of regret.

#Eurotrip2017 #YOLO.

Photo: Jasper Juinen / Getty Images.
Big data requires big vision Updated: 2016-08-05 08:11 By Wang Mingjie(China Daily Europe)

Wealth of information on Chinese online payments shows how research can explain social phenomena

Big data is unlocking the mysteries behind China's consumer behavior, but the nation needs to focus more on social impact to spot opportunities and risks, according to top London academic Guo Yike.

The founding director of Imperial College London's Data Science Institute says the shift in China toward digital payment tools, facilitated by a well-developed Internet infrastructure, means it is now a lot easier to see how citizens are spending their money.

Guo Yike warns the use of personal data is a double-edged sword. Provided to China Daily

As people hardly use paper money anymore, "consumer behavior is completely reflected in the use of internet payments, which is not quite the case yet in Western countries", he says.

For Guo, the scale of the data is overwhelming. The example he cites is Alipay, Alibaba Group's online payment platform, which handles more than 200 million transactions a day. No similar service in the West comes close to that figure, he says.

"This kind of big data research is fundamental to understanding a nation's economy and social behavior."

China has put a lot of effort into big data innovation and research, and its unique strength can be seen in areas such as the healthcare system, he says. "It already has a pretty modern infrastructure to accumulate patient information. Also, due to the centralized system, all hospital data is under unified management, a great resource for the future of personalized medicine."

However, the use of personal data is a double-edged sword, he warns. "It means you know more about people. Big data characterizes individuals using a set of measurements, which means I know you more, so I can make products for your benefit or interests," he explains. "Yet it also means I can do something that you really don't like.

"What we have to do is develop a mature legal system and make different social conventions to ensure information on individuals is respected and used properly."

The internet economy and big data innovation are two key areas for the Chinese government. However, Guo says the emphasis now lies too much on the technology, finding new products and industries, while research in the West tends to focus more on understanding the social impact.

He believes big data in the West could revolutionize medicine, as with more accessible data, healthcare could become more personalized, theoretically allowing patients to choose a doctor based on their own understanding, illness or income.

"As a result, we may see doctors dissociate from hospitals to offer private services. We could potentially have an Uber for doctors. That's a key example of how big data could change the entire medical care structure."

This is the kind of research being done in Western countries, he says, adding that if China fails to realize the importance of social impact, the country may not see certain opportunities or risks, and will not have enough insight to set the rules in the future.

Guo, who was born in Shanghai, gained a first-class honors degree in computer science from Tsinghua University in the 1980s before getting his PhD in computational logic at Imperial College London about a decade later.

He has worked extensively on technology and scientific data analysis platforms, with his research focusing on knowledge discovery, data-mining and large-scale data management.

In 1999, he founded InforSense, a software company for life sciences and healthcare data analysis, and served as CEO for several years before its merger in 2009 with IDBS, an advanced research and development software provider.

Overall, Guo thinks China should change its mentality of always playing catch-up. "In many areas, it's an advanced country, so it should think about how developments contribute to mankind, not just to China."

Based on the scale of data on online payments, he says China should make a major contribution to deciding what kind of mechanisms, financial rules, conventions and legal systems can be designed, and what kind of impact the internet economy will have on banks.

"As someone of Chinese origin, I understand how different it is in China to make payments nowadays, but how many people outside China notice that? Very few," he says. "So, just speak about it, research about it, tell people, make a contribution and encourage people to study it.

"In many areas, China is in the lead, but they don't know it. They do not wish to know, and they do not dare to know, that's the problem."

In the past decade, Imperial College London has become China's No 1 research collaborator in Britain. The college's Chinese partners include Huawei Technologies; scientific institutes at Tsinghua, Zhejiang and Peking universities; and the Chinese Academy of Sciences.

President Xi Jinping was given a tour of two of the college's facilities, one being the Data Science Institute, during his historic state visit to the UK in October.

Guo presented data analysis on human migration to the Chinese leader, as he thinks understanding people's movements, and the consequences of that movement, is important for policymaking.

The research results reflected some interesting facts, he says. For example, young people from Zhejiang province tend to migrate to provinces like Henan, which is not an obvious choice.

"The reason this happened is largely because of the entrepreneurial opportunities in Henan, which have been generated by the building of logistic centers in (provincial capital) Zhengzhou, a major railway hub, and by preferential policies. That's quite an interesting result."

wangmingjie@mail.chinadailyuk.com

(China Daily European Weekly 08/05/2016 page32)
Pikowski's Pierogi Place

Pikowski's Pierogi Place opened Aug. 4 at the Broad Street Market in Harrisburg. It serves classic and non-traditional pierogi including breakfast pierogi stuffed with scrambled eggs.

(Sue Gleiter, PennLive.com)

At Pikowski's Pierogi Place at the Broad Street Market, find classic pierogi just like grandma used to make.

You'll also find updated versions of the Eastern European dish, from a cheesesteak pierogi to breakfast varieties and one stuffed with sweet potato.

The stand, which opened Aug. 4, is owned by Carolyn Pikowski and Keith Jefferies.

Pikowski dreamed up the idea after returning from a trip to her home state of New Jersey where she visited a Polish deli. She immediately realized there was no place in the Harrisburg region specializing in homemade pierogi.

So Pikowski gave her three week notice working in mental health at Case Management Unit in Harrisburg, and launched plans to open the stand in the market's stone building.

"Nothing is set in stone. There is a lot of trial and error," she said.

She makes all of the pierogi from scratch using a homemade dough, which is wrapped around a variety of fillings. The pierogi are sauteed to order in butter.

Pikowski makes nearly 20 different fillings for the pierogi, and sells between eight and 10 varieties at one time. She plans to rotate the offerings weekly.

Fillings range from classic potato and onion potato to three different breakfast pierogi - egg and cheese; bacon, egg and cheese; and egg, cheese, spinach and pepper. (Think breakfast sandwich minus the bread.)

The cheesesteak pierogi is made from sauteed onion, American and provolone cheese and Philadelphia brand steak.

"Those really sell good. We'll probably sell out of those today," Pikowski said.

The menu also includes nearly a dozen pierogi toppings, from sour cream to sauteed peppers, diced tomatoes and guacamole for an additional 50 cents.

The pierogi are priced at three for $7. Specialty versions such as the sweet potato and cheesesteak sell three for $8. The stand also sells kielbasa as a side with pierogi or as a sub sandwich, with or without peppers and onions.

The stand is open 8 a.m.-5 p.m. Thursday-Friday and 8 a.m.-4 p.m. Saturday.
Budweiser is touring the central Pennsylvania area and bringing out crowds wherever it goes.

Lancaster was the beer company's latest stop. The signature Clydesdales and Budweiser Dog (an adorable dalmatian) took to the streets of the downtown to deliver beer to various bars, including The Pressroom and Belvedere Inn.

As the parade stopped, the crowds came down and took selfies with the horses. Hundreds came out to cheer them on and see the horses in action.

Lancaster was the second stop for the Budweiser tour in our region. The horses were in Harrisburg on Aug. 3.

The next stop for Budweiser is the Penn National Race Course in Grantville on Aug. 5-6. Afterwards, the parade will head to the Lebanon Valley Expo Center in Lebanon on Aug. 7 for the 6th annual 911 and Military Salute.
A long-delayed industrial museum in a shuttered Pennsylvania steel plant has finally blown the factory whistle and opened the punch clock for visitors, after nearly 20 years of planning.

The National Museum of Industrial History opened in Bethlehem this week as a showcase of American industrial might. It is housed in a century-old building at the former Bethlehem Steel plant, which made the skeleton of Rockefeller Plaza, beams for the Golden Gate Bridge and armor plate for countless warships.

After about 140 years of metal production, Bethlehem Steel's massive blast furnaces on the banks of the Lehigh River went cold in 1995.

The closed plant was once one of America's largest abandoned industrial sites, but now hosts the Sands Casino Resort and a thriving arts complex called SteelStacks in addition to the Smithsonian Institution-affiliated museum.

A look at what to see, why to go and what took so long to create the museum:

America's move from farms to forges

The museum tells the story of America's transformation from an agrarian society to a pivotal player in the Industrial Revolution. Despite its home in the steel plant's 1913 electric repair shop, the museum also focuses on the propane industry, silk-making and massive machines that made the transformation possible.

Among the more than 200 items on view are the first piece of steel rolled in Bethlehem in 1873 and the last piece of Class A armor rolled in the United States, dating from 1953. Visitors can get a sense of what child laborers dealt with by holding a 20-pound tray of bobbins, which they would carry for hours at silk factories. They can also take a gander at World War I-era anti-tank field cannons and a Corliss steam engine.

The former steel mill sits on the largest private brownfield in America.

First Smithsonian affiliate

The National Museum of Industrial History was the first museum to be named a Smithsonian affiliate. However, as the creation dragged on and on, other museums around the country became affiliates and opened up.

RELATED:

Among the benefits of the affiliation are sharing agreements with all 19 Smithsonian museums, which enables exhibition of objects from the national museum collection as well as providing outlets for the industry museum's objects to be shown outside of Pennsylvania.

A Smithsonian exhibit about the 1876 World's Fair in Philadelphia is currently on display.

Artifacts from the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History include lathes, hammers and engines.

Long delays prompted state probe

The museum was first proposed in the 1990s, but failed to get off the ground despite having raised nearly $17 million.

That drawn-out delay led to an investigation by state prosecutors. A grand jury report released in 2014 concluded the museum suffered from serious mismanagement and wasted public and private funds. The panel referred the matter to the attorney general's office.

Attorney General Kathleen Kane announced last year that the state probe found no evidence of criminal wrongdoing or misappropriation of funds and concluded the museum was financially viable. Her office gave the museum two years to open or dissolve.

Adding to Pennsylvania's industrial heritage

The industry museum is among many around the state focusing on Pennsylvania's role in the Industrial Revolution. In Scranton, the Steamtown National Historic Site focuses on the history of steam railroads in the United States. Also in Scranton is the Pennsylvania Anthracite Heritage Museum, featuring massive iron furnaces. In Ulysses, the Pennsylvania Lumber Museum recreates a 20th century lumber mill and camp. The National Canal Museum in Easton tells the story of the Pennsylvania Canal and America's historic towpath canals.

Rusty Baker, director of PA Museums, said Wednesday the Bethlehem museum can help tie the industrial history of the region together, in a poignant locale.

"Where better to showcase this history than where it happened?" he said of the plant. "It really puts it into context."

If you go:

Location: 602 E 2nd St., Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, about a 1 1/2 hour drive from Philadelphia and New York City.

Hours: Wednesday through Sunday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Tickets: Children (6 and younger): Free; Youth (7 to 17): $9; Veterans/Students: $11; Seniors (65 and older): $11; Adults (18 to 64): $12
DO NOT REUSE

Pennsylvania is home to three fantastic museums where visitors can ride on vintage trolleys and learn their history.

(Jim Cheney | Special to PennLive)

One hundred years ago, during the height of Pennsylvania's streetcar era, dozens of trolley lines traveled along hundreds of miles of track in nearly every major and minor metropolitan area in the state. The trolleys took people to work in factories, shoppers into the city for goods and even families out to amusement parks for recreation.

However, thanks to the Great Depression and the increasing use of automobiles, these streetcar lines faded away until nearly none were left in Pennsylvania. Fortunately, the legacy of these trolleys, along with the cars that once ran on the lines are being preserved at Pennsylvania's three fantastic trolley museums.

The Electric City Trolley Museum offers the largest museum and most interesting excursions.

Scranton, Pennsylvania, is known as the Electric City, partially because of the city's history with electric streetcars, so it should comes as no surprise that the city is home to a trolley museum. The Electric City Trolley Museum is located next to Steamtown National Historic Site and shares some of the same facilities with this railroad museum.

Of the three trolley museums in Pennsylvania, the Electric City Trolley Museum offers the largest museum and the most interesting excursion.

The museum portion features a handful of trolleys in various states of repair. There is also a short film about the history of streetcars in the region and display cases filled with artifacts and memorabilia from the area's past.

The trolley excursion travels through downtown Scranton, into Nay Aug Gorge, through a mile-long tunnel, and past an abandoned mine. This varied scenery offers a unique looks at Scranton and follows tracks that streetcars would have taken decades ago.

The trolley warehouse at the Pennsylvania Trolley Museum houses dozens of vintage streetcars.

The Pennsylvania Trolley Museum is located in the southwestern Pennsylvania community of Washington. Opened in 1963, the Pennsylvania Trolley Museum is home to more than four dozen vintage streetcars and a two-mile section of track.

This site contains a small museum and a short film that introduces visitors to the region's transportation history. The highlight, however, is a ride on a vintage trolley. The track on which the museum operates was once part of the trolley line that ran from Pittsburgh to Washington, and it offers visitors a chance to see what it was like to ride this portion of track. The streetcars used are in immaculate condition and even vintage advertisements have been replicated inside the cars.

Along the route, visitors can stop at the museum's warehouse, where they house dozens of vintage trolleys from all over the world. Some of these are in great condition and some have definitely seen better days. However, it's fascinating to walk amongst these streetcars and learn their history.

The Rockhill Trolley Museum offers interesting excursions in their beautifully restored trolleys.

The third trolley museum in Pennsylvania is the Rockhill Trolley Museum, located near Raystown Lake. Like the other two museums, the main highlight here is a ride on a restored streetcar. However, unlike the other two museums, these rides don't travel along track that streetcars used decades ago. Instead, they use old train tracks that are no longer used to transport goods.

Rides here pass through a forested area that was once home to iron production. Visitors can still see piles of slag that are left over from the iron furnaces, and there are ruins of an old iron furnace along the route as well.

The Rockhill Trolley Museum has very few artifacts on display, making the trolley excursion and their vintage trolleys the focus of the visit. The museum is home to several trolleys that were once used outside of the United States, including ones from Portugal and Brazil.

Without a doubt, trolleys played an important role in the lives of Pennsylvanians during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. A visit to any of these museums will give visitors a chance to go back in time to see what transportation was like in the past and experience this living history for themselves.

Jim Cheney is the writer behind UncoveringPA, Pennsylvania's most read travel blog. He has traveled to every county in Pennsylvania, and to many countries in North America, Europe, and Asia. He lives in Harrisburg, Pa.
Screen Shot 2016-08-05 at 11.10.42 AM.png

(Screenshot taken of "Scrapple is the new Bacon" Facebook page's post.)

Bad news, scrapple fans. The picture of Wegmans' "Fresh Scrapple" ice cream is fake.

You might have seen people sharing an image of Wegmans "Fresh Scrapple Premium Ice Cream," which boasts of "Scrapple Chunks with Real Maple Syrup Added." If only it were true.

Pete Ruggieri, a 47-year-old Lancaster resident, created the picture about six years ago through his Facebook page "Scrapple is the new Bacon," according to Billy Penn. He shared the picture again after he learned that a new Wegmans was opening up near where he lives.

The news publication also reached out to Wegmans at their Rochester, New York, headquarters, who assured them that scrapple is not one of their 16 flavors of ice cream and sorbet.

Even then, the internet people have gone crazy about the hoax.

Yesterday it was Scrapple Ice Cream...Today, someone sent me Scrapple Baby Food. Let's eat!!! pic.twitter.com/TkWUEejmAh  Bob Kelly (@BobKellyFOX29) August 5, 2016

Would you try Scrapple ice cream if it were real? Let us know in the comments below.
A 25-year-old man who's already spent time in prison for not telling sex partners he's HIV-positive has been charged again.

Ricky Webster

According to LehighValleyLive.com:

Ricky Webster, of Lebanon (N.J.), is accused of a total of six counts of recklessly endangering others - three counts for each of his two victims, according to Easton police.

Police said the victims contacted police after learning of his criminal history on the Internet.

The new charges stem from crimes that occurred at two different times with two different victims in Easton, said Detective Christopher Miller.

In 2010, Webster was sentenced to four years in prison for not telling two female sex partners that he was HIV-positive. One was a 15-year-old girl.

According to reports, he contracted HIV as a baby from his mother. The virus can lead to AIDS.
Barack Obama

President Barack Obama speaks during a news conference after attending a National Security Council Meeting on efforts to counter the Islamic State, Thursday, Aug. 4, 2016, at the Pentagon in Washington.

(AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)

WASHINGTON -- President Barack Obama expressed surprise Thursday at criticism of his administration's $400 million cash payment to Iran to settle a longstanding legal claim, adamantly rejecting claims that it was a ransom paid for the release of four Americans held in Iran.



"This wasn't some nefarious deal," Obama told reporters at the Pentagon. He pointed out that the payment, along with an additional $1.3 billion in interest to be paid later, was announced by the administration publicly when it was concluded in January, a day after the implementation of a landmark nuclear agreement with Iran. "It wasn't a secret. We were completely open about it."



Obama allowed that the one piece of new information, first reported this week by The Wall Street Journal, was that the $400 million was paid in cash. It was delivered to Iran on palettes aboard an unmarked plane.



"The only bit of news is that we paid cash," he said. "The reason is because we couldn't send them a check and we couldn't wire the money. We don't have a banking relationship with Iran which is part of the pressure we applied on them."



The payment has revived allegations from critics of the Iran nuclear deal. The timing of the arrival of the cash coincided with the release of the four detained Americans as well as implementation of the nuclear deal, leading to charges that the settlement of the 35-year-old claim was a "ransom" payment.

Obama echoed denials of a ransom that have been repeatedly been offered by other administration officials, including Secretary of State John Kerry.



"We do not pay ransom for hostages," Obama said, citing longstanding U.S. policy not to pay them for fear of encouraging abductions. "We didn't here and we won't in the future."



Earlier in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Kerry told reporters that the "story is not a new story" and "was announced by the president of the United States himself at the same time."

The settlement stemmed from a claim filed by Iran with an international tribunal in 1981 that related to a $400 million payment made by the government of the U.S.-backed Shah of Iran to purchase military equipment in 1970s. The equipment was never delivered because, in 1979, his government was overthrown and revolutionaries took American hostages at the U.S. Embassy in Tehran. Diplomatic relations were subsequently severed although the two countries did agree to set up the tribunal to rule on claims from both nations.

U.S. officials have said they were concerned that the tribunal might order the U.S. to pay billions more in interest as part of an enforced judgment and that settling the claim in January made good sense.

"It was the assessment of our lawyers that there was significant litigation risk and we could end up costing ourselves billions," Obama said. "Their advice was that we settle."
WILLIAM SPORT -- The city of Williamsport has paid a New York State real estate broker $20,000 toward settling two federal lawsuits that challenge the constitutionality of it rental housing ordinance.

Similar rental ordinances that penalize landlords for the behavior of tenants have been challenged in court in at least two other Pennsylvania cities.

Norristown settled a federal lawsuit brought by the American Civil Liberties Union for $495,000.

Williamsport's ordinance is patterned after the one in Wilkes-Barre that being challenged in U.S. Middle District Court by the ACLU.

The controversial section of Williamsport's rental ordinance allows codes officers to evict tenants and close a unit for six months if the landlord has actual or implied knowledge of criminal activity.

City Solicitor Norman Lubin said Tuesday he is working with codes administrator Joe Girardi on a revision aimed at settling the suits brought by John DeRaffele of New Rochelle N.Y.

He would not reveal how the ordinance might be changed but it is anticipated it would give landlords more due process instead of having units summarily closed.

When it was adopted in 2013, the ordinance was viewed as another tool to fight crime, especially drug activity.

DeRaffele, who has properties in Massachusetts, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey and Florida besides Pennsylvania, filed his suits after two of his units, one in the 700 block of West Fourth and the other in the 900 block of High Street, were closed in August 2014 and January 2015, respectively.

He contends the ordinance is intended to dissuade owners from renting to those from outside the area, specifically Philadelphia, and to minorities who are less fortunate.

It makes landlords "new cops on the block," he claims, adding leases with tenants are none of the city's business.

After accepting the $20,000 to settle the monetary issues, DeRaffele, who owns 13 properties in the city, asked Judge Matthew W. Brann to schedule a settlement conference to resolve other differences.

Brann referred the cases to Magistrate Judge William I. Arbuckle III who is in the process of scheduling a settlement conference.

The controversial part of Williamsport's ordinance also permits closure if the tenant is charged or convicted of crimes that include homicide, assault with a weapon and drugs.

It requires landlords to register their units, designate a manager if they live outside Lycoming County, monitor tenant activities and provide renters notice of their duties and responsibilities.

The ordinance created a board to hear appeals if a rental unit is closed.

DeRaffele claims if he is not successful in his suits, the ACLU is prepared to challenge the constitutionality of the ordinance.

Defendants in his suits include the city, Mayor Gabriel J. Campana, top police officials, codes administrator, the appeals board, its members and the assistant city solicitor.
Defense paper reveals Japan's pugnacity Updated: 2016-08-05 07:57 By Li Yang(China Daily)

In its 2016 defense white paper, Japan interferes in the South China Sea. [Photo by Cai Hong/chinadaily.com.cn]

In its defense white paper issued on Tuesday, Japan says China has destabilized the regional military balance and some of its maritime claims are conflicting. It also voices concern over the future of the region.

Japan issued the defense paper a day after China's People Liberation Army celebrated its 89th birthday. A day later, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe appointed Tomomi Inada as defense minister.

In charge of the government's administrative reform from December 2012 to September 2014, Inada has visited Yasukuni Shrine, which honors 14 class-A war criminals, every year on Aug 15, the day Japan surrendered in World War II. And on Saturday (Aug 6) Japan will mourn the deaths of thousands of people in Hiroshima, a day which right-wing Japanese have turned into an annual event to portray Japan as a victim of WWII.

Using such excuses to change the pacifist Constitution, the Abe administration has prepared a file exaggerating the external threats Japan faces. The defense white paper follows the same pattern.

In a poll conducted by Kyodo News Agency last month, 48.9 percent of the respondents said they oppose the Abe administration's revision of the Constitution that allowed Japanese troops to engage in conflicts abroad; only 35.8 percent supported it. This shows the split in Japanese society on a key issue concerning the country's future.
COLUMBIA BOROUGH -- Less than a mile from the scene of Friday's alleged attempt on the lives of four police officers here, community members and leaders gathered inside an historic southside church on Thursday to discuss possible solutions to the issues of race and policing bedeviling communities like this one nationwide.

"It's the blood of our babies that is running in the street. It's the blood of the police that is running in the street," Shayna Watson, an executive committee member with the Lancaster chapter of the NAACP, told a crowd gathered inside the Mount Zion AME Church here at sunset.

"That's why we've come together tonight. We're here to prevent any more fatalities from happening."

The gathering was organized by local representatives of the NAACP with help from other local interfaith groups.

Its goal, explained Patricia Hopson-Shelton of Lancaster's NAACP branch, was to open a community dialogue on the issues of race, policing and anti-law enforcement sentiment, and to generate specific ideas meant to address them.

Such issues have rocketed to the surface of our national consciousness after a spate of high-profile police killings and retaliatory killings of officers across the nation in recent months.

They have also resurfaced here, days after police say two teens armed with a rifle and as yet unconfirmed motives fired shots at officers from the second-floor window of a borough home. There were no injuries reported, but the incident has rocked this mostly working-class and lower-income community of 10,000 on the shores of the Susquehanna River.

It also followed a similar incident in which police in nearby Lancaster were fired upon by a suspect during a separate encounter last week.

"We want police to be safe and come home every night, and we want black boys, girls, men and women to come home every night, too. We want that for everybody," Hopson-Shelton said.

"But we need to start with the framework that police are not the enemy."

And while there were no police on-hand inside Thursday's gathering here, Blanding Watson, president of the Lancaster branch of the NAACP, said a meeting with local law enforcement officials and elected officials is upcoming. A date has yet to be confirmed.

When the time comes, some of the proposals made by Thursday's crowd for mending community-police relations will be forwarded.

Possibilities include the creation of a civilian review board, more diversity training for officers, a renewed emphasis on de-escalation techniques and the resumption of certain police outreach initiatives.

But the onus wasn't placed solely on law enforcement officials. Attendees also called on parents and community members to foster respect for authority figures, especially with a younger generation.

And others, like Jamie Quinn of Community Life Network, a local social services organization, credited Columbia police for their outreach initiatives already in place.

Quinn said officers had spent weeks planning a party at a low-income housing complex here for that very purpose, and were putting the finishing touches on the event when Friday's shooting occurred.

The event still took place the following day, albeit with a somewhat diminished law enforcement presence.

"So they're open to being out and being in the community," she added.

Quinn who works closely with the police chief and other local officials acknowledged that her perspective and experience isn't necessarily shared by everyone here, but said she believes there is a genuine commitment by local police to bridging those gaps.

This as calls grow for creating more positive encounters between police and civilians, not just those involving complaints or violations, in order to help reduce tensions and change perceptions of law enforcement for the better.

Columbia Borough councilwoman Pam Williams said local police are actively searching for ways to do just that, and said there will be an "ongoing conversation" around the issue locally.

"We'll be fine. We'll be even better," Williams said of the longterm impact.

Councilman John Novak was also optimistic, believing "This gives us all an opportunity to become involved in the conversation and not to let it die down."

Quinn agreed, saying "We're all here because of a tragedy but we need to not forget about this in six months."
Fists-food-fly-in-fight-at-PA-wawa;2-charged.jpg

A Wawa in northeast Philadelphia became the backdrop for an all-out brawl that included flying fists and food, racking up some $700 in damages to the store.

(screen shot via 6ABC)

A Wawa in northeast Philadelphia became the backdrop for an all-out brawl that included flying fists and food, racking up some $700 in damages. Now, 6ABC is Philadelphia is reporting that two people have been charged in connection with last Friday night's fight.

Suspects Barbara Bayona, 43, and Jonathan Rodriguez, 20, both of Philly's Tacony neighborhood, are being charged with riot, criminal conspiracy, criminal mischief and related offenses, 6ABC reports.

The charges stem from the incident late last week in which a group of six people from the same family are said by witnesses to take issue with a Wawa employee, with at least two members for the group screaming at the employee. The incident was captured in a cellphone video, which 6ABC has here.

6ABC quotes one witnesses as saying:

"The customers wanted to beat up a worker. Another customer came to the worker's defense, and they started fighting him. There was a bunch of them and they're all family related, and they started tearing the Wawa up."

Another witness, identified as Shawn Nichol, gave this account to 6ABC:

"They were trying to jump one of the cashiers. They started trashing the store when they couldn't get to her. I went outside. I called the police. When I came back in, he was trashing the store again. I tried to get him to stop and when I tried to stop him, his family or his friends or whoever they are, just tried to jump on top of me and beat the crap out of me."

No immediate word on what touched off the brawl.
Screen Shot 2016-08-05 at 12.43.29 PM.png

A Gofundme campaign has been started in memory of flood victim Jessica Watsula, to benefit her 10-year-old daughter, Sarah Grace.

(Submitted photo)

A Gofundme campaign has been started to raise money for the 10-year-old daughter of a Lebanon County woman who died in a flash flood in Ellicott City, Md., last weekend.

Jessica Watsula, 35, had been spending an evening with relatives when her car was swept away by floodwaters of the Patapsco River Saturday in Ellicott City, Md.

The fund was started by her a friend of Watsula's brother, Patrick Tran. As of Friday afternoon, it had received $7,390 toward its $10,000 goal.

Watsula was a 1999 graduate of Penn Manor High School and worked at Famous Footwear in Lebanon. She is survived by her 10-year-old daughter, Sara Grace.

She was one of two people who died in the flooding. The other was Joseph Anthony Blevins, 38, of Windsor Mill, Md.
At rallies in Pennsylvania this week and last, Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump stoked crowd support for his "Great Wall": the barrier he's proposed to build along America's southern border to limit Mexican immigration.

Supporters at his events in Scranton and Mechanicsburg responded enthusiastically to his mention of the Wall, chanting (at Trump's command) that Mexico would pay for its construction.

Since he declared his candidacy last year, Trump has made Mexico the focus of his anti-immigrant policy proposals and rhetoric. And while Mexico sends more immigrants to the United States than any other country, that fact does not hold true in Pennsylvania.

Mexican immigrants they have never represented the largest share of Pennsylvania's immigrant population, according to the PEW Public Research Center. By analyzing federal census data from 2013 (which counts every person regardless of their immigration status), PEW found that the top country of birth among Pennsylvania immigrant populations is China. In 2010, that country was India, and in 2000 it was Russia/the USSR.

The high proportion of Mexican immigrants across the country does make Pennsylvania an outlier among other states. The immigrant populations in 33 states, including Ohio, Delaware, and West Virginia, are majority Mexican.

Nationwide, the population of U.S. immigrants from Mexico is five times as large as the immigrant population from China.

Pennsylvania has been at odds with national immigration trends since 1965, the year that Congress passed the Immigration and Naturalization Act. That law abolished per-country quotas that limited immigration from non-European countries. Up until 1965, 88% of America's immigrants came from European countries, according to PEW. Since that year, however, 59 million immigrants have come to the US, most of them from Latin America and Asia.

Pennsylvania's immigrant population has never been dominated by a group from a Latin American country. Italians were the dominant immigrant group from 1920 - 2000. Before 1920, the state received most of its immigrants from Ireland, Austria, and Germany.
LOCK HAVEN -- The number of Pennsylvania's death row inmates has been reduced by one.

Clinton County Senior Judge J. Michael Williamson has vacated the death penalty of Shonda Walter, 37, and sentenced her to life in prison without the possibility of parole.

He wrote: "As noted by every other judge who has considered this case, based upon the fact that the defendant was represented by totally incompetent counsel in the penalty phase of these proceedings, the imposition of the death penalty by the jury in this case is vacated."

A jury in 2005 took less than 30 minutes to find Walter guilty of first-degree murder in the death of her 83-year-old neighbor, James Sementelli, a Pearl Harbor veteran.

Defense attorney Stephen C. Smith did not call any witnesses but relied on the cross-examination of prosecution witnesses.

Walter had rejected a plea agreement that would have avoided the possibility of the death penalty.

Trial evidence showed she struck Sementelli 66 times with a hatchet in his Lock Haven home on March 23, 2003, refused his pleas to call 911, stole about $510 in quarters and drove his car to Williamsport but returned to flush away a cigarette butt she had left in the toilet.

Sementelli's body was discovered six days later and the hatchet, which contained his blood, was found along a rural road north of Williamsport.

The commonwealth has agreed not to further pursue the death penalty, Williamson noted. Walter, a single mother, is incarcerated at the Muncy state prison.
China vows to deepen economic, trade cooperation with ASEAN Updated: 2016-08-05 09:27 (Xinhua)

VIENTIANE - China on Thursday vowed to deepen economic and trade cooperation with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).

The pledge was made during the 15th China-ASEAN (10+1) economic ministers' meeting which was held here in the Lao capital on Thursday.

Speaking at the meeting, Chinese Minister of Commerce Gao Hucheng highlighted the fruitful cooperation between China and ASEAN over the past 25 years.

He said bilateral cooperation in trade and economy has all along been a "ballast" and "propeller" in China-ASEAN dialogue relationship.

Pointing out that there is immense potential for cooperation in industrial capacity between China and ASEAN, the Chinese minister called for more efforts in this regard and building cross-border industrial chains.

China stands ready to work with ASEAN on cluster cooperation in such fields as railway, information and communication, chemical industry, engineering machinery and agriculture, he said, adding that enterprises from both sides are encouraged to carry out all-round cooperation.

The Chinese minister called for greater synergy between China-proposed Belt and Road Initiative and development strategies of ASEAN member countries.

He said the two sides should actively implement projects in related areas for mutual benefit and win-win results.

Gao expressed China's willingness to support ASEAN's community construction and the ASEAN Community Vision 2025 as well as to participate in the region's integration.

He said China will continue to provide development assistance as its capacity allows and help narrow the development gaps between ASEAN member countries.

China will also participate in the formulation and implementation of the master plan on ASEAN's connectivity and its post-2015 agenda, he added.

According to Gao, China will vigorously promote China-East ASEAN Growth Area cooperation and the Lancang-Mekong cooperation and provide financial support via platforms like China-ASEAN Investment Cooperation Fund, the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank and the Silk Road Fund.

China will support ASEAN's centrality in pushing forward the conclusion of negotiations for the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) by the end of this year, he said.

China is also willing to expand cooperation areas with ASEAN by supporting economic and trade cooperation between China's provincial areas and ASEAN member countries, he added.

A joint communique on industrial capacity cooperation was approved at the meeting and it will be submitted to a commemorative summit marking the 25th anniversary of China-ASEAN dialogue relationship in September this year.
A man shakes hands with one of the activists as they lay on the road outside Nottingham Theatre Royal during an attempt to shut down part of the city centre tram and bus network in Nottingham, England Friday Aug. 5, 2016 to protest for social justice movement Black Lives Matter. Activists affiliated with the U.S.-based group Black Lives Matter have blocked a road leading to Heathrow Airport, and Nottinghamand city centre along with protests in other British cities (Edward Smith/PA via AP)
People carry a body after rebels opened fire in a crowded market at Kokrajhar, in the north-eastern Indian state of Assam, India, Friday, Aug. 5, 2016. Dozens of rebel groups have been fighting the government and sometimes each other for years in seven states in northeast India. They demand greater regional autonomy or independent homelands for the indigenous groups they represent. (AP Photo)
FILE - In this March 6, 2016, file photo, well wishes are written on a wall of hope during a remembrance event for the ill fated Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Malaysia has confirmed one of the pilots of Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 had plotted a course on his home flight simulator to the southern Indian Ocean, where the missing jet is believed to have crashed. It's the first time Malaysia has acknowledged the route was on Captain Zaharie Ahmad Shah's simulator. Australian officials overseeing the search for the plane last month said data recovered from the simulator included a flight path to the southern Indian Ocean. (AP Photo/Joshua Paul, File)
Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton leaves her home in Washington, Friday, Aug. 5, 2016, after hosting a Latinos for Hillary dinner to head to Reagan National Airport to travel to her home in New York. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)
Director of U.S. Office of Indian Education visits East Jordan schools

Julian Guerrero Jr. visited the district to discuss their Title VI policies and see their Native American education opportunities.
VERMONT, United States

Petroleumworld.com 08 05 2016

Over the past two years, Saudi Arabia cut energy subsidies, slashed public spending, and started to look for new ways to raise revenue outside of the oil sector. The IMF forecasts the Saudi budget deficit to narrow from 13 percent of GDP in 2016 to 9.6 percent in 2017. That is a dramatic improvement from the 16 percent deficit the country posted last year.

The improved forecast earned praise from the IMF. The fiscal adjustment is under way, the government is very serious in bringing about that fiscal adjustment, Tim Callen, the IMF's Saudi mission chief, told Bloomberg in an interview. We're happy with the progress that's being made.

Although Saudi Arabia is running a huge deficit, it does not appear to be an emergency. In countries without huge cash reserves, such a deficit would be a major problem. But Saudi Arabia has hundreds of billions of dollars in reserves, allowing it to coast for a while.

Saudi Arabia did see its credit rating downgraded earlier this year by Moody's because of the collapse of oil prices. A combination of lower growth, higher debt levels and smaller domestic and external buffers leave the Kingdom less well positioned to weather future shocks, Moody's wrote in May.

But with the deficit-to-GDP ratio falling, the IMF is not concerned. We would be worried if the fiscal deficit were to remain at the levels it reached last year for another couple of years, because that would mean there will be large fiscal financing requirements, he said. But the IMF's Tim Callen said that balancing the budget by the end of the decade should be doable. Oil prices should rebound in the years ahead, which should put cash back into Saudi government coffers.

Still, Saudi Arabia is not exactly sitting pretty. GDP growth is still at a moribund 1.2 percent in 2016, with only a modest improvement to 2.25-2.5 percent over the medium-term. That won't be enough to absorb the bulging population of young people in the country. For decades the government has employed legions of people in the public sector, but the ongoing fiscal adjustment  a euphemism for cutting the size of the state  will mean that young Saudis will no longer be able to fall back on cushy government positions.

That leaves the private sector to pick up the slack. But it may be a struggle to expand the relatively small private sector in a country that has long depended on the state for growth. The state will continue to play a very large role in the economy, and the high levels of social spending needed to keep its population happy means that Saudi Arabia has a rather high breakeven oil price for its budget, even though it produces oil for only a few dollars per barrel. With its budget breaking even at $67 per barrel in 2016, Saudi Arabia cannot live indefinitely with oil prices where they are at today. If unrest hits Saudi Arabia, or even sweeps the region the way it did in 2011 during the Arab Spring, the government will be forced to step up social spending to maintain order. That will put further strain on the country's fiscal positions.

The longer-term picture is more unclear. Saudi Arabia is in the early stages of a transformational economic plan, which intends to diversify the country away from crude oil as the sole source of revenue. That involves taking a small slice of state-owned Saudi Aramco public, and using the proceeds to invest in non-oil sectors of the economy. Last month the CEO of Saudi Aramco said that low oil prices won't affect Aramco's drilling plans or its decision to launch an IPO. But the IPO won't happen for another year or so, and other investments will take a lot of time, so the country will remain entirely dependent on oil for years at least.

Meanwhile, the near-term strategy for Saudi Arabia boils down to continuing to fight for market share, producing at elevated levels and exporting as much as possible. Saudi Arabia continues to pump at near record levels at 10.5 million barrels per day. Earlier this week Saudi Arabia slashed its prices for oil heading to Asia, hoping to edge out competitors for sales in that region.






SAN LEANDRO, CA--(Marketwired - August 05, 2016) - For the first time since the early 1990's, when the Burning Man art and culture gathering moved from San Francisco to Nevada, the construction of the iconic Burning Man sculpture, at the center of the world-famous event, happened right here in the Bay Area. The Burning Man project wrapped yesterday for shipment to the Black Rock Desert in Nevada, and was made at The Factory 510, a creative coworking community located at The Gate 510, a Silicon Valley innovation hub for art, tech, and makers.

The massive 42-foot tall sculpture reflects this year's Burning Man's theme: Da Vinci's Workshop. In homage to Leonardo's famed drawing Vitriuvian Man, "participants (will) operate an elaborate system of human-powered gears and pulleys that will slowly rotate Burning Man a full 360 degrees on the vertical plane, as if it formed the axle and spokes of an enormous spinning wheel."

The sculpture's hand-crafted construction is completed in the months leading up to the Burning Man event. This year marks the first time since the event's earliest days in the 1990's on Baker Beach that its namesake effigy was built close to home, with the nonprofit's year-round offices close at hand in San Francisco, and not at the organization's work ranch in Nevada.

The Factory at The Gate 510 is home to other large-scale art projects, many which are Burning Man bound, all supported by the backdoor philanthropy of the property's blended community of art, technology, and makers. The space and its thriving ecosystem provided the Burning Man organization with a well-outfitted construction space close to home, and afforded it ready access to local machining, supplies, and oversight by their year-round crew.

Cheryl Edison, the creative placemaker behind The Gate 510 project and co-founder of The Factory 510, says, "We say, 'Make it here' because our art, tech and maker community come together to make an idea into reality. Many of us share a connection to the Burning Man event, so it was only natural that we would leap at the chance to welcome The Man right here in our Silicon Valley home. The build crew's talent and work ethos is inspiring. We're so grateful to (property owners) ScanlanKemperBard and WHI Real Estate Partners, for their collaboration and assistance in making it possible. " Edison co-founded the Factory 510 with partner Andie Grace to offer artists and maker/tech startups community-centric short-term spaces and drop-in coworking memberships inside The Gate 510's incubator environment.

Story continues

For more information on The Factory 510, visit http://thefactory510.com; for more information about The Gate 510, visit http://thegate510.com.

Burning Man 2016 will be held from August 28th through September 5th in the Black Rock Desert near Gerlach, NV. The Man will burn on Saturday, September 3. For more information about Burning Man visit http://www.burningman.org.

Image Available: http://www.marketwire.com/library/MwGo/2016/8/5/11G109434/Images/CEdison.Burning_Man-9a8c38add73091bc87f378d8dd97c995.jpg

Image Available: http://www.marketwire.com/library/MwGo/2016/8/5/11G109434/Images/Gears-82dafede3815bddd9f852e524b3b7022.jpg

Image Available: http://www.marketwire.com/library/MwGo/2016/8/5/11G109434/Images/Man_Leg-4fbe27c7a5e18136a0c67064fde06edd.jpg

Image Available: http://www.marketwire.com/library/MwGo/2016/8/5/11G109434/Images/Man_Plan-0b2d93d1fd61b07ebb91d788d71b08c1.jpg


TALKING THE TALK and walking the walk

MANISTIQUE  Students at Manistique Middle and High School are taking action and finding ways to make a positive impact in their community. A few members of the All Inclusive...

LMAS Take Back Medication Days

NEWBERRY - LMAS District Health Department has partnered with local sheriffs offices, Communities that Care Coalitions, the Michigan Opioid Prescribing Engagement Network (MIOPEN), and the Eastern Upper Peninsula Opioid Response...
Aug 4 (Reuters) - Chevron Corp, the second-largest U.S. oil company, is planning to sell certain assets in Asia worth up to $5 billion, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing people familiar with the matter.

The company is set to start selling its offshore China assets in August, the Journal reported on Thursday.

Chevron's stake in an offshore oil field venture with China's state-owned oil company CNOOC Ltd could fetch as much as $1 billion, according to the report. (http://on.wsj.com/2aAtYHU)

Chevron had disclosed in October last year plans to sell about $10 billion of assets by 2017.

The oil giant is also looking for buyers for its geothermal assets in Indonesia, and is considering offers worth more than $2 billion, the Journal reported citing sources.

Natural gas field assets in Thailand are also part of the company's divestiture plans, according to the report.

Chevron did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

(Reporting by Amrutha Gayathri in Bengaluru)
The Camp

This wasn't your average summer camp.

Earlier this week, Google cofounders Larry Page and Sergey Brin hosted an exclusive gathering in Sicily with a star-speckled guest list that included Snapchat CEO Evan Spiegel, George Lucas, and Pharrell.

The Camp, in its third year, is a three-day conference full of schmoozing that's been dubbed "Davos on the sea" for bringing together VIPs across tech, music, and fashion.

This year's festivities included intellectual discussions, relaxation, and sumptuous meals, including a dinner among the ruins at the "Valle dei Templi" or "Valley of the Temples."

Here's supermodel Karlie Kloss posing with Malala Yousafzai, who spoke in front of attendees about education and women's rights, and Alicia Keys, who performed five songs after dinner on Monday:

I couldn't have wished for a more brilliant group of powerful and passionate women to celebrate with yesterday.  A photo posted by Karlie Kloss (@karliekloss) on Aug 4, 2016 at 7:20am PDT on Aug 4, 2016 at 7:20am PDT

Kloss celebrated her 24th birthday at the conference. Here she is sitting next to designer Diane von Furstenberg at one the group's lunches:

Happy birthday dear Karlie ! @karliekloss Love Diane A photo posted by DVF (@dvf) on Aug 3, 2016 at 2:27pm PDT on Aug 3, 2016 at 2:27pm PDT

The Italian swing and jazz band Four On Six played for about two hours that night too.

Bandmate Fausto Savetteri told Business Insider that other guests he saw included Spotify CEO Daniel Ek, Fiat Automobiles heir Lapo Elkann, and Queen Rania of Jordan.

"Everything was beautiful and, of course, top secret until the end," he said.

I had the urge to pull out my.phone to capture this moment... Watching @aliciakeys perform under the stars in #italy with a 2000 yr old temple over looking us.. Obvs the camera can't capture the moment (lesson learned again).. The next morning I got to chat with her and hear her thoughts on love and how its a skill we need to practice and her motivations to no longer wear makeup. I also thanked her for NOT performing my favourite song, cause really it would have made my eyes leak beyond control. This was a moment of gratitude.. And really every moment is a moment of gratitude.. We just have the presence of mind to recognize that. #LOVE A photo posted by Humble The Poet (@humblethepoet) on Aug 2, 2016 at 8:45am PDT on Aug 2, 2016 at 8:45am PDT

Guests stayed at the luxurious Verdura Resort. Here's the Palm Restaurant's Bruce Bozzi posing with TV exec Brian Grazer and Veronica Smiley, his wife, who is in marketing ...

Story continues

Love you both to the moon & back! @briangrazer @smiley1128 We will always have Sicily  #acuriousmind Ciao Italia A photo posted by Bruce Bozzi (@brucebozzi) on Aug 3, 2016 at 5:45am PDT on Aug 3, 2016 at 5:45am PDT

... and YouTube star Lilly Singh posing with actress Charlize Theron.

We're going to change the world. @charlizeafrica #GenEndIt #GirlLove A photo posted by Lilly (@iisuperwomanii) on Aug 1, 2016 at 4:16pm PDT on Aug 1, 2016 at 4:16pm PDT

This young developer managed to get some pretty epic selfies, including with Alphabet CEO Larry Page ...

#google #founder #googlecamp #sciacca #dinner #perfect #night #larrypage @larrypageofficial A photo posted by Marco Blo (@olaf_ht) on Aug 3, 2016 at 5:41pm PDT on Aug 3, 2016 at 5:41pm PDT

... and the leader of Alphabet's cash cow  Google CEO Sundar Pichai.

Finally my dream came true !! #sciacca #googlecamp #ceo #google #dinner #sundarpichai @sundar.pichai A photo posted by Marco Blo (@olaf_ht) on Aug 3, 2016 at 5:38pm PDT on Aug 3, 2016 at 5:38pm PDT

If only he had snagged a shot with Sergey Brin to complete the trifecta!

Though he did track down Pharrell ...

#dinner #night #googlecamp #pharrellwilliams #because #im #happy #respect @pharrell A photo posted by Marco Blo (@olaf_ht) on Aug 4, 2016 at 3:04am PDT on Aug 4, 2016 at 3:04am PDT

... as well as Alicia Keys.

Thank you for hosting me at your table ! Love you ! #aliciakeys #sciacca #googlecamp #perfect #night #dinner #loveyou @aliciakeys A photo posted by Marco Blo (@olaf_ht) on Aug 3, 2016 at 5:43pm PDT on Aug 3, 2016 at 5:43pm PDT

Here's George Lucas, looking suave:

#starwars #instamood #instalike #instagram #instagood #georgelucas #film #cinema #noi #party #googlecamp #smile #sciacca A photo posted by Salvatore A. M. Monte (@salvatore.monte) on Aug 3, 2016 at 4:27am PDT on Aug 3, 2016 at 4:27am PDT

On the second day of the conference, guests flocked to the central square of the fishing town Sciacca to walk among the traditional carnival floats:

#googlecamp #googlecamp2016 #googlecampsciacca #instacool #nofilter #picoftheday #vip #event #googleevent #siciliabedda #sicily A photo posted by @vinsanto on Aug 2, 2016 at 11:33am PDT on Aug 2, 2016 at 11:33am PDT

The conference also featured wine tastings ...

Testing per il Google camp #verduraresort #googlecamp #google #winetesting #etna #etnawines #vini #degustazione A photo posted by _zsa_zsa_zsu_ (@_zsa_zsa_zsu_) on Aug 3, 2016 at 6:33am PDT on Aug 3, 2016 at 6:33am PDT

... cheese tastings ...

Tasting some of the most beautiful fermented things Sicily has to offer #sicily #cheese #winetasting A photo posted by Emily Caldwell (@emilycaldwelll) on Aug 3, 2016 at 5:02pm PDT on Aug 3, 2016 at 5:02pm PDT

... homemade pasta ...

The pasta!!! Thank you these two beautiful Italian women!!!!! Home made pasta!!!!!!  8/2/16 A photo posted by Bruce Bozzi (@brucebozzi) on Aug 2, 2016 at 12:04pm PDT on Aug 2, 2016 at 12:04pm PDT

... fireworks ...

... and more live music.

Just happened!!! We have been part of the GOOGLE EVENT 2016 and it was great playing for #aliciakeys, #charlizetheron, #jovanotti, #georgelucas and many more! :D #GoogleEvent2016 #GoogleCamp #OttoniAnimati #google A photo posted by Giuseppe Santoro (@giuseppe_santoro1993) on Aug 2, 2016 at 3:03pm PDT on Aug 2, 2016 at 3:03pm PDT

This was Google's third annual event.

Right after, Page and Brin flew to Singapore.

NOW WATCH: Elon Musk just unveiled Tesla's 'top secret' master plan  here are the details





More From Business Insider


2016 News Archive

This page includes links to all the news articles published on pokernews.com during 2016. For your convenience, the articles are segmented by month.
Clarifying The Online Poker Landscape in Poland

August 05, 2016 Jason Glatzer Editor

Last month, Poland's Council of Ministers adopted an amendment to the Polish Gambling Act allowing for more games to be offered online for real money and for land-based poker tournaments outside of casinos. However, ring games and sit-and-go tournaments will still be prohibited outside of casinos.

Despite many earlier reports by poker news outlets, including ours that stated there would be a path for foreign online poker operators to be licensed in Poland, most online gaming including online poker are planned to be strictly controlled by a state-owned monopoly. Due to conflicting information reported about this, we asked DLA Piper legal gaming expert Anna Wietrzynska-Ciolkowska for some clarification who confirmed that, "Online poker will be covered by the state monopoly."

While more online games will be available to players, including online casino games and video-slots, these games are also planned to only be legally offered though the state-monopoly. One reason for this could be that the Council of Ministers consistently stating that slots are "one of the most addictive forms of gambling."

Many believe that with such restrictive offerings, little will be done to reign-in the huge grey-market existing for online gaming in Poland. However, the amendments which are proposed to be effective on January 1, 2017, also call for telecom companies to blacklist unregulated website and block IP address of unlicensed operators.

Only offering online poker and casino games through a state-monopoly could prove problematic for Poland. Wietrzynska-Ciolkowska also raises concerns sharing with PokerNews that, "I don't find any justification to the draft and arguments to the adequacy of proportionality of such measures of the state monopoly [to EU law]. Just that it protects the customer. So that might be some grounds for other countries to raise objections or for the European Commission to raise objections."

Stay tuned at PokerNews as more develops in the Polish gaming marketplace.

Lead image courtesy of deviantart.net.

Want to stay atop all the latest in the poker world? If so, make sure to get PokerNews updates on your social media outlets. Follow us on Twitter and find us on both Facebook and Google+!
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The FBI has issued a safety warning to law enforcement and corrections officers regarding threats from the Black Guerilla Family (BGF).

An alert from the FBI and the Federal Bureau of Prisons says the BGF, an African-American prison gang, plans to kill white law enforcement and corrections officers as well as members of the rival prison gang the Aryan Brotherhood.

Sources inside prisons say the gang has specifically discussed ambushing officers parked in alleys and on side streets as part of what is known as Black August.

Black August is the BGFs month-long celebration memorializing dead members.
A jury on Thursday convicted a former Virginia police officer on one count of voluntary manslaughter for fatally shooting an unarmed man last year in a Wal-Mart parking lot, reports the Virginian-Pilot.

The same jury also recommended that Stephen Rankin serve 2 years in prison for killing 18-year-old William Chapman II. And Circuit Judge Johnny Morrison allowed him to remain free on bond until he is formally sentenced Oct. 12.

An attorney for the Chapman family plans to file a civil suit in the coming weeks against the city of Portsmouth and its former police chief. Rankin was fired from the department after he was indicted.

Rankins attorneys lamented the verdict. They said they would appeal and argued that Morrison should have allowed them to present more evidence.

Prosecutors initially sought to convict Rankin on charges of first-degree murder and use of a firearm in the commission of a felony. The jury determined he was guilty only of the lesser manslaughter charge.
Selfie of Coryn Gaines. The 23-year-old mother was killed in an exchange of gunfire with Baltimore County police after repeatedly pointing a shotgun at officers. (Photo: Instagram)

A police standoff in Randallstown, Md., on Monday in which a 23-year-old woman with a shotgun was killed after the police say she had been encouraged by her online followers to defy their orders has highlighted an unexpected role of social media in violent encounters.

During the standoff, which lasted several hours, videos from inside the apartment were posted to the Instagram account of the woman, Korryn Gaines, 23, whose 5-year-old son was also in the home, according to the Baltimore County Police Department.

The police said Ms. Gaines had repeatedly pointed her shotgun at officers, at least once while her son was in her arms. At one point, she said she would kill the officers if they did not leave, the police said. She was killed in an exchange of gunfire with officers. Her son was wounded. It is not known if he was hit by the police or by fire from his mothers shotgun, the New York Times reports.
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Its hard for anyone to deny that its been a great couple of weeks for Democrats. After a well-received convention in Philadelphia, Donald Trump has been imploding little by little each day.

Between his assault on a Gold Star family, his mind-boggling foreign policy statements, and the fact that some of his closest allies are on the verge of staging an intervention, its hard to find something thats going well for the Trump campaign.

Thats why his poll numbers have fallen through the floor.

Nationally, Hillary Clinton leads Trump by 15 and 9 points in two new polls that came out today from McClatchy-Marist and NBC News/Wall Street Journal, respectively. According to HuffPost Pollster, the Democratic nominee now leads Trump by an average of seven points.

The results are just as bad in swing states, where Clinton leads Trump in Florida (+6), Michigan (+9), New Hampshire (+17) and Pennsylvania (+11), according to polling released Thursday.

If the election were held today, according to FiveThirtyEights forecast, Clinton would have a 92 percent chance of being elected the 45th president.

Heres the thing, though, Democrats: The election isnt today. We still have 95 days to go until voters actually cast their ballot in the most important poll of all.

While I tend to think weve seen a definite shift in the presidential race over the past week  one that may be long-lasting  Democrats should still work like theyre down by 10 points.

Thinking Trump is now destined to lose would be a mistake, and it would likely breed complacency. In the final stretch of the most important election in our lifetime, thats exactly what we dont need.

New voters still need to be registered. Phone calls still need to be made. Doors still need to be knocked.

After all, just a few weeks ago, the race between Clinton and Trump was basically tied. The spray-tanned buffoon was even beating her in some surveys. Many Clinton supporters were about to press the panic button.

Lets remember that feeling before we kick back in our easy chairs and act like Clinton has it in the bag. Three months is a lifetime in politics, and anything can happen between now and November.

Sure, Democrats have every right to be proud of the convention they put on in Philadelphia. They should also be grateful that Trump is slowly unraveling and showing the country who he has been all along.

But this race isnt over, and we shouldnt act like it. Instead, we should remember how it felt a few weeks ago when it looked like Trump was pulling ahead.

Remember that feeling, and keep doing your part to ensure that Trump doesnt set foot in the White House next year.
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While Donald Trump is already laying the groundwork for his probable (although still not guaranteed) loss to Hillary Clinton this fall by claiming the election system is rigged, the rest of the world is collectively shaking their heads in disbelief.

That includes President Obama, who slammed Trumps conspiracy theory at a press conference on Thursday.

Video:

Obama said:

Of course the elections will not be rigged. What does that mean? The federal government doesnt run the election process. States, cities, communities all across the country  theyre the ones that set up the voting systems, the voting booths. If Mr. Trump is suggesting that there is a conspiracy theory that is being propagated across the country, including in places like Texas, where typically it is not Democrats who are in charge of voting booths, thats ridiculous, that doesnt make any sense. I dont think anyone would take that seriously.

Anyone with basic knowledge of the election process  and access to Google  knows that voter fraud is a problem only in the minds of right-wing loons who cant stomach the fact that their regressive agenda has been rejected in the last two presidential elections.

As I touched on yesterday, there have only been 35 cases of voter fraud from 2000 to 2014, when over 800 million ballots were cast.

Trumps suggestion that the process will be rigged against him has no basis in reality, and Obama is right to call him out for it. Its not just factually wrong, but it adds flame to the already-raging fire of political division and gridlock in this country.

We shouldnt be surprised, though.

This is a guy who rose to right-wing political fame because of the birth certificate myth he started peddling five years ago. Now he plans to end his short political career with another outrageous conspiracy theory.

The scary thing is that there are some people who actually take it seriously.
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Hillary Clinton leads Donald Trump 48%-33% in the new McClatchy-Marist poll, but what is shocking is that Trump is losing the support of men.

According to McClatchy, Clinton kept her lead with other groups of voters, but significantly cut into Trumps lead with white voters and men:



Men had been the bedrock of Trump support. Last month, he was up by 14 percentage points among men; hes now down 8. Clinton remains strong with women, as shes up 20.

Trump collapsed almost everywhere that hed built decent support. Even among white voters, which favored Republican White House candidates in recent elections, Trump was lagging, ahead of Clinton, but only just barely, 41-39.

..

Clinton wins moderates, 50-27 percent. She is far ahead with black voters, 93-2 percent, and with Latinos, 55-26 percent.

Hillary Clinton remains strong with the constituency that powered President Obama to two victories, but now she is adding men and white voters to her column. The reasons why these voters are abandoning Trump include a Democratic convention that sent a strong pro-America message that resonated more with white and male voters than Trumps doom and gloom, and Democrats have been helped by Clintons selection of Sen. Tim Kaine as her running mate. Kaine is a family man of faith from a Southern state whose white middle-class dad vibe no doubt plays well with white and male voters.

The Clinton/Kaine ticket embraces vets, while Trump insults their families. Clinton talks about creating jobs with optimism. Trump rails about how much America has become a collection of losers who suck. The candidates are offering messages that are the complete opposite of their opponent.

If Trump loses with men and wins white voters by a small margin, Democrats will win in a landslide.

The numbers will tighten before Election Day, but Democrats are heading in the right direction after the political conventions.
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A new poll of Georgia shows that the worst fears of the Republican Party are coming true as Hillary Clinton could turn Georgia blue for the first time since 1992.

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution poll found:

The poll released Friday shows Clinton at 44 percent and Trump at 40 percent in a head-to-head matchup, within the polls margin of error. It is the latest showing a close race between the two candidates in Georgia, a state that has voted for the GOP nominee since 1996.

In a four-way race, Clinton led Trump 41-38, followed by Libertarian Gary Johnson with 11 percent and Green Party candidate Jill Stein with 2 percent.

The reason why Clinton is winning in Georgia is that she is leading with both Independent and undecided voters in the state. Gary Johnsons support in Georgia has gone from 1% in 2012 to 11% in 2016, but Johnson isnt the GOPs biggest problem in Georgia.

Just like in every other state where Clinton is leading, the problem for Georgia Republicans is Donald Trump. The Independents and undecideds in the state are breaking for Clinton, because of Trump.

During an April interview with ABC News, former Sec. Clinton specifically mentioned Georgia as a state that she would like to make competitive for Democrats, And I particularly want to support Democrats in states that have been voting against Democratic candidates for awhile now to rebuild the Democratic Party. Were going to try to make Georgia competitive, and were going to fight hard in North Carolina and Virginia and Florida.

Hillary Clinton is currently leading in every state that she mentioned. Clinton is leading in Florida, North Carolina, Virginia, and Georgia.

The worst nightmare of the Republican Party isnt that Donald Trump loses, but that he allows Democrats to break their Southern stronghold. Georgias changing demographics make it potentially fertile territory for the Democratic message. Donald Trumps candidacy is accelerating the shift in Georgia.
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Even as speculation arises that Donald Trumps wife, Melania, may have illegally entered the country, the former reality star is warning of the dangers of immigration. In at least one case, an immigrant has plagiarized a speech and lied about having a college degree. So there is that.

It appears the only immigrants Trump likes are the ones he imports either to marry or when they work for him.

The New York Daily News put the problem for Trump in simple English, so presumably the candidate and his wife can both understand it:

Melania Trump may have once been an undocumented worker who illegally made a living in this country  one of the very issues her immigrant-bashing husband has made a cornerstone of his hypocritical presidential campaign.

Speaking at a rally in Portland, Maine, Thursday, where a man was tossed out for asking about Trumps tax-returns, the candidate claimed,

We are letting people come in from terrorist nations that shouldnt be allowed because you cant vet them.

You have no idea who they are. This could be the great Trojan horse of all time. He told his fellow fascists, This is a practice that has to stop.

Because there are Somali refugees in Maine, he of course went after the Somalis with particular relish:

Weve just seen many, many crimes getting worse all the time, and as Maine knows  a major destination for Somali refugees  right, am I right? Well, theyre all talking about it. Maine. Somali refugees. We admit hundreds of thousands  you admit, into Maine, and to other places in the United States  hundreds of thousands of refugees.

He also worried that Somali refugees were causing problems in Minnesota, a blue state that is economically prospering doing the opposite of what Trump says will work, claiming that the refugees are having the unintended consequence of creating an enclave of immigrants with high unemployment that is both stressing the states safety net and creating a rich pool of potential recruiting targets for Islamist terror groups.

If we are going to start getting rid of ethnic groups because some of them are radicalized into joining terrorist groups, we better start deporting white people while were at it.

Yet the crowd responded enthusiastically to Trumps claim that,

Hillary Clinton wants to have them come in by the hundreds of thousands. Youre going to have problems like youve never seen.

It turns out, of course, that immigrants are by and large very law-abiding  more law abiding than natives, in fact  have had their immunizations (unlike many of those Republicans hating on them) and that there is a huge economic benefit to immigration.

We can rightfully laugh that Donald Trump married a person whom his own immigration reform would not have allowed into the country, and that she may be an undocumented worker herself, but there is nothing funny about the campaign of terror Trump is mounting against immigrants.

Trump sounded like Hitler railing against the Bolshevik Jewish menace:

You see it happening. You read about it. You see it, and you can be smart, and you can be cunning and tough, or you can be very, very dumb and not want to see whats going on, folks.

This is a repeat of what Trump told a rally in Daytona Beach, Florida:

Weve got to stop being the stupid country run by very stupid people. Weve got to stop. Weve got to stop.



Weve already seen where cries like this get them: People like Trump, who make Bobby Jindal seem sane and reasonable by comparison; Trump has proven that voting for him is not a solution to the problem.

You cannot make up a bunch of fake problems motivated and fueled by racism and scapegoating, issue a slew of outrageously hateful and bigoted solutions to those problems, and expect to make things better, let alone great. Hate is never a viable solution.

The people who are acting like animals arent those fleeing war, persecution, and starvation, but those salivating over Trumps hateful rhetoric against them.
CHICAGO  Larry Klairmont's early interest in cars got him into a bit of hot water. It was during the Depression and 5-year-old Larry was a particularly small boy whose family was so poor it ate potatoes for months on end. Naturally, the youngster had few toys. And he was bored.

"One day when I was walking home from school I was looking at parked cars and noticed all these hood ornaments," said Klairmont, who grew up with his grandmother in small-town Maywood, Ill.

"Being a little aggressive, I started taking the ornaments off. I took them home and put them on display, and a few days later we get a knock on the door. Two police officers. One says to my grandmother, 'I'd like to see Larry Klairmont.' She said 'Let me find him for you.' He helped drag me out from under the bed. The policeman looked at me and said, 'This is Larry Klairmont?' He laughed and told me not to do that anymore."

While Klairmont's criminal antics ended, his passion for cars endured. These days he owns Klairmont Kollections, a glistening assemblage of 319 vehicles that represents motoring history. The private museum, which caters to charities and other organizations and is available for tours, is housed in a nondescript building on Chicago's northwest side. Vehicles range from a 1906 American Motors Tourist and rare 1924 Pierce-Arrow Series 33 to a 1958 BMW Isetta and 1979 Ferrari 308 GTS.

With its 30-foot ceilings, the two-level museum takes up nearly 100,000 square feet, including a 24,000-square-foot expansion opened last year.

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Open since 2011, the museum includes re-creations of a Packard dealership, the iconic Route 66 Cucamonga Gas Station and a classic drive-in theater featuring an array of coupes from the '50s and '60s. Neon and vintage posters and signage abound throughout the collection.

At nearly 90, Klairmont's ardor for life remains undimmed. For one thing, he has a Can-Am Spyder motorcycle that he likes to ride.

"He's an amazing guy," said Andrew Vogel, who handles marketing for the collection. "He's at the museum nearly every day, looking after one project or another. Not only does he expend that much energy, but the museum gives him a lot of energy too."

___

Klairmont started collecting cars in earnest a couple of decades ago. Before that he was busy being a World War II hero (twice wounded, he was awarded two Silver Stars, a Bronze Star and two Purple Hearts), raising five children and starting from scratch what would become one of the nation's largest dry cleaner chains. He sold that business and founded what turned into an extremely successful real estate company, in which he's still involved.

"He didn't know his real father, and his mother was having a hard time, so he figured out early that if he wanted something done he'd have to do it himself," said Klairmont's fiancee, Joyce Oberlander, who helps a lot with the museum. "He's been an extremely hard worker all his life."

He's also been a car guy pretty much his whole life. At just 6, he knew every car make and model. A year later, he would study cars while making money using roller skates to deliver Chinese food. Fresh out of the Marines, Klairmont bought his first car, a 1935 Plymouth that he said wouldn't go over 35 mph.

"During the war every car manufacturer was involved in producing items for the war," he said. "Pent-up demand for cars after the war resulted in a waiting list of up to 18 months for a car. However, if you put $100 cash in a dealer's pocket, you got bumped up."

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In college, he grudgingly bought for $9,000 a 1951 Rolls-Royce Silver Dawn convertible from a buddy in need of cash.

"It drove like a truck, it had no heating or AC, but everywhere I went I got a thumbs-up. People would be climbing all over the hood. One day I came outside and someone was underneath the car. He said he'd never been under a Rolls-Royce before."

Klairmont also owned a Cadillac. One day he was getting it serviced when the manager of the Rolls-Royce dealership next door came running over. He wanted Klairmont to check out a new Rolls. Klairmont grudgingly agreed to a test drive and the manager told him if he still had his Rolls, a customer wanted to buy it.

"I asked him what he thought the car would bring. He said $125,000. I go home, and he calls and asks me about it again. I told him I'd take $150,000. I said to myself, this is a pretty good way to make money. So, I started buying for investment. Today, that car would bring $300,000."

A widower who had been married for 60 years Klairmont still loves to tool around. His daily driver is usually his new Tesla Model S. He also owns a 2010 Rolls-Royce Ghost and a new Rolls-Royce Phantom Drophead, plus a couple of Bentleys, one of them a drop top. He occasionally drives a 1936 Auburn supercharged convertible that he keeps at his museum.

Oberland, who is 80, said she and Klairmont, who can still fit into his Marine uniform, live sensibly. "He likes to eat a lot of soup, probably a carry-over from his youth. We eat simply and he works out. He has good upper-body strength, and has never been a drinker or smoker.

"But he's certainly driven. We're up at 6:30 every morning. It used to be 5:30," she said, chuckling. "But I asked him, 'At our age, can't we just sleep in a little?'"
A Rochester man who pleaded guilty to a gross misdemeanor sexual conduct charge has been sentenced to 60 days in jail and ordered to register as a predatory offender.

Jon Gary Schutz, 38, entered a Norgaard plea of guilty to fifth-degree criminal sexual conduct in April in Olmsted County District Court. In exchange, a felony count of third-degree criminal sexual conduct was dismissed at Wednesday's sentencing.

Schutz was originally charged with one county of fourth-degree criminal sexual conduct; the complaint was later amended.

With a Norgaard plea, the defendant doesn't insist he's innocent, just that he has no memory of what happened  typically due to intoxication.

In addition to the jail time and predatory offender status, Schutz was ordered to complete sex offender education/treatment and to pay $10,399 in restitution, among other conditions.

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The investigation began in October 2014, when a woman reported she'd been sexually assaulted a few days earlier. She told officers she and another woman had gone to a bar that night, then to the other woman's home. The victim said she was given an alcoholic drink, then noticed her mouth felt dry; shortly after, she began to vomit.

The woman believed she'd been drugged, reports say, because her reaction was inconsistent with the amount of alcohol she'd had. Her friend helped her onto the couch, gave her some water and covered her up.

Sometime later, the complaint says, she woke to find Schutz with his hand on her breast; he then pulled down the victim's pants and began to assault her.

When the woman sat up, Schutz ran to the bedroom, where the victim heard her friend ask Schutz what he was doing, adding, "I saw you do everything," and "three times so far I busted you doing that..."

Schutz said he'd been sleepwalking, court documents say, and claimed not to know what the woman was talking about.

The next day, her friend texted the victim, saying Schutz "wants to apologize, but he won't."

A third woman told law enforcement that the female witness confirmed the incident to her, adding that the victim's friend "saw Schutz on top of (the victim) several times throughout the night and that he was naked."
MINNEAPOLIS  A man who died earlier this week after he was shot by agents from the Bureau of Criminal Apprehension had apparently charged at authorities with a knife while they were working an undercover investigation into underage prostitution, police said Thursday.

Authorities identified the man as Adam Jo Klimek, 31, of Alexandria. Police said he died Tuesday after he was shot.

According to the St. Paul Police Department, which is handling the investigation, BCA agents were in Alexandria working an undercover operation involving the solicitation of minors when they encountered Klimek inside a home.

Police did not release details about what Klimek was doing. But they said when Klimek was told he was being arrested, he charged at three agents with a knife. Two agents  Elizabeth Eilers and Dustin Van der Hagen  shot at Klimek. Authorities said the agents immediately rendered aid and called paramedics. Klimek died at the scene.

The Midwest Medical Examiner's Office is working to determine Klimek's cause of death.

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Details of the prostitution investigation were not immediately released.

Klimek was on probation after pleading guilty in 2014 to one count of prostitution with someone under age 13.

According to court records in that case, Klimek admitted in Olmsted County Court that he hired a prostitute on Craigslist and intended to have sex, but did not. He admitted he didn't know she was 12, but that mistake of age was not a defense. A prison sentence was stayed and he was sentenced to 20 years of probation, 90 days on work release and ordered to register as a sex offender.

His attorney in that case, Christopher Karpan, had no comment, but said Klimek's family wants to know what happened in Alexandria.

"I did not expect this," Karpan said of his client.

St. Paul investigators have gone to Alexandria to interview witnesses and review evidence. When the investigation is done, they'll turn their findings over to the Douglas County Attorney's Office for possible charges.

BCA spokesman Jill Oliveira said Eilers has been a BCA special agent for nearly 10 years, and Van der Hagen has been a BCA special agent-in-training for one month. He joined BCA after working with the Willmar Police Department for 11 years.

Neither agent has any disciplinary actions or complaints in their BCA files, according to information from the bureau.

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Authorities did not release Klimek's race or the races of the agents, but Karpan confirmed Klimek was white.
A Rochester woman arrested and charged last fall after tangling with law enforcement who were checking on the welfare of an elderly woman has now been charged with financially exploiting that same woman out of nearly $200,000.

Courtnay Elizabeth Montgomery, 52, of 1915 65th St. NE, is scheduled to make her first appearance Aug. 17 in Olmsted County District Court, where she faces five felony counts of financial exploitation of a vulnerable adult.

The most recent charges are a continuation of the series of events that led to Montgomery's arrest in October, and began with a report of possible abuse of a vulnerable adult. The report accused Montgomery of firing the victim's traveling companions and holding the woman against her will.

The report was made by a man who'd been the Montgomery family accountant for 20 years, who told detectives that Montgomery had been sent to Rochester to live because of some "family issues."

Her home is owned by a limited liability company in the victim's name, the accountant said, and "basically, Montgomery receives an 'allowance' and all expenses relating to her home are paid by the LLC," the criminal complaint says.

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Investigators learned the vulnerable came to Rochester in July 2015 for her annual checkup at Mayo Clinic; she was accompanied by two caregivers, including a woman who'd worked for the family for 30 years. When the trio arrived in Rochester, Montgomery fired both caregivers and sent them back to Florida.

Soon after, the accountant saw a suspicious transfer of about $90,000 from one of the vulnerable adult's bank accounts, court documents say, and he was concerned she wasn't receiving adequate care.

About a week after the first report of possible abuse, Montgomery closed all of VA's accounts  which are funded every quarter with more than a million dollars  and transferred the funds into a new account she'd opened, claiming the caregiver had stolen money from the victim.

A review of the vulnerable adult's health and financial documents revealed that upon her death, Montgomery would receive some funding, but the caregiver had both legal and medical authority for the vulnerable woman  until Montgomery had the woman change the paperwork.

Multiple witnesses told investigators that the victim was cognitively impaired, the complaint says, including a man who said the victim is afraid of Montgomery.

Within six weeks, detectives learned the woman had missed two appointments to have cognitive testing done at Mayo Clinic.

On Oct. 27, deputies attempted to execute a search warrant at Montgomery's home; the warrant was requested to facilitate a face-to-face meeting with the vulnerable adult to ensure her safety.

Deputies arrived at the home about 1 p.m.; although Montgomery wouldn't answer the door, contact was made by phone. She refused to unlock the door and cooperate with the warrant, court documents say, then hung up. A few minutes later, Montgomery called deputies  who were still outside her home  and said the victim's attorney was on his way, and that Montgomery was calling TV news. The officers continued to phone her without success.

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About 1:30, deputies informed Montgomery they'd obtained the security code to the garage and would be entering the home.

From past contacts, deputies knew Montgomery had firearms in the home, the complaint says, and feared she might use deadly force against them. They continued to reason with her, and eventually got inside the home more than an hour after their arrival.

Montgomery said she wasn't armed, but told deputies there were loaded firearms in every room of the home. Officers asked her to leave the room while they evaluated the alleged victim; Montgomery refused.

When told she was under arrest. Montgomery refused multiple requests to stand up, telling officers any attempt to put hands on her would result in a lawsuit.

Montgomery wrapped her arms around the armrest of the bench she was sitting on to prevent anyone from moving her, the complaint says, then "lunged her head toward (an investigator) in an apparent attempt to bite him on the arm."

When her grasp came off the armrest, Montgomery went to the floor, screaming that her wrist hurt. She couldn't get off the floor, she said, because of health problems. Attempts to help her were met with resistance; specifically, she was lying on her back, kicking at deputies, thrashing and screaming, the reports say.

As she was escorted out of the home, Montgomery yelled to the woman not to answer any questions.

In December, officials learned Montgomery had taken the vulnerable adult back to Florida, and had written a number of non-sufficient funds checks on the woman's accounts, despite the fact that the court had appointed an outside party to be a guardian and conservator.

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The checks Montgomery had written after transferring the victim's accounts into her own included one for $96,139.05 for a 2016 Cadillac Escalade, registered to the victim, who hasn't driven in years, the complaint says.

Other checks were one for nearly $19,000 to pay off a 2015 Jeep, another for a nearly identical amount to pay off a 2015 Lincoln and a $3,000 payment on a motorcycle.

On Feb. 4, Montgomery pleaded guilty in Olmsted County District Court to one count of gross misdemeanor obstruction of the legal process for the October incident. In exchange for the plea, a misdemeanor count of the same charge was dismissed.

She was immediately sentenced to two years probation and ordered to complete 90 hours of community work service.

Less than a week later, investigators learned the victim's credit card bill for January was in excess of $900,000. Included in those charges was more than $52,000 in private charter jet fees for Montgomery and a "security employee" to fly to Palm Beach, Fla., and back to Rochester.

The trust required Montgomery to buy her own vehicles out of her allowance and to fly commercial when she traveled, court documents say.

The total taken from the victim's accounts while Montgomery lived in Rochester was $188,912.65.
MINNEAPOLIS  A man who died earlier this week after he was shot by agents from the Bureau of Criminal Apprehension had apparently charged at authorities with a knife while they were working an undercover investigation into underage prostitution, police said Thursday.

Authorities identified the man as Adam Jo Klimek, 31, of Alexandria. Police said he died Tuesday after he was shot.

According to the St. Paul Police Department, which is handling the investigation, BCA agents were in Alexandria working an undercover operation involving the solicitation of minors when they encountered Klimek inside a home.

Police did not release details about what Klimek was doing. But they said when Klimek was told he was being arrested, he charged at three agents with a knife. Two agents  Elizabeth Eilers and Dustin Van der Hagen  shot at Klimek. Authorities said the agents immediately rendered aid and called paramedics. Klimek died at the scene.

The Midwest Medical Examiner's Office is working to determine Klimek's cause of death.

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Details of the prostitution investigation were not immediately released.

Klimek was on probation after pleading guilty in 2014 to one count of prostitution with someone under age 13.

According to court records in that case, Klimek admitted in Olmsted County Court that he hired a prostitute on Craigslist and intended to have sex, but did not. He admitted he didn't know she was 12, but that mistake of age was not a defense. A prison sentence was stayed and he was sentenced to 20 years of probation, 90 days on work release and ordered to register as a sex offender.

His attorney in that case, Christopher Karpan, had no comment, but said Klimek's family wants to know what happened in Alexandria.

"I did not expect this," Karpan said of his client.

The St. Paul Police Department is investigating at the BCA's request.

St. Paul investigators have gone to Alexandria to interview witnesses and review evidence. When the investigation is done, they'll turn their findings over to the Douglas County Attorney's Office for possible charges.

BCA spokesman Jill Oliveira said Eilers has been a BCA special agent for nearly 10 years, and Van der Hagen has been a BCA special agent-in-training for one month. He joined BCA after working with the Willmar Police Department for 11 years.

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Neither agent has any disciplinary actions or complaints in their BCA files, according to information from the bureau.

Authorities did not release Klimek's race or the races of the agents, but Karpan confirmed Klimek was white.
WINONA  A man accused of forcing a woman into her car at knifepoint and threatening to kill them both has been sentenced to 30 days in jail.

Ayrton Taylor Henderson, 22, entered an Alford plea of guilty in June in Winona County District Court to one count each of felony terroristic threats and misdemeanor domestic assault.

With an Alford plea, the defendant maintains his innocence but acknowledges the evidence could be sufficient enough for a conviction.

In exchange for the pleas, one count each of second-degree assault with a dangerous weapon; false imprisonment; stalking-possess dangerous weapon; violating a no-contact order; and theft of a motor vehicle, all felonies, were dismissed, as was an additional count of misdemeanor domestic assault.

Judge Nancy Buytendorp on Wednesday sentenced Henderson to two concurrent 30-day jail terms, with credit for four days already served. In addition, he was ordered to complete domestic abuse and psychological evaluations and 100 hours of community work service, as well as write an apology letter to the victim.

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The charges stem from an August 2015 incident, when a woman arrived at the Winona County Law Enforcement Center.

According to the criminal complaint, the woman had bruising under both eyes, which she said was from an assault by Henderson on Aug. 19. He'd appeared in court the next morning, where a domestic assault no contact order was issued, preventing him from any contact with the woman.

The victim told officials she'd arrived at Winona State University for class about 7:45 a.m. Aug. 24 and returned to her car around 9 a.m.

When she was a few car lengths away from her vehicle, Henderson came up behind her, put his hand on her shoulder and asked if they could talk. The woman told Henderson twice that he wasn't supposed to be there and wasn't supposed to talk to her, the complaint says, and got into her car.

Henderson prevented her from closing the door, court documents say, showed her a knife in his waistband, and told her to move over so they could go for a ride and talk. When she refused, he reportedly took the knife from his waistband and told her nobody would get hurt if she moved into the passenger seat.

The victim said she asked if she could get out and walk around the car, but Henderson began to get inside; the woman told authorities if she'd been able to get out she would have run away.

Henderson then drove up to Garvin Heights, where he allegedly said he was going to jump, and she was going to have to watch. He turned around when he realized another vehicle was parked there. He then drove toward Interstate 90, the complaint says, and told the woman he was going to drive 80 miles per hour and crash into another vehicle or a bridge, but didn't drive erratically.

Henderson drove back to Winona, pulled over at a stop sign, got out of the woman's car and walked to his vehicle. He was later stopped in downtown Winona, and admitted to speaking with the woman and going for a drive earlier, but denied having a knife during that time.

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Officers retrieved two knives and a box cutter from the center console of Henderson's car; the victim confirmed one of them was the knife Henderson had showed her.

Henderson later admitted to following the woman to her vehicle and standing between the open door and driver's seat. He also admitted to driving to Garvin Heights and on I-90.
WINONA  A Wisconsin woman accused of stealing nearly a quarter-million dollars from her employer has been ordered to undergo a psychiatric evaluation and pay restitution.

Barbara Jean Przybylski, 48, of Fountain City, pleaded guilty in May to one count of felony theft by swindle. In exchange for the plea, 16 identical charges were dismissed at Wednesday's sentencing in Winona County District Court.

In addition to other conditions, she must complete 100 hours of community work service and participate in gambling addiction services. Przybylski will learn Sept. 21 how much restitution she'll have to pay, and was placed on probation for 10 years.

The investigation began Sept. 13, 2014, when the president of a Winona business  which wasn't identified in the criminal complaint  contacted the police. He said Przybylski, his office manager, admitted she had written herself a check for more than $2,000; he asked a police officer to meet with him, the vice president of the business and Przybylski.

During the meeting, Przybylski allegedly said she had written the check to herself in early August 2014 to pay bills and pay for a vacation. That day, she had a personal check made out to the business for $2,892.16, to repay it.

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After further questioning, she admitted to writing "a couple more" for a total of about $2,000, the complaint says, and was fired "on the spot."

The president of the business then hired an independent accountant to look into the company's software; it was discovered that several checks drawn on the business account were fraudulent.

According to the audit, Przybylski had created and concealed 148 fraudulent checks from the business from January 2006 through August 2014. The total amount was $234,704.51.

Przybylski was one of three people authorized to withdraw money from the company accounts; the others were the president and his wife. As office manager, she also was responsible for weekly paychecks, accounts payable and receivable, human resources and to "monitor and balance all checkbooks and accounts."

She reportedly admitted to police she wrote the checks because she had "financial problems" as a result of online gambling. Przybylski estimated she had been doing it for five or six years and told authorities the total amount would be about $40,000; she was off by nearly $200,000.

She explained she'd been able to hide the theft by deleting the checks from the company's accounting software after they'd cleared the bank.

According to a breakdown in the criminal complaint, Przybylski wrote the most checks  13  in the six-month period from July to December 2009. The largest amount stolen in a six-month period was $21,805.15, taken between August 2013 and January 2014.
Dear Answer Man, do you know what they're building along Highway 52 in Preston?

Of course I do, I know everything. That's the rebuilding of the B & B Olympic Bowl, which burned up on New Year's Day in a fire that was devastating for all concerned  the B & B was a beloved Preston landmark, and it's great news that they're rebuilding. Shelly Hanson, who owns the business with her husband, Paul, says they hope to have it open by New Year's Day, 2017. "We're hoping for that  it would be bittersweet" but meaningful to get it open a year to the day after the fire, Shelly says.

The new B & B will be bigger and better than ever  11,160 square feet, about 2,300 square feet more than the old building, with a bigger dining room, bar and kitchen, and eight bowling lanes, the same as before. Construction started in early June.

Shelly and Paul have owned the business for seven years but she's worked there for 18 years, and it's been around since the 1950s. It's at 401 Kansas St. NW, a few blocks down the road from the Preston Tourism Office.

Ilene Edwards, a part-time employee who shot the pic above, said by email that the "loss of the B & B has been a devastating blow to Preston, not just for the owners and employees, but for residents, bowlers and visitors to our area. Since the rebuild has started, the town is buzzing.

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"Shelly and Paul and all the B & B employees are so very thankful to the southeast Minnesota community for the amazing outpouring of support," she said. "Without the people in this area, the rebuild would not be possible."

I'm not much of a bowler, but here's today's Answer Man aphorism:When life deals you a split, just pick it up.

Mr. Answer Guy, regarding your column of July 22, about how the lines were out the door at Starbucks a few weeks ago because of the Jehovah's Witnesses convention in Rochester: The last I heard, Jehovah's Witnesses don't drink coffee. So I DON'T think they would be standing in line waiting for a cup of Joe. I'm a Lutheran and our coffee is important.

I really like your column when you get it right.  Ms. Kenyon

Then you really like my column all the time, Ms. Kenyon, because I was right about that point as well. I checked with David Wilson, media contact for the Jehovah's Witnesses convention that returns to Mayo Civic Center for its final weekend of the summer today, and he said, "There's certainly no prohibition on coffee" or caffeine.

There's no prohibition on alcohol either, assuming it's consumed in moderation, he said. There's plenty of evidence for that in Scripture, David points out.

So, if you're looking for java in the skyways today, leave a little extra time, whether you're Lutheran or Jehovah's Witness.

Just another myth busted by this column.

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Disappointing news

In Wednesday's masterpiece , I told you about the air dancers, those whippy, cigarette-shaped fabric scarecrows, that are waving around atop two Rochester water towers to keep turkey vultures away. The vultures tend to make a mess that drips down around the tower and requires costly cleanup.

In that item, I said, "FYI, if you look very closely, the air dancer on the Apache Mall tower may say, "Read the Answer Man every day."

Well, I heard from a reader with a high-power telescope that it doesn't, which is disappointing. Maybe he needs a better telescope.
Blue ox down: Storm damages Brainerd icon

BRAINERD  Severe thunderstorms that pushed through parts of Minnesota closed roads, cut power, delayed a county fair opening and toppled a huge Babe the Blue Ox statue at Paul Bunyan Land.

Crow Wing County Sheriff Todd Dahl says emergency crews are working to open roads closed by falling trees and branches and restore power.

The Crow Wing County Fair organizers delayed Thursday's opening until the afternoon because the fairgrounds sustained damage. At Paul Bunyan Land at This Old Farm near Brainerd, strong winds pushed over a 6,000-pound, 19-foot-tall statue of Babe the Blue Ox.

One of the park's owners, Lois Moon, says Babe hadn't moved an inch in 13 years  until now. The statue was later back on its feet.

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Xcel Energy says fewer than 100 customers were still without power in the Twin Cities by late afternoon.  Associated Press

Former Miss USA North Dakota died of rare heart condition

MINNEAPOLIS  An investigation has concluded that a former contestant in the Miss USA pageant from North Dakota died of a genetic heart condition.

The Hennepin County medical examiner's office said Thursday that Samantha Edwards died of arrhythmogenic cardiomyopathy, a rare disease of the heart muscle. The inherited condition causes abnormal heart rhythms.

Edwards was 37 when she was found dead in her home in north Minneapolis on June 14. The medical examiner determined she died of natural causes.

Edwards, known as Sami, represented North Dakota in the Miss USA pageant in 2003. She had been working as a freelance makeup artist in the Minneapolis area.

Her funeral was held June 24 in Grand Forks, North Dakota.  Associated Press

Prince's ex-wife wants to keep divorce records sealed

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MINNEAPOLIS  Attorneys for Prince's ex-wife Manuela Testolini are arguing that records from the couple's 2006 divorce should remain sealed.

Testolini appeared in a Minnesota courtroom Thursday but didn't speak.

Prince's marriage to Testolini was his second. He died on April 21 from an accidental overdose of fentanyl.

The Star Tribune wants records from the couple's divorce released publicly, but Testolini's attorneys objected, saying the records are tied to a private settlement.

The newspaper reports that Hennepin County Family Court Judge Thomas Fraser took the matter under advisement.

Star Tribune attorney Leita Walker says Prince's privacy died with him and that the court files are newsworthy, given Prince's death and the case surrounding his estate, which has an estimated value of $300 million or more.  Associated Press

Police union head calls some protesters' conduct "vile"

ST. PAUL  The head of St. Paul's police union says some demonstrators were "vile" during weeks of protests outside the governor's mansion.

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Police cleared out protesters from St. Paul's Summit Avenue last week, making nearly 70 arrests. Protesters converged outside Gov. Mark Dayton's residence to call for justice in the death of Philando Castile. Castile, who was black, was shot and killed by a suburban police officer during a July 6 traffic stop.

St. Paul Police Federation President Dave Titus said Thursday that most of those protesters were peaceful. But he accused some of trying to bait officers into violence by using inappropriate language, spitting and even slapping officers.

Titus says the conduct of some agitators was "disgusting."

Leaders from Black Lives Matter have said they were peaceful and obeyed officers' commands.  Associated Press
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Talking Points

The Bank of England cut rates to a record low, lifted QE 60Bln and announced new efforts

GBP/USD real volume surged to a 15-month high following the BoE decision

Learn more about incorporating real volume into your strategy here

Showcase your trading skills against your peers in FXCMs $10,000 Monthly Challenge here.

On Thursday, the Bank of England reduced its main lending rate 25 basis points to a record-low 0.25 percent at its second policy meeting following the Brexit vote. This event was highly anticipated because the markets were pricing in a near 100 percent probability that the central bank would cut rates. What did come as a surprise though was the decision to boost asset purchases from 375 billion to 435 billion and the further announcement of plans for corporate bond purchases as well as a term funding for banks.

In response to the news the British Pound dropped sharply against its major counterparts  between 1.5 and 2.2 percent versus the Euro and Australian Dollar respectively. Just as impressive, real volume on the GBP/USD surged to its highest level since May 2015 (as can be seen on the chart below) a spike that occurred during the UK general election. Changes in volume alongside movements in price can indicate shifting levels of conviction to compliment direction.

Later today, the US will release Julys non-farm payrolls report. In May, the same data caused the US Dollar to decline sharply due to a dismal reading. Then in June, a surge in employment leveraged exactly the opposite reaction for the markets due to a substantial beat in the data. Taking this into consideration, tomorrows jobs report could potentially be another source of volatility and volume for GBP/USD.

GBP/USD Real Volume Rises To 15-Month High After BoE Rate Decision

The Real Volume Indicator is available in FXCMs Marketscope 2.0



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DailyFX provides forex news and technical analysis on the trends that influence the global currency markets.

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Rochester Public Schools got approval Tuesday to move forward with plans to renovate Burr Oak.

The school will be renovated to deal with a shortage of early childhood special education programming space. The district is borrowing $5.4 million to cover the cost of of Burr Oak renovations, but the project is only set to cost $3.9 million.

The extra $1.5 million will be used for contingencies, said the district's director of communications, Heather Nessler in an email Thursday. Any unspent money will be rolled over into another district renovation project at Lincoln K-8.

The district said a "space crunch" led district officials to the site, which was closed in 2010. Administrators originally asked the school board to approved the $5.3 million in renovations and re-open the building, with plans to make the site usable again by January 2017.

The project, an indoor air quality project, will replace the school's HVAC systems and finance other updates to the building, and is financed with alternative facilities bonds, which Assistant Superintendent Brenda Lewis told the board in March is "exactly" how that money was intended to be used

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Lewis estimated the school could serve about 320 students. Providing programming for early childhood special education programming is state and federally mandated for children aged birth to five with disabilities. Providing students with programming is one thing, but according to "best practices" the special education students must be in a classroom with their "same age peers" who are not qualified as students with a disability  which means the space need doubles.

Located at 3800 50th Avenue SE, the school was built in 1953 and served as an elementary school until it closed in 1977. The most recent programming at the school was for students with emotional and behavioral disorders, but it hasn't been used for education programming since the end of the 2009-10 school year, according to school board documents.

Also approved Tuesday was a $508,500 for the design of a second Indoor air quality project, for Lincoln K-8. The heating and ventilation systems at the school are in need of replacement, district officials said. They also plan to make updates to electrical, plumbing, roof replacement, replacement of exterior doors, a renovation of the front entryway to make it a secure entry system and other updates.

The district estimates the total for the Lincoln K-8 project will be $6.5 million. The district plans to start construction in June 2017, will be "substantially" completed by August 18, 2017, and final completion is set for October 2017, according to the district's design plan for the site.
Come for the classic cars and leave with a new job.

The Disabled American Veterans Car Show and Job Fair will be Saturday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Olmsted County Fairgrounds.

In addition to the car show featuring classic and modified cars, motorcycles and trucks, the Mayo Southeast Minnesota Chapter 28 will host a job fair featuring 25 employers looking to hire veterans.

But don't shy away if you're not a veteran. "Anyone who comes to look at the cars and motorcycles is welcome," said Jennifer Shumaker with the Olmsted County Office of Veterans Affairs. "It's for anyone looking for work or looking for better work."

Shumaker suggested bringing copies of a resume and dressing for success. "They'll be doing interviews and hiring on site," she said.

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In addition to booths for 25 employers, there will be booths set up for veterans organizations for those vets who might be interested in joining those support organizations.
Running for Houston County Commissioner District 3:

Bruce Bulman

Age: 62

Hometown: Caledonia

Occupation: Sells insurance through Bulman Insurance.

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Should Houston County ban frac sand mining or continue with its strict regulation of the industry?

I wouldn't say that banning is the best solution. My philosophy is "good fences make good neighbors," so regulation is key. Development has to happen.

What are the three biggest spending priorities in Houston County?

The government should provide for the people with a solid infrastructure. That is the main thing. Other than that, I am not in favor of a lot of government intrusion.

Should the Houston County Board take any steps to improve the quality of its waterways?

No answer.

Scott Connor

Age:57

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Hometown: Caledonia

Occupation: Recently retired from the Minnesota Department of Transportation.

Political experience: No past political experience.

Should Houston County ban frac sand mining or continue with its strict regulation of the industry?

I would like to see it banned. I think most people would.

What are the three biggest spending priorities in Houston County?

The biggest spending priorities right now are the new county highway shop, a new criminal justice center and the overall general budget.

Should the Houston County Board take any steps to improve the quality of its waterways?

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Yes.

Bruce A. Kuehmichel

Age: 68.

Hometown: Caledonia

Occupation: Retired.

Poltiical experience: No past political experience.

Should Houston County ban frac sand mining or continue with its strict regulation of the industry?

I would say that Houston County does have very strict regulations on frac sand mining. That being said, I am in favor of banning it.

What are the three biggest spending priorities in Houston County?"

There has been a lot of contention about having a new county highway shop and where it should be located. I agree that we need one; I'm just not sure where the best location should be. The next priority is funding the resources and staff to enforce stricter regulations on mines and to ban frac sand mining. Everything we do is going to cost money. Lastly, we need to look at how to halt the continuing increase of taxes per year.

Should the Houston County Board take any steps to improve the quality of its waterways?

Yes, the Houston County Board will have to address this. Water quality is the most important thing, we need it to process foods, drink, bathe, water fields and raise livestock.

Larry Salm

Refused to answer questions

Steve Schuldt

Age: 66

Hometown:Caledonia

Occupation: Professional auctioneer.

Political experience: Incumbent county commissioner.

Should Houston County ban frac sand mining or continue with its strict regulation of the industry?

I don't believe that a land-use ban is proper. It's something that I believe we can regulate. Our ordinance needs to be refined a little bit. The planning and zoning department is working on that. It would address large-scale industrial mining.

What are the three biggest spending priorities in Houston County?

Houston County has probably the worst county highway facility in the state. We need to do something about that.

Should the Houston County Board take any steps to improve the quality of its waterways?

Houston County really needs to take better control of our run-off stormwater, I see that as a problem. It's not at the very front end of priorities. I think Houston County does a pretty good job at protecting it's water supply. Within Houston County, the cities in particular, need to control more of its stormwater.



Running for Houston County Commissioner District 5:

Fred Arnold

Age:78

Hometown: Between Caledonia and Spring Grove

Occupation: Retired.

Political experience:Was on the Spring Grove School Board for 20 years.

Should Houston County ban frac sand mining or continue with its strict regulation of the industry?

A ban is difficult because of possible legal actions. Regulations are difficult when it comes to the conditions of the environment. Right now, I'm not sure what the answer is.

What are the three biggest spending priorities in Houston County?

The biggest priorities are roads, law enforcement and humans services, and I think that the budget reflects that.

Should the Houston County Board take any steps to improve the quality of its waterways?

I have been going to the meetings lately, and I have heard almost nothing about water quality, except work through planning and zoning and concerns from those involved with frac sand mining. The farmers in Houston County do a good job of keeping the waterways clean."

Dan Griffin

Age: 69

Hometown:Wilmington Township

Occupation:Actively farming.

Poltiical experience:Served Houston County Planning and Zoning Commission, chairman for five years.

Should Houston County ban frac sand mining or continue with its strict regulation of the industry?

Continue with regulation. In fact, the zoning and planning commission is looking at an ordinance to regulate frac sand mining to less than 20 acres in Houston County. I feel that's a significant step in discouraging large-scale sand mining in the county. Certainly the ordinance can be changed as we go along, but right now this is what we need for the time being.

What are the three biggest spending priorities in Houston County?

Highway department, sheriff department and human services. All of them are important. But the key is to look at each of the budgets and to see if everything needed is being asked for.

Should the Houston County Board take any steps to improve the quality of its waterways?

That's pretty well regulated by the DNR and by the NRCF. Those groups have quite a bit to say about waterways. I don't think the board needs to get involved.

Loren L. Lapham

Age: 59

Hometown:Caledonia

Occupation: Farmer, has had a season job at Beaver Creek Valley State Park for 28 years.

Political experience:Serves as treasurer on the Root River Soil and Water Conservation District Board.

Should Houston County ban frac sand mining or continue with its strict regulation of the industry?

My first response would be to ban it, but I am also willing to look at making the regulations stringent so as to deter companies from coming to the county.

What are the three biggest spending priorities in Houston County?

What's coming up is the new highway shop and offices. I also think that there are unfunded mandates from the state that I would like to see be paid for by the state, mainly things like social service. Probably the biggest, and I think it's like this in many counties, is personnel, getting quality people to do good work.

Should the Houston County Board take any steps to improve the quality of its waterways?

Yes, I definitely think so. What just passed by the state was the buffer law, so I think that will help with our streams and stuff like that. It's too bad it had to be mandated, however; people should have been able to do it on their own.
ST. PAUL  Judy Bjerke Severson wants to be normal  visit friends and family, go to the grocery store or even sleep in her own bed  but she says the crippling pain from fibromyalgia and back surgery complications, as well as a painkiller-induced fog, have made her a shell of her former self.

Monday brought a sliver of hope to her and other Minnesota residents who have incurable pain: They can buy medical marijuana after waiting years for Minnesota to legalize the drug's medical use and another year for intractable pain to be added as a qualifying condition.

Bjerke Severson was the first person Monday morning to be seen at a Bloomington clinic, one of eight statewide that sell the medicine.

"I can't tell you, I'm going to cry. I'm so excited," the 70-year-old Edina woman said, leaning on a pink cane before her appointment. "I'm in pain 24 hours a day, seven days a week."

Expanding the list of qualifying conditions to include intractable pain marks a critical juncture in the year-old program, which is among the most restrictive in the country. Manufacturers and patients have big hopes that it will usher in thousands of new patients, eventually bringing down high costs  which exceed $1,000 a month for some patients  and easing dependence on addictive narcotic painkillers.

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Those hopes were buoyed by data from the state showing nearly 500 patients suffering intractable pain had registered in July, the first month of registration and a month before legal sales could begin. That's more than five times the number of people who signed up in the month ahead of the program's launch.

The Minnesota Legislature legalized medical marijuana in 2014. The law bans the plant form but allows pills, oils and vapors to be used by patients with nine serious conditions who received their doctor's permission.

The Legislature directed Minnesota's health commissioner to determine if intractable pain should be added as a 10th condition within the program's first year. Commissioner Ed Ehlinger cited the program's successful first few months when announcing in December that intractable pain would qualify starting Aug. 1.

Kyle Kinglsey, at Minnesota Medical Solutions, one of the state's two medical marijuana manufacturers, said he's confident a largely problem-free first year and his company's own outreach efforts to the medical community would make it easier in the second year. He also said he thinks doctors, many of whom patients have said are wary of the health benefits and possible drawbacks of marijuana, will be convinced it's an attractive alternative to addictive and often deadly opiate painkillers.

"This really is the shot in the arm that the program needs," said Kingsley, the company's chief executive. He said he expects as many as 40 new patients at Minnesota Medical Solutions on the first day.

The long-awaited expansion is welcome for patient advocacy organizations, though Maren Schroeder doubts whether it would have any impact on the program's costs. Her patient advocacy group, Sensible Minnesota, is pushing to allow patients to use the plant form and has petitioned Ehlinger to add post-traumatic stress disorder as a qualifying condition next year.

For now, manufacturers and patients are focused on intractable pain, which the state defines as pain that can't be otherwise treated or cured.

For Bjerke Severson, that means muscle spasms, tingling and fiery pain so severe she can barely walk. Having lived the last two decades with chronic pain, she struggles to describe it.

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Bjerke Severson knows medical marijuana won't be a magic cure. But she is hoping to kick the hydrocodone and get some relief.

"I would love to do an errand," she said. "Things that people not just take for granted but busywork they're sick of."
Business has been pretty slow for Olmsted County election officials in charge of absentee voting for the Aug. 9 primary.

"It's been pretty quiet around here," said Mandy Ness, who oversees absentee voting in Olmsted County.

The number of voters taking advantage of no-excuse absentee balloting is down slightly in Olmsted County compared to this time two years ago. As of Thursday morning, 780 ballots had been filled out in person or mailed to voters, according to the Minnesota Secretary of State's Office. Compare that to 808 ballots at this point in the election two years ago.

Ness chalks up the slight drop in absentee voting to a couple of factors. First, there are not many primary races on the ballot this year. Also of note, 2014 was the first year that voters could cast an absentee ballot without having to provide an excuse.

"People really took a hold of that and ran with it," Ness said.

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But statewide there appears to be more interest in absentee voting. The Secretary of State's office reports a 30 percent increase in the number of absentee ballots transmitted compared to the same point in the election cycle two years ago. So far, 102,856 absentee ballots have been mailed out or filled out by in-person voters.

Voters still have the option to vote absentee. County election offices will be open on Saturday for in-person voting. Citizens can also cast an absentee ballot on Monday.

Wabasha County Auditor/Treasurer Denise Anderson said so far, absentee voting seems comparable to previous years. As of Thursday, the county had transmitted 444 ballots.

Anderson added, "It seems like a normal, average primary so far."
You may have heard that some people aren't happy with the choices they have for president this year and many are wondering how it has come to this. Voters are either looking for someone to blame or a way to fix the outdated system.

There are many factors to consider: the media, big money, caucuses versus primaries, gerrymandered districts, party insiders, and ballot access issues  to name a few. Each is worthy of public debate, but I'm interested in the process by which we elect our leaders.

This year's Republican primary election perfectly illustrates my point. The GOP fielded 17 strong candidates. So many in fact, that early in the race candidates were considered front-runners with only 12 percent of the vote.

What this really boils down to is the concept of a plurality winner  someone who wins with less than 50 percent of the vote. My question is, how do we identify the candidate who really has the broadest support of the voters.

There is a real-world solution to this problem: ranked choice voting. Voters rank candidates from their most favored to their least. Ranked choice voting helps find the candidate with the broadest support. Simply put, it produces better outcomes.

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Vote your conscience, with no wasted votes and no spoiler effects. There is a better way.

Steve Monk

Rochester
Efforts to maintain international status for Rochester's airport may be taking off, but that shouldn't give our state lawmakers a free ride.

The lack of a state bonding bill put the airport's status in jeopardy. The failed bill had included $5 million to upgrade the facility's customs operation, which is a requirement for accepting private flights from other countries.

Last-minute legislative maneuvers left airport and city officials scrambling to find alternatives as a federal deadline for the customs upgrade loomed. In the end, fortune shined on the project, cutting costs by about 15 percent when bids arrived and increasing expected federal funding, as long as local and state matches are in place.

It extended the deadline to Sept. 30 for funding, which led the Rochester City Council to increase its potential contribution by $1 million on Monday, using funds earmarked for transportation spending in the city.

The fact that the city can fill the funding gap doesn't mean state lawmakers should consider it off their plates. They still need to move forward with plans to contribute state funds through bonding. The anticipated $5 million may not be needed, but at least  at the very least  they should step up and cover the added city commitment.

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Assistant City Administrator Gary Neumann noted the $4.6 million being tapped from local and state sources under the current plan could be used elsewhere at the airport or for city streets, meaning any bonding up to that level will improve the airport and the city.

It's important to note that Rochester International Airport isn't just a city asset; it's a statewide economic asset. It keeps Minnesota on the global map as a premier medical destination while providing countless jobs, directly and indirectly.

Airport Director John Reed estimates the 1,300 people who come to Rochester on private flights each year contribute a total of $3.25 million in direct spending to the local economy. "That equals a lot of jobs," he said.

Those jobs equal state and local taxes, as well as opportunities to move people off state and federal assistance programs. The money funneled into those jobs also allows people to buy homes, feed their families and bring benefit to the entire state,

That makes the airport's international standing a statewide issue, and one we expect our lawmakers to continue pushing if legislative leaders call them back to St. Paul.
There is no doubt that Hillary Clinton received a sizable bounce from the Democratic convention. Sean Trende says that Clintons position in the polls appears to have improved by at least six points, though some of the improvement may be due to Donald Trumps dispute with the parents of a dead war hero, rather than the Dems convention per se.

Trende asks whether the bounce will last. He notes that second convention bounces tend to fade; it did for the Republicans in 2004 and 2008 (even before the Lehman Brothers collapse); it did for the Democrats in 1996.

On the other hand, George H.W. Bushs 1988 second convention bounce did not fade. Down by nearly 20 points to Michael Dukakis going into the GOP convention, he came out of that event ahead and more or less cruised to a convincing victory.

Clintons bounce may fade too, but I dont think it will. Why? Because the bounce, like Bushs, was built on the most obvious truth in this years election. Bounces based on half-truths well presented tend to fade. Bounces based on an obvious and crucial truth dont.

The obvious truth that sustained the senior Bushs bounce was that Ronald Reagans presidency had been a big success, a point Reagan himself drove home brilliantly in his convention speech. The obvious truth in this years election is that Donald Trump isnt fit for the presidency, a point driven home in several strong speeches last week and reinforced by Trump himself immediately after the convention.

Hillary Clinton is also unfit for the presidency. Shes corrupt; she jeopardized national security; she botched several key decisions as Secretary of State; her temperament is lousy.

But Trumps unfitness is even more obvious. Unlike Clinton, he cant discuss most issues knowledgeably. Unlike Clinton, he cannot behave himself. Unlike Clinton, he cannot conceal his viciousness.

Unlike Clinton, he lacks any of the credentials normally associated with a serious candidate for president  e.g., experience in Congress or experience in the Cabinet. Indeed, Trump has no experience in the realm of public service or in the formulation of public policy. (Note: this doesnt mean I consider Clinton preferable to Trump; for me, Clintons leftism makes Trump the lesser of the two evils  whether hes lesser enough to vote for is a question Im still considering.)

Moreover, Trump played right into the narrative the Democrats laid out so well at their convention when he became embroiled in a controversy with the Khan parents. In her acceptance speech, Clinton had called Trump unfit for the presidency because he cant even resist being goaded into Twitter wars.

Before the dust could settle, Trump basically proved Clintons point.

It reminded me of when Chris Christie told a debate audience that Marco Rubio repeats the same canned points over and over, and Rubio promptly obliged by doing just that. The big differences: (1) Rubio made this mistake in the heat of a debate; Trump did it at his leisure and (2) using canned talking points doesnt make one unfit to be president.

Can Trump bounce back? It wont be easy. I expect there will be more instances of terrorism both at home and abroad. But the publics understanding that Obama and Clinton have been terrible on this issue is already firm. More of the same kind of terrorism is unlikely to change the dynamic of this race. If, God forbid, theres a massive attack here, then all bets are off.

The debates could change the dynamic of the race. If, as I expect, Hillary goes into them with a big lead, she will play it safe. This might enable Trump to get the jump on her in the first debate, as Mitt Romney did with President Obama. But my guess is that it will take outstanding performances from Trump and weak performances from Clinton to tilt the race to the tycoon, if Clinton is well ahead going in.

Clinton is no debate star, but her performances against Bernie Sanders were rarely weak. As for Trump, he will be Trump. The Democratic convention left most Americans with the conviction that this will not do.
Hillary Clinton may have acknowledged today that what she told Chris Wallace about her emails last week on Fox News Sunday was wrong. (Scott wrote about the interview here.) Its hard to tell, though: she says she short circuited in the Wallace interview, but as far as I can tell she is sticking to her story. Maybe you can make more sense out of it than I did:

Immediately after this clip, Hillary went on to say, once again, that using two email accounts was a mistake. Unbelievable.
I wrote about a Europe comes to Minneapolis sort of story reported by KSTP News in Minnesota men at play. The video of the KSTP News report is embedded in my post. KSTP News has pulled the written online version of the story, but I believe the video still plays. In the piece KSTP News has pulled from its site Brett Hoffland warily reported:

Minneapolis police are investigating a series of alleged terroristic threats made against people living in one neighborhood near Lake Calhoun.

5 EYEWITNESS NEWS talked to a few neighbors on Thursday who say throughout the week, multiple young men have been harassing them.

After just moving to the neighborhood not too long ago, one woman, who wants to keep her identity hidden to protect herself from what happened on Monday, says she never expected this activity in that neighborhood.

We couldnt get them out. We didnt know what to do, one Minneapolis resident told 5 EYEWITNESS NEWS.

According to a Minneapolis police report, between 20 and 30 young men showed up in front of a womans house about 9:30 in the morning and the comments turned to threats.

They were screaming at the house that they were going to kidnap you and they were going to rape you, one Minneapolis resident told 5 EYEWITNESS NEWS. It was a very traumatizing experience.

The report indicates that these young men were driving onto the sidewalk and on the lawn, all while shooting off bottle rockets and screaming.

Its a scary thought especially for those who have young children, one Minneapolis resident said.

Multiple neighbors even took cellphone video of the aftermath; some of the video shows the police talking with some of the young men.

The entire neighborhood is up in arms, one Minneapolis resident said.

It wasnt just Monday. Neighbors say these visitors have stopped by the last three days. But on Monday, the alleged attacks were much more personal.

It needs to get nipped in the bud before it gets any worse because the escalation that occurs over a matter of hours could potentially kill or harm someone, one Minneapolis resident said.
Team Obama keeps denying that it paid a ransom to Iran, so well keep demonstrating that it did. Hey, its easy blogging.

The latest evidence comes from one of the hostages, who discloses that he and the others were kept in the airport overnight until the Iranians confirmed that the plane with Obamas payment had arrived. Omri Ceren has emailed the details. He writes:

To resolve the [dispute over whether Obama paid a ransom], reporters have been trying to nail down the timing of two relevant flights: the plane with the hostages leaving Iran and the plane with the money arriving in Iran. If the hostages were held until the money arrived, it would strongly suggest the administration has been misleading reporters about the transfer being unrelated to the hostages.

Ceren notes that the administration has been unwilling to clarify this sequence, which is probably telling in itself. When asked yesterday and today about the timing of the two flights, State Department spokesperson Mark Toner said he didnt have an answer.

But now we have it:

[O]n todays FBN Intelligence Report with Trish Regan, Trish Regan interviewed Pastor Saeed Abedini, one of the hostages freed in the deal last January. He locked down the sequence: the hostages plane was indeed held up until the Iranians confirmed that a second plane had arrived. Originally the hostages were supposed to be taken from prison to their plane with minimal delays, but instead they were held in the airport overnight  despite the plane, pilot, and hostages being ready  and Abedini was told theyd never be allowed to leave if that second plane didnt show up.

(Emphasis added)

Heres the exchange between Regan and Abedini:

ABEDINI: I just remember the night that weve been in an airport  you know  just take hours and hours there. And I asked one of the intelligence police heads that was with us  that why we were not letting us to go to the [inaudible] plane and he told me we are waiting for another plane. And if that plane takes off then we are going to let you go. REGAN: So did they actually take you out of the prison that you were in? And I want to get to the conditions that you had to live through in just a moment, but they took you out of your prison and brought you to an airport? ABEDINI: Yeah we were at the airport for a night and you know they told us  REGAN:  so you slept there at the airport? ABEDINI: Yes for a night. And, you know, they told us you are going to be there for 20 minutes but it took like hours and hours. We slept at the airport and when I asked them why you dont let us go  because the plane was there, pilot was there, everyone was ready that we leave the country  they said we are waiting for another plane. And until that plane doesnt come we never let you go. REGAN: So eventually another plane came, and did they then put you on that plane or were they just waiting for that plane, and I think you know where I am going with this, were they effectively waiting for the money to come in before they then let you take off? ABEDINI: Yeah they didnt talk about money they just told us about  they told me  about the plane. And you know the plane of Prime Minister of Switzerland was already in Iran, which you know we came back with that plane actually  so their reason that they said you are here in the airport was just because we were waiting for another plane. REGAN: Okay so what happened did the other plane eventually land or did it land at another airport somewhere else? ABEDINI: After that they never told anything to me and I didnt see anything, you know  REGAN: So do you have any idea how many hours you actually waited for this other plane? ABEDINI: For a night. You know we went to the airport I think it was like 2, 3pm and we waited there for a whole night. And we, you know, fly back I think the day after at 10 in the morning.

(Emphasis added)

Can you say quid pro quo?
At his press conference yesterday, President Obama denied that we made a ransom payment to Iran, denied that the ransom payment was hidden and declined to respond to the question of the uses to which the ransom payment would be put (video below). Obama addressed the ransom payment for some seven minutes in his patented style, weaving in arrogance, condescension, disparagement and falsehood in roughly equal measure. Analyze this: This wasnt some nefarious deal.

Supplement Obamas performance with the account of freed hostage Saeed Abedini. Paul provides the transcript of Abedenis interview with Trish Regan on Fox Business News in part 5; the video is below.

Lee Smith adds an epilogue in the Weekly Standard editorial Paying ransom to Iran.

Quotable quote: The $400 million that Obama aides say belongs to Iran should have long ago been distributed to Irans American victims and their families. Instead, it was U.S. taxpayers who compensated the victims of Iranian terror. And then we paid $400 million a second time, in January, to the Iranians themselves. The $1.3 billion of interest that the United States is supposed to have owed the Iranians is simply a fiction the Obama administration contrived to sweeten the pot, since the United States was under no legal obligation to pay Iran money that was no longer Irans. Yes, it was ransom, billed to the U.S. taxpayer.
While power outages in office buildings once upon a time affected little more than the lights, today, companies are literally dead in the water when it comes to power outages. The nature of mobile business today  bring your own device and work-from-home models  means that for short outages, many employees can continue to work offsite, particularly if the applications they need are safely housed in a data center elsewhere. For lengthy power outages, however, the ramifications are very serious, and tenants may find that their landlords are less-than-responsive.

This week, tenants of a 19-story building along Forbes Avenue in Pittsburgh have discovered the limitations of a landlords responsibility for providing backup power (or water) in the event of an outage. Finnegan Schick of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette has reported that the tenants of the Allegheny Building, which is owned by the New York-based King Penguin Opportunity Fund, include a law firm, county court offices, an insurance company, a restaurant and a cafe, all of which have been without power since last weekend. The outage is due to a transformer fire last Saturday in the former Macys/?Kaufmanns building nearby. Local power is provided by Duquesne Light.

In the meantime, tenants are beginning to muse about the landlords responsibility toward its tenants when it comes to outages.

Wheres your backup plan? To answer a tenant, I don't know, is unacceptable, an employee of one of the tenants in the building told Schick. I think most of the tenants would tell you that one of the most frustrating and disappointing parts of this is that it's out of [King Penguin's] control.

King Penguin has apologized for the outage, but is offering tenants little information on how and when the power and water will come back online. It has offered some temporary workspace to tenants of the Allegheny Building.

At this time, we have not received any information concerning how long the repairs may take and when power will be restored to the Allegheny Building, the letter to tenants says. The occurrence of the fire was completely beyond the control of, and is not the fault of, any Allegheny Building tenant, King Penguin Opportunity Fund, or KPP Management.

The incident begs the question: should a landlord be responsible for providing backup power to its tenants? Power outages in commercial buildings create enormous costs and hardships for business owners, tenants, and employees each year, according the facilities management Web site Buildings. The losses are a combination of lost productivity, sales and product, damage to the brands reputation and risks to employee safety.

Increasingly, many commercial buildings are incorporating backup power systems into the services they offer. While some are doing it on a voluntary basis, others are complying with new code requirements. Increasingly, companies are demanding backup power as part of the agreement when they sign tenancy contracts. In New York forward-thinking landlords are realizing that backup power systems are not only competitive advantages, but can even generate revenue by allowing the owners to participate in demand-response programs, according to Cara Olmsted writing for the Commercial Observer.

A properly equipped, 1.4-million-square-foot office building with quality backup generators could earn approximately $300,000 per megawatt (MW) each year in DR incentive payments for agreeing to reduce loads during peak alerts, wrote Olmsted.

Edited by Alicia Young
The Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON) said on Friday that it has successfully settled over 56 percent of the total N3.7 trillion (about N2.072 trillion) bad debts it had to manage from various individuals, groups and organisations in the country.

Managing director (MD) of the corporation, Ahmed Kuru, said in Lagos that the agency also succeeded in recovering over N644 billion.

Although Mr. Kuru clarified that the settled cases did not translate into actual money in the governments purse, it was sufficient pointer that AMCON was already on its way to meeting its objective of protecting the countrys economy and removing bad debts in the financial system.

He said the main challenge in the corporations assignment was within it operational structure, as the framework was a bit faulty.

You cant say that you are taking over somebodys liability, and that the persons business has totally failed in the commercial bank, and you are giving the commercial bank liquidity, he said.

Some of these guys you see, the moment you see the lifestyle and ask them to come and pay the money they are owing, it becomes a problem. So we understand these things. Kuru, flanked by AMCON executive directors

The managing director said AMCON was neither set up to make profit within a 10-year lifespan, nor to kill businesses, but to deliver a social benefit of saving the economy and businesses from bad debts.

The most important thing, like we always tell our debtors, is to come and talk to us. We are supposed to help them. We are supposed to support them. AMCON is not out to kill businesses, rather to support businesses. We have records to show businesses that we have supported and continued to support.

We are supposed to be the economic catalyst; to help with the economy. That is why we always advise people to understand what the issues are, so that we can work together. With 12,700 accounts, it is a basket where opportunities can come up, he said.
The recently toppled leader of the terrorist group, Boko Haram, Abubakar Shekau, has engaged the newly-appointed leader of the group, Abu Musab al-Barnawi, in a war of words over the decision of The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, ISIL, to appoint Mr. al-Barnawi.

Mr. Shekau, who broke his long silence on Thursday, released an audio tape in which he spoke in both Arabic and Hausa languages, saying he was responding to the announcement of Al-Barnawi as Boko Haram leader.

Mr. Shekau said although he still had no doubt about the integrity of ISIS to which he had earlier pledged allegiance, he however, added that he was aware of detractors.

Mr. Shekau said he had earlier written a 10-page letter exposing the detractors as Murjiites (AMurjite doctrine in Islam refers to an ideology that states that only God has the authority to judge who is a true Muslim and who is not, and that Muslims should consider all other Muslims as part of the community.

Most Boko Haram leaders, such as Mamman Nur and Mr. Al-Barnawi, who have begun to oppose Mr. Shekau, accuse Mr. Shekau of deviating from the original cause of the group. They say Mr. Shekau has made the groups fight about himself.

Most of them want Boko Haram to stop killing Muslims, women and children. They also want the group to stop bombing Mosques, markets and other public places.

Mr. Shekau, in his tape, said he opposed them by saying that one cannot stay in the domain of the infidels without showing his opposition to the prevailing system.

Mr. Shekau said it is not possible for a Muslim to profess his faith without kicking against an infidel system, saying that is the creed of the Boko Haram ideology.

He said he remained strong and in control of the group. Also, in a sign showing his rejection of ISIL, to whom he had pledged allegiance in the past, Mr. Shekau said please, understand that we still exist as a group and we shall not deviate from the Holy Quran and Sunnah.

We still remain adherents of the Jamaatul Ahlus Sunnah Liddaawati Wal Jihad. May Allah help us accomplish our mission.

We may be branded as Khawarij, Murjiites or anything, but it doesnt bother us. Even the Prophet (Muhammad-SAW) was called a mad man by the infidels.

So, for you to castigate us is not my worry. The point is if I get my acts right as stipulated by the Quran, Hadith and exegesis of the Prophets companions, then my actions are justified.

May God help us, May He enable us to act on his behalf. This is our message and, henceforth, we shall not honor any messenger again unless he is honest.

At the beginning of these exchanges, I was deceived. I was made to articulate my beliefs in writing, but this was rejected.

There is no problem if a leader is on the right track. Well follow him. But if he is going astray we are not with him. The Prophet forbids us from following evil doers.

We are committed to establishing an Islamic Caliphate and propagating Islam, he said.

Al-Barnawi responds

In a swift response, Mr. al-Barnawi released his audio tape in which he reiterated that Mr. Shekau had deviated from the path they had chosen and had been engaged in systematic killing of Boko Haram fighters.

He also accused Mr. Shekau of living a life of luxury, while women and children continue to die of starvation.

He also accused him of starving fighters with ammunition which led to their defeat by the Nigerian armed forces.

Sahara Reporters, who obtained the full audio tape published the full transcript as provided below:

Mr. al-Barnawis taped message said Mr. Shekau had violated Islamic tenets by killing fellow Muslims, including members of the terrorist Islamist group, living a life of luxury with his wives, neglecting and starving women and children, and failing to provide food and weapons for insurgent fighters.

[Shekau] was boasting that if we attempt to escape from his empire his men will kill us. He is a liar. I am not the only one that left, but eight of us left, all kitchen cabinet members. And right now two other top members are on the way to join us. We are all here. The issue of Islam is not personal, there is no sentiment in Islam, and that is why we are here. Nobody can dare us or stop us from it, no matter how he brags. Here we are on our own. Cant you see how we left your empire? We left women and everything and just left with guns on our shoulders. We would have crushed anyone that stood on our way.

We said we would not touch anyone but just go on our way to our religion. We will fight for the cause of Allah and work against personalizing Jihad and against unjustifiable killings and shedding of blood. We are out because you came out with your own cassette. We want our people to know proper Islam because Allah in the Quran forbids killings without justification. Just like Allah gave us power to kill infidels, there are those he said we shouldnt kill without reason.

In the Quran, Allah forbade Muslims from killing one anotherand he also taught against killing in secret. If it is serious punishment, it must be public for people to know and witness it. But once you see killings in secret, there is something fishy and this is what we noticed with Shekau. What he is doing is not Islam. He said we should follow him and we agreed, but we later realized it is another thing and we said no. We have to stick to the Quran and what Allah said, not [follow] someones waywardness.

We have vowed to say the truth. If we will be killed, let us be killed. If we will be eaten, let us be eaten up and if we will be roasted, let us be roasted. We will not leave our fellow brothers in the dark; this message of mine will get to Sambisa Forest. It will get into Shekaus house. We have agents that will convey the message no matter how he dislikes it.

Almighty Allah is against killings of Muslims. Allah is saying better heaven and earth fall than innocent soul of a Muslim, but you have Shekau who likes killing our own people. He is always boasting that he will kill, he will kill. Okay, continue to kill, you will also be killed. Who will dwell here forever? Everybody will die. You will also die someday. And there is no one that will die without reaching his day of death. You can see we are here alive, all of us here sitting. Anyone that Allah did not kill you cannot kill him. The same way, you cannot stop anyone Allah willed his death.

That is why when someone boasts to kill a man, the man asks him, Why are you in a haste? The man says, If my time has come, you will not stop me from going. There are several verses that forbid killing of a fellow Muslim unjustifiably. Our vow that we will practice Islam is real. That is why we left our parents, homes, our cars and everything and came to this forest. How can we then agree to see you bringing strange ideologies?

In one of our Shura meetings, someone asked Shekau how he felt about Muslims running away from their own land to the land of the infidels for their own safety. Shekau said [the Muslims] are also infidels and should be killed like the infidels. These people are not infidels, they are Muslims running for their lives, and he insisted that they are infidels and should be killed. Shekau is ignorant of the fact that it is forbidden for a Muslim to be killed after being chased out of Islamic Caliphate to a strange land and [when the Muslim] has not taken part in any conspiracy against Muslims. [Shekau] is ignorant and needs to be taught the rudiments of Islam. Islam is not his creation. Only Allah defines who is a Muslim and who is an infidel. Even if you travel to a foreign land, you have no jurisdiction to say who is who until you have a basis. Anywhere you go you cant say who is who. You cant kill and take away peoples properties.

We fled from him with our religion for good. It is there in the books, when you are not allowed to do Islam you have the liberty to flee and follow what you know is right. Shekau, we did not touch you, dont touch us. If you touch us we will touch you and we are many against you. We have people in your house and even your present hideout. You dont know us enough; we are ready for anyone to kill us, even if it is infidels, for so long as we will make heaven and be before Allah. That is why we are countering the false ideology you are spreading.

[Shekau] said he is looking for our information. We also have your information and we are close to you. What kind of thing is this? There were states we captured as part of the Islamic Caliphate and you allowed men to be looting property. We told you and you did not take action. We dont know this brand of Jihad; you kill children, women and bomb people. We should be looking for infidels and not our own people. How can we be killing people in the mosques when there are churches, barracks? It is nonsense and Allah will ask you [about it] if you dont repent. Another thing is, [Shekau] is interpreting verses with his own opinions and the cassettes are being spread. Stop interpreting the Quran with your own opinion. We who lived with [Shekau] knew his conduct. What is not in the Hadith, he will insist that it is there. Kai, Imam, all these interpretations are your own creation. Please go and seek education and knowledge from those that know.

Nobody should believe him. People should seek understanding and not depend on his lies. Haba Imam, have you forgotten our past? Is this how we started? You forgot your days in our learning place with your two items of clothing, learning under the tree? And today you are arrogant and killing your own people because you have now got an empire?

You forgot how you rushed to pass a verdict over the case of a man over sheep? And you rushed a judgment that saw the mans hand amputated. The same thing happened in Bama. Five of us were sitting, and the issue came up of some fighters who married slaves. He quickly said they should be killed. The killings spread to eleven persons. Later on, the allegation turned out to be false. Some fighters murmured and said there would be no peace with his injustices. And all these are not part of Islam. People complained of several acts, but because [Shekau] was enjoying power he refused to take action. Who killed the Malam in Banki? Is it not you that killed him? The same thing happened to a man you brought inside and killed.

You forgot one day I told you that your wives are not aware that their husbands are alive. You dismissed me with a wave of hand. And you said their husbands should be killed. Is it not you that killed them? Are you not the one that killed Malam Abdulmalik? He is popularly known as Baba Abdulmalik, and you killed him. And you are killing them secretly when, in Islam, there is nothing like secret killings even of an infidel. Even if it is Buhari that comes to you following an agreement, if you killed him, it is not Islam. Even if it is an infidel, if you killed him it is not Islam. If you are afraid of their treaty, tell them we are enemies, instead of drawing people close tokill them.

Where did you see the judgment of Allah secretly done? And you said you are following Allah. Is it the Prophet that said this? This is not Islam, Shekau.

You killed Ameer Falluja because he was close to Abdulmalik. When he entered, he never came out. The same way, you killedBagomna because he bought a house in Amchide. If someone bought a house, is that a reason to kill him? With your hand you killed him. Bagomna came on a bike, and you just killed him. When we asked you why you said since he went to war he did not return. You are a liar; you killed him on your own. Is this Islam? Are you sure it is Islam you are doing, killing war commanders, and killing clerics?

You killed Mustapha, you killedKakaali, and you told women that they died in the war, but insiders knew that you killed them. It was Aliyu that you asked to call one of them. You remember where you used to stay in one location. On getting there one day they called the man guarding the place. When he came, you killed him. When the second [man] appeared you repeated the same. From that moment did we not start failing and losing the war? You cant think and repent. When we fought infidels in Baga, did you remember the bravery [the men you killed] exhibited? Did you do half of their gallant fight? You are just sitting down; they will bring you cars, money, and other valuables and you still have the guts to betray them.

The same way you killed one man on trivial grounds that he was gossiping. Yet his contribution to this cause was incredible. He was producing guns, and you just wasted him. And you wanted to kill one Aliyu and something happened. You wanted him killed, but failed and he succeeded in killing one of the two you sent to kill him. Is this Jihad? Is it not you that killed Mujaheed? Is it not you that killed Umar? Is it not you that killedAbumariam? Abumariam and Mujaheed were killed together by you. What did they do to you? Cant people tell you the truth? That is why some of us that want to tell you the truth fled so that you dont kill us. And now that we are away, you cant kill us unless we kill ourselves. We believe in Allah and have our own battalions. Send your agents and see a surprise. None of them can come here; we will finish them. You also killed Abdullahi because of a dream. You keep telling people rubbish about leaders that killed their fighters. Those leaders killed in the open, but you killed secretly.

When Malam Umar was going to honor [Shekaus] invitation, he called me and explained that Shekau had sent for him, but he had sent words pleading for forgiveness. When he told me, I said he should believe in Allah and submit to his faith. When Umar went, [Shekau] came out and asked for a knife and a dagger. Very close to the river [Shekau] killed Umar. Is this Allahs verdict? This is Haram for Shekau to make Muslims kill their brothers. Shekau be careful, we are not part of this; I repent and will never follow you. I will never go back. If you fear Allah, you should better repent. We have revolted against your ideology and now cling to the real ideology of Allah. We are not part of a caliphate of injustices and shedding of blood. We are not part of a religion that is not dictated by Allah. We are with our leader, [ISIS commander] Al-Baghdadi. If you say you will not follow him, we will know the truth. Anyway, you have revolted and are deceiving people. You even said it in your cassette that you were forced; that you only bear fake allegiance fearing that there would be an internal revolt against you. Shekau killed many fighters, and we have exposed a few [of his victims].

Another case of Shekaus insensitivity is abandoning fighters to hunger [as well as] women and children who go without food while he is enjoying with his own family.

Last year, 20 children died of malnourishment. Recently, 15 babies died in one day due to starvation. I have a recorded message here, and I will play it here for all to hear.

(The audio was played and Shekau was heard saying the following: That children are dying, let even 100, 000 die now. Nonsense, am I the one holding them? I can only do what I can. Am I here to breed babies? You came disturbing me. Who told you my duty is to look after babies? Who told you my duty is to look after fighters? If this is what you are talking about, then it is you that should look after me. Is this what Quran said? What do you mean?).

Abu Musab al-Barnawi message continued:

Hear him saying that it is not his duty. Let us teach you, Imam. It is your responsibility to look after fighters and ensure their welfare. Go and study the Quran. It is not me that wrote, but it is there in the Quran. Anything that was given to you, you must provide for the welfare of the fighters. Imagine him in the cassette I played saying Allah said fighters should feed him. Tell us where in the Quran Allah said we should feed you? We know it is your responsibility to feed us and give us money for chicken and all our needs. This is the truth, Imam.

Even [when fighters] advance towards enemies, [Shekau] doesnt make logistics available. The other time, we lost plenty of gas and fuel tofire. Before, you ruled over us, but now we are free. Another thing that made us leave you is because you dont listen to your cabinet. If we follow Shekau, we will never make heaven. That is why we left. Stop giving opinionated fatwa.

You dont listen and accept our views. Even [Boko Haram founder, killed in 2009] Mohammed Yusuf, he would write his Friday preaching and table it before us for debate and scrutiny. We would collectively go through and work on it. But you refused [to do the same]. Are you more educated than Mohammed Yusuf? Is it not in my place that you were studying with your two items of clothes and under a tree in Maiduguri?

Another thing is Shekau doesnt make weapons available for fighters. People fighting a war are left with no weapons. We have lost many territories in our emerging Islamic caliphate to infidels because of your laxity. You are the cause.

This was the beginning of our revolt against you. If you leave us alone, we will leave you alone. If you continue antagonizing us, we will also continue. If you repent, we will accept you and embrace you. You should repent and fear Allah. This is the open letter to you.

In our Shura meetings, there was a complaint that jihadists wives were taken away while they were fighting for Allah. What did you do? You did nothing, and fighters saw how you dont bother about their welfare. You just go home and sleep with your wives and slaves while we are suffering. We are not with you.
The Nigerian Army said on Friday that three soldiers and seven civilians died in a clash between soldiers and some residents of Kpaidna community in Niger.

Njideka Agwu, a major and Assistant Director, Army Public Relations, 31 Artillery Brigade, Minna, made this known in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Minna.

Ms. Agwu said the incident occurred at 2.00 a.m. on Friday in the community located in Bosso Local Government Area of the state.

The 31 Artillery Brigade of the Nigeria Army, Minna, was on a joint operation with the Nigeria Air Force Quick Response Group in the area when we were attacked by the villagers.

We were on a cordon and search operation in the village because we got intelligence report that there were caches of arms and ammunitions in the area.

During the operation, three soldiers and seven civilians lost their lives, while 57 villagers were arrested by the joint operation, she said.

Ms. Agwu said arms and ammunition were recovered during the operation which was still ongoing.

Trouble started when some of the villagers denied the military access to their houses to enable soldiers search for arms and ammunition believed to be stockpiled there.

During the clash, six operation vehicles belonging to the army were destroyed by the villagers; four were set ablaze while two were vandalised, she said.

Ms. Agwu enjoined law abiding citizens in the area to go about their normal businesses as the operation was to safeguard lives and property.

She urged members of the public with useful information that would lead to the recovery of arms and ammunition in the area to report to the nearest security agency.

Bala Elkanah, the Police Public Relations Officer in the state, confirmed the incident which he described as purely military matter.

It was purely a military operation. We (police) were not involved, he told NAN.

(NAN)
A member of a robbery gang, Jimoh Wasiu, on Thursday narrated how they stole a Kia car and sold it for a meagre N10, 000.

Mr. Wasiu, 37, made the disclosure while being paraded before journalists at the Special Anti-Robbery Squad, SARS, headquarters in Abeokuta, Ogun State.

He was paraded alongside two other members of the gang, named Damilola Daramola (38) and Tunji Makinde (38).

Mr. Wasiu said the gang was formed in 2015 and had only snatched two cars. One of the stolen cars was the Kia they sold for N10, 000.

He said the group specialised in snatching cars and tricycles on Lagos-Ibadan Expressway.

The Ogun State Police Command Public Relations Officer, Abimbola Oyeyemi, who paraded the suspects, said the gang operates on Lagos-Ibadan Highway.

Five suspected cultists were also paraded. They were accused of terrorising Ogijo and its environs before they were arrested.

Mr. Oyeyemi said the cultists killed a man at a filling station.

The police spokesman disclosed the identities of the suspected cultists as Oluwatosin Mosaku, Tunde Adeleye, Olajuwon Kashimawo, Sunday Ajayi and Sharafa Oladipupo.

He said Mosaku, popularly known as Mega Tea, was a notorious cultist who had killed many people in Ikorodu, Lagos state, while Kashimawo was allegedly responsible for the death of a-16-year-old boy that was killed on Tuesday at MRS Petrol station in Ogijo.

He said Ajayi, popularly known as Egbere, had been on police wanted list for snatching a rifle from a police corporal at Oko-Oba in Ogijo located in Sagamu local government area of Ogun State.
The Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Kayode Fayemi, has ordered the immediate recall of all federal mines officers in the 36 states of the federation and the Federal Capital Territory.

The Minister, who gave the directive on Friday, said in a statement by his Special Assistant on Media, Yinka Oyebode, that the development became necessary as part of measures to strengthen the institutional capacity of the ministry to cooperate with security agencies in ensuring the security of lives and property in the country, as well as safety of the environment.

The development came barely 24 hours after the ministry blacklisted and withdrew the explosives licences of a Koko, Delta State-based company for the illegal diversion of explosives.

Accordingly, all the affected officers are to report to the headquarters of the Ministry of Solid Minerals Development, Abuja, for further directives on their next assignments.

Letters to this effect have been dispatched to the state and zonal offices of the ministry nationwide, Mr. Olayinka said

Dr. Fayemi said the ministry will not leave any stone unturned in the bid to reposition the sector for effective service delivery, and to actualise the economic diversification and job creation goals of the President Muhammadu Buhari administration.

In the pursuit of our mandate to deepen the productivity of the mining industry, we will continue to collaborate with all stakeholders to guarantee that the security of lives and property, as well as safety of the environment is not compromised, Mr. Oyebode quoted the minister as saying.
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, has arrested a level six officer of the accounts department of the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria, FAAN.

A statement by EFCCs spokesperson, Wilson Uwujaren, said the staff, Christy Olabode, was arrested on Tuesday for alleged fraud involving N100 million.

Also arrested was her younger brother, Abdul-Shehu Obaze, who is a staff at the Commercial Department of FAAN in Ilorin, Kwara State.

Another staff, Dominic Ojo, an IT officer at FAAN Headquarters, Lagos, was also arrested.

The EFCC said Ms. Olabodes arrest followed an anonymous petition, which indicated that she allegedly diverted the said sum, by inserting names of non-FAAN staff into the payroll. She allegedly conspired with Mr. Obaze, to perpetrate the fraud.

The EFCC said Mr. Obaze was found to have maintained not less than eight accounts in seven new generation banks, which were used to receive the funds for onward distribution to several high ranking officers within the FAAN.

The funds were being paid into his various bank accounts with the narrative, Furniture Allowance. However, while allowance for FAANs furniture is usually paid once in three years, Obaze received the allowance several times within a year.

Investigations carried out by the EFCC revealed that the fraud had gone on since 2013. It unearthed a payroll with names of many dead, retired and disengaged staff of FAAN listed against Obazes different bank accounts.

Upon interrogation, Obaze, a level nine officer, confessed that other FAAN officials were involved in the massive fraud, including Olabodes husband who works in the Human Resources department of FAAN.

Olabode and Ojo currently enjoy administrative bail, while Obaze remains in EFCC custody, the statement said.

They would be charged to court as soon as investigations are concluded, the EFCC said.
A suspected major distributor of Codeine cough syrups in Kano has told the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency that he was in the business because of the high profit margin.

Ikechukwu Ukwuoma, 34, said the Codeine business in the state sells fast and that he was only interested in the profit, the NDLEA said in a statement Friday.

A bottle of codeine in Kano is twice the cost price in the east, said Mr. Ukwuoma, who hails from Imo State and is married with three children.

I did not know how the officers discovered my warehouse where the drugs were kept. I regret my action.

Mr. Ukwuoma was among four Nigerians and a Malian arrested by the anti-narcotics agency in connection with illegal sales of 4,580 kilogrammes of psychotropic drugs in Kano.

The seized drugs comprising 2,592kgs of codeine cough syrups and 1,988kgs of tramadol were recovered from five secret warehouses located within the metropolis by officers of the Kano State command.

The arrest is part of efforts to reduce the sales and demand for psychotropic substances in the State, the NDLEA said.

The arrests include Mr. Ukwuoma, with 2,010kgs of codeine cough syrups; Nura Ibrahim, 30, caught with 886kgs of tramadol, and Zakari Muhammadi, a Malian, found with 850kgs of tramadol.

Others are Ernest Asogwa, 34, caught with 582kgs of codeine syrup and Ikenna Osuizugba, 34, found in possession of 252kgs of tramadol.

The NDLEA said the arrests and seizures were made following intelligence report on the illicit drug activities of the suspects.

The abuse of psychotropic drugs like codeine cough syrups and tramadol is prevalent among young people and married women in the State, said Hamza Umar, NDLEA Kano State Commander.

It is common to see iced bottles of codeine cough syrup instead of beverage drinks in a gathering of young people.

Mr. Ibrahim, who hails from Nasarawa Local Government Area of Kano State, also attributed his involvement to quick turnover in the business.

For Mr. Muhammadi, who is married married to two wives with four children, friends were responsible for his involvement in drugs.

Messrs Asogwa and Osuizugba told officials that they decided to sell the drugs because of the profit involved.

Muhammad Abdallah, Chairman of the NDLEA, said the Agency is working hard to intensify its sensitization programmes in the State.

The NDLEA is working assiduously to boost the sensitization efforts of the State command, said Mr. Abdallah, a retired colonel.

We are getting more families, schools, community groups and the media involved in this enlightenment programme.

This is one important way of reducing the demand and supply for both codeine cough syrup and tramadol tablet taken by youths.
For the New World Order, a world government is just the beginning. Once in place they can engage their plan to exterminate 80% of the world's population, while enabling the "elites" to live forever with the aid of advanced technology. For the first time, crusading filmmaker ALEX JONES reveals their secret plan for humanity's extermination: Operation ENDGAME.

Jones chronicles the history of the global elite's bloody rise to power and reveals how they have funded dictators and financed the bloodiest warscreating order out of chaos to pave the way for the first true world empire.

Watch as Jones and his team track the elusive Bilderberg Group to Ottawa and Istanbul to document their secret summits, allowing you to witness global kingpins setting the world's agenda and instigating World War III.





to Ottawa and Istanbul to document their secret summits, allowing you to witness global kingpins setting the world's agenda and instigating World War III. Learn about the formation of the North America transportation control grid, which will end U.S. sovereignty forever.





Discover how the practitioners of the pseudo-science eugenics have taken control of governments worldwide as a means to carry out depopulation.





View the progress of the coming collapse of the United States and the formation of the North American Union.

Never before has a documentary assembled all the pieces of the globalists' dark agenda. Endgame's compelling look at past atrocities committed by those attempting to steer the future delivers information that the controlling media has meticulously censored for over 60 years. It fully reveals the elite's program to dominate the earth and carry out the wicked plan in all of human history.

Endgame is not conspiracy theory, it is documented fact in the elite's own words.




DUBLIN, August 5, 2016 /PRNewswire/ --

Research and Markets has announced the addition of the "China OLED Market - Forecast and Opportunities to 2021" report to their offering.

The OLED market in China is projected to grow at a CAGR over 38% during 2016 - 2021.

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PUNE, India, August 5, 2016 /PRNewswire/ --

The report "Collaborative Robots Market by Payload (Up to 5 Kg, Up to 10 Kg, & Above 10 Kg), Application, Industry and Geography - Global Forecast to 2022", published by MarketsandMarkets, the global market is expected to grow at a CAGR of 60.04% between 2016 and 2022 from USD 110.0 Million in 2015 and is expected to reach USD 3.3 Billion by 2022.

(Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160303/792302 )

Browse 65 market data Tables and 51 Figures spread through 189 Pages and in-depth TOC on "Collaborative Robots Market"

http://www.marketsandmarkets.com/Market-Reports/collaborative-robot-market-194541294.html

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The market is expected to be driven by factors such as higher return on investment and low price of collaborative robots are attracting the small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) and the increase in investments for automation in industries.

The collaborative robots market is application driven; the application in the automotive sector accounted for the largest share in 2015

The global Collaborative Robots Market is driven by application in industries such as automotive, metal and machining, furniture and equipment, food and beverages, plastic and polymers, and others. Collaborative robots used in the automotive sector accounted for the largest share of the global collaborative robots market in 2015; this market is expected to grow at a significant rate between 2016 and 2022, driven by the growing focus of consumers on safety features provided by collaborative robots in the field of manufacturing and automation. In developed regions, such as North America and Europe, growth in the collaborative robots market in the automotive sector is expected to be driven by rise in safety rated manufacturing and the growing trend of precision which were not possible due to the common human errors, while, in developing regions, such as Asia-Pacific and RoW, it is likely to be driven by the rise in industrial automation during the forecast period.

Collaborative robots are used in the furniture and equipment industry and this market is expected to witness rapid growth during the forecast period

An acceptance and installation rate of collaborative robots in furniture and equipment industry is increasing and is expected to continue to grow rapidly during the forecast period. This growth is expected to be significant in RoW region for new fleet of applications.

Asia-Pacific is expected to hold a large share of the collaborative robots market by 2022

Europe was the largest market in 2015, followed by Asia-Pacific and North America. Regulations have driven the market for collaborative robots to reduce the need for safety fences between human and robots and mitigate the effects of imminent collisions (accidents). Europe was the early adopter which has resulted in a large market for collaborative robots in 2015. However, with the expected increase in regulations related to safety standards in collaborative technology, regions such as North America, Asia-Pacific, and RoW, coupled with a growing focus on safety sensors, these regions are expected to develop potential growth opportunities for this market during the forecast period. The collaborative robots market in Asia-Pacific is expected to surpass that of Europe by 2018 and hold a large market share through 2022.

Inquiry Before Buying: http://www.marketsandmarkets.com/Enquiry_Before_Buying.asp?id=194541294

The major companies in the global collaborative robots market that have been included in this report are ABB Ltd. (Switzerland), KUKA AG (Germany), FANUC Corporation (Japan), Robert Bosch GmbH (Germany), Universal Robots (Denmark), Rethink Robotics (U.S.), Energid Technologies (U.S.), and MRK-Systeme GmbH (Germany), among others.

Browse Related Reports

Industrial Robotics Market by Type (Articulated, Cartesian, SCARA, Cylindrical, Parallel, Collaborative Robots), Component (Controller, Robotic Arm, End Effector, Sensors, Drive), Vertical and Geography - Analysis & Forecast to 2022

http://www.marketsandmarkets.com/Market-Reports/Industrial-Robotics-Market-643.html

Mobile Robots Market by Environment (Aerial, Ground, and Marine), Component (Hardware and Software), Application (Professional Service and Personal Service), and Geography (North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, and the RoW) - Global Forecast to 2020

http://www.marketsandmarkets.com/Market-Reports/mobile-robots-market-43703276.html

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SOURCE MarketsandMarkets
ST HELIER, Jersey, August 5, 2016 /PRNewswire/ --

- Regulation S Notes: ISIN USG2370YAB23 / CUSIP G2370YAB2

- Rule 144A Notes: ISIN US209504AB54 / CUSIP 209504AB5

Consolidated Minerals ("Consmin", the "Group" or the "Company") announces an extension of the Expiration Date in the consent solicitation statement dated 7 July 2016 prepared by the Company (the "Consent Solicitation Statement") with respect of its 8.000% Senior Secured Notes due May 15, 2020 (collectively, the "Notes").

The Consent Solicitation Statement solicits the consent of the Holders to certain proposed amendments to the terms of the Notes as more fully set out in the Consent Solicitation Statement. Capitalized terms used in this announcement and not otherwise defined herein have the meanings ascribed to them in the Consent Solicitation Statement.

The Company's obligation to accept any Consents is conditional on the receipt of Consents of Holders of at least 95% in aggregate principal amount of the outstanding Notes. At 5pm New York City time on 4 August 2016 (the "Expiration Date"), the Company had received and accepted consents from Holders of 96.30% in aggregate principal amount of the outstanding Notes.

The Expiration Date has now been extended to 5pm, New York City time on 12 August 2016 (the "Extended Expiration Date") as the Company does not expect all parties to be in a position to sign the Supplemental Indenture promptly after the original Expiration Date. Holders who deliver valid consents on or prior to Extended Expiration Date shall receive a consent fee in an amount equal to $5 for each $1,000 principal amount of such Notes. The Revocation Deadline expired on the original Expiration Date and Holders are no longer able to revoke their consents.

Holders are invited to submit valid consents to the proposals set out in the Consent Solicitation Statement in accordance with the procedures set out therein. The other terms of the Consent Solicitation Statement are deemed to have changed to the extent affected by the changes described herein. Except as set forth herein, all other terms described in the Consent Solicitation Statement remain unchanged.

The Company may, in its sole discretion, subject to applicable law and the terms of the Lock-Up Agreement, terminate, further extend or amend the consent solicitation at any time as described in the Consent Solicitation Statement.

Noteholders are advised to read carefully the Consent Solicitation Statement for full details of, and information on the procedures for participating in, the Consent Solicitation. Copies of the Consent Solicitation Statement are available to eligible holders from the Information and Tabulation Agent, the contact details of which are provided below.

About Consolidated Minerals Limited

Consmin is a leading manganese ore producer with mining assets in Australia and Ghana. The principal activities of the Company and its subsidiaries (the "Group") are the exploration, mining, processing and sale of manganese products. The Group's operations are primarily conducted through four major operating/trading subsidiaries: Consolidated Minerals Pty Limited (Australia), Ghana Manganese Company Limited (Ghana), Manganese Trading Limited (Jersey) and Pilbara Trading Limited (Jersey).

Consolidated Minerals Limited is headquartered in Jersey and the address of its office is Commercial House, 3 Commercial Street, St Helier, Jersey, Channel Islands, JE2 3RU.

Important Notice



These materials may contain forward-looking statements regarding future events or the future financial performance of Consolidated Minerals Limited (the "Company"). You can identify forward looking statements by terms such as "expect", "believe", "estimate", "anticipate", "intend", "will", "could", "may", or "might", the negative of such terms or other similar expressions. These forward-looking statements include matters that are not historical facts and statements regarding the Company's intentions, beliefs or current expectations concerning, among other things, the Company's results of operations, financial condition, liquidity, prospects, growth, strategies, and the industry in which the Company operates. By their nature, forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties, because they relate to events and depend on circumstances that may or may not occur in the future. The Company cautions you that forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and that the Company's actual results of operations, financial condition, liquidity, prospects, growth, strategies and the development of the industry in which the Company operates may differ materially from those described in or suggested by the forward-looking statements contained in these materials. In addition, even if the Company's results of operations, financial condition, liquidity, prospects, growth, strategies and the development of the industry in which the Company operates are consistent with the forward-looking statements contained in these materials, those results or developments may not be indicative of results or developments in future periods. The Company does not intend to update these statements to reflect events and circumstances occurring after the date hereof or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events. Many factors could cause the actual results to differ materially from those contained in forward-looking statements of the Company, including, among others, general economic conditions, the competitive environment, as well as many other risks specifically related to the Company and its operations, including those discussed in these materials.

These materials are not an offer of securities for sale in the United States. Securities may not be offered or sold in the United States absent registration or an exemption from registration under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the "Securities Act"). Any securities mentioned herein have not been and will not be registered under the Securities Act, and no public offering will be made in the United States.

SOURCE Consolidated Minerals Ltd
LIMASSOL, Cyprus, August 5, 2016 /PRNewswire/ --

Global, award-winning forex broker FXTM is pleased to announce that it is continuing its ongoing expansion, with the broker having received a license from the Financial Services Board (FSB) in South Africa. The license was obtained on July 5th, 2016 (FSP no.46614) and provides the company with the opportunity to expand its strategic footprint, while reaching new customers and acquiring local partners in a market of high potential.

(Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160614/378942LOGO )



Commenting on this latest acquisition, Olga Rybalkina, CEO of ForexTime Limited, said, "This latest development represents another key milestone for FXTM, and falls directly in line with our mission to expand across the globe. We continue to experience growth on a stable level with our company having developed a strong reputation for a commitment to providing excellent trading terms and a transparent service.

"Since our inception, we have steadily established ourselves as an authority in this industry and developed a reputation as a trusted broker in the Asian, European and Middle Eastern markets. South African clients, affiliates and partners can now enjoy all of the benefits and advantages of trading with FXTM, and we proudly look forward to building lasting relationships with these traders as a global broker with a local touch."

The recently obtained license from the FSB adds to what has already been a busy 2016 for FXTM, with the broker having also announced the opening of its UK branch earlier this year, shortly following the appointment of CNBC Arabia's Hussein Al Sayed as Chief Market Strategist and the face of its brand for the Middle East region.

Away from international developments, FXTM has also focused on developing its product portfolio with the introduction of the Shares Account and, most recently, the updated MT5 platform with the option of hedging.

The broker will be announcing further company developments in the upcoming future.

For more information about this latest news, please visit the FXTM website at http://fxtm.biz/2aLvWH6.

Trading Forex involves significant risk and can result in loss of your invested capital. Please read FXTM's full Risk Disclosure (http://www.forextime.com/regulatory-compliance/risk-disclosure/ ).

The FXTM Brand consists of ForexTime Limited, regulated by Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySEC)with licence no. 185/12, licensed by South Africa's FSB with FSP number 46614, and registered with the UK FCA under reference number 600475, and FT Global Limited, regulated by the International Financial Services Commission (IFSC)with licence numbers IFSC/60/345/TS and IFSC/60/345/APM.

SOURCE FXTM
DUBLIN, August 5, 2016 /PRNewswire/ --

Research and Markets has announced the addition of the "GCC Construction Chemicals Market - Forecast and Opportunities, 2011- 2021 - Saudi Arabia, UAE, Qatar, Kuwait, Oman & Bahrain" report to their offering.

The construction chemicals market in the GCC countries is projected to grow at a CAGR of over 7% during 2016 - 2021, due to rising government spending on construction projects coupled with increasing participation by private players in the real estate sector. Additionally, growing demand for modern residential complexes and commercial structures is expected to drive demand for construction chemicals in the GCC countries through 2021.

Construction chemicals are specialty chemical compounds used to speed up construction activities or improve durability of existing structures. Expanding infrastructure sector, coupled with increasing number of repair activities in GCC countries have necessitated use of sophisticated technologies in construction activities, owing to which demand for construction chemicals has exhibited steady growth over the last few years.



GCC construction chemicals market has been segmented into concrete admixtures, waterproofing chemicals, protective coatings, and adhesives and sealants. Additionally, other major construction chemicals consumed in the GCC countries include flooring chemicals, grouts, mortars, anti-corrosive agents, etc. Concrete admixtures and waterproofing chemicals dominate the GCC construction chemicals market, on account of their increasing use in residential as well as commercial structures.



Further, increasing need for economic diversification and reducing dependence on oil reserves is prompting majority of the countries in the region to increase expenditure on construction and infrastructure activities.



Companies Profiled:



Ashland Inc.

BASF Middle East LLC

Chryso Gulf

DOW Menat

GCP Applied Technologies Inc.

Henkel Arabia

Jotun Saudia Co. Ltd.

Middle East Fosroc

Saudi Basic Industries Corporation (SABIC)

Sika GCC



Key Topics Covered:



1. Research Methodology



2. Analyst View



3. Product Overview



4. Global Construction Chemicals Market Overview



5. GCC Construction Chemicals Market Outlook



6. GCC Construction Chemicals Market Segmental Analysis



7. GCC Construction Chemicals Market Regional Analysis



8. Import-Export Analysis



9. Market Dynamics



10. Market Trends & Development



11. Policy & Regulatory Landscape



12. Competitive Benchmarking



13. Competitive Landscape



14. Strategic Recommendations



For more information visit http://www.researchandmarkets.com/research/n86qsx/gcc_construction

Media Contact:

Related Links

http://www.researchandmarkets.com



SOURCE Research and Markets
DUBLIN, August 5, 2016 /PRNewswire/ --

Research and Markets has announced the addition of the "Philippines Tire Market Forecast and Opportunities, 2021" report to their offering.

Philippines is one of the major economies of the ASEAN region. Backed by government initiatives and rapid infrastructure developments, tire market in the Philippines is anticipated to witness modest growth over next five years.

Further, on account of attractive investment schemes for OEMs, favorable trading environment coupled with various encouraging initiatives taken by the Government of Philippines, such as implementation of Motor Vehicle Development Program, an increasing number of OEM companies are establishing their manufacturing/ assembling plants in the country, which is positively influencing the country's tire market.

Tire market in the Philippines is expected to surpass $900 million by 2021 on account of expanding passenger car fleet, continuing infrastructure growth and large scale construction activities being undertaken in the country. In 2015, tire market in Philippines was dominated by the replacement tire segment, which grabbed around two-thirds of the market share.

Few of the major global tire brands operating in the Philippines include Goodyear, Bridgestone and Yokohama. Yokohama is the only tire manufacturer operating in the country, while all other tire companies operating in the Philippines import tires from countries such as Japan, the US, China and other Asian countries.

With sales of two-wheelers, commercial vehicles and passenger cars in the country cumulatively witnessing a CAGR of around 7% during 2011-2015 and reaching 1,139,118 units in 2015, replacement tire demand is expected to remain high over the next five years. With sales of around 850,509 two wheelers in the country in 2015, the two-wheeler tire segment accounted for a major share in the Philippines tire market.

Moreover, increasing private sector investment is expected to boost the construction, agriculture and industrial sectors of the country in the coming years, which would act as a catalyst for commercial vehicle tires segment during the forecast period.

Market Trends & Developments

Improving Automotive Sector Scenario

Growing Demand for Retread Tires

Increasing Domestic Rubber Production

Presence of Smuggled Chinese Tires

Implementation of Favorable Government Initiatives

Key Topics Covered:

1. Research Methodology

2. Product Overview

3. Analyst View

4. Philippines Tire Market Outlook

5. Philippines Replacement Tire Market Outlook

6. Philippines Two-Wheeler Tire Market Outlook

7. Philippines Commercial Vehicle Tire Market Outlook

8. Philippines Passenger Car Tire Market Outlook

9. Import-Export Analysis

10. Market Dynamics

11. Market Trends & Developments

12. Policy & Regulatory Landscape

13. Philippines Economic Profile

14. Competitive Landscape

15. Strategic Recommendations

Companies Mentioned

- Bridgestone Corporation

- Cheng Shin Rubber Industries Co. Ltd.

- Federal Corporation

- Goodyear Philippines, Inc.

- Kumho Tire Co., Inc.

- Michelin Asia (Singapore) Co. Pte. Ltd.

- Southern Rubber Industry JSC

- Toyo Tire and Rubber Company Ltd.

- Yokohama Rubber Company, Ltd.

- Zhongce Rubber Group Co., Ltd.

For more information visit http://www.researchandmarkets.com/research/95c6m5/philippines_tire

Media Contact:

Research and Markets

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SOURCE Research and Markets
PUNE, India, August 5, 2016 /PRNewswire/ --

The renewable energy policy FiT analysis report identifies and assesses the key countries that are involved in the renewable energy technologies adoption and gives ideas regarding the most promising technologies in the near future with Feed-in Tariff rates applicable for different renewable technologies in various countries.

Complete report on renewable energy policy FiT analysis across 178 pages, profiling 15 companies and supported with 35 tables and 27 figures is now available at http://www.reportsnreports.com/reports/645432-renewable-energy-policy-fit-analysis-by-technology-solar-wind-geothermal-and-bio-energy-by-tariff-period-5-10-13-15-20-and-25-years-by-system-size-1-kw-to-15-mw-and-by-key-country-installed-capacity-and-targets-to-2020.html .

Countries worldwide are planning to promote renewable energy in one way or the other in order to reduce dependency on fossil fuels. Hence, mandatory renewable energy targets are being laid down by the governments to ensure that the power producers produce certain proportions of the total electricity generation from renewable energy sources. For instance, the EU and the U.S. have set a base line renewable energy target of 20% by 2020. As of 2015, 164 countries around the world have adopted at least one type of renewable energy target. In order to meet these targets and also to increase the adoption of renewable energy technologies, governments have framed policies and are providing incentives, such as feed-in tariff.

In terms of renewable energy installation, by technology, wind is the most widely used renewable energy source, followed by solar, bio energy, and geothermal. However, in terms of adoption rate, solar is being widely adopted and deems to be a promising technology in the near future. China alone added approximately 15, 150 MW of capacity to its solar energy in 2015. Moreover, in 2015, China surpassed Germany to become the largest installer of solar Photovoltaic (PV). The country aims to reach a renewable energy target of around 100 GW of solar PV capacity by 2020. In 2015, the largest capacity addition of geothermal and bio energy technology was observed in the U.S. and Brazil respectively.

Feed-in tariff is a performance-based incentive, promoting rapid deployment of renewable energy technologies. Well-designed feed-in tariff policies can positively impact job creations and economic growth. These policies are successful world over, especially in the European countries. Feed-in tariff policies can be implemented to support all renewable technologies including wind (onshore and offshore), solar (PV and thermal), geothermal, bio energy (biogas and biomass), fuel cells, and tidal & wave power. Feed-in tariffs are generally awarded as long-term contracts set over a period of 10 years to 20 years. Currently, there are seven U.S. states such as California and Washington that mandate feed-in tariffs.

Some of the leading organizations present in the renewable energy value chain includes Ministry of Environment, Energy and the Sea (France), Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (India), Ontario Power Authority (Canada), Office of Gas & Electricity Markets, U.K. Government (U.K.), Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (Japan), Dominion Virginia Power (U.S.), Tennessee Valley Authority (U.S.), Los Angeles Department of Water & Power (U.S.), Orcas Power & Light (U.S.), Green Mountain Power (U.S.), and Eugene Water & Electric Board (U.S.), among others. Order a copy of Renewable Energy Policy FiT Analysis by Technology (Solar, Wind, Geothermal and Bio Energy), by Tariff Period (5, 10, 13, 15, 20, and 25 years), by System Size (1 kW to 15 MW), and by Key Country - Installed Capacity and Targets to 2020 research report http://www.reportsnreports.com/purchase.aspx?name=645432 .

In the process of determining and verifying, the renewable energy value chain for several segments and sub segments gathered through secondary research, extensive primary interviews were conducted with key people. In Tier 1 (42%), Tier 2 (32%) and Tier 3 (26%) companies were contacted for primary interviews. The interviews were conducted with various key people such as C Level (32%), Director Level (26%) and Engineer Level (42%) from various key organizations operating in the global market. The primary interviews were conducted worldwide covering regions such as The Americas (13%), Europe (15%), Asia-Pacific (48%) and Rest of World (24%).

On a related note, another research on Energy Harvesting System Market Global Forecast to 2022 says, the market is expected to grow at a CAGR of 19.6% during the forecast period between 2016 and 2022. Building & home automation expected to hold the largest market share during the forecast period. The Americas expected to hold the largest market share during the forecast period. The market is segmented on the basis of application into building & home automation, consumer electronics, industrial, transportation, and security. Companies like ABB Limited, Arveni, Convergence Wireless, Cymbet Corporation, EnOcean GmbH, Fujitsu Limited, GreenPeak Technologies B.V., Honeywell International Inc., Microchip Technology Inc., STMicroelectronics N.V. and Texas Instrument Incorporated have been profiled in this 179 pages research report available at http://www.reportsnreports.com/reports/184827-energy-harvesting-market-forecast-2017-global-analysis-research.html .

Explore more reports on the energy and power market at http://www.reportsnreports.com/market-research/energy-and-power-supplies/.

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Sponsored by Sichuan Provincial Tourism Development Committee and Commerce Department of Sichuan, Sichuan Cuisine  More Than Just Taste invites foodies and travel lovers from all over the world with 20,000 fans or more on social media to realize and write about their spiritual and gastronomical dreams as part of the new "Talents for Global Culinary Journey Recruitment" initiative.

Visit www.tsichuan.com to download the application form and send your resume, photo and writing samples together with the completed form to judge@sichuancuisine.org.

Sichuan Province in southwestern China is famous for its spicy food, beautiful scenery and ancient culture that dates back over 20,000 years.

To find out more about the Sichuan Cuisine  More Than Just Taste and Talents for Global Culinary Journey Recruitment programs, visit our social media pages:

Facebook: (@ visit Sichuan)

Twitter: (@amazing Sichuan)

YouTube: (sichuan)

SOURCE Tourism Administration of Sichuan Province
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates, Aug. 5, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Global OConnect will hold a Procurement Fair on August 8th in Speedex Complex showroom 3, Dubai, where its exhibition warehouse locates. The Dubai OConnect was officially introduced on April 28th this year, which has drawn wide attention from suppliers and buyers from China and Middle East.

Since the launch of exhibition warehouses overseas, a growing number of Chinese suppliers have shown great interests in participating, as they believe that OConnect provides a convenient platform to get acquaintance with trade partners.

One representative from Huoshan company disclosed that some Middle Eastern buyers had already contacted him through OSell App, an online communication portal partnered with OConnect, to inquire specific product information. Therefore, the coming fair would create valuable opportunities to communicate with buyers face-to-face. If everything goes well, they could sign the contract right on site upon agreements. According to colleagues in Dubai, transactions were already generated before the fair when local buyers visited the warehouse and chose Chinese watch.

On a larger scale, the fair also takes both countries' bilateral economic interests into consideration and would benefit local economies as a result. Trade between China and UAE is complementary due to economic structures. The fair will bring light industrial products to Middle East, which are normally imported by local economies.

Over ten companies from Huoshan City will introduce their home furnishing products ranging from light bulbs, floor boards to tableware, with support from Huoshan City Business Bureau, a trade department of Huoshan Municipal Government.

Besides the government supports, the fair is designed to accommodate Huoshan City's competitive advantages and Dubai's local needs. Huoshan City is located in a mountainous area with abundant bamboo resources and is famous for home decoration products historically, while Dubai enjoys a rapidly developing real estate industry which fuels a huge demand for household construction materials. Therefore, Huoshan enterprises' appearance in Dubai will lend local retailers a hand to purchase ideal products that meet their special needs.

From local buyers' perspectives, the fair works as a convenient way to reach out to Chinese suppliers and express their target needs specifically. More importantly, with a better understanding of Dubai's local market by assisting businesses from both sides, OConnect will also learn to adjust its business mode accordingly to improve service, which will ultimately benefits Chinese suppliers and overseas buyers.

SOURCE Global OConnect
TOKYO, Aug. 5, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- The Tokyo Metropolitan Government announced on July 15 that it will conduct the following activities during the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympic and Paralympic Games to convey the appeal of Tokyo and Japan to the rest of the world.

The activities will take place in two areas, one at the Live Sites Area in the Centro district and the other at Tokyo 2020 JAPAN HOUSE in Barra.

(Logo: http://prw.kyodonews.jp/prwfile/release/M102164/201608043154/_prw_OI1fl_fvRdJ86g.png)

(Image: http://prw.kyodonews.jp/prwfile/release/M102164/201608043154/_prw_OI2fl_9cFq3yBO.jpg)

At the Live Sites Area, the Paco Imperial will hold two events under "CULTURE & TOKYO in RIO" and an exhibition called "Tokyo Sightseeing." "TOKYO Caravan," a project on August 18-21, will be led by Hideki Noda, a prominent Japanese playwright, director and actor. The project is a culture "inter-mixture" workshop developed jointly by Japanese and Brazilian artists. "TURN" is another "CULTURE & TOKYO in RIO" project curated by leading Japanese artist Katsuhiko Hibino. It is a group exhibition and collection of workshops by emerging Japanese and Brazilian artists developed through their exchanges with social welfare facilities in Brazil.

Both "TURN" and "Tokyo Sightseeing" will be on exhibit from August 18 to September 7 every day except for Monday.

The Rio 2016 special stages at Praca Maua and Praca XV will hold another event "TOHOKU & TOKYO in RIO" on August 18 from 13:00 to 14:30 and 16:30 to 18:00 with performers from Japan and Brazil. The event is presented by Tokyo and the Tohoku region, which was affected by the Great East Japan Earthquake in 2011, to show their appreciation to the world and the reconstruction of the region.

In the Barra district, the Tokyo Metropolitan Government will open Tokyo 2020 JAPAN HOUSE at Cidade das Artes from 12:00 to 20:00 every day, on August 5-21 and September 7-18. The exhibitions held there are based on the theme "City of Waterways" to show the Tokyo metropolis and its ever-evolving natural settings, lifestyles, culture and technology.

On August 19, a "TOKYO DAY" event will be held with performances demonstrated again from "TOHOKU & TOKYO in RIO" along with a Tokyo tourism seminar. Visitors will also enjoy Japanese animation and music broadcasted on screen.

For details, please visit: http://prw.kyodonews.jp/prwfile/release/M102164/201608043154/_prw_OA1fl_Mu54boAq.pdf

SOURCE Tokyo Metropolitan Government
MUNICH, August 5, 2016 /PRNewswire/ --

Wirecard manages the technical integration and acquiring processing

Wirecard, one of the leading payment service providers, is now working together with O2 Czech Republic to offer a unified solution to all retailers in the Czech Republic. Thanks to the new cooperation, O2 as the largest telecommunication provider in the Czech Republic will offer their merchants a product named eKasa which is a fully online, tablet based fiscal till system together with credit card payment transaction services. With this, every retailer is in the position to comply with the new government standards in a beneficial way.

"It's a pleasure to work with Wirecard on this project to really draw an advantage for retailers out of this situation. For us, Wirecard is a reliable partner that quickly responds to innovations," said Lubos Lukasik, Director, SMB segment and indirect sales at O2.

Within this cooperation, Wirecard will act as the acquirer that processes all payment transactions, as well as the technical service provider which enables O2 to use Wirecard's mPOS Software Developing Kit (SDK). Subsequently, O2 will offer its customers the solution eKasa that includes a card reader which provides merchants with secure chip and PIN mobile card acceptance. This practical alternative to fixed till systems is suitable for merchants, companies and self-employed people from all industries who are now affected by this new government directive.

Roland Toch, Managing Director at Wirecard CEE, said: "We are delighted to work with O2 on this large volume project. The new combination that includes services from both parties enables retailers to benefit from powerful payment management features as they can simply repurpose a tablet to a new checkout device. That optimizes the processes and reduces costs at the same time."

This year, a new till system law has been implemented in the Czech Republic requiring retailers to conclude payment transactions online. Payment details are then forwarded to the national tax office where they are reviewed in order to avoid tax fraud.



About Wirecard:

Wirecard AG is a global technology group that supports companies in accepting electronic payments from all sales channels. As a leading independent supplier, the Wirecard Group offers outsourcing and white label solutions for electronic payments. A global platform bundles international payment acceptances and methods with supplementary fraud prevention solutions. With regard to issuing own payment instruments in the form of cards or mobile payment solutions, the Wirecard Group provides companies with an end-to-end infrastructure, including the requisite licences for card and account products. Wirecard AG is listed on the Frankfurt Securities Exchange (TecDAX, ISIN DE0007472060, WDI). For further information about Wirecard, please visit http://www.wirecard.com or follow us on twitter @wirecard.

About Wirecard CEE:

Wirecard CEE is part of the Wirecard Group as well as being the competence centre for Austria and the CEE (Central and Eastern European) markets. As the leading payment service provider (PSP) in Austria, Wirecard CEE has been supporting merchants for the past 16 years in successfully implementing international multi-channel strategies in the payment sector.

http://www.wirecard.at



Wirecard media contact:



Wirecard AG

Jana Tilz

Tel.: +49-(0)-89-4424-1363

E-Mail: jana.tilz@wirecard.com



Wirecard Central Eastern Europe GmbH

Kerstin Papst

Tel.: +43-(0)-316 / 81-36-81-1500

Email: kerstin.papst@wirecard.com



About O2 Czech Republic:

O2 is the largest integrated telecommunications provider in the Czech market. At present we operate close to eight million mobile and fixed accesses, which ranks us among the market leaders in fully converged services in Europe. To users of mobile services in the Czech Republic we offer state-of-the-art HSPA+ and LTE technology. We have the most comprehensive proposition of voice and data services in the Czech Republic, and we actively exploit the growth potential of the various business lines, especially ICT. Our data centres, with total floor area of 7,300 square metres, rank us among the leaders in hosting, cloud and managed services. O2 data centres belong to the few commercial ones in Central Europe to have TIER III certification. With our O2 TV we are also the largest IPTV service provider in the Czech Republic.

O2 Czech Republic media contact:



Lucie Pechackova

Spokesperson

lucie.pechackova@o2.cz



SOURCE Wirecard AG
This country is Honduras. It has been selected to host the "Honduras Birding for Conservation Tour 2016," November 4 to 13 , that will gather birdwatching enthusiasts and experts from around the world for a unique tropical birding experience.

A can't miss tour for avid birdwatchers

1. Experience a three-part itinerary that will guarantee a rich birding experience in a country with the most diverse tourism offering in Central America, with a variety of ecosystems and species that make it a destination every birdwatcher must visit.

2. Tour one of the most important Mayan archaeological sites in the Americas, Copan Ruins, where the iconic scarlet macaws roam freely over the UNESCO World Heritage site, a distinctive mix of birding and culture.

3. Hike the spectacular trails at Cerro Azul Meambar National Park, a lush and expansive rainforest, as well as Santa Barbara National Park, overlooking the largest lake in Honduras, scenic Lake Yojoa.

4. Spend the night at luxurious eco lodges nestled within the Cerro Azul Meambar and Pico Bonito national parks, exotic locales featuring hundreds of bird species and wildlife including jaguars.

5. Learn from and interact with five world experts of the birdwatching industry who will lead tours, including:

Jeffrey Gordon , President of the American Birding Association

, President of the American Birding Association Bill Thompson III , President and founding member of The Ohio Ornithological Society

, President and founding member of The Ohio Ornithological Society Richard Crossley , an acclaimed English birdwatcher, photographer, and writer of "The Crossley ID Guide" series

, an acclaimed English birdwatcher, photographer, and writer of "The Crossley ID Guide" series Adam Riley , a South African eco-tourism entrepreneur who promotes trips to observe birds across the world

, a South African eco-tourism entrepreneur who promotes trips to observe birds across the world Tim Appleton , organizer of birdwatching events and eco-tourism lecturer.

6. Directly impact international bird life conservation efforts. The team that spots the most bird species will be awarded $10,000 to support one of five critical conservation projects in Honduras, as well as $10,000 for an international conservation project of the winning team leader's choice.

7. Promote and celebrate Honduras' wonderfully rich bird diversity and avi-tourism potential, contributing to the country's development and sustainability efforts. In the United States, birdwatching is an attractive market generating $41 billion annually, showing the opportunity to bolster Honduras' tourism industry by supporting one of the fastest growing types of eco-tourism.

8. See more than 700 bird species including Honduras' national bird, the scarlet macaw, the Honduran emerald hummingbird, and the resplendent quetzal.

To date, more than 50 international birders have confirmed their participation in the "Honduras Birding for Conservation Tour 2016," a joint initiative of the public and private sectors in Honduras, along with the United States Forest Service through the Agency for International Development (USAID).

If you are a devoted birder, you will not be let down in Honduras. The country offers the most complete tourism destination in Central America, and its majestic birdwatching landscapes are just one more item to add to the list.

For more information, please visit: http://hondurasbirdtour.com/

Photo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160805/396023

Logo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20151014/276980LOGO

SOURCE Honduras Presidency

Related Links

http://hondurasbirdtour.com


NASHVILLE, Tenn., Aug. 5, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Advocate Capital, Inc. has teamed up with The Injury Board for its 3rd Annual Day of Action to provide in-kind donations of needed school items to the local Boys & Girls Club.

During the month of August, Injury Board firms and sponsors are encouraged to donate and/or volunteer with Boys & Girls Clubs across the country. The purpose of this nationwide event is to bring together plaintiffs' firms in the effort of working together to better communities from coast to coast.

"Like our clients in the plaintiff bar all across the USA, we take community service very seriously and devote significant time and financial resources to giving back to our hometown. This project supporting the Andrew Jackson Club of the Boys & Girls Clubs of Middle Tennessee is one of our favorites. I'd like to give a hat tip to The Injury Board for encouraging us to participate. The lawyers that make up The Injury Board are service leaders in their respective communities nationwide," said Michael J. Swanson, President and CEO of Advocate.

Advocate Capital, Inc. has chosen to donate 50 backpacks filled with school supplies to the children at the Andrew Jackson Club in Nashville. The staff will assemble and deliver the items on Thursday, August 11th.

"We are extremely proud to bring our members together for this day of action. To make even the smallest difference is better than making no difference at all," said Tom Young, attorney-at-law and co-founder of The Injury Board.

The Injury Board is an association of experienced trial attorneys with more than 150 member firms practicing all over the United States and the United Kingdom. IB attorneys are determined to help anyone in need of legal assistance in the areas of personal injury or other civil litigation matters. For more information, visit http://www.injuryboard.org.

Advocate Capital, Inc. is the premier provider of strategic financial products and accounting services for successful trial law firms nationwide. It has served the plaintiff bar for more than 17 years from its headquarters in Nashville, TN and now enjoys a client base that extends nationwide. For more information, visit www.AdvocateCapital.com.

CONTACT: Tina Burns

Advocate Capital, Inc.

[email protected]

SOURCE Advocate Capital, Inc.

Related Links

http://www.advocatecapital.com


MCALLEN, Texas, Aug. 5, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- VIP Travel Consultants, a Texas based travel service provider, has launched a new travel rewards program, for travel bookings made on their VIPalma travel website. VIPalma Rewards by VIP Travel Consultants, rewards customers with points for all flight, hotel, car rental, and vacation package bookings made on both VIPalma.com and the VIPalma app. Unlike most travel sites, once a customer reaches at least 1,000 points, they can redeem these points for a cash back rebate, to use however they want, not just for travel.

Sign Up For Free At VIPalma.com

Points earned are based on the type of travel booked, and amount spent. Flight bookings earn .5 points per dollar, Car Rentals earn 1 point per dollar, with Hotels and Vacation packages earning 2 points per dollar spent.



When a customer registers for VIPalma Rewards, they associate an email address with their account, this email address is then used at checkout on VIPalma.com or the VIPalma app to receive credit for the booking. Points are credited to the customer's account within 24 hours of the completion of their travel. This allows for any changes or cancellations.

Upon reaching the minimum redemption level of 1000 points ($10.00), customers may request a redemption, and will have a cash rebate processed within 24 hours, sent to the address listed on their account using USPS Priority Mail.

"As the cost of travel continues to rise, we feel it is important to put some of your hard earned money back where it belongs - your pocket," says Joshua Hill, President of VIPalma.com. "Points that can only be used for future travel are great if you travel frequently, but many of us need time to save for travel, particularly families, leaving traditional points sitting with no immediate value."

According to Mr. Hill, VIPalma Rewards was born from direct customer feedback, and the desire by travelers to get something back after feeling "nickel and dimed" by the additional fees airlines charge for basic services like checked baggage, and rising travel costs.

Travelers enrolled in VIPalma Rewards, will still earn frequent flyer miles within their airline loyalty program, as well as any cash back offered by their credit card company, allowing them to further compound their savings.

Customers may sign up for VIPalma Rewards for free by visiting the VIPalma website (www.vipalma.com), or from within the VIPalma travel booking app, available on both the Google Play store for Android devices, and the Apple Store, for Apple devices.

For Additional Information Contact:

Joshua Hill

VIP Travel Consultants

(512) 221-1005 Ext. 700

Email



Photo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160804/395779

Logo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160804/395780LOGO

SOURCE VIP Travel Consultants

Related Links

http://www.vipalma.com


BALINGEN, Germany, Aug. 5, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- The market-leading provider of weighing, slicing and labeling technology acquires 51 percent of the Canadian label manufacturer Tekno Label. Bizerba thereby expands its service portfolio with technical expertise in the linerless technology with a particular focus on the food, retail and tire sector. The new company will operate under Bizerba Tekno Label Inc. in the future.

"This partnership strengthens our position in the U.S. as the industry-leading provider of linerless, thermo-direct and quality labels," said Frederic LaBrie, future President of the company. "We will particularly benefit from the know-how that this specialized company has in the industrial label-processing and coating sector." The company has five employees and will be working with about 15 employees in a newly-equipped 2,400m facility in Boucherville, Quebec.

Unlike conventional labels whose liner needs a lot of space on the label roll, linerless labels are provided with a special surface coating, and self wound like a roll of tape. Eliminating the liner means much more labels can be wound on a roll of a given diameter. Industry and retail customers thus benefit from less waste, a significant increase of the printable area per label roll and less roll change.

"The expansion of our US headquarters in Joppa/Maryland in 2015 has positioned us for the continuous strong growth experienced by all business segments in the U.S.," said Andreas Wilhelm Kraut, Bizerba's managing partner and CEO. "By continuing our expansion path in North America with this acquisition, we combine our leading position in the scale and industrial device sector with the technical expertise provided by Tekno Label. Therefore, users now have a one-stop shop for all devices and consumables."

About Bizerba:

Bizerba offers its customers in industry, trade, and logistics a globally unique solutions portfolio of hardware and software around the central value "weight". This portfolio includes products and solutions related to slicing, processing, weighing, cashing, checking, commissioning, filling and labeling. A wide range of services from consulting and service, labels and consumables to leasing complete the portfolio.

Since 1866 Bizerba has made a significant contribution to the developments in the area of weighing technology and today is represented in 120 countries. The customer base includes globally operating companies in trade and industry as well as retailers, bakeries and butcheries. With around 3,700 employees worldwide and with its headquarters in Balingen, Baden Wuerttemberg, Bizerba has been in the same family for five generations. Additional production facilities are located in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Italy, France, Spain, China and USA. Bizerba also has a global network of sales and service locations.

This content was issued through the press release distribution service at Newswire.com. For more info visit: http://www.newswire.com

SOURCE Bizerba
BACARDI will celebrate rum season with over 5,000 consumer and trade samplings in 100 participating bars from August 5 th - August 16 th . Guests will have the chance to 'raise their rum' in San Francisco, Los Angeles, Denver, Miami, Ft. Lauderdale, New York City, Philadelphia, Chicago, Boston, and Atlanta. BACARDI will also roll out national radio programming including major market morning shows featuring rum cocktail tutorials from brand ambassadors.

The perception of rum as appropriate only in tropical drinks has begun to shift. The spirit has quietly shed its beach-bum image and is reemerging as a premium, high-end spirit that is incredibly drinkable and complex. The category is increasing its momentum by capitalizing on what makes it different from other spirits  namely, its versatility and drinkability. Rum is on the cusp of being the hottest category according to Beverage Dynamics, and trade experts are heralding the spirit as a sophisticated alternative for cocktail enthusiasts.

Premiumization in the rum category is driving growth, with trade and consumers alike looking for high quality spirits. More momentum will continue as rum evolves to where other categories, like scotch and bourbon, have gone in terms of premiumizing. Dark, aged rums play a large role in rum's premiumization, as consumers are ready for more robust sipping experiences.

Leading the category resurgence and premiumization is BACARDI, whose rum portfolio is the most awarded of all time with recognitions for great taste, quality and innovation. This, combined with the brand's unrivaled heritage in classic cocktails, are unparalleled in the rum category, reinforcing its position as the top-selling rum in the United States, according to The Nielsen Company1.

"The innovations of our founder, Don Facundo Bacardi Masso, helped create one of the most versatile and popular spirits in history," said Mauricio Bermudez, Brand Director, BACARDI rum for North America. "I'm confident that he would be proud to know that BACARDI is one of the most frequently heard bar calls in the world, as consumers request BACARDI by name so they can enjoy its unique taste alone or in cocktails. That, Don Facundo would probably say, is an award in itself."

This National Rum Day, BACARDI is calling for consumers to swap out their favorite bourbon or gin classic cocktail recipe for a rum alternative that will have them rethinking the spirit's versatility.

If You Like aBourbon Old Fashioned

Try aBACARDI 8 Old Fashioned

Ingredients:

2 parts BACARDI 8 Anos rum

1 teaspoon sugar

2 dashes Angostura Aromatic Bitters

0.5 part water

Orange peel for garnish

Method: In an Old-Fashioned glass, pour in the sugar, water and Angostura Bitters. Combine everything with a bar spoon (or muddler), add the BACARDI 8 Anos. Fill the glass 3/4 of the way with large ice cubes and stir repeatedly, around 10 stirs. Top with a little fresh ice. Cut a piece of orange peel and squeeze over the cocktail before dropping it into the drink.

If You Like aGin Tom Collins

Try aGRAN RESERVA Maestro Collins

Ingredients:

2 parts BACARDI GRAN RESERVA MAESTRO DE RON

1 part freshly squeezed lemon juice

2 tsp fine white sugar (caster sugar)

To fill: Soda or sparkling water

Method: Pour the BACARDI GRAN RESERVA MAESTRO DE RON, lemon juice and caster sugar into a cocktail shaker with cubes of ice and then give it a good, hard shake. Fine strain the mixture into a serving glass and top it up with soda. Finish by garnishing it with a lemon peel.

The artful Maestros de Ron (Master Blenders) today follow the same exacting standards set forth by Don Facundo as they craft and blend BACARDI rum. Through seven generations of Don Facundo's descendants, family-owned BACARDI has focused on innovation, consistency, quality, taste and excellence. To learn more about BACARDI rum, visit www.BACARDI.com.

About BACARDI Rums

In 1862, BACARDI revolutionized the spirits industry when founder Don Facundo Bacardi Masso began producing his remarkable light-bodied, smooth rum. The unique taste of BACARDI inspired cocktail pioneers to invent some of the world's most famous drink recipes including the Mojito, the Daiquiri, the Cuba Libre, the Pina Colada, and the Presidente. BACARDI rums have won more than 700 awards for quality and taste making BACARDI the world's most awarded rum. Today, BACARDI is produced mainly in Puerto Rico, following the production legacy set forth by Don Facundo Bacardi Masso  crafted in a five-step distillation process, mellowed in American white oak barrels, and filtered five times for unparalleled quality and smoothness. http://www.BACARDI.com

The BACARDI brand is part of the portfolio of Bacardi Limited, headquartered in Hamilton, Bermuda. Bacardi Limited refers to the Bacardi group of companies, including Bacardi International Limited.

LIVE PASSIONATELY. DRINK RESPONSIBLY.

2016 BACARDI BACARDI AND BAT DEVICE ARE TRADEMARKS OF BACARDI & COMPANY LIMITED.

BACARDI U.S.A. INC, CORAL GABLES, FL. 40% ALC. BY VOL.

1 Data Source: The Nielsen Company, latest 52 weeks ending 7/23/16

Photo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160804/395854

SOURCE BACARDI

Related Links

http://www.bacardi.com


WASHINGTON, Aug. 5, 2016 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- This month the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that 7.8 million Americans are unemployed, while at the same time 5.5 million jobs remain unfilled in America. This crisis exists because employers demand "job-ready" employees and prospective employees are simply not able to bridge the skills gap without appropriate career education and training.

Professionally trained accountants and bookkeepers are critical to the success of businesses of all sizes, as well as helping Americans keep their personal finances in order. Because of this demand, accounting boasts faster than average job growth: the Bureau of Labor Statistics projects 11% growth in the sector between 2014 and 2024, with 142,400 projected new jobs over the same period. Accountants can also expect to make a good living  median wages were estimated at $67,190 per year in 2015.



But despite the industry's growth and high earning potential, businesses are struggling to find qualified new entrants to replace retiring baby-boomers. According to a 2015 survey by the American Institute of CPAs, accounting firms listed finding and retaining qualified staff as the most pressing issue they face. Similarly, 72% of recruiting professionals said they had trouble filling positions in the finance and accounting sector, according to a 2016 study by customer relationship management firm Bullhorn. BLS notes that growth in the accounting sector is tied to the overall economy  a growing economy means more workers are needed to support businesses.



"Ensuring students in accounting programs are adequately trained with the relevant, hands-on skills they need to succeed in today's workforce is an essential step in closing the talent gap," said Jeff Myhre, CEO of Globe University & Minnesota School of Business. "We help provide employers with confident, job-ready graduates in fields where they are needed most like business, accounting, information technology and health and wellness."



"If employers continue to struggle to find qualified accountants in the coming years, it will have real impacts on the health of the American economy. Career colleges and universities equip students with the skills they need to find accounting jobs while also helping employers find qualified candidates. Career education will help American businesses navigate the shortage of skilled accountants and will play an essential role in maintaining a strong economy in America," said Steve Gunderson, president and CEO of Career Education Colleges and Universities (CECU).



About Shortage of Skills

Each month CECU will profile America's "Shortage of Skills" (SoS) in one key industry. We will examine industries that are critical to America's economic advancement and explain how a well-educated and well-trained workforce can address these issues.



About Career Education Colleges and Universities (CECU)

Career Education Colleges and Universities (CECU) is a membership organization of accredited institutions of higher education that provide postsecondary education with a career focus. CECU's work supports thousands of campuses that educate millions of students.

SOURCE Career Education Colleges and Universities
GENEVA, Aug. 5, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Cargill and Bunge Limited (NYSE: BG) ("Bunge") today announced their intention to enter into an agreement under which Cargill will sell to Bunge two oilseed processing plants and businesses in the Netherlands and France.

In the Netherlands, the transaction includes the soybean and rapeseed crush and soybean oil refining facility in the Port of Amsterdam as well as part of the bulk port terminal assets dedicated to supporting discharge and storage of raw materials for the crush plant. In France, it includes the soybean and rapeseed crush facility located in the Port of Brest. The aggregate annual processing capacity at the two locations is approximately two million tons.

The assets are highly complementary to Bunge's existing soy processing operations in Europe, and will allow Bunge to further expand its global oilseed processing footprint into key Northern European destinations, grow its presence in Europe's protein market, and further optimize global flows and logistics to serve customers. Industrial operations and business activities will be integrated within Bunge's Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) regional operations and global soy crush platform, and Bunge is looking forward to welcoming the experienced and skilled employees of the two sites.

Cargill will retain its two other soybean processing facilities in Western Europe, in the ports of Barcelona in Spain and Liverpool in the United Kingdom, as these plants are firmly integrated with a number of Cargill's other businesses serving local customers in the food and feed sectors in Spain and the UK. Cargill has an extensive network of plants processing and refining other oilseeds and tropical oils across Europe and it continues to focus on serving its customers and growing its longer term business in this region.

Employees associated with the business (120 in the Netherlands and 51 in France) will transfer to Bunge.

Cargill is now informing and consulting its employee representative bodies in the Netherlands and France.

The transaction is subject to customary closing conditions including competition clearance and employee consultation.

About Cargill

Cargill provides food, agriculture, financial and industrial products and services to the world. Together with farmers, customers, governments and communities, we help people thrive by applying our insights and 150 years of experience. We have 149,000 employees in 70 countries who are committed to feeding the world in a responsible way, reducing environmental impact and improving the communities where we live and work. For more information, visit Cargill.com and our News Center.

About Bunge Limited

Bunge Limited (www.bunge.com, NYSE: BG) is a leading global agribusiness and food company operating in over 40 countries with approximately 35,000 employees. Bunge buys, sells, stores and transports oilseeds and grains to serve customers worldwide; processes oilseeds to make protein meal for animal feed and edible oil products for commercial customers and consumers; produces sugar and ethanol from sugarcane; mills wheat, corn and rice to make ingredients used by food companies; and sells fertilizer in South America. Founded in 1818, the company is headquartered in White Plains, New York.

SOURCE Bunge Limited

Related Links

http://www.bunge.com


LAKELAND, Fla., Aug. 5, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- DSM Technology Consultants, Florida's leading provider of fully managed private cloud and IT infrastructure services, attended Florida's CJIS Annual Training Symposium last week in Orlando.

"Each year, the Criminal Justice Information Services (CJIS) Annual Training Symposium provides a forum for learning, networking, discussion, and information exchange for criminal justice agencies in Florida. Attendees will hear from subject matter experts on the latest in communications, information systems, security policy, and updates to ongoing law enforcement and criminal justice programs," according to the CJIS Symposium website.

With over 600 attendees, DSM used this opportunity to show off its newly completed Data Center in Winter Haven, which is the only CJIS Compliant Data Center in Florida. Several of the DSM staff attended the Symposium shuttled dozens of technology leaders to our data center for tours.

"Becoming CJIS compliant is something we are quite proud of at DSM," said Greg Madden, COO of DSM. "With one of the most secure, scalable and reliable data center networks, in Central Florida, being CJIS compliant gives our clients a high level of assurance about the quality of our data center security, availability and processes."

Located in Central Florida, DSM's newest Data Center is over 150 feet above sea level and is outside of any flood zone and most all wind born debris zones. It also boasts fully redundant generators, UPS, and HVAC systems along with being inside a purpose built, carrier dense facility that includes direct connectivity to Florida's Lambda Rail Network.

About DSM Technology Consultants

DSM offers clients peace of mind so they can concentrate on running their business. The company offers managed IT services and highly scalable private cloud solutions. DSM's solutions are designed to be a good fit for growing organizations that want customized, enterprise-grade services at affordable cost. The company's managed solutions include data protection, disaster recovery, and IT managed services on enterprise-grade infrastructure. DSM's staff provides deep technical expertise to help clients migrate legacy systems to any of DSM's managed solutions. They are certified compliant with CJIS, SSAE16, SOC 1, SOC 2 and HIPAA standards. DSM assures 99.999% uptime, and clients receive 24 x 7 x 365 support. For more information, visit www.dsm.net.

Media Contact:

Tori Pazda

863-802-8888

Email

SOURCE DSM Technology Consultants

Related Links

http://www.dsm.net


JACKSON, Mich., Aug. 5, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- The Board of Directors of Consumers Energy, the principal subsidiary of CMS Energy, has declared a quarterly dividend on the utility's preferred stock.

The following dividend is payable Oct. 1, 2016, to shareholders of record Sept. 6, 2016: $1.125 per share on the $4.50 stock (NYSE: CMS_pb).

CMS Energy (NYSE: CMS) is a Michigan-based company that has an electric and natural gas utility, Consumers Energy, as its primary business and also owns and operates independent power generation businesses.

For more information on CMS Energy, please visit our website at www.cmsenergy.com. To sign up for email alert notifications, please visit the Investor Relations section of our website.

SOURCE CMS Energy

Related Links

http://www.cmsenergy.com


WASHINGTON, Aug. 4, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Accelerator program Dcode42 announced that it is now accepting applications for its next cohort. But there's a twist: it's not for just early stage startups. As an accelerator that focuses specifically on the US government market, Dcode42 has opened its doors to larger, emerging growth companies as it tackles ongoing challenges in Big Data and Analytics this fall. Their reasoning? When it comes to working with the government, every company is a startup.

"Government is such a different kind of market, with its own set of rules, language, and culture, that going government is much like starting a new company," said Meagan Metzger, CEO of Dcode42. "Larger companies are realizing that the rules and norms they're used to in the private sector may not apply to government, and there are a lot of resources they need to break into the market. You can't just say, "we're going to sell to the US government now." Our program is designed to ensure companies of all sizes have access to the tools and resources they need to enter the market and succeed there."

The same handful of companies have dominated the government contracting world for decades, a situation that doesn't necessarily foster groundbreaking new ideas or risk-taking. With innovation now a bigger priority than ever, the government has been realizing the importance of disruption and has taken steps to connect with companies that have traditionally avoided the market. Dcode42 is working with agencies throughout the government to help bridge this gap and bring these groups together.

The Dcode42 program has developed two tracks for companies of different sizes: the startups track, for companies with under $14M in revenue and/or funding, and the emerging growth track, for companies with $14-100M in revenue and/or funding.

Along with access to all the resources needed to "go government," the six to ten companies selected into the four-month program will brief key government leaders, meet industry experts and partners, and present their technologies before an audience of government, industry, and venture capital. Although Dcode42 is located in Washington, DC, companies can participate in the program from any location. Participants of previous cohorts have briefed over 200 federal stakeholders and potential partners in private sessions as well as at public events.

The deadline to apply for the upcoming cohort is September 2. Companies that wish to apply can visit www.dcode42.com/apply.

Related Links

Dcode42

Apply

This content was issued through the press release distribution service at Newswire.com. For more info visit: http://www.newswire.com

SOURCE Dcode42
CHARLOTTE, N.C., Aug. 5, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Driven Brands' Group President Jose R. Costa has earned the prestigious Gold Award for Executive of the Year in the Golden Bridge Awards. He was nominated in the Automotive, Transportation, Storage and Logistics category, where he was recognized for contributing to his company's success in nearly doubling the size of its business in just three years and playing a key role in shaping its strategy for vertical expansion and growth through acquisition.

Photo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160804/395769

Photo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160804/395770

The coveted annual Golden Bridge Awards program encompasses the world's best in organizational performance, innovations, products and services, executives and management teams, women in business, innovations, best deployments, product management, public relations, marketing, and customer satisfaction programs from every major industry in the world. Organizations from all over the world are eligible to submit nominations including public and private, for-profit and non-profit, largest to smallest and new start-ups.

Winners will be honored in San Francisco on Monday, September 12, 2016 during the annual Red Carpet Golden Bridge Awards Ceremony.

This is the second time in less than a year that Costa has been recognized for his leadership. In May, Costa was awarded the Executive of the Year Bronze Stevie Award in the Automotive and Transport Equipment Industry category in The 14th Annual American Business Awards. The Stevie Awards recognize outstanding performance in the workplace worldwide.

About Jose R. Costa

Jose R. Costa is Group President for Driven Brands where he leads MAACO, CARSTAR and Drive N Style. Collectively, these brands operate more than 1,000 body shops across North America, generate more than $1.2 billion in annual system sales and further establish Driven Brands as a leader in the automotive aftermarket space. He has a background steeped in franchising, marketing, unit growth, enhancing customer experience and franchisee profitability amongst some of the most recognized brands in the world. Previous to his current role, which he assumed in October 2015, Costa was President of MAACO, where he was responsible for managing and developing 500 automotive body shops across the U.S. and Canada. During his tenure, he improved MAACO's procedures and training practices, raised consistency among franchises, revamped operations and enhanced the look and feel of its advertising.

Media Contact:

Ana Maria Colmenares

305-409-2722

Email

SOURCE Jose R. Costa
Mr. Martin Harris, Chief Operating Officer of Eagle Gates Group notes of the new plans, "The APEX Club is established to help our high-net-worth clients preserve their lifestyle and open up a whole world of bespoke experiences and preferential treatment, tailored to their evolving needs and wants. From enjoying bespoke concierge services to extraordinary travel experiences, they can look forward to a suite of services and privileges that complement their lifestyle, all effortlessly arranged on their behalf. "

The addition of the APEX Club deepens Eagle Gates' presence in the Asia Pacific region and the potential is immense. At the end of 2015, the Asia-Pacific region had 5.1 million high-net-worth individuals, defined as those with investible liquid assets of $1 million or more, and controlled $17.4 trillion in assets as of that year, more than any other region in the world.

Mr. Eddy McClough, Chief Executive Officer of Eagle Gates Group said, "Thailand is an international and regional wealth management hub. Wealth is growing in Asia and that will only continue in the coming years. The opening of the APEX Club is part of a deliberate plan to strengthen our activity in this privileged region, at the epicentre of innovation and leading edge technology. It also shows our confidence in the region's future development, and realise our promise to customers."

"Eagle Gates Group expects to more than double its wealth-management staff in Asia over the next five years", Mr. Eddy McClough said.

About Eagle Gates Group

Eagle Gates Group is ranked among one of the world's leading asset management firm. First established in 2005 as Eagle Gates Corp in the United States of America, the firm was later renamed Eagle Gates Group in 2009 to reiterate its desire to expand internationally and become a global financial powerhouse. Uniting over 300 specialized investment professionals globally, Eagle Gates also boasts a comprehensive administrative support, state-of-the-art IT systems and excellent risk control protocols. From insight to action, Eagle Gates helps its clients better serve their own with more durable portfolios.

Photo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160805/395926

SOURCE Eagle Gates Group
ATLANTA, Aug. 5, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Equifax Inc. (NYSE: EFX) today announced that the Equifax Board of Directors declared a quarterly dividend of $0.33 per share, payable on September 15, 2016, to shareholders of record as of the close of business on August 19, 2016. Equifax has paid cash dividends for more than 100 consecutive years.

About Equifax

Equifax powers the financial future of individuals and organizations around the world. Using the combined strength of unique trusted data, technology and innovative analytics, Equifax has grown from a consumer credit company into a leading provider of insights and knowledge that helps its customers make informed decisions. The company organizes, assimilates and analyzes data on more than 820 million consumers and more than 91 million businesses worldwide, and its databases include employee data contributed from more than 5,000 employers.

Headquartered in Atlanta, Ga., Equifax operates or has investments in 24 countries in North America, Central and South America, Europe and the Asia Pacific region. It is a member of Standard & Poor's (S&P) 500 Index, and its common stock is traded on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) under the symbol EFX. Equifax employs approximately 9,200 employees worldwide.

Some noteworthy achievements for the company include: Ranked 13 on the American Banker FinTech Forward list (2015); named a Top Technology Provider on the FinTech 100 list (2004-2015); named an InformationWeek Elite 100 Winner (2014-2015); named a Top Workplace by Atlanta Journal Constitution (2013-2015); named one of Fortune's World's Most Admired Companies (2011-2015); named one of Forbes' World's 100 Most Innovative Companies (2015). For more information, visit www.equifax.com.

Logo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20060224/CLF037LOGO

SOURCE Equifax Inc.

Related Links

http://www.equifax.com


MIAMI, Aug. 5, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Fathom, the pioneer in social impact travel and Carnival Corporation's (NYSE/LSE: CCL; NYSE: CUK) 10th and newest brand, along with Airbnb, a world-leading community-driven hospitality company, have partnered for a "give and get" opportunity for new Airbnb hosts in the U.S. Beginning today, people who sign up to become a new host with Airbnb will receive a $250 credit for a Fathom cruise to the Dominican Republic or Cuba.

Fathom offers uniquely different round-trip voyages from Miami to embrace what's possible in two of the Caribbean's most desired destinations  the Dominican Republic and Cuba. Fathom's cruises to the Dominican Republic focus on an authentic, enriching and meaningful experience that allows travelers to participate alongside locals to address community needs. Fathom's culturally immersive cruise itinerary in Cuba features experiences in the Cuban port cities of Havana, Cienfuegos, and Santiago de Cuba, exposing travelers to a rich and vibrant culture that until now most U.S. travelers have only seen in photographs.

"We love that Airbnb offers a marketplace of unforgettable experiences curated by their host community all over the world," said Tara Russell, president of Fathom and global impact lead for Carnival Corporation. "In many ways, we share that same passion and deliver new memories. Today's consumers want to have unique, immersive experiences, and I'm excited that we can now creatively make this possible even further through this natural partnership."

Today, new Airbnb hosts - who become Fathom travelers - have the opportunity to make a meaningful impact while gaining deep insight into the everyday lives, rich culture and history of both local Dominican and Cuban communities. No matter what cruise travelers choose, Airbnb provides the perfect home, apartment or private room for those who want to live like a Miami local before or after a Fathom cruise to the Dominican Republic or Cuba.

To receive the $250 Fathom credit, potential new Airbnb hosts in the U.S. may view the terms and conditions here. For more information on the partnership, please visit: https://www.fathom.org/airbnb

Prices for the seven-day trips to the Dominican Republic start at $499 per person, excluding taxes, fees, and port expenses and including all meals on the ship, onboard social impact immersion experiences, three on-shore social impact activities and related supplies. Prices vary by season. To secure a spot on future sailings, a fully refundable $300 per person deposit is required for all cabin categories and occupancy levels. Final payment is due 90 days prior to departure. To reserve a spot on future sailings, guests may call 1-855-932-8466 or through a travel professional. Learn more at www.Fathom.org.

Prices for seven-day itineraries to Cuba start at $1,899 per person, excluding Cuban visas, taxes, fees and port expenses and including all meals on the ship and lunch while in the three ports, onboard experiences and on-the-ground activities. Prices will vary by season. To secure a spot on future sailings, a fully refundable $600 per person deposit is required for all cabin categories and occupancy levels. Final payment is due 90 days prior to departure. To reserve a spot on future sailings, travelers may call Fathom toll-free at 1-855-932-8466 or work with a travel professional. Learn more at www.Fathom.org.

About Fathom Travel to the Dominican Republic

Fathom is a different kind of cruise that combines one's love of travel with the desire to make a difference in the world. Fathom is defining a new category of travel, Social Impact Travel. Part of the Carnival Corporation (NYSE/LSE: CCL; NYSE: CUK) family, Fathom offers consumers authentic, meaningful travel experiences to enrich the life of the traveler and work alongside locals as they tackle community needs in the Dominican Republic. Fathom is unique in that it leverages Carnival Corporation's expertise and scale for a one-of-a-kind business model to create long-term collaboration with its partner countries, allowing for sustained social impact and lasting development. Fathom will serve the sizable and growing market of potential social impact travel consumers  approximately one million North Americans  in addition to global travelers already pursuing service-oriented travel experiences worldwide.

Sailing aboard the MV Adonia, a 704-passenger vessel redeployed from Carnival Corporation's P&O Cruises (UK), Fathom will engage, mobilize, educate and equip travelers on every Dominican Republic trip allowing for rich personal enrichment and thousands of impact activity days per visit and tens of thousands of travelers a year to communities of promise, providing unprecedented scale for impact.

About Fathom Travel to Cuba

Recently earning U.S. and Cuban government approvals, Fathom will be the first cruise company to sail from the U.S. to Cuba in more than 50 years. Fathom's round-trip culturally immersive cruise itinerary will initially feature experiences in the Cuban port cities of Havana, Cienfuegos, and Santiago de Cuba, providing travelers the opportunity to enjoy a rich and vibrant culture that until now most U.S. travelers have only seen in photographs. Designed for rich immersion and ease of travel, the Fathom Cuban itinerary offers passengers a comfortable cabin including all the amenities of a modern hotel, plus the luxury of having to unpack only once. Every night, Fathom travelers return to the comforts of the MV Adonia, where they can relax knowing that all the details of getting from location to location in Cuba are handled.

For more information about Fathom or to book a voyage, contact your Travel Professional, call Fathom toll-free at 1-855-932-8466 or visit www.Fathom.org.

About Airbnb

Founded in August of 2008 and based in San Francisco, California, Airbnb is a trusted community marketplace for people to list, discover, and book unique accommodations around the world  online or from a mobile phone or tablet. Whether an apartment for a night, a castle for a week, or a villa for a month, Airbnb connects people to unique travel experiences, at any price point, in more than 34,000 cities and 191 countries. And with world-class customer service and a growing community of users, Airbnb is the easiest way for people to monetize their extra space and showcase it to an audience of millions.

SOURCE Fathom

Related Links

http://www.Fathom.org


Who: FCA Digital MediaTeam

When: Immediately

Where: media.fcanorthamerica.com or https://youtu.be/wukjosTeqK4

Other: Websites are welcome to post or embed "FCA Replay."



About FCA US LLC

FCA US LLC is a North American automaker with a new name and a long history. Headquartered in Auburn Hills, Michigan, FCA US is a member of the Fiat Chrysler Automobiles N.V. (FCA) family of companies. FCA US designs, engineers, manufactures and sells vehicles under the Chrysler, Jeep, Dodge, Ram and FIAT brands, as well as the SRT performance vehicle designation. The company also distributes the Alfa Romeo 4C model and Mopar products. FCA US is building upon the historic foundations of Chrysler, the innovative American automaker first established by Walter P. Chrysler in 1925; and Fiat, founded in Italy in 1899 by pioneering entrepreneurs, including Giovanni Agnelli.

FCA, the seventh-largest automaker in the world based on total annual vehicle sales, is an international automotive group. FCA is listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol "FCAU" and on the Mercato Telematico Azionario under the symbol "FCA."

Follow FCA US news and video on:

FCA Content On Demand (COD): www.fcacod.com

Company blog: blog.fcanorthamerica.com

Company website: www.fcanorthamerica.com

FCA360: 360.fcanorthamerica.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FiatChrysler.NorthAmerica/

Flickr: www.flickr.com/photos/chryslergroup/

Media website: media.fcanorthamerica.com

Pinterest: www.pinterest.com/fcacorporate

Instagram: www.instagram.com/FiatChrysler_NA

Twitter: www.twitter.com/FiatChrysler_NA

Twitter (Spanish): www.twitter.com/fcausespanol

YouTube: www.youtube.com/pentastarvideo

Video - https://youtu.be/wukjosTeqK4



SOURCE FCA US LLC

Related Links

http://www.fcanorthamerica.com


HONG KONG, Aug. 5, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Far East Consortium International Limited ("FEC" or the "Group"; SEHK: 35) is delighted to announce that the Group was appointed as the developer for a prime residential site located near Victoria Station at Manchester, the United Kingdom, by Manchester Place and The Co-operative Group. FEC intends to deliver more than 600 new homes as part of the NOMA neighbourhood and reinvigorate the historic Angel Meadow Park. Totalling approximately 9,591 square metres across four individual sites, the new homes will be available for both sale and rent and will include a landmark tower.

NOMA has been identified by Manchester Place as one of the major residential growth areas for Manchester, the United Kingdom. NOMA is a key city centre location and the Angel Meadow plots mark the first phase of the Northern Gateway, a sweep of land from Victoria station north taking in New Cross, The Irk Valley and Collyhurst which in total has the potential for a new neighbourhood of 7,000 homes supported by social infrastructure.

FEC has built a diverse and widely-acclaimed property portfolio of quality residences in Australia, Mainland China, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Singapore and the United Kingdom, which has demonstrated its ability to develop, build and launch multiple large scale mixed-use developments across the region. The Group recently won planning consent for Alpha Square in London, a scheme that will deliver 700 apartments, a new school and new health hub, hotel and pocket square.

Mr. Chris Hoong, Managing Director of FEC said: "This is one of the most exciting residential opportunities not just in Manchester but in the UK. We are very honoured and excited to be working with NOMA and the City Council. We have assembled a team with the skills to deliver a new neighbourhood of international calibre and we would like this to be the start of a long relationship with the city. With international knowledge and local expertise to develop and deliver multi-billion mixed-use landmark products, such as West Side Place in Melbourne, The Towers at Elizabeth Quay in Perth, and Queen's Wharf integrated resorts in Brisbane, we are confident that this project will be another successful one to add to our international portfolio."

Sir Richard Leese, Leader of Manchester City Council welcomed FEC to the city and said: "This is exciting and positive news and we look forward to working with FEC to create new places to live. Manchester continues to grow at pace and we need more high quality homes to sustain that growth. I look forward to seeing detailed plans for homes for sale and rent and improved public realm around Angel Meadow itself."

Sir Howard Bernstein, Chief Executive of City Council and Co-Chair of Manchester Place said: "This is a powerful statement of FEC's confidence in us and our confidence in them."

Paul Beardmore, Chief Executive of Manchester Place said: "This is an important site that will help to unlock the potential of the Irk Valley and Collyhurst. We are delighted to have reached this stage and the scale of the investment conveys a strong message of confidence to the market."

Mr. David Pringle, Director of NOMA at The Co-operative Group said: "This is a great step forward for the second phase of residential development at NOMA. The Angel Meadow sites have the potential to redefine city centre living with the added benefit of being situated around a reinvigorated green park. NOMA will be providing an outstanding residential offer that supports our plans already underway to create a truly mixed use neighbourhood."

About Far East Consortium International Limited

Far East Consortium International Limited was listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange in 1972 (HKEx stock code: 35). The Group is mainly engaged in property development and investment, hotel operation and management, as well as car park and facilities management. The Group adopts diversified regional strategy and the "Chinese Wallet" strategy with business covering Hong Kong, Mainland China, Australia, Malaysia, Singapore, the United Kingdom and New Zealand.

About NOMA

NOMA is a 20-acre neighbourhood in Manchester city centre developing new homes, offices, hotels, retail and leisure space around vibrant urban spaces and public realm. NOMA is being delivered by the joint venture partnership of The Co-operative Group and Hermes Investment Management.

About Manchester Place

Manchester Place is a unique partnership between Manchester City Council and the Homes and Communities Agency formed to identify priority areas for housing of all tenures across the city. It works with landowners, developers and investors to bring forward residential schemes.

About The Co-operative Group

The Co-operative Group is a British consumer co-operative with a diverse family of retail businesses including food retail, electrical retail, financial services, insurance services, legal services and funeral care, with in excess of 4,500 locations. It is the largest consumer co-operative in the UK and owned by more than 8 million members.

FEC official website:

www.fecil.com.hk

FEC WeChat and Weibo:

http://www.weibo.com/u/5703712831

For further information, please contact:

Far East Consortium International Limited

Ms. Venus Zhao, Head of Investor Relations and Corporate Finance

Contact Number: +852-2850-0639

Email: [email protected]

Wonderful Sky Financial Group

Ms. Alice Wang

Contact Number: +852-3970-2136

Email: [email protected]

SOURCE Far East Consortium International Limited

Related Links

http://www.fecil.com.hk


VANCOUVER, Aug. 5, 2016 /PRNewswire/ - eCobalt Solutions Inc., (formerly "Formation Metals Inc.") (TSX:ECS) (the "Company" or "eCobalt") announced today that the Company's name has been changed to eCobalt Solutions Inc., and continues to trade on the Toronto Stock Exchange under the new symbol ECS, as well as on the OTCQB platform under the new symbol ECSIF, with no change in the Company's share structure.

"eCobalt Solutions Inc. more accurately reflects the current and future direction of the Company as a strong player in the renewable energy and electric vehicle sectors. We continue to make progress on the Idaho Cobalt Project through the recently commissioned feasibility study, with the ultimate goal of completing mine financing and re-commencing construction on our Idaho Cobalt Project." stated Paul Farquharson, President and CEO. "The Idaho Cobalt Project remains the sole, near term, environmentally permitted, primary cobalt deposit in the United States, the world's largest single consumer of cobalt."

This announcement coincides with the Company's Annual General Meeting to be held on August 8, 2016, at the Hotel Soleil in Vancouver at 10:00 AM PST.

About eCobalt Solutions Inc.

eCobalt Solutions is well established Toronto Stock Exchange listed company committed to providing a unique opportunity for consumers to acquire an ethically sourced, environmentally sound, transparent supply of battery grade cobalt salts, essential for the rapidly growing rechargeable battery and renewable energy sectors, produced safely and responsibly in the United States.

eCobalt Solutions Inc.

"J. Paul Farquharson"

J. Paul Farquharson

President & CEO

As used in this press release, "feasibility study" simply means a study report with the type of information and documentation typically required by financial institutions for the purposes of evaluating and financing projects similar to the ICP as described under AACE guidelines for a Class 3 estimate. For greater certainty, the use of the word "feasibility study" does not guarantee that the ICP is one that will secure project financing.

Cautionary Statement on Forward Looking Statements

This news release contains "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities legislation. Statements in this news release pertaining to expected finance completion date are forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are based on assumptions and address future events and conditions and are subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of the Company to be materially different from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Such projections are and will inevitably always be dependent on assumptions about future mineral prices and development costs which will be subject to fluctuation due to global and local economic and industry conditions. Further information regarding risks and uncertainties which may cause results to differ from those contained in forward-looking statements is included in filings by the Company with securities regulatory authorities and is available at www.sedar.com. Although the Company has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in forward-looking statements, there may be other factors that cause results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended. There can be no assurance that such statements will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Although the Company has disclosed that the Idaho Cobalt Project remains the sole, near term, environmentally permitted, primary cobalt deposit in the United States and offers a unique potential for North American consumers to secure an ethically sourced, environmentally sound supply of battery grade cobalt chemicals, there is no guarantee that the Company will attain commercial production of such cobalt chemicals for use in the rechargeable battery sector. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. The Company does not undertake to update any forward-looking statements that are contained herein, except in accordance with applicable securities laws.

The statements contained in this news release in regard to eCobalt Solutions Inc. that are not purely historical are forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, including eCobalt Solutions Inc.'s beliefs, expectations, hopes or intentions regarding the future. All forward-looking statements are made as of the date hereof and are based on information available to eCobalt Solutions Inc. as of such date. It is important to note that actual outcome and the actual results could differ from those in such forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially include risks and uncertainties such as technological, legislative, corporate, commodity price and marketplace changes.

SOURCE Formation Metals Inc.

Related Links

www.formationmetals.com


The award recognises corporate sustainability and responsibility programmes that have made a positive impact on the lives of the communities in which companies operate. FrieslandCampina's multi-stakeholder approach to its CSR programmes, combined with its aim of Creating Shared Value across the entire dairy value chain from suppliers to consumers won over the judges for demonstrating sustainability and long-term commitment and impact.

FrieslandCampina actively works with multiple stakeholders from governments to businesses and civil society through public-private partnerships and stakeholder engagement activities in all of its initiatives with the aim of addressing food and nutrition security challenges in Asia. These initiatives are driven by the Company's "Nourishing by Nature" purpose, which is to provide better nutrition for the world, and better livelihoods for farmers now and for generations to come.

In its Dairy Development Programme for instance, FrieslandCampina works with 45,000 farmers across the region, local governments, employees and non-governmental organisations to raise the productivity, quantity and quality of milk produced by smallholder farms. These have led to increased incomes and improved livelihoods for smallholders in Asia.

Commenting on the award, Mr. Piet Hilarides, Chief Operating Officer Consumer Products Asia, FrieslandCampina, said: "Working together with our partners is integral to our CSR strategy and the way we do business.

"Via multi-stakeholder partnerships, we collaborate with and align our CSR goals with that of local governments and key stakeholders. This not only enables us to achieve food and nutrition security for the region, but also ensures that our license to operate in the countries we work in is maintained long into the future."

The 6th Best CSR Practices Awards 2016 is presented by CMO Asia.



For more information, please contact:

Media Contacts FrieslandCampina Ada Wong, Head of Public Affairs and Communications, Asia T: +65-6850-7931 Email: [email protected] Spurwing Communications Emma Thompson / Stephanie Tan T: +65-9107-5559

Email: [email protected]

About Royal FrieslandCampina



Every day Royal FrieslandCampina provides millions of consumers all over the world with food that is rich in valuable nutrients. With annual revenue of 11.3 billion euros, FrieslandCampina is one of the world's largest dairy companies, supplying consumer and professional products, as well as ingredients and half-finished products to manufacturers of infant & toddler nutrition, the food industry and the pharmaceutical sector around the world. FrieslandCampina has offices in 32 countries and over 22,000 employees, and its products are available in more than 100 countries. The Company is fully owned by Zuivelcooperatie FrieslandCampina U.A, with over 19,000 member dairy farmers in the Netherlands, Germany and Belgium -- making it one of the world's largest dairy cooperatives.

For more information please visit: www.frieslandcampina.com.

About FrieslandCampina Consumer Products Asia



FrieslandCampina's Consumer Products Asia business group consists of operating companies that are active in the consumer products segment in Asia. FrieslandCampina has acquired excellent positions in many countries with strong brands and a wide range of products. These activities have a long and rich history. The export of dairy from Western Europe began back in the 1920s. The range of long shelf life products has expanded significantly: from milk powder, condensed milk, infant and children's nutrition to dairy drinks, yoghurts and desserts. FrieslandCampina has operating companies in China, Indonesia, Thailand, Vietnam, Malaysia, Singapore, Hong Kong and the Philippines. In Asia we market brands that have acquired strong positions. Dutch Lady is legendary in Malaysia and Vietnam, Foremost is a leading brand in Thailand, Frisian Flag is widely known in Indonesia.

Photo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160805/395923

SOURCE FrieslandCampina

Related Links

http://www.frieslandcampina.com


CHICAGO and TAMPA, Fla., Aug. 5, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Harmony Health Plan, Inc., a subsidiary of WellCare Health Plans, Inc. (NYSE: WCG), is a leading sponsor of the 2016 Bud Billiken Parade and Picnic. The event will take place on Aug. 13, 2016 and kicks off with the parade that begins at King Drive and Oakwood Boulevard in Chicago. Harmony's parade float will feature the EmPowerHer women's health initiative and radio personalities from the company's media partner, WPWX-FM, Power 92. Several of the health initiative's 15 community-based partners will join Harmony in the parade.

The Bud Billiken Parade is the second largest parade in the United States. Produced by the Chicago Defender Charities, it still holds true to its original purpose of providing underprivileged youth with a chance to be in the limelight. Today the parade features dozens of bands, drill teams, marching units and floats. Hundreds of thousands line the parade route to Washington Park where it disbands, and millions more view it live on television. This year's theme is "Uniting the Community through Education for 87 Years."

Harmony will provide health information and screenings at Washington Park. The EmPowerHer initiative addresses 11 critical health and wellness challenges communities in Chicago face every day, such as ways to manage and prevent diabetes, asthma and breast cancer, and ensuring children receive vaccinations and see the doctor on a regular basis.

"We are privileged to be a leading sponsor of this year's Bud Billiken Parade and Picnic, a celebration of youth that brings the community together for a day of fun and festivities. Its mission to improve the lives of Chicago's citizens aligns with Harmony's commitment to support our members, their families and communities to help them achieve better, healthier lives," said Dr. Robert Hillard Jr., president of Harmony Health Plan.

"We are pleased to have Harmony as a leading sponsor of the Bud Billiken Parade," said Dr. Marc A. Sengstacke, executive director, Chicago Defender Charities. "Their support for the community is most appreciated and much needed."

As of June 30, 2016, WellCare and Harmony Health Plan serve approximately 211,000 members in Illinois, including 168,000 Medicaid members, 15,000 Medicare Advantage plan members and 28,000 Medicare Prescription Drug Plan members.

About WellCare Health Plans, Inc.

Headquartered in Tampa, Fla., WellCare Health Plans, Inc. (NYSE: WCG) focuses exclusively on providing government-sponsored managed care services, primarily through Medicaid, Medicare Advantage and Medicare Prescription Drug Plans, to families, children, seniors and individuals with complex medical needs. WellCare serves approximately 3.8 million members nationwide as of June 30, 2016. For more information about WellCare, please visit the company's website at www.wellcare.com or view the company's videos at https://www.youtube.com/user/WellCareHealthPlan.

Logo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20151111/286471LOGO

SOURCE WellCare Health Plans, Inc.

Related Links

http://www.wellcare.com


HOUSTON, Aug. 4, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Hoover Container Solutions ("Hoover"), Ferguson Group ("Ferguson") and CHEP Catalyst & Chemical Containers ("CCC"), three of the leading global providers of container solutions products in the energy, petrochemical and general industrial markets, announce that they are merging to form Hoover Ferguson Group ("HFG").

Global supply chain solutions company, Brambles Limited, the owner of Ferguson and CCC, and First Reserve, the owner of Hoover, a leading private equity and infrastructure investment firm exclusively focused on energy, reached an agreement on August 4, 2016 to form a 50:50 joint venture through the merger.

Hoover Ferguson Group brings together three industry-leading service providers with demonstrated commitments to world-class customer service, operational excellence and quality. The combined HFG business will provide their full range of customers with leading products and solutions through an unparalleled global network of more than 70 service centers and 550 expert team members.

The new company will have a leading market presence in every major energy basin and petrochemical manufacturing center, with more than 110,000 rental units worldwide. HFG will also be a worldwide leader in the manufacturing of a comprehensive range of intermediate bulk containers (IBCs) and offshore workspace and accommodation modules. This combination presents a leader in the IBC, cargo carrying unit (CCUs) and offshore modules segments by delivering a globally diverse platform providing customers with a full suite of products and services.

Donald W. Young, CEO of Hoover, will lead the new company, supported by a management team comprised of senior executives from Ferguson, CCC, Hoover and Brambles. He commented: "This strategic merger is a great opportunity for all three companies to expand complementary products and service offerings while also broadening our relationships with existing and potential customers. This will strengthen our product and service line offering worldwide. Hoover Ferguson Group combines the very best people, solutions and industry expertise which allows us to continue to provide quality products and unparalleled customer service to all of our clients."

Neil Wizel, Managing Director at First Reserve stated: "This is a great moment for Hoover, and we are excited to continue our support of Donnie Young and his team through this transformative merger. Hoover has proven to be an accomplished operator and reliable solutions provider for its customers. We believe this merger represents an opportunity for Hoover to expand its capabilities and offerings on a global scale, and we look forward to working in partnership with Brambles to grow the combined business and further enhance the company's offering to its customers."

Tom Gorman, CEO of Brambles, remarked: "Brambles is excited to partner with First Reserve in the creation of HFG, a new, truly-global provider of logistics services to the oil and gas and chemical sectors. Along with industry and supply-chain expertise, the enhanced scale and strong capital structure of HFG provide it with a solid foundation from which to grow and support its customers. We expect a smooth integration of Ferguson, CCC and Hoover that reflects the close cultural fit and long history of operational excellence and customer focus."

The merger transaction anticipates completion during October 2016, subject to regulatory clearance and the satisfaction of customary conditions. Please visit www.hooverferguson.com for more information.

For more information contact:

Hoover Ferguson Group Brambles First Reserve Joan Carter

Hoover Ferguson Group

Tel: +1 832.295.6202

[email protected] Steven McGhee

Senior Director,

Global Marketing & Cross Sector

Sales

Brambles

Tel: +44 7831 678234 Jonathan Keehner / Julie Oakes

Joele Frank / Wilkinson Brimmer Katcher

Tel: +1 212.355.4449

[email protected]

Hoover Group, Inc. is an integrated service provider of chemical tanks, cargo carrying units, and other related products and services to the global energy, petrochemical and general industrial end markets. The company provides its customers with comprehensive liquid and cargo containment solutions as well as a range of complementary services including cleaning, refurbishment, remote tracking and recertification. Hoover was founded in 1911 and today has a rental fleet of over 60,000 units consisting of various chemical tanks and cargo carrying units. Hoover has been a First Reserve portfolio company since January 2015. www.hooversolutions.com.

Ferguson Group, founded in 1976 and headquartered in Aberdeenshire, Scotland, employs [200] people worldwide and is part of the global supply chain solutions company, Brambles Limited. From its bases in the UK, Norway, Australia, Singapore, UAE and partners globally, the team provides equipment rental solutions to the oil and gas industry. Ferguson Group's product portfolio includes offshore transportation containers, refrigerated containers (via IceBlue Refrigeration Offshore), as well as accommodation, workspace, and ancillary modules. The company is committed to providing exceptional customer service and the highest quality products designed to meet DNV 2.7-1/EN 12079 certification standards. Ferguson Group has also achieved ISO 9001, ISO 14001, and OHSAS 18001 accreditations. www.ferguson-group.com.

CHEP Catalyst & Chemical Containers (CCC), part of the global supply chain solutions company, Brambles Limited, provides a complete catalyst and chemical management solution for domestic and intercontinental supply chain movements. The petroleum refining, gas processing, and petrochemical manufacturing industries face challenging regulatory, safety and cost control environments and CHEP CCC's experience in these industries allows it to support its customers in various ways. These include the packaging and transport of hazardous and non-hazardous materials by road, rail or sea. CHEP helps the world's largest petrochemical companies improve their cost and asset visibility. www.chepccc.com.

Brambles Limited (ASX:BXB)is a supply-chain logistics company operating primarily through the CHEP and IFCO brands. Brambles enhances performance for customers by helping them transport goods through their supply chains more efficiently, sustainably and safely. The Group's primary activity is the provision of reusable unit-load equipment such as pallets, crates and containers for shared use by multiple participants throughout the supply chain, under a model known as "pooling". Brambles primarily serves the fast-moving consumer goods (e.g. dry food, grocery, and health and personal care), fresh produce, beverage, retail and general manufacturing industries, counting many of the world's best-known brands among its customers. The Group also operates specialist container logistics businesses serving the automotive, aerospace and oil and gas sectors. Brambles has its headquarters in Sydney, Australia, but operates in more than 60 countries, with its largest operations in North America and Western Europe. Brambles employs more than 14,000 people and owns more than 500 million pallets, crates and containers through a network of more than 850 service centers. For further information, please visit www.brambles.com.

First Reserve is a leading global private equity and infrastructure investment firm exclusively focused on energy. With over 30 years of industry insight, investment expertise and operational excellence, the Firm has cultivated an enduring network of global relationships and raised approximately USD $31 billion of aggregate capital since inception. Putting these to work, First Reserve has completed more than 575 transactions (including platform investments and add-on acquisitions), creating several notable energy companies throughout the Firm's history. Its portfolio companies operate on six continents, spanning the energy spectrum from upstream oil and gas to midstream and downstream, including resources, equipment and services and infrastructure. For more information, please visit: www.firstreserve.com.

Logo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160804/395694LOGO

Logo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160804/395696LOGO

Logo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160804/395695LOGO

SOURCE Hoover Container Solutions; Ferguson Group; CHEP Catalyst & Chemical Containers

Related Links

http://www.chepccc.com


NAIROBI, Kenya, Aug. 5, 2016 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- IFAW congratulates the Lusaka Agreement Task Force (LATF) on conducting a successful operation from July 28th to August 2nd that led to the seizure of 1.5 tonnes of elephant ivory and the arrest of two ivory trafficking kingpins in the Republic of Congo.

"I congratulate the Regional Director of LATF Bonaventure Ebayi and his team for the commitment and perseverance they have shown to ensure that these kingpins are arrested and charged," said James Isiche Regional Director IFAW East Africa.

Investigations into the two detainees who own shipping companies in the Republic of Congo began in 2014 after the seizure of 1,493 kilograms ivory in Vietnam and other ivory seizures by Thai, Vietnamese, and Singaporean authorities in 2015. Southeast Asian investigators noted similarities among the various seizures. The two arrests are the result of ongoing cooperation between African and Asian law enforcement agencies in the ARREST in Africa (Africa's Regional Response to Endangered Species Trafficking) and ARREST in Asia (Asia's Regional Response to Endangered Species Trafficking) networks.

As a member of the ARREST Africa consortium, IFAW has partnered with various law enforcement institutions in Africa to build the capacity of law enforcement officers, most notably LATF, INTERPOL and, CITES management authorities to strengthen the law enforcement response to combat wildlife crime at the regional level. These trainings endeavour to improve cooperation among law enforcement authorities and ensure that law enforcement officials across Africa are better equipped to combat wildlife trafficking and reporting of wildlife crimes.

Most illegal ivory is destined for Asia, in particular China, where it has soared in value as an investment vehicle and is coveted as "white gold". Limited availability of legal ivory in China purchased form the stockpile sale in southern Africa in 2008 has, in turn, boosted demand encouraging illegal ivory trade and the poaching of elephant to meet market needs.

"IFAW is tackling every link on the ivory trafficking chain. On the ground through interventions that seek to improve the detection, interception and apprehension of wildlife trafficking at various ports of entry and exit, through our tenBoma network in partnership with the Kenya Wildlife Service to disrupt organized wildlife crime networks and stop poaching before it happens; and our demand reduction work in China," said Mr. Isiche. "Working effectively together we can defeat the criminals profiting from the illegal trade in wildlife."

Ivory trafficking can only be effectively fought by targeting the networks that are responsible for trafficking. The long-term concerted efforts should be to stop the cartels before they kill elephants. Data collection and analysis is needed to further understand how transnational criminal syndicates operate with the aim of disrupting them. Wildlife trafficking is one of the world's most lucrative criminal activities  valued at billions of US dollars annually. It ranks in the top most lucrative transnational organized crimes, behind drug trafficking, money laundering and counterfeiting. According to an IFAW report Criminal Nature: The Global Security Implications of the Illegal Wildlife Trade, ivory smuggling and the wildlife trade has been linked to other forms of organized crime such as terrorism, illegal arms and drug trafficking.

About IFAW (The International Fund for Animal Welfare)

Founded in 1969, IFAW rescues and protects animals around the world. With projects in more than 40 countries, IFAW rescues individual animals, works to prevent cruelty to animals, and advocates for the protection of wildlife and habitats. For more information, visit www.ifaw.org. Follow us on Facebook/IFAW and Twitter @action4ifaw

About ARREST Program

Africa's Regional Response to Endangered Species Trafficking (ARREST) is an alliance of NGOs working with governments and the private sector to build Africa's capacity to combat transnational threats to its wildlife. ARREST partners include African Wildlife Foundation, Freeland, and IFAW. ARREST provides counter-poaching, counter-trafficking, and networking support to government agencies, with financial and technical support from the US Government, including the State Department Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement.

SOURCE International Fund for Animal Welfare

Related Links

http://www.ifaw.org


VANCOUVER, Aug. 5, 2016 /PRNewswire/ - International Tower Hill Mines Ltd. (the "Company") - (TSX: ITH) (NYSE-MKT: THM) today announced that it has filed its unaudited second quarter financial statements and associated Management Discussion and Analysis and Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the three-month and six-month periods ended June 30, 2016.

Including consideration of the January 2017 derivative payment of USD 14.7 million, the Company's working capital at June 30, 2016 was negative USD 11.9 million. At June 30, 2016, the Company had a cash balance of $2.9 million which is expected to allow the Company to advance the Livengood Gold Project through 2016.

Shareholders can obtain copies of the Company's unaudited second quarter financial statements and associated Management Discussion and Analysis and Form 10-Q on SEDAR at: www.sedar.com, EDGAR at www.sec.gov and on the Company's website at: www.ithmines.com. The Company will also provide hard copies of these documents, free of charge, to shareholders who request a copy directly from the Company.

About International Tower Hill Mines Ltd.

International Tower Hill Mines Ltd. controls 100% of the Livengood Gold Project that contains 15.7 M oz. of gold (807 MT at 0.61 g/t) measured & indicated and 4.4 M oz. (266 MT at 0.52 g/t) inferred, all at a 0.30 g/t gold cutoff, located along the paved Elliott Highway, 70 miles north of Fairbanks, Alaska.

On behalf of

International Tower Hill Mines Ltd.

(signed) Thomas E. Irwin

Chief Executive Officer

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains forward-looking statements and forward-looking information (collectively, "forward-looking statements") within the meaning of applicable Canadian and US securities legislation. All statements, other than statements of historical fact, included herein, including statements with respect to the ability of the Company to optimize and/or enhance the base case as set out in the September 2013 Feasibility Study for the Livengood Project, including with respect to OPEX and CAPEX; the potential for the overall mining scheme and operating cash flows to be improved with an appropriate elevated cut-off grade strategy and reduced stripping ratio in the early years of mining, lower throughput and a more compact site layout; the ability of the Company to potentially include the results of the optimization process in a new or updated feasibility study or any future financial analysis of the Livengood Project; the ability of the Company to carry forward and incorporate into future engineering studies of the Livengood Project the mine design, production schedule, and recovery concepts described in this news release; the potential for the Company to carry out an engineering phase that will evaluate and optimize the Livengood Project configuration and CAPEX and OPEX, including determining the optimum scale for the Livengood Project, the ability of the Company to advance the Livengood Project either as projected or at all; the potential for the Company to make a construction decision, whether when warranted by market conditions or at all; the potential for market conditions to be such that they warrant the making of a production decision; the potential development of any mine at the Livengood Project; business and financing plans and business trends are forward-looking statements. Information concerning mineral reserve/resource estimates and the economic analysis thereof contained in the feasibility study also may be deemed to be forward-looking statements in that it reflects a prediction of the mineralization that would be encountered, and the results of mining it, if a mineral deposit were developed and mined. Although the Company believes that such statements are reasonable, it can give no assurance that such expectations will prove to be correct. Forward-looking statements are typically identified by words such as: believe, expect, anticipate, intend, estimate, postulate, proposed, planned, potential and similar expressions, or are those, which, by their nature, refer to future events. The Company cautions investors that any forward-looking statements by the Company are not guarantees of future results or performance, and that actual results may differ materially from those in forward looking statements as a result of various factors, including, but not limited to, variations in the nature, quality and quantity of any mineral deposits that may be located, variations in the market price of any mineral products the Company may produce or plan to produce, the inability of the Company to obtain any necessary permits, consents or authorizations required for its activities, the inability of the Company to produce minerals from its properties successfully or profitably, to continue its projected growth, to raise the necessary capital or to be fully able to implement its business strategies, and other risks and uncertainties disclosed in the Company's Annual Information Form filed with certain securities commissions in Canada and the Company's annual report on Form 10-K filed with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC"), and other information released by the Company and filed with the appropriate regulatory agencies. All of the Company's Canadian public disclosure filings may be accessed via www.sedar.com and its United States public disclosure filings may be accessed via www.sec.gov, and readers are urged to review these materials, including the latest technical report filed with respect to the Company's Livengood property.

Cautionary Note Regarding References to Resources and Reserves

National Instrument 43 101 - Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects ("NI 43-101") is a rule developed by the Canadian Securities Administrators which establishes standards for all public disclosure an issuer makes of scientific and technical information concerning mineral projects. Unless otherwise indicated, all resource and reserve estimates contained in or incorporated by reference in this news release have been prepared in accordance with NI 43-101 and the guidelines set out in the Canadian Institute of Mining, Metallurgy and Petroleum (the "CIM") Standards on Mineral Resource and Mineral Reserves, adopted by the CIM Council on November 27, 2010 (the "CIM Standards") as they may be amended from time to time by the CIM.

United States shareholders are cautioned that the requirements and terminology of NI 43-101 and the CIM Standards differ significantly from the requirements and terminology of the SEC set forth in the SEC's Industry Guide 7 ("SEC Industry Guide 7"). Accordingly, the Company's disclosures regarding mineralization may not be comparable to similar information disclosed by companies subject to SEC Industry Guide 7. Without limiting the foregoing, while the terms "mineral resources", "inferred mineral resources", "indicated mineral resources" and "measured mineral resources" are recognized and required by NI 43-101 and the CIM Standards, they are not recognized by the SEC and are not permitted to be used in documents filed with the SEC by companies subject to SEC Industry Guide 7.

Mineral resources which are not mineral reserves do not have demonstrated economic viability, and investors are cautioned not to assume that all or any part of a mineral resource will ever be converted into reserves. The preliminary assessments on the Livengood Project are preliminary in nature and include "inferred mineral resources" that have a great amount of uncertainty as to their existence, and are considered too speculative geologically to have economic considerations applied to them that would enable them to be categorized as mineral reserves. There is no certainty that such inferred mineral resources at the Livengood Project will ever be realized. Further, it cannot be assumed that all or any part of the inferred resources will ever be upgraded to a higher resource category. Under Canadian rules, estimates of inferred mineral resources may not form the basis of a feasibility study or prefeasibility study, except in rare cases. Investors are cautioned not to assume that all or any part of an inferred mineral resource exists or is economically or legally mineable.

The SEC normally only permits issuers to report mineralization that does not constitute SEC Industry Guide 7 compliant "reserves" as in-place tonnage and grade without reference to unit amounts. The term "contained ounces" is not permitted under the rules of SEC Industry Guide 7. In addition, the NI 43-101 and CIM Standards definition of a "reserve" differs from the definition in SEC Industry Guide 7. In SEC Industry Guide 7, a mineral reserve is defined as a part of a mineral deposit which could be economically and legally extracted or produced at the time the mineral reserve determination is made, and a "final" or "bankable" feasibility study is required to report reserves, the three-year historical price is used in any reserve or cash flow analysis of designated reserves and the primary environmental analysis or report must be filed with the appropriate governmental authority.

This news release is not, and is not to be construed in any way as, an offer to buy or sell securities in the United States.

SOURCE International Tower Hill Mines Ltd.
AUGUSTA, Ga., Aug. 5, 2016 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Despite the numerous devices we depend on daily, most average users are oblivious to the depth and breadth of cyberspace. It runs in the background, primarily invisible to the human eye except for the nuts and bolts that make it possible: fiber, silicon and brilliant minds. It's indescribable, yet everywherethe perfect place for skirmishes, intricate operations and full-blown attacks.

For the military, cyberspace is a domain thatlike air, land and spacerequires strategies to protect it and weapons to defend it. Military leaders participating in TechNet Augusta 2016, Georgia, this week enlightened conference attendees about just how difficult this challenge is in light of attacks from newand some previousadversaries, a resurgence of electronic warfare activities and the need to synchronize cyberspace with the combined arms fight. AFCEA International sponsors TechNet Augusta, an event that has continued to expand in the past three years.

One challenge today's armed forces face is how dependent they have become on the cyber domain in such a relatively short period of time. Although the network-centric warfare concept was introduced less than two decades ago, today's warfighters depend on technology for situational awareness, operations coordination and calls for help as if a sophisticated network always existed. But, the increased dependency on technology enlarges vulnerabilities, and connection protection is akin to defending a line in the water.

Defending technology with technology is not the only approach, however. For example, recent international conflicts with cyber components provide insights into potential adversarial e-tactics and strategies. TechNet Augusta speaker Lt. Gen. Ben Hodges, USA, commander, U.S. Army Europe, shared that the United States is learning a lot about Russian capabilities from the conflict in Ukraine.

Russia used jamming and other means to effectively counter unmanned aerial vehicles flown by the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, which monitors the situation between Russia and the Ukraine. Gen. Hodges reported that he recently asked a senior American official what Ukraine needed most. Without hesitation, the unnamed official replied: secure communications.

"They are getting hammered because they do not have the ability to talk securely and everything they say... is intercepted or jammed," Gen. Hodges said. "Russian unmanned aerial vehicles are able to fly overhead and spy on formationsthings we haven't had to worry about for the past 15 years."

Maj. Gen. Stephen Fogarty, USA, commander, Army Cyber Center of Excellence, elaborated the real-world effects of these tactics, saying, "You can't call for supporting fires. You can't call for medevac. You can't get resupplied. You don't know where your leaders are. You get fixed, and you become a very easy target for precision fires. They maneuver right over you with combined arms maneuvers."

To address adversaries' changing tactics, the U.S. military forces are making changes of their own. Ronald Pontius, deputy to the commanding general, U.S. Army Cyber Command and Second Army, predicted one of the biggest advances in the near future likely will be the convergence of major military networks into one unified Department of Defense Information Network (DODIN). "The Signal Corps will not only be highly relevant, it will be central to everything that occurs on and across the DODIN," Pontius stated.

According to Gen. Dennis Via, USA, commander, Army Materiel Command (AMC), members of his team have initiated discussions with Army Cyber Command to determine if the AMC can play a larger role in cyber.

"We've got 12,000 scientists and engineers working out of state-of-the-art laboratories who are partnering with academia and industry to empower, unburden, protect and sustain our soldiers," he said. "We execute approximately 75 percent of the Army's science and technology budget, and I think we need to be doing more in the cyber arena to leverage these personnel and these facilities."

Gen. Via did not elaborate on his vision for AMC's greater role in cyber, nor did he say how Army Cyber Command received the idea. But the possibility of the two major commands partnering on cyber solutions illustrated one of the major themes for TechNet Augusta's last day: the need for innovation.

Read more about the innovative solutions the military services require and industry can provide online, including Gen. Via's call for a network environment where cybersecurity and cyber situational awareness can produce an automated response, react at machine speed and be self-diagnosing and self-healing all in real time.

AFCEA International, established in 1946, is a non-profit membership association serving the military, government, industry and academia. Join online.

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SOURCE AFCEA International

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NEW YORK, Aug. 5, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Though most of the news at the American Association of Clinical Chemistry convention (AACC) in Philadelphia was made by the appearance of Theranos, the story on the exhibit floor was productivity enhancements, according to Kalorama Information. The healthcare market research firm and publisher of industry reports said that waves made by Theranos at its Monday presentation reached outside the industry, but subsided quickly as attendees in Philadelphia moved to address industry challenges. Many leaders put their automation solutions for core labs and other workstations front and center.

"Attempts at industry disruption moved to the periphery and advanced diagnostic technologies found few spotlights," said Emil Salazar, analyst for Kalorama Information. "Rather, the predominant theme among leading IVD vendors was the optimization of clients' established operations, whether through test and workflow automation or safeguards such as quality control (QC) products and solutions against antibiotic resistance and sepsis."

Kalorama said that while the technological trajectory of the IVD market arcs further upward with next-generation sequencing (NGS) and mass spectrometry, more immediate investment priorities for labs figure to include core lab and workstation automation judging by floor space. Siemens used the AACC Annual Meeting to unveil its Atellica Solution for improved workflow core lab testing. The highly flexible immunoassay-clinical chemistry system includes a bi-directional magnetic sample conveyance system for improved speeds over conventional conveyors. Throughput can be scaled with up to 10 components and accommodates more than 30 sample container types in either core lab or comprehensive, multidisciplinary lab workflows. Other conspicuous lab automation solutions at AACC booths:

Thermo Fisher Scientific's line of Phadia immunoanalyzers for automated autoimmune and allergy testing were showcased with floor models of the scalable Phadia 250 and high-throughput 2500. The Phadia 100 was not displayed due to rising importance of centralized, fully automated autoimmune testing.

Abbott Diagnostics unveiled its Alinity line of "harmonized sytems" across the core lab (clinical chemistry and immunoassays), hematology, point-of-care (POC) diagnostics, blood screening, and molecular diagnostics. The Alinity line of instruments will be supported by Abbott's suite of AlinIQ professional services for labs as well as common informatics software across instruments for efficient, unified testing workflows.

suite of AlinIQ professional services for labs as well as common informatics software across instruments for efficient, unified testing workflows. Becton, Dickinson & Co. (BD) showcased its compact Kiestra Work Cell Automation (WCA) suitable for space-constrained hospital microbiology labs and other configurations for automated specimen processing, plate incubation, and plate imaging.

Automated core lab systems were also prominent at Beckman Coulter and Roche Diagnostics' booths. Clinical labs in the United States are expected to further invest in automation in order to keep costs below market reimbursement rates. Benchmark Medicare payments for lab tests will see reductions as a consequence of the Protecting Access to Medicare Act (PAMA) beginning in 2018. Labs will need to meet or exceed the cost efficiencies of their larger peers in order to remain profitable and cost-competitive.

Kalorama Information covers the United States IVD Market in its report, available at: http://www.kaloramainformation.com/United-States-Vitro-10133262/.

About Kalorama Information

Kalorama Information, a division of MarketResearch.com, supplies the latest in independent medical market research in diagnostics, biotech, pharmaceuticals, medical devices and healthcare; as well as a full range of custom research services. Reports can be purchased through Kalorama's website and are also available on www.marketresearch.com and www.profound.com.

We routinely assist the media with healthcare topics. Follow us on Twitter, LinkedIn and our blog at www.kaloramainformation.com.

Contact:

Bruce Carlson

(212) 807-2622

[email protected]

www.KaloramaInformation.com

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SOURCE Kalorama Information

Related Links

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"We are thrilled to participate in yet another ESL event. Every tournament we visit is meticulously prepared for and it is a pure joy to observe how eSports fans all around the world enjoy these events. Nothing makes us happier than being part of something bigger than all of us. We're making eSports history here and we cannot imagine a better partner to do it with than ESL," added Viktor Wanli, Founder and CEO of Kinguin.

It is yet another ESL event sponsored by Kinguin this year, after ESL One Frankfurt, DreamHack Summer in Jonkoping and Intel(R) Extreme Masters Shanghai. There are still more events to take place related to this partnership:

Aug. 18-21 , ESL Meisterschaft - Cologne, Germany

, ESL Meisterschaft - Oct. 1-2 , ESL One New York - New York, USA

, ESL One New York - Nov. 19-20 , IEM Oakland - Oakland, USA

, IEM Oakland - Oakland, Dec. 16-18 , IEM Gyeonggi - Gyeonggi, South Korea

, IEM Gyeonggi - Gyeonggi, March 2017 , IEM Katowice - Katowice, Poland

Here's what Ulrich Schulze, VP Pro Gaming at ESL had to say about this partnership:

"Kinguin are a strong proponent of esports and have been with us at multiple major events this year, including ESL One Frankfurt in the Commerzbank Arena. Their support of yet another ESL event means the world to us and we are confident that together we will be able to achieve great things in this space."

To make this event even more special, Kinguin has prepared a unique ESL Pro League CS:GO case. Head on over to Kinguin.net to get one for yourself!

To always be up to date with Kinguin news, check out their social media: fb.com/Kinguin.net, @KinguinNet on Twitter and @KinguinOfficial on Instagram!

Contact information:

Pawe Radzimski

[email protected]

mob. +48-605-60-60-50

Photo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160805/396003

Photo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160809/396682

Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160201/328342LOGO

SOURCE Kinguin
RICHARDSON, TX, Aug. 5, 2016 /PRNewswire/ - When it comes to U.S. defense companies, majors like $45 billion General Dynamics typically spring to mind, but there are many actors on the stage. For instance, the U.S. periscopes and vision block market is valued between $8 million and $10 million and little-known Optex Systems Holdings, Inc. (OTCQB: OPXS) controls about 75 percent of that market. Worldwide, Optex has grown its market share to up to 30% of the $40-$50 million market and looking to add more.

Richardson, Texas-based Optex has grown its domestic footprint largely through manufacturing its optical sighting systems and assemblies for the U.S. Department of Defense. Orders, such as a $1.2 million award for periscopes for prime contractor General Dynamics Land Systems in February, have the company deeply entrenched in the armored vehicle space. Currently, Optex products are installed on many of the vehicles that protect U.S. soldiers, including Abrams and Bradley tanks and the Stryker family of vehicles. Further, Optex is the sole supplier of naval binoculars to the U.S. Navy.

While keeping its market share in this space, Optex is keenly aware that it stands to grow corporate value via expanding existing sales channels, establishing new ones and launching new products. In announcing a five-year, $6 million contract with the Defense Logistics Agency for his company's laser protected periscopes in July, Optex CEO Danny Schoening commented, "One of our priorities has been to increase our margins by securing more commercial contracts while maintaining our established footprint in the armored vehicle platforms."

This order was separate from $841,000 in orders from the U.S. Army Contracting Command for the same periscope in April and a $1.1 million purchase order in May to supply critical optical assemblies from Optex's Applied Optics Center (AOC) Division to Night Force Optics as part of a multi-year, $6 million supply agreement.

In a phone conversation with Schoening, he reiterated the company's initiatives to maintain its stronghold in the U.S. armored vehicle space, while generating additional revenues internationally, carving out new market share in the consumer space and increasing cash flow from services. This is because Optex is more than periscopes, the company also manufactures a variety of rifle and surveillance sights and night vision optical assemblies.

"Budget cuts and the sequester hurt many companies in our industry, but the effects are diminishing," said Schoening. "We see signs of resurgence considering that for the first time in over five years, it is expected that the government is going to increase defense spending and BAE is building a new AMPV (Armored Multi-Purpose Vehicle), amongst other things."

On the international front, Optex is increasing its presence, including $518,000 in shipments of its M17 day/thermal periscope to a Brazilian customer in June. Schoening said that international contracts are ramping up and that Optex expects expansion to keep growing across the next few years, partly because of geopolitical concerns, years of conservative spending and recognition of the quality of Optex products.

Elsewhere, Optex has a partnership with Night Force Optics that represents a substantial opportunity in the consumer market. Night Force is predominantly a supplier of high-end scopes for hunters and competitive shooters. Last June, Optex and Night Force partnered in the aforementioned $6 million agreement to supply critical optical assemblies through AOC, a division of L-3 Communications acquired by Optex in November 2015.

While this may not necessarily brand Optex on its own, Night Force products are widely recognized as some of the world's most accurate, durable and reliable scopes in the world. To bring its own brand to the consumer, Optex late last year struck a deal with the popular outdoors store Cabela's to offer Optex's new Red Tail Digital Spotting Scope and new Stabilized Monocular in stores and onlines. Priced for consumers, the spotting scope is for long-range, high-resolution observation that is already in use for military and border control applications. The scope offers 45x magnified image onto a 5 megapixel CMOS sensor and transmits the image via Wi-Fi to the user's mobile device.

With the announcement of the relationship, Cabela's Optics Specialist Kevin Wehrer commented, "Optex Systems shares Cabela's passion for providing quality technology and value in their products. This is a great partnership for both companies and Cabela's is excited to offer Optex System products to our customers."

The above are the qualities and business model that would be expected from at least a small capitalization company. However, and perhaps with a bit of irony, Optex has escaped the sights of Wall Street and still only commands a market capitalization of $2.71 million. This could be due to the fact that Optex only has 1.6 million shares outstanding after a reverse split in October. Most of these shares are controlled by insiders, leaving a miniscule float of only 112,000 freely tradable shares, which equates to a stock that can move back upwards as easily as shares have fallen since the split.

"Indeed, we control a large portion of the U.S. periscopes and vision block market," said Schoening in our call. "But we are committed to commanding a large market share in the global sightings market, which is estimated at up to $1 billion." Given the brand, quality and growing sales channels, Optex just may reach that objective.

Online Media Group, Inc. is a strategic holding company. Through our brands, Online Media Group is a leading publisher of market news, commentary, proprietary research and videos from seasoned journalists, analysts and contributors covering the financial markets, specific industries and global economies. Leveraging our extensive distribution network and social media presence, we have cultivated a valuable audience of engaged market enthusiasts interested in all segments, which in turn delivers a variety of unique opportunities for industry partnerships, corporate communications and market exposure.

Legal Disclaimer: Online Media Group, Inc. is not registered with any financial or securities regulatory authority and does not provide, nor claims to provide, investment advice or recommendations to readers of this release to buy, sell or hold any securities. Investing intrinsically involves substantial risk and readers are reminded to consult an investment professional and complete their own due diligence, including SEC filings, when researching any companies mentioned in this release. This release is based upon publicly available information and, while vetted, is not considered to be all-inclusive or guaranteed to be free from errors. With respect to Section 17(B) of the Securities Act of 1933 and in the interest of full disclosure, we call the reader's attention to the fact that Online Media Group, Inc. may have received compensation from the companies mentioned in this release.

SOURCE Optex Systems
NANNING, China, Aug. 5, 2016 /PRNewswire/ --

Nanning-Zhongguancun Mass Entrepreneurship & Innovation Demonstration Base officially put into operation on July 24 in the Hi-Tech Zone of Nanning. Earlier, the secretary of Party Committee of Guangxi Autonomous Region Peng Qinghua met with the delegation headed by deputy mayor of Beijing Sui Zhenjiang, who is also the secretary of Party Committee of Zhongguancun management committee. Chairman of the autonomous region Chen Wu, together with Sui Zhenjiang, launched the base and witnessed the signing ceremony of the first batch of settled enterprises.

It is said that Nanning-Zhongguancun Mass Entrepreneurship & Innovation Demonstration Base will strive to build itself into an innovative ecosystem which is information technology-backed, intelligent manufacturing-oriented and dominated by champion enterprises through the Mass Entrepreneurship & Innovation Base and various supportive platforms, thus pooling together capital, talents and factors of innovation on a global scope. With all these efforts, the Base will replicate and expand the success of Zhongguancun, turning Nanning into a service-driven modernized city in China-ASEAN regions.

Member of the Standing Committee of Party Committee of Guangxi Autonomous Region and secretary of Nanning Municipal Party Committee Wang Xiaodong said that Nanning will spare all efforts to build the Mass Entrepreneurship & Innovation Demonstration Base and promote the transformation of science and technology achievements into practical productivity.

According to the plan, Nanning-Zhongguancun Mass Entrepreneurship & Innovation Demonstration Base will basically become an international innovative center in the neighboring region and a comprehensive international center for R&D, talents, communications and service in order to better serve central and south, west and south as well as ASEAN regions by 2020. Meanwhile, the Base will increasingly gain influence by grouping together high-end innovative factors.

Currently, Nanning has carried out enhanced cooperation with Zhongguancun in such areas as big data, cloud computing, intelligent manufacturing, energy conservation and environmental protection, and modern agriculture. Nanning-Zhongguancun Mass Entrepreneurship & Innovation Demonstration Base has introduced in more than 12 high-tech enterprises including CEIIF, Google AdWords Experience Center (Guangxi), Smart Cloud, Guangxi JieJiaRun Agricultural Science & Technology Co. Ltd and HIT Robot Group.

Image Attachments Links: http://asianetnews.net/view-attachment?attach-id=274379

SOURCE Nanning Municipal Bureau of News
PEARLAND, Texas, Aug. 5, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- The Neighbors Emergency Center Bellaire, TX location will start seeing patients at its new location Wednesday, August 10. The new center is located at 5413 S. Rice Ave., Houston TX 77081. Bellaire is home to the first Neighbors Emergency Center which opened in 2009.

The new Bellaire emergency center places care services in the front  not the back  of this facility, offering a transparent, patient-centered experience. When patients arrive at Neighbors, they will be greeted by caregivers located at the reception desk, allowing a first-sight triage and assessment of patients. Critically ill or injured patients are taken directly into treatment rooms. The examination areas are in close proximity, instead of being hidden in the back.

"This is a fundamental culture change in how we operate our existing centers and how emergency centers across the country operate today," said Setul G. Patel, MD, MBA, FAAEM, CEO, Neighbors Health, LLC. "With the new design, we can accomplish every aspect of our care delivery, including concern of the critically ill, privacy matters, infection control and enhanced patient flow."

Neighbors Health System, the parent company of Neighbors Emergency Center, was named the 4th fastest growing company in 2015 by the Houston Business Journal's Fast 100 companies, along with being named the HBJ's #3 Best Place to Work for 2015. Neighbors Emergency Center freestanding emergency rooms have also been awarded "The Best ER" in Baytown, TX and Pearland, TX along with the Houston Chronicle's Top Workplaces #1 midsize company for 2015.

About Neighbors Emergency Center:

Neighbors Health System operates Neighbors Emergency Center, a series of 24-hour freestanding emergency centers that have seen rapid growth in Texas since 2009. Neighbors Emergency Center believes in providing the highest quality of personalized care that is dedicated to making lives better every day, with an unfaltering vision to be The Best Neighbors Ever. This means providing unparalleled medical care driven by compassion and respect with a focus on our patients, our culture, and the community.

Neighbors' 25+ locations service many communities, including Houston, Austin, El Paso, Beaumont, and the Permian Basin, with plans for centers in areas that include College Station and Colorado in 2016.

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SOURCE Neighbors Emergency Center
Direct activation of methane, the main component of biogas and natural gas, has been a key goal of the hydrocarbon research community for decades. This new process is detailed in the August 5, 2016 edition of Science , in a research paper entitled "Direct conversion of methane to aromatics in a catalytic co-ionic membrane reactor."

"Consider the scale of the oil, gas, and petrochemicals industry today," says Dr. Jose Serra, Professor with Instituto de Tecnologia Quimica (ITQ) in Valencia, Spain, a leading research lab for hydrocarbon catalysis and a co-author of the report in Science. "With new ceramic membrane reactors to make fuels and chemicals from natural gas instead of crude oil, the whole hydrocarbon value chain can become significantly less expensive, cleaner, and leaner."

"By using a ceramic membrane that simultaneously removes hydrogen and injects oxygen, we have been able to make liquid hydrocarbons directly from methane in a one-step process. As a bonus, the process also generates a high-purity hydrogen stream as a byproduct," explains Professor Serra. "At a macro level it is really very simple  inexpensive, abundant gas in and valuable liquid out through a clean, inexpensive process. At a nanochemistry level, however, where molecules interact with catalyst and membrane at a temperature around 700 C, there were many factors to engineer and control in order to render just the specific valuable molecules needed to make the new process work."

Methane constitutes a large fraction of the world's hydrocarbon resource, but much of this resource is stranded without economically viable paths to market. Even when available for industrial conversions, the high stability of the methane molecule leads to energy losses associated with multi-stage processing in large chemical plants which use oxygen or steam to activate the methane in what is known as synthesis gas processing.

Temperature and pressure have historically been the main parameters chemists and engineers can work with to control reactions. Catalysts can improve speed and selectivity, without promoting reactions beyond their chemical equilibrium limit. Integrating a ceramic ion-conducting membrane into the reactor enables an increase in the productivity of industrially appealing processes which are otherwise impractical due to strong thermodynamic constraints.

The ceramic membranes are made from abundant materials like barium and zirconium found within large sand deposits, with the addition of thin electro-catalytic layers of plentiful metals like nickel and copper.

"With high-volume manufacturing, we can make membrane reactors from active ceramics that are cost competitive with conventional catalytic reactors for gas processing," said Per Vestre, Managing Director at CoorsTek Membrane Sciences. "While the reactor costs will be similar, the results enabled by this new process have the potential to significantly improve both the financial and environmental costs of chemical production, a development CoorsTek believes will make the world measurably better."

View a video that explains the new natural gas to liquids conversion process.

About CoorsTek

CoorsTek makes the world measurably better as the partner of choice for technology and manufacturing companies worldwide whose success requires the unique, high-performance properties of products manufactured from engineered ceramics and advanced materials. CoorsTek products and components touch people's lives through amazing solutions to global challenges in energy, transportation, information technology, healthcare, and defense, among others. For more information about CoorsTek, including product information, its history since 1910, and locations throughout Europe, North America, South America, and Asia, visit coorstek.com. For more information about CoorsTek Membrane Sciences, visit coorstek.com/active-ceramic-membranes.

About Instituto de Tecnologia Quimica

The Instituto de Tecnologia Quimica (ITQ) is a joint research centre created in 1990 by the Universitat Politecnica de Valencia (UPV) and the Spanish Research Council (CSIC). The ITQ is today an international reference centre in the area of catalysis and new materials. In 2013, ITQ was appointed a Centre of Excellence by the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness (MINECO). The ITQ has specialized personnel as well as forefront facilities for research development in the field of chemical technology and materials. It has more than two hundred researchers from all over the World.

About University of Oslo

The University of Oslo (UiO) is the highest ranked institution of education and research in Norway. As a classical university with a broad range of academic disciplines, UiO has top research communities in most areas and a strategic focus on interdisciplinary research in the field of energy and life sciences in particular. With five Nobel Prize winners, UiO has a strong track record of pioneering research and scientific discovery.

Special notes to reporters

More information, including a copy of the paper, can be found online at the Science press package webpage at www.eurekalert.org/jrnls/sci. You will need your user ID and password to access this information.

Copies of the Science paper may be distributed only by the AAAS Office of Public Programs, to working journalists. Kindly contact them on +1 202 326 6440 or [email protected].

Media Contacts

Dane Bartlett | CoorsTek [email protected] +1 303 271 7000 Raluca Doaga | keating/co [email protected]

+1 212 925 6900

Video - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hnhI5GQ_6M4

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SOURCE CoorsTek

Related Links

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NEW YORK, Aug. 5, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- OTC Markets Group Inc. (OTCQX: OTCM), operator of financial markets for 10,000 U.S. and global securities, today announced Euromax Resources Ltd. (TSX: EOX; OTCQX: EOXFF), a Canadian mine development company with a major copper/gold project in Macedonia, and an Exploration Services Company in Bulgaria, has qualified to trade on the OTCQX Best Market. Euromax Resources upgraded to OTCQX from the Pink market.

Euromax Resources begins trading today on OTCQX under the symbol "EOXFF." U.S. investors can find current financial disclosure and Real-Time Level 2 quotes for the company on www.otcmarkets.com.

"We are pleased to welcome Euromax Resources to the family of established, investor-focused companies on our OTCQX market," said Jason Paltrowitz, Executive Vice President of Corporate Services at OTC Markets Group. "OTCQX provides a transparent, efficient U.S. trading market for Canadian companies that seek to broaden their shareholder base in the U.S. without incurring the high cost and complexity of a U.S. stock exchange listing. We look forward to supporting Euromax Resources in its continued growth as a publicly-traded company."

Steven Sharpe, President and CEO of Euromax Resources commented, "Having recently graduated to the main board of the TSX, we felt that it was important to also be part of a U.S. market commensurate with that, as we raise awareness of Euromax in the U.S."

Berns & Berns serves as Euromax Resources' OTCQX Advisor, responsible for providing professional guidance on OTCQX requirements.

Euromax has a major development project in Macedonia and an exploration services company in Bulgaria. The company is focused on building and operating the Ilovica-Shtuka copper/gold project in Macedonia, as well profitably deploying the wealth of exploration experience within its Bulgarian Exploration Services subsidiary.

About OTC Markets Group Inc.

OTC Markets Group Inc. (OTCQX: OTCM) operates the OTCQX Best Market, the OTCQB Venture Market, and the Pink Open Market for 10,000 U.S. and global securities. Through OTC Link ATS, we connect a diverse network of broker-dealers that provide liquidity and execution services. We enable investors to easily trade through the broker of their choice and empower companies to improve the quality of information available for investors. To learn more about how we create better informed and more efficient markets, visit www.otcmarkets.com.

OTC Link ATS is operated by OTC Link LLC, member FINRA/SIPC and SEC regulated ATS.

Subscribe to the OTC Markets RSS Feed

Media Contact:

OTC Markets Group Inc., +1 (212) 896-4428, [email protected]

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SOURCE OTC Markets Group Inc.

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DUBLIN, August 5, 2016 /PRNewswire/ --

Research and Markets has announced the addition of the "Philippines Tire Market Forecast and Opportunities, 2021" report to their offering.

Philippines is one of the major economies of the ASEAN region. Backed by government initiatives and rapid infrastructure developments, tire market in the Philippines is anticipated to witness modest growth over next five years.

Further, on account of attractive investment schemes for OEMs, favorable trading environment coupled with various encouraging initiatives taken by the Government of Philippines, such as implementation of Motor Vehicle Development Program, an increasing number of OEM companies are establishing their manufacturing/ assembling plants in the country, which is positively influencing the country's tire market.

Tire market in the Philippines is expected to surpass $900 million by 2021 on account of expanding passenger car fleet, continuing infrastructure growth and large scale construction activities being undertaken in the country. In 2015, tire market in Philippines was dominated by the replacement tire segment, which grabbed around two-thirds of the market share.

Few of the major global tire brands operating in the Philippines include Goodyear, Bridgestone and Yokohama. Yokohama is the only tire manufacturer operating in the country, while all other tire companies operating in the Philippines import tires from countries such as Japan, the US, China and other Asian countries.

With sales of two-wheelers, commercial vehicles and passenger cars in the country cumulatively witnessing a CAGR of around 7% during 2011-2015 and reaching 1,139,118 units in 2015, replacement tire demand is expected to remain high over the next five years. With sales of around 850,509 two wheelers in the country in 2015, the two-wheeler tire segment accounted for a major share in the Philippines tire market.

Moreover, increasing private sector investment is expected to boost the construction, agriculture and industrial sectors of the country in the coming years, which would act as a catalyst for commercial vehicle tires segment during the forecast period.

Market Trends & Developments

Improving Automotive Sector Scenario

Growing Demand for Retread Tires

Increasing Domestic Rubber Production

Presence of Smuggled Chinese Tires

Implementation of Favorable Government Initiatives

Key Topics Covered:

1. Research Methodology

2. Product Overview

3. Analyst View

4. Philippines Tire Market Outlook

5. Philippines Replacement Tire Market Outlook

6. Philippines Two-Wheeler Tire Market Outlook

7. Philippines Commercial Vehicle Tire Market Outlook

8. Philippines Passenger Car Tire Market Outlook

9. Import-Export Analysis

10. Market Dynamics

11. Market Trends & Developments

12. Policy & Regulatory Landscape

13. Philippines Economic Profile

14. Competitive Landscape

15. Strategic Recommendations

Companies Mentioned

- Bridgestone Corporation

- Cheng Shin Rubber Industries Co. Ltd.

- Federal Corporation

- Goodyear Philippines, Inc.

- Kumho Tire Co., Inc.

- Michelin Asia (Singapore) Co. Pte. Ltd.

- Southern Rubber Industry JSC

- Toyo Tire and Rubber Company Ltd.

- Yokohama Rubber Company, Ltd.

- Zhongce Rubber Group Co., Ltd.

For more information visit http://www.researchandmarkets.com/research/95c6m5/philippines_tire

Media Contact:

Research and Markets

Laura Wood, Senior Manager

[email protected]

For E.S.T Office Hours Call +1-917-300-0470

For U.S./CAN Toll Free Call +1-800-526-8630

For GMT Office Hours Call +353-1-416-8900

U.S. Fax: 646-607-1907

Fax (outside U.S.): +353-1-481-1716

SOURCE Research and Markets

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PUNE, India, August 5, 2016 /PRNewswire/ --

The report "Pine-Derived Chemicals Market by Type (TOFA, TOR, Gum Turpentine, Gum Rosin, Pitch, Sterols, Others), Application (Paints & Coatings, Adhesives & Sealants, Surfactants, Printing Inks), Source, Processes, and by Region - Global Forecast to 2021", The market for pine-derived chemicals is projected to reach USD 5.27 billion by 2021, at a CAGR of 4.5%.

(Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160303/792302 )



Browse 96 market data Tables and 44 Figures spread through 150 Pages and in-depth TOC on "Pine-Derived Chemicals Market"

http://www.marketsandmarkets.com/Market-Reports/pine-derived-chemicals-market-36161841.html

Early buyers will receive 10% customization on this report.

The report defines and segments the Pine-Derived Chemicals Market on the basis of type, application, source, process, and region, with analyses and projections of the market size of each of these segments in terms of value. The growing environmental concerns coupled with industrialization, the demand for environment-friendly and renewable raw materials, along with the reduction of carbon footprint are the factors driving the demand of pine-derived chemicals.

Paints & coatings application of the Pine-Derived Chemicals Market to grow at the highest CAGR during the forecast period

The paints & coatings segment has been estimated to lead the market in terms of value mainly due to the large quantity they are used in, growing industrialization, increasing environmental concerns, growing consumer's awareness, safety attached to it, and producers' inclination towards cost efficiency and profitability. The other applications segment includes food additives, cosmetics additives, and seed coatings, which is also expected to grow at a high CAGR during the forecast period. The growth is attributed to the growing health awareness among consumers; increasing demand by food manufacturers as pine-derived chemicals improves functionality, along with the advancement in food technology and food processing. Also, focus on increasing agricultural productivity is also responsible for increasing demand of pine-derived chemicals in food additives, cosmetics additives, & seed coatings industry.

Gum rosin: The most widely used type of pine-derived chemicals

The gum rosin segment accounted for the largest share in the Pine-Derived Chemicals Market in terms of value and is projected to grow at the highest CAGR from 2016 to 2021. The tall oil fatty acid segment is also projected to grow at a high CAGR. Growing research & development, high functional benefits, and diverse applications in adhesives, paints & coatings, ink, rubber, paper, and gum-based candy, and lower production costs along with possibility of large-scale production are driving the demand for gum rosin.

Make an Inquiry: http://www.marketsandmarkets.com/Enquiry_Before_Buying.asp?id=36161841

Asia-Pacific is projected to be the fastest-growing region in the Pine-Derived Chemicals Market

The North America region was the largest market for pine-derived chemicals in 2015. The Asia-Pacific region is projected to be the fastest-growing market for pine-derived chemicals during the forecast period. The market here is driven by increasing urbanization, growing disposable income, and advancements in technology. China dominated the Asia-Pacific market for pine-derived chemicals owing to the rapidly growing industrialization and investments in research and development.

This report studies marketing and development strategies, along with the product portfolio of leading companies such as Eastman Chemical Company (U.S.), Renessenz LLC (U.S.), Harima Chemicals Group, Inc. (Japan), Arakawa Chemical Industries, Ltd. (Japan), and MeadWestvaco Corporation (U.S.). Other players include Arizona Chemical Company, LLC (U.S.), DRT (Derives Resiniques et Terpeniques) (France), Georgia-Pacific Chemicals LLC. (U.S.), Mentha & Allied Products Pvt. Ltd. (India), and Foreverest Resources Ltd. (China).

Browse related reports:

Agrochemicals Market-Mergers & Acquisitions - Global Trends (2000-2016) and Outlook-by Deal Type (Acquisitions, Agreements, Divestitures, Mergers & Others), by Segment (Crop-Protection Chemicals, Herbicides, Fungicides, Insecticides & Others), and by Region

http://www.marketsandmarkets.com/Market-Reports/agrochemicals-market-mergers-and-acquisitions-51370455.html

Green and Bio-Solvents Market by Type (Alcohols, Glycols, Diols, Lactate Esters, D-Limonene, Methyl Soyate & Others), & by Application (Industrial & Domestic Cleaners, Paints & Coatings, Adhesives, Printing Inks & Others) - Global Forecast to 2020

http://www.marketsandmarkets.com/Market-Reports/green-bio-solvents-market-755.html

About MarketsandMarkets

MarketsandMarkets is the largest market research firm worldwide in terms of annually published premium market research reports. Serving 1700 global fortune enterprises with more than 1200 premium studies in a year, M&M is catering to a multitude of clients across 8 different industrial verticals. We specialize in consulting assignments and business research across high growth markets, cutting edge technologies and newer applications. Our 850 fulltime analyst and SMEs at MarketsandMarkets are tracking global high growth markets following the "Growth Engagement Model - GEM". The GEM aims at proactive collaboration with the clients to identify new opportunities, identify most important customers, write "Attack, avoid and defend" strategies, identify sources of incremental revenues for both the company and its competitors.

M&M's flagship competitive intelligence and market research platform, "RT" connects over 200,000 markets and entire value chains for deeper understanding of the unmet insights along with market sizing and forecasts of niche markets. The new included chapters on Methodology and Benchmarking presented with high quality analytical infographics in our reports gives complete visibility of how the numbers have been arrived and defend the accuracy of the numbers.

We at MarketsandMarkets are inspired to help our clients grow by providing apt business insight with our huge market intelligence repository.

Contact:

Mr. Rohan

Markets and Markets

UNIT no 802, Tower no. 7, SEZ

Magarpatta city, Hadapsar

Pune, Maharashtra 411013, India

1-888-600-6441

Email: [email protected]



Visit MarketsandMarkets [email protected]http://www.marketsandmarketsblog.com/market-reports/food-and-beverage

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SOURCE MarketsandMarkets
MADISON, N.J., Aug. 5, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE: DGX), the world's leading provider of diagnostic information services, announced that it is scheduled to speak at the 18th Annual Pacific Crest Global Technology Leadership Forum in Vail, Colorado. Lidia Fonseca, the company's Senior Vice President and CIO, will discuss the company's technology solutions and the role of technology within the organization. The presentation is scheduled for Tuesday, August 9th, 2016 at 1:30 p.m. Eastern Time.

The presentation will be webcast live during the conference and will be available to registered investors on the following site: http://wsw.com/webcast/pc34/dgx and to the public on www.QuestDiagnostics.com. In addition, the archived webcast will be available within 1 hour after the conclusion of the live event and will remain available until September 8, 2016.

About Quest Diagnostics

Quest Diagnostics empowers people to take action to improve health outcomes. Derived from the world's largest database of clinical lab results, our diagnostic insights reveal new avenues to identify and treat disease, inspire healthy behaviors and improve health care management. Quest Diagnostics annually serves one in three adult Americans and half the physicians and hospitals in the United States, and our 44,000 employees understand that, in the right hands and with the right context, our diagnostic insights can inspire actions that transform lives. www.QuestDiagnostics.com.

Contacts:

Shawn Bevec (Investors): 973-520-2900 Dennis Moynihan (Media): 973-520-2800

Logo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20150422/200883LOGO

SOURCE Quest Diagnostics

Related Links

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VANCOUVER, Aug. 5, 2016 /PRNewswire/ - Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers Incorporated (NYSE and TSX: RBA), the world's largest industrial auctioneer, has published its July 2016 auction metrics on the company's website. This information can be accessed at the following link:

https://investor.ritchiebros.com/historical-auction-metrics

Monthly auction metrics should not be considered indicative of quarterly, annual or future performance. Auction metrics and corporate performance vary considerably month-to-month, due to the number of auctions held each month and seasonal factors. Ritchie Bros.' actual results could differ materially from those implied by this monthly auction disclosure. Investors are encouraged to review Ritchie Bros.' performance on a 12-month rolling or annual basis before making investing decisions.



About Ritchie Bros.

Established in 1958, Ritchie Bros. (NYSE and TSX: RBA) is the world's largest industrial auctioneer, and one of the world's largest sellers of used equipment for the construction, transportation, agriculture, energy, mining, forestry and other industries. Ritchie Bros.TM asset management and disposition solutions include live unreserved public auctions with on-site and online bidding; EquipmentOneTM, an online auction marketplace; Mascus, a global online equipment listing service; private negotiated sales through Ritchie Bros. Private Treaty; and a range of ancillary services, including financing and leasing through Ritchie Bros. Financial Services. Ritchie Bros. has operations in 19 countries, including 45 auction sites worldwide. Learn more at rbauction.com, EquipmentOne.com, mascus.com, rbauction.com/privatetreaty and rbauction.com/financing.

SOURCE Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers

Related Links

http://www.rbauction.com


TAINAN, Taiwan, Aug. 5, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- ScinoPharm Taiwan, Ltd (TWSE: 1789) and CVie Therapeutics Limited (CVie) jointly announced the initiation of a discovery and development collaboration to identify the new generation compound to Istaroxime, CVie's acute heart failure treatment currently in late Phase IIb trials in Italy and China. This collaboration marks the first time for ScinoPharm to collaborate with an external partner, CVie, from a discovery (pre-IND) perspective.

According to the agreement, the primary goal of the new generation compound is to possess oral bioavailability while maintaining Istaroxime's unique dual luso-inotropic function. The successful candidate may be positioned for both acute and chronic heart failure and is expected to have a larger market than that of Istaroxime. ScinoPharm will provide medicinal chemistry design and synthesis, while CVie will apply their vast biological know-how to screen and identify the new candidate. Further in vivo efficacy will be conducted in animal models of chronic heart failure. When the new compound enters the clinical development phases, ScinoPharm aims to be the primary chemistry, manufacturing, and controls (CMC) service provider to furnish material for clinical phases and beyond.

ScinoPharm has a strong relationship with CVie for the supply of API for CVie's clinical trials. CVie's long-standing expertise in the indication of heart failure via small-molecule therapeutics furnishes a solid foundation on which to discover the desired new generation compound to Istaroxime. ScinoPharm's experience in drug discovery, chemistry route development, and CMC operations is a perfect complement to CVie's existing assets and resources.

ScinoPharm CEO Dr. Yung Fa Chen stated, "ScinoPharm is transforming into a full-scope specialty pharma based on our core competencies of strong R&D and cGMP manufacturing in high-entry barrier APIs. This collaboration with CVie signals ScinoPharm's strategic move into the new drug development field. From both scientific and business perspectives, we are very excited for this alliance."

CVie President and COO, Dr. Lit-Fui Lau, said, "The partnership between ScinoPharm and CVie will take advantage of the strengths of both companies toward the discovery of the orally available Istaroxime analogs for the treatment of acute and chronic heart failure. It creates a win-win situation for both companies and exemplifies a productive collaborative model in discovering novel medicines of value to patients."

Istaroxime is a first-in-class luso-inotropic agent under development for the treatment of acute decompensated heart failure. It possesses a unique dual mode of action, combining inotropic (myocyte contraction) and lusotropic (myocyte relaxation) effects. Istaroxime is a potent positive inotropic agent that increases myocardial contractility through inhibition of Na+/K+-ATPase. In addition, it stimulates myocardial relaxation through activation of the SERCA 2a calcium pump on the sarcoplasmic reticulum and reduction in cytoplasmic calcium. Based on its mechanism of action, preclinical studies and early clinical findings, it is anticipated that Istaroxime will have minimal deleterious effects of conventional inotropes, i.e., increased heart rate, increased oxygen consumption, increased risk of arrhythmia and hypotension.

About CVie

CVie is a Taiwan-based joint venture founded in 2013 by Lee's Pharmaceutical Holdings Limited and renowned venture capitals from the US and Taiwan. It is a stand-alone drug development company specialized in cardiovascular diseases. CVie currently owns two phase IIb assets that target cardiovascular diseases with significant unmet medical need. Rostafuroxin is a novel precision medicine targeting hypertensive patients with certain genetic profiles with better efficacy and safety than conventional therapies. Istaroxime is a first-in-class luso-inotropic medicine for the treatment of acute heart failure and will have fewer adverse effects than conventional inotropes, namely, increased heart rate, arrhythmia, increased oxygen consumption, hypotension, etc.

About ScinoPharm

ScinoPharm Taiwan, Ltd. is a leading process R&D and API manufacturing service provider to the global pharmaceutical industry. With research and manufacturing facilities in both Taiwan and mainland China, ScinoPharm offers a wide portfolio of services ranging from custom synthesis for early phase pharmaceutical activities for brand companies as well as APIs for the generic industry. The Company also is aggressively pursuing a vertically integrated, one-stop-shopping service for drug product customers by expanding into the field of sterile oncological injectable formulations.

SOURCE ScinoPharm Taiwan, Ltd.; CVie Therapeutics Limited
PUNE, India, August 5, 2016 /PRNewswire/ --

The report "Seed Treatment Market by Function (Crop Protection Chemicals and Seed Enhancement), Type (Chemical and Non-Chemical), Crop Type (Cereals & grains, and Oilseeds), Application Technique, & by Region - Global Forecast to 2021", the market is projected to reach a value of USD 9.82 Billion by 2021 at a CAGR of 10.8%.

(Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160303/792302 )



Browse 91 market data Tables and 72 Figures spread through 193 Pages and in-depth TOC on "Seed Treatment Market"



http://www.marketsandmarkets.com/Market-Reports/seed-treatment-market-503.html

Early buyers will receive 10% customization on this report.

The market is driven by factors such as acreage and advanced technologies that warrant the need for treated seeds, reduced risk of exceeding minimum residue level, and the increasing prices of GM crops creating a need for crop protection. The high growth potential in emerging markets and untapped regions provides new growth opportunities for the market players.

Cereals & grains is the fastest growing segment in the Seed Treatment Market by crop type during 2016-2021

In the cereals & grains segment, the main crops that have been considered are corn, wheat, and rice. These crops are commonly consumed across the world and thus have an increased market demand. For instance, corn is an important crop for low income population which is one of the key factors driving the demand for crop. In case of wheat, it is one of the leading protein sources in the human food compared to other cereals which has led to its rise in demand. On the other hand, rice is one of the staple foods in many countries, such as India and China which has resulted in its market growth.

Make an Inquiry: http://www.marketsandmarkets.com/Enquiry_Before_Buying.asp?id=503

Seed coating application technique has the largest market in the seed treatment industry

The seed coating method includes a specific binding agent that is used with a formulation to enhance adherence to the seed. There is a demand for multifunctional seed technologies, which is one of the driving factors behind the growth of the seed coating industry. Companies such as Bayer CropScience AG (Germany) and INCOTEC Group BV (Netherlands) are investing in R&D activities to introduce new and innovative seed technologies that would overcome the difficulty of germination, sowability, flowability, and dust control.

Significant growth for seed treatment is observed in the North American region

The U.S. was the largest market and accounted for a significant share of the total North American Seed Treatment Market in 2014. The U.S. is the largest producer of seed treatment as well. Moreover, there are many reasons that drive this market in this region such as the ready provision of substantial extra subsidies by the U.S. government. The region is concentrated among few main players such as Monsanto Company (U.S.), DuPont (U.S.), Syngenta AG (Switzerland), and The Dow Chemical Company (U.S.), which contribute to more than half to the North American market.

This report includes a study of marketing and development strategies, along with the product portfolio of leading companies. It includes the profiles of leading companies such Syngenta AG (Switzerland), Monsanto Company (U.S.), Bayer CropScience AG (Germany) and Platform Specialty Products Corporation (U.S.).

Browse related reports:

Seed Market by Type (Cereals & Grains, Oilseeds, and Fruit & Vegetables), Seed Trait (Herbicide Tolerant, Insect Resistant, and Other Stacked Traits), & by Region - Global Trends & Forecast to 2020

http://www.marketsandmarkets.com/Market-Reports/seed-market-%20126130457.html

Biological Seed Treatment Market by Type (Microbial & Botanicals), Crop Type (Cereals & Grains, Oilseeds, & Pulses, Fruit & Vegetables) & Region - Global Trends & Forecast to 2019

http://www.marketsandmarkets.com/Market-Reports/biological-seed-treatment-market-162422288.html

About MarketsandMarkets

MarketsandMarkets is the largest market research firm worldwide in terms of annually published premium market research reports. Serving 1700 global fortune enterprises with more than 1200 premium studies in a year, M&M is catering to a multitude of clients across 8 different industrial verticals. We specialize in consulting assignments and business research across high growth markets, cutting edge technologies and newer applications. Our 850 fulltime analyst and SMEs at MarketsandMarkets are tracking global high growth markets following the "Growth Engagement Model - GEM". The GEM aims at proactive collaboration with the clients to identify new opportunities, identify most important customers, write "Attack, avoid and defend" strategies, identify sources of incremental revenues for both the company and its competitors.

M&M's flagship competitive intelligence and market research platform, "RT" connects over 200,000 markets and entire value chains for deeper understanding of the unmet insights along with market sizing and forecasts of niche markets. The new included chapters on Methodology and Benchmarking presented with high quality analytical infographics in our reports gives complete visibility of how the numbers have been arrived and defend the accuracy of the numbers.

We at MarketsandMarkets are inspired to help our clients grow by providing apt business insight with our huge market intelligence repository.

Contact:

Mr. Rohan

Markets and Markets

UNIT no 802, Tower no. 7, SEZ

Magarpatta city, Hadapsar

Pune, Maharashtra 411013, India

1-888-600-6441

Email: [email protected]



Visit MarketsandMarkets Blog @ http://www.marketsandmarketsblog.com/market-reports/agriculture-industry

Connect with us on LinkedIn @ http://www.linkedin.com/company/marketsandmarkets





SOURCE MarketsandMarkets
ARLINGTON, Va., Aug. 5, 2016 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Honourable Diane Lebouthillier, Canada's Minister of National Revenue, will be among several Canadian government officials speaking at two upcoming international tax conferences hosted by Bloomberg BNA and Baker & McKenzie in Toronto. The 3rd Annual Global Transfer Pricing Conference: Toronto will take place August 29-30 and will be followed by the 2nd Annual International Tax Conference: Canada & Beyond on August 31. Registration and additional information are available for both conferences, which take place at the InterContinental Toronto Centre, at http://on.bna.com/IrBB302XgtJ.

"The participation of numerous Canadian government officials in our conferences demonstrates Canada's interest in sharing its perspectives on transfer pricing and other key international tax topics," said Scott Mozarsky, President, Cross-Platform Businesses, Bloomberg BNA. "We are thrilled that they will be joined by senior representatives of the United States and Mexican governments and the OECD to address these pressing issues."

Both conferences will provide opportunities to hear firsthand perspectives from policymakers on key challenges facing multinational corporations. Featured speakers include:

The Honourable Diane Lebouthillier, Minister of National Revenue, Canada

Brian Ernewein , General Director, Tax Policy Branch, Department of Finance, Canada

, General Director, Tax Policy Branch, Department of Finance, Carlos Achadinha, Legislative Chief, Department of Finance, Canada

Brian Jenn , Attorney Advisor, Office of International Tax Counsel, US Department of Treasury

, Attorney Advisor, Office of International Tax Counsel, US Department of Treasury Stephane Buydens, VAT Policy Advisor, OECD

Carlos Perez Gomez , Director of Transfer Pricing Examinations, Mexico Tax Administration Service

Both conferences are conducted in association with the Tax Management Educational Institute.

About Bloomberg BNA

Bloomberg BNA provides legal, tax and compliance professionals with critical information, practical guidance and workflow solutions. We leverage leading technology and a global network of experts to deliver a unique combination of news and authoritative analysis, comprehensive research solutions, innovative practice tools, and proprietary business data and analytics. Bloomberg BNA is wholly-owned by Bloomberg LP, the global business, financial information and news leader. For more information, visit www.bna.com.

About Baker & McKenzie

Founded in 1949, Baker & McKenzie advises many of the world's most dynamic and successful business organizations through our 12,000 staff in 77 offices in 47 countries. The Firm is known for its global perspective, deep understanding of the local language and culture of business, uncompromising commitment to excellence, and world-class fluency in its client service. Eduardo Leite is Chairman of the Executive Committee. (www.bakermckenzie.com)

About Tax Management Educational Institute

Tax Management Educational Institute (TMEI) is an independent educational organization founded by Tax Management, Inc., a subsidiary of The Bureau of National Affairs, Inc. TMEI is devoted solely to the conduct of responsible, professional seminars and conferences of the highest quality dedicated to issues of tax policy and practice, and to the funding of related scholarly endeavors.

Logo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20120110/DC33627LOGO

SOURCE Bloomberg BNA

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CHARLESTON, S.C., Aug. 5, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- As the solar market in the Southeastern U.S. booms, BlueWave, a Boston-based Community Solar development and fintech company, has brought its premier solar loan product to North Carolina and South Carolina. Homeowners in North Carolina and South Carolina looking to finance their home solar systems can now sign up for a BlueWave Home Solar Loan, a product that launched in conjunction with Avidia Bank earlier this year across Massachusetts. The product offers home solar customers a 12-month interest-only period at a 5.99% fixed rate for 10 years.

"This is a best-in-class solar loan product with a high value proposition. It provides more homeowners with the option to benefit from the economic and environmental benefits of solar energy at an affordable price. We're thrilled about the Southeast launch and look forward to expanding our operations in the region," said BlueWave's CEO, Trevor Hardy.

"Avidia Bank is pleased to provide the Carolina markets with an attractive financing product that helps individuals, families and businesses lower energy costs and improve their access to alternative energy sources in the form of solar power," said Mark O'Connell, Avidia Bank's President and CEO.

On BlueWave's Solar Management Platform, the entire loan application and contract execution process is digital  applicants are approved within minutes. In addition to this, BlueWave's new installer incentive program provides its partners with an attractive business case for promoting the BlueWave Home Solar Loan.

BlueWave's preferred solar installer network, a list of top installers in the Southeast, is now distributing the loan throughout the Carolinas. The company's network of installers in the region is growing every day as the industry ramps.

South Carolina offers households a 25% tax-credit for solar installation costs while investor-owned utilities now offer various incentives as part of respective DER programs.

"The Federal and SC state tax credits, combined with the utility-specific incentives are making the case to go solar in South Carolina a very compelling one. BlueWave has been active on many levels in helping to drive solar adoption in the state and our solar-specific financing platform is another example of this. As a result, we look forward to helping more households take advantage of the opportunity available in the state right now," said Charleston-based Managing Director, John Griswold.



About BlueWave

Learn more at www.bluewaverenewables.com

SOURCE BlueWave

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"We are extremely fortunate to be surrounded by some of the most wonderful guests in the industry," stated Salim Asrawi, Chief Operating Officer of Texas de Brazil. "Every day the Texas de Brazil family is grateful to have the opportunity to share this time-honored gaucho tradition with guests both nationally and internationally. This sweepstakes provides an opportunity for us to give back to our loyal patrons by allowing them the opportunity to visit South America's picturesque countryside and enjoy a stay at the same Chilean winery that bottles our own private label wines."

The striking Vina Santa Rita winery is located one hour south of Santiago, at the foot of the Andes Mountains, in the Maipo region of Chile in Buin  the heart of Chile's best vineyards. The lucky winner of this prize will be undoubtedly entertained and enjoy luxury accommodations and exquisite dining throughout their trip.

For more details, please visit the Official Rules or call Texas de Brazil Corporate Office at 214.615.2184.

About Texas de Brazil

Texas de Brazil is an authentic churrascaria, featuring a continuous dining experience that blends together the unique culture of Brazil, with the generous hospitality of Texas. The menu features a vast selection of grilled meats, a 50-item gourmet salad area, an award-winning wine list and a-la-carte dessert selections. Founded in 1998 as a family-owned business, Texas de Brazil now has 47 domestic and international locations. Read more about the art of churrasco cooking in Churrasco: Grilling the Brazilian Way by Evandro Caregnato, Culinary Director, Texas de Brazil which is available at retailers including Barnes & Noble and Amazon.com. For more information on Texas De Brazil, please visit http://www.texasdebrazil.com/.

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NEW YORK, Aug. 5, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- George S. Barrett, Chairman and CEO of Cardinal Health, Inc., has been elected a vice chair of the board of trustees of The Conference Board, the global business membership and research organization, which is celebrating its centennial this year. Mr. Barrett joined the board as a trustee in 2010.

"George has brought leadership, operational and global business experience to our board of trustees," said Roger W. Ferguson, Jr., President and CEO, TIAA, and Chairman of The Conference Board's board of trustees. "We look forward to continuing to work with George and benefiting from his guidance."

"George's experience and insights in running a complex global organization have contributed significantly to The Conference Board," added Jon Spector, President and CEO of The Conference Board. "We rely on his expert knowledge and perspectives as we continue to make an impact within the business community."

"Given its storied history and integral role in shaping the conversations around commerce, I have been honored to be part of The Conference Board," said Mr. Barrett. "As a vice chairman, I look forward to celebrating its 100 year anniversary this year, and working alongside The Conference Board's leadership in the years ahead as we continue to find new ways for business and the community to work together."

Cardinal Health is a Fortune 25 global healthcare services and products company headquartered in Dublin, Ohio, which brings solutions to its customers around the world. The company has more than 37,000 employees in nearly 70 countries worldwide.

Mr. Barrett has been chairman and CEO of Cardinal Health since 2009. He joined the company in 2008 as vice chairman. From 2005 to 2007, he served as president and CEO of North America for Teva Pharmaceutical Industries. During 2007, he also served as corporate executive vice president for Global Pharmaceutical Markets. He held the position of president of Teva USA from 1999 to 2004. Prior to joining Teva, Barrett held various positions with Alpharma Inc., serving as president of US Pharmaceuticals from 1994 to 1997, and president of NMC Laboratories, prior to its acquisition by Alpharma in 1990.

Mr. Barrett serves on the board of directors of the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland, Nationwide Children's Hospital and the board of trustees of the Corporation of Brown University. He is a member of the Healthcare Leadership Council, the Business Roundtable, the Business Council and the Columbus Partnership. He also serves on the board of directors of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

He earned his Bachelor of Arts degree from Brown University and a Master of Business Administration from New York University. He also holds an Honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degree from Long Island University's Arnold & Marie Schwartz College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences.

The Conference Board's board of trustees is comprised of business leaders from major organizations who oversee the business and affairs of The Conference Board. A complete list of the board of trustees is available here.

About The Conference Board

The Conference Board is a thought partner that connects executives across industries and geographies, by creating independent research to help address key business issues, and it amplifies these ideas by bringing leaders together to share their insights in forums large and small, public and private. The Conference Board's mission is to provide the world's leading organizations with the practical knowledge they need to improve their performance and better serve society.

The Conference Board is a non-advocacy, not-for-profit entity holding 501 (c) (3) tax-exempt status in the United States. http://www.conference-board.org.

SOURCE The Conference Board

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SBIRS includes a combination of satellites in GEO orbit, hosted payloads in Highly Elliptical Orbit (HEO), and ground hardware and software. The data provided by SBIRS enhances the military's ability to detect missile launches, supports ballistic missile defense, expands technical intelligence gathering, and bolsters situational awareness on the battlefield.

"SBIRS GEO satellites are our nation's missile warning sentinels and are critical assets to the U.S. military's continually evolving mission," said David Sheridan, vice president of Lockheed Martin's Overhead Persistent Infrared systems mission area. "With GEO Flight 3's successful testing and delivery to the launch site, we're expanding the military's ability to receive timely, reliable and accurate missile warning and infrared surveillance information."



Lockheed Martin manufactured SBIRS GEO Flight 3 at its Sunnyvale, California, facility. For its trip to Florida, the satellite was loaded aboard a C-5 Galaxy aircraft at nearby Moffett Federal Air Field. It will launch aboard a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket.

The next SBIRS satellite, GEO Flight 4, is in storage and will undergo final assembly, integration and test operations prior to its planned 2017 launch. SBIRS GEO-5 and GEO-6, which are currently in production, incorporate the new modernized A2100 spacecraft to dramatically reduce costs and cycle times while increasing the potential to incorporate future, modernized sensor suites.

The SBIRS development team is led by the Remote Sensing Systems Directorate at the U.S. Air Force Space and Missile Systems Center, Los Angeles Air Force Base, California. Lockheed Martin Space Systems, Sunnyvale, California, is the SBIRS prime contractor, with Northrop Grumman Aerospace Systems, Azusa, California, as the payload integrator. The 460th Space Wing, Buckley Air Force Base, Colorado, operates the SBIRS system.

For additional SBIRS information, photos and video visit: www.lockheedmartin.com/sbirs.

About Lockheed Martin

Headquartered in Bethesda, Maryland, Lockheed Martin is a global security and aerospace company that employs approximately 125,000 people worldwide and is principally engaged in the research, design, development, manufacture, integration and sustainment of advanced technology systems, products and services.

Media Contact:

Lauren Fair, +1 301-204-7334; [email protected]

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SOURCE Lockheed Martin

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HOUSTON, Aug. 5, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Ultra Petroleum Corp. (OTC: UPLMQ) announces the following Webcast to discuss its second quarter 2016 financial and operating results:

What: Ultra Petroleum Corp. Second Quarter 2016 Results Webcast



When: August 11, 2016 at 11:30 a.m. Eastern Daylight Time



Where: http://www.ultrapetroleum.com



How: Live over the internet via the website address above



Contact: Sandi Kraemer, [email protected], 281-582-6613

If you are unable to participate during the live Webcast, the conference call will be archived and can be accessed from Ultra's home page at http://www.ultrapetroleum.com.

About Ultra Petroleum

Ultra Petroleum Corp. is an independent energy company engaged in domestic natural gas and oil exploration, development and production. The company trades over the counter under the ticker symbol "UPLMQ". Additional information on the company is available at www.ultrapetroleum.com.

This release can be found at www.ultrapetroleum.com.

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SOURCE Ultra Petroleum Corp.

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DALLAS, Aug. 5, 2016 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Bolstering its progress in addressing the rising threat of kidney cancer, the Kidney Cancer Program at UT Southwestern Medical Center's Harold C. Simmons Comprehensive Cancer Center has received $11 million in funding from the National Cancer Institute (NCI). Kidney cancer currently has no method of early detection and is particularly challenging to treat.

The highly competitive Specialized Program of Research Excellence (SPORE) award from the NCI is the first for kidney cancer research earned by a single institution, and only the second in the nation. In a series of landmark findings over the past 20 years, UT Southwestern researchers have identified and characterized a key protein called HIF-2a involved in kidney cancer. These findings led to development of a drug therapy now in clinical trials as part of the Kidney Cancer Program.

Nearly 400,000 Americans are currently living with a diagnosis of kidney cancer, which is the fourth most commonly treated cancer at UT Southwestern. Unlike several other common cancers  lung, breast, prostate, colon and cervical  there are no existing methods to find the disease early, when it is most treatable. It is usually found indirectly, through a scan performed for a different reason, for example. More than 60,000 people are expected to be diagnosed with kidney cancer this year.

"Receiving SPORE recognition for our Kidney Cancer Program is reflective of the collaborative, interdisciplinary environment that UT Southwestern has historically embraced. The early inroads that UT Southwestern researchers made in this arena serve as the ideal launching pad for future success against this devastating disease," said Dr. J. Gregory Fitz, Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs, Provost and Dean of Southwestern Medical School, and Professor of Internal Medicine at UT Southwestern, who holds the Nadine and Tom Craddick Distinguished Chair in Medical Science, and the Atticus James Gill, M.D. Chair in Medical Science.

The UT Southwestern SPORE program involves four innovative disease and clinical research teams targeting adult and pediatric kidney cancer, as well as a patient advocate group, a developmental research program, a career enhancement program, and core facilities to support these efforts through data analysis, imaging technology, and a tissue repository. The four research teams will:

Search for biomarkers to identify kidney cancer tumors most likely to respond to a HIF-2a inhibitor, as well as to anticipate ways in which the tumor may evade the drug's impact.

Investigate the function of a gene that identifies a cluster of particularly aggressive tumors associated with clear-cell renal cell carcinoma, in hopes of identifying vulnerabilities that can be targeted with drugs.

Examine kidney cancer metabolism to distinguish aggressive from less active tumors, potentially yielding a tailored treatment approach.

Test novel treatments for childhood kidney cancer by researching the implications of a Wilms tumor subtype.

"This extraordinary award from the NCI supports the extensive kidney cancer research program built by our faculty over the past several years," said Dr. Melanie Cobb, Interim Director of the Simmons Cancer Center, Professor of Pharmacology, and holder of the Jane and Bill Browning, Jr. Chair in Medical Science. "Sixteen distinguished research leaders  each nationally recognized in their field of expertise  will lead the team of more than 40 scientists that will focus on developing new approaches toward this disease which is particularly deadly."

"We are translating seminal discoveries and technological innovation at UT Southwestern to expand treatment options for both adult and pediatric kidney cancer patients," said Principal Investigator Dr. James Brugarolas, Associate Professor of Internal Medicine, and Virginia Murchison Linthicum Scholar in Medical Research. "These funds will support a variety of new and ongoing activities including the development of a new drug, studies of kidney cancer subtypes in adults and children, and a novel approach to determine what small tumors may be deadly."

This award marks the second SPORE grant for UT Southwestern, which for 20 years has led a multi-institutional SPORE program in lung cancer that is the largest thoracic oncology effort in the U.S.

The Harold C. Simmons Comprehensive Cancer Center is the only NCI-designated comprehensive cancer center in North Texas and one of just 47 NCI-designated comprehensive cancer centers in the nation. Simmons Cancer Center includes 13 major cancer care programs. In addition, the Center's education and training programs support and develop the next generation of cancer researchers and clinicians. Simmons Cancer Center is among only 30 U.S. cancer research centers to be designated by the NCI as a National Clinical Trials Network Lead Academic Participating Site.

About UT Southwestern Medical Center

UT Southwestern, one of the premier academic medical centers in the nation, integrates pioneering biomedical research with exceptional clinical care and education. The institution's faculty includes many distinguished members, including six who have been awarded Nobel Prizes since 1985. The faculty of almost 2,800 is responsible for groundbreaking medical advances and is committed to translating science-driven research quickly to new clinical treatments. UT Southwestern physicians provide medical care in about 80 specialties to more than 100,000 hospitalized patients and oversee approximately 2.2 million outpatient visits a year.

SOURCE UT Southwestern Medical Center

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ALISO VIEJO, Calif., Aug 5, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Veterans can finally get hundreds of discounts by using a new ID card made by Military Veterans ID through their web site: www.DD214ID.com. For many years almost every American company has offered our Military Veterans discounts, usually a minimum of 10% off, but there was a catch. Our Veterans had to show an (photo) ID card to receive the discount, except there was nowhere for a (non-retired) Veteran to get a photo ID.

Places like Home Depot, Lowes, Disney World Resorts/ Disneyland, Marriot, Best Western, Ramada, Advance Auto, Meineke Auto, American Airlines, O'Reilly, Barnes & Noble, and Red Robin all offer discounts, just to name a few companies.

Enter Military Veteran ID, LLC, (www.dd214id.com), a new private company that makes custom plastic photo ID cards one at a time, only for Veterans.

Veterans simply get out their DD214 document (with their SSN and DOB blocked out), make a pdf copy and have a head photo taken (with a smartphone). These two files are uploaded during the Order process. They verify the information, and fill-in the new ID card along with the photo. They accept all major credit cards and Pay Pal for payment; that seems to be a reasonable $14.95. Then, in about a week, the credit card sized ID card comes in the mail to the Veteran. Easy-peezy, as they say.

Our Veterans can now enjoy all the fabulous discounts offered to them just by showing their new www.DD214ID.com card. On their website Military Veteran ID has lists of most of the hundreds of major companies offering discounts. They tell me it is not a complete list and they are always adding companies.

(Note: For those who may not know, the DD214 document is an important separation paper given to every person leaving the military.)

Robert L from Jacksonville, NC is a happy Vet using his new card: "I went to my Home Depot and was ordering new kitchen cabinets. I showed my new Military Veteran ID card and they happily offered me 10% of my entire purchase, on the spot! Wow. And I was proud I was recognized as a Marine Vet".

Now, any Veteran can get an ID card through www.DD214ID.com and proudly SHOW his or her card and ASK: "Do you allow for a Veteran Discount?" According to Military Veteran ID about 99% of the time the answer is a gracious and grateful, "YES!"

Contact Information

Military Veteran ID, LLC

[email protected]

949-463-1973

Related Files

News Release 8-4-16.pdf

This content was issued through the press release distribution service at Newswire.com. For more info visit: http://www.newswire.com

SOURCE Military Veteran ID, LLC (DD214ID.com)

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"Our mission is to unleash human imagination from the limitations of reality, and Viveport will be an important cornerstone in democratizing access to the world's most diverse selection of immersive experiences," said Cher Wang, CEO of HTC.

Viveport will feature a wide range of VR experiences across education, design, art, social, video, music, sports, health, fashion, travel, news, shopping, creativity tools, and more. The Viveport store will be available in Vive headsets, web browsers, and as a PC and mobile app. Together with the global community of content creators and developers, Viveport will provide all customers with a unique and fast-growing selection of apps and experiences.

"We believe equal access to virtual reality experiences will make the world a better place; enhancing our daily lives and the way we connect with everything. An important goal for the Viveport team is to enable developers to reach a global audience and grow their business," said Rikard Steiber, Senior Vice President of Viveport.

Viveport is built to be responsive to content creators and developers, empowering them to drive long-term engagement and monetization. Viveport will feature pay-to-download, in-app-purchases, subscriptions, and more revenue generating opportunities. In addition, Viveport will continue to roll out new platform features supporting content creation, distribution, and customer engagement.

We now welcome new content creators and developers to join the Viveport community, and register on http://developer.vive.com, joining the thousands of developers who have already started their journey with us. Also follow our blog on http://blog.htcvive.com for more information.

About VIVE

Vive is a first-of-its-kind virtual reality platform designed by HTC and Valve. Uniting passion, talent and innovation, Vive delivers on the promise of VR with game-changing technology and best-in-class content. Unveiled during HTC's Mobile World Congress keynote in March 2015, Vive has since been recognized with over 30 awards, including best of CES 2016.

About HTC

HTC Corporation aims to bring brilliance to life. As a global innovator in smart mobile devices and technology, HTC has produced award-winning products and industry firsts since its inception in 1997, including the critically acclaimed HTC One and HTC Desire lines of smartphones. The pursuit of brilliance is at the heart of everything we do, inspiring best-in-class design and game-changing mobile and virtual reality experiences for consumers around the world. HTC is listed on the Taiwan Stock Exchange (TWSE: 2498). www.htc.com

HTC, the HTC logo, and the Vive logo are the trademarks of HTC Corporation. All other names of companies and products mentioned herein may be the trademarks of their respective owners.

Photo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160804/395879

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SOURCE HTC

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If you were looking for the Charlestown Democratic Town Committee website and ended up here, try this





Got news tips, gossip, suggestions, complaints?E-mail us: progressivecharlestown@gmail.com We strive to avoid errors in our articles. Our correction policy can be found here
New Delhi, Aug 2 : BJP's ally Telugu Desam Party (TDP) on Tuesday called off its protest in parliament for special status to Andhra Pradesh following an assurance from the central government to address the issue.

The decision was taken after Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley told the Lok Sabha that the government stand by whatever commitments made to support Andhra Pradesh.

He said he spoke to Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu, who is also the TDP chief, over phone.

"We are trying to find a solution to the issues very shortly," he said and requested the TDP to call off its protest and cooperate in smooth functioning of the parliament.

Parliamentary Affairs Minister Ananth Kumar also appealed to the TDP MPs to give time to the government to address the issue.

Following Jaitley's assurance, Union Minister of State for Science and Technology Y. S. Chowdary, of the TDP, told reporters that they were confident of achieving special status.

"We will wait and watch," said Chowdary, who is TDP parliamentary party leader.

Stating that there will be no compromise on state's interests, he said their fight would continue till the central government fulfils all its commitments under the Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act.

Claiming that the TDP is sincere in its fight, Chowdary alleged that the YSR Congress and Congress were trying to take political mileage by creating problems between the TDP and the BJP.

Earlier, Lok Sabha was adjourned twice during the zero hour when TDP members created an uproar, demanding special status. YSR Congress also supported the demand.
Seoul, Aug 3 : North Korea fired a ballistic missile into east waters from its west region, South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said on Wednesday.

The projectile was launched from South Hwanghae province around 7.50 a.m. (local time), Yonhap news agency quoted the JCS as saying. Further details are being analysed, the official said.

The launch came after North Korea test-fired two medium-range Rodong ballistic missiles and one shorter-range Scud missile on July 19 in an apparent protest against the decision between Seoul and Washington to deploy Terminal High Altitude Area Defence on South Korean soil.

Japan has also condemned and lodged an official protest with Pyongyang against the missile launch, saying the launch was in defiance of UN Security Council resolutions.

Defense Minister Gen Nakatani said the missile landed within Japan's exclusive economic zone in the Sea of Japan.

He said that his agency was currently "analysing the situation".

On July 8, South Korea and the US abruptly announced an agreement to deploy one THAAD battery by the end of next year.

One day after the announcement, Pyongyang test-fired a submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLBM) off its east coast to demonstrate against the THAAD deployment decision.

North Korean military has threatened to take "physical measures" against the THAAD deployment site.

China and Russia have strongly opposed to THAAD deployment in South Korea as it raises tensions in Northeast Asia.
New Delhi, Aug 3 : Despite an assurance from the government that a solution will be found to Andhra Pradesh's demand for special status, members of the YSR Congress on Wednesday continued their protest in the Lok Sabha -- the assurance has, however, convinced NDA ally Telugu Desam Party (TDP) to stay away from the demonstration.

As soon as the lower house assembled to begin the day's proceedings and took up the conventional Question Hour, members from YSR Congress, Andhra Pradesh-based regional outfit, trooped near the speaker's podium.

The party members raised slogans like "we want justice" and "give special status to Andhra".

"You continue with the protest despite the statement by the Finance Minister, why do you do that," Speaker Sumitra Mahajan was heard asking the agitating members.

Finance Minister Arun Jaitley had on Tuesday assured the members that the issue of special status for the southern state was under consideration.

Making a brief intervention amid noisy scenes in the house on Tuesday, Jaitley had said: "The government stands by the commitments it has made in supporting Andhra Pradesh to the fullest. Even today, I have had a word with Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu and we are trying to find a solution."

However, the YSR Congress lawmakers continued their protest till noon.

TDP leader and union Minister of State for Science and Technology Y.S. Chowdary on Tuesday told reporters that his party will maintain a "wait and watch policy".
Riyadh/New Delhi, Aug 3 : The Saudi Arabian government has "taken serious note" of violation of labour laws by a construction company resulting in financial crisis for thousands of Indian workers, Minister of State for External Affairs V.K. Singh said on Wednesday.

Singh, who reached Saudi Arabia early on Wednesday in the wake of reports that Indian workers in the Gulf kingdom were facing a financial and food crisis, said that he had a "very good meeting" with Saudi Minister of Labour and Social Development Mufrej Al Haqbani.

"We discussed all the issues related to Indian workers," Singh said in a statement following the meeting in Riyadh.

"It was brought out that the problem is because of one company which has not provided the humanitarian facilities as per the law of the land," he said.

"The Government of KSA (Kingdom of Saudi Arabia) has taken serious note of this lapse and has taken immediate action to ensure all camps where Indian workers were staying are provided facilities like medical, food, hygiene and sanitation."

Singh said that the Saudi government was also providing free passage to all those Indian workers wishing to go back home.

"They will also honour the claims filed by workers against the companies which have defaulted their payments," Singh stated.

"They have agreed to allow transfer to any other company within Saudi Arabia."

He said the Indian embassy was also preparing lists for workers for filing claims and of those who wanted to go back to India and thanked the Saudi government "for very positive action and magnanimous attitude exhibited".

Saudi Ambassador to India Saud Bin Mohammed Al Saty told IANS in New Delhi that his country's authorities have taken serious note of the lapse on the part of this one company.

"This company that has violated Saudi labour laws will be fined," he said.

"The Indian nationals working In Saudi Arabia are very much appreciated by Saudi society and government for their contribution to the development of the country and their respect for the laws of the land," Al Saty said, adding that relations between his country and India continue to be excellent.

He said that companies which violate laws meant for protection of workers' rights would be dealt with strongly.

Earlier on Wednesday, a senior official of the Gulf kingdom's labour ministry held a meeting with India's Consul General in Jeddah.

"Director General of Branch of Ministry of Labour and Social Development in Makkah region, Abdullah Al-Olayan, held here today a meeting with Consul General of India in Jeddah, Mohammad Noor Rahman Sheikh and his companions to discuss the situation of Indian labourers affected due to their delayed salaries in one of the big companies in the governorate of Jeddah," the Saudi Press Agency (SPA) reported.

SPA said Al-Olayan explained that the ministry was currently providing facilities for 2,500 affected Indian workers in Jeddah, allowing them to transfer their sponsorships, and granting them re-entry visas.

On Tuesday, giving a breakup of the figures, External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Vikas Swarup said 4,072 workers belonging to construction company Saudi Oger in Riyadh were being provided shelter in 10 camps: nine in Riyadh and one in Damman.

"In addition, there are 2,153 Indian workers belonging to Saudi Oger in six camps in Jeddah all of whom have been provided food by the Indian consulate," Swarup said.

There are over three million expatriate Indians in Saudi Arabia, most of whom are blue collar workers.
Washington, Aug 4 : Carol Highsmith, an American photographer, filed a lawsuit against stock photo agencies Getty Images and Alamy for falsely claiming copyright of 18,755 photos she took, and demanded more than $1 billion in reputation damages.

Highsmith, who is famous for having captured images of the American life as a record of the early 21st century, was charged for posting online a photo of her own and received a letter from a firm associated with Getty Images accusing her of license infringement, Xinhua news agency reported.

The License Compliance Services, the copyright enforcement entity believed to be connected to Getty, even demanded a settlement fee of $120 US from Highsmith.

The 70-year-old photographer astonishingly learned that the stock photo agencies had been charging people for thousands of her pictures that she had donated to the Library of Congress for free access since 1992.

According to the suit, Getty and Alamy are not only "unlawfully charging licensing fees" for the donated photographs, but are "falsely and fraudulently holding themselves out as the exclusive copyright owner."

In a recent public statement, Getty responded that it acknowledges the images are in public domain but still maintains that "image libraries are legally permitted to charge fees for use of images in the public domain."

Alamy has said even less, only with one employee saying that they are looking into the issue.
England, Aug 4 : Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho has expressed his desire to sign at least one more player ahead of the upcoming season, and has called for the deal to be done by next Friday.

Mourinho also spoke about Paul Pogba and said that he is not yet prepared to discuss if the star France midfielder is the player in question.

United played out a goalless draw against Everton in veteran forward Wayne Rooney's testimonial at Old Trafford on Wednesday and they will now take on Leicester City this Sunday in the Community Shield at the Wembley Stadium in the annual curtain-raiser to the English season.

Pogba has enjoyed a post-Euro 2016 holiday in the United States while the transfer saga has unfolded, with reports of an agreed deal and rival interest from Real Madrid failing to formalise.

"We are going to sign one more player for sure. I don't want to speak about Paul (Pogba) because he is a Juventus player and I don't like other managers to speak about my players. I don't speak about their players,'' Mourinho told the British media after Rooney's testimonial match.

"But the reality is we are going to sign one more player. The market closes, as you know, August 31 so we have plenty of time to do that, but I'd like to do it before the Premier League starts," he added.
Lagos, Aug 5 : Nigeria's Defense Headquarters on Thursday dismissed the reported change in the leadership of the terrorist group Boko Haram.

In a statement made available to Xinhua in Lagos, Rabe Abubakar, the defense spokesperson, also said the change is irrelevant and inconsequential to the military's operation in the north-east.

He said for now, the troops are focused on clearing the remnants of the insurgents scattered around the northeast.

The Islamic State militant group on Wednesday announced one Abu Musab Al-Barnawi as the new leader of the terror group in West Africa after Abubakar Shekau's exit.

Al-Barnawi used to be the spokesperson of the group under Shekau.

IS did not say what happened to Shekau who has been out of the picture since 2015. Boko Haram in 2015 pledged its allegiance to the Islamic State militant group.

The Nigerian forces have been raiding militant camps and launching air and ground attacks on suspected hideouts of Boko Haram militants over the past months.

The sect seeks to enshrine the Islamic sharia law into the constitution and declares war against Western education.
New Delhi : Book: "Not War, Not Peace?"; Authors: George Perkovich & Toby Dalton; Publisher: Oxford University Press; Pages: 297; Price: Rs 695 The Partition of the Indian sub-continent in 1947, with its violent consequences that reverberate to this day, was not of India's making -- and yet, this book by a vice president and a co-director at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace places the onus on this country for making peace with its western neighbour, sub-titled as it is "Motivating Pakistan to Prevent Cross-Border Terrorism".

That should be enough to raise a red flag but still, let's examine what the authors have to offer. Essentially, five options: a pro-active army-centric policy; limited, primarily airborne strikes with lower risks of escalation, depending on the targets; potential deterrence and compellence value of covert operations; modifying India's nuclear deterrence and capabilities; and non-violent compellence.

However, each of these is fraught with danger.

In the case of the first, "quick, effective, limited army excursions into Pakistan-Administered Kashmir and/or the Pakistani heartland could, theoretically, cause enough damage to the Pakistani military's interests to motivate it to accommodate India's counter-terrorism demands to end the conflict", the book says.

"However, prudent analysis suggests that India, for the foreseeable future, will lack the requisite capabilities to prevail in a quick, limited military conflict in Pakistan-held territory," it says.

As for airborne strikes, the book has this to say: "Focusing destruction on terrorist infrastructure in Kashmir would minimise the probability of major military responses by Pakistan. However, the less vital the targets are to Pakistani authorities, the less likely their destruction would be to motivate these authorities to take decisive measures against anti-India groups."

Air strikes, with the potential that targets could be missed or mis-identified, could embarrass India and "offer relatively limited domestic political benefits to Indian leaders and no significant prospect of compelling a change in Pakistani policy", the book notes.

Although covert operations "could yield political dividends in India, even if the state were to deny responsibility, success in such operations would invite retaliation by Pakistan and its agents, including those it could recruit in India", the book says.

As for its nuclear doctrine, India has always stressed on the no-first-use (NFU) aspect. "India would lose more than it would gain by changing this policy," the authors say.

"Non-violent compellence would require India to engage in international coalition-building. While this is what the great powers seek to do, India has not yet fully embraced this mode of influence. To succeed, Indian leaders would need to mobilise talented actors beyond its diplomatic and intelligence services, within India and in the broader international community.

"Twenty-first century modes of operating and communicating would need to be developed. To be effective -- both in mobilising the international community and in imparting messages that could affect Pakistani opinion -- Indian leaders would need to complement the objective of ostracising Pakistan with demonstrations of goodwill towards it. This means conveying a recognition that challenges such as Kashmir will require durable, forthcoming negotiations with Pakistani authorities as well as disaffected Muslims in Kashmir.

"If India insists that a dispute does not exist, or that talks will not involve adjustments of all parties' positions, international observers and Pakistanis, it is reasonable to conclude that will be more difficult to prevent violence," the authors say.

So, what's it at the bottom line?

"History teaches that not all problems have solutions, or that people often will not pursue solutions because it seems easier to live with familiar problems. The analysis presented in this book shows that there are no clear solutions that India can unilaterally pursue to end the threat of violence from Pakistan," the book says.

"Some are more or less likely to be effective at greater or lesser risk and cost to India. But only a combination of Indian coercive and non-violent policies and capabilities, paired with a willingness to bargain, can motivate Pakistan to remove the threat of violence. It is up to Indian and Pakistani leaders and societies, with encouragement from the international community, to find a combination that will work for them," the authors conclude.

Que sera sera?

(Vishnu Makhijani can be contacted at vishnu.makhijani@ians.in)
Islamabad, Aug 5 : An Indian prisoner was injured after being attacked by a Pakistani prisoner in a Pakistani jail, a media report said on Friday.

Hamid Nehal Ansari was attacked twice in the Peshawar Central Prison in the last two months, Dawn online quoted his lawyer as telling a court on Thursday. The lawyer said a jail official also daily thrashed Ansari.

Jail Superintendent Masoodur Rehman, however, argued that the injuries were of minor nature and that such incidents "kept happening" in prisons.

Ansari, serving a three-year term, is kept in a death cell. Rehman said the Indian "can't be kept in a normal barrack with other prisoners for the sake of his security".

The lawyer said he wanted security for his client but the jail official had refused to give such a guarantee.

The official had promised to shift Ansari to a hospital after the attack but did not do so. The lawyer also alleged that a prison warder used to beat Ansari daily.

Ansari, who reportedly possessed a fake Pakistani identity card, was arrested by intelligence agencies in Kohat district in November 2012. He was convicted by a military court in February this year.
Washington, Aug 5 : African-American activist DeRay Mckesson has filed a suit against the police and city of Baton Rouge, Louisiana, over mass arrests during protests against police killings.

Mckesson was among nearly 200 protesters arrested in Baton Rouge after the July 5 killing of 37-year-old Alton Sterling, a black man who was shot dead by two white police officers, ABC News reports.

The federal class-action lawsuit filed on Thursday, which names two other arrested protesters as plaintiffs, accuses police of using excessive force and violating the protesters' constitutional rights.

McKesson's arrest on July 9 was captured on live-stream on Twitter's Periscope after he protested Sterling's murder, NBC News reported.

The lawsuit said it will seek damages for civil rights violations for the "unlawful mass arrests" of almost 200 peaceful demonstrators made by the police without a probable cause.

Some of those arrested for highway obstruction were apprehended on sidewalks, the grass and residents' homes, NBC News reported citing the suit.

It said the plaintiffs were entitled to compensation for lost wages, bond expenses, administrative fees paid to the city and jail, court costs as well as past and future lawyer fees to clear records of their arrests.
New York, Aug 5 : A team of researchers has hacked the working of software with the potential risk of malware -- disguised as lucrative advertisements -- opening computers and other devices to hijacking.

A team of researchers from Google and the New York University Tandon School of Engineering next week will offer the first public view into shady practices that deliver unwanted advertising and software bundled with legitimate downloads -- a problem that occurs far more often than malware attempts.

Their research material, provided by The New York University, suggested that some of the affiliates that distribute such softwares might be complicit in the scheme, which provides layers of deniability that they are installing unwanted software.

Generally, when a person goes to the "legitimate software update or download", a barrage of advertisements overruns the screen. Sometimes flashing pop-ups warn of the presence of malware, demanding the purchase of what is often fraudulent antivirus software.

On other occasions, the system's default browser is hijacked, redirecting to ad-laden pages.

The researchers conducted the first analysis of the link between commercial pay-per-install (PPI) practices and the distribution of unwanted software.

Kurt Thomas, a research scientist at Google, and Damon McCoy, an Assistant Professor of Computer Science and Engineering at NYU Tandon and their colleagues cite reports indicating that commercial PPI is a highly lucrative global business, with one outfit reporting $460 million in revenue in 2014 alone.

"If you have ever downloaded a screen saver or other similar feature for your laptop, you have seen a 'terms and conditions' page pop up where you consent to the installation," McCoy explained.

"Buried in the text that nobody reads is information about the bundle of unwanted software programmes in the package you are about to download," McCoy added.

The report explains that PPI businesses operate through a network of affiliates -- brokers who forge the deals that bundle advertisements (often unwanted software) with popular software applications, then place download offers on well-trafficked sites where they are likely to be clicked on.

Parties are paid separately -- meaning some legitimate developers do not know their products are being bundled with unwanted software -- and they are paid as much as two dollars per install.

The paper, Investigating Commercial Pay-Per-Install and the Distribution of Unwanted Software, will be presented at the USENIX Security Symposium, a top computer security conference, in Austin, Texas, next week.
New Delhi : Forty-one military aircraft -- including trainers and helicopters -- have crashed between April 1, 2012 and July 2016, killing 65 defence personnel and civilians Thirty-six defence personnel were killed in 39 crashes, according to data released by Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar to the Lok Sabha on February 26, 2016.

"No civilians were killed in these crashes," the Lok Sabha reply said.

Of these, the IAF reported the most crashes (28), followed by the army (7) and the navy (4).

In addition, an advanced jet trainer of the IAF crashed in West Bengal on August 4, 2016 and both pilots ejected safely.

An IAF AN-32 plane carrying 29 people went missing after it took off from Chennai on July 22, 2016. Media reports suggest that the aircraft was not fitted with an underwater locator beacon, and that made search operations difficult.

As many as 15 AN-32 aircraft of the IAF crashed between 1986 and 2014, (the year of one crash was unknown), according to Aviation Safety Network data, an online portal that tracks airliner accidents world-wide.

The Russian-made AN-32 plane is a medium tactical transport aircraft that can carry 39 troops and five crew.

(05.08.2016. In arrangement with IndiaSpend.org, a data-driven, non-profit, public interest journalism platform, with which Chaitanya Mallapur is an analyst. The author can be reached at respond@indiaspend.org)
Guwahati, Aug 5 : Four to five terrorists dressed in military fatigues opened random fire at a crowded market in Assam's Kokrajhar town on Friday, killing 12 civilians. One of the attackers was also killed.

Assam Police chief Mukesh Sahay said he suspected the National Democratic Front of Bodoland (NDFB-Songbijit) was behind the attack whose victims were mainly Bodo civilians. Nearly 20 others were injured.

"A group of militants came to the weekly market, hurled a grenade and then fired indiscriminately at civilians," Sahay told IANS.

He said the security forces present in the area retaliated and killed one of the militants.

"It has been a tactic with the militants to attack soft targets," Sahay said. "We have started an operation in and around the area. We suspect the number of attackers was four or five."

Kokrajhar town in lower Assam is located about 220 km from Guwahati. It is Bodo tribal dominated area.

Security forces recovered an AK-56 rifle and grenades from the spot. The NDFB led by I.K. Songbijit is known as the "anti-talk faction" because of its opposition to peace talks with the government.

Hagrama Mohilary, Chief Executive Member of the Bodoland Territorial Council that runs the administration in four Bodo districts including Kokrajhar, said many people had been injured in the attack.

Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal denounced the killings and vowed to take "strict action" against the perpetrators.

He told the media here that he telephonically informed both Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Rajnath Singh about the killings.

The Chief Minister, who took charge of Assam in May heading the state's first BJP government, announced a compensation of Rs 5 lakh to the families of the dead.

"No one involved in the crime will be spared," he said, adding "a foreign hand" may have ordered the killings.

In a bid to avoid retaliatory killings, the Chief Minister appealed for peace and harmony and said his government was committed to ensuring the safety of civlians.

The anti-talk faction of the NDFB had killed over 70 Adivasis in December 2014, forcing security agencies to launch a sustained operation against the group.

In New Delhi, Home Minister Rajnath Singh said the central government was closely monitoring the situation.
Jakarta, Aug 5 : Indonesia's anti-terror unit on Friday arrested six militants for planning attacks in Singapore.

The men, aged between 19 and 46, were arrested at several locations in nearby Batam island, the BBC reported.

The plot allegedly involved firing a rocket from Batam, just south of Singapore, at Marina Bay -- an upmarket, waterfront area.

Singapore officials said they were aware of the plot and security had been stepped up.

Indonesian police spokesman Boy Rafli told BBC Indonesian that the suspects were now being questioned.
Agartala, Aug 5 : India's third International Internet Gateway (IIG) in Agartala through Cox's Bazar in Bangladesh has accelerated internet connectivity in the mountainous northeastern region, a BSNL official said on Friday.

"Using the 3rd IIG (in Tripura capital Agartala), internet connectivity in the eight northeastern states, including Sikkim, has become faster and internet users have benefited to a large extent," Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) General Manager J. Ravichandra told reporters here.

He said: "To access the 3rd IIG, necessary technical linkages in Shillong (Meghalaya), Aizawl (Mizoram) and Guwahati have been completed. Links to Kolkata and other northeastern states will be completed very soon."

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Bangladesh counterpart Sheikh Hasina, along with Tripura Chief Minister Manik Sarkar, on March 23 inaugurated the 3rd IIG through videoconferencing from their respective offices in New Delhi, Dhaka and Agartala.

The Agartala IIG is the third such Internet gateway after Mumbai and Chennai.

Ravichandra said Bangladesh State Minister for Telecommunications Tarana Halim recently visited Tripura and held a meeting with BSNL officials and discussed more cooperation between her country and India in the telecom sector.

India has spent Rs 19.14 crore to create the infrastructure for the third IIG in Agartala to get the 10 gigabit bandwidth from Bangladesh Submarine Cable Company Limited (BSCCL). For this, optical fibre cable (OFC) link has been established between Akhaura (along Agartala) and Cox's Bazar India has to give around Rs 8 crore per year as rental to the BSCCL. If the demand increase, the BSNL will avail up to 40 gigabit bandwidth using the same infrastructure.

Earlier, the northeastern states got internet connectivity through Mumbai and Chennai IIGs, but long distance created problems like very slow speed and drop of linkages.

Meanwhile, a media report in Bangladesh said Bhutan too is keen to import internet bandwidth from Bangladesh.

"Bhutan will send a delegation to Bangladesh by November to finalise the amount of bandwidth to be exported, price and route," the reports said quoting Tarana Halim.

"To export bandwidth to Bhutan, Bangladesh would have to use Indian territory; fibre optical cable would also need to be laid. Halim got a positive response from India when she discussed the issue with Indian Telecom Minister Manoj Sinha last week," the report said.

During Halim's visit to Delhi last week, she received the first cheque for $275,000 from BSNL as bandwidth export rental price.

Bangladesh has a 200 gbps bandwidth connection with the submarine cable: South East Asia-Middle East-Western Europe 4 (SEA-ME-WE 4), but the country uses only around 130 gbps now.
Ahmedabad, Aug 5 : State BJP president Vijay Rupani is to be the new Gujarat Chief Minister, replacing Anandiben Patel who resigned earlier this week.

Nitin Patel, the senior-most minister in the Anandiben Patel cabinet, will be the Deputy Chief Minister.

This was decided at a state party meeting, chaired by BJP President Amit Shah, here.

Nitin Patel was holding the health portfolio and is the state government spokesperson.
New Delhi : Zakir Naik, the Islamic evangelist with rock star ratings, could be only temporarily in trouble. Come November and he may be able to find apologists in the NDA government.

What has November got to do with the government? Because, like the rest of the world, New Delhi is waiting for the outcome of the US elections. A Hillary Clinton victory will end the nail biting suspense globally, and in Israel and Saudi Arabia there may be celebrations. Naik's patrons in Saudi Arabia are perhaps low today, but they could bounce back with a Clinton victory.

The Islamic Research Foundation (IRF) and The Clinton Foundation have another link: considerable sums for their respective Foundations have come from Saudi Arabia.

Naik has been officially in the business of evangelism since 1991 when IRF was established. That year Manmohan Singh's New Economic Policies brought New Delhi in line with the US. George Bush Sr was the President. The Bush family's extraordinary interests in Saudi Arabia continued during the Clinton years.

An economically "reformed" New Delhi looked at Washington for almost every foreign policy lead. Since the Saudis could do no wrong in US eyes, New Delhi adopted the same public stance towards Riyadh. Zakir Naik preached in the Salafi-Wahabi idiom, favoured by the House of Saud. Little wonder, successive Indian Prime Ministers were advised to look the other way.

During days of breathless adoration for the US, particularly when the nuclear deal was being negotiated, what registered in South Block was an unstated message from Washington: tolerate Saudi Arabia and its interests. Zakir Naik had Saudi protection. Therefore, his evangelism was acceptable to India for the past 25 years. Wahabism-Salafism was kosher when, on cue, New Delhi was voting against Iran in Vienna.

Naik has fallen on bad days because the West and their clients like Saudi Arabia have badly bungled in Syria. Jointly and singly they financed and armed all manner of extremist groups. Their search for a "moderate opposition" remained a pipe dream.

The blowback from the Syrian, Libyan (earlier Iraqi and Afghan misadventures) continued to plague the Saudis. Ultimately, to run away from themselves, they leapt into the bubbling Yemen cauldron.

Destroyed countries and civilizations created a migration problem, an Exodus of Biblical proportions, causing Europe to shuffle out of its old coil. Two party political structures, secured a long time ago, began to crumble.

As if all of this were not unsettling enough, the Americans have just come up with an unconvincing Republican nominee for President and a Democratic nominee who is by her own admission "unloved". Even The Economist, that pillar of the Western-liberal establishment, has pulled out from the dictionary adjectives of an extreme nature to describe Hillary Clinton: "dishonest", "untrustworthy".

In brief, the West has its own crises to worry about. The Saudis had already come down a notch or two when the Iranian nuclear deal was signed. And now, the mess in Europe and the US, has pushed Saudis away from the West's attention radar.

New Delhi, which keeps a steady gaze on Washington and its changing moods, has shrewdly noticed Riyadh's fall from grace. Naik can now be taken to task. The change of heart on the evangelist also signals something important: New Delhi now feels secure in the thought that Sufism and mild Hanafi Sunnism most characterize Indian Muslims. Wahabism-Salafism is remote from the wider Islamic practice among India's Sunnis.

Riyadh may be down, but it would be premature to count it out. After all, should Hillary Clinton enter the White House, who knows what might she not do for "Israel's security". Her email released by Wikileaks confirmed that the Obama administration had deliberately provoked the civil war in Syria as "the best way to help Israel".

In an earlier email she said: "The best way to help Israel deal with Iran's growing nuclear capability is to help the people of Syria overthrow the regime of Bashar Assad."

"Overthrowing Bashar Assad" was the one point theme former Saudi spy chief Prince Bandar bin Sultan had been instructed by the late King Abdullah to pursue. Typical of Prince Bandar's style of diplomacy, he turned up at the Kremlin on a secret mission. He promised Putin a "terror free" Sochi Olympic games if only he could have Assad's head on a platter. Bandar was sidelined because he could not deliver on Syria.

So long as the Israeli military point of view is part of Western strategic thinking, a regime change in Damascus must re-surface as a Washington priority, should Hillary Clinton win.

Such an operation would require co ordination with the Saudis as well. In other words, the current nosedive in Saudi saliency maybe quite as dramatically arrested. Zakir Naik's protectors in Riyadh may yet be able to stiffen their sinews and summon up the blood. Good for Naik. Also Delhi will then have to place Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's concerns in the balance. Apparently Naik's evangelical mesmerism is causing concerns in Dhaka where acts of terror have picked up in frequency, allegedly influenced by his eloquence.

(A senior commentator on political and diplomatic affairs, Saeed Naqvi can be reached on saeednaqvi@hotmail.com. The views expressed are personal.)
New Delhi, Aug 5 : Former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Friday urged the government to implement the promises made to Andhra Pradesh so as to "protect the honour of the house".

Participating in a debate in the Rajya Sabha on a private member's bill to give special status to Andhra Pradesh post its bifurcation, Manmohan Singh explained why the UPA government which he headed could not implement the assurance.

He said although an ordinance on Andhra Pradesh was drafted by the UPA government, it could not be issued as the parliamentary election process had started.

"On 20th February 2014 here in Rajya Sabha while passing the Andhra Pradesh reorganisation bill, I as the then Prime Minister made six promises on the floor of this august house. The then Leader of Opposition and now Leader of the House -- Arun Jaitley satisfied with the promises withdrew all the amendments he had proposed," Singh said.

"On 1st March 2014, Union Cabinet presided over by me considered and passed all promises made by me in this house. The cabinet sent a draft ordinance to the President but as the election process intervened, the ordinance could not be issued," he said.
New Delhi, Aug 5 : Biju Janata Dal (BJD) leader Bhartruhari Mahtab on Friday sought the central government's intervention over the construction of dam by Chattisgarh government over the tributaries of Mahanadi river.

"Union Water Resources Minister had informed the house earlier that without the permission of the Central Water Commission, construction of dams will not be allowed. However, Chattisgarh government has started construction of dams, which are major projects, over the tributaries of Mahanadi. This is a blatant violation of law," Mahtab told the Lok Sabha.

He urged the central government to intervene in the matter and tell Chattisgarh not to proceed with the construction of the dam.

He also alleged that Chattisgarh Chief Minister Raman Singh was making unnecessary statement over the row.

"The Chattisgarh Chief Minister, I would say, has come out openly saying that they will complete the dam on war footing. When tripartite discussions are taking place between the states of Chattisgarh, Odisha under the tutelage of the Ministry of Water Resources in Delhi and interactions are taking place between all these three stakeholders, there is no necessity of making such statements in the public," he said.

The ministry had decided that the Central Water Commission (CWC) would from ensure that the DPRs for the projects in the Mahanadi basin are duly shared with the other riparian state and they were given 45 days time to convey their views and comments on the projects.
Dhaka, Aug 5 : Bangladesh sleuths have zeroed in on five persons who hacked to death two prominent gay rights activists in April this year and are set to arrest them, media reports said on Friday.

Xulhaz Mannan and Mahbub Rabbi Tonoy were killed in a machete attack by a gang of assailants in Dhaka's Kalabagan on April 25.

The police got leads on the murders after the arrest of Shariful Islam Shihab, a member of the banned Islamic group -- Ansarullah Bangla Team -- from Kushtia, an official said.

"Shihab supplied weapons to the killers. We got some important information after he was remanded twice in custody. He is now in prison," bdnews24 quoted an official as saying.

Xulhaz, 35, was a USAID official and also editor of Bangladesh's first LGBT magazine Roopbaan.

Xulhaz was also a cousin of former Foreign Minister and ruling Awami League Joint General Secretary Dipu Moni.

He studied international relations at the Dhaka University and joined the US embassy in 2007 before taking up what would turn out to be his last assignment at USAID.

Tonoy, 26, was involved with the theatre group Lok Natyadal. He worked as a drama trainer for children at an organisation going by the name of PTA.

Al-Qaeda in the Indian Subcontinent (AQIS) terrorist group claimed responsibility for the killings.

The two were murdered for being "pioneers of practicing and promoting homosexuality in Bangladesh," tweeted Mufti Abdullah Ashraf, spokesperson for Ansar Al Islam, AQIS's chapter in Bangladesh.

The anti-terror unit of the police arrested Shihab from Kushtia 19 days after the attack. He had been "hiding there" after the "killings" in Dhaka "Police have gathered information on the killers after arresting and interrogating members of Ansar Al Islam on various occasions. Then they identified the killers of Xulhaz and Tonoy," a police official said.

"The killers are in the country. The effort to arrest them is ongoing," the police official added, bdnews24 reported.

For nearly two years, machete-wielding assailants in Bangladesh have killed secular bloggers, authors, publishers, teachers and religious minorities in the country.

Responsibility for most of the murders was claimed by the AQIS or the Islamic State terrorist group.
Damascus, Aug 5 : At least 150 Islamic State militants were killed on Friday when the Syrian army foiled an attack in Deir al-Zour province.

The army countered the IS attacks on military positions in the Tal Bruk in the countryside of Deir al-Zour, Xinhua news agency cited.

The IS controls much of the countryside of Deir al-Zour province, except the city which is still under government control but besieged by the IS, and has repeatedly carried out attacks against government positions in the oil-rich province.

Russian aircraft frequently carry out airdrops of aid and food to the besieged people in that city.
Imphal, Aug 5 : Two persons -- a Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) personnel and a two-year-old baby -- were seriously wounded after a powerful bomb exploded near the State Museum, adjacent to Raj Bhavan here in Manipur capital on Friday, officials said.

The injured personnel and the baby were rushed to hospital where their condition is stated to be stable.

The blast comes at a time when the police and paramilitary forces had beefed up security measures all over the state ahead of the Independence Day celebrations.

Some cars parked near the blast site were damaged by the impact.

Police sources told IANS that no underground organisation has claimed responsibility.

"Within minutes of the blast at 5.40 p.m., we cordoned off the areas for a search operation. However, no suspect could be accounted for. We are conducting operations round the clock," a police officer said.
New Delhi, Aug 5 : Following media reports that private laboratories and hospitals were overcharging patients for dengue tests, the Union Health Ministry has issued an advisory to all states to cap the cost of dengue diagnostic tests in private hospitals at Rs 600.

The information was given by Minister of State for Health Faggan Singh Kulaste in a written reply to the Lok Sabha on Friday.

"To regulate the cost of diagnosis of dengue by the private laboratories and some hospitals, government has taken action by issuing advisory to all states and UTs on July 5, 2016 for capping the cost of dengue diagnostic tests in the private sector/hospitals to not more than Rs 600 per test," Kulaste said.

On July 29, Health Minister J.P. Nadda told the Lok Sabha that there were 21 deaths due to dengue till July 24, and 70 people died on account of Japanese Encephalitis, in addition to 57 people succumbing to malaria.

Nadda also said eight advisories were issued to states since January.

In another written reply, Nadda informed the lower house that committees have been set up to facilitate filling up of vacancies in the six new All India Institutes of Medical Sciences (AIIMS).

He said the AIIMS at Jodhpur, Rishikesh, Bhopal, Patna, Bhubaneshwar and Raipur have been advised to fill up posts.

All the new AIIMS have been providing quality treatment and services to patients, he said.
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New Delhi, Aug 5 : It will take a little time to ascertain the exact number of Indian workers in Saudi Arabia affected by a financial crisis, the government said on Friday.

"I think we have to wait for a little more time before we can have full clarity as to how many Indians want to return, how many want to remain there and wish to pursue employment with other companies etc.," External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Vikas Swarup said in his weekly media briefing here.

There was confusion over the number of Indian workers affected in the Gulf kingdom after External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj said on July 30 that over 10,000 such workers were affected.

On August 2, the External Affairs Ministry said that in all 7,700 Indian workers belonging to four companies have been affected.

On August 3, however, after Minister of State for External Affairs V.K. Singh landed in Saudi Arabia and held a meeting with Saudi Minister for Labour and Social Development Mufrej Al Haqbani, it transpired that workers of only one company have been affected.

Swarup said that the Indian consulate in Jeddah has already given the list of workers willing to come back to India and those seeking transfer to other companies to Saudi authorities.

"As you can see, due to our excellent relationship with Saudi Arabia and efforts made at the highest level, things are in control and this humanitarian issue is being handled with utmost care and consideration," he said.

He stated that the issue was being addressed under four broad rubrics: humanitarian issues; issues of the claims of the workers; relocation issue; and repatriation issues.

The spokesperson said after Singh's meetings, from Thursday onwards, the Saudi government has already taken responsibility of provision of food to the workers.

Singh, he said, had also pointed that care should be taken regarding the conditions in which the workers were living in, with special focus on their health and cleanliness.

"The Director General of the Ministry of Labour and social development met with our Consul General in Jeddah and assured him that the Saudi government has instructed concerned authorities to maintain cleanliness, provide electricity, water supply and medical facilities at the camps in which Indians are staying," Swarup stated.

As for claims of workers, Swarup said that earlier, in accordance to Saudi law, individual complaints used to go to labour courts.

"Now, the KSA (Kingdom of Saudi Arabia) Ministry of Labour has set up a committee to look into the claims of the workers," he said.

"A crisis management group has also been set up by the Ministry of Labour to settle all issues related to Indian workers. KSA Ministry of labour will now appoint a lawyer and we will know the exact procedure regarding this in the next two-three days."

Swarup also said that the Saudi authorities have conveyed that they were willing to renew resident permits and labour cards to the Indian workers willing to stay back without any fines or fees.

"Workers who are willing to be transferred to other employers would be transferred without payment of fee or charge and without needing the consent of the current employer," he said.

"Workers who wish to transfer their services can request the Ministry of Labour for grant of a three-month temporary resident permit-cum-labour card."

The spokesperson said that many companies, including some Indian construction firms, were interested in taking the services of the retrenched workers.

As for those workers wishing to return to India, he said the Saudi government has said that it would make the necessary arrangements.

"The workers can authorise the Indian consulate in Jeddah to follow up on their cases in labour courts and proceed on exit if they wish," Swarup said.

"The Saudi authorities have ensured speeding up of the final exit for these workers," he stated, but added there would be a lag with which all workers would give their applications and issuance of transfer permits would also have to be carried out .
New Delhi, Aug 5 : The Delhi High Court on Friday refused to interfere on the ban on the telecast of controversial BBC documentary "India's Daughter" on the December 16, 2012 gang rape.

A division bench of Chief Justice G. Rohini and Justice Jayant Nath refused to pass any order to lift the ban imposed by the central government on telecast of the documentary saying the matter is pending before the competent court of law and investigation is still in progress.

The bench disposed of the petitions while leaving it open to the trial court to proceed with the matter by following due process of law.

The court had earlier refused to pass any interim order on the plea against prohibition to telecast the documentary.

The central government had earlier told the court that the excerpts of documentary contained an interview with one of the convicted rapists of the December 16 gang rape case and his "chauvinistic and derogatory views" regarding women in general and the victim in particular.

The court order came on three public interest litigations (PILs) filed last year for revocation of the ban on the documentary's telecast.

Banning the telecast of the documentary, the central government had said that the telecast will provide a platform for the convict to use the media to further his own case, especially when his appeal against his conviction is sub-judice.

The appeals of convicts are pending before the Supreme Court, which had put on hold the execution of the four convicts in the case.

The documentary about the gang rape of a 23-year-old trainee physiotherapist, who was brutally assaulted on December 16, 2012 in a moving bus in Delhi, had kicked up a storm after one of the convicts, Mukesh Singh, was interviewed in Delhi's Tihar Jail.

The documentary also has comments from the convicts' counsel A.P. Singh and M.L. Sharma, who allegedly made derogatory remarks against women.

The ban on the telecast of the documentary in all formats had caused an uproar in India.

The PILs had said the ban on the documentary was in clear violation of fundamental rights under Article 19 of the Constitution, and sought direction to declare as illegal the act of banning the documentary by the home ministry, the information and broadcasting ministry, and the Delhi Police commissioner.

The central government had issued an advisory to ban the broadcast of the documentary and the trial court had also banned it until further orders.
Guwahati, Aug 5 : The Assam government will deal with the militants involved in Friday's the attack very sternly, Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal said and directed the state police to be on high alert in view of upcoming Independence Day celebrations.

Sonowal has asked Assam DGP Mukesh Sahai to put all the Deputy Commissioners (DCs) and Superintendents of Police (SPs) across the state on high alert.

Sonowal also warned that the militants involved in the attack in Kokrajhar that left 13 people dead will be dealt with very sternly.

He directed the police chief to beef up security and to launch a vigorous drive to apprehend those behind the killing. He asked the DGP to instill a sense of security among the people and to ensure that peace prevails in Kokrajhar.

"We will not tolerate any threat from any group. The government will not bow to any pressure while tackling terrorist groups," Sonowal said on Friday.

Assam DGP Mukesh Sahai went to Kokrajhar along with DG Special (law and order) R.M. Singh to take stock of the situation.

The Chief Minister asked Minister for Health & Family Welfare Himanta Biswa Sarma to visit the site of the incident.

He asked the district administration of Kokrajhar to ensure that the injured persons get proper free treatment and to shift the seriously injured to Guwahati Medical College and Hospital for immediate treatment.

A medical team from Guwahati was sent to Kokrajhar for proper care and treatment of the injured.

The Chief Minister also announced ex gratia of Rs. 5 lakh to the next kin of those killed in the attack on Friday.
Panaji, Aug 5 : Goa Police is monitoring the movement of Kashmiris as well as refugees from the IS-affected regions, Chief Minister Laxmikant Parsekar said on Friday.

Parsekar also said that intelligence inputs indicated that Goa was an "important target for terrorism" and social media was being tracked for radicalisation and potential lone wolf attackers.

The anti-terrorism squad (ATS) "is keeping track on migrants, tenants, servants, individuals of Jammu and Kashmir throughout the state of Goa who may try to penetrate into the state with ulterior motives and disrupt the internal security of the state", Parsekar told the assembly.

"ATS is tracking down foreigners overstaying in Goa, especially those nationals from ... the conflict zone of IS-led terror," he added.

Parsekar said a ban on drones and paragliding had also been ordered after it was revealed that an Indian Mujahideen suspect had trained in the latter.

"ATS has managed to bring a ban on flying of drones and paragliding in Goa to thwart any covert activities from anti-social elements," Parsekar said.

"Keeping in mind the present security scenario globally, ATS Goa is gearing up in all possible ways to tackle and face all eventualities in the state," Parsekar said.

"ATS technical wing is monitoring online activities on social media to tackle any type of radicalisation efforts, to influence youth to carry out lone wolf attacks and other subversive activities," he said.

Goa is one of the top beach tourism destinations in the world, which is popular with European tourists.
New Delhi, Aug 5 : The government is all set to table the amended GST bill in Lok Sabha for passage on Monday with Prime Minister Narendra Modi likely to intervene in the debate.

The government has listed the bill for the next week's legislative business in the lower house.

The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has also issued a whip asking its members to be present in the house.

"The party whip has been issued for our MPs to be present in the house on Monday, August 8. The GST bill is likely to be taken up for consideration," a party source told IANS here.

The Prime Minister, who was under attack by the Opposition parties, especially the Congress, for his absence during the passage of the bill in the Rajya Sabha, is likely to intervene in the Lok Sabha, sources said.

The Rajya Sabha had on Wednesday unanimously passed the bill with amendments to enable consensus on the measure. The bill, which had previously been passed by the Lok Sabha, is now to go back to the lower house, where it is likely to get the nod easily as the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) has adequate numbers there.

Targeting Modi for not being present in either house of parliament when the GST bill was taken up, the Congress had said on Thursday that it was for the first time in independent India that a constitutional amendment bill was discussed, debated and passed without the Prime Minister being present.
New Delhi/Islamabad, Aug 5 : Following reports of repeated attacks on an Indian prisoner lodged in a Pakistani jail, the government on Friday said it has reiterated its request to the Pakistan government for consular access to the victim.

Hamid Nehal Ansari was attacked twice in the Peshawar Central Prison in the last two months, Dawn online quoted his lawyer as telling a court on Thursday. The lawyer said a jail official also daily thrashed Ansari.

Jail Superintendent Masoodur Rehman, however, argued that the injuries were of minor nature and that such incidents "kept happening" in prisons.

External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Vikas Swarup said in his weekly media briefing in New Delhi that a petition was filed in the Peshawar High Court earlier following earlier reports that Hamid Ansari was attacked in prison.

"Through our high commission in Islamabad, the government has also raised the matter of Ansari's well being and his early release," he stated.

"We have also reiterated our earlier stand and request for consular access and ask the government of Pakistan to allow him to speak to his family."

Ansari, serving a three-year term, is kept in a death cell. Superintendent Rehman said in his statement in the court that the Indian "can't be kept in a normal barrack with other prisoners for the sake of his security".

Ansari's lawyer said he wanted security for his client but the jail official had refused to give such a guarantee.

The official had promised to shift Ansari to a hospital after the attack but did not do so. The lawyer also alleged that a prison warder used to beat Ansari daily.

Ansari, who reportedly possessed a fake Pakistani identity card, was arrested by intelligence agencies in Kohat district in November 2012. He was convicted by a military court in February this year.
Ahmedabad, Aug 5 : After four days of intense discussions, the BJP on Friday named Vijay Rupani as Gujarat's 16th Chief Minister, delivering a surprise along with it by naming the senior-most cabinet minister Nitin Patel as his Deputy.

The decision was taken at a meeting of the Bharatiya Janata Party legislature party chaired by party President Amit Shah with Union Minister Nitin Gadkari and MP Saroj Pandey as observers.

Anandiben Patel, the first woman Chief Minister of Gujarat, had announced her resignation in a surprise Facebook post on Monday. She had come under widespread criticism following the Patidar agitation for job quotas.

Anandiben had claimed she was putting in her papers to honour the unwritten code among BJP leaders to quit public posts at 75. Gujarat will hold assembly election next year -- the first after Narendra Modi, who was Chief Minister from 2001, moved to New Delhi as Prime Minister in 2014.

The suave soft-spoken Rupani, a Jain-Baniya, is presently the party's Gujarat unit president and a cabinet minister. Health Minister and government spokesperson Nitin Patel is a grassroots rustic Patel leader.

Both are 60 years of age but Patel is way senior to Rupani in political experience and running the government. Rupani was also a cabinet minister, besides being the party chief.

The announcement of Rupani's name has come as a surprise since Patel was being presumed the final choice and had even started giving veiled interviews to Gujarati news channels.

Sweets were distributed and crackers burst in his Mehsana district and Kadi constituency.

By 4.45 p.m., newspaper offices had started receiving email and fax with Patel's bio-data. TV channels had even got Patel's wife on camera.

Indications of last-minute change came when the meeting that was largely meant to formally announce the new name in front of all the legislators at 4 p.m. got delayed by nearly two hours.

Patel had emerged as the consensus candidate because he is a Patel, from North Gujarat and has handled a variety of ministries, while legging it out at the grassroots party level.

"He was not a favourite or the chosen one but probably a no-other-alternative decision in the present circumstances," a party leader said.

Rupani's announcement as the state president in February this year was also considered a surprise decision. It was said he was soft-spoken, did not represent any caste aspirations and a friendly person like him was needed given the Anandiben and Amit Shah factions in the government.

Sources said this logic finally prevailed even when making him the Chief Minister though it is believed the decision had more to do with internal politicking. It is said Nitin Patel was outgoing Chief Minister Anandiben Patel's choice while Rupani was believed to be Amit Shah's preference.

Rupani, who holds an LLB degree, is not only close to Modi and Amit Shah but also believed to have maintained the right links with the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Singh since he started is career from the Sangh's student wing Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad.
Thiruvananthapuram, August 05 : The denial of diplomatic passport to local self-government Minister K T Jaleel by the union government to go to Saudi Arabia has snowballed into a major row.

Bharatiya Janata Party Kerala unit president Kummanam Rajasekharan came down on Jaleel and the State government attributing political motives behind the ministers decision to apply for diplomatic passport.

This (ministers request for diplomatic passport) is but part of a political move to criticise the union government, Kummanam told reporters Friday.

Diplomatic passports are issued only to officials associated with the external affairs ministry, Kummanam averred, adding that the State government requested the visa despite knowing that the request would turned down by the centre.

Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Friday dubbed the central governments decision to turn down the States request for a diplomatic passport for its minister mysterious and unfortunate.

The State government decided to dispatch minister K T Jaleel to Saudi Arabia at the instance of relatives of Keralite workers who are languishing in labour camps in the Gulf nation after they were laid off.

The Congress party also took exception to the centres decision not to grant diplomatic visa to Jaleel with opposition leader and party stalwart Ramesh Chennithala demanding that the union government immediately take steps to issue the passport to the minister.

Congress parliamentarian K C Venugopal moved notice for an adjournment motion in the Lok Sabha Friday morning seeking an explanation from the union government on the issue but the chair denied him permission to raise the issue.

Minister K T Jaleel told news channels on Friday that he has postponed the visit to Saudi Arabia in the wake of denial of diplomatic passport to him by the centre.

He added that from his interactions with the officials at the centre, he could gather that the centre seemed to be disinclined to the idea of a sending a delegation from Kerala to Saudi Arabia.

The State government decided to send the minister to Saudi Arabia to examine first-hand the plight of workers from Kerala languishing in labour camps there since there was uncertainty over the number of Keralites in the camps and the situation there.
Kolkata, Aug 5 : The West Bengal government is approaching the central government seeking to take over the probe of theft of Rabindranath Tagore's Nobel Prize medallion, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said on Friday.

"If the state government is given the responsibility, we can endeavour to retrieve the medallion. That is why are approaching the centre," said Banerjee after holding an administrative meeting in Burdwan district.

Chief Secretary Basudeb Banerjee said the state government will be writing to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) which was entrusted with the probe.

"If CBI cannot, we can look for Tagore's Nobel," Mamata had said on Thursday during a visit to the Tagore founded Visva Bharati University at Santiniketan in Birbhum district.

The sensational theft of the medallion and 47 other memorabilia from Rabindra Bhawan at Santiniketan came to light on March 25, 2004.

The investigation was handed over to the CBI which after three years of fruitless probe, closed the case in August 2007, only to reopen it subsequently in September, 2008.

Failing to make much of a headway, the agency closed the case again in 2010.
New Delhi, Aug 5 : Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal on Friday met Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh and briefed them about the situation in Assam where at least 13 people were killed by militants.

Sonowal, in his meeting with Modi, also urged him to bail out the state from recurring floods and erosion especially against the backdrop of recent floods in the state, Assam government sources said here.

Assam has as many as 1,250 river embankments covering a distance of around 5,000 KM built over 30 years ago and most of them have outlived their utility and need immediate repairing, the sources said.

Sonowal also sought PM's help in strengthening the embankments as "a strong network".

He also informed that after BJP came to power in Assam, business houses have shown interests for making investment in the state.

The Chief Minister also briefed Modi on the India-Bangladesh fencing issue and requested that the construction work be handed over to to the army as was done along the India-Pakistan border in Jammu and Kashmir, sources said.

He also informed briefed Home Minister Rajnath Singh on the Kokrajhar violence. The central government has assured full assistance to the state government to deal with the situation.

Following the violence at the Bodo stronghold, Sonowal has cut short his visit to the national capital and returned to the state.

Authorities in Assam have blamed the "anti-talk faction" of the National Democratic Front of Bodoland (NDFB) led by I.K. Songbijit, who carries a reward of Rs 10 lakh on his head, for the massacre.
Islamabad, Aug 6 : In yet another attack on miniorities in Pakistan, a 56-year old doctor belonging to the Hindu community was shot dead in Karachi, it was reported on Friday.

"Pireetam Das was sitting in his clinic located in Hasrat Mohani Colony at midnight on Thursday when someone attacked him," Akhtar Farooq, SSP Investigation said.

The police official added the doctor's attendant had gone to buy a mobile card when the doctor was attacked in the Pak Colony area of the metropolis late Thursday.

"Hearing the gunshot, the assistant rushed to the clinic and found the doctor bleeding," added Farooq.

SSP Investigation said the suspect(s) did not take any valuables. He added police were investigation the incident.

Earlier, two members of the Hindu community were among three people shot dead in an attack on a wine shop in the Abbas Town area of the metropolis.
Islamabad, Aug 6 : Top Pakistani foreign advisor on Friday requested MAdecins Sans FrontiAres (MSF) - commonly known as "Doctors Without Borders" - to immediately provide medical assistance to thousands of people injured in the Kashmir Valley due to "state aggression by Indian forces".

Adviser to Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on Foreign Affairs Sartaj Aziz made the formal request by writing a letter to the international president of MSF, highlighting the state of medical emergency in Jammu and Kashmir, said a statement issued by the foreign ministry.

It further notified MSF that the emergency situation in the Kashmir developed as a "result of the atrocious Indian brutalities against unarmed and defenseless civilians".

Aziz particularly emphasised the urgent need of eye surgeons, as hundreds of people were suffering from severe eye injuries caused by the use of pellet guns on peaceful protesters.

Main hospitals in the improverished valley are struggling to treat hundreds of patients wounded in clashes by security forces, and many injured people have lost their eyesight from shotgun injuries.

Clashes in the Valley have erupted after security forces gunned down top Kashmiri militant Burhan Wani on July 8, nearly 60 people have been killed and thousands have been injured with many having life threatening wounds.
Paris, Aug 6 : The iconic Eiffel Tower in Paris has been evacuated, according to reports on social media. Visitors have been posting pictures online of police cordoning off the entrance area.

Witnesses say that police and military forces are "all over" the place. However, no panic was reported and the cause of the evacuation remains unknown.
United Nations, Aug 6 : Portugal's former Prime Minister Antonio Guterres maintained his lead in the second round of informal voting by the Security Council Friday for Secretary General, confounding expectations that a woman would ascend to the world's top diplomatic job.

But this time he also received two negative votes and could be out of the running if one of them was from a permanent member.

The 14 men representing their countries on the 15-member council gave the second spot to another man, Vuk Jeremic, the former Serbian foreign minister. The only woman on the Council is US Permanent Representative Samantha Power.

Moving up to the third spot in the informal balloting called the straw pool was Susana Malcorra, the Argentine foreign minister and former chief of staff of Secretary General Ban Ki-moon. Irina Bokova of Bulgaria, who heads UNESCO, slipped to the fifth place from the third last time.

Although the Council backtracked on expectations of transparency by refusing to disclose the voting in the veil of secrecy was ripped by leaks within minutes of the straw poll ending. The World Federation of United Nations Associations The president of the General Assembly Mogens Lykketoft declared, "The lack of transparency is undignified for the UN and for the candidates."

Malaysia's Permanent Representative Ramlan Bin Ibrahim, who presides over the Council this month announced that 11 candidate took part in the straw poll abuta Arefused to announce the results, adding that Lykketoft would only be told the ballot had taken place.

Earlier in the week he reiterated the secrecy policy saying it was to take into account the "sensitivities of the candidates" and their "comfort level."

The election process set a precedent for openess awhen it began with all the candidates were announced publicly and made to face questions from the UN members as well as from civil society groups. But with polls, the Council reverted to its tradition of secrecy raising the ire of Lykketoft and others.

The straw polls follow a complicated system of three types of votes, "Encourage," Discouragea and "No Opinion." The system of coloured ballots to distinguish the veto-powered votes of the permanent members was not used.

Gutteres, who has also been the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, received 11 positive and two negative votes, while in the last round he did not get any "discouragea ballots. Malcorra got eight positive and six negatives, while Bokova had seven positive and negative votes.

The changes in the standings from the July straw poll reflect the subterranean lobbying and negotiations that are heating up as the election process gets more serious.a Several more rounds of straw polls will be held before a candidate acceptable to a Council majority and to all the permanent members finally emerges. These polls are designed to winnow the field and one candidate, Vesa Pusic, the Deputy Speaker of Croatia's parliament, dropped out on Thursday.

Her statement on why she quit the race gave an inkling of how the election process is shaping up. "After the first straw poll at the UN Security Council it became clear that the election of a new Secretary General will go into the direction of a candidate from the organisation itself -- a person who works or has worked at the United Nations," she said.

By tradition the office of the Secretary General rotates geographically and this time it is the turn of a European. None of the three from Europe so far has been from the East, and countries from that region have staked a claim.

There has also been a major push to elect a woman for the first time. Last year Power, when she presided over the Council, and Lykketoft specifically called for women to be nominated for the job.

Bokova, who fits the bill as a woman from East Europe, is likely to face opposition from the US and Malcorra, who is from outside that region, from Russia.

There is speculation that one of the negative votes for Gutteres was from Moscow as Portugal is a NATO member. Asked on Monday if he would cast a "Discourage" vote for him, Russia's Permanent Representative Vitaly Churkin told reporters cryptically, "Why should I? He's such a good man."

(Arul Louis can be reached at arul.l@ians.in)
Average rental values in prime central London continued to rise on an annual basis in early 2019 as a result of declining levels of supply, according to the latest residential real estate analysis.

The increase was 1.1% in the year to March while in prime outer London average rents were flat following two years of declines, the latest review report from real estate firm Knight Frank shows.

It also shows that the number of letting listings in prime central London declined by 6.3%, however, this was the most modest decline experienced in over 18 months and is a reflection of a growing number of landlords re-listing their properties on the market after attempting a sale.

Although there is evidence of decline, the analysis reveals that overall tenant demand remains strong. The number of new prospective tenants per listing was 5.6 in March, the highest figure since January 2018.

Average annual rental values increased by 4.3% between 250 and 500 per week in the year to March 2019 while the number of lettings listings fell by 6.3% and the number of total available listings fell by 14.3%.

According to Tom Bill, head of London residential research at Knight Frank, tax changes for landlords have prompted some to leave the rental sector. The latest proposed change could lead to the end of so-called Section 21 notices, which has created uncertainty over how some tenancies will be legally brought to an end.

Meanwhile, the number of buy to let mortgages issued in the UK is about 40% lower than it was before an additional 3% stamp duty surcharge was introduced in April 2016. However, while the number of new lettings listings declined 6.3% in the year to March, it was the most modest decline in over 18 months.

This is due to a growing number of landlords who have re-listed their properties on the lettings market after attempting a sale. Political uncertainty has curbed activity and pricing in the sales market, which means some vendors have not been able to achieve their asking price, said Bill.

An analysis of lettings supply shows that supply reductions been more marked in lower price brackets, which suggests there is a greater financial imperative to sell for landlords of comparatively lower value properties, he pointed out.

While total available listings across London declined 14.3% in the year to March, there was a 3.5% increase for properties rented for more than 1,000 per week. Above 3,000 per week there was a 15% increase, Rightmove data shows.

Bill explained that this discrepancy in supply levels between price bands explains why rental value growth was stronger in lower price brackets in the year to March.

Rental values between 250 and 500 per week grew 4.3% whereas there was a 0.7% decline between 1,500 and 2,000.

Overall, tenant demand remains strong. The number of new prospective tenants per listing was 5.6 in March, the highest figure since January 2018, which is likely to keep upwards pressure on rental values across all price brackets, Bill added.
A new collaboration between United Way of Dane County and Madison-area technology experts will create a strategic plan focusing on how United Way can better use data, analytics and technology for community impact.

The eight-member Technology Task Force will guide United Ways plans for technology and data on several fronts, including:



Data-based evaluations of program impacts and effectiveness.

Data-backed support for prioritizing efforts to meet current community needs.

Better engagement with volunteers and donors.

Madison has a thriving big data community, according to Jordan Barrette, a member of the Task Force and chief operating officer at MIOsoft, a Madison-based data quality and analytics software company. But conversations about big data often focus exclusively on its business role.

If youre not in the tech industry, its not always clear how Madisons big data community can be relevant to you, said Barrette. We jumped at the chance to work with United Way and show how a partnership between them and the big data community here can directly benefit everyone in Dane County.

The Task Forces recommendations will support United Ways pursuit of its strategic goals, which revolve around improving education, income, health and civic engagement throughout Dane County.

Increased use and analysis of data will make it possible for us to address the communitys needs, so Dane County can be a place where everyone succeeds, said Renee Moe, United Ways President and CEO. Our community  donors, volunteers and those working toward stability  deserve programs and resources that are both effective and proven to have an impact.

Task Force members are enthusiastic about the prospect of creating a vision for United Ways data and analytics, but acknowledge that it might be a challenging road.

Embracing big data and other new technologies isnt a simple process for any organization, said Barrette. Were lucky to be in a community where United Way is ready to take on this challenge for the greater good.

Task Force members are: Carl Grinstead, chair (American Family Insurance); Jordan Barrette (MIOsoft); Bradley Clerkin (BreakFree Solutions); Josh Herritz (MIOsoft); Anton Kapela (5Nines); Tamara Knickmeier (American Family Insurance); Daniel Ovokaitys (First Business Financial Services); Hernan Tocuyo (M3 Insurance).

The Technology Task Forces report is expected in November 2016.

About MIOsoft Corporation

MIOsoft turns raw data into meaningful, actionable information. Since its founding in 1998, MIOsoft's technology has helped organizations at many scalesfrom startup companies to Global 2000 enterprisessolve their biggest data quality and analytics challenges. For more information, visit http://www.miosoft.com.

About United Way of Dane County

United Way of Dane County is committed to the vision of a Dane County where everyone can succeed in school, work and life. Our communitys Agenda for Change are six goals focused on three priority areas of Education, Income and Health  the building blocks of a stable life. Through strategic partnerships and collaborative work, we are bringing the many voices of Dane County around a neutral table to find common ground and make progress, while providing organizations and individuals the opportunity to give, advocate and volunteer to change lives in Dane County. For more information, visit http://www.unitedwaydanecounty.org.

Revised Aug. 5, 2016: Bradley Clerkin is at BreakFree Solutions, not Slalom Consulting. Renee Moe stated that United Way would "address" the community's needs, not "achieve".
Dynamark Security Centers Team We are 100% committed to our dealers continued growth and success through our continuous reinvestment in state-of-the-art technology as well as our investment is an outstanding team which comprises some of the best people in the industry.

Dynamark Security and its sister company, FAST Distribution, moved their corporate headquarters to the newly renovated site of its UL, CSAA Five Diamond central station in a 28,000 sq. ft. facility in Hagerstown, MD late in June. Company President and CEO, Trey Alter, said the move will improve efficiencies and enhance its ability to serve the companies dealers and customers.

Dynamarks monitoring center has been located at this owned facility for more than five years where it has experienced exponential growth in both the number of dealers and customers monitored. The combined companies serve more than 400 dealers coast to coast and are rapidly approaching service to 100,000 customers nationally.

Alter stated, Our company and recognized brand has a 40 year proven track record in the security industry. We have a dedicated and experienced leadership team with a demonstrated history of extraordinary customer service. We are 100% committed to our dealers continued growth and success through our continuous reinvestment in state-of-the-art technology as well as our investment is an outstanding team which comprises some of the best people in the industry. Alter further stated his company is well positioned to offer alarm dealers a full complement of services including, account funding, state-of-the-art monitoring services, award winning sales and marketing support, the industrys best products, strategic planning and highly lucrative, customized exit strategies.

The company has been implementing an aggressive growth strategy in recent years, according to Senior Vice President of Sales, Hank Groff, who has established sales offices in Jacksonville, FL and Phoenix, AZ as well as Hagerstown. We are actively seeking dealers who want to grow their businesses. We are a full service shop for alarm dealers with a complete menu of services to help alarm company owners earn more profits as well as enhance the value of their businesses. We treat our dealers as partners, not just as customers. Prior to joining Dynamark 3 years ago, Groff was National Director of Dealer Operations at Guardian Protection Services.

The companys monitoring center has long been recognized as one of the premier central stations in the nation. It is licensed and operates in 42 states, and prides itself that theyre one of the fastest and most accurate response times in the industry. Dynamarks Senior Vice President of Monitoring Operations, Keith Godsey, said, The team we have here at Dynamark is the best I have ever worked with during my 38 years in this business. We handle nearly two million events each month with incredible accuracy and speed. Our operators undergo extensive training and all are certified under the internationally recognized CSAA program. Godsey has led the monitoring center since its inception. During his long history in the industry, he has held top leadership positions at Devcon, ADT, and T1.

Dynamark is also seeking other central stations for acquisition and partnering opportunities. The company successfully acquired and integrated a central station in Ohio and is actively looking to expand its national footprint. For more information, contact Dynamark at hgroff(at)dynamarkmonitoring(dot)com or visit DynamarkMonitoring.com.
Kelly Donahue-Piro, President Agency Performance Partners I wanted to help solve a major problem in the insurance industry, which is delivery high quality training and interaction to all levels of employees inside of independent insurance agencies.

Four times a year, Agency Performance Partners selects a deserving nonprofit organization to benefit from its Webinars for a Cause series. Their most recent webinar, broadcast on July 20, 2016, was successful in raising $1,650 for DVIC, a Florida-based group that offers disabled veterans job training, job opportunities, and the possibility of an enriching career in the insurance industry.

The webinar, hosted by Brent Kelly from BizzGrizz who spoke on the topic of Creating Connection in your Agency, asked for $25 per location of login to benefit DVIC. Over 50 people from all over the nation  even one from Canada  logged in to hear Brent speak and to make a contribution toward DVICs mission.

DVIC is providing meaningful career opportunities for our heroes who have risked everything for our country. We are truly grateful to all of our supporters and friends in the insurance industry who have helped make this possible, said Gary Bryant, President and CEO of DVIC.

Agency Performance Partners will host their next Webinars for a Cause event, Handling Rate Increases, on October 12, 2016 at 2:00 p.m. As October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month, all proceeds will go to benefit the Terri Brodeur Foundation, a nonprofit that helps fight breast cancer by directing 100% of gross fundraising dollars to breast cancer research.

I wanted to help solve a major problem in the insurance industry, which is delivery high quality training and interaction to all levels of employees inside of independent insurance agencies, said Kelly Donahue-Piro, President of Agency Performance Partners. One of our goals this year was to create a way to raise funds for important causes, and creating Webinars for a Cause was our way of helping our community and facilitating a way for great agents to interact across the country.

To register for Agency Performance Partners next webinar, please visit https://www.agencyperformancepartners.com/webinars-cause-breast-cancer-awareness/

About Agency Performance Partners

Agency Performance Partners workers in partnership with insurance entrepreneurs to help them solve their biggest leadership, sales, service, and marketing challenges. Acting as far more than simple consultants, Agency Performance Partners establishes an elevated partnership with insurance agencies to build and implement programs that boost revenues, profits, team unity, and fun. Agencies that work with Agency Performance Partners are not viewed as clients  they are considered to be partners in performance and success.
Vistatec is pleased to announce the appointment of Brian Gallant as Director of Sales for North America. Brian joins Vistatec having established himself in strategic business development with several companies including Lionbridge, and more recently, Moravia.

While enhancing the globalization strategies for many of the most renowned brands in the world, Brian thrives on challenges, particularly those that expand his companys reach to enter into new industries and emerging markets.

Michele Smith Vistatec Senior Vice President, New Business, Worldwide commented Brian is an experienced localization professional who brings with him a wealth of knowledge and experience to the Vistatec global team.

After a decade of providing IT solutions and print automation as a partner and senior manager, Brian transitioned his skills to provide localization solutions to many blue-chip and Fortune 500 companies throughout the globe. Brian is also engaged in volunteer work for National Multiple Sclerosis, United Way, and many local charities, including Ho-Bo Care Boxer Rescue, and Loving Hands. Brian has a team-first attitude, and a dedication to building true client partnerships.

Upon joining Vistatec, Brian commented I joined Vistatec because of the obvious commitments the senior management team has made to grow the company the right way, with the right people, with an ethical compass that is unmatched in the industry. Vistatec are true leaders in the localization industry.

About Vistatec

Vistatec have been helping some of the worlds most iconic brands to optimize their global commercial potential since 1997. Vistatec is one of the worlds leading localization solutions providers. HQ in Dublin, Ireland, with offices in Mountain View, California, USA.

Media Contact

Simon Hodgkins, Chief Marketing Officer, Vistatec

info(at)vistatec(dot)com
Vistatec is pleased to announce the appointment of Claire Goodswen to the position of Director of Solutions Architecture, USA. Claire, joins the growing team at Vistatec and brings a wealth of experience to the organization. She had previously managed the Global Marketing Solutions team at Lionbridge prior to joining Vistatec.

Claire has been working in the localization world for over seventeen years. Working in sectors such as Travel and Hospitality, Retail, Information Technology and Life Sciences, Claire has helped to build and deploy successful multilingual and digital marketing solutions for industry leading companies.

On her appointment Claire commented I am passionate about the customer experience and focus on helping clients deliver a message that will resonate with their global audience while ensuring their content is culturally appropriate for a specific target market.

Claire is a regular speaker at leading industry events on topics around optimizing content, engaging the consumer and the impact of global content.

Claire is a leading localization professional and we are delighted she has been appointed to the Vistatec global team. Claire will be working with the wider team on delivering winning industry solutions for some of the worlds largest companies. commented Michele Smith, Senior Vice President, New Business, Worldwide at Vistatec.

About Vistatec

We have been helping some of the worlds most iconic brands to optimize their global commercial potential since 1997. Vistatec is one of the worlds leading localization solutions providers. HQ in Dublin, Ireland with offices in Mountain View, California, USA.

Media Contact

Simon Hodgkins, Chief Marketing Officer, Vistatec

info(at)vistatec(dot)com
The National Insurance Restoration Council (NIRC) welcomes North West Roofing to the NIRCs vetted member network as Platinum Preferred Contractor. Founded in 1963, North West Roofing provides commercial and residential property owners throughout Colorado and Kansas with roof repairs, roof replacements, hail damage repairs, emergency services, roofing maintenance programs and free inspections.

We are proud to be certified as a Platinum Preferred Contractor with the NIRC. Our company is dedicated to consistently remaining ahead of the curve with leading accreditations to better serve our property owners, says Tom Brown, CEO and owner of North West Roofing.

The NIRC certification and stringent vetting protocol has set the industry standard for contractor screening and consumer protection. NIRC members are vetted through third party Global Risk Management Solutions. NIRC screens and certifies the best and most experienced licensed contractors throughout the nation who practice ethics, superior workmanship and customer service.

The NIRC is honored to have North West Roofing join our accredited network. With a long standing background, solid history of expertise, quality customer service and community commitment, North West Roofing sets the precedence and raises the bar for industry professionals nationwide, says Joe Radcliff, CEO and president of the National Insurance Restoration Council.

Well respected in the community as a trusted leader, North West Roofing paves the way in educating property owners. Managing Partner Paul Reed helped a homeowner in Jefferson County, Colo. last year who had been scammed by a fraudulent company. Reed quickly stepped up and provided a free roof replacement with the North West Roofing team.

The NIRC is really changing the industry and were glad to be part of this positive movement. Educating property owners throughout the repair process is a major piece of our work, says Paul Reed, Managing Partner at North West Roofing.

The NIRC is a self-regulated entity that provides commercial and residential property owners with a network of exceptional, accredited and vetted industry contractors throughout the nation. Members of the NIRC uphold and set the bar for the industrys ethical and professional standards.

About the National Insurance Restoration Council

Headquartered in Orlando, Florida, the National Insurance Restoration Council (NIRC) is a non-profit organization devoted to protecting and educating property owners and restoration contractors when dealing with insurance claims. The NIRC acts as the principal advocate for improved legislation and case law to protect consumers and contractors when dealing with insurance claims throughout the nation. The NIRC serves the common interest of insurance restoration contractors and protects consumers from unethical contractors. Vetted and certified NIRC certified contractors adhere to a strict code of professional conduct, educate property owners about the insurance restoration process, and give back to communities in storm damaged areas. NIRC certified contractors go through an extensive background check to become members of the Diamond Standard code of business. The NIRC as a self-regulated entity and cooperates with the Department of Insurance (DOI) and other regulatory authorities throughout the United States to improve the ethics of the industry through education and high standards. Learn more at http://www.NIRC4Change.org.

About North West Roofing

Founded in 1963, North West Roofing provides expert roofing repairs, replacements emergency services and maintenance programs to residential and commercial property owners throughout Colorado and Kansas. As a leading expert in the industry, North West Roofing proudly holds prestigious accreditations including Owens Corning Platinum Preferred Contractor, CertainTeed Master Shingle Applicator, Gaco Western Qualified Applicator, Certified GenFlex Roofing System Installer. North West Roofing holds an A+ rating with the BBB and is a proud Platinum Preferred Contractor with the National Insurance Restoration Council (NIRC). Learn more at http://www.NorthWest-Roofing.com.

Media Inquiries:

Vera Anderson

Elev8 Consulting Group

Ph: 386.243.5388

Web: http://www.elev8cg.com

###
Fasten Halberstam LLP (FHLLP), a rapidly growing metro NYC CPA firm, announces the opening of a new office in Massapequa, NY, located at 5260 Merrick Road, effective August 1, 2016. The opening of its new office is part of FHLLPs strategic initiative to build a larger footprint. While FHLLP has been providing services to clients in the NYC area since its inception in 2014, the addition of our new Long Island office is a significant strategic step forward in our ability to provide service more quickly and effectively for those clients.

The firm's new Long Island office will be headed by Anthony Sabella, CPA and will continue the firm's tradition of offering a sophisticated depth of service and client-centric focus into the marketplace. We are thrilled to now have the depth to focus even more on the needs of our clients

About Fasten Halberstam LLP

Fasten Halberstam LLP is a full service accounting firm with offices in NYC, New Jersey and Long Island offering a broad range of services for a diversified clientele across a broad range of industries. The firms partners have over 40 years of experience in all areas of accounting, taxation and business consulting.
Sharon Darcy We thank Sharon for her amazing dedication and determination over the past twenty-three years.- Joseph Tietz, Executive Director

Pathfinders of Oregon is saying goodbye to its founder, Sharon Darcy. Sharon started Pathfinders in 1993 to provide programming for adults incarcerated in Oregons prisons.

Sharon has launched numerous initiatives and filled multiple roles in her time at Pathfinders. In addition to her leadership role when Pathfinders first started, she worked with inmates in its cognitive behavioral program. When the evidence-based Parenting Inside Out program for incarcerated parents was developed by the Oregon Department of Corrections and the Oregon Social Learning Center, Pathfinders partnered with them to deliver the program.

Sharon has long been an advocate for children of incarcerated parents and participated in the early work done in Oregon to understand the issues and obstacles facing these often invisible children. She founded a separate organization, the Childrens Justice Alliance, to advocate for children and families impacted by the incarceration of a parent.

In 2004, the Childrens Justice Alliance partnered with Pathfinders to open its Center for Family Success in the St. Johns area. The Center serves children of criminal justice involved parents through its Mentoring Inside Out program. It serves parents through parenting classes, Family Advocates, and home visiting to help them build parenting skills, navigate systems to reestablish contact with their children after prison, and successfully reintegrate with their families. In 2007, the Center relocated to east Multnomah County to be closer to its clients.

Pathfinders Executive Director, Dr. Joseph Tietz, expressed the sentiments of many in Portland's social service community who have worked with Sharon over the years: We thank Sharon for her amazing dedication and determination over the past twenty-three years. Under her leadership, Pathfinders grew from a tiny, two-staff person, grassroots effort into what it is today - a nationally recognized statewide organization. Sharon plans to continue to advocate for children of incarcerated parents in her retirement.

About Pathfinders of Oregon

Pathfinders of Oregon is a 501(c) 3 organization whose mission is to break the cycle of criminality. Pathfinders has taught programs within the Oregon Department of Corrections for 23 years. In the community it offers programs to families impacted by the criminal justice system through its Center for Family Success in east Multnomah County.
"We expect that the growth driven by the Center of Excellence will double our headcount within the next 12 months." Arnab Sen - Reventics CEO

Reventics, a Denver, Colorado based clinically oriented organization has partnered with India based MathLogic  an emerging Big Data Analytics organization - to setup a Center of Excellence (COE) for Clinical Analytics at its Hyderabad center. Reventics is focused on helping Healthcare Providers in the US improve their financial performance. It will be investing upwards of a million dollars into the COE which is expected to drive a greater share of the rapidly expanding Value Based Care (VBC) market. It is projected that 50%-70% of the insurance payments by private & government payers will switch over to Value Based Care models by 2019.

The US is moving towards greater accountability in Healthcare with a focus on improving outcomes and quality of care while reducing medical costs overall. Reimbursements from the government funded Medicare and Medicaid programs as well from commercial payers are being tied into demonstrable quality improvement by the Providers. While at one end, the reimbursements are being negatively impacted, at the other end the cost of providing services is going up. Additionally providers have an ever increasing need to monitor, improve and report on quality metrics.

In this environment, Reventics model of analytics based financial and clinical engagement presents a much needed solution for the Providers. Using a three pronged delivery model based on clinical solutions, analytical modeling and proprietary technology; Reventics has a unique solution set that translates to high impact, measurable improvement for the Providers  both in terms of decreasing costs and improving clinical outcomes.

Commenting on the partnership, Mr. Arnab Sen, CEO - Reventics said Reventics was on the lookout for an analytics partner with a strong understanding of the US Healthcare space. Given Namits and Anurags prior experience, MathLogic was a natural fit and we are looking forward to the COE creating our next generation solutions for our customers. We feel that with the MathLogic partnership, we will be able to further accelerate our development initiatives and launch our new VBC products by end 2016. We expect that the growth driven by the COE will double our headcount within the next 12 months.

Mr. Namit Agarwal, President- Healthcare-MathLogic said, Healthcare analytics is core to MathLogics growth model. Our experience of working with US Healthcare clients both in the Provider and the Payer space is synergistic with Reventics analytics driven approach to improving clinical and financial outcomes and we are excited to partner with Reventics to co-develop solutions in the emerging Value Based Care space. The Analytics COE will focus on creating a technology enabled scalable model leveraging Indias immense talent pool. Mr. Agarwal is a seasoned healthcare executive who has been at the forefront of building two technology enabled healthcare services companies and joined MathLogic earlier this year with the specific objective of growing the healthcare practice.

Mr Anurag Verma, CEO  MathLogic said At MathLogic, we have been involved with the US Healthcare space for quite a while and have developed capabilities to deal with massive amounts of data in compliance with the special requirements in the Healthcare industry. In Reventics, we have found an ideal partner for reaching out to the wider healthcare market by embedding our data science experience with Reventics products and solutions. It is a win win scenario for both MathLogic and Reventics.
Pomeroy, a global leader in optimizing IT infrastructures, today announced that Brian J. Robinson will join the company as Chief Financial Officer, effective Monday, August 15, 2016. As a member of Pomeroys senior leadership team, Mr. Robinson will be responsible for leading the finance organization, while also leading other core initiatives. He will provide direction and oversight for all related financial functions, including financial reporting and internal controls, tax, financial planning and analysis, and treasury, which includes the companys banking relationships.

Mr. Robinson comes to Pomeroy from General Cable Corporation, where he most recently served as Executive Vice President, Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer since 2007. Over a seventeen-year career at General Cable, he held positions including Vice President and Controller and Assistant Controller, International. Before joining General Cable, Mr. Robinson was an Audit Manager with Deloitte & Touche LLP, working both in the U.S. and abroad.

Pomeroy is fortunate to be gaining such a talented executive as Brian Robinson, said Chris Froman, President and CEO of Pomeroy. Our employees, shareholders, and clients will benefit from his leadership and I am thrilled that he decided to join our thriving organization.

Pomeroy is a highly respected company, one that prides itself on its long-tenured client relationships and high quality service, said Robinson. I am excited to begin this new challenge and I look forward to working with Chris and the team to take Pomeroy to the next level of performance.

About Pomeroy

Pomeroy provides high quality IT infrastructure services from its locations throughout North America, Latin America and Europe. Pomeroy's portfolio of infrastructure managed services includes: End User Services, Network Services, Data Center Services and Cloud Services. Pomeroy also provides staffing services and the full range of procurement & logistics services. Consistently recognized as one of the Top 50 Solution Providers in North America, Pomeroy employs its Optimized Infrastructure Framework(SM), a process-centric approach to working with clients (either remotely or on premise), to assess, plan, design, build, test, implement, manage and ultimately optimize each client's IT infrastructure, leading to the creation of tangible business value and return on their IT investments.
The board of directors for Senior Care Centers (SCC) recently announced the elevation of Andrew Kerr to the position of president and chief financial officer, while Mike Brandley will assume the role of chief operations officer.

Kerr, who previously served as chief financial officer, joined SCC in 2011. Since that time, his oversight of the companys financial, accounting and technology functions has been instrumental in SCCs growth from 34 locations to more than 100. Prior to joining SCC, Kerr served as senior vice president and chief financial officer of Intrepid USA Healthcare Services, a national provider of home health services with $150 million in annual revenues, 90 locations in 22 states and approximately 5,000 employees.

Brandley most recently served as chief operations officer for SCCs Solutions 2 Wellness company. Solutions 2 Wellness includes Senior Rehab Solutions, MBS Rx, Nicoya Lifestyle and Wellness and Aime Hospice Care. Brandley has been with Senior Care Centers since its inception, starting as the president of Senior Rehab Solutions in 2009 and growing the division into a multistate operator with more than 130 locations. Brandley began his career as a physical therapist and is also a licensed Texas nursing facility administrator.

Andrew and Mike bring collaboration, creativity, a desire to grow talent, and a proven ability to strengthen our strategic position while improving operating efficiencies, said John Heller of SCCs board of directors. Our industry is changing rapidly, and in order to thrive, we plan to use our scale and depth of expertise to lead the industry in an array of care services. We believe Andrew and Mike are the right pair to achieve this vision.

Former CEO, Mark McKenzie, has left the company.

Senior Care Centers is the largest nursing home operator in Texas, currently providing care to more than 10,000 residents and employing more than 12,000 individuals.

The company, known for its trademark personalized care, overall high quality care ratings and company focus on staff training, expects to grow its position in Texas and Louisiana by providing patients and residents an array of care services.

# # #

Senior Care Centers, LLC is a Dallas-based, long-term care industry leader in Texas and Louisiana with uncompromising standards measured by defined clinical outcomes, customer service programs and financial sustainability. Senior Care Centers operates and manages more than 90 skilled nursing facilities and more than 10 assisted/independent living facilities in the states of Texas and Louisiana. Senior Rehab Solutions, MBS Pharmacy, SCC Hospice, and Nicoya Health and Wellness provide rehabilitation, pharmacy, hospice and wellness services, respectively, to both its facilities-based patients, as well as its employees.
Paramount WorkPlace has a long history of providing rich functionality with deep, seamless integrations that leverage and extend the power of the Microsoft Dynamics product lines.

Paramount WorkPlace, an advanced web and mobile spend management software solution developer and provider, has been named to the 2016 Presidents Club for Microsoft Dynamics. This achievement is a direct result of Paramount WorkPlaces outstanding dedication to customer satisfaction through the delivery of innovative business management solutions.

Presidents Club honors high-performing partners for their commitment to customers, which is reflected in their business success and growth. This prestigious group represents the top five percent of Microsoft Dynamics partners worldwide. Membership is granted based on their continual, committed efforts aimed at offering solutions that meet the needs of their customers.

This recognition of Presidents Club for Microsoft Dynamics came during Microsoft Worldwide Partner Conference (WPC) 2016, the annual premier partner event, which took place July 10-14 in Toronto, Ontario. WPC provides the Microsoft partner community with the opportunity to learn about the companys road map for the upcoming year, establish connections, share best practices, experience the latest product innovations and learn new skills. Foy Mainor, Vice President of Sales, and Spencer Chambers, Vice President of Product Management & Strategic Initiatives for Paramount WorkPlace attended the Partner Recognition Event and received the award on behalf of the company.

Each year we recognize and honor Microsoft Dynamics partners from around the world for exemplary performance, said Frank Holland, Corporate Vice President, Microsoft Business Solutions Sales & Partners. The award-winning partners clearly demonstrate their dedication to their customers business success through their exceptional commitment and expertise. Microsoft is honored to recognize Paramount WorkPlace for their achievements this past year and for their dedication and support of Microsoft Dynamics applications.

Paramount WorkPlace is dedicated to developing intuitive software solutions that help customers achieve strong ROI throughout the entire organization via automating requisitions, procurement, and expense, and gaining real-time visibility and control while providing a superior user experience. By collaborating with Microsoft Dynamics teams and user groups, Paramount WorkPlace maintains a strong expertise of the Microsoft platform to provide innovative solutions, strong services, and unparalleled value to its customers.

This award recognizes the importance we place on delivering business solutions that directly address the spend management challenges our customers face, said Chris Baird, Chief Technology Officer at Paramount WorkPlace. We are honored to be recognized among an elite group of colleagues.

Paramount WorkPlace has a long history of providing rich functionality with deep, seamless integrations that leverage and extend the power of the Microsoft Dynamics product lines, said Chambers. This recognition reflects our commitment to continued product innovation that is complimented by the close partner and customer relationships within the Dynamics communities that make successful solution delivery possible.

About Paramount WorkPlace

Paramount WorkPlace engineers advanced web-based and mobile spend-management solutions focused on requisition, procurement, and expense for mid-market and enterprise organizations worldwide. With over 750 customers and over 110,000 users, Paramount WorkPlace is recognized both as an intuitive stand-alone solution and as an out-of-the-box seamless integrated extension of Microsoft Dynamics GP, AX, NAV, and SL; Sage 100, 300, and 500; Blackbaud Financial Edge, and Intacct. Paramount WorkPlace is headquartered in the metro Detroit area, with offices in Georgia, North Dakota, Oregon, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, and Ontario, Canada.

Reach us at http://www.paramountworkplace.com or by calling 800-725-4408.
With the ability to improve project delivery and the bottomline, it is time for the industry to come together to discuss how to best leverage this technology.

Carol Stream, Ill.  Aug. 5, 2016  Construction has discovered the secret to improving the bottomline: disruptive technology. Today this comes in the form of 3D printing, augmented reality, drones, wearable devices, and so much more.

The IoT (Internet of Things) is perhaps the next big technology that is disrupting the construction industry. To address this trend, Constructech magazine is pleased to welcome Brenna Berman, chief information officer for the City of Chicago, as a speaker at its annual Technology Day event.

The IoT is set to disrupt how the construction industry does business and this will impact our cities, says Brenna Berman, chief information officer for the City of Chicago. With the ability to improve project delivery and the bottomline, it is time for the industry to come together to discuss how to best leverage this technology.

This half-day event welcomes technology visionaries to address members of the construction industry to discuss the leadingedge technology trends. This years event will be held on Thursday, August 18 at Maggianos Little Italy in Schaumburg, Ill.

As CIO for the City of Chicago, as well as head of the Dept. of Innovation and Technology, Brenna Berman has been the driving force of innovation in city government for past several years. Working directly with the mayor, she has demonstrated how analytic and engineering platforms can create efficiency across a wide variety of projects. She has also pushed the boundaries of what city government is capable of through many commercial and civic partnerships that go beyond her home of Chicago.

Berman, along with Chad Curry, managing director at the Center for REALTOR Technology Labs, will serve as panelists on the IoT: Construction Becomes Connected panel, which will be moderated by Peggy Smedley, editorial director of Constructech magazine, host of The Peggy Smedley Show, and founder of The Peggy Smedley Institute.

Here they will address topics such as wearables, augmented reality, robotics, and other connected devices or platforms that are connecting construction companies to more data, bringing the jobsite and office closer than ever.

Brenna and Chad have amassed knowledge and experience that will further guide the discussion of technology in construction down new paths within building smarter cities and technology at the jobsite, says Smedley. Their unique perspective will widen the lens of what construction companies can accomplish within this new technological landscape.

For a complete overview of Constructechs Technology Day 2016 event, along with registration information and to learn more about this years sponsors Procore and Aconex visit https://constructech.com/tech-day/agenda/

About Constructech magazine

Constructech magazine is where construction and technology converge. The publication influences construction professionals to unleash the business value of technology. constructech.com

About Constructech Technology Day

Constructech Technology Day is a one-day conference that dives into discussions on the use of technology in the construction industry. The conference is open to a wide variety of attendees from project managers, CEOs, students, CTOs, IT directors, professors, and more. Technology Day provides attendees with the opportunity to identify ways to effectively use technology to be most efficient in the office and at the jobsite. constructech.com/tech-day
Ockel combined design, portability and functionality in a unique way. This is the ultimate pocket PC.

Ockel Sirius B, the revolutionary new Windows 10 PC that fits in the pocket and is as light as a smartphone, is live on Kickstarter and raising funds to bring the project to life.

The Ockel Sirius pocket PC is an unbelievably small computer powered by the worlds number one operating system, Windows 10. Each device is the size of a smartphone and weighs less than an apple, making it an incredibly portable and lightweight machine.

"We want to build a brand that creates cutting-edge portable technology products. Kickstarter is the perfect place to reach early technology adopters, gather market feedback, and raise the funds necessary to develop our brand and products, says Tim Haaksma, Founder & CEO. Our mission is to create a hyper-portable, complete Windows 10 PC with an outstanding design at a competitive price.

The Ockel Sirius B is a powerful pocket PC that easily fits into a pocket or bag. With a size close to the latest Apple and Samsung smartphones users will hardly realize they're carrying a complete computer with them. Simply connect an HDMI screen, the power adapter and optionally a mouse and/or keyboard and a complete PC setup is ready in minutes.

Each device is equipped with Intel technology, HDMI, Bluetooth, Wifi, 2 USB ports, a micro SD card slot, audio connections, and flash storage. That means users can connect a keyboard, mouse, speaker or any other external device within the blink of an eye. The USB ports of the Ockel Sirius B are both USB 2.0. while the premium Black Cherry version includes one USB 2.0 port and one USB 3.0 port, enabling the transfer of data up to 10 times faster. They also include ultrafast Bluetooth and Wifi chips, making wireless connections blazingly fast. The Ockel Sirius B has been designed without the need for any ventilation fans, meaning the pocket PC runs 100% silent while benefiting from ultra-low power consumption. Users can also order the Ockel Sirius B without any operating systems pre-installed.

"Ockel combined design, portability and functionality in a unique way. This is the ultimate pocket PC, adds Jesper Baumgarten, Product Manager, As powerful as a desktop and as portable and light as a smartphone.

The Ockel Sirius B Windows 10 Pocket PC is currently live and available to support on Kickstarter: http://kck.st/2allxgP

About Ockel Computers

Ockel is part of Avanca International, the fastest growing hardware company in the EMEA-region. We are a team of Dutch technology addicts, geeks, marketeers and design wizards. With a combined experience of about 60 years in the gadget, computer and industrial sector we are ready to reinvent the PC, develop groundbreaking products and build an innovative hardware brand.

For more information on Ockel Computers please visit http://www.ockelproducts.com/
First-year COMP student Jin Lee, left, receives a SonoSim ultrasound training probe and software. (Jeff Malet, WesternU)

Hundreds of students from Western University of Health Sciences College of Osteopathic Medicine of the Pacific (COMP) received SonoSim ultrasound training probes and software during a distribution day at the University Bookstore.

Medical students will be able to convert their own laptops into full-scale ultrasound training simulators, paving the way for them to be more competitive in the residency market and patient care.

SonoSim distributed the ultrasound probes to first-year medical students Wednesday, August 3, 2016, during the Universitys Welcome Week. Second- and third-year medical students and College of Podiatric Medicine students will also be incorporating them into their curriculum and will receive the ultrasound probes and training.

I think its excellent, first-year COMP student Jin Lee said of the ultrasound training probe. I was going to join the Ultrasound Club. Its a good thing to know for a student doctor.

COMP Director of Clinical Education Natalie Nevins, DO 97, MSHPE 97, said the SonoSim ultrasound training solutions would be issued like any other piece of equipment, similar to the way stethoscopes and ophthalmoscopes are used during four years of medical education.

We are now in the 21st century, and ultrasound has a much larger role in the diagnostic aspects of medical care, Nevins said. Ultrasound is literally being used in every arena and every specialty in some way -- OB, internal medicine, family medicine, pediatrics and the musculoskeletal system.

This is important because of the unification of the AOA and ACGME for residency training, and (because) the allopathic schools in Southern California, pretty much all of them, are using SonoSim for training, she continued. We felt we should provide this additional training for our students so they would be competitive.

Nevins said students will learn ultrasound as part of their core curriculum in Essentials in Clinical Medicine (ECM) from day one, implementing the probes into the flipped classroom. They also will be integrated into anatomy classes. In the future, radio-frequency identification (RFID) chips can be placed in simulated patients and used in Observed Structural Clinical Examinations (OSCEs) during didactic week.

It is absolutely in league with our intentions of more flipped classrooms, allowing the students to learn at their own pace, and these modules are completely self-imposed, Nevins said. This way, when we bring them back together for small and large groups, they get to spend time doing hands-on exercises, and will be able to apply the skills they have learned, practicing with a probe on a real ultrasound machine.

SonoSim Vice President Dan Katz, MD, FACEP, said that medical schools such as WesternU are capitalizing on providing ultrasound training to students.

SonoSim facilitates asynchronous learning, enables self-assessment, allows instructors to track progress, and provides an opportunity to train-the-trainers, Katz said. Students learn how to apply these ultrasound findings toward clinical decision-making.
"Giorgi Mikadze is that rare talent that you discover who can do it all." Bonnie Barrett; Director, Yamaha Artist Services

Georgian pianist, composer and arranger Giorgi Mikadze is the latest internationally renowned musician to sign exclusively with Yamaha Artist Services New York.

According to Mikadze, the exceptional quality of Yamaha pianos was a key factor that inspired him to enter into a relationship with the worlds largest musical instrument manufacturer.

Simply put, I think Yamaha upholds the highest standards in piano manufacturing, said the Tbilisi-born pianist. In particular, I like the CFX concert grand piano, which offers premium craftsmanship, along with remarkable sound resonance.

Yamaha introduced the handcrafted CFX in 2010, having collaborated with many top classical artists to shape a piano of unequaled sound, quality and emotion. Today, the CFX continues to gain momentum as an increasing number of artists are specifically requesting the piano.

Giorgi Mikadze is that rare talent that you discover who can do it all, says Yamaha Artist Services Director Bonnie Barrett. He is an incredibly versatile and virtuosic pianist who can play anything from the most cutting-edge, demanding contemporary classical composition, to the most sensitive, sophisticated jazz riffs. Hes also a talented composer, arranger and improviser with an incredible feel for all musical styles, including world music, pop, R&B, jazz and classical. Giorgi is surely one of the brightest musical talents of his generation and Yamaha Artist Services New York looks forward to supporting his career for many years to come.

Mikadze first sat down at the piano at the age of five, and by the time he was 12, he was performing piano concertos with symphonies in his native Tbilisi, Georgia. He began composing at the age of 14, and in high school, his fascination with jazz blossomed, after discovering the work of such greats as Errol Garner, Oscar Peterson, Bill Evans, Keith Jarrett and Herbie Hancock.

Mikadzes concerts have been broadcast throughout Europe, Asia and the Americas. His festival appearances include the Newport Jazz Festival, Montreux Jazz Festival, Tbilisi Jazz festival, Bean Town Jazz Festival and the Black Sea Jazz Festival. He is currently touring major U.S. cities as pianist and keyboardist with the legendary jazz pioneer and guitarist Lee Ritenour.

Noted for his supreme technical skills, Mikadze has also performed with the Tbilisi Symphony Orchestra, Berklee Symphony Orchestra and the Manhattan School of Music Jazz Philharmonic Orchestra. He also served as musical director for Berklees tribute to Quincy Jones.

Mikadze has performed with a number of renowned artists, including Jack DeJohnette, Roy Hargrove, Dave Liebman, Meshell Ndegeocello, Chris Potter, Matt Garrison, Tia Fuller, Patti Austin, Jojo Mayer, David Fiuczynski, Brett Dennen, Siedah Garrett, Stefon Harris, Melwin Davis, Tom Kennedy, Amen Saleem, Phil Wilson and Mulatu Astatke.

He was selected for the highly competitive Betty Carters Jazz Ahead Program at the Kennedy Center, where he performed for three nights. A prizewinner in many national and international competitions, he was awarded a full scholarship at the International Festival Institute in Round Top, Texas, the Berklee College of Music and Manhattan School of Music, and the president of Georgia.

For more information, please visit http://4wrd.it/YASI.
Walking distance to the most authentic Mexican food and minutes away from Downtown San Diego and Mission Valley, we are thrilled about the location of this project.

Level 3 Construction was recently awarded the contract for re-positioning an existing 20-unit office building into a boutique extended stay featuring 21 fully furnished studio suites. Solis Place is designed, owned, and operated by the progressive and growing Hotel Investment Group. Located in Old Town San Diego, overlooking Lindbergh field and the San Diego Bay, Solis Place can be seen off the 5 freeway making it the perfect location for students and professionals looking to stay in the heart of the city. The property will receive a complete demolition of interior and exterior finishes, leaving only the existing exterior framing to create a canvas for the newly designed, fresh, contemporary suites. Grand opening is scheduled for winter 2016.

Built in 1965, the property was previously named the Intella II Building and used for office space and retail. Re-positioning the property will include a complete new plumbing configuration to provide full bathrooms and kitchenettes for each unit. A complete rewiring of the building will accommodate new lighting and services to satisfy the tech needs of todays traveler. The hotel will boast, fully furnished studio suites with flat screen TVs, state of the art kitchen appliances, high speed Wi-Fi, and downtown views!

With a number of recent conversion projects, Hotel Investment Group is no stranger to the boutique extended stay space. Walking distance to the most authentic Mexican food and minutes away from Downtown San Diego and Mission Valley, we are thrilled about the location of this project. Our company is committed to guest satisfaction, and we designed Solis Place with a keen eye: USB plugs, Netflix streaming, relaxing color scheme, and quality furniture. We cannot wait to offer students and professionals modern, comfortable studios in the heart of Old Town, said Hotel Investment Groups Project Manager, Pooja Patel.

Level 3 Constructions track record of 40+ hotel renovations, six hotel projects currently under construction and recent completion of Blend at the Estancia La Jolla Hotel & Spa qualified them as the perfect candidate for the project. President, Ian Mahon, of Level 3 Construction who worked closely with Hotel Investment Group to negotiate the contract said, We are excited about this project! It feels great to work on a project so close to home. In our business, boutique hotels give us the opportunity to showcase our craftsmanship and attention to all the small details. We love brand hotel projects, but boutique hotels are fun from a design perspective.

About Level 3 Construction

Founded in 2006 by President and CEO Ian Mahon, Level 3 Construction, located in Carlsbad, is one of Californias leading hotel renovation contractors with a growing presence in multifamily, restaurants, office and T.I.s. Our project experience ranges from commercial remodeling and tenant improvements to multi-million dollar ground up construction projects and renovations. Level 3 collaborates with developers, owners, architects and property owners to implement the most efficient and cost-effective solutions that will reinvigorate a property. Level 3 Construction continues to grow its portfolio of work through quality performance and on-time completion of projects. To learn more about Level 3 Constructions services, contact John Gonzalez at jgonzalez(at)level3construction(dot)com.

About Hotel Investment Group

Founded in 1991 by President and CEO Bhavesh Bobby Patel, Hotel Investment Group, located in San Diego, CA, is a dynamic hospitality company specializing in development and operations. The companys portfolio consists of both branded and boutique hotels including the Holiday Inn Express- Hotel Circle San Diego and Hotel Aqua Mar in Point Loma. Hotel Investment Group is currently experiencing exponential growth, with 3 projects in the pipeline and a number of acquisitions underway. Their mantra is to be better today than yesterday with the promise to be spectacular tomorrow. With vision, dedication, and passion, Hotel Investment Group has positioned itself to be at the forefront of the lodging industry. To learn more about Hotel Investment Group, contact Pooja Patel at poojap(at)hotelhosts(dot)com or visit http://www.hotelinvestmentgroup.com.
Visit Temecula Valley (VTV), in coordination with the Temecula Valley Winegrowers Association (TVWA), today announce the first annual Peoples Choice Blind Tasting and Awards, taking place on Thursday, September 29, 2016, at Galway Downs. The landmark event is part of the regions ongoing celebration of California Wine Month throughout September 2016.

The day-long Peoples Choice event will kick off with a mid-morning walk-around blind tasting of the white and red wines Temecula Valley wineries believe to be their best bottles. Participants will be asked to submit ratings of each wine, which will be tallied and used exclusively to determine the regions top three favorite reds and whites. Results of the blind tasting will be announced at a wine dinner and awards celebration the same evening, recognizing the winning wines and featuring a five-course tasting menu with local wine pairings.

Tickets to the event are available in three tiers:



The Estate Pass ($40) includes entry to the blind tasting and a commemorative tasting glass.

The Reserve Pass ($125) includes the Estate Pass plus admission to the dinner and awards celebration.

The Grand Reserve Pass ($195) includes the Reserve Pass plus entrance to a pre-dinner VIP winemaker reception, hosted by Temecula Valley vintners, featuring local wines and passed hors doeuvres, as well as a SIP Temecula Passport, which is good for tasting flights at five different wineries, Monday-Friday, including the day of the Peoples Choice.

As a region undergoing remarkable change, we want to create an event that invites consumers to not only enjoy our wines, but be part of the story we are telling here, said Devin Parr, Wine Country Marketing Director for Temecula Valley Southern California Wine Country. By asking visitors and locals, what do you like best? we are hoping to both learn something about them, and draw from that information as we continue to produce quality wines here in Temecula Valley.

The Peoples Choice event is part of Temecula Valleys celebration of California Wine Month, Visit Californias promotion of the wines produced throughout the state. Additional activities and programs throughout September include:

CRUSH  A wine and culinary showcase featuring 100+ wines poured by more than 30 Temecula Valley wineries, as well as gourmet bites from local restaurants and caterers. Saturday, September 17 at Wiens Family Cellars

Crush on Temecula Wines  A restaurant month for wine, in which local restaurants will be featuring special tasting flights of Temecula Valley wines. September 1-30 at participating restaurants

SIP Temecula Wine Tasting Passport  The Wine Month edition, offered throughout September, includes five visits to participating wineries, Monday through Friday, as well as a special Wine Month commemorative glass. Ongoing at participating wineries

Temecula Valley is ready to show the wine community that were not just making good wine here in Temecula; were making great wine, said Phil Baily, owner and winemaker at Baily Vineyard and Winery, and TVWA enology chair. The Peoples Choice Awards, CRUSH, and all of our Wine Month programs will underscore this message to new and seasoned wine enthusiasts, and inspire those aha moments in wine lovers of all types.

For more information about Temecula Valley Wine Month, visit http://www.winemonth.org.

ABOUT THE TEMECULA VALLEY AND VISIT TEMECULA VALLEY

With natural gifts of climate and geography, Temecula Valley is widely recognized for its scenic vineyards, award-winning wines, and friendly wineries as Temecula Valley Southern California Wine Country. The destination includes the Temecula Valley A.V.A. (American Viticulture Area) as well as Downtown, Old Town Temecula, and Pechanga Resort & Casino.

Visit Temecula Valley is online at VisitTemeculaValley.com; Temecula Valley Southern California Wine Country on Facebook and @Visit_Temecula on Twitter. The Temecula Valley Visitors Center is located in Old Town Temecula on Mercedes Street adjacent the Old Town Parking Garage. For visitor assistance, call 888/363-2852 or 951/491-6085.

ABOUT THE TEMECULA VALLEY WINEGROWERS ASSOCIATION

Temecula Valley is the largest and most commercially successful winegrowing region in the South Coast AVA, the viticultural zone spanning more than 2 million acres from Riverside County to the San Diego border. The Temecula Valley Winegrowers Association has long served as a steward of the Southern California wine community. Comprising 35 wineries and more than 60 winegrowers, the Temecula Valley Winegrowers Association is a nonprofit regional organization dedicated to increasing awareness of the quality wines and wine grapes grown in the Temecula Valley and South Coast Appellations. Established in 1984, the Temecula AVA consists of 33,000 acres, of which approximately 1,300 acres are currently planted to commercial vineyards. Known as Southern California's wine country, the Temecula Valley is located in Riverside County just one hour from San Diego, Orange County and Palm Springs and 90 minutes from Los Angeles.

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NAREB is prepared to do the groundwork and lead the charge to build wealth in Black America. We know that owning a home represents the most solid stepping stone to economic recovery and building legacy wealth, said Ron Cooper, NAREBs 29th president.

Black real estate professionals, sounding the alarm that Black Americans have not benefited from the nations economic recovery, will convene at the 69th Annual National Association of Real Estate Brokers (NAREB) Convention under this years theme, Building Black Wealth through Homeownership. A key element, anticipated by the 800 real estate professionals, financial services and mortgage executives, housing counseling experts, thought leaders, and government officials expected to be in attendance is the unveiling of NAREBs Two Million New Black Homeowners in Five Years initiative, a multi-faceted program designed to increase Black homeownership and improve wealth-building futures for Black Americans. The four-day conference is scheduled for August 12-16, 2016, at the Westin Long Beach Hotel, 333 East Ocean Blvd., Long Beach, CA.

NAREB is prepared to do the groundwork and lead the charge to build wealth in Black America. We know that owning a home represents the most solid stepping stone to economic recovery and building legacy wealth, said Ron Cooper, NAREBs 29th president.

The U.S. Census Bureau in its most recent report issued as of the second quarter 2016, indicates that the homeownership rate for Black Americans is 41.7 percent, down from a high of 49.6 percent in 2004. In comparison, the current homeownership rate for non-Hispanic whites is 71.5 percent, down from a 2004 high of 76.7 percent. I want to re-instill the belief that homeownership is a noble aspiration and the basis of building wealth in the Black community, Cooper added.

Keynoting the conventions opening session, scheduled for Sunday, August 14, 2016 at 10:00 a.m. is presidential appointee, the Honorable Julian Castro, Secretary, U. S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), who is expected to address policy issues affecting Black homeownership.

Following Secretary Castros presentation is nationally-acclaimed Black economic empowerment advocate and activist, Maggie Anderson, known for living a year purchasing only products and services from Black-owned establishments, captured in her book, My Black Year. Dr. Pamela Jolly, NAREBs Strategist, will also present the framework and strategies supporting the roll-out of the Black trade associations Two Million New Black Homeowners in Five Years initiative.

The Monday View from the Hill Legislative Breakfast features U.S. Congressman Alan Lowenthal (CA-47), Larry Parks, Senior Vice President, External and Legislative Affairs, Federal Home Loan Bank of San Francisco, and Elizabeth Mendenhall, 2016 1st Vice President, National Association of Realtors. Michael Grant, National Bankers Association (NBA) President will serve as the conventions keynoter at the Tuesday night closing banquet.

NAREB is also devoting a day to connect with Los Angeles and Long Beach-area residents about the long-term benefits of homeownership. NAREBs free Community Wealth Building Day is a consumer education event scheduled for Saturday, August 13, 9:00 a.m.  2:00 p.m. at the Long Beach Convention Center. Consumers can get answers to their questions about the home-buying process, learn how to purchase a home by using low down payment mortgage financing, along with down payment assistance programs and grants that make homeownership affordable and sustainable.

For Convention registration and Community Wealth Building Day information visit: http://www.nareb.com.

# # # # #

About NAREB:

The National Association of Real Estate Brokers (NAREB) was formed in 1947 to secure the right to equal housing opportunities for all regardless of race, creed, or color. NAREB has 90 chapters located nationwide and publishes annually The State of Housing in Black America (SHIBA) Report. Visit http://www.nareb.com for more information. Or call 301-552-9340.
Child abuse and neglect is a community problem, and as a community, we must rally together to find solutions and provide real help and healing for its victims  our innocent and vulnerable children.

Coppin Insurance Agency continues their commitment to act as Agents of Change in their community by initiating a new charity campaign in an ongoing community enrichment program serving families of Floridas west coast. The latest beneficiary, Childrens Advocacy Center of Southwest Florida, combats child abuse and neglect with a variety of programs tailored to children and family members. Donations are now being accepted here.

Childrens Advocacy Center of Southwest Florida (CAC) offers a unique variety of programs serving the children of Lee, Glades, Hendry and Charlotte counties. Abused and neglected children need help in order to heal, both emotionally and physically. CAC utilizes education and counseling services for kids and their families, as well as providing comprehensive medical care, violence prevention and intervention, parenting classes, character building and pet therapy. All services are provided free of charge.

Were honored to support CAC and our areas children in need, said Colton Ferry, Managing Partner of Coppin Insurance Agency. Child abuse and neglect is a community problem, and as a community, we must rally together to find solutions and provide real help and healing for its victims  our innocent and vulnerable children."

The initiative is being spearheaded by Ferry, who was only recently named to his current position. A native of Fort Meyers, Ferry is passionately committed to helping to better the community where he grew up, was educated and lives with his wife, Heather. Ferry has spent the last decade becoming an expert in his field and developing trusted advisor relationships throughout the community.

Said Tracey Coppin Caruso, owner of Coppin Insurance, Colton was a natural choice for Managing Partner, because of his dedication to our staff and customers, his leadership and teaching skills, as well has his expertise in the ever-changing world of property and flood insurance. And because of his commitment to our community, hes a natural to fight for these kids alongside CAC.

Putting their money where their mouth is, the agency has pledged to donate $10 to CAC for each and every recommendation they receive for an insurance quote, with no purchase necessary. To have a donation made in your name and/or to make a personal donation to help area children in need, please visit: http://www.coppininsurance.com/Helping-Abused-and-Neglected-Children-Recover_14_community_cause.

In addition to vibrant social media and email awareness initiatives, Coppin Insurance has spotlighted this worthwhile cause in their community magazine, Our Hometown, which is delivered to thousands of households in Fort Meyers and along the Gulf Coast of Florida. Readers may enjoy the current issue here: http://www.coppininsurance.com/Our-Hometown-Magazine_39.

The agencys robust Community Program selects a new local organization, family or person every two months to receive support. To learn about past campaigns and keep tabs on future initiatives, please visit: http://www.coppininsurance.com/community-cause.

About Coppin Insurance Agency

Serving Floridas west coastal families from offices in Fort Myers, Coppin Insurance Agency is committed to bringing local people an agency which understands their needs. Tracey Coppin Caruso and her team of dedicated professionals work with carriers to assemble a variety of products and services which will ensure their clients peace of mind. From all of the products a typical consumer needs (home, auto, boat, ATV, etc.), to financial planning services, Coppin Insurance delivers consistently superior service. Their caring experts may be reached by calling 239-489-2442. To learn more about the agency and their Community Program, please visit: http://www.coppininsurance.com/.
Cheryl Krkocs book is about her immigrant familys coming to the Americas in the early 1900s. Some settled in a suburb of Chicago and others immigrated to Argentina. She lived in the home of her immigrant grandparents during her early childhood in the 1950s. This environment created a curiosity about her heritage. There was significant bias against Eastern Europeans during this time.

In her book, she explores the generational evolution of her immigrant family in their new country. Her travels to her familys homeland-going home and learning more about her people brought her insight and understanding. Krkoc hopes for readers to recognize that the influence of culture and ethnicity is complex. In her case, she came to recognize that she felt different than others and had values and belief unlike conventional American mainstream ideology (published by Xlibris).

Another theme in her book is feminism-growing in the 1950s, a message that girls were and are exposed to, her personal evolution as a female, and political changes she has seen throughout her six and a half decades of living. Her book is also about secrets, friendship, love and sexual obsession, sensual knowing, mystical experience, spirituality, the soul and The World Beyond.

My story is a very personal and intimate relating of my life, Krkoc says. In this book, I disclose my shortcomings, betrayal of others and my most intimate thoughts. I also try to portray my real-life characters in all their complexity, frailty and uniqueness.

SENTIMENT intimately relates the events, impressions, feelings, sensual and mystical awareness in Krkocs life. She hopes to provide readers with an interesting look into the psyche of the human heart and mind. She wants to portray, not only the difficulties that humans face, but also the joy, exuberance and adventure of living. She wants to inspire others to make the most out of life, to take chances, to explore as many lifes many aspects, to be brave enough to listen to their own internal voice and to be able to share it with others.

SENTIMENT

By Cheryl Krkoc

Hardcover | 6 x 9in | 532 pages | ISBN 9781503576728

Softcover | 6 x 9in | 532 pages | ISBN 9781503576735

E-Book | 532 pages | ISBN 9781503576742

Available at Amazon and Barnes & Noble

About the Author

Cheryl Krkoc grew up with her immigrant grandparents in Chicago and later moved to the Pacific Northwest with her parents and siblings. She earned her Bachelor of Arts degree at Willamette University in Salem. She married her high school sweetheart and they raised three children. She attended Portland State University for her MSW degree and worked as a social worker for 16 years. She was divorced after more than 30 years of marriage. She has eight grandchildren and has a relationship with another man for the past 10 years. This is her first book.

Xlibris Publishing, an Author Solutions, LLC imprint, is a self-publishing services provider created in 1997 by authors, for authors. By focusing on the needs of creative writers and artists and adopting the latest print-on-demand publishing technology and strategies, we provide expert publishing services with direct and personal access to quality publication in hardcover, trade paperback, custom leather-bound and full-color formats. To date, Xlibris has helped to publish more than 60,000 titles. For more information, visit xlibris.com or call 1-888-795-4274 to receive a free publishing guide. Follow us @XlibrisPub on Twitter for the latest news.
If you are new to iQ you can schedule a demo and learn more about this opportunity.

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Transformations: The Journal of Inclusive Scholarship and Pedagogy is a peer-reviewed interdisciplinary forum for pedagogical scholarship exploring intersections of identities, power, and social justice. The journal features a range of approaches, from theoretical articles to creative and experimental accounts of pedagogical innovations, from teachers and scholars from all areas of education. The mission of Transformations is to bridge the gaps between scholarship and teaching, between K-12, higher education, and teaching in non-institutional venues, between the classroom and the world. Transformations provides a community of readers and writers discussing the difficulties, challenges, strategies, anxieties, failures, and successes encountered in the classroom. By emphasizing interdisciplinary and trans-disciplinary approaches, the journal provides teachers in university and other classrooms with tools they can use in their own teaching, and in planning and reflecting on their courses.

Advisory Board Diana Fuss, Princeton University Donna Gabaccia, University of Toronto Patrizia Gabrielli, University of Sienna, Italy Sandra Gilbert, University of California, Davis, Emerita Henry Giroux, McMaster University Beverly Guy-Sheftall, Spelman College Sandra Harding, University of California, Los Angeles AnaLouise Keating, Texas Womans University John Kellermeier, Tacoma Community College, Emeritus Annette Kuhn, Queen Mary College University of London, Emerita Paul Lauter, Trinity College, Connecticut, Emeritus Elizabeth Minnich, Association of American Colleges & Universities David Palumbo-Liu, Stanford University David Roediger, University of Kansas Sue Rosser, San Francisco State University Werner Sollors, Harvard University Kurt Spellmeyer, Rutgers University Anthony Julian Tamburri, Queens College, CUNY Berteke Waaldijk, Universiteit Utrecht Marina Zancan, University of Rome Janet Zandy, Rochester Institute of Technology, Emerita

Editorial Board Mary McAleer Balkun, Seton Hall University, US Joanne Z. Bruno, East Stroudsburg University, US Basanti Chakraborty, New Jersey City University, US Sarah Chinn, Hunter College, CUNY, US Anna Creadick, Hobart and William Smith Colleges, US Sonya Donaldson, New Jersey City University, US Donna Farina, New Jersey City University, US Rebecca J. Kinney, Bowling Green State University, US Deirdre Murphy, Culinary Institute of America, US Hiram Perez, Vassar College, US Catherine Raissiguier, Hunter College, CUNY, US John Wood Sweet, University of North Carolina, US Victor E. Tuazon, New Jersey City University, US Minh Vu, Yale University, US Grace Wambu, New Jersey City University, US

Authors who wish to submit their work to Transformations: The Journal of Inclusive Scholarship and Pedagogy must also consult the current calls for submission (below) to check the topics for which the journal is currently soliciting. All submissions must include a 250-word abstract and an author biography of 100 words or less. Complete submission guidelines may be found here.

To submit an article to Transformations, please visit http://www.editorialmanager.com/transformations and create an author profile. The online system will guide you through the steps to upload your article for submission to the editorial office.

CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS

The editors seek articles (6,000-10,000 words); methods and texts essays (3,000 to 5,000 words); photo-essays, and contributions to our new Pestilence and Pedagogy section (2,500-10,000) for the forthcoming issue of Transformations. Submissions should explore strategies for teaching in the classroom and in non-traditional spaces as well as changing notions of inclusion and inclusivity in scholarship and research as well as pedagogy. We welcome jargon-free essays from all disciplinary and interdisciplinary perspectives.

For volume 31:1 (2021) we will feature a special section entitled Teaching about Tulsa in memory of the 1921 Tulsa massacre. One of the significant curricular outcomes of the Black Lives Matter movement is a growing awareness of the massacres at Tulsa and Wilmington, and other events  including to some degree, slavery itself  that have been ignored in U.S. schools. While we are broadly interested in articles that address the teaching of hidden, suppressed, and obscured histories, we are specifically interested in articles and narratives about the teaching of this particular event, including methods, personal experiences of teachers and learners, curriculum design, exhibitions, media, and the process of overcoming silence and resistance in the classroom and the school building. Manuscripts for this section are due September 1, 2021 to allow time for peer-review.

Volume 31:2 (2021) will be a special issue celebrating the life and work of Paulo Freire at 100. In particular we seek essays that contextualize his work and legacy at the current historical moment and that deal with questions of inclusion. We are especially interested in articles from the global South and those that address issues of immigrant and refugee students, adult learners and pedagogy in non-school settings, literacy activism, and broader applications of his work to culture and the arts. Articles for this section are due November 1, 2021, although there may be a grace period for those who propose or discuss their articles with the editor in advance.

We will also initiate a new section with volume 31:1, entitled Pestilence and Pedagogy. Rather than devote one special issue to the COVID-19 pandemic, we are coming to realize the impact and pedagogical ramifications from the ongoing pandemic will continue well into the future. Thus, instead of compartmentalizing all articles into one or more issues, particularly as the pandemic continues to play out unabated in many corners of the world, part of each issue will be devoted to the challenges that developed worldwide since the appearance of this coronavirus.

Articles should explore teaching in ways that emphasize students perspectives and classroom dynamics. Authors should engage relevant scholarly sources and theories.

Methods and Texts essays should analyze specific teaching strategies, tools, and/or resources.

Photo-Essays should include no more than 12 images (500 ppi, jpg or .tiff files). An interpretative statement that provides context for the images (300-500 words) and captions of 50 words or less should also be included. Note that images can be reproduced in black-and-white only. Photo reproduction rights should be secured prior to submission.

Teaching Failures essays should focus on a particularly challenging classroom experience, a struggle with a specific teaching resource, or failure/success as related to pedagogical practice. More broadly, authors might explore the ways in which educational institutions and institutional structures define and engage failure and/or success (for example, academic silos, issues relating to academic freedom, work cultures, governance, etc.).

Transformations is a peer-reviewed semi-annual journal that invites college teachers to take pedagogy seriously as a topic of scholarly articles.

Please view the additional submission guidelines before submitting.

Submit via Editorial Manager: https://www.editorialmanager.com/transformations
The Authors Guild and PEN America have condemned the actions of the Turkish government after the detaining of 61 journalists and the shuttering of 131 media organizationsincluding 29 publishing housesin the wake of the attempted coup on July 15.

The two organizations are asking members to stand with them in demanding that the Turkish government cease its attacks on freedom of expression. PEN is doing so through its own petition and the Authors Guild through a solidarity campaign led by the International Federation of Journalism.

"President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is attempting to justify these acts through a so-called state of emergency, which allows the government to act without Parliamentary approval and abruptly silence dissent," PEN executive editor Suzanne Nossel wrote in a letter to PEN members. "Please, stand with PEN America and our partners to demand that the Turkish government immediately end its attack on academics, journalists, and others targeted for their words alone."

"The Authors Guild supports freedom of speech as a fundamental part of our mission," a statement from the Guild read. "We hope that you will join us in supporting the principles that these journalists are suffering for."
Amie Barrodale's outstanding debut story collection, You Are Having a Good Time, perfectly captures the complications of modern relationships, rife with comic and bizarre miscommunication, from a New York psychologist caught between a privileged young female patient and her controlling mother to a saleswoman encountering an off-putting customer in a Japanese antique shop. Here, Barrodale discusses how her life and her writing are ultimately inseparable.

When I was in college, I imitated the work of Ben Marcus and Samuel Beckett. This went on for a while, but then one day I began to notice that my mind was not quite that lofty, and the work I gravitated toward was about ordinary life. I became absorbed in writers like Mary Gaitskill, Richard Yates, and Akhil Sharma, to name a few. This was a sad time for me. I was isolated, living in this strange building ten blocks from campus, having taken a year off college, with no friends, and all kinds of disorders that made people not want to be around me.

One thing I liked about those writers was that I could see that their work was based on their lives. Sometimes later I even felt frustrated when a writer I admired would refuse to admit that his work was autobiographical. Now I understand the hesitation, and the world has changed and many writers are very honest about where their work comes from.

My work comes from my life. But after my first collection of stories, I made a vow to myself: no more of that. I began to think about writing a novel about a pedophile who undergoes some kind of elective treatment, some kind of brain surgery, some kind of stimulation of his illness that forces him to basically go through the hell of his own mind, his own sickness, to come out cured. I began to read about pedophiles. But on the side, as I worked, another story emerged, about a miscarriage, a miscarriage I had last year.

What I mean is that for me, for better or for worse, my life presents itself as a story sometimes.

As a matter of fact, it is sort of happening right now, as I write this, though I am not sure I will write it all down. I recently missed the launch of my book in New York because I heard of a retreat that I wanted to attend in a cave, and now, about a week since that retreat ended, I am at another retreat at a small center in Canada.

At this meditation retreat, my husband and I are both learning how to participate in the ritual aspect of the practice. That means we are learning to light incense nicely and carry bowls from one part of the room to the other. We are two of four people learning this here at this retreat, which comprises about thirty people. The reason I say all of this is that I noticed something here that I have noticed a lot of times on retreat. It is the way tiny tiny emotions snowball into dramatic upheavals.

On the first day, some small miscommunication happened between me and one of the other beginner bowl carriers. It was something like, she said you carry the bowl this way, and I said you carry the bowl the other way, and then we both went stony silent. She is an intelligent, no-nonsense woman my age. An equal. I felt like she was bossing me around, and so I let her know that she couldnt boss me around. (Later, incidentally, I did learn that she was right about the bowl.)

But no matter, by then it had snowballed. It snowballed from small interactions that were under my controlmy choosing to say things to her in a sharp way, or correct her if given the chanceand then in ways that were not under my controlshe misunderstood what I intended as a peace offering, and took it as a provocation, and she barked at me, and it really hurt. And then it erupted last night, when a complete innocentnot even the girl in question, not even a person I really knowsaid, Are you okay? and I nearly burst into tears. A few minutes later, at dinner, when I saw that they were out of salad, I deliberately dropped a serving spoon from too high, and it made a loud clang on a bowl, and several people noticed that I was feeling emotional. A man commented: I guess she really didnt like the olives. I felt humiliated. Angry. Confused. Resentful. Self-righteous. Remorseful. In the wrong. In the right. Wanting a narrative. Wanting to construct a story to say why I was right and why she was wrong and why it all made sense. When I was a girl, I would turn to my mother in these moments, and she would construct it for me. Youve been doing so well, she would say. I am so proud of you. You spent ten days in a cave in Nepal, flew thirty hours, had a twelve-hour layover in the Beijing Airport and six in Bangkok. You took a bus here and showed right up and started working. This stuff is hard, and she has been bossing her. Everything you did was right, and you just have a tender heart, and that is what I love about you.

But at some point, around when I was thirty-four, I stopped believing her when she said those things to me. It helped, it soothed, but deep down, I knew.

Still, I spent all night tossing and turning, using a flashlight to study my manual for how to carry bowls. (Two can play at this game.) I constructed all different versions of the story and just abjectly whined to myself about how unfair it was that I have to wash the bowls every night. I didnt sleep.

If I were a real artist, I would have said, Ah! Fantastic. What a great opening. Where will it go from here? and I would have let the drama swirl out of control.

But I am a chicken, and after a night like that, I made up with her.

Nevertheless, the story continued. We meditate in sessions. During the session after we managed to make up, I noticed that two other women, in a role similar to ours, but far senior, were going through the same sort of conflict. They had begun by correcting one another gently, with good intention, but theyd gotten lost in some horrible snowstorm of interrupting and finding fault, so intense and out of their control that they had to stop thirty of us from meditating all the time, over and overprobably for an hour in total out of four hoursto bicker with each other. Sometimes some of us tried to intervene, but we either got pulled into the debate, or we were misunderstoodwe were taken to be on this side or that. It sounds so overt, so unbelievable, but actually it was extremely subtle. If I were a real practitioner, I might have recognized this as my own perception. (First its me and the bowls, then its them and the lines of text.) But I just thought, Look at those idiots, arguing away. And I made some notes on my sadhana (my chant book). I wrote down what they said.

I dont know. Is this self-absorbed. Is this a lack of artistry. Is this a lack of imagination. Or is life a fiction?

One thing I would like to do, one day, is be able to describe what is happening in my mind. Sometimes I just make strange sounds in my head, I notice. One day Id like to know what happens in there.
Guillermo Saccomanno, trans. from the Spanish by Andrea G. Labinger. Open Letter, $18.95 trade paper (600p) ISBN 978-1-940953-38-0

Never was there a cityscape as immersive, or a populace as rife with iniquity, as in Argentinian writer Saccomannos noirish Gesell Dome, his first novel to be translated into English. The Argentinian town referred to as Villa is a seaside summer resort spotbut when the tourists leave and only the locals remain, a tangle of outlandish corruption, violence, and dark histories are unveiled. To begin with, theres the suicide of a pregnant middle schooler, a sexual abuse scandal at a kindergarten, and a devastating real estate development known as the Twin Towers that divides the town. But this turns out to be nothing compared to the secret lives of the three Quiroses brothers: crooked lawyer Alejo, Braulio, and Julian, the Villas so-called Kennedys, who do their best to control their constituents. These include the mayors unruly son, Gonzalo, whose attempt to blackmail Alejo backfires miserably; Julians wife, Adrian (willing to go to absurd lengths for her Pilates studio); and Dante, editor and sole contributor to El Vocero, who, with the help of limo driver Rimigio, chronicles his townships ills. Tales range from the story of El Muertito, the monster who stalks the forests at night, to whispers of the Villas Nazi diaspora. Then there are oddballs such as the loan shark called the Duchess, and cursed painter Claude Fournier, who all have a part to play in the Villas mounting intrigues. Like Twin Peaks reimagined by Roberto Bolano, Gesell Dome is a teeming microcosm in which voices combine into a rich, engrossing symphony of human depravity.
BLUE GRASS -- Two Davenport men are dead after an early morning crash Thursday on U.S. 61 at the 107 mile marker.

Zachary Robert Whitsel, 36, and Charles Frank Dibbern, 51, were pronounced dead at the scene. They were both alone in their vehicles, according to a crash report from the Iowa State Patrol website.

The Iowa State Patrol said it responded to a call at 4:26 a.m. According to the crash report, Mr. Whistel's vehicle was traveling north in the southbound lane for unknown reasons.

After the vehicles collided, Mr. Whitsel's vehicle came to rest in the median shoulder and Mr. Dibbern's vehicle came to rest in the roadway.

Sheriff's offices from Scott and Muscatine counties assisted at the scene. The accident remains under investigation.
MOLINE -- Aldermen have adjusted an earlier decision to allow a blanket sidewalk variance for a number of outlots near SouthPark Mall in hopes of attracting businesses.

Macerich Co., the mall's owner, requested the variance for two lots along 16th Street to attract two nationally known restaurants. Macerich has not released the names of the restaurant companies because of ongoing negotiations.

Macerich sought the variance saying the city-required sidewalks would be costly and challenging because of a large drainage ditch that runs along them. The company also said the issues were affecting Macerich's ability to finalize agreements with the restaurants.

On July 26, the council approved the variance but limited it to just those two lots. On Tuesday, aldermen reintroduced the issue and reversed their earlier decision to apply the sidewalk variance to all of the lots in the targeted area. The vote was 7-1 with Ald. Stephanie Acri, At-Large, opposed.

Moline city attorney Maureen Riggs said the change was needed because Macerich also is trying to draw business to other SouthPark outlots.

In return, Macerich has agreed to pay Moline $10,000 for each developed lot requiring the variance, according to city documents. The ordinance also has a 5-year sunset clause, providing future councils with flexibility on the cost and application of the sidewalk variances.
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!
Taipei, Aug. 5 (CNA) The Ministry of Labor (MOL) warned Friday that it is illegal for employers to fire foreign migrant workers who are pregnant or have given birth to children during their stay in Taiwan, in response to recent calls by some employers to test workers for pregnancy prior to their employment.
The direct award follows the cancellation of the original public tender by the Czech Competition Authority (UOHS) after an appeal by Czech Railways (CD), which considered some of the provisions in the tender to be discriminatory.

CD offered train services for Koruna 88 ($US 3.61) per train-km while GW Train Regio bid Koruna 75 per train-km. The original tender was for a 15-year contract.

Taking in consideration the fact that the appeal could influence the selection of best offers, the Ministry of Transport decided that it would directly award the contract, but with a reduced duration of 10 years. The ministry says this has been done in compliance with European legislation.

GW Train Region will operate the service using a fleet of four former DB Regio class 628 two-car DMUs (Czech class 845). The trains are currently being refurbished at the CMZO workshop in Prerov. The works include a new interior and the installation of wheelchair-accessible toilets.

GW Train Regio, CD and the regional governments of Usti and Pilsen regions are reportedly trying to find a modus operandi for ticketing, including mutual recognition, and integration into the national system. This will be achieved on voluntary basis, as there is no legal obligation for mutual acceptance of tickets by train operators in the Czech Republic and no regulatory body to enforce and control ticket integration.

GW Trains Regio is already operating services on five regional services in the Czech Republic, including:

Trutnov - Lubawka (Poland) - Jelenia Gora (Poland)

Trutnov - Svoboda nad Upou

Sokolov - Kraslice - Zwotenthal

Karlovy Vary - Marianske Lazne, and

Milotice nad Opavou - Vrbno pod Pradedem
Jobs to Move America updates the New York Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA)s upcoming purchase of 940 subway cars with this number: up to 33,165 U.S. jobs could be supported.

The MTA released a Request for Proposals (RFP) for the upcoming purchase of 940 subway cars, worth an estimated $3.2 billion.

The advocacy group Jobs to Move America says it worked with the MTA to include a U.S. Employment Plan with the RFP.

According to research from the University of MassachusettsAmherst, the MTAs inclusion of the U.S. Employment Plan in its latest purchase could help support up to 33,165 U.S. jobs. It also means opportunities for communities that have long missed out on the benefits of transit investments, such as women and people of color.

Adopting this plan, which includes a jobs disclosure and evaluation tool for the purchase of these trains will not only improve New Yorks transit system, it will also create good jobs and revive manufacturing in our communities that need it the most. JMA congratulates Governor Andrew Cuomo and the MTA on their commitment to economic development and job access for historically excluded communities, said Linda Nguyen, deputy director at Jobs to Move America.

Senator Charles Schumer of New York said, Creating good family-supporting jobs and improving our transit system is key to boosting livelihoods in New York. I commend the MTA, the Jobs to Move America coalition and others on their important work making this happen.

Jobs to Move Americas New York coalition, which includes the Transport Workers Union Local 100, Community Service Society, and Community Voices Heard, came together to encourage the MTA to adopt the U.S. Employment Plan.

The Metropolitan Transportation Authority in New York is a massive economic engine that should be creating as many jobs as possible for American families, said John Samuelsen, executive vice president of Transport Workers Union of America and president of TWU Local 100. The inclusion of the U.S. Employment Plan in this railcar RFP is an extremely positive step in the right direction.
The Surface Transportation Board announced on August 4th that, at the invitation of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, the three Board Members will testify on the topic of Freight Rail Reform: Implementation of the Surface Transportation Board Reauthorization Act of 2015 at a full-committee hearing to be held on Thursday, August 11, 2016, in Sioux Falls, South Dakota.

The STB Reauthorization Act of 2015, P.L. 114-110, marks the Boards first reauthorization since its 1996 creation.

The hearing will focus on implementation of the Surface Transportation Board Reauthorization Act of 2015, signed into law on December 18, 2015. The hearing will examine the STBs completed and ongoing work to implement the laws reforms and ways to maximize their impact to improve dispute resolution, enable more proactive problem-solving, increase transparency, and enhance decision-making processes. The hearing will additionally explore emerging rail issues as part of the Committees oversight role and to help ensure a competitive, efficient, and reliable national rail system.

The STB is an independent adjudicatory and economic-regulatory agency primarily charged by Congress with resolving railroad rate and service disputes and reviewing proposed railroad mergers. The agency has jurisdiction over railroad rate and service issues and rail restructuring transactions (mergers, line sales, line construction, and line abandonments).

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If you cant manage your own companies, then sell them to us, Venezuelas president, Nicolas Maduro, has told the countrys telecoms operators.





Aiming to find a solution for the telecom crisis, which is threatening to cause pay-TV prices to rise by up to 575%, the countrys telecom authority Conatel and both private and public operators have been meeting since 1 August.The first decision has been to ensure every operator complies with Conatels demand that they suspend price increases in order to guarantee Venezuelans access to communications and media.We have also been discussing how to generate and save foreign currency, while investing in technology, stated the Minister of Education, Science and Technology, Jorge Arreaza.But while the Government , companies and experts analyse the causes of the crisis, Maduro offered an ultimate solution if the situation cant be solved. Ive told telecom operators, if you cant manage your own companies, then sell them to us. The State knows how to manage them, as we have proved with Cantv and Movilnet.For now, the telecoms and pay-TV operators have all suspended price increases in a bid to find a real solution. We respect Venezuelas laws and are willing to solve this problem as soon as possible, commented Pedro Cortez, president, Telefonica Venezuela.
Over a month after season six of Game of Thrones ended, Spains Movistar+ claims that the series broke every video-on-demand (VOD) viewing record in the country.





As Telefonicas pay-TV operator has exclusive rights to the HBO series in Spain, all viewers not watching via a pirate platform had to watch through Movistar Series and Yomvi, the companys VOD platform.According to the company, Game of Thrones averaged 250,000 VOD plays per episode during the sixth season. Indeed, 63% of viewers preferred the VOD option over linear TV, as the show aired simultaneously to the US broadcasting, at 3am Spanish time.These figures represent a 39% rise in viewers on season five and account for nearly half of Movistar+s total VOD consumption. Besides, 52% chose to watch the show in English, without having to wait a week for the Spanish-dubbed version. Telefonicas platform also claims Game of Thrones led social TV conversation, as its own hashtag, #VivaPoniente, entered Twitters trending topics in Spain during each episode.Our audience has confirmed its preference for new ways of watching TV: enjoying content anywhere at any time, stated the company in a release. On-demand viewing exceeded linear TV in every single episode.This is the last season that Movistar+ will have exclusivity to, as the eventual arrival of HBO GO later this year will bring the series to every telco, starting with Vodafone.
Refusal to open case against Domodedovo airport owner over 2004 terror attacks upheld

MOSCOW, August 5 (RAPSI)  Moscows Basmanny District Court on Friday upheld investigators refusal to launch a new criminal case against Domodedovo owner Dmitriy Kamenshchik in connection with 2004 terror attacks in the airport, RAPSI reports from the courtroom.

Relatives of terror attacks victims demanded to initiate the case against the airports owner because, according to them, suicide attackers boarded the plane due to the fault of Kamenshchik who had not organized normal security system in Domodedovo.

On August 24, 2004 two organized terror attacks at Domodedovo airport were carried by suicide bombers and resulted in destruction of two airplanes and deaths of 90 people.

Three persons have been already convicted in the case. Former police officer Mikhail Artamonov received a 6-year prison term; ticket scalper Armen Arutyunyan and ex-employee of Siberia Airlines Nikolai Korenkov were sentenced to 1.5 years in prison each.

Currently, Kamenshchik is a defendant in the 2011 terror attack criminal case. He was charged with the provision of services that do not meet security standards. He pleads not guilty.

A suicide bomber detonated a bomb in the Domodedovo Airports international arrivals hall, killing 37 people and injuring 172, on January 24, 2011.

Doku Umarov, Russias most wanted terrorist at the time, claimed responsibility for the attack. Altogether, 28 men connected with the terrorist organization called the Caucasus Emirate were linked to the attack, according to the investigators. Seventeen of them were killed in special operations in 2011, and four were detained.

In November 2013, a Moscow Region court sentenced three men to life in prison and a fourth man to 10 years for their role in the suicide bombing.
As we see a surge in inflation globally, it is now critical that everyone is aware of the implications this will have along every step of the insurance and reinsurance value chain.
If Corbyn had had his way, numerous interventions in which the UK participated would never have happened. Iraq, obviously. But also the first Gulf War in 1991 when the UN authorised force to liberate Kuwait from occupying Iraqi forces. Also Kosovo, in 1999, when Nato-led forces intervened to stop the ethnic cleansing and genocide of Kosovan Albanians at the hands of Serb forces (Corbyn claimed as recently as 2004 that the genocide never happened). Also Afghanistan: Corbyn's precious Stop The War Coalition was founded, initially, to rally opposition to attempts by allied forces to seize Osama bin Laden from his Taliban hosts, despite unanimous and explicit authorisation by the UN Security Council for exactly that course of action.
Russia continues to slowly but surely move toward greater integration of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) into its armed forces' tactics, techniques, and procedures. Russian daily Military-Industrial Courier (VPK) offered the latest review of where and how UAVs are being utilized by the Russian Armed Forces. Interestingly, Russians also consider themselves to be the first users of UAVs in a military conflict, notes VPK:

"[W]hen Princess Olga (one of the first Kievan Rus rulers), who lived in the 10th century, used pigeons against disobedient Drevlian Slavic tribe and burned their town of Iskorosten in 945AD." According to historical records, Olga asked for three pigeons and three sparrows from each Iskorosten household. Once the night fell, Olga gave to each soldier in her army a pigeon or a sparrow, and ordered them to attach by thread to each pigeon and sparrow a piece of sulfur bound with small pieces of cloth. Olga then bade her soldiers release the pigeons and the sparrows. So the birds flew to their nests, the pigeons to the cotes, and the sparrows under the eaves. The dovecotes, the coops, the porches, and the haymows were set on fire. There was not a house that was not consumed, and it was impossible to extinguish the flames, because all the houses caught on fire at once."

VPK notes that aerial drone usage is a cultural change as much as a technological one in today's Russian military, quoting a special forces officer who remains skeptical of UAV use: "[I]n his opinion, certain FSB (external intelligence agency) or the GRU (military intelligence agency) components have drones that are appropriate for the tasks and they are, as a rule, foreign-made, while commanders tend to save them and use such vehicles only in exceptional cases. Some (military) bosses tend to believe that it is easier to account for a dead soldier lost during a reconnaissance and intel-gathering mission than for an expensive drone." These UAVs, notes VPK, can be career-killers for Russian officers who tend to think on the fly: "Even if the UAV is not shot down, it can be lost or fall into enemy hands, which is fraught with far more serious consequences for the officer's career. Our special forces, following the adage that necessity is the mother of invention, manage to fly homemade and improvise devices that, in some cases can be better than domestic factory samples." For the record, one of the most widely utilized foreign-made drones in Russian military is "Forpost, an Israeli-made "Searcher" UAV used in a variety of conflicts.

VPK discusses the various technical and procedural disadvantages of today's drone usage in Russian military or reconnaissance missions -- the drones in question tend to be small, low-altitude, propeller-drive designs:

"[T]hey emit a lot of noise that makes it easier to locate them, are used more frequently during the day, when they have a better chance to be seen and shot down, their electronics are imported and in case of a potential military conflict with the UAV-producing country, such drones would no longer be acquired and used by the Russian military. ... If the enemy hides in the reeds or dense undergrowth, these (light) drones cannot perform an adequate detection mission, since their battery lasts maximum 1.5 hours, and if electronic connection with the UAV is lost, they tend to lose orientation and fall on the ground, so it is necessary to solve the problem of the drone's automatic return to the launching point."

VPK also notes that tactical special forces prefer helicopter-type drones, but their numbers are still small across all services.

Despite these challenges, VPK notes that domestically produced UAVs are contributing to recent military successes. Starting in 2010, special reconnaissance platoons are now operating two types of small tactical UAVs -- Eleron-3CB and Eleron-10SV, produced by the Enex company in Kazan, Russia. These drones weighs an average of 15.5 kilograms (34 lbs), can carry up to 4.5 kilograms (10lbs) of payload, have an operational radius of 60 kilometers (37 miles), and can be in the air for about 2.5 hours. In March 2012, a terrorist unit numbering 18 individuals was discovered and destroyed near the Dagestani village of Gubden, all due to Eleron UAV use. This terrorist unit was able to successfully hide in the rugged mountainous region for a long time and was detected only by the drones. According to VPK, the final result justified all the material and moral costs invested in that reconnaissance drone. VPK also notes the continued evolution of the relationship between drone production companies and their users in the military -- in some cases, there is a continued dialogue between the parties aimed at improving the drone performance, but in some cases, the prevailing attitude is to "sell (the drone) and forget."

None of today's challenges in using new drone technology will impede Russia's large-scale production and incorporation of UAVs in military operations -- Russian military is aiming to train and educate its forces in the UAV use and operations domestically and internationally.
Property details:

93,000 sq. ft.School & Gymnasium(Mingo Junction, Ohio) Up for auction price is the former Indian Creek Junior High School located in Mingo Junction, Ohio. The building is 93,000 sq. ft. and sits on .94 acres. The Indian Creek Board of Education inaugurated a new junior high school over Christmas break 2012. There were approx. 400-500 students attending school in this building. All of the heating, electrical, and water systems are in working condition. The Board sold or transferred mo...

Price: $ 59,800 Seller State of Residence: Florida Property Address: 110 Steuben Street State/Province: Ohio City: Mingo Junction Availability: Immediate Type: SCHOOL & GYMNASIUM Year Built: 1929 Lot Size (acres): 1 Location: 333**, Fort Lauderdale, Florida

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COCONUT PALMS BEACH RESORT II NEW SMYRNA FLORIDA TIMESHARE 2 BEDROOM LOCKOFF presenting a COCONUT PALMS BEACH RESORT II New Smyrna Beach, Florida The magic of Orlando is only an hour from your front door. It's even a shorter drive up the coast to Daytona, where the famed beach and boardwalk, and the International Speedway are just a few of the must-see attractions. You can take a trip back in time among the red-tiled roofs and cobblestoned streets of beautiful St. Augustine, America's oldest...

Price: $ 600 Seller State of Residence: Florida State/Province: Florida City: New Smyrna Beach Type: Beach/Ocean Number of Bedrooms: 2 Number of Bathrooms: 2 Location: 331**, Miami, Florida

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By Elizabeth Kwiatkowski, 08/04/2016



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Elizabeth Kwiatkowski is Associate Editor of Reality TV World and has been covering the reality TV genre for more than a decade.

previews haven't made it a secret that Lace Morris and Grant Kemp get together in Paradise, but how did their experience on the show end?Morris, a 25-year-old real estate agent from Denver, CO, and Kemp, a 27-year-old firefighter and model from San Francisco, CA, get engaged at the end of 's third edition this summer, according to The Bachelor spoiler blogger Steve Carbone (better known as Reality Steve to his readers).In a new development that would appear to support Carbone's information, Morris and Kemp were spotted together on Sunday, just two days before the premiere of BiP, at the pool of a luxury apartment building near Morris' home in Denver, TMZ reported Kemp reportedly flew to Denver to visit Morris and they were caught flirting and being affectionate. Morris, however, intends to move to Los Angeles soon to live with Kemp.The couple falling in love on may come as a bit of a surprise to fans considering Kemp called Morris "a mess" in the premiere and said he'd feel bad for any man who gets into a relationship with her. Morris also kind of blew Kemp off to makeout with Chad Johnson During the pair's overnight date before 's finale, Reality Steve alleges Morris and Kemp get matching "Grace" tattoos on their arms -- a combination of their names.Morris first competed on Season 20 of The Bachelor starring Ben Higgins but quit in order to work on herself and become a better person.Kemp just recently appeared on JoJo Fletcher 's season of The Bachelorette.
Clint Eastwood has praised Donald Trump for his stance on "political correctness" in an interview with Esquire.

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While the legendary actor and director did not formally endorse Trump, or any other political candidate, in the interview alongside his son Scott Eastwood he did say the Republican presidential candidate was "on to something."

"What Trump is onto is he's just saying what's on his mind," Eastwood said.

"And sometimes it's not so good. And sometimes it's...I mean, I can understand where he's coming from, but I don't always agree with it."

Eastwood, who was promoting his new film "Sully" starring Tom Hanks as hero pilot Chesley Sullenberger, also lamented the idea of being politically correct in modern culture citing an associate who told him the script for his 2009 film "Gran Torino" was "politically incorrect."

"Because secretly everybody's getting tired of political correctness, kissing up," Eastwood said.

"Everybody's walking on eggshells. We see people accusing people of being racist and all kinds of stuff. When I grew up, those things weren't called racist."

Eastwood said he hadn't spoken to Trump or any other political candidate in regards to an endorsement, but said he would choose him over Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton.

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"That's a tough one, isn't it? I'd have to go for Trump ... you know, 'cause she's declared that she's gonna follow in Obama's footsteps," he said.

"There's been just too much funny business on both sides of the aisle."

When asked for his opinion on politics Scott said he would "leave that for the birds."
Denis Leary and James Corden dressed as Bill and Hillary Clinton and dedicated a new version of Leary's classic comedy song "Ass[expletive]" to GOP presidential candidate Donald Trump.

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Because the entire word is not permitted to be uttered on network television, CBS -- home to Corden's "The Late Late Show" -- bleeped out half of it and covered Leary's and Corden's mouths with animated American flags, all to hilarious effect.

"No matter how bad, no matter how bad we can be..." Corden as Hillary sings.

"We've never said Mexicans are rapists on TV," Leary as Bill chimes in.

Lyrics include, "And I've never asked Russia to hack the USA or said that my daughter is someone I want to date." Another gem is: "He won't show his taxes. He won't even try. He's kicking out babies when they start to cry, while wearing a red, white and blue, Chinese tie!"

The song's chorus was: "Trump's an ass[expletive,] he's an ass[expletive,] what an ass[expletive.] He's an ass[expletive,] he's the world's biggest ass[expletive]."
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By Elizabeth Kwiatkowski, 08/04/2016



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Elizabeth Kwiatkowski is Associate Editor of Reality TV World and has been covering the reality TV genre for more than a decade.
The EEOC (Equal Employment Opportunity Commission) is apparently considering whether the wear of the Gadsden Flag is racially offensive. The Gadsden Flag has long been part of the iconography of the American Revolution. Designed by American revolutionary general Christopher Gadsden, it has long been recognized as a symbol of defiance and was used by Continental Marines and other early U.S. military formations.

Now apparently it might be a symbol of racismor so at least one person is complaining.

According to a number of sources, including the Washington Post, the Washington Times, Fox News, et al, a complaint was filed in 2014 by an employee of an unnamed company, claiming that a hat with the coiled rattlesnake and phrase Don't Tread On Me on the front was racially offensive. Why? Because Christopher Gadsden owned and traded in slaves.

Complainant maintains that the Gadsden Flag is a historical indicator of white resentment against blacks stemming largely from the Tea Party. He notes that the Vice President of the International Association of Black Professional Firefighters cited the Gadsden Flag as the equivalent of the Confederate Battle Flag when he successfully had it removed from a New Haven, Connecticut fire department flagpole.

Apparently while they recognize the Gadsden Flag did not originate with a racial connotation, it may have developed one since then. To wit:

However, whatever the historic origins and meaning of the symbol, it also has since been sometimes interpreted to convey racially-tinged messages in some contexts. For example, in June 2014, assailants with connections to white supremacist groups draped the bodies of two murdered police officers with the Gadsden flag during their Las Vegas, Nevada shooting spree. [Footnote: Shooters in Metro ambush that left five dead spoke of white supremacy and a desire to kill police, Las Vegas Review-Journal] Additionally, in 2014, African-American New Haven firefighters complained about the presence of the Gadsden flag in the workplace on the basis that the symbol was racially insensitive. [Paul Bass, Flag Sparks Fire Department Complaint, New Haven Independent] Certainly, Complainant ascribes racial connotations to the symbol based on observations that it is sometimes displayed in racially-tinged situations.

In fairness (without denying the whole thing is ludicrous), they're only saying they've decided to investigate, not that it is for sure a racially offensive emblem (or for that matter that it would be racially offensive to anyone other than the original complainant).

In light of the ambiguity in the current meaning of this symbol, we find that Complainants claim must be investigated to determine the specific context in which C1 displayed the symbol in the workplace.

It's hard not to revile this complainant and in fact the entire agency for this stupidity. I'd like to think they could dismiss it out of hand. Who knows, maybe there are regulations that prohibit or preclude common sense.

But yeah. We've come to this.
Writer J.K. Rowling talks to media upon arrival at the gala performance of Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, at the Palace Theatre in central London, Saturday, July 30, 2016. Based on an original new story by J.K. Rowling, John Tiffany and Jack Thorne, it is the eighth story in the Harry Potter series and is the first of the stories to be presented on stage. (Photo by Joel Ryan/Invision/AP)

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By JILL LAWLESS, Associated Press

LONDON (AP)  London is under Harry Potter's spell once more  and J.K. Rowling hopes the rest of the world will eventually follow.

The stage play "Harry Potter and the Cursed Child" had its gala opening Saturday in London's West End and is already the theater event of the year.

If the boy wizard's creator has her way, that will only be the beginning.

"I'd like as many Potter fans to see it as possible," Rowling said on the red carpet outside the Palace Theater, as fans cheered and poked camera phones over crowd barriers in hope of getting a picture.

There's already talk of a Broadway run, and Rowling said: "I'd like it to go wider than that."

Co-producer Sonia Friedman said she had big hopes for the show, which has been more than two years in the making and is slated to run in London at least until December 2017.

"Hopefully many countries at some point will get to see it," Friedman said. "But it's a big piece of theater, it's a big endeavor. You can't just turn this around overnight."

The two-part play has been in previews at the theater for almost eight weeks, but few details of the plot have leaked (though those seeking spoilers online will find them).

People leaving the show are handed buttons urging them to #keepthesecrets  and most have complied.

Director John Tiffany said spilling the play's secrets was "like unwrapping children's Christmas presents for them in November, in front of their eyes. And why would anyone want to do that?"

Rowling said fans have "been amazing, they've been incredible."

"It is the most extraordinary fandom, so I'm kind of not surprised, because they didn't want to spoil it for each other," she said. "But I am so happy we got here without ruining everything."

The script of the play is being published Sunday, with a global print run in the millions, so future audiences will have more opportunities to know the plot in advance if they choose.

Without entering spoiler territory, it's safe to say that the play has much to make fans rejoice. This is both an eighth instalment in the Potter saga worthy of Rowling's seven novels, and a stage spectacle to delight even the uninitiated.

The script  written by Jack Thorne from a story by Rowling, Thorne and Tiffany  picks up 19 years after the end of the final novel, "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows."

Harry  the orphaned boy whose destiny was to save the wizarding world  is now an overworked civil servant at the Ministry of Magic, feeling the approach of middle age. His younger son, Albus Severus, is a reluctant pupil at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, struggling with the burden of his family's fame.

Fans who know the saga inside out are likely to appreciate the teeming detail of the play, which runs for five hours over two parts. It captures Rowling's richly textured magical world, with its byzantine mythology, complex history and array of fantastical creatures.

The plot is a rollicking adventure in which Albus' attempt to right a wrong goes awry. But it also has adult things to say about loss and grief, and about the complexities of friendship and family love.

The cast is anchored by the adult trio of Jamie Parker as Harry, Noma Dumezweni as Hermione Granger and Paul Thornley as Ron Weasley, and there are touching performances from Sam Clemmett as Albus and Anthony Boyle as Scorpius Malfoy, son of Harry's childhood enemy Draco Malfoy.

The actors draw both laughter and tears from audience members. But it's the work of the production crew that elicits gasps, with illusions that appear simultaneously simple and inexplicable.

Characters levitate, transform and disappear, in magic that feels hand-crafted rather than high-tech, although a great deal of technical expertise has gone into it.

Buoyed by the work of movement director Steven Hoggett and composer Imogen Heap, the show captures the warm spirit of the world Rowling has created  one that has moved from page to screen to stage with its magic intact.
SHARE David Wayne Bull

By Jim Schultz of the Redding Record Searchlight

A clerk in the Shasta County Probation Office is being accused of having unlawful sex with a 15-year-old girl.

David Wayne Bull, 48, arrested early Friday by Redding Police, pleaded not guilty to 26 felony sex crime-related counts during his Tuesday arraignment in Shasta County Superior Court.

Bull worked at the Probation Office as a legal process clerk, but spokespeople for the Shasta County Probation Office and the county's support services office could not be reached Thursday for comment on his employment status.

Bull remains in Shasta County Jail in lieu of $250,000 bail. He was arrested after the girl's angry father called police around 4:45 a.m., when Bull dropped her off at home and drove away, according to a police investigative report.

A Redding police officer called to the home saw a car matching the description of the vehicle that had left the residence and pulled it over on South Market Street near Parkview Avenue, the report says.

Asked what Bull had been doing with the girl at such an early hour, he replied, "Something I shouldn't have," the police report says.

Interviewed by police, the girl said she had snuck out the home around midnight to meet Bull, who was waiting down the street for her.

She said they drove to his home, watched a movie, "fooled around" and had consensual sex, the police report says.

Although the police report does not state whether Bull admitted to having sexual intercourse with the girl, he admitted to touching the girl's breasts and vaginal area underneath her clothing, the report says

Police said they suspect Bull began the relationship with the girl when she was 14.

According to the criminal complaint, Bull is charged with 12 felony counts of a lewd act upon a child, five counts of unlawful sexual intercourse with a minor, three counts of oral copulation of a person under 16, four counts of attempted unlawful sexual intercourse with a minor and two counts of contact with a minor to commit a sexual offense.

Bull, who is being represented by the Shasta County Public Defender's Office, is scheduled to have a preliminary hearing on Aug. 16.
Greg Barnette/Record Searchlight

Members of the Nation of Patriots Tour, which features motorcyclists transporting a U.S. flag across 48 states in 100 days, stop at the Harley Davidson dealership in north Redding on Thursday.

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By Jim Schultz of the Redding Record Searchlight

Carrying the red, white and blue, a little heavy metal thunder rumbled into Redding Thursday on what was the latest leg of its 14,000-mile patriotic journey,

But it's certainly not an easy ride, especially in the North State at the height of summer.

Still, participants say the annual Nation of Patriots Tour, which features motorcyclists transporting a U.S. flag across 48 states in 100 days, is well worth the effort to honor veterans and help raise money for wounded veterans and their families.

And the ride is made a bit easier as the flag is handed off from motorcycle group to motorcycle group, including the Patriot Guard, the Missing in America Project and the Harley Owners Group (HOG), as it makes its way a full circle back to Wisconsin.

The Patriots Tour, which began in Wisconsin on Memorial Day, will end there on Labor Day.

"It's more than half way" there, said Angel Riley, who helped organize the Redding stop-over as it arrived at the Harley-Davidson dealership on Twin View Boulevard.

The Patriot Tour, which arrived here from Chico after visits to the Northern California Veterans Cemetery in Igo and the Veterans Home of California-Redding, will leave on Friday for the next leg of its journey to Medford, Oregon.

Riley, who has been a Redding HOG member for about 10 years, said the nonprofit Nation of Patriots Tour began in 2010.

The ride was conceived in 2009 by Bill Sherer of Milwaukee, who was the lone rider in the initial tour and traveled through all 33 states east of the Mississippi River on his motorcycle while, at his own expense, raising awareness and money for the families of wounded veterans.

"I wanted to do something different," Sherer said in a 2013 Record Searchlight interview.

He said he came up with the idea of the tour to help veterans in need after listening to the troubling stories of his friends returning from Iraq and Afghanistan.

But, he has said, his one-man tour didn't go over so well.

"It was a complete flop," he said, noting that people were unsure of what to make of him and his trip.

Determined to carry on, he decided to take along an American flag on the next trip, which did the trick.

Since then, thousands of motorcycle riders nationwide participate in the annual tour as the flag is transported city to city to Harley-Davidson shops by motorcycle enthusiasts and others to show their support for those serving or who have served in the armed forces and their families.

A complete tour schedule and a feature that allows people to keep track of the journey can be found at www.nationofpatriots.com.
By Kristine Guerra August 5Adrian Aurs showed up at his estranged wifes apartment late Friday. The Indianapolis police officer was angry and armed.What he saw in the living room made him even more angry.What are you laughing at with another man in your apartment! Aurs yelled as he pointed his gun, according to a probable-cause affidavit. He fired three shots, striking the man in the right elbow and side.The man who was shot, Robert Pearsey, was a fellow police officer investigating a domestic violence incident between Aurs and his wife earlier that night. Pearsay fired back but missed Aurs, who then pointed the gun at his wife before leaving the apartment.What followed was a manhunt that ended 3 hours later in Cincinnati. Police said Aurs briefly barricaded himself in his red Chevrolet Silverado before surrendering.The 17-year veteran with the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department was off-duty at that time of the shooting. He has been charged with attempted murder, residential entry, and pointing a firearm at another.I lost it, I just snapped, Aurs said shortly after his arrest, according to court records.His wife told police that shes afraid for her safety and that of her children. The two children, ages 8 and 2, were inside the apartment when the shooting occurred. One was in the bedroom and the other on the living room couch. They were not harmed.Court records say Aurs and his wife had been living apart since December, when she filed a restraining order after a fight that left her with bruises. Aurs later threatened to also claim that he was being abused, so his wife dropped the restraining order, court records say. The wife filed for divorce in November, court records show.About 8:30 p.m. Friday, Aurs showed up at the apartment, telling his wife that he wanted to see their children, court records say. Aurs forced his way in, saying he would leave when Im ready and accusing her of keeping his kids from him. The woman asked Aurs several times to leave. When she told him shed call 911, Aurs grabbed her cellphone from her hand, telling her he wouldnt let her do that, court records say.Aurs later left, taking his wifes car keys with him.His wife ended up calling police.Later that night, Pearsey was at her home, taking a taped statement from her about the incident. Aurs broke in through the back door of the apartment and shot Pearsey. Court records say the woman followed Aurs outside, fearing hed kill himself.A neighbor told police that she heard a pop while she was inside her apartment. Shortly after, someone banged on her front door, she told police. She looked outside and saw a woman carrying a small child and a man holding a gun. The neighbors husband then went out the back door to see what was happening.Aurs told the husband to step back and pointed a gun at him with a crazed look in his face, according to court records. He then pointed the gun at his own head.I want to see my kids one more time, Aurs told the husband, who was trying to calm him down, according to court records. I shot my friend.Aurs eventually calmed down, and his wife went inside the neighbors apartment for safety. He then drove away in his truck. While driving, he called his wifes father, telling him that he was sorry and that he wanted to kill himself, court records say.Cincinnati police found his truck at about 2 a.m. Saturday. Police also found a recently fired Glock 27 in the truck. Aurs was later extradited to Indianapolis, according to the Indianapolis Star.Loved ones of Aurs and Pearsey showed up during an initial hearing Thursday afternoon in Indianapolis, the paper reported.Adrian Aurs. (Courtesy of the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department)Aurss attorney, James Voyles, entered a not-guilty plea on his clients behalf, according to the Associated Press. The judge also rejected Voyless request to reduce Aurss $200,000 bond, the Indianapolis Star reported.
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Bank robbery suspect arrested in Las Vegas

Authorities arrested a convicted bank robber Thursday in connection to a robbery reported last Saturday at a Chase bank in Redding.

The arrest of John Michael Gifford, 48, of Federal Way, Washington, happened in Las Vegas. Police believe he also is a suspect in a July 20 bank robbery in Eugene, Oregon, the Redding Police Department said.

According to police, the suspect did not disguise himself and did not appear concerned about leaving evidence behind.

He allegedly handed a note to a teller at the Chase Bank on 910 Cypress Avenue and left with an unknown amount of cash, Sgt. Todd Cogle said.

With the help of a federal probation officer, Redding police investigators learned Gifford was their suspect.

He was arrested by the Las Vegas Metro Police Department at 3:15 p.m. Thursday in the Fremont Street area of Las Vegas for violations of his probation terms, which came from a 2007 conviction for robbing a Washington Mutual Bank in Redding on October 16, 2006.

Redding Police are seeking charges for the July 30 robber at the Chase bank and more charges are pending for the July 20 robbery in Oregon.

Man stabs victim, calls 911 for help

Police were called to a home after a man called 911 admitting he stabbed someone.

Redding police officers arrived at the home on the 1000 block of Denton Drive and found Cort Armstrong, 19, of Redding was indeed stabbed in his abdomen.

Police did not have to look far to find their suspect, Patrick Dover, 19, of Redding, who was out front of the home on Thursday morning around 9 a.m.

Dover was arrested by police and said he stabbed Armstrong in self-defense, according to Lt. Pete Brindley.

A weapon was found on the scene and investigators learned from witnesses that the stabbing was not in self-defense.

Dover was taken to the Shasta County Jail and booked for assault with a deadly weapon, said Brindley.

Anyone with more information about the stabbing can contact the Redding Police Department.

Reward still offered in river trail attack

Secret Witness continues to offer a $3,000 reward for information leading to the arrest of a man who attacked an elderly woman walking the Sacramento River Trail in June.

A man attacked Bonnie Smith, 83, at 6:17 a.m. on June 11 on the Sacramento River Trail near the Hilltop Drive entrance.

The suspect is described as a 30-year-old white man, who is 5 feet, 9 inches tall and has a stocky build.

He was seen wearing black pants with a horizontal stripe around each pant leg and tan boots with fur around the upper part.

Anyone with knowledge of the attack or the identity of the attacker should call the Redding Police Department or give an anonymous tip by calling Secret Witness at 243-2319 or www.scsecretwitness.com.

Three men indicted on pot charges

A federal jury today indicted three men on charges they grew marijuana in the Shasta-Trinity and Lassen national forests, the U.S. attorneys office reported.

Clemente Lopez, 31, of Mexico, was arrested at a 9,800-plant grow near Wildwood in Trinity County, said Lauren Horwood, spokeswoman with the attorneys office.

In that case, another unidentified suspect stabbed Trinity County Sheriffs dog Johnny. He survived, she said.

Lopez faces up to 20 years in prison and up to $1 million in fines.

At a different grow in the Lassen National Forest, near Judd Creek, agents with the U.S. Forest Service and Tehama County Sheriffs deputies destroyed 6,900 plants and arrested Jose Madrigal, 67, and Cesar Mendoza-Madrigal, 44, Horwood said.

Both men face five years and up to $250,000 in fines if convicted.

Sheriffs Posse gets new set of tires

The Siskiyou County Sheriffs Office recently received a free set of tires from Point S Tire & Auto Service in Mount Shasta.

The tires were installed on the Sheriffs Posse trailer, which is used to haul the groups equipment, according to the sheriffs office.

The Sheriffs Posse assists the department in mountain rescues, large animal evacuations and rescues and rural crime prevention.

The group also assists with security at such events as the Siskiyou Golden Fair and the Butte Valley-Tulelake Fair.

Those interested in joining the posse may call President Matt Rokes at 598-7821.
A bank surveillance camera took this image of a man wanted in the Saturday afternoon robbery of Chase Bank on Cypress Avenue in Redding.

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Police arrested a convicted bank robber in connection to Saturday's robbery at Chase Bank in Redding.

John Michael Gifford, 48, of Federal Way, Washington, was arrested in Las Vegas and is a suspect in at least one other bank robbery in Eugene, Oregon.

On Saturday Gifford allegedly handed a note to a teller at the Chase Bank on 910 Cypress Avenue and left with an unknown amount of cash, Redding Police Sgt. Todd Cogle said.

Gifford was not wearing a disguise and did not seem too concerned about leaving evidence behind, according to police.

With the help of a Federal Probation Officer, Redding investigators learned Gifford was their suspect.

Investigators found Gifford in Las Vegas and worked with Las Vegas Metro Police Department and arrested him at 3:15 p.m. Thursday.

He was arrested in the Fremont Street area of Las Vegas for violations of his probation terms, which came from a 2007 conviction for robbing a Washington Mutual Bank in Redding on October 16, 2006.

Gifford allegedly managed to squeeze in another robbery in Eugene, Oregon on July 20.

Redding police will seek charges for the July 30 robbery at the Chase bank and more charges are pending for the July 20 robbery in Oregon.
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By Amber Sandhu of the Redding Record Searchlight

The Shasta County Sheriff's Department may soon begin carrying Naloxone, a drug that reverses the effects of an opioid overdose, which could potentially help save lives and temporarily relieve hospitals that deal with drug overdose cases.

Shasta County Undersheriff Eric Magrini said training on the drug is anticipated later this month by NoRxAbuse, a local coalition that works to address the opioid epidemic in Shasta County.

"It's a wake-up call and reality check," Magrini said about the growing epidemic.

According to data from the Office of Statewide Health Planning and Development, in Shasta County, the number of opioid related hospitalizations in 2011 was 390 and has been rising ever since. In 2012, there were 548 hospitalizations, and in 2013, there were 631.

Across California, deputies in Kern, San Diego and Orange county sheriff's departments have already begun carrying the drug in nasal spray form.

Magrini said the Shasta County Sheriff's Office has a policy in place for the administration of Naloxone, and deputies will undergo training and carry the drug in their first aid kits, which will be checked at the beginning and end of each of the shifts.

"I think it's positive, I'm excited," Magrini said. "Anything you can do to help someone and save a life."

Because of how rural Shasta County is, Magrini said deputies would have to manage how they respond to calls about overdoses and prioritize them according to severity and proximity. And once training is complete, deputies in areas such as Igo, Ono and Burney will have access to the drug.

Once deputies come across someone who has overdosed, a trained deputy would administer the Naloxone nasal spray medication and wait until medical staff arrives for further assessment.

Mark Belden, operations manager with American Medical Response, a medical transportation company, said for the past two years in the county, the company's paramedics have seen an increase in Naloxone administration because of the increasing number of overdose cases they've come across.

But the benefit of the drug is that it's safe to administer and has decreased side effects, he said. However, administering the drug too quickly intravenously can cause a patient to "wake up violently" and can give the patient withdrawal effects such as vomiting.

Belden said only paramedics administer Naloxone intravenously and nasally, but AMR hopes to expand nasal Naloxone administration training to emergency medical technicians as well.

NoRxAbuse secured a $60,000 grant through the California Healthcare Foundation, said coalition president Ivan Petrzelka. The plan is to use a portion of the funds to train deputies how to use Naloxone and to expand training to fire and police departments.

But whether that's going to be accepted remains to be seen.

Redding Fire Chief Gerry Gray said there's been some informal conversation about carrying Naloxone. And although it seems like a great idea, he doesn't see it happening because the local ambulance response time is around a minute or two after firefighters arrive at the scene, Grey said.

"It's not long after we arrive on scene that they can administer that (Naloxone)," Gray said. "Right now, we don't have any immediate plans on deploying the Naloxone."

Redding Police Department Captain Roger Moore said when the department receives a medical call, it's not uncommon to find medical personnel arrive before police do. And at this point, Moore said the Police Department doesn't plan to train officers how to administer Naloxone.

"We like to leave the medical problems to the medical personnel," he said.
Marijuana grows in a collective.

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A federal jury today indicted three men on charges they grew marijuana in the Shasta-Trinity and Lassen national forests, the U.S. Attorney's office reported.

Clemente Lopez, 31, of Mexico, was arrested at a 9,800-plant grow near Wildwood in Trinity County, said Lauren Horwood, spokeswoman with the attorney's office.

In that case, another unidentified suspect stabbed Trinity County Sheriff's dog Johnny, who survived, she said.

Lopez faces up to 20 years in prison and up to $1 million in fines.

At a different grow in the Lassen National Forest, near Judd Creek, agents with the U.S. Forest Service and Tehama County Sheriff's deputies destroyed 6,900 plants and arrested Jose Madrigal, 67, and Cesar Mendoza-Madrigal, 44, Horwood said.

Both men face five years and up to $250,000 in fines if convicted.
Donald Trump, the man who defied every political rule and prevailed to win his party's nomination, last week took on perhaps the most sacred political rule of all: Never attack a Gold Star family. Not just because it alienates a vital constituency but because it reveals a shocking absence of elementary decency and of natural empathy for the most profound of human sorrows  parental grief.

Why did Trump do it? It wasn't a mistake. It was a revelation. It's that he can't help himself. His governing rule in life is to strike back when attacked, disrespected or even slighted. To understand Trump, you have to grasp the General Theory: He judges every action, every pronouncement, every person by a single criterion  whether or not it/he is "nice" to Trump.

Vladimir Putin called him brilliant (in fact, he didn't, but that's another matter) and a bromance is born. A "Mexican" judge rules against Trump, which makes him a bad person governed by prejudiced racial instincts.

House Speaker Paul Ryan criticizes Trump's attack on the Gold Star mother  so Trump mocks Ryan and praises his primary opponent. On what grounds? That the opponent is an experienced legislator? Is a tested leader?

Not at all. He's "a big fan of what I'm saying, big fan," attests Trump.

You're a fan of his, he's a fan of yours. And vice versa. Treat him "unfairly" and you will pay. House speaker, Gold Star mother, it matters not.

Of course we all try to protect our own dignity and command respect. But Trump's hypersensitivity and unedited, untempered Pavlovian responses are, shall we say, unusual in both ferocity and predictability.

This is beyond narcissism. I used to think Trump was an 11-year-old, an undeveloped schoolyard bully. I was off by about 10 years. His needs are more primitive, an infantile hunger for approval and praise, a craving that can never be satisfied. He lives in a cocoon of solipsism where the world outside himself has value  indeed exists  only insofar as it sustains and inflates him.

Most politicians seek approval. But Trump lives for the adoration. He doesn't even try to hide it, boasting incessantly about his crowds, his standing ovations, his TV ratings, his poll numbers, his primary victories. The latter are most prized because they offer empirical evidence of how loved and admired he is.

Prized also because, in our politics, success is self-validating. A candidacy that started out as a joke, as a self-aggrandizing exercise in xenophobia, struck a chord in a certain constituency and took off. The joke was on those who believed that he was not a serious man and therefore would not be taken seriously. They  myself emphatically included  were wrong.

Winning  in ratings, polls and primaries  validated him. Which brought further validation in the form of endorsements from respected and popular Republicans. Chris Christie was first to cross the Rubicon. Ben Carson then offered his blessings, such as they are. Newt Gingrich came aboard to provide intellectual ballast.

Although tepid, the endorsements by Ryan and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell were further milestones in the normalization of Trump.

But this may all now be jeopardized by the Gold Star gaffe. (Remember: A gaffe in Washington is when a politician inadvertently reveals the truth, especially about himself.) It has put a severe strain on the patched-over relationship between the candidate and both Republican leadership and Republican regulars.

Trump's greatest success  normalizing the abnormal  is beginning to dissipate. When a Pulitzer Prize-winning liberal columnist (Eugene Robinson) and a major conservative foreign policy thinker and former speechwriter for George Shultz under Ronald Reagan (Robert Kagan) simultaneously question Trump's psychological stability, indeed sanity, there's something going on (as Trump would say).

The dynamic of this election is obvious. As in 1980, the status quo candidate for a failed administration is running against an outsider. The stay-the-course candidate plays his/her only available card  charging that the outsider is dangerously out of the mainstream and temperamentally unfit to command the nation.

In 1980, Reagan had to do just one thing: pass the threshold test for acceptability. He won that election because he did, especially in the debate with Jimmy Carter in which Reagan showed himself to be genial, self-assured and, above all, nonthreatening. You may not like all his policies, but you could safely entrust the nation to him.

Trump badly needs to pass that threshold. If character is destiny, he won't.

Charles Krauthammer's email address is letterscharles@krauthammer.com. He writes for The Washington Post Writers Group.
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First off, since 1991, I have been a recovering Republican dressed in Libertarian clothing hiding in the Green Party.

So here I am watching the Democratic Party's convention and out comes an expatriated couple from Pakistan (the Khans) with the husband lecturing us on how some of Trump's proposals violate our federal Constitution and concluded by suggesting that Trump read the document that Khizr Khan waved at the camera.

So I went back over the following Trump proposals: 1) building border walls 2) vigorously enforcing our immigration and deportation laws 3) cutting off certain types of requested immigration (Muslims only?) until full vetting can take place.

Looking back over our history, Supreme Court actions and the wording of the Constitution, none of those three items violates the rights and freedoms of Americans. In past years we have denied immigration to Catholics, to Chinese, etc. If Khan wants to see what we are capable of when fear of foreign invaders (ie: terrorists) occurs, I suggest that he first reread the Constitution and then read Executive Order 9066 issued by President Franklin Roosevelt in February 1942 that not overturned by the Supreme Court. Because Khan made a vague and incorrect reference to the 14th Amendment, I assume he has read the First and Second as well.

Having done that then, I imagine he was stunned to realize how often we violate those two amendments. But hey, we Americans are used to a violation here and one there; it's no big deal to us. Khan being the new kid on the block, I guess we should cut him some slack. If he is worried that our president may lose or has lost his mind, comfort can be found in Section 4 of the 25th Amendment, but then he's read it.

In addition to revering the U.S. Constitution, Khan is supposedly an expert on the supremacy of the Muslim's Sharia Law. Conflict here?

Many do wonder. Read what he has written on this topic. If you have time, check out his interesting relationship with the perplexing Saudi royal family. In connecting Khan to Clinton, you'll come up with another link to the Saudis as Hillary's top adviser/confidant, Huma Abedin, grew up in Saudi Arabia. She was born in Michigan but her folks were academics in Saudi Arabia.

Parker Pollock lives in Redding.
Mayor Emanuel just proposed raising water and sewer taxes, this time with the intention of saving the Municipal Employees' pension fund. Despite already raising property taxes, instituting a garbage tax, cutting public school funding and practically requesting that Chicagoans directly deposit their entire paychecks into the city's account, the city is still in a deficit.

So where's Rahm gonna come up with the cash? Let's spitball.

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'Stranger Things' tax

The city should start monitoring and taxing the amount of time residents spend trying to explain "Stranger Things" to co-workers who don't have Netflix. Because that's a severely taxing conversation to overhear. For the ninth time.

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Riverwalk admission

Those who want to spend their lunch hour lounging on the steps of the Riverwalk while swatting away pigeons should start paying for the experience. Just because it's free to ogle the animals at Lincoln Park Zoo doesn't mean the same should be said for ogling sun-burned potbellied men on yachts or kayakers in from the 'burbs with an about-to-expire Groupon.

Pay-per-piss

Eat. Watch. Do. Weekly What to eat. What to watch. What you need to live your best life ... now. >

An estimated 300,000 concertgoers made their way through Grant Park for Lollapalooza's 25th hurrah, and most of them probably had to stop and use the porta-potty at some point. You can't put a price on hearing the nostalgic bands of your youth, but you can make someone swipe a credit card before they take a piss.

Drunk breakup tickets

If you're arguing with your significant other anywhere in the proximity of the corner of Clark and Addison, your asses are getting a ticket. The end. Wrigleyville should expect tremendous surges in revenue every Thursday, Friday and Saturday night between the hours of 11 p.m. and 4 a.m.

Merchandise Mart architectural inconvenience fee

Effective immediately, the city should fine the Merch Mart for its bizarre AF layout until someone explains why the business building has an escalator going upbut does not offer one going down. Commuters waste precious minutes stumbling through gaudy kitchen showrooms before they find the "Legends of the Hidden Temple"-esque stairwell. This fine would not only increase revenue, but it also very well may cut down on Chicago's missing persons cases.

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Ryan Nallen (@theRyanNallen) is an actor, writer and improviser in Chicago. Check out his website at ryannallen.com.

Get more from The Second City (@TheSecondCity) at secondcity.com.
Anybody who has seen the gigantic volumes and their conflicting definitions would recognise that GST could not have emerged without their reconciliation, reports Subhomoy Bhattacharjee

Alcohol almost made it to the goods and services tax list as an item to be taxed under it, but for political developments in Bihar.

The empowered committee of state finance ministers had at their meeting in Bhubaneswar in January 2013 reached an understanding on it, said an officer, who had tracked the tortuous course of Indias most ambitious tax reforms.

The chairman of the committee, Sushil Modi, who was finance minister for Bihar, had to step down soon thereafter in June as the Bharatiya Janata Party and the Janata Dal (United) coalition split in the state.

Officers in the central and state governments, who have worked with the GST exercise, can recall several such incidents in the past 10 years.

Abdul Rahim Rather, who succeeded Modi, could not drive the consensus on alcohol, as he was assailed by a host of fresh doubts raised by the states on issues that had seemingly got settled earlier, and alcohol could not make it to the list.

The largest challenge for the gigantic exercise between the Centre and the 29 states was to keep the latter interested over the years.

Our challenge was to restore the trust deficit the Centre had run up when the compensation for the central sales tax fell behind for some years, said Rashmi Verma, now textile secretary in the union government and one of those key people who kept plugging away at the GST plan.

She held the post of additional secretary-revenue in the Union finance ministry in the critical negotiations phase.

As part of the first iteration of the GST, the value added tax, the Centre was supposed to compensate the states for their revenue loss, as the tax rate on CST was halved progressively.

States were not willing to accept the Centres plea that revenue receipts had fallen behind and were unwilling to commit on GST.

Discussions on GST became difficult to hold with the state governments without clearing the pending bills, a fact that Sushil Modi too affirms.

We had to face the anger of the state governments, he says.

Once that obstacle was cleared, the GST negotiations hit the concerns of a clutch of states on ceding their favourite tax to GST. Punjab and Haryana were unwilling to give up on purchase tax, while for Bihar, Bengal and Odisha entry tax was a major source of money.

Image: The Parliament House. Photograph: Reuters
Benchmark share indices ended 1% higher tracking a rally in European shares after the Bank of England on Thursday lowered its key interest rate by 25 basis points and unveiled a stimulus package to cushion the impact of its exit from the European Union.

The S&P BSE Sensex ended up 364 points at 28,078 and the Nifty settled 132 points higher at 8,683.

In the broader markets, BSE Midcap and Smallcap indices ended up over 1.5% each.

Market breadth remained strong with 1817 gainers and 917 losers on the BSE.

"There was covering of short positions with the clearance of the GST Bill in the Rajya Sabha and the quantitative easing by the Bank of England also aided the rally.

"Most of the gains were led by the Indian consumption sectors such as auto and financials among others," said A K Prabhakar, Head of Research, IDBI Capital.

Foreign institutional investors were net buyers in equities worth Rs 559 crore on Thursday, as per provisional stock exchange data.

Foreign funds have been on a buying spree since the past 20 trading sessions with investments of Rs 13,500 crore.

The Bank of England on Thursday reduced its benchmark interest rate to a record low of 0.25% from 0.5%, the lowest in its 322-year history.

Among European major markets, CAC, DAX and FTSE were trading 0.2%-0.5% higher.

Meanwhile, Asian markets trimmed early gains to end mixed with Nikkei, Straits Times and Shanghai Composite closing flat with marginal losses while Hang Seng ended up 1.4%.

The India Meteorological Department on Thursday said that monsoon rains during the week from 28 July to 3 August 2016 was above long period average (LPA) by 6%.

Further, reports suggest that the government is likely to table the GST Bill in the parliament on Monda, August 8.

The target for the rollout of the GST Bill is scheduled for April 01, 2017.

Gains were led by private lenders ICICI Bank and Axis Bank which rose 2.2%-3.5% each followed by SBI, and HDFC Bank.

Steel majors gained after the government extended the minimum import price (MIP) norms to 66 steel items for two more months.

SAIL, Tata Steel, Jindal Steel and JSW Steel ended up 2%-3% each.

Auto shares extended gains as the sector is likely to benefit the most from the implementation of the GST Bill as the effective tax rate is likely to be lower than the current tax of nearly 24%.

M&M, Bajaj Auto, Hero MotoCorp, Maruti Suzuki ended up 1%-3% each. Tata Motors ended nearly 3% higher on reports that July retail sales of its overseas arm JLR rose 34% year-on-year.

Among the index heavyweights Reliance Industries ended up over 1% ahead of its foray into the telecom sector with RJio.

Infrastructure stocks also witnessed renewed buying interest with L&T rose nearly 3% while BHEL gained 2.5%.

However, IT exporters were trading with marginal losses amid a stronger rupee and ahead of the US jobs data which is likely to signal the strength of the US economy.

Infosys, Wipro and TCS were down 0.1%-0.8% each.

Among other shares, Siemens ended nearly 2% higher after the board announced a special dividend of Rs 27.50 per equity share for the year ended March 31, 2016.

Thomas Cook gained over 3% after the company reported 56% growth in consolidated net profit at Rs 62 crore for the quarter ended June 30, 2016 compared with Rs 39.8 crore for the same quarter last fiscal.

Theatre companies are also among the major beneficiaries from the GST Bill. PVR surged over 10% after the company said it has inaugurated a 6-screen multiplex marvel at Xperia mall, Palava in the state of Maharashtra. Its peer Inox Leisure ended up 7%.

Image: The Bombay Stock Exchange. Photograph: Reuters
Vishal Kampani has big shoes to fill as his father is close to the Ambanis, the Wadias and the Ruias, says Dev Chatterjee.

When Nimesh Kampani, 70, founder-chairman of JM Financial group, announced his retirement from the group earlier this week, it surprised many in Corporate India where the retirement age for promoters is almost missing.



But what did not come as a surprise was the appointment of his son, Vishal, who was groomed by Nimesh as his successor for the last two decades as the managing director from October 1.

Vishal, who joined the group in 1997, says one of the most important lessons he learnt while working with his father was to be humble and honest.



Nimesh bhai, as he is called in Mumbais corporate circles, is well known among warring business families as a trusted deal-maker and a friend.



Hopefully I will have the same rapport my father shared with all of them, says Vishal, 39.



He has big shoes to fill as his father is close to the Ambanis, the Wadias, the Ruias besides being an adviser to the Tatas and Lakshmi Mittal on marquee M&A and fund-raising deals.

An alumnus of the London Business School, Vishal is currently looking after JM Financial Products, the groups non-banking finance company and also heads the institutional securities business which consists of investment banking, institutional equities and fixed income securities.



Vishal also launched the asset reconstruction business in 2008 and the real estate and commercial finance businesses in 2009.



I was directly looking after four businesses till now and though I was aware of what was going on in other businesses, I will now take direct charge from October 1, he says.



We became number one in fund raising business (QIPs) and M&As last year, he said soon after his appointment was announced.

Vishal joined the JM Financial group quite early as an analyst in the merchant banking division and has since moved up through the ranks and worked across businesses within the group.



In 1999, he went to work with Morgan Stanley in New York, in the equity capital markets group, where he was involved in structuring creative products for the firms top clients from the Fortune 500 companies.

After returning to India in a year, Vishal worked as a senior banker in the investment banking division of JM Morgan Stanley, which was then a joint venture between JM Financial group and Morgan Stanley.



After Morgan Stanley and JM Financial parted ways in 2007, Vishal and his father decided to invest the Rs 1,900 crore received from Morgan Stanley to grow the financial services business.



The Kampanis also joined hands with former Citibank CEO Vikram Pandit to launch a venture called JM Financial Credit Solutions that is engaged in real estate financing.



This business is doing very well and we made Rs 200 crore profits in the last fiscal, Vishal says.

So will JM Financial, under the new MD, apply for a banking licence? Vishal says he is not in a hurry.



There is no race now as the bank licence is available on tap. We will first consolidate our businesses, he adds.

With Kampani senior taking a backseat, it would be interesting to see how the younger Kampani drives the growth of JM Financial in a cut-throat market.
TTMs

Google has changed how some of my stuff is formatted, so it jacked up my TTM stats. Click below to see a Google Doc instead. Thanks for fixing something that wasn't broken, Blogger!
IMAGE: Security personnel in action after terrorists armed with assault rifles and grenades attacked a market at Kokrajhar in Assam on Friday. Photograph: PTI Photo

Terror struck Assam on Friday when a group of heavily-armed militants, dressed in army fatigues and suspected of belonging to a Bodo separatist outfit, opened indiscriminate fire and lobbed grenades at a crowded weekly market killing 14 people.

One of the attackers, who were believed to be about five in number, was killed in retaliatory action by security forces, police said.

The police said that a group of heavily-armed militants, wearing army fatigues, came to the crowded weekly Balajan Tiniali market, about 12 km from Kokrajhar, in a van around noon and fired indiscriminately killing 12 persons on the spot and injuring more than 20 others.

Two other persons succumbed to their injuries en route to the hospital, it added.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi strongly condemned the attack and said the Union Home Ministry is in touch with the Assam government.

Saddened by the attack in Kokrajhar. We strongly condemn it. Thoughts & prayers with the bereaved families & those injured, he tweeted.

The Home Ministry is in touch with the Assam Government & is monitoring the situation closely, Modi added.

The dead included a woman who was yet to be identified while six others have been identified as Mazhar Ali, Salam Ali, Danda Basumatary, Moniram Basumatary, Parmeswar Basumatary and Tapan Chakraborty.

Assam Director General of Police Mukesh Sahay said the attack was suspected to be the handiwork of National Democratic Front of Bodoland-Songobjit and the operation was still continuing in the area. AK-56 and 47 series rifles along with grenades were also recovered from the spot.

Manik Debnath, a 30-year-old shop-keeper who was a witness to the mayhem, said that about five militants, wearing army uniforms and covering their faces arrived in a van and fired continuously, which continued for 15 to 20 minutes.

A grenade was also lobbed by the militants which set on fire eight shops and screaming people began to run helter-skelter in a bid to escape, he said.

IMAGE: Security personnel carry out extensive area domination operations after the attack. Photograph: ANI

Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal denounced the attack and said the militants would be dealt with very sternly.

Sonowal, who is in Delhi, said the militants would be dealt with very sternly, a statement from the Chief Minister Office said.

We will not tolerate any threat from any group. The government will not bow to any pressure while tackling terrorist groups, he said, adding all deputy commissioners and superintendents of police across the state have been directed to be on high-alert following the attack and in view of the Independence Day.

He announced an ex gratia payment of Rs 5 lakh to the next of kin of the dead, Rs one lakh to the seriously injured and Rs 20,000 to those who sustained minor injuries in the attack.

Describing the incident as very unfortunate, Union minister of state for Home Kiren Rijiju said in New Delhi, We have to ascertain who are exactly behind this dastardly act.

He said, Peace had returned to the Bodoland area and this incident has given us shock. We will ensure that the victims families are taken care of.

Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh was briefed about the attack by National Security Advisor A K Doval.

Additional Director General of Police L R Bishnoi told reporters that a preliminary probe established that the attack was carried out by the NDFB-S.

The mobile phone recovered from the slain militant, who is yet to be identified, contains the numbers of many top NDFB-S leaders and it establishes the outfits involvement in the attack though the investigation is on, he said.

Bishnoi said the NDFB-S could have acted out of frustration as the security forces had stepped up their operation against the organisation recently.

The Unified Command had also launched an operation in areas where senior leaders are suspected to be hiding and the attack may have been launched to divert the attention of the security forces, he added.

The security forces recovered an AK-56 rifle, two magazines, a Chinese hand grenade, 49 rounds of ammunition, three bags and a mobile phone with two SIM cards from the spot.

He said 16 people were injured in the attack, which include two women and two children.

The chief minister said, Ensuring protection to life and property of the people is the first and foremost duty of the government.

He appealed to the people of the state to exercise restraint, and maintain peace and harmony.

Sonowal said Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh discussed the incident with him and have conveyed their deepest condolences to the family members of those killed in the attack.

Dipali Brahma, a housewife who had gone to the market to buy provisions, said there was chaos all around and it took them some time before they realised what was happening.

The Army and the police reached the spot around 15 minutes later and both sides exchanged fire. We were terrified and tried to take shelter behind some shops, she said.

Three fire-tenders were rushed to the spot to douse the fire and it took more than one hour to bring it under control.

Tension prevailed in the entire Kokrajhar district with all shops and business establishments closing their shutters and vehicles remaining off the road.

State Finance, Education and Health Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma tweeted that he was shocked at the barbaric violence and death of innocents.
Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav on Friday announced Rs three lakh compensation and a flat to each of the Bulandshahr gang rape victims.



Drawing criticism from all quarters in the wake of Bulandshahr gang rape incident, Akhilesh Yadav on Thursday slammed the Opposition and accused them of tutoring the survivors in an endeavour to serve their political motives.



The incident is unfortunate. Action will be taken against those responsible. But the question is what are the Bharatiya Janata Party and other (opposition) parties tutoring the survivors and showing the way of politics,

he said.The three men, who have been arrested, have been sent to 14-day judicial custody. However, the police is yet to arrest the gang leader Saleem Bawariya and other accused, who still remain absconding.The incident took place last week on Friday night when a 35-year-old woman and her 14-year-old daughter were allegedly gang-raped by a group of robbers in Bulandshahr district.The victims were on their way from Noida to Shahjahanpur with the other family members when their vehicle was stopped near a cycle repairing shop in Dostpur village on NH-9, which connects Noida and Bulandshahr.
A 26-year-old Dalit man died in police custody under suspicious circumstances in Kanpur following which 12 police personnel have been suspended.

Kamal Valmiki, a resident of Shiv Katra village, was found dead at Ahirwan police station on Thursday afternoon after he was picked up along with another man, Raju Mistri, on Wednesday in a case of looting.

Police called the family of Mistri to identify the body, which was later claimed by Kamals family.

The family members of the deceased filed an FIR against the station in-charge and other police personnel for beating Kamal to death. However, police claimed he had committed suicide and sent the body for post-mortem.

Twelve police personnel, including the station in-charge Yogendra Singh, have been suspended and strict action will be taken against them if found guilty, Senior Superintendent of Police, Mathura, Shalabh Mathur said

The members of Valmiki community blocked the Kanpur-Lucknow highway and threw stones at the police station following which senior police officials reached there to control the situation.

Meanwhile, Raju Mistri has been reported missing.
Pakistani authorities did not allow entry of Indian mediapersons, including those from PTI and Doordarshan, inside the venue of 7th SAARC Home Ministers Meeting in Islamabad, Home Minister Rajnath Singh said on Friday.

Responding to questions in Rajya Sabha after making a suo motu statement on Thursdays conference, the minister also said that after the meeting was over, Pakistans home minister, who was the host, invited the participants for lunch but left in a car soon thereafter.

Keeping in mind the countrys prestige, I did what I should have done. I have no complaints. I had not gone there for lunch, he said amid thumping of benches by members.

He also said he was hesitant to say if the host were courteous... I dont want to comment on it. I have no qualms or complaints. The minister also said India is known globally for its meheman nawaazi (hospitality).

Several members had appreciated Singh for boycotting the lunch and criticised Pakistan for not showing due courtesy to the visiting Indian home minister.

To queries whether there was no telecast of his speech, Singh said he was not aware of the convention and would need to ask the ministry of external affairs regarding it.

Since I was giving the speech, I did not see if it was live telecast or not. But this is true that Doordarshan, ANI and PTI reporters were not given permission to enter inside (the venue), he said as members condemned it by chanting shame, shame.

Rajya Sabha members also criticised Pakistan for allowing protest against India and the visit of Singh.

The minister said as per the original plan, he had to reach the hotel by road from Rawalpindi airbase, but probably security officials later decided to use helicopter.

I saw people were protesting at several places in groups of 10-25 or 100, he said, adding had I bothered about the protest, I probably wouldnt have gone to Pakistan. Singh also said he did not register any protest against these protests.

Reports had said that members of the Indian media, which went from New Delhi to report the conference, were not allowed to enter the venue and kept at a distance by Pakistani officials, leading to a verbal duel between a senior Indian official and a Pakistani official.

The home minister also skipped the official lunch as the host had left the venue, the reports had said.

Recalling former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayees statement that one can change friends but not neighbours, Singh said Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his predecessor Manmohan Singh have expressed sympathy with Pakistan as it too has been a victim of terror.

He said all prime ministers have made efforts to improve relations with neighbours.

But the dilemma is...padosi hai ki maanta hi nahi (the neighbour is not ready to change)...May God give sense to all, he said evoking laughter in the House.

Earlier Leader of Opposition Ghulam Nabi Azad, seeking clarification on Singhs statement, said his Congress party and ruling Bharatiya Janata Party may have differences, but when the prime minister or the home minister travel abroad, they are one.

He sought to know if local TV channels did not cover the home ministers visit and his statements and there was a media blackout.

He also sought to know whether protocol was not extended to him in accordance with Indias standing among SAARC nations and the host being absent at his reception and added if all this was true, it was condemnable.

Subramanian Swamy of the BJP wanted to know if Singh took up with his Pakistani counterpart the daily retort by their prime minister about disintegrating India and Kashmir.

He wanted to know if he suggested to Pakistanis to take care of problems in their own backyard.

Derek OBrien of the Trinamool Congress wanted to know if the Indian media including official media DD were not given access to the home ministers speech which was blacked out.

He also wanted to know if this was the first instance of blackout or is there a precedence.

Asked whether paramilitary forces should be given a free hand to deal with terrorists, the home minister said that the Border Security Force has been asked to maintain patience, but if a bullet is fired, then they do not need to seek permission for how they have to respond. This is the standing order.
A 31-year-old Indian prisoner, sentenced by a military court for possessing a fake Pakistani identity card, was attacked at least thrice by inmates in recent months in a Peshawar jail, his lawyer told a court.

Hamid Nehal Ansari, a Mumbai resident arrested in 2012 for illegally entering Pakistan from Afghanistan reportedly to meet a girl he had befriended online, suffered injuries after he was attacked by inmates in the Peshawar Central Prison.

His lawyer Qazi Mohammad Anwar told a Peshawar high court bench on Thursday that his client had been kept in a death cell with a hardened criminal awaiting execution for a murder.

Ansari was attacked and injured three times over the last couple of months and shifted to the hospital for treatment, the counsel added.

He said even the head warden would subject him to brutality and slap him on a daily basis without any reason.

Anwar said that Ansari lodged a complaint about this with the superintendent.

Superintendent of the prison Masoodur Rehman confirmed the incidents but insisted theyre of minor nature and that such incidents did happen in prisons, the Dawn reported.

Rehman also told the bench that Ansari, who was serving three years jail term, had been kept in the death cell.

He (Ansari) cant be kept in a normal barrack along with other prisoners for the sake of his security, he said.

The superintendent also pointed out that the facility had a capacity for 350 inmates, but was housing 3,000.

Ansaris lawyer said the superintendent should give an undertaking to the court that attacks wont happen against his client in future. The jailer, however, said he couldnt give a written guarantee in this regard, the paper said.

The counsel requested the bench to order the superintendent to shift Ansari to a safer part of the jail where there were no threats to his life.

After hearing the arguments, the court asked authorities to provide protection to Ansari and asked the superintendent to sit down with social activist Rakhshanda Naz and Ansari himself to come up with steps for the inmates protection.

It is your duty to maintain law and order. As a jailer, you are responsible for protecting the lives and property of inmates, the bench told the superintendent.

The bench also ordered Ansari to decide himself over steps for his protection, the Express Tribune reported. A copy of the recommendations is to be submitted before the court.

Ansari had gone missing after he was taken into custody by intelligence agencies and local police in Kohat in 2012 and finally in reply to a habeas corpus petition filed by his mother, Fauzia Ansari, the high court was informed on January 13 that he was in custody of the Pakistan Army and was being tried by a military court.

He was convicted by the military court for possessing a fake Pakistani identity card and sentenced to three years imprisonment.
The Central Bureau of Investigation on filed a supplementary charge-sheet against gangster Chhota Rajan in the J Dey murder case, claiming that he had the journalist murdered because Dey's articles and a planned book portrayed Rajan as 'chindi' (a small fry).

The 300-page charge-sheet was filed at the special Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act court in Mumbai.

Dey, a veteran crime reporter, had planned a book, titled 'Chindi -- Rags to Riches', wherein he was going to write the stories of 20 gangsters with humble origins.

"Dey was going to expose the fake patriotic mask used by him (Rajan) to secure himself and to accumulate wealth for his family. The book was to have that Rajan had no concern for those who made him big," the charge-sheet says.

The book was also to portray Dawood Ibrahim, Rajan's friend-turned-foe, as being superior to him.

Dey was planning to write another two books before leaving journalism, and he had met several people for these book and visited Philippines and other countries.

Rajan, who was reportedly hiding in Malaysia, had called Dey for a meeting but the journalist refused, CBI says.

In an intercepted conversation after Dey's death, Rajan "declared" Dey as "traitor" and his rival journalist Jigna Vora, an accused in the case, now on bail, as the one who instigated the murder, CBI says.

Rajan's henchmen who executed the murder conspiracy in Mumbai used to contact the gangster using international SIM cards which were activated only after midnight, it says.

The charge-sheet has statements of 41 witnesses. It names Ravi Ram Rattesar, earlier shown as a witness, as an accused, because he was found to be a key link between Rajan and other accused and had supplied some 20 SIM cards at Rajan's instructions, said a CBI officer.

A transcript of conversation between Rajan and Vora is also a part of the charge-sheet.

Forensic reports showed that the recorded voice sample of Rajan matches with the voice in the conversation, it says.

Last month, adjourning the hearing, the MCOCA court had said it would go ahead with framing of charges as per the charge-sheet earlier filed by Mumbai police's crime branch if the CBI failed to do so by August 5.

Rajan was arrested at Bali airport in Indonesia on October 25 last year and deported to India.

He is facing around 70 cases in Maharashtra, all now handed over to CBI.

Dey was shot dead in suburban Powai on June 11, 2011.

The first charge-sheet filed in 2011 names Satiah Kaliya, Abhijeet Shinde, Arun Dake, Sachin Gaikwad, Anil Waghmode, Nilesh Shendge, Mangesh Agawane, Vinod Asrani, Paulson Joseph and Deepak Sisodia (all arrested).

Another charge-sheet was filed against Vora the next year. She is accused of instigating Rajan against Dey owing to professional rivalry.

Agency sources said during the course of investigation which took off from where Mumbai Police had stopped, CBI interrogated Rajan, took his voice samples and forensically matching them with his intercepted conversation relating to the murder.

Giving details of their probe, the sources said in New Delhi that in the proposed book there were articles, including the one titled 'Rajan's men are off to pilgrimage', that had irked Rajan who believed that these write-ups gave a picture that the South-East Asia based gangster was losing grip over his gang while Ibrahim was given a much grandiose depiction.

The sources said Rajan also allegedly tried to convey a message to Dey to adopt a balanced narrative of Mumbai underworld giving him due respect and stop lauding Ibrahim as he suspected that Dey was writing positive portrayal of Ibrahim while he was being shown as weaker don.

CBI spokesperson R K Gaur said, "Advanced and scientific techniques were adopted and Voice Sample of accused was also taken. Sufficient evidence has also emerged to establish that Global Roaming SIM cards were arranged by the accomplice of accused to the members of Organised Crime Syndicates."
The 19-year-old Norwegian national of Somali-origin, who is in police custody on charges of murder after going on a knife rampage in London, has been described as a quiet, nice schoolboy and initial probe indicate that tragic incident was triggered by mental health issues.

Zakaria Bulhan is yet to be officially named by Scotland Yard but British media reports confirm the London schoolboy as the suspect being held over the murder of 64-year-old American retired teacher Darlene Horton.

A schoolmate, who went to Graveney School in Tooting, south London, with Bulhan told Daily Mirror: Its one of the most shocking things I have ever heard.

No-one would have expected that he would turn out like that.

He was a quiet, nice kid who had banter with people. He was just a nice kid. I have seen some reports that say he was bullied but it was just banter - he gave back as good as he got. It was a two-way thing.

Norwegian Police said in a statement that the suspect had emigrated from Norway to the UK in 2002 and they were assisting London police.

Scotland Yard had searched addresses in north London and another in south London and concluded that mental health issues were the most likely cause of the random attack.

After an initial indication that terrorism was one line of inquiry, the force confirmed that there was no evidence of radicalisation or anything to suggest the attack was in any way motivated by terrorism.

Whilst the investigation is not yet complete -- all of the work that we have done so far, increasingly points to this tragic incident as having been triggered by mental health issues, Metropolitan police assistant commissioner Mark Rowley said.

So far, we have found no evidence of radicalisation or anything that would suggest the man in our custody was motivated by terrorism, he added.

A British man who suffered a stab wound to his stomach in the attack at Russell Square, near the British Museum, remains in hospital in a serious but stable condition while an American man, an Australian man and Australian woman, and an Israeli woman were all discharged after receiving treatment for their injuries.

Horton, who died at the scene, was set to return to Florida on Friday with husband Richard Wagner, a psychology professor at Florida State University, after he completed his summer classes on the day of the attack.

It is understood that university officials have flown to London to support him.

Florida State University president John Thrasher said: There are no words to express our heartache over this terrible tragedy.

The Met police said there is an increased police presence in the area popular with tourists, which will remain in place for some time.

Image: An armed police officer attends the scene of a knife attack in Russell Square in London. Photograph: Neil Hall/Reuters
Here's a recap of events that occurred in India in the past 24 hours.

A masked protester gestures towards the police during a protest in Srinagar, against the recent deaths in the Kashmir Valley. Photograph: Danish Ismail/Reuters

A woman carries a sack outside a market during heavy rains in Chandigarh. Photograph: Ajay Verma/Reuters

Textiles Minister Smiriti Irani celebrates the Teej festival with women in New Delhi. Photograph: PTI Photo

Protesters during a torch procession to protest against civilian killings in srinagar. Photograph: S Irfan/PTI Photo

Sand artist Sudarshan Patnaik makes a sand art at Puri sea beach to wish Indian sportspersons who are participating in Rio Olympics. Photograph: PTI Photo

BSF jawans providing relief materials flood affected people of Dhubri in Assam. Photograph: PTI Photo

Delhi Lieutenant Governor Najeeb Jung at a press conference after the Delhi high court verdict that upheld Lieutenant Governor's administrative powers in governing, in Delhi. Photograph: Manvender Vashist/PTI Photo

Visitors atop a tank during the exhibition showcasing products and systems developed by various DRDO laboratories at Parliament House in New Delhi. Photograph: Shahbaz Khan/Reuters

An IAF helicopter flies over the British-era bridge that collapsed on Tuesday night. Search operations are still underway Photograph: Sahil Salvi/Rediff.com

A view of the Parliament House on Thursday night. Photograph: PTI Photo
On Friday, Home Minister Rajnath Singh will address the Parliament about his Islamabad visit. On Thursday, in Pakistan, the home minister had issued a terse message of 'no good terrorists or bad terrorists' during the SAARC Home Ministers meet.

Catch all the latest action from the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha here.
Each story is sadder than the next, but what is most heartbreaking is to see the indifference shown towards these children by the police.

Rashme Sehgal reports.

IMAGE: To break this silence of complicity NGOs decided to organise a public hearing with victims restating their experiences. Photograph: Mansi Thapliyal/Reuters

India is reported to have 12 million children working in forced labour. The figure alone would boggle the mind and yet this is an issue no wants to address.

It is to break this silence of complicity that the NGO HAQ: Centre for Child Rights and Campaign Against Child Trafficking decided to organise a public hearing in mid-June, the first of its kind in India, where children who had faced the trauma of being trafficked went public with their horrifying stories.

Each testimony is sadder than the next, but what is most heartbreaking is to see the indifference shown towards these children by the police and other law enforcement agencies.

Some of the pain suffered by these young lives could have been mitigated if the police had taken timely action. A common thread that runs through these young lives is that of poverty and how many of them tried to escape their plight by wanting to make some easy money.

A 13-year-old child told the jury, comprising of former additional solicitor general Siddhartha Luthra, theatre personality Lushin Dubey and journalist Om Thanvi, of how she was on her way to the neighbourhood market along with two of her friends when she was kidnapped by two men she had seen in the colony.

She was drugged and kept in an isolated room where she was raped and then, one week later, sold to become a prostitute for Rs 200,000.

Her kidnappers gave her a daily dose of steroids so she could look like a grown woman, after which she was sold to a brothel in Siliguri, West Bengal, for Rs 800,000. The brothel's owner forced her to engage both in prostitution and drug peddling.

Meanwhile, her parents had filed a missing persons complaint. After seven months, the family sought the help of Sharan, an NGO working on drug de-addiction in the Nizamuddin Basti, New Delhi.

Sharan referred the case to HAQ: Centre for Child Rights. A habeas corpus petition had to be filed to get the police to take action.

By this time another three months had elapsed. In a case where perhaps every second mattered, the delays only added to her suffering. The local police had failed to even trace the mobile numbers from which she had tried to call her mother.

HAQ, along with the anti-trafficking group Shakti Vahini, met a senior police officer to get the case transferred to the Anti-Human Trafficking Unit which finally resulted in her getting rescued from the Khalpara district in Siliguri's red light area.

Even after her rescue, the police took its time over arresting the men who had kidnapped her.

The girl's ordeal lasted more than three years, but what was even more traumatic was for her to testify in court. Even after eight appearances, she continues to have to visit court and repeat her experiences in public.

Even a timely intervention by the police does not always bring about relief as was the case of a 14 year old who was trafficked from North 24 Parganas, Bengal, by her neighbour, who taking advantage of her family's poverty, lured her to Delhi on the promise of providing her with a good job.

En route, the man sold her to a woman in Dhanbad, Jharkhand, who forced her into prostitution. A fortnight later, five to six men were taking her somewhere when some policemen chanced to pass by.

Scared of the police, the men ran away and the police took this crying girl to the Nirmal Chhaya shelter home where she stayed for two months during which period her family members were identified.

The neighbour was arrested and released on bail within one week while this girl's case has been pending for the last ten years.

Although her mother, who works as a daily labourer, welcomed her back, the other villagers did not want her to live there and so she was sent to a shelter home run by the NGO Jabala.

Jabala took the initiative of getting her admitted to a local school. When she turned 18, this young girl told the jury members that she began working in a police canteen supervised by Jabala and has presently joined the Green Police in Kolkata.

The modus operandi to lure women into prostitution often varies.

A 16-year-old girl studying in Class 8 from North 24 Parganas became close to an individual with whom she had a phone conversation.

A series of such conversations saw him promise to marry her, and so she left her parents' home to meet her 'telephone friend' in Pune, Maharashtra.

When she reached Pune, he refused to marry her and sold her to a stranger who forced her into prostitution.

She was rescued from a flat in Farashkhana, Pune, by two NGOs, Jabala of West Bengal and the Rescue Foundation in Maharashtra who helped ensure the trafficker was convicted.

Her family, however, did not want her back and it was only through Jabala's initiative that she was accepted back into the fold. Jabala helped provide her with vocational training and she presently works in a police canteen run by Jabala in Kolkata.

Another survivor from Assam gave testimony about how she was preparing for her Class 10 exams when a friend of hers introduced her to a man who promised to take her to Chennai where he would ensure she got a good job and also marry her.

Thus lured with the promise of marriage, she was first brought to Delhi and later taken to Fatehabad, Haryana, where she was kept in confinement for 15 days, raped by multiple men including the man who promised to amrry her, and forced into sexual slavery.

After 15 days, she was sold to another man where she was made to work through the day and sexually abused at night.

The survivor informed the jury that she managed to get hold of a mobile phone and contact her parents who reported the matter to the local police in Assam.

The police sought Shakti Vahini's help and the girl was rescued. A case was registered in Assam against the perpetrators.

She was produced before the child welfare committee in Fatehabad and as per its order, was sent back to Assam where she was able to appear for her Class 10 and 12 exams. She is not able to study further because her father, a daily wager, lacks the means to educate her.

Another horrifying story is that of a 14 year old whose parents agreed to marry her to a 40-year-old man who claimed to belong to a rich Kanpur family. He paid the parents Rs 10,000 and bore the marriage expenses.

When this child reached Kanpur, she received a rude shock. Not only was she made to work as a domestic help, she was forbidden to step out of the house.

After a few weeks, her husband forced her into prostitution. She was compelled to sleep with various relatives of her husband. When she resisted, she was denied food.

She gave birth to two children, but the abuse continued till she fled with her children. When she left home, she was pregnant with her third child.

Her parents were not happy with her decision to return to them and kept asking her to return to her husband. There was no legal intervention in this case as her family refused to register a case. The police too do not seem to feel the need to proceed with any formal complaint.

Next: The fate of young boys forced into child labour
People who knew Keith Hanson describe him as a man of deep faith.

He was a very smart, nice guy  and someone who looked out for others.

Hanson was also a man with dreams. The valedictorian of the Fremont High School Class of 1991 wanted to become an astronaut someday.

He didnt fulfill that dream, but Hanson would achieve a great deal before his death in July 2012 after a car accident. He was a lieutenant commander in the U.S. Navy. Hed served during the Bosnia/Kosovo Conflict. He and his wife, Jennifer, were parents of a daughter, Hannah.

Four years ago, Hanson was buried in Arlington National Cemetery. More than 200 people were at Arlington for the burial.

This weekend, he will be posthumously honored again when his family is presented with a special flag. The Hansons are one of four families of fallen military members who will receive an Honor and Remember flag during a 45-minute ceremony.

About 20 Hanson family members, including his parents Jim and Mary Ann of Fremont, and friends plan to attend the event. The ceremony will start at 3 p.m. Sunday in the social hall of Lamb of God Lutheran Church, 1010 W. Lincoln St., in Papillion.

The Honor and Remember Flag Nebraska Chapter presents flags to families of the fallen (Gold Star families) as a national symbol of gratitude and a visible reminder that continues to recognize the sacrifice of military members who die while serving or as a result of serving their country.

This flag has a unique design, which includes a gold star, signifying the ultimate sacrifice of a warrior in active service who will not return home, states data from the Honor and Remember website.

The flag also has a picture of a flame, an eternal reminder of the spirit that has departed this life yet burns on in the memory of all who knew and loved the fallen hero.

Keith Hansons name and rank will be printed at the bottom of the flag.

Were very honored that they are going to present the flag, his mother said.

Hansons parents plan to fly the Honor and Remember flag beneath the American flag on the flagpole at their home. Theyll probably save it for special days such as the Fourth of July, Memorial Day and Veterans Day, she said.

Flags also were presented to families during two presentations in May, Mary Ann said.

Attending the Sunday ceremony will be the Hansons and two of their sons, Jay and Kelly and his wife, Pam, and their son Joel Krocker and wife Sarah. Keiths godparents, Larry and Mary Ann Weinandt of Fremont, will attend as will their daughter, Amy Sorenson and three of her children, and several friends.

Hanson said she ordered white rugby shirts for the event. In the lefthand corner are the words: Gold Star Family of LCDR Keith Hanson.

Mary Ann Hanson said the flag presentation is a special way to let families know that the nation honors and remembers her son and other fallen military members.

Its a special way for us to display the flag on important days, especially since his gravesite isnt nearby, she said.

Hanson said the flag helps people know that theyre a Gold Star family.

At this time when some people are not being very judicious in how theyre treating Gold Star families, its nice to know that others are treating them well  and care, she said.

Keith Hanson graduated in 1995 from the U.S. Naval Academy with a bachelors degree in mechanical engineering. In 1996, he was deployed to Sigonella, Sicily, and served during the Bosnia/Kosovo Conflict.

He earned his masters degree in aeronautical engineering from the Air Force Institute of Technology in 2007 and graduated from the United States Naval Test Pilot School in 2008, earning the Sid Sherby Award for exemplary Leadership.

At the time of his death, he was with VX-20 (Air Test and Evaluation Squadron 20), at Patuxent River Naval Air Station, Md.

Hanson was 39 when the rental car he was driving was struck by another motorist on June 30, 2012. He died the next day. His wife and then-8-year-old daughter were hospitalized and later released.

In a 2012 Fremont Tribune article, Kelly Hanson said his brothers satisfaction came in knowing that he was making a difference in the world.

His career was really defined by what he couldnt talk about, Kelly Hanson said. I think he really did stuff that saved lives.

Their mother agreed.

They told us, she added, that because of Keiths work, many of the young men and women who served over in Afghanistan would come home alive, or come home with fewer or no injuries.
Russia: Moscow officials deny activists permission to rally

Publisher Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty Publication Date 22 July 2016 Cite as Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, Russia: Moscow officials deny activists permission to rally, 22 July 2016, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/57a43ca929.html [accessed 28 October 2022] Disclaimer This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States.

July 22, 2016

By RFE/RL

Moscow city authorities have declined to give the opposition permission to hold a rally in the capital on July 26 to protest against controversial new antiterror legislation.

Officials said on July 22 that the activists had "not completed all the procedures" needed to hold a demonstration.

Opposition activist Leonid Volkov, however, said the protest had been authorized by the Moscow City Hall on July 14, and accused the authorities of an "illegal" reversal to stop them from rallying.

Volkov said the protest organizers on July 22 submitted two signatures to City Hall that authorities said were missing from their original application.

Volkov said he still hoped to obtain approval for the protest.

The opposition wants to protest controversial legislation signed by President Vladimir Putin on July 7 that greatly ramps up surveillance of citizens and beefs up laws on extremism.

It has been described as Russia's "Big Brother" law by Edward Snowden, the Moscow-based former U.S. security contractor.

Link to original story on RFE/RL website

Copyright notice: Copyright (c) 2007-2009. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036
Pakistan PM's party wins elections in disputed Kashmir

Publisher Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty Publication Date 22 July 2016 Cite as Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, Pakistan PM's party wins elections in disputed Kashmir, 22 July 2016, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/57a43caa15.html [accessed 28 October 2022] Disclaimer This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States.

July 22, 2016

Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif's ruling party has won local elections in Pakistan-administered Kashmir.

Sharif's Pakistan Muslim League party won 31 of the region's 41-seat assembly in the vote held July 21.

Sharif on July 22 addressed a crowd of supporters in Muzaffarabad, the capital of Pakistan-held Kashmir, and promised to deliver a new "era of development."

The win gives the premier a boost after months of pressure from his opponents in Pakistan to step down.

Local elections were largely peaceful on July 21, after a "black day" was observed to protest the killing of dozens of civilians during violent protests in Indian-held Kashmir.

Bloody protests were sparked after Indian forces on July 8 killed Burhan Wani, a popular leader of Kashmir's largest rebel group.

Based on reporting by AP and AFP

Link to original story on RFE/RL website

Copyright notice: Copyright (c) 2007-2009. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036
Ukraine: Savchenko calls for reconciliation with separatists, sparks outcry

Publisher Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty Publication Date 22 July 2016 Cite as Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, Ukraine: Savchenko calls for reconciliation with separatists, sparks outcry, 22 July 2016, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/57a43cab15.html [accessed 28 October 2022] Disclaimer This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States.

July 22, 2016

By RFE/RL

Nadia Savchenko

Nadia Savchenko, the Ukrainian military officer who became a national hero after spending nearly two years in a Russian prison, called for reconciliation to end the conflict in eastern Ukraine, sparking outrage among some lawmakers.

Savchenko, who was elected to parliament while in prison, said in an interview broadcast July 21 on Ukraine's Channel Five that Ukrainians must "ask for forgiveness." Otherwise, she said, the violence that has gripped the country's Donbas region since April 2014 would continue.

Her comments infuriated nationalist lawmakers and others, including Anton Herashchenko who also serves as an aide to the Interior Ministry.

"You, Nadia, are able to ask for forgiveness of ... Russians who came to our lands to kill and rape, but we will never ask forgiveness of the occupiers and terrorists," he wrote on his Facebook page. "We will, through clenched teeth, hold on and achieve the emancipation of our lands by any means!"

Savchenko, a helicopter navigator, was captured in June 2014, and put on trial in Russia, charged with the killing of two Russian reporters covering the war.

Profile: The Many Faces Of Nadia Savchenko

Freed in May as part of a prisoner swap, she returned to a hero's welcome, and has spoken out regularly, calling for direct peace talks with Russia-backed separatists in the east.

More than 9,400 people have been killed in the fighting, according to United Nations figures.

Link to original story on RFE/RL website

Copyright notice: Copyright (c) 2007-2009. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036
Armenian president calls for release of Yerevan police hostages

Publisher Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty Publication Date 23 July 2016 Cite as Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, Armenian president calls for release of Yerevan police hostages, 23 July 2016, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/57a43cac20.html [accessed 28 October 2022] Disclaimer This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States.

July 23, 2016

Armenian President Serzh Sarkisian called on the gunmen holding hostages in a police station in Yerevan to lay down arms and release the four police officers they're holding hostage.

Sarkisian's call came after he met with law-enforcement officials on July 22. He said that the government would punish law-breakers and its actions "will be in line with Armenia's laws." But he did not say whether he would ask police to storm the building.

The police station was seized on July 17 by gunmen seeking the release of an opposition figure who was arrested in June for illegal weapons possession. One policeman was killed in the assault.

About 3,000 supporters of the gunmen gathered near the police station late July 22. Nikol Panishian, a leading opposition politician, urged the crowd to be peaceful but persistent in calling for Sarkisian's resignation and new elections.

He also said demonstrators would be holding nightly meetings near the police station.

The Armenian national security agency on July 22 said that two men had been detained for allegedly trying to bring grenades and firebombs to the demonstrations.

Based on reporting by AP, Interfax, and TASS

Link to original story on RFE/RL website

Copyright notice: Copyright (c) 2007-2009. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036
State Sen. Bill Kintner will pay a $1,000 fine for using his government-issued laptop to have cybersex with a stranger he met online.

But the embattled lawmaker refused to resign Friday, despite calls to do so by Gov. Pete Ricketts and Speaker of the Legislature Galen Hadley.

"Senator Kintner should resign his office immediately. Period," Ricketts said in a news release after the Nebraska Accountability and Disclosure Commission ordered Kintner to pay the $1,000 civil penalty.

The settlement deal, approved by Kintner's lawyer, brought little resolution to a case that had been under investigation more than year but only became public last week.

Kintner, 55, acknowledged Friday that he used his state laptop to exchange sexually charged messages and live video of himself masturbating with a stranger he met online while attending a conference in Boston in July 2015.

He reported the situation to the Nebraska State Patrol after the woman threatened to share the video on YouTube if he didn't wire her money.

"I knew as a follower of Christ I needed to take quick and decisive action, and I did," Kintner said in a statement.

The woman later demanded Kintner pay $4,500 or she would release the video, according to investigative reports.

While having cybersex isn't illegal, Nebraska law prohibits public officials from using state computers and other resources for most non-work purposes.

The situation has left other lawmakers and members of Kintner's political circle struggling with how to proceed.

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Omaha Sen. Ernie Chambers, who attended Friday's Accountability and Disclosure meeting at the Capitol, said he plans to pursue Kintner's impeachment, calling Kintner a "vulgar hypocrite."

"Sometimes an office needs to be purged immediately," Chambers said.

Others are weighing an attempt to expel Kintner from the Legislature until the next election, during which voters could decide whether to keep him. That's the direction Hadley said he's leaning if Kintner still refuses to resign.

"This puts his fellow senators in an exceedingly difficult position," Hadley said Friday.

The Legislature's Executive Board will discuss the issue during a meeting Aug. 19.

Hadley said he would prefer to address the situation this year. Asked if that means calling a special session before the Legislature reconvenes in January, he said, "It's a possibility."

The Accountability and Disclosure Commission's decision came more than a year after the Nebraska State Patrol launched an investigation into whether Kintner had fallen victim to an online scam.

Many, including top state Democrats, have questioned why Ricketts and high-level senators who were familiar with the situation didn't speak up sooner  particularly since Kintner is a political ally of Ricketts. His wife also works as the governor's top policy adviser.

Lauren Kintner, who married the senator in 2009, was diagnosed with ovarian cancer soon after her husband's trip to Boston.
Russian soldier killed by roadway bomb in Syria

Publisher Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty Publication Date 23 July 2016 Cite as Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, Russian soldier killed by roadway bomb in Syria, 23 July 2016, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/57a43cacc.html [accessed 28 October 2022] Disclaimer This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States.

July 23, 2016

The Russian Defense Ministry said on July 22 that a Russian serviceman was killed in Syria by a self-detonating bomb planted on a roadway.

The ministry said the serviceman was killed near Aleppo when a bomb exploded near a convoy bringing food and water for local inhabitants, which was being escorted by the Russian military.

"Russian contract soldier, Private Nikita Shevchenko died while escorting a column of cars consigned by the Center for Reconciliation in the Syrian Arab Republic," the ministry said.

"He was riding in a car that escorted the column of trucks delivering foodstuffs and potable water to the local population" in the Aleppo Governorate, it said.

"While the column was entering a populated locality, an improvised explosive device the militants had planted by the roadside went off," it said.

Russian military medical workers tried to save the badly wounded soldier, but his wounds proved lethal, the ministry said.

Shevchenko will be decorated posthumously, it said.

Based on reporting by Reuters, Interfax, and TASS

Link to original story on RFE/RL website

Copyright notice: Copyright (c) 2007-2009. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036
Indian aid worker kidnapped in Afghanistan is free

Publisher Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty Publication Date 23 July 2016 Cite as Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, Indian aid worker kidnapped in Afghanistan is free, 23 July 2016, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/57a43cad15.html [accessed 28 October 2022] Disclaimer This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States.

July 23, 2016

An Indian charity worker kidnapped in the Afghan capital last month has been released, Indian Foreign Minister Sushma Swaraj announced on July 23.

Forty-year-old Judith D'Souza was taken at gunpoint on June 9 near her residence in the center of Kabul.

Swaraj thanked Afghanistan for its "help and support" but did not give details about how the release happened.

She said D'Souza is expected to be back in the Indian capital by evening.

Officials did not say who was behind the kidnapping.

D'Souza was working for the Aga Khan Foundation, which provides education and health assistance in about 30 countries.

Kidnappings are common in Afghanistan, with both Afghans and foreign nationals targeted.

Based on reporting by Reuters, AFP, and AP

Link to original story on RFE/RL website

Copyright notice: Copyright (c) 2007-2009. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036
Armenia: Gunmen release four remaining police hostages in Yerevan

Publisher Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty Publication Date 23 July 2016 Cite as Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, Armenia: Gunmen release four remaining police hostages in Yerevan, 23 July 2016, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/57a43cae13.html [accessed 28 October 2022] Disclaimer This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States.

Last updated (GMT/UTC): 23.07.2016 18:06

By RFE/RL's Armenian Service

One of the opposition gunmen occupying a police station in Yerevan.

All four police officers held by gunmen in a police station in Armenia's capital Yerevan were released on July 23 after a week-long hostage standoff with authorities.

Senior military officer Vitaly Balasanyan, who was acting as a negotiator, said the two remaining police officers were released by the gunmen in exchange for an opportunity to talk to the press. Two police officers had been released earlier on July 23.

The gunmen are linked to the radical opposition movement Founding Parliament.

Varuzhan Avetisian, a spokesman for Founding Parliament, told RFE/RL that the gunmen have no intention of laying down their weapons until their demands are met.

The gunmen's demands include the resignation of President Serzh Sarkisian and the release of Zhirayr Sefilian, the leader of Founding Parliament.

Avetisian added that the gunmen, who seized the Erebuni police station on July 17, were prepared for a possible raid by Armenian security forces.

'We Will Never Allow That'

Sarkisian on July 22 urged the gunmen to release all the hostages and surrender.

"In Armenia, issues will not be solved through violence or hostage taking. We will never allow that," Sarkisian said in his first public comments since the seizure.

Sefilian and six of his supporters were arrested on June 20 after authorities initially said they were preparing a plot to seize several government buildings and telecommunication facilities in Yerevan. He was formally charged with illegal acquisition and possession of weapons.

One policeman was killed in the July 17 assault.

About 3,000 supporters of the gunmen gathered near the police station late on July 22.

The gunmen are members of a little-known group called Sasna Tsrer, dubbed by some the Daredevils of Sassoun, which is loyal to Sefilian's Founding Parliament.

Most of Sasna Tsrer members are veterans of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict in the late 1980s and early 1990s.

The Founding Parliament is sharply critical of the way the government has dealt with the long-running conflict in Azerbaijan's breakaway region of Nagorno-Karabakh, a territory that both Armenia and Azerbaijan claim.

The group frequently stages street protests in Yerevan demanding Sarkisian's resignation.

Link to original story on RFE/RL website

Copyright notice: Copyright (c) 2007-2009. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036
Russian FSB searches Kremlin critic's apartment

Publisher Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty Publication Date 23 July 2016 Cite as Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, Russian FSB searches Kremlin critic's apartment, 23 July 2016, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/57a43caf2a.html [accessed 28 October 2022] Disclaimer This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States.

July 23, 2016

Federal Security Service (FSB) officers searched the Moscow apartment of a Kremlin critic who left Russia earlier this year for fear of persecution over an article he wrote.

The FSB searched prominent political analyst Andrei Piontkovsky's apartment, where a grandson was staying, after conducting an hours-long search at the apartment of his daughter and grandchildren, Piontkovsky and his lawyer Mark Feigin said.

Feigin said the searches were related to a criminal investigation opened after Russian authorities said they saw signs of hate speech and calls for "actions aimed at violating the territorial integrity" of Russia in an article by Piontkovsky that was published in January.

The article was about the relationship between President Vladimir Putin's central government and the volatile Chechnya region, which Kremlin critics and rights activist says Putin allows regional leader Ramzan Kadyrov to rule with an iron hand in exchange for keeping separatism in check.

Piontkovsky, 76. left the country after the article was published.

In an e-mail to RFE/RL's Russian Service on July 23, he said the first apartment search started at 6 a.m. and suggested that "breaking into an apartment" at that hour on a Saturday is "apparently a style inherited" from the Soviet KGB.

With reporting by Ekho Moskvy

Link to original story on RFE/RL website

Copyright notice: Copyright (c) 2007-2009. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036
Belarus: Funeral held for slain journalist Sheremet in Minsk

Publisher Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty Publication Date 23 July 2016 Cite as Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, Belarus: Funeral held for slain journalist Sheremet in Minsk, 23 July 2016, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/57a43cafb.html [accessed 28 October 2022] Disclaimer This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States.

July 23, 2016

The funeral was held at Minsk's Church of All Saints.

Hundreds of mourners in Belarus attended the funeral of prominent Belarusian-born journalist Pavel Sheremet, who was killed in a car bombing in Kyiv on July 20.

The funeral was held on July 23 at the Church of All Saints in Sheremet's hometown of Minsk.

Sheremet, a journalist at news website Ukrayinska Pravda, was driving to a radio station to do a morning show when the bomb exploded in his car.

His killing shook Ukraine's media community and sent shock waves into Russia and Belarus.

The 44-year-old had previously worked in Russia and his native Belarus, where he faced pressure from the authorities for his reporting.

The Ukrainian Interior Ministry said the explosives were "skillfully" planted underneath the car and the blast may have been set off by a "remote-controlled or delayed-action" detonator.

On July 22, thousands of mourners took part in a solemn procession through Kyiv's Ukrainian House including friends, colleagues, lawmakers, and government officials  among them President Petro Poroshenko.

Based on reporting by RFE/RL's Belarus Service

Link to original story on RFE/RL website

Copyright notice: Copyright (c) 2007-2009. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036
Former Russian VP Rutskoi to run for Duma seat

Publisher Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty Publication Date 23 July 2016 Cite as Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, Former Russian VP Rutskoi to run for Duma seat, 23 July 2016, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/57a43cb015.html [accessed 28 October 2022] Disclaimer This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States.

July 23, 2016

Russia  Former Soviet Parliament Chairman Ruslan Khasbulatov (2nd-L) and former Parliament Vice-President Alexander Rutskoi (3rd-R) are guarded by members of "Team Alpha" special forces after being arrested, Moscow, 04 October 1993

Aleksandr Rutskoi, Russia's only vice president who later led an attempt to seize power from then Russian President Boris Yeltsin, has been registered as a candidate in September's elections for the State Duma, or lower house of parliament.

Russian news agency TASS reported July 23 that Rutskoi was registered as a candidate in the Siem single-mandate election district No. 110, in the Kursk region.

Rutskoi was simultaneously denied registration to run for a seat in the Kursk regional legislature because he lacked the requisite number of signatures.

TASS reported Kursk electoral authorities also denied registration to the Patrioty Rossii Party, of which Rutskoi is a member, and the Communists of Russia Party, citing their lack of the required number of signatures.

Rutskoi served as a pilot during the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan. He later became vice president of Russia in July 1991, just before the collapse of the Soviet Union and remained in that position until 1993 when he led efforts to remove Yeltsin.

Rutskoi and Parliamentary Speaker Ruslan Khasbulatov briefly occupied the parliament building in late September-early October 1993 and a rebellious faction from the Supreme Soviet declared Rutskoi president.

Troops loyal to Yeltsin stormed the parliament building and placed Rutskoi and Khasbulatov under arrest. They were later jailed.

Rutskoi was freed under an amnesty in February 1994. He successfully ran for the office Kursk governor in 1996 and served one four-term in that post.

Based on reporting by TASS

Link to original story on RFE/RL website

Copyright notice: Copyright (c) 2007-2009. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036
Iraq: Suicide bomber hits Baghdad police checkpoint

Publisher Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty Publication Date 24 July 2016 Cite as Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, Iraq: Suicide bomber hits Baghdad police checkpoint, 24 July 2016, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/57a43cb115.html [accessed 28 October 2022] Disclaimer This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States.

July 24, 2016

Iraqi workers clean the pavement as security forces stand guard at the site of a deadly suicide bombing near a Shi'ite shrine in Baghdad on July 24.

A suicide bomber has struck a police checkpoint in the Iraqi capital, Baghdad, killing and wounding many.

Casualty figures in the July 24 attack remain unclear, with agencies quoting Iraqi officials as saying between six and 12 people were killed, with as many as two dozen injured.

A medical official told the AP news agency that three of the dead were police officers.

The Islamic State terrorist organization issued a statement claiming responsibility for the attack, which happened at an entrance to the primarily Shi'ite district of Kadhimiyah.

The Islamic State terrorist organization claimed responsibility for a blast in the capital on July 3 that left more than 290 dead. It also took responsibility for an attack on a Shi'ite shrine in Balad a few days later that left 40 dead.

Based on reporting by AP, Reuters, dpa, and AFP

Link to original story on RFE/RL website

Copyright notice: Copyright (c) 2007-2009. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036
Clashes erupt in IS stronghold in northern Syria

Publisher Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty Publication Date 24 July 2016 Cite as Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, Clashes erupt in IS stronghold in northern Syria, 24 July 2016, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/57a43cb211.html [accessed 28 October 2022] Disclaimer This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States.

July 24, 2016

Islamic State (IS) fighters have clashed with U.S.-backed forces in a militant stronghold in northern Syria.

The violence erupted after a 48-hour deadline given to IS militants to leave the encircled town of Manbij expired.

There are growing fears for the fate of tens of thousands of civilians trapped in Manbij, an IS stronghold that lies on a key supply route to the group's de facto capital of Raqqa.

U.S.-supported Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) have encircled Manbij but had avoided entering the town center in a bid to prevent civilian casualties.

The U.S.-led coalition air strikes have been blamed for the killing of at least 56 civilians in and around Manbij on July 19.

Based on reporting by Reuters and AP

Link to original story on RFE/RL website

Copyright notice: Copyright (c) 2007-2009. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036
Turkey says top Gulen insider detained

Publisher Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty Publication Date 24 July 2016 Cite as Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, Turkey says top Gulen insider detained, 24 July 2016, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/57a43cb315.html [accessed 28 October 2022] Disclaimer This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States.

July 24, 2016

U.S.-based preacher Fethullah Gulen denies any involvement in this month's failed coup attempt in Turkey

Turkish officials say they have detained a top official to cleric Fethullah Gulen, whom Ankara blames for an attempted coup earlier this month.

Officials said Hail Hanci, described as Gulen's "right-hand man," was detained on July 23 in the province of Trabzon. The official said Hanci "apparently" entered the country two days before the July 15 coup attempt.

Gulen, who lives in self-imposed exile in the United States, has denied all involvement with the coup.

Earlier on July 23, officials said they had detained Muhammed Sait Gulen, a nephew of Fethullah Gulen's.

In a televised statement on July 24, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said a total of 13,156 people have been arrested in connection with the attempted coup, including 126 generals.

"The country has gotten rid of its illness and is making a recovery," Erdogan said.

Based on reporting by Reuters, TASS, and AFP

Link to original story on RFE/RL website

Copyright notice: Copyright (c) 2007-2009. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036
Rights group says Turkey coup detainees have been tortured

Publisher Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty Publication Date 24 July 2016 Cite as Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, Rights group says Turkey coup detainees have been tortured, 24 July 2016, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/57a43cb42b.html [accessed 28 October 2022] Disclaimer This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States.

July 24, 2016

Turkish authorities have detained more than 13,000 people in a crackdown following the failed military coup against President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

Amnesty International says it has "credible evidence" that Turkey has tortured hundreds of people detained in a wave of arrests following a failed July 15 coup attempt.

The global rights watchdog said on July 24 that some of those in custody were being "subjected to beatings and torture, including rape, in official and unofficial detention centers in the country."

Turkish authorities have detained more than 13,000 people in a crackdown following the failed military coup against President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Some 6,000 of those detained have been formally arrested.

London-based Amnesty International cited interviews with doctors, lawyers, and an official in a detention center in saying that evidence suggests detainees have been subject to brutal abuses.

A senior Turkish official was cited by the AFP news agency as denying the group's allegations and pledging that the country would not violate human rights.

"The idea that Turkey, a country seeking European Union membership, would not respect the law is absurd," the unidentified official was quoted as saying.

Based on reporting by AFP and dpa

Link to original story on RFE/RL website

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Ukraine reports six soldiers killed

Publisher Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty Publication Date 24 July 2016 Cite as Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, Ukraine reports six soldiers killed, 24 July 2016, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/57a43cb4c.html [accessed 28 October 2022] Disclaimer This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States.

July 24, 2016

Six Ukrainian soldiers have been killed in the last 24 hours in fighting against Russia-backed separatists in the eastern part of the country.

Oleksandr Motuzianik, a military spokesman for President Petro Poroshenko, made the announcement on July 24, adding that 13 soldiers were injured.

He did not give details of the deaths, but the press center of the Ukrainian military's "Antiterrorist Operation" (ATO) said on July 24 that Ukrainian forces were fired upon 77 times in the preceding 24 hours. That statement said the heaviest shelling came in the Mariupol area.

According to the United Nations, more than 9,400 people have died since the fighting in eastern Ukraine began in 2014.

Based on reporting by Ukrayinska Pravda and TASS

Link to original story on RFE/RL website

Copyright notice: Copyright (c) 2007-2009. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036
Syrian activists: Regime air strikes hit several clinics in Aleppo

Publisher Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty Publication Date 24 July 2016 Cite as Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, Syrian activists: Regime air strikes hit several clinics in Aleppo, 24 July 2016, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/57a43cb515.html [accessed 28 October 2022] Disclaimer This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States.

July 24, 2016

Syrian activists say four hospitals in the decimated city of Aleppo were bombarded in government air strikes launched on July 23, threatening to cut off medical care for the some 200,000 civilians living in areas controlled by rebel factions.

Activists said on July 24 that the air raids began the previous night and into the early morning, and that an infant was among at least five people killed.

The Syrian regime and its ally, Russia, regularly target rebel-held areas in Aleppo with air strikes.

The Independent Doctor's Association, which supports clinics in the city, said a blood bank was also hit in the Al-Shaar neighborhood. A two-day-old baby in a children's hospital was killed after his oxygen supply was cut off during an air raid early on July 24, the group said.

The International Committee of the Red Cross called the reports "harrowing news," saying on its Twitter feed that "civilians and hospitals are not a target."

The World Health Organization says Syria was the most dangerous place in the world for medical workers in 2015.

Based on reporting by AP and AFP

Link to original story on RFE/RL website

Copyright notice: Copyright (c) 2007-2009. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036
Tehran confirms arrest of Iranian-American

Publisher Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty Publication Date 24 July 2016 Cite as Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, Tehran confirms arrest of Iranian-American, 24 July 2016, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/57a43cb615.html [accessed 28 October 2022] Disclaimer This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States.

July 24, 2016

Iran has confirmed the arrest of an Iranian-American who was visiting family in the country, the latest in a series of arrests of dual nationals by the Islamic republic over the past year.

Iran's semiofficial ISNA news agency on July 24 cited Gholam Hossein Mohseni Ejehi, spokesman for the country's judiciary, as saying that the man was arrested in the city of Gorgan but gave no reason for his detention.

The man, whose name was not released, was then transferred to Tehran for investigation, Ejehi was quoted as saying.

The announcement comes just days after the U.S. State Department said it was looking into reports that an Iranian-American man named Robin Shahini was detained in Iran earlier in July.

According to friends of Shahini, who lives in California, he was arrested in Gorgan while visiting his mother.

His family members told The Associated Press previously that they feared Shahini, who left Iran in 1998 and has lived in San Diego for 16 years, was arrested because of critical comments he made online about Iran's human rights record.

In January, Tehran released Washington Post correspondent Jason Rezaian and three other Iranian-Americans in a prisoner exchange.

Based on reporting by AP and Reuters

Link to original story on RFE/RL website

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UN: Civilian casualties record high in Afghan conflict

Publisher Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty Publication Date 25 July 2016 Cite as Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, UN: Civilian casualties record high in Afghan conflict, 25 July 2016, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/57a43cb7e.html [accessed 28 October 2022] Disclaimer This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States.

July 25, 2016

The United Nations mission in Kabul says civilian casualties in the Afghan conflict reached a record high in the first half of 2016, with children in particular paying a heavy price as militant groups step up fighting.

"Between January and June this year, the UN documented 1,601 civilian deaths and 3,565 injured civilians," the UNAMA said in a report released on July 25.

The figures represent an increase of four percent in the total number of casualties compared to the same period last year, it added.

The report said one-third of the casualties were children, with 388 killed and 1,121 wounded. That's 18 percent more than during the first half of 2015.

The UNAMA's midyear report comes just two days after at least 80 people were killed and more than 230 others injured by a suicide bombing attack on a peaceful demonstration in the capital, Kabul. The attack was claimed by the Islamic State extremist group.

Based on reporting by AFP and AP

Link to original story on RFE/RL website

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Turkey issues arrest warrants for 42 journalists

Publisher Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty Publication Date 25 July 2016 Cite as Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, Turkey issues arrest warrants for 42 journalists, 25 July 2016, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/57a43cb8e.html [accessed 28 October 2022] Disclaimer This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States.

July 25, 2016

Turkish authorities have issued arrest warrants for 42 journalists, the latest in a widening crackdown that followed a failed military coup, television news channels reported on July 25.

Prominent commentator and former parliamentarian Nazli Ilicak was among those for whom a warrant was issued, NTV and CNN-Turk reported. Ilicak was fired from the pro-government Sabah daily in 2013 for criticizing ministers caught up in a corruption scandal.

The government blamed the high-profile 2013 corruption scandal on the US-based Turkish cleric Fethullah Gulen whom Ankara also accuses of being behind the July 15 coup attempt.

Ankara had been widely criticized even before the coup for restricting press freedoms.

Turkey has suspended, detained, or placed under investigation more than 60,000 soldiers, police, judges, teachers, civil servants, and others in the wake of the coup attempt aimed at toppling President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

Erdogan has also said he was ready to reinstate the death penalty "if the people demand it."

EU Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker said on July 25 that "Turkey, in its current state, is not in a position to become [an EU] member any time soon and not even over a longer period."

Juncker reiterated other EU leaders' statements that all negotiations for Turkey to join the European Union will stop immediately if it reintroduces the death penalty.

Based on reporting by Reuters and AFP

Link to original story on RFE/RL website

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Deadly car bomb hits checkpoint in Iraq's Diyala province

Publisher Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty Publication Date 25 July 2016 Cite as Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, Deadly car bomb hits checkpoint in Iraq's Diyala province, 25 July 2016, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/57a43cb9c.html [accessed 28 October 2022] Disclaimer This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States.

July 25, 2016

A suicide attacker detonated an explosives-rigged vehicle near a crowded security checkpoint in Iraq's Diyala Province on July 25, killing at least 11 people, officials said.

The blast at the entrance to Khales city, north-east of the capital, Baghdad, also wounded at least 30 people, local authorities said.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack, but the Islamic State (IS) terrorist group carries out frequent suicide bombings in Iraq.

The blast came a day after a suicide bomber blew himself up in a mostly Shi'ite area of Baghdad, killing at least 15 in a series of attacks targeting Iraq's Shi'a community.

IS has recently been losing ground to Iraqi forces who are conducting operations to set the stage for the battle to recapture Mosul, the last IS-held city in the country.

The militant group has responded to the battlefield setbacks by launching suicide attacks  mostly on civilian targets  in Baghdad and other cities.

Based on reporting by AFP, dpa, and AP

Link to original story on RFE/RL website

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Azerbaijani court approves lengthening the presidential term

Publisher Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty Publication Date 25 July 2016 Cite as Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, Azerbaijani court approves lengthening the presidential term, 25 July 2016, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/57a43cba23.html [accessed 28 October 2022] Disclaimer This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States.

July 25, 2016

Azerbaijan's highest court has approved an initiative by President Ilham Aliyev to extend the presidential term of office from five years to seven years.

The move on July 25 by Azerbaijan's Constitutional Court is a step towards ratifying the initiative.

But the court said in a statement that ratification will require constitutional amendments and a referendum.

Aliyev has been in power since 2003. His third term is due to end in 2018.

A referendum in 2009 scrapped the country's two-term presidential limit  enabling Aliyev to rule for life as long as he keeps getting reelected.

Critics say the initiative to extend the presidential term is an undemocratic and illegal attempt to perpetuate the 54-year-old Aliyev's rule.

International election monitoring groups have repeatedly said that national elections in Azerbaijan under Aliyev have been neither free nor fair.

Based on reporting by Reuters and apa.az

Link to original story on RFE/RL website

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Kyiv says three soldiers killed in eastern Ukraine

Publisher Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty Publication Date 25 July 2016 Cite as Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, Kyiv says three soldiers killed in eastern Ukraine, 25 July 2016, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/57a43cba4.html [accessed 28 October 2022] Disclaimer This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States.

July 25, 2016

The Ukrainian military says three soldiers have been killed and three others wounded in fresh clashes between government forces and Russian-backed separatists in the country's volatile east.

Two servicemen were killed by mortar fire near Avdiyivka, an industrial hub some 10 kilometers north of the separatists' de-facto capital Donetsk, Ukrainian military spokesman Andriy Lysenko told journalists on July 25.

Another soldier was killed near the village of Nevelske, 12 kilometers northwest of Donetsk, Lysenko said.

The latest fatalities come just a day after Kyiv announced the deaths of six Ukrainian servicemen.

Lysenko accused the separatists of using weapons banned by truce agreements.

De facto authorities in the Donetsk territory held by the separatists accused Ukrainian forces of shelling areas under separatist control and injuring two civilians.

The TASS news agency quoted an unnamed source in Donetsk as saying on July 25 that "the situation in Donetsk remains tense" and that "the number of shelling attacks reached 570 over the past day."

Fighting between government forces and Russia-backed separatists has killed more than 9,400 people in eastern Ukraine since the conflict began in April 2014.

Under a cease-fire agreement reached last year in Minsk, the Belarusian capital, both sides pledged to pull back heavy weaponry as well as take other steps toward a peace settlement.

Based on reporting by AFP and TASS

Link to original story on RFE/RL website

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Kosovo authorities charge Iranian NGO leader with 'financing terrorism'

Publisher Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty Publication Date 25 July 2016 Cite as Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, Kosovo authorities charge Iranian NGO leader with 'financing terrorism', 25 July 2016, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/57a43cbb12.html [accessed 28 October 2022] Disclaimer This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States.

July 25, 2016

Authorities in Kosovo said on July 25 that they have charged an Iranian man with "financing terrorism and money laundering" through a nongovernmental group he operates called the Qur'an Foundation of Kosova.

The allegations against Hasan Azari Bejandi include charges that he laundered nearly $1 million in undeclared cash between 2014 and 2015.

Bejandi also oversees the activities of four other Shi'ite religious organizations suspected of having links to Tehran.

The operations of the groups also have been suspended as a result of the investigation.

Kosovo's Express newspaper reports that the nongovernmental organizations have been spreading anti-Western and anti-Semitic propaganda.

That newspaper also has reported that "ideological agents" of the Iranian government have become active in Kosovo through the Qur'an Foundation of Kosova  which is affiliated with an organization in Albania that uses the same name.

The group has claimed that its goals are to establish a museum of Iranian culture in Kosovo and endow a chair of Iranian studies at the University of Pristina.

Based on reporting by AFP and Express

Link to original story on RFE/RL website

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UN overturns Russian, Chinese bid to block press freedom group

Publisher Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty Publication Date 26 July 2016 Cite as Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, UN overturns Russian, Chinese bid to block press freedom group, 26 July 2016, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/57a43cbc22.html [accessed 28 October 2022] Disclaimer This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States.

July 26, 2016

A United Nations council overturned a move by Russia, China, Pakistan, Azerbaijan, and other countries to block accreditation for media freedom watchdog Committee to Protect Journalists.

The UN's Economic and Social Council granted the journalism group consultative status and access to UN events in a 40 to 5 vote on July 25, overturning a previous move to block the group by the UN's Committee on Non-Governmental Organizations.

China and Russia, who had led the campaign to block the group in May, voted to maintain the blockade and said there was no reason to revisit the earlier decision.

But U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Samantha Power argued that the committee's rejection was "outrageous" and "undermined the UN's credibility when we call on governments to respect the rights of civil society within their own countries."

"In recent years ... we have seen the committee systematically abuse its authority to delay the applications of qualified organizations," Power said. "As in the case of CPJ, often times these organizations seem to be delayed simply because their work is critical of governments."

Based on reporting by Reuters, AP, and AFP

Link to original story on RFE/RL website

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Geekologie has shut down.

Thank you to everybody.

Now go be happy.
U.S. to release last Russian prisoner held at Guantanamo Bay

Publisher Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty Publication Date 26 July 2016 Cite as Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, U.S. to release last Russian prisoner held at Guantanamo Bay, 26 July 2016, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/57a43cbce.html [accessed 28 October 2022] Disclaimer This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States.

July 26, 2016

By RFE/RL

The United States on July 25 approved the release of a former Red Army ballet dancer who has been imprisoned at Guantanamo Bay for nearly 14 years.

Ravil Mingazov is the last of nine Russians held at the U.S. prison in Cuba to be freed. He was deemed eligible for release by a task force set up by the Obama administration to evaluate whether prisoners can be released without endangering U.S. security.

Authorities accused Mingazov, 48, of fighting with the Taliban against the Northern Alliance in Afghanistan. A Pentagon profile said he also was believed to have links to an Islamic group in Uzbekistan with ties to Al-Qaeda.

The ethnic Tatar was captured in Pakistan at a safe house associated with Abu Zubaydah, a "facilitator" for the terrorist organization who is also detained in Guantanamo.

Mingazov, who denied any involvement in terrorism, was never charged with a crime.

In announcing his release, the U.S parole board said it had "some concern with the detainee's failure to demonstrate sufficient candor" about activities before he was detained, but nevertheless determined he did not pose a risk because he had been a "low-level fighter" who does not "espouse anti-U.S. sentiment."

His lawyers have asked the government to resettle him in Nottingham, England, where his son and ex-wife live under political asylum. The parole board did not say where Mingazov would be sent or when he would be released.

The U.S. has held about nine Russian citizens at Guantanamo since it opened in January 2002.

The Russian government has criticized Mingazov's confinement and said he should be returned to his homeland. But the Pentagon profile said Mingazov does not want to return to Russia, possibly because he fears facing criminal charges there.

Mingazov has told officials he left Russia because of the treatment of Muslims there. Mingazov "maintains a strong disdain for the Russian government and does not want to be repatriated, claiming his treatment in Guantanamo is better than the treatment he received in Russia," the Pentagon profile said.

With reporting by AP and Miami Herald

Link to original story on RFE/RL website

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Nine suspected militants killed by police in Bangladesh

Publisher Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty Publication Date 26 July 2016 Cite as Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, Nine suspected militants killed by police in Bangladesh, 26 July 2016, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/57a43cbd15.html [accessed 28 October 2022] Disclaimer This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States.

July 26, 2016

Police in Bangladesh have killed nine suspected militants after a gun battle in the capital, Dhaka.

"All of them belong to a militant group but still it is not clear which group they are," a police official was quoted as saying by Western news agencies.

One suspect was arrested during the raid in a residential area and taken into custody by the police.

Police have arrested a number of militants in recent days in the hunt for those involved in a bloody attack on a Dhaka cafe earlier this month in which 20 people were killed, most of them foreigners.

Police believe many extremists are still in hiding and may be planning attacks.

Bangladesh has seen a spate of killings over the past 18 months targeting liberals or members of minority groups  killings the government blames on two home-grown groups.

Based on reporting by Reuters and AFP

Link to original story on RFE/RL website

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Iran denies presence of Al-Qaeda operatives in country

Publisher Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty Publication Date 26 July 2016 Cite as Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, Iran denies presence of Al-Qaeda operatives in country, 26 July 2016, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/57a43cbe15.html [accessed 28 October 2022] Disclaimer This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States.

July 26, 2016

Iran has denied recent U.S. accusations that three Al-Qaeda operatives were in Iran, helping the Islamist militant group with finance and logistics across the Middle East.

The U.S. Treasury on July 20 announced sanctions against what it said were three senior Al-Qaeda operatives were based in Iran.

But Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Bahram Ghasemi said on July 26 that Iran does not have any information regarding their presence on its territory.

"The U.S. administration, instead of issuing general statements, should in practice enable a coordinated international fight against terrorist groups by sharing precise information," Ghasemi was quoted as saying by the official government news agency IRNA.

"Iran continues its strong determination in fighting terrorist groups," he added.

The U.S. Treasury named the three alleged operatives as Faisal Jassim Mohammed al-Amri al-Khalidi, a 31-year-old Saudi national, Yisra Muhammad Ibrahim Bayumi, 48, an Egyptian national, and Abu Bakr Muhammad Muhammad Ghumayn, a 35-year-old Algerian.

Iran has held several Al-Qaeda members, both high-ranking and lower-level, in prison since the September 11, 2001 attacks on New York and Washington, though U.S. officials say the precise conditions of their confinement are unclear.

Based on reporting by IRNA and AFP

Link to original story on RFE/RL website

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At least 10 killed in suicide attack on base in Somalia

Publisher Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty Publication Date 26 July 2016 Cite as Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, At least 10 killed in suicide attack on base in Somalia, 26 July 2016, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/57a43cbf20.html [accessed 28 October 2022] Disclaimer This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States.

July 26, 2016

At least 10 people have been killed in a July 26 suicide bombing on the African Union's main peacekeeping base in Mogadishu, Somalia, police said.

Al Shabaab, the Al-Qaeda-affiliated militant group that is trying to topple the Western-backed Somali government, claimed responsibility for the attack.

The group has been increasing its attacks ahead of planned elections in Somalia.

Based on reporting by Reuters and AFP

Link to original story on RFE/RL website

Copyright notice: Copyright (c) 2007-2009. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036
Russian authorities search home of customs chief in smuggling probe

Publisher Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty Publication Date 26 July 2016 Cite as Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, Russian authorities search home of customs chief in smuggling probe, 26 July 2016, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/57a43cc015.html [accessed 28 October 2022] Disclaimer This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States.

July 26, 2016

By RFE/RL

Russian Federal Customs Service Andrei Belyaninov (file photo)

Russian investigators said on July 26 that they have searched the office and home of the country's top customs official in connection with a smuggling case, the second high-profile security services action against another government agency in a week.

The federal Investigative Committee said in a July 26 statement http://sledcom.ru/news/item/1056642/ that its agents searched the office and home of Andrei Belyaninov, head of the Federal Customs Agency, and the home of his former adviser, businessman Sergei Lobanov, earlier in the day.

The committee, Russia's analogue to the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation, said the searches were conducted in connection with a criminal case involving alcohol smuggling that led to the arrest of three businessmen in St. Petersburg in March.

The action suggests that behind-the-scenes tensions may be mounting between some Russian government agencies, which have regularly been locked in fierce competition for resources and turf since President Vladimir Putin's rise to power 16 years ago.

Many of these clashes are assiduously shielded from the populace, though they have occasionally boiled over into public view with arrests of officials by rival agencies.

Gazeta.ru on July 26 published photographs taken during the search of Belyaninov's home, one of which showed the customs chief standing next to a table covered with stacks of cash that the popular news portal said were discovered in shoeboxes at the residence.

The state-run TASS news agency cited an unidentified source as saying that investigators found various currencies totaling some $850,000 at Belyaninov's home. The Kremlin-friendly television network Ren-TV cited an anonymous source as saying that the customs chief explained that the cash is his family's savings.

Several Russian media outlets reported that agents from the Federal Security Service (FSB), the country's main domestic security agency, also took part in the searches.

The Russian customs sector has long been rife with corruption, with officials controlling the lucrative passage of goods across the border.

There was no immediate statement from investigators indicating that Belyaninov, who has served as head of the Federal Customs Agency since 2006, is facing charges.

Several Russian media outlets cited unidentified sources as saying that he had tendered his resignation several months ago.

Neither the customs agency nor Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov confirmed reports that Belyaninov had earlier offered to step down.

"I don't know," Peskov told reporters when asked on July 26.

The search of Belyaninov's home and office comes a week after the FSB arrested three powerful Investigative Committee officials over allegations that included taking bribes from a crime syndicate.

With reporting by Gazeta.ru, RBK, Kommersant, Dozhd, TASS, and Interfax

Link to original story on RFE/RL website

Copyright notice: Copyright (c) 2007-2009. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036
Explosion at Azerbaijani munitions plant kills at least two

Publisher Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty Publication Date 26 July 2016 Cite as Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, Explosion at Azerbaijani munitions plant kills at least two, 26 July 2016, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/57a43cc12e.html [accessed 28 October 2022] Disclaimer This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States.

July 26, 2016

By RFE/RL's Azerbaijani Service

Authorities in Azerbaijan say two people were killed by an explosion at a munitions factory on July 26 in the town of Shirvan, about 100 kilometers from the capital, Baku.

A statement from Azerbaijan's Defense Industry Ministry said both of the people who died in the explosion were employees at the Araz plant.

The ministry, which manages the facility, named the victims of the blast as Agamir Mamedov and Ilhama Nuriyeva.

RFE/RL's Azerbaijani Service reported that at least 20 people were injured and that explosions continued to rock the city and its surroundings for hours while a fire raged at the facility.

Initial reports suggested that the explosion involved munitions that were being loaded in an area where finished products are stored.

With reporting by AP, TASS, and Interfax

Link to original story on RFE/RL website

Copyright notice: Copyright (c) 2007-2009. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036
Turkish crackdown nets top generals in NATO's Afghan force

Publisher Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty Publication Date 26 July 2016 Cite as Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, Turkish crackdown nets top generals in NATO's Afghan force, 26 July 2016, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/57a43cc1b.html [accessed 28 October 2022] Disclaimer This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States.

July 26, 2016

Turkey on July 26 widened its crackdown after a failed coup by detaining the top Turkish military generals that are serving as part of NATO forces in Afghanistan.

Turkish media reports said Major General Mehmet Cahit Bakir and Brigadier General Sener Topuc were detained by authorities at Dubai International Airport in the United Arab Emirates on suspicion of having links to the July 15 attempted coup against President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

Bakir is the commander of Turkey's task force in Afghanistan.

Topuc is the chief of the Appointment Department for Turkish Land Forces.

Turkey's state-run Anadolu news agency said their detentions were the result of cooperation between Turkish intelligence and U.A.E. authorities.

Anadolu said the two were being transported to Turkey on July 26.

A spokesman for NATO forces in Afghanistan said on July 26 that "the Turkish contingent continues its mission," without further comment.

Based on reporting by AFP and Anadolu

Link to original story on RFE/RL website

Copyright notice: Copyright (c) 2007-2009. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036
Russian officials search home of customs chief in smuggling probe

Publisher Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty Publication Date 26 July 2016 Cite as Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, Russian officials search home of customs chief in smuggling probe, 26 July 2016, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/57a43cc212.html [accessed 28 October 2022] Disclaimer This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States.

July 26, 2016

By RFE/RL

Andrei Belyaninov, head of Russia's Federal Customs Agency (file photo)

Russian investigators said on July 26 that they have searched the office and home of the country's top customs official in connection with a smuggling case, the second high-profile security services action against another government agency in a week.

The federal Investigative Committee said in a July 26 statement that its agents searched the office and home of Andrei Belyaninov, head of the Federal Customs Agency, and the home of his former adviser, businessman Sergei Lobanov, earlier in the day.

The committee, Russia's analogue to the U.S. FBI, said the searches were conducted in connection with a criminal case involving alcohol smuggling that led to the arrest of three businessmen in St. Petersburg in March.

The action suggests that behind-the-scenes tensions may be mounting between some Russian government agencies, which have regularly been locked in fierce competition for resources and turf since President Vladimir Putin's rise to power 16 years ago.

Many of these clashes are assiduously shielded from the populace, though they have occasionally boiled over into public view with arrests of officials by rival agencies.

Gazeta.ru on July 26 published photographs taken during the search of Belyaninov's home, one of which showed the customs chief standing next to a table covered with stacks of cash that the popular news portal said were discovered in shoeboxes at the residence.

The state-run TASS news agency cited an unidentified source as saying that investigators found various currencies totaling some $850,000 at Belyaninov's home. The Kremlin-friendly television network Ren-TV cited an anonymous source as saying that the customs chief explained that the cash is his family's savings.

Several Russian media outlets reported that agents from the Federal Security Service (FSB), the country's main domestic security agency, also took part in the searches.

The Russian customs sector has long been rife with corruption, with officials controlling the lucrative passage of goods across the border.

There was no immediate statement from investigators indicating that Belyaninov, who has served as head of the Federal Customs Agency since 2006, is facing charges.

Several Russian media outlets cited unidentified sources as saying that he had tendered his resignation several months ago.

Neither the customs agency nor Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov confirmed reports that Belyaninov had earlier offered to step down.

"I don't know," Peskov told reporters when asked on July 26.

The search of Belyaninov's home and office comes a week after the FSB arrested three powerful Investigative Committee officials over allegations that included taking bribes from a crime syndicate.

With reporting by Gazeta.ru, RBK, Kommersant, Dozhd, TASS, and Interfax

Link to original story on RFE/RL website

Copyright notice: Copyright (c) 2007-2009. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036
Dozens killed in IS bomb attack in northern Syria

Publisher Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty Publication Date 27 July 2016 Cite as Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, Dozens killed in IS bomb attack in northern Syria, 27 July 2016, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/57a43cc32a.html [accessed 28 October 2022] Disclaimer This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States.

July 27, 2016

People flee the site of a bombing in the Kurdish city of Qamishli, near the Turkish border on July 27.

At least 67 people were killed and more than 185 wounded by a bomb attack in the predominantly Kurdish city of Qamishli, in northern Syria, on July 27.

Medical workers in the city near the border with Turkey said they expect the casualty toll to rise further as more bodies are pulled from the rubble of collapsed buildings.

The Islamic State (IS) militant group claimed responsibility for the attack near the Turkish border.

Local residents say a truck laden with explosives blew up on the western edge of the town, killing and wounding mainly civilians.

Some reports say the blast was followed by a second explosion.

Qamishli resident Suleiman Yussef was quoted by the AP as saying "most of the buildings at the scene of the explosion have been heavily damaged because of the strength of the blast."

IS, which is fighting against the Kurdish YPG militia and its allies in northern Syria, has carried out several bombings in Kurdish areas of Syria in the past.

The July 27 blast was the deadliest bomb blast to hit Qamishli since the country's war began.

Based on reporting by AFP, AP, dpa, and Reuters

Link to original story on RFE/RL website

Copyright notice: Copyright (c) 2007-2009. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036
Armenian police stop minister from visiting gunmen in occupied building

Publisher Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty Publication Date 27 July 2016 Cite as Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, Armenian police stop minister from visiting gunmen in occupied building, 27 July 2016, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/57a43cc3b.html [accessed 28 October 2022] Disclaimer This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States.

Last updated (GMT/UTC): 27.07.2016 17:48

By RFE/RL's Armenian Service

Armenian Health Minister Armen Muradyan on July 27 was blocked by police from trying to meet with a group of gunmen who are occupying a police building in Yerevan and have taken four medics hostage.

Muradyan's spokeswoman Anait Aitayan said the minister "wanted to resolve the situation and familiarize himself with the situation on the spot but was not allowed to."

A health ministry spokesman said later on Facebook that one of the medics had been freed.

"Three other health professionals, two doctors and a nurse, are still being held," he said.

Police told reporters the decision to prevent Muradyan from entering the occupied building was made for safety reasons.

The medics had entered the building overnight to treat two gunmen who were injured in a shootout with police late on July 26 and refused to go to hospital.

Armenian police spokesman Ashot Aharonian confirmed on July 27 that Pavel Manukian, the leader of the armed group, and his son Aram Manukian were also wounded in the overnight shoot-out  which reportedly began when police tried to move inside the grounds around the occupied building.

Manukian and his son, who both face charges of seizing buildings and possessing illegal weapons, were taken to a hospital with severe leg injuries.

Lawyer Inessa Petrossi said Arman Manukian was remanded in custody for two months after a court on July 27 approved a request for his detention by the investigative department of Armenia's National Security Service.

Investigators also have demanded the arrest of Pavel Manukian. But it was not clear when the court would hear his case.

He was receiving artificial lung ventilation at the intensive care unit of Yerevan's Erebuni medical center on July 27 after undergoing surgery overnight.

Those remaining inside the building said on June 27 that they would release the medics in exchange for doctors who are able to perform surgery on the wounded gunmen.

The armed group  supporters of jailed opposition leader Zhirayr Sefilian from the Founding Parliament movement  are members of a faction called Sasna Tsrer.

Most are veterans of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict in the late 1980s and early 1990s. As veterans of that war, they are considered heroes by many Armenians.

They are demanding the resignation of President Serzh Sarkisian over the way he has handled the long-running conflict concerning Azerbaijan's breakaway region of Nagorno-Karabakh, a territory that both Yerevan and Baku claim.

They are also demanding the release of Sefilian, who was arrested along with six of his supporters on June 20 on illegal weapons charges.

The gunmen stormed the Erebuni regimental police headquarters on July 17, killing one officer and taking several more hostage.

All of their initial hostages were released by July 23 but the gunmen have remained holed up inside the building surrounded by security forces.

Thousands of supporters have been staging daily protest marches to urge authorities not to launch a deadly raid against them.

With reporting by AFP and Interfax

Link to original story on RFE/RL website

Copyright notice: Copyright (c) 2007-2009. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036
DES MOINES  Incumbent Republican U.S. Sen. Charles Grassley announced Friday that he has accepted invitations to participate in two face-to-face debates with opponent Patty Judge, an Albia Democrat who challenged him to four debates last June.

Grassleys campaign manager, Robert Haus, issued a statement saying the Grassley Committee has accepted invitations to debates hosted by Iowa Public Television and WHO Radio. He said the one televised and one broadcast debates will reach audiences statewide in Iowa and include broadcast, traditional print and digital formats, thus maximizing the contribution of their debate formats to Iowa voters who will cast ballots in the November general election.

Sen. Grassley looks forward to these debate opportunities. That is why he has always debated opponents in each of his past campaigns, Haus said in his statement.

In addition to being one of most accessible and open members of the U.S. Senate ever to serve, Sen. Grassley continues to demonstrate his commitment to responding to media questions, communicating with Iowans how hes working for them, and participating in campaign debates, Haus added. This stands in sharp contrast to his opponent this fall.

Previously, Judge  a former lieutenant governor, secretary of agriculture and state senator  challenged the six-term GOP incumbent to four, live televised debates heading up to the Nov. 8 balloting, saying the two major-party candidates should hold televised debates in the states four largest media markets based in Des Moines, Cedar Rapids, Sioux City, and Davenport. She also proposed a radio debate.

At that time, Judges campaign indicated the Democratic challenger already had received and accepted an invitation from KCCI-TV and the Des Moines Register to participate in a general election debate.

On Friday, Judges campaign manager Joe Fox issued a statement indicating the two camps had a constructive initial discussion aimed at setting a debate schedule agreeable to both candidates. He said the two campaigns plan to have further conversations in hopes of announcing a final debate schedule next week.

Patty Judge continues to believe that at least four televised debates  at least one each in Des Moines, Cedar Rapids, Davenport, and Sioux City  in front of Iowa voters is the fair and respectful way for both candidates to convey their priorities for the entire state, Fox said in his statement. All Iowans deserve the opportunity to be engaged with this election in order to make a truly informed choice in November.
Azerbaijan: Baku says munitions plant explosion involved stockpile of old ammunition

Publisher Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty Publication Date 27 July 2016 Cite as Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, Azerbaijan: Baku says munitions plant explosion involved stockpile of old ammunition, 27 July 2016, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/57a43cc6e.html [accessed 28 October 2022] Disclaimer This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States.

July 27, 2016

By RFE/RL's Azerbaijani Service

Authorities say two employees at the Araz factory in the town of Shirvan were killed by the July 26 blast and about 20 were injured.

Azerbaijan's Interior Ministry and Prosecutor-General's Office said on July 27 that a deadly explosion in a munitions plant involved a stockpile of old ammunition that was being prepared for disposal.

Authorities say two employees at the Araz factory in the town of Shirvan were killed by the July 26 blast and about 20 were injured.

Earlier reports had put the death toll as high as 12.

The Araz plan is managed by Azerbaijan's Defense Industry Ministry.

RFE/RL's Azerbaijani Service reported that explosions continued to rock Shirvan and its surroundings for hours while a fire raged at the factory.

Shirvan is about 100 kilometers from Azerbaijan's capital, Baku.

With reporting by AP, TASS, and Interfax

Link to original story on RFE/RL website

Copyright notice: Copyright (c) 2007-2009. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036
Ukraine crisis: Intensifying hostilities endanger civilian lives and infrastructure

Publisher International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) Publication Date 10 June 2016 Cite as International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), Ukraine crisis: Intensifying hostilities endanger civilian lives and infrastructure, 10 June 2016, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/57a443b14.html [accessed 28 October 2022] Disclaimer This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States.

Escalating fighting in populated areas along the front line is putting the lives of many civilians in serious danger, while civilian infrastructure providing essential services is being hit.

"We are seeing increased shelling in populated and urban areas in eastern Ukraine, causing greater hardship for the civilian population," said Alain Aeschlimann, head of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) delegation in Ukraine. "This is happening both in daytime and at night, forcing more people to take cover in their basements."

The situation has become even more difficult at the limited number of crossing points, with shelling taking place in close proximity. What's more, when people and vehicles have to queue for hours, they are more exposed to shelling, the dangers of mines and the lack of health care. All possible measures should be taken to ensure quick and safe passage at checkpoints.

Casualty numbers are rising in the vicinity of the contact line and the increase in the shelling also endangers some essential water infrastructure, with the area around the Donetsk Filtration Station having been repeatedly shelled.

"When conducting military operations, constant care must be taken to spare the civilian population and civilian property. Under international humanitarian law, all those involved in the conflict must do their utmost to verify that targets are indeed military objectives," said Alain Aeschlimann. Of most concern are sites housing potentially harmful substances, such as chlorine gas used for purifying water, whose destruction could seriously affect people living in the area.

On a more positive note, repairs to a 3 km gas pipeline in Marinka which was damaged in the summer of 2014 were finally completed this week. The ICRC assisted the DonetskOblGas company and provided the equipment required for the repairs. Some final checks are still required but more than 16,000 people in Marinka and Krasnohorivka will finally have their gas supply restored soon. However, given the circumstances, the teams need better security and access to finalize their work.
South Sudan: ICRC airplanes evacuate 17 people wounded in clashes from Raja

Publisher International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) Publication Date 18 June 2016 Cite as International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), South Sudan: ICRC airplanes evacuate 17 people wounded in clashes from Raja, 18 June 2016, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/57a444024.html [accessed 28 October 2022] Disclaimer This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States.

The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) today evacuated by air 17 people from the town of Raja following violent clashes there that left dozens of casualties.

The fighting caused several hundred people to flee their homes in search of safety. In the aftermath of the fighting, the town saw large-scale looting. Three vehicles belonging to the Red Cross Movement were stolen.

"The fighting has had a severe impact on civilians in and around Raja," said Juerg Eglin, the head of delegation for the ICRC in South Sudan. "We urge all sides to remember that civilians must be spared from the fighting and access to health care be granted."

The ICRC sent two airplanes and medical teams to Raja to evacuate the most severely wounded. These patients will eventually be flown to Juba where they will be cared for by ICRC surgical teams. In addition, medical supplies were donated to assist the wounded still in Raja.

"The people that the ICRC have evacuated needed urgent medical attention," Eglin said. "One of the ICRC's core missions is to ensure that all people wounded in armed conflict are given access to medical care."
Sudan: ICRC postpones operation to transfer detainees

Publisher International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) Publication Date 25 June 2016 Cite as International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), Sudan: ICRC postpones operation to transfer detainees, 25 June 2016, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/57a444484.html [accessed 28 October 2022] Disclaimer This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States.

The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) has postponed an operation scheduled for 23 and 24 June, to transfer detainees held by the Sudan People's Liberation Movement - North (SPLM-N) in Blue Nile and South Kordofan states, to the Sudanese authorities in Khartoum.

After months of negotiations and preparations, all parties involved asked the ICRC to conduct this operation, allowing it to use its planes. Unfortunately, the final authorization to take off on the said dates was not granted, and the operation has been postponed to a later date.

The ICRC calls on all parties involved to continue working together to allow the concerned detainees to return home to their families as soon as possible.

Acting as neutral intermediary is central to ICRC's mandate, and it stands ready to provide this humanitarian service at all times.

Since 2012, the ICRC has facilitated the repatriation of 32 prisoners of war released by the governments of Sudan and South Sudan. It has also facilitated the handover of Sudanese and foreign detainees released by armed opposition groups in Darfur.
South Sudan: New fighting forces thousands of civilians to flee

Publisher International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) Publication Date 25 June 2016 Cite as International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), South Sudan: New fighting forces thousands of civilians to flee, 25 June 2016, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/57a4448c4.html [accessed 28 October 2022] Disclaimer This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States.

Renewed clashes in and around Wau, in the northwest of South Sudan, have forced thousands of civilians to flee in fear. The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) is seriously concerned by the immediate humanitarian consequences on the civilian population.

"How many times will South Sudanese civilians be forced to flee battle zones, knowing that if they don't their lives will be in danger?" said Gregor Mueller, the ICRC's deputy head of delegation for South Sudan.

"We again ask those involved in the fighting to not target civilians and medical facilities. Aid workers must be allowed to work," he added. "People trying to escape hostilities must be allowed to travel unimpeded. These are obligations under international humanitarian law."

The latest upheaval in Greater Bahr El Ghaza will greatly harm people's ability to feed and shelter their families after two-and-a-half years of fighting across the country, a long term conflict that has triggered severe food needs in many parts of South Sudan.

Last week ICRC teams were able to evacuate 17 wounded people from Raja. Security permitting, ICRC teams will again do their best to respond to medical needs as they arise.
Nigeria: ECOWAS member states discuss implementation of international humanitarian law

Publisher International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) Publication Date 28 June 2016 Cite as International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), Nigeria: ECOWAS member states discuss implementation of international humanitarian law, 28 June 2016, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/57a445184.html [accessed 28 October 2022] Disclaimer This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States.

The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) are set to begin a four-day meeting on the implementation of international humanitarian law in the West African region.

The 13th annual review meeting aims to promote respect for IHL by ensuring both domestication and implementation of IHL treaties, including the four Geneva Conventions of 1949 and their three Additional Protocols, as well as specific weapons treaties.

The armed violence affecting many African countries is generating massive humanitarian consequences for entire communities. "People living in the Lake Chad region and in north-east Nigeria are extremely exposed to the armed conflict as it is estimated that 2.4 million people have been displaced and 7 million people are in need of assistance," says Karl Anton Mattli, Head of Delegation in Nigeria for the International Committee of the Red Cross. He added that: "All parties to an armed conflict must respect the basic rules of IHL. In particular, civilians, wounded and the sick cannot be targeted, and medical services must be protected."

The meeting will engage participants from 15 West African States to assess the progress made in implementing the IHL instruments ratified by their countries and the challenges they faced along the way. This year, participants will include members of national IHL committees as well as national parliamentarians. A variety of topics will be discussed ranging from internal displacement and the African Union Convention on the Protection and Assistance for Internally Displaced Persons ("the Kampala Convention") to the Arms Trade Treaty and the ECOWAS Convention on Small Arms and Light Weapons.

"This collaboration with the ICRC provides the perfect backdrop for participants to share experiences in the course of implementing IHL and proffer feasible ways by which treaties related to IHL can be strengthened through the legal system," says Fatimata D. Sow, ECOWAS Commissioner for Social Affairs and Gender. "More than ever the alarming reports of rights abuses by both parties of conflicting groups in some countries of the region should create the eagerness and determination to ensure that IHL treaties are ratified, incorporated and implemented in the domestic law of ECOWAS States."

The ICRC and ECOWAS have been working together in West Africa since 2001 to ensure respect for IHL, including through domestication and implementation of IHL treaties.
Lebanon: Collection of biological samples renews hope for families of the missing

Publisher International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) Publication Date 1 July 2016 Cite as International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), Lebanon: Collection of biological samples renews hope for families of the missing, 1 July 2016, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/57a445684.html [accessed 28 October 2022] Disclaimer This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States.

The International Committee of the Red Cross has begun collecting Biological Reference Samples (BRS) from the families of people who went missing during the Lebanese civil war, in a step to help ease the suffering of relatives left in a prolonged limbo.

The samples will be used to extract DNA in order to identify human remains once a national mechanism is formed by the government with the mandate to uncover the fate of the disappeared. Two samples are being collected from each family member directly related to the missing person, with one sample being stored with the Lebanese Internal Security Forces and the other with the ICRC as a backup.

"It is time for the government to take up its responsibilities in uncovering the fate of those who went missing during the war" said Fabrizzio Carboni, head of the ICRC delegation in Lebanon "All this work will go in vain if a national mechanism is not formed. Only the Lebanese government can uncover the fate of the disappeared and end the suffering of the families."

The Lebanese government recently approved the storage of BRS samples at the ISF headquarters. However, a project proposal that would allow for the ISF to take part in the collection of samples is still awaiting cabinet approval. In addition, a draft law on the missing is currently under parliamentary review. Once passed, it should allow for the creation of a national mechanism mandated with uncovering the fate of the disappeared.

"Parents of those missing are going to the grave without the comfort of getting clear answers; we are in a race against time," said Carboni. "The way forward is clear, we urge the government to form a national mechanism for the missing, which the ICRC stands ready to support."

The ICRC has so far allocated more than 10 million USD to support work to clarify the fate of the missing. In 2012, it launched the Ante Disappearance Data Collection Program, and started interviewing the families of people who went missing and gathering information about the circumstances of their loved ones' disappearance. The ICRC has so far interviewed more than 2300 families. Once a national mechanism is set up, the ICRC will hand over all this information to the Lebanese government.

If they have not yet been approached by the ICRC for an interview, ICRC strongly encourages families with loved ones who went missing during the Lebanese civil war to contact us on our hotline: 03 18 63 86.
Philippines: Aid for 12,500 displaced people in Lanao del Sur

Publisher International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) Publication Date 4 July 2016 Cite as International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), Philippines: Aid for 12,500 displaced people in Lanao del Sur, 4 July 2016, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/57a4459f4.html [accessed 28 October 2022] Disclaimer This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States.

The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) expresses its concern for thousands of people from Butig, Lanao del Sur, who remain displaced following clashes between government forces and an armed group in late May to early June.

"Thousands of civilians in Butig were forced to flee their homes in February, when the first clashes began. Some were able to return in April, and just when they started planting a new crop, they were forced to flee their homes again in May, when hostilities resumed," said Dominic Earnshaw, head of the ICRC office in Cotabato.

"Now many of the displaced are living with relatives and depend heavily on their kin and the authorities, as they are still too afraid to go back home. Civilian houses were also destroyed in the fighting. We ask all sides in the conflict to exercise utmost precaution to protect civilians and their property," he added.

Between June 8 and July 2, the ICRC, together with the Philippine Red Cross (PRC), provided food and household items to around 12,500 people displaced from Butig. The distributions took place in Butig and neighboring Lumbayanague municipalities as well as in Marawi City. The ICRC-PRC assistance augmented the aid provided by the government and helped families meet their basic needs.

Each displaced family received 25 kilograms of rice, 12 tins of sardines, 2 liters of cooking oil, 2 liters of soy sauce, 2 kilograms of sugar, 500 grams of salt, and essential household items including two blankets, two mosquito nets, one sleeping mat, and one hygiene kit.

Prior to its relief operation in Butig, the ICRC conducted its own assessments and coordinated closely with community leaders, the Department of Social Welfare and Development, and nongovernment organizations.

The ICRC is a neutral, impartial, and independent humanitarian organization whose mandate is to protect and assist people affected by armed conflict and other situations of violence. It has had an established presence in the Philippines for more than 70 years and a permanent presence in Mindanao since 1982.
Ukraine crisis: Civilian infrastructure must not be targeted

Publisher International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) Publication Date 8 July 2016 Cite as International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), Ukraine crisis: Civilian infrastructure must not be targeted, 8 July 2016, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/57a445df4.html [accessed 28 October 2022] Disclaimer This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States.

Ongoing shelling in the Gorlovka area has seriously damaged water infrastructure critical to the livelihoods of more than 2 million people on both sides of the contact line.

"Our teams are reporting an alarming situation in eastern Ukraine," said Alain Aeschlimann, head of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) delegation in Ukraine. "Damage to civilian infrastructure is placing a heavy burden on the civilian population there. The damaged water-supply systems of the Severskiy Donets Donbas water company already caused supply problems, and now the high risk of complete water shutdown might lead to significant flooding in the area."

Shelling in residential and urban areas is endangering critical infrastructure - on which civilians depend for their survival and livelihoods - like power stations and water and gas plants. People in Bakhmutka have been without drinking water for the last six months, while the villages of Pyski 2 and Zhovanka report having no electricity and water for the last few weeks. Thousands of people in front-line villages are being left without electricity and water.

"Infrastructure and other property essential for the survival of civilians enjoy special protection under international humanitarian law. It is vitally important that the parties to the conflict fulfil their obligations in this regard and that people can meet their essential needs," said Alain Aeschlimann.

All parties must allow and facilitate rapid and unimpeded passage of resources for civilian infrastructure to function. Maintenance teams should be granted immediate access to assess and repair the power and water systems.
ICRC update on operations in Juba, South Sudan

Publisher International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) Publication Date 12 July 2016 Cite as International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), ICRC update on operations in Juba, South Sudan, 12 July 2016, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/57a446164.html [accessed 28 October 2022] Disclaimer This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States.

The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) remains extremely concerned about the humanitarian situation after several days of armed clashes in Juba, South Sudan.

We are particularly worried for the civilian population and those wounded in the fighting. Heavy rains have made the situation even more dire for those displaced.

On Monday morning, the South Sudan Red Cross (SSRC) teams managed to move in a few areas in the centre of Juba and were followed by ICRC teams in the afternoon. The ICRC teams could only access seven sites in a small part of the city, in order to try and assess the humanitarian situation.

As an immediate relief measure, we were able to provide some urgent assistance for the people who have been displaced or wounded during the recent fighting, as follows:

Displaced

Food assistance (such as sorghum, beans, salt, sugar and CSB [corn soya blend]) to cover needs from 3 to 6 days was delivered to:

- Around 100 patients, families and staff as well as civilians (mostly women and children) who took shelter in the PRRC orthopedic centre supported by the ICRC;

- 100+ people, mainly women and children, displaced in the SSRC compound;

- Approximately 3,000 people displaced in Saint Joseph Parish Church;

- 500 people hosted in the Anglican Cathedral compound;

Wounded and dead

- Provided medical supplies and essential drugs to Juba Teaching and Juba Military Hospitals to care for the wounded;

- Engaged in the management of mortal remains in cooperation with SSRC.

Priorities

In coordination with the SSRC, the ICRC will continue to expand its relief operations if the security situation allows. This will involve prioritizing the immediate needs of the wounded, sick and displaced, as well as the management of mortal remains. We are working on our water treatment station at the Nile to make it operational as soon as possible, in order to provide clean water to the affected population.

While the security of our staff remains a priority, we are committed to responding to the humanitarian needs of those affected by the recent fighting in Juba.

Currently, our operations continue in the rest of the country. In Wau for example, in addition to food, shelter and health assistance to the people displaced in the town and in rural areas after fighting erupted two weeks ago, we have facilitated more than a thousand phone calls so that people can reconnect with their loved ones. Our support to Maiwut and Kodok Hospitals also continues.
MARION -- There are fewer than 100 days until the Nov. 8 election and Patty Judge intends to go full throttle all the way.

The Democratic U.S. Senate challenger acknowledges she trails Republican Sen. Chuck Grassley by anywhere from 1 to 8 percentage points in recent polls.

This is August. There is time, she told a couple of dozen members of Democratic fundraising Linn Phoenix Club Thursday night at the Campbell-Steele Gallery in Marion. There is still a block of undecided votes, some soft votes, and we have time to take this.

Judge also acknowledged a lot of us have supported him, a lot of us have worked for him, but at some point he has quit working for us, for Iowa.

She said her campaign is about common-sense, family values and middle class working people who are not being heard.

"Theyre concerned about jobs, wage stagnation, retirement and Social Security."

Theres also a wild card factor in the campaign this year  Donald Trump, Judge said. His obvious disregard for anyone who is not like him should be unacceptable to everyone including Grassley.

I believe Chuck Grassley has cast his lot with him, Judge said, reminding the crowd that, as he did for most of the GOP presidential hopefuls, Grassley introduced Trump at a caucus campaign event.

While other people in their party have moved away, have said, Whoa, thats enough of that, not Grassley, Judge said. Hes there. Hes with his every step.

If that is his values today, those are not Iowa values, she said. For that alone, its time for him to go.

Earlier in the day the Judge campaign organized a call with three Iowa military veterans who demanded Grassley condemn Trumps remarks to a Muslim couple whose son was killed while serving in the U.S. military in Iraq.

Vietnam-era veteran Ron Healey said he was totally upset, offended, disrespected by Trumps comments.

Hes also offended that Grassley is not standing up for veterans.

Its time for Chuck Grassley to stand up for Iowans and all military families, added Navy veteran Laura Hubka.

With Trump scheduled to be campaigning again in Iowa on Friday, the veterans said its time for Grassley to speak up.

In response to Trumps remarks, Grassley said his values call for honoring anybody who fought to maintain our freedoms, no matter what race, religion or background. We owe them and their families the utmost respect.

He went on to say that Trumps comments dont reflect his expectations of respect for military members and their families.

Respect for the people who serve our country is something both presidential campaigns could use more of, Grassley said.
International community must urgently address needs of tens of thousands of people trapped between Jordan and Syria

Publisher International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) Publication Date 20 July 2016 Cite as International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), International community must urgently address needs of tens of thousands of people trapped between Jordan and Syria, 20 July 2016, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/57a4465c4.html [accessed 28 October 2022] Disclaimer This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States.

Tens of thousands of people are in need of urgent assistance in a border area between Syria and Jordan. They are living in extremely harsh conditions in a desert area known as 'the berm'. The vast majority are women and children, who are seeking sanctuary from the ongoing violence in Syria. The reticence by so many Governments to take in more Syrian refugees means that the fate of these asylum seekers hangs in the balance.

"People fleeing conflict have the right to seek asylum and protection, and the international community must urgently find a solution to ensure their protection and well-being," said the ICRC's Regional Director for the Near and Middle East, Robert Mardini. "This is not just about Jordan. The crisis at the berm reflects an international failure to protect and help people affected by conflict and who are in desperate need. The circumstances people are living in right now are unacceptable. Only immediate and concerted international action will relieve their plight."

Following a car bomb attack on a military post near the Rukban crossing point on June 21, the berm area was declared a closed military zone and the ICRC has since been unable to return to the berm settlements of Rukban and Hadalat to provide medical support. The deterioration in the security situation means that it has become extremely difficult for organisations such as the ICRC to reach, assess and respond to people's needs, and consequently the ICRC is scaling down its operations.

"Until a real and sustainable solution is found for the thousands of families trapped at the berm, immediate measures must be taken to ensure they can receive protection and assistance in a safe environment," Mardini continued. "Priority attention must be given to the most vulnerable, including urgent medical cases, pregnant women and infants, and unaccompanied minors. Independent humanitarian organisations must be able to reach all those in need of safety, and be able to deliver their assistance according to internationally recognized humanitarian standards."
'It's better to die from one bullet than being slowly killed every day'  refugees forsaken on Nauru

Publisher Amnesty International Author Anna Neistat Publication Date 4 August 2016 Cite as Amnesty International, 'It's better to die from one bullet than being slowly killed every day'  refugees forsaken on Nauru, 4 August 2016, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/57a458794.html [accessed 28 October 2022] Disclaimer This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States.

Landing on Nauru I felt like the plane was about to hit the ocean  the tiny island is smaller than most of the airports I travel through. The scenery is unwelcoming, with most of the inland areas devastated by decades of phosphate mining. Heat, dust and wild dogs follow you everywhere.

Having worked in most of the world's conflict zones over the last 15 years, I thought I had learned enough about suffering, injustice and despair. But what I saw and heard on Nauru will haunt me forever.

Three years ago, Australia decided to banish refugees who attempted to reach its shores by boat to Nauru. Since then, hundreds of men, women and children have been stuck on this remote island in appalling conditions; many, if not most, are suffering from serious physical and mental ailments. Their futures are completely uncertain.

The Australian and Nauruan governments know very well how horrendous and unlawful everything that goes on here is, and go to great lengths to hide it. Almost no journalists or independent observers have been able to come to Nauru since refugees started arriving four years ago.

What's even more sinister is that everybody who works for the Australian government here is sworn to secrecy  under Australian law, service providers face two years in jail if they reveal anything about the situation in Nauru. My human rights work has taken me to many "closed" countries and regions, including China, Uzbekistan, Chechnya, northern Sri Lanka and Bahrain, but I've never seen such a sustained  and successful  effort to hide abuse from the outside world.

On this island there are around 1,200 people who have faced terrible hardship and oppression in Afghanistan, Myanmar, Iraq, Somalia, Iran and many other places. They have fled civil war and abusive governments, endured excruciatingly difficult journeys across the world, and eventually braved the high seas in beaten-up boats to reach a country which they heard could offer freedom, peace, and respect for their rights.

But Australia dashed their dreams. Instead of giving them protection and refuge, as international law and the most basic principles of humanity require, its government has decided to use these people to deter further maritime arrivals, by treating them in the worst possible way.

The despair on Nauru is palpable. Although around 70% of the people sent there have been recognised as refugees, they have nowhere to go. Australia has said it will never accept them, but hasn't offered them any viable alternatives. Even those who have received Nauruan travel documents cannot leave: the documents state "refugee" as their nationality and those who have tried to use them to get visas to go to other countries have quickly realised they are useless.

Initially, people were told they were being sent to Nauru "for six months" of processing. Three years later, they feel deceived and forgotten. As one man told me:

"In many ways, this is worse than prison: at least in prison, you know what you've been jailed for and how long you are serving. And you have a chance to get out."

For many months after arriving here, people were confined in a detention centre. They lived in mouldy tents in appalling, prison-like conditions, waiting in long lines for food and toilets and forbidden from bringing food into their tents for their children. Guards conducted regular searches of their tents, confiscating items like sewing needles, disposable shaving razors, and cosmetic tweezers. Showers were limited to two minutes, after which the guards would simply switch off the water and force people out, with shampoo in their hair and their bodies covered in soap.

All but 400 people have since been provided with accommodation in Nauruan communities, and their living conditions have improved somewhat. But there are new, more serious struggles. Many people, especially women, told me that they face daily humiliation, sexual assault and other harassment, and attacks from the local population.

Dalileh*, who fled Iran with her husband and ended up in Nauru in the summer of 2013, told me how, last year, she woke up in the middle of the night because she heard voices outside. She went out, fearing that local thieves had come again to steal clothes and shoes left outside.

"The next thing I remember was a strong blow on my head, and two men running away. Blood was streaming down my face," she said.

An ambulance took Dalileh to hospital where doctors put eight stitches in her head, and police later found the metal bar she was hit with. However, when Dalileh and her husband tried to report the incident, the police refused to open a case, suggesting, incredibly, that "maybe Dalileh had hit herself".

Almost everybody I met on Nauru, including young children, had health problems. Many were extremely serious  heart attacks, rapidly deteriorating diabetes, lumps in breasts, various infections and broken bones. Refugees said they had been seeing local doctors as well as the ones contracted by the Australian government but had received no proper treatment. Disturbingly, people have not been able to obtain their medical records despite repeated requests  instead, they've been given heaps of pills which many said had made their conditions worse.

"In order to be transferred for treatment to Australia, you basically need to be dying," one man said. "Otherwise, they keep saying it's not bad enough to justify a medical transfer."

Another man suffering from multiple medical problems said: "I thought I escaped death. But now I start to think that it's better to die from one bullet than being slowly killed every day, over three years."

One of the most shocking aspects of the situation in Nauru is the prevalence of mental trauma, self-harm and attempted suicides. Every other witness I spoke to had either attempted suicide or was thinking about it.

Faraz*, an art teacher from Iran, came to Nauru with his wife and 10-year-old son. He said that his wife had been very depressed from the moment they arrived and had got much worse over the past year, especially after their house was attacked twice by locals. Two months ago he went out for a smoke and came back to find his wife unconscious, with empty pill packets around her bed. Doctors managed to save her, but in hospital, and during the two months that she spent in a psychiatric ward in the camps, she persistently tried to end her life  swallowing pills or shampoo, hanging herself with bedsheets, and cutting her veins with a plastic knife.

"When I visited her, I was going crazy myself  I saw bruises and scratches on her arms: they were forcibly giving her food and medication, and were dragging her into the shower and toilet with her hands tied," said Faraz.

"And when I asked the doctor, he said that was the treatment plan. I couldn't take it anymore, and brought her back home My son is so deeply traumatized, he doesn't go out anymore; he just stopped doing anything. I feel I am losing my family in front of my eyes, and worst of all, there is nothing I can do about it."

Even children have attempted suicide. Ali* told me that he fled Afghanistan with his two teenage sons after his family suffered regular threats and attacks by the Taliban  his brother-in-law was killed and his wife died shortly after. But it is now, on Nauru, that he is most worried about his boys. The younger one has already tried to kill himself several times.

"I am trying to hide everything in this tiny room  pills, knives. And I am not letting him out, because I am afraid he will do something to himself," Ali said.

Perhaps torture is the worst, most traumatic thing I've documented in my human rights work: it is very difficult to ever fully recover from the physical suffering combined with absolute loss of control. But on Nauru I realised that there is something even worse. People who are deliberately driven to the absolute depths of despair, inflicting suffering akin to torture on themselves because they feel it is the only way to get heard.

There can be no justification or forgiveness for a system that does this to people  it is time for Australia and Nauru to end this offshore horror.

* Note: All names have been changed to protect the refugees' identities.

Copyright notice:  Copyright Amnesty International
China: Assault on human rights lawyers and activists escalates with convictions after sham trials

Publisher Amnesty International Publication Date 4 August 2016 Cite as Amnesty International, China: Assault on human rights lawyers and activists escalates with convictions after sham trials, 4 August 2016, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/57a4590a4.html [accessed 28 October 2022] Disclaimer This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States.

The Chinese authorities must end their relentless suppression of human rights lawyers and activists, Amnesty International said today, after a prominent lawyer became the latest to be convicted after an unfair trial.

On Thursday, Zhou Shifeng was sentenced to seven years in prison after being found guilty of "subverting state power", following a trial that lasted less than a day at Tianjin No.2 People's Court in north east China.

On Wednesday this week, democracy activist Hu Shigen was sentenced to seven-and-a half-years for "subverting state power", and on Tuesday activist Zhai Yanmin was given a three-year prison sentence, suspended for four years, after being convicted of the same charge.

"This wave of trials against lawyers and activists are a political charade. Their fate was sealed before they stepped into the courtroom and there was no chance that they would ever receive a fair trial," said Roseann Rife, East Asia Research Director at Amnesty International.

"The Chinese authorities appear intent on silencing anyone who raises legitimate questions about human rights and uses the legal system to seek redress."

The convictions are the first against individuals caught up in an unprecedented crackdown, which began in July 2015 and saw 248 human rights lawyers and activists targeted.

The three men sentenced this week were held in pre-trial detention for more than a year, denied defence lawyers of their choice and their families were not allowed to attend the trials. Chinese state television also broadcast "confessions" from Zhai Yanmin and Zhou Shifeng ahead of their trials. Amnesty International has documented a pattern of such tactics being used against detained rights lawyers and activists.

A further 14 individuals targeted in the crackdown are still awaiting trial, with 10 facing state security charges, which are often levelled against human rights activists and dissidents.

"The authorities are using vague legal provisions as a weapon to give their politically-motivated assault the veneer of legitimacy. When state security laws are open to such rampant abuse, the law needs to change," said Roseann Rife.

On Monday, mainland Chinese and Hong Kong media outlets reported that lawyer Wang Yu had been released on bail. Her detention last year signalled the launch of the crackdown. She could still face prosecution for the charge under which she was detained, "subverting state power".

Hong Kong broadcaster Phoenix TV announced that Wang Yu had been granted bail in a segment showing her, filmed in an undisclosed location, denouncing her past work, and stating that the law firm she was working for had been used by "Western forces" to smear the Chinese government.

Her comments were similar in content to those made in an interview with the Hong Kong newspaper South China Morning Post by legal assistant Zhao Wei, after she had been similarly released on bail after a long period of detention. Zhao Wei's husband has not been able to contact her since her supposed release.

Notes to editors

A full list of all individuals Amnesty International has documented as targeted in the crackdown can be found here

A timeline of key events can be found here

Copyright notice:  Copyright Amnesty International
CEDAR FALLS -- The Iowa Board of Regents has selected Washington, D.C.-based AGB Search as the consultant firm to assist with the selection of the next University of Northern Iowa president.

We look forward to working with AGB on this critically important hire, said Katie Mulholland, Board of Regents president pro tem, who is leading the boards efforts in the UNI search. AGB has a proven track record of assisting with successful searches in a timely and efficient manner.

UNI President Bill Ruud announced in May he would be leaving the Cedar Falls university for the private Marietta College in Ohio. His last day was July 2. Provost Jim Wohlpart is serving as interim president.

The firm will assist with defining the goals of the search, developing the position specifications and search timeline; identifying potential candidates; receiving nominations and applications for the position; communicating with prospective candidates; facilitating candidate interviews; and conducting background checks on applicants.

The firm will be paid $85,000 for its services assisting with the search, plus expenses.

The board hired search firms for its most recent presidential searches -- the hiring of University of Iowa President Bruce Harreld last year, Ruud in 2012 and Iowa State University President Steven Leath in 2011.

Those three searches used the same consultant firm, Parker Executive Search of Atlanta.

The firm was not among the four firms to submit a request for qualification to the Iowa Board of Regents. Other than AGB Search, the firms who applied were Academic Search, of Washington, D.C.; Greenwood/Asher and Associates Inc., of Miramar Beach, Florida; and RPA Inc. of Williamsport, Pennsylvania.
Mayor Costin provides council district update & talks about other city projects

A town hall was held at Martinsville City Hall Thursday evening where residents were encouraged to attend and discuss their concerns or questions with Martinsville Mayor Kenny Costin.
MASON CITY  In the three years since Shirley Smith received her Parkinsons disease diagnosis, she has gradually given up painting and traveling.

The progression of her symptoms has been heartbreaking for the once-active Greene woman as she has been losing her ability to walk.

Earlier this year, she decided to take a gamble by trying stem cell therapy at Regenerative Cell Institute in Mason City.

Smith had tremors, an unstable balance and was heavily dependent on a wheelchair, and Dr. Crispino Santos, who runs the practice, was initially skeptical he could offer any effective treatment.

Since 2014, Santos has offered treatments in Mason City for patients who have chronic neck, back, spinal or joint paint, as well as those with arthritis or sports- or work-related injuries.

Santos said Smith is the first patient he has attempted to treat with Parkinsons.

After her first stem cell treatment at his office Jan. 29, where stem cells were taken from her abdomen via liposuction and injected into her spine, Smith appeared to show little improvement, Santos said.

Following a second treatment using umbilical cord stem cells last month, she began to show some improvement, walking a little more independently.

After being incapacitated for so long, she didnt have the self-confidence that the rest of us have naturally, said her partner, Eddie Hesalroad.

Santos stem cell treatments typically cost between $4,000 to $7,000, he said. Patients pay out-of-pocket because the procedures are not typically covered by insurance.

That money came from her retirement fund, Smith said. She estimates she can afford one more treatment, which will be scheduled for next month.

Santos has said he believes his stem cell treatments are responsible for her apparent improvement, because she is not undergoing other treatments. He cautioned he hopes for gradual improvements.

The reality is we really dont know the improvement (to expect), he said.

Santos is board-certified in anesthesiology and pain medicine. He previously practiced for nearly a decade in Mason City, where he started the cardiac anesthesia program and pain management center at then-St. Joseph Mercy Hospital.

He currently practices pain management, stem cell therapy, regenerative medicine, aesthetics and platelet-rich plasma therapy in Las Vegas through the Regenerative Cell Institute and Interventional Pain Medicine.
Fire lit by lightning damages Abilene home, officials say

The Abilene Fire Department responded to the call just before 3 a.m. Friday.
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FOREST CITY  Cutting the grass and letting the clippings land in the street?

Not a good idea, said Forest City Street Superintendent Mike ORourke.

The city has an ordinance that bans grass clippings from being left on the street. Police Chief Doug Jenson said at a recent council meeting that residences with grass clippings on the streets had been getting notices of ordinance violations.

Its not pleasant, ORourke said of grass clippings that can land on city streets after residents mow their lawns.

Grass can lead to clogged storm sewers.

Its probably not the best analogy because its not very pleasant but consider your sink, shower or tub drain, ORourke said. Those drains get clogged with hair. Grass is like hair. Over time it builds up and the drains dont work.

A heavy rain that falls after a neighborhood has left grass clippings in the street can mean a plugged storm sewer. The only way to remove that kind of clog is with a jetting system.

Grass clippings can clog a storm sewer intake near the surface quickly during a rain.

After every single rainfall we are forced to drive around town and clean out our grated intakes, ORourke said. Two guys spend about four hours after every (heavy) rain cleaning out intakes.

Thats time and money that could be spent on other street work, he said.

The city street maintenance staff cleans storm sewer grates twice a year, but thats only near the entrance.

There is no way we can see 6 feet in, ORourke said. The only way to know if they are plugged is after a 4- or 5-inch rain like we had (recently) where water builds up on the street.

I dont think people are doing it to be vindictive, ORourke said. It would be of great help if people would discontinue (blowing) lawns clippings into the street.
MASON CITY  As the crowd cheered, Hailie Teepe bolted past 10 colorful round hurdles and dove into the grass at the finish line.

As she finished wearing dual French braids and her Tugs Daycare tie-dyed shirt, her goal for the race was simple: do my best and dont give up.

Teepe, 9, an upcoming Harding Elementary fourth-grader was one of at least 100 kids competing Friday morning at the Mason City Parks and Recreations first Daycare Olympics held near the Newman Catholic Schools track.

To mark the opening ceremonies at the Rio Olympic Summer Games on Friday, an intern came up with the idea for the day, said Austin Thoms, a parks and recreation staffer.

For the kids, its just a competition to have fun, he said.

The three-hour long event featured an opening ceremony  where kids carried flags and banners  and 14 competitions including gymnastics, a 100-meter sprint, hurdles and a tug-of-war.

Other kid-friendly events included a trike race, ring toss and mini obstacle course.

The teams from six Mason City day cares taking part were Charlie Brown, Newman, Soar, Tugs, YMCA and FNS.

Children could participate in at least two events each, but no medals were given for the competition.

The day was an occasion for the kids to make new friends, said Soar Day Camp Director Deb Kadera.

Thats what we called it, organized chaos, she said.
Cambodia's Prime Minister Hun Sen (L) shakes hands with National Assembly president Heng Samrin (R) during a ceremony marking the anniversary of the fall of the Khmer Rouge regime in Phnom Penh, Jan. 7, 2016.

Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sens lawyer on Friday accused opposition party leaders of using the murder of popular government critic Kem Ley for political purposes.

Following an appearance in Phnom Penh Municipal Court, attorney Ky Tech told reporters that Sam Rainsy Party Senator Thak Lany and Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP) leader Sam Rainsy saw an opportunity to stir up public feelings after the July 10 murder and they took it.

By placing the blame on Hun Sen it was [Thak Lany's] intention to trigger public anger that may lead to social unrest, Ky Tech told reporters. Such an ill-intentioned act is intended to twist the truth and create a misperception about Samdech Decho Prime Minister Hun Sen.

Hun Sen has sued Thak Lany and Cambodia National Rescue Party leader Sam Rainsy for defamation over remarks they allegedly made that tie Kem Leys murder to the prime minister.

While the Sam Rainsy Party merged with the Human Rights Party to form the CNRP, the party still holds seats in the Senate. It is expected to fully integrate with the CNRP after the national elections in 2018.

Sam Rainsy took advantage of the opportunity to distort the truth for the sake of political gain, Ky Tech said. Such an act is nothing short of an intention to violate the Cambodian Penal Code.

Ky Techs remarks seem to indicate that Hun Sen wants to pursue the more serious incitement charge as well as the defamation charge in his legal action.

While Thak Lany denies making the comments, saying her speech was edited in an effort to make it appear that she was blaming Hun Sen for the murder, Sam Rainsy renewed his accusations this week.

Sam Rainsy doubles down

Those who should be put in jail are the very government officials who were behind the deadly 1997 grenade attack, the assassination of Mr. Chea Vichea in 2004, the murder of Mr. Chut Wutty in 2012 and the killing of Dr. Kem Ley on 10 July 2016, Sam Rainsy wrote in a Facebook post.

At least 16 people were killed and more than 150 injured in the 1997 grenade attack that is widely viewed as an attempt to assassinate Sam Rainsy.

Chea Vichea was the leader of the Free Trade Union of Workers of the Kingdom of Cambodia (FTUWKC) when he was murdered in 2004.

Chut Wutty, founder and Director of the Natural Resource Protection Group, was killed in 2012 near a protected forest where he repeatedly attempted to expose illegal logging rackets that involved military officials.

Opposition lawyer Sam Sokong, who is representing the both Sam Rainsy and Thak Lany, said he has evidence that shows the lawsuits lack merit.

Everyone has the right to file a lawsuit, he said. However, a proper and good court of law needs to rule on the merits and admissibility of the lawsuit.

Too little money

Hun Sens lawsuit is not the only one Sam Rainsy is facing. On Aug. 1, the same court convicted Sam Rainsy of defaming National Assembly President Heng Samrin, who is also a top official in the ruling Cambodian Peoples Party (CPP).

Ky Tech, who is also Heng Samrins attorney, told reporters that his client plans to appeal an Aug. 1 defamation verdict because the 150 million riels (U.S. $36,586) the court ordered Sam Rainsy to pay in damages is too little. Heng Samrin wants to double that amount.

He said he was not satisfied with the court ruling, Ky Tech told reporters. The 150-million riels the court has ordered Sam Rainsy to pay does not compensate for the damage he has caused to samdechs dignity.

Samdech is a Cambodian honorific awarded by the king. It is roughly equivalent to an English knighthood.

Heng Samrin sued Sam Rainsy for defamation over a video the CNRP president posted on Facebook in 2015 that shows former King Norodom Sihanouk giving a speech with the words: We remember that the regime born on 7 January 1979 used their court [system] to sentence [late] King Norodom Sihanouk to death on the accusation of being a traitor.

Heng Samrin was president of Cambodia from 1979 to 1992, leading a government installed following an invasion by Vietnam that ended the four-year rule of the bloody Khmer Rouge regime. Heng Samrin contended the Facebook statement negatively affected his reputation.

Norodom Sihanouk was King of Cambodia between 1941 and 1955 and from 1993 to 2004. He died in 2012 of a heart attack and was succeeded by his son, Norodom Sihamoni.

Sam Rainsy has been living abroad since he was stripped of his parliamentary immunity in 2015 because of a warrant issued for his arrest in another defamation case in which he accused Deputy Prime Minister Hor Namhong of running a prison for the Khmer Rouge.

Reported by Vuthy Tha for RFA's Khmer Service. Translated by Nareth Muong. Written in English by Brooks Boliek.
Fan Lili (C), the wife of detained activist Gou Hongguo, and other wives of detained lawyers meet with foreign diplomats near an office of the Supreme Peoples Procuratorate in Beijing, July 4, 2016.

China convicted another rights activist for subversion on Friday, sentencing church leader Gou Hongguo to a three-year suspended sentence as Beijing continued to process the cases of lawyers and rights defenders arrested in a mass crackdown that began in July 2015.

Chinas official Xinhua News Agency said Gou, 54, was convicted of subverting state power and sentenced to three years in prison with a three-year reprieve after a trial at the No. 2 Intermediate People's Court in Tianjin, a northern port city close to Beijing.

Gou pled guilty and said at the court he would not appeal, Xinhua said.

Gou was affiliated with Beijing's Fengrui Law Firm, the main target of a nationwide crackdown that saw more than 300 human rights lawyers and associates detained beginning on the night of July 9, 2015.

According to Amnesty International, which tracks political prisoners, another 14 people targeted in the crackdown await trial, of whom 10 face state security charges of the kind China uses to target dissidents and activists.

Gous wife, Fan Lili, told RFAs Mandarin Service she travelled from her home in Shanxi province to Tianjin on Monday to collect information on her husbands case but was but was detained by security personnel and forced to write a pledge that she would return home and not do media interviews.

"They forced me to write a guarantee that I would not give interviews to the media, and then to voluntarily return home in Shanxi. If I didnt follow their order, I would not be allowed to go home, she told RFA from her home on Friday.

I have a 16-month-old child at home, so I had to write the guarantee, and later they sent me home to Shanxi. Therefore, I now actually know nothing about the trial."

Show trials

Gous sentencing was the fourth day in a row that lawyers or activists were sentenced after what rights experts called show trials in Tianjin.

On Thursday, Zhou Shifeng, 52, the director of the Fengrui Law Firm was sentenced to seven years on subversion. His trial followed the sentencing Wednesday of activist Hu Shigen to 7 years, while activist Zhai Yanmin received a suspended three-year sentence on Tuesday.

The trial of Zhous fellow Fengrui lawyer Li Heping is expected to follow soon.

International rights groups and legal experts have widely condemned the 13-month-long crackdown and the staged trials in Tianjin.

This wave of trials against lawyers and activists are a political charade. Their fate was sealed before they stepped into the courtroom and there was no chance that they would ever receive a fair trial, said Roseann Rife, East Asia Research Director at Amnesty International.

The Chinese authorities appear intent on silencing anyone who raises legitimate questions about human rights and uses the legal system to seek redress, Rife said in a statement issued Thursday after Zhous sentencing.

Reported by Yang Fan for RFAs Mandarin Service. Translated by Ping Chen. Written in English by Paul Eckert.
From left, Lod Thammavong, Somphone Phimmasone and Soukane Chaithad are being held by Lao authorities for posts they made on Facebook.

Authorities are looking for Facebook friends and other connections to three Lao citizens arrested in March for criticizing their government and ruling party via the popular social media platform, RFAs Lao service has learned.

Somphone Phimmasone, 29, his girlfriend Lod Thammavong, 30, and Soukane Chaithad, 32, have been held in Vientianes Phonthanh jail since they were arrested after returning to Laos to renew their passports from Thailand where they were working.

The police believe the detainees have many more friends, members of the network or gang, a Ministry of Public Security official told RFA on condition of anonymity. The police want to know who and where they are.

While the police are investigating, the authorities have prevented their parents and other relatives from seeing the detainees, sources tell RFA.

They are still detained, the official said. Their parents are allowed to send them food, but police are still investigating because they have not been telling the whole truth.

When asked why they are not allowed to see their parents, the security ministry official responded: Because according to the rule of law, police will not allow the suspects to meet outsiders during the investigation. The visits may affect the ongoing investigation.

While they made a confession on TV, the three Lao workers have yet to be tried or sentenced.

In 2014 the Lao government issued a decree prohibiting online criticism of the government and the ruling Lao Peoples Revolutionary Party (LPRP), setting out stiff penalties for netizens and Internet service providers who violate the governments controls.

Under the decree, netizens will face criminal charges for publishing untrue information about policies of the ruling Lao People's Revolutionary Party or the Lao government for the purpose of undermining  the country.



Netizens found to be disseminating content encouraging terrorism and social disorder, or which is deemed to divide the solidarity among ethnic groups and between countries, will also face charges, KPL said, adding that national secrets are also prohibited from being circulated.

The decree also requires netizens to use their real names when setting up social media and other accounts online.

Reported and translated by RFA's Lao Service. Written in English by Brooks Boliek.
Arakan Army leaders attend the opening of a four-day summit to discuss a framework for the governments upcoming peace conference in Mai Ja Yang, northern Myanmar's Kachin state, July 26, 2016.

Three armed ethnic groups that did not sign a nationwide peace pact with the Myanmar government last year have decided to meet with a peace negotiator from the national military to discuss participating in the upcoming Panglong Peace Conference, an officer from one of the armies said Friday.

The Arakan Army (AA) along with its allies the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army (MNDAA) and the Taang National Liberation Army (TNLA)the three remaining ethnic armies that have yet to agree to participate in the peace talksare planning to meet with former Lieutenant General Khin Zaw Oo, a peace negotiator from the Myanmar army who is a member of the committee organizing the Panglong Peace Conference, said Lieutenant General Kyaw Han of the AA.

The three groups, which have been involved in skirmishes with the Myanmar military in the Kokang region of Shan state along the border with China, did not sign a nationwide cease-fire agreement (NCA) with the previous government last October.

Reuters reported on Friday that the Myanmar military is no longer requiring that the three armed ethnic groups disarm before joining the Panglong Peace Conference as it had previously, citing Khin Zaw Oo.

The AA would welcome the new civilian governments offer to let it attend the Panglong Peace Conference later this month in Naypyidaw without first abandoning its arms, Kyaw Han said.

We have received a message from our headquarters that Lieutenant General Khin Zaw Oo will meet with the AA, MNDAA and TNLA, but we havent heard anything yet from our headquarters about the news that the military will allow our three groups to attend the Panglong Conference without first laying down our arms, he said.

The Myanmar militarya major stakeholder in the countrys peace processhas not issued an official announcement, he said.

We have plans to meet with the military delegation anywhere we can meet them, he said.

Previous invitation declined

In late April, the AA, MNDAA and TNLA declined an invitation from Khin Zaw Oo to hold informal peace discussions in Chaing Mai, Thailand.

Khin Zaw Oo had wanted to meet with the three groups in May along with leaders of the United Nationalities Federal Council (UNFC), an alliance of nine ethnic armed groups that did not sign the NCA.

Eight armed ethnic groups signed the NCA with the previous government, but the military added some chapters and excluded several other organizations, Kyaw Han said.

We didnt sign the NCA because we had some disagreements over its framework, he said. If they want all groups to sign the NCA, then the framework should be reviewed.

If the military said all groups can attend the [Panglong] peace talks, then these negotiations will be very positive, he said.

State Counselor Aung San Suu Kyi, Myanmars de facto national leader, has made peace and national reconciliation between Myanmars armed ethnic groups and the government military a priority of the countrys National League for Democracy (NLD) government.

She is leading the efforts to organize the 21st-Century Panglong Peace Conference, which takes its name from the original Panglong Conference in 1947 during which her father, General Aung San, granted autonomy to the Shan, Kachin, and Chin ethnic minorities before Myanmar gained its independence from colonial rule by Britain.

But Aung Sans assassination in July 1947 prevented the agreements made during the conference from being implemented, and many ethnic groups took up arms against the central government in wars that then continued for decades.

Reported by Nay Rein Kyaw for RFAs Myanmar Service. Translated by Khet Mar. Written in English by Roseanne Gerin.
Authorities in southwestern Chinas Sichuan province have banned a traditional Tibetan religious gathering and horse-race festival after participants refused to fly the Chinese national flag at the events, sources in the region and in exile say.



The annual gathering, in which villagers burn juniper branches to propitiate mountain deities for timely rainfall and a good harvest, was to have been held at the beginning of August, with the horse race to follow on Aug. 5, a former Tibetan political prisoner now living in India told RFAs Tibetan Service.



The juniper-burning ceremony, called sang-sol, was organized by Dargye monastery in Sichuans Kardze (Ganzi) county in the Kardze Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, RFAs source said, citing contacts in the region.



But this year, the Chinese ordered the monastery and Tibetan villagers to fly Chinese flags from the monastery and from peoples homes, and the monks and the lay community refused to comply, saying this had never been done before, he said.



Authorities then prohibited the prayer gathering in retaliation, he said.



The horse race and other cultural displaysincluding a lion dance and performances of traditional Tibetan opera-were likewise banned, he said.



The monks and laity had already spent large sums of money to prepare for the events, he added.



Annual religious gatherings in Tibetan-populated regions of China have greatly increased in size in recent years, as thousands of Tibetans gather to assert their national identity in the face of Beijings cultural and political domination.



Fearing possible protests against Chinese rule, security forces often monitor and sometimes close down events involving large crowds.



Reported by Sangye Dorje for RFAs Tibetan Service. Translated by Dorjee Damdul. Written in English by Richard Finney.




Authorities in Chinas northwestern Xinjiang region unveiled a new local counterterrorism law on Friday meant to counter religious extremism, but rights groups and academics say it is aimed exclusively at suppressing the Uyghur ethnic minority in the restive region.

The law, which was passed late last week, supplements a national counterterrorism law approved in December by setting forth measures to define terrorist activities, implement security precautions, conduct investigations, and punish religious extremists.

The legislative commission of the regional People's Congress said the basis for the law is that religious extremism, as the ideological basis of terrorism, must be prevented and punished, Chinas official Xinhua news agency reported.

We do not know the details of the regulation yet, but with the announcement that they passed the local application of this antiterrorism law means that along with [displays of] dissent and resentment by the Uyghur people against the government, their normal religious activities can be categorized as extremism and terrorism under this law, said Ilshat Hesen, president of the Washington-based Uyghur American Association.

This local law is aimed at suppressing Uyghurs only, he said.

Detentions and fines

A report by The Straits Times of Singapore on Friday detailed some of the measures included in the law: leaders of extremist groups are to be confined to solitary prison cells, the recruitment of people who undertake terrorist activities or training abroad is now considered an act of terrorism, and those who use cell phones, the internet, or other media devices to spread terrorist ideas will be charged with terrorist-related crimes.

The law also lists acts, such as destroying identification cards and Chinese banknotes, for which offenders can be detained for five to 15 days and fined up to 10,000 yuan (U.S. $1,500), the report said.

Dilxat Raxit, spokesman of the World Uyghur Congress based in Munich, Germany, said the new law, which he calls a form of propaganda, will increase discrimination by Han Chinese against the Uyghurs in Xinjiang.

China has two purposes in conducting propaganda on national and regional antiterrorism, he said. First, China is also a victim of terrorism, so it must step up its efforts to crack down on terrorism. Second, [it is] expanding its threats against the Uyghur minority. Chinas propaganda will also increase discrimination against Uyghurs by Han Chinese people.

Xinjiang rights activist Hu Jun said the law will expand police powers to deploy against ordinary Uyghurs.

The law will be used for expanding police powers with the unlimited use of guns, he said. Its obviously a declaration of war against ordinary people.

We can see that authorities have tried to label Uyghurs as enemies. Because social tensions have been continuously increasing, it has been [passed] to crack down on petitioners and rights defendants as well as lawyers and dissidents. Everyone is their enemy.

Uyghur Suppression Law

Academics based abroad also said the new law is meant as a further crackdown on Uyghurs.

Ming Xia, a political science professor at the College of Staten Island in New York, said the unveiling of the law by the regional government is an indication that China is going to punish any kind of dissent by Uyghurs by charging them with terrorism.

Fuji Genki, a professor at Tokyos Takushoku University who follows events in Xinjiang, said the legislation should be called the Uyghur Suppression Law rather than a counterterrorism law.

The reason is because China is aiming to crush any kinds of incidents that occur in the region [by labeling them] terrorist attacks while linking them to international terrorism, he said. [China] cant create peace through armed conquering.

Uyghurs in Xinjiang have long been subject to violent police raids on their households, restrictions on Islamic practices, and curbs on their culture and language by Chinese authorities who impose heave-handed rule in the region.

China often views Uyghurs as potential terrorists and has vowed to crack down on what it calls the three evils of terrorism, separatism, and religious extremism in Xinjiang.

Some experts outside China say Beijing has exaggerated the threat from Uyghur separatists, and that domestic policies are responsible for an upsurge in violence that has left hundreds dead since 2012.

The new regional law is believed to be a consequence of other terrorist incidents by Islamic radicals in Europe and Southeast Asia, The Straits Times report said.

Reported by RFAs Uyghur and Cantonese services. Translated by Mamatjan Juma and Vivian Kwan. Written in English by Roseanne Gerin.
Afghanistan's long-standing effort to distribute electronic ID cards to citizens has been marred by dispute, leading to violent street protests, walkouts in parliament, and scuffles among politicians.

In a bid to break the deadlock -- which largely centers on the issue of whether ethnicity should be printed on the documents -- a new proposal has been made to distribute not one, but two separate IDs. One would be a biometric card that would not document holders' nationality or ethnicity, and an accompanying booklet that would specify ethnicity and religion.

But the proposal, made on August 3 by Chief Executive Abdullah Abdullah -- who shares power with President Ashraf Ghani -- has been met with anger by some citizens. Afghans are venting their frustration by ridiculing the two-headed national-unity government (NUG), which came about after the 2014 presidential election failed to determine a lone winner.

Javid Faisal, spokesman to the chief executive, defended the proposal in an interview with RFE/RL's Radio Free Afghanistan. "The president and other stakeholders have all agreed to this proposal," he said. "The proposal will assuage the concerns of the Afghan people."

The controversial proposal must to be approved by both houses of parliament before the new cards can be rolled out.

Ethnic Identities

The Afghan government is seeking to issue biometric cards to citizens to help curtail election fraud and promote national unity. But the issue of whether to include citizens' ethnicity has instead highlighted Afghanistan's historical ethnic divisions, largely because critics believe putting everyone under the "Afghan" umbrella is politically advantageous to the country's largest ethnic group, the Pashtuns.

Ethnic rifts run deep in Afghanistan, and ethnicity is closely tied to citizens' broader sense of political and social identity.

Some argue that, with precise population estimates unavailable because Afghanistan has never conducted a nationwide census, documenting citizens' ethnicity on the national ID card could help the government accurately determine the size of the country's various ethnic groups.

This is contentious because ethnic minorities in Afghanistan claim that population estimates used to determine political representation greatly overstate the percentage of Pashtuns, which arguably results in the group taking a greater share of power than it deserves.

Advocates of the effort to forge a common Afghan identity, however, say singling out citizens' ethnicity could be divisive. Excluding mention of ethnicity on the ID cards, they argue, could promote unity in the volatile multiethnic country.

Under the proposed format of the new biometric documents, known as "taskera," holders' nationalities would be omitted. In addition to the words "Islamic Republic of Afghanistan" identifying the card as an official state document, the card would only include name, province, and address.

The accompanying booklet would include Afghan nationality and specify holders' ethnicity and religion.

This is not acceptable to citizens such as Abdul Wahid. "I will not get the new ID card that has been proposed," he told RFE/RL. "We are all Afghans. We're all from this land and we will all die in this land."

"If we are Afghans and our ID cards don't have the word 'Afghan,' what does this mean?" asks Obaid, a Kabul resident who goes by one name. "We are Afghans so our ID cards should say we are from the Afghan nation."

In the absence of a national census, the government has relied on figures compiled from sample censuses dating back to the 1970s to determine the country's ethnic makeup. The fact that Afghan governments have been dominated by Pashtuns has helped fuel sentiments among ethnic minorities that they are being politically marginalized, and even that the Pashtuns have a stake in preventing a national census from being conducted.

Even the word "Afghan" itself, which historically is synonymous with Pashtuns, is a source of contention among members of minority groups.

Ramin Habibi, another Kabul resident, said the new proposal was a "good step toward transparency" and "a fair compromise."

But Zaki Wardaki said the country needed to stop thinking along ethnic lines. "I don't care if my ethnicity is on the card or not," the Kabul resident said. "For heaven's sake, let's leave these rubbish ideas behind."

The proposed national ID card project is expected to cost $100 million, and will be paid for by the Finance Ministry. The introduction of new ID cards was a key promise made by the government after the presidential election in 2014, which was marred by widespread fraud and voting irregularities.
Afghan officials say at least 10 people have been killed in two explosions in the eastern province of Paktia.



Naqib Ahmad Atal, spokesman for the governor of Paktia Province, said five members of one family died when their vehicle struck a roadside bomb on August 5.



Atal said another five people were killed when their tractor hit a similar device a short time later.



Both of the roadside bombs had been planted in Paktias Chamkani district.



Atal blamed Talban fighters who are active in the area.



The United Nations says the Taliban is responsible for the vast majority of civilians killed and wounded in Afghanistan.



The UN says 1,601 civilians were killed in Afghanistan during the first half of 2016.

Based on reporting by AP and AFP
GENEVA -- A rural Hampton man was fined Thursday after pleading guilty to misdemeanor charges of operating while under the influence and third-degree theft.

In March, Brandon Daniel Deetz, 28, was accused of setting an ice house on fire near Geneva, stealing $500 worth of ice-fishing equipment and driving drunk from the scene.

Deputies with the Franklin County Sheriffs Office stopped Deetz a short time later and arrested him for operating while under the influence. Additional charges were filed after an investigation.

Deetz was on parole for 2012 arson convictions in Bremer and Chickasaw counties at the time of his Franklin County arrest.

His second-degree arson charge was dismissed in June.

On Thursday, a court fined Deetz $1,250 for the OWI charge and $315 for the theft charge. Deetz also received credit for time served in jail.

-- Meredith Colias
Montenegro's police have arrested a Montenegrin suspected of killing at least six ethnic Albanians, including two women, during the late 1990s war in Kosovo.

The man arrested on August 4 was identified as 47-year-old Vlado Zmajevic, who had joined Serbian forces fighting Kosovo Albanian separatists seeking independence from Serbia.

Prosecutors said Zmajevic was arrested in the central city of Niksic and was "suspected of war crimes against the civilian population."

According to the Kosovo Humanitarian Law Center, Zmajevic was a key suspect in the crime committed in the Kosovo village of Zegra after Serbian paramilitaries arrived there in March 1999.

At the time, NATO started bombarding Serbian troops to stop their brutal crackdown against the separatists.

The Kosovo war, which ended after a NATO bombing campaign against Serbia, left about 13,000 people dead and forced hundreds of thousands to flee their homes.

Kosovo subsequently became a protectorate under United Nations administration, and in 2008 it unilaterally declared its independence, which Serbia does not recognize.

Based on reporting by AP and AFP
The Border Guard Committee of Belarus said on August 5 that it has detained a Turkmenistan-born Swedish man and is preparing to extradite the former journalist back to Turkmenistan.



Committee member Alyaksandr Tishchenko told the Associated Press that Chary Annamuradov was detained in July as he flew into Belarus because his name was on a wanted list shared by several former Soviet republics.



Annamuradov, a former journalist who investigated drug trafficking between Europe and Afghanistan through Turkmenistan and Russia, was sentenced to 18 years in prison in Turkmenistan in 1991 on charges of drug possession.



Rights groups have said the charges against him were politically motivated.



Annamuradov was released from prison after serving several years of his sentence and fled Turkmenistan.



He lived briefly in Prague, where he worked for the Turkmen Service of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty.



Annamuradov then moved to Sweden, where he was granted political asylum in 2002.



He also reportedly worked as a correspondent for Deutsche Welle under a pseudonym.



In 2015, Freedom House listed Turkmenistan among the worst offenders of jailing journalists and tightening media controls.

Based on reporting by AP, Washington Post, Fox News, and Chronicles Of Turkmenistan
Russian President Vladimir Putin says the world faces the most dangerous decade since World War II and predicted that the historical period of the West's "undivided dominance over world affairs" is coming to an end.

Speaking on October 27 at a conference of international policy experts in Moscow, Putin said the decade ahead is "probably the most dangerous, unpredictable and, at the same time, important...since the end of World War II."

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.

Putin laid the blame for the situation at the feet of Western countries, which he said have cast aside the norms of international affairs in order to maintain dominance and hold down countries they see as "second-class civilizations."

The Russian leader also said he had no regrets about sending troops into Ukraine and sought to explain the conflict as part of the efforts by Western countries to secure their global domination.

Putin claimed in his speech to the Valdai Discussion Club, a think tank, that the West had helped incite the conflict and also seeks to stoke a crisis over Taiwan in an attempt to enforce global dominance.

Russia launched its invasion of Ukraine on February 24, triggering the biggest military conflict in Europe since World War II and driving relations with Western countries that back Ukraine and its drive to be part of the European Union and NATO to their lowest depths since the Cold War.

Putin cast the conflict in Ukraine as a battle between the West and Russia for the fate of the second-largest Eastern Slav country. It is partly a "civil war," he said, as Russians and Ukrainians are one people. Kyiv has flatly rejected both of those ideas.

The goal of what Russia refers to as a "special military operation" is to take the eastern Donbas region, Putin said, adding that in his view the region would "not have survived" on its own had Russia not intervened militarily in Ukraine.

WATCH: A local official told Russian conscripts "You are not cannon fodder" in a video published online recently. The men responded by angrily shouting that, actually, that's exactly what they are.

But the war has gone far beyond the Donbas region, with Russian attacks on civilian infrastructure, residential buildings, and other nonmilitary structures, killing tens of thousands of Ukrainians across the country.

Putin used the speech largely to rail against the West, saying it has nothing to offer to the world "except its own domination," and the goal of globalization "is neocolonialism to dominate the world." He said Russia is only trying to defend its right to exist in the face these Western efforts.

Putin also asserted that more and more nations refuse to follow Washington's demands and Russia will never accept the West's attempts to dominate the world.

Citing gay pride parades and the acceptance of transgender people in Western countries, Putin also defended "traditional values" and said "nobody can dictate to our people how to develop and what society we should build."

He also said Russia has never considered the West an enemy and has many things in common with it but will continue to oppose the diktat of Western neoliberal elites.

U.S. National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said Putin's speech presented no new ideas.

"We don't believe that Mr. Putin's strategic goals have changed here. He doesn't want Ukraine to exist as a sovereign, independent nation state," Kirby said.

Ukrainian presidential adviser Mykhailo Podolyak said Putin's speech can be described as "for Freud," referring to psychoanalysis founder Sigmund Freud.



"The person who invaded a foreign country, annexed its land, and committed genocide accuses others of violating international law and the sovereignty of other countries? One truth: The person who started a wind will get a storm. The storm is coming," he said on Twitter.

Answering questions from journalists after his speech, Putin reiterated the Kremlin's assertion that Ukraine plans to use a so-called dirty bomb on its own territory. The claim has been dismissed as false by Ukraine and its allies, who say Russia may have raised the matter because it plans to use such a bomb in Ukraine as a pretext for escalation.

"It was me who ordered [Defense Minister Sergei] Shoigu to inform by phone all his colleagues about it," Putin said, adding that Russia does not need to use dirty bombs in Ukraine.

Putin also said he supported plans by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to visit Ukraine's nuclear power plants for inspections.

"It must be done as soon and as openly as possible because we know that Kyiv authorities are now working to cover up such [dirty-bomb attack] preparations," Putin said, without giving any exact information proving the claim.

Ukraine invited IAEA inspectors to visit its nuclear facilities after the Kremlin made its unsubstantiated claim about the preparation of a dirty bomb -- which would use the explosion of a conventional warhead to spread radioactive material or chemicals over a wide area.

Ukraine said it would welcome inspections because it had "nothing to hide."

According to Putin, Russia has never talked about the use of nuclear weapons in the war with Ukraine despite his own promise to defend Russian territory with any means at our disposal" and saying his words were "not a bluff."

"We see no need for [using nuclear weapons in Ukraine]," Putin told reporters. "There is no sense for that, neither political, nor military."
Police say Kosovo's parliament was hit with an explosive device late on August 4, causing damage to the building but no injuries.

Kosovo media reported that two motorcyclists fired a rocket-propelled grenade as they drove near the parliament building.

The downtown area was sealed off as police investigated.

The blast comes amid tensions over a border demarcation deal that the government has reached with Montenegro.

Earlier on August 4, the government ratified the deal and sent it to parliament. Lawmakers are expected to vote on it next week.

The deal sets the boundary between the two countries and is backed by the United States and European Union.

Adopting a the deal is a precondition for Kosovo to get a visa-free travel regime to the EU's Schengen zone as other countries in the region received in 2010, including Serbia, Albania, Montenegro, Macedonia, and Bosnia-Herzegovina.

Opposition parties and some members of the governing coalition are vehemently against the deal, however, saying it hands over 8,000 hectares of Kosovo land to Montenegro.

Since last year the opposition has used tear-gas canisters inside parliament and clashed with police outside in an attempt to scuttle the deal.

Based on reporting by AP and Reuters
Ukrainians have increasingly woken up to the sound of suicide drones as Russia turns to Iranian-made imports to destroy civilian infrastructure in Ukraine. Now they may have another deadly Iranian weapon to worry about -- ballistic missiles.

Cheap but effective, Shahed-136 and Shahed-131 "kamikaze" drones have already made a deadly impact in Ukraine.



If U.S. intelligence assessments pan out, Russia will soon be able to supplement its use of Iranian suicide drones and its own cruise and ballistic missiles with powerful short-range Iranian Fateh-110 and Zolfaghar ballistic missiles.



Coming as the Kremlin is reportedly struggling to maintain its depleted stockpile of aerial weapons as it ramps up strikes, the missiles would potentially boost Russia's ability to continue its costly air campaign.



Jeremy Binnie, a Middle East defense specialist at the global intelligence company Janes, said having more missiles gives Russia the ability to sustain the bombardment against Ukraine."



Going Ballistic



The Fateh-110, which was unveiled in 2001 and has a stated range of 300 to 500 kilometers, was developed from a heavy artillery rocket dating from the 1980s. To increase the weapon's accuracy, the Fateh-110 was given a guidance system and movable fins that allow it to be steered as it approaches its target.



The Zolfaghar, which debuted in 2016 and also has guidance capabilities, comes from the same family as the Fateh-110 but boasts a much longer range due to its use of a lighter carbon-fiber airframe and a smaller warhead.



Binnie said the Zolfaghar's use against the Islamic State (IS) extremist group in eastern Syria confirmed that the missile was capable of reaching at least 650 kilometers, which he said is "a statement of how much the Iranian tactical missile program has really advanced over the years."



Iran's claim that the Zolfaghar can travel even farther -- up to 700 kilometers -- would put the western Ukrainian city of Lviv within range of strikes launched from Russian territory, while the more powerful Fateh-110 could potentially hit the city from Belarus, which has served as a staging ground for Russian attacks.



While there has been no indication that Russia plans to purchase launching systems from Iran, Binnie suggests that the Russian military could pair the missiles with existing equipment because the Iranian launchers were adapted from a Soviet-era system.



"It might be possible for the Russians to quickly adapt some old equipment they have lying around into launch systems," Binnie said.



The Iranian military, he added, fitted the Soviet system to trucks, allowing for mobility and concealment.



"Those civilian trucks can be covered over to make it hard to spot that they're actually missile launchers," Binnie said.



'Lawnmowers' And 'Mopeds'



Iranian military drones, or unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), have been homing in on targets across Ukraine since late August, according to the United States.



The buzzing sound of the Iranian Shahed-136 and Shahed-131 drones, built with off-the-shelf components, have earned them derisive monikers such as "lawnmowers" and "mopeds." But the slow-moving, low-flying drones, which are maneuvered to crash into their target, have proven themselves capable of hitting their mark both in terms of military effectiveness and cost.

It is capable of extracting or delivering attrition and damage when launched, but it costs little compared to other UAVs that Russia has in its own arsenal," said Samuel Bendett of the Virginia-based Center for Naval Analyses (CNA).

Ukraine alleges Russia has ordered 2,400 of the Iranian suicide drones, and its military has claimed to have shot them down in great numbers, often using conventional anti-aircraft guns or even small-arms fire. But their ability to be launched in bunches of five -- often from the cover of civilian trucks -- improves their chances of reaching their target.



"The Ukrainians are stopping most of these, but the whole point of these drones is that they fly in a large mass," Bendett said. "The air defense does not always catch all of them. All it takes is for several or even one to make it through."

The estimated range of the Shahed-136 varies, but Iran says it is capable of traveling 2,500 kilometers. The slightly smaller and older Shahed-131, which has been used by Huthi rebels in Yemen to attack Saudi targets in the Arabian Peninsula, has been estimated to have a range of 900 kilometers, according to tests conducted by the Ukrainian military.



Ukraine's Defense Ministry has published multiple images of downed Shahed-136 drones in recent weeks, and the Ukrainian National Guard on October 19 claimed to have shot down a Shahed-131.



Ukraine has also claimed to have shot down a more advanced Iranian combat UAV, the Mojer-6 drone capable of carrying out both reconnaissance missions and aerial strikes within a range of 200 kilometers. There have also been reports of Russian interest in obtaining Irans Shahed-129 and Shahed-191 combat drones.



"When launched from any territory that Russia controls or is allied with -- anywhere from the south, from the Donbas, from Belarus -- they're able to strike a lot of Ukrainian targets," Bendett said.

In addition to the U.S. intelligence assessment that Russia will soon boost its arsenal with Iranian ballistic missiles, as first reported by The Washington Post on October 16, the White House on October 20 said that Iranians are now "directly engaged on the ground" in Moscows war against Ukraine after sending "a relatively small number" of personnel from the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps to assist Russian forces in using the Iranian drones.

Iran has denied sending combat drones to Russia, and Moscow has rejected claims that it is using Iranian UAVs.

Images of downed Iranian drones appear to show that they have been rebranded to look Russian-made, experts say, with the markings in Cyrillic naming them as the Geran-1 (the Shahed-131) and Geran-2 (the Shahed-136).

Observers are widely skeptical of Russia's denials, noting that the drones are essentially identical right down to the font of the serial numbers. Even Russian Defense Ministry experts have unwittingly admitted that the suicide drones are Iranian.



But the rebranding of the drones to make them appear to be Russian has opened the possibility that Moscow could, if it is not already doing so, seek to manufacture or assemble the Iranian drones on its own territory.



Sustaining A Campaign



The new aerial weaponry fits well with the Russian military's renewed focus on striking military and civilian targets far from the front lines in southern and eastern Ukraine. The air assault has ratcheted up following the October 8 appointment of Colonel General Sergei Surovikin, a former Aerospace Forces commander, to lead the Russian war effort.



Just days after Surovikin's appointment, Russia launched the biggest air strikes since the beginning of its invasion of Ukraine in February. Moscow said the drone and missile strikes, which targeted civilian areas and infrastructure in cities throughout Ukraine, were in response to a bomb blast that damaged a key bridge linking Russia to the occupied Crimean Peninsula.

While the Kremlin has accused Ukraine's intelligence services of carrying out the "terrorist" attack on the Crimea Bridge, Ukraine has denied responsibility.



Since the initial air assault in response to the bridge blast, Russia has continued to pound Ukrainian infrastructure, often targeting power plants in what Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has said is a deliberate effort to wear down the Ukrainian people by denying them heat and electricity as winter approaches.



"Civilian infrastructure is obviously the new layer in this war. The Ukrainian economy is now the target, the Ukrainian population is now the target," Bendett said.



Hard To Stop



The hypersonic speed and high trajectory of Iran's Fateh-110s and Zolfaghars, should they arrive, would be extremely difficult for Kyiv to counter without a network of high-tech and costly antimissile batteries it currently does not possess.



Ukraine has repeatedly requested more advanced missile-defense systems from the West, and in the face of the threat of the delivery of Iranian ballistic missiles reportedly sent an official request to Israel this week for components of its "Iron Dome" system.



While the United States has said that it is seeking to expedite the process of sending two U.S. air defense systems known as NASAMS, Washington has appeared reluctant to provide more advanced Patriot missile systems.



Janes' defense expert Binnie is skeptical that the delivery of the Patriot system, which has proven to be successful in shooting down ballistic missiles, is realistic for Ukraine.

"It's eye wateringly expensive and it's probably not really practical because each [missile] battery only covers one city," he said. "You would never get enough batteries to get the coverage you would want. You just wouldn't be able to find them, produce them, and train enough Ukrainians."
The UN's refugee agency says it has received reports that the Islamic State (IS) extremist group may have captured up to 3,000 villagers who were fleeing violence in northern Iraq.

The UNHCR says the internally displaced people from villages in the Hawiga district were seeking safety in the nearby city of Kirkuk when they were captured on August 4.

Reportedly, 12 of them were killed in captivity.

On August 4, the Iraqi Observatory for Human Rights put the number of captured civilians at some 1,900, including children and women.

The nongovernmental organization said they were captured by up to 120 IS fighters who were using people as shields against attacks by Iraqi security forces.

IS fighters seized large swathes of Iraqi and Syrian in a lightning offensive in 2014.

The group's grip on some towns has since been broken, but it still controls its strongholds of Mosul in Iraq and Raqqa in Syria.

The fighting had displaced 3.4 million people in Iraq by July 2016.

Based on reporting by Reuters, dpa, and AP
A former U.S. police officer who shot dead a Kazakh national in 2011 has been convicted in a different deadly shooting case in Virginia.

A jury on August 4 found Stephen Rankin guilty of voluntary manslaughter in the 2015 shooting death of 18-year-old William Chapman. Jurors recommended Rankin be sentenced to 2 1/2 years in prison.

In 2011, Kazakhstans Kirill Denyakin was shot and killed by Rankin. Denyakin was later found to have been intoxicated but unarmed at the time of the shooting.

Rankin did not face trial over the incident.

Kazakhstan's Foreign Ministry said on August 5 that it is ready to assist Denyakin's family if it decides to file an appeal to revise the case in the United States.

Denyakin's mother, Yelena Denyakina, was present at Rankin's trial over Chapmans killing.

Based on reporting by wavy.com,.nydailynews.com and Kazinform
ASYLBASH, Kyrgyzstan -- A convoy of vehicles has started traveling through towns and villages in Kyrgyzstan in remembrance of the victims of a Kyrgyz and Kazakh revolt against imperial Russia that was violently suppressed by tsarist Russian forces in 1916.

The state-sponsored convoy, with drivers from Kyrgyz nongovernmental organizations, began its journey from a village near Bishkek on August 4 and was expected to reach the town of Karakol within several days.

Drivers of the automobiles stop in each town and village on their way to read out names of local people who were killed in the clashes with the tsarist Russian troops one hundred years ago.

During World War I in 1916, Russia decided to draft indigenous peoples of Central Asia into the army as unarmed workers who built trenches, fortifications, and engineering works.

Many Kyrgyz and Kazakhs refused and openly rebelled against Russian authorities.

After the revolt was put down, many Kyrgyz and Kazakhs fled to China's neighboring province of Xinjiang.
U.S. President Barack Obama has touted progress made by U.S. and international troops against the Islamic State (IS) extremist group but said lone-wolf attacks by IS followers will continue to be a problem.

"I am pleased with the progress that we've made on the ground in Iraq and Syria," Obama said on August 4, though "we're far from freeing Mosul and Raqqa," IS strongholds in the two countries.

As IS has lost ground on the battlefield, he noted, it has stepped up efforts to inspire and organize grisly assaults on civilian targets abroad.

"They've seen the degree of attention they can get with smaller-scale attacks using small arms or assault rifles," Obama said. "The possibility of either a lone actor or a small cell carrying out an attack that kills people is real."

IS "networks are more active in Europe than they are [in the United States], but...it's conceivable that there are some networks here that could be activated," he said.

"How we react to this is as important as the efforts we take to destroy [IS]," he said. "When societies get scared they can react in ways that undermine the fabric of our society."

Based on reporting by Reuters, AP, and AFP
Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif says his government is using "formal and informal channels" to seek the return of seven passengers of a crashed Pakistani helicopter who were captured by the Taliban in Afghanistan.

Sharif made the comments in an August 5 statement, after the Pakistani government aircraft crash-landed the day before in the eastern Afghan province of Logar.

Pakistani Taliban commander Qari Saifullah Mehsud, in a telephone call with RFE/RL Radio Mashaal correspondent Sailab Mehsud, said Afghan Taliban leaders claim they have only six Pakistanis in custody and said the helicopter pilot was "seriously injured," apparently in the crash landing.

Mehsud said his Afghan counterparts said the crashed helicopter was accompanied by another helicopter that shelled Taliban positions, killing one Taliban member and injuring two others, at the time of the crash.

Other media reports said a seventh crew member -- a Russian navigator -- also was detained by the militants.

Pakistan's army chief, General Raheel Sharif, called Afghanistans president to request his country's help.

"Afghan President Ashraf Ghani assured all possible assistance in this regard," a Pakistani military spokesman said.

The Afghan Defense Ministry said the government had instructed security forces to "spare no efforts to secure the release of the crew members."

Islamabad said the Mi-17 transport helicopter was on its way to Russia for maintenance.

Based on reporting by Reuters, AFP, and dawn.com
MASON CITY | A partnership between the Mason City Noon Rotary Club and the Book World store is providing volunteer readers and books to Mason City elementary schools.

Established in 2008, the Rotary READS Program matches Rotary members with teachers who would like volunteer adult readers to read to or listen to students read in their classrooms, said Margo Underwood, project chairwoman.

Barb Wells, literacy coordinator for Mason City schools, matches teachers with volunteers.

This year, 11 Rotarians are volunteers at Harding, Hoover, Jefferson, and Roosevelt elementary schools.

Julie Bublitz, book store manager, said Book World has donated new books to each of the four schools.

Underwood said, Reading with students the past eight years has been a wonderful experience. Helping students practice their reading skills and enjoy reading is one of the greatest gifts we can provide for their future success."
The Pentagon says it is withholding $300 million in military aid because Pakistan has not taken "sufficient action" against the Haqqani network.

The aid was withheld despite "the significance of the sacrifices that the Pakistani military has undertaken" fighting terrorism since 2014, Pentagon spokesman Adam Stump said on August 4.

The Haqqani network, labeled a terrorist organization by the United States, operates in both Afghanistan and Pakistan.

Congress stipulated that $300 million of the $1 billion in U.S. military aid authorized to go to Pakistan in 2016 could be transferred only after Secretary of Defense Ash Carter certified that Pakistan had made satisfactory progress against the group.

The deadline for payment was June 30, and Carter let the deadline pass without authorizing the funds.

The Washington Post first reported the decision late on August 3. This was the first time that certification from the secretary of defense was required for military aid to Pakistan.

"We have taken up the fight against terrorism," Pakistani Foreign Office spokesman Nafees Zakaria said in Islamabad on August 4.

"These reimbursements enable the United States to support Pakistan's ongoing counterterrorism efforts in a manner that serves shared interests of both the countries."

Based on reporting by Reuters and Voice of America
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has told U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry that the fight against extremist groups in Syria must be stepped up because some militants are using poison gas to attack civilians.

Russia's Foreign Ministry said Lavrov made the remarks to Kerry on August 5 during a phone call about the Syrian war.

The two men spoke a day after Moscow sharply criticized U.S. actions in Syria, accusing Washington of backing rebels who use poison gas against civilians.

U.S. President Barack Obama said on August 4 that he was not sure he can trust Russia or Russian President Vladimir Putin to cooperate with the United States in the fight against extremists in Syria, but was exploring the possibilities.

He said Washington must "test whether or not we can get an actual cessation of hostilities that includes an end to the kinds of aerial bombing and civilian death and destruction that we have seen carried out by the [Syrian] regime."

Based on reporting by Reuters, AP, AFP, TASS, and Interfax
Russian telecom giant Mobile TeleSystems (MTS) says it will sell its stake in its Uzbek joint venture and leave the Central Asian country completely, amid an ongoing corruption probe by U.S. authorities involving the daughter of the country's long-ruling president.



In a statement August 5, Andrei Smelkov, vice president and director of the foreign subsidiaries unit, said MTS had decided sell its ownership in the venture, called UMS, "due to a variety of business reasons and other circumstances."



The Uzbek government holds the other 49.99 percent of UMS.



An official close to UMS told RFE/RL's Uzbek Service that the sale would close by the end of the month.



The abrupt sale comes just four years after its Uzbek subsidiary, Uzdunrobita, fell afoul of Uzbek authorities, which accused it of regulatory violations, arrested several of its top officials, and revoked its license.



Uzdunrobita was controlled at the time by Gulnara Karimova, the eldest daughter of President Islam Karimov.



The sale is the latest fallout from a massive, multiyear investigation involving U.S. and European authorities into alleged corruption in Uzbekistan involving Karimova.



MTS's competitor in both Russia and Uzbekistan, VimpelCom, earlier this year agreed to pay nearly $800 million in fines and penalties to U.S. and European regulators stemming from alleged bribes paid to companies linked to Karimova.



The U.S. government is now in protracted negotiations with Uzbekistan over repatriating some of the assets seized by U.S. authorities



MTS, which is traded on the New York Stock Exchange, is Russias largest mobile-phone operator. It is controlled by the Russian conglomerate Sistema, whose majority shareholder is billionaire Vladimir Yevtushenkov.



VimpelCom is controlled, through a series of intermediary companies, by Russian billionaire Mikhail Fridman. The company is traded on the NASDAQ stock exchange.



In 2015, VimpelCom hinted at looming criminal liability, saying it was putting aside nearly $1 billion to deal with potential liabilities.



MTS said in a separate comment e-mailed to Reuters that its decision to exit Uzbekistan was not prompted by the U.S. investigation or by any business difficulties related to the Uzbek government.



The other company facing potential U.S. liability is TeliaSonera, a Swedish-Finnish communications giant.



Swedish authorities have aggressively investigated Uzbek-related bribery allegations after reports on Swedish television. Four senior executives there later resigned.



A criminal investigation by Swedish prosecutors may return indictments in that case later in 2016.



Karimova spent years in the limelight as an aspiring pop star, fashion designer, and famous socialite in Uzbekistan.



Central Asian watchers at one point speculated she might become president after her aging father, who recently celebrated his 78th birthday. But she appeared to fall out of favor in 2014 as the multinational investigation gathered steam.



Photographs were published last year showing her under house arrest in Uzbekistan.

With reporting by RFE/RL's Uzbek Service
Protesters clashed again with security forces on October 28 in Zahedan, a city in southeastern Iran that has seen weeks of unrest since a wave of demonstrations broke out following the death of a 22-year-old woman detained by the country's morality police.

Dozens of people were killed in clashes in Zahedan four weeks ago during anti-government protests, and the Oslo-based group Iran Human Rights said people in Zahedan once again gathered after Friday Prayers on October 28 and chanted against the government.

Activists posted videos on social media showing protesters in the city calling for the death of "dictator" Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and the Basij militia, which has played a major role in a crackdown on the demonstrations.

Security forces in Zahedan reportedly used violence against protesters, with eyewitnesses reporting gunshots.

The U.S.-based Human Rights Activist News Agency (HRANA) said security forces fired on protesters.

"The special police forces cracked down on the protesters and fired at the crowd" in Zahedan, the group said on Twitter.

It was not possible to verify the claims or the authenticity of the videos.

Amnesty International said the crackdown on the protests by security forces in the city on September 30 killed at least 66 people.

At the same time as the protest rally in Zahedan, reports and videos indicate that other protest rallies were held in some other cities of Sistan-Baluchistan Province at noon on October 28 and after Friday Prayers.

Reports also indicate that a large gathering was held on October 27 in Makki Mosque in Zahedan in support of influential Sunni cleric Molavi Abdolhamid Ismaeelzah.



Last week during his Friday Prayers sermon, the cleric, who is known across the country as Molavi Abdolhamid, said senior officials, including Khamenei, were "responsible" for the killings on September 30.



Molavi Abdolhamid published excerpts of his speech on Instagram on October 27 in which he again asks the authorities to condemn the September 30 massacre and punish the perpetrators.

Videos posted on social media on October 27 showed people in the Chitgar neighborhood chanting, "No to hijab. No to oppression. Freedom and equality," and also, "Death to the dictator," a reference to Khamenei.

Protesters have continued to take to the streets of Tehran despite the threat of a further crackdown on the unrest -- one of the deepest challenges to the Islamic regime since the revolution in 1979.

Rights groups say at least 215 people have been killed during protests since Mahsa Amini, 22, died on September 16 while in police custody for allegedly wearing a hijab, or head scarf, improperly.

The UN human rights office on October 28 voiced concern at Iran's treatment of detained protesters and said authorities refused to release some of the bodies of those killed.

"We've seen a lot of ill treatment...but also harassment of the families of protesters," Ravina Shamdasani, spokeswoman of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, told a press briefing in Geneva.

"Of particular concern is information that authorities have been moving injured protesters from hospitals to detention facilities and refusing to release the bodies of those killed to their families," she said.

The body of the late RFE/RL journalist Reza Haghighatnejad was reportedly seized by the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) upon being repatriated, drawing a sharp response from the U.S. State Department, which said it was disgusted by the treatment of Haghighatnejads body.

Haghighatnejad died on October 17 of cancer in Berlin.

In the city of Arak, RFE/RLs Radio Farda reported that a 19-year-old man was killed by security forces on October 26.



Mehrshad Shahidinejad was assaulted by security forces in Arak and was killed due to multiple baton blows to his head, according to his relatives and friends on social media.

Shahidinejad was a talented chef and was popular in his home city of Arak.

With reporting by Ardeshir Tayebi based on an original story in Persian by RFE/RL's Radio Farda, as well as AFP, Reuters, and dpa
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan travels to St. Petersburg on August 9 to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin. They will focus on improving cooperation in two main areas: the effort to find a shared and joint solution to the Syria crisis, and in business and energy, including a full resumption of tourism from Russia to Turkey, trade, and construction projects that were halted during a monthslong spat between the two nations.

Both sides, it appears, are using the recent Turkish coup attempt to mend their relations.

This is Erdogan's first visit to a foreign country since the July 15 effort to overthrow his government. The coup attempt was rebuffed by a majority of Turks and clamped down by security forces. It was followed by the detention, arrest, and dismissal of tens of thousands of people accused of being members or sympathizing with Fethullah Gulen, a Turkish preacher who has been in self-imposed exile in the United States since 1999. He is accused by the Turkish government of building a secret network infiltrating the army, the justice, education, and media sectors, and the business world.

The St. Petersburg visit will also be the first meeting between the Turkish and Russian presidents since Turkey downed a Russian attack aircraft near the Syrian-Turkish border in November. Erdogan strongly defended the action at the time, saying that the Russian aircraft -- which was participating in Russia's bombing campaign in Syria -- had violated Turkish airspace.

In the Syrian conflict, Turkey started in the early 2010s to support armed rebel groups, including extremist Islamists, against the Syrian government of President Bashar al-Assad. Russia took sides with the Assad government and actively entered the war in September, 2015. This created a regional confrontation between Russia and Turkey, who had to that point enjoyed good relations.

Following the incident, relations between the two countries reached a historic low. Putin called the downing of the Russian aircraft -- which led to the killing of its Russian pilot after he parachuted to the ground in Syria -- a "war crime" and demanded an apology by Erdogan. Russia also initiated a number of punitive measures against Turkey -- including ones preventing Russian tourists from traveling to Turkey, and a ban on Turkish food imports -- that strained Turkey's economy.

Then, in an about-face, Russia announced in June that Erdogan had sent a letter of condolence to Putin over the downing of the Russian jet and the two sides agreed to resolve their issues, find common ground in the effort to end the Syrian crisis, and improve their relations.

Formidable sticking points remain, however, particularly when it comes to Syria and the future of Assad.

Speaking about Erdogan's upcoming visit, Ibrahim Kalin, the spokesman for the Turkish president, said that Turkey wants "to work together with Russia to find a political transition [of power] for Syria, a democratic and pluralist political structure acceptable to all Syrians." However, he added, "such a solution, that is in the interest of both Russia and Turkey, will be not possible with Assad remaining in power."

It seems the resumption of better economic and energy relations is already in progress. The delivery of Russian natural gas to Turkey was never interrupted in the first place, so not much ground was lost. The resumption of Russian tourism to Turkey is trickier, in part due to the deadly terrorist attack against the Istanbul airport in June as well as the recent coup -- both of which badly damaged Turkish tourism during high season.

Foreign policy seems to be at the top of the upcoming Erdogan-Putin meeting. Obviously, Syria policy is to be a main part of the two leaders' discussions. A "goodwill coordination of positions" on Syria would seem to be a potential rebuff to U.S. efforts in support of armed groups and Kurdish rebels in Syria against Assad, a scenario that would be complicated by Russia's own support for the Kurds.

But Russia also appears to be using two issues related to the recent coup attempt to deepen the current Turkish-U.S. and generally Turkish-Western atmosphere of accusatory distrust, and bring Turkey closer to Russian foreign policy coordinates.

From the beginning of the coup attempt, Turkish officials and media have maintained that the West -- notably the United States, a NATO ally -- has been slow and reluctant in condemning the coup attempt. Erdogan and many other Turkish politicians and media have not shied from public claims that the West, notably the United States, was behind the coup attempt. Secondly, the Turkish government has been insisting on the extradition of Gulen -- who is considered to be a terrorist by Ankara and who Turkey accuses of being the mastermind of the coup attempt -- from the United States to Turkey. Washington, while dismissing accusations that it had any role in the coup attempt, has asked for "concrete evidence of Gulen's personal involvement in the attempt" and said that the government will act on the extradition request based on the final legal assessment -- a process that can take years.

Meanwhile, Moscow is presenting itself to Turkey as a good "friend" who condemned the coup attempt from the beginning and offered Erdogan its full support. Russian lawmakers have claimed that the "U.S. will never extradite Gulen because the CIA was behind him and his coup attempt," and bombastic politician Vladimir Zhirinovsky went so far as to say that "Gulen and the U.S. are Turkey's enemies."

Despite Erdogan's initial defense of the downing of the Russian jet, since the coup attempt Turkey has tried to blame the incident on pilots who are alleged to have been Gulen sympathizers. Even more, just on the eve of the Erdogan-Putin meeting, rumor-based "reports" are making waves in Turkish media that the Gulen movement was trying to provoke a "Russian-Turkish war" and that this alleged "CIA-MI6-Mossad plan" was hatched to distance NATO-member Turkey from establishing close relations with Russia. A French newspaper report is frequently quoted as a "reliable Western source," claiming that on the night of the coup attempt "U.S.-supported jet fighters tried to bomb Erdogan's hotel, where he was on vacation, while Putin ordered his Russian jet fighters to defend Erdogan."

It seems that apart from the effort to develop a common Turkish-Russian position on Syria, the meeting will be cause for celebration -- with Erdogan thanking Putin for his support following the failed coup attempt, and Putin assuring the Turkish leader of future Russian support.

Analyst and columnist Kadri Gursel summarized it this way, "In order to frighten the West, Erdogan will show that Turkey is getting increasingly closer to Russia."

In reality, however, Russia does not have much to offer to Ankara in terms of investment, technology, defense, and trade. Turkey has a deep and interdependent relationship with the West. A Turkey decoupled from the West is bad for NATO and bad for the West, but much worse for Turkey itself.
Kazakhstan says neighboring Turkmenistan has temporarily closed the two countries common border, citing security reasons.

Officials from Kazakhstan's western Manghystau region that borders Turkmenistan say the border has been closed since August 4.

The officials quoted Turkmen officials as saying the measure was to last five days.

Residents of the Manghystau region are allowed to visit Turkmenistan's Balkan region without a visa for a period of five days.

It is Ashgabat's second closure of the Turkmen-Kazakh border recently.

On July 20, Turkmenistan closed the border for five days, also citing security reasons.

It is unclear if border closures by Ashgabat are related to a pair of deadly attacks on police stations in Kazakhstan in June-July that officials have blamed on terrorists.

Based on reporting by KazTAG and Interfax
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A Henrico County man has been charged with first-degree murder in an April 29 shooting.

About 8:40 p.m. that day, Henrico police responded to the 1100 block of Old Williamsburg Road. Officers found a man suffering from gunshot wounds. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

The victim was identified as Shaun Bernard Johnson, 35, of Henrico.
Three men were wounded at a Petersburg apartment unit Friday in a shooting that police said stemmed from a dispute.

The victims, whom police did not identify, suffered non-life-threatening injuries, Petersburg police Capt. Brian Braswell said in a release.

Braswell said police were called about 9 a.m. for a report of a person shot at the Webster Court Apartments in the 400 block of Mars Street. Responding officers found two men with gunshot wounds. Authorities cordoned off the area and focused on a single apartment unit where the shooting occurred, Braswell said.

"Early investigation revealed that a dispute between several individuals inside one apartment led to the shooting," Braswell said.

Hours later after further investigation, police determined a third person had been shot and was attempting to seek medical attention for a minor gunshot wound related to the earlier incident, Braswell said.

Detectives are continuing their search for evidence and speaking to potential witnesses, Braswell said.
CHARLOTTESVILLE  A University of Virginia professor accused of possessing child pornography has been a fixture in the schools film studies department for decades.

Walter Francis Korte Jr. has been director of U.Va.s film studies program since 1970 and was instrumental in the creation of the Virginia Film Festival in 1988. He received a Fulbright Scholarship and was published in numerous scholarly journals on film.

Now, he sits in the Albemarle-Charlottesville Regional Jail, awaiting trial on two counts of possessing child pornography.

University police made the arrest Tuesday after conducting searches of Kortes Albemarle County home and his office on Grounds.

U.Va. officials  including Vice Provost for the Arts Jody Kielbasa  declined to comment Thursday, although Anthony de Bruyn, a spokesman for U.Va., said the administration is working to minimize any disruptions that will result from this situation.

Richard Herskowitz, director of the Virginia Film Festival from 1994 to 2008, said he was stunned by the allegations.

Herskowitz called Korte one of the most knowledgeable film professors Ive ever met. Korte was well-known and respected by other faculty members, film scholars and the many students he taught, Herskowitz said.

So many times I was struck when Id meet someone in the film business who went to U.Va., and they asked, Is Walter Korte still there? He started my passion for film,  Herskowitz said. I just heard that over and over again.
ARLINGTON

As a mayor, governor and senator Tim Kaine has seen the day-to-day impact of policy on his constituents at every level of government. So it makes sense that, as recently as the day before he was picked to be Hillary Clintons running mate, Kaine supported a free-trade policy that would bring jobs across America, from our smallest towns to our largest cities. Unfortunately, to toe the line with his running mates opposition, Kaine has been forced to rescind his support for the Trans-Pacific Partnership.

This move is not a surprise to anyone following the visionless TPP-bashing that has escalated from both parties throughout this election cycle. But Kaines on-the-ground experiences, coupled with his big-picture understanding of international policy, were clearly the foundations of his historical support for trade. To better understand Kaines support for the TPP, it is important to look at how free trade has helped  and would continue to help  his home state of Virginia.

A recent study conducted by the Business Roundtable revealed that international trade accounts for 1,135,500 of Virginias jobs  thats one in four. Free trade agreements (FTAs) are a critical part of this equation. These jobs are not created without the elimination of tariffs and other barriers FTAs create. In fact, $7 billion (40 percent) of Virginias exported goods go to countries with whom the U.S. has a free-trade partnership. These numbers are just the tip of the iceberg when looking at Virginias trade potential under the Trans-Pacific Partnership.

From soybeans and poultry to chemical and technology exports, Virginias industries will feel the positive effects of the TPP. The National Association of State Departments of Agriculture (NASDA) predicts substantial gains for Virginia agriculture. A 2016 report from the NASDA predicts 350 additional agriculture jobs for Virginia with an increase of $46.9 million in agricultural exports to TPP nations.

Whats more, Virginias forest products, textile/apparel and health goods, all currently subjected to import taxes between 35 percent and 100 percent when exported, will be nearly duty-free under the TPP. This translates into a huge potential for growth for these industries.

Governor Terry McAuliffe has not been shy about his support for the deal, too. In November, he called it the largest expansion of labor rights in history. Last week, McAuliffe grabbed headlines after implying to Politico that Hillary Clinton would likely support the TPP after shes elected. While he has since rescinded his statements, the governor has doubled down on his own support for advancing the agreement as the presidents top priority for his remaining time in office.

In Kaines final pro-TPP comments, given to the blog The Intercept, he laid out his justifications for supporting the agreement. I am having discussions with groups around Virginia about the treaty itself. I see much in it to like. I think its an upgrade of labor standards. I think its an upgrade of environmental standards, I think its an upgrade in intellectual property protections,

Kaine is right. Creating uniformity of business standards with our TPP peers, some of our largest trading partners, will spur significant economic growth nationally and internationally. The American Farm Bureau Federation estimates $4.4 billion in market growth for Americas farmers under the TPP. All in all, over 18,000 taxes on Made-in-America goods and services would be eliminated under the TPP. This means room to grow for American exporters  98 percent of which are small- to medium-sized businesses.

Kaine might have switched his stance on the TPP to assuage internal unrest within the Democratic Party, but there is no doubt that his own words, and the facts, outline why the Trans-Pacific Partnership will push our nation forward.
Annie Lin of Salem submits these photos and writes:

"Saturday, May 28, 2016 at 10:00 am, my son, Jerry and I went to the Festival in the Park at Elmwood Park in Roanoke.

"We went around the park area to take some pictures. Jerry stopped at Help Next Door Girl booth and a pretty girl put a tattoo on Jerry's hand. Jerry spun a wheel for a free gift. We saw car show on Franklin road and a band performed on Jefferson Street, there were art & crafts and vendors.

"Then, we back to the Amphitheater stage to watch Southwest Virginia Ballet performance. Jerry sat on the floor. He really enjoyed their dance. Then we went home.

"At 5:00 pm, we went back to the park. We paid $5.00 (each) for a button to get in the gate. They also did check a bag. We bought food and drink and sat on the benches to watch the performance. At 5:30pm, Jerry Wilson Rock and Sail Band. At 6:30 pm, Gasoline Alley. Through the show, a host stood om the stage, he used a microphone to talk audience and said, we have two people that are dressed in patriotic outfit here. Please have them come to the stage to let everyone see their special outfits. I told Jerry, he wouldn't go, but I did it. I said, Hi to everyone. I saw people t my pictures. It was so surprising to me.

"At 7:00 pm, Saralane McDonald with Sweet Fire performed. We got a picture with Saralane. At 8:30 pm. Little Texas did the last show. We stood f the stage. I bought "Little Texas" T-shirt, CD, and a picture for Jerry. After performance they signed autographs.

"When we got home it was 11:00 pm. We really tired, but we have had so much fun at the Festival in the Park."

You can view the photos in the slide show above or click here for an alternate view.
RICHMOND  The 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals agreed Friday to hold off taking any action in the case of former first lady Maureen McDonnells nine corruption convictions until Aug. 29.

Earlier this week her lawyers asked the Richmond-based appeals court to vacate her convictions in light of last months ruling by a unanimous U.S. Supreme Court that overturned the 11 convictions of her husband, former governor Bob McDonnell.

Her lawyers also asked the court to hold her case in abeyance until Aug. 29, as it is already doing for her husband, so prosecutors and defense lawyers can come up with a briefing schedule on the issues or even submit a joint resolution of the case.

In a one-paragraph order Friday, the court granted the abeyance and told the parties to take action by Aug. 29.

Maureen McDonnells case was already on hold by the appeals court pending Bob McDonnells appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court.

The justices ruled on June 27 in Bob McDonnells case that the jury received erroneous instructions and that the definition of official act should be narrower.

The justices vacated his convictions, sending the case back to the appeals court to determine if under the new definition the evidence was still sufficient for a jury to convict McDonnell.

If so, it will be up to the U.S. attorneys office to decide whether to prosecute again. If the appeals court decides there is not enough evidence, it is to dismiss the charges against McDonnell.

The McDonnells were convicted of corruption charges in 2014 in a scheme in which official acts were performed in exchange for $177,000 in gifts and loans from Jonnie Williams, who was CEO of Star Scientific at the time.
I served for 10 years as a police officer in North Texas. During that time, I became interested in the grand scope of crime and common criminal profiles.

Plenty of studies have investigated the people who commit the most atrocious crimes. But what about the person who chooses to burglarize a home for $200? What motivates him, I wondered.

Eventually, I started to see the common denominator among the majority of offenders I dealt with: poverty.

America is engaged in an overdue discussion about race, crime and law enforcement, but until we dig past skin color and ethnic origin to the underlying problem of poverty, we will not make sustainable progress.

Of the 8.7 million crimes committed nationwide in 2014, the perpetrator was white or Hispanic (the Federal Bureau of Investigation statistics do not differentiate between them) in 69 percent of cases and black in 28 percent.

Yet African-Americans represent only 13 percent of the total population. Per capita, then, crimes are more likely to have been committed by black people.

This is the elephant in the room. To bigots, it justifies more bigotry. To apologists, it is prima fascia evidence of racism in our police forces.

Those sorts of simplistic analyses perpetuate widespread misunderstanding about crime and the impact of socio-economic factors.

The Kaiser Family Foundation reports that 47 million people lived below the poverty level in 2014. About 70 percent were white or Hispanic and 30 percent were black or other. Do those numbers look familiar?

Such data lends credence to a hypothesis that poverty leads to crime.

An analysis of the five most crime-ridden cities in the Unites States further supports this assertion. Camden, New Jersey; Flint, Michigan; Detroit; Oakland, California; and St. Louis all have median incomes below their respective state average and all have a disproportionately high percentage of black residents compared to the national average.

At the other end of the scale, the five safest cities (Irvine, California; Gilbert, Arizona; Plano, Texas; Fremont, California; Scottsdale, Arizona) all have median incomes greater than their state average and have a disproportionately high percentage of white residents compared to the national average.

These disparities are not small.

The median income of the five most dangerous cities is $31,775. The median income of the five safest cities is $84,879. In the five most dangerous cities, blacks average 50 percent of the population. In the five safest, they are 3 percent.

Professions that tend to have high income levels also have exceedingly low rates of crime. Doctors and lawyers dont turn to burglary and violence because they dont need to.

Common sense alone is a fair guide in this case. Where legitimate employment opportunities are insufficient, crime is more prevalent.

Americans must view these statistics as an unacceptable reality, one that must change if we intend to improve the relationship between police and community and ensure a prosperous future for all.

We must forget about the preconceptions that we have regarding race and crime in order to look at this problem with fresh eyes and objective reason.
THE third person to chair an inquiry into child sexual abuse in public and private institutions has quit.

Dame Lowell Goddard wrote to Home Secretary Amber Rudd yesterday (August 4) to resign as the head of The Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse (IICSA) which was set up in July 2014.

Justice Goddard, a New Zealand high court judge, had been at the helm for 16 months and was appointed after two previous chairwomen quit.

She citied leaving behind her beloved family and relinquishing her career as part of the reasons for stepping down and said the inquiry had a legacy of failure that was hard to shake off.

Justice Goddard added: With hindsight it would have been better to have started completely afresh.

Her resignation came 24 hours after being criticised in reports for taking three months holiday since her appointment.

Ms Rudd described the inquiry as the most ambitious public inquiry ever established in England and Wales and said she wanted to reassure victims and survivors that the Governments commitment to this inquiry is undiminished.

Ms Rudd added in her statement she was determined to keep the process on track and was taking steps to appoint a new chairperson as soon as possible.

The inquiry  which is examining claims made against local authorities, religious organisations, the armed forces, public and private institutions and people in the public eye  is expected to take five years to complete

The inquiry head is assisted by a panel of advisers including Professor Alexis Jay, author of the inquiry into the Rotherham abuse scandal.

Rotherham MP Sarah Champion, who is also shadow minister for preventing abuse, said the resignation was "disappointing" because many child abuse survivors had put their trust in Justice Goddards inquiry to get them justice.

Ms Champion added: The Government now needs to swiftly get a new chair so that the work can continue.

Ms Champion gave her backing online to Professor Jay taking on the role.
Dominion Diamond Corporation (TSX: DDC, NYSE: DDC) announced that the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX) had accepted its entry into an automatic securities purchase plan (ASPP) in order to facilitate repurchases of its common shares under the Companys previously announced normal course issuer bid to purchase for cancellation up to 6,150,010 common shares, pursuant to the rules and regulations of the TSX and applicable U.S. securities laws. All purchases under the ASPP will be made on the open market through the facilities of the TSX, the New York Stock Exchange or alternative trading platforms in Canada or the United States and will be subject to the limitations imposed by the rules and regulations of the TSX and applicable U.S. securities laws.

Alex Shishlo, Editor in Chief of the European Bureau, Rough&Polished




Gemfields said emerald and beryl production from its 75 percent-owned Kagem mine in Zambia dropped to 30 million carats in the 12 months to June 30 from 30.1 million carats a year ago.

It said an average grade of 241 carats per tonne was recorded compared to 242 carats per tonne in the year ending 30 June 2015.

Ruby and corundum production from its Montepuez mine in Mozambique reached 10.3 million carats in the 12 months to June 30.

This was above its forecast of 8 million carats.

A 68 percent increase in the volume of higher quality rubies recovered during the financial year 2016 was registered.

Sales of ruby and corundum at two auctions in December and June amounted $73.1 million, while emerald and beryl sales raked in $101.3 million at four auctions during the fiscal year.

Demand for our products and the way in which they are presented continue to rise, achievable prices are on the increase and costs are well contained while the level of work and output has increased significantly, said Gemfields chief executive Ian Harebottle.

Meanwhile, the company secured $65 million financing facilities last month for production growth and expansion including 20 million carats of rough rubies in Montepuez and more than 40 million carats of rough emeralds in Kagem within the next three years.

We look forward to continuing this same level of momentum into the coming year," said Harebottle.

Mathew Nyaungwa, Editor in Chief of the African Bureau, Rough&Polished






The 33rd edition of the India International Jewellery Show (IIJS), organised by the Gem and Jewellery Export Promotion Council of India (GJEPC), which began on 4th will run through 8th Aug. 2016 at the Bombay Exhibition Center in Mumbai.

At the inaugural function, where Bruce Cleaver, CEO, De Beers Group was the Chief Guest, Praveenshankar Pandya, Chairman, GJEPC, said, Every year, we strive to take the IIJS brand a notch higher and this year too we have introduced new features. At IIJS 2016, we are hoping to increase the transacted business by at least 15% over and above that generated at IIJS 2015.





Manoj Dwivedi, Jt. Secretary, Union Ministry of Commerce, Government of India said: The Government and GJEPC are working jointly to take the gems and jewellery industry to the next level. The Governments priority is employment and the countrys vast labour force has to be optimally utilized to enhance productivity and skill sets. Our goal should be to increase exports and match up to international best-in-class practices while competing globally and stimulating demand. Government reforms will be in tune with promotions.

During the event, GJEPC signed a Memorandum of Understanding with De Beers, to undertake promotional activities to drive consumer demand for diamond jewellery in India. Commenting on the agreement, Bruce Cleaver of De Beers said: I have said before that we must be unrelenting in driving consumer demand so we are very excited about this partnership with GJEPC, a globally acclaimed export trade body. India is already one of the worlds most important markets for consumer sales of diamond jewellery and we believe it has an exciting opportunity for further growth.

Saunak Parikh, Convener - National Exhibitions Sub-Committee, GJEPC added, IIJS is not only a tried and tested business platform, but a grand flagship event that brings the entire gem and jewellery industry together from around the world under one roof. The GJEPC is continuously working towards improving the amenities and facilities at the IIJS to offer both visitors and exhibitors the ease of doing business in a relaxed environment.

Besides the MoU with De Beers, GJEPC also signed two other MoUs with the Guangdong Gems and Jade Exchange (GDGJE) and with the Guangzhou Diamond Exchange (GZDE), which are two of the biggest gems and jade trading gateway in southern Mainland China.

The MoUs will have a framework to established cooperation and facilitate collaboration between the Parties, on a non-exclusive basis, in areas of mutual interest and understanding in diamonds industry, promotional activities and trading.

Over 230 delegations from Nepal, United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Vietnam, United Kingdom, China, Sri Lanka, Russia, Egypt, Malaysia and Korea are attending the IIJS 2016 Show.

Aruna Gaitonde, Editor-in-Chief of Asian Bureau, Rough & Polished




De Beers and the Angolan state diamond company, Endiama are negotiating for a mineral investment contract, an official has said.

De Beers head of media relations Lynette Gould told Rough & Polished that the group considers Angola, which was one of the leading diamond producers, as highly prospective.

We still consider Angola to be highly prospective and our negotiations with Endiama for a Mineral Investment Contract are ongoing, she said.

In light of this, we maintain a small representative office in Luanda.

The groups prospecting licences for the Mulepe-1 kimberlite cluster expired in 2012.

Extensive exploration programme done on the Lunda NE concession from 2005 to 2012 had resulted in the discovery of 118 kimberlite pipes.

Of these, 75 were tested for diamond grade, leading to the resource evaluation and conceptual study of the Mulepe-1 deposit, which concluded that a stand-alone deposit was not economic.

Mathew Nyaungwa, Editor in Chief of the African Bureau, Rough&Polished






Peregrine Diamonds has completed core drilling on three kimberlites and two exploration targets on its wholly-owned Sikwane Project, in the Kgatleng district, south-eastern Botswana.

It said in a statement that the drill programme intersected the Sikwane kimberlites and resolved their morphology.

Kimberlite material was being collected for future microdiamond analysis, while two new kimberlite targets in the Sikwane area were drill tested, it said.

"Peregrine's Sikwane drill programme has efficiently resolved an irregular hypabyssal intrusive morphology for the drilled Sikwane kimberlites and outlined substantive pinch-and-swell characteristics for kimberlites in the Sikwane cluster as a whole, said company vice president Herman Grutter.

We are integrating these new data into our exploration models for three contiguous prospecting licenses that we control in the Sikwane region in Botswana and will incorporate the outcomes into future targeting in the region.

Peregrine's Sikwane prospecting licence PL272/2015 covers 453 km2 and contains nine kimberlites discovered through percussion and limited core drilling by De Beers in 1997.

This previous work recovered diamonds from surface samples and from down-hole samples at the Sikwane kimberlites, although diamond abundance and size distribution data are not available.

Mathew Nyaungwa, Editor in Chief of the African Bureau, Rough&Polished






Lithuanian English

Vilnius, Lithuania, 2016-08-05 08:25 CEST (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Special closed-ended type private capital investment company INVL Technology, a company investing in information and communication technology businesses, has signed the market-making agreement with Siauliu Bankas, which has undertaken to act as market maker for the companys shares to increase their liquidity.

Under the agreement, Siauliu Bankas will provide liquidity on both bid and ask sides around the INVL Technology spread at least 85 percent of the trading time on the stock exchange, increasing market depth in this way.

The service will commence from 8 August 2016.
Lucapa Diamond has achieved record diamond production figures at the Lulo diamond project in Angola.

It said in a statement that 59 large special diamonds were recovered in July alone exceeding the total number of specials (53) recovered in the entire first six months of 2016.

A record diamond production of 3,164 carats was also registered last month while a diamond grade of 15 carats per 100 cubic metres was recorded.

Lucapa chief executive Stephen Wetherall said the record recoveries and grades for July were necessitated by the companys continued investment in new earth moving fleet and plant upgrades as well as the focus on the high-value mining block 8 diamond area.

Meanwhile, Lucapa said it started a drilling programme end of June at kimberlite target L259 and other priority kimberlites around alluvial mining block 6 and 8.

It said re-sedimented volcaniclastic kimberlite was intersected in initial hole-drilling targeting pyroclastic kimberlite.

Lucapa also said that a parcel of 1,985 carats of diamonds raked in $1,8 million representing an average price of $905 per carat.

An inventory of 2,440 carats from the record July output, including 50 special diamonds weighing 1, 057 carats would be sold this month, it said.

Mathew Nyaungwa, Editor in Chief of the African Bureau, Rough&Polished




ALROSA is a socially-oriented mining company, and one of the main conditions for its successful development is the stability of its workforce based on trust towards the Companys management, social partnership with trade unions and a coherent social policy. This is stated in a press release distributed by the Company on Wednesday.

The Company further says that its social policy is a set of principles, rules, goals and methods to implement and achieve them, including the activities aimed at harmonizing the relationship between workers, employers and society. Social policy is a part of the Companys corporate strategy being implemented in partnership with Profalmaz, the Inter-Regional Trade Union of ALROSA Workers, as well as with federal and local authorities in the regions of ALROSAs presence.

The social policy pursued by ALROSA is being implemented in accordance with the Treaty on Socio-Economic Development of the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia) executed on March 5, 2011 between the Company and the Government of the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia) and valid until December 31, 2020. In the framework of this Treaty, the Parties are to maintain long-term cooperation, whereby ALROSA will take part in the implementation of purpose-oriented programs and projects for social and economic development of the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia), while both Parties will interact to mobilize material and intellectual resources.

ALROSA voluntarily assumes the obligations in the field of corporate social responsibility, which are additional to the current Russian legislation.

The Company is carrying out its social policy in the following areas:

 Creating a safe working environment

 Protecting the health of its workers and their families and promoting a healthy lifestyle

 Improving the living conditions of workers

 Providing private pension management under the agreement with Diamond Autumn, a non-state pension fund

 Supporting and developing the Companys social infrastructure

 Taking part in the socio-economic development of the regions where the Company maintains its operations

 Charity and sponsorship

 Improving the "social package" for the Companys employees, i.e. improving the system of socio-economic benefits and guarantees in the field of wages, recreation and training provided by the Company in excess of the countrys labor legislation under the Collective Agreement in order to increase productivity and retain the Companys personnel

 Providing informational openness and transparency in the Company's operations; supporting and developing corporate and local mass media; and promoting the best labor traditions of the path-breaking generations of diamond miners.




Cabinet office is set to release preliminary Japan leading economic indicators data for June at 1:00 am ET Friday. The leading index is expected to remain unchanged at 99.7 in June.

Ahead of the data, the yen held steady against its major rivals.

As of 12:55 am ET, the yen was trading at 112.64 against the euro, 132.84 against the pound, 101.14 against the Swiss franc and 103.85 against the U.S. dollar.

For comments and feedback contact: editorial@rttnews.com

Forex News
Estonia's consumer prices continued to decline in July, though only marginally, figures from Statistics Estonia showed Friday.

The consumer price index edged down 0.1 percent year-over-year in July, slower than the 0.4 percent decrease in June. Prices have been falling since June last year.

Compared to the corresponding month of 2015, services were 0.5 percent cheaper and goods were 0.2 percent more expensive in July.

Transport costs dipped 5.1 percent annually in July, while prices of food and non-alcoholic beverages grew by 1.1 percent.

Month-on-month, consumer prices showed no variations in July, after rising 0.3 percent in June.

For comments and feedback contact: editorial@rttnews.com

Economic News

What parts of the world are seeing the best (and worst) economic performances lately? Click here to check out our Econ Scorecard and find out! See up-to-the-moment rankings for the best and worst performers in GDP, unemployment rate, inflation and much more.
Factory orders from Germany is the major report due on Friday, headlining a light day for the European economic news.

At 2.00 am ET, Destatis is set to publish factory orders for June. Economists forecast German orders to grow 0.5 percent on month in June after staying flat in May.

At 2.45 am ET, foreign trade figures are due from France. The trade deficit is seen widening to EUR 3.9 billion in June from EUR 2.8 billion in May.

At 3.00 am ET, industrial production from Spain and Hungary are due. Spain's industrial output growth is seen easing to 1.3 percent in June from 4 percent in May. Also, Czech retail sales are due.

Half an hour later, U.K. Halifax publishes house price figures for July. House prices are expected to drop 0.2 percent on a monthly basis after rising 1.3 percent in June.

At 4.00 am ET, industrial production figures are due from Italy and Norway. Italy's production is seen rising 0.3 percent on month in June, reversing a 0.6 percent fall in May.

At the same time, Norway's production is expected to grow at a faster pace of 0.4 percent in June from May, when it gained only 0.1 percent.

For comments and feedback contact: editorial@rttnews.com

Economic News

What parts of the world are seeing the best (and worst) economic performances lately? Click here to check out our Econ Scorecard and find out! See up-to-the-moment rankings for the best and worst performers in GDP, unemployment rate, inflation and much more.
Norway's industrial production declined for the second straight month in June, and at a steeper pace, figures from Statistics Norway showed Friday.

Industrial production fell a calendar-adjusted 8.7 percent year-over-year in June, much faster than the 0.7 percent drop in May.

Output of extraction and related services contracted 11.4 percent annually in June and manufacturing production dipped by 6.5 percent. Mining output also logged a fall of 7.2 percent.

On a monthly basis, industrial production slipped 5.1 percent in June, defying economists' forecast for a 0.4 percent gain. In May, production had fallen 0.2 percent.

Manufacturing production decreased 2.9 percent over the month, while it was expected to climb by 0.4 percent.

For comments and feedback contact: editorial@rttnews.com

Economic News

What parts of the world are seeing the best (and worst) economic performances lately? Click here to check out our Econ Scorecard and find out! See up-to-the-moment rankings for the best and worst performers in GDP, unemployment rate, inflation and much more.
US President Barack Obama says that Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant leaders know they will lose in Syria and Iraq, and they are already shifting their strategy in advance of that sure defeat.

This was the most recent of the president's meetings to emphasize the whole-of-government approach needed to defeat ISIL.

Local forces have made significant progress against ISIL in Iraq and Syria, the president said after presiding at a meeting of his National Security Council in the Pentagon Thursday. They have taken key territory from ISIL and are preparing campaigns against ISIL in Mosul. In Syria, he said, they are choking off the last entry to the ISIL stronghold of Raqqa.

"In fact, the decline of ISIL in Syria and Iraq appears to be causing it to shift to tactics that we've seen before -- an even greater emphasis on encouraging high-profile terrorist attacks, including in the United States," Obama said at a news conference after the meeting. "As always, our military, diplomatic, intelligence, homeland security, and law enforcement professionals are working around the clock, with other countries and with communities here at home, to share information and prevent such attacks, and over the years, they've prevented many."

Still, nothing can be certain or foolproof, the president said. "It is still very difficult to detect and prevent lone actors or small cells of terrorists who are determined to kill the innocent and are willing to die," he added. "And that's why, as we discussed today, we're going to keep going after ISIL aggressively across every front of this campaign."

For comments and feedback contact: editorial@rttnews.com

Political News
While the deep unpopularity of both Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton suggests that third-party candidates could make some headway in the upcoming presidential election, the results of a new Gallup poll show that the candidates currently remain largely unknown.

The poll found that a majority of Americans have no opinion of Libertarian Party presidential candidate Gary Johnson or Green Party presidential candidate Jill Stein.

Sixty-three percent of Americans said they have no opinion of Johnson, while 19 percent view the former New Mexico Governor favorably and 18 percent view him unfavorably.

Stein is even less well known, as 68 percent of Americans have no opinion of the physician and activist. Just thirteen percent view Stein favorably, and 18 percent view her unfavorably.

While Libertarian and Green Party candidates typically receive 1 percent or less of the vote, Gallup Poll Managing Editor Jeffrey Jones said Americans may be searching for an alternative to Trump and Clinton.

Jones pointed out that recent polls show Johnson averaging about 7 percent of the vote and Stein 3 percent, although he noted early polls often greatly overstate the support third-party candidates receive on Election Day.

The poll showed that Johnson and Stein are better known than many former minor-party candidates, although they are not nearly as well-known as other third-party candidates such as Ross Perot or Ralph Nader.

"As long as they remain lesser-known, the record indicates Johnson and Stein will not be significant factors in the 2016 election," Jones said.

He added, "At most, they have the potential to peel enough support from one of the major-party candidates to swing a close election or possibly alter the outcome in a few states."

The Gallup survey of 1,023 adults was conducted July 13th through 17th and has a margin of error of plus or minus 4 percentage points.

(Photos: Gage Skidmore)

For comments and feedback contact: editorial@rttnews.com

Business News
NORCROSS, Ga., Aug. 05, 2016 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Intelligent Systems Corporation (NYSE MKT:INS), (www.intelsys.com) intends to hold an investor conference call on Friday, August 12, 2016 at 11 A.M. Eastern Time in conjunction with the Companys earnings release for its second quarter and year-to-date periods ended June 30, 2016. The Company plans to issue a press release with the financial results for the periods before the market opens on August 12, 2016. The company also intends to file its Form 10-Q for the second quarter on August 12, 2016.



Interested investors are invited to attend the conference call by dialing (855) 766-6518 and entering conference ID code 56384370. A transcript of the call will be posted on the Companys website at www.intelsys.com as soon as available after the call.

About Intelligent Systems Corporation:

For over thirty-five years, Intelligent Systems Corporation (NYSE MKT:INS) has identified, created, operated and grown technology companies. Our principal business, CoreCard Software, (www.corecard.com) and its affiliate companies, designs, develops, and markets a comprehensive suite of software solutions to corporations, financial institutions, retailers and processors to manage their credit and debit cards, prepaid cards, private label cards, fleet cards, loyalty programs, and accounts receivable and small loan transactions. CoreCard also offers prepaid and credit card processing services using its proprietary software solutions. Further information is available on the companys website at www.intelsys.com or by calling the company at 770/381-2900.

Forward-looking Statements:

In addition to historical information, this news release may contain forward-looking statements relating to Intelligent Systems Corporation and its subsidiary and affiliated companies. These statements include all statements that are not statements of historical fact regarding the intent, belief or expectations of Intelligent Systems Corporation and its management with respect to, among other things, results of operations, product plans, and financial condition. The words "may," "will," "anticipate," "believe," "intend," "expect," "estimate," "plan," "strategy" and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements. Prospective investors are cautioned that any such forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and involve risks and uncertainties and that actual results may differ materially from those contemplated by such forward-looking statements. The company does not undertake to update or revise any forward-looking statements whether as a result of new developments or otherwise, except as required by law. Among the factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those indicated by such forward-looking statements are instability in the financial markets, delays in product development, undetected software errors, competitive pressures, changes in customers requirements or financial condition, market acceptance of products and services, and declines in general economic and financial market conditions, particularly those that cause businesses to delay purchase decisions.
Editors Pick

Oil major Exxon Mobil Corp. reported Friday a profit for the third quarter that soared from last year, reflecting sharply higher upstream and energy product earnings. Adjusted earnings per share for the quarter topped analysts' expectations, while quarterly revenues missed them.

Seattle, Washington-based Amazon.com Services LLC is recalling Amazon Basics Executive Desk Chairs, citing fall and injury risks, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission said. The recall involves about 11,400 units of the Amazon Basics Executive Desk Chair.

Shares of Swiss Re AG were losing around 3 percent in the morning trading in Switzerland after the reinsurer reported Friday a net loss in its third quarter and the first nine months of fiscal 2022. The results were hurt mainly by weakness in Property & Casualty Reinsurance or P&C Re segment. Going ahead, the company still expects it is unlikely to reach its Group ROE target of 10 percent in 2022.
DGAP-News: DVB Bank SE / Key word(s): Change of Personnel DVB Bank SE to expand its Board of Managing Directors 05.08.2016 / 18:00 The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Frankfurt/Main, 5 August 2016 - DVB Bank SE (DVB) announces that on 30 November 2016, Bertrand Grabowski will step down from the Board of Managing Directors and leave DVB after reaching the age of 60. On 1 December 2016, David Goring-Thomas, presently DVB's Industry Head Aviation Finance, will succeed Bertrand Grabowski as Board Member in charge of the Bank's Aviation Finance and Land Transport Finance business. Frank Westhoff, Chairman of DVB's Supervisory Board, stated: "We would like to thank Mr Grabowski for more than a decade of very valuable contribution to DVB's development. The Aviation and Land Transport platforms built and developed under his leadership are much appreciated in the industry, and have provided a stable and healthy profit contribution throughout such period. I am delighted to welcome Mr Goring-Thomas as a new member of the Board of Managing Directors, who has been groomed for this role internally over the years. He has been an employee of DVB for more than 15 years and he is widely recognised among his peers as one of the best professionals - both internally and in the market. We are looking forward to benefitting from his contribution to DVB's global franchise." Ralf Bedranowsky, Chairman and CEO of DVB's Board of Managing Directors, commented: "We are sorry to let Bertrand Grabowski go, but respect his decision and desire to spend more time for personal projects. My colleague Bart Veldhuizen and I are excited to welcome David Goring-Thomas to the Board of Managing Directors. He is a seasoned senior executive of the Bank, whose expertise and leadership are widely recognised inside and outside DVB, and who has been instrumental in growing our Aviation business so successfully over the past 15 years." In addition, Christian Hagemeyer will strengthen DVB's management team with effect from 1 April 2017, at the latest. He will be appointed to the Board of Managing Directors where he will be responsible for risk management. DVB's Board of Managing Directors will therefore expand from three to four members. Christian Hagemeyer joins from Helaba Landesbank Hessen-Thuringen, where he has been responsible for the bank's international credit risk management as Division Head since May 2005. Currently, he bears responsibility for Corporate Finance (including Shipping and Aircraft Financing), Financial Institutions, Corporate Clients and for the business with the Savings Banks Finance Group. From 1987 to 2005, Mr Hagemeyer worked for Deutsche Bank, where he served in various leading positions within the bank's risk management at home and abroad. In his last executive position at Deutsche Bank, he was overseeing credit risk management in the Northern German region. Frank Westhoff, Chairman of DVB's Supervisory Board, explained: "DVB aims to further stabilise and strengthen its position in financing the global transport sector. With the appointment of Mr Hagemeyer, we have been able to attract a renowned industry expert: he has a successful track record, with many years of global management experience in traditional banking and lending business. The changes to DVB's Board of Managing Directors demonstrate a composition of the Bank's senior management team dedicated to continuity and sustainable success in the international transport markets." These appointments are subject to the customary approval by the regulatory authorities responsible. About DVB Bank SE: DVB Bank SE, headquartered in Frankfurt/Main, Germany, is the leading specialist in the international transport finance business. The Bank offers integrated financing solutions and advisory services in respect of Shipping Finance, Aviation Finance, Offshore Finance and Land Transport Finance. DVB is present at all key international financial centres and transport hubs: at its Frankfurt/Main head office, as well as various European locations (Amsterdam, Athens, Hamburg, London, Oslo and Zurich), plus offices in the Americas (New York City and Curacao) and in Asia (Singapore and Tokyo). DVB Bank SE is listed at the Frankfurt Stock Exchange (ISIN: DE0008045501). Further information is available on www.dvbbank.com. Contact for this press release: Elisabeth Winter Head of Group Corporate Communications Managing Director Phone: +49 69 9750 4329 E-mail: elisabeth.winter@dvbbank.com --------------------------------------------------------------------------- 05.08.2016 Dissemination of a Corporate News, transmitted by DGAP - a service of EQS Group AG. The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement. The DGAP Distribution Services include Regulatory Announcements, Financial/Corporate News and Press Releases. Archive at www.dgap.de --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Language: English Company: DVB Bank SE Platz der Republik 6 60325 Frankfurt am Main Germany Phone: 069-97504-329 Fax: 069-97504-850 E-mail: info@dvbbank.com Internet: www.dvbbank.com ISIN: DE0008045501 WKN: 804550 Listed: Regulated Market in Frankfurt (General Standard); Regulated Unofficial Market in Dusseldorf, Stuttgart End of News DGAP News Service --------------------------------------------------------------------------- 489779 05.08.2016
Houston, Aug. 05, 2016 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) --



Spine Injury Solutions Schedules Interactive Conference Call to Present 2nd Quarter 2016 Financial Results and Provide Business Development Update

HOUSTON, August 5, 2016 -- Spine Injury Solutions, Inc. (OTCQB:SPIN), a technology-driven, medical service, device and healthcare solution company servicing the multi-billion dollar spine injury sector, today announced that it has scheduled an interactive video Investor conference call for August 11, at 4:20 p.m. (EST) to discuss the Company's financial results for Q2 2016, business initiatives and provide an update on expansion plans for its Injury Case funding along with the current marketing status of its patented Quad Video HALO v.3.0 (QVH3) and HALO Rx. Shareholders Question & Answers will follow.

Spine Injury Solutions intends to issue its Q2 2016 financial results on Thursday, August 11, 2016 prior to the Conference Call.

Conference Call Details



Conference Call: An investor's conference call with management will be held on Thursday, August 11, at 4:20 p.m. (EDT). The call will be video WebCast with a short live Power Point Presentation followed by Q & A. The call may be accessed either by phone alone, which will not allow asking questions, or by phone and/or VOIP with headset after internet log-in with an on screen provided Audio Pin # which will allow verbally asking questions. Questions can also be typed into an online chat screen at any time during the presentation or Q & A period.

Access to the Call: To use the internet link, you must register prior to access. So we suggest you complete the registration and get your log-in information in advance of the start of the presentation. You can register at any time. As mentioned above, the call is Thursday, August 11, at 4:20 p.m. (EDT).

Click or paste the link below in your browser for registration and web access to the presentation and follow the online instructions:

https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/836574793530103042 Or if the above link doesn't work, please try the following:

http://www.joinwebinar.com Webinar ID: 152-482-787

Telephone Dial-in and/or VOIP which provides Q&A: To ask a question using your telephone, you must be online at the presentation website during the internet presentation where a unique Audio PIN # will be provided to you on screen after you log-in to the presentation console. You must use the pin to hear the call on the phone. During the presentation, all will be muted until the Q&A portion. Questions can be asked by typing in the question in the provided questions link on the provided console at any time during the presentation and will be answered during the Q&A.

The Q & A will be moderated, but without an operator, and will be open to all questions after the formal presentations. Review this short YouTube tutorial video for pointers on how to use the Webinar Features. (This is just a demo. Do not use the numbers or codes on this demo. Use what is provided above.)

YouTube webinar instructions: http://youtu.be/n7b1VHDwwD4

If you use the telephone, but are NOT also online, you will be able to hear the presentation plus Q & A, but will remain in "listen only" mode for the duration of the call.

Conference Dial-in Number: 1 (562) 247-8422

Participant Access Code: 913-582-427

Conference Play Back: A video replay of the conference call presentation will be available several hours after the completion of the call at the company website:

http://www.spinepaininc.com/investor-information.php

About Spine Injury Solutions, Inc:

We are a medical services and technology company facilitating diagnostic services for patients who have sustained spine injuries resulting from traumatic accidents. We deliver turnkey solutions to spine surgeons, orthopedic surgeons and other healthcare providers that provide necessary and appropriate treatment of musculo-skeletal spine injuries resulting from automobile and work-related accidents. Our technology and financial services help reduce the financial burden on healthcare providers that provide patients with early-stage diagnostic testing and non-invasive surgical care, preventing many patients from being unnecessarily delayed or inhibited from obtaining needed treatment. We believe that our services and technology brings strong transparency and impartiality to all parties involved in the settlement of patient cases.

Additional information about the company, along with a video replay of most recent Investor Conference Call can be found at its website at www.spineinjurysolutions.com.

About Quad Video HALO, Inc.:

In addition, we are the owners and developers of the Patented and CE Certified Quad Video HALO and HALO Rx, a Highly Scalable Video Integrated Operating Room Technology that Meets the Demands of Medical Practices and Major Hospital Systems using our latest VideoTeleShare hardware/software advancement in providing video transparency to both Invasive and Minimally Invasive medical procedures.

Additional information about QVH, can be found at its website at www.QuadVideoHalo.com

Forward-Looking Statements: This press release includes forward-looking statements as determined by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC"). All statements, other than statements of historical facts, included in this press release that address activities, events, or developments that the company believes or anticipates will or may occur in the future are forward-looking statements. Such forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors, which may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of the company to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Such factors include general economic and business conditions, the ability to acquire and develop specific projects, the ability to fund operations, healthcare services demands, changes in healthcare practices, government regulation, and other factors over which the company has little or no control. The company does not intend (and is not obligated) to update publicly any forward-looking statements. The contents of this press release should be considered in conjunction with the warnings and cautionary statements contained in the company's recent filings with the SEC.

Company Contact

Dr. William F. Donovan

Chairman, President & CEO

Spine Injury Solutions, Inc.

713-521-4220
Millennial Moms Review: 2022 Acura MDX is pretty close to the perfect family car

I dont know if perfect is attainable, especially considering weve got the world of options when it comes to modern vehicles. Were spoiled and, as such, we have very specific needs and wants. Driving-wise, the 2022 Acura MDX is one of my favourite ...
NEW YORK, Aug. 05, 2016 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Virginia Lipke, an International Infection Control Practitioner at Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, has been selected to join the Nursing Board at the American Health Council. Virginia Lipke will be sharing her knowledge and expertise in the field of Tuberculosis/HIV Nursing and Infection Control.



A photo accompanying this announcement is available at http://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/aa7c4ef0-1e9f-44bc-99aa-01503e936b3e

Virginia Lipke became inspired to begin a career in healthcare in high school while assisting with an oral polio immunization effort. After receiving her Masters in Healthcare Administration, she applied her knowledge and skills of healthcare and nursing in order to make a difference at Centers for Disease Control. The Division of Global HIV and TB (DGHT) provides technical assistance to host governments, ministries of health, local and international partners to implement integrated HIV and TB clinical and preventive services. DGHT experts support better epidemiologic science, informatics and research support to develop sustainable public health systems in resource-constrained countries.

As an International Control Practitioner, her day to day responsibilities include using her background of over 20 years in the healthcare industry, knowledge, and expertise of Infection Control in order to improve the health of both patients and their healthcare workers. This includes the implementation of safer practices and policies regarding the reduction of TB risk factors in outpatient settings and in hospitals where people infected with AIDS and TB are being treated.

In 2004, Virginia Lipke received her Bachelors of Arts from Exelsior College. She received her Masters in Healthcare Administration from St. Josephs College in Maine in 2010. As a credentialed Registered Nurse with her Masters in Healthcare Administration, Virginia Lipke also holds a certification from the Board of Infection Control and Epidemiology and is an HIV/AIDS Certified Registered Nurse.

Virginia Lipke is actively involved with The Association of Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology, The Association of Nurses in AIDS Care, Sigma Theta Tau Nursing Honor Society, Infection Control African Network, and The HIV/AIDS Nursing Certification Board.

In 2006, Virginia Lipke was honored to have been given the Healthcare Hero Award by the Cincinnati Business Chronicle. That year, she was also chosen as the winner of the CDC/SHEA Atlanta Hospital Epidemiology Course from the Gina Pugliese Scholarship Fund. The following year, Ms. Lipke was a recipient of the Heros in Infection Prevention by the APIC as well as the Excellence in Nursing Research Award from Sigma Theta Tau. In 2012, she was awarded for Public Health Protection and Excellence in Public Health Protection from the CDC. Virginia Lipke was also given the honor of the Outstanding Alumni award from the ACC. In addition, she was given the Excellence in Public Health Protection Award from the CDC in 2016.

Throughout many accomplishments in her career, Ms. Lipke is proud to have written 11 various publications as well as being a recipient of numerous awards in her field. Her goals within the next 5 years include to find her replacement to continue the global work of implementing safe practices and more trained Infection Control Practitioners to reduce the spread of infectious diseases in developing countries.

During her free time, Virginia Lipke enjoys cultural events and theatre.
While waiting on a change for the better, most vendors at the capitals flea market find their patience tried out by the Samoan government. The markets tentative placement as a giant tent still provides a place for the vendors to sell their handcrafts, but the numbers of customers are decreasing.

We have been selling our stuff here since 2002. Before the fire, when the market burned down in January this year, our sales were stable. But nowadays, it is just not the same anymore, tells Tasi Sione from the village of Ululoloa.

Together with her friend and business partner Ului Lalornilo from Vailele, she is running one of the stales placed right at the end of the market. Business indeed is slack those days, with more vendors than visitors one can perceive at the market.

I think it is mainly because of the tent. It is not good for the stalls, Sione explains, pointing at the holey tarpaulin that represents the governments rather faltering attempt to provide a solution for the situation.

When it rains, all our stuff is getting wet. We have a small space to store our handcrafts, but it is not enough and not as good as the one we could use before [the fire].

According to Tasi Sione, a solution for the situation is more than obvious: We need a proper place, like the one we had before. It has to be better than this one. The only thing the government tells us is to wait until their final decision for building everything up is made. Weve waited for more than seven months now. But theres no choice for us, because we need the money for our families.
The big day for the village of Manunu had finally arrived.

With funding from the United States Embassy and help from the Peace Corps, the villages primary school is now equipped with a new Creative Learning Centre. The facility will serve as a pilot project for similar ventures in the future.

HELPING OUT SAMOAS RURAL SCHOOLS: (left to right) Dinah Iusitini, Program Manager of Peace Corps, Sherry Russell, Country Director of Peace Corps, Menu Eili, Principal of Manunu Primary School, Shirley Fetu of M.E.S.C., Stacey Lissit, Monitoring and Evaluation Specialist from Washington, Emily Armitage, Charge d'affaires at the U.S. Embassy, Matiu Tailetai, CEO of M.E.S.C., Dr. Joanie Cohen-Mitchell, Chief of Programming and Evaluation in Washington and Peace Corps volunteer Josh Tarbox.





On the day of the opening, all attention was on the man who had finally accomplished to finish the project: Peace Corps volunteer Josh Tarbox. After the project was approved by the United States Embassy and the Peace Corps, the amount of ST$25,000 was ready to be spent for the Learning Centre.

From that point on, Josh started his journey through the shops of Samoas capital, until he had every piece together to furnish what would become a place to study, learn and discover for the students at Manunus primary school.

I think all of the schools in Samoa need to have a place like this, but Manunu especially, because were far up into the mountains and our literacy rate is very low, the young American explained at the new Learning Centres opening.

The literacy rate, which according to Tarbox has improved at Manunu Primary School for about 50% since he has taken over the role of the Peace Corps teacher at the place two years ago, is the reason for the schools new Learning Centre.

Me, the principal and another volunteer in Savaii were thinking of how we could boost that [low literacy rate] in a fun way that the kids will enjoy. Instead of just buying a flat screen TV or tons of one item for the school, we asked ourselves: how can we put all that into just one room?.

With the Creative Learning Centre, they have found the answer to that question. Instead of having a computer room and a library in the same old boring classroom, we tried something new which would make it fun and where the kids actually want to spend time in, with bright colours and excitement that would encourage them to read.

But the rooms design does not only follow an aesthetic aspect to let the children pick up a book, there was also a certain concept that Josh Tarbox had in mind when designing it. Were integrating literacy in all different areas.

On the computer, theyre going to be able to copy a page from a book or they can make an art poster to match with what we just read. Theyre all doing it in the same room at different stations, he told.

The centre is equipped with a reading area, a computer area, an arts area, enough space for educational games and is supposed to serve more than 60 students from year one to year eight.

The Peace Corps Volunteer is indeed not an unknown face in the village. The first project he had initiated while serving as a volunteer in Manunu included the improvement of the places supply with fresh fish, as the primary schools principal, Menu Eili was able to explain to Samoa Observer: When Josh arrived at our school last year, he asked me what projects the school could benefit from.

I already knew him from the fish pond project he had built up in our village last May. So I told him that the school needed a library. He sent an apply for money to the embassy of his home country here in Samoa. When the donation had arrived, he started to do all the shopping for our Learning Centre.

For Mr Eili, the successfully accomplished goal of building up a Learning Centre will be a huge benefit for current and future generations of students in Manunu. I am very proud of it. Theres nothing more important than supporting our childrens literacy and numeracy. And with this special centre at our school, this opportunity will be given to every single student.

This opportunity was also valued by the United States Embassy and its Regional English Office (R.E.L.O.), that had provided the donation to finance the centre in Manunu.

Emily Armitage, Charge daffaires at the embassy, explained that while being the first of its kind in Samoa, the Creative Learning Centre in Manunu will not have this privilege for a long time: The second centre will be opening soon in Gataivai, Savaii. We want to create spaces that promote youth engagement while also providing resources and technology for teachers professional development and continuing education.

As she pointed out, future plans include the implication of similar projects in many different locations in Samoa. It is our hope that these pilot creative learning centres will set the standard for other Samoan communities to establish such centres within their primary schools, she said.
Speed is suspected to have been the cause of a collision between two cars and a full bus at Tuanai village yesterday afternoon.

A passenger on the Manono bus, Ielu Elia, said the bus was heading from Apia to Manono when the collision happened.

The other two cars that crashed into the bus were coming from Afega going to Apia, said Mr. Elia.

One car was trying to overtake the one in front of them when it saw that the bus was coming towards themit was at that time that our bus driver tried to pull over to the side of the road but it was too late.

The speeding car was going too fast then it crashed into the back of our bus taking off the wheels.

According to Mr. Elia some of the passengers received minor injuries and were not taken to the hospital.

It was the passengers in the speeding car that were rushed to the hospital.

A villager of Tuanai, Saimoli Tavui was one of the first people at the scene.

Mr. Tavui who lives across from where the accident happened said the collision happened so quickly. He was sitting in his house when he heard a loud bang and his children called to him that there was an accident.

I came down here and saw that one of the cars has swirled off the road with major damages, he said.

There were two men in the car that we suspect was speeding and helped them out of the car. I didnt want to look at them, one had his arm broken and crushed while the other man he was had multiple injuries to his back.

The father added from what he saw, the men were in a critical condition.

It was not possible to get an official comment from the Emergency and Accident department at the Motootua hospital.

The doctor in charge, Leituala Dr. Ben Matalavea was not immediately available.

Back at the scene in Tuanai, the small car that is suspected of overtaking the second car had major damage to the front with a crushed engine.

The passengers in the other car that was in the collision were uninjured.

As for the bus, the back wheels were off leaving the front wheels and the bus chassis. Several policemen and Land and Transport Authority officers were at the scene yesterday.
The Samoa Victim Support Group (S.V.S.G) family welcomed thirty-four new members yesterday.

The induction ceremony conducted at the Supreme Court follows the Groups global meeting held at the Orator Hotel this week.

The ceremony was conducted by Justice Vui Clarence Nelson, who is also a strong advocate for the Group.

Speaking to the Weekend Observer, the President of the Samoa Victim Support Group, SiliniuLina Chang, said one of the key aspects of their work is the element of confidentiality. She saidvictims need to trust their system that whatever they confide in their search for answers will remain with the workers.

Most of the new members who took their oaths yesterday are from S.V.S.G branches overseas.

Justice Vui congratulated them.

I dont have to tell anyone of you about the importance of the work that you do, Justice Vui said. But you are doing a great job not only for the victims but to this country as a whole.

He added that the S.V.S.G has a key part to play in the fight for justice, especially for the hundreds of young victims they deal with.

He added that the organisation fills a great need in Samoa and he congratulated President Siliniu and her group for their hard work.

Lastly, to the new recruits, Justice Vui said: You should take your oath seriously, because you are a part of a very important organisation who works for the betterment of this country.
MEMPHIS, Tenn., Aug. 05, 2016 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- First Tennessee is searching for the states best small business and on top of statewide bragging rights, the winner will receive a $10,000 grand prize.

The Tennessees Best Small Business Contest is open to small business owners across the Volunteer State. Small business owners throughout First Tennessees markets, including Memphis and West Tennessee, may submit nominations between now and Aug. 21.

In addition to the grand prize, the first place winner will receive $5,000 and the second place winner will receive $2,500.

First Tennessee is dedicated to supporting small businesses because theyre vital to our economy, said David Popwell, president of First Tennessee. We work to promote strong communities and we believe that healthy small businesses are vital to our economic future.

After the nominating process concludes on Aug. 21, voting by the public will begin on Aug. 22 and wrap up on Sept. 4.

Nominations are now being accepted online and must include name, location and a photo of the company along with a brief profile describing how the small business offers great customer service.

For more information, visit www.ftb.com/smbcontest.

About First Tennessee

First Tennessee Bank is the largest bank headquartered in Tennessee, with the number one deposit market share in Chattanooga, Knoxville, Memphis and the Tri-Cities and a top-five deposit market share in Nashville. First Tennessee was founded during the Civil War in 1864 and has the 14th oldest national bank charter in the country and one of the highest customer retention rates of any bank in the country. First Tennessee and FTN Financial are part of First Horizon National Corp. (NYSE:FHN), which has 4,300 employees. First Horizon has been recognized as one of the nation's best employers by Forbes, Working Mother and American Banker magazines. More information is available at www.FirstTennessee.com.

FHN-G
Tue, 10/26 (11:30am ET): MBA Essays - Talking About Your Past and Making Your Reader Excited About Your Future
Ankit225 wrote:

Hi,

I would really appreciate if you could evaluate my profile and provide feedback. I am an Indian male, 23 years old and working in EPC sector. I am targeting top20 B-schools of USA and looking to get some scholarship as well.



I graduated from Delhi Technological University (Formerly Delhi College of Engineering), which is one of the best in India, in 2015 with 7.5/10 CGPA (8.6 was the highest) but if I convert my grades to GPA, my grade would be around 2.5. This scores seems to be low but I am getting a degree with distinction with this score.



Currently I am working in BECHTEL Corporation, biggest privately owned firm of USA, in India as a mechanical engineer. My work here includes coordinating with other departments of the project, floating purchase requisition to bidders, technical evaluation of bids received, vendor document review. It's a core engineering profile. As of now I just have 1 year of experience and I am thinking of applying after completing 2 years here. I haven't got any promotion yet because in my profile we get promoted after completing 3 years.



Apart from this I also have 3 years of part time experience of working in a non profit organisation (Make A Difference). This organisation is present in 23 cities in India and works for children in orphanages and shelter homes. In my first 2 years I was a teacher, I used to teach kids on weekends. In my 3rd year I was working as a mentor and was mentoring a team of teachers(24 teachers).



During my college days I was involved in many projects and events where I worked as an organiser. Also, I was a part of a project team which designs and fabricates all-terrain vehicles and I designed steering and suspension for that vehicle.



I haven't taken GMAT yet but I am targeting 710-730. That's what I get in my mock tests.



I want to become an Investment Banker some day as I am really interested in working in finance. I have recently started reading about equity markets and I have also started investing in share markets.



I would appreciate if you could have a look and suggest any further action, if you feel, I should take to enhance my profile.

Hey dude!Great to hear from you!Now, I would love to help you out and give you a real evaluation, but without more detail about your work and a concrete GMAT that will be hard.I can say that your volunteer work is quite great! And it will present a real strength.On the other hand however, your low GPA will put Top 10 schools out of range, and I would suggest initially looking at the 10-30 range of B-schools which would be more realistic.You still do have to pull that awesome GMAT!! And the higher the better!So best of luck!Jon
Hoping to improve the world in her own way, Sarah joins the Altruism Project only to find herself in a philosophical dilemma concerning personal motivation and the meaning of doing good.

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Doing good was a little hard for Sarah Magnoss. She had been raised with three brothers, and competition had been drummed into her  fastest, strongest, smartest, first. Shed even had to eat fast because the boys ate faster, and if she blinked the food was gone. But she was middle-aged now, determined to decide what she herself wanted instead of grabbing for something because someone else wanted it.

She had seen an item on TV about the Altruism Project. Was it possible to change the human tendency to err? Could people learn to do better? The news item was half tongue-in-cheek, but Sarah suspected that was because the reporter was a little embarrassed to be interested. How strange. Embarrassed by the idea of deliberately doing good?

Unfortunately, she had always been sharp-tongued, mainly because she couldnt repress a mordant wit. She had said things shed regretted. She had wounded people. Once, she had even exulted in it, which was a sobering thing to finally admit to herself.

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Choosing good requires practice in doing good, the Altruism Project said, and although Sarah thought it was really the other way around, she felt that any direction would be helpful. She

could at least sample what doing good was all about.

It was a one-week course. The mornings were spent in discussions that wandered through legal, spiritual, cultural, even hormonal causes and effects of altruism. It was nice that they werent a cult, though their optimism did dictate a kind of narrow self-congratulation. She was determined to overlook that.

At noon they went to Bryant Park, which was the perfect location for their good works  a lot of office workers, some students, people who were going to the library, tourists looking at their guidebooks, a great mix of all kinds of people. Even parents with children.

It was a lovely afternoon, warm sunshine in early autumn, the park trees still green, the light coming down through the leaves, the small tables with their chairs filled with tourists and passers-by. The park managed to slow down the New York pace, as if there were a tide rushing around the island that was Bryant Park.

The Altruism group clustered together at the east end of the park, near the wide stairs that led up to a kind of patio and above that a restaurant.

Sarah saw Sandy, one of the men in the group, confront a young couple with a stroller approaching the steps. Can I help you up the stairs? he asked. They shook their heads. You dont need help? he asked. His voice was a little too loud, a little too jocular. Everyone needs help. The first step to success in life is accepting help. The second step is giving help. Im trying the second step.

No, we can manage, thanks, the childs father said.

Though he does need a diaper change, if youre really committed, the mother said.

The stairs! I was going to do the stairs! Sandy said, backing away. He turned and hurried off in a different direction.

Sarah walked around the park, petting dogs, patting babies, asking people if she could help with anything. She said, I belong to a cult, and I have to do two deeds or theyll marry me off to an old man. She was in her 30s, however, so it had no impact, and she was accidentally overheard by Gordon, who wasnt pleased.

Being overheard by Gordon meant she probably wouldnt rank very high in the next morning meeting, and indeed she didnt. They discussed whether forcing the stroller up the stairs would be a good even if the recipients didnt want it. This took a great deal of time, and Sarah found the discussion both interesting and funny. How could you examine something apart from the consequences  and yet some people insisted on it. Then the discussion turned to Sarah and her claims that she belonged to a cult. A joke, she said. Everyone understood it was a joke, an icebreaker. Still, they discussed appropriate and inappropriate approaches. She apologized and said she had a weird sense of humor, which she would squash in the name of charity.

Luckily, she was able to redeem herself the very next day. She was standing on the lawn at Bryant Park, looking at people walking around the perimeter, or seated at tables and chairs, or lining up at some of the kiosks, when she heard a boys plaintive voice. He was in his middle teens, she thought, looking over at him. He was standing near a couple at a table, and his hand was out. A beggar! she thought joyfully and hurried over before someone else in the group could claim him.

My mom will be so mad at me, the boy was saying. I promised Id be home for dinner, but they took all my money and my cell phone and now I dont know what to do.

You should go to the police, the man he was talking to said.

Definitely. Maybe they can catch him, his companion replied.

What happened? Sarah asked in her most sympathetic voice. It came out a little too interested, maybe even prurient.

I went to the library for my term paper, he said. Its got some illustrations I wanted to see. But I got mugged when I got to the subway. I put my stuff down for a second. I had a backpack. His face crumbled a bit. Im such a jerk! And I promised my mom Id be back by the time she got home. She works. She gave me $20 and its gone! His lip quivered; his eyes were bright.

Ill make sure you get home, Sarah said, patting his arm. Dont worry. Its how you learn. I mean, we all get robbed once, right? She looked at the couple nearby, and they nodded vaguely.

Ill give you my phone number, the boy said. Moms not home now but you can tell her where to send the money. He looked immensely grateful.

Sarah looked in her purse. Two singles and a twenty. Surely the singles would be too little but the twenty maybe too much? She weighed it briefly, then handed over the twenty. That would be great. Ill call her tonight to make sure you got home all right.

The boy practically skipped away.

I didnt see him! someone in the group said at the next discussion. I would have bought him lunch. Poor kid.

I would have rented a car and driven him home, another claimed.

Give Sarah credit, Gordon said. She did a good thing. How can we see this as an opportunity to do more outreach?

Well, Deb said, maybe he was actually a runaway and he isnt going home. She smiled apologetically at Sarah. I mean, you only know what they tell you, right? But what if we got a flyer or a pamphlet or something with numbers for agencies and safe houses and whatever there is for runaways? Just in case we think someone might be one?

Gordon was delighted and immediately encouraged this project. Personally, Sarah threw away any pamphlets that landed in her own hands. She considered telling them this and then realized that there was a hidden good in not telling them. She beamed.

This doing good stuff could rack up pretty quickly.

That afternoon didnt go as well, however. In the park, she spotted an elderly man with a cane and two shopping bags. She actually felt a little thrill as she neared him, but just at the pivotal moment, her hand reaching out, Sandy cut her off. May I help you? he cried, grappling a shopping bag out of the old mans grip and turning him quickly away from Sarah.

I was just, she said, but the old man was looking up at Sandy, nodding his head. It was too late. Still, she brought it up at the next morning meeting.

Shouldnt we be courteous to each other? she asked demurely. Not interfere with another persons attempt to do good?

I didnt even see you! Sandy protested.

Sarah, Gordon said gently. Give him the benefit of the doubt. Always give people the benefit of the doubt and remember that the goal is to see the good be done, not to take credit for

it. We discuss it here, yes, because we need to see what can be done, how easily each little step can be done. But its not for you, not exclusively. Remember that the point of doing good is to have the good out there.

She nodded stonily. Sandy caught her eye and grinned.

The next day, after they returned from their various experiments with enlarging the worlds store of good, Sarah made a sweet announcement.

I released my good into the wild, she said.

The group looked at her with interest. What does that mean? Gordon asked.

A woman was sitting on a bench, and I gave her five single dollar bills. I said she could keep it or give it to someone she thought needed it more. She looked at me like she thought there was some trick, so I just walked away.

Ive seen that on TV or somewhere, Deb said. Its not a new idea.

Does it have to be new?

It doesnt have to be new, Gordon said.

At least one other person looked annoyed. It seems like cheating, one observed.

How can it be cheating? Sarah asked. I mean, what if it isnt an original idea? Is helping a mother with a stroller new? Not exactly. Not really. So Im just using all my resources.

Five dollars, someone muttered.

I would love it if all of you gave me five dollars. Money is important. In our society. So sharing money is a good thing. She felt her argument growing stronger.

I thought we were going for the more  intangible goods, Sandy said.

I dont think were getting the point of this exercise, Gordon objected. Shes giving someone else the opportunity and means to do something good. How can that be wrong? Unless youre saying she did it to get attention? To show off? If so, show off better  with better results. The ego is inescapable. But if you train your ego to get satisfaction from doing some good in the world, thats fine. Really, if you got rid of your ego altogether, you wouldnt do anything at all.

Sarah grinned, but everyone else obviously felt this was going too far.

How can you call it good if youre doing it to be called good? one asked. Isnt that just a weird version of pride?

Is it? Gordon asked. Is it possible to do anything without pride? Isnt it better to do something good out of pride than something bad?

Is it? someone challenged.

Would the world be a better place if everyone gave away five dollars? Sandy asked.

How can we know? How can anyone know? Maybe she kept it for herself. This from Deb, who had held a coffee for a man who wanted to answer his cell phone, then dropped the coffee.

Then one woman had five dollars as a gift. Does that result in anything bad?

Maybe she spent it on booze. Or she bought cigarettes. Cigarettes are evil.

They cost more than five dollars, someone murmured.

I dont care. What Im saying is that it might not have been used for good purposes.

Sarah noted that there were two people agreeing with Sandy every time he spoke. But Gordon agreed with her.

The group was falling apart. The competitiveness was so obvious that by the fifth day, Gordon was begging them all to calm down and not force their concept of good on everyone else.

Are you saying good is relative? one of Sandys friends  Chris  said.

Of course its relative, Gordon said, a little edgy. Giving shoes to the shoeless is good. Giving homes to the homeless is better. Training the marginalized for good jobs and good incomes is even better. Its all good. Its just that some of it has longer benefits.

They stared at him, annoyed. They shifted in their chairs. What was the point of trying to be good if they couldnt be best? Gordon grabbed his chin with his left hand. He was doing that often.

The next day Sarah was just getting out of the subway when she heard a familiar voice saying he had been robbed and he was supposed to be home and his mom would be so mad at him. It was Saturday afternoon, the penultimate day of the workshop. She stopped dead in her tracks. That liar! That cheat! That thief! She didnt stop to argue herself into a more perfect frame of mind. She felt the need for vengeance. She headed toward the voice, chuffing and invigorated.

Dont listen to him! she cried to the couple who were already checking their pockets. (So fast? Were they tourists?) He told me the same damn crap a few days ago, the exact same story! And he couldnt even think to move to another spot! Dont you know people have patterns, you idiot? What do you think, everyone but you comes here once and goes home?

She was panting. The tourists were already backing away. She saw Sandy just a little way down the street, coming toward her but slowing down. Obviously sizing up the situation. She

appealed to him. This guy is a thief! I just caught him in the act! Help me!

Surprisingly, Sandy sped up. The kid was swinging his backpack over his shoulder, prepared to dart for the subway, but Sarah was in front of him. Sandy blocked the other route. He bolted straight ahead, willing to take a nosedive into traffic, but a stroller blocked him just at the last moment. God bless strollers!

Grab him! Thief! Sarah cried, and two young men passing by reached out and grabbed him. He resisted weakly and began to cry. Sarah saw someone on a cell phone call 911, and within minutes an officer came running out of the park.

The kid was crying harder. She told herself thats probably what he always did when he got caught. Clearly, if he kept coming back to the same spots, he must get caught often.

A crowd was gathering. The officer asked her who the kid robbed, and she said, Well, I gave him money because he said he lost his money and had to get home, and then I heard him asking someone else for money with the same reason. I gave him $20. So he lied.

The officer relaxed his grip a bit. So he didnt forcibly take money from you. He asked for it. It wasnt even a question.

Yes. This suddenly didnt feel good. And was that Gordon and someone else from the group coming to see what was going on?

The officer turned to the kid. Panhandling? he asked.

The kid sensed a lack of hostility. He rubbed his eyes. I lost the money she gave me, he said.

That was four days ago. She was outraged.

Sarah, Gordon said, his voice raised so she would notice him.

Was he aggressive towards you, maam? the officer asked.

No, he lied. He cheated. He ripped me off!

Those technically arent crimes. Not unless he was aggressive. So, live and learn. He turned to the kid. Beat it. Go somewhere else. If I see you here, Ill follow you around like a hawk. Like a hungry hawk. He nodded, satisfied with his threat, and the kid took off quickly.

Sarah, Gordon repeated. He was in front of her now. How do you think you handled that?

She gaped at him. Was she supposed to feel foolish? She was saving people from being ripped off. She took a breath, however. She was going to do this right. She saw that a few more people from the group had joined Gordon and Sandy. I did the tourists good by defending them from a lying panhandler who would only take their money, she said. I did him some good by showing him there are consequences to his actions. I did myself good by standing up for whats right. I did the group good by demonstrating that this is not a passive activity. She couldnt think of anything else.

Thats what you think, he said. How do you feel?

The tourists were looking at her, as well as a few office workers, and Gordon and her own group, too, all of them watching her. It was odd to be so watched. She remembered the sound of the kids pleading voice, liar though he was, and she almost regretted spoiling things for him. Why should she regret it? She had done the right thing, the proper thing, the good thing, the thing that was setting the world back into its legal orbit. Gordon, of course, believed that if anyone asked

you for money, you should give them money, out of respect for whatever need they had, real or not. Some people imagined they were poor; some people saw success as a beggar as success in life. Maybe the boy felt emotionally abandoned. Should she have to figure that out? Should she also have sympathy for the beggars with guns and the needy who broke windows? For the lonely with a hard-on following quickening steps down a dark street? How far did it go, this desire to be good and love the fallen? She was sure Gordon wanted her to repent, but she wouldnt. She saw the curious eyes looking at her, reaching a conclusion, and then moving on with their lives. Untouched by this little morality play. Unmoved by the implications, such as they were. Hearing the moderate, sensible tone of Gordon asking her how she felt, and hearing her silence.

Well, how did she feel? She lifted her chin. I feel good, she said. Really, really good.
Albany, NY -- (SBWIRE) -- 08/05/2016 -- The research report on the Asia Pacific beer market reveals all market trends and projections that are critical in understanding the market as a whole. The report on the Asia Pacific beer market contains essential information on each segment in it based on multiple criteria.



The key driving factor of the Asia Pacific beer market is the growing disposable income of working class consumers. More consumers are now willing to buy beer either at home or in restaurants. This has especially propelled the sales of premium beer in the Asia Pacific region. The Asia Pacific beer market also continues to receive a growing demand due to the increasing number of convenience stores, malls, retail stores, liquor shops, bars, and restaurants opening up across the region.



Complete Report with TOC @ http://www.mrrse.com/asia-pacific-beer-market



The report dissects all factors that might influence the Asia Pacific beer market in the near future. For instance, the growing population of the region, especially in China and India, the two most heavily populated nations in the world: the growing population, coupled with improving economies, gives a greater scope for beer consumption in Asia Pacific. Another feature discussed in the report is the growing acceptance of the Western culture in Asia Pacific.



The report also makes use of proven research techniques such as Porter's five forces analysis and SWOT analysis in order to enlighten the report's user about the impact on the Asia Pacific beer market of macro and micro factors as well as the value chain of the market.



Overview of the Asia Pacific Beer Market



The Asia Pacific beer market is growing at a CAGR of 5.0% from 2014 to 2020. The Asia Pacific beer market was valued at US$155.93 bn in 2013. It is predicted to grow to US$220.36 bn.



The key market segments of the Asia Pacific beer market are based on the type of beer. Beer is classified as economy, mainstream, or premium. Each beer type comes with its own set of market trends and target audience.



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The countries explored in the report on the Asia Pacific beer market are Singapore, China, India, South Korea, Japan, Australia, Vietnam, and the other Asia Pacific nations grouped together.



The key challenge faced by the Asia Pacific beer market is the growing health concern in the region. Consumers are aware of the health effects of regular consumption of beer and therefore will take measures to reduce it. At the same time, government regulations pertaining to alcohol content and the banning of alcoholic drinks altogether also threatens to impede the Asia Pacific beer market. The restrictions will not, however, excessively hinder the Asia Pacific beer market, which, as mentioned, is growing at a 5.0% CAGR within the report's forecast. For an important consumer goods market in the global perspective, it will suffice for the Asia Pacific beer market to become a prominent one over the next few years.



Companies mentioned in the research report



The key companies operating in the Asia Pacific beer market include China Resources Enterprise, Beijing Yanjing Brewery, Kirin Holdings, Anheuser-Busch InBev, San Miguel Brewery, Asahi Brewery, and Tsingtao Brewery. Anheuser-Busch InBev, a company that operates in seven regions across the world, is showing substantial profit margins due to the increasing sales of beer in all regions, including Asia Pacific. In another example, the Asia Pacific beer market is currently experiencing a boom in imports of Czech beer, such as beer manufactured by Pivivary Lobkowicz Group, which is partly owned by the Chinese group CEFC.



Request a Free Sample Copy of the Report @ http://www.mrrse.com/sample/719



About MRRSE

MRRSE stands for Market Research Reports Search Engine, the largest online catalog of latest market research reports based on industries, companies, and countries. MRRSE sources thousands of industry reports, market statistics, and company profiles from trusted entities and makes them available at a click. Besides well-known private publishers, the reports featured on MRRSE typically come from national statistics agencies, investment agencies, leading media houses, trade unions, governments, and embassies.
Pune, India -- (SBWIRE) -- 08/05/2016 -- The report "Cargo Shipping Market by Cargo Type (Liquid, Dry, General, Container), Industry Type (Food, Electrical/Electronics, Mineral Fuels & Oils, Manufacturing), Trade Routes, Infrastructure, Regulations, and by Freight Forwarding - Global Trends and Forecast to 2021", The cargo shipping market is estimated to gain momentum after fiscal year 2018 after years of sluggish growth. Cargo shipping market is projected to reach 12.52 Billion Tons at CAGR of 3.5% from 2016 to 2021. Global economic development, commodity supply and demand are key drivers fuelling the growth of the global cargo shipping trade.



Browse 57 market data Tables and 29 Figures spread through 118 Pages and in-depth TOC on "Cargo Shipping Market - Global Trends and Forecast to 2021"



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Container Transport: A promising market



The growth in container transport will have highest growth in cargo shipping trade compared to other types of cargos. Demographic changes and the increased globalization drives the growth for container transport. Additionally, the investments in port infrastructure, global supply & demand cycle will have positive impact on container transport. Asia-Pacific region dominates the container transport followed by Europe and North America in 2016.



Speak to Analyst



Asia-Pacific: Largest market for cargo shipping trade



Asia-Pacific accounted for the largest share of the global cargo shipping trade in 2016. Developing Asian economies are driving growth in Asia-Pacific region. China is major exporter in Asia-Pacific as it is developed as manufacturing hub. Market demand, developments in port infrastructure and strong government support have enabled Asia-Pacific to achieve largest market share.



The European region has been segmented into Germany, France, the U.K., Spain and Russia. Europe is estimated to account for the second-largest share in the global cargo shipping trade in 2016. The EU countries are expected to show steady growth in near future due to various initiatives by European Union and rising global demand.



North America is estimated to have the third-largest market share in cargo shipping trade, by volume, in 2016. . The North American cargo shipping market is projected to grow at a promising CAGR during the forecast period. Growth in global economies will be major factor for cargo shipping trade growth as Canada and Mexico are export oriented economies.



The report analyses all major players in the shipping industry, including A.P. Mller  Mrsk A/S (Denmark), Mediterranean Shipping Company SA (Switzerland), CMA CGM SA (France) And Hapag-Lloyd Ag (Germany), along with major freight forwarding players.



It covers the global cargo shipping market, in terms of volume (million tons) and value (USD billion). It explains the qualitative and quantitative aspects of the market on the basis of region, cargo type, industry type and trade route from 2016 to 2021. It also provides an overview of other important aspects of the global cargo shipping market.



About MarketsandMarkets

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M&M's flagship competitive intelligence and market research platform, "RT" connects over 200,000 markets and entire value chains for deeper understanding of the unmet insights along with market sizing and forecasts of niche markets. The new included chapters on Methodology and Benchmarking presented with high quality analytical infographics in our reports gives complete visibility of how the numbers have been arrived and defend the accuracy of the numbers.



We at MarketsandMarkets are inspired to help our clients grow by providing apt business insight with our huge market intelligence repository.



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Bang Rak, Bangkok -- (SBWIRE) -- 08/04/2016 -- Students who are interested in studying in one of the top Australian colleges can visit IDP Thailand on August 2nd for interviews. There are certain officials from Trinity College who are scheduled to visit the venue and conduct these interviews between 10 am and 12 pm on Sunday the 14th. A number of undergraduate programs are believed to be offered by the Institute and this is a good opportunity to know more about the same.



Studying abroad in famous Universities can be difficult for someone who is unaware of the whole procedure. There is the IELTS test that needs to be cleared and then the whole visa process has to be handled well. Students need to identify the best University that meets all their requirements amongst others. A Center that provides training for the IELTS can also be helpful.



IDP Thailand is one such entity which claims to have its centers in 32 countries across the globe. Apart from the information on top Universities and courses, it also helps prospective students in aspects such as clearing the IELTS test, accommodation in the foreign countries, etc. With the upcoming Trinity College interview schedule, they aim to help students in getting valuable information about studying in Australia.



The website says, "We understand that most students are skeptical about the courses being offered by Universities abroad. With the help of our various programs, they are able to identify the best Institutes and a way to get admitted into them. We aim to provide a platform that students can make the most of. From conducting seminars to training regimes and interviews, there are many activities that can prove to be helpful."



To obtain more information about the services, visit https://www.idp.com/thailand/studyabroad.



About Idp.com

The website claims that their IELTS training classes are conducted by experts who are in the teaching field for quite some time. There are several students who have successfully cleared the exam and are studying abroad in a country and University of their choice. Interested users can peruse the detailed information on all the relevant topics in the web pages.



Media Contact:

IDP Education Thailand

Address: 313 Si Lom, Silom, Bang Rak, Bangkok 10500, Thailand

Contact Number: +66 2 638 3111

Fax: 66 2231

URL: https://www.idp.com/thailand/studyabroad

https://www.idp.com/thailand/studyabroad/events/2016/08/trinitycollege
Albany, NY -- (SBWIRE) -- 08/05/2016 -- Collaborations and business alliances with local companies feature prominently on the growth roadmap of global companies operating in the Turkey marine lubricants market, according to a new report by Transparency Market Research (TMR). A high degree of vertical integration is practiced by large petrochemical refining companies to reduce overhead costs and leverage the wide distribution network of local companies in Turkey.



Browse Report with Full TOC at : http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/turkey-marine-lubricants-market.html



Some of the large global players operating in the Turkey marine lubricants market are Chevron Corporation, ExxonMobil Corporation, Lukoil Oil Company, and Royal Dutch Shell plc. A TMR analyst says, "Research and development initiatives for product innovation is what key companies in the Turkey marine lubricants market are focused on for business expansion." For example, BP Plc is actively involved in the research and development of novel synthetic and bio-based lubricants for several industries. The company looks upon new product development so as to gain a competitive edge over its rivals.



Adoption of advanced lubrication technology in order to expand product portfolio and offer customized services is also a key growth strategy that top players in this market are focused on. Establishing subsidiary companies for the marketing of specialty products is also one of the key growth models of top companies operating in the Turkey marine lubricants market.



High Volume Traffic in Turkish Straits Fuels Market Growth



"Development of environment legislations for the use of clean marine lubricants driving Turkey marine lubricants market," points out TMR analyst. Environmental protection regulations that have been laid out by the Ministry of Environment mandate shipping companies to use clean substances to curb emissions. With increasing traffic in the ports of Turkey, marine agencies in the country are enforcing strict regulations to control the use of polluting substances in Turkish waters.



Download the Marine Lubricants Industry Fact Sheet by 2022 @ http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/sample/sample.php?flag=S&rep_id=4462



An increasing demand for lubricants from shipping companies operating in Turkish Straits is another major factor driving the Turkey marine lubricants market. This is because the Turkish Straits is a major chokepoint, which connects the Mediterranean Sea and the Black Sea, with high-density maritime traffic. Due to this reason, the ports of Turkey stand as major selling nodes for marine lubricants for shipping companies operating on this route.



Increasing Demand for Group II, Group III Base Oils Hinders Market Growth



"The gradually shrinking production of group I base oils is challenging the growth of the Turkey marine lubricants market," says TMR analyst. The rising inclination for the production and utilization of group II and group III base oils globally is expected to result in a scarcity of bright stock oils, which are produced in group I plants.



Despite the high production cost of group II and group III base oils, their increasing demand will have an adverse effect on the growth of the marine lubricants market that utilizes group I base oils as feedstock.



The volume growth of the Turkey marine lubricants market is anticipated to reach 103.8 kilo tons by 2022, states TMR. Mineral lubricants stand as the leading product segment in the Turkey marine lubricants market. However, biobased marine lubricants are gradually eating into the former's market share. Engine oils grade mineral oils is the key leading product segment in the Turkey marine lubricants market.



The Turkey marine lubricants market is segmented as follows:



Turkey marine lubricant market, by product type



Mineral oil marine lubricants

Synthetic marine lubricants

Bio-based marine lubricants



Turkey marine lubricant market, by application



Engine oil marine lubricants

Hydraulic oil marine lubricants

Grease

Others (turbine oils, gear oils, compressor oils and heat transfer fluids)



About Transparency Market Research

Transparency Market Research (TMR) is a global market intelligence company providing business information reports and services. The company's exclusive blend of quantitative forecasting and trend analysis provides forward-looking insight for thousands of decision makers. TMR's experienced team of analysts, researchers, and consultants use proprietary data sources and various tools and techniques to gather and analyze information.



TMR's data repository is continuously updated and revised by a team of research experts so that it always reflects the latest trends and information. With extensive research and analysis capabilities, Transparency Market Research employs rigorous primary and secondary research techniques to develop distinctive data sets and research material for business reports.
Washington, DC -- (SBWIRE) -- 08/05/2016 -- Pennsylvania 6 DC is eager to announce that they will be continuing to host their Half-Priced Wine Night every Sunday this August. From 6:00 PM until close, the venue will be offering half-priced bottles of wine off of their Wines by the Glass Menu. Even though reservations are not required for their Half-Priced Wine Night, individuals who would like to secure a table or spot near the bar can email info@pennsylvania6dc.com, or dial 202-796-1600.



In addition to announcing their Half-Priced Wine Night, Pennsylvania 6 DC would also like to let everyone know that they will be starting Happy Hour Specials on Monday, August 8, 2016. Every Monday through Friday, from 4:00 PM to 7:00 PM, they will be offering $1 off all drafts, $7 house white & red wines (Rhone White Chateau de Marjolet 2014 & Rhone Ventoux "Les Boudalles" Domaine Brusset 2015), and $10 Bubblys (Dr. Neville, Treaty of Paris, & Southern Belle.) Last, but not least, the venue encourages seafood lovers to visit them during their daily happy hour to enjoy some $5 oyster shooters and $1 raw oysters.



Pennsylvania 6 DC is open for lunch, dinner, and brunch every Saturday and Sunday, from 11:00 AM to 3:00 PM. In fact, individuals looking to have the best brunch in DC will not be disappointed with what the venue has to offer. During "Bubbly Brunch," guests can not only enjoy savory dishes such as their Brioche French Toast, Classic Eggs Benedict, and Penn 6 Omelette, but they can also take advantage of their custom champagne bar that features purees, mixers, and fresh fruit. In all, anyone who visits the venue will quickly see how Pennsylvania 6 provides one of the best brunches in DC.



To learn more about Pennsylvania 6 DC, their happy hour specials, or view their menus, please visit their website, http://www.pennsylvania6dc.com, or follow them on Facebook.



About Pennsylvania 6 DC

Pennsylvania 6 DC is across from Franklin Square at 1350 I (Eye) Street, NW, Washington, DC, 20005. The establishment is a contemporary American restaurant that offers a large craft beer & wine list, along with a raw bar. Those who visit Pennsylvania 6 DC for brunch, lunch, or dinner will certainly find themselves returning time and time again.



For more information, please visit http://www.pennsylvania6dc.com/.
cpgmba wrote:

I love it. I knew I wanted to be in CPG marketing but started in CPG Sales at a top food company out of undergrad because most top companies require MBA's. After a couple years experience, I moved over to a smaller CPG food company as an associate marketing manager. So far, I'm really happy with the career choice. I like food marketing because I love food and grocery stores.



Below is a normal day for me:

8:00 - Weekly meeting with marketing team to discuss projects for the week and talk about marketing team initiatives

9:00 - Business analysis - Using syndicated data (IRI, AC Nielsen) to see what the competitors have done in the past month. Examine how our portfolio is performing with the recent price increase.

11:00 - Meeting with R&D developer on project X. Cutting (tasting) on 5 versions of a products he's developed. Give feedback, further guidance, and timeline for next revisions.

12:00 - Lunch meeting with MarCom (Marketing Communications) to discuss upcomming FSI (newspaper coupon insert) drop and IRC coupons at select customers

1:00 - Project work - Review financials for new item projects that I have to present to the executive team next month. Make sure costing is coming in on budget.

2:00 - Meeting with design services to review concepts for packaging design of new product we're launching next year.

3:00 - New product team meeting - Cross-functional meeting with R&D, operations, purchasing, engineering, and sales to discuss new products for next year.

4:00 - Meeting with purchasing, operations and packaging engineer to see if we can utilize a new type of packaging that will enhance shelf presence.

5:00 - Catch up on emails you missed throughout the day



As you can see, lots of meetings. Some days are better than others. As an AMM, I am more focused on project management and data analysis while my boss (Marketing Manager) oversees the AMM's projects and is focused on portfolio strategy. The more you move up, the less you work on projects and data analysis. Work-life balance is not too bad. I've worked 90 hours once and a few 70-80 hour weeks but for the most part its in the 50 range. I've heard some larger companies are a bit more demanding though.



It's a great career and the nice thing about CPG marketing is that its very insular. Once you get into CPG marketing, it's easy to move around and work your way up. If you ever don't like your job, just wait for the next headhunter to call (MM's get multiple calls a week).

Thank you for sharing a typical work day with us. Your work day sounds ideal to me. I love sharing ideas and turning hard data into usable information. I applied to business school this year but I didn't get into my target schools because my GMAT score was so low. I'm studying to re-take the exam now.In the meantime, I'd like to move into a position with a consumer packaged goods company. I believe I would actually enjoy it (it would help me make a more compelling case to the admissions committees).How would you suggest I go about pursuing this? What kinds of positions should I look for i.e. Brand Assistant??Many Thanks in advance.
An international team of researchers, led by Dr. Qinglong Wu of Peking University and Nanjing Normal University, has uncovered geological evidence for the Great Flood, a disastrous event on the Yellow River from which the Xia dynasty, the first in Chinese history, is thought to have been born.

The flood occurred in roughly 1920 BC, which is several centuries later than traditionally thought  meaning the Xia dynasty, and its renowned Emperor Yu, likely had a later start than Chinese historians have thought, Dr. Wu and co-authors said.

According to Chinese legend, Emperor Yu gained notoriety through his handling of the Great Flood.

He tamed this flood by dredging, earning him the divine mandate to establish the Xia dynasty and marking the beginning of Chinese civilization.

Yus story was handed down for a millennium before entering the historical record, yet, geological evidence for the flood he mastered has always been lacking.

Some scholars have argued that the story is either a historicized version of an older myth or propaganda to justify the centralized power of imperial rule.

Chinas earliest historiographies, including Shujing (Book of Documents) and Shiji (Records of the Grand Historian, by Sima Qian), tell of the Great Flood, a lengthy, devastating flood of the Yellow River, the scientists explained.

According to the Shiji, Yus father labored unsuccessfully for 9 years to tame the flood before Yu took over for 13 more years. Yus success led to his mandate to become founding king of the Xia 22 years after the flood started.

Because these accounts laid the ideological foundations for the Confucian rulership system, they had been taken as truth for more than 2,500 years until challenged by the Doubting Antiquity School in the 1920s.

By reconstructing a sequence of events along the Yellow River, including a landslide that created a dam from which water built up and burst forth, Dr. Qinglong and his colleagues provide geological evidence for a catastrophic flood event that may be the basis of the Great Flood.

The researchers mapped and dated distinctive sediments that were deposited downstream of a Qinghai Province dam when the dam broke. They also determined that the flood that broke the dam was of enormous proportions.

Using radiocarbon dating techniques on samples that included human bone, they dated the flood to 1920 BC.

The discovery and reconstruction here of the massive outburst flood originating in Jishi Gorge provide scientific support that the ancient Chinese textual accounts of the Great Flood may well be rooted in a historic natural event, the researchers said.

If the Jishi Gorge outburst flood is indeed the event that came to be known as the Great Flood, the scientists could propose a new beginning date for the Xia dynasty, at 1900 BC.

This date coincides with the major transition from the Neolithic to Bronze Age in the Yellow River valley and supports hypotheses that the primary state-level society of the Erlitou culture is an archaeological manifestation of the Xia dynasty.

Taken together, these results reveal how the concurrence of these major natural and sociopolitical events may be an illustration of a profound and complicated cultural response to an extreme natural disaster that connected many groups living along the Yellow River.

The research is published in the journal Science.

_____

Qinglong Wu et al. 2016. Outburst flood at 1920 BCE supports historicity of Chinas Great Flood and the Xia dynasty. Science 353 (6299): 579-582; doi: 10.1126/science.aaf0842
Researchers in Abu Dhabi are testing a pilot device that can store solar energy in sand to improve the efficiency of power plants and provide energy at night.

The technology, developed at the Masdar Institute of Science and Technology, uses gravity to drain sand from a higher basin into a lower one, heating up the sand grains with solar power during the transition. In the lower basin, the energy can be stored and withdrawn at low cost to provide extra energy if needed, for example during peak hours and at night-time.

"Two pilot models of the system have been tested in an effort to prove its efficiency and applicability on a large scale in big projects, says Nicolas Calvet, an assistant professor at the Masdar institutes department of mechanical engineering.

The next step is to test a more sophisticated model in preparation for its commercial marketing, Calvel says.

These tests will involve researching the thermal stability of sand and its specific heat-absorption capacity. The results showed a capability of storing thermal energy up to 800-1000 degrees Celsius.

Unlike traditional storage media used in thermal energy storage systems, such as synthetic oils and molten salts, sand is abundant in regions with plenty of sunshine, and inexpensive to obtain.

Explaining the method used to store energy in sand, Calvet told SciDev.Net that: "The hourglass idea inspired the system, as it uses two reservoirs connected to one another vertically across a narrow passage that allows the movement of 'cold' grains of sand from the upper reservoir to the lower 'hot' one."

The sand is heated by running cold sand through a solar heat collector, where it is heated before being stored in a hot reservoir. This hot sand can be used to run electricity-generating turbines.

The cycle is completed by returning the cooler sand to the upper cold sand reservoir, Calvet explains.

Amin Mubarak, a professor of mechanical power engineering at the engineering faculty at Cairo University in Egypt, says there have been several experiments around this technology in Europe and the United States.

However, until now, they did not render any results that can be made available or capitalised, he adds.

"There are challenges facing those experiments, the most important of which are the cost component of economic feasibility, and the method used to recover energy, Mubarak told SciDev.Net. "Stored energy recovery process requires the presence of a fluid, either a liquid, air, or gas that is injected into the turbine. This process consumes a lot of energy, which raises the cost.

Calvet admits that more research and funding is needed to commercialise the technology. "Securing funding poses a challenge as we need nearly US$300,000 to test the system in the pre-marketing stage," he explains.

This piece was produced by SciDev.Nets Middle East & North Africa desk.
Nobody is readily immune from the Zika virus, and it seems that the feared illness has reached the American Military. A report from The New York Times said that there are as many as 33 active-duty American service members, one of which is a pregnant woman, who have been identified to contract the disease.

33 US military members have contracted Zika https://t.co/XpPQ5lEJ2T pic.twitter.com/aLGjkXIenD  CNN (@CNN) August 3, 2016

Maj. Ben Sakrisson, a spokesman from the Pentagon shared that the government has been tracking the Zika in service men and women since January, and the numbers just reached 33 this month. Officials did not identify the countries where these overseas service members were assigned and could have contracted the virus, however, they noted that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have already listed them as places that have had the mosquito species present with the disease.

By July 26, the CDC reported that active Zika transmissions have been happening in most of Central and South America, with the exception of Chile and Uruguay. However, the army is said to be working with scientists do develop a vaccine for the illness. Time Magazine noted that the National Institutes of Health announced that 80 volunteers will test a new vaccine on a human trial, and they could save the other 6,000 who have had confirmed Zika cases on a human trial.

This virus is dangerous - Zika has been linked to severe birth defects like microcephaly, which is why there has been a greater concern for these women in the area. Just last week, Florida officials have reported the first signs of local transmission of the disease in the continental United States in a neighborhood in Miami. By Monday, they are already urging pregnant women to stay away from the neighborhood, in what was apparently the first time that the CDC had to advise people to stay away from the continental US.

The number of Zika cases in Florida has risen to 14 from the 4 announced on Friday - 12 men and two women. However, they maintained that they did not expect the numbers to grow into an epidemic the way it did across Latin America over the past few months.
Feds wildlife officials are implementing a new rule that prohibits predator control on national wildlife refuges in more than 73 million acres of land of Alaska. However, the predator control ban has an exception for the hunt of some predators such as wolves to boost moose and caribou populations, that is, if the Fish and Wildlife Service determines that the effort is for conservation purposes.

Director Dan Ashe said that Alaska's national wildlife refuge is an incredible landscape with a population of wildlife creatures that support subsistence, traditional and recreational opportunities. These activities include hunting, fishing and also wildlife viewing, Daily Progress reported.

Ashe said that they prefer to defer the regulation of general hunting and trapping of wildlife on national wildlife refuges to the State of Alaska whenever possible. He further explained that this regulation ensures that they comply with their mandates and obligations, KTUU-TV reported.

Spokeswoman Andrea Medeiro of the federal agency said that the Feds rule is a response to the increased predator control by the Alaska Board of Game. However, director of the Alaska division of wildlife conservation Bruce Dale stood firm that the recent state efforts have resulted in fewer predators being captured. He was critical of the new rule and views it as merely an erosion of the state's management authority of fish and game and it's Fish and Wildlife siding with outside interests.

Meanwhile, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service are being praised by animal welfare advocates for their decision to crack down on predator control in the state. Alaska state director Michael Haukedalen for The Humane Society said that they are thrilled to know that the protection on national wildlife refuges will be enhanced.

Feds new predator ban was opened to public comment earlier this year but was just published in the Federal Register on Wednesday. Feds predator ban will be effective 30 days after its publication.
SpaceX head of Human Relations Brian Bjelde pushed back against the notion that the company asks its employees to overwork. Bjelde stated that they recruit people who are driven by the company's mission and it is a myth that most of their employees are working 100 or even 80 hour weeks on a regular basis.

Bjelde did not deny that there are times that schedules are tight so employees need to keep up and that just goes along with launching rockets. However, he further explained that they want SpaceX employees to be productive over the long term and that means working at a sustainable pace. Bjelde said that they have a lot of employees like him who have been more than 10 years in the company and have built fantastic career with SpaceX. He also revealed that SpaceX turnover rates are below average for the industry. However, Bjelde did not specify the rate.

Reportedly, SpaceX company and the entire management are a demanding employer that hires the best and brightest individuals and expect them to work hard toward solving some very difficult problems. SpaceX has been inclined in creating projects that take a step forward to advanced technology. Just recently, Elon Musk's Falcon 9 rocket has been tested which was able to soar into space and land in the ocean, Ars Technica reported.

In previous years, former SpaceX employees made it public that the company forces them to work for long hours under a relatively low pay. Some former employees even filed lawsuits alleging that Musk's rocket company violated California labor law, IB Times reported.

SpaceX, however, still received 39,000 applications for internships in 2015 despite the lawsuits. Bjelde revealed that the number continues to exponentially grow. SpaceX competition is also fierce as they only hired 650 interns last year out of the thousands of applicants.
A "Pokemon Go" inspired technology has been developed by MIT researchers to cheaply simulate the way objects respond to various forces. The technology makes use of potential applications as diverse as games and civil engineering.

MIT's Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory (CSAIL) researchers created an imaging technique that could find applications in business and could pave way for a more realistic "Pokemon Go" experience. The new technology is believed to reduce the need for CGI green screens too, Electronics 360reported.

CSAIL's imagine technique allows users to reach out and touch objects inside the video and cause them to react as they would in a real-world interaction. MIT researchers find the technique to be useful for applications in major engineering projects such as bridge constructions. The feature is not yet integrated in the popular "Pokemon Go" app. However, it could also boost an upgrade to augmented-reality games like "Pokemon Go" and special effects in movies.

The technique could potentially offer a cheaper way to simulate objects than by building 3D models like "Pokemon Go's.' The difference on this imaging technique is that it can be used to create realistic simulations by using just a 5-second video clip.

The technique only requires a video footage to be captured using a traditional camera and an algorithm that analyzes vibration modes. The analyses reflect the ways an object responds to vibrations at different frequencies, MIT News reported. The researchers will then be able to predict how objects will move in new situations using the data.

CSAIL PhD student Abe Davis, who will reportedly publish the work this month, demonstrated the modelling method with a bush moving under a breeze and kicked a playground equipment. Using the data gathered from his samples, he simulated the effect of Pokemon creatures bouncing off the objects. "Pokemon Go" developers and other virtual-reality developers are encouraged to think of the new imaging technique in a different way. The team calls the project as Interactive Dynamic Video (IDV).
Many people want to be a part of this space flight company, Space X. In fact, it had 39,000 applications for internship position last year. So, what is it like to work in this famous spaceflight company?

The Space Exploration Technologies Corporation or also known as SpaceX is an aerospace manufacturer and pioneering in the field of reusable rockets. It is headquartered in Hawthorne, California. It is also a space transport services company and was founded by Mr. Elon Musk in 2002.

Brian Bjelde, the vice president of human resources of SpaceX delivered some information on how it feels like to work in the company. He also tackled the rumors about SpaceX employees working so long and wanted to knock down this idea. He explained that it is a myth that most of their employees are working 100 or even 80 hour weeks on a regular basis.

He further explained that sometimes they have incredibly tight schedules that they need to keep such as launching rockets. On the other hand, they want their employees to be productive over the long term, and that means working at a pace that's sustainable. They encourage their employees to pace themselves and their managers pay close attention to whether people are driving themselves too hard for long periods. He added that this is one of the biggest myths he heard about working at SpaceX.

Bjelde talked more about the culture of SpaceX. He emphasized that people at SpaceX are really mission-driven. Their goal is to help humanity become a multi-planetary species. He further said that they take the hardest shots and set aggressive goals and strive to reach them. He added that's how they'll make the fastest progress. They try to avoid analysis paralysis in all their work. They build, test, break things and iterate with a sense of urgency, as noted by Space.

Many young people want to work with the company with a vast quantity of applications for the internship. Mr. Bjelde said that their internship is extremely competitive yet very rewarding. He also advised the undergraduate who wants to pursue an aerospace engineering. He said that get involved with as much as hands-on project experience as possible. He added that it doesn't matter what it is, as long as it is challenging and flexing your engineering muscles.
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FLORENCE, S.C.  Graduate nursing students at Francis Marion University might qualify for new scholarships and loans after the university was awarded more than $2 million dollars from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Health Resources and Services Administration.

Dr. Ruth Wittmann-Price, Dean of FMUs new School of Health Sciences, said that these grants benefit people who would not be able to pursue the education they want to otherwise.

The reason the nursing team wrote these grants, along with the grant writing team at Francis Marion, was to increase the availability of education to people in rural or underserved areas that might not be able to afford it without the grants and the scholarships, Wittman-Price said. These are government loans, so a lot of schools apply for them, but not many get them. I think the nurse faculty loan program, when I looked it up online, I think only three schools in South Carolina have them.

Though they both serve a similar purpose, the two grants are different in their expectations of repayment.

One is a scholarship and one is an incentivized loan, Wittman-Price said.

Each one will be designated for a specific program.

The scholarships are for the Family Nurse Practitioners, because there is such a lack of primary care providers in the rural areas of the state of South Carolina, Wittman-Price said. There is a terrible nurse faculty shortage, and the loan will help people get their MSN in Nursing Education, which is a fully online program at Francis Marion. It is really an excellent program. If they work full time for four years at any academic institution, it doesnt have to be Francis Marion; 85 percent of the loan can be forgiven, and that is wonderful.

Recipients will be chosen based on their qualifications, with a priority on students with clinical skills and background in hard-to-fill instructional areas such as pediatrics, obstetrics and psychiatric nursing, according to an FMU release. An additional priority will focus on minority students.

It takes a lot of effort to write these really big government grants, but it is well worth it for our students, Wittman-Price said.

According to the release, the Scholarships for Disadvantaged Students is expected to fund approximately 24 students, while the loans will help roughly six Nurse Educator students.

The awards were given in late July, putting the application process on a short deadline. Applications will be accepted until August 15. Applications will be at fmunursing.com . Additional information is available by calling the Department of Nursing at 843-661-1690.

Current and prospective students in FMUs master's level nursing programs can contact Wittmann-Price at 843-661-4625 (rwittmannprice@fmarion.edu) with questions regarding the scholarship program. Students with questions regarding the NFLP for Nurse Educator students can contact Dr. Karen Gittings at 843-661-1688 (kgittings@fmarion.edu).
FLORENCE, S.C.  Volunteers with Ruiz Foods dropped off donated school supplies with the Florence County Collaborative Council on Friday afternoon as part of the organization's 2016 Back to School Drive.

From July 22 through Friday, employees donated copy paper, hand sanitizer, erasers, lined paper, pencils, crayons and other school supplies to the FC3 School Supply Drive. an event formerly knowns as STUFF the Bus. The project's goal is to help up to 1,000 children in the Florence area, according to a news release on the event.

"Team members bring up heeds in the community, and we get together as a company and employees, and we make it happen," said Josh Brown who along with Ethan Brown, delivered the supplies to the Northwest Community Center.

"We had a lot of help. Everybody participated in it," Josh Brown said of the 385 employees who donated enough supplies to cover two tables inside the community center.

"We try to do what the community needs. It's part of our culture to give back."

There is something about opening up a new package of paper and putting your school supplies together the night before school starts, Darryl Davids of Ruiz Foods Florence said in the news release.

"Unfortunately, for many children they are not always able to start school with any supplies," Davids said. "Our team at Ruiz Foods was more than happy to donate to make sure that the children of Florence school supply needs are met."

Ruiz Cares, a program that allows employees to give back to their community, coordinated the supplies drive and delivery.

Brown said the company's plants in California and Texas were doing school supply drives as well.

The California-based food company operates a large Florence facility in the industrial park at SC 327 and Interstate 95.
A preliminary police report included a false account of the circumstances surrounding the death of 22-year-old Jack Delaney Koval, who was struck and killed by the driver of a 2014 Dodge Charger on the West Side Highway early last Sunday morning. Koval did not, as was originally reported, jump a divider and step into oncoming traffic before he was killed.

While the investigation is ongoing, police confirmed Friday that the divider account has been dismissed. The official Police Accident Report, shared with Gothamist by Koval's family, makes no mention of a divider. Instead it states that Koval was crossing 12th Avenue in the crosswalk at 46th Street shortly after 2:15 a.m. on July 31st. The driver, according to the report, had the green light when he struck Koval.

A spokeswoman for the NYPD confirmed Friday that the Accident Report is based off of surveillance footage from the scene. She could not, however, determine where the divider account came from.

"Apparently that was the wrong information," she said. "Because for some reason, I'm not sure exactly where that came from, but they [the traffic unit] don't have that [divider statement] on any of their paperwork."

"This is what whoever provided information gave us, and we got the correct information after," she continued. "We usually try to wait a little bit before we send this information out. I don't know what happened there."

The standard e-mail alert sent to local media outlets a few hours after Koval's death stated that, according to a "preliminary investigation," the victim had "climbed over a divider and stepped into oncoming traffic." The news was reported widely. "Pedestrian fatally struck on West Side Highway after climbing over divider," Pix11 wrote.

The Emory Wheel, the newspaper at Koval's Alma mater, generated its own diagram of the crash, based off of the preliminary information from the NYPD. In it, dashed arrows indicate Koval crossing over the median, outside of the crosswalk.

Koval, who graduated from Emory University this spring, moved to New York City shortly after the Fourth of July to start a job as an analyst at Centerview Partners, a financial advisory firm. "It was absolutely his dream job," his father, Joe Koval, told us from his home in Rochester, NY. "I mean, he was just never happier."

Friends from school, including his Alpha Kappa Psi Fraternity, have loaded Koval's Facebook with comments in the last week. "Thank you for being an amazing friend, for explaining math theorems to me so I could (barely) pass our classes," wrote his friend Sarah Choi.

Koval was killed a few blocks away from his 11th Avenue high-rise apartment. The NYPD's preliminary report provided minimal information about the 26-year-old driver, who remained on the scene: only that the vehicle was "traveling northbound on 12th Avenue." Police provided additional information on Friday, stating that the driver crossed from the left-center lane to the right-center lane after crossing 45th Street, and struck Koval in the crosswalk at 46th Street.

Koval's father was upset by the early media reports, which he feared painted an inaccurate picture of his son.

"He just would not cross a barrier," he told us. "I mean, I've been in parking lots with him where I climbed over a barrier and he would walk 50 yards to get around through the opening and come back.... He just wasn't in a hurry, ever."

A recent Transportation Alternatives report accuses the NYPD of enabling victim-blaming in crash cases by providing preliminary information to the press. It cites the case of Lauren Davis, a cyclist killed in Brooklyn earlier this yearpolice initially said she had been biking against traffic, then retracted the allegation. In the case of cyclist James Gregg, police on the scene reportedly told bystanders that Gregg had grabbed onto the truck that struck him, apparently to hitch a ride. The NYPD's press office later said that Gregg had not grabbed the truck.

"When circumstances surrounding a crash are unclear, it is irresponsible to speculate as to the actions or mentality of the deceased before an investigation has been conducted," the group writes, adding, "Often at a later date, video or other evidence emerges to exonerate the victimbut the damage has already been done."

The NYPD spokeswoman we discussed the Koval case with this week said that it's the responsibility of the media to check back in. "We tell you guys, give us some time because it can always change," she said. "Always try to call maybe later on in the day, because if we have a lot of different media e-mails [going out], we might not have time to send an update [on a crash]."

"Well, [the NYPD] shouldn't be publishing it," countered Attorney Steve Vaccaro, who primarily represents cyclists and pedestrians injured and killed by reckless drivers.

"What additional step do they need to invoke?" he added. "What additional step is necessary to make sure that the information is accurate, and why isn't the NYPD taking that step as a matter of course before disseminating an initial version of what happened?"

Since his son's death, Joe Koval says, he and his wife have been talking to a Midtown North detective almost every day. Officers have yet to provide the Koval family with updates based on their surveillance video analysis, like whether the driver may have been speeding. "According to them it can be six to eight months before anything's resolved, before anyone is charged, if at all," Koval said.

"It's killing my wife because she just can't believe that [Jack] would have done something [to put himself at risk]," he added. "He's just too savvy. It had to be something out of the normal to happen for him to succumb to a situation like that. He was just too sharp."

The NYPD says the investigation is ongoing. The driver remained at the scene and no charges have been filed.
Just off the roaring Brooklyn-Battery Tunnel and a few minutes from Wall Street, the scaffold-encrusted blocks of lower Washington Street are strangely quiet. In the shade of neighboring skyscrapers, these sterile streets have so far resisted realtors' attempts to rebrand the neighborhood as an up-and-coming residential district, and they invite little curiosity from passersby.

Yet for a small group of activists and academics, this area has special significance. It is the site of the Citys earliest Arab community, a former, thriving enclave known as "Little Syria." For the past five years, this groupknown as the Washington Street Historical Societyhas sought to bring the legacy of Little Syria back to life for contemporary New Yorkers.

Next week, the group will take its first formal step toward realizing this dream. On that day, a panel of artists and critics commissioned by the NYC Department of Cultural Affairs will open the review process for a proposed public art project to commemorate Little Syria at Elizabeth H. Berger Plaza, a small green space just off Trinity Place.

Todd Fine, a doctoral student in history at the CUNY-Graduate Center and director of the Washington Street Historical Society, was first drawn to Washington Street by its depiction in The Book of Khalid, a novel by the Lebanese-American author Ameen Rihani, who lived in the neighborhood.



(From left) Activists Todd Fine, Joseph Svehlak, and Jane Marx in 2013 at the proposed site of the Washington Street monument. Photo courtesy of the Washington Street Historical Society.

Fine felt that a monument would serve as an essential antidote to the city's amnesia about Little Syria, and raise awareness about the history of New York's Arab-American community. "The story of Arabs in America, and their role in New York City specifically, has been sorely overlooked," he said.

Syrians first arrived in New York in the 1880s, settling in the tenement-lined blocks north of the Battery, around Washington Street. Over time, the area was given the moniker "Little Syria." (What was then Ottoman Syria encompasses much of modern day Syria, Lebanon, Israel, and Palestine.) By the turn of the century, 3,000 Syrians lived on Washington Street.

A NY Times reporter who visited the neighborhood in 1903 described (in retrospect, not so sensitively) the "dark-eyed, olive skinned men" populating shops and cafes, admiring the locals' "uniform politeness" and "Oriental dishes, fearfully and wonderfully made." The reporter also remarked on the neighborhood's vibrant musical and poetic performances, which he described as as quaintly Oriental as though he had just stepped out of Arabian Nights."

The cultural life of Little Syria was rich and the neighborhood had a thriving literary community. Rihani and Khalil Gibranwhose poetry collection The Prophet is thought to be one of the best-selling books of the 20th centuryare the most famous writers to come out of Little Syria, but the feminist journalist 'Afifa Karam, the poet Elia Abu Madi, and many more called the neighborhood home.

Yet as Fine noted, while Gibran, and to a lesser extent Rihani, are still read, they're not remembered as New York writers.

Hani Bawardi, professor of history at the University of Michigan-Dearborn and the author of the book The Making of Arab Americans, joined Fine's effort because he believes New Yorkers should knowand take pride inthe writers of Little Syria. "I'm interested in writing them into the immigrant story of New York City," said Bawardi. "While they wrote mostly in Arabic, they cherished and described their daily life on Washington Street, and they left a trail of literature that gives us a glimpse into the history of the Lower West Side."

The words of these writers offer a glimpse into the city's past, but they are also prescient today, amidst continuing anti-Arab and anti-Muslim rhetoric in the U.S. The Little Syria community was deeply hopeful about life for Arab-Americans and relations between America and the Arab world. They saw themselves as part of both worlds, said Fine, offering a message of "religious tolerance, connection, and harmony with nature."

In The Book of Khalid, Rihani writes of the two worlds to which he belonged: "I care not for the freedom which does not free both; I seek not the welfare of the one without the other."

Over the years, the Little Syria community produced dozens of newspapers and periodicals. Much was written against colonialism and for democratic reform in the Arab world. "In many ways, it was Arab nationalism in its purest form," said Fine, noting that with the decline of the Ottoman Empire, "many felt they were nearing a new, peaceful society in the Middle East."

The artistic output of Little Syria is particularly important to historians like Fine and Bawardi because so little of the neighborhoods physical history remains. The majority of Little Syrias residents were evicted en masse in the 1940s to create room for Robert Moses' Brooklyn-Battery Tunnel. (Many settled along Atlantic Avenue and later in Bay Ridge neighborhoods.) The rest of Little Syria was destroyed in subsequent construction booms.

Joe Svehlak, a New York City tour guide, historian, and founding member of the Friends of the Lower West Side, compares the area to the Lower East Side, the neighborhood most closely associated in the popular imagination with tenement-era immigration. While much of the landscape of the Lower East Side remains, the landscape of the Lower West Side bears almost no evidence of its immigrant past. "We've lost almost all the physical history of the Lower West Side," he lamented. "What remains is mostly in people's memories."



Map of Lower Manhattan, with Little Syria in yellow. The image edited by the Arab American National Museum and is part of a traveling exhibit about Little Syria, coming to NYC on October 1st.

Fine joined Svehlak in a separate campaign to win landmark status for Little Syria's few remaining structures. Despite this modest victory, however, they worried that the neighborhood's legacy was still invisible to most New Yorkers.

At first, the group was unsure of how to reintroduce the neighborhood to its immigrant past. They toyed with the idea of building a monument near Washington Street but felt this goal might be unrealistic.

Then, on a chilly November evening in 2010, Svehlak and Fine wandered over to the plaza on Trinity Place. "Joe told me the park was set to be renovated and expanded," recalled Fine. The plaza is adjacent to the former location of Little Syria, and seemed like an ideal site for a memorial. The two men were inspired. "We thought this could be our chance," said Fine.

Neither Fine nor Svehlak are of Arab descent, and they sought to enlist support for the project from New York's Arab-American community. To their surprise, many expressed reluctance at first. "It seemed some people were hesitant about drawing attention to themselves. Recent controversies like the xenophobic furor unleashed by plans to build the Park 51 Mosque have left many New Yorkers of Arab descent wary. (I'm the daughter of a Palestinian immigrant and I've worked with and reported on New York's Arab-American communitythese fears are very real.)

Bawardi also came to the U.S. from Palestine and he describes the sense of marginalization experienced by many Arab-Americans. It's estimated that more than 3.5 million Americans claim Arab descent, yet, as Bawardi pointed out, It seems that few Americans recognize us as a part of the fabric of this nation." This sense of alienation is one of the main issues Fine and his colleagues hope to challenge with their art, and with time more Arab-Americans have caught on to their vision.

"I give Todd a lot of credit for galvanizing a community around Little Syria's history," says Bob Madey, who serves on the board of the Washington Street Historical Society. Madey is the grandson of Elia Abu Madi and he hopes the Elizabeth Berger Plaza project will revive the legacy of people like his grandfather. "They saw themselves as a bridge between East and West," he said. "I think they can be a bridge again today."

For several years, the Washington Street Historical Society struggled to gain traction with the city. At one point, officials from the Parks Department said a stand-alone installation would be impossible.



Pastry counter at a restaurant in Little Syria, circa 1910-1915. Photo courtesy of the Library of Congress

Still, advocates of the proposal felt they had a strong case for a permanent art installation. After all, Fine said, of the 81 public monuments in New York City dedicated to specific ethnicities, there are none recognizing Arab-American heritage or culture.

When the process appeared stalled, the historical society considered hiring an attorney to help; ultimately the group appealed to City Hall. The mayors Community Affairs Unit referred the proposal to New Yorks public art program, Percent for Art, to see the project forward, voicing its support for the group's efforts to commemorate Little Syria and noting that the embrace of immigrant communities is "a tremendous source of strength for our city."

The formal process is set to begin at a hearing on August 8th, when a panel of judges arranged by Percent for Art will select five finalists from a pool of approximately 50 would-be designersmany of Arab descent. The winner will be selected by the panel several months later at a public meeting.

Five years after the project began, Fine feels the matter is now largely out of his hands. "We have to trust the process now," he said. It's up to the community and the city to decide how they want to commemorate this history."

He does, however, have his own ideas of what the monument should entail, remarking that he hopes the winning artist is able to capture the spirit of unity and "universal love" embodied by Little Syria's writers.


Are you relatively new to this bustling metropolis? Don't be shy about it, everyone was new to New York once upon a time, except, of course, those battle-hardened residents who've lived here their whole lives and Know It All. One of these lifers works among us at Gothamistpublisher Jake Dobkin grew up in Park Slope and still resides there. He is now fielding questionsask him anything by sending an email here, but be advised that Dobkin is "not sure you guys will be able to handle my realness." We can keep you anonymous if you prefer; just let us know what neighborhood you live in.

This week's question comes from a young transplant who fears that life in New York just isn't sustainable. Jake is on vacation, so for answers we must turn to native New Yorker and staff millennial Rebecca Fishbein.

Dear Native New Yorker, I recently graduated college and fulfilled my lifelong dream of moving to New York City, but am struggling to find even a basic, entry-level job in my field of interest. It's even hard getting hired at J. Crew, and how am I supposed to afford this insanely expensive city on those wages? I am barely keeping my head above water, and have had to ask my parents for help multiple humiliating times already.

I am starting to wonder if it's worth it, and if life in NYC has gotten so prohibitively expensive that young people are better off moving to Buffalo and starting their lives there. Can we survive this place, or is it time to cut and run?

Sincerely,

Buying Ramen On Kredit Everyday



A native New Yorker responds:

Dear BROKE,

It is not easy to live in New York as a young person. This has been the case for decadesmy editor made money by racking up loose change on subway platformsbut the dearth of rent-stabilized apartments and increase in $5,700/month duplexes in Crown Heights has made it nearly, if not entirely, impossible to start out here without help. Self-confidence and sheer will can propel you, but you will probably at the very least have to rely on friends and family for a time, even if that means crashing on someone's couch for a couple months.

This is frustrating, but my biggest concern about the future for millennials in New York is what happens to us now that we're growing upit's one thing to eat stewed tomatoes out of a can for dinner every night when you're 22, but a lot of us are entering our 30s now, and it's hard to imagine how we'll be able to afford to raise families if we're not earning top dollars. My parents paid $1,200/month for a two-bedroom apartment in Midtown back in the early '90s and eventually bought an apartment, but millennials aren't buying homes in big cities, and the prospect of renting for decades seems like setting a pile of money on fire. There might be more jobs here than in other cities, but income equality in New York is still hugely problematic, and on average it seems like we're not making quite enough money to stick it out in the long run.

So, starting your life somewhere that's even slightly gentler than NYC doesn't seem like the worst ideamaybe not Buffalo, which seems unpleasant, but Philadelphia or Baltimore or Minneapolis are all worthy alternatives in their own way. New York might be a great city, but it's not the only city, and you don't have to suffer here just to prove that you can.

That being said, if young not-rich people get pushed out of New York, this city will be predominantly populated by douchebag finance bros and oil barons who don't even live here, and that can't happen. There are ways to survive here longterm that don't involve selling your soul to Wall Street. Neighborhoods that were once havens for young families might be too expensive now, but there are less cool spots that boast affordable more homesJake, for instance, suggests it's Generation Y's turn to move to the Bronx (Staten Island's already a lost cause), and though just the word "gentrification" makes me shudder, there are ways to live in cheaper neighborhoods responsibly. Young transplants have been coming here since the Dutch stole this town, and just because you were born in the 1990s doesn't mean you're a worse person than someone born in the 1950s.

I do feel strongly, though, that if millennials want to be able to survive in New York, they need to make themselves a part of New York, not just move here and get drunk for 10 years before peacing out to Beacon. Local politics might seem like a mess, but we should be pushing our elected officials to end vacancy decontrol on rent-stabilized apartments, and we should be going after landlords who violate rent-stabilized leases. We should be fighting for better affordable housing policies, and holding elected officials to their campaign promises when it feels like they're floundering. We should make our voices and votes heard about the tax breaks developers get when they build luxury housing.

Other quality-of-life changes are also worth making noise overthere's the Move NY plan to toll East River bridges, which would funnel money into our crumbling subway system and make it easier to live even further out in the boroughs; we can continue to push officials to increase the minimum wage, support sick days and parental leave, and make lives easier for freelancers as we move deeper into a gig economy; and even pressing for something like the full legalization of marijuana, which would generate tax revenue and save us from spending unnecessary bucks on low-level arrests and incarceration, would help us out in the long run.

Anyway, my point is that millennials have a future here, but we need to make the effort to shape the future, because the worst thing we can do is give up and let old folks with money continue to have their way with this town. Things have seemed dire before and they will again, but New York City is made great by people with true grit and a willingness to work hard for something better. That's you, right?

Ask a Native New Yorker anything via email. Anonymity is assured.
A mysterious voice has appeared on NYPD radios twice in the span of a week, making threats to kill a Midtown South precinct captain, as well as getting some yodeling in, according to multiple reports.

The first reported instance of the threats came this weekend, after cops heard a man's voice over the NYPD radios on Saturday making a false report of an officer being shot in the Bronx, according to CBS. After that, the unknown radio hacker started asking for the Midtown South precinct captain over the air and when he got a response, told the captain, "South Duty captain to Central. Remember you put me in jail? I'm out now and I am going to put a bullet in your head" and "Captain, Captain, oh Captain, oh Captain, oh Captain, oh Captain I'm gonna put a bullet in your mother too, son."

The Midtown South captain asked the caller where he wanted to meet, and he told police he was in the Times Square Walgreen's, then challenged them to find him, according to PIX11. The man then started yodeling and making nonsense noises over the radio until he was blocked by a dispatcher.

That was it for the weekend, but police sources tell the Daily News that the man's voice reappeared on Tuesday night just before 9 p.m. to make the threat again: "Manhattan South captain; I'm still gonna put a bullet in his head. I'm in Times Square. Come find me."

Police have insisted that the threats weren't credible from the start, but are still investigating them, and are trying to determine if the caller has been using a lost or stolen police radio. It would not be the first time someone got their hands on a police radio and sowed some chaos, but at the moment, the caller seems content to just threaten a single officer as opposed to make false reports around the city.
From his vantage point in the air, Antoine Girard soared nearly level with the summits of Pakistan's jagged snowcapped mountains: K2, Broad Peak, and G4.

The French athlete wasn't flying in a commercial aircraft, though. He was bundled up like a mountaineer in a snowstorm, breathing oxygen from a tank, and cruising along in his paraglider, reports Planetmountain.com.

RELATED: Kitesurfers Flock Together In World Record Parade

This was no mere jaunt. Girard's surreal flight in Pakistan lasted for seven hours. He started over the long Baltoro Glacier, then headed over the famous rocky Trango Tower to the Concordia confluence before he caught the right thermals to fly over Broad Peak on July 23, Planetmountain.com reported. Reaching a height of 26,761 feet, Girard made history by becoming the first person to surpass the 8,000-meter (26,246.72 feet) mark for high-altitude cross-country paragliding.

The Adidas-sponsored paraglider, who is also an experienced mountain climber, spent weeks in Pakistan preparing. "This is the flight of the century," American adventure pilot Brad Sander, who assisted Girard in Pakistan, told Cross Country magazine. "It's beyond anything anyone has done so far."

Girard manages makes the feat look downright relaxing, but paragliding comes with crazy risks. Earlier this week, paraglider Damien LeRoy's engine stalled right before a turn in Florida, prompting him to bail 150 feet above the ground to avoid crashing. The fall broke his back, femur, pelvis, three ribs, and punctured his lung, ABC News reported. Fortunately, he survived to tell the tale.

RELATED: Paragliding 101: What You Need to Know

Just watching paragliders from the ground here in Colorado, I get nervous that a sudden gust of wind would send them careering into the mountainside. Girard's footage, on the other hand, is far more relaxing to view -- as long as you don't think about how cold his fingers must have gotten.

Watch him hit new heights here:
With the country of Venezuela in serious crisis, the government has come under intense international scrutiny. In May, the Organization of American States called for a vote on whether or not to oust Venezuela from the organization. What's the significance of this development? And what is the OAS, anyway?

Sapna Parikh has the details in today's Seeker Daily report.

The OAS is a regional coalition made up of all 35 independent countries in North and South America. The idea of a regional group for the Americas dates back to the early 1800s, in Venezuela, actually. Revolutionary Simon Bolivar suggested creating an intercontinental American republic, with one military and one parliament.

That never happened, but the concept of a pan-American organization was put in place. Then U.S. president James Monroe implemented the Monroe Doctrine, which held that any further European to colonization of the Americas would be seen as hostile territorial aggression and be met with U.S. intervention.

RELATED: What Are The World's Most 'Miserable Economies?

In 1947, nations in the Americas signed the Rio Treaty, a mutual defense pact inspired by the developments of World War II. The following year, the U.S. organized a meeting to officially form the OAS, driven in part by fear of Communism spreading throughout the Americas. On the upside, that initial meeting also produced the first ever international human rights agreement.

The OAS has been in place ever since, and has served as a useful forum for promoting stability in the Americas and policing human rights. But as a practical matter, the OAS has little authority. The ejection of Venezuela would be a largely symbolic gesture -- a kind of international public statement condemning the Venezuelan government. It could, however, strengthen opposition forces in the country, which could lead to positive change.

For more on regional coalitions, check out our report on the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, a similar group representing the Muslim world.

-- Glenn McDonald

Learn More:

Britannica: Organization of American States (OAS)

Organization of American States: Member States

BBC: Venezuela: OAS head calls emergency meeting over crisis

Miami Herald: OAS will observe Haiti's elections but wants changes ahead of vote
A woman looks at a Center for Disease Control (CDC) health advisory sign about the dangers of the Zika virus as she lines up for a security screening at Miami International Airport in Miami. Credit: REUTERS/Carlo Allegri Three different experimental Zika vaccines being developed in the United States have worked well in monkey studies, paving the way for human trials in the coming months, researchers said Thursday.

The report, published in the journal Science, comes as researchers rush to find a way to prevent the mosquito-borne virus, which can cause severe birth defects. It is currently spreading in 50 countries and territories, mainly in Latin America, the Caribbean and Florida.

RELATED: Zika Mosquitoes: How to Keep the Bloodsuckers at Bay



"Three vaccines provided complete protection against Zika virus in nonhuman primates, which is the best animal model prior to starting clinical trials," said senior author Dan Barouch, professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School.

"The consistent and robust protection against Zika virus in both rodents and primates fuels our optimism about the development of a safe and effective Zika vaccine for humans."

One of the vaccines in development is called a Zika purified inactivated virus (ZPIV) vaccine, made by the Walter Reed Army Institute of Research (WRAIR).

Rhesus monkeys vaccinated with it "showed complete protection against both Brazilian and Puerto Rican strains of Zika," said the study.

Harvard University's two candidate vaccines, one a plasmid DNA vaccine and another an adenovirus vector-based vaccine, also protected the monkeys. No adverse side effects were observed in any of the animals.

RELATED: Zika Virus May Cause More Problems in Fetuses

According to Sarah Gilbert, professor of vaccinology at the University of Oxford, the research "describes an important step in the development of a Zika virus vaccine."

But Gilbert, who was not involved in the research, advised caution in proceeding with testing the vaccines in humans.

"It is known that antibodies against one serotype of the closely related dengue virus can make subsequent infections with a different serotype much more severe," she said.

"It will be necessary to make sure that people receiving a Zika vaccine do not then become more susceptible to severe dengue infections, which can be fatal."

She also noted that while all three vaccines were effective, the DNA vaccine "perform(ed) less well at inducing immune responses in monkeys."

Two other experimental vaccines are currently in human trials in the US and Canada are DNA vaccines.

WATCH VIDEO: The Devastating Zika Virus Explained
Tinder, a dating app with a reported active user base of 50 million people, is supposed to bring people together, but instead seems to be bringing them down, finds a new study by University of North Texas researchers.

Users of the app have more negative perceptions of their looks and body image versus those who don't use Tinder. Male users in particular are also likely to experience lower self-esteem, the study, presented at the annual meeting of the American Psychological Association, suggests.

For the study, a group of 1,317 people, consisting mostly of college students, completed a survey that asked about their use of Tinder as well as body image, psychological well-being and more.

RELATED: Top 10 Animal Mating Fails: Slide Show

Of those surveyed, only about 10 percent mentioned using Tinder, and that group was overall less satisfied with their appearance than those not using the dating app.

"We found that being actively involved with Tinder, regardless of the user's gender, was associated with body dissatisfaction, body shame, body monitoring, internalization of societal expectations of beauty, comparing oneself physically to others, and reliance on media for information on appearance and attractiveness," said co-author Jessica Strubel in a statement.

The reason behind why Tinder users seem to get down on themselves is likely tied to how the app works. Tinder users are presented with a series of individual profiles, containing a collection of photos and a short biography. Users swipe right for favorable profiles and left for unfavorable ones. When two users swipe right on each other's profile, they are matched and can begin talking to one another.

WATCH: Video Dating: The Tinder of the 70s & 80s
Barbra Streisand flew into San Francisco the night before her Thursday, Aug. 4, show at San Joses SAP Center and headed immediately for Chinatown, she told the adoring, nearly-sold-out crowd. Did they know she worked at a Chinese restaurant as a teenager in Brooklyn?

Its true, she said. She was a cashier at a place called Choys, and she reeled off the names of a couple of Chinese takeout dishes to prove it.

The 74-year-old singer was in an uncharacteristically reflective mood Thursday, as she will be on all nine stops of a tour meant to herald the arrival of her new album of duets called Encore: Movie Partners Sing Broadway (to be released Aug. 26). She opened the concert with The Way We Were, and ended nearly three hours later with an encore of I Didnt Know What Time It Was. In between there were gold-record songs from each of the six decades in her career, one change of costume and a minimally entertaining Israeli mind reader who seemed to have been a reject from Israels Got Talent.

Dressed in black sequined trousers and a roomy matching top, Streisand commanded the stage for a 90-minute first act with pianist Randy Waldman conducting a small instrumental ensemble with three backup singers.

Yes, almost everything was scripted. Streisand was aided by a large teleprompter hanging from the middle of the auditorium. She was in no danger of being without the lyrics, or patter, for that matter. Even the suggestion that she might Hum? at one point appeared in front of her. Nonetheless, she forgot the lyrics to Kander and Ebbs Isnt This Better from Funny Lady. She laughed it off and more or less found her way back to the song.

Although most of the time she sat or leaned on a high captains chair at center stage, she occasionally wandered around the wide, well-appointed set decorated with pink roses (which, she sniffed, werent as fragrant as flowers from her own garden), and sipped tea. She dropped the mike at one point and laughed it off too. A few minutes later, something was amiss with her shoe. None of it fazed her.

Coincidentally (or maybe not), forgetting the lyrics to a song pushed Streisand off the stage for years after 1967, when her free Happening in Central Park concert drew 135,000 on a warm June night to the Sheep Meadow in New York. After returning to big live shows in the 90s, shes been back on the road several times since.

Of course, she couldnt ignore signature numbers in Thursdays concert, but she also offered several songs she hadnt performed in 2012, her last visit to the San Jose venue.

She joined the late Anthony Newley in an archive video of the song Who Can I Turn To, reminiscent of her video duet with Marlon Brando in the Concert tour. She paid tribute to Stephen Sondheim with Losing My Mind (and the more frequently performed Being Alive from Company), wove a bit of Stoney End into the show, Everything Must Change from her album Higher Ground, the hit single Woman in Love from Guilty and You Dont Bring Me Flowers as a solo.

The voice is still a force of nature. Shes not 19 anymore, though, and her sound has inevitably darkened. While still strong in the lower registers, she sometimes has to work a bit on higher, sustained notes on power ballads.

It didnt matter. She needed her opening song to warm up a little, but after that, she powered through the evening. She continues to be one of the worlds most expressive singers, applying her acting skills to telling the story of each song.

The musical arrangements were adequate but not much more. Tempos were often slower, registers carefully adjusted. Of course, no one could equal the brilliance of the late Marvin Hamlisch, but the instrumental support was a bit lackluster.

Streisand likes company onstage, as shes proved in the past. Whether its Il Divo, trumpeter Chris Botti or her honey-voiced son, Jason, the singer likes to sort of turn the stage over to someone else for a few minutes.

Fair enough. The ladys earned a rest, but a mind reader? Yep, Lior Suchard joined her onstage for a few tiresome minutes, drawing a lucky lady from the audience to help him with a trick involving a cell phone and a bunch of numbers. It was the low point of the evening, but since it occurred in the middle of the long first act, it enabled several audience members to make use of the facilities and get refills of nachos and chips. In my heart, I was crying for Howie Mandel to hit the buzzer.

For the second act, Streisand emerged in a billowing, dove gray gown, an enormous outbreak of jewelry around her neck and a nearly floor-length lavaliere descending from the gowns empire waist. Although, in one of her frequent jabs at Donald Trump, she said all of her clothes were made in the U.S., this one seemed to be from the Westeros labels winter collection.

She waited till the end to roll out Dont Rain on My Parade, People and Happy Days Are Here Again, and the audience responded with a roar.

But if there was one special moment in three hours filled with special moments, it was in the supposedly unplanned final encore, Rodgers and Harts I Didnt Know What Time It Was. The tour is subtitled, the Music, the Memries, the Magic. And this was the evenings most magical moment.

Somehow, Streisand turned a massive hockey rink into the Village Vanguard, the Bon Soir supper club or the hungry i. It was simple, intimate and pure. Years disappeared and the audience was transported by a woman who has been The Greatest Star for more than half a century.

David Wiegand is an assistant managing editor and the TV critic of The San Francisco Chronicle. Email: dwiegand@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @WaitWhat_TV Follow me on Facebook.
In November 2014, California voters overwhelming passed Proposition 47, reclassifying six nonviolent, low-level felonies to misdemeanors. I strongly supported Prop. 47, investing $1.3 million in its passage. Ive also sponsored two Justice Fairs (Culver City and Stockton), attended by thousands.

I supported Prop. 47 because it was time to end harsh, expensive and counter-productive punishments, and to redirect our resources into prevention strategies to pare our 54 percent recidivism rate to zero.

When you attend a Justice Fair or a Prop. 47 legal clinic, youll be surprised at who is there. The participants are ordinary-looking men and women. Many could be your neighbors. Some are grandparents. Most are fathers and mothers.

When you talk to them, youll realize that many are victims of sexual, physical or psychological abuse. A lot come from divorced families or neighborhoods surrounded by gangs. Unfortunately for many, their parents were addicted to drugs or alcohol or both. Some have attempted suicide. Most come from poor families, where life was tough and opportunities few and far between.

What were their crimes? For a majority, it was some form of petty theft  items worth less than $950. For others, it was drug possession, writing bad checks, receiving stolen property, or some type of nonserious, nonviolent crime.

These men and women have made mistakes, but a person should never be defined by what they did five or 50 years ago. Their felonies are a ball and chain that follows them, eroding their families and costing our communities dearly.

Prop. 47 hits the reset button. Hear those who have benefited:

Rochelle Solombrino: You feel totally defeated because of your felony conviction. Its a debt to society that never ends. Getting suitable housing or a decent job is almost impossible. Prop. 47 changed all that.

Toni Hunter: Prison is a cesspool  it doesnt do anything but teach you different tools on how to be a better criminal. Fortunately, Prop. 47 allowed me to start a new life. Doors are now opened that had previously been slammed in my face.

Donyell Green: I couldnt get a job with a large corporation and provide for my family because of my felony conviction. After reclassifying my 10-year old felony to a misdemeanor, the company agreed to hire me. What the voters did in passing Prop. 47 was a blessing.

Prop. 47 is also historic: Never in U.S. history have so many people  upward of 1 million  had an opportunity to change their criminal records. In California alone, there are more than 4,800 state laws that put up barriers to people convicted of a felony. It used to be, you do the crime, you do the time. But its no longer like that. A felony lasts a lifetime.

Change your record  change your life not only applies to felons, but to anyone who visits a Justice Fair, or a Prop. 47 legal clinic. What youll experience will profoundly alter your view, not only of those attending, but of the future of our criminal justice system.

B. Wayne Hughes Jr. is founder and chairman of Serving California, which helps ex-offenders, crime victims and veterans.

What you can do

Host or sponsor a Justice Fair or a legal clinic. Or volunteer (see www.myprop47.org/events).

Educate yourself on the barriers faced by ex-felons. Understanding breeds compassion.

Hire ex-offenders.

Rent to ex-felons.

Open your doors if you are an educational institution.
All evacuation orders have been lifted as firefighters work to put down a blaze in Yolo County near Lake Berryessa that has blackened nearly 5,000 acres, officials said Friday.

The Cold Fire, named after a nearby road, ignited Tuesday afternoon. It has burned 4,700 acres, and more than 1,000 firefighters battling the blaze have kept it from growing beyond that. The fire was considered 30 percent contained as of Friday evening, according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection.
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Sonoma County health officials are warning people to be careful around the Russian River after water tests found trace amounts of the same algae toxin responsible for the death of a dog there last year.

A series of tests indicated Thursday that the blue-green algae toxin, anatoxin, was present at four public beaches along the river. The findings prompted officials to post warnings at all 10 public beaches and urge people to keep children and pets away from algae in the river.

We are trying to keep people educated and informed so they can make the best decisions possible for themselves, their children and their pets, said Karen Holbrook, deputy public health officer for Sonoma County.

The levels were only about 1 percent of what was measured in the Russian River last year, when a dog died after ingesting river water, Holbrook said. But she said that was still potentially hazardous.

Its low levels, Holbrook said, but it is an important and dangerous toxin that we need to be aware of.

Anatoxin can cause muscle tremors, loss of coordination and difficulty walking. In severe cases, it can lead to difficulty breathing, seizures and death.

The toxin is one of several natural byproducts of blue-green algae, which tends to develop in warm water during drought conditions.

The Sonoma County health department began testing Russian River water Monday when it noted conditions that could support rapid algae growth, Holbrook said.

The health warnings are especially important to people bringing dogs to the river, Holbrook added.

They (dogs) are, by virtue of their behavior, at much higher risk, Holbrook said. They are attracted to the blue-green algae. They will preferentially go drink and play in water with algae  and they eat things.

Officials recommend that people, especially children and pets, stay away from visible algae in the river. They also advised that anyone exposed to the water should rinse off thoroughly. River water shouldnt be used for cooking or drinking.

The warnings will be in place until test results come back negative for the toxin two weeks in a row, Holbrook said.

Kevin Schultz is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: kschultz@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @kevinedschultz
A former baggage handler at Oakland International Airport has admitted steering luggage with bags of marijuana around screening devices and into the hands of passengers boarding Southwest Airlines flights.

Michael Videau, 29, of Oakland pleaded guilty Wednesday to charges of distributing marijuana and violating airport security. A federal judge in Oakland has scheduled his sentencing for November.

Videau was among three baggage handlers and nine others charged in May 2015 with a scheme to ship marijuana on flights across the country. He is the eighth defendant, and the first baggage handler, to plead guilty.

Prosecutors said the employees took carry-on bags containing kilograms of marijuana around security checkpoints, then handed them to waiting passengers who had already cleared the checkpoints. Agents said they were able to intercept drug shipments that were destined for Nashville, Little Rock, Ark., and New Orleans.

Videau admitted carrying drug-laden bags to passengers on eight occasions in 2013, prosecutors said.

This is a young man, with absolutely no (criminal) record ... a tragedy, defense attorney Robert Beles said Thursday. He was not the ringleader but got pulled in.

He said prosecutors had agreed to recommend a prison term of between 18 and 24 months, the range set by federal guidelines, and the defense will argue for a lesser sentence.

The airline was not accused of wrongdoing and said it had cooperated with the investigation.

Bob Egelko is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: begelko@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @egelko
Ah, weekday lunch, the bane of the office worker. If youre a planner, you probably bring leftovers or a sensible grain bowl from home to eat when hunger strikes. But the rest of us often end up hungrily scrounging the Financial District for a healthy-ish, cheap-ish option that wont lead to a 3 p.m. food coma.

Of the dozens of FiDi lunch places catering to the non-planners, few deliver on the all-important trifecta of flavor, health and affordability. Which is why theres now a line out the door every day at Sababa, the 2-month-old lunch spot on Kearny.

Sababa offers fast-casual Israeli street food, like falafel sandwiches on fluffy, warm pita and protein-rich hummus bowls garnished with bright, fresh salads. Altogether, its a healthy, flavorful, light yet satisfying meal thats more or less what I always crave in a midday meal. And even if the $14 bowls are a little pricey for every day, theyre about the same as the gourmet salad places, but with more substance. If Sababa is responsible for an uptick in overall city productivity, I wouldnt be surprised.

Modern Israeli cuisine is hot in the food world right now, from the Yotam Ottolenghi empire to the national acclaim of restaurants like New Orleans Shaya and Philadelphias Zahav. Sababas 25-year-old chef, Guy Eshel, isnt just cynically capitalizing on the trend, however: He spent the first seven years of his life in Israel, and still visits family there nearly every year.

Eshel always knew that he wanted to be a chef, but thought hed go into fine dining. He trained at the Culinary Institute of America in New York before coming to California, where he worked at upscale restaurants like One Market and AQ.

At AQ, he served the Israeli food of his childhood during his Mediterranean Mondays staff meal. There it got the attention of Mercer Restaurant Group owner Matt Semmelhack, who offered to help if Eshel wanted to open his own place. A business plan, research trip to Israel and nearly a year of searching for the right location later, the dream was realized.

(To set the record straight, Sababa is not a Mercer Restaurant Group restaurant like AQ and Fenix, as has been reported before; Mercer has a very small stake and Semmelhack has been a valuable adviser and friend, but this is very much Eshels solo project.)

Like many of his counter-service compatriots, Eshel likes to call Sababa fine-casual rather than fast-casual  and stresses that Sababa is restaurant-quality food, albeit done Chipotle assembly-line style. This distinction sometimes seems a little fussy to me, but you can see the fine-dining training in Eshels food.

Instead of falling back on salt and fat to bring satisfaction, the dishes are heavy on acid and herbs, all the fresh flavors of Israeli cooking. Protein can come from meat, like the grilled, shawarma-like chicken or moist spiced kofta, but it can also come from the expertly fried falafel or from a simple hummus bowl. (In Israel, hummus is served warm as a whole dish, Eshel explains.)

Theres also a wild-card protein: sabik, deep-fried, caramel-y eggplant with a 300-minute egg thats been cooked until its falling apart and nearly indistinguishable from the hummus its resting on. Its kind of one of those combos that you have to try in order to get, says Eshel. Sabik and hummus go together like ice cream and cone.

But really, the secret to Sababa is the salads, and a bowl comes with up to three of them. These may include Moroccan shredded carrots, whose sweetness is tempered with feta and orange juice, or sliced roasted beets in a creamy, rose-colored sauce made with labane cheese. Tabouli, the minty Middle Eastern grain staple, is given a San Francisco makeover with quinoa. Sandwiches contain a well-dispersed mixture of pickles, sliced cabbage and a scoop of Israeli salad, made with diced tomato, cucumber and red onion.

The rooms decor has a few nods to on-site diners, like a tiled wall and vintage Israeli advertisements, and there are some tables inside and out on the sidewalk. But Sababa is mostly a to-go business, and as such, the room is dominated by the assembly counter with 650-degree pita oven behind it. Its also only open for weekday lunch, but as the staff gets used to the volume (they serve about 300 people a day), Eshel hopes to open for dinner and serve people who dont work in the Financial District.

In the meantime, you can also check Sababa out at Outside Lands, where it will be serving falafel sandwiches, harissa fries with feta ranch dressing, and coffee slushies spiced with cardamom. A music festival is a radically different environment than a FiDi lunch rush, but potentially serves a similar crowd: a bunch of hangry people looking for a quick, fulfilling bite to help them power through.

Anna Roth is a freelance writer in San Francisco. E-mail: food@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @annaroth

What to order: Chicken bowl with roasted beets, Israeli salad and quinoa tabouli ($14); falafel pita sandwich ($10); hummus with sabik and Moroccan carrots ($11); frozen mint lemonade ($3.50)

Where: Sababa Hot Pita Bar, 329 Kearny St. (at Bush Street), San Francisco, (415) 800-6853. www.sababasf.com

When: 11 a.m.-3 p.m. Monday-Friday
EL CAJON, San Diego County  Jonathan De Guzman constantly prodded his fellow officers to excel at their jobs, saying much work to do. Must catch the bad guys, words remembered Friday at a memorial service for the San Diego police officer slain in the line of duty.

More than 4,000 people attended the public service at a church in the city of El Cajon, east of San Diego. The crowd included more than 2,000 police officers and elected officials, including Gov. Jerry Brown and San Diego Mayor Kevin Faulconer.

Many did not know De Guzman  who was shot five times July 28 while sitting in his patrol car after his partner had approached a man on a dark San Diego street last week  but said they were moved to show their support for police because of the recent killings of officers in Baton Rouge, La., and Dallas.

Every day all the officers that protect and serve and save lives  that happens way more than the other stuff  so I want to say thank you to them and weve got your back, said Krishna Arvan, 44, who watched as a procession of 200 uniformed motor officers and 600 police cars that started in San Diego escorted the hearse as it entered the parking lot of Shadow Mountain Community Church in El Cajon.

Residents lined the street outside the Southern Baptist church, waving flags and holding signs. A blue poster board on a pole read Back The Blue.

De Guzman, who immigrated to the United States from the Philippines when he was in his 20s, was remembered for his big smile and passion for helping others. Known as J.D., he spent 16 years on the force, much of it patrolling a culturally rich area of immigrants where more than 50 languages are spoken.

Officials say De Guzman, 43, was still wearing his seat belt when he was shot multiple times. Police arrested a 52-year-old construction worker with a criminal record for the shootings, but they have not determined a motive for the attack.

De Guzmans two children spoke at the service Friday. De Guzman loved country music and singing karaoke. His 10-year-old daughter, Amira, said he would have been happy to see so many turn out for him.

His 17-year-old son, Jonathan, told the church his father recently got angry with him for wavering on his dream to go into the film industry and told him he would be there to push him to never settle.

His partner, Officer Wade Irwin, 32, was shot in the throat but is expected to recover.
1 Police killing: Video released Friday of the fatal shooting of an 18-year-old suspected car thief in Chicago shows officers firing into the vehicle, then handcuffing the blood-covered suspect following a foot chase. It was the citys first release of video of a fatal police shooting under a new city policy that calls for it to be made public within 60 days. That and other policy changes represent an effort to restore public confidence in the department after video released last year showing Laquan McDonald, a black teenager, shot 16 times by a white officer sparked protests. The head of the Independent Police Review Authority, the agency that investigates police misconduct, called the video of Paul ONeals July 28 shooting shocking and disturbing. Three officers have been stripped of their police powers.

2 Hot car deaths: A father was charged with manslaughter Friday in the deaths of his 15-month-old twin girls, who were left in a car in at their home in Carrollton, Ga., police said. Witnesses saw Asa North, 24, running from in front of his home, carrying the toddlers to an inflatable pool out back. He and his neighbors tried to revive them with water and ice packs. Temperatures were in the 90s before police were called at 6:30 p.m. Thursday. I think possibly alcohol was a factor in some of his decisions that day, said police Capt. Chris Dobbs, who identified the girls as Ariel North and Alaynah North.
FAIRFAX, Va.  A three-term northern Virginia mayor was arrested on drug charges after he tried to trade two grams of methamphetamine for sex acts in what turned out to be an undercover sting operation, police said Friday.

City of Fairfax Mayor R. Scott Silverthorne, a Democrat, was arrested Thursday night after meeting at a Tysons Corner hotel with undercover detectives he approached through a website used to arrange casual sexual encounters between men, Fairfax County police said at a news conference.

Police Capt. Jack Hardin said they received a tip that Silverthorne had been arranging drugs-for-sex encounters. Police then set up an online profile on the website, and within two days Silverthorne made contact with the detective who set up the profile, Hardin said.

We had information on what the mayor was looking for, what types of activities he wanted to engage in, Hardin said.

Silverthorne, who also worked as a substitute teacher in Fairfax County Public Schools, was arrested and gave a full confession, police said. He was released on his own recognizance while he awaits a preliminary hearing Oct. 31 on a felony charge of drug distribution and a misdemeanor charge of possessing drug paraphernalia.

Silverthorne, in an email to the Associated Press, declined comment and referred questions to his attorney, Brian Drummond, who did not return a phone call Friday.

The city announced Friday that Silverthorne appointed Councilman Jeffrey Greenfield as acting mayor, effective immediately. The city charter gives the mayor the power to appoint an acting mayor in his place in the event of a mayors absence or disability.

Hardin didnt know how long Silverthorne had been using the website, which he did not identify. But he said drugs-for-sex encounters were common on the website, and that Silverthorne has set up a similar encounter at least once before.

In the sting operation, the undercover detectives agreed to meet for a group sexual encounter in exchange for methamphetamine, police said. Silverthorne, 50, would provide methamphetamine and the undercover detectives would provide the hotel room, Hardin said.

After detectives met Silverthorne at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in McLean on Thursday night, they saw him meet suppliers, Hardin said. Silverthorne was arrested after police said he gave detectives methamphetamine.

Prior to serving as mayor, Silverthorne, served nine terms on the Fairfax City Council.
More than 120 animals and birds living in what authorities called "deplorable" conditions were seized from a suspected puppy mill in Libby Tuesday.

Lincoln County Sheriff Roby Bowe said it was the largest such seizure he'd seen. Deputies removed six donkeys, 53 poodles, 60 parakeets and three canaries from the property. Conditions were especially bad for the dogs, Bowe said.

When you have that many, there just wasnt enough space for them all. They were all living in a very tight place, he said. Puppies and adult dogs were severely underweight and had eye, ear and dental infections, he said.

The county animal control office attempted to work out a solution with the owner of the animals, who sells them online, for more than a month but eventually the only option left was to obtain a warrant and remove them, he said.

The sheriff said Thursday his office has forwarded its investigation to the Lincoln County Attorneys Office for a decision on filing criminal charges.

Lincoln County Animal Control will care for the animals while a criminal case is ongoing.

Wendy Hergenraeder, Montana state director for the Humane Society of the United States, said the organization flew members of its animal rescue team in from around the country to help.

While some counties have local ordinances, Montana is one of 16 states that lacks laws regulating commercial breeding operations. Such laws have been proposed during recent sessions of the Montana Legislature, but have failed in part because of concerns that the proposals written for pets  would affect livestock breeding, she said. The state also lacks a law requiring suspected abusers to pay the cost of caring for animals seized in cruelty cases.

I think there is wide support for this type of law and we will continue to work to make it happen, Hergenraeder said.

The Humane Society of the United States is also providing some financial assistance to help care for the animals, and PetSmart Charities has donated money, food and other supplies.

Tuesdays incident in Libby was the second time in a week that animals had to be seized in western Montana. On July 26, 11 dogs were taken from a Lake County commercial kennel by sheriffs deputies. Seven of the dogs were eventually returned to the kennel, with the rest remaining under veterinary care.

Larry and Nadene Latzke, owners of LDR Kennels, which sits between Charlo and St. Ignatius, were cited for felony aggravated cruelty to animals, and the Lake County Attorneys Office is reviewing the case to determine if additional charges should be filed.
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SACRAMENTO  California has become the first state in the nation to formalize the practice of lane splitting after Assembly members Thursday passed a bill authorizing the California Highway Patrol to establish guidelines for motorcyclists on how to do it safely.

The bill, sponsored by Assemblyman Bill Quirk, D-Hayward, passed Thursday with a 69-0 vote. On the floor, Quirk said the proposed law had many positives, including reducing traffic congestion and promoting safety.

No issue is more important to me than roadway safety, he said.

Lane splitting, in which a motorcyclist passes other vehicles by riding between them along the lane line, has long been a hot issue in the state.

Technically, it has not been legal or illegal, falling in a gray area where it was treated as acceptable by law enforcement agencies. But when the CHP published safe strategies on the practice in 2015, a citizen complained that the agency should not be allowed to create public policy. In came in AB51.

More for you Northbound Highway 101 reopened in Palo Alto after fatal crash

Quirks original bill proposed that lane splitting could occur legally only when a motorcycle was moving no more than 15 miles per hour faster than the traffic around it, and it prohibited the practice at speeds above 50 mph.

Several motorcyclists groups objected to that language, finding the speed limit too low. Other groups and individuals, who believe that lane splitting is dangerous regardless of the speed, objected to the proposal on principle.

The revised bill, which has sailed through the legislative process, provides a basic definition of lane and leaves the rest to the CHP.

We think its a great idea, said Nicholas Harris, western states representative of the American Motorcyclist Association. It will give the CHP the authority it needs to educate the drivers and riders of California on the safe guidelines.
Upcoming events

Sun Run a fundraiser for Holter

Last year, Sleeping Giant Citizens Council teamed up with the Lewis & Clark Library, Helena Vigilante Runners, and dozens of other local groups and businesses for the first Helena Sun Run. The goal of the run was to raise money for a 42-kilowatt solar array on the library. With the recent approval of a final grant, that goal is about to be achieved. The library is working with the county on bid proposals to install the array.

The Sleeping Giant and Helena Vigilante Runners will be hosting another Sun Run on Saturday, Sept. 17, this time to raise money for a solar array on the Holter Museum.

The Sun Runs focus on community improvement and fitness is right in line with the goals of the Helena Vigilante Runners. Were honored to be part of this effort, and excited about planning a fun annual event for runners and walkers of all abilities, said Patrick Judge, President of the Helena Vigilante Runners.

To register for the second annual Helena Sun Run or donate go to runsignup.com/Race/MT/Helena/HelenaRunfortheSun.

Announcements

Learn, earn with Money Magic

Summer is the optimal time for students to save for educational expenses with Montana Money Magic, and learn about money management while theyre at it.

To qualify, students must be between the ages of 16 and 18, in high school, and from a family with an income of less than 185 percent of the federal poverty level.

Summer is a great time for students to get involved with this program, said Melissa Huntington, Reach Higher Montanas college access and financial literacy manager. The students are working, so they have funds coming in from summer jobs to help them earn the 3-to-1 match on their savings.

According to Huntington, students who earn the maximum match receive $1,350 to help them gain access to higher education. That means the funds can be used to pay for dual enrollment classes, tutoring, computers, class materials, and more.

As an added bonus, for a chance to win with Montana Money Magic, visit ReachHigherMontana.org and complete the Montana Money Magic survey. Students who complete and submit the survey will be entered to win a pair of Beats headphones. The winner will be announced Aug. 15 on Snapchat.

Call 877-265-4463 and select the adviser in your area for more information about Montana Money Magic.

***

Helenans receive philanthropy award

The Helena Area Community Foundation announced that Curt and Mary Larsen have been presented with HACFs 2016 Steve Browning Spirit of Philanthropy Award.

At a special event at the Governors Mansion, the Larsens were described by HACF President, Marcy McLean as humble philanthropists who are very generous to the Helena community with their time, talent, and money.

Curt served on the board of HACF in the past and the couple made a generous gift annuity to HACF several years ago. Curt has worked with many other area nonprofit organizations and was a founding member of the Prickly Pear Land Trust and president of the board. He was a founding member the Helena Habitat for Humanity and both he and Mary served on that board. He currently serves on the board of the Myrna Loy Center.

Mary is also involved with local nonprofits, having been a founder of Family Promise, whose board she continues to serve on. She has also been on the board of the Montana Learning Center at Canyon Ferry Lake, a Cub Scout leader, church camp director and joined her husband on global village work trips to Romania, Botswana and Chile with Habitat for Humanity.

***

L&C County announces board vacancies

The Lewis and Clark County Commission is seeking interested citizens to serve on the following boards:

Airport Authority Board  county representative

Augusta Solid Waste Management District

City-County Consolidated Planning  county representatives

City-County Parks Board  county representative

Forestvale Historic Preservation Committee

Lewis and Clark County DUI Task Force  citizen

Lincoln Parks Board

Lincoln Solid Waste District Board

Mental Health Local Advisory Council  consumer

Open Lands Advisory Council  member residing in: Craig/Wolf Creek area, Canyon Ferry/York area, Helena Valley or with farming/ranching/timber interests.

Transportation Coordinating Committee  county citizen at large

Applications are available at www.lccountymt.gov/bocc/boards or by calling 447-8304 and can be submitted to the Commissioners Office, 316 N. Park Ave., Rm. 345, Helena, MT 59623. All positions open until filled.

***

Montanans recognized with awards

Six Montanans will be recognized during the Governors Humanities Awards Ceremony on Jan. 26, 2017, at 3 p.m. in the state Capitol rotunda. Honorees are Chere Jiusto, Helena; John Murray, Browning; Hal and Sheila Stearns, Missoula; Karen Aspevig Stevenson, Miles City; and Dorothea (Dottie) Susag, Fairfield.

A banquet follows the ceremony, with no-host cocktails at 6 p.m. and a dinner and program at 7 at the Radisson Colonial Inn. Michael Punke, author of The Revenant and books on Butte and George Bird Grinnell, will serve as keynote speaker. Banquet tickets will go on sale in mid-September on Humanities Montanas website. Call Humanities Montana at 406-243-6022 or e-mail info@humanitiesmontana.org for further information about the honorees, ceremony, and banquet.

Chere Jiusto advocates for preserving Montanas cultural and historic landscapes through serving as executive director of the Montana Preservation Alliance and leading programs on historic preservation throughout the state.

John Murray has worked tirelessly to preserve and share traditional Pikuni culture through his role as the Blackfeet Nations tribal historic preservation officer.

Hal and Sheila Stearns have taught, supported, and demonstrated the value of the humanities through their distinguished roles in Montana education. Hal has served as a teacher and public humanities presenter and Sheila served as the Montana commissioner of higher education.

Karen Aspevig Stevenson shares the history of her home region, Miles City and surrounding communities, through authorship, advocacy, and bringing Evelyn Cameron to life in living history presentations.

Dorothea Susag is an award-winning high school teacher who has been critical to successful implementation of the Indian Education for All initiative for Montana students.

Humanities Montana is the states independent, nonprofit affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities. Since 1972, Humanities Montana has provided services and grants to hundreds of Montana organizations in support of public programs in history, literature, values, and public issues.

Student news

Alex Kurki, son of Albert Kurki and Kathleen Helland, of Helena, has been named to the 2016 Lawrence University in Appleton Wis., dean's list for maintaining a 3.4 grade point average or higher for the full 2015-16 academic year. He is a 2013 graduate of Capital High School.

***

Olivia Carkulis, of Helena, has been awarded a Bachelor of Arts in Peace Studies, Political Science from Whitworth University in Spokane, Wash.
George Zimmerman was allegedly punched in the face over the weekend, after supposedly discussing the 2012 shooting death of Trayvon Martin with another diner in a restaurant.

Seminole County sheriff's deputies were called to a Sanford, Fla., restaurant on Sunday after they received a 911 call from Zimmerman saying he was punched by another patron.

There are varying witness accounts, but according to the Orlando Sentinel, Zimmerman said in the police report that he was explaining to a restaurant patron that he had shot Martin in self-defense. Another man confronted Zimmerman and said to him, "You're bragging about that?"

Zimmerman apparently explained that he wasn't bragging, but the man then told Zimmerman, "You better get the [expletive] out of here" according to a report.

Joe Burbank

That same man later punched Zimmerman in the face and threatened to kill him, according to a 911 call made by Zimmerman, which was obtained by WFTV in Florida.

The eyewitness accounts vary, with restaurant patrons claiming that Zimmerman was talking to a customer about the shooting "to brag."

Zimmerman told the Sentinel after the incident that the man was intoxicated and that he believed the incident was born out of a miscommunication.

The owner of the restaurant offered yet another version of the story to the Sentinel. He told the paper that no punches were thrown, but that Zimmerman and the man merely argued and shoved each other, and other reports saying it was more than that are "blown out of proportion."

Zimmerman has since been banned from the restaurant, but sheriff's deputies are still seeking the person who allegedly assaulted Zimmerman. The man fled the restaurant after the encounter, and a spokesman told the Sentinel that he could face battery charges.
I seriously doubt that Robert Dekkers baked the macarons served during intermission of the premiere by Post:Ballet of Do Be at ZSpace on Thursday, Aug. 4, but he seemed to have a hand in almost everything else about the presentation. He conceived the project, made all of the dances, ordered the visuals, was heavily involved with no less than five scores and served in the lobby as chief greeter.

What emerged was a roisterous, engaging, audacious, somewhat overextended suite for nine dancers that, despite Dekkers claim that theres a narrative flow, seems to acquire its continuity through the omnipresence of the Living Earth Show, made up of guitarist Travis Andrews and percussionist Andy Meyerson. Dekkers had planned Do Be as a collaboration with this outstanding duo, and even when the piece occasionally lags, their beat goes on.

Only the final movement, Pasturing II, is new; the rest have appeared in Post: Ballet seasons of recent years (sometimes with the same dancers). The thread that binds Do Be probably is autobiographical. The dancers (Cora Cliburn, Aidan De Young, Gabriel Mata, Vanessa Thiessen) who emerge individually from the fog in Pasturing I with a score by Jacob Cooper dont seem to know each other as they go through their perfunctory lifts, shoulder rolls and descents to the floor, all to the jolting sound of crushed glass.

Over the next hour, they seem to evolve into a company. Rather daringly, at the end of the evening, Dekkers rechoreographs this section to a different Cooper score, with all the dancers, and now they look like an ensemble. Dispassionate unisons have metamorphosed into fervent encounters.

In the middle, we get the controlled chaos of Family Sing-A-Long and Game Night, to a score by Nicole Lizee. The dance was delightful on earlier encounters, but here in context seems even more pertinent. Amid the balloons, Andrews launches Row, row, your boat, but when a birthday cake is wheeled out, it all turns farcical, and birthday boy Charles Martin ends up in the buttercream.

But the following movement, Tassel (score: Anna Meredith), finds the entire company stripping down like Martin and launching an ensemble in their skivvies. The episode seems to mark time.

However, after intermission, Dekkers introduces one of his new dancers, Kar Will, and Do Be takes off. Before the performance, Will had been posing, Shiva-like, on the lobby food table. Now, in The Bell, the Ball, the Bow-Tie & the Boot (score: Jonathan Pfeffer), he finds himself pursued by what look like four cabanas on wheels, while Robby Gilsons animations, projected on the floor, release a torrent of activity.

Christopher Cerrones attractive score for Double Happiness accompanies newcomer Rachel Coats, in tulle skirt, rendering a ballet solo (Dekkers also makes dances for ballet companies). Will, a great addition to Post:Ballet, pursues her like a randy faun, and when Coats suddenly becomes an ensemble of five, he is spoiled for choice. Mores the pity that Dekkers adds Martin to the line, turning a captivating sequence into a Trockadero knockoff.

Jackie McConnell and Caroline Langner complete the cast. Company Creative Director Christian Squires designed the performance space, marked by an internal curtain and hanging lampshades. His costumes range from elegant white robes to form-fitting metallic gold affairs. Jim Frenchs lighting mitigated the glare.

Allan Ulrich is The San Francisco Chronicles dance correspondent.

Post:Ballet and the Living Earth Show: Do Be. 8 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 6. $35-$55. Z Space, 450 Florida St., SF. www.postballet.org/dobe

To see a video: www.youtube.com/watch?v=qgCiL_b5YMM
Lead levels in the city of Sheridans drinking water do not exceed federal water quality standards, officials said Thursday, but residents are still being advised to drink bottled water for now.

Lead levels in five samples taken over a period of six months were high enough to trigger a response from state and local health and environmental officials. The highest hot spot registered 247 parts per billion of lead in a home in the 200 block of Madison Street.

Jim Murphy, Montana Department of Public Health and Human Services public health emergency preparedness, said Thursday that if a child drank from that particular tap, he or she would still have to drink a lot of water, before the amount of lead would have a negative impact.

It would take a lot of consumption, Murphy said.

The other homes where the level of lead in the drinking water triggered a concern had numbers ranging from 17 to 33 parts per billion of lead, according to Department of Environmental Quality director Tom Livers. The Environmental Protection Agency sets a standard of 15 parts per billion of lead in drinking water to trigger action by state and local officials.

Denvers EPA office could not be reached for comment by press time.

Most of the lead levels that caused a concern came from the east side of town. Tests done at local schools, a nursing home, the hospital and city buildings came back OK.

A total of 29 samples were taken by the county from January to June and analyzed by DEQ. The sampling was part of a routine sample and analysis procedure. The town, with 700 households, is on a three-year testing cycle and the drinking water comes from groundwater wells.

Sheridans tap water has been tested and analyzed since 1975. This is the first time lead has shown up.

The sampling analysis came back to DEQ on July 8. The state sent a letter to the county that day, which arrived to county officials July 11.

Madison County public information officer Bonnie ONeill said Thursday that the county waited to announce the problem to the public at a special town council meeting on August 2 because the county didnt want to unnecessarily alarm the public. The county notified local media August 3.

There were specific actions we had to take, ONeill said Thursday. It was really only 16 days (minus weekends) and we didnt want to misspeak about the action plan.

Livers said DEQ didnt notify the public because it is, primarily the local governments responsibility.

We were surprised by the info, Livers said. Theyve had decades of clean reports.

Livers added that the town needed to wrap its head around the issue. And that the town had 60 days, according to state regulation, to conduct a public campaign.

The state, through the local fire department and the Ruby Valley Hospital, is providing free blood-lead sampling, as well as home water sampling kits and free bottled water. The blood lead samples and water samples will be sent by courier to the state lab on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. Residents will receive results back as soon as the state gets them, Murphy said.

So far, 26 people  13 adults and 13 children  have gone to Ruby Valley Hospital for blood tests and 125 households have picked up bottled water.

The fire department is also taking bottled water to elderly people who are unable to leave their homes or who are unable to carry the bottled water. Volunteers are helping distribute the water.

State and local officials held a news conference in Sheridan on Thursday that media and about 25 residents attended.

Sheridan resident Karen Anderson stopped by the fire department Thursday to pick up bottled water for her family. She said she is most definitely concerned about lead showing up in the towns drinking water.

I wont drink any tap water until I know its safe, she said.

But another resident Travis Walker, who moved to Sheridan only a month ago, said Thursday that he was not worried.

I grew up in Kansas where they struggled with water quality, Walker said.

Authorities are trying to determine the source of the lead. A likely cause is older pipes in the water system, rather than groundwater, but that investigation continues.

Sheridan is about 60 miles southeast of Butte on Highway 287, just south of Twin Bridges.

Reporter Mike Smith contributed to this story.
Firefighters rescued a man who fell nearly 15 feet down a hole on a massive U.S. Navy ship Thursday afternoon on a dry dock in San Francisco, officials said.

The worker fell into the circular hole around 3:30 p.m. on the U.S. Navy Ship Guadalupe, an oiler that is parked on a private pier near 20th and 3rd streets in the citys Dogpatch neighborhood, said Lt. Jonathan Baxter, a San Francisco Fire Department spokesman.
ALEXANDRIA, Va.  For years, authorities had concerns about Metro Transit Police Officer Nicholas Young: He traveled to Libya and boasted of joining rebel groups there, and he even described his collection of Nazi memorabilia to law enforcement, according to court documents. But until last month, authorities said, he hadnt committed a crime.

Now Young, 36, of Fairfax, Va., is the first law-enforcement officer in the U.S. to be charged with a terror-related crime, after prosecutors say he bought about $250 worth of gift cards in an FBI sting for someone he thought was working with the Islamic State.

Young was arrested Wednesday at Metro Transit Police headquarters in Washington and charged with a single count of attempting to provide material support to a terrorist group. According to an FBI affidavit, Young bought the gift cards last month intending that they be used by the Islamic State to purchase mobile messaging apps. But the person he gave the cards to was actually an undercover FBI officer, the affidavit said.

He made a brief court appearance Wednesday afternoon, wearing a T-shirt and what appeared to be his uniform slacks.

David Smith, who was appointed to represent Young after the hearing, said he could not comment because he had not yet been able to research the details of the case.

If convicted, Young could face up to 20 years in prison.

Young had been under surveillance since 2010, and he traveled to Libya at least once in 2011, where he said he joined rebel forces seeking to oust dictator Moammar Khadafy, the affidavit said. He traveled with body armor, a Kevlar helmet and other military-style items.

Young was deeply paranoid about law enforcement spying on him, often taking the battery out of his cell phone when he wanted to go somewhere and talk, the document said. Young frequently told one undercover source to be wary of potential informants, according to the affidavit.

On Jan. 24, 2011, an undercover officer said Young told the officer he once aimed an AK-47-style rifle out of a window at his home, scanning for law enforcement he believed was watching him. On another occasion, he grew angry that the FBI talked to his family and co-workers and said he wanted to find the FBI agent and kidnap and torture her.

The undercover officer said he doubted that Young seriously intended to act upon those words, according to the affidavit.

Metro spokesman Dan Stessel said Young, who had been employed since 2003, was fired.

FBI spokesman Andrew Ames confirmed that Young is the first law enforcement officer to be charged under the federal governments terrorism law.
The Roaring Lion fire, burning over 7,000 acres southwest of Hamilton, has already claimed one life and over 60 homes and structures. As fighters continue to battle the blaze, the destruction only underscores the importance of urgently passing forest reform legislation.

Each summer that passes without comprehensive forest management reform is another summer when Mother Nature takes the matter into her own hands, filling our skies with the smoke of catastrophic wildfires.

During a visit to the Roaring Lion fire camp, I was able to visit with many of the men and women battling the fire and speak to them about realities on the ground. Excessive accumulation of fuels from beetle kill and over-crowding of trees means that our forests burn very hot, very fast and are increasingly dangerous for firefighters. The Bitterroot National Forest spokesman said that he has never seen a fire take off and burn so quick, leaving the firefighters struggling to catch up to the blaze and contain it in time to stop the tragic loss of life and property. Cindy and I are praying for the men and women fighting fires across Montana and the safety of the communities under threat.

As a member of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, I see bipartisan consensus that the status quo for forest management is not sustainable. Ive been working toward reforms that reduce red tape, discourage obstructionist litigation and fund wildfire suppression in the same manner as other natural disasters. The U.S. Senate and House of Representatives are in final negotiations on legislation to achieve these goals and Im hopeful that we will be able to come to agreement this year.

The Roaring Lion fire, as well as fires burning in the Bitterroot and Lolo National Forests, and surrounding Thompson Falls and Ennis, and others across Montana, are heartbreaking examples of the urgent need for commonsense restoration projects that reduce the risk and magnitude of wildfires. Many of the acres burning near Hamilton threaten communities and were slated for restoration beginning later this year. But while the Forest Service sought to swiftly implement the project using an expedited process established by Congress in 2014, it was slowed by objections and now faces litigation, which will delay it further.

Across Montana there are almost five million acres of national forest land that have been identified as in critical need of restoration and fire mitigation projects. Im working to provide the Forest Service with additional tools and flexibility so that it can carry out these projects faster and without the persistent threat of litigation. Doing so is vital to protecting watersheds, fish and wildlife habitat, clean air, our recreational and tourism economy, and most important, the safety of our communities.

Our national forests are one of our states valued treasures and a renewable resource that should thrive. We know that responsible and active management of our forests decreases the severity and destruction of wildfires. We must pass commonsense reforms now and not spend another summer wishing that we had.
Much focus has been on the governor's race in Montana. Not surprising, given how much Montanans would have suffered had governors Schweitzer and Bullock not been in office to veto what some have described as "bat crap" crazy bills over the past 11 plus years.

However, the contest for the U.S. House of Representatives also bears watching. It pits an incumbent, who since being elected to his first term reportedly has lobbied for promotion to speaker of the house, vice president, secretary of defense (or was it "of state"?). His opponent, Denise Juneau, two term Montana superintendent of public education wants to put her intelligence, creativity and work ethic to use as Montana's second Congresswoman. She wants to be the same pro-conservation, pro-education, pro-jobs advocate in Washington, D.C,. that she has been in Montana. She will be on the job for Montanans over the long haul, not with one eye on another career opportunity.

Denise will work hard on behalf of America's children and families just as she has done for Montanans. Understanding the value of local, state and federal land and water, Denise will fight hard to not only protect the public status of those critical resources, but also to advocate for the financial and other assistance needed to effectively enhance and protect those resources.

Join me in supporting Denise Juneau for U.S. House of Representatives. She knows how to get things done!

John Ilgenfritz

Helena
The new Infusion Bar & Banquet Center in Decatur believes variety is the spice of life.

The business has a food and drink option for everyone, and is ready to host special occasions, wedding receptions or business meetings in its banquet space that can seat more than 500. There is also an outdoor stage area.

The bar and banquet center is housed in the former AIW Hall at 2882 N. Dineen St., the location renovated from ground to ceiling and featuring an outdoor patio with bar. The new owners are Decatur business couple Shannon and David Binder who have recruited David Binder's daughter, Nichole, fresh from running a five-star resort in Costa Rica, to manage the enterprise. Bar manager is Brylin Brown, described by Shannon Binder as a master mixologist and Jen Strain is the chef.

Drink options range from craft beers to infused cocktail drinks where, for example, vodka, whisky or whatever can be flavored with anything from Skittles to watermelon and strawberry, to name a few. And we mean actual strawberry and actual Skittles, Binder said. Not some flavored syrup. Infusion is a hot new drink trend.

Food options go from fried pickle poppers and baked zuchini parmesan crisps to infused offerings like a bourbon-infused barbecue meatloaf slider. Desserts include a chocolate mint martini served with chocolate-dipped strawberries and strawberry-drizzled pound cake.

Binder said people are curious about the new bar and find their curiosity rewarded when they venture in.

They can't believe the transformation, she said. They have nothing but positive things to say.

Insfusion is open 3 p.m. to midnight Monday through Thursday, 3 p.m to 2 a.m. Friday; 11 a.m. to 2 a.m. Saturday and 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Sunday. Go to infusiondecatur.com or call (217) 875-2416.

nnn

The 217 Lounge has got your number for the customer seeking a relaxing, more mature drinking experience.

The new Decatur bar, which had its formal opening in May at 112 N. Merchant St., occupies the former Racks site but has been remodeled to create what general manager Kate Ciambella calls a warm, modern atmosphere.

The bar is owned by brothers Chris and Cody Parks and Ciambella said they wanted a cocktail lounge atmosphere that would appeal to a more mature audience. In addition to a full range of drinks, the 217 Lounge stocks a free popcorn bar loaded with 16 flavors and it offers video gaming. Gaming players can wash their popcorn down with free soft drinks.

The bar is open from 5 to 11 p.m. Tuesday through Thursday, 5 p.m. to 2 a.m. Fridays and Saturdays and closed Sunday and Monday. Find it on Facebook and visit 217lounge.com. Or call (217) 330-8578, and that area code explains the name.

We were trying to come up with names and brainstorming and one of the customers said, 'Hey, why don't you name it the 217 Lounge?' Ciambella said. Everybody just turned around and perked up when they heard that and we were like, 'Well, that's the name.'

nnn

Hope's Attic II thrift store has opened in the former Dollar General store at 2922 N. Martin Luther King Jr. Drive after moving a couple doors south of Decatur Cares Rescue Mission's longtime store location.

The Rev. Doug Lowery, pastor of Maranatha Assembly of God, said the new space offers three times the room and allows the ministry to retain staff from a second store it closed last month in the 1000 block of North Water Street.

Decatur Cares recently downsized its operation because of a shortfall in financial support and currently operates the Water Street Mission shelter for homeless men at 758 N. Water St.

Lowery said donations may be made at the rear of Hope's Attic II and that donations and shoppers are needed.

Cheryl Griffiths will continue as the store manager, assisted by Kristi Andersen, the former manager of the Water Street store.

The hours are 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Monday through Friday and 8:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Saturday. The phone number remains (217) 872-8842.

nnn

Josh O'Laughlin wanted to create an enjoyable experience for customers while opening a new barber shop in Decatur.

The Man Cave Barber Shop & Shave Parlor at 2926 N. Oakland Ave. Suite B focuses on offering haircuts for men and boys, said O'Laughlin, who returned to Decatur to open the business. The haircuts are finished with a hot lather straight razor shave.

It's a pampering for them, O'Laughlin said. It's about making them happy.

To add to the experience, O'Laughlin said the business has a pool table customers can play while they wait, along with televisions to watch sports.

You can't have a man cave without a pool table, he said.

The other experienced barber currently working at the shop is Travis Benton. More barbers could be added as business increases, O'Laughlin said.

Walk-ins are welcome. Hours are 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Tuesday to Friday and 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday.

Discounts are offered for seniors, children, active and retired military, and first responders. Find the business on Facebook or call (217) 619-3975.
New Braunfels, TX (78130)

Today

Cloudy skies this morning will become partly cloudy this afternoon. Slight chance of a rain shower. High near 75F. Winds NW at 15 to 25 mph..

Tonight

Some clouds. Low 54F. Winds NNW at 15 to 25 mph.
Regarding 1st Zika-related birth defects in state (Aug. 5): Shame on the California Department of Public Health and its director, Dr. Karen Smith. With millions of Californians worried about the Zika virus, Smith and her organization only yesterday revealed that there are 114 identified Zika cases in California  which means there are dozens if not hundreds more that havent been identified.

And yet the DPH assures us that Zika isnt being spread in California. Does DPH think we dont deserve to know this important fact and come to our own conclusions? That only their experts can look at Zika cases going from zero to 114 in just over a year and conclude its not spreading?

Cary Fulbright, San Francisco

Mental health care

Regarding Our city has failed its most vulnerable (Open Forum, Aug. 3): Several months ago, my best friend disappeared to the streets and despite our best efforts, we cannot find him.

The chain of events that led to this situation is a pathetic indictment of the systems failure to address the individual needs of those with mental illness. This vibrant, caring, articulate man went from a full life with a career and strong friendships to someone without the wherewithal to win his battle with psychosis.

His last two housing situations provided not even minimal check-ins on his well-being and, without someone checking that he filled his prescriptions, he ended up thinking he didnt need medication. He was wrong. With minimal effort. it would have taken perhaps an hour a month to have prevented his downfall. He is but one of many who needed so little, but now would need so much.

Vivian Imperiale, San Francisco

MVP team

Regarding A bad trade (Letters, Aug. 5): The writers fear that losing five Golden State Warriors role players to make room for one superstar overlooks the fact that bench players are replaceable  MVPs are in very short supply.

Roster changes have improved the team in each of the last five seasons. It will be hard to best a 73-win season, but all in all, I think the Kevin Durant signing is great for the Warriors and will provide another season of improvement and joy in Northern California.

Steve Urie, Truckee

Memo to Trump

Regarding Persuade Instead (Letters, Aug. 3): I can only assume the writer has dashed off a similar, critical note to Donald Trump, whose litany of debasing and demonizing remarks have set the tone for the this election. Good luck with that.

Jennifer Hayes, Oakland

City nicknames

Regarding Citys retro nickname inspires modern scorn (Datebook, Aug. 3): I was raised in the Bay Area and lived in San Francisco for almost 30 years during my 70 years on this earth and would never call it Frisco. Natives of the Bay Area find it insulting and consider it rude to call it that. Its a name used by people who come from somewhere else.

It was named after a saint, St. Francis, and it should have a nickname that respects that. If you feel it needs a nickname, call it what the inhabitants of the Bay Area do and have for as long as Ive been alive; call it The City. Frisco is a city in Texas.

Sharon Skogen, Petaluma

Wheres the proof?

Donald Trump claimed unequivocally that he saw a video of $400 million in cash being unloaded in Tehran. He has earlier claimed, several times, that he saw a video of Muslims in New Jersey celebrating the 9/11 attacks. None of these videos exist, and Trump has not produced anything showing that they do. While he has now claimed that he was in error regarding the $400 million cash video, he offers no excuse for that.

Many people have raised issues of Trumps mental health, citing principally concerns about narcissistic personality disorder. It now appears we have to add delusional disorder to that list. He is just the sort of person who shouldnt be allowed to buy a gun, let alone have access to our nuclear weapons.

Michael Fischer, El Cerrito

Violent crime

The Obama administration tried to sell the presidents most recent commutation of sentences of federal prison inmates as a merciful release of nonviolent drug offenders who had received unduly harsh sentences and deserved a second chance.

The facts belie these claims. Of the 214 felons whose sentences were commuted, about 50 used, carried or possessed a firearm during the commission or attempted commission of their felony drug offenses. Some carried firearms with obliterated serial numbers. One was convicted of use of a firearm in relation to a crime of violence.

Another was convicted of carrying his gun across state lines. Approximately two dozen had prior felony convictions. No matter how you characterize it, drug dealing by felons armed with guns is a violent crime. It, therefore, is hard to take seriously the presidents speeches demanding stricter gun-control laws when he commutes sentences for or pardons drug dealers who possess, carry and use firearms to ply their trade.

Michael OReilley, Berkeley

Voice of anger

Many Republicans seem to be surprised and distressed to see their party taken over by Donald Trump. They can blame themselves for the base they built.

The GOP has solicited, indulged, and pandered to people who want to believe that President Obama is a Kenyan-born Muslim; that Planned Parenthood makes money selling baby parts; that the universe is 6,000 years old; that happy holidays insults their faith; that the worlds scientific community is conspiring in a climate change hoax; that a same-sex marriage threatens heterosexual marriages; that Fox News is the only unbiased, trustworthy news source; that Obama has taken our freedom and will soon try to take our guns. We can thank this coalition of angry, fact-averse voters for Donald Trump.

They have been told so often that government doesnt work that they see no danger in electing a man who is unfit to govern, just because he gives voice to their anger. These are the kind of voters who can ignore Trumps entire business history and believe that he will now be the champion of the middle class. And how do you explain Trumps parallels with fascism to people who have been drawing Hitler mustaches on Obamas picture?

Michael McCord, Burlingame

So many names

Regarding Brash Trump has GOP in a bind (Aug. 4): When thinking and referring to the GOP nominee Donald Trump, the term brash is not the label that comes to my mind. I believe the words, clueless, embarrassing, and unhinged are more appropriate.

Vernon Burton, San Leandro
These articles and photo collections on SFGate.com and the premium SFChronicle.com got the most visits in the week ended Thursday at 10 a.m.

SFChronicle.com

1. M&R: San Franciscos landmark tower for rich and famous is sinking, tilting

2. SF street cleaner, 67, is Grandma at home and on the job

3. Dad of Muslim American war hero to address Democratic convention

4. The prodigy behind Napas Festival del Sole

5. M&R: What housing boom? Jerry Brown sells Oakland home at a loss

SFGate.com

1. Son of billionaire, former supermodel arrested after refusing to pay $28 taxi fare

2. Clint Eastwood on Donald Trumps racism: Get over it

3. Pixar movie scenes you can visit in real life in the Bay Area

4. Ann Coulter hammered by conservatives for smearing US war heros dad

5. Suicide Squad is two hours of soul-sickening, sensory torment

Most popular searches

1. Big Sur fire

2. Hawaii volcano smiley face

3. Austin shooting

4. Matt Duffy

5. Harvey Milk ship

By Peter Hockaday, SFGate deputy managing editor
1 Belize drenched: Hurricane Earl deteriorated to a weak tropical storm Thursday as it passed over northern Guatemala en route to southern Mexico. Overnight, Earl slammed the coast of the Caribbean nation of Belize with winds of 80 mph, leaving the country battered. Around the capital, some roofs were torn off, power lines were down and trees were uprooted. Much of Belize was without electricity. Earl made landfall as a Category 1 hurricane near Belize City and was moving roughly westward, the U.S. National Hurricane Center said. As it crossed northern Guatemala, Earl had sustained winds near 45 mph. It was expected to continue weakening to a tropical depression by Friday morning.

2 Aid by cranes: Aid agencies say they have delivered a months worth of food and supplies to more than 75,000 Syrians stuck on Jordans sealed border, using cranes to lift bags from the Jordanian side over an earthen barrier along the frontier. The World Food Program said on Thursday that 650 metric tons of goods were sent to two desert camps this week. It says the operation was unprecedented because of the use of cranes and Jordanian army drones monitoring the distribution. Jordan says it wont reopen the border it closed after a June 21 attack by Islamic State extremists. The international community hasnt found an alternative to what once were regular aid deliveries from Jordan.
MANILA  President Rodrigo Duterte acknowledged abuses have occurred in his war on illegal drugs, which has left more than 400 people dead in a month and alarmed rights activists. But Duterte refused to back down from a shoot-to-kill order for drug suspects.

Duterte said in a speech late Thursday that most drug dealers and addicts slain in gunbattles with police had put up a fight, but added that he was sure some were salvaged, a local slang for extrajudicial killings usually by law officers.

In the case of illegal killings, Duterte said the government will investigate.

They really fight back, I know that, Duterte said in a speech in Davao city, where he built a name as a mayor for his tough approach to crime before becoming president. Im sure there are some who were salvaged, I am also sure of that.

Early Friday, he told reporters that he gave shoot to kill orders against drug dealers, including politicians involved in the illicit trade.

Ill really have you killed. Look at what youre doing to the Philippines and Ill forgive you? Duterte said, apparently enraged after visiting a town police chief who was shot in the chest by a suspected drug dealer and rushed to a Davao hospital.

My order is shoot to kill you. I dont care about human rights, you better believe me, he said.

Dutertes centerpiece anticrime drive, focused on an ambitious campaign promise to end the widespread drug problem in six months, has left more than 400 drug suspects dead, many of them either in gunfights with police or under suspect circumstances. More than 4,400 have been arrested, police said.

The unprecedented killings have scared more than half a million drug users and dealers who gave themselves up to police, officials said. Duterte has said he was considering setting aside areas in military camps nationwide to build rehabilitation centers for those who surrender.

In recent days, eight suspected drug dealers were gunned down in separate clashes with police.
KAMPALA, Uganda  Police broke up a gay pride event in the capital and arrested about 20 people, a gay rights leader said Friday, in the latest incident highlighting the risks homosexuals face in Africa.

A fashion show was under way at a nightclub in Kampala when police showed up and asked who the organizers were, said Frank Mugisha, who was immediately handcuffed when he identified himself to a police commander as a leader among those attending the event. About 20 others were arrested, put on a police truck and driven to a police station for questioning, he said.
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JOHANNESBURG  With more than 95 percent of votes counted Friday in municipal elections, South Africas ruling party appeared to be headed for its biggest electoral blow since it won power at the end of apartheid 22 years ago.

The results remained too close to call in the countrys largest city, Johannesburg, or Tshwane, the metropolitan area of the capital, Pretoria. But the leader of the opposition Democratic Alliance, Mmusi Maimane, told reporters that his party had won Tshwane, beating the African National Congress, formerly the main antiapartheid movement.

The Democratic Alliance has its roots in white liberal opposition to apartheid and remained a white-led party until last year. Neither it nor the ANC appeared to have a majority in Johannesburg or Tshwane that would allow it to govern alone, raising the possibility of coalition governments.

Final results are set to be announced at 6 p.m. Saturday.

The ANC lost a key municipality named after its star, Nelson Mandela Bay, to the Democratic Alliance, which fielded a white candidate for mayor. The DA already runs the city of Cape Town, the countrys second largest and the only major South African city where blacks are not in the majority, and has been pushing hard to win supporters in other regions.

The Democratic Alliance angered the ANC last month by declaring that it was the only party that could realize Mandelas dream of a prosperous, united and non-racial South Africa.

The results for the ANC, which retained support in many rural areas in a country where blacks make up 80 percent of the population, could put pressure on President Jacob Zuma to leave office before his mandate ends in 2019, say political analysts.

The ANC has lost some support from people, notably in urban areas, who say their hopes for economic opportunities have not been fulfilled since the end of white minority rule. The South African economy has stagnated since the global financial crisis in 2008, and the World Bank says the country has one of the highest rates of inequality in the world.

Deputy President Ramaphosa acknowledged some criticisms of the ANC: They think that we are arrogant, they think that we are self-centered, they think that we are self-serving, and Id like to dispute all of that and say we are a listening organization.

In a statement the ANC said, we will reflect and introspect where our support has dropped. The party so far has received 54 percent of votes across the country, its lowest percentage ever, with the Democratic Alliance getting 26 percent.

Scandals swirling around Zuma have also hurt the ANC. Opposition groups have seized on the revelation that the state paid more than $20 million for upgrades to Zumas private home. The Constitutional Court recently said Zuma violated the constitution and instructed the president to reimburse the state $507,000.

Many South Africans are also concerned over allegations that Zuma is heavily influenced by the Guptas, a wealthy business family of immigrants from India. The president has denied any wrongdoing.

A more radical opposition party, the Economic Freedom Fighters, contested the local elections for the first time. The party, which advocates the nationalization of industry, has garnered almost 8 percent of the vote nationwide.
Developers were told the fee paid to former Maori leader Ngatata Love that's at the heart of his fraud trial was to cover Treaty of Waitangi claim costs, the High Court in Wellington heard on the third day of the case.

Love is charged with obtaining a secret commission and obtaining significant sums by deception. The Crown says he signed an agreement in late 2006 with Auckland property developers Redwood Group and Equinox Group to ensure they could lease land owned by the Wellington Tenths Trust, which Love then chaired, and he received service fees through Pipitea Street Development Limited (PSDL), a company owned by his partner Lorraine Skiffington, without the trusts knowledge.

In an email from Equinox's Kerry Knight to Lorraine Skiffington, Knight queried the payments required to be made to the services company. Knight said Ngatata Love had told him the funds would cover Treaty of Waitangi claim costs.

Crown witness Clive Hudson, a forensic accountant and electronic investigator, said the money had not been used for that purpose.

"Most of the funds paid to the services company were used to pay off the Westpac loan on the Plimmerton residence owned by Ngatata Love and Lorraine Skiffington," Hudson said.

In September that year, Knight wrote again to Skiffington, requesting the $1.5 million services payment be unwound and a refund be given to Equinox, the developers.

The court heard about communications between Lorraine Skiffington and the developers between February 2008 and April 2008, including an email Skiffington sent on Feb. 17 when she reassured Knight about projects going ahead: "We all have good links in Wellington. The mayor knows and likes you. They bend over themselves to help Ngatata."

The Crown presented a document found on Love's laptop, named the joint venture partnership document. It discussed the relationship between PSDL and Pipitea St Limited, and showed PDSL loaned $1 million of the developer's payment for the purchase of the Plimmerton property on Moana Rd.

Hudson said metadata showed Love was the author and last modifying user of the document.

Colin Carruthers, Love's QC, began his cross-examination before lunch, looking at a map of transactions showing money moving between multiple trust and individual bank accounts.

Carruthers said Love had no involvement with PDSL, which Hudson agreed with. Love's counsel went on to say the Plimmerton house had been bought in November 2006, before there was any agreement between Skiffington and the developers, although Hudson said there were "negotiations and drafts" which provided a basis for the view that they were related transactions.

Travis Coffey, a development manager at Equinox, will give evidence this afternoon.

The trial, being heard by judge alone, is continuing.

BusinessDesk.co.nz

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The Fonterra Shareholders' Council, which represents farmer interests in the world's biggest dairy exporter, is poised for a refreshed mandate with clearer guidelines on how it interacts with the milk processor.

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The following open letter appeared in the Policy Forum Armenia blog on August 4.

Silence and HypocrisyKillers of Hope

While many foreign and outside entities had appealed for a non-extreme response to the extreme actions taken by an armed group at the Yerevan police station, the Diaspora largely remained silent.

By contrast, the rulers in Armenia have engaged in wholesale mass arrests and detention of anyone they suspect as the opposition, including peaceful protesters exercising their constitutional right to assemble, whether to appeal for moderation or express their grievances against government policies and practices.

The Armenian Diaspora at large has not adequately spoken out against these government actions. At this point, it is difficult to fathom the motivations for such silence.

Could it be the belief that we, in the Diaspora, have no business interfering in internal affairs of a foreign countryexcept when it comes to the Karabagh question and Armenia-Turkey relations? Or is it the notion that its the Armenian governments job to serve the needs of its peopleexcept when it comes to the sick, the needy, the poor, the military, elderly, public schools and children?

Only the ruling elite seem to have their needs addressed while living lavish lives supported by ill-begotten funds sheltered in the names of family members and off-shore shell companies.

Recently the Catholicos of All Armenians himself thought it appropriate to condemn the violent acts of these Daredevils, but he has not condemned the injustices perpetrated by the ruling party against the flock such as systemic election fraud and gross human rights violations, including unleashing the over-aggressive police and infamously brutal thug brigades.

Many community leaders in the Diaspora have acknowledged, behind closed doors, that its no secret to them that Armenia is severely corrupt, but they could not speak truth to power because it might have compromised the good work they were doing to instill hope for a better future among the peopleexcept when that hope was for a clean government that evens the economic playing field, allows for free and fair elections, and insists on an independent judiciary and Rule of Law. Perhaps they considered those minor issues compared with poverty and hunger. Yet we all have witnessed on many occasions that the people were not protesting against poverty and hunger but demanding democracy and human rights.

So while we were patting ourselves on the back for working to instill hope, our silenceand hypocrisy were killing that hope, rendering much of our time, money and efforts in Armenia futile and ineffectiveposh hotels, fancy restaurants and high tech showcase schools notwithstanding.

Most of us thought time was the cure for Armenias ills and that somehow, magically, the leaders would come to their senses and live up to the promise of the new Armenia.

Yet two decades is long enough to prove that corruption only breeds corruption, leading to a failed state and cynical society that has nothing left to lose. As John F. Kennedy wisely admonished, Those who make peaceful revolution impossible will make violent revolution inevitable.

If we are truly honest, it may already be too late to overcome the high stakes and perilous road ahead. Yet, if ever the Diaspora had an opportunity to show its true mettle, the hour has come.

All who recognize this crisis point, should urge our community representatives and organizations, charitable, religious and political, to publicly decry those responsible for the rampant abuses of human rights and dignity and support those that seek electoral reform and an accounting of unlawful police tactics. The former would include the public inspection of voter lists, and a meaningful investigation of violations committed during last Decembers constitutional referendum and those who have to date blocked such an effort.

We should no longer consider the alternative an optionthat is, trying to preserve a fabricated and false sense of law and order that cripples Armenias ability to meet challenges at home and at the border while inciting civil violence.

Taking a clear stand on the side of human rights and justice wont instantly solve the deeply entrenched problems that plague the country. But its a first step in a new direction, that, if made courageously, wholeheartedly, unequivocally and boldly, will instill hope among the people as never before.

Theyve been waiting for us to answer their call but, as weve witnessed from recent events, they cant wait forever.

Armenian Bar Association

Justice Armenia

Professor Simon Payaslian

Charles K. and Elisabeth M. Kenosian

Chair in Modern Armenian History

and Literature, Department of History,

Boston University

Anny Bakalian, Ph.D.

Associate Director of MEMEAC,

The Graduate Center, CUNY

Policy Forum Armenia

Armenian Scientists and Engineers Association (AESA), NY-NJ Section

VaheBerberian (USA)

Painter, Author, Playwright, Humorist

Ara Dinkjian (USA)

Musician and Composer

Armenian Renaissance  New York Chapter

Armenian Renaissance  Los Angeles Chapter

VickenCheterian (Switzerland)

Writer and University Lecturer

VaheTachjian (Germany)

Chief Editor of Houshamadyan

Nora Armani

Actress-Filmmaker-Activist

SR Socially Relevant Film Festival NY,

Founding Artistic Director

VickenTarpinian (France)

Singer and Composer

Garo Ghazarian, Esq.

Dean & Professor of Law

Peoples College of Law

Los Angeles, California

MaroMatosian

Womens Support Center (Yerevan)

NurhanBecidyan (USA)

BercAraz (USA)

Rafi Hovsepian

President, New York Armenian

Students Association

Adjunct Instructor, New York University

Mario Yazidjian (USA)

HaroutChatmajian (USA)

Actor, Director and Community Activist

Ara N. Araz (USA)
By Gayaneh Sargsyan

Residents of Vanadzor, Armenias third largest city, again demonstrated on August 4 to demand regime change and the release of the member of the armed Sasna Dzrer group that seized a Yerevan police building on July 17.

Demonstrators have gathered in the towns Hayk Square for the past few days.

Founding Parliament representative Gagik Yeganyan told the crowd that the group was forced to act as it did since there was no possibility to stage a political struggle given the situation in the country.

On the one hand, President Sargsyan wants to hand over several regions of Karabakh to Azerbaijan, and on the other hand, is gradually conceding our countrys independence to Russia, Yeganyan proclaimed.

Aida Amiryan, an unemployed Vanadzor resident, told Hetq that regime change was necessary.

People have no more patience. Its reached a point that they can no longer tolerate the authorities, illegalities and the lack of jobs, Amiryan said.

She described the actions of Sasna Dzrer asa spark to wake the people up, and that it was successful.

Armen Mayilyan, another demonstrator, called the Sasna Dzrer members heroes and likened them to Monte Melkonian, a diasporan Armenian who fought in the Artsakh War of Liberation.

Mayilyan said the protests would continue in Vanadzor until the authorities accept the fact that the Sasna Dzrer members arent terrorists but heroes.

Mayilyan said that most of the police supervising the demonstration also support the actions of the armed group but cannot openly say so due to the fear of repercussions.

69-year-old MikayelYesayan said that until the police and soldiers side with the people, nothing will change.
Ani Hovhannisyan

Nino Bakradze

It will come as no surprise to many that Armenian government officials directly or indirectly own a good many of the expensive clothing, shoe and jewelry shops in the Georgian capital of Tbilisi.

Hetq can make such a statement after reviewing some 300 companies listed in the Georgian State Registry.

Here, well take a look at the businesses owned by Republican Party of Armenia MP Artak Sargsyan and family members.

As of 2012, citizens of Armenia had registered over 300 companies in Georgia, Armenias neighbor to the north.

According to data supplied to Hetq by the Georgian National Statistical Service, this number now surpasses 700.

MP Sargsyan represents several well-known western brand name companies in Armenia and Georgia  Next, Debenhams, Baldi and Aldo. In Tbilisi, these stores are located on major thoroughfares.

Stores on Tbilisis Pekin Street

Gigi Ugulavan, the then mayor of Tbilisi, showed up at the grand opening of one of MP Sargsyans clothing stores in 2012.

A photo of the two, which appeared on the SAS Group Ltd. website, was taken down after Hetq sent an inquiry to Sargsyan about his business interests in Georgia.

SAS Group website photo

Sargsyan started his business dealings in Georgia in 2009. Today, there are nine companies in the Georgian State Registry linked to him and to others close to him.

One of the companies directly owned by MP Sargsyan is Land Lord Ltd. It operates the childrens shoe and clothing store Next located at 34 Tchavtchavadze St. in Tbilisi. When registered, GagikBaghramyan was listed as Land Lords director. Baghramyan is also listed as a regional manager with the SAS Group.

As of 2011, Artak Khachatryan, a citizen of Armenia has served as director of the company. He serves as director of six other companies registered in Georgia, and is MP Sargsyans business rep in the country.

Artak Khachatryan

Aram Sargsyan, the MPs brother, owns 100% shares in three companies registered in Georgia.

Aram Sargsyan

In 2011, MP Artak Sargsyan registered a company called Deben Ltd. in Georgia. Two months later, 100% of the shares were purchased by his brother Aram, who then sold the company to Debenvest, a company registered in the British Virgin Islands.

The e-mail address for Debenvest is under the name of Ruben Melikyan, who worked at SAS Group as chief financial officer from 2010-2013.

MP Artak Sargsyan isnt the only official in Armenia tied to companies registered in Georgia with offshore connections to avoid taxes and conceal revenues.

Nona Kvlividze, a reporter with Georgian TV station Rustavi 2s Business Courier program, has looked into the businesses of Armenian investors in Georgia.

Nona Kvlividze

I believe that Armenian officials collaborate with Georgian officials to set up business in Georgia. Given the secrecy involved, its hard to come up with any information about this. Armenians are mostly involved in the tourist and real estate sectors, notes Kvlividze.

The reporter says that the number of Armenians investing in businesses in Georgia grew during the tenure of President Mikhail Saakashvili.

While business transactions have become more transparent in Georgia, Kvlividze says that Armenian businessmen remain tightlipped when it comes to talking to reporters.

Armenian businessmen avoid us at all costs. When compared to Georgian businessmen, the Armenians dont provide any financial information. They probably operate the same way in Armenia, says the Georgian reporter.

Top photo: MP Artak Sargsyan with former Tbilisi Mayor Gigi Ugulva
Human Rights Watch (HRW) today issued the following report on the recent protests in Yerevan surrounding the armed seizure of a police building and the response of police.

It is comprehensive and highly critical of the police reaction. The detention of scores of peaceful protesters is described as arbitrary. The criminal charges issued against a portion of the detainees is described as disproportionate.

The report details Armenian law regarding detention and how these laws have been flouted. The report also notes that Armenia is a party to multiple human rights treaties, including the European Convention on Human Rights, and that despite such obligations Armenian law enforcement often violates such treaties. The report also presents cases of individuals whose rights have been grossly violated.

(Yerevan)  Armenian authorities have arbitrarily detained dozens of people linked to the ongoing, largely peaceful, protests and beaten many of them, Human Rights Watch said today. The authorities also have pressed unjustified criminal charges against numerous protest leaders and some participants and denied them basic rights of detainees.

The Armenian authorities response to Yerevans largely peaceful protests has been excessive and cruel, said Jane Buchanan, associate Europe and Central Asia director at Human Rights Watch. The tense atmosphere at some protests is no justification for detaining people arbitrarily, beating them, and bringing disproportionate criminal charges against them.

There have been protests in Armenias capital, Yerevan, almost every night since July 17, 2016, after a group of armed men from a radical opposition group seized a Yerevan police station, killing one policeman and taking several hostages. Before the gunmen surrendered on July 31, public support for them and disaffection with the government grew into a wide protest movement in Yerevan.

The protests have been largely peaceful, with isolated incidents of violence by some protesters. Police in some cases responded to protests with excessive force and with large-scale arbitrary detentions. Human Rights Watch interviewed victims of arbitrary detention and police beatings, witnesses to the detentions and abuse, and lawyers for many of those detained.

Police beat many detainees, in some cases severely, and in some cases did not allow them to get prompt medical care for their injuries. For example, on July 18, police detained a 26-year-old activist, Andranik Aslanyan, at Yerevans Liberty Square and severely beat him and two other men in the back of a police van.

Police kicked, punched, and beat Aslanyan on the head, face, back, and legs, spat on him, and rubbed his face on their boots to humiliate him. He was then held for three hours before being taken to a hospital even though he, and others, asked for and needed immediate medical attention.

Read full report HERE






JOHANNESBURG: Five Indian-origin South Africans feature in a list of the top 100 youth figures who are expected to shape the future of Africa.



The project to identify the top 100 influencers, innovators, trailblazers, healers and disruptors aims to highlight how the future of the African continent lies with its youth.



The leaders were selected by public nomination in a project coordinated by Independent Media, one of South Africa's top media groups.



"Africa has always been portrayed as a vulnerable continent, desperate for and dependent on Western financial aid. However, I've always held a strong belief in the progress of Africa, and the youth are a critical component of its development," said executive chairman Iqbal Surve.



A childhood fascination with rock pools led to scientist Nasreen Peer winning numerous awards for her research in this area, which included discovering a new species of crab in the World Heritage Site at the Isimangaliso Wetlands Park on the north coast of South Africa.



Horticulturist Zayaan Khan is local coordinator of the Slow Food Youth Network, a global organisation advocating quality food production and biodiversity protection.



She is also an expert on entomophagy (eating insects as food), which Khan says is partly about reviving South African indigenous food culture that was lost through colonisation of the country by the West.



Gabriel Hoosain Khan is a rights activist who was initially kicked out of his home in the Indian township of Actonville, near Johannesburg, when his family discovered that he was gay.



He now works with marginalised communities across South Africa and has also written a book showing young people how to actively advocate for their rights.



Kalnisha Singh, who started the first woman-owned construction company in her home province of KwaZulu-Natal, now works with community organisations "in order to influence the fabric of South African economics".



Faraaz Mahomed, a senior researcher at the South African Human Rights Commission, undertakes projects to hold government accountable and ensure that human rights are adequately considered in legislation and policy.

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NEW DELHI: As many as 60,000 revenue officials of central and state governments will be trained on GST laws and IT infrastructure framework to prepare them for rollout of the new indirect tax regime by April 2017.



According to the detailed Goods and Services Tax (GST) rollout road map prepared by Revenue Secretary Hasmukh Adhia, the IT infrastructure framework will be ready by March 2017 and a massive outreach and industry sensitisation programme will also be carried out.



After the training on GST laws gets complete by December 2016, GSTN will train them on the related IT infrastructure by March 2017.



Goods and Services Tax Network (GSTN) is a non-government company set up by the Centre and states to provide shared IT framework and services to central and state governments, tax payers and other stakeholders.



The revenue department has already started stakeholder consultation with the industry in Hyderabad and Jaipur.



The IT network of the Central Board of Excise and Customs (CBEC), banks, RBI, state accounting authorities and states will be ready by December-end 2016, according to the road map and the testing and integration of the IT backbone of all stakeholders is slated for January-March 2017.



To make life easier in the new regime, the Revenue Department has said no fresh registration will be needed for the existing dealers. Existing VAT/service tax/central excise dealer data are to migrate to the GST architecture.



As for new dealers, a single application will be filed online and registration will be granted within three days.



On GST returns, only one filing will be required for both the Centre and state governments.



Average tax payers will be using only four forms for filing returns  supplies, return for purchases, monthly and annual returns.



While supplies return will be filed on the 10th of every month incorporating the list of suppliers, the same data will be incorporated in the purchase return which will have to be filed on 15th of every month.



These data will be then get populated in the monthly and annual returns and the assessee will just have to sign and send it to the tax department, Adhia said.



Small taxpayers who have opted for a composition scheme will have to file return on a quarterly basis.



Besides preparing the IT infrastructure, training tax officials and conducting the outreach programme, both the Centre and states will have to establish a legal framework.



The long-pending GST Constitution Amendment Bill was passed by the Rajya Sabha last night. The Bill will be sent back to the Lok Sabha for approval.



Once the Bill is approved by Parliament and 50% of state legislatures, the GST Council would have to work out the model GST Bills which will provide operational details of the new tax regime.



Adhia said that after the GST Constitution Amendment Bill gets presidential assent, the Cabinet would approve creation of the GST Council. The Council would then finalise the model GST law.



The Union Cabinet would clear the Central GST and Integrated GST Bills and the respective states would clear the State GST Bills.



After this, Parliament would approve the CGST and IGST laws while the SGST law would be cleared in state assemblies. This would pave the way for notification of the GST rules.



GST, which is expected to be implemented from April 1, 2017, will subsume excise, service tax and other local levies including VAT, octroi.

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BENGALURU: In a bid to accelerate digital transformation in India, IBM in partnership with Apple on Thursday launched a global development hub called Garage for iOS apps in Bengaluru that will work with existing design locations in Atlanta, Chicago, Cupertino in the US and Toronto in Canada.

The Garage will enable clients to complete digital mobility projects as quickly as possible.

"With each IBM MobileFirst for iOS client's success, we see the conversation shifting from wanting a single app to cultivating a broader business transformation led by mobile," said Mahmoud Naghshineh, General Manager, Apple partnership, IBM, in a statement.

There are 22 inter-disciplinary teams working at Garage in Bengaluru, using end-to-end DevOps, IBM Design Thinking and agile delivery approaches to deliver iOS solutions in weeks not months.

IBM also announced Mobile at Scale for iOS, a new offering specifically for clients looking to invest in digital transformation projects that include more than three iOS apps over a multi-year period.

Clients opting for this model will have full access to IBM's portfolio of MobileFirst for iOS apps to jump start their digital transformation, iOS App Accelerators for rapid app development and customisation and Enterprise Design Services that align the app experience to the needs of the user.

IBM also plans to open satellite centres in Brazil, China, Romania and ther countries.

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GST Bill Approval Adds Impetus To Indian Economy: Chinese Media
BENGALURU: A campaign 'Let Delhi Breathe', a Times of Indias initiative has won the Leader award for its drive at the DMA ECHO India CREATEFFECT Awards 2016.

The drivestarted back in 2014 and inaugurated by Delhi Governer Najeeb Junghas been applauded for its efforts; award celebrates India's most creative and effective data-driven marketing campaigns.

Delhi's alarmingly poor air quality and after the WHO ranked the national capital as the world's most polluted city on particulate matter (PM2.5)15 times higher than permissible limit. Upon introspecting on what can be done, the TOI Green Drive was launched as an on-ground activity in collaboration with DDA to plant over a lac sapling in the national capital.

To create awareness of rising air pollution levels in capital, the drive effectively used print media, TV, radio, website, social media and on-ground activities such as street plays, flash mobs, freeze mobs, street walks and walkathon. This assembled over 40,000 people to be part of the plantation steer.

Various dept including government bodies, corporate houses, NGOs, and different age group like schoolchildren, senior citizens, and specially-abledhad come together to make this drive campaign a revolution.

From August 4, 2015 to August 30, 2015, the month-long campaign witnessed 40,000 Delhiites plant 1.2 lac saplings in less than six hours at Tilpath Valley. The valley was designed to be developed as a biodiversity park completely focused to revive the paralyzed ecosystem and in reducing the hazardous effects of air pollution.

The trees local species plants were planted in the form of community clusters so that it may assist other species of flora and fauna to regenerate in large numbers. After the event, the 200 acres of city forest land was cleaned and waste in the form of empty water bottles, plastic wraps and empty food boxes -was sent for disposal. According to the team, this initiative by TOI will be taken forward and considered in other cities as well.

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4 Indian-Origin Persons Among U.S. Top Wealth Advisors: Forbes

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Jubilant community groups have celebrated the ACT government's rejection of a proposed massive redevelopment of Manuka Oval but believe it has not saved Chief Minister Andrew Barr from election defeat nor done enough to restore faith in the territory's planning system.

Just over two months out from the ACT election, the Labor government on Friday effectively dumped the unsolicited bid put forward by the GWS Giants and developer Grocon which would have seen the Manuka Oval precinct transformed.

ACT Chief Minister Andrew Barr has knocked back an unsolicited bid from the GWS Giants and developer Grocon to redevelop the Manuka Oval and surrounding precinct. Credit:Paul Newman

The $800 million "Manuka Green" proposal, if it had been adopted by the government, would have seen land around Manuka Oval developed for a hotel, serviced apartments, retail, residential and office space, while also bankrolling an $80 million to $100 million upgrade of the oval.

Mr Barr instead announced a "panel of community representatives" would advise the government on a detailed masterplan for Manuka Oval and any development in the area would now be subject to a competitive process.
Adventures in Pianoland. Written and directed by Gaylene Preston. Music and lyrics by Jan Preston. The Street Theatre. August 11-14. Tickets $29-$35. 62471223 or thestreet.org.au. In Conversation With Jan Preston and Gaylene Preston. The Street Theatre. August 10, 6.15pm. Free. 62471223 or ushers@thestreet.org.au.

New Zealand-born composer and songwriter Jan Preston and writer and director Gaylene Preston have combined their sisterly talents to collaborate on their first stage show, Adventures in Pianoland. It's only the second time they've worked together  Jan also wrote a score for Gaylene's film Home by Christmas (2010) and admits to trepidation both times.

Composer and performer Jan Preston. Credit:Tony Mott

"We want to keep our personal relationship special and loving," she says. Fortunately, she says, they well work together  "we feed off each other"  and, in fact, she says she misses Gaylene's input when each of their projects is over.

"She's not my director any more, she's just my sister."
As a youth, Parr experimented with poetry, publishing in a number of journals and magazines. Although he grew discontent with the art form, deeming it self-indulgent and romantic, it allowed him to begin arranging his ideas and visual perceptions. Cutting bluntly into stanzas and using rapid meters to push and pull words together, he fashioned sequences of strange, amorphous images. These are the first works of an artist who will relentlessly transgress material constraints and social norms.

Born with a congenitally malformed arm in Sydney in 1945, Parr grew up in rural Queensland. His mother, Maxa, had trained as an artist but it was not activity of which her husband approved. Her practice was hidden, emerging only when her husband went away. Maxa taught her son to draw a little as a child and he won second place in a school competition for a picture of a bushranger. Years later, Parr and his mother would work together on a series of drawings 48 Portraits (1985-89) after Gerhard Richter. Maxa also appeared in several of her son's performance films, featuring most prominently in Rules and Displacement Activities III (1978  83), which examined the role of the family in individual identity. In its dramatic conclusion Parr's mother, father, wife and daughter appear beneath a rock pool that monstrously distorts their features. Family structures and relationships, memory, dream and the tensions between the conscious and unconscious minds suggested by psychoanalytic theory have continually underpinned Parr's work.

While Parr is widely regarded as one of Australia's pre-eminent artists his practice has always been divisive. Emerging from a background of conceptual art in the early 1970s, his interrogatory poems and word works escalated into the provocative performance art for which he is now recognised internationally. Foreign Looking, staged at the National Gallery of Australia between August 12  November 6 is a survey of sorts, though it resists a conventional chronology. Instead, it works to reveal the dense and delicate connections evident in Parr's experimental practice, spanning performance, film, sculpture, printmaking photography and drawing.

Reviewing a 1971 group show of which the then emerging Australian artist Mike Parr was involved, curator Daniel Thomas remarked  "if you are tired and hungry and going home very late then this exhibition will be too much for you. Be prepared  with food and strength."

Mike Parr, Self Portraits through Mother's Glassware 1982, Sydney colour photographs, Private Collection. Credit:National Gallery of Australia

After several years' worth of early experiments, Parr moved to Sydney in the late 1960s with his partner, Felizitas. Enrolling at East Sydney Tech he soon dropped out, working a number of odd jobs to support himself. A turning point came in 1970. With artists including Peter Kennedy and Tim Johnson, he established Inhibodress, now recognised as Australia's first artist run initiative. Based in a second story factory space in Charles Street, Woolloomooloo, the gallery was modest but its activities were influential. With Pinocotheca gallery in Melbourne, Inhibodress was largely responsible for introducing conceptual art (idea art or non-object art), performance art and video art to Australian audiences. On an evening one might see Parr set fire to reams of poems, Peter Kennedy coax bizarre sounds from intricate AV assemblages, or Phillippa Cullen merge experimental dance and electronic sound. Still enamoured with the Antipodean figuration of Sid Nolan and local variants of American abstract expressionism, the Australian art world did not always respond favourably to the work produced at Inhibodress. Nonetheless, Inhibodress was a determined endeavour by a group of young artists to operate as part of the international avant-garde.

It was at Inhibodress that Parr's performance practice emerged, and swiftly intensified, originating in an unassuming work called Steps (1971). A sequence of white marks on the gallery stairs led visitors in a deliberate choreography. This gentle act of behaviour modification soon gave way to more physically demanding works including Light a candle. Hold your finger in the flame for as long as possible (1972), in which Parr's initial typewritten instruction was performed and captured at close range on 16mm film. This was not art that luxuriated in the effects of paint or that summoned sunny Australian landscapes. This was new art that took the body as its subject, and that eagerly probed the relationship between word and concept, action and physical response. Hold your finger in a candle flame, with other early works including Hold your breath for as long as possible (1972) signalled the beginning intense of an erratic and often demanding relationship between Parr and his audience. This anxious relationship reached an extreme in the 1977 work Social Gestus No. 5 (the "Armchop") in which the artist re-enacted the trauma of losing his arm by slashing a prosthetic limb from his body filled with minced meat. Unaware that Parr had been born without an arm, many members of the assembled audience were horrified. In a single, strident gesture Parr had collapsed the idea that performance art was theatre.

Parr's performance practice soon gained international attention. He undertook a series of performances in Switzerland in 1973 (that formed the basis of his first experimental film, Rules and Displacement Activities I), was invited to perform at the Paris Biennale in 1977 at the Musee d'Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris, and represented Australia at the prestigious Venice Biennale in 1980. But although his reputation was growing, the increasing popularity of performance art caused him to question its centrality to his practice. There was also the problem of earning a living sufficient to support his family. The performance sequence Dream (1978-82) was one in which Parr began retreating from his audience. Employing Lake Burley Griffin as a central motif he became an invisible, nocturnal presence inhabiting the region of lake. He set himself adrift on its waters, traversed its shores and set bright fires on its banks, briefly signalling his presence. On concluding Dream, he made a break with performance that lasted a decade.

It was at this time, in the early 1980s, that Parr's drawing and printmaking practice emerged as both an extension and negation of his performance practice. Largely untaught in the ''academic'' aspects of art-making he began teaching himself how to draw. 26 Untitled Self Portraits (1981-96) includes his earliest efforts. Reflecting his intense engagement with psychoanalytic theory, the shifting collection of likenesses reveals the self as impermanent and unstable. Emerging from above and beneath the paper, the drawings are like unconscious identities floating up towards the surface of skin. The appearance of the portrait in Parr's work formed the conscious beginnings of the Self Portrait Project, the banner under which the vast bulk of the artist's work has since assembled.
Professor Swayn was also involved in the tendering and design of the University of Canberra Public Hospital and the new courts complex on Vernon Circle in the city.

His work crossed a number of significant projects including the City Plan and the Northbourne Avenue urban renewal strategy.

Professor Swayn was director of architectural firm Darryl Jackson Alastair Swayn and appointed the ACT government's inaugural architect in 2010.

He resigned earlier this year due to ill health.

Minister for Planning Mick Gentleman passed on the government's "sincere condolences", in a statement on Friday, acknowledging "the positive and significant contribution he made to the ACT community  one which has a lasting legacy on this city".

The ACT government will support the establishment of an internship program to enable young, up-and-coming architects to work with the government in Professor Swayn's honour.
The trauma experienced by the Stolen Generation is being inherited by their children, a leading Indigenous writer and musician has said.

Gunditjmara elder Richard Frankland signalled the need for sweeping reforms, particularly in the wake of the Don Dale youth detention centre scandal, to prevent the next generation of Aboriginal children falling victim to the social and health issues that have plagued their elders.

Gunditjmara elder Richard Frankland signalled the need for sweeping reforms. Credit:Justin McManus

Speaking after a forum on intergenerational trauma hosted by the Healing Foundation in Canberra on Thursday, Mr Frankland said the pain, grief and loss passed down from generation to generation as a result of colonisation and the forced removal of children was a key driver behind the number of Indigenous youth in detention.

"The late Patrick Wolfe said invasion is a structure, not an event. It doesn't just happen and stop," Mr Frankland said.
Medical gas equipment at the Canberra and Calvary hospitals will be tested next week by BOC, the gas company involved in supplying gas to a Sydney hospital where one newborn died and another was left with serious brain damage.

The ACT government has assured the public that gases supplied by BOC have been used without issue in the Territory and the testing is to ensure that remains the case.

BOC Gases, the company involved in supplying gas to a Sydney hospital where one newborn died, provided medical and industrial gases to ACT Health facilities. Credit:Karleen Minney

A newborn died and a baby girl was severely injured last year after nitrous oxide was incorrectly connected to an oxygen outlet in an operating room at the Bankstown-Lidcombe Hospital.

BOC announced in the wake of the tragedies being revealed last month that it would be increasing the level of testing in every new medical gas pipeline installation above and beyond the requirements of the Australian Standard
Tigerair, once the laughing stock of Australian aviation, says it has won back the trust and patronage of enough Australians to record its first ever full-year profit since bursting onto the market nine years ago.

The budget airline's owner Virgin Australia reported Tigerair had underlying earnings before interest and tax of $2.2 million in 2015/6, up from a loss of $37 million the year before.

Chief executive John Borghetti said the full-year profit milestone came a year earlier than expected and had been driven by improved customer service, performance and efficiency.

It is a far cry from the Tigerair of just five years ago, when its customer satisfaction rate was just 37 per cent and almost four out of every 10 flights arrived late.
The future of online payments and engagements can be found at Liu Zheng's noodle shop in central Beijing. Liu Xiu'e, 60, and her neighbour, Zhang Lixin, 55, read about the noodle shop on WeChat. Then they ordered and paid for their lunches and took and posted selfies of themselves outside the restaurant, all using the same app. Liu Zheng, who is not related to Liu Xiu'e, said the automated ordering and payments meant he could cut down on wages for waiters. "In the future, we will only need one waiter to help in the restaurant and one to help with seating," Liu said. Industry leaders point to a number of areas where China jumped first. Before the online dating app Tinder, people in China used an app called Momo to flirt with nearby singles. Before Amazon chief executive Jeff Bezos discussed using drones to deliver products, Chinese media reported that a local delivery company, S.F. Express, was experimenting with the idea. WeChat offered speedier in-app news articles long before Facebook, developed a walkie-talkie function before WhatsApp, and made major use of QR codes well before Snapchat. Before Venmo became the app for millennials to transfer money in the US, both young and old in China were investing, reimbursing each other, paying bills, and buying products from stores with smartphone-based digital wallets.

"Quite frankly, the trope that China copies the US hasn't been true for years, and in mobile it's the opposite: The US often copies China," said Ben Thompson, the founder of the tech research firm Stratechery. "For the Facebook Messenger app, for example, the best way to understand their road map is to look at WeChat." A Facebook spokesman declined to comment. Tencent did not respond to requests for comment. Executives from companies like Facebook and smaller rivals like Kik are trying to replicate what has emerged in China: dominant online platforms where users will spend much of their time. Much of that effort is focused on chat. "The cool thing about chat is it becomes an operating system for your daily life," Livingston said. "Going up to a vending machine, ordering food, getting a cab  chat can power those interactions, and that's what we're seeing with WeChat." China still lags in important areas. Its most powerful, high-end servers and supercomputers often rely in part on US technology. Virtual-reality startups trail foreign counterparts, and Google has a jump on Baidu in driverless car technology. Many of China's products also lack the polish of their American counterparts.

The biggest advantage for China's tech industry, according to many analysts, is that it was able to fill a vacuum after the country essentially created much of its economy from scratch following the end of the Cultural Revolution, in 1976. Unlike in the US, where banks and retailers already have strong holds on customers, China's state-run lenders are inefficient, and retailers never expanded broadly enough to serve a fast-growing middle class. Many Chinese also never bought a personal computer, meaning smartphones are the primary  and often first  computing device for the more than 600 million who have them in China. "The US was first to use credit cards, and everyone there has a personal computer. But China, where everyone is on their phones all the time, is now ahead in mobile commerce and mobile payments by virtue of leapfrogging the PC and credit cards," Thompson said. Chinese companies also approach the internet in a different way. In the US, tech firms emphasise simplicity in their apps. But in China, its three major internet companies  Alibaba, Baidu and WeChat parent Tencent  compete to create a single app with as many functions as they can stuff into it. On Alibaba's Taobao shopping app, people can also buy groceries, buy credits for online games, scan coupons and find deals at stores nearby. Baidu's mapping app lets users order an Uber, reserve a restaurant or hotel, order in food, buy movie tickets and find just about any type of store nearby.

Tencent has opened up WeChat to other companies, allowing them to create apps within WeChat. Ebaoyang, a startup that enables people to order oil changes for their cars directly on smartphones, was at first almost totally reliant on WeChat to attract business. Gao Feng, one of Ebaoyang's founders, said the company still relied on the app for 50 per cent of its payments and 20 per cent of new customers. "We started from WeChat. So it was our main, original source for getting customers," he said. Between fees for its services and money it makes through online games, WeChat manages to generate $US7 in revenue per user each year, according to Nomura. The app has roughly 700 million users, more than the total number of smartphone users in China, in part because some users are outside the country and in part because people have multiple accounts. Much of that comes not from ads, as it might in the US, but from spending on games, services and goods sold on the app. Those models may not translate from one market to the other, but the two can still borrow from each other, said Carmen Chang, a partner at the venture capital firm New Enterprise Associates. "China was able to develop a lot of innovative business models, which arose in a different kind of economy," said Chang, who spends time in China and in Menlo Park, California. "Whether or not we admit it here in Silicon Valley, it's had an impact on us and our thinking."
The Gutnick family is preparing to plough nearly $2.4 million into listed explorer and miner Merlin Diamonds a little more than a month after the clan's patriarch Joseph Gutnick entered bankruptcy.

Merlin Diamonds announced on Friday it would hold a general meeting on September 6 to consider a recapitalisation proposal that will lift the Gutnicks' stake in the group to close to 40 per cent.

Mr Gutnick already owns 14 per cent in the company however the recapitalisation will reduce his individual shareholder to 6.7 per cent while lifting his family's exposure to 32.8 per cent.

The equity injection is expected to help the struggling Northern Territory diamond mine owner to conduct further exploration of the diamond reserves on site and to develop those reserves so that they produce minerals.
Australians continue to chow down on cereal, with sales of the breakfast staple Down Under a bright spot for global foods manufacturer Kellogg's.

Kellogg's is the biggest cereal maker in Australia, with an estimated one-third market share. Its brands include Corn Flakes, Crunchy Nut, All-Bran, Sultana Bran, Rice Bubbles, Special K and Coco Pops.

Liz Pluimers and Shannon Eckstein of the Nutri-Grain Ironwoman and Ironman series. Aussies are again munching on the cereal they promote.

But it's Nutri-Grain, long advertised as 'iron man food', that seems to be most back in favour.

Kellogg's chairman and chief executive officer John A Bryant told investors this week: "Our Australian business continued to improve, posting slight sales growth in cereal in the [second] quarter. Of note has been the turnaround in our biggest cereal brand in Australia, Nutri-Grain."
Australian rice growers could lose thousands of tonnes in sales - equal to almost a third of their revenues - if a plan by the Papua New Guinea government to launch quotas aimed at fostering a local rice industry goes ahead.

The Australian rice industry has built up a PNG business which accounts for $364 million of its $1.27 billion total revenue through a local unit, Trukai. Via SunRice, Australian rice growers own two thirds of Trukai, with the balance held by a PNG super fund.

Australian rice growers face a potential hit to their business in PNG. Credit:Kate Geraghty

The PNG government has for some time been considering ways to promote a local rice industry, with SunRice itself working with farmers there to encourage rice growing. Through Trukai, SunRice packages Australian rice for sale in PNG and has earmarked as much as 30 million Kina ($12 million) to help develop rice growing in the country.

The threat to SunRice's large business in PNG has emerged as that country's weak economy has undermined the currency, the Kina, which has fallen around 20 per cent, squeezing margins and threatening to hurt group earnings.
When Nick Shelton found himself, aged 27, working in hospitality in London, he was struck that locals wanted a new way to explore their city.

"There was an exciting big city, but no digital publication to help me get into it. You had to know people to know what was going on," he says.

Nick Shelton started Broadsheet to help guide city visitors.

Arriving home in Melbourne, he realised the same thing was happening there. "Melbourne was going through an exciting boom of restaurants, design and architecture, but the media wasn't covering it in the same way people were living it," he says.

The solution? An online publication doing just that. Shelton spent the next year researching and figuring out how digital publishing worked. Most thought he was insane, possibly in part due to lack of hard skills Shelton readily admits he lacks.
Columnist Eugene Robinson opened with: "Donald Trump's opponents in the primaries were right to call him a con artist, a narcissist and a pathological liar. Just ask John Miller." John Miller is one of the names Trump used when ringing reporters purporting to be a publicist giving Trump's side of his divorces. The Post have a tape of one such call on its website. It is like listening to a man singing a love song to himself into a mirror: "He's starting to do tremendously well financially. Actresses just call to see if they can go out with him."

The editor of The Washington Post (which is banned from Trump rallies) is Marty Baron, previously editor of The Boston Globe and the basis of a leading character in the film Spotlight. This week, on one day, The Post ran three stories expressing the alarm that has started to take grip among thinking people in America across the political spectrum.

And while Abbott may have had a genius for pulling the wrong political lever at the wrong moment, he was not without some basic human decency. In the persona Trump presents to the public, with the exception of his relationship with his children, this is utterly lacking.

Could Donald Trump happen in Australia? I asked this question of an acquaintance this week and got the quick reply, "Yes, Tony Abbott." I strenuously disagreed. Tony Abbott is Plato compared to Donald Trump. A philosopher king.

Another opinion piece in the same edition, titled There Is Something Very Wrong With Donald Trump, began: "One wonders if Republican leaders have begun to realise that they may have hitched their fate and the fate of their party to a man with a disordered personality." A third article was titled: "The Khan fight highlights a huge Republican problem: No one knows how low Trump can go."

Trump said Khizr Khan's speech at the Democratic convention amounted to a "vicious" attack on him. It wasn't vicious  it was entirely factual. (It will be an irony for the ages if the single, most consequential voice of the 2016 presidential election proves to be a Muslim!) By then suggesting that making buildings equates with having a son lose his life in war, Trump then showed he may have no notion of what the word "sacrifice" actually means. Has he ever sacrificed anything for someone else?

A range of extreme characters are closer to the centre of Australian politics as a result of the last election, but I don't believe Trump's shtick would have worked as well over here. While he has undoubtedly tapped into political forces that are manifesting throughout the western world, there is something uniquely American about Trump as a personality. It's as if he marks the point at which the American dream becomes the American nightmare.

There's an old World War II joke about an American soldier in a pub in Brisbane loudly telling everyone how big things are back in the States. "Why," he declares, "back home it takes me three days to get around my ranch on my horse." "Yeah," says an Australian at the other end of the bar, "I had a horse like that once." Here is another old Australian expression that comes to mind in relation to Donald Trump: "You'd be a rich man if you could buy him at your price and sell him at his." A billionaire, in fact.

We may have changed as a nation, but in the Australia I grew up in, Trump would have been regarded as a preposterous ego, a laughable figure. He wouldn't have lasted a week without getting a nickname, and it would not have been a flattering one.
Plain Talk: No thanks for Scott Walker for ACT rankings, either
I write this as much in sorrow as in anger. What kind of culture refuses to value its own treasures?

"No heritage listing for Sirius building" declared the Minister's media release. He sounded proud, as though not protecting architecture was some kind of achievement. Not the minister for flogging public land, mind you, Mark Speakman, the Minister for Heritage.

His reason was yet more bizarre. He cited no lack of merit, but parroted instead every low-rent developer's argument that "listing the building would reduce the site's sale value".

There should be a word for it. Vandalistic. Soulless. Crass. Whatever you call it, a culture that destroys its own treasures will end with no culture at all. And when the Heritage Minister explicitly places heritage below profit, it's clear this endgame is in play.
In recent weeks a flurry of political announcements has been made to the effect the federal government intends to reshape the welfare system as we know it.

The Social Services Minister Christian Porter indicated the Turnbull government endorses a socalled "investment approach" in which more intensive assistance packages are tailored for people at risk of longterm welfare dependency. And in the very near future, the government expects to obtain results from a study using extensive longitudinal data analysis of DSS clients gathered over the past 15 years.

Reshaping welfare: Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull and Social Services Minister Christian Porter. Credit:Andrew Meares

This information should reveal client groups with similar characteristics transitioning in and out of receiving certain workingage welfare payments, and the length of time that groups of people are getting welfare.

The reform agenda is expected to go beyond the more intensive use of welfare administrative data, since the government also intends to commission the nongovernment sector to establish plans assisting vulnerable people off the welfare rolls.
Elliot Tiber, an artist, gay rights activist, screenplay writer and interior designer best known as a businessman who helped enable the staging of the landmark 1969 Woodstock music festival, died August 3 at a hospice centre in Boca Raton, Florida. He was 81.

The cause was a stroke, according to his art agent, Elisa Ball.

Tiber (left) with actor Demetri Martin and director Ang Lee on the set of Taking Woodstock.

Mr Tiber's Woodstock experience coincided with his coming of age as a gay man. The festival took place just after he had been present at the Stonewall uprising in Greenwich Village.

As he recalled in his memoir Taking Woodstock (2007), Mr Tiber had been leading a double life, managing his parents' motel in Bethel, New York, and heading the town's chamber of commerce, while spending his free time in the gay community in Manhattan.
Our lives are fragile and each of us have a responsibility to care for our fellow citizens. The Kelly family, and all who each day find their lives changed by tragedy, deserve the respect of everyone. Allan Gibson Cherrybrook Students rated as excellent Tim Egan is correct in taking me to task on the latest PISA results (Letters, August 5). It just shows you how troublesome dealing with standardised testing at any level can be and I hesitated to refer to PISA when writing my letter, such are the pitfalls of relying on such tests. Try interpreting the PISA results on the OECD website.To satisfy my passion for travelling with my wife overseas, I still do casual teaching in primary schools, high schools and central schools in our region. Contrary to the panic-driven pronouncements of politicians and axe-grinding employers, I find the literacy levels of students in almost every class I teach to be excellent. The kids have a passion for reading.

Asked to pick up and read their novel of choice, they do so and silence reigns except for individual kids who I listen to on a rotational basis in the lesson. Writing skills are, in some classes, exceptional.I suggest Simon Birmingham ask the principal of his choice of any of the rural and isolated schools I teach in for permission to listen to the children read and to read their expressive writing.Teacher quality is an issue across Australia, in my opinion a result of a lack of lecturers in education/ teaching faculties with current or substantial teaching experience in front of classrooms. A doctorate or masters degree does not make one a suitable teacher of teachers. Kevin Farrell Beelbangera Heed One Nation call for climate probe We learn that part of One Nation's policy agenda calls for a royal commission into climate science ("One Nation becomes a pivotal force", August 5). Well, bring it on, and the more comprehensive the terms of the commission, the better. A royal commission into climate science will help to reveal the full extent of the global catastrophe of climate change. And to Australia's shame, it will reveal the extent to which the government, through its policies on exporting coal, is contributing to the growing threat of a warming planet. David Nash Manly

I wonder if the people who voted for Malcolm Roberts are now feeling a tad embarrassed. Roger Clark Five Dock One of the newly elected senators to our Parliament has already caused some ripples. Malcolm Roberts, a One Nation senator, wants climate scepticism taught in schools and believes a cabal exists between scientists, the UN and the banks to produce one-sided reports on climate change. But more disturbing is that Roberts received a total of just 77 first preference votes! It is obvious our voting system is completely broken. Con Vaitsas Ashbury So "Malcolm-Ieuan: Roberts., the living soul" is a new and exciting One Nation senator. As Malcolm Turnbull gave birth to this hyphenated-mess perhaps he should take advantage of Mr Roberts varied expertise and make him Minister for Conspiracy Theories. Then we might all be protected from evil climate scientists, the United Nations, international bankers and any other Jews who control the world. Finally the Elvis is alive movement and the moon landing was fake brigade will get a voice in the Australian Parliament. Seems we need an urgent royal commission into conspiracy theories, although the findings would obviously be tainted by the human-looking commissioners who are all obviously reptilian.

David Whitcombe Maroubra Democracy runs riot in new parliament Mark Kenny ("Parliament's left-right divide is a trap all of Turnbull's own doing," August 5) laments the make-up of the 45th parliament already looking a ropey affair ... "hostage to a ragtag of minor party protectionists, climate deniers, Islamophobes and the usual contingent of opportunists". He could further extend his argument by highlighting personalities of the major parties at the fundamentalist fringe: Corey Bernardi, Kim Carr et al of the far right and left of the political spectrum. They're all an irritating menace, aren't they? I blame it on democracy! James Laukka Epping Prepare for rough seas

Waleed Aly's article exposing some of the problems facing Malcolm Turnbull's slender government clearly indicates the shortcomings of democracy ("Twisting Turnbull runs out of moves", August 5.) As Churchill said, democracy is not a perfect system but it's the best we've got. With a government that now probably will have to fight against racial bigotry, ignorance in the field of science, and the forces of union corruption, I'm afraid we'll be having a rocky time. Max Clayton Glenhaven Waleed Aly makes the point that the make-up of the 45th Parliament gives inordinate power to the polar extremes of Australian politics. This is a very good reason for the government and the opposition to find middle ground and govern for most Australians and the good of the country. David Haines Bowral A simple matter of census sensibility

I too discard letters addressed "to the resident", (Letters, August 5) but when the envelope has the Australian coat of arms in the top left-hand corner with "Australian Bureau of Statistics" beneath and the statement "Your Census Login inside. Keep it safe" writ large on the the envelope my interest is piqued, Jim Doyle, as I'm sure yours was as well. Those who inadvertently discard the envelope can contact the ABS and receive a replacement. No big deal. I was a census collector for the 2011 census and found that about one third of households completed the census on line, as I did; the remainder filled in the paper form. Less than 10 households requested envelopes for privacy, the remainder were quite happy to hand me their forms, some even left the form at the front door for me to collect. Yes there are some who refuse to fill in the form, others become aggressive when requested to do so and there are some who struggle with the questions as they are functionally illiterate or have English as a second language (or no English at all). The ABS has processes in place to overcome these obstacles, developed over years of experience. So does the ABS have a plan B, yes right through to Z. Rodney Crute Hunters Hill Why all the fuss about the census? I received the letter, rang the number of the automated phone line, responded to three questions and the census paper was delivered, by mail, four days later, as promised.

Moira Rien Westleigh Read between the lines Sharon McGuinness (Letters, August 5) tells it like it is. "Literacy" is meaningless unless it can be applied, so the teaching of literacy must include a range of understandings, skills, contexts and (dare I say) values before it can serve any real purpose for the learner. Terry Pratchet once said that the sole purpose of evolution was to produce librarians. Sharon McGuinness' letter simply reinforces that proposition. Mark d'Arbon Chittaway Bay Value of spit masks

All this outrage that surrounds the use of spit masks in prisons and detention centres seems to have come to pass without anyone asking the most pertinent question ("Spit masks used on asylum seekers," August 5.) That is: are the masks being used solely on chronic spitters, or are they being placed wily nily on any Tom, Dick or Harry at the whim of the staff on duty? If it's the latter, then this is clearly a concern and may the outrage continue to whirl. If the masks are being used judiciously, however, to help protect the health of prison officers, then I don't see what all the fuss is about. Andrew Stark East Gosford Reform churches now With the widespread sexual abuse of children in the Catholic church and now allegations of a paedophile ring operating in the Newcastle diocese of the Anglican church, reform must be addressed. ("Ex-altar boy tells of abuse by priest", August 5). Robes must go. They set the clergy apart from the rest of society by adding a sense of awe and power which has far too often been abused.

There should be no group within a church that divides the sexes such as men's dinners, Bible studies and camps. Both men and women should be free to join any group or activity within a congregation. Women should be encouraged and accepted into roles that men have both dominated and believed to be their God-given right, such as leadership roles, dispensing communion, Bible readings and church governance. It is time for male hierarchies to be smashed for they can not only harbour paedophiles but protect them for the good name of the church. Julie Robinson Cardiff Hunt a science dud

After cutting $115 million from the CSIRO budget, Science Minister Greg Hunt is not going to put things right with a pathetic $37 million to be spread over a much longer period (Letters, August 5.) After cutting 275 jobs Hunt makes much of creating a measly 15 new positions. What an insult to meaningful climate change research. The horse has pretty well bolted now. Most of the brilliant scientific minds have walked already. Faced with the impossible task of performing any meaningful research on such an insultingly low budget, others are looking for work elsewhere. Greg Hunt is a Clayton's man. It's the research you have when you don't want any research. Bruce Spence Balmain Heard the one about the banks? The Prime Minister has a cunning plan to improve the culture within the major banks ("PM orders banks to front Parliament", August 5).

When the miracle result occurs pigs will be flying, foxes will cease raiding hen houses, and trust in politicians will soar. Elizabeth Chandler Napoleon Reef I now understand what Malcolm Turnbull was talking about, during the election campaign, in regard to "trickle down" economic theory. The Reserve Bank announces a rate cut, and some of the banks trickle down some of that cut to some of their customers. And if not enough trickling occurs, then the bank executives will be punished by having to go to lunch in Canberra once a year. Alan Marel North Curl Curl. Briefly, viewers get a sporting chance

The five-ring extravaganza in Rio will be a welcome distraction from the three-ring circus in Canberra. John Grinter Katoomba The latest and greatest, big brand, doped up, freak show on earth. Settle back and be amazed! Andrew Young Port Macquarie The "Alympics" are about to begin. Prepare to welcome back our old girlfriend "Sarah Moaney".

Bob Doepel Bellingen Postscript Mean-spirited revenge, craven pandering to right-wing MPs or a fair call based on an assessment of Kevin from Queensland's personal failings, the Rudd Snub divided opinion this week. First reactions were unfavourable to Prime Minister; he was either playing petty politics or a puppet of the right in declining to nominate Rudd to be the UN's top nabob. There were also those who thought Turnbull missed the chance to play his hand more cleverly; nominating Rudd, thereby demonstrating his independence from the right, all the while knowing Rudd had little chance of claiming the prize. But as reaction quickly came to dominate our inbox, readers began to voice approval. "Mr Turnbull has protected Australia from recommending an unsuitable person to the international community for the UN job," Heather Torkington, of Bargara, in Queensland, wrote. "He is to be admired for making an honest decision when others have not."
What's the difference between a doctor and god? God knows he's not a doctor. Dr Kiran Phadke believes the investigation will find his treatment was "reasonable and proper". It's a cheap laugh that skewers an archetype; a throwback to the medical profession of old, rather than the flesh and blood doctors working in multidisciplinary teams at the coalface of the NSW health system. But the findings released in the past week hint at a residual self-belief among some doctors in their own godlike superiority. Was it arrogance that lead a senior clinician to suggest terminal cancer patients had no right to know that they had been underdosed by the doctor they had trusted? Some patients believed it revealed the hospital's reputation trumped transparency. Photo: AFP Credit:AFP

Or was it misguided paternalism? "In the end no harm appears to have been done and it would almost certainly cause distress," the senior doctor wrote in his internal email. Oncologist Dr John Grygiel. But, in reality, it is impossible to say whether patient outcomes were affected by the treatment they received because the long-term effects of flat dosing with carboplatin has not been assessed in long-term studies. Junior doctors, nurses and pharmacists had known Grygiel was flat dosing patients at St Vincent's since 2005 - "The practice was widely known", an interim report read - but the junior staff didn't question Grygiel's treatment. Reporting protocols weren't followed. It's a familiar scenario.

"There is still hierarchical structure in hospitals that mitigate people feeling they can speak up," Australian Medical Association NSW president Dr Brad Frankum says. "I would hope that the old-fashioned 'doctor-is-god' is largely gone. But we've still got a long way to go." A damning review of NSW hospitals in 2008 found a poisonous culture of endemic bullying, where militant structures allowed senior clinicians go to unchallenged, and cowed junior staff too scared to raise the alarm. "Nurses eat their young" was a common refrain among nurses bullied by their managers. Junior doctors were told to "suck it up". After all, it's what their superiors had to suffer through, as if medical training was one long hazing ritual. Even senior doctors in recent years have reported fearing that blowing the whistle on their colleagues means risking being labelled a troublemaker and losing their position or being quietly pushed out, receiving fewer patient referrals and responsibilities. As opposition spokeswoman, Skinner launched an unrelenting campaign to tackle allegations of bullying in hospitals. She would make it her top priority when she became health minister, she said, and began the ambitious of overhauling the culture in the state's health services in 2011.

"It is toxic, unacceptable behaviour that will not be tolerated in our health system," she said in 2013. But allegations of cover-ups and staff cowed into silence emerged again this week as Skinner fronted the cameras, blitzing the media by simultaneously addressing three serious failures at three Sydney hospitals. "I have never ever, ever threatened anyone with a dismissal or penalty for speaking up  I'm serious about that," she said. "There might be people for thinking that's the case because that certainly was the case before I became the minister, but I don't punish anyone for speaking out particularly when it's about patient care," she said. She said the culture of NSW Health has "vastly improved" since she became health minister. And it has improved. It was a nurse who raised the alarm over Phadke's treatment regimen, prompted by the St Vincent's debacle.

In 2011 - the year Ms Skinner became health minister - the ministry calculated a "workplace culture index" based on the results of its YourSaysurvey, which measured perceptions of workplace culture in the health system. It spat out a score of just 46 per cent. In 2015 culture index skipped into positive territory, with 54 per cent. But some of the YourSay results are eerily prescient of the past week's events. Only 39 per cent of those surveyed responded positively when asked if senior managers in their organisation were honest, open and transparent in their dealing with staff. Just 42 per cent agreed there was a positive relationship between senior management and staff in their workplace and only 44 per cent agreed they had confidence in the processes in place to resolve staff conflict. "Staff must be empowered to say something when they see something go wrong," Frankum says. "This is absolutely a call to medical staff that we cannot be complacent. The medicine is such a large and complex system, there is always a potential problem. We need to be vigilant and make sure our culture is such that everybody has a voice  this absolutely includes patients, most importantly of all," he says. "Ask yourself the question: if you were a patient would you want to know if your care had not been optimal? ... Of course it causes distress and anxiety  but they have a right to know, and being properly informed is the way you minimise some of that stress."

When do delays in disclosure become cover-ups? Patients became Skinner's shield against accusations of cover-ups and questions over the timing the press conference that neatly bundled together three hospital scandals. "I think I have an obligation first and foremost to patients. First and foremost," she said. "I will never reveal anything to the media until I feel confident there's has been proper, professional analysis of the potential patients affected and then that those patients are informed." Then came the heart-rending call from Tania, a multiple myeloma patient treated by Phadke. Through tears Phadke's patient told Ray Hadley's morning radio show that she had received a call from hospital staff on Monday, despite health officials knowing about the issue since May.

Tania was told that there was an issue with her chemotherapy treatment. She was encouraged to watch Skinner's press conference the following day, and if she had any questions she could call them back. "I was told that it is still under investigation and until that investigation finishes they can't tell me any more information about what was bad about my treatment or what was wrong or anything else," Tania said. "It does my head in because I don't know. I can't sleep I can't do anything. I'm just at a loss," she said. Moments later she called back to say a senior hospital bureaucrat had phoned her, saying they didn't want patients to "run to the media". When the dust settled it transpired Tania was not one of the three patients whose treated was of "serious concern". She was one of several other patients whose records were being reviewed. But the damage had been done. Her state of mind was not that of a patient appropriately informed. Chair of Cancer Voices NSW Sally Crossing said the time patients had to wait before they were informed in both St Vincent's and Sutherland-St George cases was "ridiculous".

"Don't keep us in the dark like mushrooms," Crossing says. She says routine protocols should catch errors as soon as they occur. "We shouldn't have to depend on leaks and whistleblowers and well-timed press conferences to find out what's going on with our own treatment." Tania's phone call was the kind of misinformation that can derail public health officials' efforts to keep hysteria at bay. For all three hospital scandals, Skinner had to weigh up the need to inform patients and protect their privacy against timely public transparency. The timeliness of her media statements came at the expense of preparations that would reassure the public and stave off panic. It's a precarious balance to strike. Petty and reactionary responses to her statements fed public fears. Skinner attending the Helpmann Awards on the night the news broke of the nitrous oxide tragedy did not help.
The Australian's Bill Leak, who has drawn flak over a cartoon he drew that has been widely condemned as racist, has described his critics as "tantrum-throwers" who are "sanctimonious Tweety Birds".

The controversial drawing, published on Thursday in the News Corp newspaper, showed an Aboriginal child being held by the collar by a black policeman in the outback.

The child's father holds a beer can and does not know his son's name.
Venerable department store David Jones might be packing its bags and taking its corporate headquarters to Melbourne, but the Scottish boss of its South African owner says DJs is "absolutely committed" to Sydney.

David Jones was opened by a Welsh immigrant of the same name on the corner of George and Barrack streets, Sydney, on May 24,1838. He said he wanted to sell "the best and most exclusive goods" and to carry "stock that embraces the everyday wants of mankind at large".

David Jones is moving its corporate headquarters south. Credit:Lee Besford

Now, the 178-year-old chain  the oldest department store in the world still trading under its original name  is moving its corporate headquarters south to what its owners call the "fashion centre" of Australia.

Ian Moir, the chief executive of South African retail giant Woolworths, said he was aware of the rivalry between the cities.
A pair of gun enthusiasts facing calls for police to revoke their firearm licences say videos they filmed of the Greens logo being shot at and teddy bears dressed as Muslim terrorists exploding in flames are "a bit of harmless fun".

The Queensland men known as Marty and Aaron, who run a YouTube channel called Shooting Stuff Australia, have been accused by Greens MP David Shoebridge of "display[ing] violent attitudes towards members of the Muslim community, and towards political parties".

In a video posted nine months ago, a Greens logo is shot roughly a dozen times as a thick red substance oozes out of the holes.

Another repeatedly shows a toy koala holding a Greens logo being blown away.
A husband and wife have been taken to hospital after they were allegedly attacked by a man wielding a hammer in south-west Sydney on Friday morning.

A 50-year-old woman was waiting at a bus stop on Hoxton Park Road in Lurnea at 6.20am when she was approached by a 46-year-old man who police believe was a stranger.

The man allegedly swung a hammer at her, hitting her on the neck and leaving her with a minor injury.
It is one way of making local government more efficient: use the same councillors on multiple councils.

A Ryde councillor may soon find himself in the unusual position of being part of two local governments if he is also elected to the City of Sydney next month.

Craig Chung, a Liberal councillor in Ryde, will run as the second candidate on Christine Forster's Liberal ticket for the City of Sydney elections.

And if he does win a spot on the City of Sydney, he does not plan to step down from Ryde Council.
This photo taken March 15, 2016, shows North Carolina voter ID rules posted at the door of the voting station at the Alamance Fire Station in Greensboro, N.C. A federal appeals court on July 29 blocked a North Carolina law that required voters to produce photo identification and follow other rules disproportionately affecting minorities, finding that the law was intended to make it harder for blacks to vote in the presidential battleground state. (Andrew Krech/News & Record via AP)
Former Auburn deputy mayor Salim Mehajer has been found not guilty of using a mobile phone whilst driving.

The embattled figure was quick to announce his victory on social media posting a selfie on Instagram after Magistrate Michelle Goodwin cleared him of any wrongdoing in Burwood Local Court.

Salim Mehajer, pictured in November 2015, has been found not guilty of driving while using a mobile phone. Credit:Nick Moir

"Another great win. NOT GUILTY," he posted underneath a picture of himself.

Police had alleged Mr Mehajer had been using a mobile phone whilst driving his black LandCruiser down a Sydney main road.
In August 2014, life was looking good for Samer Kirnawi.

The 21-year-old tiler had achieved his goal of moving to Canberra, where he was juggling his studies with a new tiling business his father helped him set up.

On Tuesday August 19, 2014, he returned to his hometown of Edensor Park in Sydney's west to attend his sister's birthday when his life was cut short.

Mr Kirnawi was stabbed in the neck in the middle of the intersection between Smithfield Road and Mistral Street in Greenfield Park during a confrontation with two men.
Officers fired shots outside a Mackay McDonald's in an attempt to stop a "high-risk offender" fleeing the scene, police say.

They released an image of Zachariah Hewitt, 26, who is wanted on a return to prison warrant, and they called for public assistance to find him after he allegedly fled on Friday morning.

Mackay police Inspector Ian Haughton told journalists outside the fast food restaurant that "police did discharge some firearms" in an attempt to stop the man leaving the car park.

"Unfortunately that has been unsuccessful and that person has eluded police," he said.
The prisoner believed to have attacked Daniel Morcombe's killer Brett Peter Cowan has himself been taken to hospital.

A spokesman from corrective services confirmed a prisoner had been taken from Wolston Correctional Facility on Friday afternoon.

Daniel Morcombe's killer, Brett Peter Cowan.

"(Corrective Services) can confirm that a male prisoner from Wolston Correctional Centre has been transported to hospital following an incident this afternoon.

"The man was conveyed by Queensland Ambulance Service after informing correctional officers of an injury. It appears there are no suspicious circumstances as to how he sustained the injury."
Three students who are asking the Federal Court to throw out an attempt by a teacher to sue them over allegedly racist comments on social media will have to wait until next week for the result.

Federal Circuit Court Judge Michael Jarrett was expected to make his ruling this week but Tony Morris QC, who is acting for one of the students, said he's yet to receive notification of when the decision will be handed down.

The Federal Court had been expected to issue its decision this week.

Queensland University of Technology's Cindy Prior alleges she was severely traumatised by Facebook posts from students responding to her action in preventing the men using QUT's Oodgeroo Unit, for indigenous students, in May 2013.

AAP
How many bullets does it take to euthanise an injured deer?

It reportedly took police more than 20 shots to kill a deer that had been hit by a car earlier this week.

Police euthanised the deer using "a number of shots". Credit:Invasive Animals CRC

A caller to 3AW's Rumour File said police were dispatched from a station in Melbourne's south-east Thursday morning to attend to an injured animal.

The deer had been struck by a car and was too injured to be saved, according to the caller.
Four teenagers, including a 16-year-old boy, have been charged over Thursday's violent home invasions that prompted the lockdown of two schools in Melbourne's east.

The home invasions occurred soon after an alleged crime gang mentor, who is accused of planning violent hold-ups in inner-Melbourne, faced court.

The police dog squad searches for the burglars. Credit:Courtesy of Seven News

Mahmoud Taha, 19, is charged with being the "principal offender" in two armed robberies, although he wasn't present when two teenagers stormed jewellery stores in Coburg and Melbourne's CBD on July 7.

Taha is accused of mentoring the younger teenage thieves, before commissioning them to carry out the violent heists.
It is well known that Western Australia has been the nation's fastest growing state over the past decade but Tuesday's census will reveal who and where those extra hundreds of thousands of people are.

When West Australians were last counted in 2011 the mining boom was at its peak, meaning the male-dominated resources industry contributed to there being more men than women in the state.

Mortgage applications were down in the June quarter suggesting the housing market is cooling. Credit:Erin Jonasson

The Northern Territory also has more blokes but the other five states and the ACT have more women.

Now that the boom is over and there are fewer uniformed fly-in fly-out workers walking around Perth airport, will there be more ladies in the state?
Health Minister John Day has waived all current hospital parking infringements following an outcry related to a $1000 fine issued to a mother who dashed to Princess Margaret Hospital's emergency department with her sick son.

Monique Garcia took her 13-year-old son, who was born with half a heart and was suffering chest pain, to Perth's Princess Margaret Hospital on Wednesday.

She spent two hours with her son in emergency and when they returned to their car she said she was filled with "absolute dread" when she saw the fine.

"I have hardly any savings, that's going to wipe me out, all because I took my son to get assessed at the hospital," Ms Garcia said.
The arrest of Genele Laird at East Towne on June 21 is depicted in stills from a video taken by an onlooker.
Two men have been charged with murdering WA mother-of-three, Peta Fairhead who died after allegedly being dumped outside Joondalup Hospital in the early hours of Wednesday morning.

Ms Fairhead, 27, was pronounced dead shortly after being discovered outside the hospital's emergency unit at 3.15am.

She leaves behind two young sons and a daughter.

Police on Friday confirmed two men, Lucas James Yarran, 20, and Leroy Daniel Smith, 19, had been arrested in relation to her death.
Jakarta: Indonesian authorities arrested six suspected militants on Batam island on Friday who were believed to be linked to the Islamic State group and plotting an attack on nearby Singapore, an Indonesian police spokesman said.

According to The Straits Times, the alleged attackers were planning to launch a rocket to Singapore's Marina Bay area via Batam, which is about 15 kilometres south of the city-state.

The suspected militants were allegedly planning to launch rockets towards Singapore's Marina Bay. Credit:Louie Douvis

Indonesian police spokesman Agus Rianto told reporters the suspects had been plotting with a member of the Islamic State militant group in Syria.

"What we understand so far is that they were planning to attack vital objects, busy areas including police offices," Rianto said.
Belfast: Police in Northern Ireland have arrested a man over the shooting dead of 10 Protestant textile workers in 1976 in one of the deadliest of three decades of sectarian attacks in Northern Ireland.

No one has ever been convicted for the crime, which an inquiry said was carried out by the Provisional IRA who targeted the men because of their religion.

Memories of the Troubles linger in Belfast. Credit:Getty Images

The IRA has always denied involvement in the attack near the village of Kingsmill, county Armagh, in January 1976, when gunmen forced workers from a minibus and shot them dead at close range.

The one Catholic worker was instructed to run from the scene.
Johannesburg: South Africa's ruling party risks losing outright control of the capital, Pretoria, and Johannesburg in its worst electoral display since apartheid ended as urban voters showed their anger over a flat-lining economy and scandals surrounding President Jacob Zuma in municipal elections.

While the African National Congress took a narrow lead in Johannesburg as results from its traditional strongholds in townships started to come in, its share of the national vote is set to drop below 60 per cent for the first time since it swept to power under Nelson Mandela in 1994.

A woman walks near an African National Congress poster fixed on a toilet door in the township of Khayelitsha on the outskirts of Cape Town. Credit:AP

"It has lost ground in the urban middle-class areas, and in a country that is rapidly urbanising, that is a threat to the ANC," Nic Borain, a Cape Town-based political analyst, said by phone. "To get below 60 per cent and to lose two metros would be a serious failing for the ANC, even one metro."

Still widely credited for ending white-minority rule, the ANC now faces almost daily demonstrations over the failure of the government it leads to fulfil promises to create jobs, address poverty and improve living standards. Unemployment is at 27 per cent, the central bank anticipates zero growth this year and the nation's credit rating is at risk of being cut to junk by S&P Global Ratings in December.
Kabul, Afghanistan: Taliban insurgents ambushed a bus-load of foreign tourists Thursday on a highway in western Afghanistan, wounding six people. And seven Pakistanis were taken hostage by the Taliban in eastern Afghanistan when their helicopter crash-landed, officials said.

Both incidents were highly unusual, and initial information about them from officials was contradictory and incomplete. But together, they illustrated the wide geographical range and aggressive opportunism of the Taliban militants, who quickly capitalised on two unexpected foreign targets at opposite ends of the country.

A member of a breakaway faction of the Taliban fighters guards a gathering in Shindand district of Herat province, Afghanistan. Credit:AP

A Taliban spokesman claimed responsibility for the tourist attack, which he said was aimed at "foreign occupiers and mercenaries".

Officials said militants fired rockets at a convoy of foreign visitors and Afghan army escorts as they drove through Herat province, near the border with Iran. Officials said six people were wounded although none seriously, including a foreign woman and a driver.
PHILIPSBURG:--- The St. Maarten Christian Party (SMCP) is pleased to announce the candidacy of Mr. Michael Somersall on the SMCP slate for the upcoming Parliamentary elections.

Son of the soil, Michael Somersall, husband, and father of four is the third son of Carlos Somersall and Cynthia Wrighton. He lived his early childhood years Over The Water at Fort William and moved to St. Peters at age 5 where he attended primary school until he left to continue his studies in the Netherlands. Hard work and education were instilled in all five boys by their parents. Having faith in God, respecting your elders and being kind to others are also some of the values that were taught in the home.

After working his way through college, Michael enlisted in the army, where he went through a vigorous training to become a medic and later worked at the military blood bank in Amsterdam.

After fulfilling his duties in the army he joined an insurance firm and worked as an insurance broker for two years. He then decided to join the food service industry, where he filled top management positions for over 18 years in the Netherlands and locally. Committed to serving his country, Michael Somersall decided to join the Hygiene Department, now the Inspectorate of Public Health, where he served as a Senior Inspector and later on became the Chief Food Safety Inspector at the Inspectorate for country St. Maarten until 2013.

As the founder and General Manager of STEFLOGIX, Environmental, and Public Safety Solutions, Michael continues to serve the community of Sint Maarten by sharing his expertise and knowledge in his respective fields of expertise such as food safety, hygiene, and public safety.

Having a servants heart, Michaels values and principles resonate with those of the Sint Maarten Christian Party. His love for people, his passion for change and his willingness to serve to make him a valuable candidate on the SMCP slate.

Wycliffe Smith

Leader of the Sint Maarten Christian Party
PHILIPSBURG:--- The General Audit Chamber presented their report relating to the audit of the 2014 Financial Statements of the General Pension Fund (hereafter: APS) to Parliament and the Minister of Finance on July 29, 2016. The General Audit Chamber issued a disclaimer of opinion regarding the true and fair representation of the financial position as of December 31, 2014, and the 2014 financial results of the APS.

The General Audit Chamber notes that the APSs participant administration was not sufficiently reliable in 2014. A reliable participant administration should be the core of the Funds functioning. After all, if the participant administration is not sufficiently reliable, the recorded provision, needed to ensure that future pensions can be fully paid, is also not adequately reliable. The General Audit Chamber, therefore, recommends that the APS carry out an integral audit regarding the accuracy and completeness of the participant administration prior to December 31, 2017.

In addition, the APSs financial claim against Government increased by a substantial amount in 2014, totaling ANG 80,8 million (at the end of 2013 the claim was ANG 68,1 million). As a result, the APS had fewer funds available in 2014 to be used for potential investment. The General Audit Chamber recommends that the APS monitor the stipulations set forth in the Debt Payment Basic Agreement that it negotiated with Government in February of 2016, to ensure the settlement of the outstanding claim.

In their report, the General Audit Chamber also notes that at the end of 2014, the coverage ratio of the APS reached its lowest point since the start of the Fund in 2010. The coverage ratio was 97,6% at the end of 2014, whilst the ratio was 101,4% the year before. This means that at the end of 2014, the APS was not able to fully cover their future liabilities with their existing assets. The APS is urged to develop a realistic plan aimed at achieving a healthy coverage ratio of at least 105%.

According to the General Audit Chambers report, the APS operated, for the most part, in compliance with applicable laws and regulations. However, the report also mentions that for 2014, the APS collected a pension premium that was below the legally required rate. The APS collected a premium of 22% instead of the required 25%. As a result, until December 31, 2014, the APS failed to collect ANG 17,1 million that, potentially, could have been invested.

Finally, as part of the audit of the Financial Statements of the APS, the General Audit Chamber reviewed the Asset Liability Management study conducted in 2014 by the APS and found that the study met APS stated objectives. Specifically, the study provided the APS with insight as to whether the current pension scheme is still affordable and will remain affordable. However, the General Audit Chamber goes on to caution that an Asset Liability Management study cannot be used as the sole basis when making decisions about the future of the Fund.

The report is published in both English and Dutch and is available on the website of the General Audit Chamber (www.arsxm.org.
It is somewhat comforting to read in a press release from the Senator of Saint-Martin that The financial and fiscal autonomy of Saint-Martin is a myth, following the decision of the Constitutional Council of July 1, 2016. It would have taken about 13 years - from 2003 to 2016  to understand that the Top Elected officials then  Mayor, Regional Councilor, General Councilors 1 and 2  were taken for a ride by their socio-professional advisers, and that in fact, the autonomy wished for by the Top Elected officials was but an illusion. Our Senator is credited in this press release with having stated with courage and fairness the opposite of what the other elected representatives still repeat today with certainty and conviction.

At least, the Senator is admitting what the true reality is. Can we, therefore, hope that the Collectivity will take a more honorable stand in order to put back this part of the island on track and stop its endemic decline? Will the Senators astonishment and disappointment, the Presidents real disappointment and feeling of shock serve as a wake-up call? The ousted President of the Collectivity in a letter to all the elected officials of Saint-Martin called for their collective resignations dubbing the decision of the Constitutional Council as a violation of our rights and a blatant injustice. He may be right. But his demand seems to be mere wishful thinking, because our Deputy (MP) believes in the rule of law. Beyond the harsh criticism directed towards the former president and refusing, as he stated, to indulge in futile emotion, disappointment and helplessness, he preferred to engage in a true concerted strategy of all the forces of Saint-Martin, in order to make both Saint-Martin and the general interest winners. Yet, Saint-Martin has been a loser for the last thirty years and decision-makers have turned their backs on the general interest. Should we consider this approach as naively optimistic?

Elected officials, this situation has been going on for 13 years and more. What are you waiting to act efficiently, as expected? Ask the people what they think? After all, you are in this position thanks to them, and on their behalf, in order to defend their own interests. Is still time for the Deputy, the Senator and the President to discuss together with a Minister and Advisers of an omnipotent State - according to the Senator - only dedicated to take care of its own interests, whereas the Constitutional Council has already pronounced its verdict. Let us stop dreaming!

One month has elapsed since. What do you intend to do collectively? The same project of filling the sea of the Marigot Bay, a project that is in the pipeline since 1997! The rehabilitation of our capital after its loss of vitality has been programmed with your help! Indirect taxes which every taxpayer had to pay in order to replenish the coffers of the collectivity! It is too simple to tax the same taxpayers  who have always paid - the sum of 100 euros for administrative fees on the i income tax since 2015. Income is not extensible in a dying economy. Do you think that with this state of affairs the State and your advisers will stop cheating you? On the contrary, they do rejoice at you eagerness to protect their interests.

Nevertheless, the people is expecting better from you. The people believe that your indignation should not be abandoned. How much longer will you allow yourselves to be controlled remotely by the same advisers who have dragged you to the path of disillusion?

Such disillusion was actually predictable since 2003. The Steering Committee was announcing in its press release: 74, it is power together with means. The Paris government was sharing competences, yes, but not power. In the presence of the Top Elected officials on the occasion of their visit to the Overseas Minister on the question of autonomy in February-March 2005 (See my book, The Status Scandal ... LHarmattan, 2006), the Minister precisely stated: Autonomy was not discussed with the voters at the consultation of December 7, 2003 and it would be incompatible with Europe. The competences of the future collectivity falling under the law are too less to justify autonomy, unlike Saint-Barths...It would be a manifest error of assessment, for which we will be blamed, to give autonomy to a collectivity under the supervision of the Regional Chamber of Audits.

Was the Minister referring to a different autonomy?

Daniella JEFFRY

04.08.2016
PHILIPSBURG:--- Member of Parliament (MP) Leona Marlin-Romeo cautions the Minister of Justice on the trias politica, and reminds the honorable minister that he must ensure that the powers of one branch do not conflict with the other.

Over the past few weeks, the Ministry of Justice has been justly and actively unveiling the plans of the ministry. Plans and projects that have been in the queue to be executed, though commendable, it is important for the Minister of Justice to exercise the separation of powers and not let the good efforts be tainted with politics.

Law enforcement/Justice and politics should never be intertwined, mingled with or even wear a political color. There is no place for it in the justice system, as each citizen have the right to have confidence in law enforcement knowing that it should be impartial and fair.

Once that stigma of politics is placed or the affiliation with a political party then that confidence is broken and Lady Justice no longer wears that role of applying equal justice to all.

At the same token, Members of Parliament should also remember their role and allow ministries to function as they should.

As a parliamentarian our responsibility lies solely within the realms of Parliament, crossing those responsibilities often blur lines and in fact, goes against the checks and balances that were instilled in our constitution stated Member of Parliament Leona Marlin-Romeo.
A group of Wisconsin chief justices during a hearing at the Supreme Court hearing room in the Capitol building on March 17, 2016.
Cant devalue her knowledge, experience - Frans

PHILIPSBURG:---The United St. Maarten Party (USP) on Friday announced that former Commissioner and Minister Maria Buncamper-Molanus will be contesting the September 26 Parliamentary Election as a candidate on the USP slate. Party leader and Member of Parliament Frans Richardson said he is extremely pleased that Buncamper-Molanus has agreed to join the USP family as he knows she still has so much to offer to St. Maarten.

MP Richardson has stated on numerous occasions that the USP has no issue in giving persons who have served St. Maarten the opportunity to do so again despite personal setbacks. Maria is a former Senator of the Netherlands Antilles, a former Commissioner, and a former Minister. That kind of knowledge should not be underestimated or undervalued. Her body of work speaks for itself.

I will not stand as judge, jury, and executioner over anyone who is dealing with issues in their personal lives. We know her capabilities and value her presence as part of the team. There were over 200 people who believed in Maria last election. Her ideas were fresh and forward-looking and she will bring this to the party as well, Richardson said.

Buncamper-Molanus said truly she wasnt planning a run in 2016. However, the fact that the board, advisors, and leadership of the USP are on one line to put people first, appealed to her. It is fair to say that once you've been bitten by the political bug, politics is in your blood. It is therefore not strange that I continue to follow the political developments on St. Maarten even after the last election and missing the seat in Parliament by one vote. This considering having been out of office for four years, she said.

In an effort to avoid a cliche I will suffice by saying that I am getting back in the race because I still have a lot of energy and believe that the knowledge and experience I have can still be put to good use in Government, in particular in the Parliament of St. Maarten.

There are so many ways a person can contribute to the community as I have done for example for years through volunteering with non-profit organizations and so running again on a political list was not necessarily what I was looking for, but the USP for some time now has expressed appreciation and recognition for my contributions in public office. My opinion is valued, perhaps because it is a young party, perhaps because they have insight and foresight, however, whatever it is it appealed to me. We have discussed the issues and have found common ground and I feel comfortable and excited going into the September 26th election with USP focusing on the issues that matter to the people of St. Maarten, she said.

She continued: There are those who are very good at articulating, being loud and putting on an attractive performance, but at the end of the day this is not necessarily based on genuine concern nor does it lead to any genuine results for our community. Much is said about leadership and certainly while every political leader has positive attributes which contribute to obtaining the necessary support to get elected, many fall short on carrying that genuine concern with them into the Parliament once elected, but this is not so for Frans Richardson and this is what speaks to me when it comes to the leader of the USP.

As for St. Maarten and her contributions moving forward, Buncamper-Molanus said accomplishments can be listed every term, but the true measure of any effort is determined by how well the people are doing. How high the quality of life is for people in the tough situations. We can evaluate ourselves as representatives by how well the people are able to take care of their needs. At the core of all of this, is the economy and jobs. At the center of this evaluation is whether or not the people on the lowest level of the economic ladder are able to live on the wage they earn from a 40-hour work week, she said, tying into something Richardson said his party will be championing; a living wage.

We can only judge our educational system if those who have gone through it, in fact, are able to use their knowledge to improve their lives. We must address a few basic issues such as better participation in the economy by our people (better and better-paying jobs), better-educated labour force as a result of the available education, which then leads to better paying legitimate jobs for our people, then we will have something real to measure. Overhauling our Tax System so that the people have more buying power. I call this process "together legit". No one can do this on his or her own. We need the people to empower themselves, vote the right representatives/candidates into office, who will put the people first and ensure that the people get the best St. Maarten has to offer.

Buncamper Molanus expressed her gratitude to MP Richardson and to the USP party for giving me the opportunity to join the party on its journey. "Thank you for valuing my experience and my ability to effect positive change. I look forward to working with this group of driven patriots and in particular sharing my experience with the new candidates. It can be safely said that public service is for me a lifelong service and God knows this job never ends.
Political Machine Doesn't Want Slow Growth; How Could They Pay for Social Programs?

Santa Monicans for Renters Rights, the local political machine that has run the nanny state that is Santa Monica since 1972, today declined to endorse the Land Use Voter Empowerment Initiative, or LUVE. LUVE requires that any variance from zoning restrictions, be put to a local vote. It would prevent the City from passing out construction variances to those who bribe it's well oiled machine, with money for low income housing or other such progressive programs.

SMRR hold an annual convention. This year's convention was held on Sunday August 2nd at John Adams Middle School.

City Council members Tony Vazquez, Ted Winterer and Gleam Davis were awarded SMRR endorsements. In three rounds of voting, incumbent City Council Member Terry O'Day failed to garner 55% of the attendees support, and did not win its endorsement.

Jennifer Kennedy and slow growth advocate Armen Melkonian, also unsuccessfully sought SMRR's backing.

Meanwhile, SMMUSD School Board member Oscar de la Torre has announced on Facebook that he is also running for city council.
"The US justifies and advances the global war on terror via its alliance with Israel and is complicit in genocide against the Palestinians..."

ADL: We categorically reject the document's criticism of the United States and Israel as being 'complicit in the genocide taking place against the Palestinian people.'

The Black Lives Matter movement stands to lose potential support from influential Jewish organizations after release of a platform that slanders Israel. The activist movement associated with protests across the nation in support of blacks wrongfully killed by white and white police officers recently released a lengthy platform of principles. Among those, catalogued under "Invest-Divest," is this statement, filled with old and oft-refuted canards against the Jewish state:

"The US justifies and advances the global war on terror via its alliance with Israel and is complicit in the genocide taking place against the Palestinian people. The US requires Israel to use 75 percent of all the military aid it receives to buy US-made arms. Consequently, every year billions of dollars are funneled from US taxpayers to hundreds of arms corporations, who then wage lobbying campaigns pushing for even more foreign military aid. The results of this policy are twofold: it not only diverts much needed funding from domestic education and social programs, but it makes US citizens complicit in the abuses committed by the Israeli government. Israel is an apartheid state with over 50 laws on the books that sanction discrimination against the Palestinian people. Palestinian homes and land are routinely bulldozed to make way for illegal Israeli settlements. Israeli soldiers also regularly arrest and detain Palestinians as young as 4 years old without due process. Everyday, Palestinians are forced to walk through military checkpoints along the US-funded apartheid wall."

(https://policy.m4bl.org/invest-divest/)

In its decision to wage moral war against Israel, the BLM movement apparently ascribes to the notion of "intersectionality," the idea that all revolutionary struggles are related, and seeks to identify with the Palestinians. Palestinians are Arabs caught in land conquered by Israel during the 1967 war in which Israel's Arab neighbors sought to utterly destroy the country. These Arabs were not repatriated into the countries from which they came but have remained on Israeli land ever since. Violent attacks against Israeli Jews have also occurred ever since.

It is not surprising that the BLM movement would sympathize with the "struggle" of the Palestinians, whose cause largely involves a demand that all Jews leave the region and surrender their homes and businesses. The BLM's official statements reflect desire to blame all problems in the black community and the world on "the state." Implied is the idea that all misfortunes can be traced to some powerful (white) oppressor. This is similar to the claims of the Palestinians, who do not accept responsibility for their own failed leadership or for their betrayal by the countries to whom they were native. Instead, they blame Jews who purchased and worked hard for the land they govern and in which they flourish. Below is an excerpt from the "herstory" of the movement on the BLM website:

"When we say Black Lives Matter, we are talking about the ways in which Black people are deprived of our basic human rights and dignity. It is an acknowledgement Black poverty and genocide is state violence. It is an acknowledgment that 1 million Black people are locked in cages in this countryone half of all people in prisons or jailsis an act of state violence. It is an acknowledgment that Black women continue to bear the burden of a relentless assault on our children and our families and that assault is an act of state violence.

"Black queer and trans folks bearing a unique burden in a hetero-patriarchal society that disposes of us like garbage and simultaneously fetishizes us and profits off of us is state violence; the fact that 500,000 Black people in the US are undocumented immigrants and relegated to the shadows is state violence;.the fact that Black girls are used as negotiating chips during times of conflict and war is state violence; Black folks living with disabilities and different abilities bear the burden of state-sponsored Darwinian experiments that attempt to squeeze us into boxes of normality defined by White supremacy is state violence. And the fact is that the lives of Black people-not ALL people-exist within these conditions is consequence of state violence."

(http://blacklivesmatter.com/herstory/)

The founding principles of the group are called a "herstory" because the group was founded by three queer women who apparently are even offended by the prefix "his" in "history."

There may be little by which this group is not offended.

In response to the BLM's stated platform slandering Israel came a complete disassociation from the group by the Jewish Community Relations Council of Boston. Their statement includes the following:

"We are deeply dismayed by elements of this platform, specifically the co-opting and manipulation of a movement addressing concerns about racial disparities in criminal justice in the United States in order to advance a biased and false narrative about the Israeli/Palestinian conflict. To conflate the experiences of African-Americans and Palestinians oversimplifies complex matters and advances false equivalencies that diminish the unique nature of each.

JCRC cannot and will not align ourselves with organizations that falsely and maliciously assert that Israel is committing "genocide." We denounce an agenda to wage economic and cultural warfare against Israelis, including efforts to mobilize against state and local efforts that reject the "BDS" movement. We reject participation in any coalition that seeks to isolate and demonize Israel singularly amongst the nations of the world.

As we dissociate ourselves from the Black Lives Matter platform and those BLM organizations that embrace it, we recommit ourselves unequivocally to the pursuit of justice for all Americans, and to working together with our friends and neighbors in the African-American community, whose experience of the criminal justice system is, far too often, determined by race...."

Fair Use excerpt from "Solidarity Demonstration in Nazareth: Ferguson to Palestine" http://vimeo.com/116675694 Marc Lamont Hill on the "Revolutionary Struggle Against Israel." Israel is an apartheid state with over 50 laws on the books that sanction discrimination against the Palestinian people. Palestinian homes and land are routinely bulldozed to make way for illegal Israeli settlements. Israeli soldiers also regularly arrest and detain Palestinians as young as 4 years old without due process. Everyday, Palestinians are forced to walk through military checkpoints along the US-funded apartheid wall.

Also tasking the group with calumny against the Jewish state was the Anti-Defamation League. Previously, the powerful ADL had embraced BLM and even provided them with lesson plans to use in schools. Without formally breaking from BLM, the ADL nevertheless released a forceful tweet in which they stated the following:

"But would-be allies in the struggle for civil and human rights along with justice and fair treatment cannot ignore the Platform's false and blatantly one-sided position on US-Israel relations and Israeli-Palestinian issues. We categorically reject the document's criticism of the United States and Israel as being 'complicit in the genocide taking place against the Palestinian people.' The Jewish community knows too much about genocide. It's repellent and completely inaccurate. And the Platform completely ignores incitement and violence perpetrated against Israelis by some Palestinians, including terror inside the country and rocket attacks lobbed from Gaza."

However, given the Black Lives Matter movement's suspicion of and accusations against everyone who is not their color - according to their own website - they will probably not mind getting abandoned by US Jewish organizations, who would be, in their eyes, just more enemies.
Pregnant Women and their Partners should not Visit Community Near Miami

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued an historic warning on Monday, advising pregnant women and their partners to avoid a small community just north of downtown Miami. Agency spokesman Tom Skinner says this is the first time the CDC has warned people not to travel to an American neighborhood for fear of catching an infectious disease.

Zika virus infection during pregnancy can cause of microcephaly, a condition where a baby's head is much smaller than expected due to an underdeveloped brain. The condition can cause developmental delays, intellectual disabilities, problems with movement and balance, difficulty eating and swallowing, vision and hearing loss, or death.

14 people in Florida have now been infected with Zika virus after being bitten by local mosquitoes.

Florida Gov. Rick Scott and CDC Director Dr. Tom Frieden announced the warning in separate news conferences Monday. 10 new cases of infection were found by door-to-door surveys of 200 people in their homes and businesses, after being tested by urine and blood samples for the virus or an antibody.

Last week Florida state health officials confirmed that four people had contracted Zika from mosquitoes, all in the same 150-square- meter area. It's a mixed-use development with both upscale and lower income businesses and homes.

Frieden said this mixed neighborhood composition complicates mosquito control efforts.

"New test measurements over the weekend showed a risk of continued active transmission in that area," he said. "Because of this finding, we are advising pregnant women not to travel to that area and if they have traveled there on or after June 15 to visit their health care provider for testing."

Local health officials believe that June 15 is the earliest date that the mosquitoes might have passed the virus, which they obtained by biting a person who had returned to the United States with the disease. Four out of five people with Zika have no symptoms, so it's possible that "person zero" had no idea they were infectious.

"With 40 million travelers to and from areas where Zika is actively circulating, many can come back who feel perfectly fine," Frieden said. "But the virus could be hitchhiking in their blood."

Everyone who travels to one of those areas is asked to consistently use insect repellent for at least three weeks after they return.

Additional precautions recommended by the CDC about the Miami outbreak include:

 Pregnant women who live in or travel to the area should be tested for Zika infection in the first and second trimesters of pregnancy, even if they have no symptoms of the virus.

 Pregnant women and their male and female partners who live in the area should take steps to prevent mosquito bits and use proper sexual protection for the length of the pregnancy, or abstain from sex altogether.

 Male or female partners of pregnant women who have traveled to this area should use safe sex measures for the rest of the pregnancy.

 Women and men who have traveled to the affected area should wait eight weeks to conceive after their return. Men with symptoms should wait a full six months.

Governor Scott was quick in asking for CDC assistance.

"Following today's announcement, I have requested that the Centers for Disease Control activate their emergency response team to assist (the Department of Health) in their investigation, research and sample collection efforts," Scott said. "Their team will consist of public health experts whose role is to augment our response efforts to confirmed local transmissions of the Zika virus."

Some CDC personnel are already on the ground, with more arriving over the next few days.

Their first task will be to understand why local mosquito control efforts failed. Aggressive mosquito control in the area has had limited results. Friedan suggested the local mosquitoes may be resistant to the pesticide being used, or maybe there are hidden spaces where small amounts of water accumulate, just enough for the insects to breed.

"The Aedes aegypti is a really tough mosquito to control," Frieden added. "When Key West had an outbreak of dengue, which is carried by the same mosquito, that outbreak continued for more than a year. It's a demonstration of how intensive the efforts need to be to control the mosquito."

On-the-ground testing could take several weeks, and precautions should continue to be taken by everyone living in the area or traveling to and from it. People are advised to wear long-sleeved shirts and long pants that are thick enough to repel mosquito bites, use air conditioning and screens on doors, remove any standing water where mosquitoes could lay eggs, and apply insect repellent containing 25% DEET to all uncovered skin.

The community is just north of Miami.

Some local transmission of the virus is expected from mosquitoes but it should not be as widespread as it has been in other parts of the world. That assessment is based on past outbreaks of two similar mosquito-borne diseases, dengue fever and chikungunya, in the United States. The diseases did not spread as rapidly when living conditions included more mosquito-control efforts and the regular use of air-conditioning.

Most of the cases of Zika in the United States have been from travel to one of the 60 countries and territories where the virus is actively circulating. Fifteen people have been infected by sexual transmission, and there is one case of a laboratory-acquired infection.

Only four states, Idaho, South Dakota, Wyoming and Alaska have not yet reported any cases. Until the announcement Friday in Florida, no US cases are believed to have been from local mosquito transmission.
Encouraged by Trump's Success, Duke Wants to Defend the Rights of "European Americans"

It sounds like satire, but it's not.

David Duke, former KKK Grand Wizard, founder of the National Association for the Advancement of White People, and Holocaust Denier, sees the GOP nomination of Donald Trump as a sign that America finally wants his brand of politics.

"My platform became the GOP mainstream," he said. "I'm overjoyed to see Donald Trump and most Americans embrace most of the issues that I've championed for years."

Duke, who calls himself a "racial realist," said on July 22 that he would be running for US Senate in his home state of Louisiana.

Trump's campaign spokesperson Hope Hicks almost immediately announced that Trump "has disavowed David Duke and will continue to do so."

The Presidential Nominee received some backlash earlier in his campaign after Duke publicly endorsed him. When CNN's Jake Tapper asked Trump on "State of the Union" if he would disavow the support of Duke and other white supremacist groups, Trump responded, "Just so you understand, I don't know anything about David Duke, OK?"

Many Americans were shocked that Trump seemed unwilling to distance himself from hate groups.

The next day, Trump claimed that he had misunderstood the question because of a "bad earpiece."

Like Trump, the National Republican Senatorial Committee leadership quickly said that they would not support Duke's run "under any circumstance."

The Republican Party of Louisiana chimed in, too, saying Duke's history of "hate" causes them to oppose his candidacy.

"David Duke's history of hate marks a dark stain on Louisiana's past and has no place in our current conversation," the group said.

Duke isn't new to politics, having run for various offices at both the state and federal level, first as a Democrat, then as a Republican. He won a seat in the Louisiana House in a special election in 1989, where he served for three unremarkable years before failing to be reelected.

He now affiliates with the Tea Party movement.

Duke supports the preservation of what he considers to be Western Culture, including Christian Family Values, Constitutionalism, abolition of the IRS, voluntary racial segregation, and white separatism.

On the surface, he seems to be in agreement with many of the radical right voters who have launched Trump into the nomination, but his views on racial separation push him far into the extreme.

He wrote in his 1998 autobiography "We desire to live in our own neighborhoods, go to our own schools, work in our own cities and towns, and ultimately live as one extended family in our own nation. We shall end the racial genocide of integration. We shall work for the eventual establishment of a separate homeland for African Americans, so each race will be free to pursue its own destiny without racial conflicts and ill will."

As Grand Wizard in the 70's, Duke insisted he had modernized the KKK by allowing women and Catholics into the group. He said they were not "anti-black," but "pro-white" and "pro-Christian."

David Ernest Duke (born July 1, 1950) is an American white nationalist, antisemitic conspiracy theorist, politician, and former Grand Wizard of the Ku Klux Klan.

The Anti-Defamation League has called Duke anti-Semitic, a charge he denies, though he has said he objects to the "promotion of homosexuality" by Jews. Very early in his career, he would sometimes appear in public wearing a Nazi uniform.

Duke has been convicted of felony tax fraud, for which he served 15 months in prison and paid a $10,000 fine. He was deported from the Czech Republic in 2009 for denying the Nazi genocide and for promoting movements that seek to suppress human rights. A general residency ban, issued by Switzerland, now prevents him from living in any European Union country.

That's right: other countries have banned David Duke, while one of our major political parties has nominated Duke's preferred candidate to become the leader of the free world.

Now, after decades of being scorned and shunned, Duke believes that he, too, can be elected on a platform of racism and hatred.

Oh, GOP, what have you done?
inTEST Reports 2016 Second Quarter Financial Results

MOUNT LAUREL, NJ  (Marketwired)  08/04/16  inTEST Corporation (NYSE MKT: INTT), an independent designer, manufacturer and marketer of thermal management products and semiconductor automatic test equipment (ATE) interface solutions, today announced financial results for the quarter ended June 30, 2016.

Second quarter 2016 bookings were $12.6 million, compared with first quarter 2016 bookings of $9.8 million, and second quarter 2015 bookings of $10.3 million; $4.4 million, or 35%, of second quarter 2016 bookings were derived from non-semiconductor test compared with second quarter 2015 non-semiconductor test bookings of $2.6 million or 26%.

Second quarter 2016 net revenues were $10.5 million, compared with first quarter 2016 net revenues of $8.6 million, and second quarter 2015 net revenues of $11.6 million; $2.5 million, or 24%, of second quarter 2016 net revenues were derived from non-semiconductor test compared with second quarter 2015 non-semiconductor test revenues of $3.0 million or 26%.

Second quarter 2016 gross margin was $5.3 million, or 51%. This compares with first quarter 2016 gross margin of $4.1 million, or 47%, and second quarter 2015 gross margin of $5.8 million, or 51%.

Second quarter 2016 net earnings were $486,000, or $0.05 per diluted share. This compares with first quarter 2016 net earnings of $81,000, or $0.01 per diluted share, and second quarter 2015 net earnings of $1.1 million, or $0.10 per diluted share. Included in second quarter financial results were $456,000, or $0.04 per diluted share, in non-recurring expenses related to a potential acquisition.

Cash and cash equivalents were $25.0 million at both June 30, 2016 and March 31, 2016.

During the second quarter of 2016, the Company purchased 76,037 shares of inTEST stock under its repurchase program, authorized in December 2015, bringing the total shares repurchased under the plan to 232,057. The cost of second quarter repurchased shares totaled approximately $299,000, including $2,000 in fees paid to the Companys broker. The Company suspended the share repurchase program in mid-May 2016 because of work on a potential acquisition.

We reported strong financial results for the second quarter, commented Robert E. Matthiessen, president and chief executive officer, with revenue growth fueled across all product lines; most notably in the automotive sector of the semiconductor market, as well as demand created by next generation smart phones. The trend of order expansion continued throughout the quarter as well, increasing 28% sequentially, based in large part upon strength from our Thermal Products segment. Business was very strong in both the North American and Asian markets. The upsurge in optical transceiver business in Asia continued throughout the quarter, as did orders from major semiconductor companies. Both semiconductor and military/aero markets provided increased business in North America over the previous quarter. In addition, gross margin and net income also increased substantially on a sequential basis, with gross margin exceeding our guidance range.

Mr. Matthiessen added, We remain focused on growth through acquisition. During the second quarter, we began due diligence on an acquisition opportunity with whom we had executed a letter of intent late in the first quarter of 2016. We had essentially completed our due diligence and deal documents on the transaction, which had been scheduled to close on August 1, 2016. On July 18, we were informed by the target that they had reconsidered and no longer wished to sell their company.

inTEST expects that net revenues for the third quarter of 2016 will be in the range of $9.5 million to $10.5 million and that earnings per diluted share will range from $0.03 to $0.07. This outlook is based on the Companys current views with respect to operating and market conditions and customers forecasts, which are subject to change.

inTEST management will host a conference call today at 5:00 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time. The conference call will address the Companys 2016 second quarter financial results and managements current expectations and views of the industry. The call may also include discussion of strategic, operating, product initiatives or developments, or other matters relating to the Companys current or future performance.

The dial-in number for the live audio call beginning at 5:00 p.m. EDT on August 4, 2016 is (815) 680-6269 or (866) 900-9241. The Passcode for the conference call is 46774705. Please reference the inTEST 2016 Q2 Financial Results Conference Call. inTEST Corporation will provide a live webcast in conjunction with the conference call. To access the live webcast, please visit inTESTs website under the Investors section.

A replay of the webcast will be available on inTESTs website for one year following the live broadcast. To access the webcast replay, please visit inTESTs website under the Investors section.

In advance of the conference call, and for those investors accessing the webcast, inTEST Corporation welcomes individual investors to submit their questions via email to . The company will address as many questions as possible on the conference call.

inTEST Corporation is an independent designer, manufacturer and marketer of thermal management products and ATE interface solutions, which are used by semiconductor manufacturers to perform final testing of integrated circuits (ICs) and wafers. The Companys high-performance products are designed to enable semiconductor manufacturers to improve the speed, reliability, efficiency and profitability of IC test processes. The Companys products are also sold into the automotive, consumer electronics, defense/aerospace, energy, industrial and telecommunications markets. Specific products include temperature management systems, manipulator and docking hardware products and customized interface solutions. The Company has established strong relationships with its customers globally, which it supports through a network of local offices. For more information visit .

This press release includes forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements do not convey historical information, but relate to predicted or potential future events and financial results that are based upon managements current expectations. These statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such statements. In addition to the factors mentioned in this press release, such risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, changes in business conditions and the economy, generally; changes in the demand for semiconductors, generally; changes in the rates of, and timing of, capital expenditures by our customers; progress of product development programs; increases in raw material and fabrication costs associated with our products and other risk factors set forth from time to time in our SEC filings, including, but not limited to, our periodic reports on Form 10-K and Form 10-Q. inTEST undertakes no obligation to update the information in this press release to reflect events or circumstances after the date hereof or to reflect the occurrence of anticipated or unanticipated events.

inTEST Corporation

Hugh T. Regan, Jr.

Treasurer and Chief Financial Officer

Tel: 856-505-8999

Investors:

Laura Guerrant-Oiye

Principal

Guerrant Associates

Tel: (808) 960-2642
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